Mosaic Boston

Who is Mosaic Boston? What do we value? What is our mission? How are we going to fulfill our mission? Every year around this time, we pause and remind ourselves why we do what we do. For our members, it's important to remind ourselves of our vision and mission and get remobilized and inspired. And if you're new to Mosaic Boston, or if you have not yet visited, this sermon is for you!

In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus is invited to a dinner party at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. Through the story, we see a shocking picture of what true love, worship, and discipleship look like in Jesus' Kingdom–when a notorious prostitute crashes a Pharisee’s party.

It’s often easier to admit misconceptions we had as kids, but as we get older it’s often more difficult to see where we have them now. Even once we recognize an error in our understanding, it can still be hard to admit it. In Luke 7:18-35 to see John the Baptist’s misunderstanding about Jesus, and how Jesus redeems even our misconceptions today.

In a fallen world, where sadness is ubiquitous and death imminent, we must learn to grieve well. Jesus was called a man of sorrows. He knew grief. He steps into our grief. He grieves and weeps with us. He teaches us to grieve, but not as those without hope.

Is God ever surprised? Of course not. He knows all: past, present, and future. However, in Luke 7, Jesus "marvels" at the faith of a Roman Centurion, one of the last people anyone would expect to become a Christian. Christ even says, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” In response to such "surprising" faith, Jesus released His power in the Centurion's life. What was so "marvelous" about this man's faith? How can we develop a similar faith?

When Jesus talks about our obedience to God, it's nearly impossible for us not to think of our obedience to God in terms of conditional love and approval: if I'm good, God loves me; if I mess up, He shuns me. Is that the case? Also, if God loves me unconditionally, why should I obey? Why not live any way I choose, and then run home when I need Him? In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus calls his followers to build a foundation of obedience for our lives, an obedience that is propelled by love.

We live in a culture intoxicated with scandals, especially high-profile ones. We find these highly entertaining. We just can't look away. Deep down inside, we love the feeling of contempt. It allows us to feel better about our own fallenness: "At least I'm not as bad as that person." In Luke 6:37-45, Jesus calls us out for our contempt of hypocrites. He tells us that we are all hypocrites. We are all hypocrites with beams stuck in our eyes, condemning the speck of another's hypocrisy, and in our condemnation we only compound our own.

In a world that teaches us to fear and hate our enemies and to treat people the way they treat us, Jesus commands us to love our enemies and treat people the way we would want to be treated by them. It’s a radical idea, but He wants the lives of His disciples to not only be marked with holiness and devotion to God, but also by mercy and grace toward others (even enemies).

What is a cojourner? This is more than someone you grab an Uber with across town or your wing-man at a party. For the Christian, to be a cojourner is to come alongside others on their spiritual journey and help point them to Jesus Christ. We'll be jogging through Acts 17 to see some good episodes of the Apostle Paul being a good cojourner to different types of people.

What is the blessed life? What do we mean when we say "God Bless America" as we'll hear over and over this week? What are you asking for, when you ask for God's blessings? How many of those "blessings" can be reduced to materialism–jobs, money, or housing? Then, once we get those things, how long does our feeling of "blessedness" last, before we start asking for more? When Jesus talked about the "Blessed" life, it's the opposite of what we often consider blessing!

Legalism repeatedly rears its ugly head, both in the Scriptures, and in our lives. Legalism divorces law from love, commandments from covenant. The reason why Jesus deals with legalism so often is because every single one of us wrestles with it at some point, at least to some degree. How can you discern whether you struggle with legalism?

When Jesus Christ calls Christians to proclaim the Gospel, He calls us to present it in the most understandable way. This is called contextualization. However, since the Gospel naturally offends ego, in an attempt to make the Gospel understandable, we sometimes try to make it more palatable. This is where contextualization can potentially subtly morph into syncretism. In the process of making Christianity more palatable, we make it powerless.

How did Jesus love people? He ate and drank with them. Eating and drinking? What's so spiritual about that? In Luke 5:27-32, we read a story about how we can eat and drink with intentionality to make friends and talk about things of eternal matter.

If you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time, you know that the Christian life can be a lot like soccer. It’s difficult to know if you’re in the right place at the right time. It seems that once you’re in the right spot you have to adjust to challenges, unforeseen circumstances or difficult decisions. You’re often left asking, "Is this really God’s will for my life? What does God want me to do? Should I be where I am?"

Thousands are celebrating graduations in Boston, and I wonder how many allow themselves to be honest about the unwelcome sadness. In Luke 5:17-26, we have a story about a person who had a clear "If only I... , then I would be happy." What's your "if only"? Was it getting that degree? Getting that job? Accomplishing that goal? Did it satisfy? Maybe temporarily. But then what? Is there even such a thing as sustainable satisfaction?

We live at a weird time in human history. Society is over-sexualized and under-loved. We are simultaneously more connected and lonelier than ever. We have a basic human need for affection and touch and many of us are starving for it. Some have touched to heal. Some have touched to harm. Join us as we consider the power of touch from Luke 5:12-16, where Jesus touches to heal and to cleanse.

Does God have a plan for your life? If He does, can we miss it? Jesus did teach us to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." So if we have to pray for God's will to be done in our lives, can I miss out on His plan? What if He calls me to be poor, or to suffer, or to be faithful but obscure? What if He calls me to be a missionary overseas, or even worse, what if He calls me to stay in Boston and tell Bostonian pagans about Jesus? In Luke 5, we look at Jesus' charge to Simon Peter to find out.

How are we to understand God's promise that we will do "greater works than Jesus did?" (John 14:12) Especially when we look at our text, Luke 4:31-44, where Jesus teaches with authority, casts out demons with authority, and heals with authority. So many questions. Demons? Exorcism? Healing? What does God's Word have to say about the spiritual realm?

We've subtitled this sermon series "How to love your nearest neighbors," with the assumption that often, those closest to us are sometimes the hardest to love well. This is especially true with kids. Our kids see us all the time, when we're at our best and when we're not so much. Deuteronomy 6 is one of the most profound teachings in all of Scripture on parenting. It teaches us that the first step to successful parenting is growing in your love, as a child, for God the Father.

As we continue our "People Skills" series tomorrow, we'll turn to Matthew 18, where Jesus teaches his followers how to handle conflict when it arises in our spiritual family. What do we do when our spiritual brothers or sisters sin against us?