Why This Waste? // February 18, 2024

Read: Matthew 26:1-16

The season of Lent could be described as a yearly journey to the cross for disciples of Jesus. In this series, we are studying the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 26-27, which describe the account of Jesus’ journey to the cross. By meditating on this journey, we hope to better grasp the words of Jesus for us: “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mt. 16:24). 

A central theme of Lent is the practice of giving up something valuable to us for a season. In our passage this week, we see a striking contrast. One gave up something valuable for Jesus, but another gave up on Jesus instead. 

1. The Beauty of a Changed Life

In the first story, a woman approaches Jesus with expensive perfume and poured it on His head as an act of devotion. John’s Gospel reveals that the value of this perfume is a year’s salary for an average worker. This shocking act did not make sense to anyone except Jesus. Even the disciples became indignant, saying, “Why this waste?” (v.8). Jesus disagrees and commends her instead, indicating that what she has done is “noble” or “beautiful” in some translations. This extravagant act of freely giving up something valuable was clear, undeniable evidence that Jesus had changed her life. 

Jesus does not consider her act of devotion to be a waste but rather the perfect accompaniment to the proclamation of the Gospel (v.13). Why? The beautiful thing she has done is the kind of thing people will do when the gospel has changed their lives. When we give things up (especially valuable things) out of love for Jesus, it shows we find Jesus not useful but beautiful. Everyday acts of faithfulness are wonderfully sacrificial, but sometimes, we are called to extravagant acts of giving up something for nothing other than to please our Savior and display His glory.

2. The Tragedy of an Unchanged Life

In contrast to the woman's act of devotion, the passage also highlights the tragic story of Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' disciples who betrayed Him. The story of Judas is one of the most difficult in the Bible. Despite being so close to Jesus - learning from Him, witnessing His miracles, and participating in His ministry - Judas remains unchanged and motivated by selfish desires. His pragmatic approach to discipleship leads to his ultimate betrayal of Jesus. His greed was a symptom of a deeper disease. He never moved beyond seeing Jesus as a useful, practical means to his ends. “What will I get out of this?”

The clear warning for us is that we can think we are so close to Jesus yet remain unchanged. For the calculating types, devotion to Jesus will not compute in ways that make sense of every situation. For the practical types, a beautiful life of obedience to Jesus is just the opposite. Nothing about the woman’s act even comes close to practical. For the academic types, following Jesus cannot be reduced to a logical or theological formula in your mind. A transformed life is undoubtedly much more. For the comfort types, devotion to Jesus cannot be structured without risks, difficulties, or even extreme suffering. If we can’t point to something in our faith in Christ of which any one of these perspectives would ask, “Why this waste?” Then we have to ask ourselves whether the gospel has truly changed us. Christianity is not finding the religion that “works for you.” It is about finding Someone you would give up anything for.

3. The Difference Between the Two

At the heart of the passage lies the contrast between the woman's beautiful act of devotion and Judas' tragic betrayal. The key difference between these two lives is their perception of the cross. Jesus points out that if the disciples understood what He was about to do (death on a cross), they would understand and see the beauty of what the woman had done. One preacher sums it up well. “Just like the disciples failed to see the beauty of the woman’s act, they failed to see the utter beauty of Jesus' coming act that she was preparing him for.” The woman gave up something finitely valuable to her for someone infinitely valuable, worthy, and beautiful – Jesus Christ. By contrast, the gospel is that Jesus gave up what was infinitely valuable and beautiful - his own life - for those that are utterly unworthy. 

Jesus did not bear such a shameful, brutal, and ugly crucifixion because it was practical. The gospel is Jesus saying to us: “I will die for you, I will bear your sins, experience the deepest anguish of separation from God, and give you my own life, not because I will get something from you, but because I will get you.” The Gospel is not cold and calculating but warm, loving, and inestimable. Jesus put down everything to be with us, and he calls us to put down all the rulers, calculators, spreadsheets, and books to be with Him. In the end, the extravagant cost of anything we might give up in this life is nothing compared to what He gave up for us and the value we find in our communion with Him. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. In what ways do non-Christians and Christians in our culture find Jesus more useful rather than beautiful? What is different and what is similar between the two perspectives? Why can’t Christianity just be what “works for you”?

3. Reflect on a time when you made a sacrificial gesture for Jesus, whether small or large. What motivated you to do it, and how did it impact your relationship with Him? How did it change your perspective about the world around you? 

4. Is there something you feel convicted to give up for Lent? Why or Why not? How do you know the difference between something you are supposed to give up for Jesus, something you can hold loosely, and something you can hold firmly?

5. Consider the warning signs of Judas’ mindset in your own life. What are some areas in your life where you may have been motivated by selfish desires or pragmatic concerns rather than a genuine devotion to Jesus?

6. Which one of the four perspectives mentioned - calculating, practical, academic, or comfort - resonates with you the most? Is there another one you can think of? How do you confront and grow through the harmful impact these perspectives can have on your obedience to Jesus? 

7. How can you cultivate a deeper appreciation for Jesus and His journey to the cross for you? Is there something you need to change or give up that has crowded out Jesus in your life? How can we encourage each other to do this from a gospel perspective rather than a guilt perspective? 

Embodied Formation // February 11, 2024

Read Romans 6:1-14; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

When people see a Christian, they should see someone who has been formed to be like Jesus. Of course, that has to do with our hearts and souls, but we can’t forget our bodies. Paul exhorts us that to believe in Jesus is to be united to Him, and to be united to Him is to be shaped, molded, and changed into His likeness. This call to formation is for everyone, whether it is our young people who have just been confirmed (praise be to God!), those who have been walking with Jesus for a while, or even those who don’t know Jesus but desire to know something of His likeness. Wherever you are, what might it look like to offer your life to be formed and shaped by Jesus? 

1. Formation Isn’t Optional

The apostle Paul never intends to describe formation in Christ without an essential contextual point echoed in other biblical authors. We are all already being formed in some way or another. As we see in Romans 12:2, we are either being conformed or transformed. The question we are faced with is not, am I being formed, but who or what am I being formed into? We like to think of ourselves as making our own choices or becoming our own people. But way more than we might like to admit, for us and our families, we are formed by things other than us. We are constantly being shaped, molded, and changed by things other than us and things outside of us. Stories and narratives, rhythms and patterns of our communities, technology use, and even the people we spend time with regularly are all examples of these external influences that guide our formation and the formation of our kids. 

2. Formation Isn’t (just) Invisible

We often think of our spiritual formation (forming of the whole person in Christ) as an invisible thing. It’s what we think about, desire, or feel inside. It’s our invisible prayer life with God or how our theology is changing over time. Certainly, these are valuable, but is that it? When Paul describes formation in Romans 6 and 12, he does not say to guard only the inner parts of ourselves, as if it can be detached from our whole body. What he says is not to offer any part of your body to sin (Rom 6:13), and also to offer your whole body as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). Both are visible because we are embodied. We see this also when Paul describes sin by using terms like “lips”, “mouth”, “feet”, and “eyes” (Rom 3). If you have become a Christian, the very parts of your body are powerful “instruments” (also trans. “weapons”) used either to harm that which is good or to attack that which is evil. Being formed as a Christian means offering yourself to God and all the parts of yourself to God as “weapons” for righteousness. 

Such an embodied significance to formation is evident in the sacraments. Baptism is a physical sign for us to look back on when we feel lost or weary along the way. Even more real than the water is our forgiveness, the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and the end of the reign of sin over us. The Lord’s Supper also invites us into the very special and spiritual presence of Christ through the physical ingestion of bread and wine. Our life in the body is our whole offering to God (visible and invisible) for everything he has done for us in Jesus.

3. Formation Isn’t Accidental

No one accidentally becomes a doctor, runs a 5-minute mile, or plays a musical instrument like an expert. These take years of bodily formation: learning, watching, practicing, and struggling. In the same way, no one accidentally becomes like Jesus. We intentionally present and offer our whole selves to Him to be transformed more like Him. How is that possible? Paul “urges” us, not by our strength, or God’s judgment, but by the “mercies of God” (12:1). Our God delights in giving love, grace, and power to those who don’t deserve it. The gospel is not just good news about the beginning of our formation but the whole process of formation. It is mercy that propels us forward, from beginning to end. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. What are some examples you have seen or experienced that reveal formation isn’t optional? Which are the most powerful? What examples of this can you identify in yourself?

3. How would you define “spiritual formation,” and what is its relation to the whole body? Do you tend to think about it as something more inward or outward? Why or Why not? 

4. Read Romans 6:12-13. What does it mean to present the members of our bodies as “instruments” or “weapons” for righteousness rather than unrighteousness? How does your choice in this matter impact the world beyond your own spiritual life? 

5. What connection do you see between the visible and the invisible in the sacraments? How does this reality shape and mold our formation in Christ from day to day, week to week, and year to year?

6. What is a skill or ability in your life that could not possibly be attained by accident? How long did it take for you to develop this ability or skill, and what did you have to change to make this possible? What are some analogies that emerge that relate to your formation in Christ?

7. How do we keep the “mercies of God” in view in our formation so that we don’t gravitate toward something fear-based or works-based? Do you need to confess or share your struggle in this with another?

Embodied Faith // February 4, 2024

Read James 2:14-17

We have set the foundation for this series by reaffirming the importance of the body as a good gift of God in creation. This positive, biblical view can reorient us to the wonder of the whole human person, one made as body and soul. When we discuss matters of faith and spirituality, the body does not belong in the background. We must bring it to the front as the Bible does. No one does this better than James, who points to the needs of the body to show what real faith looks like. Real faith is not merely believing or even wishful thinking about those around us. Real faith is embodied faith - living, active, full of love, and always ready for mission.

1. Dead Faith

James discusses a dichotomy in this passage, but it's not about faith and works. Instead, he contrasts two kinds of faith: living faith and dead faith. There are some who claim to have faith in Jesus, but their lives don’t really look all that different. It’s easy to claim something, but what good is it if that claim doesn’t hold any real weight? Faith without works is just words and ideas that exist only in theory and never bear any fruit. If that’s all we have, then James says this faith can’t save us (v. 14) because it is like a dead body (v.17). It lacks vitality and function, just like a body without a spirit (v.26). James is not merely telling his readers to do “works,” but to revisit the very faith they claim to have. Real faith can’t possibly be disembodied.

2. Real Faith

What kind of embodied action does James mean by “works” that are the sign of real faith? He shares a simple story in v. 15-16 that answers the question: Real faith cares for the bodily needs of others. One way the response can be read in this story is in the middle/passive, which translates to telling the person to take care of themselves - “Warm yourself and fill yourself.” Another way it can be read is as a prayer, “May you be warmed and filled.” Either way, the response is the same. You can do it, or God will do it, but I won’t do anything about it. Encouraging others and praying for them are certainly good, but James tells us this response is not complete if not accompanied by embodied action. 

3. Getting Real Faith

We have to be careful. James is not saying that if you meet the needs of others, then that will produce genuine faith in you. The opposite is true. Real faith produces good works that benefit others, spiritually and physically, like good soil produces good produce. You can’t put good produce into the soil to make it healthy. This faith requires belief in the gospel and understanding the bodily cost of love exemplified by Jesus Christ. Jesus did not come as an invisible soul, impervious to the bodily cost of love. Jesus did not only say to us, “Go in peace, be warm, and be well fed.” He left the riches and comfort of his eternal glory to become poor. He gave up everything. He took on a human body for our full salvation, body and soul.

4. Where Real Faith Leads

When we recognize that Jesus bore the bodily cost of love for us, it empowers us to bear the bodily cost of love for others. Real, embodied faith leads to embodied mission. Embodied faith says, “Go in peace, be warm, and be well fed,” because I will make it my mission to help you. One way that we can engage in this honorable service is to seek out other members of the body of Christ and join with them in this mission. In the same way that faith without works is dead, so one part of the body detached from the rest is also dead. We are called to give those who lack what the body needs by sharing our bodily needs and inviting them into the body of Christ, the church.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. James compares faith without works to a dead body. How does this image challenge us about our personal claim to faith? How does this image challenge us with respect to the credibility of our faith to non-Christians?

3. In what ways do you tend to prioritize spiritual words, claims, and theories over physical needs, actions, and service? 

4. How do we overcome obstacles such as busyness, comfort, or avoiding inconvenience to engage more fully in caring for others?

5. What is wrong with the idea of thinking James is really just telling us to do more good works to be better Christians? How do we become people who produce good works? 

6. How does the bodily cost of love of Jesus in the Gospel meet our own spiritual and physical needs? How does it motivate us to take up the bodily cost of love for others? What roles do discernment and prayer play in this process?

7. What would it look like for you and your family/community group to live out an embodied mission in your community in one new way this year? Have you already started? How can you support Trinity or request help from Trinity to help you in this endeavor?

Embodied Suffering // January 28, 2024

Read Romans 8:16-23; 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:8

We have set the foundation for this series by reaffirming the importance of the body as a good gift of God in creation. This positive, biblical view can reorient us to the wonder of the whole human person, one made as body and soul. If the body is so good and wonderful, what about the suffering we experience in the body? The reality is that many of us, or those we know, are beset with bodily diseases, disabilities, or deteriorations of some kind. On the surface, it may seem like having a different body would solve all our problems, but God’s Word takes us much deeper to help us see how He relates with us and offers lasting hope in our bodily suffering.

1. Consider Rightly

Our passage begins with Paul transitioning in Rom 8:18, “for I consider,” which should give us pause. It gives us pause because it gives him pause. The depth of the context moves from transformation and change to suffering and glory, and these are not merely vague and spiritual for Paul but real and present. To handle suffering well, we have to consider it rightly. We have to think about it, gather our thoughts, and reckon with it. We cannot avoid it. Paul knows we wish to hear that God will lead us to glory around or over suffering. But instead, he tells us the truth: Through suffering, we become full, true selves in glory, like Jesus.

These are not things we like to consider. In our culture, by and large, we avoid considering suffering, especially bodily suffering. Suffering is something for hospitals and other facilities that stay out of the way. We value fit, healthy, and young bodies. We are experts at avoiding and ignoring pain and suffering. Scripture tells us something different. An essential part of Christian discipleship is considering our present, embodied suffering. When it comes, it threatens to engulf everything in our lives until it is the only story. But there is a greater story, one that is real but elusive to our embattled hearts and minds. Only when we “consider” this can we face embodied suffering with hope.

2. Compare Accurately

One of the ways we wrongly consider our suffering is by comparing. We are tempted to compare our suffering with others and desire what life would be like in “that” body. But just like body image can create anxiety and worry with comparison, our issues with comparing bodily suffering follow suit. Paul doesn’t tell us not to compare, but he tells us to compare accurately. Instead of comparing your body with others, compare your body with the “glory that is going to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18) or the “absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor 4:17). 

Your bodily suffering is not a sign God has abandoned you, that you are less useful, or that you are in the wrong body. Your bodily suffering is a sign that God is not done with you yet as you continue your journey to become glorious like Jesus. Paul urges you to compare your broken, ailing, and hurting body, not with others or some prior version of yourself, but to the glorious body you will receive by faith.

3. Groan Confidently

Paul introduces us to the reality of groaning, not just “out there” in creation, but inwardly, within each of us. He describes two instances of groaning in Romans 8 and 2 Corinthians 5, both of which indicate its dual nature of suffering with pain and yearning with confidence. An analogy he makes is the groaning that comes with the labor pains. The pain of labor is real, but the glory of labor is just as real. It produces the most glorious thing, a brand new person made in the image of God. Groaning is the only thing that holds this tension together, and Paul is preparing us for the reality that groaning will become one of our spiritual disciplines in this life. We groan, knowing that God hears us and even groans with us (Rom 8:26).

We groan confidently, not because we are promised compensation for our suffering. It is much more profound than that. Our suffering results in glory by “producing” it in us (2 Cor 4:17). Our suffering imparts something real to our person because we are “with him.” So our glory is also “with him” (Rom 8:17). The Gospel reminds us that Jesus groaned in despair, “My God, My God why have you abandoned me,” so that we can groan with confidence. His groan guarantees we can be saved from the greatest suffering of all and that our suffering will ultimately be turned into glory.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. Why is it important to “consider” our suffering? Shouldn’t we just ignore it and get past it? What does it look like to consider it “rightly” without allowing it to take over our lives?

3. What are some ways that our culture avoids pain and suffering to an unhealthy degree? What about prioritizing comfort? How have you done either of these in your own life?

4. Have you ever wrestled with comparing yourself to others related to body image or bodily suffering? How did you overcome this and learn to make healthier comparisons (ex. “compare accurately”)? What advice would you give to someone younger about this process?

5. Read Romans 8:22-23, 26, and 2 Corinthians 5:1-4. What do you notice about “groaning”? Who does it in these passages? What do these passages tell you about the reality of “groaning” in your life?

6. Do you know someone else who is currently suffering? How might you “groan” with them in their suffering? How could this lead to both of you learning to “groan confidently”? See graphic below for visual.

7. If suffering brings us closer to God and helps us grow in our relationship with Him, then how should we approach praying for healing? How does the Gospel message speak to this tension?

Bonus: Groaning with Confidence

• How have you seen these quadrants at work in your life?

• How have you seen each in the church’s approach to suffering?

• How does the gospel offer a unique resource on “faithful suffering” with confidence AND groaning?

Embodied Church // January 21, 2024

Read: 1 Cor 12:4-13; 26-31

In our culture, we are tempted to be more “disembodied” than ever, but we must never forget that God is embodied and created us to be embodied. This beautiful truth is not only for us individually but corporately as the church, or the body of Christ. Why are we called the body of Christ? The Bible uses the human body as a metaphor to describe the church, but more than a metaphor, it is a declaration of identity. We see this identity explained in the broader context of 1 Corinthians when Paul describes the body as God’s Temple (1 Cor 3:16), a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19), and the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27). The more we understand the relationship between these three statements, the more we can fill out our understanding of how we have become the body of Christ.

1. The Body of Jesus is the True Temple

God’s relationship with humanity always requires a temple because He is not like you and me. In the Old Testament, God revealed the temple as a sacred space, like Abraham’s altar at Bethel, the tabernacle at Mount Sinai, and Solomon’s temple at Mount Zion. God is Holy, and the stark contrast between our sinful nature and his holiness would lead to our destruction if brought into his presence unmediated (Ex 33:5-6). Jesus changes everything because Scripture tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt (lit. “made his tabernacle”) among us (Jn 1:14). Jesus is now the location of sacred space, and his body is the temple of God. The only way we can be in a relationship with a holy God is through the temple, which doesn’t change between the Old and New Testaments. What changes is that the person of Jesus Christ is revealed as the true temple. 

2. We are “In” Christ 

The phrase “in Christ” occurs more than 130 times in the New Testament. It is one of the most basic ways of explaining our relationship with God. Where does it come from? In the Old Testament, God’s presence that “dwells with” or “among” Israel often takes the dative and plural form of “you,” meaning “in you (all).” Paul writes in this same style that “God’s Spirit dwells in you” (1 Cor 3:16). This is temple language, and we represent the temple not individually but corporately. Nor do we represent the temple in our own merit. Only because we are “in Christ” can God’s Spirit be “in us.” So we are the body of Christ because Christ is now the temple, and God forgives us, adopts us, dwells in us, and loves us forever.

3. The True Temple is a Family

You won’t go far in the New Testament without seeing another metaphor used to describe the church, and it is “family.” The two: “body” and “family,” are not only integral to the biblical concept of church but are intimately related. The rituals are now a relationship because the temple is now a person. Worship becomes simultaneously sacred and familiar. The holy temple is a loving home. The Bible merges what many before have kept separate: the temple of God and the family of God. Now, to be in the temple is simultaneously to be a son or daughter in his house (2 Cor 6:16-18). 

What it means to be in Christ is not fully understood when we think of ourselves as autonomous individuals. You, alone, are not the body of Christ because you are a part of the body of Christ, and the part, though special and unique, does not fully represent the whole. We must never stop gathering together because it is together that we are the body of Christ, in submission to Christ, who is the head. Just like in our own homes, we are truly ourselves in the home of the church. Let’s reclaim Sunday worship as the centering point of our identity, from which we receive grace, affirm our union to the body of Christ, and go out into the world with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What about the sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. What do you know about the concept of “temple” in the Old Testament worship of God? What changes now that Jesus’ body is the temple? What stays the same? How does this impact you as an individual Christian in America today?

3. If the church is understood as a “body,” what does that say about how we should participate in the church? Is there a minimum level of participation? How do we navigate the increasing use of technology in churches?

4. How do you understand passages in 1 Corinthians that refer to your own body as a temple of the Holy Spirit? Does it have any bearing on how we treat our physical bodies? Why should this teaching draw us toward a gathering of believers rather than away from it?

5. What does it mean to be “in Christ”? How should this reality encourage us when we feel apart from Christ? What are some areas in your life where you need to be continually reminded of this declaration of identity?

6. What analogies can you think of that explain the intimate relationship between temple and family? Temple and home? How does this relationship challenge or encourage your prevailing views about the local church? 

7. How does the reality that we are not the body of Christ in ourselves point us to the Gospel? What does it reveal to us about the importance of gathering together? Worshipping together? Listening to preaching together? Partaking in holy communion together? Which one sticks out to you the most and why?