What is the difference between the concepts of Give Thanks (thanksgiving), Being Thankful, Being a Thankskeeper and one who Counts Their Blessings?
The command of God--to 'give thanks' is the only one of these very good concepts, that forces us to move out of ourselves. Each of the other words defines an internal process, that while good, doesn't have to go anywhere outside of ourselves. Of course, sometimes it--spills over and that is a positive thing, but only the concept of 'giving thanks' has as its core--going beyond the self.
What aspects are necessary to actually 'give thanks'? Wrestle with these thoughts and see if they don't fit your experiences of giving thanks.
1. sense of blessedness--something has been bestowed upon me from without and it was not necessary nor did I earn it or deserve it.
2. realization of obligation--debt of gratitude-an oughtness that I need to respond--- to complete the act and to define the act.
3. expressing of thanks--GIVE IT--give it up! just do it! say it or write it--simply to be thankful is NOT the same thing as giving thanks.
Teaching kids to say please and thank you teaches them to :
1. not expect you to serve them
2. reminds them that your serving is a gfit from you--not a requirement
3. keeps from developing a false sense of importance
4. helps keep from a superiority complex
Giving thanks pulls us out of ourselves--expresses our interdependence and acknowldeges the gift AND the giver.
1 Thess. 5:18 reminds us that 'giving thanks' IS God's will for us.
Here are some of the benefits that come from practicing this admonition:
1. Awareness--makes me aware that there are people, there is a God, there is power at work in my circumstances---I am not alone!
2. Direction--giving thanks catapults us toward other people--out of ourselves. towards people, towards God--There is a way to go to get outside of ourselves!
3. Connects us---to other people, to God and to the power of God at work in our lives--We walk together!
4. Helps complete us--it helps make us whole people--not black holes that absorb but never give out. interdependent.
5. It helps produce wholesomeness--there is something in the process of giving thanks that brings a sense of goodness, of completion, of fullness that is radically different than not giving thanks.
6. Obeying God bring honor to God--in obedience we not only acknowledge God but we affirm the terms of our relationship with Him--He is in charge and we are His children.
Conclusion: What then shall we DO?
Why not take some time right now to find ways to give thanks and to seek to develop a continual lifestyle of giving thanks. Be specific--how and what shall you do?
Monday, November 30, 2009
sermon notes on Romans 9-11WHAT ABOUT THE JEWS?
WHAT ABOUT THE JEWS?
Romans 9-11
Intro. Use this outline in conjunction with your study of Romans 9-11. Often these chapters are used as the primary text to argue predestination vs. man’s choice. The fact of the matter is that these chapters were not intended to be about those issues but rather they are addressing the question raised by Paul’s assertions and demonstrations in the first 8 chapters of Romans that the basis of Law, works and choseness are out the window and in truth any are children of Abraham who have placed their faith in the God of Abraham. If these be true then---what about the Jews?
1. Chapter 9:1-29 God’s choice
a. The Jews are recipients of special revelations and privileges vs. 4-5
b. Not all who descended from Israel are Israel, not by blood but by faith
c. God Himself decides whom He shall bless vs. 10-18
d. God’s mercy, not man’s effort is paramount vs. 16-18
e. Yet man is still held accountable for his choices
2. Chap. 9:30-10:21 Man’s choice
a. Israel pursued righteousness wrongly—by works vs. 30-32
b. Zealousness does not equal nor produce righteousness vs. 2-4
c. Righteousness by faith is a matter of the internal belief –believe in your heart and external expression—confess with your mouth
d. There is now no difference between Jew and Gentile—both are made righteous by the same thing—faith in what God has promised—Christ!
e. This faith comes from hearing
f. And Israel is without excuse—they have heard and were vs. 21 disobedient and obstinate
Illustration: example of a family
A child has nothing to do with their birth—it’s their parents
yet every child at some point makes decisions that affect
their experience of ‘family’—they can stay or run away. Trust or disobey
3. Israel and Gentiles chap. 11:1-29—this is not about individuals but about the entire grouping—remember there are only two groups of people—Jews and Gentiles
a. eldest runs away (the Jewish people as a whole)
b. creates opportunity for adoption
c. grafted in (Gentiles—us)
d. doesn’t mean the runaway can’t be reintroduced—in fact the eldest WILL be grafted back in at God’s timing
e. vs. 26—all Israel does not refer to each and every Jew but rather to Israel as a nation—who now turns away from faith in Christ but one day shall turn ‘as a nation’ to Christ just as the Gentiles have turned to Christ—but certainly not every Gentile. These Scriptures are speaking about people groupings, not individuals.
f. no boasting either way—but great sorrow
g. 11:30-32
a. all have fallen short-consigned to disobedience
b. that God may have mercy on them all
c. c. God will restore His family -- Jew and Gentile
d. in reality God demonstrates that He deals with both Jew and Gentile in the same way—He reveals that both have been disobedient and have fallen short of His glory AND then He showers mercy on both of them based on the same love and same actions through Jesus Christ and culminating in the gift of the Holy Spirit to BOTH groups of people.
Conclusion: 11:33-36 Doxology—what God has done for both the Jew and Gentile is fantastic but it is too much for us to completely grasp. Thank God—who would want to worship a God they could totally understand and comprehend? We have all the information, revelation and understanding we need to live life as followers of Christ through faith.
Jim Swanson shared this little poem with me:
“How odd of God to choose the Jew
not as odd as those of you;
who choose the Jewish God
and hate the Jew.”
We cannot hate the Jew, feel superior nor gloat or be boastful over their misfortune.
They are our sibling. They are before us in the family. We are united with them in the same Promise, we fail as they do through the same sin of Adam repeated in every life through our own trust in ourselves versus trust in God and we are brought back to God through the same Christ, sacrificed on the cross and we share in the same Holy Spirit poured out into our hearts. We have the same Father who has made us both His children.
Romans 9-11
Intro. Use this outline in conjunction with your study of Romans 9-11. Often these chapters are used as the primary text to argue predestination vs. man’s choice. The fact of the matter is that these chapters were not intended to be about those issues but rather they are addressing the question raised by Paul’s assertions and demonstrations in the first 8 chapters of Romans that the basis of Law, works and choseness are out the window and in truth any are children of Abraham who have placed their faith in the God of Abraham. If these be true then---what about the Jews?
1. Chapter 9:1-29 God’s choice
a. The Jews are recipients of special revelations and privileges vs. 4-5
b. Not all who descended from Israel are Israel, not by blood but by faith
c. God Himself decides whom He shall bless vs. 10-18
d. God’s mercy, not man’s effort is paramount vs. 16-18
e. Yet man is still held accountable for his choices
2. Chap. 9:30-10:21 Man’s choice
a. Israel pursued righteousness wrongly—by works vs. 30-32
b. Zealousness does not equal nor produce righteousness vs. 2-4
c. Righteousness by faith is a matter of the internal belief –believe in your heart and external expression—confess with your mouth
d. There is now no difference between Jew and Gentile—both are made righteous by the same thing—faith in what God has promised—Christ!
e. This faith comes from hearing
f. And Israel is without excuse—they have heard and were vs. 21 disobedient and obstinate
Illustration: example of a family
A child has nothing to do with their birth—it’s their parents
yet every child at some point makes decisions that affect
their experience of ‘family’—they can stay or run away. Trust or disobey
3. Israel and Gentiles chap. 11:1-29—this is not about individuals but about the entire grouping—remember there are only two groups of people—Jews and Gentiles
a. eldest runs away (the Jewish people as a whole)
b. creates opportunity for adoption
c. grafted in (Gentiles—us)
d. doesn’t mean the runaway can’t be reintroduced—in fact the eldest WILL be grafted back in at God’s timing
e. vs. 26—all Israel does not refer to each and every Jew but rather to Israel as a nation—who now turns away from faith in Christ but one day shall turn ‘as a nation’ to Christ just as the Gentiles have turned to Christ—but certainly not every Gentile. These Scriptures are speaking about people groupings, not individuals.
f. no boasting either way—but great sorrow
g. 11:30-32
a. all have fallen short-consigned to disobedience
b. that God may have mercy on them all
c. c. God will restore His family -- Jew and Gentile
d. in reality God demonstrates that He deals with both Jew and Gentile in the same way—He reveals that both have been disobedient and have fallen short of His glory AND then He showers mercy on both of them based on the same love and same actions through Jesus Christ and culminating in the gift of the Holy Spirit to BOTH groups of people.
Conclusion: 11:33-36 Doxology—what God has done for both the Jew and Gentile is fantastic but it is too much for us to completely grasp. Thank God—who would want to worship a God they could totally understand and comprehend? We have all the information, revelation and understanding we need to live life as followers of Christ through faith.
Jim Swanson shared this little poem with me:
“How odd of God to choose the Jew
not as odd as those of you;
who choose the Jewish God
and hate the Jew.”
We cannot hate the Jew, feel superior nor gloat or be boastful over their misfortune.
They are our sibling. They are before us in the family. We are united with them in the same Promise, we fail as they do through the same sin of Adam repeated in every life through our own trust in ourselves versus trust in God and we are brought back to God through the same Christ, sacrificed on the cross and we share in the same Holy Spirit poured out into our hearts. We have the same Father who has made us both His children.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Romans 8:19-24
I love Romans 8. The chapter is rich and varied and reveals the mystery of God held secret for so long which is...."Christ in you, the hope of Glory."
But I am also intrigued by this passage from verse 19-24 and while I can come up with no definitive explanation, the speculations of theology can be very interesting. So please accept these rumblings as only Greg's thoughts. Try them on and see how they fit. Here goes:
vs. 19,"The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."
What an intriguing concept. Some how, someway, Creation has been forced to a lower state than before, a place of decay and in the RSV death as well.In fact Creation's fortunes have been intricately linked with the place of man.
Now what can we be sure of from the text? 1. Creation has been frustrated and lowered. It is not allowed to be what it once was and in fact has been brought to a place where it will run down (decay) and die. 2. This is not the picture we receive of Creation in the Garden in Genesis. 3.No where in this passage nor in Genesis do we catch even a hint that Creation is at fault or particiapted in the slighest in Man's rebellion and disobedience of God. 4. It appears that Creation's subjection is nearly identical to Man's, at least in its effect. Frustration, decay and death.
5. So if Creation has no fault, no sin no trespass, why has it been subjected to the same 'curse' as man?
Here is another thing we know. The One who subjected Creation to this aspect of the curse is----God Himself. This is not the desire of Creation but a decision of God's and further more, He links the well being and restoration of Creation with the redemption of Man. Creation cannot and will not be restored in and of itself. The freedom and wholeness of Creation will find its fulfillment only in the wholeness of Man. So "we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."
The things I have just shared above are clearly indicated in this Scripture. These truths have been revealed to us. What is not clear and I cannot find overtly in Scripture is, "why did God subject the Creation to the curse of Man when in fact it has no guilt?
This is my speculation: God created Creation and then He made Man and He put Man in charge of Creation as His caretaker. Man was to name the animals and to care for the well-being of all of Creation. Man was the head steward tasked by God, in charge if you will. Then when Man rebelled, was kicked out of the Garden and subjected to decay and death, a fracture in the economy of God could have been created. Now Man who was the pinnacle of His Creation has been marred and brought low, producing a state where Creation which was 'under' Man would have been more glorious, more beautiful, more alive and more eternal than Man in his fallen state. So then does Creation rule over Man? One explanation that I offer for what happened is this: God's ultimate will will not be thwarted by Man's disobedience. God decided that Creation, which was created to be in relationship with Man would remain in the same relationship EVEN though they were not guilty as to rebellion. So when Man fell by his own disobeience, God cabled Creations' existence and state directly into an unchangeable situation where--whatever befalls Man befalls Creation. As Man suffers and dies so does Creation and conversley, as Man is redeemed and restored so will Creation.
If this is true it at least answers some of our questions. Who subjected Creation to decay and death if it did nothing wrong. Why is its welfare linked with the welfare of Man? Why does Creation eagerly wait and deeply groan for Man to be redeemed and restored?
A further corollary to Man's rebellion and sin is that the effects of our decisions in Adam have impacted negatively--the entire cosmos. But fortunately, the decision and acts of the one Man Christ--has brought and is bringing redemption--for all the cosmos!
One last bit of speculative theology comes out of this passage. If the magnificent Creation we see today is a mere shadow of its former self; if the world has been lowered and frustrated and made to decay; what must of it been like before the Fall? And what might it look like when it is restored?
When the Scriptures say that the 'trees clap their hands in joy' I'm sure it doesn't mean that trees have hands, but can it mean that even now trees have a hidden consciousness that would be openly seen in the Garden? When Jesus says that 'these very rocks would cry out' is this hyperbole or is their some underlying reality that we have lost out on? Have you ever looked at your dog, looked into their eyes and there seems to be this desire to communicate, to speak and yet there is chasm between their desire and their ability to speak. Could this be an example of Creation being frustrated and lowered in its experience so that it might maintain its postion in relationship to fallen Man? I am intrigued by C. S. Lewis' view of Narnia and the creatures who inhabit it. They talk, they live but they are always in the best way when there is a son and daughter (Mankind)of Aslan (Jesus Christ) on the throne (in charge) of the Kingdom.
For sure, I do not know what Creation was like nor what it will be like in the restored Kingdom. I know that the Bible tells us that the lion will play with the lamb and the child with the asp and it will be good! If this broken, fallen world can be so achingly beautiful and yet beset by horrilbe pain and decay, I can't wait to see what a Creation (and Mankind) will look like when the frustration is gone, the decay is arrested and death is defeated. That Day is coming!
But I am also intrigued by this passage from verse 19-24 and while I can come up with no definitive explanation, the speculations of theology can be very interesting. So please accept these rumblings as only Greg's thoughts. Try them on and see how they fit. Here goes:
vs. 19,"The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God."
What an intriguing concept. Some how, someway, Creation has been forced to a lower state than before, a place of decay and in the RSV death as well.In fact Creation's fortunes have been intricately linked with the place of man.
Now what can we be sure of from the text? 1. Creation has been frustrated and lowered. It is not allowed to be what it once was and in fact has been brought to a place where it will run down (decay) and die. 2. This is not the picture we receive of Creation in the Garden in Genesis. 3.No where in this passage nor in Genesis do we catch even a hint that Creation is at fault or particiapted in the slighest in Man's rebellion and disobedience of God. 4. It appears that Creation's subjection is nearly identical to Man's, at least in its effect. Frustration, decay and death.
5. So if Creation has no fault, no sin no trespass, why has it been subjected to the same 'curse' as man?
Here is another thing we know. The One who subjected Creation to this aspect of the curse is----God Himself. This is not the desire of Creation but a decision of God's and further more, He links the well being and restoration of Creation with the redemption of Man. Creation cannot and will not be restored in and of itself. The freedom and wholeness of Creation will find its fulfillment only in the wholeness of Man. So "we know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."
The things I have just shared above are clearly indicated in this Scripture. These truths have been revealed to us. What is not clear and I cannot find overtly in Scripture is, "why did God subject the Creation to the curse of Man when in fact it has no guilt?
This is my speculation: God created Creation and then He made Man and He put Man in charge of Creation as His caretaker. Man was to name the animals and to care for the well-being of all of Creation. Man was the head steward tasked by God, in charge if you will. Then when Man rebelled, was kicked out of the Garden and subjected to decay and death, a fracture in the economy of God could have been created. Now Man who was the pinnacle of His Creation has been marred and brought low, producing a state where Creation which was 'under' Man would have been more glorious, more beautiful, more alive and more eternal than Man in his fallen state. So then does Creation rule over Man? One explanation that I offer for what happened is this: God's ultimate will will not be thwarted by Man's disobedience. God decided that Creation, which was created to be in relationship with Man would remain in the same relationship EVEN though they were not guilty as to rebellion. So when Man fell by his own disobeience, God cabled Creations' existence and state directly into an unchangeable situation where--whatever befalls Man befalls Creation. As Man suffers and dies so does Creation and conversley, as Man is redeemed and restored so will Creation.
If this is true it at least answers some of our questions. Who subjected Creation to decay and death if it did nothing wrong. Why is its welfare linked with the welfare of Man? Why does Creation eagerly wait and deeply groan for Man to be redeemed and restored?
A further corollary to Man's rebellion and sin is that the effects of our decisions in Adam have impacted negatively--the entire cosmos. But fortunately, the decision and acts of the one Man Christ--has brought and is bringing redemption--for all the cosmos!
One last bit of speculative theology comes out of this passage. If the magnificent Creation we see today is a mere shadow of its former self; if the world has been lowered and frustrated and made to decay; what must of it been like before the Fall? And what might it look like when it is restored?
When the Scriptures say that the 'trees clap their hands in joy' I'm sure it doesn't mean that trees have hands, but can it mean that even now trees have a hidden consciousness that would be openly seen in the Garden? When Jesus says that 'these very rocks would cry out' is this hyperbole or is their some underlying reality that we have lost out on? Have you ever looked at your dog, looked into their eyes and there seems to be this desire to communicate, to speak and yet there is chasm between their desire and their ability to speak. Could this be an example of Creation being frustrated and lowered in its experience so that it might maintain its postion in relationship to fallen Man? I am intrigued by C. S. Lewis' view of Narnia and the creatures who inhabit it. They talk, they live but they are always in the best way when there is a son and daughter (Mankind)of Aslan (Jesus Christ) on the throne (in charge) of the Kingdom.
For sure, I do not know what Creation was like nor what it will be like in the restored Kingdom. I know that the Bible tells us that the lion will play with the lamb and the child with the asp and it will be good! If this broken, fallen world can be so achingly beautiful and yet beset by horrilbe pain and decay, I can't wait to see what a Creation (and Mankind) will look like when the frustration is gone, the decay is arrested and death is defeated. That Day is coming!
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