The Missional Story of God

This session will be led by Jay Lorenzen. Click the speaker info tab above for information on the speakers.

Many theologians see the Bible as “a grand-story, a master-narrative or metanarrative” that explains “the way the world as it actually is.” This grand story consists typically of four chapters: Creation, Fall, Redemption (Jesus), Restoration or New Creation. N.T. Wright’s adds a helpful twist by seeing this “metanarrative” as God’s 5 Act Play: Creation, Fall, Israel, Redemption (Jesus) and Restoration/New Creation.  Unfortunately, the evangelical church member often envisions just two chapters: Fall and Redemption.  In other words, we’re lost sinners (chapter 2), Jesus forgives us/saves us and we get to go to heaven when we die (chapter 3/act 4).

What do we miss when we fail to grasp the whole story line?  What do we miss, for example, by not appreciating chapter 1 (Creation) and chapter 4/5 (Restoration/New Creation)?

If God’s individual and cosmic mission (Missio Dei) is “redemption of the whole creation”, what implications does that have for us as the “sent” people of God?

Session 2: The Centrality of the Cross in Redemption

Taught by Pastor Scott Lawry of Grace @ Bell Road Church.

Redemption is Salvation from a God of Love & Justice. Redemption is  Salvation from ourselves & from God Himself.

1)  Knowing Ourselves – What do we look like before God’s redemption?
2)  Knowing Our Holy God – What does he look like before his redemption?

Redemption is a Salvation from More than we realized. We have to realize what we are saved from in order to truly understand Jesus’ work.

If someone where to ask you, “What are you saved from?”  What would say?

Redemption in the Old Testament

Here’s a summary of Carmen Falcione’s Session tonight:

The natural man does not have the ability to understand the full comprehension of the great redemptive plan of God.  But we as believers have been given understanding and revelation empowered by God’s grace and wisdom.  Many saints understand this work of God in their minds but lack the ability to apply it in their everyday life.  This message is hopefully given to encourage and exhort the children of God to experience the full impact of God’s great redemptive plan.

Are you stuck in the man-centered view of redemption, i.e. ‘works/covering’ or the Biblical plan of mercy, grace, and surrender?

The Big Seven Questions (Revisited)

The Redeem Conference will give you time to apply what you are learning from our various speakers. Here are the Big Seven Questions for the weekend:

1. Are you stuck in the man-centered view of redemption, i.e. ‘works/covering’ or the Biblical plan of mercy, grace, and surrender? If someone where to ask you, “What are you saved from?”  What would say?

2. What do we miss when we fail to grasp the whole story line?  What do we miss, for example, by not appreciating chapter 1 (Creation) and chapter 4/5 (Restoration/New Creation)? If God’s individual and cosmic mission (Missio Dei) is “redemption of the whole creation”, what implications does that have for us as the “sent” people of God?

3. After examining your heart, what hindrances are blocking your redemption and full restoration?

4. How can we see God’s Redemption in our finances?

5. What does it do for my spouse for me to accept them as I have been accepted by Christ?

6. How is redemption being communicated in and through my faith    community?  Is it being displayed at all? / Where does God want to bring peace… through you?

7. How does understanding the gospel’s full embrace of “King and Kingdom, Justification and Justice, Proclamation and Demonstration, Individual and Cosmic” help us stay in balance?

Please take some time to pray through these questions prior to the conference.

Redeem Conference this Week!

The Redeem Conference starts on Friday and runs through Sunday Morning. See below for a schedule of events.

The overall point of the conference is to see God’s plan of redemption and then apply it to all levels of our lives. The sessions will be short and there will be 7 occasions to discuss and apply specific questions.

We will also have a lunch time panel discussion on God’s work of redemption on Saturday for lunch.

Please make plans to join us.

Redeem Conference Schedule

The Redeem Conference will include sessions led by various speakers emphasizing particular areas where we see Christ’s redemption of the world.

Friday:

Praise and Worship: Led by Gregory Teal

Redemption in the Old Testament: Carmen Falcione

The Centrality of the Cross in Redemption: Scott Lawry

Redemption Among Children in India: Helena Singh

Redemption of the World through Christ: Jay Lorenzen.

Saturday

Praise and Worship: Led by Gregory Teal

Redemption and the Physical Body: Dr. Joe and Sherry Elrod

Redemption and Finances: Bill Hurley

Redemption in Marriage and Family: Dr. Mike Darnell

Redemption and Being a Peace Maker: Kris (cannot list more information)

Redemption and Church Planting: Joe Martin/Helena Singh (includes Q&A)

Redemption and Global Movements: Jay Lorenzen

Lunch w/ Panel discussion with Speakers: Redemption and Living the Whole Gospel.

Each Speaker will provide one discussion/application question as a take home for people to discuss and ponder. If you wrestle with and answer all 7 questions, you will have dealt with the thrust of the conference as a whole and will be on your way to applying it to your life.

We will post more information about the children’s track soon.

Redeem Conference Schedule

The Redeem Conference will run on the following schedule.

Friday, 6pm – 9pm

Saturday, 8:30am – 1pm (includes lunch with panel discussion with the speakers).

A more detailed schedule of events will be posted later today… but the overall point of the conference is to see the redemption of Christ in our lives and how it plays out in all of our contexts (home, work, church, money, etc.)

More speaker information will be posted later today as well.

On Movements

Take a look at Jay Lorenzen’s blog for some great information about movements for Christ and building them around the world.

http://onmovements.com/

Jay is the keynote speaker for the Redeem Conference.

Why We’re Having this Conference

Note: The speaker page has been updated with information on two more of our speakers. Click on the Speaker Info link above.

Our focus will be on Jesus, on his work in our hearts and all around us. He has sent as missionaries to do his work of redeeming our culture. Check out this video that helps explain the motivation behind a missional church and why we would host a conference like this one:

God’s Plan for the World

“The Gospel is not just about my individual happiness or God’s plan for my life. It is about God’s plan for the world.”

The Redeem Conference will allow us to reset our thinking about the real Gospel. We have bought into the individualistic nature of society, saying: “Everything is about me.” You will see through this conference that everything is about God, and there is tremendous life in living for God.

Our main speaker, Jay Lorenzen, sent us us the following article that sums up what we are teaching at the Redeem Conference.

What is the Gospel?

The gospel is called the “good news” and it is particularly good news about our sin problem. In a nutshell, we can sum it up this way:

The gospel is that God himself has come to rescue and renew creation in and through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.¹

Why does creation (which includes me) need rescuing? Because of sin.

Sin is living for my fame and glory instead of Godʼs. Sin is living life my way, for me, instead of living life.²

Godʼs way, for God.

We have all sinned and really need the gospel—we desperately need Jesus to rescue us from the penalty and effects of sin, which the Bible teaches is ultimate and eternal separation from God.

When we repent (change our mind about who is really God in our lives) and by faith we believe that Jesusʼ life, death and resurrection has secured our rescue and restored us to a right relationship with God the Father, then this good news is true for us!

And we have been sent out to proclaim this same gospel of restoration to the entire world.

UNDERSTANDING TWO GOSPEL PERSPECTIVES

We can read the Bible across the grain (thematically) and we can read it with the grain (as a story or diachronically). Both are necessary and each one leads to a different way of seeing the gospel. It takes both perspectives to fully understand and engage the gospel.

1. Thematically

The Gospel Power: We understand the means of salvation.

• God —eternal, all powerful, creator of everything

• Sin —humanity has all chosen self-rule over submission, in relationship, to God; the penalty for sin is death

• Jesus —God incarnate came to die as a substitute for the penalty of humanityʼs sins

• Faith—by faith in what Jesus did, not by any effort of our own, we are saved from our sins

In this case, the good news is that God is completely aware of our sin problem, and in and through the work of Jesus Christ, accepts us AND changes us by the power of his Spirit. We have been saved from the penalty of sin (justification), we are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification) and we will be saved from the presence of sin. This means the same power that saved us from the penalty for sin also helps us obey God now. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:27-29; 2:6-7)

This results in my understanding that…

I am more broken and sinful than I ever dared believe, and at the same time I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope, because of Jesus.³

2. As a Story

The Gospel Purpose. Here we come to know the reason for salvation.

We can look at the gospel through the lens of a story…

Creation — Fall — Redemption (or Rescue) — Restoration

In this case, the good news is that God sent his Son to redeem the world from the effects of sin and create a new humanity. Eventually the whole world will be renewed to the way God originally created it. Rebellion, death, decay, injustice, and suffering will all be removed. When everything is restored, God will be seen by all for who he truly is—he will be glorified. (Ephesians 2:10,14-22; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Revelation 21)

How does this happen?

Jesus helped clarify how we accomplish the purpose of the gospel by giving us his mission: “Go and make disciples”. (Matthew 28:19). As the arts, industry, politics, families—all areas of culture—are being filled with Jesusʼ disciples bringing about his gospel restoration, the earth is being filled with his glory! That is the point of the restoration of all things—that God would be glorified!

The Gospel is not just about my individual happiness or God’s plan for my life. It is about God’s plan for the world.

The World.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”

The people of God (the Church) then become an alternative city within a city to display, as a foretaste, what the eternal city will be like. (Jeremiah 29; Matthew 5:3-16; Luke 6:20-36; 1 Peter 2:9-12)

God, in Jesus Christ, has given us both the MESSAGE of reconciliation (gospel power) and the MINISTRY of reconciliation (gospel purpose).

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.”

And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Good News!

When we repent of our sin and receive the new life that Jesus has offered us, we begin a journey of restoration inside and out. And not just for us—but for the entire world!

________________________

A Quick Note:

We Need Both Gospel Perspectives

We must know the Gospel means (God/Sin/Christ/Faith) and the Gospel story (Creation/Fall/Redemption/Restoration) and see them both as Godʼs story together – Synchronically and Diachronically.

If we only focus on the Gospel Work (Power of the Gospel – what Jesus did), but do not know the Gospel story (Purpose of the Gospel – what Jesus is doing through the Church), we will tend toward a Gospel that is about saving individuals and miss the mission of the Gospel – it becomes ABOUT us.

If we only focus on the Gospel Story, but miss the Gospel Work, we will tend toward works of man without the power of God (We believe it is up to us to change the world AND we are more acceptable and significant to God by doing more) – it becomes DEPENDENT UPON us.

THE STORY IS ALL ABOUT HIM … ITʼS NOT ABOUT US!

1 Keller, Tim. “Doing Justice.” Resurgence Conference. Seattle. 2006. http://bit.ly/keller-dj

2 Chester, Tim. (2008). You Can Change. Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press. http://bit.ly/chester-ycc

3 Keller, Tim. The Centrality of the Gospel. Retrieved 10/1/2009 from http://bit.ly/keller-cg

Source: http://www.somacommunities.org/mediafiles/soma-101-session-2-gospel-viewpoints.pdf