I’m going to start off today with a bit of an uneasy question, a question that might be a bit tricky for us to handle… Let’s see how we go!
So the question is: How do you go with CHANGE?
Is change a hard thing or an easy thing for you, is it something you gravitate towards or steer clear of? What have been some of the biggest changes you’ve experienced, some may have been really good changes and some less so?
For me change is pretty constant, I’m pretty used to it! There’s been nothing but change in the last few years of my life, family, work, where we live, every two weeks our little man’s doing something new, constant change in this stage of life for us.
There seems to be an acceleration of change in modern society… would you agree with that? A lot of things that continue to change, they don’t change once but they change again and again, they won’t sit still!
I think of smartphones on this point, there’s a new model every few months or so, you never get to have the latest and greatest thing for very long! Change moving at a faster pace than we can handle there, maybe that sort of change needs to slow down a bit…
I also think of generations, how different generations have different experiences of life > there seems to be micro-generations now, like it used to be 20 years or so between different generations but now it’s more like 10! Or at least it feels like that!
I can say this because I’ve noticed it with my youngest brother who’s 11 years younger than me > one time we were going to watch a VHS on the video player at home – remember those! – so we put the VHS in and it was at the end, so my brother picked up the remote and asked, ‘where’s the menu?’
He had never used a VHS before, he knew about DVDs and they had menus, but he didn’t know on a VHS if you get to the end you can’t just click a menu option, you have to rewind it back to start! What a shock that was for him!
So change is actually a constant for us in our lives on earth, maybe too constant these days where things keep changing all the time and at a really fast pace.
CHANGE can be really hard. It can be really hard to adapt to change, especially if change is happening that we don’t like or want or see the need for.
But at the same time we all have to come to terms with change, because it keeps happening! If we’re lucky it’ll be gradual, smooth, one thing at a time – but often life’s not like that!
As we come to our passage in 1 Timothy today, we come at this as CHANGED people. We are not the same once Jesus has come into our lives, we are SERIOUSLY changed. We have been shown mercy, we have been forgiven, we have received new life, we’re part of God’s family now.
Let’s have another read through:
1 Timothy 2:1-7:
‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.’
Some key points: prayers for ALL people. God wants ALL people to be saved, and to know the truth. One God, one way to God > through his Son Jesus, a ransom for ALL people.
The phrase ALL PEOPLE is used 3 times here > prayers for all people, God wants to save all people, Jesus is the ransom for all people.
So how does this fit with the idea of US & THEM?
US & THEM thinking… US as in the people in here, THEM as in all the other people out there – we might have those categories set up in our minds consciously or sub-consciously – all the other people we interact with in life but not in church…
Asked the question last week > is that a good position to work from, is that a useful way of thinking for us who would call ourselves Christian people?
The grace of Jesus is for ALL people, not just US but also THEM, and this truth can help us move from divided to united, from separate to together, from individual to collective.
We can see it’s not that God just wants to save ‘US’ and not ‘THEM,’ but he wants to save ALL people. God is in the barrier-removal business!
This is one of the reasons why it matters, why we should bother engaging with the world, seeking to know and connect with what’s going on in the world around us, because this family that we’re in, God’s family, is not closed to the public > it’s the opposite, this family is ALWAYS looking for new members!
So I want to share with you something we’ve been looking at in the ‘Shaping Mission’ course run by the Frontier School of Mission, on the topic of change > in terms of church, what things change, what things stay the same?
Things in church can and do change, for example meeting in this building instead of in the old church, advances in technology where we don’t use books or printouts during worship any more because we have a screen to look at, also changes in personnel, people come and go.
This is a list of the things that DON’T change:
‘The Church is a sacramental community (which means a community built on the means of grace, new life in baptism and the forgiveness we receive through the body and blood of Jesus) that is each of the following:
Christ-centred
Faith-filled
Scripture-based
Spirit-led
Gospel-focused
Grace-bringing
All of those things HOLD UP against change too, they’re all ‘God things,’ things he does and makes happen. So could simplify this: the people & the place might and actually will change, but God doesn’t change.
We can probably agree on all of those things that the church is meant to be and should be, the ways God’s designed for his people to live together with him and with each other, the things that don’t change are based on what HE does not what we do.
But there’s one more point in this list: ‘Outward-oriented.’
This one stands out to me…
I think the church can really struggle to be outward-oriented, this is a really big challenge for all of us >
Do you think the church could be seen as more INWARD-oriented than it is outward??
Thinking back to the CHURCH & WORLD dynamic from last week, what would the WORLD say about the CHURCH, is it inward or outward?
Would be very interesting to survey some people on that point!
What’s the difference between an inward-orientation and an outward-orientation?
INWARD-oriented
Looking after ourselves and the immediate community around us, focusing on who Jesus says we are individually, doing our bit within our community and for the people close to us = all good things!
Really important to look after ourselves, the saying goes ‘you have to help yourself before you can help someone else’
What about OUTWARD-oriented?
Does this mean looking out and reaching out a bit further than the immediate community/environment we find ourselves in?
Does this mean seeking to learn about the WORLD around us so we can meaningfully engage with it, rather than closing ourselves off in a safe, comfortable zone where we have security, protection and know exactly what to expect of what goes on around us?
There seems to be a need for BOTH of these, a balance of inward & outward orientation.
So maybe a helpful way to understand these points – also remembering the RECEIVING, RESPONDING and RELAYING nature of being a disciple that we heard about a few weeks ago – could be:
As church we have a responsibility – and it’s also a gift – to RECEIVE, RESPOND to the Christ-centred, faith-filled, scripture-based, Spirit-led, gospel-focused, grace-bringing parts, so we can then turn outward and share the gospel, RELAY the good news, with an outward-orientation.
Another way to think about inward and outward orientation is the location or posture we find ourselves when we’re doing either of these things… RHYTHMS OF GRACE we might say.
INWARD
At church on Sunday, in community with God’s people, dwelling in the word together, receiving refreshment for our soul that our God has for us
In our personal lives when we pray, read the bible, listen to a song and find Jesus is speaking to us through that song
And OUTWARD
When we’re out in the world, BRINGING GRACE – one of the things that doesn’t change – in what we do, how we interact with people, caring for and building relationships with people.
This is a good rhythm, it’s supposed to be!
It makes sense, it keep us filled up so we can give out, we can take heart that even when life does change, we’ve got the sure foundation of a God who doesn’t //
We thank you Lord for your unchanging love, your unchanging and unmoving presence that remains with us through changes, through all that comes thick and thin. Remind us what we hear in your word is not for our ears alone, but for ALL people. Lead us in living out the gospel through building relationships and serving and caring for others. Amen.
Tom Kitson 