Tag: Paul

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Unfinished: Journey of Faith – Romans 5:1-11

Sometimes people will go through a graduation ceremony even though they still have classes. Other times, people have sold their houses but haven’t yet jumped through all the hoops to make it final and are still living there. Or even as simple as food in the oven but not yet being eaten. We see this in scripture as well, with Abraham & Sarah promised a son but still barren, or the Israelites freed from Egypt but not yet in the Promised Land.

And that’s the situation we find ourselves in. Forgiven, justified, redeemed – but not yet perfected. That’s what Paul addresses here in the letter to the church in Rome. He has spent the first part of the letter describing the need for and nature of this justification and the grace extended to us. Here, he describes this state as something we enter into, not merely a moment, but a new state of being. But even within that state of being, it is not yet complete. We stand in grace, but not like we will one day. We are saved from slavery but are not yet in the Promised Land.

This chapter is Paul pivoting to describing the implications of this situation in our current state. Naturally, he addresses suffering. The word Paul uses here is not just about persecution, but all forms of suffering, all distress brought about by outward circumstances. There is plenty of suffering to go around, and it can make that grace and redemption seem fleeting.

But Paul urges us to rejoice in our suffering, to exalt and even boast. This is the same word used when he warns us not to boast in our own strength & works, and the same word used to describe how to respond to the “hope of the glory of God.”

And in fact it is that hope Paul points us to through our suffering, by way of the character built by endurance, itself built by the suffering that we endure.

But we still find ways to block ourselves off from this suffering. We can deny it, ignore it, rationalize it away. But to rejoice in suffering we have to acknowledge it, to sit in it and experience it. This is not something we are excited to do, but this is the offer of transformation we can only attain by going through this sequence Paul describes.

Elsewhere, Paul tells us we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ, and this transformation begins as we endure and rejoice in suffering, acknowledging and engaging in our experiences, even when they are unpleasant. The hope produced in this process is ah extravagant effusion, an inexhaustible supply, like a cloud burst on parched countryside.

This all means that our already-not-yet period is of supreme value, a purposeful part of God’s plan to bring us to fullness and oneness in Him.

–Sermon Notes, Karen Howe, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, March 12, 2023

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Be Patient with One Another – Ephesians 4:2-6

In this passage we see how the community of believers can demonstrate the power of God through our unity. Unity enables the Body to care for the vulnerable and spread the gospel.

But unity is hard. Living with humility, gentleness and patience is hard. Why is it so hard, given that the same Spirit lives in each one of us?

Looking at the story of Adam and Eve, they’re enjoying the garden, everything was provided. God created everything around for them to enjoy, so what happened? They were living in humility, they were gentle with one another – but sin entered in. Just as it does for us.

Human nature is self-protection. Our natural reaction to being hurt is to react with outrage and to still retribution. Humility, gentleness and patience are not our natural state, but rather our supernatural state, the the fruit of the spirit within us. Holy and early love yourself kindness humility eness very with each other if any of you as a greater than second forget it at the door to my whole life

We can try on our own to be these things all we want, but ultimately it is out of our reach without the work of God within us.

When we love someone, we naturally expect they will love us back. But Jesus teaches and enables a love that transcends that very natural expectation and desire. This is not something we can accomplish with our brain and through our own cleverness and willpower. It’s one thing to know the truth and what Jesus wants for you, and another to follow Him even when you don’t know where He is leading you.

There are so many difficulties we are going to face together. You have to remember who is with you – you need to know who’s in your life. Obviously that means God, but also the community the people who love you and who care about you as you move ahead in God’s calling.

— Sermon Notes, Magdiel Tzec, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, October 23, 2022

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Wait for One Another – 1 Corinthians 11:33

The Corinthian church would have celebrated the Lord’s Supper as a true, full meal, likely in the evening at the house of a wealthy congregant. The problem was that they were treating the meal like just a meal, and going ahead and eating on their own, to the extent that Paul said “your meetings do more harm than good.”

In our western culture in particular, we can easily fall into this kind of behavior because we are a very individualistic culture. This can also cause trouble when we interpret scripture, because the time when the scripture was written was a much more collective age.

The root problem, though, was that by treating the Lord’s Supper as just another meal, they were missing the remembrance and memorial of what Christ did. If they had kept that event and truth front and center, they would not fall into the hoarding and self-centered behavior that Paul calls out.

As People of the Banquet Table, we are called to imitate Christ’s self-sacrifice, to wait and to give and to bring others in. Our role in this life is to exchange all the things that seem to matter, even the seemingly good and religious things, for the opportunity to feast and share at the table of God.

We cannot live in a scarcity mindset when we serve the one who fed the five thousand. We do not need to grasp so tightly or fear that there is not enough. God has more than enough to satisfy all our needs and even our deepest desires.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, September 18, 2022

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Women and Paul – 1 Timothy 2:11-15

Being a pastor is not about having an overarching vision or being a great speaker or even about being a good leader. It is about enabling the multiplicity of gifts within the church to come together and play out as different people all serve God in various ways. It is about loving and laying your life down for those you have been entrusted with.

But many young men in seminary do come at it from a different direction, one of ambition and vision.

This passage, and a few others from Paul, are used to restrict the roles of women in the church. And at a first reading, it certainly looks like that’s what he’s saying. But a second look, especially if looked at through the lens of Jesus’ life and teachings, reveals something different. We can’t just pick and choose what we like from Paul, or treat him just as one stream of Christian thought. We treat all scripture as authoritative, and must view it holistically.

That means taking the life and teachings of Jesus as the ultimate guide, with Paul as the strategist, putting those teachings and truths into practice within particular cultural, social and political contexts.

In this case, he is writing to Timothy, the bishop of the church in Ephesus, where there are clearly specific issues around men (plural) being angry and violent, and women (plural) being vain and spending unnecessary money and time on appearance.

But then in verses 11 and 12, it shifts to singular, implying that he is talking about a very specific situation between a husband and wife. The verb here is an explicitly negative term, also used for murder – it is never ok for one person to dominate another, and in this case it is about women (or a woman) towards men (or a man).

But if you look at the context of Paul more broadly, his vision is of all people using the gifts they have been given to serve. Women versus men never comes into those commands, women are never barred from any of those lists of gifts, including apostleship! (See also, Junia.)

The gospel is subversive, by its nature opposed to the powerful and the popular. In the Roman Empire, the hierarchical power structure was an unbroken line between Caesar to fathers to children. The empire was the household, or oikos, of Caesar – but Paul uses that same term here in Timothy to describe the new world Jesus is building, the oikos of peace, the oikos of Christ.

As Christians, we are to go against the grain. Supporting the powerful over the powerless, supporting men over women – there is nothing subversive or radical about supporting that. That is the natural, worldly order of things. But Christ’s household is different. Christ’s household includes the Samaritan woman at the well, who went into her town and preached, proclaimed the truth of Jesus. Jesus did not tell her to stop teaching and wait for Peter, but chastised the disciples for trying to restrict her.

Let us not put human restrictions on what God has set free.

– Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, August 21, 2022

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Glory in the Church

There is a saying: “two men looked out of prison bars; one saw the mud, the other the stars.” The scriptures are very honest about the mud and muck of life, but it also calls us to look beyond that. This passage in Ephesians is a clear call to raise our gaze and look to the hope of God.

The church in Ephesus was a small group surrounded by a wealthy civilization with well-articulated philosophies and religions. And yet this shall group went on to conquer the Roman empire – much as was promised in this passage. 

The book of Ephesians was a circular letter to Asia Minor that may not have even been meant for that church in particular, though it was certainly sent there. In the book he addresses the division between Jew and Gentile, and how that division was bridged by Christ, and how corporately we all together are the Temple of God, with Christ as the cornerstone.

The Ephesians certainly understood the concept of a temple, being the home of one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis, where Paul got himself into some trouble with some silversmiths.

In contrast, though, the Christian temple is not a breathtaking stone building, but rather a unity of Jew and gentile, man and woman, rich and poor, slave and free, weak and strong.

Because of this, Paul calls on us not to lose heart. We have the very power of God within acs behind us, according to the riches of the glory of the Father, strengthened by the power by the Spirit so that Christ may live in our hearts. The entire Trinity is at work here.

This is the only passage in the Bible that directly describes Jesus living in our hearts, but the concept is driven throughout – in Galatians, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ in me.”

The Greek word for “dwell” here means to stay in the place that is your home – Christ is not a guest at your heart’s hotel, but rather it is to be His home. All the rooms and locked closets are his, all the TVs and computers and all. Christ’s lordship touches all aspects of life, which is all to be rooted and founded in love. 

That love is what brought their church together. It was not the personality of the pastor or the technology or the quality of the band. Rather, we come together as a church because salvation is a group project. We are saved individually, but we only learn to love when we are in relationship with one another. We need each other, and we need each other most acutely where we want it the least.

Many years later, Jesus himself wrote a letter to the Ephesians. Much of it was encouraging, but Christ called them out for having abandoned the love that first brought them together.

The purpose of all of this, per verse 19, is that we are filled with the fullness of God. The question then becomes, how big is your God? Many of us struggle with an image of God that is too small, and many then reject His because He didn’t behave like the small version of God we have in our minds.

Paul’s vision of God here, is able to do far more than we can ask, more than we can think or even imagine – again, according to the power within us. And to Him belongs the glory in the church.

The glory in the church looks like perseverance, especially for us as we work through transition.

What can we take from this prayer? It can guide our own prayers. We should pray for a Christ-centered life for ourselves dvd others. We should pray for a love-filled church, and pray for a God-sized faith. And as Paul has just reminded us, that size is pretty big.

– Sermon Notes, Mahlon Friesen, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, February 17, 2019

Ephesians 2:14-21

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Do Not Grow Weary of Doing Good – Galatians 6:7-10

This passage brings to mind Jonathan Edwards, considered the greatest theological mind America had ever produced. He famously set down 70 resolutions for himself that

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is an emotional defense of justification by faith alone and the work of the Holy Spirit. In this section, his primary concern is that we do not give up. He gives two guarantees to strengthen our resolve. First, that we will reap what sow, and second, we will reap in due season. If we plant wheat, we get barley. If we eat unhealthily, we reap unhealthy results. In parenting, if we sow a lack of discipline, we will reap undisciplined children. In relationships, if we sow kindness and time, we will reap friendship. Paul is applying this principle to our moral behavior overall.

In chapter 5, he outlines more directly what we will reap if we sow to the flesh & self: dissention, rivalries, etc. On the other hand, reaping to the spirit means we reap the fruit of the spirit: love, kindness, patience, etc.

The second promise is that we will reap in due season. This is a promise for those who are sowing to the spirit – promising us that the spirit of God will produce fruit in our lives. This fruit of the spirit then itself produces good works. 

Then Paul goes on to call on us not to grow weary of doing good. But how can we tell if we are growing weary? Six possible signs: first, if you are high in criticism but low in participation. Criticism is not itself bad, but without participation in the life of the Body, it is a sign that you have grown weary of doing good. 

If you are embittered by others’ failures, and letting other people’s behavior make you bitter or turn you away from service in the body, that is another time. It is a given that we are going to hurt each other – this is why the New Testament is full of calls to forgive each other.

If you resent those who serve less than you, that is another sign. If you evaluate church in terms of “Me”, behaving like a consumer seeking the “most for your money” then you certainly have grown weary.

If you neglect giving, whether time or money, that can be another sign.

Last, if you have abandoned your neighbors and the world around you because Jesus and truth are unpopular, then that is definite sign that you are growing weary of doing good.

So what can we do about it? In verse 10, we are given guidance: as we are given opportunities, we are to do good – and it starts here within the church.

There is a real danger that we grow weary but do not honestly grapple with it or get help.

Our righteousness and sanctification all come from our union with Christ and the grace of God, but we are still called to persevere and not to grow weary.

– Sermon Notes, Sean Harrelson, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, February 3, 2019

Galatians 6:7-10

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The Tunnel of Anxiety and the Light of Grace – Philippians 4:4-7

 

Anxiety is an emphasis on the parts over the whole. It is a distortion of our perspective of life, seeing the individual problems in our lives rather than the fullness of life that Christ offers. It is like a tunnel through a mountain – narrow, dark and entirely missing the grandeur of the larger picture.

So how do we get out of this Tunnel of Anxiety? Paul offers several instructions.

First, be conscious of and rejoice in God’s grace. “Rejoice in the Lord always.” It is an emphatic command, not just a suggestion.

Second, we must be gracious with God’s grace. “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” We must follow Jesus in adhering to the spirit of the law and not keeping so tightly to the letter that we fail to show love and gentleness to the world around me. We have been shown grace and must show it in turn to the world.

Third, we must recognize the closeness of God’s grace. “The Lord is near.” The Psalms tell us that God is close to the brokenhearted, and James writes that if we draw near to God, he draws near to us. And not just near physically, but near in time. This life is brief and our time to be with Christ in eternity is closer than we realize.

Fourth, we must request God’s grace, seeking it earnestly, “by prayer and petition,” making bold requests of God. God is willing to take those complex individual parts of our lives and help us see how it fits into His bigger picture. God has a far broader perspective than even just our mountain, let alone our tunnel.

Fifth, we are to be grateful for God’s grace. Our requests are to be “with thanksgiving,” even in the midst of anxiety, troubles and persecution.

The result of all of this is peace. Peace is the restoration of wholeness to all these complex individual parts. This is itself a small picture of the gospel: a perfect creation, broken, but redeemed and restored to wholeness by the work of Christ.

Anxiety calls is to put a higher priority on the individual parts of life, but God’s grace reminds us that God has higher purposes and plans no matter how those individual problems sort themselves out. And this wholeness is not just an individual thing, but a wholeness that binds is together with the body of Christ.

The true cure for anxiety is not a lessening of emotional pain but a restoration of the whole picture of God’s grace. In the “aha” moment between anxiety and peace, we must remember that it did not come from within, but rather is a gift of God.

Peace is a garrison within our hearts that protects, strengthens and heals us. And as Paul writes, this all comes from the Prince of Peace Himself. “Peace I give to you; my peace I leave with you.”

When anxiety comes, we must be conscious of God’s grace, gracious with that grace to ourselves and others, be aware of the nearness of that grace, seek His grace in prayer, and be grateful for that grace. Through all of this, God offers a peace that transcends all our limited understanding.

– Sermon Notes, Jeff Krabach, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, October 14, 2018

Philippians 4:4-7

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Momentum vs. Stagnation – Philippians 3:12-16

Stagnation and momentum both can lead to growth, but very different kinds. Stagnant water will grow bacteria, algae and other unpleasant things, while running water gives us life.

Here, Paul writes about the momentum he seeks in his own life, and that he calls the Philippians to.

He cites the “momentum of maturity.” Paul is not perfect, but recognizes his own deficiencies and opportunities for growth. True perfection lies in grasping at the life that Christ lived.

Here at Seed we try to live this out by accepting people where they are, but not being content that they stay that way. This is true no matter whether someone is an unrepentant sinner whose life is in a self-made shambles, or an upstanding, well-respected person of faith and love. None of us have yet reached the goals set for us by Christ.

Christ himself takes hold of us to move us forward in the plans He has for us to do His work, in addition to living out the example for us.

Paul was motivated by two things, then. First, his own depravity – just how far he has to go – and second, how much Christ loves him and what He wants for him. As Tim Keller has said, we are worse than we think we are, but more loved than we can possibly imagine.

So Paul has done a self assessment, has taken the internet quiz and knows there is work to be done. Where we don’t match up with Christ, we must change in order to change that. But rather than reflecting on the past, Paul looks to the future. We should learn from our past but not dwell on it. We cannot let either past pain or past glories rob us of our momentum. We can’t let memories of the “good old days” cause us to miss out on what God has for us in the present.

And what is that? Paul’s language is aggressive and forward-moving: “press on,” “take hold”, “strain towards”. We are not to live in apathy or to “let go and let God.” Rather, even though we know the race is won for us, we must keep running.

But we get the power to keep running from Jesus as well. We can have confidence that God works in our lives, moving us closer to the perfection He desires for us. God loves us, as a church and as individuals, more than we ourselves do.

Mature people, Paul writes, think this way, seeking always to die to self and live in Christ. While the goal itself is presently unattainable, the mature understand this and rely on the power of Christ to move us forward.

This maturity is an attitude of perseverance and never giving up, as we seek to live up to what Christ has attained for us.

– Sermon Notes, Jeff Krabach, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 30, 2018

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Paul’s Anxiety and Ours – Philippians 2:25-30

Despite Paul’s own troubles, he is concerned for the Philippian church and feels somewhat helpless to help them deal with their internal and external troubles. He wanted to send Timothy, his most trusted disciple, to help them, but was not immediately able to do this for whatever reason.

His second choice, then, was Epaphroditus, who I will call E. E was originally from Philippi and was most likely a Greek convert, since the name itself is a purely Greek name. E had been sent to bring monetary relief to Paul and help out generally, but now was homesick for Philippi.

Paul uses three words to describe E. Brother means a fellow believer. Coworker, meaning he had been assisting Paul in his ministry. Soldier, fighting side-by-side with Paul to share the gospel. He was likely the person who actually carried the letter to the Philippians originally.

Paul had been dealing with a lot, between imprisonment and persecution, so the illness of E would have been an additional trial. His recovery was a significant blessing to Paul, but because of what happened, E went home earlier than planned.

Paul reassures them not to freak out about E’s early return, that the reasons are solid and that they do not reflect poorly on either E or on the Philippian church. He instructs them to honor E (and all people like him) and welcome him with joy.

So what can we in the 21st century learn from this snippet of life in the 1st?

The first thing we can learn revolves around anxiety. There is an idea that, if we just trust God enough, we won’t have anxiety or be worried. Here we see the Apostle Paul himself, though, actively worried for the spiritual health of the Philippian church.

As we also struggle with anxiety, Jesus calls us to to peace we can find in him. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses questions of anxiety – pointing to the birds of the air and lilies of the field, and the peace we can have if we trust in God. (Note that for many people, anxiety is also a biological issue that may require biological intervention.)

Anxiety is also different than momentary fear, which is a built-in survival tool that is designed to keep us alive. But anxiety as a lifestyle is destructive, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Was Paul living in anxiety like this, as he worried about the Philippian church? It would be understandable. Here at Seed there is some anxiety as we go through a season of transition and seek a new teaching pastor. Change is hard and can often cause anxiety.

But no matter how cliché it sounds, in these times, we need to trust Jesus. The first step of this is to know Jesus in the first place. Jesus’ life, sacrifice and resurrection offers us peace with God. This is the most important thing you can do, and the first step towards the eternal peace God offers.

What comes next?

  1. Prayer, meditation and scripture.
  2. Be realistic about what you can and cannot change.
  3. Take a break from social media (and possibly cable news) .
  4. Try to gain perspective and consider the bigger picture that God sees, as well as the way at have been blessed.
  5. Don’t feel anxious about being anxious – give yourself grace, and give others grace. God already has.

– Sermon Notes, Dave Lester, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 16, 2018

Philippians 2:25-30

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The Godfather – Philippians 2:19-24

There is a vulnerability to Paul in this letter. You can very much feel the weight of all that came before, the successes and failures, the deaths and the new life, the frustrations and the joys. Paul here, writing from a prison cell, is simply concerned with for the Philippians and wanting them to be in the Lord, or “on mission.”

Recall that in the section just previous, Paul cited the Philippians as a key marker of his service to God, something that makes all his toil and suffering worthwhile. So when he sends Timothy to the Philippians as a spiritual godparent, there is a lot that comes behind that.

In Paul’s letters to Timothy, he spends much time encouraging boldness. Timothy was young, which means that in the Greek culture he lacked the authority that came with age. He had been raised and brought to faith by his grandmother Eunice and mother Lois.

Paul assures the Philippians that Timothy has “no equal in soul” in terms of his concern for the Philippians. This is what makes Paul confident that Timothy is the right person to serve as godfather to his spiritual children. In Corinthian he calls him out in his way as well, noting that the Corinthians had “many teachers but few fathers,” and that Timothy can take on that role of godparent.

The role of a godparent in Christ is to continually be intentionally pointing others to Christ. As we grow in maturity, we are all called to this role of godparent in some way. How do we do this.

First and most importantly, you must know Christ. It is not about you or what you have accomplished or are capable of, but about the righteousness imputed by Christ’s death and resurrection. You must have humility and be aware of your own sin, but also leaven that with an acknowledgement and embracing of our authority in Christ.

You must continually develop yourself in Christ through the process of sanctification. This is the continual life process of growing and sharpening and movement towards the person of Christ. To be a good godparent means that you are moving forward in the lord rather than sliding backwards or staying stagnant. Peter describes sanctification in 2 Peter 1:5-7, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”

Third, you need to know and own the assignment as a godparent. In Matthew 28, Jesus outlines what that assignment is: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” We are called to be godparents, not spiritual baby daddies, discipling, not just telling and moving on.

How do you godparent? First, pray and seek guidance. Second, take an inventory of who you are in a position to godparent and who is godparenting you? Third, assess their needs and engage and build a relationship. Fourth, assess the level of effort needed, and then determine how to move forward. Maybe this means taking the small things first, maybe the big ones. Finally, pray over the entire thing again and invite Jesus into the mission.

– Sermon Notes, John Lehigh, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 9, 2018

Philippians 2:19-24

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