Keller's outline, my sermon.
Give Me Mine!
Luke 15:11-24
The third parable in Jesus’ response to the Pharisees is a story about a family—a father, an older son, and a younger son. The story begins when the younger son comes to the father and says, “Give me my share of the estate.” In ancient times, when the father died, the oldest son always got “a double portion” compared to the other children. Here, there are two sons, so the older would get two-thirds of the estate and the younger one-third. The story begins with the younger son asking for his share NOW.
1. A stunning request sets the story into motion. 15:11-12.
a. The younger son’s request was stunning, because the inheritance, of course, was not divided up and distributed to the children until the father died. As Kenneth Bailey writes: “In Middle Eastern culture, to ask for the inheritance while the Father is alive, is to wish him dead.”
i. The request would therefore have been a disgrace to the family name, because of the younger son’s extraordinary disrespect for his father. The father would have been expected to slap the impertinent son and send him packing.
ii. It would have also been a blow to the economic standing of the family, since the father would have to sell part of his estate in order to give him his share. In short, this request ripped the family apart. It was a relational and economic act of violence against the family’s integrity.
iii. It would have damaged the soul of the father: “assets” translates “bios” livelihood, or life. The LIFE of the father had to be divided!
b. Why would the younger son make such a request?
i. In his Confessions, Augustine gives us a theory of why we do what we do, and especially why we sin. He makes this startling observation: “A man has murdered another man—what was his motive? Either he desired his wife or his property or else he would steal to support himself; or else he was afraid of losing something to him; or else, having been injured, he was burning to be revenged.”2 Augustine goes on to say that even a murderer murders because he loves something. He loves romance or wealth or his reputation or something else too much, inordinately, more than God, and that is why he murders. Our hearts are distorted by “disordered loves.” We love, rest our hearts in, and look to things to give us the joy and meaning that only the Lord can give.
ii. The younger son LOVED HIS FATHER’s Things, rather than his father. Keller…His heart was set on the wealth and on the comfort, freedom and status that wealth brings. His father was just a means to an end. Now, however, his patience was over. He knew that the request would be like a knife in his father’s heart, but he obviously didn’t care.
iii. The two sons look very different, Yet at the end,
1. the older son is furious with the father and humiliates him by refusing to go into the great feast.
2. This is the older son’s way of saying that he will not live in the same family with the younger son.
3. So again the family’s integrity and the father’s heart are under assault—this time by the elder brother.
4. Why?
a. The elder brother objects to the expense of what the father is doing, as we will see.
b. He shows that he has been obeying the father to get his things, and not because he loves him, since he is willing to put him to shame. Both the older and younger sons love the father’s things, but not the father.
2. The father’s response to the request is shocking vv.12b, 20-24.
a. The younger’s son request to the father would have shocked Jesus’ listeners, but the father’s response is even more remarkable. This was a patriarchal society, in which you were required to show deference and reverence toward those older or above you. This kind of contempt and insolence would have ordinarily met with outrage.
i. The listeners would expect the father to explode in wrath, to drive the son out with blows.
ii. Instead, we read the simple words, “so he divided his property between them.” We need to put ourselves into the historical context. In those days, most of a family’s wealth was in their land and property. Indeed, their family land was part of their very identity. It is likely that the father had to sell some of his land in order to become “liquid” and give his younger son his share.
1. This is reflected in the unusual Greek word used in verse 12 translated as “property.” It is the word “bios” which means “life.” It says, literally, he divided his “life” between them. Why use that word? Probably it was a way to convey what it felt like for the father to lose his land, his family’s good name and status, and the presence of one of his two sons. The father is being asked to tear his very life apart—and he does.
2. The older son and anyone else in the community would have thought that the father was being foolish to give in to the younger son’s request. But looking back, we know better. If the father had become embittered, and had perhaps beaten the young man or done something else severe to him, no restoration would have ever happened. The father’s heart would have been too hardened to ever receive him back, and the son may never have expected or wanted the father to do so.
3. By bearing the agony and pain of the son’s sin himself, instead of taking revenge, instead of paying the son back by inflicting pain on him, the father kept the door open in the relationship. The father was willing to suffer for the sin of the child, so that some day reconciliation would be possible.
3. The painful generosity of the father turned into a disaster.
a. The younger son took all he was given and left.
i. He left the family.
ii. He left the region.
iii. He left the faith.
b. The younger son left his family broken in order to buy a new family.
i. Lots of cash flowing, lots of friends.
ii. When the money’s gone, his friends were gone as well.
Billie Holiday…
Money, you've got lots of friends
Crowding round the door
When you're gone, spending ends
They don't come no more
Rich relations give
Crust of bread and such
You can help yourself
But don't take too much
Mama may have, Papa may have
But God bless the child that's got his own
That's got his own
iii. Loss of money and friends reduces him to poverty…
1. Spent all he had.
2. A severe famine developed in the region.
3. He “attached himself” to a citizen in the far country…
a. Fed his livestock: swine, a humiliation for a son of Israel.
b. Hungry enough to long for the hog’s food.
Luke 15:14–16 ““Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in need. “And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. “And he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.”
iv. He showed signs of repentance.
1. “When he came to his senses…”
2. He concocted a plan to return to his father.
3. His plan included a
a. CONFESSION of SIN AGAINST HEAVEN AND
b. IN HIS FATHER’S SIGHT.
c. A Confession that he was no longer worthy of family membership.
d. An intension to repay what he had wasted by his work.
Luke 15:17–19 ““But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; “I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’”
4. He did NOT understand forgiveness and grace.
a. I will pay you back.
b. I will not expect to be treated as a son.
c. Humility, confession, restitution, but
d. grace neither assumed nor expected.
4. The disaster is transformed into delight.
a. The father is discovered awaiting the return of the son.
b. The father sees the returning son, recognizes him, and runs to him. Nouwen: “Parable of the Running Father.”
i. Children ran, women ran,
ii. Everyone ran to the father.
iii. but the head of the clan WOULD NOT RUN.
5. So what?
a. We recognize ourselves in these self-concerned obsessions.
i. We, too, find ourselves impulsively self-expressive; our culture is built around…
1. self-actualization, becoming all we can be for our own sake.
2. Possessing the latest and the best.
3. Full of Augustine’s “inordinate love” for things other than God.
ii. Recognize these things for what they are. Do you see them in your own heart and life? Once we see these things for what they are, what can be done about them?
b. We recognize Jesus in the story in that our Lord has done for us what the father in the parable did for his son.
i. When God came into this world, we would have expected him to come in wrath, to appear and drive us out with blows. But he did not. He didn’t come with a sword in his hand, but with nails in his hands. He didn’t come to bring judgment, but to bear our judgment.
ii. Jesus went to the cross in weakness, and there, voluntarily, his life was literally torn apart. And for his only property left, his garment, they cast lots. But he did it so that, when we repent, like the younger son, forgiveness and reconciliation is now available.
iii. And how does this help us with our “disordered loves”?
1. Objectively, it means there is real, true forgiveness for them. Our guilt is dealt with by Jesus’ blood.
2. Subjectively, when we see the absolute beauty of what Jesus has done for us, it captures our hearts.
a. Money can’t die for us, popularity can’t die for us.
b. There is nothing more beautiful in all of reality than the picture of a perfectly happy Being, leaving all the bliss of heaven, and sacrificing everything for the sake of rebellious, undeserving, ungrateful people.
c. The more you look at Jesus doing that, the more you will love him above anyone or anything else. He will capture your heart so that nothing matters more than he does. When you see what he’s done for you, it makes the worst times bearable and the best times leave-able.
3. This story is about the dissolution of a family. Two assaults put the family under attack. The first comes from the younger brother, the second from the older brother.
a. The first assault is on the dignity of the father.
b. The second assault is on the financial stability of the family.
c. The third assault is on the family’s status in the area.
d. The next set of assaults comes from the elder brother, which we will carefully study next week.
4. Jesus, though, was not on a quest to raise the flag for families in the first century. Underlying the story of a broken family, Jesus is answering the question “who belongs to our community?”
a. Idolatry, preferring the father’s things to the Father, destroys community.
b. We might think, “I’m not a younger brother, I’m here!”
c. When “love”, power, money, status comes available, you check out. That tells me I am a younger brother.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Lost, but He Welcomes Sinners
He Welcomes Sinners
Session 2 Luke 15:1-10
Issue: How do we find and enjoy True Community? What foundation?
We are made for community. However, life together is challenging on every level; we must be refitted for it. The parable of the Prodigal Son describes a new way of perceiving, a new kind of living, a transformation that only God can bring about, which readies us to live in community.
If we are to experience this sort of transformation, the one that prepares us for true community, we must comprehend three things from the first two parables of Luke 15…
1. The nature of God.
2. The nature of sin.
3. The nature of salvation.
The religious leaders around Jesus were confused and angry over His view of God.
I. We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
a. There are three sets of people around Jesus. vv. 1-3
Luke 15:1–3 NASB
“Now all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
And He told them this parable, saying,”
i. His early disciples, who have set aside their incomes and followed him.
ii. A group of fascinated outsiders, those excluded by their choices and their lifestyles from among the religious of the land.
iii. A group of insiders, who were critics of Jesus…
The problem: Jesus seems to connect with the wrong sort of people! The Pharisees were shocked by Jesus’ naïve association with the wrong sort of people, the sinners of the region.
They were grumbling.
• They did not hear Jesus correcting their life choices rigorously enough.
• The Pharisees were persuaded that if all Israel were to fully obey the Law of Moses, then God would bring in the Messianic age, the time of peace; Jerusalem would be the centre of the earth.
• The whole purpose of Israel was to obey God so that He would fulfill all his promises to vindicate them and restore their standing in the world.
Jesus was wrong in not excluding sinners from table fellowship, one way in which friendship and acceptance was parceled out.
NOW THOSE ARE CENTRAL ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY: FRIENDSHIP & ACCEPTANCE.
b. There was a common confusion about God.
i. The Pharisees & scribes were attacking the very thing about God that they needed most—graciousness to all people.
That someone could be called “rabbi” and NOT preach against sin of every kind was unthinkable, just the beginning of a long list of disappointments they had with Jesus.
ii. The disciples had proven that they had no answer to the Pharisees & scribes questions and charges.
iii. The tax collectors and sinners were merely confused!
Jesus does NOT directly answer their questions. Instead, he makes up three stories, parables. His answer was a direct challenge to the Pharisees…
First, Jesus challenges the attitude of the Pharisees.
Second, Jesus challenges the categories of the Pharisees.
They were confused about the nature of sin.
We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
II. We must understand the nature of sin, if we are to deal with our sin and other sinners. Vv. 4-5, 8
a. Jesus confronts their categories of sin.
i. All three lost things stand for people who are spiritually lost, far from God.
ii. Each one was lost for different reasons, but the first two are completely UNABLE to find their way home.
1. The sheep is lost through foolishness,
Isa. 53:6—all of us like sheep have gone astray
2. the coin through thoughtlessness, and
3. the son through willfulness.
iii. The sheep taught the hearers that we are confused and hopeless, that we always do the most random, self-defeating things.
1. We show our lostness by our confusion over what matters most.
a. We believe that a relationship with a “special person” will give us hope, will grant us meaning, only to discover that that person is expecting the same thing from us and he/she is not willing to live only for us, but expect us to live only for them.
b. We believe that a particular job or vocation will grant us ultimate satisfaction.
c. We believe that the respect of our friends will make our lives significant.
d. All religions consider humans to be merely animals, who can be trained to do the right thing.
2. To be brought all the way home, we need someone who will do everything for us!
iv. The SEARCH for the lost things taught the hearers that the community in heaven celebrates sinners saved by grace.
1. What’s a community?
a. Bonded by shared values & an intense common experience.
b. Phi Delta Theta: atheist, agnostic, Catholic, Protestant, Jew.
c. Values in common brought us together, common suffering bonded us together.
2. Jesus left his community with the Father in order to bring us into a new community by his work.
3. People brought into this new community by grace have unlimited joy, because they did not earn this, they aren’t better or worse than anyone else in that community, they belong with one another and to one another.
Keller: Taken together, this is a nuanced, multi-dimensional view of sin.
b. Sin is deeply complex.
i. People in our culture joke about those who even mention sin.
ii. Yet, the track of history highlights the fact that something is desperately wrong with humanity.
1. Even in ideal settings, we do harm to our selves, to one another, and to our environment.
2. We make enemies of those we do not understand.
iii. Sin’s complexity…
1. Sin is inborn.
2. Sin is magnified by those who mistreat us.
3. Sin is deepened and personalized by our own choices.
iv. Those who ridicule any mention of sin have missed the comprehensive nature of it and the nuanced view of the Bible as sin is discussed.
c. Sin’s complexity means we must recognize it ourselves.
i. Sin is NOT merely bad deeds.
ii. Sin includes doing good things for wrong reasons.
iii. Sin is in US! Looking to any other source for life, for good, for worship, for insight, reflects sin in our souls…
powerpoint
Jeremiah 2:13 NASB
““For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns,
That can hold no water.”
They were confused about the nature of salvation.
We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
We must understand the nature of sin, if we are to deal with our sin and other sinners.
III. We must comprehend the nature of salvation. Vv. 6-7, 9-10
Luke 15:6–10 NASB
““And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? “And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.””
a. People in every culture seek some sort of religion
i. as humanity’s search to believe in a god.
ii. Most religions emphasize gaining divine approval by obeying some set of religious laws.
b. Anyone who thinks they have found or contacted god through their obedience have little patience with those who have not searched and not found. In that sense, we disdain “sinners.”
c. Jesus through this parable teaches us that we are wrong in this view of “sin and salvation.”
i. The sheep cannot find its way back.
ii. The coin did not even realize it was lost.
iii. The categories of all religions are wrong.
1. We cannot find god by trying hard.
2. We only know God because He has come seeking us.
3. We are “saved” by his grace not as an achievement of our own.
We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
We must understand the nature of sin, if we are to deal with our sin and other sinners.
We must comprehend the nature of salvation.
Understanding the aggressive love of God, the true nature of sin, the deeper mystery of salvation…
IV. We will then have a new attitude towards one another & the lost.
If salvation comes at God’s initiative, then we will recognize the reason for joy at the end of each parable.
a. God does not look at lost people as the Pharisees do, but rejoices over them. If we see ourselves as sinners,
i. We will NOT disdain the lost.
ii. We WILL rejoice when “sinners” are reached and found.
iii. We find joy because we come into the community, the family because of HIS joyous work for us.
1. Not because we have done better than others.
2. Not because we are superior to the outsiders.
iv. That bond is more intense than any other, connecting those who have been purchased by God himself.
b. Jesus was said to be more joyful even than the shepherd of the first parable:
i. Knowing his pursuit of the lost would cost him the presence of the Father,
ii. Enormous suffering,
iii. His own death,
iv. He found overcoming joy as he contemplated finding us!
Powerpoint Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” NASB
This is the foundation of True Community.
Grace builds relationships that are unique, where…
…sinners are free to admit they are sinners.
James 5—confess your faults to one another…
…give yourself to one another, because the Great Shepherd has given himself for you
All who enter by grace will find themselves growing in UNDERSTANDING, NONEXCLUSIVE, EMBRACING, and PATIENT with those who do not yet comprehend the way to the Father.
We will not be mystified by the sinful behaviour of our neighbour, because we will recognize our own brokenness.
This is the Gospel that leads to Community.
Session 2 Luke 15:1-10
Issue: How do we find and enjoy True Community? What foundation?
We are made for community. However, life together is challenging on every level; we must be refitted for it. The parable of the Prodigal Son describes a new way of perceiving, a new kind of living, a transformation that only God can bring about, which readies us to live in community.
If we are to experience this sort of transformation, the one that prepares us for true community, we must comprehend three things from the first two parables of Luke 15…
1. The nature of God.
2. The nature of sin.
3. The nature of salvation.
The religious leaders around Jesus were confused and angry over His view of God.
I. We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
a. There are three sets of people around Jesus. vv. 1-3
Luke 15:1–3 NASB
“Now all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
And He told them this parable, saying,”
i. His early disciples, who have set aside their incomes and followed him.
ii. A group of fascinated outsiders, those excluded by their choices and their lifestyles from among the religious of the land.
iii. A group of insiders, who were critics of Jesus…
The problem: Jesus seems to connect with the wrong sort of people! The Pharisees were shocked by Jesus’ naïve association with the wrong sort of people, the sinners of the region.
They were grumbling.
• They did not hear Jesus correcting their life choices rigorously enough.
• The Pharisees were persuaded that if all Israel were to fully obey the Law of Moses, then God would bring in the Messianic age, the time of peace; Jerusalem would be the centre of the earth.
• The whole purpose of Israel was to obey God so that He would fulfill all his promises to vindicate them and restore their standing in the world.
Jesus was wrong in not excluding sinners from table fellowship, one way in which friendship and acceptance was parceled out.
NOW THOSE ARE CENTRAL ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY: FRIENDSHIP & ACCEPTANCE.
b. There was a common confusion about God.
i. The Pharisees & scribes were attacking the very thing about God that they needed most—graciousness to all people.
That someone could be called “rabbi” and NOT preach against sin of every kind was unthinkable, just the beginning of a long list of disappointments they had with Jesus.
ii. The disciples had proven that they had no answer to the Pharisees & scribes questions and charges.
iii. The tax collectors and sinners were merely confused!
Jesus does NOT directly answer their questions. Instead, he makes up three stories, parables. His answer was a direct challenge to the Pharisees…
First, Jesus challenges the attitude of the Pharisees.
Second, Jesus challenges the categories of the Pharisees.
They were confused about the nature of sin.
We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
II. We must understand the nature of sin, if we are to deal with our sin and other sinners. Vv. 4-5, 8
a. Jesus confronts their categories of sin.
i. All three lost things stand for people who are spiritually lost, far from God.
ii. Each one was lost for different reasons, but the first two are completely UNABLE to find their way home.
1. The sheep is lost through foolishness,
Isa. 53:6—all of us like sheep have gone astray
2. the coin through thoughtlessness, and
3. the son through willfulness.
iii. The sheep taught the hearers that we are confused and hopeless, that we always do the most random, self-defeating things.
1. We show our lostness by our confusion over what matters most.
a. We believe that a relationship with a “special person” will give us hope, will grant us meaning, only to discover that that person is expecting the same thing from us and he/she is not willing to live only for us, but expect us to live only for them.
b. We believe that a particular job or vocation will grant us ultimate satisfaction.
c. We believe that the respect of our friends will make our lives significant.
d. All religions consider humans to be merely animals, who can be trained to do the right thing.
2. To be brought all the way home, we need someone who will do everything for us!
iv. The SEARCH for the lost things taught the hearers that the community in heaven celebrates sinners saved by grace.
1. What’s a community?
a. Bonded by shared values & an intense common experience.
b. Phi Delta Theta: atheist, agnostic, Catholic, Protestant, Jew.
c. Values in common brought us together, common suffering bonded us together.
2. Jesus left his community with the Father in order to bring us into a new community by his work.
3. People brought into this new community by grace have unlimited joy, because they did not earn this, they aren’t better or worse than anyone else in that community, they belong with one another and to one another.
Keller: Taken together, this is a nuanced, multi-dimensional view of sin.
b. Sin is deeply complex.
i. People in our culture joke about those who even mention sin.
ii. Yet, the track of history highlights the fact that something is desperately wrong with humanity.
1. Even in ideal settings, we do harm to our selves, to one another, and to our environment.
2. We make enemies of those we do not understand.
iii. Sin’s complexity…
1. Sin is inborn.
2. Sin is magnified by those who mistreat us.
3. Sin is deepened and personalized by our own choices.
iv. Those who ridicule any mention of sin have missed the comprehensive nature of it and the nuanced view of the Bible as sin is discussed.
c. Sin’s complexity means we must recognize it ourselves.
i. Sin is NOT merely bad deeds.
ii. Sin includes doing good things for wrong reasons.
iii. Sin is in US! Looking to any other source for life, for good, for worship, for insight, reflects sin in our souls…
powerpoint
Jeremiah 2:13 NASB
““For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns,
That can hold no water.”
They were confused about the nature of salvation.
We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
We must understand the nature of sin, if we are to deal with our sin and other sinners.
III. We must comprehend the nature of salvation. Vv. 6-7, 9-10
Luke 15:6–10 NASB
““And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? “And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’
“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.””
a. People in every culture seek some sort of religion
i. as humanity’s search to believe in a god.
ii. Most religions emphasize gaining divine approval by obeying some set of religious laws.
b. Anyone who thinks they have found or contacted god through their obedience have little patience with those who have not searched and not found. In that sense, we disdain “sinners.”
c. Jesus through this parable teaches us that we are wrong in this view of “sin and salvation.”
i. The sheep cannot find its way back.
ii. The coin did not even realize it was lost.
iii. The categories of all religions are wrong.
1. We cannot find god by trying hard.
2. We only know God because He has come seeking us.
3. We are “saved” by his grace not as an achievement of our own.
We must have an accurate view of God if we are to understand sin, salvation, and community.
We must understand the nature of sin, if we are to deal with our sin and other sinners.
We must comprehend the nature of salvation.
Understanding the aggressive love of God, the true nature of sin, the deeper mystery of salvation…
IV. We will then have a new attitude towards one another & the lost.
If salvation comes at God’s initiative, then we will recognize the reason for joy at the end of each parable.
a. God does not look at lost people as the Pharisees do, but rejoices over them. If we see ourselves as sinners,
i. We will NOT disdain the lost.
ii. We WILL rejoice when “sinners” are reached and found.
iii. We find joy because we come into the community, the family because of HIS joyous work for us.
1. Not because we have done better than others.
2. Not because we are superior to the outsiders.
iv. That bond is more intense than any other, connecting those who have been purchased by God himself.
b. Jesus was said to be more joyful even than the shepherd of the first parable:
i. Knowing his pursuit of the lost would cost him the presence of the Father,
ii. Enormous suffering,
iii. His own death,
iv. He found overcoming joy as he contemplated finding us!
Powerpoint Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” NASB
This is the foundation of True Community.
Grace builds relationships that are unique, where…
…sinners are free to admit they are sinners.
James 5—confess your faults to one another…
…give yourself to one another, because the Great Shepherd has given himself for you
All who enter by grace will find themselves growing in UNDERSTANDING, NONEXCLUSIVE, EMBRACING, and PATIENT with those who do not yet comprehend the way to the Father.
We will not be mystified by the sinful behaviour of our neighbour, because we will recognize our own brokenness.
This is the Gospel that leads to Community.
Monday, April 12, 2010
40DaysOfCommunity Intro
Lost at Philpott: Is This Community?
We are made for community. However, life together is challenging on every level; we must be prepared for it. The parable of the Prodigal Son describes a new way of perceiving, a new kind of living, a transformation that only God can bring about, which prepares us to live in community.
Who is lost?
How do you know whether you are lost?
How can we know we have been truly found?
Who is lost?
I. In the parables, the Sheep, the coin, and the son were lost.
a. The sheep was lost, helpless, and hopeless.
b. The coin was senseless; lost but didn’t know that.
c. The son was lost by design; found by intent; restored graciously.
How do you know whether you are lost?
II. You know that you are lost if…
a. You are NOT home!
i. You do NOT being home.
ii. You look for any reason to leave home.
iii. You prefer non-family to family.
b. You long to be belong and know you do not.
How can we know we have been truly found?
II. We know that we have been truly found because a celebration occurs when we arrive.
a. Joy
b. Feasting together
c. No one wants to leave again!
APPLICATIONS:
There is a sense that one can be LOST @ Philpott…
We can be “lost” even while we are at home.
Who is lost? The Bad people?
1. The “Bad” son, the Prodigal Son was lost.
2. But the “Good” son proved to just as lost.
1. Lost can mean GOOD:
Rich young ruler:
Mark 10:17–22 NASB
“And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. “You know the commandments, ‘Do Not Murder, Do Not Commit Adultery, Do Not Steal, Do Not Bear False Witness, Do not defraud, Honor Your Father And Mother.’” And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property.”
Obedience always has its limits!
Pharisee & the “sinner”
Luke 18:9–14 NASB
“And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. “The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.””
Those who think highly of themselves because of their obedience are in grave danger.
One of my worst nightmares: I stand here commending you at a memorial service, thinking that you had been “found,” while you are NOT enjoying the presence of God in heaven.
How do you know whether you are lost here?
i. Lost:
1. Most attend worship then leave for home.
2. About half the adults are in a small group, more this week perhaps.
3. We live our lives in isolation, we have other friends, this is not our family; that would be Lost At Phillpott. Some have only acquaintances; that would be lost….
ii. Belong:
1. I have learned to entrust my very life with a few believers.
2. I have learned to be a faithful friend to a few people who trust me.
3. My life is enriched by my participation here…
a. My spiritual life.
b. My intellectual life.
How can we know we have been truly found?
1. God seeks us, as the shepherd of the lost sheep persevered until the lost sheep was returned to the fold.
a. God is a seeking God.
b. God is the Seeker of all who are lost, regardless of the nature of their lostness.
c. Where does it say that He seeks the Lost?
iii. Lost Sheep. Luke 15:3-7
iv. Lost Coin. 15:8-10
v. Lost Sons. 15:11-32
a. Why doesn’t God seek me?
vi. But He is!
vii. If there is a God, he would be cruel NOT to show himself to his conscious creatures.
The Grace of God creates true Community among the LOST.
There are pockets in the congregation that are tasting life together. It’s meant for all. That’s our quest in the 40 DAYS OF COMMUNITY Venture …
We are made for community, but…
If we are to experience true community, a tangible LIFE TOGETHER, then we must experience the sort of DEEP CHANGE that God intends for us. That change is described in the parable of the two sons.
We are made for community. However, life together is challenging on every level; we must be prepared for it. The parable of the Prodigal Son describes a new way of perceiving, a new kind of living, a transformation that only God can bring about, which prepares us to live in community.
Who is lost?
How do you know whether you are lost?
How can we know we have been truly found?
Who is lost?
I. In the parables, the Sheep, the coin, and the son were lost.
a. The sheep was lost, helpless, and hopeless.
b. The coin was senseless; lost but didn’t know that.
c. The son was lost by design; found by intent; restored graciously.
How do you know whether you are lost?
II. You know that you are lost if…
a. You are NOT home!
i. You do NOT being home.
ii. You look for any reason to leave home.
iii. You prefer non-family to family.
b. You long to be belong and know you do not.
How can we know we have been truly found?
II. We know that we have been truly found because a celebration occurs when we arrive.
a. Joy
b. Feasting together
c. No one wants to leave again!
APPLICATIONS:
There is a sense that one can be LOST @ Philpott…
We can be “lost” even while we are at home.
Who is lost? The Bad people?
1. The “Bad” son, the Prodigal Son was lost.
2. But the “Good” son proved to just as lost.
1. Lost can mean GOOD:
Rich young ruler:
Mark 10:17–22 NASB
“And as He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. “You know the commandments, ‘Do Not Murder, Do Not Commit Adultery, Do Not Steal, Do Not Bear False Witness, Do not defraud, Honor Your Father And Mother.’” And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But at these words his face fell, and he went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property.”
Obedience always has its limits!
Pharisee & the “sinner”
Luke 18:9–14 NASB
“And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. “The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.””
Those who think highly of themselves because of their obedience are in grave danger.
One of my worst nightmares: I stand here commending you at a memorial service, thinking that you had been “found,” while you are NOT enjoying the presence of God in heaven.
How do you know whether you are lost here?
i. Lost:
1. Most attend worship then leave for home.
2. About half the adults are in a small group, more this week perhaps.
3. We live our lives in isolation, we have other friends, this is not our family; that would be Lost At Phillpott. Some have only acquaintances; that would be lost….
ii. Belong:
1. I have learned to entrust my very life with a few believers.
2. I have learned to be a faithful friend to a few people who trust me.
3. My life is enriched by my participation here…
a. My spiritual life.
b. My intellectual life.
How can we know we have been truly found?
1. God seeks us, as the shepherd of the lost sheep persevered until the lost sheep was returned to the fold.
a. God is a seeking God.
b. God is the Seeker of all who are lost, regardless of the nature of their lostness.
c. Where does it say that He seeks the Lost?
iii. Lost Sheep. Luke 15:3-7
iv. Lost Coin. 15:8-10
v. Lost Sons. 15:11-32
a. Why doesn’t God seek me?
vi. But He is!
vii. If there is a God, he would be cruel NOT to show himself to his conscious creatures.
The Grace of God creates true Community among the LOST.
There are pockets in the congregation that are tasting life together. It’s meant for all. That’s our quest in the 40 DAYS OF COMMUNITY Venture …
We are made for community, but…
If we are to experience true community, a tangible LIFE TOGETHER, then we must experience the sort of DEEP CHANGE that God intends for us. That change is described in the parable of the two sons.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Shall We Dance?
Fifth Sermon…
So, You Think You Can Dance?
Shall We Dance?: The Call to Discipleship
We are called into the other-glorifying Godhead. Each person of the Godhead defers to the other.
1. You can’t dance in the desert: John is alone in the wilderness. Jan 10th
2. Jesus invited disciples into the dance: Mark 1:14-15 Jan 17th
3. Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men 1:16-20 Jan 24th
4. The plot to prevent all dancing. Jan 31st
How can I join the dance around God BEFORE I am enough like Jesus that I would fit right in?
Why would God invite me to join the dance before I have made things right?
Today: Jesus cleanses those whom he calls. Mark 1:35-45 Feb 7th
How do we join the dance? At His invitation!
How do we know that we are Jesus’ disciples?
I. The Story 1:35-45
a. Jesus left town alone and prayed. 35
“And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.
b. The disciples hunted him down, wanting him to return. 36-37
And Simon and his companions hunted for Him; and they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”
c. Jesus announced he would be visiting the surrounding towns. 38-39
And He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for.”
So, He preached in their synagogues and exorcised demons.
And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.
d. A leper found Jesus, asking to be cleansed. 40
And a leper *came to Him, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Witherington: The term lepros (from lepeiv, meaning to scale or peel off) in antiquity covered a whole gamut of skin diseases, and it is difficult to say what this man had. …In any event, the disease made the man perpetually unclean (see Lev. 13:45-47) and must have caused deep anguish, for it prevented normal relationships and fellowship with one’s neighbors and friends. This was doubly so because such a disease was often seen as a divine punishment for serious sins (see 2 Kings 5:7). Thus cleansing is uppermost in the man’s mind, for he would like to lead a normal life. Leviticus 13:45–46 NASB
i. Jesus was compassionate and touched him. 41-42
And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand, and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
And immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
ii. Jesus sent him to show himself to the priest. 43-44
And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”
iii. Jesus asked him to keep quiet otherwise.
iv. The leper launched his own tour. 45a
But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news about,
v. Jesus could no longer move about freely; people found him anyway. 45b
…to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.”
II. The Meaning of the story:
a. Jesus showed us the centrality of prayer. 1:35
“And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.”
a. Prayer alone, early—not “this is what you should do if you are to be a disciple”
b. but “this is what disciples do—
i. like Jesus,
ii. they long for conversation with their Father, and
iii. will go to any length to obtain and enjoy that interaction.”
Not—pray to prove you are a disciple,
Not--compile the list of disciplines and check them off
But—long for Jesus, seek the Father above all else.
One sign that you have become a disciple is that you will begin to long for God the Father, to speak to Him, to hear from Him.
b. Jesus can be elusive for the very ones whom He calls to follow him!.
i. Jesus cannot be directed.
1. But he can be found if searched for.
Marcus: …Jesus has called the disciples to become fishers (a kind of hunter) of human beings, but instead they immediately hunt him down.
JESUS CALLS THE DISCIPLES, TEACHES, HEALS AND DELIVERS, THEN DISAPPEARS! MANY relate to this elusiveness of Jesus; we would follow him but we often cannot “find” him, he’s off doing the will of his father, etc.
i. We want to follow Jesus, but how can you follow someone you cannot see?!?
ii. We get upset when His leadership is unclear, just like the earliest disciples.
iii. We are confounded when he leads us to people whom we would not choose as friends.
ii. Jesus can be found by the single-minded.
Marcus: For Mark, then, Jesus is by nature elusive; yet, as the continuation of our story shows, he can be found by people who pursue him single-mindedly.
1. Who are the single-minded?
2. Those in whom he has aroused deep longings.
Marcus: When the disciples finally catch up to Jesus, they report to him that it is not only they but everyone who is looking for him (1:37)—another sign of the deep and pervasive longings that he has aroused in the populace of Capernaum (cf. 1:32-33).
c. Jesus’ compassion disturbs us, since it has no bounds, it’s not ‘containable’ or predictable, He seems to follow no rules in distributing mercy.
i. Outliers—all of Galilee!!
d. Jesus’ cleansing dismays us, since he cleanses us before we can cleanse ourselves.
a. The leper came to Jesus, acknowledging his fate.
i. He could not heal himself.
ii. His greater need was to belong again.
iii. He could not restore himself to his community.
iv. He asked for help.
1. Not “you can make me well.”
2. But “you can make me clean.”
This answers our question:
How can I join the dance around God BEFORE I am enough like Jesus that I would fit right in?
Why would God invite me to join the dance before I have made things right?
The leper sought out Jesus and asked to be CLEANSED, so that he could live with neighbours again, in a village again, with his family again.
Jesus does a similar work in us…
BEFORE we become Like Jesus, he touches us.
BEFORE we love our neighbour as ourselves, he transforms us
BEFORE we become a people of prayer, he comes near.
Next week…
This work of transformation is done in the darkness of the human soul
Forgiven and Healed! Mark 2:1-12 Feb 14th
Or, Dance Before You Walk
So, You Think You Can Dance?
Shall We Dance?: The Call to Discipleship
We are called into the other-glorifying Godhead. Each person of the Godhead defers to the other.
1. You can’t dance in the desert: John is alone in the wilderness. Jan 10th
2. Jesus invited disciples into the dance: Mark 1:14-15 Jan 17th
3. Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men 1:16-20 Jan 24th
4. The plot to prevent all dancing. Jan 31st
How can I join the dance around God BEFORE I am enough like Jesus that I would fit right in?
Why would God invite me to join the dance before I have made things right?
Today: Jesus cleanses those whom he calls. Mark 1:35-45 Feb 7th
How do we join the dance? At His invitation!
How do we know that we are Jesus’ disciples?
I. The Story 1:35-45
a. Jesus left town alone and prayed. 35
“And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.
b. The disciples hunted him down, wanting him to return. 36-37
And Simon and his companions hunted for Him; and they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.”
c. Jesus announced he would be visiting the surrounding towns. 38-39
And He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for.”
So, He preached in their synagogues and exorcised demons.
And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.
d. A leper found Jesus, asking to be cleansed. 40
And a leper *came to Him, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Witherington: The term lepros (from lepeiv, meaning to scale or peel off) in antiquity covered a whole gamut of skin diseases, and it is difficult to say what this man had. …In any event, the disease made the man perpetually unclean (see Lev. 13:45-47) and must have caused deep anguish, for it prevented normal relationships and fellowship with one’s neighbors and friends. This was doubly so because such a disease was often seen as a divine punishment for serious sins (see 2 Kings 5:7). Thus cleansing is uppermost in the man’s mind, for he would like to lead a normal life. Leviticus 13:45–46 NASB
i. Jesus was compassionate and touched him. 41-42
And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand, and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
And immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
ii. Jesus sent him to show himself to the priest. 43-44
And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”
iii. Jesus asked him to keep quiet otherwise.
iv. The leper launched his own tour. 45a
But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news about,
v. Jesus could no longer move about freely; people found him anyway. 45b
…to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.”
II. The Meaning of the story:
a. Jesus showed us the centrality of prayer. 1:35
“And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.”
a. Prayer alone, early—not “this is what you should do if you are to be a disciple”
b. but “this is what disciples do—
i. like Jesus,
ii. they long for conversation with their Father, and
iii. will go to any length to obtain and enjoy that interaction.”
Not—pray to prove you are a disciple,
Not--compile the list of disciplines and check them off
But—long for Jesus, seek the Father above all else.
One sign that you have become a disciple is that you will begin to long for God the Father, to speak to Him, to hear from Him.
b. Jesus can be elusive for the very ones whom He calls to follow him!.
i. Jesus cannot be directed.
1. But he can be found if searched for.
Marcus: …Jesus has called the disciples to become fishers (a kind of hunter) of human beings, but instead they immediately hunt him down.
JESUS CALLS THE DISCIPLES, TEACHES, HEALS AND DELIVERS, THEN DISAPPEARS! MANY relate to this elusiveness of Jesus; we would follow him but we often cannot “find” him, he’s off doing the will of his father, etc.
i. We want to follow Jesus, but how can you follow someone you cannot see?!?
ii. We get upset when His leadership is unclear, just like the earliest disciples.
iii. We are confounded when he leads us to people whom we would not choose as friends.
ii. Jesus can be found by the single-minded.
Marcus: For Mark, then, Jesus is by nature elusive; yet, as the continuation of our story shows, he can be found by people who pursue him single-mindedly.
1. Who are the single-minded?
2. Those in whom he has aroused deep longings.
Marcus: When the disciples finally catch up to Jesus, they report to him that it is not only they but everyone who is looking for him (1:37)—another sign of the deep and pervasive longings that he has aroused in the populace of Capernaum (cf. 1:32-33).
c. Jesus’ compassion disturbs us, since it has no bounds, it’s not ‘containable’ or predictable, He seems to follow no rules in distributing mercy.
i. Outliers—all of Galilee!!
d. Jesus’ cleansing dismays us, since he cleanses us before we can cleanse ourselves.
a. The leper came to Jesus, acknowledging his fate.
i. He could not heal himself.
ii. His greater need was to belong again.
iii. He could not restore himself to his community.
iv. He asked for help.
1. Not “you can make me well.”
2. But “you can make me clean.”
This answers our question:
How can I join the dance around God BEFORE I am enough like Jesus that I would fit right in?
Why would God invite me to join the dance before I have made things right?
The leper sought out Jesus and asked to be CLEANSED, so that he could live with neighbours again, in a village again, with his family again.
Jesus does a similar work in us…
BEFORE we become Like Jesus, he touches us.
BEFORE we love our neighbour as ourselves, he transforms us
BEFORE we become a people of prayer, he comes near.
Next week…
This work of transformation is done in the darkness of the human soul
Forgiven and Healed! Mark 2:1-12 Feb 14th
Or, Dance Before You Walk
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Mystery of God With Us
The Mystery of God With Us
Christmas Sunday. We celebrate the First Advent of Jesus, son of man, son of God.
Jesus was the Son of God, fully divine, sharing all the attributes of the Father in heaven.
The most direct way to avoid distractions during Advent is to focus on the godhead:
The Father sent His unique son to earth.
Jesus came fully divine and took on a human body. He was all God and all human.
The Spirit anointed, animated, guarded, and guided the Son in His 30 years here.
We usually have difficulty imagining all this.
Silent Night has made us think that the baby Jesus just sort of lay quietly in the manger; Away In A Manger tells us “no crying He made.”
If you’ve ever attended a birth, you will remember that there’s nothing quiet about it. The mother is not silent; once the baby appears, the baby is not silent. That night is LOUD with pain, with groaning, then with crying, with hunger, with exhaustion.
This birth was a natural birth like all typical births we experience with our babies.
It truly was a HOLY NIGHT, but it wasn’t a SILENT ONE.
WHEN SUCH THINGS ARE ADDED TO THE STORY, WE PROBABLY INTEND TO HIGHLIGHT THE DEITY OF JESUS, TO OVEREMPHASIZE THE DIVINE NATURE OF JESUS.
You will NOT hear me UNDEREMPHASIZE THE DEITY OF JESUS, apart from a mental lapse, one that should be publicly challenged!! If Jesus were not FULLY DIVINE, then I’ve wasted my life.
Our Christmas intentions are noble, but misguided. The story is vital and does not need enhancement.
Luke 2:6–7 NASB
“And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
The story relates a PHYSICAL, natural and normal process. Jesus was born with all the elements of humanity, in its purest state.
There are many benefits to understanding the fully-human nature of Jesus.
1. His birth was the same sort of birth we experienced; He became like us.
Hebrews 2:17–18 NASB
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
This is not a new tension. In the FOURTH CENTURY, people from the Emperor on down were debating the Nature of Jesus.
…Gregory of Nazianius (329-89 AD.) wrote: ‘If anyone has put his trust in Him as a man without a human mind, he is really bereft of mind, and quite unworthy of salvation. For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved. If only half Adam fell, then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also; but if the whole of his nature fell, it must be united to the whole nature of Him that was begotten, and so be saved as a whole.
2. His life was lived with the same challenges we face.
Hebrews 2:9 NASB
“But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
3. His death secured for us all that was promised.
Gregory the Great (540-604), ‘first pope’, bishop of Rome:
“…Guilt can be extinguished only by a penal offering to justice. But it would contradict the idea of justice, if for the sin of a rational being like man, the death of an irrational animal should be accepted as a sufficient atonement. Hence, a man must be offered as the sacrifice for man; so that a rational victim may be slain for a rational criminal. But how could a man, himself stained with sin, be an offering for sin? Hence a sinless man must be offered. But what man descending in the ordinary course would be free from sin? Hence, the Son of God must be born of a virgin, and become man for us. He assumed our nature without our corruption.
…a victim without sin, and able both to die by virtue of his humanity, and to cleanse the guilty, upon grounds of justice.”
Texts:
Philippians 2:1-12
“If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Every Knee Should Bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;”
NIBC, FF Bruce
Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 140-202 AD.) ‘…There is therefore…one God the Father, and one Christ Jesus our Lord, who came by means of the whole dispensational arrangements and gathered together all things in himself. But in every respect, too, he is man, the formation of God: and thus he took up man into himself, the invisible becoming visible, the incomprehensible being made comprehensible, the impassable becoming capable of suffering, and the word being made man, thus summing up all things in himself: so that as in super-celestial, spiritual and invisible things, the Word of God is supreme, so also in things visible and corporeal he might possess the supremacy and, taking to himself the preeminence, as well as constituting himself head of the church, he might draw all things to himself at the proper time.’
Christmas Sunday. We celebrate the First Advent of Jesus, son of man, son of God.
Jesus was the Son of God, fully divine, sharing all the attributes of the Father in heaven.
The most direct way to avoid distractions during Advent is to focus on the godhead:
The Father sent His unique son to earth.
Jesus came fully divine and took on a human body. He was all God and all human.
The Spirit anointed, animated, guarded, and guided the Son in His 30 years here.
We usually have difficulty imagining all this.
Silent Night has made us think that the baby Jesus just sort of lay quietly in the manger; Away In A Manger tells us “no crying He made.”
If you’ve ever attended a birth, you will remember that there’s nothing quiet about it. The mother is not silent; once the baby appears, the baby is not silent. That night is LOUD with pain, with groaning, then with crying, with hunger, with exhaustion.
This birth was a natural birth like all typical births we experience with our babies.
It truly was a HOLY NIGHT, but it wasn’t a SILENT ONE.
WHEN SUCH THINGS ARE ADDED TO THE STORY, WE PROBABLY INTEND TO HIGHLIGHT THE DEITY OF JESUS, TO OVEREMPHASIZE THE DIVINE NATURE OF JESUS.
You will NOT hear me UNDEREMPHASIZE THE DEITY OF JESUS, apart from a mental lapse, one that should be publicly challenged!! If Jesus were not FULLY DIVINE, then I’ve wasted my life.
Our Christmas intentions are noble, but misguided. The story is vital and does not need enhancement.
Luke 2:6–7 NASB
“And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
The story relates a PHYSICAL, natural and normal process. Jesus was born with all the elements of humanity, in its purest state.
There are many benefits to understanding the fully-human nature of Jesus.
1. His birth was the same sort of birth we experienced; He became like us.
Hebrews 2:17–18 NASB
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
This is not a new tension. In the FOURTH CENTURY, people from the Emperor on down were debating the Nature of Jesus.
…Gregory of Nazianius (329-89 AD.) wrote: ‘If anyone has put his trust in Him as a man without a human mind, he is really bereft of mind, and quite unworthy of salvation. For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved. If only half Adam fell, then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also; but if the whole of his nature fell, it must be united to the whole nature of Him that was begotten, and so be saved as a whole.
2. His life was lived with the same challenges we face.
Hebrews 2:9 NASB
“But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
3. His death secured for us all that was promised.
Gregory the Great (540-604), ‘first pope’, bishop of Rome:
“…Guilt can be extinguished only by a penal offering to justice. But it would contradict the idea of justice, if for the sin of a rational being like man, the death of an irrational animal should be accepted as a sufficient atonement. Hence, a man must be offered as the sacrifice for man; so that a rational victim may be slain for a rational criminal. But how could a man, himself stained with sin, be an offering for sin? Hence a sinless man must be offered. But what man descending in the ordinary course would be free from sin? Hence, the Son of God must be born of a virgin, and become man for us. He assumed our nature without our corruption.
…a victim without sin, and able both to die by virtue of his humanity, and to cleanse the guilty, upon grounds of justice.”
Texts:
Philippians 2:1-12
“If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Every Knee Should Bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;”
NIBC, FF Bruce
Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 140-202 AD.) ‘…There is therefore…one God the Father, and one Christ Jesus our Lord, who came by means of the whole dispensational arrangements and gathered together all things in himself. But in every respect, too, he is man, the formation of God: and thus he took up man into himself, the invisible becoming visible, the incomprehensible being made comprehensible, the impassable becoming capable of suffering, and the word being made man, thus summing up all things in himself: so that as in super-celestial, spiritual and invisible things, the Word of God is supreme, so also in things visible and corporeal he might possess the supremacy and, taking to himself the preeminence, as well as constituting himself head of the church, he might draw all things to himself at the proper time.’
Monday, December 14, 2009
O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel
Here are my notes from 13 January…
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Introduction:
Today, we will celebrate Advent, the arrival of Jesus, by unpacking the meaning of a favourite Christmas Carol. During the Christmas season, we often sing these familiar songs without thought about the meaning.
Many of the lyrics are rich with Scripture, dense with meaning. Today’s carol is one such lyric.
What is a CAROL??
Mark Roberts “…the word “carol” comes from the Old French word “carole,” that refers to a circle dance.
In centuries past there were carols not only for Christmas, but for other holidays as well.
Lyric:
- O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
- O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
- O come, desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease, fill all the world with heaven’s peace
- Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.
Key Words
1. Come—a call for help, for an intervening visit
2. Emmanuel—a name, the centrepiece of the lyric
3. Ransom Captive Israel—buy out the prisoner, the slave, Israel
4. Exile—Israel is captive, far away from it’s home in Palestine, away from it’s God, YHWH.
5. DaySpring—poetic for DAWN
Luke 1:67 ¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
Luke 1:77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Luke 1:78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
Luke 1:79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Isaiah 9:1–2; 42:7; 49:9–10 NASB
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights.
“They will not hunger or thirst,
Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And will guide them to springs of water.”
6. Advent
7. Desire of Nations
KJV: Hag. 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
“That which is desired/treasured by all nations” they will bring their wealth.
NASB: “‘And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
Now, back to our central word:
Emmanuel—a name, from Isaiah 7 & 8
Renn –Bible words
This word is only found in Isa. 7:14; 8:8, where it constitutes the name assigned to the son born of the virgin, and means “God with us.” עִמָּנוּאֵל ʾimmānûʾēl (i.e., Emmanuel) specifically refers to the son born to the “prophetess,” the unnamed wife of the prophet Isaiah (see Ἐμμανουήλ Emmanouēl, below).
[Ἐμμανουήλ--This term only occurs in Matt. 1:23, where it refers to the infant Jesus as the direct fulfillment of the sign given to the prophet Isaiah
Texts:
Is. 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 8:6–7 NASB
““Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah,
And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
“Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates,
Even the king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.”
Isaiah 8:8 NASB
““Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
It will reach even to the neck;
And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
NET notes
15 sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment.
Matt. 1:23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
Immanuel (with us is God); name of child, symbolizing presence of ’י to deliver his people; declaration of trust and confidence, with us is God.
8. Rejoice!
"Joy To The World!"
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Introduction:
Today, we will celebrate Advent, the arrival of Jesus, by unpacking the meaning of a favourite Christmas Carol. During the Christmas season, we often sing these familiar songs without thought about the meaning.
Many of the lyrics are rich with Scripture, dense with meaning. Today’s carol is one such lyric.
What is a CAROL??
Mark Roberts “…the word “carol” comes from the Old French word “carole,” that refers to a circle dance.
In centuries past there were carols not only for Christmas, but for other holidays as well.
Lyric:
- O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
- O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
- O come, desire of nations, bind all peoples in one heart and mind
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease, fill all the world with heaven’s peace
- Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel.
Key Words
1. Come—a call for help, for an intervening visit
2. Emmanuel—a name, the centrepiece of the lyric
3. Ransom Captive Israel—buy out the prisoner, the slave, Israel
4. Exile—Israel is captive, far away from it’s home in Palestine, away from it’s God, YHWH.
5. DaySpring—poetic for DAWN
Luke 1:67 ¶ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
Luke 1:77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Luke 1:78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
Luke 1:79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Isaiah 9:1–2; 42:7; 49:9–10 NASB
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon,
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all bare heights.
“They will not hunger or thirst,
Neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down;
For He who has compassion on them will lead them,
And will guide them to springs of water.”
6. Advent
7. Desire of Nations
KJV: Hag. 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
“That which is desired/treasured by all nations” they will bring their wealth.
NASB: “‘And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
Now, back to our central word:
Emmanuel—a name, from Isaiah 7 & 8
Renn –Bible words
This word is only found in Isa. 7:14; 8:8, where it constitutes the name assigned to the son born of the virgin, and means “God with us.” עִמָּנוּאֵל ʾimmānûʾēl (i.e., Emmanuel) specifically refers to the son born to the “prophetess,” the unnamed wife of the prophet Isaiah (see Ἐμμανουήλ Emmanouēl, below).
[Ἐμμανουήλ--This term only occurs in Matt. 1:23, where it refers to the infant Jesus as the direct fulfillment of the sign given to the prophet Isaiah
Texts:
Is. 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 8:6–7 NASB
““Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah,
And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah;
“Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates,
Even the king of Assyria and all his glory;
And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks.”
Isaiah 8:8 NASB
““Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,
It will reach even to the neck;
And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
NET notes
15 sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment.
Matt. 1:23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”
Immanuel (with us is God); name of child, symbolizing presence of ’י to deliver his people; declaration of trust and confidence, with us is God.
8. Rejoice!
"Joy To The World!"
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Questions about Gen 50:20 evil & God
19. In Gen. 50:20 does it mean that God meant Joseph's brothers to sin against him? Can God ordain that people sin?
This requires a complex answer. God does not cause sin. He does create people who sin, so He can be said to be a secondary cause of sin, but we cannot accuse God of breaking His own character, which is holy, complete, perfect, etc. He is incapable of sinning.
Several times in Scripture, however, the hints are floating around that God USES sin, catastrophe, etc. for His own good purposes (Romans 8:28 most famously), and does NOT prevent all catastrophes from occurring.
Google "Alvin Plantinga" for a series of essays on good and evil. He's done some wonderful work on this topic.
This requires a complex answer. God does not cause sin. He does create people who sin, so He can be said to be a secondary cause of sin, but we cannot accuse God of breaking His own character, which is holy, complete, perfect, etc. He is incapable of sinning.
Several times in Scripture, however, the hints are floating around that God USES sin, catastrophe, etc. for His own good purposes (Romans 8:28 most famously), and does NOT prevent all catastrophes from occurring.
Google "Alvin Plantinga" for a series of essays on good and evil. He's done some wonderful work on this topic.
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