Oak Hills Church, Folsom
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How does the resurrection make a difference on a Wednesday? When I'm bored at school? When I'm grocery shopping at Trader Joe's? Or languishing at a mundane job I only endure for the paycheck? Now we can have a fine time today kicking around some theology of the resurrection, or maybe naming two or three proofs for the resurrection, but I want to take it out of the clouds and drop it into a typical Wednesday. How does the resurrection matter on a Wednesday? How does it bring hope in the real world where we are actually living in 2024?
"Our first priority as the church is not to make all these things happen in the world through political action, but to be a prophetic witness to the hope of a world remade according to Christ." Brian Zahnd Too often, we sink our chips into politics and try and make the society righteous. But as the church, we are the ones who are to be the righteous society in the larger society... So wherever Kingdom values, ethics, and principles drive our voting, they should drive our actions within our own church toward one another, and then out from there. Caring for the poor—in our church... Loving the immigrants—in our church... Helping mothers who are contemplating an abortion. Helping mothers heal who have had an abortion. Adopting children. Helping at-risk children. Helping sinners find forgiveness. We should be helping one another transform. Helping one another break free from the shackles of shame... We should be visiting prisoners. We should be sharing financial resources to do Kingdom work. Connecting skills with needs. Helping people get out of personal debt. Helping people find jobs... Forgiveness, reconciliation, transformation, grace, goodness, shalom. Being the church.
Politics—if we think of the fullest definition of it—has to do with how we live together, and how we relate to each other in the various communities that we are in. It has to do with the values and the principles that govern our communities and relationships and common life together. And today's topic is "Incarnational Politics." It might seem like a strange phrase. What it means is simply in-the-flesh politics. Hands-getting-dirty kind of politics that rejects ideology from a distance and embraces a politics of presence. A politics of showing up, and being with, and listening to, and seeking to do something about. Face-to-face conversations with people who think differently, especially with those within our own families and within our own church. Stepping toward political tension to unwind the antagonism and foster relationship. Incarnational politics means taking action on the various issues that we care about. It means living out our politics in the local settings that we inhabit, where we can actually make a difference. Could it be that what we care about and believe is reflected more by the actions we take in our local context than by the circle we darken on our presidential ballot? [Note: This podcast includes an interview with Michael Zacharia, former White House executive and international consultant and professor on conflict resolution for large companies and countries.]
I have to tell you lately, I've been taken with the phrase, "The center is different than the middle." Think about that from the perspective of a follower of Jesus. The middle is neutral political ground to avoid conflict and make everyone happy. But for the Christian, the center is the starting point for healthy discussion and debate. And the center is King Jesus and the way of His Kingdom. Our calling is faithfulness to Him. Will we let the Kingdom bend our politics? Matthew 22 says, 'The greatest commandment is to love God and love our neighbor.' That's an excellent guide for a Kingdom approach to politics. In our Matthew chapter 5 passage, Jesus says, "love your neighbor and pray for those who persecute you." Another excellent guide to a Kingdom approach to politics. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about this term "cruciform," that is, in the form of a cross. That is, a cross-shaped politic that serves and sacrifices for others. Another excellent guide for political engagement. But notice something. Self is nowhere near the center of a Kingdom approach to politics. What's best for me. My rights. What I want. What will make my life better—are not the priorities of the Kingdom way.
God says in the first of the ten commandments these words, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other Gods before me." And a few verses later in the second commandment, God continues the theme, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name." These commandments prohibit idolatry. Not exactly an everyday word in our lexicon. But idolatry is taking a good thing and making it an ultimate thing. Idolatry is giving Godlike status to something or someone that isn't God, whether it be a person, an ideology, an institution, or whatever. An idol is anything or anyone we ultimately look to, lean on, or trust more than God for security, provision, hope, our identity, or peace. We're in week three of our "Let The King Descend" series where we're considering politics and the way of Jesus, and when this series first began to percolate, I knew if we were going to deal with politics authentically, then we had to talk about idolatry. Because in our time, and maybe in every time, politics is a rival God that is not content in the second chair. It wants to slither its way into the first chair. So politics can become an idol, and I believe politics has become an idol in the souls of many well-meaning Christians...From my chair, I believe many Christians—to the right politically and to the left politically—have put their hope in political power. A few years ago, somebody said to me, "Are you trying to turn us into a left-leaning church?" And I said, "No, I'm trying to pry the idol of politics out of our hands." So today, I hope to once again double down on Jesus Christ as King, and His Kingdom as ultimate reality. And in doing so, put politics in its place.
A crucified God is at the center of our faith, and this image gives us a vision of power that is upside-down from Rome's, Jerusalem's, Washington D.C.'s, or any other place of power. Jesus' life was cross-shaped even before He went to the cross. It was a life of service and sacrifice. Jesus said at the end of Matthew 28, "All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to me." But Philippians 2 says, "Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage, so He humbled Himself, took the very nature of a servant, and became obedient to death on a cross." If you're wondering, that's Jesus' politics. The fancy word is Cruciform—a lived-out politic in the shape of a cross and shaped by the cross. So what does that all mean? At a minimum, it means raw humility. At a minimum, it means a politic that is other-centered. A politic that seeks to love neighbor. Here's a sampling of His politics. Love God and love neighbor. Love your enemies. Pray for those who make your life miserable. Don't give anger a foothold. Give to the needy. Defend the cause of the helpless. Store up treasures in heaven. When you're insulted, don't retaliate. Heal the sick. Tear down the dividing walls of hostility. Forgive as God has forgiven you. Defend the cause of the helpless. Right the wrongs of society. Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God.
The church, from the very beginning, was designed to be a community of "Unlikes," a community of "Differents." There is a palpable tension in the New Testament around the inclusion of the Gentiles in the early church. Christianity was born out of the Jewish faith, and there came points along the way where there was pressure to let Gentiles be part of it. But God's plan—from the very beginning—was for Jewish and Gentile Christians to worship together, and do life together, and sort out the tensions and disagreements together, in the shadow of the cross and in the shadow of an abundant communion table. Now, the dislike and hatred between these two groups cannot be overstated. Let me put it this way: If the Jew-Gentile tension was a great Dane, the Democrat-Republican tension is a toy poodle. It doesn't compare. God's plan was to pull them together as one people united under King Jesus to witness to a chaotic world how powerful and good He is. The church is supposed to be a society of different people who are seeking first the Kingdom of God, and navigating everything—including political chaos—in a way that is in sharp contrast to how it's done everywhere else. So we're talking about politics because we, Oak Hills Church, have a marvelous opportunity to demonstrate who Jesus really is, and sort out the political tensions and disagreements in the shadow of the cross and in the shadow of an abundant communion table.
Paul says it clearly: Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked in this world or in any world, and God placed all things under his feet. In short, Jesus is King. If all things are under his feet, then no thing is more powerful than him, no thing compares to him. All this means is that even in the chaos, uncertainty, fear, worry, anxiety, tension, of our world, our nation, or maybe of our lives, all of it is under his feet. But in the metrics of the Kingdom, this means we might not thrive, we might not win, we might not succeed, we might not survive. Because thrive, win, succeed, survive, are metrics of the kingdom of humans, not necessarily metrics of the Kingdom of God. So the invitation to you and me is to open our hands and surrender. Open our hands and trust.
Our church's mission statement is written in fancy metal letters—on the wall, in the lobby, over the water fountain, next to the coffee bar. It reads, "To invite people to experience the reality of life in the Kingdom of God." What we're talking about the next two weeks—God the King and His Kingdom—is foundational and essential to the Christian faith. It is foundational and essential to the whole Christian story. In fact, a strong case can be made that the Kingdom of God is the Bible's favorite subject and primary theme. And in profound and incredibly practical ways, what we're talking about over the next two weeks can actually be a game changer in how we view God, how we live out our faith, how we discern the purpose for our lives, how we navigate through the various struggles in life, how we endure the brokenness and chaos of this world, how we endure the upcoming Presidential election, how we face our own death, and how we think about eternity. It's that important.
We bring the whole of who we are into parenting, and all will sometimes sin. Sometimes get it wrong. The sooner we understand that the more we let go of the drive to be the perfect parent, the more we lean into the perfect parent—God. "The beyond-our-comprehension reality at the heart of the universe is that God in Christ on the cross has forgiven all our sins, set us right with Him, and gathered us into His righteousness. We cannot comprehend it, but we can most certainly live it—a way of life in which everything about us is and continues to be formed in the likeness of Christ." There is our hope. Part of my continual frustration and shame came from trying to be perfect, to be "God." To somehow control each situation and raise the perfect children and create the perfect memories. And though God desperately wanted to work in me and through me, he never meant for me to do the job that was His.
It doesn't take too long before the question arises: Why? Like, why does God need me to pray for Him to act? Like if—as it says in Matthew 6:8, God already knows what we need before we ask Him—why does He need me to ask? And why sometimes when I do ask for something I think I need, I don't end up getting it? And then, why do I sometimes miraculously get things I didn't even pray for? Like if God always wants what is good and best for us—and He always does what is good and best for us (regardless of what we think is good and best)—then what does my prayer have to do in anything? I know, for me personally, any talk of a Reboot in my own prayer life—the first hurdle I have to get over is this question. Why?
"God's plan is really simple. God's plan is to form a people, a community. And through that community's transformation, through that community's life together, through that community's Christlikeness (both at an individual level and at the communal level)—God's Plan A is to use that community to show other people who God is and what life can be like in His Kingdom with Him. That's the plan." Rather than share a message on the topic of Mission, Pastor Mike Lueken interviews four sets of people who are living out mission in their lives: • Caryn & Shawn Young (Mission in the neighborhood) • Selina Zavala (Mission in the workplace) • Cas Mastropaolo, Caelin Linden, and Greg Roeszler of The Playmakers (Mission with our Ministry Partners) • Neena Conrad, Oak Hills Missions Coordinator (Mission as a community)
"A healthy marriage is the foundation of a healthy family, and a healthy family is foundational to a healthy society. A healthy marriage can create ripple effects through many generations, while a broken marriage, whether it's officially broken (meaning papers have been filed and spouses live apart) or unofficially broken (meaning papers haven't been filed but spouses live a part), often does the opposite through many generations, has the opposite ripple effect. "Marriage is intended to be good. Marriage is intended to be fun. Marriage is intended to be appropriately fulfilling. It is intended to be a life-long relationship of mutual love and submission between a man and a woman where intimacy increases through the years. That's the intention. So marriage is worth the effort and worth the struggle and it's worth the pain."
"I like this time of year, I really do. It's a chance to look back, a chance to let go, a chance to celebrate, and a chance to look ahead. I just find it invigorating—as corny as it may be—to think about the close of one year and the prospect of beginning a new year. Henri Nouwen, in a book called Here and Now, said it this way: "We must learn to live each day, each hour, yes each minute, as a new beginning. As a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life. Imagine that we could live each day as a day full of promises. Imagine that we could walk through the new year always listening to the voice saying to us, 'I have a gift for you and can't wait for you to see it.' Imagine.""
"The Christmas story is a pivotal chapter in this big and beautiful story that God is writing and slowly unfolding because in Luke's gospel, when the angel announced, 'Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord,' he was announcing the arrival of the Prince of Peace. He was announcing the partial fulfillment of Isaiah's 700 year old prophecy. "Now, just so we're clear, and we keep these people in these story being human, I don't believe any character in the Christmas story comprehended the full gravity of what was happening. Their reactions—the prime characters in the Christmas story—were all over the map, just like our reactions are all over the map. Doubt, disbelief, fear, astonishment, joy, hope, worship, disturbed, confused. The array of their reactions suggests at least they realized something profound was happening. And it seems to me we sit on the opposite side. We run the risk of tempering and taming the Christmas story so it fits nicely under a snow globe."
"In the Jewish community at that time, "Father" was a powerful idea that carried meaning for every aspect of your life. It was a term that referred to more than just your biological birth father. It was a term that you would refer to your ancestors. It was also a term that could refer to a ruler or a king or a governor of a city, that their role of governing the city or to of the community was similar to the role of a father over his household. And so it carried great significance. "To refer to the Messiah as "Everlasting Father" —not as a reference that Jesus was "The Father" like in reference to His role in the Holy Trinity—but as a reference to His role in the lives of His people. One of the main roles ascribed to someone with the title "Father" was this idea of identity and belonging."
"When we think of "Mighty God," power probably comes to mind. The name, the title, "Mighty God" declares that the Messiah of Advent is powerful. So powerful that Isaiah 9 says that the running of the whole world is going to rest on His shoulders. In Isaiah 46:8-10, God is speaking of himself—with attitude: "Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; For I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, 'my purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'" "It is wise and it is good to remember that God is great, and He is powerful, and He way is above us and infinitely far beyond us. And His ways, as Isaiah 55 says, are not our ways."
In this closing message, we invited the Oak Hills Community to share — open mic style — what they've been learning from our six-week series. Due to the nature of the sharing, this podcast only includes the opening remarks by Pastor Mike Lueken, and not the actual sharing time from the congregation.
These two disciples are walking behind Jesus, and the language used in the Bible is that they were "following" him in the sense that they were walking behind him (John 1:35-42). But not yet in the sense that we're talking about today. He turns around and asks, "What do you want"? And this question, Jesus asks, and keeps asking those who say they want to "follow" him. What do you want? What are you after? Why are you here? I think we can make a case that Jesus asks us this question every single day, and many times during the day, from the moment we awake and face all of life's situations, until we fall asleep. And when we wake up the next day, he asks it again. How to follow Jesus doesn't mean anything unless I want to follow Jesus.
"Go to the Oxford dictionary today, and look up the word "grace" and it will tell you that it is God's "unmerited favor." But while this is a widely accepted definition of God's grace, it is—like we were saying last week with the gospel—a rather truncated or reduced definition that actually robs it of the power ascribed to it by the authors of the New Testament. Because to define grace as merely God's unmerited favor...really boils it down to God's attitude towards us. Basically, it reduces grace down to the statement, "God likes us even though he has no reason to." Which is amazingly true. We humans are unmeritedly favored by God. But, that is not all that grace, as the New Testament writers use it, is about..."
“The understanding of the Gospel that circulates in many religious—and even unreligious circles—can be described as gospels of sin management. Essentially, different ways of saying, ‘Jesus died for your sins. And if you accept him as your Savior, you can get your sins forgiven and go to heaven when you die.” Now the thing about these definitions of the Gospel is that the basic concept that they talk about is very biblical. the Bible is very clear that all us humans are sinners, and through Jesus we can be forgiven of our sins and be assured of living in eternity in the presence of God. But the problem with making this the core of the Gospel is that they center the message on the wrong thing. It makes everything about where we spend life after death. We end up being the stars, the center of the story. Which of course is a problem. Because us being the center of the story—well that’s what got us into this mess in the first place."
"I’m not trying to point fingers at anyone, because we all medicate, and we all have a false self. We are all prone to whatever degree to present a polished picture of ourselves to the world in the hopes of being applauded, accepted, or approved. These impulses to do this—to filter, to cover up, to polish—these are direct consequences of sin, and of the curse sin brings. But if we set aside our defenses and resistances for a few moments, if we do our best to say, 'you know, this false self set of clothing is getting kind of scratch, so I’m gonna take it off for just a second. And I’m gonna sit in a reflective space for a few moments.' If we do that, we might realize that a picture of ourselves hangs in the walls of our inner world. And no one else sees it. And this picture shapes, powerfully and profoundly, our thoughts, our feelings, the relationships we have and how we are in those relationships, our defenses, our decisions, our habits, our passions, our overall way of living and being in the world. And our overall sense of peace and well-being in life." NOTE: Mike Lueken refers to a song called “Christ is Lower Still” by Matt Maher, Kate Bluett, and Doe Jones, which was played during the service.
"What happens if I ask you if the way you respond in times of stress, or pain, or loss, support what you claim to be your picture of God? When life goes wrong, do you ever wonder if God is punishing you? Do you truly feel that God is always for your? Or a bit against you? What does your prayer life suggest about your true picture of God? How about your level of anxiety? Your relationships? How you feel about yourself? AW Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” The truth is we can think we know a lot about God and His Word, give all the right answers, and yet—because our stated belief doesn’t match our long-term persistent experience of God, we will live out a completely different picture of God than the one we say we believe."
"We actually believe that drastic and authentic transformation is at the core of the Christian Gospel. In the spirit of Colossians 3, we believe God desires communities of his people who are growing in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. And love is the preeminent virtue they offer to each other and to this broken and fractured and hurting world. This love binds them together in unbreaking unity. These divinely cultivated character qualities are being lived out and put on display by the people of God. And we actually believe—here at Oak Hills—that our calling as individuals and as a church is to put on these character qualities in an authentic way, so they become part of who we are, and they flow out of us, and both individually and communally, we reflect the beautiful and character of Jesus to this hurting world."
"The trouble with leaving it at "Trust God" is that the concept of God is so broad—infinite really—that if we're not careful, we can create a picture or an image of God that is intangible and obscure, an image of God that isn't even accurate...So it is of no comfort to us in our [specific] time of trouble and it leaves us helpless to the onslaught that troubles our hearts, and makes joy unsustainable..." But there's something different—at least for me, at least this week—to have Jesus look me in the eye, and say, "Trust in me. Trust in me. You believe in God. Believe also in me."
"In our passage, Jesus is on the verge of unspeakable rejection and suffering. literally, within an hour or two, he will begin his passion. And yet, in his final instructions, he's talking to his followers about his joy. How can he have joy? How can he talk about joy, minutes before he is arrested and beaten and executed? "...Through it all, he knew he was in God's care. He knew there was a bigger picture, and there was a bigger story, and he was a part of that bigger picture and story, so he had joy."
"James says it this way: 'Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.' (James 1:17) And it is this truth—this fact—that makes being thankful in the midst of disappointment and trials a reasonable response. You see, being thankful is not dishonest or naive or ignorant of facts. Really, it is ignorance that requires ignorance of facts. In order to complain, we have to look past all the good things, to pick out the exception to the rule. And then focus all of our energy on that one exception..."
"Now remember, we're defining joy in this series as 'a pervasive and constant sense of well-being.' So in the language of this series, we're talking about choosing the path that leads to a pervasive and constant sense of well-being, no matter our circumstances. And grieving, lamenting is the path to choose in response to the pain and brokenness of this world. "Over the past seven years or so, at least from my perspective, an alarming number of Christ followers have opted to deal with the pain and brokenness of life and this world by sitting in the seat of a scoffer (Psalm 1:1)...The scoffer is the one who stands away, stands apart, strokes their chin—skeptically, cynically, bitterly, and arrogantly—while critiquing and criticizing and shaking their head. So instead of a healthy grieving over the sufferings and failings and disappointments of their own soul, the scoffer focuses on the failings and disappointments of others."
"How do we find happiness and hang on to it in a world where hardship and heaviness and violence and trouble seem so unrelentless and so unstoppable. Well, over the next five weeks, our answer is: Choose Joy." "Happiness may not be possible in this broken world. Because typical happiness is often if not usually dependent on circumstances...life is a roller coaster of circumstances. But regardless of our circumstances, we can choose joy. Joy is deeper than happiness...Christian joy is a pervasive and constant sense of well-being."
“We as a local church need to be on the frontlines, helping people discover the life and hope that only Jesus gives. And we need to find creative and imaginative and as yet untried experiments to bring ministry beyond these walls and help people find God. ““The Lord is God and there is no other.” This is as true today as it was when Moses stood in front of the people—they were on the western shore of the Jordan river, and they’re heading into the promised land. It’s as true today as it was then. “The Lord is God and there is no other.” This is the message of Jesus’ Church. Not a message to scream at those who don’t agree. Not a message to berate those who don’t agree. And not a message to wield over people who don’t agree. But a message to demonstrate and to proclaim—through our life together as a congregation.”
