Vision For Life

Every week, in the various expressions of Fellowship Denver, we appeal to the Bible. In our kids classrooms, youth ministry, Bible studies, small groups, and Sunday morning services, we state that the Bible is the primary basis for our teaching and discussion. Reading and studying scripture is also central to our individual discipleship. Engaging scripture grows our love of God, helps us understand God and his truth more fully, and enables us to develop the moral muscle to live in accordance with the gospel of Jesus. Since these are vital aspects of Christian living, the Bible has been woven into the fabric of normal Christian life at every point.

Based on the centrality of the Bible to all of the ways in which the church learns and worships, any attender of Fellowship Denver could connote that we consider the Bible important, reliable, and authoritative. Dave, Kimiko, and Autumn take on these questions directly this week as they ask “What is the proper relationship of the Christian to the Bible?” And “How can we trust that the Bible is reliable and carries authority?”

For further reading:
The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0830852123/
Can We Still Believe the Bible by Craig Blomberg - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587433214/
The Historical Reliability of the New Testament by Craig Blomberg - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0805464379/

Work - paid and unpaid - is how we spend the bulk of our time. God intended it to be so. He created man and woman to work and keep the earth. Because God created work, it has meaning and fits into a bigger story of what God is doing in us and in the world. We don’t need to “bring” meaning to our work or “add” meaning to our work. It already has meaning. We just need to discover it.

Autumn and Hunter are joined by Joanna Meyer of Denver Institute for Faith and Work to discuss how we can find the meaning in our work.

Learn more about Denver Institute for Faith and Work at https://denverinstitute.org/.

"We were created for God's glory" is one of those sayings that sounds true, but can quickly turn vague. What does it actually look like to live for God's glory? On this week's episode, Autumn and Hunter discuss how "God's glory" should actually play out in our lives. They also discuss a listener-submitted question: If God created this world for his glory, why does he allow so much evil and suffering?

The doctrine of the Trinity has to do with the identity of God and our knowing God as he is. Understanding the Trinity is a way in which we understand God’s existential nature. However, we often deal with the doctrine of the Trinity as if it is an intellectual problem to be solved or an oddity to be explained away, rather than as a certainty that makes our God entirely unique, beautiful, and interesting. Knowing and relating to God as Father, Son, and Spirit enriches our interaction with God, with our families and neighbors, and with the created world.

On this week's episode, Autumn and Hunter continue the conversation about the New City Catechism and how it gives us vision for life.

Today's subject: the catechism starts with questions and confessions about God - who He is, what He's like. At first blush, this can seem like a philosophical exercise. But there's actually more going on than we might realize. When we read God's revelation about himself, then confess it in our own words, we are changed in the process and our lives take on new meaning. How this happens is the topic of today's conversation.

This episode is the second in a series introducing our yearlong focus on the New City Catechism. Autumn and Hunter discuss this question: What if you've experienced "external authorities" as heavy-handed?

Last week, we discussed the benefits of submitting to something outside yourself. But, what if you've tried that and it wore you down? Many who grew up in rigid religious environments have seen authority wielded in a graceless way. If that's your experience, the freedom to follow your own impulses and express yourself - the freedom that modern culture celebrates - can feel liberating.

We look at this problem through the lens of the Exodus, where Israel was freed from an oppressive external authority, Pharaoh, while simultaneously having their own sin atoned for. The gospel brings a "double freedom" that liberates us from both Pharaoh and ourselves.

In 2021 our preaching calendar is being shaped by the New City Catechism, so to kick off the podcast year, Autumn and Hunter ask this question: How can learning a catechism make you happy?

It's a counter-intuitive question because a catechism, at first blush, can appear somewhat dry. It's a series of short questions and answers that cover the foundations of the Christian faith. Many of us would admit that it would be good for us to brush up on our understanding. But "make me happy" seems like a stretch! How can learning a catechism make you happy?

We start by discussing the common understanding of "happiness," which emphasizes inner psychological satisfaction. This kind of happiness, which sounds normal to modern people, is found by moving from the inside out. When what's "inside me" can be expressed, I'm happy. But for many people, this kind of happiness is over-promising and under-delivering. Is there another kind of happiness that's more robust, more enduring? And how might a catechism help me experience it?

Resources mentioned in this episode:
New City Catechism (http://newcitycatechism.com/)
Book: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433556332)

We are joined today by Sam, a clinical mental health counselor and member of Fellowship Denver, to discuss the meeting point of theology and mental health. Our view of God and humanity deeply impacts and shapes our own psychological health. Both religion and culture often tell us, in various ways, that genuinely loving presence - God’s or other’s - will likely be withheld from us if we are not deserving.

To the contrary, a redemptive view of mental health states that nothing we can do or be or become, aside from the intervention of Jesus, will render us worthy. God simply wishes to be invited into our struggles, whatever they are. When relationship with God is restored and he is present in our lives, the process of transformed affection and desire begins. We can begin to be transformed into people who more fully reflect the image of God in which we were made. However, Scripture provides no promise that the restoration of relationship will result in full deliverance from difficulty or healing from mental or physical health struggles.

Sam’s advice to those walking with a friend or loved one through mental health struggles is remain present in the struggle, know that you are not able to be that person’s savior, and know your limits.

Sometimes our felt needs drive us to seek escape or equilibrium via means that are appealing but ultimately unfulfilling, and many times even damaging. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, self-deprecation, self-aggrandizing, “fitting in,” consumerism - and the list goes on and on - hold out the promise of meaning, escape, relief, or happiness. And they often deliver a temporary, fleeting version of those promises.

When we seek repeated solace or escape through vices, they become habits. We often turn to them without concerted thought or the exercise of mind and will, particularly in seasons of stress, loss, or exhaustion.

In today’s episode we discuss what it might look like to replace these habits, born out of fleshly and socially derived instinct, through the power and filling of the Holy Spirit. God always gives us the ability to imagine a different way. If you are facing your own addictions or self-gratifying desires, rather than the seemingly dualistic decisions of “give in” or “try harder,” God prompts us to imagine all that he created us to be and invites us to trust him and submit to his love and his ways. He asks us to participate with him in the process of transformation. Through that process, he promises a renewal of mind and heart (will). By the power of the Holy Spirit we can experience the re-shaping of our desire and form new, life-giving habits.

God’s incredibly intricate design of the human mind, body, and heart includes adaptation and regulation. As we move in and out of various environments and seasons of life we respond physiologically to the difficulties and benefits we encounter in each linear movement.

In seasons of loss or disruptive, difficult environments our physiological responsiveness may produce melancholy, anxiety, or depression. Often our attempts at regulation end up pushing us further from help and further into damaging habits or vices.

Seeking help - from God, with a trusted counselor or friend, through professional therapy and care, or all of the above - is essential to regaining physiological health and clear perspective.