| Waking, Working, Playing, Talking, & Resting: Live-Blog Session 4 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 11:00 PM PDT  In Session 4, the fourth and final session, we covered a number of topics that we don’t usually think of in relation to the gospel:
- the cross and listening, watching, reading, texting, receiving, sending, posting, tweeting, instragramming, blogging, messaging, tumbling, liking, poking, following, unfollowing, emailing, snapping, chatting, vining, networking, and all sorts of othering
The Cross and Waking The first aspect of the cross and waking that Pastor David covered was finding God’s will. He talked about many different ways we usually do this wrongly, followed by a number of steps for thinking about it biblically, including: - consult the Word of God
- exercise wisdom
- do what you want
The Cross and Working Next, we turned to consider how the gospel impacts our work. Given that we spend so much of our lives working, this is a crucial subject. Working is intrinsically a good thing, for it is given by God even before the Fall. Sin, however, has marred our work. There are two primary distortions of our work: - the idolatry of work (finding our identity in work)
- idleness in work (not working hard or working simply so we can play or retire)
We should work unto God’s glory, doing whatever we do well–with joy, excellence, etc. And we can do this no matter how pointless or terrible a job may seem on the surface. We love our neighbor and serve our King through our work. The Gospel and Playing After looking at the gospel and working, we now consider the gospel and playing. We turn something good and turn it into an idol. Instead, we need to use our hobbies for the glory of God and for our own sanctification. Parents ought to take care that they use their children’s involvement in sports for their eternal good. When it comes to the gospel and social media, Pastor David gave 10 commandments, the first of which is to fear God. Several of the commandments relate to our fleeing sexual immorality or any hint of sexual sin. However we communicate–our texting, emailing, Facebooking, etc.–ought to glorify God just as our normal, audible speech should. The Cross and Resting Our rest is based on God’s rest, which Pastor David looked at in both the Old and New Testaments. There is a disagreement over whether and/or how the Old Testament Sabbath command still applies today, though this should not divide Christians. In any case, there is a pattern of work and rest that God has built in to creation. Restlessness shows a lack of faith in God. Sleep is a gift. Ultimately, we must rest in Christ’s salvation. |
| Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself: Live-Blog Session 3 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:29 PM PDT  In Session 3 Pastor David covered the second great command–Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.
Living Every Day to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself This session covers such practical issues as … - a husband’s daily approach to his wife
- a wife’s daily approach to her husband
- a parent’s daily approach to children
- a single’s daily approach to others
- A Christian’s daily approach to other Christians
- A Christian’s daily approach to non-Christians
Pastor David began by reminding us to be aware of God’s work in the lives of others around us, even as the Son of God was always aware of the Father’s work (though we won’t be able to do this perfectly). This ought to shape our relationship with everyone we come in contact with. Here are a few summary statements for these different relationships: - A husband’s approach to his wife ought to be characterized by selfless love. This is leadership that is willing to die to self.
- A wife ought to revere Christ through daily submission to her husband.
- For parents with children … instruct them in the Word and train them to obey the Word. One way to do this is through family worship.
- For stay-at-home moms, there is no greater calling than to take care of your children and your home.
- For children, honoring God means honoring parents. This is a better measure of your spiritual life than how you are perceived in the youth group.
- For singles, it means using your singleness for the glory of God.
Next we turned to consider our interaction with both believers and unbelievers. In our relationship to other believers, take note on the one-another commands in Scripture (of which there are many). On the whole, we are to look out for the good of other believers and seek their good. This may mean sacrifice on our part, or it could mean confronting them about sin. In terms of our relationship to unbelievers … we are left here in this world of sin and suffering to spread the gospel. We are tempted on a daily basis to ignore the spiritual need of those around us. Instead, we ought to be willing to relinquish our rights. As a practical tool, Pastor David shared a way to share the gospel called THREADS that he saw in action in a context where the gospel cannot be shared freely. These THREADS are none other than the foundational truths of the gospel. They are as follows: - The Character of God
- The Sinfulness of Man
- The Sufficiency of Christ
- The Necessity of Faith
- The Urgency of Eternity
Pastor David closed this session by asking everyone to think of one unbeliever they wanted to share the gospel with in the coming days. He then led a time of prayer for courage for this purpose. |
| A Gospel Approach to Everyday Life: Live-Blog Session 2 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 07:50 PM PDT 
After looking at a gospel framework for understanding everyday life, we now turn in Session 2 to how the gospel helps us in approaching everyday life. The two greatest commands in Scripture–love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:28-31)–will serve as a framework for the rest of the night. These commands help us see how the gospel shapes our approach to the various routines and responsibilities that we'll talk about tonight. Pastor David broke down the first great command–to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:33)–into two larger sections. Here's a general outline: Living Every Day to Love God with All Your Heart and Soul 1. Why do we pray ever day?” - to express the depth of our daily need for God
- to explore the mystery of daily intimacy with God
- to experience the power of daily being used by God
2. Who do we pray to every day? - God our Father who has all authority
- God our Father who is always approachable
- God our Father who is ever active
Pastor David then gave an alternate way to think about daily prayer using the acronym PRAY … - Praise: worship God for Who He is
- Repent: confess your sin to God and acknowledge your need for Jesus
- Ask: intercede for particular needs in your life and others’ lives
- Yield [in prayer]: surrender your life to following Jesus wherever and however He leads you
Living Every Day to Love God with All Your Mind and Strength Fill your mind daily with truth from God’s Word Take care of your body daily as a temple of God’s Spirit - Your body has been created by God
- Your body has been purchases by Christ
- Your body has been filled by the Spirit
- Honor God with what you wear
- Honor God with what you eat
- Honor God in how you exercise
Keep control of your body daily in accordance with God’s will - A biblical expression of physical denial: fast regularly
- A biblical expression of physical discipline: flee sexual immorality
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| Gospel Foundations for Everyday Life: Live-Blog Session 1 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 05:43 PM PDT 
Given the theme of Secret Church 14, “The Cross and Everyday Life,” it’s only fitting that the first teaching session began by laying the gospel foundations for understanding everyday life. The quote taken from C.J. Mahaney will serve as a banner for the night, and it begins like this: “The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian–the gospel is the whole building where all the classes take place!” All the truths touched on tonight will be based on the building blocks covered in this session. Pastor David began by talking about God’s dual purpose for our everyday lives: 1) We have been created to enjoy God’s grace in a relationship with Him. 2) We have been created to exalt God’s glory to the ends of the earth. These purposes are not at odds; they are joined. God’s glory is made known as we see it and rejoice in it. Pastor David gave a host of verses and quotes to demonstrate God’s God-centered purposes and how this works for our good. With these purposes of God in mind, Pastor David began explaining how Christ’s death can make these purposes good news for sinners like us. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice changed everything in history, and it can change everything about our lives now–at conversion and throughout our lives. We receive the infinitely great benefits of this salvation by faith alone. A number of verses and quotes were given (with even more included in the Study Guide) to spell out these gospel truths. In short, Session 1 was all about the gospel foundations that must be underneath all our efforts to please God in our everyday routines and responsibilities. – At the close of this session, a video was shown where Brother Andrew urged those listening to be radical for Jesus and to return to the Word of God as the foundation for how we live and share the gospel. |
| International Day of Prayer for Turkey – TODAY Posted: 18 Apr 2014 12:57 PM PDT 
As we prepare to learn more about Turkey tonight at Secret Church 14, “The Cross and Everyday Life,” make sure you consult the Hope for Turkey website in the meantime. On it, you can find information about the Kurds, the Turks, the Zaza, and all sorts of cultural/historical facts about Turkey. The hope in all this is to inform your prayers today as well as throughout the month of May, which we are encouraging people to dedicate to focused prayer for the Peoples of Turkey. CLICK HERE to learn how you can pray. |
