Thoughts from the Shadow

This last week I had the privilege of attending the Desiring God Conference for Pastors.  Eric Mason of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia preached a penetrating message on the role of suffering in sanctification & the experience of  joy.

God is concerned about one thing and one thing only: that we would look like Jesus. He is spit-shining us to make us practically into the image of his Son. He doesn’t send trials to take away our joy but to increase our joy. When I sense that a trial is coming, I pray that God would receive maximum glory out of it.

You can listen to the talk here.

~ Mike

Jared Wilson of The Gospel-Driven Church provides some insightful thoughts on a missional approach to the pro-life movement. You can find the brief article  here.

Here is a sample of a missional community covenant.  It gives some very helpful examples of what it looks like for a group of believers to live out their identity together in a specific place.

Radical? Possibly.

Achievable? Certainly.

Exciting? Most definitely!

This past Sunday in “A New Altruism”, I defined altruism as acting and making decisions for the benefit of others and asked a question:  How we as individual believers and as the body of Christ respond to hurt in the world (something we are vividly reminded of because of the tragic events in Haiti last week)? We then looked at the perfect example of selflessness, Jesus Christ, and our command to have the same mind from Philippians 2:1-11.

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In summary, Jesus came from the glories of heaven…and stooped to become like us, living in our flesh. Then he stooped lower, not just to serve but to be a servant. And then he stooped even lower, to die. And then he stooped yet lower still, dying the most despised death of all time (a Roman cross), to bear the curse of sinners.

That was Christ’s response to a hurting world. And he calls and empowers us to follow his example of selfless living. This is a new altruism because it is not motivated by guilt or driven by personality, but rather by the empowering work of the Gospel within us.

Below are several of the applications I made during the message:

• What truths of the Gospel do you need to be reminded of today:  your union with Christ, experience of fellowship in the Spirit, sonship through Christ’s work with a supremely loving Father?  Thank God for whichever one is speaking to you, and ask that He use it as the basis for your right living in and beyond the body of Christ.
• How much time in a typical week do you spend dedicated to meeting the needs of others?  How much time do you spend in self-love, or meeting your own needs?  Does the ratio between the two need to change if you are to be living selflessly?
• How would God have you to selflessly defend the Sanctity of Human Life?  Some possible examples already being lived out by many at GTBC are serving in volunteer capacities at pregnancy centers, adopting, helping financially as others adopt, etc.
• So how DO we respond to hurt in the world??  Be it hurt across the globe, the plight of impoverished nations without a sufficient drinking supply, or in response to a disaster like a hurricane or earthquake (like this week in Haiti)?  Instead of freezing up (like I do) in response to needs, how can you put action to selfless living as Christ did?

May God continue to empower His Word in our hearts!
~Josh

P.S.  Also, if you’re interested in more reading on Gospel-motivated ministry to others, I highly recommend the book Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller.