Denver Community Church

November 29, 2015: So This is Christmas – Landon Lynch

Lights. Tinsel. Trees. Parties. Busyness. Gifts. Materialism. It must be Christmas season! Which is honestly one of the most backward things we can do, isn’t it? I mean, if we are honest we all say we know the real reason for the season, and yet we fall prey to it year after year. Perhaps we could condemn the materialism and stress that are so rampant and connected to Christmas each year or – better yet – we could explore what the birth of Jesus was really about.

The answer? Liberation. Jesus, was and is the one, who came to set us free from the very things that enslave us each year in all areas of our life. It will do us good as we head into Advent to not fool ourselves into thinking about life as categories of political, economic, religious, etc. But understand Jesus and Christmas are about the whole of life – material and spiritual. Which means when we take a good hard look at the birth of Jesus we must take a good hard look at our whole selves.

November 22, 2015: I Am the Vine – Landon Lynch

In the ancient world, they didn’t have supports for grape vines. Grapevines ran along the ground. Which meant the farmer had to lift up branches with small stones, rocks, or other branches, to keep the grapes from touching the ground. More than this, every year, the farmer clipped off the branches that did not bear fruit – and he pruned the branches that did. Pruning comes from the root, “to lift up.” On a surface reading it would mean God cuts off the bad stuff.

But what if it means “to lift up?” Imagine God, the gardener, walking up and down these rows. He sees a branch struggling, that is touching the ground – if grapes touch the ground, they turn sour and they are not good for anything (Isaiah uses this imagery about grapes that drag along on the ground – they turn sour and they rot). What does He do? Lift them up. 

And to help the branches dragging along the ground because of the weight of their fruit, he cuts off the ones that don’t bear fruit – and lifts up those that struggle. Maybe this should be of great encouragement to us. 

November 22, 2015: I Am the Vine – Bekah Stewart

In the ancient world, they didn’t have supports for grape vines. Grapevines ran along the ground. Which meant the farmer had to lift up branches with small stones, rocks, or other branches, to keep the grapes from touching the ground. More than this, every year, the farmer clipped off the branches that did not bear fruit – and he pruned the branches that did. Pruning comes from the root, “to lift up.” On a surface reading it would mean God cuts off the bad stuff.

But what if it means “to lift up?” Imagine God, the gardener, walking up and down these rows. He sees a branch struggling, that is touching the ground – if grapes touch the ground, they turn sour and they are not good for anything (Isaiah uses this imagery about grapes that drag along on the ground – they turn sour and they rot). What does He do? Lift them up. 

And to help the branches dragging along the ground because of the weight of their fruit, he cuts off the ones that don’t bear fruit – and lifts up those that struggle. Maybe this should be of great encouragement to us. 

November 15, 2015: I Am the Way – Michael Hidalgo

This verse has been used so often to exclude as many as possible, draw lines and make claims about the Christian faith being thee one and only true faith. And we have gotten a lot of mileage out of this. What we miss however, is he is saying about himself – not us. Our first response on hearing these words should be that if Jesus is the way, truth and life then we are not. But for some reason we assume he is talking about our way of thinking, our certain religion or our particular group. 

Which raises the question: Will we use something Jesus said to make him smaller than the God that he is?

We have to ask – who is Jesus – that is he is the way, the truth and the life? The simplest answer (which also makes it the most complex answer) is that he is a physical representation of the eternal God (human and divine). We cannot forget Jesus is nothing new. He was from the beginning – and it is this reality that invites all of us to consider who God is. He not only is way, truth and life … he embodies it. 

November 15, 2015: I Am the Way – Landon Lynch

This verse has been used so often to exclude as many as possible, draw lines and make claims about the Christian faith being thee one and only true faith. And we have gotten a lot of mileage out of this. What we miss however, is he is saying about himself – not us. Our first response on hearing these words should be that if Jesus is the way, truth and life then we are not. But for some reason we assume he is talking about our way of thinking, our certain religion or our particular group. 

Which raises the question: Will we use something Jesus said to make him smaller than the God that he is?

We have to ask – who is Jesus – that is he is the way, the truth and the life? The simplest answer (which also makes it the most complex answer) is that he is a physical representation of the eternal God (human and divine). We cannot forget Jesus is nothing new. He was from the beginning – and it is this reality that invites all of us to consider who God is. He not only is way, truth and life … he embodies it. 

November 8, 2015: I Am Life – Michael Hidalgo

In the midst of Jesus’ famous “I am” statements comes possibly the most profound and the most nebulous statement yet. Jesus doesn’t simply coopt a picture in our lives for his purposes (ie: a gate, a good shepherd…), but he coopts life itself, life as we know it, in order to point us towards a different understanding of our relationship with God, others and ourselves that would leave no part of us untouched. 

Jesus arrives at his friends’ house to discover Lazarus is dead. Death brings with it confusion and debate about the nature and purpose of life. Martha tries to find words for faith in the midst of one of the great debates of her day: Is there life after death or not? For her in the moment, it seems like the answer is “no.” Everything she has experienced tells her “no.” The best she seems to be able to believe for is prevention, “If you had been here…” or an ethereal eventuality, “I believe he’ll rise on the last day.” But Jesus’ statement to her is different. In not so many words he says, “I am what you are scared to even hope for. I am the resurrection strong and creative enough to use the very materials of death to make life; I am the life that makes the life you live worthy of the name ‘life’.” 

Besides putting his two cents in on a very heated resurrection debate, he makes the absolutely massive claim that when walking with him we come to see that life is everywhere.  

November 8, 2015: I Am Life – Landon Lynch

In the midst of Jesus’ famous “I am” statements comes possibly the most profound and the most nebulous statement yet. Jesus doesn’t simply coopt a picture in our lives for his purposes (ie: a gate, a good shepherd…), but he coopts life itself, life as we know it, in order to point us towards a different understanding of our relationship with God, others and ourselves that would leave no part of us untouched. 

Jesus arrives at his friends’ house to discover Lazarus is dead. Death brings with it confusion and debate about the nature and purpose of life. Martha tries to find words for faith in the midst of one of the great debates of her day: Is there life after death or not? For her in the moment, it seems like the answer is “no.” Everything she has experienced tells her “no.” The best she seems to be able to believe for is prevention, “If you had been here…” or an ethereal eventuality, “I believe he’ll rise on the last day.” But Jesus’ statement to her is different. In not so many words he says, “I am what you are scared to even hope for. I am the resurrection strong and creative enough to use the very materials of death to make life; I am the life that makes the life you live worthy of the name ‘life’.” 

Besides putting his two cents in on a very heated resurrection debate, he makes the absolutely massive claim that when walking with him we come to see that life is everywhere.  

November 1, 2015: I Am the Gate – Michael Hidalgo

In the preceding interaction (Jn 9) Jesus uses another of his “I am” statements, saying, “While I’m in the world I am the light of the world.” Jesus just metaphorically describes himself saying he is “light,” and that true sight happens through him. Now he switches metaphors to describe yet another aspect of himself, “I am the Gate.” In both of these metaphors Jesus describes himself as the medium to right relationship with the world (seeing clearly, making good judgments) and to God (the way the shepherd comes in). There is something about his way (I am the way, the truth…) that is truly God’s way of understanding the world and that truly helps us judge when God is moving in the world as opposed to a “robber.” 

Something about their way is the calling card of God v. worldly powers. 

There were many ways that people were claiming God would enter and interact with world (Roman Caesars, Messianic expectations etc…), but God, as Jesus is displaying, uses a different method. Instead of coercion and conniving, he comes right through the front door (the gate) and shows himself for who he is. There is humility and transparency built into God’s methods. Which raises the question: If God does things in a transparent way, then why doesn’t it seem more clear when it is God working? So, do the powers around us use the gate or some other method (politics, police brutality—crazy when we actually see videos,…)? What is there around us that seeks to make itself transparent? What is your method of choice? How do we determine God’s presence?

November 1, 2015: I Am the Gate – Dave Neuhausel

In the preceding interaction (Jn 9) Jesus uses another of his “I am” statements, saying, “While I’m in the world I am the light of the world.” Jesus just metaphorically describes himself saying he is “light,” and that true sight happens through him. Now he switches metaphors to describe yet another aspect of himself, “I am the Gate.” In both of these metaphors Jesus describes himself as the medium to right relationship with the world (seeing clearly, making good judgments) and to God (the way the shepherd comes in). There is something about his way (I am the way, the truth…) that is truly God’s way of understanding the world and that truly helps us judge when God is moving in the world as opposed to a “robber.” 

 

Something about their way is the calling card of God v. worldly powers. 

There were many ways that people were claiming God would enter and interact with world (Roman Caesars, Messianic expectations etc…), but God, as Jesus is displaying, uses a different method. Instead of coercion and conniving, he comes right through the front door (the gate) and shows himself for who he is. There is humility and transparency built into God’s methods. Which raises the question: If God does things in a transparent way, then why doesn’t it seem more clear when it is God working? So, do the powers around us use the gate or some other method (politics, police brutality—crazy when we actually see videos,…)? What is there around us that seeks to make itself transparent? What is your method of choice? How do we determine God’s presence?

October 25, 2015: I Am the Good Shepherd – Michael Hidalgo

We all follow someone. Which is to say we all pattern our lives, our way of thinking, our attitudes, biases and opinions on someone (or maybe something). Following and imitating others is how we learn to live life. Children watch their parents and others walk around on two of their limbs, and what do they do? They struggle, wobble, pull themselves up and take that first glorious step. Because they watched someone and followed them.

Jesus claims to be someone worth following – someone who is good. To be clear there are others who are being followed, but they are different. They run away from danger, but Jesus gives his life up for his sheep. These words of Jesus are challenging because they not only point to him as the good shepherd, but indict the other shepherds, which is a resounding echo of Ezekiel 34 – which is all about judgment of shepherds.

Which is interesting because in Ezekiel, the sheep wander and get lost but the blame is not placed on the sheep, it’s placed on the shepherds. And what is God’s response to go and gather the lost sheep. To bring them home, to be their good shepherd. So when others wander from God because of the shepherds who exactly is held guilty?