I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents lately. They did pretty much everything for me growing up, and had definite opinions about who I spent time with and for sure who I dated and married. They love me. This coming Sunday we’ll spend time in 1 john 4:7-14. Does love have limits?
I know a lot of you have been praying for my mom, me, and our family while I’m in Houston. I am at MD Anderson, where my mom is currently undergoing an operation to help drain spinal fluid off her brain. I know I’m taking some personal liberties on the blog, but my mom was very influential in my faith, and so I thought I would make a list of things that I’m thankful for during this darkening hour.I’m thankful that my mom knows Jesus, taught me to be a disciple, and shared Jesus with all of our neighbors, every one.I’m thankful that my dad loves my mother with an unending love and will fight with all his will for her life. I’m thankful that my kids got to speak with my mom on Saturday, and tell her they loved her.I’m thankful I was able to tell my mom today that she was a great mom and I love her tons, and she responded with a smile and head nod.I’m thankful that my mom taught me to love my family, my friends, and my neighbors.I’m thankful for the doctors at MD Anderson who are God’s agents of ministry to my mom.I’m thankful that the God my parents know, and we know, has a very good end in mind for my mother.I’m thankful that God has a very good grace and comfort for my dad, and all of us, during hard times.I’m thankful for each of you who are praying for us!I’m thankful for my brother who loves the Lord and has worked tirelessly this week along with his family in comforting my mom.I’m thankful for Amy who is a great mom.I’m thankful for all the love my mom has seen in the last week - just such a small measure and return on all the love she has poured out over the years.I’m thankful that, though the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ.
“[The disciples] saw how their Master denied himself many of the comforts and pleasures of the world and became a servant among them. They saw how the things which they cherished - physical satisfaction, popular acclaim, prestige - he refused; while the things which they sought to escape - poverty, humiliation, sorrow, and even death - he accepted willingly for their sake.” p. 63, Robert Coleman, the Master Plan of EvangelismThis is Jesus’ leadership style.�
Read 1 John 3:11-23
The way of love is the cross. Remember that Jesus gave this command hours before going to the cross: love led him there. Jesus shows us the way of love, and in this passage John works it out further.
I. Love is not the way of the world.
a. Ultimately, it is difficult to see the committed love that Jesus commands and John explains here in the world. Love is the enemy of jealousy.
b. John uses an OT story from Genesis to elaborate on love. Cain and Abel were brothers, the sons of Adam and Eve. Abel tended the animals, and Cain tended the fields. When it came time to offer something up to God, each took from what they had: Abel from the animals offered meat; Cain from the field offered produce. God was more pleased with Abel’s. This is not because God is a carnivore, but rather because of the condition of Cain and Abel’s hearts. Abel was upright, seeking to please God for the love of God. Cain was jealous, seeking to please God for the love of Cain. So Cain gets mad and kills Abel, the true love was seen: Abel truly loved God, Cain didn’t. And so the first family had the first martyr (Abel) and the first murderer. Where love is absent, community breaks down. Where concern for self is first, culture will fall apart.
c. Then John compares the world to Cain and the followers of Jesus to Abel. If we love our brothers and sisters in the church, we know that we have passed out of death into life (v. 14).
d. Yet the world lives in death, so do not be surprised if the world hates you. And then he says something that is both judgmental and captivating: V. 15 read. He is saying, within the church, if you are not loving your brother, you are living in death and there is reason to believe that you do not have eternal life in you: meaning the spirit of God is not in you. This is judgmental, yes, but also a warning to those who would say you only need knowledge of Jesus for salvation: you must have a life committed to Him. When Jesus called people to follow Him, it was pretty interesting how people responded. Some dropped everything and followed. One asked to go and take care of his fields, and Jesus left him. Another asked to go to a funeral and celebration, and Jesus said let the dead bury the dead. Jesus wasn’t intentionally turning people away, but he wanted his followers to be aware of the cost they would pay: it will be with all of your life that you follow me. It is not time to be distracted, concerned with your own livelihood, or wasting away in parties, it is time to follow me. He had a high level of commitment, but to those who followed him he gave his life, to those who chose to do otherwise, he encouraged them to leave. So the early followers of Jesus were marked by their presence with Jesus, just as we, the church of today should be marked by our love for Jesus and each other. Today the world can’t see us with Jesus, but they can see that we are with Jesus when we love. This is what is captivating about this judgmental sentence: we are to live in such a way as to make clear the way of Christ, and the reality of eternal life.
II. We make the way clear by laying down our lives (v.16-18).
a. Earlier I said the way of love is the cross. At the cross Jesus showed his love for the world. He died unjustly to bring us to God, forgive our sins, justify us, and love us. So the 11 men who received that new command, what did they do? They responded by loving each other and loving the church. They gave up their lives. They lived some in prison, at sea, on the road, some of them had families and their families gave up their lives too. They made the example and kept the bar high. Throughout church history, when the church rises up in love there are moments of God’s blessing. In the plagues of the middle ages, and pre middle ages the church experienced growth? Why, the Christians were willing to stay and love those who were dying, and minister to those in the church with the illness. They did not live in fear but love. The level of commitment Christ calls us to is made clear in 16-18
i. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth.
b. Jesus didn’t just talk about the Cross, he died there. It wasn’t a theory, concept, or even meaningful desire: he did it. Love is not defined by words, but action.
a. The action of love is to lay ourselves down. At first, this seems daunting. But consider this: for the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross. In The cross he redeemed a multitude from every tribe and nation to feast with him in heaven. That’s a pretty joyous seen, especially since it is an eternal scene. But it cost his life. However, his greater joy lay in giving up his life than keeping it. That is the way of love, when we so desire the best for the other person, that we lay down our lives for their joy and benefit. For those who are married, this you know by experience: your happiest when your spouse is happiest.
b. We lay ourselves down by giving what we have to those in need (v. 17). Love is sometimes tough, don’t give the druggie a hit, but love is always active.
i. Love is to be in deed and truth. What is the truth of love? It is the true love of Abel, who loved God, not the false love of Cain, who loved himself more than God. Our actions can sometimes mask our motives, and here is the difficulty of the Christian faith. Salvation cannot be achieved by action. You can’t be a totally good person by being a good person and doing good things. The heart issue still remains. So faith must be set on Christ and accepting of His death on the cross and resurrection; and that same faith also resurrects us to new life, eternal life, and that life is seen in love.
II. Love assures us before the Father.
a. The last couple of weeks, bedtime at our house has been hopeless. We encourage the kids to stay in bed, we’ll hear them up and running around, go in to talk to them and jump in their beds and say, “I wasn’t up.” Meanwhile, there are stuffed animals everywhere, crooked pictures on the walls, books piled up, amazing for two kids in bed. They have a reason to be a little bit afraid when we come in: that’s why they jump in bed. The same is true of us before the Father, our hearts remind us of our failures, in fact, our heart may condemn us. But a repentant life of love will assure our heart and give us confidence before God.
b. We can please God (v. 22). It pleases God to keep his commandments, it pleases God to worship him, give to him, serve him, witness for him. But it please God most to keep his commandment.
i. His commandment is that we believe in the Name of Jesus Christ His Son and love one another.
ii. So the command of God is faith and repentance. Faith in Christ, who loves us and died for us and rose again, taking our shame and sin and standing before God declaring our justification in His blood. And repentance to no longer love as the world loves, but to love in deed and truth.
iii. To the one who has faith and follows, He abides in us and we abide in Him, and this is proved by His Spirit who leads us in the righteous and true life of love.
For all of you who were away this past sunday, here is the “how to kill a giant” seminar for men and women.
Men run the adventure of a lifetime – most don’t know where we’re going, and most men probably don’t know where they are going. We are quirky, untamed, some would say, wild. We like power. We like to win our games. We like to win our fights. We like to be on top. King of the hill is a boy’s game, but we learn our life skills from it.
Most of us, at some point in our lives, have given more thought to what to have for dinner over personal hygiene. We like to be brave, or at least appear brave. We connect with heroes who have given their lives for something bigger than themselves – like Mel Gibson in Braveheart, the Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, all the way back to John Wayne. We like to come out on top, defy the odds, win, and save the world on the average day’s work.
When left alone, however, a man’s room may be sparse: a mattress on the floor, fridge – contents unknown, opened box of cereal, bag of chips, some books, a computer (we are civilized after all), a pile of laundry with the clean jeans on top, a mostly empty dresser (see pile of laundry), and a 52 inch plasma screen HDTV prominently displayed and connected to a sound system. Not that we aren’t people of substance, we just don’t display. We talk about the deep ways of a woman’s heart; but the waters of a man’s life are just as deep – which is why some men are thought of as understanding.
We do enjoy challenges – not the clean your room type of challenge, but tests of our strength and skill and abilities. We love beating the challenge, and grow in rising to the challenge.
On mother’s day I gave a challenge to the women of Grace Harbor from Proverbs 31. Amazingly, there is no one chapter in the Bible similar to Proverbs 31 for men. Sadly, men, God has given us the whole rest of the book to teach us how to be Godly men despite our thick heads – perhaps that is why He spread so much instruction out over the course of the Bible, so we’re consistently taught about manhood. The Whole Bible is full of true examples of Godly men. How do I know they are true? Their shortcomings are not hidden from us: their scabs, scars, and flaws are displayed just as much as their godliness. In Proverbs 31 we get the picture of a perfect woman and wife; in the rest of the Bible we get the picture of Godly men: hot heads, lustful, temperamental, rash, bold, doubting – but willing and discerning: many good qualities are seen but they are men enough not to hide their flaws. They are secure in God and who they are. These are men we can identify with. They show us how to love God and lead Godly, manly lives. Of the Old Testament men, David is one of the most celebrated: shepherd boy, youngest child (the baby of the family); never big enough to do the man’s work early on, king later on, succumbs to his lusts and yet is forgiven. Passionate songwriter and musician, as well as warrior. His heart is big, but even his own family falls apart because of his shortcomings and sin. And yet, through it all, God describes Him as a “Man after His own heart.” Meaning that despite His inexcusable sin, he repented and stayed the course after the Lord. His victory over the giant Goliath teaches us a lot about being a godly man. And, in the process, we learn how to kill a mortal, giant foe – which is every man’s dream!
Read 1 Samuel 17 (all of it)
1. Giants are impressive (1-11)
a. There are giants in all of our lives – men and women. Whether people, spiritual battles, temptations: whether physical or spiritual all of us are faced with difficult opportunities and challenges. In David’s case, the battle lines were drawn (set the story).
b. This is more than a struggle, for the Israelites this is a death match. Goliath has called for the ultimate showdown, a one on one fight to the death. He’s talked some smack – “I defy the ranks of Israel this day.”
i. The Israelite army responds like most men in this situation: they run for their lives. Their homes, their families, even their very Kingdom and the name of God are not worth fighting for at this moment. In the heat of battle, the truth of a man’s heart is seen; and here we see an army of cowards. The Godly must rise up and fight for the truth.
2. Qualities of a Godly Man
a. First and foremost the Godly man stands for the fame of the living God. David twice mentions the living God as his motivation and desire in this chapter: v. 26 and v. 36. In his home, his work, his battles, his play, his life, a godly man lives and works to promote true knowledge of the living God. In David’s case, it also meant he got to play with weapons which is really cool. For most of us, it means we fight for our families, we fight our own temptations to make God first in our lives, and we work in such a way at work or in class that He is honored, not us and not our boss and not our project. David wasn’t first concerned about the kingdom of Israel; he was concerned about the taunting of the armies of the living God. He saw this as a direct attack on the true God, and he was on God’s side and would fight for His fame.
b. Godly men are dedicated and focused workers (12-15). There was a war raging, yet David knew his part. He played the harp for Saul (ch. 16) and when not employed by Saul he was home, tending to the sheep. That’s where we find him in Ch. 17, tending sheep because his brothers are off at war. Warriors get hazard pay, plunder, victory and declared heroes. Shepherds get to sell their fleece, and pack their lunches.
c. Godly men understand and humbly respect authority (20). David obeyed his father; and learned from his father.
i. David showed up to the battle with his cheese, this shows that David learned something from Jesse about respect: he gave the best – the cheese – to the commander of thousands. His brothers got some bread and grape nuts. In doing this, David learned how to serve and honor in the world, in an honorable way. I’m sure the cheese opened the door to David being able to stroll out to the front lines and check on his brothers – which was his ultimate goal. Father’s, men who will be father’s – we have a responsibility to teach honor and understanding to our children.
ii. David also showed his submissiveness in answering the king’s call to come and try on some armor. What’s so Godly about this? David lives in a controlled wildness: he kills lions and bears, and giants, but is respectful at the same. He is the paradox of a man’s heart: the desire for uncontrolled adventure tempered by the need for authority and direction. David respects authority.
d. A godly man does his research (26-30)
i. Preparation is part of a man’s life, like it or not. God is always working in us to shape us into His likeness: he is preparing us for Him. David’s ultimate desire, from this passage, is for God to be honored and revered, not trampled on by some giant. But he asks multiple times what will happen for the man that slays the giant: he wants to know for sure that the armies of Saul are invested in this opportunity, otherwise it would be foolish to go out on your own and pick a fight without back up. It’s while he’s asking these questions that his brother accuses him of being a gossip just seeking sultry information and neglecting his duties.
1. David has already been anointed by Samuel (name of book) to be the next king. Could jealousy be creeping in? Probably. But even more, this is a frustrating place to be: afraid of your opponent, members of a heartless army, losing: that will make a man snappy. David answers like a true brother – Jesse must have had his hands full at home, yet Jesse kept the course, Fathers, and so should we no matter how difficult it gets. Men, we can approach life like Eliab – negative “those few sheep in the wilderness” (that’s not worth defending), or David – who taunts the armies of the living God. That’s worth fighting for. Stuff is stuff and can’t motivate. God, he’s worth battling giants to know.
e. Confidence also marks the godly man. (31-37). No one thought this boy, youth, could fight and beat the giant. But the situation was so hopeless Saul actually entertained the thought and invited him up. David did not lack from confidence, and he had confidence for 3 reasons:
i. Real confidence comes from the seat of the soul: the living God. It is the peace and certainty of Jesus before Pilate, and on Calvary; Paul before Nero, James in Prison, and Stephen before the stones: confidence in God is not shaken, despite our own failings. David had no experience as a warrior, not merit badges or sharp shooter awards. He wasn’t even enlisted. Yet He was confident in God (read 37).
ii. 2nd – Experience gives confidence. Remember other life situations where the Lord delivered you when you are challenged. What happened? What did you do? If I killed a bear and took a sheep from its jaw, if I killed a lion and grabbed its beard, I can kill a giant too.
iii. 3rd – competence gives confidence. We are most confident where we are competent. God has developed competencies in us to be leveraged for His glory. David’s competence was in his sling, not the armor of the king. (38-39). Don’t just accept what the world offers and assume it is the best way. Godly men trust the Lord first, and are confident of His work and preparation in our lives. What looks wise to the world is not necessarily so in the eyes of God: we must be discerning. And where we have discerned, developed our competencies, relied on the Lord for confidence, only one thing is left.
3. The Godly man must go and fight (40-48)
a. David goes and picks five smooth stones. Now he is preparing for the actual battle. Now is not the time for weak rocks or jagged stones that will get caught in the sling and go off trajectory. Kingdoms are in the balance, do your preparation men of god and don’t cut corners. Before approaching the Giant, get your stones. Don’t get too many so that you will be weighed down – David was confident with five, and felt the weight would give him proper balance. There is much that can distract us from our great goals of loving Christ and spreading his message – and our own equipment can distract us if we’re not careful.
b. When you go to battle (or into a day or to work or home or the gym or where it is that you go) – go there to stand for God – whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.
i. So David is prepared: God is preparing us now, in experience, in times of fellowship with him through prayer and study, and in relationship with others. Let God shape you and prepare you. I doubt David imagined there would be a target greater than a lion when he was a shepherd, yet that was preparation, not the end.
ii. Speak the truth in battle. David didn’t talk trash about the Giant’s mom – who must have been huge – or his army of Philistines. He didn’t talk smack like the Philistine who referenced dogs and David’s flesh being eaten. David spoke the truth.
1. He made his motivation and intentions clear. Goliath knew David’s desired outcome (read 45-47). David’s confidence moved this way beyond smack, to truth. He knew God’s will for the situation and would see it through – even using Goliath’s own sword for the beheading. Smack would have been: I will cut off your head with your own sword. Truth is: the Lord will deliver you into my hands. That is a whole different level.
c. Once the diplomacy is done, attack.
i. David runs to the giant, not approaching, running: wildness with purpose. Read 48-54.
One last point I want to make, a challenge for all of us, but especially the men. Godly men are engaged: their head’s are in it. That’s a bad pun, but here’s what I mean. Read 55. Saul should have known David (16:18-22 set story). At this point, Saul’s manhood was on the diminishing side, his leadership was waning, and David’s just beginning. This is a contrast of loser and winner: Saul was softened by his success, and didn’t pay attention to detail, didn’t listen, he wasn’t engaged. A godly man stays engaged: in his work, in his relationships, in all of his life. When we check out, problems happen (see David and Bathsheba). A godly man should been attentive and engaged, not aloof.
This summer I’m reading a little book called The Master Plan of Evangelism (I’m also reading some other books - my favorite so far from 1928 called Oh! Ranger! about the National Parks and adventures of rangers - if you’ve ever wondered how rangers discipline grizzlies, this is the book for you). From Master Plan of Evangelism:One cannot transform a world except as individuals in the world are transformed, and individuals cannot be changed except as they are molded in the hands of the Master. (30)
1 John 3:4-10
I. Realize the condition of Sin
a. Living as children of God requires that we realize the condition and reality of sin. Sin is not imaginary it is real. We can’t always see it, but its effects are catastrophic.
b. Sin is lawlessness. In other words, sin is rebellion against God: it is comprised of acts that reflect rebellion against God. The acts are direct signs of that rebellion. But the acts themselves are symptoms of the serious condition of abiding in sin, or harboring sin in your life and thoughts and loves. Rebellion is a mindset that is determined to go against all God desires for you and all that makes Him happy. Sin must never be thought of as harmless, neutral, or imaginary.
ii. Sin never seeks the benefit of anyone; sin is the work of Satan to destroy. Fight it. Fight it. Fight it!
c. Sin is not just specific acts; it is a life condition of rebellion against God.
i. Our spiritual condition of sin is a hopeless condition, because Sin is seen not only in our actions, but also our thoughts – and not just in the evidently sinful ways, but also in how we think about things. We make decisions and judgments all the time – should I see the movie, how should I spend my free time, my summer, what should I do today – and sin is a condition that permeates everything.
ii. Listen again to the first part of verse 8: “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.” So sin is directly connected to the devil: that being who opposed God from the beginning and now roams the earth like a lion seeking to devour and who commands spiritual forces of evil, and who is the prince of this world. Sin is his weapon and agent. And the one who sins is His.
1. Satan is the original sinner. From the beginning Satan sinned. It was Satan, in the Garden of Eden, who tempted and seduced Eve into sinning; and who led Adam to sin. That was man’s original sin, but already at that point, in the form of the serpent, Satan was a sinner. He fell out of heaven to the earth (Luke 10:18), never to regain the position he had.
2. Satan lives in active rebellion against God and seeks to destroy the work and purposes of God on earth. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a story about a man who sowed seed in his field. While he slept, and enemy came and sowed weeds and tares in his field as well, and at harvest it was evident someone had attacked the field and sowed tares. Here is the explanation of the parable, from Jesus. Read Matthew 13:37-43. Satan wants to destroy even the church if that is possible by sowing His seed among the redeemed. And His followers are those who commit lawlessness, which is characteristically rebellion against God.
d. The condition of sin is also absolute. Returning to 1 John, we see that “no one who abides in [Christ] sins; and no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” (3:6).
i. Sin completely separates us and blinds us from God. Living with the condition of rebellion is absolute: there is no fellowship with God or God’s people if you are in sin: there is only fellowship with Satan and the children of the devil. Returning to 1 John 1:5, we know that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. So the children of God must reject the condition of sin at all points. How?
1. Confess sin. There’s now use hiding what’s there. When I’m covered in dirt, I take a shower, I don’t apply make up over it to make it look like it isn’t there. I deal with the problem. The same is true with sin; confess it to God. Acknowledge your rebellion against him, your hearts attitude of hatred against His will.
2. Submit to God. After confessing, submit to God; humbly be willing to follow His ways at every point and path of life. Jesus tells a parable about a master whose slave finished in the field, came in, and the master ordered him to get some food for the master and his family. So the slave prepared and served dinner. At the end of the meal, the slave had worked all day, hadn’t eaten, and said (Luke 17:10): We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.” Doesn’t sound fun, at all, but Jesus was using this extreme example to show the place of man before God: be happy to be in the house of God and working for God.
3. Rely on the work of Christ.
II. The Work of Christ
a. In this passage John gives two aspects of the work of Christ.
b. First, he came in order to take away sins (5).
i. In Christ there is no sin (v.5). So He did not come because of His own rebellion, but rather our rebellion. At no point did the son rebel against the father; setting for us a sanctifying example of obedience to God. But before we can follow God, our sin must be dealt with, and Christ came to take it away.
1. Every one of us is a sinner. We have sin; it must be taken away. There is no such thing as getting in your life right or in order to follow Christ. Our condition must be changed before the actions can be changed. So Christ came to take away our sins, changing our condition from rebel to surrender, from rebellion to submission, from opponent to friend, from guilty to forgiven before God.
2. Since there is no sin in Christ, He is the only one uniquely qualified to take on our sin. Had he sinned on His own, he would be disqualified, Himself being a rebel against God.
c. Second, the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil (8b).
i. Satan’s work is to deceive the church, and Christ brings truth. Satan’s work is to tear apart, Christ brings reconciliation. Satan’s work is to destroy, Christ redeems & restores.
ii. Christ is set against Satan. The one who sins is the child of the devil (10) so in sin you are automatically a rebel against God, and enemy of Christ. And Christ is set to destroy the work of Satan, this will happen two ways:
1. All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Call out to Jesus and trust in Him and join his ranks by stripping off your enemy colors, confessing your sin, and repenting of it.
2. All who reject the son are rejected by Him, meaning they face destruction as a work of Satan. Christ isn’t just against the work of the devil, He will destroy the works of the devil. So for those who are outside of Christ and not children of God, destruction awaits.
iii. So, Andy, you may think, that seems awfully black and white. Consider the absoluteness of the statements in the passage we read:
1. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness.
2. No one who abides in Christ sins.
3. No one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. (The condition of sin separates from God.)
4. The one who practices sin is of the devil.
5. No one who is born of God practices sin
6. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
d. Jesus came to separate – like the wheat and tares. Yes He is Love, yes He is gracious, Yes He is patient, and yes, He will destroy the work of the devil. How should we respond to Christ’s work?
III. The Christian’s Response
a. The Children of God practice righteousness. There are some important dots to connect here. From 1 John 1:9 we know that God will forgive all our sin, but that does not give us a license to sin. Be certain of that. Specifically, when our condition is changed by the supernatural and powerful work of God, we are now longer the same, and can no longer live in sin. His seed abides in us, we are born of God. To live in sin is incompatible with the Christian life.
b. We do struggle with sin, but embracing sin is a rebellious condition against God. To sometimes sin, to struggle with it, shows your allegiance to God but the activity of the old life in your life. But now, even in the struggle, your life is characterized by righteousness, not in comparison to the world (though helpful), but also in comparison to how you used to be. So you are growing in Christ-likeness, though not at the final destination yet. By this, the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious.
Our challenge today is to take an honest assessment of our lives and answer the question: am I growing in Christ likeness?
Reject the condition of sin, embrace the work of Christ, and respond to His work.
Easter was all about the implications of the resurrection. This Sunday we’ll return to 1 John, where, interestingly, there is one implication: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another.” 1 John 1:6-7 . Our lives must change in light of the resurrection, otherwise:
See you Sunday!
Is inativity a word? I’m not sure inattentivity is either… It’s the state of being inattentive. Or, perhaps, the status quo for many of us when it comes to catching God work. The entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem in John 12 (in fact, John 12:1-20) are examples of how often we can miss God working, for all kinds of reasons. This Easter season, let’s turn our ears toward listening and our eyes toward seeing what God is doing.
James 5:12-20 presented a clear challenge for us as a community: grow in authenticity and spirituality. We should be a confessing, correcting, graceful, praying, truth-telling people. Jesus calls us to a different life, one not commonplace in the world.
Participation in this new, different life is shown to the world through baptism: a symbolic act that shows unity with Christ in death (to the old life) and life (new life in Christ). On Jan. 27 we will join together with Middletown Baptist Church (Middletown, RI) and New Hope Church (Norwich, CT) for a joint baptism service. This will be held at Middletown Baptist Church: 1818 W. Main Road, Middletown, RI. The service begins at 10:30am on Sunday the 27th. If you would like to be baptized, let Andy (ahaynes98@gmail.com) know. Next week, Jan. 20, we will gather at the George Hunt H.E.L.P center, 119 Mathewson Street, Providence. Read the post below for ways to bless the people at the H.E.L.P. center.