Our series is on how Jesus resets our goals.  We’re basing this on something Jesus taught in his sermon on the mount.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

(Matthew 6:25-33 ESV)

Jesus was saying that we can get so busy and consumed by the day to day concerns of life, we lose track of the point.  What was the point?  We were created for relationship with God, and one another.  All humans gave that up by focusing on ourselves instead, and there is evidence in the world’s brokenness.  We can see it in broken relationships with ourselves, one another, our natural world, and with God himself.  But God offers his love to us all the same.  He invites us to live in his kingdom – to be in a relationship with him as our Lord – thanks to what Jesus did on the cross.

Last week, we learned how Jesus and his death on the cross give us the opportunity to reset life.  His death and resurrection reset the world, since death was the most visible consequence of our sin and rebellion against God.  He made it possible for us to live in Kingdom of God now, and for eternity.

But we have lots to do.  Jesus isn’t saying we should quit our jobs, run around naked and hungry.  He’s not saying food, shelter, clothes are a bad thing.  They are all part of his creation, like us, and he has plans for it all.

He is just saying that we shouldn’t worry about such things.  We shouldn’t be consumed by them.  We shouldn’t let them distract us from our life’s true purpose of living in relationship with God, and one another.  We shouldn’t let worrying about little goals get in the way of life’s big goal.

Question: When does careful planning turn into worry and get in the way of life goals?

Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.

Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting tomorrow night, January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - January 14, 2014

Tuesday - Study It - Reset

When we imagine a reset in life, we can come up with lots of excuses. Here’s the story of an interaction between one man and Jesus: Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:1-8 ESV) Nicodemus is a Pharisee, a religious law expert. He lives by the book, is religious authority and example to others. So why does he come speak to Jesus like this? One opinion is that he has sinister motives: he’s sucking up to someone famous by saying nice things. Or worse, he is trying to draw Jesus into saying something wrong or illegal. But another, more likely opinion notes that he comes to visit Jesus by night. He’s truly intrigued, and is scared of the consequence if anyone realizes. It seems like that’s how Jesus treats him, like anyone else who comes to him asking questions. Jesus makes it clear that following his teachings won’t just be adding a new religious layer on top of Nicodemus already impressive religious portfolio. It means a complete reset of his life, which is costly considering all he’s already invested. Jesus uses the imagery of the ultimate reset – being reborn, when he says, “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This is where we get the terminology of being “born again”. Maybe you react to this word, or don’t like it, because it conjures up images of pushy evangelists. But it’s great image, and Jesus’ image, so we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss it. He’s saying that following him means a new life, 100%. Nicodemus, though, misses the point. For one reason or another, he takes it quite literally. He’s probably not that naïve to think Jesus means he needs to climb back in the womb – he’s probably just shocked and confused so he argues with it, and tries to argue with the imagery rather than the concept. Question: What does “born again” evoke for you? Do you embrace it, or challenge it?

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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