Gulf Coast Community Church Podcast – St. Petersburg

What are the non-negotiables of a church? Paul tells the Galatian churches that circumcision, abstaining from certain meats, and special days were not essential. They were, so to speak, negotiated right out. And that even though they were prescribed in the Law. What, then, if anything, is non-negotiable?

Gospel mercy, having a heart and actions that help the poor in their distress, is a non-negotiable in the mission of a true church. James called it true religion. Paul explains to the Galatian churches what he and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem agreed on: although circumcision, dietary restrictions, and special days were not an essential part of a church’s community life, we must “remember the poor” (Gal. 2:10).

Gospel mercy is placed as a priority by King Jesus himself both in the arrangement of the Gospels and in the teaching they contain. The early church testifies to its priority in their life. God himself places the poor in high priority and comes alongside those who do the same to help them.

Join us in worshipping our God and King as we explore the 3rd in our series on our missional priorities: Gospel culture, Gospel formation, Gospel mercy, Gospel outreach, and Gospel unity. It’s placement in the center, at the heart of our priorities, was not intentional (by us), but it sure could have been!

Dallas Willard asks, “If we have gathered people into congregations by appeasing their appetites and desires, how can we help them deal with the fact that their problems in life and character— even ‘in church’— are primarily caused by living to get what they want?”[1]

How we do what we do is formative—it forms us into who we are becoming. Some things form us into conformity with Christ, other things form us further into the conformity with the world. Biblical disciple-making is not successful until new behavior, obedience to the commands of Jesus, has been learned (Matt. 28:18-20). Such behavior is not incorporated until we’ve changed at the level of our desires.

But how do you change what you want? What practices did the early church apply which brought about the transformation behind their unlikely growth, even transformation of the world? An exploration of that history might be surprising, but what it points to are practices of Gospel formation (often called spiritual formation).

This Sunday in worship, as part of our series on Gospel Witness: the Reason for Our Existence, exploring our missional priorities, we are going to talk about Gospel formation and why it is vital to accomplishing the mission of the Gospel.

[1] Carlson and Lueken, Renovation of the Church, forward by Dallas Willard, 2011..

Why do we exist? Not, “Why do you exist as a person?” but “Why do we exist as a church?” What is our purpose? What is essential to our existence, without which our witness, our lampstand would be removed? I think there is more than one answer to that question, but one of those is certainly that we display a Gospel culture here on earth as it is in heaven.

In a day when culture wars have replaced the cold war, when animosity between activists on either side are rampant and raging, what is it that we, the church, a church, are called to strive for? What kind of culture can we strive to exhibit that, when eternity comes, will remain?

While there are many things which are passing away that are ordained by God (such as marriage and government), there are eternal things which shall remain. The temporal things are worthy of our time and care as believers, but the eternal things are central to the mission of the church. What are these which we must pursue as the mission of the church?

This Sunday we will begin a series Gospel Witness: the Reason for Our Existence, beginning with a look at Gospel culture and why it is essential to our purpose.

What might we need to talk about on the 1st day of the year? Or maybe a better question, what might we need to talk about on the 1st Lord’s Day of the year? In a day when faith is on the decline and new life is the only hope one can have, I think we need Easter. The Resurrection.

Any Easter account could do, but I suggest Mark’s account of the Resurrection. Why? Because of everything “missing.” Last week someone commented to me on Christmas that you’d never want to use Mark for your Christmas message. True enough. It’s almost (though not quite) as true that you wouldn’t use Mark’s account of the Resurrection on Easter. Why? Because it is so scant.

Mark’s Gospel calls disciples to the only source of faith in the Resurrection. And such faith is necessary for us to live into the new creation. This is essential for our mission to be accomplished.

Join us in worship as we begin the year celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and discuss its implications for our lives.