Morling Tuesday Chapel: Colossians 3:1-14 Not just putting to death death

Speaker: Mitch Forbes

Scripture: Col 3:1-14

Colossians 1:9: Paul’s dreams and hope for the Colossians: Knowledge of His will… through the Spirit… Know who Jesus is, and who they are in Him… becoming a new person.

Chapter 3: Talks about what it’s like to live a life worthy of the Lord.

V1-4: “Since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your mind not on earthly things. You are the resurrected ones, living the new life.” Repeating the things from Colossians chapters 1&2. Reminding us that we are the resurrected ones. We died, just like Jesus, and were raised, just like Jesus. Everything true of Jesus is true of us now. Your life is now hidden in Christ with God. The mystery of the gospel will be revealed. Psalm 27: He will keep you safe… Your life is hidden, it’s safe, nothing can get at it. Life is hidden in heaven, nothing can change that. It’s hidden for now but one day it will be revealed. When He returns, you will appear with Him in glory. Jesus is coming back to make us glorious, to renew all things! Remember who you are! You are a resurrected one and nothing can change that.

What do the resurrected ones do? How do they live? How does their life look like? Their life is orientated by two things: Putting to death death and putting on life. Some churches only talk about death and do not talk of hope. Some churches only talk about hope and pay no attention to evil in the world.

Put to death the things of death: The things that destroy people. Eg. how many lives and ministries have been destroyed by sexual immorality? By greed? By bitterness? By anger? By slander?

Jesus didn’t die so that we would stay dead. Jesus came so that we can have a new life. Not just standing against things, but standing for things. What are we for?

“And over these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Everyone can come and be welcomed and celebrate. If we value people’s humanness. If everything we do is dripping with kindness, humility, gentleness, patience.

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Sounds utopian: It is almost impossible.

Why forgive? Because the stuff of death still creeps in.

Woke up freezing today! Came to the warm Morling library early to search for some books for Field Education, and the "McDonaldization of the Church" and "relational leadership" captured my attention. Had a "Hope Street Coffee" prior to Chapel. It's the last Chapel of the semester and a magazine featuring the theme of "Unity in Diversity" was placed on all the chairs... "it is not about cloning"!

今早被凍醒，所以早早來到暖和的 Morling 圖書館尋找一些有關教會實習的書籍。 有幾本書 吸引了我的注意:「麥當勞化的教會」 和 「關係領導」。去神學主日之前剛好有在賣 「希望街咖啡」，所以買了一杯喝。「多元化的合一」是冬季校刊的主題。我們不是在製作「複製人」。

Morling Tuesday Chapel Ephesians: The Armour of God

Topic: The Armour of God

Speaker: Michael Frost

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20

Before the foundation of the world, God allows you to hear about Jesus. This was His plan all along, the eternal plan of God. A world restored, renewed and repaired.

We need to read chapter 1-2 Ephesians before Ephesians 6:

Ephesians 1:18-23: That power is the same as the power that rose Jesus from the dead. A magnificent vision of our identity in Christ.

When we face the schemes of the devil/deceiving forces:

V10: be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Jesus wins, because we inherit the same power as the power which rose Jesus from the dead.

Schemes of the devil:

1)      Attempts to destroy the unity of the church.

Disunity, factionalism, etc. See Ephesians 4: There is one body and one spirit. People get worried about people getting sick because they offend the god of the fertility, etc. There is only one God. Any fracturing amongst Christians is a scheme from the devil. Do not be angry and give the devil a foothold.

2)      False teaching.

Hold fast to the truth in Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves… Ephesians 4:14-15.

3)      Temptations to ungodly living.

Live in fidelity to the values of Jesus. You can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person… has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5-7.

Paul’s message: Keep calm and armour up!

V11: Therefore, put on the full armour of God…

V14:

Belt of truth: The truth about Jesus: there are no other gods!

Breastplate of righteousness: From Isaiah 59:17. Our God Yahweh is righteous, and He is the one who saves. Put on the character of God! Ephesians 4:24, put on the new self! Build a rhythm of life about service, sacrifice, etc.

V15:

Shoes of readiness (gospel of peace): Jesus came and preached peace. It’s a gospel of peace. From Isaiah 52:7. Root your life in the person of Jesus, share the gospel with every chance you get. If you really want to learn something, teach it.

V16:

Shield of faith: it’s faith that will repel false teaching, temptations to ungodliness, etc.

V17:

Helmet of salvation: Ephesians 2:4-5. It is by grace you have been saved.

Sword of the spirit: Which is the word of God. Word that build us up to follow Jesus. Hold on to the words of God. Luke 4:3-4, Jesus replied 3x using the words of God.

Be rooted in the truth about King Jesus, holding onto faith in his kingship no matter what; be shaped by the hope of salvation through his work on the cross, in order that you live holy lives that reflect his reign; be always ready to tell others about him, as revealed to us in his Word… so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand!

There are two letters to the Ephesians: This one, and one by John of Patmos 35 years after: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

Revelations 2:2-5.

Take your stand… but don’t lose your first love for Jesus! Seek Him, yearn for Him, desire more of Him! Knowing is one thing, but loving the King with all your heart, that is our destiny/vocation/calling above all else.

Morling Tuesday Chapel Ephesians: What is Unity?

10 May, 2016

Topic: What is Unity?

Speaker: Graham Hill

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

We’ve all seen conflicts/infighting in church life, which can sometimes get quite dramatic. For many, church life is not that of unity and harmony.

Paul challenges us to Christian unity.

Christian debate in Sydney: One side claiming the power of the Holy Spirit. The other side claiming they have the Gospel and are rooted in the word.

Is unity at all costs our goal? What does true unity look like? Where is it found?

V3:

Differences exist. Making every effort to maintain bond of peace. Earnestly endeavour. We don’t let go of our differences readily. Beneath those differences is a basic unity, core unity that holds us together. Paul didn’t say produce unity, but to maintain unity. It’s not our job to produce unity. The work of the church is to maintain unity in the bonds of peace, the work of the Spirit.

There are two kinds of unity that emerge in the life of the church. One is internal unity that is expressed through disagreements and differences. Analogy of Graham and his brothers: at the dinner table they argue with each other, but at their school, if any of the siblings get picked on, they stand up for each other. The other type of unity is externally imposed: No room for disagreement, everyone has to conform, and those that conform are rewarded, those that don’t are punished/excluded.

V4-6:

Seven ways of unity, one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all: this is where unity is found. With these seven ways, there is room for discussion, Paul didn’t give the specifics of each. It’s not a theological creed, but a unity we experience together.

Maintain bond of peace: not arguing, bickering, etc. It’s easy to pick apart people’s weaknesses. When you’re in Christian leadership, your weaknesses are in constant display. So it’s important to see the best in each other. Embrace your new identity, let go of resentment and hostilities. Rwanda was the model Christian society, 85-95% claim to be Christians before the genocide. Then Tutsis murdered Hutus because they got too focused on the external differences. Internal unity transcends external differences.

Paul frames the gifts in grace. Unity in response to grace. Analogy: In the human body there are many cells, hair cells, muscle cells, etc. and these cells don’t get together to ask how they are going to function. They simply function.

V11-16:

Our unity is not only forged through graces, bonds of peace, but also forged through service and mission. This is the age of participation. (Previous era was the age of representation). This is the age of priesthood of all believers! The church is being renewed globally as a consequence. Ministries are everywhere. We need the apostles (pioneers, plants, launch movements, guards the truth), prophets (disrupt and disturb the status quo, confronts the usual questions and asks the provocative questions, calls the church back into faithfulness), evangelists (communicate the gospel in attractive ways), pastors, teachers. These gifts are distributed throughout the body of Christ, not just the clergy. If Morling produces a person who becomes the best preacher of Australia, that’s a failure. Because the gifts are supposed to build up and multiply themselves. Our job is to multiply the gifts, to release the whole body to the work of ministry, not just to do ministry myself. If the gifts are well developed, it’s not only inwardly focused, but outward focused. All of the gifts in maturity produces unity not only internally within the church but as external witnesses/mission in the world.

President Carter decided to build a memorial to honour those who served and died in the Vietnamese War and opened up the competition for public entries.

Maya Lin won: a Chinese-American student in Yale University. In the wall, we see our face reflected. Maya Lin believes in the touch of a human hand, and being part of a story that is bigger than yourself.

Some veterans thought this is elitist/degrading which soon resulted in bitter disputes. Politicians reopened the competition, and the winner was “the Three Servicemen”. When the memorial opened, Maya Lin wasn’t invited. Today, hardly anyone thinks about the Three Servicemen, but Maya Lin’s wall becomes the “Wailing Wall” of the Americans, to become part of a drama that’s bigger than themselves.

We can be like the three servicemen: cold, externally imposed unity but internally torn about, rigid, something of the past.

Or we can be like the memorial wall: Rage and heal, connect, become part of a community that is real and organic, live and vibrant, that draws them into a new humanity.

The choice is ours, together, to cooperate with the Spirit as He draws us together.