We often confuse what Christianity has to say about what God has already done independently of anything we have done, and what we are asked to do. That is to say, we mix up what's God's part and what's our part.
In this message I (Jonathan) try to help separate out this possibly confusing question. What is God's part vs. our part?
God would you rather leave Him at the altar than have an unaddressed relational conflict with someone. Jesus said, "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them."
It is radical that God would care more about your relationships with others than about what you offer to Him. And, it is radical that Jesus asks us to be the person to initiate reconciliation even if it is the other person that has the problem with me!
In this message I (Jonathan) talk about both of these radical claims by Jesus.
In this message Pastor Alfredo shares about what God does with limitations. This is shared through a bilingual sermon in which I (Jonathan) translate into English.
It's so easy to let goals, mission statements, objectives, etc., hijack the importance of people. So
much junk happens in the world because the lives of others are not honored,
because the relationship between one person and another is not valued.
It
would be super if I could say that churches were immune to this tendency to put
the importance of relationships aside. But they’re not. Instead of being
immune, rather, we have a direct challenge to be moved by God’s Holy Spirit
towards rising above this tendency—to rise above the tendency to inappropriately
value other objectives over the honoring of relationships.
In this message I (Jonathan) share about God's nature as relational, about the early church itself being relational, and about every Christians' calling to follow this example and be RELATIONAL. The people and relationships in our lives are God's gift to be treasured and valued.
