Tag: Theology

What are the Strategies of the Enemy?

854352_49670242On Sunday we are going to be looking at something really important: the strategies of the enemy. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “Do not be unaware of the Devil’s schemes”. But I think if we are honest most of us are pretty unaware of the Devil’s schemes.

If we were asked to explain what Paul means; if we were asked to share what the schemes were; if we were asked to share how to stand strongly against them, I think many of us would struggle with some clear answers.

That’s what I hope to change on Sunday.

Regardless of your belief in supernatural evil or Satan, the truth is we have all experienced the reality of Satan. What I mean by that is that we each have at some point probably come under an attack of fear, temptation, accusation, depression, confusion, or worry. We each have probably experienced darkness in some shape or form in our lives. And on Sunday I want to reveal how those things happen, so that we might be recognize them, and most importantly overcome them.

So that’s where we are going on Sunday. Discovering the tactics and strategies of the enemy so that we might live freer, deeper, and wholer lives.

And to discover the answer to this question of what the schemes of the enemy are we are going to be exploring the first passage where he shows up visibly and prominently. We are going to explore Genesis 3. So this is the passage we will be reading on Sunday. Why not take a look at it and see if you can discern from it: what are the tactics of the enemy? Because the first step to overcoming them is learning to recognize them.

Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. “Really”, he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil. The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.”

by Andrew Mills

Asher in The Dishwasher and its Spiritual Ties

IMG_3171My little boy is scary fast. I mean this in all honesty; you’d think with such short legs it would take him forever to get anywhere…but no. In a few seconds of your back turned he can be up the stairs and into the bathroom. In essence, he ends up in all sorts of situations so quickly. Twice in the past week my oldest son, Hudson, who is three, has yelled, “Daddy come see something crazy, look where Asher is”.

And I’ve discovered him in these two places: the dishwasher, and our Tupperware drawer. I, of course, took pictures.

But it’s amazing with a little lapsed focus, where IMG_3151this little man can get to. In almost no time he’s into something that might not be healthy or good. You really have to keep an eye on him. And that’s not a bad thing, it’s just a real life thing.

And I know this might be a bit of a stretch but I think it’s same with our spiritual lives. I think that if we don’t spend regular time in reflection and paying attention to our spiritual lives, they can end up in places we wouldn’t have dreamed so quickly. Things can be going well, but we aren’t paying attention, we aren’t reflecting and focusing, and all of a sudden we end up in a dishwasher, stuck in a drawer, or worse, stuck in a moral failure, a moment of weakness, a mistake that takes years to rebuild.

The point is that we don’t often go from making good decisions to really really bad ones. We often, instead, go from making good decisions to forgetting to think about decisions, to bring God into our choices, to reflect on how God has or hasn’t been active in our lives.

The main point is this: when we forget to pay attention to what’s important, it’s only a matter of time before trouble comes. This is the same thing with my son, but it’s also the same thing with my relationship with God, my wife, and my character. When I stop paying attention to Jesus, my wife, or my character, it’s only a matter of time before something slides and trouble comes.

So my challenge to you today is this: pay attention to what matters. Spend time reflecting on your relationship with God this week. Ask yourself where he has been active, when you’ve felt distant from him, and what you can learn from this. Pay attention to your important relationships; friends, family, or spouse. In essence, just be alert to all that’s going on around you.

And that’s it for me today, because I gotta go.  Asher is trying to climb into the washing machine 🙂

by Andrew Mills

Welcome Home Daddy

1393638_10153351907470643_1110248634_nComing home as a young dad is a great thing. This is a picture of how my boys welcome me. Hudson runs full tilt and jumps at me, and Asher giggles and walks till he gets to me and hugs me too. They both move as fast as they can, and shout “daddy” or in Asher’s case “da”.

It’s an amazing and a beautiful thing. I look forward to it everyday.

There is something about being welcomed isn’t there? Something that makes you feel special, known, and appreciated. It makes me feel such a part of their lives, and reminded that I’m a part of something special.

When I look at this picture and think about this type of welcome, I can’t help but think of God. Because God is the true Father, and I think he welcomes us in the same way. The Bible is clear, that just as my boys run to me, God runs to us. In the story of the Prodigal Son, a picture of God, the Father runs, throws his arms around his son, and welcomes him home.

This is who our God is, and what our God does. He is a God who welcomes. And I just think it’s good to be reminded of that. That when we walk into God’s presence his posture toward us is one of embrace, welcome, a full-tilt run towards us.

Sometimes I go into God’s presence quietly, meekly, and with uncertainty. But Hebrews says we can boldly walk into God’s presence with joy, with certainty, and with expectation. Because God is ready and waiting to welcome us.

So maybe take a look at this picture again, but this time think about God embracing and welcoming you. And the next time you’ve been away from God’s presence for too long, don’t hesitate to walk right back in. Because you know that God is ready and waiting to run to you and welcome you home.

by Andrew Mills

Emptying Yourself

On Sunday we put on our theological thinking caps and dived deeply in Philippians 2:5-11. What we discovered was a clear picture not only of Jesus, but also of who God is. Because Jesus is the perfect representation and revelation of God.

cross-with-shadow-4-1356539-mThrough this hymn we discovered a God who is about emptying himself. The word in Greek is kenosis. So we read that Jesus made himself nothing, or literally emptied himself. So we worked the passage through to discover what did Jesus empty himself of? He didn’t empty himself of divinity, instead to be divine is to actually empty yourself. So what did he release and let go?

Well we discovered three clear things he actually emptied himself of, or divested himself of. The first was unilateral power. In coming to earth he gave up unilateral power, and actually embraced vulnerability. Because now for the first time God in the person of Jesus Christ could be beaten, bruised, and killed. Jesus emptied himself fo power, and embraced vulnerability. He also emptied himself of position. It says that Jesus humbled himself. He gave up his position above us to join us where we are at. He became human to reach us. So he gave up position, and embraced humility. And lastly, he gave up privilege and embraced obedience. Privilege is the right to choose and be in charge. Jesus gave that up and let the father direct him in all things and embraced absolute obedience.

So on Sunday we discovered that the way of Jesus is to empty yourself of power, position, and privilege and embrace vulnerability, obedience, and humility. And if this is the way of Jesus, it is to be our way as Christians as well. We will never ever change the world as long as we are holding onto our power, position, and privilege. Our church is to be known for how it empties itself on those who are around it. Because this is what Jesus is known for: emptying himself for our sakes. We need to do the same thing because being a Christian isn’t about knowing a lot about Jesus, it’s about living life in the way of Jesus.

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Live your Life on Empty

Take Aways…

  • Phroneo: To Cherish the Same Views as Jesus
  • People desire power and position to be able to use it
  • God is “Jesusy”
  • Our God is the self-emptying one
  • The decision to become human, and to go all the way along the road of obedience…was not a decision to stop being divine. It was a decision about what it really meant to be divine. N.T. Wright
  • The attitude of Jesus isn’t to hold onto power and position but to embrace vulnerability
  • “The voluntary downward plunge of the divine” Antoinette Clark Wire
  • The attitude of Jesus is one who gives up position and takes on humility
  • The attitude of Jesus is one who gives up privilege and embraces obedience
  • Christians we are to live our lives on empty
  • Being a Christian isn’t just about going to church and reading your Bible, Being a Christian is about living life like Jesus Christ
  • this church is to be known for how it empty’s its life on all those around it
  • As long as we are holding onto our power, our position, our privileges we will not change the world
  • We are not responsible to fill someone else’s life, we are absolutely responsible to empty ours
  • Measure your life not by how much you gain, but how much you give

 

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new?

Why might it be so important to get our view of Jesus straight? What happens when our understanding of Jesus is off?

Why do you think there is such a temptation in our world to hold onto power, position, and privilege? Have you ever thought of Jesus as one who empty’s himself before? What do you think is hardest to empty yourself of – power, position, or privilege?

Who are you feeling called to “empty” yourself on around you? How might you do that in practical, meaningful, and creative ways? Are you prepared to try to live life without holding onto power, position, or privilege? Who can help you to live that way?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Take a moment and talk to your kids about today’s message. Remind them that purpose of life – isn’t to gain things – it’s to give. Ask them if they have anything they’d like to give to someone else. Ask them if they have any ideas of how they might give something (time, a toy, whatever) to someone to brighten their day. Then actually go and do it.

Challenge for this Week: Empty yourself on those around you this week.

 

by Andrew Mills

Learning to Actually Live Like Jesus

On Sunday we are looking at probably one of the most important passages in the entire Bible. We are going to be looking at  Philippians 2:5-11. This is called the Christ Hymn by scholars, and here is why this passage is so important.  This passage is important because it sets out with absolute clarity who Jesus Christ is.jesus-on-cross-4-1364043-m

And this matters because if we don’t know who Jesus is, we don’t know how to live, and we can end up not looking or living at all like Jesus. And maybe you’ve seen this in your own life; people who seem to know a lot about God, but don’t seem to actually live anything like him.

This is what we want to really dive deeply into on Sunday. Who is this Jesus we follow? How do we live like him? And how do we change the world with him? Because make no mistake, we, as Christians, are called to change the world. The problem is that we do it in the way of the world, rather than the way of Jesus. And as we’ll see on Sunday the way of Jesus is all about vulnerability, obedience and humility. The way of Jesus is about getting rid of power, position, and privilege and emptying ourselves. So come Sunday we hope to come away with two clear things. First, who Jesus is, and secondly, how we are to live.

So before we get there why not spend sometime with the passage below and wrestle with it. Ask who does this passage reveal Jesus to be? And how is it then calling us to live?

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

by Andrew Mills

Christianity is Not “Live Up” to This, but “Live Into” this

I want to share one more quote from Eugene Peterson. I shared one last week, and then as I was looking over my notes I came across this one. I don’t really have much to add in way of commentary to this quote – other than it is true, deep, and I hope I live into this true.

The biblical way is not to present us with a moral code and tell us “live up to this”, nor is it to set out a system of doctrine and say “think like this and you will live well” The biblical way is to tell as tory that takes place on solid ground, is peopled with men and women that we recognize as being much like us, and then invite us, “Live into this. This is what it means to be human. This is what is involved in entering and maturing as human being.”

Amen.

by Andrew Mills

Finding God all Around Us

1310598_43430592Today I want to just focus on a quote from Eugene Peterson that really spoke to me:

You would think that believing that Jesus is God among us would be the hardest thing. It is not. It turns out that the hardest thing is to believe that God’s work – this dazzling creation, this astonishing salvation, this cascade of blessings – is all being worked out in and under the conditions of our humanity: at picnics and around dinner tables, in conversations with bling beggars and suppurating lepers, at wedding sand funerals. Everything that Jesus does and says takes place within the limits and conditions of our humanity. No fireworks. No special effects. Yes, there are miracles, plenty of them. But because for the most part they are as much a part of the fabric of everyday life, very few notice. The miraculousness of miracles I obscured by the familiarity of the setting, the ordinariness of the people involved. (Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in 10 000 Places)

I’d encourage you to read it again, and again, and again until it starts to make sense and seep in.

If I were to summarize this whole paragraph and what it means I’d say this: We often miss the activity of God all around us, all around us. The point is that we often discount everyday regular life as a place where God is working. But the story of Jesus says that he is just as active in picnics, parties, and in people’s lives as he is in temples, miracles, and worship settings. The point is that sometimes we don’t see God working, because we aren’t looking where he works most: in everyday life.

It’s hard to believe that God works best and most often in the everyday rhythms of life. But this is precisely Peterson’s point.  It’s not hard to believe that God is involved when a miracle happens. It’s harder to believe and perhaps see that God is involved in your conversation with the neighbor, cutting the grass, playing with your kids. But he is. He is there, so maybe we should start looking for him.

At least that’s what I got out of the quote…What about you?

by Andrew Mills

Saving the Word Sin

sinI recently listened to a sermon that made an interesting comment. While this wasn’t the whole focus of the sermon the point was this: we’ve moved from a culture of confession of sins, to managing mistakes.

And I think this is true. We often no longer think of ourselves as “sinning” but instead we make a mistake. We made a poor choice, which we are sure to improve upon next time. We made an error in judgment but we will improve. We have a problem that needs a little alignment. We have virtually removed the language of sin from our vocabulary.

Now this is probably in response to a very poor understanding of what sin really is. Sin is not a moral term, it is not a term that means you don’t have value or worth. Sin is a theological term that reminds us that our relationship with God has been broken and needs fixing.

And here is why I think we need to keep the language of sin in our vocabulary (as misunderstood and abused as it has been). The reason is this: I never take my mistakes to God. I acknowledge them, recognize them, and even give reasons for them. But I don’t take them to God.

With the language of sin we are reminded of the need of confession, and confession is a practice we need to keep. Confession invites God into our lives for transformation. Confession is where we acknowledge our weakness and limits and ask God to do something miraculous. Confession is where we often start to see God work. The problem with the language of “mistakes” is that we never take them to God. And therefore, we don’t invite God into our lives to do a powerful, transformative, and redemptive work.

So while I surely make mistakes, I also sin. And lately I’ve been realizing the importance of naming what is really happening in my life. Because when I honestly name what is happening, and call something in my life sin, I am also simultaneously inviting God in. And I just think that’s important.

by Andrew Mills

Jesus, Missional, and Cultural Influence

In current Christian circles there is a buzz word called “missional”. It’s the new word. A few years ago it was “emerging” and “postmodern” now it’s missional. And in a few years it will be something different.

I have no problem with the word, concept, or theology. In fact, I think it’s necessary and I even wrote my thesis on it. The basic idea is that Christians need to be partnering with God in making disciples, changing the world, and being a blessing to those around us. God is already active in the world, and we are called to join him in his activity. This is all good stuff, true stuff, and stuff that I preach consistently.

My worry is that all this good theology gets mixed with a bad economy and worldview of our culture. What happens is our cultural worldview of economics of production, exportation, and efficiency starts to influence our theology and activity. All of a sudden the missional work of the church can be co-opted by the consumeristic economy around us. We start up missional programs to ensure we’re making disciples and cutting edge. We start seeking how to most efficiently impact the community around us, taking our cues from books, conferences, and even blog posts. What can subtly happen is that, while we talk about being missional, we end up focusing on efficiency, metrics, individual decisions, and products.

Again, in general, none of these things are wrong, but when combined with theology they move against the grain of God.

The rhythm of God isn’t primarily about efficiency but faithfulness;

it isn’t about business metrics but Kingdom ethics;

it isn’t about getting people to make decisions about Christ but to be transformed into disciples of Christ;

it isn’t about products but people loved by God

So I’m in no way against leadership, business, and the seven habits of highly effective people. I read all of this type of thing, have been positively influenced by it. I just want to make sure that theology is dictating our business, leadership, and systems, not the other way around. I just want to ensure that while we are talking about being on mission and making disciples we are into it for the long haul and not for a flash in the pan. Because making disciples isn’t about efficiency it is about commitment and longevity. Jesus took three years to make 12 disciples. He lived life with them, he listened to them, cared for them, saw them fail and falter, and even saw one turn his back and leave him. This is the way we make disciples and are missional: in messy, convoluted, long, sometimes in-efficient, relationships where God is moving and working.

So yes be efficient, be missional, make disciples. Just make sure that how you do is influenced more by Jesus than anything else.

by Andrew Mills

Technology’s Good and Evils and the Tower of Babel

towerofbabelOn Sunday we explored a piece of underrated and life changing piece of technology: the brick. We explored how the story of Babel found in Genesis 11 isn’t just about God scattering but God’s response to technology and how it shapes us.

So what we discovered is that the people were moving eastward. Yet the people began to settle. In essence they began to move away from their nomadic roots. And with their “rootedness” they began to create something of permanence that wasn’t a possibility before. They wanted to create a Tower. Yet the only reason this becomes a possibility is through technological innovation: the creation of a brick. Bricks are uniform, they are mass-producible, and functional. They open up the ability to building projects never even dreamed of before.

Yet we read of the motives behind their building project. It says this in Genesis 11:4-5 ““Let’s build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies – a monument to our greatness! This will bring us together and keep us from scattering all over the world”. Here we get a glimpse how technology can shape us. It can influence us to create monuments to our own greatness. There is nothing wrong with creation, creativity, and innovation (in fact God commands it in Genesis 1-3). What is wrong though is creating out of a desire to prove our own greatness rather than a response to God’s goodness.

Technology has a tendency to infect and increase our pride. Look at how people strive for the better car, phone, house, or cool gadget so that they feel secure. These are the same emotions and insecurities that drove people thousands of years ago to make the Tower of Babel. We desire our own permanency, and monuments to our greatness but the message of the text is that in chasing after those things we end up scattered and alone. This is true in our day and age today.

The second danger is technology can distract us from God’s calling. Up until this point in the narrative the calling has been to move, and fill the earth. Now though people are settling and creating monuments to their greatness. And I think while our times are different technology still today separates us from God’s calling. There is nothing wrong with technology, but currently the average American watches over 32 hours of TV a week. There is nothing wrong with TV but is it possible that it is stealing our effectiveness from God? The average Canadian has over $27,000 in consumer debt. Is it possible that our addiction to stuff is stopping us, as part of the wealthiest people on the planet, from being a part of blessing others?

The last danger of technology was found in its ability to create a lack of listening. A faithful rendering of Genesis 11:7 is as follows: “Come let us go down and give them different languages. That way they won’t be able to listen to one another” I think this is what technology can do. It can stop us from truly listening to one another. We can forget to engage in conversations, and check our phones. We can forget to talk with our spouses, and turn on the TV.

So on Sunday the point wasn’t the evil of technology. The point was to recognize that it is shaping our lives for good or bad. And some of the negative ways is that it causes us to become prideful, resistant to God, and forget to listen to each other. So I gave a challenge to the church – give up technology as best you can this week. Put away the phone, the tablet, and the TV and give that time to God and those significant relationships in your life. Through this you might realize you don’t need it quite as much as you think, and find your life fuller. So with that said – my blog posts might not be as frequent this week 😉

Sermon Notes:

Big Idea: Technology shapes us for good and bad

Take Aways…

  • Technology shapes our lives
  • Technology allows new possibilities
  • Technology has the tendency to separate and confuse our relationship with God and each other.
  • We create technology as monuments to our greatness
  • Technology can increase our sense of ownership
  • Technology in this story breeds resistance and distance from God
  • The 4 dangers of technology in this story are:
    • + Pride
    • + Sense of Personal Ownership of Communal Items
    • + Resistance to God
    • + We stop listening

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What surprised you? What made you think? What did you take away? What was new? Have you ever though of a brick as technology before? Have you ever been caught up in “getting stuff” as a monument to yourself? Which of the four dangers of technology do you think you struggle with most? Which is the most dangerous for you? How much does technology shape your life? How easy will it be for you to give up for a week?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Share with your kids the good things about technology, but also some of the difficult things. Talk about how we can get prideful in what we have, we can stop listening to one another, and we can stop being together. Tell them you are going to try putting away technology for the week and to be together. Maybe buy a new board game, go for walks, go to the park, paint, create, and share time together

Challenge for this Week: Give up technology for a week, as best you can.

by Andrew Mills