Romans 13:1-7 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

The Spirit-ual Practice of Forgiveness If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹ Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.¹² Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Matthew 18:15-20 The Practice of Church Membership ¹⁵ "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."Sermon Notes

 Ephesians 6:5-9                ⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. ⁶Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. ⁷Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. ⁹And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.   The Three P’s of Christian Work  --Perspective     --Purpose     --Passion

Acts 3:1-10The Passionate Spirit-ual Practice of Care for the Body Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. ² And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. ³ Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. ⁴ And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹ And all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

What point did you find helpful and encouraging from the sermon? Did it bring you hope?

Tim pointed out that Joel 2:17-32 was fulfilled in one person first – Jesus Christ. The ultimate day of the LORD’s wrath is still to come upon all his enemies outside of (i.e., not trusting in) Christ. The ultimate day of God’s saving work is still to come upon all his people in Christ.

Regarding the Apostle Paul’s letters Dr. Tom Wright notes, “[Paul’s] theology has the character of inaugurated eschatology, that is, of a sense that God’s ultimate future has come forwards into the middle of history, so that the church is living within – indeed, is constituted precisely by living simultaneously within! – God’s new world and the present one.” He goes on to write, “Restorative justice, this covenant faithfulness through which creation itself will be redeemed, has been unveiled already, in advance, in the apocalyptic events of Jesus’ messianic death and resurrection.” (Paul, 57)

If you were to use a different set of words to communicate “inaugurated eschatology” what would they be? Imagine you wanted to explain this to your non-Christian neighbor or a 3rd grader in Christian Education.

Read Paul’s letter to the Colossians 2:9-15.

How does “realized eschatology” help you to understand Paul’s meaning?

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

How should “realized eschatology” impact our life?Socially?Emotionally?Psychologically?Missionally (activity done for the sake of God’s mission to bring blessing to all the families of the earth)?

What if "realized eschatology" were not true. How would that change the nature of Christianity?

Who is someone that comes to mind when considering the theme of “hospitality”? Is there someone who comes to mind who is the opposite of “welcoming”? Tell a story to explain.In Romans 14:3 and 15:7 Paul writes that God the Father and the Son have welcomed the people of God. How has Jesus Christ welcomed us; what does God the Father require of us to be a part of his Kingdom? (If you are stuck then read Romans 3:19-28)Do you sense that you are warmly welcomed into God’s family? Do you have a sense of your citizenship being secure through the welcome our hospitable God has provided?

Since God has sacrificed in order to make our gatherings possible, how can we likewise welcome one another (Romans 15:7)? In other words, what sorts of sacrifices might we need to make in order to make all kinds of Christians feel welcomed at gathered worship on Sunday?

Luke 22:14-22 relates Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper. Why is our regular practice of Communion one way of helping us to learn that gathered worship is hospitable?

How aware and knowledgeable are we that we have a covenant with God?Do you think that worshippers at Crossroads sense a need to respond to God during worship?What do you think it means to renew our covenant with God during a worship service today?Read 2 Corinthians 4:5-6Where do you see the theme of a suzerain-vassal covenant in these verses?How is this covenant we have connected with looking into the face of another?Read Revelation 22:1-5How is worship in the fully restored heavens and earth presented with regards to God’s face?When you look back over the course of your life do you sense that worship is a very interpersonal event on Sundays?

How would you like to see your worship on Sunday improve interpersonally?

Seeing that God has made each individual different how does that inform the personal nature of congregational worship?

If a neighbor or co-worker were to ask you what the Pastor spoke about on Sunday how would you summarize the sermon in one sentence?

You can’t understand sacrifice of Jesus until you understand sacrifice in Leviticus. Leviticus 16 is about the Day of Atonement? How was the Day of Atonement like spring cleaning?

An atoning sacrifice is also known as a ransom in Leviticus. Let’s consider how a ransom works.Jay Sklar writes, “In the Old Testament, a ‘ransom’ has the following characteristics:1. It is a legally or ethically legitimate payment;2. It delivers a guilty party from a just punishment that is the right of the offended party to execute or to have executed;3. It is a lesser punishment than was originally expected;4. It is up to the offended party whether or not to accept the payment; and5. Its acceptance serves both to rescue the life of the guilty and to appease the offended party, thus restoring peace to the relationship.

Exodus 21:28-30 is an example of how a ransom works in human-to-human relationships. Read Exodus 21:28-30How can a man whose ox has gored others multiple times avoid the death penalty?Is the offended party required to place a ransom upon the offender?How would you view the offended party’s action?Read Leviticus 17:11Just as God mercifully provided for a ransom in human-to-human relationships Lev. 17:11 is about how ransom, or atonement, also works in God-to-human relationships. Sacrifice in Leviticus is a ransom for those who deserve death.Read Mark 10:45How does Jesus’s death on the cross meet the requirements of ransom above?How is Jesus’ ransom payment even better than that required in the Old Testament?How much of the debt has not been paid by Jesus? How does this help us to understand why the New Testament speaks of Jesus’ saving work as a gift (see Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8)?

Leviticus 19Law as a Window into the Heart of God Leviticus 19:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ² "Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.  ³ Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father….⁹ "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. ¹⁰ And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God…. ¹⁷ "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. ¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. ¹⁹ "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.

If you could have had just one point from Sunday’s message communicated what would it have been?The people we dwell with shape our sense of who we are (identity). Which people in your life have most shaped your identity?[caption id="attachment_4635" align="alignleft" width="700"] The Tabernacle and Court[/caption]In Leviticus the Covenant King comes to dwell among his people.What evidence from Exodus points to God being a COVENANT King?What evidence from Exodus points to God being a Covenant KING?What evidence from Exodus points to God being a Covenant King who DWELLS AMONG HIS PEOPLE?How has God come to dwell even nearer to his covenant people today?How would you say that God’s dwelling within and among us shapes your identity, your sense of who you are?J. Todd Billings writes that among many Americans, especially emerging adults “faith has been reduced to a necklace one wears as part of a self-made identity rather than a whole new set of clothes one wears—“put[ting] on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14)—as a new identity found in him.” Billings, J. Todd (2011-11-01). Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church (Kindle Locations 404-415). Baker Publishing Group.Do you find yourself trying to keep Jesus the Covenant King at arms-length despite his desire to dwell near? Do you sense any fear at being so completely identified with him?What inspires you about being so identified with the Father who has adopted you in Christ (Romans 8:15)? What do you like about others who are excited about the nearness of their Covenant King?