Brand New - Week #2
The arrival of Jesus signaled the end to the Temple Model and the beginning of something entirely brand new. Gentiles flocked to this new message & approach to God. Many Jews did as well, but they had some mixed feeling about abandoning the old way. It was their history, their heritage, and their customs. So they attempted to do the natural thing - assimilate Jesus into the old Temple Model.
However, Paul comes along and makes the case that they can't blend & mix the old way with the new Jesus way. As Paul planted churches, he encountered a group of Jewish Christians, Judaizers, who would come behind him teaching these churches an assimilation approach. While many might think it's not a big deal to blend & assimilate Jesus with the Jewish Temple system, Paul would argue that it is a big deal.
In Galatians 5, Paul argued specifically against the need or importance of circumcision as it relates to following Jesus. These Judaizers instructed the Galatian Christians that they needed to become Jewish first, which would include being circumcised. Paul emphatically argued that circumcision is of no value anymore, while it is also foolish to think it is beneficial to obey just some of the Old Covenant.
Then in Galatians 5:6, Paul reminds all of us that...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. It is not just about vertically asking God if you are good. It is about horizontally making sure you are good with other people.
Paul knew that if we blend or mix in even a small bit of the old way eventually...
- Leaders would become self-righteous.
- Followers would become hypocrites.
- Texts would be manipulated.
- People would be mistreated.
Paul knew that if we blend or mix in any part of the old way, we will eventually miss the main thing...love.
What does love require of you?
Brand New - Week #1
Brand new anything can be good, even great, but sometimes it can still be hard to completely leave the old behind. While this applies to homes, schools, pets & clothes, it also applies to religion, particularly Christianity.
While there has been quite a bit of progress & change in the church, we are still holding onto things that are holding us back. Unfortunately for many people, most of the things that they resist about the church are things the Church should resist. If we look at the basics of Jesus intended the church to be, there should be nothing that would make people want to resist the Church.
For the first 300 years of the Church, the primary thing that people resisted about the church was their loyalty to Jesus. They were great neighbors. They were great workers. They cared for the marginalized in society. They weren't judgmental or exclusive. The Church should be irresistible except for the fact we believe Jesus is our ultimate authority. So how did we become so resistible?
The resistible factor did not come from new things being added, but rather old things that got added back in. The Church has allowed another model to blend with the Jesus Model. This Temple Model represents many ancient & modern religions and includes:
- Sacred places - a piece of real estate that is more valuable than the others.
- Sacred texts - oracles, inscriptions or scriptures interpreted by...
- Sacred men - it is almost always men who tell the followers how to live & sometimes threaten "god's" judgment.
- Sincere followers - maybe superstitious as well but it is important what the follower does
However, the arrival of Jesus signaled the end of the temple model and the beginning of something entirely new. The new Jesus Model includes:
- Jesus predicted a new movement - When Jesus started the "church", he did not predict a location, but rather a movement or gathering of people.
- Jesus instituted a new covenant - A new arrangement between God & ALL people.
- Jesus gave new meaning to the sacred text - Jesus claimed the Law & all of Old Testament pointed to Him.
- Jesus instituted a new movement defining ethic - Rather than 600+ laws, Jesus summarized it to "Love"!
How are you relating to God? More like the Temple Model or more like the Jesus model?
Brand New series
Jesus' arrival signaled an end to one way of relating to God and began something entirely new. Unfortunately, many of the negative things we associate with the church brand were never intended for the new way. Join us January 15, as we begin to explore Jesus' brand new way to relate to God.
Life is better connected.
All of us drift. If we aren't careful, we naturally drift away from almost everything that is good for us. Then on top of that, as Christians we believe that this drifting principle also intersects our relationship with God, which takes intentionality, time, discipline, and some delayed gratification. In every area of life that is important, the current of life rarely takes us in the right direction.
One of the coolest things about Christianity is that while we may be called to swim upstream, we have not been called to swim alone. We have been called to swim together. It is so much easier when you are in community with, in friendship with, in a "circle" with people who share your values & the same destination in life.
However, many of us are still tempted to attempt to swim alone. This isn't a new thing however. Back in the 1st century, the early church leaders wrote about the need for community, particularly about not swimming upstream alone.
In Hebrews 3:12-14, the writer talks about the drift that happens within - in our hearts. In Hebrews 3:12, the writer gives the solution to the drift we all experience at some point. It comes through the plural nouns in the verse. This verse is not an individual/personal command; it is a group imperative. Not only should you keep track of your own heart, but also the hearts of those around you. Unfortunately these types of relationships won't fully develop just on Sunday mornings.
Because a row doesn't know what is happening on the inside - mostly because we are so good at walking into church looking good even we might not be. The only way anybody is going to know about your sinful, unbelieving, drifting heart is if you are in a circle/group with them where they have access to you.
Following this message, we encouraged everyone to consider connecting to a group. If you are interested or would like more information, go to the link above or to nlnc.org/groups.
New Fruit in 2017
As we 2017 is upon us, there is a sense of a fresh start even a new start. However, the list of resolutions that can seem like a helpful thing can easily become burdensome & overwhelming.
- What if instead of trying to accomplish a long list of things, we focused on just 1 thing?
- What if at the end of 2017 we could look back knowing that we added 1 new positive character trait that we didn't have previously?
In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul actually gives us the long list of resolutions - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. What if instead of trying to add all of them to our lives, we just tried to work on 1 in 2017?
Here are 3 ways, we would love to help you do that!
This app can give you a reading plan to better understand the fruit you are working on, read about Jesus' comments on the subject, and how to produce this fruit in your life. Go to the app, select "Plans", and search for your fruit reading plan.
We created some phone & desktop wallpapers to remind us each time we open our phones or laptops of the one new fruit God is growing in us in 2017.
We all need someone to help encourage us & keep us accountable. Someone to ask us the tough questions and cheer for us when we are struggling. We believe Life Groups are a great place for this to happen! Click the button above for more info or to sign-up. New groups are forming starting January 15.