Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. - Acts 4:13
This verse that we heard on Sunday is an example of what Paul is describing in I Cor. 1:27-29: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” In a humorous sense, it gives hope to all of us, because we are not the mighty, the esteemed, the wise! We may have a bit more education that Peter and John, or a bit more money, but none of us can boast of being the rich, powerful, and famous!
Paul’s reasoning is simple: God chooses the humble rather than the powerful so that we won’t be able to boast that we have accomplished it ourselves. The glory goes to God, not to us, and using humble people is God’s way of sidestepping the temptation to take credit we all feel.
Practically speaking, this means that there is no reason whatsoever to worry about our inadequacy, from God’s perspective. He isn’t remotely worried about the fact that we don’t have enough energy, money, or education for the task at hand. He isn’t worried about whether our job is good enough, our bank account full enough, or our degree prestigious enough. The world might get wrapped up in those things, tempting us to anxiety and worry, but God chose uneducated fishermen, humble women, and little children to receive his blessing and carry his news. He builds his kingdom through the unlikeliest of people.
The only thing that seems to matter to God is what the priests observed about Peter and John—they recognized that they had been with Jesus. As you look at the work before you today, as you look at the burdens of this week and month, and you feel the weight of life on your shoulders, remember the thing that God cares about—that we would seek the presence of Jesus with all of our strength! May we be a church that is characterized by the desire to be with Jesus!
In Christ,
Steven+
Post-Easter, Post-COVID: Entering New a Phase of the Church’s Life
It might sound optimistic to title this newsletter “post-COVID.” Indeed, we don’t know the future, and things are not yet back to normal! But in hope that the complexities of last year are diminishing, we are planning ahead. We don’t know everything that is to come, but our hope is a year of healthy development for this young church. As I have looked back on the last year, I have been deeply grateful for what has occurred, and I look forward in hope to what lies ahead.
I was challenged a couple years ago with the idea that a church should always be striving, as a body, to develop vertically and horizontally. Vertical growth looks like people more eager to pray, more eager to worship, more desirous of the presence of God. This should happen not just to us individually, but as a body, and so a healthy church consists of a thick connection of people seeking the presence of God together. As I survey the last year, we have seen this! Horizontal development looks like serving those in need, spreading the gospel, and discipling Christians who are young in the faith. Again, this should happen as a body, and again, as I survey the last year, we have seen this occur! Prayer walks, conversation partners with immigrants, intergenerational triads, youth catechism—a lot has happened during COVID!
The question I have set before the governance team and staff is, “How do we need to grow vertically and horizontally, as a body, in a post-COVID world?” Some of the practices of the last year will transfer, but others won’t.
We know a few things. We know that now is the time for development in how we disciple the next generation. From nursery to college, we want to lead the next generation deeper into the faith. We know that we need to move forward in external ministry. We know that the world we live in increasingly doesn’t think in Biblical ways, and so we need to teach people how to navigate our culture gracefully and faithfully, with minds and hearts renewed by the word of God. As we work on these areas, expect to hear “steps forward” from us!
One major step forward is logistic, but it will open the door to many other things. We are in serious conversation with Cambridge to move our service to 9:00am and set up a semi-permanent presence at Cambridge. We hope that this transition occurs in May and are expectant that it will make the church more accessible to families with children. This will enable us to have activities and classes for the youth and have fellowship time for the adults after church. It will also mean church offices and a fixed children’s classroom. We will keep you posted on this transition!
As we move forward, please don’t stop praying for the church, and please let us know if you have ideas for our development.
In Christ,
Steven+
Easter Reflections
What a blessing this past week has been, entering the upper room where Jesus established the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, standing among the scoffers on Good Friday, reliving the story of God’s faithfulness throughout all time at the Easter Vigil, and finally celebrating the victory that our Lord holds over sin and death forever on Easter morning! Let’s return to the gospel of John to continue in the good news that the Lord offers so not to forget that the story continues.
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:19-22
John 20 begins with Mary Magdalene, Peter, and another disciple (likely John) discovering the empty tomb. After Peter and the other disciple return home, Jesus the resurrected Lord greets Mary who in turn, runs to tell the other disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” It is here that we enter yet again into a room with the disciples, yet this time without Jesus. We are not told what the disciples are feeling or thinking. Are they exhausted from the events of this past weekend? Are their hearts tired from weeping? Did they believe that Mary truly saw him? We are not given insight at this point into anything except that their door is locked “for fear of the Jews.” All the same, Jesus enters the barricaded room of fear, revealing himself for the first time since his resurrection to these disciples, saying “Peace be with you.”
Now in this statement Jesus is not just telling the disciples that they have no need to fear the Jews. This PEACE is far greater than protection from a group of people! This is a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that means we have no need to fear the consequences of sin, no need to fear the power of death because our Lord has proven victorious over the powers of this world!
As Jesus’ resurrection begins to make sense of all the “Easter eggs” Jesus laid out for the disciples throughout the Gospels, I believe his words “Peace be with you” would have dawned a light on an earlier conversation they had with him. Just a few chapters back, after he had washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus told the disciples that he would send a Helper to be with them (and all believers). Immediately afterwards he says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27).
The peace that Jesus foretold then is now at hand because he has delivered his people from the chaos and bondage of evil. It is like he is reiterating what he already declared on the cross, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). And it is so appropriate that at that moment, Jesus breathes on the disciples and gives them the Holy Spirit—the Helper he promised!
As the excitement and anticipation of our yearly Easter gatherings begin to fade, don’t let the true joy and peace that the Lord offers be clouded over by the distractions of this world. Jesus Christ has truly saved us from sin and death and not just that but has offered us a life that is guided by his Spirit! Live in this peace!
-Tori