Peter Marshall has described 20th century Christians with the following words. “They are,” he said: “like deep sea divers, encased in suits for many fathoms deep, marching bravely forth to pull plugs out of bath tubs.” That's why when one reads the pages of the New Testament and tries to relate what he hears to the North American contemporary church, we are compelled to conclude that the relationship is sometimes more one of contrast, rather than of comparison. In other words, today's church is not living up to its potential.
Month: May 2011
A Spiritual Evaluation—Evaluating Ourselves and Our Churches by Jesus’ Evaluation of the 7 Churches in Revelation – Part 5
Revelation 2 and 3 Part Five: Laodicea I don’t know if you have ever had a job evaluation, but it can be an intimidating experience. You’ve worked at a job for one year and now it’s time for the annual review. Usually a job review is based on some criteria/job description agreed upon when a...
A Spiritual Evaluation—Evaluating Ourselves and Our Churches by Jesus’ Evaluation of the 7 Churches in Revelation – Part 4
Revelation 2 and 3 Part Four: Philadelphia In Revelation 2-3, John is taking dictation from Jesus Himself for letters to be given to the seven churches in Asia. The letters are very revealing to us about these churches, but they provide great benefit for us as well. In six cases they are encouraging, but also...
A Spiritual Evaluation—Evaluating Ourselves and Our Churches by Jesus’ Evaluation of the 7 Churches in Revelation – Part 3
Revelation 2 and 3 Part Three: Sardis—Looking Back on “Glory Days” by Pastor Paul Petersen Sardis had the greatest history of any of the cities in the first two chapters in Revelation. During the time John wrote the book of Revelation, the Roman Empire ruled these cities. But 600 years earlier, and up until 546...
Samson: The Man Who Brought the House Down on Himself Part 5
Judges 16:30-31
I would really like to meet the person who can say; "I have walked perfectly with my God, I have never failed in my understanding of God's plan, and my motives have always been completely pure." If you're here this morning, I would like to talk to you after the service. Most of us cannot say that, can we? In fact, only Jesus can. Our lives at this point are not perfect reflections of our God. We're growing and being conformed more and more to Christ's likeness each day, but only when we stand in eternity will we perfectly mirror our Lord (1 Cor. 13:12; Rom. 8:29, etc.). If that's the case, then it's going to be a common problem for all believers to live in the tension of not having our act totally together, while attempting to walk with a holy and perfect God.
Samson: The Man Who Brought the House Down on Himself Part 4
Judges 16:1-30
Let's take a trip back to Greek mythology.
"In Greek mythology Achilles was the son of Peleus (Pel-ee-us), king of the Myrmidons (Mer-ma-dons), and Thetis (Thee-tis), a sea goddess. Achilles was the greatest, bravest, and most handsome warrior of the army. One of the tales about his childhood relates how Thetis (Thee-tis) held the young Achilles by the heel and dipped him in the waters of the river Styx. Well, through the water's mythological power, Achilles became invulnerable—that is, every part except the heel by which he was held. That small portion of his body, untouched by the water, remained vulnerable. From this story we get the term "Achilles' heel," which describes our greatest point of vulnerability. It was at just this point an arrow struck the near-invincible Achilles and killed him." Charles Swindoll, Old Testament Characters, Insight for Living, 1986.
We all have our "Achilles' heels"—points of extreme vulnerability in our walk with God. For some, it's money; for others, ambition. For Samson, the focus of our series, it was sensuality. Let's return to our continuing story of Samson.
Samson: The Man Who Brought the House Down on Himself Part 3
Judges 14:5-15:20
When I was living in Spokane about 23 years ago, my brother and his family came to visit us for a few days. We lived next to some woods, so the two of us, armed with high-powered slingshots, decided to get on my Honda and go into the woods for a little target practice. We stopped the motorcycle in the middle of the woods and attempted to see who was "slingshot champion of the world." As we were shooting, the biggest, blackest, and bushiest skunk I had ever seen came over a hill about 50 yards in front of us. When my brother saw him he got excited and said, "Let's go get him!" Now, my first impression was to say, "You're crazy," but I wasn't about to let Roy know I was afraid, so with faked excitement I responded, "Yeah, let's go." Like a couple of idiots, off we ran with two slingshots and some rocks. (I know how David must have felt when he faced Goliath.)
Samson: The Man Who Brought the House Down on Himself Part 2
Part 2, Judges 13:6-14:3
I love this description of a grandmother, written by a third grade student.
What Is A Grandmother?
A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own. She likes other people's little girls and boys. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with boys and they talk about fishing and stuff like that. Grandmothers don't have to do anything except be there. They're old, so they shouldn't play hard and run around. It's enough that they drive us to the market where the pretend horse is and they have a lot of quarters ready. Or, if they take us for walks, they slow down past pretty things like leaves and caterpillars. They never say, "hurry up." Usually, grandmothers are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and... can take their teeth and gums out. Grandmothers don't have to be smart, they only have to answer questions like, "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?" Grandmothers don't talk baby talk like visitors do, 'cause it's hard to understand. And when they read to us, they don't skip pages.
"Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have a television, because they're the only grown-ups who have time"—quoted by Charles Swindoll, Women's Ministry Seminar, Multnomah School of the Bible, Portland, Oregon, 1984.
Part Seven: The Second Table of the Law, Part 3
You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor—v. 17.
Coveting is a disease ever-present in the soul of humanity. The command forbidding it is, in fact, inextricably linked to the second commandment, because coveting implies we have elevated something or someone over God in our lives. Of course, we recognize it as inappropriate for a Christian, but the truth is we all have struggled with this command. This is why Paul addressed it in his letters to the Christians in Ephesians, Colosse and Romans.
Part Six: The Second Table of the Law, Part 2
You shall not commit adultery—v. 14.
This command is for both men and women, and prohibits sexual intercourse of a married person with the spouse of another. This is meant to protect not only a couple's dearest relationship, but the sacredness of marriage. Adultery in the Old Testament was punishable by death for both offenders (Lev. 20:20).