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Easter 2020 in Australia was radically different to what we are used to. Instead of full churches, fun with family and friends and parades and celebrations; we gathered together through technology, remained isolated from others, and watched in disbelief at the tragic loss of life across the globe. For many in our communities, this Easter was marked by fear, anxiety, loneliness and hopelessness. But when we look at Easter 2020 through the eyes of faith, what we truly see was an undistracted Easter; a day where the anxieties of our world simply highlighted the power and beauty of what Christ accomplished for us through His death and resurrection; it captured beautifully the tension between fear and hope.
As Disciples of Jesus, we know that because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are people of hope, not of hopelessness. As Christians we know that God’s grace can transform the most hopeless situations to the greatest of victories; the greatest isolation into incredible community; and the deepest sadness into unspeakable joy. Because we are a people of hope, even in situations where things have fallen (or are falling) apart and all seems lost, we can get up, put one foot in front of the other, and let God make something beautiful out of it. We know with certainty that God IS working all things together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And what is this purpose? To live our lives on purpose. To be intentional about how we live in all things - to bring honour and glory to His name. Jesus said:
Let’s move forward living the Easter life everyday; let’s share our hope, our joy and our peace with a lost, hurting and desperate world. In His strength and through His grace. Jen .
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As we approach Easter in a radically different environment:
Our world in recent weeks has changed dramatically. Our country and our community is just emerging from a summer of scorching heat, devastating bushfires and uncontrollable flood. And now, with the added uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, for many it is almost unimaginable to find new life amidst the ashes and hope amidst the turmoil. BUT GOD! While we may be struggling with the pace of change right now, as Christians it is important that we recognise that some things remain constant. The message of the gospel is one of the things never changes, regardless of the turbulence around us. Redemption. Resurrection. Eternal life. Our new normal means that we will be gathering online this Easter; however Easter is not cancelled! The Church building may be closed but this simply enables God to deploying His people in new and exciting ways, taking the message of Easter into neighbourhoods, driveways, letterboxes and online forums: we are taking the message out, rather than expecting a lost and broken world to come in. The message of Easter is even more relevant in times of darkness, difficulty and change, as it reminds us that in our darkest days, hope rises amidst heartache. The reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest message ever given to humanity. It’s the ultimate ‘signal of hope’. So as we approach Easter this year lets pray for our neighbours, our friends and our enemies alike; lets remember to give thanks to God for His great love for all humankind, and for His great victory through the cross. And let’s be prepared to be deployed as ambassadors of Christ, sharing his message of Hope, Forgiveness and Redemption with lost and broken world. Standing firm in His Grip & Grace. Jen There is no doubt that our society is experiencing unprecedented uncertainty. The rapid rise of COVID-19 has seen people purchasing household items and food at alarming rates, leaving store shelves empty of basic goods and rationing of potentially life saving medicines. In the land of mateship and a fair go we have witnessed widespread selfishness and opportunistic profiteering which has left many of us bewildered and breathless, and so soon after the generosity displayed during the bush fire crisis just a few short weeks ago. The media is updating us around the clock of developments across the globe, and our Government is rapidly tightening border control, internal movement and access to public gatherings. Right now, the cultural response contains a lot of fear and political wrangling - we need to be wary of both. Fear doesn’t stay at fear, it quickly turns into anxiety, stress, selfishness, and even anger; and none of these glorify God. So how should we as disciples of Jesus respond in this rapidly changing environment?
Firstly to quote a member of QLD Health “We can not pour from an empty bucket”; self care is important! Be fed with the word of God daily, follow all guidelines for health and hygiene, get plenty of rest and remember to wash your hands (Christians believe in both the power of prayer and soap!) Then you can:
And we can do the same today! Let’s work to His praise and Glory in all times and in all places. Jen On our theme of ‘making disciples’
Jesus taught his disciples to live in view not of today or tomorrow, but eternity. We try to help others follow Jesus; we do deliberate spiritual good; we pray for gospel influence; we proclaim God’s words, and we do all this for the sake of the Last Day. Yes, we may see some fruit now. But the goal is always to present people mature in Christ then. Discipling at its core is about initiating a relationship with another person in which you teach, correct, model, and love. It’s about uplifting, encouraging and seeking spiritual growth for that person. In teaching we teach the words of Jesus (all of them), and all the words of the Bible (even if they make us uncomfortable). In the church we do this through expository preaching. We encourage people to attend Bible study, and we are we encourage people to good authors and books to encourage their faith. One on one and in small groups teaching occurs as people learn to have spiritually meaningful conversations with each other; It’s fine to talk about football or the kids’ school. But talk about Sunday’s sermon as well. Learn to ask each other what God has been teaching you about himself, or how you have seen God at work in the everyday this week. This may seem a little awkward at first - but the eternal benefits are out of this world! To His glory alone Jen On our theme of ‘making disciples’
As we have previously discussed our unique gifts and talents ensure that no two disciples look exactly the same, as such we can expect that disciple making will also look different based on our individual interests, strengths and abilities. However there are common habits/themes which can be found in the lives of most active disciple-makers and these fall into three broad categories of Head, Heart & Hands Habits of the Head: (Knowing)
To His glory alone Jen On our theme of ‘making disciples’.
What does a Disciple maker do? Jesus was a disciple maker - He made disciples who made disciples. Jesus spent time with his disciples; he trained them, and he showed them how to pray. He helped them learn to trust God, to serve, to meet needs, to cast out demons, to teach the Scriptures, and so much more. Jesus instruction to his disciples is to “make disciples … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). With this in mind I think there are four key things which every disciple maker needs to do:
This list are just a starting point; a full list of what a disciple maker does would be very very long indeed. What else might you include? To His glory alone Jen On our theme of ‘making disciples’.
Money and investment is always a hot button item in churches today; Christians along with our neighbours are rightly concerned with budget, providing for our families and retirement planning. We are encouraged throughout scripture to be good stewards of our God-given resources, and generous on our giving; however at the same time scripture is also quite clear that financial security and earthly investments are not the ultimate aim for the Christian. As disciples of Jesus, we should follow him in all things including what we treasure and what we invest in; so what does Christ treasure?
Biblical discipleship at its heart concerned with the investment of time; time in the word of God individually, and time in the lives of others. Beyond first decisions investing in discipling others means meeting regularly with other (sometimes new) Christians and opening God’s word for dialogue, correction, encouragement, or prayer, and together seeking to apply the word of God to our lives. By investing time in the word of God and investing time in discipling others you are investing in the kingdom of God. Even if you only have 10min a day to be able to read or listen to the world of God - do it. And if you can only find 30min a week to invest in someone’s life - do it! The dividends are eternal: treasure in heaven! To His glory alone Jen Our overarching theme at St Luke’s in 2020 is making disciples.
Matthew 28:19 has come to be known as The Great Commission - the mission of every believer, the mission of the church. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” This is the assignment given to us by Jesus, however you will note that the punctuation is a comma, not a full stop. There is more! Jesus didn’t leave it at ‘make converts’ he went on to say in V20 “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” By doing so Jesus assures us of his continual presence as we obey his command and, just as importantly, he told us how to do fulfil his command. So, How are we to make disciples? By baptising them and teaching them to obey. So there are two parts to what Jesus is asking us to do: 1: Share our faith - evangelising/making converts 2: Intentionally help others to engage in, grow in and live out their faith. - teaching them to obey As Christians - as disciples of Jesus this is our mission! We don’t have to become street preachers; Jesus walked along with his disciples and taught them as He went. He shared the Good News at every opportunity, and then as people came to faith, he taught through everyday process - the familiar, such as water, wheat, and even fish to teach Kingdom lessons to those who followed Him. He gives each of us common things every day that are opportunities to teach those around us. Are we willing to take the opportunities He gives us, regardless of where we live, to advance the Kingdom and make disciple makers? Why should we do it
To His glory alone Jen Christmas is the highpoint on most people’s annual calendar world wide. So much so, that within days some people re-start the count down clock for next years festivities! But for now, the festivities have ended, and soon the decorations will come down. So what happens next?
For those of us who are disciples of Jesus; who truly embrace the meaning and hope of Christmas, this is a celebration which doesn’t have to end when boxing day rolls around. Christ has come, and is still here today! For the Disciple, Christmas should simply be a booster shot for an on-going and joyful celebration of what God has done and continues to do for us and all people! So, Christmas is over, now what? How do I go on celebrating Christ? How do I use this season as a springboard or a booster shot that will help me to have an increased sense of joy in Christ? How do I make this season a time that I enjoy every moment of, remember with great fondness, and look forward to again and again? As with everything, I found these answer to those questions in the Bible: In Matthew 2:1-12 the Magi rejoiced when they saw the star indicating the birth of Christ, the ultimate King of the Jews; then sometime after the ‘Christmas event’ worshipped Him. They intentionally sought Him out, and throughout we are told that their joy was exceedingly great. So, whether it is at Christmas or any other time that we come into the presence of Christ we should approach with expectancy and worship with great joy simply to be in His presence. In Luke 2:17-19 after the Shepherds had met with the baby Jesus they excitedly went out and told others what they had seen and heard. Mary “pondered these things in her heart”. So we should be going out through out the year telling others of what we have seen and heard, and privately pondering the great joy and hope given to us in our heart. Now that Christmas is over, let’s do these things:
These things sit squarely with ur overarching theme at St Luke’s for 2020: ‘Making Disciples’. As I was pondering the post Christmas malaise which often grips our churches until the beginning of Lent (or at least until school goes back!), I am reminded of what was said to the disciples in Acts 1:11: As Jesus was taken up to heaven to be glorified, two men in white robes came to the followers who watched Him go up saying, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!" So, this year, let’s not just stand around wondering what will come next; let’s see Christmas as our booster shot and our springboard to do what it is that Jesus has sent us to do (Matthew 28:19) let’s GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES! To His glory alone Rev’d Jen Christmas is probably the most anticipated event in our annual calendar. It is a day of great joy and celebration around the world. It’s a time of giving and receiving, of parties and catchups and carols and food; and yet, in the midst of all the trappings and busyness of Christmas, it can be easy to miss why Jesus’ birth is so significant. The key to Christmas lies, not in the details of the shepherds’ visit or the wise men’s journey, but in the identity of the one whom they came to worship. In Jesus, God became ‘flesh’ and ‘made his dwelling among us’ (John 1:14).
Christmas is about Jesus! Christmas is a story of love and renewal, it’s is a time where we remember the birth of Jesus as we eagerly await His return. Christmas is a reminder that even though we may have turned our back on God, He hasn’t turned His back on us! No matter how far we have wandered, or how broken we feel, Christmas is the reminder that God himself came to dwell among us; to bind up our wounds and to seek and save the lost. My prayer this Christmas is that there will be a real sense of hope and joy right across our region; and that at Christmas and throughout the coming year every household will come to know the abiding love, joy and peace that is only found through relationship with Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas! Rev’d Jen |
AuthorJen is an energetic and passionate disciple of Christ who loves to share Jesus with anyone who will listen! Past Thoughts
September 2020
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