Today we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. As we celebrate the inauguration of America's first African American president, this day seems doubly significant.
U2's famous MLK-honoring song is "Pride (in the Name of Love)," which actually woke me up this morning, playing on my wife's alarm clock. But this other U2 song, picturing a heavenly destination for all peoples, seems fitting, as well.
Some day the things that sinfully divide us will be washed out by the bright arrival of the new heavens and new earth. The work of those like MLK who urge us to push further and further toward that eventuality continues to be needed and should continue to be honored.
Our series "Bold As Love" continues this Sunday, Jan. 25.
Join us at 6:30 p.m. on the campus of Immanuel Church for Part 4, "Live Boldly."
That's the question we answered at Element last night in Part 5 of our "Foundations" series.
The truth is, as Tim Keller says, "The gospel is one, and the gospel is more than that." There is one essential gospel that comes in many expressions.
We didn't have time last night to cover all the great things the gospel is, but Jared highlighted five key expressions of the gospel important for our Christian life.
Here are some notes from the message "What is the Gospel?" . . .
The word "gospel" comes from the Greek word "evangel" or "evangelion," where we get our words "evangelism" or "evangelical" from. The word "gospel (evangel)" basically means "news" or "good news."
That's the first thing we need to remember about the gospel -- it is news. It's not rules or instructions or advice. It is an announcement. It is a statement of fact(s), not a command.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians that the gospel is "of first importance," which means it is the most important thing the Church can teach. This is why Element makes the teaching and the sharing of the gospel central.
Five Things the Gospel Is
1. The Gospel is God's Grace
We are all sinners, all of us. All of us are broken, needy, sinful people. We don't deserve God's love and he doesn't give it to us because we're likeable, nice, hardworking, or anything else. If he did, it wouldn't be grace, it would be merit. So the good news is, despite our unworthiness, God loves us anyway.
2. The Gospel is "Jesus is Savior"
Our problem isn't that we have issues or incompetence. It's not that we need help or friendship. We have and need all those things, sure, but our real and greatest problem is that we are dead in sin. Ephesians 2 says some awful things about us. Before Christ, Paul says we are dead, blind, ugly, and followers of Satan. But the good news is that Jesus died on the cross to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This is the "mustard seed" gospel from which all the rest of the great expressions of the gospel grow. We cannot have any of the others without this one. It is the non-negotiable of gospel teaching.
3. The Gospel is "Jesus is King"
It is not just us who need saving, it is the world. The pattern of the world is ungodliness. It's not just humans that are broken; Creation is broken. And God aims to restore Creation, to give it its unfallen beauty back again. So the gospel is that the pattern we see at work in the world and those who rule over it -- injustice and violators of justice, selfishness and self-centered people, evil and evil-doers -- are not going to win. God will. Because Jesus is king and God's kingdom will spread over all the earth. That's good news and cause for hope.
4. The Gospel is "Jesus is Lord"
Not only is Jesus king over all creation, he is Lord over all the universe. He is supreme over all things, according to Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1 and Ephesians 2. He is Lord over sin and death and time and space. He is Lord over rulers and powers and principalities and forces of good and evil and light and darkness. This is good news because, as the Bible tells us, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Because Jesus is Lord over everything, there is nothing that can keep us from him.
5. The Gospel is Jesus
Period. The wonderful goodness of the gospel is that it announces the restoration of the worst kind of brokenness -- separation from God. The fall in the Garden of Eden resulted in enmity between man and God, but the good news is that Jesus' death and resurrection results in reconciliation. The good news is not that we get all kinds of spiritual benefits, but we actually get Jesus!
Here is a litmus test for how well you get the gospel:
Let's say you get to heaven and everything you've ever wanted and loved is there. Everybody in your family and circle of friends, all the things you love like music and art and food and coffee and sports and beautiful nature and beautiful architecture, and none of it is stained by dirt or sin or suffering or grief. All of the things that give you pleasure are there in abundance for eternity. It's all there but Jesus is not. Would you be happy in heaven then? If you had everything you always wanted with no shortage, but not Jesus, would heaven feel like heaven?
Before you answer, think about how satisfied you are with "Christ alone" now. If you have him, do you believe/feel/act like you have everything?
The Drew Marshall Show is the most listened to spiritual talkback radio program in all of the Great White North. Drew recently had on his program a panel he called The Jesus Bloggers -- Michael Spencer (aka The Internet Monk), Darryl Dash, and Bill Kinnon -- all three of whom are great guys Jared fraternizes with, Internetically speaking.
Near the end of the program, in the context of the need in the church world for movements toward more others-centeredness (Great Commandment obedience, in other words), Bill Kinnon gives a shout out to Element's Bold as Love budgeting initiative and the motivations behind it. Thanks, Bill!
Go here for the Jesus Bloggers program.
It's a great program with a provocative discussion of all sorts of things -- The Shack, the prosperity gospel, the recent US election and Obama, etc. -- but if you just wanna hear the short bit related to Bold as Love go near the end to the 44:55 time marker.
(Slight correction: Element gives 60% of its budget away, not 70%, as Kinnon remembers.)
This Sunday, Dec. 7, at Element we will be having a potluck dinner service.
If you're attending, we need your help!
A couple of important notes:
1. We will be meeting in the fellowship hall at Immanuel Church, not the sanctuary as usual.
From the front parking lot, you can enter the hall through the door to the far right of the building, behind the stone alcove.
2. We need you to sign up to bring a dish (or dishes).
Here is the current sign up. Please indicate what you will bring by commenting or emailing info AT elementnashville DOT org
Meat/Main Course:
1. Becky
2. Sarah
3.
Sides/Veggies
1. Amanda
2. Sarah
3. Rachel
4. Abigail
5. Tiffany
Bread/Rolls:
1. Sarah
2. Christian
3. Gina
Desserts:
1. Sarah
2. Amanda
3. Haggard
4. Taylor
5. Jess
The "slots" are just suggestions. If sides fills up, in other words, but you really want to bring Grandam's recipe for green beans, feel free. :-)
Last night at Element we learned that not only has the Holy Spirit inspired God's revelation in the Bible so we'd have everything we need to know, the Holy Spirit also teaches it to us as we read and study it, and He also prays in us and for us when we don't have the words to pray. I don't know about you, but I take both the Spirit and the Spirit-breathed Scriptures for granted.
One anecdote I meant to close with last night but cut to save time was the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16. In that story, the rich man in hell asks Abraham to send Lazarus from heaven to his family so that they will believe in Jesus and not suffer the same fate as he. Abraham tells him that they have Scripture. If they won't believe Scripture, a resurrection won't convince them. What a staggering provocation that is! Jesus is essentially saying that if we won't read and trust Scripture and be changed by it, all the miracles in the world won't have any effect on us.
Chew on that a while.
Then go read your Bible.
This past weekend Element served at Cottage Cove Urban Ministries. It was a cold, rainy, early Saturday morning. And we had more than 4 times as many people show up for this project as we did our last one.
You guys are awesome.
Last night while Element's adults worshiped, our kids did a service project of their own, crafting Christmas cards for the residents of a local nursing home.
Also last night Jess Mulvaney returned to the states from her mission trip to Africa. We know Ben, Noah, Anya, and Caden are happy and excited to have Jess back home safe and sound, and Element is happy to have helped one of our own share and be the gospel to some children in desperate need.
I am so proud and honored to serve Element.
We may not be as big as other churches, we may not have all the bells and whistles other churches have, and we may not be as well known as other churches, but Jesus isn't going to ask us about any of that stuff when it's all over anyway.
He's going to ask what we did for "the least of these."
Thank you guys for treasuring Jesus above all else.
Well, sort of.
One of our first big series after Element started in 2007 was a 12-week look at Jesus and the Gospels called "Old School Jesus."
Jared eventually turned that series into a book manuscript, and we are happy to announce that the book The Unvarnished Jesus is being published by Kregel in Fall 2009!
Special thanks is due the Element community for receiving this material enthusiastically and prayerfully and for still being a community centered on and driven by the all-surpassing awesomeness of Jesus.
We wrapped up our relationships series last night, and we are starting a new series this coming Sunday:
FOUNDATIONS: An Introduction to Christian Beliefs
This will be a great way to refresh yourself on the basic, core beliefs of the Christian faith, and a great way to introduce a friend who may be seeking to the way of Christian theology and practice.
Don't miss it!
You can now give to Element via our website. Just click on the "Giving" tab in the upper right corner of the page, follow the instructions, and use the Donate button at the bottom of the information.
