Class Lesson September 6, 2020

 Hey Gang,

 

Back in our old classroom

9:50AM

We are continuing in our series with the church called Oneness Embraced

Click Play to Watch

Oneness Embraced by Tony Evans

Click Here to Read the Book

Hey everybody, I have purchased the ebook for you to read above, if you’d like to read along with the study - just click on the link above for the book.

Week Two

Pastors Wayne and Alex Teaching (FBS-UC/KLC) – Session One: Embracing Racial Oneness

9/2 @ 7pm on Facebook and YouTube (Video above)

Discuss in Groups – Week of 9/6

We will watch Tony Evans’ Video Session One to start our lesson Sunday. 

For our Group Discussion:

What is a hard thing you’ve done before and were so glad you did?

Share a time when you were on a great team. (sports, work, marriage, etc.). What was wonderful about it?

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Dr. Evans says the goal of racial unity is not sameness, but oneness.  Define “oneness.”  How is it different from sameness? 
2. Read Ephesians 2:13-22.  Dr. Evans used the analogy of the emulsifier in mayonnaise to discuss what unity means.  Have you experienced real unity within diversity?
3. Dr. Evans said that the church is blocking the Glory of God by its division.  James 2:1-10 describes sinful discrimination in the early church that was strongly condemned.  How do we consciously or unconsciously discriminate?
4. In what ways is the body of Christ not “one” today?
5. What is the impact to the church’s witness of not having oneness?
6. Dr. Evans talked about how the Kingdom of God values our diversity more than our culture does.  What does it look like to value diversity?

 

Reflection:  How might I be blocking or advancing the Kingdom of God?

 

Challenge: Prayerfully consider conversing with someone outside this group about this topic. It could be a spouse, a friend, coworker, or other trusted person.

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone!!

We love you and God Bless,

David & Susan

Teacher Notes

Click Play to Watch

Embracing Racial Oneness

 

FOCUS:  

a) To recognize the importance of oneness, 

b) to operate/live from the perspective of God’s Kingdom, and 

c) to see the beauty of ethnicities created by God.

  

Tony Evans’ Video highlights:

• The plague of racial divisions in the U.S. and in the Christian Church

• Operating from a Kingdom perspective and agenda

• Racial amalgamation vs God’s design:  Not sameness but oneness

• Why is unity important?

• Jesus’ high priestly prayer

• Solving the issue of unity by the Church

• Breaking down the dividing wall

• The process of emulsification

• The blood of Christ as the unifying agent

 

For Group Time

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Dr. Evans says the goal of racial unity is not sameness, but oneness.  Define “oneness.”  How is it different from sameness? 

2. Read Ephesians 2:13-22.  Dr. Evans used the analogy of the emulsifier in mayonnaise to discuss what unity means.  Have you experienced real unity within diversity?

3. Dr. Evans said that the church is blocking the Glory of God by its division.  James 2:1-10 describes sinful discrimination in the early church that was strongly condemned.  How do we consciously or unconsciously discriminate?

4. In what ways is the body of Christ not “one” today?

5. What is the impact to the church’s witness of not having oneness?

6. Dr. Evans talked about how the Kingdom of God values our diversity more than our culture does.  What does it look like to value diversity?

 

Self-Reflection:  How might I be blocking or advancing the Kingdom of God?

 

Challenge: Prayerfully consider conversing with someone outside this group about this topic. It could be a spouse, a friend, coworker, or other trusted person.

"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." JK Rowlings

"Sameness is the absence of individuality. Oneness acknowledges and harnesses diversity for the same purpose."

We Need Oneness, Not Sameness

By Chris Borah|June 5th, 2020

 

“We are all the same.”

 

This is a rallying cry we see again and again as we sift through the wreckage of our conflicts over differences. It’s a phrase that’s trying to take away pain, but it isn’t telling the truth. Differences are real. Declaring that differences don’t exist doesn’t just erase the beauty of diversity, it also offers the wrong solution to what our problems truly are. We don’t all need to be the same. We need to be one in Christ.

 

Creation can be described as the wedding, the joining together of difference. Heaven and earth, light and dark, land and sea, male and female. Creation is diverse both within and beyond the human community.

 

Our Failed, Comfortable Answer: Sameness

The natural human answer to the perceived problem of difference is sameness. For most of human history, we have separated ourselves into groups, building up comfortable walls to protect our sameness, to achieve mastery over others, and to protect ourselves from differences. Other times we have tried to conform everyone around us into the same image, eliminating all distinctions. Like prisoners in a jail, we lose ourselves in the collective.

 

But sameness cannot resolve our differences. The answer of Holy Scripture to the apparent problem of difference is not sameness; the answer is oneness.

 

 

The Pentecostal Answer: Oneness

Last Sunday, many of us gathered together to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. We remember that fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, the first disciples were gathered together in a house. Suddenly, there was the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the living, resurrected, and ascended Christ was poured out on all flesh, on all nations. The reverse of Babel happened and what drove us apart, uncommon language, was turned backward, and everyone heard the gospel in his or her own language.

 

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Cor 12:13)

 

Differences abound. Jews and Greeks (things we can’t change). Slave and free (things we can change). When we are ignorant of another culture’s customs it is normal for us to be frightened. The turbulent deep teeming with sea creatures has scared mariners for ages. We are afraid, like the disciples in the storm.

 

But Jesus calmed the storm. He made peace between people of all nations by his blood. How did Jesus make us one? By the Spirit (Eph 2:18, 22). Jesus has broken down our comfortable dividing walls of sameness. Jesus has killed the hostility, and through him we have access in one Spirit to God. Once we were two; now we are made one.

 

Once we were different and hostile to one another. Now, we are still different, but Jesus has killed the hostility. You cannot eat at King Jesus’ table together on Sunday and then refuse to eat in one another’s homes on Monday (Galatians 2:11ff.). There is no “live and let live” in the Kingdom of God. Killing our hostility with God requires killing our hostility with one another.

 

 

Oneness Requires Difference

The family of God is not a cult drinking the same Kool-Aid, all wearing the same robes and sneakers. Rather, the Body of Christ is a “unity of unlikes” (C. S. Lewis, Membership), a “fellowship of differents” (Scot McKnight). The Church is a community of unique persons.

 

The answer to the problems that arise from our difference is not to eliminate all distinctions, but to gather at one table. Like various parts in a body, we are not the same. If the body has more than one head, it is a monster. You don’t make an engine by gathering together a bunch of bolts. You need nuts and bolts, pistons and cylinders.

 

When you look into the face of another person made in the image of God, you don’t say, “I don’t see color.” White sand and rich black soil are different, but both are the dust of the earth. Both are beautiful and different. The skin of man is beautiful and different. Sameness is not oneness.

 

In the gospel, Greeks must not become Jewish. Jews must not become pagans. But they must eat together at the same table. In the gospel, mothers are not fathers. Children are not grandparents. Multiple wives don’t make a happy family (ask Solomon). We need all kinds of different and unique persons to make this family. We, the family of God, are a “unity of unlikes.”

 

Family is hard and difference is challenging. But oneness in the Spirit requires us to live with each other in understanding ways (1 Peter 4). In the gospel, slave and free become family (Philemon). Male and female are wed. The fatherless are given a Father. The childless are given innumerable offspring.

 

The answer to the problems that arise from our difference is not to make everyone the same. The answer to the problems that arise from our difference is to be united in Christ. Oneness requires difference.

What Must We Have in Common?

We try to protect ourselves by surrounding ourselves with sameness, all dressing the same way, separating ourselves by skin color and class and political party. We separate and sing different songs in different keys. We know this is wrong, but our solutions are neither realistic or ideal. Shouldn’t we all just be the same? No. Sameness will never lead to the common good. We need variety, we must have difference if our aim is unity.

 

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Cor 12:4–7)

 

The song of the gospel is not one note. The song of the gospel is many notes in the same key, in beautiful harmony. Variety, differences of gifts, differences of service, differences of activities produce a common good, a shared good, a beautifully diverse unity. We are one in the Spirit, diverse in our gifts, producing our common good. In the Spirit, variety is in harmony, and we all sing the same song:

 

…we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. (Acts 2:11)

 

The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was made manifest in the common proclamation of the gospel. To be Spirit-filled requires us to proclaim the mighty works of God. And although we proclaim the same message, each person, every mouth will tell the story in different ways, with a different tone of voice, singing different notes in harmony. The message of the gospel throughout Acts is diverse: tell of the mighty works of God in creation, tell of the mighty works of God in the Law and the Prophets, tell of the mighty works of God in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Many voices, one common proclamation. Different stories, one gospel.

 

Every time we gather, many different voices harmonize together in one song. On the Feast of Pentecost, on every Lord’s Day, by the Spirit, all nations sing the same song. We share a common liturgy with Nigerians, with Mexicans, with Canadians, with Christians from all nations. We must not fear difference in Christ.

 

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev 5:9)

 

The Creation requires difference. The New Creation in Christ by the Spirit redeems our differences. Come let us return to the Lord. Let us repent of our comfortable sameness. And with many different tongues and with one voice, let us sing of the mighty works of God.

8-Week Series Begins Sunday August 30, 2020

Hey Gang,

 

Our class hour now begins at 9:50 A.M.

August 30th

We are beginning a new series with the church called Oneness Embraced

Click Play to Watch

Oneness Embraced by Tony Evans

Click Here to Read the Book

Week One

Pastors Wayne and Alex Teaching (FBS-UC/KLC) – Introductory Session YouTube

Discuss in Groups – Week of 8/30

Purchase Oneness Embraced by Tony Evans  

Hey everybody, I have purchased the ebook for you to read above, if you’d like to read along with the study - just click on the link above for the book.

For Our Group Time - Discussion Questions:

What do we hope is accomplished through this study?

Read John 17:18-21

a. What is Jesus praying for us?

b. What significance is it to you that Jesus is praying this for you…and us? 

c. Has unity been a priority for you/us like it apparently is for Jesus?

d. What would being “as one as We are one” look like?

     On the video, the Pastors said that racial disunity is a spiritual problem that can only be solved by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Similarly, John Piper has said: “The only solution powerful enough to overcome racial strife and bring about reconciliation and harmony is the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 

So why do you think the church has not been more active in addressing it?

Read Revelation 7:9 

      How should this vision of Heaven that God wanted us to have impact our attitudes and actions while we’re here on earth?

 

Challenge:  

Ask God to open your heart and mind to hear what He has to say to you through this study and to move forward in obedience to His will. 

 

Looking forward to being back in class with everyone!!

We love you and God Bless,

David & Susan

Teacher Notes:

Key Points

·       Purpose of the study:

1) To embrace the oneness given to us in Jesus Christ and

2) as the Body of Christ (i.e. the church), be ready to take steps toward working together so that the community would see oneness of purpose across races and God would be glorified.

o   What this study IS: 

§  A biblical perspective on race, reconciliation, and unity in the Body of Christ

§  An attempt to address a spiritual problem with the Gospel of Jesus Christ

o   What this study is NOT:

§  An attempt to start an argument or win a debate

§  Politically motivated

 

• There has been an official resolution regarding race in the Southern Baptist Convention since 1939, and many more over the years following. It’s been recognized as a gospel problem to be addressed by churches.  But we’re still talking about it???

 

• Pastors Wayne and Alex have asked us to “Open our hearts and view this through the lens of scripture – not politics. Let your guard down; don’t be politically defensive and listen for the voice of God. Assume the best.”

 

• Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17:18-21 sets out His desire for oneness within the body of Christ.

 

·       Revelation 7:9 shows us that in eternity (heaven) there will be a multitude of people with visible racial differences all together worshiping God.

Class Lesson August 23, 2020

 WHY DO I NEED THE CHURCH?

Spirituality is not declining, but church affiliation is. 

In this study, we will explore Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, and we will see how God’s encouragement of the first-century Christians still encourages our twenty-first century lives today.

 

During our time together, we'll discuss the following 6 lessons:

1. We are joined together.
2. We pray for one another.
3. We support one another.
4. We encourage one another.
5. We strengthen one another.
6. We stand together in spiritual battle.

Let’s dive in and see why we need the church – and why the church needs us with lesson 5 in our series.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

I was so embarrassed. I was at the gym, but at that moment I was hardly doing anything productive. I was lying flat on my back with heavy barbells pressing against my chest. No matter how much I tried to push, my arms refused to cooperate. They had given up under exhausted protest. I knew the first commandment of strength training and gym etiquette, but I had broken it—and now I sheepishly faced the consequences.

When lifting weights, always enlist a spotter—someone who both pushes you to persevere and intervenes if your arms give out. Yet here I was, imprisoned by the weights on my chest because I foolishly thought I could do it on my own.

I also need a spotter in my Christian life—and you do too. God gave us the church to be that help. Fellow Christians embolden us to persevere, and they intervene when our souls are discouraged and we feel beaten and weighed down by life’s troubles. As God’s Spirit works through us, He uses us to strengthen one another in a world that calls us to follow a different path.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Ephesians 5:8-14

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

 

From the beginning, people have tried to convince Christians that we can pursue Jesus while still sinning like the world. But that cannot be! Note the contrast in verse 8 from the darkness we once were to the light we now are in Christ.

 

Question 2: What are some ways our culture calls the light darkness and darkness the light?

 

The challenge of holiness is seen in the twofold opposition we face.

• We battle temptations from the inside, from our own hearts. Each of us has sinful desires that come from our own sin nature. You and I may have different struggles and long for different things, but the “old self” still draws us to sin.
• We face temptations from the outside, from the sinful world. Others lure us to compromise our faith by participating in things God opposes.

 

Like heavy barbells, this multi-directional opposition weighs heavily upon us. But with “spotters” like the Holy Spirit living inside us and the people of God walking alongside us, we can stand against any opposition.

 

No matter how we may think we can face sin on our own, it’s simply not possible. Why? Because God never created us to withstand sin in isolation. He has hardwired into our spiritual DNA a persistent need for spiritual support from the Holy Spirit and from the body of Christ.

 

From this passage, we see several ways we can strengthen one another in standing against the sinful ways of the world.

 

• We can affirm the fruit of the gospel in one another’s lives (v. 9). When we see our Christian brother or sister exhibiting Christlike character traits like goodness, righteousness, and truth, we should verbally recognize and affirm it.
• We can help one another discern what pleases the Lord (v. 10). We don’t always see things as clearly as we should. Each of us brings our own biases to the table, and we can tire out spiritually on any given day. All of these things skew our discernment.
• We can help one another expose darkness rather than participate in it (vv. 11-12). The ways of the world are very popular, and the truth of the gospel is not. Few people enjoy being in the minority, but we find strength in numbers.
• We can help one another shine the light of Christ (v. 14). It is remarkable how much darkness just a little bit of light dispels. Like a candle, a Christian must be different from those he seeks to influence. Let’s help one another shine in the world.

 

The world will throw a lot of temptations our way. But through Jesus and His people, we have the support we need to endure.

 

Ephesians 5:15-17

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

 

Few commodities are more precious than time. We appreciate its value because once it’s gone, it can’t be replaced. What distinguishes us is not how much time we have, but what we do with our given time.

 

We can reduce human activity down to two basic approaches; people approach life from either a worldly viewpoint or a godly viewpoint. The worldly approach is unwise, derived from human thinking; the godly approach is wise because it’s based on God’s Word. Here are three ways Christians should rethink our use of time:

 

• Live wisely. Our lives matter, so we should “Be very careful, then, how you live” (v. 15). We should use time wisely so our lives reflect the wisdom of God. While the world generally lives only thinking of today, Christians should live today while also thinking of eternity. The world wakes up each morning and gets to work on the day’s business. Christians, though, prioritize devotions with God before getting started on the rest of the day’s activities.
• Live intentionally. When Paul told us to make the most of the time, he challenged us to take advantage of every opportunity we have to do good. That means we should live life “on purpose.” Many people mindlessly approach life simply checking off the “to-do list” and moving on to what’s next. But Christians should seek to leverage every opportunity, every task, and every relationship for the sake of the gospel.
• Live obediently. Rather than being foolish, Paul commanded us to “understand what the Lord’s will is.” In other words, we should know God’s Word. And knowing God’s Word always means obeying God’s Word too. In everything we do, every place we go, and every choice we make, we should strive to obey God and not blend in with the norms of culture. This doesn't mean everything  we see the world doing is wrong, but it does mean we live by a different set of priorities.

As the body of Christ, let’s meet our earthly responsibilities with eternity in view. And let’s strengthen one another by being wise stewards of our time.

 

Question 3:

What are some ways we can honor God with our time?

 

  

Ephesians 5:18-21

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

 

We don’t live in a kind culture. People shout profanities at strangers on the highway. People are intoxicated with selfishness, pride, anger, and hate. In virtually every part of our culture, we demonstrably live under self-rule.

 

We shouldn’t think our culture is the first to personify such bad behavior. People have mistreated one another and resisted authority since the beginning. Because of sin, none of us perfectly thinks of others before ourselves or naturally defers to another’s authority. That’s what makes Ephesians 5 remarkable. It speaks as radically to our culture today as it did to the first-century Ephesians.

 

Question 4:

What does it look like for us to submit to one another as believers?

 

When Jesus saves us, He also changes us. That change doesn’t happen through a few simple tweaks; rather, it’s a total transformation of heart, mind, and will. The means of transformation is the Holy Spirit of God coming to reside in us. Rather than being intoxicated by selfishness, the Spirit leads

us instead to worship and submit to God. To encourage a right relationship with God, the Spirit transforms reckless living to righteous living. He also transfers the direction of our worship from ourselves to God. When we are filled with Him, our love for God manifests itself in praise directed to God, not ourselves.

 

To nurture right relationships with people, the Spirit transforms selfish living into submissive living: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (v. 21). Living submissively is how God desires church members to live together. God doesn’t want His church filled with self-centered people who seek to advance their own personal agendas. Instead, He desires for us to speak

to one another with holy words, songs, and prayers. And He wants us to treat one another with grace. The church is strengthened when believers live submissively by the Spirit.

 

 

Question 5:

What does being filled with the Spirit look like in the life of a church or a believer?

 

 

BETTER TOGETHER

Choose one of the following images that best illustrates how

we strengthen one another. Explain your choice.

 

 

 

 “There is a brotherhood within the body of believers, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the common denominator. Friendship and fellowship are the legal tender among believers.”

J. VERNON MCGEE

 

 LIVE IT OUT

How might God use you to strengthen others in His church? And how might you allow His church to strengthen you?

 

Choose one of the following applications:

• Identify. Through prayer and introspection, identify recurring sins and temptations that weigh you down. Confess those things to God and ask Him to bring others into your life to strengthen your walk.
• Influence. As you experience strength and victory in your own life, look for opportunities to influence others by being a selfless and submissive member of your church.
• Invite. Invite another Christian or group of Christians to be a part of your fight against temptation. Confess your temptations to them and allow them to confess theirs to you. Stand together against those struggles.

 

God employs His Spirit and His people to strengthen us against the ways of the world. Let’s be sure to let His desires become our desires and to let them be lived out in our lives.

Looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday!

God Bless,

David & Susan

Teacher Notes:

WHY DO I NEED THE CHURCH?

Spirituality is not declining, but church affiliation is. 

WE STRENGTHEN ONE ANOTHER

Point: We strengthen one another to live as God desires.

Analogy of the Spotter:

It’s dangerous and foolish to lift heavy objects without help. Those who do strength training with weights know the value of a “spotter,” a person who supports you to do more than you think you can and is quick to intervene or assist as needed.

Christians should do that for one another. As God works through us, He uses us to strengthen one another in the face of a world that calls us to follow a different path.

Ephesians 5:8-14

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

 

How many of you have heard the statement, “They are as different as day and night.”?

 

In this verse, Paul is using the same kind of contrast between darkness and light when speaking of the old life without Christ as compared to the new life in Christ.

 

We can help one other stand against the sinful ways of the world.

• Christians are to avoid participating in things that do not bring pleasure to the Lord.
• Christians have a responsibility to take stands against evil.
• Christians can expose darkness by boldly shining the light of Christ.
• The light of Christ has the transformative power to convert one from darkness to His light.

 

What do you stand for?

Why is the popular culture increasingly opposed to Christians?

• Examples in the news where Christians are being shouted down in public forums …
• Bibles are being publicly burned …
• Businesses are being sued for not embracing what the secular culture says is OK …
• Others are boycotted because their beliefs—not their practices, just their beliefs—are at odds with culture.

Most people, though, in our society are not opposed to Jesus.

• We could pull out the Doobie Brothers’ song from 1972, “Jesus is Just Alright with Me,” and culture would sing along.
• People like Jesus. After all, He loves people. He blesses people. He heals people. He forgives people.

It’s all those Christians our culture has problems with. And why not?

·       We’re judgmental, anti-homosexual, and hypocritical. 

·       Instead of pointing to a better way in Jesus, we have become too busy waving the flag of what is wrong with “the other side.”

·       The world knows Christians more by what we are against than what we are for.

 

Don’t get me wrong, we need to have strong convictions. We need to stand on biblical principles, ethics, and morality. But we don’t need to be waving the flag of biblical morality as if it is the all-important banner for everyone to stand under.

Morality is extremely important, but … Jesus stood for love and grace. He addressed the matter of sin, but it was the love and light He displayed that changed hearts and lives. He just shined the light of love and grace … and the light revealed our darkness for what it is.

I found it interesting that Joe Biden took note to this in his speech the other night.

 

Joe Biden’s speech Thursday night:

“Good evening,” Biden began. “Ella Baker, a giant of the civil rights movement, left us with this wisdom: Give people light and they will find a way. Give people light. Those are words for our time.”

 

Baker, who was not as well-known as some of her contemporaries in the civil rights movement, grew up in the South listening to her grandmother talk of the horrors of being a slave. It was a subtle reference, but Biden then used the aphorism about light and darkness — words made famous by the granddaughter of an American slave — throughout his remarks: “I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness,” “It's a moment that calls for hope and light and love.” He called on America “to be a light to the world once again.”

 

This happens to be Paul’s message to us this morning:

 

Consider the truths In Ephesians 5:

11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

Many interpret the command to expose the works of darkness as a call to scream and shout against the sins of the culture.

But Paul didn’t stop there.

12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

If it’s shameful to mention these things, how do we expose them? 

The answer is in the next verses:

13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible — and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

Instead of shouting against the darkness, we are to shine a light. The light of Christ. Christians can expose darkness by boldly shining the light of Christ.

 

How do we strengthen One Another to walk in the Light?

The challenge in this for us is how to do so without becoming holier-than-thou, and judgmental in our attitudes. How do we refuse to be involved in wrong practices and still care deeply for the people whose lives are enslaved by them?

 

Back in the revolutionary days, Benjamin Franklin tried to convince the citizens of Philadelphia to light the streets at night to protect against crime and make travel easier. His words had little 5 effect so instead he bought an attractive lantern and placed it on a long stanchion in front of his house. Each evening he lit the wick and his neighbors noticed and liked the warm glow it emitted. Soon, his neighbors followed suit and eventually the city recognized the need for lighted streets (Source unknown). As followers of Christ, may we be proactive in letting our light shine before men so that others may be drawn into the warmth of its glow.

 

 

The answer, is to look to the cross. The cross means death to self. It reminds us that “there but for the grace of God go I.” Sin is pervasive. It’s in us by nature and it surrounds us in our culture, and yet, by grace, God has shone the light of Christ on us. He has enabled us to believe the Gospel. We are forgiven. And when that light shines through us to others, it invites them into the light as well. The light of Christ shining through us says “you can be forgiven too.”

 

 

When we live and speak the love and grace of Christ, conviction will follow. To my knowledge, no one has ever come to Christ or changed their ways by an advertisement of what Christians are against. But when we lift up Christ and talk of what His love and grace have done for us, change happens.

Jesus said in John 12:32, “As for me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”

It’s the cross where Jesus was lifted up that draws people. It’s the love of Christ displayed on that cross that draws people.

 

What do I stand for?

I want to be known for what I stand for, not what I stand against.

It’s not that I am in favor of behavior that is wrong, sinful, and out of step with Scripture, but I am in favor of people—even those who live lifestyles that are wrong.

That’s exactly what Jesus did. He embraced “the wrong people” in a very religious Jewish society; He hung out with them—He partied with them—without endorsing their sin.

 

What do I stand for?

I want to make sure people—both friends and strangers—know I stand for love and grace … that I stand with—and for—Jesus.

 

Jesus is more than just alright with me!