202,000

1. 202,000. That's how much you (the Summit Church) gave to our Christmas Church Planting Offering. That's over and above the normal 'budget" giving this past December. That is over $80,000 more than we've ever taken up before for this type of offering! I am again overwhelmed at the generosity that you all show.

Praise God. Not a penny of that goes into normal "Summit Church" operations. We are going to be able to use this money to bless our local community and targeted communities overseas by meeting some of their physical needs, as well as sponsoring at least 6 new church plants. Summit Church, when you add that to the other missions giving, that means you gave a total of roughly 21% of all money away last year for church planting and missions. Praise God, and let's keep asking God to enable us (as individuals and as a church) how to give more away.

2. The Gospel. Someone asked me if the message this past Sunday was intended to be for people who were not Christians or for those who were, because it seemed to them it was for non-Christians but they found it applying to their own lives. That brings up something that I have learned about the Gospel recently, and that is the Gospel (and by that I don't mean a 4-minute-4-spiritual-laws-presentation tacked on at the end) is equally beneficial for both "Christians" and "seekers." I gave these thoughts a while back in a blog series on "myths" of preaching to the "emerging" generation:

Myth #3: There is a difference between what 'seekers' need to hear and what 'mature Christians' need to hear.

How many times have I heard someone describe a service as great "for the believer" (meaning, full of doctrinal equivocation, biblical history and steps to mature Christian living in the church subculture) but not "for the seeker" (meaning, full of mind-bogglingly-basic how-to steps and simple explanations of how much you suck and how miserable you must feel without God)--as if seekers and believers were not simply people at different stages of healing from the exact same disease? Both seekers and beleivers need to hear the Gospel.

And by "the Gospel" I don't mean endless variations of the four spiritual laws tacked onto the end of each sermon like a commercial calling others to join the club. I mean preaching in a way that continually explains how the Gospel addresses our whole lives at the most fundamental levels. All of life is about turning from sin, our functional saviors and our idols, trusting in Jesus, cherishing Him, looking for "justification" from no one else but Him, learning to be satisfied with no other Gods but Him, and being empowered by the Spirit to live a life of gratitude and joy in God patterned after the life of Jesus. That is the Gospel.

There may be some variance in degree between how "seekers" and "mature believers" apply the Gospel, but that's all that is--a difference of degree. As believers we are on the other side of the cross, but it is still the cross which is the antidote for our sin and spiritual weakness. This is the method we see employed in Paul's teaching:

Paul introduced the book of Romans by saying that  he wanted to "preach the Gospel" to those who those who were in Rome. The result was the book of Romans, the clearest explanation of the Gospel that we have... and a book so profound that even the most theologically adept still marvel at it. It is not simply a tract that engaged seekers and bored believers. In other words, in the book of Romans Paul preached the Gospel to believers and even the wisest Bible students today never feel like they get to the bottom of this great book!

When Paul wanted to instruct Ephesian husbands about how to love their wives, he started by explaining the Gospel (Eph 5:25-31).

When Paul wanted to help Peter overcome his racism, he explained the Gospel to Peter and then applied it to Peter's hypocrisy (Gal 2:14).

When Jesus wanted to motivate his disciples to love and forgive others, He tied their ability to forgive to their understanding of their having been forgiven. In other words, He reminded them of the Gospel and then called for their change (Matthew 18:23-25).

When Paul wanted to deal with the interpersonal conflicts of the church in Corinth, he began by walking them through some of the doctrines of the Gospel that would destroy their pride and works-righteousness, which he saw as the source of their conflict (1 Cor 1-3).

When Paul wanted to teach Philippian believers how to get along with each other and work together on teams, he started by giving them a Christology (Philippians 2:5-11).

When Paul wanted to confront believers about the need to give sacrificially, he preached the Gospel to them (2 Cor 8:9). He didn't simply give them 9 ways that God would bless them if they gave to his ministry.

Again, this does not mean that good preaching is complex preaching only intelligible by the brilliant. As Myth #2 explained, good Gospel teaching is understood even by "the simple." Our preaching is not "deep" when it goes wider in its scope of theological nuances and linguistic details, it is deep when it drives the application of the love, grace and joyfulness of God down into the soul. People find deep, Gospel-preaching relevant not because it satisfies their intellectual curiosities, but because the human soul is itself inherently deep and rich, having been made in the majestic image of God--and, as a result of the Fall, that majestic soul now has deep hurts and deep needs. Only the Gospel penetrates deeply enough to get at the roots of sin.

Believers are on this side of the cross, but must continually be called back to it as the antidote for their sin. Unbelievers must be called forward to it. We are not saved as a seeker by the the preaching of the Gospel and then "sanctified" as believers by the teaching of good Christian principles apart from the cross. We are saved "continually" by the persistent preaching of the Gospel (Gal 3:1-3; Col 1:6; 2:6-7; Romans 12:1-2).

Gospel-centered teaching, then, will be wonderfully relevant to both the believer and the not-yet believer! We can preach to both simultaneously! More on this.

Comments

[Julie]

The times when you have taught me the most about how to understand the gospel have been when you preached through a book of the Bible and explained how it fits into the big story of redemption through Christ. Our time spent on Joseph is a great example of that. I had no idea that the story of Joseph was meant to point to Christ - and as you pointed out the hows and whys, I was able to more fully understand Christ's character as well as Joseph's. I would love for us to do more of that in the future, as it accomplishes two goals - 1. understanding the gospel, and 2. discipleship - teaching people how to read their bible with greater depth and in context.

thanks! great stuff.