David: Give it to God.
We begin our series in 1 and 2 Samuel with the story of Hannah. Her culture tells her that she is valued only if she bears children, but she is barren. This causes great distress. Her husband Elkanah tries to be kind, but unwittingly simply replaces one sort of cultural expectation and oppression with another (that her worth can be found in being a loved wife). Hannah chooses instead to pray and seek God. In doing so she gives both herself and her potential pregnancy to God, and it is this process of surrender that brings joy and peace. Moreover in her rejoicing she hints at a greater peace that is to come- not just for her, but the whole world. God’s anointed Messiah is coming, the prince of peace, to end all anguish and strife. When we can come before him in prayer and submission, he carries us free from the burdens that cultural expectation look to oppress us with, and we can as Hannah did before, live in peace and joy.
By Ed Flint
Worship and money.
Concluding our series on worship we consider how we treat money as an act of worship. Paul encourages us all, rich or poor, to not put our faith in money. The love of money can lead to all sorts of problems. Rather contentment is what we’re after. And it can be found by all, wealthy or not, when the whole of our lives (including our wallets) are orientated around, and given in worship to, the only One worthy of devotion. When we worship him we experience the rich provision of everything for our enjoyment that God promises.
By Ed Flint
Generosity as worship.
Though sung worship is central to our expression of church (culturally, and certainly for us at Bread) the words translated as worship in the new testament aren’t actually to do with singing specifically at all. They build to a much more general picture full and submission and devotion, and wherever these new worshipful communities spread, generosity was their hallmark. It’s not an aspect of christianity that many of us feel most comfortable with, is it? But as Paul reminded the church in Corinth (a community particularly known for its generous promises) giving should not be done under compulsion; rather as a mark of evidence that God’s grace has been understood. Let’s return to this picture of God as the ultimate cheerful giver - the one who shows us how much He loves to gives his children good gifts - as we try to comprehend how this was always meant to work for us too.
By Hannah Flint
What's the Spirit got to do with it?
The fullest depiction of worship services in NT is found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. There he encourages the church to both follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit. It’s always both/and not either/or. When we do both the church is edified, which is always the goal. A church full of the Spirit and full of love is the hope both for us and the world. In this talk we look specifically at the role of the gifts of tongues and prophecy to edify us all.
By Ed Flint
Why do we sing?
What does Paul mean when he encourages us to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? The role of music in worship isn’t just about creative expression or an excuse to pad out a church service. The way we sing in church today dates back to the days of King David who understood that music was a way to access the presence of God.
By Ben Manusama
Why worship?
From the beginning God’s people have engaged in the regular worship of God. From a biblical perspective, not only is worship of God our highest calling, it is in fact integral to who we are. So understanding what worship is, how we do it, and practicing it enables us to become more fully ourselves. This short series covers the worship life of bread - from sung worship in services on a Sunday, to a general posture of worshipfulness throughout our daily lives, to worshipping God with our resources, our time, and our gifting. Enjoy!
By Ed Flint
Easter: Hope for us all.
The details of gospel accounts of Jesus‘ resurrection never fail to blow our minds when we stop and examine. Just like much of his life and ministry, when Jesus first announced he had risen from the dead, and changed everything for the whole world forever, there was no fanfare or fireshow or thunderous display, just calm, kind words to a woman who had loved him dearly. Jesus always chooses the Mary Magdalene's, which is hope for all of us.
By Hannah Flint
Palm Sunday: Welcoming Jesus as king.
Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, where He was welcomed by crowds of people who spread palm branches and cloaks on the road in front of Him as a sign of honor and respect. They were caught up with the joy that comes from 700 years of waiting for a mighty deliverer to free them from their oppressors. Only 5 days later this same crowd would turn against Jesus and demand that He be crucified because they didn’t understand that the kingdom Jesus came to establish was not a physical nation, but a kingdom found in the hearts of people.
By Ben Manusama
Romans: Growing up.
Christian community is made up of lots of different people at different stages of Christian maturity. Throughout his writings Paul corrects and disciples those who are immature with regards their character and will. But for those who are simply weak in faith - those who struggle to believe everything that Jesus has done and it’s implications for them - there is grace and patience. Even for those who are misguided in their faith, those who are stronger in faith are called to be accepting and non-judgemental. The reason for this is that fundamentally, in God’s economy, love and truth are not of equal value. Love supersedes all else. It is the currency of the kingdom. By love the Spirit is given, and the Spirit it is who brings all of us to fullness of faith. So we can entrust everyone to the Spirit’s maturing. And as a result see his community grow and mature.
By Ed Flint
Romans: Lord of all.
Paul’s closing chapters of Romans are about how Christian relationships should be defined. Chapter 13 answers the question how Spirit-filled people should relate to Government. Paul’s argument is that since God has all authority, and he allows earthly rulers to exercise some (even if God does not condone how it is used), Christians should obey all state laws (even those with which we might not agree) as an act of acknowledgment and worship of God’s supremacy and lordship. And yet of course, both Paul, the other apostles, and indeed Jesus himself disobeyed ruling authorities at times. So then, there is a line. And for Paul the line appears to be defined by the greatest commandments - to have no other God but Jesus, and to love our neighbor and do no harm to them. Any law which prevents us from doing either of these must, for the Christian, necessarily be rejected. Ultimately Paul’s concern is who is going to be Lord in our lives. The challenge for us is to allow Jesus to be Lord of it all - sometimes this will require active disobedience, probably most of the time it will require humble submission.
By Ed Flint
Romans: Living sacrifice.
Chapter 12 marks a turning point Paul's letter. He moves his conflicting church readers to the how of the unity thing; how it works to be a body (different parts, all working together, belonging to one another) and what the love that fuels this will look like (the same kind of love for your friends, our church body members, and our enemies alike!) And he begins this instruction with one of the most poignant battle cries in all of scripture: what God wants from us is for us to offer our whole selves to him, and to not fall into worldly patterns of managing our human mess, but to let Him transform us.
By Hannah Flint
Romans: The way we change.
The situation in the church in Rome was a stalemate, involving Jewish and Gentile Christians pointing fingers at each other over theological differences. Paul responds pastorally to their underlying question: who’s right and who needs to change? By Romans 8, Paul establishes that Jesus is right. He then makes the case that both groups (us included) need to change. Change comes by the Spirit. We are energized to live as the righteous people we already are. Righteousness is about how we relate to God and one another, it’s about how we share the table. The change that God wants to bring is an internal one that produces outward results most notable in our capacity to love and share. This kind of change is not just up to the Spirit; we are not passive in it, nor is obedience automatic – we participate. As we live by the Spirit, we’re reminded of our adoption into God’s family where we’re made new, all history, all curses, all regrets are done away with and we hear again God’s love for us. And nothing can separate us from his love.
By Raul Sandoval
Romans: Solution of grace.
Having established that all of humanity - Greek, Jewish, Pagan or otherwise - has at its heart the brokenness of sin. Paul then depicts the glorious act of God righting what was wrong. Sin is a cosmic, societal, but also particularly personal problem and it is far more than simply moral performance. In Jesus God becomes the lightening rod of all human sin, and in his body, he gives it what it deserves - annihilation. Jesus’ death is not a just death at the hands of God, it is an unjust death at the hands of sinful humanity. Jesus is what humanity was always supposed to be - innocent and perfect. And in his sinlessness he takes on humanity’s sin in his body to destroy it on the cross forever. God’s justice is then gloriously displayed in raising the innocent Jesus from the dead. Death cannot hold the guiltless God-Man. God makes a spectacle of all the powers of evil - personal, religious, societal, national and supernatural - exposing them for what they are and robbing them on the cross of their power. What this means to us is that God is not angry - he never was. God is love. And it means all our attempts to appease him through moral or religious performance are futile. None of us will be good enough, but he is. We can simply receive the gift of sin destroyed. And it means we can be changed. Jesus’ death is the defining emancipation of the whole universe. It sets us free from all the power of sin, death and the devil, and restores to us his image-bearing vocation - to be his people and do his work.
By Ed Flint
Courage is calling.
It takes courage to be a Canaanite woman who crosses the border of Tyre and Sidon and approach a rabbi to ask for mercy. The story of the Canaanite mother who demonstrates faith in Jesus is a compelling narrative of courage. She believes in the identity and authority of Jesus over demons and disease so she courageously asks him to heal her daughter. When Jesus sees her persistent faith, he does as she wishes. It takes courage to call out for mercy. it takes courage to have faith in God’s vision for wholeness, flourishing, and justice. It take courage put faith into action and approach God for what we need. When we do, we become conduits for mercy.
By Inés Velásquez-McBryde
Calling: Jesus the prophet.
Prophecy is what God wants to say to people. It is not so much about the future as it is the here and now. It is more forth-telling, than it is fire-telling. Jesus not only spoke but acted prophetically. His arrival in Jerusalem, his cleansing of the temple and his cursing of a fig tree were all dramatic prophetic actions packed with meaning. Jesus declared to the people of Jerusalem that he had arrived as the king of his kingdom and so offered a choice between siding with the failed religious rule of the time or with his new world order- the kingdom of heaven. We’re all called to eagerly desire the gifts of the spirit especially the gift of prophecy. And when we prophesy we’re doing the same as Jesus did- speaking the words of God which encourage people to orientate their lives around Jesus, who is for them and loves them and wants them to thrive.
By Ed Flint
Calling: Jesus the teacher.
Jesus spent his whole ministry teaching his disciples and the crowds what it meant to follow him. In those day it was not uncommon to gather around a rabbi’s teaching, but what Jesus taught WAS uncommon. His kingdom doesn’t always sound like the solid ground we want to build our lives on, which is what the Wise and Foolish builder parable at the end of Sermon on the Mount was supposed to illustrate. Do we want to believe that meekness, service, self-sacrificing and peacemaking are the key to following him? Loving our enemies? Not always our favorite, most easily applied parts of the gospel. And yet any path to unity that includes diversity must understand the real kingdom work of learning how to overcome our fallen, human, tribal conflict patterns, and find His path back to love.
By Hannah Flint
Calling: Jesus the pastor.
The term ‘pastor’ is Latin for poimén (poy-mane') meaning shepherd. The mixed imagery around Shepherds included symbolism for leaders and rulers. Moses is said to have led God’s people out of Egypt “like a flock”. Elsewhere, the Prophet Jeremiah attacks leaders who have mismanaged God’s flock and led the people astray. From writings in the Ancient Near East to Greek epics, shepherds were a common figure for rulers. But among God’s people, it wasn’t so much about ruling, it was about caring. When Jesus arrived he was moved with compassion for a helpless and troubled people who had no shepherd. He comes to be the good, perfectly ideal, and beautiful shepherd that we all need. He pastors us with personal care, intimate knowledge, and wise guidance. We belong to Jesus the Chief Shepherd from whom we learn how to exercise our pastoral calling. As we give ourselves over to God’s good shepherding, his care and compassion drive us into the fullness of life in him.
By Raul Sandoval
Calling: Jesus the apostle.
The word apostle derives from a greek word simply meaning ’sent out person’. In the first century Roman world it meant more than being a messenger, it connoted authority. An apostle was someone who spoke and acted on behalf of someone with power. As Christians we are all sent out, but those with an apostolic calling are those who tend to spend their lives breaking new ground, or planting churches, or starting fresh initiatives. They are the entrepreneurs of the church. Jesus was the archetypal sent one. His mission, as emphatically displayed at his Transfiguration, was to bring heaven and earth together. This is the mission of every apostle following Jesus. No less, no more. No less because the Christian faith is not about patiently waiting to escape this world and get to heaven. No more, because it is not about forcibly imposing God’s rule on the world. It is about continuing Jesus' mission to heal the sick, set the oppressed free, and proclaim the age of God’s goodness. To do this we need conviction - this comes from the assurance of our Father, our friends, and the Holy Spirit. In his power we can carry on, in part, the apostolic work of Jesus and see heaven come to earth.
By Ed Flint
Calling: Jesus the evangelist.
The word evangelism derives from the greek word Evangelion - Good news. So an evangelist is someone who brings news. Evangelists are not primarily teaching, and they are not primarily prophesying, they are primarily announcing - that’s what you do with news. So if, for instance you tell someone who doesn’t yet believe that they are going to burn in the fiery fires of hell you are not evangelizing, because that is not good news. That’s bad news. If you teach someone who doesn’t yet believe about Christian sexual ethics that is also not evangelizing, because that is teaching. To evangelize is to announce something wonderful - Jesus. It’s as simple as that. Today we consider a couple of times Jesus does exactly that - announce himself to a world in need.
By Ed Flint
Advent: Destined for joy.
The announcement of Jesus’ arrival comes to an unlikely group: the shepherds. This rag-tag group were often looked down on, forgotten, and considered to be far from religious or noble. Yet the greatest announcement in the history of the world comes to them, not to the rich and powerful but to the lowly shepherds. It suggests to us that God hasn’t forgotten the least of us – to him, we are unforgettable. We are favored, not forgotten by the Messiah who ushers in the age of favor and forgiveness. When we grasp it, it causes joy in us to overflow. Joy that sustains in hardship. Joy that is rooted in God’s faithfulness. We were destined for joy.
By Raul Sandval