Southview Connect

The Birthday of the Reformation

When I went to seminary, I had the privilege of meeting a young lady by the name of Amy Nobles.  Amy is now a worship leader and has released a couple of CDs - she tours the world doing concerts, retreats, and other ministry opportunties.  In a recent article, she writes:

"As a Christian who loves Christian History, this day, October 31, holds great meaning for me.  I didn't realize what meaning it held until I took my first Christian history course at seminary.  As I listened to my professor unfold the marvelous story of Martin Luther, I was captivated.  Why hadn't I heard this before?  Why had I always thought that October 31 was reserved for ghouls and goblins?  This day is more than that; it's the birthday of the Protestant Reformation. 

You may say, 'so what?'  Well, this day marks the day that Martin Luther posted 95 Theses to a door in Wittenberg, Germany, challenging the doctrines of the Catholic Church and the
Holy Roman Empire in 1517 and forever changing the world's view of the church and the Cross of Christ.  Here is how Martin Luther's statements to the Pope and the King might affect you today...

1.  Do you pray daily, directly to the Father without the need of a priest?

2.  Do you believe that by believing in Jesus Christ death and resurrection that one is saved?  Do you believe it is by faith alone that you are justified before a Holy God?

3.  Do you believe that it is not by baptism into the church that you are saved, but by faith in Jesus alone?

4.  Do you believe that no work of the church can save you?  Only the work of the cross?

If you do believe these things, then the statements Luther made in his 95 Theses have directly affected your life. 

I just visited the land where all this took place.  And I can say that unfortunately, the gospel is not being preached there like it was in the days of Luther.  The churches are empty and have become places tourists want to visit. In fact, when I entered a Lutheran church in Germany there was a marvelous grand piano in the front.  I asked if I could play it and sing praises to the Lord. The overseer of the church said to me, "No, that would disturb the tourists."  My heart sank.  The church was built that people might come and praise the Lord together.  And now, the church finds it more important not to disturb the tourists.

Let us have the courage of our friend Martin Luther who said "Here I stand, I can do no other.  God help me. Amen."  And keep preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth!"

Well said Amy.  Let's remember what today is all about - let's remember the mission we've been given - and let's not forget those who have gone before us and blazed the trails that we now walk.

Peacemakers

This last weekend, we kicked off a new series called “Peacemakers.”  Scripture has a great deal to say about real peace, not the fake kind that the world offers, but real, lasting peace.  I mentioned how there is real peace, and there is what I called “Robitussin peace” - it seems to work on the outside, but in doesn’t address the problem inside. It just addresses the symptoms, not the real cause. It’s “peace” that is apart from what God teaches in his word, and it brings to mind Jeremiah 6:14 “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious, peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace.”

There are three dimensions to the peace that God offers us through Christ:

1)       Peace with God

2)       Peace with others

3)       Peace within ourselves

You cannot pursue one apart from the others - they are intricately connected.

Jesus tied his reputation to the unity / the peace that He called for among those who followed Him and would follow Him (John 17:20-23).  He prayed in the Garden that we would be one, as He and the Father are one.  He was asking for a restoration of the community that was lost at the Fall in Genesis 3 - he was asking for a return to what God had intended - real community, both with God and with each other.

“Jesus did not pray that his followers would always be happy, that they would never suffer, or that their rights would always be defended.  Jesus prayed that his followers would get along with one another.  This was so important to him that he tied his reputation and the credibility of his message to how well his followers would display unity and oneness.”   --Ken Sande, The Peacemaker

How important is it to be a peacemaker?  How important are our relationships with each other?  Very.  For Jesus to tie His reputation and the reputation of His message to our oneness, that’s pretty significant.

“What about the person who has deeply wronged you?  Gossiped about you?  Betrayed your trust?  Failed to keep a commitment that they made?  Damaged your property or reputation?  What price will you pay to encourage that person’s repentance and restore peace in your relationship?  Will you let go of bitterness?  Will you give up self-pity?  Will you divest yourself of the desire to make that person suffer for the wrong that he or she has done to you?”    -- Ken Sande

Remember this:  Jesus paid a far greater price to secure your forgiveness from God and my forgiveness from God.  We didn’t deserve it - we didn’t even want it.  But He paid the price so that it could be offered to each of us.  Can we truly stand and say that we refuse to offer forgiveness and restoration to another person when God has forgiven us so much?

The takeaway this week was a simple one:  If we want peace inside ourselves, we must pursue peace with God and peace with others.  For a Christ follower, this is not optional - this is what Jesus commanded.  What sense does it make for a Christ follower to not forgive when we have been forgiven so much? It’s like community - how can you follow Christ and not be a part of His bride, the Church?  We must seek to avoid those inconsistencies in our lives and remember that what God has asked, this is what we do.  We do it out of gratitude and out of love for God - not to repay Him or earn what He has given - we can never do that.  We obey His Word out of love for Him.

If you haven't read the book The Peacemaker, by Ken Sande, I highly recommend it to you.  It's well worth your time if you're serious about being a disciple of Jesus.  It's packed with Scripture, as it is a Scripture based study on what it means to be a Peacemaker, so you'll want to read it with your Bible open next to you. 

The Challenge of a Peacemaker...

This past week we began a new series on Peacemakers... and what that actually means in the Church!

Community

This past Sunday we talked about a burning bush, a communal God and why Adam actually needed a helper! The big picture behind it all can be summed up in one word, community. I believe community is one of the most undervalued things around. It is taken for granted, left by the wayside, abused, cheated and most often, forgotten. 

Starting first with Adam and Eve and continuing through to Moses' encounter with the burning bush, we see the want of an almighty God to connect, not just with one person, but with all His people. And as we read through the Bible we constantly see this incredible truth, that an all powerful, all mighty God, wants to be, more than anything else, with His people.

It culminates when in John 1:14 the Word becomes flesh, and this all powerful and almighty God comes down to earth. One of the things that we tend to forget about what Jesus left behind is most probably one of the most important aspects in understadnig the character of God... community. Jesus created a community that changed the world! We call it Church. But it is not a building. A building is but a comfortable place that keeps the rain off our heads. The church is the gathering of God's people, His community that comes together. A community that can only happen when God brings together people through forgiveness and mercy and compassion and tenderness.

Even though we can experience God independently and personally, we cannot experience God in His fullness outside of community. How important is community is honestly based on how important you believe your relationship with God is. The stronger your involvement in His community, the stronger your relationship will develop with Him! So I want to encourage you, get involved in church community, but don't just base your community involvement on a couple of hours on Sunday. It has to be a lifestyle... above all else.

Leadership in the home and in the church

In teaching on leadership over the last two weeks, I've run across some interesting things.  I especially like the paragraph below, taken from Dr. Gilbert Bilezekian's discussion regarding the scene in Matthew 20:20-28, where James and John ask to sit on Jesus' right and left in positions of authority:

"Jesus teaches that "it shall not be so among you" - the one man rule that characterizes the governance of pagan organizations and communities is absolutely forbidden among Christians... To avoid anarchy, authority is to be exercised in the home and in the church, but only on the basis of participatory consensual community rule.  Christ refuses to allow any one person to assume in church or family the authority that belongs to Him... Both the congregation gathered together and the husband and wife bowed together receive the mind of Christ. His authority may be usurped by self-styled autocratic leaders only in violation of His will."

The ground is level at the foot of the cross.  We all come to God, bowing under His authority, serving and living together in community.  Some are given spiritual gifts of leadership and teaching, but those are never to be abused by lording them over other people.  Every gift is to be used to serve the body.  There should never be the kind of lording over and abusing of authority that we see so often in the world - not in the church and not in the home.  As the apostle Paul put it so well, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In the church, in the home - we are all under the leadership and lordship of Christ.  May we always serve as servant leaders whenever we are put in positions of trust and authority, remembering that we are not to be about building our own kingdoms, but that we are to serve the One who died for us, building His Kingdom together.

Elementary Ministry 2007

Last night was our annual Children's Choice Awards. We had a blast!!! Here's a summary of what our Elementary Ministry has been doing this past year. Awesome job Steve Kane and the gang!