The Breaking of Bread (Acts 2:42)

• Have we replaced the Lord's Supper with "one guy and his pulpit"?
• Have we memorialised and marginalized the Lord's Supper to elevate the role of preaching?
• Do you believe in Jesus' presence at the Supper? Should we have a high view of the Supper?

There is a particular chapel that had a communion table with a stained-glass window above it depicting the scene from the Gospels where the women visited the empty tomb. The words of the angel to the women, "He is not here!" were inscribed underneath the window. So, ironically, whenever you looked at the communion table, you could see the words "He is not here!" Does this sum up how many people feel about the Lord's Supper (or Communion or Eucharist)? Jesus is remembered, but he is not present! But that is a deficient view of the Supper; Jesus' presence is the whole point!

Paul says, "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor 11:26). So the meal looks forward to the Lord's bodily return and thus presupposes his bodily absence in the interim. So whatever presence we have in the Eucharist, it is not Jesus's physical body that is present since his glorified body is exclusively located in heaven.

There is no denial by anyone, including Catholic and Orthodox, that the Eucharist is a memorial meal of sorts since the Eucharist commemorates and celebrates the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. However, there is clearly more to the Eucharist than the memory of Jesus's death and reminding us that Christ is with us.

Consider the two travelers to Emmaus. They told the disciples how they met Jesus on their journey and how he was made known "to them in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:35). The eucharistic echoes are transparent here. Luke is evidently pointing ahead to Acts 2, where the disciples were dedicated to "breaking bread" together in their fellowship (Acts 2:42, 46). When the disciples met together to break bread, they also met with Jesus in the bread.

In addition, Paul teaches about a real encounter with Christ through the elements. Through the wine, there is a real "participation" in the blood of Christ, and through the bread, there is a real "participation" in the body of Christ (1 Cor 10:16). The Greek word for "participation" is koinōnia, meaning "fellowship" or "sharing." Plain as day, through bread and wine, we actually commune with Christ, and this communion requires an exclusive allegiance that forbids us from partaking of pagan sacrifices. The bread and wine of the Eucharist actually fosters a vertical communion with the exalted Christ and facilitates a closer horizontal relationship with fellow believers.

The other thing is that the early church quickly developed the notion of a real presence of Jesus at the Eucharist. Justin Martyr said, "For we do not receive these things as common bread or as common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's word who took on flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus" (1 Apol. 67). And Irenaeus declared, "For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity" (Adv. Haer. IV.18.5.) Ambrose of Milan argued for divine power to change the elements: "But if the word of Elijah had such power as to bring down fire from heaven, shall not the word of Christ have power to change the nature of the elements?" (De Mysteriis, 52). The early church probably arrived at this conclusion of a real presence by reading Jesus's words of institution (Matt 26:26–29) in light of the Johannine eucharistic discourse (John 6:26–65). The question is: What kind of presence is found in the Eucharist, and by what instrument is that presence communicated to us?

In the end, some think the Reformed position is the one that has the most explanatory power for understanding Jesus's presence in the Eucharist. The Reformed view is that the presence of Christ is not mediated through the church's mutation of the elements into Christ's body and blood (i.e., transubstantiation or consubstantiation). The presence of Christ is not restricted to the believer's faith, reducing the bread and wine to a memorial. The Holy Spirit energizes the elements to convey the presence of Christ and the grace that accompanies his work (see Michael Horton, People and Place, 124-53).

Also, Calvin's words from his Shorter Treatise on the Lord's Supper are robust on this matter:

We begin now to enter on the question so much debated, both anciently and at the present time—how we are to understand the words in which the bread is called the body of Christ, and the wine his blood. This may be disposed of without much difficulty, if we carefully observe the principle which I lately laid down, viz., that all the benefit which we should seek in the Supper is annihilated if Jesus Christ be not there given to us as the substance and foundation of all. That being fixed, we will confess, without doubt, that to deny that a true communication of Jesus Christ is presented to us in the Supper, is to render this holy sacrament frivolous and useless—an execrable blasphemy unfit to be listened to. 

You read him right! No presence means there is no point and no purpose to this meal. If there is no communication of Christ in and through the bread and wine, then this meal is an exercise in futility. But if Christ is present in the bread and the wine through the Spirit, we have here a means of grace, a harvest of blessings, and a real communion with Christ.

Healing and Refreshment (Acts 3)

“Whoever confesses his sins … is already working with God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you are joined with God. Man and sinner are, so to speak, two realities: when you hear ‘man’ – this is what God has made; when you hear ‘sinner’ – this is what man himself has made. Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what he has made … When you begin to abhor what you have made, it is then that your good works are beginning, since you are accusing yourself of your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works. You do the truth and come to the light.”—The Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Acts 3-7 describes the life and increase of the early church in Jerusalem (Ac 1:8a), and the simultaneous opposition to it from the Jewish religious leaders. Acts 3-4 is a drama in 3 parts:

1. The mighty work (3:1-10). Healing of a man lame from birth.
2. The mighty word (3:11-26). Peter preaches to the crowd his temple sermon, his 2nd sermon.
3. The mighty ones (4:1-21). The bold, brave courageous and ordinary apostles on trial.

1. 
   What can you learn about prayer from Peter and John (Ac 3:1; 2:42; 4:24; Lk 18:1; Mk 1:35)?
• How have they changed (Mt 18:1; Mk 9:34; Lk 9:46)?
• [The temple hours of prayer were set at the 3rd, 6th and 9th hours.] Can you pray 3 times a day (Ps 55:17; Dan 6:10).
2. What was the strategy of the lame man and/or those who "carried" and "put" him daily  at the temple (Ac 3:2-3)?
• Putting yourself in the place of the beggar (Ac 4:22), how would you have felt about your life?
3. Why did Peter say, "Look at us!" (Ac 3:4)?
• Do you feel comfortable looking at and asking beggars to look at you? What was the beggar expecting (Ac 3:5)?
4. Did Peter have "silver and gold" (Ac 3:6; 2:45)?
• What is the value of "the name of Jesus" (Ac 3:6, 16; 4:10)? 
• Whose faith healed the lame man (Lk 5:20; Mt 9:22 Mk 5:34; 10:52; Lk 8:48; 18:42)?
• How do you respond when others ask for help? What do you have to give them?
• What has Peter and John experienced over the past 60 days that has changed them?
5. How quickly was the lame man healed (Ac 3:7)? What did he do (Ac 3:8)?
• What similarities do we all share with this lame man (Ac 3:2; Gen 8:21; Ps 51:5; Rom 3:23; Eph 2:8-9; Ac 1:8; Rom 1:16)?
6. How did the people respond (Ac 3:9-11; 2:22, 43)? To whom did the crowd attribute the miracle (Ac 3:12)?
• When God blessed and used Peter to perform such a great miracle what temptation is there for him (Dt 9:4-6)?
• Does church leadership draw attention to the leader or to their particular church? Is the leader holier, better, closer to God and with superior powers that others do not have access to?
• Could God use you to be part of a miracle? Why or why not?
7. Why did Peter connect Jesus with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ac 3:13a)?
• What did Peter accuse the Jews of doing (Ac 3:13-15; 2:23, 36; 4:10)? Is this a justification for anti-Semitism? Was it only the Jews who had Jesus killed? Are you responsible for the death of Christ? Do you speak boldly against sin? What did God do (Ac 3:15b)?
• In serving God, do you do so "by faith in the name of Jesus" (Ac 3:16), OR do you depend on your good intentions, your gifts and talents, your money, your zeal and passion, your past experience, you position of authority, etc?
8. Why did Peter say that the Jews and their leaders were ignorant in killing Jesus (Ac 3:17; Lk 23:34)? Are there not then consequences? Are they then not responsible?
• Who had foretold that the "Messiah would suffer" (Ac 3:18)?
9. What 4 successive blessings follow when you repent (Ac 3:19-21, 26)?
• What does it mean to repent (Ac 2:38; Mk 1:15)? Is it to feel sorry and feel bad about your sins? Is it mainly about self-improvement? Doing better? Do only non-Christians need to repent? What about Christians (Rev 2:4-5, 16, 21-22; 3:3, 19)?
• Are you confident that you have "turned to God" [be converted]?
• Can you explain refreshment that follow repentance: rest, respite, relief, restoration, regeneration, renewal (Mt 11:28; Jn 14:27; Phil 4:7)?

10. What did Peter conclude with prophecies from Moses, Samuel and Abraham (Ac 3:22-25; Dt 18:15-16, 19; 2 Sam 7:12; Gen 12:3; 18:18; 17:4; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14)?

www.westloop-church.org/index.php/messages/new-testament/43-acts-messages/689-acts-3

The Power of Praying People (Acts 2:42-47)

• What has Jesus begun in you (Ac 1:1)? What is Jesus continuing to do in your life?

• What power [dynamis] do you experience from the Holy Spirit (Ac 1:8; 2 Tim 1:7)?

• What vision do you have for your life (Ac 2:17)?

1. What are you devoted to (Ac 2:42 is regarded as the 4 pillars/marks/essential elements of the church)? What does it practically mean to be:

• "devoted ... to the apostles' teaching" (Ac 2:42)? Are you empowered by "words" (Jn 6:63; Mt 24:35; Lk 11:28)? By truth (Jn 8:31-32)? By preaching (Ac 2:14, 22)? What is your delight (Ps 1:2; 119:97)? How does the Bible correct and train you (2 Tim 3:16)?
• Without attention and devotion to the "teaching" of Scripture, what happens to Christians (1 Tim 4:1-2, 6-8, 11-13)?
• Is there a tendency toward emotional experiences rather than teaching based on the truth?
• How would you submit to "the apostles' teaching" today?

• "devoted ... to fellowship [koinonia]" (Ac 2:42)? What do we "share in" together (1 Jn 1:3; 2 Cor 13:14)? What do we "share out" with others (Ac 2:44-46a)? What does sharing help us to "know" (Lk 12:15)?
• Without attention and devotion to the Christian community and family, what will happen (Eph 4:3)?
  

• "devoted ... to the breaking of bread" (Ac 2:42, 46b)?
• Without attention and devotion to communion and the Eucharist, what can happen (1 Cor 11:26)?
  

• "devoted ... to prayer" (Ac 2:42; Lk 18:1)? What is continuous prayer associated with (1 Th 5:16-18)? How did Jesus exemplify prayer (Lk 3:21; 6:12-13; 9:18, 28; 22:41-42; 23:34, 43, 46)? How did this influence his disciples (Ac 1:14, 24-25; 3:1; 4:23-31; 6:4; 8:15; 9:11; 13:3; 14:23; 16:25)?
• Without attention and devotion to communal prayer, what happens?
  

• "filled with awe ... wonders and signs" (Ac 2:43, 22)?

• "praising God" (Ac 2:47a)? "enjoying the favor of all people" (Ac 2:47b).

• Ac 1:1, 8; 2:17 - "I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach..."  "...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..."  "...your young men will see visions..."

• 2 Tim 1:7 - "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline [self-control, sound mind, sound judgment, instruction, sobriety]."

• Jn 6:63 - "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. [Human effort accomplishes nothing. Human strength can do nothing. Human power is of no use at all. Human nature is of no help. The flesh doesn't help at all. The body does not benefit anything.] The words I have spoken to you--they are full of Spirit and life."

• Mt 24:35 - "Heaven and earth will pass away [won't last forever, disappear], but my words will never pass away."

• Lk 11:28 - He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it [put it into practice]."

• Ps 1:2; 119:97 - "But his [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord [LORD JEHOVAH] [finds pleasure in obeying the Lord's commands], and on his law he meditates day and night."  "Oh, how I love your law [instructions]! I meditate on it all day long." [Law are words.]

• 2 Tim 3:16 - "All Scripture is God-breathed [inspired by God, breathed out by God] and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." {All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God's will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage." Amplified Bible.}

• 1 Tim 4:1-2, 6-8, 11-13 - "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."

• Lk 18:1 -  "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."

• 1 Th 5:16-18 - "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

The Gospel in 5 (Double) Truths (Luke 24:44-49)

In Luke's version of the Great Commission, the risen Lord summarizes the gospel in 5 truths:

1. The double event: the death and resurrection of the Messiah (Lk 24:46).
2. The double proclamation: forgiveness [the gospel offer] and repentance [the gospel demand] (Lk 24:47a).
3. The double scope: "to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Lk 24:47b).
4. The double attestation/accreditation: the OT witness (Lk 24:44, 46) the NT witness (Lk 24:48).
5. The double mission. The Great Commission involved a double sending: the sending to them of the Holy Spirit (Lk 24:48) and the sending of them into the world (Lk 24:47, 49). The 2 missions go together, for the Holy Spirit is a missionary Spirit.

Jesus has given us a beautifully balanced and comprehensive account of the gospel. We are commissioned to

• proclaim repentance and forgiveness (Lk 24:47) on the basis of him who died and was raised (Lk 24:46),
• to all humankind [Gentiles and Jews] (Lk 24:47b),
• according to the Scriptures [OT, NT] (Lk 24:44, 46, 48),
• in the power of the Spirit given to us (Lk 24:49).

The Truths of the Death and Resurrection of Christ (1 Cor 15:3-4) are:

1. Central truths--of 1st importance.
2. Historical truths, not myths.
3. Physical truths: 4 events are physical: death, burial, resurrection and appearances.
4. Biblical truths--according to the Scriptures.
5. Theological truths--events of huge significance. We deserve to die for our sins, but Christ died our death instead of us. How great is his love!

Reference: John Stott, Through the Bible Through the Year. Daily Reflections from Genesis to Revelation. 2006.

What the Holy Spirit Does (Acts 2)

What the Holy Spirit Does for You (Acts 2).

• In the past week how much time have you spent reflecting on Christ and Scripture? Based on Acts 1,
• what has Jesus begun in you (Ac 1:1)?
• what are ways that you can be a "witness" (Ac 1:8)?
• what are you doing with what you've been given (Lk 16:10-11)?

1. What is "the day of Pentecost" [50th] (Ac 2:1; Exo 23:16; 34:22; Num 28:26; Dt 16:16)? Who were "they" (Ac 1:15)? Why were they "all together" (Ac 1:4, 12-14)?  "...in one place" (Ac 1:13; 2:46)? What is the timeline of the Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost (Ac 1:3, 9)?
2. What was the sound (Ac 2:2; Jn 3:8; Exo 14:21) [audible], sight (Ac 2:3; Ex 3:2, 4-5; 13:21-22; 19:18) [visual] and speech (Ac 2:4, 6, 8, 11) [oral/linguistic] that they saw and heard? Why did this happen (Ac 1:4; 2:16-20, 33; Jn 14:16-17; Num 11:29; Isa 44:3; Eze 36:27; Joel 2:28-32)? How is this the continuing work of Christ in the world (Ac 1:1)?
3. Why were the Jews from every nation gathered in Jerusalem (Ac 2:5)? Why is this international gathering significant (Ac 2:9-11a)? What did they hear (Ac 2:6-8, 11b)? How is this a reversal of Babel (Gen 11:7-9)?
4. What did Peter do (Ac 2:14)? Why was it absurd to suggest that drunkenness was the cause (Ac 2:13, 15)? How did Peter explain what happened (Ac 2:16-21; Joel 2:28-32)?
5. What does Peter's imperative, "listen to this" (Ac 2:22) suggest? What is his subject (Ac 3:13-26; 4:10-12; 5:30-32; 10:36-43; 13:23-41)? Describe the story of Jesus in 6 stages:

1. Ac 2:22--Jesus' _____ and __________.
2. Ac 2:23--Jesus' ________.
• How do you explain the paradox of divine predestination and human freewill (Ac 2:23; 4:28)?
3. Ac 2:24-32--Jesus' _______________.
• How does Peter use David's prophetic words to explain the resurrection (Ac 2:25-32)?
4. Ac 2:33-36--Jesus' ____________.
5. Ac 2:37-40--Jesus' ____________.
6. Ac 2:41; 42-47--Jesus' _____________.

• What are the 4 elements that characterize a Christian gathering (Ac 2:42, 43-47)?

Empowered to Witness (Acts 1)

1. Who is the author of Acts? What is "my former book" (Ac 1:1)? How and why did he write both books (Lk 1:1-4)? What is his main theme ["Song of Simeon"] (Lk 2:30-32, 10; Ac 4:12; 5:31; Isa 40:5)? What does "all that Jesus began to do and to teach" suggest (Ac 1:1; Lk 24:19)? What happens after you are "saved by grace" (Eph 2:8-10)? What are you doing with what you've been given (Lk 16:10-11)?
2. What is "the day he was taken up to heaven" (Ac 1:2, 9)? What were the 2 main topics of the Risen Christ "over a period of 40 days" (Ac 1:2-3)? What was his command (Ac 1:4-5)? How long did they have to wait (Ac 1:3; 2:1)?
3. What were Jesus' followers expecting (Ac 1:6)? How did Jesus correct them (Ac 1:7-8; Dt 29:29)? What is the clear evidence that you have the Holy Spirit (Ac 1:8; 2 Tim 1:7)? How does Acts 1:8 give an outline of Acts (1-7; 8-12; 13-28)?
4. How is the ascension a watershed moment (Lk 24:51; Ac 1:9)? What's wrong with Jesus' followers "looking intently up into the sky as he was going" (Ac 1:9)? What should they know about "this same Jesus" (Ac 1:11; Lk 9:26; 17:24; 21:27)? In the meantime, what should they be doing instead (Ac 1:8; Lk 24:47-49)?
5. How far away were the apostles from Jerusalem (Ac 1:12)? Where did they gather and who were they (Ac 1:13)? What did they do (Ac 1:14)? How important is this (Lk 18:1; 1 Th 5:17; Jas 1:5)?
6. What was the immediate problem that needed to be addressed (Ac 1:15-17)? What is the tragedy regarding Judas (Ac 1:18-19)? How did Peter resolve the problem (Ac 1:20; Ps 69:25; 109:8)? What does this teach us about Scripture (2 Tim 3:16; Jos 1:7; Ps 1:2)? What was the criteria for replacing Judas (Ac 1:21-22)? How was Matthias chosen (Ac 1:23-26)?

Who did Christ die for?

• He died for ALL (1 Tim 2:6).
• He died for ALL MEN (Rom 5:18; 1 Tim 4:10).
• He died for US ALL, for ALL OF US (Isa 53:6).
• He died for the UNGODLY (Rom 5:6).
• He died for CHRIST-DENIERS (2 Pet 2:1).
• He died for SINNERS (Rom 5:8).
• He died for EVERY MAN (Heb 2:9).
• He died for MANY (Mt 20:28).
• He died for the WORLD (Jn 6:33,51; 1:29; 3:16).
• He died for the WHOLE WORLD (1 Jn 2:2).
• He died for the WHOLE NATION of Israel (Jn 11:50-51).
• He died for the CHURCH (Eph 5:25).
• He died for His SHEEP (Jn 10:11).
• He died for ME (Gal 2:20).

Unhealthy Leadership: Alone on an Island of Recognition with Flatterers and no Frank Friends

Jesus pursued

• obscurity and 
• humility and 
• solitude.

Jesus knew what power was like because he knew what Caesar and Rome were all about. Those who know themselves know the temptations to power. Those who want fame and celebrity don’t. The way to avoid celebrity is to be more like Jesus and to spend more time with Jesus and more time looking at Jesus.

From Katelyn  Beaty's book: Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting the Church.

Celebrity--defined as social power without proximity--

has led to abuses of power, the cultivation of persona, and a fixation on profits and numbers. Proximity itself gets to resolving the temptations of celebrity. Friendship, in other terms. Plutarch advised emperors and rulers to surround themselves with friends, not flatterers. Friends speak frankly to friends while flatterers are all about flattery. Proximity permits someone to know the real you and speak to you honestly. This is not the same as accountability programs. It is about transparency with others we can trust, and who trust us, and who can speak into our lives. Who’s your friend?

No real accountability. Unhealthy leadership turns a person into a persona without close relationships. Plutarch wrote an important essay on this that contrasted flatterers with frankness, the latter being what top leaders need the most – BUT those leaders have personalities that push away frankness. Personas like this "feel love" in the adoration of the crowds, but adoration is not love. What they need are frank friends. Most of these persona types push frank friends off the stage, they discredit them, they gossip about them to others, they manipulate others to discredit them and thus the very person they need— a frank friend — is gone.

James, Annabelle’s baptism, Sep 5, 2022: Intergenerational blessing/Blessing the next generation

Before becoming a Christian, I had no idea what to do with my empty, boring and meaningless life, even though I became a doctor and came to the U.S. A quote by Henry David Thoreau intrigued me: "The masses of men lead lives of quiet desperation." I thought I was the only miserable person in the world, but this quote assured me that everyone else in the world was just as  inwardly desperate and miserable as I! But by God's mercy and grace I became a Christian at 25 in 1980 when I studied Genesis with Dr. John Lee, a pediatric resident at CCH. I discovered who I was and still am–a sinner condemned unclean, yet so loved by God that He gave His Only Son to die for me! I found my purpose of life: To live for Christ and His kingdom by studying the Bible and raising disciples–the bedrock of UBF ministry; this became what God has enabled me to do for the last 4 decades of my life to this day. During a recent 2 week road trip to 7 east coast UBF churches, an older missionary asked me, "What are you doing now?" I answered, "I'm doing exactly what I've been doing for the last 40 years." Despite the many good and bad, and the many ups and downs, my trajectory of life in Christ has not changed one iota in 4 decades.

God has blessed my wife Christy and I with 4 kids in 6 years (1983-1989), and with 7 grandkids with James 13 and Annabelle 11 as the 2 oldest. A few months ago James told his dad that he wanted grandpa to baptize him before going to Whitney Young. I was so happily surprised. Then Annabelle also asked to be baptized, which made me doubly happy. In processing my joy, I thank God that Christy and I are blessed to pass on God's blessing to our oldest son Sam and to our oldest grandson James and to our oldest grand-daughter Annabelle.

 

This is nothing but the mercy and grace of God. I thought of God's desire to bless not only Abraham but also all of his descendants for countless generations. Gen 17:9 says, "Then God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.'" God called Abraham to bless not only him but also to bless "all peoples on earth" through his seed (Gen 12:2-3). The greatest blessing is not what we get, but what we give to others. What a great joy and privilege it is that despite our sins God has given us the blessing to be a blessing to others–including our grandchildren.

 

It was a joy to study the Bible with James the last few months. He loves sports, just like his dad and grandpa. He studies well and plays basketball. He is sincere, thoughtful and intelligent. And he wants to commit his life to Christ by being baptized as he goes to Whitney Young with the verse "The Lord is my shepherd" (Ps 23:1). I told James that if Christy and I live another 20 years, we pray to see him and Annabelle pass their faith in Christ to their son or daughter. May God bless James and Annabelle's baptism as their decision to follow Jesus as Lord all the days of their life and pass it on to subsequent generations. Amen.

Following Jesus is Serious Business (Luke 14:25-35)

Bishop Barron calls the large crowds following Jesus as "The Fair-Weather Fans of Jesus (Lk 14:25-26)."

• From last Sunday's sermon (9/4/22) on Time and Money how do those closest to you shape how you use your time and money?

1. Why might large crowds be travelling with Jesus (Lk 14:25)? Is Jesus telling them to hate those closest to them (Lk 14:26; Mt 10:37)?
2. How might the crowd have felt about Jesus' "slap in the face" challenge? Why did he use such strong language (Lk 13:24-27; 14:16-20; Mt 10:37-39; 22:36-40)? What is Jesus affirming about Himself (Col 1:15; 2:9; Heb 1:3; Phil 2:5; Jn 1:1-3)? Did Jesus perceive them to be "fair-weather fans"? Do they know what following Jesus means?
3. What does it mean to those following Jesus to "carry their cross" (Lk 14:27)?
4. What do the 2 parabolic stories (Lk 14:28-32) tell us about what we should do if we are serious about following Jesus (Lk 14:33)?
5. What does it mean for salt to lose its saltiness (Lk 14:34-35a)? What should we hear from Jesus (Lk 14:35b)?

PRIDE

C.S. Lewis on PRIDE (How would you know if you are proud or humble?):

• "As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."
• " . . . pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense."
• To test how proud you are, "ask yourself, 'How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off.'"
• "If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."
• "Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble'... Probably all you will think about him is that he seems a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all."

3 Excellent Quotes about Love

Murdoch's view of love is knowledge of the other person, or seeing them as they really are –- it involves understanding them as a person, both their positive and negative qualities. Iris Murdoch was known for her writing on morality, good and evil and human relationships. 

• "Love is the imaginative recognition of … otherness"; and 
• "Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real. Love … is the discovery of reality."

What you Do when you Pray

Pray patiently, persistently and progressively.

Judging Others is Blinding (Bonhoeffer)

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/inspiring-quotes/20-influential-quotes-by-dietrich-bonhoeffer.html

The Church in relation to the State (Bonhoeffer)

"There are thus three possibilities for action that the church can take vis-à-vis the state:

1. 1st (as we have said), questioning the state as to the legitimate state character of its actions, that is, making the state responsible for what it does.
2. 2nd is service to the victims of the state's actions. The church has an unconditional obligation toward the victims of any societal order, even if they do not belong to the Christian community. "Let us work for the good of all". These are both ways in which the church, in its freedom, conducts itself in the interest of a free state. In times when the laws are changing, the church may under no circumstances neglect either of these duties.
3. The 3rd possibility is not just to bind up the wounds of the victims beneath the wheel but to seize the wheel itself."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Church and the Jewish Question.

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/inspiring-quotes/20-influential-quotes-by-dietrich-bonhoeffer.html

Freedom is Only Half of the Truth. Victor Frankel

Yielding or Consenting to Wicked Thoughts

"God-fearing souls who are inclined to scruples think that every wicked thought that enters their mind is a sin. But it is not the wicked thoughts in themselves that are sins, but the yielding or consenting to them. Wickedness consists in the perverse will that deliberately yields to sin with a complete knowledge of its wickedness with full consent. St. Augustine teaches that when the consent of the will is absent, there is no sin. However much we may be tormented by temptations, the rebellion of the senses, or the inordinate motions of the interior part of the soul, as long as there is no consent, there is no sin. If a person who fears God and hates sin doubts whether or not he has consented to an evil thought or not, he is not bound to confess it, because it is morally certain that he has not given consent. But some may think that evil thoughts and desires, though consented to, are not sins provided they are not followed by sinful actions. This is worse. What we will not do, we will not desire. Therefore an evil thought or desire to which we consent comprises in itself all the wickedness of an evil deed."—St. Alphonsus Liguori.

Either Listen and Obey or Become Deaf and Absurd

Only God can Bring us back Home (Psalm 23:3)

In the last few years at West Loop UBF, our sermons were from:

• Matthew's Gospel [referencing Stanley Hauerwas].
• Parables of Christ [explained by Kenneth Bailey, who's book "Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" won Christianity's book of the year].
• 1 Corinthians [commentaries by Richard Hays, Gordon Fee]; 2 Corinthians.
• Exodus currently [by Jewish professors Robert Altar and Leon Kass].

A few brief things we learned:

• "He brings me back" or "My life, He brings back" (Ps 23:3). The King James Bible popularized the phrase "he restores my soul." It has inspired and encouraged multitudes of Christians over the centuries. The NIV says, "he refreshes my soul." But it is a paraphrase from the Hebrew which literally says, "He brings me back" or "My life, He brings back." Just as the good shepherd [representing God/Christ] finds and brings the lost sheep back (Lk 15:1-7), and the woman combs through her house to find her lost coin (Lk 15:8-10), and the father who longs to bring back both of his lost sons (Lk 15:11-32), the psalmist King David confesses that God brought him back to Himself. We are encouraged to learn that only God can restore a lost sinner.

• Freedom from judgment. Consciously or not, we judge others and then insist that our judgment is unquestionably correct. But Paul says, "I care very little if I'm judged by you or by any human court...it is the Lord who judges me" (1 Cor 4:3,4). We learn that one is truly free when they live before the just judgment of God rather than the biased judgments of men.

• "New creation" (2 Cor 5:17). We incline toward doing things--even good things--habitually. But in Christ every single day, every single morning, every single moment is a brand new day, a brand new morning and a brand new moment, not the same old, same old boring habitual predictable routine.

• Liberation from...liberation for. As we now begin studying Exodus, we learn that God gives us freedom not to do whatever we want, but that we can now freely choose who to serve: Pharaoh [boss, leader, supervisor, a human being] or God alone.

My Story in Scriptures

"Up," the Pixar hit movie, began with an 8 minute montage of a shy young boy who married his rambunctious childhood sweetheart. But she became ill and died young without having any children. The movie then begins with him as a lonely, grumpy, unfriendly old man who had lost the love of his life. The montage was my favorite part of the entire movie, for it moved me more than the rest of the movie. I would have been quite satisfied if I had just watched the montage, which was itself well worth the price of admission.

My story as told by the Scriptures. As 2021 comes to a close, this is my story not in a montage of pictures, but in the Scriptures that have shaped and formed my life for the last 40+ years. Each verse has an entire story of how God worked behind the verses, so this is just a skeleton outline of a synopsis.

1. Emptiness (Gen 1:2): "The earth was formless and empty..." diagnosed and exposed my true condition in 1980.
2. God (Gen 2:17): "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil..." opened my ears to hear a "voice" from heaven, saying, "God is God." It opened my eyes to "see" who God is and I became a Christian, as it revealed my sin of self[-sufficiency], which is living without God.
3. Depravity (Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Isa 64:6). "The LORD saw ... that every inclination of the thoughts of [man's] heart was only evil all the time." "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." "...all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." These verses keep me in check and to not blame others.
4. Priority (Mt 6:33): "But seek first his kingdom..." addressed what should be of utmost importance to me.
5. Death (1 Cor 15:36): "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies." This is my very strange and awkward marriage key verse in 1981. It's rather funny that I had to die in order to marry Christy, the love of my life.
6. Self-denial (Lk 9:23; Mk 8:34; Mt 16:24): "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves..." ["If anyone would come after me he must deny himself"]. This helped me daily to do what I should rather than live based on how I feel.
7. Discipleship (Mt 28:19): "As you go, make disciples..." It was initially a church driven agenda, but I pray that it would be my daily motivation.
8. Peace (Jn 14:27; Phil 4:7): "My peace I give you." "The peace of God that passes human understanding..." I was surprised to experience for the first time, peace, serenity and tranquility--the 3 words that formerly tormented me because I lacked it and knew not what peace felt like.
9. Love (Jer 31:3): "I have loved you with an everlasting love" truly showed me that God's love for me was a constant and not at all dependent on how [good or bad] I was. This was at the lowest point of my life after I had just lost a million $ in 2004.
10. Sovereignty (Rom 8:28): "And we know that in all things God works for the good..." No matter what bad things people say and do, God is always good.
11. Harm (Gen 50:20): "You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done..." Sticks and stones [and words] do not have to break my bones, for God is still in control.
12. Fear (Prov 29:25): "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." To my surprise, God showed me that I did not have to be afraid of any person, because my future was NOT up to them.
13. Sanctification (Phil 2:12-13). "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you..."
14. Control (Gen 3:5; Rom 1:21): "You will be like God." "They neither glorified him as God..." This led me to come up with what the root of sin is: The root of sin is the need to be in control.
15. Coinhering (Gal 2:20): "I am crucified with Christ and no longer live but Christ lives in me..." [To inhere is to exist together.]
16. Restoration (Ps 23:3): "He brings me back" or "My life he brings back" [literally from Hebrew] means that I am not able to restore myself. ["he restores/refreshes my soul."]
17. Being judged (1 Cor 4:3): "I care very little if I'm judged by you or by any human court..." There is no freedom if I am adversely affected and controlled by the harsh negative critical judgement of others.
18. Cross/Gospel (1 Cor 1:23; 2:2): "We preach Christ crucified." "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." A theology of the cross cf. a theology of glory.
19. Discipline (1 Cor 9:27): "I discipline my body and keep it under control" (ESV). "I beat my body and make it my slave..." My nightly "rosary" to fall asleep as I inhale and exhale is, "You are my Lord. Have mercy on me. Not my will, but your will be done. Not for my pleasure, but for your pleasure. Lead us not into temptation, but seek first his kingdom."
20. New (2 Cor 5:17,21): "New creation." "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us." Every day and every morning must be a brand new day and a brand new morning, not same old, same old boring habitual routine.
21. Thorn (2 Cor 12:7):  "...in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." I must be "okay" with being pricked or even tormented by any unbearable thorn.
22. Thanksgiving (1 Thess 5:18): "Give thanks in all circumstances," not just happy circumstances.
23. Joy (1 Thess 5:16): "Be joyful always," regardless of external circumstances.
24. Life (Ac 20:24,27): "I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news [gospel] of God's grace." I pray that this is the singular purpose for the rest of my days...to declare "the whole counsel [ will / plan / purpose] of God."

Faith is the highest passion in a man

Pains and Contradictions (Jean-PIerre de Caussade)

https://quotefancy.com/jean-pierre-de-caussade-quotes

Misery--a Cost of Being Chosen (Jean-Pierre de Caussade)

https://quotefancy.com/jean-pierre-de-caussade-quotes

The First Hour of Every Day

Chiasm of Matthew 6:24

• A. No one can serve two masters. 
• B. Either you will hate the one 
• C. and love the other, 
• C'. or you will be devoted to the one 
• B'. and despise the other. 
  
• A'. You cannot serve both God and money.
  

A chiasm is like a sandwich with the bread on the outside, the lettuce and pickles next and the patty (chicken, beef, fish) in the center.

What is the chiasm structure saying?

• C/C' the center essentially asks, "Who/what do you love and are devoted to?"
• A/A' on the outside makes a statement of truth.
• B/B' is the contrast of C/C'.

Chiastic structures are the "hidden" beauty of Hebrew narrative and poetry.

Imperatives, Indicatives and Ironies in Exodus 1-2

IRONIES (Read Exodus 1-2)

• The more Pharaoh tried to reduce the number of Israelites (Exo 1:9-11, 13-14), the more they increased in number (Exo 1:12, 7).

• Pharaoh wanted to drown the Hebrew males (Exo 1:22) but he and his army were drowned (Exo 14:28).

• Pharaoh feared the Hebrew men (Exo 1:16, 22) but it was the women who thwarted him (Exo 1:15; 2:1,4,9-10).

• Pharaoh tried to destroy Hebrew men, but he fully educated, trained, equipped and raised 1 Hebrew man Moses in his very own palace, who later delivered all the Hebrew slaves.

* Is God mentioned in the above? Is God involved? What do you learn? (Gen 3:5; 50:20; Ps 14:1; Prov 16:9)

• It was as though Moses belonged nowhere in this world. “Moses named him Gershom, saying, 'I have become a foreigner in a foreign land'” (Exo 2:22b). Moses was never at home anywhere...

1. ...not with his family and his own people though he was born a Hebrew.
2. ...not as an Egyptian, though he grew up in an Egyptian palace.
3. ...not with his Midianite family in the wilderness.
4. ...not in the promised land, for he wasn't allowed entrance.

• The Creator is not accepted or received by his creation. "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him" (Jn 1:10-11).

• Jesus' birth. He was born in a manger, while Caesar ruled the entire Roman world (Lk 2:1,7). Yet Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14; 19:16).

• Jesus' death. "You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish" (Jn 11:50; 2 Cor 5:21).

• "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" (Mt 19:24).
  

IMPERATIVES and INDICATIVES [Imperatives (commands) = what you should do {Law}. Indicatives = what God has done {Grace}. Christendom and evangelicalism often do not clearly distinguish Law / Grace, and misunderstands or confuses imperatives / indicatives, which confuses the church.]

• You don't repent and obey (and believe) [imperative] to be saved, but because you are saved (by grace) [indicative] you repent and obey [and believe] (Mk 1:15).

• The imperatives are based on the indicatives and the order is not reversible. [Law is based on Grace.]

• "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery [indicative]. You shall have no other gods before me [imperative]" (Exo 20:2-3; Dt 5:6-7).

• "For God so loved the world [indicative] that he gave his one and only Son [indicative], that whoever believes in him [imperative] shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).

• "The time has come," he said, "The kingdom of God has come near [indicative]. Repent and believe the good news [imperative]!" (Mk 1:15).

• "We love [imperative] because he first loved us [indicative]" (1 Jn 4:19).

• "...work out your salvation with fear and trembling [imperative], for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose [indicative]" (Phil 2:12-13).

• "...he saved us [indicative], not because of righteous things we had done [imperative], but because of his mercy [indicative]..." (Tit 3:5).

• For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Rom 1:17, NIV)

• For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, "The righteous by faith will live." (Rom 1:17, NET)