Crossing the Jordon

Uchurch 11-6-2010
In case you weren't able to be with us this week, here is the scripture and questions we looked at:

Joshua 3

¹⁴ So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. ¹⁵ It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, ¹⁶ the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea^[c] until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.¹⁷ Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

What significance might there be in the Ark of the Covenant going before the people?

What is the importance of the Jordon opening up before Israel as they cross?

Joshua 4

⁴ So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. ⁵ He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁶ We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ⁷ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

Why is Israel crossing the Jordon meaningful to the whole story of God? What about the stones?

What does Israel crossing the Jordon have to do with out lives? What are some stones or memorable moments in your life?

CHANGE in Uchurch this week!

Hey everyone, we are going to have a change in Uchurch this weekend. We will NOT meet in the Tipping Point on Saturday. Because of Homecoming activities we will meet on Sunday night at 6:00 at the Beckum's house. Part of who we are as Uchurch is the idea that we all have something to bring to the table, this week this will be more literal.

The plan is for us to each bring various ingredients to a meal, make dinner, and then eat together. So, for us to get everything together could you please: 1. Email me (or text 913-742-0292) if you will be able to come for dinner 2. Include if you are willing to bring part of the meal 3. In turn, I will email you back with one ingredient that is needed.

The Beckum's home address is:
14724 S Village Dr
Olathe, KS 66062

I cant wait to share a meal with you all!
Brady

Hi friends,

The story continues...This Saturday @ 7pm we'll explore God's interactions with a man named Abraham, a mysterious figure named Melchizedek, and an unusual agreement.

I hope to probe what we mean when we keep saying that we're "blessed to be a blessing." I'm looking forward to it. See you all there. (Bring your coffee mug)

-Eric

The Fall

This Saturday we looked at Genesis 2 and 3.
We looked at how relationships are built on trust. Trust in relationships requires boundaries and limits. In a way relationships have prohibitions. Prohibitions in relationships become life giving, because they allow trust to form.

God put himself on the line and made Himself vulnerable because He longed for a genuine relationship. God invited man to participate in His creation. God also placed a tree in the garden Genesis 2:15-16. Humans were not allowed to eat from the tree. The point of the tree wasn't to be a test for humans, rather a life-giving prohibition. The life-giving prohibition allowed trust and a real relationship with God.

Eden wasn't so much about a perfect place for comfort, but for community. The garden was a place of unity between God, woman and man. Adam and Eve were able to be naked, open and raw before each other and feel no shame. Genesis 2:25

But we broke trust. We disobeyed the life-giving prohibition. And out of fear we hid behind trees when God came to us. We put up fig leaves between each other. Broken trust and fear led us to put up walls between each other and God.

But God didn't leave us hiding behind trees. God pushed us out of the garden. He clothed us in a way we couldn't on our own. His grace went before, and His grace continued. This God of creation, that put Himself on the line, that was in pursuit of a genuine relationship continued His relentless pursuit.

This is our hope: The story goes on. God does not give up. God always makes the first move, always takes the first step. How is God calling us to move out from behind the trees? In what ways is God calling us to reconcile our broken relationships?

Creation

The opening verses of Genesis (1:1-2:3) are a poetic overture to the story of God. It sets the stage for the drama, introducing the characters and their roles in the story.
It also gives hints about where the whole story is going. In ancient Near-eastern cultures, stories were circular. Instead of the familiar beginning, middle, end sequence, ancient stories were layed out as beginning, middle, beginning. The beginning would often parallel the end in interesting ways. So, if you wanted to know the goal of the end, you would look at the beginning. In the same way, we can look at this opening account and find hints where this is all going – hints of where God wants to bring us back to in a new, redeemed sort of way.
This poetry also subverts traditional notions about God, humans, and creation. This creation account seems to be modeled off of common Near-eastern creation myths. But here, the writer satirizes the usual tales. Heis making distinct statements about God, the world, and mankind that were contrary to the views of the ancient religions, and revolutionary in the history of religion.
The pagan deities of the ancient world were believed to have created humans as an afterthought. The gods needed creatures to provide food for them, so they created humans as servant-creatures. People in the ancient world believed they had to appease these powerful local deities with food offerings so they could secure blessings and avoid the gods’ capricious anger.
But the writer of Genesis inverts this idea of ruler deities and exploited, servile humans. He portrays a God who graciously makes space for his creation and makes humans the climax of it all. He doesn’t create with a clenched fist, but with an open hand. Here, God is the self-giving one who joyfully gives power and authority and responsibility to humans for stewarding the rest of his creation. For the writer of Genesis, God invites humans into a relationship of trust, vulnerability, and active cooperation – co-creators in the divine ordering of the cosmos.
We’re not puppets on a string, nor are we given power to exploit the world. We are trusted, as one writer says, to secure the well-being of every creature. We’re to be guiding, life-giving, loving presences in this world who work for the proper peace and harmony that God intends for his creation.

How are you uniquely gifted to participate in the divine ordering of the cosmos?

Which god do you know – the capricious, unpredictable, power-hungry, anxiety-inspiring gods of the ancient world or the God who gives himself away in a relationship of loving, generous, peaceful trust?

A few words on the seventh day: if God can step away from all his work and enjoy what he created, what does that mean for us? Historically, Christians have reminded each other that the Sabbath day is there because life isn’t about feverish self-securing or fighting for survival. At the heart of life is the realization that life is a gift. Sabbath is a way of saying that it’s all in God’s hands, and it won’t disintegrate if we stop our own efforts. It’s a way of saying that we can trust God.

Are you trying to hold your world together, anxious that it’ll all fall apart? Are you feverishly fighting for survival or protecting your kingdom of security? Is it tearing you apart? God invites you to rest in Him and remember that life is a gift.

Creation Service

Join us tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 11) @ 7pm in the Tipping Point at MNU. We'll explore the beginning of the story (Gen 1-2), and what it could mean for us living in God's big world. Please bring a mug for coffee.

Our story

Uchurch

A number of people at MidAmerica Nazarene University’s campus shared a story. Some were united by classes, others by works of service, and still others by simply living within close proximity to one another.

A number of people struggled with connecting to a church. Some people were disillusioned with their past church experience. Some students connected spiritually with those they lived with and desired to give purpose to what they were doing already. Many desired an intentional space to authentically express their faith.

Uchurch developed from these desires and convictions. We share the values of honoring God, genuinely expressing our faith, sharing the Lord’s Super and living sacrificially in our world.

One way we learn to live sacrificially is by our offering. Each gathering we present the needs known by the community. All the money collected is given to help meet the needs in a small way.

Whenever people gather together, they bring their whole selves, the good and ugly. In Christian community, we submit to the Spirit’s process of refining us. This year we are committing to providing a place of spiritual hospitality, looking at how we connect with the story of God and His Church, and embracing the mission of God. We will recount God’s work in the world and find our place in His epic story.

…

From the very beginning, God has been telling an epic story. With a breath and a word, He formed the cosmos to be the grand setting for his Divine drama. He placed humans in the middle of it all, and invited us to steward the gift of life – to explore His dynamic world of goodness, beauty, and truth.

Even when the drama took a turn toward chaos, God didn’t scrap it all. He set forth his plan to restore the entire cosmos and bring it back to singing harmony. And he started to reverse the tragedy with a small group of peculiar people, a people who would infect the world with God’s blessing. He met them at their point of struggle, delivered them from captivity, and led them on a journey toward freedom. As His people crossed into the Promised Land, God began to reveal that His plan was wider and deeper than they could have imagined. He desired to redeem every corner and crevice of the cosmos.

God’s intentions intersected with His people’s choices, sometimes in brilliant harmony and sometimes in clashing dissonance. When His people abandoned their covenant relationship, God sent prophets to draw his people back to Him.  Even in the midst of exile, God sent a word of hope through His prophets. He was up to a new thing, a promised Messiah to deliver them from their descent back into darkness. The people of God held their breath in anticipation. Then, in a forgotten corner of the Roman Empire, God came on the scene as one of us. And this time it would change everything…