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Day 4 – Humility in the Anointing and Betrayal

Mark 14:3-11 ESV

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly,“Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

 

Humility in the Anointing and Betrayal

In Philippians 2:3, Paul charges the church to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (ESV). Mark 14:3-11 juxtaposes the anointing of Jesus with the betrayal of Jesus, revealing where each of these divergent attitudes of selfish ambition and humility ultimately lead. 

In John’s account of this same story, we discover that the woman who anointed Jesus was Mary, the sister of the recently resurrected Lazarus (John 12:1-8). The alabaster flask of ointment that Mary poured over Jesus’s head was worth almost a year’s salary of an ordinary palastinian day laborer, and it was probably the most valuable thing that she owned. She had very recently witnessed Jesus call her dead brother back to life. So, in her eyes the price of the ointment compared with the gift of Lazarus’s resurrection wasn’t even close. Her desire was to give Jesus the very best thing she had in order to honor Him and express her gratitude and praise. Jesus said it was a beautiful thing that she had done. 

It was Judas who scolded Mary for wasting such an expense on Jesus, claiming that it should have been sold and given to the poor (John 12:4-5). John wrote that Judas was in charge of the disciple’s money and would often steal it for himself (John 12:6). Of course, it was also Judas who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, which we know he didn’t give to the poor because he later returned it before his suicide (Matt. 27:3-5). It is not hard to see that the desires of Judas’s heart were greedy and that he used Jesus to feed his selfish ambitions. 

C.S. Lewis wrote that, “you will certainly carry out God’s purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John.” I’d only change John’s name to Mary. Mary glorified Jesus by humbly gifting Him with her very best, and Jesus said she would be remembered for it always. Judas glorified Jesus by betraying Him, which led Jesus to the cross to die for the sake of the world while Judas took his own life in self hatred. 

It can be easy for me to go through the motions of acting like a disciple of Jesus who humbly cares for others as long as things go according to my plans. It’s easy to buy food to distribute to the poor or show up to a church service to worship and pray with others. However, when I’m caught off guard and somebody needs the money, food, or time that I intended for myself, that is when my heart’s treasure is truly revealed. Do I really count others as more significant than myself, or am I using Jesus and His people for my own benefit? What reveals your heart’s true treasure? 

The humility of Jesus is displayed in His being a better treasure than we could gain for ourselves. Jesus accepted Mary’s gift as an anointing and then poured Himself out for her on the cross. Jesus let Judas choose to treasure a few coins over Him so that all who had betrayed Him could be reconciled to God. Jesus counted others more significant than Himself even when the favor wasn’t returned, and for those who humbly accept His gift there is life abundant found in Him. 

 

Prayerfully consider these few questions:

  1. Has life interrupted by a quarantine revealed anything about what or who your heart truly treasures?
  2. How has Jesus proved to be worth more than anything else? 
  3. How would life be different for you if you consistently counted others as more significant than yourself? What would be lost and what would be gained?
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Day 3 – Humility in Cursing of the Fig Tree

Matthew 21:18-22 ESV

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and  do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

 

Humility in Cursing of the Fig Tree

Jesus told a parable concerning a fig tree that didn’t yield fruit in Luke 13:6-9. Seeing the fruitless fig tree, the man who planted it told the vinedresser to cut it down because it was worthless. The parable ends with the vinedresser’s request that the tree, having just been fertilized, be given one more year.

This is the story of Israel’s relationship to God and their covenant purpose of making Him known in all the earth. They were given every provision and every reason to trust God, but time and again they were unfaithful and sought their own sources of power, wealth, and prosperity. After Jesus cleansed the temple, it was clear that things hadn’t changed. The temple was busy, but the worship there was fruitless; it didn’t make God known to others. So, when Jesus cursed the fig tree He was undoubtedly making a statement about the continued unfruitfulness and coming judgment of the temple.

Jesus was hungry and wanted something to eat, but the fig tree yielded no fruit. We can assume that Jesus could have easily made the tree bear fruit to satisfy His hunger, but instead Jesus cursed the tree and taught His disciples about a faith that can move mountains. Through His actions Jesus not only made a statement about Jerusalem and the temple, He pointed to the better fruit of a humble faith in God. 

It occurs to me that we are more often found quickly thanking God for our “daily bread” (Matt. 6:11) than praying that He provides it. Is that because we’re proud and would rather leave the providing to ourselves? In a crisis, are you quick to yank the reins of your life from the hands of God in an effort to make things manageable again? In those moments when we are quick to skip the prayers, get out our planners, make a list, and start checking some boxes, the reality of where our faith lies is often revealed.

The humility of Jesus demonstrates a better faith that relies fully on God and seeks His glory above all else, in every circumstance. Paul says in Philippians 2:6 that Jesus, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (ESV). This is the humble faith that led Jesus to endure the cross in submission to the will of the Father. The good news is that because of the humble faithfulness of Jesus, instead of us bearing the curse of the fig we’ve been granted full access to call on the God who moves mountains and conquers death. 

 

Prayerfully consider these few questions:

  1. Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 21:22, “whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” How does that challenge you? 
  2. In a time of crisis, what is revealed about where you place your faith? In what ways do you trust yourself over trusting God?
  3. What is the better fruit that is yielded by humbly trusting in Jesus over yourself? How can you remember that for daily living?
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Day 1 – Humility in the Triumphal Entry

Luke 19:29-40 ESV

When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying,“Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (ESV).

 

Humility in the Triumphal Entry

As Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the back of a colt the crowds laid their cloaks and palm branches (John 12:13) along the road to prepare the way before Him. They sang His praises and hailed Him as God’s promised eternal King. In ancient times, a king would often ride a donkey as a sign of the peace they had achieved. After all, a horse and chariot were no longer needed when a king had won all his battles and there were no remaining threats. 

Jesus was doing more than fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy (Zech. 9:9) when He entered the city on a donkey. He was very intentionally announcing the establishment of God’s kingdom of peace and His identity as the long awaited King. The Pharisees, observing all of this, urged Jesus to silence the people’s praises, but He refused. Where is the humility of Jesus?

The Pharisees were well aware of the significance of the claims that were being made about Jesus’s Kingship, and they called on Jesus to show some humility by refusing to accept such praises. However, their request was a guise. John’s account of this same story says that “the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him’” (John 12:19, ESV). What they wanted more than Jesus’s humility was the support and allegiance of the people for their own gain and political agenda, and this whole scene was threatening to their own sway over the crowds.

Whatever Jesus’s  followers celebrated and understood about Jesus’s announcement, they certainly didn’t expect what would transpire over the next week. They had no idea that they would praise Him as King on that day only to deny Him, reject Him, and call for His execution within days. They were enamoured by His miracles, the moment, and the prospect that their plight as a lowly people under Roman rule might soon change. Like the Pharisees, they were out for themselves, and when Jesus was taken into custody later in the week they would shift their allegiance to whoever gave them more confidence in the moment about their future well being.

We can easily mistake confidence for pride and power. So often political leaders, business executives, and even pastors and other religious leaders rouse the praises of the people but turn out to be nothing more than prideful and arrogant, ultimately exploiting their sway of the people for their own selfish gain. Jesus is different. 

Jesus didn’t come to gain power, He is all powerful. Paul says in Philippians 2:7-8 that Jesus, who is God, “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (ESV). Jesus came to lay His life down for the people in the crowd, for the Pharisees, and for all who were going to mock Him and attempt to rob Him of His kingship. He would give His life to forgive them knowing they didn’t have a clue, knowing they were captive to sin and idolatry, and knowing they were ultimately robbing themselves and others of knowing true peace and joy. Jesus would die on a cross within the week so that they could finally have peace with God. This is the humility of Jesus. 

The humility of Jesus bears better confidence than the pride and arrogance of this world. Only Jesus, who is God incarnate, could rightly and humbly ride through that crowd with confidence. When Jesus refused to silence the crowds He knew that to deny their praises and proclamations would be to deny the truth. Jesus knew what nobody else knew; the price He would pay within a week to establish peace with God on their behalf. He would confidently give away everything for the sake of the world, knowing that everything that He is would remain for eternity. 

 

Prayerfully consider these few questions:

  1. What are you afraid to lose or let go of that keeps you from confidently and humbly living like Jesus? Any selfish ambition, material possession, or personal relationship? 
  2. Jesus’s humility is rooted in a confidence that He can lose everything and still have everything. How has He made that true for you also?
  3. The humble confidence of Jesus is yours as an heir with Christ (Phil 2:5, Rom. 8:17). If your heart could grasp that and believe it, how would you live differently?

 

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Lent 2018

In his book A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer, John Piper writes; “As Jesus teaches it, fasting is an intensely Godward act. Do it toward God, who sees when others don’t.”

Lent begins this Wednesday, February 14th. Traditionally, Lent is a 40 day period of fasting, prayer, and devotion as we remember our own brokenness and God’s work of redemption through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

At Redemption Church, we aren’t looking to establish a bunch of rules and regulations about how to observe Lent, but we are inviting you to enter into this season together prayerfully and “toward God.” 

HERE ARE A FEW RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

Hearing the Voice of God: A Lenten Art Show – Scott Erickson

In the windows of The Doris Building this season you can find Scott Erickson’s newest art show meant to help you engage in the season of Lent. 

On Saturday, March 17th, Scott will be performing his one man show We Are Not Troubled Guests live at the Doris Building. Tickets available here. Scott will also be sharing more on the subject of prayer at Redemption Church on Sunday, March 18th at 10:45am. Don’t miss it!

Prayer: Forty Days of Practice – Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson

This is a beautiful guided prayer resource from Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson. Find out more about it on their website. 

Living Through Dying: A Six Week Community Guide Through Lent – Brad Watson

In Living Through Dying you will read the Psalms, discuss the themes of Lent, and practice the spiritual disciplines of fasting, confession, praise, and lament as a community. Each week your community will be looking to Jesus, looking inwardly at his or her own heart, and looking outwardly in what it means to live in light of the gospel. This is an opportunity to re-center your community on the gospel of Jesus.

God is on the Cross: Reflections on Lent and Easter – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“These forty stirring devotions will guide and inspire readers as they move thematically through the weeks of Lent and Easter, encountering themes of prayerful reflection, self-denial, temptation, suffering, and the meaning of the cross. Passages from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s letters and sermons provide special encouragement as readers prepare themselves spiritually for Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Supplemented by an informative introduction to Bonhoeffer’s life and a Scripture passage for each day of the season, these daily devotions are moving reminders of the true gift of Christ on the cross.”

Lenten Devotionals – Redeemer Presbyterian Church

“In 2011 Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York published 40 Lenten Devotions written by a variety of authors including Kathy Keller. Due to popular demand over successive years, RPC have continued to make the devotions available to help their people ‘prepare their hearts for Easter.”

This devotional material is also available through the You Version Bible app.

 

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Black History Month & Recommended Resources

February is Black History Month. Last Sunday morning I read over some reasons, written on Meridian Hill DC pastor Duke Kwon’s social media post, why we ought to intentionally observe and celebrate Black History Month at Redemption Church. 

  1. To deepen fellowship with our black Christian sisters/brothers by honoring their family stories, learning about the historical and cultural contexts that shape who they are.

  2. To cultivate cross-cultural skills in order to love our black local neighbors more genuinely and more effectively; after all, we cannot love our neighbors well without knowing their stories and without sharing a “common memory” of the past.

  3. To learn more of the all too neglected history of the Black Church, recognizing that Black Church History is Church History.

  4. To model the gospel ethic of mutuality/interdependency by esteeming a subdominant culture—historically, one devalued/subjugated even in/by the Church—celebrating its people and achievements and witnessing its vast potential to fortify the ministry and mission of the Church.

  5. To grow in repentance for corporate sins committed against Black people, often in the name of Christ—sins past and present, of commission and omission—as a necessary step toward true reconciliation and interethnic unity in the Church.

I would add, for Redemption Church, that as we are praying to be a diverse community of believers representative of our community, celebrating and observing Black History Month intentionally is a practical step, however small, in that direction.

Therefore we are doing a couple of things this month with intention. 

First, we have asked a couple of our African-American friends to join us in continuing to preach through the book of Acts. We highly value their voice and perspective, and we want to deepen our fellowship with them. Here is a quick introduction:

  • John Farmer will join us this Sunday, February 11th. John is a pastoral intern at First Presbyterian Augusta, and he is the Paine College Director for Campus Outreach. John and I have been meeting to pray together regularly for several weeks, and he has become a friend and a real blessing to me personally. 
  • Dante Stewart will be with us on Sunday, February 25th. He is a student at Reformed Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Jasamine, live in Augusta, Georgia, where he teaches Bible at Heritage Academy Augusta. They are members of Crawford Avenue Baptist Church. Dante is a great writer, and he has published several articles – many are recommended below.

Secondly, I want to encourage you to spend some time utilizing a few suggested resources – books, articles, media – to learn about Black History and racial divisions in our culture in order to cultivate your ability to empathize, repent, and love cross-culturally.

There are certainly many more great resources out there, but here are just a hand full of suggestions from myself and others.

Books

Divided By Faith – By Michael Emerson And Christian Smith

United – By Trillia Newbell

God’s Very Good Idea – By Trillia Newbell And Catalina Echeverri

The Genesis Of Liberation – By Emerson Powery And Rodney Sadler

Free At Last? – By Carl Ellis

White Awake – By Daniel Hill And Brenda Salter McNeil

Articles

The Witness: A Black Chrisitan Collective “engages issues of religion, race, justice, and culture from a biblical perspective.” There are several resources there worth checking out. Here are a couple by our friend Dante Stewart:

Dante has also been published at The Gospel Coalition:

Monét Robinson, also one of Augusta’s own, recently had this excellent article published at Radical.net:

The C&MA posted an old Alliance Life article honoring several African-Americans who “played a significant role in early Alliance history”:

One of the most stirring articles I read last year was written by D.L. Mayfield at Christianity Today:

Media

If you’re more into listening than reading, here are a couple of good podcast recommendations:

Lastly, I recently attended an Acts 29 & Carolina Greenhouse sponsored event called Race, The Church, and The Gospel. Antony Frederick shared a “plea to my brothers and sisters in the faith that lead predominantly white Christian churches, denominations, networks, etc to pursue racial harmony on a “macro” level, with your African-American brothers and sisters.” You can watch the video here: 

 

 

 

 

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United? We Pray

This post was previously published at humblebeast.com and is reposted here with permission from the author.  

 

United? We Pray is a new podcast that calls for prayer about racial divisions in churches. I (Isaac Adams) have the joy of hosting the first season with my sister, Trillia Newbell, who spoke at Humble Beast’s 2017 conference, Canvas. On the podcast, we won’t just be talking about prayer, we’ll actually be praying. Given all that could be said about race and the church, why start a podcast about prayer? Here are four reasons.

1. The Bible Commands prayer.

The last few years, decades, and centuries make clear that trials and complexities of race and racism often exceed our own wisdom and strength. God has limitless wisdom and strength, but we don’t. Yet in the Bible, when people realized their limitations, they often did something—they prayed. They prayed to the God who commands his children to cast their anxieties upon him because he cares for them (1 Pet. 5:7); the God who says “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask” (James 1:5).

The mandate throughout the Scriptures is clear: God’s people are to be a praying people. We must do more than pray if we are to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, but we cannot do less. The reality is that the unity of the church is no light matter. Satan has been after it since day one, and the early church in Acts 6 shows us this much—there we find an ethnic conflict threatening to divide the church. That division matters because Jesus said that the church’s unity would testify to his coming (John 13:35; 17:21). In short, the church has an adversary who hates its unity (Eph. 6:12). Christians war against him and his kingdom on our knees.

And so we pray.

2. Church history commends prayer.

Prayer is not a new thing. If you look throughout church history, you’ll find that the saints prayed. I’ll pick one example from history that inspired this podcast. In 1898, Francis Grimke, a black pastor in Washington D.C. preached a sermon called, “God and Prayer as Factors in the Struggle.” In this sermon, Grimke called the believers of his day to pray because “It is a serious matter for a nation when any body of people, however few, betake themselves not to revolt but to prayer.”

When we pray to God about matters of race, unity, and the church, we are echoing the cries of Christians through the centuries. To join in on those prayers is a privilege.

And so we pray.

3. Pastors know about prayer.

I am not a scholar; I don’t claim to be an expert on these difficult topics (that’s why I’m inviting my smart friends to come and do the talking!) That said, I am a pastor, so I should know something about prayer. So the goal of this podcast isn’t to pontificate, but rather to encourage weary Christians to pray during racial struggles; this podcast is not so much about finding solutions to racial strife, though we will pray for as much, as it is about recognizing the difficulty in finding those solutions and taking that difficulty before God almighty. We’ll have brief conversations on the podcast between one another, conversations horizontally if you will, but the most important conversation taking place will be the vertical conversation.

And so we pray.

4. Christians agree on prayer.  

Christians do not agree on how to respond to racial strife, but all Christians agree that we ought to rely upon God in prayer. Prayer humbles us and re-centers us. Prayer inspires hope, something in high demand these days, and ought to give us a holy excitement that God will do “more than we ask, think, or imagine” (Eph. 3:20-21). The reality that ought to stupefy us with gladness in prayer and make us zealous to pray is that God is more eager to give than we are to receive. We potentially have the entire freight of heaven behind our efforts if we would but ask.

And so we pray.

My Hope for the Podcast

So I started this podcast with the hope that it would encourage people to continue to rely upon God in prayer during racial struggles. My hope is that Christians would leave edified, challenged, and encouraged to pray for unity in their own churches and the Spirit of unity would better permeate their whole lives. So, if a Christian listens and is encouraged to more faithfully pray for their own congregation, I’m a happy man. My hope is that you would not only listen to the podcast, but that you’d pray with us, because it’s clear that we need God’s help.

Details & How You Can Help

Expect new episodes every other Wednesday. You can subscribe to the podcast, visit our website for more information, and follow us on twitter. You can help us by leaving a review on iTunes (every bit helps!), sharing the podcast with a friend, or contacting us via the website to let us know what topics we might consider praying for.

The unity of the church across ethnic lines is in question now in the minds of many brothers and sisters, but a day is coming when we’ll never question it again. Until that day, will you pray with us?

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The Good News in Serving

I’ve worked as a pharmacy manager for 5 years now, and my number one priority has always been service. Okay, well, safety is always our number one priority, so service is a close second. I try to keep up with medical literature, and I am hungry for any new information about healthy living I can share with my patients, but the one thing I am always checking my pulse on is service. I’ve enjoyed listening to great servants like Dan Cathy from Chic-Fil-A, or Danny Meyer from Union Square Hospitality Group, but it hasn’t been enough to sustain me in a demanding profession.

It was a very difficult industry for me at first. I am sure you’ve heard the phrase “the customer is always right,” and it’s 100% accurate. I am a proud person, and I don’t enjoy being wrong. After a few quarters of always being on the defensive, I was convinced I wasn’t going to survive in my profession very long. I had to frequently fix problems that I wasn’t responsible for, and often take the blame. It was exhausting. Before long, I was driving to work everyday preparing myself to be wrong, which became very depressing. Something was going to have to change. It turned out, it was me.

A couple of years ago my wife and I read the book of Mark together. I was taking a new job with even higher standards of service at this time (surprising, I know), so I was excited to be reminded of the life of Jesus. If you want to know what God is like, all you have to do is look at the life of Jesus. He is God! His compassion, grace, and mercy to us is inspiring and worthy of our worship. One of the most helpful passages during this transition is found in chapter 10, verses 41-45:

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

It is a familiar text, but it must become more than familiar to us; it must become a part of us. As new creations in Christ, it is of great importance to remember what our new bodies were resurrected for, what we are to do. In this passage we can clearly see that one Christlike behavior is serving. Serve to the point where our life is demanded of us. Without God, this type of service isn’t possible. I have experienced it first hand. I tried to serve, and my well was just about dry. The Spirit used this passage to remind me that service is not from duty but from a new heart.

Look at what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17: ”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Paul is literally saying that something new is here. You are not simply cleaned off and put back in the world. No, the Resurrection has made you into something you’ve never been before, something you could never be on your own. You are restored into the royal priesthood of God, worshipping Him in all things, and reflecting the praise of all creation back to Him. To put it more simply, a new heart means new desires. Our worship does not come from a place of duty, it comes from a place of love – a place of joy. So, instead of serving others because I am “supposed to,” I serve because my soul longs to. It’s a radical transformation that is only made possible by the death and resurrection of Christ.

Believers, we have entered into death, so that the flesh may die (and all of the idols with it!) so that we may be born again and raised to life with Christ. We are finally able to live as we were designed to live; as worshippers of God. Serving others is one such way that we can worship our great God.

Serving others is no longer something I am supposed to do as a believer, it is something that my new heart beats to do. It is one way that I can worship God and prepare the way for His Kingdom to come. When I am weary I am able to look to Christ who also served, though he was a king. Serving has also become part of my ministry. By serving others, I can better demonstrate my love for the gospel and love for others.

I’d like to invite you to join me by starting to incorporate service routines into your life. We have numerous opportunities to serve right here at Redemption Church, and we could use a lot of different skills. Whether it is making disciples in Redemption Kids, running the sound booth, or greeting with Hospitality, there are ample ways you can bless others. The elders, deacons, and I also pray to see such service flow outside of our church walls and into the community of Augusta. We need people with a heart and vision for the city to find opportunities that our members can serve in. Lastly, we can serve globally by funding, and praying for our global missionaries. I pray that the Spirit may lead you into this vocational change, and that you may find joy by serving others.

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Redemption Church 2018

The following is a summary of “Making the Best Use of the Time,“a sermon preached at Redemption Church on 12/31/17.

 

It’s a new year, 2018. Maybe you, like many others, have spent a little time reflecting on the prior year and setting some goals for the future. As you plan 2018, what are you deciding are the most important things to make happen this year? And why? Are you making the best use of your time?

I keep a jar of 52 marbles in my office as a visual reminder of the 52 weeks I have each year. The idea is that when you can see the time you have you tend to make better use of it. Ann Voskamp, in her book The Broken Way, does something similar with her daughter by filling a jar with seeds representing the days of any one life. She makes some observations that are helpful as we decide how we will use the time that we have. She writes:

You have only one decision every day: how will you use your time?… I’ve thought of time as something you have to wring the very most out of, drain to the last drop. Carpe Diem, people, Carpe Diem.

But what had Jesus said? ‘My time has come.’ What time? The time of His death? For Jesus, time was not something you seize as much as something you sacrifice….It’s not something to grab; it’s something to give.

How are you going to make the best use of your time? Are your goals focused around seizing or sacrifice, grabbing or giving?

In Colossians 4:2-6 says:

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Paul exhorts toward continual prayer and walking toward outsiders to make the best use of our time. In Matt Perman’s book, What’s Best Next – How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done, he makes a Biblical case that the most productive thing we can do is to do good for others. Perman says that “The guiding mindset of our lives is to be: how can I do good for others? How can I benefit my neighbor?” and that “The good of others is ‘what’s best next.’”

How are you going to make the best use of your time? Are you seeking to prayerfully walk toward outsiders for their good and the glory of God? Here is what I want us all to believe more fully this year; the most abundant life is the life given. Following the way of Jesus, doing good for others, becoming last, to the glory of God is actually the way of the truly blessed life.

At Redemption Church we are stepping into 2018 following the exhortations of Paul on how to make the best use of our time, and we want every one of you involved. Will you join us in praying continually and walking toward outsiders?

Ways for us to practice together:

Prayer 

We want to pray together continually this year. As we move through 2018 please continue to pray with us throughout each week that:

  • Doors would be opened for people to hear the gospel in downtown Augusta. Paul asks the same in Colossians 4:3. We are on Broad Street for a reason; we want to see this place saturated with the gospel. Let’s pray in that direction.
  • We would be a unified body of believers representative of the diversities of our community. We want to see the church reflect the community we live in. We want Redemption to be a place full of people who “once were not a people, but who are now God’s people” (1 Peter 2:10) because we believe that the gospel is proclaimed more fully from such a community. Would you pray with us toward a united body made up of a diverse people?
  • Church planters and missionaries with The Alliance and A29 around the globe would see doors open for the gospel. We want to be a church that plants churches. We believe it is the best and most sustainable way to send missionaries into other neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries. God hears our prayers, and who knows the hearts that would be open to the gospel elsewhere because we simply ask? Specifically, let’s pray for Paul and Lindsay Murphy and our friends at Sojourn Uganda.
  • God would provide for Redemption Church with people and finances to see the gospel advance in and from our community. We believe that the harvest is plentiful, so we are asking that God provide people who are willing to go with the gospel among us, locally, and beyond. Financially, we’re asking God to give us more in order to do more in the way of discipleship, blessing the city, and church planting.  That can look like many things from taking care of roof leaks and hiring staff to funding other ministries and organizations.

 

Walking Toward Outsiders

For Redemption Church this immediately means walking toward the people of downtown with the grace and with the seasoning of the gospel.

There are a lot exciting things happening in downtown Augusta, and we have a tremendous opportunity to steward the gifts God has given us toward blessing our city. Nothing will make Augusta a great city like the advance of the kingdom of God here. The effects of the gospel saturating this district would be exponential and beyond our wildest imaginations.

Here are a few ways we can walk intentionally toward downtown together:

  • Stay Informed. There are several avenues, from social media groups to newsletters,  that will help you keep up with what is going on downtown. Here are a few. Make and effort to pay attention to what is happening down here. People are participating in community all around us, we just have to join them where they are.
  • Participate in #LOVEdowntown. Once a month we will come up with a way to bless downtown together. We may ask you to bring a $10 bill, or come prepared to stay downtown for 30 minutes. It may be buying a $10 gift card and giving it away, or commissioning a local artist to create public art in some form, but each month we will bless downtown together. This is a real tangible, practicing, way to walk toward downtown with the flavor of the good news of Jesus.
  • Serve downtown with your Missional Community. There are a lot of ways to do this. You can pick up trash on Sunday mornings at 9am with Operation Clean City. You can plan to eat downtown together on Sundays and invite a guest to go with you. You can play pickup games of ultimate frisbee in The Common. Just prayerfully build some rhythms in downtown spaces individually and with others, enter graciously, and go with the gospel on your lips.

 

So, what might be the best use of your time in 2018? The way I see it we have 52 weeks full of opportunities to sacrifice and give the gospel away. We have 365 days to spend for the good of others and to the glory of God. And that is life giving for us.

As you’re making plans for 2018, it may seem counterintuitive, but the message of Jesus is clear

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:16

The purpose of life is to do good for others to the glory of God. Let’s prayerfully walk toward outsiders seeking Jesus and His Kingdom together. Let’s wear the “new self” of Jesus together; doing good works for His glory, clothed in compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, love, peace, and thanksgiving (Col. 3:12-17).

 

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Some Practice in Listening

Over the last several weeks we have published a series of blogs pushing us to lean into tension together and asking that we begin by practicing our listening skills.

About a month ago I attended the Just Gospel Conference in Atlanta with a few others from our congregation. To say the least, it would be difficult to unpack all of the insights that we gained during those few days. If I had to bring back one thing to share, I don’t think it would be any single point that was made – although the wisdom imparted was rich and plentiful. Instead, I would say that the most impactful part of the conference was the format; how it led me to listen empathetically and to be postured so that understanding could be received  over mere information. 

With that in mind, I would encourage you to carve out some time to listen to one or more of the following panel discussions from the conference. Practice listening. I’d love to hear back from you personally with thoughts and questions as you strive to listen well and allow the Holy Spirit to inform your heart with the gospel.

There are several sessions available if you’d like to check out more from the conference, but here are a few to get started with:

 

A Different Approach for Addressing Abortions – A discussion with Thabiti Anyabwile and Roland Warren.

 

The Black Church and Prophetic Witness – A panel discussion with Kevin Smith, Eric Washington, Tony Carter, and Mika Edmondson.

 

Women’s Voices on Issues of Justice – A panel discussion with Christina Edmondson, Zakiya Jackson, Jadine Johnson, Trillia Newbell, Dennae Pierre.

 

Saving Our Sons – A panel discussion with Louis Love, Eric Mason, and Bobby Manning.

 

Caring for Orphans – A panel discussion with Thabiti Anyabwile, Vermon Pierre and Dennae Pierre.

 

 

 

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Get Perspective

This is the third installment in a series of blogs meant to push us toward leaning into the Holy Spirit and engaging areas of tension.

Check out the first two posts here:

In my first post on this subject I said that tension was built in to us by being uniquely created by God to live in relationship with each other.  Each of us having our own gifts, talents, and skills – along with our individual backgrounds and stories – means we all have different, but valuable, perspectives and insights.

Look at what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7; 12-13 (ESV):

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good… For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Here’s the point, we together are being made into the body of Christ. Not one of us alone has all it takes to display Christ in ourselves to the world around us. No, Christ is best revealed through us to the world as we relate to one another, value one another, and work with one another for the “common good.” It takes each one of us to make the whole body.

We need each other and not just so that we can make use of the skills that each person brings to the table. Paul exhorts the Philippians to “strive side-by-side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:28 ESV). We need to continually convince one another of the truth that God is for us and not against us, and His ways are better than ours.

Our perspectives are all different. We come from different places. We have carried different burdens – some that we tend to keep trying to carry alone instead of laying them at the cross of Christ. And it is with our varied perspectives that we can help each other see the gospel in new light where we have been blind. We must strive together to bring the gospel to bear in our actual lives and in how we live in this world together.

As we believe that God’s ways can be trusted and that He is for us, we can be obedient to pursue true community with one another. The tension will come. We are bound to rub each other wrong as we continually fight to put away ourselves and learn to love the way that God loves. This is The Hidden Battle that Reggie expanded on in his previous post. As we lean into the tensions of community our own idols will be surfaced, and we need to be able to speak the gospel over ourselves and each other. I truly believe that as we obediently practice community like this we will be led to increasingly submit all of life to the empowering presence and Lordship of Jesus Christ individually and as a church.  

So, perhaps we have talked enough about how good it is to lean into tension, although there is much more to be said for sure. Over the next several weeks we will be using this series as a place to practice listening in on the perspectives of others.

We have to do the work of listening first.

Francis Schaeffer was once asked how he would spend an hour if it was all the time he had to share the gospel with somebody. He responded that he would listen for 55 minutes and then, with the remaining 5 minutes, say something meaningful.

It is important to listen to people whose experiences are different than our own. I want to challenge us to listen intentionally as people share over the next several posts. If what you hear offends you, be careful to test the tension and lean into it by doing the heart work that Reggie challenged us with and by pushing to listen for the heart of the person who is sharing. My prayer is that these posts will be used to bring the gospel to bear in our own lives and allow us to learn where and how the gospel needs to be proclaimed in our community.