There are plenty of opportunities!

• Take care of little ones in the nursery.
• Hang out with toddlers.
• Help with activities and lessons for kids up to 5th grade.
• Move equipment.
• Get the sound and projection systems in place.
• Set up chairs and kids’ areas.
• Join the Welcoming Team.
• Help us take everything down.
• Participate with the worship team.

We’re assembling teams of people in these areas and more as we prepare for weekly services in beginning late September.  Let us know where you think God might be directing you, and we’ll look forward to working together.

Contact:  Shonnie

Romans 10:9–11 (The Message)
It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God— “Jesus is my Master”—embracing, body and soul, God’s work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!” Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.”

Discussion Questions
Nancy Eckardt

1.  Are you more likely to root for the champion or the underdog?

2.  When have you felt like the underdog?

3.  Can you think of an example when someone mistook being chosen for being privileged? How do we see this in our society today?

4.  What are you tempted to base your sense of belonging to the faith on? How does that impact your impression of others?

5.  It is the wrong starting point for redemption when we focus on externals rather than internals. “Woe you scribes – you tithe all the way down to your spices, have neglected the weightier provisions of the law .” What externals block your focus on the internals? What does focusing on the internals look like to you?

6.  Romans 10:4 “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.”  Paul is saying that there isn’t anything we can do to be made righteous.  How important are your works in helping you feel righteous? Redeemed?

7.  Fibonacci Faith – How do you respond to “You must be born again”? What does this mean to you? What is your story of being born again?

8.  Read the parable in Matthew 22:1-14. What does this mean to you? What does it mean to wear the wedding garment?

9.  What area of your life would you like God to pour resurrection life into? Can you name an area where you would like to pray for God to redeem and transform?

10.  Read Psalm 19. How has God revealed himself to you through creation? Through friendship? Through his word?

Sunday’s Bulletin

Christ’s blessing can never be purchased; it can only be received as a gift, which requires our own emptiness as the only precondition.

Scripture: Luke 1:5-25, 57-80.

Today marks not only the beginning of the Advent season, but also the beginning of what is known as the Church year. Advent is the four-week season (ending on Christmas Eve) when we celebrate God’s coming to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ. This is a season for both remembering God’s coming, and also for anticipating His future coming.

In Philippians, Paul’s theme of rejoicing always is based on his deep hope in God, coming out of an intimacy with Christ that allowed him to embrace all that came his way in life.

Discussion Questions:
Nancy Eckardt

1. Can you think of a time when hope drove you to accomplish the impossible?

2. Read Phil. 1:6,7.  How does God’s commitment to our transformation give you hope?  Where do you see the need for transformation?

3. When has it been difficult to believe God is transforming you?

4. In Phil 1:12 – 20, Paul affirmed God’s power to use any circumstance for his purpose and glory.  How have your plans changed dramatically?  How has your responded?

5. How have you seen the expansion of the kingdom through someone who has false motives?

6. Can you think of a time when you have entered into an endeavor with false motives?  What happened with you?  What happened with those impacted by what you were doing?

7. Out of his intimacy with Christ, Paul saw that his life more clearly.  How does intimacy with Christ change your perspective about yourself?

8. How valuable is intimacy with Christ to you?  What are the barriers to intimacy with Christ?

Sermon by Pastor Richard Dahlstrom,

July 3, 2005.

Discussion Questions:
Nancy Eckardt

1. When have you put your wages into “a purse with holes in it”? How did it feel? (Haggai 1:6)

2. Whats the “paneling” in your life?

3. How has God spoken to you about your priorities and the need to “spill hope”?

4. How might God be building you into a temple of His glory?

5. How can this group pray for you now and in the coming week?

Discussion Questions:
Nancy Eckardt

1. This last Sunday, we looked at the book of Ezekiel, and his experience in the valley of bones. “Can these bones live?” “Is there hope in our hopelessness?”

2. When has your hope dried up? When have you been to a point where there seems to be no Option A or B?

3. Can you give an example where conventional wisdom has not stood the test of a circumstance? What is the source of that conventional wisdom? Where did that leave you in your sense of hope?

4. What in your life represents dry bones? What has brought you to this place? What has caused this situation or circumstance to be dry bones?

5. How has this area that is dry bones affected your hope? Your faith? What do you see as the purpose of this dry bones experience? Do you see a purpose?

6. What call of action might God be calling you to in this situation of dry bones?

7. What might God be calling you to that sounds foolish? How can you pursue this in a way that would provide confirmation one way or another?

8. What might be the next steps for you in bringing life into the dry bones?

Habakkuk consists of a dialogue between the prophet, Habakkuk, and his creator, God. The conversation includes three elements: Habakkuk’s accusation, God’s response, and Habakkuk’s embrace.

Discussion Questions:
1. How free do you feel to cry out to God, “How long, O Lord!”? What influences your sense of freedom to challenge God?

2. What do you observe, internally or externally, that challenges your confidence in God?

3. Can you think of a time when you questioned God? What happened?

4. Can you think of a time when going to God with complaint has given you an openness to him that has allowed you to see a situation more from his perspective?

5. Read Habakkuk 3:17-19. How easy do you find it to sing this song where you are right now? What unfruitfulness do you see that makes it difficult to praise God and trust him?

Teacher: Richard Dahlstrom

Preached on Sunday, June 14th.

Discussion Questions:

1. Can you think of a truth-teller in your life?  Can you think of a time when their truth was comforting?  Challenging?  How do you respond to them?
2. Do you see yourself as a truth-teller?  Can you give an example of how telling the truth has impacted a relationship?
3. In the context of Nahum’s time, God intervened in history by using wicked nations to accomplish His will.  How does this affect your understanding of God?
4. Can you think of an example when God has used an unexpected person or event to intervene in history or in your life?  How did you respond to that?
5. When have you wished God would intervene, and He didn’t?  How did you respond to that?
6. “Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your heart…”  What may God be saying to you?  How long has he been saying this to you?  What causes you to resist?
7. What is the purpose of God’s judgment?  How is that different from our judgment?
8. What is going on within you that may not be apparent on the outside?  What would happen if that were exposed?   Would it lead to transformation?  Defensiveness?
9. “Judgment is in keeping with our deep longings for justice.”  How so?
10. What external injustices do you use righteous indignation to cover for in your own life?  Can you name a place of transformation in your life?  What would be needed to get you moving toward transformation?

Preached on Sunday, June 8th.

Teacher: Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

• How do you respond to the following: “Good things happen to good people”? Have you ever believed this? If so, can you remember when you realized that this wasn’t necessarily true?
• How do you need all three of these – doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God – in order to keep balance? What happens when one is missing?
• Can you think of examples in your own life where injustice was committed in personal relationships? In local community? Globally?
• How would things be different in your circle of influence if there was a mutual commitment to treating others with dignity?
• How does your current world need to be restored? Where do you see places of need?
• Can you think of ways that God expresses love in practical acts of kindness?
• Have you experienced mercy from someone? What were the circumstances?
• Can you think of an example when you showed mercy to someone? What happened?
• How can you better love those who hate you? The stranger? The alien?
• Can you think of a time when the inability to forgive caused deep hurt? What happened?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being inapproachable and 10 being widely approachable, what is your perception of God? What has shaped that?
• How do you handle failure in your own life?
• How do you handle failure in the lives of those you love?
• How does failure affect your sense of freedom to approach God?
• How does God’s creation affect your relationship to God or your understanding of God?
• If you walked humbly with God, what would that look like?
• What steps can you take to incorporate this mandate into your life: do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God?

Teacher: Richard Dahlstrom

Preached on March 24th.

Teacher: Nick Steinloski

Discussion Questions:

• Can you think of a time when you sensed God calling you to do something and “went the other way”?  What happened?  Did you eventually do it or walk away permanently?  How do you see that experience now, in retrospect?
• What keeps you from stepping out?
• Have you ever had a “belly of the whale” experience, when your choices have ended in a very dark place with a sense of nowhere to go?  What happened?  How did you respond to God during this time?
• If you were to make time in your life for solitude with God, what might he want to say to you?  What do you want to hear from him?
• How has the growth at Bethany affected you?  Does it excite you? Alarm you?
• What do you see as your role in the growth and nurture of your co-worshipers here?
• What sacrifice would it take for you to reach out in Christ’s love to those around you on Sunday or during the week?

Preached on Sunday, March 17th.

Teacher: Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

• Can you think of a time in your life when you went through the motions of doing something but your heart wasn’t in it?
• Can you think of a time when you were hoping for one thing and received something less? If so, how did you handle it?
• The Bible is full of stories that speak of people who are going through the motions of love and devotion to God, with no motivation from the heart. Can you think of an example in your own life when this has been the case? How did you deal with it?
• How does your relationship with Christ impact what you do? How does it impact the spirit in which you do it?
• Can you think of an example in your life where you had a desire for something and tried to fill it with something less? What were your reasons for filling it with something less?
• In what way would you say you are seeking contentment now? What brings you the most contentment and for how long?
• How do you see Christ’s life-providing contentment? What are the barriers to you for finding contentment in Him?
• Read Romans 7: 15-20. What discourages you about your transformation? How do you respond when you don’t see change in your life?
• How have you seen transformation in your history? Does that help you in your current desire for transformation? If so, how?
• In Amos 5:4, 6, & 14, God commands the people to “Seek me and live.” What does that mean to you where you are right now?

This week, we are looking at the book of Amos and identifying places in our lives where complacency and distraction have kept us from making the character of God visible. Amos came to the children of Israel to challenge them to worship God not just on Sunday with their rituals but throughout their week in obedience to him.

Teacher: Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

• How has the current economic upheaval affected you? Has it impacted the way you look at your resources? The resources of the United States? How has it impacted your way of life?
• Amos was calling the people out for worshiping on Sabbath yet failing to let it transform their lives Sunday through Friday so that His character would be visible through them. How does worship on Sunday impact your lifestyle and choices throughout the rest of the week?
• What activities do you use to distract you from what God might be trying to say to you?
• When has God used uncomfortable circumstances to shake you out of complacency?
• What criteria might you use to disqualify a current day “fig farmer” from speaking to you?
• How are you at building brides between your faith and those around you? What are the barriers for you? Why is it important for us to let our light shine?
• Scan Deuteronomy 28. Can you name blessings that you have received from God?
• “God, I want to learn everything you have to teach me in the midst of this trial… give me ears to hear and a heart to respond.” How open are you to making this your prayer to God? What causes you to resist it?
• What is the log that you may be ignoring in your own eye? What steps do you need to take this week to remove it?

Teacher: Richard Dahlstrom

This week, we looked at Hosea and considered how we tend to wander away from God, only to desire to return to him. We looked at Hosea 6:1-3, where we are encouraged to return to the Lord and press on to return to the Lord over and over again.

• Can you think of a time when you were a child that you wandered off? How did you feel? How did it feel to be found?
• Can your describe a time when as an adult you wandered away from the Lord? How did it feel to return and be home again?
• Hosea 10:12 says: “Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground.”
  • Sow with a view to righteousness. Where are you on the road? What steps do you need to take to return to the Lord?
  • Reap in accordance with kindness. What gifts from God do you find easy to receive? What gifts do you find hard to receive? Why?
  • Break up the fallow ground. What behavior patterns do you need to break? What will it take?
• Hosea 12:6 says: “Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually.”
  • How do you hold fast to kindness and justice?
  • What are you waiting for in the Lord? How is the waiting going?
  • Can you think of a time with waiting opened your eyes to God’s gifts in a new way?
• Hosea 14:2-3 talks about confessing our sin before God and renouncing the things in our lives that draw us away from one another.
  • What keeps you from being honest with God? With your friends?

Teacher: Richard Dahlstrom

In the book of Joel, we see how God used events in the lives of the Jewish nation in order to get their attention and draw them back to himself. As we read Joel, we are challenged to consider how God has used difficult circumstances in our own lives for the same purposes.

-Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

1. How has God used an event to get your attention?
2. Can you think of a time when a disruptive event caused you to walk away?   Where are you now in processing that event?
3. How has God used an event to expose a blind spot in your life?
4. How have disruptive events in your life altered your belief about God?  Your relationship with God?  Your theology?
5. Can you think of a time that you have had a change in behavior without a change of heart?
6. Can you think of a time that a change of behavior has been an expression of a change of heart?
7. Where do you hope to see restoration occur?   What will it take on your part?  On God’s part?  On others’ part?

Discussion Questions:

• Can you name a glimpse of perfection that you have recently experienced? What ended it? What feelings were you left with?
• What signs do you see that reflect a disconnect from God’s original intent for humanity?
• In what ways do you experience the effects of the Fall?
• Can you think of ways that you might be protecting your interests, believing that this might be all there is?
• How would this look different if you saw life from an eternal perspective?
• How does the resurrection of Christ impact your perspective on a global level? A community level? A personal level?
• What are you thirsty for?
• John 7:37-38 – Jesus’ invitation: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
  • What kind of thirst is Jesus referring to?
  • What is he inviting people to?
  • What is the process he describes in his invitation?
  • Where are you in that process?

Discussion Questions:

• What is easy to believe about Christ?
• What is hard, or offensive, to believe?
• Can you think of a way that a relationship that you are in changes your behavior?
• Cheap grace – willing to receive from Jesus but not walk with Jesus
  • “Bless my story and plans, but don’t change them”
  • Selective embrace of Jesus’ ethics and commands
  • Busy doing, but we have stopped listening to Jesus
• How is your relationship with Christ two-way?  How does the concept of “cheap grace” help you evaluate your relationship with Christ?
• What is the cost of discipleship for you where you are right now?
• How has Christ transformed your life as you have taken a difficult step forward in discipleship?

-Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

• How does your background inform your understanding of the Christian faith?
• Can you think of an example when you have seen God use a non-Christian to be a person of peace, i.e., someone who is a bridge between his/her community and Christ?
• Can you think of someone who increased your credibility by vouching for you?
• Can you think of a time when you advocated for someone else? Was it risky? What happened in the end?
• When have you walked into a situation that you felt inadequate to do on your own? What happened?
• Can you describe a time when you saw God work in unbelievable ways?
• What keeps you from considering doing great things for God?
• What is your attitude toward the poor? How is that a reflection of your relationship with your finances?

For discussion and reflection:

• What’s the longest period of time you have stayed with someone as a guest or hosted someone as a guest? How was the experience.
• What does it mean to be a person of peace.
• Can you think of someone in your life who is or has been a person of peace?
• How do you see yourself as a person of peace?
• If you define household as those within your sphere of influence, who is in your household?
• If someone was to ask 3 of your friends or co-workers what they think about Christians based on what they have learned from you, what do you think they would say?
• Can you think of an example of when the behavior of a Christian was hurtful and caused you to be distrustful of them?
• What experiences, thoughts, readings, or observations inform your understanding of what it means to be a Christian? Do you think it is an accurate picture?
• Can you think of an example of a coincidence in your life? What happened?
• Can you think of a time when it became clear that God was working in situation in a way that you didn’t expect? What was the outcome?
• Who are those people in your life who are on a path to Christ, but may not be there? What is your role as a friend right now? How are you praying for them?
• Who have you discounted as a candidate for follower of Christ? Do you believe God can change even their heart? Can you commit to praying for them?

1.  The Pharisee desired to see God, yet missed Christ?  How do we miss Christ?  What keeps us from encountering Christ?
2.  Who have you written off as someone who would follow Christ?
3.  How might you be misguided in your devotion?
4.  How have you rejected those who have taken care of you?
5.  Read Colossians 1:27 – What does “Christ in you, the hope of glory” mean to you?
6.  What expectations do you have for what Christian faith looks like that might stand as a barrier to people who are different than you?
7.  How has following Christ brought suffering?  Internal (dying to our selfish desires)?  External (persecution from others)?
8.  What do you need to let go of, to suffer loss of, in order to embrace Christ?  What keeps you from letting go?
9.  Can you think of a time when you were right, but still lost?
10.  When has God used you in your weakness?

-Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion questions for Acts 8:

There are two stories in Sunday’s text, both demonstrating that the gospel is breaking out of the usual boundaries, changing lives in places it was thought lives couldn’t or would be changed.  God never intended the gospel to be limited to a specific group of people or to specific individuals, and he uses any and all situations as an opportunity for his salvation to be proclaimed.

• How does our tendency to spend time with people just like us play out in your life?
• Read Matthew 5:13 – 16. How do you see the call to be salt and light express itself in your own life?
• Can you think of an example where you have been put in a situation by accident, and have been salt and light?
• Can you think of an example where you have intentionally put yourself in a place where you have been salt and light?
• How easy is it to follow a prompting?  Have you ever followed one that you regretted afterward?  Have you ever ignored a prompting and then regretted it?
• How do you see yourself as the hands and feet of Christ?a
• Where do you see signs of the kingdom?  Where is it hard for you to see signs of the kingdom?
• Of the 3 elements of being salt and light – proclamation of Christ, the embodiment of Christ, and the expansion of the Kingdom of God – what most resonates with you?  What least resonates with you?
• What do you see as something you can do to grow in the area of being salt and light?

Discussion Questions for Acts 7:

• When has something seemingly small that you’ve committed to turned into something much bigger?
• How is saying yes to God different than saying yes to the ways of God? How has saying yes to God altered your direction or perspective in life?
• How do we respond when our system of belief is challenged?
• As you reflect on your own life, is there an area where you may be more committed to a system of beliefs, rather than to the gospel? What is at risk by letting go of the system of beliefs? By letting go of the gospel?
• How have you seen the presence of Jesus in the midst of conflict? What has been the end result?
• Can you think of a time in your life when you have felt rejection? What was the nature of the rejection? How did you handle it?
• What role has forgiveness played in your life?

-Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

Discussion Questions:

* After becoming a Christian, how have you seen your life become more complex? How have you responded to that?
* How did Richard define fruitfulness? What is fruitfulness a byproduct of?
* What does fruitfulness look like for your? Who has influenced your fruitfulness by their faith? Can you think of a way that your fruitfulness has influenced others?
* What keeps you from reaching across barriers? What barriers do you see at Bethany?
* What causes you to be over-involved or under-involved? What do you need to do to bring this into balance?
* What do you need to do this week to get off the bench?

]]> http://westseattle.churchbcc.org/sermon-series/awakening-to-our-calling/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Not to work but to wait. Not to do but to be. Not to stay but to go. Not to presume but to pray. The ... Not to work but to wait. Not to do but to be. Not to stay but to go. Not to presume but to pray. The Book of Acts reveals the paradox of planning and submission to the ever shifting winds of the Holy Spirit. We plan based on God's revealed principles, and then we prayerfully look for what God is doing. -Pastor Richard Dahlstrom Sermons,and,Discussion Bethany Community Chruch no No http://westseattle.churchbcc.org/sermon-series/the-first-year-of-the-rest-of-your-life-stewardship/ http://westseattle.churchbcc.org/sermon-series/the-first-year-of-the-rest-of-your-life-stewardship/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:14:10 +0000 http://churchbcc.org/?p=1837 The good news of Jesus is far better than any of us realize. His healing is deeper, His reach farther, His love more profound than any of us really understand. The book of Acts is the story of the very first days of the church, days when the church experienced an ongoing awakening of just how profoundly different life must become because the resurrected Jesus desired to express life through them. This awakening has continued down through the generations, to the very moment. As the early church followed Christ, she found herself continually in uncharted waters, clinging to Christ, who proved to be more than faithful for the adventures. This must be our story too, both individually and collectively as we learn what it means to follow Christ. -Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

There are gifts, surely, that never attain to their potential. They’re given, but never used. The critical thing to see about Christ’s birth is this: God’s gift, if it is to be truly received, will transform us – so that we join with Christ in becoming givers of gifts in this world -Pastor Richard Dahlstrom

When Mary and Jospeh each encountered God through the angel Gabriel, their lives were changed forever.  As we read their accounts, we are invited to risk our comfort by encountering God on His terms.  -Pastor Phil Maulding

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church
the communion of saints
the forgiveness of sins
the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting. Amen

All of these elements stem from our life “in the Spirit” and the reality is that the New Testament has a great deal to say about what it means to “walk in the Spirit” and “be filled with Spirit”. Here are some questions to guide your thinking as consider the far ranging implications of the Holy Spirit when we gather this coming Sunday:

1. It seems that all churches struggle with finding the proper place for the Holy Spirit in their life together. The Spirit is sometimes granted supremacy, as if Jesus were an afterthought, and is other times treated like the little brother of the trinity who has two, much older siblings. Why do we struggle to find this right place?

2. What has your experience with the Holy Spirit been? Can you identify ways in which the Spirit has been clearly helpful in your life?

3. You’ll learn on Sunday that I believe all Christian HAVE the Spirit, but not all Christians are FILLED with the Spirit. Have you ever sought to be filled with the Holy Spirit? What did that look like?

I’ll close by pointing you to this web-site, which tells the story of DL Moody, a man for whom I have the deepest respect and who shares his testimony of being filled with Holy Spirit. Don’t be put off by the retro looking website or the language – some of the best stuff is hidden in the plainest packages! Moody basically said that he’d served God for years without being filled with the Holy Spirit, but that when he was finally filled with the Holy Spirit, it made all the difference. Yes – that’s the deal for me too. I’ve not always remained filled with the Holy Spirit, because, as I’ll share next week, I’m a firm believer that if I’m holding on to some sins, or refusing to go into places God wants to take my heart, the Holy Spirit is sort of bound up, unable to express life through me. But when that Spirit is free… indeed it does make all the difference. Moody said that he wouldn’t trade this being filled with the Spirit for all the money in the world. Neither would I.

If this isn’t something you’re confident you’ve known in your life, I’m hoping to have some material available this Sunday to help you pray through this matter. We’ll be talking about other things too, as we ponder what it means to live, with all who have gone before us down through centuries, as a people committed not only to declaring, but to living, the Apostle’s Creed.

Setting aside the discussion about our propensity to pick and choose which parts of God to believe in based on which parts we find appealing, there are some careful considerations to make about God as the judge:

1. Judgment is about moving the story of God’s redemptive plan forward by curbing, containing, or destroying evil. The goal is seen in Ephesians 1:10-11 where we learn that history is moving to Christ’s life filling all things. This will require the subduing of all that refuses to be filled, and this subduing is judgment. We say we don’t like judgment, but we really do, when understood in this light. We like it when ‘cancer’ is subdued so that it doesn’t spread. Most people were happy when the holocaust ended. We like it when child molesters are contained so that they can no longer inflict their damage on young lives. So, before we get too bothered by the notion of God as a judge, perhaps we’d better consider the reality that we really do look forward to the containment of death, evil, and suffering. Such containment is judgment. Perhaps the best being in the universe to orchestrate that containment is God!

2. Judgment is therefore motivated by both love and justice – Containment of evil is an act of love and justice for the whole of creation, eventuating in blessing and fullness of life for all who are willing to receive it.

In enlightened days like these, it’s politically correct, perhaps even spiritually correct to avoid any discussion about judgment, to believe that all roads lead to the pot of spiritual gold at the end of rainbow. But this is not only a contradiction to the Bible, it’s a contradiction to the real world, where evil things happen at the hands of people. So here are some things to ponder:

1. Are we resistant to the idea of God as the judge? Why or why not?

2. Is judgment similar to discipline?

3. Share a time when discipline are judgment served a redemptive purpose in your life.

4. What are the dangers of the doctrine of judgment and how can we avoid them?

Jesus rose again from the dead.  The topic is more timely than we might first think, because a healthy view of Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead helps us escape some of the prevailing destructive world views that course through the veins of history. Which ones?I Corinthians 15:3-8 / 20-28

1) the notion that we will eventually evolve to a state of collective perfection. This is a difficult view to own with much conviction if one looks at history for the reality is that, while we’ve evolved in some area (consider the 109 year old African American woman who voted last night – she is testimony to how far our country has come), there are countless areas where darkness continues to grow. Children continue to die of treatable diseases. Should I mention Darfur? Rwanda? Congo? The Middle-East? Cancer? Environmental degradation? How long until we reach the state where, through our own powers of education and value structures, we achieve perfect justice? Apart from Christ, never, that’s when, because the reality of human evil is rooted deeply in our individual and collective humanity.

2) the last sentence in point one is the seedbed for a 2nd, equally grievous error: our disengagement from this world as we passively wait for a future rescue by Jesus. Such a faith is not only stripped of all power and relevance for most of the world, it’s also rooted in a grave misunderstanding of what Jesus had to say about his kingdom. Nevertheless, being certain that we’re not “left-behind” and trying hard to get our neighbors in the lifeboat too remains a high priority for many who claim the name of Christ.

In contrast to both of these views, the early church declared, not a future kingdom of God someday when Jesus returns, but a kingdom present in seed form, so that visible outposts of justice, hope, peace, and generosity could be here on the earth right now because Christ’s resurrected body is here on the earth right now. And yet, mysteriously, though He’s here, it’s equally true that He is yet to come, and that only when He comes in fullness will the reign of Christ be full and complete. On that day, all enemies will be conquered, and all the universe shot through with the glory of God. This “now” and “not yet” mystery is at the core of the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ. It roots us in a deep commitment to the present while equally calling us to a confident hope in Christ final triumph. Learning to live in this space is deeply connected to my belief in the bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus, as we’ll see this Sunday.

1. If you believe that Jesus rose from the dead, is your belief rooted more in the right side, or left side of your brain (right = subjective, emotive) (left = scientific, objective)

2. Would Christianity have any value if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead? Why or why not?

3. How do you relate Jesus’ resurrection to your thoughts at funerals? How does this resurrection affect your politics?

1) there is both good and evil in the universe
2) evil will not be forever tolerated

Text: Ephesians 4:710
Date: November 2, 2008

Of course, there’s much more to the gospel than these two statements, and when the gospel is reduced to these two statements, we end up in some sort of fear based approach to God, exactly the opposite of what we’re invited to enjoy.

But we make a severe mistake when we try to erase those two important points because they too are part of the good news. I quote CS Lewis at length in order to make the point:

Blake wrote, “The marriage of heaven and hell”…in some sense or other the attempt to make that marriage is perennial. The attempt is based on the belief that reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable ‘either-or’; that, granted skill and patience,and time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found; that mere development or adjustment or refinement will somehow turn evil into good without being called on for a final and total rejection of anything we should like to retain. This belief I take to be a disastrous error.

Lewis goes on to declare the reality of hell, and the reality that those who are there, are there by their own choosing, not because an angry God condemned them to this against their will. As I’ll share on Sunday, this is in keeping with what the Bible teaches hell to be, and what the Bible has to say about God’s judgment.

Hell is the English word we use to describe several different things in the Bible: the grave, the abode of the departed, and the lake of fire are all referred to by the same word ‘hell’ in English, though they’re different words in Hebrew and Greek. So when the creed says, “he descended into hell” there are lots of questions about ‘which hell’ is meant: the grave? the place of departed souls? the lake of fire? Commentators and scholars argue about it. I’m not sure it matters.

The more important matter, by far, is to note the depth of Jesus sacrifice and love for us. Philippians 2 speaks of this, and Ephesians 4:7-10 speaks of Jesus ascent being tied, of course, to His descent into ‘the lower parts of the earth.’ Here are some questions to spark your thinking as we look at Jesus, hell, and our callings to follow Him -

1) Tim Keller’s excellent book: “A Reason for God” talks about the doctrine of hell as being one of the more offensive points for many who are considering the faith. Keller’s reply is that if God didn’t intervene and confine all evil to some specific place, God’s intent for the universe as a place filled with life and beuaty would never be realized. Furthere, he’d argue, like Lewis, that God doesn’t send people to hell; people choose hell because of their condition. Read the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 and share your own thoughts about this.

2) Whatever you think of hell, most of you would agree that hell is hell to the extent that it is the absence of God. By this definition, Jesus experienced hell because He experienced the absence of God when he died on the cross. Read Philippians 2 and ponder how Jesus life intersects with the convential wisdom we have today about putting limits on our compassion (a word which means ‘to suffer with’). If Jesus had learned the language of limits, would He have continued to the cross?

3) Based on your answer in #2 above, ponder the reality that we’re asked, in Philippians 2, to empty ourselves in a like manner as Jesus did, following in His example. What does this mean? Can you share an experience of this in your own life? What were the results?

We need to ponder the thought that Jesus carried all the guild, all the absence of God, and that these were the judgments of God poured out on one who absorbed them willingly so that we’d be able to become not only forgiven, but transformed. But our way of transformation is no different than His – we ascend by descending, we gain by giving away, we really live by being the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. Let’s ponder that as we prepare for the Lord’s table this Sunday.

Study notes for: October 26th sermon.
Text: John 18:28-19:16

My question this coming Sunday is this: If Jesus is so wildly popular, why did everyone, religious and secular, patriotic and rebellious, from the right and left alike, conspire to kill the man? What was it about this person that made His death a necessity from the perspectives of such wildly diverse people as Romans and Jews?

The second question: What’s the value of Jesus death? What was gained by it? To understand the framework for this question, you might want to pour yourself a cup of coffee and take a look at the atonement theories that have been cast by theologians down through the ages. If you’re bored with that, just read I John 2:1-3 and II Corinthians 5:21.

1) According to these two passages, what’s the value of Jesus death?
2) What does Paul mean in Romans 6 when he says that we died with Christ? What does this look like in real life?
3) When you think about Jesus death, are you supposed to be glad that he died for you, sad that he suffered so much, intent of being willing to suffer more for him? What is response as you recall the death of Christ through the Lord’s Table and Baptism?

Now…on to the reasons people killed Jesus -

1) Jesus proclaimed a different kingdom and told his followers that, while they should ‘render unto Ceasar…” the reality is that their loyalty to Christ’s reign supercedes any other kingdom. Can you think of Christians who’ve paid a price in America for placing their loyalty to Christ above that of country? What would that look like here?

2) Jesus’ teaching was, eventually, an offense to everyone – but in His physical absence, the church has the luxury of re-interpreting His sayings, and thus runs the risk of lessening both the offense and impact of the gospel. If Jesus were to walk among your church today, what might He tell us that we’re misrepresenting? Please use the scriptures to support your thoughts.

Discussion questions:

1. What are some of the costs that came to Mary because of the timing and manner of her pregnancy? What are some of the costs that came to her by virtue of being Jesus’ mother?
2. In spite of all the costs and challenges, Mary’s response is one of trust and availability, resulting in her outpouring of praise for the privilege of being chosen to carry Christ’s life. Why do you think she saw her out of wedlock pregnancy as a gift from God, rather than a bother? What in her attitude is instructive for us today?
3. Name a time when the presence of Jesus in your life has been disruptive. What was your initial response? Why?
4. In what area of life are you longing for God’s fruit to be seen? Is there an area where you’re resisting, hesitant to allow Christ’s birth for fear of what it will mean? Pray for one another about these things.

Love and community within the Trinity are both the source of all intimacy, and the example. The love and lordship of Jesus are central to our abundance and life.

Discussion Questions

1. The notion of “simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” can be hard to define. What examples, either personally, or through others, can you share that would help others understand how this devotion to Christ is practiced? What are your barriers to maintaining this devotion?
2. “Christ” means Messiah, which means the One on whom Israel has pinned her hopes. Yet the reality is that Jesus was overwhelmingly rejected as Messiah by the very people who knew their bibles the best. “He came to His own, and His own received Him not.” Why was He rejected? Is there a danger that we too might reject the true Jesus, and His true teaching, while thinking, like the religious leaders of Jesus day, that we’re standing on the moral high ground? What is the best protection against this happening?
3. Saying “Jesus is Lord” could get you killed in the early church, because it meant that you had a higher loyalty than the state. Some material that might help you understand the historical significance of this can be found here. Do you agree or disagree with this article’s notions regarding Lordship, as it applies to America? Why or why not? Does the author’s article make enough provision for our calling to maintain a measure of involvement with, and prayer for, our nation and its leaders?
4. People often say, “I like Jesus – it’s the church I can’t stand.” If Jesus is so wildly popular today, what do you think it was about His life that got Him killed in the first place?
5. The outgrowth of true devotion to Jesus as Messiah, Lover, and Lord is overwhelmingly positive, as seen in the Acts narrative, and the lives of the saints. Which of these three elements are most challenging for the church today? How about you personally?

Discussion Questions

1. Churches often fall out of balance with respect to their relationship with the physical and spiritual realms. It’s easy to emphasize one at the expense of the other. What is most tempting for you to emphasize, body or spirit? Why?
2. Share a time when you encountered God’s revelation through creation (music, art, nature)?
3. The global church is divided about the subject of ‘the image of God’ in fallen people. Some think that our image bearing capacity was completely lost through the fall in Genesis 3, basing their conviction on passages such as Psalm 51:5, and Romans 3:11-13. Others believe that image of God was marred through the fall but not lost completely based on passages like Psalm 8 and Genesis 9:6. What do you think? Why? What implications does this have on your life?
4. Holding the tension of living a glorious, yet fallen world can be difficult. Some of us live in denial of the fall by turning up the music, and medicating the pain, while others wallow in the fall, becoming dark and cynical. Talk about this tension in your life, and how you deal with it.
5. Our calling as ‘joint heirs’ with Christ (see last week, or listen to the podcast) means that we have responsibilities as stewards of the earth. What should be our goal as stewards? How do stewardship issues compare in importance with evangelism?

Discussion Questions

1. What adjectives describe your relationship with your father?
2. How easily do those adjectives transfer over to your relationship with God?
3. Is it easier for you to think of God as deeply personal, or as all powerful? Why?
4. What helps you build trust in God when things don’t turn out as you’d hoped, or prayed for?
5. What kind of elements in one’s life contribute to building our relationships between children and parents? Do any of these carry over into building our relationship with God?
6. What do you to in order to overcome your tendencies to disengage from relationships: with others? with God?

One of the ways of staying in the mainstream of Christian orthodoxy is to study the Bible well- but this can be tricky, because the Bible can be easily misused to justify nearly anything, including genocide, war, greed, and white supremacy. We need more than bible study: we need to place ourselves in the framework of church history. Creeds offer that to us.

Discussion Questions:

• What’s your response to the charge that “creeds are divisive”. Do you agree or disagree? Why not, instead, “imagine no religion” as the Beatles did?
• In the past, when scientific methods held absolute sway in the Western World, people were less willing to hold any convictions requiring faith. With the unraveling of scientific certainty, there’s now a general sense among all people that faith is required in order to hold any conviction, whether concerning the resurrection or the laws of aerodynamics. What is the relationship of faith and evidence in your convictions regarding Jesus? What kind of evidence do you respond to?
• If you buy a certain car, you suddenly see that car everywhere. The Bible seems to teach that the same dynamic comes into play with God. Those who believe God is active in history see God’s activity; others don’t.Is such ‘seeing’ wishful thinking or are the skeptics blind?
• The word “belief” must be taken to mean more than mental ascent.Our culture is filled with examples of presuming that intent is adequate.We ‘intend’ to exercise.We ‘intend’ to begin saving.We ‘intend’ to give, serve, reconcile. Yet, it’s often the case that intention never comes to the fruition of real action.Why is this? What can be done to help with intentions?
• The last point of the sermon is that the object of our faith is more important than the quantity of faith.Agree or disagree? What are some common false objects of faith in our culture, in the church, in your life?