Month: April 2012

Some Further Thoughts… Holy Spirit III

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There isn’t much to add to what was said last night. Key thoughts – in Christ, 1) we are His, 2) we are powerful, 3) we are to walk in step with the Spirit because the Spirit (God) dwells within us, and 4) we are to be “dreaming dreams” and “seeing visions.” God’s plan to dwell with His people progressed as the Old Testament unfolded. God began walking with His people (Adam and Eve), and then called on them throughout when they cried out for Him. This led to His dwelling in a temporary shelter (tabernacle) and eventually a more permanent structure (temple). He came as a man – dwelling completely here (Jesus) and now dwells within His believers (Holy Spirit). God lives in believers. 

One thought that should be made is that the church building is not “God’s house” – the only house He did dwell in has been destroyed (temple) and now we are His temple. While we should respect the building and those that helped build it – it is not because He is in it. What are your questions?

Theology is Good – Article 3

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Thursdays are going to be spent working a little Theology (study of God) together – starting with the EFCA statement of faith found here.

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:

The Human Condition

3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

God’s image is the first thing one should notice here… man was made in His image. Many have argued what that is over the centuries, but all agree that it at minimum is “personhood” or one might say “existence and understanding.” Here are some other ideas (or some combination of these) of what “image” is: creativity, ability to ponder/think existentially, spirit/physical communion (animals and angels do not have both), dominion, speech, wisdom, etc. What do you think “image” is?

They didn’t last long, and were tempted by Satan – leading to sin. Sin is the scourge of the earth, leaving it broken, hurting and longing for freedom (Ro 8:19-22) due to man’s transgression. It was an innocent bystander of Satan’s wickedness. Due to Adam’s sin, mankind is born to sin – doing so without even trying, often. We see this in Romans 5:12-14 and other places. It is this sin, this filth – due to our first choice! – that separates us from a perfect, sinless God. There is nothing we can do to fix this – it alienates us. We are nothing, He is everything. Do you believe this?

Only Jesus can rescue us – do you believe this? It is more than an annoying topic you have heard in church your whole life. It is more than suggesting that we might be bad, but if we are “good enough” we can make it on our own (as so many have said to me over the years). We are separated and alienated. The valley is too deep and the mountain too high. Jesus came to cover those valleys and lower those mountains. We are His – in Christ and only if we are in Christ – and that allows us to be rescued, reconciled and renewed. Are you with Him? Are you moving toward Him? This is unpopular today, I know, but we are sinners saved by a loving God – all of us – and we like to try to do things our way. That way always fails. The only way is His. Trust Him… walk with us… become a follower of the Way.

Tuesday Morning Bible Study (at night)

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We covered two days again – Days 10 and 11. Day 10 covered the clearing of the temple (the first one) in John 2:12-25 and day 11 covered Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus in John 3:1-21.

Our discussion for Day 10 dealt with the passion Jesus had for His Father’s house (the temple). He threw out the money-changers because they were extorting the sacrificial system and causing the poorest to pay for their sacrifice in a steep fee (Lv 1:14, 5:7). How do we know this? Who does Jesus call out in John 2:16? Notice the correlation! We all took away that Jesus had a zeal for His Father’s house – and we should too! This does not mean the “church building” that so many consider “church.” This is not God’s house – we are (1Co 3:16, 2Co 6:16). We should be showing a zeal for what He has given us – which is the fifth “root” of Jesus’ way – a passion for God’s name, honor and glory.

Day 11 led us to look at the way Jesus talks with Nicodemus. We remarked about how Jesus talks to him. There are some interesting things to pick up and apply to how we talk to others about Jesus. What do you notice about what Jesus says? As you study John 3:1-21, what do you see and what does it mean to you about how you share theology with others?

Mondays are for Movement

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The staff here at Fuse Student Ministries have been hard at work for what our discipleship path will look like. Since Mondays are for movement, let’s spend some time looking at the first part of this pathway. Our desire is to engage our culture and to find ways to help non-Christians see Christ clearly through us. Some are left wondering how to do this or are worried that they cannot “properly” share the good news of Jesus (evangelize). So we are trying to help you. Think of a person that doesn’t know Jesus yet and try to do one of these things:

1) expose a need – Jesus is the answer for all of our needs. We believe this to be true. However, not everyone realizes that they have a need for Him. We are not proposing here that you go around sharing people’s faults with them, but that you point them to Christ as needs are made known. Many that we come in contact with are having problems (all are not honest about them) and we believe Jesus to be the answer to that problem. No matter how big or small the problem is – direct them to Jesus. This would be exposing a need.

2) trust a Christian – Who doesn’t have a story where someone that is a “Christian” totally blows it or does something that makes one want to run from this faith full-speed? It is our job to help people see that Christ-followers are not what everyone says we are. We aren’t mindless drones that are endlessly happy and on drugs. We also are not creepy, weird (completely) or radically different than most people. We just have a savior who is helping us move through this life and enacting change in us. We can be trusted – now go to your mission field and show it! Also, if you have blown it, repent and ask for forgiveness – that is what a Christ-follower does. We are not perfect, He is, but we are letting Him have control.

3) explore God – Invite a non-Christian into a discussion or Bible study or something that will allow them to ask questions and have a place to interact with a believer in a less threatening place than church on a Sunday morning or  on a youth group night. Help them to explore – and your personal study will increase, as will your questions/ability to answer.

4) receive the Gospel – There is no greater joy for me than to see people come to Christ! We do the first three things (in relationship) hoping and praying that hearts will be softened and God will be praised by a new member of the family that found their way back to God (thanks, Dave et al). 

This is how we engage our culture – so get out there and do it – be a light in a dark world!

Some Further Thoughts….

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I think I would like to use some portion of this blog on Mondays to have some follow-up to the lesson/message on Sunday nights and provide the chance to answer any questions you might have… so fire away!

In follow up – the Free Church does not take a cessationist view of the miraculous gifts and has nothing in our doctrinal statement that shows a sensitivity to them. We do believe, as you can see in the statement, that we take a Biblical perspective on everything. This means that we want everything to be done with the biblical guidelines – and only then (interpreter present, worship being orderly, etc). While the interpretations of this may be varied, we will agree to disagree on some things – put the power in the local church’s hands and let them decide. This is our only position the topic. 

Further, it would be wise to read 1 Corinthians 11-14 to get a feel for how these gifts fit into the local church. You will see quickly that the church in Corinth was really messed up. They had an issue with women in worship, as they were not obeying Scripture but were following cultural norms and causing men to stumble. Further, they were having issues with the Lord’s Supper and Paul gives them guidelines. Chapter 12 shows that Paul needs to remind the church why the church exists. It does not exist to follow certain gifts or idolize those that have these gifts. The gifts are to serve the church and help it out – not the other way around! Clearly some were using their gifts wrongly and there were some arguments brewing because of this. Paul goes on to show that love must be the foundation for all in the church (1Co 13). Lastly, he goes on to show them that each gift also must not take away from the worship needs of the church. In this, the church must not be disorderly in its worship and must be guided in a way that allows all to see God clearly, not taking away from Him!

Lastly, there are some different interpretations concerning tongues and the different forms they appear in. Here is an article to read if you have ever heard of the concept “prayer languages” and are curious. If you haven’t, you don’t have to read about it (especially if all of this is a little new and you are feeling overwhelmed – it will be here later!) right now but can come back to it when you are ready.

Questions concerning the sign gifts?

Theology is Good – Article 2

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Thursdays are going to be spent working a little Theology (study of God) together – starting with the EFCA statement of faith found here.

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:

The Bible

2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

There are a few things here that differentiate us from other denominations here, as well as showing how we are different from other faiths (Mormon, Islam, etc). First, we believe that God inspired the Scriptures through human authors. They are His words – spoken through the personality/writing style of an author. They are God’s words… This may seem logical to some of you, but that is not the case. Many today are looking at the Bible from a secular/literary perspective and not seeing it as His word – we in the EFCA do not. Second, we believe the Bible to be without error in the original writings – and the final words of God (no need for the Qur’an or Book of Mormon, etc). This means you can trust the word – and all the archaeological finds concerning the books of the Bible are supporting this. The Qumran scrolls showed us that the manuscripts used to translate to English and other languages are nearly exact matches. The only differences are minor and there is great work being done to show which is a mistake and which isn’t (like a handwritten “n” looking like an “r” or something like that). This also means that God has protected and sustained His word through faithful writers and scribes for centuries – how awesome is that! 

We also believe that the Bible is the ultimate source of knowledge and that every “discovery” should be judged through the lens of God’s Word first and foremost. This suggests that we believe the Bible and science to not be at odds, but partners. This should give us pause when looking at theories or discoveries so that we assume that the Word of God will win out in the end. This means that we do not believe or follow ideologies that begin with assumptions that are godless or agnostic in their origins. God is there, has spoken, wants a relationship with us and we are merely discovering His mechanisms, plans and design when we “discover” something. Start there, we say, and you won’t be let down! If all this part of the statement is true, then the last part should come as no shock. If God has spoken and told us how to live, we then must believe it, obey it and trust it with our lives/hopes/dreams/problems/situations/etc. God gave us His word that we might have life – read it, learn it, trust it and believe it.

Book List – part 1

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I am building a book list that will be posted at http://www.bethefuse.com for books that I have read and thought would be helpful. This is a list of books that I read for our current series on the Holy Spirit.

Forgotten God by Francis Chan

The Holy Spirit by RA Torrey

The Holy Spirit by Billy Graham

The Mystery of the Holy Spirit by RC Sproul

Mystery of the Holy Spirit by AW Tozer

The Spirit…Inspiration by ZT Sweeney

Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

Systematic Theology by Norman Geisler

Christian Theology by Millard Erickson

Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie

There are more to come – promise!

Tuesday Morning Bible Study

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We covered two days of our study this week – Day 8 and 9. The 8th day deals with Jesus’ call to the disciples. We see two calls given by Jesus early on – one is “Come and see” and one is “Come and follow.” The first is a call to the world – “come check it out” and “see that the Lord is good.” What are you doing in your life to call others to “come and see?” Does the world know that you are a follower of Jesus? How? 

The second call is huge. Following is about more than just checking out or knowing someone. You only follow someone you trust. You follow those that you want to have the lead. You follow those that you want to emulate. In every area of our lives we follow people. First, we follow our parents (even if we don’t want to) and learn their lifestyle, habits and issues. Some of them stick, others do not – but we follow. Then, we follow our teachers and acquire knowledge the way they show us to. Some teachers don’t get that. They are bored, so they bore us and we give up on school. Those who are passionate transcend the classroom for us and help us learn. (Jesus was more than this, by the way). Then, we get jobs and we have to shadow and be trained so that we can be effective at our jobs. You get the picture – this entire life is spent learning to become effective. Yet, we think too often that all we need to do is pray and that makes us a Christian (which the word “Christian” means “little Christ”). Are you becoming a little Christ? Who are you following?

We spent some time looking at multiple passages that show how Jesus was prophesied about. He is for us to follow.  The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was the first – we must follow the pioneer (He 12:2), the one who blazed the path for a healthy relationship with God and others. He was foretold, became what we needed Him to be and now beckons us to follow – will you join Him?

Day 9 revolves around Jesus’ first miracle – turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana. Some interesting things: Mary initiates this miracle, it is a miracle of abundance and not necessity, His disciples are confronted with the reality of His deity and believe in Him, Jesus was all about a wedding party, Mary trusted Jesus’ power and Jesus was walking by God’s timeline. What do you take away from John 2:1-11?

The main point was this: Jesus was a real person – fully God AND fully MAN. He had a family, expectations on Him, etc that allow us to follow Him. He knows what it is like to have His mom asking Him to do the seemingly impossible (grades, cleaning, etc in our context). He knows what it is like to be misunderstood and left feeling weird about it. He was different. He was real and became all we needed Him to be. We needed a Savior we could relate to. Jesus was this. While we cannot turn water to wine, we can understand so many other aspects of His life. How do you relate to Him?

Mondays are for Movement

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I have a desire to see a movement created. I want to (as you can see in the other posts) see a church united and moving- leaving sin by the wayside, reaching the lost in a city and going deeper with Jesus. So Mondays are going to be dedicated to information spurring us on towards creating a movement.

Here is the first post in this line and the prerequisites for seeing a movement happen:

1) Prayer, worship, study of Scripture (Inflow)

At Redeemer, we talk about a “Passion for Jesus” – are you passionate for Jesus, passionate about Him or living like many around us: saying that we know Him while remaining unchanged. This is not to be judgmental. I am just asking. As I talked with some of our leaders yesterday, we discussed our “culture and context” here in Milwaukee. One of the things I have realized since living here is that many in this 5-county area think they know Jesus but don’t. They go to church (sometimes twice a year!), try to be good (on their own power) and suffer through life as many generations of their family have done before them. This is not passion. When I speak of developing this passion – through prayer, worship (lifestyle) and Bible study I get rolled eyes and excuses. Yet a movement does not start without getting closer to Jesus. One does not get closer to Jesus by living the way you’ve always lived… you need to develop a relationship with Him by prayer, worship and study of His inspired Word.

2) Community/fellowship (Inflow)

This is NOT cookies or a potluck after church in the “fellowship hall.” This is doing number 1 with others. Jesus sent His disciples out two-by-two to do ministry (Luke 10 and others) – never were we supposed to do this alone. Who helps keep you accountable? Who do you talk to about God’s Word and what it is doing in you? Who are you transparent with? Who feels like your brother/sister and pushes you towards better things? Who prays with you and challenges your sin? Who knows you sin? I could keep going, but you get the idea – movements are done in community and fellowship.

3) Investment (Overflow)

Who are you investing in? Does God show you/teach you so much that you can’t be quiet about it and pass it on to others? Who are you leading? What are you giving? What would you die for? What would you sell everything for? This life started by sacrifice. Jesus died for you and you died so that He could live (Ga 2:20). If we are called to the same sacrificial mindset (Ph 2:5-11), we must be willing to stop at nothing to see His movement start. It might will take a radical set of people really following Jesus to see His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

4) Be intentional

Take steps carefully, waste no time and move ahead. I am dreaming of the day that I have a “war room” in my office with a map of church plants showing the ground we are taking for God. We are in the middle of a battle and we need to get moving. We must think how every conversation can move us ahead. Every empty store/office building/home may be used of God to change a community. We just don’t think intentionally too often. Too often we get focused on our kingdom/our life/our needs. Let’s pray and ask God for wisdom about who we should be investing in/where we should be going/what is the next hill to take/why we are sputtering. He will grant that prayer every time.

5) Pass it on (Repeat)

Don’t do “discipleship” and think that sitting in a class is enough to develop into a mature Christian. That statement seems too harsh – but I mean it. We are not sponges – we are hoses. We are meant to pass it on. We are meant to make disciples who make disciples. Imagine if Jesus’ dudes/ladies had kept it to themselves like so many of us do. Imagine if they had just passed it on to their children, like many today believe is the only answer. The church would get smaller/dwindle/die. I am grateful that they passed it on with the expectation that they would pass it on, etc. How are you doing? Are we creating a movement or an occupied territory? Those are two different things entirely. I am tired of occupying – I want a movement!

Theology is Good – Article I

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Thursdays are going to be spent working a little Theology (study of God) together – starting with the EFCA statement of faith found here.

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:

God

1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

So, what does this mean? We believe in one being – God who is three distinct persons existing in one (meaning we believe in the Trinity) being. He is holy (meaning “set apart” or “different than us”), perfect in every possible way, loving and eternal (meaning above or outside of time – no beginning and no end). God’s three persons are known as 1)Father, 2)Son and 3)Holy Spirit. They are all God, have and will always exist in these three persons. God is all-knowing (omniscient) and all-powerful (omnipotent) to do whatever He desires to do. He has purposed (not happen-stance) that man should be redeemed and all should be made new. So we wait for Him to do this, trusting Him and believing that He from outside of time knows best when all this will happen!

What does all this mean? God is good and exists in three persons. We don’t understand the mechanics of this, but believe it to be true. It is a great mystery that separates us from every other faith. There are ways to try to explain it that all fall short. Our God is one who is mysterious and chose to reveal things about Himself through the Bible, His Word. We call this specific or special revelation. He is also revealed in various other ways, like Creation and this is called general revelation. He is mysterious and holy – making Him different and unknown. Yet He is not unknowable to us because He is relational – meaning He wants to have a relationship with us. He showed this by sending His son, Jesus, to die on the cross as atonement for our sins and giving us the Holy Spirit to guide and instruct us. He wanted to redeem us and did this Himself. This shows His desire for relationship and now we work on this relationship to grow it deeper, by the leading of His Spirit to be “made new.” One day He will do this to the earth, whether it is ready or not, on His timing (not ours) and will lead to a new age where those who love Him are with Him forever. Do you have a relationship with Him? How are you being made new?