Family Chapel

The metaverse is coming! But while a full-blown metaverse is most likely decades away, much of the foundational impulses driving the metaverse are very much present today and serve as obstacles to renewal. Those obstacles are: the distortion of identity, the disintegration of community, and the dethronement of God. If we want to be able to wisely navigate life in the metaverse, we need to cultivate habits that deny the self, foster community, and prioritize worship. These habits keep us rooted in Christ, and by being rooted, we can experience renewal, even in the metaverse.

Jesus unpacks the kind of life that he offers through the 7 "I Am" statements found in the Gospel of John. Through those statements, we see that the kind of life that is found in Christ provides satisfaction (John 6:35), brings illumination (John 8:12), supplies security (John 10:7-10), comes at a costly price (John 10:11-15), is eternal (John 11:25-26), is exclusive (John 14:6), and is rooted in Christ (John 15:5). Instead of trying to grab life for ourselves, it is far better to receive and rest in the life that Jesus offers.

Evangelism must be a lifestyle rather than a checklist. Three primary and essential aspects to an Evangelistic lifestyle are prayer, hospitality, and discipleship. In the end, our call is to make disciples for His glory, and we cannot make disciples unless we ourselves are being discipled and following Christ.

Work is one of the most significant activities we partake in as humans. Work is not just limited to our jobs or careers, but work is any productive activity we engage in to bring glory to God and good to our neighbors. As such, our workplaces serve as one of the greatest opportunities for our witness. We can be faithful witnesses in our workplaces by doing excellent work, cultivating a healthy work culture, building relationships, and sharing the Gospel.

Christians know that they are called to share the Gospel with others, but the honest truth is that evangelism is very hard. Oftentimes, the obstacles to evangelism are more internal than external. Some of those major obstacles are apathy, fear, forgetfulness, and discouragement. To overcome those obstacles, Christians need to enjoy God's glory, be prepared, remember their identity, and trust that God is at work.

As Joshua nears the end of his life, he offers some closing remarks to the people of Israel. With his final words, he issues the call to renew their covenant with the Lord since each new generation needs to take ownership of their own faith. In calling for renewal, Joshua issues instructions to remember God's faithfulness, obey God's commands, and consider the consequences of breaking covenant with the Lord. In our own age of deconstruction, we too need to hold fast to the faith that has been entrusted to us if we want to make Christ known and share His joy with the next generation.

As the conquest has ended and tribes look to settle into their allotted lands, the Transjordan tribes east of the Jordan River build their own altar out of fear that they would eventually be forgotten and ostracized by the tribes west of the Jordan River. This leads to further misunderstanding and confrontation that must be cleared up. Through this incident, the Israelites reaffirm their loyalty and strengthen their unity by rallying around the worship of Yahweh God. Similarly, our identity in and worship of Christ will sustain a unified body.

After carrying out their conquest of Canaan, Israel is ready to distribute the land amongst the various tribes and clans. One of the recipients is a man named Caleb, who along with Joshua are the only ones from the previous generation who were allowed to enter into the Promise Land. By now, Caleb is an old man, but he is just as excited to carry out God's purposes in his life. And through Caleb's example, we see that we are able to thrive even in our old age by being faithful in our early years, by cultivating a heart of gratitude, by maintaining a vision for God's Kingdom, and by passing the baton to the next generation.

As word spreads about Israel making their way through the land of Canaan, some of the Canaanite kings decide to form a coalition to stop Israel. However, one of these people groups (the Gibeonites) decide to take a different approach. Through this passage we see that there is a hefty cost of commitment in building a covenant community. But we should pay the cost of commitment because our God is a covenant-keeping God and because God blesses commitment.

After the defeat of Jericho, the Israelites look to continue their conquest with the city of Ai. But because of the sin of Achan, the Israelites fall in their attempt. God puts a halt to their mission to root the sin out from the community. Through this narrative, we see the seriousness of sin, the corporate nature/effect of sin, and the urgent need to address sin in a covenanted community that is on mission for God.