Tag: baptism

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YOU as God’s Beloved

Recap: Jesus as THE Beloved 

The mamzer from Nazareth ‘discovered’ and grew into his identity and destiny as God’s Be-Loved. Then it was supernaturally confirmed at his baptism: “You are my Agapetos.” He was who he was and did what he did because he was so free to love, knowing Abba’s love. His life and baptism is the model for Christian life and baptism: When we believe in Jesus we are “accepted in The Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Then OUR baptism confirms and empowers US to be God’s Beloved daughters and sons.

Christian Baptism, Gal 3:22-29 

“You are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Messiah Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Therefore, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.”

Jesus is Abraham’s seed fulfilling the sacrifice of love in Genesis 22:1-14. In the Septuagint (Greek translation of Old Testament) the Hebrew yachid, “one and only son” is translated Agapetos (verse 2). In Jesus WE are God’s seed, “born again” by his Spirit as his “one and only” sons and daughters. That gives each of us a whole new identity and destiny as God’s dearly “Beloved Child” (see Ephesians 1:6 cf. 5:1). The Early Church used the intimate Abba (“Daddy”) in their address to God, which they learnt from Jesus: “As God’s children, he sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba’ (Galatians 4:6, see also Romans 8:15-17). Continue reading YOU as God’s Beloved

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Jesus as THE Beloved

Intro to Jesus as THE Beloved 

In the Christian ‘liturgical’ calendar the Feast of Epiphany follows Christmas. It’s held on 6 January to celebrate Jesus being revealed (manifest = epiphany) to the world. In the Western Church Epiphany focuses on the visit of the three Magi to baby Jesus. The Eastern Church focuses on Jesus’ water baptism, followed by his desert temptations. Both East and West Church then focus on Jesus’ ministry of the Kingdom from Epiphany to the beginning of Lent (starts 5 March), which prepares us for Jesus’ passion during Pesach (18-20 April). Here I teach on Jesus’ baptism in God’s Spirit of Love – his being revealed to the world as God’s Beloved Messiah.

The Historical Jesus as THE Beloved

 Jesus was “illegitimately” conceived before his parent’s wedding. He probably was known as a “mamzer” (illegitimate), with suspicious paternity and social rejection. Imagine the effect? He had father issues! As Jesus grew up he listened to his parent’s amazing stories of supernatural visitations at his conception and birth. He learnt to receive and trust God as his Father (Abba) in a very real sense. His father apprenticed him in his business, through which Jesus learned to “be about my Father’s business” (at age 12, Luke 2:49). Jesus consciously experienced Abba’s love in each moment and in each event of every day. At age 30 he went to John and was baptized. Matthew 3:13-17 says: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with him I am well pleased.” Continue reading Jesus as THE Beloved

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Being the Beloved: The Framework

Last week I introduced our year theme for Following Jesus: Being the Beloved – A Year of Spiritual Formation. We launched this theme with a week of fasting and prayer. Please feed back to our office or to me if you feel God is saying something to us – we want to hear and obey the Lord! Today I present the Big Picture, or the Overall Framework, of Being and Becoming God’s Beloved.

The Centrality and Heart of Love 

“GOD is love, whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him/her” (1John 4:16). We dare not reverse it, “Love is God.” Then we make love (whatever we mean by it) god, as many do today in a popular postmodern “spirituality of love”. We love only because God first loved us (1John 4:19), enabling us to love as he loves. How so? God created us in his image in love for love. To love is godly. But our sin, our fallen nature, rejects the ultimate source of love, God. BUT God overcame sin in love. He came to save us in his Son Jesus, his enfleshed love, his sacrificial gift of Self. In Christ we receive and live in the Father’s love – which he knew so profoundly (John 17:23-26). Father confirmed Jesus’ identity as “Beloved” at his baptism, in the Spirit of Love: “You are my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). This is the center that centers us: God’s love, giving us our identity in Christ as “Beloved.” Paul says it so well: “Be imitators of God, as his beloved (born again) children: live a life of love, just as Jesus loved us” (Ephesians 5:1-2). Continue reading Being the Beloved: The Framework

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Being the Beloved – A Year of Spiritual Formation

Last year was about replanting and restoring health to our church, as “Following Jesus”. This year is about laying a firm foundation for a) spiritual growth, b) healthy community, and c) service to our world. This letter is not only my preaching notes, but sets the tone for the year as we begin laying the foundation, being guided by our chosen theme…

“Being the Beloved – A Year of Spiritual Formation”

It might sound weird! Being the what… ?? The word/idea of “Beloved” is significant and powerful in the Bible. It’s all about “be-loved” or “being loved”, which is difficult for most people. We have to learn how to be loved, how to receive love, and thus to love. They say, “Love makes the world go round!” Pretty close! God IS love… so, love is the center of the universe, making all things work – that is IF we receive his love and learn to love as he loves – then that’s heaven on earth! But if we don’t, we make hell on earth!

Being the (God’s) Beloved is about discovering our true selves. It’s about our identity as human becomings. The deepest source and definition of our identity is God’s love for us – not the myriads of other means of identity imposed on us, or that we choose. And it’s not the “feel-good-flowery-luuvvv” from Hollywood! It’s God’s love from eternity, enfleshed in its costly demonstration in Jesus of Nazareth. He lived and died for YOU, for ME, for our sin, our rejection of God’s love, so that we may turn and receive God’s love. In fact, Jesus was who he was, and did what he did, because he came to know how deeply God loved him as his Father – confirmed at his baptism in water when Father spoke from the heavens, “You are my Son, my Beloved, in whom I am well pleased”

That voice, that Spirit of Love, opened the heavens for Father’s love to flood and fill each one of us, so that we may learn to live in his love as Jesus did. All of life flows from that. It’s the source of healing and spiritual growth, community formation and social transformation – our focus for this year as we follow Jesus together. Why not take this journey very seriously and commit to Being (becoming) the Beloved? In effect, we will be unpacking our calling as a church, our Mission Statement: Following Jesus and making followers of him, learning to live a life of love just as Jesus loved us.

To begin this journey we are calling our church to a full week of FASTING and prayer, from 20-26 January. Here are some guidelines to help us. Continue reading Being the Beloved – A Year of Spiritual Formation

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Exploring Membership with Following Jesus (Notes)

As promised, here are my notes from session one of Exploring Membership with Following Jesus. The audio will available this week on www.followingjesus.org.za (or check www.valleyvcf.org.za).

Continue reading Exploring Membership with Following Jesus (Notes)