Rachel Sanders - January 16, 2022
The Way of Covenant
The Way of Covenant 1-16-22 "The sermon on the mount is not a code for individual behavior. It is given to the church, and the church has to take the lead in living it in community. People who try it on their own quickly burn out. It is made to crush the individual but give life to the church. One person cannot live the life of the Trinity. The church is the Trinity on earth, and all the gifts and body parts are crucial to sustaining the way of the cross." Douglas M. Jones The Way of Individualism The Way of Preference "Today, in a world where we can find whole communities of people who think like us, share our values, and have common likes, we are trading in our ethical relationships for peg relationships. The result is troubling: We do not really need to love anybody who is different if we do not feel like it. We can cower in the corner with all the people we agree with." AJ Swoboda The Way of Covenant 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. Hebrews 6:17-18 "When you and I enter into a covenant with God, we're are now also in a committed forever relationship with God's people. His body, His bride, the Church. We do not live the Christian life alone, nor are we allowed to pick and choose who we want to be our brothers and sisters in this new family. We are called into a people as 1 Peter 2:10 says, "once you were not a people, but now you are a people." Or if we were to paraphrase this, "you used to be an assortment of individuals, each living your own lives, but now God has made you into a unified, interconnected people." Jon Tyson & Suzy Silk Consumerism says I want minimal commitment with maximum return. Covenant says I will give maximum commitment even with minimal return Consumerism says I will leave as soon as my expectations stop being met Covenant says I will remain faithful in the midst of trial and heartache Consumerism asks What can I gain? Covenant asks What can I give? 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 Acts 2:42-47 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. "The most eloquent testimony to the reality of the resurrection is not an empty tomb or a well-orchestrated pageant on Easter Sunday but rather a group of people who life together is so radically different, so completely changed from the way the world builds community, that there can be no explanation other than that something decisive has happened in history." Will Willimon