Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:01 When I was growing up, uh, I knew I had a sin problem, didn't you? You're reminded of it on a regular basis. Like mainly because like you have sins and the sins that you are wrestling with, that they need to be forgiven. And I, I could look around our congregation at home and go look at all these people with their forgiven sins and you weren't supposed to then also like sin again. And that was the hard part because I, I just kept it up. I don't know any of you who kept sinning after you were baptized, but I was one of 'em. Were you? I was, you weren't supposed to do certain things. It could gossip a little, but there was some serious sense that no one, that no one liked. But that was the way to enter into the room where we gathered around the table. I mean, that was one of the first things we did when someone got baptized. I mean we had, we had communion and then we had this, the sermon. And then anybody who was 12 responded. Cause that's when you're automatically a sinner. And anybody who was uh, that was so they, they would come and they would, we would baptize them and then when they would come out, we would have communion there ready for them. And I think it was a beautiful thing
Speaker 1 00:02:02 To say, you're part of something. Now, I don't know if it's necessarily, sometimes it could be, well now that they're this, they've gotta do this. But I think if, if it's offered as in you're part of the table now, like you, you've gathered around the table now it's a beautiful thing. We give them communion and we went into the world trying to convince people of their sin and their need for forgiveness and the way that they might try and forgiveness in Christ. And that was the entrance into the room where the table happened. It was a door of forgiveness above. It was the cross that the cross on the cross, the blood of Jesus was shed. And then you entered in through the cross door to sit at the table. But the good news of Christ, the good news that I'm responding to whenever I get baptized, when I give my life to Jesus, the good news is not simply that I find forgiveness. That is good news. And that's part of the good news. The cross is a part of that whole story. But as I've examined the room where the table sits, I found some entrances that I think we might have. We've boarded closed
Speaker 1 00:03:42 Or at least locked. I was talking to a woman at a church camp, uh, I didn't know her very well and she was in a group where we were talking and I was mentioning, uh, an atheist friend of mine who went to church with us in Arkansas. And she said, why in the world would an atheist ever want to go to church? And I thought, um, probably not your church. Because one of the problems that happened whenever it was, it was just the forgiveness of sins door through which we entered to come into salvation was that like if you were un repentant coming in that door, we didn't see it taken. But the good news of Jesus is that our sins are forgiven. We find hope in the resurrection of Jesus death has been conquered. And we find community in the unity that Jesus brings from the throne.
Speaker 0 00:05:03 Yes.
Speaker 1 00:05:07 And and sometimes people wanna sit at the table because what they're drawn to in the good news is the community. And that's the first thing thing they've seen. And we might have made a mistake when we said no, the door is on the other side. You've gotta get the forgiveness door. You've gotta find that first before you find community or before you find hope. And the good news of Jesus is broader than that, is bigger than just this one way in that people are drawn to what Jesus has to offer. Especially now in ways. And, and when, when we're looking at the world and going, there is so much death and brokenness here and people are looking for hope in death. And our message is, but your sins can be forgiven when we have a resurrected savior who offers us hope in death, when people are lonely, they don't have family or friends and they're looking for a community that offers them a seat, we say that doors around back, everyone who comes to Jesus because of the Holy Spirit will eventually stare their own brokenness in the face and glorify God for the blood that was shed.
Speaker 1 00:07:14 Everyone who comes to Jesus will find community in the kingdom of God and they will find hope in the resurrection. It all happens. But I think sometimes we have been so focused on getting people sins forgiven before they sit down, that we have not allowed people to sit down even more devastatingly. We have, we have set in the room that we were allowed in, in which we find hope and forgiveness and community and, and we forgotten that we were all, we were offered it in the first place. We thought we were born here over the next year. It is our prayer that people are going to join us around the table. And it is also our prayer that we have all doors slung, open wide. That when people come here looking for community, we know they are gonna find forgiveness. We are no, we know they're gonna find hope, but we are not gonna critique the way in which they come. We have been very time oriented with a timeless God, with a God who is above all and in all and through all. And God, God is bigger than we can ever imagine. And he is welcoming people in ways that we can't even fathom.
Speaker 1 00:09:20 And like Sarah said, so well, there is a table, there's a seat at the table for everyone. I'm pretty sure that the person who doesn't put their buggy up is the same person who goes in the wrong door. I think they're the same. And there's a table for everybody. Sometimes I'll see things, memes, where they, it says every, you can't be a Christian if, and then there's all a list. But being a Christian is the only way to rid people of the things to, to rid people of but to change us, to form us into looking more like Jesus. And so sometimes it feels like we've even shut the forgiveness door and we're yelling through it, saying change. And then you can come in. We sent 'em around back and then locked them out. The hope of the resurrection is a call to the world to join the community that's forgiven the, the community that gathers in unity. Even while we disagree, even in our division, the community that gathers, sits around the table of the resurrected king, drinking the cup of forgiveness. We are praying that over the next year there will be people sitting at our table and you're not quite sure where they sit
Speaker 1 00:11:10 With the Lord. And the answer is at his table.
Speaker 0 00:11:15 Yes.
Speaker 1 00:11:20 And their story is not done. The room where the table of the Lord sits has many entrances
Speaker 0 00:11:34 Because
Speaker 1 00:11:34 The message is so broad and it's so appealing. We, we play basketball every Monday night. I play basketball every Monday night cause I like the game. Like the game interests me. This one plays basketball to hurt me.
Speaker 0 00:11:55 <laugh>,
Speaker 1 00:12:00 Caleb's, Caleb. Not, not lying. One night I survived, it's fine, don't worry about me. But one night just ripped me clean in half, just picked me up and ripped me in half. We had to go to the er. Yeah,
Speaker 0 00:12:14 Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:12:18 But yeah, some, some people were like, I I just need the cardio. Some people are out there to, to have fun and some of us wanna win and some, so there all sorts of reasons. But we're not checking. We're not checking at the door for the right reasons to show up. We have a huge group of guys down there that don't even show up on Sunday morning. I don't know where they go, but they're a part of our community right now. Same, same way at the gathering <affirmative> or at the Caring Kitchen. We're not asking questions. But when we get together, when we come in and we worship together, you can look around and go, all of these people are being blessed by the Lord and they are a blessing to the Lord And you, it is you no longer have to be the bouncer at the door of forgiveness cuz it's not the only way in sometimes. And this is true with my atheist friend. He's looking for a community. He's looking for a place to belong. And we with arms wide open, said in the name of Christ, you can belong. Now I can feel, I can feel in the room and I, maybe it's just the Church of Christ's core in myself that goes, but wait a second. You said belong. Do you mean what are you
Speaker 1 00:14:09 I'm saying that I trust God to work on the people God sends us. And I think that I, I trust God to, to take care of that story. And, and then I'm with them pulling the chair out as a forgiven, <affirmative>, forgiven, hopeful part of the community of God. And when, but we've also gotta pay attention guys to the fact that we are hopeful and that we are united. That if they come in, if the good news sells unity and they walk in and we're, we're, we're, we're just fighting and bickering all the time. Gossiping and slandering, accosting each other. If they, if they come, if they, if the gospel appear appeals to their deep desire for something to hope in. And the resurrection is the only thing worthwhile hoping. And, and we, they come in and we we're just worry wars.
Speaker 0 00:15:33 Well
Speaker 1 00:15:33 What if this happened? Well, you might die, but you'll be okay for us to act like the door of forgiveness actually works. That the blood that was shed on the cross actually forgives me of my sense and actually forgives my neighbor of theirs. If we're gonna throw these doors open wide, we're gonna have to be the kind of room that knows they work, that the hope is real, the forgiveness is real. The community is divinely inspired and united by the spirit of God. If we're gonna welcome people in all ways, we've gotta believe what they're showing up to believe that forgiveness is real. Hope is real. Community is powerful. And so when we sit at this table,
Speaker 0 00:16:56 <inaudible>,
Speaker 1 00:16:57 We are offered all sorts of things as a community. And individually we are offered hope, we offered peace. We are offered joy.
Speaker 0 00:17:20 <silence>
Speaker 1 00:17:21 And maybe you don't know how to talk to your friend that you want to invite to church. Cause you don't want to be that do that thing where you're like, Hey Eric, I know we, we talk about sports all the time and weather. We make fun of each other. We all have friends like that. Can we talk about your sin
Speaker 0 00:17:54 <laugh>?
Speaker 1 00:17:56 You know, I've just been thinking about how much of a sinner you are, man, you need some forgiveness.
Speaker 0 00:18:09 <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:18:12 That conversation does not go well. You know why he knows you. But when you're inviting someone to be a part of a unity that hopes when you are saved to a, to a friend, a neighbor, coworker. I would love it if you came to church with me <affirmative>, because I would love to sit by you and worship God. You are sharing the gospel of God with that person. That's good news message. That's a good news message. When you say you are just one of my favorite people. I would, I would love to see you at church with me. You might not be walking them through their, their sin problem and trying to solve that, but you are walking into other areas of the gospel and saying, you're invited into this gospel community. If you are not, if you, if you're not a part of us, if you don't feel that way and you're looking for hope, maybe you're just looking to belong the gospel's for you
Speaker 0 00:20:12 <affirmative>.
Speaker 1 00:20:16 Or maybe you are a church of Christ kid. And this isn't just church of Christ. This isn't just a Church of Christ problem for sure, but it's all I know. And you've been standing next to this forgiveness door wondering if it took, and you've yet to just jump full into the life of freedom and peace that that cross purchased the blood on that cross purchased you, or that this empty tomb offers you, this community delivers to you not enjoying the seat at the table, but worrying whether or not you actually went in at all. The good news today is that the gospel, the gospel is bigger than your worries about the gospel. The gospel is deeper and stronger and more powerful. The good news gives us so much more than we've ever even bargained for. And oftentimes so much more than we've ever even accepted. So we're gonna pray that the Spirit fill us in a way individually and as a community, that we open our eyes and see the armies, the, the, the hundreds and thousands of people, millions of hundreds and thousands, not that much. Millions and millions of people who are standing alongside us,
Speaker 1 00:22:15 Free from their sins conquering death and in community because the gospel has offered it and we've accepted it. You know, Rome, Paul dealt with a lot of different types of churches. He wrote to Romans and then he wrote, um, to Colossi and then he wrote to Philippi and he wrote to eus. And he, he wrote in a lot of different places and wrote to a lot of different contexts. One of the things he's always bringing people back to is the forgiveness of sins they found on the cross. The hope of death they find and the resurrection. And then as he calls it, just the mystery of what God is doing. The most shocking thing of all is that he united all of us after he did it. That is not just something we get to celebrate, but it's something we get to live within. And as he says in Galatians five, and one is, for freedom's sake that I have been set free, may we all freely enter the table around which we sit and feel comfortable and, and blessed in the room where it all happens. Let's break God. We are, um, hindered by our history,
Speaker 0 00:23:59 Um,
Speaker 1 00:24:00 What we, what we were as individuals, as groups, as, as movements, as traditions. Sometimes we can get so bogged down by that and, and slowed down by that, that we forget about all the wonderful and great things you're doing and have done and will do. God, I'll be the first to admit. Church can be frustrating and difficult, but we know that you have not left us. That you are working within us and through us, that your spirit is alive and active. So bless us this week, may we share your good news. And God, if someone is wrestling with their sins and their shame, may, may we share with them your son. Sacrifice for us all. If they're, they're hopeless, maybe we show them the empty tomb, but God maybe always do it as a community. United and you
Speaker 0 00:25:23 Through
Speaker 1 00:25:24 Your son, empowered by your spirit around your table. It's in your son's name we pray. Amen.
