Pastor Tony continues our study of John with John 12:1-11 to help us to see that the light of Christ reveals what we value most.
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Deacons, I want to begin today’s post by wishing you a very Merry Christmas. I pray that you are blessed with the richness of Christ in your hearts and that you and your families are filled with the joy that is known by those who see in Christ’s birth the reason for their hope.
In follow-up to last week’s note about what is Biblical Theology, I want to take a few moments to talk about why it is important – what are its benefits?
In recording these benefits Anyabwile notes that these were first put forward by Wayne Grudem. I would recommend Dr. Grudem’s Systematic Theology and his book Bible Doctrine for further reading on this subject.
One benefit of being a biblical theologian is that, as you take in the whole council of God, you begin to see who God is and who He has been. In so doing, you realize that He has always been the same, which gives you confidence that He will never change, and therefore, all His promises are true. You recognize that His love for you will never change, His faithfulness to you will never fade, His Holiness will never be defiled, and His sovereignty over all things will never be removed. As you begin to see these truths shine forth in scripture your reverence and adoration grow and your love for your Father in Heaven deepens. This in turn translates itself into outward service for the Kingdom of God. What a magnificent blessing indeed.
I won’t list more today. I will simply state that my desire for you is, indeed, that your faith would so move your heart that you would love the work of God; that you would desire more than anything to be about the Father’s work in the world. For that very reason, I commend to you the study of the whole council of God; that you would love it, feed on it and take it deep into your heart where it can change your desires and motivate your will to glorify God.
May He bless you richly, Mark
The basis for these writings on being a Healthy Church member are from Anyabwile,TThabiti M.What is a Healthy Church Member?. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008.
Pastor Tony continues our study of John with John 20:19-23; 14:15-17,27 to help us to see that Jesus came to give us Peace, Purpose, and Power.
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Deacons, as we discussed this past Sunday, our first calling in life is to know God. This calling is common to all people and especially requisite of Christians. In fact, when Christians fail to obey this calling, their faith and the impact of their faith is weakened. By extension, a church that does not obey this calling is a weak church. All other duties laid upon believers and the church are dependent upon knowing God. If we do not know God, then we struggle and fail in our other duties; we are hindered in performing them by the weakness of our faith.
An effective means to knowing God is through, what we call, Biblical Theology. Biblical Theology is the study of God as he reveals himself throughout the whole of scripture. Note: when I talk about Biblical Theology, I am simply addressing the idea that if we want to know who God is, we will look no further than The Word of God. The theology of the Bible is the interest of the believer who wants to know God. The term itself has some negative connotations throughout history, but I use it in its oldest, purist and simplest understanding only. Biblical Theology points the believer to seek God not in his or her experiences and not in scholastic or philosophical study but rather, in the Divine Revelation of God from God: the Bible.
It is important to understand that both experience and philosophy play a role in our understanding of God, but they do not fully reveal God, perfectly define God or bring true knowledge of God. Only God’s word can do these things. Therefore, experience and philosophy must be interpreted within the confines of the truth of God’s Word.
I am stressing this point because of the vital necessity for the church to agree with and embrace the preeminent authority of God’s word as the sole means of knowing God and therefore fulfilling our first and highest calling.
Next time we will discuss some of the benefits of Biblical Theology.
Blessings, Mark
The basis for these writings on being a Healthy Church member are from Anyabwile,TThabiti M. What is a Healthy Church Member?. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008.
I just read a blog post by Doug Wolter, which I think you should read. Doug won’t promote his thoughts this clearly, and I respect that, but I think you should take five minutes and read the blog. It is worth the time. Be blessed.
Christmas – A Time of Giving or Receiving by Doug Wolter
Pastor Tony continues our study of John with John 2:13-22 to help us to see that Jesus’ cleansing of the temple took a lot more than a feather duster to clear out the all that clutter!
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Deacons, I posted this article to my personal blog today and thought it fitting that I post it for you too. We will return to “What is a Healthy Church Member” next week.
If you are a leader and want to be a better leader then I suggest to you that you will pray for, mentor, train and encourage other people to be leaders. This is not just my opinion. It is biblical.
When Moses appointed the 70 elders there were two men who did not come to the council to be appointed. It is thought that they considered themselves unworthy or unqualified to be elders. Nevertheless, God had the Spirit rest upon them so that they prophesied, which was how God confirmed the 70 elders.
This concerned Joshua. He knew that they would be seen as leaders of the people of God. He approached Moses and said, “My lord, stop them.” Moses’ response was, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:26-30)
Moses wanted everyone to be so affected by the power and presence of the Spirit of God that each of them would be qualified to lead the others and themselves.
Leaders, who truly are leading for the benefit of others and not their own glory, desire that others become leaders themselves. I want to lead you to be a leader of yourself and a leader of others. Is that how you define leadership? Are you a leader? Who are you raising up to be a leader?
Blessings, Mark
Pastor Tony continues our study of John with John 1 to help us to see that Jesus’ coming into the world to save the world is the foundation of missions.
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Deacons, this is the last note concerning Expositional Listening. Here I want to remind you about some ways to cultivate the habit and skills of an Expositional Listener. As with any discipline, one must take steps to become proficient at being an Expositional Listener in order to reap the benefits.
One step is to meditate on next week’s sermon text. Find out from what text the Pastor will be preaching and study that passage yourself throughout the week while taking notes. As you do this, you will gain insights and form ideas about the message of the text on which you can build while listening to the sermon. You will be amazed at how God blesses you as you listen because of how prepared your heart is to hear.
Another step is to make the sermon the topic of your conversations with your friends after the service. As you eat lunch together, share your thoughts with each other about the message of the text, how you think it applies to your life and that of the body. Remember, the point is not to critique the preacher, criticize his delivery or argue with him about his theology. The point is to discover the message of the text and be blessed by it as an individual and as a body. Encourage each other during this time with the truth of God’s Word.
A third step is to pray for our congregation that we would not become dull in our hearing but that we would understand with our heart, return to God for healing and grow in our hunger for the Word of God. Make Isaiah 6:9-10 a guide for your prayers.
The final step I want to highlight is that we should be doers of the Word not just hearers. An Expositional Listener doesn’t just listen. He hears and acts accordingly. In order to be a Expositional listener you must listen intently to the Word of God and abide by it. (See James 1:22-25)
I hope these things help you grow in your faith and help our congregation grow in unity and love for one another.
Blessings, Mark
Anyabwile, Thabiti M. What is a Healthy Church Member?. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2008.