February 14th, 2010
The more that I’m a part of the “simple church” or the “house church” there are more things that I appreciate about it.
For the past two months we have been engaged in a detailed study of the 119th Psalm. Each week we take it section by section and explore it in-depth. Last week we finished the eight section and I thought that would be a good point to take the time for a review. So after I finished teaching last week, I asked each person to come prepared to tell what they had learned from the study and how they were applying that knowledge.
Today I didn’t do all of the teaching. After reading the Scriptures, praying and some outstanding singing I opened up “the floor” and began to ask others what they had learned. I’m so happy to say that each person contributed something significant that they had learned and were beginning to put into practice. Could this have been done in a more “traditional” church setting? Of course it could have, probably not as easily and probably not as effectively.
As a pastor the kind of feedback I received this morning was invaluable, I learned as much this morning in sixty minutes what might have taken me months to learn in another kind of setting.
Yea, the more I’m a part of the organic, simple church model the more I like it!
Tags: ho, house church, organic church, simple church
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February 8th, 2010
How Much of God do You Desire?
Psalm 119:57-64
That is a different saying, not one that you hear very frequently. What does he mean when he declares that the “Lord is my portion”? A portion is something that you lay claim to. Think in terms of food, we lay claim to the last piece of pizza, we claim that portion for ourselves.
That is what he is doing, he is claiming for himself the Lord. Think about that he lays claim to the Creator of the universe as his portion. Of all the things that he could claim, or that he could have had desire for what was it that he desired the most?
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Tags: desire, desire for God, God, Psalm 119
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January 27th, 2010
JESUS CHRIST – THE WEARY ONE
John 4:1-6
From his opening words of this gospel the Apostle John has been describing Jesus Christ to us. He has carefully chosen words to describe to us who Jesus is. John has described Jesus Christ as the eternal Word. He has described him as the Creator, as the Light and the Life of men. John the Baptist adds to our understanding of who Jesus is when he declares that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist also testifies that Jesus is indeed the Son of God.
After these opening declarative statements about Jesus, John shifts his focus to the actions of Jesus. The actions of Jesus like the words of John paint a living portrait of who Jesus Christ is.
For instance John records Jesus calling his first disciples teaching us that Christ is a leader and one who deserves and is worthy of being followed.
Next we have Jesus at the wedding in Cana. There he turns the water into wine displaying his divine miracle working power and ability, thereby confirming the words of John through his actions.
Shortly thereafter we see Jesus in the Temple driving out the moneychangers and the merchants. The Lord’s actions demonstrate his zeal for pure and proper worship as well as demonstrating his authority.
In John three we have our first look if you will of Jesus the evangelist. Nicodemus a leading teacher, if not THE leading teacher of Israel came to Jesus by night. Nicodemus came to check this guy out. “Who is it that is calling disciples and making such a ruckus in the Temple, and turning water into wine? ” The religious guys want to know what was going on, they wanted to know who this man is.
Also in John three we see the growing public awareness of Jesus. He and his disciples were out in the Judean countryside hard at work teaching and baptizing those who responded to the Lord’s message. So many people were responding to the Lord’s that it upset the disciples, the followers of John the Baptist. When they brought this to the attention of the Baptist how did he respond? Did he get upset? Did he throw a fit like the Olympic wrestler did this week when he threw down his medal because he didn’t win the gold? No, not at all! In fact he does just the opposite. He’s not upset at all. In fact he couldn’t be happier! He was filled with joy that people were coming to Christ. He knows that his ministry is complete; he has fulfilled the assignment that God had given to him. From this point forward John the Baptist fades away and the focus is exclusively on Jesus.
What do the actions of John the Baptist teach us about Christ? His actions teach us that Jesus Christ is the Pre-Eminent One. Jesus Christ is the one, the only one worthy to be exalted; in deed he must be exalted. As John says so eloquently “He must increase, but I must decrease. ”
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Tags: humanity of Christ, incarnation, Jesus Christ
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January 22nd, 2010
I believe that the Bible teaches that God is sovereign, totally absolutely sovereign in all things. Not some things but in all things. We must be very careful to not let the God’s sovereign control lead us to make the mistake that our actions really don’t matter. The thinking goes if God is sovereign then it is what it is and my actions really don’t matter much at all.
In the Scriptures there are some things that create what I refer to as “tension”. One of those tensions is if God is sovereign then why are there so many commands and exhortations in the Scriptures given to me to play an active role in my own spiritual development? For instance what did Paul say to the Philippians?
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”(Philippians 2:12-13ESV)
Don’t let Paul’s words confuse you, there is no contradiction, but there is a tension. We do have some “doing” in spiritual growth, while at the same time we are confident that God is working as well.
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Tags: christian, christian life, doer, doing, God, hearer, scripture, sovereign
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January 19th, 2010
“YOU MAY NOT KNOW THIS JESUS BUT THIS JESUS KNOWS YOU”
John 2:13-25
I’m not a big fan of pictures of Jesus. Our “view” our perception of Jesus is to be formed by the Scriptures. The verbal portrait of Christ painted for us by the Scriptures is vastly different than the visual portraits of Christ that so many artists tend to create of Christ. Think about most of the pictures you have seen of Jesus. He probably looked more like and interior designer off of TLC than he did Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: gospel of John, Jesus Christ
Posted in The Gospel of John | No Comments »
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