To Love One Another

By Pastor Linda Skinner

Don't miss this week as I make a special announcement for Washington Cathedral which will impact the future of our church family.  We will have town hall meetings to discuss the announcement with the leaders of our church.  Pastor Rey and I have been on a series of messages entitled “Not a Fan”.  It has been a revolutionary series as we discuss the The Great Caring Network as a revolution of caring. 

 

Pastor Rey introduced the idea that Jesus called us to be disciples not just Christians.  The word Christian is only used three times in the New Testament- the word disciple being the preferred term for a Christ follower.  Last week, we studied I Corinthians 12, which shows that the church is intended to love one another and work together in harmony even through the uniqueness that we all experience.

This coming week we are going to dive into I Corinthians 13 the love chapter and a message we are calling “The Glorious Mess”.  We will be changed by the fact that God can work through our lives and church family, even when life seems like it is not going the way we thought it would.

My favorite day of the week is Monday. It is the day that we get to watch our grandson Elijah.  At 5 years of age, he is always a surprise.  I have my plans for him and then he has his own plans.  He usually wins.  I plan that we go for a hike in the woods but he wants to play at our house that he loves called the yellow house.  I try and get him to speak Spanish with me - he instead just corrects all my mispronunciations. 

Last week as we were sitting having lunch I wanted to talk about science with him.  We spent an hour talking about the gravity and how it worked.  Oh how I love times like that!  After it was time to wrestle.  He had me wrestling for about an hour- not just with him but with all his stuffed animals.  I was exhausted after all our vigorous play.  I told Jackie I needed to sneak off for a nap. Something I always do on Mondays.  That meant it was her turn to take over.  I went into our bedroom and was out like a light.  When I woke up, he was in bed with me playing video games on my phone. He said, “GP you sleep so much, we are supposed to play.”  I did not know how long he had been there.  But I enjoyed that he enjoyed just hanging out with me. 

The body of Christ - the church was designed to have relationships that are so strong that we are constantly surprised and the strength of our family.  Don't miss this week as we see the indomitable friendships of Washington Cathedral in action. I think you will sense God's presence in a way that you have never before.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White 

Define the Relationship

By Pastor Rey Diaz

What’s a Christian? Ask ten different people and you’ll probably get ten different answers: someone who goes to church every Sunday; someone who was born into a Christian family; someone who believes Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead three days later; someone who celebrates Christmas and Easter; someone who doesn’t drink, smoke, or use profanity. Others take a darker view. They’d say Christians are judgmental, selfish, arrogant and close-minded.  And it's complicated because you can find Christians on both sides of every issue – moral, political, economical, and social. 

If there’s so much disagreement about what a Christian is, how are we supposed to know who to trust on the matter?

The bad news is that the Bible does not define "Christian".  In fact, the word “Christian” only appears three times in the Bible.  So there is no right answer.  But that is a moot point.  Because  first-century Christians didn’t call themselves Christians.  Christians called themselves something far more dangerous: “disciples.”

“Disciple” is scary word because it’s clear and concrete. It means a learner, pupil, apprentice, adherent, or follower. A disciple learns and grows by obeying and imitating his or her master. Discipleship isn’t as simple as going to church services, believing a set of facts, observing rituals, celebrating holidays, being born into the right family, or behaving morally.

 

Being a disciple is active. It requires effort...and sacrifice. 

We can hide behind the word “Christian,” but early Christians considered themselves disciples.

So, what does it look like to be a disciple of Jesus? In John 13:34–35 (NIV), he gives his disciples their marching orders: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

When Christians live like disciples, outsiders look at their communities with wonder: “Look at the way they love. Look how they honor women, children, the elderly, and the sick. Look how they respond to persecution—it’s like they don’t even fear death.” That is kind of love has the power to change the world.

Jesus calls his followers to build communities of world-changing love. Too often, we fail and outsiders end up viewing churches as places of scorn, hostility, rejection, and stifling moralism— exclusive, self-serving clubs in which they’re not welcome.

So here’s the question: Are we going to be content just being Christians, or are we going to be disciples?

Method to the Madness

Letter from Pastor Rey

Dear Friends,

Over the years I have become convinced that life change happens within the context of relationships.  And relationships happen face to face.  Another way of putting it is that relationships happen in circles, not rows. 

What does this have to do with you?  Very simple.  God’s best for you, his plan for your life, and the changes required to see that plan come into fruition are not going to happen coming to church and sitting in rows, week after week.  Sorry to give you bad news but it’s the truth.  Sitting in a row and listening is important.  Extremely important, but its not enough.  And it will never be enough.

The next step is to put into practice what we hear while sitting in rows.  Most of us try for a while but then stop.  God knows us.  So he created us as relational beings.  It's in the context of relationships that life change happens.  In groups we move from theoretical to concrete.  Instead of talking about “faith”, we talk about “my faith.”  Instead of “prayer” it's "my prayer life.”  Instead of “fears”, its “my fear.”  And then we put into practice what we heard and wait to see what happens.  You see miracles.  You see change.  Your faith grow.  That is what we want.  We want your faith in your heavenly father to grow.  It wont happen in rows.  It will happen in circles. 

I talk about God’s love for us on a weekly basis.  Some have no idea what I am talking about.  It's in circles where we feel God’s love through others. 

We believe rows are good.  Circles are better.  Listening is good.  Doing is better.  Hearing is good.  Putting into practice is better. 

So I am inviting you to join a TLC this winter quarter.  It is going to be the best 10-12 weeks of your life.  Grab a friend and join together. 

From the bottom of my heart,

Pastor Rey

 

 

Not a Fan

By Pastor Tim White

Not a fan.  It is the name of the sermon series that Pastor Rey and I are diving into in the coming weeks.  We will focus on how we can help you discover your gift and fully engage in the mission of your life - the great adventure that God has going on right here in our world. 

We hope that we can embrace a culture of deep personal relationship with the Son of God.  One that is so transformative that it could never leave us where we were.  Remember, “He who has the Son has life.  He who has not the son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).

I have to confess that I have been enjoying how little Isabella is wearing out Elise, Rey, Elijah and the rest of the extended family.  She weighs only 5 pounds 13 ounces, but she is a handful.  It makes me chuckle because her mom did the same thing to us.  As first time parents, you may think having a baby is just kind of a side thing that is not going to be too demanding.  Think again.  He who has a baby is going to have their hands full.  That is not a scripture but it has certainly been true in my experience.

I remember the time I was stuck (well I should say I volunteered) watching the children for the W.O.W. Bible study.  It was in the early years and there were only about 10 kids to watch.  But after one hour, they had colored on the walls, crushed some indoor plants, eaten dirt, broke a few things, escaped a few dozen times.  After that I was never asked to watch the kids again, and I have been resting ever since.

They were such a handful. 

So why would we think following Jesus would be a nice tidy religion.  It is a relationship with a living, thinking, loving being whose ways are so much higher than our own that we are going to have our hands full.  He is going to challenge us to fully engage in the things that are important- no essential- to be fully alive in.  The good news our hands are not just full of challenge, because he takes our hand and walks through what we could never do by ourselves.  It is the adventure of a lifetime!  Get ready as Pastor Rey brings the sermon to you next week that God is going to Rock our World.