What is Church?

(Part 1) This is Part 2

We have been studying the kingdom of heaven/the kingdom of God over the last year here.  Our “Clues” page is here and an index to this study (43 post so far) is here.

If we were to want to be a “kingdom focused” church…..what would it look like?

I believe there are many “flavors”…mostly revolving around music….contemporary, traditional, rap, Southern Gospel, etc………..but….”flavor” aside (unless you think the type of music is important to be a “kingdom focused” church)…….what would it look like?

Thank you all for joining in this discussion God bless each of you for your hearts and love for our Lord!

Please, please……tell me what you think….

In the Dust of the Rabbi: When the Rabbi says “Come”
“Why Did Jesus Choose Galilee as the Focal Point for His Message”

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) This is Part 4

This is the beginning of Jesus Galilean preaching ministry as it is relayed by the apostle Matthew. Capernum, which is considered Jesus’ “home base” for His ministry in Galilee, is in the land of Naphtali, the northern part of which was inhabited by a mixed race of Jews and pagans. Note: Israel was divided into the land of the 12 tribes after the conquest of Canaan under Joshua. Zebulen and Naphtali were two of the original tribal areas of Israel. This region was also known as the “Galilee of the nations” and it’s people were called Gentiles. 

Why did Jesus choose Galilee as the focal point of His ministry and what was His message?

Matthew 4:12-17 (NIV)
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

In Jesus’ day, many might have expected the Messiah to teach and minister in Jerusalem. However, The prophecy from Isaiah 9:1-2, pointed to the reality of Jesus’ mission: He came to preach salvation by grace even to those in the deepest spiritual darkness, and he brought that message to the entire world, Jews and Gentiles.

A interesting point I would make is that John the Baptist basically ended His ministry with those very same words that Jesus starts His ministry with: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”.  Jesus came not for just the Jews, but for all mankind, as a bright light to us, living in darkness.

Who was the audience Jesus wanted to reach with His message, and how serious was he about delivering it?

Matthew 10:5-7 (NIV)
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’

I have learned that we must always look at context and at the complete picture before drawing hard and fast conclusions. We always see trouble when a person’s words are taken out of context, and often, the thought changes dramatically when put in context of what the person was saying/doing.

First, let’s look briefly at the Gentiles and the Samaritans. A “Gentile” was anyone who was not a Jew. The “Samaritans” were a race of people that resulted from the intermarriage of Gentiles and Jews. Jesus was not opposed to evangelizing these people, for He had already driven our demons among the gentiles (Matthew 8:28-34) and the apostle John tells us about Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman in John, chapter 4.

Matthew 15:21-28 (NIV)
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”

I would note here that at this time in history, there was no country named “Canaan”. The term “canaanite” is an Old Testament term and is only fount this one place in the New Testament. This same story is told in the Gospel of Mark, 7:24-30. Matthew’s description was designed for a Jewish audience, thus, they would understand “Canaanite”. Canaanites as bitter enemies when Israel was settling the Promised Land. Mark referred to her political background. His Roman audience would easily understand the location that she was from.

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus wasn’t opposed to going to these people, but the “near term mission” He commissioned the disciples to do was to work among the Jews in Galilee, the lost sheep of Israel. I would note that the Gentile region was to the north of Galilee and the Samaritan region was to the South. Clearly, later in Matthew, chapter 28, verse 19, Jesus commissions them to go to all the world. Here, the woman recognizes both that Jesus primary message was for the lost sheep of Israel, but she also recognizes that the rightous Gentiles would share in the world to come and Jesus grants her request.

The apostle Paul tells us in his epistle to the Romans (Romans 1:16) that Jesus came not only for the Jews, but He did come to them “first”. You see, first they were to go to the lost sheep of Israel because God chose them to tell the rest of the world about Him.

Jesus choose Galilee as the focal point of His message because it was composed of common people, far from the urban centers of the day. His audience was all people, Gentile and Jew. 

What do you think?

In the Dust of the Rabbi: When the Rabbi says “Come”
“How Did Jesus Describe Discipleship?”

(Part 1) (Part 2) This is Part 3

When large crowds began following Jesus, He spoke to them about what it meant to be His disciple. Today, I often percieve that many people believe that because they “believe” that this means they are a disciple of Christ. Just like in Jesus day, many followed Him and listened to His teachings….yet only a chosen few were His “disciples”. 

How did Jesus describe discipleship, and why do you think He said these things?

Luke 14:27-33 (NIV)
27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

I need to note here that this same thought is also found in Matthew 10:38, “and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” I also need to note the wording here, the Greek word that is translated in these Scriptures is “heautou“. This word is found additionally in the verse preceding this one, Luke 14:26. The Greek word, “heautou” means “his own”. We must be prepared to “bear our own cross” to be a disciple of Jesus, to follow Jesus. So, what does this mean? Jesus Himself as well as others had to “bear the cross” or carry it to their execution. Simply put, we must be willing to suffer martyrdom for the cause and love of Jesus Christ…indeed….God. It’s important to point this out because many would read this and, not understanding the cultural context, would intrepret it as meaning carrying ones burdens or troubles in life. To follow Christ means total submission to Him….maybe even to the point of death.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

I believe that Jesus may have said this to point out to the large crowds who followed Him, the true gravity of his life, the importance of His purpose. We cannot take Jesus, indeed God, lightly….when the going get’s tough…and it will……the tough get going….they don’t turn back. We must know this going in. To be a disciple of Jesus, to truly follow Him, to be like Him….we must be willing to give up wealth, social status, comfort, time, control, career……. if necessary, maybe even our life. Those who want to follow Jesus should carefully consider their decision.

What do you think……

In the Dust of the Rabbi: When the Rabbi says “Come”
“The Three Building Blocks of Discipleship”

(Part 1) This is Part 2

The three building blocks of discipleship are:

Obedience: It begins with belief, however, belief is marked by living in obedience to God. We obey God, not in order that we can BE ”saved”, but because we ARE “saved”.

Community: The community that Jesus came from revolved around the reading and interpretation of the Scriptures, worship and prayer. In Jesus’ day, the synagogue was at the very center of Jewish life and contributed greatly to the disciples preparation to follow Jesus. 

This is part of our community of believers at our Worship retreat in Daytona Beach this year –>>

The Word of God: The Old Testament Scriptures were the Holy Scriptures of Jesus and His disciples. For the Jews of Galilee, knowing and obeying the Scriptures was as essential to life as food and water. God speaks to us through the Scriptures.

What do the following verses reveal about the three building blocks of discipleship – obedience, community, the Word of God?

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (NIV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

The Word of God, the Scriptures, were central to the life of Jesus and the Jewish community in which He lived. God’s inspired Word’s were written down, and Deuteronomy 6:4-7 tells us that they should “be upon our hearts”, that we should impress them on our children. Talk about them when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up. NOTE: Verse 6 is commonly called the “Shema”, a prayer and the foundation that I am told is recited at the beginning of each Jewish service even today.

Matthew 5:17-19 (NIV)
 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

In Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus tells us the importance of obeying the Word’s and wisdom of God.

Matthew 9:35-36 (NIV)
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

In Matthew 9:35-36, we are shown that the synagogue was a place of teaching the Scriptures to the community. Jesus demonstrated His obedience to the Scriptures through the compassion for others and His caring for them by meeting their needs (healing).

<<– This is our bible study on Teusday’s, we come together in praise, worship, rememberence (communion) and study of the Scriptures.

Acts 16:15 (NIV)
15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Baptism was a public sign of identification with Christ and the Christian community. Acts 16:15 demonstrates this as Lydia, the one that was baptized, invited, indeed insisted, Paul and his associated stay in her home while in Philippi.

As the Lord’s supper was additionally the ushering in of the New Covenant with God, eleven of us choose to re-dedicate our lives to Christ through the sign of the new covenant, baptism. This was simply an opportunity to re-dedicate our lives and re-state our vows. —->>

Ephesians 2:19-22 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The apostle Paul tells us here in his letter to the Ephesisans, 2:19-22 the importance of the Christian community of believers. The community of believer’s is God’s household. Jesus is indeed the cornerstone of this community, the foundation is the apostles and the prophets.

What do you think?

In the Dust of the Rabbi: When the Rabbi says “Come”
“What is a Disciple?”

This is Part 1

This next series is based on a study called “In the Dust of the Rabbi: Becoming a Disciple” by Ray Vander Laan.

To look at “discipleship” we must first look at what the Scriptures tell us about it. I suspect that what we today consider a disciple is not what it was in the day that Jesus taught. Let’s first look at the question, “What is a disciple?”

Matthew 4:18-22 (NIV)

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

 

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

 

Matthew 10:24-25 (NIV)

24 “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!

 

John 8:31 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

 

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)

1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

 

1 John 2:3-6 (NIV)

3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

I see from Scripture a few things here. To truly become a disciple of Christ, we must stop what we are doing and answer His call. What I believe is meant here is that when we make the decision to follow Christ…..a change takes place in our lives. We are unable to “carry on as usual”. The first disciples of Jesus as well as any disciples of a rabbi in ancient times left much behind and followed the rabbi. In essence, they wanted to be like the rabbi in every way.

We see that the apostle John tells us in John 8:31 that Jesus told us to hold to His teachings and in Matthew 10:24-25 Jesus tells us that a student is not above his teacher and that it is enough to be like the teacher. What I see often today is that we read the Scriptures, Jesus teachings….but we often conform it to our world……..Jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers“….yet we continually find reason to go to war. Jesus had a deep regard for the plight of the poor……yet we live in a world that recognizes the poor as people who are lazy, or who “brought it upon themselves” or we simply do not recognize that that there are negative circumstances in peoples lives that are beyond their control or shape their daily lives. All these things and more “keep” us from helping the poor. Do we know better than Jesus? Would we say, “Jesus, you don’t understand, the world just isn’t the way you say…there are circumstances you don’t see”. Maybe if we realized that if we simply “did” what Jesus said to do…..that our world would be changed. Maybe the act of helping the poor is less about them and more about the attitude that Jesus, indeed God, has, in wisdom, told His people to have from the very beginning.

The Apostle Paul reaffirms this is telling us to follow the example of Christ in 1 Corinthians 11:1.

I believe that this is all summed up in 1 John 2:3-6, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” The “big secret” here is that if we do what Jesus said do, we are truly made complete…..we may not understand it at first…but it is true.

 So, should we “be above our teacher” or follow Him, striving to be like Him? No one said it was easy, in fact, Jesus certainly didn’t say it would be easy. But…we were given a promise…“But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.”.

What do you think?

Matthew 25:37-45   Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

We had the most special Christmas that I have had in years! I woke up kinda bummed because my youngest daughter, Shannon, was not with us. This is her first Christmas away, she is in Turkey. We, however, had a great day together……. my wife, Kelly; my daughter, Jessica; and her fiancé, Mike. Then Shannon called from Turkey and listened as we opened up gifts….we shared this really long distance Christmas….so we were kind of all together after all. Isn’t technology cool! but the rest of the day I was kinda bummed. It was just somehow different not having all the family right here together on such a special day.

But tonight…..well tonight, we had the best Christmas ever! Another family and ours (Andrea, Dave and their daughter Katie) met some friends, Alan, Brian and Michael, where they live….deep in the woods. We took ham sandwiches, gifts, potato salad, and steaming hot wassail. They had a really neat Christmas tree, punch, chips and pretzels and stuff and we just all sat around laughing, talking, and having the best time. We shared stories from our past, hopes for our future and stories from the everyday grind…..joking and laughing the whole time. It’s been raining all day here in Florida so it was pretty wet, but that couldn’t keep us from having fun. As darkness began to fall, Brian lit little candles under glass jars for illumination that would withstand the slow drizzle of rain. It was wet and cool, yet my heart hasn’t felt so warm as it did tonight. You see, when you meet with friends and share conversation and laughter….it’s always warm. The highlight of the night was at the end when we prayed…..I felt the Holy Spirit right there with us in a mighty way…….Andrea started to pray….then I said a little….then Dave……then Brian…..Michael and Alan……we all lifted our hearts up to to the Lord in thanks for a special day and special friendships. We were all especially thankful for the time we share together and the gift that God gave each of us in His Son, Jesus. So….tonight, we had the best Christmas ever!

My prayer is that each of you has a very special year in 2007. God has blessed us with so much!

 

<< — Mike

Andrea and Dave –>>

If you get the opportunity, visit our Christmas Party at Dolphine Paradise Retirement Home on my personal website Merry Christmas!

The Great Announcement: Preview of Sunday’s Sermon (24 Dec 2006)

FRONT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INSIDE LEFT

INSIDE RIGHT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BACK