“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. - 1 Peter 5:1-4

“Power, no more today than in the first century, is addictive. It leads to unworthy motives and pollutes decisions that are to be made under the guidance of the Spirit. Instead of seeking God’s agenda, power-hungry [leaders] pursue their own.” - Scot McKnight

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. - 1 Peter 5:5

“This puts a finger on a touchy issue: leadership and authority. Ours is not a culture that easily adjusts itself to such an idea. Ours, in fact, is a society of mavericks and do-it-yourselfers. Consequently, not only does the term submission sound foreign, but even the idea of actually being led… is hard for many to comprehend.” – Scot McKnight

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to.”  - 1 Peter 5:5b-8

Spiritual Practice: 3 Challenges 

1. To leaders in the room- are you willing to be a servant? 

2. To followers- are you willing to submit to others? 

3. To all of you- are you willing to remember your true enemy and let that change your response? 

“Christians in the first century undoubtedly frequently experienced loss of respect and shame to a degree that we probably never will. But we are not amiss if we try to find analogies to this in our society—to the occasional presence of shame in our world for being Christians.” - Scot McKnight

We can respond with joy to offense by making three shifts. 

1. Surprise to expectancy 

2. Distance to Intimacy  

3. Offense to compassion.

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. - 1 Peter 4:12-13

“Persecution is a theme woven tightly and boldly into the fabric of the Christian story. When it does occur, we ought not to be surprised.” -Scot McKnight 

14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. - 1 Peter 4:14-16

“Suffering for doing what is right—for bearing the difficult name of Christ and being slandered as Christians—is not the result of God’s discipline or retribution. It is the result of bearing the name and living in the way of the One who is foreign, alien to the dominant culture. It puts them in sanctifying solidarity with their Lord and with fellow members of God’s household.” -Janette Ok

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved,what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. - 1 Peter 4:17-19

“I can afford to turn the other cheek. I have Christ. They are still looking for him, even in their offense. I do not want my offense to be the obstacle. I want them to encounter the message of Christ… If they are willing to die to themselves and submit themselves to Christ, there is a far better table and feast to be found.” - Chris Replogle

Spiritual Practice: Be unoffendable. 

24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? - Matthew 16:24-26 (MSG) 

Christianity & Suffering. 

“It's right for God to slaughter women and children anytime he pleases. God gives life and he takes life. Everybody who dies, dies because God wills that they die.God is taking life every day. He will take 50,000 lives today. Life is in God's hand. God decides when your last heartbeat will be, and whether it ends through cancer or a bullet wound. God governs.”–John Piper.

Piper’s words are extreme perspective known as meticulous providence; everything that happens happens at God’s initiative. 

Theodicy is a philosophical argument that attempts to explain God’s goodness with the existence of evil. 

God’s Will. 

Many have misconstrued God’s will as cosmic determination; every event unfolds according to God’s design.  

A better understanding of God’s will is “what God wants or desires.”

God doesn’t always get what he wants. 

• The Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve’s fall– doesn’t seem to be what God desires. 

• Nor in Exodus, where God has to push Pharaoh to release the Israelites with ever-increasing signs. 

• Nor later when the Israelites worship a Golden Calf. 

• Nor in 1 Samuel when the Israelite people demand a King, like the neighboring nations. 

A Dangerous World

God is all-powerful, all-good, and all-knowing; he has also created a world of freedom and choice. 

“Evil is the result of the morally significant free actions of God's creatures.” – Gerry Breshears.

Evil is not God's creation; it is the result of the freedom God built into the fabric of the universe.

“...the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” – 1 John 5:19

The Bible seems to tell a story of God being at war with this evil one and by the suffering love and sacrifice of his son Jesus. 

A Theodicy: Waring Wills

A more helpful theodicy recognizes God’s conflict with evil. 

“your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” – Matthew 6:5

Jesus teaches that Heaven is the place where God’s will is being done all the time: Earth is where God’s Will is not being done all the time. 

On Earth, there are at least five wills at work. 

1. God’s will. 

2. Our will. 

“The line between good and evil runs right through the human heart” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

3. Other peoples’ will. 

4 Spiritual being’s will

5. Chaos. 

Peter’s Exhortation 

The Bible seems to tell of this war between God and evil. Human beings, as well as other created being, have the freedom to choose to cooperate with God or evil.

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” – 1 Peter 2:12.

And Peter gives three specific instructions about suffering well and revealing God’s glory. 

1. Be good to one another

2. Do good in the face of evil

3. Cling to good news. 

Be Good to One Another. 

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”  – 1 Peter 3:8

“But please, please—won’t you—can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?” Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. 

For the tawny face was bent down near his own and great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.

“My son, my son,” said Aslan. “I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet. Let us be good to one another…” – CS Lewis

In light of the suffering we face, let’s be good to one another. 

Do good in the face of evil.

“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, 
 “Whoever would love life
and see good days 
must keep their tongue from evil 
and their lips from deceitful speech. 
They must turn from evil and do good; 
they must seek peace and pursue it. 
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”  
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”  –1 Peter 3:9-13

“Christians respond to outside hostility by doing what is good in the sight of God, which includes repaying evil and insult with a “blessing”’ – Janette Ok

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. – 1 Peter 3:15-17

Cling to Good News. 

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. – 1 Peter 3:18-22

“Few passages have so many themes and different ideas intertwined. It is no wonder that commentators have shaken their heads in despair! But the main point is not complex. Just as Jesus suffered as a righteous man and was vindicated, so too if the churches of Peter live righteously, they will be vindicated and sit with Jesus in the presence of God.” – Scot McKnight.

Jesus suffered but was vindicated by God. Christians can endure suffering, trusting God to do the same for us. 

God is waging war against all evil and suffering, and in Jesus, victory has been secured. 

Jesus is the champion of God’s will, working to transform human will, conquer rebellious spiritual wills, and reorder the chaotic world. 

Human Will. 

Sin, a poison infecting our bodies, emotions, minds, and souls, is being cured through the antidote of Jesus’ blood.

Spiritual Wills.

All entities, seen and unseen, have been put on notice that their reign of hostility and disorder in the world is ending.

Chaos. 

The final influence that will be brought into alignment is the general chaos of our world. 

Practice Hope. 

“we gain hope—not from the darkness of our suffering, not from pat answers in books, but from the God who sees our suffering and shares our pain.”― Eugene Peterson.

4. Be good to one another.

5. Do good in the face of evil.

6. Cling to good news. 

Outline of 1 Peter (Chapters 1-3)

• Salvation | “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” – 1 Peter 1:3

• Formation | “...just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” – 1 Peter 1:15

• Chosen | “ you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” – 1 Peter 2:9

• Demonstrate | “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” –1 Peter 2:12.

Peter's intention is to promote the Christian reputation in the public square—that those who follow Jesus's example will display God's goodness, beauty, and mercy in their world. 

And Peter will apply this thought in three ways– 

1. To politics (2:13-17)

2. To enslaved people (2:18-21)

3. To Marriages (3:1-7)

On Difficult Passages

1. Acknowledge the feelings it produces (confusion, discomfort, anger, etc)

2. Refuse to Ignore it. 

3. Dig into the passage. Commit yourself to study when you come across a difficult passage. 

• Read an article or commentary. 

• Watch a YouTube video or listen to a podcast. 

• Text a pastor or email a scholar. 

Our discomfort with this Text in particular.

Americans value the freedom and the protection of our rights almost above all else. 

1 Peter 2:17-3:7 is so offensive to us because if we wrote it, it would be more revolutionary. 

When we read Peter’s instructions “to submit,” they sound like an endorsement of the status quo. 

But Peter is not protecting the status quo—he is offering an alternative vision for changing it. 

A Subversive Manifesto.

To be subversive is to undermine the status quo; The Latin origin is “to turn from below.” 

To be subversive is to seek change from the bottom up, from the inside out, in unexpected and surprising ways. 

He wants everyone to see God's glory and reorder society according to God’s way. He wants change and thinks it is best accomplished through subversive stability. 

Authoritarians, cruel masters, and harsh husbands may be won over by suffering love.

Household Codes

Peter is writing what was known as a household code;  a common and influential cultural practice for running a household. Philosophers, writers, and intellectuals would compose household codes. 

Peter’s Disruptive inclusions–  

1. Peter’s writes directly to slaves and wives. Typically, these codes are written to the patriarch of the household.

2. Peter assumes that these slaves and wives were Jesus followers and their Patriarch was not. In the first century, the Patriarch’s religion was everyone’s religion. 

3. The third idea that Peter smuggles into his household code is that wives and slaves are not lesser than their masters or their husbands. Before God– all people are humble, submissive, and, most importantly, equal. 

God’s Patient Work

These statements from Peter do not go far enough for us, but through God’s patient endurance, the world is being redeemed, and we are being healed. 

To Slaves

“18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. 20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” – 1 Peter 2:18-20

1. This text has been used over and over as a justification for slavery,  but Peter offers no defense of the institution of slavery. He is offering guidance to and recognition of Christians who find themselves enslaved.

2. The American practice of slavery and the ancient institution are different. Scott Bartchy notes some of the differences between 1st-century slavery and modern slavery. 

• Not based on race.

• Slaves were encouraged to be educated.

• Many slaves carried out sensitive and highly responsible social functions.

• Slaves could own property. 

• The majority of urban and domestic slaves could legitimately anticipate being emancipated by the age of 30. 

This does not make ancient slavery ethical or morally superior; it is simply different. 

3. Peter had seen slave revolts cruelly and violently ended– and they didn’t want the same for these believers. 

He encourages them to look to the way of Jesus and the cross.

“he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant…humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” –Philippians 2:7-8

Peter is infusing dignity and sacred purpose into the lives of the enslaved– even when they are unjustly beaten or punished–  by insisting that they are following in the way of Jesus. 

The Example of Jesus

“21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” – 1 Peter 2:21-25

Jesus exemplified one who suffered for doing good; through his patient endurance, the world is being redeemed, and we are being healed. 

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” – Mark 8:24-25

“A cruciform understanding of the Christian life is the one thing that is easiest to discern in this passage, though it may be the one item contemporary society resists the most.” – Scot McKnight

Peter looks to Jesus' example—who upended the status quo of sin and death by his death and resurrection– and encourages his audience to follow in the way of suffering love. 

Marital Relationships

3 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. 7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. – 1 Peter 3:1-7

It may seem problematic that Peter’s instructions to wives are six-verses compared to his one verse to husbands. This is likely because the wife's position was much more challenging and complex than her husband’s. 

Peter’s six verses to wives are not misogynistic edicts but empathetic guidance on living within the limits of marriages, particularly if their husbands did not follow Jesus. 

Peter advises these wives to redouble their efforts to demonstrate God's glory through their love and actions. 

A silent preaching of the gospel. 

Consider how refreshing, dare I say liberating,  it is for Peter to say beauty is a gentle soul not a look. 

Peter is using a cultural axiom– “women are the weaker partner”– to smuggle in maybe his most subversive idea. And it is four words – “In the same way” 

Peter was calling for a new type of marriage not built on convenience or domination; but on mutual submission and mutual consideration. 

Subversive Stability. 

“The workshop where we are to toil faithfully at all these tasks is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community.” – St. Benedict

The Christian practice of stability is a commitment to staying put and can be applied to being rooted in relationships, communities, workplaces, friendships, or places.

Peter’s letter directs us toward subversive stability, A commitment to changing things from below. 

“If we can develop a sense that sacrificial love, justice, and hope are at the core of our identities—they go to our jobs with us each day, to our families each night—then we are in fact subversive. You have to understand that Christian subversion is nothing flashy. Subversives don’t win battles. All they do is prepare the ground and change the mood just a little bit toward belief and hope, so that when Christ appears, there are people waiting for him.” – Eugene Peterson

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we’ve been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” -1 Peter 1:3

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” - Romans 6:5-11

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Cor 5:16-17

Abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. What you do with your body matters. -Joseph Lear

"Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution. Peter has to ask that because everything else he’s saying about what it means to be Christian might lead us to do otherwise.” -Joseph Lear

“Coming to Him, a living stone – rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God – you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5

“For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29

"You yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5

“Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,” 1 Corinthians 6:19

“Yours's isn’t a Kingdom of concrete or mud.
Yours is a Kingdom of Spirit and Blood.”
Jon Guerra, Someone Like Jesus

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:9-10

“He is good, and He is God
What I earned, it's not what I got
And He is just yet also kind
What I deserve, it's not what I find
What more can I say about Him? My God is love.”
Chris Renzema, God Is Love

“I want to live in such a way that would make no sense if Jesus Christ had not risen from the dead.” Dr. Stanley Hauerwas

Spiritual Practice:

1. We Have been Chosen by God

2. We Have Priestly Duties

“Like an explosion of a bomb in a small room, the host [of a TV show] is interrupted with the news of ten-year-olds being shot execution-style by fellow gang members who were not much older. Belief in some kind of goodness quickly falls on deaf ears. Any theory of ethics that assumes humans are somehow inherently good and, if they are simply educated, will begin to behave in morally decent ways is about as believable as the Easter bunny—a great story but it belongs to a previous stage of development.” - Scot Mcknight

“Spirit driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.” - Dallas Willard

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” - 1 Peter 1:13

“Live for the future.” - Scot McKnight

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” - 1 Peter 1:14-16

17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. - 1 Peter 17-21

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, - 1 Peter 1:22

“The church today is suffering a fellowship crisis.… In a world of big, impersonal institutions, the church often looks like just another big, impersonal institution.… One seldom finds… that winsome intimacy among people where masks are dropped, honesty prevails, and that sense of communication and community beyond the human abounds—where there is literally the fellowship of and in the Holy Spirit.” - Howard Snyder

23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

2 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. –1 Peter 1:23-2:3

A Gospel of Self-Preservation

Often, Salvation is articulated this way: I have a sin problem, and I am on the road to damnation, but Jesus died for my sins, so now I have a chance to go to heaven.

First Peter is a is a letter written to a hurting and scattered church attempting to embody a Christian Presence in a hostile world. Emphasizing the themes of holiness, hope, and suffering in the salvation Jesus offers.

Peter’s idea of salvation is a life of (1) holy community, (2) hopeful presence, (3) joyful suffering, and (4) good news for the world.

To Exiles & Strangers.

Peter wrote this letter approximately thirty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. By this time Peter is writing to a church that had been scattered all over the Roman empire.

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia…” – 1 Peter 1:1

Peter identifies his audience as exiles, and later as “strangers and exiles” in chapter 2.

Peter's essential message is to live in faith amid suffering by clinging to God's salvation– as a life of holy communion.

Holy Community.

“...[to the exiles] who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” –1 Peter 1:1-2

(1) The foreknowledge of the Father, (2) the sanctifying work of the Spirit, (3)Obedience to the Son.

To be saved is to be invited into life with the holy community called Trinity.

The Foreknowledge of the Father.
From the beginning of time, God has chosen that the Church would be his Holy people.

The Bible does not offer a neat and tidy picture of God’s decision-making.

When God’s foreknowledge is mentioned, it is almost exclusively applied to communities of people, not individuals.

Southern Paraphrase–“Ya’ll were chosen according to God’s foreknowledge.”

Peter is writing to Gentiles using Old Testament metaphors and language to let them know God has always planned to adopt them into his one large, multi-ethnic family.

The Shaping of the Spirit.

Sanctification is the act of making something or someone holy.

Like the Creation story, the Spirit hovers over the chaos of the human heart, bringing about a new creation and order.

The Sacrifice of the Son.

What is explicitly accomplished through the death of Jesus is a theological concept called atonement.

“The action of God in the cross of Christ has elicited various theories because the New Testament speaks about it in various ways…it is precisely because of the rich variety of the biblical testimony that a number of interpretive “theories” and “models” have grown up around the cross.”– Fleming Rutledge.

These various models of understanding Jesus’ sacrifice are known as “atonement theories.”

Random Theory: Humanity is held hostage by our sin and Satan, Jesus pays that ransom that we might be free.

Satisfaction Theory: Human sin, injustice, and evil have broken the relationship between God and humanity. The only way to mend that relationship is through some sort of restitution– which Jesus satisfies.

Substitution Theory: Humanity has earned God's punishment and wrath by sinning. But Jesus substitutes himself for us, taking on God's full wrath for humanity and giving us the opportunity for a relationship with God.

Victory Theory: When humanity sinned, we were taken captive by sin, satan, and death; Jesus’ life and ministry were a campaign against these dark powers, but his death and resurrection were the decisive victories.

“The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil.” – Gustaf Aulen

What is accomplished by Jesus’ sacrifices is victorious, liberating, and cleansing– by His blood poured out for us that we are saved.

Saved into Holy Community.

The place to begin with salvation is not that it is a “get-out-of-hell-free-card” but that it is invitation to life with the community of God– Holy Community- with a foreknowledge Father, a shaping Spirit, and sacrificing savior .

And the theme that quickly emerges throughout Peter's letter is not just community but a holy community.

In verse 16, Peter quotes Leviticus 11 – “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16).

In chapter 2, verse 5 Peter calls the people of God “a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5)

“‘Holiness’: being set apart for God in every part and at every level.” – NT Wright

The holiness of salvation is a wholehearted devotion to God– an undivided and fully integrated life.

Hopeful Presence.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” –1 Peter 1:3–5.

…because we are new creatures.

“...truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” – John 3:3.

This is a theological concept called regeneration; the renewal, healing, and restoration of all that has gone wrong in our lives and our bodies.

…because death has been defeated.

At the heart of the Christian faith is one central claim– Christ was dead, but now he is alive.

“The 'resurrection of Jesus.. reveals the reign of God as the ultimate shaper of reality, and the ultimate power in the universe.” –J. Dermy Weaver

…because our future is secure.

What God accomplishes in Jesus isn’t just for individuals to be transformed; God is at work healing and renewing the whole world.

That future is being safely kept out of sign in God's space, Heaven, until it is time for it to be set loose in our space, Earth.

A day is coming in which our reality will be thoroughly permeated with God’s presence: his love, mercy, creativity, and justice.

Joyful Suffering.

In all this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. –1 Peter 1:6–10.

Peter isn’t calling for a violent revolt—he is infusing their present circumstances with dignity, love, and hope.

Genuine faith.

He then transitions to helping the exiled believers to understand that their suffering is being redeemed.

“My dear friends…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” – Philippians 2:12-13

Active Spirituality is when you and I apply ourselves to Jesus's practices– it is the stuff we do.

Passive spirituality is what God is doing; it is where he acts in us “to fulfill his good purposes” through the circumstances of life.

Good News for the World.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. –1 Peter 1:10–12.

Peter is explaining that all those who came before saw, in part, what his audience now sees in full.

The salvation offered in Jesus is good news for the whole world.

This is the dizzying grandeur of what God is doing through Jesus—what he has done for each of us, he is planning to do for the whole world.

“The first epistle of Peter speaks of this new preaching as “the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you … things into which angels long to look” (1 Pet. 1:12). The word “now” is often used in the Epistles to indicate the brand-new state of being that exists as a result of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection…The cross, incomparably vindicated by the resurrection, is the novum[new thing], the new factor in human experience, the definitive and world-changing act of God that makes the New Testament proclamation unique in all the world.”- Fleming Rutledge

“Salvation is not an event — it is a life. It is not just forgiveness and a “ticket to heaven” — it is an interactive life with God, participating now in what Jesus is doing on earth.” – Dallas Willard

Salvation is more than self-preservation; it is an invitation to a life of holy community, hopeful presence, joyful suffering, and good news for the world.

12 And Jesus entered the temple[b] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, 

“Yes; have you never read,

“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies

    you have prepared praise?’”

17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

- Matthew 21:12-17

“The Hebrew understanding of devotion to God or righteousness is to care for the poor and to care for the poor is to be righteous.” - Tyler Staton 

“We cannot do good by standing back and pulling levers that drop bounty on people who need it right action can only be an immersion that involves us in a relationship.” - Parker Palmer

“You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance. You have to get close.” - Bryan Stevenson 

“It is not enough to serve the poor. Jesus does not call us to charity; he calls us to family.” - Tyler Staton 

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was in need of clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.” -Matthew 25:30-40

Spiritual Practice: If you do not already regularly serve with a nonprofit in the KC metro OR if you do not work in the nonprofit sector, reveal the kingdom of Jesus in Kansas City by volunteering with one of our partners here today. 

Some Advice: 

1. Make a Realistic Commitment 

2. Prepare for the Awkward 

3. Communicate

4. Ask questions

5. Make the goal family 

I didn't wanna know
But I knew my beliefs had shifted some
So I ignored all the groans in my cavernous soul
In case I woke some dragon up
And I settled for liquid gold
Numb the worry over ice
But the longer you wait to spelunker that cave
So the longer it terrifies

And it took me two years to find the courage
But I finally did
And in just forty minutes, I faced my darkness
And I stared at it
So scared I'd lose myself
When I learned what I thought
But the dragons I feared weren't all that fierce after all

I kinda like my job
And I'm kinda proud of the things I've done
And I was so terrified I'd learn it's all a lie
And I'd have to find another one
And maybe in part it was
But that means a part was still divine
And I don't know if I'll ever do better than that
To link fragments of God through rhyme

- Dragons by Benjamin Hastings 

“From wherever you’re sitting, this likely feels like a low point for the church in America.” - Brad East 

“For Jesus the church was never optional. Jesus was not anti-institutional. He regularly led his disciples and himself into the church of the first century which was the synagogue and temple…. [Jesus] immersed himself in the relationships at the temple, he went to the temple for prayer, and he added his own voice to the teaching of that temple.”  -Tyler Staton

“The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” - Matthew 10:2-4

“The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

“And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, [Jesus] said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother’” - Matthew 12:49-50

“Love one another with brotherly affection.” - Romans 12:10

“Let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” - Galatians 6:10

“So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” - Ephesians 2:19

5 Commitments

1. Reveal the Kingdom of Jesus 

   1. Have you been baptized before? If not, let us know if you want to take that next step here. 

2. Belong to a Microchruch: Signup here. 

3. Gather on Sunday: See our gathering details here. 

4. Serve

   1. Serve the church by signing up here. 

   2. Serve the city by learning more here and come to Serve Sunday next week.  

5. Be Generous: Contribute to the mission here.

"We are built to live in the kingdom of God. It is our natural habitat." -Dallas Willard

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” -Mark 1:15 

“Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.” -Albert Schwitzer

“And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” -Mark 10:44-45 

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” -1 Peter 4:10 

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” -Galatians 5:13-14 

“41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” -Mark 12:41-44.

Have you given up on trying to heal the world?

Maybe we’ve given up because we’ve been let down or we’ve just grown old enough to recognize our way of doing things is not going to get the job done.

What if you were to learn that we are being invited into a conspiracy that will radically reshape the universe?

The Gospel Jesus preached.
For many of us, this description of a conspiracy to restore our broken world is nothing like “the Gospel” that we learned in Sunday school. To answer the question, “what is the gospel” the best place to begin is with the gospel Jesus preached.

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17 (ESV)

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)

“I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” – Luke 4:43 (ESV)

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)

Euangelion: Good News

“Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God… (Mark 1:14)

“The birthday of the God (Caesar Augustus) was the beginning for the world of the glad tidings [good news] that have come through men through him.”

A euangelion in the ancient world was a royal announcement about a king and a kingdom.

The time is Fulfilled.

The Old Testament, its prophesies and predictions, are about to come to pass.

“The Bible’s central story is about individual persons whose crisis is their sin and its consequences, and the resolution is the atoning work of Christ that both ends the consequences of their sin and offers them a new life and hope for the kingdom.” – Scot McKnight

The Kingdom of God.

1: the range of God’s effective will.
2: life as God intended
3: Jesus' definition“Your Kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” – Matthew 6:10

The Kingdom pervades all parts of life and is utterly unlike the kingdoms of the world.

The Kingdom of God is good news because the King is worthy of our trust. 

“For Jesus and his contemporaries the kingdom of God—was in the first instance concerned not with salvation of human souls in “heaven” after death but with real-world changes, the exercise of God’s wise justice and benevolent rule through God-ordained human leadership.”– Matthew Bates.

"We are built to live in the kingdom of God. It is our natural habitat." – Dallas Willard.

“[when] we pray the Lord’s Prayer asking for God’s kingdom to come, we’re praying for the end of the United States of America. We look forward to the day when all people will be united in the one nation, under God, in God, by God, and with God.”– Joseph Lear

At Hand
God’s conspiracy to take back his world from Satan, sin, and death has begun in the person of Jesus. His method for overthrowing the powers is not military force or political coercion– it is suffering love.

 Inaugurated eschatology or the already/not yet. We can experience God’s Kingdom now, and we anticipate a future where the entire world will experience it. 

“I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” –God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” –Revelation 21:1,3–4.

The Gospel of the Kingdom.

"The good news is that the one true God has now taken charge of the world, in and through Jesus and his death and resurrection. The ancient hopes have indeed been fulfilled, but in a way nobody imagined. God’s plan to put the world right has finally been launched. The ancient sickness that had crippled the whole world, and humans with it, has been cured at last, so that new life can rise up in its place. Life has come to life and is pouring out like a mighty river into the world, in the form of a new power, the power of love. The good news was, and is, that all this has happened in and through Jesus; that one day it will happen, completely and utterly, to all creation; and that we humans, every single one of us, whoever we are, can be caught up in that transformation here and now. This is the Christian Gospel. Do not allow yourself to be fobbed off with anything else.” – NT Wright, Simply Good News

Reclaiming a Vision of the Kingdom.

“The message of Jesus Christ, in sum, is this: Salvation is not in your hands…He is doing for himself great things that we cannot even imagine. Therefore be bold, be unafraid, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. We have a great gospel. There is nothing else like it in heaven or on earth.” –Flemming Rutledge.

Repent and Believe.

We will only discover how to follow the way of suffering love if we heed Jesus’ instructions to “repent and believe”. (v.15)

Repentance, as is used by Jesus, is an invitation to ‘rethink everything.”

Belief in Christ is an act of allegiance that leads us to do things strange to this culture for the sake of the Kingdom.

Repentance is to rethink what is possible and belief is to risk for what could be.

Sexual Formation

1. This is an invitation to conversations that matter. If we don’t talk about things that matter, our faith will cease to be relevant– and let's be honest, sex matters.

2. We are all sexually broken, fractured, and misshapen; that means our conviction and our theology are aimed toward compassion and healing, not guilt or shame.

3. We need to pursue a better story; we must investigate what we believe about sex. We genuinely believe that the story of scripture, rooted in the life of Jesus, contains a more compelling and beautiful vision of sexuality than anything else on offer. While we may come to different conclusions on its implications, all Jesus followers are responsible for offering a better invitation.

Wilhelm Reich’s Sexual Revolution. 

In the 1960s, Psychologist Wilhelm Reich was called the prophet of the Sexual Revolution. 

“The core of happiness in life is sexual happiness.” –Wilhelm Reich

Eustace Chester wrote a book unpacking Reich’s philosophy called Salvation Through Sex. 

“[For Reich, the orgasm] is man’s only salvation, leading to the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.”– Eustace Chester

 There is this overwhelming sense that ultimate fulfillment in life is tied to sexual pleasure. 

“The current model of lifelong, cohabiting monogamous partnership has never been such an outdated ideal…That means casting away the fairytale and facing up to the fact that a life partner – should we choose to have one – fulfills only one corner of our emotional, romantic, and sexual needs. The belief that we can find one person to meet all of them is one which is very likely to be considered radical in the future.” – Helen Croydon

What if marriage is the safest and best place for our sexuality to flourish through (1) bonds, (2) mutual submission, and (3) witness. 

The Corinthian Context. 

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. –1 Corinthians 6:18–20.

To Corinthianize was one ancient poet’s idiom for living a promiscuous life or having sex outside of marriage. 

Union as Bonding.  

"Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.” – 1 Corinthians 7:1-2

Here, Paul transitions from sexual immorality to sexual integrity, namely that marriage is the proper outlet for sexual desire. 

Those who are married should limit their sexual relations to their spouse. 

This perspective identifies marriage – a lifelong commitment between a man and woman– as the space in which bodies are most honored and sex is most beneficial. 

Marriage is where Sex Flourishes. 

For in covenant relationships, love flourishes. 

“It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Similarly, we might say marriage is the soil by which our sexuality can best flourish. 

The Science of Sex.

Researchers are regularly uncovering data that indicates sex is more than just a physical act– biological, psychological, and emotional bonds are forged through sexual intimacy.

Hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin are released during sexual intercourse and forge biological, psychological, and emotional bonds. 

Oxytocin has been shown to create such a sense of trust and attachment that sex therapist Theresa Crenshaw wrote that we create “an involuntary chemical commitment.”

Vasopressin has effects similar to oxytocin, developing protective bonds between men, women, and children. 

We are designed at a biological and neurological level for bonds, attachments, and commitment. 

“Sex is God’s appointed way for two people to say reciprocally to one another, ‘I belong completely, permanently, and exclusively to you.’ ” –Tim Keller

Union as Mutual Submission. 

3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command.  – 1 Corinthians 7:3-6

“To the shock of the ancient world, the New Testament taught that men (not just women) were to be faithful to their spouse. Christianity stood out as radically different because it taught that a husband actually wrongs his wife by his adultery…nothing like this had ever been said before.” – Nancy Pearcey

For the people of God, there was a new way: Men were called to fidelity and sexuality exclusivity, just as women were. 

“At a time when wives were considered legally the possession of their husbands, Paul’s writings were radical. By elevating the status of women, they delivered a severe blow to the double standard that was the pre-Christian norm.” –Nancy Pearcey.

“Christian woman enjoyed far greater marital security and equality than did her pagan neighbor…Christianity was unusually appealing because within the Christian subculture women enjoyed far higher status than did women in the Greco-Roman world at large.”– Rodney Stark.

“a married man is concerned about..how he can please his wife… a married woman is concerned about … how she can please her husband.” – 1 Corinthians 7:33–35.

“Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.” - 1 Corinthians 7:5

 In the marriage union, the bride and groom close themselves off to all other sexual partners, committing themselves fully and mutually to one another. 

Union as Witness.

"I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that." – 1 Corinthians 7:7

In verses 8-16, Paul will go on to address various relational statuses (v 8-16): single, widowed, those in an unhappy marriage, those engaged, and those married to an unbeliever. 

In Christ, we do not have to capitulate to a cultural norm; our norm is drawn from our discipleship to Jesus, whether single or married. 

"...each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them." –1 Corinthians 7:17.

Singleness: Holy Vacancy. 

Thomas Aquinas once put it, to be single is to preserve a holy vacancy, to be empty for God’s presence and service. 

Singleness bears witness to the realities of Jesus; marriage bears witness to our trinitarian God.

Marriage: Holy Union.

In Ephesians 5, Paul calls marriage a “profound mystery,” using it as an analogy for the union of Christ and his Church. 

Marriage unites a man and wife as one flesh in love, reflecting the eternal bond between Father, Son, and Spirit. 

“The Church as a whole is an icon of God the Trinity, reproducing on earth the mystery of unity in diversity…Human beings are called to reproduce on earth the mystery of mutual love that the Trinity lives in heaven.” – Timothy Ware.

Practiced faithfully, in loving submission and sexual fidelity, the marriage union can be a powerful testimony to the world of what our God is like– a divine community of love, three in one. 

Continue Investigating

The simple call this week is to continue the work of investigating our default assumptions about sex and marriage. 

Sexual Formation

1. This is an invitation to conversations that matter. If we don’t talk about things that matter, our faith will cease to be relevant– and let's be honest, sex matters.

2. We are all sexually broken, fractured, and misshapen; that means our conviction and our theology are aimed toward compassion and healing, not guilt or shame.

3. We need to pursue a better story; we must investigate what we believe about sex. We genuinely believe that the story of scripture, rooted in the life of Jesus, contains a more compelling and beautiful vision of sexuality than anything else on offer. While we may come to different conclusions on its implications, all Jesus followers are responsible for offering a better invitation.

“Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. 8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”

25 “Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. 29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.” - 1 Corinthians 7:6-9; 25-31

“There will never be a time when Christians can settle down and treat the world like it will last forever.” - NT Wright

“When that moment arrives, it won’t matter that you followed or didn’t follow some social order or pattern in the way that your family and friends all assumed you would. What will matter is that you were faithful to the Lord in whatever strange circumstances you found yourself.” -NT Wright

“Repetitive relationships—including repetitive experiences with cohabitation—don’t lead to better marital odds, they just lead to more sex.” -Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker

“The best definition of celibacy, I think, is the definition of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas calls celibacy a vacancy for God. To be a celibate means to be empty for God, to be free and open for his presence, to be available for his service…. I think that celibacy can never be considered as a special prerogative of a few members of the people of God. Celibacy, in its deepest sense of creating and protecting emptiness for God, is an essential part of all forms of Christian life: marriage, friendship, single life, and community life…. Every relationship carries within its center a holy vacancy, a space that is for the first Love, God alone.” - Henri Nouwen

Sexual Formation

1. This is an invitation to conversations that matter. If we don’t talk about things that matter, our faith will cease to be relevant– and let's be honest, sex matters.

2. We are all sexually broken, fractured, and misshapen; that means our conviction and our theology are aimed toward compassion and healing, not guilt or shame.

3. We need to pursue a better story; we must investigate what we believe about sex. We genuinely believe that the story of scripture, rooted in the life of Jesus, contains a more compelling and beautiful vision of sexuality than anything else on offer. While we may come to different conclusions on its implications, all Jesus followers are responsible for offering a better invitation.

What does Christianity have to say to those who experience same-sex attraction? 

1. We must approach the subject of sexuality with as much humility as possible. 

2. We must pursue nuance and thoughtfulness concerning our faith and sexuality. 

3. We must pursue faithfulness to Jesus. 

There are six scriptures relevant to the conversation on same-sex intimacy. 

Pastoral Position is that God’s design for sex is to be experienced in a lifelong union between two sexually different persons, male and female. 

The termsprogressive sexual ethic and traditional sexual ethic seem to be the most clear and generous on the subject.

Genesis 2. 

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky… But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.  Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. –Genesis 2:18-20,21-25

Much of the interpretation of this passage revolves around the Hebrew phrase, kenegdo ezer; suitable helper (Genesis 2:18, 20) 

The progressive position highlights this noun's emphasis on likeness. Eve’s qualification to be a “suitable helper” was simply that she was another human being. 

“In other words, the animals are not similar to the man—in the way that the woman will be. The animals are certainly different from the man, but that is not what the story is interested in. It is pursuing not differences but someone similar to the man, someone similar enough to be “his partner”, and someone strong enough to be his “helper.” –James Brownson

The traditional position highlights the modifying word kenegdo; a compound word combining “different” and “the same.” 

God said he would make a corresponding helper. Under this interpretation, Eve’s qualifications for being a “suitable helper” were her human likeness and her sexual difference. 

Genesis 19.
This is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not about same-sex relationships. This story is a straightforward condemnation of sexual violence, not sexual orientation. 

Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13
In Leviticus, Israelite people are given instructions for living distinctly from the surrounding cultures.  

“You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” –Leviticus 20:18

“‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” –Leviticus 18:22

“If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” –Leviticus  20:13.

The progressive position interprets these texts in one of two ways. 

The first argues that these texts refer to idolatrous temple prostitution. 

The second progressive interpretation is that Leviticus' instructions no longer apply to New Covenant Christians. 

“In practice, Christians do not follow the dictates of the Old Testament. If they did, polygamy would be legal, and forbidden would be things like tattoos, wearing mixed fabrics, eating pork and seeding lawns with a variety of grasses—and the Christian day of worship would be Saturday, not Sunday.” – John Shore

The Traditional Perspective suggests that Leviticus 18 – 20 is still authoritative for New Testament Christians.

“Just because some Old Testament laws aren’t binding for Christians doesn’t mean no laws are.” –Preston Sprinke

Chapters 18-20 include instructions on:

• incest (18:6–18; 20:11–14, 17, 19–21)

• adultery (18:20; 20:10)

• child sacrifice (18:21; 20:1–5)

• bestiality (18:23; 20:15–16)

•  theft (19:11)

•  lying (19:11)

•  taking the Lord’s name in vain (19:20)

•  oppressing your neighbor (19:13)

•  cursing the deaf (19:14)

•  showing partiality in the court of law (19:15)

•  slander (19:16)

•  hating your brother (19:17)

•  making your daughter a prostitute (19:29

• turning to witches or necromancers (19:31)

Romans 1

“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” –Romans 1:26–27.

The interpretive task is determining what Paul is condemning as “exchanging natural sexual relationships for unnatural ones.

The progressive perspective argues that what Paul is condemning here is sexual excess and perverse lust. Roman Grecco males had unmitigated sexual access.

“[it is] the sin of asserting oneself and one’s group at the expense of others… it is not desire itself that Paul opposes, but excessive desire, which directs itself toward what is not rightly ours, overcoming self-control and obedience to God.”– James Brownson

The Traditional Perspective believes Paul was aware of mutual same-sex intimacy and is denouncing it. 

Paul’s inclusion of female same-sex intimacy in verse 26 gives the impression that he is condemning all same-sex relationships, not just excessive lust or sexual violence.  Verse 27 seems to include the language of mutuality; “men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.” (Romans 1:27)

“Notice the pattern of exchange in Romans 1. Humankind “exchanges” the Creator for creation; females exchange sexual relations with males for females; males exchange sexual relations with females for males. And all of this seems to stem from a departure of the way God designed us, as seen in Genesis 1–2.”–Preston Sprinkle & Wesley Hill

Paul seems to draw on the Creation narrative, which states that men and women were created in God's image to rule the world together. 

1 Corinthians 6 & 1 Timothy 1:11. 

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” –1 Corinthians 6:9–10

“We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.” – 1 Timothy 1:9-11

The meaning of these two passages are wrapped up in the meaning of two greek words–  “malakoi” and “arsenokoites,”. 

The progressive position argues that “malakoi” and “arsenokoites” are about slavery, prostitution, and pedophilia.

If these passages were about pedophilia and prostitution, Paul would be condemning exploitative sexuality, not necessarily mutual same-sex relationships. 

The traditional position argues slightly distinct definitions for these two words. 

Malakoi may refer to the passive participant, but more broadly to men trying to be women. 

Arsenokoities is a compound word meaning “men who sleep with men”; and emerges from two words in Leviticus 18 and 20. 

 “There they are. There is no way around them; there is no ambiguity in them… It is impossible to explain away these texts.”–Walter Brueggeman.

 We are invited to wrestle with the whole biblical text. 

Sexual Formation

1. This is an invitation to conversations that matter. If we don’t talk about things that matter, our faith will cease to be relevant– and let's be honest, sex matters.

2. We are all sexually broken, fractured, and misshapen; that means our conviction and our theology are aimed toward compassion and healing, not guilt or shame.

3. We need to pursue a better story; we must investigate what we believe about sex. We genuinely believe that the story of scripture, rooted in the life of Jesus, contains a more compelling and beautiful vision of sexuality than anything else on offer. While we may come to different conclusions on its implications, all Jesus followers are responsible for offering a better invitation.

Two stories in particular have dominated the American imagination and most distorted our understanding of sex.

The Shame Story proposes one simple rule– no sex before marriage. A whole generation of teenagers grew up believing “don’t” was all Christianity had to offer on the subject of sex.

The Secular story says that a life of unrestricted sexual pleasure is the life you’ve always wanted. The Secular story doesn’t liberate sex; it commodifies it.

The Christian Vision of Sex stands in deep contrast to the stories that dominate the American landscape and insists that (1) bodies matter, (2) holy union is coming, and (3) there can be a better witness to the world.

The Corinthian Way.

Corinth was a significant city in the Roman world and was known for its sexual excess. The temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, and the patroness of prostitutes, was at the center of Corinth's religious life.

“Corinthianize” was a term that meant to live a promiscuous life or to have sex outside of marriage.

This sexual liberty was enjoyed exclusively by Roman males, creating a horrifyingly exploitative environment.

‘When your organ is stiff, and a servant girl or a young boy from the household is near at hand and you know you can make an immediate assault, would you sooner burst with tension? Not me: I like sex to be there and easy to get.’ – Horace

These promiscuous and sexually exploitative practices were smuggled into the Corinthian church.

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” –1 Corinthians 6:11–13.

“I have the right to do anything” is a slogan that reminds us we are not all that far from the Corinthians.

“The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. – 1 Corinthians 6:13b-14

The Gospel Alternative.

The Good News is that, through Jesus's death and resurrection, all creation is being renewed, healed, and restored. Everything broken mended; all evil undone; all wrong made right.

Paul argues that you do not have “the right to do anything” because someone has a claim on you.

The actions of God in Jesus tell us how immeasurably valuable he finds us and our bodies.

Bodies Matter

By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” –1 Corinthians 6:14–16.

Sex matters because creation matters.

Christianity insists that the physical world matters, creation matters, and bodies matter.

Jesus’ body was brought back from the dead; this means there is still hope for healing from the ways we’ve mistreated or misused our bodies.

Orthodox Christianity has a much higher view of sex than the shame story or the secular story.

The Christian vision identifies marriage as the space in which bodies are most honored.

Holy Union.

But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. –1 Corinthians 6:14–17.

Our sexuality points us back to our deep longing to be united with God.

“We are not fulfilled persons who occasionally get lonely, restful people who sometimes experience restlessness, or persons who live in habitual intimacy and have episodic battles with alienation and inconsummation. The reverse is truer. We are lonely people who occasionally experience fulfillment, restless souls who sometimes feel restful, and aching hearts that have brief moments of consummation…The soul is not a something that has a capacity for God. It is a capacity for God.” – Ronald Rolheiser, the Fire Within

We are longing beings.

"You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." –Augustine.

Our sexual desire is an ache to connect with another human. It is the impulse to move toward intimacy, vulnerability, and bonds.

“The very word sex comes from a Latin verb that means to cut off or sever, and sexual impulses drive us to unite, to restore somehow the union that has been severed. Freud diagnosed the deep pain within as a longing for union with a parent; Jung diagnosed a longing for union with the opposite sex. The Christian sees a deeper longing, for union with the God who created us.” – Philip Yancey

Our Sexual desire is not simply hormones and social conditioning; is a compass that continues to lead us back to God.

Among the myriad pictures of God’s love for us, the most common (and it's not even close) is the union of a husband and wife.

The biblical story begins with the marriage of two people and ends with the marriage of Christ and his church.

“If we want to understand God’s love for us, we are invited to look into the most intimate and private corners of our felt sexuality and cross-reference...In fact, the biblical picture of marital sexual union is nothing less than an anticipation of an even deeper union with the Divine. And whether we are married or single in this life, sexual desire is our inbuilt homing instinct for the Divine, a kind of navigation aid showing us the way home. You could think of it as a form of body language: our bodies talk to us about a greater reality of fulfilment and eternal blessing, and urge us to go there.” – Glynn Harrison

Our bodies matter, and each ache, each desire, is a homing beacon pointing us back to the only One who can satisfy our restless hearts.

A Witness to the World.

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” –1 Corinthians 6:18–20.

Paul insists that the Gospel is an invitation to sexual integrity for the sake of the world.

“For Christians, human identity and vocation are rooted in the call to love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves. Our sexuality flows from the same invitation. In this way, its meaning is best understood ecologically. Sex is about cultivating relationships and communities that create and sustain life, and defining it as such can just as quickly lead us to refrain from coupling.” – Hannah Anderson

The call of Christian Sexuality is to develop communities, relationships, and families.

Used rightly, sex expresses lifelong fidelity and mutual commitment, forging a self-giving relationship.

Used wrongly, sex divides, violates, harms, damages, and demeans.

The Church has failed many times when it comes to sex, but it is the Christian vision of sex and the faithfulness of believers that continue to lay a foundation for sexual justice.

Paul is writing to a Christian community steeped in Sexual debauchery, excess, and exploitation, yet the Church insisted on sexual justice.

• Faithful monogamy

• The fair and honoring treatment of enslaved people.

• The mutual submission in the marriage union.

• Male and female chastity

• The end of abortion and infanticide

• For honor and appreciation given to the abstinent and single individuals.

• The insistence on human dignity over sexual objectification..

Kyle Harper calls Christianity the first sexual revolution.

“...[Christianity] upended an ethical system in which male access to the female body was unquestioned and unquestionable.Whereas the Romans regarded male chastity as profoundly unhealthy, Christians prized it and insisted on it. Early converts were disproportionately female because the Christian valorization of weakness offered obvious benefits to the weaker sex, who could—for the first time—demand sexual continence of men. Feminism is not opposed to Christianity: It is its descendant. – Louise Perry

“Most of this formative process occurs at the subconscious level, beneath our cognitive and rational thinking. Our social and cultural context is not something we look at objectively, like a painting, but is more like an atmosphere that we exist within and cannot exist without. To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, a fish does not “feel” wet; likewise, we swim in the world rather than stand outside it as detached observers. We are involved in our surroundings in a complex and holistic way, and our context shapes every aspect of our lives, including how we see our sexuality, our relationships, and ourselves.” -Jonathan Grant, Divine Sex

First Series Objective: Let’s have conversations that matter.

Second Series Objective: We must recognize that we are ALL sexually broken.

Third Series Objective: We need to pursue a better story.

Main Idea: We are all sexually broken and Jesus calls us to hold both compassion and challenge.

53 They went each to his own house, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 7:53–8:11

“It may well be that the Greek word for without sin (ana-mar-tē(a)-tos) means not only without sin, but even without a sinful desire. Jesus was saying: ‘Yes, you may stone her—but only if you never wanted to do the same thing yourselves.’” - William Barclay

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” - John 8:10

“When [Jesus] was confronted with someone who had gone wrong, he did not say: ‘You are a wretched and a hopeless creature.’ He said: ‘Go, and sin no more.’ He believed that with his help, sinners have it in them to become saints.” - William Barclay

A Rival Religion.

“For many people, including those who consider themselves moderate, political beliefs have replaced religion. Controversialists and culture warriors use television and radio to preach the corruption of society… Certain topics can induce evangelical fervour in the wrong sort of dinner party guest. In America the decline of religion over the past 20 years neatly tracks the rise of religious partisanship.” – James Marriott, We may be godless but religion has its guises

Robert Pape released a report on American attitudes toward political violence.

10% of respondents believed the “use of force is justified to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president.”

7% of respondents said they “support force to restore Trump to the presidency.”

American politics have transitioned from mundane policy debates to rival religions.

A Question for Jesus.

Jesus is speaking into a moment as polarized and contentious as our own.

At this time, Israel, Jesus’ homeland, was occupied by the Roman Empire, who enforced its occupation through military might and taxation.

First-century Romans worshiped their political leaders as gods.

Jesus’s answer says to submit to the laws of the land, in this case, the Roman Empire. But it is his follow-up line that subverts all expectations.

The Jewish listeners would not have missed the scandalous implications and illusion to Genesis 1:26. Allegiance, loyalty, and faithfulness first belong to God above any state, leader, or party.

Against the political religions, Jesus charts a path forward for his followers in the tension between submission and subversion.

1. Remember, God is the redeemer of the World.

“The faith of the Christian is the last great hope of earth.” –Lee Camp, Scandelous Witness

God is the redeemer of the world, and America is not.

“[when] we pray the Lord’s Prayer asking for God’s kingdom to come, we’re praying for the end of the United States of America. We look forward to the day when all people will be united in the one nation, under God, in God, by God, and with God.”– Joseph Lear

We long for and hope for a day in which God’s government will be established– a new heaven and earth.

“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it… For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” – Isaiah 2:2–4.

2. Practice God’s future in the Present.

Our role as the people of God, as the Church, is to represent God’s future now.

"The church exists to set up in the world a new sign which is radically dissimilar to the world's own manner and which contradicts it in a way that is full of promise." – Karl Barth.

3. Let Jesus set your political agenda.

Politics is the art and science of organizing for the common good of a community.

“The primary task of the church is to be an alternative politic. Jesus was clearly a political figure, calling his followers to a particular politic. His politic was a public claim and a public matter.” –Lee C. Camp, Scandalous Witness.

To be a follower of Jesus means to take his instructions seriously and let him inform your political agenda, not the other way around.

As believers, we should agree on values, but we may not agree on how to express those values.

4. We should feel Politically homeless.

Faithfulness to Jesus and his teaching will put us out of step with the right and the left.

Larry Horatio has a book called Destroyer of the gods; Early Christian Distinctives in the Roman World.

1. Multi-racial and Multi-ethnic community

2. Spread across socioeconomic lines

3. Advocacy against infanticide and abortion

4. A chaste and disciplined sexual ethic

5. A Non-violent ethic, refusing military service.

“How Do Christians Fit Into the Two-Party System? They Don’t.” – Tim Keller,

“The church is not to be found in the center of a left/right political world. The church is to be a species of its own kind, confounding the left, right, and middle, and finding its identity from the “center” of God’s life.” – Rich Villodas.

5. Let Jesus’ example guide your political engagement.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. –Philippians 2:5–11.

For followers of Jesus, the means do not justify the ends– how we accomplish something is as important as what is achieved.

6. Contribute to the Public Good.

Here are a few contributions we can make to our city–

1. A vision of human dignity.

2. A commitment to Personal Integrity..

3. A concern for the poor and vulnerable.

4. A responsibility to “the other.”

5. A suspicion of human nature.

6. A love of neighbors that keeps us local.

7. A willingness to work with all kinds of people.

8. The power and favor of God.

7. Confess that Jesus is Lord.

“Christianity shall be an even better citizen: because it does not worship the flag or pledge its allegiance, and because it instead pledges in its baptism to a transnational community of reconciliation, forgiveness, and hospitality, which shall not be founded by sectarian oaths or accidental geographical boundaries…the vocation and mission of the church is to embody suffering love and the peace of God’s kingdom, and call all to participate in this reign.” – Lee Camp, Scandalous Witness

When our allegiance is rightfully given to Jesus, we can resist the temptation to worship a candidate or bow to one of the partisan religions.

“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.” –Act 17:6–8.

First Mark: Genuine & Affectionate Love

Romans 12:9-10a: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 & 13: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing; but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Second Mark: Fervent Honor & Service

Romans 12:10b-11: “Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

Hebrews 3:3-6: “For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses - as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.). Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boating in our hope.

Third Mark: Generous & Hospitable

Romans 12:13: “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Galatians 5:5 & 13-15: “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness… For you were called to freedom brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”

Fourth Mark: Harmonious & Peaceful

Romans 12:14-21: “Bless those who persecute you; Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink: for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Romans 15:1-7 & 13: “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

At the beginning of this, I challenged us to take an honest, inward look at what really marks us… what our real actions are…

These marks, and these actions, are what Jesus did AND what God expects of us, in our humanity.

So, in order to live these marks out… at our voting sites, in our offices, our medical clinics, our car washes, at the gas pumps, at our dinners, in our microchurches, and in our homes… I want us to look to the Father…

Romans 12:12: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

One: Rejoice in Hope

1 Peter 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Two: Be Patient in Hard Times

2 Corinthians 1:9-10: “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

Three: Pray Constantly

Hebrews 6:16-20: “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desires to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Two common problems with prayer in the church:

A sense of guilt from not praying enough

There is a performative aspect to it. We may be afraid to perform prayer or we may be eager to be seen.

Christ gives two warnings before the Lord’s prayer

1. Don’t pray to be seen by others, if you do then you have already received your reward

2. Don’t pray long drawn out prayers just to be heard. God already knows what you need before you ask.

It is okay to process our prayers with God, this takes time. There is a difference between trying to convince God and trying to process with God.

The Lord’s Prayer

Has 6 themes. The first three themes address the Lord. The Last three themes address us.

The first theme is addressing the Lord’s name as being above all. Being hallowed.

Leviticus 22:32 - “You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the people of Israel.”

The prayer begins with saying your name is holy and sacred. In a sense this prayer starts with worship.

The second theme is “Your kingdom come

In order for the Lord’s kingdom to come, those who are part of the kingdom must behave a certain way.

If the Lord rules over us, then our actions would speak to that.

The third theme is “Your will be done.”

A better word for the word will is desire.

“Jesus’s resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord’s prayer is about.”

The Lord’s prayer acts as a catalyst of which the Kingdom of God and the earth become one.

The story of Legion from Mark 5 speaks to this. The townspeople’s will was for the man to be bound and hidden. But Jesus’ will was for the man to be free. Due to this, this man was used as an instrument to usher in the Kingdom of God.

The last three themes of the Lord’s prayer address us. They never say the words my, me or I. This is a communal prayer that uses us and our.

The first theme regarding our needs is giving us our daily bread.

Christ makes it clear that we ought to focus on our daily provisions.

This prayer references Exodus 16 when the jews were led out of slavery but were starving in the wilderness. The Lord gave instructions to gather enough for each day, not any extra for the future.

Jesus says “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” A few verses down from the Lord’s prayer.

The second theme of our needs is forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

This prayer is reinforced by Christ right after the Lord’s prayer when he says “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

The Greek word for forgive is the word Aphiemi which means to release someone from a financial obligation.

Through Christ’s dying on the cross for our sins, we have the opportunity to be released from our debts to God.

The third and final request in the Lord’s prayer is to not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil.

A better translation for the word temptation is test. This prayer is really saying to lead us not into the test.

A few stories of individuals being tested include:

Adam and Eve not eating of the tree of knowledge. Their test became a temptation from the snake.

Christ being tested the wilderness while also being tempted by the devil.

Being tested is inevitable, thus why Jesus follows it up with deliver us from evil.

May this be our prayer for Kansas City

1. The Lord’s name would be above all in Kansas City

2. His kingdom would come and will or desire would be done in Kansas City.

3. That we would look for the daily needs of each other and our community

4. That we would live as a forgiven community offering that same forgiveness that the Lord has shown us.

5. That even when we go through tests, we can be confident in knowing our savior was also tested and was successful. That through him we too can overcome.

“We, Christians, believe the Bible to be the unique, trustworthy, written Word of God and the authority for our lives. But before anything was written, it was embodied. Before the writer of John’s Gospel penned, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” he first had to actually encounter the Word dwelling with him in the flesh… Thinking and writing about the Word followed an embodied encounter with the word… The beauty of the Word is what first captivated the author, long before he “understood” who he was dealing with or what he was getting himself into…” –Curt Thompson

“Over the last four to five hundred years, [Christians] have so pushed beauty in its proper form to the margin that goodness is no longer attractive, at which point truth no longer matters.” – Curt Thompson

“Nobody knows what’s good. Nobody agrees on what is true, but beauty has the capacity to sneak past people’s senses. So I think we have a responsibility to show the beauty of the person of Jesus and the beauty of the gospel.” – Pastor Jon Tyson

“It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.” While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over. - Mark 14:1-11

“Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” - Mark 14:6

Balthasar’s 3 Fundamental Concepts:

1. Beauty

2. Goodness

3. Truth

“It always happens, when people decide to worship Jesus without inhibition—to pour out their valuables, their stories, their dancing, their music, before him just the way they feel like doing—that others, looking on, find the spectacle embarrassing and distasteful…The grumbles of the bystanders… sound a lot like the embarrassed rationalizations of people who have their own emotions well covered up and don’t like seeing other people’s on display.” – N.T. Wright

Spiritual Practice:

• Draw close to the True Artist

• Creatively Act

“For us to become complete to complete God’s work of our being made in his image- we must enter into this most grounded facet of who God is: an artist who makes because he first loves what he is about to create.” -Curt Thompson

“True painting (or art) is only an image of the perfection of God.” - Michelangelo

“To make sense of and celebrate a beautiful world through the production of artifacts which are themselves beautiful is part of the call to be stewards of creation, as was Adam’s naming of the animals.” - N.T. Wright

“Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” - Mark 14:9