Short Term Mission Trip 2010
Ouje-Bougoumou
An opportunity to give and to serve
children ministries, teens ministries, renovation, praise & worship team, kitchen
Mission Team Preparation Meeting
Feb 22, 2010 (Mon) 7:30 pm
Scarborough Chinese Alliance Church
139 Silver Star Blvd. Scarborough
Midland/Finch
Contact person: Henry Chow
henrychowis@gmail.com
Continuing our journey though the Gospel of John
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.23 Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.24 (This was before John was put in prison.)25 An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.
26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan–the one you testified about–well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.30 He must become greater; I must become less.
31 “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.33 The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
The crowds are beginning to leave John and heading to Jesus as he begins baptizing as well. When confronted about it John is joyous. His ministry is not in competition. What if we could see everything we did as paving the way for others, and be glad when they both join us and lead us?
v34 – God gives the Spirit without limit. Reflect on this statement next time you’re feeling inadequate.
Continuing our reflections through the Gospel of John
11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man.14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
Jesus continues his conversation with Nicodemus here. Jesus speaks of using earthly language – and while even this is challenging to understand, it’s interesting how often we go straight to speaking to people of heavenly things assuming they’ll understand.
Jesus also refers to the bronze snake Moses made in the desert so that people could look towards to have life. An incredible amount can be said about this, but maybe i’ll leave it to you or unpack it later.
The famous John 3:16 is also found in this conversation. There’s much more going on but a few things to note here.
1. God loves the world. When we don’t, and say we worship God, there’s something inconsistent there.
2. Jesus was given so that we might have life.
3. Jesus did not come to condemn the world – and neither should we.
Some of my questions on the last two verses of the passage.
Why is it that people, all people, have a tendency to love darkness?
What does it say when someone, anyone, does good?
If all goodness comes from God, where do you see God?
Continuing our journey through John
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
It’s interesting if you read this as a dialog rather than isolated statements. Nicodemus strikes a conversation with Jesus, though he states he is a pharisee and many of them disliked Jesus, we can’t tell by this opening what his intent is.
Nicodemus makes a statement about Jesus being from/with God, and Jesus responds with a seemingly separate statement about the ‘kingdom of god’ and a ‘born again’ type of transformation.
There’s a number of things that could be going on here – Jesus is either trying to reroute the question, or he sees deeper into the heart of what Nicodemus is asking – either way he wanted to provoke and challenge Nicodemus to come a little further.
Simply being able to acknowledge that Jesus was a teacher from God was not enough – Jesus wanted to entice him with something more wonderful – the kingdom of God.
Simply knowing that Jesus was working in partnership with God was not enough – he wanted Nicodemus to be ‘born again’ – experience transformation towards a new life.
The conversation continues with what it means to be ‘born again’ and while there’s a number of different analogies that Jesus could use here – he chooses one that goes to the very root of who a person is and one that is seemingly impossible.
Think about the strange statement Jesus makes of ‘You must be born again’. So ‘You’ that means there’s hope for ‘you’. He doesn’t say it’s utterly impossible, he doesn’t say that a person must be annihilated and God needs to just start over and make something new -but something about the essence of ‘you’ must go through a birthing process.
Jesus speaks of different materials of ‘flesh’ and ’spirit’ (note this isn’t a separation of our fleshly physical bodies – since Jesus himself was in the flesh) – but of what you’re made of within. At the core. Not simply picking up a new habit, or discipline or external change – but an internal transformation of what guides everything else in your life. With it is a process of re-learning – to see the world new, using new muscles and senses, crawling, stumbling, standing, falling, walking, running – to live life new again in many ways.
Jesus goes on about the wind and spirit and Nicodemus is obviously confused, i’d be too. And here’s the thing, when you really encounter God, something unsettling is suppose to happen. If you ever feel like you’ve got God figured out… then that’s probably not God. God always seeks to lovingly press us on. He’s trying to help us comprehend something that we did not comprehend before.
If we believe that there’s a living and infinite God who walks with us, then we ought to be a bit confused and startled when he speaks to us.
I found this video is best described what we are heading. I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to inspire and empower us to carry on His Mission.
