Sunday School: You Are What You Love Week 6

This is week 6 of our series on James K.A. Smiths book "You Are What You Love." This next week will be our final in the series and we will work through the last two chapters of the book, 6 and 7. There is a lot to discuss here so come ready to talk and ask questions.

Baal-Tardee

We raised our brood under the maxim: "On time is late; early is peace." But in the spirit of Paul on Mars Hill who observed, "as even some of your own poets have said" I would like to quote Brent Beshore, who recently wrote in Forbes magazine: "5 minutes early is on time; on time is late; late is unacceptable."

And if this is true in the business world (and it is) then how much more as we assemble before the throne of our Lord to renew covenant with Him. And how absolutely necessary if we are to experience the blessedness of hearing the Lord Himself call us to "worship [Him] in the splendor of holiness" (Psalm 96:9).

And, for the record, I have vivid memories of the demonic forces that would conspire to hide either one shoe, or one sock as we tried to get our kids out the door on Sunday morning. But if it happens every week, then perhaps there are ways to lean against Baal-Tardee. Just sayin'...

You can read Beshore's excellent article here. Enjoy.

GH

R.I.P. Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe)

Anne politely wiped the spit off her face with her sleeve. "Jesus loves you, and so do I," she said. "And I forgive you."

As many of you know, Norma McCorvey of “Roe vs. Wade” fame passed away this last week. Her story is one of peculiarly amazing grace and proof that God loves to use the small and the weak to do His work. You can read Christianity Today’s short and sweet account of your sister Norma’s conversion here. Enjoy.

GH

Sunday School: You Are What You Love week 5

Below is our fifth discussion from James K A Smith's book "You Are What You Love." This week we looked at our worship liturgy in a little more detail. If you are interested in reading more on the elements of worship I am sure we could recommend some titles that are more at a laymen's level. We will pick up next Sunday with Chapter 5.

Out Loud Confession and Peace

(James 5:16) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

So, assuming that you take God’s commands seriously; that you don’t regard them as elective or optional; then here’s a question for you: When is the last time that you, in obedience to God’s clear command through James, the brother of Jesus, confessed your sins out loud to a brother or sister in Christ?

Now in case you’re having a hard time coming up with a recent date, let me remind you of something. If you were here with us last Sunday (or any recent Sunday at King’s Cross Church) then, following my reading of scripture and prayer of confession (which, in theory you were adding your silent amens to as I prayed) then you prayed out loud, in the hearing of those around you a time-tested prayer of confession wherein you admitted to both sins of omission (ways that you failed to do what God commands) and commission (ways that you did what God said not to do.) In short, just as God requires, you “confessed your sins to one another.”

And this is right and good. But, as with everything in our weekly liturgy, this verbal confession of sin ought not be a “one and done” “check-the-box” rote activity, but rather a template or springboard for daily admissions of sin and heartfelt appeals for forgiveness as we bump and scrape our way through communal life at home, at work and at school.

And one more thing: Simply believing the freeness of God’s grace and His ever-willingness to forgive our sins for Jesus’ sake is one of the hardest things that we Christians are called to do. Sadly, it’s much easier to catalog the frequency, ingratitude and severity of our sin and fret that we’ve sinned our way past God’s ability or willingness to forgive us. And that is why I declare to you each week, as an ordained minister of God’s Word, the Lord’s supreme delight to pardon and cleanse you for Jesus’ sake.

But one thing more needs to be done each week. And it needs to be done by you, Christian. In preparation for the Lord’s Supper, you need to grab your brother or sister by the arm, look them in the eye, and say “The peace of the Lord be with you” and mean it. “Peace be with you” is what the newly risen Jesus said to his disciples who were huddled in fear, dreading what Jesus would say to them after their craven denial and cowardly desertion of their sinless Savior. Jesus’ assurance of favor is exactly what your struggling, doubt-ridden brothers and sisters need to hear. So tell them, speak the Lord’s peace to them, praying as you do for God to fill the week ahead of you with many similar declarations of divine grace, mercy and forgiveness.

GH

Sunday School: You Are What You Love Week 4

This is Week 4 of our Sunday School series on "You Are What You Love" by James K A Smith. We had a great discussion on worship. We will be discussing chapter 4 this coming Sunday

A Good Reminder for Modern Readers

"The Bible was written to be read aloud and heard. Hearing is a more powerful way of receiving information than reading, because while we can close our eyes and completely shut out information that comes through our eyes, we cannot close our ears. If we are in a room where someone is speaking, we cannot stop the sound from coming into our ears. Also, in order to listen to someone, we have to yield a bit of authority to him or her, paying attention to what is said. Reading, on the other hand, leaves us much more in control. Thus, while at a theoretical level the Bible has supreme authority whether weave reading it silently or hearing it read to us, yet existentially the Bible comes with more authority when it is read. Moreover, silent reading isolates us from others, while conversation (listening back and forth) or gathering to hear someone speak or read to us, creates community. God is interested in our individual discipleship, but for the most part, that discipleship takes place in community, and God is building His Church. Thus, hearing is very important, and personal reading is no substitute for it." (James B. Jordan)

Adam James' "Sanctity of Life" Sermon

On January 22, my good friend and brother, pastor Adam James, preached an especially "anointed" sermon at Grace City Church. As we continue to contend for life and figure out how to lean hard against the culture of death in our valley, I would heartily recommend that you watch this sermon. You can find it here. Enjoy.