Soma One Day Training with Jeff Vanderstelt in Montreal, QC on Monday, February 10, 2014
These posts for the Soma One Day I participated in back in February have been a bit of a long time coming. Here is a link to the first post:
Also, for a fun intro story about my trip, read about my stop by a border patrol officer. Otherwise, let's dig in together as I reflect and as you read.
Soma One Day with Jeff Vanderstelt Part 2 of 3 | The Church is Formed, Informed and Empowered by the Gospel
The Church is:
- God's People | Who we are
- (saved by) God's Power | What He has done and is doing
- (for) God's Purposes | Works He has created for us in Jesus Christ to do
We need to define the Church in light of:
- Who God is | Father, Son, Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14)
- What God has done | the Gospel that He has sent His Son to live, die, and live again to redeem a people for Himself and restore the earth (1 Corinthians 15:1-5; Colossians 1:15-22)
- Who He has made us to be | a family of missionary servants (Ephesians 1:5-14; John 20:21-22; Mark 10:43-45)
- What He has saved us to do | make disciples of Jesus who also make disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20)
- How we rest in who we are and do what we do in our unique context and among the people we are sent to | be His church who make disciples of Jesus of every tribe, tongue, and nation (Revelation 7:9-10)
The Church has been adopted and rescued for the praise of Jesus' glorious grace. "In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. ... In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:5-6, 11-14).
"You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men and women who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything" (2 Timothy 2:1-7).
"Do we know that we are soldiers, athletes, and farmers who labor and endure for others? For example, as a farmer, we should not sow sparingly, because then we will only reap sparingly. We need to sow abundantly so that we will reap abundantly. In this way, every Christian should see themselves as a full-time paid minister of the gospel sent by God wherever they live and work to serve others in Jesus' name for the praise of His glorious grace."
The Church is:
- Saved by God's work
- For God's work
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
The Church exists to:
- bring glory to God in all things (Ephesians 1:5-14);
- make disciples who grow up into becoming like Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16; Romans 8:28-30); and
- live all of life in light of the Gospel, giving glory to God so that we make disciples who obey everything Jesus commanded, too (Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:31).
"You don't invite Jesus to join your mission. He invites you into His. Jesus wants to lead all of His Church to people and places where we can't do what we need to do without Him. God's desire for His Church is for every person – in neighborhoods, in schools, in the city – to have a real encounter with Jesus in word and deed. For this to happen, we will need to equip everyone – young and old, new in the faith and growing in the faith – to do ministry. And then we'll see everyone growing up in becoming more like Jesus. Getting equipped and becoming mature is going on Jesus' mission where we need His Spirit to inspire and guide us with others and for others. "
The Church is:
- the Family of God who love one another as brothers and sisters;
- empowered Missionaries who are sent by the Spirit to show and tell about Jesus wherever we are; and
- Servants who serve others as we are served by Jesus to provide glimpses of His kingdom in our present neighborhoods, workplaces, etc.
"Every behavior comes out of what you believe. A life gripped by fear is placing your faith in the wrong god. Don't be overcome by future fear by forgetting present reality – Jesus is risen and He is here. We continue to need to be saved from our idolatry and unbelief in who He is, who we are, who He is transforming us to be like, and what we are called to do. Repentance is a gift that allows us to turn from listening to our false god to trusting and obeying the true God."
Final post: Soma One Day | Communities Shaped & Fueled by Gospel
– Sully
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