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David Timmons
The current threat to our peace is biological with political overlay. The threat in the first century church was the pressure from society, family of origin, government. The stories that Matthew collects in Matt. 18 -20 provide the solid foundation that having the community of love and support that is the only heaven in a scary world.
Last week we looked at how opposition brings out the reality of your heart. This week we will explore how Jesus lived and taught consistent with his heart especially in the face of opposition.
Jesus gathers followers and opposers. The core issue that determines which identity is most stable and successful is consistency under pressure.
When Moses comes down from the Mountain and heads toward the LAND, he is leading 12 tribes that are learning to be a whole people in the Wilderness. When Jesus comes down from the Mount of the Sermon, he moves into intense ministry bringing new people together. The wilderness is the Emergency Room to put things Right.
Matthew challenges us to follow Jesus and his message as whole people. He records Jesus' challenge to his followers to live in righteousness that exceeds that kind that they saw in the people around them.
Matthew is writing to help people see the real Jesus. People who need to understand the difference between Jesus and the local Rabbis. He is the King, Messiah, Son of David, Son of God, Son of Man. . .
We're surrounded by it in our American culture. One might say we take pride in being proud. I think we American Christians sometimes forget just how much God dislikes pride. Today, we look at humility, the opposite of pride. It's a quality God raves about! He loves humble people, and He goes out of His way to lift them up! I want to get in on that! Anything God enjoys so deeply should be one of my top priorities. So join me today as I think about how I can take some steps toward humility.
Philippians 2 is Paul's unique perspective on the incarnation of Jesus. In the context of asking his readers to have a better attitude. Paul provides us with a deep and interesting look at Jesus' purposeful letting go of divinity and His willing sacrifice as a servant. May today's lesson give us motivation to have the same attitude as our Lord Jesus Christ.
The miracle of resurrection merely confirms the message of the miracle of birth. New Life comes to humans through God who is born into human life.
It all starts with a story that reveals a purpose and sets the stage for further developments. "In beginning, God Created . . . and made man in his image." Far better than 'once upon a time' don't you think?
Our society elevates the value of freedom to the highest moral imperative. Is that healthy? Freedom is a great blessing, but can it carry all the weight of directing our choices?
This morning we will hear from Brandon Maxwell, co-founder and Director of Development of the Whetstone Boys Ranch
Our culture has produced more "stuff" for more people than any other in history. Yet, we have become more "selfie-centered" than any culture in history. We need a New Ego to grow in the internal desert that many call home.
Our past is either Satan's greatest weapon or God's most powerful tool. The glue that holds in our past is guilt and hardens into shame. Jesus knows our shame and has a powerful way to unstick us.
Hope is the missing element in most of the discussions about the future these days. Where do we find some and what difference does it make?
How God acted then, is how He acts now. This simple observation opens insights from past generations to provide hope and faith to us now. The Psalmist who wrote Ps. 107 opens our eyes into God's heart for people stuck in the midst of life's challenges.
Zechariah is chocked full of verses and phrases that the later writers of the New Testament used to explain who Jesus from Nazareth was and what He was doing in our world.
Haggai was part of a team of four leaders who God used to energize a very discouraged community faced with rebuilding Israel and a new temple. In four messages over four months, he helped the people understand that God must be taken very seriously before life is good.
The nature of the words the prophets were given to deliver are attention-getting and troublesome on purpose. We want God to show up and make our lives easy. Joel seems to think that wheel God shows up, it will be more terrifying and bring more focus to our commitments
We live in a loud world. We surround ourselves by noise and oftentimes, when things are quiet we'll put on some music, or turn on the TV just to have some noise. Today's lesson is a reminder of the value of silence in our walk with God. We will look at several different aspects of and reasons for silence. "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth be silent before Him". - Habakkuk 2:20
A heavy load is placed on the shoulders of Habakkuk as he confronts God in a dialog reminiscent of Job. This prophet asks hard questions in a confusing, threatening environment. God replies with direct and challenging words that still ring true today.
God has a passionate commitment that flows from His great love for his creation and man as his image bearer. He refuses to allow us to walk around in the pain of lives filled with corruption: the cancer of the soul. So He brings judgment just like a surgeon brings a cure for physical cancer.
God gives a heavy message to Nahum to deliver to Judah about their torturer. Assyria has strayed so far from the life that God created for humans that they will receive what they have sown. From God, not from Judah.
After sin entered the picture, separation occurred between God and man. Since that time, God has relentlessly been chasing us down. Because of Christ, we now have a way back in to the intimacy of God. What is our response to that?
Micah's name is also the theme of his prophecy. He focuses on who is God and how we can know what he "requires" in hearts and societies. He viewed disruption, corruption, and exploitation common in his Judean home (740 - 690's BC) as the direct result of not building relationships on justice, love, and humility before God.
Father’s Day – Today let’s examine the story of Hosea. Hosea is a story about a broken family; but it is also a story of restoration to the only Good Father. Hosea examines how God's people who became unfaithful to God, were ultimately restored to a foundation of Hope in God.
While Jonah was sent from the Northern Kingdom to Assyria. Amos was sent from Judah to the North. His message is heard to hear. In fact, they tell him to leave. His words are direct and hard to hear, but often those words are the words that save lives.
During a series of national crisis, God brought insight and encouragement from a series of unlikely messengers.
We want to remember and not forget. But as Christians what should we remember? In the beginning, man sinned and put up a barrier between God and us. God though does not want to leave us in this fallen state. We are on a journey to return to the intimacy of God's presence. Thankfully, God has provided us a Way, back through the veil.
When we're kids, we long for the days when we can make our own decisions, when we can eat what we want, go where we want, and do what we want.
Then we grow up and realize that there's bills to pay and prices to pay for any decisions that we've made. Many times we look back and long for those carefree days of our youth. The Bible tells us we need to grow up spiritually. But why should we? Won't we regret it?
Our emotional and spiritual health rests on a foundation of connections. We are reliant on having an environment of acceptance and a source of truth to be able to grow into mature disciples.
The reason that relationship connections are so dominant in our lives is so central to who God is. We are created in His image, which includes the ability to feel deep emotion and build strong connections to others.
The choice of Passover for Jesus' final presentation of his mission and vision for humanity wasn't accidental. Th Meal, the festival are full of meaning that shows the heart of what Jesus was trying to get us to see.
Teaching on the way to and from locations seems to be important to Jesus. His disciples are changed in ordinary everyday highs and lows.
When we commit to follow Jesus, the real work begins as we strive to have an environment of love that begins growth. That work is relational so let's work with how relationships are formed and enriched.
How does suffering become a contributor to our life with God? Peter points us to a life in an environment that turns suffering into blessing.
Peter has two big ideas on his mind - Submission and Suffering. How can submission be a way to achieve God's purpose?
The shape of the Kingdom we read about in the New Testament seems vastly different than what we experience today. Is the shape of the Kingdom we have now really what God had in mind?
Peter's letters to strangers and exiles comes from a heat shaped by his life long craving to walk with Jesus through every life situation. He provides deep insight into what he learned along the way.
There is a contrast running through the New Testament concerning the nature of spirituality that builds faith. Paul shows us that contrast in Colossians.
Faith Acts is the central dynamic of our life with God. But how do we follow that in hostile environments and through difficult challenges?
Isaiah introduces how God will accomplish His purpose through a Servant who is described as the Arm of the Lord. The description is very unexpected and still is.
Today we celebrate new additions to our church family and dedicate ourselves to be faithful parents, grandparents, brothers, and sisters, advisers and friends to these children the Lord has placed in our care.
Chris Stewart will speak to us from Eph. 3:14-21 about why and how and what we can pray to become the people God has called us to be in a world in need of His love.
Jesus brought into the history of man a unique view of life "from outside." His resurrection was a life-changing event that leads into life with a future "running through our veins."
The nature of a promise is to provide confidence and permission to trust. The hope for what is expected depends on the assurance that the promise is unshakable. Three examples of God's promises, provide an anchor for kingdom living.
Not only is Hope alive, it brings life. Hope is an intensely practical necessity as we learn to follow Jesus in a world that blinds us to the unseen.
Hope keeps us connected to the future, but sometimes life is so challenging that we desperately want God to change things. We encounter a pain or an outright evil that challenges our faith and defies our hope. Why doesn't God just....?
The essence of our life with God revolves around three common words that define the place where God resides.
Jesus told his disciples that the Spirit would be their guide, their counselor. Jesus had to go back to the Father, but the Holy Spirit has stayed with us to instruct us, to give us boldness, to fill us with its fruits of joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. The Spirit worked powerfully in the book of Acts, protecting and directing the fledgling church as it grew. Today, we look at the work of the Holy Spirit throughout Acts, and think about how It works in our lives today.
Why so much emphasis (two chapters) on the voyage to Rome? God will not be stopped. His gospel will go to all people.
Paul appears before four separate officials from Rome's government. Each pronounces him innocent. To each he presents the central idea of the Way - Resurrection is God at work to restore life to His creation.
Paul sets his face toward Jerusalem in the full confidence that he will face arrest and prison. He arrives to warm welcome from fellow believers and hot controversy from former zealous friends.
Paul's three year stay in Ephesus set the stage for God's church to continue to grow and mature. In a very hostile place God shows His greatness.
As Paul travels from Athens to Corinth, and begins a life long relationship with people shaped by a culture very similar to our modern world. His focus will not surprise you as he leads them away from themselves into a loving community.
Paul is once again on a missionary journey. Acts Chapter 16 is chock full of interesting and creative narrative. Today we will explore Paul's evangelistic efforts in the city of Phillipi and ponder on ramifications of his actions there. We will also think a bit about God's plan for us and the joy of the Lord.
One of the earliest disputes that the early Christians had to face was the great gap between the Hebrews and the Gentiles. We have a difficult time understanding the reasons, but the outcome is vital to being a family with one Father.
Barnabas and Saul are sent by the Holy Spirit to bring God's disruptive message of the intrusive Creator God for all people. Why Jesus for all people?
Barnabas and Saul are sent by the Holy Spirit to bring God's disruptive message of the intrusive Creator God for all people. Why Jesus for all people?
Paul's encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus is a clear model for understanding what living in the presence of God means.
As the people following Jesus begins to increase, they encounter more hostile counter-pressure from certain groups. Stephen shares the core story that results in a faith that stands unmovable.
The community of the Word immediately become the target of official opposition from without and internal relational issues. The test is will they continue following as the world responds around them.
The people we follow in Acts were drawn to the stories shared by the Apostles about Jesus. The result was the creation of a community of followers that changed the world.
Our ability to follow the way of Jesus depends on how we see, what we are listening to, how we walk and how much we share with others. The healing of the blind, dumb, lamb, and mute has more than the mere physical event.
The events of Pentecost are truly the birth of a community of the Promised Spirit. Without the Spirit of God the church doesn't exist.
What does the life and death of a man, any man, 2000 years ago have to do with our lives today? Nothing, unless He didn't stay dead and is alive today! The man who came and walked in our hurts was God among us to heal. And He still heals today.
What do we do when faced with an impossible demand? What is our response when it seems that God's requirements are beyond our ability to obey? Do we get frustrated? Do we give up? Do we dig in and in determination do our best to meet God's demands? Here is God's ultimate lesson to Abraham. Our task is to learn that lesson ourselves.
We're in chapter 18 of Genesis this week. God appears in human form! He eats with Abraham and He has a couple of lessons to teach. As we go through the narrative, think about the ways God has revealed Himself to you in the past. Those moments when a Scripture just jumped off the page and spoke to you, when you felt His presence in worship or in sorrow or in nature, when you saw His character in the actions of a friend. As Paul says, God is in all things and through all things, He is with us, and like Abraham, He is constantly trying to teach us. May we be open to His teaching!
In Gen 16 and 21, we are introduced to Hagar, Sarah's servant girl. In her story we see consequences of mistakes, we see the difficulty of making choices and keeping promises, but through it all we see a God who is faithful. When we study the story, we see ourselves and with Abraham we can learn wonderful lessons about our Lord and our relationship with Him.
In Gen 17, the covenant with Abraham and his heirs is given more specifics, like circumcision and that Abraham and Sarah with their names. A relationship is always reciprocal and has promises and expectations.
Inheritance is one of the powerful themes that begins with the Story of Abraham. The Creator makes a promise.
God rescued Abraham when he made the bad decisions to go to Egypt and lie about his wife. Now he gets to apply his learning by rescuing Lot after Lot makes a bad decision. Abraham also meets a mysterious guy named Melchizedek. What will he learn from these events? What can we learn from studying them?
God rescued Abraham when he made the bad decisions to go to Egypt and lie about his wife. Now he gets to apply his learning by rescuing Lot after Lot makes a bad decision. Abraham also meets a mysterious guy named Melchizedek. What will he learn from these events? What can we learn from studying them?
God is teaching Abram some important lessons in the chapters we will study today. As Abram leaves his pagan religion, his family, and his land, God slowly reveals His will, His faithfulness, and His promises. As we walk with Abram on this journey, we can learn so much ourselves of how God interacts with us. He is constantly seeking to take us out of our comfort zone, out of our reliance on the things of this world. He is constantly working on us, shaping and molding us into the image He has planned for us to be.
John closes his letter with a powerful summary of what we can know so that we can live in confidence and boldness.
John pulls no punches in this section of 1st John. We must love. We are obligated to love. God is love, as His children how can we be any less than loving? This morning we will try to unpack the meaning of these thoughts, to give us a great goal to start the New Year off right.
Why does the world call to us? Why is it so difficult to ignore its call? John knows our struggle and gives us some great thoughts on what specifically the world uses to hook us and on what we can do to reject its pull.