No Church Answers!

Seek first the Kingdom of God and all we need will be given to us. This is hard to believe. Yet for Christians it stands as a promise from the Son of God himself and therefore demands to be taken seriously. Material wealth won't last. Worry accomplishes nothing. Judgment leads to hypocrisy. These sections of the Sermon on the Mount get to the heart of its counterculture nature. Join the fellows as they discuss the ramifications of this pointed verses.

Jesus teaches the Christian approach to religious disciplines of charity, prayer and fasting should be practiced with humility. The fellows discuss the definition of true humility, which lies somewhere between boastful arrogance and self-erasure. We talk about the difficulty of avoiding temptation of making gifts or personal service all about oneself, and try to resolve that with the idea that recognizing the "awesome" value of someone's devotion to others point to a "light" in the darkness.

The Sermon on the Mount, as Robert "The Professor" Cocheu notes, sits "at the intersection on faith and real life." We take on one of the chewier sections in an attempt to get to its overall countercultural point -- that in the Kingdom of God, everyone is understood to be made in God's image and no one is expendable. In this framework, does insult equal murder? Does lust equal adultery? And what about the call to love one's enemies? Certainly there must be exceptions. Are there? Would we rather try to rationalize Jesus' words with our own cultural attitudes than hear its divine call to "turn the world upside down" as the early Thessalonian Christians did? (Acts 17:6)

The Sermon on the Mount is at once an inaugural address, a list of promises and expectations, a mission statement, and a vision for a new type of Kingdom. It seems to set impossible expectations, but suggests these expectations can be met through the power of the Holy Spirit and a spirit-driven community. This week, the fellows begin a comprehensive look at the entire sermon beginning with the well-known series of beatitudes and Jesus' command to be "salt and light" to the world.

The Sandwich Generation describes adults from the ages of 40 to 59 who are caught between supporting minor children and aging parents. We focus on the aging parent caregiving part of this and the stress it can bring to Christian households. How do we honor the commandment to “Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12) while at the same recognizing that we have a responsibility to handle our own family obligations well (2 Corinthians 12:14). We examine three phases: 1) When it's time for parents to give up independence, 2) when it's time to move to assisted living, 3) when it's time to move to palliative care. Each phase is different and requires different thought processes and spiritual strength.

The fellows wrap up their study of Galatians with guest Scotty Swingler, Students Pastor at Sugar Land Baptist Church. We talk about how freedom in Christ opens the door to agape love and fellowship, freedom from the cultural pressure to condemn others and fret about what other think of us. But most of all, we are free to put aside "playing church" and act in response to a faith that demands we see others as God sees them--people all made in His image.

Surrender to the Holy Spirit and fruit of the spirit--love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control--will follow. So it says plainly right here. Yet do we really believe that? Do we always hedge, depending on some aspect of our fallen human nature as a back-up to grace? Is it even possible to totally surrender to the Spirit? We revisit ways to cultivate the biblical fruit of the spirit and how to apply it, especially to personal, professional and congregational conflicts. Also, Michael Cropper, the Judge, reports on his recent mission trip to Chihuahua, Mexico.

To grasp Paul's message it’s essential to understand what he means by “freedom.” In America, freedom means independence and self-actualization. Therefore we must be on guard of replacing slavery of the Law with slavery of identity, nation, culture, career and, most of all, ego. To Paul and the early Christians, freedom was liberation--not just from the Law--but also from barriers created by tradition, culture, class and ethnicity that stood in the way of a radical interdependence. Davey Gibson, associate pastor of education and discipleship at Sugar Land Baptist Church and co-author of our study, joins our conversation.