The Cross Cultural Conversation
John
Conversations / Acts 10:1–43
The church has a mandate to care about, pray about, talk about and go to people who are not like us.
That is our mandate in the Scriptures and throughout church history, that has been one marker in the church that has kept it different than every other organization. We would love our enemy, we would go to the outcast, the lost, the lonely, the refugee.
It is because, for 2000 year, men and women have crossed boundaries. Have left what’s comfortable, have left who is comfortable and have crossed boundaries.
Central to the Bible is the reality that God has crossed every boundary imaginable to come to us. He left glory. He came to the earth to seek and save us. In Christ God
The Need
Acts 10:1–8 ESV
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
When we think about the people God has called us to serve: one another and our neighbor, we are entering into a conversation already started.
Peter is where this conversation is started but the the only way to understand what
God begins the conversation.
We are always catching up.
With God
Acts 10:9–16 ESV
The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
Acts 10:28–29 ESV
And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
The world Peter knew on the other side of the threshold is entirely different than on the one he found himself on with Cornelius. But God moved him into that room.
He set everything up.
This is where we see freedom. Because the Gospel is never bound. And Peter is no longer bound by his own ethnocentrism and Cornelius is no longer, in Christ, bound in his sin.
Acts 10:34–35 ESV
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
Ephesians 2:14–16 ESV
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Jesus destroyed the dividing wall of hostility. Called so because when we create boundaries that keep people apart it creates automatic hostility on those people who aren’t like us. The cross obliterated our option to keep people apart and separated.
Acts 10:38–41 ESV
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
We go to people unlike us. Who is the person most unlike you that you are on a collision course with? You may look at that person, whoever God has collided you with and you see frustration and anger.
The Good News Conversation
John
Conversations / Acts 8:26–40
Romans 10:14–15 ESV
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
And the church is called to provide a response to that cry. To be a response to that cry that points in one singular direction. It doesn’t mean that we always have the exact answer to every question, but it means we have a God who cares about us in our uncertainty and unknowing.
Evangelistic conversations are those kinds of conversations where we explicitly have an opportunity to talk about who Jesus is and what He has done and what He means to us. It may not be all three of those but there is a sense of focusing on the person of Jesus and His saving grace in our lives.
We join the chariot. We run alongside.
This narrative in the book of Acts is where we see someone who is spiritually curious. They are reading an ot scroll and have a question about it. As we look into this interaction we will see ways in which we can approach spiritually curious questions toward Gospel response.
Acts 8:26–29 ESV
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.
Look for Spiritually Curious people
Acts 8:30–34 ESV
So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”
And we have a choice. We can ignore the fact that people are asking incredible questions or we can come alongside them and bring a response.
Be Full of Grace
Acts 8:35–38 ESV
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
And because of Christ who has come alongside us, this passage becomes true:
1 Peter 3:15 ESV
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
Take some time to answer the question “my hope comes from.” Look at what brings you hope. If your comes from Christ, what is your reason? How is Christ brought you? Being able to answer that to yourself helps you to answer to other people. When you serve when you care for others when you run alongside their chariots, you can give your reason for, who is Christ
But maybe you’re asking where your hope comes from and whatever your source for Hope is it may not be enough this morning. if it’s not enough, we want to pray for you to find the hope of Christ.
The Encouraging Conversation
John
Conversations / John 4:23–26
Introduction
And having healthy and God centered relationships are part of the unity that Jesus talked about in the way that the church operates.
Proverbs 16:24 ESV
Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
When was the last time you added courage to each other?
Romans 12:10 ESV
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
The church is the witness to the fact that God is active in our lives and that God
has spoken in a way that offers life.
That is the witness of the church.
And it is from that position that we communicate to each other.
1God is active
2God is speaking.
From Life Together
Christian community means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. There is no Christian community that is more than this, and none that is less than this. Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily community of many years, Christian community is solely this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means, first, that a Christian needs others for the sake of Jesus Christ. It means, second, that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. It means, third, that from eternity we have been chosen in Jesus Christ, accepted in time, and united for eternity.”
Encouragement in the church is meeting people at the intersection of their lives and the life of Christ
Gathering
Recognizing
Speaking life
Gathering to recognize
Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
This is telling people, I am with you
Recognize to speak life
Colossians 3:16 ESV
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Recognizing someone, seeing them for who they are, looking them in the eyes and recognizing them as someone who is someone for is fundamental to every conversation we have. In recognizing someone who is distinctly loved by God through the person of is our way to understanding encouragement.
This is telling people, I see you
Again from Bonhoeffer
Help must come from the outside; and it has come and comes daily and anew in the Word of Jesus Christ, bringing us redemption, righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. But God put this Word into the mouth of human beings so that it may be passed on to others. When people are deeply affected by the Word, they tell it to other people. God has willed that we should seek and find God’s living Word in the testimony of other Christians, in the mouths of human beings. Therefore, Christians need other Christians who speak God’s Word to them. They need them again and again when they become uncertain and disheartened because, living by their own resources, they cannot help themselves without cheating themselves out of the truth. They need other Christians as bearers and proclaimers of the divine word of salvation. They need them solely for the sake of Jesus Christ.”
Speak life specifically to one another.
Again from Life Together
Philippians 2:1–4 ESV
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
The Hard Conversation
Conversations / Matthew 19:16–22
Opening statement and illustration
We are likely one or two challenging conversations away from incredible growth.
This is important to talk about because it is so easy to get wrong. We are avoidant, we are aggressive. We get into conflict. We yell, we run, we gossip. or we jump in hot and just say what we want to say as loud as possible. None of that is helpful.
If we do hard conversations right, they will always be to serve and lift up the other.
Challenging Conversations have to point somewhere
Matthew 19:16–18 ESV
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
And Jesus immediately orients the man, not to being right, not to getting into a fight, not to petty corrections. And He uses His first statement to make a statement about what is truly good. The man has it in his mind that he will be able to do enough good to inherit eternal life.
Jesus challenges his notion of goodness.
Only one is good. Jesus uses a conversation to orient the man toward God.
There has to be a means to move toward where you are pointing
Matthew 19:18–21 ESV
He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
We see that when JEsus confronts this man with what is both good and what is true, He gives him enough to do something with at each point.
To challenge someone is to give them something they can do. It is giving something they can actually act on. Often we challenge but we call people to unattainable destinations. We have to show them the destination but ask them to simply take a few first steps there. With you.
A good challenging conversation may be hurtful in the moment, healing in the next
Matthew 19:22 ESV
When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Prompt: Can we talk about something that I think is really important to both of us? I want nothing more than for you to flourish in your faith
Response prompt: I want nothing more than to flourish in my faith. Help me see what is the most good.
The goal for us is the church is not to walk away from them like the Rich young ruler. Jesus opened the door to heaven itself and the man said no thank you.
The Gospel is the reality that all things come under submission to God. And that God is the most good. Everything else is lesser good. The church can be chucking things left and right in order to find our best good in God.
We are called to find our best good in God. All else is suspect. For those times we need each other. We need each others support, our help, our prayer and our harder conversations.
The Forgiving Conversation
Conversations / Matthew 18:21–33
Intro
The best thing we can do is to understand the weight that has been lifted from us in forgiveness and run to do offer it to others.
Forgiveness is the statement that proclaims to everyone, “You are not just the way you are. There is eternal potential and possibility for growth and change.”
The central conversation in the Christian life is “I have been forgiven. I forgive you.” We see that in this morning’s parable.
Matthew 18:21–22 ESV
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Forgiveness is a foundation to our conversations. It underlies everything. This is a prompt. We don’t always know the script but we do always know the prompt.
At this point we could just be hearing, try harder. Exert more. Forgive better. Do better. But forgiveness is difficult. So difficult that Jesus is going to show us the only way to truly express it. To truly find our way out of it.
Matthew 18:23–27 ESV
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
He has compassion on the man and forgives his debt. Removes it.
And Jesus wants us to see what God in all His power and glory does with all his power and glory. He has compassion and He forgives.
Matthew 18:28–35 ESV
But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
I want to give you two conversational prompts:
Conversation prompt:
I need to ask you for forgiveness
God I need help in forgiving
Talking With God
Conversations / 1 Samuel 3
Why Conversations?
Proverbs 18:21 ESV
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
So we want to view Conversation as a way for formation. Formation of self to Christ and formation of better community. Conversations are the tool through which we will use to lean into formation in Christ in formation with each other and community. It’s also how we can tell how we’re doing.
Conversations are the single unit of relationship. You have conversations with people you barely know, you have conversations with people that you’ve known on all your life. So what I wanna talk about over the next few weeks is not just how to have better relationship, relationships, but to drill down into something much more daily. The conversation.
Overaccepting
Our conversations happen within a larger story. Even things like the greeting are not just saying hi to one another, it is about “passing the peace.” Meaning the peace that we receive from Christ is the peace that we offer to others. Peace as a reality then is the larger story in this small act during our service.
Improv
God Gets Samuel’s attention: Scripture
1 Samuel 3:1–2 ESV
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.
1 Samuel 3:4–10 ESV
Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
Genesis 1:1–3 ESV
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Our Lives are in Constant Reply to God
God always starts the conversation, we always enter in. When we speak with God, we are entering in halfway.
God’s word is deserving of us being laid flat, of us saying nothing less than a resounding yes. It’s actually absurd to say no to the goodness of God’s voice.
John 1:1–2 ESV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
John 1:14 ESV
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
We recognize God’s voice
We have a posture of openness
Speak like He speaks
When our conversations are with God primarily we begin to respond to the how He speaks and what He speaks like. We hear Him and turn to Him. And in doing so we begin to sound like Him.
Questions
Understanding Overacceptance
1. How does the concept of overaccepting challenge the way we typically approach conversations or gifts we find difficult to accept?
The Role of Conversations in Faith
2. In what ways can viewing every conversation as part of a larger Gospel story change the way we interact with others, especially during challenging moments?
God as the Initiator
3. What does Samuel’s experience teach us about recognizing and responding to God’s voice in our lives today?
Application in Daily Life
4. How can the practice of openness—echoed in Samuel’s response, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears”—be incorporated into our daily interactions with God and others?
Reflection and Growth
5. How do your current conversations—both with God and with others—reflect your understanding of discipleship and your relationship with Christ?
Christ will come into the World again
Proclamation / 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
Intro
We are in our last week before Christmas. This week is an important time for the church. We have looked at the proclamation that Christ will come into the world, that He has come into the world. And that He will again come into the world.
The Church is called to be patient, always realigning itself between the Advent and Return.
Christ will come into the World Again
But we are also moving toward something. We are not only given life for right now. We have eternal life. We have life forever with Christ. He has given us a home in Him that extends past and beyond death.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 ESV
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
To know that Christ is coming again, for those who have trusted Him means that while He has given life and has shown us how to live, HE has promised He would come back.
Revelation 21:3–5 ESV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
That means that we are not just passing through life, hoping that God will do something with any sense of a wreck of a world, but that our lives in Christ have meaning. They are moving toward something.
Every time we celebrate Advent we stretch our arms into the past and future.
What does that mean for us?
To be able to wait, knowing what is coming, means that we don’t have to react in frustration or fear. We act frustration and fear when we don’t know coming. But we do coming. We know Christ has come and He has beaten death and will come again and will bring justice.
We can wait in trust. To wait while we trust is to be patient.
Trust plus waiting equals patience
Our ability to wait creates a patient church
1 Thessalonians 4:17–18 ESV
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
When we are impatient, it is because we’re not lined We’re not looking at the right things. We are not oriented. Have you in a line for so long that you begin to wonder if you’re even in the right line anymore? You begin to think that they forgotten about you or that you’ve lined up or done something wrong? An anxiety begins to slip in a little bit?
Patience allows to embrace where we are now with promise of restoration
Christ has come once to show what and how God handles darkness and conflict. Crisis come once to show us that he is the final resolution. Crisis come once already to show us what the goodness of God in the world looks like.
Christ will come again to resolve the irresolvable. Christ will come again to proclaim victory in every way that belongs to him. Christ will come again to bring justice to the injustice. Christ will come again to pay attention to everything that has been ignored.
We trust. We wait. Because whatever we have now is nothing in comparison to Christ who will come again. We know that whatever we have now is not the complete picture of what Christ will do when HE comes again.
When we agree and act on this, it is not passive but active. Our witness right now, as we move into communion, it one of patience. Because we celebrate the God who entered our world and gave everything.