Jesus Suffered: Hebrews Chp 2

I am preaching through the book of Hebrews, and expect to post on Hebrews many times in the weeks ahead.  While Hebrews looks a little like a letter (epistle) in many ways it is more like a sermon.  That makes it really easy to preach.

I recommend reading Hebrews 2.  When I preach this sermon, I read most of it as the text; it isn’t long.  The writer of Hebrews contends that Jesus tasted death for everyone, and that his suffering has made him the perfect founder of our salvation.  Because of it he is not ashamed to call us brothers.  Through death, he defeated the one with the power over death – the devil.  Because Jesus suffered, he can relate to those who suffer.  He suffered when tempted, and understands the human condition of being tempted.  We do not have a god that cannot relate.  He is a better high priest because of it.  James 1 teaches that God does not sin, and is not tempted to sin.  Jesus was tempted, but did not sin.  He can empathize with our situation.

I found reading 1 Peter 2 helpful in dealing with the suffering issue (particularly vv. 18-25).  Jesus suffered as an example for us.  He did not revile when wrongly accused.  He did retaliate; he returned evil with good.  Peter says Jesus acted with kindness and gentleness even to those who were evil.  It is a credit to us and brings glory and honor to God when we his children do not return evil for evil.  It was in God’s plan for salvation for Jesus to do these things.  Isiah said it pleased God to crush him.  Isiah 53, which Peter quotes, tells us that by his stripes were are healed.

It may be hard to understand.  The love of God surpasses understanding.  No matter what we suffer, it can never compare to what Jesus suffered on our behalf.  Whatever we face in this life, he can relate.  He is an ever-present source of hope and strength.  The reward in the next life far outweighs anything we endure here to obtain it.  In spite of his suffering, at the end of Jesus’s ministry his desire was that we share in his joy.

The Symbol is Not the Thing

I don’t normally come home from church and blog my pastor’s sermon.  I know some people do.  I am making an exception.  The following is my take on the Sunday a.m. service preached by Ken Bolin of Manchester, KY.

I Samuel 4:1-11

Luke 22:14-23

In I Samuel, the Israelites confuse the Ark of the Covenant for what the Ark represented, namely the presence of God.  They wrongly assumed carrying the Ark into battle would protect them.  A similar mistake was made about the Jerusalem temple during the time of Jeremiah the Prophet.  Because the temple was there, God’s dwelling place, the city of Jerusalem could not fall to the Babylonians.  It did, just as Jeremiah had prophesied.  The Ark of the Covenant was not God; not only were they defeated, but the Ark was taken and those who bore it were killed.  The Ark of the Covenant symbolized God’s presence.  God was not in the box, as perhaps they thought.  God was not the box, and the box was not God.  They confused the symbol with the thing it represented.

In the New Testament Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper, or communion.  Believers are commanded to take it in remembrance of him.  The bread represents the body of Jesus that was broken, and the fruit of the vine represents his blood.  Make no mistake; these things symbolize the body and blood of Jesus.  The symbol is not the thing.  We must be careful not to make idols of the symbols in Christianity.  The image of the cross, an ichthus (fish shape), a crucifix, even the Bible, are things that represent our Christian faith.  Do not worship them instead of God.

Because of Michael Spencer

A week or two ago, this blog passed 100,000 page views.  It’s because of Michael Spencer that I blog at all.  I used to read InternetMonk and occasionally make a comment, and I was fine with that until his pod cast started.  When I got my first iPod, I downloaded the first 20 episodes of iMonk Radio, and ate those things like candy until I finished them.  I had so many thoughts, ideas and responses running around my head that I went to WordPress and started pushing buttons.  March will be two years.

Bible Survey: Abraham Meets a Priest

If you had your thinking cap on when you read the story of Cain and Abel, then you should have made certain observations.  These guys are building alters and offering sacrifices, but at this point no Law has been given nor instructions for such things as alters and sacrifices.  Had God told them personally to make such an offering?  If you have such questions, then good for you. You’re paying attention.  I can’t answer your questions, but it’s a good sign you have them.

If those guys making sacrifices bothers you, just wait till you hit Genesis 14.  Abram is blessed by Melchizadek, priest of God Most High.  Still no Law, no Moses nor Aaron, to temple or tabernacle, but here is a guy worshiping God Most High, blessing people, and apparently receiving tithes.  If Cain and Abel gave you some questions, Melchizadek ought to give you an aneurysm.

Read Abraham Meets a Priest at Bible Survey.

Welcome to WordPress MBC

We live in what is called the Information Age.  Just one generation ago, Americans found out about what happened in the world around them by tuning in to a 30 minute televised news broadcast at 6:30 each evening.  Walter Cronkite, who only recently passed away, was the very first news anchor.  Today, with broadband mobile devices and public access to high speed Internet, we are never more than a few seconds removed from breaking news that happens anywhere on the globe.  There are of course those people that Tweet each individual item they put into their shopping cart, resulting in what the kids call TMI (too much information).

The point is that any data can be accessed instantaneously, and to overlook the potential to share the Gospel would be foolish.  I wish to welcome Manchester Baptist Church in Manchester, KY to WordPress.

God Sent His Son – Hebrews 1

I am about to start a sermon series on the book of Hebrews, and will endeavor to share those messages here.  Hebrews ties together the Old and New Testaments by showing how Jesus is carrying forward into the church age the work started by God among the Hebrew people.  Written to a Jewish audience, the letter to the Hebrews strives  to prove that Christianity is the continuation of Judaism, and not something else entirely.  If you have ever questioned why a Christian should read or study the Old Testament, this book will be an eye-opener.  Quite simply, most of what God was doing in the Old Testament was meant to help us understand the work of Christ in the New.

Bible Survey: Abraham, Man of Faith

The Bible Survey project took something of a hiatus when my daughter Johannah was born.  The few posts that exist continue to attract page views, presumably through search engine results for the key words.  Ridden with guilt about never getting past Gen 11, I am ready to pick up the torch.

Abraham is the first man of faith we encounter in the Bible.  At Gen 15, a significant event takes place in the relationship between God and man.  It is neither obedience nor sacrifice that makes Abraham right with God; it is what he believes about God that counts as righteousness.  Join me at Bible Survey to continue the journey.

Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and the Kingdom of God

Lincoln, King and the Kingdom: what’s the relationship?  I’ve always wondered who in the government decided to put Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) together.  Although my students will tell you that sometimes I get a little preachy when I teach history, I’ve always tried to not lecture history from the pulpit.  This time, I’m going to ask that you indulge me just a little bit.

It’s always around this time of year that my American History class studies the Civil War.  It just so happens that right in the middle of that, my wife and I visited D.C. over the Christmas break.  I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and looked across the reflection pool toward the Washington Monument.  The words of the Gettysburg Address are carved into Lincoln’s memorial in 12″ letters.  It’s hard not to come back and say something about it.

There is Much to Pray For

I noted at church this morning there seems to be more things to pray about than usual.  We’re in one of those seasons that “casting our cares upon him” takes a little more time and effort, but seasons change and this too shall pass.

Pray for the people of Hatti, as well as those who will go there bringing relief and doing what they can to help.  I know a group of church pastors personally who make regular trips to Hatti, and even now are gathering donations and preparing to go.  Let’s ignore the Pat Robertsons of the world who claim this is God’s judgment, and mobilize to give aid and live out the Gospel.  I don’t think Jesus would sit around saying “I told you so.”  He touched the sick, ate with sinners, washed the disciples feet, and told us to do the same.  We have blessed with much so that we can bless others.

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

I’ve written before on just who the Magi were and where they might have been from.  The truth is, we don’t know how many wise men visited Jesus nor where they came from.  The traditional names Casper, Melchior and Balthazar are from the Western Church tradition; Eastern Orthodoxy and Ethiopian Christianity offer different lists of names.  Were they from Persia?  China?  Like I said, we don’t know.  They were not at the manger either, but that’s another story.