This is our second message in this series and our first message from our Facebook live-stream in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. In spite of our anxiety we can still choose faith over fear. In spite of our uncertainty we can still "unroof" the roof that separates our need and God's presence. In spite of our need we can know that Jesus shares his life in order to bring wholeness in place of our brokenness.

We’ve looked at the mystery of Christ’s birth during Advent. We’ll explore the victory of the cross and empty tomb at Easter. But what about the life Jesus lived? This is our focus of our Lenten journey. This week we see how Jesus’ mission and ministry exchanges the world’s darkness for light.

// SERIES CORE IDEAS: The life Jesus lived is the embodiment of the reign and love of God. / The life Jesus lived is the example of a life on earth that's full of heaven.

// CORE IDEA: The mission of Jesus is to bring God's light to every corner of darkness

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Mark 1.21-28

// What Mark wants us to see is that Jesus' authority isn't from intellect or magic but from God and God's power.

// The darkness opposes the light SYSTEMICALLY. (1 John 5.19-20)

// The darkness opposes the light SPIRITUALLY. (Ephesians 2.1-2)

// The LIGHT has destroyed (1 John 3.8) and disarmed (Colossians 2.9-15) the work and power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of light (1 Peter 2.9-10).

// The mission of Jesus is to bring God's light to every corner of darkness and we can join him in turning on the light.

After our children's sermon during our 5th Saturday Family Worship, Pastor Adam explores the three classic Lenten disciplines of Giving, Praying, and Fasting and how we engage them not to earn God's love but to experience even more of the love he has already given to us in Jesus.

SLIDES/RESOURCES--

// SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Matthew 6.1-18

// Jesus is NOT rejecting these tried and true practices, he is reminding us of their purposes -- so that God can transform us and our world.

// When we substitute our relationship with God empty religion, religion has a way of getting us to earn what God has already given us in Christ.

// So why do we give, pray, and fast? So that we can more fully experience God's love, transformation, and power in our lives and in our world.

More than any other season, Lent can be a time where followers of Jesus give, pray, and fast but forget why they do what they do. We don't want to go through the motions. We don't want to follow a list of obligations. Don't we want to be transformed? Don't we want to see our world transformed?

NOTES/RESOURCES--

// Lent (from an old word for "Spring") is the 40-day season of giving, praying, and fasting that precedes Easter.

// I want us to remember why we do the things we do in our relationship & partnership with God -- transformation.

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Micah 6.1-8

// What we have is a people who have substituted a relationship with a ritual; a partnership with passivity.

// QUOTE: “The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us…[they] are God’s way of getting us into the ground; they put us where he can work within us and transform us. By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done." (RICHARD FOSTER, The Celebration of Discipline)

// Micah and the prophets were not calling God's people to reject their practices. Instead, they were calling God's people to recover what's most important.

// MICAH 6.8 (NIV) -- He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

// 1. Make right what's wrong / 2. Let your heart lead your hands / 3. Tread lightly with open eyes.

We're being lied to every day. The lies we're hearing are actually just variations on the very first lies told to humanity in the beginning. So, instead of playing the game "2 Truths and a Lie," we're going to root out 2 lies at the core of every temptation. And, as much as these lies unravel God's good world, the truth we find in Jesus can recreate us from the inside out.

Pastor Adam shares a special giving opportunity with TNC. Consider joining us in blessing a wonderful kingdom partner here in Garland.

We often think of peace as a passive serenity or a lack of disturbance or conflict. Here we take a closer look at our 5th core practice, Bring Peace, and learn about the active peace of Jesus that disrupts the flow of brokenness in order to set things right; how he disrupts our life for the better and invites us to take part in bringing a changing peace to our neighbors.

QUOTE --

"The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies.

"In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing , wholeness and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts are fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior open doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights.

"Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.”

// Cornelius Platinga

From: Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin

When you think about Jesus' life, you might think of his healing, teaching, or miracle working. But do you ever think of Jesus relaxing and resting? It might surprise you, but the truth is that Jesus regularly made time to sit with his Father in prayer and to sit with others around a table, campfire, or party. As his followers, we commit to create this kind of space in our everyday lives, too. This practice is not easy but it is essential if we want to transform our relationship with God, our church, and our neighbors.

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

SCRIPTURE FOCUS // Luke 10.38-42

CORE PRACTICE 4 // We commit to make time for God and others for transformational relationships to grow.

BIG IDEA // Creating Space reorients the “MANY THINGS” around the “ONE THING”

// Jesus creates space for someone no one had room for. Before Mary chose to sit with Jesus, Jesus chose to make room for her.

QUOTE // “I suspect that women liked Jesus primarily for one reason: he paid attention to them. He struck up conversations with them, listened to their problems, even paid them the supreme compliment of believing they were teachable -- an assumption rare in those days, even among the most liberal Pharisees. In fact, though Jews had an obligation to teach Torah to their male children, their daughters routinely went uneducated.” (VIRGINIA STEM OWENS in Looking for Jesus)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION // How can we expect to LIVE like Jesus if we are never WITH Jesus to LEARN from Jesus? // How can we expect to grow in relationships with others without spending time together? // How can we expect to LOVE like Jesus if we never create space to experience his loving presence?

The word "Disciple" is essentially another word for "Apprentice." How do apprentices learn from their master? Whatever the discipline, you can bet it involves hands-on training. In this message, we look at a case study of Jesus' inner circle of apprentices who were bold enough to step out and do the same work their Master was doing. This is some remarkable on-the-job training for some apprentices growing into their own. What about your own growth? What on-the-job training is our Master inviting us to take on? How do we grow in our mission and faith?

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SLIDES/RESOURCES--

// SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Luke 9.1-6

// CORE PRACTICE 3: We commit to invite people into a relationship with Jesus by baptizing, teaching, and sending them on mission.

// Growing Disciples involves on-the-job training in both MISSION and FAITH

// “For as many breakdowns that exist, Christ redeems, repairs, and continues redeeming through a multiplicity of signs and wonders, pointing us to a place of righteousness, justice, and peace, and joy—heaven. In the Scriptures, each of Christ’s miracles pointed to a whole gospel for the whole world, yet was localized for particular needs. That’s what made Jesus’ ministry holistic, restorative, and integrative: each sign and wonder tethered people back to God, with those who experienced miracles becoming a sign to others of God’s wondrous work.” (JOSÉ HUMPHREYS / Seeing Jesus in East Harlem, p. 22)

// Jesus gave (v. 1)...They healed (v. 6); Jesus sent (v. 2)...They went (v. 6); Jesus told (v. 3)...They proclaimed (v. 6)

// The disciples DID what Jesus DID because the disciples HAD what Jesus HAD.

// We grow in MISSION by being willing to do what Jesus did with the power and authority he gives.

// "Our openness may become the penultimate material for miracles to take place." (JOSÉ HUMPHREYS / Seeing Jesus in East Harlem, p. 31)

// What's the next "YES" the Holy Spirit is nudging you toward?

// HOW matters

// The gospel message must not only be TOLD but EMBODIED.

// We grow in FAITH by living HOW Jesus lived -- in complete dependence.

// Disciples are never grown alone. To be an apprentice is to have a Master. Our Master has given us His body and the Holy Spirit.

// When we step out into mission and in faith, Jesus gives us what we need when we need it.

// MATTHEW 28.18-20 (NLT): 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.”

We continue to explore TNC's 5 Core Practices this week with our commitment to Love Neighbor. TNC Core Practice 2: "We commit to love others regardless of race, background, ethnicity, orientation, or status."

NOTES:

Scripture- Luke 10:25-37

The Good Samaritan

Jesus equates loving neighbor with showing mercy.

Who is my neighbor?

Any person I come in contact with

How do I love them?

Model after the good Samaritan

Pay attention, see them as people, show mercy, meet the need, bring the outsider in, use my power and resources to help those who have none, Understand, accept, and embrace the cost

Questions for Reflection:

Which of my neighbors are difficult for me to love?

Where are the opportunities for me to show mercy to others?

(What am I afraid of?)

Where is the Holy Spirit leading me to love my neighbors?