Ephesians 4:25-28

James 3:13-18

Ephesians 4:14-16

Ephesians 4:7-16

Too Busy (not) to BelongThe Invitation to Experience Christ’s Counter-Cultural CommunityInspired by Ephesians Chapter Four Read Ephesians 4:1-6 CommentaryHow would you define the “good life”? What does human flourishing look like? We’re all interested in this, obviously, but there are many different points of view. I think we would all agree that whatever true happiness is, community has to be a part of it. Healthy, loving, life-giving community. Almost everyone believes in community, but we tend to live a contradiction. We believe in it, but we don’t have time for it. We don’t make time for it. We crave it but we don’t create it by participating. We’re too busy. Just like we believe in getting into shape but don’t have time to work out. We’re so busy. “I’d like to be there/to belong there, but I won’t/I can’t be there.” In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul provides a portrait of community that is so essential and so appealing … we have to find the time for it. This is the Resurrection Community --- comprised of a new humanity that finds its identity in the finished work of Christ. “Live a life worthy of your calling,” Paul writes from prison --- in light of the grace freely, purposefully, lavishly given to us (Eph. 1). This calling not only connects us directly, intimately to God but also immediately and everlastingly to the new community God intends. This new community is … Christ-centered: our ultimate loyalty is to Him; He directs our lives as we submit to Him; His values become our own; His character is formed in us Relationship-focused: joined to Him, we are related to each other in a new and dynamic and edifying way; we are incomplete without each other; everyone is valuable, valued and contributes an indispensable gift Purposeful: we are not simply saved for the sake of ourselves, but together we courageously engage with Him on His mission to reconcile and restore the world(!) Transformational: our experience in the Body of Christ, this Resurrection Community, will change us completely and forever into God’s best version of His image --- expressed distinctively through each one of us We participate in, and contribute to, this new community by … “Being completely humble and gentle”: trusting God to provide for all of our needs, we become selfless and self-giving and exceedingly considerate of other people and their real needs “Practicing patience, bearing with one another in love”: suspending stereotypes, judgments and expectations of others --- so that we can get to really know them, and support them, and care for them “Making every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”: bringing a wonderful diversity into an inter-dependent unity, because of our common allegiance to Christ, genuine affection for each other, and shared commitment to demonstrate the Gospel How do we handle the tension between unity and diversity? God as Trinity represents the most elegant resolution of this dialectic. God is One and God is Community --- is Father, Son and Spirit --- at the same time. Unity (and the peace it provides) in Diversity (with the energy it brings) is the ideal. This convergence describes the ideal, co-equal, mutually submitted community, patterned after the eternal love affair among the Three Persons of the One God. The Bible doesn’t teach uniformity (an ugly caricature of unity), and it does not allow anarchy (the propaganda of a divisive diversity). This new community is neither rigid (monolithic) nor permissive (fragmented). It is a projection of the Kingdom of God, a preview of God’s will done on earth. A prized picture of the impossible. The Resurrection Community is the triumph of … Life over deathFaith over fearServing over selfishnessFaithfulness over betrayalForgiveness over alienationEager cooperation over ego-exalting competition According to the New Testament (and Ephesians 4:6), there is such a thing as … Community without ConformityIndividuality without Isolation Exclusivity without Exclusion God created you to be unique, Christ died for you and His love claims you, we welcome you and accept you just as you are … you belong to us and you belong with us (we want you!), you are invited to join us in discovering and following Christ, and we hope you will bless us and our world with your special calling and gifts! Questions1. Is community essential? Why? In what ways is it appealing to you, and in what ways not?2. What is the Resurrection Community? What will be the experience of someone who is a part of it?3. What does it mean to be “completely humble”? How could that become true of you?4. Why is “bearing with one another in love” so crucial for community? Do others ever have to bear with you?5. How should a church community manage/celebrate the tension between unity and diversity?

John 20:1-18

Luke 22:39-46

Luke 18:18-30

The Radical Affirmationist (Part Two)II Corinthians 1:18-22 (The Message)I try to be as true to my word as God is to his. Our word to you wasn’t a careless yes cancelled by an indifferent no. How could it be? When Silas and Timothy and I proclaimed the Son of God among you, did you pick up any yes-and-no, on-again, off-again waffling? Wasn’t it a clean strong Yes? Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray and practice, the great Amen --- God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge --- a sure beginning of what he is determined to complete. CommentaryAgain, with Paul the Apostle to the Pagans, we can affirm that all the promises of God are Yes in Christ. All that God intends to give us and do for us --- as elaborated in the Old Testament --- are fulfilled through Christ. And all that God promises correspond precisely, as it turns out, to the deepest longings of the human heart. Everything (everything!) we need is provided --- beyond our fondest hopes and wildest dreams, and in gracious opposition to our harmful delusions and damaging fantasies. God says Yes, he always says Yes … except when he says no … but he only says no on the way to Yes! Readings in Scripture related to this unusual claimPsalm 30:5Hosea 11:8, 9Luke 15:22-24Romans 8:28-39Hebrews 12:7-13James 2:17Revelation 22 God’s grand purpose is to re-direct history away from inevitable judgment and personal tragedy, and toward the blessings we experience when we trust him to provide and when we align our lives with his perfect design. God redeems, revives and releases us. Nowhere is this more powerfully and shockingly portrayed than in the Cross. God absorbs the No of judgment, paying our penalty and removing our impossible-to-pay debt, in order to get us to the Yes of salvation, of forgiveness, of well-being, of flourishing, of a new life in relationship with our Creator, of everlasting joy! Reflecting God’s Yes (once we have taken it all the way in) to those around us is a big risk. Always has been, always will be. What if they don’t care, what if they misunderstand us? What if they resist, what if they resent us and hate us? On the other hand, what if a credible representation of God’s Yes is what they have always wanted to see? What if God’s Yes rescues and restores someone … even one person within range of your kind and selfless, Christ-honoring Yes? Isn’t the risk worth it? More QuestionsDo we get this? Do we get the Gospel … the Good News that Christ has decisively intervened in our perpetual crisis and has become our way Home? Our only way …Our escalating encounter with God’s incredible invitation … Are we interested in this? Are you, at least, interested?Do we believe this? Do you? Do you really?Do we know this? Do you? Are you completely convinced?Do we feel this? Do you? Are you passionate, energized?Do we celebrate this? Do we express this? Do we live this? Do you??? Homework (if you dare)1. Ask someone in your inner circle of family and closest friends: Does my face, my tone of voice, my choice of words, my relationships and interactions, does my heart … reflect God’s Yes?2. Practice expressing God’s Yes to those in your larger circle of acquaintances and colleagues. Consciously, prayerfully, intentionally, with your attitude, demeanor and manner of responding.3. Pray frequently and fervently for the strangers you meet and the enemies you may have accumulated … in a reversal of expectations that re-sets and re-sends Heaven’s no-longer-suppressed Yes.

The Radical AffirmationistII Corinthians 1:18-22 As surely as God is faithfulOur message to you is not "Yes" and "No" ...For the Son of God, Jesus ChristWho was preached among you by me and Silas and TimothyWas not "Yes and "No" ...But in him it has always been "Yes" ...For no matter how many promises God has madeThey are "Yes" in Christ And so through him the "Amen" (= the "Yes"!) is spoken by us to the glory of God Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in ChristHe anointed us ...Set his seal of ownership on us ...Put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit ...Guaranteeing what is to come Commentary 1. All the Promises of God are YES in ChristThe remarkable thing is that the promises of God correspond exactly to the deepest longings in the human heart. These fantastic promises, given and repeated throughout the Old Testament, are fulfilled when Christ comes ... and they are extended to us. Do I have value? Yes! You are made in the very image of God. Is there forgiveness for me? Am I accepted? Yes! Because of Christ's death on the cross. Is there meaning, purpose and significance to my life? Yes! In Christ you are specially designed, called and empowered. Is there strength, endurance and resilience for me? Yes, Yes and Yes! He promises and provides ("I can all things through him who gives me strength"). Is there love, friendship and companionship for me? Yes! You are invited to join the family of God and revel in the Spirit-filled fellowship. Is there a way through the wailing wall called death? Yes! Because of the resurrection of Jesus, the precedent that assures us of God's intentions and power. God doesn't say Yes to everything (thank God!). Only to his promises --- to all the blessings he knows we need. And they are delivered to us in Christ, God's personalized delivery system. When we trust Christ, the promises of God are applied and realized. This is the best news ever! This is the Gospel. 2. No, on the Way to YesAt the center of the universe is a resounding Yes. I believe in the God who says Yes. I believe in the God who always says Yes ... except when he says No ... but he only says No on the way to Yes(!?!). In the Garden he says No to Adam and Eve after they rebelled against him --- they are banished from paradise (they have ruined the project). But, already, God is preparing a way forward to a wonderful Yes --- to the restoration of his beloved humanity (see Gen. 3:16). This Yes will cost God dearly. It will one day cost him the life of his Son. Israel will wander in the wilderness under the glare of God's disapproval --- until these favored, frequently failing people are ready to possess the promised land. This is pure gift for an often disoriented and disobedient tribe. The Apostle Paul concludes in Romans 11:32 that "God has bound all men (Jews and Gentiles, the so-called righteous and the obviously unrighteous) over to disobedience ... so that he may have mercy on them all." God finds a way to Yes in the worst of circumstances when every expectation is judgment and rejection forever ... because God is love. God is extremely determined to effect a great reversal. John the visionary writes in Revelation 21 about the ultimate outcome of God's drive to a final Yes, against all odds. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away ... I saw the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will love with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away ... I am making everything new! ... To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.'" How many affirmations did you count in this paragraph?! 3. We are Commissioned to Reflect God's YesIf we have responded to God's Yes, if we are confident in our relationship with Christ, if we are finding our new identity in his compelling Word and our joy in his embrace and our freedom in his favor ... we must share this Yes with anyone and everyone who is struggling in a cold, dark nether-world of negation. Does your face express God's Yes? Do your words, your tone of voice, your interest, your generosity, your kindness and compassion and service reveal the Divine Yes? Do we engage each other, and our unbelieving neighbors, with God's relentless, inviting, unequivocal and shocking Yes? Indifference and neutrality may be better than overt hostility, but there is no Yes there. Polite distance, inoffensiveness and tolerance may pass for Yes but are unconvincing and unworthy of a follower of Jesus. Are we sending mixed messages (Yes/No)? God's Yes is conveyed with unconcealed delight and un-contained concern --- that people we meet may wonder at such a caring reception. And wonder out loud about the reason for your warm and open heart. Why is it that we Christians are more known for what we are against than what we are for? This should not be! Many of us are looking for love in all the wrong places (of course --- we are human, we are flawed, we are desperate) ... but nobody should ever be shamed because he/she is looking for love. God made us for love, his amazing love, that meets our deepest needs. He is the God who redeems and re-directs and re-instills hope. He does this for those who are close to the Kingdom and for those who are far away. God in Christ does it for us, and through us ... until his overriding Yes is unmistakable and almost irresistible. Questions1. When you think of God, do you think of Yes? How did you get this? How did you miss this? When did God's Yes to you become clear?2. Do you believe that when God seems to be saying No, he is actually working on a way to Yes? Are you living with some level of despair because you find it hard to believe this? Is there any area of your life where you have given up on God's Yes?3. If we are called to reflect God's Yes (to "speak the Amen"), how can we do it, practically speaking? An example, please. Will it make a difference if you do?4. What can we do as a community of faith to reflect God's Yes: in our homes, at work, at play, when we are wandering around, when we gather as the church(!), in dark and discouraging places?5. Are you ready to join the (2000 year-old) cult of the Radical Affirmationist?