The First Baptist Church of Redlands
T A PE S T R Y
J uly 2020
Wo v e n To g e t h e r I n L o v e : C o l o s s i a n s 2 : 2
Issue No. 7
THE NEW TEMPLE A Message from Pastor Shawn
On the last Sunday that we worshiped together in the church sanctuary I preached on the passage in John 4 where Jesus and the Samaritan woman meet at the well. If you look at the conversation that they had, you will see that they discuss where is the appropriate place to worship God. This was a serious point of contention between Jews and Samaritans, people who had been in conflict for generations. Jesus says to the woman, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem…But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21, 23, 24). These comments are revolutionary in so many ways! First, Jesus is implying that the Temple is “temporary.” The exclusiveness of the Temple is no more. There is going to be a “new Temple” and it is going to be the community of God’s people. Worship isn’t in a “place,” it’s in people! Second, he is having this conversation with someone who is considered an “enemy” of his people. Is it possible that enemies can be the new Temple together? Add to that the fact that she is woman, and in that culture and religion women were not included in theological discussions and were only allowed so far into the temple. Up to that point the Temple was the “thin space” between heaven and earth. It contained the “Holy of Holies” where the priest as certain times would visit God’s presence. Then Jesus came with the message that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus was the one who moved between heaven and earth and with the coming of the Holy Spirit the “New Temple” is the community of believers, wherever they are. The limitations that Jesus referred to are now gone.
We are now going through the book of Acts in the sermons this summer. One of the on-going themes of Acts is this “New Temple” as the people of God share the Good News of Christ well beyond Jerusalem and the Temple building. People who never imagined even entering one another’s homes become family together in Christ. Barriers of all types are broken down! As we read we keep seeing the Kingdom of God! I can’t help but think that God is trying to speak to us in this age of Coronavirus as well as the constant reminders that we have so much work to do to make sure that the kind of justice that is a value of the Kingdom of God is available to all. What does it mean that we are the “New Temple?” We are going to continue to contemplate these kinds of questions in our sermons this summer, but we also have an opportunity to go deeper. Beginning Monday, July 6, we will offer a Bible study on Zoom where we will dig deeper into Acts. We will look at the sections that we are skipping in the sermon series. There are other opportunities to study, fellowship and pray with others from our church family, all on Zoom. Pastor Nick has just started a study about Jesus. There is a book study that is starting and some of our Sunday School classes are continuing through the summer. If you are interested in getting involved, check our emails for information. If you are not getting them, let us know at nicolas@fbcredlands.org. May we continue to listen to the Holy Spirit as we discover more about what it means to be the New Temple.
In Christ, Pastor Shawn