FOUNDRYcast

Have you ever had an awesome neighbor? They can totally change your standard of living. Instead of just a simple "Hey, can I borrow this?" you might end up with a radically different understanding of community. But have you ever had a frustrating neighbor? When we lived in Kentucky we were pretty much next door to a meth house. Let me tell you, that was interesting.

Neighbors are interesting because they are people who have to inhabit rather intimate spaces with and we don't get to necessarily decide who they are. I remember hearing once how Ozzy Osbourne lived next door to Pat Boone and Ozzy would call him his favorite neighbor ever.

Surprising. Huh?

Jesus got into a conversation about neighbors once. And in it, he gave us what is probably the most famous parable ever.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?"

The man answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!"

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied with a story: "A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

"By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

"Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, 'Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here.'

"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked.

The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy."

Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same." Luke 10:25-37 NLT

In this passage we see the foundation of how Jesus asks us to live inside this world. Devote ourselves fully to God and trust that the aftereffects will be the life He asks us to live. In this story, Jesus asks us to reflect on how our own faith changes us and to what levels are we willing to let it change us.

Let's be part of this conversation together.

We've got a complicated relationship with work. We want to find fulfillment and value in life...but we also need to pay the bills. For most of us, it means finding a balance between what we enjoy and what doesn't drive us crazy (but anything can make us a little crazy...right?).

So work is a little complicated.

Work actually begins at the very beginning. It's part of Adam's life as he is tasked to take care of things...the proper word is to "steward." Work changed after sin came into this world, and it quit being fulfilling and turned into...well...work. Later on God drew a people to Himself and one of the ways there were tasked to set themselves apart as holy was to stop working one day a week. It was called "Sabbath" and it was not only supposed to be a day to refuel and rest, but also a way to say "I believe God has this so under control I don't need to worry about losing a day of work" and it worked. Kinda. As humans tend to do, we got a little picky about this day.

One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, "Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?"

Jesus said to them, "Haven't you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions."

Then Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!"

Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand.Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus' enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man's hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, "Come and stand in front of everyone." Then he turned to his critics and asked, "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" But they wouldn't answer him.

He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus. Mark 2:23-3:6

Jesus tended to get people a little worried about His manner of Sabbath keeping. He was not necessarily concerned with false following, but instead of creating the type of life the Sabbath was originally intended to envision. The story the religious leaders insisted on wasn't one of holiness and rest, but one of restriction and judgement. It was about as far away from the theme of trust that Sabbath originally intended.

The way we rest tells a story about the way we trust.

So what does it mean to look back on this labor day and think about how we rest. Do we rest with trust or do we rest with anxiety? Is our resting even resting...or are we just trying to convince ourselves we have done it? Let's talk this Sunday.

How good are you at finding things? Perhaps a better question is how good are you at losing things? I once lost my keys and functioned for months without a way to lock my dorm room, access my mailbox and only could drive my car because I had given my roommate a spare key. Ultimately, the keys were right in front of me. They had fallen into the center of a wire spool we were using as a coffee table #collegelife.

Jesus was asked about finding the kingdom by a group of religious leaders one time. They wanted to know when and where it would come. Jesus answer surprised them.

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the Kingdom of God come?"

Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs. You won't be able to say, 'Here it is!' or 'It's over there!' For the Kingdom of God is already among you. Luke 17:20-21

In his own way, Jesus was telling them that what they were hoping for was right under their noses...but they just couldn't see it. The idea of having what you've dreamed for...right in front of you, and not having the ability to see and experience it would drive most of us crazy. But this is the thing, the kingdom is right here. We just struggle to see it because it doesn't look like what we would expect it to. We've got the same problems. So let's talk about how we can fix this.

Over the last couple of weeks we have dug deep into what the idea of the Kingdom of God means. This week, we are going to get a little specific and Jack Lockeby will be sharing from an encounter someone had with Jesus. It makes us ask tough questions of our own discipleship and what it means to follow Jesus.

As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go."

But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head."

He said to another person, "Come, follow me."

The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father."

But Jesus told him, "Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead![l] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God."

Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family."

But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." Luke 957-62 NLT

Jesus gets a little harsh with the young man. But Jesus is testing his understanding of what following means. So let's talk about what it means to follow through with our promise of following Jesus

One of the most common teachings of Jesus is the "Kingdom of God". We've been dancing around it this last year in our year of Jesus*, but now is the time to jump into the bigger picture. And the best place to really start of with is…well, the start of the whole Kingdom of God idea. Matthew's gospel brings it up at the beginning of the Jesus story.

In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." 3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,

"He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!' 4 John's clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John.6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. Matthew 3:1-5 NLT

John the Baptist is one of my favorite people in the gospels, and we don't know that much about him. In fact, this passage really gives us about everything we do know. He is acting like an ancient prophet, living in the wilderness, and calling people to become aware of their sins so they can encounter the kingdom of God. And this call for us to encounter, experience, and live in the kingdom of God is much like the call he made to people thousands of years ago. We come to the reality and truth of who Jesus is just like people did then, in fact, even better…because we know the end of the Jesus story.

What John calls people to do is turn and recognize. To see how their actions might have an effect on the way they experience God and how well they can hear God asking them to be active in the world.

Our first conversation will be about recognition. See you in worship

Over the last year, we have been focusing on gospel passages and the teachings of Jesus on Sunday morning. We have looked at stories He shared, the way he challenged both people and systems, and we've also talked about how people chose to share these stories in the four books we call The Gospels.

But what do we do with it?

After we have been exposed to Jesus, what should our reaction be?

In the last moment on earth, Jesus gave his disciples one instruction. And it was pretty simple.

Go invite folks to follow me as you have followed me.

We call it "The Great Commission" and you can find it at the very end of Matthew's gospel.

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20

When we look at how the disciples took this instruction to task, we see the church rapidly grew over the next few years. They didn't just add to their numbers, the genuinely multiplied who they were. They were able to do this because they understood that with the kingdom of God comes kingdom abundance. Jesus, because of who He is, has the ability to do things we can't even comprehend. And then He invites us into this sort of life with him.

Followers create other followers.

Multiplication creates movements.

So what does it mean to release a Jesus focused movement that truly multiplies in our neighborhoods?

The first step is we have to understand the sort of math Jesus practiced. And we are going to hit the first few lessons up this week.

See you in worship.

Have you ever wished for a 2nd chance? Thought about what it could look like, what you might do different?

I think we all have. It's an important thing.

Peter, after last week, most certainly needed a second chance. And the gospels tell us about the smaller run-ins he had with Jesus after the resurrection. But I imagine Peter still had that weird feeling in the back of his mind. Wondering if everything could go back, or was he forgiven.

Our story this week tells us about the moment he is waiting for, and in this story, we all find a lesson we can all learn about following.

Our Purpose is Wrapped Up in Our Following.

Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing."

"We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who he was. He called out, "Fellows, have you caught any fish?"

"No," they replied.

Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!" So they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

"Bring some of the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn.

"Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love you."

"Then feed my lambs," Jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question: "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

"Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know I love you."

"Then take care of my sheep," Jesus said.

A third time he asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Then feed my sheep.

This story can function like a tiny gospel. In fact, it looks a lot like Jesus and Peters first interaction. And there are layers of lessons inside it, but our lesson is the same lesson Peter had to learn. We are identified in how we follow Jesus, not how we ask Jesus to follow us.

Have you ever found yourself backed into a corner? It's the hard way to learn the world isn't what we thought it was or doesn't work like we want it to. And this is an old tale. Sometimes we learn it easy and sometimes we learn it hard.

Peter, a disciple of Jesus, learned a bunch of lessons. And over the next couple of weeks we are going to talk about what might be the hardest one. But this was a lesson he had to go through in order to become the person he was called to be.

Simon Peter asked, "Lord, where are you going?"

And Jesus replied, "You can't go with me now, but you will follow me later."

"But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. "I'm ready to die for you."

Jesus answered, "Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me. John 13:36-38 NLT

Peter was willing to follow Jesus anywhere, but on his own terms. The problem was Peter's terms couldn't provide what was needed. In this case, it was Jesus dying for the whole world. Jesus confronted Peter's worldview and told him it wasn't even big enough for himself, much less the whole world.

So let's get into the big story together.

So who gets to belong?

That's a big question. We could almost say the majority of our social discourse these days is about who gets to belong and at what level. The conversation begins when we are kids on the playground and in the classroom and sadly continues throughout our entire life.

At our best, recognize differences and learn to live and work together. At our worst, we dehumanize and begin to work off of a scale of social worth.

And this has happened for thousands of years.

Jesus encountered it in His ministry and this situation puts a few things forward that we need to consider.

Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.

15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus' followers.) 16 But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?"

17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." Mark 2:13-17

Jesus encounters people at all of their level of belonging. And his message isn't as simple or cut and dry as we would like it. But His world wasn't simple and our world isn't simple. Let's learn from the one who can actually instruct us with the truth.

So what surprises you? I'm not necessarily talking about someone jumping out from behind a door, but what behavior do you so rarely see that you end up genuinely surprised when you encounter it? They can be both negative and positive actions, but we all have the things that we hope for, but rarely see.

Even Jesus. Yep, the big guy himself ends up surprised in this story.

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matthew 8:5-13

Jesus is coming into Capernaum, the home base of ministry, and ends up in a conversation with (probably) the highest ranking military officer around. This interaction is rich in all sorts of do's and don'ts for Jewish people, and a roman officer who is willingly placing himself underneath these cultural and religious expectations. And at the end of this, Jesus gets legitimately surprised. To the point He has to gather Himself and respond. All because of the willingness of this centurion.

But there is a reason he is doing so. And a reason that he does submit. And in this officers conversation we see him having an understanding of faithful obedience, to a level that Jesus has not even seen the Jewish people have. This Sunday we will be jumping into this unbelievable interaction to see what this faithful obedience does when we choose to live with it.