Gospel Fluency - Week 5

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- I can’t be the only person, when I am driving or visiting a city and I see some advertising that says “the best… _______” I just desperately want to go and give it a try.

- You’re with me on this, right?

- “Best donuts in the city”? I’ll be the judge of that.

- “Best pizza around”? Let me have some!

- “World’s best coffee”? Well I’ll leave that to you people who like drinking what tastes like burnt water.

- But we’ve all seen these advertisements, and most of us have probably tried (or at least wondered what it would be like to try) something that is said to be the “best”.

- But there’s a problem with doing this.

- But, the problem isn’t that it’ll be a disappointment and not live up to your expectations.

- We’re all old enough that we should be mature enough to deal with a bad slice of pizza every now and then.

- No, the problem isn’t that it’ll be a disappointment.

- The problem is that it’ll live up to the hype.

- The problem, is what will happen when you actually find the “best” of something?

- I mean, if you’re on a trip and you happen to stumble across the “World’s Best Tacos”, and you try it, and you actually think they are the best.

- Then what do you do now when you go home?

- Live the rest of your life with second-best, disappointing tacos because you can’t get the best whenever you want.

- So, I say all of that to say, that if I ever invite you over to have lunch, you’d best find an excuse to decline.

- Because I have it on pretty good authority (three votes all cast unanimously after I bribed them with ice cream) that I make the world’s best grilled cheese sandwiches (or, as Asher said when he was littler and we still say today “gorilla cheese sandwiches”).

- Ok, no, I actually say all of that because we are in the fifth week of our series “Gospel Fluency”, where we are learning how to speak the Truth of Jesus in the everyday stuff of life.

- And this morning we are going to shift our focus to specifically thinking about how the Gospel is Good News with us.

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- The Gospel is not just “in me” (though it is).

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- But the Gospel is also “with us”.

- The Gospel does apply to me (and you) personally.

- But, taking it a step further, the Gospel also applies to us corporately (to us together).

- And today we are going to think about how we can be Gospel fluent in our times together.

- Specifically, for followers of Jesus, these are our interactions with other fellow Christians.

- How can we be Gospel fluent, in a way that helps our brothers and sisters in Christ come closer to Jesus after their times with us?

- And one thing we need to get ingrained in our lives, on our lips, and in our hearts, are three simple words.

- Three words that we should constantly be communicating to one another, reminding one another of, pointing one another towards, and encouraging one another with.

- In mountains, in valleys, and everywhere in between.

- Three words.

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- Jesus is better.

- We may have tried the province’s best cup of pudding, and felt it came up a little lacking.

- We might have tested western Canada’s best ice cream cone, and thought that it did in fact live up to the hype.

- But here, and all over the world, followers of Jesus gather because we believe we have the best One.

- The world’s greatest.

- And that, no matter what, He doesn’t disappoint.

- Jesus is better.

- Think about it this way.

- So often when we get together with others, over a coffee, lunch, or just getting together to spend time together, we have plenty to say and lots to complain about.

- And sometimes, the truth is that we just need a place to vent.

- And there’s a place for that, there really truly is.

- We need to allow those places of honesty and that chance to be completely transparent and open.

- But, and some of you are going to know exactly what I mean by this, sometimes we aren’t just giving room to vent and get something off of our chest, but sometimes it seems like all we (or all that person we are talking to) wants to do is complain.

- On and on and on.

- In every area of every part of life.

- This is wrong.

- That is wrong.

- Maybe you’ve had this experience, but sometimes Christians come together for small groups, Bible studies, and prayer meetings, and they just become complaining sessions.

- A quick little Bible verse, a short little prayer, but a long list of complaints and frustrations and things that I just need to get off of my chest.

- And followers of Jesus need to be better at reminding ourselves (and reminding others) that Jesus is better.

- So we come together and we start to complain about work.

- “My boss stinks”

- “Yes they do!”

- “If I were you, I’d just quit!”

- “That’ll show them!”

- A Gospel fluent community can do better.

- A Gospel fluent community must do better.

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- Because Jesus is the better boss.

- The boss who appreciates us, listens to us, and has a far better promotion in store for us.

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- Not only is Jesus the better boss, but Jesus is the better worker.

- Jesus is the better servant who humbles Himself and does work that is far beneath Him to serve those around Him.

- Not complaining that He deserves better and shouldn’t have to stoop so low after all the hours He’s logged.

- Jesus is the better worker.

- Maybe we come together and we vent and complain about our friends and our neighbours.

- “They just take advantage of me.”

- “They don’t do anything for me.”

- “They just take and take and take and I give and give and give.”

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- But Jesus is the better friend.

- Jesus says this:

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- John 15:13

o There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

- Jesus is the better friend who died in our place.

- Maybe it’s not our friends we find ourselves complaining about, but it’s our family.

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- But not only is Jesus the better friend, Jesus is also the better Child.

- Jesus is the Child who perfectly obeys the Father on our behalf.

- And, fellow parents, we need to look to Jesus and remember that we don’t have the perfect children.

- God the Father has the one and only perfect Son.

- So let’s not place weights, burdens, and expectations on our kids that Jesus never intended for them to carry.

- Or maybe you’re not a parent, maybe you are a teen or a child of someone who has placed expectations and this desire to be perfect.

- Let Jesus be the better child on your behalf.

- If you feel like you constantly have to work for your parents’ approval, then rest knowing that God the Father approves you based on what Jesus has done for you.

- We could keep going and going, but the point remains the same.

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- Jesus is better.

- The truth is that many of us (myself included) are prone to vent, gripe, and complain – maybe a little too much.

- Maybe a little more than is helpful.

- Maybe you’ve been there before, when you’ve loaded up the car (or the minivan) to take a big trip.

- And you’re hardly even out of the driveway before it starts.

- “I don’t like this movie!”

- “They’re sitting too close to me!”

- “I’m too hot!”

- “I’m too cold!”

- Those are just a few of the things that Chantelle has to listen to her husband whine about.

- But these attitudes of constant complaining show a lack of Gospel fluency.

- Because apart from Jesus, the only thing we deserve is death.

- Anything besides that, that we have, is a gift.

- And that might sound extreme, but whatever it is that we have (whether we think it’s good enough or not) is not something that we deserve.

- And maybe, in times of complaining about what we don’t have, it is good for followers of Jesus to make time (and remind one another to make time) to thank God for what we do have.

- Everlasting life.

- Forgiveness.

- Mercy.

- Grace.

- The God who is Love and Truth and is on our side.

- Jesus, who is better than everything around us that isn’t good enough.

- And so it can be a challenge, but it is important to learn how to take a situation, and figure out how Jesus is better.

- In fact, I have played games with some of you, and I know you are competitive and up for a challenge, so consider this something to try to do your best at and not allow yourself to get stumped and lose at.

- Jesus is always better. We just need to figure out how.

- We need to keep pointing one another to Jesus and showing how He is the better everything.

- And so today we are thinking about how we can grow in Gospel fluency as a community, and how we can encourage one another (and be encouraged by one another) in a way that helps us grow more and more like Jesus

- And another way that we can do this, a great setting we can get together at, pointing one another to Jesus and how He is better, is when we come together around a table.

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- Being in community together, is perhaps most powerfully experienced around a table together.

- The importance of food, and sharing meals together in community, cannot be overstated.

- Going back to the garden of Eden, there was one tree that Adam and Eve were not to eat from.

- But, that means, that there were a whole pile of other trees, plants, vines, and things created that they were allowed to eat from.

- Their options and choices were too numerous to count.

- The creativity and vastness of the Garden shows God’s love and care for His creation.

- He didn’t make it a boring process, He made it a beautiful thing.

- God could have created us to receive nutrition like my son’s remote control robot, just plug it in until the light stops blinking and you know it’s full.

- But God gave us senses.

- He gave us taste buds.

- He made it an enjoyable and creative experience.

- We’ve got professional chefs in our church (those of you watching online better come to our next potluck!), and so when some of you cook, it’s a beautiful work of art.

- When I cook, it’s still a work of art, but it’s more abstract like a Picasso.

- But God put creativity and depth into how He made us to eat.

- Adam and Eve are in a garden, filled with options.

- And every single meal was a reminder of who God was, what He had done, and who they were in Him.

- Every meal that Adam and Eve had, where they chose from the countless options God had given them, was a chance to worship God and draw closer to Him through a meal.

- But we know Adam and Eve’s story (even if some of us don’t believe it, we’ve probably heard a version of it before).

- They ate the one fruit they weren’t supposed to eat.

- They sinned.

- They experienced shame.

- They experienced brokenness.

- Brokenness between them and God, brokenness between each other, and brokenness between them and creation.

- The story that follows Adam and Eve’s story is a story about their two sons, Cain and Abel.

- Another story that revolves around a “meal” (a sacrifice of food).

- It’s the opportunity for them to come back to God around the table, to get right what their parents had gotten wrong, and one of them still chooses his own way.

- These two brothers offer a sacrifice of food to God as an act of worship, and we’re told that God accepts one (Abel’s) but does not accept the other (Cain’s).

- And so Cain is jealous, and God speaks to Cain and says:

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- Genesis 4:7b

o Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.

- God is speaking to his heart.

- He’s not after behaviour modification (what can I do to make sure my sacrifice is better than my brother’s).

- God is after the belief and the root (Cain, pay attention to what is deep down inside of you).

- But Cain, in his jealousy and anger, kills his brother.

- Cain chooses the path of his parents, to reject God and go his own way.

- Keep moving forward in Israel’s story, and God repeatedly uses food and meals to remind His people of who He is (and who they are in Him).

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- Fast forward to when the people of Israel are slaves in Egypt, and we have the Passover.

- A meal that was set up to coincide with the final plague (the death of the firstborn) as Israel prepared to leave Egypt.

- This meal was set up for them to remember, repeat, rehearse, God’s miraculous deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt.

- And they didn’t do it once.

- They did it every year.

- Over and over they came back to the story of their deliverance and salvation from their enemy.

- Fast forward to when Israel was free from Egypt and on their way to the promised land.

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- They were hungry, and God miraculously provided them with manna in the desert (among other things).

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- When they get to the promised land, it is described as… a land flowing with milk and honey.

- Over and over, God uses meals and food to tell people that there is something outside of you, that needs to go inside of you, to fill the emptiness and hunger that you cannot fill on our own.

- And so, then Jesus comes onto the scene, and He eats and drinks with sinners.

- He gathers, around the table, with those who were looked down upon as unworthy.

- And then, as He prepares to leave His followers, He gives them (and He gives us) a meal to remember Him by.

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- And, on the night Jesus was betrayed, He celebrated the Passover meal.

- He took the bread, and made it about Himself and His body.

- Those listening must have been so confused “what is He talking about?”

- They always knew what the Passover represented.

- It represented the Passover Lamb.

- The death that they were spared from.

- And Jesus makes it about Himself

- Then He took the cup.

- For the Jewish Passover, there were four cups that people would consume.

- It’s widely believed that when Jesus said “this cup is my blood, the new covenant”, that this was the third cup of Passover.

- The cup of redemption and blessing.

- The cup that happened after the meal and signified the Passover Lamb that was slayed so that the people would live.

- And Jesus, sitting at the table, finishing this significant, powerful meal with His disciples, says that this cup, in fact this whole meal, now launches the beginning of a brand new covenant.

- A new agreement, revolving around a cup that brings the forgiveness of sins, begins now.

- Paul writes that whenever we do this, we proclaim Jesus’ death, until He comes again.

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- In other words, communion helps us practice Gospel fluency.

- Jesus gave us this way to remember Him on a regular basis.

- One of the greatest tools Jesus has given us, to remember Him and His work (together in community), is a meal.

- It is the meal.

- Communion.

- Before His death and resurrection, He proactively gave us this way to remember Him.

- To repeat His Truth.

- To become Gospel fluent.

- It’s clear that Jesus intended us to do this together, regularly.

- And so, before we go any further, let us do just that together.

- Our communion table is open for anyone who is a follower of Jesus (here in person, or watching online).

- You are welcome, invited, and encouraged, to remember Jesus the way that He told us to remember Him.

- Around a table, in community with others who are also following Jesus.

- ***Take communion

- As we consider to think about the power of meals in community and in encouraging one another towards Gospel fluency, let’s move beyond focusing on the one communion meal, and think about all of our meals.

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- Every meal can be an opportunity to help us practice Gospel fluency.

- If, on average, we eat 21 meals a week, we have not just 1, but 21 opportunities to remember Jesus, what He’s done, and who we are as a result.

- Every meal is meant to point us to God’s provision.

- Could you imagine, if every meal (21 meals), became for us a moment to remember?

- To reflect on the Truth of Jesus?

- Many of us are in the habit of “saying grace” (why we call it that I’m not quite sure), but we have this tradition where we pray before we eat.

- And usually, we pray for God to bless our food (even if it’s unhealthy food).

- But what if, instead of praying before the meal, we prayed our way through the meal?

- What if we actually spoke (to God and anyone else gathered around the table with us) about the Truth of Jesus?

- In our mornings, afternoons, and evenings.

- How He’s shown up.

- How we wish He’d shown up.

- What we are thankful for.

- What we need.

- How the Gospel speaks to the good, the bad, and the in between times we are facing at that very moment.

- What if each meal we stopped focusing on God blessing the food to our health, but instead focused on Jesus being the bread of life, and the living water?

- It would change every meal we eat.

- 21 meals a week could turn into 21 worship services.

- Not just a quick moment of prayer out of routine and ritual, but a genuine heartfelt time of listening to what God has said, and is saying, in the everyday stuff of our life.

- So imagine you’re having supper with your family, and someone shares that they’ve had a difficult day at work.

- And we listen, and we pray.

- And we remind them of God’s unfailing love, of Jesus’ promise to give rest to the weary who come to Him.

- And we break some bread, and we take a drink, to remember that our trust in Jesus to make a difference in our workplace is based on the historical event of His resurrection.

- Or we’re sitting at school having lunch, and someone with us is sharing about an issue they are facing.

- What if we realized that not only do we have the option of inviting them to church or youth group (which we can also do)?

- But we don’t need to wait for a future event for them to come and listen to someone else.

- Because we have the opportunity, right in that moment, to offer to pray, to just be quiet and listen (to them as well as to the voice of God), and look for opportunities to speak Gospel fluent Truth and Love right then and there.

- This week, let’s make every meal a chance to grow in Gospel fluency.

- Jeff Vanderstelt gives what I think is a fantastic example of how we can use meals to grow in Gospel fluency.

- This would work as a couple, as a family, with a roommate, or even just with a friend of two (a church family member or two) who you would get together to try one or two (or all) of these.

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- “Mission Monday”

- On Monday, we can use our meal to remember our mission to glorify God and fulfill His purposes.

- We talk about our upcoming week, the things on our to-do lists, the calendar items, and we discuss how our week can be structured and scheduled in a way that brings light into the world around you.

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- “Teaching Tuesday”

- One of the people (and it can change each week) takes responsibility to teach a story from the Bible.

- Read a story and lead a discussion about that story.

- If you’re doing this as a family with kids or youth, you can allow the kids to take turns teaching as well.

- Some kids Bibles have great discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

- This is a fantastic way to raise up Gospel-fluent children who not only know what the Bible says, but can teach it to others and lead a discussion about it.

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- “With-Family Wednesday”

- Simply eat with your family (whether that’s extended family, church family, brothers and sisters in Christ, etc).

- Gather with family and pray together, break bread together, and point one another to Jesus.

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- “Thanksgiving Thursday”

- Give thanks for all that God has done.

- Spend time specifically devoted to “thank you” prayers.

- You can even put people in the “hot seat” and have everyone express why they are thankful to God for that person.

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- “Fun Friday”

- Go out to eat, afterwards watch a movie, then discuss what in that movie pointed towards Jesus and what pointed away from Him.

- Train eyes and ears for Gospel sensitivity.

- Playing a game also provides opportunities to work through how we respond with the grace of Jesus when we win or lose.

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- “Serving Saturday”

- Go and serve someone.

- Make someone else a meal.

- Invite someone over specifically to encourage and bless them.

- Feed the hungry. Help the Salvation Army. Etc.

- And finally, “Sunday”

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- We come together to worship Jesus as a church family, and to take communion together.

- Each week we practice Gospel fluency through “the” meal of the Lord’s Supper.

- And every week (even outside of a church service), make “the meal” (the communion meal), a chance to grow in Gospel fluency.

- You are welcome and invited and encouraged, to take communion around your own tables.

- With your family.

- With your friends.

- With your brothers and sisters in Christ.

- You’re already sitting at the table together. You’ve already got some food and drink ready to go!

- Remember Jesus, and proclaim the power and Truth and Love of His death, until He comes again.

- Sitting around that table, surrounded by His closest friends, right before He would be arrested and executed, Jesus changed Passover forever.

- He not only said that every Passover afterwards was to be about Him (although He did say that).

- But, even more than that, every Passover that had been done before, for generations, was always meant to point towards Him.

- It was never just about Israel in slavery to Egypt (although it was about that).

- But it was meant to point us towards our slavery to sin and death.

- It was never just about sacrificing a lamb and smearing its blood on the doorframe so that they would be saved from plague of death that would strike every firstborn (although it was about that).

- But it was always meant to point us towards the Lamb of God (the better, perfect, sacrificial Lamb) who takes away the sins of the world.

- And so this morning, as we prepare to wrap up, we’ve said this throughout this series, but true fluency takes immersion.

- And immersion isn’t one church service a week.

- It’s not a small group or a Bible study once a week.

- It’s having people around you who know Jesus, love Jesus, and speak about Him when they are around you.

- And it’s about being that person for someone else as well.

- So, maybe this week, as you look around the room, you might see someone you want to invite over for a meal.

- A coffee.

- A visit.

- Maybe for lunch today, there is someone in your church family, and the truth is that you don’t actually know them very well (yet). Would you offer to buy them lunch and get to know them today?

- Would you sit around the table in just a few minutes, break bread together, and remember Jesus as a church family?

- Whatever it is, however you can apply this, the point is the same.

- Let’s get together, and practice sharing the Truth of Jesus into each other’s lives and circumstances, so that we can all grow closer to Jesus, and more fluent in Him, together.

- Let’s start with “the meal” that Jesus told us to use to remember Him.

- And then, let’s move into practicing Gospel fluency throughout all of our meals.

- And that will help immerse us in fluency in a way that changes the rest of our lives.

- Close in prayer

- (*) Now What

- Benediction:

o Gracious God, in you we live and move and have our being.  With your word and this meal of grace, you have nourished our life together.  Strengthen us to show your love and serve the world in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Scripture:

- Matthew 26:17-30

- Mark 14:12-26

- Luke 22:7-30

- John 6:22-59

- 1 Corinthians 11:23-30

Pray:

- Pray that God would help you turn every meal this week into a chance to grow closer to Him. Pray that whether you are eating alone, with family, or friends, that you would be able to think and speak fluently in the Gospel around the table.

- Pray that the Holy Spirit would help you understand how “Jesus is better” in every situation and area of life. Pray that you would have wisdom and clarity to speak how Jesus is better when you listen to someone share about something they are going through.

Discussion/Reflection:

- The Gospel is not only “in me” but also “with us”. When it comes to applying and living out the Gospel, do you find it to be more of a personal issue, or a communal one (that you go through with other people)? Is your faith personal and private, or is it lived out in community with those around you? How?

- How has Jesus proven Himself to be “better” in your life? If you had a few minutes to share about why you chose to follow Jesus, how would you explain the difference that He made (and is still making), and how He is better than all of the other alternatives?

- There is perhaps no greater way to live in community with someone else, than to sit around a table and share a meal together. Do you agree with that? Why or why not? Are you regularly in the practice of opening up your table to others? Why or why not?

- What is one thing you can do this week to practice Gospel fluency around a table with others?

Now What Next Step:

- This week, find a way to take communion together with others who are following Jesus, sitting around a table together for a meal.

- Gather together with a friend, a group, or your family (don’t do it alone!) and take a special time during the meal to remember Jesus’ broken body and shed blood.

- Feel free to be as creative as you want. You may want to just add a cracker and sip of juice into the meal. Or perhaps you want to bake (or buy) a special loaf of bread to make it a more substantive part of the meal.

- You may want to read one of the Scriptures listed above, have a time to pray for each other, or anything else that helps you practice Gospel fluency together.

- Allow this meal to turn into a mini worship service!