"Don't Shoot the Messenger!"

That’s what I feel like saying every time I preach from Galatians. We are in week three of our study through this great letter of Paul’s and what a challenge it has been! Written two thousand years ago, it is so fresh and relevant today. Galatians exposes our legalistic tendencies… wanting to make laws where Jesus has not… wanting to earn merit where we have no merit to earn… wanting to achieve salvation… where it is only ours to receive. Even all these years later we find ourselves wrestling with the same struggles that the Galatian Christians did. I hope that our time in this great book has been both challenging and rewarding for you. This week we are going to look to 1:11-24 as Paul reminds us a bit of his story. It’s a story of a former legalist who has also been set free by the gospel of grace and a story in which many of us can relate.

Why is Galatians such a challenging book to preach from? Why is this message of freedom looked upon with skepticism and concern? I can’t tell you how many encouraging comments I’ve received these last two weeks from people who tell me that speaking on this subject is “brave” or “gutsy”! Why is that? Why do we seem afraid of this message of freedom? I think it is because we are genuinely concerned that we might swing to the other end of the pendulum and take the gospel of grace for granted. That was certainly going on in places other than Galatia in the first century. The audience that Jude writes to has been dealing with this opposite concern. There were those who had come in to the churches and were teaching a false “grace” in such a way that it led to licentiousness… and a permissive attitude toward sin. That is not at all what Paul was advocating in Galatians and we would do well to remember this. We cannot, in Paul’s own words, “go on sinning that grace may abound.” (cf. Romans 6) No, if we truly understand the grace of God… if we truly understand the incredible COST of that grace (to God, not us) we would truly appreciate it and certainly would never take it for granted! That would be to cheapen it in a way that would be unthinkable! We would never see God as weak or tolerant of our sin and it would break our hearts to know that we had abused the most precious gift we could receive… his forgiving grace that cost him his Son.

So, as we read through this great book again (let me remind you of your homework to read Galatians this week!!!) … let us remember that while God’s grace is offered freely to us… it is offered at a great personal sacrifice and cost to God. And let us live in such a way as to make that sacrifice worth it for God! Just some more thoughts on Galatians… Please join the discussion on my blog at http://jamescblack.wordpress.com this week by commenting for yourself.
Have a blessed week,
-Jim

What is the "Gospel"?

I'm working through Galatians chapter 1 for my sermon on Sunday... and I've hit a wall already.  Paul starts out this letter differently than most.  There's no opening.  No flowery greeting.  No pleasantries to exchange.  Paul is mad and that is evident right out of the chute!  In verse 6 he says that he is surprised (i.e.  astonished, perplexed, aghast) that the Galatian Christians were so quickly abandoning God, deserting the gospel and turning to another gospel, which is really no gospel at all.  I get the fact that he is mad.  I get the fact that these Christians weren't living up to his expectations for them.  I even get the fact that they had turned to a legalistic substitute for spirituality instead of sticking with the new-found freedom that they had been given in Christ.  But my question is, if they are guilty of "deserting the gospel"... what does Paul mean?

They aren't "backsliding" as was mentioned in a comment to my previous post.  It wasn't as if they had started to drop off in church attendance.  In fact, my guess is that they were there every time the doors were open!  There's no hint of the sexual immorality that was permitted in the church in Corinth... or in the division or the idolatry that pervaded THAT church.  No, there's no hint of those things in Galatia.  So, what were they doing that constituted a "desertion of the gospel" and to deserve such a harsh rebuke by Paul?  In other words, what does it mean to "desert the gospel"? 

To answer that question... we must first ask, "What is the gospel?"  And that's what I want to ask you.  Thoughts?

Some Preliminary thoughts on reading through Galatians...

On Sunday I began a new series of lessons entitled “Finding Freedom in Christ” from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. What a challenging series this promises to be!  As I am reading it afresh, I continue to be challenged by its message. God has set us free in Christ. He has rescued usfrom bondage to “this present evil age” and calls us to live as free citizens, not as slaves to our
past. I hope everyone will read the Galatian letter again this week and come to worship on Sunday prepared to really dig in to that wonderful message! I mentioned last week that the reading of this book is liable to shake things up for us. It is liable to challenge our beliefs, our traditions and the way in which we practice our faith. I am wondering, where will it challenge you?

The Galatian Christians were being tempted to return to the law, the rituals and practices, the customs and traditions that characterized Old Testament Judaism. Paul writes to remind them that Christ has set them free from all of that. His coming has fulfilled that law, and that they are set free from those things. While there might be much good in “tradition”, it is not to be imposed as “gospel truth” on new converts, Gentiles who are coming to Christ. While I don’t suppose there are many of us today being tempted to go back to the Old Testament system of things, I wonder if we still aren’t tempted to bind “customs” and “traditions” of men on folks in this day
and age? Are there traditions and customs which we practice (and which may be great and good) but aren’t “gospel truth”? Do we do this unintentionally or implicitly in the way we speak or in the way we do church today?  This is where the letter of Galatians is so relevant to today!  It reminds us that Christ is sufficient for our salvation! We need nothing else.
“If the Son has set us free, then we are free indeed!” (Jn 8:36) There is nothing else!

I hope you’ll join us on this exciting journey through Galatians together!

Join the Journey... Read thru the New Testament

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, but when was the last time you sat down to read it straight through? Have you ever read the Bible from cover to cover? What about just the New Testament? This year, the RCA community is endeavoring to read through the entire New Testament from Matthew to Revelation together... won't you join us?

Go to our new blog, http://thentchallenge.blogspot.com and you'll find resources to help us do this together, keeping ourselves accountable and making the journey through Scripture come alive, as we seek not only to read God's Word, but to live it every day. We want to encourage each other and your thoughts may help somebody else understand something a little bit better. We invite you to post your thoughts and comments as we read together. Go to the link "Reading Plan" to download a copy of our schedule. We'll be reading about 3-4 chapters a day... Monday - Friday with breaks during the weekends and week-long holidays (Fall Break & Thanksgiving Break)... you can use those to catch up if you get behind!

We also invite you to subscribe to the blog so that you'll recieve e-mail notifications as new articles are posted. As we go, book introductions will be posted, providing some background information on each of the 27 books of our New Testament. Also, you'll find study guide questions which our Middle & High School students will be discussing in their Bible classes at Riverside. These will also include "journaling thoughts" questions which are intended to help our students apply God's truths to their real world situations.

In addition to our Middle & High School students, we are inviting the entire faculty, staff, Board of Directors and RCA families to join us in this challenge. Won't you read along with us?

Why I love Riverside Christian Academy

People choose schools for different reasons... some for the opportunities to play sports... some for the opportunity to excel in academics.  But there are other reasons, too!  The following essay by one of my senior girls at RCA illustrates why I love Riverside Christian Academy and why I'm so proud not only to send my kids there, but also to teach Bible there.  This was written as a part of a senior paper, the final project required for graduation from RCA.  It is supposed to be a "Philosophy of life" kind of paper.  Here's what she wrote:

May 12, 2001

    “How God has changed me through RCA”

 I thank God that He directed my path to Riverside Christian Academy! I believe that I have truly been changed   by it and that it has truly altered my future.  First I will discuss my SHAPE. 

Spiritual gifts. My first would (from the studies) be compassion. I feel deeply sorry for people even if I don’t know them. My mother says I have "sucker" written across my forehead when it comes to homeless people. Steven has had to forbid me for picking up sad looking hitch hikers.  I used to have wet dog/cat food in my trunk so I could give poor starving animal’s food.

   My second would be Mercy; I can easily look over the faults in people and see the good in them. This tends to get me in a bad position when I really care for some one who is really self-destructive. When I come home upset about something some one has done to me and tells mom it seems like I always get over it before she does.

 Heart. Well I am sure that everyone in the school by now knows that I love art. That is one thing I think I am just naturally good at. One thing most people probably don’t know is that I love animals too! I thought through most of my childhood I was going to be a vet. I probably still would be if it hadn’t been for Mrs. Jones’ biology classes to be honest.  Now I think I will be an art teacher.

 Abilities. Art and I and socially gifted. My mom says I have evil gifts to get my way because I pull the dumb blonde’ act a little to well but I think she is just a sucker. Just Kidding

 Personality. I am a giving person. I make my mom mad some times because some times I will just give away every thing I have in my pockets if some one needs it. She was really mad when I gave my whole paycheck to one of the girls at McDonald’s because she was about to lose her house and her husband go to jail. Everyone laughs at me because I will throw all my change on the ground at Wal-Mart. There is a really old Poor man that looks for change out there every morning.

 Experiences. Well I have quite I few to go by really. The first would be the divorce of my Parents when I was 6. This really affected my mother and this is when we really stopped going to church I think. I guess I kind of had to sort of grow up at a young age. My dad was in an out at the age of 7/8 and he married Kim. I remember this is when I really started to act out. When I was 12, I was accepted in to Barbazon and I think that’s when my opinion of girls really went down the toilet. I really started to get that nasty little attitude like you see off mean girls. When I got in to Riverside I could see a huge difference in my life. I cleaned up my mouth and I started to get a little better with the grades. A year into Riverside my father’s drug addiction was at an all time high and I had to tell him I wasn’t going to talk to him any more until he cleaned it up. That was a hard time in my life. He still hasn’t cleaned it up though. When I got baptized, I really turned it around.

  Riverside has had such a profound difference on my life I don’t like to think what I would have been if I hadn’t gone. Every friend I used to have at my old house that I still talk to has fallen in to drugs and sex. That scares me. I have done so many things through RCA. Spiritual Emphasis Day is some thing the impresses me every year. Mrs. K got me in to going to church. She is the reason my whole family goes now.  We went to pack peaches. When the chorus went to go sing at the nursing homes, that really helped.  Just hearing chapel ever morning is good for us. If I didn’t go to Riverside I don’t know if I would have a Christian boy friend or a Christian relationship. Now I go to his church.  The Mission trip we went on last summer will be with me for the rest of my life. There's a difference here and the there, but their faith is so strong!  The pastor is coming up here for the summer and I am really excited!  The area we stayed at was kind of "dodgy". It was a bad part of town. We went door knocking and we spread the word of God. It was real rewarding and at times scary. I also help run Vacation Bible School every summer and that are always of fun. I get to paint all the murals and posters for the booths and activities!

 Through all these experiences I have learned so much about God.  First would be that he is way to big for us to ever comprehend! I love looking at the stars and thinking that God is billions beyond that. He created the heavens and the earth just because he love us. If that doesn’t stir you then you need to check your self.  I love knowing that nothing is an accident and that everything in life is there for some reason.  When I get stuck in traffic or my car breaks down it helps me to have that kind of mind set “ this must have happened for a reason”. It makes me look at trails not with hate or despair but a challenge to show Gods grace!

 The love and grace of God has given me a purpose in life, no longer do I wander aimlessly but I strive for a goal, work for the cause. The thought that the creator of the universe would care anything about me blows my mine, and that he gave his one and only son to take my place is beyond me. It feels me with a sort of fear ans awe I guess is the right word. That God would love me that much when I can’t think of a single person I would be willing my son to die for.  Without Riverside's influence in my life I don’t know if I every would have found these things that give me such peace now.

 I feel that I was kinda picked from my old life and put in this one and I am so happy for the chance. I can’t wait to see what God has for me and to take up his challenges.

The Call of Discipleship

I'm having trouble living up to my sermon from last Sunday. I challenged our church to choose something in his or her life that they would "drop", give up for the sake of Christ. I'm having trouble because I've got so many things that I ought to give up, its difficult choosing. But, I'm convinced that Jesus calls us to be willing to give up everything in order to follow him. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that.
When he called his first disciples, his invitation to them was simple, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men." And they did! They dropped their nets right there and followed him. I'm not sure we realize the significance of that statement. They "dropped their nets"... wow! Those nets had to have been so important to each of those men! Those nets were their livelihood... fishing was how they earned a living, fed their family and paid the bills. But they walked away from that when they dropped those nets in order to follow. And us guys know how important our jobs can be to us. They can become our identity... and even our source of self-worth or finding meaning in our lives. They gave up their identity as "fishermen" when they dropped those nets. And they also left their family... at least their father... as they left and he stayed behind holding on to his nets. Imagine... being willing to drop everything for the sake of being a disciple, i.e. a follower, of Jesus! The problem is that most of us can't imagine it, but isn't that what Jesus still calls us to?
Doesn't he still want our relationship with him to be THE most important thing in our lives? Doesn't he still want us to be willing to leave it all behind in order to follow him? If I'm not willing, doesn't that reveal a heart of pride, arrogance or self-determination over a heart of submition and obedience to Christ? Doesn't that reflect a heart unwilling to TOTALLY give myself over to him, a lack of trust or a reluctance to make any substantive change in my life?
What did you choose to drop this week for Jesus? Its not that Jesus commands all of us to quit our jobs, leave our homes, give up our caffeine or our sweets... but he wants us to be willing to. Are we? Am I?
BTW- I chose to give up coffee and soft drinks all week. I made it a half-day without coffee. (got a ways to go!) So far I've stayed away from any soft-drinks... Yeah!! (but it IS only Tuesday.) I hope you are faring better than I.
Next week... the Marks of a Disciple. What does a disciple look like? How can one tell a disciple from everybody else around him? Any thoughts?

Ezekiel and the Valley of the Dry Bones

[caption id="attachment_442" align="alignright" width="339" caption="Ezekiel preaches to a tough audience.... "][/caption]
Cool title... I just need a sermon. Sunday I'll be looking at the message of Ezekiel... now here's a guy that God really messed with! "Eat this scroll", "Lay on your side for a year", "Shave your head", "Eat this over a fire of human dung"... what was he thinking? Of course, Ezekiel being the faithful prophet of God that he was... always did just as God commanded. (Actually he did protest having to eat his meals cooked over human poop, so God made an allowance and told him that he could use cow manure instead... I'm still not sure that was any better, though.)
Anyway, as eccentric as Ezekiel was... what was his message? I love the task he was given in ch 37... "Go and preach to a bunch of rotting skeletons in the valley of dry bones." Woo hoo! I've preached before some dead audiences before, but THIS is ridiculous! Actually it was a huge object lesson for Ezekiel and for Israel. God is giving the people a message of hope in the midst of despair and telling them that He can bring forth life from their destroyed and "dead" nation. And if God can bring life to dead bones, and if God can bring life back to Israel after their total and utter destruction... wonder what else He can do?
Thoughts for Sunday???

National Tragedy

In my Bible reading this morning, I came upon this heartbreaking phrase, “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10 NIV) How could this happen, I wondered? This came right after Joshua’s death after the children of Israel had finally taken the land that they had dreamed about for years. They had been blessed beyond measure. God had done so much for them, how could they forget? Slaves in Egypt… crying out to God. He heard their cry and brought them out into freedom. He took care of them, sustained them and dwelt with them in the wilderness for an entire generation, teaching them the way to live and thrive! He empowered Joshua to lead powerful military campaigns into the land, defeating the dirty, rotten Canaanites and establishing Israel in this promised land, fulfilling a centuries-old promise first made to Abraham. After all of this, how could they so easily forget? How could they so easily turn away? How could an entire generation grow up and NOT know what God had done for them?

I heard it said one time that Christianity is always just one generation away from extinction. That may seem a bit alarmist, but isn’t it true? It is the responsibility of every generation to make sure that the faith and the truths of God’s Word are passed on to the next generation. That was why God was so adamant in Deuteronomy 6 when he said, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up…” The goal was to insure that the precepts and principles established in His Word were passed along to the next generation… and the generation after that… and the generation after that and so on.

I don’t want to boast or get a big head or anything, but I really do think that this is something this church has done very well for a long time… instructing our children in God’s Word. We’ve got an incredible group of Bible school teachers and volunteers working with our children’s ministry. All of them love our kids and want for them to know God in a deep and meaningful way. It’s not that there aren’t things we might be able to do better. There always are and we are always looking for new ways to improve… but every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night our children’s classrooms are filled to the brim with eager, enthusiastic young people who are being taught (by word & example) what it means to follow Jesus. This could not be done without our wonderful teachers and adult volunteers. If you think you might be able to assist them and help out in this great ministry (if even ‘behind the scenes’) know that YOU are needed! Consider how you might help. Together with God we are insuring that our young people will grow up knowing the God who created the seas… who rescued Israel… who sent his only Son… and who doesn’t want to spend one day in eternity without each one of us!

Keeping up... cues on reading the Old Testament Law

Wow… if the last couple of weeks in Leviticus and Numbers haven’t been a little weary on you, then maybe its just me.  I have been reminded why these books are so difficult to plow through.  They are filled with rules, lists, and detailed descriptions of the Levitical priesthood… it has absolutely boggled my mind!  How difficult it must have been to abide by all of these rules and regulations.  Can you imagine having to offer up the sacrifices to God that were required in Leviticus on an ongoing basis… with little relief in sight?  If you, like me, have struggled over the last several days in our reading and in understanding what the purpose of the Law was… let me suggest another Bible reading cue that might help.

 

Bible Reading Cue #3:  The Old Testament Law should point us to Jesus

Paul wrote to the church in Galatia about the place of the Old Testament law.  This is what he said in 3:24 & 25, “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that   Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.”  Do you imagine that keeping the law perfectly must have been a difficult task?  Good, you are supposed to.  It was difficult.  In fact, it was impossible.  Nobody ever did it perfectly… until Jesus, that is.  I think that was part of the point.  God always intended his people to be justified or to be made right by FAITH.  It was the people’s faith in God that led them to offer the sacrifices in the first place.  It was their faith in God that sustained them in the wilderness wanderings.  It was their faith in God that led them to the land of promise.  It was all about faith… from the beginning.  So, why the law?  It was all about pointing the way to Jesus!

 

Did you ever wonder why God allowed the people to suffer in slavery in Egypt before being delivered by Moses?  Could it be that he was trying to teach them that we all are captives (to sin cf. Gal. 3:22) and in need of a deliverer… Jesus?  Ever wonder why God demanded all of those animal blood sacrifices?  It was to point the way to Jesus, whose blood sacrifice on the cross would forever remove the stain of sin and make perfect forever those who are being made holy (cf.  Heb. 10:14)!  Ever wonder why God asked them to build a Tabernacle so he could “dwell” with them?  It was to make the way for the presence of Jesus in their lives through the indwelling of God’s Spirit (cf.  1 Cor. 3:16).  How it all makes sense… seen through the prism of Jesus.

 

I wonder if the Israelites fully comprehended what God was doing?  My sense is that they didn’t.  God was teaching them step by step.  They were learning as they went and didn’t always get it.  God’s desire was simply for them to trust him.  Sometimes they did better with that than at other times.  What about you?  How are you at trusting in God?  Even when he asks you to do something that doesn’t make sense to you?  Its always easier to see God’s hand working in our lives in retrospect than it is to trust in him for the future.  That’s because we can see the past… but what God wants is for us to trust in him when we cannot see what lies ahead.  Isn’t that what faith is all about (cf. Heb. 11:1)… its an exciting journey, isn’t it?

got faith?

Every now and then I get folks who come to me and say something like this.  “Preacher, I wish I had more faith.”  It’s a great desire isn’t it… the desire for more faith?  What if we all had a little more faith?  Couldn’t we do so much more?  Wouldn’t we be so much closer to the Lord?  Who couldn’t use a little more faith?

 

All right, I’ll let you in on a little secret… one that I’m still learning… faith doesn’t just happen.  God doesn’t just swish his magic wand and ‘poof’ we’ve got it.  He doesn’t just FedEx more of it down from Heaven and deliver it to our doorstep.  Faith doesn’t come about by accident and nobody gets it without wanting it.  No.  The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  That’s what Paul tells the Christians at Rome in Romans 10:17.  He tells them that if they want salvation, they must believe.  In other words, they must have faith.  And that faith doesn’t just come from thin air… it comes as one hears the Word of God.

 

So, the next time somebody says to me, “Preacher, I just need a little more faith” I am going to ask them how much time they are spending in God’s Word.  I have been trying to spend more time in the Bible this year as we have been reading it from “Cover to Cover” and so far I can tell you that it works!  I still don’t feel that I am where I ought to be in my spiritual growth and I sure don’t have the faith that I should have… but the daily exercise of spending more time in God’s Word has certainly caused me to grow.  Seeing the narrative of God’s story play out from creation and the fall of man to His seeking reconciliation through the covenant and the law has challenged me.  I’ve seen things in the story that I’ve never seen before and I’ve been challenged by things that have not caught me in the same way before.  My faith has been stretched, challenged and strengthened through it all.

 

What about you?  Have you taken up our challenge to read the Bible thru this year?  If not, are you still spending time each day in God’s Word?  I’ll tell you that there is nothing you can do that will increase your faith more than hearing God in His Word.  Couldn’t we all use a little more of that?

Cover to Cover

Whew!  The Holidays are almost over and I’m still trying to catch my breath.  What a time of year it it… the hustling… the bustling… the gift giving… the gift receiving… and the gift returning!  Ha ha.  I hope you got just what you wanted for Christmas this year and, more importantly, I hope you were able to give just what you wanted this year.  What’s the greatest gift you received?  I’ll tell you that one of the greatest gifts we have ever received has been the gift of God’s Word.  As I sit this morning and stare at the Bible on my desk I think about how I so often take it for granted.  Here I have the complete revelation of God before me… his introduction of himself to me… his love letter to me telling of his undying love for me… his strategy guidebook to playing the game of life… his instruction manual and map for my life… I am again awestruck to have received such an incredible and awesome gift!!

 

I am beginning a new challenge THIS week… and I am asking every member at Washington Street to join me in reading through the Bible from “cover to cover” in 2009.  I’ve been talking about it a little bit from the pulpit and this Sunday I will explain a bit more.  I will be preaching in January a short “mini-series” designed to be an encouraging “primer” for our study together through the rest of the year, but January 1^st is Thursday, so let’s get started!  Here’s what we are encouraging everyone to do:

·        Pick up a “From Cover to Cover” Reading Schedule from the bulletin board in the church auditorium, from the church office, or from the church website

·        Sign up on the bulletin board or from the website & commit to read thru it with me

·        Sit down with your favorite Bible in the translation of your choice & start reading!

 

Most days will cover between three and four chapters.  We are beginning in Genesis and reading straight through to Revelation.  Won’t you join us?  What a super blessing this will be to the whole church all year long!

 

New Year’s blessings,

Jim