Living in Phoenix you get used to traffic jams or slow traffic. If you have to get somewhere downtown at certain times of the day you know you are going to be in one. Slowly you learn some shortcuts that eventually everyone finds and then they are no longer shortcuts. There is nothing worst than sitting in traffic because everybody wants to get to a similar location at the same time. I remember the worst traffic jam I ever found myself in. It was in Chicago, where as some one once said they have two seasons, winter and road construction! This was the road construction season and traffic was at a dead standstill. After what seem over an hour I found an exit ramp and took it. As I was driving off the freeway I looked to my side and was amazed at the sight. Traffic wasn't moving for miles up ahead. It was going to be a long day for many people. The funniest thing though was a guy who was riding a stationary exercise bike that he had in the back of his truck! It was like the Chicago version of the Biggest Loser. He knew traffic wasn't going anywhere so he might as well put the time to good use!
Life can have its traffic jams at times as well. In the church there are some obvious ones. From about the middle of April to the end of November traffic moves pretty well. There is a lot to do but it is spread out enough that it is doable. Then comes the Christmas season. During this period, time as one person put it ceases to exist, and everything happens at once. There are Christmas programs at church and at school, there are Christmas parties at school and at church and at people's homes. There are dinners and get togethers and special services, and it all happens at once! People begin to act crazy they spend more money than they have, they eat way to much and they give fruitcakes to people and expect them to be happy about it. Has anyone ever actually eaten a fruitcake? During this season the expectations are extremely high. There are traditions that need to be observed no matter the cost, there are presents to be bought and cards to send. And of course there are the people that send the Christmas letter that details everything their family did this past year. The pain and sheer boredom of reading the Christmas letter has replaced being invited over to their place to watch a long winded slide show of their last vacation to Dollywood, but I digress.
In short life kicks into overdrive and as a result it stops dead in its tracks. We are all running our engines, in this case at max RPMs and going nowhere. As I think about this, I wonder if the guy sitting on the exercise bike in the middle of a Chicago traffic jam had it right. Maybe its time to stop beeping the horn and cursing the traffic and shut the engine off, get out of the driver's seat and do something worthwhile that will have some lasting results. How about slowing down and stepping away from what the world is going to do in this commercialized version of Christmas and concentrate on what really matters. Maybe its time to remember what happened two thousand years ago. Maybe its time to sit down by the manger and catch our breath and observe God taking on flesh for us. We can still enjoy the tree and the lights and food and the presents but enjoy them in light of the infant at Christmas who is also the infinite God. If we all do that the traffic might begin to break up and start moving again at a healthy rate.
No one likes the stress of Christmas. The only answer to that is to keep our focus and expend our energy only on the necessary things. And the only thing necessary for Christmas is the baby Jesus.
Pastor Fred
Friday, December 3, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Jesus Christ Is The Life Of The Party!
Many of us who spent the 80's in college, and believe me when I say I spent the 80's in college, my parents thought I was never going to graduate. Well that is what happens when you change your major three times and then realize you really don't want to graduate because then you might have to get a real job. I solved that problem by going to Seminary right after college and managed to get into the early 90's before I finally had to get a job. But anyway, many of us who spent the 80's in college remember the song, "You have to Fight for the Right to Party!" Some of us don't just remember it, it was our theme song. Now admittedly it is probably not a song you would sing in church, or around your parents, or anywhere outside of the shower with the bathroom door closed, but I have always loved the song or at least the music to it. Recently a Christian company and band made a new version of the song, a Christian version, yes I thought that was slightly strange and even, well, radical. They changed the words to, "Jesus Christ Is the Life of The Party!" They also added stories from the gospels about Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and other miracles he did in public. The main point of the song is that Jesus had a habit of showing up at parties and gatherings and kicking them up a notch. He always ended up being the center and the life of the party.
Many people today think that Christianity and the church are full of a bunch of party poopers. Unfortunately some times they are right. On top of my book case in my office I have an action figure, notice I did not use the world doll, of the church lady which was played by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. This SNL character ticked off many in the church, personally I used to laugh so hard during the skits that I would fall of the couch. I laughed and I think others got angry because we all knew the church lady was true to life. In fact we all know a few of them. There is also a little bit of the church lady in all of us. Even at my young age, oh that's right college was in the 80s, even at my middle age there are certain things that just bug me. But as I read the Gospels I don't find Jesus to be a party pooper at all. In fact as the song sings he was always the life of the party. He shows up at a wedding and they run out of wine. At the time of Jesus it was a horrible social shame to run out of wine in the midst of a party. It would cause a great loss of face for the wedding party. So what does Jesus do? He turns water into wine and everyone rejoices. He shows up at his friend Lazarus' house and finds people gathered from all over mourning because Lazarus has died. What does Jesus do? He raises Lazarus from the dead and the party kicks back in gear! Throughout the gospels you see Jesus bringing salvation and joy to one person and group after another. It was like the Jesus party tour bus.
Even in Jesus' time though there were church ladies. They were the religious leaders who didn't approve of Jesus helping and healing people on the Sabbath. They didn't approve of the sinners and low ranking people that Jesus hung out with. They didn't like his stories about forgiveness and grace. I can hear the church lady in the Pharisee's words when they accuse Jesus of healing by the power of Satan, "Maybe Satan!" They could not stand that Jesus was the life of the party and so like a raid on a college party they arrest him and put him on trial. They convict him too in spite of a lack of evidence. It looked like the party was over. The life of it hanging on a cross and then buried in a tomb, the party broke up and everyone went home, and in the disciples case, into hiding.
Jesus had no intention of letting the party poopers win though and so on the third day he rose from the dead declaring victory over sin and death. This party was just getting started!!! He then appeared to his disciples over 40 days and then ascended into heaven. Before he left though he told them to keep low for a few more days until he sent the Holy Spirit who would be the Spirit of the party. Ten days later Pentecost happened and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the people and party restarted. We have been rocking out in the church for over 2000 years now waiting for the life of party to ride back into town to take us all to the big eternal party in the sky. Yes the church ladies are still among us, they constantly remind us of their rules. If you are a Christian you need to dress like this, look like this, listen to this type of music, don't watch these TV shows and you must vote this way. Maybe the original version was right even about the church. "You have to fight for the Right to Party!" Thankfully the church is Jesus' party and he is not so concerned about our rules as he is about our heart. When the heart is filled with Christ, well it can't help but party, even in church.
Pastor Fred
Many people today think that Christianity and the church are full of a bunch of party poopers. Unfortunately some times they are right. On top of my book case in my office I have an action figure, notice I did not use the world doll, of the church lady which was played by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. This SNL character ticked off many in the church, personally I used to laugh so hard during the skits that I would fall of the couch. I laughed and I think others got angry because we all knew the church lady was true to life. In fact we all know a few of them. There is also a little bit of the church lady in all of us. Even at my young age, oh that's right college was in the 80s, even at my middle age there are certain things that just bug me. But as I read the Gospels I don't find Jesus to be a party pooper at all. In fact as the song sings he was always the life of the party. He shows up at a wedding and they run out of wine. At the time of Jesus it was a horrible social shame to run out of wine in the midst of a party. It would cause a great loss of face for the wedding party. So what does Jesus do? He turns water into wine and everyone rejoices. He shows up at his friend Lazarus' house and finds people gathered from all over mourning because Lazarus has died. What does Jesus do? He raises Lazarus from the dead and the party kicks back in gear! Throughout the gospels you see Jesus bringing salvation and joy to one person and group after another. It was like the Jesus party tour bus.
Even in Jesus' time though there were church ladies. They were the religious leaders who didn't approve of Jesus helping and healing people on the Sabbath. They didn't approve of the sinners and low ranking people that Jesus hung out with. They didn't like his stories about forgiveness and grace. I can hear the church lady in the Pharisee's words when they accuse Jesus of healing by the power of Satan, "Maybe Satan!" They could not stand that Jesus was the life of the party and so like a raid on a college party they arrest him and put him on trial. They convict him too in spite of a lack of evidence. It looked like the party was over. The life of it hanging on a cross and then buried in a tomb, the party broke up and everyone went home, and in the disciples case, into hiding.
Jesus had no intention of letting the party poopers win though and so on the third day he rose from the dead declaring victory over sin and death. This party was just getting started!!! He then appeared to his disciples over 40 days and then ascended into heaven. Before he left though he told them to keep low for a few more days until he sent the Holy Spirit who would be the Spirit of the party. Ten days later Pentecost happened and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the people and party restarted. We have been rocking out in the church for over 2000 years now waiting for the life of party to ride back into town to take us all to the big eternal party in the sky. Yes the church ladies are still among us, they constantly remind us of their rules. If you are a Christian you need to dress like this, look like this, listen to this type of music, don't watch these TV shows and you must vote this way. Maybe the original version was right even about the church. "You have to fight for the Right to Party!" Thankfully the church is Jesus' party and he is not so concerned about our rules as he is about our heart. When the heart is filled with Christ, well it can't help but party, even in church.
Pastor Fred
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
The Fake Jesus
Last night at the dinner table my 5 year old daughter was telling my wife and I about a Christian show that she has seen on TV. She said that in the movie, the fake Jesus had healed a man and then the fake Jesus had been arrested and then put on a cross. The fake Jesus comment got our attention. Our daughter then proceeded to tell us a few more things that this fake Jesus had done in the movie. Finally I interrupted her and asked, "who exactly is this fake Jesus?" She said, "the Jesus in the movie." I asked, "but why do keep calling him the fake Jesus?" She looked at me for a second and then impatiently said, "He is the fake Jesus because it is just someone playing Jesus, it was not the real Jesus." "Oh I said," feeling a little stupid, "I guess the actor would be a fake Jesus, wouldn't he?" Her observation reminded me of those commercials where the guy, who usually was an actor on a medical drama, would say, "I am not a real doctor, I just play one on TV." My daughter understood that the guy in the movie was just an actor, he was not the real thing. I could just hear that actor in a commercial written to sell Bibles, "I am not really the Messiah, I just play one in the movies."
As humorous as her fake Jesus comments were, they made me think of a very stark reality. As Christians, people called to be Christ-like, how many times are we the fake Jesus? We are called to be Jesus to other people. What that means is that when people see us they see Jesus in us and are attracted to him. I wonder how many times when people see us they see the fake Jesus instead. How often are we playing a role instead of being the living witness that God wants us to be? In the next several weeks here at Family of Christ we will be studying the Externally Focused Life. In this study we will be looking at how we can live our lives for others. The focus is to be Christ, the real Christ, to those around us everyday.
What does that mean you may ask? Well it means first and foremost that our faith is not just a head knowledge or even just a heart knowledge, but that it is a hands and feet knowledge as well. It means that we live out what we believe. It means that our faith results in us taking practical actions to help others, to serve others with our time and our abilities and our resources. Jesus didn't just tell people he was the Savior, he showed them. He healed them, he feed them, he raised them from the dead, he cast out demons. He showed his love for people in practical ways that then brought people to faith in him. As people of God, who are called to be Christ-like, we are asked by God to do the same thing. We are called to live out our faith and show Christ's love to others in ways that are tangible and that actually physically and emotional help people. Then with the guidance of the Holy Spirit people will be brought to faith in this real Jesus.
How is your faith walk doing this week? Are you just an actor, a fake Jesus, in a movie, or are you the real thing? Who do people see when they look at you? Even 5 year olds can tell the difference.
Pastor Fred
As humorous as her fake Jesus comments were, they made me think of a very stark reality. As Christians, people called to be Christ-like, how many times are we the fake Jesus? We are called to be Jesus to other people. What that means is that when people see us they see Jesus in us and are attracted to him. I wonder how many times when people see us they see the fake Jesus instead. How often are we playing a role instead of being the living witness that God wants us to be? In the next several weeks here at Family of Christ we will be studying the Externally Focused Life. In this study we will be looking at how we can live our lives for others. The focus is to be Christ, the real Christ, to those around us everyday.
What does that mean you may ask? Well it means first and foremost that our faith is not just a head knowledge or even just a heart knowledge, but that it is a hands and feet knowledge as well. It means that we live out what we believe. It means that our faith results in us taking practical actions to help others, to serve others with our time and our abilities and our resources. Jesus didn't just tell people he was the Savior, he showed them. He healed them, he feed them, he raised them from the dead, he cast out demons. He showed his love for people in practical ways that then brought people to faith in him. As people of God, who are called to be Christ-like, we are asked by God to do the same thing. We are called to live out our faith and show Christ's love to others in ways that are tangible and that actually physically and emotional help people. Then with the guidance of the Holy Spirit people will be brought to faith in this real Jesus.
How is your faith walk doing this week? Are you just an actor, a fake Jesus, in a movie, or are you the real thing? Who do people see when they look at you? Even 5 year olds can tell the difference.
Pastor Fred
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Thank You For The Church God
We have tried to teach our children how to pray through the years. In doing that we have let them lead most of the dinner table prayers and some of the prayers at bedtime. They both have different things that they like to pray about. I have always been inspired that they mention their friends and grandparents in their prayers. Like in most children's prayers there are a lot of thank yous. They are just starting to learn to pray for things instead of just about things. Just as life is a journey, so is the developing of a prayer life a journey. Your prayers change through the years depending on what has happened to you and what you are facing. They also change as your relationship with God deepens and you realize how much you really do depend upon him. Adults therefore tend to pray a little different than children. But there is one thank you that my son Charlie prays that I hope all of us remember to pray. It is not something that I taught him, in fact when he prays it I am reminded how lax I am in praying it, and how sometimes I just take it for granted. In addition to all the thank yous for his family Charlie always prays, "Thank you for the church God."
It sounds like such a simple prayer but it has so much depth, and I realized for Charlie so much meaning. The church has always been at the center of Charlie's life. When we adopted him and his sister we brought them back to our congregation in Fort Wayne and we had them baptized. It was a joyous event as they were introduced to the grace of God in the waters of baptism and made members of God's family along with ours. The unique thing about that baptism is that we didn't have a couple of sponsors for them, no we had close to 500 sponsors. The entire congregation of Praise Lutheran church stood up as God parents for them. I know some people are critical of such a thing, they say you should just have one or two not a mob. But that sponsorship with just the beginning of their life in the congregation. The people of Praise lived up to their promise. As I would preach on a Sunday morning I would watch my kids get passed back and forth among the people. I never had to look for someone to baby sit there was always a competition to see who would get them.
When we moved to Phoenix the kids were accepted here too, and they have been loved and cared for by the people of Family of Christ. Charlie and Jasmine have always loved church. They love Sunday mornings when they get to see their friends and also interact with the adults in the congregation. Charlie over the years has learned many of the songs and it is a place that he feels loved and accepted.
Charlie has some learning disabilities and has scored low on your typical standardized tests that they use to evaluate kids his age. There is one area though that not only didn't he score low, he actually scored pretty high, and that was socialization. Charlie loves people, he loves playing with them, interacting with them, and he is very outgoing. My wife and I credit the church for that. The church from the very beginning whether it was in Fort Wayne or here in Phoenix has always opened its arms to him and taught him that he is loved, that he is valuable. Through baptism and the witness of his friends around him Charlie has a deep faith in Jesus Christ. He knows that the church loves him and he knows most importantly that Jesus loves him. It is why he sings Jesus songs on the way to school in the morning and why he witnesses about Jesus dying on the cross to his doctors and therapists. He makes me wish I had the trust and understanding that he does.
So yes Charlie, thank you for the church God. Thank you for the Word and the sacraments that bring us to faith and sustain us in that same faith. Thank you for the body of believers who love and care for one another like Christ cares for all of us. Charlie understands that, hopefully someday I will understand it as deep as he does.
Pastor Fred
It sounds like such a simple prayer but it has so much depth, and I realized for Charlie so much meaning. The church has always been at the center of Charlie's life. When we adopted him and his sister we brought them back to our congregation in Fort Wayne and we had them baptized. It was a joyous event as they were introduced to the grace of God in the waters of baptism and made members of God's family along with ours. The unique thing about that baptism is that we didn't have a couple of sponsors for them, no we had close to 500 sponsors. The entire congregation of Praise Lutheran church stood up as God parents for them. I know some people are critical of such a thing, they say you should just have one or two not a mob. But that sponsorship with just the beginning of their life in the congregation. The people of Praise lived up to their promise. As I would preach on a Sunday morning I would watch my kids get passed back and forth among the people. I never had to look for someone to baby sit there was always a competition to see who would get them.
When we moved to Phoenix the kids were accepted here too, and they have been loved and cared for by the people of Family of Christ. Charlie and Jasmine have always loved church. They love Sunday mornings when they get to see their friends and also interact with the adults in the congregation. Charlie over the years has learned many of the songs and it is a place that he feels loved and accepted.
Charlie has some learning disabilities and has scored low on your typical standardized tests that they use to evaluate kids his age. There is one area though that not only didn't he score low, he actually scored pretty high, and that was socialization. Charlie loves people, he loves playing with them, interacting with them, and he is very outgoing. My wife and I credit the church for that. The church from the very beginning whether it was in Fort Wayne or here in Phoenix has always opened its arms to him and taught him that he is loved, that he is valuable. Through baptism and the witness of his friends around him Charlie has a deep faith in Jesus Christ. He knows that the church loves him and he knows most importantly that Jesus loves him. It is why he sings Jesus songs on the way to school in the morning and why he witnesses about Jesus dying on the cross to his doctors and therapists. He makes me wish I had the trust and understanding that he does.
So yes Charlie, thank you for the church God. Thank you for the Word and the sacraments that bring us to faith and sustain us in that same faith. Thank you for the body of believers who love and care for one another like Christ cares for all of us. Charlie understands that, hopefully someday I will understand it as deep as he does.
Pastor Fred
Thursday, August 5, 2010
School Is Starting
School will be starting here at Family of Christ this coming Monday the 9th of August. As I write this teachers outside of my office are decorating their classrooms and making plans with their aides. Tonight is the first, "Meet the Teacher Night", of the year. You can sense the excitement. I am also excited because it has been a long summer and it has been very quiet here. We have kids during the summer but just a small amount that are here all day. Monday pre-school starts and all the kids come flooding back. Some of the children will be returning children and some will be new. There will be a big time of adjustment for students, teachers and yes even for parents. We are excited about this though because we know why we are here and what we have been called to do.
Family of Christ Learning Center is not just any learning center. Yes we teach all the stuff that pre-schools are supposed to teach. We work very hard at getting our students ready for kindergarten, but we do much more than that. As I said Family Christ Learning Center is not just any learning center, it is a ministry of Family of Christ Lutheran Church. As Lutherans in the Awhatukee village of Phoenix we believe that we have been put here by God to share Christ's Word and his love with the children and the parents that live here. We are intentional about that. We believe that there is no greater gift than the forgiveness that is found in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection and we want everyone to know about that and be brought to faith. Along with that Lutherans in general have always highly valued education and so we strive to provide the best quality that we can.
As a pastor I love being able to work in a pre-school and share the faith with children from all races, nations and languages. I also know I am blessed to be able to see and experience the faith of the children. Children at times can exhibit such great faith that it blows you away. So we are preparing for next week and looking forward to another year in God's grace.
Pastor Fred
Family of Christ Learning Center is not just any learning center. Yes we teach all the stuff that pre-schools are supposed to teach. We work very hard at getting our students ready for kindergarten, but we do much more than that. As I said Family Christ Learning Center is not just any learning center, it is a ministry of Family of Christ Lutheran Church. As Lutherans in the Awhatukee village of Phoenix we believe that we have been put here by God to share Christ's Word and his love with the children and the parents that live here. We are intentional about that. We believe that there is no greater gift than the forgiveness that is found in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection and we want everyone to know about that and be brought to faith. Along with that Lutherans in general have always highly valued education and so we strive to provide the best quality that we can.
As a pastor I love being able to work in a pre-school and share the faith with children from all races, nations and languages. I also know I am blessed to be able to see and experience the faith of the children. Children at times can exhibit such great faith that it blows you away. So we are preparing for next week and looking forward to another year in God's grace.
Pastor Fred
Monday, March 8, 2010
Bible study blog week 7
Monday March 8 - Exodus 14:1-31
Tuesday March 9 - Exodus 15:1-27
Wednesday March 10 - Exodus 16:1-17:16
Thursday March 11 - Exodus 18:1-27
Friday March 12 - Exodus 19:1-20:26
Saturday March 13 - Exodus 21:1-22:31
Tuesday March 9 - Exodus 15:1-27
Wednesday March 10 - Exodus 16:1-17:16
Thursday March 11 - Exodus 18:1-27
Friday March 12 - Exodus 19:1-20:26
Saturday March 13 - Exodus 21:1-22:31
Monday, March 1, 2010
Bible study blog for week 6
Sorry to all of you who are following that I missed last week. I remembered it Tuesday and thought it would be just better to put off for a week and give some people time to catch up, like me.
Here is week six
Monday March 1, Exodus 5:1-6:30
Tuesday March 2, Exodus 7:1-25
Wednesday March 3, Exodus 8:1-9:35
Thursday March 4, Exodus 10:1-29
Friday March 5, Exodus 11:1-12:51
Saturday March 6, Exodus 13:1-22
Pastor Fred
Here is week six
Monday March 1, Exodus 5:1-6:30
Tuesday March 2, Exodus 7:1-25
Wednesday March 3, Exodus 8:1-9:35
Thursday March 4, Exodus 10:1-29
Friday March 5, Exodus 11:1-12:51
Saturday March 6, Exodus 13:1-22
Pastor Fred
Monday, February 15, 2010
Blog Bible study for week 5
Monday the 15th of Feb: Genesis 45:1-46:34
Tuesday the 16th of Feb: Genesis 47:1-48:22
Wednesday the 17th of Feb: Genesis 49:1-50:26
Thursday the 18th of Feb: Exodus 1:1-22
Friday the 19th of Feb: Exodus 2:1-25
Saturday the 20th of Feb: Exocus 3:1-4:41
We are finally getting out of Genesis!
Pastor Fred
Tuesday the 16th of Feb: Genesis 47:1-48:22
Wednesday the 17th of Feb: Genesis 49:1-50:26
Thursday the 18th of Feb: Exodus 1:1-22
Friday the 19th of Feb: Exodus 2:1-25
Saturday the 20th of Feb: Exocus 3:1-4:41
We are finally getting out of Genesis!
Pastor Fred
Monday, February 8, 2010
Bible Study Blog for week 4
Sorry forgot to post yesterday.
Monday the 8th of Feb: Genesis 36:1-37:36
Tuesday the 9th of Feb: Genesis 38:1-39:23
Wednesday the 10 of Feb: Genesis 40:1-23
Thursday the 11th of Feb: Genesis 41:1-40
Friday the 12th of Feb: Genesis 41:41-57
Saturday the 13th of Feb: Genesis 42:1-44:34
Pastor Fred
Monday the 8th of Feb: Genesis 36:1-37:36
Tuesday the 9th of Feb: Genesis 38:1-39:23
Wednesday the 10 of Feb: Genesis 40:1-23
Thursday the 11th of Feb: Genesis 41:1-40
Friday the 12th of Feb: Genesis 41:41-57
Saturday the 13th of Feb: Genesis 42:1-44:34
Pastor Fred
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Some comments on Genesis 23-28
Did you notice the note about Sarah being the only women whose age at death is recorded in the Bible? There is a triva question the next time you want to impress someone in a small group.
Another interesting thing that is brought out is that Sarah was buried in the promised land, in the same place that Abraham and the patriarchs that came after him would be buried.
In Chapter 25 we see how God is the one who determines who will serve him and that the rights of the firstborn do not always go to the first born. Here Esau is the first born but it is Jacob who ends up with the birthright and that is something that God predetermined. In the same way to be a child of Abraham doesn't mean you have to be one physically. It is by faith that Abraham believed God and was credited with righteousness and it is by faith that we become children of Abraham and Children of God.
We see in Chapter 26 that Isaac followed in the sinful footsteps of his father in saying that his wife was his sister so as to save his own skin. There is no perfect holy man in this life, even the best ones are also great sinners.
In chapter 28 after Jacob has been blessed with the blessing of the first born that physically was Esau's we see the character of sin come out. Esau instead of being repentant for selling his birthright deliberately went off and sinned by marrying a woman that his parents forbid him to marry. Sin leads to more sin and so on. Meanwhile Jacob gets visited by God and worships God in that place. It is the start for what will be many hard years for him, but God here promises to be his God no matter what.
Pastor Fred
Another interesting thing that is brought out is that Sarah was buried in the promised land, in the same place that Abraham and the patriarchs that came after him would be buried.
In Chapter 25 we see how God is the one who determines who will serve him and that the rights of the firstborn do not always go to the first born. Here Esau is the first born but it is Jacob who ends up with the birthright and that is something that God predetermined. In the same way to be a child of Abraham doesn't mean you have to be one physically. It is by faith that Abraham believed God and was credited with righteousness and it is by faith that we become children of Abraham and Children of God.
We see in Chapter 26 that Isaac followed in the sinful footsteps of his father in saying that his wife was his sister so as to save his own skin. There is no perfect holy man in this life, even the best ones are also great sinners.
In chapter 28 after Jacob has been blessed with the blessing of the first born that physically was Esau's we see the character of sin come out. Esau instead of being repentant for selling his birthright deliberately went off and sinned by marrying a woman that his parents forbid him to marry. Sin leads to more sin and so on. Meanwhile Jacob gets visited by God and worships God in that place. It is the start for what will be many hard years for him, but God here promises to be his God no matter what.
Pastor Fred
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Answers to some comments
Yes Glen you are right Adam was a chump. He was standing right there as Eve took and ate and then when she offered him some he ate too. We often blame woman for bringing sin into the world but it was Man that God had directly warned not woman, therefore the responsibility was with man to stop her. That is why the New Testament talks so much about Adam's sin.
Dave that is a good question about the languages being confused and the people dispersed. From what we read God did that because man was becoming powerful and full of themselves. They were trying to take the place of God, and even though that would never happen, God was concerned about their spiritual welfare and the consequences of sin that it would bring. So he confused their languages so they couldn't communicate and then dispersed them around the world. There is in interesting parallel here, because of man's sin he could no longer really communicate with God either, at least in the way that Adam and Eve did in the garden. Therefore it was fitting that he couldn't communicate with other men as well. It is the effect of sin. That is why the Day of Pentecost is so important. God, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit was bringing man back together in a relationship with him and with his fellow man. The tower of Babel event is a perfect example of the consequences of sin and the Day of Pentecost is a perfect example of the consequences of forgiveness.
Pastor Fred
Dave that is a good question about the languages being confused and the people dispersed. From what we read God did that because man was becoming powerful and full of themselves. They were trying to take the place of God, and even though that would never happen, God was concerned about their spiritual welfare and the consequences of sin that it would bring. So he confused their languages so they couldn't communicate and then dispersed them around the world. There is in interesting parallel here, because of man's sin he could no longer really communicate with God either, at least in the way that Adam and Eve did in the garden. Therefore it was fitting that he couldn't communicate with other men as well. It is the effect of sin. That is why the Day of Pentecost is so important. God, through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit was bringing man back together in a relationship with him and with his fellow man. The tower of Babel event is a perfect example of the consequences of sin and the Day of Pentecost is a perfect example of the consequences of forgiveness.
Pastor Fred
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Bible Study Blog reading for Feb 1
Feb 1 Monday - Genesis 23:1-24:67
Feb 2 Tuesday - Genesis 25:1-26:35
Feb 3 Wednesay - Genesis 27:1-28:22
Feb 4 Thursday - Genesis 29:1-30:43
Feb 5 Friday - Genesis 31:1-33:20
Feb 6 Saturday Genesis 34:1-35:29
Sorry about no comments last week, it was very busy. Therefore there will be two comment days this week.
Pastor Fred
Feb 2 Tuesday - Genesis 25:1-26:35
Feb 3 Wednesay - Genesis 27:1-28:22
Feb 4 Thursday - Genesis 29:1-30:43
Feb 5 Friday - Genesis 31:1-33:20
Feb 6 Saturday Genesis 34:1-35:29
Sorry about no comments last week, it was very busy. Therefore there will be two comment days this week.
Pastor Fred
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Blog Bible Study Readings
Here are the readings for this week. Look for my comments this coming Wednesday.
Monday - Genesis 12:10-13:18
Tuesday - Genesis 14:1-15:21
Wednesday - Genesis 16:1-17:27
Thursday - Genesis 18:1-19:38
Friday - Genesis 20:1-21:34
Saturday - Genesis 22:1-24
Happy reading
Pastor Fred
Monday - Genesis 12:10-13:18
Tuesday - Genesis 14:1-15:21
Wednesday - Genesis 16:1-17:27
Thursday - Genesis 18:1-19:38
Friday - Genesis 20:1-21:34
Saturday - Genesis 22:1-24
Happy reading
Pastor Fred
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Genesis 1-11
The first 11 chapters of Genesis are extremely important. They are the foundation for the entire Bible. Everything is started here. Man's creation, Man's fall into sin. The promise of the Savior. The line of descendants. The flood symbolizing baptism. The Tower of Babel and the breaking up of the nations.
The rest of Scripture constantly refers back to it. If in any way these chapters are not true, if they are just myths or good stories then the rest of the Bible is just a myth as well.
We teach that God made the earth in six literal days. The theory of evolution, which has never and never will be proven goes against that. They say that dinosaurs and other creatures lived on the earth before man and were even extinct before man was created. There is only one problem with that. There was no death in the world before man's sin, so how did the dinosaurs die? It would have been impossible for them to die, sin is what causes death. Therefore you either believe in the theory of evolution or you believe in the Bible, but you cannot believe in both and be honest.
Another question that comes up is how did Moses, who lived about 1500 b.c. know all of this stuff? First of all we say that Scripture is divinely inspired by God. In other words even though Moses wrote down the words they were given to him by God, therefore it is God's Word. Secondly Moses very well could have drawn on other historical documents that were around at the time and there was also oral tradition. There were stories that had been passed down through the years that were known by all the people. They could have also been a source of information. At this point people point out that by the time the stories were told to Moses they were so changed and different from the original stories that he was just writing myths. People point out the telephone game where one person tells another person something and he passes it down the line and the story the last person tells is very different from the story the first person told. So they say see we can't trust these words of Moses.
Oral tradition in ancient times was very different from the telephone game though. Stories were told within a community and everyone in the community knew the story and accuracy was considered very important. Therefore if someone started to change a story he was corrected very fast. Historians who study in this field say that stories could be passed down this way for thousands of years without significant changes being made. So there is no reason to believe that Moses was not dealing with accurate stories.
A key verse to remember in this section is Genesis 11:9 where it says the languages were confused and people were dispersed all over the earth. In the New Testament we see that on the Day of Pentecost the opposite happens. The people were all brought back together and all the languages were understood by everyone. A good point to keep in mind is that much Old Testament stuff has a corresponding point in the New Testament. I will point these out as we go along.
Happy reading
Pastor Fred
The rest of Scripture constantly refers back to it. If in any way these chapters are not true, if they are just myths or good stories then the rest of the Bible is just a myth as well.
We teach that God made the earth in six literal days. The theory of evolution, which has never and never will be proven goes against that. They say that dinosaurs and other creatures lived on the earth before man and were even extinct before man was created. There is only one problem with that. There was no death in the world before man's sin, so how did the dinosaurs die? It would have been impossible for them to die, sin is what causes death. Therefore you either believe in the theory of evolution or you believe in the Bible, but you cannot believe in both and be honest.
Another question that comes up is how did Moses, who lived about 1500 b.c. know all of this stuff? First of all we say that Scripture is divinely inspired by God. In other words even though Moses wrote down the words they were given to him by God, therefore it is God's Word. Secondly Moses very well could have drawn on other historical documents that were around at the time and there was also oral tradition. There were stories that had been passed down through the years that were known by all the people. They could have also been a source of information. At this point people point out that by the time the stories were told to Moses they were so changed and different from the original stories that he was just writing myths. People point out the telephone game where one person tells another person something and he passes it down the line and the story the last person tells is very different from the story the first person told. So they say see we can't trust these words of Moses.
Oral tradition in ancient times was very different from the telephone game though. Stories were told within a community and everyone in the community knew the story and accuracy was considered very important. Therefore if someone started to change a story he was corrected very fast. Historians who study in this field say that stories could be passed down this way for thousands of years without significant changes being made. So there is no reason to believe that Moses was not dealing with accurate stories.
A key verse to remember in this section is Genesis 11:9 where it says the languages were confused and people were dispersed all over the earth. In the New Testament we see that on the Day of Pentecost the opposite happens. The people were all brought back together and all the languages were understood by everyone. A good point to keep in mind is that much Old Testament stuff has a corresponding point in the New Testament. I will point these out as we go along.
Happy reading
Pastor Fred
Sunday, January 17, 2010
THE BLOG BASED BIBLE STUDY FROM LSB
Over the next two years we will be reading through the Bible. We are going to be basing our discussion on the notes in The Lutheran Study Bible. You do not have to have The Lutheran Study Bible to participate but it helps. You can order one through www.cph.org Every Sunday I will give you the reading for the week which will go through Saturday. We will not have readings on Sundays. At least once during the week I will make comments on what we are reading, or ask questions.
Here are the readings for this week.
Monday: Genesis 1:1-2:25
Tuesday: Genesis 3:1-24
Wednesday: Genesis 4:1-6:8
Thursday: Genesis 6:9-8:22
Friday: Genesis 9:1- 10:32
Saturday: Genesis 11:1-12:9
Happy reading!
Pastor Fred
Here are the readings for this week.
Monday: Genesis 1:1-2:25
Tuesday: Genesis 3:1-24
Wednesday: Genesis 4:1-6:8
Thursday: Genesis 6:9-8:22
Friday: Genesis 9:1- 10:32
Saturday: Genesis 11:1-12:9
Happy reading!
Pastor Fred
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
