National Community Church Audio Podcast

When Jesus was born into the world, He didn’t just bring hope with Him. He WAS and IS hope and is a revelation to every person that encounters Him. To one, a revelation of hope brought confirmation, to another joy, to another redemption. He was the fulfillment of prophecies of old. He was the embodiment of comfort in the now. But what we found in the incarnation is that He is a God who reveals His presence in any and all circumstances. We believe that He still reveals hope today – even in the midst of a year like 2020!

God’s revelation often comes in different ways through different vessels, so this weekend we thought it was appropriate to share a tag team message. As our Campus Pastors all speak to a unique dimension of hope, we pray that God would enlighten our hearts to see our world, our neighborhood, ourselves as He sees...with eyes of eternal hope.

Ephesians 6 is a message Paul gives the Ephesians to wear the full armor of God, every piece. From warrior to a wrestler, their context was fighting for life or death. Dr. Foth imparts to us the same hope Paul gave back then reminding us to not duck or run away but to stand firm and fight the good fight. We are not going down no matter the situation because we have a destination.

There are 59 one another statements in the New Testament. Two of the most significant are found in Ephesians 5—SUBMIT to one another and SING to one another. When practiced in two-part harmony, marriage turns into a melody. Marriage is an ICON—an earthly representation of this eternal reality called the Trinity. You have to make sure the ICON doesn’t become an IDOL. That puts an impossible burden to bear on your spouse because you’re asking them to do for you what ONLY CHRIST CAN. But with Christ at the center, marriage mirrors the diversity and unity of the Trinity.

It takes moral courage to STAND AGAINST what is WRONG and STAND FOR what is RIGHT.
It takes moral courage to SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER, to SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.
Living not by lies is refusing to bow to cultural idols or ideologies if they don’t pass the TRUTH TEST.
It’s living according to your biblical convictions even if it’s COUNTERCULTURE. It’s RISKING YOUR REPUTATION for what you know is GOOD and RIGHT and TRUE. It’s DISAGREEING FREELY yet LOVING REGARDLESS. It’s a conscience taken captive by the Word of God and Spirit of God.

From the very beginning of our lives, we learn and grow from imitating others. The question over time becomes WHAT and WHO should we imitate? When you find faith in Christ, you are given both an identity as a child of God and a calling to imitate God (Ephesians 5:1). Identity and action are interlinked. Things like love and purity and sacrifice are virtues that we should strive to imitate. But that only happens when we know who we are. What you believe about yourself determines how you live your life! Our passage today gives both guidance in who we are as well as what we should do. We are love, we are light, we are God’s children. You can’t control anyone else’s action, but when you live out God’s light, you shine brightness into darkness. We hope and pray that as a church community we are people that don’t stand by complaining, but instead go out and hang a street light to provide warmth and direction for those around us. Join us we talk about what it looks like to imitate God.

The disintegration of civilization is caused by the deterioration of what British historian Arnold Toynbee called the CREATIVE MINORITY. The church is the creative minority, as well as a moral minority. It must swim upstream and go against the grain. Then—and only then—can it catalyze revivals, reformations, and renaissances. The key to this creative minority? Unity in diversity. That is what results in spiritual maturity. That is what nets this BELOVED COMMUNITY we call the church. In the words of NCCer David Grizzle, “Unity among DISSIMILAR people serves the purpose of being INDISPUTABLE PROOF that God is in the house!” Let’s not settle for the façade of UNIFORMITY. Let’s strive for biblical unity!

Whether it’s racial tension or political polarization, cancel culture or social media shaming, navigating this cultural moment feels like a high wire act. How do we stay balanced? How do we stay positive? How do we shift the atmosphere? The Apostle Paul shares four cardinal virtues that guide our cultural engagement—humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance. When we practice those principles, heaven invades earth. Instead of politicizing, we theologize the world around us.