Philippians 1: 19-30

I would encourage everyone to read Philippians 1: 19-30 this week. We will not be looking at it on Sunday morning but I feel that it's an important section of scripture that continues the theme of suffering which we addressed yesterday. In this section, Paul is torn between his desire to die and go to be with Jesus and to remain on the earth continuing to proclaiming the gospel. He says that it would be 'far better' to be with Christ (which seems to be a bit of an understatement). But Paul recognizes that it's necessary for him to remain on the earth for a little longer so that he could continue to encourage the believers and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. Paul is a man who has his sights fixed on heaven, which compels him to live life to the fullest on planet earth.

And I have to wonder if we, as followers of Jesus, sometimes become so fixated on the glory of heaven and our desire to evacuate earth, that we miss out on the call of Jesus upon our lives in the 'here and now'. For some of us, we are so discouraged by the condition of our culture and we're so jaded by the hurt and the pain and the failure that we have experienced in our lives that we just want to be done here on earth and go to be with Jesus. I don't believe this is a totally bad desire. Life in heaven will be far better than life on the earth. Human words cannot even properly describe the beauty and majesty of heaven. But when our desire to leave earth becomes so strong that we neglect the needs of the people in our lives or we neglect to take care of the earth which God has called us to 'steward' or when we neglect to become socially involved in our culture and care for the 'orphans and widows' then our motives for being with Jesus become selfish and self-centered and far from the heart of God.

Others of us go to the other extreme and we become so attached to this world and our toys and gadgets and relationships and possessions that we don't ever want to leave. When we embrace this kind of attitude we are essentially saying that our joy is in our stuff and not in Christ and that our treasure is here on earth and not in Jesus.

If we look at Hebrews 12, a great passage of scripture that I've mentioned a lot over the past couple of weeks, the writer calls us to 'look to Jesus'. Our sights should be set on Jesus. He should be our focus, He should be our compass, He should be our hope. The writer goes on to offer these words of encouragement 'Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.'

Returning to Philippians, Paul closes chapter one with these words to the Philippian believers: "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel."

My hope for us as a faith community is that as we live our lives here on earth, our sights would be set upon Jesus and that because of our love and commitment to Jesus we would be motivated to live lives that are worthy of the gospel of Christ.

The Gathering - Kickoff

Today, we finally started "The Gathering" worship experience.  Take a look for yourself...

"New" Stuff

With the dropping of the ball, another year is upon us.  Off the top of my head I can think about several new things that await me in this new year- a new worship service, a new baby on the way, all the new people that I'll have the privilege of meeting.  As human beings, we like new stuff and I have to wonder if it's because we are image-bearers of God who is all about new stuff.  In I Cor. 5:17, the Apostle Paul writes "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation.  The old has passed away, behold, the NEW has come."  Jesus is a master at taking that which is old and making it new.  For those who are His followers, He takes our old corrupt lives and transforms them into new lives.  This means that we no longer have to be slaves to sin, but we can now be slaves to Christ- which is the pathway to true freedom! 

Finally, in the book of Revelation, John gives us a glimpse into the heavenly kingdom.  He writes: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more."  There is coming a day when God will create a new heaven and a new earth and all of creation will be as it was originally intended to be.  There will be no more weeping, there will be no more pain.  There will be no more sickness or disease.  There will be no more poverty or injustice.  Everything will be perfect and the cancer of sin will no longer infect the world. 

As we come into this new year and look forward to all the new experiences and opportunities that this year holds for us, might we remember our God who is all about new things and might our hearts be stirred in worship because we are His image-bearers called to put His grace on display.