1st Talk

Hello again supporters! I gave my first talk @ SLU this past Monday. I exposited on Ephesians 2:11-22 where Paul is addressing the church there about how they are trying to define themselves as Christian believers. The people there at the time believed that God did save people through grace based upon His original covenant with Abraham. However, they believed that because the promise was made to Abraham and his offspring, the Israelites, it didn't apply to those who weren't directly related to Abraham --- unless, they were marked through circumcision, therefore identifying them as 'children of God'.
There is of course something wrong with that picture. Paul corrects their thinking in Ephesians 2:11-22 by redefining the power of Christ as the force that identifies and unites us as a body of believers -- not circumcision. Today this means that Christianity is NOT about quiet times, devotionals, Bible Studies, Laws, church attendance etc... which is revolutionary for many students at SLU.
To help the students process through this rather abstract concept - we spent 30 min at the end of the evening in reflective worship where students were also offered the opportunity to write on a piece of parchment paper something they wanted to offer to Christ that was a pattern of this world they felt trapped in. We then tied these pieces of paper to a tower of incense (in the OT incense represented both God's presence and purity) to help us better picture our prayer being offered to God as symbolized by the smoke and the Holy Spirit poured out among the people as symbolized by the scent diffusing in the room.
Please continue to pray that the students will continue to strive to define themselves as believers by the transformation Christ does in them - by the breaking of the usual patterns that exist in today's society.