Thanks for the note.  It is great to see that my sermon generated some thought and discussion! 

Certainly our lives are, as Romans 12:1-2 says, to be sacrifices offered to God, and this includes our entire lives, including all times.  Nevertheless, both the OT and the NT call people to times of gathered, corporate worship.  For the OT, these times revolved around the Temple and around the day of Sabbath.  For the NT, they revolved around gathering together “on the first day of the week” with other believers (the day of Christ’s resurrection).  And while some may have neglected this (and were called on it — Heb. 10:24-25), by and large this was the common practice, with its own practices of worship in song and prayers, devotion to teaching, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11).

This corporate worship was so important to the early Christians (and to Christians today) that they would gather even if threatened with death (think of house churches in areas under persecution).  Christians gathered together throughout the Roman Empire, and even a Roman governor like Pliny the Younger in Bythinia noticed that Christians gathered together before sunrise to sing songs to “Christus as if he were a god…” 

All this to say, corporate worship was and always has been central to Christian life.  So while we are called to worship God with our whole life, every day, this in no way negates the fact that we are to gather together, and that something special exists about that time as we offer our praises and prayers together, hear the Word of God proclaimed,  and re-dedicate ourselves for the coming week.  If every hour is equally special, then of course, none of them are.

One last thing.  It is true that American Protestants often times have down-played corporate worship (“Can’t I just sing praise songs to the songs in my car on the radio?”  “Read the Bible by myself at home?”).  Yet I have yet to meet a Christian who is truly growing in faith and spiritually mature who lives this way.  To have Christ is to live in his body, as Paul says in 1 Cor, Eph., Col.  “…..and you are the body of Christ….” (1 Cor. 12:27).

Blessings,

PK

Thanks…I’m very glad this series was enriching for you. Have a very Happy New Year! Pastor K

I liked your site guys and I am glad to visit your site. 

Thanks

1. Certainly it is difficult when someone refuses to apologize or repent. If it is a serious offense, Matthew 18 outlines the means by which to proceed (taking another person with you, and so forth). This is the process Jesus provides us to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. For more minor things, I think the important thing is that we have done what we have been called to do — not bear a grudge, or speak about it to others, but go directly to the person. We cannot make others repentant. So we may need to pray and give it to the Lord, asking that he help us to move on and leave it in the past. But we should never underestimate the importance of Jesus’ words — that offenses should be confronted, and if they are not, Matthew 18 provides the means by which to proceed. This is not “stuffing it” at all.

2. With doctrinal disagreement, it is important to know what is central and what is peripheral — and to not make our center too large. Perhaps the best short answer is this one: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” So for example, styles of worship and dress are often divisive, but they should not be (allowing for the importance of reverence and modesty, of course). Sadly, some of the most heated debates in churches are about things that are quite peripheral to the Gospel. At the very least, these debates, whether considered about essentials or non-essentials, are often completely devoid of charity. Scripture always urges us to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) and to strive as much as we can to live at peace with others (Heb. 12:14). Certainly humble and open conversation furthers this; self-righteous arrogance does not. We are to be neighbors even to those with whom we go to church!

Peace,

Pastor Kimlyn

I like many found your sermon on conflict/forgiveness to be personally challenging.
As I’ve thought about this over the last week, two questions keep coming up:

1) what if he doesn’t repent, and for that matter, he doesn’t even think he’s done anything needing forgiveness…. what then? Does the forgiveness take the form of “Lord, I forgive him for doing X to me.”? That sounds a little like ‘stuffing it’ as you discussed.

2) the most common disagreements in the church seem to me to be doctrinal, not I stole your mule, but I think the Bible says Christians ought to live, worship, dress, sing, etc…in one way, and you seem to think otherwise. These are not “if your brother sins against you…” scenarios. So neither Luke 17 nor Matt 18 seem to apply in my mind. What direction does scripture give us here??

Thanks for your thoughts on these…

Blessings,

Pastor Kimlyn

Great set of notes! It’s sobering but also exciting to see how the way of Jesus can challenge our common ways of thinking about what is really important in life. May God help each of us and our Oak Hills family to grow more into that way and to become more like Him! How great to know that the God who cares for the birds and the flowers cares even more about us.

Thanks also for the book recommendation. I’ll take a look at it.

Pastor Kimlyn

Even your life is not your own.
The more you have the more worry you have.
Don’t worry about all the basics; food, clothing and shelter. Everything else is up to you and is nonessential.
Wealth –> Worry
Worry can’t do anything. Then why worry?
Jesus is telling people that had reason to worry not to worry.
We live amongst gluttony and vanity not need.
Put the Kingdom first. Possessions were dangerous then so how much more are they now?
We want stuff and we want it now.
Greed for my own enjoyment.
Greed for how others will see me. –> status
Greed as a replacement for God Himself.
Security through money is a form of idolatry.
What you trust you worship.
It cannot provide the security you think it can.
Be generous because you know God can provide for you.
1. Imagine the family who will live in your home after you. Your home is temporary. Relationships last.
2. 12 x 12 room. What would you keep?
3. Everything I own is on loan from God. It is not the thing that is important. It is the thing that I do with them that matters.
Barns fall but the grass of the fields around them remain.

And here is the book that is totally messing up my life in a wonderful way that relates to the sermon:
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601422210?ie=UTF8&tag=freeagenacadb-20&creativeASIN=1601422210

While there are stipulations to the Mosaic covenant in the Old Testament, it is clear that God’s covenant promises to Abraham are not based upon his ability to achieve them or deserve them. And while animal sacrifices are required in the Old Testament, it is not to them but to God’s gracious mercy and forgiveness alone that David appeals in a Psalm attributed to him after his sin of adultery and murder (Ps. 51). In fact, the NT book of Hebrews states that it was never the intention of the sacrifices of the OT to take away sins but simply to be reminders of sin and temporary means for God to dwell with his people (see Heb. 10:1-4).

The story of Abraham, therefore, is the pattern of salvation, and the Mosaic law must be seen in its context as a temporary story, the means by which the Jews were maintained as a people set apart from the nations for service to God. So, when faced with the new covenant instituted by Jesus, Paul can state that the requirements of the OT law with regard to ritual purity, food restrictions, and circumcision, no longer hold, and certainly do not hold as requirements for Gentiles to be included in the new covenant.

For Paul, the Mosaic law had a place in God’s plan but did not possess the power of salvation — and this is why Christ is not another way to God, but the only way. There can be no salvation through the Law, but only through Christ. The primary sin of Israel in the OT is thus not disobedience to the law, but idolatry, and the desertion of the law is terrible because it reflects a desertion by Israel of faith in and worship of God himself.

Certainly this topic of the relation of the Mosaic covenant of law and the Gospel of grace is a complex topic that many have written about a lot — it deserves much more than a blog post. One quick way to get a handle on this is to read Galatians ch. 3-6 and 2 Cor. 3. You are right to see the stipulations of the Mosaic law in the OT, and the following blessings for keeping it and curses for abandoning it, but these themselves have to be seen in the larger context of the OT as a whole and especially for Christians in light of the new covenant. We can talk more about this later….

Blessings,

Pastor Kimlyn

Pastor Kimlyn

1. While there was a time in the church’s history when parables were interpreted in an allegorical way with many meanings, the consensus today is that there is one primary meaning (though some of Jesus’ more difficult, shorter parables or parable sayings can be more open-ended and there can sometimes be a diversity of thought as to how best to interpret them).

This is not, however, the same as saying that there is only one application. Parables by their nature have an open-ended quality to them and were intended as such. While they should not be interpreted to mean anything, the application of their meaning can be far-ranging.

2. The parable of the soils is such that Jesus is not speaking about a hidden predetermination, but an emphasis upon hearing and reception by the those who listen to his message. Certainly Jesus appeals to those around him (and to us) to “Hear!”, and this is a real appeal, not only to the disciples, but also to those around (Jesus in Luke seems to give his interpretation publicly, though the question to the parable’s meaning arises from his disciples).

3. The parable is about bearing fruit, and it should be read in terms of hearing and responding to the message of Jesus that gives rise to and continues in a life of discipleship. Jesus thinks of a life of discipleship that goes beyond what we sometimes think of as a single decision in life.

The book of Hebrews itself can speak of those who have responded but who abandoned the faith, and does so with dire warnings (ch. 6:4-6; cf. ch. 10). It speaks of those who have heard and responded but who have abandoned the way. For both Jesus and the author of Hebrews, this is a dangerous thing and no hope is extended. For some Christians in history, this has meant that such persons never truly were converted. Other Christians have interpreted this to mean that they were, but have truly abandoned the faith. What can be said with certainty is that the New Testament give only warnings and no hope to those who abandon faith in Christ.

Certainly in Jesus’ parable, for those who fail to bear fruit, there is the implication that they have not truly matured into true faith. Jesus certainly does not commend them at all, but compares them to the good soil where the seed goes into the earth and bears fruit.

This is a great question; we can talk about it some more if you like.

Blessings,

Pastor Kimlyn

1. Do parables typically have only 1 intended lesson/meaning, or are can one derive several messages from each?

2. Can a person change his/her “ground”, or is that ‘set’? (dare I say predetermined?)

3. Does this parable address the question of salvation? By that I mean that, except for the hard path+satan, all seeds were “born” and grew… at least for a while. In the sermon, it was said that they will not ‘mature’ or ‘bear fruit’, but does that mean that they are no longer (never were?) saved, and just living with less than God has for them?