Living the Message

Today, we read Galatians 3: 26-29 which reminds us that we are all one in Christ Jesus.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. v. 28

We talked about our dreams for reconciliation after listenning to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. God's vision is even bigger for we are all His children. He has sent His son to the whole world.

Question of the week: What is your hope when it comes to living in a cross culture?

I would hope that we could all look to the cross that unites us and not the things that divide us. We should all look to ways that we can offer God's grace to each other so that we all can believe.

What does justice look like? Today, Pastor Amy read Luke 4:14-30. In the synagogue, Jesus read from the Scripture in Isaiah 61 where it is written, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Jesus then said that this Scripture has been fulfilled today: Isaiah 61 has been put into motion with Jesus' coming. Where we can see this is in examples of restorative justice where wrongdoers are given opportunities to not only be accountable for their wrong but to make amends for what they have done and address the underlying conditions which caused this harm. Pastor Amy gave us the wonderful example of her friend's mom.

A few years ago, I participated in sidewalk counseling outside of an abortion clinic. In many instances where women would come back for their post-abortion check-ups, they would feel great remorse for what they had done. We would be able to pray with them, listen to them, or offer them support groups where they could experience the healing of Jesus Christ. There are so many in our community that work so hard to bring healing to these women who for whatever reason have come to the terrible decision to end the life of their unborn babies.

Today Pastor Henry talked about how we are reconciled to God and what that means to us. He read from 2 Corinthians 5:11- 6:12 where believers are implored to be reconciled to God. In order to be reconciled to God, we need to experience God's love, grace, forgiveness, and mercy in our lives and we need to accept what He has already done for us. When we know what God has done for us, we can regard others NOT from a worldly point of view but in their identity as beloved of God. This leads to living in harmony.

Question of the Week: Where do you see evidence of people or situations that are being regarded from a worldly point of view? How would they be different if they were reconciled to God?

Today, Jason DeVries talked about how the church of so many cultures can be united as one. Though we are many cultures, we are all focused on the cross of Jesus. We all share in the similar experience of having the Holy Spirit live in us. During His last supper with the disciples, Jesus prayed,

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

One in this prayer comes from the Greek hen which refers to essence or nature, relationship or culture. We are one, not because of external features but because we are saved by grace through faith. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God". Eph 2:8 The purpose of this unity is to show the world that God is one. By showing that we are unified despite our diversity, we show the world that God is love.

Today, Pastor Amy read from John 4. In this chapter, there was some reason why Jesus had to go through Samaria even though it was difficult for a Jew to do so. Here He told the Samaritan woman, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Pastor Amy asked where Samaria is today. She talked about the role and history of the Dutch Reformed Church in apartheid in South Africa. For more information, see this article by Eunice McGarrahan. Even in our county, it has been said that the most segregated hour is Sunday morning. Jesus has not created the barriers we see in worship - we have. He calls for true worshippers to worship in spirit and in truth.

Question of the Week: Where have you seen God's redeeming grace heal divisions in the church?

Today Pastor Amy read Ephesians 4:17-5:25 emphasizing 4:22-23, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds." She contined with the theme of Cross Culture and the key verse, Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Our attitudes about race need to go beyond political or social constructs. It needs to be a matter of our heart! Living as children of Light will expose our wrong ideas.

Question of the Week: What attitude of your mind is the Holy Spirit helping you change?

Today Pastor Henry introduced a new Sunday series called The Cross Culture. He began by showing a Youtube video of little black children choosing between playing with a white doll or a black doll. Almost all of the black children chose the white doll because it was "good." They did not choose the black doll because it was "bad." I found that shocking. Then we were shown pictures of men and women from various ethnic backgrounds and in various ethnic clothes and we were to form an opinion of that person based on their looks. That turned out to be revealing as well. How do we perceive others and on what basis?

The word transformed found in Romans 12 comes from the Greek word meaning "metamorphosis". The larva of a cocoon goes through the process of metamorphosis to become a butterfly. Romans 12 reveals that there is a process for believers in which we let the cross transform our minds. When our minds are transformed by the cross, by Jesus' death and resurrection, then our attitudes and actions are changed.

The Message reads, "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

Question: How has culture impacted your views and beliefs about other people?

Living most of my life surrounded by white, middle class people mostly of Dutch Reformed descent has influenced how I perceived people. I know there was racial bias. I was uncomfortable with people from other cultures and race, but as Philip Yancy writes "Grace happens." Through the transforming process of the cross I find myself seeing little difference between people who are after all created in the image of God.

Pastor Henry pointed out how little genetic difference there is between races of humans and how much more genetic difference there is among the Emperor Penguins. Ironic.