Becoming Centered on Christ
1 Amens
The Gospel is Christocentric
Welcome- Chip
Psalm- Psalm 27:1
Quiet Meditation
Psalm- Psalm 27:1-8
Song(s)- Devin
Prayer- Bob
We’re in week three of walking through How the Gospel Shapes our community- We're basing our time this Fall in the first couple chapters of the short NT book, 1 Peter, not really going verse by verse and talking about everything the author does, but instead seeing some overall themes, some implications for our community in terms of how the Gosel plays itself out.
So, far, we've seen that the Gospel is historical- it's based on an event that happened- the resurrection of Jesus, and because it's based on something that has already happened, not on something we need to do, it's good news, not good advice. And because of that, it's important that we model what God is doing in the world with our lives, but until we speak, until we connect those good works with Jesus and the news about Him, it's incomplete.
Secondly, last week, we saw that the Gospel is (big word here), doxological- that is, that it leads us to worship- that everything in it is, as Peter puts it, to the praise of God. And so the Gospel shapes us into a worshiping community.
Let me ask what may seem like an obvious question- but there are probably more answers to it than we realize-
What is Jesus’ role in our lives? I mean, practically speaking, what does Jesus do for us?
One of the most intriguing stories in the Gospels is when Jesus, after His resurrection but before He hung out again with the disciples as a whole, appears to two of them who were walking down a road to a place called Emmaus. It says in VS Luke 24: 13-15, 27, 32
Now- what is Jesus doing here? If I understand this right, He’s telling them how to read the whole OT. “Moses and the Prophets” is a short hand way of saying the whole Hebrew Bible… He’s saying- “Everything, the writings of Moses, the Prophets in the Old Testament is about Me.” Okay… so what?
This has some practical implications for us, in that it forces a question: Is the Bible basically about me and what I need to do, or is it basically about Jesus and what He has done? Is it a book of rules and commands or the story of a Redeemer? Is it, as we talked about 2 weeks ago- good advice, or Good News?
Here’s the way Peter puts it in 1 Peter 1, speaking about Jesus…
VS 1 Peter 1:8-13
Apparently, Peter took to heart what Jesus said to his fellow disciples on the road to Emmaus. He picks up that same theme…
There are a couple of different ways people tend to approach the Bible- Some people approach Scripture as though it’s a rule book- telling us primarily what to do or not to do to stay out of hell. I think that’s a wrong approach. These people love the book of Romans, the minor prophets and tend to shy away from the happier parts of the whole thing.
Other people approach Scripture as though rather than God it was written by someone more like Oprah or Tony Robbins- it’s an inspirational piece of literature and I go to it for my daily pick me up- more of the 10 Suggestions than the 10 Commandments. Again, wrong approach. These people tend to love the book of Philippians and certain Psalms and never really get to parts like the minor prophets.
Now- two complete polar opposites when it comes to how we read Scripture- book of rules, inspirational Oprah Book of the Month selection. What’s the mistake both of those approaches make? I’ll tell you: They both assume Scripture is about me. And it’s not.
When you come to Scripture looking for a rule to keep to make you righteous or to show other people how righteous you are or even a little nugget of life-lesson wisdom to enhance your day-to-day life, you are completely missing the point. And it’s a sure recipe for either feeling self-righteousness and better than everyone who doesn’t keep the rules as well as you do, or of shame and inadequacy because you never quite get there. Not that there isn’t wisdom for how to live in there- the Proverbs and the Epistles in particular are filled with them. Or instructions for how we should live. But all that comes in the context of a whole narrative that, as opposed to telling us how to live, is meant to point us to Jesus.
For example- if I read the story of David and Goliath and think the lesson is- be like David, I’m setting myself up for a fall, because 1. in all likelihood, I’ll never be like David, and 2. That’s not the point of the story!
The Bible is not a handbook, not a rulebook, it's a Story. The Story of God's redemption of us and we see the Hero of that story on every page. For instance, the story of David and Goliath. So not about how you can defeat the giants in your life (how many times have you heard that sermon???)
It's about how you can't- but God can. And it's specifically about how He does so through the weakness of the substitute- the unlikely one who stood in King Saul's place, who came in the name of the Lord and the power of the Spirit and defeated the enemy of the people of God. If you read that story and see yourself in David, you are reading it wrongly. We are not David- we are the cowering Israelites who face an undefeatable foe...
But God is on the scene, sending One who can defeat whatever we face- and that's who David points us to- Jesus. The point of the story is not "Be like David." You can't... it's trust Jesus, the real and true David who wins the victory over death and sin.
The more I read of Scripture, the more I see that this is the way it's meant to be read- it all points to Jesus and in such amazingly literate ways as to boggle the mind. What Peter is telling us here is that the writers of Scripture were better writers than even they knew, from the first page on through:
Some of you grew up in Sunday School with the flannelgraph Bible stories, or hearing them in Sunday School or read to you at night- some of you may never have heard them, but I'll bet most at some point got bits and pieces. The flannelgraph stories are great in that they give us the facts, but they don't really give us the meaning. For example… Adam and Eve. From the flanelgraph you get the whole naked in the garden thing, the snake, the apple… But what we miss is that Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed His test in the garden and whose obedience is credited to us.
Or Cain and Abel- Cain killed his brother Abel and God told Cain that that blood of his innocent brother cried out against him. But Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.
Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, "Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me," now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, "Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us."
Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.
Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.
Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.
Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God's justice, now gives us water in the desert
Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.
Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people's victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn't just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.
Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.
Jesus is the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread…
The Bible is not about you!
The Old Testament is a record of failure and the New a record of Jesus and His success where others had failed- His success and the success of the Gospel in bringing the life that the Law could not bring through obedience and the Prophets couldn't bring through their preaching.
Here’s what this means, practically speaking.
This isn’t just a matter of how we read Scripture- it’s a template for how we live our lives. See, it doesn’t matter if it’s a sermon you hear at church, read in a book, see on Dr Phil, tell yourself, whatever… Until we understand what Jesus did and so what He does in our lives, all of it will come across as moralizing- “This is what you ought to do, this is what you ought to do, this is what you ought to do.” And our response will always be… “I know, I know… I know what I should do… I already knew all that but now I’m just a bit more guilty and filled with shame about it, so thanks for that, but I know.”
But that’s exactly where Jesus enters the picture: This is what you ought to do, but you probably can’t do it… but, man, there’s one who did. And because He did it on our behalf and in our place, when we believe in and follow Him, we’ll begin to be able to begin to do it too- to live the way we ought- but only to the extent that we understand what He’s done for us…
See, when all I can see is the difference between what God wants from me, or where I “should” be and where I am, I despair. I try and I fail, I try and I fail. But when I see that Jesus not only died for me, but lived for me as well, that it’s not simply that He takes my sin but gives me His righteousness… then I want to live a certain way. Change becomes a more internalized response of thankfulness rather than an externally motivated keeping of rules. A response of worship rather than a fear-based effort at self-salvation.
Until I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is my true riches, and relationship with Him my true inheritance, money will rule me. The only way I will ever be more generous is to put Jesus in His rightful place at the center of my life. When I do that, Money is just money.
Until I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves me so much that Jesus gladly died for me, I will need and seek and do anything for the approval of those around me. The only way I will ever find true security in this life is to find it in centering my life on the one who loved me that much- so much He would die for me.
Remember those WWJD bracelets and bumper stickers and key chains and underwear…? What Would Jesus do, is a pretty good question, but a better one is this: What did Jesus do?
See, until I understand that it’s Jesus who justifies me, I will always be trying to justify myself- always be trying to earn or prove my worth, my rightness. I’ll need you to see me a certain way, I’ll fight to prove I’m right, I’ll constantly try to impress everyone… But when I know that my righteousness, my rightness comes from the fact that Jesus lived the life I never could and doesn’t just take my sin but gives me His rightness, I can relax. I don’t need to justify myself because He’s already done it.
And when we as a community begin to place Jesus in the center of not only what we do, but who we are- it changes everything because it changes us. We forgive others because Jesus forgave us. We become generous because we see His generosity. We are free to love others because we know, we know that God cares for us and we’re secure in that love.
The Gospel calls us to a Christ-centered life- and living life in the way of Jesus means not just emulating Him in our actions, but basing our whole identity around who He is, and what He has done for us, knowing that God Himself has come to rescue and renew us, through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
Let's pray…
One of the ways we center ourselves as a community on Jesus is to come, over and over, to this table. It's here we remember physically what Jesus has done for us- His Body, give for us, His blood poured out for our forgiveness. We're going to do communion a little differently today- a way that might feel a bit old school to some of you- as we sing this first song, would you take a moment to sing, to worship, to pray, and then would you come up to the table, take a piece of bread, one of the small cups of juice or wine and then take it back to your seat? Take a moment to pause up here, meditate on some of the artwork, pray- but take the bread and the cup back to your seat and hold it and we'll all take it together.
Song
Communion- Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer
Take Communion any time diuring this next song
Song- Here is Love
Song- In Christ Alone
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 
the only Son of God, 
eternally begotten of the Father, 
God from God, light from light, 
true God from true God, 
begotten, not made, 
of one Being with the Father; 
through him all things were made. 
For us and for our salvation 
he came down from heaven, 
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary 
and became truly human. 
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; 
he suffered death and was buried. 
On the third day he rose again 
in accordance with the Scriptures; 
he ascended into heaven 
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, 
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, 
who proceeds from the Father and the Son, 
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, 
who has spoken through the prophets. 
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. 
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 
We look for the resurrection of the dead, 
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Song- Jesus, Be the Center
Wrap up-
Let me ask you all- practically speaking, what does it mean to live a Christ-centered life both as a community? What difference should it make?
Final Announcements-
Blessing- Bob
Read MoreWelcome- Chip
Psalm- Psalm 27:1
Quiet Meditation
Psalm- Psalm 27:1-8
Song(s)- Devin
Prayer- Bob
We’re in week three of walking through How the Gospel Shapes our community- We're basing our time this Fall in the first couple chapters of the short NT book, 1 Peter, not really going verse by verse and talking about everything the author does, but instead seeing some overall themes, some implications for our community in terms of how the Gosel plays itself out.
So, far, we've seen that the Gospel is historical- it's based on an event that happened- the resurrection of Jesus, and because it's based on something that has already happened, not on something we need to do, it's good news, not good advice. And because of that, it's important that we model what God is doing in the world with our lives, but until we speak, until we connect those good works with Jesus and the news about Him, it's incomplete.
Secondly, last week, we saw that the Gospel is (big word here), doxological- that is, that it leads us to worship- that everything in it is, as Peter puts it, to the praise of God. And so the Gospel shapes us into a worshiping community.
Let me ask what may seem like an obvious question- but there are probably more answers to it than we realize-
What is Jesus’ role in our lives? I mean, practically speaking, what does Jesus do for us?
One of the most intriguing stories in the Gospels is when Jesus, after His resurrection but before He hung out again with the disciples as a whole, appears to two of them who were walking down a road to a place called Emmaus. It says in VS Luke 24: 13-15, 27, 32
Now- what is Jesus doing here? If I understand this right, He’s telling them how to read the whole OT. “Moses and the Prophets” is a short hand way of saying the whole Hebrew Bible… He’s saying- “Everything, the writings of Moses, the Prophets in the Old Testament is about Me.” Okay… so what?
This has some practical implications for us, in that it forces a question: Is the Bible basically about me and what I need to do, or is it basically about Jesus and what He has done? Is it a book of rules and commands or the story of a Redeemer? Is it, as we talked about 2 weeks ago- good advice, or Good News?
Here’s the way Peter puts it in 1 Peter 1, speaking about Jesus…
VS 1 Peter 1:8-13
Apparently, Peter took to heart what Jesus said to his fellow disciples on the road to Emmaus. He picks up that same theme…
There are a couple of different ways people tend to approach the Bible- Some people approach Scripture as though it’s a rule book- telling us primarily what to do or not to do to stay out of hell. I think that’s a wrong approach. These people love the book of Romans, the minor prophets and tend to shy away from the happier parts of the whole thing.
Other people approach Scripture as though rather than God it was written by someone more like Oprah or Tony Robbins- it’s an inspirational piece of literature and I go to it for my daily pick me up- more of the 10 Suggestions than the 10 Commandments. Again, wrong approach. These people tend to love the book of Philippians and certain Psalms and never really get to parts like the minor prophets.
Now- two complete polar opposites when it comes to how we read Scripture- book of rules, inspirational Oprah Book of the Month selection. What’s the mistake both of those approaches make? I’ll tell you: They both assume Scripture is about me. And it’s not.
When you come to Scripture looking for a rule to keep to make you righteous or to show other people how righteous you are or even a little nugget of life-lesson wisdom to enhance your day-to-day life, you are completely missing the point. And it’s a sure recipe for either feeling self-righteousness and better than everyone who doesn’t keep the rules as well as you do, or of shame and inadequacy because you never quite get there. Not that there isn’t wisdom for how to live in there- the Proverbs and the Epistles in particular are filled with them. Or instructions for how we should live. But all that comes in the context of a whole narrative that, as opposed to telling us how to live, is meant to point us to Jesus.
For example- if I read the story of David and Goliath and think the lesson is- be like David, I’m setting myself up for a fall, because 1. in all likelihood, I’ll never be like David, and 2. That’s not the point of the story!
The Bible is not a handbook, not a rulebook, it's a Story. The Story of God's redemption of us and we see the Hero of that story on every page. For instance, the story of David and Goliath. So not about how you can defeat the giants in your life (how many times have you heard that sermon???)
It's about how you can't- but God can. And it's specifically about how He does so through the weakness of the substitute- the unlikely one who stood in King Saul's place, who came in the name of the Lord and the power of the Spirit and defeated the enemy of the people of God. If you read that story and see yourself in David, you are reading it wrongly. We are not David- we are the cowering Israelites who face an undefeatable foe...
But God is on the scene, sending One who can defeat whatever we face- and that's who David points us to- Jesus. The point of the story is not "Be like David." You can't... it's trust Jesus, the real and true David who wins the victory over death and sin.
The more I read of Scripture, the more I see that this is the way it's meant to be read- it all points to Jesus and in such amazingly literate ways as to boggle the mind. What Peter is telling us here is that the writers of Scripture were better writers than even they knew, from the first page on through:
Some of you grew up in Sunday School with the flannelgraph Bible stories, or hearing them in Sunday School or read to you at night- some of you may never have heard them, but I'll bet most at some point got bits and pieces. The flannelgraph stories are great in that they give us the facts, but they don't really give us the meaning. For example… Adam and Eve. From the flanelgraph you get the whole naked in the garden thing, the snake, the apple… But what we miss is that Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed His test in the garden and whose obedience is credited to us.
Or Cain and Abel- Cain killed his brother Abel and God told Cain that that blood of his innocent brother cried out against him. But Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.
Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, "Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me," now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, "Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us."
Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.
Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.
Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.
Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God's justice, now gives us water in the desert
Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.
Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people's victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn't just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.
Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.
Jesus is the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread…
The Bible is not about you!
The Old Testament is a record of failure and the New a record of Jesus and His success where others had failed- His success and the success of the Gospel in bringing the life that the Law could not bring through obedience and the Prophets couldn't bring through their preaching.
Here’s what this means, practically speaking.
This isn’t just a matter of how we read Scripture- it’s a template for how we live our lives. See, it doesn’t matter if it’s a sermon you hear at church, read in a book, see on Dr Phil, tell yourself, whatever… Until we understand what Jesus did and so what He does in our lives, all of it will come across as moralizing- “This is what you ought to do, this is what you ought to do, this is what you ought to do.” And our response will always be… “I know, I know… I know what I should do… I already knew all that but now I’m just a bit more guilty and filled with shame about it, so thanks for that, but I know.”
But that’s exactly where Jesus enters the picture: This is what you ought to do, but you probably can’t do it… but, man, there’s one who did. And because He did it on our behalf and in our place, when we believe in and follow Him, we’ll begin to be able to begin to do it too- to live the way we ought- but only to the extent that we understand what He’s done for us…
See, when all I can see is the difference between what God wants from me, or where I “should” be and where I am, I despair. I try and I fail, I try and I fail. But when I see that Jesus not only died for me, but lived for me as well, that it’s not simply that He takes my sin but gives me His righteousness… then I want to live a certain way. Change becomes a more internalized response of thankfulness rather than an externally motivated keeping of rules. A response of worship rather than a fear-based effort at self-salvation.
Until I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is my true riches, and relationship with Him my true inheritance, money will rule me. The only way I will ever be more generous is to put Jesus in His rightful place at the center of my life. When I do that, Money is just money.
Until I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves me so much that Jesus gladly died for me, I will need and seek and do anything for the approval of those around me. The only way I will ever find true security in this life is to find it in centering my life on the one who loved me that much- so much He would die for me.
Remember those WWJD bracelets and bumper stickers and key chains and underwear…? What Would Jesus do, is a pretty good question, but a better one is this: What did Jesus do?
See, until I understand that it’s Jesus who justifies me, I will always be trying to justify myself- always be trying to earn or prove my worth, my rightness. I’ll need you to see me a certain way, I’ll fight to prove I’m right, I’ll constantly try to impress everyone… But when I know that my righteousness, my rightness comes from the fact that Jesus lived the life I never could and doesn’t just take my sin but gives me His rightness, I can relax. I don’t need to justify myself because He’s already done it.
And when we as a community begin to place Jesus in the center of not only what we do, but who we are- it changes everything because it changes us. We forgive others because Jesus forgave us. We become generous because we see His generosity. We are free to love others because we know, we know that God cares for us and we’re secure in that love.
The Gospel calls us to a Christ-centered life- and living life in the way of Jesus means not just emulating Him in our actions, but basing our whole identity around who He is, and what He has done for us, knowing that God Himself has come to rescue and renew us, through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
Let's pray…
One of the ways we center ourselves as a community on Jesus is to come, over and over, to this table. It's here we remember physically what Jesus has done for us- His Body, give for us, His blood poured out for our forgiveness. We're going to do communion a little differently today- a way that might feel a bit old school to some of you- as we sing this first song, would you take a moment to sing, to worship, to pray, and then would you come up to the table, take a piece of bread, one of the small cups of juice or wine and then take it back to your seat? Take a moment to pause up here, meditate on some of the artwork, pray- but take the bread and the cup back to your seat and hold it and we'll all take it together.
Song
Communion- Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer
Take Communion any time diuring this next song
Song- Here is Love
Song- In Christ Alone
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 
the only Son of God, 
eternally begotten of the Father, 
God from God, light from light, 
true God from true God, 
begotten, not made, 
of one Being with the Father; 
through him all things were made. 
For us and for our salvation 
he came down from heaven, 
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary 
and became truly human. 
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; 
he suffered death and was buried. 
On the third day he rose again 
in accordance with the Scriptures; 
he ascended into heaven 
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, 
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, 
who proceeds from the Father and the Son, 
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, 
who has spoken through the prophets. 
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. 
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 
We look for the resurrection of the dead, 
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Song- Jesus, Be the Center
Wrap up-
Let me ask you all- practically speaking, what does it mean to live a Christ-centered life both as a community? What difference should it make?
Final Announcements-
Blessing- Bob
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