Through the 16th & 17th centuries, Western Europe experienced major shifts in economy, politics, society, and scholarship How did all this change affect the Christian Church? How should the church today respond to the changes around us?
Due to technical issues we were unable to record the sermon this week, but you can still check out the Discussion Questions here.
On 31 October 1517, a 33-year-old Theology Professor at the University in Wittenberg nailed to the door of the Castle Church 95 Theses condemning the corruption of the Christian Church. That day marks the beginning of the “Protestant Reformation,” a movement that has inspired countless students of Scripture.
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Join us as Roy speaks about lessons on power.
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How did the books of the Bible end up in the canon? Who wrote the Bible and when? Why are there different translations?
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Picture from Destiny Family Christian Centre
Last week, someone hacked into my email account and sent out spam to all my contacts. It was highly frustrating as I had to change all my passwords (a herculean task for me – read Forgotten Passwords for the reason why) and let as many people know as possible that I had not sent them a dropbox folder containing investment “opportunities.”
As I mused on making my new password “Ih8hacker$,” I felt violated and indignant that my trust and my contacts’ trust had been so disrespected. I was also wary of potential identify theft and spent hours combing through online accounts for my credit cards, utility bills, and social media.
No one likes a poser.
Perhaps that’s why so many are reluctant to take on the name, “Christian.” Are we afraid of committing identity theft or violating the commandment not “to take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7) by claiming to be a follower of Christ when we’re so messed up? Is being branded a “Christian hypocrite” worse than the Scarlet Letter being pinned to our chest?
Christians first got their name, “Christians,” in Antioch, an ancient Greek city. The early disciples of Jesus were being persecuted in Jerusalem, so they scattered throughout the Roman Empire. When they reached Antioch, they shared the good news of Jesus with the Greek pagans – “for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26, NIV).
What made them Christians? It wasn’t about how “holy” they were or how Christ-like they might or might not have been. It was simply about their focus on Christ – on His life, ministry, death, and resurrection. They loved to share about Jesus.
And why not? He mingles with sinners. He calls the outcasts. He touches the untouchables.
A hypocrite is not someone who fails to live up to the ideals of his or her principles. (If that were the definition, then we are all hypocrites, for no one observes perfect congruity between belief and practice. Who doesn’t eat junk food even though we know it’s unhealthy? Who gets adequate hours of sleep? Who does not procrastinate?) A hypocrite is someone who pretends to have virtues that he or she dos not actually possess.
You are not a hypocrite if you claim to be a Christian but fail to live a sinless life. A Christian is someone who recognises that we are all sinners and that we need Jesus Christ to forgive and represent us in our place. A Christian is someone who is honest about his or her vulnerability to selfishness, someone who is not ashamed to claim Jesus’ righteousness as our own.
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).
It is only when we pretend to be holy on our own, or when we mask how we’re really doing, that we become Christian hypocrites. It’s time to stop that kind of Christian identity theft. Let’s give the name of Christianity back its original dignity by taking our mind off of ourselves – the anxiety about what others think, the desire to please or be praised – and by returning homage to the matchless Person of Jesus Christ.
After the 4th century, the Christian church grew into an empire. What were the consequences?
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The 4th century saw significant changes to the flavour and course of the Christian movement that still impact us today.
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How is freedom central to God’s love? Please join us as we welcome our guest speaker, Trent Martin, Assistant Youth Director of the Victorian Conference.
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Calvin & Hobbes
I don’t even like chocolate. Yet as I wiped away the angry tears I gnawed down the Snickers bar viciously.
It was one of those days. The parking ticket attendant had almost snickered as I ran to the car, saying as he walked away, “Too late.” $150. That’s 3 months of nappies, I thought. I was already having a down day, having had some bad news earlier. The ticket was just the last straw.
I had a long commute to Melton, and as the tears and rain refused to abate, I started my diatribe against God. He didn’t deserve it. I also called Roy and belted out my feelings. He didn’t deserve it either. Then I told God, “Ok, you know I don’t really mean it. And I know it’s really not that bad. But this is how I feel…”
Have you seen that trailer for the new Pixar movie, Inside Out? It’s all about the emotions (joy, fear, anger, disgust, sadness) living in our minds and determining our choices. I have no idea if it will be a good movie or not, but it poses interesting questions: Do our feelings dictate our decisions? Can we control them? How do we balance all our conflicting emotions?
By the time I got to Melton, God had given me peace about the day’s events, but I remained contemplative about how easily our moods can change. Our favourite sports team wins, and life is awesome. The same team loses, and life stinks. We find a free parking spot in the city, and it’s our lucky day. We get a parking ticket, and the world is against us.
It’s normal to feel a variety of emotions based on the circumstances. However, are our extreme reactions indicative of an imbalance of perspective?
For example, could our hopes be too set on earthly things, which can disappoint and fail us? [“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matt 6:19-21]
Have we forgotten that our first-world problems are just that – symptoms of lives that are focused on self and unthinking of the real needs and issues of others?
Because, at the end of the day, thank God I can afford the $150 parking ticket. I don’t have to go without food and Micah doesn’t have to forego nappies in order for us to pay that ticket (again, thank God). And, as a friend astutely observed, we pay a lot of money for courses and training. I paid $150 for a lesson in parking laws that I will never forget.
After all, it’s just money. What I lost in my reaction was peace, perspective, and almost people – I took out my grumpiness on God and Roy, who are very understanding and gracious. Not everyone who are unfortunate enough to be in our space during our emotional outbursts are as forgiving. What if the parking attendant saw my irate face and then walked into my church the next week? After all, he didn’t deserve my rage either. It was really my fault.
When there is real loss, it is appropriate to grieve. When there is real injustice, we should feel indignant. When others hurt, no matter the cause, we should offer support and sympathy. But we may also need to spend some quiet time with God and ask Him to re-anchor what we value, prioritise, and feel in Christ – and Christ alone.
Excerpt from In Step with Jesus: The Journey Begins p 43:
Much of human learning is like addition. We add to what we know about carpentry or cooking, about our careers or our hobbies, about being parents or grandparents. But some learning is like an explosion. When the debris settles, we realise the landscape has changed. This explosive kind of learning is called transformational learning. And it is the kind of learning that the disciples experienced from the fallout of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus….
Transformational learning changes your most deeply held beliefs or assumptions – sometimes your worldview. It changes the lens through which you see everything. Because of the importance of transformational learning, many people have studied it, trying to figure out how it happens. Here is the way one educator has described how we are changed by what we learn [James E. Loder, The Transforming Moment, 2nd e. (Colorado Springs, Colo.: Helmers and Howard, 1989), pp. 2-4]:
1. You experience a “crisis” or “disorienting dilemma,” for example, with a tragic of disappointing experience or with something you hear or read that your current persecutive cannot explain or help you endure.
2. During the search for an answer, you try to resolve the dilemma. Your mind attempts to find an explanation. This can last only minutes – or years.
3. The “aha moment” comes when you suddenly gain insight into the dilemma; you find a solution and experience a sense of relief or a sense that your world has been put back together again. In spiritual matters, this is when the Holy Spirit gives new understanding.
4. The final step is interpretation and verification. Now, with your new perspective, you interpret your life in a new way, looking differently at your experiences and beliefs, both current and past. You also look to others to affirm the truthfulness of your new understanding.
Have you had transforming learning that have changed your worldview? Did they follow this pattern?
