Basics: A community in mission

Pastor Diddy

There is the Lostness to this world, emptiness, and a void. We as Christ disciples must own the lostness of the world. And we must also own the sentness by which Christ charges us.

The neighborhood is your context. It is not just an obstacle on the way to church. You should have a heart and compassion for west philly. That is the lost that we own. Not the pastors and the staff. But everyone who breathes of the Spirit is charged. We are not simply gathered, but primarily sent.

Missional Maturity

The church is an army of missionaries. To desire for the most known name in philly is not Michael Vic, but Jesus.

Missional Momentum

The church as a whole and individuals chasing the least, the lost.

Missional Mythology

The gospel is the center. We should worship Jesus rather than ideas about Jesus. We worship ideas rather than Christ. We are to love God rather than church hobby horses.

None of these things make disciples, Christ does
- coffee shops
- interactive web pages
- dressing down as opposed to dressing up
- saying church buzz words
- theological swag

Missional Mobilization

As the church scatters each day, they will create an environment of hope and grace. That those who have no hope, will see hope. At every point of contact, they see a kingdom beyond the pain and suffering. A place where broken messed up can worship God.

Practical ways to engage your Neighbors
+ Give holiday cards
+ Invite to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cookouts
+ Rake leaves, shovel snow
+ Ask them how your can pray for them, pray for them, and tell them that you always do
+ Find out their interests

Some practical ways to engage your City
+ projects together as a community
+ random acts of kindness as a group
+ sports activities as a group, inviting nonbelievers and people
+ participate in efforts of city renewal
+ volunteer at schools
+ shop at the same stores

Some practical ways to engage one another
+ live out the "one-anothers"of scripture

Pizza, pitbulls, and the power of God
http://thriveinthecity.org/pizza-pitbulls-and-power-the-of-god/

Barriers I: Individualism

1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Pastor Doug Logan (Diddy)

This is not going to be an exegesis. The individual rules we learn from church can muddle our theology. What saves, what is appropriate...  In the garden at the fall, we see bad theology, pride, and radical individualism. We want to go solo, do our own thing. Salvation means we are now in a community. It is not a solo thing. Individualism is an effect of the fall. We need to fight it intentionally to move towards community.

A picture of individualism
- Self at the center
- Everything revolves around the person
- Desire the world to nurture, exalt, and gratify self
- Personal success at the cost of all else
- Driven by satisfaction of self
- Standing up for one's right
- Getting one's due/Getting mine

Aspects of community that can be perverted
Sanctification:
+ a  work of the spirit to bless the community
- a holy journey towards God
Sacraments:
+ strengthening affirmation and being brought to the corporate  unit of the church
- ones continual reaffirmation

History of Community: Jeremiah 29:4-9

Jeremiah 29:4-9 ESV

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

Pastor Doug Logan

Background on Being a Community on Mission

There is a false dichotomy between holy living and mission minded. But we are in Christ, and in Him, we are missional as well as holy.

God sends the church into the world. Mission is the purpose and reason for the church. Mission exists because worship doesn't. The mission is hard to see as a movement of believers. We draw people through the unity in our church. We are convinced that we are posturing to convince people to follow God. But that is not missional. The community is not a bunch of lone rangers!

Mission is not going or getting, it is knowing. Unless you know God's sending mission, you don't get it. Understand the task, then you can get there. Not only is the church sent. But the holy spirit is sent as well.

The sending God sends the church
John 20, Hebrews 1, Acts 1

Mission is not about ideas or theology. It is about God who loves us saving our slimey stinking souls.

Genesis: A flood of evil, a flood of judgement, a flood of grace

Genesis 6 & 7

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Noah's ark is a story told to children. There are even toys. But it isn't really a cute story. There's depravity, death, and judgement. Noah's ark probably floated in a sea filled with bodies of men and animals. Our reaction should be awe rather than aww.

What God Sees

In creation, God saw and He saw good. Now He only sees evil. In mankind leaving God behind and turning our backs on Him, we have devolved to become less than human. Some evolutionists would say we are improving over time. Yet the bible describes the cancerous disease called sin.

Total depravity is a doctrine telling us that the total extent of us are corrupted. Not the amount but the reach. We are like a cup of water. Just a drop of poison pollutes the entire cup. Every aspect of ourselves is corrupt. Every inclination of our hearts are sinful. Everything is mixed motives, even christians. The heart of sin is turning from God and calling our own shots. It is the same heart in Adam and Eve.

What God Feels

God feels our sin. He is regretful and grieved. He feels it personally. We may feel God is distant and emotionally detached, but He is not. He decided to be connected to His creation. Our sin personally pains Him. The grief in genesis 6:6 is the most horrific emotion used in scripture. It is felt by the brothers of Dina, who was raped. The death of David's son, Absalom. The feelings of a deserted wife. Sin makes God feel like a rape, the death of a son, and the deserted wife. That is the pain God feels with each sin we do. God is patient and He endures. But at some point, God's patience runs out.

What God Does

God is love, but He is also just. God is patient, but He will also judge. God's judgement is not harsh, but just. Sin is turning from God, essentially treating God as if He was dead. Deicide, killing God. While we can't literally kill God. We live as if He was dead. So in taking a life, we are sentenced to death. Hell is simply God choosing to take Himself away from people who do not want Him. In doing so, God takes away life, love, joy, and all good things that He is the source of... The absence of God is what makes Hell hellish. The ruin of the world was already done, so God let them have their way. Utter destruction.

Noah found grace. This is the first mention of grace in the bible. Noah is far from perfect. (He gets drunk and wasted later...) God gives Noah his favor. Not only did Noah and his family go into the ark, but sin also went into the ark. So why the flood? God was pointing towards a future judgement and a future grace. Jesus, the seed of Noah, will save more than one family. The coming judgement will make sure that evil will be completely purged. Only Jesus will save us and stop these cycles of evil and judgement. He will usher in the new Eden.

Application

Believe

Pray for those who have yet to believe

Recognize the personal nature of sin

Genesis: Life East of Eden - Where Sin Abounds, But Grace Prevails

Genesis 4

Rev. Charles Han

These chapters show the spread and ramping up of sin. The area to the east of eden show how sin plays out.

The character of Cain's sin

Cain's offering is rejected, Abel's accepted. Cain brings a offering of produce. Abel brings the first-fruit of his animals. This can be interpreted to say that Cain brought a second rate offering. So Cain is rebuked for his cheap sacrifice. Hebrews 11:4 speaks of Abel's faith. Cain's sacrifice was to get God's blessing. Abel was seeking God. Cain was characterized by a faithless, loveless, & cheap sacrifice. Abel was giving a faithful, loving, and costly sacrifice.

Faithless and loveless towards God

When God rebukes Cain, he gets angry. Cain could have turned towards God and repented. Instead he gets angry and depressed. He doesn't get the reward he wanted. So the brokenness between God and Cain turns into brokenness between Cain and Abel. Envy is worse than covetousness. Covet makes a person steal. Envy makes us wish to destroy the thing someone has. In both cases, the person has empty hands, but in the case of envy...the desire is to empty the hands of the other person.

Envious and murderous towards Abel

The murder, the envy, the hatred is all forgivable. So why is the punishment so harsh? Cain has no concern for his brother. He excuses himself from that. He has more concern over the punishment than what he has fine. So God punishes hoping Cain will repent. Cain follows in the footsteps of his parents, Adam and Eve.

Stubbornly unrepentant

Consequences of sin

Sin is trying to destroy us. There is no middle ground with sin.

Sin devours.

Our relationships with others is distanced. Our walk with god is distant. We are never quite at home.

Sin alienates.

Sin gets worse. Adam and Eve sin. By the second generation, Cain murders his brother over a sacrifice. By the seventh generation, we see Lamech. Seven represents completion. Lamech can be seen as the finished endpoint of sin. Cain asked God for protection. Lamech has no such desire. He also introduces polygamy into the world. He breaks the institution of marriage. He is vengeful. He kills people for injuring him. He is without remorse. The disease of sin had run the full course. It ends with unloving and blind hearts, rock hard towards God.

Sin progresses.

Cure for sin

We bring second-rate sacrifices to God. So God brings the first-fruit sacrifice in our stead: Jesus.
Hebrews 12:22-24 Abel's blood cries out for justice, condemnation, and a curse. Jesus' blood cries out for mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

If the grace of God in Jesus dwells in your heart, you will bring first-rate sacrifices to God. You will walk closely with God.

Genesis: Free... Free fallin'

Genesis 2:1-24 ESV

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
These are the generations

of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The nature of temptation and sin

The serpent is crafty and has evil intent. Revelation 20:2 alludes to the serpent as Satan. Yet he was created and became evil by choice. And more importantly, he is not God's equal.

How does temptation work?
   Questioning God's word
   Questioning God's character
   Doubt the reality of consequences and judgement
   Twisting of God's word
   Prioritizing pragmatic values over God's word
   Delighting in Aesthetic Appearance and Sensual Desires over God's word
(Matthew 4:1-11 is another example)

The consequences of sin

Sin turns everything upside down. The serpent, representing creation, tells the woman what to do. The woman leads her husband into sin. Man is absent from guarding and leading his wife. The original hierarchy of creation is flipped.

Layers of brokenness
   Man's relationship with God
   Man's relationship with himself
   Man's relationship with others
   Man's relationship with nature

The nature of God

A pursuer of sinners: seeker of the astray
A promise keeper: He promises redemption in His curse on the woman
A prodigal God: covering sin, guilt, and shame with a sacrifice (wastefully extravagant)

Genesis: Made for relationship

Genesis 2:18-25 ESV

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Made for relationships

Consider creation up to this point. Everything is good. But then God says that Adam's alone-ness was NOT good. Adam goes through all the animals... Not one was suitable. So we can say this verse was to show the first feeling of loneliness. Not good. There is an innate need for relationship within us. This is from our creation in the image of God. God is himself a community, relating between the Trinity. Man is meant to live as a community with relationships. It is part of what makes us human. We want to be vulnerable, accepted, and loved faithfully. Not only in marriage, but also our friendships.

Mangling of relationships

We hurt others. Rejection, self-centered, not sharing and hiding ourselves, etc. That is what we do and what is done to us.

We are meant to be in relationship with God first.  When our relationship with God is broken, our relationships with others break down. As we will see next week, Adam and Eve reject God going into shame and divisiveness. One generation later, the culmination of broken relationship in the murder of Abel by Cain.

Mending relationships

Jesus died to repair relationships. Both our relationship with God and with others. He empowers us in our friendships and in our marriages. God is always with us. So in all these things God is with us. That is our Jesus. We move towards others as Jesus moved heaven and earth to be with us. So those of us who have seen and understand, can move towards others. We can be vulnerable because all our sins and weaknesses are covered by the blood and righteousness of Christ. We no longer have to care about what others think of us. We can be accepting. Considering that we are all sinners before God, we can accept others. Their struggles, their sins. We can forgive and be with them. Through all things.

Even when others are not loving in this way, we are still called to love this way. Persist in living this way, and we may have a softening effect on others. The other person may mature and emulate our way of loving others.

Maturing and modeling effect of relationship

We were created for relationship. When we entered into relationship with God, we have also entered into relationship with all others joined with Christ. All other christians! This is not voluntary.

It is through deep relational investment that you mature and grow. (Hebrews 3:12-13) Sin deceives. This deception hardens us. We have sins not yet uncovered. These deep relationships uncover our blind spots.

"intentional intrusive, Christ-centered, grace-driven, and redemptive relationship" - Paul Tripp

We are to mirror Christ, each in a different way with different spiritual gifts. Not a single person on mission, but teams of people working to reflect the glory of God. This will attract non-christians. A group that loves radically, shares intimately, accepts fully is different from the world.

John 13:35