THAT AWKWARD MOMENT:

WHEN YOU REALIZE JESUS CALLED YOU AND I

Epiphany: A season of Aha momentsAbout Jesus

Epiphany:

The Magis‘ Visit –

Jesus‘ kingship,

divinity and death

through the gifts of

gold, frankincense

and myrrh.

1st Sunday in Epiphany: The Wedding at Cana and Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine.

“This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory.

And his disciples believed in him.” - John 2:11

2nd Sunday in Epiphany: The baptism of Jesus. “Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to

Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God..” - John 1:32-34

3rd Sunday in Epiphany: The Calling of the Disciples

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. 23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.

Matthew 4:12-23, New Living Translation (NLT)

9:00am – 5:00pm (in theory)

(The long-suffering of a BLC Council Member :P )

Our Shared BLC Vision

The Mission of BLC is to

Invite people into the reign of God,

Encourage them to grow in the Body of Christ, and

Equip them to be sent into the world

in the power of the Holy Spirit.

As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you

- John 20:21

―The church, not the

individual, is the basic unit of

evangelism.

A community that lives out

the truth of the gospel is the

best context in which to

understand its proclamation.‖

- Leslie Newbigin

The missional living concept is rooted in the Missio dei (Latin, "the

sending of God"). In 1934, Karl Hartenstein, a German missiologist,

coined the phrase in response to Karl Barth and his emphasis on actio

Dei ("the action of God"). In their view, missional activities stemming

from God.[2] The Triune God is the primary acting agent in the world and

within the church.

According to Leslie Newbigin and Jesus' statements in the Gospel

according to John, every Christian has been sent by Jesus with the

gospel together in community to those in the surrounding culture

for the sake of the King and His kingdom: ―The Church is sent into

the world to continue that which he came to do, in the power of the

same Spirit, reconciling people to God.‖ Jesus said, ―As the Father has

sent Me, I am sending you‖ (John 20:21).

"No one can say: ‗Since I‘m not called to be a missionary, I do not have

to evangelize my friends and neighbors.‘ There is no difference, in

spiritual terms, between a missionary witnessing in his home town and

a missionary witnessing in Katmandu, Nepal. We are all called to go—

even if it is only to the next room, or the next block.‖ - Wikipedia

―If the gospel is to challenge the public life

of our society, if Christians are to occupy

the "high ground" which they vacated in

the noon time of "modernity," it will not be

by forming a Christian political party, or by

aggressive propaganda campaigns. Once

again it has to be said that there can be no

going back to the "Constantinian" era.

It will only be by movements that begin

with the local congregation in which the

reality of the new creation is present,

known, and experienced, and from which

men and women will go into every sector

of public life to claim it for Christ, to

unmask the illusions which have remained

hidden and to expose all areas of public

life to the illumination of the gospel.

But that will only happen as and when

local congregations renounce an

introverted concern for their own life, and

recognize that they exist for the sake of

those who are not members, as sign,

instrument, and foretaste of God's

redeeming grace for the whole life of

society.‖

- Leslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a

Pluralist Society

Isaiah 9:1-4

9 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on

forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will

be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the

road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

2 The people who walk in darkness

will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness,

a light will shine.

3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel,

and its people will rejoice.

They will rejoice before you

as people rejoice at the harvest

and like warriors dividing the plunder.

4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery

and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.

You will break the oppressor’s rod,

just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

Matthew 4:12-17

12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and

returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved

to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and

Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 ―In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,

beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,

in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,16 the people who sat in darkness

have seen a great light.

And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,

a light has shined.‖

17 From then on Jesus began to preach, ―Repent of your sins and turn to

God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.‖

As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you

But it doesn‘t always seem

like that‘s happening isn‘t it?

Frodo:

―I wish the ring had never come to me.

I wish none of this had happened.‖

Gandalf:

―So do all who live to see such times.

But that is not for them to decide. All

we have to decide is what to do with

the time that is given to us. There are

other forces at work in this world

Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo

was meant to find the Ring. In which

case, you were also meant to have it.

And that is an encouraging thought.‖

―It is crucial for Christians to get

involved in nation building because

of the theological understanding of

who God is.

Christians should speak out and

work to maintain truth, righteousness

and justice for all – values which

reflect God‘s heart.

Christians should also be concerned

about how this world is run and care

for the things in it, having been given

the responsibility of its stewardship.

We must get involved at every level

of society as much as possible, as

far as possible, as deep as possible.

- Pastor Daniel Ho, DUMC

―The early church impacted the

known world of their day because it

was a lay movement, a movement

where all Christians knew they had

the responsibility and the power to

show and tell the Gospel.

…

Indeed many Christians believe that

laity are non-ordained believers

whose main function is just to assist

the clergy to do church work.

But the Greek word behind the word

―laity‖, the word ―laos‖, just refers to

―the people of God,‖ referring to all the

people, and not a group that is non-

clergy. And the New Testament

understands ministry as based on

gifting where all have a role to play,

and knows nothing of a clergy-laity

divide (Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians

12:12–31).

…It is the responsibility of every

member of the church to serve…‖

Tan Soo Inn – Graceworkshttp://graceworks.com.sg/ordained-through-baptism/

Ok, so I‘ll partner with God

in what He is doing in the world around us.

But what‘s this thing about having ―partners in crime‖?

1 Corinthians 1:10-18 New Living Translation (NLT)

Divisions in the Church

10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 11 For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. 12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,[b]” or “I follow only Christ.”13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

The Wisdom of God

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

Divisions and the idolatry of church…?

The Danger Of The ―Facebook Echo Chamber‖

18 The message of the cross is foolish to

those who are headed for destruction! But

we who are being saved know it is the very

power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18

God went through three great

humiliations in His pursuit of

humanity.

The first was the Incarnation,

when Jesus took on human flesh

and became like us.

The second was the Cross, where

He died a shameful and painful

death.

And the third, was the Church,

“when God entrusted his

reputation to ordinary —

sometimes very ordinary —

people.”

- Dorothy L. Sayers

COMMUNITY is the difference between:

BEING THE CHURCH and

GOING TO CHURCH

This is where we begin:

We need each other 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

―I'm glad you love it here, but like at

some point, I will disappoint you or the

church will let you down. Please

decide on this side of that happening

if, after it happens, you will still stick

around. Because if you leave, you

will miss the way that God's grace

comes in and fills in the cracks of

our brokenness. And it's too

beautiful to miss. Don't miss it.‖

– Nadia Bolz Weber

I And My Muther, Wunn

- Marty Schoenleber III, 2012

http://anthempoet.com/poetry/

i-and-my-muther-wunn/

(Inspired by a quote commonly attributed to, but

unverified to be said by, St. Augustine of Hippo:

“The church is a whore, but she is my mother.” )

So, what’s the Aha moment here?

―Come, follow me, and I will show you

how to fish for people.‖Matthew 4:19

THAT AWKWARD MOMENT:

WHEN YOU REALIZE JESUS CALLED YOU AND I

(and meant it)