Wilderness Wanderings

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. (Mark 14:22-24)

"Do this in remembrance of Me." The words of Jesus on the night He was betrayed. "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray Me." – "Surely not I, Lord," said the disciples each with a saddened heart. "Surely not I, Lord," says each of us. But we do. We covet, we lash out in anger, we dishonour our neighbour. But God's grace abounds! God's love rests with us forever! He has given us this meal, this feast, this communion as a visible sign of His grace and love towards us. As we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are fed by the incarnate Christ who forgives us and calls us out into the world.

The Lord's Supper is an outward visible sign of an inward invisible reality. Through it we remember the suffering of our Lord on the cross and our unity to Him and all believers because of His sacrifice. And even more, the Holy Spirit joins with our spirit in the Supper to nourish us spiritually through the feast. The Lord's Supper, where we "feed" on Christ is an essential part of the Christian's walk of faith. Just like physical food nourishes our bodies and sustains us for all our daily activities, the spiritual food of the Lord's supper provides us with grace from God which grants us spiritual sustenance in all areas of life.

In Exodus 24 Moses read the Book of the Covenant to the people then took blood "sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.'" (v 8). Jesus instituted a new covenant in the Lord's Supper. No longer is there a need to offer dead sacrifices to bring us life. Instead, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices. No longer bound to the old law, but free in the new covenant through the blood and body of Christ.

The elements of communion appeal to our senses of touch, taste and smell. We expect that the elements should be like a moist chocolate cake, lush, savouring every bite, relishing every sip. But often they seem like stale bran muffins. We come to the table with our junk of the week and God in turn gives us a gift, a small piece of bread, a sip of juice. Symbols of His body, and His blood reminding us that we are united to Him and to one another through the bond of blood that Christ poured out on the cross. Nothing that is "us" is too much, or too broken or too messy for God. He can handle it all and He willingly takes it all when we bring it to Him. The sacrament of communion takes every part of us and offers it up to God. And as we partake, God heals, forgives, blesses, strengthens and feeds us, empowering us as He sends us out into the world to be His hands and feet, set apart for Him and His work in the world.

The Lord's Supper directs our attention to the incarnation of Christ, that is, that in Christ, God became a human, like you and I. The bread, Christ's body, the cup is the blood of the new covenant and the means by which the covenant was secured and sealed for us. Jesus said "do this in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor 11:24). We are to remember the significance of Christ's death. We believe with renewed faith that His body was broken for us and His blood was shed for us. Revealing a deep love for His people.

When we celebrate this sacrament we remember that Jesus died for our sins, Christ is risen and Christ will one day return. This is a divine mystery, one that can never be explained by us humans, yet we can still fully participate in that mystery. In receiving the nourishment of the Lord's Supper we anticipate the heavenly feast that will occur. The table where there will be eternal union and eternal communion with God and with fellow believers in Christ all joined together from every race, language and nation at the feast of the Lamb.

The Lord's Supper is a place of belonging that unites us to Christ and to one another. To our brothers and sisters of the faith that we feast with over livestream or CD or, in person and every Christian believer that has gone before us as well. Although we may feel alone in our journey at times, we have the knowledge that there were many before us, from the apostles up to the present day who have celebrated this sacrament and to whom we are connected through the blood of Christ. We are never alone. We belong to the body of believers and to Christ through His sacrifice for us and our participation in His holy feast.

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Matthew 28:16-20 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN

1. What's one goal you made (e.g. join a sports team, get a good grade, save up money for something special)?

What things did you need to do to help you get to your goal? Did anyone help you--and if so, who?

2. Today's message is discipleship--and how God helps us grow and change so we can be more like Christ in our character and actions. We do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. What's one way that it's easy for you to be like Christ? (e.g. kind to people, welcome strangers, give your money or time to help others out, patient when life is hard, forgive easily, etc...). And if you can't think of anything, ask your parents or someone else who knows you well. What's one way that you'd like to be more like Christ? Can you think of how you can practice being like that? Share your answers with someone close to you.

3. As we know, caterpillars cocoon and then become butterflies. A striking example of this is the familiar Monarch butterfly. Check out this video on the metamorphosis of a monarch butterfly and reflect on these questions. * what's something you learned about the transformation process? * how might this process be a good picture of our transformation and growth as we look more and act more like Christ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvmQiWpgX5c

This week Wilderness Wanderings is featuring a five-part series called Disruptive by Mr. Rick Verkerk. Today is episode 5.

Holy Disruptions

Read 1 John 2:15-17

Text: "Do not love the world or the things in the world." (1 John 2:15)

WWJD: What would Jesus do? Years ago, many chose to wear rubbery arm bracelets bearing these letters. The noble idea was to get each person to think like Jesus for all decisions and actions.

What about WDJD? What did Jesus do? This is a profound question. He did disrupt the status quo and he would disrupt if He lived on earth now. When he comes again in His glory he will make all things new, but in the meantime we are commissioned by God's disruptive grace to disrupt like him. We are to follow Him, His ways and be the avenues by which God's Kingdom comes and the Father's will is done. If we do this, we will disrupt the ways of the world.

Where might we be positioned to join the disrupting, changing, transforming Kingdom of God in your home, work, or community? What injustices, poverty, racism, unbelief, or broken cultural realities catch your attention and break the heart of God?

The world is drifting away from the will of God the Creator. Disrupting this drift is always needed and we are redeemed to be part of holy disruptions. How do we participate? Begin first with personal preparation and a constant discipline of prayer. Live the life of a follower: obey the teachings of Jesus, follow His will (not your own) and be awake to the schemes of the Evil One. Live as Jesus lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, do something. There is always something I can do, from the most local to the furthest global. The real question may be: What is Jesus disrupting that I can't not be a part of?

We all prefer that someone else would do the disruptive work needed, but it's time for all God's people to join His holy disruption for the glory of His name.

This week Wilderness Wanderings is featuring a five-part series called Disruptive by Mr. Rick Verkerk. Today is episode 4.

Disruptive Power

Read Luke 18:1-8

Text: "…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8)

Do you believe God is only interested in big things? Have you ever considered, "What is big to God?" Nothing is too big or too small for Him. He did, after all, create the Heavens and earth. This amazing God also grants us direct connection to Him through prayer. But prayer can disrupt us: some prayers work, some don't, sometimes God comes through, sometimes He doesn't seem to. This can cause us to lose heart and abandon prayer. If we do, we abandon the very treasure God has given us to move the 'mountains' in front of us.

God wants us to fight for His will and push through when we pray. Elijah was promised rain, but when he prayed nothing happened (1 Kings 18). He prayed how many times? … before his servant saw a cloud. In the New Testament, James refers to him as 'a man just like us' who prayed earnestly (James 5:16-18). Elijah was just like us!

In Luke 18, Jesus tells the parable about the widow who kept pestering a judge. This is a lesson in persistence in prayer. God wants us to put some 'heart' into it. Communication between two who love each other – God and you. Prayer is a challenging, spiritual exercise involving commitment, discipline and focus.

There are many hindrances to a strong prayer life: physical fatigue, busyness, wrong motives, interference by the Enemy, previous unanswered prayers or even answers different than expected. To overcome we must be purposeful, intentional, disciplined, and focused on God (not others). We must see prayer as an ongoing, persistently spontaneous dialogue built on trust and love. Paul urged the Christians in Thessaloniki to 'pray continually' (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18). Just as our lives experience God's disruptive grace, we can also experience the disruptive power of prayer.

How might prayer be an ongoing reality throughout this day for you?

This week Wilderness Wanderings is featuring a five-part series called Disruptive by Mr. Rick Verkerk. Today is episode 3.

Disruptive Paths

Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Text: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1)

This first sentence of Scripture calls me to a decision: Do I believe this truth claim or I don't I? I can continue reading the Bible, but I will eventually have to consider my acceptance or denial of that opening statement.

Then I must make another decision: Do I believe Jesus died for my redemption and deliverance from sin? If I do believe, then I must choose to trust Jesus as Lord and Leader of my life. To trust Jesus impacts everything. To follow him means I am no longer who you I once was and I am declaring a relinquishing of control, even on my worst days. Jesus Christ is now the source of everything in your life.

'Justification' means "to be made right" – and I was made right with God when I believed that what happened on the cross was for me. Standing in this new place of having been justified by God two paths emerge. On path A, I believe that now through my own effort and diligence I must pull up my socks and change into someone better. This is sanctified self-effort. Alternatively, on path B, I believe that I am already completely changed. I trust God has made me a new creation, the righteousness of God, even if I at times fail, and I will, as I learn this new life. Following path B, I am maturing into who I already am in Christ. I will mature because of my identity in Jesus. I am already righteous and made right by God when I believed.

Path A is a cruel joke we play on ourselves and a standard we can never live up to. On that path we strive for a righteousness we had all along. We imagine a false god saying "Yes, your sins are forgiven, but you are still a failure. You had excuses before but not anymore." This view of God is distorted by shame and the lie that we can earn our way with the Father.

Those on path B, however, are joyfully allowing God's disruptive grace to intervene and free them to live their new standing. God has already given the believer the DNA of righteousness. Nothing we do will make us more righteous than we already are because our righteousness is in the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ – it is not something we earn. We will mature into what God has already formed, as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Which path are you going to walk down today?

This week Wilderness Wanderings is featuring a five-part series called Disruptive by Mr. Rick Verkerk. Today is episode 2, for the first installment, check out yesterday's edition.

Read John 3:16-21

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." – Romans 8:1

In the beginning, Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world. Then they ate a fruit from the tree that they were forbidden to eat fruit from. The result was sin. – a disruption that permanently changed everything. The Bible is not a rule book, but a grace narrative of how God purposefully works to overcome the disruption of sin with the even greater disruption of His matchless grace.

History is full of many disruptive events. Vehicles disrupted transportation methods. Wars have re-ordered countries and the balance of power. The internet has transformed communication. Our personal lives can be disrupted by unexpected events and circumstances beyond our control. History-altering disruptions whether local or global are a constant, but one disruption remains the greatest ever.

Jesus gave up His life and was sacrificed on the cross; the Roman capital punishment for the worst of the worst. On that day it seemed like just one more in a long line of Roman crucifixions, yet no event in history has changed the world more. His sacrifice was the ultimate creative disturbance for it was the premier display of how God's grace works. The love of God for sinners demonstrated on the cross is a scandalous grace!

Our heavenly Father gave his one and only son for the world – for you and me. This is disruptive grace! This is the declaration of His amazing love for all. The God of lavish grace reconciles us to Himself, a standing we have no innate rights to, and saved us! (Romans 5:7-8,10). God loves us because of who He is. Jesus' declaration "It is finished" captures the fullness of grace. God's anger toward sin is poured out on Jesus – grace absorbs and overcomes wrath.

When I respond in faith to God's free pardon, then God will never punish me for sin. It is finished. The price is paid in full (Romans 8:1). His blood shed on the cross covers all sin – past, present and future. God's redemption made possible through the sacrifice of God the Son is the greatest disruption ever.

What does it look like to walk with Jesus, set free from the bondage of sin for you today?

"When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am,'" (Exodus 3:4)

Most collisions in life are far from beautiful. In fact, vehicle collisions or a jarring hit in a sport can result in destruction and pain. God's grace is like a collision, except it's beautiful. God's grace is the most dangerous, expectation-wrecking, smile-creating, counterintuitive reality there is. Grace is beautiful because it both stops you and commissions you.

In the Old Testament, God disrupted many people's lives with His grace and called them to do something very dangerous and risky for the Kingdom of God. We saw in Exodus 3 how Moses' life was disrupted by a burning bush, but beyond that in the Old Testament we can see Jonah's life interrupted by a large fish and David's life challenged by a giant. The Lord intended to show these men that by His grace, much could be accomplished. Slaves could be liberated, Nineveh saved, and Philistines defeated.

God's redemptive story is marked by disruptive grace. In the New Testament, God and Saul collided which led to his conversion, a new name – Paul – and a history-shaping commission to preach the Gospel to those who were not yet God's people. God send His Son to personally disrupt the world of that day, and that disruption keeps on going. After many years of repressive Roman rule, the story of Israel is disrupted for the grand inbreaking of grace: Zechariah the priest is rendered speechless, a virgin named Mary becomes pregnant and her fiancé Joseph is visited by an angel – all personal disruptions for the greater good (Luke 1:5-20; Matthew 1:18-25). Jesus comes into the world and the disruptions of grace abound: a blind man sees, people are healed, evil spirits are driven away, to name just a few. Each of these were beautiful collisions of God's disruptive grace.

When we experience God's grace, it is life changing. It should have a jarring effect, like a collision. But we also need to understand it is intended to commission us to be a "light on the hill" for Him. Grace meets us and grace unleashes us. Grace – the truth that we don't earn, but instead become the recipients of God's good and delivering disruption – sets us free to follow Jesus as Lord. It forms us as vessels through whom He can work out His will in history.

What "grace collisions" have come your way recently? Why do you think they have come?

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Romans 8:22-27 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN

1. Use Romans 12:1-2 to write a vision/purpose statement for a Christian.
2. Rooted in God's mercy, Paul calls us to use our gifts as ways to grace the church, to develop sincere love and now to nourish our spiritual fire. What is common to all three?
3. What are some things that steel away our spiritual fire? Think of some that you have experienced or witnessed that were not mentioned in the sermon.
4. What are some ways to keep the fire burning? What lessons has this pandemic taught us about keeping the fire burning?
5. Craft your own title for a sermon on this text. Submit them to Pastor Michael or Karina and we will feature some next week.

All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground" (Psalm 104:27-30).

We return to the Spirit and Creation, that is, God's physical creation, the cosmos. Let me make an unconventional assertion: We are just as lost without the Spirit as we are without Jesus. Psalm 104 calls us to praise God for his ongoing relationship with his creation. Any notion that God is indifferent to his creation is dispelled here. We are invited to join the rest of creation to revel in God's creative wisdom, to see his pure joy in creating and to give him glory.

Let us talk first about God's wisdom. Some people have a brilliant intelligence. They know stuff. They have PhDs and hobnob with the most intelligent. But they have no practical wisdom, no street smarts. Other people have great street smarts. They just know how to fix things and find solutions to problems. God is both brilliant and street smart. The cosmos he created worked harmoniously and fruitfully for all his creatures. There is a good reason for every aspect of creation. Sin has introduced chaos – so we cannot make sense of it all and some things have become dangerous, such as mosquitos and viruses.

God did not create a world that was absurd or dangerous. It was a safe and trustworthy space in which life could flourish. In the ancient world, water was chaos. But God harnessed it to sustain life, satisfying the thirst of the wild donkeys, making dense foliage grow, producing vegetation that serves his will: feed for cattle and plants for humanity to cultivate.

God created the heavenly bodies — sun and moon — which regulate the rhythms of life in days and seasons. The Lord brings on night when wild living beings stir from their rest, to hunt and eat. King of the animals is the lion, which receives its food from God as a gift. The Lord then brings on day with the rise of the sun, at which time the creatures that rule the night retire to their caves, and human beings go out to their work, to their labor until the evening comes. The Psalm emphasizes the trustworthy and discernible order embedded in creation.

And God created for the pure joy of it (31). In ancient poetry, sea monsters embody evil; here they are responsive to God, his pets. God provides for both spirit and body, making wine to bring joy to human hearts as well as food to sustain human body. We are invited to see God as a parent rejoicing over his children, as a friend rejoicing over lifelong companions, as an artist rejoicing over her handiwork.

As the psalm ends, we are challenged to pray that the glory of the Lord will endure; that the creation, despite the ravages of sin, will continue to exude its Creator's glory. It foreshadows the end of Romans 11: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

All this life, God sustains it all. Only God has life in himself to give. If God gives breath, creatures live; if God withholds it, they die. The whole cosmos is daily dependent on God's sustenance, God's face, God's presence, God's breath. The world is impressive and to be celebrated, but it has no independent existence. The world is well-ordered and reliable. But on its own, it has no possibility of survival or well-being.

All of it is sustained by His Spirit (30), even though it is marred by sin. This is the same Spirit Jesus breathed on his disciples (John 20:19), which is the same Spirit of Acts 2. As much as the Spirit brought forth life in the beginning (Genesis 1:2), as much as the Spirit has sustained God's creation ever since, so the Spirit is at work renewing everything, including us.

Psalm 104 strengthens our confidence in the future. The same Spirit that was there in the beginning, the same Spirit who gives physical life, is the same Spirit sent by Jesus to carry on His ministry. This is the Spirit at work in us. No wonder Paul could wrote, "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:5-6).

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

Perhaps it is fitting to begin talking of outward disciplines by looking at "Christian community" as our province begins opening up tomorrow. Some of us will return to worshipping in the church building this Sunday. But not all of us. Jesus has promised the Holy Spirit to us to indwell us and gather us together as one body in Christ, wherever we are. Jesus taught that we are members of the family of God. We are all connected through the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. We find our spiritual health by being in right relationship with every other part of the body because we belong to one another and to God.

God Himself is a community of three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit who all defer to one another, depend on one another and maintain continual relationship with one another. So it is to be in our Christian community. We are to encourage one another, pray for one another, care for each other's tangible needs, help carry each other's burdens and rejoice together.

When you become a believer, a first step is to find a community of faith—a church. Why? So that you may be taught, and may grow in your Christian faith, and because it's important to be a part of a fellowship of believers. Personal connection with other Christians is commanded, not simply encouraged in the Bible. Relationships with other believers are one way to be encouraged to live out the faith that we proclaim. Growth in faith is influenced in large part by having Christian examples around us. The Great Commission in Matthew 28 tells us to "make disciples" not simply to share the good news of Jesus. That is also why in Hebrews 10:24 we are called to "consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

God's intention for us was never to do life alone. That is why He created both man and woman in the Garden of Eden. It is God's desire for us that we remain in community. Being in community helps us to stay focused on God and where He is working and helps us to focus on loving one another more and less upon ourselves.

At our marriage ceremony my husband and I received a three stranded cord to symbolize our union to each other and to Christ. This is not only a promise for marriage. It is for all of us. "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12:4-5). We all have a role, a purpose and a place of belonging within the body of Christ. A crucial piece in this place of belonging is our connection to Jesus through His love. Without it, our connection with others will be self-centered.

So is Christian community about physical community? Yes. But—it is also about learning together, growing together, weeping together, rejoicing together, praying together and doing life together. A lot of that togetherness has been online or through open windows or masked visits or church services where we weren't able to be in full community over the last 15 months, but it has been present. I feel so blessed to be a part of a community at Immanuel CRC where we care for one another so deeply, are present for one another in such creative ways and are such an encouragement to one another. I want to encourage you to "continue in your faith, established and firm" (Colossians 1:23) because a cord of three strands is not easily broken.