Working Hard to Meet Together

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Jim Hough

In continuing our series on discipline, today we approach a topic that many would not consider a discipline at all.  Fellowship is considered a means by which God shows his grace to believers, but it is rarely considered something we have to discipline ourselves to do.  If we take a careful look at what scripture says about fellowship, we will see that it is more than just meeting together on Sunday morning or once a week for a small group and desserts.  Fellowship is truly something that we must work at as a body of believers in order for it to look the way that God intends it to be.  The discipline side of fellowship involves not neglecting our time meeting together, humbling ourselves in order to be unified, and serving together and bearing one anothers burdens.

Not Neglecting our Responsibility to Each Other.  The writer of Hebrews tells us “..let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Heb 10:24-25)  This passage would hardly be necessary if it was not “the habit of some,” to walk away from fellowship and growing together in Christ.   Here at Sunrise, our growth groups are meant to be that kind of fellowship.  We are meeting together to grow and become more like Christ.  We share our burdens and we serve each other cheerfully.  Sunday mornings we Worship together and come to be built up by the pastor, but in small groups we are “stirring one another to love and good works.”  It is very easy to neglect meeting with each other in small groups.  Often our schedule conflicts, and things come up that interrupt our times together.  We can’t always help things that get in the way of small groups, but don’t neglect meeting together.  Make fellowship, whether in an organized small group, or one on one with an accountability partner, a priority.

Humbling ourselves for the sake of unity.  Unity was an important theme for Paul in the early church.  He saw a great divide between the Jews and the Gentiles that deeply hurt the fellowship of believers.  While we do not frequently see the division of Messianic Jews and Gentiles in our church today, it is of vital importance to our fellowship that we be unified.  In doing this, we must humble ourselves to ensure that we are looking out for the interests of each other.  Paul writes to the Ephesians “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.” (Eph 4:1-4)  In this passage Paul encourages believers to put aside their differences and remember the one call that unites them, namely the salvation in Jesus Christ.  As a body, we must be building each other up towards Christ and that requires that we humble ourselves and look towards the unifying Spirit and the salvation that God has granted us.

Serving together and Bearing each other’s Burdens.  When we meet together frequently, and humble ourselves for the sake of unity, we can begin to serve one another faithfully and share the burdens that we bear.  We are called to help each other in our spiritual growth.  Paul encourages us “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.  Keep watch on yourself, let you too be tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”  As we fellowship together we are to be disciplined in keeping each other moving towards Christ.  We are to help restore each other when we are caught in transgressions.  The law of Christ that we are fulfilling is found in the Great commandment.  When we admonish one another, and bear each others burdens, we are loving God and we are loving our neighbors as ourselves.

To conclude, Fellowship is a discipline that is worthwhile for all of us.  We each need to work at ensuring we are spending time with each other and that the time we do spend with each other is used for building up the body of Christ.  Be devoted to Christ, be devoted to each other.

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“Adore and Tremble”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Jim Hough

I want to share with you two wonderful songs from a friend, Daniel Renstrom.  The first was originally written by Isaac Watts and the second by Daniel.

“Adore and Tremble”

Adore and tremble, for our God Is a consuming fire!
His jealous eyes His wrath inflame, And raise His vengeance higher.

Almighty vengeance, how it burns! How bright His fury glows!
Vast magazines of plagues and storms Lie treasured for his foes.

At His approach the mountains flee, And seek a watery grave:
The frighted sea makes haste away, And shrinks up every wave.

Through the wide air the mighty rocks Are swift as hailstones hurled;
Who dares engage His fiery rage That shakes the solid world?

Come to Him, kiss the Son. Love the Father, Come and Run.
Turn away from your Sin.  Love the Father, Oh Repent*

Yet, mighty God, Thy sovereign grace Sits regent on the throne;
The refuge of Thy chosen race, It’s Christ who is their hope.

Thy hand shall on rebellious kings A fiery tempest pour,
While we beneath Thy sheltering wings Thy just revenge adore.

*chorus added by Daniel Renstrom

 “At The Cross”

We are singing songs of redemption, We are Christ’s possession
Bought with the precious blood.
Given us pardon and forgiveness, we are freed to love Him
Bought with the precious blood.

At the cross wrath was taken away, Christ was in our place
Oh what marvelous grace.
At the cross justice was supplied, by the blood of Christ
Forever we will praise.

Amazing pity grace made known to me
Love beyond all I conceived
Bought with the precious blood.

Righteous now is how He looks at me
Aroma of Christ to God from me
Bought with the precious blood

Burdens were lifted away.
God caused this heart to awake to His glorious grace.
Burdens were lifted away.
God caused this heart to awake, He’s provided a way.

These songs appear on Daniel’s album “Adore and Tremble.”  The album takes on a subject that we as Christians do not often like to talk about and that is the wrath of God.  We have downplayed the importance of the wrath of God so much, in fear of being labeled a “Hell fire and brimstone” people, that some preachers have gone the complete opposite direction and outright deny that God is wrathful.  The title of the album, taken from an Isaac Watts hymn, tells us precisely what our attitude towards God should be.   These two songs exemplify exactly what it means to both “Adore,” and to “Tremble.”

“Trembling” with Isaac Watts

“Adore and Tremble,” is not a hymn that you will typically hear sung in front by a worship team.  This is a very heavy song with very strong lyrics about the final judgment of man.  Scripture is very clear that there will be a final judgment and that it will not be a pleasant event for those who do not submit to Christ.  Revelation 20:11-15 gives us a description of what we can expect at the final judgment.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

I believe that this passage was Watts’ primary inspiration for “Adore and Tremble.”  In the song he wants to convey that there is a mighty God whose vengeance is burning.  In the first part of this passage John writes that even the earth trembles at the judgment of the one on the throne.  This is what Watts refers to when he asks the question “Who dares engage His fiery rage; That shakes the solid world?”  This passage and this song tell us that those whose names are not in the book of life will endure a very real, very eternal punishment.  This wrath is not undeserved, nor is it the petty vengeance of a god that cannot control his anger.  Paul tells us in Romans 3:10-18 that all people have turned away from God and none are good.  He is a Holy God and is above reproach.  No sin can be within the presence of God, so there must be a punishment for the sins of us all.  God is fulfilling his just will in punishing those who do not repent and run to the Son.  The wrath on mankind is well deserved for our wicked hearts, and that should make us tremble.  This should make us tremble for our unrepentant loved ones and especially for those who have not heard the Gospel.  This impending judgment is a great motivation for evangelism and global missions.  We tremble at our mighty and just God who will take His vengeance on those who have rebelled against Him.  We should take our sins very seriously with this in view, and understand the cost of turning away from the God who rules over all the earth.

Trembling is only half of our view of God.  For God did not simply leave us to our own ways to be judged and sent unto the second death.  He gave us a great hope in Christ and in this we adore his great mercy and grace!

“Adore At the Cross”

The last line of “Adore and Tremble” tells us that we watch the wrath of God from beneath the sheltering wings of Christ.  While the unrepentant people of the world must pay for their sins against the Holy God, the people who put their faith in the work of Christ are sheltered from the storm to come.  In “At the Cross,” Daniel expands on this idea, praising God that we are not just forgiven, but we are the possession of Christ!  In the book of Romans, Paul takes great pains to reveal this incredible news to his readers.  He says in Romans 5:1-2 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Christ died on the cross so that he could pay the penalty for our sins.  The cross was meant to be God’s wrath poured out on His Son so that those who will believe in Him will be spared from the punishment.  We are not just forgiven for our past, but we now have peace with the Holy God.  This is what Daniel refers to when he says that “At the cross, wrath was taken away.”  This is truly marvelous grace because we in no way deserve to be saved from the wrath of God, but because of His love for us, He sent his own Son to take the due punishment.  To be justified by faith means that we have a right standing with God simply by faith in Christ, not through our own doings.  It is this through grace and mercy, this incredible love that we can come before the throne and give praise to our God.  He deserves our worship because he is holy and perfect, but we cannot approach the throne without His grace and forgiveness given to us through Christ.  In this grace we stand and we shall rejoice greatly in the hope of the great glory of our God!  Can we really appreciate this great rejoicing we should have without an understanding of the wrath from which we are saved?

The puritans were often accused of having a lot of guilt and self demoralization.  Today they would probably be put into therapy for having low self esteem.  However, it was their theology that produced such guilt.  They understood the seriousness of their sin and the wrath that comes because of it.  Even in this guilt they rejoiced greatly in the saving work of Christ.  They had a proper understanding of their own sin, and because of it, their redemption was even sweeter.  I encourage you to read about the puritans, not from “The Scarlet Letter,” but from their own writings.  One book that can give great insight is a book of puritan prayers called “The Valley of Vision.”  Read these prayers and see the understanding that the puritans had of “Adore and Tremble.”

Daniels Website.

Listen to and Buy Daniel’s music.

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Prayer

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Jim Hough

This week we are continuing our series on the spiritual disciplines, moving on from intake of scripture to prayer. We start with these two disciplines because they are the foundational disciplines for the rest. Many different writers have written about many different disciplines, but without these two, prayer and scripture, the rest falter and do nothing. Scripture is the Christian’s food (Jer 15:16) , we eat from it daily for our spiritual sustenance. Prayer on the other hand is the Christian’s breath, we do it without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17). If we look at Jesus we can see that He was completely devoted to prayer. He frequently went to find solitude so that He could pray to the Father (Luke 15:16). We see in Acts 2:42 that the early church is also devoted to prayer. It is something that we are expected to do and are commanded to do throughout scripture. When Jesus talks to the disciples about prayer, he instructs them as if there is no other option. They must pray, and they must always pray.  Prayer is so important because it is our means of communication with God. He has given us a revelation of who He is through scripture, and through prayer we are to come before His throne to worship and seek His help. We can come before the throne with confidence (Heb 4:16), knowing that we will be heard by God.

There are many different methods and practices to prayer. The acrostic ACTS is one place to start, while studying the prayer Jesus taught the disciples (Matt 6:1-15) would be another excellent place to find guidance. Regardless of the method used in prayer, there are two very important things to remember. These can be found in Ecclesiastes 5:2, “Be not rash with your mouth, let not your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few.” It may seem contradictory that I say go to the Lord in prayer constantly, yet let your words be few, but the point of this passage is that we remember in prayer first who God is, and second who we are. God is in heaven, holy and majestic. Isaiah chapter 6 tells of when Isaiah sees the Lord on His throne, and in this moment Isaiah realizes the perfect holiness of God and his response is “Woe is me!” When we pray, we do not just pray as if we are talking to our office buddies, but we need to remember that God is the creator of the universe and is deserving of all honor and glory.

The second thing we need to remember is who we are. We would have no place and no confidence to come before the throne if not for Christ. We are all sinners that have turned away from God. Because of our sin we are separated from Him and it is only through Christ that we can be reconciled to Him. This is why we pray “in Jesus’ name.” It is far more than simply a way to end the prayer, it is the only way we can approach the throne of God. If we remember this, we approach the throne in humility, seeking to do God’s will and follow the commands of Christ.

We need to take very seriously the command to pray. We have great confidence that we can approach the throne because of the work of Christ. However, in doing this we must remember who God is and honor Him. We must also remember who we are and approach the throne in humility.

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Meditating on the Word

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Jim Hough

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

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“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” Joshua 1:8a

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“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation day and night” Psalm 119:97

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These verses and many others like it express the value on meditating on God’s Word.  It is a very important, yet frequently overlooked discipline.  We often dismiss meditation because of a misunderstanding of what it is.  Meditation in the sense that the writers of Scripture intended has nothing to do with “clearing one’s mind,” or “getting in touch with your inner-self,” as many new age philosophies may teach.  Meditation is the intentional reflection and dwelling on a subject to explore it. It is like looking at a diamond or gem, you hold it in the light and turn it over and over to see it from every angle and see every facet and how it reflects the light.   When we study scripture, we ask questions and seek understanding of it.  When we meditate on it, we explore it and delve deeply into what we know to be true of the character of God.  The puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards sometimes struggled to continue reading because meditation was such a joy for him.  He said, “I seemed often to see so much light exhibited by every sentence, and such a refreshing food communicated, that I could not get along in reading; often dwelling long on one sentence to see the wonders contained in it, and yet almost every sentence seemed to be full of wonders.”  Edwards delighted in meditating on the Word of God as the psalmist did in psalm 119:97 quoted above.  There is great joy and great importance in the discipline of meditation.  When we meditate on the Word of God it is implanted in our hearts, we are constantly thinking on God and how we can please Him.

Just as in memorization, when you begin to meditate on the Word, you need to select an appropriate passage.  As you study the Word and begin to memorize passages from your study, it helps to meditate on those passages as well.  There are other ways to select scriptures to meditate on.  As we saw earlier, Jonathan Edwards would meditate on passages as he read them.  Another helpful way is to find passages that relate directly to your life and situations.  For example, if you are struggling with pride, it would be helpful to meditate on Phil 2:3-11, reflecting on the humility of Christ.  When meditating on this issue, you may want to think about what humility looks like and why Jesus did what he did.  Think on the commands that are given in the passage and how they apply to your life.  Rewrite the passage in your own words and seek application from the text.  Most importantly, pray through the text.  Whenever we meditate on the Word of God we want to be in prayer as well, ensuring that God is guiding our thoughts and not the other way around.  Finally, take your time.  Meditation is a reflection process that is not meant to be done quickly.  It doesn’t have to be done all at one time and in one moment.  In meditation we should reflect on the passage and digest it, then come back to it later and dwell on it more.  Take your time and enjoy the Word of God.

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“Thy Prayer is My Comfort”

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Jim Hough

Today we will wrap up the Easter series on the puritan prayer “Resurrection.”  In this four post series on the prayer, we have discovered what the writer meant by claiming that the death of Christ was his life and His resurrection was peace.  Last week we delved into the ascension and why we can take hope in Christ taking his place at the right hand of God.  This week to finish the series we will look at the final line, “Thy prayers my comfort.”  Louis Berkhof, theologian and author stated in his Systematic Theology :

“It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our payer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscience, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it.  He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end.” (Berkhof, Systematic Theology, p. 403)

Berkhof is echoing the sentiments of the puritan writer who says in the prayer that “no advocate is more effective,” than Christ.  When Christ took his place at the right hand of God, he was given the authority as our High Priest to make intercessions on our behalf. (Heb 7:25)  Because Jesus is fully man and fully God, He is uniquely qualified to be our advocate.

Christ as Man is Sympathetic.   Jesus is not disconnected from mankind as a representative in Congress may be from his constituents.  While many congressmen never suffer through the trials that many of their people face, Christ suffered alongside mankind.  Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us that “..We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  He has the right to represent us before the Father, not as a disconnected deity, but one who is sympathetic and understands the trials which we face.  We can have confidence that we can go to Him in our trials and our temptations and plead before a sympathetic mediator who will intercede perfectly on our behalf.  This is a great comfort for those who submit their lives to Him.

Christ as God has Authority.  If Jesus was only man, He would not be able to intercede on our behalf.  He would not be able to hear the prayers of the millions praying around the world, nor would He be able to read our hearts.  But, Jesus is fully God and He is able to know all things and intercede on our behalf.  Not only is Jesus omniscient, but He also has proximity to the Father to bring requests before Him.  Jesus has been lifted up as our permanent High Priest who has been given all authority to make intercessions on our behalf. (Heb 7:22-24)  The old covenant priests made sacrifices on behalf of the people and entered the temple to pray on behalf of the people of Israel.  These priests were required to make sacrifices to purify themselves before coming before God.  Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies where God was seated on the throne above the Ark of the Covenant, and even then, he was only allowed to do this once a year.  These requirements do not apply to Jesus.  He has taken the office of High Priest, and because He died once and for all He has the authority to stand permanently before the throne of God and make intercession on behalf of all believers.  We do not rely on fallible men to take our prayers before God, but we rely on Jesus, the perfect God-man.

As believers we can take great comfort that Jesus is sympathetic to our plight and has the authority to take our needs before the Father.  Christ is the only one who can do this as is stated in 1 Timothy 2:5 “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  Lean on the prayers of Christ and take comfort that He knows our needs and intercedes for us.

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Memorizing the Word

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Jim Hough

Continuing our series on spiritual disciplines, this week we will look at the discipline of memorizing God’s Word. This discipline is one of the more difficult, but at the same time one of the easiest to do. Most have a disdain for trying to memorize the Word because of memorization we had to do in school. That memorization was mundane and for much of it, served no purpose. Memorization of God’s Word however, serves the greatest purpose of keeping us from sin, and in turn drawing us closer to God. The psalmist wrote “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you,” (Psalm 119:11). When memorizing the Word, our focus should not be on quantity or on trivial facts, we do it so that our hearts will be constantly focused on God and honoring Him.

When memorizing the Word, the first thing we want to do is find appropriate passages to memorize. It isn’t helpful to memorize “Jesus wept,” (John 11:35) simply because it is easy. Some of the best passages to memorize are the ones that you are reading during your study time. If you are faithfully studying the Word then you are reading these verses over and over, and you understand the context and meaning of the verse. All of these things add together to effectively hiding God’s Word in your heart. If you memorize scripture as you study and meditate on it, you will find that it is not nearly as hard as it seems. You will be surprised at how much you have memorized after a short time.

Memorizing verses that you are studying is not the only way to do it. Many memorize scripture that is pertinent to a trial or situation that they are going through. For example, when I have felt weary and a longing for rest I memorized Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you, My soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you, as in a dry and weary land with no water.” This verse was my prayer for many times that I was away from the support of the body. The important thing to remember when memorizing verses like these is to ensure that they are in their proper context. Be careful not to assign a meaning to a verse that you are memorizing that it doesn’t have in its context.

Regardless of which passage you choose to memorize, it is important to continually review them. One helpful way to commit passages to memory is to break them down into smaller pieces. For Psalm 63:1 you might start with “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you,” on the first day, then add to it later “My soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you,” and “as in a dry and weary land with no water.” Another helpful thing is to write it down multiple times on flash cards and carry them with you. When memorizing entire chapters, print out the chapter and take it with you wherever you go. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so if you have other methods of memorizing or choosing passages to memorize, please leave a comment and share with us how you do it.

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“Thy Ascension is My Hope”

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Jim Hough

On Easter weekend we began a series on the puritan prayer “Resurrection.”  We discovered how the author of the prayer could say that the death of Christ is his life and how the resurrection is his peace.  In this entry, we will look at the line, “thy ascension my hope,” and discover what hope lies in Christ’s ascension to the right hand of God the Father.  We see a picture of what the ascension is in Acts 1:9-11, “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’”  In this passage we see that the ascension is Jesus being taken up to heaven to be seated on His throne.  Eph 1:20-21 tells us that when Christ ascended, he was seated at the right hand of God and given a name above all names and authority over all things.  In this glorification of Christ, we can take great hope as the puritan writer does.

Hope that comes from a finished work.  The ascension of Christ is an indication that the redemptive work accomplished by his death and resurrection is complete.  That He no longer has to live a sacrificial life and is now sitting on the throne shows us that his death is sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins and his resurrection is sufficient to give us new life.  Hebrews 1:3 tells us that “When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”  Just like anyone who finishes a job and sits down to enjoy the completion of his job, Jesus sat on the throne to enjoy the completion of His work and the glorification of His name.  We can take great hope that the work of redemption is finished and it is not based on our own works, but on the complete work of Christ.

Hope that comes from assurance of heaven.  In the previous posts we discovered that when we trust in Christ’s atoning sacrifice and resurrection that we are united with Him in them.  This is also true of the ascension.  There are multiple verses throughout the New Testament that proclaim this truth.  Jesus himself told us through the Apostle John’s writings, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2-3).  His ascension gives us assurance that we will join Him in heaven either at His return or when he calls us home.  The hope of the puritan writer lies in this assurance.

Hope that comes from authority.  To see this aspect of the puritan’s hope, we can take a walk in the book of Ephesians.  Chapter 1:20-21 tells us that Christ is given authority over all things when He is seated at the right hand of God.  Later in chapter two Paul tells us that we are also seated with Christ so that God may show his riches and that we might be prepared for good works.  Part of making us ready to do the good works that God has prepared for us is giving us some of the authority given to Christ in his ascension.  In chapter six of Ephesians Paul shows us how this authority manifests itself.  He tells us that we have been given armor to protect us “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12)  From the belt of truth and the helmet of salvation to the sword of the Spirit, God has given us the tools to withstand the evil of this age through the authority of Christ.  The puritan writer praises Christ by saying “Thou art in the triumph car leading captive thine enemies behind thee.  What more could be done than thou hast done!”  His hope lies in the authority given to Christ over His enemies.

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Study the Word

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jim Hough

Thus far in our series on spiritual discipline, we have been discovering the importance of Bible intake. We started with hearing the Word through good preaching and teaching. Last week we discovered the importance of reading the Word and how Peter showed it is a better source to tell us about God than our experiences. This week we will dive into studying the Word. The last several weeks we have been preaching a series on Sunday regarding the importance of studying the Word. The series started with my sermon on Psalm 19 and the value of the Word. Pastor Andrew continued the series by answering the questions “Why should I study?” “Can I Study the Bible?” and “What are some no-no’s of Bible Study?” Last week Pastor Andrew preached on good habits in Bible Study and I want to encourage you to join us this week as we look through some good techniques of effective Bible Study.

While there are tons of resources available to us to help us in our studies, there are three simple questions that can help you any time you read and study a passage. The first of these questions is “What does it say?” When you are reading a passage you want to simply observe and see what the overall passage is saying. Look for things like style and repetition. Notice what is taught and any promises that might be there. Seek out commands and underlying principles.

The second question is “What does it mean?” This is not asking “What does it mean to me?” but looking at the meaning of the text within the context. This means you have to look at the book you are studying as a whole and be careful not to take a text out of context. For this step it is helpful to have a Study Bible or a one volume commentary on the Bible by someone who has studied the context of the scripture and may provide insight into the meaning. In this step we are looking for the Biblical principles that are eternal and apply to our lives no matter what day or age we live in. The next step is how do we use these principles.

The final question is “How does this apply in my life?” or simply put “So what?” When we find the eternal principles we don’t want to look at them and smile at our knowledge. We want to apply what we find. This means making practical steps towards applying that principle. For example, in the passage we studied last week in 2 Peter one of the principles might be that the Word of God is an important tool to reveal God to us. So what? Our answer might be that if the Word is the best way to know God and I want to know God, then I need to read the Word. We can take this further by making practical steps like making a schedule to read through the Bible in 3 years.

This is a very basic overview of what is known as the inductive Bible study method. If you would like to know more, please listen to Pastor Andrew’s sermons or visit Into Thy Word.

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Reading the Word of God

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Jim Hough

Last week we began looking at the discipline of Bible intake. We discovered that in order to become more like Christ, we have to understand who he is. This is done by careful intake of God’s revealed Word. We also looked at how this discipline of Bible intake is not one discipline of reading the Bible, but actually many different disciplines including hearing, reading, studying, memorizing and meditating. This week we will continue walking through the discipline of Bible intake, this time discussing reading.

Today reading is frequently dismissed in favor of experience and feelings. We talk of feeling the hand of God and feeling direction from the Holy Spirit, but never talk about what is in his Word. It is disturbing that in the early late 80′s and early 90′s polls conducted showed that only 18% of people claiming to be “born-again” believers read the Bible everyday. It is even more disturbing that 23% of that same group never read the Bible. If we focus on experience and feelings without reading the Word of God, we can easily be misled.

Peter discusses this with members of the early church in 2 Peter 1:16-21. In the verses leading up to this passage, Peter is encouraging believers to continue to work and put on virtue and love, growing to be more like Christ. In this passage, Peter is telling the believers where he got this teaching and why it is important to be obedient to it. He begins by telling them that they did not follow “cleverly devised myths” or other forms of deceit. Peter tells them they were eyewitnesses to God’s glory. Peter is not using a vague feeling or emotion to describe his experiences. This is a direct display of God’s glory in the transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-13) where God audibly spoke. Peter is saying that he has authority to teach these things because he was an eyewitness. But Peter didn’t leave it there, he continued by adding “And we have something more sure.” This means that even though he audibly heard the voice of God and saw Jesus, Moses and Elijah on the mountain, there is another way to know God, and it’s better. This “something,” is the “prophetic word,” or scriptures. Peter tells us that it is to be the light shining our way until Christ returns. Not reading scriptures on a daily basis is like being in a dark room with a flashlight and not turning it on. The reason that scripture can be a light to our path is because it is inspired by God. Peter uses the rest of the passage to tell us that the men who wrote scriptures did not do it on their own, but were moved by the Holy Spirit which makes them the words of God himself. Essentially Peter has said that he heard God audibly speak a short phrase, but we have his words written out for our daily use.

We read scripture so that we can learn about who God is, and what his plan is from the words he has written down through men. The next question is how? Next week, we will cover some helpful details on studying the Bible, but here are some helpful hints for simply reading. First of all, flipping to wherever your Bible opens can do more harm than good. This usually leads to reading passages out of context which can distort the actual meaning. So the best thing is to have a plan to read though full books. There are hundreds of good reading plans that a simple google search will reveal. Another thing to keep in mind is it isn’t always best to start at the beginning and read through the whole thing. There is nothing wrong with reading the Bible from front to back, but it is helpful to read a little bit of Old Testament and a little bit of New Testament everyday. Another good thing to have is a study Bible. This will help give some context for some of the difficult passages without having to find heavier resources. All in all, the best hint is to just start where you are and build up to it until you are reading every day.

Posted in Christian Living, Discipline Series | Leave a comment

“Thy Resurrection is My Peace”

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Jim Hough

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay (Matt 28:5-6)

Easter is the time to celebrate the empty tomb where Jesus was laid. It is a time to remember as the Puritan wrote that, “Jesus strides forth as the victor, conquerer of death, hell, and all opposing might; He bursts the bands of death, tramples the powers of darkness and lives for ever.” The death of Jesus bought redemption for those who would believe in Him, and the resurrection gives us assurance that no one can take that redemption from us. He is not a dead savior without power, but a living and reigning one that proved His deity by defeating death. This is why the Puritan writer of “Resurrection,” says that he has peace in the resurrection. His peace comes from understanding the assurance offered through the risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Resurrection of Christ was not just a simple raising from the dead. If it had been, he would have died again and still been subject to the weaknesses and sicknesses of the human body. In Christ’s resurrection, he was given a glorified body and was taken up into heaven, never to die again. This is the work of God that didn’t just delay death, but defeated it altogether. It is through this power that we have assurance that the salvation that God has called us to is not bound by death. If I were to ask you if you were sure you would go to heaven if you died today what would be your answer? Are you resting on the promises of Christ? That He has defeated death and purchased our place in heaven?

The hope and peace that Christians have is not found in the works that they do, it is found solely in the power and promise of Christ. As we saw in the Good Friday blog, it was Christ who paid the penalty for our sin, not our good works. In the same way, it is the resurrection of Christ that ensures that we can stand in the presence of God for eternity.

So how does this assurance of eternity equate to peace now? This is an incredible gift that is given freely to all those who would have faith in Christ. If God will offer his own Son for us, and he has the power to defeat death, would he not be willing and able to provide for your needs? Jesus told us to be anxious for nothing for God will provide even before His death and resurrection. (Luke 12:22-24) What peace there is in knowing that God has provided for life now, and the life to come.

This doesn’t mean that the Christian life is guaranteed to be without pain. There are trials and tribulations for all believers. Even in these, Christians can rely on the promises of God and his faithful provision. God may take everything away as he did with Job, but through it, he will refine you to make your faith greater. (1 Peter 1:1-9) As we cling to the promise of the resurrection our peace grows even in the dark times and our desire becomes to know God more.

Posted in Easter Series, Theology | Leave a comment