Eleven and Counting

Posted by Danny

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

As we conclude our study of Theophany, we’ve studied nine of them in the Old Testament (there’s one in Judges we passed) and one in the New Testament. That makes eleven theophanies, but there’s one more yet to come. First, let’s look at the nine:

To Hagar, the God who sees.

To Sarah, the God who delivers.

To Ishmael, the God who hears.

To Isaac, the God who provides.

To Jacob, the God who wrestles.

To Moses, the God who waits.

To Israel, the God who abides.

To Joshua, the God who fights.

To Gideon, the God who enables.

The theophany, which had the greatest impact so far in history, is recorded in the New Testament.

And the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

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The Uncommon ‘Common Faith’

Posted by Jennifer Baldwin

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Titus 1:1-3 "Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ,

Titus 1:1-3 Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
for the faith of those chosen of God	… and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness	…and with all your mind,
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,	…and with all your soul,
but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;	…and with all your strength

 "…to Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior." Titus 1:4

“…my true child in a common faith…”
 

Paul was the ‘Jew’s Jew’… a man whose pedigree and lineage was from Abraham himself, devoted to being a scholar of the law as well as a self-appointed enforcer of the same. His early passion to the law drove him to persecute the ‘cult’ that he saw as following this Jesus…
 

Titus was a Greek, a Gentile. A lineage that was deemed as not part of the promise of the Old Testament law. He wasn’t even circumcised so how could he even hope to find favor with God??
 

And yet, working together in ministry, the ‘spiritual father’ Paul pens this personal letter to Titus, whom he calls his ‘true child’… Paul declares a special relationship with Titus all because of ‘a common faith’… God has shared His gift of salvation with all peoples… including Gentiles!
 

"…remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Eph. 2:12-13
 

A Jew and a Greek… One whose early hope was solely with the law, and one who seemed to have no hope at all…

No one is so near to God as to not need the gospel. And no one is so far from God so as to be beyond the reach of the power of the gospel.
 

United by the gospel through the person of Jesus Christ!
 

"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-7
 

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Gal. 3:28

No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done—you can be reconciled to God by faith alone plus nothing!

In the World but of the Word, John 17:13-19

Posted by Jennifer Baldwin

Thursday, October 7, 2010

"They were Yours and You gave them to Me…I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one…They are not of the world…sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
John 17

In the world but of the Word…

Some lessons stick. This one stuck! It was a story illustration told many times by my Mom and Dad while they were teaching the Word to children.

You would not have thought it of much value. In fact, it sat practically unnoticed in the pawnshop window. Was rather crudely constructed with its misshapen hull and its tilted mast. The paint job was obviously applied by inexperienced hands. “Primitive” might be the word for it. The kind of toy that rests on fireplace mantels or atop antique chests among a home filled with collector’s furnishings. It was unique…a “one-of-a-kind” sort of thing. Most folks passed without noticing it at all. But not everyone…

One afternoon a young boy was walking past that window following his mom to the store down the block. Suddenly he stopped. “Mom! Mom! There it is! There is my boat! That man in the store has my boat!” And though she had errands to run and stuff to do, his mother stopped, turned back, and led him into the store.

“Sir,” said the little boy. “The boat in your window is my boat. I made it in our garage. I cut it out with my Dad’s saw and I drilled the hole to put the sail on it. And I painted it all those pretty colors. It was raining so I took it out in front of our house and sailed it in the gutter where all the water was running. But it went too far down the street and I lost it. That boat in the window is my boat! Can I have it?”

“Son,” replied the clerk, “that boat actually belongs to me. A man brought it into the store and sold it to me. I know you might have made it, but it is the store’s boat now. However, I would be willing to sell it back to you, if you want it.”

Not to be discouraged, the young boy told the man to hold it for him and he would be back in a little while to buy it. He did not even attempt to negotiate a lower price. It was worth it, because the value of the possession, though too high for others to understand, was not in what it was, but in who had made it.

Later that afternoon, the boy was seen leaving the store with the boat gripped tightly in his arms. A couple who was passing by overheard him saying to the toy, “You are mine. You are twice mine. I made you and then I bought you back. You are all mine!”

And to the casual observer, you and I are not too much to look at. In fact, most folks simply pass us by, unnoticed. But the Lord sees us and loves us deeply. And those who pause to listen will hear Jesus say, “You are mine. You are twice mine. I made you and then I bought you back. You are all mine!”

In the world but of the Word…

See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom

Keeping Power John 17:6-12,15

Posted by Jennifer Baldwin

Friday, October 1, 2010

We affectionately labeled it “Daisy Theology”…you know, “He loves me, He loves me not” kind of reasoning.

I pulled old Bibles down from my shelf yesterday. Linda and I were raised in two differing theological “camps” of thought regarding the security of believers, i.e. the doctrine sometimes called “once-saved-always-saved.” So our Bible College years were marked by a hypersensitivity to ANY portion of scripture which would speak in any manner concerning this source of “conflict” in our home. If a preacher would cross-reference a text in his sermon, which in any way spoke of the subject, we would go to the flyleaf of our Bibles and write the reference there. If any book or article we were reading addressed the subject, we quickly marked it down. Bottom line? I think we believed that we would accumulate a serious list of Bible passages on two sides of the argument and then, depending upon which one was the longer, that would be our conclusion. Pretty immature approach to doctrinal convictions…but then, we WERE pretty immature! And the evidence lives today in the flyleaves of those old Bibles.
It is not too difficult to embrace the truth that eternal salvation, including the complete eradication of sin/offenses that condemned us to eternal hell, was not possible in ”works righteousness”, but required the incredible grace of God. Salvation by grace through faith was easy to embrace. But, what about maintaining that salvation once it was received? So we argued over the meaning of “eternal life” and “forever” and all such word battles.

One BIG point of discussion was sort of like this: “How will a person be restrained from practicing major sins if they don’t have the fear that they will lose eternal life for doing the sin? What will hold them back?” Our counter to that was, “Why, if one understands the greatness and costliness of saving grace, would they WANT to go back into old sinning?” And on the argument went.

It was only as we started to grow up as Christians and mature as Bible readers that we began to understand and appreciate the truth that our salvation is never going to be secured on the basis of how well we persevere, but rather on how persevering in His love for us God is. And, that our security in eternal life rested, bottom line, on the greatness of the character of the God who purchased it and guaranteed it. Safe…because He is a great and a faithful God…period!

We affectionately labeled it “Daisy Theology”…”He loves me, He loves me not.” Kind of “cute” when it occurs on the playground. But rather devastating when it is the quandry of the believer’s heart. Salvation is by grace through faith. He is the Savior…we are the saved. He has done the work…we can do nothing to insure and secure it.

Dawn-Marie loved daisies. She would quote frequently from one of her favorite movies, “Daisies are the friendliest flower!” Yes, they do seem friendly. But they have no place in the doctrine of our eternal salvation!

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and My Father are one! John 10:28-30

He loves me. Question solved!

See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom