Voltaire, an immensely popular writer during the Enlightenment period, spent the bulk of his adult life and career as an atheistic philosopher castigating and attacking Christianity. It is, in fact, reported that he vowed that by his pen Christianity would find its death. Around 50 years after that proclamation, Voltaire was already dead and the home in which he used his might weapon, the pen, was a new home to a new group - The Geneva Bible Society. So, much for Volatire's assault upon the church.
This story reminds me of the great truth that it is God and God alone who will sustain His church and conquer His foes. He promises us that though the gates of Hell will assault His church, they will not prevail against her! While it is true that God's church has, does, and will always remain, it is also true that the testimony of His church has gone forth and expanded through the ages because God has always called out disicples who were willing to give their all for His church, even to the point of death. I don't think you could find a century since the advent of His Church when the assault upon her did not require of God's people complete and total sacrifice, even to the point of martydom. In our own times we hear constantly of Christians being attacked worldwide and willingly giving their life up for the cause of Christ. Yes, Christ is in charge. Yes, Christ is the Head of His Church. Yes, Christ will restore His Church one day as His Bride at the greatest wedding feast of all time.
Until that time, until that amazing day of restoration, God's people, His Church, will always be challenged and called to give all we have and follow Him. There is a word for this that is woven throughout the Gospels, discipleship. To be His disciple means to (variously) leave our nets (livelihood) behind and follow Him, pick up our cross (sacrifice) and follow Him, leave our family (prioritize Him above all others) and follow Him, to name only a few. In our text this week Christ defines discipleship once again through the illustration of a poverty-stricken and destitute woman. This woman, in Luke 21, gives a free will offering to the temple that, by our standards and measurements, would literally amount to nothing. Her gift was the smallest possible gift of the day. Standing around her, in fact, were those who had given considerably more and provided great wealth to the temple. Yet Christ praises this woman's gift above their own. In his own words, "For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
And there you have it - discipleship defined. It is in this moment when Christ tells us that He is not interested in our money nearly as much as He is interested in our lives! Christ wants an undivided, whole-hearted disciple who is willing to give up everything, all we have, for Him and His Kingdom work. It is this type of follower that recognizes that all we have is really a gift from Him anyhow. Yes, it all belongs to Him. This is, I believe, why giving is at the heart of the Gospel, because a giving heart is a heart that is owned by Christ already!
Christ will always sustain His Church. The way Christ sustains the witness of the church in any time or place, is through His people. It is through His people who are willing to give all, go anywhere and follow Him, no matter the cost. You and I have grown too complacent, haven't we?!? We have sought out, identified, and formed a safe place we like to call church. Funny, out of all the descriptions God provides for His church, that is not ever among them. Christ is protecting His church and, as He does He is looking for radical disciples willing to follow Him into a great unknown and trust Him with our very lives! Will we be that disciple, Westside? I, for one, can say (with no small amount of caution) sign me up.
Follow Him!
Biz
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Resurrection Realities
I am thinking about writing a book. My fear is this: no one will read it. Not withstanding the fact that it may, indeed, not be worth reading. I do not believe the worth of the book's content would be that which would keep my book from being read. No, I think the title I would choose would be the reason no one would read it. In fact, the title I would choose would quite possibly (even probably) keep the book out of print. Are you ready for it? Okay, what do you think - the title of my book would be: "If your best life is now, then eternity is going to be Hell." Yeah, somehow I don't see a room full of people waiting in line for me to sign that one for them.
Now, the title begs the question, what type of person would make such a statment? Is it the person whose life is miserable and totally out of whack? Is it the person who is so frustrated with life that he/she cannot wait for some sort of better experience in the “great beyond?” Well, since the person is me, let me tell you what kind of life I have. I am humbled by the immense and abundant grace of God on a daily basis for the amazing and wonderful life He has given me! If I were to go be with Him today, I could say with exclamation, “Thank you, Lord, for the grace you showed me while on earth.” I have an absolutely wonderful and amazing marriage. It is by no means perfect, but boy is it great! I have three children who astound me daily with joy and love. Of course, they also frustrate me to no end from time to time! I live in a great community, surrounded by great friends and neighbors and have the humbling privilege of pastoring and co-laboring with the wonderful folks of Westside Community Church. And, even as great as all this is, it pales in comparison to the greatest life God has for me, which is yet in store and rests in the realm of eternity! Yes, the best is yet to come!
I think in fact that the idea that our best life can be now is a heresy (a dangerous false truth) that has so seeped into the modern church that we, as Christ's children, have a difficult time understanding the great hope we have in the Resurrection. In fact, it is not only the great hope, friends, it is the only hope we have! In Luke chapter 20 Christ is once again challenged and this time the challenge surrounds an obscure question regarding the resurrection. Rather than getting into the nuance of the argument, Christ brings the hammer down and basically tells the Sadducees that there perspective is limited. They indeed see things in a gravely mistaken way! They are bound by what their eyes can see, their ears can ear and their hands can touch. Into this challenge, Jesus simply reminds them and us of three great Resurrection Realities!
So, let me ask you, when you think of the Resurrection what is the first thing that comes to mind? This week I hope to give you some handles on this important and central concept of the Christian faith. It is my goal that we, His children, would fully undertand, gravitate toward, sink into, devour the great truth of the Gospel that says, “For the Believer, the Best is Yet to Come!”
Join us Sunday at 9:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.
Biz
Now, the title begs the question, what type of person would make such a statment? Is it the person whose life is miserable and totally out of whack? Is it the person who is so frustrated with life that he/she cannot wait for some sort of better experience in the “great beyond?” Well, since the person is me, let me tell you what kind of life I have. I am humbled by the immense and abundant grace of God on a daily basis for the amazing and wonderful life He has given me! If I were to go be with Him today, I could say with exclamation, “Thank you, Lord, for the grace you showed me while on earth.” I have an absolutely wonderful and amazing marriage. It is by no means perfect, but boy is it great! I have three children who astound me daily with joy and love. Of course, they also frustrate me to no end from time to time! I live in a great community, surrounded by great friends and neighbors and have the humbling privilege of pastoring and co-laboring with the wonderful folks of Westside Community Church. And, even as great as all this is, it pales in comparison to the greatest life God has for me, which is yet in store and rests in the realm of eternity! Yes, the best is yet to come!
I think in fact that the idea that our best life can be now is a heresy (a dangerous false truth) that has so seeped into the modern church that we, as Christ's children, have a difficult time understanding the great hope we have in the Resurrection. In fact, it is not only the great hope, friends, it is the only hope we have! In Luke chapter 20 Christ is once again challenged and this time the challenge surrounds an obscure question regarding the resurrection. Rather than getting into the nuance of the argument, Christ brings the hammer down and basically tells the Sadducees that there perspective is limited. They indeed see things in a gravely mistaken way! They are bound by what their eyes can see, their ears can ear and their hands can touch. Into this challenge, Jesus simply reminds them and us of three great Resurrection Realities!
So, let me ask you, when you think of the Resurrection what is the first thing that comes to mind? This week I hope to give you some handles on this important and central concept of the Christian faith. It is my goal that we, His children, would fully undertand, gravitate toward, sink into, devour the great truth of the Gospel that says, “For the Believer, the Best is Yet to Come!”
Join us Sunday at 9:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.
Biz
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Importance, Impact and Implications of Christian Hospitality!
I believe that one of the greatest strengths of Westside Community Church is the way we open our doors to the community and provide family-friendly and fun environments for all ages through our various “easy steps” and outreach opportunities. In fact, one of the reasons many of you have come to this church and stayed in this church is becasue of the relationships we have built with one another through such events and opportunities! On October 24, we are going to have another great chance and opportunity to reach into our community and show them how Christian hospitality works and its ramifications in our world! You already know what I am referring to … our Fall Family Festival from 4:00p.m. – 6:00 p.m. on the 24th!
In Hebrews 13:2 we find the following words, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Normally when you and I think about hospitality we think about opening up our home, resources, time, etc. to people we already know and already enjoy being around. Christian hospitality, however, is far more expansive than this and actually extends first to those whom we do not know - to the stranger. Or as Richard Kregcir has said, "Hospitality is a willingness to share, with discernment, what God has given us, including our family, home, finances, and food. It is an attitude of stewardship, where we do not own anything because we are merely the caretaker for the real owner, God. In the church, it is to be welcoming, regardless of how we may feel."
Perhaps you have wondered why Westside goes to such measures to reach this community and why we teach and seek to practice hospitality as a church. Let me take a moment and give you at least three reasons why I believe the Bible teaches and calls for the practice of hospitality from God's people and His Church - the importance, impact and implications of Christian Hospitality.
Let's first consider what I call the importance of Christian hospitality. While all hospitality is welcome by those who receive it, the Christian finds importance in our hospitality because it puts legs to the Great Commandment to love our God with all of our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. Remember, neighbor in the Gospels and the New Testament has a wide berth of meaning. At times it refers to a family member, an acquaintance you know, someone you do not know and even an enemy of yours. So, when we show Christian hospitality to the stranger it illustrates, like little else in life, God's call for us to love our neighbor and defines for us what “brotherly love” looks like. When we host families next weekend on our campus, we will have an opportunity to make the stranger feel welcomed and accepted. In so doing, we will be practicing the horizontal aspect of the Great Commandment.
Secondly, Christian hospitality brings with it unexpected and exceptional impact! The Hebrews passage actually alludes to the fact that when we practice such hospitality we may, at times, be entertaining angels without even knowing it! While at first glance words like this may strike a notion of confusion in us, if we remember the words of Christ in Matthew 25, then this makes complete sense. In that passage Christ reminds us that when we feed the hungry, satisfy the longing of those who thirst, clothe the naked, visit the sick, bring solace to the prisoner, then we have actually ministered to Him! While our Fall Festival will not afford us, per se, the opportunity to visit the sick or imprisoned, what of the hungry, the searching, the thirsty, the needy? Certainly we can anticipate that God will bring them into our midst. Will we welcome them? If we do (and I know we will) and if we recieve them in the charity of Christian love our words and actions will have an impact into eternity. How awesome is that? Makes you think a little bit differently now about cooking the hotdogs, running the games, providing assitance and direction doesn't it?
Thirdly, there are vast implications that follow Christian hospitality. Allow me a moment to give you but a few of them. The implications hit us on a personal level as God allows us to minister in this profound way! If we look at the Fall Festival as a prime moment to extend hospitality, rather than an event or program just for ourselves, then we will be blessed above all people as Christ uses us to reach others for Him. Even now, we should be thinking of people to invite and bring with us so that they too can taste of this love and care! There are also great impications for us corporately. For one thing, we are given an opportunity as a church to show this community that we care about them at a core level enough to provide a safe and fun environment where their family can simply be a family together! So few do this and, unfortunately, those who do it often do not do it well. Doing it well is another opportunity this event affords! We, as God's people, should do all we can to provide this event with excellence. This provides a testimony to those who come that we take our mission seriously and that we care greatly about how we facilitate and participate in this mission!
The Fall Festival is not simply an event for us to attend. The Fall Festival is an opportunity for us to participate in the mission of Christ for our church and His community - to love them with the love of Christ and to reach them with the heart of his care, concern and hospitality!
Extending His Reach through Christian Love!
Biz
In Hebrews 13:2 we find the following words, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Normally when you and I think about hospitality we think about opening up our home, resources, time, etc. to people we already know and already enjoy being around. Christian hospitality, however, is far more expansive than this and actually extends first to those whom we do not know - to the stranger. Or as Richard Kregcir has said, "Hospitality is a willingness to share, with discernment, what God has given us, including our family, home, finances, and food. It is an attitude of stewardship, where we do not own anything because we are merely the caretaker for the real owner, God. In the church, it is to be welcoming, regardless of how we may feel."
Perhaps you have wondered why Westside goes to such measures to reach this community and why we teach and seek to practice hospitality as a church. Let me take a moment and give you at least three reasons why I believe the Bible teaches and calls for the practice of hospitality from God's people and His Church - the importance, impact and implications of Christian Hospitality.
Let's first consider what I call the importance of Christian hospitality. While all hospitality is welcome by those who receive it, the Christian finds importance in our hospitality because it puts legs to the Great Commandment to love our God with all of our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. Remember, neighbor in the Gospels and the New Testament has a wide berth of meaning. At times it refers to a family member, an acquaintance you know, someone you do not know and even an enemy of yours. So, when we show Christian hospitality to the stranger it illustrates, like little else in life, God's call for us to love our neighbor and defines for us what “brotherly love” looks like. When we host families next weekend on our campus, we will have an opportunity to make the stranger feel welcomed and accepted. In so doing, we will be practicing the horizontal aspect of the Great Commandment.
Secondly, Christian hospitality brings with it unexpected and exceptional impact! The Hebrews passage actually alludes to the fact that when we practice such hospitality we may, at times, be entertaining angels without even knowing it! While at first glance words like this may strike a notion of confusion in us, if we remember the words of Christ in Matthew 25, then this makes complete sense. In that passage Christ reminds us that when we feed the hungry, satisfy the longing of those who thirst, clothe the naked, visit the sick, bring solace to the prisoner, then we have actually ministered to Him! While our Fall Festival will not afford us, per se, the opportunity to visit the sick or imprisoned, what of the hungry, the searching, the thirsty, the needy? Certainly we can anticipate that God will bring them into our midst. Will we welcome them? If we do (and I know we will) and if we recieve them in the charity of Christian love our words and actions will have an impact into eternity. How awesome is that? Makes you think a little bit differently now about cooking the hotdogs, running the games, providing assitance and direction doesn't it?
Thirdly, there are vast implications that follow Christian hospitality. Allow me a moment to give you but a few of them. The implications hit us on a personal level as God allows us to minister in this profound way! If we look at the Fall Festival as a prime moment to extend hospitality, rather than an event or program just for ourselves, then we will be blessed above all people as Christ uses us to reach others for Him. Even now, we should be thinking of people to invite and bring with us so that they too can taste of this love and care! There are also great impications for us corporately. For one thing, we are given an opportunity as a church to show this community that we care about them at a core level enough to provide a safe and fun environment where their family can simply be a family together! So few do this and, unfortunately, those who do it often do not do it well. Doing it well is another opportunity this event affords! We, as God's people, should do all we can to provide this event with excellence. This provides a testimony to those who come that we take our mission seriously and that we care greatly about how we facilitate and participate in this mission!
The Fall Festival is not simply an event for us to attend. The Fall Festival is an opportunity for us to participate in the mission of Christ for our church and His community - to love them with the love of Christ and to reach them with the heart of his care, concern and hospitality!
Extending His Reach through Christian Love!
Biz
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Christ as Cornerstone: The Foundation of and the Formation for Life
Ravi Zacharais tells the story of a time he visited the Ohio State University for a series of lectures. While being transported by cab he was informed by the driver that Ohio State boasted of the first post-modern building in America. When asked to explain what that meant, the driver further informed that the design of the building had no purpose behind it. There were pillars that stood in support of nothing and stairways that went nowhere. The design was intended to illustrate the post-modernist stream of thought that removes meaning from life and assumes all of life is, in essence without purpose, sense or direction.
Dr. Zacharais asked one simple question of his driver: “Was the foundation included in this purposeless, capricious design?” He notes that there was a long silence and no answer. In his own words, Dr. Zacharias responds, “You see, you and I can fool with the infrastructure as much as we would like, but we dare not fool with the foundation because it will call our bluff in a hurry.”
You and I know well the truth behind what Dr. Zacharias is saying! Without a firm foundation in life we are left to be tossed upon the debris of wreckage that comes as the storms blow and the winds assail! Many of us are facing this truth now, or we have recently faced this truth in life. We have faced loss of income, jobs, relationships, etc. This “loss narrative” that has developed over the past few years seems to be a daily occurrence for ourselves or someone we know. We see the debris and wreckage all around us and we wonder, “How am I ever going to get through this. How have I even endured to this point.”
It is at that point, it is in those moments, when we begin to recognize that we are stable because and only because of the sure foundation Christ has provided! In fact, this foundation is so central to the Christian story that the metaphor which describes it becomes one of, if not the most, dominant metaphors to describe Christ in the entire New Testament. It is, of course, the metaphor which describes Christ as the “cornerstone.”
What a powerful word and even more powerful word picture. In modern times we don’t really understand how essential a cornerstone was to the hearers in Christ’s day.
Most of the cornerstones we see today are ceremonial in nature. They are decorative and they stand out on buildings as a symbol rather than as a foundation. But, in ancient times (when concrete slabs were not the norm) the corner stone was the most important part of the foundation of the building! It was not only the first stone laid in the foundation, but it was also the stone upon which all the other stones were set and the rest of the foundation was dependent upon this primary, initial stone. The cornerstone, therefore, had to be perfect. If it was off at all, then the entire rest of the structure would be flawed!
Now one may ask, so what? What does this have to do with me and my walk with Christ? It is a fair question … particularly in a modern context where we have little knowledge of God’s Word and even less of ancient construction practices. The implications, however, are immense. They are literally life-changing. For, you see, Christ calls Himself the cornerstone. He is the stone upon which all of life is built. For those who believe He becomes the cornerstone upon whom our lives are built and to whom we are connected. He becomes our foundation! Yes, you heard that right. Christ is our foundation. No matter what may come, our foundation is sure to hold and certain to stand because it is not built by our own hands or through our own will. Our foundation is built by God himself – thus, it is unshakable!
If Christ, as our cornerstone, is our foundation, then He must also be our Formation. For you see, the house is built in, and only in, relationship to the cornerstone. So, Christ not only holds us, but He also grows us. Is there really a better place to be in this world than upon the foundation of Christ as our cornerstone? Is there any more reliable trust for our growth than the trust that is Christ Himself? In a world that seeks to form us at every turn, is it not the most tremendous of blessings and benefits to know that we can and are formed in Christ Himself? This means that there is always, always hope! There is always a tomorrow.
We are founded upon and formed in Christ as cornerstone! Bring it on, world! Do your worst … for our God has already done His best and as such, our foundation holds and our formation is certain! Join us this Sunday as we look at Luke 20 and the parable in which Christ divides all of life around the truth that He is the Chief Cornerstone!
See you Sunday!
Biz
Dr. Zacharais asked one simple question of his driver: “Was the foundation included in this purposeless, capricious design?” He notes that there was a long silence and no answer. In his own words, Dr. Zacharias responds, “You see, you and I can fool with the infrastructure as much as we would like, but we dare not fool with the foundation because it will call our bluff in a hurry.”
You and I know well the truth behind what Dr. Zacharias is saying! Without a firm foundation in life we are left to be tossed upon the debris of wreckage that comes as the storms blow and the winds assail! Many of us are facing this truth now, or we have recently faced this truth in life. We have faced loss of income, jobs, relationships, etc. This “loss narrative” that has developed over the past few years seems to be a daily occurrence for ourselves or someone we know. We see the debris and wreckage all around us and we wonder, “How am I ever going to get through this. How have I even endured to this point.”
It is at that point, it is in those moments, when we begin to recognize that we are stable because and only because of the sure foundation Christ has provided! In fact, this foundation is so central to the Christian story that the metaphor which describes it becomes one of, if not the most, dominant metaphors to describe Christ in the entire New Testament. It is, of course, the metaphor which describes Christ as the “cornerstone.”
What a powerful word and even more powerful word picture. In modern times we don’t really understand how essential a cornerstone was to the hearers in Christ’s day.
Most of the cornerstones we see today are ceremonial in nature. They are decorative and they stand out on buildings as a symbol rather than as a foundation. But, in ancient times (when concrete slabs were not the norm) the corner stone was the most important part of the foundation of the building! It was not only the first stone laid in the foundation, but it was also the stone upon which all the other stones were set and the rest of the foundation was dependent upon this primary, initial stone. The cornerstone, therefore, had to be perfect. If it was off at all, then the entire rest of the structure would be flawed!
Now one may ask, so what? What does this have to do with me and my walk with Christ? It is a fair question … particularly in a modern context where we have little knowledge of God’s Word and even less of ancient construction practices. The implications, however, are immense. They are literally life-changing. For, you see, Christ calls Himself the cornerstone. He is the stone upon which all of life is built. For those who believe He becomes the cornerstone upon whom our lives are built and to whom we are connected. He becomes our foundation! Yes, you heard that right. Christ is our foundation. No matter what may come, our foundation is sure to hold and certain to stand because it is not built by our own hands or through our own will. Our foundation is built by God himself – thus, it is unshakable!
If Christ, as our cornerstone, is our foundation, then He must also be our Formation. For you see, the house is built in, and only in, relationship to the cornerstone. So, Christ not only holds us, but He also grows us. Is there really a better place to be in this world than upon the foundation of Christ as our cornerstone? Is there any more reliable trust for our growth than the trust that is Christ Himself? In a world that seeks to form us at every turn, is it not the most tremendous of blessings and benefits to know that we can and are formed in Christ Himself? This means that there is always, always hope! There is always a tomorrow.
We are founded upon and formed in Christ as cornerstone! Bring it on, world! Do your worst … for our God has already done His best and as such, our foundation holds and our formation is certain! Join us this Sunday as we look at Luke 20 and the parable in which Christ divides all of life around the truth that He is the Chief Cornerstone!
See you Sunday!
Biz
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