CAPTIVATED BY GOD’S PASSION FOR JUSTICE

God has a passion for justice – of that there is no doubt. Isaiah (42:4) prophesies that “God will not falter or be discouraged until he establishes justice on earth.”

The word justice however has broad connotations. In our culture we have a good understanding of retributive justice – that punishes moral wrongdoings that are legally defined as crimes. So when a wrong has been committed like a theft or a murder, there is a collective sigh of relief when the perpetrator is brought to justice.

We also understand social justice – which has to do with the distribution of wealth and power. To “do justice” in this sense is to do such things as feed the hungry, clothe the naked and protect the powerless.
While both retributive and social justice are prominent themes throughout the scriptures, Biblical justice goes beyond these categorizations to offer a much broader and more holistic view of justice.

In Jesus’ visit to the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4), a picture of justice comes into focus that brings these categories together. In Jesus concise yet profound address to these law-abiding Jews, he outlines his ministry agenda, making it clear that, what is good news for the poor may be bad news for the rich.

(Jamie Munday)

CAPTIVATED BY GOD’S PASSION FOR PLACEMAKING

Passage: Jeremiah 29:4-11

The first time we encounter the word ‘placemaking’ is in 1562, when the second edition of the Geneva Bible (aka “The Placemakers’ Bible”) was printed. In it, the gospel of Matthew, chapter five verse nine reads: “Blessed are the placemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Oops! I do think God loves placemaking, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what Jesus actually meant in the Beatitudes.

In any case, the terms’ current usage can be traced back to the 1970s when architects and planners used the word ‘placemaking’ to describe the act of designing spaces that were pleasurable or interesting. Forty years later, the term is now understood more as a transformative communal process that seeks to build resilient and dynamic neighbourhoods and public spaces.

This morning, as we continue in the series “Captivated by God’s Passion”, we consider Jeremiah 29: 4-11 which gives us a vivid picture of what it might look like to care passionately about where you live and, together with others, to make it a safer, friendlier, better place.
(Kim Pierrot)

Come…Come…Come…

Here at Cap we believe that God invites us into a present and active relationship with Him. Our aim is not simply to know more about God but to know God more. Since we cannot see God, it is common to relate to Him similarly to how we would act in a long distance relationship. However this morning Brian Dean will be sharing from Isaiah 55, where God invites His people to come, be with Him, and listen. To do this, communication is vital and in Christianity this is often called prayer.

Henri Nouwen says that “Prayer helps us stand in the presence of God with all we have and are: our fears and our anxieties; our guilt and shame; our sexual fantasies; our greed and anger; our joys, successes, aspirations, and hopes; our reflections, dreams and mental wandering; and most of all our family, friends, and enemies—in short all that makes us who we are. With all this we have to listen to God’s voice and allow God to speak to us in every corner of our being.”

(Brian Dean)

Justice Sunday

Today is Justice Sunday at CapChurch. The Justice Hub@Cap has a four pronged mandate around advocacy for the marginalized: to celebrate God’s justice; to educate the community; to support Cappers doing justice; to call justice “passions” out of the community. Today is about advocacy on behalf of the sexually victimized. This “justice passion” arose from a book group comprised of Cappers and non-Cappers which read Half the Sky. This group is planning a Half the Sky awareness day at Park Royal South for Sat May 12th 10am – 5pm to call people to act on behalf of the victims of sexual trafficking.

Half the Sky presents stories of the worldwide abuse and exploitation of women and how these women are and can be empowered to overcome adversity. Newscaster Tom Brokaw says, “Half the Sky is a passionate…plea to all of us to rise up and say ‘No more!’ to…abuses to girls and women… This is a book that will pierce your heart and arouse your conscience…. [around] one of the most shameful conditions of our time.”

To speak to the issue of Doing Justice And Giving Mercy To The Sexually Victimized we’ve asked Gwen McVicker and Sue Todd from Linwood House. Linwood House ministries beckon the tired, the broken and the lonely; particularly women living in the Downtown Eastside to rest and hear the message of Jesus: you are loved, you are worthy, you are beautiful.

(Mike Nichols)

Good Seed Sunday

Today is Good Seed Sunday at Cap. We believe that the earth is the Lord’s and everything and everyone who lives on the planet belongs to him. Because we believe this, self-care; care of one another in community and care of creation are important values for us. We want to love and tend to the earth and all of God’s creatures [including us!]. We’ve invited our own Luke Wilson who works with the Christian conservation ministry A Rocha to remind us of the great gift God has given us to tend and what it means in our day to lovingly tend the earth and not abuse it.

Did you know that A Rocha is fighting poverty through conservation? They even have a work in Uganda. A Rocha is working with slum dwellers on the edge of Kampala protect the wetland on which they depend for water, food and building materials so that they and the wildlife can thrive together. This is includes providing clean drinking water and finding new ways to dispose of sewage and rubbish. Doing conservation here is bringing health and dignity to people as the pollution of the swamp is being reduced. Sounds like kingdom work to me.

(Mike Nichols)

How to Live in Community with People You Don’t Like

Community. Yep we call ourselves—Cap Community because we believe there is much to learn from relationships. Community at its best is an experience, according to Henri Nouwen not only of, “I am beloved; you are beloved; together we can create space for God and others but also an uncomfortable place because it is often the place where the person you least want to live with always lives. Community is not some idealized place where everyone is comfortable, always loved and always gets along. Community is real. If you expect some sort of perfection you will have no end of disillusionment. Church is a great place until you invite people.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together says that when God’s grace comes to a faith community their ideals of how they expect to be treated will crumble to such an extent that the only way they can continue to live together is by forgiveness. In other words a community of faith must learn to “do the gospel” with each other if they are to be God’s people in their time. Today in Romans 14:1-15:6 we talk about how to live with those you least want to be with in community.

(Mike Nichols)

Resurrected Jesus and Believing Thomas

Does it seem strange to you, on the Sunday when we declare and celebrate “Jesus is Risen!” that we are reflecting on the experience of Thomas, the one best known for his doubt in the whole resurrection thing? Well, frankly, I think poor Thomas has been given a lot of bad press over the years.

For when we look closely at the gospel account in John 20, when we take note of what Thomas was longing for and the way Jesus responded to him, we find a model, not for doubting, but for believing.

Sermon text: John 20: 19-31

(Kim Pierrot)

NOT WHAT I EXPECTED FROM GOD

Passion Week is a week of Stories—the stories of Jesus last week on earth—stories of a parade, a meal, a betrayal, a mock trial, an execution, and an empty grave. Stories invite us to see how our own personal stories jive with the larger story of God’s work in our world.

Our goal today, and on Good Friday at 10 a.m. and next Sunday Morning at 7:30 a.m. at Ambleside when we baptise 6 Cappers; and at the 10 A.M. Cap worship where we celebrate resurrection life, is to retell the stories of Jesus last week in a manner as close to the way the Bible tells the story. We believe that we find our stories in this grand story. So, join us for Story week.

(Mike Nichols)

AN ASTONISHED HEART

Today’s readers of the letter to the Romans are likely to skip over chapters 9-11. What does the absence of faith in Christ by so many of the Hebrew people have to do with today’s church? Paul can’t so easily dismiss this question. He says that he would welcome his own damnation if it could mean salvation for the Hebrew people. Three questions are addressed in Romans 9-11:

• Has God’s word failed [9:6] to open hardened hearts?
• Is God unjust—if salvation depends on God’s mercy and God’s initiative is he not unjust or immoral to exclude the Hebrew people [9:14]?
• How can God blame anyone for unbelief if his grace is irresistible? [9:19-22]

Paul’s answers are to lead to an astonished heart which opens Romans 12 with the phrase—“therefore in light of this mercy of God let us offer ourselves fully o God”. As we work through this material today, attend to your own heart and see if it is astonished. (Mike Nichols)

GOD FOR US

The most important word in this three word sentence: God for us is “for”. Consider uses of “for” in Rom. 8:18-39.e.g. vv. 26-27: the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groan; vv. 28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Vv. 31-32 If God is for us, who can be against us?2 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

This preposition can mean “to extend benefit beyond the present situation”; “for the betterment of”; “for the sake of” “on behalf of”. Plug some of these meanings into the text and it considerably bumps up the intensity. For e.g. The Spirit himself intercedes for our betterment through wordless groans; verse 28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Verse 31: What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us; acting on our behalf; working for our betterment; doing everything he can for the sake of our salvation, who can be against us?

Today we celebrate God for us.