Speaker 1 0:47

[inaudible]

Speaker 2 0:50

Well happy mother's day again. I'm glad you guys are here joining us online if you're with us virtually so glad that you're here with us and when you're ready, we're ready to have you back here in person. My name is Larry . One of the pastors here, and we have been having a conversation about embracing the new and how there's new things that we are all experiencing right now. And that when we come back to what we think is normal, there's a lot that isn't normal about it. And there's new things that we get to learn from this. And a lot of our conversation has been surrounded about old covenant and new covenant. And so a lot of people we've gotten to learn some new things about what an old covenant new covenant is and the new things that Jesus does. And we've been using some pieces of art here at the campus in Benicia to kind of explore and to see how those things can point to God that the things that we see or experience actually can give us a direction. There's things that we can learn from this. And so one of the weeks we talked about a fountain that we have in our lobby and that there is water or living water that comes through Jesus and what that looks like. And then there's this stump out in the lobby. And so we talked about this stump, how there's a lot of us that in this last season that we were in or this time that we've been in, that a lot of us can feel like we've been chopped off. Like we're literally like a stumper uprooted pulled out from the ground and we're just feeling like broken. And we looked back how from Isaiah, that was like a representation of the Davidic line that just felt dead and pulled up and cut off. But there's a new thing happening there that there was actually a shoot of new life that was coming off from that that ultimately led to Jesus. And there was new things that we can grasp and learn new growth that we can experience. Whereas I got to talk about a prayer wall that we have in the lobby and how we get to care for one another, that we get to comfort one another, that we get to come alongside one another. We get to carry each other. And that, and actually all of this, it's not just our job to pray for a harvest or pray for comfort in what the Holy spirit does, but that we are invited into participate in that, that we're invited to participate as an tangible answer to some of these places . One of the workers of the harvest and the gathering and the caring for others today in just a minute, we're actually going to talk about these comfortable chairs. There's comfy chairs or sitting in where before there were these hard black cold squeaky chairs . And there's something about coming into something new that's comforting, especially even on mother's day. Something that feels like family, where you're just cozy and you've been taking care of next week. We're going to talk about tastes and smells and you can taste and see that the Lord is good and we're actually going to have a tangible tasting session. So just a heads up beforehand, there will be snacks. So if that's something, get you here in person, you will get to experience tasting of something. Delicious food is good. Food is so good that next week, the nine o'clock service only. So you can come to the nine o'clock service. And then right afterwards, we want you, if you're not here in person to come, or if you're at the nine o'clock service to stay afterwards, we're actually gonna have a food truck and we're going to have some music. We're going to enjoy the weather. We're going to enjoy some food and some community. Yeah. There as we kind of re-engage one another. So that's next week, the 16th. Then the last week, we're going to use that week to Mark something new in this faith community, through baptism and worship and this new thing, this thing that people have embraced, and those who have made decisions about what baptism looks like and how they get to experience this, the delighting in their salvation, and that we get to experience it together. So that's something that you're interested in being a part of. And just a couple of weeks, we would love to do that with you. We'd love to experience that and just a worship service. We're going to call the worship and we're just going to see baptisms and small testimonies. You can text baptism one to nine, four zero, zero zero. If you're with us online, or if you're with us in the room, you can go by the information desk on the way out of here. And we'd love to come alongside of you and see baptism. So that's, that's what we've been having a conversation about and really been enjoying that. And today, again, we're talking about this idea of family or comfortable that we are a family and I wanted to pick up and really just kick off in Matthew 1246 through 50. We see this right here. Jesus is hanging out. And this is what it says . It says while Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside wanting to speak to him. Someone told him , your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you. And he replied, who is my mother right off the bat. Like you would say like, you don't do that to your mama , right? He replied, who is my mother and who are my brothers pointing to his disciples? He said, here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother see what's happening right here is the physical presence of family becomes actually a teaching opportunity. You see this all throughout scripture with Jesus, he would use what's happening right around him . And use that as an example, he often made connections to the things that were around him to this bigger point, kind of like what we've been doing with the different pieces that I just explained an aspect of, you know , even like a Trinsic art or tangible things around the campus in the series, Jesus takes the way that family is understood culturally. And what he does right here is he expands it. If he's not getting rid of this kinship or this relational family, but instead he's expanding on top of that. It's no longer defined just tribally or nationalistically or through bloodline relations. But anyone who does the will of my father, the people of God are a new kind of family. And so rather than blowing up this definition, he actually just redefines it and expands on it. It's bigger than cultural understandings. More people actually get to be included. Jesus even is challenging the current understanding of gender here in verse 50, right here by adding sister that women can be disciples in the same way at the same level as men, which was a radical concept. At that time, he is being radically inclusive in a way that challenged cultural understanding of the way people saw gender nationally or gender are not boundaries. When it comes to Jesus , Jesus is new redefined and expanded understanding of family. So what does this mean? Then? It means that you are not alone. You belong. You're not alone. You belong in for some of this. This is life-changing that you're not alone. That you belong by expanding our understanding of what family is. Jesus invites more people to be included. You may have been abandoned by your blood relatives. You may not feel like you're a part of a tribe, but you have a family. You are a part of the people of God, which transcends time, place, culture, nationality, gender, and age. Anyone who aligns themselves towards the pursuit of the kingdom is doing the will of God. They are included, which is also why we have this kinship type of bond with people around the world, who we can care for and about not because we're the same nationality, but we have Christ in common. Any of you who have ever gone on like some sort of missional trip or travel abroad and met like a fellow follower of Jesus, there is a kinship that automatically takes place because you've just met a fellow brother or sister in Christ, right? In this , like you just pick up where you left off and you've never met before, because you are a part of this thing. Kingdom. This family, Ms . May also mean that we feel abandoned by places where we live are supposed to belong to culturally, but we have a larger family in which we belong to. So today we're talking about what it means to be family. And especially when we all come together and get this, we find out that we don't agree with everything. We don't approach life the same way. There's a lot of diversity in how do we explain that diversity and still y'all promote unity. I believe that this is a critical, next step question that we have to come to cover. If we're going to continue to talk about NXP , what it means to be family here in this faith community and at North gate, the question is this , is there a way to navigate issues where no one compromises on what they believe? And yet we find a way to embrace Christians with whom we disagree. I think that this is really a key skill. This is a key skill for the church to learn in order to manifest the unity of the body of Christ Jesus above all else. Jesus actually prays about this at the end of his life, for the unity of the church. We see this in John 17, John 17, he says, my prayer is not for them alone right here. Not for them alone. He's talking. He had just prayed specifically for the disciples and where they were going to be going through. And so now he transitions my prayer . Isn't just for them. But I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that through their message, that all of them may be one, the followers of the way as that continues to go out, father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have me. I've given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. And then you and me, so that they may be brought to complete. What's that word? Unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them. Even as you have loved me, what a vision for the church to have the sense of unity, of family, of diversity and unity, this, this amazing oneness. That's not just a copy of the world. You see in the world, people can get along with each other when we agree about things, right? We're like, we agree on something and you're like, Oh yeah , we saved that . We think the same way. And you're like, yeah , you're my people. We can get along. We're going to do real great, right. People who vote for the same political party who are cheering for the same team, like the Denver Broncos, right? Where are they at? No, nobody okay. People who are fighting in the same side of a war, people who are a part of the same religious sex can get along. There's lots of examples of union in the world, but there is something miraculously about the unity of Christ that actually brings people that may not agree on all things into a sense of unity and family together. So that we're stuck with one another. And it's this kind of unity that has been so seen as so evidential of the miraculous nature of who Jesus is, because it goes beyond the kind of unity that any of us experience in the world in Ephesians, it's written like this in chapter two first, 19 through 22, consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. We'll come back to that in just a minute, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Christ Jesus himself, as the chief cornerstone in him, the whole building is joined together and raises to become a Holy temple in the Lord. And in him, you too, being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit. You see right here in verse 19, right ? As it kicks off this word, foreigners and strangers. These are categories that the people of people that God instructs his people to actually take care of in the Levitical law, this is old covenant old Testament thing, but these people were always meant to be taken care of foreigners and strangers. This was common language, but they were also explicitly outsiders where they weren't a part of like the family quick bro pro right. Paul is making a reference right here to strangers and foreigners aliens of the covenantal family and claiming that through Jesus. Now that there is full citizenship, that there is this shift, there's this new thing that's happened. And this is so significant. There's this hierarchical like leveling taking place where it's not this it's, we're all on the same page. The people who are outsiders are now invited in to be equal members, not just as somebody who was invited in by another cider , I can watch and observe from the distance they're feeling like they don't quite belong yet, but rather fully equal participating members. Paul's understanding here of the kingdom of God, is that it was a part of taking place as a new family of God. A new structure of the temple was actually being created when he talks about this temple here with Christ as the cornerstone and all of the people who follow him are part of this. That's simple in this time was obviously the place where God's spirit was most present. And it was the symbol of this embodiment of God's presence for the earth. This is people came to visit her, become close as they could to God and who he was. And for Paul, the people of God become the new temple because in this new code of this new thing, there was no more temple God's spirit resides in the mist of you yourselves as the temple. And so Paul's attempting to make this gent, these Gentile, Christians are these people who hadn't been a part of this Levitical law, this old covenant season, that , that wasn't, God's chosen people. He's trying to make these Gentile Christians of emphasis . See that they're actually now a part of a new family, a new family that gives them rights as if they were Israelites from the very beginning that they were equals not outsiders, just coming in and watching and peeking through the window and watching what was going on, but actually a place at the table. Well, not just the new family, but integral pieces of the new temple. They were part of this. The, the tabernacle that was used where God's dwelling place or the temple was actually the site of the high Roth money. The higher Anthony is the touching of the divine or God's presence was there. And we see, I would actually suggest that not only are we members of this ancient, confidential family, but we are also foundational pieces of the space that God touches down. God's spirit meets us. And it uses us as ambassadors of light and love to accomplish God's work in the world, which includes making sure that those who belong feel like they belong regardless of where they came from or whatever their story is. I love the way that Eugene Peterson racists message version says this . You belong here with as much, right to the name, Christian, as anyone, God is building a new home. He's using all irrespective of how we got there and what he is building. He used the apostles and the profits for the foundation. Now he's using you feeding you in brick, by brick stone, by stone, with Christ Jesus at the cornerstone that holds all of these parts together. It's beautiful. How do we partner with this though? How do we partner with what the Holy spirit wants us to see how we see this happen? I really believe that as, as part of this new family and our understanding of what this family looks like as part of the church, we understand we help others feel like they belong. So that is part of the church us . We get to help others feel like they belong. One of the gifts and the callings of the church is hospitality, hospitality. Isn't just simply the ability to throw a good party. Although I'm totally down. Let me know when I'm on it or the hospitality. Isn't just about decorating a space and making the space look really pretty and look nice. It's it's the ability to actually make others feel welcome. It's a gift. It's not just, you know, having the event, making it look cool, but it's making others feel welcome. It's about expanding your care in your heart for others in a way that ends up causing you to have fresh encounters with God, to see things that you would have never noticed before to be a part of creating a new community. Even the practice of the early church, beginning to refer to one another as brother and sister, even though they weren't biologically related is an act of hospitality to call someone, Hey, brother or sister was this intimate thing that actually expanded your view of what family and what care actually looked like. It's taking responsibility for others in the same way that you would take responsibility for your own family. Hospitality is making space for people. You don't have to make space for. It's making space for people that you don't have to make space for. So say, okay, well, this is what family looks like, and we have a place to belong. And that I'm a part of this, all right? But it's , it's hard. Family's hard, right? And I'm going to call them brother and sister, brother, and sisters fight. Right? And there's like quarrels. So what's one of the bigger things that makes it so difficult for us to be family. I think it's this. What do we do in cases where Jesus followers have studied scripture, they want to follow Jesus as their Lord and their master. Yet they have come to a different inclusion, scripturally and believe differently than you. Now, what we'd like to be able to say is that when we study scripture, when I study scripture, it's clear to me, therefore, anyone who disagrees with me, obviously they don't care about the word of God. This is what it says. And sometimes that tone can come out of people, right ? That tone through the things we say that comb through the things we type that tone through the way we block, I try to make sure it never comes from me. And the idea that this idea that we're clear in scripture, anyone who disagrees, obviously doesn't care about scripture, doesn't care about following Jesus doesn't care. Doesn't care is one of those damaging attitudes that can ooze out of people. And doesn't help us understand that there are good and godly followers of Jesus who can study scripture and come to a different conclusion on a good many points. There are those who want to just abuse grace for a license to sin. You see that you've experienced that in your family, that they just wanna abuse grace for licenses. Then we would love to be able to put everyone in a category we disagree with and say, obviously, look at what you're doing in your life. You're a heretic because I studied scripture and I've come to a different conclusion than you. That would be easy to do. And that's what people of Jesus have tended to do for the last 2000 years. And the prayer of Christ for a unity has not come to fruition. But what we need to believe is this more biblical approach to say, I can't just wipe everybody off because they disagree with me. Or there's this rub and this division, I have to get to know them, get to know their heart and find that there may be some who are just turning grace into a license to sin. And there may be some who honestly, passionately want to follow Jesus Christ. And they just disagree with me. And now it becomes harder. When you get to know them and friends, we don't like to do hard work. We prefer just to condemn from the distance, but this forces us into a closer relationship to actually get to know one another. And then we can

Speaker 3 22:44

Condemn them as a joke. I'll give you guys some more time to, I thought it was funnier. I even had a highlighted in my notes ,

Speaker 2 23:01

Friends. We are all called to be family together to work it out. A messy, melting pot of people, messy, broken people. I always think it's hilarious. When we get really upset about broken people act broken. Once we realized there's some freedom in that of like, Oh, they're just a broken person like me acting broken. They're broken too. There's like a huge sense of release and extra grace that comes along with that. We're a messy, melting pot of people, a messy broken people. And there are persons who love Jesus love scripture and disagrees. And we can be family together while we disagree. We get to know their heart and we work it out. As family. This approach is called the third way approach. It's not necessarily conservative or classically liberal. Every label has exceptions, but these are short forms. Traditionally with a conservative church or a conservative person, they can go through this list and say, here are the behaviors that are sin, right? Here's where we don't agree with each other. Therefore, anyone who disagrees with us, they're obviously a heretic. They're not welcome. You have this wrong. And I'm gonna tell you right now, you have been hurt by that in the past. Like some of you who even maybe even showed up here today or showed up with us online today because of mom where you're like, I really don't want to go to church. They're just a long list of this is what's wrong. This is what you can't do is what you do. You, I'm not going to love you here. Not going to give you grace in this place. Right? And you've been hurt by this in the past. So then this idea of the liberal church that says, I sense the lack of love in that list there, you just gave us, you love scripture, but where's the love of Jesus in that. And so then they say, let's create a space for everyone where they're welcomed no matter what they believe and how they live, but here's where that ends. But there's no challenge to actually become, to show up. As you are into leave and to be M is transformational life that's changed by Jesus. And so that only invigorates the conservative side to say, well, if that's how, what being kind to people looks like and leads to, then you don't care about scripture. You don't care about ethics. See we're right. And then back and forth, back and forth. And people that come to the space to be a part of this family. They sit and they look at this and they say, I don't know if I fit well in either category. And so that's why we believe. And I can even go so far as to say that we must believe in the unity of Christ, that he calls us to a third way. Not just here or there . It's not black. It's not white. It's gray where we teach clearly on Jesus issues. But we also don't automatically condemn people with whom we disagree, making space for everyone to come and experience the transformational work of Jesus, man, woman and child. They're all extended into this new family where we want to get to know each other's hearts. We want to create a safe place for people to come and experience that adversity of the body of Christ to learn from one another, argue with one another, challenge, one another, his family. And where are we willing to admit that they're good and dialed the followers of Jesus who have come to a different conclusion. And we don't automatically treat them as heretics or outside of what family is to us. And so we create this space that is to be challenged and to work through these things together, like family, like everyone who shows up for mother's day when mom's like, I don't care if you ride your motorcycle here, right. Or whatever it is, care . If you bring your friend here, I don't care. If you've got new tattoos that you don't want to see, just show up, just come in here. And we're going to be family, as you are. Let's do this. It's hard. When I hear people who have left faith communities, this faith community or families, because of the tension that being a family brings when brothers or sisters don't see eye to eye on every little thing. So what do we do? What do we do with that? Well , friends, I hope you understand that this takes a mature person, right? It takes a mature church to make space. It takes a mature person to come and say, I know we're going to have some points of disagreement about something that's very dear to me. And yet I will do the hard work of being committed. Here. We can wrestle with God. We can wrestle with scripture and we can prioritize, exploring, and growing and faith in Jesus Christ. So friends, what's the value of choosing a third way approach. One thing is this . We will grow in the gospel. As we live this, we will grow. And the gospel, our understanding of what it looks like to be ambassadors of love and grace when we do this. And we then, because of that will bear witness to the world of the power of Jesus. We will bear witness to the world of the power, Jesus, that people who disagree, people who are diverse, people who are different can actually be family together. And hopefully it can be a part of generation where Jesus sees an answer to his prayer of unity for the church. But I promise you this. I promise you this. I promise three things. If we do this, if you do this number one, it's going to be a lot of work. It's not going to be easy. It's going to be a lot of work to be that type of family. It is not easy to be that type of family to live in the gray and sit there and really lean in to one, another. Number two, we're going to make a lot of mistakes. We're going to make a lot of mistakes. Jesus is perfect. We follow him, but we follow him imperfectly. We're going to mess up.

Speaker 3 29:43

But to not try friends is one of the biggest mistakes that we can make and we don't want to make it. And so we're going to do this the best that we can. So we're , it's gonna be a lot of work. It's not going to be easy. We're going to make a lot of mistakes. And number three, I can promise you this. It's going to be worth it. It's going to be worth it. It's hard. It's messy. But my God, he knows it is so, so worth it. It's going to be worth it. Paul says in Ephesians four, be completely humble and gentle. Be our favorite word, patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. Make every effort, make every effort. You're going to do this hard work, but don't collapse into the easy approach of tribalism, where you just go to your corner and you point at others and condemn others, friends work hard, work hard for now. We want to pray that God, by his spirit will soften our hearts. Give us wisdom is running an extra dose of wisdom to do this well. So you get to hear your phones now, or there's notes in the app. You can do that. I want to let you take a picture of this as some discussion points to kind of continue this conversation up on the screen. What does people in process mean to you? What does people in process mean to you? This come as you are attitude. Is this just a people in process where you just show up and say, well, I'm a people in process. So you've got to give me a ton of extra grace, but don't expect anything else from me or is it there's people in process says , Hey, you can come as you are, but you need to be on a transformational journey. You need to experience a spiritual journey of seeing what it looks like to live as family, as examples of family. The other question, where do you need to do the hard work of reconciliation? Where do you need to do the hard work of reconciliation and say, man, there are some things that I have done to cause division disunity amongst this, where I haven't been as openly welcoming that I haven't been a good family member. I need to reconcile that. I need to actually act like I'm an ambassador of love and grace and this new thing that Jesus has done in me. And now I get to watch him do it. And you through reconciliation. Now , can you create space for a larger family? How can you create space for a bigger family? How can you create another table setting that says like you can actually come and sit and be equal into this family. Everyone's welcome. Just come and watch us eat, but come eat with us to welcome you. And to be a part of this family, it's going to be hard. It's going to be hard. It's gonna be messy. The friends, it is so worth it. Would you stand as we respond and worship.