NEWS FROM SANCTUARY –

Attendance: 105 Kids: 5 Romio’s Brunch: 75 People, 19 Pizaa’s and 2 Gigantic Salads and 24 pitchers of Soda.

Coming Up:  Women’s group events galore. Go to our website www.sanctuarycrc.org or get in touch with Summer Mohrlang for information at smohrlang@sanctuarycrc.org

NEXT SUNDAY 4/13: New Members Class at Sanctuary Office (312 N. 85^th St.) immediately following worship.

REFLECTIONS – on “Clustering” Acts 2:38-47

We’re studying the book of the Acts of The Apostles – the book of the Holy spirit moving through the lives of ordinary people like you  and me to bring transformation to the world. I talked last week about the idea of starting and sustaining fires. The need for aeration (wind) and energy (flame) and fuel (wood) must be met for any fire to take and sustain. The fuel, the logs, must be clustered tight and burn off one another’s energy or else they go cold faster than you might think possible.

We likened this to the coming of the wind and fire we read about in ACTS on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit invades the hearts and lives of believers giving constant energy, power, imagination and love – the PERSONALITY OF JESUS radiated through us so that we may do and be what he does and is in this world. Of Course, you and I are the fuel…the logs of this fire. And, our clustering together and sharing life and ministry together is what creates the fire…

I have mentioned many times before that I was raised outside the church. I had no religious knowledge whatsoever. I did not know anything about Jesus until I was well over 17 years old. I have also told stories that I was a pretty typical child of the 60’s and early 70’s – with a somewhat wild and experimental bent to me. I chose my colleges hoping for a prolonged party atmosphere and 60’s experience. WSU sounded like the place to go. But, in the months before shipping off for my freshman year, I had this amazing, PENTECOST, HOLY SPIRIT, encounter with JESUS that changed my life and made me a total follower of his. Needless to say, following Jesus and being at college that was a real-life version of Animal House, was an interesting and challenging juxtapositioning of values and lifestyles for me. I did okay, but after one semester, I had had it.

I Transferred to PLU where I knew some Young Life folks. Moved to campus and got immediately involved with a youth ministry many of you know…and made friends and colleagues in Young Life that I have known for going on 40 years. It was at PLU an in YOUNG LIFE that I discovered the idea of MISSION and CLUSTER. MISSION – my life is to be Jesus’ witness in all possible ways and places – close to home and across the world. CLUSTER – Mission comes out of a cluster of people, burning hot with the fire and strength of the Holy Spirit.

During my first month at PLU, I was still slowly reading the Bible for the First time. I had stumbled through the Old Testament and was reading the New Testament for the first time ever and was somewhere in the Gospel of John when I attended a Young Life leadership training gathering for Tacoma Leaders and heard my friend Dudley Miller do a study on today’s text. It later became the topic of my doctoral dissertation…don’t sweat it…my dissertation was only about 275 pages long…and I will read quickly..(kidding)

Acts 2:38:47 ( shared today in 3 different segments)

We begin today a the end of the first Christian Sermon recorded. The Apostle Peter has held court before thousands and delivered a monstrously relevant appeal for one and all to come to faith in Jesus Christ and receive forgiveness for sins and a new direction for life. Peter concludes his sermon…and we see the earliest church’s response in today’s text:

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”  ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

I love this portion of ACTS 2, because I am a preacher. What the Spirit leads Peter to in this first message is very important. Peter is relevant. He’s willing to begin with the issue of “Hey, are you guys ripped or something?” – and explain the phenomenon of the Spirit that is absolutely fresh and new to him with boldness and clarity.

As the Spirit moves in Peter, He links what is happening by the Power of the Spirit to Scripture and to Jesus. HE knows this is the Spirit of Jesus … and he knows to tell the story of the ONE with whom he has lived and worked the past several years. Peter knows he has a story. And it needs to be told. We all have God stories, Jesus stories, and they need to be told. I believe the Church is supposed to live in the power and signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit. If the church is not Pentecostal or Charismatic, it is not the church. I also believe strongly that whatever the Spirit is doing or leading, can and must be confirmed by integrating it with the whole of Scripture…and, the Spirit’s perceived work must hold Jesus Christ and his Resurrection and Lordship high.

If you go back and read Peter’s sermon from the beginning in Acts 2:14, you will see that Peter is linking everything that has happened and is happening to a historic faith that is faithfully recounted in Scripture. As Peter integrates “Experience” with God’s revelation of Scripture and of Jesus, a large group of people is convinced to gather as the First Christian Church of Jerusalem and to stimulate spiritual passion among themselves and the watching world. I honestly believe that this kind of faith, combined with a loving and inclusive community of people is what our WORLD IS DYING TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE. Romans 8 – “the world groans and travails like a woman in childbirth waiting to see the people of God revealed” -- and to be invited into that family of God.

CLUSTERING TOGETHER AND FANNING THE FIRE OF FAITH IN JESUS LEADS US TO: Spiritual Passion reflected in Essential Spirituality, or spiritual practices.

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

I did my doctoral dissertation on Peter’s sermon and these few verses. I think they show the way to increased Spiritual Passion. You can break down spirituality and spiritual direction all you want, but all spiritual exercises and disciplines come back to the elements mentioned in these verses. Spirituality is all about CONNECTING. Connecting with God, Connecting with ourselves, Connecting with others, Connecting with a world that is dying to be reborn in the Spirit of God. Here are the essential forms for connecting at these three levels.

#1 – Apostle’s Teaching

Revealed truth found in Scripture. Know and live the book (Peter is a great example – dumb and obstinate fisherman, but avid reader of the book). Life and teachings of Jesus Christ – predominant tools of interpretation for all of Scripture and faith and life. Not What Would Jesus Do? But…What DID Jesus do? And What’s he doing NOW??? Here? Today? His way of love. His commands: Go and make disciples, Be my witnesses in the power of the Spirit – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Uttermost Parts of World. The early church’s understanding of the mandate to go and tell and live the Good News of Jesus Christ in service to the world.

The spiritual practice of being devoted to the Apostle’s teaching leads to the development of a thought base or world view that is distinctly Christian. It shapes what we think, what we see and what we value. It also leads to a bias toward action to go out and live what we are learning.

In an INFORMATION AGE of disjointed and jumbled data, we need a foundation for integrating life. The Apostle’s teaching offers a grounding in integrated being, thinking and doing that is a positive countermeasure to the chaos of the information age. The Apostle’s Teaching keeps us CHRIST CENTERED and OUTWARDLY FOCUSED. Alive in HIM, dead to religiosity.

#2 – Fellowship

Being together intentionally in Christ. Time together. Sharing stories. Vulnerability. Prayer. Study. Fun. SERVICE. Life Together is what we call this…and there’s a great little book on this subject bearing the title, LIFE TOGETHER, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I would highly recommend that everyone read. Together can be groups of 2 to groups of 30 or more. It can include mission/service projects. It can include interests like – book clubbing, knitting, running, movie viewing, skiing, running, you name it!

But……In an AGE OF ALIENATION, the spiritual discipline of forming community, healing our deep loneliness and learning to live together and discern the Holy Spirit’s voice together speaks to our need for connecting. Without intentional life together in worship, grouping, socializing and WORK, we cannot stay burning hot. We find it hard to bring in others to the faith. We can isolated and lost and discouraged. We are made for one another…to be family and partners. IF you are not in intentional community with other believers pursuing your faith, please talk to one of us here…About fears…Time constraints…Issues of past hurts…Lack of understanding…Lack of desire or need or interest. You are SAFE to talk with us and we won’t shoe horn or cajole you into anything.

#3 – Breaking of Bread

Worship, Word & Sacraments. Emphatic connection with God. Worship – being aware of God’s presence. Theologian Helmut Thieleke said of worship that is it Rehearsal for the week and forever. Worship is also public witness (you will be my witnesses, says Jesus) to the Risen Jesus Christ.

Sacraments – connecting deeply with the presence of God and God’s YES, YOU BELONG that are spoken to us at the Lord’s Supper and in Baptism. Sacraments as a MEANS OF GRACE. When we break bread…GRACE IS PROFOUNDLY PRESENT and there for each of us. When we baptize – we are all swept up in grace and experience the very Grace of God and re-experience our own inclusion in God’s Family.

In an AGE OF BROKENESS, worship, word and sacraments, open us to the healing power of the Holy Spirit.

#4 – Prayer

Prayer is most simply the act of communication with God…or Communion with God. Prayer is LIKE BREATHING – Our bodies work of life. It has to go on continuously. But, it is largely effortless. It is controllable and breathing exercises not only help us at the moment we do them, but they shape our overall breathing and oxygenation. PRAYER – is a reciprocal in/out act of receiving and purging…and it becomes natural and more powerful with practice.

PRAYER OFFERS US DEEP Roots in an AGE OF ROOTLESSNESS. Discovering who we really are and who God is to us. Seeking the power to live with Courage, boldness and love. Staying sane, centered, energized.

NOTICE THAT THESE FOUR KEY SPIRITUAL PRACTICES ARE THE RUDIMENTS OF ALL CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY AND ALL OF THEM ARE LINKED TO COMMUNITY – THEY ARE NOT SOLOIST OR SEPARATIST ACTS….

WE STUDY THE APOSTLE’S TEACHING AND PUT IT INTO ACTION GOING INTO OUR WORLD TOGETHER. LEARNING AND DOING ARE INTRINSICALLY LINKED.

WE LIVE A SHARED LIFE TOGETHER THAT IS DEEPLY SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL…THIS IS THE NATURE OF TRUE FELLOWSHIP.

WE WORSHIP AND COME TOGETHER AROUND SACRAMENTS TO GLORIFY GOD AND ANNOUNCE THE REIGN OF THE KING OF KINGS AND THE INBREAKING OF THE TRUE AND RENEWED ORDER OF ALL THINGS.

WE PRAY TOGETHER IN COMMUNITY…AND EVEN IN SOLITUDE WHEN WE PRAY…WE DO NOT PRAY ALONE JUST US AND GOD, FOR ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN JOIN IN AND AROUND THE WORLD, BROTHERS AND SISTERS WE WILL NOT MEET BEFORE WE MEET IN HEAVEN ARE PRAYING WITH US WHILE WE PRAY…AND WE ARE PRAYING FOR THEM.

Authentic Christian Community – happens when ordinary people open themselves to the power of the Holy Spirit through these four basic Spiritual disciplines…listen to what happens to those gathered in the early church

 ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common.  ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

This sense of community cannot be held inside the “church” or organized life of the community. It naturally overflows. Gladness and gratitude prevail, even in the face of difficulties. The Authentic Christian community BRINGS AND INCLUDES. People like what they see and want to be a part. There is growth in numbers and growth in love for God and  love for others. WHO WOULDN’T WANT THIS??

Make it a GREAT WEEK!

Much Love,

Dr. Randy L. Rowland

2854 NW 59th Street

Seattle, WA  98107

USA

206.953.0909

www.sanctuarycrc.org