Resurrection Over Time
Christian History is not necessarily the most scintillating topic for most people. It can be very messy. It, therefore, is not something that very many of us grew up learning about or hearing in any kind of traditional church setting.
However, gaining a deeper understanding of this history, especially of our early roots, can offer very helpful insights. Our own Christian story is birthed out of miraculous circumstances. And I’m not simply referring to the Easter event of Jesus’ resurrection.
Rather, the ongoing mysterious, miraculous movement of our history is what we could call a “resurrection over time.” That is, Christian history incorporates numerous moments when the gospel story should not have continued. Repeatedly, our forebears faced daunting circumstances where no rational person would have expected surviving, much less thriving.
Small, isolated, looked down upon and linguistically hampered (pitifully few original followers spoke either language of imperial Rome, Greek or Latin). And yet, here we are 2000 years later, still examining and still mystified as to how it could have been.
Our Recent Wednesday Night Sessions: I’ve enjoyed over the last few weeks during our Wednesday night sessions, sharing some for these early, remarkable occurrences. We have also attempted to cover a larger historical perspective that incorporates natural phenomenon: the Great Famine (45-63 A.D.), the cataclysmic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.; the persecutions of Nero (64 A.D.) and Domitian (92-95 A.D.) and the two Jewish revolts against Rome (66-73 and 132-136 A.D.). Each of these and much more of course, impacted the nascent Christian communities around the Roman Empire.
How these small, struggling gatherings of largely poor, marginally educated folks continued in the faith, grew in fellowship and ultimately expanded throughout the empire and ultimately across the world remains a fascinating mystery. Which is why we can view the first Easter event as simply the beginning of surprising, miraculous and transformative resurrection over time.
I’m thankful we can learn together how the Gospel continues to transcend seemingly impassable barriers, and surpass even the most lofty expectations.
This Wednesday, April 17, we will devote our time to the working groups Phil Wise is facilitating as part of our Strategic Initiatives for 2024-2027. Please be praying for and supporting these valuable efforts for our congregation.
The next Wednesday, April 24, we will share together in our Quarterly Family Conference. High on the agenda for this meeting will be to hear the pending recommendations from our Personnel Committee and Deacons Council for Zach Mason, our current Youth Ministry Associate to become our full time Pastor to Youth and Young Adults. Join us for this important session and for this great opportunity to support Zach!
Love,
David
David Jordan
Senior Pastor