2 Corinthians 8:1-2, “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.”

• The first and second letter to the Corinthians is a real letter to real people from the Apostle Paul, and in verses 1 and 2 the Apostle Paul is speaking to the Corinthian church about the local church in Macedonia (Two churches in modern day Greece).
• The Apostle Paul describes the Macedonian church as a people who are going through a “great ordeal of affliction” vs. 2, and yet they are “overflowing in the wealth of their liberality.”
• The word “liberality” means generous, which means the Macedonians are going through distress, challenges, sick kids, job loss, crazy politics, swings in the stock market, in deep poverty, and yet the Macedonians are generous with money!

2 Corinthians 8:3-5, “3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”

• Do you see that in verses 3 and 4? In verse 3 they are giving according to their ability, and beyond their ability, and then at the end of verse 3 we see they are giving of their own accord.
• Do you see that word at the end of verse 3? The word, “accord” means “by one’s own choice.” It means the Macedonians weren’t giving generously in their poverty because they saw a sad commercial, or because they felt guilty, or because they are trying to gain favor from God, or because someone put up a thermometer on stage with sad faces.
• How did the Macedonians avoid the temptation to horde? How did the Macedonians avoid getting swept away on some cool sandals, or a new camel? Look at the end of verse 5. Do you see the answer? Verse 5 says, “But, they first gave themselves to the Lord.”

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Remember when you were young and adults would always ask us, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” When you were in elementary school you said things like firefighter, professional athlete, rock star, etc. But, as you got older your answers matured to things like teacher, lawyer, author, and for many of us, as we began to work in those careers we have found ourselves losing some optimism about life.

Eventually we learned we weren’t that great of an athlete; and for the majority of us we learned that although we were able to acquire a job as we got older, we also learned about many other areas of our life where we were deficient; health, relationships, finances, friendships, intellect, and over time we started to lose some optimism about life. It happens to all of us. If it hasn’t, just wait.

The yearly rhythms outlined in this book have been established to help us re-capture some youthful optimism about life. It is a chance to return to that aged old question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” It’s not too late. There are still so many new opportunities in front of us, but for us to make the most of those opportunities then we must know what we are trying to accomplish in life.

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Revelation 22:6-7, “6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. 7 “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”

•  In verses 1-5 we see the final description of what we talked about last Sunday, new heaven and new earth, that is coming, and at this point it would be easy to think, “Well, that about wraps it up!”
• But, in verse 7 we see the reminder, “Jesus is coming quickly.” It is a reminder of urgency. The urgency is repeated in verse 12, “Behold, I am coming quickly” and again in verse 20, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”
• The word “quickly” in the original language means “Jesus is coming as soon as possible” and it would be easy for us to read Revelation 22 and think to ourselves, “How come Jesus hasn’t returned yet?” What is the delay? In 2 Peter 3 the Apostle Peter responded to the same people asking the same question:

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Revelation 21:1, “1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”

•  In Revelation 21, verse 1 we see the Apostle John describing a vision what is coming in the near future and it is a “new heaven and new earth.”
• One day, Jesus will return, evil will be destroyed, and “all things become new.” Everything will taste right. Relationships will function right. There won’t be gossip. There won’t be betrayal. There won’t be fractions in our relationships with one another. All things become new. Can you imagine how glorious that day might be?

Revelation 21:2, “2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”

• In verse 2 the “holy city, new Jerusalem” is a gathering of men, women, and children who belong to Jesus. The new city is a reference to those men, women, and children who are in Christ, being presented to Jesus as a bride.

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In Revelation 19 we see the culmination of our justification, and it is the greatest celebration we could imagine.  There’s a story at the end of WWI that at 11:00 on the 11^th day of the 11^th month in 1918 WWI officially comes to an end. Ferdinand Foch, the commander in chief of all Allied forces on the Western Front sent a message by telegraph to all his commanders saying, “Hostilities will cease on the entire front on November 11^th.

It is said that WWI soldiers had their watches in their hands waiting for the clock to strike 11:00, and then a curious rippling sound, which was described like a light wind, as men cheered for the end of WWI.  What we see in Revelation 19 is that story times a million.

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Romans 3:27, “27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.”

• You have to see how easy humanity gets involved in boasting, right? We boast about anything. We boast about success, “Look at how much I have achieved.” We boast about failure, “You wouldn’t believe the stupid things I have done.” We boast about anything!
• In verse 27 the Jews are boasting their ability to keep the Ten Commandments, who can pray better, fast better, and circumcision, and the Gentiles would boast just like we do today about our intelligence, strength, money, power, or social standing in the community.

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Romans 3:21, “21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,”

• The phrase “righteousness of God” isn’t a common phrase we would use in our language today, but it means glory.
• Scripture teaches us we were created in the image of God, to dwell eternally in His glory (Genesis 1-2), but all of humanity has abandoned His glory to pursue our own glory (Genesis 3.)
• That is why you see every human being throughout history trying to leave their mark of glory on this world. Every human being throughout history is trying to make their life count for something. Every human begin is trying to accomplish something in life that makes them feel like their life matters, and it is because we are pursuing our own glory!

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Romans 3:1-2, “1 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.”

• In Romans 1 we see there is brokenness in humanity, and the Christian Jew in the Roman church in the first century would have said, “Yes, all those Gentiles, non-Jewish people, are immoral” but in Romans 2 the Apostle Paul says, “Well, not just the Gentiles, because Jewish people also have a broken relationship with the God of Scripture.”
• Then, in Romans 3, we see the Apostle Paul is assuming the questions he might be receiving in his letters, and writes “Then what advantage has the Jew?”
• I know this is 2,000 years ago with a specific ethnicity, but we ask these kinds of questions today also. There are times I am talking to people about their relationship with God and the assumption is that showing up on Sunday morning allows us to gain favor with the God of Scripture, or getting baptized places us in better position with the God of Scripture, or praying over our children every night is going to somehow guarantee that God will bless our children, “If not, what’s the benefit?”

Romans 3:3-4, “3 What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4 May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That You may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged.”

• This might be hard to see, but the bigger question in verses 3 and 4 is the Jewish person is asking is, “Is our sin against the God of Scripture really that big of a deal?”
• The answer is, “Yes!” Our sin is that serious. The God of Scripture is that holy, and our sin is that devastating that we see a cosmic break between the God of Scripture and humanity.

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Romans 2:1, “1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”

• The phrase, “same things” is a literary cue to remind us of what was just went over in Romans 1.
• The Christian Jew in Rome, hearing Romans 1, would have nodded their head in agreement about the Gentile immorality in Romans 1.
• But, then in Romans 2, verse 1 the Apostle Paul is saying, “I am pretty sure Jewish people do the same thing, and it is because Jewish people also have a broken relationship with the God of Scripture.”

Romans 2:2-3, “2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?”

• Lets make it practical: We do verses 2-3 all the time. How many times are you watching these politicians in the news get caught in lies, greed, power, selfishness, sexual immorality, and you find yourself thinking, “These people are horrible!”
• We love to say things like, “I hate hateful people.” Or, if you have children, have you noticed how many times you scream at your children, “Stop screaming! It’s disrespectful! You’re supposed to love one another!”
• All of humanity loves to put the offenses of humanity on trial, but we somehow conveniently remove ourselves from humanity.

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In Romans 1:18-32 we see the gospel exposes dark broken layers in our world, and in our soul. Doesn’t that sound fun?

Honestly, haven’t you wondered, “Why is our world so messed up?” Why do we treat each other this way? Why do we say these hurtful things to one another?

Why do we not only see brokenness in our world, but if we are honest, we see brokenness in our lives as well?

We are all layered with arrogance, greed, anger, jealousy, and Scripture is going to help us see the reason we see this brokenness in our world and in our soul is ultimately because we have a broken relationship with the God of Scripture.

Romans 1:18, “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness”

• Humanity suppresses the knowledge of God.
• The word “suppress” means “humanity holds back the knowledge of God.” It means humanity literally “pushes the knowledge of God out of our lives.”

Romans 1:19-20, “19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

• Humanity suppresses the knowledge of God revealed in creation.
• It is as though humanity sees the complexity of muscle tissue running through the human anatomy, the expanse of stars, planets, and galaxies, the beauty of mountains, land and sea, and concludes, “Oh, obviously those detailed, intelligently designed beautiful things spontaneously sprung into existence.”

Romans 1:21, “21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

• Humanity isn’t ignorant of the knowledge of God. No, deep in our soul we know there is a divine creator, but Scripture teaches us that humanity just isn’t impressed with the knowledge of God.
• There is external evidence for His glory in creation (vs. 19-20) and there is internal evidence for His glory in our conscience (vs. 21), but instead all of humanity simply “suppresses the knowledge of God.”

Romans 1:22-25,  “Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

• In verse 23 we see humanity exchanging the knowledge of God for something else to take His place. Biblically this is called idolatry!
• Idolatry is anything that takes the place that rightfully belongs to the God of Scripture.”
• This means our children can become an idol. Our career can become an idol. It is anything or anyone or any idea in our life that brings out our inner “Gollum, precious!” Religious activity can become an idol. Politics can become an idol. Caring for the environment can be an idol. Working out and eating healthy can become an idol.
• It is because every human being throughout history is created in the image of God (Genesis 1), and created to worship God (Genesis 2), and when we “suppress the knowledge of God (vs.18-21)” we don’t just stay neutral, we exchange (vs. 23, 25).

Romans 1:26-27, “26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”

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Romans 1:8, “8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.”

In Romans 1:8-17 we see characteristics of what it means to walk in biblical community, and it is important to remember that biblical community doesn’t just appear magically over night.  There are steps we can take today, by grace through faith in Jesus, and over time we can and will experience deep biblical community.

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Romans 1:1, “1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God”

• Author:  Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul and Paul is someone who grew up hating Christianity, hating the name of Jesus, and would volunteer to hunt down Christians to put them in jail, and kill them if necessary (Acts 8).  In Acts 9 the resurrected Jesus appears to Paul, Paul’s life is radically changed, and Paul spends the rest of his life on earth proclaiming the name of Jesus to Modern Day Turkey and the surrounding regions.
• Audience:  If you look down to verse 7 you see this letter is written to “the beloved of God in Rome.” These are men and women who in believe in Jesus, living in Rome, and at this point in history Rome is a dynamic city. Rome is where new technology was taking place. Rome is where the most educated and elite would live. Rome is the center of affluence. Rome is New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, and Austin all rolled into one.

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We are a family who places Jesus at the center of our lives so that it moves us to chase after every man, woman, and child in Greater Austin to experience the life transforming power of Jesus Christ.

Family:  We are fighting to be a family. We don’t want to just sit next to each other on Sunday morning. We are fighting to know one another. We are fighting to say, “No” to other relationships in our lives so we can say, “Yes” to our relationships with one another.

Center:  We desperately want to keep Jesus at the center. This speaks to the authority of Jesus. This means we submit our lives to Jesus, because it is when Jesus is at the center of our lives we have unexplainable capacity to chase after every man, woman, and child.

Chase:  This last part of our vision is the part of our vision that moves us outward. This is the part of the vision that moves us outside of our comfort zone. This is the part of the vision that guards us from showing partiality, and moving us into relationships that are uncomfortable.

Connecting with Jesus (2018):  Let the Word of Christ Richly Dwell Within You.

Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

We wanted to connect with Jesus by connecting with His Word. Specifically we challenged our church family in three areas:

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Probably the biggest part of the conversation about hell and judgment is, “How can the God of Scripture be loving if there is judgment?”  Especially in our culture right now. Right now the quickest response to any kind of judgment in our culture today is, “Love is love” so if God is loving, then how can a loving God bring judgment?

To help us tackle this question we are going to look at Luke 16:19-31.  Lets start with verses 19-21:

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Galatians 2:3-4, “3 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.”

I know this is a lot of first century culture for us to step into, but this passage can help us answer the question, “Can we all find our own truth?”  Specifically, when the Apostle Paul writes the phrase, “spy out our liberty” he is talking about the freedom we have in Christ, and freedom in Christ will lead to a beautiful life.

In contrast, there is a religious community who is coming to “spy out that liberty” and claiming “truth” but it is leading to bondage as Gentile Christians are being told to follow Jewish custom and rituals.

But, these claims by the religious leaders are contrary to the gospel.  All those Jewish customs discussed in Galatians 2 were established so that it would be clear to humanity that nobody could ever make ourselves clean, righteous and presentable to God. This is why we need the good news of Jesus!

Jesus has come to fulfill all the requirements of the Jewish Law, Jewish customs, and Jesus even became unclean so that by grace through faith in Jesus we might be made clean.

In contrast there are religious leaders from Jerusalem who are sneaking into the Gentiles backyards, spying on the Gentile Christians to see if they are following Jewish customs, Jewish rituals, and I guess to see if the men were circumcised, and the Apostle Paul writes, “They are trying to bring us back under bondage.”

Do you see the tension? Can the Gentile Christians ignore the Jewish customs? Should Gentile Christian men be circumcised? How do you decide? Who is going to win?  How can you decide what is true?

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