"Follow Me" - Henry Knapp

Arguably, one of the most personally intimidating verses in the Scripture is where Paul urges the Corinthian believers to “follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). It has such a personal impact, not because I am from Corinth, or because it is a challenge to follow Paul (though it is!), but because I realize that every Christian leader is to say something similar to the flock—in other words, I realize that I too must say to you, “follow me as I follow Christ,” and the thought of urging others to “follow me” is truly intimidating.

Intimidating it might be, but it is also a marvelous portrayal of the Christian life—not simply Christian leadership, but the life of every follower of Jesus. To younger believers, to one another, to the world we say, “follow me! This is the way of Jesus.”

The notion of “following” is central to the biblical concept of a disciple. To be a disciple of Jesus is to follow in His footsteps. It is not enough to agree with His teachings; not enough to admire Him; not enough to act like Him. Discipleship is following Him. To follow is to acknowledge that someone is ahead of you—you can’t follow Christ unless you are behind Him. For a prideful person, this is hard. To follow is to keep your eyes on the one ahead of you—you can’t follow Christ if you don’t watch Him. For an easily-distracted person, this is hard. To follow is to give yourself to another—you can’t follow Christ if you don’t submit to Him. For a selfish person, this is hard.

In some way, the three key Greek terms used in the Bible to describe a disciple of Jesus all encompass a characteristic of the follower:

mathatas—a learner, a scholar; one who accepts and embraces another’s teaching

akoluthea—a follower, an imitator; one who walks in the footsteps of another, with intimacy

apostolos—a messenger, a herald; one who obediently is sent with the authority of another

To be a disciple is to be a follower—one who learns, one who imitates, one who obeys.

Finally, to follow Jesus happens in a moment, and a lifetime of joy, struggle, peace, and challenge. Just like our salvation, our following Jesus engages every part of life. And, following is not just a daily struggle, it is also a daily joy and blessing. Discipleship is a life-long process, a life-encompassing process, and a life-giving process. I am excited to take this life-journey with you!

In preparation for worship on Sunday, read Matthew 28:16-20.

1. How do the notions of worship and doubt fit together here (vs. 17)? Is it odd to see doubt present at this point? Why would the author especially note this?

2. How does the assertion that all authority is given to Jesus (vs. 18) lead into the following sentences? What is it about His authority that prompts Jesus to the following commands?

3. Notice that Jesus’ command is that: a command. He does not preface things with modal inference—His is not a suggestion or option or possibility, but a command. What difference does this make? How would the passage read if we were to “try to make” disciples, or that we “should make” disciples?

4. List out all the verbs in verses 19-20. How do they relate to one another?

5. What is the connection/implication of the end of verse 20? Why does Jesus mention this at this point? Remember what follows… the ascension to the righthand of the Father.

"The Essentials: The Church" - Dan Bender

This week we are going to be taking a little look at what it means to be the church and why it is essential not only for us as a people but for the world we live in as a whole.

This blog is going to pose more questions than answers because this will help set up our discussion this weekend. A very good place to look at this scripturally is in the Book of Acts, particularly early on. Because "The Church" has been around for so long, let's look at this in the past, present and future where it applies. Take a look at Acts 1 and Acts 2 and see if you can source the following:

Who has been/is (now)/will be "The Church"?

What has been/is (now)/will be "The Church"?

Where did "The Church" originate?

When did "The Church" come to be?

How was "The Church" formed?

Perhaps you have strolled down the side hallway of the Sanctuary before. You may have noticed that there are all kinds of pictures that tell a story of Hebron Church. Now, it’s not the complete story, but there are snapshots into Hebron's past that give you an idea about where we have come from.

Do you know Hebron's origin story?

It is pretty obvious that the church we take part in has had many changes over many years.

How well do you know the recent history of Hebron Church?

Knowing that the church we are a part of has come from someplace and will be here long after we are gone...

What is a significant and tangible way that you will involve yourself moving Hebron into the future?

Looking forward to exploring this more on Sunday!

Peace.
Dan Bender

"The Essentials: Justification by Faith Alone" - Henry Knapp

Faith and My Broken Record

My father was a firm believer in the benefits of education. Growing up in the post-WWII era, he reflected many of the opinions of that generation, including the value of a college education in “getting ahead” in this world. Because of his emphasis on learning, he tended to eschew colloquial phrases and slang terms. If you used “ain’t” around the house, you could guarantee a “corrective directive” (slang, for various forms of “discipline”) from my dad. Of course, one man’s slang is another’s high dictation.

I wonder a bit about “a broken record.” If you are of a certain age, you know exactly what I am referring to—a “skip” in a vinyl recording which creates a repeated phrase or sound; if you repeat something again and again, you are mimicking a “broken record.” However, given the proliferation of digital recordings these days, I wonder if the meaning of “a broken record” is lost on the younger generation—a slang term at best with a vague meaning.

In any case, I fear I run the risk of appearing as “a broken record” when I speak of saving faith. This week we will look at an essential truth of the Christian faith—the fact that we are saved by God’s grace through faith alone. There is little as amazing, as stupendous, as outrageous as this teaching—that we benefit from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, not by earning God’s blessing, but simply and totally by faith trusting in Christ. Personally, I get so moved by this, that I can’t help but talk about that marvelous gift of God—faith itself.

But, after preaching here at Hebron for a number of years, it is possible that I begin to hit the same high notes each time I talk about faith—that I sound like “a broken record.” The high notes I would sound are about the nature of faith and the object of faith. But, since I am committed not to focus simply on these characteristics of faith during the sermon this week, I thought I would write about them instead!

The nature of faith. It is easy to fall into two errors here—either “faith” means simply having the right concepts or ideas in our minds or “faith” is some mystical thing that you vaguely possess. Instead, biblical faith is trust, reliance, dependence. Faith is not a doctrine you are convinced is correct—it is embracing that doctrine and depending upon it for life. Faith is not some esoteric feeling but a confident reflection which leads to the confident action of trusting.

The object of faith. We can talk about strong faith or weak faith, and mistakenly believe that we are talking about the strength by which we hold to a teaching. You have strong faith if you do not waver in your trust; weak faith means that doubt creeps in. But, in describing faith this way, we make faith itself the key point. Instead, biblical faith centers on what or who we have faith in; it is the object of our faith that is the focus. The Christian faith speaks, not to the believer’s ability to believe, but to the object, the focus of that faith—Jesus Himself.

OK. Having repeated my favorite themes about faith—that faith is reliance on the Reliable One, Jesus—we can now move past the “skip on the record” and look to other aspects of faith… which we will explore this Sunday in worship together!

In preparation, please read Galatians 2:16.

1. This one verse is the conclusion or the focus of a longer argument Paul is making. But his argument itself arises from a practical dispute between himself and Peter. Read 2:11-14. What does “faith” have to do with the dispute? Why would this event lead to Paul’s discussion of faith?

2. Verse 16 is part of an argument Paul makes from verses 15-21. Read the entire section. How is verse 16 central to the issue at hand?

3. “We know that…” How do we know this? Why does Paul expect his readers to know this? Is this something we can or should take for granted?

4. Paul is rejecting the idea of being saved by works of the law. What would it look like to be saved that way? Describe the kind of faith and life that Paul is rejecting—one where salvation is by “works of the law.”

5. Where is the object of faith, Jesus Christ, central to Paul’s thought here? How do you know that Paul is not just talking about a really strong feeling of belief but of confidence in the God-Man, Jesus?

The Essentials: "The Person and Work of the Spirit" - Henry Knapp

 He’s a busy Spirit!

 In my nightmares, I am terrified that many of my Christian friends at Hebron would agree with the sentiments of Acts 19:2. When asked about the work of the Holy Spirit, these baby disciples respond with the observation, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Not even heard of Him! Egads! The dream gets worse when I think I might be part of the problem: that I haven’t shared enough about what the Bible says about the Spirit, what He has done in my life, what I know to be true of His Presence. And then I wake up, and pray…Lord, fill us with your Spirit!

 When the Bible speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit, it describes His actions in various ways—His actions in creation, in God’s providential guiding of this world, in writing the Bible, in convicting and judging sin in this world, and in applying Christ’s salvation into our lives. With all this and more, the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in Creation.

 I want to focus on the Spirit’s work of “applying Christ’s salvation into our lives.” We believe that Jesus’ death on the cross freed us from our bondage to sin. But, how do we become aware of that? How does what Jesus did work into our lives? This is part of what the Spirit does in the life of the believer.    

• Conviction:  The Spirit brings to mind the presence of residual sin in our lives—having forgiven us, the Spirit draws us to confession (John 16:8).
• Regeneration: Through the ministry of the Spirit a person is born again, receives eternal life, and is renewed (John 3:3-8).
• Indwelling: The Spirit abides in the believer (Romans 8:9-11).
• Sealing: God seals believers with the Spirit, marking us with ownership and the promise of final redemption (Ephesians 1:13).
• Filling: Believers are “filled” with the Spirit, strengthened to spiritual growth, maturity, and faithfulness far beyond our natural abilities (Ephesians 5:18).
• Guidance: We are to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit, avoiding legalism and sin, providing discipline and direction (Galatians 5:16).
• Empowering: The indwelling Spirit provides victory in the Christian life (Romans 8:13).
• Teaching: Jesus promises that the Spirit will lead believers into the truth, illuminating the mind, and restoring God’s will through the Word (John 14:26)

And, the best of all…

• Transformation: The work of the Spirit is the means by which we are transformed more and more, day by day, into the image of Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 3:18).

 Well, I guess I don’t know if “transformation” is the best or not, since, really, all the works of the Spirit are life to the believer!

 I hope and pray that your awareness of the Spirit’s presence and work deepens, grows, and matures more and more every day. Join us this Sunday as we worship our Triune God!

 In preparation for worship this Sunday, read John 14:15-18 and 16:7-15.

 1. In 14:16, the Spirit is referred to as “another Helper.” Another than who? What does that tell us about who the Spirit is? He is also referred to as “the Spirit of truth.” What might that imply?

 2. In verse 15, Jesus speaks of love and keeping commandments, then immediately speaks about the Spirit. What connection might there be between the three?

 3. In 16:7, Jesus says that it is better for Him to go away so that the Spirit might come. Why might that be hard to believe? What confidence does the list above inspire?

 4. Read verses 8-11 carefully. What sense can you make of these? How does the Spirit convict the world of sin? Of righteousness? Of judgment?

 5. Verse 13. How might the Spirit lead you into all truth? Have you had any experience of this work of the Spirit in your life?

The Essentials: The Sacrificial Death of Christ - Henry Knapp

 At-One-Ment

 Onomatopoeia. I just like saying the word. Onomatopoeia.

 I don’t exactly remember when I first learned the word, “onomatopoeia,” but the same twisted sense of joy I feel today about the word started back then. An onomatopoeia is a word or phrase that sounds like its meaning: Bang! Pop! Meow! Whoosh! Learning about onomatopoeias started me thinking about words themselves and has led to some interesting (at least to me!) observations.

 Take the theological term “atonement.” Atonement means “a reparation or making amends for a wrong or injury,” and in biblical use describes the reconciling of God to man through the sacrificial death of Jesus. But what I like about the word “atonement,” word-wise, is how we got it as a theological term to begin with.

 When translating the Bible from Greek and Latin into English in the early 1500s for the first time, William Tyndale was faced with a problem. The biblical authors use a word which in both Greek and Latin has a rich, deep, and comprehensive meaning. It means some mixture of “being reconciled one to another,” with “paying a price” and “freedom and forgiveness” all stirred together. For instance, something marvelous is going on when the Bible describes the sacrificial system in Exodus and Leviticus—“forgiveness, redemption, cost, reconciliation, sacrifice.” Paul has this same complex of ideas in mind in Romans 5 when he talks of Jesus’ death on the cross. The problem confronting Tyndale was that there was no single English word which did justice to the breadth of the biblical idea.

 How, he asked, could you describe in one word, the means whereby humans are reconciled to God, forgiven of their sin, the penalty being paid, God’s wrath satisfied? Having sin removed, peace and holiness restored, all by means of the blood of Jesus on the cross? How in English can you talk about the process of becoming one, reconciled to God, all in one word?

 Without an appropriate word, William Tyndale simply made one up! At-One-Ment. The ending “-ment” means “the process of…” (so, “refreshment” is the process of being refreshed). Atonement, then, was Tyndale’s attempt to capture the process of being “at one” with God: At-one-ment.

 More than just reconciliation, more than forgiveness, or sacrifice, or freedom, the work of Jesus is the very work of restoring our fellowship with God in all its depth and splendor. It is atonement.

 At Hebron Church, we often talk about the death of Jesus, and what He accomplished on the cross. While we don’t often use the term, “atonement,” that is what we are talking about. And, if we are to be true to the fullness of the biblical witness to the cross, we need to see the work of Jesus in its totality—capturing our forgiveness from sin, the reconciliation of God to His wayward people, the joy of the redeemed, and the praise to the Redeemer.

 In worship this week, we will try to capture the essence of atonement—celebrating the completeness of God’s salvific work in and through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 In preparation for worship this week, read 1 Peter 2:21-25.

 1. Notice that we are jumping into the middle of an ongoing argument. Peter is addressing what it means to live under authority. How do our particular verses factor into that discussion?

 2. In verse 21, Christ’s suffering is to serve as an example. How so? What are we to learn from His example?

 3. We are told that we are “called” to this (verse 21). What are we “called” to? Can you give an illustration in your own life of that calling?

 4. Describe Christ’s example in verses 22-23. How is this an example for you? Is there a situation where you can apply this today?

 5. How does verse 25 connect to Peter’s argument here? Why does he mention sheep and the Shepherd?

The Essentials - The Nature of the Triune God - Henry Knapp

 Essential, Yet Beyond Understanding

I’m not a cat-guy. Now, I realize that in admitting that publicly, I’m inviting all you cat- aficionados to flood my email box with silly cat-thingies. Please…don’t. I mention not being a cat-guy because I do tend to identify with one quality of the cat, it’s curiosity. Of course, we have heard that curiosity killed the cat, and that’s because the cat is naturally curious. Well, so am I. I have this strong desire to understand what is happening, to explore anything odd, to investigate that which intrigues me.

This is true in all areas of my life—including my faith. How does this work? What does that mean? When might this occur? Where is that happening? I want to understand what I believe, make sense of what I’m taught and satisfy my curiosity in all things spiritual.

And, then I run into the Trinity. “One God who eternally exists in three different and distinct Persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—all of whom are fully God, and all of whom are fully equal.”

Curiouser and curiouser. I want to explore, to learn, to understand. But, no matter how hard I look, no matter how much I study, I simply cannot grasp that which is beyond the finite brain. And the history of the Church is filled with failed attempts to explain the Trinity, botched efforts to grasp the ungraspable.

But our faith is not built on what we know, it is built on what God has revealed to us, what He has shown us of Himself, and He has shown us the Trinity (biblical support easily available on request!). So, by faith we grasp what we cannot know. We trust, not in our own ability to understand, but in His willingness to tell us. Often, that leaves us unsatisfied intellectually. That’s ok, for faith comes from hearing the Word of God.

I beg you, watch this four-minute video—hilarious! And, at the same time, a great teaching on the Trinity. {Note for joke at the end: Legend has it that St. Patrick chased all the snakes from Ireland}.

For worship this week, read Exodus 34, especially, verses 5-9.

 1. From the opening verses, what is the connection between the Law of God and meeting with God?

 2. Verse 5. Descending from a cloud could mean a couple of things. What is implied about God in saying He descended in a cloud?

 3. Verse 5 says God proclaimed His name, then in verse 6, He says a lot about Himself. What does that say about the “name” of God?

 4. Make a list of the qualities God claims here. What do we learn about Him from each? How do they speak about God’s “god-ish-ness?”

 5. What is Moses’s reaction in verses 8 and 9? How is that an appropriate reaction? Why is that not the reaction that we have every day?

The Essentials: The Authority of Scripture in Our Lives - Henry Knapp

 Essential   /e sen(t)Shel/ adj.  absolutely necessary; extremely important

I spent a lot of time early in life in the water. I grew up near a lake and went swimming as often as possible, some fishing, sailing, and water skiing. My “training” began early.  As a young boy I was in the water often, sometimes by myself, but most frequently with family and friends. And, when you are young, sometimes the decisions you make are not always the brightest…like, for instance, wrestling bigger kids than you while underwater. More than once, I gulped too much water when I couldn’t get up for air. Scary times.

I suspect if you had asked the 5-year-old me if air was an essential to life, I probably would have looked at you like you were a weirdo. But after some thought, I might have agreed that it was essential. But, did I really believe that it was? Was air essential to my life as a 5 year old swimming in the lake? Well, certainly I could not do without it, but I suspect the “essential character” of air for my body was only important to me when I was likely not to have any.

What makes something essential? According to our dictionary, something is essential if it is absolutely necessary or extremely important. We are going to embark on a journey this fall in exploring “The Essentials of Our Faith.” Our focus will be on illuminating those key aspects of our faith that are essential, necessary, important. We will look at key theological and biblical ideas that are crucial to the Christian faith—and, if essential, then necessary—without which you do not have Christian faith.

But, think of the different ways we use the word “essential.”

Gravity is essential to everyday life on this planet. Honestly, no one gets away with life without gravity. But, when was the last time you thought about gravity? If we want to use the term “essential” then shouldn’t it be more front-and-center in our lives? Surely, gravity is necessary for everyday life, but if you never think on it, how “essential” is it to you? In other words, some things can be essential, as in necessary, without much conscious thought, and therefore, not very essential.

For many Christians a lot of “essential” doctrines are simply not that important in everyday life. Sure, the Trinity might be something that the Church has always stressed as an essential teaching; but many in practice, if not in theory, deny its importance every day. The return of Christ in glory for the Judgment Day and for heavenly blessing might be acknowledged in theology class, but it is hardly “essential” to how we live, right? If I can ignore it every day, if I can practically disregard it, then it can’t be very essential.

We think it should be otherwise. If something is “essential” to our faith, it should impact us, change things, influence thought and actions. If essential, then important, and if important, then influential. The “essentials” we will explore are not only important in theory, they are essential to life—essential, important, necessary. If indeed these teachings are essential, then they will change the way you live every day.

For this coming Sunday, please study Proverbs 3:1-8.

1. Notice that these verses break into two parts—verses 1-4 and 5-8. How would you give a subtitle to these verses? What is the common thread between them?

 2. What would it look like to “lean on your own understanding”? (verse 5)? How can you catch yourself from doing that? What is particularly wrong about it? Why would the author try to keep us from doing it?

 3. In verse 1, the author commands our “hearts to keep my commandments.” How might one’s “heart” keep a commandment? What is behind this encouragement?

 4. Verse 3 is a very vivid verse.  What ideas are present here? What is the benefit of binding something around the neck?

 5. In verse 7 a contrast is mentioned: being wise in one’s own eyes is contrasted with fearing the LORD and turning from evil. Why would being wise in your own eyes be the opposite of fearing the LORD or turning from evil?