Podcasts about Wittenburg

Send us a message!In this episode of Alex & Annie: The Real Women of Vacation Rentals, we sit down with Boogie Wittenburg, the new CEO of TravelNet Solutions, makers of Track PMS. With a background in mission-critical technology powering global brands, Boogie brings a fresh, people-first perspective to the vacation rental tech space.Building on the strong foundation laid by the company's founders, Boogie shares how he's guiding TravelNet Solutions into its next chapter — one that balances continuity with innovation. With a renewed focus on culture, customer experience, and thoughtful technology, Boogie brings a clear vision for scaling both the platform and the people behind it.Key Topics Discussed:1️⃣Boogie's journey from global tech to short-term rentals2️⃣Why servant leadership is at the core of his management style3️⃣How TravelNet Solutions is improving customer support and answering the phone again (yes, really!)4️⃣The rollout of the new Owner Mobile App and its impact on retention5️⃣Track's approach to product development: build, buy, or partner6️⃣The role of AI in scaling support and internal operations7️⃣What true team engagement looks like—and why it mattersBoogie also shares a powerful reflection on legacy, leadership, and building a company where employees, customers, and innovation thrive together.Whether you're a property manager, tech vendor, or industry leader, this episode offers valuable insight into what it takes to scale a software company without losing sight of people.Connect with Boogie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oduswittenburg/Website: https://tnsinc.com/Get $50 credit and $0 onboarding fee when you sign up for Beyond, the leading dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals: http://beyondpricing.info/alexandannieReady to take your operations to the next level? Visit https://tnsinc.com/podcasts-alex-and-annie/  to learn more.#VacationRentals  #TrackPMS  #ServantLeadership

Samuel sitzt seit mehreren Jahren für Volt im Stadtrat von Siegen. Wofür setzt er sich ein und was konnte er konkret umsetzen?

Alle Jahre wieder

Send us a textAs we've seen, the roots of the Reformation go back to the 3rd century! Many men and women fought to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but because of the church's intimidation and deadly tactics, these few and far between reformers were unsuccessful. But on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the Castle Church door in Wittenburg, Germany, and it was the nail heard round the world!Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to check out everything Proverbs 9:10 on our website, www.proverbs910ministries.com! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Rumble, YouTube, Twitter, Truth Social, and Gettr!

Send us a textMany think the Reformation began that day in Wittenburg, Germany when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the door of the church. But as we've seen in the last 2 episodes, there were some forerunners to Martin Luther who began to sound the alarm on the corruption and heresy going on in the Roman church. And these forerunners were from all over Europe. In this episode, we look at what was happening in the church and its dissenters in the countries of France and Bohemia, where one of the most famous pre-Reformation fathers, Jon Hus, hailed from.Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to check out everything Proverbs 9:10 on our website, www.proverbs910ministries.com! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Rumble, YouTube, Twitter, Truth Social, and Gettr!

Samantha Wittenburg vulnerably shares her journey with her daughter who experiences autism and how it changed their lives from the inside out. Here are the links to Samantha's events on Saturday 26 November in Melbourne : https://nvcaustralia.org/events/stories-skills-for-weaving-togetherness/ https://tidycal.com/samanthawittenberg/carer-wellbeing-assessment20240709225715 https://www.meetup.com/autism-carers-partners/

Welkom bij deze extra aflevering van de Leaders in Finance podcast, opgenomen naar aanleiding van het Eye on Wealth & Asset Management Event op 15 mei 2024, in Kasteel de Wittenburg in Wassenaar, met als thema dit jaar 'Sector in transitie'. De gasten bespreken onder andere hun indrukken van het event, de grootste uitdagingen voor de sector nu en in de toekomst, de rol van technologie en het vinden en behouden van (nieuw) talent in de sector. De gasten deze aflevering zijn: Katja Kok - Directeur ING Private Banking & Wealth Management Jeroen van Wijngaarden - Directeur DUFAS Guido van Aubel - MD Wholesale & Institutional Clients Van Lanschot Kempen Jeroen Preijde - Sectorleider Wealth & Asset Management EY Nederland Je gastheer is Jeroen Broekema. Enjoy!   ***  Op de hoogte blijven van Leaders in Finance? Abonneer je dan op de nieuwsbrief.    ***  Leaders in Finance wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt door EY, MeDirect, RiskQuest, Kayak en Roland Berger.      ***  Vragen, suggesties of feedback? Graag! Via email: info@leadersinfinance.nl en check de website leadersinfinance.nl    *** Eerdere gasten bij de Leaders in Finance podcast waren onder andere: Klaas Knot (President DNB), Robert Swaak (CEO ABN AMRO), Frank Elderson (directie ECB), David Knibbe (CEO NN), Janine Vos (RvB Rabobank), Jos Baeten (CEO ASR), Nadine Klokke (CEO Knab), Gita Salden (CEO BNG Bank),  Annerie Vreugdenhil (CIO ING), Karien van Gennip (CEO VGZ), Maarten Edixhoven (CEO Van Lanschot Kempen), Jeroen Rijpkema (CEO Triodos), Chantal Vergouw (CEO Interpolis), Geert Lippens (CEO BNP Paribas NL), Simone Huis in 't Veld (CEO Euronext), Nout Wellink (ex DNB), Onno Ruding (ex minister van financiën), Maurice Oostendorp en Martijn Gribnau (CEOs Volksbank), Yoram Schwarz (CEO Movir), Laura van Geest (Bestuursvoorzitter AFM) Katja Kok (CEO Van Lanschot CH), Ali Niknam (CEO bunq), Nick Bortot (CEO BUX), Petri Hofsté (Commissaris, o.a.  Rabobank en Achmea), Peter Paul de Vries (CEO Value8), Barbara Baarsma (CEO Rabo Carbon Bank), Jan van Rutte (Commissaris PGGM, BNG Bank, vml CFO ABN AMRO), Marguerite Soeteman-Reijnen (Chair Aon Holdings), Annemarie Jorritsma (o.a. Voorzitter NVP), Lidwin van Velden (CEO Waterschapsbank), Don Ginsel (CEO Holland Fintech), Jan-Willem van der Schoot (CEO Mastercard NL), Tjeerd Bosklopper (CEO NN NL), Joanne Kellermann (Chair PFZW), Steven Maijoor (Chair ESMA), Radboud Vlaar (CEO Finch Capital), Karin van Baardwijk (CEO Robeco) en Annette Mosman (CEO APG). --> tussen haakjes de functie ten tijde van het interview      

The Proverbs 1-31 Woman Our sermon text this morning comes mainly from Proverbs 31. Verses 1-3 and 10-31. You can find that on page 654 in the pew Bible. There are also 3 other verses from earlier in Proverbs. Those are printed on the first page of the hymn insert. We'll begin with those and then I'll read from chapter 31. By the way, Proverbs 31 is the last chapter of Proverbs. But we have 2 more thematic sermons, so we will conclude our series in two weeks… on June 23. Before I read, let me note that in Proverbs 31, we're told that these are the words of King Lemuel. They are an oracle taught to him by his mother. Similar to Agur from last week, we don't know anything about King Lemuel other than his name, nonetheless, this is God's very Word. Reading of Proverbs 12:4, 18:22, 19:14, 31:1-3, 10-31. It was the middle of the night in the spring of 1523 in northern Germany. 9 nuns lay awake. You see, they were waiting to escape the convent. And then it happened. A horse drawn carriage pulled up to the main gate and was let in. The driver was there, allegedly, to pick up empty fish barrels, from the prior day's Easter celebration. But he had more important cargo to take away. He cracked his horse whip. That was the signal. The nuns tiptoed quietly from their beds into the hallway, then through the shadows of the night, hid themselves in the cart, some even allegedly hiding in empty barrels. The nuns gave the all clear signal and were soon free at last. It was a bumpy ride, but they made it to their destination. Wittenburg, Germany and the home of Martin Luther. You see, Luther had helped orchestrate the convent escape. And within a matter of weeks, Luther had these young former nuns matched with young men in the town. But there was a problem. One stubborn nun, named Katherine Von Bora, would have none of it. No, she would not be set up with the guy that Luther picked. She had other plans. And she made those plans known. It was Luther himself, she wanted. Well, they were soon married. Former nun, former monk, and quite the couple. Luther would write, “God gave me Katy, I would not trade her for Venice and all the kingdoms of France … I love her so dearly.” His nick names for her included “my rib” of course, referring to Eve being created from the rib of Adam. He also called her “doctor” because she cared for him. And also “queen of the pig farm” because she owned and managed a nearby pig farm. Katy loved the Lord. She managed the house and finances. She brewed beer for Luther and his many guests. She would rise at 4am and work until 9pm overseeing all matters of the household. Luther called Katy, “the morning star of Wittenberg.” They were very affectionate with one another. She honored and loved him, and he honored and loved her. Katy embodied the Proverbs 31 description. Now, if you are a woman and you and are feeling like “I'll never be a Katy Luther.” Well, I do want take that heavy burden off of you. Because, while the Proverbs 31 woman is indeed a model, there's so much more here. My goal is that all of us would see her heart and purpose…  and all of us, would pursue her ways from a similar heart and purpose.To get there, we'll consider three things. ·      First, the important question – to whom does this chapter apply? ·      Second, we'll consider the qualities of this virtuous wife. ·      And third, we'll conclude with Christ and the church. That's the relationship to which this ultimately points. #1 To whom does this apply? And again, if you are feeling overly burdened by these verses, I want to try and both relieve that burden but also inspire you. First, notice in verse 10 that the section begins with the question, “an excellent wife, who can find?” It's a recognition up front that the woman described is a rare jewel. It is not saying that if you don't measure up, then you're failing. Rather, it's a picture of a beautiful, Godly woman. One that you can, yes, seek to emulate – but not in your own strength. No - the most important description is in verse 30. “a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Everything else comes out of her reverent fear and worship of the Lord God. Her heart, which loves and honors God, is what motivates and enables her in her wisdom and work. So, instead of feeling the moralistic weight of this unattainable standard, recognize that this can never be achieved in your own strength. No, rather, it is the Godly fear of the Lord that enables this. And another thing, the woman described has many resources to help her - servants, family finances, other things that enable her to produce clothing and plant vineyards. Also, her husband is an elder of the land. He's esteemed and wise. What I am saying is that her situation is likely very different from your situation. Furthermore, not every woman is called to be married, nor is every man. The apostle Paul was single and encouraged those who are single. But even if you are not married, you still have a household to manage and steward – and therefore, these pursuits in the Lord are for you as well. So that is one thing. But also, this chapter is not just written to women. In fact, it is actually written to young men. For the younger guys here, I want you to see this. Remember, this is an oracle which King Lemuel received from his mother. Why would his mother pass along this word to Lemuel? Well, because she knows the heart of young men. Ok, there are many of you young men here. Teenage boys and twenty-something single guys. Look with me at verses 2 and 3. “What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings.” In other words, do not be seduced by charm and external beauty and therefore blind to true matters of beauty. That's exactly what verse 30 says. “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain” It's talking about external beauty. Instead, what is the most important quality in a wife? A reverent fear of the Lord – that's what it says. Young men, are you hearing this? Do not let your feelings deceive you. By the way, young women, this is for you, too. Charm and seductive dress and looks will attract the wrong guy. He will not be an elder in the land. To be sure, I am not saying that attraction is not important. But it is secondary to a heart that loves the Lord and pursues him. SO, young men and women, ingrain this in your hearts and minds now, before you “fall in love.” Ok, there's one more category of people to whom this chapter is written. And that is, all of us… men, women, and children. I will argue, later, that this chapter is a picture of the relationship that we, as God's people, have with Christ. The Scriptures are full of the language of God's people being betrothed to God. In the New Testament, Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. But even in the Old Testament, as we read earlier, God's people are described as the unfaithful wife, whom the Lord loves and forgives and redeems. What I am saying is that even though the description is of a virtuous wife, this is also a description of us, God's people. We are to honor the Lord in our calling as the bride of Christ. So, in other words, do not tune this chapter out if you are young or old, or married or single – this is for all of us. We'll come back to that. #2 The Virtuous Wife But before we do, let's consider this beautiful description The woman described here is often referred to as The Proverbs 31 Woman - for good reason, of course. But I want to tweak that. Really, the description here is a bride who embodies all of Proverbs. So, I think it is better to call her the Proverbs 1-31 woman. Think back over these last 9 months. We have seen a contrast, over and over, between the way of wisdom and righteousness versus the way of foolishness and wickedness. And the virtuous wife described here fulfills the categories of wisdom and righteousness. Almost every single positive category in Proverbs is modelled by this women. Let me list them: ·      She is trustworthy – verse 11, her husband trusts in her. She has a heart of integrity and honesty. She is praised at the gates, verse 31. ·      Her words are kind, and she teaches kindness (verse 26) because her words bring life and not death – remember those Proverbs verses? She speaks what is true and builds up. Verse 12 – she does not harm her husband. Meaning, she does not speak ill of him behind his back. ·      She is also generous to the poor - verse 20. She manages the finances and resources of the family with wisdom. She's a good steward of all that is entrusted to her. ·      Let me pause here and remind you again. This is for all of us. In other words, don't tune out. ·      Discipline and diligence describe her. Verse 17 – she dresses herself with strength. Similarly verse 25, strength and dignity are her clothing. And wow is she disciplined, rising early. Taking care of many things. ·      Related to that, she is industrious. That is exemplified, really, all through these verses. Verse 27 – she does not eat the bread of idleness. ·      She's the opposite of self-centeredness and pridefulness – She cares for her household, providing clothing and food. They need not fear cold or hunger. ·      And last, wisdom and knowledge describe her! That is explicit right there in verse 26. She's been given discernment. She considers a field and buys it, verse 16. And verse 18, she perceives the value of her merchandise. That's quite the list. And of course, as I already mentioned, underlying all of this is her fear of the Lord. Actually, the fear of the Lord is going to be our concluding sermon in two weeks. It is the theme that has come up over and over and over. It is seeing and knowing the eternal God of the universe – whose judgement is just and whose ways are pure. Underlying this entire description is her reverent worship of the one true God. She considers his nature and truth and righteousness above all others. What an amazing picture of the Proverbs applied to life. A picture for us to see and seek and emulate, especially in marriage. In fact, this chapter is meant to be a model. Verses 10-31 are in the form of an acrostic. That means that every verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order. Verse 10 starts with Aleph which is the first letter of the alphabet. And verse 31 starts with the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, Tav. 22 verses and 22 letters. It shows us that this description is a pattern. It's not just one example of how wisdom can be applied. No, it is the ideal model for marriage. It models of what God has ordained for marriage on earth. Eve was created in the garden as a “help-meet” for Adam, as the Hebrew words puts it. Together they complement one another as they seek to fulfill what God has called them to do. That call in Genesis 1:29 is for them to be fruitful and multiple and fill the earth and subdue the earth and have dominion over the earth. Sometimes we call that the cultural mandate. It is for all of us, but part of it is for married couples, who work together but with different roles. Back in Proverbs 31, notice verse 11 - the husband's trust in his wife yields him “gain,” it says. Her work is his gain. That indicates the responsibility given to the husband. But what's very clear is how the wife oversees matters of the household. That word “household” is used several times here. She works to care for those whom the Lord has entrusted to her care – including caring for her husband. It is a very full and rich description of that responsibility worked out. In other words, this chapter beautifully displays the sphere to which Eve is called. Now, some in the church (a minority) believe that submission means the husband makes all the decisions and the wife should never work outside the home. That is not how Proverbs 31 describes her responsibilities. No, she clearly is making decisions and is applying the wisdom that God has given her in matters within her domain. ·      She considers the value of a field and buys it and oversees it. ·      She works both in the home and outside the home. She provides for her household… but also verses 18 and 24 – she makes garments and sashes and sells them in the market. Here is what I am saying: Proverbs 31 a beautiful model of what God has ordered for marriage. Husbands and wives are equal in dignity and status before God. They are both created in his image. But each is given roles and responsibility that support and work together to accomplish God's mandate… the mandate to fill and subdue the earth. And again, we are talking about the domain of the home and marriage. Let me put it this way: Proverbs 31 helps us not to fall off the rails on one side or another. It helps a husband see his role not as authoritarian or dictatorial. Rather it demonstrates entrusting his household to his wife's care, enabling her to fulfill that responsibility with dignity and wisdom. It also reveals that there are unique areas of responsibilities to which a husband and wife are each called. Now, obviously this is a much larger conversation. There are several New Testament verses that further clarify and direct us. I would be glad to talk more. #3 Christ and the church But moving on, I mentioned that this chapter applies to all of us. What I mean is that the model of the excellent wife is a model we are all called to emulate. The reason I can say that is because this chapter also typifies the relationship of Christ to the church. We, the church, are his bride, called to fulfill all these things. And let me work this out by showing you another structural element. Besides an acrostic, verses 10-31 are in the form of a chiasm. We occasional come across this. As a reminder, a chiasm is a form of parallel which we find both in Hebrew and Greek. The parallel ideas work from the outside into the center. Here, we see both themes and words that draw us to the center of this text. To begin, both verses 10 and 29 use the word excellent to describe the wife. That's the outer parallel. In 11 and 28 - moving one verse in on both sides - Her husband trusts her and praises her. That's the second level. If you go in one more level – she provides for her household. That is in verses 12-15 and also down in verse 27. Do you see how it's working it's way in from both sides? Wisdom is next, and then strength and dignity after that. Let's move closer to the middle. Look down at verses 22 and 24. In 22, she makes bed coverings, and in verse 24, she makes linen garments. See that parallel? And at the very center is verse 23. By the way, the center reveals the main emphasis in this kind of parallel. Verse 23 is the center. Let me read it. “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.” You see, the respect and honor that her husband receives comes, in part, through his wife. Her virtue in overseeing his household makes him known and brings him greater honor. Her faithfulness increases his influence in the community. His wisdom is lifted up as she acts in wisdom and righteousness. Beloved, this is the relationship that we, the church, have with Christ. As we oversee the household of faith with diligence and integrity and care of one another and generosity to the poor and in wisdom and righteousness. When we do all those things, Jesus is exalted. He is made known and honored at the gates of the city. The world will see him more clearly, when we, his bride, are faithful to the call that he has given us… that is, when we seek to live and acts in all the ways that Proverbs has taught us. We are the Proverbs 1-31 woman - the bride of Christ. Our strength comes from him. We're honored because of his honor. And just like the Proverbs 31 husband, Christ, as our redeemer, enables and empowers us to live out that calling to which he has called us. Do you see the parallels? Christ is the husband, here, the bridegroom. He has redeemed and forgiven and restored us from our unfaithfulness to be his faithful bride. … more on that when we get to the Lord's Supper. And to be sure, that does not take away how this applies to husbands and wives. No, these words are for marriages here and now… but the heart of these verses is the union between Christ and his church. Let me try summarize it this way: When Proverbs 31 is lived out in the relationship between a husband and a wife then (1) the husband is honored and his wisdom known, (2) the wife is built up and praised by him for her faithfulness and work, and (3) their household receives the rich blessing of their marriage. And similarly, when Proverbs 31 is lived out in the relationship between Christ and the church then (1) Christ is honored and his wisdom known, (2) the church is built up and praised by him for her faithfulness and work, and (3) the household of faith receives the rich blessing of the marriage between Christ and the church. Proverbs 31 is a beautiful testimony for marriages but especially our spiritual marriage with the Lord. Conclusion Going back to the Luthers - Even considering their failures and sins, and let me say, there were many, Martin and Katy's marriage modeled a Proverbs 31 marriage. Her care over his household was a tremendously rich blessing to thousands of people. Luther was known among the elders of the land, due in no small part to her wisdom, diligence, hospitality, and labors. Some have said that their marriage transformed the institution of marriage. I think its better to say, their marriage restored the institution of marriage to the model found in the Word. Briefly, in closing, I had always wondered why these verses closed out the book of Proverbs. But now, I think I know why. These verses are for all of us and they direct us to Christ. They bring together all the wisdom of Proverbs. May we emulate this wife, through our reverent fear of the Lord, because we are the bride of Christ.

The Collective, Roam and Seasons are just a few of the Anthill Films movies that changed the course of our young lives and Darcy Wittenburg was there leading the charge on all of them. Today he joins us to chat about the early days of making bike films, misadventures travelling the world, and their latest project "Anytime".

Welkom bij deze extra aflevering van de Leaders in Finance podcast, live opgenomen op het Eye on Pensions Event op 15 mei 2024, in Kasteel de Wittenburg in Wassenaar, met als thema dit jaar 'Sector in transitie'. In deze aflevering delen de volgende deelnemers en sprekers hun indrukken van het evenement, vertellen ze over hun ervaringen, en bespreken ze de interessante inzichten die ze hebben opgedaan: Larissa Gabriëlse, Executive Director International Pensions en Projectlead Wet Toekomst Pensioen bij CACEIS. Rosa d'Adelhart Toorop, Beleidssecretaris Pensioenen bij VNO-NCW en MKB-Nederland  Tim Burggraaf, Associate Partner Pensioenen bij EY  Hildegard Elgersma, Partner en Sectorleider Pensioenen bij EY David van As, Algemeen Directeur bij bpfBOUW Rob Senden, HR Directeur bij AZL   ***  Op de hoogte blijven van Leaders in Finance? Abonneer je dan op de nieuwsbrief.    ***  Leaders in Finance wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt door EY, MeDirect, RiskQuest, Kayak en Roland Berger.      ***  Vragen, suggesties of feedback? Graag! Via email: info@leadersinfinance.nl en check de website leadersinfinance.nl    *** Eerdere gasten bij de Leaders in Finance podcast waren onder andere: Klaas Knot (President DNB), Robert Swaak (CEO ABN AMRO), Frank Elderson (directie ECB), David Knibbe (CEO NN), Janine Vos (RvB Rabobank), Jos Baeten (CEO ASR), Nadine Klokke (CEO Knab), Gita Salden (CEO BNG Bank),  Annerie Vreugdenhil (CIO ING), Karien van Gennip (CEO VGZ), Maarten Edixhoven (CEO Van Lanschot Kempen), Jeroen Rijpkema (CEO Triodos), Chantal Vergouw (CEO Interpolis), Geert Lippens (CEO BNP Paribas NL), Simone Huis in 't Veld (CEO Euronext), Nout Wellink (ex DNB), Onno Ruding (ex minister van financiën), Maurice Oostendorp en Martijn Gribnau (CEOs Volksbank), Yoram Schwarz (CEO Movir), Laura van Geest (Bestuursvoorzitter AFM) Katja Kok (CEO Van Lanschot CH), Ali Niknam (CEO bunq), Nick Bortot (CEO BUX), Petri Hofsté (Commissaris, o.a.  Rabobank en Achmea), Peter Paul de Vries (CEO Value8), Barbara Baarsma (CEO Rabo Carbon Bank), Jan van Rutte (Commissaris PGGM, BNG Bank, vml CFO ABN AMRO), Marguerite Soeteman-Reijnen (Chair Aon Holdings), Annemarie Jorritsma (o.a. Voorzitter NVP), Lidwin van Velden (CEO Waterschapsbank), Don Ginsel (CEO Holland Fintech), Jan-Willem van der Schoot (CEO Mastercard NL), Tjeerd Bosklopper (CEO NN NL), Joanne Kellermann (Chair PFZW), Steven Maijoor (Chair ESMA), Radboud Vlaar (CEO Finch Capital), Karin van Baardwijk (CEO Robeco) en Annette Mosman (CEO APG). --> tussen haakjes de functie ten tijde van het interview    

What did Black Ministry look like in the 1960s and 1970s, and how did the civil unrest during that time shape Black Ministry? Rev. Dr. McNair Ramsey — Retired Pastor from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wittenburg, Alabama, and serving as 1st Vice President of the LCMS Southern District of the LCMS, and Rev. Michael Shannon — Pastor of Faith Lutheran in Shreveport, Louisiana join Andy and Sarah to share their own stories of Lutheranism, Dr. Ramsey's education under Dr. Rosa Young in Alabama, Rev. Shannon's experience of converting to Lutheranism, the significant developments of LCMS Black Ministry in the 1960s and 1970s, and how the unrest among the broader society during this era shape Black Ministry.   Resources in this series: LCMS Black Ministry lcms.org/how-we-serve/national/black-ministry Roses and Thorns by Dr. Richard C. Dickenson cph.org/roses-and-thorns-black-lutheran-centennial Recommended reading from LCMS Black Ministry lcms.org/how-we-serve/national/black-ministry/recommended-reading

Wie behalten wir Glauben, Kraft und Leichtigkeit in Krisen? Wie bleiben wir stabil? Was hilft uns einen resilienten Charakter zu entwickeln? Lass dich heute in das Thema mit hineinnehmen.

Hear about a German road trip to 9 UNESCO Cities as the Amateur Traveler talks to Renee Hannes from dreamplanexperience.com about her exploration of the land of her ancestors. https://amateurtraveler.com/germany-road-trip-to-9-unesco-cities/ Renee says, "I just returned from living in Berlin for 3 months. So had an opportunity to make a little bit of a longer trip and was there with my husband and dog and lived in Berlin and I had a good chance to be able to see the city and lots of other places around it. I had this long list of places on my to-do list. I think like most travelers, I become very quickly overwhelmed with how many places I wanted to see. So I thought why not think about what are those places that are worthy of a visit?" "That's where I came upon thinking about it from a UNESCO perspective and UNESCO sites are always worthy places to visit special places to visit in terms of the history and the moments in history that they help create and shape the architecture that usually is pretty spectacular to be able to see from, nature and the landscapes that we want to protect and then also it gives us really good insights into the culture. So after I had that long list, I went back and thought, what is close to Berlin? And that's how I was able to stumble on these 9 destinations." City 1: Berlin UNESCO Site: Museum Island: Spend the first day exploring Museum Island, home to five world-class museums. Delve into history, art, and archaeology at the Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Bode Museum, and the famous Pergamon Museum (when it reopens). City 2: Potsdam (Day Trip from Berlin) UNESCO Site: Sans Souci Palace and Park: Explore the stunning Sans Souci Palace, a masterpiece of Rococo architecture, surrounded by beautiful gardens, fountains, and other palaces. Optional Activities: Visit the Dutch Quarter and the historic center of Potsdam. City 3: Wittenberg (Short Train Ride from Berlin) UNESCO Site: Martin Luther's 95 Theses Site: Visit the place where Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door, sparking the Protestant Reformation. City Exploration: Wander through the charming streets of Wittenberg's Old Town. If possible, visit the city in June for the Luther Wedding celebration. City 4: Quedlinburg UNESCO Site: Old Town with Half-Timbered Houses: Immerse yourself in the enchanting medieval atmosphere of Quedlinburg's Old Town, characterized by over 1300 half-timbered houses. Activities: Climb to the top of the hill for panoramic views of the town from the castle. Explore the Quedlinburg Cathedral and the Culture Church. Visit museums showcasing the town's history and heritage. City 5: Goslar (Day Trip from Quedlinburg) UNESCO Sites: Imperial Palace (Kaiserpfalz): Discover the grandeur of the Imperial Palace overlooking Goslar. Optional Activities: Take a guided tour of the Rammelsberg mine, gaining insights into a thousand years of mining history. Explore the old town with its half-timbered houses and churches. Take a ride on a train through the Harz Mountains on the Harz Railway. City 6: Hamburg Highlights: Warehouse District (Speicherstadt): Explore the UNESCO-listed Speicherstadt, Hamburg's historic warehouse district. Marvel at the red brick buildings lining the canals, reminiscent of the city's trading past. Hamburg City Center: Stroll through the city center, enjoy the vibrant atmosphere, and visit landmarks like St. Michael's Church and the Rathaus (City Hall). City 7: Lubeck (Day Trip from Hamburg) UNESCO Site: Holstentor Gate: Visit the iconic Holstentor Gate, the entrance to Lubeck's Old Town, representing the city's historical significance as a trading hub. Exploring Beyond Main Streets: Wander off the main streets to discover elegant homes reflecting the wealth of medieval merchants. Explore St. Mary's Church and other architectural gems. Marzipan Delights: Visit the Niederegger marzipan shop to indulge in marzipan treats and learn about the city's marzipan-making history. Cities 8 and 9: Wismar and Stralsund UNESCO Sites: Wismar: Explore the charming town of Wismar on the Baltic Sea, known for its fortified walls, historic market square, and lively harbor atmosphere. Stralsund: Visit Stralsund, another Baltic Sea gem, with a large public square featuring diverse architectural styles. Explore St. Nicholas Church and enjoy seafood at the harbor. Return to Berlin A 9-city UNESCO road trip through Germany offers a blend of historical exploration, architectural marvels, and scenic beauty.

Today I'm chatting to Darcy Wittenburg, owner, director and producer at the awesome Anthill Films. We hear how Darcy got into film making and how things have progressed from the Collective, through to Anthill Films being born. Hear how some of their incredible scenes were made and what it was like to be responsible for telling Stevie Smith's story. We also get some insight on their incredible new film, The Engine Inside, talk about the current state of mountain bike film making and plenty more. So, it's time to sit back, hit play and listen to this episode with Darcy Wittenburg. You can watch this episode on YouTube here. You can find out more by heading to anthillfilms.com. You'll find more about their new film, The Engine Inside at engineinsidefilm.com. You can also follow them on Instagram @anthillfilms. Supporting Partners 7Mesh 7Mesh have recently launched their brand new Airmap range. Airmap uses a unique approach of different mapped layers that uses incoming air, to expel warm moist air out of the garment, while blocking air and water in places where you need it. This allows them to individually tune the products' performance to the specific requirements of each area of the garments. The entire range is free from PFAS and PFCs, also known as the forever chemicals . Head here to find out more about the Airmap range. Listeners can get 20% off the entire range by using the code '7meshxdowntime20' until the end of January 2024. Podcast Stuff Patreon I would love it if you were able to support the podcast via a regular Patreon donation. Donations start from as little as £3 per month. That's less than £1 per episode and less than the price of a take away coffee. Every little counts and these donations will really help me keep the podcast going and hopefully take it to the next level. To help out, head here. Merch If you want to support the podcast, and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that's using renewable energy. So check it out now over at downtimepodcast.com/shop. Newsletter If you want a bit more Downtime in your life, then you can join my newsletter where I'll provide you with a bit of behind the scenes info on the podcast, interesting bits and pieces from around the mountain bike world, some mini-reviews of products that I've been using and like, partner offers and more. You can do that over at downtimepodcast.com/newsletter. Downtime EP Downtime EP issue 3 is now available here. EP takes inspiration from the guests and topics of the podcast. It expands on them, and takes them into a stunning print-only format. EP is the perfect companion for some quiet time away from the distractions of modern life. Beautiful to have and hold, and a timeless piece of mountain bike history. Just head over to downtimepodcast.com/ep to save yourself £5 off of the cover price with an annual subscription for just £25 plus postage or you can purchase EP1, EP2 or EP3 on their own too. Follow Us Give us a follow on Instagram @downtimepodcast or Facebook @downtimepodcast to keep up to date and chat in the comments. For everything video, including riding videos, bike checks and more, subscribe over at youtube.com/downtimemountainbikepodcast. Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, then don't forget to follow it. Episodes will get delivered to your device as soon as it's available and it's totally free. You'll find all the links you need at downtimepodcast.com/follow. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google and most of the podcast apps out there. Our back catalogue of amazing episodes is available at downtimepodcast.com/episodes Photo - Dave Mackison

In this episode, I show how to get started printing color prints from color negatives in the darkroom using a standard black and white enlarger with color printing filters, Fuji Crystal paper and RA4 color chemistry.

Andrew Wittenburg, the spokesperson for the Salt Lake Mayor's office, joins Jeff and discusses what is in the proposed budget and how much it could cost.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yokohama drama, Chatty 70.3 anticipation, Durango bike racing, an inspiring bike movie and navigating your first race of the season. We are all over the place this week!   Show Sponsor: UCAN Generation UCAN has a full line of nutrition products powered by LIVESTEADY to fuel your sport.   LIVSTEADY was purposefully designed to work with your body, delivering long-lasting energy you can feel. LIVSTEADY's unique time-release profile allows your body to access energy consistently throughout the day, unlocking your natural ability to stay focused and calm while providing the fuel you need to meet your daily challenges.   Use UCAN in your training and racing to fuel the healthy way, finish stronger and recover more quickly!  Use the code 303UCAN for 20% off at ucan.co/discount/303UCAN/ or ucan.co   In Today's Show Endurance News - Yokohama, Chatty 70.3 Women What's new in the 303 - The Engine Inside Movie, Durango and behind the bike race curtain Coaching Tip of the Week -  Navigating Your First Race; First Race of the Season   Endurance News:   WTCS Yokohama 2023 men's results: Hayden Wilde runs rivals ragged By Jonathan Turner Hayden Wilde put a flat tyre in Abu Dhabi behind him in perfect style as he ran away with the win at WTCS Yokohama.   The New Zealander, who was second to the absent Alex Yee here last year, had a great swim and was then a driving force in a huge group on the bike – and thankfully this time there was no mechanical mishap to derail him.   With the race effectively boiling down to the 10km run, Wilde took the lead early on alongside reigning WTCS champion Léo Bergere (FRA) before kicking clear on the second of four laps en route to a dominant win.   He had plenty of time to celebrate on the blue carpet but behind him there was a thrilling battle for the podium places – Matt Hauser (AUS) sprinting to second, with Vasco Vilaca (POR) in third.   Reigning Olympic champion Kristian Blummenfelt, second last week at the PTO European Open in Ibiza, was eighth while his Norwegian compatriot Gustav Iden was nearly five minutes back in 39th.   Meanwhile earlier in the day Britain's Sophie Coldwell notched her biggest-ever win in the women's race – click here for that report.   WTCS Yokohama 2023 Results Saturday May 13 2023 – ELITE MEN 1.5km / 40k / 10k   1. Hayden Wilde (NZL) 1:42:13 2. Matt Hauser (AUS) 1:42:17 3. Vasco Vilaca (POR) 1:42:18 4. Dorian Coninx (FRA) 1:42:22 5. Léo Bergere (FRA) 1:42:26 6. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 1:42:37 7. Jelle Geens (BEL) 1:42:42 8. Kristian Blummenfelt (NOR) 1:42:48 9. Csonger Lehmann (HUN) 1:42:53 10. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 1:43:01   WTCS Rankings Standings after Yokohama 1. Vasco Vilaca (POR) 1549.38pts 2. Dorian Coninx (FRA) 1340.52pts 3. Léo Bergere (FRA) 1239.98pts 4. Matt Hauser (AUS) 1124.28pts 5. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 1049.01pts   WTCS Yokohama 2023 women's results: Sophie Coldwell claims landmark win By Jonathan Turner Britain's Sophie Coldwell claimed her first WTCS victory in impressive style as she powered to an emphatic triumph in Yokohama.   Wearing the number one bib, she was to the fore from the start, part of the front group in the swim which then distanced the rest on the bike.   Coming out of T2, she was a fraction behind Taylor Knibb (USA), the winner here in 2021 and returning after a stress fracture in her foot, but quickly moved into the lead and would never look back.   Coldwell bossed the run and crossed the line 17 seconds ahead of Rosa Maria Tapia, the first Mexican woman to make the podium in a WTCS event.   Knibb stayed on well for a fine third in her comeback race, fellow US star Taylor Spivey collected another fourth place and Britain's U23 world champion Kate Waugh registered her best finish at this level in fifth.   But there was frustration for last year's WTCS overall runner-up Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) who was never able to threaten the podium after losing touch with the front group on the swim, eventually finishing seventh.   Her great friend Coldwell, having come second to the absent Beth Potter in the opening WTCS race of the season in Abu Dhabi, moves to the top of this season's standings.   Meanwhile in the men's race, Hayden Wilde ran away from his rivals to take the win – click here for that report.   WTCS Yokohama 2023 Results Saturday May 13 2023 – ELITE WOMEN 1.5km / 40k / 10k   1. Sophie Coldwell (GBR) 1:53:32 2. Rosa Maria Tapia (MEX) 1:53:49 3. Taylor Knibb (USA) 1:54:02 4. Taylor Spivey (USA) 1:54:14 5. Kate Waugh (GBR) 1:54:20 6. Maya Kingma (NED) 1:54:40 7. Georgia Taylor-Brown (GBR) 1:54:48 8. Kirsten Kasper (USA) 1:55:03 9. Emma Lombardi (FRA) 1:55:10 10. Summer Rappaport (USA) 1:55:30   WTCS Rankings Standings after Yokohama 1. Sophie Coldwell (GBR) 1693.75pts 2. Taylor Spivey (USA) 1433.17pts 3. Rosa Maria Tapia (MEX) 1157.91pts 4. Summer Rappaport (USA) 1089.35pts 5. Emma Lombardi (FRA) 970.52pts   IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga 2023: Start time, preview and how to watch live By Tomos Land   IRONMAN 70.3 Chattanooga is the next North American middle distance event on the calendar, with the action heading to Tennessee this weekend with a women's only professional field.   Chattanooga, a small city in the southeast of Tennessee, last year saw Jason West and Jackie Hering take the wins at a race which also doubled as the North American Championships. This year, Herring will return to defend her title.   In our preview below you can find everything you need to know, from start times to streaming information, plus a preview of the professional women's field.   Start time and how to watch live The race takes place on Sunday 22 May 2022.   The Pro race will start at 0650 local time (Eastern). That corresponds to 1150 in the UK and 1250 CET.   The race will be shown live, with the event the fourth of 12 IRONMAN 70.3 events to be broadcast in 2023 in a partnership with Outside TV. You will be able to watch for free via web, mobile or connected TV app.   As always, the ever reliable IRONMAN Tracker is the perfect data addition to support your viewing. If you haven't got it on your phone already, where have you been?!   Pro Women In the professional women's field, Canadian Paula Findlay will line up for her third race in a month as she looks to take her first 70.3 win of the season.   Paula Findlay PTO European Open 2023 run [Photo credit PTO / Darren Wheeler] Findlay, currently ranked PTO #4, will be racing off the back of an impressive fifth place finish at the PTO Tour European Open in Ibiza, where she raced strongly from start to finish.   Defending champion Hering will hope for another win in Tennessee, but against a field of this calibre, which has a strength of field rating of 83.37, might struggle, with her best result this season fifth at IRONMAN 70.3 St George.   The winner from that race, Jeanni Metzler, is set to go again after that emotional return to the top of a podium, after a long period when she doubted she would ever race again.   She told us this week: “It's kind of a quick turnaround but I've decided I just want to toe the line again. I haven't raced that much in the past 18 months so it's going to be good practice to just maybe improve some things on a different course and in different conditions. So I'm looking forward to racing again.”   Along with Skye Moench (second) and Danielle Lewis (third), the full St George podium from that North American Championship race will go head-to-head again.   Metzler Moench Lewis IRONMAN 70.3 St George podium 2023 [Photo credit: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images for IRONMAN] [Photo credit: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images for IRONMAN] The event could also potentially see the season debut of Sarah True, who as if balancing professional triathlon and family was not enough, is also fitting in a full-time university course! Little seems to slow True down though, the two-time Olympian winning both IRONMAN Lake Placid and IRONMAN Arizona in 2022.   Advertisements Prize Money: What's on the line? The prize purse on offer this weekend is $25,000 – with each of the winners collecting a $7,500 share of that total.   In addition to money, there will be a total of two qualifying slots for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Lahti, Finland in August.   The total funds will be paid eight-deep, as follows:   $7,500 $5,000 $3,750 $3,000 $2,000 $1,500 $1,250 $1,000   Pro Race Schedule - https://files.constantcontact.com/a202847d001/ab8d8718-1cce-485f-9b8b-d6f69d45eccd.pdf   What's New in the 303: The Cyclist-Lawyer Megan Hottman Featured in The Engine Inside Movie By Kate Agathon   May 17, 2023, Cycling is an emotional experience. It can be joyful. It can be heartbreaking. It can be empowering.   Just ask Golden-based lawyer Megan Hottman (aka The Cyclist-Lawyer), who is one of six bicyclists featured in The Engine Inside, the newest cycling film coming out this summer by Anthill Films.   Narrated by Phil Ligget, The Engine Inside shares the stories of bicyclists from all over the globe who reveal the unique power of the bicycle to change lives and build a better world. “I feel incredibly honored to be featured as one of the six people in this film, when I know that Anthill Films had a long list of amazing humans with amazing stories to choose from,” said Hottman.   Hottman is well-known in the cycling community for her dedication to making Colorado a better place for bicyclists. Her tireless work on behalf of all bicyclists has resulted in numerous, and hard-fought positive outcomes for the cycling community.   She notably represented the family of U.S. Masters road race champion (and friend and former teammate) Gwen Inglis who was killed by a driver in 2021 and was awarded an unprecedented $353 million verdict in a civil lawsuit against the driver.   The Engine Inside offers a rare glimpse into how Hottman experiences the world as a bicyclist- both in public and private life.   Specifically, the film captures Hottman at her most vulnerable- at a ghost bike dedication for Inglis shortly after she was struck and killed by a driver. Or, when Hottman herself is hit by a pickup truck driver and suffers serious injuries.   Hottman said, “One part I am happiest about is the inclusion of Gwen's story in my section- and that now she'll be known and honored globally everywhere the film is shown. It's one small way to keep her name and legacy alive and shared.”   “I'm not afraid to show my emotions -on film or off- as we're all in this human experience together and it's hard. To pretend otherwise does our experiences a disservice. I am who I am, real and raw, and at times emotional. I'm glad the film captures that range of emotions not just in my story but in other character stories as well,” she continued.   While a bicycle can have a positive impact on physical and mental health, it can also be utilized as a powerful tool for social change, as Hottman demonstrates.   By deconstructing the lived experiences of bicyclists, The Engine Inside urges audiences to consider what can be accomplished by simply riding a bike. What change can we make every time we get on the saddle?   Transcending geographical borders, economic circumstances, and language barriers, the transformative power of the bicycle to those who use it in their daily lives is inspiring.   “We were looking for really well rounded people that had an amazing story to tell, and that each had a connection to the bicycle from a different perspective,” explained The Engine Inside director Darcy Wittenburg.   “Although there is some overlap with some of them, they each represent some of the major ways bicycles help humanity from mental health to transportation and everything in between,” she continued.   The narratives shared by The Engine Inside are as diverse as its six participants. Their stories confront a culture that revolves around cars, and encompass global issues that range from climate change, more livable cities, socio-economic inequality, and indigenous trauma.   Despite often formidable personal and systematic obstacles to overcome, each bicyclist used the bicycle as a catalyst for hope and agency.   Threading their powerful stories into a cohesive narrative was also a challenge. “There's so many ways to look at this as it was a challenging project all around! Narrowing down the vast world of cycling into an 80-minute film was probably the first and ongoing challenge for us,” said Wittenburg.   “The main motivation was to focus the film on personal stories that many people can relate to. It was a tricky balance keeping the topic of cycling in the background so the characters' connection to cycling could shine through,” she added.   Sponsored by Hottman Law Office, The Engine Inside Golden premiere will take place 5:30 to 8 PM on June 29 at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased here. Proceeds will benefit Bike JeffCo.   “We're really excited to be part of sharing a film that has the potential to change how bicyclists are perceived! The bicycle is truly a vehicle for making change, both in individuals and communities,” said Bike Jeffco Chair, Jan Stevenson.   “From the time you are a new rider, you learn how to be resilient, how to navigate, how to solve problems. You build confidence in your ability to get things done. These stories take that confidence and show how to elevate these abilities to bigger solutions to bigger problems,” she continued.   Stevenson remarked how fitting it was that The Engine Inside's overarching theme intersects with the mission of Bike Jeffco. “We want to share the joy of biking! The shared global stories really highlight the wide range of positive impacts that simply riding a bike and having access to bikes, can bring to a community,” she said. “Biking is fun, exhilarating, and hard work all at once! The sense of freedom and empowerment that comes with the ability to control where and when we go places is huge,” concluded Stevenson.   Bike Jeffco will be holding a Meet and Greet at Colorado Tap House on June 10 from 10 AM to 2 PM. Learn more about their advocacy and about the Golden premiere of The Engine Inside.   Check out the official trailer for The Engine Inside- a new documentary about the often-overlooked, world-changing potential of the bicycle. Official Trailer: The Engine Inside - A Documentary About Using Bicycles To Build A Better Future     Tip of the Week:   Navigating your 1st Race Registration Athlete Guide Race Course Hydrating and fueling Swim - starting position, drafting, sighting, buoy turns Bike - aid stations, drafting rules, Run - Packet Pickup Transition Area Setup The stack Minimal Bike in gear Shoes clipped or not Walking your route and marking Plan your line for the swim and position     Case Study - Without Limits Productions Colorado Triathlon on June 3rd Race Info/Schedule: https://www.withoutlimits.co/colorado-triathlon-race-info Course Map: https://www.withoutlimits.co/colorado-triathlon-course-maps Checklist: https://beginnertriathlete.com/RaceLog/race-checklist.asp   RunDot Launched by Predictive Fitness, Developer of TriDot May 17, 2023   DALLAS, TX – May 17, 2023 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Predictive Fitness announces the launch of RunDot, a run training app driven by decades of data and patents-pending artificial intelligence. The platform produces dynamic, individualized run training for better results in less time while being motivational, fun, and easy to use.   RunDot leverages the same core proven optimization technology as TriDot (its sister app for triathletes) and features an athlete community that is as supportive as the training is effective. Touted in publications such as Forbes, Men's Health, Tech Times, Triathlete, LA Weekly, NY Weekly, and Men's Journal, TriDot has long delivered performance improvements that significantly outpace the gains made by other training methods.   “Runners no longer have to rely on static plans, simplistic ‘adaptive' training templates, or someone's personal training philosophy,” says Jeff Booher, CEO and Founder of Predictive Fitness Inc., developer of RunDot. “Our proprietary and one-of-a-kind technologies consider numerous factors such as genetics, environmental conditions, age, and normalized training stress to prescribe optimal training for runners so they can better achieve their health and fitness goals, avoid injuries and break through performance plateaus.”   RunDot can be used with or without a coach, like TriDot, which has attracted hundreds of coaches including some of the most prominent names in the sport of triathlon. Mark Allen, Michellie Jones, Mirinda Carfrae, and Tim O'Donnell are a prestigious group of coaches on the platform with 10 IRONMAN World Championship titles, numerous Hall of Fame honors, and an Olympic Silver medal. RunDot similarly offers coaches the ability to better serve their athletes and their coaching businesses by letting technology do what technology does best – analyze data and optimize training – so that coaches can focus on the human side of coaching and spend more quality time with their athletes.   About RunDot: Run training platform for both athletes and coaches, driven by decades of data and AI to produce better results in less time with fewer injuries. Optimized run training platform powered by the same AI engine as TriDot. Similar features, look and feel, capabilities, and results as TriDot. RunDot can be used with or without a coach. The platform produces optimized run training for better results in less time while being motivational, fun, and easy to use. Unparalleled results for runners and coaches at a price point that fits any budget. Early access – invite your runner friends onto RunDot with your coach-specific URLs.   Are there plans for a swim and bike version of Run and TriDot. Yes, VeloDot and SwimDot are on the product roadmap.   TriDot (and now RunDot) are training platforms that build a training plan and daily workouts using AI and machine learning using your individual experience, training and performance data to optimize your training to have better race results with fewer injuries.   TriDot Sign-Up Link https://app.tridot.com/onboard/sign-up/richsoares RunDot Sign-Up Link https://app.rundot.com/onboard/sign-up/richsoares The RunDot Project Sign-Up Link https://app.rundot.com/onboard/sign-up/richsoares?sub=73&type=53     Closing: Thanks again for listening in this week.  Please be sure to follow us @303endurance and of course go to iTunes and give us a rating and a comment.  We'd really appreciate it! Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!

Let George Do It - Murder, It's A Gift Announcer-Bud Hiestand Stars-Robert Bailey, Francis Robinson, Wally Maher, Pedro De Cordoba, Don Diamond, Betty Lou Gerson & Ann O'Neal  A rare "Wittenburg" bible is to be given to a member of the owner's family...but which one? A murder soon follows, but the body found in the tub shows no signs of violence, and there was only six inches of water in the tub.

Mike and David talk about Wittenburg ranked #1 in the nation, Mikes experience in south Florida and their thoughts on the new Netflix series Full Swing. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mike-wolf84/support

A rare "Wittenburg" bible is to be given to a member of the owner's family...but which one? A murder soon follows, but the body found in the tub shows no signs of violence, and there was only six inches of water in the tub! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/iloveoldtimeradio/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/iloveoldtimeradio/support

Sermon #245 We begin a new series based on the five "solas" of the Reformation. It was five hundred years ago on October 31 that Martin Luther nailed his protest, titled "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences," more commonly known as the Ninety-Five Theses, to the door of the castle church in Wittenburg, Germany. Five hundred years later, we mark the occasion by examining the principles of the Protestant Reformation and how they apply to us today. We begin with a foundational principle, Sola Scriptura - scripture alone is the final authority. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 Recorded at Hudson UMC on October 1, 2017 (Originally published October 23, 2017) S.D.G.

1 John 1:1-4Rev. Erik Veerman11/06/2022Credible Witnesses of Credible FaithWe're beginning a new series this morning in the book of 1 John. You can find 1 John on page 1210 in the pew Bibles.I've been looking forward to our study and would encourage you to read through the book this week. It's 5 chapters. It will take us about 4 months to work through - four sermons this month and then after an advent break, we'll pick back up in January. It's highly likely that 1 John was written by the apostle John. John was one Jesus 12 disciples. His name is never mentioned in the book, but there's very compelling Scriptural and historical evidence that he authored it. We'll get into that today.We'll begin with chapter 1 verses 1-4.Reading pg 1 John 1:1-4PrayerFact or fiction? Genuine or in-authentic? Real or fake?We spend a lot of time these days trying to discern what is authentic and true.You would think, in our digital age where so many things are captured in images and videos, that it would be easy to determine what really happened versus what is made up. You would think that with all the information up there in the internet cloud, that we'd have all we need to know to figure out what is true and right versus what is false and wrong.But we don't. It's kind of the opposite, today. We're overwhelmed with the amount of stuff out there to sift through. Plus, everyone claims to know what is true and what is right.•            You see a picture of an event… but then later, someone claims it's just a deep fake - photoshopped by an expert graphic artist. •            Or you watch a video, but then someone claims it's been doctored with CGI. •            You hear a testimony of something that happened. But then you hear the other side – lies, they say. Fake news.How do you know what is true? Who can you trust?It's very unsettling. It's like the ground we are standing on is unstable and unsure. It affects our confidence in what we believe and know. Our souls are unsettled.A recent Barna survey found that 2/3 of Christians experience or have experienced spiritual doubts of some kind. 1/4 of Christians have ongoing doubts about faith and belief. That number is higher for younger generations. I've experienced it… uncertainty in my life, and many of you have or do as well.Doubt is part of the Christian experience. You are not alone. And the unsettledness of the world around us, the increasing plurality of views and beliefs only heightens the struggle.And you know this, it's more than just an intellectual exercise of figuring out what is right and wrong. It's personal. We ask ourselves, am I dedicating my life to something that is true? Or we ask, am I genuinely a Christian? How do I know?When you and I have these questions, we need to address them. If we bottle them up, that unsettledness is going to increase. And we need to come alongside of one another to think through and pray through those questions.And that is where the book of 1 John comes in. It's about discerning those things: what is true and right; what is authentic and credible; who to believe and what is faithful. 1 John is about you and me. It's about knowing and having assurance of our own faith. In fact, that word “know” comes up 32 times in these 5 chapters. Some instances are about having confidence in what we believe. Other uses are about knowing what is true faith verses what is not. Flip over to chapter 5. If you look at verse 13, it captures the purpose of 1 John: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” The author wants his readers to have confidence in their faith.My hope in this study is that we'll each come out of it with a solid foundation for our faith. That 1 John will help us have confidence in our faith… knowing what is right versus what is wrong, truth from error, and what can be trusted and what can't. I hope that it challenges and reinforces our beliefs and lives - not just individually but for us as a church. Is what we believe and practice faithful and true?Ok, let's spend a majority of our time this morning on two things. Authorship and situatuation.1. Authorship – Did the apostle John really write this letter?2. Situation – When and why did he write it?Does that sound boring? It may, but there are some really rich things in here for us. Understanding who wrote the book and why very much relates to knowing what is true and right and good.1. AuthorshipNow, one of the big differences between this book, 1 John, and other New Testament letters is that there's no opening salutation. The author doesn't say who he is and to whom he is writing. And that's the same for the ending. There's no final greeting; no concluding thank you's; no references to dear friends by name; and nowhere in the book does the author mention his name!We have all these unknowns in the letter, yet so many have attributed this letter to the apostle John.Why?Well, let me give you some answers. And I think you'll find them somewhat compelling and convicting.First, in the opening verses, the author basically tells us that he was a disciple of Jesus. He does that by describing Jesus and describing his interaction with Jesus. He doesn't name Jesus Christ until the end of verse 3, but he calls him “that which was from the beginning.” The author names him “the word of life.” He writes that this life “was with the father” and also “made manifest” which means, plainly revealed. All of that language is describing the son of God who came to us.And notice that the author uses the plural pronouns “we” and “us” to describe his interaction with Jesus. You're probably thinking, “Wait, wait, wait! You're telling me that there's one author to this book, and yet in the very opening verses there are 9 ‘we' and ‘us' references. It sure sounds to me like there are multiple authors!” I would agree with that, if all we had were these opening 4 verses. However, 10 times in the rest of the book, the author says “I write” or “I am writing.” The difference is, in these first 4 verses, the author is establishing his credibility. He's not just any other follower of Jesus who happens to be alive in the last decade of the first century. No, he was a disciple of Jesus. By using “we” he was emphasizing his identity as one of the 12 original disciples. “We” collectively witnessed Jesus personally. Multiple times: “we have heard,” “we have seen with our eyes,” “we looked upon and have touched with our hands,” “we have seen and heard and proclaim.” It's like the author was saying “My testimony about what is true and faithful (what you can believe!) comes from the word of life, himself, Jesus, and his message. We lived with him. We followed him. We were discipled by him. Even though these words are from my pen, they come from the credible testimony of all of us who were Jesus' disciples.”Beloved, these words that we will be studying are not just a letter from any old pastor to his congregation back in the first century. No, they are credible words from a credible source – a disciple of Jesus. It's why the church, through the Holy Spirit has recognized this book as authoritative and true. As Scripture.What I'm saying is that you can trust these words and believe them. Before moving on, let's go back to the specific question of authorship. You still may be thinking, “Ok, the author was a disciple of Jesus. I see that. But which disciple? Why John?” Well, that answer comes from two places. History and the content of the letter.On the history side, John was the longest living disciple of Jesus. Probably by 20-30 years. He lived into his mid-90s, which is incredible for that time period. Because of his age, he discipled many people. And John's disciples lived well into the second century. His most well-known disciple was Polycarp. He's considered one of the early church fathers. We have writings from Polycarp and other disciples of John. And they help answer our question. In their writings, they attribute this letter to John himself.But besides the history, the other thing that you may have noticed is the style and content. The wording is so similar to the Gospel of John. Earlier in the service we read the beginning verses of John's Gospel. The syntax and phrases are very similar… the word, life, in or from the beginning, made manifest. And the parallels continue throughout the book. Add to that, both books are less structured and more free flowing than other books of the Bible.This letter is beautifully composed with interwoven ideas. The author comes back around several times to earlier ideas, but adds further nuances and relationships. It's a work of art. It's like a John Williams symphony. You know, like Star Wars. The opening introduces the themes, and those melodies are highlighted throughout in different ways. Different instruments with different dynamics.The Gospel of John and this letter both have that style. As we work through 1 John, we'll see those repeated themes. I think you'll find it profound and compelling in different ways. There's a second content related reason why it makes sense for John to be the author. The book, in part, address the relationship between Jesus' humanity and divinity. It directly answers the question, was Jesus truly God? The way John answers that question indicates that some were teaching that Jesus wasn't fully God. Historically, those theological questions didn't begin to come up until the very end of the first century and in to the early second century. So, this letter was very likely written near the turn of the first century. And as I mentioned, John was the only disciple still living at that time.So, a letter written by a disciple of Jesus, a letter with very strong parallels to John's Gospel account, attributed to John by his own disciples, and a letter dealing with issues that John would have dealt with. I submit to you that this is God's Word given to us through the pen of the apostle John. It's credible. It's authenticate. We can trust it and believe it. It's not fake, but genuine. And it comes from a man who walked with Jesus. Who was one of Jesus' closest friends, called the disciple whom Jesus loved.The apostle John, disciple of Jesus, author of this book for us.2. SituationSo, that's the authorship question. Now let turn our attention to the situation.What was the occasion for this book? Why did John write this and to whom did he write?In a sense, we've already considered a couple of reasons. First, I mentioned the desire for John to give his readers assurance. To know whether their faith was authentic. Second, I mentioned that John addressed issues in the book related to Jesus' divinity and humanity – that he was God and man.But let me step back for a minute. Nowhere in the book are we told to whom John was writing. But what is really clear is that he knows them and he loves them. Something about 1 John is so endearing and personal. He loves this family of faith. He is so personally concerned about their beliefs, their love for each other, and how they are to live out their faith. He calls them children. Six times he calls them “beloved.” He knows them well.Now, I can't tell you for sure who specifically John wrote to, but I can say that he very likely wrote this after his exile on the island of Patmos. John had lived there for a few years. It's where God revealed the book of Revelation to him. Historical accounts indicate that after his exile, John lived the last years of his life in Ephesus. It's probable that he wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus, while he was living his final days among them. Ephesus was a very influential city in the region. The apostle Paul had planted a church there 40 or so years earlier. As an older man, it would have been a natural place for John to spend his final years in ministry.Now, we don't know for sure. And I don't think we will know who the audience is on this side of eternity.It's a good reminder that while yes, it was written by John to a specific people, yet we are also among God's intended audience. We can't lose sight of that fact. Yes, we have to understand it through the lens of the author and situation (and we're given some clues here). But God has also given us this word. It's for you and for me. It's for us to be challenged, and assured, and for us to know God in Christ.Ok, I have been thinking a lot about the occasion for John writing this letter and how it relates to us. While we don't know whether his audience really was the Ephesians, we do know the broader situation of the time. And I would say, challenges to Christianity at the end of the first century has some similarities to challenges that we face today, but from vastly different angles.Let's go back in time to sometime between the year 95 and 105 AD. And think about this: it had been 60-70 years since Jesus' death and resurrection. In those decades, Christianity had spread far and wide in the region. Also by that time, the Gospel accounts of Jesus life had been written, several letters were penned by different Apostles, but there was no complete New Testament yet. Copies of the different letters and historical accounts were still making their way around. Add to that, Paul had died 30 years earlier, and, as I mentioned, historical accounts indicate that all of Jesus disciples except John had also passed from this world. So they were in a precarious state. Different beliefs about Jesus and about Christianity began to emerge. Different teachers started teaching contradictory views. Imagine living in the early second century. And imagine hearing different teachings about Jesus, about your faith, about your living, about your relationships. Who do you trust? Where do you turn? How do you know what is right and wrong? How do you know if you are a Christian?The vacuum of authority was being filled by different views that contradicted one another. Do you see how that would be spiritually unsettling back then?And there's a similar spiritual unsettledness today. No, it's not a vacuum that's being filled, rather it's the opposite. It's a preponderance of beliefs and views and lifestyles out there. It's a similar struggle, but from the opposite side. We ask, how do I sort through it all? Where do I turn to find what's true and right and good? How do I know that I am following the right path?These are the very things that John is addressing in his letter.And you ask, where do I begin to get those answers?Well, in these opening verses, yes, John is establishing his credibility. Yes, he's telling them to listen to him. But the very center of his appeal is not himself. It's not him nor the other disciples who were with him that he's emphasizing. Rather, he is directing them to Jesus.Jesus is the overwhelming emphasis of these verses. He is where we should begin.John establishes the identity of Jesus as God in the flesh. He existed in the very beginning. Verse 1. And verse 2, he is the eternal life and he is with the Father. He has full fellowship with God the Father because, verse 3, he is God's Son. And John says his life was “made manifest.” He visibly and tangibly came to us. He became one of us.This Jesus, whom they saw, and touched, and with whom they had fellowship was God's very Son. He is God. Jesus is the one who makes their testimony credible. And all throughout this letter, John goes back to Jesus… to who he is and what he has done.And I want you to notice something in the very opening words. Notice the book begins with the word “that.” “that which was from the beginning.” Why didn't John begin with “who?” Why didn't he say, “he who was from the beginning?” That seems like it would be the more natural way to write about Christ.The reason is: John is not only speaking about Jesus (who he is), John is also speaking about Jesus' ministry and message. He doesn't just want them to know the person of Jesus. He also wants them to have fellowship with Jesus as well.He calls Jesus the “word of life.” That's very similar to the opening of John's Gospel. “In the beginning was the word” and a few verses later “and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Christ is eternal life and he brings eternal life. That is why he is the word of life. You see, John was affirming both the person and work of Christ. John was pointing to Jesus' ministry which would bring life to them. The desire of John's heart was that they also would have fellowship with God through Christ Jesus (that's verse 3). And verse 4 reveals that John longed for this. It would be the joy of his heart for them to also know and believe and have fellowship with God through Christ. For those of us here who have that fellowship, it would also be our joy, for you come to the one true God through Christ.ConclusionJohn begins his letter with the foundation upon which to set our spiritual feet. He wants us to know the true Jesus and have faith in him. Let me boil it down to this: the credible witness to which John and the disciples testified is Christ. He is the eternal God, the word of life, he came to give us life. It's through him we can know God, and through which we can know what good and right and true.With all the shifting sand below our feet, we can trust him. When doubts come about our faith, we can look to Jesus.When were not sure who to trust and what to believe, we can turn to the credible life and ministry of Jesus, who was from the beginning.When we question our faith, when we wonder if we have true faith, we can come to the one who has given us faith… the word of life who is the only giver of life.IntroductionOur sermon text this morning is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1-10. Page 1159. This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus is on the western shore of modern-day Turkey. Paul spent about 3 years in Ephesus and he wrote this letter a few years after that time. The apostle's purpose was to encourage them in what they believed and how that belief should be worked out in their lives.The reason we're studying these particular verses, is that out of the entire New Testament, I think these verses capture the very heart of Salvation in Christ. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That Biblical teaching was the center of the Protestant Reformation. So, since tomorrow is the anniversary of the Reformation, we'll be focusing on Ephesians 2.READ Ephesians 2:1-10PRAYWhy does the Protestant Reformation matter? Why take one of our Sunday morning worship services to focus on it?That question is very legitimate. You should be asking it. Many of you have probably wondered why. Well, I hope to answer those questions this morning with a little history and an analysis of these verses.And by the way, I don't intend this to be an annual thing. We just happened to be between sermon series, so I thought it would be a good day to focus on these reformation principles that Scripture teaches.And another important question is, what was the Protestant Reformation? I can't really answer why it matters without answering the “what.” And to do that, we need to begin with the early church. 2000 years ago Jesus commissioned his apostles to establish his church. As the New Testament describes it, the church includes the people of God throughout all time from every tribe, tongue, and nation, who believed in Jesus, God's son, as Savior. The book of Acts, which we studied last year, describes the explosion of growth of the church beginning in Jerusalem. It expanded throughout the Mediterranean region and began to go to the ends of the earth. That growth and expansion to every tribe, tongue, and nation, is continuing today.But even with the tremendous growth of the church over the centuries, the church has struggled in different ways. In the Roman Empire, Christianity spread all throughout. In the 4th century, civil leaders including the emperor became so sympathetic to Christianity, that it became the religion of the state. It was quite the turn of events, especially after the persecution of Christians in the first three centuries. Becoming the formal religion of the empire may sound good, but it caused a lot of problems. It mixed the civil authority and church leadership. When that happened, the church began to lose its focus and mission. The purposes of the state filtered into the church. The civil magistrates became leaders of the church because of the overlap. Wars were even fought in the name of Christianity. Besides the unholy mixture, it also led to many abuses involving power and money. That only increased over time. Men could buy their way into leadership in the church. That's how corrupt the church had become. And over the centuries, a separation grew between the people and the church authority. By the 14th and 15th centuries, Christianity didn't look anything like Biblical Christianity today. The people were not allowed to read the Bible for themselves. No, that was reserved for the clergy. The worship services were in Latin, not the language of the people. The church even taught and practiced that you could buy forgiveness of sins for yourself and even your deceased loved ones.You ask, how could all of that continue? Wasn't there anyone who understood what the Scriptures taught and could stand up for the truth? Well, yes! Many tried to, but they were burned alive for their teaching.On the outside, the Gospel had been lost, the Scriptures were obscured, and the church was corrupt.But God was at work. By the 16th century, God had begun to stir a revolution in the hearts and minds of his true people.On October 31st, 1517, a young Augustinian Monk, named Martin Luther, walked across town. He lived in the little town of Wittenburg in the northern part of Germany. He unfolded a parchment and nailed to the door of Castle Church. It included 95 statements or theses. Each highlighted a different abuse in the church that didn't align with what the Bible taught - 95 of them.There was no fanfare or press. At the time, if you had something to announce, you put it on the door of the church. Luther merely wanted to dialog about these abuses. But some of Luther's students took his 95 theses, copied them, and distributed them all over the region.The 95 theses were the spark that started the flame of the Protestant Reformation. Protestant meaning protest and reformation meaning a re-formation back to what the Scriptures taught.The reformation literally changed the world. Many have called the Protestant Reformation the most significant historical event of the last 2000 years, at least in western culture. And that Reformation is still continuing today. I think the further out we get from the reformation, the broader the impact that it has, not just in western culture, but all across the world. And it has impacted the world in lots of different ways… literacy and education, vocation and work ethic, the separation of church and state, seeing all people as being created in the image of God, to name a few.But what was and is the most significant impact of the Reformation?Well, the most significant impact of the Protestant Reformation was and is the recovery of the Gospel. God used the Reformation to restore to prominence the centrality of salvation by faith in Christ alone.We may take it for granted today, but back then, the Gospel had been hidden, bottled up, concealed. It was, in a sense, lost.And here is where Ephesians 2:1-10 comes in. It teaches the heart of the Gospel. These verses capture very well what was brought to light again. The phrase that summarizes it this: Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.This is what the reformers taught, but they didn't make it up! No, they were teaching what the Scriptures teach about salvation. Look at Ephesians 2 and jump down to verse 8. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”We could probably end right there, and we'd be good. But let's work some of these details. •            “by grace alone” point 1. •            “through faith alone” point 2. •            “in Christ alone” point 3.1. By Grace AloneSo first, by grace alone. That word grace is scattered throughout these verses. It means an undeserved gift. And I think if you had to come up with a full definition of what grace is, you would look no further than Ephesians 2:1-10. It doesn't just tell us that salvation is a gift from God. No, it also tells us why it is a gift.Verses 1-3 get to the problem – we were dead in our sins! This is talking about spiritual death. We may have been alive in our bodies, but we were of the devil. We had no capacity to know God, no capacity to believe, no hope for any kind of reconciliation with God, and no future with him. Not half dead. Spiritually dead as a doornail.But even though we were dead, we were made alive by God's grace. That's right in verses 4 and 5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”The image here is not of God coming halfway down to us, and we coming halfway to him, meeting in the middle. No! We had no spiritual pulse. We were doomed. We had no ability in any way to come to God. It is all God's work. He fully comes down to us. “Grace alone” captures both the gift part and the undeserved part.There's a great quote about the reformation understanding of “grace alone.” I don't know who to attribute it to because it's been used so widely without reference. Grace alone means “grace at the start, grace to the end, grace in the middle, grace without fail, grace without mixture, grace without addition, grace that allows no boasting, and grace that precludes all glorying but in the Lord.”Salvation is all a gift of grace from God from beginning to end.When I was in college, a couple times we would go to the local community college and talk to people. Our desire was to share the hope of Christ. We used a survey to start the conversation – and one of the questions was this “why should God let you in to his heaven?” Almost every single person said this “because I am a good person.” That's our natural inclination, isn't it? To think that we're good enough for God to accept us. That we can reach out to God and then he'll reach out to us.The problem is, that's not what the Scriptures teach. Like it says in Ephesians 2, we're dead in our sin. We're children of wrath. There's nothing we can do to come to God or be acceptable in his sight. Rather, it's all his grace. The end of verse 8 into verse 9 captures it well. “…it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” When we see that salvation is all by God's grace, it humbles us and directs our gaze to him, seeking to glorify him.Romans 11 also captures it well. Verse 6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”In salvation, God take our cold dead hearts that deserve nothing but hell, and he gives us a new heart. It's all by his grace. Nothing else. The Holy Spirit awakens us and brings us to Christ. God frees us from the penalty of sin, raising us from spiritual death, and bringing us to spiritual life. None of it is our own doing.Salvation is by grace alone. There's no merit in salvation. We were dead, and he made us alive.Grace alone.2. Through Faith AloneAnd second, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone.Martin Luther lived on the eastern side of Wittenburg. The building was known as the Black Cloister. It was a three-story building, built earlier in the 16th century for the clergy – for monks. In 1517, it was where Luther and about a dozen other monks lived, who served the town. Eventually, that same building, the Black Cloister, would become the home where he and Katie would raise their children, and host their famous Tabletalk gatherings. In the front of the building was a spiral tower that rose above the structure. Up high in the tower was a study room. Luther spent a lot of time there studying, and thinking, and praying. In fact, at one point Luther locked himself in his tower study for a couple of days. He was so engrossed in his research and prayer that he tuned the world out. Well, Katie, it's said, got so fed up with it, so she took the hinges off the door, in order to break him out.But let's go back to 1517. I think it's true to say that Luther's 95 grievances sparked the reformation. But what brought Luther to that point? When did his heart change?Later in his life, Luther wrote about his “tower” experience. You see, earlier in 1517, he was in the Black Cloister tower… and he was thinking about God's righteousness. One of the things that haunted Luther up to that point was the idea of God's righteousness. It brought terror to his heart. Fear gripped him at the mere thought of the almighty God's divine justice. It angered him. Luther wrote that he “raged with a fierce and troubled conscience over it.” He wrote that he hated the righteousness of God, which punishes sinners.And as he grappled with God's righteousness in the Black Cloister tower, he was reading Romans 1:17. That was part of our assurance of pardon this morning. You can read it in the order of service. Verse 16 speaks about the Gospel, which it defines as “the power of God for salvation for those who believe.” And then in verse 17, it says, “For in it [in the Gospel], the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.'”And there in the tower in early 1517, God revealed to Luther justification by faith. The eyes of his heart were opened. All the lies from the church about merit-based salvation came crashing down. Luther came to understand that our righteousness is not a righteousness of our own based on works. Rather, he came to understand that it is a righteousness that comes from God through faith. It is a righteousness given to us, when we believe by faith. That faith itself also being a gift from God.Luther wrote of that day in the tower that he felt that he was altogether born again and “had entered paradise itself through the open gates.” He wrote later in life that, “there I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.” And so it began. The gospel flame of justification by faith in Luther's heart, which God would use to spark the Reformation.It could be said that the Reformation started, not when Luther posted his 95 critiques of the church, but a few months earlier. In that Black Cloister tower, God brought him from a place of crisis to a place of believing in the righteousness of God through faith.But what is faith? As Hebrews 11 says, faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That conviction and hope involves knowing, believing, and trusting in God. Faith is the means or the instrument, through which we participate in the righteousness of God. Let's go back to Ephesians 2 verse 8 again. “for by grace you have been saved through faith.” The prepositions are important here. We're saved “by” grace, “through” faith. The power of salvation come by God's grace. It's received, “through faith.” Through meaning faith is the avenue or channel. Faith is not the thing that does the justifying, rather it's the thing through which we receive righteousness from God in Christ. To be sure, it's fine to say “by faith.” The Scriptures use that description as well. We “walk by faith,” we “live by faith.” But here in Ephesians 2, it is defining the relationship between grace and faith. It helpfully says by grace, through faith. Our faith does not justify us. God does. We receive his righteousness through faith. In just a couple of minutes we'll consider the grounds of our justification, but faith is the channel through which God saves us. We are saved by the gift of grace alone, which we receive through faith alone.It's really important to understand that these three concepts cannot be separated. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The unmerited saving grace of God is the gift of Christ. And the faith that God gives is a faith in Christ for what he has done. It's not works, it's not merit or any special status that someone has, rather it's a gift from God. In other words, the grace of God and the faith that God gives us is inseparable from the ministry of Christ. 3. In Christ Alone“In Christ alone” mean that the grace and faith are in Christ alone. In other words, God's grace comes to us only in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the object of our faith. We believe by faith in Christ. You see, it's a package deal, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.Ephesians 2 makes that clear. •            Verse 5, “even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ.” Our spiritual deadness was remedied by Christ. We've been made alive with him. That is God's grace in Christ for us now.•            And Verse 6 – God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This speaks of God's future grace for us in Christ. Verse 7 verifies that. It says, “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The immeasurable riches of God's grace is found in Christ.Our faith is in the grace given to us in Christ.When we say that salvation is in Christ alone, we are saying three things.•            First, the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was the only sacrifice that could atone for sin. His ransom payment is the only payment sufficient to pay our debt. Nothing else. •            But also, and second, Christ is our only savior. No one else and nothing else can save us from death and damnation and give us eternal hope. He alone can save.•            And third, he is the only mediator between God and man. Jesus is the only one we need to go to for forgiveness and to be in communion with God. There's no one else.In the 16th century, the church was not teaching that salvation was found in Christ alone. In fact, much of the teaching was quite the opposite. The “mass” which was their worship service, included the idea of re-sacrificing Christ. That was part of their understanding of communion. In other words, Jesus' sacrifice was not a once-and-for-all sacrifice. Related to that, the church also believed that taking the Lord's Supper was necessary for salvation. It gave you saving grace, not just God's sustaining grace. Furthermore, they believed the priests played a mediatorial role. You had to go to a priest to confess and receive forgiveness. But Christ alone is our mediator. Even worse, the church taught that you had to pay for your sin and work for your salvation. That included paying money, called indulgences. You had to recite certain prayers and live a good life in order for God to accept you. You see, salvation wasn't a free gift. Christ's payment wasn't sufficient. In other words, Salvation wasn't by faith alone in Christ alone, it included faith plus a priest, faith plus taking communion, faith plus indulgences, and other types of faith plus works.ConclusionBut the fire of the Reformation had been started. As the Scriptures were being taught, all these false views of salvation were being exposed. God was on move in the hearts and minds of many. One of those was a young French law student, who at some point in the early 1530s came to an understanding of grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. His name was John Calvin. In 1533 he wrote a speech for one of the bishops of the church in Paris. In it were these words: “[the priests] teach nothing of faith, nothing of the love of God, nothing of the remission of sins, nothing of grace, nothing of justification; or if they do so, they pervert and undermine it all…. I beg you, who are here present, not to tolerate any longer these heresies and abuses.” As you can imagine, that speech, although true, caused an uproar. Persecution began to spread throughout France. Both the Bishop who delivered the address, and Calvin who wrote it, fled for their lives. Calvin, allegedly, had to dress up as a gardener and be lowered down by a sheet from a window to escape. He would flee to Switzerland and eventually ended up in Geneva. He became yet another pillar used by God, to bring about a true revival of what the Scriptures teach.The heart of the Gospel as Ephesians 2:1-10 teaches, would not and will not be repressed. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.May we each know and believe in the love of God in Christ… that while we were dead in our sin, God made us alive in Christ, by his grace. We receive it not by works, not by merit, but through faith. It's the only hope we have. Amen.

505 years ago Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the church door at Wittenburg, Germany which began a movement to reform the church of Jesus Christ... and it continues on even to today. The doctrine of justification by faith alone was rediscovered and heralded once again. Listen to a quick summary of what took place. Video: https://youtu.be/HfNMhC8a8E4 Web: www.ReformedRookie.com Podcast: https://anchor.fm/reformedrookie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReformedRookie Semper Reformanda!

505 years ago Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the church door at Wittenburg, Germany which began a movement to reform the church of Jesus Christ... and it continues on even to today. The doctrine of justification by faith alone was rediscovered and heralded once again. Listen to a quick summary of what took place. Video: https://youtu.be/HfNMhC8a8E4 Web: www.ReformedRookie.com Podcast: https://anchor.fm/reformedrookie Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReformedRookie Semper Reformanda!

Ephesians 2:1-10Rev. Erik Veerman10/30/2022By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ AloneIntroductionOur sermon text this morning is from the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1-10. Page 1159. This letter was written by the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. Ephesus is on the western shore of modern-day Turkey. Paul spent about 3 years in Ephesus and he wrote this letter a few years after that time. The apostle's purpose was to encourage them in what they believed and how that belief should be worked out in their lives.The reason we're studying these particular verses, is that out of the entire New Testament, I think these verses capture the very heart of Salvation in Christ. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That Biblical teaching was the center of the Protestant Reformation. So, since tomorrow is the anniversary of the Reformation, we'll be focusing on Ephesians 2.READ Ephesians 2:1-10PRAYWhy does the Protestant Reformation matter? Why take one of our Sunday morning worship services to focus on it?That question is very legitimate. You should be asking it. Many of you have probably wondered why. Well, I hope to answer those questions this morning with a little history and an analysis of these verses.And by the way, I don't intend this to be an annual thing. We just happened to be between sermon series, so I thought it would be a good day to focus on these reformation principles that Scripture teaches.And another important question is, what was the Protestant Reformation? I can't really answer why it matters without answering the “what.” And to do that, we need to begin with the early church. 2000 years ago Jesus commissioned his apostles to establish his church. As the New Testament describes it, the church includes the people of God throughout all time from every tribe, tongue, and nation, who believed in Jesus, God's son, as Savior. The book of Acts, which we studied last year, describes the explosion of growth of the church beginning in Jerusalem. It expanded throughout the Mediterranean region and began to go to the ends of the earth. That growth and expansion to every tribe, tongue, and nation, is continuing today.But even with the tremendous growth of the church over the centuries, the church has struggled in different ways. In the Roman Empire, Christianity spread all throughout. In the 4th century, civil leaders including the emperor became so sympathetic to Christianity, that it became the religion of the state. It was quite the turn of events, especially after the persecution of Christians in the first three centuries. Becoming the formal religion of the empire may sound good, but it caused a lot of problems. It mixed the civil authority and church leadership. When that happened, the church began to lose its focus and mission. The purposes of the state filtered into the church. The civil magistrates became leaders of the church because of the overlap. Wars were even fought in the name of Christianity. Besides the unholy mixture, it also led to many abuses involving power and money. That only increased over time. Men could buy their way into leadership in the church. That's how corrupt the church had become. And over the centuries, a separation grew between the people and the church authority. By the 14th and 15th centuries, Christianity didn't look anything like Biblical Christianity today. The people were not allowed to read the Bible for themselves. No, that was reserved for the clergy. The worship services were in Latin, not the language of the people. The church even taught and practiced that you could buy forgiveness of sins for yourself and even your deceased loved ones.You ask, how could all of that continue? Wasn't there anyone who understood what the Scriptures taught and could stand up for the truth? Well, yes! Many tried to, but they were burned alive for their teaching.On the outside, the Gospel had been lost, the Scriptures were obscured, and the church was corrupt.But God was at work. By the 16th century, God had begun to stir a revolution in the hearts and minds of his true people.On October 31st, 1517, a young Augustinian Monk, named Martin Luther, walked across town. He lived in the little town of Wittenburg in the northern part of Germany. He unfolded a parchment and nailed to the door of Castle Church. It included 95 statements or theses. Each highlighted a different abuse in the church that didn't align with what the Bible taught - 95 of them.There was no fanfare or press. At the time, if you had something to announce, you put it on the door of the church. Luther merely wanted to dialog about these abuses. But some of Luther's students took his 95 theses, copied them, and distributed them all over the region.The 95 theses were the spark that started the flame of the Protestant Reformation. Protestant meaning protest and reformation meaning a re-formation back to what the Scriptures taught.The reformation literally changed the world. Many have called the Protestant Reformation the most significant historical event of the last 2000 years, at least in western culture. And that Reformation is still continuing today. I think the further out we get from the reformation, the broader the impact that it has, not just in western culture, but all across the world. And it has impacted the world in lots of different ways… literacy and education, vocation and work ethic, the separation of church and state, seeing all people as being created in the image of God, to name a few.But what was and is the most significant impact of the Reformation?Well, the most significant impact of the Protestant Reformation was and is the recovery of the Gospel. God used the Reformation to restore to prominence the centrality of salvation by faith in Christ alone.We may take it for granted today, but back then, the Gospel had been hidden, bottled up, concealed. It was, in a sense, lost.And here is where Ephesians 2:1-10 comes in. It teaches the heart of the Gospel. These verses capture very well what was brought to light again. The phrase that summarizes it this: Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.This is what the reformers taught, but they didn't make it up! No, they were teaching what the Scriptures teach about salvation. Look at Ephesians 2 and jump down to verse 8. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”We could probably end right there, and we'd be good. But let's work some of these details. • “by grace alone” point 1. • “through faith alone” point 2. • “in Christ alone” point 3.1. By Grace AloneSo first, by grace alone. That word grace is scattered throughout these verses. It means an undeserved gift. And I think if you had to come up with a full definition of what grace is, you would look no further than Ephesians 2:1-10. It doesn't just tell us that salvation is a gift from God. No, it also tells us why it is a gift.Verses 1-3 get to the problem – we were dead in our sins! This is talking about spiritual death. We may have been alive in our bodies, but we were of the devil. We had no capacity to know God, no capacity to believe, no hope for any kind of reconciliation with God, and no future with him. Not half dead. Spiritually dead as a doornail.But even though we were dead, we were made alive by God's grace. That's right in verses 4 and 5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”The image here is not of God coming halfway down to us, and we coming halfway to him, meeting in the middle. No! We had no spiritual pulse. We were doomed. We had no ability in any way to come to God. It is all God's work. He fully comes down to us. “Grace alone” captures both the gift part and the undeserved part.There's a great quote about the reformation understanding of “grace alone.” I don't know who to attribute it to because it's been used so widely without reference. Grace alone means “grace at the start, grace to the end, grace in the middle, grace without fail, grace without mixture, grace without addition, grace that allows no boasting, and grace that precludes all glorying but in the Lord.”Salvation is all a gift of grace from God from beginning to end.When I was in college, a couple times we would go to the local community college and talk to people. Our desire was to share the hope of Christ. We used a survey to start the conversation – and one of the questions was this “why should God let you in to his heaven?” Almost every single person said this “because I am a good person.” That's our natural inclination, isn't it? To think that we're good enough for God to accept us. That we can reach out to God and then he'll reach out to us.The problem is, that's not what the Scriptures teach. Like it says in Ephesians 2, we're dead in our sin. We're children of wrath. There's nothing we can do to come to God or be acceptable in his sight. Rather, it's all his grace. The end of verse 8 into verse 9 captures it well. “…it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” When we see that salvation is all by God's grace, it humbles us and directs our gaze to him, seeking to glorify him.Romans 11 also captures it well. Verse 6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”In salvation, God take our cold dead hearts that deserve nothing but hell, and he gives us a new heart. It's all by his grace. Nothing else. The Holy Spirit awakens us and brings us to Christ. God frees us from the penalty of sin, raising us from spiritual death, and bringing us to spiritual life. None of it is our own doing.Salvation is by grace alone. There's no merit in salvation. We were dead, and he made us alive.Grace alone.2. Through Faith AloneAnd second, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone.Martin Luther lived on the eastern side of Wittenburg. The building was known as the Black Cloister. It was a three-story building, built earlier in the 16th century for the clergy – for monks. In 1517, it was where Luther and about a dozen other monks lived, who served the town. Eventually, that same building, the Black Cloister, would become the home where he and Katie would raise their children, and host their famous Tabletalk gatherings. In the front of the building was a spiral tower that rose above the structure. Up high in the tower was a study room. Luther spent a lot of time there studying, and thinking, and praying. In fact, at one point Luther locked himself in his tower study for a couple of days. He was so engrossed in his research and prayer that he tuned the world out. Well, Katie, it's said, got so fed up with it, so she took the hinges off the door, in order to break him out.But let's go back to 1517. I think it's true to say that Luther's 95 grievances sparked the reformation. But what brought Luther to that point? When did his heart change?Later in his life, Luther wrote about his “tower” experience. You see, earlier in 1517, he was in the Black Cloister tower… and he was thinking about God's righteousness. One of the things that haunted Luther up to that point was the idea of God's righteousness. It brought terror to his heart. Fear gripped him at the mere thought of the almighty God's divine justice. It angered him. Luther wrote that he “raged with a fierce and troubled conscience over it.” He wrote that he hated the righteousness of God, which punishes sinners.And as he grappled with God's righteousness in the Black Cloister tower, he was reading Romans 1:17. That was part of our assurance of pardon this morning. You can read it in the order of service. Verse 16 speaks about the Gospel, which it defines as “the power of God for salvation for those who believe.” And then in verse 17, it says, “For in it [in the Gospel], the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.'”And there in the tower in early 1517, God revealed to Luther justification by faith. The eyes of his heart were opened. All the lies from the church about merit-based salvation came crashing down. Luther came to understand that our righteousness is not a righteousness of our own based on works. Rather, he came to understand that it is a righteousness that comes from God through faith. It is a righteousness given to us, when we believe by faith. That faith itself also being a gift from God.Luther wrote of that day in the tower that he felt that he was altogether born again and “had entered paradise itself through the open gates.” He wrote later in life that, “there I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.” And so it began. The gospel flame of justification by faith in Luther's heart, which God would use to spark the Reformation.It could be said that the Reformation started, not when Luther posted his 95 critiques of the church, but a few months earlier. In that Black Cloister tower, God brought him from a place of crisis to a place of believing in the righteousness of God through faith.But what is faith? As Hebrews 11 says, faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That conviction and hope involves knowing, believing, and trusting in God. Faith is the means or the instrument, through which we participate in the righteousness of God. Let's go back to Ephesians 2 verse 8 again. “for by grace you have been saved through faith.” The prepositions are important here. We're saved “by” grace, “through” faith. The power of salvation come by God's grace. It's received, “through faith.” Through meaning faith is the avenue or channel. Faith is not the thing that does the justifying, rather it's the thing through which we receive righteousness from God in Christ. To be sure, it's fine to say “by faith.” The Scriptures use that description as well. We “walk by faith,” we “live by faith.” But here in Ephesians 2, it is defining the relationship between grace and faith. It helpfully says by grace, through faith. Our faith does not justify us. God does. We receive his righteousness through faith. In just a couple of minutes we'll consider the grounds of our justification, but faith is the channel through which God saves us. We are saved by the gift of grace alone, which we receive through faith alone.It's really important to understand that these three concepts cannot be separated. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The unmerited saving grace of God is the gift of Christ. And the faith that God gives is a faith in Christ for what he has done. It's not works, it's not merit or any special status that someone has, rather it's a gift from God. In other words, the grace of God and the faith that God gives us is inseparable from the ministry of Christ. 3. In Christ Alone“In Christ alone” mean that the grace and faith are in Christ alone. In other words, God's grace comes to us only in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the object of our faith. We believe by faith in Christ. You see, it's a package deal, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.Ephesians 2 makes that clear. • Verse 5, “even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ.” Our spiritual deadness was remedied by Christ. We've been made alive with him. That is God's grace in Christ for us now.• And Verse 6 – God “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This speaks of God's future grace for us in Christ. Verse 7 verifies that. It says, “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The immeasurable riches of God's grace is found in Christ.Our faith is in the grace given to us in Christ.When we say that salvation is in Christ alone, we are saying three things.• First, the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was the only sacrifice that could atone for sin. His ransom payment is the only payment sufficient to pay our debt. Nothing else. • But also, and second, Christ is our only savior. No one else and nothing else can save us from death and damnation and give us eternal hope. He alone can save.• And third, he is the only mediator between God and man. Jesus is the only one we need to go to for forgiveness and to be in communion with God. There's no one else.In the 16th century, the church was not teaching that salvation was found in Christ alone. In fact, much of the teaching was quite the opposite. The “mass” which was their worship service, included the idea of re-sacrificing Christ. That was part of their understanding of communion. In other words, Jesus' sacrifice was not a once-and-for-all sacrifice. Related to that, the church also believed that taking the Lord's Supper was necessary for salvation. It gave you saving grace, not just God's sustaining grace. Furthermore, they believed the priests played a mediatorial role. You had to go to a priest to confess and receive forgiveness. But Christ alone is our mediator. Even worse, the church taught that you had to pay for your sin and work for your salvation. That included paying money, called indulgences. You had to recite certain prayers and live a good life in order for God to accept you. You see, salvation wasn't a free gift. Christ's payment wasn't sufficient. In other words, Salvation wasn't by faith alone in Christ alone, it included faith plus a priest, faith plus taking communion, faith plus indulgences, and other types of faith plus works.ConclusionBut the fire of the Reformation had been started. As the Scriptures were being taught, all these false views of salvation were being exposed. God was on move in the hearts and minds of many. One of those was a young French law student, who at some point in the early 1530s came to an understanding of grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. His name was John Calvin. In 1533 he wrote a speech for one of the bishops of the church in Paris. In it were these words: “[the priests] teach nothing of faith, nothing of the love of God, nothing of the remission of sins, nothing of grace, nothing of justification; or if they do so, they pervert and undermine it all…. I beg you, who are here present, not to tolerate any longer these heresies and abuses.” As you can imagine, that speech, although true, caused an uproar. Persecution began to spread throughout France. Both the Bishop who delivered the address, and Calvin who wrote it, fled for their lives. Calvin, allegedly, had to dress up as a gardener and be lowered down by a sheet from a window to escape. He would flee to Switzerland and eventually ended up in Geneva. He became yet another pillar used by God, to bring about a true revival of what the Scriptures teach.The heart of the Gospel as Ephesians 2:1-10 teaches, would not and will not be repressed. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.May we each know and believe in the love of God in Christ… that while we were dead in our sin, God made us alive in Christ, by his grace. We receive it not by works, not by merit, but through faith. It's the only hope we have. Amen.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses (or complaints against the abuses of the Church, on the door of Christ Church in Wittenburg). Out of this came the “5 Solas” declaring what it means to be a Christian. This morning we will study one of them: Sola Fide- Faith Alone. The central question Luther wrestled with is, “What must I do to be saved?” We will learn from the life of Luther, while unpacking Paul's teaching on how faith works (Romans). We will learn that we are justified before God, because of what Jesus did on the cross for you and me. Application: Gratitude and obedience is our response for what Christ has done for us on the cross.

On October 31st, 1517, thirty-three-year-old priest and professor of theology, Martin Luther, nailed his academic disputes against the papal practice of indulgences onto the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. The theses were originally written in Latin, the academic language of the day. Luther was excommunicated by pope Leo X in 1520, and declared an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire by Charles V in 1521. This event has often been seen as the spark that set the Protestant Reformation ablaze, yet few today are familiar with the content of the 95 Theses. They are presented here in three installments to familiarize a new generation with these world-shaking propositions. If you enjoy our content, consider donating through PayPal via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChristianAtheist/featured https://www.facebook.com/JnJWiseWords https://wisewordsforyouroccasion.wordpress.com   For more great content, check out our other podcasts: Simple Gifts: where the written word is spoken for you … https://pod.link/1557528158 The Christian Atheist: where faith and reason fuse in the incarnation …https://pod.link/1553077203 #martinluther #95theses #castlechurchwittenburg #reformation #protestant #1517 #protestantism #lutheran #popeleox #holyromanempire #charlesv #excommunication #thechristianatheist #drjohndwise #drjohnwise #johnwise #christian #atheist #christianity #atheism #jesus #jesuschrist #god #bible #oldtestament #newtestament #nocompromise #rationality #faith #philosophy #philosopher #culture #society #hegelianism  #hegel #reason #incarnation #history#psychology #theology #literature #humanities #hardquestions #postmodernism #woke #wisdom #ethics #science #poetry #paradox #oxymoron

On October 31st, 1517, thirty-three-year-old priest and professor of theology, Martin Luther, nailed his academic disputes against the papal practice of indulgences onto the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. The theses were originally written in Latin, the academic language of the day. Luther was excommunicated by pope Leo X in 1520, and declared an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire by Charles V in 1521. This event has often been seen as the spark that set the Protestant Reformation ablaze, yet few today are familiar with the content of the 95 Theses. They are presented here in three installments to familiarize a new generation with these world-shaking propositions. If you enjoy our content, consider donating through PayPal via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChristianAtheist/featured https://www.facebook.com/JnJWiseWords https://wisewordsforyouroccasion.wordpress.com   For more great content, check out our other podcasts: Simple Gifts: where the written word is spoken for you … https://pod.link/1557528158 The Christian Atheist: where faith and reason fuse in the incarnation …https://pod.link/1553077203 #martinluther #95theses #castlechurchwittenburg #reformation #protestant #1517 #protestantism #lutheran #popeleox #holyromanempire #charlesv #excommunication #thechristianatheist #drjohndwise #drjohnwise #johnwise #christian #atheist #christianity #atheism #jesus #jesuschrist #god #bible #oldtestament #newtestament #nocompromise #rationality #faith #philosophy #philosopher #culture #society #hegelianism  #hegel #reason #incarnation #history#psychology #theology #literature #humanities #hardquestions #postmodernism #woke #wisdom #ethics #science #poetry #paradox #oxymoron

On October 31st, 1517, thirty-three-year-old priest and professor of theology, Martin Luther, nailed his academic disputes against the papal practice of indulgences onto the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. The theses were originally written in Latin, the academic language of the day. Luther was excommunicated by pope Leo X in 1520, and declared an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire by Charles V in 1521. This event has often been seen as the spark that set the Protestant Reformation ablaze, yet few today are familiar with the content of the 95 Theses. They are presented here in three installments to familiarize a new generation with these world-shaking propositions. If you enjoy our content, consider donating through PayPal via https://ko-fi.com/thechristianatheist https://www.youtube.com/c/TheChristianAtheist/featured https://www.facebook.com/JnJWiseWords https://wisewordsforyouroccasion.wordpress.com   For more great content, check out our other podcasts: Simple Gifts: where the written word is spoken for you … https://pod.link/1557528158 The Christian Atheist: where faith and reason fuse in the incarnation …https://pod.link/1553077203 #martinluther #95theses #castlechurchwittenburg #reformation #protestant #1517 #protestantism #lutheran #popeleox #holyromanempire #charlesv #excommunication #thechristianatheist #drjohndwise #drjohnwise #johnwise #christian #atheist #christianity #atheism #jesus #jesuschrist #god #bible #oldtestament #newtestament #nocompromise #rationality #faith #philosophy #philosopher #culture #society #hegelianism  #hegel #reason #incarnation #history#psychology #theology #literature #humanities #hardquestions #postmodernism #woke #wisdom #ethics #science #poetry #paradox #oxymoron

On Friday, Hilbert College will host one of the strangest Division III games in recent memory as they host Lincoln University of Oakland. Lincoln will travel all the way to near Buffalo to play this game. Hilbert AD Tim Seil joins me to discuss how this game got scheduled and how they landed three of the most tradition-rich D3 programs in Denison, Wooster, and Wittenburg. You will not want to miss this podcast. Hilbert Football Homepage: https://hilberthawks.com/sports/football Hilbert Football Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/hilberthawksfb

In this lesson, learn how to create effective digital negatives for alternative processes and more in Adobe Photoshop. 

Part 24 Reformation 1 - Martin Luther You may remember that in our series we looked briefly a the split between the Eastern and Western churches. Today we come to a greater split! A split within the Roman Catholic church – the beginnings of the Protestant church! The main person who will look at today is Martin Luther – one of the very giants of church history! . Martin Luther (1483-1546) - Professor of Biblical Studies at Wittenburg University in Germany. Luther tried to find god as an Augustinian monk but he was unable to come to terms with God's righteous demands. He eventually realised that in order to satisfy God's righteous demands, that he could do nothing of his own to fulfil them. He came to see that justification before Almighty God was by faith alone, through grace alone, which was a gift of God. Included in the aftermath of this discovery, were these events! . 95 Theses - statements against indulgences nailed to the castle church door at Wittenburg on 31st October 1517. He rapidly gained a following in Germany, and was aided by the printing press. 1519 - denied the supremacy and infallibility of the Pope and Church. 1520 - excommunicated by Pope Leo X 1521 - Diet of Worms. Luther was outlawed by Emperor Charles V of Spain. He was hidden by friends for 8 months, during which he translated the N.T. into German. 1528 - Diet of Spruger. Each German state allowed to follow the religion of its reigning prince. 1529 - Diet of Speyer. Lutheran states to remain Lutheran and Catholic states to remain Catholic, not allowed to change. Evangelical princes protested at restriction and the Protestant was given to this movement. 1530 - Diet of Augsburg. Protestants submitted statement of belief witch was rejected, but became the basis of Lutheran doctrine. 1547 - War broke out between Catholic and Protestant. This war was won by the Catholics, but Protestantism was finally recognised legally in 1552. Three main truths to come out of the Reformation. Final authority of God's Word. Justification by faith, a gift of God's grace. The priesthood of all believers. . However it should be noted that, wrongly or rightly, Luther still accepted as truth Infant baptism as necessary for salvation. Consubstantiation - a 'real presence' of Christ's body with bread and wine. . Lutheranism quickly spread from Germany to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. . That's it for this time! Next time in our series HAHA, we will continue looking at the great Reformers of the church! Tap or click here to save this as an audio mp3 file

Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcasts! Mike and Jake kick off Season 5 and continue the LaBatt Blue Summer Patio series with offensive coordinator Scott Isphording (11:00 - 55:39). Izzy chats about position groups, the quarterback room, our new turf, Nathan Rourke, his coaching stops, his Frank Solich story, running through the Michigan band during their halftime performance, golf, coaching at Wittenburg and so much more.LABATT SWEEPSTAKES INFO:Grand Prize includes:-Round trip travel from Athens with the Bobcat football team-Travel on the team buses, stay at the team hotel-Two tickets for the game at Happy Valley-Bobcat swag bag and more!How to win: Visiting participating LaBatt Blue partners in the Athens area and finding the LaBatt Blue summer display. Look for the QR code to scan an enter FOR FREE for your chance to win.Must be 21 or older to enter—no purchase necessary. You must enter prior to August 18 to be eligible to win the Grand Prize road trip. Entries received AFTER August 18 will be eligible only for the second prize---two Tower Club Tickets and dinner after the game for Homecoming Weekend on October 8 vs. Akron.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Across many safety net programs, workers with low income and their families face the threat of a sudden and unexpected loss of benefits if their earnings increase too much, sometimes resulting in a net decrease in overall income. Policymakers have long worried that the phenomenon, often described as the cash or benefits cliff, discourages work and reinforces dependence on public assistance. Over the past decade, the Social Security Administration has launched two national demonstrations intended to mitigate this so-called cash cliff effect in the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. The latest episode of On the Evidence explores the results of those demonstrations and what they mean for future efforts to address program cliffs in the SSDI program and many other safety net programs. Our guests for this episode are John Jones, David Wittenburg, and Diane Beaver. Jones is an economist at the Social Security Administration in the Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support who has overseen several large-scale randomized controlled trials testing potential changes to the SSDI program, including two discussed on this episode: the Promoting Opportunity Demonstration (POD) and the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND). Wittenburg is a senior fellow at Mathematica whose research on interventions to promote employment for people with disabilities includes evaluations of POD and BOND. Beaver is an advisory services analyst at Mathematica who spent more than a decade at a community nonprofit counseling people on how work and other entitlements would affect their Social Security benefits. In that role, she played a part in implementing POD and has firsthand knowledge of what beneficiaries experience as they navigate the patchwork of program rules that govern the amount of government aid people can receive for housing, food, child care, health care, and other needs as their work status changes. Find a full transcript of the episode here: mathematica.org/blogs/why-a-national-demonstration-to-mitigate-the-cash-cliff-in-one-safety-net-program-didnt-increase Read the final evaluation report on POD: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/POD_Final_Evaluation_Report.pdf Read the final evaluation report on BOND: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/BOND%20Deliv%2024e2%20FER%20Vol%201%2020181018.pdf Find a summary of lessons learned from several decades of demonstrations by the Social Security Administration to test policy ideas in the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/demonstrations/lessons.htm Learn more about the Ultimate Demonstration referenced at the tail end of the episode: https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/documents/Simplification_Demo_TEP_Final_Report_Final%20Remediated.pdf Watch a recorded discussion between Pamela Herd and Sebastian Jilke, professors at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, about administrative burden in the Social Security Disability Insurance program: https://www.ssab.gov/announcements/ssab-to-host-experts-on-researching-and-evaluating-equitable-access-to-social-security-programs/

It's Tuesday, so the means we have to Shootaround with CL Brown. CL gives his insight on the Duke vs UNC game, and chimes in on the drama of handshake vs no handshake. Derek Wittenburg to give us a break from talking Duke and UNC, with some NC State men's basketball discussion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing Photoshop for Beginners! This is the third lesson of a new series featuring easy to follow tutorials in Adobe Photoshop for anybody just getting started. This lesson introduces you to the opacity tool and layer blending options to add textures to portraits, resulting in an image that appears to be made of the added texture.

This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston and our neighborhood churches, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Heavenly father, we gather, and we come to you in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. By the power of the holy spirit, we ask that you open up your holy scriptures to us as we begin to plum the depth of the riches of the treasure stores that is the Book of Romans. I pray give us receptive hearts and engaged minds. We pray give us a deeper, more robust understanding of the gospel. And more importantly, we pray help us know and love you deeper than ever before. Also, we pray that you make each one of us more effective servants of Jesus Christ. Make us more fruitful believers and a more fruitful church. And we pray during the sermon series, build your church and your kingdom in Boston and beyond. And we pray all this in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit, amen.We're beginning the Book of Romans today, which is kind of a big deal because I've been waiting for this day for a very long time. We preached through it kind of in 2016. We did a flyover. I did like three chapters first Sunday. And I talk really fast, but even that didn't help. So I think this is the first time we're going to go verse by verse through this book. It's going to take us probably a year. I don't know. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here till Jesus takes me home. And the reason why this book is ... Like every single introduction to every single commentary, to every single book on Romans, to every single sermon series, right here, right here is when the author, the pastor gets up and he's like, "This is the greatest book ever. This is the most impactful book ever."It's true. It's true. I don't think I really need to do it, but it is. We would not have Western civilization if it were not for the Book of Romans. The Book of Romans is what sparked the Great Reformation. The Book of Romans is why we are not Catholics. The Book of Romans is why we believe in the Bible. This is the most powerful book in the New Testament. And I hate to do that because that's like saying like one of your kids is better than the other kids, but in some ways they're more differently gifted. Okay? You love all of them equally, but they're different. That's just a fact. The Book of Romans is the most impactful book of all the books in the Bible. And the Bible is the most influential book in all of world history.And the Book of Romans, the whole thing is about the gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the greatest news that could ever be, the greatest news ever proclaimed on a global level. The greatest news ever proclaimed on a global level was not the end of World War II. It was not a cease fire. The greatest news ever proclaimed on a global level is not a full cure to the greatest enemy, the greatest disease. It's not the banking system breaking down and all of our mortgages and student loans and credit card debt just gets wiped out. That would be some tremendous news.The gospel's better, the gospel of Jesus Christ, because of the life, the death, the resurrection, the ascension of our lord and savior Jesus Christ, we have access to the presence of God. We can have all of our sins, our debts, our trespasses, everything wiped out. We are innocent before God. We have total immunity, total forgiveness, total reconciliation. And this changes absolutely everything. That's what this book is about. The Gospels are about the work of Jesus Christ. The Book of Acts is how to reach the world. The Book of Romans is given to us to rebuild the world. Here's the gospel. It changes everything. It's going to help you put your life in order. It's going to help you take the chaos of your personal life, your personal relationships, everything in your life, put it into order. And that changes absolutely everything.We can be cured from the greatest disease, sin. We can be freed from the greatest enemy, death. We can overcome our second greatest enemy, Satan. We can become children of God. And it's all because of the work of Jesus Christ. We're justified by grace through faith. Now I have to stop and pause and I wonder. So Martin Luther, the great reformer. He's the guy who like looked at the Catholic church and he is like, "We're doing it wrong. We're just doing it wrong." And he got his 95 Theses. He nails it to the door in Wittenburg. We're doing it wrong.And what he said was, "We're not saved by our works. We're not saved by fulfilling the law. There's nothing we can do to be justified before God. There's nothing we can do to have all our sins forgiven. We're justified by grace through faith." That's true. Praise God. I wonder if Martin Luther showed up in 2022, and I wonder if Martin Luther got a taste of some of the teaching in the churches in the United States. I wonder what he would say. I wonder if he would say something along the lines like, "Hey, Christians, I think it's time for a new reformation." The problem is we're so decentralized, there's nowhere really to nail the next 95 Theses. I don't know. Where would you put it? I don't know. I don't know. That's part of the problem with the American church.I think what he would say is, "Hey, it is justification by grace through faith, but you still got to do the other stuff. You still have to know the Bible. You still have to obey God. You still have to follow God. You got to follow Jesus Christ." He said that literally in his first thesis of his first 95 Theses. The first one says, "When the Lord, Jesus Christ, said repent and believe, he meant that every single one of our days will be a day of repentance." We repent and believe as we follow Jesus Christ in obedience. If your faith in Christ does not produce transformation, sanctification, does not produce affections for Christ, does not produce a desire for holiness, a desire to mortify sin, a desire to share the gospel, if you do not, as a Christian, have a desire to serve God, then I submit to you you're probably not a Christian. If you are forgiven by God, you will become transformed into the image of the son of God.There aren't different levels of Christians. There are in terms of rewards, and that's a different sermon. But in terms of just being a Christian, there aren't different levels. Like what it means to become a Christian is you become a follower of Jesus Christ. That's what the whole book is about. The justifying faith changes a person. It regenerates you. You now have a desire to follow the Lord. And I'm so thankful for this church. This church is full of believers who are a hungry for God's word, hungry.I started putting out these sermon guides. I send it out with the newsletter every week. They're like between 7, and 9, and 10 pages. And people email me all the time. They're like, "This is so good." I also have typos in there that if you find one, then you let me know, you do get a chicken wing. And I also have jokes in there, every once in a while, to see who's listening, just once in a while.So I think we're ready for the Book of Romans, Mosaic. Do you? Do you think so? I think we're ready. We'll go slowly for now. Today, we're in Romans 1, 1 through 7. Romans 1, 1 through 7. Would you look at the text with me? "Paul, a serving of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand, through his prophets, in the holy scriptures, concerning his son who was descended from David, according to the flesh, and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness, by his resurrection, from the dead Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be safe, grace to you and peace from God, our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative word. May you write these eternal truths upon our hearts."Three points to frame up our time before holy communion, first, spiritual power increases in proportion to submission of Christ. Second, faith in proportion to humble knowledge of scripture. And third, God gives grace to bring about the obedience of faith. First, spiritual power increases in proportion to submission to Christ. Verse one, Paul, he begins with. Paul introduces himself a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. He introduces himself. This is what people do when they write a letter. Who is this guy, Paul? If you've been at Mosaic for a while, you know, you're familiar with him. We went through First Corinthians and Second Corinthians. We've gone through his of epistles.Just to give you a little recap, he was born in Tarsus as Saul. So he was born in the Roman empire in a Roman city. So he was given Roman citizenship. So most likely he grew up in a very cosmopolitan city, people from all over the world. So he was multilingual. He knew Greek, Koine Greek, the language of the day. He knew Hebrew because he grew up in a Jewish family. He grew up going to synagogue. He knew Aramaic because you had to and to know parts of the Old Testament, and Book of Daniel in particular. And most likely, he knew Latin as well. So incredibly educated early on in life. People realized that he was precocious. He has a very keen mind. Of all the apostles, everybody knew who the smartest guy was. Everyone knew who was the most sophisticated theologically, philosophically. He's a genius.Peter, who was the closest apostle of Jesus Christ, Peter, in his writings talking about the writings of Paul, he says, "And Paul," as he wrote in the other scriptures, he calls the writings of Paul a scripture. And he says some of the things that he writes are hard to understand. That's Peter himself. Peter's like, "I have to say, he talks about Jesus. He follows Jesus. I don't know what he's talking about. The predestination stuff, all that, I don't know." But that's Paul. Everyone knew he was a genius. He was on track to becoming one of the greatest probably rabbis. And he was a man of ambition, not just intellect. And his ambition was to get as high as he possibly could in the hierarchy that was the Jewish faith. So much so that he most likely had the Old Testament memorized. How do I know that he had the Old Testament memorized?Because he writes at least 13 of the epistles, maybe 14 with Book of Hebrews. We're not sure. He doesn't attribute it to himself, but as he's writing, he's writing in prison. He's writing in house arrest. He's writing as he's traveling. He doesn't have his books with him. He writes one of his epistles. "Hey, could someone please bring my books? I don't have my books." So as he's writing the epistles of the New Testament, and he's quoting the Old Testament, he's quoting it from memory. He's a genius. He studied under Gamaliel, which is like I used to say Harvard. This is the Harvard of theology, but Harvard hasn't produced a noteworthy theologian in probably 200 years. So the highest theological school you can think of, that's Paul, like super ambitious. Like to modernize Paul, if Elon Musk and Ben Shapiro could have a child, that would be the apostle Paul. That's him. And so he's driven and he's taking over the world and he's doing it for, he believes, Judaism, which is religion of God.And then he hears about Christians who follow this guy named Jesus Christ. It's the messiah. And then he died. He was crucified by the Romans and the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Jewish people altogether. And then Paul says, this is demonic. This is a heresy, starts persecuting Christians, starts killing Christians. He get it's papers from the church in Jerusalem to go to Damascus, to arrest more Christians on the road to Damascus. Jesus says enough is enough. You're mine. And he converts him. Paul had no choice in the matter. He had zero choice in the matter. Sometimes people ask me like, why are you a Christian? I'm like, because God made me a Christian. That's my only answer. God made me a Christian. God just told like you're mine. That's it. Did I get a vote? I got no votes. I got zero votes. God just said you're mine, called me to become a Christian.That's kind of what happened with Saint Paul. He did not have a choice. He did not enlist. He got drafted. And he got drafted by the king. Now you are my apostle. So that's Paul. He still has the zeal. He has the knowledge of the Old Testament. He is called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. Although he knows the Old Testament scriptures like no one else, but that's because the Gentiles too need the Old Testament scriptures. And he reasons with the Gentiles, not just from extra-biblical cultural resource, he goes to the scriptures. He goes to the prophecies. He's like, "Look, it was all planned. It was all predestined before the foundation of the world."The question before us today is what made this guy so effective? How many people today do we think about, 2000 years after their life and death, do we think about on a daily basis? Well, Christians all around the world, this is millions of people, think about Saint Paul all the time. He's made an impact on the world. No matter what you think of the guy, we have a Saint Paul Street down the street. We have a Saint Paul Street. I can't believe Brookline still hasn't changed the name. I think it's coming. It's not going to be Saint Paul. It's going to be something else, but it's still there.That's what I'm saying. He's made an impact on the world. What made this guy so powerful? Was it just his intellect? I don't think so. What is it his worldly powers, material, power, influence? No, it was his spiritual power. It was the spirit of God working in and through him. Yes, he was a chosen vessel. Yes, he was one of a kind. Yes, he was handpicked by Jesus. The resurrected Christ showed up to Paul, but can we learn something from his life to help us become more spiritually powerful?I think this is what a lot of people are craving. We're craving this. Our generation is craving this spiritual power. People are seeking spiritual power. We know the material world is bereft of spiritual power that will actually change things and satisfy our souls. How can we grow in spiritual power? We can learn from Paul. As he introduces himself, he gives the first and most important identifier. The thing that distinguishes him, the thing that distinguishes his identity more than anything else, he says, Paul, and what does he call himself?A servant of Christ Jesus, a servant of Christ Jesus. Now the word for servant here, I need to do a little work, is the Greek word, δοῦλος, not διάκονος. διάκονος means servant. δοῦλος does not mean servant. δοῦλος means slave. And when New Testament uses this word in other places, sometimes they translate it slave, and sometimes they translate it servant, which I have a problem with. If you are translating the Bible, you got to be consistent. If you pick servant, go with servant the whole time. If you pick a slave, go with slave the whole time. And I understand why. I've read all the papers, scholarly papers. I know why they chose the word that they did because of the cultural connotations, the cultural sensibilities that come with the word slave.Now I ask you to put those cultural sensibilities aside when there's a very important biblical truth to know. That's number one. The other thing I want to say is like at what point do we say no to cultural sensibilities and say too bad? No offense, none taken. God's word is God's word. Like when the culture comes to us and says, you can't say the word father, God the father. We're against the patriarchy. Yeah, we don't want to use father. Can we use parent? God, the parent? No, you can't. How about God the son? Can we change God the son to like God the child? No, we can't. This is part of biblical truth. So cultural sensibilities, you can go mess with language out there. Do not mess with this. If you mess with this, like this is sacred. I will die for this. No, we are going to obey God's word and we are going to interpret it as it stands.So the word here is δοῦλος and this is really important. And I say this is important because sometimes in New Testament, the decision's made one way or the other. But I'm going to give you one text where you got both and showing that Jesus Christ actually attributes this word to himself. He calls himself δοῦλος, slave. He calls himself that here. And he calls himself that in Philippians chapter two, where it says. "He, though being God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped and made himself human, taking the form of a servant." That's the word δοῦλος. So Matthew 20:25 through 28, "But Jesus Christ called to them and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles has lorded over them, and the great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you, but whoever would be great among you must be your servant."And that's the word διάκονος. We get the word deacon from it. This is a person that serves, as contrasted with verse 27, "Whoever would be first among you must be your slave." δοῦλος. "Even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, Jesus Christ said, 'Even as the son of man." Jesus came primarily as a slave. He came to serve us. He came to do the father's bidding. He wrestled with the father's bidding. In the Garden of Gethsemane he cries out, "God, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me." And then he says what a good slave would say. "It's not my will, but yours be done." So Jesus Christ died in humiliation as a slave, paying the penalty for our sins. He was buried, rose from the dead, and in 40 days, he ascended to the right hand of God.Is Jesus Christ now a δοῦλος? Oh no, he's not. He was a δοῦλος. He was a slave. Now he's the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. What's the difference being servant and slave? I'll tell you the difference. A servant is hired. A slave is purchased. A slave is owned. A servant meets the obligations, gets paid, and then leaves. And unfortunately, that's how a lot of Christians view Christianity. "God, I will serve you as a servant a couple hours on Sunday, a couple hours in CG, couple hours in maybe devotions, as long as you pay me with my blessing. If you stop paying me with my blessing, I'm out. If you do something that I do not like, I'm out. If there's any suffering in my life, I'm out. If following you and not sinning is too hard, I'm out." That's a servant mentality.A slave mentality is, "Hey, I was a slave to sin. I was a slave to Satan, and Jesus Christ ransomed me with his blood. He purchased me with his blood. No, I'm not my own. So all of my time, all of my talents, every single aspect, every ounce of my life and my energy, everything I have, it's the Lord's. Lord, what would you have me do?" Christian, this is at the core of your identity. Can you say this? Can you say this proudly? I am a slave of Jesus Christ. I'm a δοῦλος of Jesus Christ. And that's the only place, by the way, you can be free. It's counter-cultural, counterintuitive. Satan promises us freedom and only offers us enslavement.Jesus Christ promises us a yoke. He said, "Come, come after me." He promises a cross. You're going to have to deny yourself on a daily basis. You're going to say no to yourself all the time. And in that relationship with Jesus Christ, you will find a freedom that you have never experienced before, a freedom of the soul. Jesus Christ gives you the barriers, the boundaries that you were designed to flourish in, in a relationship with him. It gives us the path to freedom.Being enslaved to Christ is how you become the best, most powerful version of yourself. When enslaved to Christ, you aren't enslaved to anything or anyone else. You are worshiping the creator. You only fear the creator. You're not enslaved to any other person. You're not enslaved to things. Submit yourself to Christ, and he gives you the power to break through any enslavement, including any addiction. We live in a day and age where more people are addicted to more things than ever in the history of the world. More people died from the drug overdose last year in the United States than they did of COVID.We're addicted. We're addicted to our phones. We're addicted to social media. We're addicted to entertainment. We're addicted to substances. We're addicted to food. Were addicted to people. We're addicted, addicted, addicted. We're enslaved. We're not free. We're not free. This is the most enslaved generation ever in the history. We are just enslaved. And Jesus Christ comes and he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to the father but through me." Yes, it's very narrow. It's very narrow. There's only one way to the path to life. There's only one gate. There's only one way, and it is narrow. And there's very few that find it. It's the only way that leads to life.Look at Luke 17, the words of Jesus Christ. "Will any of you who has a servant slave plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field?" So the story is the master has some servants. The servants are working out in the field all day. It's hot. They're exhausted. They come back from the field and then Jesus says, "What do you think the master's going to say when he has come to the field? Come at once and recline at table." Is the master going to say, "Hey, I prepared dinner for you guys. Hey servants, hey slaves. I prepared some dinner. You want to sit down? You had a long day." No. "Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me and dress properly and serve me while I eat and drink. And afterward, you will eat and drink.' Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say 'We are unworthy servants. We have only done what was our duty?'"Did you get that text? I love texts like this because this is savage Jesus. I read text, I'm like, yeah, savage. By the way, if you're new to Mosaic, this is how most churches preach the gospel. They're like, "Hey, Jesus came to serve you. Repent of your sins. And then you're a Christian. All right. Let's baptize you all right. Hopefully we'll see you again. Ever." Yeah, we don't do that. What we do here is we say, if you're a Christian, yeah, Jesus says you are to obey him, repent, and believe. If you didn't obey at some point, repent. He's got grace, but you still got to keep preventing. And then if you're not a believer, this is what we say. "Hey, you got to count the cost of becoming a Christian. And you also got to count the cost of not becoming a Christian."You count the cost of becoming a Christian, and I'll say, this is how you become a Christian. You repent of your sins. You trust in Jesus Christ. You believe in him. You submit to him and you become a Christian today. All of your sins are forgiven. But you know what happens when you wake up tomorrow? You got to repent and believe again. And the day after that, yeah, you got to repent. You got to keep doing it. So if you become a Christian today, you got to become like you're a Christian every day for the rest of eternity. And it's hard. That's what we say.So count the cost. We say that. And then count the cost of not becoming a Christian. Count the cost of not becoming Christian. There's only one way to eternal a life. There's only one way to forgiveness, and that's Jesus Christ. And the cost of not becoming Christian is if you die without Christ, apart from faith in Christ, you will spend eternity in hell, all of eternity, eternal conscious suffering. That's just how it works. That's how it works. So we ask that you repent. We say it's hard, but God gives you the holy spirit and God empowers us to live life as conquerors.Paul is called to be an apostle. So he's a servant slave of Jesus Christ. And he's called to be an apostle. Apostle means an official representative, envoy, commissioned and taught directly by Jesus Christ. That's what it took to become the first apostles, the first 12, they had to see the resurrected Christ and they were taught directly by Jesus Christ. Paul says, "I was called. I'm called to be an apostle." So this is for every Christian who's in this deconstruction phase, which just means you are becoming an apostate and the deconstruction never leads to reconstruction with scriptures because you get rid of the ... Like all of those people, what they do, this is all the false teachers.They say, we like Jesus. We don't like Paul. We like Jesus. This is Paul's opinion. We don't like Paul. And Jesus is nice. Paul's not. And I submit to you haven't read the teachings of Jesus or understand what he really believes in terms of the Old Testament he viewed it in all his holy scripture. But say Paul was commissioned by Jesus Christ. So to reject the writings of Paul is to reject the writings of Christ by the power of the holy spirit. So we're not apostles, but we are ambassadors of Christ. And this is really important. Paul knew his calling. Do you know yours? Yes, we're slaves of Jesus Christ, but do you know your particular calling? How would you fill that in? Called to be a what? Called to be a what? Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, you have a calling that is greater than your job, a calling, a vocation.What is that for you? And I would submit to you for as long as you live here, you are called to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ, here to this city. Second Corinthians 5, 17 through 21. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. All this is from God who through Christ, reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ. God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we," that means all Christians. "We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him, you might become the righteousness of God."We're ambassadors. We're sent from the king. We're sent here. We're sent to do what as ministers of reconciliation to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, to call people to faith and repentance. Doesn't matter where you study, where you work, where you build, where you live, what you produce and where you vacation. Never forget that this is your identity. You are a slave of Jesus Christ to live a life in a hundred percent submission to him. And we are ambassadors to the city. And I say this because this is the only way we reach the city. If we're in this mentality of like, I come. I'm here to be served. Let me get fed real quick. Let me get my worship on. Let me get some prayer going. Let me do a little communion thing and I'm out. I'm going to continue living my life however I want. We're never going to impact the city.If you don't have fire in your belly for Jesus Christ, you don't have fire for evangelism, then you're not an ambassador. You're just a bench warmer. Do you want more of the power of the holy spirit in your life? Well then you need to start thinking about what the holy spirit is thinking about. What's the holy spirit thinking about? Where is the mind of the holy spirit? The mind of the holy spirit is focused on the gospel. The holy spirit is all about the gospel and converting people, saving people. The word gospel, Ευαγγέλιο, is good news, glad tidings, appears 76 times in the New Testament, 60 times in the writing of Paul. This was the purpose of his life.Second, faith throws in proportion to humble knowledge of scripture. Verse two, "Which he, God, promised beforehand." What did he promise? The gospel. "He promised the gospel through his prophets and the holy scriptures." This is crucial. And every Christian should know that there are prophecies in the Old Testament, that God had made promises centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, 1,700 years, a thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ.And these prophecies stand still. Like you can't get rid of them. And I know this because in seminary, I took this class where we were talking about the New Testament, use of the old Testament. And in it, as we're talking about prophecies, the Old Testament, the professor was like, "Yeah, there's prophecies, but they've been largely debunked." Debunked by whom? And this is the whole ... Like this back in the day, I didn't realize. I learned this with fact checkers the past two years. Fact checkers didn't really exist.By the way I grew up in the 90s. It was tremendous. It never got better. Everything went downhill after I graduated high school, 2001, it went downhill. It was terrible. So if you came of age after that, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. So the 90s were tremendous. And the whole fact check thing, that didn't exist until like other people started checking on what the mainstream media was saying. They're like, "That's not true. That's not true." And then all of a sudden, these fact checkers who were financed by the same people as mainstream media, all of a sudden, these fact checkers are like, "Yeah, that's largely false." No. The fact checkers, let me just say about theology. They've been doing this for centuries. And I finally realized that's the trick of Satan. And he does that with scripture. And the whole thing of like, "That's not true because we fact checked it and it's not true because we said it." That's all the argument is.And then you look at the arguments, and all they do is they change the date that books are written. So Daniel, for example, they were like, "Yeah, Daniel wasn't written when it's in the seventh century, BC, when he said that he was written. It was actually written in the second century BC." And I was like, "Professor, why?" And they're like, because the prophecies are too accurate to have happened beforehand. Well, that's a preposition of disbelief and I reject that as lies from Satan. So prophecies are true. They're in scripture. And there's nothing you can do to them because the prophecies are written centuries before anything. They're there. You can say it's not true, but based on what? That's first of all. And then second of all, mathematically, it's airtight.So here's a few of these prophecies that Saint Paul is looking at. And the reason why he's looking at is to show that holy scripture has a divine author. It's written by the Lord. And particular prophecies he's talking about, the prophecies about the Messiah that are coming. So prophecies in regard to his birth, I'm just going to give you a handful, "That he would be called Emmanuel. And that the Messiah would be born of a virgin." This is Isaiah 7:14, written 700 years before the birth of Christ. "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and she'll call his name Emmanuel." I didn't pick the self-fulfilling prophecies. There's some prophecies where it's like, Jesus is going to enter Jerusalem on a donkey. And you can look at that and be like, "Yeah, Jesus knew that ahead of time. That's why you got the donkey, not the horse."I'm picking the prophecies that you cannot self ... You cannot be like, "I am going to be born of a virgin." You can't do that. There's nothing you can do that. It's in the Bible. "That he would be born in Bethlehem." This is Micah 5:2, "But you, oh Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the Klans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be a ruler in Israel, who's coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. That his birth lace would it suffer a massacre of infants." That's Jeremiah 31:15, and this is prophesying about what Herod would do and his attempt to kill Jesus. Satan always wants to kill babies. Jeremiah 31:15, "Thus says the Lord a voice is heard in Ramah, a lamentation, a bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children because they are no more.""The prophecy that he, the Messiah, would be the son of man, fully man and son of God," Isaiah 9:6. "For to us a child is born human. To us a son is given, son of man. And the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God. Who is this child that's going to be called mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace? Prophecy that this one born of a Virgin from Bethlehem, this one who is the son of man and the son of God. This one would suffer for our sins." Isaiah 53, 4 through 6, the whole chapter, but 4 through 6, "Surely he has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows. Yet we esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgression. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was a chastising that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."A prophecy that he would die. He would be executed with a piercing through his hands and feet, and this Psalm was written 300 years before crucifixion was invented as capital punishment by the Persians. This is Psalm 22, verse one begins, "My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?" What Jesus said on the cross. And the verse 16, "For dogs encompassed me. A company of evil doers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them. For my clothing they cast lots."And prophecy that this one who bore our sins would not remain dead." Psalm 16:10, "For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption." Or prophecy that he would be seated at God's right hand, Psalm 110, verse one. "The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a foot stool for your feet, until I make your enemies a foot stool." If you just take eight of these prophecies, and the mathematicians have done the work, you can find it online. The chances of someone fulfilling just eight of these prophecies centuries after they are made. And this is the most conservative estimate. The chances of this are 1 in 10 to the power of 17. This is mathematically impossible for one person to do this, to fulfill all of this. And Saint Paul, he is the apostle to the Gentiles, and he wants the whole world to know the power of God's word, that God, whatever God promises comes to fruition, therefore, why would you not believe the word of God?Romans 1:3, "Concerning his son, all these prophecies concerning his son, who was descended from David, according to the flesh." The good news, it's all about Jesus Christ, is prophesied in the Old Testament. And by the way, I just gave you verses, if you look at the Old Testament as a whole, and if you see like the whole process of God choosing people, the whole process of God, giving animal sacrifice system, the whole priesthood system, the whole law, everything in the Old Testament, the Passover, the temple, everything in the old Testament, it all points to Jesus Christ. Good news is about Christ, a physical descendant of David. This is important to key identify that the long-promised Messiah, the coming king, is going to be a descendant of King David, Israel's greatest king.Now Jesus Christ was the son of Mary. He was the adopted son of Joseph because Mary had Jesus by the power of the holy spirit. So Jesus descended from David, according to the flesh, through Mary. Verse four, "And was declared to be the son of God, and power according to the spirit of holiness. By his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ, our Lord. He was declared to be the son of God." Was he the son of God before being declared the son of God? Yes. What he's getting at is that there were these two stages or two states of Jesus' ministry. The first one was in humiliation. Jesus Christ did come as a δοῦλος. He came as a slave and he came to serve us by dying for our sins. During his earthly ministry, Jesus served in meekness and loneliness and humility, in many ways hiddenness. When he showed and revealed his power, it was always a surprise to people. There was a hiddenness.Well, after his resurrection, he was declared to be the son of God. Through his resurrection, we see his power and his glory. Jesus didn't begin to be the son of God at his resurrection, but he began his exalted reign on the throne, seated at the right hand of God, the father. Like this right here, this verse and this truth, this is the linchpin of Christianity. Everything hangs on this. Did Jesus Christ come back from the dead? If Jesus Christ came back from the dead, there's no excuse for anybody to reject him. None. Did Jesus Christ come back from the dead?Well, of course he did. Of course, he did. How else do you explain Christianity? How do you explain the rise of the Christian church? How do you explain the fact that the church is the greatest human movement in all of world history? How do you explain all the good that came from Christianity? How do you explain all the lives being transformed on a daily basis? Jesus Christ came back from the dead. Paul saw him. The apostles saw him. And they were willing to go to the death for this truth.Point three, God gives grace to bring about the obedience of faith. And that's verse five, "Through whom we have received grace." So God gives grace and apostleship. He gave apostleship to Paul to bring about what's the point? What's the purpose of everything that God gave you, Paul? To bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations. God gives Paul grace to be a Christian and grace to affect in the world, among the nations, obedience of faith. And basically, this is God's call to every single human being.We are to surrender to Jesus Christ. We're to believe in him and obey. True faith obeys. True faith works. And by the way, to believe in Jesus Christ as lord and savior is actually the first act of obedience because Jesus commands that we are to repent and believe. Jesus commands, "Come to me, all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus commands it. So faith is an act of the will. A lot of people think faith is just in the mind, like when everything makes sense, when I have enough evidence, then I'm going to become a Christian. Or they think faith is a matter of the heart, of affections, when I love God enough.Well, that's not what faith is. Faith is an act of the will. Just like true love. True love isn't a matter of sentiment or affections. True love, at the core, is an act of the will. I choose to love you. I choose to sacrifice for you. God, I choose to believe and submit my life to you. It's an act of the will. So if you are not a Christian, you're living in disobedience. And Jesus Christ is calling you to repent and believe and obey.A lot of people misunderstand the word faith. A lot of people misunderstand the word faith. And I think it's because a lot of people just misunderstand the Bible and Romans. For some reason, I don't know who did this, but for some reason, someone decided to pit the Book of James against the Book of Romans. I think it was Luther early on. This is what Luther does. He was doing a thing. He's reforming the European church. He has a clear agenda. He's doing this. But he said Romans is all about justification by grace through faith. And he said James is all about works. It's all about works. It's all about works. It's all about works.And I wish I could sit down with Luther. I will one day. We'll sit in heaven, we'll drink Wittenburg beer, and we'll talk theology. He'll be there. I will too because I'm predestined. And I will say this, "Hey, Martin Luther, verse five, and then chapter 16, I think it's verse 26." Obedience of faith, that's the whole point. That's the book end of the Book of Romans. It's not just faith that justifies and then you can live any way you want. It's obedience of faith. It's obedience of faith. He's like, "This is the whole purpose. This is the whole purpose of the book. This is my thesis statement." And by the way, I know how radical this is. I've done the research. I haven't seen many people talking like this about Romans.So Mosaic, I guess it's on us to lead the reformation in the American church, to redefine the word faith. Faith isn't just what you think about a thing. It's not about what you think about God. It's not about what you believe about God. I don't care how good your systematic theology is. I don't care about your philosophy. Do you do it? Do you do the thing? Do you follow Jesus Christ? We're not saved by our works. We're saved by grace through faith. We repent when we fall and then Jesus picks us back up and we keep following. But you have to obey. You have to follow true faith. There's obedience of faith. And without this obedience of faith, without this growth, without this progressive godliness, without this holiness, there's no promise that you will see God.If you say, "I prayed a prayer when I was a kid. I walked down the aisle. I got some feelings at some conference. That's why I'm a Christian." I don't want ... Are you a Christian? Did you follow Jesus this week? Are you pursuing holiness this week? Hebrews 12:14, "Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you're slaves of the one to whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness."And then continues in Romans 1:6, "Including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is the one that calls people to salvation. Christians do not choose Jesus Christ, not initially and not ultimately. God initiates our experience salvation process by calling us to Christ. And once drawn to Christ, we belong to him completely forever.Are you called by Jesus Christ? If you're a Christian, this is your answer. "Yeah. I'm called by Jesus called me to himself. I'm his. I belong to ... I'm called to belong to ... I'm not my own." He continues the same theme. I am a slave. I'm not my own. And by the way, this language of calling, like I'm going to sprinkle it here. But as we continue, as we ramp up to chapter 8, chapter 9, 10, 11, 12, as we get into election and predestination, I'm just telling you right now, I'm going to preach the text as it says, feelings aside. I'll let the Lord deal with the feelings.In Romans 1:7, "To all those in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God, our father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." To all those in Boston, why is he writing to Rome? I'll tell you why he is writing to Rome. He knows that God called him to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations. And he's like, "All right, I'm just a guy. I don't have any resources. I'm not a billionaire. I don't have the connections. I don't have anything. I'm just going to ..." Okay. What would I do if God really called me to this? I'm going to go to the greatest city, Rome. I'm going to write to the greatest city, of the Christians in the greatest city. And I know if I reach the Christians there, and they really get the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then as people come and go from all over the world at this intersection, at these crossroads that are in Rome, all roads lead to Rome.And Saint Paul knew that the greatest impact that he could have was reaching a place like Rome. This is why we're in Boston. For as long as you're here, like we minister here, and a lot of you will leave. New people will come. And I'm just going to be up here. I'm just going to be declaring the word of God. Verse 5 is just what it says, to affect the obedience of faith among all the nations. That's why we're here. This is of strategic importance. He writes to Rome, "Loved by God, called to be saints, grace to you and peace from God, our father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Christians are loved by God."He doesn't stop there, "Since God loves us, he wants the best for us, to be saints. And God wants us to be set apart from sin, wholly devoted to him in holiness." How? By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is not cheap grace. And I'm going to close here before communion by reading a few excerpts from the Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, some timely words."Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ's living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field. For the sake of it, a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his good. It is the kingly rule of Christ for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye, which causes him to stumble. It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him."Costly grace is the gospel, which must be so again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow. And it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life. And it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it costs God the life of his son. You were at a price. And what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God."So we're going to transition to celebrating holy communion. Holy communion is for repented Christians. So if you are not a Christian, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service. Instead, meditate on what you've heard. Or if you choose to become a Christian today, as an act of the will, you believe in Jesus Christ, submit your life to him, and repent of your sins, you're welcome to partake. If you are a Christian living in unrepentant sin, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service, or better yet, repent of that sin and ask for the Lord's power in overcoming it here on out.I'm going to read first Corinthians 11, 23 through 32. Then I'm going to pray a prayer of repentance and confession. I welcome you to pray with me. As I read. If you haven't received a cup with the bread, please raise your hand, and one of the ushers will give you one.First Christians 11:23, "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And the same way also, he took the cup after supper saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink in remembrance of me, for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then. So eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself."""That's why many of you are weak and ill. Some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. When we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world." Let us pray.Lord God, my father, the first and the last, the giver of life and every good gift, as your child, I want to live and pray in a way that pleases you. And I pray for the help of your spirit in order to learn to pray and to persist in praying until it becomes a duty that I love to perform. I pray that you will give me great joy in the time I spend in communion with you. I dare make requests of you, not because of any good in me, for without your mercy, there is no good in me.I approach you boldly based only on the righteous work of my savior and brother Jesus Christ, your son, to whom you gave me before the foundation of the world, who showed compassion to me, even when I was an enemy, dedicated to pleasing only myself, full of self-righteous pride. I pray that you will search my heart and reveal my sin to me, make me abhor I sin, and make me sincerely repent and turn away from evil, to ask your forgiveness, and return to you.Allow me to see your open arms, always willing, even eager to forgive and forget my transgressions and welcome my return to you. Sanctify me, Lord. According to your word and the timeframe you have appointed for me, allow me to see an increase in my obedience and devotion to you as long as it keeps me from becoming self-satisfied in any way. Make me content with what you give me and encourage me to love people when they are unlovable, as you love me. I pray all these things in the name of my savior, Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, who died in my place for all sinners given to him by the father. Bless our time of holy communion as a reminder of what Christ did on the cross on our behalf. Jesus, we thank you. Bless our time of holy communion. I pray this in the name of the father, the son, the holy spirit, amen.

Jake sits down to talk with Dr. Wittenburg. They discuss the nebulous topic of lactation and breast feeding for pediatrics. Let's jump in!

#16 Leadership And Life Lessons With Darcy Wittenburg Darcy Wittenburg is a creative director and partner at Ant Hill Films. Starting from nothing and following his passion Darcy continues to live an incredible life inspiring thousands of people with his films and love of bikes. Darcy covers many topics including Darcys principles that guide his creative process, Films that have impacted his life, Details into the legendary film collect, over wheeling moments, His deep love for Bikes  And much more… Follow @Anthillfilms  https://anthillfilms.com/ One Shot: Brandon Semenuk's unReal Segment Recommended reads  Childhood Under Siege - How Big Business Targets Children How Cycling Can Save the World 

SummarySeveral years ago the executive leadership team of Chick-fil-a had worked for quite some time on how to keep up with the competitive challenge created in their industry by Boston Chicken (later known as Boston Market). After a period of intense research and market studies, a group of young visionary leaders with big ideas and bright strategies found themselves in a committee room of frenzied debate over how to get bigger faster! At the height of the dialogue, Truett Cathy the founder of Chick-fil-a began to pound on the table, which was very uncharacteristic of this admirable leader. When every eye in the room turned to him, he exclaimed that he was sick and tired of all this talk about getting bigger. Then he said: “Gentlemen, I am sick and tired of hearing you talk about us getting bigger! What we need to be talking about is getting BETTER! If we get better our customers will demand we get bigger!”Join us tomorrow for our annual vision sermon. We don't serve chicken sandwiches, so what do we need to get better at, as a church family? Love. Jesus. Simple.Transcript: You're listening to audio from Mosaic Boston church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston and our neighborhood churches, or donate to this ministry, please visit Mosaicboston.comHeavenly father, holy God, we thank you that you know our greatest need through your son Jesus Christ through the holy gospel. And I pray Holy Spirit that you come into this place, apply that gospel to us and plant in our hearts a holy ambition to proclaim the gospel. To speak the gospel. To speak the gospel in word and to embody the gospel in deed.I pray, Lord, for everyone here who has been at Mosaic for a while, maybe even from the beginning. I pray that you renew our holy ambition. Why are we here? Why are we doing this? Remind us Lord. Give us a fresh zeal, fresh fervency. And Lord, for those who are visiting or looking for a church, I pray Lord today also give them this holy ambition. What is the greatest goal? What is the greatest ambition for our lives? And show us that it's not just career.It's not a GPA. It's not getting those degrees. It's not money. It's not status. It's not reputation. There's a greater ambition that you have for us, an eternal ambition with eternal implications for eternal souls. Lord, show us also today that you called us to an embodied spirituality. That you don't want us to compartmentalize our Christianity and our private lives and then live a public life that has nothing to do with our faith.But show us that you want integration, private, public, every sphere of life, and you want the gospel at the center permeating everything. I pray today renew our vision as a church as well. We pray this in Christ's Holy name, Amen. Popeye's chicken or Chick-fil-A? This is a church after all. I'm sure you've heard of the frenzy debate the past couple of weeks.Popeye's chicken came out with a brand new chicken sandwich that suspiciously resembled the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. The famous one, the first one, the best one. Chick-fil-A actually sparked the chicken war debate with a tweet. The tweet was just the image of the recipe and it was the same exact recipe as Popeye's. And Popeye's Twitter handle responded by saying, “Y'all good?”And that's what spatted the war on all fronts including memetic communication, memes. My favorite meme was the Lord's supper with Jesus and the disciples. Everyone had Chick-fil-A except for one guy. So be careful. It was actually so big the guy in Tennessee named Craig Barr actually sued Popeye's for running out of chicken. He sued them for $5,000 because he spent like weeks looking for the sandwich, driving around everywhere.And because he was so distracted he broke one of his rims on his car and it cost $1,500. I've got all kinds of questions there. Your priority is just not... And so he's suing them for the rim and then his friends laughed at him to the point that he's now humiliated and that he can't be happy without the Popeye's chicken sandwich. Why do I even bring that up? I bring that up about what made Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A?Why is that even a thing? It dominates the cultural conversation in the United States. Well, Chick-fil-A actually for four years in a row it's been rated America's favorite restaurant. How did that happen? Well, in the early 2000s Chick-fil-A was actually competing with a restaurant called Boston Chicken which later was renamed to Boston Market.And Boston Market was growing rapidly and the managers at Chick-fil-A, the executives got together and they said, "How can we counter that growth? How can we compete with Boston Market?” They brought in these young visionaries and with bright ideas, bright strategies, etc. And they're all talking about growing faster, growing faster, growing bigger.And then Truett Cathy, who was the founder of Chick-fil-A, started pounding the table with his fist which is out of character because he was a really humble guy. And every eye turned and looked at him and he said, “Gentlemen, I'm sick and tired of all the talk about us getting bigger. We need to be talking about getting better. If we get better our customers will demand that we get bigger.”Why is that important to us today? This today is the annual Mosaic Boston vision sermon. Vision sermon of 2019, what do we as a church need to get better at? Love Jesus. Simple. We need to understand those values and understand that our vision in a very granular way and as it applies to everything that we do. Lots of Christians have an anti-vision for their life. This is what Christians do not do. Don't do this, don't do this, don't do this.A lot of churches have an anti-vision for themselves as well. We are against this cause. We're against that cause. We at Mosaic need to have an active and positive vision. What are we all about? And why do we do this beginning of September every year? We do this to remind ourselves a fresh, who are we? We're a church plant.We started from scratch in the YMCA 316 Huntington Avenue in 2011. Every fall is so exciting. Fall in Boston is amazing and everyone's excited. There's an influx of energy in the city. Every fall I want to remind our church that we are still a church plant and every year we are replanting. Our core group is just a little bigger. We may have more resources at disposal.Same vision, same values. We're the same church. love Jesus, simple. To focus our attention today on these three points, we're going to look at Romans 15:18-24. Saint Paul writes this epistle to the church in Rome which is the most influential city in the Roman empire. This epistle transformed Rome which then led to transformation to all of the Roman empire.Romans 15:18, “For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed. By the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the spirit of God so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ. And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named lest I build on someone else's foundation.”“But as it is written, those who have never been told of him will see and those who have never heard will understand. This is the reason why I've so often been hindered from coming to you, but now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I've longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and to be helped on my journey there by you once I've enjoyed your company for a while.”This is the reading of God's holy narrative, infallible authoritative word. May you write these truths upon our hearts. Three points to frame up our time. It's just our values at Mosaic but in reverse order, simple Jesus and love. Why do I start with simple? Look at Saint Paul, this is his driving force. This is the thing that's driving everything that he does.It's his life manifesto. Romans 15:20, “I make it my ambition to preach the gospel.” I love this word ambition. It means to aspire. Have a cherished desire or a lofty goal. It's a holy ambition that keeps you focused on the most important thing and the primary thing. Keeps you focused on the greatest thing so that you don't spend your life just doing good things. I love the fact that he's ambitious.We're a church full of many ambitious people in a city of many ambitious people. Ambitious for what? Many for themselves. What are your greatest desires? What are your greatest goals? What drew you to the city? Getting an education, your GPA. Is that what's driving you? Getting a job after college and your career, progressing up the career. What are your ambitions?I love that Saint Paul is so fired up about the gospel. Too many Christians are passive. Yeah, I'm a Christian. I go to church once in a while. Yeah, I'm just here to find some friends. Saint Paul says no. This is my ambition. There's nothing that's driving him more than preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and the joy of people. Saint Paul wanted to go to Rome.He writes to them and he says, “I've been stuck. I wanted to see you for a few years but I'm focused on preaching the gospel here. Once I'm done with that I'll go elsewhere.” It keeps him focused. And as an organization, as a church, we need to also be focused to create unity around the mission, around the vision, which is to preach the gospel. Saint Paul, how did you change the Roman empire? Jesus Christ, how did you change the world?Disciples, how did you spark the greatest movement in all of human history? That's what Christianity is. How did that happen? One itinerant preaching rabbi, carpenter turned rabbi, gets some disciples and then those disciples proclaimed this gospel that he lived a perfect life, died a death that we deserve to die on the cross. Came back from the dead and then those disciples go and they proclaim this gospel to the point of death.Every single one of them except for the apostle John, who was isolated on the Island of Patmos, exiled there, transformed the world. Christianity grew by 40% per decade, so much so that in the fourth century where 50% of the Roman empire were Christians. And Constantine says, “How do we consolidate power? We need to become Christian.” What did you do to make that happen?They preached the gospel. That's what Saint Paul is saying. How did the reformation happen? Martin Luther was asked at the end of his life, this is the guy who nailed the Ninety-five Theses October 31st, 1517 to the church doors in Wittenberg. And he was asked at the end of his life, “How do you transform the spiritual world of Europe so much so that it transformed all of Europe.”This is what he said at the end of his life. “I opposed intelligences and all the papers but never with force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God's word. Otherwise, I did nothing. And while I slept or drank Wittenburg beer with my friends Philip Amsdorf, the word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing. The word did everything.”Why is this point one? Because it sounds so simple. What else did you guys do? They did a lot of other things but they focused on this one thing that actually empowered them to do all of the other things. Why is this a Holy ambition? This is our ambition as a church. Mosaic Boston's holy ambition is to see people who are far from the Lord become Christians. Why is it holy? Because it comes from a holy God.It's written in a Holy word empowered by the Holy Spirit. What did the early church focus on? Whatever they did, it worked. They permeated a secular society, a secular empire. What did they do? Acts 2:42-47, “The early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.”“And all who believed were together and had all things in common and they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”What did they focus on? They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. That's the holy scriptures. The gospel. They had fellowship. They met in the temple to study the scriptures, to worship God. This is why you're here. We're just doing what the early church did. We're gathering in a temple, Ohabei Shalom, in order to worship God. That's the first step. Mosaic, what do we do? We worship God together corporately.And then what else did they do? They had fellowship together in homes breaking bread. They would meet in homes around different nights of the week, different neighborhoods in apartments, and they would meet to study the Holy scriptures together, pray, have some fellowship. Break bread together, get to know one another, get to know each other's needs. And as you get to know other people and you know their needs, you say, you know what? Maybe I have some resources to meet these people's needs.So they start sharing. What are they doing? Worship, community and service. That transformed the Roman empire. What are we at Mosaic? What do we focus on? This is the simplicity of our model. This is our distinctive. If your church shopping, what makes Mosaic Boston different? It's this. It's simplicity. That's why I started with this. This is point one. Point one, we do three things.We're like Chipotle. Chipotle does three things, burritos, quesadillas and bowls. We do three things. We do worship services, community groups and service teams. Why? Because that allows you to have enough margin in your life to actually live the Christian life amongst those who are not yet Christians. It gives you bandwidth. It gives you margin. You gather together and worship service is on Sundays.You become a disciple worshiping God. That's how we discipled. Then community groups, the disciples gathering community to disciple one another. And then service teams. Disciples are not just consumers, they're producers. First week of September or last week of August I preached the vision sermon and other years I have said this. I said we do only three things because of the challenges of the city.It's very transient. 30% of the population moves in and out every year. It's very expensive. Our resources are limited and people are really busy, etc. That's why we only do three things. I don't say that anymore. Even if we had $1 billion. Even God sends us the gospel patron who's like, "Here's a check, $4 billion. Who do I make it out to? Mosaic Boston." We will still do three things.We would still primarily do three things because this is what the early church did. That was the recipe of simplicity. And I say that because a lot of churches in the United States have lost the vision from the very beginning. They keep adding ministry after ministry, adding this service or that service. And why do they do that? Because it's an attractional model. Comes to us. Here's our goods and services.Here's the services that we provide. Come to us we're going to meet your needs, etc. And what's happened is Christianity in the United States has turned people from being disciples of Jesus Christ. We're sacrificing to consumers that are just consuming. Consumers do not change the world, disciples do. We do three things so that we have actually as a church the bandwidth to plant more churches.Why? Because that's what the early church did. They did these three things as they planted churches in particular in urban contexts. Why do we want to plant a church and we planted this church? We planted Mosaic to make a plant. We're helping other church plants start around the city. We love church plants. I get pictures all the time when people are like, "Hey, this church is advertising on a T and their advertisements look suspiciously like ours."Good. Get the name of Jesus out there. Do it. Jesus is the greatest brand name in the history of the universe. Great. I want to see Jesus everywhere. Statistically, why do we do this? New churches reach three to six times more non-Christians than older churches. They reach new generations of young adults who disproportionately are drawn to start up churches. And new churches are more entrepreneurial as they innovate, bringing new ideas, training new leaders that spark renewal in other churches all in expanding the kingdom of God.Saint Paul says, what's my ambition? I make it my ambition. I continually do this. I make it my ambition to preach the gospel at Mosaic Boston. We make it our ambition to preach the gospel. Why? Because Jesus changes everything, and that's point two. Jesus Christ. Jesus is at the center of everything that we do at Mosaic. Why? Because Jesus is the living word of God. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.Jesus the living word as attested to in the written word. This is why the Holy scriptures are fundamental to everything that we do. Where did Saint Paul get his passion for proclaiming the gospel? Where did he get his marching orders for the mission? He got it from Jesus Christ. He was on the road to Damascus. He was going to persecute Christians. Jesus meets him. The living Christ resurrected, meets him and says, "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And Saint Paul shares his testimony in Acts 22 and then Acts 26.And Acts 26:15, this is his account, "And I said, 'Who are you Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to point you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."What's fascinating, Romans 15, is that Saint Paul does not say, though he could have, I make it my ambition to proclaim the gospel because that's what Jesus told me. He could have said that. Every other world religion starts like that. I got a word from God. Follow me. It's not what he does. He could have done that. He says, I have this ambition because, this is Romans 15:20. Look at that text with me. "And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as is written."And then he quotes Isaiah 52:15, "Those who have never been told of him , Christ, will see in those who have never heard will understand." He doesn't just point to his experience on the Damascus road, something we don't have. He refers to God's written word, something that we do have. Why? He says what I'm doing now, this gospel that I'm proclaiming, it was prophesied centuries before Christ even appeared in Isaiah 52, Isaiah 53.Isaiah 53 is one of the clearest prophecies of Jesus Christ, the suffering servant, his sacrifice as the lamb of God for our sins. He grounds his mission not just in the subjective experience of what God told him, though he could have. Though that was legitimate, he grounds it in the word of God. This is why we love the Holy scripture at Mosaic. It's why the center of our time together is someone getting up here and proclaiming the word of God for 40 to 45 to 50, depends on the level of inspiration that week, proclaiming God's word.Why? This is what sanctifies our hearts and also what nourishes our souls and our hearts. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. What we do at Mosaic, we want to do God's work God's way as it is attested to in God's word. Jesus is at the center. The focus is on Christ because that's how the Trinity has set things up. Obviously we believe in the Trinity, but Romans 15:15-18 he has the Trinity in the text.But on some points I've written to you very boldly by way of reminder because of the grace given me by God. That's God the father, they us. To be a minister of Christ Jesus, God the son, to the Gentiles and priestly service of the gospel of God so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable sanctified by the Holy spirit. He's got the Trinity right here but he's proclaiming Christ. Why is he doing that? Because Christ makes God defined. Christ defines God.This is who God is. This God is like. This is what God wants from us. Christ embodied spirituality. This is why we put Jesus in all of our marketing and Jesus at the center of everything that we do because a lot of churches in the city they're fine with talking about God in general or spirituality in general. As soon as you say the name of Jesus Christ, that makes everything clear. This is what we're all about. We're about Jesus Christ.Romans 15:19-21 Saint Paul emphasizes the gospel over and over. He says, "By the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the spirit of God so that from Jerusalem and all the way around Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ. And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel not where Christ has already been named, less I build on someone else's foundation. But as it is written, those who have never been told of him will see and those who have never heard of him will understand."Saint Paul, why the gospel? Why do you got to talk about the gospel? Because this is the way that God saves people. Romans 10:17, "Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ." Let's proclaim the gospel because this is the means that God has chosen in order to save you. When they hear the truth of the gospel and it permeates their heart, transforms them from the inside out, not ashamed of the gospel which is the power of God onto salvation.Why is it the power of God on salvation? Because it saves us. You hear it, you believe it, and it saves you. Why is it so important for us to emphasize the gospel of Jesus Christ? Because we need to know what it took to save us. We need to know that this is what it took. Our sin is so grave. Our depravity is so utter. It's so dark. Our darkness is so dark that this is what it took. It took God becoming one of us, living the perfect life that he demands from each one of us.The life that we should have lived but couldn't or wouldn't. And then Jesus Christ the son of God goes to the cross dying an excruciating death, absorbing the wrath of God on the cross as our substitutionary atonement for us instead of us, in our place. And dies and he's raised on the third day and by grace through faith in that work we are saved. When people hear this, those who are far from God, the spirit applies it to them and then they are saved. They are transformed.This is why at Mosaic we do talk specifically about sin. Because in order to proclaim the gospel, the good news, you got to talk about the bad news. We just spent three months in the 1st Corinthians which made explicitly clear what sin is. It didn't just talk about sin, it talked about sins. When you talk about sins, when you talk about our need for salvation in specific areas of our lives. We do talk about the bad news and then we bring in the good news and the good news seems so good.Why is that distinctive for us? If you're from another part of the country, you're like, "Why is the gospel? Why are you defining that Jesus at the center of this church?" Because we're in Boston, Massachusetts. There are a lot of church buildings here and Christianity used to be thriving. The great awakenings transformed this city years ago. This is what happened over time and we've seen this cycle over and over.People proclaim the gospel, proclaim the gospel, proclaim the gospel. After a while culture begins to change and you're like, ooh, it's getting really hard to talk about sin. And whoever the preacher is stops talking about sin because he's trying to make the message more palatable because he's trying to grow the church and the people and the pews are like, "I don't want to talk about sin. Let's fire this guy. Let's bring another guy in."And what happens in an attempt to make the message of God palatable. Let's talk about God. Let's talk about his love. Let's talk about grace in general. Let's not talk about sin specifically. You lose the power that transforms people. If you just keep patting people on the head as they're walking in waywordly into sin, what happens is they just walk away and then churches are empty.They've emptied themselves of the power of the gospel and then they end up empty. Saint Paul says Romans 15:20, "I make it my ambition to preach the gospel." At Mosaic, what do we do? We make it our ambition to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ because Jesus changes everything. And by doing so, we are motivated by love and we spread God's love. Holy ambitions are never about self exaltation.They're always a form of love because what love does is it tries to meet people's greatest needs. And that brings us to point 3, love. A Christ instrument in Paul's mission wasn't just proclaiming the gospel. That was front and center. That was the most important thing. But when the gospel is proclaimed it all always brings with it love. What's at the center of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Love.What is the gospel? It's God giving himself, sacrificing himself. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. What is love? Love is sacrifice. If you proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and you accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, you accept God's sacrificial love. What does that do to you? You start sacrificially loving the people around you.That's why Saint Paul connects word and deed. Look at verse 18, "For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience." How? By word and deed. The truth of love you speak it and you also act. Love entails words and sacrificial acts. We do those two things and then the Holy Spirit takes it and empowers it. In verse 19, "By the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the spirit of God."As we do these things we understand that it does take the miraculous work of the spirit of God to empower us. As I stand up here and I proclaim the most counter-cultural message that you will hear anywhere in modern America and I'm doing in Boston, Massachusetts, September 1st, 2019. I know that unless the spirit of God shows up and unless the spirit of God moves in your heart, all I'm doing is I'm gathering kindling.But as we gather kindling, as we gather logs and we pray for the Holy Spirit to send fire from heaven. That's the story of Mosaic Boston. Mosaic Boston's literally a miracle. Every Christian is a walking miracle. That means you are regenerated. Your brought from death to life, transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You're a walking miracle. And then God brings these walking miracles together and brings some more walking miracles and it forms a church.Mosaic Boston is a miracle. I was at a pastors meeting this weekend. One of the pastors asked me, "Hey, how are you?" My only response is I'm still here. Praise God. Still love the Lord, still married. My kids love the Lord most days and I still get to be pastor. Praise God. Mosaic is a miracle. The fact that we exist here with the resources that we have with understanding who I am, how fallen of a man I am, how much I need Jesus every single day. Walking miracle.That Mosaic exists as a miracle so it does attest to the power of God. Why has God chosen to pour his grace out on a Mosaic? Well, he's given us pattern in the Holy scriptures. He says when churches devote themselves to the following things: to doing God's word God's way and in particular ways, God pours out his blessing. That's my only explanation. What are those three things? It's love in three forms.It's the great commandment, the great compassion and the great commission. A great church is formed when there's a great commitment to the great commandment, the great compassion and the great commission. I'll just go through each one. The great commandment is Matthew 21:36. A gentleman comes to Jesus and said, "Teacher, what is the great commandment in the law?"And he said to them, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." The great commandment, love God, love people with everything that you got and then he defines it with the great compassion.What does it mean to love my neighbor as myself? That's Matthew 25:34-40. Then the King will say to those on his right, this is at the second judgment, "Come you who are blessed by my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me."Then the righteous will answer him saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" The King will answer them, "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers did it to me."Great compassion has come to every single Christian. Jesus says when there's someone in need and you see that someone is in need, God's brought this person into your life or you here of someone in need. Jesus is saying when you serve that person, when you meet that need, you're actually serving me. The great commandment always leads to a desire to be part of the great compassion and then the great commission.Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and said, 'All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, of the son of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age." When we as believers are committed together to the great commandment, great compassion, great commission that makes for a great church and movement of God.Here's the temptation. Here's why I started with point one about the simplicity of the model of Mosaic because here's what happens often. You hear texts like this, in particular about the great compassion or even the great commission. And you start saying, man, that is so awesome. That's great. I've got a passion for this. Let's start a Mosaic Boston soup kitchen for example, or a Mosaic Boston X ministry. Fill in the X. I love the heartbeat item.But here's what was happening and let me just analyze this. You're mixing categories. Here's what I mean. These commandments are given directly to Christians and the commandments are so weighty that often it's tempting to shirk personal responsibility and put the onus of that responsibility on the pastoral staff. Let's start this thing and what I mean is you guys start it and I'll come once in a while.But then I move away and then this thing is still going. And who's managing this thing? I have my personal responsibilities as a Christian to the great commandment and the great compassion and the great commission. That's my personal responsibility as a Christian. Those are things I got to do even outside of being a pastor. But I also have pastoral responsibilities. My pastoral responsibilities, mine and pastor Jan's.Our responsibilities, our job is not to do the ministry for you. It's not to fulfill the great commandment, great compassion and great commission for you. Our job as pastors is Ephesians 4:11-12 and he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers. Jesus gave them to the church to equip the saints for the work of the ministry for building up the body of Christ.God gives pastoral staff in order to equip the church, the Christians, in order to fulfill the mission that God has for each one individually. How do we equip? How did Saint Paul equip? How did the apostles equip? Through the gospel. We teach the gospel. You think through absolutely every single area of your life how the gospel impacts those areas. Therefore, you do not need our permission to be a Christian.If you are called to help in a significant way to alleviate hunger or to help the homeless population. Whatever you call it, go do it. Join other people in the city that are already doing it. You're just doing it out of a heart of gratitude for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me connect the two using just a little exegesis built on one word. A theology built on one word from scripture. It's the word palingenesia.Palingenesia is the word for regeneration. It's used twice in Holy scripture. Wants to talk about personal regeneration and wants to talk about the regeneration of the physical world. Titus 3:5 he saved us not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration, palingenesia, and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is we had hearts of stone toward God, hardened and desensitized.The Holy Spirit through the proclamation of the gospel gives a new heart that is sensitive toward God, regeneration. Matthew 19:28 the second time in scripture that this word is used. Jesus said to them truly I say to you in the new world, same word palingenesia. In the new world or in the regeneration. When the son of man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 Thrones joining the 12 tribes of Israel.He's talking about the new heavens and the new world, a physical reality. It's the same word for regeneration and the theology behind it is God created a physical world and it was perfect. Sin corrupts everything, taints everything. God regenerates individual Christians who then empowered by the Holy Spirit work together to bring restoration and renewal to the world now to make it as it will be in the new heavens and the new earth which was also the same way it was intended from the beginning.In your theology of Christianity if you only have the idea of spiritual palingenesia, me, personally, individualistic, by myself. If it's all about just personal regeneration, then your Christianity becomes individualistic. It becomes focused on self exclusively. My sins have been forgiven. I'm going to spend eternity with God and now I'm going to do whatever I want until that day when I go to heaven.If you only have the second idea of palingenesia to change the world, you're focusing on the recreation of the heaven earth apart from a personal understanding of rebirth. You so emphasized cultural engagement that you have no salt and light to offer the world. Without a unified understanding of palingenesia this warped dualism emerges. I think this is one of the biggest problems with the church in the United States today.This is dualism of this is my Christian life, my privatized spiritual, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with my public life. Or we need to do good work. We need to fight for social justice, for racial reconciliation, for economic redemption, etc. We need to do all this stuff and you're trying to do apart from the spiritual resource, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.Christ redeems us and then he gives us wisdom and power to work for renewal in our physical lives. Here's what I mean. What is culture? Culture in a city, culture in a country is the result of a societies core beliefs, core values. The things that the world finds sacred. It's what you believe about the meaning of life. It's what you believe about right and wrong. It's what you believe about what it means to be human and that's fleshed out in what we do and the things that we produce.When people say, "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual." Everybody's religious. Every single person is religious. Why? Because every single person finds something sacred. You have sacred values for which you're willing to sacrifice whatever those are. Whatever the most sacred thing in your life is, that's your religion. That's why for many people today their religion really is politics. It's politics or it might be money or career, etc.Let's just take politics in general. Why is politics in the United States so antagonistic? Like people hate each other. Because when you're on one side and you meet someone on the other side, that person isn't just wrong, that person's a heretic. That person's blaspheming. What do you do with heretics? You kill heretics. The thing that you are willing to give your life for easily morphs into the thing you are willing to kill for. That's religion.Then the gospel comes in and say you know what the gospel is? We deserve death, but Jesus Christ comes and he takes the debt that we deserve to give us life. He infuses our hearts with love and grace. Now we take those values and they absolutely transform everything that we do. Everything we do, we do with kindness. We have a different definition of tolerance and forgiveness and grace and generosity.The gospel changes our worldview, our inner motives, and gives us power to live that out in the culture. When Christians now do their work, the bulk of our life, 80% of our life we spend working. Many churches and a lot of Christians they have this false understanding of what it means to be spiritual. There's this idea of a vocational pyramid. At the very top of the vocational pyramid is Mother Teresa.And then you got missionaries in different countries and then you got pastors, church planners. And then you got people in the helping professions, doctors and nurses. And then you got people who do academic work. And then you've got people who arts and music. At the very bottom you've got people who do business. Do you do business but the way that connects to your faith is you better make enough money to then tithe significantly, become a gospel patron and help the church.Or medicine's important but what's more important is a person's soul and spiritual work. And you know what's forgotten completely? Is blue collar work. Blue collar work it's a separate pyramid. What did Jesus do for 17 years before he started even his gospel ministry from age 13 to age 30? He was a carpenter. This is all to say that when we do the work that we do and it's infused with the values that God has given to us through the gospel, we're recreating the world. It's palingenesia from the inside that's leading to renewal in the physical world.We do it to the glory of God and to the joy of all people. The better that we do that we create plausibility structures. What do I mean by plausibility structure? Your life creates something that makes what you say plausible. If you do good work and you do it so well that now people can't but pay attention to what you're saying, that's a plausibility structure. For example, Mother Teresa, she got invited to the Clinton White House.And what does she do when she got invited to the Clinton White House? She berated the Clinton administration for supporting abortion and they couldn't but listen to her because of her work in Calcutta. Another example is Alexander Solzhenitsyn who lived through the Soviet gulags. Before he went to the Gulags he was an author. After he came out from the gulags he continued to write and because his writing was so phenomenal he won a Nobel Prize in literature.A lot of other people lived through the gulags but didn't have even close to the same platform as Alexander Solzhenitsyn because of the symbolic capital that Nobel Prize brought with it. It's all to say do good work. As Christians do good work for the renewal of the culture. When you see something in the world, this should not be the way it is. This is not God's will in the economy. In health this isn't God's will.Now go as the Lord leads, go bring the gospel into that. And the increase in philanthropy, mercy, justice, racial reconciliation, integrity. This right here makes the world a better place. This is one of the reasons why Boston is so strategically important. This is why it's important to plant a church here and continue planting churches here because this is the place where minds and hearts are shaped.People from all over the world come here. They're coming here to get educated, they're coming here to get jobs. And as they do their minds and hearts are shaped with human secularism and then they take that worldview and they export it to the world. What do we do? We're here to say, you know that worldview, it doesn't satisfy. That worldview it doesn't fill your heart with joy. It doesn't answer the most important questions.That worldview is vapid and it's actually empty because it's not true. There's something better. There's the way of Jesus Christ. There's the gospel. That's why we make it our ambition to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's why we've been here for the past, in October will be eight years. When I was in seminary I thought I was going to go and do international mission work.My wife and I this is why we had our first baby Sophia our first year in seminary, which is crazy. But that's because I was like, I don't know where we're going to go in the world and I don't know what those hospitals are like so let's have a baby now. That was my daughter Sophia and that's why she's given a word as a name because that's what seminarians do. Sophia means wisdom. And then my second year in seminary I learned about church planting.I was like church planting sounds amazing. I found out that church planting is statistically the most effective way of getting the gospel out. You plant the gospel in an area, you plant a church and it just statistically do more evangelism because what I said about new churches. And what did Saint Paul do? He planted churches in urban context like places of influence, places where people go and then they'd leave.And at that time Boston was the least church city in the United States. That was 2009. If you Google least church city and there's all kinds of studies, Boston was number one. By God's grace God's been moving in the city. Through Mosaic it's a miracle, through other gospel proclaiming churches. The Barna study came out in June 5th, 2019. The most post-Christian cities in America 2019, Springfield Massachusetts, Portland Auburn Maine, Providence Rhode Island, still got this. Number four, Burlington, Vermont. Boston's number five. Praise God. It used to be number one.This stuff pumps me up. I love numbers. I love stats. I've also seen this in real life like real life change. Now, why are we still number five? Is my question. Here's what I just want to say with this. 25 years ago Boston Massachusetts, under 1% of Bostonians were in gospel centered churches. 10 years ago it was around 2%. Now it's 3.6% almost 4% of people that have some kind of connection to a gospel centered church.By 2026, if we remain on this trajectory Lord willing, we're on trajectory to hit 15%. Why is that important? Because sociologists have noticed that when a certain minority population in a community increases to anywhere between 10% and 20%, then the culture of the entire community begins to change. We keep going Mosaic. By 2026 we can reach a tipping point where now we can transform a city.Where Bostonians are not plugged into gospel centered churches, but they express gospel values of mercy and friendship and grace and kindness and generosity and justice and hope and they express it in their lives which transforms the city, transforms the region, and you know the influence of Boston we can transform the world. What am I trying to say with all that? I'm trying to say, if you've been here at Mosaic from the beginning I'm praying for the Lord to rekindle in your heart a holy ambition.I pray that for myself. I've got to do this every Sunday. Once in a while you got to pray. But every time pump yourself up. How? This is how, when I see people passionate for God it's so counter-cultural love. But then also like if you're new to the city and you're church shopping and you're here today, this is a sign from God that you should join Mosaic or another gospel center church but you're already here.We're not just calling you like I want to go to Mosaic once in a while. No. What does Paul say? I make it my ambition to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Join us in our ambition here at Mosaic in that holy ambition. Let's pray. Heavenly father, we thank you for the gospel and we thank you for this church. I thank you Holy Spirit for everything that you're doing, continue doing, continue glorify the name of Jesus Christ.Lord, we are sinners and we are wicked and we are depraved but you are such a glorious and generous God and gracious to us. We thank you Jesus for your sacrifice on the cross. As we take the bread and cup right now I pray that we repent of all sin and give you all glory and meditate upon what it took to save us and that you are God that was willing to take it. We thank you for that. We pray this in Christs' name, Amen.

Host Kimberly King joins Dr. Martha Wittenburg to discuss microbiomes in the gut! Nothing controls our health and well-being as much as our gut, and microbiomes in our bodies can make a huge difference in our health. Dr. Wittenburg is a board certified family medicine physician; she also has training in holistic and integrative medicine and is board certified by the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. She is passionate about helping people discover their underlying imbalances and coaching them back to wellness. Tune in to learn all about your gut!

Darcy Wittenburg is a pioneer in the Mountain Bike Film World we has co-founded two legendary Film companies that progress and further the sport. We talk about sport, film, parenthood, capturing time and touch on trips to Afghanistan and Haida Gwaii.

From the small market of Wittenburg, WI, Derek Dombeck has had to become creative when it comes to real estate deals due to lack of high inventory. Derek walks us through the strategies he's implemented to succeed in the central Wisconsin market.

Exactly five centuries after Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Christians continue to debate the best approach to the reading of their sacred book. The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture (Baylor University Press, 2017) the latest book by Iain Provan, who is the Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies at Regent College, Vancouver, advises readers on how to balance the competing claims of tradition and modernity. Provan's work proposes a “seriously literal” reading of Scripture. But what does that mean, and how can it be defended? Provan is leading a study tour called “Walking Where Luther Walked” from 29 April to 8 May, 2019. For more information, click here. Crawford Gribben is a professor of history at Queen's University Belfast. His research interests focus on the history of puritanism and evangelicalism, and he is the author most recently of John Owen and English Puritanism (Oxford University Press, 2016). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

October is Reformation month, so that means The Pastors will be talking about reformed dudes! This year we celebrate the 500th year since Martin Luther decided to redecorate the castle church door in Wittenburg. Therefore, it is only fitting that we kick this off by talking about the man who helped kick-off the Protestant Reformation. -------------------------------------- Recos! PC - Read and research, don't just consume what's being said on TV, social media, etc. Know and be able to defend what you believe & understand opposing viewpoints. PJ - Valley of Vision (Published by Banner of Truth) https://www.amazon.com/Valley-Vision-Collection-Puritan-Devotions/dp/0851512283

What was Martin Luther trying to accomplish when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the Wittenburg church door? Would you believe he didn't intend to start a new religious movement at all? Down the centuries Martin Luther has been lauded by some, lambasted by others. Was he an amazing hero or an arch heretic, or perhaps something different altogether? Craig Harline's latest book peels back the layers of this history, taking us directly into the friar's musty study to learn the truth about a contested historical figure. The book is called A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation. About the Guest Craig Harline is a professor of history at Brigham Young University and an award-winning author of books including Sunday: A History of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl and Way Below the Angels, a memoir of his service as a Mormon missionary in Belgium. He specializes in Reformation-era Christianity. His latest book is called A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation.The post Martin Luther and the birth of the Reformation, with Craig Harline [MIPodcast #66] appeared first on Neal A. Maxwell Institute | BYU.

In this lesson, learn how to use digital and analog light meters to calcuate exposures. Also included is the debut of the "Photo Tip of the Day" series; with this episode focusing on exposure compensation.

In this lesson, learn how to create stunning HDR images using your night shots and Photomatix. Tips on how to bracket exposures of your night shots accurately on manual mode and how to create exciting surreal effects using Photomatix Pro.HDRsoft.com

In this lesson, explore the history of Polaroid and the evolution of instant photography throughout the years. Learn how you can still use old classic Polaroid cameras today, how they work, and how to get started in this classic, artistic medium. Details on film packs, integral film, loading film and how to use a Holga Polaroid film back are also included.Fuji Pack FilmsImpossible Project Integral FilmsFuji Instax Cameras and Films