Views from The Ridge 10.18.22

Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.

This week…

Wednesday, October 19, from 7:30-9pm: Youth Group at the Stirman’s

Friday, October 21, at 6:30pm: Sunset Worship - monthly outdoor worship on the lawn

Sunday, October 23:

• 9:15am— Fall Life Groups (thru November 13) & Roots Children’s Class

• 10:30am— Worship Service (TBD)

  Sermon: “The God Who Serves”

  Scripture: John 13:1-20

• No Charis Worship

Upcoming…

Wednesday, October 26, at 10am: Women’s Wednesday Fellowship

• Group Visitation Day - please RSVP to Sylva or Patti for planning purposes

Saturday, November 12: Family Morning

Sunday, November 13:

• Covenant Renewal

• ‘Friendsgiving’ Potluck

"Glory Road"

Riley Stirman

Over and over again in the book of John, we keep hearing that it's not Jesus's time yet.  The Pharisees can't arrest him because it's not his time, the disciples don't understand because it's not his time, and Jesus resists helping when the wine runs out because it's just not his time.

Suddenly, at the end of John 12, some Gentiles ask to see Jesus.  And for whatever reason, this is Jesus's cue.  His time has come.  And as soon as he acknowledges this, he starts talking about death - about how it's necessary, for example, for a kernel of wheat to fall to the ground and die so that it can bear fruit in the field.

Now if you're his disciples, and you've been following him for a few years because you think (quite correctly) that Jesus is the Messiah that the prophets spoke of, this isn't going to sit well for you.  There are a number of things the Messiah is supposed to do.  He is supposed to gather back the scattered people of Israel, raise up an army, kill all of the non-Jews (if you're a conservative) or most of the non-Jews (if you're a liberal), and re-establish the nation of Israel that will rule forever, all of which bring glory to the one true God of Israel.  The one thing the Messiah absolutely was not supposed to do?  Die.

There are exactly two parts of this that the disciples got right - credit where credit is due:  Jesus is absolutely the Messiah they have been waiting for, and the time of his glory is indeed here.  What they have wrong is the definition of glory.  This is the kind of thing that can only make sense in retrospect, after Jesus has already been raised from the dead, but every time he alludes to his death, he speaks about glory.  He says, time and again, that he will die a spectacularly horrible death that will benefit all of humanity.  And somehow this will bring glory to him and to God the Father.

This brings us to a very important truth:  the things that glorify God have absolutely nothing to do with power.  And everything to do with self-emptying love.  In Randy Harris's book God Work, he observes, "It is striking that God's most definitive act in the world is not an act of power but an act of powerlessness."  There is something about love and sacrifice that is apparently fundamental to God's nature, to the point where those types of actions are in fact what bring glory to his name.

There's a word for us in this.  Because I would argue that often our efforts to glorify God look less like Jesus's example than the example of those who put him to death.  We who are concerned with power, with bigger buildings, with padding the budget's bottom line, with creating bigger and bigger churches, with merging our nation's government with Christianity.  Are these things really what bring glory to Jesus?  Aren't they the kinds of things that end up trampling the humble and the meek?

Or perhaps should we be focusing on the small, the mundane, and the - forgive me - un-sexy acts of love that Jesus performed day in and day out.  Wouldn't it be something if instead of having the largest or wealthiest church, we had the most sacrificial?  Or the most servant-hearted?

I think these types of churches are the ones God smiles upon most, and they're likely the churches that will never make any sort of prominent waves in the news.  But what incredible communities they must be.  All, of course, to God's glory.

Daily Bible Readings

• Monday: Isaiah 53:2-3

• Tuesday: Philippians 2:5-7

• Wednesday: Zechariah 9:9

• Thursday: Matthew 20:26-28

• Friday: Psalm 51:1-2

• Saturday: I Thessalonians 5:23-24

Covenant Renewal

Reaffirming our commitments to each other, this community, and to God

Another portion of the formal Covenant Document will be introduced each Sunday leading up to our Covenant renewal service on November 13.

As members of the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ, we believe it is our mission to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate his love and hope to all. We affirm this covenant with one another by God’s grace for our good and ultimately for God’s glory. We believe that the death and resurrection of Christ has brought us into new life with the Spirit. We also believe that God is at work in the world bringing about new creation and that we are empowered as his people to join that work.

Together, as we are physically and emotionally able, we will draw near to God in worship. We believe that worship is a communal act that honors God. We will engage practices that bring glory to God, make us aware of his presence, and renew our fellowship. We will engage deeply with the Word of God as it guides and shapes us, and we will be dependent on the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Together, we will remind each other of the hope we have. We will regularly join Christ in communion as we celebrate his good work in the world— past, present, and future. We will commit to being formed to Christ’s image and transformed by the work of the Spirit within us.

Praises & Prayers

Continued prayers for our sister Carol Gerhardt, who is undergoing radiation treatments every weekday through November 25.

Greg Johnston suffered a stroke last week, but is now home and doing well.

God, we gather in gratitude, thankful for the ways you seek to revive us! Let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts work together to praise you in this hour. Grant your Spirit to move our hearts and inspire each of us to share your steadfast love with all whom we encounter. Help us to join in giving only what is good, not only today but every day.  Amen