Dear Lord, we acknowledge that our commitment to You is so shallow. We say we love you, but our actions betray us.
Open our eyes so that we see time and eternity and You see them. Forgive us for forgetting we are only strangers and pilgrims on earth.
How foolish we are, O Lord, to store up treasures on this earth and fight to save our lives and preserve them, when You tell us we will lose our lives if we try to do that.
We ask You, dear Lord, to forgive us and help us to walk in Your footsteps--forsaking all, denying ourselves, carrying our crosses daily and loving You supremely so Your causes might be furthered in this dark and dying world.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Taken from The Road to Reality by K.P. Yohannan, founder and international director of Gospel for Asia
First Baptist Church is a loving community of believers in Jesus Christ. Our history goes back for about a century of serving Jesus in our community. We have exciting ministries for people of all ages, including youth and children. You can keep up with us here for sermons, podcasts, blogs, and events.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Questions for Jesus: Who Are You? (John 8:12-59)
Last week we talked about the work of belief -- how it takes effort and diligence to turn our eyes away from the temporary things of this world to truly realize and embrace the truth of Christ. Through the question brought to Jesus in this week's story ("Who are you?"), we encounter the challenge of belief: When Jesus confronts us with who he really is, how will we respond?
Listen to this episode
Download this episode (right click and save)
Listen to this episode
Download this episode (right click and save)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Questions for Jesus: Is It Right to Pay Taxes or Not?
There's no Wednesday night Bible study this week, because our Bible Drill team is having their local drill in the sanctuary today in order to qualify for regionals, and all our Bible Study folks (including me) are judges.
So here is a short* thought on one of the most famous questions that Jesus answered...
Mark 12:13-17
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
"Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"
I think this question has added relevance in modern times when many Bible-believing Christians also identify strongly with conservative "Tea-Party" politics, but I will get to that later...
So here is a short* thought on one of the most famous questions that Jesus answered...
Mark 12:13-17
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
"Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"
I think this question has added relevance in modern times when many Bible-believing Christians also identify strongly with conservative "Tea-Party" politics, but I will get to that later...
Monday, February 18, 2013
Questions for Jesus: What Is the Work God Requires?
Jesus told the people that the "work" God requries is to believe. That sounds easy enough, right? Then why did this teaching end with almost everyone walking away? This Sunday we talked about how belief is work, why it takes work to believe, and why many people would rather just walk away.
Listen to this episode
Download this episode (right click and save)
Listen to this episode
Download this episode (right click and save)
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Questions for Jesus: What Must I Do?
Have you ever been to something -- or even looked at your life --and thought, "Really? Is this it?" Today we looked at the story of a young man who had everything -- he was rich, powerful, moral, respected, and probably well-liked, but he couldn't help but realize that something was not quite complete in his life. The story of the rich young man that Jesus told to sell all his possessions is one of the more controversial stories in the Bible for several reasons, many of which come from our discomfort with the command that Jesus gave this young man to guide him to eternal life. Do we really have the courage, when faced with this "holy discontent" with our lives, to fall on our knees before Jesus and ask, "What must I do?"... and then obey?
Listen to this episode
Download this episode (right click and save)
Listen to this episode
Download this episode (right click and save)
Friday, February 8, 2013
Questions for Jesus: "Why Does Jesus Eat with Sinners?", part 2
This is a continuation of the previous entry, taken from Matthew 9:9-13
Answer #2: "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'"
Jesus was quoting Scripture here, from the Old Testament prophet Hosea. Hosea was warning God's people that their sacrifices were useless, because their "love" (worship) of God does not last. They offer sacrifices, but then leave the temple to exploit the poor.
So what does this have to do with the Pharisees' question? I think Jesus was telling them that they are missing the point of worship (sacrifice) and what it means to be holy.
Believers have always struggled with two aspects of the calling of God that can be in tension with one another: holiness and mission. Holiness calls us to distinguish ourselves from the world and mission calls us to love the world.
Some withdraw from the world in the name of holiness. A Fundamentalist newspaper that comes to our church likes to quote the Scripture "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" as a reason to never cooperate with anyone who does not line up doctrinally, top to bottom. They see it as obedience to the call from Revelation 18:4: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues."
But total separation from the world -- and certainly not condemning and abandoning the world -- is not what holiness is. Jesus was absolutely holy, and yet we find him here among "sinners." So holiness must mean something other than removing oneself from the world.
Answer #2: "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'"
Jesus was quoting Scripture here, from the Old Testament prophet Hosea. Hosea was warning God's people that their sacrifices were useless, because their "love" (worship) of God does not last. They offer sacrifices, but then leave the temple to exploit the poor.
So what does this have to do with the Pharisees' question? I think Jesus was telling them that they are missing the point of worship (sacrifice) and what it means to be holy.
Believers have always struggled with two aspects of the calling of God that can be in tension with one another: holiness and mission. Holiness calls us to distinguish ourselves from the world and mission calls us to love the world.
Some withdraw from the world in the name of holiness. A Fundamentalist newspaper that comes to our church likes to quote the Scripture "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" as a reason to never cooperate with anyone who does not line up doctrinally, top to bottom. They see it as obedience to the call from Revelation 18:4: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues."
But total separation from the world -- and certainly not condemning and abandoning the world -- is not what holiness is. Jesus was absolutely holy, and yet we find him here among "sinners." So holiness must mean something other than removing oneself from the world.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Questions for Jesus: "Why Does Jesus Eat with Sinners?", part 1
Since most people are busy Wednesday nights in the children's ministry, I decided to transfer the Wednesday night Bible study into a blog, particularly during this "Questions for Jesus" series.
Today's question appears in all three "Synoptic" Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), and, except for one sentence, the accounts are nearly identical. The extra sentence appears in Matthew, so that's the account we'll be studying today.
Matthew 9:9-13
Matthew was a tax collector, which meant that he was considered a traitor and a crook by his fellow Jews. With that perception for all tax collectors, there was not much incentive to be the "odd" honest tax collector, so most lived up to the reputation, getting rich by extorting more taxes out of people than they actually owed.
So when Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple, it was a radical change for him to leave a life of dishonest riches behind to follow Christ. But before he left this life behind to travel with Jesus, he wanted to introduce his friends to Jesus. So he had a banquet, inviting his old friends to meet his new friend, Jesus.
Today's question appears in all three "Synoptic" Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), and, except for one sentence, the accounts are nearly identical. The extra sentence appears in Matthew, so that's the account we'll be studying today.
Matthew 9:9-13
Matthew was a tax collector, which meant that he was considered a traitor and a crook by his fellow Jews. With that perception for all tax collectors, there was not much incentive to be the "odd" honest tax collector, so most lived up to the reputation, getting rich by extorting more taxes out of people than they actually owed.
So when Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple, it was a radical change for him to leave a life of dishonest riches behind to follow Christ. But before he left this life behind to travel with Jesus, he wanted to introduce his friends to Jesus. So he had a banquet, inviting his old friends to meet his new friend, Jesus.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Church Words: Mercy and Grace
I am going to try to start writing (blogging) more, and one of my thoughts on how to do some short but meaningful posts is to pause every now and then and define some "church words" that are used often in church but whose meaning is not often clear.
Suggestions of "church words" you would like to see defined are welcome.
We are going to start with "mercy" and "grace" together, because they are often used interchangeably but actually have different meanings.
Suggestions of "church words" you would like to see defined are welcome.
We are going to start with "mercy" and "grace" together, because they are often used interchangeably but actually have different meanings.
Monday, February 4, 2013
How Can We Get Enough?
The church is called to a great task... impossible, really. Whether in ministry, personal problems, or in everyday life, we are often paralyzed by the huge tasks that lie in front of us. They intimidate us into inaction. The disciples fe...lt that way when confronted with thousands of hungry people and a command from Jesus: "You give them something to eat." From that command comes our second question we are considering in our series that Jesus answered: "How can we get enough?" Jesus answered in three ways...
Download this episode (right click and save)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)