The Golden Rule
We’re almost at the end of the Summer Together series, where we have been walking through the Sermon on the Mount together for the last 14 weeks. Last Sunday, we covered the first 11 verses of Matthew 7, but ran out of time before completing the message. So, today, we get to rest on one single verse. One of the most memorable and used verses in the entire discourse - Matthew 7:12, also commonly referred to as the Golden Rule.
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12
The message here is a simple; Jesus gives us a rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Now that sounds simple enough, but if it were really that simple, we’d be better at it. We’re not good at it, but we can be with the help of the Spirit of God. In fact, another way to think about the Golden Rule is to see that we want want to be treated in a spirit-filled way. Remember the fruit of the Spirit?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
We ALL want to be treated with kindness, goodness, and gentleness, right? We all want others to have patience with us, to love us, and to be faithful and loving. This is how we want to be treated when it comes down to it. This is a good list of how we want our wives, husbands, kids, co-workers, neighbors to be with us, and of course if they oblige, then we’ll reciprocate…right?
Now, let’s dig into the verse for a moment. First, it’s worth noting that Jesus invokes the Law and Prophets at the end of the verse to make sure the hearers would recognize it from the Old Testament. The Law usually refers to the Torah, or the first 5 books of the Bible, and the Prophets refers to the rest of the Old Testament, which was understood to have been written by the prophets. This means that this verse is summing up what God wanted from His people in relation to their neighbors, and this is not new content, this has been taught from the Old Testament up to the mouth of Christ. God desired His people to live out love among their neighbors.
The first word of the verse is “So” or other versions might use “Therefore” - this is what’s called a Logical Connector. It connects this verse to the passage before it, drawing an application in context from the section of scripture just prior. In this case, the previous versus are describing God’s gracious and loving provision for others, so the application would be that if the disciples (you being one of the disciples) are following the Golden Rule of verse 12, then you are resembling your Heavenly Father.
And so what is the command? Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do that to them. This is the Golden Rule, you’ve all heard a version of this before. This is one of those verses that even non-Believers, people who have never picked up a Bible before have heard of. Their mom or their grandma said it to them growing up, do unto others as you would have them do unto you - that’s the southern KJV translation of that verse.
But doesn’t this verse ring a bell to something we’ve heard before?
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19:18b
This is what Jesus refers to as the Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22 and Mark 12. And it’s the same idea. Love others as you yourself want to be loved. You know, this verse would have originally been written in Greek, and the Greek here indicates that the command is comprehensive, emphatic, positive, and continuous. “In every last thing, you must continually do for others whatever you wish they would do to you.” And the YOU is emphatic - disciples (you and me) will do for others, even when no one else will. The scope of the command is unlimited, and it’s in the continuous present tense, meaning the obligation continues unending. Love others as you want to be loved. Serve others as you would want to be served. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Always.
This command in its negative form was already around in Jesus’ time and that form is known to many religions, for example:
“What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow creatures. That is the whole law. All else is explanation” – Rabbi Hillel, probably quoting the book of Tobit in the Apocrypha which says: “Do not do to anyone what you yourself would hate.” (Tobit 4:15)
Eastern religions have a similar saying as well: “Do not to others what you would not wish done to yourself.” – Confucius
But these and others are found in the negative form: “Do not do anything to anyone that you would not want him to do to you.”
That’s good advice and all, but Jesus is asserting something different: the positive and intentional activity of love being poured out on a neighbor, not merely wrong being withheld.
There is an operating principle within the Golden Rule: Initiate, don’t wait! Jesus does not qualify this command with a stipulation that we wait for someone to do something nice for us before we step out and do something nice for them. Let them show love first, and then I’ll show it in return. He also doesn’t give a quid-pro-quo with this command. I’ll show the love, but they better respond in kind. If they don’t, that’s it. Cut off. Never again. I’ll take my love and kindness elsewhere. No, this command is continuous and unlimited. In fact, let me give you two things that love does to accomplish this command:
Love steps up to act first – often unprompted and unearned - this is a good segue into grace, which is love played out as an unwarranted and unmerited gift that we didn’t and couldn’t earn. It’s by grace that Jesus saves us, a gift, not of ourselves, but only by his love as demonstrated by the death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus didn't wait for humanity to get their lives in order, he didn’t wait for us to become more pious and more devoted, he stepped into this world, put on a skin suit, got into the dirt with us, and for us…he loved first, he made the first move, pouring out unearned grace on us.
Love initiates often in spite of the conditions. It’s not always the most convenient time to love someone the way that you would want to be loved. The conditions are not always right. You know, we use a phrase in the church world (well maybe more in the charismatic church world) we talk about divine appointments. And that’s not a bad phrase, I’m not telling you to stop using it or stop praying for them, but I think we have a misconception of what these are. When we think of loving our neighbor or a stranger, and God sets up a divine appointment, we envision: finishing a nice meal at the restaurant of your choosing, pulling out your wallet to pay the bill and low and behold, a blessing from the Lord, a crisp $20 that you didn’t know you had, and then as if Moses himself were at that restaurant, the people part to the left and right and a light from Heaven shines down on a man in tattered clothes that is clearly hungry and was looking for a meal that would cost approximately $20…But that’s not how it works. Basically never. Often, it’s your last $20 and someone is in need, you’re in a time constraint and someone needs love and grace, love steps up in spite of the conditions and circumstances, because my goodness if the shoe were on the other foot, wouldn’t you want that same love?
Well, the shoe was on the other foot. Jesus left Heaven, left the Father’s side to come and pour his love out on you. That wasn’t convenient, that wasn’t easy. To leave perfection, to leave a pure and holy place and come kick it with us in this sin-filled world?! There was nothing convenient about it, but he so loved, and he loved first, he initiated the love now and forever. And he sets the example and the bar with which we operate from.
Keep in mind that the Golden Rule is not the total sum of Christian truth, nor is it Gods plan of redemption. We can’t boil all of Christianity down to this simple phrase, although it does pack a lot of power. In fact, Warren Wiersbe once said:
“We should no more build our theology on the golden rule, than we should build our astronomy on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” - Warren W. Wiersbe
This great truth is simply a principle that ought to govern our attitudes towards others. We should approach others in love. And by the way, love initiates; love steps out in faith.
Grace Bomb Reloaded - Kingdom Returns
Pastor Robbie Earle speaks about what it looks like for us as Disciples to Invest in the Kingdom and what we can expect to see in Return!
We took Grace Bomb on as an initiative of ours around this time last year - this was right before everything with COVID-19 hit! In light of everything that has been going on and especially those who have continued to embody the spirit of Grace Bombing, we are coming back at it with a fresh perspective and fresh motivation to see Jesus’ name be made great through this awesome discipleship tool!
A Grace Bomb is an intentional act of love motivated by Jesus. For the recipient, it’s a surprising gift meant to brighten their day. There are so many great stories associated with Grace Bomb - we encourage you to get inspired by going to gracebomb.org and read some of the many stories! Also, check them out on their social media platforms at grace.bomb!
This week we want to focus on what it really means to invest in the Kingdom of God. All investments come with consequences, some positive and some negative, however, when it comes to the Kingdom, ultimately all things will be worked out for the Good of those who Love God. Having a properly oriented mind towards investing in the Kingdom of God is a driving factor in our willingness and desire to go with the prompting(s) of the Holy Spirit - as we saw last week.
Let me ask you a question, church - Why do we give? Why do these people in these stories go out of their way to give to others, in many cases people that they don’t even know! We believe that Disciples of Jesus become generous when we have a changed heart born out of these five factors:
Gratitude for what We have Received: We have received the ultimate generous gift of salvation from Christ. Do you understand church, that God has unleashed an absolute bounty of blessings on us in Jesus?! How can we not have a heart of gratitude, after God reached into the muck and mire and pulled us out of our own sin? (Eph. 1:3)
Remembering our Identity: We are created in God’s Image; Our generosity is simply a reflection of His generous character – I mean, He gave so freely that He didn’t even withhold His only Son. (Gen. 1:27; Matt. 20:28)
Recognizing what We Have has Purpose: What we have, what we own, our skills and talents, all of these things have a purpose, and God can use them for his glory, honor, and for the blessing of others if we would simply hold it all with an open hand. God impacts others through us!
Resting in God’s Provision: When it comes to God’s Work, if it’s done God’s Way, it does not lack God’s provision. (2 Cor. 9:6-8)
Growing Through Practice: Just like anything in life, we get better with practice. We get stronger when we work out, we get faster when we run, and we stretch this faith muscle by working it out/doing it when we walk in the good works prepared for us. (Eph. 2:10)
Now, with all of this talk about generosity, there comes the Biblical idea of stewardship. In order to live a lifestyle of generous Grace Bombing, we have to be good stewards. We have to manage our time, treasure, and talent well. If we don’t, there won’t be anything for us to give. This means, of course, that we have to manage our finances. We have to steward what God has given us so that we can grow in generosity.
The context here is stewardship of the gospel ministry, but the principle is common sense – do well with what you have been entrusted. This is how we honor God with our resources:
Invest in the Kingdom first: By investing in the Kingdom First, your ROI (Return on Investment), will yield the greatest returns, but requires the most patience.
Invest in your future second: Investing in your future isn’t very glamorous - it requires discipline and a vision for what could be. After you give and you save, then you live on the rest. By taking care of the first two steps, living now means living within your means.
Invest in your everyday living third: Good stewardship isn’t about how much we have, but what we do with what we have.
Simply put: Give, Save, Live: One approach to consider is to Give 10 percent, store 10 percent in savings, and live contentedly on the remaining 80 percent; give it a try, it may surprise you!
This requires great discipline in reducing spending. Part of taking a more Kingdom-minded approach to finances is to pay off existing debt and avoid new debt. Not to sound overly spiritual, but when making big purchases, always consult the Owner, which we established was God – PRAY before making financial decisions. The decisions that you make about your finances, your resources, and even your time can either hinder or enhance your ability to provide for those who come along in your life. Trust God for provision, invest your time, finances/resources, and talents wisely, and live with abandon for the sake of the Kingdom of God!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Grace Bomb Reloaded - Kingdom Returns: Investments mature into something, how we manage what God has blessed us with i.e. how we engage with our time, finances/resources, and talent(s) matter; the health of these aspects of our lives affect our ability to impact the lives of those we come in contact with.
The Source: We believe that God is the provider and sustainer of His People; we are stewards of every aspect of our lives - we must honor and praise God for what we have been blessed with!
The Plan of Action: To impact the Kingdom well, we should desire to be wise about what God has provided us with; to be able to Grace Bomb well, we should not only seek to be obedient, but we must also be able and willing to manage that which God has entrusted us with.
The Purpose: Above all, the honor and glory of God, by loving our neighbors as ourselves is what we are after here. Biblical stewardship certainly doesn’t speak to becoming wealthy (in-fact, the NT steers us away from wealth). God’s blessings should be honored for what they are, however, we must always guard ourselves against the temptation(s) of the flesh. Stewardship, true and righteous Biblically informed stewardship is about God and His Kingdom.
If this summary piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out our archived Live-streams here!
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 You can also join us on our Live-stream here or on our Facebook page at 10 am!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
Grace Bomb Reloaded - The Influencer
Following Grace Bomb Founder Pat Linnell’s introduction to Grace Bomb Reloaded, Pastor Robbie Earle speaks about how the Holy Spirit guides us into radical and life-changing action, through obedience.
We took Grace Bomb on as an initiative of ours around this time last year - this was right before everything with COVID-19 hit! In light of everything that has been going on and especially those who have continued to embody the spirit of Grace Bombing, we are coming back at it with a fresh perspective and fresh motivation to see Jesus’ name be made great through this awesome discipleship tool!
We are so thankful for Pat Linnell coming down last week and kicking things off for us as we begin the Grace Bomb Reloaded series. If you weren’t here with us last year, In February with much fanfare and to-do, we launched the Grace Bomb at Legacy City. We were actually one of the first few churches to partner with Grace Bomb, and I remember that we had a flurry of stories and some solid buzz and excitement as we spent a month walking through the idea of God’s Grace and what it means to pass that on to others. And then what happened in March? COVID-19 killed our momentum with this initiative. So when Pat and the team told us late last year of a Reloaded series that dives a little deeper, but would also serve as a recharge for Grace Bomb in general, we were all in.
And if you’re just with us for the first time and have no idea what I’m talking about: Grace Bomb is an intentional act of love motivated by Jesus. For the recipient, it’s a surprising gift meant to brighten their day. Grace Bomb is more than just a random act of kindness, it’s an intentional act of love that is motivated by Jesus. We have the cards and we use them when we Grace Bomb not to draw attention to ourselves or our church even, we want to draw attention to Jesus. Why would we go out of our way to love a stranger or go above and beyond for a coworker? Because of Jesus!
Just to make sure we’re on the same page, we also use this language in talking about Grace Bombs, we say Load, Listen, and Let ‘er go. Load (carry cards, simply choose to have them on your person, in doing that, you are choosing Grace and choosing to open to the leading of the Spirit), which brings us to Listen (for the Holy Spirit’s prompting), and Let ‘er go (drop our Grace Bombs) in our everyday walks of life in obedience to Jesus’ call to love our neighbors. (These ‘Cards’ can be found at a Kiosk at Sunday Gatherings in the lobby - however, if you’re not able to engage with the Kiosk, contact us through any of our social media channels, and will gladly provide you with Grace Bomb Cards.)
There are so many great stories associated with Grace Bomb - we encourage you to get inspired by going to gracebomb.org and read some of the many stories! Also, check them out on their social media platforms at grace.bomb!
Grace Bombing those in our lives, whether it’s those we are closest to or those we have never met before, we must depend on the Holy Spirit and His guidance. We do not want this to be something that we feel out of obligation, but out of obedience to what the Spirit is doing in our lives and what He desires to do in our community!
We have four guiding factors we believe can help discern if the Holy Spirit may be guiding you to Grace Bomb someone:
Your action would elevate Jesus: The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and points people to Christ. Anything that the Holy Spirit would be leading us in would inherently need to elevate Jesus.
Your action would be Counter-Cultural: Putting the Kingdom first typically cuts against the grain of our neighbors. Love your neighbor as yourself, turn the other cheek, give sacrificially - these things rub against the very fabric of our society that says love yourself first; If it denies yourself, it may be the Holy Spirit. (1 Peter)
Your action requires Self-Denial and Risk: We have to die to self, to move more toward Christ. Here’s another practical way to look at it, is the action inconveniencing you? God calls us out of our comfort zone and into a place where we have to put full trust and hope into him.
Your action is Biblical: We have to understand church, that the Holy Spirit works in conjunction with God’s word. If the action is not biblical, then it’s not from God.
We have to take that Step of Faith. The Spirit of God inspired the Word of God so we could be indwelt by God and have his Truths illuminated in our lives. From there, we make a choice. In light of everything we just talked about, in light of everything that Jesus did on the cross and how he sent the Spirit to help us, we then choose to step into that Spirit-Led obedience OR we don’t. Do we walk in the flesh or do we walk in faith? Do we make a decision of the will to act in faith, obeying the Biblical prompting or not? And here’s the thing church, we have to make that decision daily. On a small and very real practical scale. We have to choose everyday where to put our feet, how we’re going to walk through the day. We choose every day whether to walk in faith or flesh. When we’re talking about Grace Bomb, we choose in the morning before we leave the house to put a Grace Bomb card or two in our pocket. I’m not trying to over-spiritualize it, but if you consciously choose not to, then you’re taking one more tool away for the Holy Spirit to use with you.
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Grace Bomb Reloaded - The Influencer: When it comes to faithful action, especially when it comes to Grace Bomb, the influence of the Holy Spirit is crucial and necessary.
Refresher - What Is Grace Bomb: Grace Bomb is more than just a random act of kindness, it’s an intentional act of love that is motivated by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
The Role of the Holy Spirit: The life of a Christian should be guided by the influence of the Holy Spirit - the New Testament points us to this around every corner; when it comes to Grace Bomb, the Holy Spirit is the major player!
The Beautiful Product of Obedience: When we are obedient to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are able to be wielded by God for intentional ministry; the product of our obedience to the Holy Spirit will always be greater than our own efforts alone.
If this summary piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out our archived Live-streams here!
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 or You can also join us on our Live-stream here or on our Facebook page at 10 am!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
Kingdom Culture - Fight Clubs
Pastor Robbie reflects on the year 2020 and lays out what we Desire to see in 2021 through Fight Clubs!
Kingdom Culture has the potential to provide a firm foundation and shape our church for the next 10 years. Discipleship is so unbelievably important. The changing of lives in the context of not only Sunday Gatherings but in our day-to-day is what we are after and believe we can establish in our community! This is the concluding sermon for the series.
Today, we have a bit of a practical message. Now I believe that every message is practical if you intentionally apply it to your life, but this one is ultra-practical. And really it’s all going to culminate in us launching a new discipleship endeavor here at Legacy City that I believe will help create a firm foundation for us to stand on. Ok, so obviously Christ is the firm foundation, so then we’re laying the subflooring today, we’re adding some tile work, some hardwoods, ok?
So one thing I have discovered over the years is that we as a people, and specifically as Christians, are honestly terrible at opening ourselves up for honest and real accountability and discipleship. Here it is church, we tend to be isolated and insulated. We don’t open ourselves up for three reasons: We don’t want to be a burden on anyone, We don’t think it will help, and We don’t really know if we can trust people. There it is. Even our best friends have a husband or a wife or a roommate that they might share my secrets with. Maybe I trust my spouse, but I know what kinda baggage they’re bringing to the table and I just don’t want to be a burden. Maybe I trust our church leadership, but is my confiding in them really going to help anything? These are some legitimate questions and hurdles that we have to get over if we’re going to have lasting and meaningful relationships that move us closer into the fold of Christ.
But can I tell you this morning church, there's something more for you. I know there is more for the men and women of our house. So we’re raising the bar a little bit, and it's going to be a beautiful thing over the life of Legacy City Church. And so effective today, we are launching a new discipleship-oriented “program” for lack of better words, called Fight Clubs.
So what is a Fight Club? Practically speaking, it is a group of 3-4 men or women who meet regularly to help one another fight for faith in the gospel. It’s like an accountability group but it’s so much more—it’s not a Bible Study (although you will most likely talk about the Scripture often), but it is a group of people who share relatively the same season of life and meet consistently to help each other win the fight. The goal of Fight Clubs is simply to repent from sin, rejoice in Christ, and reproduce disciples.
There are four key principles/arenas that drive our desire to see these groups form and mature in our church community:
We want to Fight for our Walk with God - Biblical Community includes being with and around those who desire to see you mature in your faith (Acts 2:42-47)
We want to Fight for our Hearts and our Character - To have a Biblical heart and a Biblical character is not something that comes naturally to us, especially in our culture; we need to have checks and balances in our lives (2 Sam. 11)
We want to Fight for our Families - A family unit is a special thing whether already established or desiring to establish, taking into account the other points mentioned here contribute towards the health and well-being of your family unit.
We want to Fight for our Relationships - We want to stand beside our brothers and sisters and say I'm gonna help you fight in these arenas. I'm gonna help you become the man or woman you are called to be.
Now here’s the thing, ultimately our success in this comes down to two things it comes down to loving commitment from all parties involved, transparency in our lives, and the power of the Holy Spirit. I am not being a sensationalist when I say that I truly believe that these groups can and will change the fabric of our church. The difference that a deep Godly community will make will be tangibly felt across this church and community.
Check out how you can get involved HERE!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Kingdom Culture - Fight Clubs: We believe that Fight Clubs will be a tremendous way for us to gather together as small, intimate groups for the sake of long-term discipleship in one another’s lives.
The Current Climate: Honestly, it has been really difficult to foster community lately - this initiative will hopefully provide space for intimate connection surrounding one’s spiritual health and maturity.
The Purpose: Fight Clubs are intended to be long-term, small groups who desire to see one another grow and mature in their faith; we desire intimate community with others because this is how we are intended to live.
Get Involved: We are excited to reinforce the need for groups like these in our lives - many of you may already have a group of people like this in your life, however, not everyone does; if you’re seeking community like you’ve seen described follow the link above and dive-in!
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out our archived Live-streams here!
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am! You can also join us on our Live-stream here or on our Facebook page - at the same time!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
Kingdom Culture - Disciple > Believer
Pastor Robbie continues in our Kingdom Culture Series by addressing some critical distinctions in the being a Disciple versus merely being a Believer!
Kingdom Culture has the potential to provide a firm foundation and shape our church for the next 10 years. Discipleship is so unbelievably important. We believe there is something to be said about the unique difference between being a ‘Believer’ and being a ‘Disciple’. Think about it, what immediately comes to mind when you think of a ‘Christian’?
If you stop people at Walmart or Publix and ask them, “Are you a Christian?” Some people would say, “Yes.” Others would say, “What do you mean?” Some would tell you, “Yes, but …” or “No, but …” or “Yes, but I’m not like …” And some would flat out say, “No, I’m definitely not a Christian.”
Today, we more often describe ourselves and others as Christians rather than disciples. By changing the word that we use to describe ourselves, we have lost the clarity the word “disciple” conveyed about what a follower of Jesus actually is. Our use of “Christian” today obscures the fact that a lot of people who call themselves Christians are not actually disciples.
Here are four examples to consider when wrestling with this distinction:
A believer believes Jesus is their Savior but lives to please themselves while a disciple believes in Jesus as their Lord and says I am here to please God.
A believer exalts their opinions, their feelings, and their thoughts above the Word of God but a disciple exalts the word of God above their opinions, their feelings, and their thoughts.
A believer thinks the church is a place where they go to hear God's Word and hear a good message, a disciple thinks of the church as a place where they learn to do what God's Word says.
A believer often serves God based on convenience, but a disciple serves God based on deep conviction.
Do you see this difference we’re trying to draw out here? We want to see this church progressing individually and collectively in the faith, becoming more spiritually mature as a true disciple of Jesus. As I said, this message isn’t meant to shame anyone, it’s meant to challenge us.
Pastor Robbie spoke out of several different passages, specifically in the Gospels, where we see so much of Jesus’ ministry and the call to true obedience that we see. There are three main points that we drew out of these passages to really make this distinction clear.
A true disciple lives with radical abandonment for His glory. (Matt. 4:22; Luke 14:33)
A true disciple lives with joyful dependence on His Grace. (John 15:16a; Eph. 1:3-6)
A true disciple lives with faithful Adherence to Jesus and an urgent Obedience to His Mission. (Matt. 4:19, 28:19-20)
We believe that it's impossible to believe this gospel and to know this Christ and be silent. A privatized faith and a resurrected Christ is practically impossible. And yes, the cost of discipleship is great. To live with radical abandonment for His glory, faithful adherence to His person, urgent obedience… is costly. This requires sacrifice and uncomfortable change. But I submit to you this morning that the cost of non-discipleship is far, far, far greater.
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Kingdom Culture - Disciple > Believer: The differences between a Disciple of Jesus and a Believer in Jesus are vastly different - we believe we are called to more than mere belief but to dive into devotion and obedience!
The Source: The Disciple sees Jesus as the source not only for their salvation but for their way of life.
The Path: The Disciple engages with their faith as a journey to become more and more like Jesus.
The Result: By seeking to view Jesus as more than just the source of our salvation and the example by which we are to live, we come into what biblical salvation looks like - increasing in sanctification.
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out our archived Live-streams here!
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am! You can also join us on our Live-stream here or on our Facebook page - at the same time!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
Kingdom Culture - The Great Commission
Pastor Robbie kicks off our Kingdom Culture Series where we will be diving into what it is going to look like as we cultivate a Discipleship Culture at Legacy City Church!
Kingdom Culture has the potential to provide a firm foundation and shape our church for the next 10 years. Discipleship is so unbelievably important. The changing of lives in the context of not only Sunday Gatherings but in our day-to-day is what we are after and believe we can establish in our community!
We are about to undergo a bit of a culture shift. We know that if you are not intentional about creating a culture, one will develop anyways. And that’s what has happened over the last few years. A culture has developed. It’s a great culture in some ways, but if I’m really honest, as your pastor, there are some glaring holes.
So for three years, we’ve been pushing forward the mission of Legacy City as a church; that is, to be here for the least, the last, and the lost. A church that seeks to meet felt needs in our community, not just perceived ones. A church that provides a place of hope and refuge for those who have felt maybe burned by church or Christians. We have always sought, from before our very first gathering even, to be a church that takes the gospel into the community and seeks to make the name of Jesus famous above all else. And listen, we are not changing that mission, but we are making a vital addition to it. We are being intentional about creating more space for biblical discipleship.
First and foremost, we need to really define what we mean by conscious and active discipleship. We see in the Great Commission passage, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)
There are four main things we can get from this verse surrounding Discipleship:
Helping People - We have to initiate and be intentional because we are to ‘go’ and ‘make’ disciples (v19).
An Assumption of Trust - By way of v19, the public declaration of baptism assumes trust in what Jesus has done and continues to do in our lives; We want people to trust in Jesus to such an extent that they not only give their lives to him, but are moving to actively mature spiritually.
What it Means to ‘Follow’ - Disciple-making is about obedience and sanctification i.e. by doing what Jesus has called us to, we are guided towards being more like Him. We share love, grace, and mercy - we trust the Holy Spirit to guide people into this posture! (v20)
Who Jesus Is - He is the focus of Discipleship; we are called to point others to becoming devoted followers of him as well. His work has brought us into a right relationship with God, He is the main concern in our minds and in our practice.
We are to be and make disciples through the power of and in the name of Jesus. This is our legacy, church. This is the foundation that we must build. Ask yourself if you have been or are being discipled, and if not, we need to take steps to fix that. Are you pouring into anyone else, sharing the love and hope of Christ as revealed to you in your life with them? If not, hopefully over the course of this series, we can begin to fix that!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Kingdom Culture - The Great Commission: An important mandate given to Disciples of Jesus is to go out and make more Disciples!
The Nature of Discipleship: A disciple is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and committed to the mission of Jesus.
The Source of Discipleship: Being a disciple of Christ does not begin with something we do. It begins with something Christ did.
The Mission of Discipleship: Being a Christian involves denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following him. This process necessarily includes bringing others into this fold.
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out our archived Live-streams here!
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am! You can also join us on our Live-stream here or on our Facebook page - at the same time!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
Vision Sunday 2021
Pastor Robbie reflects on the year 2020 and lays out what we Desire to see in 2021!
The year of 2020 was anticipated to be a very different year than what we expected. I mean, if 20/20 vision is awesome, then why wouldn’t the year be, right? Well, unfortunately that was not the case - we have had an exceptional amount of turmoil this year, yet there are still many things that we should be thanking God for, in spite of the many difficulties we have been presented with.
Pastor Robbie sets us the previous year as somethin to properly mourn, while also praising and thanking God for all that we are able to; God is in control, ultimately, yet, this does not mean that the trauma and difficulty is lessened by this fact. Our plans for the year, as a church body and as individuals changed in light of the pandemic, however, God’s purposes still remain! He says, “Even when the immediate around us (the detour) feels like it's just a dead end and some people are there right now; it feels like work's a dead end, life's a dead end, job's a dead end, the back payments on rent are a dead end, you can't see how you're going to get out of this situation - but can I give you some encouragement church? That dead end might just be a detour TO God. He's got us on a journey and he's not finished yet. And sometimes it's hard to see in the moment, but if you just keep walking in faith and stay the course one day at a time, one step at a time, and keep trusting God and receiving his goodness in your life; he'll see you through it and you'll be able to look back and even make some sense out of it, even see the sovereignty of the Lord at work.”
With the turn of the New Year, as we move into a time of introspection and hope for the future, we also celebrate Legacy City Church’s Third Birthday! The word that we as a church first put forth in 2020 was ‘Advance’ - we desired to see God move in such a way that God’s Name in our community would Advance; we desired to to see the Gospel go forth and Advance the Kingdom. Even in light of all that happened this year, regardless of other statistics, the Kingdom of God has been impacted by our Church Body this year. Pastor Robbie laid this out quite plainly saying, “We have to remember the promises of God. What did he call us to do as a church? Reach the lost? - well, on March 22, the first real weekend of the pandemic, we pivoted to the Drive-In theater to have church and Fox Carolina broadcast our gospel message of hope to 200,000 people! See people come to know Christ? We live streamed our Good Friday gathering from a porch in Hodges, and people came to know Jesus over the live stream! We’re called to serve our community? We had the opportunity to deliver almost 100,000 meals to kids and families all over the county for District 50. Host a Sunday Gathering that leads people into worship and offers them the Hope of Jesus? Because of the pivot to the Drive In, we were able to continue meeting live and in-person throughout the whole pandemic, seeing hundreds of people from the community joining in during that time.”
While we may not have anticipated to have been able to adapt to such a unique situation as a global pandemic, God is faithful - the power and majesty of the Kingdom of God went forth nonetheless!
This past year has been incredibly stressful, stretching , and traumatizing for many of us, yet God has walked with us through it all. This coming year is equally as tense - the pandemic is not over, political strife hangs in the air, however, the Mission of laid out before us has not changed.
This upcoming week we will beginning a New Sermon Series called Kingdom Culture; We Believe that the Culture of the Kingdom must be the Kingdom of the Church. Discipleship is at the core of this culture - we are continually seeking to become more and more like Jesus, and this series will be diving into how we are going to be cultivating that in 2021!
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
Vision Sunday 2021 - What Occurred this past year was stressful and intense for so many of us, however, God has been with us through it all; His Kingdom has advanced nonetheless!
Given the fact that the Kingdom of God was advanced throughout this past year, we should not consider 2020 to be a waste of time and energy.
Adaptability in our lives is important to be able to minister effectively in whatever context we find ourselves; because of this, we were able to provide over 100,000 meals to children in the Greenwood Area!
Introspection is not limited to reflecting on ‘what was’ or ‘what was not’ in our past(s) - we must also look forward so that we are able to continue to honor God in our lives and ministries; our upcoming Sermon Series and our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting will allow us to do just that!
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out our archived Live-streams here!
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am! You can also join us on our Live-stream here or on our Facebook page - at the same time!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
At The Movies - Onward
Pastor Robbie continues our At The Movies Series by diving into the great biblical truths that the animated ‘Onward’ has to offer!
We are so excited to bring you a series that we absolutely love being able to be apart of each year - the ‘At the Movies’ series seeks to bring out biblical truths through looking at Hollywood movies and seeing what great principles we can find! The movies always have a wide range of appeals - some are classic and some are very new to the big screen! Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, we are not able to stream the service for this series; we encourage those who are comfortable to join us in-person for the Gathering - otherwise, we hope these blog posts will give you the life and truth that you desire!
This is our third week of At The Movies, where we explore some of God’s truths as they are demonstrated and illustrated in some popular films. See, movies are really like an art form that gives us a glimpse into the world around us today. It’s kinda like a stained glass view of what’s happening in our culture. And so what we’re doing, much like Jesus did with his parables, is using these relevant stories from the big screen to then understand some of God’s truths and how they apply to you and me in our lives. We’ve gotten some great insights from Lord of the Rings in week 1 about avoiding temptation traps and the value of community, we jumped into the Live-Action Aladdin last week to learn that our self-worth and our significance is found in Christ, it’s really found in the understanding that we are a child of God, which carries with more significance than we could ever need in this life. Today, we are going to look at a fun, newer movie, our one and only animated feature of the series, the new Disney-Pixar film called Onward.
Onward is set in a suburban fantasy world with two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot. It’s kinda like Lord of the Rings meets Lion King, with elements of Indiana Jones tossed in there. These two brothers go out on a quest to find a mythical stone that will allow them to spend one day with their father who passed from sickness almost 16 years before. Like any good quest, theirs is filled with magical spells, cryptic maps, seemingly impossible obstacles, and unimaginable discoveries.
As the narrator says, the residents of this once magical realm found it easier and safer to rely on technology. So over time, magic disappeared from the world and was replaced by cutting-edge technology and modern amenities like lightbulbs, smartphones, and satellite TV. I mean why spend the time and effort to cast an illumination spell when you can just flip a light switch right? Now, the elves, ogres, and cyclopses who populate this imaginary planet only learn about magic in their high school history classes. But it isn't just magic that's missing. Many of the mythical creatures throughout the movie have lost their sense of identity.
During their quest, Ian and Barley come across a fire-breathing woman with the head of a lion, wings of a dragon, and a scorpion's tail - she’s called The Manticore. But Ian and Barley quickly realize that the manticore is no longer the fierce and fearless adventurer she once was, instead, she goes by the name Corey and she runs a Chuckie-Cheese knock-off restaurant. The inhabitants of this once magical realm have forgotten where they come from, and by extension who they are. And although we don't live in a world of magic and monsters, I think people are just as prone to forgetting who we are and where we come from.
When we forget what God has done in the past, we stop relying on him in the present. Jesus gave Christians a similar command when he introduced the Lord's Supper. He said very simply in Luke 22:19, And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus gave us communion as a memorial so that we would never forget what he did for us on the cross! And by remembering what Jesus did for us, we're reminded of the lives that we are called to live for him. Like magic in the movie, a life of faith isn't easy to master, but it helps to have a good memory. I felt compelled to step outside of the outline I had put together to share this. Church, we need to stop forgetting.
Pastor Robbie continues digging into the plot of the movie saying, “Ok, back to the story and the real thread of where I aim to go today. Now, our two main characters, Ian and Barley, voiced by Andrew Garfield and Chris Pratt, could not be more different. Barley is the older brother, and he is loud and boisterous, just a big personality. He is who he is and he doesn’t care what others think. He’s an extrovert to the extreme and he loves magic or at least the idea of magic. Ian, on the other hand, is a quiet lonely dude, who seems very introverted and very afraid of the world. He never met his dad, remember I said the plot is a quest to spend one day with his father; his dad actually died before Ian was born, and we see that taking a toll on him throughout the movie. He doesn’t really have any friends, and in fact, he spends much of the movie in the conflict surrounding who he’s in community with. He tends to push his mom and brother away, while also not really making an effort for friends. He lives in isolation. Listen to me church—community is always intentional, isolation is easily accidental. We have to be intentional about community, or we’ll default to caring about nothing and nobody but ourselves.”
We see this in passages here in Acts 16, we bump into Paul getting ready to go on a second missionary journey around the Mediterranean Rim, even larger and further than the first - the quest was going to be epic! So Paul is on his journey and he meets a believer by the name of Timothy. Timothy happens to be born from a Jew and a Greek, but he is well spoken of in the community, his reputation is good and Paul sees him and decides he needs to be a part of the epic quest. you see, Paul knew something, he knew he needed people around him. He needed a community of people to accomplish what God had put in front of him. Paul had the same need that you and I have today, and that’s that we need to surround ourselves with positive people. We see in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 that Paul knew something, and Timothy learned something. Community will cost you; Community is built on sacrifice—If you’re going to be in community, it’s going to cost you something.
The community that Ian and Barley were in wasn’t perfect, but it was built on love and both benefitted and were built up. If you couldn’t tell, Ian had a list of things he wanted to do with his dad during the 24 hours, but since his dad was only legs the entire time, he couldn’t do them. But he discovered in that moment the importance of his community around him. He discovered that he had had somebody all along. I have found this to be absolutely true in my life, The most meaningful times in life are when you are meaningfully connected to God and others. Ian was lonely, he is an isolated kid, but he found meaning and a purpose in an adventure. Over the course of the adventure, he learned to value the community around him and take stock of just how good he had it and how great his people were.
Have you taken stock lately? Have you neglected your community? We’re not even talking about Missional Communities here, although you really should be in one, We’re talking about your circle. Your people. Are you connected?
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
At The Movies - Onward: This movie is an exciting and enchanting film that really gives us the motivation to understand the value of community, especially when we have lost our way.
Main Scripture Passages: Luke 22:19; Acts 16; 1 Cor. 9:19-23
Stop Forgetting: When we forget what God has done in the past, we stop relying on him in the present - We have to stop forgetting church!
Community is Everything: The most meaningful times in life are when you are meaningfully connected to God and others - being connected with other people isn’t an optional thing; the Kingdom is wide and diverse, seek out those who bring you into a closer relationship with God!
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes. (Sermons will not be posted from 10/4-11/1)
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
At The Movies - Aladdin
Pastor Robbie continues our At The Movies Series by diving into the great biblical truths that Aladdin has to offer!
We are so excited to bring you a series that we absolutely love being able to be apart of each year - the ‘At the Movies’ series seeks to bring out biblical truths through looking at Hollywood movies and seeing what great principles we can find! The movies always have a wide range of appeals - some are classic and some are very new to the big screen! Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, we are not able to stream the service for this series; we encourage those who are comfortable to join us in-person for the Gathering - otherwise, we hope these blog posts will give you the life and truth that you desire!
Our second week of our At The Movies Series addressed the live-action version of the classic Disney hit - Aladdin! Pastor Robbie introduces the film saying, “One of the things I really love about this movie is that you notice right away that there is this common theme, this woven thread that is going to happen throughout the entire film, and it started off right at the beginning with that first clip that we watched. And it’s this common thread of self-worth and significance. You saw it right at the beginning with the kids, they are sitting on their ship and what are they doing? They are looking at another ship, a bigger ship, and they are thinking “Oh our life would be better, or our life would have more value, we’d have more worth if we had a bigger ship, a bigger ship means a better life.” And quickly, you see it in the film that there is this lie, that if we have more, or we are more, then life is more, right?
We see this more at the core of the plot of the film, “Aladdin is our main character; he is a common thief in the Arabian city of Agrabah. So one day, he is out in the market doing what he does, stealing bread and apples and other things, when he runs into the princess, but of course, he doesn’t know it’s her because she’s keeping that a secret so that she blends into the crowd. She’s doing this because she constantly has to stay in the palace because her father, the sultan, is a bit overprotective. But our hero Aladdin suns into her, and naturally like in real life, they fall in love in like 30 seconds, right? Unfortunately for Aladdin, she can only marry a prince, and there you have the big tension and struggle of the story. On the backside, a secondary plot involves a villain, his name is Jafar and he is the advisor to the sultan. But he has this unbelievable desire to be all-powerful and to rule, so basically he’s like every villain, but the only way he can do it is by getting this magical lamp that’s hidden in a cave. And the only way that he can get into the cave is that someone who is worthy, someone pure has to go in, in other words - NOT Jafar. And so he has to find the “diamond in the rough” to go in for him, and that happens to be Aladdin. So Jafar is going to use Aladdin to try to get what he wants.” We see a rogue (Aladdin) going after a disgruntled princess (Jasmine), who eventually falls in love, having to deal with a power-hungry sorcerer (Jafar) and show that even in the face of difficulties, things will work out how they are supposed to.
The dynamics between these characters and the initial motivations for their actions are what we will be focusing on here. An author named Robert McGee in his book The Search for Significance actually sets up an equation for us that illustrates what we’re talking about. He gives us this equation that self-worth = performance + others’ opinions. Now, this is a perceived truth, which we’ve talked about before. But this is a perceived truth here. Aladdin believes that to be a better person, he needs to be wealthy so that people won’t look down on him for his station; Jasmine believes her father, the Sultan, is holding her back from her potential and without that restraint, she would find the value and worth that she desires; and of course, you heard Jafar, he said being #2 is just not enough, I have to be #1, and he is driven by this idea—this notion that his self-worth will not be complete until he’s at the very top by any means necessary.
Coming from Ecclesiastes 3:9-12 we see that the author is giving us an amazing truth here. He’s telling us something that most if not all of you already know, and that is that there is something more to this life. There is something more than the 9-5, something more than the routine of life, something more than the monotonous and the mundane. He’s telling us that there’s something more today, I want you to hear that church because maybe you have forgotten it, but there is something more to this life. The author tells you why right here, because you have eternity in your heart! Eternity has no bounds—it has no limits; of course, we search for significance because we have eternity in us! We were created with a desire to search for the significant One, but along the way, we started trying to BE the significant one or marry the significant one or buy significance. These are things that just try to take the place of the significance we have in Christ, they call out to our basic human needs to be more than we perceive ourselves to be.
As the audience, we can quickly feel this tension, because Aladdin wants to be significant, he wants to be important, he wants to be somebody, so much so - that he’s willing to be used. We know it, we see where the story is going and we just want to shout at him “how do you not see it?!” But he has this drive because of performance or people’s opinions so much so, that he’s willing to compromise wisdom. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been there. I’ve compromised wisdom. I have made selfish decisions based solely on money, or advancement, or just for kudos of others. Again, we are Aladdin.
Moving forward in the film we see a segment where Aladdin did everything right and then the monkey had to go and grab the ruby. But what’s crazy about this, is that it’s kinda like life right? We’re on a journey, we have some goals, we’re trying to reach a destination, and then what? Life happens, right? Life keeps getting in the way, maybe many of us feel that way about 2020, like we had some stuff to get done, some goals and then 2020 came out of nowhere and messed it all up.
You start off good, and then you make one decision, or someone else makes a decision, or Covid shows up, and you find yourself doing a loopty-loop, and a spiral, and a corkscrew, and you don’t know what’s going on, and you’re exhausted by the time you get to B. This is what life looks like. We’re on this journey through life, and our decisions are not going to happen in the proper progression, they are going to carry us off the path from time to time, maybe more often than not. But, here’s what I believe, I think that God gives us grace in life, and that grace can sometimes be found in some unexpected characters.
The Genie then comes on the scene; Aladdin does get his wishes. For his first wish, he asks to be a prince so he can have a shot with Princess Jasmine. But quickly we see him start to compromise some wisdom and really compromising who he is. We start to see Aladdin change. And what Aladdin is learning, and what maybe you have learned on your journey, is that our compromises become our consequences. When we consider the prodigal son in Luke 15, Things did not go as he planned, things didn’t go as he expected, he compromised and was living a certain way, and he learned something that many of us have learned or are learning, and that’s How we navigate the journey shapes our destination. He had to realize that I am where I am today because of my decisions. And here’s what I can tell you, to escape that, to not let the false beliefs drive us, to not let this fake search of self-worth dictate our futures, there is a remedy.
Sometimes, repentance or an A-Ha moment will have us turn away from the thing that we’re pursuing. And that’s what we think will happen, so that’s why we avoid repentance. But really it has us turn from something that is trying to manipulate our thoughts, our actions, our destination. I love that we get to see this moment in Aladdin.
Where are you looking for your significance? Where are you finding your self-worth? Have you had an A-Ha moment of repentance, or are you still traveling down a road of false beliefs? Your significance is not found by what you create in this life but is given by the One who created your life.
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
At The Movies - Aladdin: The version we went over was the Live-Action version - if you have seen the animated but not this one, we’re sure you’ll enjoy it just as much!
Main Scripture Passages: Ecclesiastes 3:9-12; Luke 15:11-32
Our Desire for Significance: I believe that this is true because we were all created: We are created with a sense of self-worth and significance from our creator; our desire for it is natural, but often self-seeking.
Our Compromises become our Consequences: Like the old adage ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ the ways in which we compromise in our lives often point to the consequences from them.
Our Self-Worth—our Significance comes only from being a child of the most-high God: “I hope that you know that God loves you and I hope that you step into this idea of eternal self-worth because your worth in Christ comes from the fact that you are a son or daughter of God. Nothing on earth can compare to that and fill that” - Pastor Robbie
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes. (Sermons will not be posted from 10/4-11/1)
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!
At The Movies - The Lord of the Rings
Pastor Robbie begins our ‘At The Movies’ Series by diving into the great biblical truths that The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring provides!
We are so excited to bring you a series that we absolutely love being able to be apart of each year - the ‘At the Movies’ series seeks to bring out biblical truths through looking at Hollywood movies and seeing what great principles we can find! The movies always have a wide range of appeals - some are classic and some are very new to the big screen! Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, we are not able to stream the service for this series; we encourage those who are comfortable to join us in-person for the Gathering - otherwise, we hope these blog posts will give you the life and truth that you desire!
Our first week into the series we dived into The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - a grand tale of adventure and moral dilemma surrounding the fate of the land and the temptation of great power. If you have not seen this work, we encourage you to watch it; it is quite long, however, especially if you want the full experience of all the associated movies. Regardless, over the years, there have been several debates about whether or not the series is an allegory for Christianity. Do the characters of Middle-Earth represent different Biblical people? Did Tolkien set out to captivate people with the message of salvation through a story about a Hobbit? According to Tolkien himself, the answer is no. That wasn’t what he was trying to do. Tolkien repeatedly denied that actually. He eventually relented and was quoted as saying “The Lord of the Rings is, of course, a fundamentally religious and Christian work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.”
There are four main themes that were explored in various clips - use these to follow along as you watch the film yourself!
The Trap of Temptation
The Value of Community
The Impact of the Ordinary
The Ultimate Triumph of Good
Pastor Robbie began saying, ‘There are so many Biblical themes to be found in this film, as well as the whole saga, but for time’s sake today, we’ll just focus on four. Each week, we’ll take a different approach to the films we’ll do by the way. Some might be a shotgun spray of different themes found in the movie (like today), some might a single consistent theme that is found throughout the film, some might even be focusing on a character in the movie and what Biblical teachings could come from their role. Today: themes.
The first of these themes is The Trap of Temptation:
In The Lord of the Rings, the Ring represents evil. And everyone in the story knows this. But throughout the entire epic, even the good characters struggle with the temptation to use the power of the ring for themselves. Not even Gandalf or the Elfish princess Galadriel is exempt from the temptation of the Ring. Victory over temptation becomes difficult when sin becomes precious.
Temptation promises what you crave most, but it takes what you can’t afford. In the Word of God, James describes it like this: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15)
Temptation warns you that evil is nearby, in the case of Frodo, we see that he wields a sword that lets him know when Orcs (the dangerous ones) are nearby. But how often, church, do you and I ignore the warning signs that evil is nearby? How often do we feel tempted, but we ignore that feeling or even enjoy it? Temptation is not evil in and of itself, but it signals that we’re headed for evil.
The second of these themes is The Value of Community:
One of the biggest themes, not just in this movie, but in the movies after it and the Hobbit movies that precede it, is friendship, camaraderie, community. And I would argue that this is one of the key themes in the Bible and that’s meant for us as believers.
We see that as believers we can help share the load with others; We can hold each other accountable in the face of temptation; We can give each other hope in this fallen world.
While one of us alone may not be able to withstand the weight of life, together we can prevail. The Lord brings people together that would never have even crossed paths because they each bring different things to the table that can love and support the other, we are a part of a larger body, and church whether you are introverted or extroverted, whether you are an enneagram 9 or 4, we NEED each other. If we want to run the race well and cross the finish line, we need other people to pray for us, to come alongside us, to challenge us, ultimately, to share the load. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
The third of these themes is The Impact of the Ordinary:
In this group we have a wise and powerful Wizard, we have a hard-fisted ax-wielding dwarf, we have the handsome, mysterious swashbuckling prince, we have the graceful, swift, and noble Elf, we have a rugged, brave warrior, and then we have four little hobbits. Who would you choose to bear the ring? Frodo wouldn’t have been my first choice. But this boyish little Hobbit is the hero in the story. In fact, it’s almost a joke. I mean, how ridiculous given all the available options to give the ring to Frodo! And as the saga goes on, the heroics continue to come from the most unlikely of sources. The ‘ordinary’ are still able to do the extraordinary.
Somebody needs to hear this today, your potential does not rest in who you are, it rests in who God is. He can do incredibly more than you could ever ask or think. He’s the God who makes the impossible possible. (1 John 4:4; Phil. 4:13)
The fourth and last of these themes is The Ultimate Triumph of Good:
See, we were only meant to use the first movie today, but I had to throw this in because it’s too good not to. But in the last movie, Frodo and his companions are successful in destroying the ring. In the end, they will win; Good will triumph over evil. You know what? That’s a theme I find in my own life, too. Regardless of what difficulties I may encounter, regardless of how hopeless things may seem, I know that I’m on the winning side. I know that in the end God will prevail over all the darkness and I have an unshakable hope in an eternity spent with Him.
That is the hope for me and every other believer who has placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. In the end, we win; Good, will ultimately triumph. So no matter what junk we have to endure for this present age, there is a time coming when all of that will be swept away and we will be left standing in the presence of Almighty God. And what a day, glorious day that will be! (1 Cor. 15:16-22)
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
At The Movies - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - A timeless tale of uncommon triumph and companionship; if you haven’t seen this excellent work (and all the other surrounding films, we highly recommend taking the time to watch them!
Main Scripture Passages: James 1:14-15; Ecclesiastes 4:12; 1 John 4:4; Phil. 4:13; 1 Cor. 15:16-22
The Trap of Temptation: Temptation is apart of our world, and it has some nasty consequences when given-in to; it claims to be good but is only in disguise!
The Value of Community: In light of the difficulties of temptation and the desire to do Good, being in community with other believers is incredibly important - we are to look out for one another as we seek a closer relationship with God.
The Impact of the Ordinary: We all have a part to play in this world; the role of the average person is quite literally unique—to come together in community, to seek the Good of the Kingdom of God!
The Ultimate Triumph of Good: ‘Good’ will ultimately triumph. So no matter what junk we have to endure for this present age, there is a time coming when all of that will be swept away and we will be left standing in the presence of Almighty God.
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes. (Sermons will not be posted from 10/4-11/1)
To keep up to date with Legacy City Church and everything that God is doing in our community, please follow us on social media:
Facebook: LegacyCityGWD
Instagram: LegacyCityGWD
Twitter: LegacyCityGWD
Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!