Come Alive – Day 18

Welcome to Come Alive: 21 Days. These entries are coinciding with our 3 week vision series that we are currently in and we pray they both challenge and encourage you. This post was written by Will Pavone, the Frontline Tysons Campus Pastor.

Over the last fifty years, the center of Christianity has shifted from the western world to the global south. While the west is steadily fading into secularism, the Church in Africa, South America, and parts of Asia is growing exponentially.

This past November, I got to experience how God is at work in western Africa.

I was part of a small team from Frontline who went to the tiny, war-torn country of Burundi to minister to pastors and to the staff of an organization called World Relief. The people of this incredibly beautiful country have suffered from decades of civil war and unrest. While the country has experienced several years of stability, the spiritual climate is still fragile. Our goal as a team was to encourage the pastors and staff through Christ-centered teaching and leadership training. By God’s grace I believe our efforts were fruitful, but in honesty, I think I learned a lot more than I taught.

I learned that God is a global God and that His gospel is bearing fruit around the world, even in places devastated by war and unrest. I learned that worship is trans-cultural, a universal language that unifies the body of Christ. Lastly, I was reminded that God calls us to have a global awareness concerning His redemptive purposes and that we should pray for the gospel to come alive in the hearts of all peoples!

- Will Pavone

To listen to the sermons from this series, please click here.

Come Alive – Day 17

Welcome to Come Alive: 21 Days. These entries are coinciding with our 3 week vision series that we are currently in and we pray they both challenge and encourage you. This post was written by Allan McCullough, the Director of the Gathering.

Take a minute to read Luke 4:16-30.

One day, when Jesus is in His hometown, Nazareth, He heads over to the Synagogue and is asked to publicly read from Isaiah. So, He grabs the scroll and reads Isaiah 61:1-2, which is a messianic prophecy. What’s interesting here is when Jesus is done reading, everyone can’t stop starring at Him. For some reason, nobody had ever heard anybody read the Scriptures as Jesus just did. Sensing this, Jesus says to the crowds something to the extent of, “Your right, I’m saying that’s me.” (my paraphrase)

Most people in the Synagogue had already heard of Jesus either because of some of the miracles He had performed when He was over in Capernaum but mostly because He was Joseph’s son. So, many of them were perplexed but also mesmerized and maybe even beginning to believe that He could be the Messiah. Then Jesus says something weird. He says, “…no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.”

Huh? What do you mean, Jesus?

Well, it was a preemptive comment. Because what Jesus was about to say would cause the crowd to riot. Jesus says two things:

1. During the time of Elijah, there was a great famine in Israel and there were many widows in need. However, Elijah was sent to help none of them except the GENTILE widow Zarephath.
2. During the time of Elisha, there were many lepers in Israel but Elisa was sent to help none of them. Instead, he was only sent to the GENTILE Naaman.

Then, those in the Synagogue went crazy and tried to murder Jesus.

Think about it. What cord did Jesus strike to get such a rise out of this crowd?

It seems to me that by declaring Himself to be fulfilling Isaiah 61:1-2 and then reminding the crowd of these two points of Israel’s history, Jesus was announcing that the Kingdom that He was bringing was not an ETHNOCENTRIC kingdom. The Kingdom He was bringing was a Kingdom that was for all nations, not just for Israel.

The cord that Jesus struck was a deep ethnocentrism that existed in Israel who expected a Messiah that would make Israel great. They did not expect a Messiah who would include Israel simply amongst all nations in His blessing. The message of the Bible is that God’s plan of redemption is and has always been for all nations and all peoples. (Gen 12:3, Ps 67, Is 66:18, Matt 24:14, Gal 3:8, etc…)

As we think about our world this week, we need to take some time to reflect on how ethnocentrism and racism deeply grieves the heart of God. Despite political progress, this is an issue that is very much alive today within the Church, within our city, and within the world. Not only is it just ethnocentrism, but there is also prejudice when it comes to socio-economic status, level of education, appearance, and disabilities amongst other things.

The reality is that since the Gospel is for all peoples, the Bible does not assume but emphatically declares that all people have equal need for the Gospel. (Rom 3:9, 23)

John MacArthur says, “…people by nature are hostile to God, utterly unable to obey God out of pure motives or from a pure heart, and therefore unable to do anything that truly pleases God (Rom. 8:7-8).”

If this is the description of all people, than the idea that certain people are superior to others based on any condition is nonsensical. We all need the saving work of Jesus Christ. God has called us to be people who are humble that have a love for our neighbor fueled by gratitude for the underserving grace we have received. The Kingdom of God knows nothing of any prejudice and will include people of all colors, tongues, cultures, and personalities.

Pray that God would reveal where any prejudice or belief of superiority could be present in your heart and then ask yourself the following questions. If you find yourself answering ‘yes’ to any of these, repent. Confess this to the Lord and to someone you confide in. Ask the Lord to change your heart and give you greater view of His Kingdom. Ask the Lord to show you how underserving you are of His grace so that prejudice can be crushed by gratitude.

1. Do I subconsciously limit my close relationships to those who are of the same color or ethnicity as myself?
2. Do I more easily share my faith with those who share the same color or ethnicity as myself?
3. Do I have a problem with interracial marriage?
4. Do I look down upon those who are poor? Do I believe that I deserve the material blessings I have and those who are poor do not?
5. Do I form opinions of other people based on the car they drive? This could go either way. Maybe you drive a nice car and judge the one who drives the clunker. Or you drive the clunker and you judge the person who drives the nice car.
6. Would I be uncomfortable if a homeless person attended my Frontline campus?
7. Would I be uncomfortable if a homeless person joined my Regional Community or Small Group?
8. Am I uncomfortable around those who have mental or physical disabilities?
9. Do I subconsciously limit my close relationships to those who have similar personalities and interests as myself?
10. Do I form opinions about people and limit relationships with those who seem “socially awkward.”

There are many more questions we can ask. All of us have prejudice somewhere inside because every one of us are sinners. We look forward to the Day where Christ will return, remove sin, and destroy all prejudice. The Day where all nations, tribes, and tongues will worship Him forever. (Rev 7:9) Let’s anticipate that Day by rallying around the grace of God and as a church wage war against the prejudice that is present within us. To “Come Alive” in our world, is to align our hearts with God’s heart for the entire world and for all peoples.

- Allan McCullough

To listen to the sermons from this series, please click here.

Watch Lon’s Final Rock Announcement

If you missed Lon’s announcement regarding The Final Rock that was played at the Frontline Campuses, you can watch it below:

Come Alive – Day 16

Welcome to Come Alive: 21 Days. These entries are coinciding with our 3 week vision series that we are currently in and we pray they both challenge and encourage you. This post was written by Trisha Hicks, the Director of Women’s Small Groups at Frontline Tysons.

Whether I am eating comfort foods or wearing cozy pajamas, I really like to be comfortable. I like to take on tasks where I am comfortable with my ability to do whatever lies in front of me. The major problem with this is the “I.” When I think I am capable, I rely on myself and not the Lord. Thankfully, God has been merciful in my life and always places me in circumstances that are outside of my comfort zone so that I rely on the power of His Holy Spirit. In April 2011 my husband Cory and I lead a team to Brazil to work with an organization called Open Arms primarily to help put on a soccer camp. God had me reliant on Him in many aspects of this trip. The two most obvious being I was comfortable speaking Spanish, not Portuguese, and the soccer part (my teammates can vouch for my two left feet). But this was right where He wanted me so that His power could be displayed in my weaknesses as Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Just like God used my weaknesses, the transforming power of the Gospel is at work all over the world. Being able to see God at work in a different country shows the power of our God who transcends all cultural and language barriers. Stephanie Tileston, co-leader of the December 2011 Brazil trip shared with me an experience she had when they went to visit a prison. She heard a young, imprisoned Brazilian teen sing a self-written song of God’s redemption and grace to his fellow 70+ inmates. Despite comprehending only portions of his Portuguese message, the meaning was clear- his life had been transformed. Though he regrets his past, he trusts Christ will do something wonderful with his future. So whether it is something insignificant like my soccer abilities or something life-altering like these men in prison, God uses all circumstances for His glory. Sometimes it takes getting outside of our comfort zone to see that.

- Trisha Hicks

To listen to the sermons from this series, please click here.

Come Alive – Day 15

Welcome to Come Alive: 21 Days. These entries are coinciding with our 3 week vision series that we are currently in and we pray they both challenge and encourage you. This post was written by Dan Iten, the Director of Global Impact at Frontline Tysons.

One of the best things about my job is the opportunity I get to meet and spend time with each of our Global Impact teams the night of their commissioning at Frontline. It’s always a fun time to see the teams and their excitement to serve God internationally.

During those meetings I always like to read to the teams 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 and challenge each team member to spend some time during their trip reading and mediating on those verses. Paul tells us in this passage that there is only one body of Christ and it is made up of many different parts.

Those who are familiar with this passage will often think of the body of Christ from a local church mindset, understanding how different believers from within a congregation come together with their various talents and giftings to make up their church. However, I like to challenge each of our departing GI teams to read and reflect on this passage from the viewpoint of the Global Church. To read the passage with the idea that the church in Haiti might be an eye, and the church in Brazil might be an ear, Tanzania a noise, SE Asia a hand, Kenya a foot, Ethiopia an arm, the U.S. church a leg, etc.

Studying the passage from that global perspective allows us to see that churches around the world join together to make up the one body of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. No one church is better than another, and each church is dependent upon the others because of their unique functions and roles within the body. There is a great unity in the diversity of the Church around the world that we, as the American church, can learn firsthand while serving on a Global Impact team.

Without question this concept of the global body of Christ is always one of the biggest lessons and take-a-ways that our Global Impact teams have from their trip experiences. The highlight for many GI teams is spending a Sunday in worship with brothers and sisters in Christ within their local indigenous churches. It is there that teams often have the realization that we all worship, serve, and love the same God. It’s truly an eye opening experience to interact with the global body of Christ. It results in having a greater care and concern for our brothers and sisters around the world and a clearer understanding of who God is and how He is at work globally.

If you have yet to experience the Global Church for yourself, I’d strongly encourage you to consider participating in a Global Impact trip in 2012. For more information on trips being offered this year at your campus visit www.frontlinedc.com/global or email me at dan.iten@mcleanbible.org for more information.

- Dan Iten

To listen to the sermons from this series, please click here.

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