If our purpose is to worship and glorify God, then a central part of this purpose must be to please God. And a central part of pleasing God is to have faith, as Hebrews 11.6 succinctly states. The connection between faith and worshiping God is not only found here, but it is scattered throughout Scripture. For those of us who are part of the discipleship team this year, we see faith playing a central part in our relationship with God (e.g., in the accounts of Abraham and Moses). Out of all the things that Jesus rebukes, it is the lack of faith that is the most common problem.

Although faith is so central for our relationship with God, we have been reminded through the current sermon series that our faith can be so fickle. Praise God, however, that Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12.2)! Not only does our faith come from Jesus, but Jesus is the one who patiently perfects it in us! As a result, those of us who believe in and submit to Jesus Christ are not only becoming people full of faith, but also a people who are pleasing to God! May Uptown be a congregation that worships God by trusting in him, even in the midst of difficulties.

As we begin the Letter of Hebrews, it is helpful to know that the central theme is how Jesus Christ is superior to all things. The letter begins by describing how Jesus is superior to Israel's rich history of prophets, to heavenly angels, and even to Moses. Of course, the prophets of Israel, heavenly angels, and Moses were all good things. Yet, the writer of this letter clarifies that Jesus is far greater than all of these things.

One of my most recent prayers for Uptown is that we will always see Jesus Christ as superior to all things. We have been enjoying a lot of God's provision, and we are certainly experiencing a season of momentum and excitement. All of this is also good. But my prayer is that the good things will not cloud us from seeing the best thing, which is Christ. May our joy and hope be exclusively rooted in Christ alone!

In perhaps the most theologically-packed books of the Bible, Paul's conclusion of his letter to the Romans strongly emphasizes committed and intimate relationships. Paul names 25 individuals and mentions plenty of others! Moreover, his description of these people imply commitment and intimacy (e.g., "risked their necks for my life," "worked hard for you," "my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners," "approved in Christ"). What this shows is that theology is only as valuable as how much it translates into love and relationships. The relationships that are implied in Romans 16 are ones where people have endured through many difficulties for an extended period of time, and yet they still love one another with intimacy.

All of this reminds me of how much more thankful and prayerful we ought to be for our Uptown community. Not only has God deepened our understanding of his character and involvement in our lives, he has also been using our community so that we can experience this through committed and intimate relationships! I've been hearing (and experiencing for myself) this great dynamic from our Life Groups. Let's continue to pray that our theology can translate into committed and intimate relationships!

There are many things that we can learn from Paul's heartfelt, farewell address to the Ephesian elders. The one that always encourages the most is that our love for the church must be based on God:

"Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood" (Acts 20.28).

Often times, our love for the church is based on everything but God. Usually it's based on ourselves (e.g., our mood, our preferences, our role) or on the person (e.g., how nice they are, if they can benefit us somehow). In this verse, Paul mentions two things that should motivate our love for the church: God has appointed us ("made you overseers") and God has sacrificed for the church ("he obtained with his own blood").

Let us continue to love each other with a love that is not based on ourselves or on the person, but based on God's calling on us and his sacrifice for the church.

How did Jesus pray and what did Jesus pray about? The longest prayer of Jesus recorded, John 17, provides some clues. One part of the prayer that stands out as I pray for Uptown is from the following verses:

[20] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, [21] that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, [23] I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.   (John 17:20-23 ESV)

Jesus prays not only for the unity of the believers, but that they share the same unity that the Father has with the Son! At Uptown, there are a lot of exciting things that God is doing in various groups (e.g., among the students, families, children, individual Life Groups, officers, etc.). In the midst of all of these pockets, it's easy to forget the importance of unity. Somewhat surprisingly, Jesus points to this unity as the evidence that the world needs to know that Jesus has been sent by God (John 17.21, 23). So this unity is not only important for the health of the church, but also for the world. Let us pray like Jesus, that Uptown will have this kind of unity and that this unity can be a witness to the North York region!

The invalid was miraculously and graciously healed by Jesus (John 5.2-9). Yet he did not show much hesitation to report Jesus to the religious leaders. When Jesus gives him a friendly greeting, he doesn't even greet him back but instead informs the religious leaders so that they could persecute Jesus (John 5.14-16). I'm sure that there are many reasons for this: he felt threatened by the religious authorities and maybe he also thought that Jesus had violated the Sabbath (John 5.10-11).

One of the recent prayers at Uptown is that although God has been leading our community through an exciting season of opened doors, answered prayers, and miraculous provisions, that we would be more focused on who God is thereby worshipping him. Like the invalid, we often take God's provisions for granted. We enjoy the benefits of God's faithfulness in our lives, but only respond in worship when it's convenient. We are more influenced by circumstances than God's character. Let us continue to pray that we will be a community that worships him through the miracles and through the persecution--through seasons of favour and seasons of difficulty!

A question for you as you read: the invalid of John 5 is contrasted with another person that Jesus heals in the Gospel of John. Can you guess who it is and what the main differences are?

In yesterday's reading, Luke reports that Jesus is still busy teaching, healing, and ministering to people. Although some of these passages might seem random, they all cohere around the same topic: faith (Luke 17.5). Jesus explicitly points to faith as what healed the lepers (Luke 17.19) and the blind beggar (Luke 18.42).

What are some ways that we know that we are living in the kind of faith that Jesus exhorts? There are two things according to these chapters. First, faith enables us to pray and to not lose heart (Luke 18.1). Second, faith reminds us that it is not by our own righteousness (Luke 18.9), but by Christ's that we have this loving relationship with God; this enables us to be more loving toward others instead of judging them.

How is God challenging and encouraging you to have faith in your current situation? Let us exercise our faith together as we grow in prayer and in humility.

We have covered a lot of ground so far in our Bible reading plan! The Gospel of Luke begins with the long-awaited promise of the savior and the birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 1-3). Jesus begins his ministry with much power and wisdom; he astonishes everyone by healing someone who has a demon, someone who has leprosy, and even a paralytic (Luke 4-5). Yet more than the miracles, Jesus focuses on teaching people (Luke 6), particularly challenging us to trust in God more (Luke 7.9, 50).

In the midst of this jam-packed fall season, let's be reminded that more than the miracles, we need to be engaged in the teachings of Jesus (i.e., God's Word). More specifically, let's be a people who please and glorify God by simply trusting him even in the most difficult and uncertain situations.