engage and equip high point church

We are responsible to obey all of the word of God that we know, and if we say we believe something and then do not act in accordance with that belief, we are succumbing to a certain kind of spiritual illness. It will take more than outrage, and more than denial to bring forth a new birth of freedom and equality in the company of reconciliation, forgiveness, and solidarity. Concerning the reopening of the church, our plan needs to be fluid. Trivial activities replace meaningful work. Straying into suppression:The result of not recognizing the Word of God in the gospel is to actively or passively resist itto suppress it. Understanding how leadership tears us down should give us renewed urgency in our vigilance over our hearts and supportive compassion for those we encourage. I implore you to seek help early and quickly if you are struggling. We have been redeemed and will be redeemed, so let us now, like Jesus our Christ, spend ourselves in every work of redemption our hand finds. We can easily, in the state of anger and pride, believe we are holy, just and approved of by God even in doing the things that God has explicitly said that he despises and has commanded us not to commit. He does not favor the rich over the poor, nor the poor over the rich. the HUB | Engage & Equip On one level, there may not be any answers. High Point Church. Your acceptance of this makes all the difference in your destiny. It is to believe that the final reward, our ultimate redemption in glorification, will provide sufficient joy, hope, and endurance to follow Christ who seemed forsaken in the events of this worldespecially political onesand yet who was vindicated and glorified to eternal joy. Engage & Equip: LIVE is a regular meeting for all ministry volunteers. Does worshiping with a virtual source count as worship? In these verses, the apostle doesnt argue for the gospels truthhe explains the results that will flow from our responses. Firmly rooted in these truths, we must take our place as a kingdom of priests and kings, inviting all people to experience Gods reconciliation, to fulfill both the mandate to believe in Gods Christ, and to live out the creation mandate to take dominion over creation for its good. People of every faction, from within every partisan group, at some point looked at Jesus with complete bewilderment because he belonged to and spoke of the kingdom that was not of this worldor at least not of this worlds worldliness. The purpose of this is not only that authority is in itself a good, bringing order out of chaos, but that we are to silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Presumably, this means the ignorant talk that because we are citizens of heaven, we are no longer under the practical jurisdictions of men. Are we drawn to and do we enjoy fruitful labor in our chosen vocation, in service of our neighbors, and for the common good? On another, there may be dozens of acceptable answers, depending on the particular question. If your goal is righteousness, including racial justice and reconciliation, anger will not and cannot produce it. This is part of our identity in Christ, and what all Christians have in common with one another. Are we happy and eager to go to church and fellowship with the body of Christ? Examples of this are paying the guide fee for pastors fishing trips and sponsoring a pastoral retreat for the African American Council of Churches in our city. He neither stole their rights, nor their destinies, though he died to make the greatest destiny possible for every man and woman. Understanding how the natural dynamics of leadership inflame and tempt the flesh produces helpful insights. And more than anything, he would not be drawn into their idolatry of power. Yet although the apostle Paul said that he becomes all things to all men, so that by all possible means he may save some, he did not apply this to sinful tendencies, or views that were contrary to the gospel. At some point, virtual meetings are not sufficient for the human soul, and people who do not gather are scattered. But that does not mean we cannot achieve a society that is significantly more just than the one we have, and even given the realities of the human condition, I believe that more is possible. In fact, its likely that most Christian churches met on Saturday night after the Sabbath had concludedthe Sabbath spanning from Friday evening to sundown on Saturday evening. Anger does not produce the righteousness that God desiresand God desires justice, including racial justice. If God displaces you now for doing what integrity and godliness demands, why should you be dejected? I wish it were that limited. You will not find in the ministry of Jesus him capitulating moral standards, especially within worship, virtue and morality, when speaking to people of the worldwhatever their political persuasion. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast Music: HOMEWe're Finally Landing, Nosebleed, If I'm Wrong (https://midwestcollective.bandcamp.com/album/before-the-night) Engage and Equip (podcast) - High Point Church | Listen Notes This meeting has no minimum number so long as it is plural. Many sins are produced by the loss of a godly frame in times of abnormal fear. Let us not take lightly that great underappreciated promise: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled(Matt. Scripture seems to teach that the earliest Christians probably met on the first day of the week, which is presumably our Sunday. Sowe should not think of ourselves as those that are betterthanothers, but those that have received the treatment of the Word, that we have heard in a way God used to reach us. Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre Church in Paris France Instead, these things are left up to the prudential wisdom of Christians, while we are given general commandments about what should be included in our worship, what should be our goals, what faith and godliness looks like and that we should do these things often.. First, the Bible teaches in many places that every Christian is called to be an active, covenantal and familial participant in a concrete local church whenever possible. In the context of the passage, these are probably festival days of the Old Testament. Recognizing that something is the very Word of God means it is more formative to your authentic being than your intuitive pursuit of the authentic self. Discover the best of Paris and its region: museums, monuments, shows, exhibitions and sport events, gastronomy and art of living, parks and gardens, shopping spots, and our selection of themed tours to discover Paris Region as you wish. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Jesus demanded of Peter that he take care of his sheep and feed them. We have tried to make things more accessible digitally while making them more personal relationally. You have not only alleviated some of the suffering of our brethren in India and in minority communities here in Madison, but you have also cared for the body of Christ by taking care of those in need within our church. We are also told precious little in Scripture about exactly what should happen in our worship services, or exactly when we should meet. Christians generally understand that we are to live in the divine triumvirate of faith, hope and love, that we should serve our neighbors, believe that God is ultimately in control of all things (even suffering), and that we should act with wisdom in our daily choices. Let us give to everyone what duty owes them: first to God, and then to our governing authorities, to the fellowship of believers, in generosity to the poor and to our not yet believing neighbors. What is it about leadership that seems to propel us into the service of idols such as power, affirmation, control, and comfort? Christ gave out of his abundance and in recognition of our poverty. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Welcome to Engage and Equip Live! Marriage, as the covenantal formation of a family, is Gods first institution. First, we must be vigilant around the covenant of marriage in each of our relationships and as a whole in the body of Christ. We are a living insult to those that will not be corrected by the Word. Instead, the war we are called to wage as Christians is one against our indwelling sin, and the death that must happen is the death of hostility (Ephesians 2). 3, Tit. The gospel is the Word of God heard form men, not the word of men put into the mouth of God. This way, if someone is infected, we will know fairly easily who has been in contact with that person and who will need to quarantine themselves. May God bless you in every way in Christ and make you sensible of his greatness. That Word is at work in you who believemeaning, if you believe, the Word is doingitswork. We have also seen a significant change in how the church is organized in its worship of Christ and care for his sheep. We believe the message of the Gospel must be offered persuasively and non-coercively to all peoples, in all nations of the earth, in every generation. Welcome to Engage and Equip Live! Pray for God to use this time to draw many people deeper into the covenantal community of the church. The meaning; Would be big if not completely preposterous.For example, We are all going to have affordable, safe, green helicopter transportation in 2 years. Big. Not waiting on God and trusting him to bring about justice by his own means, we are willing to lie in wait to attack our neighbors in order to support whoever we believe will be the successful leader for our time. No leadership thrives under this dynamic, especially Christian leadershipand worse than that, the pastorate. Even if he says, There is some truth to what youre saying, or concedes some facts or meaning, if he rejects the drama, the relevance, what is at stakehis and her interest in the questionshe has abandoned her. The pressures and demands became too much and they did not allow themselves to admit that and seek help. He will defend the wife against the brutal husband, and he will, with equal seriousness, call out the disgusting behavior of the quarrelsome wife. We should have the constitution to bear that load through our sanctification if we are given a trust of leadership. As a whole, the body of Christ here has become much more generous in 2020. May you and the generations under your care find comfort in the care of the great Shepherd who knows, understands and is shaping the future. It is his provision of relational wealth for men and women, the exultation of the complementary relationship between the sexes, and the vehicle of God providing for himself godly offspring. On any particular issue, he may agree with one party on an issue, and a different party on another issuebut he would never agree with them all on all issues. St. Chrysostom wisely warned: I have not said that it is a terrible thing to desire the work [of a priest/pastor], but only the authority and the power. We are made for rest, in terms of both sleep and leisure of mind. I am concerned about racial justice, but because I am concerned about racial justice, I am more concerned about the faculties and virtues and wisdom we must possess in order to avoid doing more harm than good. High Point is a missions church. Nor can we give into the heated frames of the soul: wrath, vengeance, anger, pride, envy and lust. Sign up for our monthly eBulletin to stay current with what's going on at High Point Church. Keeping a tight rein on your tongue is fundamental to truthful religious faith. Such leader and state worship has a horrific and murderous history, especially in the last 100 yearstotaling more than 100 million people. This is all true, even recognizing that Scripture teaches that God has given us everything in this natural world for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17). But nor does it mean that the Christian should lie down the convictions of conscience that she believes is informed by her belief in the gospel. May he interest you more than Mammon, worldliness, flesh, and sin. These all give us meaning in different ways and fulfill us both in our created purpose and in our Savior. Conversely, rejecting the gospel message will set you on a path of persecuting the Christ unto damnablesuppression. High Point Church Vision | Engage & Equip Any self-identified Christian who seeks to use their acts of social service as a way of excusing their sin and worldliness is deceived and lying about their faith. We make prudential decisions by weighing the voices of many virtues and varied commands of God. We should be thankful to God for all of the advances, securities, wealth, and resources of our times. Also, make sure the ten you choose is not exclusive of those that will get left out. We have shown others that we are Christs disciples. Receiving the gospel as the Word of God places you in the line of redemptive sufferingfrom Abel to the present global church. We must reject the calls to fear and hatred of our neighbor, while speaking the truth to each other graciously, according to conscience, and according to the word and will of God. To give into fear is always to allow ourselves to be easily manipulated and controlled. I didnt realize how good it was for me until a week later. To wait for God is to do everything we can possibly do for the good that is shown to us in Gods revealed will and then not to try to do more. It wasnt that they didnt really try to be accountable. First, all Christians must respect the earnest conscience of others acting in faith who are trying to obey Christ. Act conscientiously in your public work according to your best understanding of what will work toward human flourishing and is in the will of God. We refuse to forgive those who we think have committed a wrongperhaps not realizing that we must forgive another for what we deem a wrong vote as much as we must forgive another for a different wrong action against us. Paris le-de-France destination - official website | VisitParisRegion This should be a chilling reminder to everyone in this season. If the church opens, should everyone have the conviction that they should attend? In Romans 14, an example of where this principle is expounded, one of the differences of opinion about which we are not to judge each other is how we esteem the significance of certain days. They are its least meaningful and least substantial elements, not just in their physical existence, but also in their moral and theological meaning. If you are not ready to walk away or not ready to be deposed, then the one who pays the piper is already picking the tunes. All of these problems are human problems, and manifest themselves wherever human fear and pride are resident. He was none of these things consistently. Yet people on the American Right have also observed that every totalitarian regime was also socialist by its very nature. I have great concern for the flock of God in an era of diffuse attention, digital realities, sensual temptations, and general godlessness of mind and action. I commend you on behalf of Christ Jesus for your faithfulness in the work of the gospel in this last year. You will organically either find yourself walking more insolidaritywith those walking in the redemptive suffering of Christ, or youll become subtlycomplicitin the damnable oppression of the Word. Sunday, 9am 12:30pm Third, as much as we must embrace the disciplines of rest, work, worship, and fellowship, we must also recognize how we must exert ourselves to escape distraction and diversion. To Jesus, it depended on how any particular progressive, liberal, libertarian or conservative view agreed or disagreed with the otherworldly ethic of the City of God and the will of his Father. Pastor Mike, Nic, and Estel talk about hospitality. If what we imagine is a utopia, it will most certainly fail. You may actively oppose the gospellightly or intenselyby isolating, caricaturing, disenfranchising, passive oppression, or active oppression. This was not only true of the apostles, but also church fathers and bishops, like St. Athanasius. 5:6). You will either be in solidarity with the Word, or complicit in its suppression. It is no answer to the corrupting effects of leadership. How does a Christian, or any human, think carefully and helpfully about race and racial justice if one doesnt understand well the nature of the human person; the nature of moral reasoning; the intricate nature of social and political policymaking; the opportunities and liabilities of human emotions like fear, anger, and empathy; how trying to help people usually hurts them; what means can be employed with justice if we are combating a particular injustice, and so on? We are not faithful to the actual view of our neighbor, and so caricature it in our yard signs, media posts, and conversations. The Christian, like his Savior, will consistently find himself an alien in the world, and more so in certain times than in others. Eating junk food mocks the wholesome enjoyment of food and drink as a reward for work. It says, let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one anotherand all the more as you see the Day approaching. The most literal contention here is the command to not give up meeting together. In the context of the pandemic, this command has led some Christians to believe churches should simply continue their previous meeting schedule in obedience to this command. Each of us must be someone that a struggler believes will point us back to what is good and will do so with compassion and a desire to help bear our burdens. You may make excuses for suppression and hindering of the gospel. And then put your trust in God, and wait for him. We make enemies of those who disagree with us and fall into the worst kind of partisanship. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR. It is meant by God to bless us by supporting our happiness and alleviating loneliness in our creation callings. Maybe you didnt know the extent and effects of the corrupting powers of leadership. Our giving is most like Christs when we give in worship toward God, but in real compassion towards our brothers and sisters in Christ and our neighbors in our shared city. Call it a dysfunction of our society, mans sin nature, pride, etc. . It shows that Christ is in you, welling up in generosity toward the shared human need of your brothers and sisters, rather than simply giving from the overflow of a unique abundance. It does not include any normative command about when worship should take place, or why. As I have watched both Christians and my non-Christian neighbors struggle with questions surrounding racial justice, I have become increasingly less concerned with their ability to think about race than I am concerned about their overall ability to think about everything that is foundational to thinking about race. God has seen fit to make humans emotionally complex. In order to embrace discipline that will lead to spiritual thriving, we must devote ourselves to wholesome expressions of these four realms of human activity. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. So, we should not too easily dismiss our earnest Christian brother or sister who believes that this verse says that we should not stop meeting together in our normal way even in the worst possible circumstances, including during a pandemic. In life or death, we belong to Christ. The Engage & Equip podcast is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Assurance:Evidence that the Word is at work in you who believe.. Can we do this using almost entirely virtual tools while confined in households? We naturally suppress the truth of our complicity in oppression. Spain, Italy, Germany, and even the large strain of American fascism during the Progressive era (seen most profoundly in Woodrow Wilson), were all progressivist and socialist by ideology and practice. But as a whole, many of us have struggled financially, yet the church has still given more generously than any previous year when I have been the pastor. It is fashionable at the moment to fear that America is on the brink of being overtaken by fascism, and that every person must exert themselves extremely in order to keep such fanaticism from taking hold. High Point Church WELCOME. If we wish to truly be followers of Christ, as well as how he handled the political concerns of his day, we are wrong to see in Christ the consummate progressive, liberal, libertarian, or conservative. Many things in our lives are making us more sensual creatures. And this desire I think one ought to expel from the soul with all possible earnestness, not permitting it at the outset to be possessed by such a feeling, so that one may be able to do everything with freedom. Further, understanding how they compound each other should give us renewed urgency in our vigilance over our own hearts and supportive compassion for those we encourage. Do not give in to fear. Lifes greatest joys do not come by changes in trials, and most wholesome routes of meaning are expanded in hardship, not contracted. Do not accept or promote someone into leadership that does not yet have the spiritual constitution for it. Totalitarianism does not emerge from tiny minorities, but by blaming small minorities for the problems of the whole through the voice of a strong man who can rally the majority to his side, usually in a democracy. Tim Keller is one Christian leader who has outlined the core idols of the human heart as: These are sometimes coordinated to the personality types of popular (and non-scientific) temperament tests like the DISC, MBTI, or the Enneagram. Therefore, we will offer interpreting starting April 7th, (second service) the first Sunday of each month, while also hoping to add more qualified Interpreters (and therefore more Sundays) to a rotational schedule as God provides in the future. If any of them is missing, we will suffer for it. Linda Stanley, who has worked for many years in church consulting, said the following in a recent email exchange: As for accountability, I observed pastors that have put all kinds of safeguards, guardrails, accountability partners, external accountability boards, etc., in place only to hit the wall, burnout, fall from grace, and in a few situations, commit suicide.
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