The Son of God, the Son of Man

Last week’s pastor’s note focused on some basic Christology (the study of Christ). Specifically, it was about Jesus being God the Son. Scripture is also clear that Jesus was human; that is out topic of today’s note.

Jesus is not only fully God, He also became fully man at the incarnation; He is both God and man. Jesus could only fulfill the Law, as well as die, because He was a man (John 1, Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 4:2). After His miraculous conception, there was a normal pregnancy and birth (Matthew 1:25; Luke 1:31, 35; Galatians 4:4). He grew normally into manhood (Luke 2:40, 52). He also submitted to authority (Luke 2:51). He learned obedience (Hebrews 5:8; John 8:29). Jesus got tired (John 4:6), hungry (Matthew 4:2), and thirsty (John 19:28). He not only looked like any other man, He had actually taken on the human nature which remained following the resurrection (Luke 24:39; John 20:27). He had a soul (John 12:27) and spirit (John 13:21). He had great knowledge (John 2:25), but it was in some ways limited by the Father (Matthew 24:36). Of course being a man allowed Him to suffer and die (John 19:33-34). Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3) yet did not sin (Second Corinthians 5:21).

The results of the incarnation are God’s full revelation of Himself to man through Jesus (John 1:18; 14:9; Hebrews 1:2), Christ’s sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:12-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19), His being the Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22; Luke 13:33), the Priest (Hebrews 3:1), and King (Hebrews 1:8; Rev 19:16).

This joining of God and man in Jesus is called The Hypostatic Union. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man having two complete natures united into one person while maintaining the unchanged distinction of each (John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:6; Heb 2:14). He is no less God than before the incarnation and no less man than any other person. This union is permanent as Scripture describes (Lk 24:39; Acts 1:11; 1 Tim 2:5; and Rev 1:7).

Starting a new season

One thing I enjoy about living in western PA is the change in seasons. My favorites are Spring and Summer, but Fall is pretty close. Winter and the snow are okay until Christmas, then I’m ready for Spring again. Fall is certainly a beautiful time of the year and I like the crisp coolness in the mornings. I doubt you came to this blog to hear about my preferences for seasons of the year, so let me move on…

Things are changing, cold weather is soon upon us and there is much uncertainty in the world. We will be finishing our study of Ecclesiastes this Sunday. Along the way, we’ve learned that life outside of God is vanity, emptiness and meaningless. People work and strive all their lives for things that they believe will make life good, or better than it was anyway, only to come to the end of life and find that our worldly pursuits really didn’t satisfy or give anything lasting. What does last, and what is meaningful, is living a life in unity with God, being loved by Him and loving Him back. That is where we find peace, joy, contentment, fulfillment, and purpose.

Starting in November, we will take some time to give thanks and begin a new study on another Book of the Bible (I’m not saying which one it is yet, but it will be a good one because they are all good!). I’ll let you know within a couple weeks what we will be studying. In the meantime, don’t wait until November 27; give thanks.

It's Still All Vanity

INTRODUCTION
Recall that a major theme of Ecclesiastes is the vanity, or emptiness, of the things of this life. If you watch the news, you know that life is not only empty, it’s troubling and even scary at times. This is certainly true for those who are not enjoying communion with God through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Today we continue our series titled, “The Meaning of Life” from the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes where we have seen the Spirit, through Solomon, showing us the vanity of life outside of communion with God. We continue this morning with Ecclesiastes 9:13-18.

IT’S STILL ALL VANITY
The Emptiness of This Life (9:1-8)
Last week we heard again Solomon’s lament about life being not only empty, but seemingly unfair as it doesn’t matter who you are, the same kind of things happen to everyone: natural disasters, personal hardships, broken hearts, joys, hopes, hurts, destructive habits, and death. Life is like that, that’s one reason we have Celebrate Recovery. Such hard and painful things are all there is for those outside of Christ. Oh, there are times of wealth, ease, comfort, prosperity and all that, but it can all come crashing down in any moment; history shows it over and over again. However, for those in Christ there is joy, peace and purpose that goes beyond the tragedies, emptiness and even the happiness of this life. I Christ there is forgiveness, communion with God, and fulfillment as we learn to love Him.

The Vanity of Selfish Pursuits (9:9-12)
Last week we also saw that life outside of God life is viewed as merely time and chance, but for those who understand something about God’s sovereignty, time and chance there is something far more dependable: the perfect plan and will of God. Most of us know Ephesians 2:8-9, but we must not forget 2:10 which says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Once you’ve repented, and come to God thru Christ, then you live for Him doing the good works He prepared for you to do. Even the best “good works” outside of Christ…are filthy rags, but in Christ you can know what God’s purpose is for you and you can actually fulfill it through the strength, leading, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. You see, in Christ, we understand that God is sovereign nothing happens just by “time and chance.” He is in control and He always does the right thing, even though mankind doesn’t.

The Value of Wisdom (9:13-18)
Today we return to the topic of wisdom, one often brought up in Ecclesiastes. The Spirit through Solomon tells a story about a single, lowly man who used his wisdom to save an entire city from destruction by an invading king. There is a similar account in 2 Samuel 20:16-22. This is not the same account as there are several differences, but the lesson is the same. Sheba, a Benjamite, tried to lead a revolt against King David. Joab, commander in chief of David’s army, went to the city to suppress the revolt. The woman, whose name is not recorded, was used to saved the whole city and bring the rebel to justice. One poor woman saves the city because God granted her the wisdom to do so. We don’t think much of anyone’s wisdom either unless they are wealthy and powerful, after all, if you were truly wise, you’d be wealthy and powerful, right? That’s what human wisdom says. On the contrary, God’s word tells us it’s not like that at all. He says in 1 Corinthians 1:19 “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise” (of human wisdom that is), and in 1 Corinthians 3:19 He says, “the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.” God’s wisdom is far superior to man’s wisdom and God gives it freely to those who trust Him and ask Him for it (James 1:5-8).

True wisdom, Godly wisdom, is to be greatly sought after. It makes no difference your intellect, wealth, or influence; only your humility before God, openness to Him, love and submission to Him. When you humble yourself and ask God to give you wisdom…He will!

Right now, today, human wisdom says there is much to worry about; time and chance are not going to well. There are many threats, like ISIS, Ebola, identity theft, and terrorism that combines them all! Do we need to fear these things? No. Could they come to New Brighton? Yes. But God is sovereign, and if you are in Christ, He will provide and ensure you are able to do the things he has called you to do. Does that mean you will be immune to trouble and hardship? No, ISIS, Ebola, identity theft, and any number of other things could harm you. Yet, you need not fear any of those things because you belong to Him, “whom shall I fear!”

This came up on Friday at Celebrate Recovery. We were talking about how God uses the Body of Christ in our recovery from our hurts/habits and the question came up, “Well, what do we do when this bad stuff (like ISIS and Ebola) happen?” The answer can be found many placed in Scripture, but I’ll mention now what I mentioned then; turn to Matthew 24:1-14. Notice that throughout this section, Jesus is telling that that hard things like wars, pestilence, earthquakes, and persecution are going to take place but we shouldn’t worry because the none of it is the end yet. These are all going to happen as part of life. Jesus tells us what to do in 24:14, saying that the Gospel must be preached to all people…”and then the end will come.” Our job in the face of good times or bad is to do what God has called us to do. As believers, part of the Body of Christ, we all have part in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is the only hope for mankind, the only hope for those just trying to survive the vanity of this life. For those outside of Christ, life is just “time and chance,” but for those in Christ, life is a short time of learning to love, trust and serve Him.

CONCLUSION
Life in communion with God is full and rich, not rich as in wealth, but rich in purpose, meaning and value…regardless of the trials and problems that come.

Not only does a follower of Christ have great purpose, but also a great mission, one that remains regardless of the trials and problems that come. My prayer is that God would help you understand His perfect will for your life and would use you to free the lost from the vanity of this world. You must also guard against falling back into vain pursuits…forsaking Godly wisdom, but if you are pursuing after the blessed communion with Christ…that won’t happen.

September events

September will be another busy month.


A new Bible study on Isaiah is beginning on Tuesday at 1pm and Wednesday at 7pm, whichever fits your schedule.

September 12 - We will be at the Geneva Connections and Cokes.

September 13 - We will be giving away popsicles and Hot Wheels cars to kids at the New Brighton Car Cruise. The kids can also race their new cars on our Hot Wheels drag strip.

September 21 - We will have a community picnic on 4th Ave between 7th and 8th streets beginning at 5pm. Please come and join us!

Fellowship in the Light

INTRODUCTION:
This is a busy morning (Sunday, August 3). With Communion this morning we are going pause our study of Ecclesiastes and consider a few verses out of 1 John instead. We’ll return to Ecclesiastes next week. Today we’re going to talk about fellowship. In our Tuesday / Wednesday study of 1 John, we’ve seen that 1 John is all about fellowship; fellowship with God and with each other. It has challenged our traditional understanding of fellowship and redefined it as a partnership between Father, Son, Spirit, you, and me.

FELLOWSHIP IN THE LIGHT
In 1 John 1:5, we read that I AM Is Pure Light. It says, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” He is pure, perfect, righteous. He is Truth, Life, Love, and Holy. In Him there is no darkness, no impure thought, no unjust word, no unholy action. One reason I love the Old Testament book of Leviticus is that it tells us in no uncertain terms how holy God is; if the people of Israel were going to be that close to God, in that close fellowship, they needed to be holy!

In 1 John 1:6-7, we are faced with the question Am I Pure Light? It says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” The word fellowship is used in 1 John 1:6 and it is the Greek word “koinonia” which means “a close relationship.” Remember, 1 John 1:5 just reminded us how holy God is…that there is NO darkness in Him. The issue then becomes, “how can you have fellowship with God if you still walk in darkness?” Light and darkness are diametrically opposed, they cannot co-exist. Unholy people cannot have a close relationship with a Holy God.

Now, 1 Corinthians 10:16 says, “the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” The word communion is that very same Greek word, “koinonia” which means “close relationship.” Our close relationship with God is only possible because of the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and fellowship with Christ means being part of His Body: the Church. Did you ever realize your close relationship with God is inseparable from your close relationship with your bothers and sisters in Christ? In fact, if your relationship with the Church is not important to you, then your relationship with God isn’t either. The Church is identified as the “Bride of Christ” in Ephesians 5, and we become part of the Church when come to faith in Christ. So how can anyone think they have a close relationship with Christ if they consider their relationship with the Church irrelevant, unimportant, optional, or impossible? Again, 1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another…” A close relationship / fellowship / communion is not only a three-fold cord between God, the church, and you. This close relationship also requires holiness, that we forsake the words, thoughts and deeds of darkness (sin).

Here are some other passages that agree: John 8:12 says, “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” Philippians 2:12-16 says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” Then there is 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Therefore, ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the LORD Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Finally, Ephesians 5:8-16 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’ See then that you walk circumspectly [carefully], not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Now, back to 1 John 1:6-7. We are called to fellowship with God who is Pure Light…to do so we must forsake fellowship with darkness as 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filth of the flesh, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” “If we walk in darkness, we have no fellowship with Him…” But, “If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with Him, each other, and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.” How much darkness does God have? [ZERO] How much darkness can you have if you are going to have fellowship with Him? [ZERO] Day to day, how much darkness are you in fellowship with?

CONCLUSION

God alone can save us. Only He can break the power of sin in our lives by the blood of Christ. Only He can give us victory over sin and death. Only through Him can we have communion in Christ and His Church. But working out that salvation is a partnership between God and all of us. If you say you have fellowship with God, but walk in darkness, you lie. If you say you have fellowship with God, but you have no fellowship with the church, you lie. Walking in the Light, in the victory over sin Jesus won for us…means being holy, forsaking darkness day-to-day It depends upon our fellowship with God, and with each other. Your close relationship with God is maintained by being holy in what you say, think, and do. Holiness is only maintained by submitting to the power and leading of the Holy Spirit and interaction with each other as we hold one another accountable and help each other grow spiritually.

Vacation Bible School starts this Sunday!

VBS will be for those in grades K-6. It will run Sunday, July 27 - Thursday, July 31 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

Each night will start with a game, then a Bible lesson, and finally another game relating to the lesson and a snack.

Please call us at 724.846.3830 to let us know your children will be attending. Thank You!

Street Picnic and Street Prayer

We had a great outing this past Sunday at our first Street Picnic of the year.  Thanks to all who helped make this happen and to all who attended.  Thanks most of all to our Lord for a perect day and for the opportunity to serve and show love to people in our community.

Our next Street Picnic is on Sunday, July 20 at 5pm.  Hope to see you there!


Our first Street Prayer is scheduled this for Wednesday at 8pm. 

Bible reading:

6/2	Monday	Ezra 3-4	1 Corinthians 3
6/3	Tuesday	Ezra 5-6	1 Corinthians 4
6/4	Wednesday	Ezra 7-8	1 Corinthians 5
6/5	Thursday	Ezra 9-10	1 Corinthians 6
6/6	Friday	Nehemiah 1-2	1 Corinthians 7
6/7	Saturday	Nehemiah 3-5	None
6/8	Sunday	Nehemiah 6-8	None

Bible memory verse: 1 Cor 3:18-19a

"Let no one deceive himself.  If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."

Street Picnic

Instead of the regular update this week, I want to make sure everyone know that we are continuing our street picnics this year...

On Sunday, July 20th we will be hosting the first Street Picnic of 2014 between 5pm and 7pm.

We cook burgers and hot dogs on the grill and provide all the sides and beverages.

All are welcome to join us.  No offerings will be accepted.


Also, our Vacation Bible School is coming up soon!
VBS will be for those in grades K-6. It will run Sunday, Juyly 27 - Thursday, July 31. Please call us at 724.846.3830 to let us know your children will be attending. Thank You!. 

Pastor's Note from May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day to all of our mom's, including our spiritual mothers in the Body of Christ.

Our Bible reading plan continues through 1 Chronicles and Romans this week.  As always, we’ll be reading about some amazing things this week.

In our OT reading we come across 1 Chronicles 13 and the account of David having the Ark of the Covenant moved.  While traveling with the Ark, Uzza reached out and grabbed it to keep it from falling off the cart.  Uzza died immediately as no one was to ever touch the Ark; that was the command and the Ark was holy. David was angry about Uzza’s death, but did he have a right to be?  Certainly not!  They were doing the wrong thing, and not moving the Ark in the way God had instructed it to be moved.  It was to be carried by a family of Levites only, not transported on a cart.  We too easily forget that God has set certain rules about things.  We don’t like rules and so we start labeling all such rules as “legalistic.”  Yet, God has given us a body of instructions in the Bible (even in the NT!) as we are to be holy and thus need to live a certain way in order to maintain our fellowship with Him, for He is holy and can have no fellowship with sin.  Disobedience is sin, even if we think we’re doing something good.

This is a perfect lead in for our NT reading as we head into Romans 6.  It starts by asking a question, based on the discussion of the grace and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ.  It asks, “What then, shall we continue to sin that grace may abound?”  The answer is given immediately, “Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”  Several verses later, Paul through the Holy Spirit writes, “consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”  Is that legalistic?  No, it is a command from God that we should forsake sin and instead “present our bodies as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Bible reading:

5/12	Monday	1 Chronicles 13-14	Romans 4
5/13	Tuesday	1 Chronicles 15-16	Romans 5
5/14	Wednesday	1 Chronicles 17-18	Romans 6
5/15	Thursday	1 Chronicles 19-20	Romans 7
5/16	Friday	1 Chronicles 21-22	Romans 8
5/17	Saturday	1 Chronicles 23-26	None
5/18	Sunday	1 Chronicles 27-29	None

Bible memory verse: Romans 5:12

"Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned..."

Pastor's Note for May 4, 2014

Due to all the special events and announcements, it has been weeks since the Pastor’s note was about the Bible reading for the week.  Even though there is still much going on, I decided to get back to the Bible reading for this week's note.

 

In our OT reading we finish up 2 Kings this week.  This is a fascinating section of the OT and we see the consequences of God’s people rebelling against Him and how that plays out through the rest of the Bible.  Keep in mind as you start 1 Chronicles that some of the text will be familiar to you as it covers the same period as Samuel and Kings.

 

In our NT reading we finish up Acts and start into Romans.  This week our memory verse is Romans 1:20 (see below).  I picked this verse because it coordinates well with our Wednesday sessions on how to share the Good News.  One of the common questions people ask when we are telling them about the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the fact that He is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus, is this: “what about the people in the deep jungles who’ve never heard about Jesus?”  Romans 1:20 is God’s answer to that question.  Even if you don’t have God’s “special revelation” (the Bible), you have His “general revelation” (the universe).  The fact that the universe gives testimony of its Creator leaves every person without excuse for denying or ignoring Him.  Just in case that isn’t enough for you, there is another piece of evidence every person has as well.  It is mentioned in Romans 2:14-16 which tells us that God’s law is written on the heart of every individual, so that we know right from wrong and are thus accountable for breaking His law.

 

I invite you to come on Wednesday’s where we will cover more of the common objections and how to address them.  So that we may do all things for the sake of bring the lost to the life-giving Truth of the Gospel, and edifying those who do believe.

 

Bible reading:

5/5	Monday	2 Kings 19-20	Acts 27
5/6	Tuesday	2 Kings 21-23	Acts 28
5/7	Wednesday	2 Kings 24-25	Romans 1
5/8	Thursday	1 Chronicles 1-2	Romans 2
5/9	Friday	1 Chronicles 3-4	Romans 3
5/10	Saturday	1 Chronicles 5-8	None
5/11	Sunday	1 Chronicles 9-12	None

 

Bible memory verse:Romans 1:20

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”

Pastor's Note from April 20 - special events in April

I wanted to take a few moments to let you know about some special events and schedule changes for the month of April...

1 John Bible study
First of all, I want to invite everyone to a new Bible study on that is just getting started. There are two times we will have this Bible study each week:

Tuesday at 1pm
Wednesday at 7pm

These will cover the same verses each week, but focus on different things from those verses so you can attend both if you like!

Good News Club
Our Spril 2014 session at the New Brighton Elementary School will run each Wednesday, April 30 – May 21.  If your child attends NBES, grades 1-5, we would love to minister to them.  More information / permission slips will be sent home with the children soon.

Celebrate Recovery
CR will continue each Friday at 7pm throughout April.  As always, everyone is welcome to attend.

Hope to see you in soon!

Bible reading:

4/21	Monday	1 Kings 4-5	Acts 17
4/22	Tuesday	1 Kings 6-7	Acts 18
4/23	Wednesday	1 Kings 8-9	Acts 19
4/24	Thursday	1 Kings 10-11	Acts 20
4/25	Friday	1 Kings 12-13	Acts 21
4/26	Saturday	1 Kings 14-16	None
4/27	Easter	1 Kings 17-19	None

Bible memory verse: Acts 17:26

"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings”

Pastor's Note from March 23, 2014

This week in our OT reading and NT study we’re coming to the Book of Judges and finishing Luke.  In these readings there is such a dramatic contrast shown, that between the people of Israel who “did what was right in their own eyes” and Jesus who prayed “not My will, but Yours, be done.”  I trust the Lord will bless you with the reading this week; but first, one more thing about Joshua…

Joshua ends with a great challenge to God’s people in 24:15, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  The people of course responded saying they would serve God, but that enthusiasm had worn off by the next generation and they soon entered the cycles of rebellion and repentance we see in Judges and beyond.  But notice Joshua’s statement of allegiance, not just for himself but for his children.  This is so counter-cultural today, where many parents feel like they need to let their kids find their own path to God.  First of all, feelings tend you get you into trouble.  Second, that kind of “hand’s off” philosophy is a recipe for mediocrity at best, and more probably spiritual disaster.  Fathers, God says to be the spiritual leader, teaching your kids and household the Truth of the Word of God by both your words and example.  Leaving that up to your kids will surely lead exactly to the spiritual train wreck we see in Judges where everyone does what is right in his own eyes,  not loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength.

Such a passive role in the spiritual lives of our kids could not be farther from the Biblical example.  Imagine where we all would be if God our Father had taken such a passive course of action; Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross wouldn’t have happened and we’d all be bound for eternity in Hell!  But praise God, He loves us too much for that!  Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.  That’s the Gospel; that’s the Truth.

Bible reading:

3/17	Monday	Joshua 22-24	Luke 21
3/18	Tuesday	Judges 1-3	Luke 22
3/19	Wednesday	Judges 4-6	Luke 23
3/20	Thursday	Judges 7-9	Luke 24
3/21	Friday	Judges 10-12	Acts 1
3/22	Saturday	Judges 13-16	None
3/23	Sunday	Judges 17-19	None

Bible memory verse: Luke 24:5b-6a

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!”

Pastor's Note from March 16, 2014

This week in our OT reading and NT study we’re coming to the Book of Joshua and continuing in Luke.  As you may recall, our theme verses for 2014 comes from Joshua 1 these verses serve as our memory verses for this week. 

Something I want to mention from the end of Deuteronomy is the death of Moses.  From reading Numbers and Deuteronomy, we know that Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land because he had disobeyed God in Numbers 20 when he struck the rock God told him to speak to in order to get water.  Then God said in Num 20:12 “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”  If you think that seems a harsh punishment for striking instead of speaking to the rock, then you don’t appreciate the sanctity and holiness of God’s name.  You’re not alone, even as Christians many of us don’t understand the holiness of God’s name. 

So Moses dies just before God makes final preparations for leading Israel into the Promised Land.  God led him to Mt Pizgah where Deut 34:6 says God buried Moses.  This seems strange, that God would bury Moses, or at least oversee his burial by angels.  Why did God do this?  Jude 9 gives us a clue: it says that the devil wanted Moses’ dead body and fought with Michael the Archangel over it.  What is going on?  Well, imagine the trouble the devil could have caused using the dead body of Moses, perhaps even indwelling it and making himself appear as Moses.  God made sure that did not happen for the protection of His people.  It was a spiritual battle.  Ephesians 6 says that we are all in a spiritual battle, how often do we still act like we can fight that battle on our own?

Bible reading:

3/17	Monday	Joshua 1-3	Luke 16
3/18	Tuesday	Joshua 4-6	Luke 17
3/19	Wednesday	Joshua 7-9	Luke 18
3/20	Thursday	Joshua 10-12	Luke 19
3/21	Friday	Joshua 13-15	Luke 20
3/22	Saturday	Joshua 16-18	None
3/23	Sunday	Joshua 19-21	None

Bible memory verse: Joshua 1:8-9

“This Book of the Law (Bible) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate upon it day and night: that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your ways prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Pastor's Note from March 9, 2014

I was again amazed this week as our OT reading and NT study lined up so perfectly.  One such parallel occurred on  Friday when we read Deuteronomy 6 and Luke 10, which contains a quote from Deuteronomy 6.

Deuteronomy 6 is a well-known passage.  For the Jews it contains the “Shema” (meaning “listen or do”) in 6:4, which says, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One!”  Then it goes right into what I consider one of the key verses of the entire Bible, Deuteronomy 6:5 which says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”  That is a verse I’ve mentioned a couple times recently…like every week.  It is, as Jesus called it, the greatest commandment.  Jesus added “loving your neighbor as yourself” as the 2^nd greatest, and said that all the Law and Prophets hang upon those two commands (Matt 22:37-40). 

Then in Luke 10:27 this command comes up again, but this time it isn’t Jesus that brings it up.  There is much happening in Luke 10, Jesus had sent out the 70 disciples, two by two,  into all the cities He was about to visit and they were to proclaim, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.”  They returned to Him and gave report.  Just after that, a lawyer comes to Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  We seem to kind of forget the answer to this question.  Do you know what He said?  Jesus said, “What is written in the Law (the OT that is)?  The lawyer answers with Deuteronomy 6:5 and Jesus responded, “you have answered rightly; this do and you shall live.”  We also know that if you “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved (Acts 16:31).  What we need to understand is that these two commands, to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ are embedded together and cannot be separated.  We must believe in Jesus and love Him.  That love for Him then impacts everything we say, think, and do.

Bible reading:

3/10	Monday	Deuteronomy 16-17	Luke 11
3/11	Tuesday	Deuteronomy 18	Luke 12
3/12	Wednesday	Deuteronomy 19-21	Luke 13
3/13	Thursday	Deuteronomy 22-24	Luke 14
3/14	Friday	Deuteronomy 25-27	Luke 15
3/15	Saturday	Deuteronomy 28-30	None
3/16	Sunday	Deuteronomy 31-34	None

Bible memory verse: Luke 12:8-9

Jesus said, “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God, but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”

Pastor's Note from March 2, 2014

It has been another great week in our Bible reading plan; I hope you are loving this combination of Old and New Testament passages.  The parallels never cease to amaze me, like the one coming up this week as we continue through Numbers and Luke.

I have been so struck with the reactions of the Israelites as God freed them from their physical and spiritual bondage in Egypt, and brought them into the promise of spiritual freedom through a covenant relationship with Himself at Mt Sinai.  You would expect they would be so overcome with thankfulness, praise, and worship that all other concerns of life would seem insignificant, right?  Aren’t we always filled with thanks, praise and worship?  Okay, anyway, instead of thankfulness and praise all they wanted to do was go back to their bondage in Egypt!  Every time God’s redemptive work didn’t go according to their expectations, they began to complain and actually want to return to their slavery.  There are many examples, but check out Exodus 16:2-3, Numbers 11:4-5; 14:2-4, and 20:5.  Just in case you’re not actually going to look those up, here’s Numbers 14:3-4, “‘Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims?  Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’  So they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader and return to Egypt!’”  Seriously!  Haven’t you learned to trust the Lord through some adversity, and now you want to go back to your bondage!  We were talking about this on Friday at Celebrate Recovery, only there we call this “relapse.” 

In the Gospel of Luke this week we find Jesus speaking about this too.  It is a rather short account, easy to miss if we’re not paying attention.  Jesus is walking along a road toward Jerusalem, though still pretty far away.  As He went, some followers came to Him and made comments about wanting to become disciples instead of just following along.  One man said, “Lord, I will follow You, but first let me go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”  Jesus responds with a statement this is our Bible verse for the week...(Luke 9:62)...

Bible reading:

3/3	Monday	Numbers 34-35	Luke 6
3/4	Tuesday	Num 36 – Deut 1	Luke 7
3/5	Wednesday	Deuteronomy 2-3	Luke 8
3/6	Thursday	Deuteronomy 4-5	Luke 9
3/7	Friday	Deuteronomy 6-7	Luke 10
3/8	Saturday	Deuteronomy 8-11	None
3/9	Sunday	Deuteronomy 12-15	None

Bible memory verse: Luke 9:62

“But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.’”

Pastor's Note from February 16, 2014

This week we will be finishing up Leviticus and Hebrews in our daily reading.  I’ve acknowledged over the past two weeks that many Christians don’t spend too much time in Leviticus as it seems so “out of touch,” they say.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Granted we are not under the Law any longer and the Levitical Priesthood has been replaced by our final High Priest, Jesus Christ, under whom we are a nation of priests (Hebrews 7:11-28 and 1 Peter 2:5).  Yet Leviticus still explains as much as any Book of the Bible about God’s Holiness, and that never changes.  Also, it helps to explain the rest of the Old Testament…

Why do I say that?  Because of Leviticus 26, which was a promise of God to Israel that if they remained faithful to Him, He would bless them, but if they rejected Him and served other gods, He would curse them.  If you know any OT you know they went through many cycles of being faithful, then falling away to the worship of other gods, then being chastised by God, repenting, and the cycle starts over.  It’s not only in Judges we see that cycle, but throughout the OT.  Even in Malachi, after returning from the Babylonian captivity (a fulfillment of the promise in Lev 26 to punish them if they rejected Him), they are again being warned about worshiping other Gods and rejecting God’s commands.

Leviticus 26 has no less than 69 references to other passages in the OT where these promises are being fulfilled, both the blessings and the cursings.  There are only 46 verses in the chapter!  Much of Lev 26 is restated throughout Deuteronomy, which is also a critical Book if we are going to understand the OT, but so much of it starts right here in Leviticus.
Besides enlightening our understanding of the OT, Leviticus 26 helps us with our lives as well!  God is the same today, yesterday, and forever after all (as is human nature).  So, while we greatly benefit under the New Covenant, God still blesses us when we love and obey Him, and chastises us when we don’t (Heb 12:3-11; Rev 3:19).  We also tend to go in cycles, just like Israel did.

This week's Bible reading:

2/17	Monday	Leviticus 25-26	Hebrews 9
2/18	Tuesday	Lev 27 – Num 1	Hebrews 10
2/19	Wednesday	Numbers 2-3	Hebrews 11
2/20	Thursday	Numbers 4-5	Hebrews 12
2/21	Friday	Numbers 6-7	Hebrews 13
2/22	Saturday	Numbers 8-10	none
2/23	Sunday	Numbers 11-13	none

This week's Bible memory verse: Hebrews 12:14

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”