As we continue to talk about identity in the process of renewal, we will look at the false identities we so easily entertain. In Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he calls the people of God to avoid the way of the Gentiles and in doing so, repeatedly emphasizes that the core of the battle is in our minds. Putting off and putting on takes place in the thought processes and imaginations of the people of God. In order to fully put on the new, we must be aware of the false identities that have shaped our thinking. These false identities involve the names we called by culture, by others, by our sin and by ourselves. Transformation that stems from the renewal of our minds begins here and reveals in the truth of our real identity.
"Renewal of Identity: Part 1 (Biblical Identity)" Matthew 3:13-17 - (re)new
This week we are shifting our focus from "the real God" to "the real you" to talk about identity. If you come to the Bible and ask the question, “God, who do you say that I am?” you will find numerous answers. In the Scriptures, all throughout the story of God’s redemption of His creation, you will find God time and again calling His people with clarity around who they are. The Bible has clear and serious answers to the question of identity. But among the many names that God calls his own, there is one identity that stands as foundational to them all. We are going to explore the scene of Jesus' baptism to discover how that passage and the idea of being the beloved gives shape to every other identity.
"Renewal of Friendship with God" John 15:12-17 - (re)new
There are many ways a person conceives of God that shapes their relationship with God. While it is true that God is Almighty, All-Powerful, Sovereign and perfect in HIs holiness, the storyline of the Bible reveals that this same God delights in humanity, draws near and even dares to call people His friends. Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day. Abraham is repeatedly called a friend of God. Moses is graced with the chance to speak to God face to face as a man speaks to his friend. David is a man after God's own heart. And then, when Jesus arrives, He flips the paradigm in John 15 and explains that His disciples are not just servants but friends. This week, as we continue to unpack our theme of relational renewal, we are going to explore what friendship might look like as a paradigm for engaging God in the details of every day life.
"Renewal of Listening" John 10 - (re)new
In John 10, Jesus is speaking to his disciples and makes some bold an audacious claims. He takes them outside to the sheepfold to teach them lessons about the Kingdom of God. In doing so, he reveals that the Good Shepherd is deeply committed to a search and rescue mission to round up the sheep that belong to Him so that they may know Him, hear His voice and follow His lead. This, according to Jesus, seems to be normal discipleship: sheep that know the Shepherd in deep and intimate ways, hear His voice and are called by name. A life of discipleship and relational renewal is built on the idea of a God who speaks and a life that listens. This week, we will explore the various ways that God speaks to His people and how we might best know what He is saying.
"Renewal of Presence" Exodus 33 - (re)new
Relational renewal begins a vision for the God for which you have been created. God the Father did not send the Son, Jesus, into the world to obtain right behavior, right thinkers or to obtain an effective workforce alone. The Christian God- Father, Son and Spirit- is a relational community of love that seeks to be with us for His glory. This theme- God with us- is the vision God has for humanity. God loves to be with His people. This week, as we explore Exodus 33, we are given a snapshot of God's heart for us as a New Testament, Jesus-loving, Holy-Spirit filled new covenant people. God's interaction with Moses and the people of Israel as they prepare to move from the wilderness into the Promised Land reveals the priority of the presence of God and a picture of what it can be like- "face to face as a man speaks with a friend." We are a people of the presence of God and everything else finds its place underneath that pursuit. This gift is ours to prize because of Christ.
"A Devoted Community" Titus 3:3-8
"Trellis & the Vine" John 15:1-8 (re)new
As we continue to paint the picture of "Relational Renewal" at Reality Church, this week we will focus on the environments of transformation. Radical Gospel transformation doesn't happen in a vacuum, not does it happen without some structures. In John 15, Jesus uses the life of the vineyard as an analogy for life in the Kingdom of God. He talks in detail about the "life of the vine" - the vine, branches, the Vinedresser, pruning and fruit. However, the hidden and assumed element in HIs teaching is the trellis upon which the life of the vine flourishes. From Jesus' life and ministry, we discover that there has to be structures in place (invitation, community, time, intentionality, and expectation of obedience) to uphold the flourishing life that abiding in Christ brings. The trellis is not the focus or the point. But it is a necessary element to see relational renewal with God, self and others.
"Renewing our Vision/Mission" Mark 1:14-18 - (re)new
Stepping into the first week of this new series, we will spend some time refreshing our vision and mission along with understanding of renewal. As a church community, there are some distinctive ideas that we are committed to contending for among the push and pull of life and culture. Kingdom. Discipleship. Transformation. Jesus invites us to live a different way in a different story. May the Spirit bring renewal among us in every sense of the word.
"Unity for the Journey" Psalm 133:1-3 (Psalms of Ascent)
There are a lot of things in the Bible that God declares to be good: creation, a spouse, and relationships of various kinds. However, something that often fails to make the list is the "goodness" of unity. Psalm 133 begin with the declaration of how good and pleasant it is "when brothers and sisters dwell in unity." Rather than being tacked on as a "nice bonus," the Scriptures speak of the essential nature of unity for the people of God in the world. The psalmist offers us poetic images about the role of unity, the essential nature of unity and insight as to why Jesus would make it the center of his High Priestly prayer for the church (John 17). This week we will explore just how we can pursue this calling that lies directly in the heart of our God.
Psalms of Ascent
It has been said that music can "name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable." Which is why the book of Psalms has historically been such a treasure to the world and the people of God. With incredible poetic imagery, the Psalms express the reality of God and variegated depth of the human journey. While there are 150 total psalms which have been arranged into 5 different books, there are also several different sub-categories of songs in the greater album. Psalms 120-134 represent a collection of songs known as "Pilgrimage Songs" or the Psalms of Ascent. These 15 psalms, written by a variety of authors, represent the songs that Hebrew people traditionally sung as they made their way "up to Jerusalem" to celebrate the holy days in the holy city. Even though we don't currently make regular pilgrimages to the Middle East, we are called to the same journey of faith. We are made for movement toward God in maturity and discipleship. This road of faith is long. At times it is hard and involves unexpected twists and turns. But, as the people of God, we get to do it together with an ancient soundtrack. Their songs become our songs. Their roadmap becomes our road map. And in this musical collection, we find timely reminders for our lives and our shared spiritual journey.
"Childlikeness for the Journey" Psalm 131:1-3 (Psalms of Ascent)
In a world that calls for us to "grow up," Jesus teaches that the way we mature in the kingdom of God is by becoming more childlike. As we spend another week learning from the Psalms of Ascent, Psalm 131 offers a short and sweet reminder about the wisdom of childlikeness for our journey of faith. Filled with beautiful imagery, the psalmist calls us to follow his example of embracing our limitations and cultivating the weaned life. Life as a child of God points us down a different path than the voices of culture. And it is a more beautiful way.
"Blessing for the Journey" Psalm 128 (Psalms of Ascent)
"Unshakeable Confidence in a Sovereign God" Acts 4:23-33 (Guest Speaker)
"Work for the Journey" Psalm 127:1-5 (Psalms of Ascent)
"Honesty for the Journey" Psalm 129:1-8 (Psalms of Ascent)
Without a doubt, Psalm 129 is one of the most awkward, counter-intuitive songs in the whole Psalm of Ascent collection. Not only does it recall Israel's long history of affliction, it ends with a brutally honest cry for shame and cursing on her enemies. It's the "un-blessing" song toward those who have inflicted injustice against Israel. While it may make us uncomfortable to read or sing, these kinds of songs are gifts to the people of God. How do you deal with a history of wrongdoing? What do you do with ugly emotions of anger and bitterness toward injustice? This song reminds us that God is big enough to handle it all. And His invitation, rather than stuffing it, is to bring it all into the light to Him.
"Joy for the Journey" Psalm 126:1-6 (Psalms of Ascent)
Psalm 126 raises the issue of joy for the journey of following God. We live in a world starving for joy, and yet is confused about its meaning and source. As a result, even though we search, shop, consume and escape, the joy that we seek can feel fleeting or elusive. What is joy and where does it come from? As part of the Psalms of Ascent, Psalm 126 reminds us that joy comes from God and, as one scholar wrote, "Joy is the verified, repeated experience of those involved in what God is doing." We are invited to renew our joy through participation in these truths: (1) God has done it before and (2) God will do it again. These two sides of the same coin can produce in us an experience of joy in spite of our current circumstances. Come discover (or discover again) the good news of great joy in the gospel.
"Security for the Journey" Psalm 125:1-5 (Psalms of Ascent)
The next song in our collection the Psalms of Ascent is Psalm 125. Drawing heavily upon the imagery of Mt. Zion, the psalmist reveals that journey of faith is not a wobbly tightrope walk in the sky. Rather, those who trust in the Lord have mountain-like stability, security and shalom. We will not be moved. We are surrounded. And we will be made whole. This song calls us out of teetering insecurity and helps us renew our confidence in the Lord for our deepest needs.
"Remembrance for the Journey" Psalm 124 (Psalms of Ascent)
Psalm 124 assumes that we will have hard times and it implies the importance of memory; remembering that the Lord is on our side. There are any number of reasons we experience hard times. Sometimes it is simply because we live in a broken world. Other times it is because we have enemies who are coming after us. And sometimes, our hard times are caused by our own sin. This Psalm was written by David, a man who was well acquainted with hard times, caused by all three of these things. During this sermon, we use stories from David’s life as a vehicle to help us call to memory hard times we have experienced, with an invitation to bring those experiences under the influence of the Lord, who is on our side.
On Sunday, July 7th, there was opportunity for people to share experiences they have had, where the Lord was on their side. After someone shared, we corporately responded in song, "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
"Posture for the Journey" Psalm 123 (Psalms of Ascent)
As we continue our series in the Psalms of Ascent, we discover that Psalm 123 is a song about our posture for the journey. Rather than focusing on the questions of "where we are going," this song offers a snapshot of "how we are to go." And the psalmist's primary answer to that question is this: by being a servant. In a world that bristles at the idea of being a servant to anyone, every follower of Jesus must discover the secret of freedom that is found in having the right Master. Psalm 123 anticipates the Jesus-style life that offers our eyes, requests and concerns to the Father, the Master of all.
"Providence for the Journey" Psalm 121:1-8 (Psalms of Ascent)
If Psalm 120 gets us going in our journey through dissatisfaction, Psalm 121 offers a realistic exploration of the journey that we are walking toward God. It's a song that reminds us how life works: that once we set out on this God-ward journey in the Kingdom of God, it will never be without problems. Just because you follow Jesus, doesn't guarantee a "get out of problems free" card. In fact, it might even get worse. This thing called life is a long, hard journey of faith that takes numerous twists and turns and leaves everyone looking somewhere for help. The question of Psalm 121 is this: on the journey of life, where are you looking for help? If we listen well to this song, we will be reminded just how much God longs for us all to move our gaze heavenward- to the LORD, the Watchman, the Protector and the Preserver of His people.