New Humanity in the Gospel

I still think this is one of the best sermons I've ever heard.

Easter Weekend

Below is an update on my Easter weekend. It was originally posted to the Rebirth: East St. Louis blog (where I work). Enjoy reading it. For the full posts, and some sweet pictures and video, check out:
An East St. Louis Easter
Video and Pics

I hope everyone had a good Easter weekend. Mine was a particularly good Easter. I was able to go home, be with family, see friends and enjoy some really good food! What made it even better, is that I had the unique opportunity this weekend to share all of those things with a couple of our East St. Louis guys, Cortez Spencer and Luther Wright. Yes, that is correct. This weekend I had the privilege of having Cortez and Luther come up and spend Saturday and Sunday with my family and me. The weekend was an awesome experience on many different levels.

 First, the weekend was a great chance to simply spend some quality time with Cortez and Luther, continuing to build our relationship and get to know them better. We were able to play some pickup basketball, meet several of my teammates from college, cookout on Saturday night, go to church on Sunday, and have an Easter feast with the rest of my extended family. I really think the weekend, and being in a different context, allowed for several unique conversations about God, life, circumstances, etc… As you can imagine, an entire weekend along with a 4.5 hour car ride is a great chance to share in some good conversation.

 Also, as I reflect back on the weekend, I think it was a great picture of reconciliation. In the gospel, Jesus breaks down all the existing barriers and walls that both separate us from God, and that separate us from each other. Because of Good Friday (Christ’s death) and Easter (Christ’s resurrection), these barriers are completely shattered. The gospel reconciles us to God, and also reconciles us to each other. For those who don’t know, I grew up in Wheaton, IL, which, socio-economically, may be the polar opposite of East St. Louis. It’s affluent, the crime rate is nearly non-existent, and the population is mostly white. Having Cortez and Luther up was a huge reminder of how Jesus unites us. Only the gospel can bring together a random guy from Wheaton, IL and two sophomore high schoolers from East St. Louis together.  As the Apostle Paul writes, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” In other words, Jesus breaks down the religious, racial, ethnic, geographic, and economic barriers that would otherwise separate us. He completely shatters the hostility that exists between us (Ephesians 2). I think Cortez and Luther coming up to Wheaton was a picture of how Christ has broken down certain barriers for all of us. It was a beautiful scene to be sitting around a table, sharing meals with each other, learning from one another, and mutually enjoying good fellowship with one another. There are many differences that exist between us, but in Christ, we are one. We are united under the good news of Jesus. Praise God for the way he not only reconciles us to God, but also reconciles us to each other!

 I think the coolest thing about the weekend was simply the opportunity for Cortez, Luther and I to mutually share in each other’s lives’. Shane and I spend a great deal of time in East St. Louis. We are at the school, in the kids’ neighborhoods, on the football field. We have tons of opportunities to share in their life. This weekend was such a great chance to have two guys share and be a part of my life. I can’t even describe how blessed I have been through guys like Cortez and Luther, and in particular, how much of a blessing it was to have them spend the weekend with my family. This weekend wasn’t a one-way exchange. I can recall how Cortez was able to play the piano with my nana (Grandma). At one point, she was improvising Amazing Grace on the piano while Cortez was belting out the words. Imagine that! An 86 year old Italian women from the south side of Chicago collaborating with a 17 year old African-American from East St. Louis to play a rendition of Amazing Grace. It was priceless! It was also cool to see the way in which Cortez and Luther were able to encourage the many people they met this past weekend. Their stories, and the evident ways in which God is working in their lives were such a blessing to those who they met. This weekend certainly was not a one-way exchange. Rather, I’d argue Cortez and Luther were much more of a blessing to my family and I than we were to them. Their courage in traveling up to a completely foreign place, to stay with a bunch of strangers is not only commendable, but is an inspiration. I am thankful for these guys!

New Ethnics in Christ Sermon

Ok, I know this is a 55 minute sermon that I doubt most people will take the time to listen to, but this was preached at the Church I go to (The Journey) this past summer. The person preaching is Leonce Crump, a former NFL player who is currently a pastor in Atlanta. This is one of the better sermons I've ever heard. If you have time, please listen.

Everything in Common

Here's a quick update on the latest Bible study we've had with the ministry I work with, Rebirth: East St. Louis. Pretty sweet to be discussing the story line of Creation-Fall-Redemption-Restoration with a bunch of 13-18 year olds. I'm amazed at God's story of redemption, and even how he brings people together who seemingly have nothing in common. 

Yet, in the story of God's grace, we have everything in common. We are all beautifully and uniquely made in the Creator's image, created to intimately know God, and be shamelessly united to each other. We have all rebelled, and as a result, we all experience deep pain, brokenness and struggle. Our relationship to God is severed, and our relationships with one another are broken. Yet, we are left with echoes of Eden in our hearts. We all still long for what life was supposed to be like, what it was like in the Garden of Eden. We long for to be reconciled to God and to each other. This reconciliation that we all to some degree or another desire and long for, is found in God's Son Jesus, who came to die, so that WHOEVER believes may inherit true life. And for all of us who trust in Jesus, we will one day be united to him, back in perfect harmony. We will experience the intimate fellowship with one another that we long for. There will no longer be death, or tears, or crying, or pain, or struggle. Everything will be made new, and together, as one people, we will worship God. 

The New Ethnics in Christ

"In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." Colossians 3:11

Such a powerful verse. The gospel completely shatters ethnic superiority, racism, classism, socio-economic elitism. It shatters geographical boundaries separating the rich and poor, the haves and the have-nots. I long to see this verse realized in the Church of Jesus Christ. It is unfortunate that in most churches, as Dr. Martin Luther King once said,  Sunday morning is the most segregated day of the week. In the evangelical church, we love treating the gospel as a personal devotional to make ourselves feel comfort and security. Yet, we fail to let the gospel penetrate deep enough into our souls, to realize the social implications; to realize that Christ is reconciling ALL things that were broken in the fall. Ethnic superiority, racism, classism, socio-economic elitism etc, are all a result of the fall. The gospel transforms society. Christians are part of a new ethnicity, one in which we are all one in Christ, where no person is above or below the other. Here is a quote on this verse (Colossians 3:11) from Leonce Crump in a sermon he preached at The Journey this past summer. I love this vision. 

"We long to become a new race all together; a beautiful tapestry of God's creation, called and chosen by Him for something bigger than ourselves. As such, we are deeply committed to being intentionally trans-cultural"

John Piper and Tim Keller: The Gospel and Race

I seriously can't wait for this! Two of my biggest heroes (Piper and Keller) talking about a subject very close to my heart. Also, Anthony Bradley (Covenant Theological Seminary grad and former professor) will be moderating. Tune in Wednesday, March 28th 6-8pm (central time).


Invitation to Piper and Keller on Race & the Christian from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Christ: The Remedy to Partiality

"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith

in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory."

Commenting on this verse, John Piper writes, 

"But James's point is this: if you know Christ as the Lord of glory-if you trust him as the one who is gloriously gracious and gloriously merciful and gloriously forgiving and gloriously strong and gloriously wise and gloriously loving-then you won't be controlled by this craving for human glory or by this fear that uses partiality to be safe. Christ will be your glory-all the glory you need. And Christ will be your security-all the security you need."

The Gospel is Not Right Wing or Left Wing

Currently, John Piper's new book 'Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian', is blowing me away. In it, Piper deals with the issue of racism and how the Gospel transforms racial relations and restores ethnic harmony. There is a lot more to be said there, but nonetheless, this book has opened my eyes to just how big and glorious the Gospel is, and just how negligent I can be regarding how the Gospel impacts my relationships with people and the pursuit of justice.

One section in particular that I found interesting was on the Gospel and politics. It the tendency of many Christians to pursue equality, justice or racial reconciliation through the ideology of a certain political party. Right wing or left politics aren't the answer to social justice. The Gospel is. I think many Christians make a huge error of trying to associate their political party with Christianity, as if one is more aligned with the Christian message. Piper writes,

"Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is not an ideology or a philosophy or a methodology or a therapy but a supernatural in-breaking of God into our lives, I am concerned at how many Christians do not bring it to bear personally, critically, and explosively on the political right and left. It seems to me that too many Christians gravitate to right-wing or left-wing politics because they see some parallel between a political plank and a part of the gospel. It's like saying that the party that uses candles must be the true one because they're shaped like sticks of gospel dynamite. The gospel was meant to explode with saving power in the lives of politicians and social activists, not help them decorate their social agenda. 


Jesus did not come into the world to endorse anybody's platform. He doesn't fit in. He created the world. He holds it in being by his powerful word. He will return some day to judge the living and the dead. And he came the first time to die so that left-wing activists and right-wing talk-show hosts would be broken in pieces for their sin and put back together by the power of grace. He came so that from that day on Jesus himself would be the supreme treasure and authority of our lives. He came so that we would become radically devoted to the glory of God. He came so that the only kind of racial diversity and racial harmony we would pursue is Jesus-exalting, God-glorifying, and gospel formed."

Gospel: The End of Arrogance

I've been looking forward to starting John Piper's new book, 'Bloodlines: Race, Cross, And The Christian'. Thus far, I've had the pleasure of diving into the forward by Tim Keller and Piper's preface. Here's a quote from the preface.

"God has spoken. And he has acted. He has entered our world in the person of his Son. His word, his action, and his incarnation are the end of ethnic arrogance for those who embrace him as the Treasure of their lives."

What a great reminder that the Gospel is the end of all pride, whether it be pride in social, academic, monetary, or ethnic status. At the cross, I see how truly sinful I am. I see that Mike Berttucci is so jacked up that this (a bloody crucifixion) was the necessary ramification for my sin. I'm so bad that Christ had to die for me. Yet, I am so loved by God that he was pleased rescue me. Jesus went to the cross for the joy set before him. From this perspective, it seems pretty silly to think that I am, in any way, better than another human. I am saved solely by the grace of God. Christ died for me when I was yet a sinner (Romans 8:5). This is the end of arrogance, whether it is ethnic arrogance, or simply arrogance in personal relationships. The Gospel ends arrogance.