And I forgot to hit "Publish" after I typed yesterday's post up. Anyway, it rained yesterday, and we had it on good authority (Cory's) that it's not fun to play mini golf on a soggy course. So we wound up at Zetti's where we discussed penal substitutionary atonement, the gift economy as a alternate picture of atonement, and the personal testimonies of Cory, Iani and Matt.
It was a blast, but we'll try something indoors next time!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tonight we are meeting at 7:30 at Spot on Elmwood, and after that we are going to play miniature golf at a place of Cory's choosing. It will be a time of fellowship and fun, though you (yes, *you*) are going to go down in flames before the might of my considerable putt-putt skills.
Fasting and Prayer for Sean: This Thursday, we will be fasting all day and meeting to pray in the evening at 7:00pm at the church on Potomac. I know a few of you don't know Sean too well, and we will talk about what's going on with Sean as a group during the meeting.
Next week, we have a tentative plan to go help out at Allen's house. His mom has a few things that need to get done, and it'd be a real blessing to her and Allen if we all pitched in to help out!
See you tonight!
Fasting and Prayer for Sean: This Thursday, we will be fasting all day and meeting to pray in the evening at 7:00pm at the church on Potomac. I know a few of you don't know Sean too well, and we will talk about what's going on with Sean as a group during the meeting.
Nehemiah 1:4-7
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Next week, we have a tentative plan to go help out at Allen's house. His mom has a few things that need to get done, and it'd be a real blessing to her and Allen if we all pitched in to help out!
See you tonight!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Men's Bible Study 9/20/2010
This week, we read through the whole of James 3, since it was comparatively short and did seem to to work well as a whole. It starts off by telling us that not many should "become teachers" (ESV). We talked briefly about teachers in the church and what makes a good teacher, skipping right ahead to the end which does appear to be some guidelines for identifying "wisdom from above" (which probably helps with being a teacher):
Many times when we think of a teacher, we wonder if they are eloquent, able to speak clearly, able present ideas in a clearly and concisely, whether we like their accent, etc etc. James here, however, seems less concerned with the person's ability and more concerned with the person's character. Also, many, if not all, of these traits have to do with how the teacher relates to others and to God. Wouldn't a peace-loving, considerate, merciful, impartial teacher draw people eager to hear? And wouldn't a submissive, sincere teacher hear more from God?
Then we talked about why James relates teaching and wisdom to the taming of the tongue. On the one hand, it's an easy enough association to make. You don't want the guy standing up front in church, supposedly acting in the capacity of a teacher, to start railing about anything he sees fit. But then James *really* starts getting into the tongue and its many dangerous tendencies, and one might wonder if he's getting into a whole other thing entirely!
After comparing the tiny little tongue to a rudder that steers a massive ship, and a tiny spark that starts a fire that sets a whole forest ablaze, James says
Now that's just hyperbole, right? We can tame the tongue. We simply need to exercise self-control. The scriptures talk frequently about self-control. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
So why shouldn't James simply apply that simple principle here? Instead he seems to approach the issue from a slightly different angle:
As we talked about this, one person shared that this had to do with "identity". It is common for us to view ourselves in a dualistic manner. If we're honest with ourselves, it is impossible not to! We think or do or say something good one second, and turn around and wallow in something bad the next. If we were to go with something along the lines of James' analogies, we may think we are like water taps that sometimes spew forth fresh, clean water, and sometimes spew forth muddy water. Within this framework, a common way to think of "self-control" is the ability to turn the tap off whenever we sense the muddy waters about to burst forth, and, conversely, to start the tap up again when the fresh water is ready to come out.
However, that isn't exactly what James is saying. Instead of saying "You're a tree that sometimes produces figs and sometimes produces olives, and you need to stop yourself when olives start sprouting", he instead says "You don't get olives from a fig tree". He's seems to be asking us to first consider who we are. Are you a fig tree, or an olive tree? Are you a fresh water spring, or a dead pond? Are we a people who are constantly welling up with selfish thoughts and desires, bursting with slander and angry words, trying to subdue a rotten core in the hope that God will someday reward us with a new nature completely unlike who we are now? Why then does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 5, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come", as though this is something that has already happened?
James and Paul aren't saying, of course, that we do not struggle with sin. James just got done saying "We all stumble in many ways" back in verse 2. He does seem to suggest, though, that our understanding of who we are, our core identity, is of great importance before we attempt to address everything else about our Christian walk. Even his words from chapter 1 take on new meaning in this context: "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." Could James be suggesting that we are literally forgetting who we are when we give in to sin?
So what is this identity we have received from God that we need to remind ourselves of the next time we are tempted? Here are just a few things we can think about.
Have a blessed week reminding yourself who you are in Christ!
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Many times when we think of a teacher, we wonder if they are eloquent, able to speak clearly, able present ideas in a clearly and concisely, whether we like their accent, etc etc. James here, however, seems less concerned with the person's ability and more concerned with the person's character. Also, many, if not all, of these traits have to do with how the teacher relates to others and to God. Wouldn't a peace-loving, considerate, merciful, impartial teacher draw people eager to hear? And wouldn't a submissive, sincere teacher hear more from God?
Then we talked about why James relates teaching and wisdom to the taming of the tongue. On the one hand, it's an easy enough association to make. You don't want the guy standing up front in church, supposedly acting in the capacity of a teacher, to start railing about anything he sees fit. But then James *really* starts getting into the tongue and its many dangerous tendencies, and one might wonder if he's getting into a whole other thing entirely!
After comparing the tiny little tongue to a rudder that steers a massive ship, and a tiny spark that starts a fire that sets a whole forest ablaze, James says
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Now that's just hyperbole, right? We can tame the tongue. We simply need to exercise self-control. The scriptures talk frequently about self-control. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
So why shouldn't James simply apply that simple principle here? Instead he seems to approach the issue from a slightly different angle:
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
As we talked about this, one person shared that this had to do with "identity". It is common for us to view ourselves in a dualistic manner. If we're honest with ourselves, it is impossible not to! We think or do or say something good one second, and turn around and wallow in something bad the next. If we were to go with something along the lines of James' analogies, we may think we are like water taps that sometimes spew forth fresh, clean water, and sometimes spew forth muddy water. Within this framework, a common way to think of "self-control" is the ability to turn the tap off whenever we sense the muddy waters about to burst forth, and, conversely, to start the tap up again when the fresh water is ready to come out.
However, that isn't exactly what James is saying. Instead of saying "You're a tree that sometimes produces figs and sometimes produces olives, and you need to stop yourself when olives start sprouting", he instead says "You don't get olives from a fig tree". He's seems to be asking us to first consider who we are. Are you a fig tree, or an olive tree? Are you a fresh water spring, or a dead pond? Are we a people who are constantly welling up with selfish thoughts and desires, bursting with slander and angry words, trying to subdue a rotten core in the hope that God will someday reward us with a new nature completely unlike who we are now? Why then does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 5, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come", as though this is something that has already happened?
James and Paul aren't saying, of course, that we do not struggle with sin. James just got done saying "We all stumble in many ways" back in verse 2. He does seem to suggest, though, that our understanding of who we are, our core identity, is of great importance before we attempt to address everything else about our Christian walk. Even his words from chapter 1 take on new meaning in this context: "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." Could James be suggesting that we are literally forgetting who we are when we give in to sin?
So what is this identity we have received from God that we need to remind ourselves of the next time we are tempted? Here are just a few things we can think about.
John 1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...
John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
2 Corinthians 5:20
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ...
John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.
Have a blessed week reminding yourself who you are in Christ!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Men's Bible Study 9/13/2010, James 2:14-26
This past Monday, we got to talk a little about one of the core issues of our faith that can be a source of great disagreement between Christians. We settled that fairly quickly though (we had all the right answers! -__- ), and got into something else, but I'll summarize things quickly first. The core of the issue can be highlighted pretty well by the following passages from James and Romans, and the question is basically "How are we justified?".
James says:
To the Romans, Paul says:
Ever heard a discussion where two people seemed to take different sides on an issue, but then they both quoted the same exact thing to support their arguments? I think we were all familiar with some of the usual answers to the issue presented here, and an actual in-depth examination of the issue was beyond the scope of our discussion. Rather than summarize the answers we discussed, I thought I'd talk about the process of seeking out those answers (and it'll be clear why in a bit).
What are some important questions to consider when two people appear to disagree? Here are a few I try to ask myself when there is an apparent disagreement:
1) What are the shared assumptions?
2) Where are they coming from?
3) What are they addressing?
4) Are they both using the same words in the same way?
5) Do they actually disagree? If so, what exactly do they disagree on?
These kinds of questions become more important when you are one of the people in the discussion! But a lot of times you just get to listen to some other people go at it and, hopefully, mediate. As it turned out, we did have a situation like this on Monday, after our initial discussion of "faith" and "deeds". I was trying to move the discussion in the direction of something a little more specific (since I'm typically terrible at doing so), and pointed to this passage:
Now on Elmwood, the street where we were meeting, you're typically going to be asked for money a couple times on any given day as you're walking along it, so I asked "Does this passage in James apply to those situations, and, if so, how?"
One person said emphatically "Yes, it does apply, and we should give without judging." Another person said "No, you have to use judgment, and not just give money indiscriminately." To which the first person basically replied "What gives us the right to set ourselves up as judges?" And after that, the discussion got a little passionate! Eventually, things cooled down and we were all best buds again, but in retrospect, I thought it was uncanny how the first half of our study was so quickly mirrored by the second, and I felt God was at work somehow on something other than what James 2 was speaking about specifically.
We know it's easy to quote scripture out of context and come to a lopsided conclusion based on what Paul or James said. We know though that that's not what we ought to do and that we really need to dig into what both men said as well as what the whole of scripture says in order to better understand what God is saying to us. As Paul counseled Timothy: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."(2 Tim. 2.15) We do not say "Paul is more right than James" or vice versa. Instead we carefully examine where both men are coming from, what they are actually addressing, and how they are using the words and scripture they choose to quote.
Should we not also exercise the same care with how we understand each other? That's not to say two people can't genuinely disagree about something fundamentally (we're not Paul or James!), but it's important to understand what they actually disagree on, and if they are actually talking about the same thing. It's easy to say "I disagree" without actually trying to figure out what it is that's disagreeable. We just read in James 1:19: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." Proverbs 18:13 is a little more direct: "He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame."
When we have taken the time to understand what the other means by what they say, then we can explain ourselves and why we disagree. Any other approach is likely to cause unnecessary offense, regardless of whether a response is "right" or not, because few things cause more offense than the impression that one is being answered before one is even heard. Proverbs 18:19 says "An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel." That's not to say we shouldn't take responsibility for when we close our ears to others when we are offended, but as a people in Christ, we should make every effort to cause as little unnecessary offense as possible. Romans 12:18 says "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
Let's not be a people who put mufflers on others ears by being obstinate ourselves. Instead, let's strive to approach people in such a way as to cause them to take their mufflers off. Let us make hearing each other well a priority. If that sounds difficult, it's because it is. It should be no surprise, then, that that is exactly what scripture asks us to do.
Tomorrow: James 3, in which James talks about talking. Wait, didn't he already talk about this?
James says:
James 2: 14-25
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
To the Romans, Paul says:
Romans 4: 1-8
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
Ever heard a discussion where two people seemed to take different sides on an issue, but then they both quoted the same exact thing to support their arguments? I think we were all familiar with some of the usual answers to the issue presented here, and an actual in-depth examination of the issue was beyond the scope of our discussion. Rather than summarize the answers we discussed, I thought I'd talk about the process of seeking out those answers (and it'll be clear why in a bit).
What are some important questions to consider when two people appear to disagree? Here are a few I try to ask myself when there is an apparent disagreement:
1) What are the shared assumptions?
2) Where are they coming from?
3) What are they addressing?
4) Are they both using the same words in the same way?
5) Do they actually disagree? If so, what exactly do they disagree on?
These kinds of questions become more important when you are one of the people in the discussion! But a lot of times you just get to listen to some other people go at it and, hopefully, mediate. As it turned out, we did have a situation like this on Monday, after our initial discussion of "faith" and "deeds". I was trying to move the discussion in the direction of something a little more specific (since I'm typically terrible at doing so), and pointed to this passage:
James 2:15-17
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Now on Elmwood, the street where we were meeting, you're typically going to be asked for money a couple times on any given day as you're walking along it, so I asked "Does this passage in James apply to those situations, and, if so, how?"
One person said emphatically "Yes, it does apply, and we should give without judging." Another person said "No, you have to use judgment, and not just give money indiscriminately." To which the first person basically replied "What gives us the right to set ourselves up as judges?" And after that, the discussion got a little passionate! Eventually, things cooled down and we were all best buds again, but in retrospect, I thought it was uncanny how the first half of our study was so quickly mirrored by the second, and I felt God was at work somehow on something other than what James 2 was speaking about specifically.
We know it's easy to quote scripture out of context and come to a lopsided conclusion based on what Paul or James said. We know though that that's not what we ought to do and that we really need to dig into what both men said as well as what the whole of scripture says in order to better understand what God is saying to us. As Paul counseled Timothy: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."(2 Tim. 2.15) We do not say "Paul is more right than James" or vice versa. Instead we carefully examine where both men are coming from, what they are actually addressing, and how they are using the words and scripture they choose to quote.
Should we not also exercise the same care with how we understand each other? That's not to say two people can't genuinely disagree about something fundamentally (we're not Paul or James!), but it's important to understand what they actually disagree on, and if they are actually talking about the same thing. It's easy to say "I disagree" without actually trying to figure out what it is that's disagreeable. We just read in James 1:19: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." Proverbs 18:13 is a little more direct: "He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame."
When we have taken the time to understand what the other means by what they say, then we can explain ourselves and why we disagree. Any other approach is likely to cause unnecessary offense, regardless of whether a response is "right" or not, because few things cause more offense than the impression that one is being answered before one is even heard. Proverbs 18:19 says "An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel." That's not to say we shouldn't take responsibility for when we close our ears to others when we are offended, but as a people in Christ, we should make every effort to cause as little unnecessary offense as possible. Romans 12:18 says "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
Let's not be a people who put mufflers on others ears by being obstinate ourselves. Instead, let's strive to approach people in such a way as to cause them to take their mufflers off. Let us make hearing each other well a priority. If that sounds difficult, it's because it is. It should be no surprise, then, that that is exactly what scripture asks us to do.
Tomorrow: James 3, in which James talks about talking. Wait, didn't he already talk about this?
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Tomorrow: The Five-Letter Word
With the weather being what it is, I think it's safe to say we're
going to meet indoors for the rest of the year, so it's going to be at
Spot on Elmwood at 7:30pm.
There are an awful lot of ideas dancing around the various spheres of
Christendom concerning the passage we're reading tomorrrow. I've
personally heard a whole bunch of different interpretations throughout
my "church life"!
James 2:14-26
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has
no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is
without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish
you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical
needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe
that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is
useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he
did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith
and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete
by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham
believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was
called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he
does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered
righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent
them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is
dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Bring your best bible cross-references for this one! Please quote
Paul with great care. I got Pastor Steve on speed-dial just in case.
See you guys there!
going to meet indoors for the rest of the year, so it's going to be at
Spot on Elmwood at 7:30pm.
There are an awful lot of ideas dancing around the various spheres of
Christendom concerning the passage we're reading tomorrrow. I've
personally heard a whole bunch of different interpretations throughout
my "church life"!
James 2:14-26
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has
no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is
without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish
you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical
needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe
that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is
useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he
did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith
and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete
by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham
believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was
called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he
does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered
righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent
them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is
dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Bring your best bible cross-references for this one! Please quote
Paul with great care. I got Pastor Steve on speed-dial just in case.
See you guys there!
A Few of My Favorite Things
Often as we walk the streets of our city we encounter people who have very real economic needs, while others we encounter clearly have financial abundance. Our heart is to bring the Message, or the Good News of Jesus, to all of these people.
How then do we deal with the favoritism that we encounter in our church cultures? Some of us come from church backgrounds that favor ministry to the poor, and preach it constantly. Others come from churches where the poor are far removed, both from our minds and neighborhoods. So, what do we do when one group or the other is excluded from our church communities?
"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism." James encourages us to confront this favoritism, and makes it clear in his letter that this favoritism is a sin; just as grave as adultry or murder. Our response to this is what we wrestled with as a group last Monday.
We discussed how perhaps our favoritism is a symptom of our focus on riches and poverty. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to focus on something else, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
So, His Kingdom should be the focus, a Kingdom sustained by daily bread. Perhaps as we live out the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, the Kingdom will come, His will will be done, and daily bread will be provided. We will find ourselves in community with all kinds of people. A community where none hoard and none go without. A community like Israel in the desert, dependent on the daily bread from heaven - manna that provided for everyone and spoiled when it was hoarded. A community like that in Jerusalem shortly after the death and reserrection of Jesus, where they held everything in common and gave to each as they had need.
How then do we deal with the favoritism that we encounter in our church cultures? Some of us come from church backgrounds that favor ministry to the poor, and preach it constantly. Others come from churches where the poor are far removed, both from our minds and neighborhoods. So, what do we do when one group or the other is excluded from our church communities?
"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism." James encourages us to confront this favoritism, and makes it clear in his letter that this favoritism is a sin; just as grave as adultry or murder. Our response to this is what we wrestled with as a group last Monday.
We discussed how perhaps our favoritism is a symptom of our focus on riches and poverty. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to focus on something else, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
So, His Kingdom should be the focus, a Kingdom sustained by daily bread. Perhaps as we live out the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, the Kingdom will come, His will will be done, and daily bread will be provided. We will find ourselves in community with all kinds of people. A community where none hoard and none go without. A community like Israel in the desert, dependent on the daily bread from heaven - manna that provided for everyone and spoiled when it was hoarded. A community like that in Jerusalem shortly after the death and reserrection of Jesus, where they held everything in common and gave to each as they had need.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)