Minister: “Let us go forth proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes!” People: “Thanks be to God.”

“Going forth…” – i.e., “mission” is the end to our worship. We are sent out. And our response is thanksgiving because joy is what drives us – [...]]]> We end our worship every Sunday with a dismissal.

Minister: “Let us go forth proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes!”
People: “Thanks be to God.”

“Going forth…” – i.e., “mission” is the end to our worship. We are sent out. And our response is thanksgiving because joy is what drives us – not duty. Mission is all about serving and doing, but driven by the joy from knowing what Christ has done.

But let’s be honest. If you a person who wants to do mission in the world, you are going to find, you are always frustrated. Because people don’t listen to you. Because your efforts often time results in nothing. And frustration turns into contempt and resentment. Consider your mission field – at work with your boss, at home, with your spouse, with your children, with parents, in-laws for example.

We often don’t do mission because we want to gain something. We want to be served – we want our egos to be served. And when you realize you gain nothing, that’s actually when mission really starts. But by then, we bail.  Whether it is in your job, or marriage, or any other relationship for that matter, or in a particular ministry – do you remember your darkest times asking yourself, “Why do I keep going?”

Mission can be so frustrating. Is there any consolation?

Psalm 67:

5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.

Most commentators believe that this Psalm is looking way into the future. It’s saying, we actually don’t build great communities, we don’t share the truth well, we don’t do justice well. But a time is coming, when the land will yield its harvest. It’s talking about the new heaven and new earth. It’s talking about the ultimate spring time, after which there will be no more winter.

It’s looking forward to the time in which God ultimately blesses us, renews us – a new heaven and new earth – and where all the people of the earth praise him. It’s looking to the very end where “they lived happily ever after.”

That’s right. A fairy tale ending. Such endings move us.  Consoles us. Why?

Tolkien explains:

“Fairytales move us in a way that realistic fiction does not (and can not). Because fairy tales speak to us of several deep human longings that we are almost afraid to admit and that we can never discard. We long to survey the depths of time and space. We long to get outside of time altogether and escape death. We long to hold communion with other living things, like angels. We long to find a love which perfectly heals and from which we can never depart. And we long to triumph over evil finally and totally. When you are in the middle of a great fairy tale, the fairy tale lets you live even briefly with the dream that love without parting, escape from death, triumph over evil are real and realizable. That’s why the stories stir us so deeply. And why we will go on reading and writing them no matter what the critics may say. But the gospel is better. For the truth of Jesus is this… the gospel’s message is that, through Jesus Christ, every single one of these things that the fairy tales talk about is true and will come to pass. We will hang out with angels.  We will have loves from which we are never parted. We will see an absolute triumph over evil. There is a beauty who will kiss you in all your beastliness and transform you. There is a prince who will save us, forever.”

Let that be your consolation in mission.

Now go forth and serve. Proclaim the gospel until he comes.

Thanks be to God.

Numbers 6:22-27

22 The LORD said to Moses, 23“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 “ ‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you; [...]]]> “My sense of self comes not from other people but… from… myself? That can’t be right.” – Bridget Jones Diary

Numbers 6:22-27

22 The LORD said to Moses, 23“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 “ ‘ “The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.” ’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Biblically – to be blessed is a big deal. It means to be delighted in, as God delighted in his creation – “It is good,” he said. Imagine him saying it with a smile. That what’s meant in the Hebrew by the word “shine.”  But it means more than that. It means to wish for the best, and to secure that wish. That’s what’s meant by the word “keep” – the Lord not only bless you, but keep you.

Blessing involves having his relational presence. We all have God’s presence. But not all of us have his face turned towards us. That’s what’s meant by the word “face.” When Moses asked to see God’s face, he was asking for more than God’s presence – he was asking for an intimate relational presence.

Oh, but there’s more. A blessing from God is about getting his name upon us. Imagine an orphan kid – a child alone in the world, powerless, forlorn. Imagine some great family adopts him. What does he get? A name. He gets a family name put on him. Which means what? Identity – sense of self, solidarity, accountability, security, intimacy.

We are orphan kids. Contemporary culture says, “You shouldn’t take your self-image from what everyone else thinks. That way you would be under their control. All that should matter is what you think.”  So we find ourselves in a conundrum. We want worth, but know that we can’t get worth from others unless we act as a person of worth, but how can we when the only way we can get worth is from others? Perhaps we can fake it until we make it? Perhaps we can behave in a worthy way until we become a worthy person. That sounds cynical and desperate, I know, but what other alternative do we have?

Answer: We can receive by grace (not by our own merit) the perfect worth and glory of Jesus Christ of whom God said, “”This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:17). This was said of Jesus by the Father when he was baptized.  And it is the same worth and glory that Jesus confers unto us. In John 17:22, Jesus prays before going to the cross, “ I have given them the glory that you gave me.”

The benediction at the end of a service is our re-affirmation of what we received during our baptism. The full blessing of God.

On the cross EVERYTHING that we deserve fell on Jesus, so that EVERYTHING he deserves falls on us. God can look at you….if you are clothed in the righteousness and glory of Jesus Christ, if you have wrapped yourself in him, if you have asked him to accept you on the basis of HIS goodness, not on what you do, but what he has done….the Father can look at you, he can TURN HIS FACE to you, and say with a smile, “You are my beloved child. In Christ, you absolutely delight me, and everything I have is YOURS.”

That’s benediction. It’s the thing we desperately want. It’s the thing that is driving all of our lives.

And it comes because Jesus Christ says, “I’m not going to just WISH you good, I’m going to KEEP you – pay the price for your good, secure your good – by trading places with us….AND HE DID.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from [...]]]> Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

How do we listen to the Scripture read and taught?

Do we need a word?

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

Point: The natural order reveals the glory of God. Tells us about God from the magnificence of the created order without words. And yet, the voice of creation is not heard, and yet their voice goes out, meaning, people can infer, intuit the glory of God from creation without words. But this has its limitations. Without words, you can intuit and imagine things, real things, about God – but without actual words from God, you cannot know the love of God in general, or the grace of God in particular.

Point: Knowing God isn’t the same as knowing God loves you. The first six (6) verses of this psalm, nature is telling us about “Elohim” (generic word for God). But as soon as it talks about scripture, the law, precepts – instead of the word “Elohim” we have the word “Yahweh.” It’s the personal name of a God who enters into a covenantal love relationship with his people. Knowing Elohim isn’t the same as knowing Yahweh.

Some may disagree and and think that it is possible to infer a God of “love” from “mother nature.” Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (p.178-180) writes, “Either this world, my mother, is a monster or I am a freak. Consider the former: the world is a monster. … There is not a people in the world who behaves as badly as praying mantises.” Point: It’s not clear from nature.

Why do we need a word?

David shifts his attention from nature to the law of the Lord in v.7,

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.

How is the law “refreshing” to the soul? Lewis writes: “This was to me at first very mysterious. ‘Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery’ – I can understand that a man can, and must, respect these ‘statutes’, and try to obey them, and assent to them in his heart. But it is very hard to find how they could be, so to speak, delicious, how they exhilarate.” (Reflection in the Psalms)

If anything the law ought to “crush” the soul.

In an interview with Michka Assayas, Bono put it this way: “You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it…..I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep s—. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace.”

How can the law “revive” the soul? At the very end of the psalm, David writes v.14,

14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The Hebrew word for “pleasing” is a word almost exclusively used in the context of sacrifices. All through Leviticus (Mosaic law) – sacrifices have to be “pleaseing” (perfect, flawless, blemish free). There is no way that David could give God a “pleasing” sacrifice. So how can he say it?

Perhaps he was in denial. Probably not. He did say he was “conceived in sin.” So, how could he (a sinful man) have the gall to say something like this?

Answer: By the Holy Spirit, he was channeling somebody else. He was channeling one of his ‘greater’ descendants (Ps 110) – Jesus Christ. Jesus came to the Father and said, “I delight to do your will, O my God.” (Ps 40:8) Unlike David, here was a man who not only delighted fully in the law, but obeyed it absolutely. And as a result, he deserved at the end of his life, what a person who did so deserved – the embrace of God. But he wasn’t embraced. He was tortured, abandoned by his followers, and abandoned even by God himself while on the cross. Jesus was the “acceptable” sacrifice.

In Galatians 3 – Paul says: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” And in 2 Cor 5:21, he writes, “For God made he who knew no sin, sin so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”

Bono: I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.

Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.

Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there’s a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let’s face it, you’re not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled . It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.

Jesus (the “acceptable” one) took the curse of the disobedience of the law, so that we can receive his blessing of his perfect obedience of the law. What does that mean?

It means that if you get to the end of Psalm and think of Jesus – then the law of God is a DELIGHT and will start to revive your soul. If you know that when God looks at you, he sees David’s greater son, Jesus – then you can turn to the law without a sense of condemnation because it all fell on him.

Where do you learn about this GRACE of God? If we were saved by what we DO, then all we need is an example. But if we are saved what was DONE for us – that requires an announcement in words. And that’s what the word “gospel” means. It comes from the Greek word eu-angelion which means, good-news. It’s in the “gospel” of Jesus Christ that we know about the love and grace of Yahweh.

So how do we receive this word?

How do you listen to a sermon? Let me give you one principle. Paul writes to the Ephesians and says to his listeners: “Christ came and preached peace to you,” when it was actually missionaries that spoke to the listeners.

It’s important to neither idolize or demonize the speaker. That can distract us from the word of God being spoken through the speaker. We must learn to receive the word of God – even from an ass. In his blog, Keller writes: “Don’t forget the ‘Balaam’s donkey’ principle (Numbers 22). You must learn how to profit from criticism even given by people who are badly motivated, or who you don’t respect. Even if only 20% of what they say is true, it may be God speaking to you.”

Let Christ preach peace to you.

This Sunday I want to invite you all to TWO gatherings.

1. Sunrise Service @ the Don Armeni Boat Ramp in West Seattle (1222 Harbor Ave SW). Sunrise is scheduled for: 6:45 AM and we will start at 6:45 AM sharp! After our service we’ll all head to the Chelan Cafe for breakfast. [...]]]> Hey family,

This Sunday I want to invite you all to TWO gatherings.

1. Sunrise Service @ the Don Armeni Boat Ramp in West Seattle (1222 Harbor Ave SW). Sunrise is scheduled for: 6:45 AM and we will start at 6:45 AM sharp! After our service we’ll all head to the Chelan Cafe for breakfast. If you can’t make it for the service at sunrise, come over later to the cafe and join us. We usually get there just before 8AM. If any of you get there earlier, get a table for about 25 folks.

And then….after breakfast….

2. Jubilee Community Church @ 11 AM. Here’s an invite from PJ (Pastor Jason) and Foxy:

Hey Friends!

Some of you I haven’t seen in a while but I wanted to hit you up
and let you know my wife and I and our lil house church, (Jubilee),
are putting on an Easter celebration next Sunday at Washington Hall, 11am.
Some of you are likely with family, not particularly interested in church, or
are at your own church–but I wanted to invite you in case you’re available
and in the mood. We will have a potlatch at the beginning, so please bring a
dish, (brunch-themed), then we will have a short time of prayer, music, and a
Ressurection Day message by yours truly. Your lil ones are of course welcome!
If you cannot make it, no worries, but we’d love to see you if you can come.

Attached is the flyer, we eat for a while and then begin our service,

Love ya much,

J

I look forward to celebrating and remembering the Resurrected One with you all!

Blessings,
Ed

Here’s an extreme example:

On March 13, [...]]]> Freedom is everything in our culture, and as soon as you get involved in another’s life you lose that freedom.  It’s one of the reasons why we’ve become a culture that doesn’t want to “get involved.”  Involvement means costly vulnerability. You lose your safety.  You lose your freedom.

Here’s an extreme example:

On March 13, 1964, a 28-year-old woman named Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was raped and killed in two separate late-night attacks near her home in Kew Gardens, Queens, NYC. Police found that at least 38 people had seen the attacks or heard Genovese scream, but no one intervened and just one woman called the police. The story was barely reported until two weeks later, when Martin Gansberg covered it in vivid detail in The New York Times: “For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens,” Gansberg wrote. “Twice their chatter and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out, and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead.” Gansberg detailed why some of the witnesses hadn’t acted. One said that he “didn’t want to get involved,” while another said, “without emotion,” according to Gansberg, “I was tired. I went back to bed.”

Sorry to be so dark here. But that’s where Advent begins. It begins in darkness.  There was 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testament.  Where was God?  Did he bail?  Had he forgotten?  Did he still care about his people?  Does he still want to be involved? And if so, what would it look like?  at what level of involvement? at what level of vulnerability?

Kelli brought to my attention (you probably saw the email) a website by the Northwest Adoption Exchange System. They actually list the faces and profiles of a bunch of kids waiting for adoption. She pointed out how some of those kids listed were kids we serve at Ryther. I took a look at the website. Yep. There they were. As I read their profiles, the prayer requests we get from the kids after each service took on new weight. A frequent request from the kids is for a family to adopt them – to want to adopt them.

Would I consider adopting one of these kids – mind you I’m not talking about fostering but adopting.  Fostering is amazing enough, but adopting seems to take it to a whole new level.  It’s overwhelming to think about the level of “involvement” necessary. It’s probably one of the highest act of “involvement” for an individual.

The author of Hebrews describes how we have been adopted by God: “10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” (Heb 2)

Why? Why would God get involved with us? And why at such and extreme level? It’s not like he did so at the risk of losing his life, but knowing he would lose his life.

The author puts it this way:  ”Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ….For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Heb 2:5; 14-18)

We are a culture that bails. We run away from involvement. Especially the kind that infringes on our freedom. Jesus runs towards it at the utter cost of his.

The mantra for Advent is: “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Let’s however begin Advent with these words instead:

“What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?” (Heb 2)

~ Pastor Ed

We will start at 11am.  Look for us in the grass nearby the playground and tennis courts. We will try to be there early to secure a table but plan to bring blankets, chairs, sun umbrellas.  It is a reclaimed space build [...]]]> This Sunday (Aug 26th) Sanctuary will gather at Jefferson Park on Beacon Hill.

We will start at 11am.  Look for us in the grass nearby the playground and tennis courts. We will try to be there early to secure a table but plan to bring blankets, chairs, sun umbrellas.  It is a reclaimed space build on top of a covered reservoir similar to the Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill. There is a large cool playground for kids, a new water park and lots of open grass.  Here is a panorama shot.

What to bring: Meat to grill, buns, side, salad, dessert or drink to share, blankets and/or chairs for sitting, frisbees, balls, etc.  Sanctuary will provide, plates, napkins, plastic-ware and condiments.