Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from week 1 in our Orientation series: Mission.
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Jonah Sage's sermon from week 1 in our Orientation series: Mission.
Bobby: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Bobby Gilles and my cohost is Lindsey Blair. This past Sunday, Pastor Jonah Sage preached about our mission in the first week of our new series called Orientation.
Lindsey: Jonah said that our mission is to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, build them up as his church, and send them to follow him.
But if you missed the sermon or need help remembering, you’re in the right spot for the Midweek Checkup.
Bobby: Jonah began by saying that every Sunday, our auditorium is filled with three kinds of people: the Curious are those coming with questions for and about Jesus. The Critical are those who are cynical and skeptical about Jesus or his church. And the Committed are those striving to follow Jesus. We all come from different places and perspectives, Sojourning together. And the word Sojourn means a temporary stay on a long journey.
Lindsey: Our mission to reach, build, and send reminds us we have a shared destination. When we say we want to "reach people" we mean we want to cultivate deep, meaningful, satisfying, transforming RELATIONSHIPS, and share the good news that Christ is king, his kingdom is coming, and this king invites us to participate as sisters and brothers, sharing the kingdom with him. This gospel dispels our fear, shame and guilt: fear over what might happen, guilt over what has happened, and shame over who we feel that we are.
Bobby: The gospel is good news that we can come home to the family of God. Adoption is the primary metaphor the Bible uses to describe salvation.
It is a privileged RELATIONSHIP with God. So...how is the gospel good news for adoption and relationship? Three questions: what, how, why.
What is the gospel? The gospel is the good news that the KINGDOM of God is at hand — a new reality, new home, new family. How is this possible? We are adopted into the Kingdom of God through the CROSS of Jesus Christ: his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus made a way for us to be adopted.
Why would God do this? God adopts us because of his extravagant love for us. Is is by GRACE we are saved. Kingdom, cross, grace: the good news of the gospel.
Lindsey: The gospel HEALS our fear, shame, and guilt through a restored relationship with God and each other. There is a version of ourselves, the one God intended, the one Jesus saved, that is free from fear, shame, and guilt. To be built up as the church is to become that person together, as part of God's family. What makes this so difficult, especially in a church like ours with such diverse religious backgrounds, is we all come with two kinds of beliefs. Big "B" beliefs are what you say you believe. These are the beliefs you're aware of, front of your mind thoughts. Some call this doctrine, the right answers. In our spiritual formation classes we call this your "explicit" world. Big B beliefs are learned in classrooms, reading books, stuff we are in control of Think of it like the tip of an iceberg floating above the water.
Bobby: Little "B" beliefs are how we instinctively relate to others. Sudden tears seeing your daughter in her wedding dress. Unexpected outburst of anger to your spouse… They are learned in unscripted moments and absorbed through relational systems. So your Big "B" beliefs tell you to love everyone. You affirm that and believe that. But you get so angry around Republicans, you can't stand them, or you feel disgust well up in your chest when you see a homeless person holding a sign. Little "b" beliefs are far less obvious to us, but far more powerful. They live below the water line, like that much larger part of the iceberg, outside the realm of our awareness.
Lindsey: Sojourn does not settle for the right big "B" beliefs. We want healing and wholeness to the core of who we are. We want to live lives where our heads and our hearts are deeply connected. And our church is structured in such a way that our little b beliefs will be forced to the surface.
You have to know that saying the right thing is not enough here. Our mission is relational, and so when we say discipleship we are talking about transformed ways of relating to God, ourselves, and each other.
Bobby: So, we have curious, committed, and critical, all with different histories and perspectives, united together as a family, as one body. We are a BODY, not a building or organization or program. We are a family, we need one another, differences and all. When we talk about being built up as a church, healing and wholeness, we mean finding our place in the body of Christ, the family of God. Every week, we pursue healing and wholeness so we can re-enter the world to live and love more like Jesus, on mission together, just like our church planters and missionaries around the world and our partners in Harbor Network.
Lindsey: For most Christian's throughout most of history, the mission field has been the place of their ordinary, everyday lives. Every Sunday, most of us are sent right back into our homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.
And the most important thing any of us bring to the mission field is our transformed and transforming presence. And Jesus tells us he will be with us, so everywhere we go, we bring Jesus. Because of this, we have all we need to do all God would have us to do.
Bobby: This is what unifies us, curious, critical, and committed. This is what enables us to hold our preferences loosely as we hold on to our promised destination, the Kingdom of God. This coming Sunday we’ll continue our series called Orientation. And in Bible Fellowship, we’ll begin discussing Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church together. Join us, and bring a friend.