Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Matthew

  • Disciples – what are they?

    Disciples – what are they?

    Jesus and his disciples

    Last night we watched the 2016 movie “Risen”. It’s the tale of a Roman soldier sent to find the body of Jesus. He encounters Jesus and the disciples and eventually becomes a believer. It’s the sort of story that’s been told before, and there is a fair bit of artistic license, but it was an okay watch.

    There is a scene where Peter and the soldier are discussing how Jesus, with a full body, can disappear, and Peter admits to not understanding. Peter says, “We are followers, we follow to find out.”

    That’s a good line and fits the movie. We are all followers because we want to know Jesus better. Yet, in another sense, it’s woefully inadequate. We are more than seekers of knowledge. As his disciples, we follow the master in order to become like Him, to follow his instructions. It also keeps the follower as the center of the search not the Lord.

    As disciples, Jesus should be our focus and Lord. We do our part to bring about the answers to the Lord’s Prayer. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). God changes hearts and minds, but we have labor to do to bring about the kingdom.

    Perhaps you never considered the fact that being a Christian was never meant to be a passive activity and isn’t primarily about you (or me). All true believers are disciples and have been given a task to accomplish by Christ Himself

    And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

    We all have a differing role to play in that commission and have been given different spiritual gifts to accomplish it. Yet we are called to do our part to bring about the kingdom.

    Yes, we are called to grow in Christ. Yes, we are called to know. Yes, we are called into a deeper relationship with him.

    But if all that stays internal and passive, we are not being true to our calling. Our relationship with Jesus is intimately personal, but it is also public, and we are commanded to take it into the world.

    I pray, that as you grow in Christ, you grow in true discipleship and are used greatly by the Lord.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Step Out of the Boat Faith

    __________________________________________ 

    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living

  • Happy Anniversary Church – What is our future?

    A styled image of a church with the text Immanuel's 40th Anniversary - our lccal church is celebrating

    This weekend, our local assembly is celebrating its fortieth anniversary.  That’s both a huge milestone and a stepping stone for our little church. 

    Statistically, over 80% of new church plants last less than five years, so this one has done very well. Depending on which source you look at, churches that make it past the first 5 years last somewhere between 75 and 100+ years. There’s lots of time to go yet.

    Like most congregations, this one has ebbed and waned over the years. It’s presently undergoing significant change, with a much larger multicultural makeup reflecting our community as a whole. That’s a good thing.

    I’ve often spoken of the need for unity in the church, and an area that doesn’t often get touched on are cultural differences between what differing communities think of as “church.” I’m excited to see what we will look like at our 45th and 50thanniversaries,

    Will the music change? The service format? What about the ministries we are involved in? It’s likely. The question is by how much. Will we even recognize the church?

    Will you move as the Spirit leads, or will we fight change it tooth and nail because it isn’t the way we think church should be done?  Probably some combination of both.

    We can forget that it is never “our church”. The church in all its forms belongs to God. His pleasure is to use the church (both as the body of believers and the organizations therein) to fulfill His goal, of seeing all who will be saved come to Him, and as a training ground for believers to be shaped into His image.

    And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Matthew 16:18

    And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.  Ephesians 1:22-23

    He is preparing His bride (the church) to present to the Father and will shape her as He wills.

    That’s great news for us. We don’t have to fret about change. We are free to simply follow the Lord as He leads and walk by faith.

    I don’t know what the next 40 years hold for Immanuel: growth, decline, or even demise.  I do know I needed worry. I can celebrate what God has done, is doing, and will do.

    That’s a good place to be.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    __________________________________________ 

    Every Member Is Necessary — 1 Corinthians 12

    Looking for a good church?

    Some thoughts on finding a good church

    Find a good church

    Live in Abbotsford? There are many good churches. This is where I attend.