Silly Season or Re-orientation?

This coming Sunday marks the beginning of Advent  – the time in the traditional church calendar when Christmas is celebrated. Advent is about expectant waiting, preparation and reorientation as we look forward to Christmas, to the coming of Christ into our world.

For many though, the next four weeks are regarded as the ‘silly season’, a time of stress and anxiety as we try to navigate the hustle and bustle of a consumer-driven materialistic Christmas. Fuelled by clever marketing, for some Christmas brings a whole lot of pressure to give the right gifts, to eat the right food, to throw the right kind of party. But we don't actually have to buy into these pressures. We don't have to be overwhelmed at Christmas.

Advent offers us four weeks to re-orientate our thinking around the true meaning of Christmas – Christ with us. We remember Jesus' birth two thousand years ago and that, in Jesus, hope entered our story. Knowing how the story unfolds, we're reminded that in Jesus, his life, his death and his resurrection, there is an arms wide open invitation to receive grace and love and reconciliation. Advent is also a chance to remember that Jesus still seeks to be a part of our lives today! Hope, joy, peace and love are found in Christ and that’s what we celebrate at Christmas.

So this Christmas, if you're feeling overwhelmed by the ‘jolliness’ of the jingles, if you're feeling pressured to give beyond your means, if you're tempted by months and months of differed payments and interest free options, if you're feeling anxious, stressed, disorientated, lonely or lost – take a moment to pause and reflect. Consider the reason for the season, the coming of Christ and the joy, hope, peace and love found in him. These things can be a reality in your life today. Don't be consumed by the consumerism of the season.

Maybe you could purchase an Advent reflections booklet for your Kindle or iPad? They are only a few dollars but full of meaningful reflections for this time of the year. I briefly looked at the following and they all seemed to be good value. 

God is in the Manger; Advent and Christmas Reflections - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

The Journey of Advent - John Carnes
Little Blue Book Advent and Christmas Seasons 2013-2014 - Ken Untener and Catherine Haven
New King for a New Kingdom; Advent Reflections - Fr. Robert Barron
Advent with St Francis; Daily Reflections - Diane Houdek

Lent 2010

Next Wednesday (17th Feb) the Christian season of Lent begins. Literally millions and millions of Christians around the world will begin to observe the season of Lent.

Lent is the 40 period not counting Sundays that leads into Easter.

It is a season and period of time that is used to reflect on what it means to follow Christ and to resolve a fresh to live as a Christ follower in the world.

It is not so often observed in Pentecostal churches but is something we are encouraging our church to embrace this year.

In order to help you do this I’ve ordered in some Lenten Reflection booklets that have been prepared by World Vision that are available to anyone who would like one this Sunday morning.

Lenten Reflection Booklets

How the booklets will work... Basically there is a page for each day of Lent in the booklet. Each page shares a couple of thoughts and gives you the opportunity to reflect on something to do with your Christian walk.

Genius is not in the thoughts the booklet provides but rather in your willingness to pause and reflect and be open to the Holy Spirit speaking to you in regards to that which the booklet encourages you to contemplate.

A Time of Abstaining

As well a time of reflection Lent has traditionally also been a season of prayer, fasting and giving. Some churches observe a schedule of fasting on certain days though out Lent. Others focus more on charitable deeds and giving, especially in regards to the poor and their need for food, clothing and finance.

We’re not having any set times of fasting throughout Lent but would encourage you to consider fasting as you feel led and also of abstaining from something for the season of Lent.

Always Lent is a time of giving something up for a season. Meat, alcohol, sweets, other types of food, television, hot showers, watching sport, your cell phone, Facebook etc. Obviously the intention is that you abstain from something significant for you.

Throughout Lent I’m going to only drink water. No alcohol, no coke, no tea, no coffee, no juice, energy drinks, no milkshakes, no nothing other than water.

The significance of this is that it reminds me of how basic my needs really are, the goodness of God in that I have acess to fresh clean water, and the reality that while I am going without and having water, millions in the world literally do not have access to clean drinking water at all.

- I find in humility I am grateful and thankful before God for his blessing
- I’m mindful of so many who have so little
- I save money on what would otherwise be spent on other drinks which I can give towards helping others have water

So if you are going to celebrate Lent, I’d encourage you to think about what would be meaningful for you to give up.

Lent is also a time of prayer. Especially with a focus on repentance and the need for God’s grace and love in our lives.

It’s a preparation period leading into the celebration of God’s marvellous redemption at Easter, and the resurrected life that we live, and hope for, as Christians.

Lent may not be something you have ever heard of or observed in your Christian walk. It may be something a little different from what you have experienced before but it may also be something you would find particularly meaningful and fresh in your Christian faith.

Why don’t you join with me and millions of other Christians around the world and participate in Lent this year?

For more info on Lent click here.

Understanding Sabbath Part 1

The following posts are taken from a couple of sermons I preached earlier in the year.

Have you ever wondered about the Sabbath day and what it means for your life?

It’s one of the Ten Commandments so it must be fairly important.

1: Have no other God’s before me – straight forward in our NT context.
2: Don’t make anything as an idol – again straight forward.
3: Don’t take the name of the Lord in vain – yep of course.
5: Honour your father and your mother – for sure, and now you have to love your enemy as yourself.
6: Don’t commit murder – obviously and building on that now even to hate is as murder.
7: Don’t commit adultery – yep and even to lust with your eyes is as adultery in the NT.
8: Don’t steal – seems obvious but perhaps we need some help here, for 1st Century Christians, if you had two coats while someone had none, that was stealing. Big challenge for us in the global village.
9: don’t bear false witness against your neighbour – again pretty clear, no lying etc.
10: don’t covet your neighbour’s wife or any of your neighbour’s possessions – also obvious and also a big challenge in our materialistic and consumer driven society.

It’s pretty clear and pretty straightforward that we are still to keep these nine commandments. As New Testament believers, they are even expanded in their scope and applicability to our lives.

What about number 4 though?

4: Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy – what does that even mean?

• Does that mean go to church every Sunday?
• Isn’t the seventh day Saturday though?
• What about if you are a shift worker?
• What about if you just have a little part time job and have to work just Sunday mornings? Can you then go to church on a Sunday night? Is that all good?
• Is that even what it’s all about?
• What’s the story in regards to Sabbath in the 21st Century?

Some key scriptures...

Genesis 2:2-3
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Exodus 34:21
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the ploughing season and harvest you must rest.

Exodus 20:8-11
8"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall work and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

Before we begin to unpack the Sabbath though we need to look at the concept of work.

Six days you shall work and then one day rest. What should that work look like?

Let me suggest 4 types of work that we should involve ourselves in.

1. Work to provide

2 The 3:10
Anyone that doesn’t work, shouldn’t eat.

Most people have jobs and work in order to provide themselves, and hopefully others as well with resource to live life.

We live in a monetary economy rather than an agricultural economy, so we work (at various jobs, in various industries or services, which I trust is ethical) for money in order to clothe, house, feed, and supply our families.

You don’t and won’t always necessarily enjoy this sort of work.

We should be excellent in this work, as unto the Lord, be honest, be diligent, be punctual, go the extra mile, keep a good attitude and right spirit, and work hard.

2. Work of dominion

Gen 1:26-30
26 Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created human beings in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

This is the work of stewarding creation.

Caring for animals and the environment.

Developing things, creating things, inventing things, painting, writing.

Doing things out of worship and to the glory of God.

Living sustainable.

All of those things and others I would put under the heading of the work of dominion.

Sadly though many of us just live status quo in regards to these sorts of issues.

Abdicated everything to the City Council or our MP, or weird greeny hemp type people.

God always intended though that his people would take dominion and steward and care for creation.

3. Work of blessing fellow believers

Gal 6:9-10
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

The bible encourages us to do good to each other at every opportunity.

4. Work of partnering with the Holy Spirit in building God’s Kingdom

Matthew 6:10
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Witness to the world around us through presence and proclamation of the gospel.

Outreach through service and social concern.

Living the ‘way’ of Jesus as light in the dark.

So before we even go further and talk about Sabbath and rest, let us ensure that we are committed, diligent, and hard working Christians.

Not people absorbed only in our careers and the work of provision but in all four types of work.

Are you an active worker in all four areas?

To be continued...

End Times...

Here are my sermon notes from Sunday morning just gone for those that wanted them. Apologies to those that were not at the service they will only make limited sense.

The End Goal

Introduction:

‘Should the Lord tarry...’ even but a few more minutes... we are going to begin the final chapter of the biblical grand-narrative, we are going to start looking at end times.

A subject that for literally 20 years I just found plain scary and haven’t wanted to look at.

All because of one old song written by Larry Norman in 1969. Which didn’t actually sound like this but may as well have to my 7 year old ears.

“There’s no time to change your mind, the Son’s come back and you’ve been left behind!”

That combined with a movie you may remember called Thief in the Night... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6xmDRwcjv4

That movie which again as a 7 or 8 year old, I can only describe as a Christian horror movie, scared me to death when it came to end times.

I’ve just written myself off from receiving two particular blessings the bible talks about.

- Blessing for those that eagerly await the return of the Lord
- Blessing for those that read and heed the book of Revelation

Not for me.

Stay away from that stuff it’s just plain freaky!

The actual truth is...

When we talk about endtimes we are not speaking about doomsday and the end of the world, we are speaking about the divine intent and goal that lies behind God’s activity and actions in the lives of individuals, communities, and creation throughout history.

It’s fully mysterious, but it is massively exciting as well!

I want to begin this morning though by very quickly again summarising the big story.

I just don’t think we can do this too often.

It is THE big story and it must be THE framing story of OUR lives.

The Story so Far...

Chapter 1 – Creation:

In the beginning God created the entire cosmos; a good and pleasing creation, without sin or evil. Unique in creation was humankind, created in the image of God for special relationship with God, self, each other, and creation. Humankind was to reflect the nature of the Triune God, who exists eternally in perichoretic community (a differing, loving, giving, dance of perfect relationship) and relate to one another in like manner. For a time all was as God intended, however humankind fell short of what it was created to be.

Chapter 2 – Sin:

Sin, meaning to miss the mark or to fall short, resulted in a failure of relationship. Humanity was left alienated (from God, ourselves, each other, and creation), condemned (guilty before a righteous God), enslaved (in bondage to sin and its effect on every area of our lives and societies), and depraved (powerless to overcome our sin problem). There is hope though.

Chapter 3 – Israel (redemption initiated):

God chose Israel as a special people to dwell with in covenant relationship, his intention always being that through Israel all nations might find reconciliation with God. At times Israel lived as the people God intended them to be but continually they turned away from God.

Chapter 4 – Jesus (redemption completed):

God then sent his Son Jesus to establish the Kingdom of God and to deal with humanities sin problem once and for all. Through his sinless life, death upon the cross, and resurrection from the dead, Jesus defeated sin and death. Through faith (knowledge, belief, and continuing or ongoing trust) and repentance (a turning away from a previous way of life), all may find forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, hope, and freedom from sin.

Chapter 5 – Church:

Jesus also established the Kingdom of God, a kingdom that is now, but not yet. A kingdom that begins with the rule and reign of Christ in our hearts and from here impacts every area of society. A kingdom with principles that are often upside down and back to front to the ways of the world. A kingdom that will advance and is established through the church; believers living according to kingdom principles, in authentic relationship and committed community, governed by the Word and led by the Spirit.

This is where we live today, as Christ followers and participants in the community that is the church; God’s number one plan to reach and impact a lost and broken world.

We live now in this chapter of history. The church. Today we are going to look forward at the last chapter in the story. Which aren’t so much end times but rather God’s end goal.

By the way, that little blurb in the bulletin. That’s gold right there. That’s Genesis through Jude in one hit! About 40 sec of reading!

Framing Story:

This isn’t just any old story though.

Like I said before...

This is THE big story that must be THE framing story of OUR lives.

What does that mean?

It means that you think of any area of life...

How to live?
What to do?
Which choice to make?

This story should and will inform your regarding that choice or question.

· Environmental Issues
o Christians should be on the forefront
o Image of God, special responsibility, right relationship with creation
o Govern and steward the planet
o Whole individuals and societies are in wrong relationship with the planet
o Animism – spirits and souls in everything, plants and trees, worship creation
o Pantheism – everything makes up God, plants and trees, worship creation
o Western Society – abuses the planet, strips of resources, not sustainable
o Restore right relationship
o Impact you lifestyle and actions massively

· Justice Issues
o Documentary on Close up the other night
o Slaves used in producing coco
o Grand-narrative teaches about perichoretic community
o Loving on another, not abusing one another
o Sin is all consuming, individuals, societies, systems
o We cannot participate in those systems
o Change our habits

· Challenge seems too big
o Story tells us that through the church God will establish his Kingdom
o Will be done on earth as it is in heaven
o Not just our church, the universal church, all and every community can make a difference

· Personal problems seem too big
o How can God understand?
o One person two natures
o Fully God
o Fully human
o Challenges, temptations, loss, obedience & consequence, heartache, pain, forsakenness
o The same as you and I

Throughout the series we have tried to show applications and implications of the story.

Ultimately though: each of us is responsible personally to know the story, to know the truth of God’s story and to reflect on it personally in our lives, discovering the implications and applications to life for ourselves. We are each responsible to build community with others to journey together in light of the story, discovering truth together and letting that mould and shape our lives.

The story has radical radical implications for life today!

As does the final chapter which we are beginning this morning.

So here we go...

Chapter 6 – Re-creation / The End Goal / Happily Ever After / End Times:

Preamble:

· We look at end times with caution and with openness.

We are reading as we look at end times is called apocalyptic literature.

Probably the most difficult and tricky type of literary type in the bible.

- Metaphor
- Parts are literal
- Parts are figurative and illustrative
- Lots of pictures or types being used to describe things
- Prophecy that has been fulfilled mixed with prophesy that hasn’t been fulfilled mixed with prophesy that but nature can be fulfilled more than once

Revelation 19 talks about Jesus returning on a white horse with flames of fire coming out of his eyes and a sword coming out of his mouth.

It’s a picture, a description, a metaphor; Jesus isn’t literally coming back like that.

What does it actually mean then? Can be tricky stuff to work out.

So we have to look forward and read forwards carefully.

Appreciating the tricky nature of what we are looking at I trust you’ll be generous with me this morning as I try to summarise some pretty deep issues.

Actually more that we can’t say than what we can say.

You may end up with more questions than answers as a result of this morning’s message.

If you were looking for a sequence of events, sorry...

· The bible does not give us any data for dates or even a detailed sequence of events when it comes to the future.

Any this then this then this, and this is exactly what it is going to look like is fanciful/interesting/fiction at best and misleading at worst.

Thief in the Night, series makes massive leaps of assumption to make the series it does.

Left Behind Series, the authors have to make up all sorts of stuff and make huge assumptions and read all sorts of things that are not in the bible to tell the story the way that they do.

We can’t watch these movies or read these books thinking that they are accurate interpretations of scripture telling us how the future will unfold.

There just not.

Personally I prefer the Chronicles of Narnia as a better series in painting a picture of how the future may or could unfold.

The reality is that the future is full of mystery.

This morning I’m going to use a few scriptures but not that many.

End times really needs its own 10 week series if you wanted to get stuck into every verse and scripture.

Again because the scriptures are apocalyptic there are all sorts of reading rules and stuff to try and understand them.

Each passage simply takes too much explaining and is too technical for me to be able to explain with any clarity.

I’m going to kind of sum up the thoughts of respected and trusted theologians in regards to end times.

For those that are interested my sources are...

Theology for the Community of God – Dr Stanley Grenz
In Understanding be as Men – T.C.Hammond
The Gospel of the Kingdom – Dr George Ladd
Systematic Theology – Dr Stanley Horton
The Drama of Scripture – Dr Craig Bartholomew and Dr Michael Goheen

My goal is really just to talk about the main things that we need to be aware of regarding the future.

There aren’t a whole lot of details that can be given with certainty but I want to try and cover what can be said with certainty.

The End Goal:

What can we say with certainty...

While the bible does not give us the data for dates or a sequence of events in regards to end times, what it does give us is massively important.

1. History is meaningful and will reach a climax!

The bible allows us as Christians to assert that history is meaningful.

That history will reach a climax.

That God’s work in individual lives and communities and in creation has purpose.

It allows us to assert that divine intent lies behind God’s actions in the world.

That is why we don’t so much look at end times, rather we look at God’s goal, we look at re-creation, we look at happily ever after.

GOOD WILL TRIUMPH OVER EVIL.

GOD WILL REIGN

Justice will be done.

Sin and sickness and evil and oppression and hopelessness and death will be dealt with.

End times are not something we should be sacred of.

We should look forward to the end to the consummation of all things.

The next thing we can say with certainty is that...

2. Jesus Christ will return.

This is what will bring about victory.

The transition from the old age into the age of the kingdom which is now but not yet was the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The transition from the now but the not yet into the new age will come about through the return of Jesus.

It will happen not through cosmic evolution, not through human progress and scientific breakthrough, not even through the church getting bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger.

Victory will come at the return of Jesus Christ and through his righteous judgement bringing justice to the world.

- Jesus’ return is a fact that we can look forward to with anticipation.

- The return of Christ is what will bring about the resurrection, judgement, the renewal of all things, and it is the return of Christ that we look forward to and forwards to.

- The return of Jesus is what will usher in the new age in its totality.

- This would appear to be a process (with several stages) rather than a single event.

- Jesus’ return could happen at any time. Nothing to stop Jesus returning before this sermon is completed.

- Jesus’ return will happen in like manner to his ascension. Careful not to read too much into that.

Acts 1:10
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

- It will literally mean we will see him in a manner comparable to natural sight.

- We don’t need to know dates, times, and places, we need to occupy until he comes.

T.C.Hammond warns – In regards to ‘times and seasons,’ a rigid systemization dependent on veiled allusions in scripture, which are also capable of meaning other than that which is arbitrarily selected to fit a particular theory, is to be discouraged.

We are to live every day as if the Lord is going to return tonight. Explain.

We are to live every day as if the Lord is not going to return for another 10,000 years. Explain. (Parents generation uni, house, washing machine).

We have to live in the tension of and / both.

3. The righteous will be resurrected and transformed.

1 Corinthians 15:15-21
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a human being.
Luke 24:30-43

At the return of Christ the dead in Christ will be raised and they will receive a new and glorious body.

A new body the same as Christ’s glorified body.

1 Corinthians 15:35-36
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

- Human likeness continuity and discontinuity, new but recognisable
- Powers unknown today
- Spiritual, incorruptible, and immortal
- Careful not to over spiritualize or to view too materialistically

4. There will be a judgment.

- Something to be looked forward to
- Through God’s righteous judgement things will be put right
- Individuals will be judged
- Our works and deeds will be judged
- Sin in its entirety will be judged
- Not just the judgement of individuals and individual sin
- Systems will be judged
- Injustice will be judged
- First will be last and last will be first
- Oppressed will be lifted up
- Sick will be restored
- Sin will no longer have sway
- Truth will be declared
- Principalities and powers will be judged
- Through judgement recreation, renewal and restoration will take place
Elena is going to look more at this next Sunday morning.

5. All things will be made new

Revelation 21:1-5
1 Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," [a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' [b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

There are three consummations evident in the bibles record of human history...

- Ordering of the world before the creation of humankind
- The events leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ
- The cessation of the present world system

Each of the first to consummation ushered in a new era.

So to the final consummation of all things will usher in eternity.

‘Behold I make all things anew.’

Scripture seems to imply not annihilation of the old, not a new creation, but rather a recreation.

There will be a complete destruction of all that is sinful and a conversion of the old into a new world never to know sin and corruption.

Again the bible paints a picture of continuity and discontinuity.

Recognisable but made right. No longer the same.

In once sense our story has come full circle now.

We started in Genesis with paradise lost through sin.

We now see paradise regained in Revelation.

- Where there was once a missing of the mark a falling short through sin
- Where there was once a failure of relationship – God, self, others, creation
- There will now be complete and utter restoration to the image and likeness of God
- There will be no mourning, death, crying, pain, sickness, suffering etc.
- Where once Adam walked with God in the cool of the evening, once again the dwelling of God will once again be with man. No separation.
- The entire planet, galaxy, cosmos will be renewed.

I don’t know the extent of the discontinuity and the continuity.

Our resurrected bodies will be recognisable, in a practical way, not a supernatural way.

The new earth will also be recognisable as well, I don’t know if it will be recognisable in the sense land, animals, water. Or recognisable in the sense of, ‘wow look there’s the Sistine Chapel, I never got to visit that before, I’m glad I can now.’

N.T.Wright suggests in his book Surprised by Hope, that perhaps more of what we do in this life may carry over to the next than what we think.

Fascinating thought.

6. Eternity will be spent either in heaven or in hell.

Shane is going to do a whole sermon on heaven and hell in a couple of weeks time.

Exciting stuff.

Eternity spent in hell – a state of complete absence of the presence of God.

Eternity spent in heaven – a state of humankind and God dwelling together

It seems to me most likely that the heavenly realm, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the recreated, renewed earth come together and eternity is spent here.

Shane will discuss this fully though in a couple of weeks.

Hell – complete absence of God
Heaven – dwelling with God

7. We have a great HOPE!

Psalm 25:3No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Colosions 1:21-23
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of [f] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Conclusion:

· History is moving towards a climax
· Jesus will return
· There will be a resurrection and a transformation
· There will be a judgment that sets things right
· All things will be renewed
· We have great hope as Christians

Need not get caught up in trying to work out dates, times, sequences.
Live as if Jesus was returning tonight.
Live as if Jesus will not return for another 10,000 years.

There is a happily ever after to the story provided that we...

- Know the story (God has been at work throughout history to reconcile humanity and the entire cosmos to himself)
- Assent to the story being true (It’s not a fairy tale, it’s not fantasy, its true!)
- Continually and daily put our trust in Jesus Christ (that he made relationship possible, we can be forgiven and reconciled)
- Repent and turn from our former way of life and live in light of the big story, live in light of God’s story.

I want to encourage every person here this morning, those that profess to be Christians, those that perhaps are looking but would not yet consider themselves to be a Christ follower.
Have you responded to the grand-narrative as I have just outlined?

Make that response in your heart, life, actions, words, lifestyle!

Developing a Christian Worldview

Here are the sermon notes from Sunday morning just gone. Enjoy.

The Biblical Story as THE Grand-Narrative for Life

In this series we are going to be looking at the development of a Christian worldview based on the bible as THE grand-narrative for life.

We are going to look at God’s story, Genesis through to Revelation, as THE framing story for our lives.

The story out of which we live life, approach life, make decisions, determine priorities, steward our finances, etc.

Our entire preaching team will be preaching different messages and addressing different topics within the series.

There will be plenty of variety; it’ll always be interesting, challenging, encouraging, and life changing.

Worldview:

We all have a worldview, a particular way of look at the world.

Our worldview is…

‘The set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of reality that ground and influence one’s perceiving, thinking, knowing, and doing.’

More simply, worldview is our philosophy, mindset, outlook on life, perspective, through which we live our lives, make our decisions, behave and so on.

The lenses through which we look at and interpret life and the world.

Everyone has a worldview. It may be undeveloped, intuitive, and even inconsistent, or it may be the product of serious reflection.

Either way we all have a worldview.

It will be made up and determined by all sorts of influences.

- Generation type (mouse = small rodent or an infrared scrolling device for our computers, quality TV = a head in a box talking to the family or 100 channels in high definition on a 46inch wide screen television)
- Up bring and parents influence on our lives (man does the outside work, women does the inside work, vote national son, vote labour, don’t vote there all crooks)
- Movies we’ve watched
- Music we listen to
- People we hang out with
- Experiences we have had
- Stuff we heard, someone say, sometime, somewhere, sounded pretty good
- Accurate biblical theology and understanding
- Inaccurate biblical theology and understanding
- Western world and social conditioning that is all around us

All of these things influence us and cause us to have the worldview that we have.

All of these things influence the lenses through which we look at life.

The end result is also that we have a mixed bag kind of worldview.

We might have a similar worldview to the people around us but it will still be our own unique perspective on life.

This worldview implicitly affects the way that we live, the choices we make, the attitudes that we carry, everything that we do.

It’s through this worldview that we perceive, interpret, and then respond to and live life.

It will determine your attitude and treatment of…

Money
- You earned it, you spend it on what you like, its yours
- Money is God’s, I steward it on his behalf
- I pay my tithes, as long as I give 10% to God in the offering, I can do what I like with the rest

Pre-marital Sex
- Bible teaches clearly sex is only for marriage
- Everyone is doing it so surely not that bad
- Didn’t have condoms in the bible so now its all good, don’t get pregnant or catch an STI

Depending on your worldview, that is shaped by all those different influencers, you’ll have your own unique perspective on things like money and pre-marital sex.

As Christ-followers, as Christians, our goal in life though, isn’t a unique personal perspective on life.

Our goal must be to see things from a biblical perspective, to develop a Christian worldview.

Jesus came to teach and reshape the worldview of that day and age and of our day and age.

He came to teach a new way of looking at the world and living in the world.

He came and taught a Kingdom worldview, a Christian worldview, a biblical worldview.

In Matthew 5 the, Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly says, you have heard it said… but I say unto you…

He was teaching a new way.

He was teaching a new way of looking at the world, at life, at everything.

He taught that blessed are the poor, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted.

He taught that anger wanting to kill someone is as bad as actually killing them.

He taught that lust is just as sinful as actual adultery.

He taught that and eye for and eye, or a tooth for a tooth, isn’t the way it is to work anymore, we are to turn the other cheek.

He taught that we are to love our enemies.

He taught that we are not to store up treasures and possessions on earth.

He taught that it’s not about saying Lord and sounding religious. It’s about obeying our father who is in heaven.

Jesus taught a whole new way of living, a whole new way of viewing the world.

His teaching is to shape our worldview.

Our goal must be to see, interpret, perceive the world according to Jesus’ teachings not simply according to what we have picked up here there and everywhere over the years.

Romans 12:2
- Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
- Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

We have to develop a Christian worldview.

The Biblical Story as THE Grand-Narrative for Life:

How do we develop a Christian worldview?

It will be a life long process, a journey we must chose to walk everyday.

Being transformed by God, into the likeness of Christ is a life long process.

Also we can take the time to study the essential elements of a worldview. Things like our…

- beliefs about the existence and nature of God
- beliefs about the origins and nature of the universe
- beliefs about the purpose of the universe, of creation, of humankind
- beliefs about the nature and purpose of humanity, in general and personally
- beliefs about what is right and wrong, good and evil in the world and how evil can be overcome and wrongs made right.

We can take the time to study theses issues and ensure that our worldview is indeed a biblical worldview.

We can go to the bible and study each of these topics one by one.

We could find truth by doing this. The bible is a divine book. It is full of wisdom, full of instructions for living life, is full of commands to follow.

God’s word is a mine that we can dig into searching for riches of truth and encouragement for life.

So we could develop our Christian world view through a study of appropriate biblical principles and propositions.

However, the bible is so much more than a set of principles and propositions though.

The bible is a grand-narrative, a metanarrative.

This means that the bible is an all encompassing story, a grand story which orders, explains, and gives meaning to life.

It’s the overarching story in which all of our individual stories fit and by which we can make sense of our stories.

Too often we focus on a devotional style reading of the bible that emphasises reading it only in parts and in pieces, looking for a ‘word for the day.’

The bible though is the grandest story of all, its God’s story, and it must be the framing story of our lives.

I’m a reader, I read a lot. Non-fiction and fiction. If you read novels you probably know how easy it is to pick up a 800 page or 1000 page novel and race through it cover to cover in no time at all.

Yet the bible 800-900 pages. Wow, it takes an eternity to read.

Partly that’s because we mainly read it looking for that ‘word for the day.’ Hard to keep going once you have had a few ‘words.’

Partly as well it is because we too often don’t have a sense of the big story that is unfolding as we read.

We get lost and bogged down in all the little stories along the way.

We lose sense of how they all tie together and what is going on.

In a novel there is a sense of beginning, an introduction of characters, the establishment of a stable situation that is about to be disrupted. Then there is some sort of significant conflict, action and drama, tension and the need for resolution. That resolution comes, we see now how our main characters are going to live on with stability restored and we finish the last page happily shutting the book. (Unless there is going to be a sequel).

Most of the time we don’t get that sense of a grand story unfolding as we read the bible, yet that is exactly what is happening.

The bible from Genesis to Revelation contains one major story and it’s the most exciting, mind blowing, paradigm shattering, history changing, you could ever come across.

There is a lot more to the story than the fact that humans are sinful and need Jesus in order to go to heaven.

It’s and exciting story. It’s the true story of the whole world.

In this series, as we look to develop a Christian worldview, rather than digging here an there in the bible for truths essential to life, we are going to look at the grand-narrative of scripture and as we journey through that we’ll pause along the way to learn the lessons we need to learn.

We are going to focus on the big story of the bible, God’s story, and allow that to be the framing story that shapes our worldview.

This is important because framing stories make a huge difference to how we interpret the rest of life.

We have to allow the right story to frame our lives.

Not the story of western culture, postmodernism, evolution, relativism, etc, etc, but God’s story.

Take the issue of humanity for example…

If our lives are framed by the story of evolution – then we are all area as a result of chance, because our ancestors where strongest and survived when others where weak, the strongest will survive today and the weak will die, this is in the best interests of humankind, our species is getting stronger and stronger. Don’t help the weak, the poor, the oppressed, and the downtrodden. Keep them down, wipe them out, they’ll only threaten our survival and use our resources if lift them up.

If our lives are framed by God’s, the biblical grand-narrative – humanity is the climax of his creation. Every person is created in his image, with special standing before God, special fellowship with God, unique eschatological expectations, and for special community with God, with each other, and with the world we live in. As a result of this and our commitment to live according to a biblical worldview we are compelled to make a stand for justice, to pursue relationship with God, to develop community one with another, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy, to take a stand for the poor, the oppressed, the weak and the marginalized.

Your framing story profoundly impacts the way that you live life.

Philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre says, ‘I can only answer the question, what am I to do? If I can first answer the question, of what story do I find myself a part?

We can only truly know what to do in life; how to live life, once we accurately establish and understand the story we are a part of.

We can only make sense of life today, of our lives today, if we understand how the story started, what has happened in the story so far, and how the story is going to end.

That’s what’s exciting about the biblical grand-narrative; we can look at the start, the middle, and even forwards into the future in regards to how the story will end.

The Biblical Grand-Narrative:

Chapter One – Creation
God creates the heavens and the earth, creates mankind. The master piece of His creation, made in His image, living in an incredible relationship and place of blessing with God.

Chapter Two – Sin
Humankind rebelled against God, death, destruction, chaos, entered the world. Because of sin we are relationally separated from God. The wonder of creation, us included, is marred.

Chapter Three – Israel
God adopts Israel as his special people, always with the plan of reaching out and adopting every people has his own afresh. Israel’s journey with God is full of highs and lows as they live righteously for a season but then fall away into sin and idolatry.

Chapter Four – Christ
God sends his only Son Jesus, who dies on the cross, sinless and perfect, he pays the price for your sin and mine. We can be forgiven our sins by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Chapter Five - Church
The body of Christ, you and I, the great community of believers, living to see his kingdom come, his will be done on earth as in heaven. Empower by the Holy Spirit, called to work together as the body of Christ.

Chapter Six – Re-Creation
Our eternal hope as Christians. A new heavens and a new earth. Eternal relationship with Christ. God will wipe away every tear from there eye, etc etc. Here we we’ll be looking at things like the second coming of Jesus, the rapture, heaven and hell, the millennial reign, pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation, all those kinds of things.

As we journey through each chapter in the biblical-narrative we are going to pause and learn the lessons we need to learn essential to developing a Christian worldview.

Four Barriers to Developing a Christian Worldview:

The one thing all of us know is that we don’t know everything. All of us, to one degree or another, have a worldview that is a mixture of all sorts of things, we have to adjust this.

So, from time to time throughout this series, hopefully, you are going to be faced with challenges of some sort or another to your worldview.

At times it may be in little things, on other occasions it may be in regards to some big things.

It’s important that we are willing to adjust our thinking, perceiving, and understanding to be in line with God’s word when these things come up.

Four Barriers to Developing a Christian Worldview

1. Poor Theology

I don’t think anyone has a perfect and definitively true systematic theology worked out in their head.

We all carry bits and pieces of theology with us that are probably pretty poor.

Poor due to our own personal interpretations of the bible as we read it privately.

We’ll be talking about this in a couple of weeks.

Basically though we are all theologians, we all read the bible and draw conclusions from our readings.

We are not necessarily all good theologians though, sometimes the conclusions we draw are a long way away from an accurate reading of the text.

Poor theology as well due to the fact that all of us have listened to preachers for years and years, and preachers don’t always get things right.

It’s a real challenge to preachers.

When it comes to preaching though, poor theology because as listeners we have only ever remember lines that really stand out to us, not whole sermons and the balance that was hopefully taught around that line.

- God’s will, God’s bill – forget stewardship or long term financial planning.
- Bigger level, bigger devil – forget the complexities that come with increased responsibilities, it’s the devil making it hard.
- God says it, I believe it, that settles it – oh if life was that simple.
- If the Spirit’s not moving, I move the Spirit – because of course I have the ability to control God.
- God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called – don’t worry about training, all you need is the Spirit.
- Faith is the currency of heaven – no where does the bible talk about wisdom, oh there is that one funny book in the Old Testament.
- Don’t just walk on water, get out of the boat and blow it up – I’m not even sure what that means.
- 1 Cross + 3 nails = 4 given – I don’t know why we bother with soteriology, the study of salvation, all we need is some simple maths.

Often all we remember are the one liners, and often all that is give as an explanation is the one liners.

Developing a Christian worldview almost has to mean challenging some of the nice one liners we have though.

It’ll mean challenging things like our concepts of heaven and hell.

Most people think heaven is a place you go when you die, a place where the streets are gold, where God is preparing a mansion for you, where you will spend eternity.

The bible doesn’t teach that.

Most people think hell is a large lake of fire.

It seems most likely that this is not the case either.

We have to be willing to let go of some of the poor theology we have inherited over the years.

Embrace the challenge.

2. Our Own Agendas and Self-Interests

No matter who we are we all have personal agendas and self interests that mean we want to and look for particular conclusions or perspectives to be biblical.

If you don’t want your kid to get a tattoo then no matter what the bible will teach that tattoos are of the devil.

If you want to get a tattoo, no matter what the bible will teach that tattoos are all good.

We have our own self interests that make it hard for us to develop a Christian worldview.

We don’t want to look at issues of worldview because it might mean change we have to make that we don’t want to make.

We don’t want to look at a Christian perspective on poverty, or justice, or the environment.

The result may mean too much change.

The reality is the Christian life is meant to be a radical, counter culture, scary, faith filled adventure, measured by different standards and weights than what the world measures with.

I think intuitively we all know this to be true, yet we are reluctant to embrace this in its fullness, I’m reluctant to really embrace this.

Encroaches on every area of life. I don’t always like this. My money, my time, my goals, my achievements, my ambitions.

It’ll mean some things that we don’t really want it to mean.

3. The Discipleship Challenge

Man it’s easy following Jesus at first. Living with Jesus adds so much to your world.

Ever present help in times of trouble, source of wisdom, strength, encouragement.

Business is struggling, we go to God’s word and we find keys to overcome.

Relationship issues, we find keys for breakthrough here.

All sorts of things. It’s like the bible is a life coach that will lead you to certain victory.

And it is that.

Then you start to develop a Christian worldview based on the bible as the grand-narrative for life

You discover that victory might not be what you defined as victory.

Success might not be what you have previously defined as success, what the world around you defines as success.

You discover that following Jesus means changing and shifting priorities, goals, dreams, everything.

At first following Jesus meant extra blessing and favour on your dreams and ambitions, that you would more likely achieve the things you always wanted to achieve.

Now following Jesus means redefining your life.

It’s the discipleship challenge. It’s a real challenged.

It’s moving from saying God you’re mine, come bless my life to…

God I am yours, how can I bless you.

You had a plan and God was going to help you make it all come true.

Now you discover that God has a plan and life is actually about getting in behind that.

This can be a challenging and difficult transition.

4. The Clash of Western Worldview and Christian Worldview

I think the greatest barrier we have to over come in developing a Christian worldview is the western worldview and social conditioning of the western world that we are surrounded with.

Each of us is massively influenced by western worldview.

If we are not careful the story of the western world so easily becomes the framing story of our lives.

Essentially the western story is a story of humanism, individualism, and consumerism.

Reason and logic rule the world, ‘knowledge is power.’

Through science alone, and utterly apart from God, humankind could build a perfect world.

This story is basically unhelpful and untrue, yet so easily we find ourselves living according to it.

Our western worldview and culture so easily ends up determining…

- How we define abundance and lack.
- How we define success.
- How we interpret scripture.

Western social conditioning so easily determines what we see as fashionable, reasonable, justifiable, normal, or right or wrong.

It doesn’t take long for us to have moved a long way away from God’s story.

We need to reflect and be aware of when our western perspective is informing us rather than the bible.

The biblical grand-narrative is a very different story to the western story.

But it is the true story of the whole world, the only story out of which we can successfully live life.

Building God’s House 2008

It is so exciting to be following our legendary Senior Pastors, Alan and Elena Hood, into year number two of our church building program. Pastors Alan and Elena are an awesome couple and Building God’s House 2008 provides an exciting opportunity to get behind their vision for City Church Tauranga.

How awesome will it be to see our church facility upgraded to one of excellence in every area? A facility that is functional, attractive, inviting, and that honours God.

How awesome will it be to see more space for our every growing church and church ministries? More space for staff with new offices (and air-conditioning hallelujah); more space for City Church Kids and their amazing kids program (there are sooo many kids squashed into one hall at the moment); more space for our parents and new babies in our parents lounge (there are babies crawling all over babies all over the place); more space for our café (its chaos every Sunday); not to mention, new toilets, larger stage, air-conditioning, new lighting, upgraded foyer etc, etc.

How awesome will it be to see a facility built that will serve future generations of believers as we invest today for tomorrow?

It’s so exciting!

The challenge for all of us in 2008…

It was exciting in 2007 to step up to the mark and commit to giving and believing God for great things as we set about our building program. The challenge in 2008 is to step up to the mark again and get behind the project; to engage with the Holy Spirit and take a step of faith again this year in our pledges and support of the program. While it is still exciting, it is no longer a brand new project, and it’s not going to be all over and completed in 1 year. It’s going to take a number of years and a step of faith again and again. That’s all good though because the Christian life, the faith journey isn’t about a step of faith once upon a time, years ago. It is about walking in faith everyday, believing a fresh every day. Trusting God again and again and again, stepping up to the mark again and again.

It’s going to be awesome! Remember, God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).