"Possessions" - Doug Rehberg

One hundred years ago in Germany a man named Oskar was born who would change the face of history for more than a thousand people.  In his mid-twenties, after starting several businesses, he went bankrupt.  But then in 1939, with the help of the Third Reich, he gained ownership of a factory in Poland and began making a profit.  The first thing he did was hire a Jewish accountant named Stern and together they began to make some serious money.  Within three years he was spending it as fast as he made it.  You say, “On what?  Homes?”  No.  “Perks?”  No, people.  He began buying people.  He’d go to the commandants of the German concentration camps and offer bribes and payoffs to buy Jewish prisoners to work in his factory.  Sometimes the price would be meager, other times it would be exorbitant.  Either way he’d pay it.  By the end of the year he had spent his entire fortune buying as many people as he could.  By the end of the war he had risked both life and fortune buying 1,100 Jewish men, women, boys, and girls and sparing them from certain death.

When the last scene of Schindler’s List was aired 20 years ago on NBC, the television audience was as large as the first moon landing, some 60 million people.  There, standing before his factory full of workers, Oskar Schindler announces the war is over, the Nazis are defeated, and everyone is free to go.  And as he bids them farewell, he’s overcome by emotion.  He cries out, “I should have done more!  If only I had not wasted so much money.  I could have done more!”  He looks over at his automobiles and says, “I could have traded one of those for another 10 lives.”  He looks down at a small gold pin on his lapel and says, “I could have given them this and saved at least one more life.”  And at that moment Schindler realizes something that most of us never realize - the difference between life and death is often just a matter of money.

Years ago I remember reading of a couple who waited years to have a child, and finally the day arrived.  But as soon as he was born, there were bills to pay.  He cost them to get out of the hospital.   He cost them food and clothing and education.  He cost them at every point, “But that’s okay,” said his father, “because that’s what we’re here for.”  But then at age 21 the boy died.  And suddenly there were no more costs.  The man said, “That’s when I learned it.  I’ll never join a church that doesn’t want or need my money.  Death’s cheap.  It’s living that’s costly.”

And of all the people in the New Testament, there’s one who seems to get that more clearly than any other one, and that’s Mary.  The Bible says she breaks open a flask of expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus’ feet.  And in response to that act, Jesus uses a word that He never uses anywhere else in the Gospels.  He calls it beautiful.  Now the word beautiful is kalos in Greek.  It’s the same root from which we get the word kaleidoscope.  It speaks of an endless array of refracted brilliance.  And Jesus calls what Mary does a kalos thing.  Now notice it’s the giving of a gift of treasure that provokes Jesus to use that word.  He says, “Truly I tell you, wherever the Gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in her memory.”  Now why is that? James knows.

When you get to James Chapter 5 there’s no escaping the fact that James has been with Jesus. He understands the meaning of wealth better than anyone. Chapter 5:1-6 contains some of the most pointed words in all of the New Testament regarding what true stewardship and discipleship mean. It’s his second “Come now…” in six verses! He’s in the face of every one of us, because his greatest desire is that we thrive in peace as disciples who are much more in love with Jesus and others than ourselves.

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

1. Who is James referring to in these 6 verses?
2. What does “weep and howl” mean in verse 1?
3. How do verses 1-3 relate to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-21?
4. What two concerns is James pointing out in verses 1-3 and verses 4-5?
5. Is he speaking only to owners and supervisors in verses 4-5?
6. How does verse 4 compare to Genesis 4:10?
7. What’s the heart of the issue in verse 5?
8. What does verse 6 mean?
9. The Greek says, “You have condemned and murdered the Righteous One..” Does that help you understand verse 6?
10. How is Mary the antithesis of those James is writing to?

See you Sunday as we gather at His table.

"Train Wreck" - Doug Rehberg

Abraham Lincoln said it, “We must plan for the future, because people who stay in the present will remain in the past.” Robert Fulmer famously said, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Indeed, one of the clear ways we reflect the image of God is when we exercise our capacity to plan. Bruce Cook, a management consultant to Christian organizations, once observed, “Success for the Christian can be defined as determining what God wants to accomplish and then getting on with it.”

Years ago LeRoy Sims wrote a book in which he told the story about how he imagined Jesus arriving in heaven after His ascension. The story goes something like this: When Jesus appears in heaven the angels quickly gather around Him anxious to question Him on His plans. “What are your plans?” they ask eagerly as they surround the Lord. Without hesitation the Lord responds, “My men, they are my plan.” Immediately the angels are alarmed, for they have watched this motley gang of men disburse under pressure during the events that led up to the Lord’s crucifixion. “And what if they fail?” asks an angel with concern. Again, with quiet confidence, the Lord responds, “I have no other plans.”

If the Lord had brought in a consultant there’s no way there would have been agreement. No human or angelic consultant would ever have recommended such a plan. Men are prideful, rebellious, and insubordinate. They have little faith and their priorities are twisted. Their selfish desires often overrule all other desires. As the former Englishman John Guest often cites, on his first trip to Philadelphia his eyes were open to this new land he would call home. When his eyes fell upon a sign printed in the early 1770s: “We Serve No Sovereign Here!” And it’s that point that James is highlighting in Sunday’s text: James 4:13-17.

Following upon his observation in Chapter 3:18, James details three things that war against the peace that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can give. In 4:1-10, it’s following the selfish passions of our heart. In 4:11-12, it’s harboring a judgmental spirit that seeks to elevate us over everyone else. And in Sunday’s text it’s our propensity to live our lives without reference to the sovereign will and the leadership of God. In short, it’s a recipe for disaster.

This Sunday’s message, “Train Wreck”, is an exposition of the last 5 verses of Chapter 4. Our companion text is Luke 12:16-21. In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:

1. What was the worst Amtrack wreck in American history?
2. What does such a wreck tell us about ourselves and God?
3. What change did James experience in his planning after he met the resurrected Lord?
4. What is James doing in verse 13?
5. How is this analogous to Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus in John 3:10?
6. How does the cross prove that we stink at autonomous planning?
7. On what grounds does James cite our insufficiencies in verse 14?
8. What does he mean in verse 15 when he says, “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills.’”?
9. How does looking into the mirror of the perfect love (1:25) help?
10. In verse 17 James seems more concerned with sins of omission than commission. As you reflect on the words of Jesus, would you say He is too? If so, how does obedience produce peace?

See you Sunday!

"Living According to the Law" - Scott Parsons

In Sunday’s passage, James tells us not to speak evil of or judge a brother. This seems counter-intuitive to many professed Christians today, because the law of God clearly points out evil, and it seems as if it is our duty to apply the law by passing judgment on those who do not keep it. Others point out that we no longer live under or by the law, but rather by grace. Therefore they really don’t focus on the issue of sin, but celebrate the goodness and love of God. These two views represent opposite sides of gospel understanding. James tells us that both are wrong.

James states that speaking evil of or judging a brother is not simply unkind, but is actually a violation of the law. In fact, he says it is “speaking evil of and judging the law.” Why is that? It is helpful to remind ourselves of the purpose of the law. The law was not given as a means of righteousness.That is a common misconception among Christians. Many think that Old Testament children of God were saved by obedience to the law and the New Testament child of God is saved by grace. Nothing could be further from the truth. No one could be saved by obedience to the law because no one was able to keep it. That is why the Bible says that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” It was not his works, but his faith that evidenced his salvation. It is also the reason that David said: “You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” 

So the law was given to show us how glorious God is (He is the standard, not the law), and how far short we fall of His glory. The law was also given to show us the scope of our sin, show us our need of a Savior and bring us to repentance. That is why James says that speaking evil of or judging others is so wrong. In doing so we are not only violating the purpose of the law by setting ourselves (rather than God) up as the standard of righteousness, we are also being disobedient to the commandments in the law. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, He answered; “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” But then He added, “The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” So speaking evil of and judging someone is breaking the law’s command to love. 

All of this is background to Doug's sermon on Sunday. As we look at James 4:10-12, we are going to examine how we are to interact with each other in view of the commands of the law. Pray that God will give us the grace to allow the law’s reflection of God’s character to shine brightly through us.

Blessings,

Scott

"The Courage to Submit" - Barrett Hendrickson

Covenant. God's relationship with His people is based on Covenant. I'm counting at least 43 times the Bible uses the Immanuel Principle, "I will be your God and you will be My people" or some derivation of that. He promises to be with us, His people. God loves His people and calls them His bride. Sunday, we're going to take a look at how we are to be a faithful and loving bride, knowing that He is unfailing in His love for his people.

We'll take a look at what being that faithful and loving bride means. But until then, read The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 7 on God's Covenant with man.

1.       The distance between God and his creation is so great, that, although reasoning creatures owe him obedience as their creator, they nonetheless could never realize any blessedness or reward from him without his willingly condescending to them. And so it pleased God to provide for man by means of covenants.1

1. Is 40.13-17, Jb 9.32-33, 1 Sm 2.25, Ps 100.2-3, 113.5-6, Jb 22.2-3, 35.7-8, Lk 17.10, Acts 17.24-25

2.       The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works.2 In it life was promised to Adam and through him to his descendants,3 on the condition of perfect, personal obedience.4

2. Hos 6.7, Gn 2.16-17, Gal 3.10, Rom 5.12,19, 1 Cor 15.22,47, Gal 3.12.

3. Rom 5.12-20, 10.5.

4. Gn 2.17, Gal 3.10; Compare Gn 2.16-17 with Rom 5.12-14, 10.5, Lk 10.25-28, and with the covenants made with Noah and Abraham.

3.       By his fall, man made himself incapable of life under that covenant, and so the Lord made a second, the covenant of grace.5 In it he freely offers sinners life and salvation through Jesus Christ. In order to be saved he requires faith in Jesus6 and promises to give his Holy Spirit to all who are ordained to life so that they may be willing and able to believe.7

5. Gal 3.21, Rom 3.20-21, 8.3, Gn 3.15, Is 42.6, Mt 26.28, Heb 10.5-10.

6. Mk 16.15-16, Jn 3.16, Rom 10.6,9, Gal 3.11, Acts 16.30-31, Mt 28.18-20, Rom 1.16-17.

7. Ez 36.26-27, Jn 6.37,44-45, 5.37, 3.5-8, Acts 13.48, Lk 11.13, Gal 3.14.

4.       This covenant of grace is frequently identified in Scripture as a testament, in reference to the death of Jesus Christ, the testator, and to the everlasting inheritance and everything included in that legacy.8

8. Heb 9.15-17, 7.22, Lk 22.20, 1 Cor 11.25.

5.       This covenant was administered differently in the time of the law and in the time of the gospel.9 Under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances given to the Jewish people, all foreshadowing Christ.10 For that time the covenant administered under the law through the operation of the Spirit was sufficient and effective in instructing the elect and building up their faith in the promised Messiah,11 by whom they had full remission of their sins and eternal salvation. This administration is called the Old Testament.12

9. 2 Cor 3.6-9, Heb 1.1-2.

10. Heb 8-10, Rom 4.11, Col 2.11-12, 1 Cor 5.7, Col 2.17.

11. 1 Cor 10.1-4, Heb 11.13, Jn 8.56, Gal

12. Gal 3.7-9, 14, Acts 15.11, Rom 3.30.

6. Under the gospel Christ himself, the substance13 of God’s grace, was revealed. The ordinances of this New Testament are the preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper.14 Although these are fewer in number and are administered with more simplicity and less outward glory, yet they are available to all nations, Jews and Gentiles,15 and in them the spiritual power of the covenant of grace is more fully developed.16 There are not then two essentially different covenants of grace, but one and the same covenant under different dispensations.17

13. Gal 2.17, Col 2.17.

14. Mt 28.19-20, 1 Cor 11.23-25, 2 Cor 3.7-11.

15. Mt 28.19, Eph 2.15-19, see under figure 11 above, Lk 2.32, Acts 10.34-35. 
16. Heb 12.22-28, Jer 31.33-34, Heb 8.6-13, 2 Cor 3.9-11.17. 15.11, Rom 3.21-23,30, Ps 32.1, Rom 4.3,6,16-17,23-24, Heb 13.8, Gal 3.17,29, see context and citations under figure 10 above, Heb 1.1-2.

"Paradise Found" - Doug Rehberg

This Easter Sunday our minds and hearts turn to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a result, we will take a one-week break from our study of the Wisdom of James to re-examine John’s account of the resurrection.

Most Easters my mind turns to two of my favorite subjects – the resurrection and golf. And this year is extra special because of the story of Victor E. Dupuis. Vic lives in the eastern part of the state, outside of Philadelphia, with his wife of 29 years, Joy, and their three children. In addition to being managing partner of his firm, Dupuis Financial Group, Vic is a member of the Kennett Square Golf and Country Club and an avid golfer.

Six years ago on a business trip Vic, normally an outgoing and positive person, was harried from battling traffic as he returned from Harrisburg. Though he had several competing commitments, he had promised to join his golfing partner in a 6-hole, alternate-shot event called “The Devils Event”. He arrived late and apologized profusely; but by the second hole he had settled down and actually made a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 2.

But on the third tee Vic started feeling badly as he sat alone in his golf cart. When his partner yelled that it was his turn to hit his shot, Vic did not respond. The reason was simple – Vic had died. He had no pulse. No breath. They picked him up and carried him away from the cart and rested him on the tee box. As one of the members of the foursome called 911, another attempted CPR to no avail. The remaining member of the group, Paul Diddner, sped back to the halfway house to get an AED and to call Dr. William Ashton who was playing Hole No. 17.

As they all converged on the third tee, Dr. Ashton, who had carried a syringe of epinephrine in his golf bag for the past ten years, administered a shot under Vic’s tongue. By this time Vic was blue and had been totally unresponsive for more than five minutes. They used the AED and after three jolts and a total of ten minutes, Vic Dupuis came back to life before the eyes of everyone who had gathered. Vic’s eyes opened and he asked, “What’s going on?” Many replied the way I would have, “It’s a miracle!”  Indeed, that was the opinion of everyone who surrounded him, including Dr. Ashton.

But what happened three months later is, in the opinion of every golfer at K.S.G.C. and beyond, a rival miracle. You see, after receiving a pacemaker and following the instructions of his doctor not to play golf for at least three months, Vic was back on the course on day 91. He started on Hole No. 3, the same hole he had died on. From his bag he pulled a brand-new 6-iron. He had just removed it from its plastic wrapping earlier that day. He teed up his ball, set his feet, drew back his club, and let the ball sail. Within seconds of the strike the ball disappeared into the cup for a hole-in-one.

Think of it. A hole-in-one on the same hole, from the same tee, on which he had died over three months earlier! You say, “That’s amazing!” Yes, it is. But not half as amazing as that first Easter. God became a man and laid down His life.  He volunteered to take the eternal hell I deserve. He volunteered to satisfy every demand a Holy God had made on me. He volunteered to die. And then, to prove it’s finished, that I’m totally accepted by God forever, He got up and walked out of the tomb.

Dying on No. 3 tee, and coming back to life, and then 3 ½ months later getting a hole-in-one on No. 3? That’s a miracle, but it doesn’t hold a candle to John’s account of the resurrection of Jesus.

We will be studying John 19:40-20:10 this Sunday. In preparation for Sunday’s message, “Paradise Found”, you may wish to consider the following:

1. Why is John’s account of the resurrection so much fuller than the other Gospel-writers?
2. Why does John describe Jesus’ burial spot as in a garden?
3. What is the significance of a garden in Scripture?
4. Why does John consider the resurrection so important?
5. Can you be a Christian without believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
6. Why does Mary Magdalene come to the tomb at night?
7. What is so impressive about the stone being rolled away?
8. In verses 5-8 John uses three different words for looking. What can be deduced from this fact?
9. What does John mean when he says, “They didn’t understand the Scriptures that he must rise from the dead?”
10. What are the practical implications of the resurrection on you and your life?

See you on Easter!

"Wars and Passions" - Doug Rehberg

It’s an old one, but a good one. A young boy asked his father, “Dad, how do wars begin?” “Well, take WWI,” said his father, “It all started when Germany invaded Belgium.” And immediately his wife who was listening to all this said, “Tell the boy the truth! It began because somebody was murdered.”

The husband drew himself up in an air of superiority and snapped back, “Are you answering our son’s question, or am I?” Turning her back on him in a huff, the wife walked out of the room and slammed the door as hard as she could. When the dishes stopped rattling in the cupboard, an uneasy silence followed, broken at length by the son, “That’s okay Dad, you don’t have to say anymore. I know how.”

When you come to James Chapter 4, you’re immediately met by his rhetorical questions: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” And that’s exactly what that young boy saw in both is parents.

This week we will examine only three verses – James 4:1-3, but they are full of truth. The truth is that my initial intention was to read down through verse 10 and examine all of it on one Sunday, but I quickly abandoned that plan when I started unpacking these few lines. What we have here is a deep exclamation the basic problem of our heart. The problem is in its desires. What James is saying is that God made us with a capacity to seek pleasure, but rather than seeking the one pleasure that will satisfy us, we pursue substitutes. And if that weren’t enough, we fight, envy, and quarrel to satisfy our misguided desires. There is only one answer to our problem and James gives it.

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

1. How does James 3:18 set up Chapter 4:1-3?
2. What is the connection between peace and our passions?
3. How is peace the greatest desire of the human heart?
4. What does Jesus have to say about peace on that First Palm Sunday?
5. What is a hedonist? Why does James call every one of us a hedonist in verse 1?
6. How is hedonism the cause of quarrels and fights?
7. What is the “desire” James is referring to in verse 2?
8.  How is prayer the antidote to our warring passions?
9.  James talks about “wrong” prayer in verse 3. What is he mean?
10. What is genuine prayer and how does it cure our selfish pugilism?

Sunday is Palm Sunday!! May we worship the King in all His glory!!

"Wise Relationships" - Doug Rehberg

“The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens…” Proverbs 3:19

This week James turns from words, and the power of the tongue, to wisdom. This is a logical step, for as James will show us, the power of words feeds right into the need for wisdom. For James, the heart, the tongue, and the mind are not only inexorably linked, but must be controlled wisely.

Like food and water, words spoken in relationships are necessary for life. Indeed, the harshest of all human punishment is solitary confinement where one is deprived of all words completely. However, as James pointed out last week, words can wound or they can heal. They can cause life to flourish, or they can make life wither and die. Therefore, what is needed is a wisdom in the midst of relationships.

What James is going to tell us this week is that the evidence of wisdom is seen in the way we live, for wisdom is the ability to see and build healthy relationships. He will describe three features that characterize wise relationships: they are healing, they are humble, and they are full of praise.

The Greeks believed that there was a wisdom behind nature. Wisdom made nature operate in patterns and rhythms. To the Greeks wisdom was like a cosmic data bank, or better – an idea bank – that controlled the movements of life. The radical message of the Gospel challenged all of that. As the Apostle John says in the first words of his gospel – “The Word (wisdom) became flesh and dwelled among us, full of grace and truth.” Wisdom, therefore, is not some abstract concept for the Christian, but a personal God who entered time and space to re-establish a relationship with those He made for Himself and called to Himself. Indeed, the cross is where ultimate wisdom is revealed. It’s where the love of God, and the law of God are reconciled so that we can live in a healthy, thriving relationships with God and others.

We are going to try to unpack all this this week in a message entitled “Wise Relationships”. The text for Sunday is James 3:6-18 and our companion text is I Thessalonians 5:1-11. In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider the following: 

1. What is meant by the current expression – “get a life”?
2. How are relationships a necessary part of getting a life?
3. What are some features of good relationships?
4. Why does James appeal to creation in verse 9 when he excoriates his brothers for their blessing and cursing out of the same mouth?
5. How does what Paul says in I Thessalonians 5:11 fit with what James is saying?
6. How do you define encouragement?
7. In verse 14 James uses the expression “selfish ambition”. Paul uses the same expression multiple times. Do you remember what it means?
8. How does James again show that humility is key to all we say and how we live in relationships?
9. What does Jonathan Edwards mean when he says, “The difference between knowledge and wisdom is the difference between knowing that honey is sweet and tasting it on your tongue.”?
10. What is the opposite of cursing?

See you Sunday!