“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Jesus is why our church existed. The Word of truth in the person of Jesus who came out of heaven and became flesh to save us is our source of life. The Word of inspired informational truth in the Bible informs us about this salvation in Jesus and how to live out that spiritual life. If we've given Jesus our life then gradually we become more connected to God, knowing God more, and becoming more like Jesus in who we are, how we are, and in what we do. Jesus then can’t help but affect how we live as individuals as we grow up spiritually and the first place that new life dwells is in our family. It first and foremost changes how we live among the people closest to us. When we dwell among other people we can’t just live for ourselves. As we become more like God we love ourselves less and love other people more. This shows up in our family first as we love our spouse, love our kids, and as kids love and obey our parents. But that growing love toward others impacts outside the home as well as we lovingly serve people we collide with in everyday life. And we not only serve people beyond our family but we befriend others who love Jesus in our church. But that desire and openness to have caring real life relationships extends beyond the network of people in the church to everyone we meet in life. The life source of Jesus we encountered wants to also dwell among (and in) all of the “us” that is “among us”; all of the people in our little world. And so as we live our life we bring Jesus everywhere we go but in a way that dwells among, befriends, relates to, welcomes, tries to understand, respects, and comes alongside. Jesus is also why we keep going.

TRUTH		GROWTH		FAMILY		SERVICE		RELATIONSHIPS		CULTURE

“The Word...”
			TRUTH. What is true? What is real? Does God exist? What is God like? Where did the earth and humanity come from? What’s wrong with the world? What is my purpose? How should I live? Do I believe in heaven? How do I get there? Who is Jesus and why should I care who He is? What is our source for truth that answers these difficult but very important questions? The God who created the universe didn’t leave us in blind confusion without a source for truth. The God who made us loves us and wanted/wants to communicate to us. Traditionally, we have called the God-breathed or God-inspired written communication to humanity “The Bible”. But, more importantly, God has communicated truth to us directly by becoming a human person Himself named Jesus who said “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. Notice that Jesus called Himself “The Truth”. Our church name “Logos” is a Greek term translated “Word” used as a name for Jesus Himself in the book of John, chapter 1 where it says, “The Word [“Logos” = Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us”. This term “Logos” then has the broad meaning of both the personal living Truth of Jesus and inspired informational Truth in the Bible. As individuals we must each wrestle with this: What is our source of truth (both informational and personal) in our life? My firm belief is that all truth I need to live a life devoted to God is found in the Bible and in Jesus. Back to Top
“...became flesh...”
			SPIRITUAL GROWTH. The Word conceives in us a new life and thus we are born spiritually. A conceived life starts as one cell and then becomes, or puts on, more and more cells (flesh). After I’ve put my trust in Christ, how can I live a life more devoted to Jesus than I’ve been living? How can my life be more like the life Jesus would live if He were me? How can I connect with God and know God more deeply? Just like a baby’s body inside the womb and after its birth must be nourished towards growth to maturity, we likewise must grow spiritually. Spiritual growing happens through regular spiritual “food” of prayer and worshipful connections with Jesus and His truth that result in increasing obedience, surrender, and devotion to our heavenly Father. Back to Top
“...and dwelt...”
			FAMILY. But once I believe that truth for myself as an individual so that I am trusting in Jesus, living for Jesus, and growing in that new life, then what’s next? That growing new life we now have must dwell somewhere. The truth becomes real and shows up (‘dwells’) in how I live with my own flesh and blood, my immediate family. If Jesus is going to live a new life in me and through me then the first place, and the most important place, I need to be living for Jesus and living like Jesus is in my own home (whether I am the husband/dad, wife/mom, child, or teen…or whoever I am dwelling with even if it be college dorm or apartment roommates). Jesus living in me will fulfill my role and responsibilities according to God’s ideal design for the family or the community of people in which I dwell. Back to Top
			LOVING SERVICE. One of the best indicators that Jesus is dwelling in me and affecting how I live among my family is if I love them in my heart and therefore serve them according to my gifts and my role. When we dwell among other people we can’t just live for satisfying and pleasing ourselves alone. As we become more like God we love ourselves less and love other people more. This shows up in our family first as we love our spouse, love our kids, and as kids love and obey our parents. Jesus lived a life of service and if Christ is truly in us then we will also have a servant heart. When I see a need someone has, do I have the heart of God and therefore enough compassion to put time, energy, reflection, and money into trying to help them and meet that need? Jesus would and did....and He gave us the “good Samaritan” story/illustration to show us that any need, even a need of a stranger, that collides with our life is opportunity for us to express God’s heart of love to our “neighbors”. The first neighbors God loves that we collide with are our family but typically our life will also collide with many other people. With the gifts, talents, abilities, time, and resources we have, Jesus wants to lovingly serve them as well. Back to Top
“...among us...”
			RELATIONSHIPS. So, do we just live correctly ourselves and just do nice distant detached ‘acts of service’ for people we barely know and don’t even want to or try to get to know? Is that loving service? When Jesus comes into our life it is not just a mental understanding or some sort of cold transaction, it is a real relationship that He wants with us. Therefore, if we have that same mind of Christ in us, we want to have real relationship with people just like He wanted with us (and wants with all people). We want to know others and be known by others because God does. We may naturally have closer relationships with family or those we dwell with but we should also strive to engage in deeper than casual relationships with others outside our home…from all those “among us”. At least some of these relationships should be transparent relationships of likeminded deep friendship rather than closed-off distant surface-level relationships that hide behind God-talk and Bible knowledge so as not to share one’s heart and life openly. While these closer relationships must be a partnering in the pursuit of living life for Jesus, these relationships should also be fun and enjoyable with laughter rather than overly boring or serious. Because God wants to get to know all people intimately, the new life of Jesus inside us wants to befriend those people of our church family, people visiting or colliding with our church family, and those not even connected or aware of our church family. Obviously we each don’t have the time to be best friends with everyone we meet but we should be open to having at least some significant Christian and unbelieving friendships outside our family as well as a general willingness towards any and all new relationships to some degree. This is demonstrated through a loving hospitable attitude that attempts to give anyone and everyone a sense of welcome and belonging. This is just as God wants to welcome all people who turn and run towards Him while turning away from living for other things and self and just as God wants all to belong with Him in heaven. Back to Top
			GOOD NEWS THAT GRIPS CULTURE. Jesus is “among” the larger “us” of our little world because He is in us as we go about our daily lives. In our activity and relationships we are immersed in a culture that includes many variations among many categories of things besides just people (economics, politics, entertainment, food, plants, animals, education, music, writings, organizations, art, clothing, race, architecture, technology, history, language, etc.). Because observing and taking part in culture, and even absorbing culture in some cases, doesn’t necessarily have a moral aspect to it, Jesus doesn’t want to hide from all “secular” culture in a separatist “safe” Christian “bubble” world. We can’t help but collide with culture and so, even if we try not to, we will invariably engage culture to some degree. The life of Jesus in us would rather engage culture, discern the good from bad, and utilize things familiar in culture to better communicate spiritual Truth to people in a framework, metaphor, or illustration that they can relate to (click here to see an example). Jesus did this with many of His parables and teachings. The apostle Paul did this very obviously and effectively in Athens on Mars Hill, utilizing their Greek non-Christian poets and one of their idolatrous altar’s inscriptions in order to help communicate the good news of Jesus to the audience in a more relevant way that would grip them where they were at. If we are meeting in unfamiliar architecture, dressed in archaic clothing styles, singing along with an ancient musical style, speaking/reading in forgotten languages or dialects, and using outdated illustrations/applications then we’re just putting up additional unnecessary obstacles to people hearing, understanding, and trusting the good news of Jesus. Rather, Jesus wants people to hear and clearly understand and believe the good news and be transformed by the Word (Logos) of Himself as shown in the Word of God (which we call the Bible). The aspects of culture that are sinful are transformed by God changing the lives of people through the good news of Jesus, not by a political or social activism agenda. If people are changed by Jesus coming into their lives, they will then produce a culture that better reflects the image of God. Back to Top