CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 2:13-17 Dining with Sinners, Following a New Life in Christ

Like many of us, Matthew had his feet in two realities. In the Roman world he was called by his Greek name, Matthias, and he had conspired with the Roman occupiers to become a tax collector, a traitor to his people. Tax collectors were local folk who conspired with the government to confiscate taxes and property from their communities, and this is why people hated them. Tax collectors often levied more than they should, keeping ill-gained profit for themselves. As we see in the story of Zacchaeus, he promised Jesus to return money to people for whom he had been a thief. Matthew's friends, the only people to associate with him, were notorious sinners. These people were considered irredeemable by the religious community - thieves, prostitutes, mercenaries who enforced the tax code and confiscation.

If Matthew's Hebrew name is indicative of the tribe from which he came, Levi, this only added insult to injury for his family and community. He should have given his life to the priestly vocation in service to the worship of God. Instead he chose to side with the violent Roman occupiers for his own personal gain. Fortunately, God doesn't waste any experience. God would use Matthew's skill and learning as a tax collector to be one of only four to write the greatest story ever told. Mathew would have known four languages: Greek, Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew. He would have been a detailed observer and meticulous record keeper. We should never count someone out, because God can redeem and use anyone!

The calling of Matthew is a good model for how we must love one another in spite of our histories and past sins. Peter & Andrew, James & John would have to forgive this tax collector, who had taxed their families and their fishing businesses. According to Mark, Matthew's tax collecting booth was right on the shore of Galilee - most likely so he could watch the daily catch. Jesus presents Matthew with a new reality when He invited Levi to follow him. Unlike the fishermen who could always go back to fishing, Levi left everything to follow Jesus. The first thing he does is to throw a party for Jesus, and enthusiastically invites all of his friends to meet Jesus. The "sinners" receive Jesus gladly while the Pharisees scoff. Here Jesus gives the model to the church for accepting folks - in his commentary on Hosea 6:6 Jesus says that we need to seek out sinners in order that we may introduce them to Jesus. Who are you in this story? Would rather be dining with sinners and Jesus than scoffing outside with the "righteous" Pharisees? Or are we among the silent disciples?  Let us be about redeeming sinners, inviting and accepting people who've made a mess of life, introducing them to Jesus and the new reality of living in God's wonderful, amazing grace.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 2: 1-12 Healing of the Paralytic - Model for Networking to Bring People to Jesus

While Jesus stayed at Peter's house in Capernaum, a great crowd gathered to hear him speak. Wouldn't it have been fascinating to be there in Peter's living room as Jesus taught! The crowds, however, were oblivious to the need outside. They wanted to hear Jesus, but were inconsiderate of the paralyzed man outside whose friends were trying to get him to Jesus for healing. They were desperate to see their friend made whole. They could have turned back discouraged when they saw the crowd, but they were determined and got creative. Going up the outer staircase to the roof and removing branches, mud, and straw was a messy business as debris fell inside Peter's living room and guests backed away wondering what was going on. The four men had to work together perfectly in tandem with ropes to get the paralyzed man safely to the floor and right in front of Jesus.

Compare this to our own efforts at getting someone to Jesus - do we love our friends enough to bring them this far with such determination? Do we network, working in tandem together to show people the love of Jesus? Do we mind getting our hands dirty and making a mess? (The mess may be in our own house as it was in Peter's!) Or is it that our minds are so crowded, as was Peter's house, that bringing people to Jesus is not a consideration? We need to raise our sense of awareness of people who need Jesus and pray for opportunities to bring them to Jesus for healing and restoration. We learn from the text that it is the faith of the man's friends, not his own, that Jesus notices and becomes the catalyst for the healing to take place (Mark 2:5). I believe we vastly underestimate our role in bringing people to Jesus with determination, effort, prayers, and perseverance.

Jesus dealt with the man's spiritual issue first - he forgave his sin - them told him to get up, take his mat, and go home. Whatever his paralysis was, it was crippling. We can have similar paralysis when we don't let go of old sins and old habits, even after we are forgiven - our joy is not complete until we let God be God and we let go of our guilt and give it to Him. Jesus heals us and we continue to lie on that mat. Whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, Jesus has the answer for our paralysis and the paralysis of our friends and loved ones. Jesus heals with authority, to the irritation of the religious leaders, and forgives the man's sin which only God can do. We hear Jesus refer to himself as "son of man" a reference to a powerful figure from Daniel 7:13,14.

Who are you in this story? Are you the paralyzed man in need of healing? Are you one of the inconsiderate crowd preventing someone from coming to Jesus? Are you one of the disciples, on the sideline, not even mentioned in this story? Are you one of the friends of the paralytic, determined to get him to Jesus? Let us be about the Kingdom work of bringing paralyzed people to Jesus. Remember that dealing with people is messy, and sometimes frustrating, so don't mind the mess! Let us help one another in our own paralysis through friendship, prayer, and being the healing presence of Jesus to one another and to the world.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 1 - Called to be healers - restoring the broken

Peter and his family were eager to tell Jesus that Peter's mother-in-law was sick (1:30). They told him right away! At sundown, when sabbath was over, people weren't willing to wait until Sunday to bring the sick to Jesus. Once the sun went down and the ban on work was over Mark tells us that many people brought the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus. They brought them right away! I pray that we would be just as eager to bring the broken, the hurting, and the hopeless to Jesus that they might be restored. We need to pray for a sense of urgency to bring people to Jesus, and pray to have the awareness when opportunities for healing and restoration present themselves.

 In verse 35 we again find Jesus seeking wilderness in order to meet with His Father after a long evening of healing the night before. We must seek wilderness also, in order to refresh, recuperate, and be in God's presence undisturbed. Your isolated place may be the back yard, the bathroom - mine is often in my car! Wherever it is, we need to seek that deserted place where we may commune with God.

Jesus cleansing of the leper (vs. 40) is such a moving and profound story for us. According to the good Dr. Luke, this man was in an advance stage of leprosy (Luke 5:12) which means loss of digits, limbs, and even facial features. Fortunately, he had heard of the healer from Nazareth and sought Jesus out with the courage to come before a holy man. Lepers were social outcasts, unable even to go to market or synagogue. We discussed translational differences when Jesus is "moved with compassion" that is also translated "anger" in some translations. My best guess is that while Jesus was moved with compassion, he may have also been moved with anger at societies' treatment of this man, perhaps even at his disciples (who are not here mentioned) unwillingness to approach the leper. Jesus not only heals the man, but restores him to community (vs. 44). We all have leper's spots as a result of sin - gangrenous abscesses in our souls and conscience that disfigure the image of Christ in us. We must turn to Jesus for forgiveness and healing. Rather than judging people, let us be determined to be healers, bringing the sick to Jesus that they may be restored. I pray that CONNECT will be a place for sinners to receive forgiveness, love, and acceptance. As we teach people to love and obey Jesus, and they submit to the process of healing, they will be restored and become sources of healing for others as well: making disciples that love Jesus and serve the world in love.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 1 - Kingdom, Networking, & Amazement

We continue in Mark 1 with Jesus preaching about the Kingdom of God which has come, is here, and is coming. The Kingdom of God came when God stepped into time as the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was conceived and later born in Bethlehem in a shepherd's cave. The Kingdom of God is here as Jesus' presence with us through the Holy Spirit, working within our souls, forming us into His image as children of God. The Kingdom we refer to as the Lord taught us to pray for will be fully realized when God's will is "done on earth as it is in heaven". (Matthew 6). Our response to God's  love and generosity through His presence should be that of repentance and devotion. "Repent of your sins and believe the good news!" is Jesus' message both then and now. The Kingdom of God emerges through human history as the Church is obedient by loving one another and serving the world in love. The kingdom of God can emerge through us as we are obedient to Jesus. The Kingdom of God will be fully realized when God's will is carried out completely on earth just as it is in heaven. We read in the scriptures that Jesus himself will only be able to accomplish this, but until then we are to be about the work of the Kingdom of God.

In Mark 1:17 when Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to follow him, was not the first encounter with Jesus. John reports in his gospel that Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist and heard John proclaim, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!". Andrew enthusiastically follows Jesus asking, "Rabbi, where are you staying?". Jesus replies, "Come and see!" This is still Jesus' invitation to us. In his excitement, Andrew goes and tells his brother Peter. Then Jesus seeks out Phillip, who is from Peter and Andrew's hometown of Bethsiada, who follows Jesus and in his excitement goes to tell his friend Nathaniel. The good Dr. Luke reports that Jesus preached from the fishing boats prior to the call to follow Him. James and John were also fishermen in this circle of industry and were well aquainted with Peter and Andrew for, Luke reports, they were amazed at the miraculous catch of fish after Jesus tells them to throw their nets deeper on the other side. Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, and so ministers to Peter and Andrew's family. Jesus had laid a foundation of familiarity, friendship, and ministry with these men well before calling them to come follow him. In the same way, we need to bring in existing groups, networks of people,  and unite them through friendship and ministry. Think about circles of relationships in which you are already familiar that would be good soil for the gospel. When they were ready, Jesus called them, and they dropped everything and followed Him.

 The synagogue in which Jesus healed the man with the unclean spirit was in Capernaum, across the street from Peter's house. The man was in church that day when the unclean spirit responded to Jesus' presence. He was probably a local known by the people and by Peter and Andrew. Yet no one had noticed this poor fellow's miserable condition. Though he was in church, the man nevertheless needed to be loved and ministered to. The people were amazed at Jesus' authority over the unclean spirit. This brings to mind our own baggage that we carry in our lives, our own 'unclean spirits' and 'skeletons in our closets' which can still be healed through the Jesus' authority and power The only judgment here is on the unclean spirit. At CONNECT I hope that we can become close friends in a community of faith where we can share our victories and our failings, thereby loving one another and loving God more. Let's observe the plank in our own eye before we point at the speck in our brother or sister's eye. Let's be sensitive to the needs and sufferings of those around us, and be willing to love, forgive, and heal as Jesus taught us.

CONNECT Worship Gathering: Mark 1 Clearing the Road in the Wilderness

Last Saturday at CONNECT we introduced the Gospel writer John Mark. We talked about John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, and the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. John's message was to repent, be baptized and to, "Clear the road! Make a straight way for the LORD to travel!” The clearing of stones from the road speaks to clearing our lives of sin. While we repent and accept Jesus at a certain point in our lives, clearing our hearts of the 'stones' is an ongoing process. Some stones can be easily cast aside, some require a shovel, and others require a crowbar. Still some require the help and prayers of the Christian community around us as we seek to make a straight path for Jesus in our hearts. The job is ongoing, rain (the spirit) washes away soil revealing more stones and we continue the process of living a life towards repentance. We also must be committed to living towards Jesus if we are going to help others clear the stones from their hearts. Are we being good heralds for Jesus, authentically seeking pure hearts for ourselves even as we announce the Good News to others?


The baptism of Jesus must have been very affirming for the Son of God through the Father's voice of approval and the presence of the Holy Spirit. After this spiritual mountaintop that inaugurated His ministry, Jesus was compelled by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted and where angels ministered to Him. As Abraham, Moses, David, and Jacob wandered in the wilderness they met God, received their callings, and were affirmed in their purpose. We should pay attention to the wilderness experience. Ours may be an emotional, financial, spiritual, or physical wilderness. We may feel spiritually dry or that God has abandoned us. We may question God and his goodness and our purpose. But take heart, it is in the wilderness where we will meet God. If we can understand God is doing a new thing and working in our hearts towards a purpose, we can have hope and push on in faith to a new level of intimacy with God and a fresh purpose in our lives.

I didn't learn community in church...

            I have seen community best exemplified at the Mission in Marked Tree, Arkansas, where I regularly taught and led in worship over the last year. God’s New Life Mission Bible Training Center is a residential, spiritual, seven-month, program of restoration for drug addicts, alcoholics, and mentally unstable people. The focus is not chemical detoxification, but spiritual formation and fortification. God’s New Life Mission Bible Training Center is the closest thing to a true community of faith that I have experienced. Daily communal life is ordered around six hours of prayer, teaching, scripture reading, and worship. Typically around forty residents, at any one time, all live under the same roof, loving one another, walking with Jesus, and operating the mission as a family. There can be no room for pretense at the mission. Residents must strive with one another and work things out. Residents plant and tend a garden, share common responsibilities, share common meals, fast once a week, and counsel one another as they spend time in the program. Senior members help disciple and counsel younger members I use the mission as an example of what I believe the Church should look like as a community of faith. At the mission, I have witnessed how the Holy Spirit can move through a community where there is sincere love, genuine friendship, and steadfast commitment to walking with Jesus. Lives are restored and disciples are created.
        
                The Church must move away from its entire program being devoted to the planning, preparation, and execution of one service that constitutes only one hour a week, and move toward helping families better order their daily lives around Jesus. While the average person’s family and daily needs will not allow six hours of Bible study, worship, and prayer, I believe the Church can foster this sense of community through small groups and through focus on spiritual formation. The Church can make and grow disciples through the accountability and intimacy of small groups, by regularly practicing hospitality in our homes, and through deeper devotion to prayer, scripture, and friendship with one another. People’s lives are often messy. Christians need to willingly enter into the suffering and struggles of one another to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to be praying for one another, demonstrating genuine care, and being accountable to one another.

Meeting Jesus in the parking lot... Stories of failure and success

I recently had a terrible failure followed by a success informed by the previous failure. It just goes to show that we should never assume we are the good Samaritan in the parable. We may, in fact, be the priest or the Levite that walks to the other side of the road. Recently on a Friday evening I was getting ready for a conference at a church in Little Rock. I was helping unload boxes of materials for the conference in downtown Little Rock when I was approached by a thin woman on the street. This woman was obviosly high and was asking for money. My first thought was, 'I'm busy, obviouisly occupied, and this person is walking up to me out of the blue and asking for money'. I immediately replied that I had no money (which was true) and regretably could not help her. She responded that she needed money for the bus and if I couldn't give her money, could I please give her a ride. My first thought to this was 'where was she going? Was she going to her drug house, her pimp's house, or some other questionable place. What would people think of me? Would people think I had purchased sevrices? But she was asking for help. I replied that I was working and could not help her. She walked away.

I felt convicted all weekend about this meeting. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me something like, 'you did not have money, and couldn't give her a ride, but the least you could have done would have been the best - you could have held her hand and prayed for her and told her that God loved her.' Gosh! Why didn't I think of that at the time? I didn't think of it because I was so busy with my agenda that I lost an opportunity to reach out to someone in need, asking for help. I could have prayed with the woman and let her know that there was at least one soul on this earth that cared about her enough to pray with her.

This reminded me in Luke 8 where Jesus is on a mission to heal Jairus's daughter when the woman with the issue of blood approached him in faith and she was healed. Jesus did not have to stop - she was already healed the moment she touched the fringe of His garment. He stopped to bring her back into the community, to show everyone that she was clean and could join the community of faith in worship once again. He stopped in order to give her a personal touch, personal attention, and as a result her life would never be the same. Jesus always responded to anyone reaching out to him in faith, never turning anyone away who was asking for help.

So Monday morning I'm at the church office and an old, thin man walks in. There was no way I was going to allow a repeat of Friday's failure, so I gave him my full attention. He was begging for a job, something to do around the church to make money to buy food. He dressed as well as he could, though his clothes were tattered and torn, and suspenders frayed. His face had some deformity to it that affected his speech. I found out in talking with him that Floyd was 73 years old, could not read or write, and had a very hard life. His parents and siblings had considered him cursed and had given him little attention or care from the time he was little. I asked him if he knew Jesus and he said that though he believed in the Lord, that he didn't go to church because he could not bare to see children afraid of his face. We talked about life and his hardships there out in the parking lot. The secretary and I gave him what money we had on us. Then he said, "please pray with me." When I took his hands he began weeping and sobbing, and laid his head on my shoulder. I just held him and hugged him, then prayed for him. When he left, I had the unique feeling that I had been with Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me another opportunity to get it right.