Last weekend, we traveled to New York City with good friends to celebrate a milestone birthday (a year later, but hey, we made it finally!) Our friend's birthday wish was to attend a church service at Redeemer Presbyterian Church and hopefully hear Pastor Tim Keller preach. So last Sunday morning, we found ourselves in church on the Upper West Side and we settled in to hear God's Word.
The message, entitled Why a Public Faith?, covered Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Keller explained the call to all Christians of spiritual sowing and reaping.
In John 4, Jesus traveled with his disciples to Samaria but when they got to Jacob's well, Jesus stayed there and rested while His disciples went into town to buy food. Around 12 noon, a woman arrived at the well to draw water. Jesus asked for a drink. Of course, we know that Jesus went around breaking all the "social rules" so the fact He is alone with this Samaritan woman--something Jews & Samaritans would never allow--should not surprise us. And, Jesus lets the woman know He has water for her--living water. Later, He reveals to her in v. 26 that He is the Messiah.
The disciples return and are surprised to find him alone with a Samaritan woman. They were concerned for Jesus and they told Him to eat something. Cryptically, Jesus answers, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." And, "my food is to do God's work." Then, He shares a well-known proverb, "Don't you say 'four months more and then, the harvest'?"
The harvest/crop is eternal life. Sowing is pointing to Jesus as the source of eternal life. Reaping is faith in Jesus Christ. In the natural world, the reaping takes time.
For Christians, the Gospel should be our food. Jesus makes it clear what we should be doing in His strong call to spiritual seed sowing.
The method?
Jesus pointed the woman at the well to eternal life in Him. She went and pointed others to Jesus. (v.28 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did!") As a social outcast and probably the lowest of the low in her village, she bravely and winsomely shared with people what's happened to her. She chose personal transparency.
"Public faith is simply letting people know who you are. . . letting people see the wellspring of your heart. If it is appropriate to let someone know how you made a decision, set priorities or dealt with a crisis, you can share about Jesus. Not to do so would be dishonest. This is the logical consequence of public faith." --Tim Keller
The challenge/declaration/the take-away: This little light of mine--I'm gonna let it shine!
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Treasure Girls: We Need Each Other
About two years ago, my daughter (age 11 at the time) & I decided we wanted to have a group of her friends over for the purpose of learning how to cook, making fun crafts and learning lessons from the Bible (a little discipleship group). We called it "Treasure Girls" highlighting that we wanted to treasure Christ above all things--avoiding being "Pleasure Girls--living for ourselves which is so easy to do.
It's been a great experience. We've included the moms each time and it forces us to focus on spending time together once a month, building relationship & hopefully, our relationship with Christ.
Lately, I've encouraged the girls to begin daily devotions which was a huge struggle for me when I was their age. My daughter is now 13 & feels the devotion book we picked is really helpful for her. It's called "Becoming God's True Woman While I Still Have a Curfew" by Mary Kassian & Susan Hunt.
Tomorrow night when we get together, we're going to talk about this main point:
How can we think biblically today (as 13 year old girls & forty-something moms) when we are constantly being told we need to be independent, follow our hearts & do whatever makes us happy?
One of the answers to this question is discipleship--older women helping younger women. In Titus 2:3-5, it states: "Older women. . .are to teach what is good, and so train the young women that the word of God may not be reviled." This is God's good plan. (Actually, the word reviled is such a strong word--in Greek, it comes from the word blasphemed and carries with it the thought of making fun of, or irreverence for God's Word.) So, teaching younger women is a big responsibility & one that requires lots of prayer.
Unfortunately, when I was 13, having grown up in the church & being a preacher's kid, I thought I knew everything. My proud attitude kept me from being taught effectively by older godly women. I remember one woman who faithfully taught us girls each week in Awana. Although she was the mom of 4 small children at the time, and I am sure she didn't have much energy left for rambunctious, boy-crazy girls, she came every week and greeted us with a huge, warm smile, her love for us shining in her eyes. At the time, I knew she loved me so I knew I wanted to listen to her when she taught us from the Word. When we memorized Titus 3:5,6, she taught it to us as a song. I still remember it--the essence of the Gospel in a song I tucked away in my heart.
These kind of relationships are God's will for us. See Psalm 78:4-7: We will tell to the coming generations the glorious deeds of the Lord. . . which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God."
What are older women supposed to tell us?
The praiseworthy deeds of our God!
In Susan Hunt's section of "Becoming God's True Woman. . .", she reminds us that older women are to tell younger women 1) "God created them in His image--created male & female--distinct differences, 2) to live for God's glory" (Treasure Girls treasuring Christ; not Pleasure Girls, treasuring self), 3) "to let older women share their lives with you; whether this is your mom, your sister, your grandmother or an older friend/lady at church."
It's been a great experience. We've included the moms each time and it forces us to focus on spending time together once a month, building relationship & hopefully, our relationship with Christ.
Lately, I've encouraged the girls to begin daily devotions which was a huge struggle for me when I was their age. My daughter is now 13 & feels the devotion book we picked is really helpful for her. It's called "Becoming God's True Woman While I Still Have a Curfew" by Mary Kassian & Susan Hunt.
Tomorrow night when we get together, we're going to talk about this main point:
How can we think biblically today (as 13 year old girls & forty-something moms) when we are constantly being told we need to be independent, follow our hearts & do whatever makes us happy?
One of the answers to this question is discipleship--older women helping younger women. In Titus 2:3-5, it states: "Older women. . .are to teach what is good, and so train the young women that the word of God may not be reviled." This is God's good plan. (Actually, the word reviled is such a strong word--in Greek, it comes from the word blasphemed and carries with it the thought of making fun of, or irreverence for God's Word.) So, teaching younger women is a big responsibility & one that requires lots of prayer.
Unfortunately, when I was 13, having grown up in the church & being a preacher's kid, I thought I knew everything. My proud attitude kept me from being taught effectively by older godly women. I remember one woman who faithfully taught us girls each week in Awana. Although she was the mom of 4 small children at the time, and I am sure she didn't have much energy left for rambunctious, boy-crazy girls, she came every week and greeted us with a huge, warm smile, her love for us shining in her eyes. At the time, I knew she loved me so I knew I wanted to listen to her when she taught us from the Word. When we memorized Titus 3:5,6, she taught it to us as a song. I still remember it--the essence of the Gospel in a song I tucked away in my heart.
These kind of relationships are God's will for us. See Psalm 78:4-7: We will tell to the coming generations the glorious deeds of the Lord. . . which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God."
What are older women supposed to tell us?
The praiseworthy deeds of our God!
In Susan Hunt's section of "Becoming God's True Woman. . .", she reminds us that older women are to tell younger women 1) "God created them in His image--created male & female--distinct differences, 2) to live for God's glory" (Treasure Girls treasuring Christ; not Pleasure Girls, treasuring self), 3) "to let older women share their lives with you; whether this is your mom, your sister, your grandmother or an older friend/lady at church."
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