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Turning the World Upside Down: Jesus the Messiah through the Life and

Writings of the Apostle Paul

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who

loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Fall Sermon Series, 2019 Elizabethtown Mennonite Church

Conrad L. Kanagy

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Introduction

This series will be a mix of expository preaching as well as a biographical look at Paul’s apostolic calling, with the central question being what do the writings and life of Paul mean for us as followers of the Messiah today? The purpose of this series is to show the connections between the connections between what is happening in the early church as seen in the book of Acts and in Paul’s letters to the churches—the Epistles. In other words, it is easy for us to read the letters of Paul without understanding them within the context of the early church, the context of the culture of the day, and the context of Paul’s own life experiences. Without this three-fold contextual awareness, we miss much of what the Holy Spirit was saying to Paul and the early followers of the Messiah in the first century and what the Spirit wishes to say to us today. I am confident that you will never see Jesus, the early church, the Apostle Paul, or the letters he wrote in the same way after engaging in this four-month Bible study. As a result of this study, we will:

Understand how Paul’s teaching connects with the Old Testament stories of God and God’s people.

Recognize why Paul became so important to the church and to our theological understanding of Jesus.

Appreciate the necessity of the apostolic calling for our congregation as we carry out God’s mission.

See the humanity of Paul and that he was like you and me in so many of his struggles and challenges.

Gain new awareness of the importance of the five-fold spiritual gifts—apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd/pastor, and teacher for our own congregation and our God-given mission.

Embrace anew the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s power for our individual and corporate lives and missions.

Be aware in new ways of how our identity with Christ is so radically counter-cultural to the society in which we live today.

Recognize that God’s mission was at the center of the early church’s very purpose for existence and must remain ours today.

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Each member will receive a booklet for the series that includes the sermon titles and texts, daily passages for your individual time with God, as well as study questions to support deeper learning as an individual or in a small group context. This series flows out of the time away that Heidi and I took earlier this summer and my reading of a biography of the Apostle Paul by N.T. Wright. Wright is British, and is considered a “contemporary” C.S. Lewis kind of writer and theologian. He is deeply evangelical and committed to orthodox understandings of the Bible. I will draw heavily from Wright’s work as well other historical and theological texts, and of course from my time listening to the Holy Spirit as I prepare and study the Biblical texts for each message. At the end of this booklet you will find an essay by N.T. Wright in which he reflects on the usefulness and relevance of the Apostle Paul’s writings. At some point through the series I hope you will take time to read that essay.

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Series Schedule

August 24 “From Education to Training—From Knowledge to Wisdom” I Corinthians 1:18-21; II Corinthians 11:16-23; Philippians 3

This message will look at the education and training of Paul and how his understanding of the value of that education changed as he followed the Messiah, as well as how his views of knowledge and wisdom were so different from those of the cultures in which he immersed himself. As our children and many of us who are teachers prepare for a new academic year—what does Paul have to teach us that might help us all to be faithful students of the Messiah and to embrace learning and study within the context of God’s calling on our lives and our congregation? Scriptures for the week: Psalm 18 Monday: I Corinthians 1:1-17 Tuesday: I Corinthians 1:18-23 Wednesday: 2 Corinthians 10 Thursday: II Corinthians 11:1-15 Friday: II Corinthians 11:16-23 Saturday: Philippians 3:1-11 Sunday: Philippians 3:12-4:1

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Questions for discussion

1. What are the differences between training and education? What are the differences between wisdom and knowledge?

2. What place should learning and education have among Christians today?

3. What does Paul mean when he talks about the foolishness of God versus the wisdom of the world?

4. In what ways has today’s educational experience been detrimental to followers of Jesus and to the church?

5. How might we help our children to think about education in a way that supports God’s mission and the fulfillment of God’s plans for their lives and calling?

6. What is the role of the church and the family in nurturing Christian education for our children and ourselves? How could we strengthen what we are currently doing in that regard?

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Notes

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September 1 “Meeting the Messiah Who Brought Heaven Down”

Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Acts 9:1-30 This message will consider Paul’s (then Saul) understanding of what it meant to embrace Jesus as Messiah, and how he understood this Jesus to be the fulfillment of what he had believed previously. Temple and Torah were the place where heaven met earth in Jewish theology and practice, and Paul now understood the Messiah to be the One in whom heaven met earth. Paul did not recognize his experience on the road to Damascus to be a conversion from Judaism to Christianity (the latter not yet existing and the former only vaguely so), but rather a conversion to the Messiah long promised in the Old Testament. The zeal Paul had in fighting Jesus is now translated into zeal that others might know the One whom had overcome Satan’s power on the cross and through His resurrection. Jesus the Messiah was the continuation of God’s eschatological story that will culminate in a new heaven and new earth. This message will challenge us to consider our own understanding of Jesus and what the Messiah’s coming means for us nearly 2000 years later. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 1 Monday: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Tuesday: Deuteronomy 6:10-25 Wednesday: Acts 9:1-19 Thursday: Acts 9:20-30 Friday: Isaiah 61 Saturday: Isaiah 53 Sunday: Isaiah 9:1-7

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Questions for discussion

1. What did you learn from this message that was new to you in regard to who Jesus is and how the early church understood the Messiah?

2. How has the interpretation of Christians regarding Paul’s conversion and false distinctions between Christianity and Judaism led to religious division and even persecution against Jews by the church?

3. How did this message impact your understanding of who Jesus is and how you talk with others about Jesus?

4. In what ways was Jesus a continuation of all that God had been up to in the preceding thousands of years?

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Notes

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September 22 “Missing in Action”

Galatians 1-2:1-10; II Corinthians 12:1-10; I Kings 19 Interestingly, most of us forget that Paul’s ministry was a long time coming after his conversion. Like prophets and leaders before him, such as Moses, Paul needed time to be formed and shaped by God. Perhaps his zeal would have gotten in the way of his ministry without this time. Whatever the case, for the next ten years after his conversion, Paul spent substantial time in the Arabian desert as well as in his hometown of Tarsus, probably returning to the trade of tent-making with his family. In this message we will consider the value of staying in the desert until God leads us out, rather than trying to escape the very place where we will finally meet God. The lessons learned in the desert cannot be learned anywhere else and there are no shortcuts. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 130 Monday: Galatians 1:1-10 Tuesday: Galatians 1:11-23 Wednesday: I Kings 19 Thursday: Matthew 4:1-17 Friday: Genesis 21:1-20 Saturday: II Corinthians 12:1-10 Sunday: I Corinthians 9

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Questions for discussion

1. What desert experiences have you faced or are you facing, and what has given you help and comfort during those times?

2. What purpose has the desert had in developing your Christian character?

3. What other Biblical characters faced deserts, and how did they experience God during those times?

4. How might we encourage others who are in the desert?

5. How did God likely prepare Paul for co-vocational ministry?

6. What might co-vocational ministry look like for you and why is this model so powerful?

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Notes

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October 6 “Back in the Game”

Acts 11: 19-30; 15; Galatians 2:11-21 And then suddenly after ten years of desert wanderings and standing at his work bench, God calls Paul to get off the bench and into the game. The church in Jerusalem seeks Paul’s help in unraveling the tricky problem of what to do with Gentiles who were embracing the Messiah in the city of Antioch. The church needed someone who understood Greek culture but was also clearly schooled in Jewish theology. For the church faced a brand new question of what to expect from those who embraced the Messiah but did not have the theological and cultural “tool kit” of Jewish teaching and society. How were they to fit? Could they fit? They seemed to be filled with the Holy Spirit but they were without the history, traditions, knowledge that would help to insure their faithfulness to God. Paul was a keen disciple of culture and was adept and understanding the universal nature of the teachings of Jesus in the sense that they could be applied and embraced in any culture and society--most of his preaching was spent challenging the barriers that got in the way of the good news of the Gospel for all. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 89 Monday: Acts 11 Tuesday: Acts 12 Wednesday: Acts 13 Thursday: Acts 14 Friday: Acts 15 Saturday: II Corinthians 5 Sunday: Titus 2

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Questions for discussion

1. As a people on mission to experience God’s transforming presence in Elizabethtown and beyond, how do we connect with those who embrace Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit but who don’t have the history and traditions and who don’t know the Bible stories and on and on?

2. Can they too become Christ-followers? Can we allow them to be so?

3. What might it look like for us to lower the barriers between the congregation and the community?

4. What does it mean for us to embrace our apostolic calling?

5. Congregations typically are very welcome to guests but have difficulty over the long haul to create a context where these folks feel like they belong? Why? How are we doing in our congregation?

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Notes

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October 27 “How Does It End?”

I Corinthians 15; I Thessalonians 4-5; Philippians 3:12-21

Paul’s sermons were basically the same: the consistent preaching of Abraham, Exodus, David, Exile and Messiah. Paul’s message was an eschatological one that focused on the predictable trajectory that God had created since humankind’s fall in Eden and that had led to the coming of the Messiah just as the prophets had predicted. In this trajectory, God would create a new heaven and a new earth—a view that is different than our common understandings of heaven as a foreign and faraway place. Paul expected to live to see the return of Christ but towards the end of his life began to recognize that this might not be the case. Throughout the Gospels he takes great pains to correct heresies emerging regarding life after death. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 127 Monday: I Corinthians 15:1-11 Tuesday: I Corinthians 15:12-34 Wednesday: I Corinthians 15:35-58 Thursday: I Thessalonians 4 Friday: I Thessalonians 5 Saturday: II Thessalonians 1 Sunday: II Thessalonians 2

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Questions for discussion

1. How do our views of heaven and life after death reflect cultural perspectives rather than the teaching of Paul?

2. What does Paul add to your understanding of the glory that awaits us after this life?

3. What passages in Scripture have meant the most to you as you anticipate your own death and the life to come?

4. What impact does Paul’s teaching of the new heaven and new earth have on the way you think about living your life in the present?

5. What might it mean to care for this earth if we believed that it was somehow connected to the next?

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Notes

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November 3 “Turning the World Upside Down”

Acts 19; I Corinthians 5; Ephesians 6 The radical message of the Messianic eschatology meant that Paul was continually running into resistance to the Gospel message from both Jew and Gentile. And yet his efforts made an oversized impact on the society of his day and certainly on the church that would follow him. Paul was one whose life continually challenged and upset the status quo, a status quo that was often grounded in the principalities and powers of the Evil One. Paul had the constant challenge of working at creating a Christian community in the midst of pagan societies. One of the consistent emphases of Paul is on sexual purity as a quality that must characterize followers of the Messiah and that would differentiate them from the pagans around them. In the sexually saturated society of Paul, sexual faithfulness and purity will be a consistent admonition. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 19 Monday: Acts 14 Tuesday: Acts 15 Wednesday: Acts 16 Thursday: Acts 17 Friday: Acts 18 Saturday: Acts 19 Sunday: Acts 20

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Questions for discussion

1. How are we doing individually and corporately at upholding sexual purity and living lives that differentiate us from the sexually saturated culture in which we live?

2. How have we gotten trapped by the constant and intentional messaging that encourages sexual expression outside of the boundaries of Scripture?

3. How do we train our children to live in this sexual fog without getting lost in it?

4. What practices or disciplines help to strengthen our commitment to sexual purity and enable us to resist sexual temptation?

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Notes

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November 10 “Division, Disorder and Chaos”

I Corinthians 3-11 Corinth just breaks Paul’s heart. He has given them all he had and did so without compensation, but they are divided and have rejected him and sent him packing. But he is coming back, but not until he has become a broken apostle in prison in Ephesus and emerges to write another one of four letters in total to Corinth, but this one with a notable change in style. He preaches love but also order and honor for authority and the need for church discipline and accountability. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 90 Monday: I Corinthians 3 Tuesday: I Corinthians 4 Wednesday: I Corinthians 5 Thursday: I Corinthians 6 Friday: I Corinthians 7 Saturday: I Corinthians 8 Sunday: 1 Corinthians 9

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Questions for discussion

1. In what ways do we relate to the Corinthian reality that Paul addressed?

2. What are the lessons that Paul teaches the Corinthian church that we need to pay attention to today?

3. What would Paul say to Etown Mennonite if he showed up for a visit?

4. What are the cultural and societal forces that are contributing to division in the American church today?

5. How can we work at insuring that Christ rather than any church leader, national leader, or anything or anyone else has our first and primary allegiance?

6. What does it look like for Jesus to be Lord of all?

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Notes

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November 24 “On the Edge of God’s Galaxy of Love”

I Corinthians 13; Ephesians 5; Romans 8; Ephesians 1 Paul is a serious guy who takes the Gospel seriously. In N.T. Wright’s words, Paul is zealous. His zeal contributes to misunderstandings, troubled relationships, and direct letters in which he pulls no punches. Paul is establishing the early church when there were no models for the church, and so Paul was creating the foundation for what the church should look like if it was going to survive beyond his lifetime. And yet, Paul is deeply enthralled with the love of God and writes some of the Scriptures most moving verses about God’s love and the love we are to have for one another. Paul shows us that love and discipline, mercy and judgement are not opposites but are held together mysteriously in God’s hands. I Corinthians 13 and Ephesians 3 and Romans 8 overflow with this incredible love of God for us and that we are called to have with one another. Paul gushes with excitement and one has the sense of anticipation for his own life as he imagines what it will be finally like to experience the fullness of his Lord and Savior. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 44 Monday: I Corinthians 13 Tuesday: II Corinthians 8 Wednesday: II Corinthians 9 Thursday: Philemon Friday: Ephesians 5 Saturday: I Thessalonians 2 Sunday: I Thessalonians 3

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Questions for reflection

1. What parts of I Corinthians 13 most speak to you as you consider Paul’s definition of love?

2. What keeps us from experiencing the vastness of God’s love for us that Ephesians 3 and Romans 8 convey?

3. How might you live with a greater awareness of God’s love for you and how might that impact your life and relationships and walk with God?

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Notes

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December 1

“Powered by the Spirit” Romans 8:1-17; I Corinthians 2:6-16; I Corinthians 12:27-31;

Ephesians 3:14-21 The Book of Acts and the Epistles are filled with references to the Holy Spirit and the work of the Spirit in the life of Paul and the early church. One of the primary manifestations of the Spirit for Paul that he references often is the “power” of the Spirit. Paul understood that while He had met the Messiah, one of the Messiah’s great gifts was the Holy Spirit who had come through Christ to empower the early believers. The gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit—Paul understood that without space for God’s Spirit to work, the church and its believers were powerless to fulfill the mission of God and to overcome Satan and the powers of darkness. When we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are filled with God’s Spirit. But the degree to which we embrace the Spirit and allow the Spirit to activate his power in our lives often falls short of what is possible. There is so much more that God has for us through His power—immeasurably more than we can think or imagine says Paul! Scriptures for the week: Psalm 95 Monday: Ephesians 3 Tuesday: Ephesians 4 Wednesday: Romans 8:1-17 Thursday: Romans 8:18-27 Friday: Romans 8:28-39 Saturday: Romans 12 Sunday: I Corinthians 12

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Questions for discussion

1. How have you experienced the Holy Spirit?

2. What do you yet yearn to experience of the Spirit?

3. How has this teaching on the Holy Spirit given you to understanding?

4. And how might you act upon that understanding as you move forward in your life with Christ?

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Notes

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December 8 “Broken, Depressed and Dark”

II Corinthians 4; II Corinthians 1; I Corinthians 12:1-10 Following Paul’s experience in Ephesus, he encounters a dark time emotionally and spiritually, a darkness out of which he writes some of his most despairing letters but also some of his most encouraging words. Paul seems to understand that the powers and principalities of Satan have decided to no longer tolerate the powerful witness and impact of his life and teaching. And so Paul is hammered, ending up in prison and feeling alone and defeated. In the passages of this message, we get a new glimpse into the humanity of Paul but also the courage, comfort, and hope that he discovered in the midst of darkness. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 138 Monday: II Corinthians 4 Tuesday: II Corinthians 1 Wednesday: I Corinthians 12:1-10 Thursday: Acts 19:1-22 Friday: Acts 19:23-41 Saturday: Ephesians 1 Sunday: Ephesians 2

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Questions for discussion

1. What threat have you been to Satan that has caused him to attack you with fear and intimidation? Is your life a threat to the Enemy’s plans and purposes?

2. Why do we not need to live in fear of his threats?

3. How did Paul respond to the darkness that he entered after Ephesus, and how do his responses help you in considering how to respond?

4. What do the texts for this message show us about how Paul’s life with God deepened through the darkness and depression?

5. What comfort and encouragement do you find in this week’s study?

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Notes

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December 15 “Grace, Grace, Grace—God’s Incredible Grace”

Philippians 4; Galatians 2:20 Paul’s teaching on grace awakened the slumbering and deteriorating medieval church from its death march toward destruction, as Martin Luther became newly aware of the truth of God’s grace—that it is faith and not works that saves us. Paul’s word for faith is often the Greek word “pistis,” and reflects the “faithfulness” or the “loyalty” of God. Paul cannot stop speaking of that faithfulness and of that loyalty, and sees all of his own deeds as manure in comparison. It is out of this understanding of this incredible faithfulness of His Messiah that Paul is spurred on to fight the good fight of faith and to pursue the prize that is set before Him. Paul does not err by positing grace against obedience as if we can receive God’s grace and then carry on however we wish. Nor does he get caught in the trap of believing that is our faithfulness that saves us. No, Paul understands that we are saved by God’s faithfulness and loyalty and it is out of our love for that Savior that we offer our lives as slaves to him. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 83 Monday: Philippians 1 Tuesday: Philippians 4 Wednesday: Galatians 1 Thursday: Galatians 2 Friday: Galatians 3 Saturday: Galatians 4 Sunday: Romans 6

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Questions for discussion

1. What has God’s grace meant to you in the past and how does this week’s study change or affect your understanding?

2. What are the risks of emphasizing grace without obedience and obedience without grace?

3. In what ways do you struggle to accept and receive God’s grace, and what would it mean for you to do so beginning right now?

4. How might you remind yourself daily of that grace and His deep love for you?

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Notes

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December 22 “I have fought the good fight!”

Philippians 3; Colossians 1:24-2:9; Ephesians 6, I Corinthians 4 The language of athlete—runner and fighter are often metaphors for Paul. He sees his life as part of a race or a fight in which his goal and prize are always kept in front of him. Paul lives not for himself but for his Savior, not for the present as much as for the future, not with the hardships of today burdening him down, but with the promise of tomorrow with his Lord driving him harder and further. Paul is relentless, yes, zealous. He is not afraid to pick a fight with just about anybody, anywhere, anytime over the Gospel even though it costs him beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, and more. And yet Paul is also very human, and the costs of his fearlessness take their toll on his life and being. But as he becomes more broken physically, he begins to understand that weakness is his friend in this fight with his Enemy, because when Paul is weak then Christ becomes strong, then the power of Christ is shown for what it is. Paul yearns then for weakness and discovers that it is that weakness that unleashes the power of God to fight his battles for him. Scriptures for the week: Psalm 77 Monday: Colossians 1 Tuesday: Colossians 2 Wednesday: Acts 21-22 Thursday: Acts 23-24 Friday: Acts 25-26 Saturday: Acts 27 Sunday: Acts 28

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Questions for discussion

1. How often do you think of your life as a race or a fight?

2. When you do so, where are you in that race or fight? Mile 3? Round 5? How are you doing? Are you pacing yourself?

3. Are you living to preserve your life?

4. Are you being defensive or offensive? Or have you left the track or the ring?

5. Are you practicing those things that will sustain you in the ring and on the track?

6. What prize is offered to those of us who are in Christ?

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Notes

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