Straight outta Nazareth by David Person
If a young Jesus could have been transported from ancient Galilee to the Compton, California, of the late 1980s, I don’t believe he would have been dealing drugs with Eric “Eazy-E” Wright or spitting rhymes on a track like “F*** Tha Police” with O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson. And he might not have been among the hundreds of bobbing heads in the audiences that made their rap group N.W.A. one of hip-hop’s most notorious and influential groups.
But I do think that a young Jesus could have connected to the frustrations chronicled in their music and young, black lives, captured in the blistering blockbuster film “Straight Outta Compton.” I believe this because scholars say that Nazareth, Jesus’s hometown, was so small and rural that it didn’t get much respect from the urbane citizens of Jerusalem. Expectations for young men from Nazareth likely were low; stereotyping likely was high.
Which means Jesus probably knew what it felt like to be poor and an outcast from an early age. He probably knew what it felt like to feel the projection of a society’s fears and prejudices because of the way he talked, walked, dressed, looked or where he was from.
One of the most chilling scenes in “Straight Outta Compton” takes place outside of a recording studio in Torrance — less than 30 minutes from Compton by car but much further away culturally and socio-economically. Police officers pull up in force, and make the members of N.W.A. lie face-down on the sidewalk while berating them with profanities and pejoratives. The reason? They assumed that a group of young black men dressed as they were must be gang-bangers who belonged in Compton, not Torrance.
Today’s Compton is much less crime-ridden than the one depicted in the film. But young black men there and in cities across this nation still face many of the same challenges. The Washington Post recently reported that unarmed black men are seven times more likely to be killed by police than unarmed white men. And yes, black-on-black crime remains an issue too. Too many families have been broken and dreams crushed by both of these assaults on young black lives.
If we believe the Bible, then we have to believe a young Jesus — straight outta Nazareth — would have empathized with N.W.A.’s hurts, fears, frustration and rage. Would he have approved of their coping methods — misogynistic, profane rhymes that demeaned women and outraged police? No, but I also don’t think he would have responded the way the police and F.B.I. do today when confronted by the new black rage.
He would have listened to and engaged them. He would have protested with them. Marched with them. Urged them to make legal challenges. He would have supported them venting their rage verbally, though not violently. And he would have challenged them to find productive solutions while embracing them with unconditional love, no matter how profane and misogynistic their song lyrics and party lifestyle were.
Dr. King, in his remarkable sermon ‘Beyond Vietnam,’ spoke of talking to young men in Northern cities some 20 years before N.W.A. formed. These young men were opting for Molotov cocktails and rifles instead of seething lyrics, microphones and turntables.
“I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action,” King said. “But they ask(ed) — and rightly so — what about Vietnam? They ask(ed) if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government.”
These damning words may have been King’s death warrant. But they pointed to an indisputable reality that still exists today. The conditions many live in and the way they are being treated by law enforcement and the political ruling class is unconscionable. And no one should be shocked by their raging rhetoric or even their violent outbursts. What should disturb us is that so few Christians are empathizing with the angry, embracing their pain, and pledging to address their deep-seated needs.
All of us weak, flawed human beings are, truth be told, straight outta somewhere. And we followers of the young Jesus of Nazareth should sympathize with that reality better than anyone.
Does your church say ‘yes’ too much? by Rebekah Simon-Peter
The power of affirmation is well known in human relationships. In fact social scientists have identified the ideal ratio of positive to negative statements for happy and healthy marriages and work environments: it’s 5:1.
The same applies to churches. Robert Schnase, author of "Just Say Yes!" outlines critical ways individuals, systems and congregations can say yes to insure church health. As he points out, there are all kinds of ways that yes empowers growth.
But yes isn’t the only one-syllable word that creates health and happiness. Equally important is the word no. Too many yeses can spoil children … and churches. Jesus said no at key points in his life. Each no furthered and focused his ministry. In the same way, no can sharpen your ministry and inject new vitality into your leadership.
Discover if your church is suffering from too much yes and not enough no. And the four ways you can get back on track.
Saying yes to avoid hurt feelings
Does your church say yes to everything for fear of hurting feelings or offending people? Chances are this tendency means you are not actually able to affirm your vision. Or that you have no vision. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should do it. Your activities need to line up with your vision. Otherwise, they dilute your efforts while giving the congregation the false sense that you are accomplishing something.
Let’s take a look at Jesus’ ministry here. Early on in his ministry, Jesus was ministering in the Galilee, healing people and upgrading the quality of their lives. “Stay,” the people begged him, “please!” “Nope, no way, can’t stay.” Jesus replied. “I have to share this with the other towns too.” (Luke 4:40-44) That’s a paraphrase of course, but you get the idea. This no allowed him to focus his efforts, share his vision, and expand his impact. The locals wanted nothing more than to keep Jesus for themselves. Understandably so. But staying would have prevented Jesus from living his dream, and fulfilling his purpose in life. Since he couldn’t send out kingdom tweets, or Skype into the next town, he said no, laced up his sandals, threw on his backpack, and kept on going.
This no requires clarity, courage, and the willingness to disappoint or even offend people. The upside is it frees people up for ministry that matters, and aligns the church with its purpose. You can get back on track by surveying your active ministries. Weigh each one against your vision statement and against your available volunteers. See if it really advances your mission or not. If it’s just for the locals, see about re-engaging them in something with a greater return on investment. If it advances the mission but you don’t actually have the people for it, give it a rest, at least for a season. Don’t be afraid to disappoint people for the greater good.
Saying yes to reduce fear and avoid risk
Do you say yes to anxiety and fear and no to a necessary risk? One church I know of feared the potential negative impact of hosting a Spanish-speaking ministry in their building. “What if we can’t understand each other?” they worried. “What if something breaks or breaks down and we can’t solve the problem because we don’t share a common language?” Those anxieties weighed down on the church council and ultimately the pastor. This church ended up saying no. A second church opened up their doors to the ministry, and has experienced renewed vitality because of it. The first church said no to a necessary risk. The second church said no to the naysayers.
In the Gospel, Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from taking a necessary risk, one that would end up getting Jesus killed. On the surface, Peter’s concern was well-founded, laudable even. But Jesus saw through the false comfort it offered and said no, forcefully, “Get thee behind me Satan!” Jesus knew he must take the risk of moving forward. Otherwise, once again, his vision would not be fulfilled.
Where are you letting people talk you out of taking risks? It’s time to say no to the naysayers so you can take necessary risks. As one of my favorite sayings goes, “Nice girls rarely make history.” In other words, too much caution takes you out of the game. So press on, trust God, and take risks to advance the cause.
Saying yes to keeping things small
Are you a “just us” church? Saying yes to keeping things all in the family? This can mean only looking toward people who share your primary ethnicity, socioeconomic status, generation, world view, educational background or even religion.
Jesus famously said no the people closest to him. His mother and brothers wanted to see him while he was holding court with his disciples. (Matthew 12:47-49) As much he loved them and as great a value as family was and is in Judaism, Jesus put them off. He was building a larger community. It incorporated Pharisees and Zealots, poor and rich, saints and sinners, friends and enemies, the exploited and the exploiters. Eventually it even incorporated Gentiles into a distinctly Jewish movement.
It’s time to look and see if you have been saying yes to subtle pressure to keep things “in house.” Time to say no to shutting out the other. Intentionally welcome gay, lesbian, and transgender persons. Begin a prison ministry. Open up your aging congregation to kids from the nearby school. Create an outreach to immigrant or refugee families. Let your building be used by other groups. Even if some of your people grumble, groan or leave, God will remain faithful.
Saying yes to everything
Do you have a hard time saying no to requests? If you can’t say no to some things, you’ll never have the time or energy to say yes to the things you are absolutely called to do. Maxie Dunnam famously said, “Not every need is a call.” Sure, people have needs, and lots of them. But there are over seven billion people and countless creatures on the planet. God has plenty of other options beside you and your congregation.
Jesus wasn’t always on. He wasn’t always available. He insisted on protecting his time to keep intact his spiritual unity with God. He took time away from teaching, healing, vision-casting and disciple-making. That’s when he went away to pray, to talk with God and maybe just to rest.
Church leader: Don’t let your heart of love bleed you dry. Or talk you into staying past your effectiveness. Take your Sabbath. Take your vacation. Take your continuing education time. Then, when the time is right, take your leave.
Each time you say no, you run the risk of sharpening your vision, calling people to greater faith, and upping your game. Yes, there may be disappointments. Yes, people may leave. Yes, you make be taking on more risk than previously. But what are we here for after all?
Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com. She is the author of "The Jew Named Jesus" and "Green Church."
Doubt is not the enemy of faith by Joseph Yoo
I ran into an old friend at a local coffee shop. We were very active in our youth ministry before my dad was relocated and we had to move. Almost 20 years later, we were talking about where life’s journey had led us.
He spent his time looking for truth, compelled that it can’t be found in the church. I spent my time trying to compel people that the truth is found in Jesus Christ.
I asked him what led him to believe that the church was useless in his search for life, truth, love and wholeness.
When he was 16, he went to his pastor’s office and asked him if his father, who is a very good man, is destined for hell just because he doesn’t go to church.
“There’s not much I can say, because the Bible clearly states that your father will go to hell if he doesn’t believe,” he heard his pastor say. It was then he knew that he was done with the church.
“I mean, it’s not like my dad was evil. He was a very good man. He loved his family. He loved life. He loved his community. He was generous. He was kind. And my pastor told me that my dad was going to hell. I couldn’t deal with that. Definitely not at 16. And he was so sure of it. He was so confident in his answer. It was so black and white. And this black and white world did not include my dad, and I realized it didn’t include me. There had to be something else, something more, something deeper. I couldn’t wrap my emotional teenage mind around it, but I knew whatever I was yearning for, church was no longer the place. So I left.”
He paused to finish his coffee.
“I don’t know what I wanted to hear from the pastor. Maybe empathy? Sympathy? Maybe guidance? Maybe struggle with me? Maybe help me through my doubts? Maybe something like, ‘I don’t know. But I’d love to work this out with you.’ Just something to help me get a handle of this God of love I was learning about and where my dad fit into this plan of love. But all I got was, ‘He’s going to hell if he doesn’t follow our rules.’”
I’ve also had similar experiences where I was fed bumper sticker, cliché answers to deep and spiritual questions. Perhaps my journey was different because my dad was a pastor of immigrant Korean churches and I was imprisoned by my dad’s calling (until I realized I had my very own calling).
But I resented the spiritual leaders who tried to make the world black and white and who had answers to everything, most of them along the lines of, “It’s in the Bible.”
Just once, I wanted to hear someone say, “You know, that’s a good question. I don’t really know, but let’s find out together.”
Of course, hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps during my early adolescence I needed black and white.
Maybe pastors are just uncomfortable with the unknown. Many of us are afraid to say, “I don’t know.” But it seems to me that “I don’t know” (accompanied by, “let’s discern this together”) is a much healthier and better answer than trying to make something up or offer a cliché.
Perhaps our insecurity keeps us from saying say “I don’t know.” After all, we’re the resident theologian. People expect us to have answers. That’s what they’re “paying us for,” right? Frederick Buechner wrote, “He has to give answers because everybody else is giving answers.”
We don’t want to be caught looking dumb. So, we have to have the answers. Sometimes, we’re handed a script of how to answer questions, as if we’re telemarketers trying to sell a two-week Alaskan cruise. I feel that’s often more damaging than not.
In our quest for answers, we make doubt the enemy. I remember expressing doubt and I was immediately shamed. “You’re not praying hard enough. You need to pray for more faith. No more silly questions. They won’t get you anywhere. Just pray and God will give you all the answers.”
I was in my late twenties when I learned that doubt wasn’t the enemy. Sometimes doubt leads to greater faith (Doubting Thomas, anyone?)
No, the true enemy of faith is fear. And it’s our fear that leads us to be obsessed with searching for and offering answers to every question people may have about faith. It's like we believe that the more answers someone has, the more spiritually mature they probably are.
Somewhere in our quest for answers, we lost the art of asking questions — asking the right questions. The rabbis of Jesus’ day gauged how well someone knew the Scriptures not by the answers he gave, but by the questions he asked. I think that’s why Jesus often answered a question with a question.
Often, asking the right questions will help us deepen our faith. God is bigger than all our doubts and questions.
So ask questions. Wrestle with doubt. Know that God is with you. And be okay with admitting that you don't have all the answers.
Sometimes, all a person needs is a companion for their journey.
Should your church have a minister of finance?
By Lindsey Foster Stringer800 and 12 percent.
800 is roughly how many times money is mentioned in the Bible, give or take several hundred depending on who is counting. (This site even says 2,000.) It is also one of the most mentioned topics in the Bible, including by Jesus himself.
12 percent is the number of born again, evangelical and non-evangelical Christians who are tithing, according to the most recently available report from the Barna Group on American donor trends. The Barna Group uses precise definitions for “born again” and “evangelical,” but 12 percent is the highest rate of tithing among the three dominant subgroups of Christians, the third group being not born-again and not evangelical, but aligned to some church.
The Bible and Jesus talk about money a lot and yet churches have at best 12 percent of their congregation tithing. Why is this when part of our Christian discipleship is to be good stewards of money and accountable to the church in how we use our money? We see a call to stewardship in Genesis 1:28 when God charges Adam and Eve with overseeing the earth and caring for it. We see it in chapters 2 and 4 in Acts, where a young community of believers shares possessions amongst themselves. We even know of a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, in Acts 5:3-5 who sold property and lied to the rest of the community about how much it sold for. They are both struck down dead after lying.
Can you imagine a church like this today? A church in which everyone’s financial needs are met as best as possible and church members are held accountable for their financial transactions? I'm not asking for people to actually be slain by the Holy Spirit, which is presumably what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, but I think you can understand what I'm getting at. (Actually, the Mormons are probably the closest to some version of this, as they have their own welfare system and they require members to fully tithe in order to stay in good standing with the church.) In our money-centric society, we don’t do as much as we could as the church, or much at all in many cases, to talk honestly and openly about money and to hold one another accountable for pursuing financial integrity.
If you want your church members to pray more, would you just tell them to pray more once a year during a Sunday sermon and leave it at that? Of course not. You would embed discussion about prayer in Bible studies, Sunday school, and small groups. You might hold a special training session or series of sessions to help church members understand more about and do different forms of prayer. You would talk with members about their prayer life and show them how to pray.
Why treat money and giving any differently? If Christians aren’t trained to handle their money well, how can you expect them to be good financial stewards?
It’s time for pastors and church leaders to truly equip their members with the financial knowledge and know-how needed to be good stewards of the financial resources we have been entrusted with. It’s time to start talking about money beyond just the one stewardship sermon a year. It’s also time for pastors to get a hold of their own financial habits in order to lead the way.
I’m issuing a challenge to all pastors and church leaders to start equipping their church members with the skills and resources needed to manage their personal finances well.
So how do we get there?
Pastors and church leaders need training. In addition to coursework in Bible, theology, church history, and ethics, many seminaries have practical ministry classes on preaching, evangelism and worship. Financial stewardship - personal and for the church - should to be added as required coursework. Current pastors who are struggling with their own finances should seek counsel from a trusted financial advisor and go through a money management class. (See #3)
Churches need a “Minister of Finance.” Call it what you want, but churches should have a pastor, staff member or lay leader who is of personal integrity and financial good sense, available to teach, train, and coach members on the basics of managing money. This isn’t a call to have a CFP on staff, but someone with the financial skills and heart of a teacher who can help others with paying off debt, sticking to a budget, and saving.
Offer money management classes. Churches should regularly offer personal finance classes. There are excellent programs available, so getting one off the ground will not require developing your own curriculum. This would also be a great ministry to the community the church is a part of.
These aren’t “three quick tips” to change your church. These are three fundamental shifts for church leaders to address how they are preparing themselves and others to be better financial stewards. It will require an investment in time and resources, but the payoff — a church body becoming more financially secure — will be great when the call is issued to fund the mission of the church.
Lindsey Foster Stringer blogs at ChangetheRace.com and is the author of “Mortgage Free in 3.”
7 questions to ask before you post on social media
By Ron EdmondsonThere is no doubt about the impact of social media on our society. It’s huge.
It seemed strange the first time I heard a news story refer to a Twitter feed as a “source” of information. Now it’s commonplace. Employers often review a person’s social media prior to hiring them. Friendships are made and lost through what’s posted online. Who would have thought that just a few years ago? We now “follow” those we are most interested in and “unfollow” those we aren’t — yet we remain “friends.” The number of “likes” and “favorites” determines some people’s sense of well-being or worth for a day. Crazy.
But it’s the culture in which we live.
More than likely, most of those who are reading this post will make a post of their own today. It could be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any of the other dozens of forms of social media. And if you're not posting for yourself, you’ll be reading the post of another.
With so much activity it seems harder to know what to post and when. One thing I do frequently in my profession is help people think through making the right decisions in life. I don’t want to make decisions for people, so, many times I use questions to help them process on their own. I thought I’d provide some questions to help think through your social media posts.
Here are seven questions to ask before you post on social media:
Who is going to read this?
Think through future employees, friends of friends, family members, etc. It’s amazing how many times I didn’t know someone was even keeping up with my comments on something I have posted.
How will it impact the reader?
How would it impact you if you were to read something like this? Would it hurt your feelings, make you angry, or would it motivate or encourage you? There’s nothing wrong with simply being funny or sharing something of interest — even helping to shape public opinion. But a mature person (certainly a believer) thinks through how others will be impacted by what we post.
Will they understand my intent?
It’s more difficult to communicate intent in a written format. In person you would have more opportunity to explain yourself, use hand and facial gestures to help clarify, etc. Read it back to yourself and think like someone else who may be reading it — maybe someone who doesn’t know you well.
Can it easily be misconstrued or taken out of context?
Remember, you only have what’s written. There’s no “background” to the story or supplemental information. Will they “get” what you’re intending to be “got”?
Do I want this around for a very long time?
Because once it’s posted, it’s forever.
Am I acting in anger, frustration or vengeance?
We seldom communicate most effectively when we act out of emotions. We usually say things we wouldn’t say under more “normal” circumstances. Do you need to hold the post until your emotions have calmed and see if you still feel the same way?
Is this the wisest way to express myself?
Or is there a better way to accomplish what you hope to accomplish? For example, if it’s really aimed at only one person, would it be better to make a phone call? If it’s addressing a larger concern, is your post going to make things better or further add negativity to an already tense situation?
These are just suggestions. You may also read 7 ways Christians should behave online or 12 ways Christians can be less mean.
Are there any questions you would add to help us discern better posts?
Ron Edmondson blogs at RonEdmondson.com.
On United Methodist catechisms
By Clifton StringerPierre Tielhard de Chardin, the Jesuit philosopher and scientist, had faith in cosmic evolution toward an ultimate harmony he called the "Omega Point." He wrote,
"Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge."
Thus the picture adorning the cover of Flannery O'Connor's collection of short stories is appropriately funny: Cosmic convergence entails not just high-altitude reconciliation, but rising arrows converging on rising doves. Expect not just perpetual peace, but crucifixion.
I recently ran across Teddy Ray's 2012 post, "Why the United Methodist Church needs a catechism" over at Seedbed.
Ray begins with a story theologian William J. Abraham tells about a couple who joined the United Methodist Church, having previously been Southern Baptist:
"The former-Baptists shared that where “before, as Southern Baptists, they had to accept a whole system of doctrine, they were now free, as United Methodists, to believe anything they liked.”"
This leads Ray to suggest that:
"The most pressing problem for United Methodists is how to appropriately teach and preserve the doctrines we claim."
Ray thus argues that:
"The United Methodist Church needs a catechism. We need to teach what we believe in a way that is clear and concise. We need to teach clearly enough that those doctrines most basic to Wesleyan theology will not be easily undermined or ignored."
As far as it goes, Ray is right about all of this. A good catechism could be a great help to United Methodists in handing on the Christian faith, to adults as well as to children. Yet the trick, which Ray does not address, is in the 'how.'
It is not a good time to try to legislatively adopt a universal United Methodist catechism. The last thing we need is another official text over which to fight about language surrounding sex and homosexual acts.
Yet we could really use a good catechism. We could really use a catechism that is doctrinally rich, detailed and robust enough to help us unfold in an ordered way what the Bible teaches about Christian faith and life.
For this reason, if we are to take up Ray's suggestion, I suggest a way to proceed is for the various influential groups in and around the UMC to work with their theologians and pastors and provide us with some unofficial catechisms. Good News, the Reconciling Ministries Network, the Confessing Movement, the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, Aldersgate Renewal Ministries, etc., etc. — or at least a few such groups — ought to put out catechisms. A number of United Methodist megachurches might also be in a position to draw together a group of pastors and scholars to collaborate on an unofficial catechism. These unofficial UM catechisms could be used and shared by those United Methodists who agree with them.
Such "affiliational" and unofficial UM catechisms should also be frankly criticized both by those who use them and by those who do not. They should be revised with an eye to the other unofficial catechisms, not only with attention to matters on which they substantially disagree, but especially with the goal of convergence. On many doctrines a mutually enriching convergence is possible, provided those working on the revisions aim always at a more clear and full presentation of the mystery of our salvation in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures.
The second or third generation unofficial catechisms might be quite vibrant, teaching mostly (though not completely) the same things, with one or another of them commending itself as helpful to most United Methodist pastors and people.
This, at least, might be a good way to go if we want to minimize the blood and feathers falling around us.
Giving up the ghost Part I: God
By Kenneth J. PruittIn May, I called for a new theology of white allyship to accompany our new civil rights movement in the United States, inspired by the rallying cry that #BlackLivesMatter. This slogan will be the basis of our construction especially as we create our theological anthropology. #BlackLivesMatter should permeate any notion of White allyship, and will be woven throughout this process of discussing God the Creator, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church and humanity.
White people of faith in this country must reconsider their practical theology if we are to act in the Wesleyan tradition of doing good, doing no harm and attending upon all the ordinances of God. A practical theology (the practices that follow a study of God) must directly inform how we act in solidarity not only with our Black neighbors, but also within social and theological spaces that are predominantly White.
Many others before me have sought to explain and defend the phrasing of #BlackLivesMatter in ways both theological and otherwise, and it is not the intention of this post to tread for a long while over already-trodden paths. For an examination of this, I recommend Derek Flood’s post at Sojourners or this short description by a contributor at Reddit.
One helpful way to begin to think about #BlackLivesMatter theologically is as a parallel to Jesus’ claims in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who mourn,” “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” etc. Countering Jesus’ claims by saying, “All are blessed” or “All are poor,” much as #BlackLivesMatter detractors counter with #AllLivesMatter, shifts the focus away from the marginalized and towards those in power. More often than not, #AllLivesMatter is used as a counter-measure, a diluting and diminishment of the sa’aq (see Brueggemann) that #BlackLivesMatter. If #BlackLivesMatter is an affirmation in the face of oppression, #AllLivesMatter is an attempt to wrest back power from those in the protest movement who continually place their very bodies in the fray in order to state the terms of their Black humanity. It is a reply wrought with White sin directed at a Black cry of redemption and salvation.
This significant verbal pivot away from Black pain and death unmasks our essential beliefs of who God is and what God is up to in our midst (more on that as we consider the Holy Spirit). If we believe that God is a God of justice, and that God has a unique desire to show us the Kin(g)dom by directing our attention to the margins, then we must begin to describe our God by describing the margins. The stories of God’s people, particularly the stories of the Exodus and of Jesus’ ministry, have always been centralized around finding God where God is least expected. In scripture, God appears to provide prime examples of leadership, to bestow favor for survival and to begin the work of redemption by asking that we take our cues from the powerless rather than from those in power. If we cannot recognize that we are the Pharisees, then we have more work to do and have arrived at a nonstarter. Therefore, simple recognition of the existence of White privilege is paramount.
White privilege shows itself most apparently in our current manifestations of our embedded Western missiology, which still owes a great debt to colonialism. We would do well to rethink our love affair with short-term mission trips and their effectiveness at making disciples, healing the sick and comforting the afflicted. If it is we who are always bringing God (or Bible studies or medical supplies or letters from our White children) to poor communities of color, then what is our implicit correlative belief about God and God’s Kin(g)dom? Too often, that belief means we are in control of how a unidirectional process unfolds.
Again, we must shift our focus away from ourselves and toward others, especially those whom we “other” the most. So, if our new theology of White allyship is to be robust enough to guide us into the future of a new United States free of racism, our missiology must consider the presence of the living God already and always at work everywhere. Practical examples of how to think about this new missiology abound in the fields of social work and sociology, where hopeful, positive methods like asset mapping are done in conjunction with communities and individuals to pinpoint the good work, skills, and progress already being made. Black communities and Black people must decide the terms of their own liberation.
Unfortunately, we always find what we are looking for. If we are looking for hopelessness in need of a savior, we will find it, and we will frequently cast that savior in our own image. If we are looking for a God of hope in desire of a collaborator, we will find that, too. We must, therefore, decide which God we are looking for.
Once we train ourselves to find that God, the question then becomes how we act in collaboration (laboring in tandem) with that God. Love of God cannot be divorced from love of neighbor, though in the West we frequently separate the two. Again, the Wesleyan directive to combine personal and social holiness is helpful here. Our love of God compels us to act. As was stated in my introductory post, we cannot pray our way to a day when Black lives matter. Action bears witness to our prayers, which are informed by our actions, and so forth. Praying for Black lives to matter without working for justice is a sinful dynamic we have adopted from mainline Protestant practices of White privilege.
We are enamored with our prayer circles, but where are our anti-racism circles? You do not have to be a protestor on the front line to work for justice, but you do have to take action. Discerning your role in this journey toward Jubilee can be exceedingly difficult, but we all have gifts that are unique to us and given by God. Prayer and the support of a loving community can help with this discernment.
The next post will continue by considering a new Christology by looking at the second person of the Trinitarian God who lives in eternal relationship and demonstrates to us how to be in community.
What Jesus really means by ‘your enemy’
By David DornIn Matthew 5, Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” Perhaps his definition of enemy is broader than we think. David Dorn is the Lead Contemporary Pastor for Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, Texas. He is also the author of “Reclaiming Anger,” “Under Wraps Youth Study” and the founder of The PREPOSTEROUS Project.
Grow in e-giving
By Richard RogersThis article is featured in the Bold Resolutions for Funding Ministry (Aug/Sep/Oct 2015) issue of Circuit Rider
Stand in the parking lot at any growing church and you’ll see all sorts of families hustling children in, carrying babies, and unloading grandparents at the door. What you won’t see as much is mothers slicking children’s hair back and tucking in shirts and families carrying Bibles and purses. Why? Times have changed. And, although God’s word is still the same, how people carry it has changed. People are bringing their Bibles, but instead of carrying a leather-bound book, they’re pulling out their phones when the scripture is given and following along. Technology has changed a lot of things, and the church must recognize these changes to be effective.
On any given Sunday, the average churchgoers have already accessed their televisions and radios for the morning headlines and their phones for the weather and have probably checked in on social media before they ever get to church. Nielsen’s “Total Audience Report” from the fourth quarter of 2014 revealed that American adults (18 and over) spent over eleven hours per day using electronic media. As of January 2015, over half of the world’s 7.2 billion people were mobile phone users. Electronic giving may be a new term to you, but to the tech-savvy families of today, it’s where they live.
The mission of your church is connected to the Great Commission. You “go and make disciples” through ongoing programming like worship services; Bible studies; children, youth, singles, and older adult ministries typically hosted in your facilities. Your church may have a special interest in foreign missions, home missions, an unreached people group in your city, or an off-campus outreach. Most of the ways we share God’s love with people require resources. It requires people and money to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And if your ministries are transforming lives, if they are bringing new families in, people want to support that. They want to be a part of what God is doing. Many times we hinder their participation by only engaging them during the fifteen seconds the offering plate is passed down their row in the worship service. Then only those families with cash or a check, if given enough time to fill it out, can respond.
For churches that want to increase their income for ministry and mission, electronic giving alternatives are essential. Electronic funds transfer (bill pay, e-check, Automated Clearing House [ACH]) and a mobile giving app are a couple common ways to complement an effective church website as you introduce digital tools for growing stewardship. Electronic giving is an option that will allow people to give in a familiar and accessible way. They can give at church, in their own homes, or on the go—whenever and wherever they are prompted to give. Americans are increasingly using e-checks and debit, credit, and prepaid cards for financial transactions, and they will use them in the church bookstore, to pay for youth camp, and to give an offering. Most electronic payment methods have a small cost associated with them, but don’t be “penny wise and pound foolish.” With a good communication plan, you will receive more money from your existing giving units and establish new ones.
Regardless of which forms of payment you use, always, always, always give people the option to make a recurring gift. Let the contributor choose whether they want to make a one-time gift, a weekly gift, or a monthly gift. They may want to give regularly immediately following pay day. Recurring gifts happen regardless of attendance patterns. Recurring gifts help a growing disciple prioritize their spiritual habit of giving.
I highly recommend that you partner with a respected service provider for electronic payment processing. They will help you set up the web page that assists your donors with making a gift and provide a variety of ways to connect to it. I would only choose a provider that has a mobile giving app, even if you don’t start out using it. Here’s a tip: have a young adult on your church staff make a $1 donation using the mobile app and tell you if it’s fast and easy. It’s important to ask the service provider if their program will work easily with your church management software and if they will help you respond to potential questions about data security.
Remember, the goal isn’t to eliminate passing the offering plate; it’s to provide additional options and different entry points into giving. There is no need to alienate the family who brings their tithe check each week and has for years. They are happy and have a habit of giving already; they will fill in the envelope, have it ready before the offering, and be blessed because they gave. Those who have experienced the growth of the church through real sacrifice and tithing are not as many as they once were. We have new families, changed by the same God, who know their money and resources are not their own, but they don’t always plan ahead to give. Let’s give them a place to start a habit. It’s a new way for the church to be more effective, relevant, and grow its resource base. Let’s meet people where they are.
Abundance for the center-city church
By Donna Claycomb SokolThis article is featured in the Bold Resolutions for Funding Ministry (Aug/Sep/Oct 2015) issue of Circuit Rider
We are the ones paying all the bills! Listen to us,” said the eighty-seven-year-old woman while clapping her hands in the young pastor’s face.
“It’s our money! We are going to use it the way we want,” offered the finance committee chair when speaking of the endowment.
“We have always allowed groups to use our building for free,” explained the church secretary when orienting the new pastor.
If you are part of a center-city church, then these words may sound familiar. You know the landscape of scarcity with an aging congregation doing everything possible to protect what’s been in a building that’s seen better days.
Is it possible to instead see abundance?
How can we reimagine stewardship and wealth in the heart of the city?
We imagine abundance by defining generosity as a virtue and a practice. Generosity as virtue is a core habit of the heart that influences how we act in faithful love toward God and neighbor.
Life in the center of a city provides daily glimpses of pain and brokenness: individuals sleeping in parks at night, people digging through the trash for food, and young girls waiting for their pimp to collect them as the sun starts to rise. We choose as individuals and congregations to respond to the pain or turn away from it. Some center-city churches install gates to protect the building while others have flung open the doors. But generosity of any form can’t be cultivated without intentionally shaping the hearts of disciples until they are large enough to hold and respond to the pain of a community, which produces actions that embody the heart and mind of Christ.
Generosity is also a practice that links our giving to God’s intentions for the world. Our center-city churches are offered countless opportunities to love God and neighbor by meeting needs that are often on our doorstep while also pursuing justice for the poor and oppressed. We can’t expect our members to embody generosity through the offering plate if our churches are not embodying generosity through what we do with our weekly offerings and all that is entrusted to us. One church chose to no longer have people purchase Easter lilies for pleasure but rather invited people to give the money they would have been spent on lilies to an “Easter life fund” that was used to meet needs of people who turn to the church for help, such as bus fare, medication, food, and rent. How can your church use what God has given to you to heal the brokenness of the world, enabling all people to flourish?
Becoming a generous church is always linked to hospitality. The longtime members of the church can set the standard by demonstrating how a life well lived is always spent in community: sharing meals, card games, and sometimes entire living spaces. One congregation was transformed when a ninety-year-old member invited a young couple to live with her. The intentional community formed in the four months together set a new standard for generosity, one that this couple is now offering to others through their home but especially through their tithing and their leadership that always seeks to make sure the church is providing places where life is shared. We must offer our congregations regular experiences of God’s abundance beyond the communion table where all are welcome and no one is turned away.
Center-city churches are also given a unique opportunity to see their property as an asset for members and the community. Imagine how much ministry could take place in your building if every space became multipurpose instead of being used once or twice a week. Partnerships with space enable you to do more together than you could ever do on your own by sharing the cost of cleaning, electricity, and upkeep. Every time we give space away, we are proclaiming that the ministry of the group we host is more important than the ministry of our church. But we flourish when we partner with organizations who are in great need of space, and sharing the facility costs can enable the church to put more money into ministry. Abundance is always present when we act to expand the scope of community.
Money for ministry has no value on its own. It’s what we do with money that makes a difference. When congregations see money as a redemptive tool for the flourishing of an entire community, then anything is possible.
The circle and the line
By Adam ThomasMark 9:30-37
Every day of my fourth grade year, my class lined up at the end of recess to go back inside. The bell rang, and we raced to our spots in the queue. But the race was in vain because no matter who arrived at the door first, we always lined up alphabetically by last name. By last name. What I wouldn’t have given to line up by first name. Then (Oh happy day!) I would have been at the very front of the line. No Aarons or Abigails in my class. No. Adam would have been the first name on the list. But those days were cruel. Every morning, I stood on tiptoes to see over the twenty-three heads in front of me, and only one boy — stricken with a name beginning with the letter “Y” — was worse off than I.
Then, on the day when all the mothers began insisting that their fourth graders wear winter coats to school, something happened. Mrs. Hughes, my math teacher, challenged us to line up in reverse alphabetical order. And for one cold, drizzly, glorious day, I stood at the front of the queue and only one head obstructed my view of the playground doors.
Standing at the front of the line feels good and the benefits are numerous. Being in front means that the concert tickets aren’t sold out. The first baseman hasn’t tired of signing autographs. The stalls of the women’s bathroom remain unoccupied. The bucket of fried chicken at the church potluck retains its full complement of chicken legs. Certainly, perks abound for those in front. Go to any shopping center in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving and witness the millions of Americans attempting be first in line simply to purchase a GPS system for twenty percent off retail.
Of course, these benefits are all about me. I get the tickets and the autograph and the preferred piece of chicken. I get the deal on the GPS. I get all these things because I got in line before you. You are behind me and someone else is behind you and countless faceless others line up behind that someone else. So we stand in our line and stare at the backs of the heads in front of us. In this linear configuration, no one can converse. No one can relate. No one can do anything more than slowly shuffle forward, both surrounded and isolated at the same time.
This isolation is the danger Jesus envisions when he places a little child among his disciples. They’ve been arguing about which one of them is the greatest (in other words, which one of them should be first in line). The prevailing linear culture has thoroughly molded the disciples. They only understand relationships in terms of hierarchy based on class, gender, and age. But they’ve been hanging around Jesus long enough to know that Jesus is thoroughly countercultural. He talks with women. He eats with outcasts. He touches the unclean. And so the disciples lapse into embarrassed silence when Jesus asks them about the content of their argument. They know that they’ve provided Jesus with what would now be called a “teachable moment.”
Now, we know Jesus is about to [drop some knowledge] on the disciples because he sits down, which is the preferred position of any self-respecting Jewish teacher. The disciples expect something countercultural and that’s exactly what Jesus gives them: “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” To illustrate the revolutionary nature of this statement, Jesus brings a small child and places the child among the disciples – not before them or after them, but among them. In Jesus’ day, this child was the last of the last. The hierarchy of the society placed children just below farm animals because you could get a lot more out of a goat than a toddler, and the goat would probably live longer. Children had no rights or protections. They weren’t even considered people until they were old enough to work.
But Jesus ignores this cruel stratification when he says: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Jesus commands his disciples and us to welcome those whom society deems lowest of all. With this welcome comes the opportunity to see the faces and learn the stories of those who until now were at the end of the line, too far removed from us to register on our radar. As we hear the stories of the lowest, we seek ways to serve them.
One of the greatest mistakes of our time has been the Western presumption that we know what’s best for the people we serve. But this imperialistic attitude only perpetuates the linear model, which our service attempts to supplant. However, with his command to welcome, Jesus doesn’t allow us to develop a “Serve first and ask questions later” mentality. Welcoming provides the framework through which service leads to the building up of relationships.
With his emphasis on relationships, Jesus changes the existing linear model into a circular one. In the line, you can’t welcome anyone because all you see are the backs of heads. You can’t serve anyone because the implied hierarchy of the line makes isolation the norm. You can only count the number of people ahead of you and nurse your own indignation over your rotten place in line. But in the circle, there is no first and no last. We grasp hands in welcome because we are unable to quantify our position in the continuous round. And relationships have a chance to flourish because we look not at backs but at each other’s faces.
This circular model of welcome and service stands in laughable contrast to the current situation in this country. A declining economy makes people cling ever tighter to their presumed spot in line. Distrust and belligerence and hate disfigure our political discourse. The gap between the first and last grows ever wider. Jesus is challenging us to do something, and if his words don’t make us squirm, then we aren’t listening.
To be first you must be last of all and servant of all, he says. Let go of linear relationships based on power and ambition and embrace circular relationship based on welcome and service. If you are at the front of the line now, start walking to the back. Grab the hand of the last person in line and form the circle. Welcome the least among us. Listen to their needs. Serve them because we are only as strong as our weakest member. Jesus commands us to accomplish these things. And the good news is this: Jesus never issues a command without simultaneously offering the gifts needed to carry it out.
So to every fourth grader queuing up after recess and every suit lining up at Starbucks and to everyone, myself included, whose ambition blinds him or her to those standing on tiptoes in the back:
Give up your place in line.
Adam Thomas blogs at WheretheWind.com.
This Sunday, August 23, 2015
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
Read more…
Lectionary Readings:
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
Lectiionsry Scripture:
1 Kings 8:1 Then Shlomo assembled all the leaders of Isra’el, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the paternal clans of the people of Isra’el, to King Shlomo in Yerushalayim, to bring the ark for the covenant of Adonai out of the City of David, also known as Tziyon.
6 The cohanim brought the ark for the covenant of Adonai in to its place inside the sanctuary of the house, to the Especially Holy Place, under the wings of the k’ruvim.
10 When the cohanim came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of Adonai, 11 so that, because of the cloud, the cohanim could not stand up to perform their service; for the glory of Adonai filled the house of Adonai.
22 Then Shlomo stood before the altar of Adonai in the presence of the whole community of Isra’el, spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “Adonai, God of Isra’el, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep covenant with your servants and show them grace, provided they live in your presence with all their heart. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father; you spoke with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand; so it is today. 25 Now therefore, Adonai, God of Isra’el, keep what you promised to your servant David, my father, when you said, ‘You will never lack a man in my presence to sit on the throne of Isra’el, if only your children are careful about what they do, so that they live in my presence, just as you have lived in my presence.’ 26 Now therefore, God of Isra’el, please let your word, which you spoke to your servant David, my father, be confirmed.
27 “But can God actually live on the earth? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain you; so how much less this house I have built? 28 Even so, Adonai my God, pay attention to your servant’s prayer and plea, listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying before you today, 29 that your eyes will be open toward this house night and day — toward the place concerning which you said, ‘My name will be there’ — to listen to the prayer your servant will pray toward this place. 30 Yes, listen to the plea of your servant, and also that of your people Isra’el when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven where you live; and when you hear, forgive!
41 “Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Isra’el — when he comes from a distant country because of your reputation 42 (for they will hear of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house; 43 then hear in heaven where you live, and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as does your people Isra’el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name.
Psalm 84:(0) For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of the sons of Korach:
2 (1) How deeply loved are your dwelling-places,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!
3 (2) My soul yearns, yes, faints with longing
for the courtyards of Adonai;
my heart and body cry for joy
to the living God.
4 (3) As the sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young,
[so my resting-place is] by your altars,
Adonai-Tzva’ot, my king and my God.
5 (4) How happy are those who live in your house;
they never cease to praise you! (Selah)
6 (5) How happy the man whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are [pilgrim] highways.
7 (6) Passing through the [dry] Baka Valley,
they make it a place of springs,
and the early rain clothes it with blessings.
8 (7) They go from strength to strength
and appear before God in Tziyon.
9 (8) Adonai, God of armies, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
10 (9) God, see our shield [the king];
look at the face of your anointed.
11 (10) Better a day in your courtyards
than a thousand [days elsewhere].
Better just standing at the door of my God’s house
than living in the tents of the wicked.
12 (11) For Adonai, God, is a sun and a shield;
Adonai bestows favor and honor;
he will not withhold anything good
from those whose lives are pure.
13 (12) Adonai-Tzva’ot,
how happy is anyone who trusts in you!
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! 11 Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. 12 For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. 13 So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. 14 Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist,[Ephesians 6:14 Isaiah 11:5] put on righteousness for a breastplate,[Ephesians 6:14 Isaiah 59:17] 15 and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom.[Ephesians 6:15 Isaiah 52:7] 16 Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17 And take the helmet of deliverance;[Ephesians 6:17 Isaiah 59:17] along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; 18 as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people.
19 And pray for me, too, that whenever I open my mouth, the words will be given to me to be bold in making known the secret of the Good News, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may speak boldly, the way I should.
John 6:56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live through the Father, so also whoever eats me will live through me. 58 So this is the bread that has come down from heaven — it is not like the bread the fathers ate; they’re dead, but whoever eats this bread will live forever!” 59 He said these things as he was teaching in a synagogue in K’far-Nachum.
60 On hearing it, many of his talmidim said, “This is a hard word — who can bear to listen to it?” 61 But Yeshua, aware that his talmidim were grumbling about this, said to them, “This is a trap for you? 62 Suppose you were to see the Son of Man going back up to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life, 64 yet some among you do not trust.” (For Yeshua knew from the outset which ones would not trust him, also which one would betray him.) 65 “This,” he said, “is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has made it possible for him.”
66 From this time on, many of his talmidim turned back and no longer traveled around with him. 67 So Yeshua said to the Twelve, “Don’t you want to leave too?” 68 Shim‘on Kefa answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the word of eternal life. 69 We have trusted, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.”
John Wesley's Notes-commentary for 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Verse 1
[1] Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
Elders — The senators, and judges, and rulers.
Heads — For each tribe had a peculiar governor.
Chief — The chief persons of every great family in each tribe.
Jerusalem — Where the temple was built.
Bring the ark — To the top of Moriah, upon which it was built; whither they were now to carry the ark in solemn pomp.
City of David — Where David had placed the ark, which is called Zion, because it was built upon that hill.
Verse 6
Verse 10
[10] And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
The cloud — The usual token of God's glorious presence.
Filled — In testimony of his gracious acceptance of this work, and their service; and to beget an awe and reverence in them, and in all others, when they approach to God.
1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69
Lectiionsry Scripture:
1 Kings 8:1 Then Shlomo assembled all the leaders of Isra’el, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the paternal clans of the people of Isra’el, to King Shlomo in Yerushalayim, to bring the ark for the covenant of Adonai out of the City of David, also known as Tziyon.
6 The cohanim brought the ark for the covenant of Adonai in to its place inside the sanctuary of the house, to the Especially Holy Place, under the wings of the k’ruvim.
10 When the cohanim came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of Adonai, 11 so that, because of the cloud, the cohanim could not stand up to perform their service; for the glory of Adonai filled the house of Adonai.
22 Then Shlomo stood before the altar of Adonai in the presence of the whole community of Isra’el, spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “Adonai, God of Isra’el, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep covenant with your servants and show them grace, provided they live in your presence with all their heart. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father; you spoke with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand; so it is today. 25 Now therefore, Adonai, God of Isra’el, keep what you promised to your servant David, my father, when you said, ‘You will never lack a man in my presence to sit on the throne of Isra’el, if only your children are careful about what they do, so that they live in my presence, just as you have lived in my presence.’ 26 Now therefore, God of Isra’el, please let your word, which you spoke to your servant David, my father, be confirmed.
27 “But can God actually live on the earth? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain you; so how much less this house I have built? 28 Even so, Adonai my God, pay attention to your servant’s prayer and plea, listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying before you today, 29 that your eyes will be open toward this house night and day — toward the place concerning which you said, ‘My name will be there’ — to listen to the prayer your servant will pray toward this place. 30 Yes, listen to the plea of your servant, and also that of your people Isra’el when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven where you live; and when you hear, forgive!
41 “Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Isra’el — when he comes from a distant country because of your reputation 42 (for they will hear of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house; 43 then hear in heaven where you live, and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as does your people Isra’el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name.
Psalm 84:(0) For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of the sons of Korach:
2 (1) How deeply loved are your dwelling-places,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!
3 (2) My soul yearns, yes, faints with longing
for the courtyards of Adonai;
my heart and body cry for joy
to the living God.
4 (3) As the sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young,
[so my resting-place is] by your altars,
Adonai-Tzva’ot, my king and my God.
5 (4) How happy are those who live in your house;
they never cease to praise you! (Selah)
6 (5) How happy the man whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are [pilgrim] highways.
7 (6) Passing through the [dry] Baka Valley,
they make it a place of springs,
and the early rain clothes it with blessings.
8 (7) They go from strength to strength
and appear before God in Tziyon.
9 (8) Adonai, God of armies, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
10 (9) God, see our shield [the king];
look at the face of your anointed.
11 (10) Better a day in your courtyards
than a thousand [days elsewhere].
Better just standing at the door of my God’s house
than living in the tents of the wicked.
12 (11) For Adonai, God, is a sun and a shield;
Adonai bestows favor and honor;
he will not withhold anything good
from those whose lives are pure.
13 (12) Adonai-Tzva’ot,
how happy is anyone who trusts in you!
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! 11 Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary. 12 For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. 13 So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. 14 Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist,[Ephesians 6:14 Isaiah 11:5] put on righteousness for a breastplate,[Ephesians 6:14 Isaiah 59:17] 15 and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom.[Ephesians 6:15 Isaiah 52:7] 16 Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17 And take the helmet of deliverance;[Ephesians 6:17 Isaiah 59:17] along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God; 18 as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people.
19 And pray for me, too, that whenever I open my mouth, the words will be given to me to be bold in making known the secret of the Good News, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may speak boldly, the way I should.
John 6:56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live through the Father, so also whoever eats me will live through me. 58 So this is the bread that has come down from heaven — it is not like the bread the fathers ate; they’re dead, but whoever eats this bread will live forever!” 59 He said these things as he was teaching in a synagogue in K’far-Nachum.
60 On hearing it, many of his talmidim said, “This is a hard word — who can bear to listen to it?” 61 But Yeshua, aware that his talmidim were grumbling about this, said to them, “This is a trap for you? 62 Suppose you were to see the Son of Man going back up to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life, 64 yet some among you do not trust.” (For Yeshua knew from the outset which ones would not trust him, also which one would betray him.) 65 “This,” he said, “is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has made it possible for him.”
66 From this time on, many of his talmidim turned back and no longer traveled around with him. 67 So Yeshua said to the Twelve, “Don’t you want to leave too?” 68 Shim‘on Kefa answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the word of eternal life. 69 We have trusted, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.”
John Wesley's Notes-commentary for 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43
Verse 1
[1] Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
Elders — The senators, and judges, and rulers.
Heads — For each tribe had a peculiar governor.
Chief — The chief persons of every great family in each tribe.
Jerusalem — Where the temple was built.
Bring the ark — To the top of Moriah, upon which it was built; whither they were now to carry the ark in solemn pomp.
City of David — Where David had placed the ark, which is called Zion, because it was built upon that hill.
Verse 6
[6] And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
Cherubim — Of Solomon's new made cherubim, not of the Mosaic cherubim, which were far less, and unmovably fixed to the ark, Exodus 37:7,8, and therefore together with the ark, were put under the wings of these cherubim.
Verse 10[10] And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
The cloud — The usual token of God's glorious presence.
Filled — In testimony of his gracious acceptance of this work, and their service; and to beget an awe and reverence in them, and in all others, when they approach to God.
Verse 22
[22] And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
Stood — Upon a scaffold set up for him in the court of the people, 2 Chronicles 6:13.
Verse 24
[24] Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
Hast kept — That branch of thy promise concerning the building of this house by David's son.
Verse 25
[25] Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
Keep — Make good the other branch of thy promise.
Verse 27
[27] But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
But will — Is it possible that the great, and high, and lofty God should stoop so low, as to take up his dwelling amongst men? The heaven - All this vast space of the visible heaven.
And heaven, … — The third and highest, and therefore the largest heaven, called the heaven of heavens for its eminency and comprehensiveness.
Contain — For thy essence reacheth far beyond them, being omnipresent.
Much less — This house therefore was not built as if it were proportionable to thy greatness, or could contain thee, but only that therein we might serve and glorify thee.
Verse 28
[28] Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
Yet — Tho' thou art not comprehended within this place, yet shew thyself to he graciously present here, by accepting and granting my present requests here tendered unto thee.
Verse 29
[29] That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.
Open — To behold with an eye of favour.
My name — My presence, and glory and grace.
This place — This temple, to which Solomon did now look, and towards which, the godly Israelites directed their looks in their prayers.
Verse 30
[30] And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
In heaven — Which he adds to direct them in their addresses to God in this temple, to lift up their eyes above it, even to heaven, where God's most true, and most glorious dwelling-place is.
Forgive — The sins of thy people, praying, and even of their prayers; which, if not pardoned, will certainly hinder the success of all their prayers, and the course of all thy blessings.
[22] And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
Stood — Upon a scaffold set up for him in the court of the people, 2 Chronicles 6:13.
Verse 24
[24] Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
Hast kept — That branch of thy promise concerning the building of this house by David's son.
Verse 25
[25] Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
Keep — Make good the other branch of thy promise.
Verse 27
[27] But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
But will — Is it possible that the great, and high, and lofty God should stoop so low, as to take up his dwelling amongst men? The heaven - All this vast space of the visible heaven.
And heaven, … — The third and highest, and therefore the largest heaven, called the heaven of heavens for its eminency and comprehensiveness.
Contain — For thy essence reacheth far beyond them, being omnipresent.
Much less — This house therefore was not built as if it were proportionable to thy greatness, or could contain thee, but only that therein we might serve and glorify thee.
Verse 28
[28] Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:
Yet — Tho' thou art not comprehended within this place, yet shew thyself to he graciously present here, by accepting and granting my present requests here tendered unto thee.
Verse 29
[29] That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.
Open — To behold with an eye of favour.
My name — My presence, and glory and grace.
This place — This temple, to which Solomon did now look, and towards which, the godly Israelites directed their looks in their prayers.
Verse 30
[30] And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive.
In heaven — Which he adds to direct them in their addresses to God in this temple, to lift up their eyes above it, even to heaven, where God's most true, and most glorious dwelling-place is.
Forgive — The sins of thy people, praying, and even of their prayers; which, if not pardoned, will certainly hinder the success of all their prayers, and the course of all thy blessings.
Verse 41
[41] Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;
A stranger — A proselyte.
But cometh — That he may worship, and glorify thy name.
Verse 43
[43] Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.
Calleth for — Agreeable to thy will and word. It is observable, that his prayer for the strangers is more large, and comprehensive, than for the Israelites; that thereby he might both shew his public-spiritedness, and encourage strangers to the worship of the true God. Thus early were the indications of God's favour, toward the sinners of the Gentiles. As there was then one law for the native and for the stranger, so there was one gospel for both.
Psalm 84
Verse 4
[4] Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. /*Selah*/.
They-That constantly abide in thy house; the priests and Levites, or other devout Jews who were there perpetually, as Anna,Luke 2:36-37.
They will — They are continually employed in that blessed work.
Verse 5
[5] Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
Whose strength — Who trusteth in thee as his only strength.
Thy ways — Blessed are they whose hearts are set upon Zion and their journey is thither.
Verse 6
[6] Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
Baca — A dry valley in the way to Jerusalem, here put for all places of like nature.
Make a well — They dig divers little pits or wells in it for their relief.
The rain — God recompenses their diligence with his blessing, sending rain wherewith they may be filled.
Verse 7
[7] They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
They go — They grow stronger and stronger.
Appeareth — This is added as the blessed fruit of their long and tedious journey.
Verse 9
[9] Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
Look — Cast a favourable eye towards him.
Anointed — Of me, who though a vile sinner, am thine anointed king.
Verse 10
[10] For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Than dwell — In the greatest glory and plenty.
Verse 11
[11] For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
A sun — To enlighten and quicken, and direct and comfort his people.
Shield — To save his people from all their enemies.
Grace — His favour, which is better than life.
Glory — The honour which comes from God here, and eternal glory.
[41] Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake;
A stranger — A proselyte.
But cometh — That he may worship, and glorify thy name.
Verse 43
[43] Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name.
Calleth for — Agreeable to thy will and word. It is observable, that his prayer for the strangers is more large, and comprehensive, than for the Israelites; that thereby he might both shew his public-spiritedness, and encourage strangers to the worship of the true God. Thus early were the indications of God's favour, toward the sinners of the Gentiles. As there was then one law for the native and for the stranger, so there was one gospel for both.
Psalm 84
Verse 4
[4] Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. /*Selah*/.
They-That constantly abide in thy house; the priests and Levites, or other devout Jews who were there perpetually, as Anna,Luke 2:36-37.
They will — They are continually employed in that blessed work.
Verse 5
[5] Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
Whose strength — Who trusteth in thee as his only strength.
Thy ways — Blessed are they whose hearts are set upon Zion and their journey is thither.
Verse 6
[6] Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
Baca — A dry valley in the way to Jerusalem, here put for all places of like nature.
Make a well — They dig divers little pits or wells in it for their relief.
The rain — God recompenses their diligence with his blessing, sending rain wherewith they may be filled.
Verse 7
[7] They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
They go — They grow stronger and stronger.
Appeareth — This is added as the blessed fruit of their long and tedious journey.
Verse 9
[9] Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
Look — Cast a favourable eye towards him.
Anointed — Of me, who though a vile sinner, am thine anointed king.
Verse 10
[10] For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Than dwell — In the greatest glory and plenty.
Verse 11
[11] For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
A sun — To enlighten and quicken, and direct and comfort his people.
Shield — To save his people from all their enemies.
Grace — His favour, which is better than life.
Glory — The honour which comes from God here, and eternal glory.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Verse 10
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Brethren — This is the only place in this epistle where he uses this compellation. Soldiers frequently use it to each other in the field.
Be strong — Nothing less will suffice for such a fight: to be weak, and remain so, is the way to perish.
In the power of his might — A very uncommon expression, plainly denoting what great assistance we need as if his might would not do, it must be the powerful exertion of his might.
Verse 11
[11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Put on the whole armour of God — The Greek word means a complete suit of armour. Believers are said to put on the girdle, breastplate, shoes; to take the shield of faith, and sword of the Spirit.
The whole armour — As if the armour would scarce do, it must be the whole armour. This is repeated, verse 13, because of the strength and subtilty of our adversaries, and because of an "evil day" of sore trial being at hand.
Verse 12
[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
For our wrestling is not only, not chiefly, against flesh and blood - Weak men, or fleshly appetites.
But against principalities, against powers — The mighty princes of all the infernal legions. And great is their power, and that likewise of those legions whom they command.
Against the rulers of the world — Perhaps these principalities and powers remain mostly in the citadel of their kingdom of darkness. But there are other evil spirits who range abroad, to whom the provinces of the world are committed.
Of the darkness — This is chiefly spiritual darkness.
Of this age — Which prevails during the present state of things.
Against wicked spirits — Who continually oppose faith, love, holiness, either by force or fraud; and labour to infuse unbelief, pride, idolatry malice, envy, anger, hatred.
In heavenly places — Which were once their abode, and which they still aspire to, as far as they are permitted.
Verse 13
[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
In the evil day — The war is perpetual; but the fight is one day less, another more, violent. The evil day is either at the approach of death, or in life; may be longer or shorter and admits of numberless varieties.
And having done all, to stand — That ye may still keep on your armour, still stand upon your guard, still watch and pray; and thus ye will be enabled to endure unto the end, and stand with joy before the face of the Son of Man.
Verse 14
[14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Having your loins girt about — That ye may be ready for every motion.
With truth — Not only with the truths of the gospel, but with "truth in the inward parts;" for without this all our knowledge of divine truth will prove but a poor girdle "in the evil day." So our Lord is described, Isaiah 11:5. And as a girded man is always ready to go on, so this seems to intimate an obedient heart, a ready will. Our Lord adds to the loins girded, the lights burning, Luke 12:35; showing that watching and ready obedience are the inseparable companions of faith and love.
And having on the breastplate of righteousness — The righteousness of a spotless purity, in which Christ will present us faultless before God, through the merit of his own blood. With this breastplate our Lord is described, Isaiah 59:17. In the breast is the seat of conscience, which is guarded by righteousness. No armour for the back is mentioned. We are always to face our enemies.
Verse 15
[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel — Let this be always ready to direct and confirm you in every step. This part of the armour, for the feet, is needful, considering what a journey we have to go; what a race to run. Our feet must be so shod, that our footsteps slip not. To order our life and conversation aright, we are prepared by the gospel blessing, the peace and love of God ruling in the heart, Colossians 3:14,15. By this only can we tread the rough ways, surmount our difficulties, and hold out to the end.
Verse 16
[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Above or over all - As a sort of universal covering to every other part of the armour itself, continually exercise a strong and lively faith. This you may use as a shield, which will quench all the fiery darts, the furious temptations, violent and sudden injections of the devil.
Verse 17
[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
And take for an helmet the hope of salvation — 1 Thessalonians 5:8. The head is that part which is most carefully to be defended. One stroke here may prove fatal. The armour for this is the hope of salvation. The lowest degree of this hope is a confidence that God will work the whole work of faith in us; the highest is a full assurance of future glory, added to the experimental knowledge of pardoning love. Armed with this helmet, the hope of the joy set before him, Christ "endured the cross, and despised the shame,"Hebrews 12:2.
And the sword of the Spirit, the word of God — This Satan cannot withstand, when it is edged and wielded by faith. Till now our armour has been only defensive. But we are to attack Satan, as well as secure ourselves; the shield in one hand, and the sword in the other. Whoever fights with the powers of hell will need both. He that is covered with armour from head to foot, and neglects this, will be foiled after all. This whole description shows us how great a thing it is to be a Christian. The want of any one thing makes him incomplete. Though he has his loins girt with truth, righteousness for a breastplate, his feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit; yet one thing he wants after all. What is that? It follows,
Verse 18
[18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Praying always — At all times, and on every occasion, in midst of all employments, inwardly praying without ceasing.
By the Spirit — Through the influence of the Holy Spirit.
With all prayer — With all sort of prayer, public, private, mental, vocal. Some are careful in respect of one kind of prayer, and negligent in others. If we would have the petitions we ask, let us use all. Some there are who use only mental prayer or ejaculations, and think they are in a state of grace, and use a way of worship, far superior to any other: but such only fancy themselves to be above what is really above them; it requiring far more grace to be enabled to pour out a fervent and continued prayer, than to offer up mental aspirations.
And supplication — Repeating and urging our prayer, as Christ did in the garden.
And watching — Inwardly attending on God, to know his will, to gain power to do it, and to attain to the blessings we desire.
With all perseverance — Continuing to the end in this holy exercise.
And supplication for all the saints — Wrestling in fervent, continued intercession for others, especially for the faithful, that they may do all the will of God, and be steadfast to the end. Perhaps we receive few answers to prayer, because we do not intercede enough for others.
Verse 19
[19] And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
By the opening my mouth — Removing every inward and every outward hinderance.
Verse 20
[20] For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
An ambassador in bonds — The ambassadors of men usually appear in great pomp. How differently does the ambassador of Christ appear!
John 6:56-69
Verse 57
[57] As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
I live by the Father — Being one with him.
He shall live by me — Being one with me. Amazing union!
Verse 58
[58] This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
This is — That is, I am the bread - Which is not like the manna your fathers ate, who died notwithstanding.
Verse 60
[60] Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
This is a hard saying — Hard to the children of the world, but sweet to the children of God. Scarce ever did our Lord speak more sublimely, even to the apostles in private.
Who can hear — Endure it?
Verse 62
[62] What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
What if ye shall see the Son of man ascend where he was before? — How much more incredible will it then appear to you, that he should give you his flesh to eat?
Verse 63
[63] It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
It is the Spirit — The spiritual meaning of these words, by which God giveth life.
The flesh — The bare, carnal, literal meaning, profiteth nothing.
The words which I have spoken, they are spirit — Are to be taken in a spiritual sense and, when they are so understood, they are life - That is, a means of spiritual life to the hearers.
Verse 64
[64] But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
But there are some of you who believe not — And so receive no life by them, because you take them in a gross literal sense.
For Jesus knew from the beginning — Of his ministry: who would betray him - Therefore it is plain, God does foresee future contingencies: - "But his foreknowledge causes not the fault, Which had no less proved certain unforeknown."
Verse 65
[65] And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Unless it be given — And it is given to those only who will receive it on God's own terms.
Verse 66
[66] From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
From this time many of his disciples went back — So our Lord now began to purge his floor: the proud and careless were driven away, and those remained who were meet for the Master's use.
Verse 68
[68] Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Thou hast the words of eternal life — Thou, and thou alone, speakest the words which show the way to life everlasting.
Verse 69
[69] And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
And we — Who have been with thee from the beginning, whatever others do, have known - Are absolutely assured, that thou art the Christ.
____________________________
Verse 10
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Brethren — This is the only place in this epistle where he uses this compellation. Soldiers frequently use it to each other in the field.
Be strong — Nothing less will suffice for such a fight: to be weak, and remain so, is the way to perish.
In the power of his might — A very uncommon expression, plainly denoting what great assistance we need as if his might would not do, it must be the powerful exertion of his might.
Verse 11
[11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Put on the whole armour of God — The Greek word means a complete suit of armour. Believers are said to put on the girdle, breastplate, shoes; to take the shield of faith, and sword of the Spirit.
The whole armour — As if the armour would scarce do, it must be the whole armour. This is repeated, verse 13, because of the strength and subtilty of our adversaries, and because of an "evil day" of sore trial being at hand.
Verse 12
[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
For our wrestling is not only, not chiefly, against flesh and blood - Weak men, or fleshly appetites.
But against principalities, against powers — The mighty princes of all the infernal legions. And great is their power, and that likewise of those legions whom they command.
Against the rulers of the world — Perhaps these principalities and powers remain mostly in the citadel of their kingdom of darkness. But there are other evil spirits who range abroad, to whom the provinces of the world are committed.
Of the darkness — This is chiefly spiritual darkness.
Of this age — Which prevails during the present state of things.
Against wicked spirits — Who continually oppose faith, love, holiness, either by force or fraud; and labour to infuse unbelief, pride, idolatry malice, envy, anger, hatred.
In heavenly places — Which were once their abode, and which they still aspire to, as far as they are permitted.
Verse 13
[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
In the evil day — The war is perpetual; but the fight is one day less, another more, violent. The evil day is either at the approach of death, or in life; may be longer or shorter and admits of numberless varieties.
And having done all, to stand — That ye may still keep on your armour, still stand upon your guard, still watch and pray; and thus ye will be enabled to endure unto the end, and stand with joy before the face of the Son of Man.
Verse 14
[14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Having your loins girt about — That ye may be ready for every motion.
With truth — Not only with the truths of the gospel, but with "truth in the inward parts;" for without this all our knowledge of divine truth will prove but a poor girdle "in the evil day." So our Lord is described, Isaiah 11:5. And as a girded man is always ready to go on, so this seems to intimate an obedient heart, a ready will. Our Lord adds to the loins girded, the lights burning, Luke 12:35; showing that watching and ready obedience are the inseparable companions of faith and love.
And having on the breastplate of righteousness — The righteousness of a spotless purity, in which Christ will present us faultless before God, through the merit of his own blood. With this breastplate our Lord is described, Isaiah 59:17. In the breast is the seat of conscience, which is guarded by righteousness. No armour for the back is mentioned. We are always to face our enemies.
Verse 15
[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel — Let this be always ready to direct and confirm you in every step. This part of the armour, for the feet, is needful, considering what a journey we have to go; what a race to run. Our feet must be so shod, that our footsteps slip not. To order our life and conversation aright, we are prepared by the gospel blessing, the peace and love of God ruling in the heart, Colossians 3:14,15. By this only can we tread the rough ways, surmount our difficulties, and hold out to the end.
Verse 16
[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Above or over all - As a sort of universal covering to every other part of the armour itself, continually exercise a strong and lively faith. This you may use as a shield, which will quench all the fiery darts, the furious temptations, violent and sudden injections of the devil.
Verse 17
[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
And take for an helmet the hope of salvation — 1 Thessalonians 5:8. The head is that part which is most carefully to be defended. One stroke here may prove fatal. The armour for this is the hope of salvation. The lowest degree of this hope is a confidence that God will work the whole work of faith in us; the highest is a full assurance of future glory, added to the experimental knowledge of pardoning love. Armed with this helmet, the hope of the joy set before him, Christ "endured the cross, and despised the shame,"Hebrews 12:2.
And the sword of the Spirit, the word of God — This Satan cannot withstand, when it is edged and wielded by faith. Till now our armour has been only defensive. But we are to attack Satan, as well as secure ourselves; the shield in one hand, and the sword in the other. Whoever fights with the powers of hell will need both. He that is covered with armour from head to foot, and neglects this, will be foiled after all. This whole description shows us how great a thing it is to be a Christian. The want of any one thing makes him incomplete. Though he has his loins girt with truth, righteousness for a breastplate, his feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit; yet one thing he wants after all. What is that? It follows,
Verse 18
[18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Praying always — At all times, and on every occasion, in midst of all employments, inwardly praying without ceasing.
By the Spirit — Through the influence of the Holy Spirit.
With all prayer — With all sort of prayer, public, private, mental, vocal. Some are careful in respect of one kind of prayer, and negligent in others. If we would have the petitions we ask, let us use all. Some there are who use only mental prayer or ejaculations, and think they are in a state of grace, and use a way of worship, far superior to any other: but such only fancy themselves to be above what is really above them; it requiring far more grace to be enabled to pour out a fervent and continued prayer, than to offer up mental aspirations.
And supplication — Repeating and urging our prayer, as Christ did in the garden.
And watching — Inwardly attending on God, to know his will, to gain power to do it, and to attain to the blessings we desire.
With all perseverance — Continuing to the end in this holy exercise.
And supplication for all the saints — Wrestling in fervent, continued intercession for others, especially for the faithful, that they may do all the will of God, and be steadfast to the end. Perhaps we receive few answers to prayer, because we do not intercede enough for others.
Verse 19
[19] And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
By the opening my mouth — Removing every inward and every outward hinderance.
Verse 20
[20] For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
An ambassador in bonds — The ambassadors of men usually appear in great pomp. How differently does the ambassador of Christ appear!
John 6:56-69
Verse 57
[57] As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
I live by the Father — Being one with him.
He shall live by me — Being one with me. Amazing union!
Verse 58
[58] This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
This is — That is, I am the bread - Which is not like the manna your fathers ate, who died notwithstanding.
Verse 60
[60] Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
This is a hard saying — Hard to the children of the world, but sweet to the children of God. Scarce ever did our Lord speak more sublimely, even to the apostles in private.
Who can hear — Endure it?
Verse 62
[62] What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
What if ye shall see the Son of man ascend where he was before? — How much more incredible will it then appear to you, that he should give you his flesh to eat?
Verse 63
[63] It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
It is the Spirit — The spiritual meaning of these words, by which God giveth life.
The flesh — The bare, carnal, literal meaning, profiteth nothing.
The words which I have spoken, they are spirit — Are to be taken in a spiritual sense and, when they are so understood, they are life - That is, a means of spiritual life to the hearers.
Verse 64
[64] But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
But there are some of you who believe not — And so receive no life by them, because you take them in a gross literal sense.
For Jesus knew from the beginning — Of his ministry: who would betray him - Therefore it is plain, God does foresee future contingencies: - "But his foreknowledge causes not the fault, Which had no less proved certain unforeknown."
Verse 65
[65] And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Unless it be given — And it is given to those only who will receive it on God's own terms.
Verse 66
[66] From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
From this time many of his disciples went back — So our Lord now began to purge his floor: the proud and careless were driven away, and those remained who were meet for the Master's use.
Verse 68
[68] Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Thou hast the words of eternal life — Thou, and thou alone, speakest the words which show the way to life everlasting.
Verse 69
[69] And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
And we — Who have been with thee from the beginning, whatever others do, have known - Are absolutely assured, that thou art the Christ.
____________________________
Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
____________________________
____________________________
Sermon Story "The Dedication" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 23 August 2015 with Scripture: 1 Kings 8:1 Then Shlomo assembled all the leaders of Isra’el, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the paternal clans of the people of Isra’el, to King Shlomo in Yerushalayim, to bring the ark for the covenant of Adonai out of the City of David, also known as Tziyon.
6 The cohanim brought the ark for the covenant of Adonai in to its place inside the sanctuary of the house, to the Especially Holy Place, under the wings of the k’ruvim.
10 When the cohanim came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of Adonai, 11 so that, because of the cloud, the cohanim could not stand up to perform their service; for the glory of Adonai filled the house of Adonai.
22 Then Shlomo stood before the altar of Adonai in the presence of the whole community of Isra’el, spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “Adonai, God of Isra’el, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep covenant with your servants and show them grace, provided they live in your presence with all their heart. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father; you spoke with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand; so it is today. 25 Now therefore, Adonai, God of Isra’el, keep what you promised to your servant David, my father, when you said, ‘You will never lack a man in my presence to sit on the throne of Isra’el, if only your children are careful about what they do, so that they live in my presence, just as you have lived in my presence.’ 26 Now therefore, God of Isra’el, please let your word, which you spoke to your servant David, my father, be confirmed.
27 “But can God actually live on the earth? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain you; so how much less this house I have built? 28 Even so, Adonai my God, pay attention to your servant’s prayer and plea, listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying before you today, 29 that your eyes will be open toward this house night and day — toward the place concerning which you said, ‘My name will be there’ — to listen to the prayer your servant will pray toward this place. 30 Yes, listen to the plea of your servant, and also that of your people Isra’el when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven where you live; and when you hear, forgive!
41 “Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Isra’el — when he comes from a distant country because of your reputation 42 (for they will hear of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house; 43 then hear in heaven where you live, and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as does your people Isra’el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name.
The promise that God gave to David that his osn would build a Temple for God to dwell in has arrived. King Solomon brings the ark of the convenant to be placed in the Holy of Holies in the Temple that he completed at this time. All the people gathered to worship God including all the priests and Levites to make sacrifices to God. The glory of God filled the Temple that not much could be accomplished, so Solomon said a pray to God at this time. In this prayer as he dedicated the Temple He thanked God fo allowing him, David's son, to build the Temple to God. He said that even all of God's glory could not be contained in this Temple built with human hands because God's glory is limitless in all the Heavens. He began to say that how could God dwell among humans because of who He is which could allude to the coming of the Messiah whom we call Jesus to build the true Temple of people who become followers of Him. Solomon even said that the non-Israelites who come to see this Temple will become believers in who God is which could be a prophesy of the Gentiles to be brought into God's Kingdom. Then, we realize that all of Israel were there which probably did not exclude people who were differently abled becausein the Torah we realized that God commanded to take care of those who are differently abled as well as the orphan and widows. Then, Solomon prays that when Israel sins that when they come in confession and repentance God will forgive them of their sins. This sin would be how they may have excluded the people who are differently ab.ed into the worship of God in their feasts and festivals of thanksgiving including the Passover Celebration. We are included in this forgiveness as we realie our own sin in excluding the people who are differently abled as we come and eat the Body of Jesus and drink His Blood in our participation of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We come to receive from God singing the song for dedication of this building or people to be included in His KIngdom the Hymn: "Father, Let Me Dedicate"
1. Father, let me dedicate, all this year to Thee,
In whatever worldly state Thou wilt have me be:
Not from sorrow, pain or care, freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer, glorify Thy Name.
2. Can a child presume to choose where or how to live?
Can a Father’s love refuse all the best to give?
More Thou givest every day than the best can claim
Nor withholdest aught that may glorify Thy Name.
3. If in mercy Thou wilt spare joys that yet are mine;
If on life, serene and fair, brighter rays may shine;
Let my glad heart, while it sings, Thee in all proclaim,
And, whate’er the future brings, glorify Thy Name.
4. If Thou callest to the cross, and its shadow come,
Turning all my gain to loss, shrouding heart and home;
Let me think how Thy dear Son to His glory came,
And in deepest woe pray on, “Glorify Thy Name.”
____________________________
6 The cohanim brought the ark for the covenant of Adonai in to its place inside the sanctuary of the house, to the Especially Holy Place, under the wings of the k’ruvim.
10 When the cohanim came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of Adonai, 11 so that, because of the cloud, the cohanim could not stand up to perform their service; for the glory of Adonai filled the house of Adonai.
22 Then Shlomo stood before the altar of Adonai in the presence of the whole community of Isra’el, spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “Adonai, God of Isra’el, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep covenant with your servants and show them grace, provided they live in your presence with all their heart. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father; you spoke with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand; so it is today. 25 Now therefore, Adonai, God of Isra’el, keep what you promised to your servant David, my father, when you said, ‘You will never lack a man in my presence to sit on the throne of Isra’el, if only your children are careful about what they do, so that they live in my presence, just as you have lived in my presence.’ 26 Now therefore, God of Isra’el, please let your word, which you spoke to your servant David, my father, be confirmed.
27 “But can God actually live on the earth? Why, heaven itself, even the heaven of heavens, cannot contain you; so how much less this house I have built? 28 Even so, Adonai my God, pay attention to your servant’s prayer and plea, listen to the cry and prayer that your servant is praying before you today, 29 that your eyes will be open toward this house night and day — toward the place concerning which you said, ‘My name will be there’ — to listen to the prayer your servant will pray toward this place. 30 Yes, listen to the plea of your servant, and also that of your people Isra’el when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven where you live; and when you hear, forgive!
41 “Also the foreigner who does not belong to your people Isra’el — when he comes from a distant country because of your reputation 42 (for they will hear of your great reputation, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house; 43 then hear in heaven where you live, and act in accordance with everything about which the foreigner is calling to you; so that all the peoples of the earth will know your name and fear you, as does your people Isra’el, and so that they will know that this house which I have built bears your name.
The promise that God gave to David that his osn would build a Temple for God to dwell in has arrived. King Solomon brings the ark of the convenant to be placed in the Holy of Holies in the Temple that he completed at this time. All the people gathered to worship God including all the priests and Levites to make sacrifices to God. The glory of God filled the Temple that not much could be accomplished, so Solomon said a pray to God at this time. In this prayer as he dedicated the Temple He thanked God fo allowing him, David's son, to build the Temple to God. He said that even all of God's glory could not be contained in this Temple built with human hands because God's glory is limitless in all the Heavens. He began to say that how could God dwell among humans because of who He is which could allude to the coming of the Messiah whom we call Jesus to build the true Temple of people who become followers of Him. Solomon even said that the non-Israelites who come to see this Temple will become believers in who God is which could be a prophesy of the Gentiles to be brought into God's Kingdom. Then, we realize that all of Israel were there which probably did not exclude people who were differently abled becausein the Torah we realized that God commanded to take care of those who are differently abled as well as the orphan and widows. Then, Solomon prays that when Israel sins that when they come in confession and repentance God will forgive them of their sins. This sin would be how they may have excluded the people who are differently ab.ed into the worship of God in their feasts and festivals of thanksgiving including the Passover Celebration. We are included in this forgiveness as we realie our own sin in excluding the people who are differently abled as we come and eat the Body of Jesus and drink His Blood in our participation of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We come to receive from God singing the song for dedication of this building or people to be included in His KIngdom the Hymn: "Father, Let Me Dedicate"
1. Father, let me dedicate, all this year to Thee,
In whatever worldly state Thou wilt have me be:
Not from sorrow, pain or care, freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer, glorify Thy Name.
2. Can a child presume to choose where or how to live?
Can a Father’s love refuse all the best to give?
More Thou givest every day than the best can claim
Nor withholdest aught that may glorify Thy Name.
3. If in mercy Thou wilt spare joys that yet are mine;
If on life, serene and fair, brighter rays may shine;
Let my glad heart, while it sings, Thee in all proclaim,
And, whate’er the future brings, glorify Thy Name.
4. If Thou callest to the cross, and its shadow come,
Turning all my gain to loss, shrouding heart and home;
Let me think how Thy dear Son to His glory came,
And in deepest woe pray on, “Glorify Thy Name.”
____________________________
Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States
____________________________
____________________________
John 6:56-69
Peter’s question haunts us too. Peter asked, “To whom can we go?” The question came at the end of a long two days. The day before Peter asked his haunting question, a crowd had sought Jesus. Then, after Jesus had taught them, he had miraculously met their physical hunger by feeding this large crowd of five thousand with a boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish. So impressed was the crowd by Jesus’ meeting their needs that they had wanted to “take him by force to make him king” (John 6:15). To avoid their plan, Jesus had gone away, by himself.
The next day found Jesus and his disciples across the lake, and the crowd came seeking him again. They would not give up. They wanted Jesus!
Or so they thought. After a series of interchanges with Jesus about who he was and what he did, the crowd dwindled. “Many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.” We get the feeling that Jesus’ conversation with the Twelve in this text was to determine the depth of even their own commitment to him.
The crowd and even Jesus’ closest disciples were struggling with what is easily the most important question of anyone’s life—indeed, of all history: Who is Jesus?
Really, who is Jesus? It’s a question that when seriously considered brings about a division in the ranks of every group who asks it. It even brings about a division within our own hearts. Who is Jesus?
The answers vary. For some, Jesus is the great teacher. He was a great individual with great ideas, who has contributed much by word and example. Jesus can be revered as one of the great teachers of history, certainly alongside Aristotle, Plato, Buddha, and Moses. Jesus is to be respected and even loved.
For others, Jesus is the model person, the best person who ever lived, and we should strive to imitate Jesus—as long as we don’t perhaps take it too far. This view of Jesus has often shaded toward simply attributing to Jesus the most popular values of current culture. Folks who hold this view often see Jesus as looking and acting a lot like they do.
For some, as in Jesus’ day, Jesus is the Messiah, but a worldly Messiah, as Jesus was to the crowd on those two days described in John 6. They wanted him to solve their problems, both there and thereafter. They were impressed that, like Moses of old, Jesus had supplied them with food in the wilderness. “Hey, we can follow a guy like this!”
Of course, the overwhelming answer of the scriptures and of the church at its best through the centuries has been that Jesus is more than these descriptions or any others we might list. Who is Jesus? He is a human being, the person in whom God was uniquely present. Somehow, as Paul said, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself ” (2 Corinthians 5:19). We may not be able to state the how of this truth very well, but we revel in its reality. Somehow, this person Jesus, who was flesh and blood, was the Person in whom the God of Israel and the universe was uniquely present.
Give a little more thought to this question: Who is Jesus? Jesus’ contemporaries knew Jesus first as a human being. The scriptures affirm this part of Jesus’ nature. He was human like us. Indeed, Jesus was fully human. In later writings of the New Testament, especially 1 John, the major issue was whether Jesus was fully human. That little letter begins with the affirmation that indeed Jesus was. The first verse states, “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands” (1 John 1:1).
Sometimes it seems almost sacrilegious, even heretical, to think of Jesus as a human being who got thirsty, hungry, and tired. Jesus’ closest disciples had no trouble seeing Jesus like that, however. Neither should we. One of the most astounding verses in the Bible is, “The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). Flesh!
Who is Jesus? Jesus was a human being, fully a human being.
The scriptures also affirm Jesus as fully God. In ways we can only state and neither explain nor understand, the God of the universe was uniquely present in Jesus. This view of Jesus was no afterthought of the church after the days of the New Testament. It was not simply thought up and written down at a later church council. It is seen in the experiences of Jesus in the Gospels (see Matthew 16:16; Mark 1:11; 15:39). Also, it is seen in the reflections of Jesus’ closest followers as they spoke and wrote of their experiences (John 20:31; Acts 2:32-33; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-18; Hebrews 1:1-4; 1 John 1:3; 2 Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:4-5).
So we return to Peter’s question after Jesus had asked the disciples whether they would follow the crowd as they went away or follow him: “To whom shall we go?” Like the would-be followers of Jesus who were disturbed by Jesus’ teachings, do we not sometimes say, “This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?” It is not easy to be faithful to Jesus when who he is and what he wants us to do runs so counter to what our culture has told us all our lives. But when we consider who Jesus is, we can only come back to Peter’s question, a question that is as much an affirmation of faith as it is a question (v. 68), “To whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Who is Jesus? Let us join Peter in confessing that Jesus has the words of eternal life, and let us follow Jesus wherever he leads.
Peter’s question haunts us too. Peter asked, “To whom can we go?” The question came at the end of a long two days. The day before Peter asked his haunting question, a crowd had sought Jesus. Then, after Jesus had taught them, he had miraculously met their physical hunger by feeding this large crowd of five thousand with a boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish. So impressed was the crowd by Jesus’ meeting their needs that they had wanted to “take him by force to make him king” (John 6:15). To avoid their plan, Jesus had gone away, by himself.
The next day found Jesus and his disciples across the lake, and the crowd came seeking him again. They would not give up. They wanted Jesus!
Or so they thought. After a series of interchanges with Jesus about who he was and what he did, the crowd dwindled. “Many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.” We get the feeling that Jesus’ conversation with the Twelve in this text was to determine the depth of even their own commitment to him.
The crowd and even Jesus’ closest disciples were struggling with what is easily the most important question of anyone’s life—indeed, of all history: Who is Jesus?
Really, who is Jesus? It’s a question that when seriously considered brings about a division in the ranks of every group who asks it. It even brings about a division within our own hearts. Who is Jesus?
The answers vary. For some, Jesus is the great teacher. He was a great individual with great ideas, who has contributed much by word and example. Jesus can be revered as one of the great teachers of history, certainly alongside Aristotle, Plato, Buddha, and Moses. Jesus is to be respected and even loved.
For others, Jesus is the model person, the best person who ever lived, and we should strive to imitate Jesus—as long as we don’t perhaps take it too far. This view of Jesus has often shaded toward simply attributing to Jesus the most popular values of current culture. Folks who hold this view often see Jesus as looking and acting a lot like they do.
For some, as in Jesus’ day, Jesus is the Messiah, but a worldly Messiah, as Jesus was to the crowd on those two days described in John 6. They wanted him to solve their problems, both there and thereafter. They were impressed that, like Moses of old, Jesus had supplied them with food in the wilderness. “Hey, we can follow a guy like this!”
Of course, the overwhelming answer of the scriptures and of the church at its best through the centuries has been that Jesus is more than these descriptions or any others we might list. Who is Jesus? He is a human being, the person in whom God was uniquely present. Somehow, as Paul said, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself ” (2 Corinthians 5:19). We may not be able to state the how of this truth very well, but we revel in its reality. Somehow, this person Jesus, who was flesh and blood, was the Person in whom the God of Israel and the universe was uniquely present.
Give a little more thought to this question: Who is Jesus? Jesus’ contemporaries knew Jesus first as a human being. The scriptures affirm this part of Jesus’ nature. He was human like us. Indeed, Jesus was fully human. In later writings of the New Testament, especially 1 John, the major issue was whether Jesus was fully human. That little letter begins with the affirmation that indeed Jesus was. The first verse states, “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands” (1 John 1:1).
Sometimes it seems almost sacrilegious, even heretical, to think of Jesus as a human being who got thirsty, hungry, and tired. Jesus’ closest disciples had no trouble seeing Jesus like that, however. Neither should we. One of the most astounding verses in the Bible is, “The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). Flesh!
Who is Jesus? Jesus was a human being, fully a human being.
The scriptures also affirm Jesus as fully God. In ways we can only state and neither explain nor understand, the God of the universe was uniquely present in Jesus. This view of Jesus was no afterthought of the church after the days of the New Testament. It was not simply thought up and written down at a later church council. It is seen in the experiences of Jesus in the Gospels (see Matthew 16:16; Mark 1:11; 15:39). Also, it is seen in the reflections of Jesus’ closest followers as they spoke and wrote of their experiences (John 20:31; Acts 2:32-33; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-18; Hebrews 1:1-4; 1 John 1:3; 2 Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:4-5).
So we return to Peter’s question after Jesus had asked the disciples whether they would follow the crowd as they went away or follow him: “To whom shall we go?” Like the would-be followers of Jesus who were disturbed by Jesus’ teachings, do we not sometimes say, “This teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?” It is not easy to be faithful to Jesus when who he is and what he wants us to do runs so counter to what our culture has told us all our lives. But when we consider who Jesus is, we can only come back to Peter’s question, a question that is as much an affirmation of faith as it is a question (v. 68), “To whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Who is Jesus? Let us join Peter in confessing that Jesus has the words of eternal life, and let us follow Jesus wherever he leads.
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Come to Christ whose words are words of eternal life.
People: We have faith knowing that Jesus is the Holy One of God.
INVOCATION
In this house of prayer, O God, we invoke your name. There is no one like you who keeps covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart. Not only have you lived on earth in Christ, but by the Spirit live in our hearts. Regard our prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of the promise, you have declared yourself to be our heavenly Parent through Jesus Christ. Forgive our denial of your promised care through anxiety and our hesitancy to identify ourselves with you despite your past provision for our needs. We are sorry for the disloyalty we have shown you from time to time through our rejection of the church. Absolve us for the sake of your ever loyal Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
DECLARATION OF PARDON
Pastor: Friends, hear the good news! Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, to consecrate it, cleansing it by water and word
People: so that he might present the church to himself all glorious, with no stain or wrinkle or anything of the sort, but holy and without blemish.
Pastor: Friends, believe the good news!
People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
EXHORTATION
As members of the church, be subject to Christ, and husbands and wives be subject to each other out of reverence for Christ.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Faithful God, when others leave you and your word, help us to be true to your Son, Jesus, no matter how hard that choice is and how unpopular. Steady us in our resolve to serve you always and to seek no easier service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Loving God, we sing your praise and shout for joy at the thought of your unstinting generosity and unflagging help. You sustain us in physical, mental, and spiritual life. You provide support for us in the life of the church and the intimacy of marriage. You are gracious and good and we honor you, God of Israel, Ruler of the church, universal Spirit. Amen
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Christ our Lord, Head of the church, receive what we offer as members of your body. As we serve you, coordinate our efforts so that nothing that should be done is left undone and all your purposes accomplished to the glory of your name. Amen
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND COMMEMORATION
God our Creator, God our Savior, God our Sustainer, we know you are beyond our reach and control and that we cannot contain your presence in the most magnificent temples or cathedrals. Yet these places are hallowed by our prayers. May our reverence for the house of prayer be an example to our neighbors. Spare us the desecration of those who proclaim their narrow politics with graffiti and hateful signs and symbols. Help all people of prayer to carry their faith with them into the political scene, frankly sharing their beliefs without seeking to impose them on others by verbal threats or actual violence. Let us find the common ground on which we can meet with mutual respect and tolerance that can proceed to loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Though we seek a measure of serenity, keep us from cowardice in the face of what can be changed. Help us first to model the values that we honor so that our speech is not seen as hypocritical and contrary to our actual way of life. May we seek consensus with others as to what is best for all of us, learning to speak the truth as we see it with love and not arrogance.
May our own peace of mind and trust in your providence be an example for those who are confused, depressed, or anxious. Great Physician, heal our illnesses and disease of body, mind, and spirit. No earthly sanctuary, even the most magnificent, can match the eternal sanctuary that your Son is preparing for us in order to be close to and with you. We rejoice in the security of those you have already taken to yourself and pray that your Spirit will lead us gently but surely on the way that leads to eternal life. We will praise you here and hereafter. Amen
Adapted from "Prayers for the Seasons of God's People," Copyright © 1999 Abingdon Press
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Come to Christ whose words are words of eternal life.
People: We have faith knowing that Jesus is the Holy One of God.
INVOCATION
In this house of prayer, O God, we invoke your name. There is no one like you who keeps covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart. Not only have you lived on earth in Christ, but by the Spirit live in our hearts. Regard our prayers in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
God of the promise, you have declared yourself to be our heavenly Parent through Jesus Christ. Forgive our denial of your promised care through anxiety and our hesitancy to identify ourselves with you despite your past provision for our needs. We are sorry for the disloyalty we have shown you from time to time through our rejection of the church. Absolve us for the sake of your ever loyal Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
DECLARATION OF PARDON
Pastor: Friends, hear the good news! Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, to consecrate it, cleansing it by water and word
People: so that he might present the church to himself all glorious, with no stain or wrinkle or anything of the sort, but holy and without blemish.
Pastor: Friends, believe the good news!
People: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.
EXHORTATION
As members of the church, be subject to Christ, and husbands and wives be subject to each other out of reverence for Christ.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Faithful God, when others leave you and your word, help us to be true to your Son, Jesus, no matter how hard that choice is and how unpopular. Steady us in our resolve to serve you always and to seek no easier service through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Loving God, we sing your praise and shout for joy at the thought of your unstinting generosity and unflagging help. You sustain us in physical, mental, and spiritual life. You provide support for us in the life of the church and the intimacy of marriage. You are gracious and good and we honor you, God of Israel, Ruler of the church, universal Spirit. Amen
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Christ our Lord, Head of the church, receive what we offer as members of your body. As we serve you, coordinate our efforts so that nothing that should be done is left undone and all your purposes accomplished to the glory of your name. Amen
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND COMMEMORATION
God our Creator, God our Savior, God our Sustainer, we know you are beyond our reach and control and that we cannot contain your presence in the most magnificent temples or cathedrals. Yet these places are hallowed by our prayers. May our reverence for the house of prayer be an example to our neighbors. Spare us the desecration of those who proclaim their narrow politics with graffiti and hateful signs and symbols. Help all people of prayer to carry their faith with them into the political scene, frankly sharing their beliefs without seeking to impose them on others by verbal threats or actual violence. Let us find the common ground on which we can meet with mutual respect and tolerance that can proceed to loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Though we seek a measure of serenity, keep us from cowardice in the face of what can be changed. Help us first to model the values that we honor so that our speech is not seen as hypocritical and contrary to our actual way of life. May we seek consensus with others as to what is best for all of us, learning to speak the truth as we see it with love and not arrogance.
May our own peace of mind and trust in your providence be an example for those who are confused, depressed, or anxious. Great Physician, heal our illnesses and disease of body, mind, and spirit. No earthly sanctuary, even the most magnificent, can match the eternal sanctuary that your Son is preparing for us in order to be close to and with you. We rejoice in the security of those you have already taken to yourself and pray that your Spirit will lead us gently but surely on the way that leads to eternal life. We will praise you here and hereafter. Amen
Adapted from "Prayers for the Seasons of God's People," Copyright © 1999 Abingdon Press
WORSHIP CONNECTION: AUGUST 23, 2015 by Nancy C. Townley
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
COLOR: Green
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1
L: How wonderful it is to be in a dwelling place for God!
P: The refreshing springs of God’s love cleans and restore us.
L: There is a place here for everyone. No one is turned away.
P: The least and the lost; the homeless and hopeless are always welcome in God’s house.
L: Praise to God who invites and shelters us all.
P: Praise to God who heals and sends us forth to serve. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2
L: Though storms rage around me, I will clothe myself with the whole armor of God.
P: I will fasten the belt of truth about my waist.
L: I will place strength and determination as my shoes to aid me in my ministry and mission for God.
P: I will take up the shield of faith with which I shall defend against evil ways.
L: I will pray diligently at all times, offering prayers and supplication to God.
P: The helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit will accompany my on my journey.
L: Be strong in the Lord who provides for your every need.
P: I place my confidence and trust in God always. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2080, "All I Need Is You", offer the following call to worship]
Congregation: singing "All I Need Is You", verse 1
L: Place your trust in the Lord.
P: Cast away those things which detract from your faith in God.
L: God will provide for all your needs.
P: The love of Jesus Christ and his witness strengthens and sustains us.
Congregation: singing "All I Need Is You", verse 2
ALL: AMEN!
Call to Worship #4
L: Whom do you seek here in this place?
P: We seek God, the Creator, who brought us to life.
L: Who has told you of God?
P: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has shown us the love of God through his life.
L: Discipleship is difficult. Are you ready?
P: We want to be ready. Lord, strengthen and sustain us this day. AMEN.
PRAYERS, LITANY/READING, BENEDICTION
OPENING PRAYER
In the beauty of this place, we have come to pray, to worship, to receive healing and hope. We come from the struggles and triumphs of the week, needing to feel the soothing presence of God. Lord, be with us this day. Calm and soothe our souls. Cause us to rejoice that you have provided a special place where we may gather to talk of your presence and love; to sing your praises; and to be empowered to go forth to serve you. AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Patient Lord, we are a culture that wants the quick and easy answers to all of life’s problems. We want to be able to open the Bible and place our fingers on the passage that will answer all our questions and heal all our hurts. It is difficult for us to deal with the knowledge that discipleship requires patience and perseverance. Jesus’ own disciples struggled with his teachings. It took a long time for them to understand fully what Jesus was saying and how they were to respond. We are no different. The words of Jesus take time for us to comprehend. Forgive us, Lord, when we are so impatient; when we just want to "get on with it", and be where the action is. Help us to understand the commitment we make in discipleship, through the rocky times and the smooth seas alike. Push us in our ministry of help and compassion to do more than we ever thought we could do in helping others. Give to us that extra measure of faith and commitment that we may truly serve you by serving others. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Even though you doubt and question, God’s love is poured on you, in you, and through you to others. Rest assured in God’s presence and love for you, that will never fail or abandon you. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are healed, restored, and forgiven. AMEN!
PASTORAL PRAYER
Where has the time gone, Lord? It seems as though we just got started with summer, having plans for rest and recreation, leisure and celebration. Then suddenly we are at the end of the summer. We know, as we begin to focus more closely on our daily planners, that time fills up fast with duties, meetings, organizations, and just generally getting back into the swing of things. It is easy for us to get lost in the obligations and to neglect our commitment to you. You have girded us for the journey, giving us armaments of faith. Your beloved Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, has poured out blessings upon blessings in his teachings that we might be made whole and be in good and faithful service to you by serving your world. Open our hearts and spirits, Lord, to faithful ministries in which we may take part. Let us take the extra steps into the wondrous mission to which you have called. Heal, restore, and prepare us for service. For we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
LITANY/READING
[Using THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, p. 374, "Standing on the Promises", share the following reading and singing]
L: What has God promised?
P: To always be with us.
L: What are we called to do?
P: To shout and sing God’s praises, God’s faithful love for us.
All: singing "Standing on the Promises" verse 1
L: Life is tough these days.
P: But God is with us.
L: Storms and terrors threaten us at every turn. Who will protect us?
P: God will protect us, as God promised.
All singing "Standing on the Promises", verse 2
L: Who gives us the courage to stand in the face of tribulation?
P: Jesus Christ has given the witness by the gift of his own life.
L: What bond is there for us?
P: It is the bond of Christ’s own love, the gift of his own self for our lives.
All singing "Standing on the Promises", verse 3
L: No matter what may threaten, God is with us.
P: Hallelujah! Amen.
L: We will rest in the Savior and place our hope in him alone!
P: Hallelujah! Amen.
All singing "Standing on the Promises", verse 4
BENEDICTION, BLESSING
God is always with you. Even when times get difficult and the way is not clear, God is truly by your side. Rest in God’s strength and love. Serve God with joy. Go in peace. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional color for this Sunday is GREEN
Note: I recommend putting a brief paragraph describing or explaining the symbolism used in your visual display. These become good teaching tools for a congregation.
THE TREMENDOUS DIVERSITY OF ARTISTIC ELEMENTS FOR TODAY:
There are several directions in which to go, depending upon the main focus of today’s worship service.
PSALM 84: If the focus is on the beauty of the worship area - the glory of God’s dwelling place, a place for the sparrow to find a nest, you may want to adorn the worship center with natural items, such as a branch in which a nest is placed, and small blooming plants, resting on green fabric.
EPHESIANS 6:10-20: If the focus is the Epistle lesson, with its reference to the whole armor of God, your adornment of the worship center might be completely different. You may want to use some pieces of armor, a picture of the praying hands or the Norman Rockwell Freedom to Worship drawing, along with a variety of candles, as lights for worship. The fabric that you choose might be a very dark green so that the focus is on the candles and the art pieces.
JOHN 6:56-69: The Gospel lesson focuses on Jesus’ challenge to the disciples about the commitment to follow him, even in the fact of questions and doubts, when it is not clear where the path will lead. This setting may lead you in a different direction. You may consider placing a variety of risers on and in front of the worship center, covering the whole of the worship center with green and placing about 6-8 yards of fabric coming across the worship center as though it was a path. You might choose plants that are leafy to place along side the pathway, as well as some rocks and wood pieces. A cross may be placed in the extreme upper right hand corner of the worship center, to which the burlap path leads. Candles may adorn a few places on the path. If you use this focus, make sure that you are careful in your description of the meaning of this setting.
WORSHIP FOR KIDS: AUGUST 23, 2015 by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Old Testament: 1 Kings 8: (1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43. The story of the dedication of the Solomon's Temple leads children to ask three questions: What was Solomon's Temple like? What is special about our sanctuary? What is special about, or what is the function of, any sanctuary?
The parenthetical verses offer only a partial answer to the first question. Children want to hear more about what the building looked like. They are interested in the similarities between Solomon's Temple and their sanctuary Solomon used the best he had (cedar and gold) and we use our best woods and stone. (If a picture of how the temple may have looked can be found, or a model of the Temple made by an older children's classes is available, display it today.)
This text offers an opportunity to speak about your congregation's understanding of, and attitudes toward, your sanctuary. Children are often confused by adult demands for special behavior in the sanctuary "because this is God's house," and adult insistence that God is everywhere. It helps to explore the related truths that we can pray and worship God anywhere, and that a sanctuary is a place set aside for worshiping God.
Verses 41-43 insist that all people are to be welcome in God's sanctuaries. Both children and adults need to identify people they tend to exclude.
Psalm: 84. Going on a trip to worship in a special sanctuary is a novel idea for most of today's children. They are interested in what it was like to travel with a large group to Jerusalem to celebrate holy days at the Temple. Once they have heard a little about travel realities, they can imagine what it felt like to chant certain lines of Psalms 84 while walking toward Jerusalem. Verses 1 and 10 especially catch their attention.
WARNING: before reading the psalm, point out that the psalmist uses the words courts or courts of God to describe the Temple.
Epistle: Ephesians 6:10-20. Children in our culture, especially boys, are brought up to compete and fight. Children's cartoons pit characters against each other in ongoing battles. Heroes are those who fight against enormous odds and win. Sports are contests in which other teams are met as "the enemy." To such children, Paul says that for Christians, there is only one really important battle and that is not a battle between people. It is a battle against powers we cannot see, but which do serious damage to individuals, families, and communities. Though Paul does not name those powers, children need to hear selfishness, greed, cruelty, and such things named as the unseen powers we must fight. Once the fight is defined, children understand that the fight requires unseen armor, and they see the value of the items on Paul's list.
Gospel: John 6:56-69. All the misunderstandings of the chapter come together in this conversation. Some people left Jesus because they wanted free food, not spiritual food. Others left because they could not believe that God would send spiritual food through a person as plain as Jesus. Still others left because they understood exactly what Jesus was saying and did not want to let God get that close to them. They wanted to run their own lives rather than let God live and work through them. But a few decided to stay. They knew that life would be different and better if God was them every day.
Though children have trouble understanding the content of these decisions, older children, especially those who are approaching confirmation, can hear that we, like the people in this chapter, do have a decision to make. We can follow Jesus and let God's presence and power direct our lives, or we can ignore Jesus and spend our lives on other things. We make this decision in big ways at confirmation. We also make it every day in lots of little ways, when we choose to either listen to or ignore God's voice when it tells us we are special and asks us to love and care for those around us.
Watch Words
Use and clarify "sanctuary" vocabulary. Explain that both temples and sanctuaries are places set aside for worshiping God. Define such words as chancel, nave, altar, or communion table, and so forth. Point out the difference between the sanctuary (a place) and the church (God's people).
Children recognize the pieces of armor more quickly than the Christian equivalents. Presenting Paul's nouns in verbal phrases helps: knowing and telling the truth; knowing and doing what is right; telling the good news of God's loving forgiveness; trusting God's power and God's ways (faith); counting on God's love, no matter what (salvation); and knowing and living by God's Word.
Let the Children Sing
Though its vocabulary is challenging, consider singing "Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation," and highlighting verses 2-4 in the sermon. "I Come with Joy" features communion, but thanks God for the joys of all congregational worship.
Beware of warrior hymns that sound like calls to fight people instead of unseen powers. "I Need Thee Every Hour," with its repeated phrases for new readers, is closer to the Epistle's message. "Fight the Good Fight," "We Shall Overcome," and "Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated" are also good choices.
The Liturgical Child
1. If school begins this week, include back-to-school concerns in the congregation's prayers (see Proper 15).
2. Ask children to join you on the steps to read the psalm. Describe pilgrimages on which whole families traveled to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple, and detail what they saw at the Temple. Then open a Bible on your lap to read the psalm as a song which families may have chanted together as they walked. Conclude by asking the children and congregation to repeat after you, shouting with joy the phrases of verses 1 and 10a.
3. Confess our willingness to fight the wrong battles with the wrong armor and weapons:
Lord, we admit that we are too ready to fight the wrong battles. We are ready to fight when we feel we have been unfairly treated. We are ready to fight over name-calling and disagreements about who gets what. But we wait idly when you call us to fight injustice done to others. And we give in, rather than face up to powers like greed and selfishness. Forgive us, and help us to fight your battles. Teach us to rely on your armor and weapons, rather than on fierce words and actions that hurt and destroy. For we pray in the name of Jesus, who wore your armor on the cross and rose again. Amen.
Sermon Resources
1. Tell stories about your sanctuary. Tell when and how it was built, why it was built the way it is, and stories about its use. Tell about the ancestors of families in the current congregation, and any famous people who have worshiped in this sanctuary. If possible, find and share a copy of the dedication ceremony order of worship, and especially the prayers offered at that dedication.
2. If you feel really brave, compare the violent weapons and methods used by the Ninja Turtles with those suggested by Paul.
3. In The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis describes four children's battles against evil powers in an imaginary land, which they enter through a wardrobe. With little help, children realize that it was not the White Witch who got Edmund into trouble, but greed for the candies she offered him.
GOD IS THE PROMISE
1 KINGS 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Inside the human spirit there rises a desire to seek, know, experience, and please God. Sometimes there is a question as to whether God will meet us. Yet on other occasions we boldly claim God’s presence and feel God’s special touch on our individual lives or in our public services.
Like a printer’s trademark of several years ago, God draws a circle and writes, “I never disappoint.” God makes promises to his people.
I. God Promises His Presence (vv. 1, 6, 10-11)
Solomon is the faithful king with much promise, but he keenly realizes the desperate dependency of his rulership on God’s presence. In preparation for the temple dedication he brings out the symbol of God’s promises—the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the ark were the two tablets of stone with the law written on them and— according to the writer of Hebrews—a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod. These were constant reminders that God would not leave nor forsake his people.
Today there are symbols to remind us of God’s presence. Symbols for the New Testament church abound, such as the cross, bread and fruit of the vine, the empty tomb, and a crown. They help us along our spiritual journey to visualize God’s leadership and presence by giving us proper understanding of God’s glory.
II. God Promises His Covenant Love (vv. 22-26)
Solomon’s prayer of temple dedication begins with a statement of promise that God would give his love. However, for Israel to maintain its favored nation status, it must meet the condition that God laid down—wholehearted devotion to him. This accomplishment would occur if the people walked with him in obedience and trust. The question was not if God would love them, rather would they love God?
That remains the question today. God loves us, as John 3:16 states emphatically. The “whosoever will believe” gives us the condition. Acceptance of the promise gives us the special “favored person” status.
III. God Promises His Concern (vv. 27-30)
These verses indicate that God can be visited in his sanctuary made by hands; however, God is not limited to just the temple. The Almighty God dwells in heaven and is on the earth, literally everywhere. We cannot box him in or domesticate him. He is distant, yet closely attentive to the needs of his people. He quite literally is the awesome God with a personal touch. Only a God free from us can really help us.
God’s love is concerned with our circumstances. He abides with us and works with us. He graciously makes a difference in our lives. God inclines his heart, ears, and eyes toward us. We can have genuine confidence in this great God that Solomon speaks of in this text.
IV. God Promises His Answer (vv. 41-43)
The Lord is the answer to life’s needs, questions, and sins. This God of promise comes to all who genuinely seek to know his forgiveness, love, and presence. Step by step God will lead us if, in faith, we follow. Our lives can be built on him. Our need is to worship God in spirit and in truth! Will you? (Derl G. Keefer)
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
EPHESIANS 6:10-20
Everyone who has ever tried to live the Christian life would admit that it is a struggle. Our vision is so limited that we only see the physical things with which we wrestle. We focus on ourselves, our circumstances, and others. In the later portions of Ephesians, chapter 6, the apostle Paul attempts to redirect our sights. He tells us our struggle is not really with flesh and blood, those things upon which we most often focus. Our real conflict is spiritual and with spiritual forces!
This is one of those passages we must read with the eyes of faith. We cannot see with our physical eyes the things about which Paul speaks. More important, Paul discusses how we may have victory in this conflict, which we accept we are in by faith.
We know Paul’s exhortation as spiritual armor. Paul gives spiritual meaning to the armor of a Roman soldier. By putting on the armor of God we, too, will be equipped to fight and win in the spiritual struggle in which we find ourselves. Paul describes six pieces of our spiritual armor.
I. We Wear the Belt of Truth
The first part of our spiritual armor is truth. Two ideas are significant about truth. First, Christians should know and believe the truth about who God is and what God has done. This relates to cognitive facts about what the Bible says about God and his mighty acts. Human notions of God will not do. Second, we must be truthful people. Telling the truth to ourselves and others, in love, is essential in the spiritual battle in which we are engaged.
II. We Wear the Breastplate of Righteousness
Another aspect of our spiritual armor is right living. Many a believer has been sidelined due to corrupt behavior. The visual image is the piece of armor that protects the chest and heart. In order to protect this large area of the body a large sheet of metal was fashioned to guard it. The protection for our spiritual lives is personal holiness.
III. Our Feet Are Shod with the Gospel of Peace
This third item of equipment calls us to evangelism and missions. Every believer is to be actively involved in sharing the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. When we fail to spread the word about Christ we are unprepared for spiritual conflict. Along with personal evangelism we can be part of mission efforts away from our homes. Church planting, church construction, and short-term mission volunteers are specific ways we take the gospel of peace to those around us and the world.
IV. We Wear the Shield of Faith
A defense device that allowed the bearer to fend off arrows and spears was the shield. Likewise, Christians can extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy by clinging to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Defining faith is often easier than explaining how to live by faith. A life of faith is characterized by dependence on the Lord. Paul wrote to the church at Rome that whatever was not of faith was sin (Rom. 14:23) . Perhaps another way of looking at the life of faith is to think in terms of pleasing the Lord. Does what I am doing bring pleasure to the Lord? Faith is a vital part of our spiritual armor.
V. We Wear the Helmet of Salvation
Even in ancient days helmets were used to protect the head from injury. Perhaps no part of the body is as susceptible to a mortal wound as is the head. We safeguard our heads by wearing helmets when we ride bicycles and play sports.
In the spiritual realm this important body part represents salvation. Nothing can rival the necessity of our own salvation for victorious Christian living. The assurance of our salvation becomes a security from doubts and dismay. Discouragement, which is one of our very real opponents, is thwarted by confidence that the Lord has saved us. Salvation by grace through faith stands as a pillar of strength in the midst of our spiritual conflict.
VI. We Carry the Sword of the Spirit
The final piece of our spiritual armor is the sword of the Spirit. Of course the analogy refers to the Word of God. As believers we should hear, read, study, apply, memorize, and meditate on the Bible.
It’s interesting that Scripture is the only part of the equipment that is for offense in this spiritual conflict. While Holy Writ is not to be a weapon for us to use in order to beat others over the head, it should serve to help us move forward in the Christian life. Apart from the Word we have no clear guidance and would be left only with our feelings. God’s Word enables us to press the fight toward our spiritual enemies who are not flesh and blood.
Paul concludes this section of scripture with a clear admonition to prayer. As we take up the full armor of God and couple it with prayer we can conquer the spiritual forces that wage war against us. (Douglas Walker)
DIFFICULT TEACHING
JOHN 6:56-69
Jesus is preaching in the synagogue at Capernaum to people of faith. This is not a public discourse in the sense that he was standing on the street corner preaching to people with no religion. Jesus knew the Jews believed. Jesus knew the Jews practiced their faith. Jesus knew the Jewish faith and claimed to the Jews that their faith had now been fulfilled by his arrival. He did not try to destroy their faith, but to fill it more full of divine truth.
Jesus claims to be the “bread” that “came down from heaven” and that the “one who eats this bread will live forever.” When his life became their own life then they would live forever, just as Jesus was going to live forever.
I. The Disciples Difficulty
One could assume that the casual attender at the synagogue would have difficulty with such a teaching, but one would hope that his disciples would “get it.” They didn’t! John goes out of his way to point out that many of the close followers of Jesus found this teaching to be difficult.
Other translators have the disciples responding: “This is very hard to understand. Who can tell what he means?” (TLB). “This is more than we can stomach!” (NEB). “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” (JB). Such comments from a casual observer could be expected, but not from his faithful followers. John says that Jesus disciples were complaining. Jesus claim to be the living bread that would provide eternal life for all who believe in him was dividing people into camps.
Jesus response was to say to his disciples, in so many words, “So this offends you? Wait until the Ascension. If my claim to come from God is difficult teaching, wait until I return to God after the Resurrection. You haven’t seen anything yet. Stick around.” Many did not. They had had enough and they went back to their Judaism, or whatever. But not Peter.
II. Nowhere Else to Go
When the outer circle of disciples began to thin, Jesus turned to his inner circle of twelve and challenged them to make a decision. Peter then made it clear that he (for a while anyway) got the gospel message and he would cast his lot with Jesus. As a matter of fact he felt that there was nowhere else to go, for Jesus had “the words of eternal life.”
The challenge here is to those of us who already consider ourselves disciples. Jesus keeps stretching our faith. Jesus keeps saying, “You have come this far, come a little farther. You have committed this much, commit a little more. You love these people, now open your arms to these people. You have compassion for the one hurting person in front of you, now broaden that compassion to all hurting people in God’s world.”
Grow, grow, grow. Jesus is continually trying to remold us into his likeness, which means that there are few way stations along the journey at which we can rest.
Clarence Jordan visited an integrated church somewhere in the southern United States. He asked the uneducated preacher, “How did the church get this way?” The pastor explained the message he preached: “If you’re one with Jesus, you’ve one with all kinds of folks. And if you ain’t you ain’t.”
“What happened?” Jordan asked.
“Well,” the preacher said, “the deacons took me into the back room and told me they didn’t want to hear that kind of preaching no more. So I fired them deacons! Then I preached that church down to four. And not long after that it grew and grew and grew. And I found out that revival sometimes don’t mean bringing people in, but gettin the people out who don’t love Jesus.”
Jesus knew his teachings would be difficult in a fallen world. He never promised us an easy time. He promised us his presence. (C. Thomas Hilton)
1 KINGS 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Inside the human spirit there rises a desire to seek, know, experience, and please God. Sometimes there is a question as to whether God will meet us. Yet on other occasions we boldly claim God’s presence and feel God’s special touch on our individual lives or in our public services.
Like a printer’s trademark of several years ago, God draws a circle and writes, “I never disappoint.” God makes promises to his people.
I. God Promises His Presence (vv. 1, 6, 10-11)
Solomon is the faithful king with much promise, but he keenly realizes the desperate dependency of his rulership on God’s presence. In preparation for the temple dedication he brings out the symbol of God’s promises—the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the ark were the two tablets of stone with the law written on them and— according to the writer of Hebrews—a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod. These were constant reminders that God would not leave nor forsake his people.
Today there are symbols to remind us of God’s presence. Symbols for the New Testament church abound, such as the cross, bread and fruit of the vine, the empty tomb, and a crown. They help us along our spiritual journey to visualize God’s leadership and presence by giving us proper understanding of God’s glory.
II. God Promises His Covenant Love (vv. 22-26)
Solomon’s prayer of temple dedication begins with a statement of promise that God would give his love. However, for Israel to maintain its favored nation status, it must meet the condition that God laid down—wholehearted devotion to him. This accomplishment would occur if the people walked with him in obedience and trust. The question was not if God would love them, rather would they love God?
That remains the question today. God loves us, as John 3:16 states emphatically. The “whosoever will believe” gives us the condition. Acceptance of the promise gives us the special “favored person” status.
III. God Promises His Concern (vv. 27-30)
These verses indicate that God can be visited in his sanctuary made by hands; however, God is not limited to just the temple. The Almighty God dwells in heaven and is on the earth, literally everywhere. We cannot box him in or domesticate him. He is distant, yet closely attentive to the needs of his people. He quite literally is the awesome God with a personal touch. Only a God free from us can really help us.
God’s love is concerned with our circumstances. He abides with us and works with us. He graciously makes a difference in our lives. God inclines his heart, ears, and eyes toward us. We can have genuine confidence in this great God that Solomon speaks of in this text.
IV. God Promises His Answer (vv. 41-43)
The Lord is the answer to life’s needs, questions, and sins. This God of promise comes to all who genuinely seek to know his forgiveness, love, and presence. Step by step God will lead us if, in faith, we follow. Our lives can be built on him. Our need is to worship God in spirit and in truth! Will you? (Derl G. Keefer)
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
EPHESIANS 6:10-20
Everyone who has ever tried to live the Christian life would admit that it is a struggle. Our vision is so limited that we only see the physical things with which we wrestle. We focus on ourselves, our circumstances, and others. In the later portions of Ephesians, chapter 6, the apostle Paul attempts to redirect our sights. He tells us our struggle is not really with flesh and blood, those things upon which we most often focus. Our real conflict is spiritual and with spiritual forces!
This is one of those passages we must read with the eyes of faith. We cannot see with our physical eyes the things about which Paul speaks. More important, Paul discusses how we may have victory in this conflict, which we accept we are in by faith.
We know Paul’s exhortation as spiritual armor. Paul gives spiritual meaning to the armor of a Roman soldier. By putting on the armor of God we, too, will be equipped to fight and win in the spiritual struggle in which we find ourselves. Paul describes six pieces of our spiritual armor.
I. We Wear the Belt of Truth
The first part of our spiritual armor is truth. Two ideas are significant about truth. First, Christians should know and believe the truth about who God is and what God has done. This relates to cognitive facts about what the Bible says about God and his mighty acts. Human notions of God will not do. Second, we must be truthful people. Telling the truth to ourselves and others, in love, is essential in the spiritual battle in which we are engaged.
II. We Wear the Breastplate of Righteousness
Another aspect of our spiritual armor is right living. Many a believer has been sidelined due to corrupt behavior. The visual image is the piece of armor that protects the chest and heart. In order to protect this large area of the body a large sheet of metal was fashioned to guard it. The protection for our spiritual lives is personal holiness.
III. Our Feet Are Shod with the Gospel of Peace
This third item of equipment calls us to evangelism and missions. Every believer is to be actively involved in sharing the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. When we fail to spread the word about Christ we are unprepared for spiritual conflict. Along with personal evangelism we can be part of mission efforts away from our homes. Church planting, church construction, and short-term mission volunteers are specific ways we take the gospel of peace to those around us and the world.
IV. We Wear the Shield of Faith
A defense device that allowed the bearer to fend off arrows and spears was the shield. Likewise, Christians can extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy by clinging to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Defining faith is often easier than explaining how to live by faith. A life of faith is characterized by dependence on the Lord. Paul wrote to the church at Rome that whatever was not of faith was sin (Rom. 14:23) . Perhaps another way of looking at the life of faith is to think in terms of pleasing the Lord. Does what I am doing bring pleasure to the Lord? Faith is a vital part of our spiritual armor.
V. We Wear the Helmet of Salvation
Even in ancient days helmets were used to protect the head from injury. Perhaps no part of the body is as susceptible to a mortal wound as is the head. We safeguard our heads by wearing helmets when we ride bicycles and play sports.
In the spiritual realm this important body part represents salvation. Nothing can rival the necessity of our own salvation for victorious Christian living. The assurance of our salvation becomes a security from doubts and dismay. Discouragement, which is one of our very real opponents, is thwarted by confidence that the Lord has saved us. Salvation by grace through faith stands as a pillar of strength in the midst of our spiritual conflict.
VI. We Carry the Sword of the Spirit
The final piece of our spiritual armor is the sword of the Spirit. Of course the analogy refers to the Word of God. As believers we should hear, read, study, apply, memorize, and meditate on the Bible.
It’s interesting that Scripture is the only part of the equipment that is for offense in this spiritual conflict. While Holy Writ is not to be a weapon for us to use in order to beat others over the head, it should serve to help us move forward in the Christian life. Apart from the Word we have no clear guidance and would be left only with our feelings. God’s Word enables us to press the fight toward our spiritual enemies who are not flesh and blood.
Paul concludes this section of scripture with a clear admonition to prayer. As we take up the full armor of God and couple it with prayer we can conquer the spiritual forces that wage war against us. (Douglas Walker)
DIFFICULT TEACHING
JOHN 6:56-69
Jesus is preaching in the synagogue at Capernaum to people of faith. This is not a public discourse in the sense that he was standing on the street corner preaching to people with no religion. Jesus knew the Jews believed. Jesus knew the Jews practiced their faith. Jesus knew the Jewish faith and claimed to the Jews that their faith had now been fulfilled by his arrival. He did not try to destroy their faith, but to fill it more full of divine truth.
Jesus claims to be the “bread” that “came down from heaven” and that the “one who eats this bread will live forever.” When his life became their own life then they would live forever, just as Jesus was going to live forever.
I. The Disciples Difficulty
One could assume that the casual attender at the synagogue would have difficulty with such a teaching, but one would hope that his disciples would “get it.” They didn’t! John goes out of his way to point out that many of the close followers of Jesus found this teaching to be difficult.
Other translators have the disciples responding: “This is very hard to understand. Who can tell what he means?” (TLB). “This is more than we can stomach!” (NEB). “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” (JB). Such comments from a casual observer could be expected, but not from his faithful followers. John says that Jesus disciples were complaining. Jesus claim to be the living bread that would provide eternal life for all who believe in him was dividing people into camps.
Jesus response was to say to his disciples, in so many words, “So this offends you? Wait until the Ascension. If my claim to come from God is difficult teaching, wait until I return to God after the Resurrection. You haven’t seen anything yet. Stick around.” Many did not. They had had enough and they went back to their Judaism, or whatever. But not Peter.
II. Nowhere Else to Go
When the outer circle of disciples began to thin, Jesus turned to his inner circle of twelve and challenged them to make a decision. Peter then made it clear that he (for a while anyway) got the gospel message and he would cast his lot with Jesus. As a matter of fact he felt that there was nowhere else to go, for Jesus had “the words of eternal life.”
The challenge here is to those of us who already consider ourselves disciples. Jesus keeps stretching our faith. Jesus keeps saying, “You have come this far, come a little farther. You have committed this much, commit a little more. You love these people, now open your arms to these people. You have compassion for the one hurting person in front of you, now broaden that compassion to all hurting people in God’s world.”
Grow, grow, grow. Jesus is continually trying to remold us into his likeness, which means that there are few way stations along the journey at which we can rest.
Clarence Jordan visited an integrated church somewhere in the southern United States. He asked the uneducated preacher, “How did the church get this way?” The pastor explained the message he preached: “If you’re one with Jesus, you’ve one with all kinds of folks. And if you ain’t you ain’t.”
“What happened?” Jordan asked.
“Well,” the preacher said, “the deacons took me into the back room and told me they didn’t want to hear that kind of preaching no more. So I fired them deacons! Then I preached that church down to four. And not long after that it grew and grew and grew. And I found out that revival sometimes don’t mean bringing people in, but gettin the people out who don’t love Jesus.”
Jesus knew his teachings would be difficult in a fallen world. He never promised us an easy time. He promised us his presence. (C. Thomas Hilton)
____________________________
Ministry Matters
2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard
Ministry Matters
2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37228 United States
____________________________
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment