Tag: Family

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Forming (in) Community by Practicing Relationship – Part Two

To listen to the audio teaching of these notes click on: http://followingjesus.org.za/sermons/being-the-beloved-the-practice-of-family-relationships-part-24/

Recap on Church as Family – The Practice of Relationship

While I was away for the past two Sundays Waynne Pienaar and Lerato Moselane taught on Church as family, and Jo Robolakis taught on how to resolve conflict for relational health. We have said that the first practice of forming – and being formed in – community, is being family. That essentially is about relationships. We’re a relational church: God’s family, a home from home. What does this mean? How do we practice this?

Relationship with God (“Come, Follow Me”, following Jesus) is the basis of all relationships: “How can you say you love God whom you haven’t seen when you don’t love your brother and sister whom you do see?” (1Jn 4:20). The vertical relationship with God is the source and means and measurement of our relationships with one another. And the quality of our relationships with one another is the test of the authenticity of our relationship with God.

Therefore, the NT teaches “church” as a “relational happening” at various levels of gathering – because of Christ’s relational presence – beginning with 1) the two’s & three’s who meet in Jesus’ name (Matt 18:20). This is like the nuclear family on which all human society is built, but sadly is now falling apart. Then 2) the home group is the next level of “Church Relational Happening” (Rom 16:1f). That’s why we’re a ‘Home Group Church’ (they’re the place of real belonging and growth), rather than a ‘Church with home groups’ (where home groups are an optional extra program in the church). Then 3) when the home groups gather in the town or suburb it’s the local congregation (see 1 Cor 14:26f). Then 4) there is the church in the city, the nation, and the universe – we’re all relationally connected in Christ! Biblically speaking, there is no such thing as belonging to the universal church of Jesus Christ without concretely belonging in committed relationship in the local (house) church. Continue reading Forming (in) Community by Practicing Relationship – Part Two

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Forming (in) Community by Practicing Family (Relationship)

To listen to the audio teaching click http://followingjesus.org.za/sermons/being-the-beloved-forming-community-by-practicing-family-part-23/

Recap: Being the Beloved – The Basic Framework

Jesus of Nazareth came proclaiming and inaugurating God’s Kingdom. To enter and experience God’s Kingdom we must “repent and believe” (Mark 1:15). How do you do that? By obeying Jesus’ call: “Come, follow me, and I will make (form) you, into people who fish others for the Kingdom” (Mark 1:16-18). Hence Jesus’ three core Kingdom values: Following Jesus, Forming (in) Community, Fishing World. We’re following Jesus… in community… for the world. These values are centered in God’s personalized love for us in Jesus, “The Beloved” (Mark 1:11). In him we’re accepted and given a new identity, “God’s Beloved”, to live a life of love just as Jesus loved us (Eph 1:6, 5:1-2). We live these core values, centered in Freeing Love, as Fits our particular Context.

To live these Kingdom values and become The Beloved, we must prioritize four key practices for each value. For four months I taught on what it means to be The Beloved, then another four months on the four priorities and practices that enable us to live our highest value: Following Jesus in relational intimacy and co-working by the daily discipline of The Word, Worship, Prayer and Holy Spirit Administration.

Remember, I also taught on support and accountability in our daily disciplines: Using the circled triangle to ask the five basic questions of spiritual formation. Are YOU in an accountability group of 2 or 3 or 4 spiritual companions? How is it going? I now begin to teach on the second core value, Forming Community – Being Formed in Community, and the four priorities and practices that make it a reality: Family-Relationships, Healing, Servant Gifts and Equipping. Next year I will teach on Fishing the World. Continue reading Forming (in) Community by Practicing Family (Relationship)