To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain...

So - here are the questions to ponder, before, during, and/or after the sermon this week...

1. Last week, Jeff began a series in Philippians, entitled, "To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain".  When you think of that title, how does it immediately strike you?  It is from Philippians 1:21, which we will look at today in the sermon, but what are your initial thoughts?  Jeff said last week, "It takes courage to be a Christian, and we get our courage from Christ."  Would that mesh with the thoughts of 1:21?

2. Read 1:6.  The idea of completion Paul talks about has to do with Greek sacrificial rituals, language this Greek city would have been familiar with.  The language used for "begin a good work, and perform it (or complete it)" had to do with sacrificing something.  Here, God does the sacrificing, and who is the sacrifice?  Yep!  You and me!  How do you feel about that idea?  Its a good work for God to sacrifice you - it takes you someplace you might not go on your own (see Romans 12).

3. If God sacrificed His own Son, what might He want with you?  Paul emphasized this idea of living sacrifice (Romans 12), old man dead, rising as new man (Romans 6), crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20).  Now look at 1:12, "I want you to know that the things which have happened to ME...,  have worked for the furtherance of the gospel"  We have a saying, "It is what it is..."  I've thought a lot about that statement since first hearing it.  Its always bugged me, but I used it along with everyone else.  I'm not sure everyone had the same fatalistic bent to them that I can have, but it really seems a hopeless statement, used to express exasperation with situations that seem beyond our control.  While Paul could certainly say of his imprisonment and shipwrecks and trouble that, "It is what it is," it seems that over and over again, Paul says something more like, "It is what God wills," or, like Joseph, "what you meant for harm, God has used for good."  The things that have happened to you - are they useful to God?  Have you let go of them sufficiently for Him to grab hold and make beauty from ashes?

Have a great week!

Peace in Christ,

Jim

To Live is Christ...

Beginning August 16th...                        

So as we have considered the makeup of our county, the 25,000 that are not experiencing the life-giving joy of a relationship with Christ and/or His church, and as we have considered the apologetic response to many of the arguments for not coming to Christ and/or His church, and for the last few weeks considered our own devotion level (is it 100%?), we turn our attention for the next several weeks to a little church from a couple thousand years ago, made up of elites, scoundrels, and all points in between - the Philippian Church.



Paul wrote the book of Philippians, and we have record of some of its happenings and activities in the book of Acts.  We will be looking at how that rag-tag group became a solid launch point for ministry, and how that might apply to us today.  How do we really live?  If it is all-in, our talents and creativity, and even our weaknesses, when taken together, make a pretty awesome spot for Jesus to show up and blow the lid right off this thing - and for us to literally develop the "to lives is Christ, to die is gain" mentality/discipline of life!

We've had the RightNow Media resource for a few months now, and we have several using it, but I would like to encourage you to jump into this particular study (if you haven't signed up, just go to the church web site, www.mpccbedford.com, and follow the links to free resources).  You can search on Matt Chandler, and it will bring this up.  Jeff won't be copying this study word for word, or anything like that - its just another really good resource on what we will be looking at.  Stay tuned for more blogs on this church and how it relates to our church as we move through this series.

Blessings,
Jim

To All Who Are New-ish to MPCC - Please Pass the Ketchup!

A handshake.  A simple gesture used for a variety of reasons.  Resolution to a disagreement (I remember the schoolyard fights when I was a kid).  The "good game" of sportsmanship when we'd all line up and, win or lose, shake (loosely) the hands of each of our opponents.

How about when you would settle on a price for something, say, a car?  Yep, handshakes are employed there, too, to seal the deal.

When you meet someone new, what is the first physical contact you normally have with that person?  Yep - a handshake.

Resolution. Sportsmanship. Sealing the deal.  Greeting.  All of them valid uses of the handshake.  We also employ handshakes also to indicate fellowship, acceptance, even love.

Our newcomer lunch at MPCC is like a collective handshake.  Or knuckles.  Or maybe even a high five.  We use it to inform, greet, help folks make a decision about MPCC, show love, affection, acceptance, and fellowship.

It is coming up on July 26, right after church.  Group leaders are ready to serve, and we want you, if you are new to MPCC, to know that we would love for you to be there.  No one is going to pressure you to do anything other than to eat a burger or dog, and to maybe pass the ketchup.  Pretty low pressure.  And did I mention dessert?  You will get to know our leader folks here at MPCC, and you will get to ask questions in a low key setting.

So, think of us reaching out a collective hand to you :-)

REALITY TV

Ok, so if the title captured your interest, I have to confess to just a bit of bait and switch here...  TV - Theological Vision.  That's where I'm going.  Sorry.

But, check this out - its from the book I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Christian, and I liked Him Better Then, by Rubel Shelley:

So long as church is a place or a series of events on certain days and at certain times, it will continue to have minimal-to-decreasing influence for changing the world.   It will continue to create unhealthy dependence by the many on the few and preserve our focus on externals as measurements of Christian life and maturity.

To the contrary, if wee could rid ourselves of the debilitating effects of institutionalized religiosity - which has passed for Christianity over the past 1700 years - and enter the experience of God's life-giving presence in Christ, EVERYTHING (emph added) would change.  As the authentic body of Christ in the world, such a church would turn the world upside down again.  The medium would become the message of rescue and renewal.

Church would not be something to "do" but would be experienced as who Christ's followers are everywhere, with everybody, all the time.  Worship would no longer be a place to "go" but would be the offering of our bodies as living sacrifices.  Our outreach would not be a "program" but would be touching people with acceptance, love, and nurture that honors and imitates Jesus himself.

What do you think?  How are you doing at this?  Does your life, my life, reflect a heavenly DNA, or are we just playing church? 

This book is really challenging me to examine myself, my motives, my life, in light of Jesus, and not the expectations of others.  I would love to read through this book with a couple other folks if any of you are interested, its a really good eye-opener!

Peace in Christ,
Jim

 

  

A fine mess...

So,

"Two men went to church on a Sunday morning.  One was a deacon and the other a closet homosexual.  The deacon called the service to order and prayed, "God, I thank you that we are a strong and growing church that is unashamed to take a stand on abortion, X-rated movies, and divorce.  We fear for our country, Lord, with all the blatant homosexuality being glamorized in the media and defended by our politicians.  I'm truly grateful for the youth ministry here and that you have taught us to be generous enough to send our teens to help rebuild a school in quake-ravaged Haiti."

Meanwhile, the gay man was sitting toward the back of the sanctuary and didn't think he was good enough even to join in the prayer.  He was so miserable over the conflicts in his heart and life that he could only whisper, as a tear rolled down his cheek, "God, have pity on me!  I am such a sinner.

Then Jesus said, "When the two men went home that day, it was the homosexual and not the deacon who was pleasing to God.  If you put yourselves above others, you will be put down.  But if you humble yourself, you will be honored."

This is Rubel Shelley's paraphrase of Luke 18:10-14 (I Knew Jesus Before He Was a Christian, 2011).  Yes, it offends our modern (Christian) sensibilities.  I think probably the original offended the Pharisaically modern sensibilities of the day.

Imagine, the scandal of the gospel, that sinners could be made right with God under the blood of Christ, and can continually be brought to humility and repentance until that day when the faith will be made sight.

If that is the hope we communicate, then the 25000 reasons in our county that are walking without or away because they misunderstand the gospel of peace will be drawn back by messengers (us'n's) who are transformed by the message - or, even better, have become the Message.

If we remember our first love (Jesus), we can't help but get that message out there.  But if our message is simply, "You can get socially acceptable and cleaned up by respectable society's standards," we've lost the heart of the gospel - that The One True God reached into us and said, "I want you.  I call you Sonny not because you shine, but because you are mine," (James Ford, Jr.).

So - this is not a blog about gay rights (the homosexual was repentant), church piety (the deacon was puffed up), etc, this is a blog about you and me being the transmitters of eternal hope.  Evangelism isn't a program for participants to choose, its life to the lost, and each of us were that at some point.

Grab hold anew of the life raft, and extend a hand to others!

in Christ,
Jim

Adjusting Jesus

Ever think Christianity just doesn’t work?  Have you ever, deep down, didn’t want to share your

faith, because you weren’t sure you had any, really?

There’s a series on RightNow Media, 8 Reasons Why I am Not a Christian, that has, as its first session, a clip titled, Christianity Doesn’t Work.  It got me thinking about a couple things I want to share with you.

First, when we think about what Christianity promises – peace, blessing, hope, etc – and we compare it to our lives, we often find what we think of as Christianity to be sorely lacking.  Sufficiency?  Don’t talk to me about that when I can’t make my mortgage payment.  Peace?  In the face of my diagnosis?  And even that – why do I get sick?  I’m basically a good person.  Hope?  For what?  Heaven someday, because if there is a God, He’s letting me go through hell right here.

We wouldn’t say those things out loud, but they float around in any given Christian’s head moment by moment.  Why?  Could it be that we’ve missed the heart of the gospel?

John 3:16, you say.  Yes, but what about Matthew 4:17?  Ever heard of it?  “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’”

You see, we start adjusting Jesus when He doesn’t meet our expectations, because our expectations are born of a desire for salvation without repentance.  But foundational to the gospel message is the idea of turning from our old way of life to grab hold of a new way of life.  Life without end.  But only in repentance, only in submission to God, can we find the gospel to “work”.

Now, the “work” word can be a taboo in our church culture of 2015.  It should be, if work is understood to be the means by which we gain salvation.  Jesus finished the work of salvation, but it doesn’t absolve us from following Him.  Maybe though we don’t gain salvation by work, we find our salvation in work.  Meaning and purpose come from turning from the old man and grabbing hold of the new.  But we can’t hang on to both.  Something has to give.  And that is the point of frustration for many of us who would utter in our minds, “Christianity doesn’t work.”

If you find yourself just like “everybody else”, then maybe you haven’t given your foundation adequate thought.  Maybe what’s missing is your participation in your own salvation story.  Maybe you are desiring redemption without repentance.  So while you can pray a prayer, be baptized, go to church for a month of Sunday’s, serve at a mission, etc – without repentance, you are left with empty religion.  And that, for sure, doesn’t work.

So – re-read Matthew 4:17.  Read the first 7 chapters of Matthew to get a really good feel for what is important to Jesus.  Then get on board.  You won’t do it perfect, but He has, so you are off the perfection hook.  He says repent, then tells us how to live.  Let’s do it!

Peace in Christ,

Jim

The Blessing

Every day, I try and spend a few minutes reading my bible study plan.  It usually is two or three Old Testament chapters, and one chapter from the New Testament.  Sometimes, I will see a thread of thought that runs through the Old and the New.  Well, it happened today.  Let me explain...

When the Israelites marched into the Promised Land, God promised them victory.  He told them that He would be with them at every turn.  They started by conquering the land of Gilead, where two Amorite kings named Sihon and Og ruled.  Israel defeated them quickly, and it made a fantastic impression on all the people who lived there.  One of the natives said their victory over the Amorites "made their hearts melt and their courage fail".

The walls of Jericho fell.
They defeated an alliance of Southern kings.
They swept through an alliance of Northern kings.
85 year old Caleb conquered a city of giants - trusting God for strength.

And God delivered.  Again, and again, and again.

Joshua 21:43-45 says, "So the Lord gave the people all the land he had promised their ancestors.  The people took the land and lived there.  The Lord gave them peace on all sides, as he had promised their ancestors.  None of their enemies defeated them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them.  He kept every promise that he had made to the Israelites; each one came true."

Look at the first part of that verse again... I think the phrasing is interesting.  I underlined it and made it bold.  God gave the land... the people took the land.  I believe that the author is saying that the Promise was only fulfilled when the people took action.  It's a sure thing, but you have to do the work.

This was the same arrangement Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden.  They were told to work the land, but that their work would always be productive.  When they sinned, they are cursed with work that doesn't always produce.  Thorns and thistles were the result of sin, but work was always part of the plan.  God will give his people victory, but they still have to move forward.

So it was with the Israelites.  God kept every promise.  If they moved forward, he would give victory.  Now, if you read through the book of Joshua, you find that the Israelites didn't always move forward.  Sometimes they refused to keep fighting.  Sometimes they were too afraid of the obstacles.  God doesn't punish them for it... other than the punishment of unfulfilled destiny.  There were blessings to be had that the Israelites never received.

That was my Old Testament reading.

Then, in the New Testament, I read about the church in Corinth.  They were fighting about their rights.  Some believed that it was morally inappropriate to buy groceries from idol temples... all the profits were subsidizing false religion.  Others believed that you should buy your groceries wherever they were cheapest.  If that money went to bad stuff, well, it couldn't be helped.

So the argument was about freedom.  Are we, in Christ, free to do whatever we want?  Here's how Paul answers...

"I have the right to do anything," you say - but not everything is beneficial.  "I have the right to do anything" - but not everything is constructive.  No one should seek their own good, but the good of others... Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God - even as I try to please everyone in every way.  For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.                                                                                            - 1 Corinthians 10:23-33

Yeah, Paul says, you have the right to do anything.  You are free.  But then he asks them to remember the bigger priorities.  There are bigger fish to fry here than saving a dime/pound on cube steaks.  Paul says that in everything we do, we want to advocate for God's glory.

It might seem too hard.  You might think that it's just not worth it.  But God's glory is where we are most blessed.  God honors those who honor Him.  As we lay our lives down, He lifts us up.  As I reach more and more people for the Lord, I am empowered with joy, peace and purpose.  He fills me up as I use myself up for Him.

I thought about the ancient Israelites.  All of the Promised blessings were there, they just had to move forward.  But they didn't.  It seemed too hard.  It seemed too scary.  They chose momentary comfort over a fully delivered Promised Land.

If I want to receive the blessing of a strong spiritual life, I might have to lose some of my comfort, time, energy, money, reputation, and influence. I will certainly have to lose some control.  I believe that the rewards will be worth it!