Our Faith may Be Personal, but it Is Never Private

Click Here to Hear the Sunday, February 27, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Chip Moody


Click Here to Watch the Dramatic Monologue by Erin Paige.


Scripture Reference:  Ruth 3-4

Our Faith may Be Personal, but it Is Never Private

Lessons from the Book of Ruth on the Public Life of the Disciple

The book of Ruth has several layers. Ruth is the center of the story, partly because she is the “damsel in distress,” but also because the book is somewhat subversive in nature. One subversive part is the subtext of a foreigner embraced by Hebrew society; and not just any foreigner--Ruth was a Moabite, and Israel and Moab had a history.  Other layers of the story are about propriety and risk-taking, inclusion of immigrants, the huge disadvantage of being a woman without husband or son in that time and culture and the obligation of the culture to protect these women.

One of the most instructional layers of the Book of Ruth is the narrative about Boaz, the “kinsman redeemer” for Naomi’s family. The record presents him as an idealized embodiment of a law-keeping Jewish man. Yet his actions tell us of a man who acted “beyond the Law” toward Ruth and Naomi.  “Beyond the Law” is not exactly what we would say in twenty-first century English. We would say, “He followed the spirit of the law, not just the letter of the law.”

We see Boaz in action throughout the book, but most powerfully in chapter four.

• He was above-board in his public dealings, had no hidden agendas, displayed no fake friendship to get what he wanted.
• He did not use people for his own ends.
• He honored the right and legal way to solve a problem.
• He was godly in being his submission to God’s law (most notably the law of Levirate marriage)     

Moreover, Boaz was godly by being a man of integrity in his business life. He kept his hired hands from harassing the vulnerable immigrant Ruth (a lesson for today in both our immigration debate and the dreadfulness of human trafficking).  He showed more generosity in allowing gleaning from his fields than the law required (he wasn’t stingy and legalistic). He personally knew his workers. They weren’t just nameless muscle for his farm.

Boaz understood God’s expectations of him.  He understood that he was a steward of the place God had placed him in life, and that he must behave responsibly, openly and authentically.

So what does this mean for us?   Well, obviously Boaz is a model.

We can sum up Boaz’ modus operandi in the following life principle. Our faith is personal, but it is not private. Everything we do before others makes a statement about who we are, what we value, and how we view God and our relationship with him.

How might the example of Boaz look in our life?

  --Absolute honesty and integrity

      --Seeking God’s way in practical decisions in life

      --Takes care of those who are under his supervision

So if my faith is personal, but not private, what will those around me in the world learn about Jesus from me? And what will they learn about how seriously I follow him as a disciple?

Will they see hypocrisy? Or a man or woman of honor?

The most honorable man who ever lived was Jesus Christ. Not just because he was God in flesh, but also  because he walked the walk. He lived with absolute integrity and honor. His yes was yes, and his no was no. What the disciples saw in Jesus publicly is what they saw in him privately.

 

May I have the integrity of Jesus as my model for life. And if Jesus seems too intimidating, then let’s imitate Boaz. J

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD . . .  --Psalm 1:1-2a  ESV

God's Love for the Poor

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, February 20, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Chip Moody


Click Here to Watch the Dramatic Monologue by Erin Paige


Scripture Reference:  Ruth 2 and Leviticus 19

Learning Grace from Law

“Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that

have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien.

I am the LORD your God.”  --Leviticus 19:10 NIV

In our study of the book of Ruth we have come to learn well the verse from the Law of Moses quoted above. We have learned how this law benefitted Ruth and Naomi, and also how this passage speaks to the immigration issue, causing us to make important distinctions between our politics on the one hand, and our practice of love for the immigrant on the other.

Whenever we study the Law of Moses, it is important to clarify that this law code was for the Hebrew people in their culture and historical context. It makes up the core of the “old covenant” with his people. After the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have entered into the “new covenant, which fulfills the old covenant and replaces it. That is why most Christians, Gentiles that they are, do not follow kosher laws, ceremonial laws, laws of animal sacrifice, etc.

This does not mean that the Law of Moses is unimportant. Far from it. When we come up against a verse like Lev. 19.10, we have to take it seriously as part of God’s revelation to his people. But rather than ask “how can I do this law today” when we are not required to do so, we can instead ask a different question:

What does this passage teach me about the heart and mind of God?

I think you would agree that it teaches that God cares, in a special way, for the poor and the immigrant. Actually, it goes farther than that. This is not the only place we read of this command. We also see it in other places.

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.”  Exodus 22:21 NIV  

“When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 24:19 NIV  

So now we have immigrants, the poor, the widow, and the fatherless. I think you can see that God has his eye on those who are at a disadvantage in society. But how would this “law of gleaning” look in our world. We’re not farmers!

Here are some suggestions: 

1. I need to have what God has: a heart for the poor and marginalized. I don’t have the luxury of ignoring those who live close to the edge of economic or social oblivion. I need to pray that God will sync my heart with his heart; my loves with his loves; my mercies with his mercies.
2. I can create a law for myself. This personal “law” for me is actually a “habit of the heart.” Maybe at the end of the day I’ll put my loose change, or all my dollar bills, in a jar. When the jar is full I’ll cash them in for grocery gift cards to give away, or help someone pay their rent, or put gas in their car so they can get to work. You get the idea.  

3. I can identify the excess in my life in order to “bless others” with it. And believe me, most Americans have excess. Why not take all those canned foods from 1983 that are in the back of my cupboard and put them in the church pantry, or give them to a friend I know could use a boost? Why not let my tax return bless a homeless organization or the benevolence fund at my church?  Maybe instead of selling that old couch on Craigslist so I can make a lousy fifty bucks, I first look to see if someone in my church or neighborhood could use a free couch?          

Can you now see how this Law of Moses that does not bind us in this new covenant age, teaches us about the heart of God?  And can you see how understanding God’s heart can “free us” to be better disciples?

So find ways to allow others to “glean” from your abundance.

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another,

for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 NIV

God's Love for "Those People"

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, February 13, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Rodger S. Loar

Click Here to Watch the Dramatic Monologue on Ruth 2 by Erin Paige

Scripture Reference:  Ruth 2 and Leviticus 19

God's Love for "Those People"

Those people.  Them.  You know who I’m talking about.  They're different.

They look different from us.

They speak differently.

They don’t think like us.

They eat different food.

They have weird rituals and traditions.

You know…..  Those people.

Ruth was one of those people, she came from Moab to Israel.  Moab was across the Dead Sea.  It was the other side.  Them.  They.  Those People.  Ruth had to travel miles up around the Dead Sea and cross the Jordan River to get to Bethelehem. 

Ruth stood out and people noticed her as ‘That Moabite.’  In today’s terms, she would be an illegal immigrant.  Now, borders and immigration laws were different then, but racism was the same then as today.

God’s people, the Jews, were often very discriminatory.  It’s hard not to be when you know that you are chosen by God.  You start to think of yourself as better than others and you start treating others that way. 

Except, that’s now what God expects of them (or us).  Throughout the Old Testament, God tells the people to remember that they were once foreigners in Egypt and that because of that, they should treat the foreigners that travel through their lands a little better.  He commanded the Jews to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so there would always be food for the poor and the traveler.  He commanded them to allow the foreigner to rest on the Sabbath, right along with the native born.  He commanded the Jews to treat the foreigners fairly in court and not take advantage of them in the workplace.

Let’s be honest here: the Jews didn’t always follow God’s commands, and neither do we, today.

Most people know the famous Bible verse John 3:16:  For God so loved the world, He sent His only begotten son. That whoever believes in him shall not perish.  God so loved the world.  That’s everyone, not just a select few.  The world isn’t divided into ‘us’ and ‘them.’  God loves all people, and that includes the illegal immigrant. 

In my sermon, I mention two people, a man who had signs against illegal immigration painted on his truck and another man who suggested that we station snipers on the border to kill anyone coming across.  In addition to the angry signs on his truck concerning ‘illegals,’ the truck man also had bumperstickers for a local Christian radio station and a local church.  The man who suggested shooting people was a man that I knew to periodically attend a church.  I don’t know the real religious status of either of these guys, but I do know they have taken the compassion for human beings that God calls us to and lost it to angry rhetoric.

I don’t like the word ‘illegal.’  Actions are illegal, not people.  Referring to people as things dehumanizes them.  Then, people become a problem.  And, you deal with problems by solving them as expediently and efficiently as possible.  Thus, ridiculous ideas like rounding up millions of people and dumping them across the border or shooting women and children as they cross the border suddenly begin to sound reasonable.

God calls us to have compassion, to love people, to be gentle, and to be kind.  

Yes, we must be good stewards of our resources, but let’s be honest here, we are the richest nation in the world and we have money, resources, and jobs to spare most of the time.  It’s far too easy for us as citizens of the United States to think we are special.  We won the cosmic lottery by being born in this land.  It’s something to rejoice in, because just about anywhere else would be worse (despite our incessant bellyaching).  When God blesses you, it isn’t for you to keep it for yourself: God blesses you to bless others.

Yes, we must protect ourselves from terrorists and those who hate us just because we exist and don’t believe the way they do.  But, we can accomplish that in reasonable ways without turning into the same kind of monsters that hate us. 

As Christians, believers in God, we must remember compassion and gentleness.  It is not wrong to provide water for the thirsty, food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, clothing for the naked, and company for the lonely.  In fact, we are called to it.

Whatever side of the immigration issue that we fall on, we must remember to keep an open and compassionate heart for those who are suffering , the needy, and for those who endure conditions beyond what most of us could even imagine.

I’m pretty sure that Jesus would be ministering among those who are crossing the border illegally.

When this debate heats up again, and it will, are you going to add to the heat and anger, or will you take the gentle approach of love?

Will you support practical solutions that provide good stewardship and protect our borders while offering realistic options for legal immigration and guest workers?

Will you prayerfully remember the people of both sides whom God loves equally?

And, when the time comes that everyone is yelling about this issue again, will you be an example of gentleness and love, as every Christian is called to?

Practical Applications:

• Begin learning another language or study another culture.  
• Visit ethnic restaurants and engage someone in conversation that you might not normally speak to.
• Listen to others with an open heart and thinking brain.
• Look for someone at church or workplace who looks different from you – get to know them.

Love in Action in the Family

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, February 6, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Chip Moody.

Click Here to Watch the Dramatic Monologue on Ruth 1 Performed by Erin Paige.

Click Here to Download the Outline on the Book of Ruth.

Scripture Reference: Ruth 1:1-22

Chesed? [Gesundheit!]

Chesed is one of those strange sounding Hebrew words that require a bit of phlegm to pronounce correctly. Its pronunciation is halfway between HES-ed and CHES-ed.  Give it a try!

Chesed is one of those words that doesn’t have an exact equivalent in English. But if you put together the meanings of the following words you come up with a blend that looks a lot like chesed:

Kindness + Compassion + Loyalty = chesed

The concept of covenant is also present in the meaning of chesed.  It is a one-sided loving-kindness. Just as God loves us before we have done anything to deserve his love, so we can be like him by loving others before they have done anything to deserve our notice. 

Think about it. Chesed is showing compassionate loving kindness toward someone when we don’t get anything out of it.

 

The book of Ruth that we began studying last Sunday is the account of real people showing real chesed in real-life situations. The recipients of chesed come empty-handed; the givers of chesed have no ulterior agenda. Wow! Think of a world full of chesed and you have described heaven.

Which is precisely the point of the book of Ruth and why it is included in the Old Testament canon. It is a literary picture of God’s attitude of chesed toward his creatures. God’s attitude toward his covenant people (first Old Testament Israel, and now the church as grafted into God’s covenant family -- Romans 11.11-24.) is like Ruth’s love for Naomi, and Boaz’s love for Ruth.

Chesed is neither an emotion nor sentimentality. It is attitude-in-action. In the case of our Lord it looks like this: “God loved the world so much (chesed) that he gave his only begotten Son (when we didn’t deserve him), that whoever believes in him will not perish . . .” you know the rest.

So even if you can’t pronounce chesed, you can certainly revel in receiving it—and you can commit your life to practicing it.

Revolution Sunday

Click Here to Listen to the Sermon for Sunday, January 30, 2011 by Pastor Rodger S. Loar

Scripture Reference: Acts 2:42-47

Read the news and it’s easy to see what the world’s idea of revolution is.  As a follower of Jesus, revolution is something different.  There are no guns or bombs, we don’t hate or kill; he calls us to something more. 

At MVCC, we’ve been challenged to give up New Year’s Resolutions and make a New Years Revolution in our community.  We’ve been studying Acts 2:42-47 in light of the first church, historic revivals, and the conditions of today’s church.  We have decided we want to start a revolution at our church.  We are going to spend the next year exploring what it means to be a church like the first church, a group of people that are so caught on to Jesus’ mission and calling that our very lives change.

We want to be radically generous, givers in a world of takers, sacrificially sharing our resources and time to make a difference in this world.  We will learn to live on less so we can give more generously.  We will purposely reduce our busy schedules so we can volunteer more.

We want to be revolutionary with our love, welcoming in those who the world casts out, loving the ones that no one else loves, and practicing forgiveness and reconciliation in our relationships.  We will be intentional in building bridges, inviting people in, and getting to know one another.  We will eat together, pray together, worship together, serve together, and reach out to others together.

We want our faith to reform us, to change who we are because we follow Christ.  As we become new beings in Christ, our lives will begin to look so different that it should amaze others.  We will change from takers to givers, from haters to peacemakers, from those who worry to people of prayer. And we will do this together.

Jesus called us to shelter the homeless, clothe the needy, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, visit the prisoner, adopt the orphan, reach out to the outcasts, and support the widow.  He told us to be known by our love and our action, not by politics or protest signs.  He taught us to be useful in the world now, not just hope for future in heaven.  He wants us to be unified in our community and to be busy about his work.  This is our challenge and this is the journey we are on.

This last Sunday, we began this journey.  We had a different type of worship service.  We began in the sanctuary with prayer and praise, and we continued in the fellowship hall with a meal together and a presentation on our new step in ministry. 

We are beginning a new small group ministry called REVO Groups.  These groups will be unlike the old idea of small groups where one person teaches a lesson and a few other people passively listen.  These groups will be focused on putting faith in action.  They will study Acts 2:42-47 and begin practicing what that will look like in 2011.  Though the whole group will meet only once each month, individuals and families in the groups will be encouraged to have meals together or call each other throughout the month.  Each group will take on a service ministry that they will perform throughout the year.  The intent is for us to get our hands dirty and put our faiths to the test as we do real life-to-life ministry.

There is much more to these groups, but the heart will be intentional relationships that help us to grow in our own Christian walk and help us to reach out to our community and make a difference.

I challenge each person who reads this to consider joining one of our REVO Groups.  Give me a call at the office at 602-955-9414 or send an email to email@mvccaz.com for more info.  If you are not in the Phoenix area, please take the challenge and find a local church in your own community that encourages personal growth and small group ministry.  Make the needs of others a personal call to action in your own life. 

Pastor Rodger

A Shiny Imitation or Real Gold?

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, January 23, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Rodger S. Loar


Scripture Reference: Acts 2:42-47


A Shiny Imitation or Real Gold?

As a child, I saw an ad in a magazine for a free gold coin.  The ad actually said “FREE Solid, Gold Coin*.”  I fell for the advertisement and mailed in the form.  At the time, I didn’t recognize the significance of the comma after solid and the asterisk at the end.  When I received the coin in the mail weeks later, I was sorely disappointed.  A real gold coin is 1.25 inches in diameter and 3mm thick.  The coin I receive is less than ¼ inch in diameter and about the thickness of a few sheets of paper stacked together.  It was solid all right, just not solid gold.  My father had to explain to me what marketing was and how you had to watch for the small print.  Needless to say, I learned a valuable lesson that day and I have never forgotten it and I still have the coin to this day.

It is disappointing to expect one thing and receive something less.  Sure, the coin I received was shiny and gold colored.  It is also solid.  But it isn’t the real thing.

Through my 15 years as a Christian, I have often felt the same way.  We have so twisted Christ’s message over the last two-thousand years that most people don’t really know what it means to be a Christian.

Acts 2:42-47 shows us what the first church was like. 

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

What an awesome vision.  How cool might it be to experience that kind of community today?   Maybe we can, if we are willing to ask ourselves some hard questions. 

• What if the people of today’s church started acting like this first church?
• What if we intentionally built a close community together by eating together, praying together, and serving others together often?
• What if we shared what we have, giving out of every paycheck to help the needy?
• What if we worshipped God in our daily actions, in our business dealings, and in the way we treat people, not just by coming to church once in awhile?
• What if we loved and welcomed everyone, no matter who they were, what their skin color what, what their sexual orientation was, what their economic status was, what their past mistakes were, or what their legal status was?
• What if the prayers of others became calls to action in our own lives?
• What if it really mattered in our lives that we follow Jesus?
• What if each of us actually made a difference in this world, because we love God and love all the people He created?

Why, that just might be revolutionary…

Our challenge from this series is for Christians to become part of a community that serves Jesus.  If it’s Mountain View, then commit to being here and commit to intentionally getting to know your fellow believers.  It takes time, it takes work, it takes sacrifice… But, it’s worth it.

A community that catches Christ’s vision to love the world is a rare and precious thing.  Like the real gold coin, it has weight and value.  We can choose that kind of community or we can choose the shiny imitation that has little value.

Community like this can change the world.  It has in the past.  Will you take the personal challenge to make it happen again?

The Revived Church

Click Here to Listen to the Sunday, January 16, 2011 Sermon by Pastor Chip Moody



Scripture Reference: Acts 2:42-47

When God Works a Special Awakening upon His Church

In times past (and not so past in some places) the annual “Revival!” signs would sprout on church lawns. Known by insiders as a “week of meetings,” the annual revival event was expected to draw a large crowd to hear a proven preacher expound the gospel so folks could walk the aisle at decision time to be saved (or for you Calvinists, to walk the aisle to confess you have evidence you are already elect).

I have always been troubled, however, that a mighty work of God’s Spirit can be scheduled by a church committee a year in advance on the church calendar.

How would we know when God was going to “revive” his church?

What if God didn’t show up?

Is he allowed to show up at some other time during the year?

I’m not trying to be sarcastic here. These are legit questions. So I did some digging.

I found that “awakening movements” or renewal movements have happened many times in history.  They are always unexpected. They surprise the revived church as much as anyone else. Real revival, one finds upon a little research, is an act of God. An act from God.

It is not an event planned by his church (complete with tent and a neon “Jesus Saves” sign). 

And it usually appears during a time of immense dissatisfaction with the reigning spirituality. It seems that when people are hungry for God, he shows up in a special way. (Isn’t that just like him?)

Periods of renewal have specific characteristics.  Renewal periods documented in the UK and the US include up to four major spiritual awakenings in the past three centuries. You may know about some of them from your history classes. One spurred the end of slavery in England under men like William Wilberforce. Another was a return to the ideals of personal piety and the study of scriptures in the new American colonies (think John Wesley and Methodism). Yet another was the awakening of the early 1800s that spread the gospel west of the Allegheny’s during westward expansion.  Awakenings had great impact on oppressed labor, the poor, gave rise to hospitals, orphanages, colleges and schools. Most recent was the revival that spawned a huge Pentecostal/charismatic movement in early to mid 20^th century ( a movement that continues globally to this day).

OK, that was a long paragraph. The point of it was to show that spiritual awakening movements really changed how people live, both inside and outside the church. Societies were changed.  In fact, the church during these awakenings looked strikingly like the very first church in Acts 2.42-47.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. [New International Version]

Maybe this church in Acts is the official Bible snapshot of a church in the midst of awakening! This church determined that they would not disregard God’s empowering moment. They would and did resist being sucked in to the values of the culture around them. They would be the weird ones; the “different” folks. They would do their best to try and exhibit the heart of God and his priorities for human beings.

·         Personal devotion to God was more important than simple identification with a religious group.

·         Relationships of affection with one another became primary.

·         Society outside the churches was transformed by the transformation of the Christians

·         Prayer, disciple-building, and service characterized churches.

So what does all this mean for us today?

It means that rather than planting a sign that revival is going to happen next month, we acknowledge that God is in charge of awakenings, not us. And we should desire his coming to awaken us by his Holy Spirit. We should long for it. We should pray for it.  This is not without precedent:

“Revive me according to Your loving kindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.” Psalm 119:88

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said. Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'   John 7:37-38

For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.    Isaiah.57:15

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your Presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your generous spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.   Psalm 51:10-13

Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?   Psalm 85:6

I believe we should pray for renewal and repent of our complacency.

I believe YOU should pray for renewal and repent of your complacency.

I believe we must pray for a move of God upon this church and the churches of this city.

“If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14