Holy Attention – Luke 10
Digital Babylon
In 597 BC, the Israelites were exiled to Babylon—a foreign world of unfamiliar customs, language, and gods. Today, we navigate our own “Digital Babylon” with its digital costumes, languages, and idols.
Like the Israelites, we must discern faithfulness in this new digital landscape by auditing our digital habits and shaping intentional discipleship.
Week 1: Digital Formation: Exploring how devices shape and form us.
Week 2: Simplicity: Exploring how Digital Babylon encourages reckless consumption.
Week 3: Holy Attention: Digital Babylon steals our attention and distracts us, faithfulness calls us instead to cultivate Holy Attention.
“We, for every kind of reason, good and bad, are distracting ourselves into spiritual oblivion. It is not that we have anything against God, depth, and spirit, we would like these, it is just that we are habitually too preoccupied to have any of these show up on our radar screens. We are more busy than bad, more distracted than nonspiritual, and more interested in the movie theatre, the sports stadium, and the shopping mall and the fantasy life they produce in us than we are in church. Pathological busyness, distraction, and restlessness are major blocks today within our spiritual lives.” – Ronald Rolheiser, The Holy Longing
Luke 10
Jesus sends out the 72 to proclaim the Kingdom (Luke 10:1–24).
The Parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us to love our neighbor (Luke 10:25–37).
Mary and Martha’s story calls us to focus on God’s presence (Luke 10:38–42).
Martha’s Distraction
Jesus visits Martha and Mary in Bethany. Martha, likely the eldest, bears the weight of hosting Jesus.
Martha becomes consumed with preparations while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet.
Martha protests:
“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” – Luke 10:40
Jesus’ Response:
“Martha, Martha... you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:41–42
Pulled Away by Digital Distractions.
“Back in 2004, we found that people averaged 150 seconds on any screen before switching to another screen. By 2012, it had declined to 75 seconds, and between 2016 and 2021, it diminished to 47 seconds.” – Gloria Mark, Attention Spans
Most people average of 12 minutes and 40 seconds on a single task before being interrupted.
On average, returning to that interrupted task takes 25 minutes and 26 seconds.
For most people, it takes 15 minutes to get back to a similar level of concentration once they’ve returned to the task.
“More often than not, our sense of self and those things to which we commit our attention are scattered by the many things we do, the varied needs of others, and the demands and pleasures of social media and the digital.” – Felicia Wu Song, Restless Devices
The Golden thread of Scripture is God’s Presence (Dallas Willard)
Mary’s simple legacy is that she always found herself in a humble posture in the presence of Jesus.
Sitting at Jesus’ feet in Bethany (Luke 10).
Grieving at Jesus’ feet after Lazarus’ death (John 11:32).
Anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume (John 12:3).
Holy Attention
Holy attention is giving God our whole focus, leading to healing and transformation.
Todd Hall, in Relational Spirituality, argues that those who practice silence and devote their attention to God find that they can –
Hold multiple perspectives more easily
Become less reactive to experiences
More easily observe sensations and emotions
Can act with a deeper awareness of their mind
And can judge experiences more intentionally, not just operating on autopilot.
“Christians have to re-wire their brains for accessing glory.” – Eric Johnson
Cultivating Holy Attention
Eliminate Digital Distractions:
Turn off all notifications that are not essential.
Use focus modes to create intentional times of day that are distraction-free.
Use app limits to establish boundaries.
Take particularly distracting apps off your phone, making them inconvenient to access.
Establish device-free moments.
Investigate other tech to help with your specific problem.
Practice Silence
Bring your attention to God.
Simplicity – Luke 12
“Social media constantly exposes us to the glamorous lives of others. Carefully curated snapshots of lavish lifestyles fill our feeds as we scroll through the social media platforms, flashing images of luxurious vacations, designer wardrobes, and extravagant dining experiences.” - James Curry, VP of Wealth Management at Greenleaf Trust
"Social media is a breeding ground for envy and dissatisfaction." - Dr. Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University
Despite technology’s promise to do more for our finances, I think it is doing less.
How in a digital culture that pressures us to keep accumulating more things, do we steward our money well and give it back to God?
Luke 12:13-25 in 3 Sections
“We are all that guy”
Greed
Worry
Section 1: “We are all that guy”
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” -Luke 12:13-15
Section 2: Greed
16 And he [Jesus] told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” - Luke 12:16- 21
This man….
Never saw beyond himself
Never saw beyond this world
“Instead of denying himself he aggressively affirmed himself; instead of finding his happiness in giving he tried to conserve it by keeping.” - William Barclay
“The selfish pursuit of things is pointless. When creation is inverted, the value of possessions is distorted. Those who climb over people or ignore them in the pursuit of possessions will come up empty on the day God sorts out our lives. What a tragic misuse of the gift of resources this man had gained! What could have been an opportunity for generosity and blessing became a stumbling block to the soul.” - Darrell Bock
Section 3: Worry
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. - Luke 12:22-34
“Jesus is talking about our basic approach to life. Are we anxious and lacking trust in God, constantly trying to gain control of things that often are beyond our control? Or do we trust God to provide and concentrate on honoring relationships by pursuing righteousness and serving others with our resources? Two things tell us the answers to these questions: our heart and our pocketbook. Our heart can tell us if we are anxious, and our pocketbook can tell us if we are generous. Both tell us if we are trusting God.” - Darrell Bock
Spiritual Practice
Christian Simplicity: Richard Foster and Mark Scandrette define it as: “An inward reality that can be seen in an outward lifestyle... choosing to leverage time, money, talents, and possessions toward what matters most.”
Four Ways to Practice Digital Simplicity
Live by a Budget: Create a budget to ensure your treasure goes where it matters most.
Be Aware of Lifestyle Inflation: Are you consuming content that inflates your expectations? Unfollow, limit, or fast social media usage if necessary.
Limit Shopping Apps: Delete shopping apps from your phone. Make it harder to buy things
Be Generous: As you journey towards simplicity, you’ll find you have a lot to give away and more money to share with others. Additionally, practice proactive not reactive generosity.
Digital Formation – Romans 12:1-2
Human Formation
We are shaped by a multitude of influences: environment, culture, relationships, and experiences.
Technology has an outsized influence on our lives, often without our awareness.
Social media platforms and algorithms are designed to keep us scrolling, subtly modifying our behavior.
“What might once have been called advertising must now be understood as continuous behavior modification on a titanic scale.” – Jaron Lanier
Psychologist Dr. Maria Panagiotidi identifies five features that elicit specific responses:
Unpredictable notifications to create anticipation.
Tailored notifications that are harder to ignore.
Interference with deliberate decision-making (e.g., autoplay features).
Partial goal fulfillment to keep users engaged.
Exploiting user vulnerabilities with personalized content.
Author Jonathan Haidt highlights the rewiring of adolescent brains due to smartphone use, contributing to anxiety and limited attention.
"Whenever we use tools, from shovels to books to phones and virtual reality, regardless of whether you use them for good or evil, the act of using them forms us physically, mentally, spiritually, and relationally.The problem with thinking of technology as neutral is that doing so often makes us miss all the non-neutral ways its presence in our lives affects us." –John Dyer
Digital Babylon
Like the Israelites in Babylon, we live in a world with foreign customs and influences, striving to remain faithful to God.
The challenge: How do we follow Jesus faithfully in this digital age?
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:1-2
Squeezed into Mold of this World.
We are all being shaped by something—the question is whether we’re being conformed to the world or transformed into Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
Paul’s words emphasize the need for intentional cultural non-conformity and mind renewal.
Do you shop habitually and carelessly?
Do you compulsively scroll, losing focus?
Do you consume problematic content?
Do you avoid engaging with differing perspectives?
Does your technology use hinder your health, relationships, or spiritual life?
Renewing the Mind
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…” –Romans 8:29.
“Christians have to re-wire their brains for accessing glory.” – Eric Johnson
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8
“Instead of having our imagination saturated by media, we seek to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We commit to establish structured limits for our use of screens and our consumption of entertainment, in quantity, frequency, and moral character.” – Andy Crouch
Living Sacrifice:
Paul calls believers to be “living sacrifices,” holding nothing back (Romans 12:1).
Worship is not limited to songs but includes every aspect of life—our actions, decisions, and digital habits.
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” –Luke 9:23–24.
Suggestions for Digital Faithfulness:
1. Phone Locker: Try going phone-free during services.
2. Digital Habits Audit: Reflect on how technology influences your life. Consider Dr. David Greenfield’s Smartphone Compulsion Test or answer simple questions about screen time and habits.
3. Grace and Patience: Different people will adopt different practices; move intentionally and extend grace to yourself and others.
“Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
Advent - love
The Liturgical Calendar
Advent & Christmas– God with us.
Lent– God prepares us.
Easter– God for us.
Pentecost – God in us.
Ordinary Time– God through us.
Practicing the Church calendar is ultimately a way of marking time not by our work schedule, not by the business of school, not by holidays or vacations, but by the story of Jesus.
Love.
Our understanding of love, and consequently the God of Love, is profoundly shaped by our family of origin– those who raised us.
We can unconsciously apply the way we relate to our family to the way we relate to God.
“…If we can’t trust our parents, who we can see, to provide emotional support and security, how can we trust God, who we can’t see? Patterns of interactions with our attachment figures get stored in our memory as gut-level expectations of how close relationships work. These expectations get placed on our relationship with God, often without realizing it. This doesn’t mean that our experiences and expectations of God can’t change, but it does mean that the social context in which we are raised profoundly shapes the “God of our gut.” And this—not the God of our head—is the God we experience most of the time.” – Todd Hall
In Jesus, God is working to define love on his terms so that we might come to know who He really is.
At Christmas, God takes on flesh and shows us that his love is (1) attentive, (2) joyous, (3) self-giving, and (4) glorious.
Attentive Love.
God’s attentive love is demonstrated as his angelic messenger takes the time to ease the shepherd’s fears.
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid…’” – Luke 2:8-12
One of Luke’s favorite themes throughout his biography of Jesus is the great reversal.
“God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.”– Eugene Peterson
God’s love is attentive to those who are overlooked.
Joyous Love.
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” – Luke 2:10
That phrase ‘good news’ is the Greek term Euangelion (where we get the term ‘evangelism’ or ‘evangelicalism’).
Euangelion was news sent from the heart of Rome to the far edges of the empire.
Luke calls this the good news of the Kingdom of God.
“Your Kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” – Matthew 6:10
The adjective Luke uses is mega. This is news that will cause mega-joy.
Is it not telling that the news of God will cause great joy? God’s love is joyous.
Self-giving Love.
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” –Luke 2:11-12
As the angel tells it, the Gospel is that the long-awaited Jewish messiah has been born in Bethlehem, just as the prophets said centuries before.
“[Jesus] emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” –Philippians 2:6-7
God’s love is incarnational in that he became flesh and bone.
“...[Jesus]humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”(Philippians 2:8)
“Jesus’ love relentlessly abounds for his people... He is our great signpost—a king gifting us life in exchange for his death.” – Alexandra Hoover
They wrapped him in cloth strips and placed him in a manger because there was no place. –Luke 2:7
They wrapped him in linen cloth, placed him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had yet been laid. –Luke 22:53
Could this threefold phrasing be a deliberate choice to tell us the sacrificial and self-giving nature of God’s love?
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son…” –1 John 4:9–10
The Love of God is not a sentimental well-wishing. God’s love is self-giving action for the sake of all.
“Never underestimate the power of a God who could have turned his back on us in wrath forever, but instead became Love incarnate, love that bore all things and endured all things, even to the cross, so that we might be restored to him and to one another. “ – Fleming Rutledge
Glorious Love.
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” – Luke 2:12-14
God’s glorious love is displayed as he heals the world by getting His hands dirty.
Love is not an abstract concept. Love is a person.
“God is love.” – 1 John 4:8, 16
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” –Exodus 34:6.
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” –Psalm 108:3–4.
“...God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. –1 John 4:8-9.
Reflect on God’s Love.
How has your family of origin shaped your understanding of God’s love?
How can you reflect the self-giving love of God in your relationships this Christmas season?
How might you encounter God’s glorious love in the messiness of your everyday life?
Advent - Peace (Copy)
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” –Luke 2:1-12 (NIV)
“Advent is practice in waiting.” – Tish Harrison Warren
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” –Luke 2:8-12
“In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult.” Isaiah 29:18-19
“You will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” –Luke 2:76-79
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in the last days he has spoken to us by his Son, who he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature." –Hebrews 1:1-3
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor" –Luke 4:16-18
“In Jesus Christ he became a limited human being, vulnerable to suffering and death….In the most profound way, God has said to us, in Christ, I will adjust to you. I’ll serve you though it means a sacrifice for me.” –Tim Keller
“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, will returnwith shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” –Psalm 126:5-6
“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross." –Hebrews 12:2
“All joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still about to be.” – C.S. Lewis
He gives us comfort in all our troubles. Then we can comfort other people who have the same troubles. We give the same kind of comfort God gives us.” – 1 Corinthians 1:4
Advent - Peace
“Peace! Peace! When there is no peace.”
-Jeremiah 6:14
“When Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit and conceived the Son of God, her body became the inner court of the Holy of Holies (the place where God’s presence dwelled in the Temple). Never before had a woman entered this sacred space, but in the incarnation, the Holy of Holies came into her space.”
-Cheryl Bridges Johns
“We must resist the tyranny of the present. If we ignore the echoes of the past, we doom ourselves to unrecognized ignorance. It’s only because of our connection with our technological past that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every generation. Likewise, if we maintain our connection with our theological past, we don’t have to reformulate the essential creeds every generation.”
-Brian Zahnd, Water to Wine
Greeting: Peace be with you. Response: And also with you.
Advent Hope
Hope in Emmanuel
Christ is the Savior we need, not the one that was expected.
The names of Jesus are not just taglines, they are declarations of hope!
Scholar Joseph Exell “ It would seem as if every soul had to undergo a period of questioning and doubt and wondering before it realizes the ineffable peace and cloudless radiance of perfect trust.“
Immanuel is the promise of God with us and the promise that nothing is impossible with him.
Darrell L. Bock - “Luke wants us to identify with Mary’s example, not to unduly worship her personhood”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "The Christian is not to be a pious soul who waits for the Kingdom of God, but a man who engages in active obedience to the will of God in the present world, preparing the way for Christ’s coming by living faithfully according to His Word."
The Christmas story tells us that the promised eternal Kingdom is already here.
Emmanuel is the promise of God with us and the promise that nothing is impossible with him.
Lessons from Mary - Life of consecration.
Elders
“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
To leaders in the room- are you willing to be a servant?
To followers- are you willing to submit to others?
To all of you- are you willing to remember your true enemy and let that change your response?
Insulted
“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.
Surprise to expectancy
Distance to Intimacy
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)
Suffering
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.
Be good to one another
Do good in the face of evil
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.
Be good to one another.
Do good in the face of evil.
Cling to good news.
Subversive
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–
To politics (2:13-17)
To enslaved people (2:18-21)
To Marriages (3:1-7)
On Difficult Passages
Acknowledge the feelings it produces (confusion, discomfort, anger, etc)
Refuse to Ignore it.
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
Authority
“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
Chosen
“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:
We Have been Chosen by God
We Have Priestly Duties
Formation
“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
Salvation
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.
Vision - In KC
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:
Make a Realistic Commitment
Prepare for the Awkward
Communicate
Ask questions
Make the goal family
Vision - Together
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
Reveal the Kingdom of Jesus
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"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.
Revealing the Kingdom of Jesus 2024
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.
Union
Sexual Formation
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.
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.
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.
Jesus and Sexual Minorities (Copy) (Copy)
Sexual Formation
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.
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.
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