10th October 2021, AM

We're continuing on in the book of Galatians as. He said, my name is, is Patrick. What are the team here? If you can't, if you never met me and you can't tell I am American, I think like three or four times in the past 3 weeks people have mistaken me for Irish while I was speaking which really confuse me. I just blame it on the mask like muffling, my voice a bit, but I take it as a compliment. None, the less. If you are Irish, come find me after this. I'll just have. You say my name Patrick if you times cuz I just I love hearing the name, Patrick, with an Irish accent. It just it feels like it fits that has nothing to do with where I'm going, but good morning. So we're continuing on in this letter, the Apostle Paul in early follower of Jesus and leader in the early church, a wrote to some Churches in galatia. We've got a label is continuing and Grace. I was tempted to subtitle it Paul, The Peacemaker. Now if you've been tracking with us the past few weeks, you might scratch your head of bed. He he seems a bit feisty to say the least, right? And you'll hear that. When Noah comes up and reads in a bit, but I decided to order gospel Unity, but I'll explain why I was tempted to say Paul The Peacemaker because I do think Paul is being a peacemaker. I'm over this past year and a half the time I was back in the States when the pandemic happened. I was also back in the States when the Black lives matter protests broke out. I was actually driving from Dallas, Texas through through the night. And, and saw I didn't see Protests in south of driving through, but saw graffiti and various things, as I went through some of the major cities in which protests were happening.

And what about the questions are? Or what are things? That intrigued me and reflecting upon this was how quickly People accuse protesters of causing Descent of causing disagreement of, not being peace, keepers.

My mind went back to a I wasn't around at this time. It was in the sixties, but this is a comic that appeared. I I believe down in Birmingham, UK us about MLK. It was kind of a satirical thing.

Critiquing him for 4 saying he was marching peacefully because some some disruption happened during his marches as well and sent to him. It was clipped. It was cut out of a newspaper written alongside others. Text here was written by a by someone in sent it to Martin Luther King Jr. And it says how can you a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Be such a deceitful hypocrite. You're not fooling, anyone but yourself with your nauseating, talk of non-violence, and it went on.

Play, Martin Luther King. Jr's, remembered for a peacemaker. Why? I think he gets at this point in his letter from a Birmingham Jail. He says, I have I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion, that the Negroes great, stumbling block in. The stride towards freedom is not the White Citizens Council, or the Klu Klux Klan. ER. But the white moderates, who is more devoted to order then to Justice who prefers a negative peace, which is the absence of pension to a positive and which is the absent absent absence of attention to a positive piece, which is the presence of Justice whenever they guess is. It's a white matter who prefers and negative piece, which is the absence of pension to a positive piece, which is the presence of justice has to. Because I think what we're getting at here is Paul is fighting hard for Unity in the church.

But you have to fight for Unity because there is a Unity that's not worth having. So, thinking of Paul the Apostle Paul, in terms of a peacemaker, as you read this, I would invite Noah to come on up and read the awesomest. 10 year old as his shirt says.

Galatians chapter 2 verse 1 through 10. Then, after 14 years. I went up again to Jerusalem this time with Barnabas. I took Titus a long also. I wasn't in response to Revelation and meeting privately with those esteemed As Leaders. I presented the to them the gospel that I preached among the Gentiles. I want, I wanted to be sure I was not running. I'm had not been running my race in vain yet. Not even tight issues. With me was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek this matter arose because some false Believers had infiltrated. Our ranks to spy on the freedoms we have in Christ Jesus and to make a sleigh. We did not given given to them for a moment. So that the truth of the Gospel might be preserved for you as for those who were held in high esteem, whatever. They were makes no difference to me. God does not show does not show favoritism. They added nothing to my message. On the contrary the recognize that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching, the gospel to the uncircumcised. Just Justice, beat your head, spin to the circumcised. Forgot who was at work and featured as an apostle, to the circumsized was also at work, add me as an apostle to the Gentiles James cephus, and John those. Rosa Stevens as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of Fellowship. When they recognized the grace to me, Grace, given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the food. The very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Thank you. And thank you David for taking over control. The slides. I forgot to to take care of that.

It Away. Paul Comes Out Swinging. He he is eager to fight to defend the gospel. But even in the midst of that that passion, he first went privately to leaders in Jerusalem to see if they were on the same page.

A map of where I'm going in this talk and we have a bit of a dialog at the end with a couple people from the church. I'll just trying to tell you where I'm going where I'm going. Is it in the gospel? We are united, we find unity in the gospel. In the gospel. We find space and the gospel we are for each other. In the gospel. We belong to us look first at in the gospel. We are united. Read that. There's one gospel from God for all people. I'm not to spend too much time because because Peter gave a message a couple weeks ago. I'm focusing on this idea that this is a gospel from God, but very quickly, we see, we see it reiterated when it says he received a revelation and then he goes up to Jerusalem, and he presented to them the gospel. I'm Betty, been preaching among the Gentiles. He does this to the to the other Apostles of the Disciples of Jesus as for those who are held in high esteem. These are the apostles makes no difference to me. It sounds a bit cheeky I guess but I think what he's getting there is, is this idea that it doesn't matter. The gospel is not gatekeep by people. It's determined by God. It's given by God to make a difference who they were, but he makes know that they were held in high esteem. There were leaders in the early church. They added nothing to my message. So what do you say? We see if there is one gospel from God, for all people? We'll see later that Peter is going to the Jewish Christians. Paul is going to the primarily, Gentile Christians, and yet they have the same gospel. So, what is the gospel? The red talk about gospel Community. Today? We probably should have an understanding of what the gospel is, a broader picture, a better picture of what he means by gospel and 1st Corinthians. 15, 3, 2 6. Which may scholars believe is an ancient Christian Creed that would predate this writing perhaps even a few years after the resurrection of Jesus. Paul says Christ died for our sins. According to the scriptures. He was buried and he was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures and then it goes on to see all the people That Jesus appeared to bottling so we can call this the gospel event, right? That the historical facts of what happened. That make the gospel true. What else is the gospel? What we see in the letter to the Romans is says, if you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, which instantly I was actually a quote from the Old Testament that Jesus is Yahweh. I believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. Anyone who believes in him will never be. Put to shame for. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses, all who call on him for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So what is the gospel explained? It this way is the good news of God's gift. A forgiveness, we often in church. Use the word Grace, right? Getting something. You don't deserve a gift, the good news of God's Gift of forgiveness, restoration, adoption and eternal life in this life and the next through the death and resurrection of Jesus given freely to all who turn and Trust, In him.

You might be sitting here today and you may have never heard of The Gospel, perhaps you've encountered it before but you you kind of stand at a distance from it. It's one thing to know with your head butt. James did the brother of Jesus rights, you know, even the demons believe and they tremble know we must relate our self to the truth of Jesus life and death and Resurrection in his offer of forgiveness and restoration to be in a right relationship with God with the creator of the universe. It is true that we are adopted. I I wanted the word adopted in here because I think this connects to Unity. We are adopted into the family of God.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the book life together says Christian Unity or Christian Fellowship. Is a fact, it's not something. We try to work towards it's a state of affairs, all the turned interested in Jesus for salvation are part of the same family, we have unity in that. But of course, practically get to work toward a Unity together as well.

So this is the gospel that Paul is fighting for. Why is circumcision such a big issue. I think circumcision is a placeholder. It's what represents the Mosaic this old cabinets, way of old way of God doing things with the with the people of Israel.

And if the Gentiles must first be circumcised, what that says, is the Gentiles must first become Jewish to become Christians.

And Paul says, in Galatians 2 5, we did not give in to them for a moment for that the truth of the Gospel might be preserved for you. Why is Paul feisty? Cuz he's fighting for you. He's fighting for your freedom. Freedom that we are. We're not meant to destroy even to try to earn our Salvation, do it to keep working. In wondering, if we stand right before God. No return, We Trust we surrender. And we declared right with God.

Paul is passionate. By the power of the Gospel in about the unity of the church. because if you have to strive to be part of a community, You're always to be wondering, am I in?

But when you have membership based upon a gift. No questions asked. You belong. In the gospel. We are United Gospel. Unity must be uncompromising on God's grace. No cannot unlock the qualification uncompromising on God's grace.

We are called to be peacemakers. Not peace-keepers the distinction. There is a peacekeeper gets Conformity by force. You might bring in soldiers, to keep the peace to keep the rule of law. Peacemakers, create a culture.

Filled with grace in which there is Unity based upon that Grace. That shared sense of belonging.

So we fight for gospel Unity, how, how do we fight? This might seem counterintuitive by surrendering? We fight by surrendering to God's grace. How do we do that? Look like this. I mean, I say this with me like a little participation ready. I know this is my, you know, her to Migos hair, but I am not good enough. And that's good news.

Could you again? I am not good enough. And that's good news. Why? Because if I'm not good enough, then you don't have to be good enough Grace, not Merit. If it's Merit, it becomes a competition. Pick up the check list of whether or not you belong.

But the church is Unity begins with a cross. It begins with a gift of Grace that we didn't deserve.

In the gospel, we are united but also in the gospel, we find Space. I'm going to run through a few things to discuss this with me. If I seem like I'm going a little quick but we'll unpack it some more in the gospel. He finds space. What do I mean by that? The gospel unique traits space for diverse expressions of gospel living. We see this in Galatians.

2 not 2:10, I think this is like to five and six. I must have messed up my citation there but forgot who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised. The Jewish Believers was also at work in me as an apostle or Messenger to the Gentiles. The non-jewish James cephas Guy, Peter familiar with them. And John those esteemed Heller's gave me and Barnabas the right hand of Fellowship when they recognize the grace given to me. They agree that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. No, we see. Is it separate Christian communities developed, which I believe are probably where to see next week that there's interaction between the two but this is probably primarily a cultural and geographical thing. That's not post primary concern to reflect currently upon. What does it look like, you know, where they all come together because he thinks Jesus coming back real quick real soon. And he's like, let's get the gospel out there, right? It's so, we can, we can reflect more upon. Okay, what does it mean, when, when the Jews in the Gentiles, or where the Scots and the English intersect? I don't know which is more difficult. Just kidding. I am I allowed to say that is American. I don't know if I hit him.

Candace party says when they recognize the grace given to me, what did Peter do with his apostles who they recognized God working in diverse ways that God's grace was at work? In Paul in a very different way in a very different context. But it was God's grace equally none. The less. The gospel be fine space. There's one gospel from God, for all people expressed in diverse ways.

Are you a friend of Pastor was actually visited, hope City before and you on, he he was writing a Blog. He's a American Born Chinese Pastor serving, a very diverse on Church community in Berkeley, California, and he wrote A Blog reflecting upon how hard it can be to have a diverse community. And he says, it's hard to be a family when you don't have it. The same story. We all come from different backgrounds. We all have different kind of narratives of our life stories. We tell you no hopes and values so hard to be a family when you don't speak the same language know. This could be very, very literal, but it can also be, you know, maybe maybe you're new to church and there's turn Dom using that you like. I've never heard these before. What is he saying? And I apologize for that. So we have to start a work of translation. Even if we're all speaking, the same literal language. Sometimes we have to translate cultural gestures. It's hard to be a family when you don't share the same consumption habits and preferences. Some of us like football some of us don't I've learned to to limit my sports analogies in this congregation.

And some of us like hike some of those down. Some of us some of us like watching TV show, some of us don't write. It could be, it could be a strain on Unity when you just you don't seem to enjoy the same thing. So what are you do so hard to be a family when you don't share the same views? And values.

I love the other with the way. Andrew went on to say that she said people are constantly pulling the church in different directions based on their various views and values. And what's more many of these directions even those that seem to be opposites are often actually good and worthwhile directions. The difficulties in Discerning, the best timing of each distinct Direction and how vigorously we ought to pull. We reflect upon of the situation of the internet that the confrontation want to call it between the Jews and the Gentiles. We should realize it circumcision wasn't bad. It was even required by God for thousands of years along with many other aspects of the Mosaic law, the law of Moses that was given for the people of Israel to follow. Circumcision was a sign of being a follower of God. They didn't know vidiots to it. Asked to them. In that sense. It is much like baptism for us today. We will choose to be baptized to identify with the death of Aaron, resurrection of Jesus. You circumcised to identify with the people of God.

However, we must be willing to let go of what was once good when God asks us to and even be willing to hold present Goods Loosely when love calls us to do. So, of course, never induced Disobedience to God, but where there's genuine? Christian Liberty, Christian freedom. We need to have space for diversity. If you would Space 4. For Grace.

How do we begin this process? Well, perhaps we could think of in three phases, making space for four, different swears that look like, what does it look like to create a welcoming environment that have an empty seat at the table that someone feels comfortable coming to in sitting at?

Please try to go beyond that, right? It's one thing, you can't imagine going to a table, right? And you invite someone to sit there, right? And just don't speak with him right there at the table. They should be content with that. Right? No. No, we need to engage in dialogue and sometimes dialogue, I chose confrontation for a reason, right? Don't have to be bad, but I want to get me right.

Cultures needed Clyde if we're going to ever get to the third step of shaping a shared story. Do we have the shirts story that starts with the gospel? Right? But if we're going to be practically speaking a a unified Community with a similar purpose in Vision, we need some kind of shirts story that comes out of it and hopefully I think it's a shared language that we developed. We often talked about in our monthly meetings. things like,

Plus. Begin with prayer, listen with care, eat with them, Sir, with Love. Share your story. Reflect upon this bit more. I think I think Austin times in this context were often thinking of evangelism, right? But I think these steps also apply to developing healthy Christian. Unity. Reflecting upon a bit more. How do we create space? I think it starts with understanding the gospel that it's a gospel of grace, and not bear it. It's not a competition, right? It's not about what you do, but it's about what has been done. And we have to recognize that we have a culture, is a kind of funny old, David Foster Wallace analogy, use it a commencement speech in which he describes a fish swimming along into other fish swim past it and one fish goes the other fish and says, hey, how's the water? And the other fish is a guy that's fine. And the two fish swim on by and the other fish turns the other fish and says, what the heck is water. Culture is what we swim in right through often. Very unaware of our own assumptions. Our own values things, just seemed normal, right circumcision, seemed normal to reject circumcision. Seemed to be to reject God. So, there's a confrontation that had to happen first in the Jewish people in the gospel. And then the Jewish people in the Gentiles and non-jewish people.

Decenter yourselves. Okay, how do we we move into this confrontation with difference? I like this old wear Descent of yourself, right? Because it's not about completely forgetting yourself, right? You have your own personality, but it's about making sure you're not in the center about valuing other people, right? Value in God first and then others than yourself. Listen and share with an ear towards love feel like academic lingo. I love the phrase. Hermeneutics of Love erbitux is just a fancy word for how we interpret things that often forget that every interaction with people is an interpretation of something. We are coming with a particular framework. A particular understanding that we interpret if someone gives me a rose. I interpreted, probably definitely. If it's rad, if it's yellow. It's white. Do people still follow those rules. I don't know. I don't get roses and don't don't bring me roses, please. But we all have cultural expectations and I'm sure we can go story after story of the story of different cultures. Right? For example. I had to learn very quickly in my study space over here, not to do two backwards. So the peace sign backwards. We do that American, it means nothing like like it's, it's like a bye. See you later. And I quickly had to learn do this defensive here. I had to relearn how to translate my communication. So I need to Center myself. I need to listen and share with an air towards love. I need patience, and hope other people have patience with me for my mistakes, recognize and celebrate God's grace, and others, and then organically seek and shape a shared organically because I think we need to be careful not to force it. You know, I don't know how your families are, but sometimes forced fun time. Does not always work. Well. Right. If you have kind of an authority figure come and see all our families going to do this and do that and do this and do that. Maybe there's a time and a place for it. Right? But when you have a huge difference family, right, if you become very difficult and actually being a bad amount to True Unity. If you don't let it organically grow through a process of listening learning and changing. Show Mexican invite David and Ezra up right now. And I'm going to ask you a few questions, or have a conversation on.

This is right there. So if you guys could just introduce yourselves very quickly. My name is David Mensch. And I we've just returned to Scotland after a 20-year Gap and we have worked internationally originally from the states but have lived in Scotland, Germany, Sweden in trying to build cross-cultural communities.

I am Ezra from Singapore, currently doing my seminarian a TTS. Now my wife and my kids will be flying over in December. So I'm alone now.

We can't wait to meet him. That's if you haven't left us by then. I'm just how do we how do we recognize that? We have a culture? Like what what, what practices would you recommend, or have you ever had a moment? Would you been confronted with all I do have a culture? I think typically is the first time somebody notices in the comments that you have an accent, because that's what he grew up with and Robin accent. And so there is just noticing of differences. Sometimes it happens when you get married and there's a family culture and you join another family and realize or they don't do things. The way that we used to do them in my home growing up. And so I think there is this observation is probably the first bit but then also the fact that when you do a cultural faux pas and you actually stumble into something and goofy as you described with your hand signals,

I guess we will be coming to understanding the different culture and Adventures culture gabfest. The church couch in. Singapore is very different from from here. So get used to it again. No, not begin. Getting used to a different way of worshipping, of many things, interacting with with people and, of course, making new friends as well new community. Yeah. Google. What advice might you give someone who and I do something. I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but I think we need to create a habit of becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable, right? Because, you know, I think it's that's the only way to truly be welcoming to people. You know, who who come from? Very different backgrounds, right? Because for becoming comfortable, with the uncomfortable

I'm just very quickly. I remember this conference of the attending in in Singapore's capital of Singapore conference. It's where churches in Singapore. Get it together. Yep, so that took about 20 years for to develop because it's quite difficult. Our different denominations come together. And dr. Seuss hat thing so I can pronounce the last name. Yep. She was just resting a teaching and she talks about the Bible culture, how how individual pictures are of the nomination and people from different cultures from different countries, putting aside our differences and focus on the Bible counter. Because I think like what Patrick has has mentioned just now the gospel. The gospel is, is unity and end in the Bible, when he talks about Unity within Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and if we put aside our differences and focused on The primary purpose of of, of of unity. Because the gospel is unity. And we believe in the same, Jesus Christ died. It's all the same and everything else would be secondary and, and coming together. And that makes a difference when when brothers and sisters comes together and then do it that, at the SSI, the family of Christ. Yeah. I think one of the things that's important is to know what your goal is. If a goal is diversity and and abroad umbrella, then that that doesn't necessarily mean that you are a diverse church, but happens is, we are often amount of cultural church that we are welcoming to others from different experiences. We would say, alright, this is still a, a Scottish church. But how does that? What is a Scottish Church? There's no such thing. Actually that exists. There is a Search centered around the gospel. That is expressed in a Scottish culture or German culture, or a Singaporean culture. And so you have to understand what those pieces are. So then the nature actually think everyone else thinks and believes like us heard. It said once that there was a woman named Esther and she had a very small world. It was bounded north, south east and west by Esther. So often it is the aspect that we feel everything is like us. So a practical tip is knowing the goals that you're aiming for focus of the Gospel but being embracing other cultures and expressions. And then also that what you talked about us, not being the right or the wrong about aspect that there are right and wrong things for expression. Migos culture to me is an expression of my own selfishness in my own humanity. Is just how that that has played out and Christ has to rub that off and change it for me in his And then I have that image that I share with azra and with you, and with others. Thank you. So thinking of before, 2, before the story in the various things that cause difficulties of advice. Would you give to Hope City or to tell me when you're here talking with about beginning, the process of of navigating, some of these with the with the goal of trying to get to a more expansive shirt, story is a church.

Probably going to go karting with Matt might help. I think that aspect of that, I have to actually get out of myself. I have to invite people have to be trying to have Hospitality. That's what Hospitality. So extremely important in the New Testament that you that you eat together and that you have shared experiences. When you're creating a new culture within a church. As we are here at Hub City, then it means that you're going to have to have more experiences together where that is hikes or walks or experiences together, but that you don't just enjoy it for the event. You actually asked really great questions. And that's how I learned about people around me, is that I learned to ask open-ended questions and empathize and learn from their store and find. It's often not either very different or not, very different from mine and appreciate that aspect.

I guess like what you mentioned, that you're being comfortable with being uncomfortable and then one of the thing like, what David mentioned his Hospitality, yeah, so remember and in in Singapore, what? What pasta has taught us, which we, we practice often is food, you know, how come so he he always says this, if you read the Bible, The story of Christ and the disciples are always. There's always food around the last supper, right? I don't think it's best for me as well. But, yeah, so it's a food Break Down The Walls, you know, when is food a Break Down The Walls, people get comfortable and end in for myself as as as an Asian, you know, this artist sing in in, in Mandarin, I currently speak Mandarin while but this is Singin in Mandarin that food bring the family together, brings people together. And and that's one of the thing of its hospitality is this food. The walls are down really well. I hope you get vulnerable and in and share life, or what? Because we do Church wherever we are ya As we wrap up to my sharing the in our conversation on Thursday. You want to share a bit. Communion that observation you made on. That is a picture of unity in diversity. And I really love that last Sunday, was our first time to celebrate communion with hope City Live. Okay. It's one thing when you're sitting at home in your lounge, and you've met it together, your own elements. And so, I was so struck by the fact that when I walk up to the table, there is Unity around, what the expression of communion is what it represents to us as the people of faith and remembering Christ's death and Resurrection, but there was wine or juice, there was a gluten-free or gluten-filled and that's an expression of diversity. That is, that is allowed. And yet still celebrating around the aspect of our Unity of understanding. What the what we are celebrating together. Thank you. Thank you, both, appreciate it.

Cool as we reflect and wrap up today. I'm asking to be coming up in a second to I'll sing a song. I'm let's reflect on unity and we talked, I focused mostly on kind of diversity and starting this process of creating space, which I think we are already doing is a church, but I think it's something that we can always work on doing a better and being intentionally. Oftentimes. We will use the phrase belong, right? We speak of this area. What is a need to belong?

I think our obligation is is in the gospel. We are for each other gospel. Unity binds us together in unity, Galatians return the love of freedom. I love your Knology of a train on the tracks right at train is not free. When it's off the tracks that train is free, but it's on the tracks, right? And what are the tracks of the Christian Life Is Love? Write the love God, with all your heart, soul in mind, full of our neighbor as ourselves, right? And all grounded, the gospel. So as as Matt comes up, plus reflect upon this point, I love this quote from Tim Keller. He says, the gospel is this, we are more sinful and flawed and are in ourselves than we ever dared, believe yet, at the very same time. We are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared. Hope in it for that loved by God. We should have an issue loving each other. Thanks Mac. Let's stand and sing to his new song that was written by somebody.