When God Is Our Refuge
Bible Text: Psalm 46:1 | Preacher: Paul Ranheim | Series: Guest Preacher
Bible Text: Psalm 46:1 | Preacher: Paul Ranheim | Series: Guest Preacher
Bible Text: Galatians 1:1-10 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: The Gospel
Bible Text: 2 Peter 3:1-13 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: In Light of His Coming
Bible Text: Matthew 25:14-30 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: In Light of His Coming
Bible Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: In Light of His Coming
Common Responses to Death in Our Society: We looked at two common approaches that our society has for dealing with death. The Secular Approach assumes death is natural and ultimate. For some, this evokes paralyzing fear. Most, however, try stoically to accept death as a natural part of life. The Religious Approach views death as a natural transition to a better state—be it reincarnation, unity with all that is, or heaven. While this approach does not assume that death is ultimate, it nevertheless treats death rather stoically. We need not grieve for those who have died because death has brought about their progress. But the question we need to ask is: How does the Bible tell us to respond to death?
The Biblical Response to Death: In verse 13 Paul writes: But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. What is important is that Paul does not discourage grief with pious platitudes. The Bible does not give us a stoic approach to death. Rather than downplaying death as natural or right, the Bible tells us death and suffering are intruders into God’s good world; they don’t belong. Our grief is a testimony to the biblical truth that death is not right. Death is not natural; it is not even a natural step. Death is awful, demonic; it is that great enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). Thus, Paul recognizes the appropriateness of Christian grief, but distinguishes Christian grief from that of others who have no hope in Jesus’ return. Paul then reframes grief not by downplaying death, but by pointing Christians to the day in which death is defeated.
Death cannot be tamed; it can only be conquered and one day death shall be no more (Revelation 21:4). This is the hope that Paul lays out in 1Thessalonians 4:14–17. These verses paint a familiar picture about a triumphant King coming back to his capitol after a victory, only here, that king is God in Christ: the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God (v16; cf. Psalm 47:5). As the ancient people would travel outside the city to greet their King and usher him in, so too Christians will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (v17) that they might welcome Jesus’ eternal presence on earth (v17). Paul is describing the day when Jesus will destroy that last great enemy—death; the day when we will not be grieving death, but taunting it: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
As for those who have died before this great day, well, they won’t miss out on the celebration: we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep (v15), the dead in Christ will rise first (v16), and then we will all go out together to meet him (v17). Death is an implacable enemy. But here is the hope that Paul says we must remember: death is not only our enemy; it is God’s. And one day he will be victorious. We can encourage one another with these words.
Bible Text: Isaiah 64:1-2 | Preacher: Roy Bennett | Series: In Light of His Coming
The period of time approaching Christmas can evoke a strong set of conflicting reactions in Christians. On one hand, it’s easy to love the season of Advent. We often mark Advent by starting our Christmas celebrations early, enjoying the wonderful music, food, and decorations that we associate with Christmas. On the other hand, we may develop serious concerns about how we mark the season; the ways in which we celebrate “the holidays” can be far removed from the hope of Christ’s comings (Santa Claus is not coming to town!). In the midst of such conflicting reactions, Advent invites us to consider the darkness of the world without Christ, including the darkness of our own sin. Only by understanding our own need in the absence of God can we fully appreciate and celebrate His loving intrusion in the incarnation. The season of Advent teaches us to delay Christmas in order that we may more truly and fully embrace it when it finally comes. The Reformation credo “Post Tenebras Lux” (after darkness light) reflects the gospel: good news fixes a bad situation. The sequence of seasons in the church year also illustrates this. We start with the darkness of Advent and move toward the hope of the Incarnation and then the breaking out of light in Epiphany.
Facing the Darkness. Isaiah depicts the silence and absence of God in today’s reading, “…for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.” (64:7b). Exodus 2:23-24 describes Israel groaning under Egyptian oppression and God hearing them. Yes, God heard and saw and knew his people’s suffering and he remembered his covenant promise, but he took time to work it all out. It was the same with the Davidic promises. Bondage in Egypt, the exile in Babylon—is it not the same stuff? Oh Lord, how long will it be? Will you turn away forever? What do we do about unanswered prayer? How do we respond when God crosses our wills? When suffering is appointed to us? Put candidly, Advent is the season of God’s Wrath. We are fragile and timid creatures and we can’t bear much reality. It requires courage to face the reality of darkness especially when we are afraid we might see ourselves there. Isaiah says that even our best selves are foul and distorted, “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6) It is important to note that it is the people of God who have known the darkness and subsequently appreciate the light (see Isaiah 8:21-22). “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” (Luke 1:78-79, see Isaiah 42:7) The true and hopeful Christmas spirit has not looked away from the death and darkness but straight at them. Otherwise the message would be cheap and false. Instead of pointing to the sins of others, we confess our own. “In our sins we have been a long time.”
Watching and Waiting. If God has truly come in Jesus Christ, why do things remain as they are? Why do so many terrible things happen? Like the Psalmist we cry, “Where is God?” The parable of the doorkeeper that Jesus told offers a balm of hope and instruction for the church in her perplexity. (Mark 13:31-37). Like the doorkeeper, we have been told to be in a perpetual state of readiness. The Christian community is marked by crisis in the time between the ages. We live between the ages of the “already” and the “not yet.” How are we to live in light of his comings? By watching and waiting. The Advent for which we long is not the first coming, in a humble stable with the shepherds and wise men, but the second coming, when the risen Christ will come “in glory to judge the quick and the dead.” This is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of the end. The church in Advent lives between the ages of the inauguration of the kingdom and the consummation of the kingdom. In a very deep sense the entire Christian life in this world is lived in Advent, between the first and second coming of the Lord. Advent is about the final in breaking of God upon our darkness. Advent is about the promise that Christ will come again.
Bible Text: 1 Peter 1:13-2:3 | Preacher: Jaimeson Stockhaus | Series: Guest Preacher
In her new song “Born This Way”, Lady Gaga celebrates life. The song says, “Don’t be a drag, just be a queen. Whether you’re broke or evergreen, you’re black, white, beige, chola descent, you’re Lebanese, you’re orient. Whether life’s disabilities left you outcast, bullied, or teased, rejoice and love yourself today, ‘cause baby you were born this way…” At one level, she is right, we are born in God’s image. On another level, her song celebrates what is not right and normalizes pain and suffering by calling them “good”. How can we celebrate sickness, deformity, disease, and even death? Christianity presents a radical truth: rather than simply accepting suffering and pain, the Bible says it ought not be, but that in Jesus Christ there is the real possibility of being re-born, of being part of God’s restored world where pain and suffering no longer exist. 1 Peter 1:13–2:3 looks at being re-born. The passage describes what the new birth looks like as it changes our thinking, living and loving.
How does the new birth affect our thinking? 1 Peter 1:13–14
Having received new life in Christ our thinking is affected as we set our eyes on the gospel, the truth that there is victory over pain, suffering, sin and death through faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. There is a coming final victory as God renews his creation and all that is wrong in the world will be made right.
How does the new birth affect our living? 1 Peter 1:15–21
Having received new life in Christ our living is affected as we increasingly become more like Jesus, like the One who has called us. Peter quotes Leviticus 11:44 where God says to Israel: “Be holy, because I am holy.” First, we must ask: “What does it mean that God is holy?” The Bible uses images of light, fire, purity, and beauty to describe the holiness of God. The Bible also tells us that man cannot come near this holy God because of sin. However, for believers, for those who have experienced new birth in Christ, the Bible says we are in fact growing in holiness, daily becoming more like Christ. Secondly, we ask: “What does holy living look like?” Living a holy life is described in the Ten Commandments; it is theology applied. It is honoring God by honoring parents, living honestly, valuing God’s image, protecting life, keeping promises, enjoying and encouraging the gifts that God has given to others. Finally, we wonder: “Has Peter forgotten grace?” The answer is: No. The new birth does not send us back to keeping the law on our own, but animates us to live a holy life. Our new birth is a source of joy because of what God has completed and accomplished on our behalf. Because God has redeemed us from our empty way of living, because our Holy God has paid our debt, we now live wholly for God.
How does the new birth affect our love for others? 1 Peter 1:22–2:3
Having received the new life that Christ has given us, we can now love others selflessly because our holy God has loved us first. Because God loved us unconditionally, we can love each other with “no strings attached”. We depend on and never give up on each other. We can love other believers well as we stay connected to our source of nourishment, Christ (2:2), and remember that though life on earth fades like the grass that withers, God’s eternal word assures us of a restored, renewed, eternal life with him.
Bible Text: Hebrews 11:1-12:2 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: The Story of Abraham
“It will be alright, you just got to have faith.” As well intentioned as this statement might be, it is less than helpful when faced with the trials life brings. Sure, we need faith, but we need a specific type of faith.
What is it? Hebrews 11 portrays the faith we need to endure. When Hebrews says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen, it is portraying faith’s future-posture. But immediately we see that this is not the American optimism that says “it will all work out in the end;” for the text speaks about a resolute confidence that the things you hope for actually will come true. Such confidence in future events would be brash and even irrational, except for the fact that it is based on God’s promises. Abraham provides an example of such faith: his life was a promise driven life. Specifically, he was looking forward to an eternal city (v10), a heavenly country (v16), designed and built by God.
Do you have it? Two things mark a life that has the faith that it takes to endure. First, people who have this faith live as resident aliens. They confess themselves to be strangers and exiles on the earth (v13). Like Abraham, Christians always have an ambiguous relationship with the places where they live. On the one hand, Christians live as foreigners, displaced from their homeland. Thus whether a society is liberal or conservative, traditional or progressive, capitalist or socialist, communal or individualistic, no matter what, a Christian will never fully fit into any city or culture this side of heaven. On the other hand, Christians are the true heirs of the world. They live as in a foreign land (v9). They have a certain love for this world, not because of what it is, but because of what it will someday be by God’s grace.
Second, people who have this faith live in obedient anticipation. The phrase “by faith” resurfaces 18 times throughout this chapter. In each case the author shows how faith is, in Martin Luther’s words, a busy little thing. Faith acts in the present in anticipation of God’s future; it presumes upon the power and promise of God. Such anticipation invites preparation as Christians live in light of God’s future.
How do you get it? As we look at the qualities of faith, we must admit that, sadly, most of us do not have it; or if we do, we have it in part, but not in full. So how can we grow in the faith we need?
First, we must reflect on the City of God. Verse 16 tells us that those who had this type of faith desired a better country. One of the primary reasons why so many of us do not have this faith is because we are more satisfied with the city that is than with the city that is to come. We need to have our inappropriate desires dislodged by something more desirable. The sanctified Christian imagination plays a crucial role here. Reflecting on the city to come will show it to be more desirable than any city that is.
Second, we need to reflect on God. Abraham and Sarah were able to live as they did because they considered God, his faithfulness (v11) and power (v19). We need to consider God as well, and consider how he is not ashamed to be associated with those who desire this city (16). God’s character and power is revealed supremely in Christ. Faithful to his promise, he provided a savior and powerfully raised him from the dead. He associated with sinners when he bore our shame, suffering, and sin on the cross
Bible Text: Genesis 22:1-19 | Preacher: Kyle Wells | Series: The Story of Abraham
How much will it cost me to follow God? It is a question for all of us: whether we are just starting to check out Christianity or whether we have been Christians for a long time. In Luke 14:28, Jesus told a large crowd of people who were following him: which of you desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost? Jesus was saying, “Before you follow me, count the cost.” Genesis 22 is one of clearest pictures we have of what it costs to follow God. It’s a story about how God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience. We approached this text by looking at it through the lens of three questions.
How much does God require of me? Out of all God’s good gifts, Isaac was the one Abraham cherished most. All Abraham’s hopes were bound up in Isaac. It was through Isaac that Abraham’s offspring would be named (Gen 21:12). And here God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. A burnt offering was the most common sacrifice and symbolized the whole-hearted devotion of the worshipper (the animal represents the worshipper). In offering Isaac, Abraham was surrendering all his hopes; in offering Isaac as a burnt offering, he was surrendering himself. What Genesis 22 tells us is that God demands everything.
What does this look like practically? Abraham paints a picture for us what total self-surrender looks like. Abraham neither disputes, delays, nor resists. He answers God’s call and commands decisively, without hesitation, and in spite of how severe the command sounded and how nonsensical it seemed. He doesn’t put off costly obedience until he understands or in hopes that God will change his mind. Instead, he does the next practical thing. He saddled his donkey. He cuts the wood. He arose and went. Obedience often starts with doing the next practical thing, even when God’s commands are severe, even when his ways don’t make any sense.
But Abraham’s obedience would not end there. It took three days for Abraham to reach his destination. If he was waffling, he had time to back out. For three days he had to marinate on what was about to happen. How did he keep going? How was he able to complete the task? The answer seems to lie in verse 8, when Abraham says to his son: “God himself, will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” Somehow Abraham’s faith was so great that he knew that he and Isaac would walk down the mountain together. Abraham believed God’s promises even when those promises seemed to be jeopardized by the very obedience God required.
Is following God worth it? Why follow God? The answer to that question is found in what happens next. When Abraham was a moment away from slaughtering his child, the angel of the LORD stops him: Abraham then sees a ram which he offers as a substitute for Isaac. So overwhelmed was Abraham by the Lord’s provision, that he named the place “The LORD will provide”. Through this test, Abraham’s faith was perfected, because for faith to be perfected, it must be enacted. But more importantly, through this test Abraham gained an experience of God as a God who provides. And for centuries to come, whenever an Israelite would come into the temple and in faith offer there a whole burnt offering, they would be reminded that no matter what they were facing, they could commit their ways to God, because “on the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
Bible Text: Ephesians 2:1-10 | Preacher: Paul Kim | Series: Guest Preacher
Why does it seem that in church 20% of the people do 80% of the work? Perhaps it is because we have adopted a consumerist mindset: we go to church to consume and not to contribute. Or perhaps it is because we have adopted a professionalized view of ministry: only those who are pastors are really equipped to serve. Well, whatever the reasons are that keep us from serving, it is only through the gospel that we can overcome these inhibitors and serve. This week, we considered how the gospel motivates our service and ministry.
First, we saw how the gospel tells that our righteousness and our good works are God’s gift to us. Therefore, salvation does not stop with the forgiveness of sins, but includes the righteous persons we become and the righteous things we will do. Good works are not so much what we do for God, good works are God’s gift to us (Eph 2:10). Secondly, the gospel tells us that we have been tailor-made for a specific work, designed by God to accomplish a job prepared for us. While other believers were designed by God to do other things, even similar things, no one else is created to do those very things God has created you to do. The gospel tells us that God makes us useful.
While we were made useful, we were not made to be useful by ourselves. We only do specific gifts. Thus the gospel also tells us that we were designed to work on a team, to be part of a body, the church, which is made up of different people with different gifts and strengths. The implications of this for our service are spelled out in 1 Cor 12:12–13.
As 1 Cor 12:12–13 makes clear, we were not just saved into a personal relationship with Jesus; we were saved into a community, a body of believers and in that body, we all have a part to play. Thus the gospel also tells us that we were saved to be needed. This is not to say that we are without flaws. Of course there are areas of brokenness and sin in our lives. But God is greater than our flaws; and in creating us for good works, he can even use these flaws for his good purposes and our personal growth.
If all this is true, then the thing we need most to overcome our lack of service is to believe the gospel—that by grace God gives us specific works to do and in Christ has equipped us to do them.