WEBVTT 00:00:04.750 --> 00:00:07.009 Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of 00:00:07.009 --> 00:00:09.390 Trinity Sermons. This week, we're continuing 00:00:09.390 --> 00:00:12.289 our teaching series called This is the Way, where 00:00:12.289 --> 00:00:14.769 we're uncovering spiritual practices that help 00:00:14.769 --> 00:00:17.410 us dive deeper into our faith as we follow the 00:00:17.410 --> 00:00:20.850 way of Jesus. And today, we are excited to welcome 00:00:20.850 --> 00:00:23.910 a special guest, Kristen Dede Johnson, who is 00:00:23.910 --> 00:00:26.469 an author, theologian, and speaker, as well as 00:00:26.469 --> 00:00:28.690 the current principal of Wycliffe College in 00:00:28.690 --> 00:00:31.289 Toronto. Kristen is going to be sharing with 00:00:31.289 --> 00:00:33.850 us about how to read the Bible, and also about 00:00:33.850 --> 00:00:36.469 her own experiences with the transformative power 00:00:36.469 --> 00:00:39.729 of Scripture, and how we don't just read God's 00:00:39.729 --> 00:00:42.969 Word, but we have to allow God's Word to really 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:50.369 read us. Today's reading is from the Gospel of 00:00:50.369 --> 00:01:15.049 Luke, chapter 1, verses 1 to 13. The devil said 00:01:15.049 --> 00:01:20.250 to him, If you are the Son of God, tell this 00:01:20.250 --> 00:01:25.349 stone to become bread. Jesus answered, It is 00:01:25.349 --> 00:01:31.069 written. Man shall not live by bread alone. The 00:01:31.069 --> 00:01:34.750 devil led him up to a high place and showed him 00:01:34.750 --> 00:01:38.109 in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 00:01:39.069 --> 00:01:43.150 And he said to him, I will give you all their 00:01:43.150 --> 00:01:46.269 authority and splendor. It has been given to 00:01:46.269 --> 00:01:50.069 me and I can give it to anyone I want. If you 00:01:50.069 --> 00:01:55.069 worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered, 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:59.400 It is written, Worship the Lord your God and 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:05.400 serve him only. The devil led him to Jerusalem 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:09.560 and had him stand on the highest point of the 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:14.800 temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.259 yourself down from here, for it is written, he 00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:22.439 will command his angels concerning you to guard 00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:25.840 you carefully. They will lift up their hands 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:28.379 so that you will not strike your foot against 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:33.960 a stone. Jesus answered, It is said, Do not put 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:37.860 the Lord your God to the test. When the devil 00:02:37.860 --> 00:02:41.139 had finished all his tempting, he left him until 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:45.199 an opportune time. This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:46.250 --> 00:02:48.789 Many of you are not from an Anglican background, 00:02:48.969 --> 00:02:52.590 and that might mean that you don't know the very 00:02:52.590 --> 00:02:55.689 special relationship that Trinity Streetsville 00:02:55.689 --> 00:02:59.689 has with Wycliffe College. Wycliffe College is 00:02:59.689 --> 00:03:03.009 an Anglican theological school. It's associated 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:07.810 with the University of Toronto. I studied at 00:03:07.810 --> 00:03:11.449 Wycliffe College and graduated in 2004. There's 00:03:11.449 --> 00:03:13.810 many people in our midst today who have studied 00:03:13.810 --> 00:03:17.949 at Wycliffe. Britton, who was singing this morning, 00:03:18.009 --> 00:03:21.590 has also studied there. And we have members of 00:03:21.590 --> 00:03:23.569 our congregation who have served on the board 00:03:23.569 --> 00:03:26.689 of Wycliffe College. In fact, Bob Motes, who's 00:03:26.689 --> 00:03:29.650 here today, is currently a board member at Wycliffe. 00:03:29.909 --> 00:03:34.009 And, of course, in his other job, our electric 00:03:34.009 --> 00:03:37.310 guitarist here this morning, Justin Stratus, 00:03:37.349 --> 00:03:40.530 serves as the academic dean at Wycliffe. So there's 00:03:40.530 --> 00:03:42.669 these real—oh, and I should say that a previous 00:03:42.669 --> 00:03:45.370 rector, Harold Percy, established the— Institute 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:47.969 of evangelism at Wycliffe college. So there is 00:03:47.969 --> 00:03:52.250 this really deep. between Trinity Streetsville 00:03:52.250 --> 00:03:54.449 and Wycliffe, which is why it's so especially 00:03:54.449 --> 00:03:57.650 meaningful this morning that I get to welcome 00:03:57.650 --> 00:04:01.889 our guest preacher. Dr. Kristen Deedee Johnson 00:04:01.889 --> 00:04:06.729 is the principal of Wycliffe College. And before 00:04:06.729 --> 00:04:09.710 coming to Toronto, Kristen served as the dean 00:04:09.710 --> 00:04:13.629 and vice president of academic affairs at Western 00:04:13.629 --> 00:04:19.170 Theological Seminary in Michigan. She's a theologian. 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:24.060 She's a leader. She is a teacher who cares deeply 00:04:24.060 --> 00:04:28.579 about helping the church to think well and to 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.800 live faithfully in today's world. Kristen has 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:35.160 written and spoken widely, you know, whether 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:38.620 it's university classrooms or podcasts or churches. 00:04:38.939 --> 00:04:42.339 In fact, one of her books, which she co -authored, 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.620 called The Justice Calling, was named one of 00:04:45.620 --> 00:04:48.279 the books of the year by Christianity Today. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:51.899 So beyond all that, though, I know Kristen is 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:56.579 passionate about equipping leaders for ministry 00:04:56.579 --> 00:05:01.259 and helping the church engage with culture and 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:03.839 to do that with conviction and grace. So I hope 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:07.079 that you will join me in giving Kristen a very 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:09.959 warm Trinity welcome as she preaches for us today. 00:05:10.019 --> 00:05:20.339 Kristen. Thank you for the warm welcome and such 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:22.439 a gift to be with you. I've heard a lot about 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:25.500 you, and it's a joy to be with you this morning, 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.240 to be worshiping alongside colleagues like Karen 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:30.540 and Justin and board members and friends of the 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:32.959 college, graduates and current students as well. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:38.060 Let's pray together. God, we ask that the words 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:41.120 of my mouth and the meditations of all of our 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:44.199 hearts would be acceptable in your sight. In 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:48.300 Jesus' name, amen. Well, I do want to bring greetings 00:05:48.300 --> 00:05:50.680 from Wycliffe and just to say again that it's 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:53.439 a gift to be with you this morning. We are grateful 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:55.680 for the long connections between Wycliffe and 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.560 Trinity Streetsville. And I'm also grateful to 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:01.519 be a part of this particular sermon series, your 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.579 new This Is The Way series, reflecting with you 00:06:04.579 --> 00:06:08.279 this morning on the practice of scripture. That 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:11.740 Jesus is calling us to follow him in every area 00:06:11.740 --> 00:06:15.290 of life. That this Christian faith is not just 00:06:15.290 --> 00:06:17.689 a belief, but is a way of life. These convictions 00:06:17.689 --> 00:06:20.389 that are guiding your series in the season of 00:06:20.389 --> 00:06:23.129 Lent, these are convictions that are very dear 00:06:23.129 --> 00:06:25.689 to my heart and have been shaping for me in my 00:06:25.689 --> 00:06:30.329 own callings. As I was reflecting on the importance 00:06:30.329 --> 00:06:32.790 of scripture and the spiritual discipline of 00:06:32.790 --> 00:06:35.569 study in anticipation of this morning with you, 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:39.819 I was reminded of the very first moment when 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:42.139 I realized that the words of the Bible could 00:06:42.139 --> 00:06:45.939 have a shaping impact on my life. A friend had 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:48.779 invited me to her youth group at a local Anglican 00:06:48.779 --> 00:06:50.779 church. I think one actually probably pretty 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:53.959 similar to this one in the United States. So 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:57.180 that was when I was in grade seven. And that's 00:06:57.180 --> 00:06:59.040 probably when I first started reading the Bible. 00:06:59.540 --> 00:07:02.639 But that wasn't right away that I saw its connection 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:05.959 to my life. It took a couple of years. I remember 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.259 I was navigating a challenging situation with 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:11.699 a friend, by that point, honestly, a former friend 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:16.120 at school who I thought was mistreating me. And 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:18.680 I was hurt, I was angry, and I was really unsure 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:22.300 how to approach this friend. I went to youth 00:07:22.300 --> 00:07:25.339 group and during Bible study, I remember hearing 00:07:25.339 --> 00:07:29.660 really for the first time these words, love your 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:33.779 enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:36.560 those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:41.079 you. I can still recall the sense of amazement 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:44.839 and conviction that I felt. Now I understand 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.459 that to be the work of the Holy Spirit. I was 00:07:47.459 --> 00:07:50.540 amazed that these words of Jesus spoken so long 00:07:50.540 --> 00:07:53.939 ago, being read from this book, could deeply 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:58.040 connect to my situation as a high schooler centuries 00:07:58.040 --> 00:08:02.660 later. And I was convicted that these words invited 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:06.420 me to follow a different way than I assure you 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:08.879 I would have taken had I not heard those words. 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:14.000 I needed God to shape my imagination, to work 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.959 through the Bible to help me think differently 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:20.339 about what it meant to love others, and over 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:23.160 time to use the words of Scripture to invite 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:26.279 me into a wholly different way of life than I 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:30.319 had known before becoming a Christian. This is 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.419 what Psalm 1 speaks of to those who are blessed. 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:37.600 It invites us to meditate on the law day and 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:40.059 night. The Hebrew word is more like chew on, 00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:44.419 ingest, and allow it to nourish and shape us. 00:08:44.620 --> 00:08:47.759 To meditate on the law day and night so that 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:50.500 we can become like trees planted by streams of 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:53.919 water. This, the psalm tells us, is the way of 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:56.899 the righteous, the way of life to which we're 00:08:56.899 --> 00:09:00.580 called. Being able to see differently and to 00:09:00.580 --> 00:09:03.919 live differently through the Spirit's work shaping 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:08.519 us as we study and meditate on Scripture. This 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:11.120 is what we're hoping for. I think through this 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:13.019 series, through the practices you're being invited 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:15.539 to, through our local churches and through places 00:09:15.539 --> 00:09:19.779 like Wycliffe College. I sometimes think about... 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:22.330 I don't know if you know the cultural phenomenon 00:09:22.330 --> 00:09:25.950 of kindergarten soccer. As a soccer mom, I can 00:09:25.950 --> 00:09:28.090 remember taking my five -year -old children, 00:09:28.190 --> 00:09:32.129 now 13 and 16, but they'd go to practices, and 00:09:32.129 --> 00:09:34.409 it would seem like they could do the drills. 00:09:34.690 --> 00:09:37.029 They could really follow what they were supposed 00:09:37.029 --> 00:09:39.690 to do, but you'd get to game time, and it really 00:09:39.690 --> 00:09:43.789 looked nothing like soccer. And I had this moment 00:09:43.789 --> 00:09:45.690 where I was in the midst of teaching a class 00:09:45.690 --> 00:09:48.549 on discipleship, and I thought, is this what 00:09:48.549 --> 00:09:51.340 we're doing? We invite people into the drills, 00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:54.620 the Sunday mornings, the Bible study, the meditation, 00:09:54.820 --> 00:09:57.600 the small groups. But isn't the point how it's 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:01.039 actually shaping our lives? How we move from 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:04.019 the practice to an embodied way of life in the 00:10:04.019 --> 00:10:06.960 world for Jesus seeking the kingdom? And are 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:09.379 we bridging that gap, right? That's what we're 00:10:09.379 --> 00:10:14.039 hoping for. So what we want to be doing in our 00:10:14.039 --> 00:10:16.580 churches and small groups and Bible studies and 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:20.360 our own spiritual practices. is to be inviting 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:23.820 the Spirit to actually shape how we live, how 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:28.759 we love, how we respond. To enable us, like Jesus 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:31.179 in the passage that Karen read for us today, 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:36.559 to respond with faith and trust in God when faced 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:40.200 with challenges and temptations. To see God's 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:43.779 way as the most true and beautiful and good. 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:47.240 To understand that the power and authority, the 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:50.559 glory and the splendor promised by the world 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.419 don't compare to the abundant life we have received 00:10:54.419 --> 00:10:57.600 in Christ and the gift of living each moment 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:02.519 in the light of the kingdom of God. As we continue 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:05.879 on in the 40 -day season of Lent, let us consider 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:08.279 what God might have for us to learn from Jesus 00:11:08.279 --> 00:11:11.460 during his 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:15.740 when he's tempted or tested by the devil. To 00:11:15.740 --> 00:11:18.120 set the stage behind this passage a little bit, 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.320 this encounter between Jesus and the devil happens 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:24.700 just after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist 00:11:24.700 --> 00:11:27.919 and just before he begins his public ministry. 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:31.000 He was given the gift of the Holy Spirit when 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.240 he was baptized, and the passage tells us that 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:36.779 the Spirit led him into the wilderness, presumably 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:39.379 for a season of final preparation for ministry. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:42.539 That was about to begin, and that ministry includes 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:45.340 the culmination in his death and resurrection, 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:48.059 towards which we're looking this Lent as we anticipate 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:52.740 Easter. So as we're thinking about the importance 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:56.100 of the study of the Bible this morning, I want 00:11:56.100 --> 00:11:58.919 to pause to note that each time Jesus is tempted 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.279 by the devil, he responds with words from the 00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:04.500 Hebrew Scriptures, or what Christians today call 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:07.779 the Old Testament. So the first temptation, the 00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:09.860 devil said to him, if you are the son of God, 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:13.820 tell this stone to become bread. Jesus answered, 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:16.700 it is written, man shall not live on bread alone. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:20.220 This verse is drawn from Deuteronomy 8 .3. Man 00:12:20.220 --> 00:12:22.820 does not live on bread alone, but on every word 00:12:22.820 --> 00:12:25.779 that comes from the mouth of the Lord. And this 00:12:25.779 --> 00:12:27.740 longer version is recorded in the temptation 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:32.039 story in the Gospel of Matthew. Not only does 00:12:32.039 --> 00:12:34.799 Jesus use the words of scripture to answer the 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.059 devil and resist the temptation, but the words 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:40.000 themselves point to the significance of the words 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:42.720 that God gives us in the Bible. We do not live 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:46.220 on bread alone, but are utterly dependent on 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:48.440 the words that come from the mouth of the Lord 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:51.759 that are captured in this sacred book. This is 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:54.080 part of what we remember when we fast from food, 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:57.620 a traditional Lenten exercise, our deeper reliance 00:12:57.620 --> 00:13:00.950 on God. our need from the sustenance that comes 00:13:00.950 --> 00:13:03.750 from God's words, God's wisdom, and ultimately 00:13:03.750 --> 00:13:07.990 God himself. The response to the devil's second 00:13:07.990 --> 00:13:10.190 temptation, worship the Lord your God and serve 00:13:10.190 --> 00:13:13.590 him only, comes from Deuteronomy 6, as do the 00:13:13.590 --> 00:13:16.070 words Jesus offers in response to the third temptation. 00:13:16.450 --> 00:13:19.330 It is said, do not put the Lord your God to the 00:13:19.330 --> 00:13:23.409 test. It's likely that following the common practices 00:13:23.409 --> 00:13:27.009 of Judaism in his day, Jesus's childhood included 00:13:27.009 --> 00:13:30.629 studying and memorizing the Torah, the first 00:13:30.629 --> 00:13:32.850 five books of the Bible, which would have included 00:13:32.850 --> 00:13:36.529 Deuteronomy. And we see evidence actually throughout 00:13:36.529 --> 00:13:39.070 Jesus's lifetime that the words of the Hebrew 00:13:39.070 --> 00:13:42.169 scriptures were deep within him and they emerged 00:13:42.169 --> 00:13:45.970 as needed, all the way to him quoting the Psalms 00:13:45.970 --> 00:13:50.389 as he was dying on the cross. Now we can imagine 00:13:50.389 --> 00:13:53.309 that if Jesus, who was fully God as well as fully 00:13:53.309 --> 00:13:57.070 human, needed to spend time with and even internalize 00:13:57.070 --> 00:13:58.970 the words of scripture, how much more do we, 00:13:59.149 --> 00:14:02.169 who only have the fully human part, need to spend 00:14:02.169 --> 00:14:04.789 time with every word that comes from the mouth 00:14:04.789 --> 00:14:09.629 of the Lord? But there's even more significance 00:14:09.629 --> 00:14:13.009 to the three verses that Jesus responds with 00:14:13.009 --> 00:14:16.620 coming from Deuteronomy. Because the 40 -day 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:20.259 reference is connected to the 40 years that the 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:22.840 Israelites spent waiting to enter the Promised 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:26.200 Land after they were rescued by God from slavery 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:29.820 in Egypt. And the desert where the temptations 00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:33.960 of Jesus take place is like the wilderness where 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:36.539 the Israelites spent this time of wandering. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:40.740 The verses themselves from Deuteronomy that Jesus 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:44.429 uses in their original context They point to 00:14:44.429 --> 00:14:47.070 temptations that the Israelites faced in the 00:14:47.070 --> 00:14:50.669 wilderness and times when they failed to resist 00:14:50.669 --> 00:14:55.590 temptation and failed to trust God. So today's 00:14:55.590 --> 00:14:58.409 passage from Luke is actually an invitation into 00:14:58.409 --> 00:15:00.710 the story of scripture that unfolds across the 00:15:00.710 --> 00:15:04.210 entire Bible. As one New Testament scholar writes, 00:15:04.429 --> 00:15:07.690 the content of the tests that Jesus not only 00:15:07.690 --> 00:15:12.129 endures but also passes. correspond to the tests 00:15:12.129 --> 00:15:14.889 that Israel faced in the wilderness, but failed. 00:15:15.549 --> 00:15:18.889 Jesus is tempted by hunger, as was Israel. But 00:15:18.889 --> 00:15:21.730 Jesus rebukes with the words, a person must not 00:15:21.730 --> 00:15:24.230 live on bread alone, where the Israelites simply 00:15:24.230 --> 00:15:26.830 complained, first about the lack of bread and 00:15:26.830 --> 00:15:28.909 then about the lack of variety in their diet. 00:15:29.830 --> 00:15:32.610 Jesus is tempted to engage in idolatrous acts 00:15:32.610 --> 00:15:37.039 by worshiping Satan, but he rebukes Satan. Israel, 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.200 however, succumbed to the temptation to commit 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.220 idolatry and fashioned gold in the image of a 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:46.700 calf and worshipped it. Jesus is tempted to test 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:49.840 God's faithfulness, as was Israel. Jesus rebuts 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:53.139 Satan, but Moses, when he challenged the Israelites, 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.340 why do you test the Lord? The people continued 00:15:56.340 --> 00:16:01.639 to complain. For Luke, the specific content of 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:05.409 the tests discloses. According to this scholar, 00:16:05.509 --> 00:16:09.429 that Jesus is Israel, God's son, who is called 00:16:09.429 --> 00:16:12.809 out of Egypt to complete Israel's exodus. And 00:16:12.809 --> 00:16:16.190 Luke also casts this scene as a reversal of Adam's 00:16:16.190 --> 00:16:20.690 disobedience. So Jesus' faithfulness in the face 00:16:20.690 --> 00:16:25.029 of temptation really comes to life when we place 00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:27.350 this in the context of earlier temptation stories 00:16:27.350 --> 00:16:30.090 within our canon of scripture, going all the 00:16:30.090 --> 00:16:32.779 way back to the temptation in the garden. In 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:35.120 the opening pages of Genesis, and including maybe 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:38.440 most prominently the Exodus narratives. So the 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:42.080 Exodus, where God's people were freed from slavery 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:47.820 by God and then struggled. And so Jesus is sort 00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:50.279 of placing himself in that story, right? And 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:53.100 finally completing the story where we can be 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:56.299 freed from our slavery to sin because of his 00:16:56.299 --> 00:17:00.500 faithfulness on our behalf. When we step back 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:03.059 and consider this passage in light of the longer 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:06.319 arc of salvation history, of God's redemption 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:09.779 story unfolding through generations and centuries, 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:13.640 the amazing grace of God made known to us in 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:18.460 Jesus Christ becomes all the more amazing. As 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:21.099 we study scripture, stepping back to place passages 00:17:21.099 --> 00:17:23.359 in the context of the larger story of scripture 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:26.799 not only brings into sharper relief the grace 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:30.170 and the steadfast love of our Lord, But I think 00:17:30.170 --> 00:17:32.250 it also helps us to engage with the passages 00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:37.009 more fully and faithfully. Now, I will confess 00:17:37.009 --> 00:17:39.349 in my own story of engaging with scripture, I 00:17:39.349 --> 00:17:40.809 already shared with you sort of that initial 00:17:40.809 --> 00:17:44.150 point. So a couple of years later, still in high 00:17:44.150 --> 00:17:46.049 school, I became aware of something called an 00:17:46.049 --> 00:17:48.779 exhaustive concordance. We don't really need 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:50.920 this anymore because we have the internet, but 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:53.059 you used to be able to buy a book about this 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:56.259 big and every word in the Bible was listed. And 00:17:56.259 --> 00:17:58.259 then you could see if you wanted to see, okay, 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:01.000 where else are temptations in the biblical story? 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:02.779 You look up the word temptation and list every 00:18:02.779 --> 00:18:06.000 verse. Well, I thought this was an amazing resource 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.259 and I asked for it as a birthday present. And 00:18:09.259 --> 00:18:11.980 I would, you know, if I heard a sermon on, there's 00:18:11.980 --> 00:18:14.660 a difference between biblical hope or biblical 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:17.359 joy and biblical unhappiness, I would sort of 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.960 go to each word and look it up. But I had never 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:25.240 heard about things like context and genre. I 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:27.180 only looked at the individual verse. I didn't 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:29.680 know that it was important that it's placed in 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:32.920 a chapter as part of a book and that there are 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:35.160 different kinds of books. Some are poetry and 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:37.680 some are wisdom literature and some are biographies. 00:18:38.380 --> 00:18:40.220 And I didn't know how they fit into the larger 00:18:40.220 --> 00:18:43.180 story of Scripture. Now, I do believe the Spirit 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:50.259 used that season. But I will say, I believe that 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:53.200 the Spirit can do even deeply formative work 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:56.680 when we engage on these other levels. So it took 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.660 me many years to learn that the study of Scripture 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:03.589 in light of Scripture is a real gift. And to 00:19:03.589 --> 00:19:05.210 learn that the different books of the Bible, 00:19:05.410 --> 00:19:08.509 these different genres, the letters, poems, compilations 00:19:08.509 --> 00:19:11.710 of wisdom are important to how we understand 00:19:11.710 --> 00:19:14.950 and can apply the texts. This is part of why 00:19:14.950 --> 00:19:17.210 I'm passionate about theological education for 00:19:17.210 --> 00:19:19.890 all, because learning these things really did 00:19:19.890 --> 00:19:23.829 alter and shape my reading of scripture. It's 00:19:23.829 --> 00:19:26.089 important to take the time to explore how the 00:19:26.089 --> 00:19:28.589 particular verses and passages we are studying 00:19:28.589 --> 00:19:31.470 fit into the chapter and the book where they're 00:19:31.470 --> 00:19:33.670 located, and also how they're connected to that 00:19:33.670 --> 00:19:36.269 larger story. Now, when it comes to the story 00:19:36.269 --> 00:19:38.369 of Scripture, there are different ways of understanding 00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:40.750 that story. Biblical scholars like N .T. Wright 00:19:40.750 --> 00:19:44.710 talk about it like a five -act play. Others have 00:19:44.710 --> 00:19:46.710 attempted to emphasize four parts. Maybe you've 00:19:46.710 --> 00:19:50.230 heard creation, fall, consummation, redemption. 00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:54.029 I tend to tell in terms of six chapters, the 00:19:54.029 --> 00:19:57.589 original creation, our fall, God's covenant with 00:19:57.589 --> 00:20:00.910 Israel, Jesus Christ, the central part of the 00:20:00.910 --> 00:20:03.809 story. Then there's the church and our calling 00:20:03.809 --> 00:20:06.970 here and now. And then the return of Christ, 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:10.049 who is coming to usher in the kingdom of God 00:20:10.049 --> 00:20:14.019 finally and fully. So practically speaking, I 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:15.960 would suggest that when we come to a text, we 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:18.240 do want to consider where it falls within the 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:20.240 story of Scripture and how that might impact 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:23.519 what's written. I was thinking about this a bit 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.960 yesterday. We had the Women's Breakfast at Wycliffe 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:27.859 College. This happens every fall and spring. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.059 And yesterday we were studying the Psalms and 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:34.299 how we might learn from engagement with the Psalms. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.119 Marian Taylor, who specially studies how women... 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:40.299 have engaged with scripture through the years, 00:20:40.380 --> 00:20:44.220 brought to light a woman writing decades ago 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:47.579 and inviting others to study the Psalms in a 00:20:47.579 --> 00:20:52.339 threefold way. Understand the original context 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:57.059 and then consider it in light of Christ. And 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:59.880 finally, reflect on how it applies to your life. 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:03.240 I think that's one concrete way of living into 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:08.970 what I'm suggesting. Now, another important thing 00:21:08.970 --> 00:21:11.990 that we want to note about scripture in our passage 00:21:11.990 --> 00:21:15.250 from Luke from this morning is that it's not 00:21:15.250 --> 00:21:18.369 only Jesus who quotes the Bible. Did you notice 00:21:18.369 --> 00:21:23.009 that? The devil himself uses scripture in the 00:21:23.009 --> 00:21:29.250 third temptation. He is citing Psalm 91. Now, 00:21:29.309 --> 00:21:32.190 this seems really important to pause to recognize. 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:37.119 Studying and memorizing the Bible is not in and 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:39.859 of itself a guarantee that scripture will shape 00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:43.140 and form us into faithful disciples. It's not 00:21:43.140 --> 00:21:46.640 a magic incantation that just by knowing it and 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:49.619 citing a verse magically we're formed and faithfully 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:53.500 following the way of Jesus. As you enter into 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:55.859 this series on Christian practices here at Trinity 00:21:55.859 --> 00:21:59.299 Streetsville, I want to venture a word of caution. 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:03.799 Christian practices can be used by the Spirit 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:06.819 to shape and form us, but it's not inevitable. 00:22:08.059 --> 00:22:10.740 When we consider practices as part of the life 00:22:10.740 --> 00:22:12.779 of Christian discipleship, we're talking about 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:15.819 more than developing habits that in and of themselves 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:18.539 will change your life and make you a better person. 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:22.359 In an important book called The Danger of Christian 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:24.579 Practices, Lauren Winner, who by the way will 00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:26.880 be speaking at Wycliffe in May at our annual 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:29.559 preaching day on a different topic, But she points 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:31.900 out that Christians who have regularly read the 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:35.559 Bible, prayed, gone to church, taken the sacraments, 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:39.519 all important Christian practices, have nevertheless 00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:43.559 done horrific things. We have to be aware that 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:46.380 practices alone do not lead us to faithfulness, 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:49.400 even as we can accept them as what Winner calls 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.539 damaged gifts, marred by sin, but still gifts 00:22:52.539 --> 00:22:55.039 from God that the Spirit can use in our lives. 00:22:56.269 --> 00:22:58.769 When it comes to scripture, I think that one 00:22:58.769 --> 00:23:01.410 thing that can get in the way of the Bible actually 00:23:01.410 --> 00:23:04.609 forming us into disciples who live the way of 00:23:04.609 --> 00:23:08.690 Jesus is not acknowledging the cultural lenses 00:23:08.690 --> 00:23:11.390 we are bringing with us as we read scripture. 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:14.750 This can take shape in very simple ways, even 00:23:14.750 --> 00:23:19.710 the simple English word you. From a Western culture 00:23:19.710 --> 00:23:22.819 that tends to prioritize the individual. And 00:23:22.819 --> 00:23:24.900 if we're reading in English, which only has a 00:23:24.900 --> 00:23:28.440 singular form of you, other languages have single 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:32.420 you and plural you. When those of us raised in 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:35.200 the West read certain passages, we automatically 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:38.640 assume it's meant for me personally and individually. 00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:42.279 And we may miss the ways that this is an invitation 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:46.140 into a family. a family story, and that Paul, 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:48.559 for example, when he uses the word you, almost 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:52.000 always is writing to an entire group of Christians, 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:55.019 issuing reminders for the whole body of Christ 00:23:55.019 --> 00:23:59.259 gathered in a particular place. So we hold this 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:01.099 kind of tension, I would say. We have places 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:04.599 like Romans 12 that talk about our need to be 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:08.339 transformed by the renewing of our minds. We 00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:10.720 don't want to be, Paul writes there, conformed 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:13.119 to the pattern of this world. We need to be transformed. 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:15.119 And that's part of why we look to Scripture, 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:18.279 to transform us, to help us do things like love 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:20.619 our enemies when we're 14 and don't have those 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:24.359 categories in my own story. But at the same time, 00:24:24.359 --> 00:24:26.019 when we go to Scripture, we're actually bringing 00:24:26.019 --> 00:24:28.740 our cultural lenses. So it takes a deep trust 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:32.339 that the Spirit can do that deeper work. And 00:24:32.339 --> 00:24:35.519 it takes a certain humility before the text to 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:41.180 invite the Spirit. to shape us. One of the ways 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:43.299 I would talk about this when I was teaching was 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:47.099 through the Greek myth, the Procrustean bed. 00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:49.880 So according to Greek mythology, there's this 00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:53.460 man, Procrusteus, and he liked to invite people 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:56.859 into his home. And he had a certain iron bed. 00:24:57.440 --> 00:25:00.460 And if you didn't fit in the bed, he would make 00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:03.539 sure to either stretch you, to fit into it or 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:05.839 chop parts of you off to fit into it, right? 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:09.480 The bed was what was central and he would shape 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:12.640 you to fit into it. That's really the inverse 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:16.460 of what we want. We want God to shape us through 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:18.339 our reading of scripture rather than us going 00:25:18.339 --> 00:25:20.400 to the Bible and saying, oh, that part doesn't 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:22.759 quite fit. I'm chopping that off. I'm not going 00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:25.579 to listen to that. So it's this perennial back 00:25:25.579 --> 00:25:28.180 and forth where we want the spirit to be shaping 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:30.740 us. But at the same time, we are bringing certain 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:34.210 lenses. And one way I think that we can become 00:25:34.210 --> 00:25:36.589 more aware of our lenses is reading the Bible 00:25:36.589 --> 00:25:39.549 in conversations with others who see it differently. 00:25:39.849 --> 00:25:42.990 This would be Christians from other times who've 00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:45.069 read the Bible faithfully in their own context, 00:25:45.069 --> 00:25:48.369 to be Christians from other places, races and 00:25:48.369 --> 00:25:51.390 ethnicities, reading the Bible together so that 00:25:51.390 --> 00:25:54.130 we're together wrestling with what the Spirit 00:25:54.130 --> 00:26:00.779 might be inviting us to see. And we also want 00:26:00.779 --> 00:26:05.400 to be aware of, to do just kind of one step further, 00:26:05.500 --> 00:26:08.240 as John Webster, a theologian, puts it, it's 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:10.279 not just our own cultural lenses, because that 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:13.019 can sound kind of neutral. We also have our own 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:16.880 sinful desire to alter, negate, or neutralize 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:19.960 the text. We don't always want it to convict 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:23.740 us and shape us. So we need to read, Webster 00:26:23.740 --> 00:26:27.369 says, with a certain posture of humility. And 00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:30.289 not approach it with a sense of mastery. But 00:26:30.289 --> 00:26:33.890 again, allow the spirit to give us a humble posture. 00:26:36.930 --> 00:26:40.430 Ultimately, as we read these words of scripture, 00:26:40.750 --> 00:26:44.930 we want to remember that the words point to the 00:26:44.930 --> 00:26:49.509 word. The word made flesh. Because in the beginning 00:26:49.509 --> 00:26:53.029 was the word. And the word was with God. And 00:26:53.029 --> 00:26:57.089 the word was God. The way John the Baptist always 00:26:57.089 --> 00:26:59.910 pointed to Jesus, the words of scripture are 00:26:59.910 --> 00:27:03.490 there to point us to Jesus. And as we're conformed 00:27:03.490 --> 00:27:07.210 to the image of Christ, it's really not as much 00:27:07.210 --> 00:27:09.990 about us and our transformation as it is about 00:27:09.990 --> 00:27:14.670 God, who in the flesh came to save us and redeem 00:27:14.670 --> 00:27:17.069 us and invite us by the Holy Spirit into the 00:27:17.069 --> 00:27:20.869 family of God. So we are grateful that the Spirit 00:27:20.869 --> 00:27:24.019 can form and transform us. even as we always 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:26.420 want to be remembering and pointing to Jesus 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:29.140 Christ. And that is what we will do together 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:31.259 in a few moments when we come to the table, remembering 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:33.599 that through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:37.140 we do have the power to become children of God 00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:40.400 because the word became flesh and dwelt among 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:44.130 us. Amen. Thanks for tuning in to this week's 00:27:44.130 --> 00:27:47.190 episode of Trinity Sermons. This sermon was recorded 00:27:47.190 --> 00:27:49.970 at Trinity Church Streetsville in Mississauga, 00:27:50.029 --> 00:27:53.450 Ontario on March 1st, 2026.