Psa 24

Psg: Psa 24 (http://biblia.com/bible/gs-netbible/Ps24)
Date: 5/17/12

Read

24:1 The Lord owns the earth and all it contains,

the world and all who live in it.

24:2 For he set its foundation upon the seas,

and established* it upon the ocean currents.*

24:3 Who is allowed to ascend* the mountain of the Lord?*

Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?

24:4 The one whose deeds are blameless

and whose motives are pure,*

who does not lie,*

or make promises with no intention of keeping them.*

24:5 Such godly people are rewarded by theLord,*

and vindicated by the God who delivers them.*

24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,

Jacob's descendants, who pray to him.*(Selah)

24:7 Look up,* you gates!

Rise up,* you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king* will enter!*

24:8 Who is this majestic king?*

The Lord who is strong and mighty!

The Lord who is mighty in battle!

24:9 Look up, you gates!

Rise up, you eternal doors!

Then the majestic king will enter!

24:10 Who is this majestic king?

The Lord who commands armies!*

He is the majestic king! (Selah)

Record

Who is this majestic king? (8, 10)

Reflect

• This kind of question is exactly the kind of question that was rolling around in my head at the moment salvation became mine.
• God is, God is real, and therefore...
• The answers to the question:
• The Lord, who is strong and mighty (8)
• The Lord, who is mighty in battle (8)
• The Lord, who commands armies (10)
• King-warrior-commander
• From the rest of the psalm:
• He owns everything because he made everything and set it in place
• He is approachable only by the pure
• The one who enters through the gates
• Since only the pure can approach him, and I cannot be pure, I cannot approach him - except for Christ, who is pure.
• Rather than teaching that we can reach God, this psalm is part of progressive revelation, making the point that we can only be in his presence if we are pure, but we cannot achieve this purity on our own.
• As great as this psalm is, without Christ, it ends in despair.
• David knew his own impurity (Pss 32, 51).
• Imagine approaching this king-warrior-commander, who will be victorious, while you are carrying the very sin that he will be victorious over.

Respond

• Of all the images painted of you, the king-warrior-commander image is one I don't think of as much. It's not part of my earthly experience, and I don't realize how much I daily need these attributes in you. Help me to worship you more by expanding my view of you. This means I must be willing to, and even diligent to, embrace the reality that we're in a very real battle.

Why Swap Pulpits?

Last Sunday, Grace Fellowship Church and Bridge of Hope Church had another "pulpit swap." Pastor Luther of BoH came to Grace to teach here, and I went to BoH to teach there. A suburban church and an urban core church being taught by pastors who are easily identified with their sending churches.

Why do we do this? It interrupts the flow and makes it a little more difficult for the worship teams and the administrative staff. So, why go through the trouble?

First, perspective. Every pastor, no matter how experienced, has blind spots. I have them, Luther has them, every pastor I've ever known has them. A congregation that hears only from one pastor is going to hear very little from those areas occluded by the pastor's blind spots. No matter how good or how varied a pastor's teaching is, his blind spots will inadvertently keep his congregation from certain, important teaching and perspective. A pulpit swap brings in someone with different blind spots, giving the congregation a broader perspective of biblical theology and discipleship. Furthermore, the pastor's perspective broadens because he is faced with a new set of challenges and needs.

Second, partnership. Bridge of Hope and Grace Fellowship have been developing a very strong partnership in many areas - youth group, outreach events, small groups, retreats, and ministry. A pulpit swap helps forges that partnership, so that each congregation gets to know the partner church's pastor more deeply. We get to understand each other better, we develop better personal relationships, and we get more of the heartbeat of each church. As a result, our partnership works more effectively.

Third, proving that the pastor is replaceable. We don't want any church to have an unhealthy dependency on the pastor. The pastor should be a strong factor in the church, but a healthy church should be able to thrive without him or when someone else is fulfilling the responsibilities. Furthermore, the pastor should never feel like he's irreplaceable. A pulpit swap proves to both the congregations and the pastors that it's not about the pastor. The church can go on just fine with a different man in the pulpit. The church is about Jesus Christ, not about the pastor.

Fourth, the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Getting out of our routines and exploring new avenues of ministry create openings for the work of the Holy Spirit. We can get into ruts, and ruts can become substitutes for the Spirit's work. Shaking it up makes for fresh opportunities for the Spirit. Last Sunday, I saw the Spirit at work in some amazing ways, and I heard that He also was busily at work through Luther's ministry here. The artificial props are removed, we are more apt to rely on the Spirit, and we see Him move in refreshing ways.

Pastor Luther and I plan on making this a periodic habit. I pray that we will continue to see fruit produced through serving one another's congregation.

Thanks to all of you who make him feel so welcome when he comes. I feel the same from the church family at Bridge of Hope.

1 Pet 2.4-10

Psg: 1 Pe 2.4-10 (http://biblia.com/bible/gs-netbible/1Pe2.4-10)
Date: 5/12/12

Read

2:4 So as you come to him,* a living stone rejected by men but*chosen and priceless* in God's sight, 2:5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer* spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 2:6 For it says* in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone,* and whoever believes* in him*will never* be put to shame."* 2:7 So you who believe see* his value,* but for those who do not believe, the stone that the builders rejected has become the* cornerstone,* 2:8 and a stumbling-stone*and a rock to trip over.* They stumble* because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.* 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues* of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 2:10 You* once were not a people, but now you are God's people. You were shown no mercy,* but now you have received mercy.

Record

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who call you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Reflect

• We are made all these incredible things.
• A chosen race. Like Israel - chosen by sovereign fiat, not by merit. A race, a distinct grouping of people with an ontological difference from all others.
• A royal priesthood. A religious body with religious duties, but with regal status as well. Priest-kings and king-priests.
• A holy nation. Pure, spotless, righteous. A group with boundaries, citizenship, and a code.
• A people of his own. Finally, a people set apart from all others to belong to God. Owned and attached, known by his name.
• We are made all these incredible things so that.
• An incredible, undeserved state and status for the purpose of proclaiming to all others are not in this state and who do not have this status.
• He bought us and transformed us for the purpose of us becoming proclaimers.
• The message.
• The one who did this work is excellent.
• Not to proclaim that the work is excellent (though it will be), but that he is excellent, and he as excellent attributes.
• Our testimonies are more than about how we've changed, but about the one who did the changing.
• It's like buying a junk instrument, cleaning it up, working out all the dents, oiling the valves or tightening the strings, tuning it, and then playing it to make loud, beautiful music - music about the instrumentalist. The instrument is saying, "I have been pulled out of the junk pile, I've been changed to where I can play this tune somewhat imperfectly, but one day, I'll be so completely repaired that I will play this tune excellently - which is what the instrumentalist deserves."
• We can impede this by:
• Resisting the polishing and the dent fixing.
• Putting new dents in.
• Adjusting to become out of tune.
• Playing the wrong notes on purpose.
• Playing too softly (or too loudly).
• Coming in at the wrong time.
• Soloing during an ensemble.
• Not listening to the other instruments.

Respond

• Tune me. Fix my dents. Polish my finish. Loosen the parts that are stubborn. Make wonderful music through me to proclaim your excellencies.

Psa 32

Psg: Psa 32 (http://biblia.com/bible/gs-netbible/Ps32)
Date: 5/11/12

Read

32:1 How blessed* is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven,*

whose sin is pardoned!*

32:2 How blessed is the one* whose wrongdoing the Lorddoes not punish,*

in whose spirit there is no deceit.*

32:3 When I refused to confess my sin,*

my whole body wasted away,*

while I groaned in pain all day long.

32:4 For day and night you tormented me;*

you tried to destroy me* in the intense heat* of summer.*(Selah)

32:5 Then I confessed my sin;

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.

I said, "I will confess* my rebellious acts to the Lord."

And then you forgave my sins.* (Selah)

32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers*should pray to you

while there is a window of opportunity.*

Certainly* when the surging water* rises,

it will not reach them.*

32:7 You are my hiding place;

you protect me from distress.

You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance.* (Selah)

32:8 I will instruct and teach you* about how you should live.*

I will advise you as I look you in the eye.*

32:9 Do not be* like an unintelligent horse or mule,*

which will not obey you

unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.*

32:10 An evil person suffers much pain,*

but the Lord's faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him.*

32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!

Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright!*

Record

I no longer covered up my wrongdoing (5).
Certainly when the surging water rises, it will not reach them (6).

Reflect

• A key reason we don't confess our sin is that we are protecting ourselves.
• We try to protect ourselves from God (even though we know he knows!).
• We try to protect ourselves from ourselves, not wanting to face the level of sin and evil within us, pretending like we're not so bad.
• We are guarding a very vulnerable part of who we are. It is a great weakness in our character, and you protect weaknesses, not highlight them.
• In this psalm, David tried to cover up, protect. Then (5) he changed his tactic to confession. In verse 6, the lone benefit listed her for those who confess are and forgiven is protection - the very thing we vainly attempt to do by not confessing.
• The key to protecting ourselves is not refusing to confess, but specifically by confessing.
• This is true only because of the forgiveness that God grants. It's not in the confession, nor is through confession by ex opere operato. But it is from the Protector and Forgiver who desires to be our Protector and Forgiver.
• Rather than hiding our sin, we hide ourselves in him by confessing.

Respond

• You give me two options: I can try to hide my sin, or I can hide myself in the One who forgives sins.
• You are ever-present, persistently ready to forgive. I am stubborn, at times unwilling to come to you because I don't want to admit to myself what you already know. You have given your Son so that I can come to you. I try to crawl up onto the cross and say, "I can do this myself." You offer eternal protection. I tempt the floodwaters to come. You give me the gift of repentance to put an end to these conflicting statements.

Eph 3.1-10

Psg: Eph 1.3-10 (http://biblia.com/bible/gs-netbible/Eph1.3-10)
Date: 5/10/12

Read

1:3 Blessed* is* the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed* us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. 1:4 For* he chose us in Christ* before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished* in his sight* in love.* 1:5 He did this by predestining* us to adoption as his* sons* through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure* of his will – 1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace* that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son.* 1:7 In him* we have redemption through his blood,* the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 1:8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. 1:9 He did this when he revealed* to us the secret* of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth*in Christ,* 1:10 toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up* all things in Christ – the things in heaven* and the things on earth.*

Record

He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love.
(NASB: … just as aHe chose us in Him before bthe foundation of the world, that we would be choly and blameless before 1Him. In love...)

Reflect

• [Note that Highquest did not choose the range of the passage well. The section goes through v. 14.]
• We have been chosen from before the foundation of the world to be made holy.
• When we think of the purposes of predestination, despite the debate about its scope, we tend more to think in terms of being chosen to be a collection of people, a choir, a set of workers, a collection of trophies. We don’t often think of our holiness as a purpose or telos.
• When God chose us (whatever “when” means before the foundation of the world), he had in mind making us holy.
• Therefore, being holy and becoming holy are part of our purpose. We fulfill God’s purpose in our lives in part by pursuing holiness. Not just that it’s good to be holy, but that it speaks to our purpose for existing. Why are we here? In part, to be holy! Being holy fulfills part of his purpose for us.
• This also means that the Fall was also in mind before the foundation of the world.
• God is the one who makes us holy.
• Our participation is a cooperation with his work, rather than working contrary to his purpose or being apathetic.
• He has created us for a purpose, and he will see that purpose accomplished. (“He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it,” Php 1.6).
• Our holiness is doubly sure: he predestined it, and he’s doing the work.
• NET note on the sentence break in v. 4: 12 tn The prepositional phrase ἐν ἀγάπῃ (en agapē, “in love”) may modify one of three words or phrases: (1) “chose,” (2) “holy and unblemished,” both in v. 4, or (3) “by predestining” in v. 5. If it modifies “chose,” it refers to God’s motivation in that election, but this option is unlikely because of the placement of the prepositional phrase far away from the verb. The other two options are more likely. If it modifies “holy and unblemished,” it specifies that our holiness cannot be divorced from love. This view is in keeping with the author’s use of ἀγάπη to refer often to human love in Ephesians, but the placement of the prepositional phrase not immediately following the words it modifies would be slightly awkward. If it modifies “by predestining” (v. 5), again the motivation of God’s choice is love. This would fit the focus of the passage on God’s gracious actions toward believers, but it could be considered slightly redundant in that God’s predestination itself proves his love.

Respond

• I see my purpose too often as a list of accomplishments, but you have set for me holiness as a purpose. You have created me in part for this purpose, and you will accomplish it. You have declared before this planet was hung in its place that my existence would serve your purpose of a holy me standing before you. I cannot fathom grace, I cannot express adequate gratitude, I cannot fully comprehend why.
• Make me a man who does not run contrary to your purpose. Make me a man who is never apathetic to your purpose. Make me a pursuer of your purpose - a pursuer of holiness.
• Our eternal prospect is to be radically different than we are now. I, for one, want to be like that prospect early.

Small Reaching Out Big

I am guilty of something I can't stand.

Even though I don't like to hear it, I sometimes catch myself saying, "But we're just a small church." That becomes an instant excuse for not doing big things. And it's misguided, in my opinion. I want to erase that phrase from my vocabulary, because it's a thoroughly fleshly way of looking at ministry.

Let me remind you of what "just a small church" has been doing lately:

Youth at Bridge of Hope: A couple of Sundays ago, our youth group went to Bridge of Hope to teach Sunday school to all ages of youth. Bridge of Hope wants to know when they can come again, and our youth had a great experience serving. The youth also have several outreach events throughout the year (the adults should have such a schedule!).

MegaDay: Several members from Grace helped with Bridge of Hope's "MegaDay," reaching out to their neighbors in the inner core by doing yard work, oil changes, clean up, and praying for various needs.

Quilts: Margaret Reimer's crew at Good Samaritan, with the help of a handful of members of Grace meet weekly to make quilts to provide to ministries such as Advice and Aid, so that young parents will have a warm quilt for their new babies.

ASK: We have a team of people who go to Oxford Middle School after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays to help students with their homework.

YouthFriends: A YouthFriend meets regularly with a student at school for lunch to be a positive adult influence for kids who have a particular need. I've already been able to get a start on this, but we're adding several more with training on 5/22 at the church.

Food Backpacks: We already have quite a few, and are looking for more, to buy certain grocery items on a regular basis to stock Oxford Middle School's backpack program, providing weekend meals for the family of students when needed.

Financial Class: John Harrison is teaching basic financial responsibility every other Saturday at Bridge of Hope.

Career Counseling: Mike Medhurst is getting involved in providing basic career counseling at Bridge of Hope.

Mission SouthSide: Several of our members of volunteered some time at Mission SouthSide, meeting the physical and spiritual needs within South Johnson County. We are partnering with Mission SouthSide on the backpack program.

Garage Sales: There have been a few garage sales by our members to raise money for the orphanage in Kenya, and the proceeds from the churchwide garage sale coming up will also be sent there.

Awana / VBS: Of course, the teams of people who make Awana and VBS happen every year invest a great deal of themselves into children, many of whom don't attend Grace (or any church, in several cases).

Women's Retreat Outreach: The women's retreat this year included three women from the Straight and Narrow transition house, building relationships, and providing yet another avenue of positive influence for Christ in the lives of women who are so focused on living redeemed lives.

Small Group Outreach: Each small group has $200 available to spend on whatever outreach they choose, as long as they are involved in the outreach itself.

Bread of Life: We have helped with their Christmas outreach every year, and in May and June, I'll be teaching there on Wednesday nights.

More... I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, and there are plenty of things going on I'm not even aware of.

One of the goals we set for ourselves two years ago was to push out more from the four walls of the church. We are seeing God bring this about in ways that we never would have guessed when we set those goals. Being open to whatever God has planned is far more effective than just making plans by our own effort.

"Just a small church"? Big deal!

Gen 3.1-19

Psg: Gen 3.1-19
Date: 4/24/12

Read

Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” And the Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.” So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all the wild beasts
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawl
and dust you will eat all the days of your life.
And I will put hostility between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;
her offspring will attack your head,
and you will attack her offspring’s heel.”
To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your labor pains;
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband,
but he will dominate you.”
But to Adam he said,
“Because you obeyed your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
cursed is the ground thanks to you;
in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat food
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Record

Because you have... I will...  -> pain.

Reflect

• Pain is it only a consequence of the Fall, but it is what God put on Satan and on us. He chose to give us pain. It was better for us to have pain after the sin than to not have pain.
• This affects how I see pain in my own life. It is better in a fallen world for me to experience pain than not to.
• Should this affect how I see the suffering of others, including the world's impoverished and trafficked?
• This is not to say that all pain is direct punishment for sin, but that a fallen world with pain is better than a fallen world without pain.

Respond

• Thank you that you did not leave us in a fallen world without pain.
• Help me to see pain rightly, and to help others to also.