Month: February 2018

Read: Matthew 22:36-40, John 15:12-14, and Galatians 5:16-24

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you.  (John 15:12-14)

¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:16-24)

 

When you see a person walking slumped over, shuffling, more than walking, what do you assume? The person is sad, depressed, discouraged.

If you see a person walking with shoulders back, chin up slightly, a smiled playing at the corners of his/her mouth, what do you think about them? They are happy, proud, maybe excited.

You can tell a lot about a person by their walk. Are they nervous, tired, excited, late, confused? It will probably be seen in the way they walk.

Paul knew that was true in our spiritual life. He called the Galatians to “walk by the Spirit” rather than walking by the flesh. How does he distinguish between the two?

What are the kinds of things that would show up in a person’s walk to signify they walk by the Spirit?

If someone watched your walk, what would they see? Are there areas you struggle to walk by the Spirit and not the flesh? What are ways you can find victory over that?

Jesus often sent the disciples out two-by-two. Is there someone in your life walking with you as you follow Jesus? Having a person praying and walking with us can make a huge difference in our lives. If you don’t have that person, ask Jesus to lead you to someone!

Read: Ephesians 3:6-11, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 and Revelation 7:9-10

⁶ This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.⁷ Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 3:4, 7-11)

¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”(Revelation 7:9-10)

 

In 2014, Lifeway Ministries did a study of diversity in the church and found that 85% of churches in the U.S. wanted to be diverse, but only 13% had more than one predominant racial or ethnic group in their church. Why do you think the church struggles to overcome segregation and lack of diversity? How do you think Salem does with this?

In light of the reality that all people have the same Spirit and one day there will be people from every tribe, language, and nation before God’s throne in heaven, do you think a diverse church is necessary?

Is it worth the effort to intentionally seek to be welcoming of all people? Why or why not?

Pastor Rick explained in his message (you can listen here) that the word “manifold” literally means “multi-colored”. How is God’s wisdom “multi-colored”? How does the church demonstrate God’s wisdom?

Paul mentions grace numerous times in Ephesians. Why is grace necessary in our lives? How can we show it to others?

God created all things – diverse people and his plan for a diverse church – what can you, personally, do to spread his grace and welcome people into his body?

Pastor Rick shared that loving our neighbors (and our brothers and sisters at Salem) are ways we can begin to show love and grace in our communities. Think of the people who live closest to you. Do you know their names? Do you know identifying information about them (jobs, marriage status, children, etc.)? Do you know their deeper needs (things you could pray for or ways you could serve them)?

If you can’t answer all those questions, that may be the place to start as we seek to be stewards of God’s grace toward those around us and become the church God intends us to be!

Read: Read Luke 15:11-32

¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, ²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

 

This is a very familiar passage to many of us. What did the young son do? Why was it wrong?

The father’s actions in running to his son are extremely unusual for Middle Eastern culture. Why would he act this way? What does his behavior say about his love for his son?

In many ways the young son’s sin seems obvious, but what was the older son’s sin?

At the end of the story, we are left with a question: Will the older son go in or not? What do you think he would do?

Which of the three do you identify with most? Why do you think that?

In light of our study in Ephesians, how would Paul have used this passage to illustrate his teaching?

The Father’s heart is loving and kind. He wants both sons to be reconciled to himself and each other. How can we have the same heart as the Father? Where is an area God is prompting you to seek reconciliation for yourself or others?

Read: Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Luke 22:14-23

³¹ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. ³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 

¹⁴ And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you I will not eat it^] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”¹⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. ¹⁸ For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.^] 21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. ²² For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” ²³ And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

In the Old Testament, God made covenants – promises or contracts – with Abraham and later with the people of Israel. With Abraham, God promised to bless Abraham with more descendants than stars in the sky and to bless all people on earth through his seed or offspring (see Genesis 12:1-3 and Genesis 15). Later, God made a covenant on Mt. Sinai with Moses and the people of Israel. He would be there God and care for them and they would obey his commands in the Law (see Exodus 19-24).

Later, in 2 Samuel 7, God made a covenant with David. He promised that David’s throne would stand forever (see 2 Samuel 7:16). The people of Israel understood this as a continuation of God’s promise to send an offspring of Abraham to bless all people. They understood that one day God would send a Messiah to redeem Israel. What they didn’t understand is that their vision was too small! God had bigger plans!

In Isaiah 49:6 God says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 9 too promises that Messiah will come to more than just Israel, he will be a savior for all people.

Later, after the people had been exiled to Babylon and they wondered where God was and what he was doing, God spoke to Jeremiah the words in Jeremiah 31. God’s promises would still come true. There was to be a day when not only would the Messiah come, but there would be a new covenant, a better covenant. It would be a day when God would put his Spirit on his people and they would know God personally. They would be forgiven and there would be peace and joy. The people would no longer worship God from afar for he would truly be Immanuel, God with them!

 

What is the difference between the old covenant and the new?

In Ephesians 3, Paul will discuss “the mystery of Christ” that Gentiles can be saved and not only Jews. In light of the verses we’ve read, do you think this was a new plan of God’s or something he had purposed all along? What in our study of Ephesians might influence your answer?

What does the new covenant bring for us that people didn’t have before? Why is this significant?

How can we live differently today because we are part of God’s “new covenant” people?

February 19

Read: Ephesians 2:11-22 (click here to listen to yesterday’s sermon)

¹¹ 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— ¹² 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. 

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ 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, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 

¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

 

Why does Paul continue to remind believers of what they were?

The cross of Jesus breaks down the “dividing wall of hostility” and yet the church, generally, is one of the most segregated communities around the world. Why do you think that is? What can individual churches do to change that? What can we at Salem do to change that?

How does (should?) our reconciliation with God help us to live reconciled lives with each other?

Pastor Rick suggested four ways we can, personally, move toward being people and a church who value the diversity of the body of Christ. They were:

• Pray for and with one another
• Spend time with one another (one-on-one, small groups)
  • Listen to one another
  • Learn about and from one another
  • Love one another
• Invite others to join us
• Seek God with all your heart (because we need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to do all this well!)

What are ways you can put those things into practice? What invitation do you sense from God or to which of them are you especially drawn?

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

16 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. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 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. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

In 2003, I (Pastor Rick), was in Kirkuk, Iraq as part of a delegation looking at ways to help Iraqis rebuild after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. I was sitting at a table with a number of local leaders – Kurds, Turkmen, Armenians, and Arabs – some Christian, but most Muslim. I was there with two Jordanian Christians representing our group.

My role was to support the proposals we were making. After a week of interviews and research, we had several proposals to make. My colleague, Nabil, began the meeting and I expected him to explain our ideas. Instead he turned to me and said (in Arabic), “This is Brother Rick. He is going to explain our proposal to you.” They all looked at me skeptically. Who was this American? What does he know? They must have seen the look of panic in my eyes – this was not the plan! I wasn’t supposed to talk!

I took a deep breath, prayed a silent prayer, and began to speak (in Arabic), explaining how we wanted to help rebuild Kirkuk and help bring reconciliation between the different groups present. We wanted to be a catalyst for change and for peace. We wanted to help bring unity.

The expression of skepticism gave way to shock (he speaks Arabic?!?) and then interest and gratitude (they want to help?!?). The meeting went on and there was good and frank discussion. In the end our group was able to assist in rebuilding schools and supplying teachers. We were able to proclaim the love of Jesus – first in our actions and later in our words. Thankfully, the Iraqis were able to look beyond my skin color and ethnic background and hear my heart and message. Thankfully our team was able to love them in concrete and meaningful ways. In the end, it was a long path, but it led to peace and blessing.

What does Paul mean that he no longer regards people “according to the flesh”? What would be the alternative? If you don’t regard people according to the flesh, how should you regard them? Have you ever had an experience or witnessed one where people were able to look beyond the surface or the flesh to see Christ in you?

How are we new creations? What is the reconciliation we have in Christ? How did Jesus accomplish our reconciliation?

Is the reconciliation we have only between us and God? What else could it be?

How are we supposed to be ambassadors of Christ? What does that mean?

In verses 20, Paul sees an urgency in the mission God has given us. Why do you think he feels that way? Why don’t we feel that same sense of urgency?

To whom might God be sending you as an ambassador?

Verse 21 summarizes the truth of the gospel. How would you explain it in your own words?

Read: John 17:20-23; Galatians 3:28; and Colossians 3:11

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me (John 17:20-23).

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

¹¹ Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all (Colossians 3:11).

Scot McKnight writes in his book, A Fellowship of Differents, about the cultural hierarchy in the Roman world that provides the backdrop for the New Testament. “In the workshops, in the Roman agora, in the belly of ships, and in the villas of citizens there were clear societal distinctions. Romans were obsessed with status, and their clothing reflected their status – marked for some with thin or think purple stripes. Citizens were not slaves, and slaves were not citizens (whose rights were protected)…Hierarchy, status, reputation, and connections were the empire. The church, though, was not the empire!” In the church, there was to be “a wild revolution of equality”!

Jesus agreed with Paul. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for his disciples and he prayed for us who would believe in the generations after them. In John 17:20-23, we see part of his prayer. It is a prayer for unity. It is a prayer that followers of Jesus would be one in the same way the Father and Son are one. Christ in us and the Father in Christ so we may be “perfectly one”. Jesus said the result of this unity would be that the world would “know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Do you think the church today lives out this unity? Why do you think that? What could we do better/differently? What could you do?

What do you believe is the impact of the church’s unity (or lack of unity) on its witness? Could the lack of power we have in our witness to the world be a result of being divisive, un-unified, and out-of-step with Jesus’ prayer?

Both Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11 invite us to think differently about some of the things that divide us. Many of the differences we have as people cannot be changed – gender and ethnicity for example. Believers in Jesus are a diverse bunch. McKnight asks, “Are we willing to embrace the diversity of the church as the very thing God most wants (emphasis his)?” What do you think would need to change for us to live this out? Is there anything that would need to change in you?

Read: Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The purpose of Lent is to reflect, repent and pray as a way to prepare our hearts for celebrating the Resurrection. Our passage from last week’s message captures the heart of God’s work for us in Christ. It identifies what we were; what God did; and what we do now.

In verses 1-3, what was our condition before we came to faith in Jesus? Whose power were we under?

Verse 3 tells us we “were by nature children of wrath.” What did God do (see verses 4-5) that changed that? Why did he do that?

Paul mentions “grace” three times in verses 5-8. What is grace? How has God been gracious to us?

Verses 8-9 explain the process through which we were saved. How would you explain that in your own words?

If our actions (works) cannot save us, what role do good works play in our lives (verse 10)?

What might God be prompting you to do in light of this passage? Who can you share the message with? Who can you serve? Pray for these people and for opportunities to follow through!