WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.080 Well, again, let me welcome you all. 00:00:02.600 --> 00:00:08.800 We're through the holiday season and a lot of travel, a lot of kind of irregular schedules, 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.939 but I think most of us are probably back in the groove by now. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:16.679 And for some of you who are perhaps newer to the church or if you've not been around 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.420 for the past couple of weeks, we're starting something new tonight. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:26.800 We're actually in light of the fact that we are in a new calendar year, and many of us 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:32.039 are thinking about the year to come, goals that we want to set, reflecting on the past 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:32.280 year. 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:34.640 It's just the kind of time of year when we tend to do that. 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:41.100 We thought it might be good to do that as a church, to spend a little time maybe reorienting, 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:48.600 trying to remember what we're about, who we are, why we're here in Washington, D.C., what 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:50.740 our church is here to do. 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:56.700 And so we're going to be asking these questions for the next few weeks. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:01.940 You know, what does it mean to be a church in a city like Washington, D.C.? 00:01:01.940 --> 00:01:07.000 And it's interesting when you sort of listen to different people and the way they think 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:10.120 about church and the associations they have with church. 00:01:10.520 --> 00:01:12.439 Some people think about buildings. 00:01:12.579 --> 00:01:14.379 They think about Gothic structures. 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:17.760 They think about beautiful buildings like this. 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:20.540 They think about the institution of church. 00:01:20.660 --> 00:01:22.380 They think about structures and systems. 00:01:23.100 --> 00:01:27.280 Other people would vehemently argue against that and say the church has nothing to do with 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:27.480 that. 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:30.840 The church has nothing to do with buildings or places or spaces. 00:01:31.340 --> 00:01:32.620 The church is the people. 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:34.640 That's what church is. 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:35.400 It's relationships. 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:40.939 Some people primarily think of church as a kind of vehicle for social activism. 00:01:41.719 --> 00:01:45.160 And if you're not doing that, you're really falling short as a church. 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:50.619 Other people passionately hold to the opposite perspective, that people who are members of 00:01:50.619 --> 00:01:56.060 the faithful Orthodox Church should hunker down, have as little to do with outside culture 00:01:56.060 --> 00:01:59.899 as possible, and wait and pray for the coming of Jesus. 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:06.280 There are other people who think of church primarily as the service they go to, mostly on Sundays. 00:02:07.539 --> 00:02:11.519 Or they think of church as a great place to meet people and make friends, maybe meet available 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:12.600 single people. 00:02:13.820 --> 00:02:17.680 Or they think of church as a place to go to get a little more spirituality. 00:02:18.340 --> 00:02:19.540 You know, I've got a good job. 00:02:19.600 --> 00:02:21.200 I've got some good friends. 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:25.800 I'm happy with where I'm living, but I need some spiritual stuff in my life. 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:28.200 So I'm going to dip into a church every now and then. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:30.300 These are all ways that we think about it. 00:02:30.320 --> 00:02:33.780 And they all contain maybe a grain or so of truth. 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:36.180 You know, there's some truth in each of these statements. 00:02:36.180 --> 00:02:43.280 But all fall woefully short of really capturing the essence of what it means to be a church. 00:02:43.939 --> 00:02:50.560 And one of the ways the Bible talks about God's people, of all of the ways that you see in 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:54.900 the Bible of all the images and metaphors that are used, there's one that really runs through 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:57.040 the Bible beginning to end. 00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:59.060 It runs from Genesis all the way to Revelation. 00:02:59.060 --> 00:03:05.560 And it's an image that I believe really captures the essence of what the church is meant to 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:06.500 be in the world. 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.759 And really, I think, can help guide us over the next few weeks as we think about what 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:12.659 we're called to be as Church of the Advent. 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:16.080 And the image is this, that the church is called to be a family. 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:18.580 It's called to be a family. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.520 The church is God's family in the world. 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:28.260 And not to put too fine a point on it, but as we think about our culture and where we 00:03:28.260 --> 00:03:36.379 are today, at least I feel, this is just my own opinion here, that with all of the rhetoric 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:42.000 and particularly conservative Christians doing so much to defend the traditional family and 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:47.460 defend traditional family values, that it may be that we've lost sight of the fact that 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:53.560 we as the church are actually called to be a family, specifically for people who don't 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:54.340 have families. 00:03:55.320 --> 00:04:02.120 That we're called to be a family for the lonely, to be a family for people who, for whatever 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:05.000 reason, are alone in the world. 00:04:05.980 --> 00:04:12.520 And so we're going to be looking at this idea because I believe that everybody in this room 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:14.340 and everybody in the world needs a family. 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:18.519 Some of you came from healthy families and some of you from broken families, but we 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:19.660 all need family. 00:04:20.860 --> 00:04:22.819 And I think we all long for family. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:26.819 I don't think I have to convince you of why you need family. 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:31.040 I think everybody in here feels in your heart that you want that. 00:04:31.840 --> 00:04:36.100 And if your family's broken, you long for it to be healthy. 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:40.720 And if your family's healthy, then you realize that even the healthiest families fall short 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:45.420 of that deep longing that we have to know that we belong in a family. 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.560 So over the coming weeks, we're going to look at five key passages that flesh this out. 00:04:51.780 --> 00:04:56.620 And my hope is that the more we understand this, who we are as God's family in the world, 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:02.440 the more that will orient us and help us prioritize the kinds of things that we need to be thinking 00:05:02.440 --> 00:05:04.300 about here in D.C. 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.960 So tonight, we're going to be looking at Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 through 3, and then chapter 00:05:08.960 --> 00:05:10.420 15, verses 1 through 6. 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:15.079 We'll primarily be looking at Genesis chapter 12, because this is the place where God first 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:16.900 makes this promise of a family. 00:05:17.960 --> 00:05:22.019 And right away, we begin learning something about what it means to be God's family in the 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:22.300 world. 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:25.100 And we learn a couple of things from these three verses. 00:05:25.280 --> 00:05:29.319 We learn this, that as God's family, we are guided by God's purpose. 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:36.300 And then second, we learn that we are empowered by God's blessing. 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:39.180 So guided by God's purpose and empowered by his blessing. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:43.100 As we dive into this passage, let's pray for God to guide us. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.319 Lord, you do promise many things, but one of the great promises you make is that you speak 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:54.459 to us, that we can open this book and read these words. 00:05:54.459 --> 00:06:01.259 And through the words of your apostles and your prophets and your servants over the centuries, 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:08.500 that you're able to make these words come alive and speak to us here and now as we sit 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:08.759 here. 00:06:09.699 --> 00:06:13.359 And Lord, we know that we cannot do this in our own strength, that it must come from you 00:06:13.359 --> 00:06:14.099 through your spirit. 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:19.279 And so we pray that these spoken words would be faithful to your written word and that your 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:22.120 written word would reveal to us the living word of Jesus Christ. 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:24.100 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:24.639 Amen. 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:31.079 So the first thing that we see in Genesis 12 about God's family in the world is this, 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:33.600 that God's family is guided by God's purpose. 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:37.899 We, as a part of this, are called to be guided by God's purpose. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:43.980 Just to summarize the first 11 chapters of Genesis, God creates the world. 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:48.819 He creates a good and beautiful and perfect world and us, and he calls it very good. 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:57.719 And then human beings stage a rebellion because they desire to call the shots of their lives 00:06:57.719 --> 00:07:00.560 to be gods rather than to worship God. 00:07:01.159 --> 00:07:03.600 And so because of that, things begin to fall apart. 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:07.899 And really from chapter 3 to chapter 11, you just see things go from bad to worse. 00:07:09.159 --> 00:07:13.399 And chapter 11, this kind of culminates with the Tower of Babel where human beings say, 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:18.399 let's cast off God altogether, let's make a great name for ourselves in the world. 00:07:19.979 --> 00:07:22.719 And so at this point, it looks almost hopeless. 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:30.699 And at the very end, you learn about this kind of family, Abraham's family, and it's no different 00:07:30.699 --> 00:07:31.679 than any other family. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:33.719 They're pagan moon worshipers. 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:40.520 And yet, in chapter 12, God comes to this man named Abram. 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:43.080 And God comes to this man. 00:07:43.420 --> 00:07:45.580 Why he picked Abram, we will never know. 00:07:46.660 --> 00:07:53.600 But he comes to Abram, and he essentially lays out his plan to save and to restore the world, 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:55.020 to reverse the brokenness. 00:07:55.400 --> 00:07:56.240 And here's the plan. 00:07:56.320 --> 00:07:57.020 Here's the big plan. 00:07:57.019 --> 00:08:01.599 It's not, I'm going to appear in the sky and everybody's going to see me, and there's going 00:08:01.599 --> 00:08:05.839 to be flames and lights and thunder, and tell everybody to stop doing bad stuff. 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:10.579 And it's not sending legions of angels to sort of quell the rebellion. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:16.519 It's not taking control of human beings' hearts and minds and turning them into automatons 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:17.439 to do God's will. 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:18.639 It's none of these things. 00:08:19.419 --> 00:08:21.139 In fact, it's not a power play at all. 00:08:22.139 --> 00:08:23.839 He says, here's my big plan, Abram. 00:08:25.459 --> 00:08:26.799 I'm going to build a family. 00:08:27.019 --> 00:08:30.519 I'm going to make a family in the world. 00:08:31.599 --> 00:08:34.659 He says, I'm going to use your descendants to establish a family. 00:08:35.299 --> 00:08:39.659 And this family, if you can imagine it, Abram, he says in chapter 15, go outside, look at 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:39.919 the stars. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.019 This family is going to be as numerous as the stars in the sky. 00:08:43.199 --> 00:08:44.819 It's going to be that big, that vast. 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:53.139 And through this family, I'm going to one day bless all of the families of the earth. 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:59.159 And if you know the whole story, you know that Jesus' coming and his death and his resurrection 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:06.559 and his establishing of the church is the fulfillment or the beginning of the fulfillment of this 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:06.919 promise. 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:08.620 So we're a part of this. 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:12.019 You know, Abram never could have imagined the church. 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:17.599 He never could have dreamed what God would do, establishing an international church spread 00:09:17.599 --> 00:09:18.819 to the four corners of the globe. 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:24.360 But in order for all this to happen, Abram has to do something. 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:27.620 And you know the story. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:30.160 He has to leave. 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:33.120 He has to leave his family. 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:35.680 He has to leave his land. 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:38.080 He has to leave his inheritance. 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:41.980 In other words, he has to forsake all of his possessions. 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:44.360 He has to forsake and let go of all of his security. 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:47.700 He has to let go of his kinship relationships. 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:49.920 He needs to let go of his inheritance. 00:09:50.740 --> 00:09:54.020 And really, if you know anything about ancient Near Eastern culture, he's really having to 00:09:54.020 --> 00:09:55.639 say goodbye to his entire identity. 00:09:56.420 --> 00:09:59.800 He's having to, in Paul's language, put off the old self. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:03.500 And follow God. 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:06.600 And so we see this. 00:10:06.700 --> 00:10:08.000 We see what God asks of Abram. 00:10:08.059 --> 00:10:12.559 And we realize that in this moment, Abram has two possible lives laid out before him. 00:10:13.539 --> 00:10:15.179 Two ways that he can go. 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:18.519 And you know, verse 1, it says, God said to Abraham. 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:21.860 The Hebrew actually says, the Lord had said to Abram. 00:10:23.899 --> 00:10:29.659 Which conveys not that Abram heard this once from God and said, absolutely, I'll pack my stuff. 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:33.360 But rather, God had been saying this. 00:10:33.819 --> 00:10:38.120 And we don't know how much time had passed, but it's very likely that Abram had been wrestling with this. 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:39.179 What do I do? 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:43.639 The first possibility is this. 00:10:43.899 --> 00:10:44.620 Ignore God. 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:46.899 Minimize. 00:10:47.339 --> 00:10:48.000 Explain away. 00:10:48.299 --> 00:10:48.759 Rationalize. 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:49.600 Intellectualize. 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:54.679 You know, it's been stressful lately, and I just feel maybe I'm just imagining this. 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:56.259 You know? 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:57.860 Hunker down. 00:10:58.860 --> 00:10:59.939 Put it out of his mind. 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:01.439 And hold on to the life he has. 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:02.779 He's got a good life. 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:03.679 He's got a good family. 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:04.700 He's got good connections. 00:11:04.819 --> 00:11:05.639 Good inheritance coming. 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:06.299 Good prospects. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:07.100 Good land. 00:11:07.980 --> 00:11:08.799 Why screw that up? 00:11:09.899 --> 00:11:11.019 That's the first possibility. 00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:13.419 The second possibility is this. 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:14.559 Obey God. 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:15.419 Listen to God. 00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:17.879 But do so knowing that it's going to cost you everything. 00:11:18.899 --> 00:11:20.080 I mean, that's a heck of a choice. 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:24.059 And he doesn't have any idea where he's going. 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:25.720 Hebrews 11 talks about Abram. 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:32.379 And it says he followed God and obeyed God, not having any idea where God was taking him. 00:11:33.540 --> 00:11:36.100 It's not like God showed him, you know, like a blueprint. 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:37.060 Like, here's where you're going. 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:37.740 You're going to love it. 00:11:38.820 --> 00:11:41.680 He says, no, leave, and I'll show you where you're going to go. 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:43.160 You'll find out. 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:49.719 So I believe this is the same choice that we are each called to make individually in our lives. 00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:52.219 And I believe it's the kind of choice that we're called to make as a church. 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:54.100 Because this is what faith means. 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:57.659 You know, we in our society, we think of faith as an intellectual thing. 00:11:57.719 --> 00:12:00.319 We think of it as something that we, you know, I read the arguments. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:01.980 And I kind of think about the evidence. 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:02.879 And I weigh all of that. 00:12:03.040 --> 00:12:04.460 And I decide to believe in God. 00:12:04.580 --> 00:12:05.820 And it's an intellectual choice. 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:07.480 And it's an, it's a scent. 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:09.300 Okay, I scent to the claims of Christianity. 00:12:09.580 --> 00:12:11.140 I can say the Nicene Creed. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:12.740 And I don't cross my fingers behind my back. 00:12:12.800 --> 00:12:13.180 That's faith. 00:12:15.760 --> 00:12:18.560 When we look at this picture of faith, it's very different. 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:27.039 It's looking at these two possible lives and choosing the life that says I'm going to follow God regardless of what it costs me. 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:32.019 Faith is actually in the doing. 00:12:32.819 --> 00:12:34.199 Not simply in the thinking. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.579 And this is what faith means. 00:12:37.699 --> 00:12:39.899 God has a purpose that he's enacting in the world. 00:12:39.979 --> 00:12:42.719 And we're all a part of that unfolding purpose. 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:52.560 And while I don't, I don't think that this, you know, the wooden application would be, therefore we all need to leave our families and homelands and go somewhere else. 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:53.779 And that's not what this is saying. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:58.639 But I do think there's an element in this that does apply to all of us. 00:13:00.160 --> 00:13:03.160 That we're called as people who follow Christ. 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:08.600 For those of you who are Christians, that we're called to put God's purposes before our preferences. 00:13:10.160 --> 00:13:12.680 That God's purposes come before our preferences. 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:13.680 And that's really hard. 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:15.399 And it goes against the wisdom of the world. 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:19.540 Most commencement speeches kind of say the same thing. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:22.460 Follow your heart. 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:25.040 Follow your passion. 00:13:26.580 --> 00:13:27.420 Be true to yourself. 00:13:29.040 --> 00:13:30.500 I read commencement speeches. 00:13:30.660 --> 00:13:32.440 I just like to see what's being said. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:33.139 Right? 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:34.519 And a lot of them say that. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:36.820 It's a few stories and jokes that are different. 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:37.800 Context is different. 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:38.940 Follow your heart. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:39.740 Follow your passions. 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:40.540 Be true to yourself. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:50.820 As David Brooks once wrote, this, meaning this way of thinking, is a vision of life that begins with self and ends with self. 00:13:51.580 --> 00:13:52.180 It's bankrupt. 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:55.720 See, as God's family, we see through that. 00:13:55.720 --> 00:14:00.019 We see it for the kind of ephemeral emptiness that it is. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:01.580 And we see through that. 00:14:01.660 --> 00:14:06.740 And we realize that we want to build our lives on something solid, on something real, which is God's purposes. 00:14:07.540 --> 00:14:08.639 So what does this look like? 00:14:08.660 --> 00:14:09.379 Well, it looks like this. 00:14:09.379 --> 00:14:14.299 When we think about our vocation, when you think about what do I want to do with my life, what do I want to give myself to? 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:17.759 It means we don't just think about our preferences. 00:14:17.939 --> 00:14:19.939 We don't just think about what will give us job security. 00:14:20.299 --> 00:14:24.399 We don't just think about what will give us money to live the way we want to live. 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:27.220 We don't just think about what will give us the kind of status. 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:32.120 You know, because in a place like D.C., people will work for 15 grand a year if it gives them status. 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:32.440 Right? 00:14:34.200 --> 00:14:39.460 I think that's maybe well above money in terms of our priorities here in this city. 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:41.639 But we don't just think about those things. 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:48.340 As a part of God's family, we ask that deeper question of how has God wired me? 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:53.379 And what needs am I created to address? 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:58.139 Right now, it could be the need of a company for leadership. 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:01.060 It could be the need on a team for administration. 00:15:01.059 --> 00:15:05.299 It could be the need in a home to take the lead in raising children. 00:15:05.419 --> 00:15:07.619 It could be any number of needs. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:13.439 But the question is, what is the thing, how am I wired and built to love and to serve God's world? 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:17.879 So we ask that deeper question about purpose. 00:15:18.619 --> 00:15:20.919 Or when we think about the person that we want to marry. 00:15:22.299 --> 00:15:26.859 You know, if you're a part of God's family and you're putting God's purposes even before your own preferences, 00:15:27.099 --> 00:15:29.099 you don't just marry somebody because you're in love with them. 00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:34.300 You don't just marry somebody because they might be your last chance. 00:15:36.540 --> 00:15:40.940 You don't just marry somebody because you've been dating so long it would be so awkward not to. 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:42.500 Right? 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:46.940 You don't just marry somebody because that's the path of least resistance. 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:51.320 When we're thinking about this, we think that deeper question of purpose. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:59.940 Who can I marry who will help me make this hard daily choice of putting God's purpose ahead of my preferences? 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:02.900 Who gets that and is on board with that? 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:07.660 Who's going to encourage me in that and who's going to be willing to do that in their life? 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:11.059 Who's going to look at me on a regular basis and say, 00:16:11.219 --> 00:16:15.740 are we making this life that we're building together about what God wants or about what we want? 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:17.839 How are we choosing? 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:21.079 Who's going to be your ally in that? 00:16:21.539 --> 00:16:24.299 That's how we think if we're a part of God's family. 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:28.659 When we think about where we want to live, where we choose to settle down, 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:33.240 we don't just think about living where life's easy, where there's ample parking. 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:34.240 Right? 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:37.220 Where there's no crime in great schools. 00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:39.659 We don't just think about that. 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.000 Those are important things, but that's not all we think about. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:47.799 When we think about where we want to live, we ask, where would God have us go? 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:53.600 You know, where's the kind of place where our household can have an impact on the surrounding community? 00:16:55.700 --> 00:16:57.460 Now, that might be in the city. 00:16:57.539 --> 00:16:58.740 It might be in the suburbs. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:01.240 It might be in a really hard part of town. 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:02.759 It might be in a really great part of town. 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:11.220 But the difference is, you choose to be there because you believe, and your family, if you have a family, 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:16.200 or your roommates, or your household, or whoever you share life with, whoever's sharing that home, 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:18.160 you believe that God wants you there. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:21.380 So this is the difference. 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:23.799 We put God's purposes before our preferences. 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:25.940 This is the choice that Abram was called to make. 00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:32.140 So one aspect of being God's family is this, that we're guided primarily by God's purposes in our lives. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:39.819 And listen, if you're prone to feel guilty during sermons, nobody does this perfectly. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:41.480 Okay? 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:43.120 We fall short in this all the time. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:45.940 Abram, if you know anything about his life, does not do this perfectly. 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:51.539 I mean, in just the next chapter, we see a major failure of faith in Abram's life. 00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:52.299 So nobody does this perfectly. 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:54.120 The only person who ever did this perfectly is Jesus. 00:17:54.119 --> 00:18:00.879 And that's why, as Christians, we know that our hope is not in our ability to have perfect faith, but in Jesus' perfect faithfulness. 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:05.079 He's the one who said, not my will, but thy will be done, and meant it. 00:18:06.239 --> 00:18:07.839 And it's because of that that we have hope. 00:18:08.379 --> 00:18:11.119 But that doesn't mean that we're not called to have this kind of faith. 00:18:11.399 --> 00:18:12.019 We are. 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:16.180 So that's the first thing. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:21.259 The second thing we see when we're looking at what it means to be God's family in the world is this. 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:26.259 That as God's family, we're actually empowered by God's blessing. 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:29.299 We're empowered by his choice to bless us. 00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:35.759 In exchange for Abram leaving everything behind, God promises what you might call a threefold blessing. 00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:36.659 Okay? 00:18:37.159 --> 00:18:40.960 He says, I want you to leave your family and your kindred and your house and your inheritance. 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:41.980 I want you to leave all that behind. 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:43.539 I want you to go to a land that I'm going to show you. 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:45.940 But then he says this. 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:48.379 God says he's going to bless him. 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:52.859 Then God says that he, Abraham, is going to be a blessing. 00:18:52.859 --> 00:19:02.059 And then he says that through Abram's family, God's going to bless all the families of the earth. 00:19:02.379 --> 00:19:06.379 So the concept of blessing is very central to God's promise. 00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:11.199 And if you're anything like me, you hear a word like blessing, and it's meaningless. 00:19:12.479 --> 00:19:14.099 You know, we use it all the time. 00:19:14.179 --> 00:19:15.179 Like we sign emails. 00:19:15.439 --> 00:19:18.779 You know, if you're, those of you who are Christians, you know, blessings, Tommy, you know. 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:25.839 And, you know, it's not as overtly Christian as in Christ, you know. 00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:28.160 But it's not as pagan as just sincerely. 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:32.940 It's like blessings, you know, no matter what you believe, that's nice, right. 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:34.879 What does it actually mean? 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:37.579 If we're going to throw it around, we need to know what it means. 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:39.940 And in this context, it means a couple of things. 00:19:40.379 --> 00:19:41.960 To bless someone means this. 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:45.639 To bless someone means they come under your care. 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:47.539 You provide for them. 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:49.819 It means they come under your protection. 00:19:50.059 --> 00:19:50.920 You defend them. 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:54.359 And then it means that you give them your favor. 00:19:56.379 --> 00:19:57.559 They come under your care. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:19:58.539 They come under your protection. 00:19:58.639 --> 00:19:59.700 And they come into your favor. 00:20:00.980 --> 00:20:09.220 So let's just retranslate this promise in light of what we now know about what blessing means. 00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:15.600 God says, first, Abram, I'm going to take you under my care. 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:17.100 I'm going to provide for you. 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:18.500 I'm going to give you my protection. 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.180 I'm going to be your defender. 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:23.759 And I'm going to choose to bestow my favor upon you. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.860 You know, this is the entire difference of Christianity. 00:20:27.100 --> 00:20:29.360 It's not, we, Abram doesn't earn God's favor. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:31.759 God says, I'm going to choose to give you my favor. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:35.000 I'm going to make you my favored one, my chosen one. 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:35.359 Why? 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:38.319 Because I'm God and it's my prerogative to do that. 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:42.440 So he says, I'm going to bless you in this way, Abram. 00:20:42.579 --> 00:20:44.900 And because I do this, this is the cool part. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:47.680 This is where it begins to touch ground with us. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:53.660 You, Abram, and your family and the community that you build up, you're going to do the same thing. 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:59.080 As you encounter people, as you're traveling and as you're growing and as time passes, as people cross your path, 00:20:59.360 --> 00:21:01.299 and we see this happen all throughout Israel's history. 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:02.700 We'll talk about it more in the weeks to come. 00:21:04.360 --> 00:21:07.039 He says, Abram, you're going to take people into your house. 00:21:07.120 --> 00:21:09.980 You're going to take them under your protection. 00:21:10.360 --> 00:21:12.620 And you're going to provide for them and care for them. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:16.080 And you're going to give your favor to them even if they don't deserve it. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:17.139 Right? 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:20.000 Lot's a great example of that that comes up in a little while. 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:21.819 So you're going to bless people in this way. 00:21:22.659 --> 00:21:28.460 And then the clincher is this, that through your family one day, all of the families of the earth are going to know God's favor. 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:30.359 They're going to know God's protection. 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:31.879 And they're going to know God's provision. 00:21:32.619 --> 00:21:34.339 So this is a huge promise. 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:39.339 And again, I think that we see this fulfilled through Jesus and the church. 00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:44.819 Because what all this points to is the ultimate blessing of Jesus, right? 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:50.119 In Jesus Christ, those of us who know and follow Jesus, he is the ultimate blessing. 00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:50.460 Why? 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:56.460 Because we know that in Jesus, God has provided, given us everything we need. 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:59.099 As Ephesians 1 says, every spiritual blessing. 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:00.839 It's yours. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:04.480 In Jesus, we know that we come under his protection. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:07.319 We come under his protection. 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:12.460 Jesus makes it clear that even if you die, you're never lost to God. 00:22:13.399 --> 00:22:16.419 He says that at the tomb of Lazarus, after Lazarus has died. 00:22:17.179 --> 00:22:19.639 And Mary and Martha say, well, if you had only been here, this wouldn't have happened. 00:22:19.679 --> 00:22:21.319 And he says, don't you have any idea who I am? 00:22:21.859 --> 00:22:25.319 Don't you know that if you belong to me, you're never lost, even if you die? 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:26.740 Even if you die a physical death? 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:29.179 That's just a temporary state. 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:32.299 Death is just a temporary state. 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:33.299 Death is just a temporary state. 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:37.960 So there's protection, there's provision, and then lastly, in Jesus Christ, you have 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:39.720 God's eternal favor. 00:22:41.139 --> 00:22:43.019 And you can do nothing to screw that up. 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:45.519 Because you didn't earn it to begin with. 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:49.879 So as the church, we have the ultimate blessing of Jesus. 00:22:51.379 --> 00:22:54.779 And we see this promise fulfilled that God blesses us. 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:58.740 And that because of that, it makes us the kind of community. 00:22:58.819 --> 00:23:03.019 Because I know I have those things, and I have nothing really to lose, it makes me the 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:07.539 kind of person, and it can make us as a community, people who are primarily concerned not with 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:10.299 getting blessed, but with being a blessing. 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:17.399 But with being a blessing, God blesses us so that we can bless others, and through that, 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:21.039 others come to know the ultimate blessing of Jesus Christ. 00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:22.240 So this is how it works. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:22.680 Right? 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:25.460 So why should we care about refugees? 00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:27.079 Why should that matter to us? 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.039 You know, why should we care about the vulnerable and the homeless? 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.680 Why should we care about these things? 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:34.779 It's not just because we want to be good people. 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:41.620 It's because this is the entire reason God establishes his family in the earth. 00:23:42.019 --> 00:23:45.880 It's to bless and to bring people to the ultimate blessing of Jesus. 00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:48.940 To find vulnerable people and say, we will protect you. 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:54.240 To find people who need provision, who don't have what they need, and say, we will provide 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:54.720 for you. 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:59.120 And to do it in a way that says, regardless of whether you think you deserve it, regardless 00:23:59.120 --> 00:24:00.940 of whether I think you deserve it. 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:03.720 We choose to give you our favor. 00:24:04.059 --> 00:24:05.460 We choose to favor you. 00:24:05.600 --> 00:24:06.640 We choose to bless you. 00:24:06.860 --> 00:24:07.940 We choose to love you. 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:09.299 It's our choice to make. 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:11.200 It means we do that with one another. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:16.420 That our love for one another is not based on earning and deserving. 00:24:16.620 --> 00:24:18.759 It's based on a choice to bless. 00:24:22.600 --> 00:24:23.980 So why do we do these things? 00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:26.640 It's because that's what the family of God exists for. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:30.779 We're meant to be channels and conduits of God's blessing. 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:37.279 So I want to say again, at this point, if those of you are sitting here and you're hearing 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:41.639 this and you're thinking, oh, there's so much that I need to be doing, you know, I need to 00:24:41.639 --> 00:24:46.180 be doing so much more than I'm doing, that's not necessarily the point we're trying to make. 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:51.079 It doesn't necessarily mean that you should feel guilty and start doing more. 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:56.700 This is much more a point about understanding the purpose of the good gifts that God has already 00:24:56.700 --> 00:25:00.299 given you and why he gave them to you. 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:06.700 So obviously, if you have financial resources or high level of education or connections and 00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:11.580 networks or expertise, you know, these are things that can be used to bless people, obviously. 00:25:13.340 --> 00:25:18.700 But if you're blessed with good friendships, you know, if you're the kind of person that 00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:25.180 you know how to have friends and you know how to be a good friend, that's a gift and a 00:25:25.180 --> 00:25:26.580 blessing that God has given you. 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:29.140 And not everybody has that. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:32.980 In fact, I would say the majority of people I know don't have that, especially in a place 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:33.519 like D.C. 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:42.140 And it may not work out for you and I to be friends, but maybe I need to see what a good 00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:43.039 friendship looks like. 00:25:44.560 --> 00:25:51.019 And maybe the simple fact that you have good friendships and can model that, maybe that'll 00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:51.779 encourage me. 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:58.019 Or maybe you're open and willing to try and be my friend because I don't have any friends. 00:25:58.940 --> 00:26:04.039 You see, you can bless, you can bless simply through that, the invitation of friendship or 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:04.839 modeling friendship. 00:26:05.099 --> 00:26:12.799 If you're blessed with a home, however humble that home is, however humble and, you know, 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:22.159 however basic your little studio might be, right, the willingness to simply open your home on occasion 00:26:22.159 --> 00:26:28.299 and give somebody the experience of being welcomed in and being treated with dignity and love. 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:31.240 That can change lives. 00:26:31.419 --> 00:26:32.139 You have no idea. 00:26:34.099 --> 00:26:35.399 Blessed to be a blessing, right? 00:26:35.400 --> 00:26:46.519 If you're blessed with a spouse, you know, simply the act of cultivating a healthy marriage, of raising your kids well, 00:26:47.420 --> 00:26:52.259 simply that can be enormously beneficial to the community that you're a part of. 00:26:53.900 --> 00:27:00.680 You know, observing Sabbath or cultivating a way of life that stands against the kind of incredible 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:09.500 insanity of the hectic lifestyle and pace of D.C., if you're able to cultivate a Sabbath practice, 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:17.039 an ability to live at a different pace, you have no idea what a blessing that is to the people around you 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:18.779 to see, oh, there is an alternative. 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:26.340 I don't have to be going a thousand miles an hour because here's this person doing it and it makes it plausible, right? 00:27:26.339 --> 00:27:29.000 So it's not necessarily about doing more. 00:27:29.079 --> 00:27:33.119 It's about understanding that the good things that you're blessed with in your life, that they have a function, 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:36.259 and that is you're meant to be a conduit of blessing into other people's lives, 00:27:36.299 --> 00:27:41.839 and everybody has ways that they are equipped and gifted to be a blessing, right, 00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:44.919 in ways that point people to the ultimate blessing of Jesus Christ. 00:27:45.199 --> 00:27:46.720 In a few weeks, I'll just let you know this. 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:53.899 In a few weeks, we're going to be beginning to collect information from people who want to give it from the congregation, 00:27:53.900 --> 00:27:57.019 and the question will basically be this. 00:27:57.080 --> 00:28:00.720 Do you have a gift that you would like to give somebody in the community? 00:28:01.820 --> 00:28:05.740 A way that you can be a blessing and give a gift to somebody. 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:08.360 It may be that you're good with tax preparation. 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:12.519 You know, it may be that you're good with coaching people on how to do job interviews. 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:14.940 It may be a network that you're connected to. 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:20.680 It may be that you've been a parent for decades instead of days like most of us, 00:28:20.940 --> 00:28:24.759 and you can offer good, solid parenting advice. 00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:27.660 You know, it may be marriage. 00:28:27.820 --> 00:28:32.120 It may be something as simple as you can help with renovations, 00:28:33.080 --> 00:28:35.259 or that you're willing to do some yard work or babysit. 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:41.160 The idea being that we all have gifts in ways that God has blessed and provided for us, 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:42.319 and we all have needs. 00:28:42.460 --> 00:28:45.160 And I believe that for every need, there is a gift. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:51.099 And so we want to be able to collect this information to some extent in this church 00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:54.500 so that we can connect gifts to needs. 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:56.299 So just stay tuned for that. 00:28:56.379 --> 00:28:58.680 It's going to be happening over the next few weeks. 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:02.620 But as we continue exploring this over the next few weeks, 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:06.980 I think my hope and my prayer is that we would gain a greater vision 00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:09.180 of what our life here in the city might look like, 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:11.420 and that we'd be excited about it, 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:13.340 and that it would fill us with passion. 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:16.240 Really, that our imaginations would expand. 00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:18.799 That when we think of what does it mean to be a church, 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:21.680 that it would go beyond all those things that we said in the beginning, 00:29:21.940 --> 00:29:25.080 that we would really begin to understand that we're actually called to be a family 00:29:25.080 --> 00:29:26.400 in the truest sense of the word. 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:30.800 Because the fact is, whether or not you have a nuclear family, 00:29:30.900 --> 00:29:33.300 all of us need a family like this. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:39.420 You know, not only if you're unmarried or divorced or don't have a nuclear family, 00:29:39.500 --> 00:29:41.580 but even if you do, even if you have those things, 00:29:42.560 --> 00:29:44.759 marriage cannot survive and thrive in a vacuum. 00:29:45.580 --> 00:29:47.380 Your marriage needs a greater community. 00:29:47.540 --> 00:29:49.380 Your family needs a greater family. 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:52.220 And this is the family that the church is called to be. 00:29:52.220 --> 00:29:55.880 You know, Psalm 68.6 says this. 00:29:55.960 --> 00:29:58.519 It says, God sets the lonely in a family. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:02.480 And I believe the church is called to be that family. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:05.759 The family that welcomes the lonely of the world 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:07.900 and says, you have a home. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:09.779 Let's pray. 00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:20.819 Lord, it's almost inconceivable to think that a conversation that happened between you 00:30:20.819 --> 00:30:26.500 and this humble man thousands of years ago would have any bearing on our life. 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:32.879 And yet we know this exhilarating truth that somehow we, as we sit here as a part of this community, 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:36.840 we're a small part of this great reality called the church, 00:30:36.900 --> 00:30:39.740 which is the fulfillment of those promises you made so long ago. 00:30:40.620 --> 00:30:43.360 Lord, help us to see with new eyes the potential, 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:50.140 the potential here of what we can be and what we're called to be, Lord. 00:30:50.760 --> 00:30:54.580 I pray that you would give us together collectively as a community a clear-sighted vision 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:58.960 of what it might look like to be a family for all those without families, 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:04.339 to bless those in our very midst, even as we've been blessed by you, 00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:09.339 to earnestly seek and passionately desire that one day all the families of the earth 00:31:09.339 --> 00:31:11.679 would know the blessing of your son, Jesus Christ. 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:13.639 And it's in his name that we pray. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:14.259 Amen. 00:31:14.259 --> 00:31:14.359 Amen.