Mosaic Boston

Deep down we all long for a perfect kingdom. We all long for a perfect king. And to a certain extent we’re all upset that neither of those seem to exist. What if that perfect kingdom does exist? What if we could be a part of it? For the next four weeks, we'll dive into the book of Colossians and begin a new four-week series entitled, “Supernaturalization: Heavenly Citizenship for the Here and Now.”

Just a casual google search for the "occult in Boston" opens a whole world of Boston's spirituality. Astrology, horoscopes, Ouija boards, yoga, the occult, signs of the zodiac, psychics, witchcraft, parapsychology, magick, palmistry, tarot cards, numerology, séances, necromancy, channeling, voodoo, charms, hexing, etc. Why the prevalence of "spiritual" groups in a bastion of secularism like Boston? How are Christians to think about these things? Join us as we look at Jesus among New Age Spirituality.

Since our culture has rejected even the idea of ultimate meaning in life, the only point that is left is to have a good time, the pursuit of personal happiness. Since we have no idea what leads to ultimate happiness, we conflate happiness with pleasure. The pursuit of happiness becomes the pursuit of maximum pleasure, which paradoxically leads to maximum pain.

What is truth? Which one? Our culture worships the unholy trinity of pluralism (all truths are true), relativism (it's true for you, not for me), and humanism (you are the definer of truth). What do we do with Jesus among the Pluralists?

Modern atheists are not content to just personally believe in no God; they want to do everything possible to convert you to their godless religion. Their main weapons are not reason and science but ridicule and cynicism. It's hard to win many over to full-fledged atheism, because it's nearly impossible to live out the dark implications of this faithless faith. However, what they are successful in doing, is giving millions of young people intellectual cover to be agnostic (or "nones").

Scripture distinguishes between the nonbeliever and the false teacher. While Scripture commands us to be hospitable and to share the Gospel, Scripture is also abundantly clear that we must "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). In this week's sermon, we examine the four characteristics of Christian cults, so we can grow in spiritual discernment.

The Hindu teacher Swami Sivananda writes, "The fundamentals or essentials of all religions are the same. There is difference only in the non-essentials." Many today have passively accepted this sentiment. It's the mood of our city and age. We long for unity amidst diversity. However, pretending our real differences don't actually exist leads to superficial unity, which is tenuous at best, and dangerous at worst. The major world religions are not all the same. They do not point to the same God. In this week's sermon, we dive into Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, and look straight at the facts.

Over the next several weeks we’ll be taking a look at how Jesus compares to other major worldviews and religions. We begin by investigating Jesus himself. Who did Jesus claim to be? What evidence is there to support his claims? How do we explain the origins of the Christian faith? As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

At Mosaic Boston, we take the beginning of September to refocus our vision, and reignite our hearts to serve Jesus and our city. Since day one, we have said that Mosaic Boston is in the city for the city. So what does it mean to love our city?

Who is Mosaic Boston? What do we value? What is our mission? How are we going to fulfill our mission? Every year around this time, we pause and remind ourselves why we do what we do. For our members, it's important to remind ourselves of our vision and mission and get remobilized and inspired. And if you're new to Mosaic Boston, or if you have not yet visited, this sermon is for you!

In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus is invited to a dinner party at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. Through the story, we see a shocking picture of what true love, worship, and discipleship look like in Jesus' Kingdom–when a notorious prostitute crashes a Pharisee’s party.

It’s often easier to admit misconceptions we had as kids, but as we get older it’s often more difficult to see where we have them now. Even once we recognize an error in our understanding, it can still be hard to admit it. In Luke 7:18-35 to see John the Baptist’s misunderstanding about Jesus, and how Jesus redeems even our misconceptions today.

In a fallen world, where sadness is ubiquitous and death imminent, we must learn to grieve well. Jesus was called a man of sorrows. He knew grief. He steps into our grief. He grieves and weeps with us. He teaches us to grieve, but not as those without hope.

Is God ever surprised? Of course not. He knows all: past, present, and future. However, in Luke 7, Jesus "marvels" at the faith of a Roman Centurion, one of the last people anyone would expect to become a Christian. Christ even says, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” In response to such "surprising" faith, Jesus released His power in the Centurion's life. What was so "marvelous" about this man's faith? How can we develop a similar faith?

When Jesus talks about our obedience to God, it's nearly impossible for us not to think of our obedience to God in terms of conditional love and approval: if I'm good, God loves me; if I mess up, He shuns me. Is that the case? Also, if God loves me unconditionally, why should I obey? Why not live any way I choose, and then run home when I need Him? In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus calls his followers to build a foundation of obedience for our lives, an obedience that is propelled by love.

We live in a culture intoxicated with scandals, especially high-profile ones. We find these highly entertaining. We just can't look away. Deep down inside, we love the feeling of contempt. It allows us to feel better about our own fallenness: "At least I'm not as bad as that person." In Luke 6:37-45, Jesus calls us out for our contempt of hypocrites. He tells us that we are all hypocrites. We are all hypocrites with beams stuck in our eyes, condemning the speck of another's hypocrisy, and in our condemnation we only compound our own.

In a world that teaches us to fear and hate our enemies and to treat people the way they treat us, Jesus commands us to love our enemies and treat people the way we would want to be treated by them. It’s a radical idea, but He wants the lives of His disciples to not only be marked with holiness and devotion to God, but also by mercy and grace toward others (even enemies).

What is a cojourner? This is more than someone you grab an Uber with across town or your wing-man at a party. For the Christian, to be a cojourner is to come alongside others on their spiritual journey and help point them to Jesus Christ. We'll be jogging through Acts 17 to see some good episodes of the Apostle Paul being a good cojourner to different types of people.

What is the blessed life? What do we mean when we say "God Bless America" as we'll hear over and over this week? What are you asking for, when you ask for God's blessings? How many of those "blessings" can be reduced to materialism–jobs, money, or housing? Then, once we get those things, how long does our feeling of "blessedness" last, before we start asking for more? When Jesus talked about the "Blessed" life, it's the opposite of what we often consider blessing!

Legalism repeatedly rears its ugly head, both in the Scriptures, and in our lives. Legalism divorces law from love, commandments from covenant. The reason why Jesus deals with legalism so often is because every single one of us wrestles with it at some point, at least to some degree. How can you discern whether you struggle with legalism?