Painted Rocks
From Lead Pastor Matt Adair:
If you do a Google image search on ‘painted rocks’, you’ll find a universe devoted to painting pictures of animals on rocks. Some of the artwork is remarkable in its quality and at times you feel like you’re looking at something that is really alive. But in the end all you have is a painted rock, a dead reality masquerading as real life.
Coming out of Jesus’ message to love our neighbor (Luke 10:25-37) this past Sunday, I have two concerns for us: punting and painting. For some of us, the temptation we face is to punt Jesus’ command over a fence and hope it gets lost in the weeds of our hectic life. The truth is that as life slows down during the summer and we find time to take vacation, we (unintentionally?) find ourselves taking a break from Jesus and the life he calls us to live as part of his family.
And while I’m deeply troubled by our collective propensity to set Jesus off to the side while we rest on the beach or hike the mountains or take the kids to Disney, I’m just as concerned that we’ll spend our summer painting rocks, mastering the art of religion because it feels like real life. Some of us are very good at acting like we love our neighbor (particularly compared to other people!) even as our hearts become more petrified with anger towards pathetically needy people and the God who should be able to handle this without bothering us and messing up our lives.
If you walked away from Sunday’s message believing that God wants you to just get on with the business of loving the people he puts in front of you, don’t be surprised if you end up agitated at God for making you do something you wouldn’t do if he hadn’t threatened you with hell and damnation. If the primary goal of loving people is to get God off of your back or to somehow convince him to love you, prepare to be disappointed or devastated.
Religion – loving your neighbor because you have to convince God that he should love you – will never turn you into a loving person. Because all you’re doing is painting a pretty picture over your stone cold heart. And if you’re wondering whether you’re painting rocks, riddle me this: are you loving your neighbor because you want something from God – blessings, rewards, escape from judgment – or do you love your neighbor because that’s the place and posture where God’s love for you is revealed for you in ordinary, everyday life?
When I love people in the name of religion, the rocks I paint end up looking like pride or fear – pride at how good I am at loving people or fear that I’m not loving as well as I’m supposed to be loving. And it’s not long before pride metastasizes into impatience with those who don’t love as well as I love. Or despair drowns itself in an attempt to self-medicate and hide the naked reality of my lack of love for other people.
Thankfully, there’s another way to live besides painting rocks. The Christian message we call the gospel reminds that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we have done will cause God to love us less. It’s his love that makes us alive and enables us to grow in genuine love for God and neighbor. We don’t have to create a religious facade to hide what’s dead inside; we’re free to love authentically because God’s love for us in Christ is breathing new life into dead parts of our soul.
We love because he first loved us – I John 4:19
Why Jesus?
In the last two youth group meetings of the school year, leaders Collin Ross & Rachael Mirabella answered the question for their students, “Why Jesus For Me?” Jesus says it is costly to be His disciple in Luke (9:57-62), so why follow? Why did the men back then decide it was worth it (10:1) and why do we think He is worth it?
It was a really fun question to think through and answer.
Collin’s answer – “Jesus treasures the people the world throws away.” The weak, the lame, the sick, the poor, the dumb, the untalented, the unattractive, the hungry, the meek, the poor in spirit, those who mourn … He wants them all.
Rachael’s answer – “Jesus makes this crazy world make sense.” He answers the question of suffering. He answers the question why it seems like bad people get away with bad things. He promises to return. He promises to deal with sin, and He graciously offers His Son as payment. His holiness and glory answers why Jesus asks so much of us.
So, why Jesus for you? Some people call their answer a testimony. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us we should always have an answer for the hope we have. What’s your answer? Why do you follow Jesus? Why is He worth it to you?
If you come up with an answer that you feel like sharing, e-mail madair@missionathens.com as we would love to encourage our fellow church family members with your story.
Adoption and the Gospel
Today Camille Slaten, wife of Pastor of Gathered Worship Aaron Slaten, shares with us about their heart behind their plans of adopting a child in the coming year.
This past Saturday our family had a Garage Sale. It wasn’t just any garage sale. As I told a lady who was trying to haggle with me, “we aren’t trying to make money to go on a vacation.” This garage sale had a purpose. It was the first of many fund raisers we are going to do to fund our adoption.
Aaron and I have been on two mission trips to Romania and were confronted with the hard reality of the lives of orphans and their care. Without overstating its impact, it was a life changing trip for us. God used it to put in both of us a heart for the orphan. The needy. The outcast. God broke our hearts for the things that break His. His work in both of us had begun and we both knew that orphan care would be a part of our lives but we didn’t know how.
Fast forward several years after having two kids and wondering if the “number” for our family was two. This past summer we began wrestling with what God had for our family. I started attending Community Bible Study in August and we studied in depth the books of Amos and Isaiah. Over and over (and over and over!) God has the same indictment of His chosen people-you are not taking care of the needy, and the desolate and the poor. You are a self-indulgent people who aren’t loving those who are hurting and lonely. I kept saying to Aaron as we studied His Word, “God is serious about His people loving the unloveables.” And so we got serious about it as well. We prayed and talked a lot this past Fall and knew the God was calling our family to pursue an adoption. The minute the decision was made, I felt an incredible peace knowing that adoption is at the very heart of God.
We believe there is no greater picture of the Gospel than adoption. Once we adopt our baby, they become a Slaten, with all the rights and inheritance of Levi and Bella. It’s exactly what Jesus does with us. We become sons and daughters, heirs and co-heirs with Christ because of the blood He shed for us. It excites us beyond measure to be a part of God’s adoption plan. We feel that we are understanding even more our own status as orphans before God adopted us into His family through Jesus. It deepens our appreciation and love for His grace and mercy. We are humbled.
Adoption is expensive. And that is why we had so many families in our Community Group and church donate generously to our Garage Sale last weekend. We have started our fund raising with a bang-and with a the help of our community. It is clear to us that we can’t do this alone. God has called us to do this within community. We are so thankful for the community we are in and humbled to call for help in this time of relying and depending on God to make His dream for our family come to fruition.
We are excited about this for our family-even Levi and Bella can’t wait to see who God has for us. We are passionate about adoption and orphan care and would love to talk to anyone who has any questions for us.
Impersonal Salvation?
Read this post by elder David Hunt on how Jesus’ death on the cross became more personal to him:
I’m pretty sure that everyone in the Western world (and probably a lot who aren’t) knows that this coming Sunday is Easter, the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection to life. However, what gets lost sometimes is that the days leading up to Sunday are about death – Christ’s death. And we all know what he died for, right? Jesus died for our sins, of course. I thank him in prayer for that often, but also quite often, I have difficulty really grasping this. It can be an abstraction to me. Jesus died for our sins. What does that mean? I don’t always feel a personal connection to this concept. I do sin. I am a sinner. I get that. But Jesus dying for sins feels a little…well…impersonal nevertheless.
What helps me grasp the weightiness of Christ’s work on the cross is to remember my friend Randy. I worked with Randy several years ago for some time. Randy was one of the nicest people you could meet. Friendly, engaging, always inquiring about your life, your family, how things are going. Nothing really seemed to tick him off or get him down. One Sunday, a few years ago, Randy was working in the front yard of his house here in Athens. He noticed a lady with a stroller walking down his street. Randy didn’t know this lady. But, of course, that didn’t matter. As she approached, he walked out to the curb to say hello, to meet her, to get to know one of his neighbors. Before long, they were surprised by a car swerving at a high speed down their otherwise quiet suburban street. The car approached their spot quickly. There was but a split second to react. In that instant, Randy managed to simultaneously grab the neighbor by her arm and the stroller and fling them into his front yard. Just as the car hit Randy. He died of his injuries the next day. Randy didn’t know this lady and her baby. He had just met them. And yet, Randy gave up his life to save the lives of these two strangers.
I don’t know what Randy’s legacy has been for his widow and his own two boys. His death was an unimaginable loss to them, I’m sure. I hope they have seen their own good somehow worked out by God in this tragedy. I know that, for me, Randy’s sacrifice for those two strangers continues to leave a legacy of God’s work in my own life. By knowing Randy and knowing how he died to save two people, I am reminded of why Jesus died. Yes, he died for my sins. What really blows me away, though, is that he died for me. For me. He took the hit so I can live.
Randy didn’t know what was coming. His was an act of spontaneity and reaction. He didn’t know he would die, and my guess is that, if he knew he would die, these two people were probably not at the top of his list of people to sacrifice his life for. Jesus, though, knew what was coming. He knew those for whom he died. He knew that we shouldn’t make the list of those deserving his sacrifice. He did it anyway. He died for us because he loves us. He wants us to live. Even if he had to die.
Easter marks a joyous celebration of a wonderful event. Jesus proved once and for all that he is God by overcoming death itself. It is a reason to be glad. But don’t forget his death this week. Put yourself in shoes of the lady and her baby who live today because someone else accepted death on their behalf. Better yet, put yourself in your own shoes as one who has been loved so much and so much more than you deserve that Jesus himself would accept death on your behalf. Jesus died for our sins. We know that. But don’t ever, ever forget: Jesus died for you.
Because he loves you.
Easter Morning from the Jesus Storybook Bible! Watch and be encouraged as we get ready to celebrate Easter this coming Sunday.
March Madness and the Gospel
Want to know the connection between your March Madness bracket and the Gospel? …
Filling out the perfect March Madness bracket has so far been found unattainable. And yet, we try for it year after year after year. The prize is big. But no matter how hard we try to make all the right picks, call all the right upsets, no one has ever filled out the perfect bracket.
We fall just as short in our lives (or shorter) of living the perfect life. The odds are ever not in our favor.
And when we fall short of perfection in our lives, there is separation from God. As much as it hurts His heart, He cannot deviate from who He is. He cannot be in the presence of imperfection.
But the good news, and where this silly metaphor falls short, is that there is someone who gave us a second chance to be perfect. Jesus came to earth and was willing to lay his life (or lay his perfect bracket) over ours so that all God sees when He looks at us is perfection. The creation He originally intended. The child He can now welcome in with open arms. The child He loves.
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection give us the ability to enjoy Him forever. That gives Him great joy, and it gives us great joy as well.
Real Marriage
For the next four weeks, pastor Matt Adair will be talking about marriage & dating. Topics will include sex, friendship and living life together.
We do not see marriage as the most important thing in life (that place is reserved for God!), but we do see it as a vitally important relationship that can glorify Christ and bring joy or dishonor Christ and bring pain.
Come hear Matt speak on the subject candidly, graciously and with the gospel at the center. Since weddings and marriage point to our union with God that is upcoming, we want to reflect this with our lives.
Invite family, friends and anyone you think will be interested in this subject (which should be just about everybody). See y’all at 10 AM or 12 PM at the 130 Foundry Building on Sunday! Refer to our homepage for directions and more information.
Pastoring People Through Music
*picture links to blog!
Our Pastor of Gathered Worship, Aaron Slaten, just released his blog on how to pastor people through music. Check it out for some video and some written posts on what Aaron sees to be a gospel-centered way of leading worship as well as other topics.
Mark Driscoll on October 8
Our church is hosting Pastor Mark Driscoll on Saturday, October 8 in the ClassicCenter. You don’t want to miss this!
For those of you who don’t know anything about Pastor Mark, he is the pastor of MarsHillChurch in Seattle, a church living on mission in their city and making a big impact. You can learn more about their church here www.marshill.com . Driscoll is also the founder of the Acts 29 Network that our church is a part of (http://bit.ly/4G6id6), a network that helps gospel-centered, missional churches plant more churches.
The topic of the conference is relationships. Who doesn’t love a good relationship talk? The focus is on marriage, but anyone ages 16+ is invited if they one day hope to be married. And for anyone who already is married; this is a must-attend. It will be the best advice you have heard on marriage in a long time. Mark will spotlight the importance of friendship within a marriage using the book Song of Solomon. Follow this link to watch a 5 minute clip with Driscoll for his heart on the subject: http://bit.ly/ngdSAJ.
Also, we promise that the Gospel will be the center of everything spoken this Saturday. Our God exists in a relationship in the Trinity and a relationship with us. Our God who knows and loves us has much to say on us loving one another.
Ticket sales are $26 for students, $31 for adults until October 1. We recommend buying them soon because on October 1, prices will go up to $31 for students, $36 for adults. Join us for this day of gospel-centered relationship sessions with Mark Driscoll in Athens on October 8!
Layout of the Conference:
9 AM – Worship with Christ Community Band
9:30 AM – Session with Driscoll / Q & A with Driscoll
12 PM – 1 PM – Lunch Break
1 PM – Worship with Christ Community Band
1:30 PM – 4:30 PM – Session with Driscoll / Q & A with Driscoll
Guilt, Grace, Gratitude
John Evans
John Evans has been part of Christ Church for several years, most recently as a community group leader and office manager, before moving to Atlanta this week to pursue job opportunities. He asked to share this with you about his time in our church:
I started coming to Christ Community Church in the summer of 2008. It was a long road that led me there. Growing up, religion got me what I wanted – but when I got to college, it didn’t. I memorized scripture, I read the books, I even listened to John Piper sermons. Some of it was seeking, but lots of it was stiffness and about halfway through college, I felt the depth of my failure. I sensed the ways I had turned my God into a vending machine – I felt my heart grow hard and eventually my behavior reflected the emptiness inside. I realized, if my relationship with God relied on me living and loving like Jesus I was in big trouble. Mainly because, even if I could control my behavior, I knew I could never control my heart. I hated God’s righteousness and I thought He was angry with me because I could never measure up to the Christian life. I had quietly bought into the idea that Jesus gets us a second chance with God, but it’s up to me the second time around – the noise of life had drowned out the melody of the gospel.
It was about that time I started going to our Church. I went to one Community Group before I decided to join. I found family. I found a worldview called Grace. I began to tap my foot to the phrase, “gospel, community, mission.” As I sat under Matt’s preaching, I heard the power of the gospel – “We are not defined by our performance, we are defined by the performance of Jesus.” Our sin does not write our story, the gospel does. And the gospel is not just for evangelism – the gospel is for Christians! Over and over, I had been asking, “what do I do so that God will love me?” I got my answer, there is nothing I can do – and there is nothing left for me to do. Everything God requires of us, Jesus finished for us. There is daily grace for those who have tried and failed – the ability to succeed AND the freedom to fall short as we strive to follow the God we love!
I wonder how many Christians, like me, still think God is angry at them? Living like a gun is pointed at our head, expecting God to pull the trigger when we mess up. How quickly we forget that all the divine justice that was aimed at us, was emptied on Christ at the cross. We have to continually reaffirm this: Jesus stood in our place condemned, now we stand in His place perfectly loved and accepted by God forever. It is the best deal in the universe, it is a gospel for real life and it is a gospel for real sinners.
Our church has helped open my eyes to the nature of the Christian life, a life spent repenting over my sin and rejoicing over my Savior – resting in undeserved mercy and then fighting to live for the smile of God and the good of others. Today, there is no greater relief than my belief – Jesus died, He rose, He will come again. And I have no greater gift than my relationship with a God who is so good, great, gracious and glorious that… even I cannot help but love Him.
You’re supposed to post these when you join, I’m posting mine after three years of being stunned by God’s relentless pursuit of me through our gospel community. I am unbelievably thankful for Christ Church, my community group, the ministry of Frank Beedle and David Melton, and so many in our family… thank you Matt and Aaron, and most of all, Jesus. Love y’all.
Christ Community Church 