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The Apostles’ Teaching Sermon Manuscript

NOTE: these are the notes I use to preach from, please listen to the message on our YouTube channel to hear the whole sermon.
The Apostles’ Teaching

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

-Why do we spend so much of our weekly gathering listening to me talk? And what am I trying to do as I read, study, and pray each week for this?

-One time heard someone say imagine every week is finals week!

-But this is what God has called, equipped and gifted me to pursue, just like every one of you should have things that God has called, equipped, and gifted you to do.

-The very first NT sermon is in Acts 2, an exposition of Joel 2

-Early apostles in Acts 6 appoint the first deacons so they could be devoted to “prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Serving as a job description of pastors/elders moving forward

-What we try to do here every week is exposit the text in front of us. Walking through a passage of Scripture word by word and explaining what it means, how that relates to us today, and how we should live in response to that word.

-J.I. Packer defined preaching this way: “Christian preaching is the event of God himself bringing to an audience a Bible-based, Christ-related, life-impacting message of instruction and direction through the words of a spokesperson.” 

-John Stott similarly said “To preach is to open up the inspired text with such faithfulness and sensitivity that God’s voice is heard and God’s people obey Him.”

-What’s amazing is week after week of hearing God’s Word spoken and exposited (add details as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way) is we become changed people. We better learn how to ready and apply God’s Word to our lives! It is a common means of grace.

-The Bible is dripping through our whole service: the songs we sing, the verses read, the prayers prayed need to be so saturated in God’s Word that if they were a towel what you would wring out is the Bible

READ
PRAY

  1. The Gospel Is Central (1-7)

-We took a look at the gospel message in quite a bit of detail my first Sunday here, but if you haven’t figured out it’s a pretty big theme in the Bible, so let’s take a look at all the gospel entails.

-Transliteration of the Greek word euoneglion literally means good news.

-Also where we get the modern word “evangelical” so evangelicals are gospel people, people who believe in the Good News (not how newspapers define)

-Most helpful way I’ve found (and the way I talk) is using 4 words: God, man, Christ, response. 

God the righteous creator, man the sinner, Jesus Christ the Savior, Response – faith and repentance

-The Gospel in the NT

-proclamation (Matt. 4:23 – “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.)

-kingdom (Matt. 24:14 – “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.)

-Centers on Jesus (Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.)

-Demands response (Acts 15:7 “And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.)

-Powerful (Rom. 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.)

-Primary use of gospel in the NT is Paul, which is why we’ll be looking at a passage he wrote. 

  1. Past, Present, Future (1-2)

-One of my favorite quotes about the gospel from Tim Keller: “We never “get beyond the gospel” in our Christian life to something more “advanced.” The gospel is not the first “step” in a “stairway” of truths, rather, it is more like the “hub” in a “wheel” of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A-Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we make progress in the kingdom.”

-Think of a wheel. The hub is connected to every other piece of that wheel. The gospel is meant to be the center point of our lives, from which we lead into every other area of our lives.

-Struggling in your marriage? Look to the gospel. Struggling at work? Look to the gospel. Struggling as a parent? Look to the gospel. I realize this sounds simplistic, so bear with me as we work this out here.

-This is exactly what Paul is saying in these first 2 vss. 

-First thing we see is how the gospel contradicts the primary cultural ideas.

-“I would remind you” is gnosis in the Greek. “I would bring to mind” Gnosticism was an early heresy that you needed “secret wisdom/knowledge” to be in the “inside”

-While the Corinthians claimed this secret knowledge, Paul reminds them what’s really true. 

-Our world today has competing cultural ideas. Evangelism in a Skeptical World pgs. 40-41

-Second thing is the need for this gospel to be received.

-Past tense. Sometime in the past you had to believe this. There is a moment in time where the Spirit awakens you, brings you from death into life.

-Third, this gospel IN WHICH you stand

-Present tense. It’s not enough to look back fondly on your conversion and get on with your life as if it doesn’t matter.

-Fourth, the gospel is the means by which you are BEING saved.

-In the future. Gospel is means of salvation, AND sanctification. (define)

-Lastly, is the conditional “if”

-You must hold fast. Seems to be a theme last week and this week! 

-We cling to the gospel message itself. That Jesus died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he rose again.

-Unless you were believing in the wrong thing!

-This gospel message affects past, our present, and out future. 

-Martin Luther “It (the gospel) is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consists. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.”

-As we focus on the gospel we continually behold, set our gaze on, and become more like the risen Christ.

-Paul focuses on this idea in 2 Cor. 3:18 “We all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

-This past, present, and future aspect of the gospel means our image is supposed to day by day look more and more like Jesus.

-It’s like the beast from Beauty & The Beast. He was hideous to look at, refused to even look at his image in the mirror, God slowly softens our beast features to look more like Him.

-The gospel is therefore the primary thing we need to be fixated upon, individually and corporately.

  • First Importance (3-7)

“Although everything in the Bible is important, not everything is equally important. Some doctrines are more important than others. The gospel is most important.” (ESV Expositors Commentary)

-Theological triage (major on the majors, minor on the minors)

–Originally coined by Dr. Al Mohler, picked up more recently by Gavin Ortlund Finding the Right Hills to Die On

-Hospital analogy

-Way of prioritizing the most important theological issues. 

-This is really important for us to understand, because generally where the disagreements comes with people is over the third order issues. Some examples:

–First – Jesus being fully God and fully man, virgin birth, empty tomb

–Second – baptism, complementarianism, spiritual gifts

–Third – age of the earth, views about the end times, Calvinism/Arminianism 

         Evangelical Convictions “Though all Evangelical Christians are unity in the conviction that God is the Creator of all things, they have been divided over how God created – how long it took and what process he may have used.” (33)

-Some things aren’t even on this list that I’ve been told are reasons people left a church – style of music, what clothes should the pastor wear, translation of the Bible, politics 

-People will have different issues that they’ll put in different spheres of importance.

-For myself, I’ve come to some strong conclusions about baptism, but the EFCA has it as a third level issue. You may have issues that you’d put as a level 2 that I wouldn’t put there, that’s ok!

-Fundamentalism makes everything an essential, “progressive” or liberal leaning Christians put everything as optional.

-When you come into an area of disagreement with someone, it’s vital to (just like Paul did here) differentiate between that which is PRIMARY and that which is not.

-“In essentials unity; in non-essentials charity; in all things, Jesus Christ.” Rupertus Meldenius (17th Cent)

-As we have discussions/disagreements about theology, humility is crucial. “If maintaining the unity of the body of Christ is not costing you anything – if it doesn’t hurt – then you probably are not adjusting enough…The unity of the church was so valuable to Jesus that he died for it. If we care about sound theology, let us care about unity as well.” (Ortlund, Hills, 150)

-Gospel believers – the fact that there are “first importance” doctrines must lead us to humility. I don’t feel the need to defend every tiny piece of by theological beliefs, that which is true will stand the test of time! As a professor at seminary often said, we should attack ideas (ideas have consequences, bad ideas have victims) not people.

-“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” -Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Russian)

-The gospel then serves as the hub of the wheel, the primary way of viewing everything we see around us. 

-C.S. Lewis “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

-This section is thought to be an early church creed, with some of Paul’s comments thrown in.

-Attesting to the historical reliability of the risen Christ. Most scholars think this creed was written within months of Jesus’ resurrection. Even when Paul is writing this letter, most of the people who saw Jesus after his resurrection are still living.

-Brothers and sisters – we have a similar testimony. Jesus has appeared to us in some way through the testimony or witness of someone who loved us enough to tell us about Jesus, and then to live out the truth of what they were telling you.

-If we believe in the Apostles’ Teaching (the gospel) then we need to be intentional about sharing that truth with others, about living in such a way that others will see glimpses of Jesus in you.

-Glimpses. Not perfectly, we’re poor reflections of him, at least on this side of heaven. One author said we need to hold our mirrors at 45% – angled up to heaven!

-Last year Barna released a statistic that said 47% of Christian Millennials think evangelism is wrong. Statistics can be misleading, since Barna also says that 95-97% of all Christians believe that part of their faith means being a witness about Jesus, and the way questions are worded is always tricky because people project their own definitions.

-But what is implied by this list of people who had seen Jesus was Paul exhorting the church at Corinth to go talk to them if they didn’t believe! The single most important thing is getting Jesus right. 

-“If Christ is risen – then nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen – then nothing else matters.” (Jaroslav Pelikan – Yale professor) 

– I was reminded this week about an author named Randy Alcorn who knows the that nothing but Christ matters.

-1990 was peacefully protesting outside an abortion clinic, was arrested, placed in prison, then sued by the abortion clinic for 8.2 million dollars. He resigned from the church he was working at, was already giving away the royalties from his book, and spent 20 years making minimum wage. In that time, he gave away over $8.2 million from his royalties to various charities, ministries and organizations that are continuing to have gospel impact throughout the world. Don’t underestimate what God can do through you being faithful! 

-We need to keep Christ as the most important thing in all our lives! 

  • The Gospel Is Personal (8-11)

-After exhorting the church to keep the focus on the gospel, Paul then talks about how the gospel transformed him personally.

  1. The Last Apostle (8-9)

-One of those fun theological debates people have – does the office of “apostle” continue today?

-Because of this text, I say no. Vs. 8 says this is the “last of all” and apostles are those who were eyewitnesses to the risen Christ. Gifted to begin the early church, write down God’s truth, and usher in the new era of history.

-Crazy that the “least” of the apostles wrote half the NT. God has a tendency to use “the least of these”

-Paul acknowledges his past, his persecution against Jesus’ bride, yet still realizes God has uniquely called and gifted him to carry out the gospel message.

-That’s where all of us are. If you do the math, none of us are good enough to measure up to God’s holy, perfect, righteous standard. Remember the plumbline illustration from Amos? 

-The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Because the tomb is empty there is no least or greatest, we’re all one, we’re all together in Christ. What other religion offers a way for everyone to be in the same place??

  • God’s Grace (10-11)

-Even though Paul was the least of the apostles, he realized that God’s grace changed everything. 

-But is one of the most important words in the Bible!

-I’ll be honest, this used to be one of my favorite verses, the Popeye verse! I yam what I yam and dats what I yam! 

-God’s grace is enough to change even the most ardent persecutor of the church to the most ardent discipler in the church.

-God’s grace is never wasted, as God’s grace was extended to Paul he was then able to work harder than any other apostle to share the gospel message with the world. 

-Just as you might be tempted to think he’s pounding his chest, Paul quickly jumps back to remind that it wasn’t him working, it was God’s grace working itself out in him.

-This is true of us too! God’s grace affects us too. God’s grace saves us and then begins to transform us. So just as Paul was placed at a specific time and place (even though he considers himself “untimely born”) you and me are here for this time and place for a reason. 

-The last sentence tells us the reason. We preach, you believe. 

–1 Cor. 3:4-7 “For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

-By keeping the Apostles’ Teaching (the gospel) the first importance, it will allow us to see God getting the growth.

-Doesn’t mean we let go and let God, “I planted, Apollos watered.” We still have a job to do! That is being the church! We need to be committed, we need to be here to support and encourage each other, we need to be praying for each other, we need to love each other, and we need to do all those things because the gospel is of first importance. The gospel transforms us day by day into the image of God.

-They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers.

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by mikethestrand on May 23, 2021  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Church, Life, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on May 23, 2021

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2021/05/23/the-apostles-teaching-sermon-manuscript/

We’re Commanded To – Sermon Manuscript

We’re Commanded To

Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 10:19-25

NOTE: These are the notes I use to preach from on Sunday morning. If you want to listen to the sermon to get a better context, please visit our YouTube page.

-Coming out of a unique season of life for many of us. COVID interrupted our routines, our jobs, our churches, our friendships. In short, the past year has taught a completely new way of life for many of us!

-While I’m super thankful for the online technology that has allowed us to “meet” it’s not quite the same

-Time at TGC a few weeks ago

-The past 14 months have brought up a bunch of questions about the church, the purpose of meeting, what we emphasize, what we focus on, HOW we go about our corporate worship gatherings, what is important/essential

-This is really getting to the question of: what is the purpose of the church? Why are we here? Everyone’s got thoughts/opinions/ideas, but doesn’t the Bible tell us some things we should be doing/participating in?

-Add in that almost all of us have previous experience at churches, here, growing up, college. We all walk in the doors every week with a certain list of expectations, and those expectations aren’t always met.

-Church hunters “We’re more looking for the humor of Andy Stanley with the body of Stephen Furtick”

“it was like we left there feeling convicted, like ugh” “We’re looking for more of a Tony Robins type sermon” “Like inspirational, like a TED talk with a Bible verse”

-There’s a tendency to treat church like consumers, and let’s be honest, many of us are conditioned to think that way! If we don’t like the coffee at one coffee shop, don’t worry, there’s a different one just down the street! 

-Introduction from The Church, An Introduction by Gregg Allison 

-The Bible even uses various metaphors to describe the church. The church is a: family, the bride of Christ, branches on a vine, an olive tree, a field of crops, a building, a new temple, a harvest, God’s house, a pillar and buttress of truth, and the body of Christ.

-We’re getting to that idea of what the church is. Wayne Grudem defines the church as “the community of all true believers for all time.” Gregg Allison defines the church as “the people of God who have been saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and have been incorporated into his body through baptism with the Holy Spirit.”

-Now we’re getting to the difference between the catholic (universal) church, and the local church!

-Reformers said there is a church anytime the sacraments are faithfully performed

-People today often refer to church as just a building. 

-And if you’re not confused yet, we haven’t even gotten to what a church does

-Here’s the reality – Jesus himself established the church.

–Matt. 16:16-19 “Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

-Church’s primary mission is to hold fast and proclaim this reality, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

-On the rock of Peter’s confession (who is Jesus himself) the church will be built. This is one of those areas where we would disagree with Roman Catholics, they built a whole papal order out of this 1 verse!

-There is a heavenly authority that comes with the church. The church today serves as an outpost of Jesus’ kingdom. Us gathering is meant to give everyone watching a little picture of what heaven will look like! Does our church give that glimpse? 

-This series will be based on the early church, as demonstrated in Acts 2.

-I’ve talked to a number of people who say “If only we could get back to the New Testament church” Don’t forget it wasn’t all daisies and roses back then either! In fact, until Jesus comes back, the church is guaranteed to have issues! And if you ever find a church that doesn’t have issues, the moment you (as a sinner) walk in the door, you’re bringing issues with you.

-We need to distinguish between that which is DEscriptive and that which is PREscriptive.

-Descriptive: describes events taking place, not necessarily applicable to every time & place

-Prescriptive: things that should be true in every time & place

-quick example, Rom. 16:16 “greet one another with a holy kiss.” 

READ

PRAY

  1. The First Church (Acts 2)

-There’s a lot for us to unpack in these few verses! So much so that we’ll take a week on each characteristic in turn. Today is just a broad overview of what characterized the early church.

-Always difficult to drop into a book (like we’ll be doing in this series) because we miss the bigger context and picture the author is painting.

-Acts is the 2 of a 2 part series (beginning with Luke’s Gospel) written by the same guy, this would be considered the sequel (The Empire Strikes Back)

–1:1 “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,”

-This book picks up where Luke left off. After Jesus rose from the grave, what happened? How did his message spread? How did his disciples respond?

-Quick synopsis of the first 2 chapters: Jesus ascends into heaven, disciples select a new “12th” disciple

-Worth mentioning, more than 12 people had been following Jesus during his earthly life, I tend to forget that because the 12 received most of his attention, but men & women were a part of this rag tag group of people. Actually 10x the 12, Acts 1:15 says there were 120 disciples.

-Then in Acts 2 everything changes. Pentecost comes and the disciples are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. (Don’t have time to dig into this, but if you want to see what Jesus said about the coming of the HS read John 16-17)

-In response to this, the early church is given a new confidence to begin sharing what Jesus meant with everyone they could. Peter preaches the most impactful sermon in recorded history. Look at vs. 41. “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” 

-I’m still waiting for my 3,000 soul sermon! Actually, every Pastor I know is!

-So what characterized this early church? How did they manage adding 3,000 new converts to this fledgling faith?

-Honestly, not super well, because just 4 chapters later there’s a pretty big disagreement that comes up because racism is rampant in this early church (again, don’t have time for that one)

-There are 4 primary things that this early church devoted themselves to in vs. 42: the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. Let’s walk through those 4 things:

  1. Apostles’ Teaching

-Here’s the fascinating thing. What you’re holding in your hand (or reading on your device) didn’t exist at the time. They didn’t have the 4 Gospel accounts, didn’t have Paul’s, Peter’s, James’ letters. They had their experience and time with Jesus, and the OT. 

-And that was enough! The word “devoted” connotes the idea of continually, constantly. They were continually devoted to these 4 primary things, so they were constantly listening to the apostles teaching.

-Kent Hughes “Where the Spirit reigns, a love for God’s Word reigns.” This is why sermons take up the bulk of our weekly worship.

-Look at this in more detail next week.

  • Breaking of Bread

-2 aspects to this one: regular table time together at people’s homes, and the penultimate breaking of bread in communion. One of John Calvin’s requirements for a true church was anywhere the sacraments were truly practiced. 

-Communion is 1 of 2 sacraments Christ commanded his church to practice, the other being baptism. Look at this more in 2 weeks!

  • Fellowship

-This is one of the most misunderstood words used in the church today!

-Sitting in a deacon meeting, someone talking about making some meals for shut-ins and then “we’ll have a little fellowship”

-This is the first time this word appears in the NT, denotes something in common, which didn’t happen before the HS indwelt them.

  • Prayers

-THE prayers. While this was still a Jewish sect, they were still following a lot of the customs/traditions they had been following. 

-But also regularly praying for each other.

-What was the implication of these 4 things? Look at vs. 43-47

-The common aspect of fellowship was lived out in the lives of the believers. No one had any needs, and if they did other’s helped take care of them. Doesn’t that sound awesome? This is the radical generosity piece we saw in our Amos series on justice! Willingly disadvantaging yourself for the advantage of others.

-There’s a “day by day” aspect to this. There’s large gathering in the temple, small gathering in the homes (church gathered vs church scattered)

-Having favor with all the people. Do you think the world looks at the church favorably today? Headlines: “Here’s why a New Bedford church is suing Gov. Charlie Baker” “Former New Orleans Church Official Sentenced for Wire Fraud” “Congregation or Cult? Former members accuse Kansas City church of abuse.”

-Yes, I realize we should expect persecution, but is “favor” because of our good deeds an honest marker of our church, or not?

-What do you think people who aren’t believers, who have never set foot inside a church expect when they walk into a church building? There was a movie that came out a few years ago Resurrection of Gavin Stone about a Hollywood actor who’s forced to do community service at a local church (you can probably guess the rest of the movie) But 1 scene stood out to me when I first watched it where he gets ready to go to church.

-If you want to watch it, it’s on Netflix!

-Lastly, the Lord added to their number day by day. The early church was intentional about evangelism. They were always looking for ways to share the good news of what Jesus had done with any/everyone they came into contact with. And their living matched their preaching! They legitimately loved one another.

-Let’s jump ahead now a few decades to look at Hebrews.

-Hebrews is thought to be a manuscript of a sermon.

  • Encouraging (Hebrews 10)

-Again, we’re dropping right in the middle of the book here! Really easy to summarize the entire argument leading up to here with 1 phrase: Jesus is better. Better than what? Yes. 

-First 2 chapters are Jesus is better than angels

–3-10:18 Jesus is better than the Mosaic Law

-Then after this rich, deep theology of the supremacy of Jesus, the author turns to the application. All theology is practical and meant to be lived out. Because Jesus is the superior high priest and at the same time the superior sacrifice, we then haver confidence.

  1. Through Jesus

-I love the way this book starts “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our father by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” Jesus even has the final word!

-Just as theology is applicable, we begin with the theology of the cross and Jesus’ atoning death.

-Used to only enter the holy place 1 a year, and only 1 person with fear and trepidation because Heb. 12:29 “Our God is a consuming fire.” 

-Church, because Jesus has died on our behalf we can have confidence, or boldness to enter into the very presence of God.

-There used to be a curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. That curtain was torn in 2 when Jesus died. That means through Jesus blood covering us, we can draw near to God. 

-One way of putting the whole Bible together is God dwelling with His people. Gen. 1-2 is God perfectly dwelling with Adam & Eve, Gen 3 is so devastating because that dwelling is broken, rest of the Bible is how we can try dwelling again with God. Then God takes on flesh and dwells with us bodily, allowing us sinful people to dwell eternally with God. According to Eph. 2:6 we are already seated with Christ in heaven.

-Because Jesus has sanctified us, we then move on to holding fast.

  • Holding Fast

-what do we hold fast to? “the confession of our hope.”

-This is the same idea we saw earlier where Jesus promises to build His church on Peter’s confession. We have to do the exact same thing as Peter and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. We can’t waver, we can’t look to the right or left, we need to hold fast to this confession.

-We also have the same idea we saw in Amos 9 that we’re supposed to hold on to hope. Our hope is in Jesus himself, so that hope will allow us to endure, or as the text says “he who promised is faithful.” 

-Thankfully our holding fast isn’t up to us! It’s God who remains faithful despite our unfaithfulness.

-After the vertical relationship is dealt with, then we move on to the horizontal relationship. (explain)

  • Together

-In addition to holding fast to our confession, we’re commanded to consider how to stir up (or encourage) one another to love and good works. And how do we do that? By not neglecting to meet together.

-I don’t know if you’ve been feeling this – but I got so tired of worshipping online. Not seeing people’s faces, not talking as we walk in. Not seeing people sing together! 

-Introducing Not For A Moment “You were reaching through the storm Walking on the water even when I could not see in the middle of it all when I thought You were a thousand miles away not for a moment did You forsake me 

After all You are constant After all You are only good After all You are sovereign Not for a moment will You forsake me

-If we hadn’t been meeting together as a group, we wouldn’t have been able to encourage those who were struggling

-We are dependent on each other. There are no lone rangers in Christianity. Rugged individualism (expressive individualism)

-Friend who wanted to go be a hermit. Where is the church?

-The way we encourage each other is by meeting together. Meeting tighter LEADS to encouraging. Think of communion – 1 Cor. 11:17 “WHEN you come together as a church.” 

-I get that this is a weird time to have a sermon about the need to gather, when we’ve been scattered for over a year, some people are still watching online! This is a time where we as the church NEED to be the church. 

-One thing that has fascinated me about the pandemic is every other major disruption in American history, people have turned to the church (attendance swelled after 9/11) This time, people turned to Netflix.

 –Article from Carl Trueman “That’s where community comes in: churches need to build community around clear Christian teaching, serious Christian worship, and practical Christian love.  Done well, those things can grip the imagination because they offer a vision of something better than the thin communities and shallow satisfactions of consumerism. Telling people that the way they live is wrong has no plausibility unless it is set against the background of a vision of something better.”

-South Suburban – we have something better to offer the world – and it begins by us not neglecting to meet together, but instead encouraging each other to live out love and good works. Our gathering is not meant to be a tack on, an addition if you’ve got time that weekend. Our lives are supposed to be lived out, bled out by encouraging each other each and every day until “THE day.”

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by mikethestrand on May 16, 2021  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Relationships, Sermon

Posted by mikethestrand on May 16, 2021

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2021/05/16/were-commanded-to-sermon-manuscript/

June 26 Devotional

This week’s message we’ll be backing up and covering what we didn’t cover last week! Luke 9:1-9:
 
And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
 
This is the first time we see Jesus sending out his disciples as his ambassadors, charged with both representing him to the world and carrying out his ministry of healing. Think of how the disciples would have felt! They’d been with Jesus seeing him perform these miracles for a while now, and now it was their turn! Think back to when you got your driver’s license! Did you sense the immense privilege that came with that? You suddenly had the ability to go anywhere you wanted! At least as long as your parents would let you! This is a bit like what the disciples would have felt here. The training wheels were coming up and there was a new found freedom, a slight taste of what would be coming after Jesus’ resurrection. And even in the midst of their journey, Jesus would need to continue providing for them, as the only thing they were to take was the clothes on their backs. Talk about walking by faith! As they go on their way, Luke says they preached the gospel and healed. That’s a good description of what we’re called to today! We’re called to preach the gospel, and do our best to help take care of those within our sphere of influence. 
 
After giving us the story of the disciple’s first missionary journey, Luke then focuses in on one person’s response. Herod. Well, one of the Herods! This is during the time of the “Herodian dynasty” which was a bit like a soap opera! This is the same Herod who beheaded Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist in a fit of lustful exuberance. As Jesus’ fame spread, eventually word reaches Herod’s ears that there’s something unique about this Jesus guy. Some said that he was John raised from the dead, others thought Elijah had returned to usher in the new reign, or maybe even one of the other lowly prophets had come back. Because of this notoriety, John was intrigued enough to the point that he tried to go see Jesus. Some scholars think this is part of the reason Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee in the next verse to go to Bethsaida. Either way, one thing for us to take away from this is the need for us to live lives that are different so that others will see our changed lives and ask questions about why we are the way we are (1 Peter 3:15). 
 
SONG:
We’re going to go with a throwback song today with some old school Lecrae from my high school days! This song is called ‘Send Me’ you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on June 26, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on June 26, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/26/june-26-devotional/

June 24 Devotional

We’ll be continuing Hebrews today looking at Hebrews 3:7-19:
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
    on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
    and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
    they have not known my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Continuing to build upon his theme here, the author is reminding us to hold fast to our hope in Christ. He begins by quoting from Psalm 95, which every Jew would have known! It served as the call to worship every Sabbath gathering the Jews met in the synagogues. This was the reminder to don’t just become numb or callous to God’s Word, instead take it in, meditate upon it, let it soak and saturate your entire life. The warning that served the nation of Israel is just as important for us today! Do not harden your hearts in response to God’s Word, do not put Him to the test, instead remember that God is perfectly just, and we should do our best to keep short accounts with Him. James picks up this idea in James 4:17 where he says “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” This is another way of saying the same thing the author of Hebrews is saying.
 
The author then uses this well known call to worship to exhort his congregation to not be like the people of God in the past! This is part of the reason we need to regularly gather together as God’s people! The author here is commanded us to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ’today.’” That is, we should seek to be encouraging each other on in our faith, as the author of Hebrews reminds us later “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).  This is yet another reminder that when we are called as believers, we are called into a community. There are both individual and communal aspects to our salvation, and we cannot neglect either of them! We must do our best individually to follow Christ, but we cannot do it alone, we need to look for opportunities to encourage others to be obedient in their faith.
SONG:
Today’s song is a Sovereign Grace song titled ’Not in Me’ you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on June 24, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 24, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/24/june-24-devotional/

June 22 Devotional

Happy Monday! We’ll be looking at Psalm 10 today:
 
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
    and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
His ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
    as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
    under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He sits in ambush in the villages;
    in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
   he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
The helpless are crushed, sink down,
    and fall by his might.
He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
    forget not the afflicted.
Why does the wicked renounce God
    and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
    that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
    you have been the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
    call his wickedness to account till you find none.
The Lord is king forever and ever;
    the nations perish from his land.
O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
 
Do you find it funny that anytime a disaster strikes people begin to ask “where is God?” I distinctly remember September 12, 2001 when it seemed that every newspaper headline had that question as their lead article. This Psalm is asking that exact same question. But the author here has come to a different conclusion than The Beatles who said “When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” The Psalmist isn’t content to just “let it be” everything within him cries out for justice! He is asking God to uphold his promise to never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Specifically, the Psalmist is comparing the way of the wicked. Many times it seems like they get away with their evil schemes! They seek to take advantage of the oppressed and marginalized and in the midst of that they are renouncing God. As D.A. Carson has said they have de-godded God himself, committing idolatry, putting themselves in the place of God.
 
But God doesn’t just sit back and let evildoers get away with it, and the Psalmist knows this to be true! So he begs God to arise and don’t forget those who are opposed and afflicted! God sees everything that takes place and will being people to justice. Those who have no one else to care for them can look to God as the perfect Heavenly Father to care for them in spite of the evildoers who are continually trying to take advantage of them. And that’s the hope we have in this life. The Psalmist says “The Lord is king forever and ever, the nations perish from his land.” Because God’s throne is unceasing and unfailing, we know our outcome is secure. No matter what evil is done to us on earth we know God will execute His perfect judgment at His perfect time when He returns to judge the living and the dead.
 
SONG:
Today’s song is a cover song by the band The Digital Age called ‘Break Every Chain’ you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on June 22, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 22, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/22/june-22-devotional/

June 19 Devotional

Happy Juneteenth! We’ll be skipping ahead just a little bit in our sermon passage this week, and looking at the feeding of the 5,000 in Luke 9:10-17:
 
On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” And they did so, and had them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
 
This takes place right after the disciples have gone on their first missionary journey apart from Jesus. He has sent them out to preach the good news and heal people, and they have just returned, so Jesus decides they need a break. But his notoriety is spreading so that break is not to be had! As soon as they get to their vacation destination they see a crowd in front of them. Thankfully Jesus is more patient than many of us, and he welcomes them and heals many of them. Because Jesus is a preacher, he preaches a long time! And the day gets away from him, so his disciples exhort him to send everyone away to find food and lodging. But Jesus turns this in to a teaching moment. So often as we read these passages we have a tendency to jump immediately to application to our lives today, but how do you think the disciples would have interpreted everything Jesus is doing? In John’s account of this he even explicitly says that Jesus is asking his disciples about this to test them. 
 
What conclusions do the disciples come up with? They see 2 options that are solely based on what they can do. Who do they forget to ask? JESUS! The guy who has given them more fish in one cast of the net than they’d ever caught before! Yet even despite them not asking him for help, he still answers their unrequested prayer. Once again, Jesus has proven that he is Jehovah Jireh the provider. Just as God has continually provided for his people throughout the entire Bible, He continues providing for them here. The question for us is: do we really believe that God will provide everything we need? Or do we presume upon Him and refuse to acknowledge our dependance and need for Him to continue providing everything we need? This is the heart of the gospel message! God has provided an over abundance to us through the death of His one and only Son. Do we see that?
 
SONG:
Today’s song is by Citizens, one of my favorite bands writing slightly different songs for the church to sing! This song is called ‘Light of Your Grace’ and you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on June 19, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Life, Theology, Worship

Posted by mikethestrand on June 19, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/19/june-19-devotional/

June 17 Devotional

We’ll be in Hebrews 3:1-6 today:
Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
The author of Hebrews is continuing to build his case for the superiority of Jesus over all things. Moses was the prime example that all other Jews looked up to. In seminary, my Old Testament professor hammered this point home so strongly that it has stuck with me ever since. The question we were asked was: according to the Old Testament, who was the best prophet? At first glance you’d start thinking through Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, after all, they wrote the big books! Maybe it was Elijah who beat the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel? Maybe his successor Elisha who raised people from the dead? Nope! According to Deuteronomy 34:10-12, “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” So it would be pretty hard to top Moses, right? According to one tradition, Moses was lauded even higher than the angels! But Jesus’ prophetic role far exceeds even Moses! 
 
Moses’ role was temporary and earthly, while Jesus’ role is permanent and heavenly. As I was sermon prepping this week I was reminded of Jesus’ statement “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36) Yes, Moses served the heavenly kingdom, but he wasn’t the creator of all things! Think of some of the masterpieces you may have seen, perhaps Michaelangelo’s David statue. That is a magnificent piece of marble! But it doesn’t have a soul, nor was it created in the image of God like humans are. Similarly, Jesus built the house, Moses simply served in it! Jesus is the one that Moses pointed to, therefore we look to him as the perfect prophet! Jesus won’t ever get angry with us like Moses did with God’s people. We also see that Jesus is over all of God’s house as a son, not as a servant, like Moses was. If you’ve ever watched Downton Abbey you’ve seen the servant quarters. They weren’t given free access to the house like the children are! Yet at the same time, we are that house that God is building. We are that house that Moses pointed to, the house that is being built up with Christ as the head where we will one day be perfected and called to a heavenly home.
SONG:
Today’s song is one normally associated with Christmas, but ties in to the rest of the year too! It’s called ‘Come Thou Long Expected Jesus’ and you can listen on YOUTUBE or SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on June 17, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 17, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/17/june-17-devotional/

June 15 Devotional

I’m back! Cara and I had a wonderful time together in Colorado Springs last week! Cara’s parents are in town so it was really nice to get away together! We’ll be taking a look at Psalm 9 today:
To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before your presence.
For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.
But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with uprightness.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his deeds!
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
Be gracious to me, O Lord!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
    I may rejoice in your salvation.
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
The wicked shall return to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
Put them in fear, O Lord!
    Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
David is here praising God. Some have called this Psalm the first Psalm of praise in this book! Notice all the ways David talks about praising God: give thanks, recount, be glad, exult, and sing praise. What’s unique about this Psalm is why David is praise God: for His justice. When is the last time you took time to praise God for his justice? When is the last time you marveled that because He is just, Jesus had to bear the penalty for your sin? David says “the enemy came to an end.” That’s who we used to be! Before we were saved, we were God’s enemies. Romans 8:7 says “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot” We opposed to God by not recognizing Him as our Lord and Savior. As Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please him.”
So in the midst of David asking God to be a righteous judge, he pauses to remind everyone to praise God. Doesn’t that seem a bit off to us? So often when I’m talking to people there’s such an emphasis on God’s love that there is little to no room left for God’s justice, yet even in the midst of God’s justice we are reminded to praise Him because He is just! He doesn’t allow people to continue on in their sin, nor does He leave as as we are. David even says that one of the ways God makes himself known is through his judgment (and then he pauses with a selah to remind everyone to think about that truth!). This is also a helpful reminder for us right now that we are called to do whatever we can to create justice in the world. Since God is just, and we have been tasked with representing God to the world, we need to do what we can to help others see and live out God’s justice on earth. And even though injustice will continue wreaking havoc in this world, we can  fully trust in God to bring about perfect justice when He comes back again!
SONG:
Today’s song is by a group called The Brilliance with a song called ‘Make Us One’ you can listen on YOUTUBEor SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on June 15, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 15, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/15/june-15-devotional/

June 8 Devotional

Happy Monday everyone! Just a quick heads up, Cara and I are taking some time to get away this week, so this will be this week’s only devotional! Today we’ll be looking at Psalm 8:
 
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
    Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
 
This Psalm is a bit like coming out of a dark tunnel back into sunlight. The past couple weeks we’ve seen David pursued by enemies, distraught, at the end of his rope, and then coming after all of them is this majestic Psalm that revels how God is so much higher than anything in his creation! David begins by repeating a word “Lord” but in the Hebrew it’s 2 different words. So a more literal translation would be: “O Lord our King.” But notice as well the communal aspect to it. God the King isn’t just a statement of fact (although it is a fact) it’s a reminder that He is OUR king! And not only is He our King, but even His name is majestic throughout the whole earth. Think of the grandeur of what God has created. We are spoiled rotten in Colorado as all we have to do is look West and see the beautiful Rocky Mountains that people come out to vacation at all the time! And not just the mountains, but the sunsets are unbelievable! And each one of those are a masterpiece God has created to point us to Him. 
 
However incredible God’s creation is, the pinnacle is humanity. We looked at the way the author of Hebrews uses this passage to point to Christ in Hebrews 2, but I also want us to think about how amazing it is that God uses little things like us to carry out his sovereign plans. David says that “out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength.” How weird is that? The stuttering tongue of a toddler is how God establishes His power and might. The way one Pastor I heard described this is every way God communicates to us is like Him using baby talk. He condescends to us so that we can begin to see glimpses of Him. Even Moses couldn’t see Him completely, Moses just saw God’s back! Yet we today can come before Him with confidence because of what Christ has done! 
 
SONG:
Today’s song is an older one that I used to sing at church! It’s called ‘Majesty’ and you can listen on YOUTUBEor SPOTIFY.
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by mikethestrand on June 8, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 8, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/08/june-8-devotional/

June 5 Devotional

Hello All! Pastor Jeff took a slight detour this week to address a contemporary issue looking at Ephesians 2:11-22:
 
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
 
With all the unrest and dissent taking place in our country we see some pretty big divides! This passage reminds us that racism is a sin, and is still an issue today just like it was an issue during the time the New Testament was being written. This passage reminds us that we as Christians have the only method of adequately bringing about reconciliation. Notice that Paul here says that Jesus “himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” The only way there can be lasting peace is through reconciling the vertical relationship: between humans and God. So often we focus on the horizontal relationships (with each other) instead of looking to the primary cause of every issue the afflicts humanity: sin between the creation and the Creator. 
 
We as Christians are the only people who can bring about lasting change. I love the word “reconciliation,” and Paul picks up that theme again in 2 Corinthians 5 where he writes, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Notice the vertical connection before we get to the horizontal connection. We must be reconciled to Christ before we can go about making reconciliation with the world around us. 
 
Throughout this discussion it’s important to remember that this is not a political issue, this is an issue rooted in the fact that we were created in the image of God, and as image bearers we must do whatever we can to support and honor fellow image bearers. To that end, the EFCA has written a couple helpful articles. The first is from our President, Kevin Kompelein titled ‘Once Again, Racism Necessitates a Response’ and my dad also wrote a helpful prayer of lament that I used for our prayer time during the service this week. I’d also encourage you to spend some time praying for our black brothers and sisters who regularly experience a different life than what many of us do. 
 
SONG:
A helpful article I came across today also contains a playlist of songs. The article is titled ‘Making Peace: A Lament for Justice’ and you can listen to the Spotify playlist HERE.
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by mikethestrand on June 5, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by mikethestrand on June 5, 2020

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2020/06/05/june-5-devotional/

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