026.2 Church Function, pt 2 – Foundations

Our goal with the show is not to offend or make light of God. Instead, we want to point to the truth of Scripture, and hope that the truth can provoke people to examine their ways, and respond how they see fit. When we fail to reach truth, then we are settling for something else.

Church Membership

Modern definitions of church membership are invented by man. The concept of membership is distorted because the concept of the church is distorted. The church is not the legal organization existing in a building with set public meetings. Only Jesus can add you to the church So the question is, how does Jesus add you to the church? Many churches state that baptism is how you are added to the church. Scripture does not reflect this. Apostles and others in scripture were looking for the Holy Spirit in others, which is the Gift that Jesus promised us. Receiving the Holy Spirit is what includes us into God’s church, the mystical Body of Christ.

So with this concept of church, what are the implications of becoming a member of God’s church?

• The Bible says if we love God we will obey His commands.
• We should use our spiritual gifts. “Time, talents, and treasures” are not spiritual gifts, and things that should already be surrendered to Christ. Spiritual gifts are gifts from God that supernaturally empower us to minister.

Church membership in most churches does something very harmful that most people never think about. It creates a social class system. There are first time visiters, random attendees, regular attendees, members, tithing members, lay leaders, paid clergy. These different classes are treated differently and have different expectations placed on them.

God didn’t design the church to be a class system. Scripture (1 Corinthians 12:22-25) states that God utilizes spiritual gifts to give everyone equal value in the Body. Each member should have abundant honor in the eyes of every other member.

Leadership and Structure

There is God’s design and man’s design. God has an order to things. The church is the Body of Christ, a mystical, supernatural being made up of all believers throughout all time, someone the Bride and the Body of Christ at the same time, filled with the Holy Spirit of God. This is not something God would not give guidance in. He is not negligent.

The primary function of leadership in God’s design is equipping. In man’s design, it is control. The leader’s of God’s church should be nurturing and empowering people for ministry, not trying to control who can speak, serve, etc. The only “control” that God’s leaders have is to stand against false doctrine, exclude unrepentant believers from the assembly, affirm God’s call by the laying on of hands and sending out, appointing elders and deacons, and resolving disputes. Man’s design of leadership resembles pharisees. They add requirements of education and submission. God gifts people supernaturally with leadership and forms them to lead. Man’s design also includes non-competes in employment contracts. Man’s leadership structure prevents certain people from teaching, speaking, singing, leading, serving, etc. Man doesn’t have to control the gift of God; we have to affirm and nurture the gift, and set it loose.

The early church was accused by the Roman Empire of turning the whole world upside down. Where do we see that today? We do not accomplish this through political revolutions, through winning elections and passing policy; through oppressively establishing the morality of others. We do it the same way the early church did. We BE. We manifest the body of Christ here on the earth and declare the glory of God through how we love God, love our enemies, value life differently, transcend societal hierarchies and castes.

Some of the aspects of man’s design are subtle, or appear altruistic, logical, and good. Among these is the practice of congregations electing elders. This seems like a minor preference of practice, and makes sense. The congregations would know the people best. America loves democracy. Democracy is good. Voting is good. However, it’s not found in scripture. The elders were appointed by apostles or those they sent. This was important because the apostles were gifted to start these new spiritual works, these faith communities. This is not to say that the leaders are to lord their power over congregations. It doesn’t mean they rule with an iron fist. As we outlined earlier, the leadership responsibilities have a lot to do with equiping, protecting, confronting heresy, etc. If a leader is elected by the congregation and then subjected to them through a paycheck and job description, then they are not free to lead.

Authority is an important topic to God. He establishes and empowers proper authority. He was heavy handed in how He shepherded Paul into his leadership position. Man’s design does not make space for God’s leadership development. Many American churches have a structure similar to a corporation. Many of them are legal corporations, in the form of a non-profit organization. Usually, this is so it can own property. Once it becomes a corporation, it needs to add officers, which are not found in Scripture but are required by law. Then then add offices, in the form of paid positions, to operate the church. These are jobs, with job descriptions, requirements, and paychecks. These also are not scriptural. This methodology is not found in Scripture, is subject to current laws, brings money and transaction into something which should function more like a family (could you imagine paying your father to be your father, complete with a list of job responsibilities and requirements to qualify?), and yet it has become the standard for how churches are formed. So much so that it is rarely questioned. If you dispute paid positions, people counter by saying you’re against people supporting their spiritual leaders. If you dispute job requirements, people say you’re opposed to ensuring righteous leadership. If you dispute having a legal corporation, people say you are opposed to accountability. And yet the early church accomplished all these ideals without subjecting themselves to extra-biblical, secular demands.

So why do we do this? Why does the church in America continue in this way, and why is it seldom questioned, and why is the questioning opposed? A lot of it is due to what we inherit. None of us invented these systems. We inherited them. We were told this was the way, it was good and true. We retrofit things into Scripture by cherry-picking verses to defend present practice, instead of diving deep and headlong into Scripture and the Holy Spirit and obeying diligently.

God has a structure for His church, and it is built on Jesus, on the proclamation of who He is, on the Good News of the Kingdom. The Church’s manifest power comes from the declaration of God’s glory through His people. The local church gains its uniqueness as the Holy Spirit transforms and empowers people to give up everything and separate themselves from the world, and as they use their spiritual gifts in power. As this entity grows, those with leadership gifts rise up and are recognized by the church, and they appoint deacons and elders to minister to the needs of the church. The leadership teaches and disciples people for the works of service.

Man’s design starts with a bad foundation of an incomplete gospel. It builds on that an unbiblical structure of business and leadership. It defines its ministry by the walls of its buildings and hierarchy of leadership. We will continue to examine how these bad foundations distort and divide through things that should unite us, like communion, baptism, and spiritual gifts.

Songs
Sean Carter – The Passover https://noisetrade.com/seancartercarolinecobb/
Young Oceans – We Sing as One https://noisetrade.com/youngoceans

This episode originally broadcast live on September 25, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:
www.sunministries.org
www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

026.1 Church Function, pt 1 – False Gospels

We’ll be looking at a biblical view of church function by starting with examining the false gospels at large in America today.

But before that, let’s look at some idea’s for structures and functions of the local church:

1. the gospel – what gospel is preached? How is it lived?
2. Membership – what are the requirments, markers, training, etc?
3. spiritual and physical nature – How does the church embrace its dual nature?
4. leadership and structure – What does leadership look like?
5. Communion – what does it mean and how is it performed?
6. Baptism – What does it mean and how is it performed?
7. worship gatherings/evangelistic gatherings – How does the church gather? Why?
8. spiritual warfare and spiritual gifts – Is the church battling with weapons in both hands?
9. the church functioning in the world – How does the church engage and minister to the world?

False Gospels in America

The Ticket to Heaven Gospel – Popularized by Dwight Moody and Charles Finney focusing on a personal savior and the Sinner’s Prayer. Repent of your sins and confess with your mouth and you will be saved, and end up in Heaven when you die. This puts the focus on getting to heaven and bypasses your life here on earth. Sort of a distortion of the gospel of John the Baptist, which was, “Repent!” But repentance is the start, not the fulfillment. The Gospel of Jesus was about the Spirit of God being returned to us, to have fellowship with God. Adam and Eve “died” at the fall, but they did not drop dead in the dirt. They lost something. So what did they lose? How do we get it back? Anxiety about our “final destination” doesn’t lead us to the Lord; it doesn’t lead us to our Ephesians 2:10 works.

Genie in the Lamp Gospel – If you turn to God, He’ll fix your problems. This enslaves people to a new law. It shrinks God down to a manageable size. It puts the focus on God doing something to make your life easier. It puts your will at the center, instead of God’s will. And it puts the relationship into the context of a transaction that is earned or unearned. You’re not healed because you lack faith, you’re poor because you don’t give, you’re not blessed because you’re too sinful. This logic breaks down when you look at rich or healthy people who hate God. It breaks down when you look at righteous people in the Bible who suffered in poverty. This gospel encourages pretending, to pretend that things are better than they are so people won’t think you are sinful, doubtful, selfish, etc.

The Acceptance Gospel – Everyone and everything is ok because God is love. This bypasses the eternal attributes of God – it denies His justice, judgment, and holiness, and redefines love. This desires a God that doesn’t judge or harm in any way. Usually, this is tied to pride on the part of the person accepting this Gospel. It gives them a pass for all their flaws, and demonizes those who would speak out against sin.

The Gospel of the Kingdom

The Gospel of the Kingdom is sell all your possessions, be separate from the world, be separate from the world, follow Jesus, live in the power and dominion of the Holy Spirit. Through this Gospel, we see and understand what others do not see and understand. What is the proper response to this gospel? Live for others and not your self. This is a difference from the false gospels present in America today. This contrasts with the hypocrites of Isaiah 58 trying to impress God and earn His response with their religious actions. Jesus’ Gospel completely changes us, not just our behavior, or our political beliefs, or our traditions. Jesus’ Gospel does not call us to ignore the evil around us, but to overcome it through the Spirit. Jesus’ Gospel calls us to walk in His ways – giving up of our status, position, and privilege to serve those who have not. Our lives are exchanged for His. It is a Gospel of rest – of resting in Grace, in the work of the Spirit, in humility. Jesus’ Gospel is one of transformation. Jesus is the only way to have eternal life – which is to know Him and the One who sent Him.

Songs
Derek Webb – A New Law
Madison Greene – The Turning

This episode originally broadcast live on September 25, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:
www.sunministries.org
www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

025.2 Purpose and Function, pt 4

We will continue our discussion of function and purpose by looking at some analogies of the Church and Christ that we find in Scripture. These pictures display the relationship between Christ and the Church.

• Colossians 1:18 – Christ is the head, the church is the body
• Ephesians 2:20-21 – Christ is the cornerstone and the church is the temple
• 2 Corinthians 11:2 – Christ is the beloved and the church is the virgin
• 1 Peter 5 – Jesus is the shepherd, the church is the flock
• Ephesians 2 – Christ is the firstborn, the Church is the household
• Revelation 19 – Christ is the bridegroom, the Church is the Bride
• Ephesians 2 – Christ is the creator, and the Church is one new man built from two, and built for peace
• Matthew 16:18 – Christ is the builder and the Church is His church

The Church is obviously central to God’s heart, to His creation of the universe. And yet he communicates about it more frequently in pictures than in blatant instruction for procedure and positions. As the church, we should take this to heart. We should not neglect the things that are clearly instructed, nor should be divide over the things that are not clearly defined in Scripture. If God wanted the “pastor” to be the focal point of church function, He probably should have mentioned it more than once, and should have given some explanation. We see way more discussion of the “apostle” in scripture, and yet few people could point to one today. Same goes for prophets.

Every local church will be a unique expression of the Lord Jesus Christ in their community. This doesn’t mean “anything goes,” but it does mean that we should focus on our Lord and allow freedom in how He leads.

So let’s re-examine our churches in the light of God’s clear priorities, and His pictures that speak of relationship more than defined systems. If the Church is made up of those who have been born of the Spirit of God and been baptized into the one body of Christ by the one Spirit, then the question is, does that describe your church? Or is your church more accurately described by its meetings, events, buildings, as a group of people (believers and unbelievers) present in the same room at the same time? There is only one church, and only God can add people to it.

So then, what about membership?

Today, we have varying church membership requirements. Some “churches” have no memebership recognition, some require that members be baptized in that church building in a certain manner, some require letters from past churches, some require tithing, some people have to sign covenants, some require classes. Where do all these varying requirements come from? The Bible? Or have we invented them along the way?

The most significant sign of of “membership” in scripture is having received the Holy Spirit. So then, can you receive the Holy Spirit and NOT be a member of God’s church?

Membership in the church, which was entrance into the community of the Church, was based on the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. There is no other church membership requirement listed. The church is a community of Spirit-transformed people. There are many people in Scripture who are not baptized, or have no baptism recorded. Baptism isn’t a requirement, but a response. It is displayed as a response to the reception of the Gospel in Scripture. It should be a shared, celebratory event, not a legalistic requirement.

The danger here is not necessarily in what you do or don’t do. It is how you view what you do, and how you view membership. Do your laws apply to Jesus, to Scripture, to the heart of God displayed in the works of the Spirit we see in Acts and elsewhere? Or can we agree on God and the things He makes clear, and give freedom and grace to those who vary on things God never bothered to nail down?

Why do theology and ecclesiology matter? Because they affect our definitions, our language, our thinking, and our expectations. The Church we find in Scripture is communicated by God most often by relational pictures, and exressed as a people transformed by the Spirit, living life together in a fallen world, to steward the mysteries of God and care for the entire creation. Do our physical tools help us be the church, or do they consume our time and treasures on an unbiblical organization? How can we discern this? Discover what the Church is supposed to do to see of the tools fit the job. Let’s see if our tasks, function, and purpose all line up.

The Church is primarily spiritual and eternal. Physical tools are not eternal. We must indentify the world so that we can be separate from it but minister to it, without falling prey to its ways. We can’t have a vague, amorphous definition, because we can abuse that as liberty to do anything. If there is confusion here, it can lead people into fruitless endeavors. With the prevelance of event-based ministry and friendship evangelism, it is easy to assume that your current passions are always a valid pathway for ministry. The problem is that this is self-focused. God’s works for you might have nothing to do with your present passions and interests. Or your present passions and interests could be informed by sinful desires and false ideas. It is better to lay down your will at the foot of Jesus and ask Him to transform your mind. To identify the enemy and get to know the heart and ways of your Master. When we commit corporately to indentify the ways of the world and separate ouselves from them, to serve God by serving others, then we establish a filter to view our ministry efforts. We have commited to sacrifice, consecration, seeking the will of God.

For those seeking revival, take note. We will never find revival if we participate in low-cost ways of ministry. The power in the early church was that the commitment cost your life. It required a severe reprioritization. It required commitment and sacrifice. It desired a thirst for God’s truth and love that pushed past our flesh and the world’s demands. When we commit as a church to the sacrificial way of Christ, then we will deter people set on fulfilling their own desires. God’s will and character will be declared in the presence of costly love, instead of in the presence of an event-filled organization that requires little sacrifice.

Have you added faith to your life? Or have you “lost your life” in order to receive the hope of Jesus?

The Gospel is an exchange of life – your life for Jesus’ life. You’ve been bought with a price. You cannot add Jesus to your life. You cannot hold on to something else. Jesus is not here to take care of your problems so you can pursue what you want. Jesus wants you to pursue Him with all of your mind, soul, and strength.

So how can the church get fixed? This is a trick question. The assumption is that there is a broken thing that needs fixed. In fact, there is a false thing that needs abandoned. If it were a matter of “fixing”, here is what that to-do list would look like

• leave its denomination
• dissolve its corporation
• remove all unbiblical staff positions, programs, and events
• stop its open sunday services

For many churches, these very things define its nature. So in effect, it would have to cease to exist. We must come outside the camp to minister how Jesus did (Hebrews 13).

“Here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.” This picture is carried in Galatians 4 (two covenants/two women/two mountains/two cities). One is about doing and one is about being. We whould be a place where the Holy Spirit dwells. The New Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven.

When we go to the Bible to find the description of how to structure the church, we do not find what you would expect. There is not a lack of information, but a lack of information concerning a system. Most of the information describes a group of people sharing life. The instruction is about empowerment, sharing, loving, sacrificing, fellowship, teaching.

In this tension of being and doing, we must make sure our doing is birthed from our being. Do not simply switch your activities and assume that it is better. You are still focusing on your activity. Do not become pridful in your actions, regardless of how righteous they may be. Rest in being the church, and do what flows out of that. The Holy Spirit should be our central motivator. He can motivate some to do something, and not others. Or He may motivate all to do something, but participate in their unique way.

So what then do we do? We must remove the leaven of the pharisees. First, know your gospel! What did Jesus preach? What do you preach? Are you preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, as Jesus did? Jesus’ Gospel focused on death to self. It was not centered around sin, but on denying your self. Repentance is vital, and sin should not be taken lightly. But repentance is the start, not the center. His Gospel leads us to be separate from the world. It is central to the church; there is no church outside the Gospel. The Gospel of the Kingdom involves obedience to God’s commands. It requires sacrifice and suffering on behalf of those who hate you. The church is formed from Jesus’ Gospel. If we structure a church around our design, it distorts the gospel, and removes our source of power.

Do not miss the Gospel of Jesus by accepting and preaching a gospel of man. You will miss out on the fulness of Christ. Read 2 Corinthians 11 and beware.

Songs
Jars of Clay – They will know we are Christians by our Love http://www.jarsofclay.com/

Liz Vice – Entrance http://www.lizvice.com/

This episode originally broadcast live on September 18, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:
www.sunministries.org
www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

025.1 Purpose and Function, pt 3

We will continue discovering the purpose and function of the Church by looking at God’s images and patterns found in Scripture.

To recap, the modern American church is at its fastest rate of decline, and largely measures its success in physical terms (buildings, budgets, and butts). However, God’s church is spiritual and eternal, universal and local.

Critically examine your faith and church experience. Are the things you agree to in scripture evident in your life? Are you experiencing your theology, or are you disconnected from it?

Jesus Christ is building His church and it is not the result of human effort
1. the only true foundation of the Church is the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
2. All revelation is a work of the Spirit of God and not of man (1 Corinthians 2)
3. The Church of Jesus Christ is not the work of man but of God, therefore, the nature of the church should reflect this truth

We must check our goals and motivations. If the plan is to “plant a church”, what does that mean? Does it mean assembling a team, finding a building, etc? Or do you desire to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, preach the Gospel, and make disciples? The hard work required to “build the church” is of a spiritual nature, so it requires spiritual eyes and ears. It is costly work that requires love and sacrifice, and it is harder and more fruitful than crafting an event where you can invite people, believers and unbelievers alike, in the hopes they will like you. These physical approaches bypass the reality that there is a real spiritual war going on, that people are enslaved by satan in strongholds.

“Friendship evangelism” and related methods have all come into existance after the events and penning of Scripture. So we often find ourselves trying to implant that concept back into Scripture. When we assume our modern ways are good, best, or not modern at all, then we miss out on what we actually find in Scripture. We miss the disconnect between the ways of Jesus and the ways of modern man. We know three things for sure about what Jesus did:

1. He did all things out of love (1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 John 4:16)
2. He did what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19)
3. He was obedient even unto death (Philippians 2:8)

Knowing these three things about Jesus’ actions should contextualize all He did. When He defended the woman caught in adultery and when He called people white-washed tombs, it was out of love, obedient, and reflected what the Father was doing. We should approach our own actions the same way. We should not find a methodology and try to fit Jesus into it.

What is the mystery of the Church? The mystery has to be revealed.  Colossians 1:24-29 states that the mystery is Christ in you, the hope of Glory. Paul calls the Church “the fellowship of the mystery.” The church is not a building or organization, but people with Christ in them.

When Israel discovered they had “polluted the assembly” by marrying foreign wives, they mourned, they gathered, they took it seriously and made a plan, and they repented. What is your response to signs of polluting the assembly?

If you want to see your church the way God sees it, you have to first see His Church and the way He sees it. You must understand the real thing to recognize something that is off course. Let’s look at some of God’s patterns

1. Creation and Marriage of Adam and Eve – This denotes intimate fellowship. When we fill our assemblies with people who are opposed to God (prideful, unbelievers, etc), it destroys the intimate fellowship. The directive given to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful, multiply, subdue, rule. When we focus on church structure, it keeps us inwardly focused, instead of outwardly focused to rule creation
2. Tabernacle of Moses – This denotes God’s work in the sacrifice of Christ. When we are focused on self-preservation, then we are not a sacrificial presence on the earth.
3. Tabernacle of David – This denotes that God’s grace is extended to everyone. This picture of grace is distorted into inviting believers and unbelievers into the worship gathering, and not extending grace to people outside the church building. This sometimes turns into misguided and self-centered political activism, looking for that route to be the solution to our problems
4. Ezekiel’s Temple – This speaks of a spiritual priesthood. Two priesthoods are mentioned. Who are you ministering to?

We an also look at the New Testament pictures of the Church. These display the spiritual and organic nature of the Church; not referring to buildings, structures, events, programming, etc.

1. Body of Christ
2. Temple of God
3. Spiritual House
4. Mt. Zion
5. General assembly
6. Church of the Firstborn
7. Bride of Christ
8. Holy City
9. New Jerusalem

Let’s examine the spiritual context of the Church.

1. The Universal Church, displayed in pictures of the Kingdom found in 1 Chronicles 12, the Kingdom.  This is also the Historical Church, found in Hebrews 11, which dislpays the foundation that has been laid. Also, Scripture declares the church throughout the world, which is birthed from the Greate Commission taking the Gospel to all the earth.
2. The Kingdom of God is seen in God’s purpose from Genesis 1:26-28.  We see it in the reproducing of seed in Genesis 12; the accomplishing of His pleasure in Genesis 24; and the seed being scattered and reproduced in Genesis 48.
3. The Great Commission focuses on disciples and reaching the Nations with the Gospel

God’s redemptive purpose – The church coming against the enemy to set captives free. We have to get back to opposing satan and his strongholds on a spiritual level in our community on a regular basis instead of through politics or on social media.

Songs:
Great Forest – Step into my Arms https://noisetrade.com/greatforest
The Foresters – This is the Kingdom https://noisetrade.com/theforesters

This episode originally broadcast live on September 18, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:

www.sunministries.org

www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

024.2 Purpose and Function, pt 2

Matthew 16:15-18 Who do you say that I am?

The church is not built by human effort. God builds His church, and He does it His way. He uses pictures to reveal the church to men. These pictures reveal something about God – this shows that He is our God and we are His people; that His church declares His glory. “You are the Christ” – this declaration is where the church is built. Doing things, being places, attending meetings, having habits do not add you to the church.

When God interacts with people, the interactions often involve the Land: Garden, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos. The pattern is God heals the people, and THEN He heals the land. A healed people are designed to steward a healed land. This is purpose. With wounded people in the presence of a wounded land, we are trying to fabricate stewardship. The PEOPLE are bigger than the individual. The LAND is bigger than the people. Church life is not any kind of meeting, no matter how elaborate or simple. But ecclesia is a life lived in a land with others and God.

Current church structure is focused on the Sunday morning meeting. All the energy is ramped up for the Big Show. But most people are not satisfied with that, so we add sunday school, specified small groups, events, ministries, etc. We organize things to focus on the meeting at a set time, inside a set building, and then bemoan the fact that people are not out in the community, so we try to manufacture programs to get them “outside the walls.” We craft a system that focuses on a once-a-week meeting, and when that proves lacking, we try to add events and concerns to people’s already full lives. This is not what they signed on for. This was not the original deal. The Good News of the Kingdom is a transformational reality for your whole life. It is by its nature self-sacrificial and all-encompassing. We should be encouraging a community of people who are sharing life together, working and ministering together, who then gather to celebrate this life, praise our God, testify to His deeds, share our joys and concerns.

We should not use physical things to birth spiritual things, but use them as a tool, and use them properly, and use them alongside spiritual weapons. The church, God’s people, should have compassion, as Jesus did.

Jesus is building His church also on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and not simply the biblical ones, but those living today. The Bible is immensely important, but we cannot simply stare at it, study it, and miss the bigness of God, the vastness of the Kingdom, the immensity of our call. If we merely disect the word, we will be like those of whom Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” We should be motivated and moved by the Bible to LIVE, and to walk with the Holy Spirit in the world.

Do you hate the church? Do we hate the church? What is the church? God’s church is the collection of saved sinners living life in a fallen world, with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. The religious systems of man are not the church, but merely a counterfeit. That doesn’t mean spirit-filled believers can’t be involved with them, or lead them, or that the traditional church system can’t do good things in the world. But they are two different things.

The foundation of the church is the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. This is in 1 Corinthians 3:11 – for no man can lay a foundation, other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. The only way a person can be added to the church is through the Holy Spirit revealing them the truth of who Jesus Christ is. This is the only way to get fruit that lasts.

What is the most effective way to communicate the Gospel? Is it to gather people for an activity? Is it by making them your friend? Is it a game night, movie night, car show, hunting trip, bike ride, concert, bounce house? Or is it by obeying Christ? To prove that we believe who He says He is, that we have been pierced by His grace, that we live in a Kingdom that forgives sin and gives you what you could never earn by your performance? Is it to love because we first were loved? Why should anyone be motivated to come to Jesus if your thoughts, words, and actions communicate that you never did? This is not a matter of being perfect or the most righteous; it’s a matter of changing what you treasure and acting like Christ is your King. If you don’t live what you preach, you negate what you preach.

What do you preach? What is the loudest part of your gospel? Is it your political beliefs? Is it your work ethic? Is it your purity codes? Is it your religious festivals? Is it your concerts? Or is it your love borne out of the immensity of grace? What is it we’re supposed to be proclaiming? The mystery of the Church – Christ in us. The church is the fellowship of the mystery. God in man. The Kingdom in our midst.

The transformation the Holy Spirit brings is not a cessation of sin. It is a total heart transplant. It is forsaking the world. It is humility. It is serving others. It is submitting to God. It is laying down our rights, dreams, defenses, and taking up our cross. It is following the Master. To become Christ-like, you must lay down your life for people who hate you.

The Gospel changes how we interact with people. It changes how we view the world. It changes where our hope is placed. It should change your interactions with the rest of creation.

Let’s Recap

1. The decline of the church – its health as an institution and its status in our culture
2. The way we see our church – using physical tools to try to get spiritual results
3. Trying to get purpose out of function instead of allowing purpose to define function
4. The Church is primarily spiritual in nature
5. Physical things should only be midwives; tools to loosen satan’s grip. Not using things of the world to attract people to the Gospel.
6. What you draw them with is what you draw them to.

Do you see your church the way Jesus sees your church? How does Jesus see your church? Jesus’ church has a design defined by Him. Here are some of His patterns from scripture:

1. Creation and marriage of Adam and Eve – God’s purpose came before people’s function; intimate fellowship; grace-covered state; stewarding over creation in obedience to God; this brings glory to God.
2. Tabernacle of Moses – demonstrates God’s work in the sacrifice of Christ. The tabernacle was symbolic of God’s presence with the people, and of the impending appearance and sacrifice of Christ. The church today should also be representing God’s presence and the sacrificial nature of Christ.
3. The Tabernacle of David – God’s grace manifested in salvation to the Gentiles
4. Temple of Solomon – God’s glory revealed through His presence amongst His people
5. Temple of Ezekiel – pattern of priesthood in service and ministry.

We must examine our purpose and our function, and discern which is leading. If we adopt an incorrect purpose, it will lead us to bad functioning. If we try to create purpose by functioning, we are performing a transaction. We don’t do nice things for our spouses so that they will love us. We love them, and so do nice things for them. When we have a false purpose, or attract with functioning, and let our tasks and activities lead, we will attract people to those things. They will never find real purpose. They will not find intimate fellowship found in unity in the Spirit.

Songs:
David Crowder Band – A Beautiful Collision
Audio Adrenaline – Jesus Movement

This episode originally broadcast live on September 11, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:
www.sunministries.org
www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

024.1 Purpose and Function, pt 1

There are numerous statistics that express a decline in the state of the church in America. This includes things like attendance, doctrinal literacy, giving, etc. A Barna report says the number of “post-Christian” individuals has increased to 44% (as of 2015; most current/relevant article can be found here: https://www.barna.com/research/post-christian-cities-america-2017/). Why is this important?

It depends on your context. If you are worried about the survival of an institution, then these statistics should be alarming. If you are concerned with the Gospel setting captives free to make disciples and follow the Holy Spirit, these statistics take on a more nuanced nature.

One of the sources of this “decline” is the confusion of purpose and function.

What is purpose? It is your vision. It is your reason for existing. It is your motivation. What is function? It is what you do. It is what your purpose drives you to do. It will guide your tasks and how you perform them.

If we get purpose and function backwards, then we are never going to achieve what God has designed us to do. Many churches function in a way to sustain themselves – their salaries, mortgages, programs, etc. Many people function in survival mode. And you don’t have to go to the inner cities to find people living this way. Functioning by self-preservation does not lead to the healthiest decisions. When we function out of survival mode, we won’t live by God’s design – we are merely trying to stay alive. Our options appear to be (and often are) limited. This is the stronghold of poverty – having limited options because of a concern with resources and survival. Your power to choose has been enslaved to your wants and needs.

We should discover our God-given purpose and allow it to define our function.

You and your church
When you communicate about your church, what do you mention first? Attendance, programs, preaching, music, serving opportunities? What Gospel do you preach? Does it matter how you preach the Gospel? Must you obey the Gospel you preach? Are you adding to or removing from the Gospel and leading people into bondage or hypocrisy?

The church is becoming obsolete in the culture. We have neglected the fulness of the Gospel and the desolation in our midst, so that our doctrine becomes separate from our works, and our works appear small and our doctrine becomes meaningless. The church, historically, was a massive force to bring value to human life. It shaped culture because people lived differently. Because they were obedient to God. Now there is a glut of answers and solutions to all of life’s ills. There are groups, politicians, and celebrities “doing something” about issues, and the church looks irrelevant in comparison, even though we all know that “Jesus is the answer.” If that is true, then He has to truly be the answer, and we have to be willing to be His body, His hands and feet, to answer the call. Jesus did not look at us in our need and say, “You don’t deserve it! I’m going to keep what’s mine.” He responded with grace.

The church has been taken captive by the natural realm. The primary nature of the Church should be spiritual. The very souls of the poor, foreign, undesirable, are invisible, eternal, spiritual things. This makes them vitally important in the Kingdom. The natural things associated with the church (buildings, programs, money, etc) are all temporary and are burned up in the end.

Fruit comes from the Spirit! It is not created by physical things.

Friendship evangelism is a bait-and-switch. It has so infiltrated many modern views of ministry and evangelism. This blurs our vision as we face a dark world in need of a Savior and His devoted followers. It taints our definition of the Gospel. It defined our churches in every way from architecture to graphic design to service schedules. It causes us to judge others for how they minister. It paralyzes people when facing their lost friends, family, and neighbors.

Who builds the Church? Christ builds His body, His spiritual temple. We get to partner merely as servants of the Holy Spirit. However, the church tries to build itself using physical tools and ways. Only the interaction with the Gospel and the Holy Spirit can add people to the spiritual Body of Christ. Our tools, no matter how impressive they are, are completely useless if they don’t accomplish what we need, if they are functioning separate from the Holy Spirit. Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.

What is the Church supposed to be? Let’s look at the “real deal”.

1. It is universal – everyone added to the Book of Life. Only Jesus can open that book.
2. The Local Church – the only division the Bible recognizes for the church is regional. And they were still interconnected. Denominations are wrong. They are borne out of divisions caused by the works of man.
3. The Body of Christ – a supernature being filled with the Holy Spirit
4. The Bride of Christ – Pure and devoted to their Lord

This is the podcast episode Jason referenced

http://www.welivehere.show/posts/2015/8/23/what-it-means-to-be-multi-racial

and this is the paper that they referenced

https://gcaatoday.com/775/opinions-2/blackish-not-black-not-white-but-somewhere-in-between/

Songs:
Kutless – “All Who are Thirsty” http://www.kutless.com/
Nickel Creek – When in Rome https://youtu.be/ylslcF-fUeE

This episode originally broadcast live on September 11, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:
www.sunministries.org
www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

023.2 Creative Expression, pt 4: Testimony

Before we move on to testimonies, we have to back up and cover some scripture of rhema and art
Acts 2:14 Peter asks crowd to give heed to his “rhema”

Acts 5:20 go speak to the people the whole “rhema” of this life. In other words, declare what I’ve revealed to you. You can’t speak “rhema” without the Holy Spirit accompanying you.

If the truest form of expression comes when the Holy Spirit inspires and accompanies it, then some of the worst forms of corruption of that come in the form of contracts concerning “worship music” and sermons. If we contractually obligate Christians to produce albums and teachings, then they are motivated by money and job security to fill space. The Holy Spirit can certainly transcend these human limitations, but why would we not reorient ourselves to work fully in communion with Him?

Godly creative exrpession is to art what Rhema is to Logos. People can learn the skills of art, and be really good at it. But doing those things in communion with the Holy Spirit connect to something deeper. Our relationship with God can inspire others to engage a relationship with God.

Testimonies
We emphasize communicating testimonies in creative expression. We have done this (Mark, Mark, and Jason are musicians), and we encourage it in others. Testimonies are authentic; they are a weapon; and the tell of what God has done. Testimonies declare that God is who He says He is, and that He is their Lord.

Psalm 66:5,16 Come and see the works of God, who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men…come and hear all who fear God and I will tell of what He’s done for my soul.

Expressing with Authority
People were moved by what Jesus preached because He taught with authority. It wasn’t just His conviction (which some preachers do not have), but that He did what He taught. He was passionate about what He taught – things that He knew, did, and had a deep conviction of. He lived what He taught. Deep conviction backed up with a steadfast walk shakes people.

People desire authenticity because it is a connection to something that can be known. It is proof that truth and love are attainable, that loneliness is not the only option. Authenticity in expression means that the expression is not just a product or filler, but that it bridges the gap between our experiences. This desire for authenticity puts a wedge within our religious experience. The modern church strives to be “authentic”, but kills that effort by its striving. Authentic followers are living sacrifices.

To be authentic, we need to find our identity, and we can only find that in Christ.

Godly creative expression is done with authority – it is done as an outpouring of what we know and do, it is done in communion with the Holy Spirit.

Why are you creating? Is it just to fill space? Is it to attract people to your self? Are you just adding bible words to chords? What inspires it? What is the motivation? What power is there in something contrived? Our creations have more power when they come from a place of authority – of an outpouring of our experience.

What is the vision of Godly creative expression? God’s vision for creative expression will depend on what His vision is for the church in a certain place at a certain time. He will be expressing what He is doing through mankind’s expression. If this is the case, then the church is missing out by programming and recycling “worship music.” The bible speaks of EVERYONE bringing a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song, for the purposes of teaching and edifying. This means that God can move corporately in a church BODY and express Himself at that time through new and old expressions. “Worship music”, or any artistic function within the church, should not be seen as entertaining, but in some way prophetic, in that it is expressing who God is and what He is doing.

If the creative expression of who God is and what He is doing is limited, stifled, etc., then its power is greatly decreased. The praises cannot be heard, the rebukes are not received, the encouragements are silenced. He cheapen the arts to “oh, that’s pretty” or “oh, that’s cool” or “i really like this song”.

So…how are urban renewal, reformation of the church, and reformation of creative expression all the same thing? Because they are all concerned with God’s patterns, having a relationship with God, being filled with His Spirit, walking in His ways. When we are in line with God’s ways, we are declaring His glory, we are expressing His diving attributes. When we do that, we will be ministering. You will be living out Isaiah 61. When we do this, our hearts are full of the good things of God, and they overflow in our various abilities. We do that together, corporately, as a body. Within this context, the only reason any art exists is because we have encountered our Lord and we can’t help but to express it, or we so desire to encounter Him that we call out in lament.

As the church has become corrupted in America, and Americanized the Gospel, it brought its arts right along with it and turned ministry into an industry. If we leave the world and allign our hearts with God’s, then we will find ourselves in the trenches of spiritual warfare, and shoulder to shoulder not only with our brothers and sisters, but with Jesus Himself, and that results in the restoration of dark places, including inner cities. As we live among those who need love and need the Lord, and humble ourselves, instead of exalting ourselves like the builders of Babel, then what we do create, express, and build will communicate who God is and what He does.

When we return to God’s patterns, we will be loving, we will be expressing, and we will be living the church the way that He designed.

Songs:

Keith Green – Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful

Shawn Groves – Blank Page

 

This episode originally broadcast live on September 4, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:

www.sunministries.org

www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

023.1 Creative Expression, pt 3: Logos and Rhema

Creative expression includes most things people think of when they think about art. We are going to start by reviewing some of the big picture ideas we got to in parts 1 and 2 of this discussion.

First obvious signs of creative expression after the fall

Jubal the first musician, Tubal-Cain working with metal. We see records of people desiring to express creatively after the fall. Prior to the fall, man and God have perfect communion. After the fall, communication is impaired.

In the Garden, we had perfect communion. We were fully known, and we knew God in a very intimate way. So will there be creative expressions in Heaven? We will sing, we know that much. And God is creative, and we are created in His image. Are there parallels between creative expressions and spiritual gifts? Obviously spiritual gifts come from God and express who He is. But there will be a day when some pass away, and they won’t be necessary, at least not in our current comprehension of them. They are for ministry and to build us up into the fullness of Christ. What purpose would they serve once we are in that fullness, together with the Father?

So instead of looking at creative expression as a compensation for lack of communion, is it something that is fully realized in unison with God? Is it something that we do WITH God, and in doing it with God, it becomes its true form, and works toward the will of God?

Is redeemed creative expression meant to EXPRESS God or EXPLAIN God? Likely, both.

Is creative expression out of union with God inherently corrupt? While they can be very honest, essentially yes. We had mentioned the urge to build and control related to the urge to create. These are parts of our image of God and part of His purpose for us, that we should be little creators who rule the world on God’s behalf, and with Him. When those are corrupt, we end up building Babels. When we exercise our own creative energies apart from God, it can exalt our pride.

While there is much to be said for all humanity’s creative efforts, the kind that will build us up will in some way point towards the Creator of all. Can our communion with God, our longing for Him, our desolation apart from Him, our questions and doubts, our pains and loss, inspire expressions that bridge the gap created at the Fall?

So after looking at all the ways music specifically was used in Scripture, for godly and ungodly purposes, and exploring lots of modern corruptions, how do we get back to God’s design for creative expression? How do we reform it?

The Bible displays a spiritual connection to expression, and servants, especially Paul, desiring to communicate in God’s ways.

Creative Expression, Rhema, and Logos

Martin Luther believed that the Gospel was Jesus – essentially anything that communicated Jesus was Good News. If everything that could be expressed about God in human form was Jesus, then there is some merit to this idea. There are some who believe God’s expression of Himself has ceased, and is contained entirely in Scripture. Some believe God is always communicated Jesus in some way. Not writing a new Bible, or replacing the Bible, or negating the Bible, but that God expresses Himself and communicates the Good News of the Kingdom always in many ways.

Logos and Rhema are two greek words that get translated as “word”. However, the represent two slightly different ideas, both of which relate to creative expression.

Logos is most famously used in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Here, he is clearly referring to Jesus.

Rhema is most famously used in Matthew 4:4 “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

While their literal definitions are very similar, their uses in Scripture show a difference.

Logos is the word, it is declaration. Rhema is revelation. Logos is concrete and clear and trustworthy. Rhema is expressive and fluid, yet still never contradicts the Logos. Rhema is not simply allegorical interpretations of Scripture. It is revelation of God. Sometimes it involves reading scripture. Sometimes it simply happens in ministry, no where near a Bible.

How does art relate to rhema? As God redeems His people, He fills them with His Spirit, grants them rhema (revelation of the truth), and inspires them to express it in way similar to how He expresses. This could be seen as taking what Scripture says, and creatively expressing what it means.

God supernatually revealed the design of the Tabernacle, then He sent His Spirit to empower craftsmen to accomplish the design.

When we are faithful and obedient, we are declaring the character of God. God reveals Himself to people in certain ways at certain times. Sometimes as a burning bush, sometimes as thunder, sometimes as a pillar of cloud, etc. Why? Why does He choose different forms, different expressions? Even in Scripture, there are many literary forms. Why does He choose poems in place, and geneologies in another? Why did Jesus come in human, tangible, physical form to live an observable, historical, concrete life, and yet also grant confounding visions to John? Because He is expressing in forms that express Him, to the recipient, and to others to come after. Because He is the creative Creator. Because there is so much of Him to express.

Songs

Newsboys – God is Not a Secret

Nichole Nordeman – I am

Additional music

Ben Pasley – Rugged Old Hand http://www.benpasley.com/ Used by permission.

This episode originally broadcast live on September 4, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:

www.sunministries.org

www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

022.2 Creative Expression, pt 2 – In the Spirit

We continue to explore godly creative expression, focusing on how it must be done in the Spirit.

Purposes of music in scripture (continued from part 1)

• Prophesying

• Teaching/admonishing

• Giving things

• Edification

• Community context

• Declaring God’s glory – Isaiah 12:5

• Praise – Psalms, Exodus 15 (The Song of Moses). Prophecy and song are two of the most used forms of praise in Scripture. Often, people respond in Scripture with songs and prophecy. They witness a move of God, and respond with expression.

• Conviction and judgment – Deuteronomy 31, God gives Moses a song that will be a witness to them about their impending disobedience. Chapter 32 is the song. God Himself ordained the use of song to bring about conviction

• Testifying God’s works – 2 Samuel 22/Psalm 18

• Ministry – 1 Samuel 16:23; David would play music that caused an evil spirit to depart from Saul. Could also be seen as spiritual warfare. However, do not confuse this with playing songs in a church setting. Shouting, or singing, or playing music loudly does not force a demon into submission. However, song can most definitely be used as a spiritual weapon, when used in the Spirit, with authority. But it is not a magical thing that causes demons to vanish.

Unbiblical Practices
When we focus simply on praise, we miss a whole lot of amazing things that God uses music and other creative expressions for. Godly creative expression flows out of an experience with God. The modern distortion tries to present a song, and then cause people to experience God. We shrink this amazing gift down to the idea that a worship leader on stage playing a song will cause someone to experience God. This is an unfair burden to lay upon a person.

Emotional Manipulation
Music and other creative expressions cause emotional connections. This is simply part of our design, because these expressions reveal parts of our selves and communicate something. This does not necessarily equate to godliness. These emotional connections can fortify strongholds of pain in our lives and lead us into corruption. Also, misusing creative expressions generally compounds the pain that motivated us in the first place. The contents of our hearts inform our expressions, but the content of creative expressions nourish parts of our hearts, whether for good or bad. Music and other arts hold our affections. They give validation and amplification to our experiences. This is why reformation of creative expression is so important. God has given spiritually fruitful uses for these things to grow the Kingdom, and satan will continuously try to pervert them to bring destruction.

Idol Worship
Nebuchadnezzar used music to induce the worship of idols. The Israelites also used music in their worship of the golden calf.

Industry vs Ministry
The Christian music industry is just a music industry with limited subject matter. It is an economic machine of copyrights, salaries, marketing, trends, money, etc. If music is a ministry, why the drive to “make a living” doing ministry? Why can we not use our hands and utilize resources creatively, and minister as we live within our gifts? The way copyrights work, people sell over their expressions in the hopes of an industry to create profit off it. They no longer have control over their expressions. This puts money as a central motivation in the creation of creative expressions, which is a precarious position.

“Worship” in with church buildings is simply an extension of the music industry. Church buildings are public spaces and have to pay for worship songs they play. So now money becomes a factor in the playing of praise songs in a church gathering.

In the New Testament, we are all to bring something to the gathering, specifically including songs for the purposes of teaching and edification.

“Worship” is not singing some songs about God. It is something done in Spirit and in truth, and it involves being a living sacrifice. People try so hard to apply Romans 12:1 to songs on a Sunday morning service, and it doesn’t add up. Praise is wonderful, teaching and admonishing through song is wonderful, prophesying through song is wonderful. And they can be utilized in a lifestyle of worship. But singing songs alone is not worship. It cannot be separated from a life of obedience.

Reformation of the Arts

Reformation of the arts only happens when man’s spirit is renewed, and this only occurs through Jesus Christ. The true meaning of our words and expressions come from a spiritual place, and need to be filled with the Spirit. This has been lost in the modern day, that stresses secular wisdom and practices for preaching and forming “worship teams”, both of which often involve contracts.

The reformation of the arts will express the things of God. This doesn’t have to look like one specific form. God’s glory is manifold, and humans are complex and unique. It comes back to our heart and what comes out of it and what goes in to it.

What has been lost in all of this is the spontaneous impetus of the Holy Spirit to move on believers to create or express. Followers of God should be aiming to declare the glory of our Lord, and our creative expressions are deep and nuanced ways to express things about Him.

Song

Rich Mullins – I See You http://kidbrothers.org/ https://youtu.be/XejzqulWj2k

Additional music

Enter the Worship Circle – All I Need www.entertheworshipcircle.com Used by permission.

This episode originally broadcast live on August 28, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:

www.sunministries.org

www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)

022.1 Creative Expression, pt 1 – The Image of God

What is creative expression? How does God express creatively? How do humans express creatively? How has all this been distorted? We look at some big pictures to explore what it means to be created in the image of the Creator.

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life…what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:1,3

God is the ultimate creator. Everything He has done has been an expression of Himself (Romans 1:19).

The whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3)! God’s creation declares His glory. Our creations should also declare His glory. So what is His glory?

We are the only creation created in the image of God. When we were created, we did not have the knowledge of good and evil, so we expressed nothing corrupt. But once we fell, our expressions changed from representing God to representing useless and base things. Idolatry is a perfect example of these. We perform worship for a creation rather than the Creator.

Apart from God, our creative expressions are misdirected and point towards things other than God. Once mankind was out of the presence of God, they begin making things – musical instruments and tools of metal. Is this a response aimed to compensate for the fact that they can no longer commune with God? Expression is no longer pure and directly connected, so are they looking for ways to “reconnect” with their Creator? When creative expression naturally flows out of relationship with God, it is spiritual. Separate from that, we are left to physical tools and physical means. This deteriorates from makings songs, to making idols, to making the Tower of Babel. Our creativity given us through the image of God now becomes the thing that gives voice to our pride in the invention of the brick. Bricks would later solidify our slavery in Egypt.

Outside of relationship transparency, we have to figure out a way to communicate what is going on; we need to find a medium. If we could simply and purely communicate, would we still have the desire to utilize the medium to create the expression? Is the whole purpose of creative expression to communicate God to others? To utilize a medium to cross a communication gap? We don’t know. There is plenty of singing in Heaven.

Corruptions in creative expression begin with the fact that there is a separation. And then they start to point towards other things. We also appear to have a desire to build and control. Is our drive to create the same drive that pushes us to overtake other people? Are we trying to manifest the “image of God” in our own power, apart from the Spirit? If this is so, then when this is redeemed, we can then bring about redemption, peace, and justice. Redeeming the “creative” drive in us, the part of the image that creates, builds, and manipulates, will declare the glory of God and end the distortion that leads to destruction, imperialism, and oppression. There is no way to “get back to the garden” without reforming creative expression.

When we empower and encourage people to express God’s glory in their own way, it can bring great unity in the Spirit through the diversity of the Body of Christ.

Our expressions come from what is inside of us (Matthew 12:33-37). Psalm 45 shows an expression that is inspired by God and directed to Him:

“My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”

Creative expression encompasses many things, but most practically the arts. We explored the specific example of music throughout scripture to see what role it played in the interaction between man and God.

• David set aside men to prophesy with music
• Many of the verses quoted in the New Testament as being prophecy of the coming Messiah are from Psalms.
• The Psalms declare God’s character
• Songs were used for teaching and correction
• Song, and creation itself, were involved in the birth of Jesus, and creation testified at the death of Christ.
• Music was shared with other members of the Body, often in giving thanks
• Music was used to edify the Body, and is likened to spiritual acts such as teaching and speaking in tongues, which could be seen as other creative expressions

Next week we will continue to explore creative expression.

Songs:

Beautiful Eulogy – “Instruments of Mercy” from their album, “Instruments of Mercy”; available at www.humblebeast.com. Used by permission.

Josh Garrels – “Colors”, from his album “Home” www.joshgarrels.com

This episode originally broadcast live on August 28, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO

For more info:

www.sunministries.org

www.sunministries.blogspot.com

Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)