Archive for March, 2009

Loving: A lost art?

Posted by Pat Linnell on Mar 30, 2009
Filed under: General, Life

So I just had some friends have a great thing happen to them. People who by all the world’s standards are greatly deserving of a break just got one. A sweet break. A radical blessing. An out of the blue surprise that was unexpected and rich in its reward.

And I am jealous. Bummer.

I’m bummed for two reasons. One is in my jealous anger and the other is at my jealous anger.

In my jealously, I feel like I got overlooked. I feel gypped. I feel more deserving of the gift. I’m not thinking of my friends at all really, just me. I can rationalize why I was a better candidate for the break. I still am holding on to hope that somehow, this windfall will still be redirected towards me, if I work it.

At my jealousy, I feel dirty and mad that I cannot genuinely be happy for someone else, without thinking of myself first. I suck at loving people. I love myself too much. If loving people is an art, I am making a mess.

We (as followers of Jesus) have a high and hard calling to make disciples. I’m becoming more and more convinced that the driving agent in this process is the very thing I struggle with. Love. The people of God, we followers of Jesus, must major on love if we are to make disciples. Pointing people to Jesus is not a mechanical process that requires the right plan, rather it is a relational process of actually giving a damn about other people, and in this love, the truth will come to bear, it must.

Obviously, Jesus rolled this way. He looked out upon the crowds and had compassion. God the Father sent the Son to the world because he loves the world. Love. Love. Love. Jesus calls out sin - in love. Jesus paid for sin - in love. God is at work in the world today on a love mission to redeem it.

Our effectiveness in making a difference in this generation for the sake of Jesus will rise or fall on our ability to advance the agendas of others, not our own. This is our great challenge: can we love others more than we love ourselves?

At this point in my day, I cannot do this. But I’m asking God to make up my shortfall and steer me back on the right track.

Check out 1 Corinthians 13.

Some Romans background

Posted by Pat Linnell on Mar 23, 2009
Filed under: Bible Study

If you are going to be tracking along with us for the next few months as we study Paul’s letter to the Romans here are some things to keep in mind…

Paul has three interlocking geographic features on his mind as he writes this letter. The first is Jerusalem. The church in Jerusalem is hurting, they need assistance, they need the basics. Paul, as he has been off on his missionary journeys, has been collecting money from other churches to give as a gift to the saints in Jerusalem. Before he sets off for Rome, he will deliver this gift. Something to glean from this activity is that reality that the last time Paul was in Jerusalem, he was almost killed by his old Pharisee pals thinking him a traitor (Acts 21ff). This is a commendable act of Christian love, bringing aid despite danger and the past relational tensions between Paul and the church in Jerusalem.

The second geographic factor is Spain. Paul has his sights set on taking new ground for the Gospel. He is planning on embarking on a new mission to Spain. And the third factor is Rome. Spain and Rome are connected as Paul seeks to garner prayer, financial, and personnel support from the church in Rome, which would act as a new base of operations for his mission to Spain. Paul also seeks to reap a harvest in Rome alongside of the church there. Keep in mind also, that the church in Rome at this point is a decentralized network of small churches that meet in homes and marketplaces.

With those geographic factors in mind, we can also draw out four purposes of why Paul writes this letter to the Romans. The first purpose: missionary. Paul is introducing himself to a church he has never been to before. He need to raise support for his mission to Spain. The second purpose: doctrinal/theological. Paul is writing after 11 years of missionary work and has the ability now to reflect back on the Gospel in a very rich way. This letter unpacks the heart of Paul’s message in a mature and expositional way. The third purpose: apologetic. Throughout his years in ministry, Paul was hounded by people who labeled him, “anti-law.” These were mainly people known as Judiazers, who basically purport that to be a true Christian, you need to become a full fledged Jew first. In this letter, we see Paul address the Gospel in relation to the law, and his understanding of how the law (of Moses) fits into the picture under a new covenant. Finally, the fourth purpose: pastoral. Although Paul has never been to this church, he is aware of relational tensions that were arising. He address these occasional issues, particularly addressing Jew/Gentile relations and matters of being strong and weak in the faith.

It is good to keep these broad contextual matters in mind as we seek to understand Paul’s intended meaning to his audience in Rome, which will better help us apply and live out those truths in our lives today.

Not Ashamed

Posted by Crossroads on Mar 22, 2009
Filed under: Podcast

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Click Here to Download the Message

An introduction to the book of Romans with verses 1-18. And, an important word from Paul himself about being confident and without any shame in the Gospel.

Drink Up

Posted by Pat Linnell on Mar 12, 2009
Filed under: Bible Study, General

Go read John 4:1-42. Seriously, read it first.

Many people are familiar with this story. It’s about Jesus, a woman, and a well. It is a story about getting a drink.

Jesus rolls up to a town on the outskirts of Samaria on his way back from Judea (where the ministry with the religious folk is not so fruitful). It is noon. It is hot. Jesus is thirsty. He camps out at a well known well and waits. The disciples are off into town to get food. Jesus, who is described in the Scriptures as the eternal “word” of God that created all things (Col 1:15-17), is now parked at a deep well with no bucket, no rope, no way of taking a sip of the water he spoke into existence. Enter the Samaritan woman. He asks her for a favor. He wasn’t supposed to. Jews and Samaritans don’t talk. They especially don’t ask favors that would engender trust. Jesus does it any way. He also has known this woman is messed up and a “sinner.” At this point, that doesn’t matter either. You see, Jesus is reaching out in love to offer her something she is searching for, but doesn’t have. She doesn’t know that yet and responds like anyone would in her position: how can you ask me for a drink?

Jesus is operating in grace. John tells us that Jesus came in “grace and truth” (see 1: 14, 17). This is certainly the case here. At this point, Jesus could be in a gay bar, or a Taliban meeting. He is operating in grace, he is not judging this woman for the scandalous life she is leading or because his culture speaks against her kind. He doesn’t shun her, avoid her, whisper under his breath. No, he asks her a favor. And in doing so communicates to her that she is valuable.

Jesus also speaks truth in this grace. He brings up her sin. He brings up himself. He brings up that opposed to the wells of life that will run dry, the water he offers never runs out, always available to quench the soul. He speaks truth. Her heart is open. He reveals that He is the Messiah.

The story concludes with her running back to town without her pail that she intended to fill. She was bringing back to her town living water, and many more drank.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to live like him. We are sent into the world, as he was sent into the world (see John 20:21). All of us, should be living a life of grace and truth. Sadly most of us are OK with the truth part, but not so good with the grace part. That is why you have really smart Christian people who can blow you away in bible trivia, but will never have the guts to hang out with their gay co-worker, or Muslim neighbor, and (gasp) actually be their friends. I speak of myself here, so get off my case if you think I’m calling other people out (read that in a loving way). What I realized in reading this story is that I always put myself in the position of Jesus, as the one who needs to tell people about him, and never had seen myself as the woman. The woman is the busted up and broken one in the story. She’s the one in desperate need of a drink from the living water. When you are in touch with your own bustedness, it is easier to operate in the grace Jesus calls us to. I’m busted. You’re busted. We are the woman at the well. Let’s drink up.

PDL

Welcome to the brand new Crossroads website!

Posted by Pat Linnell on Mar 11, 2009
Filed under: Announcement

Well it has been a good run with the old website. I’ll never forget the bright orange theme, the rotating pictures of Annapolis, the gigantic audio archive that we collected since 2006, and the old school pictures of our old meeting spot. For all of you out there who used the old site…you know what I’m talking about, and I’d like to especially thank Adam W. for all his hours volunteering to keep the site updated and active. Adam, your behind the scenes service is greatly appreciated.

With people and ministry always on the move, we now present to you, the new CRSSRDS.ORG, that you’ve probably already exhausted. This new format will give us, well, a lot of cool things, so stay tuned. If you like the new layout and creativity behind the site, you can thank Bill P, who is the mind and muscle behind what you see on this site.

Thanks Adam. Thanks Bill.