His Masterpiece 2

As we completed our series through Ephesians several things have come to light ...

Exegetical series have incredible weight and value for Redemption City Church to become the church that we believe Gods wants us to be. These series keep us honest and keep us preaching the full / whole council of God (Acts 20:20 and 27).

Exegetical series are hard work! They are hard work to study and prepare for, they are hard work to deliver and, sometimes they are hard work to listen to BUT, if we desire to see discipleship, growth in the word and, a robust faith we are going to have to develop the spiritual fortitude necessary for this  vital form of preaching!

Ephesians has given us a great sense of the central role of the church in working out God’s redemptive plan for our city!

Ephesians is the antidote for radical individualism that is so rampant in our day. This attitude can simply be described as “The gospel of self” and is a key reason so many are giving up on local church community and settling for self-directed spirituality.

Ephesians reaffirms, again and again, the central role and value of the church as being God’s “intent”, purpose and plan for our spiritual growth and maturity. 
The answer to all our cultural challenges is still ... THE GOSPEL! Jesus is STILL God’s total provision for man's total need for all time (Dudley Daniel). There is still no app, no life hack, no shortcut, no instant solution, simply because none of these options require faith. Jesus has a path laid out for us that includes individual choices / responsibilities and, community of faith choices / responsibilities that we are to pursue Christlikeness within. And, that within all of this God chooses to partner with us, through his community of faith to fulfill his mission to reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

What an incredible book.
What an incredible gift Jesus is to us.
What a joy to be part of an authentic, biblical, local church.
What a great future we have as we look to establish more and more of His plan and pattern for us as a church.

The Power of Thanksgiving

I have always loved the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 (Luke 9:10-17) I believe it is recorded in all but one of The Gospels ... but in each account, these similar phrases occur ... Jesus “looked up” AND “gave thanks”.

The key is in the first phrase for if we can look up to see the glory and the majesty of our great God ... if we can look up and see the indescribable beauty of Jesus ... If we can look up acknowledging the abiding presence, love and, guidance of the Holy Spirit ... we will simply not be anything but thankful. There is something in looking up that communicates us taking our eyes off the immediate, the circumstantial and the temporary . If we can look up and grasp something of the width, depth and, breadth of The Gospel ... if we can understand what it cost God to ransom us ... and what that communicates about the value that He places on us ... if we could grasp something of the power of the gospel for our friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, neighborhoods, and nations ... our only response, surely, would be a heart full of gratitude! when we can find ways to express that gratitude in word AND deed we will see something of the multiplying effect of the grace of God over our live. When we can find ways to live out these truths in every area of our lives we will  live in increasing measures of His glory and grace. 

Happy Thanksgiving y’all  

His Masterpiece 1

Our Current preaching series “His Masterpiece”  a six-week series through the book of Ephesians has stirred me afresh for the beauty of the local church. 

Commentators have called Ephesians; 

The crown of Pauls writing 

The divinest composition of man 

The queen of the epistles 

What is fascinating in this letter to the church in Ephesus, that has obviously gripped many before us is the idea that some have, somehow, ended up High Theology / Low Church. IE a high view of God but a low view of the church. I don't believe we are being asked to swap those values … move from High theology / High church to Low Theology / High Church … But believe as John Stott says in his commentary on Ephesians that “a reading of Ephesians will result in High Theology AND High Church. 

What an important message then but how much more important in our day of what sociologists have defined as radical individualism and what some have called the McChurch Mentality. To quote John Stott again “ For by His death Christ demolished the Jew - Gentile and God - Man barriers and is now creating in relationship to himself a single, new multicultural community which is both the family he loves and the temple that He lives in” 

My desire for us that call Redemption City Church home is that we would elevate biblical truth over cultural relevance … that we would not pander to “radical individualism” or buy into the McChurch mentality that is so prevalent in our day but that we would be gripped by the biblical conviction of a high view of God AND a high view of the church! 

To be continued …