“But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)
Jesus’ question for his disciples is one of the chief questions of life. Recognizing Jesus is more important than success, power, pleasure—even than scrupulous morality, personal freedom, or family relationships. Perhaps the only other questions that are equally important are, “Will you trust Jesus?” and “Will you obey him?”
That is why it is so strange that Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah! Recognizing Jesus is of primary importance, but people were not ready to recognize him, and so rather than saying, “Work hard to persuade them,” Jesus said, “Keep this a secret!”
The big hurdle was Jesus’ suffering. Jesus was aiming at the cross—it is how he would redeem his people. And yet the cross looked like defeat and folly, even to his disciples. The people simply were not ready for a conqueror, judge, and king who would be captured, condemned, and defeated. “Dead” and “Messiah” could not fit in the same sentence. And so, Jesus said, “Keep this a secret.”
After the resurrection, many were able to fathom that the Conquering One went through death for our sake. Many came to realize that the only answer to sin was for Jesus to swallow it all, allow it to work its poison in him, and then rise again on the other side. But this was still too farfetched for most to believe then (Paul calls the cross “foolishness” to the world), just as it is too ridiculous for most now. They are willing to believe that Jesus was a good teacher, a wise man, someone to emulate. But the Son of God, God’s answer in the flesh to the evil of the world, the one who swallowed death and conquered sin so that each of us could live in the freedom of a new life of glory, holiness, and love? The one who is coming again as judge and king? The one who let himself be ensnared and killed by the devil to catch the devil in his own snare? That is a little farfetched, the stuff of fantasy!
When Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus declared that the Father in heaven had revealed this to him. In the same way, none of us will ever truly recognize Jesus unless God allows us to. As you consider those around you who cannot (as of yet) confess Jesus to be the Living God’s answer to their own sin and the sin and death of the world, pray that the Father would open their eyes. And as you consider the places of your own heart where you struggle to believe, pray that the Father would open your eyes!
Steven+
Fall Schedules and More
If you have been paying attention to the newsletter, you have likely noticed a flurry of announcements over the last few weeks. Helping immigrants work towards citizenship, moving the church scheduling to Planning Center, new members class and small groups, Sunday School for elementary, middle, and high school, Bible studies for men and women—there is a lot that is happening!
As you think about all these things, please don’t hesitate to ask us if you have questions. Incarnation is going through a period of transition due to growth, and we are working on our systems and common life together for the sake of both the incorporation of new members and our discipleship as a body. This is an exciting time in the life of the church as we grapple with the ministries and administrative systems that fit this moment in the church’s life.
Beginning this fall, we are also going to incorporate regular fellowship times for the church. After church every other Sunday (on the Sundays when there is Sunday School for the children and youth), we will have coffee and snacks in the fellowship hall. This is a great way to strengthen friendships, bring visitors into the church, and simply enjoy each other’s company. As the year progresses, we plan to also incorporate Sunday School for the adults into the mix, so that we have a chance to grow together as disciples of Jesus through conversation. This will be focused on a variety of issues, but the basic goal is to address the intersection of faith and culture during these times. Stay tuned—we will announce the specific dates and topics as we iron the details out!
In the meantime, use the beginning of fall, which is a mini-New Year in our culture, as a time to invite those without a church to visit Incarnation. The beginning of the school year is one of the best times for people to consider returning to church or coming for the first time.
In Christ,
Steven+
Planning Center Launch
I am so excited to move both our directory and scheduling over to Planning Center. At this point, you may have received an email inviting you to join the directory. This invitation was sent to all members and regular attenders. If you did not get the email, it’s either in spam or I don’t have your email address. Check your spam folder or search for no-reply@planningcenteronline.com, since that is the email address it came from. Hit the “join directory” button to be taken to access our directory. Try logging in with either your email or phone number—the information already uploaded may have one but not the other, so if one doesn’t work try the other. Once you are in, there will be a blue bar. If you click “share it now” you will be able to select the information that is currently uploaded that you would like to share. If you click “edit your profile” you can then add additional information that we don’t already have. You can choose to upload/update information but not share it; Incarnation Staff will be able to see anything that is not shared, but no one else will. I highly encourage you to add a photo! This will help others in the church recognize everyone better. Through your profile you will also be able to edit and update any other members of your household.
Scheduling
Starting in September, we will do all volunteer scheduling (music included) through Planning Center. I will send out an email to those who have signed up in a volunteer role asking you to enter in the dates you are unavailable (block out dates). In the email you will have the option to select “Block Out Dates” or “I have No Block Outs”. This will take you to Planning Center to log-in and update your schedule. If you prefer, block out dates can also be entered in on the Church Center app instead of you needing to log into Planning Center. Music will then be scheduled, and the rest of the volunteer roles will follow; once we have done all the scheduling an email will be sent letting you know what Sundays you are scheduled in the next month and giving you the opportunity to confirm the dates and roles. If you want to be proactive and enter block out dates before the email, they can be entered in either the Church Center app or website by going to “My Schedule” and clicking “actions”. In the Planning Center website, you go to “My Schedule” and then block out dates is an option at the top.
App
If you are interested in having the app on your phone, it can be downloaded in the App Store/Play Store; search for “Church Center” and you can log in. Once you are logged in, you can access the directory and your schedule along the bottom of the screen. Having the app on your phone is especially useful because you can search for people in the app and then call or text them from the directory.
Website
The Church Center address is: https://coti.churchcenter.com/home. Save or bookmark this link so that you can find this in the future instead of from your email; there will also be a link in the newsletter and on our website. Once you’ve logged in, the site will remember who you are on your computer, and you will not need to log in each time you access it. For those that share computers in the household, you can log out by going to “My Schedule”. You will be able to give permissions to those in your household to edit your scheduling and then you will not need to switch users to edit scheduling.
The Planning Center address is: https://home.planningcenteronline.com/. The two websites have the same information in regard to scheduling, but Planning Center does not have the directory.
If you have any problems with this, or if you don't have access to the directory and would like access, please reach out to me at katherine@incarnationrichmond.org.
Katherine