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Romans 4

2011-03-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Romans chapter 4 applies the principle that we are saved by faith in what God has done for us in Christ, and not by our own works. God's rescue by faith is applied three ways:

Because we are safe in God's rescue by faith, we can be real with God (4:1-8)
Because God's rescue is by faith not anyone's works, God intends to rescue those who are outside our box (4:9-12).
Because God's rescue is by faith not my works, I can lay aside my lists and rules of the ways I earn God's approval (4:13-17).

The whole circumcision thing is a little personal...but it's not so much about the deed itself, but about expectations. Religious then and now easily think that others who are not like them, Could not possibly be accepted by God. Jesus had his pharisees and we do too. (I have met the pharisee and he is me...) Who, or what kind of person would you think is "outside the box" of God's acceptance? Come on, be real with God about this. We all have our boxes, of who's in and who's out... Who would you exclude?

The third focus of rescue by faith is that we give up on law. God's law, Moses law, Bob's law. Legalism has been defiend as earning God's acceptance by my obedience. The problem is any law or code of rules will not be able to help me measure up, but will only show us where we don't measure up--which makes us want to hide. faith invites us to come back out, set aside the law or rules for trying to measure up and rest in full acceptance by faith. "Obedience of faith" means I follow God, because I can trust myself to him, not because I'm afraid of what God will do if I don't.
What's your favorite law that you could "live" without?

Real with God

2011-03-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

"Dr. Greg House" said, concerning his patients giving their histories to help with diagnosis, "It's a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies." That's bad practice with your doctor, it's even worse as a spiritual practice with God. In Roman's 4, David is quoted from Psalm 32. Romans 4:6-8 show the joy of forgiveness that comes by trsuting God to forgive becasue of Jesus. If we go from Romans 4 back to Psalm 32, David takes us even deeper into being real with God.

David's joy in his own forgiveness comes out of David's darkest hours and deepest secrets spiritually. While every thing seemd good in David's world, David was actually a coveting, lying adulterous murderer. He was hiding from God. Psalm 32:3-4 describes (compare 2 Samuel 12) that God would not let David hide. God uses Holy Spirit tear gas smoke him out. But what will God when David gives up and comes out in surrender. Will God shoot him down? Lock him away? 32:5 says that God forgives, restores.

In the rest of this psalm, David urges us to stop trying to hide our sin and be real with God , 32:6-7. doesn't God already inow anyway? God is presseing us to confess--that is to agree with God about our sin and need for his forgiveness. A contining need for those who walk with God while still in our own brockeness.
Following David, it seems that God himslef joins into the song, urging me to humbly come, learn from God, lay aside my stubborn, donkey like self-will, and trust in God's unfailing love.

I can join the songs close (32:11) rejoicing in the Lord with a clean heart, but only if I have been willing to confess and be real with God.

The world's oldest battle

2010-09-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

The big battle of the Bible is the battle of idolatry.

That may seem like an overstatement, but consider for a moment: the trouble began in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve desired something else, instead of being content with all that God had for them, including himself. The battle continues through Israel's history: the golden calf at the exodus, the first three commandments relate to true worship vs. idolatry (as does the last), yet Israel quickly spurns God and his promise for the idols of the land. The OT concludes with prophet after prophet confronting the idolatry of the nations somewhat, but especially the idolatry of God's people.

In the Gospels, their religion itself had become the idol, and what should have so clearly pointed to Christ was chosen over Him. Nearly every epistle and the revelation specifically warns us against idolatry, with 1 John perhaps capturing the tension best of all. the book opens with an invitation to fellowship with God himself through confession and forgiveness, warns us in the middle about loving the world and its things, and the closing verse urges us to keep ourselves from idols.

Why? Do you have statues on your mantle, or do you bow before figurines? Probably not. But don't we, like those two in the Garden, look for some greater satisfaction or fulfillment in something else than in God himself, in Christ? The book of Hebrews, so long ago, seems to capture our contemporary conflict so well: Keep your life free from greed or materialism, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5.

We can be content because what we have is really more about Who has us. The ground of our contentment is Christ Himself.

the world to come meets the world that is

2010-09-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passion, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Titus 2:11-14 ESV

God's grace has a lot to say about living in the present world while I wait for the world to come. I might prefer to just keep my head down and live by this world's rules as best I can until the next world comes, but grace calls for more. Instead of separating myself from the world, grace sends me out into it. It is interesting that the above verses are preceded and followed by instruction on how to live around others in ways that "adorn the gospel."

In Jeremiah chapter 29, God told his people to seek the peace and prosperity of the ungodly city of Babylon, which they found themselves in, while they waited for God's deliverance. What would that look like for us in our city or suburb? Does doing good display the gospel or get in the way of the gospel? Am I content to lay low, when God is saying, "Let's go!"

Rejoice in the Lord

2010-02-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

Our real joy is not in our success or circumstances, but in Christ himself. That's why a Christian can have joy in the midst of hardship or suffering. it may be that in that in the hardship or trouble, and certainly in chosen sacrificial service that you choose for the good of others, you are actually drawn nearer to and know more deeply the heart of Christ.

Thinking about Joy caused me to do a word search. Here are the verses.

Matthew 2:10; 5:12; 28:8-9

Luke 1:28; 10:20; 15:6-10

John 16:22; 16:24

Acts 5:41; 8:39; 16:34

Romans 5:2; 12:12

2 Corinthians 7:5-16

Philippians 1:18; 2:2; 2:16-18; 2:28; 4:10

1 Timothy 2:19

Philemon 7

Hebrews 13:17

James 1:2-4 joy

1 Peter 1:3-8; 4:13

2 John 4

3 John 3-4

I categorized them under four headings: Joy in Christ, Joy in His salvation, Joy despite trouble , and Joy in experiencing relationship in Christ together. I was surprised by which category was the largest. I hope you enjoy the study to.

Have fun...or better...Joy!

Evans family Mission Commissioning Philippians 2:1-11

2010-01-24T21:15:00.000-08:00

This morning we stepped into Philippians 2. It was more than a sermon: as a church we "lived out the Gospel," commissioning Rob and Laura Evans and their two kiddos, Hannah and Josiah, to serve in Mexico with WEC international. This is the kind of sermon illustration/application pastors only dream about. Rob and Laura are following Christ (2:5), leaving their home and loved ones for the salvation of others. What a blessing Rob and Laura are to our church!
May our Lord (2:11) bear much fruit through their sacrificial ministry!

Les Miserables and Philippians 1:21

2010-01-23T22:43:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday I shared a scene from Victor Hugo's classic, Les Miserables.
Released from prison after 19 years (for stealing a loaf of bread) Jean Valjean is taken in by a bishop and given supper and lodging. Valjean steals his hosts silverware and slips away in the middle of the night only to be stopped by suspicious policemen, questioned and returned to the priests home to see if the silver they found him with was indeed stolen. Here is the dialogue from the musical, it reaches its pinnacle in the bishop's final lines.

[the police constables]

Tell his reverence your story
Let us see if he's impressed
You were lodging here last night
You were the honest Bishop's guest.
And then, out of Christian goodness
When he learned about your plight
You maintain he made a present of this silver.

[Bishop]

That is right.
But my friend you left so early
Surely something slipped your mind

[The bishop gives Valjean two silver candlesticks]

You forgot I gave these also
Would you leave the best behind?
So, Messieurs, you may release him
For this man has spoken true
I commend you for your duty
And God's blessing go with you

But remember this my brother
See in this some higher plan
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man.
By the witness of the martyrs
By the passion and the blood
God has raised you out of darkness
I have bought your soul for God.

My Lord, by His passion and His blood, has raised me out of darkness and has bought my soul for God! What will I do with the riches of inheritance He has given me?

Living as Part of Something Bigger

2010-01-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain, Philippians 1:21.
In life I will seek not own intersts, but the interst of others. Like Him I will lay down my rigths for the sake of His rigtheousness to be given to others in the Gospel. My life shall be, as Robin Marks sings so well, All for Jesus.

What should I pray?

2010-01-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

In the service we used a prayer I adapted from Philippians 1:9-11. Several of you have asked me for it, so here it is:

Father, I pray that __________’s love will grow and overflow to others. I ask that you will give ____________ understanding and discernment. Help ____________ to make the best choices and have right priorities, so that ____________ increase in purity and righteousness. Father, fill ___________ with the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, to bring you glory and praise. Adapted from Phil 1:9-11

As you pray this prayer for others, you may want to consider some other prayers that you can also make your own for those you pray for. Take a prayerful look at Ephesians 1:16-20, Ephesians 3:16-19, and Colossians 1:9-12.

Why should I pray for you?

2010-01-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

We are supposed to pray--we know that. Yet, we don't...at least not so very much. Try keeping track, who do you pray for and how much, how often. Maybe we don't because we lose sight of the why. Phil 1:3-8 describes some of the reasons Paul kept praying for these believers.

He was personally connected to them, he had to pray for them. I pray for our kids, I have to, they're stuck with my prayers, cause I'm personally involved, connected, invested. If we're not praying for others, maybe we need to jump in a find ways to connect with others. Maybe...praying for someone is a first step toward a growing relationship with them...
These believers were participating together in the gospel. Their fellowship was like that diverse band of brothers in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring. They were very different, but bound closely together in their partnership in a crucial mission.
Paul kept praying because he had God's promise. He had an eternal optimism for them, because he know that God would finish in them that good work He had begun. If I want my prayers answered, why not be praying for what I know God will do--His work in you.
Lastly, Paul prays, and we do, out of deep affection. If I love you, I will pray for you. And then again...if you love me, you will pray for me...

Excuse me, I gotta go. I need to pray.

The Romance of Redemption Ruth 4:1-12

2009-11-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

If you're leading a small group along our series in Ruth, I've put some possible discussion questions in bold, below.

Someone once said, I want God to save me and to be with Him in heaven, but I don't want God to do anything wrong to get me there. He had a clearer view of himself, and how unfit he was for relationship with God, than m ost of us do. If we really are that bad (you are), how can God forgive us, remove our guilt, without being an unjust, or at least unforgivably lenient judge? Could there be anyone so bad or evil that God would not redeem them?

She's the lady Boaz wants, yet he won't do anything wrong to make her his. The scene at the city gate is carefully played so that all is done justly and above board, out in the open, no back-room deals. And, he's willing to do what another will not: pay the price to gain the her, even though it costs him. How does this compare to our salvation in Romans 3:23-26; 4:5; 5:6-10?

What about the other guy, Mr. No-name? What happens to him? Exactly! The one who would not preserve his relatives name among God's people--his own name is purposely not mentioned--in a story full of names! How does this compare to our participation in God's saving work? If that's true, how can I get started, where can I get started? I had better get started! To whom am I God's ambassador (2 Cor 5:12-21)? Compare Mr. Shoeless to Romans 10:15...

Before we rush on, scan back over the first couple of chapters. Find Naomi's prayer for God's blessing on Ruth in chapter 1 and Boaz's in chapter 2. Did either of them see how this was going to work out? I remember a line about shooting in a movie: aim small, hit small. Maybe in praying we should pray big, hit big? Yet, even when I pray small, maybe I don't even think God's really listening--God just might answer big! What does this tell us about God?

On more thought, if you've still got time. What's with the blessing like Rachael and Leah, like Perez born to Tamar? Had they read those stories? These are some of the classic dysfunctionalities in the Bible. "May your family be really messed up like these were!" What kind of blessing is that? Maybe it is the blessing of grace? Maybe even my family could be........great? Why do we so easily think God will do his work through someone else? Is this false humility or just a not knowing God's grace? Is our God to small, that he needs strong workers and competent helpers? Why do we pretend we have it more together than we do, and then stay back in the shadows so no one will see any different?

What are you waiting for? Ruth 3:14-18

2009-11-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

Ruth 3 reminds me of my introduction to the Air Force, it was "Hurry up" and "Wait." After this very intriguing midnight proposal, now Ruth must return and wait to see how the matter will fall. Will Boaz be able to work things out? What is this "nearer relative" who "might redeem her" all about. Will she be married to Boaz, so other joker she doesn't even know, or to no one? First, she has to wait. Wait. Wait.

We love to wait. In our "instant" and "now" culture we love it when something is unresolved, we can't hurry it, we can't make it happen, all we can do is wait.... We love that don't we? We don't?

There are some beautiful parallels in this section between Ruth waiting for Boaz and the Church waiting for Christ to complete his promise of our redemption. These parallels are an important part of the story of Ruth, it is both a human story and a theological illustration of our redemption.

In your Growth Group:

You could ask the group: Is there a time when you have waited for something promised (or expected) that you never did receive? How does this effect how you hope or wait for things now? Is there perhaps some doubt or guarding yourself against possible disappointment?
You could discuss together how this passage parallels waiting for God to act in a situation when there is nothing more you can do. What was that like, or what is it like now? What helps you wait in faith?
When we wait on God, do we always know what outcome we will see? (Did Ruth?) What outcomes do we know for sure? (the big ones, the eternal ones.) What outcomes do we not know as clearly?
How do some things that Boaz did before departing for the "city" help Ruth to wait in faith? How can you compare this to what Christ provided for us before his departure?

2009-10-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

The Awakening of Hope

Act 2, scene 3 Ruth 2:17-23

In the midst of their trouble, through the grace extended to Ruth, Naomi first gets a glimmer of hope that indeed God may be moving in their present circumstances leading Ruth to this field, provoking such hesed in Boaz, when in fact God has been moving from long before to prepare the way for this grace in the law of gleaning, in the law of the Goel or kinsman redeemer, and even in His earlier still provision of an even greater kinsman redeemer than Boaz.

1. God is at work in our present circumstances. Naomi has seen it in God’s provision through Ruth.

It would be good for the group to rehearse some of the ways Ruth and Naomi has seen God’s grace or faithful loving kindness (Hebrew word: hesed).

Then, recount some stories of how they have experienced God’s faithful love to them when they were not looking for it or where in a place of despair.

Thirdly, how have some of the group been used to help, or give grace, to someone to whom help was more needed than you realized (times when God used them to meet a need.)

2. God has been working to give grace Naomi’s hope is rekindled in remembering the provision of God’s law which Boaz fits, a near relative (Goel) who could redeem. Does Naomi know yet what Boaz WILL do, or is she encouraged merely that she has seen God’s grace in the midst of trouble?

…from long ago. Rev 13:8; 1 Pet 1:18-22; Eph 1:3-6

A good further discussion on this point, is how does this relate to us? What difference does it make to you in life’s current storms, to know that God has been working with the whole world in view, and yet also knowing you, from before creation?

What is more important, knowing God will solve/fix/change the problem, or knowing God in the midst of the problem?

What do you think:

The point of the book of Ruth is not that that the end of this story will be even better than the beginning—that your tragedy is because God is working something even better. “What could be better than the death of my husband?! What could be better than the loss of my two children?! –How dare you!” The point is that even in the brokenness of this world, the shattered dreams that are the way of broken people in a broken world, God has not abandon us here. Out of brokenness He works redemption, all the while showing us we were made for, meant for, a redeemed reality that will surpass the brokenness of this life and world and will surpass even our best imaginings.

2009-10-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

“Where can I find grace?”

Setting the scene. 2:1-3

Ruth finds grace, through Boaz, from God.

Who is this? (cp. John 10) 2:4-5

Humility meets God’s provision 2:6-7

(cf. Lev. 19:9-10; Dt. 19-22)

The danger of looking somewhere else (Gen. 3) 2:8-9

An outsider finds grace (Eph. 2:12-19) 2:10-13

Can I supersize that? 2:14-16

Ruth finds grace from God through Boaz.

Chapter 2 turns the corner from the bitterness of Naomi to provision and hope experienced in the introduction of Ruth to the godly man Boaz. The section drips with take-aways and application. There is the evident hand of the sovereign God at work as Ruth “happens to happen upon the part of the fields belonging to Boaz.” There are the evident character qualities of Ruth (faithfulness, industriousness, humility) and of Boaz (warmth, generosity, care). There are specific punch lines, “Where can I find grace?” “You have spoken to my heart.” that compare to our own experience.

There is dramatic real-life theology, truth about God, in his care for the powerless, His sovereignty in circumstances, His knowing of His own, the provision of grace even in OT Law, and the abundance of His grace above and beyond our hope or need.

There is also some big picture theology. You can compare Naomi to Israel (bitter about how God has treated her in her wanderings.) Ruth is like the church (Eph 2), outside the covenants and promises and yet she finds grace even beyond what was promised to Israel in the OT. Boaz, the man of standing and reputation, the strong and able one, who is actually nearer to them they first realize is a picture of Christ our “kinsman redeemer” who has the means and extends grace to us, beyond what we would ask or expect.

I’m hesitant to tell you just how to apply and dig deeper here in your Growth Group. One suggestion I would make is that just as this is a real story, the members of your group have been or are in a similar story. They will identify with different characters: Ruth, Boaz, the foreman, the reapers? How have they seen God’s hand of grace working through others. Most importantly for those who know Grace, how would we desire to see God extend His grace through us. Urge one another to be very specific on this, share the past failings and successes and commit to what the next time will look like.

In this story we see the heart of God revealed in the cross of Christ, and are reminded that God’s grace is best shared with others in the midst of the desperate needs of real life.

Where is God—when I can’t see Him… Ruth 1:19-22

2009-10-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting chiasm that points out the center of this section, and its contrast between went out/brought back, full/emtpy:
19 they came to Bethlehem
20 Don’t call me pleasant…the Almighty…bitter
21 I went out full, empty the Lord brought me back
21b Why call me pleasant…the Almighty…calamity
22 …and they came to Bethlehem
The big issue is Naomi’s perspective, is she seeing things as they really are?

I went away full.
Was she really “full”? Depends on how you define full. She had her family intact but it was a time of famine and desperation, not plenty, the boys were weak and sick, not strong, they apparently chose to leave their inheritance and even have their sons take foreign wives, and settle in a foreign land. Life was not pleasant for Naomi then, and her husband Elimelech didn't really seem to trust and obey “My God is King.” It was perhaps more a cultural religious practice than real personal faith that stood the test of trials.

The Lord has brought me back empty.
She sees empty in terms of alone, with nothing, no hope of either provision or enduring happiness. She is not the first to fell this way: compare Exodus 5:21-23; Numbers 11:11-15; 1 Kings 17:20. Israel out of Egypt, Moses when the people grumbled, even Elijah expressed the same thing. God has done this to me! Yet, in that God was working new life from Egypt, and resurrection (in Elijah’s case). The prophet Habbakuk, in chapter 1 of that book, says” God where are you, why don’t you do something, and then, “no God, you can’t do that!” He openly challenges and questions God, but chapter 3 of his book closes in full trust. Naomi has not even recognized the blessing of Ruth. She is not alone, Ruth is beside her and God himself is there.
The truth is that Naomi, like Adam and Eve, and like us, has gone away and the Lord has brought her back.

Try to have people in your Growth Group describe situations where “someone” has felt this way, a time of darkness when it seemed the All powerful God either caused or did not prevent calamity. Let the group be a safe place for people to tell their story, people can be honest to God and one another. It is not good that church is often a place where one cannot be honest about how they really feel. We are taught not to express what we really feel, our anger and bitterness even toward God. But, does He not know? Find some psalms and other Biblical examples where people can be “honest to God” when their faith is shaken. Perhaps the group can find some.
What will help Naomi?

Naomi’s night-vision goggles.
My God is King (Ruth 1:2, 20b, 21c)
She heard (Ruth 1:6; Romans 10:17)
Now the two of them… (1:19; Hebrews 10:24-25)
The story has hinted toward three things that can help a person who has lost perspective and cannot see God.

First, remembering who God is. He is sovereign, the king, even if he doesn’t seem to be doing anything, He is the Almighty. The other name used, Yahweh or Jehovah, is God’s covenant keeping loyal love and mercy, redeemer of Israel name. God is all powerful and he is faithful in mercy and loving kindness to us, even when it doesn’t seem like it.
She heard. Compare Romans 10:17.
The two of them. Hebrews 10:24-25. Naomi is not alone, Ruth is there and Ruth with her, not with answers, but being there, will be central to the reversal that is coming and Naomi getting hope again. How have any of these three made a difference in dark times for members of your group?

You may have time to point out how chapter 1 ends. Have a Bible dictionary or other reference work ready and have someone look up what time of year Barley harvest is and what big feast of Israel occurs then. What does this suggest about the hint hope at this point of the story? Is the hope merely for barley bread, or is God hinting at something bigger?

What can I do when someone has lost hope?

2009-09-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Outline:

Hopelessness is closer than you think.

“everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25

What hopeless looks like. 1:7-13

“You’re better off without me.”

“I can never have joy.”

“My troubles are God’s fault.”

Show them what God’s faithfulness looks like. 1:14-18

Faithful even when others are not.

Faithful even when they tell you to go away.

Faithful toward God and people.

The first steps toward joy are often taken in uncomfortable silence.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 ESV

Overview:

In this section, Naomi has lost hope. She has no prospect of any help for herself in Moab, and she has nothing more to offer her daughters-in-law. This is the time of the judges, where each one does what is right in their own eyes. Ungodliness is not always evil, it is living life ourselves without any reference to or expectation from God. Ungodliness is living the best we can as if God was not there. It can be moral and is often what we call “common sense.” From Naomi’s perspective, God is against her, He will not help her, so she will make the best plan she can on her own—she will do what is right in her own eyes.

To Consider:

How have you been tempted to live in an ungodly way, that is to resolve something completely from your own perspective and resources?

The “three lies of hopelessness” are great to unpack in a group.

Does the group agree with them?
These three come from the story, can the group identify where Naomi exhibits them?
Can anyone share a life situation where they have felt that way? Are you feeling something like this now? (Many of us are walking wounded, trying hard to keep our game face on, although we’re really ready to give up.)

Many times people will not be able to recognize the faithfulness of God until they have seen in expressed through someone near them. Ruth is used by God in this way with Naomi.

Do you think Ruth sees what God is going to do? What is different between her and Naomi?
What could this kind of faithfulness look like in family or marriage situations?
Have you given or needed this kind of faithfulness? What happened?
What kind of answers does Ruth not give? Can you give hope to someone even if you don’t have answers? How might you do that?
Who could you help to give hope to?

How did I ever get here…

2009-09-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Outline:
We want life to be normal, good and happy. 1:1-2
She saw the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise…

Too often we find ourselves with shattered dreams. 1:3-5
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away…
Blessed be the name of the Lord???

But shattered dreams can lead the way
to something better. 1:6
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death

Jesus said I am the bread of life…I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever… John 6:35-58

Overview
Ruth 1:1-5 or 1:1-6 is a set-up for the rest of the story. Read it verse by verse, as if you were reading it for the first time, not knowing what comes next or how it ends. As you read it substitute the meaning of the names for the name itself:
· Elimelech – “my God is king” or “God is my king”
· Naomi – “pleasant” (life is good, a happy life in the suburbs?)
· Mahlon – weak/sick, Chilion – frail, pining (pronounce kill-eon)
· Bethlehem – house of bread

Some questions to consider with others:
1. What do you know about the time of the judges? How does that compare to our contemporary society.
2. Why is the contrast between Bethlehem and Moab so prevalent? (How is Bethlehem alluded to again in 1:6?) What would an Israelite in King David’s time think about their move.
3. Is there anything wrong with them moving to Moab? The group may want to debate this, after all both Abraham and Jacob moved to Egypt during a famine… This can open up a whole discussion as to how we use Bible examples to justify what we choose to do.
4. Try to identify with Naomi’s sorrow and aloneness in 1:5. The Hebrew word fro her sons changes back to a word normally used of children.
5. What do this couple expect to happen by moving to Moab versus how did it turn out? How do the names fit in now?
6. What hint of hope is there in 1:6. But really, from Naomi’s view, does it seem like much hope?

We are easily tempted to judge Naomi rather than identify with her, yet, inside our own hearts, don’t we have similar questions about God’s faithfulness when our life’s dreams are shattered? Try to get the group to share about times when they have experienced shattered dreams. What did it feel like? What helped? What didn’t? How does it still affect them? This is tender territory. Don’t be afraid to go here, but do it sensitively, knowing your group.

Who is worship for? Colossians 3:16

2009-07-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

In one verse, Col 3:16, worship is directed three ways. As we give thanks to God through a variety of music, we teach/remind and console/exhort one another in the truth who Chirst is and what he has done, becasue this truth has found its home in us. So worship is to God and for encouraging one another (and even guests who visit). Participation in worship for other's spiritual benefit lives out Christ's life in me. When it is no longer about me or which psalms, hymns or spiritual songs I want, but about sincerely exalting God and edifying one another, Christ's life, the glory of God, is all the more seen in me, and this is worship.

I shared a story from Skye Jethani, out of his book: The Divine Commodity, Discovering a faith Beyond Consumer Christianity; Zondervan 2009. Some folks asked me for it after the service, so her it is:

Years ago I was walking in New Delhi, India, with my father. We were hoping to catch a break in the traffic to cross the street when a boy approached us. He was probably six or seven years old, skinny as a rail, and naked but for tattered blue shorts. His legs were stiff and contorted, like a wire hanger twisted upon itself. He waddled on his hands and kneecaps, which were covered with huge calluses from the broken pavement. As I had many other times in India, I wanted to close my eyes and pretend people in such misery didn't exist. But this persistent boy wouldn't let me.
He shouted at us, "One rupee, please! One rupee!" The little guy was amazingly fast on his kneecaps, managing to stay ahead of us and in our field of vision. Finally, realizing he wasn't going to give up, my father stopped.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"One rupee, sir," the boy said while motioning his hand to his mouth and bowing his head in deference. My father laughed.
"How about I give you five rupees?" he said. The boy's submissive countenance suddenly became defiant. He retracted his hand and sneered at us. He thought my father was joking, having a laugh at his expense. After all, no one would willingly give five rupees. The boy started shuffling away mumbling curses under his breath.
My father reached into his pocket. Hearing the coins jingle, the boy stopped and looked back over his shoulder. My father was holding out a five rupee coin. He approached the stunned boy and placed the coin into his hand. The boy didn't move or say a word. He just stared at the coin. We passed him and proceeded to cross the street.
A moment later the shouting resumed except this time the boy was yelling, "Thank you! Thank you, sir! Bless you!" He raced after us once again—not for more money but to touch my father's feet. He blocked our way and alternated raising his hands with shouts of acclamation and bowing at my father's shoes. He was literally worshiping us.
This, I imagine, is how our God sees us—as miserable creatures in desperate need of his help. But rather than asking for what we truly need, rather than desiring what he is able and willing to give, we settle for lesser things. And when God graciously says "no" to our misled desires and instead offers us more, we reject him. We turn away, cursing him under our breath. We simply cannot imagine a God who would give five rupees when all we desire is one.
C.S. Lewis says: "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
The dilemma posed by consumerism, including the Christian variety, is not the endless manufacturing of desires, but the temptation to settle for desires far below what we were created for. The forces of marketing have captured our imaginations and convinced us to desire mud pies and sneer at the possibility that even greater pleasures exist. We have been re-programmed to desire immediate satisfaction rather than infinite satisfaction. We do not desire too much, but too little.

Worship: on earth as it is in heaven.

2009-07-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

Revelation 4 and 5 give us a glimpse of what worship in heaven looks like. If anyone gets worship right anywhere, certainly it must be in heaven. We can learn something from what we see.

Worship in heaven is overwhelmingly God-centered. The hymn is about Him. Its about who God is, what he as done, he is the subject of every song. When we are found in heaven;'s song, it is only as object of of God's grace, singing about what He has done for us in Christ.

Worship in heaven is corporately and passionately practiced. The 24 elders are all together, the follow worship leadership and actively, passionately participate. worship is practiced repeatedly,it continues and will continue, they do not rest. This is not the bland leading the bland, but obeisance with abandon! You could say that heaven's worship is liturgical in its depth and intentionality and it is charismatic in its zeal and devotion.

In Revelation 5 worship in heaven is a joyful response to God for what He has done in Christ to make all creation right: heaven celebrates humanity reconciled, the rebellion of Satan put down, and paradise restored across all of creation. Their songs suggest that our worship, Sunday by Sunday, should be a joyful response to God, for what He has done in Christ, in anticipation of His making creation right. Although we don't yet see glory restored, we anticipate it in hope, and worship in faith. Believing enables worship.

Allan Ross writes, "If we ever begin to comprehend the risen Christ in all His glory, or faintly hear the heavenly choirs that surround the thone with the anthems of praise...then we can never again be satisfied with worship as usual. So, we join in with Chris Tomlin singing: I hear the voice of many angles sing, "worthy is the Lamb" and I hear the cray of every longing heart, "worthy is the Lamb!" Jesus has overcome, and the grave is overwhelmed. victory is won, He is risen from the dead...

Free to Worship: Let my people go...

2009-07-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

The book of Exodus has several major movements: Moses, plagues on Egypt, Passover, the exodus from Egypt, Sinai and the Law, instructions for worship, rebellion and idolatry around a golden calf, yet finally the fulfillment of worship in God's tabernacle. It's a story of grace, redemption and worship, that rings through the ages, as God intended. Jesus himself took the Passover table, that celebrated this redemption, made it the table of the New Covenant, celebrating our salvation in Christ, our passover.
The goal of the Exodus salvation is the same as ours: God says "Let my people go (free from bondage, into new life) so that they may worship me." And not surprisingly, as soon as they crossed the red sea on dry ground, they sang a new song or worship and praise to their great deliverer.
Sinai and the Law drew a line they could not cross, they were unable to approach God on their own and made a god of gold that seemed more reasonable and manageable to them. Still through sacrifices and a tabernacle/temple, God made a way for continuing forgiveness so that they could dwell with him and worship him.
I fail, I'm not worthy, but God desires me, has redeemed me, given me new life to live in, and the focus of that new life is to worship him. Christ has died for my guilt once for all, and He ever lives to intercede for me, to keep on cleansing me. Indeed, I am Free to Worship!

outside my comfort zone

2009-06-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

There are three movements in Acts 10 (at least as I see it...)

God prepares people to hear the gospel (Cornelius, a roman, religious and good, but not good enough without Christ. He needs Jesus who died for him.)

God prepares someone to share the gospel (Peter, apostle, fisherman, outside the box but religiously traditional. He knows Jesus, but he needs to get to know Cornelius...)

God brings the two of them together (its a little awkward at first, but the Spirit works through the gospel.)

The interesting part of the story, for me, is that God has to do a lot more preparing of the Christian than he does the one who needs to hear. Is that true in my story? Could unsaved people seem so far away because I am withdrawn and isolated from them?

Grace acts 9

2009-06-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it been so long since I posted? Oh my, was there nothing in the last several chapters, or was there too much?
Acts 9 is a chapter of grace, God's grace that extends mercy to a murderer, the persecutor is transformed by God into the chief proclaimer of the gospel. Perhaps he can tell God's grace so well because he has drunk of it so deeply?
I outlined chapter 9 this way:

Grace reaches the least likely people, 9:1-9
Grace gives us courage in our fear, 9:10-19
Grace transforms us, 9:20-25
Grace to one person changes the church, 9:26-31

Somewhere between those last two points, I'm reminded how the conversion of Saul of Tarsus and his transformation into Paul the Apostle is considered by historians to be one of the greatest historical proofs of the reality of Christianity, second only to the resurrection of Christ. When one compares the depth of commitment, both before and after, and the distance between the two points of view held by Saul and by Paul (although he likely always had both names), there is no other rational explanation except that Paul genuinely knew to be true all that he so faithfully proclaimed to others.

Think on it, the best testimony of the risen Christ who forgives sin and gives new life is that new life lived out in the one who believes in Him. That is not just for Paul, you and I have that same opportunity. I so want God to do a great work through me, maybe I don't pay enough attention to the greatness of the work God would do in me.

Acts 5 God on Mission

2009-05-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

What a whirlwind in Acts 5!. Two people in the church get called out by the Holy Spirit and an early call home. God is working, people stop pretending, the disciples keep telling, they get arrested, angels release them, the council is perplexed, wonder what to do, could this really be God at work? Maybe it is, but we'll beat these guys anyway. The disciples in the end are a real contrast to the two at the beginning of the chapter. They had wanted others to think admire them spiritually, whereas the disciples don't mind being despised for Jesus' name.
In this chapter there are people in the church and in the opposition (Gamaliel) who are trying to carefully walk the middle, have it either way. God, and his disciples, do not. God is ON MISSION in we who follow Him.
Worth chewing on:
1. Where do I pretend and who am I trying to impress?
2. Read 1 Peter 4:12-17. How does this passage relate to Acts 5?
3. How or where could you live out Acts 5:40-42?

Acts 4 courage on mission

2009-04-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

One thing about Peter, he's always willing to speak up. But there seems to be one difference after Christ's resurection--Peter is right on.
The last chapter went really well, but now the thought police show up. The highest political figures, with the police and lawyers in tow, say "Who gave you the right to say these things here? Who do you think you are? You're not qualified or approved!"
After a night in the slammer to cool off, Peter and John are real cool. "Are we on trial for healing a lame man? That's really lame!" "Well, since you asked who and why, its all about Jesus." The defendants turn chief witness and even prosecution as they use this platform to testify to the whole nation from CNN's Jerusalem bureau.
Where does that kind of courage come from? Part of it is personality perhaps, but a big part of it is life by the Spirit lived out in community. Follow P and J home for the council and you see where there courage comes from. They are joined together with other like-minded, sold-out Christians. They pray together (Like Paul, Eph 6) asking God to give them boldness, and they understand the present difficulties in light of God's word ("Hey, this is just like Psalm 2!"). Somebody recently said that each morning they read their Bible and the newspaper, that way they know what both sides are up to!
The earth still shakes when God's people pray and press foward in mission--I've seen it, felt it! We want to have more courage on mission, than we do. It's not out of reach. Are you trying to go into battle alone, who's with you? Who do you pray with? Have you reviewed your morning "intel briefing" sent from heaven, disguised as a book? Do your mision prep, and then let God surprise you with courage under fire.

Acts 3 Broken people made whole

2009-04-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

In Acts 3, the broken man, unable to walk since birth, is an illustration of the gospel. His condition kept him out of the temple, the celebration God's presence and relationship with him, and he was unable to help himself--completely dependant on mercy. God was merciful to him: raising him up, strengthening him, causing him dance in God's presence. The crowd wants to know how this can be, and Peter's answer is: Jesus--who died for us but God raised, whom we rejected but need to receive, who is risen-will return-and will restore all things as they should be.

Where am I, where are you in this story? Like the lame man, I was helpless, but wanted to dance in His presence. Like Peter I want to be God's messenger, bringing His good news to others. But, still, at times, we feel so...lame...unable to do we want to do...what we know we should do.

How can we, like Peter be used by God as He changes lives? We can do good to those who need grace. That's what the men's group does in Summer of Service, that's what our Students do in their Saturday work projects. Extending grace to others, because God has shown grace to us. He tells us to love our neighbor--our church neighbor is PHS. They're asking for help and we can give it. It may be a simply as when someone shares their burden with you, you offer to pray for them, do it, and then check back in with them. Practicing "praying for you" puts action to your empathy and opens a spiritual door. Maybe they'll ask you, "Why do you pray?" and then you can say...

In seeing, listening, praying, doing, and telling...Lord use us to do your work in real life.

Acts 2 What could this mean?

2009-04-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

When God began the Church, he started it with a big splash--this is God's big thing, based on God's greatest work. Easter is my favorite holiday because its a game changer-life changer. God has turned death to life, rebellion into reconciliation and this sinner into a son, and a saint!
When God first started the church, people gathered to see what was going on and ask: "What could this mean?" 2:12. Kinda like church on Easter Sunday. The answer is that God has intervened, Jesus is risen and will reign, God has shown us the paths of life and opened the way for us to have joy in His presence. Imagine, standing in the presence of THE GOD, without any fear, any guilt, only joy...
The next question, 2:37, is: if this is true "What shall we do?" Believe it. Turn from rebellion to reliance upon Jesus. You do believe, then be baptized. You already have-then join the church. You are a member-then join in, give yourself to it, 2:42-47, give yourself to Him.

Points some of our Growth Groups will consider:

How does the quote from Psalm 16 in 2:25-28 refer to the Christ, to David, to us?
What does it suggest about the importance of our life is David's life experiences could portray Christ?
What should your next step be in response to the question, "What shall we do?"
How does practicing spiritual life relate to being saved from this corrupt generation (2:40)?

Acts 1 mission possible

2009-03-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

You will receive power... and you shall be witnesses to me (Acts 1:8).
It's stated as fact. Not a command, not even a possibility, but real, actual. We have received power, enablement, the ability to act; the Holy Spirit has come and indwells every Christian. What do I do with this power of the the Living God who abides within me? I watch tv, fool around in the garage, work on the computer, watch the game, go for a walk...I have received power, but what do I do with it?
I am a witness to Him, but what sort, how much, how often, how effective, how intentional? Whether timid or bold, confusing or clear, I want to be more Christ's witness. Like Paul said in the end of Ephesians, let me speak the gospel boldly as I ought to speak. I'm cooped up in the church too much, let me get out and put myself in the path of people. Let me speak up more because people around me need to know Jesus as savior, and faith comes by hearing.
Could it be that God intends to save them, and He intends to use me as His witness?

Living in Real Life

2009-03-14T10:28:00.001-07:00

I just reads a news story about conflict at work. A woman was arrested for putting a sedative into her bosses coffee because she felt "he needed to chill out" a little. Maybe he did...Maybe you do... Ephesians 5 and 6 confronts three places in which who we are as new in Christ Jesus, is lived out in real life. You can be whoever you want to be on Sunday mornings, but who you real are is best known by your spouse, your parents or your children, and those you work with 40 or more each week.

In each of these sets of relationships: wife/husband, child/parent, worker/boss; the naturally tendency towards "me first" sets us up for conflict. On the other hand, submitting ourselves to one another in reverence to Christ (Ephesians 5:21) will turn any of these relationships upside down. God says to submit or set aside my own agenda and instead devote myself to my wife, my kids, those who work with me, for their good. When I do, I am living the mind of Christ before them and for them. This may not eliminate conflict, but it could change the direction of it...

As far as the woman and the coffee--maybe she should have just tried decaf...

a sweet fragrance in a garbage dump?

2009-02-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 5:2-4 speaks very strongly about the difference in our lives while living in a sinful world. We are not called to be isolationists, but to be light. We want to engage our culture, and even be aware of its "arts" and media, and yet often we don't like what we see and hear.
I've learned about a new way to watch DVDs, that can make them cleaner than airplane movies, its called ClearPlay. Using a downloaded file, you can play any DVD in a ClearPLay enabled player, and it will seamlessly skip scenes or language, according to settings you set, for the content you don't want to hear or see? See the video at: http://www.familysafemedia.com/clearplay_in_the_news.html
(click on the play button for Clear PLay in the News)

Have you used ClearPlay? How has it worked for you, what do you think? I would appreciate hearing your experiences. It seems like this could be a great way to help families keep from being "surprised" by a scene in what they thought was a clean family movie...

living out new life - ephesians 4 17-32

2009-02-20T17:29:00.000-08:00

We heard things were going to be new, different, not like the past, and yet it looks like the same old thing we've known before. That's not what we wanted to see in DC; thats not what we wanted to see closer to home, in my home, in me! God has clearly said the past is enough for the old, it's time to live new (1 Pet 4:3). Paul agrees, and inside of you and I, the new you agrees too.
Because we've been made new, we can live new, and we should, we must, others need to see Christ in us. Given the chance to live, why slip back into the old default of everyday death?
In this passage, godly living stands on gospel truth. Because we've been made new, God gets specific about anger, giving, words we say, things we do--how to live new.
I dare you to ask the question of verses 25-32, "What's new for you?" What should new look like? I don't want this passage be more of what we know, I want it to begin to describe who we look like.
In these very specific and personal ways, we live out new life in Christ, that by His grace looks like Christ, and brings Him praise.

a prayer psalm from eph 1-3

2009-02-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

God had a plan
God has always had a plan
It was a secret plan that he and only he knew
But now at the end of time God has chosen to reveal it
To reveal it…to us

This was God’s plan:
Before the universe even existed
Before a single star dotted the black velvet of space
God set out to display his glory
And this is how he chose to do it:
He would create a people for himself
He would send his Son to create this people
His Son would give his life to create a holy an blame-free people
And these people would display God’s greatness for all of heaven to see

Sovereign Lord
You alone can open our eyes
To see your awesome design
Help us to see and to grasp and to love
And to you be the glory forever.

So Before he even made the world he chose us
He chose us to be that people
He chose you, he chose me
He didn’ have to
He didn’t need to
But he chose us in his love

Oh it wouldn’t be easy
No, we would run away from God
We would run so far from God that we couldn’t even run back to him
In our rebelion we died
Our souls were dead
We had no hope
God wasn’t even a distant memory

But that didn’t stop God
No, he reached down raised our souls from the dead
He lifted us up from death
And breathed the life of heaven’s blessing into our souls
God made us his children
He made us heirs of a glorious inheritance
Then he handcrafted our lives one by one
He made us his eternal artwork
Artwork for the angels to see and admire

Sovereign Lord
You alone can open our eyes
To see your awesome design
Help us to see and to grasp and to love
And to you be the glory forever.

And this wasn’t just for us
No God is calling all peoples to join this great new people
People with a great heritage of faith…he is calling them
People who’ve never even heard of God or his law before…he is calling them
The old distinctions are gone
Everyone can come
Listen to the voice of God calling out
“There is peace for you if you are close by
There is peace even if you are far away.”

Sovereign Lord
You alone can open our eyes
To see your awesome design
Help us to see and to grasp and to love
And to you be the glory forever.

And God is using each person who comes
Each new member of this people of God
God is building them into a building
God is building a temple, a monument, a cathedral
Jesus is the cornerstone
Another Christian is an archway,
One person is tapesty and another is stained glass
Together we are becoming the grandest structure of all
We are the house of God
And God’s own Spirit will live inside its walls
Then God’s plan will be fulfilled:
We will live in him
And he will live in us

Sovereign Lord
You alone can open our eyes
To see your awesome design
Help us to see and to grasp and to love
And to you be the glory forever.

-Pastor DJ Jackson

Living in the Gospel Ephesians 4:1-16

2009-02-14T14:35:00.001-08:00

I don't feel quite up to it this week. It seems the Lord's apostle, by being in a worse place than I, is in a better place than I to urge what needs urging, to "Make the ask."
Many translations don't quite capture the word order of the first verses of Ephesians 4. My free translation from Greek is: Therefore I urge you--I, the prisoner of the Lord--that you live in a way that well represents the calling with which you were called, living with all humility and gentleness, with all long suffering and forbearance toward one another in love, jealously guarding the unity the Spirit has given in our bond together in peace.

Paul is asking for something radical, he is urging us to dive to the bottom of the pile, to take the worst for one another's best. He's asking for much more than here a little, there a little. But Paul can ask, he's given his all--held nothing back.
In comparison, I'm a little embarrassed to urge the same, it seems I've given so little. And yet, hiding in God's grace, I will ask, I will urge, I will call and encourage us all to live in light of our calling. I have to, for I need the reminder--we all do. And by God's grace, he reminds us, calls us, urges us...to Live in the Gospel...

Valley of Vision prayer

2009-02-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

The following Puritanesque prayer was part of the worship service last Sunday. Several have asked for it so here it is. I hope your somewhere quiet where you can read it, prayit, out loud. May your sould be filled and your prayer answered...

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;
let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.

part of something BIGGER ephesians 3

2009-02-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

I was thinking this morning about how I respond when things don't go as I wanted. I tried to do good and yet it was thrown back at me. You gave yourself for someone, and yet it wasn't good enough, your kindness was rejected. We give ourselves for the best of reasons and yet at times bad comes from it. Where is God? Right there. What is He doing? Hmmmm.
The old, and not so satisfying, saying goes something like, "God works in mysterious ways." Its not so much a mystery to be solved as a mystery to wait and see, like a street artist whose initial splashes of paint look like chaos, but in the end, when what we thought was the central part of the image is covered over and something else, much grander, like Christ Himself, is seen instead.
Paul is in prison, his friends feel badly for it, but he wants them to know it is not by chance, but fro God, who is working His plan. And that pan is much more than just leading events on the world stage to His intended end, it is working His intending end in each of us, His children, saints, set apart ones. His greatest, above and beyond power is not just working around us, or even for us, but is working in us, for and to His glory, in the misdt of whatever "stuff" is happening.

Christ-centered community, Ephesians 2:11-22

2009-02-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

Remember - the only command given in the first three chapters of Ephesians. We're not told to fix anything, but to fix this thing in our minds. What thing? Grace.
It is by grace that we, who were far away from God and without any hope, have been brought near, boldly before the throne, as if we belong there - and we do - in Christ. Grace in Christ made peace between people and between people and God. All have the same access into His temple, through the torn veil, by faith in Christ's death for us.
If we continue remembering that we began by grace, we are more likely to continue in grace (2:19-22). We continue together as the family He has made us: I belong and I'm needed. We continue founded on His word, that that is centered in Christ himself - its all about Him. Together, by His word, we are formed into a growing temple.
The thing that joins us together and which together we must join in is God's grace in Christ!Trophimus was denied access to the temple (Acts 26), but by grace he is now not only in, he is actually part of the true temple, where God dwells.
And by grace, so are we.
Don't forget it.

grace changes everything, ephesians 2:1-10

2009-01-26T12:52:00.000-08:00

What's so amazing about grace is how far it reaches: in reaches down to us in whatever pit we have fallen into or dug for ourselves (2:1-3), and grace reaches so far as to set us in the presence of God in heaven in Christ (2:4-6). From where I was to where God intends to take me. That's true in God's rescuing us from sin and guilt,and also for His continuing work in us, His special project, His workmanship (2:10).
We each need God's grace, whether to receive spiritual life, for spiritual growth as "His workmanship" (God working in us), or for fulfilling our mission in doing His work (God working through us).
A friend reminded me today that the essence of Christianity has always been missional. Each person relates to the church either as one who is called by God to receive and believe the gospel or as one who is used by God to extend the gospel. If we have believed, than God is best working in us when He is working through us to show His grace to others. That's what "Christ in us" would look like.

praying towards growing in knowing God

2009-01-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

A good start: believing in Jesus and Loving those Jesus loves (1:15). Because of this Paul prays for them along very specific lines. We first learned how to pray by listening in as others prayed, so learn about praying by listening in on Paul.
He prays that we would grow in knowing the hope God has called us to, that we would know how much we mean to God as His particular treasure, and how great is His life from death power toward we who believe in a life from the dead Savior.
There's nothing here about stiff joints, or my difficult circumstance. Too often I pray for a change in circumstances, either for myself or others. Not often enough am I praying that in those hardships, circumstances, either I or those I pray for would grow in knowing God by seeing more clearly His salvation through the storm, seeing more fully how much God loves and seeing His power perfected in our weakness or trouble.
This week I'm praying a different way. I hope it doesn't bring more trails, but whatever comes, my hope is being closer to Him who loves us most of all.

the gospel - ephesians 1:3-14

2009-01-10T20:39:00.000-08:00

The Gospel of our salvation, planned and perfected by the triune God: Father, Son and Spirit. God chose to save us and has set his plan in motion to bring us all the way to perfection. The Son paid the price (redemption) for our sin so that we could be forgiven, and share in His inheritance. That inheritance is the whole twisted and broken will be restored as it rightly should be, under Jesus. Love and justice prevails, while guilt, shame and selfishness are banished; and we shall be part of it!
In fact, we are already part of it--in part! If you have heard and believed (trusted in) the Gospel of God choosing to save you by Jesus dying for your sin and guilt and being raised from the dead. If so, then you have already been saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit. By His indwelling, the Spirit works in you the first fruits of all we will one day experience.
A Christian's testimony is simple, although the names, places and details vary, the essence is this: God determined to intervene so that I heard the gospel and believed, trusting in Christ for forgiveness of my sin, thus being sealed in Christ by the Spirit who now lives in me and is working in my life new growth that will fit the coming eternal glory.

Maybe you'd like to briefly tell your salvation story in a comment below? Maybe tell some of the work the indwelling Spirit is doing, or what you pray He will do in you? Maybe, like Paul, just praise God for how He has blessed us in life with Him...

The Bible and Snow

2008-12-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, there's lots of snow out there. I woke this morning loo,king forward to our Christmas Eve candle light service, only to see 2 inches of new snow already, and more on the way. Where does it all come from? One of our Elders reminded me of Job 38:22, Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail, Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war? Maybe now it feels like you could answer, "Yes, I've seen it." There's another weather report in Psalm 147, He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; He casts out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

Yes, God gives out snow, but also gives out His word. This year I was particular struck by the Shepherds of Luke 2, how the theme of "told" reoccurs in the story. The good news was made known to them, they went and saw that it was "just as they were told" and so they told others, making it "widely known."

Isaiah says that as the snow from heaven waters the earth...bringing life and fruitfulness, so shall God's word be (Isa 55:10-11). Isaiah also tells us the result of hearing and believing God's good news about the Savior: Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. God sent Jesus our Savior to remove our sins, to cover them over in His own righteousness. And unlike this present covering of snow, His forgiveness, His cleansing lasts forever!

Church services cancelled, but still we worship

2008-12-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

I was looking froward to church today. It's Christmas Sunday, this was the time for us to remind each other and all who visit and worship with us what were given for Christmas. But, a foot of snow and a layer of ice on top of it makes it dangerous to get out. So, we'll stay home and celebrate together what we were given for Christmas--even before we open presents--cause what we really were given for Christmas is a savior!

So, how to celebrate??? The shepherds who first heard the good news of great joy to all people...that a savior has been born in Luke 2:8:14 celebrated three ways.

They settled it for themselves--they went to see what they had been told (2:15). They heard the good news from God's messengers, they believed it, so they went to see Him, Jesus, Himself, for themselves. Everything else comes after that. God gave us a Savior, any other celebration flows out of our first knowing Him.

They told everyone they could (2:17). They told not only that this child was born, but what the angels said it meant. That He was the Christ, He was a Savior, He was given for all people, and that in Him was real peace. They caused quite a stir, and perhaps some what not sure what to make of these newly declared evangelists, but they had good news for all people which could not be kept to themselves. This is a time of year when we get fresh opportunities to tell. even in answering that question, "So what did you get for Christmas?" Go ahead, tell them what you were given-a Savior!

They went out in worship (2:20). We had hoped to come in to church together to worship, after all it's Christmas Sunday. We wanted to have at least the 11:00 service if at all possible, but, weather doesn't determine whether or not we worship. We come to church to worship and we go back to our field, our home, our work or school, to worship. God has called us, in whatever lonely corner He found us, He gave us the good news, great joy, a Savior. Life is now different even though it seems much the same. Now life is a place of worship. In whatever setting He places us we will praise and glorify him.

becoming God's flock

2008-10-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture,

And the sheep of His hand.

Psalm 95:6-7 NKJV

Our saviour leads us like a shepherd, but how? Is it just individual, is it just that still small voice? Is it simply by reading the Word on my own, by myself?

Or, has the Good Shepherd given us shepherds, to lead us in His care? What would that look like? What would following His appointed shepherds look like? How well do I/we do that?

Hebrews 13:7, 17 urge us to consider and follow, for our own benefit. Does how I follow a shepherd relate to how I'm following the Shepherd?

becoming "foreigners"???

2008-10-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

I spoke yesterday about politics in church, where our politics, or our politeuma, really are. Our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). I shared several quotes from Alexis de Tocqueville's critique of American democracy. What Tocqueville noted about America has some warnings for us as American Christians. There is always a temptation to follow along in the currents of our culture, when we are actually called to be Heaven's ambassadors, temporarily residents here to show and share God's glory and salvation in Christ. There is much that distracts us, but we who have been raised with Christ must seek those things which are above...(Col 3:1-4), and represent Heaven's values, even above our own interests, while we are here.

Here are those quotes (from De la démocratie en Amérique):
1. The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
2. There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.
3. There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult - to begin a war and to end it.
4. There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.
5. Materialism results from a passion for equality because people think that they ought to be able to have as much wealth as everyone else. Indirectly, materialism also comes from the philosophical tendency fostered by democracies to disdain lofty ideas or thoughts of eternity.
6. The main business of religions is to purify, control, and restrain that excessive and exclusive taste for well-being which men acquire in times of equality.

And one more...
Our home is in heaven, and here on earth we are a colony of heavenly citizens - M. Dibelius

becoming family

2008-10-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

One of the strongest images for the Church, and a local church, is family. We are members of God's family, brothers and sisters, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We have been born into this family, born again, born of the Spirit of God through faith in Christ (John 3).
Recently, I was reminded in our our family, what being God's family means in our church. Family is a place where your welcomed with a hug, you don't have to wait for an invitation to come, and you can bring your dirty laundry home with you--we'll work on it together!
I want opur church to be that for one another. Our past family expereince may not be perfect, it might not be what it could be, but our expereince in God's family, together, can be all that God intends it too be.
Leave a comment on what you think it takes or looks like for a church to be or do family together.

sewing pearls on satin

2008-10-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

Imagine the wedding is just weeks away, you know things are not yet ready, and you're the bride! What are you doing, watching Oprah? Chillin with your ipod? No, you're frantic, focused on being ready. Minor distractions like eating and sleep mean nothing to you now. The Day is coming, when the doors open, and every head turns back, the music plays and you step toward your bridegroom. You have to be ready, the dress perfect, every bead and pearl in place.
The Day is coming, when Jesus calls his Bride, the church, to come be with Him in the place he has prepared for her, for us. Are we ready? Is the fine linen of the Bride (Rev 19:7-8) wrinkle free and shining bright? How should we be sewing pearls on satin?

a new humanity

2008-10-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

God has made the church as a new humanity, a new man. The key is new, new in kind or quality--different--no more status quo. A key part of this difference is in our relationships with one another. I wanted to say that being reconciled with God we then can be restored to one another, but it's not that neat. These two are intertwined in Ephesians 2:13-18--God has made peace between man and God and between men... between women... between men and women?
Have we way over-compartmentalized our Christianity by focusing on a relationship between myself and God? Do I experience a relationship with God in relationship with others? How then, could I be more intentional about my spiritual relationship with God?

Wrestling with God

2008-09-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

Jacob has obeyed God, returning to the land promised to him when God told him to (31:3). Fearing his "reunion" with his brother Esau, expecting he will still hold an angry grudge (32:6-7), he prays for God's protection (32:11).
Now, in the dark of night, someone wrestles with him, it turns out to be God himself, wrestling with Jacob to lay aside his own means and schemes. Only when Jacob is broken of his own strength can God provide for him. Does this mean that Jacob wasn't really trusting and obeying when he started his journey home and prayed for protection, or does God wrestle with him, break him down because he has obeyed, because he has prayed? Is this God answering his first steps of faith, now taking him further to deeper dependence?
Would I want God to take me there?

God Sends

2008-09-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

The passage to the left (Isaiah 6) is long, but I think it separates nicely into the three responses of Isaiah: "Not me", "Send me" and "Why me?"
He saw himself as unworthy to serve--but God's grace cleansed him.
Cleansed and forgiven, he saw himself as eager to serve--God's grace compelled him.
In light of difficulty and the absence of great success,he might have given up--God's grace encouraged him. How? The hope of a stump. Where the stump is left, the tree that was cut down can grow back again. No stump removal, dug out, chopped out or burned out-God would restore what had fallen down. The seed Isaiah sowed would bear fruit.
Where are you in God's service? Sometimes I'm at "Not me", sometimes I'm eager to get at it, and sometimes I'm asking "why me" or "how long?" --all in the same week. It's not so bad to be asking the questions-God can take it. What's important is the answer...

Grace.

passing along a tradition of God's truth

2008-09-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

BPChurch has a great heritage, we are rooted in history, having been founded 145 years ago by some of our areas first pioneers, and we are rooted in His story, having a strong heritage in God's word, passed from one generation to the next.
Passing that baton from generation to generation can be tricky. Who's responsible for the handoff? What specifically must be passed on versus what is unique and personal to each generation?
Our Olympic teams learned the hard way how important making the crucial hand-off is to running the race well. May we do well passing the gospel along to the next generation, so that BPChurch will continue to run the race set before us.

A Worn Out and Frustrated Servant

2008-09-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

I recently ran in the Hood to Coast relay; I can identify with this runner who's ready to toss in the towel and let the race pass him by. Our life in Christ is a race to run, and sometimes we feel the same way. "Somebody cut me off!" "I'm tired, I've been at this a long time!" "I didn't train for this..." "They didn't tell me it would be that hard." "I'm not the best, I won't finish first, so why run at all?!"

Moses felt like that too. He turned his back fro a little bit to spend time on the mountain with God, and Israel just fell apart: no appreciation for his sacrifice and the pattern he had set. No commitment to stick out and remain faithful. Worn out and frustrated, it was hard to go on. Moses asked two things of God that made the difference for him, and will make the difference for us. He said, "Lord, show me your way." and Lord, show me your glory--show me yourself." We'll run a better race by getting our eyes off our will and on His way, off of our self and on Jesus Himself.

a girl named runaway - Genesis 16

2008-08-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

We meet her in Genesis chapter 16, her name means "to run away." She's been caught up in a bad situation. Others have used her - it was normal and acceptable in the culture of that time, but as we read the story we just know it was wrong, and her story could not end well. When she gets a little proud she's slapped down, reminded that she's just ... Living up to her name, Hagar runs away. No where to go, kinda like that Journey song, "just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world; she took the midnight train goin' anywhere..."

She's lost and confused, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2). Now, God meets her there. Maybe she called out in desperation, like you and I have, because God shows Himself to her there as "the God who sees" and "the God who hears (answers)." The baby she's carrying, Ishmael, will be named "God hears." God's meets her not with condemnation and judging, but with hope. If she will only believe God, trust Him. The situation is bad, but God redeems broken people and broken lives, that's who He is. He redeemed me from loneliness to life, real life, abundant life. What about you?

God Pursues

2008-08-18T10:53:00.000-07:00

Genesis 3 shows God pursuing. Man has wondered away, he's lost, and God goes after him. God knows where man is hiding, but he invites, rather than commands. Drawing him back, drawing him out he calls out, "Adam, where are you?"
Adam had walked with God, had relationship with God. He had wanted that relationship with God, but along the way he allowed himself to want something else more. That's the way it is with me. I know I should say "no," yet I convince myself its harmless enough just this once. But now closeness to God is lost, and despairing in my failure I want to withdraw--hide, from God and others. It's not that I didn't want God, but that I wanted something else more.
Still, today, God pursues. Still today God is calling to those He made to have relationship with Him, "Where are you?"

Blessed be Your name

2008-08-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

Though we don't normally consider as such, the end of the book of Job is one of the better known theophanies or personal encounters with the Living God. We know Job's story because it speaks to the pain and sorrow and trouble of life. We identify with Job in his search for answers, and his complaint against God.
Job asks:
"Why has this happened?"
"What have I done?"
"Where are you God?
"How can you do this to me?"
"When will my suffering end?"

God answers "Who." He reminds us who Job's God is. The tension remains in the story because God never explains himself to Job, instead he explains Himself.

I don't mean to suggest offering pious platitudes about God in the midst of the real hardship and suffering that comes in life. We don't always get the answers we seek, and the ones we supply don't satisfy. Maybe God is redirecting from that age-old question "God, why have you...?" to "God, who are you?" In the midst of the trivia and trouble of life, something inside us cries out with Moses, "Lord, show me your glory!"

Behold your God--personal encounters with the Living God

2008-08-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

For the next two months we'll be looking at different times when God shows himself. Theologians call it a theophany; it often happens at times of "narrative tension", when the story doesn't make sense, there are more questions then answers. Then, God steps into the story, shows himself, and if we notice, creates even more questions.

Maybe your in a time of "narrative tension." Maybe right now your story doesn't make sense. Maybe this is just the time when God will show himself to you in a new, unexpected way.

Follow the leader

2008-07-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

It's a game we learned years ago, but I'm still perfecting it (like lots of the games I play.) After calling us to live in light of our hope, one of the first concrete examples Paul gives of that in 1 Thess 5:12 and following is to appreciate and honor those who are our spiritual leaders. Apparenlty this is imporant, perhaps more than we realize.

I wonder, why do you think this is so important? Or is it? If it is important, what will doing it look like?

Rescue the perishing

2008-07-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Because we have been rescued out of the darkness and into light by Jesus, we live different, we are not to be carried along by the same currents that lead to destruction, AND we can be used by God to rescue others .
The video below gives a graphic example of what it sometimes takes to rescue someone whose "on the edge." I offer it in honor of my good friend Jon who has served for 20 years as a firefighter rescuer, along with the many other men of BPBC and in our community who do the same.
May God give us grace to rescue people around us from certain destruction by extending to them the lifeline of the gospel of Christ.

Don't just "Jump" 1 Thess 5:1-11

2008-07-12T03:15:00.000-07:00

1 Thess 5 reminds us we are different and calls us to be different. The world is rushing toward destruction, like a float party being swept along toward a waterfall. Like the legendary lemmings, the crowd "jumps" toward disaster.
I came across this video, adapted from an old Disney wildlife documentary about lemmings, mixed with the 70's rock classic, "Jump." It illustrates the insistant calls around us to "go ahead... come with us... jump!" So many voices today pull us to go along with the crowd, to go ahead and jump--to disaster.

A little background on the the Disney docu--apparently they had to buy the lemmings and import to the location. Then, the lemmings didn't want to "jump"--they had to herd them over the edge. Maybe that's a reminder that the media, although entertaining, is not always friendly...

1 Thes 5 calls believers, saved in Christ, to wake up and to watch out, for own sake and for others. Keep looking up for HIs coming, and keep looking out for yourself and others.

Sorrow...with hope? I Thess 4:13

2008-07-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

but I do not want you to be ignorant [or uninformed], brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow [or grieve] as others who have no hope. 1 Thess 4:13

This is the reason Paul informs, clarifies or reminds them and us, about the rapture or catching away of the church, and that those who have died will be caught up with us to Jesus. But, where do I put the comma?

Some versions put a comma after sorrow or grieve. This could suggest that we should not grieve death, only those who do not have hope grieve death. Some would suggest that death our friend, bringing us into God's presence. Other versions have no comma, we should not grieve in the same way as others. We still grieve, have loss, but it is loss mingled joy because of our hope. Hope that assures us the one dead or sleeping is already in the Lord's presence. That the body lain lovingly to rest will be raised first, and be caught up with us.

Death is not a friend. Because of death each of us know sooner of later the loss of a loved one. Jesus himself wept outside Lazarus's tomb even knowing, that He would soon raise him. Death is the last enemy Jesus will destroy in resurrection.

Is it okay then to grieve? Is it good to "weep with those who weep" (Rom 12:15)? But can we sorrow or grieve in Hope?

Caught Up in His Coming 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18

2008-07-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

"Forever, with the Lord, we will be!" That's the word order in the Greek text, an order that draws attention to the permanence and proximity of our future. Before there was bold face font or highlighting, the Greek language put things first for emphasis. What is for keeps, forever, is our being together in the presence of Christ Jesus. God's family gathered, a family union never to separate. This is what we press toward, this is what will matter most.

Other stuff that seems important now won't matter so much then, maybe it doesn't need to matter so much now? With the most important appointment in forever rushing up on us faster than time itself, what am I caught up in, what am I caught up with. I want to filter everything through one measure--what difference will this make when I hear the trumpet sound, and His voice calls, "Let's go!"

Getting ready to go 1 Thess 4:9-12

2008-06-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

When there is a big event coming up, things get hectic in preparation and anticipation. Pastor David and Janice's daughter Kara gets married this weekend, and there has been a flurry of activity around their house as the day approaches. So much to get ready, so little time!

There's an even bigger day coming--Christ Jesus is coming for His bride the Church--and the Church is being prepared for that day. Now, with such a big event, you'd think the preparations would be frenetic, frenzied, and frantic; you know, like the rest of life. Actually, God tells us in 1 Thess 4:11 to slow down, be still, dial back, be quiet in heart, rest.

I wonder what I could without in terms of ambition or activity? We are soon to make a huge move, from here to "forever with the Lord." Much of what seems so important, won't matter at all then. Maybe its time to unload some of that now, as we get ready to go.

For Better or Worse? It's time to pay attention... 1 Thess 4:1-8

2008-06-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

God Himself directs us, to increasing fruitfulness, to prepare us to be in His presence (3:11-13). Wrapping my mind around that is a bit of a stretch, but as I begin to apprehend, then the question is, "So what then, what must I do, in light of that?" In 4:1-8, Paul assumes that they, like we, are in an oversexed culture, sex appeal is used to sell anything from pantyhose to politicians. Just turn your TV on--no, on second thought don't! The internet's a mess and even your email isn't safe. How did these people get my address? Oh yeah, its on the website...

So, in all this, how can a young man keep his way pure, How can we keep abounding in fruit in such a fallen, rotting environment? Paul's answer is the same as in Psalm 119:9, "paying attention to what God says!" My problem may be too much attention in the wrong places, not enough in the right. It can be done--it must be done. It's time to pay attention. We'll pay if we don't.

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

2008-06-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Church is a family, but not just any family, it’s God’s family. God himself is our Father and he directs us, leads us, guides us according to his own way, in ways he knows best. The Christian life, following Jesus is really all about following our Father’s will on our way home, into His presence. Today we walk side by side, together, as family, glad to not be alone, better because we journey together. Ahead of us is home, forever. What it will be we don’t yet fully grasp, but our Father awaits us, and has paid dearly in His Son to welcome us into his presence.

Good news makes a difference 1 Thess 3:6-10

2008-06-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

What if what you do didn’t seem to last—make any real difference? What if the houses a contractor builds forever sit there empty, never become a home? What if the flu shots a nurse gives don’t keep anyone from getting sick, or a fantastic meal is put together but nobody comes to the table? What if a teacher gave their all, stayed late to finish study guides and review notes, but nobody studied and they all bombed the test? What if you planted a garden, but pestilence and pests seemed to keep anything from growing and bearing fruit? We want we do to matter, to make a difference.

In the middle of this weeks text, Paul declares, “For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord” 1 Thess 3:8. The record in Acts 18:5 shows that once Timothy arrived with that great news of how the Thessalonians were thriving spiritually in faith, in the midst of trouble and opposition, it made a difference to Paul. Hearing this news, he pressed even harder, devoting himself all the more to the ministry of the gospel. It seems even Paul was encouraged to press on in ministry by the good report that the gospel he had sown was bearing lasting fruit. And so it should- the Good news of Christ should make every difference!

There are many ways for us to encourage one another, but perhaps the best is this: if someone has invested in you, given you God’s truth and their own lives, take it up and run with it. Most of us have been given much, by many. What will you do with what you’ve been given? The difference it makes in you will make a difference to others.

God's word well sown bears fruit.

2008-05-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

That's a simple statement, borne out, I think, by 1 Thess 2:13 (at right).

I remember different times when I got a little clearer glimpse that the Bible really was God's word, that it could be counted on, and that it was worth making life-altering decisions in response to it. God's word, powerful, making a difference, changing us. Wow. How?
Is God's word having its effect in me? It's good seed, is there something wrong with the soil? What should that fruit look like? Maybe it's supposed to look different than we think? Maybe we're busying hanging stuff on the branches that's in the way of the fruit God desires to grow...

like a nurturing Mother, 1 Thes 2:7

2008-05-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

My mom had it tough, and I didn't make it any easier for her. She was hard on me at times, but even that was out of love, and her fear of where I was heading. God made moms and dads to love, yet sometimes they blow it, sometimes terribly - we're broken in sin - family is not what it is supposed to be.

But, even in God's family there should be the love of a mother's care (2:7) and a dad's strength (2:10-11). How have you seen it? What could it look like?

Hey, what are you doing here?!

2008-05-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

I want to serve others for Christ, I want to come close, to live out our church mission statement: Reaching through Relationships. But often, there's something in the way... looking a little closer, it looks like me!
In 2:5-6, Paul says he didn't come to them using flattery, hidden agenda, looking for praise or seeking to control. Like it or not, these things are there, they are real in our relating with others.
I do these things because of what I need, or think I need. For instance, in serving you, I will try hard because I hunger for praise, I need to be affirmed. I'm trying to meet my own need--maybe more than serving you? We're all a jumble of mixed motives to be sure, but putting my finger on distracting needs, that I'm trying to fill, is the starting point. Finding those needs met by God in Christ frees me to serve you and glorify God.

your story in 1 Thess 2:1-4

2008-04-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

I think Paul is reminding us of some of the reasons people might give up on trying to serve the Lord, being Busy in the Family Business.
Add in an anonymous post today - How have you wrestled with one of these questions, in relation to serving the Lord?

Does what I do make any difference? (2:1)
Is it worth the trouble? (2:2)
What will people think? (2:3)
Will God really use me? (2:4)

They are good questions--valid questions--we need to face them and not duck them... and God has real answers.

Busy in the Family Business

2008-04-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

In 1 Thess 2:1-4 (posted on the right) Paul seems kinda defensive. It sounds like he already knows the suggestions critics are making against him--he's heard it before.
We've been there before. Maybe You stepped into service and it didn't go the way you expected. Maybe you gave your best but someone assumed the worst. Your not sure you could jump in again, you wonder why you would.
Paul's musings suggest answers to four common questions that relate to our service in Christ's body, the church:

Does what I do make any difference? (2:1)
Is it worth the trouble? (2:2)
What will people think? (2:3)
Will God really use me? (2:4)

I'm glad that Paul seems to have wrestled with these questions, and that he anticipates others will too. What help or encouragement is there for us in these four verses, for serving in God's family business?

Get Real 1 Thess 1:5-10

2008-04-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

I want to be better at witnessing. There are people around me that need to believe in Christ. I should be good at "telling" others. But, is telling enough?
We want real power in our witness, and real power comes from being real. The gospel is powerful, but in 1Thess 1:5, Paul's message was further empowered by his person, who he was among them for their sakes.
What do they need to see in us, in order that they might hear us? What are some ways that Christians need to get real?

Thrive!

2008-04-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

thrive! A major health care provider invites us to join them, and thrive. Can they really deliver that? God can. What does it look like? 1 Thess 1:9-10. Idols, serving the living God, waiting for His Son --what does that look like in life today? What do you think? We need to know, cause we want to...thrive.

Taking those first steps. 1 Thess 1:2-4, 9-10

2008-04-10T08:01:00.001-07:00

Every new parent is anxious--waiting to hear their newborn cry out just after delivery, looking for those first indicators of "normal" speech and learning development. Urging them into taking those first steps.
In the Christian life, what are those first steps and signs of healthy development that we should be looking for? In these verses: the work of faith (in you), your labor of love, perservering in hope, provoke me both with what I have seen the frist fruit of, and yet want to stir up again in my life, more and more. Do we ever arrive? Will we ever not long for more? Do we most eagerly long for more fruit in our lives or is our passion and concern even more intense for others in the family we deeply care about?

Grace and Peace in the Church--a Sunday preview...

2008-04-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

God’s family is to work out grace that produces peace. That peace is harmony and relationship, and yet too often we experience failure to meet expectations and we hide in isolation. I don’t let others close because if they see me warts and all, they’ll reject me. So we pass on Sunday morning and ask “How are you?” And we are “Fine, oh just fine, everything’s good, keeping busy, doing alright, yeah we’re just fine—fine as fine could be.” But I’m not. I hurt, I’m lonely, I’m not being what I know that I should, and could. I fall short, I don’t measure up, but I’m terrified that if you knew, you’d pull back, turn away, talk to someone else…about me. So, “I’m fine, yeah just fine, keeping busy…doing stuff…doing alright...just…fine.
Grace steps in there, and just gives a hug, an embrace. In the midst of all my protests that I’m really fine, doing okay—its an embrace that says, I love you anyway, I accept you, even knowing what you’re afraid to tell. And if you told me, I won’t turn away, talk to someone else, about you... But we’ll stand here, arm in arm, we’ll face that thing down together. We have to, cause we’re family, and you can’t just break up family, cause it leaves everybody missing something…

Family Birthright

2008-03-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite images of a local church is family. Now, it doesn't always work well for us, because family is too often not what it is supposed to be..but church family, by God's grace, can be all that God intends it to be.
In 1 Thessalonians 1:1, is Paul's standard greeting, grace to you and peace...
How do you think grace, when lived out in the church family, brings and builds peace? Peace with God, Peace with yourself? Peace with others?
How have you found peace through grace?
Would you like to?

Resurrection Sunday

2008-03-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Why is Easter (Resurrection Sunday) so important? Why is it even bigger than Christmas--or is it? Why has the church through out the ages gathered on the first day of the week? Even baptism is given a new richer meaning in Christ's resurrection. Easter is not only our entrance into eternal life, it celebrates how we live that life day by day. It reminds us that when we gathered yesterday to lay the body of a dear friend in the ground, we do so in hope, not depair. Easter is big because the resurrection changes EVERYTHING!

Joshua 7 & 8 From Defeat to Devotion

2008-03-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

Disobedience, defeat, dismay, direction, discovery, deliverance, devotion.
Seven words that describe the journey of Israel from failure back to victory. These seven words frame the story of the two battles for one little city called Ai . They also suggest a framework for our journey from failure to victory, from defeat to devotion.
For your reflection, and to share your comments if you wish:

how has your disobedience of God's clear will led into failure?
how has defeat led you, in dismay, to cry out to God?
how has God met you in defeat, given direction towards discovery of a root of sin and what needs to change?
how has God's gracious victory in an area of life led you into renewed devotion to Him?

Joshua 6 -- Jericho

2008-03-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

Taking a fresh look at the story, I have one overarching question. Is the lesson for us one of obeying God or of trusting God? Don't try to have it both ways...Choose!
What do you think?

Check out this link for archeological info on Jericho:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/magazines/docs/v21n2_jericho.asp

Winning God's way

2008-03-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

The battle of Jericho,
its one of those all-time classics, that oldest story of this oldest city, you've heard it before, or you just haven't been "around."
But, like the narratives before this one, notice the repetition, certain details repeated for emphasis. Why?
And what's with all the marching in circles? Is this any way to win a war? We often talk about "going around in circles" as a bad thing, yet here it was a God thing...
Has there ever been a time when God had you going around in circles, you were tempted to jump off the not-so-merry-go-round, and yet God was working while you were walking?
We want to see deliverance and victory today, but most that's worthwhile calls for sticking it out, staying with God's plan, until you see God work.

Servant of God, continue the march...

Trusting in the covenant

2008-02-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

In Joshua 5, Israel goes to the extreme in their confidence in God's covenant. If we trust in God's covenant, we can celebrate his provision and have confidence in His victory.
My translation of Phil 3:3 goes like this: For we are the true circumcision, the ones who worshipfully serve by the Spirit of God, proudly boast in Christ Jesus, and do not have confidence in our natural humanity. Paul goes on in that chapter to describe his natural strenghts and assets as hindrances or liabilitities in the real pursuit of knowing Christ.
How might you agree with the apostle? How do human strengths and capabilities get in the way of knowing and serving Christ? Your honest comments will help all of us.

Circumcision--An uncomfortable topic...

2008-02-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

Joshua chapter 5 is about circumcision. All of Israel's soldiers submit to debilitating elective outpatient surgery, just as battle with Jericho looms before them! This doesn't make any sense, on a human level. But, if their success only comes from relationship with God, it does.
They are willing to lay aside their own strength and ability. They intend to enter this battle standing in the strength of their covenant relationship with God. The procedure itself was not the issue, but the devotion and dependence it indicated (Gen 17:8-10; Jer 4:4).
Philippians 3:3 says, "For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on the flesh [or who we are naturally]."
Abilities are good, but how do we rely on our natural human abilities when we should be relying on God and His promise?
Maybe this is an uncomfortable topic, not because of the procedure involved, but because of its implications on our dependence upon God...what self reliance must I lay aside?

Living Stones

2008-02-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Israel set up stones to provoke questions, to make opportunities to tell about the great thing God had done. Several of you have told me of ways we can do that.
Peter (1 Peter 2:5) also suggests a way. Coming to Christ in faith we are Living Stones. as such we should be always be ready to give a reason for the hope we possess (1 Peter 3:15).
How can we oursleves be living stones that provoke others to ask?

Joshua 4: Setting up stones

2008-02-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

There is so much to do, a city to take, land to conquer, an inheritance to claim, yet they take time to pause and prepare in advance for questions children will ask. What God has done is too great to allow memories to fade, or the next generation not to know. The stones are set up to provoke couriosity, to lead to a question, so that then the parents can give their children "an answer for the hope that is in them."
How have you done this in the past? How have you (or could you) prepared a circumstance or setting to provoke a question so that you can tell what God has done.
How else could we set up stones so that "people may know?"

Crossing over on dry land... again!

2008-02-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

Israel had been here before, 40 yrs before at the Red Sea... Why again?
3:7 says it would show everyonethat the Lord was with Joshua. Do you think Joshua was a little nervous to see God come through when the priests first put their feet in the water? "Sure, God did it for Moses, but will He do it for me?"
3:10 says that it was for all God's people, that "you shall know that the living God is among you" and will give you victory. I wan't to know more of that victory and awe of that comes with a greater confidence of the power and presence of the living God.........
My feet want that dry ground!

Joshua 3 Enter in to New Life in Christ

2008-02-11T10:32:00.000-08:00

Joshua three - an interesting passage - it seems like we have been here before. Crossing the Jordan is so much like Israel crossing the Red Sea, 40 years earlier. Why the repeat?
What do you think God is showing them by this obvious parallel to their redemption in the Exodus, as He now brings them in to their inheritance?
When you determined to walk with Christ, what obstacle or barrier was in your way? How has God walked with you through it?

Grace to serve

2008-02-08T11:29:00.000-08:00

Joshua's agents take on a difficult mission, find out the enemy has them trapped, yet God gives them shelter, a way of escape, and complete success in their mission. We also serve by God's grace, God working for us and through us. Tell me a story of what that has looked like.

Joshua Chapter 2

2008-02-07T07:44:00.001-08:00

I am struck by God's grace. The story is intriguing, with some unexpected twists, but the biggest plot twist is that the harlot becomes the heroine, some random immoral woman would save the day--and be saved that day.
Rahab takes a real leap when she changes loyalties. What was she risking? Why does she do it? How is she similar to someone coming to believe in Jesus as their savior today?
You're not a spy, you're not CIA, your not involved in counterintelligence, so what's in this story for you? What difference does it make?

Introducing Bob's BP Blog

2008-02-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, here we go. The first run of Pastor Bob's BP Blog.

I like sermons. I'm a Pastor, that's normal, in fact I probably like sermons more than most people. God has given us the opportunity to gather together and learn from His word, but sermons can be a tedious thing. Its all one way communication, monologue, there's not a lot of opportunity to interact, to dialogue along the way.
This blog is for that. I intend to post the passage for next Sunday early each week. I'll toss out some questions or musings that occur to me as I'm studying and musing on the text. I hope you'll respond to those and also even toss out some questions of your own. Share your own thoughts and insights or the difference you think this part of God's word should make in Clark County today.

I look forward to studying with you.

Pastor Bob