Re: Think 08-24-2008

This is our Sunday Re: Think, an opportunity for us to continue to think on the events of last Sunday.

Continuing our study in Colossians we looked at what it means to Be Who we are in Christ.  Specifically we looked at Colossians 1:9-14.  We noted that being who we are in Christ means: 1) Being Filled with the Knowledge of God; 2) Walking Worthy of the Lord; and 3) Remembering what Happened.

Being filled with the knowledge of God carries with it the idea of overflowing or bursting forth with the knowlege of God.  When we come into a relationship with Christ, our desires begin to change.  We begin to desire the knowledge of God, to grow in our understanding of who He is; His character and nature, and consequently our lives begin to more accuratley reflect this understanding, which leads to walking worthy of the Lord.

When we walk worthy of the Lord we begin to bear fruit.  Yet, this fruit is not bore in order to gain approval from God, but rather because we have already been approved!  We need to get away from the false idea that our relationship with God is based on performance.  THIS IS NOT GRACE! As I have heard Darrin Patrick so eloquently preach,

Christianity is not spelled D-O, but D-O-N-E.

We don’t work for heaven, but rather in light of it.  It is what motivates our mission.

Finally, being who we are means we remember what happend.  We were rescued, set free, transfered from the kingdom of darkness, into the Kingdom of Christ with the the payoff being redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

In what ways does this transform our understanding of who we are in Christ?  How can we practically walk worthy this week?

Re: Think 08-17-2008

This is our Sunday Re: Think; an opportunity for us to continue to think on the events of last Sunday.

Last Sunday we began to dig into Paul’s letter to the Colossian Church. We looked primarily at 3 Marks of the Real Gospel. Drawing from Colossians 1:3-8 we saw first that the Gospel is Visible; secondly the Gospel is Visual; and finally, the Gospel is Viral.

In all of these we noted that it is essential we know who God is in Christ, His Character, His Nature. This will inform and influence who we are. As Francis Chan has said:

The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is we have an inaccurate view of God

Battling an inaccurate view of God was not only a constant war the Colossians faced, but one we do today as well. Unless we seek to dive fully into the person and work of Christ, and derive our identity from there, we are in danger of creating a freak God we worship instead of the One True God as revealed in the Bible. In order to help combat this danger, Paul zero’s in on 3 Marks of the True Gospel.

Paul tells the Colossian church that he has heard of their faith in Christ and Love for the Saints. These are visible marks of the true Gospel. If we are embracing a true Gospel, exemplified by faith in Christ and love for the saints, and not one of a counterfeit nature it will be visible to the outside world.

The Visual aspect reminds us that the true Gospel has Heaven as its ultimate goal. We saw that having heaven as our ultimate goal in no way means we are so heavenly minded to be of no earthly good, but rather the infatuation we have for our future life motivates our mission today. As John Piper reminded us, it is not heavenlimindedness that binds the hands of love, but worldlimindedness. A needed reminder indeed.

Finally, a true Gospel is one that is Viral. It is marked by the bearing of fruit in the life of the believer and the spreading all over the world. As the Gospel takes root in our lives it will bear fruit and through us God will transform the whole world with the power of the Gospel. This is the message of the book of Acts and should be the mission of our lives as well.

How should faith in Christ and Love for the Saints be more visible in our lives? What are some practical ways we can see this Gospel bear fruit and spread all over the world?

Re: Think 08-10-2008

This is our Sunday Re: Think an opportunity for us to continue to think about the events of last Sunday.

This is coming a bit late, it being Friday and all. I’m still trying to find my groove as far as Sermon Prep, blog attention and the like is concerned. Next weeks Re: should come much sooner, hopefully on Monday.

Last Sunday we opened our series on Colossians and discussed in detail; who Paul is, what the Colossian church is facing, and who we are in light of the Gospel.

To begin with we discussed the incredible story of Lopez Lomong. We spoke of how his incredible journey illustrates what it means to be given new life and the difference it makes. For the Apostle Paul new life meant a radical change as the literal scales of unbelief fell from his eyes and he transformed into the missionary church planter extraordinaire, writer of the majority of the New Testament. Such is the unbelievable power of the Gospel of Christ.

In addition we spoke briefly of the Colossian church and their battle against the heresies of adding to the Gospel.

It is important to remember that the Gospel is (Jesus + Nothing). Anytime we heap something else on the Gospel, whether it be rules or experience, as the Colossian church was apt to do, we end up with a freak God we worship and not the God of th Bible.

Finally we began discussing who we are as believers, those who are found, “In Christ”. It is in this vein we will spend the majority of the rest of our time in Colossians coming more and more to understand what it means to be found in Christ.

A couple of questions: How has your life been transformed by the Power of the Gospel? What does it mean to be found in Christ?

Serve Week Revisted

Well, my intent was to post a continuous stream of rockin’ pictures and commentary from our week of work on the De Soto Youth Ministries facility, but what is it they say about “the best laid plans of mice and men…” They often go awry.

Beginning at 5:30 every morning and putting in at least 10-12 hours, not to mention one non-intentional trip through the roof and a bloodied knee did this would be blogger in and now one week removed we finally have a rap up and some pictures to speak of.

I have to say that Pat Graham is one hard working hombre, and the rest of the team from Southside Community Church did not disappoint. Ripping 4 layers of shingles off a nearly 100 year old building is no small feat, especially considering the gallons of paint that were put to use on the inside of the facility.

More than the physical work that was accomplished, (even though it is substantial), the Spiritual work done cannot be underestimated. Prayer walking took place first thing Monday Morning and throughout the week I know relationships were built within the community that will bear fruit for years to come.

Thanks again to Pat and his group, not to mention De Soto Pizza Hut and De Soto Sonic for providing lunch free of charge for two of the four days of work. The Kansas City Kansas Baptist Association provided lunch one other day and Mr. Goodcents of De Soto gave us 50% our entire order one other day.

Our friend Leann Sulzen from the De Soto Explorer also came and wrote another dynamite article about the work. Our hope is that this project is the first of many to come in service to our awesome community.

Serve Week 1.0

Today is the beginning of Serve Week here in De Soto. Monday-Thursday we will be working to replace a portion of the roof on the De Soto Youth Ministries (DYM) building as well as painting and cleaning on the inside of the facility. DYM has been so gracious, allowing us to meet and me to office there, free of charge and this is our way of giving back to them in a tangible way.

While this is the first week of service for De Soto Community Church, we couldn’t have done it without a mission team from Southside Community Church in Paragould, Arkansas coming to lend a hand. We are pumped for Pat and his group to be on site and are looking forward to the week of head. Check back here for pictures and updates throughout the week.

I’d hoped to begin writing on our core values in depth soon, yet shingles and and paint are priority this week. Next week looks more promising.

Re: Think 07-13-2008

This is our Sunday Re: Think; an opportunity for us to continue to think about the events of last Sunday.

This past Sunday we spoke about The Gospel, noting that the word Gospel itself means “good news”. “The Gospel” is a word that appears over 70 times in the New Testament with the form of “to preach the Gospel” appearing over 50. With that in mind we can see “The Good News” is something very important to God.

We noted that while The Gospel is in fact “Good News” much confusion abounds today about what exactly that Good News really is.

Much of what passes for the Gospel in our churches today, is not really good news at all, but rather possibly good things that are masquerading as the Gospel. You see my friends, the Gospel is not Tolerance, Self Help, Safety and Security, Moralism, Experience, works, Independence, or even saying a prayer

The Gospel is Repentance and Faith, Salvation, Forgiveness, Healing, Sight, Eternity, Relationship, True Joy, Real Life, Dependence , Living a life. In short, the Gospel is the Good News of the Glory of Christ

While there are many ways in which the Gospel is the Good News of the Glory of Christ, we directed our attention primarily to three key ideas. The Gospel is the Good News of the Glory of Christ because:

* Christ is the Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy Concerning the Messiah

* Christ is the Conqueror of Sin and Death

* Christ is our Advocate and Model for living

We also saw that in the Suffering Servant Ministry of Jesus He met real human need. He literally did heal the sick. He really did cleanse the Leper and He really did give sight to the Blind. In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus proclaimed His ministry in the Spirit of Isaiah 61 as such:

The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Christ came to heal the sick, cleanse the leper, give sight to the blind and proclaim that in His coming the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, we are ambassadors for Christ, urging and pleading with those we encounter to be reconciled to the One who paid our sin debt. This is the The Good News of the Glory of Christ.

In what ways can we practically take the Good News of the Glory of Christ to our friends and Neighbors? If we now properly understand what “The Gospel” is how does that transform the way we live, work and act?

Values 1.2

Yesterday we began talking about what “Becoming an Expression of Christ in Community” really means and today we continue by covering the purpose of becoming that expression, namely “transforming our neighborhood and the world.”

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He sent the disciples to all nations, all people groups, a pretty daunting task for the early church that continues with us today. Yet, even though the impetus for mission was given in Matthew, namely to make disciples, the strategy was given over in Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

While this can be understood to be a step by step undertaking, ie. beginning with Jerusalem and then to Judea, (in our case, De Soto, then Johnson County), etc. It is my contention that we seek to reach our Jerusalem and Judea while also reaching to the ends of the earth as well. It seems as if many churches easily slide to one extreme or the other. Either they are actively involved in local community ministry while doing little worldwide other than giving money, or they are in constant pursuit of the next foreign mission opportunity at the expense of making a sizable difference in the communities in which they have been planted.

Rather than being in opposition to one another, local and global impact go hand and hand. As we seek to transform our neighborhood, it is imperative that we also realize our global citizenship and responsibility to our “neighbors” around the globe. Bob Roberts in his book Transformation calls this speaks volumes about what he calls “glocalization” and our responsibility as members of this global neighborhood.

Transforming our neighborhood in De Soto can take on many forms. Doing yard work for a neighbor, watching kids for that single mom you know or even sacrificially giving so some others can have Thanksgiving and Christmas are good places to start. In all of these, our goal is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ by performing practical acts of service.

What are some other ways we can be a transforming presence in our community?

Values 1.1

Becoming an Expression of Christ in Community to Transform our Neighborhood and the World.

As followers of Jesus Christ we were all given the same mission. That mission is found in Matthew 28:18-20 where Jesus said:

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.

If all Christians were given the same mission, then what is the need for a separate mission statement? Good question. While the mission of all followers of Christ is the same, the way that mission expresses itself or is lived out changes depending on where we find ourselves. People speak different languages, are part of different cultures, have different histories, and all of these factors change the way we do ministry. One has to look no further than chapter 17 of Acts to see how Paul managed these differences in his day. While in the synagogue, Paul reasoned with those from a predominantly Jewish background from their own book, The Torah, yet when in Athens, Paul draws from the popular Philosophers and Poets of his day to point people to the Messiah.

While we may be the better part of 2000 years removed from Paul’s work among those in Athens, our mission in De Soto remains the same. To make disciples of all people, including the residents of De Soto. So, what does all of this mean?

Think about what it means to be “An Expression of Christ in Community”. In other words, what does it look like when Jesus moves into a neighborhood? Who’s needs are met, who is radically transformed? The writer of the book of John put it like this, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Literally meaning, God moved into the neighborhood. At De Soto Community Church we want to be that expression of God moving into the neighborhood. We want to be part of what Christ is doing in this world, “declaring the year of the Lord’s favor, setting the captives free, giving a cup of cold water, looking after orphans and widows and those in distress.

We chose “Becoming” an Expression, because we realize this to be an ongoing work, one that will not find completion this side of eternity. Our hope is that as we are becoming that Expression of Christ, lives will be transformed by the Power of God.

Tomorrow we will continue with a look at the second half “…to transform our neighborhood and the world”

Values 1

Over the next couple days I will be covering in more depth what we value at De Soto Community Church. For a quick and dirty synopsis, you can review “Why We Exist”

It is essential as we seek to Become an Expression of Christ in Community that we keep in the forefront what that actually looks like practically. Tomorrow I will begin this series with an explanation of our mission statement:

Becoming an Expression of Christ in Community to Transform our Neighborhood and the World

The System is Down

To some of you this may not be “new” news. If you have tried to phone in the past week or so and have encountered a busy signal, I apologize. For some reason our phone here at home has been out of whack and I have been unable to get the problem remedied in a timely manner. (oddly enough, the internet still is working though…) So, until further ado, please email me.

Thanks,

Matt

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Becoming an Expression of Christ in Community to Transform our Neighborhood and the World.

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