You've probably been there -- that moment when you're fed up and you're ready to cut ties and run. That new responsibility, that difficult job, place, or relationship...what do we do? Sometimes it's the right thing to make a change, most times, though, we need a reminder that it is in these moments we have opportunities to grow if we would lean into difficulty and community. Scripture reminds us that we're made from community, for community, and we're even formed by community, it's central to our humanity and growth. We're looking at 4 Psalms in the 4 weeks of August that remind us that we're not alone in how we feel and that God is not done with us.

RESOURCES:

// QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

- Have you ever felt that impulse to cut ties + run away? When?

- Have you ever been tempted to think you’re better off alone? Why?

// THE PSALMS

- The Psalms are a book of ancient songs that have been a prayer book for God’s people (individually + corporately) for centuries

- The Psalms cover the scope of human emotion + experience

- The Psalms are timeless + universal

- The Psalms give us permission to be real before God + others

// THIS SERIES

- You might not feel this way now but I bet you have + you will

- You might notice we’re not addressing “positive” seasons. But the truth is that beneath every Psalm is an undercurrent of hope that things will look up + that God is always at work

- So, every week every Psalm will remind us of at least 2 things: 1. You are not alone + 2. God is not done

// TONIGHT’S BIG IDEA

- When you want to “go it alone,” remember that you are made from community, for community, + you are formed by community.

// TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE: PSALM 95 (NIV)

- Note all the “communal” words here: “Us,” “Our,” “They”…

- Note the shifts in mood, movement, subject…

// WHAT ARE SOME WAYS WE’RE FORMED BY COMMUNITY?

We remind each other of God’s kingdom + story of renewal

We benefit from each other’s gifts God gave to build up others

We give each other the training ground to live out the relational ethics of the kingdom (Romans 12; Colossians 3; Galatians 6…)

We celebrate transformation, we grieve loss, we live life together

// WORSHIP + COMMUNITY

Why do we gather as a community?

- To meet God, to meet others

- To meet God with others, to meet God in others

Why do we worship individually and as a community?

1. To remember our story

2. To respond to the Author

What are some different expressions of worship you’ve experienced?

// GOING FORWARD

- “If only you would hear his voice,” what do you think he’d say?

- Is there a “Next Step” toward God or others you feel led to take?

- What do you think God is forming in you this month?

- How might your community, family, or friends be involved in your formation into the person God has created + empowered you to be?

How do you define God? Sometimes we live by “false narratives”, and we live our life based on that description of God. We continue tonight in our Summer Series, “Is God…a good luck charm?”

In this description, we find we are reducing God into a “product” that, giving what we think we need to achieve happiness. By exposing our “false narratives” and replacing them with “true narratives”, we are given the clear picture of God, the way that Jesus sees Him. People who see God only as a product, are missing the point! He is the very happiness they are searching for.

The "breaking of bread" and the "drinking from the cup" are central to our beliefs as Christians. This beautiful image demonstrates the ultimate sacrifice God made on our behalf; giving His only Son to die for us. Unfortunately, we sometimes approach the table as a habit and we lose sight of the significance and beauty of it. We need to be reminded of it beauty and significance. Sometimes referred to as Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper, and The Eucharist, the “Table" is the Open Door into moments with God, realizing that the experience is as impactful as the first Lord’s Supper we read in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Dating back over 2,000 years ago, the Table offers us some things that are invisible: Acceptance, Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Hope. Sharing this experience with Community is an effort to “do this in remembrance of me” as we follow Jesus.

On this 4th of July weekend we're tackling and transforming the narrative that America is a Christian nation and to be a Christian is to support this political party, this political candidate, this political policy, etc. But what if God is so much bigger and better than the boxes or ballots we try to fit him into? What if God's agenda was not a Christian nation but rather an international and eternal kingdom? We'll explore this questions and more, as well as some practical reminders for God's people living with a dual citizenship -- as citizens of the kingdom and of this country.

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- BIG IDEA // Your beliefs about God determine how you live your everyday life.

-- “God made man in his own image and man returned the favor.” // BLAISE PASCAL (1623 – 1662)

-- 3 KEY QUESTIONS //

1. What is a false narrative about God? America is a Christian nation + to be a Christian is to support ____.

2. What is a true narrative about God? God is so much bigger + better than the boxes or ballots we try to fit him into.

3. How does Jesus reveal this narrative to be true? Jesus is God’s king creating an alternative community whose first allegiance is to God’s international + everlasting kingdom.

-- EXODUS 19.4-6 (NIV) // NEW IDENTITY, NEW WAY

4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

-- LOOK AT MARK 1.14-15, 10.42-45 + JOHN 18.36-37

-- Jesus is the true King establishing a kingdom that’s not of this world

-- 1 PETER 2.9-17 (NIV) // NEW IDENTITY, NEW WAY

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy…

-- Here’s an alternative community, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a special possession (think Exodus 19!) that’s now international

-- What follows in the rest of 1 Peter 2 + in Romans 13 is how these kingdom citizens are to live as dual citizens among the kingdoms of the world.

-- SHANE CLAIBORNE in Jesus For President // “The young church lived within the messy collision of kingdoms. The more the early Christians reflected on the life + message of their rabbi-messiah, + the more they tried to live the way of the gospel, the harder they collided with the state + its hopes and dreams, militaries + markets. In fact, Christians in those first few hundred years were called ‘atheists’ because they no longer believed in the Roman gospel; they no longer had any faith in the state as savior of the world. (See The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, Robert Wilken)

-- FOCUS STATEMENT // Our mission as an alternative community is not to simply vote for + advance a political agenda but to pray for + participate in God’s kingdom

-- NOW WHAT? // Reminders for an Alternative Community

-Honor + pray for leaders (Ro. 13.5; 1 Tm. 2.1-2; 1 Pt. 2.13, 17)

-Pray for, declare, + demonstrate God’s reign, that’s our kingdom civic duty as kingdom citizens

-Be a good citizen with dual citizenship + remember who gets your primary allegiance (Php. 3.20-21)

-Live the change you want to see, don’t just talk about it

-Love your neighbor as yourself even if it means “reaching across the aisle” because Jesus has rezoned our neighborhood

-Disagree well: ask first, listen second, speak third

-Speak truth to power on behalf of the powerless

-Read the Gospels more than political commentary or news

-- BOOKS TO CHECK OUT //

+The Myth of a Christian Nation by Greg Boyd

+ Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne

+ Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas + William H. Willimon

+ The Upside-Down Kingdom by Donald Kraybill

+ The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder

+ A Farewell to Mars by Brian Zahnd

Take a trip back in time to when you were a teenager. Remember rules at school? Rules at home? Curfew? Many of us probably rebelled in one way or another. Some of us may have snapped back, "You never let me have any fun!" to our authority figures. Now consider this week's misconception: God is a killjoy -- a strict parent who just gives orders and never lightens up. If that's our narrative, we might rebel + never actually know God as a loving Father. We'd be content to go our own way. But what if true joy, peace, + life are actually from God + following his way? What if God is the most joyful being in the universe? What if God gives us commands not to oppress us but to liberate us? We'll explore these questions and others as we tackle + transform another misconception of God.

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- Big Idea // Your beliefs about God determine how you live your everyday life.

-- “The process of spiritual formation in Christ is one of progressively replacing…destructive images + ideas with the images + ideas that filled the mind of Jesus himself. …Spiritual formation in Christ moves toward a total interchange of our ideas + images for his.” // DALLAS WILLARD in Renovation of the Heart:

-- Key Scripture // Psalm 1

-- Key Questions //

1. What is a false narrative about God? God’s a strict parent who just gives orders + never lightens up

2. What is a true narrative about God? God is a loving Father who shows us how to live an abundant life

3. How does Jesus’ life + teaching reveal this narrative to be true? Jesus came so we that we might have abundant life (Jn. 10.10). Jesus is the Word his followers meditate on day + night (like Psa. 1.1) + the streams of water we draw from to grow + bear fruit (like Psa. 1.3).

-- Check out John 10.10 + John 15.1-5

In our second message we're tackling the misconception that God is the cosmic distributor of health, wealth, and the stuff I want. Does God give us blessings? Of course! More than we could ever ask for. But does God exist to give me what I want if I just say the right words or push the right religious buttons? Not so much. We'll see in the true narrative that God cares more about our spiritual formation rather than a spiritual transaction. We let some of Jesus' teaching on prayer help transform our understanding of our generous God and how we're to ask for what he knows we need.

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- Scripture Focus: Luke 11.1-13 + Matthew 6.7-8

-- “What comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.” // A. W. TOZER

-- Your beliefs about God determine how you live your everyday life. // SERIES BIG IDEA

-- Each week we'll address 3 key questions...

1. What is a false narrative about God?

2. What is a true narrative about God?

3. How does Jesus reveal this narrative to be true

-- KEY QUESTION #1: What is a false narrative about God?

God will give us what we want if we say the right things + push the right religious buttons.

-- Sometimes God gives us what we want but God always gives us what we need. (And God never runs out of what we need.)

-- KEY QUESTION #2: What is a true narrative about God?

God knows + gives us what we need. God cares more about who we are becoming through spiritual formation than giving us everything we want through a spiritual transaction.

-- KEY QUESTION #3: How does Jesus reveal this narrative to be true?

Jesus teaches us that asking God is about growing your relationship with God by building trust, reliance, + boldness within you. So it's not about transaction but formation. It's not just about what you get but who you become

-- A PRAYER BORN OUT OF JESUS' MISSION:..

“‘Father, hallowed be your name, (Jesus reveals who God is)

your kingdom come. (Jesus brings God's kingdom)

3 Give us each day our daily bread. (Jesus sustains us on the journey)

4 Forgive us our sins, (Jesus forgives us)

for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. (Jesus empowers us to extend grace)

And lead us not into temptation.’” (Jesus confronts evil powers)

-- A PRAYER FOR HIS DISCIPLES ON HIS MISSION:

“‘Father, hallowed be your name, (We look to God)

your kingdom come. (We surrender to his way)

3 Give us each day our daily bread. (We ask for what we need)

4 Forgive us our sins, (We confess in humility)

for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. (We extend grace to others)

And lead us not into temptation.’” (We resist evil as we go)

-- "What counts is persistence. There are all sorts of ways in which God isn't like a sleepy friend, but Jesus is focusing on one point of comparison only; he is encouraging a kind of holy boldness, a sharp knocking on the door, an insistent asking, a search that refuses to give up. That's what our prayer should be like." // N.T. WRIGHT, Luke for Everyone

-- Instead of asking "Why, God?" when things come into our life – for better or for worse – ask, "What, God are you wanting to do in the midst of this? What, God, are you forming in me?"

What comes to your mind when you think about God? How do you think God feels about you? Your beliefs about God determine how you live your everyday life. Therefore, it's crucial that we get our narratives about God right. In this series we're tackling misconceptions about God and transforming them through the filter of Jesus who is the truest revelation of God. The first message wrestles with the question, "Is God an Angry Tyrant?" Many people think that God is angry and out to get them, just like an abusive person ready to punish when someone makes a mistake. We'll explore this false narrative, discover the true narrative of God's character, and find out how Jesus reveals who God is (and always has been).

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- “What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” // A. W. TOZER

-- Your beliefs about God determine how you live your everyday life.

-- “We are shaped by our stories. In fact, our stories, once in place, determine much of our behavior without regard to their accuracy or helpfulness. Once these stories are stored in our minds, they stay there largely unchallenged until we die. And here is the main point: these narratives are running (and often ruining) our lives. That is why it is crucial to get the right narratives.” // JAMES BRYAN SMITH, The Good and Beautiful God (25)

-- Our narratives not only shape our inner world, they shape how we relate to the outer world...So we need to identify our false narratives about God + transform them into the true narratives revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus.

-- Each week we'll address 3 Key Questions:

1. What is a false narrative about God?

2. What is a true narrative about God?

3. How does Jesus reveal this narrative to be true

-- Key Question #1. What is a false narrative about God?

God is angry with you + must be appeased. If you do well, God's happy; if you sin, God will punish you.

-- Questions to consider...

Where have I heard this narrative?

When have I believed this narrative?

When am I tempted to believe this again?

Where would someone get this idea in the Bible?

-- Guidelines when reading the Bible:

-Always ask when + why this passage was written

-Always put passages alongside the broader narrative

-Always put passages through the filter of Jesus

-- SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Exodus 34.1-9 (NIV)

-- From the 10 Commandments:

"You shall not bow down to [idols] or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." // EXODUS 20.5-6 (NIV)

-- Key Question #2: What is a true narrative about God?

God's steadfast love (Exo. 34.6) outlasts the consequences of persistent sin (Exo. 34.7)

-- The narrative of Exodus 34.6 in the broader narrative...

Nehemiah 9.16-18; 30.32

Psalm 86.14-16

Psalm 103.6-10

Jonah 4.1-3

Joel 2.12-14

Micah 7.18-19

(Exodus 34.7 -- Ezekiel chs. 18; 33)

(Exodus 34.7 -- Jeremiah 31.29-30)

-- Key Question #3: How does Jesus reveal this narrative to be true?

Jesus exposes the narrative of "do this, then that" as false (Luke 13.1-5)

Jesus makes the cycle of sacrifice obsolete by his sacrifice once for all (Col. 2; Heb. 10)

Jesus frees us from the power + penalty of sin so we are welcomed into God's arms (2 Cor. 5)

-- 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. // JOHN 1.14, 17-18

The New Testament calls us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are marginalized and poor. Following Jesus into an international ministry has it’s beauty, but also can be extremely hard and difficult. Syd Keasler, Pastor Kathy, and Robin Craddock share their own experiences as they built an orphanage in Bungoma, Kenya and cared for 56 orphans for 5 1/2 years. From the joys of being a part of that ministry to the hardships of a long legal court battle, they share how God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Their lives were transformed and their faith was made stronger by their experience.

SLIDES/NOTES:

--Matthew 25:34-40

--Modern Day Matthew 25 (Dr. Jimmy Dorrell):

“I was hungry and you were overweight.

I was thirsty and you continued to water your lawn.

I was a stranger and you called the police.

I was naked and you were shopping for the latest fashion.

I was sick and you asked, “Can I catch it from you?”

I was in prison and you said, “That’s where people like you belong.”

--"May God help us to be the kind of people who take the hands of another and risk contamination.” //Dr. Scott Daniels

God loves to unite diverse individuals in the name of Jesus within the Holy Spirit. That's what we see in the final scene of the Holy Spirit's movement to bring two different people groups into one kingdom family. Will we declare and demonstrate the good news? Will we pay attention to the movement of God and respond appropriately? Peter and Cornelius will -- how about us?

SLIDES/NOTES--

-- 3 FOCUS STATEMENTS //

God is not the bouncer of an elite club -- if you are in Jesus, you are in the party

We're called to declare and demonstrate the gospel

As we walk in the Spirit, our job is to pay attention to God + respond appropriately.

-- What Peter's not saying: “You're good with God no matter what”

What Peter is saying: “God shows favoritism when it comes to who is invited into relationship with him”

(Check out Romans 2.11)

-- WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? // The gospel is the good news that Jesus is the reigning Lord of heaven and earth and all people are invited to live under his gracious reign.

-- Peter highlights God's activity in Jesus' story (the gospel)

1. God sent the gospel of peace through Jesus (36)

2. God anointed Jesus (37-38)

3. God was with Jesus (38)

4. God raised Jesus (40)

5. God chose witnesses of Jesus (41)

6. God told us to preach Jesus (42)

7. God appointed Jesus (42)

-- There are no "Lost Causes" in the kingdom mission, only those God is inviting who have not yet accepted the invitation.

Can you think of a time in your life you knew you were crossing a barrier into something new in your life? A new job? A new place? A new life stage? In this message we see Peter break new ground by walking into the home of Cornelius. These two would have never spent time together if the Holy Spirit had not orchestrated this meeting. So here we are -- Peter revolutionizing the church by walking through the doorway of a Roman Gentile. So if the doors of the kingdom are open to all people, what doorways do we need to cross to bring the good news of Jesus? To whom is the Holy Spirit sending us?

SLIDES/RESOURCES:

-- Acts 10 recap:

Day 1: Cornelius has a vision + sends 3 men for Peter

Day 2: Peter gets a vision + Spirit says "I sent them!"

Day 3: Peter goes with 6 believers (11.12) + the 3 Gentiles

Day 4: They all arrive at Cornelius' house...

-- Focus Statement: The doors of the kingdom are open to all people and Jesus is the doorway through which every person enters.

-- Peter's baby step = Gentiles as guests

Peter's big step = Guest of Gentiles

...Baby steps or big steps, it's still growth in your life lived in the Spirit.

-- (From week 1) A step toward God will lead you to take a step toward others.

-- Peter has figured out the Holy Spirit's intent of seeking, shaking, and sending him -- if there is no longer a boundary around food, there is no longer a boundary around the table. Now the kingdom dinner party is open to all, regardless of our differences.

-- "God is present over the whole world, yet he becomes visibly present through a people who make his presence known." // DAVID FITCH in Faithful Presence

-- We've got to be a people present to God's presence! How? 1) Wake up to his presence, 2) Pray in his presence, 3) Live his presence through love and service.