All churches struggle with what is the best way to grow membership and take the gospel to a world that is full of distractions and competition for the hearts and minds of people. We should note that even among church membership there lies the things of this world that limit commitment and stifles spiritual growth. This post is not about traditional or contemporary, hymnals, large screens, or any of the issues that spawn countless board, trustees, deacons and members meetings and conversations. To make things even more difficult is the annoying habit of our society to label people and put them in different groups and requiring that we deal with each differently. There is some merit to this line of thought but within the church it can become a tool of separation. I don’t have the answer to this very compelling and confusing dilemma many churches face every day. I do believe that at the heart of it all lies “Process and Content”. Process being the tools we use to reach others in and outside the church. Content being what it is we are attempting to share. I may not be saying this well, my point being that I believe the “Process” has become more important than the “Content”

During last Tuesday mornings Bible Study we read and discussed Paul’s leaving Athens, traveling to Corinth and perhaps looking back at his time in Athens during that time of travel. It is very possible that he had a few regrets
and second thoughts about how to best share the word, the good news! I wish to share with you a few thoughts about this time and how the church might learn from it. Our scripture focus today will be 1st Corinthians 2 Chapter.

I believe Paul was struggling with the events that took place in Athens and the fifty miles he traveled to Corinth gave him time to review in his mind what had happened there. They never tried to make it difficult for him to speak and as they did in previous places they made no attempt to run him out of town, he just simply left out of frustration. Truth is there were some who sought him out, eager to debate or question the Apostle. They found him interesting and the only thing they really asked was “what is this babble from this strange man about this foreign god?” I feel sure that many churches today, particularly the smaller ones face some amount of frustration in the lack of growth and the struggle to remain relevant in today’s society.

It is worth the read to see how Paul reacted to a very real situation, one that should be familiar to many of us. There is also the possibility that ego, yes ego was also at work here. the devil comes at us in many ways. Paul studied under Gamaliel and had built a sterling reputation among the upper Jewish class as a protector of the faith due to his relentless persecution of the people of the “way”. Sometimes the egos within the church stifle learning and growth by subjugating them to personal agendas. Paul determined otherwise and resolved to put first the story of the cross, “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. I think there might be a certain amount of fear; the prospect of not putting his excellent vocabulary or wisdom to use leaves him a bit uneasy. Paul has come to the realization that it is not human wisdom or persuasion that gives power to the message; it is the Holy Spirit. We as the church today must come to the realization that the power of the message lies in the cross, the resurrection and the power of God to save. It is not the size of the buildings, the amenities or the size of the crowd, it is the saving grace of Christ on the cross, that is the story that must be told.

As individuals we may well be at different points in our faith walk but God in his wisdom has given us the Holy Spirit through which the truth of his word will be revealed and God has prepared for his redeemed people. The Spirit works in the hearts of people to reveal their sins and their need for the gospel of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection. It is not my intent to marginalize the efforts of those who seek new ways to share the Good News. My concern lies in the possibility that in doing so we have allowed ourselves to overdo “Process” at the expense of “Content”. As I said earlier I don’t have an answer but I find in the words of an old hymn a way that might make the path forward a little clearer.
Onward, Christian soldiers!  Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus, Going on before.

We are at war with the seemingly innocent excuse of changing to meet the demands of society today. Change is good I suppose but not at the expense of the intent of God’s word. We have only to look to Paul and learn from his example. “Christ on the cross, Paul had come to the realization that it is not human wisdom or persuasion that gives power to the message; it is the Holy Spirit. We as the church today must come to the realization that the power of the message lies in the cross, the resurrection and the power of God to save.”…….AMEN

jk

Reference Material:   The Bible Panorama

This letter is written to Philemon a leader in the Colossian church. It is a prison letter, co-authored by Paul the Apostle with Timothy. Paul I am sure wrote more personal letters but this is the only one that has survived. From most accounts Paul would have been between fifty-five and sixty years old. We see in this letter the power of Christian fellowship and the reaching out to the Christian community in absolute confidence. Let’s start by looking at verses 1-7. You might read into these first few verses the fact that while Paul referred to himself as an apostle, here in writing to Philemon he identifies himself as “Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ” and we know from the scripture that he is not alone, Timothy is there with him. Paul puts aside any claim to authority and states his appeal with sympathy and love. We read that good deeds can increase our knowledge of good things and bring us closer to Christ. We can also believe that joy and encouragement are the fruits of such behavior for ourselves and those around us. Paul is not seeking a favor for himself, Paul rarely sought favors for himself, this time he sought to help Onesimus find his way back. It is certain that Christian generosity was a characteristic of Philemon. He loved God and he loved Gods people. In his home they could rest and be refreshed. Philemon apparently was known among the Christian community as a generous and kind man.

In these next verses 8-17 Paul humbly summits his request. Again, he appeals not to office or authority but to the bond of Christian love between himself and Philemon. He now speaks of Onesimus for the first time. Paul makes no excuses for Onesimus, admitting there may be some problems with him. He who had at one time been useless is now useful. Onesimus was at least a runaway slave who while in prison with Paul through Christ became useful again. Barclay says that Paul presented himself to Philemon not as an apostle or as we said earlier one of authority, but as a man “who has lived hard and is now lonely and tired.” Knowing Christ does make a bad person good. Many things come to light here. Onesimus’ time with Paul had opened his eyes and heart to Christ. Even though his mind was now on heavenly things, he was once again useful on this earth. Paul is asking a lot of Philemon for it is certain Onesimus must have stolen some money or goods from him to get to Rome. It is the power of forgiveness through Christ that enables those of the Christian faith and family to forgive.

It is a very short letter that Paul wrote so long ago but carries to this day a powerful message. Paul through his dealing with this situation reveals a list of things we as Christians should recognize and practice.

-power of Christian fellowship and the reaching out to the Christian community

-good deeds can increase our knowledge of good things and bring us closer to Christ.

-sympathy and love

-We can also believe that joy and encouragement are the fruits of such behavior for ourselves and those around us.

-Christian generosity

-bond of Christian love

-Knowing Christ does make a bad person good.

-Even though our mind is on heavenly things, we can be useful on this earth.

-It is the power of forgiveness through Christ that enables those of the Christian faith and family to forgive.

How powerful is Christ in us when we summit to his will. Thanks for being here in the pew this week, hope you come back. jk

My opinion about him is gleaned from years of Bible stories, Sunday School and of course the scripture itself. The best I could say about him would be he was A Bad Egg; the definition of which is someone who does bad things, a dishonest person. We remember Judas for one thing, his betrayal of Jesus. Judas was with Jesus for three years, which means he witnessed many of the miracles that Jesus did during his ministry, shared many of the times when they were in danger and suffered the hardships that came with being a follower of Jesus. So I guess it is only reasonable to ask why he did what he did. It would also not be inappropriate to wonder why Jesus picked him to start with. Scripture leaves no doubt as to he was. One of the other disciples was named Judas (John 14:22) and in Mark 6:3 a half-brother of Jesus is named Judas. John 6:71 and 13:36, identifies Judas as the son of “Simon Iscariot”. Lastly in Luke 22:48 we read in scripture conformation that it is without a doubt that he made a conscious choice to betray Jesus. All the above leaves no doubt about which Judas is being referred to. There are so many things written about Judas by highly respected theologians that provide a depth to this Biblical account that goes beyond the written word. Having said that let’s move on to some other interesting things about Judas.

In John 6:70 Jesus says “have I not chosen you?” , speaking to the twelve disciples and goes on to state “one of you is a devil”. Reading from John 13:26 Jesus again calls Judas out. Did Jesus know the heart of Judas? Of course he did. The other disciples, well that’s another story. They did not give it a thought, after all he was one of them, a trusted member of the Twelve. Even when Jesus told Judas to “do what he was about to do and do it quickly” (John 13:27) the others simply thought Judas was off to buy food or do something for the poor. Judas betrayed Jesus with a crude brazen display of affection, continuing the sinful deception before the others. Oh how loudly the scripture speaks to us and guides us to our saviors divine nature. In John 13:18 Jesus reveals that it is Judas and his action will fulfill the scripture. Judas was was fully responsible for his actions. Most of us sitting in the pew go no father than betrayal for thirty pieces of silver and the kiss that sealed the deal. There is so much back story here that causes us to think longer about this act and the man who did it. This is what I refer to as the second act of scriptural record and Jesus’ path to the cross.

Why did Judas Betray Jesus? Most writers say we cannot be absolutely sure but there are some things that certain scripture reveal to us. John 6: 64 indicates that Jesus knew, although he picked them, that not all of the Twelve believed and he knew who would betray him. Professions of faith and loyalty from the Twelve are often recorded in scripture (John 6:68, 11:16). Also Judas never referred to Jesus as “Lord” but would address him as “Rabbi”. Judas saw Jesus as no more than a Teacher and like the Pharisees he believed Jesus would not and could not overthrow the Romans. John 12:5,6 reveals another disturbing fact about Judas. Judas was a greedy man and in John 13: 29 we learn that Judas was in charge of the money bag from which he no doubt took some from for his own use. We must be careful not to read to much into all these things but careful reading and study does show us this. If order of the Twelve in written word is an indicator of relationship with Jesus we can note that Judas is always last and infrequent. Theirs was not a strong relationship. Perhaps like many people of that day Judas just simply failed to recognize Jesus as God incarnate. So maybe he was just…..A Bad Egg.

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! He LIVES! We will rejoice and be glad.

God Bless,
jk

Reference: On Judas Iscariot -Warren Wiersbe

The events surrounding Lazarus in this chapter are well known and it is possible they were the driving force in the decision to convene the Sanhedrin which was the supreme council, or court in ancient Israel, to deal with this Jesus problem. Last Sunday’s message led me to this weeks blog. Ever wonder what happens to the people recorded in these events? The adulteress saved by Jesus, “go and sin no more”, no other mention is made of her. The blind man, after he is called to verify the event of his regaining his sight, we hear no more about him, and there are many more. While it is important what occurred latter in Lazarus’ life, the real story here to me is what happened to Jesus and because we know what happened let’s look at the why.

We know Lazarus as a follower of Jesus. He is identified as the brother of the sisters Mary and Martha. Lazarus, Mary and Martha lived in the town of Bethany. It is believed that Bethany was less than 2 miles from Jerusalem. Bethphage is believed to have been even closer to Jerusalem. While details are important they can be a distraction. The importance of Bethany and Bethphage to Jerusalem and the story of Jesus’ crucifixion is that their distances and the time period that evolves in these last crucial days leading up to the crucifixion lend to the believability of this biblical event. Much will happen between Bethany, Bethphage, Mount of Olives and the final hours in Jerusalem and their close proximity to each other figures in the flow of events to come. Three important locations, add to that two important groups and our question concerning Jesus and we have a blog. This event is not mentioned in the three other Gospels. After some research I settled on the thought advanced by William Barclay, whom I quote below.

(3) Perhaps the greatest difficulty is that John sees in this miracle the essential cause which moved the Jewish authorities to take definite steps to have Jesus eliminated (11:47– 54). In other words, the raising of Lazarus was the direct cause of the cross. In the other three gospels, the great moving cause of the crucifixion was the cleansing of the Temple. It is difficult to understand why the other three gospel writers have nothing to say of it, if indeed it was the immediate cause of Jesus’ crucifixion. [1]

Lazarus or the temple, I’ll go with Lazarus because the healing acts of Jesus threatened the status and power of the Jewish ruling class. Who might they be? Sadducees and Pharisees would be the most prominent. They would have the largest presence in the council, also known as the Sanhedrin. The council numbered about seventy and the Sadducees were more numerous. The Sadducees were very much political and all of them were Priests. The Pharisees were not a political party at all; their sole interest was in living according to every detail of the law; and they did not care who governed them as long as they were allowed to continue in meticulous obedience to the law. [2]

Reading verses 45 through 48 we can see that the main concern of the Sadducees was to retain political, and social power and the prestige that came with it.

John 11
45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. 48 If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.” [3]

If I am reading this right some of the people went to the Pharisees, who went to the Priests, most of whom were Sadducees and were very astute in the political side of this problem. Thus the Pharisees who only wanted ensure the integrity of the faith had unwittingly energized the political arm of the Sanhedrin. To keep it simple their first concern was to protect themselves and in no way mirrors Jesus’ love and concern for all the people. “ If we allow this man to continue on we will lose control and Rome will impose their will on us with no respect to who we are or our position among our people.” The Sadducees were dominating and arrogant to others and at times even rude to each other. Their judgement had nothing to do with what was right but rather how it would affect their positions of power and influence and of course their wealth. I believe this would be a good place to ask this question. Does this behavior bring to mind the position we find our nation in today and in some cases the state of the “church”. Keeping this in the secular tongue the next verses show the Sanhedrin putting a “HIT” on Jesus and issuing a BOLO on Jesus.

John 11
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. 55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him. [4]

As Paul Harvey a popular radio personality of “back in the day” would have said…. “now for the rest of the story”. Looking back to verse 51 Caiaphas, from his lips as the High Priest…..”51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation”.

There is a strange twist to all this. The Jews insisted that Jesus must be eliminated so the Romans would not take their authority away. Then some years latter about AD 100, Rome tired of the Jewish problem besieged Jerusalem, left it in ruins and destroyed the Temple. We know what happened to Jesus, but we also know the rest of the story. Jesus died not just for a nation but for[5] all God’s people throughout the world. Of course the most important part, the ending that as a beginning. THE RESURRECTION. HE LIVES!! 

Thanks for joining me in the pew

jk

[1] William Barclay DBS   [2] William Barclay DBS  [3] NLT   [4] NLT  [5] William Barclay

DBS

I can’t really say how I was led to this, maybe all the turmoil and hate that has pervaded our nation and world has led me to the importance of Christ and his mission in our lives. We must learn to forgive and seek and understand the grace of God.

Can we put a price on forgiveness and grace as promised by Christ? This won’t be the first time I will ask this question. The following was written by German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Cheap grace is the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs. Cheap grace is not the the type of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church disciple, communion without confession, absolution without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

From a book written by Kevin DeYoung regarding a totally different subject, I found these questions and answer which seem to fit well here. “Are we to believe that God’s love is conditional? Is there is common grace that all people enjoy and then a saving grace which only the redeemed experience? The answer to that question is no.”

Ok, now I ask that question again. Is God’s love conditional? Lets change that wording a little and ask could it be dependent upon and if yes, dependent on what? Let’s go to scripture, starting with Colossians 1:21-23

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

Take a moment to look a little deeper at these verses.The aim of reconciliation is holiness. Jesus died so that we might be reconciled and present ourselves to God consecrated and blameless. The fact that God loves us does not allow us to do whatever we want. It is our burden to be worthy of that love. Here being the first cost of forgiveness and grace. This love and reconciliation requires that we stand firm in the faith, holding to the hope of the gospel. Good times, bad times…….stand firm in the faith. This being the second item of the cost.

Continuing on….. Jude 1: 21-24

21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
24 Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.

Much is said in these verses but the one overriding lesson here is that to walk with God is to walk in safety….and if your still counting this is # 3. God will keep us safe. We know we can go to God in complete joy, all our fears laid aside because the God of sternness is now known to us as God the loving father.

Hebrews 12:14

14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

Even when we suffer it is our Christian duty to be at peace with all men, even those who might be the cause of our suffering. We cannot live a holy life if we are not at peace with those around us. For a true Christian there can be no holiness without peace. The scripture plainly states “for those who are not holy will not see the Lord” Here is #4. The price for this holiness is our willingness to summit to others and live a life at peace with the world around us.

13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The best comment to Matthew24:13 would be the two scriptures below.

1 Peter 1:9New Living Translation (NLT)
9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

Romans 2:7New Living Translation (NLT)
7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers.

So we allow that these scriptures will be #5, after the price and cost we have the assurance of salvation.

It costs nothing to receive the forgiveness and grace of God, we simply have to ask………….and in return Repent of our sins, “keep on doing good” and “trust him”.

Join me next week here in the pew……God Bless
jk
Other References: Bible Gateway,William Barclay,Matthew Henry