Sunday, March 22, 2020

Introduction

We are definitely living in a season with rapidly changing times. But with all great change also comes the chance for great opportunity. While our option to gather at Madison Elementary on Sundays has been stopped for the time being, our mission as a church remains the same: we are a community of disciples who are being formed into the image of Jesus for the sake of the world.

Today we would like to lead you through a guided liturgy that will become our new normal for the next season of our church life together. In addition to being united in the gospel and relationships (which aren’t going away), another layer of connection can be found in our common practice and habits. By studying the same Bible passages, singing the same songs and repeating the same prayers, we are reminded of our connection that goes far beyond a common meeting space.

We hope that as you walk through this that you would be encouraged by God to place your hope in Him and to continue to seize the chances to be and make disciples wherever you are.

 If you are able, please share on Realm or via email how God is using this time in your life and family.

Gather Together

Reality family, we have the opportunity to worship the Triune God! Be creative and look for ways to incorporate children and adults of all ages who are in the room as readers and participants.

Call to Worship

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him and bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100:1-5, ESV)

Sing Together

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16, ESV)

Singing together is a gift that allows us to both rehearse what is true and to express the cry of our soul in a unique way. Feel free to either sing along with the following playlist or have someone in the room lead you on an instrument or a cappella.

“In Christ Alone”
”How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”
”God is For Us”
”The Passion”
”King of My Heart”

Pray Together

“Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:5-6, ESV)

Corporate Confession & Assurance
Gracious God, we confess that we have longed too much for the comforts of this world. We have loved the gifts more than the giver. In your mercy, help us to see that all the things we pine for are shadows, but you are substance; that they are quicksands, but you are mountain; that they are shifting, but you are anchor. We plead your forgiveness on the merits of Jesus Christ. Accept his worthiness for our unworthiness, his sinlessness for our transgressions, his fullness for our emptiness, his glory for our shame, his righteousness for our dead works, his death for our life. We pray in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Hear the good news: The story of Jesus is proof that God’s faithfulness to us doesn’t hinge on our perfection, our performance, or our consistency. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and wash away all of our unrighteousness. Friends, believe and declare the good news of the gospel– In Christ Jesus we are forgiven! Amen!

Learn Together

Sermon

Discussion Q’s

1.     Which part of the fear cycle are you most vulnerable to? Accusation, Condemnation, Fear of Separation?

2.     What does the gospel sound like to your need? What specific work of Jesus directly relates to what you need most?

3.     What can you do with others to remind you and reinforce the truth of the fact that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ?

4.     Name the ways that God is for you today.

Celebrate & Remember Together

If you have the means to celebrate communion together, please do so - remembering the broken body and shed blood of Jesus for you.

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, ESV)

Adventure Together

In this next section, begin to dream together: what does it look like for you to be the church this week where God has placed you? What does that look like on your block, your street, at your work, in your family and with your friendships?

 We would love to hear your ideas and suggestions on how you can be the Body of Christ in this new and unprecedented time. Feel free to share your ideas by emailing the staff or by posting on Realm.

 Benediction - Prayer of Sending

“Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:11, ESV)

 Giving

Our giving at Reality is primarily an act of worship- a response to the generosity of Jesus towards us.

 Prayer Requests/Needs

If you would like someone to pray for you or you need help with a need, please contact:
admin@realityolympia.com

"All Things for Good" - Romans 8:28-30 (Catch the Wind)

Welcome to a new season in the life of our church and our world. While we are currently working on a plan to allow for embodied community to continue in the weeks ahead, today we will simply rely on technology to facilitate our shared experience. 

Discussion Questions:
1. What are you calling good? How would you fill in the following: 
Underneath my calling _____ good, is a love of what? But today I want to rejoice in Christ as my great ________. And I want to confess where I haven't been.

2. In light of what is really good (being conformed to the image of Jesus), how does that change the way you engage suffering? Or the way you comfort those who are?

3. Where are you celebrating good- in your life, in other people's lives, in the world? What needs to be named?

Corporate Confession  and Assurance:
Gracious God, we confess that we have longed too much for the comforts of this world. We have loved the gifts more than the giver. In your mercy, help us to see that all the things we pine for are shadows, but you are substance; that they are quicksands, but you are mountain; that they are shifting, but you are anchor. We plead your forgiveness on the merits of Jesus Christ. Accept his worthiness for our unworthiness, his sinlessness for our transgressions, his fullness for our emptiness, his glory for our shame, his righteousness for our dead works, his death for our life. We pray in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Hear the good news: The story of Jesus is proof that God’s faithfulness to us doesn’t hinge on our perfection, our performance, or our consistency. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and wash away all of our unrighteousness. Friends, believe and declare the good news of the gospel– In Christ Jesus we are forgiven! Amen!

Benediction and Sending:
"Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is in you. And the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with you always." (LR Knost)

"Groans" Romans 8:23-27 (Catch the Wind)

Last week in our journey through Romans 8, we were reminded of creation's groaning as it awaits the revealing of the sons of God. But, according to the Apostle Paul, creation isn't the only one groaning. Creation groans. We groan. The Spirit groans. As we live in the great "in-between" - the time between Jesus' 1st and 2nd coming- God ordains groaning as a tool of His grace. As sons and heirs, we are invited to groan. Not only does God give us permission to groan, but He also gives us a partner to help us in our groaning- the Holy Spirit. This week, we will take a look at the role of groaning in our life and community, not as a bad concession, but as a good gift from God.

"Creation & Groans" Romans 8:19-22 (Catch the Wind)

"Heirs: Suffering & Glory" Romans 8:17-18 (Catch the Wind)

As we continue to talk about life in the Spirit from Romans 8, we are reminded of the places where we give into small-minded settling. In Romans 8:17-18, Paul reveals three areas that are often simply "too small" - our inheritance, our life of suffering, and our future glory. The Apostle Paul urges us not to settle for a over-spiritualized inheritance, for a cynical disdain for suffering, or a shrunken down perspective on our glory. As children of God through the work of Jesus, there is truly nothing that can adequately compare to what lies ahead. This future glory calls us to a present life of stewardship until that Day.

"Adoption" Romans 8:14-16 (Catch the Wind - Romans 8)

"Handholds of Grace" Romans 8:9-13 (Catch the Wind)

All of us, no matter who you are, carry some measure of discouragement and disillusion. Living in between Eden and Jesus' return, how do we cope with our great disappointment over sin, struggle and shattered dreams in the big and small matters of life. Using the image of rock climbing, where is it safe to place your hands? Where can you get a grip when everything seems slippery and elusive? The further we press in Romans 8, the more we discover that the Apostle Paul calls us to place our hands firmly on the life that is our in the Spirit because of Jesus. This week, as we further explore this beautiful chapter, we are reminded that our great deliverance is found in holding on to these basic truths about the Spirit - our confident possession of the Spirit, our hope in resurrection power over death, and our ability to actually be vigilant against sin. No matter what we face or how we feel about it, life in the Spirit is ours.

"Set Apart" Romans 12:1-2 (Guest Speaker)

"Setting Your Mind on the Spirit" Romans 8:5-8 (Catch the Wind - Romans 8)

For as much as Romans 8:1 launches us into good news ("There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"), the news just keeps getting better the deeper you go. God's ultimate plan for humanity is not just to create a non-condemned people, but to create a community of people who walk with Him and live in HIs ways. This is called by Paul, "life in the Spirit." This week we will explore what it means to live in the Spirit and set our minds on the Spirit and not the flesh. Rather than a rejection of our physical lives, this is actually an opportunity to see the Spirit invade all of everyday.

"The End of Condemnation" Romans 8:1-4 (Catch the Wind - Romans 8)

As Romans 8 unfolds, the Apostle Paul begins by shining a light of hope into the darkness known as condemnation with these words: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." With these opening words, the spotlight is put on the Holy Spirit and His goal of uniting people with God's perfect plan to conquer condemnation in all of us. This week we will explore the crippling effects of condemnation and the good news of God's strategy to set us free.

"Therefore" Romans 8:1 (Catch the Wind)

Before we simply drop into the middle of Romans and dive into chapter 8, a little context would be more than helpful. This week we will spend some time in the whole of the book of Romans to best understand why chapter 8 is such good news. This letter, delivered by Phoebe to the network of house churches in Rome, contains theology that is aimed at two competing factions within the Roman church. The "weak" Jewish believers maintain a sense of pride in their heritage and observance of Torah practice such as circumcision and kosher eating. While the "strong" Gentile believers reject such requirements and maintain their own pride in their status and wealth. Yet, in this powerful letter, the Apostle Paul insists that they are both wrong. All power and privilege has been forfeited and both groups stand in need of God’s redeeming covenant love. God has fully revealed Himself and His plan in Jesus the Messiah, who has invited both groups into the way of faith and love in Him as a new family.

"Scripture Reading: Romans 12-16" (Catch the Wind - Romans 8)

With one Sunday in between Advent and the start of the new series, we have planned an extended Scripture reading from Romans 12-16 as way to prepare our hearts and get us ready for Romans. In order to best understand the deep theology of Romans 1-11, you have to grasp the particular situation and relational setting of Romans 12-16. This application at the end of the letter helps give a context and better understanding of the earlier, rich content of Paul's letter. All that is going on at the end of Paul's letter to Rome is not disconnected and actually helps us hear Romans 8 better.

Advent 2019 - Prepare the Way

So much of the Christmas festivity is focused on the Baby and the birth, the celebration and the incarnation – and rightly so. This is the time of year where we stop to focus on God’s lavish gift of redemption and grace through the Word become flesh. But before there is Christmas, there is need for preparation. And before the coming of Messiah, John the Baptist came to prepare the way. Mark’s gospel begins with him. Mary’s pregnancy intersects with him. And as a scratchy, uncanny unorthodox character, John’s words prepared the people of God for the coming Kingdom of God and the dawning of a new age. This Advent season, we too enter a season of preparation. As we listen and learn from John the Baptizer, we are invited to confront the things we may not want to so that we are ready to receive our King.

"Confronting Religion with Love" Matthew 3:4-12 (Prepare the Way)

As we continue tracking the life and ministry of John the Baptist, we are given one final Advent alert about the greatest threat to Christmas and the Christian story. It's not politics or paganism. Rather, according to John the Baptist, the greatest threat to Christmas is religion. During the height of his baptizing ministry, John came face to face with the Pharisees and Saducees coming out to the Jordan River. This prompted a harsh word of rebuke about their presumption and performance. This Christmas, we are invited back to the manger to abandon our religious attempts to please God. Instead, we celebrate the names of love: Jesus (God Saves) and Immanuel (God is with us). Divine love drowns out religion and reminds us of our only hope.

"Dealing with the Darkness" John 1:4-10, Luke 1:76-79, Mal. 3 (Prepare the Way)

The Advent season is filled with paradox and contradiction. As we gather around the glittering lights and beautiful candles, we must do so because of the prevailing darkness. Both exist and both hold true- light and darkness. As we continue into the story of John the Baptist preparing the way for baby Jesus, we run head first into the darkness and discover the coming light. Both John and Luke tease out this theme of light and darkness and remind us through the ministry of John the Baptist that the darkness is confronted best by the light. While Advent is a season that begins in the darkness and requires an honest assessment of the darkness, we celebrate the truth that light has dawned. We worship the Light of the world who calls us to live as children of light.

"Confronting our Expectations of God" Isaiah 40 (Prepare the Way)

"The Messenger" Mark 1:1-8 (Prepare the Way)

In the first week of Advent, we look to the opening lines of Mark's gospel to find his version of the Christmas story. However, instead of finding Mary, Joseph and a baby in the manger, we are simply told about the voice in the wilderness saying, "Prepare the way of the Lord." Over the next month, there are plenty of details that will stir us in the ministry of John the Baptist. But right from the get-go, we discover John preparing the way by disrupting the sleepiness of sin. He calls people into the wilderness, into the river of baptism and into the way of realignment through confession and repentance. As the forerunner to the Messiah, John begins his leveling work by addressing the fundamental need of humanity- the separation that happens from sin. May we listen to his disrupting voice.

(re)new

As summer turns to fall, young and old alike experience a season of fresh starts and new beginnings. It’s not as though everything is completely new, but there is a sense of renewal among us. In a technical sense, renewal holds several shades of nuance and meaning. On the one hand, it can describe the resuming of activity after interruption. Renewal signifies a restart. In other contexts, renewal extends the validity of terms to the present moment. A license, a subscription or a library book can be renewed with a sense of recommitment for the future. And yet, in a different sense, renewal can also be used to describe the renovation of something that is worn out or broken. Sometimes, due to wear and tear, there is need for repair. Restarts. Recommitments. Repairs. Often, renewal involves a little bit of all three. And fortunately, God is the master of renewal.

For the next few months, we are going to talk as a church community about who we are, where we are going and what it looks like to contend for that which matters most. We are a church that declares our pursuit of living everyday so that everyone experiences Jesus and His Kingdom come. And we are committed to see that happen by being and making disciples who are radically transformed by the gospel. For that to bloom in full, we are leaning into the God who is making “all things new.”

"Stories of Renewal, identity, & Community" Hebrews 12:1-2 - (re)new

Renewal of Identity: Part 3 (Personal Identity) - (re)new