Epiclesis

On this Sunday, we came to three little verses that cap off Matthew 10. And it’s the last thing— the last bit of instruction, the final words if commission— that Jesus gave before He sent His Apostles off on their mission.

Wonder if the apostles were trying to grapple with the fact that their lives truly were no longer their own? Now they had to take on the same mission— and even the destiny— of their Master.

Jesus is saying it very plainly— He’s laying it right out there—that His messengers, His apostles, should expect persecution. Jesus even goes as far to say that His apostles should expect being flogged. Should we expect persecution as modern-day followers of Jesus? Join us as we look at a passage in Matthew 10, and along the way we also think about what it means to pledge our allegiance to Christ.

As Jesus traveled around through the villages of Galilee, large crowds gathered around Him. Matthew describes those people as confused and helpless. Why did Jesus begin His ministry there, and why does the Gospel compare the people to sheep? Join Pastor Chris as he continue our series where we're "telling the story of Jesus," as the beloved old hymn says.

The artwork associated with this podcast/sermon is "The Good Shepherd" by Daniel Bonnell, one of our favorites at Epiclesis. You can find his art at www.BonnellArt.com.

 

We're in the long season after Pentecost and on this particular Sunday, Pastor Chris began a short series examining the Gospel readings. Matthew's account of the person and work of Jesus is full of wonderful stories. Our first story records Jesus healing several people, and one of them in particular is praised by Jesus for her faith. The Greek word is "pistis." But does our word "faith" adequately and fully describe what the Bible means? Let's dive in and learn!

The painting associated with this sermon/podcast is titled "The Encounter" by Daniel Cariola. It is displayed in the chapel's lower level (recently excavated down to street level at the time of Jesus) in Magdala. The scene is the healing of the woman with the "issue of blood."

Other photos Pastor Chris referred to:

 

Duc in Altum Chapel exterior

Duc in Altum Chapel interior

Duc in Altum Chapel lower level

 

At the request of several in our congregation, Pastor Chris took on the task of looking carefully at End Times theology and “last things.” With some American evangelicals, it’s an article of faith that the modern nation-state of Israel and the “Rapture” are important (even vital) parts of the End Times. Yet… is that what the Bible actually teaches? And is that what the Church, down through the ages, has always believed? Those are important questions. And not because they are essential questions of the faith, but because they can result in essential questions of the faith: What is the Church? Who is Jesus, and is His sacrifice on the cross enough? Did Jesus fulfill all the Old Testament covenant promises?

Here’s the pivotal question for our study: What do the Scriptures actually say? And how did the early church and the Church Fathers interpret those particular Scriptures? Join Pastor Chris for an in-depth, six-part series on the End Times.

He writes this: “In these matters, I freely acknowledge that I don’t know everything, and that I believe most of these matters are surely ‘non-essential tenets’ of the faith. My primary passion is, foremost, for Jesus and also for the historic orthodox faith handed down to us across the ages. In this series, I affirm my love for Israel and why I think the modern nation-state should be supported. And yet I take a very careful look at what the Bible and subsequent biblical commentators has to say about End Times. Apart from Scripture, I combed through and used many sources for this study and I’m indebted especially to author and commentator Steve Gregg whose careful scholarship and balanced, peaceable, and pastoral approach I greatly admire.”

Check out this series if your desire is to examine Scripture deeply, interpret it seriously, listen carefully to how the orthodox church through the ages has traditionally interpreted it, and test the assumptions that so many evangelical Christians make.”

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Here are the Audio Files for Each of the Six Sessions:

Session one: Intro: The End Times

Session two: The Abrahamic Covenant 

Session three: The Covenant at Sinai   

Session four: The Davidic Covenant  

Session Five: The New Covenant and the Future of Israel  

Session Six: End Times, Summing Up, and Our Christianly Response  

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And Here Are the Outlines Handed Out for Each Session:

Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5, Session 6

Other Supplemental Materials:

1. Responses related to a person’s questions after session 1: The Rapture, Tribulation, and other Scriptures 
2. Response to questions raised by two more participants after session 2: Question about some Sinaitic curses possibly being hyperbolic; Answer to Bible texts offered in support of the rapture and the second coming
3. Two questions that came up after session 5: Questions about heaven and about apocalyptic language.
4. Session Six Supplement: A Christianly Response to Dispensationalism; A Christianly Response to the Modern-Day State of Israel.

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And Finally, an Overall Outline for the Series:

 Israel and the End Times

 Session 1: Where to Begin?

                First things first: Assumptions and limitations. Dispensationalism in America.

Session 2: Prophecy and Promises, Part 1

                Covenant with Abraham

Session 3: Prophecy and Promises, Part 2

                Sinaitic Covenant

Session 4: Prophecy and Promises, Part 3

   The Davidic Covenant

Session 5: The New Covenant and Israel’s Future

Session 6: Summing Up. The Christianly Response to Dispensationalism. The Christianly Response to Israel. Discussion.

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The artwork associated with this post is a detail of the “Last Judgement” by Michaelangelo (on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel) (c. 1541).

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The Holy Spirit was surely present and at work many times in God's Story throughout the Old Testament. So, what made the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost different than previous times? Join Pastor Chris as he looks at three Old Testament characters, radically empowered by the Holy Sprit, as a lens through which to look at the breathtaking events of that first Pentecost Sunday.

The image posted with this sermon/podcast is a mosaic depicting the Day of Pentecost. The artist and location are unknown.

Scripture tells us that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

And so, the ancient church, the early church Fathers, and the historic creeds affirm that the bodily ascension of Christ is a vital part of God’s Big Story. Without it, the saving work of the Lord Jesus would be significantly incomplete.

And yet more recently, the church, especially the Western church, has either neglected Christ’s ascension, or underestimated and misunderstood its significance.

In this sermon, Pastor Chris makes the case for sayingthat all four parts of the work of Christ-- Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension-- are critical and can’t be separated or removed from the other.

The artwork that Pastor Chris referred to is "The Ascension" by British painter Ford Madox Brown. The full image is here. The lower portion is here. The middle, here. And the top portion is here. The top portion is being used as the featured image for this podcast/sermon.

The handout/notes we used is viewable/downloadable here.

In this final sermon in a series on the first letter of Peter, we took a close look at the first six emperors of Rome. Why? To provide some vivid and even shocking context for what otherwise might seem like easy words and phrases in the Scripture passages. The details, frankly, are gruesome; and they are important for us to know. They're also why Peter's words hit all the harder: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."

Are those words for us today, too? Yes, indeed, and Peter's admonitions help focus our responses to the sometimes gruesome nature of the world around us.

Join us as we dive into one of the most chaotic, brutal, but formational times in Christian history.

The image associated with this post is "The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer" (detail) by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1883).

Christian person, have you ever thought of yourself as a priest?

Our baptism makes us to be people who share in the priesthood of all believers. We are to minister in a kind of priesthood, through the power of the Holy Spirit, spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and offer sacrifices of love and praise to God the Father in and through our daily lives.

On this Sunday, Dr. Jay Dudley taught from 1 Peter 2:24 and showing that an intended result of Christ bearing our sin is that we die to it and live to righteousness. The word translated "die" here is a euphemism meaning "absent" or "missing." This suggests that we can increasingly die to sin-- by thinking and acting absent, missing, not available to it. The sermon explores this and three other biblically grounded pictures of spiritual practices that strengthen resolve and resistance to temptation and sin.