We Did It!

We finished our year of reading the New Testament and it went very well for those who stayed with it. Jan. 13, we invited people to come up and tell us about their experiences with reading the New Testament. You can hear the responses from our NT readers here: 9:00 Service and 10:30 Service. 

What�s next? After we finish the Alpha course, we plan to announce another congregational effort to advance our spiritual growth.

Did you make it?

Jan. 13, we will celebrate reading through the New Testament in 2007
(both services). If you are close, try to catch up by then and join
us. We plan to hear stories from our NT readers, so come and share
yours if you'd like.

The Great Shepherd

Last Sunday, we looked again at the Shepherd Psalm (23). Then we looked at John's account of Jesus, who claimed to be the Good Shepherd, the one who lays down his life for his sheep. There is one more shepherd passage that completes the picture. It is a vision of a time to come, when all God's saints will be gathered together in heaven. It is found in one of our recent Revelation readings:

Revelation 7:13-17

Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?"

I answered, "Sir, you know."

And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,

"they are before the throne of God

and serve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

Never again will they hunger;

never again will they thirst.

The sun will not beat upon them,

nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;

he will lead them to springs of living water.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

What a day that will be! No more hunger or thirst. No more tears. God will spread his tent over all those who follow him (I am thinking of Darfur). And the Lamb will be the Great Shepherd of his sheep. We look forward to that day. Until then, life is a struggle, sometimes tribulation. Hang in there and hold on and keep on following the Good Shepherd.

Take the Survey - New Testament Reading

We're halfway through our year of reading the New Testament. How are you doing with your Bible reading?

Please let us know how you're doing with reading through the New Testament by taking the online survey. We will also have this survey in Sunday worship during July. You only need to take the survey once and it's anonymous. Thanks.

View survey results so far: HERE.

Reading the Bible - in Public Schools?

Did you read the cover article in Time magazine about teaching the Bible in public schools? The author makes a compelling point: "The Bible so pervades Western culture...that it's hard to call anyone educated who hasn't at least given thought to its key passages...

"SIMPLY PUT, THE BIBLE IS THE MOST influential book ever written. Not only is the Bible the best-selling book of all time, it is the best-selling book of the year every year. In a 1992 survey of English teachers to determine the top-10 required "book-length works" in high school English classes, plays by Shakespeare occupied three spots and the Bible none. And yet, let's compare the two: Beauty of language: Shakespeare, by a nose. Depth of subject matter: toss-up. Breadth of subject matter: the Bible. Numbers published, translated etc: Bible. Number of people martyred for: Bible. Number of wars attributed to: Bible. Solace and hope provided to billions: you guessed it. And Shakespeare would almost surely have agreed. According to one estimate, he alludes to Scripture some 1,300 times." Read the full article here:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845,00.html

 

Hebrews

Hebrews. Wow, this is not light reading; it is not for speed-reading. Hebrews is so named because it was written to people who were steeped in the religion of the Old Testament. They knew the religion of priests, who mediated between people and God. They understood the need for animal sacrifices to bring forgiveness from sins. But, they didn't understand how Jesus Christ fit into all that. The writer of Hebrews shows how Jesus came to fulfill the sacrificial system of Old Testament Israel - and supersede it. Jesus is our high priest, who brings us to God the Father. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise of Jeremiah. Notice how Hebrews 8 quotes from Jeremiah 31:31…" The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

Keep these questions in mind as you read Hebrews: "What is the significance of Jesus' death? Why was it necessary for Jesus to die?" Then, Hebrews will start to make sense.

Keep on reading. The next book, Galatians, is a little more accessible. Meanwhile, latch on to some of these great promises, like this one about prayer:

4:14-16 - encouragement to pray.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

Questions on the Bible Reading

I want to post a couple of questions that have been asked so far about our Bible reading. It may be that many of you have the same questions. I’ve also provided my answers. Yours are welcome too. Just click on “Comments” below and post your ideas.

- Pastor Dave

Questions on Bible reading:

 

Mark 4:12

We get the idea of using parables, but we are confused with 4:12: "Otherwise they might turn and be forgiven" Who would forgive them? Isn't this the goal?

 

Jesus sometimes talked in sort of a code language that could be understood by those who truly desired to hear, carefully consider and, possibly, believe. Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:9) Meaning: if someone really had the inclination to hear, they would hear and understand. But, there were many who were following Jesus just to trip him up or argue. They didn’t get it and didn’t want to get it. 

 

I don’t believe Jesus meant to deceive, trick or hide truth from anyone. We never read of someone approaching Jesus and Jesus refusing to answer. From everything else we read about Jesus (except maybe this passage), Jesus wanted people, even begged people, to hear, understand and believe.

 

Mark 9:1

What does it mean when Jesus said in Mark 9:1 - And he said to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." Can you explain to me what this means?

 

The words that provoke various interpretations are "the kingdom of God." Does Jesus mean the disciples will experience the kingdom of God, in all its fullness, during their lifetime? If so, there is a problem. Each disciple died without seeing peace between nations and just governing. Those are manifestations we don’t expect until the second coming of Jesus to earth.

 

However, the disciples did experience the power of the kingdom of God during their lifetime in a number of ways: the transfiguration of Jesus is one example. Jesus' resurrection and ascension into heaven is another instance of the power of the kingdom. The coming of the Holy Spirit to the church at Pentecost (Acts 2) is another instance of the Kingdom of God coming with great power. The church caught fire and grew exponentially.

 

When Jesus said the disciples would experience the power of the Kingdom of God, he was probably referring to the disciples' experience of healings, conversions, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the Spirit-filled, growing church. In these ways, we can say that "the Kingdom of God is here," even though the ultimate fulfillment of the Kingdom of God is in the future.

 

Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God in a similar way in these verses:

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you. - Luke 17:20-21