He was teaching on forgiveness. It was fantastically creative (it was kid’s Sunday). The central text was the story of Joseph. He shared all the sins that fractured Joseph from his brothers. (And of course the sins of Joseph’s tactlessness that fractured them from Joseph.) He drew the sermon to a climax by drawing our attention on Genesis 45:4. In this verse, as Joseph prepares to reveal himself to his brothers, he says to them, “Come closer.” It is a beautiful moment, and as Rodney told the story I was so deeply struck. (You can listen to the same sermon from Jenny Krichton here.)

That is the heart of forgiveness. Sin breaks relationships. And when we are wronged it is so natural to let sin have its effect and pull away. But when we do this, we are giving in to the power of sin. Paul teaches that we are not slaves to sin. That means that I am not a slave to my own sin. But it also means that I am not a slave to the sins of others. If someone sins against me, their sins separates us. But by the power of Christ, I can say the same thing that Joseph says, “Come closer.”

This is of course precisely what Jesus commands in Matthew 18. “If someone sins against, go to them.” There is more to that teaching and if sin continues things get more difficult. But this does not change the first impulse. The first impulse is to resist the fundamental power of sin to separate and tear apart. This is what God has done in Christ and what we are called to do for each other.

To those who have wronged us, let us say – as God has said to us – “Come closer.”

on the walk

-Ethan

He reminds me that however attached I am to my dreams, when I am following God, I must continually say, “not my will but yours.”

on the walk

-Ethan

We have found that the goal shouldn’t be to maintain the past or to always be on the cutting edge. Our goal is to worship in a way that represents our community to God and God to our community. That means contextualizing worship for today, but not forgetting the family of God throughout history to which we belong.

That is a profound reminder for me as I help lead a church that has hundred+ year history and is also interested and influenced by many current trends in churches all over the country. Our worship cannot be the worship of the past or the worship of Willow Creek. For it to be our worship, it must be our worship. Worship properly offered, must be the work of the people.

As I read Dan’s thoughts I remembered a recent post in which I stole from my friend Aaron Wymer some of his fine thoughts on worship. But I also thought about the consistent them in scripture that true worship goes beyond the weekly worship service.

Scripture is pretty consistent that the public gathering for worship is just the tip of the worship iceberg. It is the public and visible reality of a deep and richer foundation. Our worship is the fullness of our service and prayer, our offering not just of a weekly gift but of our whole lives in every day. It not just the songs we sing but the justice we seek, not just the prayers we pray but the hungry that are fed. This is our liturgy, this is the work of the people. I think the next time someone asks me if I attend a liturgical church I will answer, “I hope so.”

on the walk

-Ethan

CLETUS TAKE THE REEL

Have Fun!

on the walk