Union Church

Advent: Out in the sticks

Listen along as we continue our Advent series.

Notes//Quotes:

Luke 2:8-20 - Josh Reading

“I put on my hard hat, I grab a chisel and I imagine going into the very back corners of that cave and just digging into the work, each time I go in the cave, it’s getting bigger for the next visit.” - Courtney Dauwalter

“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” A.W. Tozer

One should not romanticize the occupation of shepherds. In general shepherds were dishonest and unclean according to the standards of the law. They represent the outcasts and sinners for whom Jesus came. Such outcasts were the first recipients of the good news - Robert Stein

 

Ps 39:7

Matthew 5:3-12

Christianity teaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued. - Bonhoeffer

Growth equals change; change equals loss; loss equals pain; so inevitably, growth equals pain. Pain is a part of progress. Anything that grows experiences some pain. If I avoid all pain, I’m avoiding growth. - Samuel Chand

Luke 1:26-38 - Cosmic Cure

Listen along as Anthony Garcia continues our Advent series.

Jack Reading Luke 1:26-38 & Matthew 1:18-25

Slide: 1
https://pin.it/5m6BRIZrS

Slide : 2
“Embrace or reject, believe or doubt. Either we abandon ourselves to God’s path, the steps of which are only revealed as each foot is lifted in obedience, or we cling to our own path with its illusion of certainty.”    
— Miriam Dixon

Slide:3
“I see Mary at the Annunciation — her hands open, her whole body softened by consent, receiving the Word who desires to become flesh in her. The posture is not passive but brave: an active surrender, a courageous hospitality to God’s own life.
— Kaysie Strickland

Slide: 4
“A carpenter is trained to make plans and follow plans. Details matter to a woodworker. Joseph’s work reflects his life: structured and well-ordered. A person’s name and family line mean everything in this culture, and there is no greater line than that of King David. Joseph represents it well. Just as he would craft a beautiful table, Joseph is crafting a well-built life. Then a massive splinter pierces his heart.”
 —Miriam Dixon

Slide: 5
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” —Mike Tyson

Slide: 6
For whatever reason, God chose to make man as he is—limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—he [God] had the honesty and the courage to take his own medicine. Whatever game he is playing with his creation, he has kept his own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that he has not exacted from himself. He has himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death.
When he was a man, he played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace, and thought it was worthwhile.
—Dorthy Sayers

 

 

 

Matthew 2:1-12 - Advent - Be Still, Nations - The Magi Were Invited

Listen along as Mike Gaston continues our Advent series.

Notes//Quotes:

Matthew 2:1-12 - Faith Reading

 

Slide 1

The Big Idea

The Magi prove that God keeps His promise to bless all the nations of the earth

 

Slide 2

Who was Herod the King?

 

Slide 3

“There are lots of Herods in the New Testament—this one is the first Herod, Herod the Great, the King of the Jews. But the thing about Herod the Great, the King of the Jews, is that he wasn’t a Jew and shouldn’t have been king. He wasn’t from the tribe of Judah, or the house of David. He wasn’t actually a Jew—he was an Idumean, an Edomite, technically, one of Israel’s historical enemies.

He ruled by terror and murder. He was paranoid and at times seems legit crazy. At one point when he was literally on his death bed, he thought his own sons were trying to assassinate him. He’s literally on his death bed actually dying—so he had his own sons executed. By the last few years of his life it seems like he was completely out of his tree.”

 

Craig Hamilton

 

Slide 4

Who were the wise men?

 

Slide 5

“Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”

Exodus 7:11-12

 

Slide 6

“Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler of the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.”

Daniel 2:48

Slide 7

““The group of Magi in question came “from the East.” They might have been Zoroastrians, Medes, Persians, Arabs, or even Jews. They probably served as court advisors, making forecasts and predictions for their royal patrons based on their study of the stars, about which they were quite knowledgeable. Magi often wandered from court to court, and it was not unusual for them to cover great distances in order to attend the birth or crowning of a king, paying their respects and offering gifts. It is not surprising, therefore, that Matthew would mention them as validation of Jesus’ kingship, or that Herod would regard their arrival as a very serious matter.”

 

Craig Chester

 

Slide 8

What was the star?

 

Slide 9

“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.”

Revelation 21:23-25

 

Slide 10

What do the gifts mean?

 

Slide 11

The ultimate question: What’s the point?

 

Slide 12

“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse., and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:3

 

Slide 13

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

Habakkuk 2:14

 

Slide 14

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

 

Slide 15

“Matthew plainly says that, though Jesus was the Messiah, born in David’s line and certain to be Shepherd and Ruler of Israel, it was the Gentiles who came to worship him.”

D.A. Carson

 

Slide 16

“And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”

Ephesians 2:17-19

 

Slide 17

The Big Idea

The Magi prove that God keeps His promise to bless all the nations of the earth

 

Advent: Be Still

Listen along as we begin our series through Advent.

Notes//Quotes:

Luke 1:5-25 - Larry/Jorgen

Luke 1:5-25

Advent is the season that, when properly understood, does not flinch from the darkness that stalks us all in this world. Advent begins in the dark and moves toward the light—but the season should not move too quickly or too glibly, lest we fail to acknowledge the depth of the darkness. Advent bids us take a fearless inventory of the darkness: the darkness without and the darkness within. Fleming Rutledge

“This prayer will be answered but in a richer sense than Zechariah and Elizabeth ever dreamed. No doubt Zechariah and Elizabeth, as devout Israelites, also prayed for the coming of the redemption of Israel. Both these prayers were to be answered in the same event because their son would prepare the way for the Messiah” Robert Stein

“Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall.” 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

“The one thing that He requires of us in response to deep waters is acceptance. This acceptance is not passivism, quietism, fatalism, or resignation. Peace and joy and faith will not be found in forgetting, and they will not be found in busyness or aloofness or the submission of defeat. They will not be found in anger at the “unfairness” of it all. St. Francis de Sales said, “Accustom yourself to unreasonableness and injustice! God sees these things far better than you do, and permits them!” Elisabeth Elliot

Acts 19:21-41 - The Riot at Ephesus

Listen along as Dr. Michael Goheen continues our series through Acts.

Notes//Quotes:

Acts 19:21-41 - Jack
21 Once all this had been finished, Paul decided in his spirit to go back through Macedonia and Achaea and, from there, on to Jerusalem.

“After I’ve been there,” he said, “I really must go and see Rome.”

22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, on ahead to Macedonia, while he himself spent a little more time in Asia.

“Great is Ephesian Artemis!”

23 Around that time there was a major disturbance because of the Way. 24 There was a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver statues of Artemis, which brought the workmen a tidy income. 25 He got them all together, along with other workers in the same business.

“Gentlemen,” he began. “You know that the reason we are doing rather well for ourselves is quite simply this business of ours. 26 And now you see, and hear, that this fellow Paul is going around not only Ephesus but pretty well the whole of Asia, persuading the masses to change their way of life, telling them that gods made with hands are not gods after all! 27 This not only threatens to bring our proper business into disrepute, but it might make people disregard the temple of the great goddess Artemis. Then she—and, after all, the whole of Asia, indeed the whole world, worships her!—she might lose her great majesty.”

28 When they heard this, they were filled with rage.

“Great is Ephesian Artemis!” they shouted. “Great is Ephesian Artemis!”

29 The whole city was filled with the uproar; everyone rushed together into the theater, dragging along with them the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul’s companions. 30 Paul wanted to go in to speak to the people, but his followers wouldn’t let him. 31 Indeed, some of the local magistrates, who were friendly towards him, sent him a message urging him not to risk going into the theater. 32 Meanwhile, some people were shouting one thing, some another. In fact, the whole assembly was thoroughly confused, and most of them had no idea why they had come there in the first place. 33 The Jews pushed Alexander forward, and some of the crowd informed him what was going on. He motioned with his hand, and was going to make a statement to the people to explain things. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted together, for about two hours, “Great is Ephesian Artemis!”

35 The town clerk quietened the crowd.

“Men of Ephesus,” he said, “is there anyone who doesn’t know that our city of Ephesus is the place which has the honor of being the home of Artemis the Great, and of the statue that fell from heaven? 36 Nobody can deny it! So you should be quiet, and not do anything rash. 37 You’ve brought these men here, but they haven’t stolen from the temple, or blasphemed our goddess. 38 If Demetrius and his colleagues have a charge they want to bring against anyone, the courts are open and we have magistrates. People can present their cases against one another. 39 But if you are wanting to know anything beyond that, it must be sorted out in the authorized assembly. 40 Let me remind you that we ourselves are risking legal proceedings because of this riot today, since there is no reason we could give which would enable us to present a satisfactory explanation for this uproar.”

41 With these words, he dismissed the assembly.

Acts 19:1-20 - The Spirit and Power

Listen along as we continue our series through Acts.

Notes//Quotes:

Acts 19:1-20

Jer 31:31-34

2 Cor 5:17

“As throughout Acts, there is no set pattern. The Spirit came at various times and in various ways. What is consistent is that the Spirit is always a vital part of one’s initial commitment to Christ and a mark of every believer.” J.B. Polhill

The norm of Christian experience, then, is a cluster of four things: repentance, faith in Jesus, water baptism and the gift of the Spirit. Though the perceived order may vary a little, the four belong together and are universal in Christian initiation. The laying on of apostolic hands, however, together with tongue-speaking and prophesying, were special to Ephesus, as to Samaria, in order to demonstrate visibly and publicly that particular groups were incorporated into Christ by the Spirit; the New Testament does not universalize them. John Stott

Acts 18:24-28 - A Man Named Apollos

Notes//Quotes:

Acts 18:24-28 Faith

 

You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you. Frederick Beuchener 

Jesus may be in your heart, but grandpa is in your bones - Pete Scazerro

Gal 3:28-29

“Jesus may be in your heart, but grandpa is in your bones, and the task of discipleship is to get Jesus more and more into your bones.”- Pete Scazerro 

Eph 2:8-9
Eph 2:10

1 Cor 3:1-9 

1 Cor 3:10-23

The local church is an unlikely collection of people, and with earthly eyes it may be hard to see that we belong together. With spiritual ones, however, it is clear. In the church, we all have one testimony. Meghan Hill

Acts 18:1-23 - People, Work, Promise, Transformation

Listen along as we continue our journey through acts.

Notes//Quotes:

Acts 18:1-23

Our work can be a calling only if it is reimagined as a mission of service to something beyond merely our own interests. Thinking of work mainly as a means of self-fulfillment and self-realization slowly crushes a person. - Tim Keller

1 Cor 6:9-11

There is much to be cynical about—and it is a good answer if there has not been an incarnation. But if that has happened, if the Word did become flesh, and if there are men and women who in and through their own vocations imitate the vocation of God, then sometimes and in some places the world becomes something more like the way it ought to be.
Steven Garber, Visions of Vocation

1 Cor 15:57-58

Acts 16:16-34 - The Gospel and Idols

Listen along as we continue our series through Acts.

Notes//Quotes:

Acts 17:16-34 - Nathan

Acts 17:16-34

“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional savior.” Martin Luther

Isaiah 44:12-20

 

The gospel does not come as a disembodied message, but as the message of a community which claims to live by it and which invites others to adhere to it. Therefore, the community's life must be so ordered that it "makes sense" to those who are so invited. Leslie Newbigin

 

Acts 17:1-15 - Jesus is King, Look at the Book

Listen along as we continue through the book of Acts.

Acts 17:1-15 - Faith

Acts 17:1-15

“The resurrection was indeed a miraculous display of God’s power, but we should not see it as a suspension of the natural order of the world. Rather it was the beginning of the restoration of the natural order of the world, the world as God intended it to be…The resurrection means not merely that Christians have a hope for the future but that they have a hope that comes from the future. The Bible’s startling message is that when Jesus rose, he brought the future kingdom of God into the present.” - Tim Keller

1 Thess 1:1-10

1 Thess 5:1-11

Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God's judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. - JC Ryle

 

The Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne—everything— to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life! There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. - Sally Lloyd Jones

What’s going on?
Where is the good news?
How has the church seen this through history?
How does this shape us toward repentance/faith/flourishing?

Psalm 119:105 

Hebrews 4:12 

Ephesians 6:17