Gospel Freedom

I want you to think back, if you can, to what it was like walking into church for the very first time.

Maybe into this church, maybe tonight is your very first time in church.

Maybe walking into a new church because you'd moved areas or something.

And that moment as you wander through the door and you kind of take in everything that's around you and the things that you notice.

So you might walk in and think, wow, what a fantastic carpet colour.

Or you might walk in and think, I really love the height of this.

Who put that fan up there?

Like just the different things that you begin to perceive.

And then as the service begins, you think, oh, I'm so glad this music is being played properly on an organ with a choir.

Or, you know, I'm really glad there's a band here and it's not being played wrongly on an organ with a choir.

Or, you know, I'm really glad that the guy up the front understands how church is supposed to be done and is wearing one of those robes.

And, you know, making sure that we all know that he's clergy and he's official.

And you notice different things that stick out.

You might think, you know, I'm really glad that the people here understand that church is serious on a Sunday.

You don't just walk into church and like, you know, you're Birkenstocks or something like that.

Not singling anyone out, okay?

Just as an example, as an example, you come in and you notice things that you like or things that you don't like.

Things that, you know, make you kind of comfortable.

Maybe things that are weird, like why are we facing the wrong direction in the building?

You come in and you notice different things.

But the question is, as you notice those things, what do you do with that?

Do you then think, well, I guess I'm going to have to change?

Or are you already beginning to come up with a plan of how the church can change to get in line with your correct and holy desires of what is good and comfortable?

Or are you already figuring, I know there's another church just a couple of blocks away, so maybe I'll go there and they'll be doing it the right way.

I mean, the way I like it.

What should change?

You or the church?

In Galatians, what we're looking at, there is these two churches, two groups of churches.

Paul has written to one group of churches.

That's the group of churches that he started, the Galatian churches, which is made up of Gentiles.

That's basically shorthand for everyone who's not a Jew.

The point is, they were basically a whole bunch of different nationalities.

They were from different places, different backgrounds.

They were pretty free compared to what was going on in the other churches.

Because the Jerusalem churches, which is the Peter, James and John churches, they were the Jewish churches.

They were the churches that had literally thousands of years of tradition shaping the way that they did church.

When they'd become Christians, they had all these things that they used to do when they met as Jews

that had kind of influenced and carried into the way that they were doing church.

Influences on things like the way that they dress, the way that they ate, the way that they met,

who was up the front, all that sort of stuff.

If you've got these two very different churches and what's going on is there's this clash.

There's this clash of culture and the question of who has to change.

There's this pressure in both directions of we're more right than you.

We're more holy than you.

You should do it like us.

But particularly for the Galatians, the churches that Paul's planted,

there's this pressure coming from the Jerusalem church, the first church, the original church,

the place where the church started.

There's this pressure coming from them to say, you've got to be more like us.

You've got to be more Jewish if you're going to be a genuine Christian.

So what does the gospel do?

The gospel that Paul's been preaching, the gospel that Paul is fighting for.

What does the gospel do for these two different groups of churches?

I mean, how does it make it possible for two completely different groups to function as one church?

Because that's kind of the point.

They are the one church.

They're following the same God.

They're depending on the same grace that God showed them by sending His Son to die on the cross.

That's the goal when you read through Scripture.

When you get to the right of the end in the book of Revelation,

the picture we get is a unified church, a church from all over the world,

a church that is incredibly diverse from every tribe, nation and tongue, but that's unified.

That's one as it seeks to worship one God by the same grace.

Even us here at St. Paul's, we have a heart to be that church that God is building,

to be that one diverse church, to be transcultural,

to reflect the rich diversity that surrounds us here in Chatswood,

here in Sydney, here in Australia and throughout the world.

We want to be a reflection of that diversity as a testimony

to the power of the gospel to transform us.

But the question that remains is,

how does the gospel transform us so that we can be that kind of unified diversity?

Because it sounds nice.

Everyone together makes sense.

Sounds like a great idea.

But how does the gospel actually enable people who like completely different things

to be church together?

Well, last week we were looking at the second half of chapter one

and Paul was working really hard to show us that his gospel message was separate,

not different, but separate from what was going on with the Jerusalem apostles in Jerusalem.

His ministry was different.

He got his revelation direct from Jesus.

And so it's strange that we begin this passage with him heading to Jerusalem

to meet with the apostles.

Last week he was really trying to make it clear,

I'm just doing my thing.

I mean, it's the same gospel, but I'm doing it over here

and they're doing it over there and I don't need them.

And then in this passage, we open up at the beginning there

and 14 years later, granted that's a bit of a gap,

but if the lack of approval was a badge of honour in chapter one,

it seems strange to now go up and present the gospel to them

as like needing some sort of stamp of approval,

some sort of official tick from them.

So why go now?

Let's have a look.

Verse one.

Ash read it out for us.

Then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem.

This is his second visit.

This time with Barnabas.

I took Titus along also.

I went in response to the revelation

and meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders,

I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.

I wanted to be sure I was not running

and had not been running my race in vain.

So Paul arrives in Jerusalem as a response to a revelation.

That's really important.

Paul's not being called into the principal's office here

because he's done the wrong thing.

This is not, you know, like a power move

where you've got to come in and justify what you're doing.

God's arranged this.

God has said, you need to go up there

and he's not there to defend himself.

I remember last week, the big shift for Paul with the gospel

is that he's not a people pleaser anymore.

The tick from these three men, Peter, James and John,

as important as they are,

doesn't actually matter for Paul personally.

So why is he going up?

It's right there at the end of verse two.

I wanted to be sure I was not running

and had not been running my race in vain.

Paul's not concerned that his gospel might be wrong.

He's already made it clear there is only one gospel

and his gospel came from Jesus

and the proof of it is in the transformation,

even in his own life.

The problem going on for Paul

was that as he's traveling around

to these different places preaching

that Jesus has died

and that he offers forgiveness for free,

that it's only by grace.

As he moves on to the next town,

to the next group of people,

there were these groups of Jews

that were kind of following him around

and they would come in just after Paul had left

and go, that message you just heard was fantastic.

It's changed your life.

This is what was going on in the Galatian church as well.

And go, it's great.

Jesus is great.

Now all you need to do to be really Christian,

to be proper Christians,

is be Jewish like us

because the church started with us.

So you want to be like us

because we're the original ones.

So just change a little bit.

Believe in Jesus,

but also be circumcised.

Also have your food laws like we do.

Also do the things that we like to do.

So they're preaching a grace plus gospel

and claiming that they were sent

by the apostles in Jerusalem,

claiming that they had their authority.

And so this little episode

that Paul's describing here in chapter two

is like this showdown

between those false teachers

that have been chasing Paul

and Paul's gospel.

And then you've got Peter, James and John

there to basically finally and fully tell us

which gospel is legitimate.

The result of this showdown, verse three.

Not even Titus who was with me

was compelled to be circumcised,

even though he was Greek.

This matter arose

because some false believers

had infiltrated our ranks

to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus

and to make us slaves.

This is why Paul bothers going to Jerusalem.

He doesn't care what these false teachers think.

He doesn't even care

what the real apostles think.

The issue is that if the gospel is lost,

it's the difference between freedom and slavery.

He cares for the church that he planted.

He cares that they don't lose this gift

that God has given them.

And so he goes up to present the gospel boldly.

And the result is

that not even Titus was compelled to be circumcised.

Now, Paul's kind of clever in what he does here.

He knows he's going up for a bit of a meeting

and he doesn't go by himself.

He takes two people with him.

They're there in verse one.

First, he takes Barnabas.

So Barnabas is another Jew.

So as soon as Barnabas walks into the room in Jerusalem,

everyone's like, oh yeah, he's a Jew.

Tick, he's one of us.

Fantastic.

And Barnabas can tell them

that he's witnessed the power

of what Paul has been doing in Paul's ministry.

But then as well as Barnabas,

he takes Titus.

Now, Titus is a Greek.

He's very not Jewish.

He hasn't been raised with Jewish traditions.

He doesn't understand how Jews do life,

let alone Jewish Christians do following Jesus.

For Titus, he just heard the gospel,

heard what Jesus has done

and accepted the grace of God.

That's it.

That's his Christian story.

He doesn't have all these extra Jewish rules.

And for him to stand in front of this group of Jews

means what they're talking about

isn't just an abstract issue out there anymore.

We can't just talk about whether or not

some people have to do these extra things

to be proper Christians.

We have to look Titus in the eyes and say,

if you want to be a Christian,

you have to be circumcised.

See, suddenly this becomes a concrete human issue.

The gospel is not about some vague points of doctrine.

It's not bullet points.

The gospel saves people.

And Paul wants the apostles to look Titus in the eyes

and say once and for all what the true gospel is.

Now, a quick side point that I want to just make for us,

stepping out of this for a sec.

This is a really important and helpful way for us

to engage with the issues that we engage with in the world.

As Christians, as we engage with things

and we argue for truth

and we speak into our culture about what God wants,

it's really important for us to engage with the people

who embody those issues.

When we just engage an issue,

it's really easy to slip into being harsh.

It's really easy to slip into being unloving.

It's really easy to forget

that this actually has emotional force

and weight as we speak about things.

But when there is a person,

a face attached to the issue that we're engaging,

people we know are created in the image of God.

People we know receive compassion

when they encounter Jesus.

And we know as Christians,

we are called to show compassion to people.

Not at the expense of truth,

but truth spoken in love.

Now, I'm just going to leave that there.

That's just a little side point.

That probably speaks into a whole bunch of stuff.

That you might be engaging,

but we're just going to park that for a second

as just a little helpful model that Paul gave to us.

But we're back in here.

In the presence of these Jewish apostles,

remember these are about as impressive

and intimidating as it can get

to be in a room with James, Peter and John.

And in their presence,

Titus listens to these arguments

from the false teachers

about what he has to do to be a Christian.

He weighs it against the gospel

that he has heard proclaimed,

the gospel that has powerfully transformed

him and Paul

and all the people in the churches in Galatians.

And he is not compelled.

That's a really important word in this passage

and in the life of any Christian.

He is not compelled.

In light of the fact that he knows

Jesus has died for him.

He knows that he can only be in God's family

because of God's grace and mercy.

Because of that,

Titus knows he is free

from any extra requirement.

He knows there is no extra hurdles.

And so he chooses

to not be circumcised.

Chooses not to jump through this hoop

that's being put in front of him.

What the gospel has done for him

and for us,

if we're Christians,

is draw a line,

create a distinction between

what is cultural,

that is,

what is the way we see things,

the way we do things,

the way we think about things,

and what is gospel.

That is unchangeable truth.

A line has been drawn

between what we must do,

the non-negotiables,

and what we have freedom to choose.

It's kind of like,

if you think about the beginning

when you walk into church,

it's the difference between

walking in and deciding,

you know what,

I don't like the music

or I don't want to praise God at all.

Now, because of who God is,

he demands praise.

That's not up for negotiation.

That's not up for grabs.

If you're following him,

the one who created the world

in his mercy,

chose to send his son

to take your punishment,

he is praiseworthy.

That's what Christians are.

They're praise givers.

That's a gospel thing.

That's not up for grabs.

If we were to take a vote,

you know,

who wants to praise God

when we gather?

I don't care what you vote

because the Bible says we do it.

How we do it,

if we were to vote on that,

you know,

like whether we use an organ,

whether we have no instruments,

whether we insist on drums only,

whether we sing loud or soft,

whether we do the same line

over and over and over again,

whether we have a different song

every week,

whether we only do songs

that are written by certain people

whose names start with

some certain letter

or whatever it is,

those are cultural things.

They're not bad,

but they're issues about

how we like it,

how we're used to it,

what we're familiar with,

what's comfortable for us.

And what the gospel has done

has made sure

that those two things

stay separate.

Now,

that doesn't mean it's bad

to have an opinion

about how you like

to do praising God.

That doesn't mean

it's wrong to say,

I prefer

when we do it

a certain way.

But what it does

is stop us

from taking that preference,

that comfort,

that thing that we like

and dragging it over here

and making it an issue

that we can't be together over,

an issue that we expect

other people to meet,

a requirement

that people have to fit

if we're going to consider them

brothers and sisters in Christ.

See,

for the Galatians,

circumcision

is a culturally Jewish thing.

It's what Jews do.

It's not what non-Jews do.

It's not a bad thing.

It's not an unchristian thing.

But it's just not a gospel thing.

And so,

basically,

the point is,

Titus can get circumcised

if he wants to,

but he just doesn't have to.

It makes no difference

to whether or not

he's a Christian.

Now,

the interesting thing is,

if you go to Acts 16

and do this in your community group

during the week,

Paul is in another situation

where this circumcision issue

comes up,

but he's travelling with a guy

called Timothy,

another one of his ministry partners.

And in that instance,

he decides to circumcise Timothy

for the sake of fellowship

with the people

that they're trying to minister to.

So you've got the same issue

and on two different occasions,

Paul makes two different choices

because he understands

that he's free to do that.

It's not a gospel issue.

He's choosing to do it.

And the point here

is that Christian freedom

is not freedom

for you to do whatever you want.

Christian freedom

is not a get out of jail free card

that means you can just be like,

no one can tell me what to do.

I'm going to do it my way.

The gospel

is the good news

that God has accepted you

on no basis of your own,

but because of his mercy

and because of Jesus' death.

And the result is

that you are now free

to choose.

free to choose

what parts of

your own culture

and the cultures around you

you will embrace

and which bits you won't.

But the question now is

not do I have to.

I mean,

when our cultures clash

and I'm using culture

in a really broad sense here,

I'm not just saying

that the ethnicity

or the country you're from,

if you live on the North Shore,

you're part of a culture.

If you're uni-educated,

you're part of a culture.

If you're into a particular sport,

you're part of a culture.

The things that shape

the way we think,

what we value,

that's what I mean by culture.

And the gospel is saying

you're now free to choose

which bits of the cultural shapers

in your life

you're going to hold on to

as non-negotiables

and which bits

you're going to choose

to either embrace in others

or deny in yourself.

But the question is,

how do we choose?

How does Paul choose?

It's there in verse 5.

How does he make the decision

here with Titus?

It says,

we did not give in to them

for a moment.

Why?

So that the truth of the gospel

might be preserved for you.

The truth of the gospel,

that's what's driving him here.

Will exercising freedom

in this occasion

preserve the truth

that God accepts people by grace

or will it confuse it?

Will it make it muddy

for other people?

See, for Paul and Titus,

this isn't just a fight

for Titus to not be circumcised.

They're not just trying

to win the day

or win the moment.

This is a landmark fight

for the freedom

of all of the Christians

in Galatia,

for us as Christians now

to make it clear

that you do not need

to fit Jewish cultural requirements

if you're going to follow Jesus.

You just need to trust Jesus.

gospel freedom,

Christian freedom

is freedom from compulsion.

It's the removal of things

that you have to do,

which means not just

the external things

that other people tell you

you have to do,

but also the things

that you think

you have to do.

One of my favourite things

about our church

is the cultural diversity

that we have in our church.

You don't have to look far

to see people

who have had

different background,

different upbringing,

different experience

of childhood.

But one of the issues

when we talk about culture

like this

and we talk about gospel

is that we primarily

think of culture

out there.

We primarily think

you have a culture,

I'm normal.

So the way you do things,

that's your cultural stuff.

The way I do things

is the way everybody

should do things

if they knew as much

as I do.

We don't recognise

that we have cultural

things that shape us.

It just doesn't feel

like culture

when it's the way

we've always done it.

And that's especially true

if you're the majority.

And so the risk is

we don't take our culture

and hold it up

to the gospel.

We don't take our culture

and look through

the lens of the gospel

and decide

what we need to keep

and what we need to let go.

And instead,

we take our preferences

and we elevate them

over into the gospel

issue category.

And so you need

to love Jesus

but you need to love him

the way that I love him

with a full band

or in a church

that faces sideways

or dressed a certain way.

The best example

I could think of

with this

and I'm no expert on them

but the Amish.

The Amish

are a particular

strand of religious group

that have kind of

identified themselves

culturally.

They dress a certain way

and they all dress

the same way.

They've decided

to reject certain things

like various technologies.

They don't shave

some of them.

There's all these

really specific

cultural distinctions

and those cultural markers

are what mark you

as in with them

or out.

If you don't tick

those boxes,

you're not in.

And these people claim

to be following Jesus.

And look,

some of them

might be trying

but the issue is

they've missed

this gift of freedom

in the gospel

that God has provided.

The gospel has set us

free from the compulsion

and instead

replaced what you have to do

with the choice.

That's what freedom is about.

He's given us the choice

to forego,

to give up

our own cultural entitlements,

to give up the things

the way we like them,

the way that makes it

most comfortable for us

and to accommodate

and embrace

the cultures around us

for the purpose

of preserving

the gospel truth

and proclaiming

the gospel truth.

It's not even about

how comfortable

it is for us.

The reason

we choose

to sometimes

let go of what we like,

to be uncomfortable,

is so that the gospel

truth might be clear.

Clear for the people

around us

who maybe get something

the way that they like

for a change.

Clear for us

because we can begin

to realise

that the way we like it

isn't necessarily

the best thing.

Jesus is.

Jesus anyway

is a good thing.

This is what

transcultural looks like.

We all bring

our cultural background

with us

and then we let

the gospel dictate

which bits stay

part of who we are

as a community

and which bits

we need to get rid of

and which bits

we choose.

That's the key word.

Which bits

we choose

to get rid of

for the sake

of being unified

in the gospel

of grace.

Which bits

will I let go

so that grace

might be obvious?

The gospel

set the Gentile

Christians

free from the

requirement

of becoming

culturally Jewish.

It basically said

you don't have to.

There's no compulsion

and therefore

what it did

was set them free

to choose to.

So someone like

Timothy can choose

to out of love

not just based

on what was convenient

but based on

what would preserve

the truth of the gospel.

What would declare

to the people around

what would best

show the security

he had in Jesus?

What would best

show that Jesus

is completely

satisfying?

And the answer

was giving up

what was his right.

The gospel

sets us free

so that our

diversity

might be an

opportunity.

The gospel

sets us free

so that when

our cultures

do clash

when we have

different ideas

about how things

should be done

how people relate

how we do church

whatever it is

we have an

opportunity

to choose

sacrificial love

and in sharing

discomfort

preserving the

truth of the gospel.

First thing

the gospel does

is set us free

from compulsion

the second thing

is it prioritizes

grace.

What the gospel

doesn't do

is remove

difference.

The gospel

is not

this big

steamroller

that just

gets rid

of any

difference

of opinion

and turns

us into

like you

know

vanilla

flavoured

church

community

where we

all like

the same

thing

like it

the same

way.

The parts

of you

that are

unique

and different

are an

expression

of God's

creativity

they matter

to him

but what

the gospel

does

is when

we find

these areas

of difference

it enables

us to focus

on what

matters most

what's most

important.

So remember

in this story

Paul is

visiting Jerusalem

to get the

gospel that

he's been

preaching

vindicated

against the

false teachers

he's there

to ensure

that his

churches

won't be

dragged away

from this

one good

news message

and he's

there to

connect

with the

Jerusalem

apostles

with Peter

James and

John.

Now on

what basis

does Paul

connect

with those

three guys?

I mean

let's just

think about

how much

they would

have had

in common.

They're

four Jewish

men

all in the

ballpark

of the same

age

all with

Jewish

upbringings

all probably

living in

roughly the

same area

trained in

Jewish

tradition

eating the

same foods

familiar with

kosher diets

certain holy

days to be

observed

and so

what basis

of their

commonality

does Paul

use to

establish

this

connection

with all

those to

choose from?

Grace.

Have a look

at verse 6

as for those

who are held

in high esteem

whatever they

were makes

no difference

to me

God does not

show favoritism

they added

nothing to

my message.

Now it

sounds a bit

like Paul's

having a

crack at

them there

but really

what he's

doing is

he's saying

unlike the

false teachers

who take

all their

authority from

these three

guys what

matters for

him is

the message

of the

grace in

the gospel

the message

of grace

in the

gospel.

On the

contrary

verse 7

they

recognized

they

had been

entrusted

to the

uncircumcised

just as

Peter had

been to

the

circumcised

for God

who was at

work in

Peter as

an apostle

to the

circumcised

was also

at work

in me

as an

apostle

to the

Gentiles

James

Cephas

and John

those

esteemed

as pillars

gave me

and Barnabas

the right

hand of

fellowship

when they

recognized

the grace

given to

me.

They agreed

we should

go to the

Gentiles

and they

to the

circumcised

the gospel

of grace

they didn't

add to

his message

the message

of forgiveness

offered by

Jesus to

people who

don't deserve

it that's

what mattered

most and

therefore

keep it

verse 9

James

Cephas

and John

those esteemed

as pillars

gave me

and Barnabas

the right

hand of

fellowship

when they

recognized

the grace

given to

me.

The official

warm embrace

because they

recognized

the grace

of God

in Paul

in his

ministry

they could

see God

at work

their ministries

were completely

different

one group

is trying

to unreligion

Jewish people

so that they

can discover

Jesus

Paul's walking

into people

who have no

idea about

who God

is and how

that works

and introducing

them to

Jesus

you've got

the quite

religious

church

over here

you've got

the kind

of free

church

who's trying

to figure

out what

they're supposed

to do

and how

they're supposed

to do it

there was so

much that was

different about

it but their

unity was

established on

what mattered

most

they both

received God's

grace

God was at

work in both

of them

personally

and in their

ministry

and so they

could see

in Paul

in his

life

transformed

and in the

fruit of his

ministry

that he

was a

brother

now

that's not

to say

that Christians

don't and

can't have

other things

in common

you know

these guys

had a whole

lot in

common

but what

came first

was grace

what the

gospel does

is prioritize

the most

important bit

grace

what the

gospel does

is create

the opportunity

for someone

like me

to have a

deeper

connection

with an

80 year old

retired woman

who was never

married

born in Africa

spent time

as a slave

never graduated

high school

but has been

transformed

by grace

the gospel

creates the

potential for

a deep

eternal

connection

with that

person

more so

than the

35 year old

father of two

who lives

next door to me

goes for the

giants

but doesn't

know Jesus

because

the gospel

is the

most important

bit

it doesn't

delete the

fact that

we're

completely

different

but it

prioritizes

grace

it brings

grace to

the front

and draws

unlike people

together in

the joy

and freedom

of being

forgiven

the gospel

frees us

from needing

things to be

the way we

like them

because Jesus

is enough

and so I

can delight

in singing

a song

that I've

never heard

of in a

weird tune

that makes

no sense

to me

with my

brothers and

sisters in

Christ

because it's

about Jesus

I can delight

in sitting

in a funny

direction

I can delight

in going and

talking to

somebody who

is nothing

like me

but who

shares the

same grace

of God

to be

forgiven

the gospel

frees us

to be able

to choose

to endure

discomfort

out of love

for God

and love

for our

brothers and

sisters

it sets

us free

from

compulsion

it

prioritizes

grace

so that

in our

diversity

the truth

of the

gospel

might be

preserved

and

proclaimed

I've

shared

with you

before

about an

older man

that I

was in

church

with once

he'd

been part

of that

church

for a

long

long

time

decades

and

decades

he'd

been an

elder

or a

leader

in the

church

for pretty

much

that

whole

duration

and he'd

been there

in the

days when

the church

was bursting

at the

seams

you couldn't

get a seat

and he was

around long

enough to see

the church

nearly closed

down because

it didn't have

enough people

the reason I met

this man and we

crossed paths

was because I was

part of a team

that got sent

into this church

to try and

revitalize it

and get it

going again

I was 25

and he was

about 75

spiritually

there was not

a lot of overlap

in our experiences

of following Jesus

and being fed

as Christians

except of course

the grace

that we both

discovered

when we heard

the gospel

he was a suit

and tie man

in church

I was a

jeans and

thongs

he preferred

hymns

on an organ

I prefer

newer songs

with guitars

and bands

we were more

different than

the same

but I learned

a lot about

grace through

being at church

with that man

I watched

as week in

and week out

he chose

remember

he was one

of the leaders

who invited

this random

group of young

Christians

to come and

change things

up

he chose

to forego

things that

had been part

of his

spiritual journey

things that

he'd loved

ways that

he was used

to doing

things

he chose

to give

up

comfort

in the way

church happened

every Sunday

to sacrifice

things that

he liked

so that

the truth

of the gospel

might be preserved

for people

like me

who were

nothing like

him

and for

people who

were all

around that

church

but had

never heard

of Jesus

he just

longed to

see them

walk in

the door

and encounter

Jesus

encounter the

grace that

he had

discovered

the gospel

set him

free

from having

to do

things a

certain way

and it

prioritized

grace

we are

a diverse

church

full of

cultures

and sub

cultures

and that

could be a

source of

tension for

us

that could

be a

source of

difficulty

in fact

if we're

honest

sometimes

that is

a source

of tension

for us

we want

things done

differently

we want

them done

more our

way

even if

we don't

use those

words

but our

diversity

could be a

gift from

God

because what

it does

is it

forces us

to be

transformed

by the

gospel

in how

we love

and serve

one another

what it

does is

force us

to recognize

hey I've

got a

culture that

I'm bringing

here

I've got

my way

of doing

things and

I need to

hold it up

to the

gospel

and until

somebody

challenged

me and

goes I

don't like

it like

that

I'll just

assume it's

the right

way

that's

why it

is a

gift from

God that

we are

surrounded by

people who

are nothing

like us

so that

maybe just

maybe we

might discover

that there

are things

that we

do and

think and

say that

are non

gospel

things

cultural

issues that

we have

elevated and

now we

expect of

one another

our diversity

is God's

gift

gift

because

against

this

varied

backdrop

of

people

this

one as

well

we

might

see the

grace of

God more

clearly

and then

because we

see it

get to

live in

the joy

and freedom

that can

only be

found in

that grace

let me

pray for

us

Father God

we want

to acknowledge

that it's

easier when

we're all

the same

it's easier

when we

get it the

way that we

like it

it's easier

when people

want to do

things the

way we're

used to

having them

done

it's easier

to fall

into the

trap of

thinking the

way that

we've done

it is the

right way

God please

use the

diversity that

is in this

room and in

our church

to help us

to see

ourselves

through a

gospel lens

help us

to recognize

that grace

matters

help us

to see one

another with

grace first

help us to

not look for

hobbies to

connect over

but to begin

with the

truth that we

have been

forgiven by

the blood

of Jesus

God we

thank you

for setting

us free

for removing

compulsion

for giving

us the deep

security of

knowing that

we are

irreversibly

loved

God we

pray that

as people

encounter

our church

community

that the

truth of

the gospel

will be

loud and

clear

because of

the way

we choose

to sacrifice

out of

love for

one another

thank you

for Jesus

thank you

that he's

better than

any particular

way of doing

things better

than any

comfort or

familiarity

God help us

to hold on to

him to let

go of everything

else and to be

more satisfied

than we've ever

been

amen