Brace yourselves for a strong statement.

And be prepared to just accept it, because we're not gonna fight about it.

...

Baseball is the most beautiful sport ever to be invented, period!

Now, I know some of you out there think baseball is one of the most boring sports ever. I have heard some people even say that they would rather watch paint dry than watch a baseball game.

But even if you are in that spot, hang with me. Because just like baseball or any sport, skill or pursuit for that matter, becoming a better disciple of Jesus takes a lot of determination, persistence, and practice.

Dreaming Big

When I was a kid I remember watching and listening to baseball with great curiosity. I used to daydream about being in the big leagues, pitching in the World Series, putting my team on my shoulders and leading them to victory.

I wanted to pitch professionally; that was my dream. But as with all dreams there comes a great reality that we all have to face: a dream is really just a precursor to an awful lot of work. For musicians, athletes, professionals, students, whomever, you have to practice to be able to accomplish a dream you might have. 

Now for those who know me, you are probably aware that I didn't make it as a professional baseball player. I've got awful eyesight, my reflexes are terrible, and I'm always looking up to others, literally. There was really no amount of practice that was going to overcome some of these physical limitations.

Once I considered this, I knew my dream was dead. But when I became a Christian years later, I realized baseball gave me such a wonderful understanding to what Christian discipleship should look like.

Baseball Discipleship

Yes, to the untrained eye baseball seems to be to simple. Boiled down to the simplest form, there is a ball that someone needs to hit and run around the bases to try and score before the defense tags you. But there is much more that goes into baseball than meets the eye. 

There's a specific way to hit the ball based on where you want it to go.

To develop arm strength needed to throw that runner out at third, you have to throw a lot, since most people aren't born with that kind of strength.

You have to train focus, hand eye coordination, speed, decision making.

You can't do these things without constant practice. And you can't just practice when you feel like it. And you don't know what to practice if you don't know what skills to build or maintain. And you don't know what you need to work on without feedback.

Christian Discipleship

Being a Christian is a lot like training to be a baseball player.

Except that we got drafted by no merit of our own. we did nothing to earn it.

We don't know home from second base. Our arms are weak, our eyesight is poor, and our decision-making needs some work, because we've been making those decisions toward a different goal than the one we were made for.

When Jesus died and rose to save you, and the Holy Spirit called you and changed your heart and mind and affections, and you got drafted, weak arm, bad eyesight, and poor decisions all.

So now, your job as a Christian, drafted to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18ff), is to train and develop the skills necessary to effectively lead people to Jesus.

This is why we do things like pray, knowing that we have not the strength on our own to accomplish the purpose set before us.

Or read our bibles, knowing that in them we can read about the love and wrath and mercy of God for people who did not and do not love God apart from Christ, ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in Christ.

Or participate in Christian community, serving alongside family, who can point out where we're strong or weak, and can encourage us in our walk with Jesus.

Getting In The Game

Whether or not you're training to make disciples, you already are, by your thoughts, your words, your actions.

It sounds kind of daunting. We may not even know where to start. We're afraid of the damage we'll do to others in our failing, or we're scared of starting in the wrong place, or just paralyzed by indecision, concerned about going in the wrong direction.

It's in these moments that we need to remember the conditions under which we were drafted to begin with.

Christ performed perfectly, died sacrificially, and rose victoriously.

By His grace we are saved. That's it.

So we can start trying, training, running, falling, getting back up and starting again.

We can set our alarm an hour early only with the intention of reading and praying and meditating only to unconsciously hit snooze for 45 minutes.

We can show up to hang out with a Gospel Community, in which we know no one, and feel really awkward the whole time and leave and say "well, that wasn't a good fit, let's try another next week."

We can take a step toward leadership, only to be confronted with the reality that we can't manage details worth beans. (How many beans? I don't know. I wasn't counting.)

Whatever it is, remember the team you're on and how you were drafted.

And don't be afraid to fail, because where we fail, Jesus has won.

The year was 490 BCE, and the Persian empire was bearing down upon the Athenian army.

Their fate uncertain, a messenger called Pheidippides was sent from marathon to Sparta, another Grecian city-state, in the hopes that they would render aid. This was a distance of about 150 miles each way, and in the famous poem bearing the messenger's name, was described as a "two day and two night" journey.

Sparta, full of mistrust, said they'd think about it, sending Pheidippides back to Marathon with little hope of victory. The messenger was then given a sword, helped to defeat the Persians, and then, as his reward, was given the privilege of running the 21.4 miles to Athens, where he declared victory as his last act

"Joy in his blood bursting his heart, he died - the bliss!"

Nineteenth-century poet Robert Browning's account is a composite story, consisting of legend and ancient accounts of what actually happened at the Battle of Marathon. No one quite sure what happened.

I'll leave you to Googling around to find what's closest to actual fact if you're interested.

The point is, the messenger Pheidippides had a story to tell, a victory to declare, in spite of the tremendous hardship he'd been through in a day.

What he had was a gospel, good news of victory. And it was an honor for him to serve in the way that he did.

The news we carry with us every day, every where, is the good news of the victory of Jesus over Satan, sin, and death. And that message is absolute good news wherever we are.

Making Disciples of All Nations

At Redeemer, we want everyone, everywhere, everyday to experience the Gospel of Jesus.

Before He ascended, Jesus gave us our mission:

"Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28.18ff)

It sounds kind of overwhelming, right? But there's more:

"Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

In the book of Acts, we read about how Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, empowering His church to worship Him in word and deed, teaching others about Him and proclaiming the Gospel boldly to the ends of the earth, wherever they ended up.

No One's On The Bench

If God has claimed us through His Son, we are ambassadors, taking the news of the One who sends us to whoever needs to hear it.

Some people are called to go places where there is no gospel presence, no church, no Christians.

Some people are called to stay in places like Bellingham.

In either context, ambassadors are what we are. There's no such thing as a bench warmer in God's family.

Again, this sounds really big, right? And it is. But it works out in small ways.

• When we gather on Sundays for corporate worship, we're being missional. We're proclaiming true things about God so that people would know about him, and giving generously as people who have been given so much.
• When we're getting our coffee our tea, mission being nice to the barista, who may or may not be having a great day, so that she can experience the grace of Christ through you in that moment, and creating opportunities for you to tell them about Jesus.
• When we're at home, it's inviting the neighbors over for dinner so that they would be shown hospitality by people who have been welcomed into God's family, creating opportunities to tell them about Jesus.
• When we're at work or school, it's working hard and treating fellow students and colleagues, engaging them with respect, while praying for and creating opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus.

Wherever we are, and in whatever we do or say, we seek to give glory to God and make His name known.

Missionaries for God's Glory

God’s people have a mission. It’s a mission that includes Sunday mornings but extends beyond that window of time and influences all spheres of our ordinary lives.

Our mission is to spread the gospel and make disciples so that more and more people can know and worship Jesus for their joy and for God’s glory. This means that every person in our church is vital to this mission. No one is riding the bench. Every believer is called to care, individually and corporately, for those around us by having an outward, missionary focus in our lives.

It was Saturday, July 21st, 2001 and it was game 97 into the MLB baseball season. The Seattle Mariners were on a torrid pace to crush the single season wins record for any Major League Baseball team of all time. At this point the Mariners record was 70 wins and 27 loses. For the non-baseball fans, this record at this time of year was never heard of.

Through a contest I had won, I was asked to throw the first pitch out at the game that day in front of 47,000+ screaming fans who were all there for a purpose to be a part of something special. I threw the first pitch as hard as a could to make sure I made it to home plate.

Everyone screamed and yelled as the ball reached the catcher at home plate. Everyone was so juiced up for the upcoming start of the game that they would have still screamed even if I botched the pitch (which I didn't). Personally as a sports fan, even though I wasn't on the Mariners actual team, when they won I felt like I won. I shared a great commonality with the entire city of Seattle and that was experiencing their team becoming the single season record holders in Major League Baseball. I could say that day, I felt like I was a part of a family. A family of the Seattle Mariners. 

Why do you suppose we all long to be identified into a family? No matter who I talk to, no matter what background or different type of family history they have, without fail everyone wants to identify with a group of people that they can call family. People want to share in something special and feel special. Why is that? 

I Am A Part Of That!

We all have friends who describe how loving their parents were to them. We also have friends who have had some of the most atrocious things happen within there immediate families. And yet the commonality is that both of these people you talk to long to identify with a family of people to find purpose, love, community, acceptance, etc. As we look out into our culture we see many of these social "family" categories that we all identify with. For example, democrats, republicans, sports fans, beer drinkers, religious, etc. Everyone identifies or longs to identify with a group or "family" of people to gain stability, structure, acceptance and/or love.  People want to feel something. They want to feel special even if it is just for a moment to forget about there personal problems in their lives. Everyone wants to be a part of something. 

About 11 years ago I had such a significant moment in my life that would alter my view on the significance of the term "Family" and I would never be the same since. What I experienced that day, changed everything for me. God made me believe the Gospel and I became a Christian. And in that moment, I was told, well now you are in God's family because of what Jesus has done.

Really? The Creator of the cosmos wanted me in His family! Why would He want me? I am a terrible family member. Before this I had so many different presuppositions on what it meant to be in a "Family". I had personal experiences from being a part of my immediate family, being a part of sports teams, to friendships. I experienced great times within these groups and also hard times. But when God opened my eyes to the realities of His family and that I was a part of that, He started a journey that would teach me what being in a "Family" truly meant. 

Family Biblically

Through this journey, I found out that being a part of God's family was the greatest thing I could ever be a part of. We don't choose this "Family", it was through what Jesus Christ accomplished upon the cross that God chose us to be a part of His family. Even though we don't choose our immediate family, we have a choice like all the rest of this world to choose who we want to be a part of or associate with. Being called into God's family is not the case. He sovereignly chose you, if you are in Christ, to be a part of His family apart from anything you have done. 

He changed our hearts. He allowed us to finally see the truth about Him. For those who are in Christ you are a child of God who belongs not just to God but to to the entire universal church (all believers for all times). Together we are God's sons and daughters, predestined for adoption, heirs to God and fellow heirs with Christ. I started to grab hold of these biblical concepts and it completely changed my entire few of what it meant to be in a "Family". 

As Christians, we share all these things with each other because Jesus gave Himself and because He gave us our new identity. Our identity is no longer in the movements or earthly families we identify with but we identify in the Creator's family. As Christians, we live on this earth as exiles, waiting until we are home with God. We are excitedly anticipating and yet waiting to be with Him in the perfect city that He is building for us so that we might spend eternity with Him.

What Do I Do Until Then?

This means practically, as Christians we do life together with other members of the body of Christ. If you looked at a family that never spent time with one another, you would say that is a pretty dysfunctional family. This also means we meet together often, to be known by one another. We embrace accountability, responsibility and commitment all the while we are growing in what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

God has called Christians into His family and while we wait to be with Him forever, He is still with us. He isn't just preparing a place for His family to gather together with Him one day but he is preparing that family for that place he is preparing. This is why we enter into the "Family", the church, to grow together as we learn together. 

We all feel a part of something, but is what you are a part of eternal? 

I've watched way too much TV over the last few years. Hours, and hours, and hours. Some of those hours were spent watching alien documentaries and cookie-cutter war films, but the vast majority were spent on TV series that were cool... awhile ago. It started with White Collar. Currently, it's Parks and Rec.

And, though I'm slightly ashamed to admit it, most of it was CSI: Miami.

There's a lot of bad things to be said of CSI: Miami. The hero, Horatio Cain, is probably the most predictable, melodramatic protagonist that ever was. There's not much to be said for character development, either, at least in my opinion. And, the producers put far too much attention on what people were - or were not - wearing. 

But one of the main reasons I loved CSI: Miami is at the end of every episode, you found out what made every suspect tick. You learned what they intended, and you watched what it made them. You learned what they sought, what they thought it would give them. And then, you watched them come face-to-face with the earthly consequences of giving a good thing god-hood.

You learned what they worshiped.

And then you watched what they worshiped turn and devour them.

No One Does Not Worship

No one does not worship. Every human is a worshiper.

The Bible often speaks of worship as "ascribing", or bowing, or submission.

Harold Best, in his book Unceasing Worship, defines the term "worship" as follows:

"Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do, and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god."

Worship is always happening. We are always ascribing god-hood to someone or something.

We were made to worship God, to give Him glory with our thoughts, words and deeds. The problem is, we often don't want to. We'd rather worship creation than the Creator.

Much of what we choose to worship is beautiful and good. It's not wrong to want a promotion. It's not wrong to love the mountains. It's not wrong to want to get good grades.

These aspirations and desires are good. They're just not ultimate, and they cannot give us the satisfaction that we seek, at least long term.

Perfect Worship

However, as Christians, saved by God's grace, we want to make sure that our worship is rightly directed.

But we're still "prone to wander" as the old hymn says. Though we've tasted and seen God's goodness in the giving of His Son, in whom "completion" is ultimately found, we want a shortcut. And good gifts look like great shortcuts.

But though we often wander, God's grace is sufficient. For Jesus, our Great High Priest, our Advocate to the Father, lived a life of perfect worship, of perfect submission to the will and word of God. He then, on the cross, swapped out His record of perfect worship for ours, a massive list of misdirected worship.

Because of Jesus, God the Father sees our worship as perfect.

Risen and ascended, He now advocates for us to our heavenly Father.

Where we fail, He has succeeded. In Jesus, we have nothing to fear.

And what Jesus has done demands a response. We must worship Him.

Continuous Outpouring

Romans 12.1 says "I appeal to you therefore brothers [word meaning "brothers and sisters"], by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

There's a lot here. Paul has just spent pages talking about who God is and what He's done in and through Jesus. The "therefore" is there to say "in light of everything before this."

In short, Paul is saying, "Because of God's grace and mercy toward you, worship Him with all that you are and all you will be."

This is massive. God has given you the ability to worship Him through the Holy Spirit. So you actually can do this.

And it's not quite as grandiose as one would think, at least in practice.

This is waking up in the morning and acknowledging that you're still alive. That you didn't have to think about breathing. And praising God for a new day, though it may not be quite up to your specifications, for God has given you more time on earth to glorify Him.

This is approaching your work, your studies, and your family life as a gift to you, and wanting to do a good job with the gift you've been given so that you can point people to Jesus in word and deed.

This is just being nice, treating people as humans, creatures made in the image of God, in the hopes that they'd get to experience the grace and mercy that you've been shown in Jesus.

This is getting into a Gospel Community or small group, serving in a local church, becoming a member, partnering up for ministry with other Jesus-Worshipers who want people to hear about Jesus.

It takes a bunch of different forms, and shows up in a bunch of different ways. But "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Col 3.17)

Worship Rightly Oriented

At Redeemer, we want our worship to be a rightly oriented response to a good and gracious God.

We want to bear witness to who He is and what He's done.

We want everyone, everywhere, every day to hear and experience the gospel of Jesus. We want them to hear about Him and respond in worship to Him.

We want them to know that the gods of money, of power, of family, of cultural significance, cannot hold a candle to the God of the Bible. If you pursue them, they will ultimately turn and devour you. But in Jesus, there is freedom, and in Jesus, there is life.

Do you believe that Jesus, the Christ, is the Son of God? Do you believe that He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death for your sin, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven?

If so, by God's grace, you have been saved.

And if you've been saved, you are a disciple.

Disciple means "student," and it's something you've been drafted into. This means you've been called into tutelage, called to behold, learn, and grow as an adopted son or daughter of the Most High God.

Once we're there, we often fail. But that's the thing. Being a disciple means you know you need grace, whether you're standing, running, falling, winning or losing. 

Being A Disciple Is Who You Are, Not What You Do

In this sense, being a disciple is as much passive as it is active.

I am certainly not suggesting that disciples sit around and do nothing, for nothing could be further from the truth. In the book of Acts, we see the people of God empowered by the Holy Spirit, working and serving, beat up and stoned, preaching and traveling to the ends of the earth as they knew them so as many people as possible would get to hear the Gospel of Jesus.

But the only reason they were able to do these things effectively was because they knew, and believed, the Gospel.

That God, in his mercy, looked down on people who would spit in his face if they could see it. People whom He created, served, and pursued, and whose only response was active rebellion against him.

And God looked down in love and said "I choose them". And He sent His Son to purchase them through His death, then rise to give them life. And He sent His Spirit to turn their hearts of stone into hearts that beat with the blood of the Savior and respond to His goodness in faith.

The disciples described in Acts knew and believed they'd been drafted, called to submit to the authority of Jesus wherever it led them.

But under that authority, we are to "be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim 2.1, emphasis mine). Only once you see that you've been made a disciple despite your behavior can you know what it means to truly be a disciple.

Changed Hearts, Changed Lives

As you behold the Savior, it's impossible to not be changed by Him. Before you were a Christian, you looked at God with scorn, indifference, or fear. But, once saved, we get to learn who God is not from the perspective of the condemned, but rather from that of a son or daughter.

We learn to love and trust Him more. And as we learn to love and trust Him more, the more we want to look like Jesus.

This impacts the way we see and conduct our relationships, our jobs, our studies, how spend our money, the food we eat, the clothes we buy, and the way we see and love and seek to serve our city.

We do this not to gain favor or standing with God, for in Christ, our standing cannot be any higher.

We want to look like Jesus and submit to Him as an act of worship in response to His grace.

We do things like talk with God and read His Word, and sign up to serve on a team in a local church so that people can get a chance to hear about Jesus in a positive and loving environment. We might join an organization that serves our city. We might join a Gospel Community to get connected with people who are either figuring out how to be disciples or maybe just checking out what Christian community looks like. 

A Joyful Response

At Redeemer, we want to welcome everyone, regardless of who you are or what you've done, because God has welcomed us in spite of what we've done.

We are disciples of Jesus. That means that because of what God has done in Christ, loving us and turning us toward Him, we love our King and want others to love Him too.

 

(Written by Theresa Adams)

Serving our city has been an ongoing conversation at Redeemer. We wanted it to be something tangible and something that would foster relationships with those in our community. We looked around and as you can imagine Bellingham has many needs. It can actually be overwhelming to consider all of the needs and even immobilizing to know where to begin. We hope you agree that by choosing to serve Roosevelt Elementary this summer in our first ever Backpack Drive that it will be a great stepping stone to serving our beautiful Bellingham. 

To some Roosevelt Elementary is known for it's tough (some might call it neglected) exterior. To others it's known for it's Title 1 Reputation. To me (and a few other Redeemer parents) it's known for far more than it's brick & mortar exterior. It's more than it's untended or out-of-date flowerbeds. It's even more than the staggering percentage of kiddos who qualify for free lunch.  You see the school itself has very little to do with the building at all. The heart of the school is the vast array of kiddos & the staff, administrators, teachers & parents who love these kids. They work together tirelessly to ensure the students not only have a high-standard of learning but that they also get to do things like garden or paint a mural. Such simple things many of us would take for granted, but when experienced by so many kiddos who come from homes that just don't have quite enough you're able to see what a special place it is. 

Roosevelt would love to be able to provide back packs to new registering students who don't have the option to go out & buy one. The school would also love to be able to replace back packs for kiddos who are unable to do so but who's bags have seen better days. We hope that by joining together, as the church and provide backpacks for these students that we will be able to lift a bit of a burden from some of these families. The school also has a need for underwear, leggings (for girls) & sweats (for boys)  Often times kids need replacement items throughout the day and unlike many schools Roosevelt chooses not to ask for the items back. Quite simply they believe that the kiddos need the clothes more than the school does & it's evidenced as the kids can usually be found wearing the items the remainder of the year.

Here Is How You Can Help

Over this next year we will have three giving stations located at Redeemer Church (Sanctuary, Redeemer Kids and Commons Building). Every Sunday someone will take those items that you purchase to Roosevelt Elementary School. So if you are out shopping for yourself or your family, please pick up one of the following items listed below and bring it to Redeemer Church for Roosevelt Elementary.

If you are super busy with life and have no time to shop, don't worry, you can still help out. Below are links to Amazon.com and if you purchase these items through these links, Amazon will donate a small amount of the proceeds to Redeemer Church so we can put money back into Roosevelt Elementary. And if you are still to busy, and don't want to forget to bring the items you purchased online feel free to have the items shipped to: (Dane Burgess 820 32nd St Apt 57 Bellingham, WA 98225) 

And he will make sure to take the item to Roosevelt for you. 

Boys Backpack

Girls Backpack

Boys Underwear

Girls Underwear

Boys Sweat Pants

Girls Leggings