Please join us at the Congress Theater for a unique look at a 2,000 year-old revolution. Music by Milano. You will not want to miss this event.

How to avoid narrow, short-term thinking? This week, we discussed our value of Longevity. Here are some notes from our discussion. Enjoy!

SYNOPSIS
God’s plan is eternal.

Our plan for being the Body of Jesus Christ in Chicago should reflect the eternality of God’s plan. Our planning should aim at Longevity wherever possible.

PRINCIPLES
1. Longevity is a Gospel mindset (Colossians 3:1-4; Ephesians 1:4-10; Romans 12:2).
2. Longevity is a product of sustained investment in the indispensable and ageless (Matthew 7:36-39; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13).
3. Longevity requires flexibility. Principle must be distinguished from method. That which is temporal must be allowed to change (Luke 12:15-21; Mark 2:24-18).
4. Longevity requires discipline and commitment (1 Corinthians 9:23-27; 2 Timothy 2:3-6).
5. Longevity requires grace (Philippians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Last week we talked about the inherent weaknesses of Enlightenment 2.0 optimism. Malcom Gladwell makes this point in his review of Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson’s new book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price”. Gladwell was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2005. Here’s a snippet of his response to Anderson’s leap from free distribution of information to total global Shalom.

This is the kind of error that technological utopians make. They assume that their particular scientific revolution will wipe away all traces of its predecessors—that if you change the fuel you change the whole system. Strauss went on to forecast “an age of peace,” jumping from atoms to human hearts. “As the world of chips and glass fibers and wireless waves goes, so goes the rest of the world,” Kevin Kelly, another Wired visionary, proclaimed at the start of his 1998 digital manifesto, “New Rules for the New Economy,” offering up the same non sequitur. And now comes Anderson. “The more products are made of ideas, rather than stuff, the faster they can get cheap,” he writes, and we know what’s coming next: “However, this is not limited to digital products.”

Full article here.

The Biblical way of looking at the world is often childlike in its simplicity – so simple that it is often accused of being shallow and anti-intellectual. Paul reasons with the Colossian church that upon closer inspection it is alternative viewpoints that lack cohesiveness and depth.

06/21/09, Colossians 2:14-15, Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren

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Notes for this sermon.

How to Start a Cult, Part III. If you want to start a cult, consider the power of extortion.

Why is humanity plagued by fear, guilt, shame, and anxiety? If the Bible is true, then fear, guilt, shame, and anxiety are the most appropriate emotions for humanity to feel, given its circumstances. Rather than avoiding these emotions, Jesus calls us to acknowledge their source, repent and accept His sacrifice on our behalf.

06/07/09, Colossians 2:13-23, Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren

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notes for this sermon

How to Start a Cult, Part II. If you think you paid the cost for your membership, you will wear it like a badge. If you think Jesus paid the cost for your membership, you will wear Him like a badge.

05/24/09, Colossians 2:11-13
Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren

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Four principles guide our calling in Chicago: Longevity, Movement, Dwelling, and Thriving. Last night we discussed Dwelling. Below are some notes from that session.

SYNOPSIS
God’s people dwell.

Followers of Jesus Christ imitate Him by leaving their places of comfort and security, and dwelling among those who don’t know Him.

PRINCIPLES
1.    We dwell in the world to imitate and glorify Jesus (John 1:14; Matthew 5:13-16).
2.    Effective dwelling in the world is predicated on dwelling first in Jesus (John 15:4-16; 2 John 1:9).
3.    Dwelling often requires relinquishing of personal preference (Acts 16:3; Romans 14:20-21).
4.    Dwelling and tribalism cannot co-exist (Matthew 9:11-13).
5.    Dwelling precedes Thriving and Longevity (Jeremiah 29:1-14).

PRINCIPLES FOR GOSPEL COMMUNITY
1.    A Gospel Community is not a time and a place, it is a group of people.
2.    A Gospel Community is not a series of events, it is life together.
3.    A Gospel Community is not a closed circle of friends, but an inviting, open community.
4.    A Gospel Community shares the gospel not religion.

How to Start a Cult, Part I. Starting a cult is easy: Just convince your followers that fullness is found in more than one place.

05/10/09, Colossians 2:8-10
Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren

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The Line Col 2 8-10 Notes

The Line has four major values that guide how we do church: Longevity, Movement, Dwelling, Thriving. We discuss vision for these monthly. Below are some notes from this month’s session: Movement.

SYNOPSIS
God’s people are always moving.

While essential Christian beliefs may be static, Christian mission never is. Obedience itself is continuous movement away from sin and towards Jesus. As a church, we are the sent people of Jesus, moving out into the world.

PRINCIPLES
1. Jesus often moves us internally, then externally. We see, for instance, that Jesus’ command to be His witnesses is predicated on the movement of his power (Acts 1:8; c.f. 2:1-41). The apostle Paul is thrown from his horse before being thrown into the mission field (Acts 9:3-20). Paul later writes to the church in Rome that all of our right action (or movement) as a church is based on internal gratitude toward Jesus, who made the first move to save us (Romans 12:1-2).

2. Jesus often moves us externally, then internally. Many times, however, Jesus uses our external circumstances to train, sharpen, and grow us. Moses tells the Israelites that God’s intentions in commanding them to wander in the wilderness was to humble them, and train them to be dependent on His word (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). We read in Jeremiah 17:5-10 that God moves us into uncomfortable circumstances to test our hearts and to train us to trust Him. Paul tells the church in Corinth that building a missionary movement in Asia almost made him suicidal, yet this was to teach him to rely solely on God (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).

3. Jesus moves first. Regardless of how hard we try, nothing will happen unless Jesus moves first (Psalm 127:1-2). Unless Jesus first shines in the darkness, it will not be overcome (John 1:5). If Jesus had not moved to the earth to reveal God to us, we will never seen His glory (John 1:14). It is God who draws men to himself (John 6:44). We do not send ourselves, we are moved by Jesus (John 17:18).

4. That which is stationary is stagnant. Those who move under God’s direction are secure. Finally, the Bible tells us that a lack of movement is often a sign of death. A poignant example of this is found Babel’s rebellion against God’s command to fill the earth (Genesis 11:1-9), which is contrasted with God’s call to Abram to go to a new land (Genesis 12:1-2). The author of Hebrews gives us special insight into these events, telling us that security is not to be found in settling, but in seeking God’s city, which alone has foundations (Hebrews 11:10; 13-16).

03/22/09, Colossians 1:24-29
Preached by Pastor Aaron Youngren

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