Connie White, Charlotte Rakestraw and Robert Meade tend to the front of the facility.
The Home Office staff took a break from regular duties the morning of Friday, October 15, to keep the facility looking great! Everyone helped for a couple of hours to clean up trash around the property, plant flowers around the entrance, paint handrails along the roadside, trim trees beside the parking lot, and other general clean-up.
The crew at lunch after a satisfying job done.
After the work party, we shared lunch together around the dining table. Thank you to the amazing Home Office staff who collaborated to keep the Home Office beautiful and to save money so more can be used for the gospel!
Recently, I’ve been thinking about the past. My wife, Averil, was on the Wawa Ontario Facebook page and someone posted a photo of the 1964 grade 1 class at Sir James Dunn elementary school.
Apparently, someone found it in a shed and posted it on Facebook to see if anyone could identify the students in the photo. I instantly recognized many in the photo as I was one of those students (third row from the bottom, third person from the left).
Talk about a flashback!
As more and more Facebook users look at that photo, more people are being identified and if the person has their own Facebook page, it is interesting to see where they ended up now that they are in their 60s.
Looking at that photo is like seeing those 6-year-olds frozen in time.
But time goes on, doesn’t it? It never stays still.
I was reminded of this fact when I read this passage from Hebrews:
“Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever” (Hebrews 7:23-24).
While the high priests of Jewish fame could not continue to represent the people because they were trapped in time and own their mortality, the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is able to make intercession for us for all time.
As one who depends on him, I find encouragement from this truth, especially when time is such an enemy in our lives.
Prayer: Jesus, give us a glimpse of your reality and give us an ability to rejoice that you are Lord even of time.
Why is Advent so important? Because the coming of Jesus is important.
More than 2,000 years ago, when the Holy Spirit overshadowed a young lady named Mary, Father God’s timing was perfect to send his only begotten Son into the world. The 40+ Old Testament prophecies pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah and the setting of the stage. The messaging had been so well laid out that the jealous King Herod was aware, and even wise men (Magi) from the east came to honor this newborn king.
Unfortunately, most of Israel missed the coming of the Messiah and the significance. They were pre-occupied by their religious traditions, steeped in their works and personal righteousness, and under the heavy-handed rule and occupation of the Romans. Their only perceived need of deliverance was from the tyranny of Rome. They were looking for a warring hero king to raise a sword against Rome, not a rabbi who would challenge them over their religion and willingly subject himself to death on a Roman cross.
We are highly blessed and favored to live on the other side of the cross. We get to see how radical and life-changing the plan of God really is. We get to see how the Messiah wasn’t about conquering armies and nations— he was about conquering sin and death. Instead of raising a sword against the perceived enemy, he went to the cross and died in their place so that they too can have a place in his eternal kingdom. King Jesus is about forgiveness, redemption, and love for all his created children.
Why do we need four weeks of celebration and symbolism leading up to the celebration of Christ’s birth? If you are like me, I can get easily distracted and skim through life. The things that really matter, and the things that have substance deserve our full attention and our lingering. As an example, I just returned from my youngest son’s wedding. Instead of this being an afternoon ceremony, making a toast, eating cake, and going home, it was a four-day event with scattered activities from going to the courthouse to get a license, the two merging families having time together, hanging out with the bridal party, an extended rehearsal brunch, an entire day of the groomsmen and bridesmaids being with the bride and groom leading up to the ceremony, to a dinner and dance for the ages. It was more like a wedding feast that we read about in the New Testament. Events worth celebrating warrant the dedication of time, attention and our full undivided presence. Advent, with its emphasis on hope, peace, joy and love all culminating in the person of Jesus is a season to immerse our time, thoughts and energy.
The coming of Jesus is important – in fact, there is nothing more important than Jesus coming into your life and into the life of our church. Let’s not make the mistakes of the Jewish nation some 2,000 years ago and allow the noise, difficulties, and tyranny of the present age to become so loud and real that we miss seeing Jesus. Let’s not miss seeing that he is our hope, peace, and joy and that it is his love that changes everything – redeeming oppressed and oppressor alike.
I invite our Hope Avenue champions and teams to access the preparation materials that are provided through Equipper to make this Advent season an event of events and a celebration where all worshippers who gather with us will know, and know that they know, that Jesus has come!
Tommie Grant, GCI Board member and Pastor of Grace Communion Ladson (SC), informed me that his mother-in-law Ruth Grant died last week. Robin, Tommie’s wife, had been caring daily for her mother for months. The past year has already been a season of suffering for the Grant family as Tommie has lost four siblings. Please remember their family in prayer.
“To walk with Jesus is to walk with a slow, unhurried pace. Hurry is the death of prayer and only impedes and spoils our work. It never advances it.” ― John Mark Comer
Click the image below to download and print the November Prayer Guide and join us in praising the Father for the incredible work he has included us in, as we join together in corporate prayer and communion.
Earlier there were a lot of priests, for they died and had to be replaced. But Jesus’ priesthood is permanent. He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them. So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn’t have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect.” (Hebrews 7:23-28 MSG)
“No Excuses” can have a lot of meanings, many of which point to the negative thinking that keeps us from embracing our whole self. Our team can beat their team, no excuses! You promised you would do this, no excuses! There was plenty of time to study for this test and you still failed, no excuses! But what if we redeem this phrase, or rather, we recognize God’s redemption of “no excuses”?
Instead of believing ourselves to be failures when we give excuses, as if we have kept good things from happening because of our excuses, what if we remember Jesus’ perfect success for all humanity? Jesus is our High Priest, and the author of Hebrews reminds us Jesus has “done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice” (emphasis added). There is no excuse that can overpower, reverse, break, or destroy what is complete in and through Jesus. Are you tired, stressed, sad, or angry? Jesus has still done it and is still “absolutely, eternally perfect” AND right by your side. You’ve missed church because it didn’t feel right? Jesus has still done it, is still “absolutely, eternally perfect” AND is calling you to participate with him. The bigger your excuse, the stronger you may experience God’s nudge to join him in his work. The moment (however many we need in a day, week, or year) we recognize that our excuse doesn’t stop God and doesn’t have to stop us is the moment we experience Jesus’ triumph over our imperfections and his strength in our weakness. The next time you have an excuse for not doing something, don’t count it as failure, but as an opportunity to rely more fully on God in the midst of your heartache.
Precious Lord, we thank you for the knowledge and reminder that you have done it all! There is nothing we can do to mess up your perfect plan and redemption, which is complete in Jesus Christ. No lie or excuse told to us from the enemy can keep us from participating with you. Strengthen our hearts and minds to more fully give even our excuses into your hands. Amen.
Not long ago a pastor told me he gets questioned by congregants who ask, “Why don’t you focus more on sin in the RCL sermons? We seem to be soft on sin.” His response was to put himself into the mix by saying he was just like the apostle Paul in that he was a chief sinner and was completely dependent on the mercy and grace of Jesus. He explained to me that he’d rather be known as strong on grace and if that meant being soft on sin, he was okay with that.
I receive similar questions from time to time in emails and letters sent to the Home Office as it relates to certain human behaviors and lifestyles in society around us.
There is a lot I can say in response to this:
Most people are already aware of their shortcomings and failures; they don’t come to church to be reminded of their sin, but to be reminded of the hope they have in Jesus.
Jesus said he did not come to condemn, and I don’t believe it is our job to make people feel condemned.
Jesus’ message was pointing us to our relationship with God, not our relationship with sin.
Our calling (commission) is to point to Jesus and his message of salvation, to teach people to obey Jesus’ commandment to love as he loved. It is his love that overcomes a multitude of sins.
Didn’t Jesus say he came to steer us away from sin and its condemnation, and point us to God’s grace and mercy?
Isn’t it ultimately the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to convict humanity about sin and righteousness? As Christ’s representatives we participate with the work of the Spirit.
Granted, some will raise some arguments over these statements, but let me suggest that before we argue, we look at a few key passages of Scripture. In particular, let’s look at 1 John 3:4, and then at John 16:9.
An oft-quoted passage is found in John’s letter.
Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4 NRSV)
But what is the context here? The context is God’s love. Let’s read a few more verses:
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. (1 John 3:1-6 NRSV)
Notice a few important things. First, John points out that we are the children of God. And the world does not know us because it does not know him. The focus here is on Jesus and our true identity as his beloved. John’s primary theme isn’t sin—he is writing about our identity in Christ. Then John reminds us that those who know him are purified in him. All this comes before the oft-quoted verse about sin. Then John reminds us further that Jesus “was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” Should we focus on Jesus, or focus on sin? It’s an important distinction. It is within the abiding relationship with Jesus that we grow in purity and Christlikeness. If we fall into the trap of isolating our weaknesses and sinful behaviors, then try to deal with them out of our personal strength and willpower, we will be on a merry-go-round of frustration. Also, we are throwing ourselves back on ourselves attempting to somehow become worthy and acceptable before a holy God, when it is only Jesus who makes us worthy and acceptable. Unfortunately, the lop-sided focus on sin that we see in much of Christianity is a distraction from who Jesus is.
Let’s go further and ask an important question: If we focus on verse 4, what is the sin John is referring to? Again, in the context of our identity, wouldn’t sin be not acknowledging our identity? And then living out of that identity?
Wait a minute, Greg, another translation says, “sin is the transgression of the law,” implying we should focus on the law. What law?
Jesus made it clear in his discussion with a “teacher of the law” (Mark 12:28-34) that the law is to love God and love each other. The law Jesus refers to also points to who God is and who we are in relation to God and to each other. Sin, then, is believing the lies about who God is and who we are in Christ. Again, it comes down to identity—the point John was making in his letter.
To go further, let’s go to other words that John shared in his Gospel as he describes the Holy Spirit to his disciples:
And when he comes he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer, and about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. (John 16:8-11 NRSV)
Notice a few things here. John is sharing Jesus’ message with his disciples about the Holy Spirit and the relationship between the Holy Spirit and us. Jesus said the Holy Spirit comes to prove that we have been wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment about sin. Why? Because of a lack of belief in Jesus—who he is. We could easily include a lack of belief in what Jesus did and what he is doing.
I love how Francois du Toit translates the original language in this verse and his commentary afterwards.
In this capacity of close companionship with you, Holy Spirit comes to convince the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment: Holy Spirit in you will persuade them concerning their sin, which boils down to a bankrupt, distorted identity due to their indifference to me. (John 16:8-9 Mirror Study Bible)
Notice the emphasis on identity. In GCI, we believe one of the most important questions to ask is “Who is Jesus,” followed by the question, “Who am I in Jesus?” I won’t go into all the different Greek and Hebrew words here, but I believe Francois got it correct when he says this in the commentary on this verse:
“Sin is to live out of context with the blueprint of one’s design; to behave out of tune with God’s original harmony.”
To sin is to live outside of the truth of who God created us to be. When we don’t know who Jesus is, and we don’t know who we are in Jesus, we live outside of the truth of who we are. It is expressed in our lack of love for God and for each other. What is the solution? To come to know Christ, to believe in him and to believe who we are in him. It is to know our true identity, then to embrace it.
Our sermons focus on our Savior, not on enumerating and dissecting sins. Our greatest desire is to know Christ and to help others know him. We focus on his identity and our identity in him. This is what changes lives. When we know God, his love compels us to love others. When we focus on love, we cannot focus on sin.
Besides, as Jesus tells us in the above passage, the father of lies and sin has already been condemned. I’d much rather preach on Jesus and his love than on the lies the enemy wants us to believe, which leads to lawlessness and condemnation. We preach a message of hope. That message comes from knowing and loving Jesus and knowing and loving those he loves.
October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Thank you to all our pastors who reflect the character of our Creator God in the ways they engage, equip, empower and encourage their members and neighbors. We honor you and thank you for your service.
I appreciate you, respect you and pray for you often. The struggle through the pandemic has tested and stretched you in ways that none of us could anticipate. Yet here you are still standing, still leaning on Jesus and participating with the Holy Spirit. You deserve a hearty pat on the back and a huge personal “Thank You!”
The Apostle Paul reminds us that “He can do all things, but only through Jesus” (Philippians 4:13). Please know that when things don’t seem possible, God can do the impossible. When you think that leading the church cannot be done, Jesus is the Head overseeing the Body in ways that only he can.
During this month of pastor appreciation take a few moments each day to “Be still and know that God is God” and that he has you, your family and the church you shepherd in his hands.
Hello GCI Youth! Are you up for the challenge? Learn more about the Faith, Hope, and Love Avenues by entering the Healthy Church Challenge.
One aspect of a healthy church is a healthy Love Avenue, and it is all about witness and reflecting God’s love. Think about making new friends!
Love Avenue Challenge
Ages 8-10: Draw something to show us what you think it means to make friends and be a good friend.
Ages 11-14: Create a skit (written, drawn, solo, or with a group) that shows us what it means to reflect on God’s love in your community.
Ages 15-17: Use any creative medium (painting, poem, song, dance, screenplay, picture, etc.) to tell us what a healthy Love Avenue looks like to you or a practice of the Love Avenue that inspires you.
Visit gci.org/challenge for more information and remember to get your entries in by Monday November 1, 2021!
