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
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Keep it simple stupid.
Keep it simple, stupid! I think we all remember that phrase from many years ago. So how many of you out there live complicated lives? How did they get complicated? Did you over time get yourself involved in so many things that now you feel trapped? Take heart, you have a lot of company. Americans are some of the busiest people on the planet and now if we could just figure out why? Christians are unfortunately no exception to that rule. Are you sometimes confused by the church when it tells you that you should spend more time with your family and out living your faith in front of your friends and neighbors, and then it schedules four events during the week which you are expected to be at? Is there just something wrong with that picture? Yes, I think we can say that there is.
Some churches confuse activity with getting things accomplished. And some churches confuse getting things accomplished with spiritual growth and discipleship. Unfortunately spiritual growth is measured by the number of hours you spend at the church. Particularly if you are not quite sure why you are there in the first place. Isn't there a better way? Isn't there a more practical way to meet with God, grow in faith and share his love with unbelievers around you?
Yes, yes there is! Keep it simple, stupid! Sorry didn't mean to call you stupid, it's just a phrase. My point is you can do more sometimes by doing less. Okay now, you say, that made no sense. Well maybe it just takes a whole new way of looking at things then.
I put to you that you can accomplish more by doing less if you center your focus and only do those things that fit what you are called to do. In other words do less, but do it much, much better than you did before. Get rid of all things that you don't need to do in the church, in life for that matter, and just concentrate on what you actually need to do. Make every move count.
Paul compares it someone running and boxing to win the prize. He tells us to not run aimlessly or swing at the air, but focus as someone who wants to win. My brother is an eigthth degree black belt in Karate. He has told me that as he has gotten older he is a little slower than he used to be, but he is twice as accurate. In other words he doesn't throw as many punches and kicks anymore but when he does, he hits his target everytime. He doesn't swing aimlessly.
Now think about the church. We haven't lost any of our speed at all, now if we could hit the target everytime and not just swing at the wind. Think how effective we could be by doing less to accomplish more and have a bigger impact.
Something to think about as look at the Revitalization Process.
Pastor Fred
Some churches confuse activity with getting things accomplished. And some churches confuse getting things accomplished with spiritual growth and discipleship. Unfortunately spiritual growth is measured by the number of hours you spend at the church. Particularly if you are not quite sure why you are there in the first place. Isn't there a better way? Isn't there a more practical way to meet with God, grow in faith and share his love with unbelievers around you?
Yes, yes there is! Keep it simple, stupid! Sorry didn't mean to call you stupid, it's just a phrase. My point is you can do more sometimes by doing less. Okay now, you say, that made no sense. Well maybe it just takes a whole new way of looking at things then.
I put to you that you can accomplish more by doing less if you center your focus and only do those things that fit what you are called to do. In other words do less, but do it much, much better than you did before. Get rid of all things that you don't need to do in the church, in life for that matter, and just concentrate on what you actually need to do. Make every move count.
Paul compares it someone running and boxing to win the prize. He tells us to not run aimlessly or swing at the air, but focus as someone who wants to win. My brother is an eigthth degree black belt in Karate. He has told me that as he has gotten older he is a little slower than he used to be, but he is twice as accurate. In other words he doesn't throw as many punches and kicks anymore but when he does, he hits his target everytime. He doesn't swing aimlessly.
Now think about the church. We haven't lost any of our speed at all, now if we could hit the target everytime and not just swing at the wind. Think how effective we could be by doing less to accomplish more and have a bigger impact.
Something to think about as look at the Revitalization Process.
Pastor Fred
Friday, September 11, 2009
The 911 Psalm
I was reminded this morning as I took my children to school that the perfect psalm for this day of Remembrance is Psalm 91:1 and following, and not just because it is the numbers 911. So I have decided to put this Psalm in my blog today to remind us that no matter what God is with us, even when we face terror and war.
Psalm 91:1ff
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place - the Most High, who is my refuge - no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."
(The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers)
Pastor Fred
Psalm 91:1ff
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place - the Most High, who is my refuge - no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."
(The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers)
Pastor Fred
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