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Thursday July 26, 2007 ~ 7 Comments
Great worship at the Good Shepherd Chapel at Concordia University yesterday morning. The view is simply amazing:
It was refreshing... particularly after flying in very late and finding the hotel mis-entered my reservation and I had no room (and there were no other rooms in the city!) Thanks to my helpful hosts (and rescuers), I slept in a college dorm room (during football camp). The college dorm is fine as it builds character to sleep on the slab bed. But, those football guys sure were excited about their 4a.m. run. Ugh. Anyway, the highlight of the morning was when Robert Newton, Bishop of California / Nevada / Hawaii District of the LCMS shared the morning devotion. He shared much more than I can list here, but I was intrigued by his explanation of Luke 24:46-48.
Luke 24:46-48 (HCSB): "He told them, 'This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'" These are the things that are written... He explained that we often think that there are only two parts to the gospel... death and resurrection. Jesus lists three that "are written." In other words, the spreading of the gospel is a fundamental to the gospel. A quote: Put more bluntly: "Every Sunday the saints gather and forget the world..." What do you think? 7 CommentsComment PolicyComments are welcome on discussion posts. Comments are not moderated but do require a keyword to avoid spam. If this is your first time commenting, please review the comment policy. Leave a comment |
  
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I think that's good stuff!
Great point!! As the avenue God has chosen to expand His kingdom in this world, the Church needs to be more aware of their surroundings and the hurting world outside their doors!
That is good stuff.
It is appropriate that you were in the middle of the football team. What are they doing today? Forming huddles and running plays. Too often, the church just huddles up.
In order to do the work of verses 46-48, the church needs to recapture the impact of verse 49 - "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (ESV)
Missional proclamation is only effective to the extent that the Spirit has authority, is providing cultural discernment, and empowering the work.
Nothing wrong with believers gathering together, is there? As long we do so in the spirit of the oft-quoted Hebrews 10:25... to "encourage one another" in the Christian journey. I like that!
But the brother is right about keeping the balance. That's why the previous verse says, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works" (Heb. 10:24). Make sure there's plenty of creativity flowing in terms of the missional lifestyle! When we leave one another, it's an intentional effort to penetrate our culture.
I'm not sure that "the gospel ends" whenever we proclaim it to our co-workers, friends, and neighbors. Surely he didn't mean, "Oh, now we can 'tick the box' and move on to the next target!" It's not always that simple, is it? Or that quick.
Bill,
Good to hear from you across the pond.
I am sure he would agree... His point was that we need to see that the spreading of the gospel is fundamental to its nature.
Thanks for dropping by.
Ed
A couple of months ago I was privileged to hear Thom Wolf. He spoke on this same text and made much about the AND - the message AND the mission.
To often we miss the AND which is no minor oversight because AND has a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force. In other words, there is no message without mission and there is no mission without a message. The two are inextricably linked.
How often do we get caught up in one or the other? Too many times the mission is outsourced to the “professional” missionaries and the local church puts all or their resources and energies into the message which is a detriment to both.
Thanks for the reminder from Bishop Newton.
Totally agree, although I think we too often see the work of the gospel as finished at conversion. Paul is eager to see this dynamic gospel run its race in those it is working on are presented perfect in Christ on that last day. Lets expand our view of mission, to God's Missio Dei, and join with Paul as he partners with the gospel in conversion, founding of new communities, and maturing them until their final day or our glorious Lords return!