Newsletter: Beware Stiff-Neckedness
Dear Mosaic Family,
One of the most descriptively vivid and uncannily accurate phrases God uses to describe the sinful human condition is "stiff-necked." If you have a small child, or even a dog, you're intimately aware with the behavior this phrase describes. When a child is told it's time to get off the swing and go home, but they refuse. You go to pick them up, and they stiffen their body (adding what seems like 20 pounds to their body weight). Or when you're walking a dog and it refuses to turn a corner. The neck gets stiff, to match the posture of heart.
The book of Nehemiah recounts the history of the people of Israel with the following words: "But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them." (Nehemiah 9:16-17).
The people of Israel saw breath-taking miracle after breath-taking miracle. Yet, once free from Egyptian slavery, they refused to submit to God. Instead of submitting to God, they sought to return to Egypt into the shackles of slavery. Any reasonable person would say, what?! How does this make sense? Well, sin doesn't make sense. Sin makes fools of each of us.
Therefore, in Mark 8:15, Jesus cautions his disciples, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." Beware that you do not get infected with this same stubborn unbelief, the stiff-neckedness of the Pharisees and of Herod. Both were stiff-necked, but in seemingly opposite ways.
The Pharisees played the religious game. They pretended to be followers of God. But they weren’t following God’s Law. They were following people’s interpretations of God’s Law. They were following human traditions, which were taught as commandments of God, thus proving, they didn’t love God, nor submit to His authority. Though they presented themselves as people who knew God, when God showed up, they didn’t recognize Him. Don’t stiffen your neck when the Word of God corrects your traditional thought patterns. “I could never believe that!”; “I could never believe in a God who commands that!”
Herod, on the other hand, didn’t even pretend to be obedient to God. He was the King. Who was God to tell Him what to do? He did as He pleased. He was a Law unto Himself. When John the Baptist called Herod to repentance, Herod surprisingly loved the sermons. However, he loved His sin too much to repent and change his lifestyle. Both the Pharisees and the Herodians had the same leaven: a refusal to release power over their life to God; a stubborn refusal to repent, believe and obey Jesus Christ.
Join us Sunday as we meditate on Mark 8:11-21.
Looking forward to worshiping with you!
Pastor Jan
This Week's Announcements
Membership 101 Class
This Sunday, January 21 from 1-3pm
If you are a believer who has been attending our services, we encourage you to consider making the transition from attending as a “guest” to partnering as a “member” of our church family. Members make a commitment with one another to serve (and to be served) as a local community of believers through attending services, serving regularly, and joining a community group. RSVP here.
Community Lunch
Sunday, February 4 at 1pm
Join us the first Sunday of each month for food and fellowship following the second service. Feel free to invite others. Please RSVP here so we can plan for enough food.
Serve with us
At Mosaic Boston, we serve because Jesus served. The Gospel makes us a family marked by Christlike humility and service to God, to his church, and to the people around us. We can all play an eternally significant role in Jesus’ mission. Service Teams are a key aspect of our Sunday operations and meet Sundays before, during, or after Worship Services. We have a huge need across many of our teams, you can find more information and get involved here.
Songs for Sunday
If you would like to know what we'll be singing on Sunday, you can find the playlist here.
Check out our full calendar of events here.