Knowledge of God

Well, again, let me welcome you to Church of the Advent, to the Brooklyn Parish community.

A year ago, this community launched, and not without much effort and prayer and sacrifice.

A number of you here have been a part of Advent for years, and you know the time that it took,

and you know the sacrifice, you know the cost, the impact on our community.

And so what we're here to do today is to remember that, to acknowledge it,

and then also to give thanks for the fruit that has come from that sacrifice.

The Christian life is full of death and resurrection.

And so we have experienced death at Advent, and then we have begun to taste together the glory of resurrection

that always follows because of Jesus Christ.

And so we're here to celebrate that.

It's a wonderful opportunity to be together.

And we've been studying for the last couple of weeks the book of Colossians,

and I'm really excited about this passage here because I think as we gather together all in this place,

this is a fantastically appropriate passage for us to look at.

It's in the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Christians, the Colossian Christians,

and it's verses 9 to 14.

And this is Paul thinking about this church that he's heard about.

You know, like many of you in Columbia Heights, you heard about this community launching in Brooklyn,

but you never have seen it until now.

So Paul has heard about this community launching in Colossians,

but Paul's actually never met these people.

He's just heard about their faith.

And so Paul says,

As I've heard about you, and as I've heard about your faith,

from the moment I first heard, I have not ceased to pray for you.

I hope that's true of us.

I hope that here in Brooklyn we never cease to pray for Columbia Heights.

I hope that in Columbia Heights we never cease to pray for Brooklyn,

even if they're people we've never met.

I also hope that this is true for our prayers for churches all through this city

and all around the world,

that we would never cease to pray for God's church.

And what does Paul pray?

Well, that's the great part.

He prays that the whole church, them and us,

would be filled with the knowledge of God.

What a fantastic prayer.

I want to focus on that, and I think it's worth our time,

because that concept, being filled with the knowledge of God,

that can actually be very tricky and misleading.

So what does it mean?

And this passage shows us two things.

It shows us what it is,

what is this knowledge that Paul prays for,

and then how do we get it?

Where does it come from?

So let's pray as we get started.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you

that there was at one time an apostle

who never ceased to pray for the church.

We thank you for the love and the faithfulness represented in that.

But more so, we thank you for your son Jesus,

because we know that even now, as he sits in the throne of heaven,

he prays for us.

Lord, your word says he never stops praying for us.

And so we know that the content of his prayer

is reflected in the content of Paul's prayer,

that we would be filled with the knowledge of you.

So Lord, help us to see through your written word

what that means,

and help us ultimately to encounter your living word

in your son Jesus Christ.

And it's in his name that we pray.

Amen.

So filled with the knowledge of God,

what is that?

What does it mean?

Let me give you some context about the Colossian Christians.

This is a relatively young church,

young congregation,

not just in age,

but also in spiritual maturity.

They're newer believers.

They're young.

They're excited about their faith,

but they're wanting more.

Paul has sent an emissary,

a representative,

to plant this church,

Epaphroditus,

to share the gospel,

and he's been their minister,

and the churches begin to grow,

and they've received the gospel.

And as Dan preached on last week,

Paul says,

because the gospel has the power to save,

and because you have received the gospel,

and you've been saved,

therefore I pray this prayer for you.

And he knows that the Colossian Christians,

they're new,

they're young,

they're just starting to grow,

that they're wanting more.

They're wanting to go deep.

They're wanting to experience the fullness of their faith.

Some of them are saying,

you know,

I've been a Christian for a couple of years now,

and I thought all my problems would go away.

I thought things would get easier.

I thought all my needs would be met,

that I would be satisfied.

And actually life has gotten harder.

And I struggle more.

And what's that about?

And so they're wondering,

is there more to this?

Well,

conveniently,

other teachers have come into the community.

And these teachers have said,

why yes?

There is more.

You believe in Jesus,

that's great,

that's step one.

But there are more steps.

There are deeper mysteries.

There is a knowledge that we can impart to you,

that will radically enhance,

your experience of the faith,

and will unlock the full potential,

of the Christian life.

Do you want that?

Yes,

I do.

We'll come right this way.

I'm going to give a brief talk,

and then my books will be for sale in the lobby.

And this is what's happening.

These false teachers are coming in.

And the knowledge that they offer is a certain kind of knowledge.

See,

in the Greek,

there are two words for knowledge.

The first is the word gnosis,

from which we get Gnosticism.

And this teaching later,

in the coming centuries,

will give rise to something called Gnosticism.

There's Gnostic knowledge,

which is an abstract knowledge,

an intellectual knowledge.

Gnosis is ideas,

it's theories,

right?

So that's gnosis knowledge,

head knowledge.

But then there's another word for knowledge,

epinosis.

And epinosis means a practical,

personal knowledge,

that can only come through lived experience.

So gnosis is abstract knowledge.

Epinosis is personal knowledge that comes through lived experience.

Well,

these teachers are offering the first kind of knowledge.

Gnosis knowledge,

deeper mysteries,

new ideas,

new concepts,

new methods,

new techniques to unlock the deeper mysteries of the Christian faith.

And I would stop and say,

I don't think that much has changed between then and now.

Right?

Post-enlightenment,

ever since the enlightenment sort of enthroned human reason,

humanity's intellectual capacity has been elevated to the highest levels.

Descartes,

I think,

therefore I am,

our ability to think and understand has been made primary.

And now we live in a culture that is oversaturated with gnosis,

knowledge,

with content,

with ideas,

with theories and methods,

abstract content.

And this isn't just in the spiritual world.

We have Netflix.

We have Hulu.

We have all of our favorite podcasts.

There are now an almost infinite array of podcasts out there.

Sermon recordings,

almost an infinite number of those.

TED Talks,

the Christian version of TED,

the Q Conference,

just finished this past weekend.

Right?

More content is now going out on the internet.

There's an enormous amount of content.

And we have this access to consume as much of it as we possibly want.

All of this gnosis that we can just drink in.

Right?

And you say,

well,

what's the problem with that?

And I would say,

nothing.

Nothing.

I love that stuff too.

I have my favorite podcasts.

I have my favorite preachers that I listen to.

I have my favorite TED Talks.

I have all of the things that I love to consume during the week.

The sources of gnosis knowledge.

I love it as much as you do.

So there's absolutely no problem with this at all.

Unless you make the mistake of thinking that that will lead to spiritual growth.

That's where we go wrong.

If I drink all of this in all week.

That somehow that will make me grow.

That's the danger.

Actually,

I believe this is one of the greatest threats crippling Christians in our culture today.

That we believe people to be,

as the philosopher James K.A.

Smith says,

giant bobbleheads.

You know,

tiny little body.

Enormous head.

Right?

And if we can just open the head up and then dump all of this knowledge in,

that somehow that will result in growth and transformation and maturity.

But people aren't bobbleheads.

And the result,

according to theologian Marva Dawn,

is that people have been habituated to,

quote,

a low information action ratio.

People are accustomed to learning good ideas and then doing nothing about them.

Right?

That's a great idea.

That's an amazing concept.

That would be a wonderful way to live.

Alright,

I'm done.

Right?

And we have this list of favorite podcasts.

So,

this approach,

what it actually does,

is create a bunch of people who have a lot of head knowledge,

but they live as functional atheists.

They have an enormous amount of head knowledge.

But their lifestyle

is functional atheism.

There's no connection.

Right?

And that's why Paul makes it clear here

that his desire,

his unceasing prayer,

is not that they would get more head knowledge.

That's not the word he uses.

He doesn't say,

you need to learn more.

He prays that they would be filled with epinosis.

personal,

experiential knowledge.

Knowledge that can only come

through lived experience.

Gnosis versus epinosis.

So,

think about the neighborhood

that you live in right now.

Or maybe the neighborhood

that you grew up in.

There are two ways

to know that neighborhood.

The first is to get out a map.

Right?

You can get out a map

and you can do that from anywhere.

Get out a map,

look at all the streets,

memorize the map,

you know that neighborhood

on one level.

That's gnosis.

But the other way

to know that neighborhood

is to live there.

Is to walk the streets

every day.

Is to take in

the smells

and the unique sounds

and the sights

and the landmarks

and meet the people

and get to know the families

and the issues

that are facing that neighborhood.

That's another way

of knowing that neighborhood.

And what Paul is saying

is that our doctrine

is a lot like a map.

We need it.

We need to know

how things fit together.

It's very important.

But Christianity

ultimately is not meant

to be learned

so much as inhabited.

The Christian faith

is meant to be inhabited.

You have to move in.

You have to live there.

You have to walk

the streets of faith

with your own two feet.

So if that's what

Paul is praying for

then how do we get it?

What does that mean?

And if we look at this passage

that's what he's talking about.

He says,

And so from the day we've heard

we've not ceased

to pray for you

asking that you may be filled

with the knowledge

of his will

in all spiritual wisdom

and understanding.

So I'm asking

that you would be filled

with the knowledge

of his will.

Why?

So as to walk

in a manner worthy

of the Lord

fully pleasing to him

bearing fruit

in every good work.

Okay,

so I want you to know

and understand the map.

I want you to know

the will of God

and be filled

with the understanding

and the wisdom

that comes from

knowing the will of God

so that you can then

begin to walk

in a manner

that is pleasing to him

in a manner

where you begin

to bear genuine

kingdom fruit.

Why?

Well,

look what it says.

Bearing fruit

in every good work

and increasing

in the knowledge

of God.

You see how this works?

You learn God's will

and then you begin

to do

and to live out

God's will

and only through that

do you come

to a deeper knowledge

of God.

I want you to move in.

I want you to walk

the streets.

I want you to trip

and fall and stumble

and get up

and learn your way around.

Life in the kingdom.

And through that

you will gain

that deeper knowledge.

It's not going to come

from these books.

It's not going to come

from these cults

of personality,

these ideas,

these methodologies.

It's going to come

when you walk

those streets

with your own two feet.

Right?

So,

gnosis,

head knowledge,

is important

but it's meant

to be converted

into epinosis.

It's meant

to be converted

into personal,

practical,

lived experience.

Let me give you

an example.

Back in 2008,

Michael Phelps'

diet made news.

He's an Olympic swimmer.

Right?

He was at the peak

of performance

in 2008.

Why was his

breakfast newsworthy?

Well,

you tell me.

I'll tell you

what it was.

Three fried egg sandwiches

with cheese,

tomatoes,

fried onions,

and mayo.

Then a five egg omelet.

Then a bowl of grits.

Then three slices

of French toast.

Then three pancakes

with chocolate chips.

Do you know

the total caloric content

of that breakfast?

4,000 calories.

That's twice

the recommended amount

for a human male.

Right?

And then he would do

the same thing for lunch

and the same thing

for dinner.

So,

every day around

10,000 to 12,000 calories.

Now,

you probably remember this.

Michael Phelps

can do that.

Why?

Because his body

takes that

caloric content

into his body

and it converts

those calories

into energy.

And the guy's swimming

like 26 hours a day.

So,

he can do that.

He's spending

thousands of calories.

Right?

His metabolism

is off the charts.

Right?

So,

he can do that

because the calories

get converted

into energy.

If I did that,

this may be

a huge surprise.

My activity level

is not as high

as that.

And if I did that,

it would literally

puff me up.

Why?

Because my body

wouldn't convert

those calories

into energy.

And what happens

if your calories

don't get converted

into energy?

What does your body do?

Well,

I might need this later.

I don't need it now,

but I might need it

down the road.

So,

we're just going

to convert this

into fat.

And we're going

to put it over here

next to the belly button.

And then down the road,

if we need it,

we'll remember where it is

and we'll come back

and then we'll get it out

and use it.

Right?

And so,

in the same way,

Paul says that for Christians,

gaining gnosis knowledge

is like taking in calories.

You're taking in calories.

Right?

And these calories,

this gnosis,

is meant to be converted

immediately into loving,

active obedience.

And if not,

what happens?

It makes us fat.

It makes us fat.

Spiritually fat.

As Paul says

in 1 Corinthians 8,

gnosis knowledge

can make us puffed up.

Right?

Spiritually fat.

And by that,

what does he mean?

Well,

he means conceited.

Right?

Conceited.

Look at the big brain on Brad.

Look how much he knows.

Right?

Look how much he's memorized.

Look how much he understands.

He's a great teacher.

He's a great preacher.

I love his books.

But we can become

spiritually fat.

Right?

Because we do the same thing.

We take in this knowledge.

This is great.

This is an awesome idea.

I don't really have any need

for it right now.

I'm just going to put it over here.

And maybe down the road,

I'll have a use for it.

But it's here.

It's in the file.

Right?

And we get fat.

We get puffed up.

The files get huge.

But we never convert them.

So this is what John Calvin meant

when he said that

all true knowledge of God

is born out of obedience.

Born out of obedience.

So let me give you

some examples of this.

One quick example.

You're doing it right now.

Our liturgy

is a great way

to begin to see this happen.

Liturgy is a fantastic way

to see this happen.

Why?

Because when we come here

and we stand

and we kneel

and we raise our hands

and we call

and we respond

and we pray these colics

and we enter into this liturgy,

we're actually embodying our faith.

Do you know that?

That's the purpose of liturgy.

We're embodying our faith.

We're doing with our bodies

things that represent

what we believe.

It's connecting

epinosis and gnosis.

Do you know another great way

to do that?

The sacraments.

The sacraments are like

a bridge between gnosis

and epinosis.

Right?

I know

that I need

the grace of Jesus Christ.

But there's something else

that happens

when I actually come up

and I extend my hands

and somebody places

a physical manifestation

of the grace of Jesus Christ

into my hand.

And I take that.

I take literally

the manifestation

of Jesus'

once and for all

sacrifice for me

and I take it

into my body.

I'm bridging gnosis

and epinosis.

It's becoming

tangible to me.

That's why we do it

every week.

Baptism,

the same thing.

Right?

So our liturgy

and sacraments do this

but beyond that

we're talking about

daily faithfulness.

Right?

Listen.

We all know

gnosis

that we are called

to resist temptation.

We all know that.

But we don't actually

know what that means

until we've tried

to do it.

And I love C.S. Lewis

in Mere Christianity.

He says,

A silly idea

is current

that good people

do not know

what temptation means.

That's an obvious lie.

Only those

who try to resist temptation

know how strong it is.

That's epinosis.

Epinosis.

A man who gives

in to temptation

after five minutes

simply does not know

what it would have been

like an hour later.

And he says,

That's why bad people

in one sense

know very little

about badness.

Because they've lived

a sheltered life

by always giving in.

Right?

You can know

that you're called

to resist temptation

but only after an hour,

two hours,

a day,

a week of resisting

do you really come to

know

in the sense of

walking the streets

of faith,

what that actually means,

the deeper knowledge

begins to come.

Right?

Another example.

You can know

theologically

that you're called

to forgive.

Yes,

God has forgiven me.

I know I'm called

to forgive others.

Right?

Every week we get together

we pass the peace.

Right?

To ensure that there's

forgiveness and unity

in our midst.

But we don't know

anything about

God's forgiveness

until we actually

have to forgive

someone ourselves.

Until you look

at the blood

and the guts

and the destruction

and the damage

that comes

because somebody else

has done something

horrendously wrong

to you.

And every cell

in your body

is screaming

for justice,

for retribution,

for payback,

at least for an

acknowledgement

of the wrong.

And it doesn't come.

And you have to decide.

This person

has not repented.

They've not

acknowledged it.

And you have to decide.

Am I going to

forgive this person?

Not because of

what they've done,

but because of

what Jesus has done

or not.

And if you do,

it means wading

into,

up to your neck,

the blood

and the guts

and the injustice.

And it means

taking that cup

of pain

and drinking

it down

and asking

for nothing.

No repayment.

No retribution.

Nothing in return.

The reason we do that,

why?

Because Jesus

drank the cup

of pain.

Right?

He didn't let it

pass from his lips.

But you don't

know that

in your bones

until you do it.

Until you're

laying awake

wrestling with

the injustice of it.

Wrestling with

the anger

and the hurt

and the unfairness

of it.

Then you're

beginning to

understand

how Jesus felt

in Gethsemane.

Right?

We know

that we are

called to

give sacrificially

but you don't

understand

what that means.

I don't understand

until my

tithing,

my giving,

my generosity

means that I have

to rearrange

my budget.

That I can't

do the things

that I want to do

over here

because this is

a priority for me.

Right?

I'll give you

an example

from my own life

of a way

that this began

to happen.

In John 15

12,

what's the verse

say?

Very famous

verse.

Love one another

as I have

loved you.

A new commandment

I give you.

Love one another

as I have

loved you.

Jesus is saying

in the same way

that I have

loved you,

I want you

to go out

and love

other people.

I know

that verse.

Gnosis.

I love

that verse.

I've memorized it.

I had it

written on my

wall.

I've studied

that verse

in the Greek.

Have you?

Probably two-thirds

of you are like,

yep, I have.

I learned Greek

in elementary school.

D.C.

Well, I have too.

And yet,

I never really

understood it.

I didn't know

I didn't understand it,

but I didn't really

understand it.

Until I was in

seminary,

watch out,

and a bunch

of guys,

and I,

six other guys,

and some of you

know this story,

we moved in

and our vision

was to have

this intentional

community

in Salem,

Massachusetts,

north of Boston.

And we're living

there and our

intention,

our desire was

to love the

neighborhood

as Christ

has loved us.

We want to

love our

neighbors,

right?

Core Christian

ethic,

right?

And we notice

this man from

day to day

as we're living

there,

we notice this

man that's in

our neighborhood

and everybody

in the neighborhood

knows this guy

and calls him

shuffles.

Because he would

walk like this,

he would sort of

shuffle.

And most of the

time we would see

this man digging

through dumpsters

near our house.

And so we started

to get to know

this man and get

to know his story

and it turns out

he has Parkinson's

and that's why

he can't walk.

He walks like this.

And we were filled

with pity and compassion

and we met

and we prayed

and we said

we need to let

this guy move in.

We need to take

care of him.

We can't let him

stay out there.

We need to love

him as Christ

loves us.

And then we let

Al move into

our house

and we gave him

a bedroom

and a couple of

us bunked

together

and we gave

him a room

and we began

to try to

take care of

him.

And we find

out that Al

not only does

he have Parkinson's

but he's addicted

to crack.

We found that

out a long

time in.

We found that

out because

things started

disappearing.

And at first

it was small

things and then

it was bigger

things and it

was things like

TVs and laptops.

We began to

realize we're not

that disorganized.

Something's

happening.

And of course

Al was stealing

stuff to buy

drugs.

And then came

the realization

very early on

that Al had

because of his

Parkinson's and

because he wasn't

getting adequate

treatment he would

lock up at night.

He would go

completely rigid

unable to move.

This is a problem

because he would

defecate on himself.

So what we had

to do is we had

to set up a call

schedule.

We figured seven

guys seven nights

of the week.

We bought a

doorbell at Home

Depot.

An electronic

doorbell.

And we installed

the button side

in his room

next to his bed.

And we would

pass the receiving

end off.

So one night

a week one of

the roommates would

have the other

end of the doorbell

next to their bed

and when Al needed

to use the potty

he would hit

the doorbell.

It would be

three in the morning

and your doorbell

sound would go off

and you'd have to

go in and let Al

use the bathroom

and clean him off.

What was interesting

about this experience

went on for a year

and a half.

What was interesting

is that all that

compassion,

all that love,

all that pity,

all that theology

of Jesus loves me

and I'm going to

extend this love,

that evaporated

in about a week.

And what was left

was just pure obedience.

There was nothing

fulfilling about it,

there was nothing

satisfying about it,

there was no spiritual

high that came

when you're getting

back in your bed

at four in the morning,

no sense of being

closer to God,

just pure obedience.

And I have to say

many, many, many nights

I deeply resented,

deeply resented Al.

I didn't go in there

with charity in my heart,

I didn't go in there

with joy, right?

I just went in there

angry and wanting

to get it over with

as soon as possible.

In other words,

I failed miserably.

In all the ways

that I thought

I was called to love,

I failed.

Most of the time

I just wanted him

out of the house,

if I can be totally honest.

I just wanted him gone

because it made life

so hard.

And yet over time,

something began

to happen.

A shift began

to happen in me.

I think it was

the Holy Spirit

beginning to show me

myself in Al

before a holy God.

I began to see myself

before Jesus.

Not as the one

who's coming to Jesus,

which is what I thought.

I wasn't the person

coming to Jesus

and pointing to Al

and saying,

look at all the things

that I've done

and all the ways

that I've loved him

just like you've loved me.

See what a good job

I've done?

I realized that spiritually

I was far worse off

than Al.

He's maybe addicted

to crack,

but I was far worse.

All of my hardcore

idolatrous addictions

to comfort and convenience

and my timeline

and my priorities

and my desire for sleep

and my wanting

to use my free time

in my own ways

and all of those things

stood out in stark contrast

because those are all

the things that I wanted

more than I wanted

to love Al.

Right?

And then go beyond that.

Right?

Al may have been

stealing this,

that,

or the other things.

Most of those things

insurance could replace.

Right?

But I had been stealing

from God my whole life.

I had been living

as though all my stuff

and my body

and my time,

but that's all mine

and that God gets

a part of it,

but I get most of it.

Instead of recognizing

that none of it

belongs to me,

it all belongs to God,

I'm called to use it

in ways that reflect

His heart

and His priorities

and His values.

That I've been stealing

from God

by living in His world

and ignoring Him.

Right?

And just like Al

would sometimes lock up

and be unable to move,

that spiritually

I was utterly paralyzed.

Apart from God,

I was completely paralyzed.

I could do nothing.

And my heart began

to break.

And I think

for the first time

I began to take

a few steps

toward understanding

the vast gulf

of difference

between the way

we love

and the way God loves.

because I would go in there

and sheerly out of obedience

I would grumble

and I would plod my way through

this commitment

that we had made.

But Jesus never even blinked.

Jesus every single moment

of our lives

is joyfully pouring

love and grace

and joy

into our lives.

Even though we're

stealing from Him,

even though we're

hopelessly addicted

to idols,

even though we're

utterly helpless

and dependent on Him,

it fills Him with joy.

When that doorbell alarm

goes off

and He can come in

and pour His life

into ours,

that's the greatest thing

for Him.

Because He loves us.

And once I began

to realize that love

and I began to look

at my love,

I think I took a step

toward understanding

what love really is.

I think I began

to take a step

from gnosis

to epinosis, right?

So I could go on

and on and on

but the point

that I'm trying to make

is this,

that only when I tried

to obey God's command

to love

and failed

was I able

to take a step

toward knowing

God's love

the way Paul

prays we would.

only when I tried

and failed

that I really began

to take a step

in that direction.

And of course,

this is why Paul

goes on to say

what he does

in verses 11 to 14.

Once we try to obey

and you know this,

many of you know this,

once you try to obey,

you immediately become aware

of your need

for power

and endurance

with patience.

You need power.

You go in there

and you say,

I can't do this.

Help me do this.

You need power

to endure with patience.

You become more thankful

about the certainty

you have in your inheritance

because you think,

oh my goodness,

if this depended on me,

I would be hopeless.

But it doesn't.

Jesus promised me

the inheritance

before I did anything.

And then ultimately,

the certainty

that we are now members

of the kingdom

of God's beloved son,

when you look at your actions

and you think,

this is exactly

how a person

in the domain

of darkness

would act.

And scripture says,

no, no, no.

Remember,

even though it may

feel that way,

God has transferred you

to the kingdom

of his beloved son.

It may not feel like it,

but you're a citizen there.

And all of that

begins to click home.

The more we try

to follow Jesus

and the more we fail,

the more assurance

we draw

from knowing

that God has once

and for all

made that citizenship

transfer.

And I think,

this is my last point,

that this is what

Christianity brings

and offers

that is unique

among the religions

and the worldviews

filling our culture.

The unique thing

about Christianity

is this.

All religions

talk about

knowing more

about God.

You can do this,

that, or the other,

and you will know

the divine more.

But only Christianity

talks about

all that God

has done

to know us.

Marvin Olasky

is a journalist.

He writes this,

Muslims say

Allah is omniscient,

but his supposed

pronouncements

in the Quran

show no epinosis.

Christians can have

confidence

in the God

we trust

because he is

truly omniscient

with both

gnosis

and epinosis,

with both

abstract knowledge

and personal

experience.

He says,

we rejoice

at Christmas

that God

knows our frames

because he came

to earth

and suffered

all the indignities

of babyhood

and eventually

experienced the ultimate

in pain

when he atoned

for our sins.

So what this is saying

is this,

we can,

with confidence,

seek to follow Jesus

and fail

and know

that in those failures

we will not be

cast away.

Why?

Through those things

we will actually

come to know

God more deeply

through our failures

and that's because

God has become

one of us.

He knows

our humanness,

not just epinosis,

not a detached

divine being

looking down

on these little

human servants

but rather

because he's

one of us

because right now

in the throne of heaven

sits a human body.

He's experienced

it firsthand.

As the apostle John

says,

we love

because God

first loved us

but if we're

reading this correctly

what this is also

saying

is that we can

know God

because he first

knew us

by becoming

one of us.

Let's pray.

Our Father in heaven

as we are gathered

here as your church body,

we are sinners.

We know that in all

of the things

you call us to do

we struggle

and even in our best

we fall short

and yet we know

that our hope

is not in those

successes and victories

Lord

but rather in

you coming to

know us

by walking

the streets

of our lives

by living

day and night

as one of us

feeling what we feel

and because of that

we know that as we

celebrate your resurrection

we're actually seeing

a preview

of our own

bodies

that we will be

raised like you

given bodies

like yours

that never perish

and Lord

in the light

of that hope

we do pray

for the answer

to Paul's

unceasing prayer

that we would be

filled with the

knowledge of you

even as you are

filled with the

knowledge of us

and that that would

give us confidence

to follow you boldly

knowing that it will

draw us ever deeper

into your heart

because that is what

we were made

to experience

we pray this in

your son's

holy name

amen