Entries by Crossroads Presbyterian Church

Discomforting Jesus – Acts 9:1-19

/0 Comments/in /by

Perseverance     Comfort is a desirable and good thing to have. Yet, it can easily become the focus of our lives. This has always been the truth. Yet, it is even more so in a society where new products are constantly marketed to consumers demanding greater ease and comfort. Consumer-oriented cultures like ours have to watch out lest we subject Jesus to supply the same sort of demand.  That is because Jesus, the Prince of Peace, has always been in the business of discomforting his disciples for the purpose of bringing them better comfort.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the conversion account of Saul, otherwise known as the Apostle Paul, which is repeated three times in Acts (9, 22, 26). Saul’s encounter with Jesus on his way to imprison Christians was not a tranquil, peaceful and easy moment. Jesus brought real discomfort into his life, causing Saul to face up to real yet difficult realities. Yet, Jesus did this wisely and at the precise time that his discomforting presence would have the greatest positive effect. Saul went on to experience greater comfort than he had previously known: God has put on sandals in Jesus and stepped into the abyss for his enemies; Jesus seeks his enemies out to let them know it; Jesus turns his enemies into shining trophies of his love by employing them in his mission. In this case he employed Saul in making Jesus’ severe kindness known throughout the then known world and writing a great deal of the New Testament.

The Jesus of today is the same Jesus of the first century. He still will make us uncomfortable as we relate to him. The discomfort he brings is intended to bring about transformation and ultimate comfort. Yet, if we demand a Jesus that only brings ease, tranquility and a word of peace then we will not be dealing with him as we ought. And we will not grow as we ought. At moments of discomfort or stress we may even be ignoring him as the one who is seeking to encounter us with something we need to pay attention to.

So, may I ask you: where is it most uncomfortable for you to relate to Jesus? When do you most desire to not be associated with him: family, friends, co-workers, online chats? Why does it make you uncomfortable? Where does he want you to grow?

Your discomfort doesn’t surprise him. His grace is sufficient for us all. Let us humble ourselves with him, persevere through the difficulties and he will bring us out shining as a trophy of his mercy.

The featured painting is Thomas Kinkade’s Perseverance.

Concrete Identity – Acts 8:26-40

/0 Comments/in /by

NameTagThere are lots of little questions in life. Will I drink hot or iced coffee this morning? Should I turn on my blinkers when there is no one on the road at this hour? Should I put on the blue or the white shorts?

Then there are big questions. The reason they are “big” is because of how much they will chart the course of life. One of those big questions is, “Who am I?”

Who am I? Am I simply a collection of the many parts of my unique life story? Am I defined by my sexuality? By my failures? By my job? By my successes? By my ethnicity? By Christ? Who am I?

This past Sunday we encountered the Ethiopian Eunuch on the road back home from Jerusalem. During that time he met Philip and was converted to Christ. What we noted was that his identity was primarily one who was now a part of the people of God, united to Christ by baptism. His supreme identity is that he is loved by Christ along with all of those who come to Christ by faith.

Yet, we also read many details about this individual. He was ethnically Ethiopian. Sexually and socially he was an eunuch. In the world of work he was a treasurer. Politically he worked in the Ethiopian ruling court. Religiously he was a worshipper of YHWH, Israel’s God. By the end of Acts 8 he was still a worshipper of YHWH but now as he had freshly revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit through the recent redemptive events witnessed to him by Philip. All of these details included about the Ethiopian serve to teach us that we still retain many important secondary identities as Christians. God wants us to enjoy and appreciate the multi-faceted ways he has created us. He also wants us to reflect upon our stories and experiences in light of our ultimate identity in Christ. We bring our secondary identities as gifts to Christ, asking him to mold them and use them for the sake of his reputation and the good of others.

If you are asking the question “Who am I?” you can answer “Jesus loves me”. The real Jesus, resurrected 2000 years ago, really loved the real me. He dominates my identity but does not extinguish me.

[button url=”http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%209:1-19&version=ESV” newwindow=”true” color=”red”]Acts 9:1-19[/button]

Questions for Conversation:

[box icon=”info”]
What are your secondary identities (ethnically, politically, socially, etc.)?
[/box]

[box icon=”info”]
Have you ever felt like they do not matter to Jesus or your discipleship?
[/box]

[box icon=”info”]
What aspect of your identity most needs to be brought into the presence of Jesus? How might Jesus want to mold it? Use it? Sacrifice it?
[/box]

People Over Possessions (P.O.P.) – Acts 4:32-5:11

/0 Comments/in /by

308px-Lipsanoteca_di_Brescia_(retro)

The church is the greatest place on earth!

The church is full of hypocrites and worse!

Which of the above statements is true? Both. The reality is that although Jesus is doing bigger things than ever in his church, there is still much wrong with us.

We see this in Acts 4:32-5:11, when Luke records the good works of God’s people like Barnabas and the selfish deed of Ananias, Saphira, and Satan. Will the rest of Acts bear out a community like Barnabas, one that is shaped by Jesus’ radical commitment to people over possessions? Or will this community be more defined by valuing possessions over people?

God gives a strong answer at the beginning of this fresh movement of his Spirit recorded in the book of Acts. The church will be defined by Jesus’ work, which is a work that exemplifies a commitment to people over possessions. Barnabas is a positive example of selling a field for the sake of the community. This is the exact opposite of Judas, who sold Jesus for money to buy a field.

[quote name=”Book of Acts” center=”true” float=”right” size=”one-third”]Ananias and Saphira, on the other hand, value possessions over people.[/quote] Ananias and Saphira on the other hand value possessions over people. Possibly in the pursuit of gaining a cool nickname like Joseph did (“Barnabas”), Ananias and Saphira choose possessions over people. They want a good name for their virtue, but they also want some good money in their pocket. The solution: lie. However, they cannot lie to God, and he takes this opportunity to remind this community what he is about: honoring his Son who honored people over possessions. Jesus put himself at our disposal for the glory of God, and his holy community will do the same thing. Ananias and Saphira are a warning shot to all those who will seek to use the church for their own purposes. Whereas the lame man in Acts 3 was a picture of the ultimate complete restoration of our created humanity, Ananias and Saphira are a picture of God’s judgment upon false members of the community. Does that mean they went to hell? It is possible that God used these foolish Christians to warn the rest of us, nevertheless mercifully accepting them into his presence. We will not know until Christ returns. Until then, may the Spirit so strengthen us to understand the love of Jesus so that we become a people marked by service to others, not service to money.

[button url=”http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204:32-5:11&version=ESV” newwindow=”true” color=”red”]Acts 4:32-5:11[/button]

Questions for Conversation:

[box icon=”info”]
Where did Jesus exemplify a love for people over possessions? How does this make you want to worship God?
[/box]

[box icon=”info”]
Read Leviticus 10. Do you see any parallel with the story of Ananias and Saphira?
[/box]

[box icon=”info”]
Where does Satan tempt us to be devoted to possessions over people today? Why is loving people more beautiful?
[/box]

Pentecost: King Jesus’ Pouring – Acts 2:14-36

/0 Comments/in /by

Last week we learned that the book of Acts plays a key part in the unfolding drama of God’s work to restore his creation through Jesus Christ. As the church today we must, like the disciples in Acts, live faithfully, creatively and glocally. That is to say we must know where we are at in the drama (after Pentecost and before the second coming), creatively speak and act in keeping with where we are, and be mindful that the stage upon which the drama is playing out is global even as we improvise locally.

I was reminded through an email from a congregant that although we are part of what God is up to we also have to remember that we are not at the center of it all; we are not the main characters on stage. This week we engaged Acts 2 and the crucial event of Pentecost. Peter made that congregants point beautifully. Pentecost, as some might suspect, is not about us and our experience of the Spirit as much as it is about Jesus’ exaltation to the right hand of God and expansion of His kingdom. Jesus is at the center of it all.

Scottish Theologian Sinclair Ferguson put it well in his book The Holy Spirit,

[quote name=”Sinclair Ferguson”]”Pentecost, like the visible manifestations of every coronation, is by its very nature sui generis [of its own kind]. It is no more repeatable as an event than is the crucifixion or the resurrection or the ascension of our Lord. It is an event in redemptive history (historia salutis [history of salvation]), and should not be squeezed into the grid of the application of redemption (ordo salutis [order of salvation])….That is not to say that Pentecost has no existential dimension or contemporary relevance. But it does mean that we should no more anticipate a ‘personal Pentecost’ than that we will experience a personal Jordan, wilderness, Gethsemane, or Golgotha. While such language has been popularly employed it is theologically misleading. Pentecost itself is no more repeatable than is the crucifixion, the empty tomb or the ascension.”[/quote]

It is important to remember that Pentecost is about Jesus expanding his kingdom because it helps us to remember that:

1. Jesus is center stage
2. We are not center stage
3. Our experience of the Spirit is secondary to the main event
4. The Spirit is poured out by Jesus so that we might make Christ known
5. Jesus will always remain at the right hand of the Father as King of his expanding Kingdom

The flow of the relationship (covenant) between God and his people is from heaven to earth. Pentecost therefore exemplifies the Biblical priority of God’s grace and descent to us.

As I studied the passage I think that the best way to see Peter’s point in how he ultimately answers the question “What does all this mean?” (2:12). “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36).

[button url=”http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:14-36&version=ESV” newwindow=”true” color=”red”]Acts 2:14-36[/button]

Questions for Conversation

[box icon=”info”] Peter quotes many Old Testament passages? What about his audience made that a wise choice?[/box]

[box icon=”info”] Much that could have been said about this passage was left out due to time. What did you most want to hear about also? Are there still questions lingering on your fingertips about this passage? Type them out and send them to us.[/box]

[box icon=”info”] Where does it matter in our life as a congregation, your family’s life or yours that Jesus’ being King is what Acts 2 is about? What needs to change as a result? What can you be encouraged about?[/box]

True Spirituality: Physical, Public and Pneumatic – Luke 24:36-53

/0 Comments/in /by

PneumaticIt’s either this or it’s that, but it can’t be both, right? Some things really are life or death, black or white, good or bad, apples or oranges. Dichotomies can be helpful. Dichotomies can also be unhelpful or false. God’s people have been known to make unhelpful distinctions between their “spiritual life” and their “home life”, “social life”, etc. When I recently asked a friend of mine in the Carolina’s what he thought Christians meant by their “spiritual life” he said, “Quiet times, prayer time and Sundays”. Is this really what constitutes Biblical spirituality? Is true spirituality just the private time we have with God? Is spirituality only about those specific times we gather with others to do religious things and focus on the desires of the soul? Or, is spirituality about the body AND the soul? Does it concern the private AND the public life? And finally is spirituality wholly a work of man OR fully the work of God?

[quote name=”” center=”true” float=”right” size=”one-third”] The answer appears in Jesus’ resurrection and ascension as recorded in Luke 24:36-56.[/quote]The answer appears in Jesus’ resurrection and ascension as recorded in Luke 24:36-53. Luke’s record turns us to the answer that true spirituality is physical, public and pneumatic. Christ has bodily risen as the Lord of all creation: True Spirituality is Physical. Just as Jesus is raised flesh and bone, he is about the business of redeeming us body and blood. Christ calls his disciples to preach repentance from sin in all areas of life: True Spirituality is Public. Just as we are to be a part of the movement to call people to pray and read their Bibles we also are to call for proper use of money, excellence in engineering, and justice in warfare. Ascending to the Father Christ will pour out his Spirit upon his disciples: True Spirituality is Pneumatic. Just as the disciples are given understanding regarding their mission they are told to stay put till they are clothed with power. Without the grace of the Spirit of Christ they could do nothing and neither can we.

Here’s the rub: if we see spirituality as only applying to the reasonable soul (Plato), the private world of values and not the public world of facts (Enlightenment), and a work of only man or only God (Pelagius or Hyper-Calvinists) we ultimately fail to grasp the goodness of the gospel. False dichotomies are like Pied Pipers leading us to the wrong places for help. When we don’t see that Christ came to redeem the body we will tend to look to others for that need. If we think that Christ’s authority doesn’t extend to the workplace or our bank accounts we will look to other guides as our ultimate hope. We may even grasp the bodily and global implications of the gospel and yet fail to see how God promises to empower us to live out the implications. Thinking we can accomplish it on our own will only lead to pride; thinking it is completely God will only lead to confusion. Jesus won the promise of the Father for us through his death and resurrection. We have not earned or deserved the forgiveness or power we receive by the Holy Pneuma (Spirit). Yet, by his presence in our lives we are being restored and are a part of God’s work to bring restoration to his good creation.

If you are interested in reading more along these lines there are intriguing reads like Creation Regained by Al Wolters, Living at the Crossroads by Goheen and Bartholomew or anything by Christopher J.H. Wright.

[button url=”http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024:36-53&version=ESV” newwindow=”true” color=”red”]Luke 24:36-53[/button]

Questions for Conversation

[box icon=”info”]Which dichotomy do you see as most problematic for you:

  • Christianity is about the reasonable soul NOT the physical body
  • Christianity is about the private religious life NOT the public life.
  • Christianity is about my doing spiritual things for me NOT me being empowered to respond to the resurrected Christ.

[/box]

[box icon=”info”]What is the biggest problem you are facing in life right now? How are you dealing with the problem? Is your way of dealing with it working? How does the resurrection give clues as to how you might better respond?[/box]