"Life with a Limp" - Doug Rehberg

Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “Every person I have ever met who has accomplished anything has done it to compensate for some weakness in their life.  All my body building was done to compensate for a sense of inadequacy and weakness in my life at an early age.”

James Toney, the former World Champion middle-weight boxer once said, “I fight with anger.  My dad, he did my mother wrong.  He made my mom work two jobs and he left his responsibilities behind and I can never forgive him for that.  I hope my father reads this article because if he ever decided to come out of the woodwork, I’ll be ready for him.  Everything I do is about that.  I look at my opponent and I see in his face my dad and I have to take him out.  I’ll do anything to get my dad out of him.”

Burt Reynolds once said in a Parade magazine interview, “My dad was Chief of Police and when he came into a room all the oxygen went out of it.  There’s a saying in the south that no man is a man until his father tells him he is.  It means that someday when you’re thirty or forty, this man who you respect and want to love you says to you, ‘You’re a man now and I love you.’  But you know, my dad never said that to me.  We never hugged, never kissed, never said, ‘I love you.’  (Reynolds paused and said) ‘So what happened was that later I was desperately looking for someone who would say, ‘You’re grown up, Burt, and I approve of you and I love you and you don’t have to do those things anymore.’  I was lost inside.  I couldn’t connect with life.  I was incomplete.  I didn’t know what I needed to know.”

Last week we saw the Gospel in the story of David and Goliath, because we saw Jesus in it.  We saw that it’s not so much what David does to Goliath, as what Jesus has done to the greatest giant  in our life – sin, death, and judgment.  Because of Jesus’ victory over our Goliath, we can thoroughly rely on Him to equip us to gain victory over the lesser giants we may face.

But the truth is many of us still struggle.  We are His.  He has purchased us with His blood.  He has raised us to new life.  His work is complete.  He has gained absolute victory, and yet, we live lives of attempted compensation.  We live like Schwarzenegger, Toney, and Reynolds, seeking to bury our sense of inadequacy and cover our weakness, when in reality Jesus wants them to remain exposed.  And we see that in the story of Jacob at the Jabbok.

All his life Jacob has lived under a cloud of conniving.  In fact, his name means conniver.  The blessing he receives from his father is the product of blackmail.  He blackmails his brother.  He blackmails his father.  And the conniving doesn’t end there.  For twenty years he’s locked in a family battle with an uncle who’s just as surreptitious as he is.  And yet, twenty years earlier, at Bethel (Genesis 28), God confirms his love for him.  God confirms his election.  God confirms his future.

It isn’t until he comes to the River Jabbok (Genesis 32:22-22) that Jacob’s life is changed.  It isn’t until that point in his life that his walk is altered.

This week we will look at Jacob in light of the Jabbok.  There we will see what God does for him and for us.  The picture of Jacob after Jabbok is the picture of every Christian who wrestles with God and is overwhelmed by His grace.  There are three marks of Jacob’s post-Jabbok walk that mirror the walk of everyone who’s wrestled with God and discovered the depth of His grace.

In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:

 

1.      The meaning of the name Jabbok.

2.      Does Jacob do anything to prompt this encounter with God?

3.      What is Jacob’s state of mind when he comes to the Jabbok?

4.      Is there any significance to the time of day in which the wrestling occurs?  (Compare the Bethel encounter.)

5.      Who is wrestling with Jacob?

6.      Why does Jacob bow himself down seven times? (Genesis 33:5)

7.      What is the significance of Jacob’s answer in verse 5?

8.      Why does Jacob refuse his brother’s offer in verse 9?

9.      What noticeable changes are in evidence after the Jabbok?

10.  What could Jacob teach Arnold, James, and Burt about human weaknesses? 

See you Sunday!

"Jesse's Greater Son" - Doug Rehberg

A number of years ago Kim and Tullian Tchividjian were at dinner with Kathy and Tim Keller when Kathy said, “Most preaching these days is M.O.T.S. preaching.”  Kim asked, “What is M.O.T.S. preaching?”  Tim answered, “It’s Moral of The Story Preaching.”  To read and preach the Bible as if it were fundamentally about us, and what we should do, is to miss the point of the Bible entirely. 

Two weeks ago we were in Luke 24 where Jesus has been risen from the dead for one whole day.  He encounters two of His disciples on the roadway, but they don’t recognize Him.  Later, at supper, He takes bread and blesses it.  He vanishes from their sight and instantly they say to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” 

Later the same night He walks into a locked room where scores of His disciples are gathered in fear.  And He says to them, “Why are you troubled? ...Touch me and see.  For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”  Then He turns their attention to the Scriptures and says, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 

So far that’s what every preacher, teacher, and Christian knows.  Jesus is reviewing with them how He’s the fulfillment of every prophetic word in the Old Testament.  But He doesn’t stop there.  Luke continues, “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”  Now what do you suppose that means?  Exactly the same thing He means in John 5:39 when He says to the religious leaders of His day, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me.”  You see, the problem with the religious leaders of His day is the same problem with us in our day – we read the Scriptures to find the moral of the story, rather than Jesus.  What a loss that is! 

Rather than reading the Scriptures to find the Gospel, we read them to find morals and helps.  Moralism is our default position.  And because of it, when we read the Scriptures we miss Jesus altogether. 

Think of it.  In the Old Testament we are continually told that our good works are not enough, that God has made a provision for us.  This provision is profiled through the Old Testament.  Nearly every story in the Old Testament speaks of this provision over human strivings.  We see it in the clothes God makes for Adam and Eve after their fall.  We see it in the promises God makes to Abraham and all the other patriarchs.  We see it in the tabernacle construction and the whole sacrificial system.  We see it in the innumerable references to a coming Messiah, the suffering servant, etc.  Therefore, to say that the Bible is about Jesus Christ is to say that the main theme of the Bible is the Gospel – Salvation is of the Lord.  So what Jesus is saying to His disciples immediately after the resurrection is this – “It’s all about Me.”  And the goal of godly preaching and effective discipleship is to find Jesus in the text. 

That’s what we intend to do this Sunday – Communion Sunday – as we examine one of the most familiar stories in the Old Testament – the story of David and Goliath.  It’s a story that has been the subject of moralistic Sunday school lessons for centuries.  It’s the subject of motivational sermons throughout the ages.  Today, with a few keystrokes you can pull up scores of sermons with descriptive titles such as “Facing Your Giants” and the like. 

As we’ve noted above, we live in a time of M.O.T.S. preaching.  We hope to break out of the mold this week!  In preparation for this week’s message, “Jesse’s Greater Son”, you may wish to consider the following: 

1.      Read I Samuel 17:1-54 and see if you can find Jesus in it.

2.      What is Malcolm Gladwell’s take on the story?

3.      How can he see Goliath as the underdog?

4.      What do you make of Goliath’s statement in verse 43?

5.      When Goliath shouts, “Give me a man” in verse 10, who is he calling out?

6.      What similarities exist between Saul and Goliath?

7.      Why is David at the battle site?

8.      Why does the battle come down to a representative from each side?

9.      Is there any significance to David being Israel’s representative?

10.  What is the effect of David’s victory?

11.  When Jesus says, “The Scriptures speak of me” does He include this story? 

See You Sunday as we gather at His table!

"The Christian Citizen" - Tim Williams

Americans are celebrating the 238th birthday of the USA this July 4^th.  During its history America has generally recognized religious freedom so that one's faith did not face interference from the government.  Throughout hundreds of years of church history various Christian leaders have debated the connection between the church and the state.  In this week's text the Apostle Paul gives inspired instruction on the type of citizen a Christian should be in regard to the earthly government under which they live. 

Why would Paul give such instruction?  He consistently would write his letters to the churches with a twofold emphasis.  First, what we are to believe and then how we live those beliefs out. The Book of Romans is no different, with the first 11 chapters dealing with doctrine and the last 5 dealing with duty.  Chapter 13 is instructive because some believers would perhaps struggle with the idea of supporting human government if our "citizenship" is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20), while others would struggle with being subject to governments or government officials who they considered cruel, immoral or opposed to Christian values. 

Summarizing Paul's teaching could be as follows...Christians are to 1) recognize that human government is instituted by God; 2) strive to be law abiding citizens; 3) pay our taxes; and 4) show respect to those in governmental office. 

Our text also causes Christians to ask "Must we obey human government in everything?”  Oh, the wonderful wisdom of our Lord Jesus.  "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21 

Happy 4th...see you Sunday! 

1. Where in the Bible do we find God instituting the concept of human government?  Some believe it starts in Genesis 9:6...why might they think that? 

2.  How do you think a Christian living under the governments of Iran or North Korea would or should understand Romans 13:1-7? 

3.  Read the Apostle Peter's inspired instruction about Christians and human government.  Would "God fearing, law abiding" citizens be an apt description for Christians based on his teaching? 

4.  Could something be legal but not right? 

5.  What if God's laws and human laws are not in agreement?  Read the Bible story of Daniel in the lion's den - Daniel 6.  Also see Acts 5:27-32 

6.  Did Paul ever exercise his Roman citizenship while serving the Lord?  Acts 16:35-39; 21:39; 22:22-29 

7.  Though he was a Roman citizen, Paul was also very committed to his Jewish nationality and heritage.  How strongly did he feel toward other Israelites?  Romans 10:1 

8.  Consider 1Timothy 2:1-3.  Have you prayed specifically for any government officials lately? 

9.  Read Psalm 2:10-12.  Do you think this might be healthy advice for those in governmental authority?

"Loved by the Son" - Doug Rehberg

In preparing for Doug Dunderdale’s celebration service a few months ago, I came across a hundred-year-old Nigerian hymn that sums up our series “Treasures of the Son” better than any other hymn I know.  As I read it I thought, “Why don’t they write them like this anymore?”

Nothing either great or small—
  Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus did it, did it all,
  Long, long ago.

“It is finished!” yes, indeed,
  Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—
    Tell me, is it not?

When He, from His lofty throne,
  Stooped to do and die,
Everything was fully done;
  Hearken to His cry:

Weary, working, burdened one,
  Wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done
  Long, long ago.

Till to Jesus’ work you cling
  By a simple faith,
“Doing” is a deadly thing—
  “Doing” ends in death.

Cast your deadly “doing” down—
  Down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
  Gloriously complete.

Throughout the month of June we have paralleled the lessons taught to our children in this week’s Vacation Bible School.  Specifically, we have examined five treasures that are given to every disciple, of every age, by the Son of God.  You will remember: we are Born of the Son; we are Healed by the Son; we are Forgiven by the Son; and we are Loved by the Son.  And it is this final treasure, Loved by the Son, that is our focus this Sunday morning.

As the Apostle Paul famously says in I Corinthians 15, “Faith, hope, love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.”  But why is love the greatest and why is it the greatest of all the treasures the Son of God imparts to us?

There are several important reasons, but first among them is the fact that love is a prime attribute of God’s own character.  When Jesus loves us He is simply extending to us His very character.  While forgiveness, as we noted last week, is the most transformative treasure He offers us, His forgiveness flows from His love.  Indeed, all other treasures flow from His character of love, for as John tells us so succinctly in his first epistle, “God is love!”

In reflecting on the love of the Son this week, it seems to me that for the Christian there is arguably no greater expression of His love (notwithstanding the Cross) than what He does on resurrection night.  Indeed, it is so profound that both John and Luke record it.

I say that it is arguably God’s greatest expression of love because of the condition in which Jesus finds His friends.  They are terrified.  They are without hope.  They are locked down, baffled, and bewildered.  In terms of despair there’s no time in the Gospels that rivals it – even when they are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee in the storm.

So what does Jesus do?  He loves them!  In fact, He loves them in exactly the same way He loves you and me when we are in “lockdown” despair.  And when you see that, when you get it, you find it is just as the Nigerian hymn writer says, “Jesus did it, did it all, long, long ago!”

In preparing for worship this Sunday and studying the Son’s greatest treasure – His love – you may wish to consider the following:

 

1.      How is the disciple’s condition in Luke 24:38-49 a direct violation of Jesus’ imperative in John 14:1-7?

2.      What are some reasons for their violation?

3.      How is Jesus’ message to them in Luke 24:36 similar to the angel’s message in Luke 2:10?

4.      Why is fear so destructive?

5.      Compare and contrast Luke’s account of this encounter with John in John 20:19-29.

6.      What three loving things does Jesus do to dispel their fear?

7.      Why does He instruct them to touch Him when He prevents Mary from touching Him in John 20:17?

8.      Why does He ask for food in verse 41?

9.      What does Jesus mean in verse 44 when He says, “While I was still with you I spoke these words?”

10.  What is “the promise of my Father” in verse 49?  What is the significance of that promise for our self-concept?

See you Sunday!

"Forgiven by the Son" - Doug Rehberg

Harry Robbins “Bob” Haldeman was best known for his intimate role in the Watergate cover-up that precipitated his resignation from his job as White House Chief of Staff under President Richard Nixon.  He was found guilty by a grand jury in 1974 and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.  He was Nixon’s gatekeeper who once called himself  “the President’s S.O.B.”

But it’s not Haldeman’s knowledge of himself that is so amazing; it’s his knowledge of his boss, Richard M. Nixon.  In his later years, after prison, Haldeman wrote a memoir entitled The Ends of Power in which he spoke at length about the Nixon he knew.  In the book he notes that Nixon’s greatest hero was not Theodore Roosevelt, who he cited often.  It wasn’t Winston Churchill.  It wasn’t some other American President.  It was the French General, and former President of France – Charles de Gaulle.  In fact, whenever Nixon referred to de Gaulle, he’d always use his full name – Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle.  He not only admired the French President, he revered him.

Nixon admired de Gaulle’s toughness.  He admired his aloofness – it is said that de Gaulle had no friends or close associates.  He was quite paranoid of those he considered to be his enemies.  In fact, it was de Gaulle who reportedly first said to a staffer, “We have no friends, only interests!”

The longer I live the more I find that most people, though they might never admit it, live by that adage.  It’s a universal sentiment and it’s nothing new.  That’s why, of all the statements of Jesus, none is more striking than what He says to His disciples in the waning hours of His earthly ministry.

Here on the eve of His betrayal and execution Jesus says, “I no longer call you servants…but friends.”  Think of it.  At a time when personal interests would, for most, trump every other commitment, Jesus turns from personal interests to those He calls His friends.  He renames them.  He establishes with them a completely new relationship.  They are no longer His students or servants, but His friends.

And while the timing of this announcement is striking given Jesus’ immediate future, what’s more incredible is the immediate actions of His friends.  Within hours they will betray Him.  They will abandon Him.  They will forsake Him completely.  The ones He’s just called friends treat Him just like His enemies.

In thinking about this week’s topic – the fourth treasure of the Son of God to His people – Forgiveness – I was struck by the undeniable connection between Jesus’ friendship and His forgiveness.  Without His absolute and total forgiveness of them there’d be no lasting friendship.  Indeed, His declaration of their new identity is inexorably linked to His forgiveness of them.  They are His friends not because of something they’ve done or will do.  They are His friends because of what He will do.  Nothing could be plainer than that.  While His friends will flee from Him, He will hang on a tree for them.

But interestingly, Jesus’ establishment of friendships begins well before the Upper Room.  Throughout His three-year ministry we see Him “making friends” throughout Palestine.  A perfect example is in Jericho as He’s making His way to Jerusalem.

That’s where we will be this Sunday as we examine Luke 19:1-10.  In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider the following:

1.      Henri Nouwen’s definition of friendship in Out of Solitude: 3 Meditations on the Christian Life.

2.      Check out C.S. Lewis’ definitions of friendship.

3.      What were some of the differences between Jesus and other Rabbis of His day in terms of disciples?

4.      In John 15 when Jesus calls His disciples “friends’, how unique is this?

5.      How is Jesus’ friendship tied to His forgiveness?

6.      What is the significance of Jesus making a friend in Jericho on His way to the cross?

7.      Why is Zacchaeus up a tree?

8.      Why is Zacchaeus named by Luke three times and Jesus once?

9.      What is Jesus commanding him to do in verse 5?

10.  Why does Zacchaeus divest himself of his fortune in the presence of Jesus’ friendship?

11.  How does friendship hinge on forgiveness?

In the 8:15 and 11:00 services we will conclude the message with a video clip of Brennan Manning speaking on friendship to a group in Philadelphia in 1999.  If you are planning to attend the 9:30 service you may want to view it by Googling Brennan Manning Kingdom Works Video 1999.  The clip itself is found at the 32:22-35:40 mark, but the whole message is terrific!

See you Sunday!

Known by the Son

Most of you know of my close friend Mike, who died on Easter Sunday, because I’ve written about him and talked about him in a sermon or two of late.  We walked through a lot of life together – some 37 years worth.

One of the things that I remember Mike saying is that when he retired he wanted to open a bar called “Tired of Trying.”  He never got that wish.

Several times over the years he’d talk about the “bar dream”, though I never recall him fleshing it out to any great extent.  Whenever he talked about it, however, my mind would drift to Cheers.  You remember that downstairs Boston bar where Ted Danson and Shelly Long plied their trade.  Gary Portnoy described it this way:

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got

Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot

Wouldn’t you like to get away?

All those nights when you’ve got no lights, the check is in the mail

And your little angel hung the cat up by its tail

And your third fiancée didn’t show

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name

And they’re always glad you came

You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same

You wanna be where everybody knows your name 

Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee’s dead, the morning’s looking bright

And your shrink ran off to Europe and didn’t even write

And your husband wants to be a girl 

Be glad, there’s one place in the world

Where everybody knows your name

And they’re always glad you came

You wanna go where people know, people are all the same

You wanna go where everybody knows your name” 

There’s a lot in Scripture that speaks to the power of knowing one’s name.  Indeed, naming the animals was the first task God gave Adam in the garden.  By naming them God was establishing Adam’s dominion ever them.  And yet, there’s a longing in every human heart to be known beyond one’s name.

 

Years ago I was taking a tour of a large church in Washington, D.C. when the guide noticed that the Senior Pastor had just walked by.  She stopped her speech, turned to all of us and said, “The most amazing thing about Dr. Evans is that he knows every one of our names.”  And while that is notable, it begs the question, “What else does he know about you?”

 

You see, Gary Portnoy is right in saying that every one of us wants to go where everyone knows your name, and where troubles are all the same, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.  The ubiquitous longing of the human heart is to be known by One who knows everything about us and accepts us unconditionally.

 

Imagine a place where we can know what Paul refers to in I Corinthians 13:12(b), “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”  He’s talking about a third treasure the Son of God gives to everyone who knows Him – the joy of living in a place where you are fully known by Him.

 

This week we will look at how Jesus alone can bring us to such a place.  We will be looking at a perfect example in His interaction with the (unnamed) Samaritan woman in John 4.  In order to comprehend the full extent of His knowledge of her it is important to juxtaposition her with the Jewish man He encounters in chapter 3.  In each case, Jesus employs a 3-step process in making His knowledge of them clear to them.  As in the case of both Jew and Samaritan, Jesus’ knowledge of them produces in them a singular satisfaction that they had never known before.  It’s the same satisfaction Mike longed for.  It’s the same satisfaction Gary Portnoy sought to capture in his song.  It’s the same satisfaction you and I have always desired.

 

In preparation for Sunday’s message “Known by the Son”, from John 4:1-26, you may wish to consider the following:

1.      What does Dale Carnegie mean when he says, “A person’s name is to that person the sweetest, most important sound in any language?”

2.      How important are names in Scripture?

3.      Why is Nicodemus named by John in chapter 3, but not the Samaritan woman in chapter 4?

4.      Where is Jacob’s well, or the well of Sychar located?  What’s so important about this location in biblical history?

5.      Why does Jesus ask her for a drink? (v. 7)

6.      Why doesn’t she honor His request?

7.      What is the difference between her and Nicodemus?  What are the similarities?

8.      What is the “living water” Jesus says that He can give her? (v. 10)

9.      Why is her thirst much more important than His?

10.  What does her husband have to do with it?  (v. 16) 

See you Sunday – Father’s Day!

Healed by the Son

In our text Jesus deals with two ladies who are ill.  To care for them means an "interruption" to His schedule and yet He takes time for both, sharing His power with them.  Many times we are interrupted or have difficult situations to deal with - do we respond as Jesus with loving concern or do we show our irritation due to the interruption?  Caring for those who are sick is a powerful way of demonstrating God's love.  We may not always be able to bring healing to their body but we can bring health to their heart through our "bedside manner"!  Isn't it fascinating that Jesus on the day of judgment will highlight in a positive way visitation of the sick! (Matthew 25:36)

Our text shows how Jesus was involved in two miraculous healings.  One came to a lady who had been ill for years who was healed by touching his clothes.  The other was a twelve-year-old girl who died and was raised back to life by His command and touch.  In both cases it is all about Jesus and His compassion and power.  We, too, who have experienced his love and power in our lives know that it is all about Him.  May we also remember to appreciate and pray for caregivers and may we show “patience with patients”!

See you Sunday.

1.  What was the name of the dying girl's father?  Mark 5:22

2.  How did this father emphasize his concern for his daughter?  Mark 5:22-23

3.  How long had the woman been sick?  Mark 5:25

4.  How does Mark describe her previous medical experiences?  Mark 5:26

5.  Note the method of her healing. Mark 5:28-29  What are some other unique approaches to healings in the Bible?  Acts 5:15; 19:11-12

6.  Consider how Jesus might have realized power had gone out of Him.  Mark 5:30

7.  What great encouragement for faith is found in Mark 5:36?

8.  Why do you think Jesus said the girl was sleeping as if she was dead?  Mark 5:35, 38-40

9.  Besides the phrase in Mark 5:41 what are some other places where Mark records Jesus speaking in Aramaic?  Mark 7:34; 14:36; 15:34

10.  How does Jesus show His love and compassion in practical fashion for the young girl who has just been through a death and life experience?  Mark 5:43