Salt + Light Fort Worth

What is Salt + Light Fort Worth?

Salt + Light Community is a SOMA church plant in the heart of Fort Worth, TX. Here you’ll find teaching and discussions from our gatherings on Sundays.

https://www.saltandlightfw.com/

Speaker 2: All right.

Um, I love our, our
birthday blessing days.

Hey, thanks for leading
that so well every month.

Um, and if you weren't here last week,
Nicole taught about the second part

of this verse we're gonna dwell on
today, of they, uh, devoted themselves

to the fellowship, and this idea
of having all things in common.

And, uh, a, a monthly kind of touch point
with some of our folks who s- you sit

in the room with but might not know very
well, that, like, that's a picture of

that, of having some things in common,
of being able to, to celebrate joys and

lift up burdens and that kind of stuff.

And so we, we do that a lot in
different groups around our church.

Um, but on Sundays getting to, getting to
experience a little taste of that, um, is,

is birthed right out of a, an application
of some of these, some of these verses.

So turns out we try to follow the
Bible, um, is all I'm trying to say.

So, um, if we haven't met, my name's Ben.

I get to serve on, uh, the teaching team,
leadership team here at Salt and Light.

Um, and if this is your first time with
us, we're honored that you're here.

So, uh, I'm gonna start with a
question for everyone to think about,

if you wanna hit that next slide.

Uh, do you remember who
your favorite teacher was?

Not, like, teaching team here.

You don't have to, like, compare me
and Nicole and Mike, all the others.

Uh, but in, in school teacher.

Remember who your favorite teacher was?

Anybody want to shout out
a favorite teacher's name?

Mr.

Vandersheet.

Mr.

Vandersheet.

Miss Hilly.

Ah.

Minerva Howard.

Ooh.

All right.

Miss Schrier.

Anyone from this side
have a favorite teacher?

Miss Reynolds.

There we go.

All right, we got one.

Um, wh- so yeah, whether you're currently
in school, there are a few, uh, current

school, uh, students who raised their
hands, um, or whether it was, like,

years, decades ago, um, like many of us
can think of, like, a standout memory of

a teacher or teachers who, who we loved.

Um, maybe they inspired
you in a specific way.

Uh, maybe they challenged you.

Or maybe the opposite, they didn't
do anything and just let you

play in their class all the time.

Um, maybe, maybe some different
reasons, but for lots of us,

we have favorite teachers.

Uh, mine was named Dr.

Carroll and my 12th grade English teacher.

I just lost, like, half of you in the
room when I said the word English.

You're like, "Nope, I'm out."

Um, he w- he had written SAT
questions before he came to teach.

Um, and he loved literature, and he
loved writing, and he loved language,

and he loved, he really loved teaching.

And, and maybe that's what
stands out for many of us when

we think of our favorite teacher.

Um, but what I re- remember
most is that he challenged us.

Like, he didn't just talk at us.

Like, he really believed in his students,
and he worked with his students, and

he pushed his students, and he really
immersed us kinda holistically in

reading and writing and the things
that make up- The English language.

And that feels like, as I watch
my kids go to school, um, I'm

back in school now, so that's fun.

Um, but, but that feels like a
huge difference compared to some

teachers in some schools today.

Um, Salt & Light has some teachers.

You, you'reâ¦

We only have good teachers here.

Uh, it's one of the stipulations for being
part of our church if you're a teacher.

You have to be a good teacher.

Um, but in some classrooms, and we've
all had this experience, teaching,

the concept of teaching, and I'm
air quoting this intentionally,

it just looks like info delivery.

Like, I'm giving you head knowledge.

It's a knowledge transfer.

It's one direction.

It's, it's head focused.

That's all it is.

I'm gonna tell you something.

And I, I need you to know for the
concept we're talking about today,

that is historically not what
teaching has looked like e- e- either,

either in, in, in, in history or
around the world, and that matters.

Okay, we'll come back to
what teaching did look like.

But, but for context, if you're just
joining us today, we're spending this fall

looking at the first church in history.

Nicole read some verses that we just got
a little bit of a glimpse of the first

church in history, and we're asking
what did they do and how did they act?

How do they, how do they
relate to one another?

Which is to say, what is
God's design for his people?

Because God's church, every local
church, the capital C church globally

and throughout history, that- that's
all we are is God's people, right?

So when we ask what is a church
supposed to do, we're asking what

is God's design for his people?

And so far, if I can catch us up for
a moment, um, we've said the church

is counter-cultural and unique and
weird compared to the world around us.

Um, we said that the f- the, the,
the church is called to be devoted.

That first word, they devoted themselves
to all of these things, means that

they were committed to each other.

They were committed to
pursue life together.

And then last week we looked at one
aspect of that and saw that they were

committed to fellowship, to community,
to the body of Christ around them And

so today, though, we're gonna see the
first thing in the list that Luke makes

in the Book of Acts that the church,
first church in history was devoted

to, and that is the apostles' teaching.

So go ahead and hit the next slide for me.

Um, we're gonna consider what,
what devotion looked like then

and maybe how it feels different
today by asking three questions.

First, what is the apostles' teaching?

That can be a strange
word, uh, a strange term.

What does devotion to
that teaching look like?

And then maybe more, on a more
introspective note, what, what

teaching are we devoted to
if it's not God's teaching?

'Cause at the end of the day, I think
you'll agree with this, whatever, whatever

teaching you're most devoted to, whatever,
whatever philosophy, whatever, uh, growth

and worldview and whatever information
and holistic trend, whatever we're

most devoted to, that shapes our lives.

Fair?

So let me pray for us.

So Father, I thank you that you have
given us truth, and I pray that you

would, uh, help us walk this line of,
of hearing ways that maybe we're devoted

to some other things, but not with a,
like, guilt trippy, shame based thing.

But also, Lord, if you have
something that you want to teach

us today, um, would you teach us?

Would you meet each of us as we
consider ways that we are, uh,

devoted to you and ways that you, uh,
especially, uh, are devoted to us.

So it's in your Son's name.

Amen.

All right.

So we're just gonna camp out
on one half of one verse today.

Um, so jumping right in.

They, the first church in history, devoted
themselves to the apostles' teaching.

Hit the next slide for me.

What is the apostles' teaching?

Anyone want to answer that?

What's the apostles' teaching?

Jesus.

Amen.

It's a great answer for anyone,
anyone, anything anyone asks from here.

Jesus.

Yes.

He's the content of
the apostles' teaching.

Anybody, any, any other word
associations come to mind?

Gospel.

Right up there.

Raised from the dead.

Yeah, yeah.

They, they were, they were sharing about
Jesus, who through the Gospel or through,

who, as part of the Gospel, the Good
News, that He was raised from the dead.

Anyone think Bible?

Word association, apostles'
teaching, you jump to Bible?

Okay, a couple of you did.

That, that's honestly where
my mind naturally goes.

There's a problem with that, though.

In that the Bible, as we know it, in its
historic form, in its current form, didn't

exist until about the 4th century AD.

Now, there's many reasons to trust
the Bible to be truly the Word of God.

We'll come back to that in a moment.

But, but that can't be what
they devoted themselves to.

Like, they didn't have, like, open
in your Bibles to Acts chapter 2.

They, they didn't have that at the time.

Um, it's easy for us to kind of
apply our 21st century lens to

the 1st century, and think, "Oh,
apostles' teaching equals Bible."

But, but in reality, the Bible, as
we have it, came a couple centuries

after Jesus' death and resurrection.

So that can't be the apostles' teaching.

Rather, some of you who said things
out loud, got closer to what this was.

'Cause, 'cause the apostles in, in
their original form, people use that

title today in various traditions,
but that's a topic for another day.

But in, in its original form, the
apostles were the people who walked

most closely with Jesus during his life.

Like, they were his inner circle.

They were in proximity to
Jesus during, uh, his death.

They saw Jesus after he raised.

They were present as he ascended
to be with God the Father.

And so when we think of the
apostles' teaching, here's what

we need to understand that they
were, they were talking about.

Next slide.

Four things.

First, they were sharing the
testimonies a- a- about Jesus.

So as some of you said, they were
ta- they were talking about Jesus.

They, they were giving eyewitness accounts
of what Jesus did and what he said during

his few years of, of his earthly ministry.

That was the apostles' teaching,
was saying, "He did this.

He said this.

Here's what we observed.

He crazily raised a guy
from the dead," for example.

Um, "He rebuked the
religious leaders of the day.

He got down in the dust
and drew some stuff."

We don't know exactly what,
what it was that he drew.

We're not gonna put that in the Bible,
but, but he drew some stuff in the sand.

This is what Jesus did.

This is what Jesus said.

Testimony of Jesus.

Second, doctrines and commands
that Jesus gave There's, there's

guiding truth for every follower
of Jesus, both then and now.

Amen?

And that's some of what the
apostles' teaching shared.

Uh, the apostles' teaching, uh, w- was
about ways that the Hebrew scriptures,

what we call the Old Testament as
Christians, ways that the Hebrew

scriptures pointed to Jesus as the
true Messiah, which we believe he was.

And then maybe m- more than all those
things, the apostles' teaching was

the good news, the gospel message.

Gospel is just, uh, gospel is just a
word that means good news, literally.

The message of salvation and
repentance and forgiveness, not

just Jesus' resurrection, but your
resurrection because of Jesus,

the life he invites you into.

Does that make sense?

That's some of what the
apostles' teaching was.

And, and, and hopefully that
sounds familiar to some themes

you hear in church teaching today.

Hopefully, certainly, that sounds
familiar to themes that you hear, um,

in, in gatherings of Salt and Light,
whether it's DNA groups, or Alpha,

or, or different pockets, men's and
women's things, or young adult things,

or whatever else, or even on Sundays.

Hopefully those sound familiar.

But it's worth dwelling on these four
things f- for a few different reasons.

And, and first is this: These
are the themes that should sha-

shape any church's teaching today.

Like, n- no teacher today has eyewitness
accounts of Jesus during his time,

uh, of ministry on Earth, right?

And yet, if you say you follow
Jesus, he's impacted every

single person who follows him.

And so whether someone's paid or
not paid, or on church staff or not

on church staff, or a preacher or
DNA leader or whatever else, like,

there's, there is this personal impact
that Jesus still has on us, and we

all have some sort of testimony.

We all have some sort of
eyewitness account, not to Jesus's

earthly time, but turns out we
believe he's still alive, right?

And so he's still impacting people,
and he's still changing people.

And so any teacher, whether it's someone
up front on a Sunday or, or one-on-one

conversation over a coffee or beer or
something like that, there's, there's

still an impact that Jesus makes.

There's still a testimony that we have
Jesus is alive and must be real to the

teacher, to the testimony still there.

Second, when, when, when , when
church teaches, when, when any

church teaches kind of doctrines or
commands, we have to be careful and

go, "Okay, are they actually from God?"

We believe, historic Christians
believe, that the whole Bible is

from God, and so every doctrine or
command must be from God and, and

thus is, is worth pursuing or obeying.

And, and, and the reason I wanna mention
this is, is especially in kind of a

religious culture, and Fort Worth is
still a, a religious culture, especially

compared to many, uh, many cultures
around the world, or I guess what I'd

say it's a, uh, Christian religio-
a more Christian religious culture.

There's still more Judeo-vali-
Judeo-Christian values in our city.

There's a lot of religious
cultures around the roo- uh, around

the world, not all Christian.

But all I'm trying to say is that
some people, including some teachers,

take the commands and doctrines of
God and then start to put layers

and layers around those things.

They, they take the, the truth that
Scripture teaches, and they apply

cultural values, or they apply other
religious actions or that kind of stuff.

And just a couple examples of those that
came to mind, um, in, in the, in the

Southern US, uh, it is common, uh, to
have one view of women working, which

is that they shouldn't, um, outside
the home in some Christian traditions.

That, that's a cultural view
that's added to, a cultural layer

that's added to something that
the Bible doesn't actually teach.

In Jesus's day, and in, say, fifteenth
century Roman Catholicism, priests

would add work to God's grace.

You had to do stuff or give a certain
amount, indulgences they were called.

You have to earn some things on top of
salvation in order to receive God's grace.

Those examples make sense?

Like, neither of those
are in the scriptures.

And so we have this core book
that we believe is from God, and

it is right to find the doctrines
and commands that book teaches.

And yet there's also these layers
that are built around it that

are not part of that doctrine.

And then finally, the whole
Bible points to Jesus.

We believe Jesus did fulfill
Old Testament prophecy.

We believe Jesus is the Messiah.

His message, the gospel message, the good
news, it is the message of the Bible.

And yet there are many ways to
read the Bible and miss Jesus.

There are many ways to read the
Bible and miss the main point.

There are many ways, if I may, to
read the Bible and miss the gospel

And so if any church teaching, hold
us accountable to this, as salt and

light, but if any church teaching
swerves from any of these things, then

we at least have to question, are we
actually devoted to the same themes

of teaching that the apostles taught?

Are we really devoted to
the apostles' teaching?

And I know that's a, that's a little
bit of like a, a very fast deep dive

caution, b- but it matters 'cause there's
a lot of different teaching out there.

There's alwaysâ¦

I mean, the New Testament is full of,
of Paul and others receiving from God

and passing along to his readers and his
hearers cautions against false teaching.

This is, this is the core of what the
apostles' teaching has been and is.

Again, it looks different today, but the
themes are still there, the principles

are still there, and they must remain.

Second reason it's worth camping out
on, more of a question, as you look

at these things, you, you and me who
have been impacted by Jesus, uh, core

doctrines that anyone has access to
because through the centuries, we, we

do have written Bibles now and audio
Bibles now and this kind of stuff.

So the question is, do you need a seminary
degree to share a testimony of Jesus?

Do you need to have gone to Bible
college to, to share doctrines and

commands that we find in the Bible?

Do you need a platform on a Sunday
to, to show people how Jesus fulfilled

prophecy or to share the good news?

Do we need any of those things?

We do not.

In the New Testament, which was again
written a few decades after this, this

scene in Acts we get, Paul exhorted
followers of Jesus by saying the, the,

the following in the Book of Colossians.

Go ahead and put it up on
the screen for me, please.

Paul exhorted them, "Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing" who?

"One another."

And if you know the Book of Colossians, is
this just written to, to pastors or elders

or folks who are leaders in churches?

This is, this is to everybody.

You, someone needs to hear
this, I believe, today.

You have the Word of Christ
dwelling richly in you.

Like, you have life-changing
testimony about Jesus and the

ways he's impacted you in you.

Do you believe that?

Like, you have the Spirit of God who
shows you ways that he's good news.

We'll, we'll see next week that it's
God who opens doors and gives us the

words to say as we proclaim the gospel

You can do these things.

We get to teach and admonish
one another in all wisdom.

That's good news.

If it's only limited to a few of us who
prep some teachings every week, then

there's a world of folks who are never
gonna get to hear the good news of Jesus.

And there's a lot of things going
on in your life that you need people

to walk with you and, and exhort
you, and encourage you, and be like,

"Oh, actually, like, here's, here's,
here's how something applies to this.

Here's how Jesus is good
news for this struggle

The apostles' teaching was not limited
to professionals in a church gathering.

In fact, there were not those things
in the first church in history.

Rather, when the church
gathered, many people teach and--

taught and exhorted and led.

As, as this other verse says,
"When you come together, each has

a hymn or a lesson or revelation
or a tongue or interpretation.

Let all these things be done for
the building up of the body."

Some of these is why you get to talk
a little more, why we invite some

conversation and this sort of thing.

Some of this verse shapes some of
the ways we gather as Salt and Light.

That's the other reason it's worth
dwelling on that question, what

is, what is the apostles' teaching,
is 'cause you get to participate.

You get to devote yourself
to the apostles' teaching.

It's not limited to this
that we're doing right now

And then third, the third reason to
dwell on this is that, um, I think

the apostles' teaching was, was listed
first in that verse, that passage.

They devoted themselves to the
apostles' teaching and then to

fellowship and breaking bread
and, and so on and so forth.

Um, I believe it's listed first, the
first thing they devoted themselves

to, because it shapes the rest of the
things in the, in that, in, in that list.

Like, did Jesus model teaching and
command fellowship and model that?

Yes, he did.

Did Jesus teach and model and command
communion, the breaking of bread

together, the sharing of a meal?

Yeah.

Did he, did he model and
teach a sacrifice for others?

Absolutely.

Did Jesus find folks who were
skeptics and seekers and folks

who didn't believe in him, and did
he share the good news with them?

Yeah.

And so all the other stuff we're seeing
the first church in history do this

fall starts with the apostles' teaching
because they said, "Look, Jesus did this.

Look, it's a command.

It's a doctrine.

Look, Jesus is the Messiah.

He did fulfill the good news,
and so we get to shape our

lives around that promise.

Look, he did command and model
the, the sharing of the gospel

Jesus was the first to, to, to do
and enact and participate in this

teaching, and the apostles pointed to
that as an example for the rest of us

So that, as we ask what is the apostles'
teaching, somewhere in all that is

what the apostles' teaching was.

It's why it matters.

And, and the, the apostles, the literal
12 apostles-ish are, are long dead, and

yet their teaching and the principles
of how they taught and what they taught,

those remain alive and active today.

Because the word of God, turns
out, is living and active

So that's a huge distinction that
adds, that leads to, to the second

question on the next slide, um, is
the question, what does devotion

look like to the apostles' teaching?

What does, does, does devotion look
like to the apostles' teaching?

We'll go much more quickly through, uh,
the rest of this, but I wanted to dwell

on that first part intentionally given
our, our, our religious culture around us.

Um, when we ask what does devotion to
the apostles' teaching look like, again,

you have to know there's a difference
between twenty-first century teaching,

quote-unquote, as we think about it, and
first century teaching, which is more of

how most of history's teaching looked.

Through most of history, teaching
was not limited to a classroom.

Teaching was not one directional from
some expert to a bunch of non-experts.

Um, teaching was not information transfer.

Teaching was not head knowledge only.

For most of history, how did people learn?

Anyone know?

Yeah, apprenticeship.

Yeah, walking with folks who are
actually doing the things that they're

trying to teach the next person to do.

Most teaching, again, air
quotes, most teaching throughout

history was holistic learning.

Like, it shaped head and heart and
hands, and it both informed, it, it

didn't not inform, but people also
experienced it so they could obey it.

Um, if you know me well, uh,
you know that I'm a huge nerd.

Um, and my, my master's work is in,
uh, adult education, which again, I

just lost the other half of you that I
didn't lose when I said English earlier.

So, um, go on the next slide.

There's a difference in how
kids learn versus adults.

Do you know this?

Difference in how kids
learn versus adults.

When I say adults, I mean, like aâ¦

it shifts about age 12, 13.

So Grace, change for you on the 25th.

There you go.

Arnett's-

â¦ changed for you 40-some-odd years ago.

30-some-odd years ago, I just aged you.

Um, kids learn through this process,
know something and repeat it.

Learn something and repeat it.

So think spelling words, right?

You get a list on a Monday, practice,
practice, practice, practice, practice.

You have a test on Friday.

You've learned it, you repeat it back,
get a new list the following week.

This make sense?

This is how kids learn.

That's not how adults learn.

And yet in a lot of religious circles,
that's how we expect adults to learn.

I'm gonna talk at you, maybe you'll
talk about this when you meet

in a group, and then that's it.

That's not how adults learn.

When we talk about equipping the
saints, it can't just be this.

When we talk about teaching,
it can't just be this modern

form of what we call teaching.

Because adults, starting about age
12, the- the- the way we learn,

the way we grow in anything, is to
learn something, to do something

with it, and then we own it.

It becomes part of who we are.

This is why people say, like, the
best learners are teachers, it's

'cause we're ha- you- you're having
to, like, do something with this.

Um, it's why I'm really glad
that our med students have to do

residencies and actually, like, cut
on a body before they cut on my body.

Like, I'm really glad they don't
just read a book on that and take

a test and then pull out a knife.

Um, it's- it's the reason you see, like,
apprentice models in- in a lot of learning

and- and old, you know, medievalâ¦

How'd you learn to be a blacksmith?

By shoeing horses along with someone
who's been shoeing horses for a long

time, and that person learned by doing the
same with others and others and others.

This make sense?

Again, I'm a huge nerd, and
yet this matters as we consider

what teaching looks like.

Because most teaching throughout
history was more apprenticeship.

If, if you wanna know, it's only
after the Industrial Revolution that

classroom teaching became prominent.

But, but here, here's the point.

To be devoted to the apostles'
teaching means it has to move

from our head into our lives.

That's the breakdown in teaching,
quote-unquote, today versus

teaching throughout most of history.

'Cause if we're just being taught,
or if we're just trying to devote

ourselves to, to, to the scriptures,
to the apostles' teaching, that means

we can stop when we memorize a verse,
which I'm, I'm for that, by the way.

Um, it can stop when we just do, like,
a 10-minute quiet time a couple days of

the week and, and read a couple chapters.

Um, it can stop with just, like,
a Bible in a year planner chapter

a day, 'cause all we're doing
is absorbing something in here.

If that's all teaching is,
we can stop at that point.

Many Christians, their engagement
with the scriptures is limited to

what we're doing right now, of someone
talking at them and telling them what

the Bible says, and then that's it.

And if that's all teaching
is, is learn it and repeat it,

then, then we can stop here.

But that's not what devotion to
the apostles' teaching looks like.

Being devoted to the apostles' teaching
means letting it affect you, like

letting the testimony of Jesus affect
you, and his words and his works affect

you, and, and, and walking in the
doctrines and commands that Jesus taught.

They're worth pursuing.

Finding ways that the Hebrew scriptures
point to Jesus matters because

when we find all the different ways
that, that their lives and their

teachings pointed to Jesus, we can
find things in our lives that we need

to apply the good news of Jesus to.

And seeing the message of Jesus
apply more and more and more to our

lives is not just a mental ascent.

It literally changes your life.

Do you believe that?

Being devoted to the apostles' teaching
means obeying it, doing what Jesus says,

doing what the scriptures say, pursuing
those things as our firm foundation,

which we'll come back to in a minute

A couple weeks ago when we started
this, this series of teaching, we

said that one definition of devotion
is being unable or unwilling to

quit something or to quit someone

And so even in persecution, the first
church in history did not stop following

the apostles' teaching, even though
it looked weird and counter-cultural

and got many of them killed.

Could you say that that's true of you?

Not just receiving it, but doing something
with it, even at great risk, even at risk

of looking weird to the world around you.

Or do you find yourself devoted
to some other form of teaching?

A- and is your life shaped by some
other form of teaching, something

other than God, something other
than scripture, something other

than the apostles' teaching?

Because let's be honest, and, and kind
of the final question we're talking

about today, there's a lot of other
teaching in the world today that invites

you to shape your life around it.

Fair?

There's a lot of other, quote-unquote,
"truth" in the world today that

says, "Devote yourself to me, and
I'll make everything better," that

is not the apostles' teaching.

So next slide.

What teaching are we devoted
to if it's not God's teaching?

And you don't have to answer that
out loud, but, but if, uh, uh, a few

years ago there was very prominent
online, uh, hashtag, the, the hashtag

my truth, which said, "Whatever I
believe, you are not able to argue

against it," 'cause it's my truth.

That's, that's a, that's a
false and fading teaching.

Um, and both major political parties
will offer to be the ultimate

solution to your life's problems
and to the world's problems.

That's a false and fading
truth that is not lasting.

It's interesting, again, I'm a huge
nerd, in Europe right now, which, which

left Judeo-Christian teaching long
ago for secularism, what we call it,

humanism, pluralism, um, a, a disbelief
in anything, humanism, secularism.

Europe's now seen a
resurgence in s- in spiritism.

You know what spiritism is?

Magic.

Witchcraft

Psychedelics.

Things that were formerly fringe teaching
'cause they sounded way too woo-woo.

Uh, there's a rise among folks right now

There's a lot of other truths.

Also, whatever happens in Europe
trickles down to us, so be

prepared for that in about 20 years

For many, truth, again air quotes,
is whatever AI tells me to believe,

whatever a Facebook feed sends me,
often in a few second soundbites.

Or you see one meme and
go, "I guess that's true.

It's on the internet."

And we know that's not true, but come on

And, and here's the truth in this.

Every other teaching will let you down

Like no political party
is the lasting solution.

Quote unquote, "My truth is wishy-washy
and it does not endure, and it'll

change tomorrow if you find some truth
you like better than yesterday's truth

For every AI byte you see, the next
search can show you the exact opposite

But church, the, the word of God is
living and active and stands forever

through all the rest of these things.

Again, the New Testament's full of
folks talking against false teaching.

Why would you have to talk
against false teaching?

It means it was there.

Like, this isn't new.

The, the, the competing truths and, and
things in the world around us, like,

we're not the first to face people saying,
"Oh, there's this better truth than God."

For all of history, that's been the case

But coming back to this, Christians
throughout history and across the

world have believed and do believe that
the whole Bible is the word of God.

Not just the, the 20th century red
letter translations that for some

reason separate Jesus' words from the
words of God as if Jesus wasn't God

or was better than God or something.

The whole Bible is the word of God.

Christians believe the whole Bible
is the witness to Jesus, and point

to his works and his words, sometimes
by contrast and sometimes by seeing

him fulfill something in the future.

Christians across the world, throughout
history, believe that the Bible is

full of God's doctrines and commands.

And if that's true, y'all, we don't
have to obey and follow and pursue his

commands as if God's some killjoy, but
rather we get to obey and follow and

pursue his truth because it's enduring.

And because Christians throughout
centuries have believed that what God

says is good, it's actually good for you.

And so he's not a mean God who's
hidden what he wants, he's, he's

shown us and we get to pursue the
things of God because they're better

for you than all those other things

And yeah, that's hard
to believe sometimes.

But that's why I'm glad that God is
more devoted to us than we are to him.

It's 'cause it's not our words that are
living and active and will never fade.

We're, we're tossed about, but his
word, even when we have a hard time

following it, remains true and committed.

Is that good news?

And Christians believe that the
whole Bible points to Jesus as good

news more than any other teaching.

If, if you, if you wrestle with that,
if you wrestle with the Bible, our

family's walking through Alpha with
a few folks in the room, there's a

session on the authenticity of the Bible
compared to other historical books.

It's, it's worth a chat if you're curious
about why Christians believe the Bible.

But that's kind of beyond the scope
of what we're talking about today.

Because bottom line, the first
church in history was devoted to the

apostles' teaching, and the apostles'
teaching shaped their whole lives.

And so if we're trying to follow Jesus
today, and I believe most of us in the

room wanna follow Jesus, some of us
don't follow Jesus, and what you need

to know is, like, this, this religious
text that we have, 'cause most religions

have some sacred text, this religious
text we have, like we, we believe is

actually from our God, and he shows us
himself, and he invites us into his text.

And if you wanna follow Jesus today,
like your, your whole life gets to

be shaped by the apostles' teaching

And we're gonna move into
a time of communion, so you

can go to the next slide.

So the culmination of the
apostle's teaching is his

death and resurrection for you.

The culmination of his teaching
isn't do this, do that, follow this.

The culmination is his
death and resurrection, and,

and that's what they saw.

That, that was the eyewitness that
changed each person and changed the world.

The, the death and resurrection
was the primary way that Jesus

fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.

His death and resurrection is primarily
what makes him good news and what,

what shows God's word to be true

And if I can say this, wh- while, while
every religion or worldview has some,

some sacred text, only Christianity's
honest enough to admit that you can't

and you won't follow all of it, and
your whole life won't be changed by it.

And, and there'll be days where you,
like, try really hard, and there'll

be days where you just frankly don't.

And Christianity's honest
enough to admit that.

'Cause for all of our attempts to be
devoted to God and to the apostles'

teaching and to each other and all
the other things, like, you will fail

But the good news is that the apostles
t- teaching is about Jesus and His grace.

And on the night that He was given
up, Jesus broke bread and said,

"This is my body broken for you."

And He took a cup and passed it around
and said, "This is my blood poured

out for the forgiveness of sin,"
which includes even your lack of

devotion to Him and to His teaching

And because of Jesus' death,
everyone is invited to God's table.

No matter what teaching has shaped
you, there's an opportunity to be

restored to God's family and, and to
find a better truth, a lasting truth

And while the rest of the world and
all the other teachings put more and

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