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A Kibbutz in the Culture- Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 12

Why are so many Christian movies, Christian novels, and Christian albums so bad? Does the indwelling of the Holy Spirit evict the artistic? Is the Christian audience so Stepford in its appetites that they’ll clap like seals for anything with a Scripture reference? Or, are believers afraid that if they produce parables; people won’t get the point?

After centuries of being the theater for war, violence, destruction, and dislocation, the Holy Land in the nineteenth century was barely inhabitable. The farmers had all fled, the vineyards had become thickets, villages were now quarries of rubble, and the irrigation ditches that honeycombed the plains were all dammed and dry. It was a bleak, post-apocalyptic sort of place. But it was in this environment that Jewish settlers moved in and started the kibbutz. These community settlements were begun for the purpose of both repatriating and restoring the land. They would make the Shephelah bloom again, bring a new vintage out of Hebron, and work to see the Jordan River once again water the Jezreel Valley. There was a time when the world of the arts blossomed with Christian themes and an era that saw the Biblical worldview inspire cultures around the world. Renaissance masterpieces were painted by Christian hands, literary classics were products of Christian minds, and some of the greatest symphonies were Christian compositions. But today, Christian contributions to the artworld are limited and out of the mainstream and the landscape is bleaker because of it. It’s time for the Church to kibbutz in our blighted culture. But how do we do this? Is the redemption of the national culture even a good and profitable use of our energies? Barbara Nicolosi is a Christian film critic who has spent her professional life advocating for increased Christian influence in Hollywood and working hard to realize that goal. She has some tough words for both the Church and the industry; but is passionate in her desire to see the Gospel story well-told. Please take a moment to follow the link and read through an interview with Mrs. Nicolosi in Aleteia, a popular Catholic online publication. Nicolosi’s unique perspective and stirring challenge should give us lots to talk about! Please consider joining us for a roundtable discussion on the subject of Christianity and the culture this Sunday morning at 8:30 upstairs in the Family Life Center. Hot coffee and a homemade treat will caffeinate and sweeten the conversation!

Click here to read the first article

Click here to read the second article

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Running the Relay

February 23, 2020

Hebrews 11:32-12:2

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of  Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

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Bringing Something to Vanity Fair- Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 11

It’s hard enough to be a witness in the real world, but with the creation of a digital world online, many of us find ourselves having to manage our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter avatars as they ping on screens all over the planet. These little pixilated offspring of our ego can be a real handful at times; running free from their leash, biting people, rummaging through the neighbors trash, peeing on every mailbox and pooping on every lawn. Too often, our online presence hurts our real-life witness. Should we delete these little avatars of ours or can they be redeemed as agents of salvation in the social media mission field?

In Paul Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, the young protagonist Christian finds himself passing through Vanity Fair on the way to the Celestial City. This was a marketplace town of sorts where all sorts of merchandise was sold and spectacles kept on display. Every booth, table, kiosk, and shop appealed to the lust, greed, pride, and arrogance of the shoppers. There were honors for sale, bawds to gawk at, jugglers to jeer, and glittery trinkets to adorn every puffed out chest. It was a soulless and miserable town and the pilgrim Christian was clearly out of place. As the merchants and consumers began to pressure Christian to join in the revelry and weigh out silver and gold for worthless things, he plugs his ears and cries out, “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity” (Psalm 119:37). When pressed to find out what things he might be interested in, he declares “I buy truth.” For those of you who’ve read the tale, you know that Christian was imprisoned for all this and had to make an impassioned plea for his soul. While Vanity Fair was not changed by any of this, there were a few who were impacted by Christian’s witness and even one abandoned his shop to join the pilgrimage. Reading through this section of Bunyan’s allegory, I really fellowshipped with Christian’s strolling through Vanity Fair in all my scrolling through Facebook. It seems a hard place for me to be a witness and to also keep my witness and yet there it is along the pathway; a town we are called to pass through and impact. How Christians should use and interact with social media is an overdue topic for conversation and consideration. Please take a moment to read the short blog post attached and come prepared to join the discussion this Sunday morning at 8:30 upstairs in the Family Life Center. We’ll have the coffee on and a treat out waiting for you!

Click here to read this week’s article

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Do Not Disturb

February 16, 2020

Exodus 35:1-3

Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”

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America Should Be Pro-Bochim- Our Sunday Roundtable- Session 2, Week 10

Growing up in the Evangelical subculture of the United States, support for the nation of Israel was as American as apple pie, baseball, and bald eagles. Ben Gurion and Golda Meir took their place alongside King David and Deborah as heroes of God. Israel, the apple of God’s eye, remained deserving of His people’s devotion and anyone who dared contend against it was tempting God’s fierce wrath. The American church didn’t want the United States to be Egypt, Babylon, or Assyria; nations destined for destruction as the object of God’s jealous anger. We wanted Washington to be the champion of Jerusalem that we might share in some of her promised blessings.

But, in all this support, was there much gospel concern for the Jewish people? Was there much effort made to understand what the Bible had to say about Israel and its destiny? Was there any wrestling with the need to love and win Israel’s enemies? When it comes to the conflict in the Middle East, too many believers have become Old Testament Christians; regressing to preoccupations with land, law, national identity, and political sovereignty. While the Church has in no way replaced Israel, but remains a branch graciously grafted into the covenant tree of life, it is the bride of Christ and the world’s lone agent of salvation. The Church is the ark in the flood, designed to house all the reconciled of God from every nation, tribe, and tongue. Therefore, she should not be allied to anyone but Heaven.

When Joshua led God’s people into the Promised Land, their commission was to conquer and expel all its inhabitants. The whole land had been given to them, but taking possession would require faith, determination, submission, and a will to fight. God didn’t expect this occupation to happen overnight, but He did expect it to happen and He expressly forbid the establishment of any peace based on treaties, truces, or diplomatic maneuvering. As we know, God’s people started strong but never finished. In the second chapter of Judges we find God’s sobering word to Israel: “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you” (Judges 2:1-3) When the people heard this terrible word, they wept. The grief and sadness was so great that they named that place Bochim, meaning “weepers”. God’s promise to give Canaan to Israel was absolute and absolute was His decision to leave it a thorny thicket. So, what should our attitude be toward the nation of Israel today and should we choose sides between it and her Palestinian and Muslim citizens and neighbors. It’s a complex but rich subject for consideration. Please take the time to read this week’s article on this topic written by John Piper and come prepared to join the conversation Sunday morning. We’ll be meeting at 8:30am upstairs in the Family Life Center. Hot coffee and a yummy peace offering will greet you at the door!

Click here to read Piper’s article, “Israel, Palestine and the Middle East”

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