Union Church

Psalm 142: How God Shows Up

Listen along as we continue to learn prayer from the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 142:1-7

1 Sam 22:1

Abraham debated.
Moses protested.
Jeremiah worried.
And Elijah basically whined.

But Jonah? Jonah ran.

It's a reminder that arguing with God is not an obstacle to intimacy with God,
but a primary channel into it. - Sharen Hodde Miller

A portrait of the righteous in the Psalms tells the true story: they find their refuge in God and, as a result, receive a righteousness from him that increasingly characterizes their lives. They also anticipate the coming of the Righteous One, in whose mouth the psalmists’ words find their ultimate fulfillment. Christopher Ash

1 Sam 22:2-3

“Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all.” - Eugene Peterson  

2 Cor 4:6-12, 2 Cor 4:16-18

Psalm 19: How to Know God

Listen along as we continue our series through the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 19:1-14 - Mike G

Earth’s Moon is about 1/ 400th the diameter of the Sun, but it is also 1/ 400th as far from us, making the Sun and the Moon the same size on the sky—a coincidence not shared by any other planet–moon combination in the solar system, allowing for uniquely photogenic total solar eclipses. - Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Romans 1:20

Romans 8:20-22

We know Him by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe; which is before our eyes as a most elegant book, wherein all creatures, great and small, are as so many characters leading us to see clearly the invisible things of God, even his everlasting power and divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All which things are sufficient to convince men and leave them without excuse. Secondly, He makes Himself more clearly and fully known to us by His holy and divine Word; that is to say, as far as is necessary for us to know in this life, to His glory and our salvation.
Belgic Confession of Faith (1561)

Forgetting the awesome and glorious One who made it all and holds it all together by the sheer power of his magnificent will, will always insert me into the center. This means that no story will be more important to me than my story. I will ask no bigger question than the question of how I am doing. I will have no bigger concern than my satisfaction and comfort. I will ask life to serve me, to submit to my interests, and to deliver whatever I demand. This viewpoint will guarantee me a life of huge disappointment. And not only that, it is also an insane way to live. I am not the center of all things. The world will not do my sovereign bidding. God will not offer his awesome throne to me. Awe of self, worship of self, underlies every form of self-destructive living. Paul Tripp

Hebrews 1:1-4 

Colossians 1:15-20

Psalm 6: Surviving Suffering

Listen along as Anthony walks us through Psalm 6.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 6:1-10 - Chris Fisher Reading

Title: Surviving Suffering

“Waiting is hard. ‘How long O Lord’ is the cry of someone who has walked with more pain and sickness than they thought they could ever bear.”
- Timothy Keller

 “The most precious use of the word hesed in the Old Testament is used as a description of what God does. Having entered a covenant relationship with His people, God bound Himself to act toward them in certain ways, and He is utterly faithful to His self-commitment…Psalm 136 explores what the Lord’s hesed means in its broadest possible terms, for each line concludes with the words: “his hesed endures forever.” Because of the Lord’s hesed, He created the universe, and He rules it daily through His providence (Ps. 136:5–9, 25)…In Psalm 23:6, the psalmist declares that the Lord’s goodness and hesed will pursue him all the days of his life. The word pursue normally describes the action of pillaging armies and covenant curse, but the psalmist is convinced that instead of the covenant curse he deserves, the Lord’s faithful love and goodness will hunt him down relentlessly instead.” 
- Ian Duguid

“Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
 smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.” 
(Isaiah 53:4&5)

Psalm 1: Learning Prayer

Listen along as we begin a new sermon series in the Psalms.

Notes//Quotes:

Psalm 1:1-6 - Kim J

Book 1 - 1-41 - Distress//Confidence 
Book 2 - 42-72 - Lament//Hope 
Book 3 - 73-89 - Darkest of all (88) 
Book 4 - 90-106 - Doubts in Light of the Lord’s reign 
Book 5 - 107-150 - Declaration//Ascent//Ps119 - 176verses

“Psalms are companions - They are the closest friends, wisest advisors, and faithful discerners. They understand your heart and provide words when we don’t have any.” Anthony Garcia

“The term refers to a wide range of behaviors and thoughts, but, at root, it is when somebody presents, or imagines, themself as the lead in a sort of fictional version of their life (usually their own, although sometimes, disturbingly, somebody else’s), and presents that "life" through social media.” - Psychology Today
“Most people are like a shaving of wood which is curled round its central emptiness” - Theophan the Recluse
“The introduction to the Psalter is anything but an invitation to pedantry, legalism, or self-righteousness, on the contrary, it is an invitation to be open to God’s instruction and to the reality of God’s reign in the world.” - Clinton McCann

“I have been induced to embrace the opinion of some among the ancient interpreters (Augustine, Jerome, etc.), who conceive that the first Psalm is intended to be descriptive of the character and reward of the JUST ONE, i.e. the Lord Jesus.” John Fry, 1842

John 15:1-17.

“We want something from Him, not Him at all. Is that a relationship? Do we behave in that way with our friends? Do we aim at what friendship can give us or is it the friend whom we love? Is this true with regard to the Lord?” - Anthony Bloom, Beginning to Pray

Galatians 6:11-18 - True Rest

Listen along as we have family worship and wrap up our series through Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 6:11-18

Bear Video (attached)

Monkey video (attached)

“He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go, cannot hold on; he who cannot find footing, cannot go forward.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick 

All that matters is that, through Christ crucified, we are made a “new creation” (v 15). The gospel changes my future, giving me a place in Christ’s perfected re-creation. And the gospel changes my present, giving me a whole new self-image and whole new way of relating to everyone - Tim Keller

“Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.” - Dallas Willard 

1. Grace! 'Tis a charming sound,
        Harmonious to the ear;
        Heaven with the echo shall resound,
        And all the earth shall hear.

        2. Grace first contrived the way
        To save rebellious man,
        And all the steps that grace display
        Which drew the wondrous plan.

        3. Grace first inscribed my name
        In God's eternal book;
        'Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb,
        Who all my sorrows took.

        4. Grace led my wandering feet
        To tread the heavenly road;
        And new supplies each hour I meet
        While pressing on to God.

        5. Grace taught my soul to pray
        And made mine eyes o'erflow;
        'Twas grace that kept me to this day
        And will not let me go.

        6. Grace all the work shall crown
        Through everlasting days;
        It lays in heaven the topmost stone
        And well deserves the praise.

 

Galatians 6:1-10 - Life Together and the Long View

Listen along as we near the end of Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 6:1-10

“The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

“Jesus was a revolutionary, who did not become an extremist, since he did not offer an ideology, but Himself." - Henri Nouwen

1 Cor 10:12

“There is one burden that we cannot share … and that is our responsibility to God on the day of judgment. On that day you cannot carry my pack and I cannot carry yours.”
John Stott, The Message of Galatians

“Jesus offers himself as God's doorway into the life that is truly life. Confidence in him leads us today, as in other times, to become his apprentices in eternal living. "Those who come through me will be safe," he said. "They will go in and out and find all they need. I have come into their world that they may have life, and life to the limit.” - Dallas Willard

 

Galatians 5:13-26 - Freedom

Listen along as we continue our series through Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 5:13-26 - Larry and Jorgen
Title: Freedom

“the “freedom” of the Messiah’s people cannot be used as “opportunity” (aphorme (ah-for-may),  a “base of operations”) for “the flesh.” 
- N.T. Wright

“In verse 3, Paul implicitly says that Christians are freed from obligation to obey the whole law. Then in verse 13, he tells us to “serve one another in love”; and in verse 14 he says that the summary of the law is to love one another! So Paul says bluntly that the Galatian Christians must obey the law. How do we understand this? Are we obliged, or are we not obliged?! Essentially, the answer is “yes”. In one way we are obliged to keep the law, but in another way we are not. If we look at verse 3, Paul immediately follows: “[You are] required to obey the whole law” with: “You … are trying to be justified by law” (v 4). The obligation that is gone for the Christian is the obligation to obey the law to be saved, which is impossible to achieve. But now that we are saved wholly and freely by grace we are, if anything, more obligated to obey the law! Why? Because we have more reason to love God than we ever did before. Love arises from gospel faith and hope (v 5–6), and overflows into loving and serving our neighbors, rather than using them to serve ourselves. And loving our neighbor is “the entire law … summed up in a single command” (v 14).” 
- Timothy Keller

“A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.” 
- Martin Luther

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” — James 4:1

“18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” 
— Romans 7:18-20

“destructive attitudes such as selfish ambition, namely competitiveness, a self-seeking motive; envy, coveting, desiring what others have; jealousy, the zeal and energy that comes from a hungry ego; and hatred, meaning hostility, an adversarial attitude...the results of these attitudes in relationships: discord, being argumentative or seeking to pick fights; fits of rage, outbursts of anger; dissensions, divisions between people (which is what rage leads to); and factions, permanent parties and warring groups.” 
- Timothy Keller

 

 

 

Galatians 5:1-15 - The Gospel Of Self Sufficiency

Galatians 5:1-15 - Kim J
Title: The Gospel Of Self-Sufficiency 

“The topic of circumcision had been in the background of Paul’s polemic against the Judaizers all along. In chap. 2 Paul reminded the Galatians of his successful resistance against the efforts of certain “false brothers” to have the Gentile Titus circumcised during their visit to Jerusalem. Similarly, those who belonged to “the circumcision group” had provoked the incident which led to Paul’s confrontation with Peter at Antioch. However, only here in chap. 5 does Paul engage the issue head on in terms of the crisis in Galatia. Now we know for sure what must have been perfectly clear to the original readers of the epistle all along, namely, that the Galatian agitators were demanding that Paul’s converts should get circumcised. According to Acts 15:1–2, the Judaizers believed that acceptance of this ancient Jewish ritual was absolutely necessary for salvation and incorporation into the people of God.”
- Timothy George

“Because however wrong the false teachers may have been, their message met a sinful inclination deep inside the human heart: we all secretly love a gospel that relies on us. We love being the hero, or at least a celebrated sidekick. Self-reliance feeds our self-esteem and self-worth.” - Marshal Segal

“By nature and by training we all seek solutions to our problem of sin. To varying degrees, these solutions include doing something—law keeping, good works, etc—to please or appease or satisfy the God who is one day going to judge us. The idea of contributing to one’s own salvation is universal. It’s the engine which propels every religion.”  - Ed Moore

1. The Work of Philanthropy
2. The Work of Service
3. The Work of Ritual
4. The Work of Comparison
5. The Work of Comprehension
6. The Work of Decision
7. The Work of Restitution
8. The Work of Affliction
9. The Work of Meditation
10. The Work of Seeking Affirmation

“Christian freedom is the precious birthright of every believer…For the Galatians then to accept circumcision and all that it implied was for them to throw away the precious gift of freedom and step back onto the unceasing treadmill of self-justification.
- Timothy George

“Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
Book of Common Prayer, p. 258, Collect 17

Questions for reflection:

- Am I trusting in God’s promise or my performance?

-What is the motivation behind why I do good?

-Am I truly standing firm in the freedom Christ has won for me?

 

 

Galatians 4:21-31 - Attempting the Impossible

Listen along as we continue our series through Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 4:21-31 - Faith C. Reading

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. - Muhammad Ali

At certain key points, Paul uses the Jewish technique of alluding to each section of the Hebrew Scriptures—Torah, Prophets, and Writings, though not necessarily in that order. I propose that he does this in 4:21–5:1 with an allusion to Psalm 87 in verse 26 alongside his references to Genesis and to Isaiah 54. Paul is bringing this polemical letter to a climax, doing so appropriately and ironically by constructing a paragraph with a rich scriptural backbone. He is appealing to Torah against those who want to impose Torah. - NT Wright

Hagar//Sarah Graphic

The burden of his message is clear. The great reversal envisaged by Isaiah—from barrenness to fruitfulness, from despair to joy, from desolation to blessing—can only be accomplished by the unilateral intervention of God himself. How dare anyone say to a person in such dire straits as the woman in this example that she should sing, rejoice, and shout for joy! The words ring hollow until we realize that it was the Lord himself who spoke thus to her. How could she not be afraid or fear disgrace when there was so much against her? Later in the same chapter (Isa 54:5) God himself provided the answer: “For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” Again, Paul was pointing to God’s gracious sovereignty and infinite love that is the foundation of our justification, freedom, and hope. - Timothy George

If you worship money and things — if they are where you tap real meaning in life — then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already — it’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story. The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on. David Foster Wallace

In vain we search the heavens high above, The God of love is kneeling at our feet. Though we betray him, though it is the night, He meets us here and loves us into light. - Malcom Guite 

Waiting is a herculean widening of everything within you into a canyon—that can fill with a rising ocean of hope. And all this waiting isn’t destroying us — the waiting is growing us.  Waiting isn’t loss—it’s enlarging. The longer the heart waits, the larger the heart expands to hold the largeness of the abundant life. The waiting is widening us—so Hope is never running out— but more hope in Christ is running in. Waiting is the sacrament of the tender surrender, the art of a soul growing large. - Ann Voskamp 

Galatians 4:8-20 - The First Command

Listen along as we continue our series through Galatians and arrive at Paul's first command in the text.

Notes//Quotes:

Gal 4:8-20 - Larry and Jorgen

Galatians 4:8-20

Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god - Harold Best

“Evil, is the force, residing either inside or outside of human beings, that seeks to kill life or liveliness. And goodness is its opposite. Goodness is that which promotes life and liveliness. The evil create for those under their dominion a miniature sick society.” M. Scott Peck

“Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are most likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself as well as from others than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian within our culture. Evil people tend to gravitate toward piety for the disguise and concealment it can offer them.” - Martin Buber

Unlike his opponents, Paul is not telling the Galatians what they would like to hear. He is telling them “the truth” (v 16), and he is being vilified for it. Paul would love to be able to be affirming and gentle, to be able to “change my tone” (v 20). But he would rather hold out the gospel than receive the praise. After all, it is the gospel which brings people to Christ-dependence, shapes people in Christ-likeness, and provokes people to Christ-praise. The gospel frees us from the need for people’s approval and adoration so that we can confront and anger the people we love if that is what is best for them. And although it does not always work, this is the only kind of communication that really changes people. If you love a person so selfishly that you cannot risk their anger, you won’t ever tell them the truth they need to hear. If, on the other hand, you tell a person the truth they need, but with harshness and not with the agony of a lover, they won’t listen to it.” - Tim Keller

“It has been said that we become what we behold. I believe there is nothing more transformative to our lives than beholding God in his word. After all, how can we conform to the image of a God we have not beheld?” Jen Wilkin