In Love? A Study of Solomon's Sensual Songs

A New Series at High View Church

Are you in love?

Do you understand the most sensual relationship on earth?

Our culture defines "being in love" as a feeling of romantic emotion between two people. The Bible would agree...it would actually add to that definition in areas of satisfaction and intimacy. Join us for our series on the Song of Solomon, and watch how the gospel redefines "being in love."

Sundays - Starting 10/4
10:30am
Tivoli on Auraria Campus - 4th Floor (900 Auraria Pkwy, Denver, 80204)

Questions On Church Membership

What is Membership?

Membership is an important part of the life of the church and of the individual (Rom. 12:4-5). Church unity seems to be an incredible concern for Paul, as he continually taught to “endeavor to keep the unity” of the Church and to function as “members” of the same body...with Jesus as the head. In our day, Church membership is just as vital to the spiritual development of believers, the care of the community, and the further progress of the gospel. It does seem that in Denver culture the idea of Church membership is met with a putrid reluctance. This may be because of the irrelevant function that membership has had over many years. It may, however, have to do with the resistance of individuals to be seen as “being a part of” a church. Whether a given church is worthy of someone’s membership is debatable, but the neglecting or refusal to become united (and therefore a member) to any church is forbidden in Scripture (Heb. 10:25).

Why Membership?

The reason we have membership is to practically complete High View’s mission of “training missionaries with the gospel.” By uniting in membership, we now practically function as one body for the progress of the gospel in the city. The benefits of membership are numerous, not only to the individual member, but also to the church in general and the community as well.

By submitting to Jesus as head of His body called the, “Church,” we enter into a family of God’s children that function as His agent of life change with everyone we come in contact. The member is a part of this body (like an arm or leg) that is to function as God’s means for change in this world. This change is the renewal of all things (Rev. 21:5), and is accomplished by those who unite themselves as members of His body (John 15:4).

Can I be an obedient Christian without being a member of a local church?

No. Repeatedly throughout the New Testament you hear Paul urge believers to be united. Jesus speaks of the church continuing the progress of the gospel. He urges believers to be united to him corporately for the “body” to function. Forsaking the gathering of believers is forbidden and is therefore disobedient.

The issue with this question is the term “member.” Many people think of their blockbuster membership or something like that when thinking about this term. Biblical membership is much different. Biblical membership involves submission to spiritual authority, accountability, service, giving, and community. In our day “church hopping” is very easy. If someone doesn’t like something, they simply go down the street to another church. The problem with this is that pastoring and shepherding a believer become virtually impossible. Why? Believers rarely know a pastor well enough to receive spiritual discipline. Pastors don’t know if they have permission to give such teaching. And all the while, church becomes full of arrogant Christians who cannot be corrected, and the gospel is stifled because the unattractive life of believers, witnessed by the culture, are with out any real help from a loving, strong spiritual authority. Membership assists in this regard by allowing a pastor permission to correct believers.


How to become a Member?

Click the following link for information on how to become a member of High View Church. http://www.highviewchurch.com/city/membership.

We have a New Members Class coming up - July 19th (lunch provided). RSVP by clicking HERE.

Kids Carnival at Children's Hospital: Help Needed!!!

You Can Help!

At the Kids Carnival...July 11th (1-3pm)

High View Church is sponsoring a day at Children's Hospital where kids and parents can forget about all the hurt that is going on in their lives.

For the Kids...
We thought that having some games, prizes, and cake would allow families to experience some fun relief from their troubles. They will be making crafts, decorating signs for their hospital door, singing great kiddie songs, and winning prizes at every game. They tell us that the kids love being visited and would cherish the time you spend with them. Will you volunteer?

For the Parents...
We would like to be able to provide a fun gift to the parents. Being in the hospital with my wife and now deceased little girl became a drag on my emotional life. That's why we want to be able to give a nice fun gift like movie tickets or food gift certificates to the parents so they can have a night for themselves. The cost is not very much especially if we come together. Will you contribute?

How you can help...
Below you will see a link for a volunteers form. On that form you will be able to sign up to volunteer on July 11th, donate item that are needed for the Carnival, and/or support this event finacially. However you can help will be greatly appreciated.

To volunteer click HERE.

High View Church in a Paragraph

The below paragraph was taken from a brochure we put together to help people know more about High View Church. I hope the description of our church is helpful for those of you who want to know more about what we do. Also, if you would like to download the entire brochure, please click HERE.

"High View Church is a new, young church in urban Denver that wants to see the gospel transform the city. We started this church in September of 2008 with a few core values about Jesus, Scripture, Mission, and the City. Our mission is to see people changed by Jesus through Scripture to embrace the Mission of transforming the City. Our ministry is simple, everything goes toward Jesus and everything comes from Jesus. We begin by connecting to Jesus. Knowing and loving Jesus by studying the Bible and living in community wiht others is our first step of city transformation. Next, we emphasize Growing in Scripture. Connecting with others in community groups serves as a vital environment to grow in Scripture. Also, living on Mission involves naturally showing love for Jesus in words about him and deeds toward the people God has placed in our lives. We call this, “Being a missionary with the gospel,” because we see our responsibility as knowing culture, loving people, and talking about Jesus in everyday language so the gospel can affect people today. Lastly, we want to Change the City. Denver’s need for the gospel will be met by people on mission looking to serve the city. When the City is served by someone on Mission, by showing love in word and deed, then Scripture gets taught naturally through his/her life and Jesus begins his transforming work. "

- Taken from High View Church brochure, available above.

Church Planters = Soldiers

During my trip to Chicago for the Gospel Coalition Conference, I visited my buddies at the Acts 29 Network booth. They were showing this video from Mark Driscoll on church planters. He goes through the thoughts behind what it takes to be a church planter. The ultimate goal of High View Church is to plant more churches in and around Denver. With that in mind, watch this video and see the importance of church planting and the kind of men needed to plant churches. Hopefully, you will walk away with an appreciation for the very difficult task of church planting.

CAUTION!!!! This video takes place in a cemetery and is very frank with certain sensitive issues.

Jesus' Teachings Do Not Save

I believe the statement "Jesus' teachings do not save" to be a true statement. I heard it in a sermon preached by Tim Keller on the Prodigal Son or as he puts it the Two Prodigals.

Every religions teaches that if you follow their teachings then you will receive a reward. Ultimately, they are claiming that the advice they give for your life will benefit you the most if you follow what they are saying. Even atheism functions this way. Saying there is no God is better than saying there is a God and therefore ultimately benefiting your life. Even some "Christians" believe that by practicing or following the teachings of Jesus, you will receive the ultimate reward of salvation or eternal life.

If people received their reward based on following the teaching of a given religions, then there would never be any assurance of anything. Why? If you are "judged" on the conduct of your life then you will have to wait for your life to be over in order to know if you followed correctly. So, your reward is put on lay-away until you have fulfilled the requirements.

The gospel is completely different from all religions in two ways. One, the gospel has its affect right now. When you rightly understand the gospel and respond in faith, you have a partial reward of the gospel right then. We are told that the Holy Spirit will help us in our life, we have the immediate forgiveness of sin, and his assistance in all areas of our life to remedy the affects of sin. The gospel is the good news that we are sons and daughters of God. And with that comes all the immediate benefits. The gospel is the good news of a new kingdom where all the prevailing attitudes are reversed (to become great you become weak, to be rich you become poor, etc.). The gospel is the good news of what Jesus did for you now.

My second point is that Jesus' teachings do not save...JESUS SAVES. The work of redeeming all things is accomplished by Jesus. You can not follow Jesus' teaching and expect to receive a reward...your reward is a gift of grace from him. It was his grace that was extended to you, it was his work that paid for sin, it was his life that will change your life. Certainly, Jesus' teachings are accurate and true and profitable for the Christian to hold to and love and even live by. He is the greatest teacher of all time and his commentary on life will help those who already believe in him become more like him. But, salvation is accomplished by him and him alone.

The implications of this huge. Some people think that when they become a Christian then get a second chance at life and "Now, I need to live a good life." It's like Jesus gave them salvation, but now they have to keep it with their "righteous" behavior. No, no, no. The gospel is the good news that Jesus did accomplish your redemption and that he is still working in the life of believers. Jesus' teachings are important for the understanding of how HE works in our life. Your job is simple..."have no other gods before him." Jesus saves and we love him for it.

Resistance to the Gospel

Over the years, and in dealing with people who oppose following Jesus I have identified two broad categories for their reasons why Christianity is not for them. Honestly, this is a difficult post, because, for the most part, I understand their initial assessment of Christianity and agree with the reasoning behind their opposition. So, in an attempt to help believers understand those whom they live with, I have categorized two main reason why people are opposed to Christianity.

Category 1: Intellectual Resistance

Of the two categories, those who resist Christianity do not typically and truly live in this category. Most people have "intellectual" reasons for not believing Jesus, but that is typically not the reason they oppose. Category 2 (in my opinion) is the predominate reason they oppose Christianity.

An intellectual resistance would be an argument from science or nature or philosophy or some other reasonable thought-out opinion. Someone who says they are not a Christian because the supernatural claims of Scripture are impossible based on scientific natural observations is making an intellectual argument. Their reason for opposition is in the truth-claims of Christianity, and their evaluation of these claims are deficient.

Varying approaches to apologetics (speaking in defense) try to help the unconverted by refuting their erroneous ideas concerning Christianity and really their entire worldview. Apologetic approaches range from Evidential (compiling evidence that will support Christian claims) to Pre-suppositional (finding the presumed truths of an opponent and attacking them). Most of these methods have some degree of merit, but I will propose a different approach.

Category 2: Experiential Resistance

I believe the majority of doubters fall in this category. An experiential resistance to the gosple can be from the poor example of a Christian to the fall of modern preachers to the stigma associated with being a Christian. I believe the primary reason for opposing Christianity lies in the experience people have concerning Christianity. And, I really can not fault them too much for their opinion. Christianity has some dark spots. With the crusades killing people in the name of the Lord to the Ted Haggards to a local Christian living an unattractive life, an outsiders view of the Church might look like a heinous picture of Hell on earth. Who would want to be apart of that?

Gospel Response

The gospel demands that we follow our Savior, Jesus. We do so in both our words about Him and our deeds toward others (Col. 3:17). Christians must be able to give a defense for those who oppose Christianity (1 Pet. 3:15). Christians must be able to live a presentable, respectable life in love for people around them (both believers and non-believers) (1 Pet. 1:16, Matt. 22:39). Our word and deed is important for the gospel to have an affect on those who oppose (Ps. 19). But, the work of salvation and the redeeming of all things is accomplished by Jesus (Rev. 21:5).

Jesus makes all things new through the gospel and what he has already accomplished (John 16:33). He has overcome the world, and that includes intellectual and experiential resistance to the gospel. It is His work. So, as J.I. Packer said in the introduction to John Owens book "Death of Death in the Death of Christ"...the gospel (or good news) is that "GOD SAVES SINNERS."

Our responsibility is to allow God to use us to do His work of saving people from the power of sin. This may be in the sin of their intellectual resistance to God or it may be their experiential resistance of His work, but the work of changing and helping the skeptic is in the hands of God. He will accomplish exactly what he wants after the council of His own will (Eph. 1:11).

In the end, God changes peoples opinions through believers who naturally show their love for Jesus in their words about him and their deeds toward others.