We began a new Sunday series entitled, A Different Community, where individuals in our fellowship will share from Scripture about the community we long to see City Chapel become. This Sunday, we began with a desire to be a wonder-filled community in a world of cynicism.

We saw that the problem with cynicism is that it lies. And though attractive in times of difficulty, cynicism has great power to keep us trapped in the dysfunctions of our past.

From Deuteronomy 6, we see that Wonder—specifically Wonder at how far God has brought us—has the capacity to defeat two primary joy-killers keeping us unable to enjoy our present: 1) entitlement and 2) anxious striving. And, when these joy-killers are defeated, we are liberated to experience a life marked by surprise, delight, and joy. 

Even with our best preparations, storms can catch us off guard, but we are encouraged to call out to Jesus for rescue. When you turn to prayer and trust in His sovereign authority to bring calm, Jesus, the Son of God with power over all will answer. Through Him, fear can be transformed into faith, enabling us to weather life's challenges with confidence.

What are you worried or afraid about right now? Take a moment today to talk to Jesus about this very thing.

This past Sunday we spoke about how life in this world will include moments of chaos! And knowing this, we asked the question, “what do we do in the face of chaos?”

From Psalm 130, we looked at how the poet writes about God with three distinct prepositions - to (You), for (You), with (You).

First, the poet, in their distress, cries “to” God. Scripture is utterly realistic about the pain the world - it does not minimize. Yet, the poet embodies a faith that turns to God and not away from in moments of chaos.

Second, the poet also speaks of waiting and hoping for God. We struggle with waiting because in our mind it speaks of agonizing powerlessness. But when the poet speaks of waiting - they speak of confidence in God. In addition, when they speak of hoping, it connotes “waiting expectantly.” They are declaring in v. 5-6, God I want you more than I want visibility into my future.

Last, the poet explains that their greatest desire is to be “with God.”A preacher named C.H. Spurgeon once said, “I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages.” And this is opportunity and challenge of chaos - it has the power to either pull us toward or away from God. Would we be a fellowship of wave-kissers!

This past Sunday we started a series through the Book of Acts called "Different," and we saw an early church fellowship - "koinonia" - that was SSUTT - Special, Supernatural, Unnatural, Tangible and Transformational.

This "koinonia" was supernaturally formed by the Spirit, and models for us today a shared life motivated by intimacy-desire instead of consumption-desire. Intimacy-desire sees others not as objects but subjects. It carries a promise of ultimate-fulfillment, and is not marked by restlessness. It is measured not by accumulation (net worth!) but by dispossession. Intimacy-desire wants you, yourself, and not your use-value. What would it be like to be this type of unnatural fellowship?

In addition, the fellowship experienced transformation as the LORD met the community through the practices/rhythms of teaching, "breaking bread," and prayer. These practices were occasions for members of the community to vulnerably share their most tangible needs. And, transformation occurred as the fellowship grew in confidence as the LORD responded to the prayers and needs of his people. 

Pastor Ariana shared from Psalm 23.5-6 and challenged us to become aware of the table we eat from. 

The Psalms - a collection of poems in the Bible that scholar, Tim Mackie, describes as a “literary temple” - are a place for us, God’s people, to open and be transported into the presence of God. 

We opened Psalm 23 and - with King David as our prayer coach - longed to be a different type of community in the city. A community that doesn’t take control for ourselves but invites God to set the table. 

The day-to-day challenges we experience often leave us feeling overwhelmed, alone, and unsafe.

Yet, in Psalm 23, the author describes an experience of life marked by safety, security, and confidence rooted in God’s perfect leadership and intimate presence. 

This past Sunday, we looked at what this author saw and how the same hope and confidence is available to us today. 

BIG IDEA: This strange Book pulsates and reverberates with the story of God’s great love for you!

RECAP

I. The Book is Strange, v.1-8
We looked at chapters in Nehemiah that are realistic about how strange it can be to approach Scripture. God’s people are listening to Scripture read, and it is written in a different language, culture, and time from them. In the same way, it can often feel challenging to understand what Scripture says. BUT IT IS WORTH IT! Why? Because…

II. The Book Speaks Story
…this strange Book pulsates and reverberates with the story of God’s great love for you!

III. The Book Seals Security
This strange Book becomes Strange Man, and seals His love for us with a covenant.

REFLECT & APPLY: 

• What was/am I relying on to give structure, stability, and safety to my life? 
• Who in my life is experiencing the instability of broken walls and destroyed gates? 
• Who might Jesus be sending me to serve? 

RECAP

I. In the passage we saw broken down walls and gates destroyed by fire. The big point was for an ancient city walls embodied a sense of safety, and gates were the place of justice and stability. Therefore, broken walls and destroyed gates communicates a loss of safety and an experience of instability.

Do things feel wobbly for you at the moment?

And, we know we are in a “season of repair” if something has happened that has led to a loss of safety, and if our days are marked by an experience of instability.

II. The passage also showed us the opportunity we have as people living in modern NYC. People from all over the world come in search of the “walls and gates” offered by the city. And, we have incomparable opportunity to share the love of Jesus, and the hope of perfect safety, stability, and justice of the city to come (Rev. 21).

III. We ultimately saw that God uses a cup-bearer to repair the broken walls and gates of Jerusalem. Nehemiah has unique access to the King, but does not “look-in” to grow that influence, but instead “looks-out” to find a people to leverage his privilege for. 

And, we see that Jesus is the perfect cup-bearer. He serves a people in need not only by “looking out” but also by inverting the cup-bearer model. Cup-bearers were servants who nourished the king. But Jesus is the true King, who drank the cup of God’s justice, so that an unfaithful people could be nourished. 

How do we find strength to rebuild when things fall apart? We find strength to rebuild by singing and being sung over.

This past Sunday we saw that the reality of building or re-building can be incredibly discouraging. In Ezra 3 and 4, God’s people faced constraints in resources, constraints in power, and people actively trying to frustrate their efforts. 

So, we asked the question, how do we face the realities and challenges of piecing up pieces? We saw in the text that the sound of rebuilding is marked by both weeping and joy. And this teaches us that as Christians, we pick up the pieces by living “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” 

If we are exclusively rejoicing, then this most likely means we are living DELUSIONAL, unable to move with wisdom in a fallen world. Yet, if we are exclusively sorrowful, we will live DEFEATED, passive and anxious.

Yet, if we live “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,” then we will live DETERMINED, anchored and unyielding in the face of uncertainty and difficulty. 

We can live this way by singing and being sung over. In v.10, God’s people sing a song about God’s love for them. We have confidence to sing this song today, because we see in Scripture that God sings his love over us (Zephaniah 3.17, Matthew 27.46). 

And because God sings over us, we can step forward resolute, sorrowful yet always rejoicing, because he can work out a deliverance no matter our situation.