Bethel Church

Touching Base! Part 155

2012-01-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

Hot Topics - Part 3 – Abortion (Part 2)
“Sure… I can see where abortion might be wrong… but what about…?”
Guest posting by Carmen Gauvin-O’Donnell

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Last week Mark opened the topic of abortion by delving into God’s word. There we saw (in Psalm 51:5) that what is in the womb matters, because the baby is a (sinful) person from the very beginning, even if he or she may go through different stages of development (zygote, fetus etc.). Only persons can be sinful.

I was also able to help Mark out by coming up and talking about the challenge that has been articulated by some people (i.e. “okay, so the fetus may be human, but it’s not a ‘person’…”). I explained that what does or does not define someone as a person is usually a very arbitrary, personal, list, and that such lists can be ultimately very dangerous:

They will tend to include things which should not be included (i.e. some radical animal rights groups have started suggesting that animals have the exact same rights as human beings)
At the other end of the spectrum, they will exclude things which should be on the list. As an example of the dangers of this idea, in the first service I mentioned that the Nazis had made lists of who should or should not live, and most genocides happen because one group decides another has no right to live.

I also provided the SLED acrostic that you can use, that will answer most peoples’ arguments about the unborn: Size, Level of Development, Environment and Degree of Dependency. See last week’s TB for more information on that.

Well as a result of that talk, Mark and I both got some questions which we thought we’d briefly respond to in this Touching Base (by the way, we LOVE that about the congregation at Bethel: no topics are too hot, no questions too difficult that we can’t all wrestle with them!)

a) What about the poor woman who has been raped? What about pregnancy in a young teenage girl?

I thought I would answer these two questions together.

As I explained last week, one of the most important things to be conscious of is that, while abortion is a very emotionally-charged issue, what we MUST remember, above all, is this:

If the unborn isn’t a human being, then no justification for abortion is necessary.
But if the unborn IS a human being, then no justification for abortion is adequate.

So as you can see, there is only one question to be answered: Wwhat is the unborn? We need to know the answer because we all agree that it’s wrong to kill an innocent human being.

So when the question of rape or the age of the mother is brought up, the question isn’t about the mother, as sympathetic as we might be with the sometimes-tragic circumstances. The question to be answered comes down to this: what has the baby, a human person, done that he deserves to lose his life?

The pro-abortion groups have pulled off a very neat trick here: they have taken the baby out of the equation completely and made it all about the mother, when the question is all and only about the baby. No matter how tragic the circumstances or how emotional the situation, we as Christians must remember that it’s all about an innocent child. What we will do with this most defenseless of God’s creations? That’s why outstanding organizations like the Kingston Pregnancy Care Centre exist, so they can provide alternatives to abortion.

b) What happens to a fetus who dies while she’s still in the womb?

Firstly, we can look at Romans 1. In it, Paul tells us that all men and women are without excuse before God because He reveals Himself as Creator in the awesome universe all around us (for you armchair theologians out there, this is called “General Revelation”). Since a fetus has never had the opportunity to see that general revelation, God’s mercy must rest upon her. I am also reminded of King David’s words when speaking of his dead infant son, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Sam 12:23) This can be understood to imply that the child is in heaven, where he will eventually be joined by David.

Also, again God’s grace must be present since this is a human being who will never get the choice to decide whether or not to follow Christ.

Finally, we can also rest in Genesis 18:25: “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” We can concede that at times God’s plan is a mystery to us on this side of eternity. There are times when we must bow the knee and simply say, after Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” (13:15). We know that God’s justice, mercy and grace are perfect and we know He will always do the right thing.

As an aside, some have said that, in that case, why not encourage abortion since then we’re guaranteeing that more people go to heaven? This is wrongful thinking for two reasons:

We are commanded not to murder (more on this below)
God ultimately gets to decide who lives and dies, from conception to natural death. Anything else means that we are playing God, which we are also commanded not to do.

c) Why does the New Testament appear silent on this issue?

This argument is actually put forward by some as an argument in favour of abortion (just as some say that since Jesus didn’t talk about homosexuality that had to mean he was in favour of it).

Firstly, there are a couple of reasons why there would be no problem with the silence:

Klusendorf (p.139) writes that a study of the Jewish culture and writings of that time shows it to be a profoundly anti-abortion one (among others, the historian Josephus wrote about the anti-abortion laws of the time; the Sybiline Oracles also pronounced as “wicked” those who had abortions)
In very early Christian history (mid to late 1st century), the Didache, a document published to guide the early church, specifically speaks of abortion in paragraph 2.2: “You shall not kill a child in the womb nor expose infants.”

So since the culture surrounding the writing of the New Testament was pro-life, there would be no reason to even bring it up when it was being written. It was obvious to everyone.

Secondly, the silence of the New Testament is not compelling to me personally, since Christians are people of the whole Bible: it seems to me that “You shall not murder” (Deut. 5:17) pretty much covers abortion, doesn’t it?

What do you think? Do these answers make sense? Do you agree or disagree? There are many more questions that could be asked and answered - don’t hesitate to contact us and ask! And if you can, take some time this week to talk with your group or other people about this vital issue for our times.

Finally, take some time to pray for all the defenseless in our midst that we, as followers of Christ,, would have the courage to stand and defend them.

Carmen
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING/TRAINING

The Didache, or The Teaching of the Lord Given to the Gentiles by the Twelve Apostles, can be read online, along with commentaries, at http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/didache.html

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (www.evangelicalfellowship.ca) “The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is the national association of evangelical Christians in Canada. It gathers Evangelicals together for impact, influence and identity in ministry and public witness” Their website has a page titled “Abortion/Fetal Rights” at http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/page.aspx?pid=365

Klusendorf, Scott. The Case for Life. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2009.

Life Training Institute (www.prolifetraining.com) “LTI was started by our president Scott Klusendorf in order to create a ministry that focused entirely on pro-life issues with the goal of maximizing its impact through single-minded dedication. Simply stated, our sole purpose is to train others to save lives. That's what we're all about.”

Stand to Reason (http://www.str.org): “Stand to Reason trains Christians to think more clearly about their faith and to make an even-handed, incisive, yet gracious defense for classical Christianity and classical Christian values in the public square.” Their website contains hundreds of pages of free resources and training material on many apologetics issues, including defending the pro-life position (search the website for “abortion”). Together, Greg Koukl and Scott Klusendorf have created the outstanding course, Making Abortion Unthinkable, which is available for purchase on the site.

Touching Base! Part 154

2012-01-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

Hot Topics - Part 2 - Abortion
What’s In The Womb Matters!

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Once again in Canadian politics the abortion issue seems to be gaining some momentum in terms of moving to the front of public debate. In a recent interview with Evan Solomon, host of CBC TV's “Power & Politics”, Stephen Woodworth (MP, Kitchener Centre), said the law defining a human being dates back to centuries-old English common law and Parliament has a responsibility to lead a debate on whether it's time to rewrite it. "Our definition of human being says that a child does not become a human being until the moment of complete birth," he said.

So we believe that every Christ-follower should be doubly-equipped…

… with the best of science to understand that what’s in the womb does matter. “Embryology textbooks uniformly state that new human life comes into existence upon completion of fertilization…” (Scott Klusendorf, The Case for Life, p. 49)

… AND with what Scripture has to say about what is in the womb. Often in our world, even as Christians, we only allow the scientific data to shape our worldview on the unborn. However, we must also dig into God’s word on this issue. We believe that when we do, God’s word will show us what it is that science clearly points to - that what’s in the womb matters.

In this Touching Base, I want to outline four statements from scripture that will help us to see this.

What’s in the womb is described with the language of personhood from conception.

Text: Psalm 51:1-6
Read through this text. The most salient verse for our purposes today is verse 5.

Note in v1-4- What was David’s sin? (adultery with Bathsheba) Who had he ultimately sinned against?

But notice v5- David says that he was sinful… only from birth? Not just birth, but conception.

Conception- Hebrew meaning hot - fertilization.

How can someone be guilty at birth if they haven’t done anything? How does verse 5b answer that question?

Our guilt is not rooted in behaviour alone but in our nature. We are sinful by nature, not just because of our actions. David is stating a biblical teaching which is not unique to his pen alone but which is found throughout scripture. If you are studying this in a group, you may want to search up other scriptures that talk about the sinful nature.
Here is my point: What is synonymous with a sinful nature? Do cells have a sinful nature…? Does “potential life” have a sinful nature…? Scripture makes it very clear that humanity, persons, have human nature. David is using the language of personhood, “sinful from conception” to describe what is in the womb at conception. What’s in the womb matters.

However, there are a number of pro-choice advocates who would say personhood does not come into being until later. Carmen spoke about the following two in particular:

Mary Anne Warren, an American writer and philosopher, asserted that a person “is a living entity with feelings, self-awareness, consciousness, and the ability to interact with his or her environment.” (Klusendorf, p.52) And so a human fetus can’t be a person with rights since it has none of these. One point to note is that, by that definition, any sleeping person can be killed since they fail the test as well. But the most important point to note here is that Ms. Warren is simply making an assertion (as opposed to providing evidence), without explaining why persons should be defined this way.
Another idea has been articulated by Paul D. Simmons, a university professor and minister. He “concedes that zygotes (early embryos) are biologically human but denies they are "complex" or "developed enough" to qualify as "persons" in a biblical or philosophical sense. ‘No one can deny the continuum from fertilization to maturity and adulthood,’ writes Simmons. ‘That does not mean, however, that every step on the continuum has the same value or constitutes the same entity.’” (Klusendorf, p.52) In other words, since these things only “develop” later, the zygotes aren’t persons.

Answers to these arguments are to be found at the end of the Touching Base, using the SLED Test.

What’s in the womb is morally accountable to God.

Text: Psalm 51:1-6

Notice another biblical truth about what is in the womb. Whenever someone sins there are two questions we often will ask- what and who? What did they do? (we are just nosey) and Who did they sin against? In David’s case in v.1-4 we know both the “what” the “who”. But notice verse 5. What is the what? And who is the who?

What - What did we do/sin? Lots, if you look at our lives since exiting the womb. But our actions are rooted in a sinful nature, not some kind of bad psychosis. A sinful nature inherited, passed down to us from Adam (Romans 5). Sin is not just an action but a state of being/nature.

Who - The context of Psalm 51 makes it pretty clear that the Who of our sin is ultimately God.
So get this, David is saying that we are accountable to God, not after birth or at the age of accountability as we sometimes talk about but our accountability starts at conception. We are liable before God at that “hot” moment. Again note that things, inanimate objects and even life do not share in this unique kind of accountability that humanity or persons do. What’s in the womb matters - he/she is accountable to God.

What’s in the womb is the focus of immeasurable love/value.

Key Text: Psalm 139

A. Seen in God’s involvement
v.13” inmost being”- actually it is the Hebrew word for kidneys. This is probably so because in dismembering an animal the kidneys are the last organ to be reached.

Knit - note the intimacy of this imagery as the wool or fabric passes through the hands of the Maker.

Then read v.14, 15 - an amazing statement that science would agree with. God’s involvement speaks of our incredible value. We are constructs of God. But note the following comment:

“For many on the academic and secular left, natural rights are nothing but an oppressive ideology because for them human nature is nothing but a fiction. ‘In the understanding of the post- modernists,’ writes Hadley Arkes, ‘there is no objective nature of human beings, and no settled truths that arise from that nature: What we call human nature is socially constructed from one place to another according to the vagaries of local culture.’” (Klusendorf, p.65)

A biblical worldview is not based on a social construct, but on a divine construct.

B. Seen in God’s healing and restorative work. (Back to Psalm 51)

The common “scar” we all share as persons is a sinful nature. A nature that has been damaged by sin. What is the full story behind that scar? For example we all have physical scars. What is the story behind some of your physical scars? Our shared scar is a sinful nature and the story behind it is one of incredible love, sacrifice, healing, and restoration. David experienced God’s healing from his sin but he looked forward to that day when Jesus would come - God’s medicine in a physical ”bottle.” Read Acts 2:22-28. Also read Galatians 5:16-26 about our new way to live. What’s in the womb? Not just cells, not just life - but a person - scarred, yet a scar that shows that they are the object of God’s love.

What’s in the womb has intrinsic, not functional, value.

“Intrinsic”: inherent, built-in
“Functional”: you have to earn it

We live in a world that often equates worth with performance, productivity, assets, education. But when David says, “sinful from conception” David is illustrating the incredible worth and value of each human being. The analogy of the sin nature as a scar speaks of value – an object of love, an object of intimate involvement by God. Without a word being spoken by that person in the womb, without a degree being earned, without a culturally-acknowledged achievement, without a bank account to boast of or a trophy pointing to success - with nothing functionally accomplished, that sinful-natured person, although morally accountable to God is the object of God’s immeasurable love, fearfully and wonderfully knit together. The God of the universe makes provision for salvation without that person lifting a finger or taking a single step:
“But God demonstrated His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners (even at conception) Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)

That is the great mystery of the gospel, the good news: God’s love is not based on our maturity, performance or contribution but simply on God’s grace and mercy.

Now, some pro-choicers would disagree and say that our worth is based on functionality: size, level of development, environment and degree of dependency. Carmen referred to this as the SLED Test on the weekend. At the end of this TB you will find an extra document explaining what the SLED test is and how to answer those arguments.

Our prayer is that you would understand both the science and the theology of what’s in the womb and protect the person God loves.

If you or someone in your group has had an abortion, read the context of Psalm 51. Even in his sin, David experienced God’s forgiveness. Next week, in part 2 of this Hot Topic, the Kingston Pregnancy Care Center will be with us, as well as the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, who will be presenting in the morning services.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

SLED Test

RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING/TRAINING

Klusendorf, Scott. The Case for Life. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2009.

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (www.evangelicalfellowship.ca) “The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is the national association of evangelical Christians in Canada. It gathers Evangelicals together for impact, influence and identity in ministry and public witness” Their website has a page titled “Abortion/Fetal Rights” at http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/page.aspx?pid=365

Life Training Institute (www.prolifetraining.com) “LTI was started by our president Scott Klusendorf in order to create a ministry that focused entirely on pro-life issues with the goal of maximizing its impact through single-minded dedication. Simply stated, our sole purpose is to train others to save lives. That's what we're all about.”

Stand to Reason (http://www.str.org): “Stand to Reason trains Christians to think more clearly about their faith and to make an even-handed, incisive, yet gracious defense for classical Christianity and classical Christian values in the public square.” Their website contains hundreds of pages of free resources and training material on many apologetics issues, including defending the pro-life position (search the website for “abortion”). Together, Greg Koukl and Scott Klusendorf have created the outstanding course, Making Abortion Unthinkable, which is available for purchase on the site.

Touching Base! Part 153

2012-01-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

A. Sending 24 people overseas in February and March to Honduras, our international focus this year. Short-term missions trips are a proven way to help people develop a global perspective of what God is doing, and a passion for missions.

B. Continued collaboration with the elders, staff, deacons, and membership/congregation of Bethel as we continue to flesh out the vision and identify key action steps over the next 3- 5 years.

C. Our new partnership with Ellel that kicks off next weekend (January 20-21). At this point there are over 40 registered for the training that will cover a 12-month span, one weekend per month. As we seek to be more prayerfully engaged, this training will help several of our people be equipped in this area. This is a city-wide event drawing people from a number of different churches.

D. Our Prayer Summit is on January 29th this year. We are excited to take this event off-site to the Salvation Army Community and Family Services location at 342 Patrick St. We believe that it is very important to bathe what we do in prayer. This will be an opportunity for the body to come together, be informed about some of our partnerships and pray about where God is leading. Stay informed, and plan to attend. Details are in the bulletin.

E. We are excited about assimilating new families and individuals into the ministry of Bethel. I get personally excited when talking to new people who say that one of the main drivers for coming to Bethel was the vision (responding to the heart of God, transforming the heart of the city, nation and world). We look forward to who God will raise up to help the church be powerful not just in its gathered times but, equally importantly, in its scattered expressions, 24/7! Team is one of our values and it is becoming increasingly one of our strengths.

A few more things to think about:

First, let us continue to be willing to walk with people in whatever place they may be. Some are at the peaks, looking out with renewed strength and experiencing days of great hope and enthusiasm. Others are in the valley, barely able to lift their head, wondering where God is, wondering if anyone cares. Welcome to the body of Christ! We are all in different seasons, we all have different issues, and we all are in need of God’s transforming work in our lives. Let us continue to be a body that cares, making God and people the centerpiece, not programs, and being a conduit for the power of God to touch hearts deeply.

Finally, I am grateful for the many leaders I get to work with who represent so many great teams at Bethel. This past week I had a great meeting with our Design Team, leaders who regularly meet to evaluate services and discuss ways to make our musical worship increasingly God-centered and life-changing. We also process any input we receive from the church about music-related issues. This is a great team of men and women who care about what happens on Sunday mornings. Later this past week I had a meeting with a group of folks who are helping us develop our leadership culture at Bethel. Again, I am so grateful for people who say the local church matters and who are willing to give their best energies and thoughts to what happens. I’ve also met with members of our teaching team to go over up-and-coming messages. We can gain valuable insights when we submit our teaching plans to gifted teachers, men and women in the church. On Wednesday our staff had a full-day retreat. We do this twice a year. The first half of our meeting was focused on long-term planning - we looked at the next 12 months and laid out events and tried to evaluate what is working and not working and how our vision informs us on what can be improved or even deleted. The second half of our day saw us engage in a team-building event. We were led by an outside consultant who helped us work through the Myers Briggs personality assessment tool. This is a great tool for understanding team members and dynamics.

So thanks for all you are doing! Realize that we are a church called by God to do something on this corner, 314 Johnson Street, not for our own glory, but for the glory of God.

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine
or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but
by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!”
Ephesians 3:20-21 (The Message)

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 151

2011-12-12T02:57:00.000-08:00

A Gift in a Box
Part 1 - The Gift of the Magi

Guest posting by Eric Prost

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

In this December series, “A Gift in a Box”, we’re examining some of the blessings that flow from the true Christmas gift, Jesus Christ.

In his famous short story, The Gift of the Magi, American author O. Henry (1862-1910) tells a conventional Christmas story but then concludes with a twist, a surprise ending. In the sermon and the accompanying TB, we’ll look at the famous story of the Magi in Matthew’s gospel, not drawing surprise or unexpected conclusions, but hopefully glorifying God by seeing it afresh.

Read Matthew 2:1-12.

The Magi gave the baby Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their gift to us is to show us how to respond as obedient, subject, surrendered servants to our Master.

A lot of traditions surround the Magi, or wise men, who came from the east bearing gifts: some traditions name them (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar)... other traditions make them magicians or assume there were 3 (or 8 or 12)... many believe they were Persian scholars or priests who travelled west to Jerusalem until the story begins in Matthew chapter 2.

What is clear from the Biblical account is that nothing in the story is easy. The Magi from the east probably travelled 1200 miles, which may have taken up to a year by camel. When they arrived, they weren’t sure where to go. When they ask the king (Herod), he is disturbed by their arrival and their questions. Everyone is upset. No one is happy or too curious. Even the priests and local wise men are not impressed. They know from ancient scripture, which they quote, that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, and they point the way for the Magi… but don’t bother to go along.

Then the magi are tricked by Herod (almost) into divulging the whereabouts of the baby King so that Herod can murder Him. They then give their best gifts away. Finally, the visitors who travelled so far and should have been held in some esteem, sneak away out the back door, never to be heard of again.

Nothing about the account was easy… except for one thing, in verses 10 and 11:

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed […] and they bowed down and worshipped him”.

In the KJV and English Standard versions it reads, “and fell down….” and in J.N. Darby’s translation, “and falling down did him homage”.

To be overjoyed, and then to be subject to Christ, to worship him, to do obeisance, to surrender – face down – seems to have been easy and spontaneous.

Now read Romans 6:16-22.

The Magi take us back to our Christian Beginnings, to the basics. We often hear of the great truths about being co-heirs with Christ or about being children of God or about being Christ’s bride. But first, we must be his slaves and he our Master.

We can be one of two things: we can be slaves to sin resulting in death, or we can be slaves to God and righteousness leading to holiness. Either way, we are slaves (a stronger word than “servants” and probably a true translation).

As John Stott puts it,

“Conversion is an act of self-surrender; self-surrender leads inevitably to slavery; and slavery demands a total, radical, exclusive obedience. So, once we have offered ourselves to him as his slaves, we are permanently and unconditionally at his disposal”.

This may not be easy. We can look to the Magi as they spontaneously fell before him as an example, but it can be hard to do.

Finally, it’s important to realize who the Master is.

God isn’t asking us to be enslaved without knowing something about the Master.

He demands holiness, yet is meek and lowly of heart and says his yoke is easy and his burden light (Matthew 11:29). The Magi offered the gift of myrrh, which can foreshadow when the same spice was later used to prepare Christ’s body for burial by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea (John 19). The Magi asked where they could find the “king of the Jews,” the same title later fixed to his cross. We are to be slaves to a Master who sacrificed himself.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) wrote that “Never had a soul true happiness but in conformity to God, in obedience to His will”. He emphasizes how we were bought for a price and now belong to God and live in a relationship of obedience. Therefore, Christians should “come, not seeking a sign, but determined to go on seeking Him, honoring Him, serving Him, trusting Him, whether they see light, or feel comfort, or discern their growth, or no” (emphasis mine).

So this Christmas we fall down, overjoyed, before a baby, and then rise, changed, surrendered, ever to be at his disposal.

Questions: In Romans 6: 19, does it seem like Paul is apologizing for the stark comparison of Christ-followers to slaves? Do you ever lose sight of some aspect of your position as a Christ-follower? Do you ever ignore being a slave or a bride or a son/daughter or a conqueror or a disciple or an evangelist?

Eric

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact us at bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 146 (Re-Post)

2011-12-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

DEE HOLMAN – ONE DAY AT A TIME - PROSTITUTION
Guest posting by Meredith MacKenzie

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

People often call prostitution the “oldest profession” and hold very negative opinions of those involved in its practice. And while many persons are involved in prostitution (men, women, children, transgendered) most of the comments in this Touching Base will refer to women. My purpose is to provide some background information on sex work in Canada, what our current legal climate is, as well as suggestions for a way forward and why, as Christ followers, we should care. As you read the following facts, you will come to realize that most people are involved in sex work as a profession of last resort.

Research has shown us that most women involved in prostitution are sexual abuse survivors. A study that interviewed 854 women currently or recently involved in prostitution showed that, of the 100 respondents from Vancouver’s downtown east side[1]:

54% were younger than 18 at age of entry
86% experienced homelessness (current or past)
73% were beaten or hit by a caregiver as a child
84% were sexually abused as children

Furthermore, while in prostitution:

67% were threatened with a weapon
91% were physically assaulted
76% were raped
95% used drugs
47% used alcohol

When asked “What do you need?” these same women reported:

95%, to leave prostitution
66%, a home or a safe place
67%, job training
82%, drug/alcohol treatment
41%, health care
41%, peer support
58%, individual counselling
49%, self defense training
33%, legal assistance
32%, legalize prostitution
12%, child care
4%, physical protection from pimp

A Toronto study found that 90% of women wanted to escape prostitution but could not[2]. In Nevada 81% of women in LEGAL brothels stated they “urgently want to escape prostitution.”[3] It should be noted, however, that there is a small and vocal minority of sex workers who say they choose prostitution as a viable job option.

More Canadian data shows us that 70-80% of those involved in the Canadian sex industry began as children. 80-95% are fleeing from sexual abuse that usually began in their homes[4].

Further marginalization occurs within our current legal system as well. A Vancouver study concluded that, in the past, police have largely overlooked men who buy sex from children. From 1988 to 1994, the study stated that only six charges were laid against people who bought sex from children. In the same period, however, 354 juveniles were charged for selling sex[5].

There are many factors that influence involvement in prostitution. They can include sexual abuse history, drug dependency, trafficking, emotional and financial duress, lack of supportive family structures, poverty, limited education and a real or perceived lack of choices.

Current debate in Canada is being waged in the courts regarding legalization, decriminalization and abolition:

“Legalization” refers to amending the Criminal Code so that the industry of prostitution is entirely legal and regulated like other industries;
“Decriminalization” aims to repeal certain parts of the Criminal Code, allowing for prostitution to be considered in the same manner as other occupations;
The “abolitionist” argues that prostitution is not, and cannot be, a safe, legal form of work for anyone. They seek to decriminalize the actions of the prostitute and criminalize the purchasers and purveyors.

Sweden has adopted a policy based on gender equality - they argue that normalizing or legalizing prostitution is equivalent to tolerating violent behaviour and disrespect to women. Thus, they have instituted harsh penalties for johns (the men who pay for prostitutes) and have provided funding for the provision of supports for prostitutes (aftercare programming, counselling, rehabilitation, etc.).

Since the Swedish laws criminalizing the demand side of prostitution were implemented in 2000, trafficking in humans has almost completely stopped (down to about 400-600 women per year). Finland, whose prostitution laws are similar to Canada’s, registers 10,000-15,000 trafficked women per year, and yet is half the size of its neighbour Sweden. Stockholm, Sweden also saw the number of johns reduced by 80% and street prostitution was reduced by 66%. [6]

Now let’s contrast this with the situation in the Netherlands, which adopted a policy to legalize brothels and address prostitution from an employment/labour law position. They believed that the new laws would protect women from violence and eliminate organized crime’s involvement in prostitution. Unfortunately, since legalizing prostitution in 2000, 66% of Amsterdam’s legal brothels have been closed down due to the government’s inability to control organized crime. The number of children in prostitution has increased by more than 300%. One state in Australia also legalized prostitution (Victoria) and saw increases in child prostitution.[7]

The links between prostitution and human trafficking are undeniable, since prostitution is the destination point for most trafficked persons. By the mid 1990’s, 75% of women in legal German prostitution were from other countries (most had been trafficked from Eastern Europe).[8]

So prostitution is only and ever a violent exploitation of vulnerable individuals.[9] It is an issue of gender equality and involves the sexual exploitation, violent oppression and abuse of society’s most vulnerable children, women and men. The Bible is full of reasons why we should care about the issues in prostitution. After all, God has charged us with the responsibility to act justly, love mercy and to walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). We are also told in Matthew 23:39 to love our neighbours as ourselves, and Isaiah 1:17 tells us to “say no to wrong, learn to do good, work for justice, help the down and out, stand up for the homeless, go to bat for the defenseless.”

Are there any barriers you can identify that prevent you from engaging in this issue…?
… personally?
… culturally?
… structurally (politically)?
… as the Church?

Where can we go from here?

Consider your own attitudes about prostitution and challenge cultural attitudes by raising awareness on how the purchase of sex involves exploitation (see the NCAP website below).
Lobby for appropriate policy changes to protect those at risk (see Evangelical Fellowship Link).
Provide a safe place of welcome, acceptance, friendship, healing and restoration (i.e. true Christian Community) where lives can be transformed.

Resources/opportunities:

- http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca
- http://www.prostitutionresearch.com
- http://www.ncapuk.org
- http://www.catwinternational.org
- http://www.rahab-ministries.org
- http://www.rahabministriesthailand.org
- http://twu.ca/life/ministries/outreach/volunteer-opportunities/rahab-ministry

Meredith MacKenzie

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact us at bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

[1] “Prostitution and Trafficking in Nine Countries: An Update on Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Farley, M., Cotton,A., Lynne, J., Zumbeck, S., Spiwak, F., Reyes, M.E., Alvarez, D., Sezgin, U. Journal of Traumatic Practice 2 (3/4): 33-74, 2003.

[2] Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto, 1987

[3] Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada: Making the Connection. ISBN: 0615162053, Melissa Farley, 2007

[4] Kimberly Daum, "Sexually Exploitated Children in Canada: The Law is Not on Their Side," Opinion/Essays, 17 October 1996

[5] “Vancouver: Predator and Pedophile Paradise”, a study by John Turvey, executive director of Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society; Mark Clayton, "To Curb Vancouver’s Big Trade in Child Sex, Police Nab ‘Johns’," Christian Science Monitor, 1997

[6] “Selling Ourselves: Prostitution in Canada Where are we Headed? A comparison of the Swedish and the Dutch Models, and the Correlation Between Prostitution and Human Trafficking.” The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. April 2010

[7] Myths and Facts about Trafficking for Legal and Illegal Prostitution. Farley, M., March 2009.

[8] "Trafficking of Women to the European Union: Characteristic, Trends and Policy Issues," European Conference on Trafficking in Women, June 1996, IOM, 7 May 1996, Elizabeth Fry Society of Toronto, 1987

[9] Selling Ourselves
See also Prostitution of Indigenous Women: Sex Inequality and the Colonization of Canada's First Nations Women. Lynne, J., Farley, M. 2008.

Touching Base! Part 150

2011-12-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

Wherever you are, someone’s been there.
Part 6 - Nehemiah

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

As I prepared for this message I kept thinking how I hoped this TB and message would challenge people to worship Christ more fully and engage the heart of the worshipper more deeply with the wonder and beauty of Christ. I hope that by reading and or discussing this TB, that both will happen.

On Sunday we concluded our Wherever you are, someone’s been there series. The final character we briefly looked at was Nehemiah, a cupbearer for King Artaxerxes of the Persian Empire. One of Nehemiah’s dilemmas was that rubble was his trouble. The walls of Jerusalem had been burned and destroyed, so the city and its inhabitants, commerce and culture were vulnerable to outside enemies. However, there was something else of huge importance that formed the centerpiece of Jewish life. It was the Jewell of Jerusalem and, no doubt, its survival (along with the people) was a major concern to Nehemiah. That jewel was the temple.

A temple:
- Was a political, social, cultural and spiritual center
- People travelled from afar to offer sacrifice, engage in various festivals

But here is the problem: temples are like our bodies- they wear out. Like the walls of Jerusalem, they eventually crumble. You see, the temple in Nehemiah’s day had been rebuilt years earlier on the foundations of a previous temple.

Temple #1- Solomon

Built 480 years after the Exodus- Many thousands of labourers and skilled artisans were employed in the work
It was destroyed (2 Chron. 36:18-21)
It lay in ruins for 70 years
Rubble was its trouble

Temple #2- Zerubbabel

Built by the 50,000 returning exiles (2 Chron. 36:23 and Ezra 2 - Note Cyrus is now King and the Persian empire has taken over the Babylonian empire)
Built on the footprint of the old temple
The name of the guy who was in charge – Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah
But for Zerubbabel, rubble was his trouble too

Temple #3- Herod the Great- sad, mad and dangerous

He restored a dilapidated temple that Nehemiah’s walls had tried to protect
Apparently his logo was on every block
Twice the size of Solomon’s
The area could hold up to 250,000 people.
Greatest building project of its time, built on 35 acres of land
But Herod’s temple became rubble as well: Within forty years after our Lord’s crucifixion, Roman legions took the city of Jerusalem by storm, and in spite of Titus’ efforts to preserve the temple, his soldiers set fire to it in several places, and utterly destroyed it (A.D. 70 – just had Jesus had predicted). It was never rebuilt.

A visitor in Herod’s temple brings us to our hope, our celebration of Christmas. Read John 2:18-22 (you may want to read the whole context). What did Jesus claim?

Big Idea: The work of man last only a lifetime (if that) but the plans of God last forever.

Jesus represents a hope that does not disappoint, a foundation that does not crumble, a structure that will not collapse, the centerpiece of our lives that will not be stolen, plundered and carried off.

Let’s take the remaining part of this TB to spell out why Jesus is a better temple.

A. The partnership between man and God is different in the “building” of this temple.

Earthly temple - For example, in the case of the building of Solomon’s temple, God partnered with Solomon. Remember Solomon’s words recalling what God told David - “Your son (Solomon) whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.” (1 Kings 5:5)

Jesus - the temple - there is a partnership but a little different. Home Depot was not needed - no hard hats, nail bags, work boots. Check out Matt 1:18-20. Any observations about this partnership?

Do you know anyone who rejects Christ because they reject the teaching of the virgin birth? Virgin birth, meaning “conceived of God in Mary’s womb minus an earthly father”. This kind of partnership troubles some. We understand partnership when we read about God inspiring Solomon to build a temple and then Solomon using his resources to put it into play. But this kind of partnership is harder to understand. But a virgin birth reminds us that our salvation is from God and that Jesus was sinless (Luke 1:35 - “called holy”: He did not inherit a sinful nature) - thus it was a once and for all sacrifice. We will see this in just a minute.

B. The material/substance is different

Earthly temple - What do we know about temples? Rubble was their trouble – their destiny! They had a starting point and an ending point.

Jesus the temple - read John 1:1-18 and make your observations on the substance difference. There are at least 7 passages in the NT that point to Christ’s deity. Rubble was not Jesus’ trouble.

The claim of Christianity isn’t that Jesus was a good man but the God-Man, God in the flesh. We don’t worship a good man because that will always disappoint. We worship the God-Man!

C. The beauty is different

Earthly temple - Check out what the disciples said about Herod’s temple in Mark 13:1.

Jesus the temple - What kind of beauty does Jesus display? Read the article by Phillip Yancey at the end of this article for discussion.

What kind of beauty?
- His beauty was not in his physicality but in his nature, character and his work - God in flesh

The Beauty of Christ can be seen in,

- His Nature - Colossians 1:19 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him...”

Thus -
• No corruption was found on his lips- as was found on some of the priests who had served in temples past
• No greed was found in his heart- as was found at the commercialized gates of Herod’s temple
• No grave holding his decomposed remains- as other temples- rubble was their destiny
- His Character - "Character is supreme in life, hence Jesus stood supreme in the supreme thing - so supreme that, when we think of the ideal, we do not add virtue to virtue, but think of Jesus Christ, so that the standard of human life is no longer a code but a character." E. Stanley Jones

- His Work - Luke 4:18,19

Does the beauty of Christ (nature, character and work) breathe life into your faith and shape your faith?

Beauty does make a difference - I remember when we lived in Jakarta the pollution was so heavy you couldn’t see the blue sky. It could get you down - day after day in the smog, traffic and noise. But then the rainy season would come and wash out the air and when the rain stopped, the sky would be a rich blue and you could actually see the mountain range around Jakarta. It was almost like you could just walk to them. It made living in Jakarta for those few clear sky days feel so different because of beauty. When we understand the real beauty of Christ, how will it affect our relationship with Him, and with His Church the Bride?

D. The work is better

Earthly temple- in all three temples, blood was spilled time and time again. Check out 2 Chron. 7- read to v.5.
Imagine the Passover in Jesus’ day when Jews would pilgrim from afar and sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. Remember this temple could hold thousands and thousands of people.

Jesus- the temple - Read Hebrews 9 and 10 - just sections - what do you note? Note how the earthly temple was always pointing to a better day and a better way. Jesus is the temple and priest and the sacrifice - once for all. Three in one!

I think many still live in the “OT temple” mindset. When they come to God they feel they need to have something in hand. Probably not a bull, goat, pigeon or lamb but how about works, works and more works? But the NT makes it pretty clear that when we come to this temple, the sacrifice has been paid-. Thus we can come in faith, worship and adoration. See Rev. 5:12-14 and Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 28:16,17 (personally I love the Matthew text because it illustrates the tension we often can live with or work through).

This Christmas season we celebrate a temple that cannot be destroyed! Rubble is not Jesus’ trouble! He is to be the centerpiece of our lives, in which we put all else into perspective. May it be so!

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact us at bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

“We know nothing about Jesus' shape or stature or eye color, and thus, as a writer, I could not begin where I normally begin in reporting on a person—by describing what he looked like. The first semi realistic portraits of Jesus did not come until the fifth century, and these were pure speculation; until then, the Greeks had portrayed him as a young, beardless figure resembling the god Apollo.

I once showed to a class several dozen art slides portraying Jesus in a variety of forms—African, Korean, Chinese—and then asked the class to describe what they thought Jesus looked like. Virtually everyone suggested he was tall (unlikely for a first-century Jew), most said handsome, and no one said overweight. I showed a BBC film on the life of Christ that featured a fat actor in the title role, and some in the class found it offensive. We prefer a tall, handsome, and above all, slender Jesus.

One tradition dating back to the second century suggested Jesus was a hunchback, and in the Middle Ages, Christians widely believed that Jesus had suffered from leprosy. Most Christians today would find such notions repulsive and perhaps heretical.

Yet in all the Bible I can find only one physical description of sorts, a prophecy written hundreds of years before Christ's birth. Here is Isaiah's portrayal, in the midst of a passage that the New Testament applies to the life of Jesus:
Just as there were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness… . He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Evidently our glamorized representations of Jesus say more about us than about him.”

(Yancey)

Touching Base! Part 149

2011-11-29T02:50:00.000-08:00

Wherever you are, someone’s been there.
Part 5 - Hosea

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

An interesting question to consider as we start this TB is, “Do you relate to God out of your head more or out of your heart?” Another way to get at the answer is, “do you think your way through a situation or tend to lean more towards feeling your way through a situation?”

Of course in the Christian life God wants us to love Him with our hearts and our minds. He wants us to love all of Him with all of ourselves, in all the complex and wonderful ways that He has made us. This TB is focused on discussing how God might be shaping your heart these days. Yes, God wants us to have big heads (sound doctrine), but He also wants us to have big hearts - hearts that reflect the heart of God, as we engage with the world in which He has placed us.

Before we jump into the main text, check out some of the ways Jesus felt when He looked upon the broken world of the first century:

He wept over the death of His friend Lazarus (John 11:34–35)
He felt compassion for the people because they were without capable leaders (Matt. 9:36)
He experienced grief and wept over the city of Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37; Luke 19:41).

Do you feel your heart is fully alive when it comes to responding to the world around you?
Ever had an experience where that which breaks the world breaks your own heart as well?
How does a big head (sounds doctrine) nurture a big heart - compassion, brokenness, burden ?

Text : Hosea
Although Hosea was a “minor” prophet in the OT (i.e. his book is relatively short compared to Isaiah’s, for instance), he nevertheless had a major experience that, no doubt, connected his heart with God’s heart for the state of Israel.

• Notice the “what”...
What is the state of Israel in this time period? The best analogy to describe the state of Israel is that of a broken marriage where betrayal has happened. It’s the best of times and the worst of times. In spite of great economic and political success, Israel was sleeping around on God. If any of us have been betrayed, then we can deeply identify with the emotion of this book. Read through some of the following texts to get a feel for the strong imagery of God as the jealous husband and Israel as the adulterous wife. (e.g.,2:2; 4:10-12; 5:3-4; 6:10; 7:4; 8:4-6, 9; 9:1, 10, 15; 10:5; 11:2, 7; 12:11)
Note that Hosea’s words are primarily focused on Israel. Israel would be the first to go into captivity, followed by Judah in the south.

The “what: of this text is Israel. God wants Hosea to feel His pain and sorrow as the betrayed “husband”.
What is it that God may want you to feel more deeply about these days?
Has your heart “woken up” recently to anything it had “slept” through in previous months?
Do you ever struggle with how indifferent your heart can be to brokenness?

• Notice the “how” - read v.1:1-11

1. Draw near to brokenness
Okay, this is where this text gets really interesting. There is a lot in this text that we cannot get into right now but notice the “how”. How does God connect Hosea’s heart with His own regarding the state of the Jewish people? Notice in v.2b whose love Hosea’s love mirrors. God is shaping Hosea’s heart to mirror the heart of God. God is asking Hosea to draw near to an adulterous woman, just as He has drawn near to an adulterous nation.

Note: Obviously this is an exceptional directive by God to Hosea in terms of the specific action. At times, God asked His prophets of the OT to do some pretty bizarre things in terms of acting out the message. Prophets in that day fulfilled a unique role in that era.

Note v.2b “adulterous wife”- some see this as being a temple prostitute that Hosea is to marry. For others the words "an adulterous wife" are to be understood proleptically (i.e. the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished) Gomer was not a harlot at the time Hosea married her. Thus this marriage mirrors God’s “marriage” to Israel: chaste at the time (Jer. 2:2-3), but later to become adulterous, a fact God would have fully known at the time of the “marriage”. Regardless of how you might interpret this, Hosea is being asked to DRAW NEAR TO BROKENNESS.

(For the sake of space this TB won`t expand on the rest of this chapter but rather will focus in on the marriage to Gomer in the opening verses)

Imagine if you could just press the pause button on this story, enter into the story and sit down with Hosea and ask him, “How do you feel?”

Let’s stand back and evaluate God: Is this fair? Anybody wrestle with what God is asking Hosea to do? Is it fair that God is asking Hosea to experience what God has experienced on the part of the Jews - unfaithfulness, betrayal, estrangement?
Do you think Hosea ever experienced some pretty dark nights of the soul?

When we come this close to the brokenness, it can turn our world upside down. What’s interesting is that you can read through this book and there is nothing personal regarding Hosea. No journaled thoughts, no statements in terms of how he was processing this.

But others have journaled when they have drawn near to brokenness. On Sunday I referred to Mother Theresa and C.S. Lewis. Perhaps you have wrestled with your heart as you have been drawn near to brokenness, such as a death, like C.S. Lewis experienced or poverty like what Mother Theresa faced.

Is your intimacy with brokenness expanding your heart to feel as God feels?

Here is a little exercise to do. Finish this sentence, “I feel more deeply when...” - below are some of my thoughts on this.
... when I see the person not just the masses
... when I hear the story not just the name or title “Sex traffic worker”
... when I can take the time to listen not just talk
... when I pray and ask God for the heart of God
... when I hang around with some people who feel deeply
... when I experience disappointment, increasing signs of mortality in my own family
... going on a mission trips, Constance Lake, overseas, smell it, see it touch it!
... when I chose to love difficult people and ask God to teach me to love.

Note that drawing near did not necessarily have to do with being drawn to the poor, even thought that can be a big part of it. The bigger issue is drawing near to brokenness which is no respecter of income, education or status.

2. Demonstrate radical love in brokenness - chapter 3
Take some time to talk about the emotion of this text. What do you think could be Hosea’s biggest complaint to God. Note who Hosea is imitating (v.1b). Don’t miss this, God wants our hearts to mirror His heart. See again 1:2b.

Drawing near to brokenness and demonstrating radical love in that brokenness - this is what God did in the OT, but in Jesus we see this theme emerge in a powerful way. Drawing near and embracing brokenness is the heart of the Gospel - at Christmas we see God drawing near to brokenness through a baby in a manger, dressed in flesh – Emmanuel, “God is with us”. At Easter we see radical love demonstrated to a broken world - a cross, nothing more radical.

Crucifixion is the ultimate obscenity
Crucifixion is the ultimate deterrent
Crucifixion involves stripping the victim in order to humiliate
Crucifixion means a body would be picked apart by birds of prey
Crucifixion states the sadistic desires of the strong
Crucifixion is reserved for the vile criminals
Crucifixion is synonymous with shame
Crucifixion is synonymous with suffocation
Crucifixion gives a lasting commentary on a person`s life
Crucifixion means a person is cursed by God
(McKnight, One.Life, page 186)

“Perhaps we forget….Jesus has entered into your suffering and into your disgraces and into your depressions and into your shames and into your pains. The cross is not just a redemptive place for the follower of Jesus. The cross is also a solidarity place where God joined us in our deepest death.” (One.Life, page 187)

Hosea is living out the heart of the Gospel. When Hosea is asked to love Gomer even after she has walked away, he mirrors God’s initiative with us (Romans 5:8).

God doesn’t just ask Hosea to walk out the heart of the Gospel, He asks all believers - the church - to walk out the heart of the Gospel. We are the body of Christ - Draw near, demonstrate radical love!

Take some time to pray as a group that God would allow your heart to mirror His heart. Pray that as you draw near to brokenness that your heart would not grow hard but soft and sensitive to how God is wanting to shape your heart. Ask God to enable you as He did Hosea to demonstrate radical love. As we do, people will see the heart of the Gospel.

“Change my heart oh God, make it ever new, change my heart oh God, may I be like you! You are the potter I am the clay, mould me and make me, this is what I pray.”

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact us at bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 148

2011-11-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

Wherever You Are, Someone's Been there.
Part 4 - Abigail

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

On Sunday we picked up on our fall series entitled, “Wherever you are, someone’s been there”. The issue we looked at was that in our relationships, there are certain kinds of people that can get under our skin. They have the ability to irritate us and possibly even to control us. The big idea on Sunday was, “the landmine of people can wreck you”. Not all people represent landmines but some of them really know how to throw us off course.

The Text: 1 Samuel 25
The context of our story is that David has been anointed by Samuel to be the future King of Israel. Saul is still on the throne and David’s relationship with Saul is anything but pleasant. In various encounters David has with Saul, he has opportunities to kill him; even his men encourage him to wipe Saul off planet earth. However, David represents incredible self-control, patience and wisdom. He realizes for now that Saul is God’s anointed King, and God is the one who will ultimately deal with Saul, not David. However, as we come to chapter 25, David encounters someone who gets under his skin. He straps on his sword and is ready to rumble! Note that on both sides of this story, chapter 24 and 26 we see David handling Saul with great patience. But chapter 25 tells another story.

As a group read the entire chapter and do the following:

Identify the major characters
What do we know about these characters?
What details are important in understanding this story?
Other observations?

On Sunday these are the points I developed in light of the big idea.

1. Your “skin dweller” likely resides under the skin of others.
Note v.17: Nabal has no doubt left a wake of angry people in his travels. How come people can become like this? So obnoxious and rude! Here are some of my answers:

a. They are acting out of their own pain - often people can be downright nasty and cantankerous because something in their past feeds such behaviour. Ugliness comes out of brokenness.
b. They are not open to honest conversations - whenever you sit down to talk about the issue they cut you off. They turn the tables. They start accusing you. THEY DON’T LISTEN. In a world where they don’t listen, and receive counsel they can become nasty because there is no accountability, no honest conversation.

2. God might be calling you to be a “game changer”.
Some of us might be in a position to be a game changer. We see what is happening between two people. We are witnesses. Abigail was that person in this story. She is not just good look’n but she is smart and enters into this story as a second-to-none peacekeeper. Notice what she does well - here are some tips from Abigail on keeping the peace:

a. She models great courage. (v.18,19) Note the issue is a hot one and no one is stepping up. She courageously steps up and does something. If she had done nothing the outcome would have been drastically different. Do you need courage these days?
b. She understands the issue vs. makes assumptions. She knows what her husband has done and she knows the injustice that David has felt. This is evidenced in v.18-19 by what she brings to David. Have you ever made assumptions about two people in disagreement and thus offered up the wrong counsel?
c. She goes face to face (v.20) - No e-mail can be a great blessing.
d. She does what can be done. Peacekeeping assignments are hardly ever clean, textbook and bloodless. Notice she can only talk to one party involved in this problem. Notice that, as far as we know, David never actually meets up with Nabal.
e. She helps David think clearly. (v.25-31) On Sunday I listed the areas that she helped him think clearly about. Can you identify those areas in these verses? She didn’t really tell him anything new. However, when some people get under our skin, we can forget the basics.

As a group discuss these peacekeeping tips. Which ones do you most identify with?

3. We may need to repent. Sure, the skin dweller has their issues but we can often find that our hearts are led astray in encountering these kinds of people.
Notice David’s response (v.32-35) - David does exactly what Nabal was known for not doing, LISTENING. This is a great picture of repentance. David’s sword is strapped to his side, and he is ready to kill Nabal. He was going down the wrong path, but repentance meant that he took the sword off and changed direction. Repentance – it’s changing your whole way of thinking and giving up your agenda.

Ever had to do a U turn in this kind of scenario?

Discuss the following quote by Charles Swindoll:

“Be careful to test what you think to be a prompting from the Lord. ....It is true that you have living within you the Holy Spirit of Almighty God, and He always gives good guidance. But you also carry with you many pounds of carnal flesh that makes wrong seem right. A transformed mind will tell the difference, but that doesn’t take place overnight. Maturity comes with time and experience; it’s a product of a growing intimacy with the Almighty. So I urge you to put your promptings to the test. ... Refuse to act impulsively. Instead, weigh your words carefully, sleep on decisions having significant consequences, and remain open to reproof. Does Scripture affirm the wisdom and morality of your choice? Do the wise and godly people in your life have any objections? What has your past experience taught you? Have you asked the Lord to examine your heart over the matter and then prayed quietly?” (Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives, page 139)

The Land Mine Of People Can Wreck You! True, isn’t it?

Do you identify with David and need to repent?
Do you identify with Abigail and need to step up and bring some peace?
Do you identify with Nabal? Let’s face it we all can get under people’s skin on some days.

Finally read to the end of this story. Where do you see the Gospel paralleled or contrasted? Some clues:

David is a future king with feet of clay. The end of this story reminds us that his household is a mess and his marriage practices follow the pattern of the surrounding nations more than God’s blueprint. Check out Genesis 1,2 and Deuteronomy 17:16,17.
Where is the perfect King? Luke 1:32,33: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Where is the perfect peacekeeper?

Abigail stood between David and Nabal and took on guilt that was not hers. Did you note that in v.24? Likewise, Jesus stood between God and man and took on guilt that was not His. So one thousand years before the ultimate sacrifice was given to make peace, Abigail prefigures Jesus Christ, the perfect King who makes perfect peace!

We are all in need of a real peacemaker and peacekeeper.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact us at bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 146

2011-11-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Lest We Forget

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

In this TB we are taking some time to remember and to give thanks for the blood spilled for our freedom. We all may share different views on the role of the military, but we have all benefited from their sacrifice over the years.

Canadian Deaths
Boer War : 267
WW I : >65 000
WW II : >45 000
Korea : 516
Afghanistan : 162
Peace-keeping : 114
TOTAL – Approx. 111 059 (+ wounded - approx 188 052)

Have you had any family members or close friends in the military? Do you know their stories?
Have you heard the stories of military personnel adjusting to civilian life once returning from the field? What are the challenges?

The Text: Luke 17:11-19

On Sunday we checked out the story of Jesus and the ten lepers. As a group use the following questions to revisit this story:

- v. 11 - What is the ethnic tension represented by the border Jesus is walking along? On Sunday I asked the question - What is uglier than leprosy? Based on what you know about Jewish and Samaritan relations how might each group answer that question? Remember John 4:9 “’You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)”

- v. 12-13 – From what we know about leprosy in Jesus’ day, it resulted in isolation and rejection. Imagine how this group of ten would feel living with this physical curse covering their body. Who might they say is the ugliest person in this story up to this point?

- v. 14 - Notice when they were cleansed. What Jesus tells them to do was in keeping with the Law. He would have offended no priest with His counsel here. What might be some words that would describe these ten as they experienced physical restoration?

But what happens next takes us to “real ugly”!

- v. 15,16 - What is wrong with this picture? Note two things: 10% said thanks, and the hero is... a zero, a Samaritan. Want to speculate at this point? Why only 10%? What was it about the Samaritan that prompted him to come to Jesus and say thanks? Got any ideas why the 90% failed to say thanks? In your experience do you find people grateful or ungrateful? What do you think are the essentials in character and experience that makes a person a grateful person?

- v. 17-19 – What is the expectation of Jesus in asking these questions? Notice what Jesus most aggressively reacts to in this story. Clue- it is not the lepers.

What is uglier than leprosy in this story? Put it in your own words as a group.

Here is a funny story about ingratitude:

“A South African man surprised nine men robbing his home. Eight of the robbers ran away, but the homeowner managed to shove one into his backyard pool. After realizing the robber couldn't swim, the homeowner jumped in to save him. The Cape Times reports that once out of the pool, the wet thief called to his friends to come back. Then he pulled a knife and threatened the man who had just rescued him.

The homeowner said ‘We were still standing near the pool and when I saw the knife I just threw him back in. But he was gasping for air and was drowning. So I rescued him again. I thought he had a cheek trying to stab me after I had just saved his life.’“

I think Luke 17:11-19 gets at a much bigger issue in the original context, the ingratitude of Jews towards Christ. Acts 2:36 tells us that instead of saying thanks, they crucified this Christ along with the Romans.

However, I also think Jesus is putting his finger on an issue that characterizes much of our North American culture. We can be lavished with much, and be grateful for little. We can live a relatively blessed life, but barely or rarely say thanks. We can be so preoccupied with what we need that we can barely see what we have. We can find ourselves amongst the 9 and when we do it is uglier than leprosy - Terminal Ingratitude.

Ever been bothered by ingratitude - in others in your own life?
Ever felt like throwing someone back in the pool?
Ever been troubled by the sense of entitlement our culture demonstrates?
Ever been guilty of just not saying thanks?
Is there anyone that you can think of that you owe a thanks to?

Take some time to reflect on what Chris talked about this morning and then spend some time in prayer thanking God for our military and praying for our military. Take some time to thank God for the ultimate sacrifice that was paid for our ultimate freedom. Before you do this, scan the story and see where you can see parallels or contrasts to the Gospel.

Some starters....

Like leprosy, sin will isolate us from a holy God
Jesus does not send us off to a priest for healing. He is the priest who heals.
Just like in this story we need to cry out to God for healing
The Gospel addresses the deeper problem of mankind - internal not external. The story illustrates the bigger issues are of the heart!
... got others?

May we be a people who often say thanks!

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact us at bethelcommunitygroups@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 144

2011-10-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Wherever you are, someone’s been there, Part 3

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

“I threw the hot dog toward Tiger Woods because I was inspired by the movie ‘Drive.’ As soon as the movie ended, I thought to myself, ‘I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger.’” This was the quote from the guy who threw the hot dog at Tiger Woods. Is this really epic and courageous? What do you equate with epic? Have any examples of epic either in your own life or in the lives of others?

In the walk of faith, our faithful God asks us to walk by faith. Sometimes the step He asks us to take can feel epic-like. It can demand a lot of courage. In fact it may seem so epic-like, that we are not sure we can or want to move in the direction in which God is calling us to go.

Why is it that we might feel that what God is calling us to do is so epic-like? What is it about the call, the act of obedience, that prompting from God that can be so challenging? Let’s look at our story to uncover some answers. We will get to the answers once we unpack the story.

Text – Read Joshua 2
The context is that Joshua has taken the helm from Moses. What Moses was denied - the Promised Land - Joshua is going to embrace. God is going to come good on His promise (1:3). God is a promise keeper, and Jericho is the first city in their sights as they move on from Shittim.

SCENE 1 (V.1-8)
Who are the characters? Where is the tension? What catches your attention in this scene? How are the characters feeling?

Notice that Rahab lies. Many have debated the ethics of this. My point is not to get sidetracked with this issue, but it might be worth stopping here with your group and asking - Would you lie? If caught in the same situation would you deceive? Think she was right? Wrong?

Don’t make enemies in your group if you are on opposite sides of this. Even Corrie Ten Boom found herself living with this tension.

Story
During World War II, Corrie Ten Boom was working on watches and enjoying life. As Germany invades and ultimately occupies Holland, we discover that her family’s faith in Christ as Saviour and Lord of all, regardless of race or gender, drives them to aid the Jews, who are being persecuted. It is quite amazing to note that the Ten Boom family practically fell into their smuggling operations. It is also interesting to note that they disagreed on how to handle certain ethical issues such as lying to the police (some members would and some would not) based upon their faith.

Well, about a year before the end of the war, the Ten Boom family was betrayed and sent off to prison and concentration camps. It is here that we really see what a life of faith and obedience to God means. In the end, Corrie survived the camp and set out to assist those who were impacted by the tragedy that was World War II.

Now the next scene in Rahab’s story, I think, will reveal Rahab’s true motive for protecting these spies. But I also think possibly something else is going on here. We know that Rahab was a prostitute. Not a temple prostitute, but a lowlife prostitute who was marginalized, abused and probably forced into prostitution because of financial need. I think part of the motivation to lie was that she saw these men as her ticket out... out of an oppressive lifestyle, deliverance from a culture that marginalized her. Freedom from the abuse, hurt and pain.

Look at some hard facts about sex workers today (a study that interviewed 854 women currently, or recently, involved in prostitution):

• 73% were beaten or hit by a caregiver as a child
• 84% were sexually abused as children
• 91% were physically assaulted
• 76% were raped
• 95% want to leave prostitution

Who can identify with the plight and pain of sex workers today, or even the pain in Rahab’s heart?

SCENE 2 (V.9-13)
What do you notice about Rahab’s heart? I think this scene identifies the most powerful motive for her to cover for the spies. She is convinced of the supremacy of Israel’s God. Note v.11b. She wants to be on the winning team. How do you think the spies felt when they heard how God had obviously entered Jericho before they did? God was at work behind the wall, in an unknown place. For me this is an amazing verse, demonstrating the incredible grace of God and the mysterious ways of God. We may, at times, wrestle with God’s harsh judgment in the OT, but a text like this reminds me of God’s big heart for lost people.

Ever been surprised to see where God is working? Got any walls you wish He would penetrate?

SCENE 3 (V.14-24)
Read to the end. Comments?
Back to our question, Why is it that we might feel that what God is calling us to do is so epic-like? This story provides some answers. Our faithful God asks us to walk by faith. That walk of faith at times will.......

Move us into the unknown
Think about the spies. Imagine them in Shittim being told by Joshua to go spy on Jericho. At this point in the story, what is unknown to them? Finish this sentence, “They have no idea that...” Scan the story for your answers.

Think of Rahab. Perhaps the greatest unknown is whether she can actually trust these men. Who else had she let down from her window, late at night so no one could see? Not just spies but perhaps husbands, fathers, politicians, businessmen who had come to her for sexual service. Men that she had learned not to trust, men who had willingly lied to others about their sexual escapades with a prostitute living on the wall, men who had stared their wives in the face and denied unfaithfulness, men who had said one thing in private but something completely different in public. MEN! And now she was betting the farm on these two men that they would be men of their word, men of honour, men she could trust would keep their promise, and when they saw that scarlet cord, would show grace.

When God calls us, and leads us as Christians, sometimes that calling will make us face up with some of our greatest challenges like trust, fear, vulnerability, risk, and maybe trusting the opposite sex. God sometimes calls us to move from the known to the unknown. What we have is the promise of God, but beyond that we have no idea how things will unfold. Ever been there? That is exactly where the spies and Rahab are.

Secondly, the walk of faith at times will...

... Call us to break with the past
Again Rahab and the spies have this in common: the spies come from a nation that, at one time, was characterized by collective stubbornness and unbelief. Read Num. 13:1-14:4. In this story we see how popular opinion sided with the pessimist, not the promises of YHWH. Perhaps this is why in v.1 Joshua commissions the spies in secrecy, not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past. He is not interested in what the nation thinks. To be obedient to the voice of God, they are going to have to break free from a decision that had crippled their nation for the past 40 years. It would be fair to say that Israel was in rut. A rut has been defined as “nothing but a grave with both ends kicked out.” Instead of fear, they would need faith, instead of intimidation, courage, instead of human logic, trust in God’s capabilities. For some of us to take that “next step” with God, we have to break free from patterns, and a history that has shaped us

Now look at Rahab: any evidence that she broke free? Read Hebrews 11:31 and Matthew 1:1-5. What evidence is there that she got out of the rut?

Graves (ruts) have all kinds of labels. Can you think of any labels?
How has God delivered you? What do you need deliverance from ?

Finally note the imagery of the scarlet chord, symbolic of a place of grace, faith and hope. Take some time to thank God for His grace in our lives as He calls us to Himself to walk this walk of faith.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Update

2011-10-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

Update

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This TB is an update on some of what is happening at Bethel. By keeping people informed of what is happening, we believe that good information can result in getting good feedback on many of the things that Bethel is up to these days.

Leadership Development
This fall we kicked off the season with our third annual Together Again event. This event saw about fifty 50 of our workers and leaders gather for a night of food, connecting and teaching on vision. We ended the evening with various ministry leaders giving updates in their areas before breaking up into prayer groups. There is some great leadership development happening at Bethel these days. Much of it happens in the context of one-on-one relationships. This November, we will be bringing together all of our ministry leaders and small group leaders for another time of prayer, training and networking.

The Team
God has been good to Bethel in that we have built some very strong teams at every level of the church. Church is not about one person but about teams of people coming together to help walk out the vision God has given us as a community. While we still have some slots to fill, we have been deeply impressed and are extremely grateful for all those who are pitching in. Teams are key as we seek to bless the city, nation and world.

The Future
One of the issues the elders will be working on this fall is doing a S.W.O.T (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the church with our staff. Our goal is to identify some key objectives to work towards over the next 3-5 years. While it is important to do 12-month planning, it is also important to look beyond that to where God might be leading us. Once we have had that conversation with the staff, we plan on taking the conversation to a broader audience for some good and much-needed input.

“Falling into” ministry
There are some things you do in leadership that you plan for, anticipate and move toward. There are other things that just happen, that you “fall into”. Actually God orchestrates events and leads us to go places we did not expect - one of the ministries that has evolved over time has been in ministering to people who have been “roughed up” in the local church. Bethel is no exception. Because we are fallen leaders and followers, we don’t always treat people as we should. I know I have not always displayed the fruit of the Spirit in all of my leadership. That being said, it seems that God has been bringing to us some individuals and families that are recovering from being wounded. Pray for Bethel that we would be part of the restorative process God wants to use in peoples’ lives.

Building Community
This year has seen us kick off the fall with 14 small groups. We believe that community life that happens in small groups is crucial to the overall health of the church. We have a great leadership team in place and are excited with where we can go with this ministry.

Partnerships
As you heard back on September 18th in our Rooted series, partnerships are key at Bethel. It is when we partner with other Christian ministries in town that we can be at our best as a church. Our developing partnership with Salvation Army and Ellel Ministries are key in helping us love the city as God wants us to.

Students
In a city church, we have many different demographics that make up the body. At Bethel, students (RMC, St Lawrence and Queen’s) are part of our identity. We are so grateful for the passion they bring, the questions they raise, the ministry heart they come with, and the leadership they provide. Our Adopt-a-Student program has gotten off to a good start this fall: for the first time an Adopt-a-Student potluck was held to help families meet their student, and 80 people attended. Also Soup-and-a-Bun was kicked off this year, providing a light meal on Sunday nights once a month just before the student-run Praise and Power service.

Missions
If you haven’t heard about our international focus this year, then be sure to pick up a brochure on the back table. this coming February and March, we are providing two missions trip opportunities to our international focus country of Honduras. Missions have always been a big part of Bethel and will remain so.

New People
We have several new people and families at Bethel this fall. We don’t view new people as customers but rather as workers that God is bringing to us to help get the job done. Customers belong in a mall, not a church. On October 23rd we will be hosting our Newcomers’ Lunch after the second service in the Upper Room. If you know new people at Bethel be sure to direct them to read more about this event in the bulletin. Connecting is so important, and this luncheon can really accelerate that process.

Take Responsibility
In order to be part of a healthy church it takes work, prayer and humility. Let me encourage you to:

a. Guard your relationships in the body of Christ. When stuff happens, don’t bury it or gossip about it but “Matthew 18” it. Relational health is so important to being a vibrant church.

b. Diligently seek God. It is not up to us or your parents or mentor to make you grow. The bottom line is that we are all responsible to seek God and make sure we are doing those things that nurture our walk with God.

c. Be a person who is prayerfully engaged. What has been so helpful in this area for me is not just praying with others but seeing my 24/7 as an opportunity to pray as God brings needs to my mind. Pray for Bethel, its leadership and ministries. Without God’s grace we are sunk!

d. Continue to see the whole gospel as the priority of Bethel. While we do want to meet physical and emotional needs of our community, we do realize that the most important need that has an eternal dimension to it as we address the spiritual needs of people. We are into good deeds in order to point people to the great deed that God did for us.

e. Build your life on the Word of God. We want to be a church that is biblically measured. That means you and me understanding God’s incredible letter and letting it transform our lives by the Holy Spirit. We are absolutely committed to the objective truth of God’s word.

Once again let me say what an honour it is to serve Bethel with so many excellent leaders and team members. God will do great things, and is doing great things. We are hungry to keep in step with His Spirit.

Got a question? Got some advice you want to give? Talk to me! Love to hear from you.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 143

2011-10-02T03:49:00.000-07:00

Wherever you are, someone’s been there, Part 2

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This past Sunday we tackled an issue that, based on the numbers, is killing us - deception! We have all read about scandalous “white collar” crime that has padded the pockets of the rich and left the middle-class with, in some cases, a lot less. Yet deception doesn’t just happen in the boardroom but wherever you have people. I imagine we all have a tale to tell about dealing with deception. If you are in a group, take a moment to share some stories about dealing with deception.

The Text: Genesis.
Jacob is probably best known for his mastery of the art of deception. Read Genesis 25:19-26. Jacob’s life demonstrates that he was where many of us are, living a life that accommodates deception. Let’s look at some of the dark truths surrounding deception in his life.

• Deception can creep around in our family genes Chapter 27:1-17 (Gene Creeper)

Not only is life sexually transmitted but so are some of the toughest issues we may deal with. Read this chapter and discuss what you see happening in terms of deception.

Who is guilty of deception?
Who is the instigator?

Notice the conscience that Jacob has at this point in the narrative.

Deception is the easiest path for Jacob to take. It is in his genes: Isaac, his father, is attempting to deceive his wife Rebekah in giving the blessing to Esau. Rebekah wants to deceive her husband Isaac after overhearing a conversation (v.6) She is convincing her son Jacob that this is the way to go. Jacob demonstrates some guilt but is quickly convinced that the way of deception is the way to go.

What is deception robbing Jacob and Rebekah of? (My answer- faith and walking in obedience, integrity)

Notice how deception allows them to control the situation as opposed to trust God with the situation.

On Sunday I talked about a premarital exercise I have couples do. They have to identify those things they want to embrace from their parents. For example: generosity, a loving home, clearly-defined roles. They also have to identify patterns, habits and values that they do not want to inherit. For someone like Jacob, what they need not to inherit is the practice of deception. Some people have grown up in homes where the art of lying to one another, and to others outside the home, was common practice.

Did you grow up in a home where deception was part of the context?

If deception was not in your genes, what are other issues you have had to intentionally not inherit in order to build a godly home?

Side note: God’s sovereignty is demonstrated in this story. You have wrong methods being embraced as well as a very dysfunctional family but God’s purposes are accomplished. You come to the end of this chapter and God’s will is accomplished, not necessarily in God’s way, but it is accomplished. Are you not glad God is sovereign?

• Deception will flip our relationships upside down.

Deception will always bleed destructive emotions into our relationships and they will wreak havoc on our friendships, families and workplace partnerships.
Check out two examples in Jacobs’s life:

• His relationship with Esau- 27:41
Later on when Jacob has to face his crime by meeting up with Esau, he is wrestling with fear 32:1-8. Note the prayer he prays in 32:10 which indicates that his sense of conscience seen years earlier in 27:11,12 still has some kind of pulse. He is clearly aware of his unworthiness.

• His relationship with Laban (better known as Uncle Laban)
Jacob had fled to Laban’s place after he “kinda” upset Esau. Rebekah his mother encouraged him to get out of town while he was still alive. However Jacob’s relationship with Laban is complex. Read Genesis 29:14b-27. Twenty years later the relationship is still complex. Read 31:38-41.

After having read these texts regarding Esau and Laban, as a group list the complex emotions that describe these relationships that come about because of deception.

Now let’s just do a reality check… is this story far from reality? Does stuff like this go on today? Do relationships, families, friendships get sideswiped and compromised because of deception that produces this kind of reality for some?

Is there any particular emotion listed that you can identify with and is directly tied to deception? For example you may wrestle with anger because of how a colleague deceptively engaged with you this week. Or, you may have seen an example of deep grief because of deception in a relationship.

Side Note: In all this mess God is hanging on to Jacob. God is not justifying what he is doing. Jacob is getting beaten up time and time again by his mistakes but God has a grip on him. We know that by the outcome of Jacob’s life but also by his prayer in 32:9-12. Jacob realizes that it is because of the greatness of God, not the greatness of Jacob that any good thing can come from his life.

Comment on the following....

“God doesn’t love Jacob because of who he is but because of who He is. ‘It’s on the house’ is one way of saying it and ‘its by grace’ another.” Peculiar Treasures, Buechner, pg. 58

Deception can be found in some of our most treasured relationships.

For me, a really sad part of this story is to see siblings lying to parents.

It all started in the garden - Genesis 3:8,9,10 – with the” kids” lying to their Heavenly Father. Note they used a bush to attempt to deceive.

It resurfaced again in Genesis 27- but this time the technology had improved and the costume was more elaborate- from bushes to a complex wardrobe. But the issue was the same- deception.
Then in Genesis 37:31-35 Jacob is older and his boys lie to him about what happened to Joseph. Again a creative wardrobe idea, a blood-soaked robe. And again the issue is deception. Note the emotions that goes along with the deception.

Deception knows no boundaries. It can enter into the most sacred, trusted, and valued relationships.

You might want to take some time to pray for some situations where deception has compromised the relationship. Healing and restoration are always greatly needed in such situations.

Side note: Remember Jesus saying - ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ You might think “Man, couldn’t he come up with a better character than Jacob? How about Enoch, he walked with God?” If you read Abraham’s story and Isaac’s story you see they have their issues. Jesus saying what he does reminds us that God works with us in our brokenness. He pursues us in our rebellion, comes alongside us in our weakness, and speaks into our lives in our despair. He is the God of the broken! Not justifying our ways but meeting us where we are at.

Wherever you are someone’s been there – Jacob - and his life testifies to the grace of God, the patience of God and the presence of God in our weakest moments.

2 Corinthians 4:1,2
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

Perhaps Jacob was where you are.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 142

2011-09-23T05:42:00.000-07:00

Wherever You Are, Someone's Been There

“Based on his extensive studies of both ancient and modern civilizations, the British anthropologist J.D. Unwin concluded that the whole of human history does not provide a single example of a society that achieved and consistently maintained a high level of culture without adopting heterosexual monogamy as the standard for marriage and family life. Societies that adopted more permissive sexual practices entered into periods of decline in art, science, religion and military power. The “track record of history” has confirmed the wisdom of the moral standards revealed not only to believers in Scripture, but to all peoples, through general revelation.” (In Evangelical Ethics, p. 12)

What fences in your estimation have been moved in our culture and are causing the greatest damage?

As a parent or friend, isn’t it tough to bite your tongue and, instead of preaching at them, let them move a fence? When have you thought it was better to shut up versus speak up? It might kill you to do this, but sometimes it’s the best thing to do. Nose bleeds are sometimes the best incentives for repentance.

Has a friend or parent ever allowed you to experience a bit of the pain of moving a fence?

Does allowing one to walk down the “fence adjustment road” always result in repentance?

Is it possible that these days, God is allowing you to move a fence and experience the consequences of doing that?

• He got intoxicated on..... (v.20-22) (ambition)

The mention of these kids and what they are known for is interesting in the development of culture: seemingly affluent, innovative, advancing, progressive, cutting edge. The Bible and archaeology point to the domestication of livestock, the development of music, and the invention of tools. BUT when you look at the bigger context of this chapter something smells.

Dr. Criswell said, “Man has learned to fly through the air like an Eagle; bore through the earth like a mole; and swim through the oceans like a fish; but has never learned to walk on the earth like the human being God intended him to be.” The image of God in us enables us to build great civilizations, but the sin in us causes us to tear it down.

Note the flow of this chapter. It starts out with a great birth announcement but things go south pretty fast. Note that the two main stories involve murder. You get to the end of the chapter and people are crying out to God. The only hope is found in another birth announcement - Seth. He would be in the genealogy of Jesus, our much-needed Saviour.

My understanding of Lamech is that he got intoxicated on ambition. Ambition is great, and societal advances as mentioned in this story are awesome as well, but they can rival Christ’s Lordship in our lives.

How does this happen?
What does it look like?
What kinds of ambitions can challenge the Lordship issue in your life?

• He wrote and sang a song (v.23, 24) (arrogance and pride)

On Sunday I gave a possible song title. Have you got any creative titles for this song?
Read through this song and make some observations. Many believe this was in song form with three couplets.

What is he getting at?
He is demanding greater leniency than whom? (See v.15)
Note that God set the law for Cain, but Lamech set the law for Lamech.
Note also that God is talking to Cain, but Lamech is singing to his wives. There is no recorded conversation between Lamech and God. Mmmmmmh… wonder why?
Most commentators, when seeing this in context, see this as an arrogant, belligerent boast.
Some believe that his name means “powerful, boaster destroyer, wild man”.

What would the title of the song be for the person you are praying for? (ie Not Now God! Running Free! – I am sure you can be more creative)
What tunes are coming from your heart?
What does the music reveal about your posture before God?

Perhaps Lamech was where you are.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 141

2011-09-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

Rooted (Part 3)

Would you say 50-60% describes the culture in Kingston?

Know any cynics?

b. Because of our history

Many years ago people from this church had a vision: “On May 4, 1874 a group of 25 people gathered in a home to form the 2nd Congregational church to minister to a destitute and unevangelized part of the city.”

On Sunday I said that we are not a Queen’s church or an RMC church or St Lawrence church. We are not a seniors’ church, married couples’ church, or a church for those who like hard pews. Those are extremely narrow definitions. Rather we are a city church that encompasses all the various kinds of people and needs found in the heart of the city.

What are the dangers of defining a church with too narrow a focus (i.e. Bethel is a church for married people)?

How does calling Bethel a church for the city help in our focus?

c. Because of Scripture

We desire to be a Biblically-measured church. We believe biblically-measured churches look up (Growing in intimacy with God), look in (Growing in intimacy with others), and look out (Growing in acts of service).

In Matthew 9:35, 36 we see Jesus doing what he often did in the stories of the New Testament. He had compassion. To have compassion means to have pity, express mercy. The Latin root means “to bear, conscious of others’ distress with the desire to alleviate it”. In other words Jesus was wrecked by what he saw. It disturbed His world, it impacted His soul. The needs around Him touched Him deeply and moved Him to action. The greatest act of compassion was when He willingly went to the cross to bear our burden.

What are the contributing factors in our society that can make us see need yet be unaffected?
What in the past has moved you greatly when it comes to seeing the vulnerable in the city?
How do you determine who to help and who to not help? (Think city focus)

On Sunday we introduced our developing partnership with Salvation Army. We already partner with them with the Bethel Houses. We are now developing that partnership as we desire to deepen our roots in serving the city, particularly in the second poorest area of town.

“In 1666 Sir Isaac Newton observed that in all of art and nature, just three colors exist; red, yellow and blue. All other colors are derived from these three. We know them as primary colors. But amazing things happen when these three colors collide.”( Sweeney, A New Kind of Big, p.19)

When churches partner with organizations we believe incredible things can happen. Amazing colors of ministry can be birthed in the city.

Here are some questions as you think of ways you can serve:

If you are in a small group how could you join in on the partnership with Salvation Army?
Possibly your group is already involved with another organization we partner with. What can you do this fall to support that partnership?
What could you do as an individual?
How important is growing in acts of service to one’s own personal spiritual growth and health as a small group?

I encourage you to join us as we seek to deepen our roots and release unprecedented amounts of compassion into the city.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 140

2011-09-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Rooted (Part 2)

“If community involves things such as knowing and being known, serving and being served, loving and being loved and celebrating and being celebrated then most relationships … are constantly devolving into pseudo-community. It’s the great temptation for small groups of people to slide into a state where they’re not quite telling each other the truth and they’re not quite celebrating each other. Instead they tolerate each other, they accommodate each other, and they settle for sitting on the unspoken matters that separate.” (Bill Hybels, Axioms p.101)

Isn’t that a terrible way to live? Yet if people think of three of their most significant relationships - spouse, family, close friends, there is a good chance that one or all three represent pseudo-community.

How do you move from unhealthy to healthy? One way is to be willing to enter into “the tunnel of chaos”.

The “tunnel of chaos” is a place of honesty, a place where the tough questions are asked and answered. It is a place where you dig down deep and say what maybe everyone has been thinking. It is a place where perhaps you make the first move. You go there because you are sick and tired of faking it, surface talk, skirting the issues and giving the answers everyone wants to hear. It is called “chaos” because it might feel like that for you personally at first and it might create some chaos as you decide to raise issues that have been buried or have never been spoken of. The tunnel of chaos is one of the ways we can break, or might I say, smash the ice, deepen roots and build some life giving community. It also can result in people fleeing to the hills, because some won’t want to engage at a heart level.

My bet is that you are part of at least one relationship where entering the tunnel of chaos would do your group or relationship a lot of good.

So if you lead small groups why not talk about the tunnel of chaos, draw it and have your group talk about how they can deepen community roots this fall.

If you are a leader of a ministry team, talk about the tunnel of chaos and how each and every person needs to have permission to jump into it when they need to. You will need to do this periodically to keep relationships healthy.
To all who attend Bethel, be sensitive to others in terms of how difficult it might be to do “community”, especially at first. Encourage, guide, instruct and contribute to others experiencing the deep rewards that come from deepening our roots in community.

Tim Kizziar said, “Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” You can be guaranteed that one of the commitments in life that really matters is deepening our roots in community. You won’t come to the end of life regretting that you valued people and relationships - I guarantee that!

Next week we will look at the third big decision we need to be making as we seek to fulfill our vision of Responding to the Heart of God; Transforming the Heart of the City, the Nation and the World.

Talk to ya next week!

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 139

2011-09-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Rooted (Part 1)

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This Touching Base is meant to be used as a tool to assist you in growing in intimacy with God. As a church it is our desire to respond to the heart of God, and transform the heart of the city, nation and world. While that is our corporate vision statement, it is also our desire that each individual who makes Bethel their home would grow deep roots in their relationship with God. It is out of a healthy, growing relationship that we can be used by God to bless the city, nation and world. I think most of us realize that the city, nation and world do not just need good human deeds (as great as they are), but a genuine encounter with the power of God to truly experience transformation.

How we deepen our roots could be illustrated several different ways. However, on Sunday we looked at David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23, 24 and answered the question, “What is the language of a heart desiring deeper roots with God?”

Psalm 139:23,24

Search me, God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and
Lead me in the way everlasting.

Why not take a moment and memorize this prayer, not as some sort of “magical prayer”, but a means of expressing your desire to grow deep roots with God.

“Search”
Search means ”to discover, probe, to be laid bare”. I think David is saying “God, you have the right to frisk me! Check my pockets, my whole being, what I have and who I am is all yours.” The heart which is the object of the search is just that, the inner man, the whole person.

Note in this chapter how David says in v.1 that God has already searched him. Of course God knows all that is in David’s heart. That is part of being God. In v.23, David makes it known that he will not resist the search, but will in fact welcome it.

Take a moment and read through Psalm 139 and note all that God knows about David, and thus about you and me.
Tell God that you not only acknowledge that He knows everything about you, but that you welcome His intimate knowledge of your heart.

“Test”
Note that the verb changes from search to test and the object changes from heart to anxious thoughts. Anxious means “an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs” (such as sweating, tension, and increased pulse). David’s life is causing some heart palpitations. What we can take from this was that there was some kind of situation in his life that was causing his heart to race. Perhaps v.19 clues us in to some of what David was facing. Notice the verb - test. This is a word that in the ancient world referred to the process in which crude metal was customarily re-melted to remove impurities and to make metal castings (tools, weapons, images, etc.). The metal was heated in pottery crucibles (Pr. 17:3; 27:21) in ovens or hearths, bellows often being used to provide a current of air to create greater heat. This imagery is used of God whose desire is to purify our hearts, removing any dross or alloy that would contaminate them. In other words, sometimes trying situations or difficult times can deposit things in our heart that are like impurities that don’t deepen our roots with God, but compromise them. Thus the next verb makes a lot of sense.

“See...”
... if there is any offensive way in me. Sometimes we can go through trying situations, and our hearts get all messed up. Dross and alloys attach themselves.

Think about current situations that you are walking through. Has that situation or that anxiety caused your heart to be compromised? List some of the trying situations.
Take some time to ask God to test your heart. Is there anything in your heart that is compromising your relationship with God, preventing you from developing deepening roots? You may need to take some time to acknowledge the wrong, the issue that is grieving God.

“Lead”
Note the contrast, the offensive way vs. the way everlasting. The offensive way is filled with things that lead us into a dead end in our relationship with God by killing the root system. The way everlasting can refer to a prolonged life. God’s way, His truth, is life… is healing… is hope… is freedom!

What do you need God to lead you away from? ( i.e. attitude, person, circumstance, belief system)
What do you need God to lead you towards? ( i.e. His word, healthy community, forgiveness, purity, freedom)
As you think about the answer to these questions, pray and ask God for his empowerment. Who can you talk to about these issues? We are always stronger in community.

Wrap-up
Note that each of these verbs requires humility on the part of the person praying. Search, test, see and lead come from the lips of a person who has stepped aside, bowed in worship, and acknowledged the King. Humility and deep roots walk hand-in-hand.

Pray that God would give you the humility you need to allow God to do a deeper work in your life.
Each morning as you rise, why not take some time to pray this prayer back to God. Some love to journal so they can keep track of how God is shaping their hearts.

Next week we will be looking at growing in intimacy with others. We want to be a people deeply rooted in God and deeply rooted in community.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 138

2011-08-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

The Invisible Gift: Self Control

A Guest Posting by Lew Worrad

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

The Fruits of the Spirit, as delineated by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22, 23, have long been a template to evaluate Christian character. Surely all of us would be better people if we exhibited all of these Fruits of the Spirit in our lives. None of them are disposable. Yet not all of them are truly valued in the same manner. Such is the fate of the fruit: self control.

The mere fact that it is listed as last in a list of nine such traits leads some to believe that it is the least important of these traits. An ‘add on’, so to speak! Yet maybe its position in the list says something quite the opposite. Maybe the best has been saved to last.

Think of it this way - what would love be without self control? Or what would goodness be without self control? What would peacefulness be without self control? Any good thing can easily become a bad thing if it is not under control. So self control is quite necessary, essential one might say. But it is also quite invisible. Self control is not so much seen for what it does in itself - it is seen in what other things do not do. For example a truly loving person is seen as loving when they love in a situation where they could reasonably be expected not to love. The same is true of a good person. They are known as good due to the fact that they do good things when in fact they would not be expected to do a good thing. They are under control.

Surely, as Paul writes to the Galatians, they are out of control especially in the moral and spiritual areas of their lives. If they need anything, they need self control. And, if we take Paul’s other writings seriously, for example 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, we become keenly aware of the fact that a key requirement for a church leader is the fruit of Self Control.

Nowhere is Self Control more evident than in the life of the Lord, Jesus. He exercises self control in the face of threats from both political and religious leaders. He does so in the face of temptation by the Devil. And surely, if self control was ever in view, it was at the cross. Spit upon, mocked, cursed, humiliated, beaten… this self controlled Jesus is able to say, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.”

How does one acquire such self control? Paul states a number of things in the text:

Live in the Spirit,
Follow the Spirit,
Crucify earthly passions and lusts, and
Stay in sync with the Spirit.

Here are a few questions you might want to contemplate:

How self controlled am I?
In what area of my life am I least in control?
What steps do I need to take to change this situation?
How can I improve my relationship with the Spirit of God?

Lew Worrad

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 137

2011-08-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

Gentleness - When You Need to Listen to "Hard Things"

Guest posting by Fred Grendel

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

On Sunday, my Big Idea was “We need to go vertical with God, before going horizontal with each other.” The key verse was Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

Now in this Touching Base I’d like to expand on something I didn’t really have time to cover much on Sunday.

Many of us have been there - we sense there is tension between us and a friend, or us and another team member… and then they ask us to go for coffee. We show up at the Starbucks or Tim Horton’s of their choice, nervously order something to drink, and then it happens… before you get a chance to enjoy your cup of coffee, you realize that the person with you is about to say hard things to you: you are going to get rebuked.

In this case the person talking to you thinks that you need to be restored. In the moment, you can pray silently but you really don’t have an opportunity to get totally vertical with God in prayer, so what do you do? Personally, I can be very stubborn, hard-headed and driven as a leader, so this has happened to me several times and this is what the Lord has taught me to do when confronted by another believer:

Understand that gentleness has everything to do with humility. In the moment when you are being confronted, silently submit your will to God’s and ask him for strength (Ps. 25:19)
Actively listen. Don’t think about your response yet, just sit and listen (Prov. 5:7)
Ask clarifying questions, like, “What did you mean by that?” or “Can you give me an example of when this happened?”
Test what the person is saying with scripture. Don’t be afraid of silence during the conversation and when there is silence take time to see if what they are rebuking you for lines up with God’s word (1 John 1:4)

It’s okay to tell the person you need to get back to them on the matter. Give them a time or a place in which you will meet again (now you have a chance to get vertical in prayer with your Heavenly Father! (Ps. 86:6))

However, if you’re ready to respond to the rebuke and need to defend yourself, be careful of your tones and do so in gentleness as well (Gal 6:1).

If the person is right, confess your sin to them and admit that you have been wrong, asking for their forgiveness. If you need their help in battling the sin, ask. (James 5:16)

When it appears that the conversation is drawing to a close:

Ask the person if there is more. Now the last thing you will want to hear at this moment is “more” rebuke! Remember, however, that it took courage for your brother or sister in Christ to pull you aside, and they may have gotten through the “meat of the matter” and are losing strength to get into more minor details of your behavior which may be important.
If you’re thankful for the conversation tell them so (1 Thess. 5:18).
Ask the person if you can follow up with them even if all issues have been resolved. Sometimes we need accountability.

But what if things head south? One time when I was being confronted, I was clearly in the wrong. I had hurt the person so badly, and they were so unprepared for the conversation that part-way through it as I began to defend myself on a few matters, they got increasingly upset, and I actually felt threatened. In fact, I feared they were going to punch me in the face! In these situations:

Tell the person you feel uncomfortable and you need to leave
Do just that! Remove yourself from the place and situation before it gets worse!
Take the situation to what I call “stage 2” of Matthew 18. The next time you meet, bring some witnesses with you. Even though you may need to hear what they have to say, the other person clearly needs more help and you need the protection of some other Christ-followers. (Matt 18:15-17)

Have a great week, and if you find yourself in a situation where someone is saying “hard things” to you, remember that you are not alone. Thousands of Christ-followers including myself have been rebuked and restored.

Fred

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 136

2011-08-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Believing Big – Living Big! (Faithfulness)

Guest posting by Adam Davies

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Whether your commitment is to Jesus or to Allah or Buddha or some other God, or whether it is to morals or sensuality or pleasure or government or some kind of cult (like the Maple Leafs), the idea of faithfulness is not a new or a foreign concept. Faithfulness is the very groundwork for marriage, friendship, business or any thought or ideal that we cling to. Faithfulness is what we stand on - it keeps spouses from seeking other lovers, it keeps friends from abandoning each other, it keeps businesses from breaking contracts with their customers and it keeps Liberals and Conservatives on opposite sides of the imaginary dividing line in politics. Faithfulness implies a commitment to remain with our choice and forsake other options; faithfulness can be broken in an instant but is never accomplished. We are only as faithful as our last betrayal. What would you say you are faithful to? Have you experienced the opposite of faithfulness?

What exactly is faithfulness? How do we define it or characterize it? Is it something tangible we can measure or hold onto? We often look at faithfulness from the “doing” perspective: What do faithful spouses do? How do faithful friends behave? What do faithful businesses look like? Our questions about faithfulness imply that something is to be done or said or completed. Sometimes our look at faithfulness is even better described in contrasts, “If my husband was faithful, he wouldn’t sleep around” or “If my friend was faithful, then he wouldn’t have forgotten about me” or other such comparisons. I think all of this is good, but I don’t think it tells the whole story, I think we are leaving out the WHY question when we define faithfulness only in terms of what we can see.

What do I mean by the “why”? What I mean is, WHY BE FAITHFUL? What motivates or drives us to remain with our choice, persevere in our relationships, and stay steadfast in our commitment to Jesus? We don’t need to look too far. Paul says that “the fruit of the Spirit is… faithfulness”, and if we remember the context of this verse (Galatians 5:22), Paul is writing to a group of people who are walking away from God in deed because they are being convinced there is another way. Faithfulness has its root in faith (both the English and the Greek point to this), and faith means being persuaded or convinced or fully believing in something. This is the motivator to be faithful, and this leads me to the big idea, and that is “Faithfulness is the vindication of our confession; faithful people believe big and therefore live big.” So to figure out the “why be faithful?” question, we need to figure out is the “what is your faith” question. What do you believe? Is it the one true God? Is it the power of wealth or prominence? Is it the pleasure of food or lust?

One of our great problems is that we are often really good at the “Babe-Ruth-point-to-the-stands” without the “Babe-Ruth-swing-for-the-fence”! We say “I believe in God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength”, but we don’t always really follow through with the same well-rounded commitment. James gets us on this point in James 2:14-26. Here there are no punches held, James spells it out as clearly for us as possible: Faith without action is dead. Wait, I thought we were talking about faithfulness?! We are… think about what James says. If there is no action, there is no faith. We could just as easily say “if there is no faithfulness, then there is no faith”. The point of this is that James reminds us that if we lack the fruit of faithfulness, perhaps the issue isn’t really our “follow-through”, but rather our “pointing”. If we confess faith in Jesus but have no faithfulness to Him, then doesn’t that mean we really have no faith at all? Is our faith dead? I need to search my heart, as do we all, and ask God “Does my life match up to what my words are saying?” Have you ever heard God challenge the depth of your faith, whether through the lips of a friend or a spouse or in the words of Scripture?

So, is the issue with faithfulness that we have a tendency to prove ourselves unfaithful? Perhaps, but my conviction is that we all have the capacity for great faithfulness, to remain steadfast in our belief, to give and to sacrifice, to be utterly committed to something. The real question is, what or who has captured the attention of our hearts and what or who are we giving our lives to? The reason so many of us resemble Mr. Pliable and Mr. Facing-both-ways in Pilgrim’s Progress (if you haven’t yet read this classic you should!) is that with our lips we say one thing but with our hands and feet we say another. I know I have proven myself unfaithful when I say, “I follow Jesus” but I have given everything to continue in sin and selfishness. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua says to all the people, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Jesus says in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” So maybe a better question is not, “Am I faithful or unfaithful” but “what am I faithful to?” If we were to look at a week of our lives, or look at a day of our lives, what would that week or day tell us that we believe? Where do our money and time and energy and affection go?

On Sunday we looked at Hebrews 11, and considered what Abraham and Moses did in v.8-19 and v.23-28 respectively. Sure their actions were awesome, but why did these men do what they did? Hebrews 11:1 says that faith (that is, the motivator to be faithful) is “the conviction of things hoped for, the assurance of things unseen.” Read v.10, 11b, 13b, 14, 16, 19, 25 and 26... anything pop out at you? Not only should these things tell us why these men did what they did, but it should also make our heart explode out of our chest. Do we “consider the reproach of Christ [as] greater wealth” and therefore live in such a way that the world sees that truth? This is a great challenge to us, to let the incredible things that God says in Hebrews 11 to those who were faithful be true of us. Are we people “who God is not ashamed to be called their God”, “of whom the world was not worthy” and who will be “commended by their faith” in God?

Looking at Hebrews 11, so many of the people listed in those verses were faithful because they counted on the faithfulness of God. Faithfulness is one of those “communicable” attributes, that is, a characteristic of God that can be and is meant to be reflected in the lives of His people. God is all-powerful and all-knowing, and as much as we would like to be those things we are still working on the formula. Faithfulness, however, is something that can be reflected in our own lives, and it is a celebrated attribute of God. We sang about it on Sunday, and we see it all over the scripture - have a look at Psalm 136 or Lamentations 3:22-23 or search scripture on your own time and see how often the faithfulness of God is called upon or mentioned or praised. In Psalm 18, David says “I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” If God was not faithful, how could David say this?

On Sunday we shared communion together and I reminded us that communion is also a reminder of faithfulness, both from the perspective of God’s love for His people and of our faithfulness to Him. God shows His faithfulness to us by the giving of Jesus; long promised in the scriptures through prophecy, God the Father was faithful to send His Son to us. Jesus reminded us constantly of the faithfulness of God (see Matthew 6:25-33) and lived a life of faithfulness to God (His very food was to do the will of God, see John 4:34), even to the point of death. So when we take the bread and hear Jesus say again “this is My body, broken for you”, we remember His sacrifice and His faithfulness to us. But when the cup is passed and we hear “this is the covenant in my blood”, this is where we must pause and reflect about our own faithfulness. This phrase, “this is the covenant in my blood” comes from Exodus 24 where Moses commissions the people to do what God has laid down for them in the law. In v. 7 the people say “all that the Lord has spoken we will do” and in v. 8 Moses takes the blood of the sacrifices and throws it on the people and says “behold, the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Communion does more than remember the death of Jesus. Communion, in view of the death and resurrection of Jesus is also our re-dedication of ourselves to the challenge of being faithful people, living out the life that God has graciously given to us.

Faithfulness is the vindication of our confession: oh Lord, let our lives reflect that we truly believe in who you are and what you have done for us this week, and all the days of our lives.

Adam

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 135

2011-07-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

God’s goodness is right at your fingertips

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

How offended do you think people would be if they knew that Jesus had said the following, “No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18). I think that this statement of Jesus would irk some. It would be an offense to our sense of decency, independence, progress, sophistication, and superiority. After all, in the 21st Century (and long before) man has put himself/herself in the place of god. Yet the biblical concept of moral and spiritual good is thoroughly theological, and stands in sharp contrast with the anthropocentric view of goodness developed by the Greeks and later thinkers in the Greek tradition.

Our own goodness would, and does certainly “blush” in the face of God’s goodness. Paul understood this when he said that there was no moral good within human nature (Romans 7:18). If there is any good to be found in us, it had to come from God, for we are incapable of producing it ourselves.

In our study this week we are looking at the 7th trait of the fruit of the Spirit - goodness. God’s nature is ultimately defined by goodness and, consequently, so are the actions that flow from His nature. All throughout Scripture we read of people praising, literally boasting, about the goodness of God.

“God Himself is good; that is, He is everything that God should be — the ideal person, the sum total of all perfection. There are no defects or contradictions in Him, and nothing can be added to His nature to make Him any better. He is excellence to an infinite degree, possessing every desirable quality, and therefore of inestimable value. God is good.” Richard L. Strauss

An interesting fact about God’s goodness is that it was the first attribute of God to be brought into question when the enemy came to Adam and Eve and implied that God was less than good for denying her the luscious fruit of that one forbidden tree (cf. Genesis 3:1-5).

This week we answered the question “What is an example of the goodness of God?” The answer comes in the form of our big idea - The goodness of God is right at your fingertips. If the Bible is what it claims to be, and what God claims it to be, then God’s word to us is one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s goodness. He has given us a manual for this life and for eternity!

Let’s develop this big idea by looking at the benefits of Scripture as listed in Psalm 19:7-11:

It Revives the Soul

To revive is to return something to it original state, to make a linear motion back to a point previously departed from. There is a healing, restorative element to God’s word. The imagery that I used on Sunday was of a guitar being tuned. Our lives can get out of “pitch” and Scripture can bring us back in to tune. The greatest tune up is when we come to Christ and He restores what was lost in the Fall (in Genesis). Yet as Christ-followers we need to allow Scripture to tune up our lives daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice that the text says it revives our soul. In other words, Scripture does not do what Botox does. Rather Scripture takes God’s healing truth to our souls - the inner person - that often can involve repentance, forgiveness, exposing a lie, attitudinal changes etc. Notice that the implication of this statement, “revives the Soul”, is that we come to Scripture with contrition and openness to its authority. We deceive ourselves when we merely listen to it but do not do what it says (James 1:19-25)

During the day, when do you allow Scripture to revive your soul? I often end my own day reading Scripture and praying through what I read. Sometimes the day has affected my personal tuning and I need God to use His word to help me get back in pitch.

What was a recent tune up like for you? How did God’s word shape you or challenge an attitude?

It Makes Wise The Simple

This statement says something about the nature of God’s word: “It has been said that the Bible is like a deep, broad, body of water, shallow enough for a lamb to wade in but deep enough for an elephant to swim in.” (DeYoung, Editor. Don’t Call It A Comeback, p.66) However this statement also says something about humankind. In comparison to God, the most intelligent human being that has ever walked this planet is simple. Not only does our goodness “blush” in the face of God’s goodness but our intelligence and sophistication “blushes” in the presence of God. However, God is so good that He gives us His word. Listen to what the Psalmist said:

“Keep me from deceitful ways;
be gracious to me and teach me your law.
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I have set my heart on your laws.
I hold fast to your statutes, LORD;
do not let me be put to shame.
I run in the path of your commands,
for you have broadened my understanding.”
(Psalm 119:29-32)

Ever seen any evidence to suggest that in spite of all our advances, man is still somewhat simple? “Simple” means “pertaining to persons that are easily deceived or persuaded, showing lack of wisdom and understanding.”

It Gives Joy To The Heart (I will be brief on this point)

Note the benefits listed in this text. Is it any wonder that joy would well up in your heart because of how your life can benefit from investing in God’s word? Let’s remember that the word leads us to the ultimate Word that John talks about in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It is Jesus who can truly revive the soul, make wise the simple and bring light to our path. It is the message of Christ that is weaved from Genesis to Revelation.

It Gives Light to the Eyes

The imagery is pretty clear. The word of God is like a flashlight that casts light onto the path of life. There are other “light” sources that many choose to live by, but God has given us His word so that we can truly find our way. One thing I would say is that we can stick a flashlight on the shelf and only pull it out in case of emergencies and benefit from its light. But the word of God doesn’t work like that. My observation is that if you only pull it out in times of crisis you will fumble around trying to find the right light for the kind of darkness you are facing. And even if you find the right light, you may be so use to living in accordance with another light source that you might have a hard time believing, receiving and submitting to God’s light. God’s word casts the best light for those who daily invest and are shaped by its enlightening truths.

What part of your path needs some of God’s light these days?
How has God’s truth guided your steps in a recent decision?

The goodness of God is right at your fingertips. Are you embracing the goodness of God? Are you daily taking in God’s word? No doubt on a daily basis your heart is being bombarded by messages that are attempting to shape you and make you. God is so good that He has placed in our laps His Word for our lives. Don’t keep just keep it at your fingertips. Embrace it, or you will miss out.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 134

2011-07-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

Profit Bringer

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

How much does the world you live in need a little kindness these days? Do you know anyone that would greatly benefit from a little kindness? Is there possibly a struggling single parent, a family teetering, a senior in need of an act of kindness? Do you believe our world is deficient in acts of kindness? I have heard some say that the world can be a pretty cruel place.

This week in our Punch series we looked at the fifth trait of the fruit of the Spirit, “kindness”. Here is what the word means:

Moral goodness,
The idea of treating all people like members of your family
A person who is acts kindly, and who brings profit to their situation
A person who is described as a kind person is usually a person people want to be around because they feel empowered, enable by that person, they feel stronger.

On Sunday, I repeatedly used the phrase “profit bringer”. If you think about it that is exactly what a kind act, word or gesture does for someone else. They profit from the interaction, from the act of kindness. Their lives are better off because somehow their life intersected with a “profit bringer!”

Let’s check out a story Paul recounts demonstrating the influence of a “profit bringer”:

Text: 2 Timothy 1:16-18

“May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.”

The “profit bringer” is Onesiphorus, not a common household name today. Perhaps in the school yard his nickname was “One” so let’s stick with One for now. The profiteer is Paul. Note how much One stands out. In verse 15, everyone has deserted Paul. This is a bit of an overstatement but when you are in the pit that is what it may feel like. But One has stayed with Paul and as a result, Paul blesses everyone in the household of One.

Note the gratitude of Paul: Read v. 16a and 18a and you get an idea of how full Paul is with thanks for One showing kindness to him. I find that in all my conversations with people, when referring to people who are “profit bringers”, there is a welling up of thanks and appreciation directed toward that person or persons. Some even have tears come to their eyes when thinking of how deeply touched they were by a certain act.

Imagine living in such a way that people have this goodwill toward you or the church. Imagine having this kind of impact on people’s lives. The imagery that comes to mind is that of the wake a boat leaves as it rides along the surface of the water. Paul stands in One’s wake and says thanks.

It is not always easy to demonstrate kindness because sometimes the profit bringer needs to bring a hard word that may not be interpreted as an act of kindness. However, the full intention of what is said is for the person’s best.

Who is standing in your wake?
If you are married, what would your spouse be saying?
What are your friends, workmates or kids saying as they stand in your wake?

Note what One the profit bringer did: “… refreshed me…” (v.16) This is a great word which Paul uses here. It means “to cool off” or “to recover” from the effects of the heat. During this time of the year you can really feel what Paul is saying. We are all seeking refreshment on a hot day. I was down at Confederation Park the other day and one thing I noticed was how all the park benches in the shade were occupied. The sunny ones were vacant. People were even sitting on the ground, under the shade of the trees. Shade on a hot day attracts the crowds as they seek to be refreshed. One the profit bringer, in refreshing Paul, brought shade to Paul from the hot sun he was being exposed to as he served Christ. Paul is drawn to the “shade”, and gives thanks.

We don’t know exactly what One did for Paul but it is possible that One was wealthy and opened his home in Ephesus to provide “shade” for Paul while on his missionary journeys (see v. 18). How do you or could you use your resources to provide “shade” for people?

“(…) was not ashamed of my chains” (v.16)
At times when in prison, Paul would have been bound to a soldier. Note the contrast here: in v.15 Phygelus and Hermogenes ( I wonder if they had any nicknames - Phil and Herm) both abandoned Paul. Possibly they were afraid of the escalating risks of associating with Paul. Whatever the case, One did not become ashamed or fearful, but hung in there with Paul. One of the realities of demonstrating kindness, being a “profit bringer” is that there will be situations where you may be the only one bringing profit. For whatever reason everyone else walks by, ignores the need, deserts or abandons. To be a profit bringer can sometimes mean we stand alone. Perhaps this is why kindness is a fruit of the Spirit. We need divine strength, strength beyond ourselves, to move towards people who have “chains” that have caused other people to walk away.

What are “chains” today that can cause us to pull back on expressions of kindness?

Chains representing a past- a past that makes us fearful or judgmental of the person
Chains representing a particular lifestyle - their current practices we find appalling or unacceptable
Chains that represent our personal history with that person - our lives have crossed over in the past and there is a history of hurt and pain - they let us down so we now withhold kindness
Chains representing ethnicity - believe it or not even in Kingston, the color of someone’s skin can be a barrier
Chains representing… got another one?

You often see this in school yards but it reflects what can happen in adult school yards - the workplace, church etc.

“…he searched hard for me…” (v.17)
Again note the contrast. Phygelus and Hermogenes were on a mission of abandonment, One, though, was on a mission of engagement. This was not a leisurely stroll in the park looking around for someone random to whom he could provide shade. Note the language Paul uses, “searched hard for me until he found me”.

We talk about “random acts of kindness”, which is great: Unplanned, unexpected, a need pops up before you and because you are wired to God, you act - bring profit. We have all had these experiences.

But note that there is nothing random about this act of kindness. It is intentional, well thought out, planned for, with preparation involved. I believe that One is illustrating what it means to be led by the Spirit. God has laid Paul on his heart so when he goes to Rome, instead of going to the movies and then to the Keg afterwards for dinner ,he is walking the streets, knocking on doors, working his network, searching out Paul because God has laid Paul on his heart - nothing random about it! The last person he thinks about before falling asleep is Paul, the first person who comes to mind when he awakes is Paul - a profit bringer on a mission- sent by God and empowered by God to make a difference!

Has God ever laid someone on your heart like this?

My guess is that One was just what the doctor ordered for Paul to make it through this leg of his journey. Paul, in retelling this story to Timothy, underscores how important and meaningful One’s actions were for Paul when he was in Rome. I know that all of us could recount our story and think of a few people who, by their act of kindness, gave us the encouragement and resources we needed to face another day.

This week, try showing a little kindness. Be a profit bringer. By the way, guess what Onesiphorus’ name means? You got it – “profit bringer”. It wasn’t just what his name meant, but what his life came to represent. Might we follow in the steps of One who followed in the steps of the ultimate One demonstrating kindness beyond compare.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 133

2011-07-10T04:33:00.000-07:00

Got any off-beat clappers in your life?

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Patience… now there is a topic we can’t cover too quickly! On Sunday we looked at the fourth trait of the fruit of the Spirit in our Punch series. We used three objects to help us define this word.

The Timer
The most common word for patience in NT comes from a compound of “long” (makros) and “temper” (thymos). In the OT, the concept is denoted by Hebrew ’ārēḵ, meaning ‘long’. The idea is to set the timer of one’s temper for a long run. We might be use to “5 minutes” but God might be asking for 30 minutes!

The Duck
Built into this idea of patience is endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance - to remain under something. So patience isn’t passivity, but rather properly-expressed activity. It may appear like someone is doing nothing but in actual fact lots of activity is going on. When you look at a duck in the water, it may appear that they are just sitting there but below the surface, hidden from human sight, their webbed feet are paddling.

The Metronome
Finally, as you look at the practice of patience in the Bible one comes to quickly realize that patience is about keeping in step with God’s timing. Patience can have the effect of a metronome - it is about keeping in sync, in step and being led by the Spirit in all of my encounters.

The big idea we looked at on Sunday was that patience involves living in a way that is, at times, contrary to my human spirit, but in step with the Holy Spirit.

In light of the above definitions consider the following questions:

Where/with whom do you need to set a longer timer?
Where/with whom do you need to keep paddling?
Where/with whom do you need to work on keeping in step with God’s metronome?

Let’s consider three applications of patience:

#1 With Others….. in leadership
When it came to leadership Paul expected leaders to be patient and he himself modeled patience. Check out 2 Tim 4:1,2, 2 Cor. 6:3,4 ). In one sense, we are all leaders. As parents we lead, as spouses we at times take the lead on certain issues, at the work place, in friendship. Think about the following statements and how they apply to your situation of practicing patience with people. Perhaps one of these statements will describe exactly how you are feeling in a particular relational situation.

Patience may mean not acting, not speaking (biting your tongue), not deciding.... YET - but giving space, allowing time to run its course.
Patience may mean that in acting, speaking and deciding you go about doing it with a patient tone, demeanor, saying what needs to be said but in a patient way.
Patience may mean releasing only so much information, or words of instruction. Dumping the whole mother lode might overwhelm.
Patience may mean giving up your way and letting someone do it their way.
Patience may mean letting someone “hang” themselves so that they might listen next time.
Patience may mean not abandoning even though it would be very easy to walk away.

When attempting to practice patience with people there are a number of factors that can rob us of patience.

Conflict with anger can quickly snatch this trait from us (check out Proverbs 15:18, James 1:19, Ecc. 7: 8,9)
How have you seen conflict steal away patience?
Made any wrong decisions because the conflict sabotaged your patience and you acted inappropriately?
What do you do to prepare for conflict so that you don’t lose your patience?

#2 With Myself
“Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time…. I have heard of people who have life-changing, miraculous turnarounds, people set free from addiction after a single prayer, relationships saved where both parties ‘let go, and let God.’ But it was not like that for me. For all that ‘I was lost, I am found,’ it is probably more accurate to say, ‘I was really lost. I'm a little less so at the moment.’ And then a little less and a little less again. That to me is the spiritual life. The slow reworking and rebooting the computer at regular intervals, reading the small print of the service manual. It has slowly rebuilt me in a better image. It has taken years, though, and it is not over yet.” —Bono, lead singer of U2

Perhaps the most difficult person in expressing patience towards is yourself. Our spiritual growth demands patience. It is only as we patiently walk with God, keep in step with the Spirit does He grow us and shape us. Check out Luke 8:5 and Romans 5:3,4

Patience is the companion that we need to become all God desires us to grow in to.

We fall - patience says we get up
We relapse - patience says we go at it again
We have a bad day - patience says tomorrow is a new start
We fail in a particular task - patience says we learn from the failure
We are a disaster in a relationship - patience says we own our piece, do the time for the crime - become wiser for next time.

A Chinese proverb says, “Patience is power; with time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.” Ours is not the first generation to struggle with the frustrations of waiting. Patience is power because patience is partly what it means to live by the Spirit.

#3 With God
Ever felt God was out of sync?
Ever looked at the timer and said- how long Oh Lord must I be patient?
Ever felt like a duck- paddling, persevering and wondering- Where is all of this getting me?
Ever wished God’s metronome would speed up or slow down or.....?
Has exercising your patients with God ever resulted in complaining? Check out these complaints?
Ps 10:1,44:24,142:2

Our patience with God might not get God to do what we want Him to do but can result in God shaping us into the kind of person He wants us to become.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 132

2011-07-03T05:33:00.000-07:00

Peace On Guard
Guest posting by Eric Prost

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Main Text: Philippians 4:7

Peace is sometimes defined as “the absence of war”. This is true. However, “peace”, in scripture, often means much more than this. It is an active word, full of meaning and impact, not merely the absence of something.

For example, read Isaiah 26:3 – “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you”. This verse is not talking about the end of war but about peace as an attribute that God controls and gives to us.

Or read John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”. This verse is certainly not talking about the absence of conflict or war. After Jesus returned to the Father, his followers experienced a lot of conflict and persecution. And yet he still promised peace.

Question: What then is this peace that God says is a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22?

Question: Is it peace with God? (What other verses illuminate the idea of peace with God?)

It certainly includes this, and only followers of Christ with their sins forgiven can show the peace of Galatians 5. But could it mean more than the peace of knowing our sins are forgiven?

Question: Is it peace with others? (How is this crucial to leading a Christian life?)

It probably includes this, too. Pastor Mark taught on love two weeks ago and how that fruit of the Spirit should show in our community with others around us.

Question: Could peace mean even more than this though?

Peace as a concept – and a symbol – in the ‘60s and ‘70s was often countercultural and anti-establishment, a symbol of protest. The scriptural definition is not politicized and yet is more revolutionary than any opposition to the Vietnam War could create. The scriptural concept is richer, the bar raised much higher. It is nothing short of the idea of completeness and fulfillment that is total and profound.

Philippians 4:6-7 captures this: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Here’s what our 3 verses – Isaiah 26:3, John 14:27, Philippians 4:7 – show about this peace:

It is sublime or transcendent – “perfect,” “transcends all understanding”.
You need to trust in God to get it.
God controls it and gives it – He is the one keeping us in perfect peace, leaving peace with us.
Prayer is involved.
Anxiety, worry, trouble will lose their power.

Question: Are there examples from real lives you know where these 5 attributes of peace have been illustrated? Does it ever seem too easy? Are there times when this peace eludes us completely?

The last attribute (#5) is extremely practical and is related to peace as a fruit, a behaviour and attitude, in the life of a Christian. The final image in Philippians 4:7 illustrates this. It is a fantastic irony in the verse: peace is described acting in a warlike or martial way. “To guard” in Greek has a military connotation. Peace is actively guarding our hearts and minds. Peace (of all the fruits!) is on high alert, in uniform, as a sentry, guarding your emotions and your thoughts, your personality, from fear and trouble.

The same peace that exists at the throne of God, the same peace of Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, is active and on duty.

Eric

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 131

2011-06-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Joy
Guest posting by Fred Grendel

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This week at Bethel, the fruit of the Spirit called Joy, was taught in our Punch Series. This should leave us with lots to talk about in our small groups and over coffee.

It seems like a strange deal, we all want joy from the Holy Spirit but in order to get it we have to give of ourselves to God. There is no “I” in “joy”. As I studied “joy” this week and met people in coffee shops, I personally made some new discoveries:

The definition of the root Greek word “chara” (joy) says nothing about being able to feel joy. Pastor Mark and I were having coffee at Coffeeco by the church (our 2nd office!) this past week, and I used the word “joy” in describing how I felt in a given situation. Mark caught me and said I was using the wrong word, if I was talking about the fruit of the spirit called joy (thank you Lord that I still had more time to study the word before preaching!)

One of the next coffee appointments I found myself in was with Tom Desloges, this time at Starbucks next to Chapters in the west end. I asked Tom what joy was, and I liked what he said too: “It’s a state of being.” This resonated with me because, no matter what situation Christ- followers find themselves in, they can be joyful!

Then, I was at a prayer meeting called “City-wide prayer”. This is a group of Kingston ministry leaders who meet once a week to pray into kingdom issues. This week we had a representative from “Voice of the Martyrs”. This gentleman described situations that are beyond our sheltered Christian imaginations and one in particular stuck: there is a group now persecuting Christians by placing them in cargo storage containers in the middle of hot climates, where they essentially fry to death. I just had to pause from writing as the horror of this event happening began to hit my emotions. Can these martyrs experience joy in this situation? Yes, they can and we should pray that they do (if you would like to learn more about the persecution of Christians consider subscribing to “The Voice of the Martyrs” at http://www.persecution.net/).

Lastly, I was in Tim Hortons this week at the corner of Sydenham Rd. and Princess, having coffee with my wife Amy and discussing plans for our Constance Lake Trip. We are both very passionate and excited about the trip, but there is stress in planning a trip for such a large group (32!) so I asked myself the question, am I going to allow this stress to take away my joy? Stress can take away good emotions and replace them with negative ones, but it does not need to take away our state of being, rooted in the Lordship of Christ.

But let’s admit it, we all have hard hours, days, and weeks, and we do lose our joy. Beth Moore states five things that can take away our joy, none of which will surprise you because you have experienced them all I am sure:

1. When our output exceeds our intake
2. When we have just come through a spiritual victory
3. When our talk and walk are out of alignment
4. When we are exhausted
5. When we feel alone

Discuss in your small groups this week or over coffee with a friend:

Am I achieving balance between my output and my input?
Have I experienced spiritual victory? If so, am I guarded against spiritual attack?
Am I fulfilling my verbal commitments? Am I walking my talk?
Am I getting enough rest and taking enough time off each week to rest?
Do I feel lonely? Do I have the support I need in my spiritual walk?

The last portion of Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength”. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Not only does joy come from God, so does our strength, in fact they work hand-in-hand.

I used to believe that my all strength came from my physical body, but although taking care of our bodies and getting enough rest is scriptural, our real strength must come from the joy of the Lord!

What are you facing this week that you need strength and joy for?

One of the many points of Sunday’s message was that Jesus wants Lordship (control) in our lives, and the more Lordship we give him, the more the fruit of joy will grow in our lives! But we all struggle with Lordship issues. In the list below circle the issue(s) that you have the most trouble giving Jesus Lordship and discuss with your group or over coffee why this is difficult for you:

My mind, my attitudes and mental health
My body and physical health
My spirit and my worship
My family and relationships
My sexuality and its expression
My work and service to God
My material goods and needs
My finances
My emotions and reactions
My will and decisions
My manner and time of death

Consider praying through and into this list giving Jesus Lordship (and allow the fruit of the Spirit, joy, to grow in you!) Have a joy-filled week and maybe I will see you at your favourite coffee shop!

Fred

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 130

2011-06-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

If Walls Could Talk, What Would They Tell Us?

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

At Bethel we encourage people to P.I.E. each other (Pursue, Include, Engage). Great questions can lead to great dialogue and solid relationship-building. Here is a great question to ask (although I am not sure Sunday morning is the time or place), What are you recovering from?
If you think about it we are all recovering from something…

… a recent death
… rejection
… addiction
… personal and private
… an exhausting week
… a heated argument with spouse
… a major confrontation with kids
… financial disappointment
… a difficult season with the team
… heartbreaking news
… sleepless nights

This kind of question probably needs to be asked in a more private context, because you never know what the person may unload. What are you recovering from?

On Sunday we talked about how love is a key ingredient in developing healthy communities so that people can experience recovery. We looked at the first trait – love – that Paul lists in the fruit of the Spirit. Our key text was Galatians 5:13-15.

Text Gal 5:13-15
The question was, “how can I start loving?”

1. Stop indulging the flesh (v.13a)

While the Galatians (Gentiles) were free from the law (no need to be circumcised, to become Jewish etc.), they were not free to do whatever (this was talked about on June 5th). Paul admonished them not to indulge the sinful nature (better known as the flesh). The flesh represented those things that are contrary to the things of the Spirit.

“Indulge” was a military term used to refer to the base of operations. Paul is saying don`t allow your freedom to give your flesh a base of operations in your life. If you need a reminder of how opposite the flesh is to the Spirit, just read 5:19-26. What is your most tempting context in life these days to indulge the sinful nature? Ask that of the Galatians and they may tell you the CHURCH! In fact their story might not be terribly different than ours.

Think of a church building… the church you are from, this building (Bethel). Have any memories of indulging the sinful nature i.e. a brutal conversation, a mean-spirited rebuttal, a cold-as-ice response? Maybe within these walls, or maybe within the walls of another church building? If church walls could speak, how many stories of indulging the sinful nature could they tell? Would they conclude that we have been living by the Spirit, or perhaps indulging the sinful nature? Would the walls know we are Christians by our love?

Note in our context in v.15, the progressive use of three verbs - bite, devour, destroy. What does this sound like to you? Sounds like cannibalism to me. The ancients (especially in the Old Testament and Jewish sources, e.g., Prov. 30:14) used the metaphor of being eaten by others as a grotesque description of a horrible fate or inconceivable wickedness. Paul is making his point - Stop indulging the sinful nature! What is happening is grotesque, a shame to the name of Jesus and hindering the witness of the church. Who is recovering in this kind of context? No one! In this context you leave the church just to get healthy!

Here is a little exercise. Seeing that we can all be guilty of “cannibalism” at times, ask someone you trust the following questions:

Who am I biting?
Who am I sharp with?
Who am I devouring?
Is there anybody who can’t stand to be around me because of how I slice and dice them up all the time?
Who am I consuming?
Do I need to go back and ask for forgiveness because my words and actions maimed a believer?
Do I exhibit unhealthy relational patterns that destroy healthy community?
Spouses, roommates, best friends, small group participants

(Ask these questions of each other.)

How do I start loving?

2. Start serving in love (v.13b)

Note the contrast of love vs. cannibalism. In cannibalism, it is all about satisfying my appetite, satisfying what my sinful nature wants to do. I am the focus, I am the center, indulging myself at the expense of others. But in serving others, the whole orientation changes:

Serve - refers to bondage, slavery. Paul is not saying we are in slavery to each other, but he is saying that we are like a slave. We need to be thinking about how to serve, how to better the lives of those around us.

Love - refers to goodwill towards others.

Here are some observations about serving one another:

a. We need to do the right thing in the right way.

Love is the adverb that describes the action of serving. In other words, Paul is saying it is not enough to do the right thing - in this case, serving - but we must do it in the right way, with the right heart - love.

Imagine if God said, “See that person you have been biting, devouring and consuming? I want you to go over there and serve them by greeting them, welcoming them.” So you do it- painful but you do it.

Now God says- “Repeat the action but do it with a loving attitude” See how it goes deeper? See how the Christian life is about living by the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit drives us to depend on the Spirit to exhibit these traits.

How often would church walls speak and say, “Yeah they did the right thing but in the wrong way!” What is the hardest thing to do in the right way in your life these days?

b. He is in you to love.

Where is the Spirit in relation to the believer? Romans 8:9 makes it pretty clear that the Spirit is in us. He resides in the heart of the believer. Seeing that love is one of the traits of the fruit of the Spirit who is in you, then He is in you to love. The Holy Spirit desires His love to flow through you. Check out Romans 5:5, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Therefore, if you are not serving others in love, you are grieving the Spirit Who is in you. You are hindering a gift He has given you. What are potential “love-flowing blockages”? Start by looking at the acts of the sinful nature listed in v.19-21 and think about how some or all of these may block love from flowing. Keeping in step with the Spirit (v.16) means asking these kinds of questions and doing something by His power regarding the answers.

C.S. Lewis once reminded his listeners and readers that forgiveness was a lovely idea… until you had someone or something to forgive. The same applies to loving others. Loving others is a great idea… until the someone you are to love is a someone you don’t like. This is why challenging relationships are a great tool God uses to show us the stuff we have blocking our love flow!

c. While love is not the only fruit of the Spirit, it is the most important.

Note Romans 13:8-10, then note Galatians 5:14. How can you summarize the law with love? Here is a good quote that will help answer that question: “Every commandment is governed by love, comes out of the spirit of love and only states what love will do.” (Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher). Thus when I choose to walk in love by the power of the Spirit I am going to walk in God’s truth, live as Jesus did, reflect the heart, nature and character of God. The ultimate expression of God’s love was in sending Christ. It is only as I live by the Spirit that I can demonstrate this kind of radical self sacrificing love.

d. People are dying for community.

In Paul’s day the Galatians were in desperate need for healthy community. If they kept going the way they were going, they would be destroyed. Let me close with a great quote from Jim Martin. As you read it, be reminded of the fact that one of the greatest gifts we can give to the city is community, a community where they can experience recovery, and it starts with meeting Jesus.

“I really believe that the next generation is looking for genuine fellowship. Between an individual person and another. In families. In clusters of people. For many of them, fellowship is not something lost. Rather, it has never existed in their experience. For many of them, it may have never existed in their family of origin nor have they been able to observe it in families of their peers. One challenge for churches is going to be to really see/care about this generation and be willing to adjust, mentor, and provide both models and the experience of some kind of authentic fellowship.”

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 129

2011-06-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

God Wants Spiritual Fruit, Not Religious Nuts!

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Imagine a world - or let’s make it more specific - a church, a family, a marriage, a team, a friendship… where the following traits were practiced - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
What might be the most significant change you would see?

This Sunday we started our summer series entitled “Punch!” We are going to be looking at the nine traits listed in Galatians 5:22, 23 over the summer. Paul calls these “the fruit of the Spirit”. In this introduction to the series we looked at two key words in v.16a.

“Spirit” - these nine traits are the result of divine enablement

We looked at the word “Spirit” first because it is only when we understand the necessity of the Spirit that we will be motivated to live the way we should - by the Spirit.

Paul is driving home the point to his opposition that the primary way a person is transformed is not by law-keeping but first and foremost by the power of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Without an encounter with the Holy Spirit, we might exhibit good behaviour at times but fall far short of being transformed to the core of who we are. Just keeping the law will not result in the kind of change God desires in us. The ultimate goal is that Christ is formed in us (4:19). Paul is saying that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring about that kind of transformation.

Talk for a moment about the difference between being good vs. being truly transformed. I think one distinction is between behaviour and heart.

There is another reason why Paul focuses in on the Spirit. He realizes that there is tremendous opposition to our makeover. And it is opposition that will only be trumped by the work of the Spirit. Note in v.16 the opposition. Note in v.16 and 17 some key words:

“Sinful nature” - “The Scriptures are filled with statements of the corruption of many aspects of man’s nature. His intellect (2 Cor 4:4; Rom 1:28), his conscience (1 Tim 4:2), his will (Rom 1:28), his heart (Eph 4:18), and his total being (Rom 1:18–3:20) have been corrupted. This is the doctrine of total depravity. Total depravity does not mean that everyone is as thoroughly depraved in his actions as he could possibly be, nor that everyone will indulge in every form of sin, nor that a person cannot appreciate and even do acts of goodness; but it does mean that the corruption of sin extends to all men and to all parts of all men so that there is nothing within the natural man that can give him merit in God’s sight.” (Ryrie, C. C. (1995). A survey of Bible doctrine. Chicago: Moody Press.)

“Contrary” - literally means to face towards

“Conflict” - to be hostile

Paul knew mankind needed open heart surgery, not just an aspirin. The depth of brokenness demands the Holy Spirit!

This is why, for example, when you look at the fruit you can grade them, because you personally experience this conflict.

Examine the list of nine traits listed above and ask the following questions:

What person in your life greatly challenges you living out one of these traits? Who is your love buster? Who turns your gentleness into a hammer? Who tries your patience? Who would you say is undeserving of your kindness?
As you look at the past 7 days- where did you excel? Fail?
In general what one trait is most missing in the body of Christ?

“Live” - these nine traits are the product of daily choices.

The word “live” means to walk, to conduct one’s life, to regulate or imitate. In the original Greek it is in the imperative and in the present tense, pointing to a continuous action. Both the command and continuous action demonstrate the necessity of living by the Spirit. When you put the Spirit (God’s part) and live (our part) together as Paul does, we realize that this represents a joint venture where God is clearly the Head.

On Sunday I used the imagery of a rowboat, a raft and a sailboat to illustrate this “joint venture” that Paul is talking about in v.16a:

The rowboat - the propulsion of a rowboat requires someone in the boat to pick up the two oars and put a significant amount of effort into moving the boat through the water. Without that person rowing, the boat will go nowhere.
The raft - the raft requires no effort at all from its passengers. They can sit and do nothing, while the waves propel the vessel along. Unfortunately, since the raft lacks any effective means of being steered, its passengers find themselves completely at the mercy of the waves, going in whatever random direction in which the waves lead.
The sailboat - unlike the two above vessels, the sailboat relies on both the force of the wind and the skill of its pilot for successful navigation. The pilot supplies no power at all to propel the vessel forward. That comes from the wind. But if the pilot does not hoist the sails and position them properly, that readily-available wind will never be harnessed to steer the vessel’s chosen course.

Take some time to talk about the imagery of these three vessels. What do you tend to default to? What questions come to mind when you think of the sailboat analogy? What practical steps have you taken over the years to “hoist the sails”?

Paul is clearly showing that the fruit is the by-product of God’s divine work in our lives and of our proper daily choices.

Let me encourage you over the next several weeks of this series to pray through each of these nine traits, asking God to further mature these traits in your life. Let us remember that Christ modeled each of these traits perfectly.

Love - Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)

Joy - Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2)

Peace - "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given... and his name will be called, 'Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace [sa shalom]'" (Is. 9.6)

Patience - “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Tim 1:16)

Kindness - Seen in the kinds of people Jesus interacted with, people culture had marginalized - women, Samaritans, lepers, children, demonized, tax collectors, the crippled

Goodness - “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:10,11)

Gentleness - “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:29)

Faithfulness - “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:44)

Self Control - “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 128

2011-06-04T06:37:00.000-07:00

Stand Firm!

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

On Sunday we talked about “freedom”. It is interesting how some people are afraid to come to Christ because they don’t want to lose their freedom. Yet in our text today, “freedom” is exactly what Christ desires to give us.

The following are some definitions of freedom. If you are in a group take some time to discuss these definitions. Which ones really resonate with you?

Freedom means that I can do whatever I want.

“True freedom is where an individual's thoughts and actions are in alignment with that which is true, correct, and of honor - no matter the personal price.” Bryant H. McGill

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

Freedom is to be all that God wants you to be, free to move fully into the purposes of God, free to experience the full riches of His truth permeating your life.

“Real freedom is not the external freedom to gratify every appetite: it is the internal freedom not to be enslaved by our appetites, to have a place to stand so that we are not mastered by them. For we are something more than a stomach, a mouth, and a pair of eyes” John Ortberg, The Me I Want To Be

Freedom happens at salvation but continues as God cleans us up.

If you have time, scan through the book of Galatians and list all the issues that Christ desires to give us freedom on.

Text: Galatians 5:1-12
You will notice in our text when it comes to freedom we have a problem. We are clued in to this problem by the words - “stand firm”. This means to be persistent, be smart, be alert, don’t take your position of freedom for granted. We live in a world filled with pickpockets that want to steal/compromise our freedom. The question we looked at on Sunday was, how does this pickpocket attempt to steal/compromise our freedom?

1. He attempts to put a yoke on us (v.1b)
A yoke was a wooden frame harnessing two animals. Metaphorically in scripture, the yoke often represented bondage, affliction and subjection. In the original context, it was the law as a means of salvation that the Judaizers were attempting to put on the Gentiles. They said the law was a necessary means of salvation. However, note how Paul describes this yoke – “burden”. The word means hostility, or to ensnare. Notice in v.2-6 how Paul is trying to convince them not to being burdened by this yoke.

I don’t believe v.5 is referring to the issue of losing your salvation but rather Paul is talking about not wanting these believers to relate to God out of law because that will alienate them from Christ, or grieve the Spirit. We can do all kinds of things in our walk with God that hinders that relationship. Notice Paul’s admonition in this whole chapter is not to get saved again but to stand firm (v.1), and keep in step with the Spirit (5:16).

Perhaps the lesson of the yoke is that it demonstrates how vulnerable we are to lies and deception that ultimately end up sabotaging our walk with God. Their vulnerability is prompting Paul to admonish them and strongly say in v.2, “Mark my words!”

Questions to Ponder

Have you ever thought a particular activity would bring you great reward but instead brought scares and regret?

Have you ever envied other peoples’ so-called freedom on issues, only to try it out and realize you should have read the small print?

Ever woken up the next morning feeling like a yoke is around your neck?

Ever misjudged, miscalculated or overestimated and ended up going somewhere you never intended?

“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

2. He places a runner beside us (v.7,8)
Notice that it is a runner, not a walker. Running in Scripture often illustrated the battle or intensity of faith. What do you note about this runner? How did they start out? How were they finishing? How comfortable is it to have someone running alongside you trying to talk to you, even persuade you not to finish when you are trying to stay focused?

The picture Paul is painting is one of distraction, interruption, disturbance and battle.

Perhaps the lesson of the runner (picture of spiritual battle) shows us that we can get worn down to the point that we might think we are the ones that are insane/wrong in our convictions.

Think of the person who lives in an environment where they are in the minority as a Christ follower.

Think of a spouse in a marriage where the other is not a Christian- going solo can wear you down.

Think of a student heading off to school - finds herself isolated, alone – wondering, “am I nuts?” Getting worn down.

Are you in an environment that is wearing your faith down, chiseling away at your faith, poking, distracting, harassing? What are you doing to counter that?

3. He deposits a little yeast in us (v.9)
Yeast, as many of us know, represented corruption and evil. What do you note about the quantity of yeast? What do you note about the impact of this yeast?

Perhaps the lesson of the yeast is that it just takes a little, a small step, a mini decision, a small compromise to blow open a massive hole in our souls.

Some of our biggest problems started out as small conversations in our heads, one quick glance, one sip, one … Just a little yeast! This is why nipping things in the bud is so important.

What might be attempting to rob you of your freedom, distort your relationship with God possibly is not yelling at you but just whispering, subtle, gentle, showing up every so often.

Got any subtle conversations happening in your head these days? Any whispers?

Note how Paul sarcastically finishes this section v.10-12. Can you blame him for telling these guys to castrate themselves? Cutting remarks! Remember the imagery of Paul being like a mother in 4:19. What mama bear wouldn’t come to the defense of her cubs?

Take some time to pray for each other regarding the lesson of the yoke, runner and yeast. Also pray for those who come to mind when thinking about how the pick pocket desires to steal our freedom.

Stand Firm!

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 127

2011-05-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

TIGHTROPE!

(This article can also we found on our website at
http://www.bethelkingston.comunder the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Imagine these two pictures:

The first picture is of a person working hard to keep their balance as they walk across a tightrope.
The second picture is that of a beautiful path, framed in by lush green trees

Now ask yourself the question, which one does your walk with God more resemble these days?

Where is it that you experience the most growth in your walk with God? We all could probably make long lists under each picture - wide path experiences where God’s ways were sweet, tightrope experiences where following God’s ways make us sweat. The walk of faith is not always easy is it?

This past Sunday we talked about these two pictures, and how they represent some of the tension we experience in following Christ.

Text: Galatians 4:21-31
The question that is raised in our text (v.21) should be fairly straightforward to answer if you have been tracking with us through Galatians. Short and simple, the answer is: the law does not save anyone, and it doesn’t matter if you are Jewish, God has no grandchildren. Faith in Christ is accessible to all people and is the determining factor of whether you are God’s kid, PERIOD.

However in answering that question again in v.21-31, Paul reveals three tensions we will live with as we seek to follow in God’s superior ways.

1. “I cannot do this”( corresponding to the tightrope) vs. “ I can do this” (corresponding to the path) v21-23

Ever been in a situation where what God has called you to do, or be, is impossible, and you feel like saying (or actually say) “ I cannot do this!” Our text gives us a historical example of a current day tension we live with at times in following God.

Most of us know this story. God makes a promise to Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation, and have many descendants. The only problem is, as Hebrews 11:12 tells us, he is as good as dead, a real blow to his manhood. 75 is an old age to start having kids. On top of that Sarah has been barren. This certainly seems like a “I cannot do this” kind of scenario. That is exactly what Sarah and Abraham said and they went for the other option, “I can do this”. which was for Abraham to have sexual relations with Hagar. This was culturally acceptable and a normal way of overcoming barrenness. Not sure it did much for the marriage though.

Note in this section of Scripture how these two ways are referred to. There is ordinary way - that is according to the flesh or nature - what is normal, acceptable, or common. Then there is the “unordinary” way - a result of a promise. In other words, in a way that is unusual.

The tension and temptation Abraham and Sarah experienced is exactly what we are often confronted with in following God.

Interesting point

The superheroes of the Jewish faith had fallen into the same temptation the Judaizers and Gentiles had fallen into.

The religion of Ishmael is a religion of nature, of what man can do by himself without any special intervention of God – law-keeping (“I can do this”). The cross is not necessary or at least not sufficient. “I can help God out by improving on his work - I will add the Mosaic law to the equation of salvation.” “I’ll take things into my own hands.” “ I will help God be more efficient.” Interesting that Islam comes out of the line of Ishmael. As I understand it, Islam does not understand the grace of God.

Isaac -this is a religion of grace, of what God has done and does, a religion of divine initiative and divine intervention, for Isaac was born supernaturally through divine promise - this is a place of total dependence.

Questions to ponder

Have you stepped outside of God’s plan because you thought you had a better one?
Is there a step you are failing to take, an action you’re failing to follow through with, an issue you’re not dealing with because you are saying “I cannot do this”?
Do you feel like your faith walk has stalled because you have set up a barrier with the words- “I cannot do this”

Here is the next tension we live with as we follow God.

2. “ This makes no sense” (Tightrope) vs. “ “This makes sense” (path) v24-27

Read Isaiah 55:8,9; Proverbs 3:5-7

Many scholars believe that Paul is allegorizing this section because that is what his counterparts are doing. So he uses their form of logic to prove them wrong. Essentially in this section he is saying that Hagar represents a way of relating to God out of the law - the result is slavery. The Law does not allow someone to earn God’s grace. Mount Sinai is where the law was given through Moses. Note in v.25 this all corresponds to Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, from which the Judaizers came. Paul is saying that the Jews may think they are excelling and pleasing God because they are law keepers and because they are Jewish, but in actual fact they are not, they are slaves. They are stuck in man-made religion, man’s logic and reasoning. In other words, they were following the path that said “This makes sense.” They are guilty of exactly what Sarah and Abraham were guilty of. Many Jews had said that Hagar represented the Gentiles – outsiders - now Paul turns the tables and says that Hagar actually represents them- they are outsiders.

But notice there is another way of thinking and living –v.26- the new Jerusalem which is above. It reflects not the thinking of man- the Jerusalem on earth but the thinking and ways of God- a new covenant - grace, freedom – the teachings of Jesus.

Can you imagine what the Judaizers were thinking “Paul is crazy”. He is not crazy but is demonstrating the crazy love of Jesus that, to these Judaizers, was outside their box, paradigm, and categories. They insisted on sticking to categories they were used to, familiar with - man made religion. Paul is saying that 0when you live that way, you are slaves - stuck.

While much of Christianity can appeal to logic and reason, there are certain steps in the Christian life we will never take, places we will never go, and heights we will never attain unless we submit our logic to God’s higher ways. At times God will ask us to go in the direction of “This makes no sense”

Questions to ponder

Do you agree that there will be times God will call us to obedience and our logic will resist the wisdom of God?
Do you agree that while much about faith does make sense- there is an aspect of faith that is beyond reason?
Have you ever faltered, got stuck, because your head wouldn’t let your heart take the next step in obedience to God’s word?
Have you ever in your Christian experience been surprised how God went about doing His work?

Here is the final tension of this text regarding following God.

3. Mockery (Tightrope) vs. Applause (The Path) vs. 28-31

Choosing to follow God and accept His grace can lead to being persecuted. Note (v.28) in this text that those who have faith in Christ (brothers are Gentiles who have placed their faith in Christ 3:26) - not the right genes - are like Isaac and are children of promise. In other words, you might be able to say Abraham is your father but without the right mother, Sarah (symbolic of the promise) you are not a child of God.

Just like in the original story when Ishmael mocked Isaac, so today the same happens. Paul is clear on what needs to happen. We need to oppose such teaching and be prepared to be attacked.

The reality is that sometimes God will call us to walk a path, head in a direction where all we will get is persecution. Mocked or laughed at. Ostracized, excluded. It might not be because of the exact same issue as in this text- grace vs law but other issues.

Questions to Ponder
Who is the laughing, mocking voice that belittles your faith?
What acts of obedience in your life might bring the mockery, laughter of others? i.e. Choosing to wait- sexual purity, choosing to forgive, choosing to be honest, choosing to.....

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

There is no evidence that the verse Paul now quotes (Isa 54:1) was ever associated with the story of Hagar and Sarah and their children; nevertheless, it is highly appropriate. The verse is a prophecy of Jerusalem's restoration following the years of Babylonian captivity and involves the thought that the blessing of the latter years will be greater than that enjoyed formerly. The pre-exilic Jerusalem and the post-exilic Jerusalem correspond, then, to Paul's distinction between the earthly and heavenly Jerusalems and the promise itself to the blessings of God to Israel under the old covenant as contrasted with the greater blessings to the church under the new covenant. The one element common to these verses is the supernatural intervention of God in order to establish Christianity. The new element is the suggestion, soon to be fulfilled, that the numbers of Christians will outnumber those within Judaism.

(Resource: The Expositors Bible Commentary) - Commentary on v.27

Touching Base! Part 126

2011-05-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

The Cost of Love can be Grief

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

When we choose to love we choose to get hurt.

How true does this statement feel for you? Do you even agree with what it is saying? If you are discussing this TB in a small group, take a few moments to talk about this statement.

Text: Galatians 4:1-20
In our text we find lots of great theology. In fact the deep end of the theology pool is v.1-7. In this section, Paul is using an everyday example to help them understand a truth about their (Gentiles and Jews) status before God. In v.1, 2 Paul raises the issue of an heir and a slave. Back in Paul’s time, until the age of 20-25 the heir, in many ways, was no different from the slave. The child had no access to the inheritance, but in fact was under the watchful eye of the guardians and trustees. In v.3 Paul makes the spiritual application. “We”- referring to all of humanity - were in slavery to the basic principles of the world. In other words, it didn’t matter what your gender, social status or cultural background was, we were all enslaved. Like the child in v.1 we were waiting for the day when we would receive the inheritance. The basic principle that Paul is referring to, I believe, is that the law cannot regenerate or save any man or woman- see chapter 3. But what happened? Just like the child in v.1 the time arrived and we received our inheritance. All humanity that place their faith in Jesus Christ (3:26) step into the “much more” of God. Notice the words and phrases describing this inheritance and new intimacy with God:

Sons of God - not a statement that refers to manliness but to intimacy with God
Spirit sent into our hearts - God comes near and facilitates that nearness - the Holy Spirit facilitates intimacy but also, in contrast to the law, gives us the power to live for God.
Abba Father – a term of intimacy - not everyone can call God “Father”. “Abba” is the Aramaic word for “Papa,” a term of special intimacy rarely if ever used in Judaism to address God directly (see comment on Mk 14:36; Rom 8:15).

Stop and ask yourself or small group these questions:

Do I relate to God as though I am His son or a slave? What is the difference?
Do I daily welcome the Holy Spirit to empower me? Do I experience the Holy Spirit?
Do I view God as my Father in heaven or do I have an unhealthy characterization of God the Father?

Ok, you may be asking, how does the statement, When we choose to love we choose to get hurt, tie in to this text? Well, as we read on, we discover that Paul, who dearly loves these folks (Gentiles who have come to Christ), is broken-hearted over what is happening in their lives. From here to the end of our text we want to answer the following question, why do some relationships hurt so much?

1. Because of the direction some lives take (v.4:1-10)
Ever been hurt in a relationship because someone you loved was doing well, but then they started to regress? It might not be in their spiritual life but in some other area. Note v.8-10. These guys are turning back, turning back to weak and miserable principles. V.10 defines what Paul is talking about. The law is weak and miserable in that some (Judaizers) have said the law can save you. When you try and misuse something it can be weak and miserable. For example try using a tooth pick to paddle a canoe across the Atlantic. That would be a picture of weakness and that would be miserable!

Talk about the pain of watching someone you love turn back. It might be turning away from God and back to old ways or perhaps it could just be the fact that someone is taking steps backward in another area of their life.

2. Because we wonder if anything we did made a difference (v.11)
Note the emotion of fear. In the original language it means to be to be seized with alarm. To be startled by strange sights or occurrences. Have you ever looked at someone you loved and noted strange patterns, concerning ways? Have you ever wondered if all your effort as a friend, parent, mentor, has been a total waste of time?

3. Because we feel like the relationship has changed (v.12-16)
Read through these verses and note statements and phrases that illustrate how the relationship between Paul and the Gentiles has changed.
How painful can it be to realize that a relationship that was at one time strong and healthy has now regressed?

Here are some contrasts in thinking about how relationships can go backwards:

Open… to selective

Trust… to suspicion

Relaxed… to tense
Vulnerable… to guarded

Friend… to enemy (Paul)

Respected… to maligned

What would you add?

4. Because we still care 19-20
One of the reasons we experience the hurt is because we still care about the person who might be rejecting us or doing things that pain our hearts to watch. Paul uses some language here that illustrates how dear these folks are to him. Note the imagery that Paul uses – “dear children”, “in pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you”. Paul is like a mother. There are all kinds of factors attempting to abort the work of God but like a mother he is fighting for them because he cares.

What endearing term would you use to describe the person you love who is causing you pain? Paul called them his dear children.

How would you describe the process of wanting to see them change, grow and mature? Paul draws the parallel of child birth. Mothers might be best to comment here. Dads, don’t even try.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to take some time to pray for the person who comes to mind after reading this article. We all experience pain because of our love for people and the direction their lives sometimes take. It is part of being human.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 125

2011-05-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

Walk Across The Room

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

On Sunday I told the true story of Jenna Bowers, an extremely sad story of a young teenage girl bullied and ostracised, consequently pushed to the brink. In January of this year, Jenna killed herself. The bullying had demeaned her and beaten her down. Perhaps one of the most disparaging states is the state of feeling like a second-class citizen. I imagine many reading this have felt like an outsider at times, wondering what you have to do to be included in the “in” group.

Bullying or segregation doesn’t just happen in schoolyards but in every walk of life - even in the church. This week we are looking at a text of scripture that tackles this issue in the church.

Before we jump in, talk about an experience of being bullied. Or comment on your observations in our culture where you see unhealthy “in” groups and “out” groups.

Text: Galatians 3:26-29
Notice how many times Paul refers to “all” in verses 26-28. Verse 28 helps us understand who Paul has in mind when he says “all”.

Jew or Greek – cultural - In that culture gentiles/Greeks were not always looked upon with great favour by the Jews. Gentile ways were often spurned and looked down upon. It would be very accurate to say that many Jewish leaders bullied the gentiles. They had developed a bullying theology.

Do we ever look at other cultures and shun them, see them as inferior to our ways?

Slave or Free - social - John Stott says “Nearly every society in the history of the world has developed its class or caste system. Circumstances of birth, wealth, privilege and education have divided men and women from one another. But in Christ snobbery is prohibited and class distinctions are rendered void.” (The Message of Galatians, p.100.)

Are we ever guilty of snobbery?

Man or Woman- sexual - This has been an explosive issue. Note the context. He spoke these words in a context that believed in the inferiority of women. Whether he quotes from the Greco-Roman world (the Galatians’ context) or from the Jewish world (the context of Paul especially and of some Galatians), there was widespread conviction that women were inferior. Women were talked about in rude and condescending ways, they were not to be taught the law, not considered reliable witnesses in court, they may have sat in separate seats from the men in the synagogue.

As a woman have you ever felt the glare of chauvinism?

Note that in these couplets we see “the advantaged” vs. “the disadvantaged”. For example it would be far better to be born a Jewish free man in Paul’s context, than a Gentile slave-woman. The culture and society of the time had developed some pretty humiliating definitions for various classifications of people.

On Sunday I shared some modern day couplets. Can you think of some that would apply today? For example, in some cultures, the couplet man vs. woman still applies. Women are “bullied” in some cultures and even in some churches. Others couplets: WASP vs. First Nations, Rich vs. Poor, Married vs. Divorced.

Note that Paul is not saying that because of Christ, you lose your cultural distinctiveness, social background or gender, but he is saying that when it comes to salvation, it is a level playing field. And when it comes to the Gospel, every person has infinite value in the eyes of God. Check out how this level playing-field is further developed in Paul’s text.

V.26-29 - What are the common experiences of such a diverse group of people listed in v.28?
For example we are all sons of God through faith in Christ. Be clear on this: our solidarity as humans is not in our innate goodness, it’s not due to the spark of divinity residing in everyone. Our solidarity is in our bondage to sin. In this solidarity, there is neither Jew nor Greek. God justifies us all on the basis
of our trust response, and we become one in Christ.

Another example is that if we belong to Christ, we are all heirs, all Abraham’s seed. That means Jew and Gentile now stand side-by-side and have the exact same spiritual genealogy.

Some “take-aways”:

It is pretty clear from this text that culture (even Church culture) and God may, at times, be on opposite sides. All the disadvantaged people in these couplets have full access to the Gospel and, in fact, have been pursued by God. However some in Paul’s context were rejecting those whom God desired to embrace. Is it possible that we look at certain kinds of people and think “loser” and God thinks the opposite? It happened in Paul’s day. Is it possible we avoid a certain kind of person but God desires us to engage them? Is it possible that we are afraid to draw near to a certain kind of person, when God wants to touch the heart of that person?

We need to stand against cultural forces that, at times, can dilute the power of the Gospel. For example why has it been that a black man or woman demeaned in a culture has found the same attitude in the church? Why has it been that women who have been prejudiced against in society have experienced at times the same in the church? Why has it been that the poor who feel ostracized on the street can feel no different in the church?

Move towards someone very different than you (“walk across the room”). Pray that they would become more like Christ or come to Christ.

By our words and deeds, may we demonstrate the power of the Gospel. Jesus has created a level playing-field where every person has infinite worth in the eyes of God. Might we reject some of the humiliating classifications our broken humanity has come up with!

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact mailto:%20markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 124

2011-05-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

Mirror

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

THIS POSTING IS BY FRED GRENDEL, YOUTH DIRECTOR,

GUEST PREACHING THIS WEEK

Earlier this week, I was driving south on Perth Road in Inverary (north of Kingston) and found myself doing 80 km per hour in a 60 km per hour zone. I was late for a meeting at Coffeeco (near Bethel) and was coming from my mentor’s house outside Westport.

You guessed it… I meet an OPP officer driving towards me in his cruiser. And he saw me coming. The officer immediately turns his car around, and thinking that I have been caught, I immediately pull over, hoping that my quick act of repentance will spare me a ticket. The OPP officer actually drove past me and continued heading south on the road in front of me.

We have all been there, 80 in a 60, blowing through stop signs or even jaywalking (yes jaywalking is illegal in Kingston, go figure). As the OPP passed me, I had this thought: this is an illustration of Christ’s work on the cross and the law! If I look at the good and perfect Law and turn to Jesus and say I blew it, and I am sorry, he will forgive us. Because I deserved a $100-plus ticket this week, but I also deserve death.

Yep, that’s right, death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Now this Touching Base is not my personal confession letter, but those who know me best know full well that I sin, and sometimes I really blow it.

How do I know when I have really blown it? I can feel it in my gut, and my conscience, given to me by the Holy Spirit, tells me. Worse yet, if I don’t repent and turn to God, I will later find in Scripture that I have blown it more than I realized.
This begs the question - what is more important, doing 60 in a 60, or staying at peace with God? Same thing? It depends on our focus. The Judaizers in Galatia were focused on the “60 in the 60”, not on following Jesus.

Scot McKnight, in One.Life (p.47) states, “There is a difference between focusing on what is right and focusing on being a follower of Christ”.

Focusing on what is “right” will only cause:

legalism
self-righteousness
exhaustion

If you want to read about what Jesus thought of focusing on what is right, or the Law, see Matthew 23.

Focusing on your relationship with Christ will cause:

life, and life to the fullest (John 10:10)
freedom from the prison of sin (Galatians 3:23)
Christ’s Spirit will live inside you (Galatians 2:20)

Which would you rather do? Now, I’m not suggesting we all do 80 in a 60 this week. My challenge to myself and to you, the reader, is to stop and think this week when you catch yourself disobeying God’s laws.

Ask yourself, do I want to change my ways because I love Jesus, or because I want to be right with the law? When is the last time a police officer stopped you on the sidewalk and said “I just noticed that you walked through that intersection when you had the walk sign and you did so safely, and I just wanted to thank you for obeying the law!”

Living for the law is a thankless job. But when we take the law, God’s law, and the law that our governments have put in place, and want to do what is right out of love for Christ and our neighbour, it changes everything, and the rewards are present and eternal.

Enjoy your week, and walk (and drive) in the love of Christ our Lord!

Fred
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 123

2011-04-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

Christ Crucified

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

THIS POSTING IS BY ERIC PROST, ELDER, GUEST PREACHING THIS WEEK

Galatians 3: 1-14

In this passage, a lot of detailed theology is sandwiched between two references to Christ Crucified. The chapter begins with the emphatic statement, “Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified” and verse 13 ends with, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree [crucified on a cross]”.

The filling between these two slices of bread is important, but the bread itself – the Cross – is vital.

Let’s first discuss the filling.

The Galatians were trying to add circumcision and adherence to dietary laws to “the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7). The Apostle Paul in our passage counters this with arguments from (1) the Galatians’ own experiences (verses 2-5) when he cites their receiving the Spirit, suffering, and seeing miracles; and (2) scripture (verses 6-9). In these latter verses he summons Abraham, who came before even Moses, whose law the Galatians were using to support their practices and beliefs.

Question: Read Galatians 3:2-5. How valid is argument from experience when discussing the gospel or topics in Christianity? Is it suited to the 21st century?

Read Galatians 3:6-9. Then read Genesis 12:1-4. Paul knew his Old Testament! In Genesis 12, God gives Abram instructions and a promise, and Abram obeys. In Genesis 15, God gives Abram another promise and the result is Genesis 15:6, which Paul quotes in Galatians 3:6. Circumcision wasn’t even introduced until later in Genesis 17. So God was promising things, and Abram was believing them, long before the law. Thus Paul advances his argument that it isn’t observance of the law, such as getting circumcised, that brings blessing.

Question: Some Christians think of the Old Testament as all about law and the New Testament as all about Faith and Grace. But here Paul says that Abraham was a man of faith (see also Hebrews 11:8-12) and that believing is the way he became righteous and was blessed. How does this work?

That’s the filling - complicated, theologically rich, and worth sorting out.

Now for the bread - essential, foundational, and beautiful.

Before presenting arguments from experience or from specific scriptures, Paul reminds the Galatians that he had portrayed Jesus Christ as crucified before their very eyes. This is the best technique in his toolkit – challenging, likely effective, and glorifying to God. What better way to remind them that what they were doing by insisting on circumcision or dietary laws was trying to add to Christ’s completed work? “Remember Christ crucified and all that entailed? Are you bewitched?”

Paul finishes the passage with an important explanation of the crucifixion as God punishing himself in Christ instead of us. If you don’t keep the whole law, Paul writes, you are cursed (and who could keep it all?). So Christ became a curse for us by being “hung on a tree” – an Old Testament expression that became equated with crucifixion.

Galatians 3:13 (Christ became “a curse for us”) and 2 Corinthians 5:21 (God made Jesus “to be sin for us”) are the two most shocking verses in scripture. Many theologians have expressed their shock at the seeming obscenity of Holy God becoming a curse or becoming sin.

Question: Read the following passage written 500 years ago on this topic. Martin Luther, in his commentary on Galatians, possibly just oversteps to make his case, but it is often only by seemingly overstepping that the true case can be appreciated (or perhaps his prose doesn’t go beyond scripture in the slightest). Can what he writes be true?

“Our most merciful father, seeing us to be oppressed and overwhelmed with the curse of the law, and so to be holden under the same that we could never be delivered from it by our own power, sent his only Son into the world and laid upon him all the sins of all men, saying: Be thou Peter that denier; Paul that persecutor, blasphemer and cruel oppressor; David that adulterer; that sinner which did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief which hanged upon the cross; and briefly, be thou the person which hath committed the sins of all men; see therefore that thou pay and satisfy for them.”

The legal consequences of our sin were transferred to Christ rather than our moral qualities. Luther sometimes seems to say that it was more than this. Either way, for God to be made sin and a curse and for the “iniquities of us all” (Isaiah 53:6) to be laid on him flirts with something so awesome that we may not be able to fully understand it.

Question: Like the Galatians, are you attempting to add anything to Christ’s crucifixion to justify yourself? Can you say to God, along with Luther, “You took on you what was mine; yet set on me what was yours?” If this is true, that you are no longer wrapped in sin but rather in God’s perfection, does it make you behave any differently day-to-day?

Eric Prost
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 122

2011-04-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Prayer for Last Week’s Baptismal Candidates

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

THIS WEEK’S GUEST POSTING IS BY JAMIE STINSON, DIRECTOR OF FAMILY MINISTRIES

PRAYER FOR BAPTISMAL CANDIDATES - Please pray for all the candidates this week!

Lord God:

Stories of life transformation just never get old. These people stand here as living proof that You are the hope of the world….that you are the solution to sorrow, sin and death.

I am so thankful for their lives and their stories…These stories breathe life into a congregation.

They can speak to those of us who have been Christ followers for a long time and may have let our love grow cold.

They can touch the hearts of those who find themselves sitting in a church for the first time.

And for those getting baptized, their stories are like lines in the sand. They will always remember the day they publically declared their love for you.

They will remember it in victory and good times… and know that there is nothing they can do that will make you love them more.

And they will remember this day when they fail… and they will hopefully be reminded that there is nothing they can do that will make you love them less.

For some of them, it’s been a long journey to this day… full of brokenness and heartache, for others it’s been a gradual understanding and longing for their lives to count for something more.
So Lord, we want to lift them up to you today.

9:00 Service

Thank you for Madison, Lord…she grew up in a Christian home with godly parents and I know that the older she gets, the more grateful she will be for her heritage. I pray that you continue to lead her and surround her with mentors. Give her wisdom beyond her years and continue to transform her into a woman after your heart.

And I know many of us could probably relate to Michelle’s story, a product of the Jesus movement, and a life of self-professed disobedience. But you never let her go, you continued to love her and give her a friendship with Phyllis, a woman who refused to see her stray too far from Your love. And today as she deals with cancer, we pray healing into her life…both physically, emotionally and spiritually.

And the dramatic and powerful story from Fraser, Lord, his heart longs to serve you the rest of his days. He has broken free from chains that were determined to bind him… His hands are spread, his knees are bent, and His heart is open. He has so much to offer to those who are hurting. There is so much more in store for him that he can’t even imagine right now. Help him to continue to rise above his brokenness, and continue to heal him emotionally in such a powerful way that You are able to use his story of hope, to instill hope in others.

And for many of us, Sara’s story really resonated, as many of us struggle with issues of control and stress. Thank you Lord that you did not leave her in her misery, but you used a godly friend to help her break those chains of control and once she gave her life over to you, the chains fell away like feathers. Sara’s testimony is a wonderful example of how your yoke is easy and your burden is light. As Sara reaches out to others on the Queen’s campus with your message of beauty, I pray that you would use her in ways that are both surprising and unimaginable to her. Help her to always look to you to find her worth as a woman of God.

For Lexy…she too comes from a godly family. I pray that her spiritual roots continue to grow as deep as her spiritual heritage and that you would continue to lead and guide her into a deeper relationship with you. A relationship that continues to fill her so much that it spills out in ways that touches many lives.

Dale’s story was another story of a prodigal come home proving it’s never too late for any of us to return to God, and that we are never too messed up and broken to be loved by you. You have powerfully pulled him out of a life of addiction, may he never look back. I pray that as his life continues to unfold in times of joy and sorrow that he is able to hold on the peace and joy that is so evident in him. He talks about how Harbor Light was a place he saw the light…I pray that as he reaches out to others, he would be a light. I pray that people would say, “God used to Dale to help me see the light.”

And for Carmen, Lord….she is an ‘iron sharpens iron’ kind of friend to many of us and a passionate Christ follower…She has a gift that helps others understand what they believe and why they believe it. I pray that you continue to use her to help others understand the intellectual side of faith. I’m thankful that she also understands it needs to be combined with a healthy dose of community because life change happens in circles where relationships are strong.

11:00 Service

I pray for Ketsia this morning…she was raised to know you from a young age….and she wants to be a moral rebel for you. She has such an Esther spirit Lord….so willing to take a stand and do what is right no matter what the cost. So I pray that as Ketsia has drawn her line in the sand today that she will know down the road in every situation that she was made for ‘such a time as this.’

And for Jeff I pray that you would continue to push him in his faith and in his walk with you. Thank you for his Christian upbringing and the people that have mentored him and I pray that he would go and do likewise and be a mentor to others. Give him guidance and direction as he steps out into his next phase of life after high school. Grow him into a man of heart who remains hungry for you and serves you with all his heart, all his mind and all his strength.

Thank you for Brent Lord…he grew up in a Christian home with godly parents and I know that he will continue to look back on his spiritual heritage as a real gift from You. We so need strong godly men in our culture…help him keep his eyes on You. Lord, I pray Ephesians 6 into his life…I pray Brent that you will put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Julia is another example how much our family members can influence our spiritual lives and how important our campus ministries are to help students navigate their life in Christ. Lord, I thank you for them. And I pray that as Julia heads to Edmonton this summer for her missions trip that you would continue to open her eyes and heart to the direction you are taking her.

Ib’s story reminds us that sometimes we find ourselves swept up in God’s story because of the outpouring of love from God’s people. Because a group of people loved Ib… Ib fell in love with Jesus. How beautiful is that? I pray for Ib’s continued growth and commitment and that she would truly experience how wide and high and deep is your love.

And Lord I pray for Nick… another man after God’s heart with deep spiritual roots that he is extremely thankful for. He is a man with many gifts, and I pray that you would continue to develop those gifts, because they will equip him for what you have called him to do. As he graduates this year, I pray that you would make the path of the future more clear. As many people have heard me say, “Your plans always include a larger purpose, but You rarely make things simple,” so even though the road ahead might not be simple, I pray that Nick would have peace in the transition and a spirit of adventure in the journey.

Jonathan is another man whose journey has been complex. His relationship with you has been on and off, and now he’s ready more then ever to do life with Christ. While he spends the next 5 years in Kingston, I pray that you would continue to bring people into his life that will sharpen him, and that he in turn would begin to sharpen others. Equip him for his calling, and give him endurance for the journey. Help him to know that his house does not have to be spotless for you to be at the centre.

And God for the part that we as brothers and sisters in Christ play in the lives of these people, whether it be a big role or a small one, may we be more faithful than a brother. Hold us all firmly in the grip of your grace.

We look forward to what You are going to do in us and through us in the power name of Jesus. Amen.

Touching Base! Part 121

2011-04-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Old Habits Die Hard - Galatians 2:11-21

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

How many of us know the key verse in our text this week? Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

For those of you who grew up in Sunday school, I imagine this verse was one you had to memorize. But because of that, some of us have never considered the context - it was just one verse we extrapolated from the text.

Text

On Sunday we talked about how Old Habits Die Hard! What Paul is saying in v.20 is that he no longer lives in accordance with the old way - namely the “works” plan: Paul had, at one time, tried to use the law to impress and earn points with God. But Paul got turned around on the Damascus road and now he lives according to the “grace” plan (Eph. 2:8, 9). The new operating principle is faith in Christ’s work on the cross for Paul and all who come to Jesus. This, specifically, is what he has been crucified to. He no longer tries to earn it!

William Barclay defines faith well:

“[F]aith is complete trust and complete surrender to Jesus Christ. It is the total acceptance of all that He said, of all that He offered, and of all that He is.” (The NIV Application Commentary, p.121)

Paul is talking about a very specific issue – the “works” plan vs. the “grace” plan, in this context. This is the way he used to live, but no longer. What is an old “habit” that you have laid aside as you have surrendered your life to Christ? Remember “crucify” and “faith” refer to an ongoing process in the believer’s life, so think of issues that have surfaced in your journey with Him. Are any of them harder to lay down than others? Have you ever been tempted to pick up something that you at one time did lay down?

I believe the reason Paul says what he does in v.20 is because his friend Peter is experiencing that Old Habits Die Hard.

v. 11-12 - What is at issue? Simply put, Peter, a Jew, is celebrating his freedom in Christ to eat, drink and dance with Gentiles. He is living like Jesus! But when certain men showed up (these were Judaizers, saying you had to be circumcised and follow certain food laws to follow Jesus) Peter drew back. When you look into the background, you discover they weren’t really representing James, but rather said that they were.

“[T]he words (draw back) describe forcibly the cautious withdrawal of a timid person who shrinks from observation.” (The Message of Galatians, p.51)

Peter had yielded himself to Christ, he could say exactly what Paul says in v.20. BUT when the pressure came, the circumstances changed, the fear of man drove Peter to pick something back up, that he had laid down. What he picked back up was living according to Jewish customs and essentially denying Jesus’ Lordship in his life. He was in fact reverting back to an old way of living. Now before you jump all over Peter… realize we have all done the same. We have all been guilty of falling back into old patterns, picking back up bad attitudes, wrong ways of thinking… the list is endless. Old Habits Die Hard!

Notice what the driver is in Peter’s life. The text tells us in v.12 – fear. Think of whatever your issue is that you are tempted to pick back up - what is the driver? I personally think that sometimes it is easier to go back to an old way because the ruts in the road are so deeply worn that way. We have lived a certain way for so long, that to live a new way is going against the ruts!

I like this quote, “we can never forget that being crucified with Christ means sharing the way of life that led Jesus to the Cross, living by His purposes and being impelled by His motives.” This is exactly what Peter failed to do in this moment. It has happened to all of us, yes even pastors!

Notice Paul’s commentary in v.13. Peter’s blunder caused others to stumble. What eyes watch you as you follow Christ? Who would be most deeply impacted if you trip up?

For some of us this truth, Old Habits Die Hard, resonates deeply because we know of our own struggles. However, another reason it resonates could be because we ourselves have been hurt because we looked up to, fell. Their actions may have directly impacted our lives. How do you think the Gentiles felt when, one day, Peter is their best friend, and the next day, he is pulling away and in fact forcing them to adhere to old ways of thinking and living?

Finally, notice v.14. Much could be said about Paul here, but suffice to say that great teams have these kinds of conversations. Great teams and great friendships allow for hard words to be said that are meant for a person’s betterment.

Ever had anyone kick your butt, box your ears, or rattle your cage… because of how stupidly you were behaving? We won’t take time in this TB like we did on Sunday, but notice vs.15-21. Paul is reasoning with Peter and showing him how insane his behaviour is. It is so inconsistent with what Peter knows to be the truth. As Paul says, Peter is not acting in line with the truth… the truth that Peter knows!

Have you ever lost sleep over being the person God wants to use to confront someone that needs a little tough love like Peter needed?

What is impressive is that this confrontation made Peter better, not bitter. Note the tone and words of 2 Peter 3:14, 15.

“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this [Christ’s second coming], make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.”

This team soared higher because they allowed each other to speak truth into each others lives.

Take some time to pray for God’s protection over leaders. Peter is a leader and he falls. When leadership falls, others fall with them. We always need to be upholding our leaders. Pray also for your group members. Everyone has that one issue in their life that reminds them of this truth - Old Habits Die Hard!

Pray that God would enable people by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) to be conformed to His image. Law is powerless to change a life. What the law could not do, God did by sending his Son!

Old Habits Die Hard, but Jesus came so that we could stand firm!

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 120

2011-04-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Ovation - 1 Corinthians 15:58

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This week we took some time to encourage our ministry workers. One of our values as a church is team. One of the things “team” means is that no one person can do it all, and no one person dominates. Now a leader may have the final say on various issues but if he/she is wise, they will invest in the collaborative process to come to the right decision. If we come to the right decision in the wrong way (i.e. no collaboration) we can end up being a very overworked and lonely leader.

All of us have been on different kinds of teams. We all know that teams will go through seasons. Think of a team you are on, either at work or in the church context. What season is your team in? How are the various players feeling about the direction and health of the team? Is the team target clear or clouded? Are the team players partners, or are they just running alongside each other in getting the job done?

All teams can go through seasons of wondering if their efforts are really producing the right kinds of results they had hoped for. Individual players can ask the following kinds of questions:

As a parent - ever wondered about the impact your role is having as a mother or father?
As an employee - ever felt like you and your department were just spinning your tires?
As a student - ever questioned if all that studying and all that library time is getting you anywhere?

On Sunday we talked about how what we’re doing can, at times, feel like we are just wheeling dirt from one pile to the next and then back again. Pointless… repetitive… with zero profitable results.

Teams in the gathered church context can wrestle with the same issues. We wonder if our efforts are bringing true change in people’s lives. We question whether or not we would be missed if we just dropped our piece and sat in the pew. We rarely hear stories of lives touched or receive words of encouragement. Let’s face it; at times staying committed and focused can require some self-talk and sheer determination.

That’s why this past Sunday was so important. We entitled the service “Ovation” because we wanted to stand and applaud all our teams and the individuals that make up those teams. We wanted to say thanks, do the high five, pump the fist, and give the thumbs up to all our workers. For the gathered church to happen week in and week out, up to 170 workers are required at any given time. For the most part, these workers are on teams. Some of these volunteers serve once a month or every quarter, others are up every Sunday or Friday or whatever other day of the week the church gathers.

1 Corinthians 15:58 was our key text:

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”

Paul’s point in the original context was that Jesus had risen from the dead, therefore their labour was not in vain, it was not a waste of time or purposeless. The same is true today, we serve a risen Saviour and whether we are up front or behind the scenes what we do matters. Ministry Matters because the God of the universe has created us for good works
(Ephesians 2:10) and when we do them faithfully, we don’t get weeds but transformed lives. Check out 1 Corinthians 3:5-10.

On Sunday Chris and Vera shared their stories on how the gathered Church has impacted their lives. I can’t think of any better way to encourage people who volunteer their time week after week than for them to hear stories of lives that are being ministered to. Ministry is not about gathering a crowd but about impacting lives with the gifts and resources God has given me and you.

As we pointed out on Sunday our focus for ministry is set far beyond the gathered Church. We want to impact lives in the gathered community so that when we scatter Monday to Saturday we do so with a heart calibrated to the purposes of God. We want the gathered opportunities of the church to propel people into strategic kingdom living. Anything less, and we become an embarrassment to the name of Christ.

So what can you do?

Be an encourager of those working in the gathered church. Speak up and say thanks. Tell someone how your life has been enriched because of their ministry. Write an e-mail, or go face-to-face, but just do it. I don’t think we encourage enough. Don’t worry about it going to the person’s head, pray that it will go to their heart and that they will be motivated to keep serving.

Secondly, pray for the many who “get it” when it comes to the scattered church. Many at Bethel understand that the space they occupy Monday to Saturday is their ministry. There are many who “get it” and they need our support. Also pray for those that just see their job as a job. That is not what God had in mind when he gifted them and instilled the passion He did within their hearts.

So stand and applaud! Think of someone and say thanks to them. Then next week do it again and then the next week do it again. Ovations need to be long and heartfelt. They are like oxygen for the soul!

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Elders' Update

2011-03-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Church Family:

One of our desires is to keep everyone in the loop as to what is unfolding at Bethel. One of the ways this happens is through writing regular updates about what the elders and other leadership teams are working on. This update will hopefully serve to help you stay informed and connected. As always, all feedback is welcome. Dialogue makes us all sharper!

REGARDING OUR VISION…

City

We introduced the vision to the congregation on Sunday, February 6th: “Responding to the heart of God; transforming the heart of the city, the nation and the world.” It is essential that people know this vision and understand how what we are doing ties into the unfolding vision for Bethel Church.

The elders are engaged in the process of identifying key initiatives that will help us flesh out the vision regarding the city focus. We have met with Fred (Youth Director) and Jamie (Family Director) (March 22) to discuss what God is doing in their ministries and hearts regarding this vision. This process of discernment involves prayer and much dialogue with various leaders and attendees of Bethel. There is a lot we could do, but a few things we must do!

Not only are we looking at new initiatives to flesh out the city vision, but we are also examining what we are currently doing with respect to our city focus, which would need to be taken deeper. One example of this is our Bethel House Ministries. Sandy Sheahan and her team will be working on key issues related to expanding this significant ministry. The board is planning on meeting with Sandy and some of her team to discuss vision for the Bethel Houses in May.

Adam Davies and I are currently involved in assessing the role Bethel plays with the ministries located on the Queen’s campus. As a city church, students are part of our focus, and we are currently evaluating how we can more effectively support ministry to students.

Jamie Stinson will be running a drama camp this summer partly as an outreach for kids living downtown. We realize that one of the key ways we will impact the downtown core is serving the growing needs of families.

Nation

Fred and Amy have just returned from Detroit where they attended the DayStar conference in preparation for Constance Lake this summer. They took three other team members with them, and continue to do an excellent job in leading and developing this ministry.

World

We have raised the bar in attempting to integrate the Bethel Bear Your Brothers’ Burden Banquet into the bigger picture. We have tried to build around BBY by naming March 20-27 International Missions Week. On Sunday March 20th, various people shared regarding missions, youth participated in a 30-hour fast starting on March 25th, raising money for our world focus – Onzole, Ecuador. The week culminated in the banquet on March 26th and the speaker from BBY spoke on Sunday March 27th.

We are looking to do our very own missions trip next May (2012) to Honduras with the Vissers’ ministry. Nothing confirmed yet. We’re just talking and thinking.

REGARDING OUR VALUES... Team, Excellence, Authenticity, Relevance and Solidarity.

Let me update you on two of the values.

Team

On Sunday April 3rd we will be having a service entitled Ovation. The purpose of this service is to say thank you to all the volunteers who contribute to the church gathered. Ministry matters, and people need to realize that their efforts are appreciated and tie into a bigger strategy. We will also be talking about the fall and various ministry needs and slots that need filling.

The staff team continue to meet weekly with breakfast together about every 6-8 weeks. We did a day-long retreat back in January and have another one scheduled for May. We have finished reading Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. We are going to start reading One.Life by Scot McKnight, a book which focuses in on living out the Kingdom.

We are always looking for people to join our small group leadership team. We wish to birth more groups to accommodate the demand and growth of this ministry.

Excellence

The staff team has also had an initial branding discussion regarding the vision. “Branding” refers to how we promote the vision through media – the bulletin, banners, the website, signage etc. We are not yet particularly excellent in this area.

REGARDING OUR STRATEGY… GG, GO, GS

Growing in Intimacy with God

Our primary focus on Sunday mornings (sanctuary) is GG. I will be continuing to teach through Galatians, and we continue to develop our prayer ministry “No Talk Zone”.

Our teaching team continues to develop. Carmen (we all know Carmen) and Meredith Mackenzie are a great help in discussing texts and occasionally assisting in the teaching ministry. As well, Eric Prost and Fred Grendel will be teaching in the month of May.

The Touching Base articles continue to be popular. Some small groups use this tool to launch their discussion around the sermon topic. Others use it as a personal means of reviewing the message.

With respect to a third service, we continue to be faced with the need to create more space. We have not set in motion any plans as of yet for the overflow, although Fred has been a big help in getting us set up. To move ahead some new cameras etc. will need to be purchased. This will require further discussion by the elders as we look at budget issues with the deacons.

Growing in intimacy with others

We continue to see a growing interest in small groups. Somewhere between 130 and 150 adults attend small groups. Youth and children have their own small groups. College and University students tend to participate in campus groups. However, there seems to be a growing interest in students participating in Bethel-run groups.

We will be partnering in June with Café Church to run a one-month training course for anyone interested in leading a group at Bethel this fall. Current leaders will be encouraged to attend just to brush up on their facilitation skills. David Skillicorn and I provide leadership in our small group ministry. There is much more we could be doing in our small group ministry. We could establish niche groups for the community that address - parenting, marriage, addictions, finance, etc. We also could do a much better job at leadership development. Future staff hiring would possibly include oversight of community groups.

Bill Duffy continues to do his ministry of visitation enthusiastically. I meet with Bill about every 6-8 weeks to review who he has seen and whether he has any concerns regarding what he is hearing. He continues to relieve me of some of the pastoral work such as taking funerals, visiting shut-ins, hospital visits and touching base with newcomers. He has agreed to stay on for another year. As long as he is healthy he desires to keep at it.

We had a great Newcomers’ lunch back on Feb 27th. We used the Upper Room and had about 10 new families/singles present. Also, the staff and some spouses were present, along with Steve and Donna Dickey, and David and June Skillicorn. This continues to prove to be a great way of integrating new people into Bethel.

Growing in Acts of Service

The board has met with Kent and Karen Bandy from Ellel Ministries for discussions regarding their work. Rhonda Kotchapaw has agreed to head up a Prayer Counselling Team that will use Ellel in some of the training of our workers. People serve best on teams when they minister out of a healthy core, and it is our desire to see God bring emotional and spiritual health to the Body.

We will be resurrecting our Ministry Coordination Team. This had been put on hold, but we are once again ready to move ahead with this all-important ministry. MCT brings key leaders together on a quarterly basis for communication, alignment with the vision, prayer and training. It is a key team that helps us implement the vision.

I hope all this ink helps in filling out the picture of what is going on at Bethel. Feel free to contact me to talk.

On behalf of the Elders,
Mark

Touching Base! Part 118

2011-03-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

Gentleness – When You Need to Listen to “Hard Things”
Guest posting by Fred Grendel

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

On Sunday, my Big Idea was “We need to go vertical with God, before going horizontal with each other.” The key verse was Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

Now in this Touching Base I’d like to expand on something I didn’t really have time to cover much on Sunday.

Many of us have been there - we sense there is tension between us and a friend, or us and another team member… and then they ask us to go for coffee. We show up at the Starbucks or Tim Horton’s of their choice, nervously order something to drink, and then it happens… before you get a chance to enjoy your cup of coffee, you realize that the person with you is about to say hard things to you: you are going to get rebuked.

In this case the person talking to you thinks that you need to be restored. In the moment, you can pray silently but you really don’t have an opportunity to get totally vertical with God in prayer, so what do you do? Personally, I can be very stubborn, hard-headed and driven as a leader, so this has happened to me several times and this is what the Lord has taught me to do when confronted by another believer:

Understand that gentleness has everything to do with humility. In the moment when you are being confronted, silently submit your will to God’s and ask him for strength (Ps. 25:19)
Actively listen. Don’t think about your response yet, just sit and listen (Prov. 5:7)
Ask clarifying questions, like, “What did you mean by that?” or “Can you give me an example of when this happened?”
Test what the person is saying with scripture. Don’t be afraid of silence during the conversation and when there is silence take time to see if what they are rebuking you for lines up with God’s word (1 John 1:4)

Ask the person if there is more. Now the last thing you will want to hear at this moment is “more” rebuke! Remember, however, that it took courage for your brother or sister in Christ to pull you aside, and they may have gotten through the “meat of the matter” and are losing strength to get into more minor details of your behavior which may be important.
If you’re thankful for the conversation tell them so (1 Thess. 5:18)
Ask the person if you can follow up with them even if all issues have been resolved. Sometimes we need accountability.

Tell the person you feel uncomfortable and you need to leave
Do just that! Remove yourself from the place and situation before it gets worse!
Take the situation to what I call “stage 2” of Matthew 18. The next time you meet, bring some witnesses with you. Even though you may need to hear what they have to say, the other person clearly needs more help and you need the protection of some other Christ-followers. (Matt 18:15-17)

Touching Base! Part 117

2011-03-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

K.I.S.S - Galatians 2:1-9

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

I think we would all agree that most of us have a tendency to take the simple and, at times, make it complicated. On Sunday, I used a clean desk vs. a messy desk and a clean garage vs. a messy garage to help visualize this issue. Think about your own life and how you may have this tendency? Where does it show up? If married, is this one area that makes you and your spouse very different or very much the same?

Our text this past Sunday was Galatians 2:1-9. The issue in Galatians was not garages and desks but the Gospel. There were those Judaizers - messy garage people who were taking the simplicity of the Gospel and making it very complex - messy! Then there was another group - lets call them the clean garage people - who wanted to keep the Gospel simple. The issue at hand was whether Gentiles needed to become Jewish in order to be acceptable to God and essentially follow Christ. The big idea on Sunday that we camped out on was – Keeping The Gospel Simple Is Not So Simple!

Textual Observations - vs. 1-2
On thing I really admire about Paul is that he knows he has a potentially explosive issue on his hands. There is the potential for the church to split into two denominations - Jewish nationalistic (messy garage people) vs. universalistic Christianity (clean garage people). Therefore, Paul handles this potentially explosive issue in a very wise manner. He first goes to the pillars (v.9) of the church privately. He goes to present the simplicity of the Gospel to these pillars. Sometimes how we handle certain situations whether at work, home, church can exacerbate the problem. The bigger problem can become how someone mishandled dealing with the problem. We unfortunately are all too familiar with how tough issues were made tougher because someone did not handle the situation wisely. Notice that in v.1,2 Paul handles this situation privately in a group of 4 or 5. However in v.11 he dealt with Peter face-to-face on a very personal issue - how we handle a problem is as important as the problem itself. Ever had to handle the terrible fall-out of how people mishandled dealing with a complex issue?

Vs. 3-4
Notice that what motivated Paul was keeping the Gospel simple. Essentially, he was guarding the truth of the Gospel (Gal. 1:3) and coming to the defence of the “Tituses” of the world. You see, Barnabas was Jewish but Titus was a Gentile. So guess what? The spies (messy garage guys) wanted to make it a lot harder for the “Titus” converts to follow Jesus. On Sunday I developed the character of Titus. As a group, make some observations about the tension between the spies and Titus.
How was their message different than Paul’s? How could this make Titus feel, potentially?
To help you answer this question- imagine how Titus would feel around these spies who told him that he did not fit in because he ate non-kosher foods, and didn’t respect their ceremonial washing rituals, and did not understand their “Jewishese” (like “Christianese” - referencing lingo that Christians may understand but the outsider may find difficult to grasp).
How might he have felt when they pulled out a scalpel and said - “Oh, and there is one more thing we need to tell you…!” (Check out the new movie- Blade Runner- starring Titus and three masked spies with a very sharp blade!)

Now let’s bring this scenario up to date – 2011:
Do you think there are any “Tituses” today?
Has any new believer ever felt intimidated because they didn’t know the lingo?
Anybody confused regarding what it means to be a Christian because the church has sent out confusing messages?
Anyone outside the church who can barely see the Gospel because there is all this stuff - messy garage?

As a group, talk about some of the stuff that can hinder a person’s sightline to seeing the simplicity of the Gospel. If you were there on Sunday you saw my Dentyne illustration.
On Sunday I talked about-

Language - “I’m a Baptist or an Anglican.”
Personality Cult - where the name of a leader becomes more prominent than Christ. Note that Paul refused to baptize many people because he wanted to make sure people saw Jesus, not Paul - 1 Cor. 1:12-16, 31
Traditions - Regarding world missions - We export our culture and all of our western practices (like Meredith did on Sunday) and it can confuse, distort, i.e. complicate. Some would think Jesus is white, wears a tie and speaks KJV.
Wrong Doctrine - we tell people that they have to clean themselves up (or at least we give them that impression) before they can come to God. However, the reason we need the Gospel is because we cannot “clean ourselves up” without God!
Offensive Personalities - people who shovel the Gospel vs. live out the Gospel with gentleness and respect. How many have been turned off and confused about the Gospel because of such a personality?
???

Note - I am not saying all these things are wrong but they can become tremendous hindrances to keeping the gospel simple. The world looks on and has a skewed sightline to the Gospel.

What is some other fall-out? The Gospel gets buried, becomes unattractive, Christians get preoccupied with preserving or guarding the wrong things, … ?

Vs. 5-9
What does Paul do? I love v.5 - He guards Titus and the truth of the Gospel. Paul is determined to keep it simple!
Not only does Paul come to the defence of Titus, but the pillars of the church do likewise, and not only for Titus but for everyone who will come to Christ in the years ahead. Note v.9 - they “high five” each other on the K.I.S.S principle.

Here are some takeaways you can discuss and add to.

Be aware of your own tendency to clutter the Gospel. How can I keep it simple? How do I make it complicated? How can we (corporate) keep it simple? How do we (corporate) make it complicated?
Be aware of the “Titus” in your life who may need you to clarify, simplify, and protect from the messy garage people.
Be aware that when you talk to some people about faith issues, what they may be rejecting is not Christ but all the clutter- Try and discern that.
Be aware of presenting a condescending spirit towards those that need the Gospel but may be very different than you are. The spirit of judgment could represent some of the clutter that hinders someone from seeing Jesus. Remember we all need the Gospel because we cannot “clean” up on our own.
What might you add?

Remember to pray for Onzole, our international focus. We want them to embrace the purity of the Gospel.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 116

2011-02-25T20:12:00.000-08:00

Paul’s Infomercial - Galatians 1:11-24

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Any time you read Scripture you always need to ask the question, “What is the original intent of this text?” In other words, why was this written in the first place? Why did the original audience need to know this? Without asking these kinds of questions, we can often end up in some pretty scary places when it comes to interpretation. Have any scary examples of how people have botched and twisted a text?

Text: Galatians 1:11-14
In our text today the original intent is made pretty clear in the first verse. Paul was combating Judaizers that were undermining his message (Gospel). Let’s start with is a brief reminder of what the issue was.

According to Galatians, legalism was a religious system that combined Christianity with the Mosaic Law in a way that demanded total commitment to Israel’s laws as the climax of one’s conversion to Christ. But according to Paul, this “deeper commitment to the law” was a subversion of the adequacy of Christ’s work and an abandonment of the Holy Spirit as God’s way of guiding Christian ethics. In other words, the legalism of the Judaizers is more than a problem, it has become a new message, a different gospel (see McKnight, NIV Application Commentary, p.23).

Paul is writing this section to show that the Gospel has authority because of where it came from - not man but God. That is an audacious claim, but that was his claim and he was sticking to it. In this section of autobiographical material, Paul outlines the encounter with God that radically changed his life – “turned it upside down” would be an understatement. In telling us his story, which illustrates the authority of the Gospel, Paul encourages all those reading the text who may have someone on their prayer radar that is far from God.

Discuss in your group: who is on your radar these days that you are praying for, who needs to return to God or find God?

Note how Paul’s story unfolds as he tells it to his Gentile and Jewish audience. He is not only endorsing the authority of the Gospel (because it is from Jesus) but he is demonstrating how God can get our attention when we are walking in the opposite direction.

1. Paul had a God encounter v.11, 12
This God encounter “stuff” could cause some problems for anyone tuning in who is a believer in a closed system. A closed universe, which some people adhere to (Deists, for instance), is where everything proceeds by cause and effect within the universe itself, without outside intervention by any God. In a closed universe, the only acceptable explanations are those that deal with matter, energy, space and time. God is an unnecessary hypothesis. It is not necessary for him to directly and continuously intervene in our world. Deism believes that God is like a watchmaker who wound it up and walked away. But Paul is saying God broke through and as we will see, turned his world upside down. “I am who I am today because God broke through”, he says.

Do you have any memorable markers along your journey where you had a God encounter? Maybe that was the moment of your salvation or the still small voice of God speaking into your heart as you journeyed with Jesus. In other words, in what ways has God made Himself known to you? Are you in a quiet time these days with God or is He speaking loudly and clearly?

Paul moves on in the text with some detail of his encounter that he thinks the readers need to know.

2. Paul had an encounter with God that transformed him 13-24
If this was Paul’s infomercial then v.13, 14 would be the “before” shot and v.15-24 would be the “after” shot.

v. 13, 14 - “Before Shot” - His “Klingon” era
What does Paul make clear about who he was?
His brief reference to his former life is somewhat augmented by his lengthier descriptions elsewhere, particularly in Philippians 3:4-6. There Paul shows that he was (1) a Jew by birth—indeed, of the best stock of Israel; (2) by choice, a Pharisee, i.e., of the strictest sect of Judaism; and (3) in conduct, exceedingly zealous, a zeal demonstrated by his persecution of the church and his rigid adherence to the law. Read Acts 8:1-3, Acts 9:1 - oh yeah, and the last part of Acts 7 for some bloody background material. Paul was one mad Klingon!

How would your faith be affected if you knew there was a Klingon sanctioned by the higher authorities - going from house to house dragging off Christians?

“Such was the state of Saul of Tarsus before his conversion. He was a bigot and a fanatic, wholehearted in his devotion to Judaism and in his persecution of Christ and the church. Now a man in that mental and emotional state is in no mood to change his mind, or even to have it changed for him by men. No conditioned reflex or other psychological device could convert a man in that state. Only God could reach him.” (Stott, The Message of Galatians, p.31)

What are the chances of this Klingon writing 13 of the 27 New Testament books? What are the chances of this Klingon actually venturing out on three missionary journeys - traveling the eastern part of the Roman Empire over 15 years, logging more than twenty thousand miles promoting what he tried to destroy? In a similar way, you may feel this about whoever is on your radar these days. What are the chances that they could experience such transformation?

v. 15-24 – “After” shot – Smiling Klingon - you had to be there on Sunday to see this.
I love the first three words of v.15, “But when God….”
Note the very unique circumstances surrounding Paul’s “But when God….” story.

Sudden and dramatic- some people’s conversion is slow, multiple experiences, much prayer etc. - like watching ice thaw – Paul… got microwaved!
Preach to the Gentiles - most times people don’t know what their calling is at the moment of conversion. Did you know how God wanted you to serve him at your conversion?
Did not consult any man or go to Jerusalem - this was unique for Paul’s day and how God was using him. It would be dangerous to teach this as the norm. He had a very unique calling on his life v.15.
Went into Arabia - Did you go “into Arabia” when you came to Christ? Arabia was believed to be south of Damascus - possibly corresponding with modern day Jordan.

What were some of the unique circumstances surrounding your conversion to Christ?

Here are some brief comments on his Arabia trip. This was Paul’s very own Alpha program.

a. He did not go to Arabia without a teacher - The Holy Spirit was his teacher - see texts Acts 9:17 – It’s very important that Luke mentions that Paul was now possessed by the Holy Spirit who, according to Jesus, is a great teacher.
Praying for anybody these days that God would bring them illumination? This is a function of the Holy Spirit. Read 1 Corinthians 2:12-14.

b. He did not go in with a blank slate - Paul was a student of the Old Testament, memorized major portions of the Torah, had the best of teachers regarding the Scriptures (Gamaliel), went to the best of schools. In fact as a Jewish boy growing up education was mostly conducted through memorization and recitation. Its primary content was the history, literature, and laws of Israel, So he has this massive amount of information and a great teacher and guess what and who he discovers?

He discovers the message of Grace - note what he says about Abraham – Galatians3:6
He uncovers the message about Gentiles (Gen. 12:1-3 “all nations”- mentioned many other times in the OT.)
He discovers the Messiah. Jesus did say he starred in the OT (Luke 24:27)

Praying for anybody these days who has the word of God in their hearts yet is far from God? Some of us have children who have walked away from God- but the Word of God is in their hearts.

c. He did not come out whacked - This is an incredible testimony - Gal 2:9 - The miracle was that God gave to Paul the same Gospel that He had given to the pillars but his focus was to be different – the Gentiles. Gal 2:1-10 - he gets a full endorsement by the pillars.

This whole Arabia experience is shrouded in mystery but one thing we know for sure – God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, took the Scriptures that Paul knew and showed Paul Jesus, grace and the need for the Gentiles to hear.

Finally note in v.18-24 how his relationship has changed with the church. In Acts 9:26, they are afraid of him but now v.24 they worship because of him. Also note how Peter and James (and Ananias if you read Paul’s conversion story in Acts 9) played a role in helping guide Paul.

You may be praying for someone these days who needs to come to God or return to God. Here are some takeaways on how to pray based on Paul’s story:

Pray that they would have a genuine encounter with God, v.12. Also note v.15 “ But when God…” You may realize no amount of intellectual challenge will win them.
Pray that God would deliver them from whatever binds them, v.13, 14. Hate, anger, religiosity and lies were what partly bound Paul.
Ask the Holy Spirit to bring understanding and truth, v.16,17. Paul had a great teacher- the Holy Spirit.
Pray that the word of God would be powerful and transformational, v.16,17. Paul knew the Scriptures.
Finally, pray that God would bring credible people across this person’s path that would speak the truth, v.18-24. We know that Ananias was instrumental in Paul’s initial encounter with God (Acts 9). We see in this text how Peter told Paul the rest of the story and perhaps James was part of the process as well.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 115

2011-02-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

Drivers that can kill! - Galatians 1:6-10

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Today we are looking at a principle that we can all relate to for various reasons. The big idea is that When a good thing becomes an ultimate thing, bad things can happen. Think about how this truth works itself in the lives of people we love and care for. What issues have you seen displace God from being a number 1 priority in their lives?

Okay, let me give you an example. I have seen families so caught up in kids’ sports that they seem to compromise their relationship with God in order to make sure the kid(s) can play hockey or whatever sport 2-3 times per week. I have seen the desire to succeed ambush a person’s spiritual life. All time and focus goes into the good thing, which in time becomes like a bronzed calf and is essentially worshipped. Their time for God is radically reduced.

Text: Gal 1:6-10
Background:
In order for us to fully appreciate what is going on in this text we need to be clued into the background. The major tension in the early church was whether or not Gentiles could come to Christ without first becoming Jewish. There were many that felt that in order for Gentiles to come to Christ, they needed to be circumcised and adhere to various laws that would be the benchmarks of being Jewish. The tension was created when Paul traipsed around the Roman world, dropping in on various Gentile communities like the ones in Galatia and started leading Gentiles to Christ - minus making them Jewish. For Paul the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit were sufficient. Thus the battle heats up. Would this split the early church?
With this brief background on a complex issue, we come to our text.
Let’s start with the last verse first.

V.10 - Why is Paul asking these questions? What is Paul being accused of? What things in this text are mutually exclusive? Note that it is not always this way - there are times I can please men and please God. However, in this context, to please men would mean one would have to deny Christ and the message of the Gospel.
What is Paul saying that is true about who he is in this verse?
Note Paul says – “If I were still trying….” Paul’s zeal and success had been fuelled by the nature of Judaism, which placed an excessive emphasis on appearances and external criteria for commitment. Sounds like they don’t think Paul has changed. Ever felt that people have frozen you in your past?

They (Judaizers from Jerusalem) were accusing Paul of making the gospel soft and easy to believe (in other words you don’t have to become Jewish or get that nip-and-tuck) in order please the Gentiles. They were accusing Paul of being a people pleaser. Essentially, they were saying that pleasing people was far too important to Paul and so he had watered down the truth.
What was in fact true?

Paul turns the tables and accuses them (the Judaizers and some of the Gentiles) of being people pleasers. Check out Gal 6:12,13. Some of these Judaizers may have at first been drawn to Christ but now with the pressure from Jerusalem to conform to Jewish practices, they have backed down. They are living examples of 10b. Their issue is not sports or careers or work - it is the issue of bowing to the pressure of keeping people (conservative Jews in Jerusalem) happy: the fear of man.

Note that this fear of man (keep people happy, be accepted) sucker punched some of the progressive leadership in the early Church. Read below.

Leadership Caves

“Later, when Peter came to Antioch, I had a face-to-face confrontation with him because he was clearly out of line. Here's the situation. Earlier, before certain persons had come from James, Peter regularly ate with the non-Jews. But when that conservative group came from Jerusalem, he cautiously pulled back and put as much distance as he could manage between himself and his non-Jewish friends. That's how fearful he was of the conservative Jewish clique that's been pushing the old system of circumcision. Unfortunately, the rest of the Jews in the Antioch church joined in that hypocrisy so that even Barnabas was swept along in the charade.” Galatians 2:11-13 (The Message)

Observations?
Note the “fear factor”. Ever fudged on obedience because of the fear of man? Peter did, Barnabas and the rest of the Jews in Antioch did. There is another group that did in this story - but before we go there, here are some characteristics of a people pleaser - disease to please -

Fear of loss of approval
Fear of rejection
Fear of loss of personal identity
Fear of loss of personal worth
Fear of not "doing best'' for others' sake
Fear of letting their friends and family down
Fear of failure
Fear of it being "found out'' they are not as good as they appear to others
Fear that others will recognize their failings
Fear of making a decision lest it be the wrong one

Finally notice the other group that caved - a good thing becomes an ultimate thing and thus bad things happen.

Followers Cave (v.6,7)
Note Paul’s response and the words that describe these new converts. What happened to the Gospel?

Finally, this big idea can be applied to a number of different issues, but for some of us the people-pleasing issue is the big one. Is it possible to win over this great temptation?

Note what Paul says in v.8, 9 - obviously he is not too concerned with keeping people happy by saying the politically correct thing. Membership into the club is not high on Paul’s Christmas wish list. Now before you think you should emulate Paul’s behaviour here, take note of the context and culture.

What was seen as an acceptable form of disagreement then may not be seen as acceptable today. The ancient world simply loved inflammatory language for expressing its differences. The ancients delighted in overstatements and overstatements were effectively countered with similar overstatements.

So I would not make a direct application of his style - but I would be encouraged by Paul’s modeling of a person who did not count the votes when he walked into a room with regard to who liked or disliked him. He told the truth and walked in obedience. To connect to last week - he knew who he was, who loved him and had called him - “Paul, an apostle”! (see Scott McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary, page 60)

Wrapping it up.
Ask yourself these questions:

Do I have the disease to please?
Has my desire to please others in any ways compromised my faith?
Does the fear of man have a greater hold on me than the fear of God?
Have I perverted the gospel in any way to accommodate my desire to keep people happy?

On a broader application:

Take the big idea - write it in the middle of a piece of paper. Then draw spokes out from it and on the end of each spoke write out the good things of your life - work, sports, hockey, career, fitness, home, relationships, ethnicity, hobbies, image etc.
Then ask these questions.

Have any of these knocked God off His rightful place in my life?
If so why, what is happening at the core of who I am to allow this to happen?
What is my dominant emotion?

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 114

2011-02-12T16:05:00.001-08:00

Jesus, or Rambo? Galatians 1:1-5

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Big Idea: Taking the high road is often the last thing we are inclined to do.

Let’s see how you would do in answering the following questions:

Ever found yourself in a situation where false rumours are spread about you?
Ever been on the receiving end of a mean-spirited person?
Have you ever felt like the victim, lies spinning out of control, and it seems that some are happy to believe the worst about you?

Now let’s add a twist:

Ever had people that you invested in, dearly loved turn on you- slander you, stick a dagger in your back? You remember times of great friendship with them but now you might have trouble being in the same room as them.

We have all been down this road. If you have not then you probably don’t get out enough. This is almost as certain to happen to you as death, taxes and shovelling your driveway this time of the year!

Text: Galatians 1:1-5
By just reading these first few verses of Galatians, you might never pick up on the drama unfolding behind the text.

Paul has been on his first missionary journey which resulted in him planting churches among Gentile and Jewish converts in the southern part of the province of Galatia. Once back in Antioch, he hears word about the Judaizers infiltrating those new churches and turning some of his converts against him. Here is a list of what they are doing:

They are telling Gentile converts that they also need to embrace circumcision (2:3,5:6,6:12) and various food laws(2:11-14) to really live in a way which is acceptable to God.
They (Judaizers) are guilty of cultural Imperialism - forcing Gentiles to become Jewish
They are rallying the Gentiles to question Paul’s authority, smearing his name, accusing him of lying and telling people that Paul has no real backbone. He is a people pleaser and a sell-out (v.10)

What does Paul do? He starts this letter declaring his credentials – “Paul, an apostle”!
What do you learn about apostles just from v.1, 2?

Here is a bit more information about apostles:

This is a term that Jesus used of his disciples - he chose 12 and sent them out to preach (Luke 6:13) - personally called, chosen and commissioned by Jesus. The NT evidence is clear that this group was small and unique. This word is not a word that could be applied to every believer like saint, believer or brother. - Galatians, Stott page 13. There were some lesser apostles - travelling missionaries - not chosen and sent out by Jesus like the 12 and Paul. It was a term that implied great authority.

What does “sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus” imply about Jesus?

As an apostle, Paul paid a dear price for his commitment to mission. Read sections of Acts 13 and 14 to see the challenges he faced.

What I want you to note is that not only was Paul being attacked (literally stoned) by those outside the church but also by those inside the church.

Notice what “Paul, an apostle” illustrates. He is holding his ground, exactly what he encourage them to do in 5:1. He is not forgetting who he is or what God has called him to.

What consequently flows from his pen? (v.3,4,5) (the whole book of Galatians))
Discuss what flows from his pen in these verses.

Understanding that he is being attacked by these people, what do you find impressive about Paul’s words?
i.e – Grace and Peace (Shalom) to people who are smearing Paul’s reputation and believing him to be a liar.

On Sunday I focused in on the word “rescue”. It has been said that Christianity is a rescue religion. They along with Paul have been rescued. However, the problem is, as we will see next week is that they are deserting the gospel, in a state of confusion and going backwards in their walk of faith.

Here is the point I made on Sunday. Often those that attack us are in great need of ministry. We may want to trash talk back, but what they really need is a lifeline, words of truth, blessing and hope. Paul does this exactly. Instead of allowing bitterness to flow from his pen (Rambo vs. Jesus), he allows truth- the book of Galatians, which will be instrumental in helping these Gentiles find their way back home.

My big idea on Sunday was that “Taking the high road is often the last thing we are inclined to do”. Paul does not stoop but rather stands tall and speaks redemptively. Paul resists the temptation and brings words of life.

Some questions to ponder as you reflect upon this passage:

Who are you writing a” letter” to these days?
What is flowing from your “pen”, bitterness, unforgiveness?
Is it possible that the person you find hard to love may be in desperate need of a lifeline, and God may want to use your words to be a lifeline to someone in need, someone who is attacking you?
Have you ever been guilty of allowing poison to flow from your “pen” and needed to repent?
What can make it so difficult to take the higher ground as Paul did?
Can you think of an example (without blowing confidences) where you have found it really hard to love but where you could see the need of the person and why they need your love?
Do you find yourself in a work situation where the environment is sick? No one takes the higher road- dig for dig, jab for jab.
Are you in a marriage where both are launching verbal missiles? No one taking the higher road.

What might taking the higher road look like?

Forgiving them
Speaking kindly
Pursuing not avoiding
Giving a gift not withholding
Initiating saying “ Sorry” to them
Saying hard things but with good intentions
Stop gossiping about that person
Repenting of holding on to bitterness and hate
Getting help because you feel stuck

I like what Paul says in v.5- “to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen”. When it becomes about us, that is when we are most greatly tempted to act in an ungodly manner. When it is about His glory - we guard our words, prayerfully gauge our response, and humbly speak. Paul will say some hard things but it is as an apostle, speaking words of authority to heal not get even.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 113

2011-02-05T05:31:00.000-08:00

The River

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

“Vision” is a picture of where we are going and defines what makes us unique, and this past Sunday I cast the vision that is developing at Bethel Church. It’s not a new vision, but truly represents the DNA of Bethel and why Bethel was founded and planted so close to the heart of the city. We believe the rearticulating of this vision will help bring increased clarity for us as we develop key initiatives in fleshing it out. We cannot do it all, but we can take responsibility for the initiatives that God lays on our hearts (please note that I’ve also included an elders’ update from our recent half-day retreat).

As you begin your discussion (or reflection, if alone) read the key text I used on Sunday, John 7:37-39:

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

We know that this was the Feast of Tabernacles. While there were many feasts that the Jewish people celebrated, what made this feast unique is that it took place in the fall, after practically no rain had fallen on the terrain surrounding Jerusalem. The priest would take a golden pitcher and go to the Gihon spring (one of the water sources for Jerusalem), fill the pitcher with water, come back to the temple in Jerusalem and pour the water on the altar. This ritual reminded them all of the water from the rock during the wilderness wanderings (Num. 20:8-11; Ps. 78:15-16). It also spoke prophetically of the coming days of Messiah (cf. Zech. 14:8, 16-19). As the priest would pour the water out before the assembly, he would pray for rain to saturate the parched lands. So it was in this context that Jesus stood and spoke the words found in verses 37 and 38.

What a creative teaching moment Jesus stepped into. Saying such a thing created waves of reaction. See v.40-44.

V.37 introduces us to the first part of our vision statement: “Responding to the heart of God;”
What would you say is the heart of God based on Jesus’ words? Note key words like “thirst”, “come”, “me” and “drink”. What does responding look like from day to day? Give practical examples that are personal and corporate.

V.38 introduces us to the second part of our vision statement: “transforming the heart of the city.” This gets at what makes us unique. We are not a rural church but rather, having been planted in the heart of the city, we sense our need to take responsibility for various needs of the city here.

Note that “from within” translates as “womb, belly, representing the inner most part of a person”. Scientists say we have a “brain” in our gut, that is, neurons in the digestive system that produce feelings of well-being or threat deeper than we can put into words. It is in that very deepest place that Jesus says he will produce vitality. God does his work in me and it constantly flows within me as a life source. This is what I call “belly righteousness”.

What did Jews know about rivers/streams? Rivers flowed. In fact the Gihon spring that the priest went and drew from supplied water to Jerusalem in OT times. It was the Gihon that determined the original site of the city on the hill called Ophel, just west of the spring. In Biblical history, cities were built near rivers because rivers meant life and blessing to the city.

As Christ does a work in us (belly righteousness) we want to flow into the heart of the city. We want to be used by God to bring life, blessing and reconciliation with God.

When we speak of our vision we are talking about the corporate focus, since we realize that most of our people don’t live in the downtown core. Bethelites are from all over the place. It is important that we flow wherever God has placed us. However, as a Church Gathered, our corporate vision is for the heart of the city.

Exercise
Take a sheet of paper and draw a river. Along the banks of the river identify the kinds of people we find in the core of Kingston that need the life and hope the river can bring.

Obviously Bethel cannot do it all. What do you feel should be some of Bethel’s major focus areas? (please pass them on to me if you like)

Now draw a river representing your workplace and neighbourhood. Who are the people that need to be impacted by the river?

Take some time to pray for people who need to come to the river. Also pray for the health of Bethel. “Rivers” can be dirtied by Christians who don’t live upright lives. Churches have been known not to bless a city, but to be indifferent or do damage. We want to be a healthy conduit for God’s living waters to flow through.

Report on the Elders’ retreat

The elders had a half-day retreat last weekend (Jan. 29th) at Ron and Tooty Dickey’s. Afterwards, spouses and kids joined us for dinner and some outdoor recreation. The following is an update about what we talked about from Ron Dickey, one of our elders.

Most of our time was spent in discussion and prayer on the first two chapters of the book ''Emotionally Healthy Spirituality". The premise of the book is that Christian spirituality without an integration of emotional health can be deadly -- to yourself, to your relationship with God and to the people around you. The iceberg model applies - 90% of what we are is invisible, with deep layers below the surface that remain untouched by Jesus Christ until there is a serious engagement with what the author calls "emotionally healthy spirituality".

Some of the symptoms of "emotionally unhealthy spirituality" (as given in the book and which we considered) are as follows:

Ignoring our feelings and emotions such as anger, sadness, and fear: the author suggests that to the degree we are unable to express our emotions we remain impaired in our ability to love God, others, and ourselves.
We often deny or do not understand the past impacts the present: gender roles; the handling of anger and conflict, and shame; our view of family, recreation, pleasure, sexuality, grieving; our relationship with friends… all have been shaped by our families of origin and our culture. The work of growing in Christ (sanctification) demands we look back in order to break free from unhealthy and destructive patterns that prevent us from loving ourselves and others as God designed.
According to polls and sociologists: one of the greatest scandals of our day is that "evangelical Christians" are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered and sexually immoral as the world in general.
Doing for God instead of being with God: work for God that is not nourished by a deeper interior life with God will eventually be contaminated by other things such as ego ,pride, power, needing approval and wrong ideas of success. The joy of Christ gradually disappears.
Spiritualizing away conflict: the belief that sweeping disagreements under the rug is okay continues to be one of the most destructive myths alive in the church today. Out of a desire to bring true peace, Jesus disrupted the false peace all around him. He refused to spiritualize away conflict.
Covering our brokenness, weakness, and failure: the Bible does not spin the weaknesses of its heroes. They all send the same message: that every human being on earth is weak, vulnerable, and dependent on God and others.
Living without limits: burnout and despair are the common result. Any time we can listen to true self and give it the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.
Judging other people’s spiritual journey: by failing to let others be themselves before God and move at their own pace, we end up eliminating them in our minds, trying to make others like us, abandoning them altogether or falling into a ‘who cares?’ indifference towards them.

Desiring to grow individually and as a church body, and with our vision frame and 3Gs in mind (mainly to grow in acts of service), we considered how the above points might apply to us. We asked ourselves the following questions:

How are we doing and how well equipped are we to handle the many messy issues that come up in peoples’ lives?
What outside agencies should we ask to help us?
Do we provide an environment where people are not ashamed to discuss openly their problems with church leadership or in small groups?
Are we being open in the pulpit, and with the agencies and people we invite to speak to us?
We all look for accolades. Do we look to hand them out when possible?

We desire to do our best for God: to do Sunday services well, to teach our children and youth well, to have healthy small groups, but we still can not be all things to all people. Pray that we may see clearly where He is leading us and in faith to follow Him.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 112

2011-01-29T14:18:00.000-08:00

Biblical Authority

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

Our presenter today was James A. Beverley, Professor of Christian Thought and Ethics, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto and Associate Director, Institute for the Study of American Religion, Santa Barbara.

I. Reasons to Trust the Bible and make it our Authority

The Bible points to Jesus.
The Bible is rooted and anchored in history.
The Bible has been copied carefully.
The Bible contains amazing prophecies that have come true.
The Bible has a wonderful message of salvation and eternal life.
The Bible is the witness to God’s mighty acts.
The Bible is accurate about humanity.
The Bible contains great guidance for moral and spiritual living.
The Bible commands a self-critical stance.

Jesus had a high view of the Jewish Scripture and used its teaching to resist Satan and to guide his disciples. If the Scriptures were good enough for Jesus, why not follow his lead?

Question for Discussion:

Are there other reasons to trust the Bible?

II. Options on Biblical Authority

1. Fundamentalist/conservative Christian view

The Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. There are no mistakes or errors on any matter, scientific, moral, spiritual, historical, etc. The Bible should never be doubted and there is no reason to question any of its historical reports, miracles, or teaching.

(Many fundamentalists would add that the King James Version is the only trustworthy translation of the Bible.)

2. Moderate Conservative view

The Bible is God’s Word and is infallible on matters of faith and practice. However, there are some very difficult teachings in Scripture, particularly in the Old Testament. Further, there are minor errors on scientific and historical issues. These mistakes come from human error and not from God’s revelation.

3. Liberal Christian view

The Bible contains great spiritual teaching but informed Christians need not believe its miracle-stories or many of the Old Testament myths. The Bible contains false teaching on major subjects related to creation, the role of women, slavery, etc. As well, God speaks through other scriptures like the Gita, the Qur’an, the Sikh Adi Granth, and the Buddhist sutras.

4. Atheist view

The Bible is a false, misleading, dangerous book that has crippled humanity. There is no God and so there is no divine map for humans.

Questions for Discussion

What is your view of the Bible’s authority?
If you accept the Bible as God’s Word, how do you handle tough teachings?
What is your favourite Bible translation?

III. Principles on Inerrancy

Inerrancy is the ideal theory about the Bible - a book without mistakes is better than a book with mistakes.
The doctrine of inerrancy is often defended on the basis of logic - a) God inspired the Bible, b) God makes no mistakes, and c) Therefore, the Bible makes no mistakes.
Inerrancy illustrates the power of a world view. If one is radically committed to the importance of inerrancy, then it would be very difficult to admit to an error in Scripture even if there was one or several or many. Evangelicals who believe in inerrancy need to work hard to be honest about problems in Scripture.
The inerrancy doctrine preserves something absolutely crucial about the Christian doctrine of God: God makes no mistakes, He is perfect, therefore, whatever He inspires has to be inerrant. If there was a mistake in the original autographs that would have to come from human error in reception of God's Word.
Inerrancy is not absolutely essential for the survival of the gospel. While an error on certain crucial items would spell the end of the Gospel (e.g. if Jesus has not risen from the dead), the Gospel does not hinge on an error on a minor item.
Evangelicals need to be loving in the defence of Biblical authority. The battle over inerrancy and the authority of the Bible has often illustrated abuse of power and a lack of love.
Be wary of the slippery slide in relation to Biblical authority. History has shown that once humans become the judge of Scripture on minor things, the trend continues on to question the very essential doctrines of the faith.
Don't decide an issue by whether a view is liberal or conservative. Decide on the basis of what the Bible really teaches. The Bible teaches both liberal and conservative ideas. Jesus was both liberal and conservative, depending on the issue and the setting.
Distinguish between the major and minor issues in biblical authority.
Don't be superstitious about the Bible. It is to be respected as God's word but not to be treated as a book with magic powers.
Be careful of the line that says “It doesn't matter” in relation to alleged mistakes in the Bible. Of course it matters if there are mistakes in the Bible.
I would recommend that evangelicals admit to problems in Scripture but resist calling them errors - this gives the Bible the benefit of the doubt.
Don't focus on inerrancy and solving problems in Scripture to the neglect of seeing the wonderful truths of the Bible. The supremacy of God's Word should not be lost in the debates about alleged contradictions and problem passages.
Distinguish between whether the person believes the Bible is their authority from whether or not they have a false interpretation of specific Bible items. Is it an issue of authority or hermeneutics (or maybe both)?
Be careful of the emphasis on the King James Version only in some conservative circles. The inerrancy issue is separate from the issue of the best translation. (The KJV is a beautiful translation but modern translations like the NIV are understood more easily).

Questions for Discussion

Do you agree with all of Professor Beverley’s points?
Are there any mistakes in the Bible?

IV. Resources on Scripture

Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Zondervan, 2003)
I. Howard Marshall, Biblical Inspiration (Hodder & Stoughton, 1982)
Leon Morris, I Believe in Revelation (Eerdmans, 1976)
Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Zondervan, 1998)

http://www.bible.org
http://www.biblegateway.com
http://www.biblestudytools.com

Touching Base! Part 111

2011-01-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

Atheism

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This TB is going to be a little different than ones we put out weekly. You will note that, included in this TB is a bibliography. We strongly encourage you to check out some of these resources as you seek to intelligently engage with friends and family who may be atheists. One of the purposes of the Hot Topic series is to equip you (me too) to answer tough questions.

Below you will note the issues that the panel members addressed. Each of them has provided a brief summary of their presentation.

In my opening remarks, I commented on how we live in a world offering a “buffet” of belief choices. Even back in Joshua’s day with Israel surrounded by foreign nations, they had to choose for themselves who they would serve, what they would believe in:

"Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:14-15)

What has been your experience with those who have embraced atheism?
Is it harder to be a person of faith today than in your parent’s generation? Why or why not?

Carmen - Nothing New Under the Sun.

Carmen explained briefly that while the new atheism certainly is a step-up in terms of angry rhetoric, it’s really nothing new, because in Solomon’s own words “there’s nothing new under the sun.” The arguments haven’t changed, and in many cases the answers have been the same for over 2000 years.

Do you find this reassuring? Why or why not?

When people like Freud or Marx make their suggestions about why there isn’t really a God, have you found yourself believing them? Carmen pointed out that their arguments actually prove nothing about the actual existence of God. All they prove is that man is a fallen human being, capable of great evil and idolatry.
Why do you think people simply take their arguments at face value?

What can you do as a Christian to ensure you are able to “give an answer for the hope that is within you, with gentleness and respect”?
HINT: it’s at the end of the TB, starts with “B” and ends with “IBLIOGRAPHY”.

Eric - A Biblical Diagnosis

Rebellion (Romans 1:21-25) - If you leave God out - don't glorify Him, thank Him, believe in Him - and worship other things, he may let you do your own thing. And there is nothing more frightening.
Independence (Luke 12:20) - This is more subtle. It's just leaving Him out. Doing good and logical things and being just fine without God at all.
Psychology (Romans 7:18,23 and the story of the Prodigal Son). St. Paul clearly says that there is much more than reason alone to explain our behaviour.

We might believe in the God described in Scripture in our heads but - deep down, and in our actions - really believe Him to be the God who is like the earthly father we grew up with.

Questions:

Are there examples of rebellion or independence in your life?
Do you ever believe God to be either like your own parents or like one of His true attributes but one very selectively chosen from Scripture?

Meredith - Where are the atheists right?

Meredith noted that Christians often accuse Atheists of having no "moral compass." We accuse them of being gluttonous, greedy, lustful, and slothful. But are there times when we have been hypocritical? The greatest philanthropists of our time are atheists: George Soros, Bill Gates and William Buffett.

Atheists have long been critical of Christians – Meredith pointed out that Christians have the same vices (such as issues with pornography) as non-believers.

Atheists often feel frustrated with Christians appeal to God to explain complicated things (a so called "God-of-the-Gaps" mentality), or who divide over dogma, or are hurtfully narrow-minded while failing to address some of the most egregious and obvious sins in their own backyard (racism, sexism, consumerism, fill in your own -ism).

Have you struggled with this in your life as a believer? What would you say to an atheist who brings this up?

Noted atheist A. N. Wilson wrote about his return to his Christian faith. He writes: "My belief has come about in large measure because of the lives and examples of people I have known—not the famous, not saints, but friends and relations who have lived, and faced death, in the light of the Resurrection story, or in the quiet acceptance that they have a future after they die. …”

Note “the lives and examples” … how is your life? What are your examples?

Living the way of Philippians 2:1-4 is a powerful apologetic!

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (The Message)

Mark - Slogans

The slogan I commented on was “There’s Probably No God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Read Matthew 6:25-34. How is this slogan the direct opposite of what Jesus said?
This slogan suggests that God must be some monster so now we can stop worrying because the monster doesn’t (probably doesn’t - to be exact) exist. Why do you think that some atheists seem to have this monster view of God?

Comment on the following quote I read in conclusion:

“I have never heard anybody say, One day I realized there was no God, no one behind reality, no life after death. I realized existence is a meaningless accident, begun by chance and destined for oblivion, and it changed my life. I used to be addicted to alcohol, but now the law of natural selection has set me free. I used to be greedy but now the story of the Big Bang has made me generous. I used to be afraid, but now random chance has made me brave.

I have never heard the story of an accidental, meaningless universe changing a life like that. Now, I have heard people say they were oppressed by the form of faith they followed and felt a sense of liberation when they didn’t believe it was true anymore. But I have never seen anyone receive the power to live the kind of life and become the kind of person he or she wants to be by hearing that there is no story behind the universe. I have never heard anyone say, ‘Now I have found a meaningful existence from a meaningless reality.’ ” John Ortberg, Faith and Doubt

Wrap

What are the action steps?

Pray for people you know are atheists.
Serve people who are atheists and use words when necessary.
Be prepared to give an answer, with gentleness and respect - Respond in grace.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Hot Topics for a Cold Month # 2 - 16 JAN 11 – Atheism

Bibliography

1. Books

Aikman, David (2008). The Delusion of Disbelief: Why the New Atheism is a Threat to Your Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN: 1-4143-1708-5

D'Souza, Dinesh (2007). What's So Great About Christianity? Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing Inc. ISBN: 978-1414326016

Eagelton, Terry (2010). Reason, Faith and Revolution - Reflections on the God Debate. Yale University Press, ISBN: 978-0300164534

Flew, Anthony with Roy Varghese (2007). There is a God. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
ISBN: 978-0-06-133530-3

Geisler, Norman L. and Frank Turek (2004). I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN: 1-58134-561-5

Hitchens, Peter (2010). The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN: 978-0-310-32031-9

Keller, Timothy (2008). The Reason For God. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN: 978-1594483493

McGrath, Alister (2010). The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind. Downer's Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press. ISBN: 978-0830838431

Ortberg, John (2008). Faith and Doubt. Zondervan Books. ISBN: 978-0310253204

Spiegel, James (2010). The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8024-7611-1

Sproul, R.C. (1978). If There's a God, Why are there Atheists?: Why Atheists Believe in Unbelief (Revised edition of the book The Psychology of Atheism.). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. ISBN: 978-0871232380

Stott, John (2006). The Incomparable Christ. Intervarsity Press. ISBN 978-0830832224

Vitz, Paul C. (1999). Faith of the Fatherless: the Psychology of Atheism. Dallas: Spence Publishers. ISBN: 978-1890626129

Wright, N.T. (2006). The Challenge of Jesus - Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is. Intervarsity Press. ISBN: 978-0830822003

Wright, N.T. (2006). Evil and the Justice of God. Intervarsity Press. ISBN: 978-0830833986

Wright, N.T. (2010). Simply Christian - Why Christianity Makes Sense. HarperOne. ISBN: 978-0061920622

Yancey, Philip (2010). What Good is God? Faithwords. ISBN: 978-0446559850

Zacharias, Ravi (2008). Beyond Opinion – Living the Faith We Defend. Thomas Nelson. ISBN: 978-0849919688

2. Websites:

Christian:
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
http://www.rzim.org
William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith
http://www.reasonablefaith.org
Stand to Reason
http://www.str.org

Other:
http://www.workswithoutfaith.org
http://www.atheistmedia.com
http://www.wikipedia.com

Touching Base! Part 110

2011-01-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hell

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

How many of us would agree that knowing and trusting somebody does not necessarily mean you understand them? How many spouses would say “I know my spouse, trust them, but don’t understand them all the time? This can happen in all kinds of relationships. Can you give an example of this in your own life?

What is true about our human relationships is also true regarding our relationship with God. I think we would all agree that there are a number of issues that we trust God with, but don’t have complete understanding of.

For example, take the issue of hell. C.S. Lewis notes that heaven is the abode of those that say to God, "Thy will be done," and hell is the dwelling of those to whom God will eventually turn and say, "THY will be done." In other words, hell is the rejection of relationship and meaning, the insanity of a self-imposed isolation where "man is the measure of all things." Having affirmed himself as his own god, man lives in hell with the full consequence of this faith. Some scriptures to check out are, Matthew 5:22, 29-30;10:28;18:9; 2Peter 2:4.

If you are reviewing this TB in a group, take some time and imagine the following scenario. You are in a coffee shop, talking with a friend who is not a believer. They ask you the question,” How can you, an intelligent, 21st century person believe in the teaching of hell? How can you believe that a loving God would allow people to suffer in hell for eternity? How would you respond? Would your answer reveal that you understand God completely on this issue or that you struggle with coming to terms with what Jesus said about hell?

On Sunday, we talked about how to frame some thoughts around a very difficult issue. If you were not present, it may be difficult to track with the following outline. You can hear this teaching on our website.

Starting with the nature of God
What you believe/know about the character of God will determine whether you can trust Him with something you don’t completely understand. For example if you believe God is some vindictive megalomaniac, then hell is like a hard packed snowball in the hands of a schoolyard bully. Discuss how our understanding of God deeply influences our trust of Him. How can this influence our trust in God when it comes to the issue of hell?
What do we as Christians believe about the nature of God? Scripture teaches the perfect love and perfect justice of God.

Perfect Love
The image of God as a divine lover saturates the bible. When God wanted to communicate his love to the northern tribe of Israel who had fallen deeply into idolatry he told Hosea to marry a prostitute as a demonstration of God’s love for an adulterous Israel. John 3:16 speaks of this love. At the cross Jesus allowed the very people he came to save to spit upon his flesh, to whip his flesh, to impale His flesh, and to pierce His flesh.

Perfect love grants freedom, where the recipient of love can choose to receive or reject that love. True love requires true freedom. Freedom is a necessary moral component of love.

Discuss how providing moral freedom helps us understand the reality of hell.

Even with this understanding of moral freedom what are still some of the questions your friend may have about the issue of hell? In other words, what mystery are we still left with?

Perfect Justice
Perfect justice refers to God’s nature whereby he is infinitely righteous in Himself and in all he does. A biblical worldview teaches that no stone will be left unturned, no crime scene unsolved, no injustice undealt with. Psalm 89:14 is one of many verses that talks about the righteous judgments of God.

Talk about the worlds desire to see justice. What are various scenarios that you desire to see justice? Hell addresses everyone’s longing for justice! Atheists have no hope of perfect justice being satisfied.

However, what is our desire can quickly become our dilemma. We have all misused the moral freedom God has given us. Based on His perfect justice we all stand condemned. The justice of God demands that a penalty be paid. It is as this point we appeal to the perfect love of God. The justice of God demands we pay a price for our sin. The love of God propels him to send Christ to pay that price. (Gal 3:13)

Talk about how hell addresses our desire for justice - perfect justice.

Do you find that most are willing to admit the dilemma they find themselves in based on the perfect justice of God?
Ravi Zacharias says that depravity is the most empirically provable doctrine yet most resisted by atheists.

Romans 11:22 says-"Behold then the kindness and the severity of God." What is it about our culture that does not like to talk about the severity of God?

Even with this understanding of perfect justice, what are still some of the questions your friend may have about the issue of hell?

Hell is not something to take lightly. It represents a doctrine that represents the largest “room in the house”. We can explore it from every angle but still be left having to trust God with an issue that is in part beyond our understanding. However, I do believe that as we understand the perfect love and perfect justice of God we can begin to shape some of our thoughts and express our faith more clearly to a world that is in need of the good news for this life and the next.

How does your life need to be different in light of the reality of hell?

Take some time to pray for those in need of the perfect love of God. Pray for those who need to come face to face with the perfect justice of God.

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.

Does not perfect justice mean that the punishment fits the crime?
Scripture teaches that there are different degrees of punishment in hell, just as there are different degrees of reward in Heaven. Check out Matthew 11:20-24, Mark 12:40, Rev 20:12,13.. These texts teach that God’s justice is proportional.

What about the person in “India” who may never hear about God’s provision in Christ?
You cannot answer this question without holding the perfect love and perfect justice of God in balance. God’s love for this world goes far beyond anything I could measure, yet his love cannot contradict or compromise his perfect justice. How God works all that out is beyond my understanding. I side with Abraham who said in Gen 18:25 “ Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” While trusting God I need to do my part in communicating the Gospel and that salvation is found in Christ.

Are the flames of hell literal?
I believe much of the language that describes hell is figurative. For example the imagery of flames is often used to describe hell. However, hell is also described as a place of utter darkness. How is that possible? Wouldn’t flames light the place up? We often will describe a literal place with figurative language. Scripture does the same. However, make no mistake that even though some of the language that describes hell may be figurative, what it is communicating is that hell is a place to be avoided.

Touching Base! Part 109

2010-12-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

Reflection On The Dialogue

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

This past Sunday I interviewed Kent Bandy on the issue of how God transforms us. In Romans 12:1, 2 Paul says…

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Then in Galatians 4:19-20, he says….

“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!”

Take some time in your group to discuss the following questions.

What or who has God used to bring transformation in your life?
What, in your opinion, is the main issue why people get stuck in being transformed?
If you were to run into someone you hadn’t seen in 10 years, what might they note about your own personal transformation? (We are not talking about weight gain or hair loss, but being transformed into the likeness of Christ) What might they note as being your area of greatest growth? Would they note any areas where you had gone backwards?

On Sunday we talked about how there can be spiritual issues pushing back on our transformation process. Note in the following texts how we are to relate to the Holy Spirit - John 14:16-17, Acts 1:8, 2 Cor. 13:14, Galatians 5:25.

However, as we seek to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, scripture makes it clear that there is an “unholy spirit” (Kingdom of Darkness) that wars against what God wants to do in our lives. Thus Paul’s warning (Eph. 4:26-28)…

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.(a place to stand) He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Note God’s words to Cain in Genesis 4:7” If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

One text I think of regarding this issue is the Lord’s Prayer. When Jesus asked us to pray for the Kingdom of God to come, He fully realized that His Kingdom would not be coming into a vacuum, but into a context where the enemy was and is at work (Eph. 6:10-20).

Take some time to discuss the following:

If you were there on Sunday, what did Kent say that you would agree with regarding this issue? How about disagree?
If you grew up in a church was it open or closed to this kind of discussion, and why? Have you seen much abuse or neglect in this area?

Comment on the red flags we raised on Sunday:

Extreme emotionalism, abuse (theatrics, flaky and freaky)
Always or never – there’s always a demon to blame / there’s never a demon to blame.
The challenges of sensing - jumping to conclusions
What might you add?

Here was my final word on the issue… what would be yours?

We need to have a healthy respect for the spiritual realm in which life unfolds. We need to be biblically rooted, accountable in community and sensitive to context. (2 Tim 3:15, 16)

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com

Touching Base! Part 108

2010-11-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

Where Does Grace Flow?

(This article can also we found on our website
at http://www.bethelkingston.com under the tab called "Blog")

This Touching Base is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside of the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build healthy community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

If you are sharing this TB in a group, tell everyone about a time when what you planned didn’t actually go as intended. There you were, front and center, watching what you planned for go south… evaporate into thin air:

Sometimes we set the agenda for our day, but never get to the first item
In a small group, other issues can come up that see the group set aside the agenda for the more urgent issue
Our long-term goals sometimes are set aside because of surprises that move us in a different direction
As we enter into the Christmas season, I think of Joseph and Mary, who, if they did have an agenda, certainly saw it “interrupted” for other pressing issues - like Emanuel in Mary’s womb.

Look at the text (Luke 7:36-50)
The big idea that we looked at this past Sunday was that no matter how low we sink, grace flows to that lowest part.

Read v.36-v.38
Describe this scene. Note the strong fragrance and the strong emotion. What are the indicators that her heart is wide open to Jesus? Do not miss that her brokenness is connected with sexual sin. Something many live with today. Based on your own background would you be comfortable with such emotion being demonstrated, indicating this woman’s brokenness?

Robert Coles, a psychiatrist at Harvard who devoted much of his life to working with people in the margins of society, begins each class at Harvard by quoting James Agee: “Not one of these… persons is ever quite to be duplicated, nor replaced, nor has it ever quite had precedent: but each is a new and incommunicably tender life, wounded in every breath and almost as hardly killed as easily wounded: sustaining, for a while, without defence, the enormous assaults of the universe.” (In Yancey, What Good Is God, page 79.)

Talk about what it feels like to be without defence to “the enormous assaults of the universe.”
What must she have seen in Jesus at this point that brought her to do what she did in this story?

Read v.39.
I think Simon represents some of the most difficult people to love in the whole world. Sometimes they are not “out there” but found in religious organizations. Does anybody reading this get angry at this point with Simon? Anybody feel like making him watch an eternity’s worth of Maple Leaf hockey games as a form of the eternal fires of hell?

These kinds of people can tell you what is wrong with the world but never come close to confessing what is wrong with themselves. As has been said, “it is easier to point the finger than to bend the knee.”

How do you think Simon would make this woman feel? Valued or worthless? Loved or blacklisted? Hope-filled or hopeless?

Imagine if she had tried to touch the Pharisee - what would have happened? Would he have represented one more assault of the universe… coming from the religious establishment? How many prostitutes in Kingston feel like the Church represents the assault of the universe? How many people with sexual sin or other sins would never speak to Christians, fearful of the response?

Simon’s heart is wide shut to this woman, but also to Jesus.

Read on to v.40-50
(Note: One denarius coin was worth a day’s wages)
Common hospitality included providing water for the feet – open sandals and dusty roads made for dirty feet. Oil for the dry skin on one’s head would also be a thoughtful act. A kiss was an affectionate or respectful form of greeting. Simon offers none of this - heart wide shut! I think this lack of attention to detail by Simon may indicate that the whole banquet was a trap for Jesus. In the end, Simon was the one trapped.

Some things to note
It was not the woman’s affections that saved her, but her faith (v.50). Faith was the cause of her works. See Gal. 5:6. Also note that the reason Jesus tells this man the parable is not because Simon is sinless, but to explain the woman’s actions. Strong fragrance and strong emotion are present because of a big debt reduction!

Jesus sees in her what he saw in the leper, the paralytic, the Centurion and his servant- infinite worth, value regardless of the assaults of the universe.

I love what C.S. Lewis says “ You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”

It’s interesting that in this story we know the woman by what she did, however, we know the man by what he didn’t do. Sometimes what people don’t do speaks loudly…
… they don’t say “I am sorry”…
… they never take the initiative to call…
… they never (rarely) ask questions. When they speak, it tends to resemble… “Ok, enough about me, now what do you think about me?”…
… they never offer to help…
… they don’t let others go first…

You can know a lot about someone by what they don’t do. We know a lot about this man by what he doesn’t do. His heart is wide shut but a closed door often serves as an open window into someone’s soul.

No matter how low we sink, grace flows to that lowest part. Grace flows to this woman. She is the trophy of grace in this story. She enters weeping, she leaves in peace.

She comes in as nobody but leaves a somebody.

Some final questions
I don’t think that the lowest point in this story that grace flows to is the woman, but Simon. Jesus demonstrates a willingness to engage with Simon. The story never reveals if Simon responded to this flow of grace. What do you think?

For me, I think I must guard my heart when it comes to wanting to slap the Simons of the world. After all, people like this today who have the Scriptures, can read about the life of Christ and see God’s amazing grace from Genesis to Revelation should know better. Do you need to guard your heart in this matter?

Finally, who are you a conduit for the grace of God to flow to these days?

In John 14:12, Jesus said “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Mark

If interested in joining or starting a small group contact markkotchapaw@gmail.com