Does anyone in here want to be rich?
How about famous? A show of hands for those of you who'd like to be famous.
Okay, on a related note...
How many of you have your own bible?
How many of you read it regularly?
Joshua 1:8
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Don't worry, this isn't going to be a message about how you should read your bible more. Just know that its a given that reading your Bible is very much important.
Instead I want to focus tonight on getting the most of your reading.
Who here has been sitting there, minding your own business, reading your bible and this verse just pops out at you and your all "that's cool." or "that doesn't make any sense." Or your sitting in church (or youth group) and your pastor throws out this verse that makes you wonder if that really means what he thinks it means, or you don't really see the connection between one thought and the next. What do you do then?
Well, I don't know about you guys but I suppose a great deal of the time I, at best, just circle the verse in my notes and move on. Because when I'm cleaning out the back of my bible I totally reread my notes, and when I see that circle I know exactly what it means right... window cleaning story? I don't know if it fits here....
So, we are called, even commanded, to study the bible, to meditate on it, to do our best to live by what it says, but we don't always understand what it says. What then?
What kinds of tools do we have to help us understand the bible?
1. Teachers (parents, pastors, mentors)
2. Commentaries and Devotionals
3. Dictionaries, Concordances, Cross-references
Now, when I was a child, I spoke as a child, and I acted like a child... anyway, I was part of a homeschooling program that believed (much to their credit) that all learning should be related back to the bible, so each month we'd have a key verse that would relate in some way to whatever we learned in various topics such as language arts, history, medicine.. .etc etc. But the important part is that at the beginning of each month we would sit down and make a "Meditation worksheet" where we'd take that key verse and go through a series of steps in order to gain understanding and to better learn what that verse meant.
Meditate on it day and night
Now this, I think this is bible study 101. This is how I first learned to study the scriptures.
Note that some of the steps may make you go "what seriously? How is that going to help?" But at the end of the day its God that grants each of us wisdom and understanding if we diligently seek it, and like what it says in Joshua when it says to "meditate on it day and night." The idea behind meditation is that its something that is rattling around in our heads all day long.
1. Copy the passage
2. Ask questions
3. Word Studies (definations, other uses of the same word)
4. Look up cross-references (
5. Write a paraphrase (write it in your own words)
6. How will I apply it to my life today and next week.
7. Draw a picture
So, lets dig into a passage of scripture using this methodology and see if we can't gain understanding.
Luke 5:33-39
33 They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?
35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.
37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.
38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
10-19-11: Except for that...
David: A Man After God's Own Heart
Except this...
Now, we'll be finishing up our series on David next week with something a little different: I want everyone to bring their favorite psalm, or their favorite portion of a psalm.
1 Kings 15:5
For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.
Oh how I've dreaded this day.
We have been examining David for the last two months, give or take, and I hope that you've gotten as much out of the study as I have. I've grown to admire David in new ways, as well as remembering the old ones, and so coming to this, preparing to teach upon this, has been incredibly painful and difficult.
insert story of bathsheba here:
2 Samuel 11
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David.
7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.
8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.
17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
This is a horror story, a brutal tragedy that will forever stain David's family.
Everything that follows this, from here to David's death, is rebellion and bloodshed.
I perhaps am exaggerating but I'd say besides Lucifer's rebellion against God, it doesn't get much worse than this.
This should sober us to the very bone. This should be something that we wish to avoid.
So, to avoid something we must know its beginning.
Where does this begin?
Examine verses 1 and 2: "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful."
Now I can understand why David was walking around on his rooftop. He was bored, all his friends were off fighting a war. I can't even begin to count the amount of stupid things I've done because I was bored. The movies I'm never going to get out of my head, the stupid things I said to people that I would have never said if it was daylight and I was surrounded with people.This is something that I, and probably the rest of you, can easily sympathize with.
So, is the solution work work work, she'll never get her dress done?
I suppose I could go all southern baptist preacher on you and tell you all that if you're being tempted its because your not doing: you should read your bible all the time, you should be praying for your eternal soul every moment of the day, you should attend every church service, but while all of those are good and excellent and worthy things that I would encourage you, I know that's really not all there is to it. And we'll see why in a moment.
The story doesn't begin with David walking on the rooftop: It begins with a surrendering of responsibility. It begins with David remaining in Jerusalem.
He was supposed to be doing something, he was supposed to be leading the armies of Israel, but for reasons unknown he stays in Jerusalem instead.
What I can't really wrap my head around, nor do I think there is enough there in the scriptures to point to something and say "this, this here is why David was on that rooftop checking out the scenery instead of where he should have been, leading the armies of Israel." But I think I'll make a stab at something that has been weighing on my heart recently and I believe will really be useful for you guys.
So, here is David the youth leader's theory on why King David stayed home from the war: Maybe he was tired; wait no, that don't really capture it in its fullness. He was weary, he was worn down, he was exhausted, he was, to use the christianesse: burnt out.
The long dark teatime of the soul.
And so he decides to stay home, and thus unfolds probably one of the greatest tragedies of the bible.
Now, to launch us into our discussion of "God's Rest" I would like to ask you: What is "God's rest?" Nothing complicated, just a description of what God's rest might look like.
To simplify it, most of the scriptural references to God's Rest, say things like:
1. Untouched by trouble.
2. Strengthen us and helps us.
3. I will bring you to a land of milk and honey...
All really awesome things. Things I definitely want God to do for me, but does it say that this legendary peace will really protect us from sin? Why yes, it will. It says so in Philipians...
Philipians 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
So, this is wonderful: We have been promised peace from God, and it will guard our hearts and minds, so we will neither be deceived nor sin. Sounds great, sign me up.
But I wonder, just how important is this? I mean, God's rest. I'm a big strong smart guy, how important could it be that I have that. Lets turn to Hebrews where we will find some excellent teaching on this very question...
Hebrews 4:1
1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
Luke 12:4
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
Hows that for a paradigm shift? Don't fear death, but do fear not entering God's rest?
How important could that be anyway? As a real life example I give you Eli Schilling, a fellow student of mine at Eternal Vision, the bible school I attended. For some reason lost in the ravages of time, we lost most of our cooking staff, so Eli volunteered to handled breakfast. For some 120 odd students and staff. By himself. This meant that he was getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning, every morning and working until breakfast time. After a week or so I discovered that he was talking to his hand. To keep himself sane.
I'm sorry Eli, I don't think its working.
So that's spiritual rest, how much more important then is spiritual rest? What could be the spiritual equivalent of talking to your own hand?
So, lets take a look at three things you can do to seek God's rest:
1. Meditate on God's Promises
Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
1. To reflect on; contemplate. 2. To plan in the mind; intend:
The bible is full, absolutely full, of God's promises. How many do you know? How many do you trust, believe in, have faith in?
Find some that mean something to you, either it encourages you or you want it more in your life and start thinking about what it means, what else is true, write it on a post-it note and stick it to the bathroom mirror. Read it on the way to school each day, talk about it with friends. Explore the wonderful promises of God.
Heres a bunch on God's rest:
Dueteronomy 33:12
12 About Benjamin he said:
“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”
Proverbs 19:23
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Luke 2:14
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Matthew 11:28-29
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Isaiah 41:10
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
2. Encourage each other.
Hebrews 3:12
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
This little thing, you'd think it would be really obvisious but I'd hate to ask anyone in this room, or any room, when the last time someone encouraged them.
So do so, and you'll discover that not only will you find yourself resting in God but you'll have the joy of watching people be encouraged, as well as being encouraged yourself.
Even more so, like Jonathan does to David, encourage one another in the Lord. How does one do something like that?
Start with a simple question, then to follow Hitch's advice "Listen, and respond." This is the hardest part.
3. Confidently approach God's throne.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Confidently approach God's throne. How ostentatious is that declaration? Yeah, you just go and approach the throne of grace, God's throne of grace. But we totally can, and we do. When we worship, when we pray, when we get totally lost in bible study, when we throw on our ipods and dance around like we just don't care, when we sit on a log and watch the sun set. I'm waxing poetic, I'd better stop that. Its different for every person, but the key here is we can approach, we just need to try.
A couple of weeks ago at First Friday Zack gave a short but oh so awesome word about the presence of God. Its here, right now, and so often we feel like we need to conjure it, summon it down from heaven, but its right here among us. God is everywhere,
Except this...
Now, we'll be finishing up our series on David next week with something a little different: I want everyone to bring their favorite psalm, or their favorite portion of a psalm.
1 Kings 15:5
For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.
Oh how I've dreaded this day.
We have been examining David for the last two months, give or take, and I hope that you've gotten as much out of the study as I have. I've grown to admire David in new ways, as well as remembering the old ones, and so coming to this, preparing to teach upon this, has been incredibly painful and difficult.
insert story of bathsheba here:
2 Samuel 11
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David.
7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.
8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.
9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were.
17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
This is a horror story, a brutal tragedy that will forever stain David's family.
Everything that follows this, from here to David's death, is rebellion and bloodshed.
I perhaps am exaggerating but I'd say besides Lucifer's rebellion against God, it doesn't get much worse than this.
This should sober us to the very bone. This should be something that we wish to avoid.
So, to avoid something we must know its beginning.
Where does this begin?
Examine verses 1 and 2: "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful."
Now I can understand why David was walking around on his rooftop. He was bored, all his friends were off fighting a war. I can't even begin to count the amount of stupid things I've done because I was bored. The movies I'm never going to get out of my head, the stupid things I said to people that I would have never said if it was daylight and I was surrounded with people.This is something that I, and probably the rest of you, can easily sympathize with.
So, is the solution work work work, she'll never get her dress done?
I suppose I could go all southern baptist preacher on you and tell you all that if you're being tempted its because your not doing: you should read your bible all the time, you should be praying for your eternal soul every moment of the day, you should attend every church service, but while all of those are good and excellent and worthy things that I would encourage you, I know that's really not all there is to it. And we'll see why in a moment.
The story doesn't begin with David walking on the rooftop: It begins with a surrendering of responsibility. It begins with David remaining in Jerusalem.
He was supposed to be doing something, he was supposed to be leading the armies of Israel, but for reasons unknown he stays in Jerusalem instead.
What I can't really wrap my head around, nor do I think there is enough there in the scriptures to point to something and say "this, this here is why David was on that rooftop checking out the scenery instead of where he should have been, leading the armies of Israel." But I think I'll make a stab at something that has been weighing on my heart recently and I believe will really be useful for you guys.
So, here is David the youth leader's theory on why King David stayed home from the war: Maybe he was tired; wait no, that don't really capture it in its fullness. He was weary, he was worn down, he was exhausted, he was, to use the christianesse: burnt out.
The long dark teatime of the soul.
And so he decides to stay home, and thus unfolds probably one of the greatest tragedies of the bible.
Now, to launch us into our discussion of "God's Rest" I would like to ask you: What is "God's rest?" Nothing complicated, just a description of what God's rest might look like.
To simplify it, most of the scriptural references to God's Rest, say things like:
1. Untouched by trouble.
2. Strengthen us and helps us.
3. I will bring you to a land of milk and honey...
All really awesome things. Things I definitely want God to do for me, but does it say that this legendary peace will really protect us from sin? Why yes, it will. It says so in Philipians...
Philipians 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
So, this is wonderful: We have been promised peace from God, and it will guard our hearts and minds, so we will neither be deceived nor sin. Sounds great, sign me up.
But I wonder, just how important is this? I mean, God's rest. I'm a big strong smart guy, how important could it be that I have that. Lets turn to Hebrews where we will find some excellent teaching on this very question...
Hebrews 4:1
1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
Luke 12:4
“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
Hows that for a paradigm shift? Don't fear death, but do fear not entering God's rest?
How important could that be anyway? As a real life example I give you Eli Schilling, a fellow student of mine at Eternal Vision, the bible school I attended. For some reason lost in the ravages of time, we lost most of our cooking staff, so Eli volunteered to handled breakfast. For some 120 odd students and staff. By himself. This meant that he was getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning, every morning and working until breakfast time. After a week or so I discovered that he was talking to his hand. To keep himself sane.
I'm sorry Eli, I don't think its working.
So that's spiritual rest, how much more important then is spiritual rest? What could be the spiritual equivalent of talking to your own hand?
So, lets take a look at three things you can do to seek God's rest:
1. Meditate on God's Promises
Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
1. To reflect on; contemplate. 2. To plan in the mind; intend:
The bible is full, absolutely full, of God's promises. How many do you know? How many do you trust, believe in, have faith in?
Find some that mean something to you, either it encourages you or you want it more in your life and start thinking about what it means, what else is true, write it on a post-it note and stick it to the bathroom mirror. Read it on the way to school each day, talk about it with friends. Explore the wonderful promises of God.
Heres a bunch on God's rest:
Dueteronomy 33:12
12 About Benjamin he said:
“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”
Proverbs 19:23
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Luke 2:14
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Matthew 11:28-29
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Isaiah 41:10
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
2. Encourage each other.
Hebrews 3:12
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
This little thing, you'd think it would be really obvisious but I'd hate to ask anyone in this room, or any room, when the last time someone encouraged them.
So do so, and you'll discover that not only will you find yourself resting in God but you'll have the joy of watching people be encouraged, as well as being encouraged yourself.
Even more so, like Jonathan does to David, encourage one another in the Lord. How does one do something like that?
Start with a simple question, then to follow Hitch's advice "Listen, and respond." This is the hardest part.
3. Confidently approach God's throne.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Confidently approach God's throne. How ostentatious is that declaration? Yeah, you just go and approach the throne of grace, God's throne of grace. But we totally can, and we do. When we worship, when we pray, when we get totally lost in bible study, when we throw on our ipods and dance around like we just don't care, when we sit on a log and watch the sun set. I'm waxing poetic, I'd better stop that. Its different for every person, but the key here is we can approach, we just need to try.
A couple of weeks ago at First Friday Zack gave a short but oh so awesome word about the presence of God. Its here, right now, and so often we feel like we need to conjure it, summon it down from heaven, but its right here among us. God is everywhere,
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Song Fragment
Here's a little bonus for what few people read the youth blog.
Last night ukulele practice became spontanious worship which became this little fragment of song, which I hope you enjoy but considering that its been years since I did anything related to songwriting (many, many years) I'm willing to concede that this won't end up being sung in church.
Sorry about the sound quality, I'll have to figure that out. Since this video is mainly just a reference so I don't forget what little of the song I have penned down when I go to sleep tonight I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Enjoy
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Unfailing Love - Message by Jessica Whitcomb
Psalm 31:7 “I am overcome with joy because of your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and
you care about the anguish of my soul.”
From Dictionary.com “excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain”
Synonyms: agony, torment, torture!
Okay, so obviously, ANGUISH; not such a good thing! So Jesus cared to the highest possible degree; he
cared and shared in our suffering when He took our sins upon himself and bore our shame as His own.
You might think, well, if He could do that, if He could really take all our sins and wash us clean, then why
put us through all this suffering on earth? One answer can be found in John 16:33…
“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Okay, so it’s like God (through Jesus) is saying, “I guarantee you will fall, you will be in trouble (probably
most of the time), and you will face things you don’t necessarily want to. But be assured, take comfort,
because I know what I’m doing. I am your master guide to getting through life.” Let’s say for example,
that you are a video game newbie (like me) and you don’t wanna die in the first three seconds of the
game; are you gonna enlist a mediocre player to help you? Or are you going to get the guy who has the
top score and knows the game inside out? It’s the same way with God! SIDENOTE: Ben Franklin left one
thing out when he said there were two things certain in life; he left out “screwing up”. There’s death,
taxes, and screwing up!”
So why the suffering??? There’s no joy in love if there’s no trials. When you ladies (and men) watch
romance movies, you can pretty much count on the fact that there’s going to be some sort of trial, that
the two characters are required to overcome sort of circumstance in order to get to their happy ending!
(Princess Bride anyone?)It wouldn’t be a good movie without that! Who wants to witness a love story
that’s perfect from the get-go, their lives are fine and dandy, and then they die without any problems
whatsoever?! They have accomplished nothing. My theory is that their love dies with them because
there’s no joy in love if there are no trials! The same could be said for just life in general. When the
world, when people, when circumstances FAIL you, His love will not. Kinda the whole point of “unfailing
love”, you know? The world, our lives, WE are imperfect so that HE can be the perfect “thing” for
us. “Love is made perfect in your weakness.” I mean, He’s perfect all on his own, but he purposely
called us to be His children because He wants to see us grow, fail, trip up, and turn to Him as our Father
at all times. In John 17:11 when He’s in the garden on the eve of his crusifiction and He’s praying Jesus is
saying, “Holy Father, keep them and care for them.” He didn’t say, “God show ‘em who’s boss!” or “Go
get ‘em dad!” Keep and care! That’s love people just in case you didn’t know…
Song..”You stay the same through the ages, Your love never changes. There may be pain in the night,
but joy comes in the morning. And when the oceans rage, I don’t have to be afraid, cuz I know that You
love me and Your love never fails” That’s it in a nutshell. That’s the point!
So WE FAIL BUT GOD’S LOVE DOESN’T!
How can we be certain God won’t just take it back and decide there’s too many reasons for Him not
love us and then changes His mind?
We certainly see a lot of that kind of love in our lives today, so why not? Well, God isn’t human for one
thing…
Romans 8:38 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and
life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow,
and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the
deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is
revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
ONCE HE’S IN OUR HEARTS, HE’S THERE FOREVER! Unfailing love= never-ending, never regretting, ever-
present, conquers all things, IT’S THE STRONGEST THING OUT THERE IN HEAVEN AND EARTH!
So I encourage you guys to simply talk to God, show Him how grateful you are for His love every day,
and when you screw up or something bad happens think about these words from C.S. Lewis:
“To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?”-C.S. Lewis J
you care about the anguish of my soul.”
From Dictionary.com “excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain”
Synonyms: agony, torment, torture!
Okay, so obviously, ANGUISH; not such a good thing! So Jesus cared to the highest possible degree; he
cared and shared in our suffering when He took our sins upon himself and bore our shame as His own.
You might think, well, if He could do that, if He could really take all our sins and wash us clean, then why
put us through all this suffering on earth? One answer can be found in John 16:33…
“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Okay, so it’s like God (through Jesus) is saying, “I guarantee you will fall, you will be in trouble (probably
most of the time), and you will face things you don’t necessarily want to. But be assured, take comfort,
because I know what I’m doing. I am your master guide to getting through life.” Let’s say for example,
that you are a video game newbie (like me) and you don’t wanna die in the first three seconds of the
game; are you gonna enlist a mediocre player to help you? Or are you going to get the guy who has the
top score and knows the game inside out? It’s the same way with God! SIDENOTE: Ben Franklin left one
thing out when he said there were two things certain in life; he left out “screwing up”. There’s death,
taxes, and screwing up!”
So why the suffering??? There’s no joy in love if there’s no trials. When you ladies (and men) watch
romance movies, you can pretty much count on the fact that there’s going to be some sort of trial, that
the two characters are required to overcome sort of circumstance in order to get to their happy ending!
(Princess Bride anyone?)It wouldn’t be a good movie without that! Who wants to witness a love story
that’s perfect from the get-go, their lives are fine and dandy, and then they die without any problems
whatsoever?! They have accomplished nothing. My theory is that their love dies with them because
there’s no joy in love if there are no trials! The same could be said for just life in general. When the
world, when people, when circumstances FAIL you, His love will not. Kinda the whole point of “unfailing
love”, you know? The world, our lives, WE are imperfect so that HE can be the perfect “thing” for
us. “Love is made perfect in your weakness.” I mean, He’s perfect all on his own, but he purposely
called us to be His children because He wants to see us grow, fail, trip up, and turn to Him as our Father
at all times. In John 17:11 when He’s in the garden on the eve of his crusifiction and He’s praying Jesus is
saying, “Holy Father, keep them and care for them.” He didn’t say, “God show ‘em who’s boss!” or “Go
get ‘em dad!” Keep and care! That’s love people just in case you didn’t know…
Song..”You stay the same through the ages, Your love never changes. There may be pain in the night,
but joy comes in the morning. And when the oceans rage, I don’t have to be afraid, cuz I know that You
love me and Your love never fails” That’s it in a nutshell. That’s the point!
So WE FAIL BUT GOD’S LOVE DOESN’T!
How can we be certain God won’t just take it back and decide there’s too many reasons for Him not
love us and then changes His mind?
We certainly see a lot of that kind of love in our lives today, so why not? Well, God isn’t human for one
thing…
Romans 8:38 “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and
life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow,
and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the
deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is
revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
ONCE HE’S IN OUR HEARTS, HE’S THERE FOREVER! Unfailing love= never-ending, never regretting, ever-
present, conquers all things, IT’S THE STRONGEST THING OUT THERE IN HEAVEN AND EARTH!
So I encourage you guys to simply talk to God, show Him how grateful you are for His love every day,
and when you screw up or something bad happens think about these words from C.S. Lewis:
“To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?”-C.S. Lewis J
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Refuge part 2
David: A Man After God's Own Heart
Refuge: Part II
What kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
The short version: A man who is always ready to step forward and defend those in need.
Or apparently a really great husband.
Long version? Well, here goes nothing.
If you sit back and read Psalms for any given period of time there are going to be two major themes running through most of the book. Any guesses?
1. Rejoice! (Psalms 92: 4-5)
2. Save Me! (Psalms 69:1-3)
In the Psalms there are 43 references to the word "refuge" alone
Refuge
1. Shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.: to take refuge from a storm.
2. A place of shelter, protection, or safety.
3. Anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape.
Synonyms
1. security, safety. 2. asylum, retreat, sanctuary, haven, stronghold.
So, being chased through Israel, surrounded by people who are looking to him for protection, constantly praying to God to be saved. David is looking for a refuge at the same time he's acting as a refuge. Read the rest of Psalms 69 sometime, its a heavy, vivid prayer that begins with "I'm trapped in a mire and there is no place to stand" and ends with "you will be worshiped all through this land." and it gets even more difficult, because one day a messenger shows up with news of a Philistine invasion.
1 Samuel 23:1-5
1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,”
2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”
4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.”
5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.
Now note: nowhere in the job description of "fugitive" is the requirements to save people, let alone cities. In fact for all David's running and hiding from Saul he rarely ever acts like someone who needs to be running. Saving Keilah isn't something that David was required to do, in fact it was probably Saul's job to rally and army and stop invaders. But no, Saul is keeping himself busy with other things. And its not like God showed up and said "Go save Keilah." David takes the inititative and seeks the Lord's direction in this matter. Notice the change in the answers: David comes and asks "Should I go?" And God says "Yes, go." David comes back and says "My men are afraid." God says "Go, you'll win."
So, what kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
A man who does not believe that he is the one keeping himself safe.
Way back at the beginning of watching David's life unfold we see him stand up against Goliath, a 9 foot trained killer, with a stick and a slingshot, and he did it because of faith in God's promises and because he was unwilling to watch someone stand there and call God a liar. And this is David, who is sticking with that choice to trust in God's promises. He is living the life that all of us should be living, one that acts like the things we are promised will actually happen.
In this case, we are focusing on the promise of safety, of refuge.
Zeph 3:16-17
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Now, I think the whole idea of a warrior God has been kind of lost in the last couple generations, but that's a topic for another time.
But sidenote: what do you think it means by their hands hanging limp? (Surrender.)
Take a moment to think about the people that make you feel safe, that you know you could go to if you were in trouble, that would come to your help if you were in danger. I know that if someone broke into my house and tried to harm my sisters I'd be doing everything I could to protect them. I would fong them, there would be pain, lots of pain, their entrails would become their extrails... etc etc etc. If that person isn't your dad, I'm truly sorry, that's tragic, but anyway, think about that person and then think about God and think about Matthew 7:11
Matthew 7:11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
If your dad or big brother or best friend would go to such great lengths to keep you safe, how much more will an all-powerful, all-knowing God?
Now for us, sitting in this room. Most of us will not be put into a place where we have to escape from an army or protect their families from intruders or travel to France to save our best friends. And believe me, I pray every day that we don't have to, but I've lost count of the evenings I've spent on the phone or sitting on a couch with a friend, listening to them pour their hearts out, with all the pain and confusion and stress and drama getting everywhere, and its not because I can say the magic words and make the pain go away, that I can wave my magic wand and make all their enemies disappear in a poof of smoke, as much as I wish I could its rare that I can do more than tell them I'll pray for them. They came and talked to me because they felt safe to do so, and in that way I was able to be a refuge for them. And I don't know how or where those situations will arise in you guys lives but they will if you are willing and live the kinds of lives that makes you a refuge, and I wish I could give you a ten point list of things you can do to become a sanctuary, but mainly it means being willing to and loving people.
Refuge: Part II
What kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
The short version: A man who is always ready to step forward and defend those in need.
Or apparently a really great husband.
Long version? Well, here goes nothing.
If you sit back and read Psalms for any given period of time there are going to be two major themes running through most of the book. Any guesses?
1. Rejoice! (Psalms 92: 4-5)
2. Save Me! (Psalms 69:1-3)
In the Psalms there are 43 references to the word "refuge" alone
Refuge
1. Shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.: to take refuge from a storm.
2. A place of shelter, protection, or safety.
3. Anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape.
Synonyms
1. security, safety. 2. asylum, retreat, sanctuary, haven, stronghold.
So, being chased through Israel, surrounded by people who are looking to him for protection, constantly praying to God to be saved. David is looking for a refuge at the same time he's acting as a refuge. Read the rest of Psalms 69 sometime, its a heavy, vivid prayer that begins with "I'm trapped in a mire and there is no place to stand" and ends with "you will be worshiped all through this land." and it gets even more difficult, because one day a messenger shows up with news of a Philistine invasion.
1 Samuel 23:1-5
1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,”
2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
3 But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”
4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.”
5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.
Now note: nowhere in the job description of "fugitive" is the requirements to save people, let alone cities. In fact for all David's running and hiding from Saul he rarely ever acts like someone who needs to be running. Saving Keilah isn't something that David was required to do, in fact it was probably Saul's job to rally and army and stop invaders. But no, Saul is keeping himself busy with other things. And its not like God showed up and said "Go save Keilah." David takes the inititative and seeks the Lord's direction in this matter. Notice the change in the answers: David comes and asks "Should I go?" And God says "Yes, go." David comes back and says "My men are afraid." God says "Go, you'll win."
So, what kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
A man who does not believe that he is the one keeping himself safe.
Way back at the beginning of watching David's life unfold we see him stand up against Goliath, a 9 foot trained killer, with a stick and a slingshot, and he did it because of faith in God's promises and because he was unwilling to watch someone stand there and call God a liar. And this is David, who is sticking with that choice to trust in God's promises. He is living the life that all of us should be living, one that acts like the things we are promised will actually happen.
In this case, we are focusing on the promise of safety, of refuge.
Zeph 3:16-17
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Now, I think the whole idea of a warrior God has been kind of lost in the last couple generations, but that's a topic for another time.
But sidenote: what do you think it means by their hands hanging limp? (Surrender.)
Take a moment to think about the people that make you feel safe, that you know you could go to if you were in trouble, that would come to your help if you were in danger. I know that if someone broke into my house and tried to harm my sisters I'd be doing everything I could to protect them. I would fong them, there would be pain, lots of pain, their entrails would become their extrails... etc etc etc. If that person isn't your dad, I'm truly sorry, that's tragic, but anyway, think about that person and then think about God and think about Matthew 7:11
Matthew 7:11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
If your dad or big brother or best friend would go to such great lengths to keep you safe, how much more will an all-powerful, all-knowing God?
Now for us, sitting in this room. Most of us will not be put into a place where we have to escape from an army or protect their families from intruders or travel to France to save our best friends. And believe me, I pray every day that we don't have to, but I've lost count of the evenings I've spent on the phone or sitting on a couch with a friend, listening to them pour their hearts out, with all the pain and confusion and stress and drama getting everywhere, and its not because I can say the magic words and make the pain go away, that I can wave my magic wand and make all their enemies disappear in a poof of smoke, as much as I wish I could its rare that I can do more than tell them I'll pray for them. They came and talked to me because they felt safe to do so, and in that way I was able to be a refuge for them. And I don't know how or where those situations will arise in you guys lives but they will if you are willing and live the kinds of lives that makes you a refuge, and I wish I could give you a ten point list of things you can do to become a sanctuary, but mainly it means being willing to and loving people.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Recap + Refuge part 1
We have been studying the life of David for the last month, or maybe I should say lifetime of David because we’ve spent a surprisingly small amount of time actually discussing the man himself. Its time for a recap, except this time we’re going to be playing a little bit of fill in the blanks.
So, let us recap:
The story of David’s life begins with: (Saul).
Saul, the first king of Israel, began his life as king by (hiding in the baggage), living in (fear) and that led him to (compromise).
He obeyed part of what God asked of him, and part of what the world around him expected of him, and gained (nothing).
This compromise led God to find himself a (man after his own heart) to rule Israel, and He found David.
One of the first mentioned things David does after being anointed is he went out and killed Goliath. Why was he able to do this? Because he stepped out in (faith) to prove God’s (promises).
After this, Jonathan enters the scene and swears a (covenant) with David, declaring them BFF’s and eventually choosing his friendship with David over his (Kingdom).
Which leads us to now, the end of act one of the lifetime of David. David is running for his life while being chased by an angry king and his army. The heroic music swells as David makes his way into the wilderness throughout Israel.
Now, just out of curiosity, and I know we haven’t actually talked about him that much, we’ve pretty much stayed on the sidelines and watched the side characters, but in one word, how would you describe David?
Also, before we get any further into this, does anyone have any questions on what we’ve talked about so far?
1 Samuel 22:13-17
13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?”
14 Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household?
15 Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father’s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”
16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.”
17 Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.” But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.
1 Samuel 22:18-23
18 The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.
19 He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.
20 But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David.
21 He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.
22 Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family.
23 Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”
So, while David was escaping he dropped by the priests at Nob and gets bread and the sword of Goliath from them (apparently he’s all grown up now, and when Saul hears about this he freaks out, gathers his army and heads over to accuse the priests of treason.
Which, as a side note, is a really odd concept to throw at a priest, if only because the priests serve God, the king doesn’t really even show up in their chain of command.
So, Saul accuses and Ahimelek's answer is fascinating. If you will allow me to remix for a moment: The priest looks over at Saul and says “are we thinking about the same David. Married your daughter, captain of your bodyguard, personal musician, renown war hero, brilliant leader, who has never spoken a bad word against you, even after you tried to pin him to the wall? That David? Are you joking with me? Why wouldn’t I help him? And what are you doing chasing him?”
To which Saul says to his men “Okay, kill them all.” And to which they (still being sane) say “Oh definitely not.” Doeg, who gets top honors in the horrible people in the history of Israel awards, butchers the priests, their families, their animals.
And this is a tragedy, not only because it marks a massacre against the priests of God, but because this is a moment where Saul receives the first of a several wake up calls that moving against David is wrong, and in response he basically redefines the very idea of “epic fail”.
Guilty conscience much?
So, one priest escapes and comes to David who offers him a place to stay, a place where he needs not fear, he offers him safety.
We’ll come back to this idea, but let’s head back a chapter for a moment and dive deeper.
1 Samuel 22:1-5
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?”
4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
So, David is on the run. He’s escaping Saul, who is after him with an army and intent to kill. He’s hiding in a cave. All of a sudden his family shows up, and then 400 other men show up, and that’s probably just the men. They’ve got families, so David’s gone from Israel’s most beloved son to Israel’s most wanted in 3 chapters, and now he’s gone from a guy hiding in a cave to a guy hiding in a cave responsible for 400+ people. The man basically has a small army, and all the responsibilities that come with that. At that point he decides the cave is getting way to cramped and drops his parents off at Mizpah before marching off on the bibles most dangerous camping trip. But think about that for a moment: David is hiding.
The perfect example of this is sardines. The larger the group gets the harder it is to keep them hidden and he’s gone from one man (easily hid) to a small army (not so much). He’s moved from hiding in a cave to having to hide in an entire forest.
He is beginning to sound an awful lot like Robin Hood.
What kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
The short version: A man who is always ready to step forward and defend those in need.
We'll continue to look into this next week.
So, let us recap:
The story of David’s life begins with: (Saul).
Saul, the first king of Israel, began his life as king by (hiding in the baggage), living in (fear) and that led him to (compromise).
He obeyed part of what God asked of him, and part of what the world around him expected of him, and gained (nothing).
This compromise led God to find himself a (man after his own heart) to rule Israel, and He found David.
One of the first mentioned things David does after being anointed is he went out and killed Goliath. Why was he able to do this? Because he stepped out in (faith) to prove God’s (promises).
After this, Jonathan enters the scene and swears a (covenant) with David, declaring them BFF’s and eventually choosing his friendship with David over his (Kingdom).
Which leads us to now, the end of act one of the lifetime of David. David is running for his life while being chased by an angry king and his army. The heroic music swells as David makes his way into the wilderness throughout Israel.
Now, just out of curiosity, and I know we haven’t actually talked about him that much, we’ve pretty much stayed on the sidelines and watched the side characters, but in one word, how would you describe David?
Also, before we get any further into this, does anyone have any questions on what we’ve talked about so far?
1 Samuel 22:13-17
13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?”
14 Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household?
15 Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father’s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”
16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family.”
17 Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.” But the king’s officials were unwilling to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.
1 Samuel 22:18-23
18 The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.
19 He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.
20 But one son of Ahimelek son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David.
21 He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.
22 Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family.
23 Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.”
So, while David was escaping he dropped by the priests at Nob and gets bread and the sword of Goliath from them (apparently he’s all grown up now, and when Saul hears about this he freaks out, gathers his army and heads over to accuse the priests of treason.
Which, as a side note, is a really odd concept to throw at a priest, if only because the priests serve God, the king doesn’t really even show up in their chain of command.
So, Saul accuses and Ahimelek's answer is fascinating. If you will allow me to remix for a moment: The priest looks over at Saul and says “are we thinking about the same David. Married your daughter, captain of your bodyguard, personal musician, renown war hero, brilliant leader, who has never spoken a bad word against you, even after you tried to pin him to the wall? That David? Are you joking with me? Why wouldn’t I help him? And what are you doing chasing him?”
To which Saul says to his men “Okay, kill them all.” And to which they (still being sane) say “Oh definitely not.” Doeg, who gets top honors in the horrible people in the history of Israel awards, butchers the priests, their families, their animals.
And this is a tragedy, not only because it marks a massacre against the priests of God, but because this is a moment where Saul receives the first of a several wake up calls that moving against David is wrong, and in response he basically redefines the very idea of “epic fail”.
Guilty conscience much?
So, one priest escapes and comes to David who offers him a place to stay, a place where he needs not fear, he offers him safety.
We’ll come back to this idea, but let’s head back a chapter for a moment and dive deeper.
1 Samuel 22:1-5
1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?”
4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
So, David is on the run. He’s escaping Saul, who is after him with an army and intent to kill. He’s hiding in a cave. All of a sudden his family shows up, and then 400 other men show up, and that’s probably just the men. They’ve got families, so David’s gone from Israel’s most beloved son to Israel’s most wanted in 3 chapters, and now he’s gone from a guy hiding in a cave to a guy hiding in a cave responsible for 400+ people. The man basically has a small army, and all the responsibilities that come with that. At that point he decides the cave is getting way to cramped and drops his parents off at Mizpah before marching off on the bibles most dangerous camping trip. But think about that for a moment: David is hiding.
The perfect example of this is sardines. The larger the group gets the harder it is to keep them hidden and he’s gone from one man (easily hid) to a small army (not so much). He’s moved from hiding in a cave to having to hide in an entire forest.
He is beginning to sound an awful lot like Robin Hood.
What kind of man sacrifices safety for responsibility?
The short version: A man who is always ready to step forward and defend those in need.
We'll continue to look into this next week.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Crazy things I did this summer
So, I was hanging out at my friend Micah's house in MN, lazy summer afternoon, no plans, so we decide to make a stop motion concept film. The results were odd, but fun and certainly more interesting than sitting on the couch watching Community.
So here it is: Youtube Link
So here it is: Youtube Link
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Notes from 8-17-11
1 Samuel 13:8-14
8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter.
9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash,
12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”
For a long time I struggled with this verse because it seemed a little harsh. Saul makes an offering because he wants God favor, and God puts an end to his kingship right then and there. Right?
Why isn't that right?
Its not right because of two simple things:
1. You can't gather God's favor by disobeying Him.
2. Saul wasn't doing it to gather God's favor, he was doing it out of fear.
Saul had an army of some 3000 odd soldiers following him, and the philistines had brought 30,000 chariots, which were the biblical equivalent of tanks. The people were beginning to scatter in fear for their lives and I can just imagine Saul standing there, watching all this and thinking to himself "This is going all wrong, we're all going to die, I need to do something." And yes, he was right, he needed to wait for God's favor. Instead he tried to substitute his own work for God's timing because he was afraid of what would happen if he didn't.
My friend Ally twittered me to tell me that God's been showing her how favor isn't really great favor unless its coming against some major obstacle. Think about that, God did want to show His favor to Israel, but He's not a God of small gestures. He wanted to show great favor, and that meant major obstacles.
1 Samuel 15:12-15
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
Now, as we talked about last week Saul began his kingship by hiding in the baggage, and here is where we really begin to see what Saul has built on that foundation.
Now, I will give you a little hint that will serve you well over the course of your lifetime: if you meet a person whose entire job description is pretty well summed up in "hears directly from God on a regular basis." The first thing you do should probably not be "lie through your teeth."
Now, there are at least three simple things wrong here:
1. He's straight up lying to Samuel, which basically meant God.
2. He's set up a monument in his own honor, which simply wasn't done. Monuments were to mark were God did amazing things, not when men won battles.
3. He's chosen to compromise in his obedience to God's commands.
Have your parents ever told you that "partial obedience is disobedience." Yeah, mine did too.
Now, God told Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites and all that they owned. Nothing to be left alive. Now, I think I've presumed on Sauls motivations enough, but the truth of the matter is that he spared the King of the Amalekites and the best of their sheep and cattle. Now why would he do this?
So, lets see Samuels response to this:
1 Samuel 15:22-23
22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD?"
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”
You can substitute whatever you want into that verse in exchange for burnt offerings. Going to church, wearing christian tshirts, only listening to christian music, whatever. The truth is that God desires wholehearted and full obedience, as hard and as painful as that can be. Last week I talked about the importance of not making decisions based on fear, and heres the fruit of that: Saul compromises in his obedience, choosing to obey the convention of the day, the common practice of those around him. He obeyed part of what God asked of him, and part of what the world around him expected of him, and gained nothing.
1 Sanuel 16:10-13
10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.”
11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
And so here we have Saul, a man chosen by God to lead His nation but who instead followed fear and it led him to compromise. Set against that is David, whose life was characterized in many ways by his bravery and his reliance on God (and its funny how those things are so intertwined) and who was called "a man after God's own heart." Saul acted in fear from the beginning, while one of the first things David does once he comes onto the stage is still considered one of the coolest acts of bravery in the bible (which we will talk about next week).
Its funny though, David's greatest fall comes out of the same sin as Saul: hiding from his God given responsibilities. We will also talk about this in a later week.
I'm going to encourage you guys to read the whole story around the next week, and see what God will show you. Samuel 13 &15
Let us pray, that we would be people after God's own heart, that we would stand couragous in the face of the perils of the world, that we would not act in fear.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Notes from 8-3-11
David: A man after God's own heart
Part 1: The Context of Saul
The real trouble with having a biblical name is that when you grow up in the church you grow up hearing about how cool (or terrible) you namesake was. You land a name like David and wow, quite the reputation to live up to. Not that I'm recommending that anyone named Ruth goes out and weeds the garden of the man she wants to marry, but you get the idea.
I've spent a good portion of my life trying to live up to the reputation that my name has attached to it and studying his life. I'll tell you something really quick, you can study portions of the Bible your whole life and still learn new things about God and His will and love for His people.
So, I've been studying (and trying to live to the example set within that study) and why not? King David was an amazing guy who provided peace and security for his nation, he was a worship leader and is generally described by people now a days as "A man after God's own heart."
How cool would it to be described as that?
Pretty cool I think, and so I ask the question: What does that even mean?
What did it mean to David, and what does it mean to us?
That's what I'm hoping to explore as we, over the next couple of weeks, overview his life, his successes and failures.
And if we are going to study David then there can only be one place to start, and its not actually the famous story of him and Goliath's showdown.
Context for everything, and therefore to lay the groundwork for David's life we must spend some time looking at Sauls.
Onwards, to lots of reading!
1 Samuel 8:5-9
5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.
7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ]
9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
1 Samuel 8:19-20
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.
20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
Whats wrong here?
How about "we will be like all the other nations." We want to be just like everybody else. Israel was a chosen people, and everyone around them knew it, and feared them for it, and they wanted to abandon that. What they had wasn't working anymore. Samuel was old and his sons were punks, and so instead of seeking the Lord's will for what they should do next they looked around them, took a look at the status quo, whatever the latest fad was and said "Oh, we want that! Let's do that!" Because after all, they seem cool.
And Samuel warns them: if you get a king he will do all these things. He'll take your money to buy stuff, he'll take your food to eat, he'll take your daughters to be his servants and your sons to be his soldiers. And they're like: "But kings are so coooooooolllll."
And anyway, everybody's doing it.
So Samuel goes out and with God's direction, finds them a king. Fastforward to the day of the coronation.
1 Samuel 10:22
22 So they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the LORD said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
This seems really funny. Here is Sauls coronation, and not only that but its the first coronation in the nation of Israel, and the guest of honor is missing. He's hiding. Now, you must understand that up until this point Saul has been doing some great things, and God's blessing has been on him. It says that he went to the Prophets in Gilgash and started prophesying, and I don't know about you but that's not an everyday occurrence for me, and it says that God gave Him a new heart.
And here he is now, everyone has gathered to crown him king and he is nowhere to be found. He has run away and hidden in the supplies.
This seems really funny, but its a true tragedy. Because this really is the first time Saul is given a burden of real responsibility and he runs. Imagine what it would be like if this was a president of the united states. Imagine how you might feel if the FOX news person announced that the newly elected president was hiding in the broom closet, hoping that someone else would be sworn in in his place. What would you be thinking?
Saul was afraid, and that fear would continue to haunt him for all of his life, and lead to the downfall of his dynasty.
Part 1: The Context of Saul
The real trouble with having a biblical name is that when you grow up in the church you grow up hearing about how cool (or terrible) you namesake was. You land a name like David and wow, quite the reputation to live up to. Not that I'm recommending that anyone named Ruth goes out and weeds the garden of the man she wants to marry, but you get the idea.
I've spent a good portion of my life trying to live up to the reputation that my name has attached to it and studying his life. I'll tell you something really quick, you can study portions of the Bible your whole life and still learn new things about God and His will and love for His people.
So, I've been studying (and trying to live to the example set within that study) and why not? King David was an amazing guy who provided peace and security for his nation, he was a worship leader and is generally described by people now a days as "A man after God's own heart."
How cool would it to be described as that?
Pretty cool I think, and so I ask the question: What does that even mean?
What did it mean to David, and what does it mean to us?
That's what I'm hoping to explore as we, over the next couple of weeks, overview his life, his successes and failures.
And if we are going to study David then there can only be one place to start, and its not actually the famous story of him and Goliath's showdown.
Context for everything, and therefore to lay the groundwork for David's life we must spend some time looking at Sauls.
Onwards, to lots of reading!
1 Samuel 8:5-9
5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.
7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ]
9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
1 Samuel 8:19-20
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.
20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
Whats wrong here?
How about "we will be like all the other nations." We want to be just like everybody else. Israel was a chosen people, and everyone around them knew it, and feared them for it, and they wanted to abandon that. What they had wasn't working anymore. Samuel was old and his sons were punks, and so instead of seeking the Lord's will for what they should do next they looked around them, took a look at the status quo, whatever the latest fad was and said "Oh, we want that! Let's do that!" Because after all, they seem cool.
And Samuel warns them: if you get a king he will do all these things. He'll take your money to buy stuff, he'll take your food to eat, he'll take your daughters to be his servants and your sons to be his soldiers. And they're like: "But kings are so coooooooolllll."
And anyway, everybody's doing it.
So Samuel goes out and with God's direction, finds them a king. Fastforward to the day of the coronation.
1 Samuel 10:22
22 So they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the LORD said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
This seems really funny. Here is Sauls coronation, and not only that but its the first coronation in the nation of Israel, and the guest of honor is missing. He's hiding. Now, you must understand that up until this point Saul has been doing some great things, and God's blessing has been on him. It says that he went to the Prophets in Gilgash and started prophesying, and I don't know about you but that's not an everyday occurrence for me, and it says that God gave Him a new heart.
And here he is now, everyone has gathered to crown him king and he is nowhere to be found. He has run away and hidden in the supplies.
This seems really funny, but its a true tragedy. Because this really is the first time Saul is given a burden of real responsibility and he runs. Imagine what it would be like if this was a president of the united states. Imagine how you might feel if the FOX news person announced that the newly elected president was hiding in the broom closet, hoping that someone else would be sworn in in his place. What would you be thinking?
Saul was afraid, and that fear would continue to haunt him for all of his life, and lead to the downfall of his dynasty.
The Gray Letter Bible:
I read a quote the other day on twitter by a motivation speaker and photographer named Marcus A. Murphy:
"It's interesting that the bible doesn't have a section for life's gray areas, being that this is where the majority of us live."
Now, think about that statement and answer two questions:
1. Do I agree with that?
2. What is he really saying here?
Well, what he's really saying here is that for most of our lives we will be dealing with situations that the bible does not have answers for.
To which I had only two simple thoughts:
1. Are we reading the same Bible? Because thats not what I see
2. Thats just depressing, especially since I know that there are christians out there that believe this.
In fact, if you look at this mindset you see a separation of "Christian life, or church life" and "real life". The speaker divides the decisions between good and evil and the rest of our everyday decisions, theso-called gray areas of life, harmless decisions between the good and the less-good.
Probably known to the enemy as "Divide and Conquer" because if your "real life" falls, your "church life" is pretty much already broken.
And I could go on and on here about postmodernism and its effect on the church and the history of literature and philosophy and all this technical stuff but you know what?
Its not a new issue:
It stretches back further than the last fifty years, its been plaguing christians for a lot longer than we've had a name for it.
Christ himself dealt with this all the time when the Pharisees tried to play stump the chump with him.
Have you ever looked at the questions the Pharisees where asking Jesus?
The Sadducees questioned Jesus about the issue of a man's brother marrying the man's widow (Matthew 22:23-28).
The Pharisees asked Jesus about healing on the Sabbath (Mathew 12:10).
The Pharisees questioned Jesus on His disciples' hand washing (Matthew 15:2).
A Pharisee asked Jesus about the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36).
Are these, for the most part, earth shattering issues of theology and deep philosophy? No, not really.
I mean, hand washing? Man, that doesn't strike me as particularly divisive..
But you must understand that at this point the whole Jewish society had developed such a wide array of laws governing every facet of their lives that you couldn't throw a brick with hitting a law that would tell you what kind of brick should be thrown, what you could throw it at and the time of day when you could throw bricks over 5 lbs, and all these laws were designed to make people "holier" enough that they would be acceptable to God (or, if you want to take cheap shots at the Pharisees, who are kind of the nazi's of Christianity, you could say they were so one could be "holier" than their neighbor).
So In fact, these questions were grounded in the day-to-day minutia of ordinary life to Jesus's listeners.
They are totally trying to stump Jesus with situations that they say aren't answered in the Bible.
Sound familar?
Lets look at this last one, because I think its got some good things to say.
Matthew 22:34-36
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.
35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
So lawyer comes up wondering whats the most important law here is how Jesus answers him:
Matthew 22:37-40
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In one single move Jesus removes the question and replaces the answer with a lesson.
Its like, I'm not sure if you guys have ever had this experience but I grew up homeschooled and somedays I'd be going along, doing my math and I would run into a problem that I couldn't quite figure out, so I'd come to my math teacher (my mom) and ask her "How do I solve this problem?" Always stressing the "this" so maybe she'd just tell me whether or not my answer is right. Instead she would always sit down with me and teach me how to do the problem correctly.
The bible is not a rulebook, it is an instruction manual. Some person once turned it into an acronym: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
It will not tell you exactly what to do in every situation, God is not the divine referee. It will teach you to live your life in a way to please and glorify God.
That passage in Matthew we read says that we are too "Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself."
This is the foundation of the Bible, everything we are supposed to do grows out of ( or hangs upon) these two things.
There is no situation or moral dilemna where we cannot discover what we should do by asking ourselves "what will show that I love God, and what will show that I love others."
Now, do not mistake "possible" for "easy" and do not mistake this as something you should apply to other peoples lives.
And certainly don't mistake love for fairness.
Ultimately, We can live the answers but that does not make them fun to live through.
But by the grace of God we can.
Let us pray.
I read a quote the other day on twitter by a motivation speaker and photographer named Marcus A. Murphy:
"It's interesting that the bible doesn't have a section for life's gray areas, being that this is where the majority of us live."
Now, think about that statement and answer two questions:
1. Do I agree with that?
2. What is he really saying here?
Well, what he's really saying here is that for most of our lives we will be dealing with situations that the bible does not have answers for.
To which I had only two simple thoughts:
1. Are we reading the same Bible? Because thats not what I see
2. Thats just depressing, especially since I know that there are christians out there that believe this.
In fact, if you look at this mindset you see a separation of "Christian life, or church life" and "real life". The speaker divides the decisions between good and evil and the rest of our everyday decisions, theso-called gray areas of life, harmless decisions between the good and the less-good.
Probably known to the enemy as "Divide and Conquer" because if your "real life" falls, your "church life" is pretty much already broken.
And I could go on and on here about postmodernism and its effect on the church and the history of literature and philosophy and all this technical stuff but you know what?
Its not a new issue:
It stretches back further than the last fifty years, its been plaguing christians for a lot longer than we've had a name for it.
Christ himself dealt with this all the time when the Pharisees tried to play stump the chump with him.
Have you ever looked at the questions the Pharisees where asking Jesus?
The Sadducees questioned Jesus about the issue of a man's brother marrying the man's widow (Matthew 22:23-28).
The Pharisees asked Jesus about healing on the Sabbath (Mathew 12:10).
The Pharisees questioned Jesus on His disciples' hand washing (Matthew 15:2).
A Pharisee asked Jesus about the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36).
Are these, for the most part, earth shattering issues of theology and deep philosophy? No, not really.
I mean, hand washing? Man, that doesn't strike me as particularly divisive..
But you must understand that at this point the whole Jewish society had developed such a wide array of laws governing every facet of their lives that you couldn't throw a brick with hitting a law that would tell you what kind of brick should be thrown, what you could throw it at and the time of day when you could throw bricks over 5 lbs, and all these laws were designed to make people "holier" enough that they would be acceptable to God (or, if you want to take cheap shots at the Pharisees, who are kind of the nazi's of Christianity, you could say they were so one could be "holier" than their neighbor).
So In fact, these questions were grounded in the day-to-day minutia of ordinary life to Jesus's listeners.
They are totally trying to stump Jesus with situations that they say aren't answered in the Bible.
Sound familar?
Lets look at this last one, because I think its got some good things to say.
Matthew 22:34-36
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.
35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
So lawyer comes up wondering whats the most important law here is how Jesus answers him:
Matthew 22:37-40
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In one single move Jesus removes the question and replaces the answer with a lesson.
Its like, I'm not sure if you guys have ever had this experience but I grew up homeschooled and somedays I'd be going along, doing my math and I would run into a problem that I couldn't quite figure out, so I'd come to my math teacher (my mom) and ask her "How do I solve this problem?" Always stressing the "this" so maybe she'd just tell me whether or not my answer is right. Instead she would always sit down with me and teach me how to do the problem correctly.
The bible is not a rulebook, it is an instruction manual. Some person once turned it into an acronym: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
It will not tell you exactly what to do in every situation, God is not the divine referee. It will teach you to live your life in a way to please and glorify God.
That passage in Matthew we read says that we are too "Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself."
This is the foundation of the Bible, everything we are supposed to do grows out of ( or hangs upon) these two things.
There is no situation or moral dilemna where we cannot discover what we should do by asking ourselves "what will show that I love God, and what will show that I love others."
Now, do not mistake "possible" for "easy" and do not mistake this as something you should apply to other peoples lives.
And certainly don't mistake love for fairness.
Ultimately, We can live the answers but that does not make them fun to live through.
But by the grace of God we can.
Let us pray.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
A Report from First Friday
Anybody mind if I brag about our youth for a bit?
I didn’t think so.
On the First Friday of every month a church in Petaluma hosts a worship night, inviting everyone from the surrounding churches to come and worship with them. It’s always a full house, and it’s always a good time of worship.
I wasn’t planning on going this time, in fact I usually forget about it until half an hour before it starts and I’m hip deep in one project or another and I don’t feel like tearing myself away from whatever thing I’m doing to drive 20 miles to sing for a couple hours.
This, I admit, is generally a mistake.
This month it was the same story, except this time my house was full of young teens. Teens from our church and from the school that meets there (Jim Bridger School, a good group of kids), all of whom were pretty excited about going. It’s hard not to be swept away when everybody in the house wants to spend their Friday night at church.
So we packed out my family’s 11 passenger van and headed up to Petaluma.
Now these gatherings of many churches are always good because it reminds us that we are not a small church fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat in a stormy world. We are part of the body of Christ. But anyway, I’m getting off topic.
Let us set the stage: the band is playing, the people singing, the lights darkened, many voices raised together in unity to worship God. As the night went on the presence of the Lord became more and more apparent. The youth around me began to weep as they were touched by the worship, by the glory of the Lord testified through song, but what could have been just an emotional high became something more, because as I watched they began to minister to one another.
Groups of two or three or four gathered together in their seats, each of them praying for one another. This wasn’t a youth leader gathering his tiny flock, this wasn’t a group of people following the instructions of the worship leader; this was youth seeing God touching the lives of their friends and peers and then responding to it.
My first response was to covet it. Here were youth that could be going to my youth group, doing amazing things and seeking after God’s glory in my youth group (funny juxtaposition there David). With people like these my youth group could be amazing. I began plotting how I could lure them to Wednesday night services.
Oh how fast God slapped that one down, because as I watched the youth praying I realized that I didn’t want to covet them.
I wanted to become them.
Here were young women of faith with tender hearts. Here were young men leading their peers towards God. Here were youth who cried out to God from the depths of their hearts.
Here was something worth striving for.
Nights like these tell us the truth. It’s not about numbers, because if we have two or three people like these youth, tender hearted leaders who seek God, then what can’t we do?
It’s true. Our youth group is small, but our youth seek God and lead others toward Him. Isn’t that encouraging?
Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
I didn’t think so.
On the First Friday of every month a church in Petaluma hosts a worship night, inviting everyone from the surrounding churches to come and worship with them. It’s always a full house, and it’s always a good time of worship.
I wasn’t planning on going this time, in fact I usually forget about it until half an hour before it starts and I’m hip deep in one project or another and I don’t feel like tearing myself away from whatever thing I’m doing to drive 20 miles to sing for a couple hours.
This, I admit, is generally a mistake.
This month it was the same story, except this time my house was full of young teens. Teens from our church and from the school that meets there (Jim Bridger School, a good group of kids), all of whom were pretty excited about going. It’s hard not to be swept away when everybody in the house wants to spend their Friday night at church.
So we packed out my family’s 11 passenger van and headed up to Petaluma.
Now these gatherings of many churches are always good because it reminds us that we are not a small church fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat in a stormy world. We are part of the body of Christ. But anyway, I’m getting off topic.
Let us set the stage: the band is playing, the people singing, the lights darkened, many voices raised together in unity to worship God. As the night went on the presence of the Lord became more and more apparent. The youth around me began to weep as they were touched by the worship, by the glory of the Lord testified through song, but what could have been just an emotional high became something more, because as I watched they began to minister to one another.
Groups of two or three or four gathered together in their seats, each of them praying for one another. This wasn’t a youth leader gathering his tiny flock, this wasn’t a group of people following the instructions of the worship leader; this was youth seeing God touching the lives of their friends and peers and then responding to it.
My first response was to covet it. Here were youth that could be going to my youth group, doing amazing things and seeking after God’s glory in my youth group (funny juxtaposition there David). With people like these my youth group could be amazing. I began plotting how I could lure them to Wednesday night services.
Oh how fast God slapped that one down, because as I watched the youth praying I realized that I didn’t want to covet them.
I wanted to become them.
Here were young women of faith with tender hearts. Here were young men leading their peers towards God. Here were youth who cried out to God from the depths of their hearts.
Here was something worth striving for.
Nights like these tell us the truth. It’s not about numbers, because if we have two or three people like these youth, tender hearted leaders who seek God, then what can’t we do?
It’s true. Our youth group is small, but our youth seek God and lead others toward Him. Isn’t that encouraging?
Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Notes from 5-27-11
Why Do I Need to Know This?
a primer on the significance of doctrine
Hebrews bible study introduction:
As I've mentioned several times in the last couple of weeks, I have been attending a great bible study that's about half pastors and half laymen, and most recently we've been digging into the authorship.
Quick show of hands: Who wrote Hebrews?
Right, no one really knows. Some people say it was Apollos, others Barnabas, some people say Priscilla, others Paul. There are maybe another 3 or 4 contenders for the title of "author of Hebrews" but long story short is no one really knows. There is strong circumstantial evidence that points to one or the other but no ones found a ancient copy of Hebrews where the author signed their name.
So, we've been talking about this on and off for the last month, probably lets say 5 or so hours of discussion and teaching and someone (and you knew someone had to) popped the big question.
Why does it matter to us who wrote Hebrews?
It will not save us, there is no heavenly pop quiz. Sure, we'll be able to rock at Bible Jeopardy but in the long run, how will feeling like we know who wrote the book of Hebrews change our lives?
(And bible knowledge should change our lives)
Even in Romans it says:
Romans 14:1 - Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
Meaning: You don't need to agree with everything a fellow christian believes in order to love them, and you shouldn't mistake identical doctrine for saving faith.
In fact a good chunk of Roman's could be described as Paul saying "Woah, woah, woah, Guys. You are way over-thinking this salvation thing."
So, why does it matter? Go broad. All those little details, why does it matter that I know the ins and outs of the church's doctrine? Why?
Matthew 14:30-32
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Here is the key, here is the reason we search for understanding
These things make us stronger, help us build a foundation that will not be shaken.
The more we understand what is written in this book, the word of God, the more we understand God himself.
The more we understand God himself, the stronger our faith becomes.
Doctrine does not save us, doctrine does not make us better christians.
Doctrine is an accepted translation of what a group of people believe about what certain things mean.
Everyone has doubts: everyone has (and this will sound more dramatic than I intend: everyone has crisis's of faith, big or small)
Emily Petty and Calvinism
To a lesser extent, me and Calvinism.
Kris the Bible Study Leader and the authorship of Hebrews.
Martin Luther didn't preach from James because he doubted that it was scripture.
(That, by the way is why its important for us to understand who wrote Hebrews. It establishes that, in fact, Hebrews should be part of the bible.)
So, we study the scriptures not only for our own faith but for the faith of others, not just to answer our own questions but the questions of others, not only to grow our own faith but the faith of others. And because of the rewards promised to those who seek wisdom.
Proverbs 2:10-12
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,
Proverbs 3:13-14
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
There is one last thing, and that is the fact that aren't we supposed to be in heaven right now?
Here is a man that studied the bible for longer than I've been alive, Harold Camping, who decided to mislead hundreds of people into selling everything they owned, quit their jobs, move away from their families and their churches, all because he said Jesus was coming back.
So, there's got to be more to seeking wisdom than reading:
James 1:5-6
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
If you would want to understand this great book, understand the doctrine and teachings of the bible and how it should change your life, ask God.
Now, when I started being youth director here I wanted this youth group to be a sanctuary, a place were it is safe to ask questions and try and understand the "deeper things" of our faith.
I'm probably still going to be talking about the nuts and bolts of faith, because I love the simple stuff, but that is why I've made this cool box, and I'm hoping to launch the youth blog, and of course I've got a Facebook, an email, and I hang out talking with you guys.
If you've got questions, I want to hear them. If you have questions about the message, ask me them. If you have questions that aren't about the message, write it down and put them in the box. I'll try and answer them, or just ask me them after youth group (I may not have the answer on the tip of my tongue, in which case I'll ask you to write them down and put them in the box, where I will take them home and research the living daylights out of them to find you an answer).
a primer on the significance of doctrine
Hebrews bible study introduction:
As I've mentioned several times in the last couple of weeks, I have been attending a great bible study that's about half pastors and half laymen, and most recently we've been digging into the authorship.
Quick show of hands: Who wrote Hebrews?
Right, no one really knows. Some people say it was Apollos, others Barnabas, some people say Priscilla, others Paul. There are maybe another 3 or 4 contenders for the title of "author of Hebrews" but long story short is no one really knows. There is strong circumstantial evidence that points to one or the other but no ones found a ancient copy of Hebrews where the author signed their name.
So, we've been talking about this on and off for the last month, probably lets say 5 or so hours of discussion and teaching and someone (and you knew someone had to) popped the big question.
Why does it matter to us who wrote Hebrews?
It will not save us, there is no heavenly pop quiz. Sure, we'll be able to rock at Bible Jeopardy but in the long run, how will feeling like we know who wrote the book of Hebrews change our lives?
(And bible knowledge should change our lives)
Even in Romans it says:
Romans 14:1 - Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
Meaning: You don't need to agree with everything a fellow christian believes in order to love them, and you shouldn't mistake identical doctrine for saving faith.
In fact a good chunk of Roman's could be described as Paul saying "Woah, woah, woah, Guys. You are way over-thinking this salvation thing."
So, why does it matter? Go broad. All those little details, why does it matter that I know the ins and outs of the church's doctrine? Why?
Matthew 14:30-32
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Here is the key, here is the reason we search for understanding
These things make us stronger, help us build a foundation that will not be shaken.
The more we understand what is written in this book, the word of God, the more we understand God himself.
The more we understand God himself, the stronger our faith becomes.
Doctrine does not save us, doctrine does not make us better christians.
Doctrine is an accepted translation of what a group of people believe about what certain things mean.
Everyone has doubts: everyone has (and this will sound more dramatic than I intend: everyone has crisis's of faith, big or small)
Emily Petty and Calvinism
To a lesser extent, me and Calvinism.
Kris the Bible Study Leader and the authorship of Hebrews.
Martin Luther didn't preach from James because he doubted that it was scripture.
(That, by the way is why its important for us to understand who wrote Hebrews. It establishes that, in fact, Hebrews should be part of the bible.)
So, we study the scriptures not only for our own faith but for the faith of others, not just to answer our own questions but the questions of others, not only to grow our own faith but the faith of others. And because of the rewards promised to those who seek wisdom.
Proverbs 2:10-12
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,
Proverbs 3:13-14
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
There is one last thing, and that is the fact that aren't we supposed to be in heaven right now?
Here is a man that studied the bible for longer than I've been alive, Harold Camping, who decided to mislead hundreds of people into selling everything they owned, quit their jobs, move away from their families and their churches, all because he said Jesus was coming back.
So, there's got to be more to seeking wisdom than reading:
James 1:5-6
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
If you would want to understand this great book, understand the doctrine and teachings of the bible and how it should change your life, ask God.
Now, when I started being youth director here I wanted this youth group to be a sanctuary, a place were it is safe to ask questions and try and understand the "deeper things" of our faith.
I'm probably still going to be talking about the nuts and bolts of faith, because I love the simple stuff, but that is why I've made this cool box, and I'm hoping to launch the youth blog, and of course I've got a Facebook, an email, and I hang out talking with you guys.
If you've got questions, I want to hear them. If you have questions about the message, ask me them. If you have questions that aren't about the message, write it down and put them in the box. I'll try and answer them, or just ask me them after youth group (I may not have the answer on the tip of my tongue, in which case I'll ask you to write them down and put them in the box, where I will take them home and research the living daylights out of them to find you an answer).
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Notes from 5-18-11
Its the end of the world as we know it... but I feel fine
So, you guys have got 3 more days until Jesus comes back.
Isn't that a relief? Don't have to worry about college or credit card bills or etc etc etc.
So, 3 days until the end of the world. How are you going to spend it?
Where any of you guys aware of this? That the date of Judgement day has been predicted a major Christian ministry?
As you can probably tell, I am somewhat skeptical of these claims,
There have been end of the world predictions every single year since 2000, and they stretch back significantly further than that, scattered through the last thousand years of history. One of my favorites:.
In the year 1000 A.D.
King Otto of Germany had the body of King Charlemagne exhumed (removed from its grave) under the belief that Charlemagne would rise up and battle Satan, thus delaying the apocalypse.
Predicting the return of Christ is a long and misguided tradition among the church.
So, I say its misguided, why do I say that?
Well, there are these verses in Matthew:
Matthew 24:35-36
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Matthew 24:39-42
39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Actually its that entire chapter of Matthew that Jesus talks about the end times and one important detail that we can pull from these two passages is that we cannot know the day that Lord is coming, but there is a second part to this and that is that while we cannot know the day, we are supposed to watch for it.
Matthew 25:1-13
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
If I could make my own example:
Have you ever been at the beach, just hanging out, walking along the tideline, dodging the waves when they come up to your feet and all of a sudden you hear this crash behind you and you turn around and you see this huge freak-of-nature wave coming tearing toward you waist high?
We can't know the time and the day but the message of the parable is clear. Watch, be prepared, the Lord is coming.
And we don't have the comfort of being able to say that the Lord's coming is years away either, I don't think it will be Saturday, but it could easily be tomorrow.
Like the wave, like the bridegroom, If you aren't watching it could destroy you.
So be prepared, be watchful. Seek the Lord, prepare your heart, reach out to your loved ones.
The end of the world will happen, how are you going to spend your last days?
So, you guys have got 3 more days until Jesus comes back.
Isn't that a relief? Don't have to worry about college or credit card bills or etc etc etc.
So, 3 days until the end of the world. How are you going to spend it?
Where any of you guys aware of this? That the date of Judgement day has been predicted a major Christian ministry?
As you can probably tell, I am somewhat skeptical of these claims,
There have been end of the world predictions every single year since 2000, and they stretch back significantly further than that, scattered through the last thousand years of history. One of my favorites:.
In the year 1000 A.D.
King Otto of Germany had the body of King Charlemagne exhumed (removed from its grave) under the belief that Charlemagne would rise up and battle Satan, thus delaying the apocalypse.
Predicting the return of Christ is a long and misguided tradition among the church.
So, I say its misguided, why do I say that?
Well, there are these verses in Matthew:
Matthew 24:35-36
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Matthew 24:39-42
39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Actually its that entire chapter of Matthew that Jesus talks about the end times and one important detail that we can pull from these two passages is that we cannot know the day that Lord is coming, but there is a second part to this and that is that while we cannot know the day, we are supposed to watch for it.
Matthew 25:1-13
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
If I could make my own example:
Have you ever been at the beach, just hanging out, walking along the tideline, dodging the waves when they come up to your feet and all of a sudden you hear this crash behind you and you turn around and you see this huge freak-of-nature wave coming tearing toward you waist high?
We can't know the time and the day but the message of the parable is clear. Watch, be prepared, the Lord is coming.
And we don't have the comfort of being able to say that the Lord's coming is years away either, I don't think it will be Saturday, but it could easily be tomorrow.
Like the wave, like the bridegroom, If you aren't watching it could destroy you.
So be prepared, be watchful. Seek the Lord, prepare your heart, reach out to your loved ones.
The end of the world will happen, how are you going to spend your last days?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Notes from 5-11-11
Salvation in 3-D
Hebrews 1:14
14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Okay, I'm hoping that tonight can be more of a discussion than the last couple of weeks have been.
If you remember, two weeks ago I talked about a question that my bible study leader asked us "What is salvation?" Drawing from the verse in Hebrews that we just read. Well, as I predicted Hebrews 1:14 was the jumping off point for what turned out to be an hour long discussion on Salvation and how God works in our lives.
Now, I've always been a guy who applies Occam's Razor to my theology. I've always loved to distill everything down to its simplest form, and its served me, personally, quite well; but after the pastors got done I was left with the feeling that maybe I've done you guys an injustice. So, salvation revisited, now in 3D
Now, what I said two weeks ago still holds true: in its simplest form salvation is being saved, being rescued.
I will now break out my pastoral dictionary and throw some deep sounding words at you, which we will then try to distill down to their simplest form, thus hopefully gaining both complexity and simplicity.
They are justification, sanctification and glorification.
What do these words mean? What do they mean to us as Christians and most importantly, what do they promise us?
Lets start with Justification.
Justification - Reconciled with God through His grace.
Saved from the consequences of sin.
1 John 4:10
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Romans 10:9-10
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Justification, or to be justified by God, the classic memory trick for this one is "just if I'd" never sinned.
When we are justified (and if you've been saved then you were justified in that very moment) it is as if we had never ever sinned, and we are freed from the ultimate consequences of our sins, separation from God.
Sanctification - Being perfected by God.
Saved from the power of sin.
Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
John Piper writes in his book The Passion of Jesus Christ:
"Our sins ruin us in two ways: it makes us guilty before God, so that we are under His just condemnation; and it makes us ugly in our behavior, so that we disfigure the image of God we were meant to display. It damns us with guilt, and it enslaves us with lovelessness."
Sanctification is God working through our lives, through our circumstances, to make us better.
We still sin. When we accept Christ and the work He did on the cross to save us we are justified, and the penalty of sin is wiped away, but we still sin, and that sin is an insult and wound to God, so he teaches us through our friends, through our circumstances, through so many different things, how to walk in His ways and obey Him. This is the process of sanctification, that we are free from sins power over us.
Glorification - Living with God in heaven.
Saved from the presence of sin.
Revelation 21:4-5
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
There will be a day when all of this fallen world will be gone and we will stand in God's presence, for real, and like He promises right here in Revelation, there will be no more pain or sorrow or death. Sin will be gone. Sin will be impossible. The first question of the Westminster catechism is "What is the chief purpose of man?" and the answer to that is "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
There will come a day when we will stand surrounding God and we will glorify Him. If I can say this without sounding weird than I would say that we will be his glory. We will enjoy him forever. That is our future as Christians, that is the final part of our salvation. That is the end of the story as we know it, and that is pretty cool.
So, Justification: Saved from the consequences of sin. (Just as if I'd never sinned)
Sanctification: Saved from the power of sin.
Glorification: Saved from the presence of sin.
That is how we are saved.
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