Sacred Roots Workshop

148 Sacred Roots Workshop: Retr ieving the Great Tradi t ion in the Contemporary Church

6. The Lordship of Jesus Christ means that he has granted us freedom apart from the obedience to the Law; as believers, we are now free to live by faith and love, with Christ as center.

a. For freedom Christ has set us free!, Gal. 5.1 – For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

b. We are called to freedom for the sake of love, Gal. 5.13 – For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

c. Use your freedom not as a cover for evil doing, but to serve and glorify God, 1 Pet. 2.16 – Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

7. The Church Year observance is an act of Christian freedom that deliberately connects us with the ancient Church’s obsession with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, especially his resurrection from the dead!

D. It “keeps the main thing the main thing”: it protects us from wandering, idiosyncratic, and odd-ball emphases and spiritual themes.

1. Many independent, evangelical churches follow the cultural secular calendar in their worship cycle: Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Graduation Sunday, Independence Day , and sometimes even days such as Boy Scout Sunday or Valentine’s Day , along with other secular days.