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It’s been two weeks since I’ve given an update here, and that’s actually since we’ve had a lot going on!

Last week, our music director started several weeks of medical leave, and Brian B. helped lead our music in her place.

Over the last two weeks, we’ve had some trouble with the boiler that heats about a third of our building.  The problem seems to be fixed now, but took about two weeks to resolve.  We thank God for the help from North Park Services to get things going again.

This week, we assembled the contribution statements for 2008 contributions.  Since we changed accounting systems partway through the year, many members will get two statements, one for the first part of the year and one for the second part.  All that should be necessary to get your total amount given for 2008 is to add the two together.   We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.

For the next three Sundays, we will be looking at what it means to praise God through the Psalms.  This week, we will look at Psalm 111 and how praise and wisdom work together.

I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday!

…”the present form of this world is passing away.”  (v. 31)

We live in a world that is changing at a rate never before seen in the history of the world.  Culture and technology together propel us into new ways of thinking and acting on a daily basis.  We are constantly making adjustments to our lifestyle - and sometimes in radical ways. 

Therefore, we as a people should be better equipped to deal with Paul’s statement than many cultures have been.  Communication structures, cultural norms and mores, even global outlook - all these seem radically different than they were even a few years ago. 

Paul speaks to a people who seem to be going through some social crisis alongside their transformation into Christlikeness.  Depending on the translation of the word in v. 26 (impending or present), it sounds like they are either in, or preparing for widespread trouble. 

While it is possible that this is just preparation for trouble that could come for being followers of Jesus, Paul makes no reference (which he often does elsewhere) to suffering for the Gospel, or because the world is against Christ.  Therefore, it seems that this should be more of a socio-economic crisis than a spiritual crisis. 

Yet at the same time, he speaks of “the appointed time”, the kairos.  The kairos has grown short.  This could speak to the parousia as well.  The interpretation of this is key to the passage.

Whatever the case, the short kairos requires radical lifestyle change.  If we are running out of time, we are not to mess around.  If the present form of this world is passing away, then we should not invest time or energy into it.  Also, relative to v. 32, Paul wants us to be free from anxieties. 

Mourning and rejoicing took longer periods of time than we do in our culture.  It would make sense that if we are spending a lot of time mourning and rejoicing than we are to set that aside to do what God has called us to do. 

He’s asking the people to focus on the things of God, not on things that will cause anxiety while things are in turmoil.

Now for a translation that might help:

So I say this, brothers: the window of opportunity is closing - and quicker than before!  So from here on out, even those who have wives, should be as though they don’t have them, and those who are grieving as though they are not, and those who rejoice as though they are not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they posess nothing, and those who make use of the world as though they did not use it at all: for the world is in the middle of a scene change.

If we are in a scene change, we must get ready for the next scene.  That means everything changes.

My, my my, it’s been cold, hasn’t it?

We are also getting our share of snow!

We get calls regularly when the weather gets like this as to whether we will cancel services.  We don’t plan to cancel services for the weather.  If you feel like it would be unsafe for you to travel in whatever weather conditions, please do not feel like you must come to church!  We want everyone to be safe.  However, if you feel like you can make it out in whatever weather, please join us! 

We continue to expect God to do great things with us this winter.  We know that God loves to show up when we praise him.  That is why for the first three weeks of February, we will be focusing on how we praise God and what the results of praise are.  I hope you will come join us for a time of praise and worship!

I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday!

1 Corinthians 6:12 - 20 is a difficult passage to preach on in today’s societal environment.  I think, however, that vv. 10 - 11 should help us see how to live a graceful morality through this passage.

Many of us were once deeply involved in sin - and none of these things will inherit the Kingdom.  Nevertheless, we have been washed, made holy, and made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God. 

V. 12: “All things are lawful for me” is Paul’s quote of the Corinthians.  Paul never actually negates this idea - in that they were not under the Law, but under grace (see Rom. 6:14).  Nevertheless, he argues strongly that there are two major liabilities with this approach to life.  First, not everything is beneficial.  It may be permitted, but it is not good for us.  It may be allowable, but not of benefit to us.  Second, “I will not be dominated by anything.”  To Paul, the passions of life, including our sexual desires, are to be mastered and kept in bounds, and not allowed to run rampant all over everything.  Then, they end up running our lives - and, in his words, ruining our lives.  When our lives keep the boundaries God has for us, we are better able to live his life, and these things can be of benefit to us rather than not beneficial. 

V. 13: “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy both one and the other.”  This is another place where Paul quotes the Corinthians.  Some translations allow that the second half of the sentence is Paul’s response, but this does not coincide with his later statements about the body in v. 14 ff.  The Corinthians’ attitude is much like our American attitude today: our body parts are designed to do certain things so why not just let them do their thing - stomach, other parts, etc.  Why have these parts if we aren’t going to use them to their fullest?  This seems to correspond to “kids have all the right parts and they’re going to use them and why shouldn’t they” attitude in American society. 

Here, if Paul is responding to the Corinthians in the 2nd half of the sentence, he is saying that “these things too shall pass away.”  But I find it more likely that he is continuing their quote, in which they are basically saying that the body is not going to matter at all since it’s the spirit that is what lasts.  I think that this works better in light of 1 Corinthians 15 and even the discussion in 1 Corinthians 8 about food sacrificed to idols.  In other words, the Corinthians seem to actually not care about the body very much from a spiritual perspective.  This is not to say that they do not care about their bodies; to the contrary, they seem to be caring alot about their bodily desires.  But they do not see their sexual acts as running contrary to their Christian faith.  There seems to be a division between bodily life and Christian faith for the Corinthians. Libido and orientation are no excuse, then, according to Paul.

This is not unlike our American attitude of “live and let live.”  But Paul counters this attitude with what the body is really for: “the body is not made for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”  This directly counters the “stomach” line.  They have a mistaken purpose for their bodies.  Their bodies are made for the Lord, and somehow the Lord is here for the body as well. 

V. 14: “And God raised the Lord and will raise us by his power.”  God has a greater purpose for our bodies than eating, drinking, sexing, etc., can ever achieve.  He desires to raise our bodies from the dead - which means that they are valuable to him for his eternal purposes.  They are not merely shells for our minds.

V. 15: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?”  Our bodies are actually the physical body of Christ, just as much as our minds/wills/spirits/emotions/souls are part of Christ.  This is a very radical, incarnational concept that Paul is using here.  This means that our bodies are of great importance.  Therefore, should we unite the members of Christ with a prostitute?  Never!  How much sense would that make?  Of course, most prostitutes in Corinth were related to temple worship, too, so there is a pagan worship issue here that could be explored. 

v. 16: Paul extends the marriage line from Genesis 2 to include any sexual activity.  This is his argument against fornication.  Uniting Christ with a prostitute is inappropriate.  Uniting Christ with someone in a way that does not give glory to Christ is inappropriate.  You are actually uniting Christ with someone with whom you are sexually active.  In the marriage context, this is holy - but apart from that, it seems strange and wrong. 

v. 17: “Everyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him”.  We are as united to the Lord in the Spirit as we are to our spouse in the flesh.  This is how our bodies unite with Christ. 

v. 18: “Shun fornication.”  We are to avoid it completely!  This is a sin against the body of Christ - because we have united Christ with someone inappropriately.  Fornication is a sin against our own bodies as well, because we do not recognize their value and degrade them even though they will one day be raised. 

v. 19: Our body is the sanctuary (the inner part of the temple where the presence of God is) of the Holy Spirit.  This comes from God.  This applies collectively and individually.  But the individual is where he speaks here - since the Holy Spirit is present in our sexual activities, by implication. 

V. 20: We are not our own, we were bought and paid for.  We do not have the freedom to do what we desire because we are not owned by ourselves, but by God.  Therefore, it is our job to glorify God in our body.  Our bodies matter.  They are God’s.  They will be raised.  He is present in them wherever they go and whatever they do.  Will what we do glorify God?  We must always keep this in mind.

Happy New Year (again)!

I’ve been back in town about a week now, and it’s good to be back.  This Sunday, we will be doing our annual renewal of baptismal commitments, and joining together for a potluck dinner after church. 

Why do we renew our baptismal commitments annually?  I believe this helps us to renew our commitment to Christ and remember what we are all about.  It can be a way of examining ourselves to see whether we are following through with what we have said we would do.  This helps us to create the structures in our lives to guide us into greater faithfulness to Christ. 

This week, Phil G. volunteered to cover our Fellowship Hall windows with plastic to keep the drafts down, and he also installed a thermostat box for us.  Thank you Phil! 

I look forward to worshipping with you this Sunday!

This Sunday, I’ll be preaching on Acts 19:1 - 7.  I will be preaching in the context of our congregation’s annual renewal of baptismal commitments.  This may affect the way in which the text comes across. 

There were already some disciples in Ephesus when Paul arrived.  Given the preceding passage about Apollos (Acts 18:24 - 28) and his theological transformation, it may be that these were Apollonian disciples. 

The key question and subject in this passage seems to be the Holy Spirit.  The disciples were ignorant of the Holy Spirit when Paul asked them about it.  They had never been taught about it. 

Paul’s question implies that receiving the Holy Spirit was considered a part of becoming a believer.  It may imply that the Holy Spirit himself was invoked at baptism - an oblique attestation, perhaps, even of the Trinity.

So what is the difference between John’s baptism and Christian baptism?  John’s baptism was a cleansing baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins done to prepare people to meet the Messiah and follow after him.  Christian baptism baptizes us into the death and resurrection of that Messiah and makes us a part of his Kingdom life. 

The laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit does seem to be a part of Christian baptism at this point.  In one case in Acts, the case of Cornelius in chs. 10 - 11, the Spirit seems to show up prior to baptism; elsewhere, there seems to be a connection to this laying on of hands.  He later says to the Ephesians, “in him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is a pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.”  (Ephesians 1:13 - 14)

Disciples who have incomplete knowledge of the faith are teachable and receive from those who teach with authority.  Paul as an Apostle also can do prophecy, evangelism, pastoring and teaching but mostly initiates and builds ministry in new places.  This is part of that ministry. 

The purpose of this passage for us will be as an opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit and be renewed in Christ.

On Sunday, I will be preaching on Jeremiah 31:7 - 14, with a pre-selected sermon title called “Rejoice in God’s Restoration.”

This passage gets started in Jeremiah 30:1, when YHWH Elohim-Israel declares that he will restore Israel and Judah, and bring them back (from exile) to the Land. 

In the midst of great distress - indeed, it seems, at its apex - YHWH Sabaoth will free the people from slavery and bondage to foreigners and serve YHWH as their Elohim-Israel and David as their King. (vv 5 - 9)  There shall be nothing more to fear (vv 10 - 11), and YHWH will heal the incurable wounds (vv 12 - 17).  Moreover, YHWH will restore the places where Jacob lives - including cities and fortresses.  There will be joy; the few will become many; and they shall be honored; all who oppress them shall be punished.  (vv. 18 - 20) 

The prince shall emerge from the people and approach YHWH.  (v. 21)  This is the promise of Jesus Christ.  There is a hint of both kingly rule and priestly intercession here.  Dependent on this, it seems, is the renewed covenant declaration for YHWH to be Israel’s Elohim and they to be his people.  (v. 22)

Then is the declaration of wrath (vv. 23 - 24) which is the context for the beginning of ch. 31.

In 31:2 we first hear that the exile is an act of grace, not merely punishment.  The exile is declared to be “wilderness” - evoking the Exodus.  It is grace because the alternative was the sword.  YHWH appeared to them (i.e., was present) even under these unlikely circumstances (v. 3).

[An alternative reading of v. 3 indicates that the narrator (Prophet Jeremiah) had a dream of this prophecy beginning from the time when Israel looked for rest.  This reading would indicate the dream ended in v. 26.]

YHWH then declares that he has loved them with everlasting love - an implicit contrast to Israel’s unfaithfulness.  Instead of being adulterous, he calls Israel “virgin”.  There shall be great celebration, and a restoration of healthy agricultural life.  (vv. 3 - 5)  Then, they will want to go to Zion to YHWH Elohim’s presence. (v. 6)

Now for the passage at hand:

YHWH tells the people to sing, shout and be joyful, praise and say, “Save, YHWH your people, the remnant of Israel.”  (v. 7)  Even though they are still in distress at this point, the promise has already been issued, and therefore the proper response is to celebrate already, while still encouraging God to do what he has promised. 

How will he save the remnant?  Among other things, he will draw the scattered people back.  This includes those who normally cannot travel - the blind and lame, the pregnant and those in labor.  They will weep as they return, but YHWH will console them as they walk along fertile areas rather than mere wilderness. 

It is YHWH who has scattered; it is he who will bring about restoration.  This is declared to the nations outside of Israel. 

YHWH has redeemed Israel - bought them back.  They will celebrate in great joy - and especially over the abundance of YHWH’s provision and his goodness. 

Now, for the following context:

The voice in Ramah, lamentation and weeping, is rejoined with “there is a reward for your work.”  “There is a hope for your future.”  This is to the parent of those exiled.  (vv. 15 - 17)

Next, Ephraim begs to come back, and declares how he repented after he ran off.  He acknowledges his discipline is from YHWH and YHWH has mercy on him.  (vv. 18 - 20)

But it seems they aren’t sure if they want to come back.  So he tells them to set up signposts and keep track of where they are so that they can  return.  YHWH promises to restore their strength and their cities.  (vv. 21 - 25)

This is the end of the dream.  (v. 26)

The following context involves the creation of the new covenant and the expansion of Jerusalem.  (vv 27 - 40)

Let us consider the application of this passage to our current situation.

Happy New Year!

(And, remembering last week’s update, Happy 8th Day of Christmas!)

Many people make New Year’s Resolutions at this time of year - deciding how they want to be better people and change something about themselves.  Oftentimes, these resolutions fall by the wayside because we do not have the kind of structures built into our lives to actually make the changes stick.  For many people, this can lead to a cycle of self-defeat. 

There is another way of looking at life transformation, though: when we look to see what God is doing and join him in that activity, we can resolve different kinds of things that help us develop into those who reflect Christ’s character.  God has provided us with activities that can help us work on yet another area of our lives. 

So what do I see God doing this year at First Baptist?  I see a number of things God is working on. 

First, I see God desiring to deepen his relationship with us.  In our prayers, we call God “Father.”  God desires to know us better and us to know him better.  We can do this most effectively by developing conversations with God - yes, that go both ways - through prayer, and by studying the Bible, which is the uniquely accurate story of who God is and his interactions with his people. 

Second, I see God desiring for us to grow in love for one another.  One of the most common references to the church in the New Testament is the analogy of the Family of God.  We all come from families that are, to a greater or lesser extent, broken.  God desires that we grow in love for one another so that we can model a new kind of family life, and truly exhibit God’s kind of life to each other.  We can do this most effectively by realizing we are a family no matter what, and, having discerned our role in the family through the discovery of our spiritual gifts, to carry out our family life together by serving one another through the use of our spiritual gifts, our talents, our abilities and our material resources. 

Third, I see God desiring for us to bring his Good News to those around us who do not have his Good News.  This is the career and vocation of the Church of Jesus Christ.  Once again, this is not for the purpose of aggrandizing one particular congregation or even convincing people of a particular worldview, but because we truly believe that God has come in Jesus Christ to set everything right and that only through receiving his forgiveness and re-aligning ourselves with him will we receive the fullness of life.  We can do this most effectively by maintaining and developing relationships with those outside the church wherein we have the opportunity to demonstrate God’s Good News.  This can be friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and even strangers.  But this works best when we have done well with the first two things God is doing: it is only then that we have something to demonstrate. 

Fourth, I see God helping us to develop a sense of what Christian maturity looks like, and the differences in roles in the Church that develop as people begin to mature.  This happens most effectively when we discern what maturity actually looks like and then having the appropriate structures in place to work step-by-step in that direction.  This happens best as we develop in the first three things God is working on, and begin to apply that to the congregational setting - no matter how we used to do things before. 

I pray that in this new year these four things can be the model for how we grow together as God’s people!  We know God loves us, desires us to love one another, and others, and grow toward maturity in Christ.  So let us resolve to do those things, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I look forward to returning to worship with you this Sunday!

Merry Christmas!

By the time you read this, I will be in Illinois enjoying the holiday with my family.  I pray that you may have God-filled times with your families and friends this holiday as well.

Next Sunday, 28 December 2008, we will have a special guest speaker in my absence.  You certainly have heard of her - Michelle Stoutamire, our music director.  Last month, she was recommended to me by the Council to be the person to bring the Sermon message for that Sunday.  Please make sure to be there to hear the message God has given her.

Many people have heard of the Twelve Days of Christmas in that rather rediculous counting song with the turtledoves and french hens, drummers and maids-a-milking.  Long before the popularity of that particular song, Christians have celebrated twelve days of feasting at the Christmas season, from December 25 through January 5 (inclusive).  This is because Advent (the four weeks before Christmas) was seen as a time for fasting, repentance and preparation for the coming of the Lord. 

These days, we tend to do feasting the whole time - but there are some famous traditional remembrances we can make during some of these Twelve Days of Christmas.

On the Second Day of Christmas (Dec 26), we can remember the life, ministry and witness of Stephen the Martyr, whose story is told in Acts 6:1 - 8:1.  He was the first person recorded to die for the message of Jesus. 

On the Third Day of Christmas (Dec 27), we can remember the life, ministry and witness of John the Apostle, the brother of James and the author of the Book of John. 

On the Fourth Day of Christmas (Dec 28), we can remember the children of Bethlehem who died at Herod’s hand when he attempted to be rid of Jesus. 

On the Fifth Day of Christmas (Dec 29), we can remember Rev. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canturbury, who was killed by the knights of King Henry II of England for standing up to corrupt political authority. 

On the Eighth Day of Christmas (January 1), we can remember Jesus’ participation in the old covenant, since on the 8th day he was circumcised and formally given his name - that he might save his people from their sins. 

Let us continue to celebrate God’s presence with us as he has declared himself to be Emmanuel: God With Us!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is nearly upon us!  For many people, this is a very busy time of the year.  There are parties to go to, and shopping to do.  There are end-of-the-year reports to file, and other things that get done only in December. 

But for many in our community, this is a very hard time.  Many families are scattered across the country - and have trouble getting back together for holidays.  Other families are close by, but have serious trouble when they get together.  Others are realizing that the winter, which began early this year, has already reduced their finances and times are getting harder. 

This week, we have received a number of calls for food and other assistance.  These hard economic times are causing people to turn to the church for help.  This provides us with an amazing opportunity to bring the Good News to those who are in need. 

This Christmas Eve, we will provide an opportunity to help those in need by bringing non-perishable food items to the Christmas Eve service.  As a part of our time at the Table, we will present these gifts to God for the relief of the poor and needy in our congregation and community. 

Our Christmas Eve service will be at 7:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall.  Please invite your friends, neighbors and family to join us for this night of worship and of service to God. 

May God bless you this Christmas!

+ Pastor Matt Thomas