A synopsis of Sunday’s Message- Encountering an Outcast – Mark 1:40-45

In this text we will be gleaning from Jesus’ encounter with a societal outcast – someone who has been pushed to the edge of a stable life in the city.

Listen to this unusual story:

Mark 1:40-45
⁴⁰ ¶ And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Read more »

Destroying the Works of the Devil

The following is a short gospel message that was preached to the poor and homeless at a special worship outreach and feeding on April 16th:

This evening, I want to share a few words about a people who were severely afflicted and oppressed; and a few words about the God who heard their cry and delivered them out from under the hands of those who were causing their suffering.

Before the time of Moses, the ancient Egyptians enslaved the people of Israel and “made their lives bitter with hard service,” treating them “ruthlessly,” (Ex. 1:14) the leaders even going so far as ordering that all male Hebrew children be killed immediately after birth (Ex. 1:15-22). Read more »

On “Therapeutic Spirituality”

Frequently, I dialogue with nice, moral people who genuinely believe that they are “good” and that Jesus came to help them discover their ultimate potential in life. They believe that he can help them by unleashing some kind of untapped, or dormant, power inside of them.

I’ve asked people who believe this sort of thing to explain to me what they believe Jesus meant when he said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Usually, I get an explanation that sounds something like this: “Well, Jesus can help us discover how much love and greatness we have inside of ourselves so that we can live better lives.”

In this type of religious system, Jesus the omnipotent God-man is reduced little more than a self-help guru. Sort of like Tony Robbins with a halo.

Those who are deceived (or have deceived themselves) into thinking such strange and unbiblical things are usually people who have some type of (very) limited knowledge of the teachings of Scripture, attend church on occasion (either presently or in their past), and know some facts about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. I confess that, in the months leading up to the day I was saved, I believed something very similar to what I described above (although, for the life of me, I don’t believe I could have offered such a creative explanation as to what being “born again” meant).

Following are some excerpts from a fabulous book I am currently reading and re-reading. In it, the author adeptly addresses the type of culturally-popular / ungodly / vapid / powerless / counterfeit “spirituality” I just described above.

Excerpts from Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 78-80:

“Spirituality” is as successful as materialism in feeding our narcissism. Keeping us preoccupied with our inner self and its experiences, morality, and activity, the “search for the sacred” is as godless as atheism. There are plenty of resources on the market to feed our culture’s anxiety over self-improvement. But they are all different ways of dressing up the old Adam. Furthermore, their moralistic prescriptions never actually reduce stress but pile more expectations upon us to try to make ourselves acceptable to God.

We are not sick, but spiritually dead. We are not good people with room for improvement, but the ungodly. We are not children who need a little direction, but lost. The gospel comes not to help us get our act together, fixing us up for a night on the town, making us more respectable to ourselves or others. Rather, it comes to kill us and make us alive as completely new creatures. Not a new and improved self, but a self buried and raised with Christ, is the gospel’s message of genuine transformation.

Moralistic, therapeutic spirituality is part of that narcissistic complex about which Paul warned Timothy that makes us “lovers of self…, having an appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:2, 5). And the power that it denies is the announcement of free justification in Christ, apart from works. The power of God does not lie in programs, strategies, self-help formulas, seven steps to a better life, or political reform. Like someone trapped in a burning building, we cannot rescue ourselves. There is no hope inside of us! There are no inner resources or possibilities – no Archimedean point at which we might pry ourselves open to God and begin to climb the stairway to heaven. Our whole nature is in bondage to sin, so we cannot even repair our condition by an act of the will. Our only hope lies outside of us, from the God who rescues us in his Son! Paul said that he was “not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16)….

This gospel – the Good News of God’s justification of sinners in Christ – …is the ocean that we swim in, the air that we breathe, the identity that defines us….

The gospel is not a general belief in heaven and hell or hope for a better life beyond; it is not even confidence in a resurrection at the end of the age. It is the announcement that Jesus Christ himself is our life, for he is our peace with God. He does not merely show us the way; he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Our Philosophy of Ministry

Along with others on our leadership team, I currently find myself in a ministry context of planting a new church in an urban area that is racially, culturally, and socio-economically diverse. Add to this mixture a highly transient student and young, urban professional population and further challenges to long-term ministry become immediately evident. In this short piece I will set forth my philosophy of ministry in general (regardless of any temporal or geographical circumstances) and my philosophy of ministry in the immediate context of University City, Philadelphia.

The ultimate goal of my life is to serve and minister in a way that is radically Christ-centered, radically gospel-centered, and radically other-centered by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Matt. 22:34-40; 28:18-20). It is the God-man Jesus Christ whose life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension gives meaning to the gospel and displays for me the precious value of each and every human life (John 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; 1 John 4:9-10). It is through the gospel that I am reconciled to this Jesus and empowered to love and serve others (Rom. 1:16; 5:5; 1 John 4:19). It is through indiscriminately loving others that I can live out this gospel and serve Christ by serving others (Matt. 25:31-46; 1 John 3:14-19).

Read more »

Reflections on the Gospel

1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous ….

Among others things the gospel assures us that Jesus lived the life that we failed to life and died the death that we deserve to die. Believing this, assures us that we need not live with the burden of trying to achieve our own righteousness to earn God’s favor, nor do we need to live with fear of God’s judgment for our sin.

In his active obedience Jesus, as the second Adam, performed and fulfilled all the righteousness that is required of humanity. It was this righteous life that Jesus offered as a sacrifice for our sins. Since he was the only human being not deserving of death, the death that he died was a willing and efficacious offering for those who deserve death.

Now, being released by the cross from the burden of achieving our own meritorious righteousness, we are set free to pursue a joyful, non-meritorious righteousness motivated by the desire to love and emulate the One who has brought about our rescue from sin’s penalty and power.

Now, being released by the cross from the fear of God’s judgment for our sin, we are lovingly overwhelmed with a sense of God’s holiness justice, mercy, and grace so that we live with the deepest reverence for the One whose holy grace has reached down to us.

Thank YOU for the cross!

Amazing Grace

On Saturday morning I spoke at a funeral service attended mostly by very religious people. I shared with them the relationship between Ephesians 2:8-9 (“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”) and the well known hymn Amazing Grace (“Amazing grace, How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I was once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see”).

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Outreach in Drexel Park – John Davis (Part One)

Lead pastor John Davis speaking at a pre-launch outreach and fellowship with the core group of Grace Church of Philly at Drexel Park in University City, Philadelphia on 09-19-2009.

An Introduction to Christianity

An Introduction to Christianity

Dr. John P. Davis

Presented to my Moslem friends at TAMEF (A Turkish Moslem Organization)

Let me say at the outset, how much I appreciate the sincere desire of Turkish Moslems to be friends with Christians. A true friendship is one in which you can discuss your differences and even retain your differences while being friends.

Friends cannot always reconcile their differences. Friends can disagree over politics, aesthetics, personal choices, worldviews, and religion and still be friends. As we discuss Christianity and Islam, it becomes clear that these belief systems represent two distinct ways of thinking about God, about sin, and forgiveness. As a Christian, I believe that Christianity is the true and only way to know God and to live with him forever. So, let me give you a brief Introduction to Christianity.

Read more »

Evangelism and Discipleship in a Post-Everything World

These are some scattered reflections on doing ministry in a post-everything world:

a. Do evangelism and discipleship in the context of community.

b. Make your conversation with pre-Christians and young Christians more like a slow dance than a war.

c. Recognize a post-everything’s need to belong before he believes.

d. See evangelism as a wholistic process, not just the “saving of souls.”

e. Realize that though Jesus is the only way to God there are many roads to Jesus.

f. Rediscover that appreciation of beauty often precedes acceptance of truth.

g. Our evangelism must show that the “meta-narrative” of Scripture is one of compassion and not the abuse of power. 

h. Since suffering is a universal for all human beings, we must show how the biblical message best answers the questions of suffering. 

Our calling to minister in a post-everything world should evidence the following:

1) openness to the task,

2) a curiosity in another’s story,

3) an empathy that is willing to laugh and cry with others,

4) a willingness to wait for an invitation,

5) a desire to create a place for provision, where we deal with the harm of living in a fallen world.

Finally, if we as Christians will minister effectively, we must recapture playfulness and humility.

What might a gospel-centered worship service look like at Grace Church of Philly?

Welcome to Grace Church of Philly – Today we gather in the name of Jesus Christ to worship him who loved us and gave his life for us. Please join us as we sing about the greatness of our God.

1. Adoration (recognition of God’s greatness and grace)
   

   Sing – How Great is our God (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl1k_Q1n-QU&feature=PlayList&p=FBFA602E6C01B00D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5)
   

   Sing – Glory to the risen king
   

2. Confession (acknowledgment of our sin and need for grace) Please remain standing as we read a portion of God’s word that reminds us of our need of his grace.
   

   Isaiah 6:1-5
   

3. Assurance (affirmation of God’s provision of grace)
   

   Sing – My Hope is built on nothing less
   

   I believe in God the Father, Almighty ..
   

4. Thanksgiving (expression of praise and thanks for God’s grace)
   

   Sing – How Great is your love!
   

   Testimony of God’s Grace
   

   Sing – Hail to the King!
   

5. Petition and Intercession (expression of dependence on God’s grace)
   

   Prayer of Intercession
   

6. Instruction (acquiring the knowledge to grow in grace)
   

   Message from God’s Word
   

7. Communion/Fellowship (celebrating the grace of union with Christ and his people)
   

   Lord’s Table
   

   Worship in Giving
   

8. Charge and Blessing (living for and in the light of God’s grace)
   

   Sing – Not to us (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlwKpQmmFQ)
   

    

   Benediction: 2 Thess 2:16-17
   

 Endnote: The items in bold are included to show the structure of worship but are not part of the worship service.