Church Values to Unite our Minds and Wills

How important is community?  Does coming together as the Body of Christ matter? 

According to Acts 2:42-47, it mattered a great deal to the Early Church.  In that section Luke, the author of The Acts of the Apostles, writes, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47 ESV)

This passage formed the basis for the message this past Sunday as Bob, Pastor K, and Ruth K shared ChristCare ministry with us.  They reminded us of the importance of spending time with our fellow Christians in the Word (Biblical Equipping), fellowship, worship, prayer and missional service.  ChristCare is a ministry based on these principles from Acts 2 and our congregation has been active in this ministry for over a decade. 

As the world changes around us, we are finding that in terms of moral depravity, wild spirituality, and ignorance of Christianity, we are entering into a period of time that is very similar to what the Apostles experienced in the Book of Acts.  Those who study trends and time periods are calling this time “postmodern.”  Two other labels for our place in history are important to know.  They are saying that this time is “post-Christian” and “post-Church.”  People are not growing up with Christianity as the dominant worldview they experience, and they find our faith to be foreign, strange, judgmental, and insignificant to their lives. 

That’s not good news. 

Yet we have the promise of God that His Word never fails, the Church (those who believe in Jesus, not the institution) will never cease to exist, and not a dot or the least stroke of a pen (that’s a jot or tittle for you King James fans) will disappear from God’s Word until the end.  That makes this a time of opportunity!  And that is good news! 

I sometimes wonder what God’s people will do in this brave new world.  I believe ChristCare and ministries that reflect Acts 2:42-47 are part of the future.  The passage says that the early Christians “devoted” themselves to the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread (Holy Communion/worship) and prayer.  That word, “devoted,” literally means they were busily engaged with these things.  They persisted in them.  These were their way of life.  Interestingly, the bit about attending the temple is the same word.  They daily persisted in and were engaged in the presence of God.  Their lives were saturated with the faith. 

There is an interesting word in v. 46 that needs to be mentioned here.  Oddly, this word does not come out in most English translations.  Verse 46 reads, “Daily they were gathering one mindedly (with one will) in the temple ….”  The word that I translate, “One Mindedly” is homothumadon.  It’s a very important word that shows up primarily in Acts.  You’re going to hear more about this word from me in the future, but let it suffice to say for now that this unity in mind and will rooted in God’s Word, fellowship, worship and prayer is a powerful thing. 

We’ve all experienced the truth that a team can do more than an individual.  In homothumadon, we can accomplish much in Jesus’ name. 

Being shut-in makes it difficult to experience that fellowship.  Please know that we are praying for you, and we crave your prayers for us.  Even when we cannot see each other face to face, we have great unity through God’s Spirit and serve important roles in the body of Christ. 

Questions to Ponder

-          When the first Christians gathered, they didn’t have Bibles like we do.  Instead, when they received the Apostles’ teaching, they received directly from the mouths of Peter, James, John, and the others!  How would hearing these words directly from the Apostles’ lips be different from how we hear God’s Word today?  Would that be helpful?  More difficult?  Value neutral?

-          Look back through the values of the early Church.  They devoted themselves to the Word of God, gathering with believers and friends, worshipping, and praying.  The result was incredible selfless service that was noticed by the people around them and God brought new believers into their fellowship daily.  What is your level of devotion to these values?  How do you see them displayed in your life?  How about in Gloria Dei? 

-          What could we modern Christians learn from these ancient ones that Acts 2 talks about? 

-          What challenges you in this passage?  What comforts you? 

-          Think about the concept of homothumadon – one mindedness.  How do the values of the early Church reinforce a unity in thought and purpose?  If we are to be one minded, how do we decide which mind to be united in?  Check out 1 Corinthians 2:16! 

Eating Flesh, Drinking Blood and Receiving Eternal Life

I was cleaning my desk this week and I ran across a picture of my son Rick (our oldest) on his first day of kindergarten.  It was a bit of a nostalgic moment because now he’s starting high school, and Lucy (our youngest) is starting kindergarten.  It is a bittersweet thing to watch our children grow up.  Part of us wants to keep them and cuddle them as little ones forever, but the reality is they need to grow up, and oh how we rejoice as we see them develop into adults using the gifts and abilities God blessed them with. 

Something that moves my heart like few experiences can is when I see young people living their faith in inspirational ways.  I am very passionate about passing on the faith to the next generation, and when I see children and youth displaying that faith … that’s a “Hallelujah moment” for me. 

Talking with the youth who went on the Anchor of Hope mission trip and listening to them in the Bible study presentation last Sunday was a great joy for me.  We have wonderful kids who are part of our congregation, and their work in Baltimore was a blessing to Our Savior Lutheran Church where they worked, Lutheran World Relief, the Brethren Relief Distribution Center, Habitat for Humanity, the kids in the neighborhood where they stayed, and to us back here at Gloria Dei.  In short; they did great work for the Kingdom of God! 

They also served as an excellent example of using earthly ministry opportunities for the sake of God’s eternal priorities.  Their work, prayers, and devotions all served to connect the physical work that they did to the goal of sharing the love of Jesus with others. 

As people, fallen and sinful, we often have a hard time keeping caring for people’s physical needs and their spiritual needs in a proper tension.  The truth is we need both, as I’ve said at other points, because we are both physical and spiritual, body and soul. 

Caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, advocating for justice, stewarding the environment and the like are good and godly activities in-and-of themselves, yet in-and-of themselves they do not bring salvation to people.  These things must be coupled with the proclamation of the Gospel.  Peter highlights how important this is when he asks, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  There is no hope for eternal life, forgiveness, or salvation anywhere other than the Word of God. 

There is a popular quote which is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that says, “Preach the Gospel.  Use words if necessary.”  It reflects the attitude that it is what we do that matters, and not what we say.  There are two problems with this.  First, Francis never said it.  Second, words are always necessary to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, when you get right down to it!  Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”  Apart from the proclamation of Jesus, spiritually eating and drinking His presence in the Word, there is no life. 

Our actions matter, though!  Kids working in the city make a statement.  Being kind to people sends a message.  Defending others communicates.  Spending time talking to your neighbor delivers a testimony.  These things give us opportunity to speak the words of eternal life and to be heard.  From there it is Jesus’ job to give new life to that person. 

 

Questions to Ponder:

The Gospel Lesson from last Sunday was John 6:51-69. 

-          Refresh your memory on the context in which Jesus’ conversation with the Jews is happening.  Look back at Mark 6 and compare to John 6.  What kinds of things had been going on that led up to this time of teaching? 

-          Cannibalism was strictly prohibited by the Jewish faith, and it was, rightly, considered a disgusting atrocity.  These listeners would have been revolted by Jesus comments about eating His flesh and drinking His blood.  They would have been further offended by his statement that their forefathers ate manna and died while those who feed on this new bread from heaven will live forever.  Why do you think Jesus used such graphic language?  What was Jesus pointing them away from, and trying to get them to see?  (reference v. 58 & 62)

-          How did many of Jesus’ followers react to this dialog?  (v. 66) How did the 12 Disciples respond?

-          Read v. 67.  What emotions do you think Jesus was feeling at that moment?  Have you ever been abandoned or left to stand alone as you stood up for the truth?  How did that feel?  What comfort can you draw from this passage? 

-          Over the last three weeks we have looked at the tension between physical bread and spiritual bread.  How would you describe that tension in regard to (1) our sinful nature, (2) Jesus’ priorities, and (3) how we do ministry? 

-          What are the implications of Jesus’ statement in v. 65?  Do His words challenge you?  How do we understand the process by which a person becomes a Christian?  (For “bonus points” look up Luther’s explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed and see what He says.) 

Earthly and Eternal Blessings

Every once and a while I hear or read the saying, “If you have trouble sleeping, don’t count sheep; count your blessings.”  It’s a nice reminder.

Take a moment and count your blessings.  Think for a few minute of all the good things in your life. 

What did you list?  Family?  Friends?  Health?  Home?  Job?  Nature?  Forgiveness? 

I often find that when I start thinking about my blessings the physical stuff is what comes to my mind first.  But when I weigh the physical against the spiritual blessings we have received, the heavenly far outweighs the earthly. 

This is essentially the misunderstanding of the people in John 6; they preferred the earthy stuff to the eternal blessings Jesus was offering them.  They thought it was amazing that Jesus healed people.  They loved being miraculously fed with bread and fish.  They rejoiced in the physical blessings Jesus was pouring out on them.  But Jesus reminded them, “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died.  This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” 

The greatest blessing God has ever given us is that of His Son who was given as the atoning sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world.  This is the greatest good He can give us; Jesus gives us Himself, His life, even His first, last, and resurrected breath.  What a blessing!  God gives us a right relationship with Him through Jesus’ death and resurrection!  We get to be God’s people, and we get to have Him as our God. 

Luther wrote in the Large Catechism, “To ‘have’ God, you can easily see, is not to take hold of Him with our hands or to put Him in a bag (like money) or to lock Him in a chest (like silver vessels).  Instead, to ‘have’ Him means that the heart takes hold of Him and clings to Him.  To cling to Him with the heart is nothing else than to trust in Him entirely.  For this reason God wishes to turn us away from everything else that exists outside of Him and to draw us to Himself.”  (emphasis added)

We worry so much about physical stuff that it distracts us from God.  We desire the physical bread, and disdain the spiritual.  Yet in this chapter that we will linger in through next Sunday (John 6) we hear Jesus calling to the crowd and to us to look beyond the physical blessings to the spiritual gifts, the eternal gifts, the everlasting life that God gives to those who believe in Jesus. 

To be sure, God cares about our physical needs.  It was Jesus, after all, who taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  God created both the physical and the spiritual, and as human beings we are both physical and spiritual beings.  We don’t want to get so wrapped up in the physical part of life that we lose sight of the spiritual.  Nor do we want to become so “spiritual” that we do no physical good! 

Take some time today to count your blessings, and start with the faith that you have in Jesus, for it is a gift, too!  Then pray a prayer of thanks.  After all, God has promised to hear your prayers. 

Questions to Ponder

Look back at John 6:35-51, our Gospel Lesson from last Sunday. 

-          How does Jesus describe His relationship with the Father here?  What does this mean for where He derives His authority?  What implication does this have for us and our authority to speak God’s Word?

-          In verse 41 it says that the Jews grumbled about Jesus.  Literally, it says that they were grumbling.  Look back in Numbers 14.  How often did the Israelites grumble against God and Moses?  Do we ever grumble against Jesus?

-          In verse 42, what is the Jews’ complaint?  What did they assume about Jesus?  What did they not understand? 

-          What do these passages say about how a person comes to faith?  (Pull out your copy of Luther’s Small Catechism and read over his explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed.)  How does this fit with the exhortation to decide to follow Jesus?

-          How many times does Jesus talk about raising people up in the reading?  Look beyond it and see if Jesus mentions it again.  What is our hope after we die?  How can this belief help you in your daily life?

-          Re-read verses 49-51.  How would you explain what Jesus is saying here to a child or to a person who does not yet believe in Jesus?  How does this impact your daily life? 

-          When do earthly things distract you from God’s eternal blessings?  Where do your daily experiences run into eternal realities?  Where do physical and spiritual realities come together in your life? 

Spiritual Junk Food and the Bread of Life

I have a confession to make.  I love junk food.  I sometimes shudder when I have to gas up my truck (not only because of the price of gas, but) because of all the delicious treats inside the gas station!  I have found very few fatty, over preserved, sugary, or sodium laden snack foods that I don’t like.  The problem is that those foods just aren’t good for me.  (Nor are they good for you, in case you were wondering.)  They range from nutritionally vapid to downright bad for you! 

In our Gospel lesson on Sunday we started reading from John 6.  We’ll be reading from John 6 for the next two weeks, too.  This is the section where Jesus refers to Himself as the bread of life.  He also confronted His hearers’ motivation for coming to Him.  You see, many of the people there had been part of the crowd when Jesus miraculously fed five-thousand men, plus women and children, with five loaves of bread and two fish.  They were looking for another meal, so Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”  (See John 6:22-35 for the whole reading.) 

Jesus’ message is this:  God is offering you salvation through faith in Him.  “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.”  That’s what he desires for you.  Jesus is the bread of life, and He satisfies our hunger, and even slakes our thirst. 

So God is offering us the bread of life, Jesus’ presence and salvation in our lives.  But often, instead of the bread of life, we desire spiritual junk food. 

What do I mean by spiritual junk food?  Anything that offers you happiness apart from Jesus is spiritual junk food.  Messages that offer you self-help instead of God’s intervention in your life are nutritional nothingness.  Worldviews that ignore sin, forgiveness, atonement, and God’s salvation are bankrupt bread.  And anyone who offers you these things or the hope of somehow building a life that revolves around yourself, your desires, and your ideas, is flat out trying to poison you. 

1 John 4:1 urges us to test the spirits.  As we talk about the bread of life we can translate that as, “Look at the nutritional content of what you’re feeding your soul.”  Paul warned in Ephesians 4:14 that there are teachings and beliefs that are rooted in the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  The only way to avoid such false teaching, such spiritual junk food, is through faith in and knowledge of Christ.  The nutritional standard is God’s Word, and we must constantly ask, “What does the Word say?” 

God gives us spiritual food that lasts in His Word and the Sacraments.  It’s not always as appealing to us as junk food.  Sometimes the food He gives us is hard to eat – especially if He is confronting us with our sin.  Other times the food is very pleasant – like when He tells us of His love and forgiveness.  Either way, we are invited to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”  (Psalm 34:8) 

Blessings on your week!

Questions to Ponder:

Over the last few weeks we’ve read a series of Gospel lessons that take place one after the other.  Starting in Mark 6 we read about the beheading of John the Baptist, the feeding of the 5,000, and Jesus walking on the water.  Now in John 6 we are reading the conversation that took place after these events.  As you read over these lessons is there anything that strikes you?  Does knowing that these events follow in sequence help in understanding the text?  Why or why not?

Look back at John 6:15 and then re-read John 6:26-27.  What did the people who followed Jesus desire from Him?  What did He want to give them? 

In verse 28 the people ask, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  What was Jesus’ answer?  How is that significant for us as we think about our relationship with God?  What is the main thing God wants for us? 

“When they found [Jesus] on the other side of the lake, they asked him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’”  Have you ever been surprised to find that Jesus was present with you?  Have you ever been in a situation where you asked, “Jesus, when did you get here?”  Where has Jesus gotten into your life?  What difference has it made?

Jesus said, “Do not work for food that spoils ….”  What are the spiritual foods that spoil in your life?  What kinds of spiritual junk food tempt you? 

Jesus used an image – the bread of life – to communicate the truth that He is the one who gives life to the world.  How does bread help us understand what Jesus does for us?  What mental images come to you when you hear the word, “bread” and the phrase, “bread of life”?  Do these help us draw closer to Jesus?  If so, how?