Tag: Christian community

Digging in Deeper: John 17:22

Leave a comment

“I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I’ve argued before that all of our best stories are always ultimately rooted in the Gospel. The connections aren’t always obvious, but if you look and think a bit, you’ll find them. They’re all over the place. I recently watched the latest offering from the Predator Universe, Predator: Badlands, and was pretty impressed with just how many Gospel touch points there were. Let’s talk about what made this a much better film than I expected it to be. And just to be fair, I’ll go ahead and issue a spoiler alert.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Philippians 2:5-8

2 Comments

“Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Jesus was God. Like, the God who created everything. Paul spells out some of that in the opening verses of his letter to the Colossian believers. He was and is worthy of all the honor and glory simply by virtue of being God. When He came, He could have come in glory and luxury. He could have demanded comfort and ease. He didn’t have to experience any inconvenience or discomfort. Yet that’s not what He did. That’s not how He came. Today and tomorrow, let’s examine the most important presentation of the humility of Jesus ever written.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 15:1-3

Leave a comment

“Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself. On the contrary, as it is written, ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Welcome back! After a lovely break to spend some time reflecting on the season of Advent together, and couple of weeks off from writing entirely, it’s time to turn our attention back to Romans and finish our journey there. Let’s get going! There is a personality type that is driven to please others. These folks think often about what the people around them might need, and are willing to bend over backwards in order to help them get it. Now, when these folks are out of balance, they can become doormats who let the world just walk all over them, but when their value is properly rooted in Christ, they can be powerful servants, extending the blessings of the love of Christ to those around them with near boundless energy and care. As much as this is a personality type, though, as followers of Jesus, all of us are called to this to a certain extent. Let’s talk about pleasing others and the example of Jesus.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 14:5-9

Leave a comment

“One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When I was in high school, I got to play in the jazz band. We met before school at 6:45 two days a week. I loved it. More than just that, I learned to love jazz as a musical style. Jazz is all about improvisation. It’s about having the freedom to explore and create. There are almost endless possibilities and varieties open and available to players. I say almost endless because there are some boundaries, and the greatest freedom comes to those musicians who have spent the most time learning where those boundaries are through years and years of discipline and practice. But within those boundaries, there really is room to thrive. In a world that operates like it’s playing a fugue, the church offers jazz to those interested in something truly free. As Paul continues exploring the freedom we have in Christ, let’s talk about it.

Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Romans 12:15

Leave a comment

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I heard a commentary the other day reflecting on the number of adults who are going to summer camp. They aren’t going to summer camp as chaperons for their children’s summer camp. They are going to their own summer camp. Adults – and especially women – in their 20s and early 30s are increasingly looking for week long summer camps they can attend like perhaps they did when they were kids. And while they are doing it for reasons of nostalgia, they are doing it even more for reasons of loneliness. They don’t have many – or any – friends in real life, and they are so online that they struggle making them. So they go to camp in hopes of building the kind of life-giving relationships they are hungering for. What they really need, though, is not a summer camp experience; they need the church. They need the church where they can find real community and build genuine relationships; where they will find people who will follow Paul’s next command here with them. As we continue our walk through some of the basics of kingdom ethics, let’s talk about the power of real community.

Read the rest…