It took forever to get these up but here are some photos from our Turkey Trip.  You can see the whole set here.

No real reason, just a good collision of fortunate events and here I am for two weeks.

Remember where we came from last week.  Peter has just finished the speech of all speeches connecting the dots of how the hope of Israel is realized in the death and Resurrection of Jesus.  You have now three thousand people who have all subscribed to this way of seeing the world.  The movement is now on it’s way.  Luke, trying to give us an idea of what happens next, gives us an idealistic picture of what the earliest Christian community looks like.  Let’s read it together.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47

Luke doesn’t just leave us hanging with the story about 3000 people getting saved.  He shows us the very quick realization of what this looks like when 3000 people do get saved.  Now let’s just clear the air right now.  I probably shouldn’t be doing this message.  By now, most of you know that my preferred way of living is in community and we all sell everything we own and live in a box somewhere with fast Internet and make sure the poor are taken care of. So I might be a little biased in approaching this particular part of scripture.  So I’ll do my best to not use this as absolute proof why you should all drink my koolaid and sell all your stuff and give me all your money.  So if I start to go too off the deep end this morning, just stop me, and bring me back on course.

This verse here is one of a few summary passages that Luke writes to kind of give us an overall picture of what is going on all the while making theological statements along the way.  He is basically saying that this is, what the first believers did and looked like when they came to the realization that Jesus was the real deal and the realization of their hope and salvation.  Like any description like this, it is meant to be a summary but not to describe the entirety of an entire movement.  It’s also not meant to be prescriptive.  Luke isn’t telling us that believers have to do these things either.  I can sense the sigh of relief when I say that.  It’s amazing how much of a relief it is when we get off the hook for what we don’t want to do.  It’s also interesting at how we will never let other people off the hook for when we think something is mandatory.

Luke basically outlines four ways that the church started living out her life together.  They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, they were in fellowship, they engaged in the breaking of bread together, and they prayed.  These things are all pretty basic and don’t need a lot of explanation.  There is some debate around the idea of “breaking bread together.”  Some thing it is referring to the Eucharist and others think it just meant eating together.  However, both of them probably happened together, so it’s probably not that important.  We need to keep in mind that the things that these first believers were partaking in were not all that unusual.  Odds are that many of these people already had some sort of similar ritual or tradition that they were participating in already and it was a continuation of there life already.  Remember these folks were Jews, they had a way of life already very much steeped in prayer, eating together, studying and fellowship.  I don’t tell you this to make light of what they were doing but only to show you that it’s probably not a normal occurrence for someone to become saved and then all of sudden do all these things the next day.  But Luke is showing us this is what the early church looked like.  These were the the marks of the early church that set them apart as a redeemed people of God.

This was the way that these people embodied the good news of Jesus and what the realized about him.  That is the first sentence, telling us about the kind of rituals that the early church participated in.  Then Luke goes on to tell us that because of these rituals, awe came upon every sole and many wonders and signs started being done by the apostles.  This isn’t just the people that were in the community that were in awe.  Everyone was in awe.  This isn’t just because of the miracles but because of the way that this community was living.  It was like nothing else mattered.  I’m convinced one of the miracles that Luke is talking about here is the fact that this community could live the way they lived and actually share what they had, and not be obsessed with the rat race of wealth and pleasure.  Look at how well they took care of each other!  This for many, is actually a miracle, something to be in awe about.

I was speaking with an unchurched friend of mine and we were talking about the inner workings of the church and how it functions.  She asked how a pastor got paid, like where does the money come from?  I told her it came from all of us people that are part of this community, week after week giving of our hard earned money to this community so it can function the way it does.  She was in awe. Why in the world would a bunch of people give their money to an organization that just runs a service once a week?  Obviously she didn’t get it.  But I understand the awe.  I still see it on people’s faces today when I tell them about theStory or about some of the decisions that I make.   This is the kind of awe that the people around the first believers were experiencing.  Who are these people that are selling there stuff just so everyone else is taken care of?  Who are these people who eat together in each other’s homes?  This isn’t the way the world works normally.  Life then, as it is now, was plagued with individualism, greed and a constant chasing after instantaneous results and pleasure.  It is awe inspiring to see a community of people reject that way of living and take the narrow path toward a life of community, learning and downward mobility.

Q: What do you think inspires people about the church today?  Does anything?

The first Christians beliefs lead them to have all things in common and sell their possessions and belongings and distributing the money to anyone that had need.  The commonality of goods is set forth as concrete testimony that something unsettling, specific and substantial has happened to these people.

Q: What would have lead these first Christians to sell their things and give it to the poor?  What caused them to live out there convictions in that way?

I don’t think what Luke was doing here was trying to paint a picture of an ideal society.  Again, this isn’t a list of commands for Christians.  As much as I don’t want to say that.  In fact, by reading Acts and the Epistles we can be quite sure that this ideal society never actually happened.  They certainly had their fair share of struggles and problems and had lots to work through.  Acts, as we will see, is full of problems amongst it’s people.  So we know that Luke isn’t telling us that if we live a certain way everything will be perfect.  Rather he is showing us that when you realize what these people realized, then you respond in a certain way that is full of generosity.

See what these people were doing was was the best response they knew how to give based on what they now knew.  For them, at this time it meant taking care of those who were around them and facing into oppressive systems.  This was bringing to fulfillment that which was promised to them all along.  Like in Deut 15:4-5 that promises a land free of poverty.

“In their eating and drinking the resurrection community is already a partial fulfillment of that promise, enjoying now what shall soon be consummated in the kingdom of God.”
- William Willimon

This is the answer I think to our second question.  The first believers were fulfilling and incarnating what they saw as the promise and fulfillment of the Kingdom of God.  They were living, to the best way they could, what the kingdom of God should have looked like.  Jesus was telling them over and over again that the Kingdom of God was here and now, and they, through there actions were there making that a reality.

We are taught to have things our way and that being able to have our individual needs catered to is how to measure the success of an organization.  In our culture, our individual needs and rights come before any needs of the group.  The biblical picture is not what someone receives from the church, although one does receive a great deal , but of what one gives and how one contributes to it.  The portrait of the early church in acts shows that community and the welfare of the group were a priority.  This attitude reflected spiritual maturity that allowed the church to grow.  In the case of this earliest community, the believers preaching was matched by their community, making a powerful testimony for their mission.  When the early church said that God cared, the care they gave their own demonstrated this. – Darrel Bock

Our culture tends to lean in a very different direction as the Kingdom of God.  The world promotes individualism, privacy and taking care of yourself.  None of these are healthy.  One of the marks of making the Kingdom of God a reality now is to oppose these things in our own life and live out a way that involves community, sharing and caring for those who can’t care for themselves.  Our culture pushes towards greed and collecting as many things as possible for yourself so that you are safe and taken care of.  The Kingdom of God on the other hand promotes sharing and refusing the right to see the world or anything in it as something you can own or are entitled to.  The Kingdom of God sees life as an adventure and not seeing money as something that can threaten you or make you safe.  The two directions are quite different but they both demand different things.

What is happening across and through the church with the first believers is truly remarkable.  We know that there was lots of boundaries setup between people during this time and many of them were enforced at the dinner table.  However, just like Jesus refused to make proper distinctions between person at his table so did the early church.  Eating together is a mark of unity, solidarity, and deep friendship, a visible sign that social barriers which once plagued these people have broken down.  And now here they were, breaking bread together almost every day facing into the cultural expectations of who they should eat with or not.

At the lead team level, we are starting to ask questions about our community.  We are starting to wonder what it means to consider yourself part of theStory.  I think these were the same questions that we are seeing the first believers ask and answer in Acts.  Is it just something that we do once a week?  Is the Sunday morning gathering the end all and be all of what it means to be a follower of Jesus along side of the community of theStory?  Obviously this is the default of our world.  We want to take the easy way out.  Show up somewhere, give some money and then allow it to remove any guilt or obligation that we might feel.  We don’t want to be put on the spot.  We want to be safe.  We want our kids to be taught the right things.  We all have expectations.  But what does it mean?  What does it meant to be part of theStory?

For the first believers it was quite radical.  As the story of Acts starts to unfold we are going to start to see how serious this move really was.  Selling all your stuff, giving it to the poor, taking care of those in need, worshipping together, praying together…this is what it meant to be a Christian.  This was the expectation, but not in a coercive way, but in an obvious way.  For us this might look quite different.  I can assure you though that it doesn’t just mean show up here on Sunday and sing a few songs and listen to me ramble on about whatever I’m thinking about this past week.  Being part of theStory has to mean more than that.  For the first Christians they had to be asked “Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers?” The answer to that question is, “We will, with God’s help.”  Sometimes this was a three year process of answering this questions for the early Christians.  But the lead team is starting to wonder, what is our questions?  What are the marks of theStory going to be?  How long will this take us?

Q: What does it mean to you to be part of theStory? What should it mean?

Again, these aren’t rules.  These are values.  Christians valued certain things and to become a Christian you basically say “I value what Christian’s value” and then you started changing your life to better reflect what you value.  This is the direction that we are going to move into as a church.  As we start to land on certain things that theStory values as a whole you will be able to join in with us and value these things alongside of us.  If theStory says that we value ‘left handed widgets’ because we think that God has given us a heart to manufacture them, then you will be given the same opportunity to say, ‘i value left handed widgets.’  This is what taking ownership over this community will look like.  It will look like this community starting to value the same things and then changing our lives to match what we believe.

Listen, I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel the crunch.  The world around us is literally out of control, and it has been since the beginning of time.  Corporations now control and own most of the world’s wealth and by law their only concern is for profit for there shareholders.  Our children are spending increasingly amounts more time in front of screen to keep them quiet so parents don’t have to deal with them.  Our food comes from all over the world with all sorts of chemicals in it.  Pharmaceutical companies continually offer solutions to problems they have created.   Our environment is slowly being destroyed by our obsessive shopping and travel habits.  Our neighbourhoods are being hidden behind fences and attached garages while other neighbourhoods are made out of cardboard and scrap metal.  Our fate is literally being gambled on by the powers that be in the financial district.  Our jobs are fragile.  The ones who say they are out to help us are really just about maintaining the facade of safety while reeping the benefits at the poor’s expense.  Our children are being marketed to a thousand times a day.   It’s not easy.  This is difficult.  I want to resist, but it’s easier not to.  I’m feeling worn out, I’m feeling alone.

But that is what this community is for.  Together we are coming to realize that the direction that the world is taking is not all its cracked up to be.  People are unhappy.  We can see a glimpse of another way to live.  People are starting to wake up and realize what Jesus was talking about.  It’s called the Kingdom of God.  This new way to live has different values.  It values love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self control and all sorts of other beautiful attributes.  Isn’t this why we are here?  We realize that the world’s fate doesn’t have to be our fate.  We can oppose it. We can choose to live different.  We can choose to be in solidarity with those that are losing and are marginalized because we see helping others as a value and no longer just helping ourselves.  For all of us this will look different.  For some of us it will mean quiting our jobs and taking care of our kids instead.  For others it will mean getting a second job to support someone who can’t work.  For some it will mean saving every last penny that comes in and for others it will mean giving away 90% of your income to those that can’t afford rent this month.  For some it will mean selling your house and moving in with others and for others it will mean keeping your house and being hospitable to your neighbours.  For some it will mean pulling your kid out of extra curricular activities because they are being drowned in activities and for other it will mean homeschooling while for others it will mean leaving your kids in public school.  For all of us it will mean becoming a people who is shaped by the values of the Kingdom of God rather than the longings of this world.  It will mean we will become a generous people.  A selfless people.  A people dedicated to a life of service to each other and the world.

I hope theStory becomes a community that navigates its way through this mess of culture and lands on what our values are and then works together to live them out.  The first Christians sold their property!  This is a big deal.  This is a group of people whose ancestral heritage was tied directly to the land that they were selling.  I think the kind of sacrifice and community involvement will be just as significant but we have yet to figure it out.  It’s coming though.  Our marks will be quite clear and our mission even clearer.  We will be called to be generous with whatever we have now for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  Will we choose to be generous?  Will be be like these first Christians who were willing to give up on it all because what they believed changed there lives so drastically?  I hope so.  I think we can do it.  I want to do it.  Let’s pray together.

O Jesus,

Who chose a life of poverty and obscurity, grant me the grace to keep my heart detached from the transitory things of this world.

Let it be that henceforth, You are my only treasure, for You are infinitely more precious than all others possessions. My heart is too solicitous for the vain and fleeting things of earth.

Make me always mindful of Your warning words: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul?”

Grant me the grace to keep Your holy example always before my eyes, that I may despise the nothingness of this world and make You the object of all my desires and affections.

Amen.

Movements have happened all over the world. They all have different characteristics and accomplish different tasks. Movements never mean that everything changes from that moment on definitely. However, a movement, or the day a movement begins are momentous occasions that symbolize the beginning of systematic change.

Think about the civil rights movement and how important that movement was to a massive systematic change in the way that the political systematic structures of the United States oppressed coloured people. It would be difficult to pinpoint one event and say “that’s where the movement started” or “this person lead this entire movement.” This movement does however, bring back images of specific events in its history of a movement that we can recall or refer back to.

Quick Q: When you think of the civil rights movement, what symbols, people, moments come to your mind?

Martin Luther King Jr. is a beautiful example of how a speech has an important part of movement as a rallying point for people who all agree to come together under one banner or statement. A good speech reinterprets history and mobilizes people into action for justice. This is how Martin Luther King Jr’s speech ends:

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

With over 200,000 civil rights supporters, this day/speech solidified a movement. We could analyze the speech, and understand the context of the speech and what was happening and what the response was like and we could learn a lot about this movement and understand what they cared about and what they rallied around and what they believed in. Many people highly praised the speech and it was considered by many the high point during this movement.

If we see Christianity as a movement that started 2000 years ago, then we can see this next part of Acts as the Martin Luther King Jr. speech of Christianity. The speech isn’t what the movement is built on or even dependant on, but the speech was a tool that was used to propel the movement forward and bring validity to the movement. Last week we read about how there was around a hundred and twenty people when the Spirit showed up and it landed on these people in quite a drastic way. These people started speaking in other languages that other people around knew and it started turning into quite a spectacle. Joe ended with this line last week.

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

So this is where we will pick up from this morning. Like most movements I think they start with the accusations flying around about the people in the movement being delusional, or drunk. So Peter, (who by the way we haven’t heard a peep from him since he denied Jesus three times) decides to stand up and address the crowds and let them in on what’s going on. So it is this speech of Peter that we are going to go through this morning. This folks, is the first recorded sermon of the Christian church. This is the first of nineteen different sermons recorded in the book of Acts.

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

So looking back into the oracle shrines such as that of Delphi of this time that Peter and the people there would have been familiar with, this whole event of people speaking in weird sounds and different languages has happened before and normally it was seen as the utterances of gods. Luke is following the archiving practices of the Greeks of how he summarizes Peter’s speech. What would happen is someone would stand up, normally seen as the messenger of God, or a ‘prophet’ and he would make the utterances make sense and translate them for everyone that was listening in. So this entire event isn’t that uncommon. However, what happens next is a bit of a twist. First, the languages that are being spoken aren’t just random sounds, they are actual languages. So Peter in standing up doesn’t have to translate anything. So instead of interpreting the utterances, he ends up interpreting the entire event of what is happening and why it is happening.

We need to understand the kinds of people that Peter was talking to. There was thousands upon thousands of people present in and around where this speech was taking place. Remember this was in Jerusalem and most of the people there were Jews who were there to celebrate a religious festival in which they were a part. So this speech was for them. In Peter’s speech we are listening to a Jew speaking to the fellow Jews, linking the story of Jesus with the scriptures of the Jews. This speech wasn’t for us. It was for the Jews in Jerusalem. Without understanding that we cannot understand Peter’s speech. So the imagery he uses, the quotes he uses, the references he makes all pertain to the history and beliefs of the people listening to him there that day. So if we are to really understand the this movement and this speech we need to understand why what he is saying touches the hearts of the people who are listening. The Jews read the scriptures inside and out, they saw themselves as a generation where it would all come true, all those prophecies. So Peter is playing right into their expectations and explaining what it all means. Only by understanding this world, where the people there have created and formed their entire lives reading these scriptures and prophecies and finding hope in times of sorrow can we ever really understand how Peter could even think of launching to a quote from the Prophet Joe. to explain what was happening.

The very first thing Peter does is launch into quoting the prophets to give validity to why such an event is happening. Peter did not proclaim these events in a vacuum, but in the context of scripture and history. To us, this means very little. So big deal, he is quoting something else in the Bible. But to them, what was happening in the present wasn’t in the Bible yet so when the scriptures were being quoted everyone knew what he was talking about. Not only did they know what he was talking they had built their lives on the words of these prophets. And Peter was not re-interpreting them to make sense for a current situation. Not only that. But he also is making an indirect statement that we are now in the last days! So he helps people see the reason for the craziness that everyone was observing to try and give it some historical validity through an story that they knew and understood. Peter continues.

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:

Now Peter moves from linking this event with the life of Israel and their prophets to the life of Jesus. Peter’s technique is to constantly point out this promise and fulfillment throughout. First the event is happening was a promise through Joel and now Jesus has come as a God had setup from the beginning. Peter is asserting here that the community that the Spirit is forming which they are observing falls into a patter of expectation and realization of Israel, they are used to this. So according to Peter, Jesus was born and was foretold. Jesus was filled with the Spirit and that confirms the messianic hopes of the Jews. Jesus suffered and died, and it’s all part of prophecy here and Peter is just connecting the dots. After Jesus’ Resurrection, it suddenly becomes clear to the disciples that the all of this was part of God’s plan all along and Peter (after denying him three times) in his boldness to stand up in the crowds is now ready to speak.

So Peter not only makes the connection with this event to the life of Jesus. He also make the connection between all the people listening in on his sermon to the death of Jesus. He says it like it is. He points to the evidence and points out that the Jews here have blindly rejected and killed their own Messiah. But not to worry. This was all part of God’s plan all along.

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

He then goes into a quote from David in the Psalms in which Peter claims David was never talking about himself because well, David is dead. In fact, he was talking about Jesus all along. Jesus was raised and is no longer dead. He might be giving David a little bit more credit than he deserves but he basically pointing out that even David, the King of Israel was pointing and hinting towards Jesus all along. Now it all made sense!!

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

This is really the crux of his sermon. Now keep in mind, this was never his entire sermon. Luke used certain practices to summarize and put together what he thought would best represent what happened that day and what was said. But this next section is a real sermon. This is where we start to better understand the idea of salvation. This is where he points out that not only is this true because of the scriptures and because of the King of Israel said so, but also because the apostles said so. They saw this happen with their own eyes. So now we are at two steps of proof of why this event is happening. On top of this he is bringing the history and the accumulation of their history to a glorious climax in pointing out how Jesus is the fulfillment of all that they were waiting for.

Q: In verse 37 it says that “when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart (very upset)” What do you think they were upset about?

They were probably upset because they realized that they killed their Messiah and they needed to figure something out now to do with their guilt.

Despite what we think was the reason as to why people were upset, there was definitely an appropriate response for this kind of realization. Right here, for the first time, people are starting to make the connection that everything they live for and have fought for and think about is for real and finds it’s fulfillment right here and now in Jesus. Peter tells them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter’s answer to the question what should we do was to have an appropriate response to the news and realization that they had just heard, it wasn’t to work up enough initiative in their lives, or to threaten them or else. This was a response to how these people were feeling and to the realization that they had that they missed what was going on but now wanted to join into the revolution, the change. This was not so much of a conversion of convincing people that they were on there way to hell. He’s saying THIS HAS HAPPENED. Jesus is who we were waiting for! Join in the revolution! This isn’t about saving yourself through this new knowledge. This is about allowing yourself to be saved because the reality of God saving the world through his son has already happened, so join in.

God’s plan of salvation, Peter was saying was always intended by God from the beginning to reach it’s climax with Israel’s Messiah undertaking the ultimate task of rescue. Israel’s King would come to the place when evil had reached his height and where human systems were at it’s ultimate form of corruption (not just Rome and it’s horrible justice system, but Israel with it’s corrupt Temple system.) This evil would accumulate itself in one massive act of violence against this King, a person who had done nothing to deserve it. This is what the early Christians believe God has always intended.

This is the beginning of this talk of salvation – pointing to a very concrete and particular reality in the future. Salvation regularly refers to specific acts of ‘rescue’ with the present life: being ‘saved’ from this potential disaster, here and now.

“Being saved in this context of what Peter is talking about here doesn’t just mean “going to heaven when you die.” It means knowing God’s rescuing power which anticipates in the present, God’s final great act of deliverance. Peter then goes on to encourage people to know that salvation, that rescue as a present reality and also a future hope.” – N.T. Wright

I’m sure we’ve talked about this numerous times here at theStory, but I’m just going to continue to keep iterating the fact that you will have a hard time creating a theology from the scriptures that says salvation is about going to heaven when you die. Over and over again it’s about some form of rescue here and now on this earth from something. Whether it be living a purposeless life or from the dangers of sin, salvation here is about the present.

So after this we can see that through Peter’s sermon, the story of Jesus was told at three levels as a historical event (witnessed by their own eyes), as having theological significance (interpreted by the scriptures) and as a contemporary message (confronting men and women with the necessity of decision). This isn’t also a call to personal salvation, this is a corporate call and to have a public identification with other believers (which will come more in a few weeks when we do the end of this chapter).

Q: Is salvation real to us in this way? Witnessed by us, interpreted through scriptures (past story) and confronting people with the necessity of decisions? Is it any of these things? Why or Why Not?

What God has promised for the ultimate future has come forward to meet us in Jesus Christ. We should expect signs of that future to appear in the present. And, whenever we are in a mess, of whatever sort and for whatever reason, we should remeber this: we are ‘ turn-back-and-be-rescued’ people. We are ‘repent-and-be-baptsized’ people. We have the right, the brithright to cash in that promise at any place and at any time. No wonder 3000 people signed up that very day. We are meant to see here the fulfillment of Israel’s hope for the permanent giving of God’s presence and power to God’s people. – N.T. Wright

The revolution confronts us every day
Do we want to join in?
Will we live as if Jesus is alive and well today?
Or will we sit back take in the sites?
Will we hope that believing it happened is good enough?

God has been orchestrating a story
It is so grand that it doesn’t leave anyone out
When things seem to go in a bad direction
God uses it to show he expected it all along
In God’s story, death is actually life, emtpy is actually full
What feels like chaos is actually order

What God has promised, has moved forward to meet us.
What we need, stares us in the face
From this point forward, we are getting back on track
We will finish God’s story out faithfully and not selfishly

May we remember that salvation has already happened.
May we live like salvation is real
May we respond well to the news before us
May we know your rescuing power.

During the whole Tyndale and Bush fiasco, and after reading Dan’s post on Love, and pondering the attacks of many commenters accusing us of being unloving toward Gary Nelson I have to keep asking myself the question if it is possible to actually love a public figure.  I don’t mean if you become famous no one can love you.  Rather, I wonder if you can love someone that you don’t know but only know through media, stories or rumours?  There is different scenarios that come to mind that makes me question the love that people say they have for someone.  Think back to the death of Princess Diana and the onslaught of tears by people all over the world, most of those who have never met her.  Think back just a little while ago the death of Jack Layton, and the emotional response that it drew from Canadians all over the country.  Finally, think about Jesus Christ that who we read about in the bible and the connection that people have with him from all over the world, many still moved by his death and entire religions built on this one man, who none of us physically know.

When you don’t know someone, it’s not very easy to be patient, kind, non-envious, non-boastful, humble, honourable, selfless and not easily angered towards them.  I would suggest rather that when you don’t know someone that all you can do is love or hate the way that person makes you feel.  If the person makes you feel safe, then when that person is attacked, you feel attacked.  If the person makes you feel important, then when that person is ridiculed, you feel a little bit smaller and insignificant.  How does one really love someone if they don’t know them?  How can one really defend someone they don’t know?

As we move forward with political elections, I’ll never cease to be amazed at the personal attacks and love letters that I read from both sides of the spectrum of people sure that there leader is amazing, perfect and without flaws and all the others are immoral, wretched people out to intentionally ruin our country.  Everyone thinks they love their leader.  Everyone hates the opposition.  May I suggest that it’s probably the way your leader makes you feel that you love, or the fact that your leader tows the political line you lean towards.  You don’t love them.

As we move forward in understanding our relationship to our faith.  It’s probably good to also realize that many of us love Jesus because of the way he makes us feel, or what he does for us.  Or maybe we think that Jesus just agrees with whatever we think.  No wonder we love him.  Most people don’t love Jesus, they love the way Jesus makes them feel.

Let’s not just assume that the feelings of comradery that we have with people, especially those we don’t know, are those of love or hate.  They are probably just selfish longings that we don’t want to admit that we project on these people that we don’t know.  Just a few random thoughts.