Why do we exist?

The Stupid Things People Do!

Two men tried to steal some cash by pulling the front off an ATM machine in Adelaide. They ran a chain from the ATM to the bumper of their 4WD – but instead of pulling the front panel off, they pulled their bumper off. Frightened and with people looking on, they drove off – the chain attached to the ATM, bumper attached to the chain – license plate attached to the bumper. And no – they didn’t use a stolen car.

Another guy in need of a beer decided to throw a brick through a liquor store window. He heaved the brick at the window with all his might – it bounced back and hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The windows were made of Plexi-Glass. Even better – the whole thing was caught on videotape, and the storeowner sold it to the TV stations.

Why tell these stories?

Simply to ask the question – why do such people exist?

There are so many people who seem to lack purpose – or pick the wrong purpose to run with. It’s said that we all have a purpose… but when you look around in our world you would have to ask – really? Everyone in this world has a purpose – really? Is that what we see in the world? In your community? People living out their purpose? What about the church – do we see people living out a purpose?

I reckon one of the most common purposes people lay claim to is “to simply make a difference”. We’re here to serve, help others, make the world a better place – not hurt anyone. And maybe for many people purpose has something to do with money and houses – they might claim something else but surely their purpose is linked to how they spend all their time and energy in the pursuit of?

Why do we exist?

Psalm 63 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God’s name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.”

God’s Love

David’s got it? You’d have to say David had a profound understanding of God – a very deep relationship with his Heavenly Father. From everything we can understand about David we know that he wasn’t afraid of venting his feelings and saying what he thought. He was a king who really did love his people and love God’s people. His words are not just words – they reflect what’s going on inside.

Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

David was probably writing as he hid in the desert from his son – Absalom wanted to kill him and take the throne. That’s gotta hurt!

“The kingdom’s mine dad”.

“Over my dead body son.”

“Ok dad!”

This is written in the cut and thrust of a painful life. As he reeled at the thought that Absalom wanted him dead… he also clearly saw the inner workings of the world.

Psalm 63:2 “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.”

David had seen God’s power and might over his lifetime. He had seen it in the life and history of Israel – as had Israel. He had seen it in the building of Israel, in the riches and might of the kingdom and the prosperity of the nation. He had seen it in the promises of God coming true – land, freedom and peace, nationhood and a vast population. He’d seen it in his own personal life as well – a dead infant son, rejection and pain, a family war. This is not ‘out there’ stuff that David is talking about – when he says, “I have seen…” he means “he” has seen. And – taken notice! Through personal, often painful experience he’d found God’s love was worth everything!

Psalm 93:3-5 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

Why does David glorify God?

David says that his soul will be so satisfied that it’ll be like 3 o’clock Christmas Day after the family feast.

Why does he declare himself satisfied?

Psalm 63:6-7 “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Why?

Because God’s love is better than life!

Tease that out – God’s love (friendship, protection, riches, faithfulness, kindness, support, care – and more) is better than holding onto riches, family, health, food, prosperity, friendship – even love. He says it again…

Psalm 63:8 “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Better Than Life

Back in 1984 – Boxing Day – we watched the TV in horror as the Tsunami swept everything before it. But for me one of the saddest things in the aftermath was seeing Christian ministers and priests unsure of what to say or do. I recall one guy standing in the midst of devastation as he was interviewed for TV saying “how do I tell people God loves them in the face of this.”

Whilst I can see why he was frustrated and distressed – he missed the point.

As King David writes Psalm 63, telling us about his anger and pain, about his foolishness and sin, his highs and lows – always in the midst of that reality is the truth about how the world works – the truth about God and God’s character, might, God’s gentleness, mercy, kindness, strength, wonder, beauty, power, presence – love! The truth is – hard to see though it can be and often is in this world – God’s love is better than life.

David learnt that giving glory to God is the purpose of life. He dedicated himself to God – and lived most of the time in God’s service. He had some major lapses – hopefully far bigger, from our point of view at least, than we will ever have – yet he comes at the last to the truth – he will give God glory by his lips, his actions, by his praise and willingness to be obedient, by his trust – he will cling to God and bring God the glory because that is the central truth of life.

Psalm 86:9-10 “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvellous deeds; you alone are God.”

The Mission – Our Purpose

The very purpose of our lives fits hand in glove with God’s plan – that is to glorify himself – for the world to glorify him – for every living creature to declare the wonders of God’s majesty might and power – to have the very earth and universe itself declare the wonders of God. The reason Jesus came to die and rise again was to bring God glory. He says to his disciples – as he faces his impending death…

John 12:27-28 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

People says Jesus came for a huge variety of reasons – but Jesus says his purpose – was to come to the point of his own death on the cross – the pain, physical and spiritual agony that the cross would bring – that is the reason for his existence – obedience even unto death – and to bring God the glory of a Son who obeys, a son who by his obedience declares his Father’s Lordship and power. “Father, glorify your name!”

John 12:28 “Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

God the Father speaks and declares that what Jesus is doing is precisely what God has planned – God is bringing glory to himself and we are part of that plan – not that we can thwart God’s plans – he will be glorified no matter what. But we are called and commanded by God to be like his Son – even if it means obedience to the point of death – that will bring God glory. In the face of the Tsunami being able to declare God’s love and mercy may be hard – that’s why we keep going back to the cross. In David’s words…

Psalm 93:3-5 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”

David knew nothing of the cross – but his words certainly fit. In the face of a disaster and destruction we are to bring God glory. We are to declare his love and goodness by pointing people to Jesus on the cross. Instead of doubting God’s goodness we are called to look to the cross and be reminded that God is good and loving and powerful. That doesn’t mean the world will listen – or agree. Most will think we’ve slipped a cog – that our faith is the worst kind of foolish escapism.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24 “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

This is one of the great things about the mission we have from Jesus – we are commanded by God as his creation to live in obedience to Jesus and declare the wonders of God’s love as demonstrated in the cross – and in doing so to glorify God. Even if no one listens we can be obedient and bring God glory.

Psalm 93:3-5 “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

Real Men in Church

Real Men in Church – Men After God’s Own Heart!

What would you say to men if you had the opportunity – about men being men in the church?

What does it mean to be real men in the church?

I was thinking about who we see as real men – I guess we tend to think adventurers…

• Edmund Hillary – climbing Mt Everest
• Chuck Yeager – first man to fly at Mach 1
• Donald Campbell – land speed record holder
• Ken Warby – water speed record – inventor of the phrase “that man’s an idiot”
• Captain Joseph Kittinger – you don’t know this one do you? Jumped from a balloon at 31.3 kilometres and free fell at a terminal velocity of 988kmh (1960).

But does the fact they do daredevil stuff – make them real men? Or are they just idiots putting their lives in danger? One of my mates is right into mountain bikes – proper down-hill-if-you-fall-off-you-might-die mountain bike racing – he fell off recently – broke his kneecap, leg, arm, shoulder, 3 ribs and the little wings off 4 of his vertebrae – he’s a good bloke but I’m not sure I want to say the fact that he’s an idiot who wants to race down mountains on a push bike makes him a real man. He’s also a firey so maybe he is!?

Maybe it’s the warriors – war heroes. If we’re giving out real men awards we might consider pilots in WW2 – the Germans were targeting V1 rockets on London – the pilots would fly alongside and use the Spitfire wing to tip the rocket off course causing it to explode harmlessly in the air. That is impressive manly stuff.

Maybe we think of actors – Charlton Heston, John Wayne, Cary Grant, George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Will Smith, Sam Worthington… Bruce Willis… has nothing to do with them being real men – some of them seem like good blokes, down to earth – some of them are more female heart-throbs than real men – but I guess if I’d said Jim Carrey, Rowan Atkinson or… Adam Sandler – they don’t quite fit the right image?

Maybe real men are the blokes on Top Gear – TV for real men – Richard Hammond – real man? Jeremy Clarkson – real man? James May??? Puts us in a bit of quandary – it would be hard to think of a TV show better suited to real men – yet the presenters are so different? Our own version of the show with Shane Jacobson and two other blokes – well it was a flop even though Shane is pretty much the stereotype of the big Aussie man – burgers and bbqs and beer – a total boofhead.

The Husband Store

So I discovered the other day that there’s a new store in New York – called “The Husband Store!” It’s a store that sells husbands – for women to choose the perfect man. As you enter the store you’re greeted like royalty and escorted to the lift – and handed an instruction sheet.

You may visit the store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and as the lift ascends each level so do the qualities and attributes of the men. You can choose a bloke from any floor but you can’t go back to a lower floor!

So, this woman goes in one day to find a husband. Into the lift and up to the 1st floor – the doors open and she reads the sign over the doors; 1st Floor – these men have jobs and love the Lord (it’s America).

Sounds great – but what does the next floor contain. So up she goes. The lift opens and the second floor sign reads; 2nd Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

Tempting – really who could want for more! But she presses the button. The doors open… 3rd Floor – these men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are extremely good looking and guaranteed to remain faithful.

“WOW”. This is sensational – yet she feels compelled – she might miss out… so she pushes the button. The doors open and she reads… 4th Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are incredibly good looking, guaranteed to remain faithful and help with the housework.

Tempting as it is to simply rush out and grab one off the rack she can hardly stand the suspense, and simply presses the button, fidgeting as the lift ascends. The doors open and she reads… 5th Floor – these men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are unbelievably gorgeous, are guaranteed to remain faithful, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

She almost pounces on the button, hardly able to contain herself wondering what on earth the 6th floor might hold that could be better. The door opens and she steps out, eagerly scanning the sign, a large electronic display which reads… 6th Floor – You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely to prove that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Men after Gods Own Heart

So we’ve got men in the world… we’ve got women’s expectations… and we’ve got the church – us!?

How do we be real men in the church?

The Bible has a huge amount to say about being real men.

In Acts 13 Paul is explaining the OT to a group of Jews and Gentile converts to Judaism – on the Sabbath in the Synagogue – he goes through their history so they can see that Jesus truly is the long awaited Messiah. And he speaks about King David – and David had one particular quality, different to the kings of surrounding nations and different even to the rest of the kings of Israel.

Acts 13:21-22 “Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”

Saul was a shallow vain king – just like the kings of surrounding nations – in the end he had no relationship with God. But God’s assessment of David before he was king – a man after God’s own heart. We read the same words in Jeremiah 3 – one of the main OT passages that speaks about the coming Messiah, at a time when Israel is falling apart and are looking for God to save them from themselves – Jeremiah speaks of a time to come…

Jeremiah 3:15 “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”

Jeremiah is ultimately talking about Jesus – the passage goes on to speak about the coming of the Messiah.

What do we know about the Church? I’ll tell you the big one – we know that the church is God’s! We belong to God – in a very real sense we are his possession – Christ is the king.

2 Corinthians 6:16b “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

The church is God’s people living God’s way – God has given us the promise he gave Israel – to be our God and that we would belong to him forever and share his glory.

Let’s pull this all together. David as King was not to be a ruler like other rulers who used their position to lord their power over others. He was to be a servant king and particularly to serve Israel as a model – the people of Israel were called to follow David’s example as a man after God’s own heart. Just as we Christians are called to follow Jesus – not simply in his footsteps or doing good works or preaching the gospel or whatever – but to follow Jesus who was a shepherd ‘after God’s own heart’. This is not about leaders and ministers but about ordinary Christian men and women – and I’m just looking at us boys today – as we look around the Bible at what it says about us men – we are to be men after God’s own heart. We are to be men whose life and heart is from the same mould as God’s. Having been made in God’s image, to have a heart that strives after that image. That was the thing about King David – he was not perfect – in fact at times he was an appalling sinner, though I’m sure we can’t throw stones his way. God chose him not because he was beautiful, handsome, tall, politically connected, well liked or from the right family – he was the youngest son of a family of shepherds – a total nobody. God chose him as king because his heart belonged to God.

In our world we value our men if they are strong, wise, shrewd, educated, have nouse and guts, manage people, use time well etc. They might all be important – or not – but when we come to the church we need men who are men “after God’s own heart”.

I like that husband store joke – you’re not sure whether to laugh or just smile knowingly.

Let me tell you another.

A man was walking along a Melbourne beach, deep in prayer for the people of Tasmania – and he calls out to God; “Lord grant me one wish”. The sky clouded and a booming voice said, “Well mate – you have been a faithful servant so I will grant you one wish.” The man said, “Build a bridge to Tasmania so I can drive over anytime I want to take the gospel to those godless men and women.”

The Lord answered, “Whilst your motives are pretty good think of the logistics – the bridge supports into Bass Straight, the storms and danger – the concrete and steel required just makes it a huge job – you know I can do it but it’s pretty hard to justify. Think again – ask for something that would honor me”.

The man thought for a long time and finally said, “Lord, I wish that I could understand women. I want to know what they feel inside, what they are thinking when they give me the silent treatment, why they cry, what they mean when they say ‘nothing’, and how I can make a woman truly happy?”

After a few minutes God said, “How many lanes did you want on that bridge?”

Jokes are fun – but jokes also tell us about our world – and especially about the damage sin has done – about the damage between men and women. We know that God’s judgment against men and women in Genesis has come true – women desire to be in the role of men and men want authority over women. And in lots of churches I reckon that the consequence we are seeing is that men take a back seat in church life and we just keep the ladies happy. That’s a strong statement I know and maybe it’s not true here – but I have to say I’ve seen it enough times – it’s easier to let the women have their say in how churches work.

Yet I would say what we need are churches with men taking the lead – just like David did with Israel – maybe we won’t all be king – but then David’s job was to be an example first.

I don’t just mean that men should be taking on all the different ministry roles in the church. Every minister wants to fill up the program with people and then create more programs requiring more people. What I really mean is that men should be doing David’s job – being men after God’s own heart and taking the lead, being the example in life and love and faithfulness and service.

Titus 1:5-9 “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”

This is not just about the overseers and leaders but about the men – just as David was to be an example of a God driven character to the people of Israel – so Titus is to be and to appoint men with God’s heart to the leadership of the church that they might be the example to all men in the church.

Jesus says the same thing to his disciples – after they have walked dusty roads in sandals – and Jesus is on the floor washing their feet and says…

John 13:15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you

Jesus is the head – the chief shepherd – he wants us to be faithful, to be men after his own heart – to be servants – and his practical example was that he washed their feet and said – go and do the same thing.

The leaders that Titus is to choose are not good leadership material – they are simply real Christian men – not actors, athletes and adventurers – but rather Christian men whose characters are modelled after Christ and shines through the day-to-day mess of life.

Maybe we need to ask… why do we need men with character in the church – men like David?

We could go to any number of passages to see why. We could look at Ephesians 2 and talk about the fact that we are God’s workmanship created by God to do good works in Christ Jesus. We could look at 1 Corinthians 12 and the Spiritual gifts that we have all received.

But have a look at 1 Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:12-17 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.

I reckon the world needs to see that men go to church – men are involved in church life – not because their wives are or their families but because we know – we know deep down inside us that we have been saved from our sins – that despite the fact we in no way deserved God’s grace… he has given it to us anyway. Men need to see men as Christians. Women need to see it – our wives and daughters need to see that men stand for Christ and we should be leading them in the faith. Our sons need to know that we have turned away from sin and to Jesus and that we are taking the opportunities to grow and serve. Why – because we want them to share what we have received – surely? I want my wife to know the fullness of God’s love for her so that she will be safe forever. I want my son and daughters to know what it means to be a Christian and how to live as a Christian in this crazy confusing world – and no-one else is going to do what I can do – no-one else is going to care like I do that they are safe.

I like Paul’s words to Timothy because there is no doubt in Paul’s mind what has happened. He was a thoroughly convinced persecutor of Christians – he would leave Richard Dawkins or any of the modern atheists in the shade – a blasphemer and a violent man – Paul not Dawkins. Paul’s life was turned around by the grace and kindness of God – grace poured out even on a terrible sinner like Paul. And Paul gets it – it drove his life from that moment.

If the church was filled with men who got it – who like Paul were driven by the conversion, driven by the change in their life at the hands of God – what would we see? What difference would it make?

Are you driven by the change that Christ brought to you?

If you’re not a Christian – just investigating maybe – that’s cool – cause if you decide to follow Jesus you need to know what you are up for. Jesus wants you – he designed you for a relationship with him – so now is very defiantly the time to hand over control and ask for forgiveness.

If you’ve been a Christian for a while – what you are doing with it? Are you a man after God’s own heart – are you a man who is progressively looking like Christ? Or are you a man that makes excuses?

Let me tell you a quick story – and finish with a Psalm.

The names have been changed to protect the… Brendan was a big Aussie male – tough, solid, faithful Christian, very well off, very well regarded, the CEO of one of the largest Insurance companies in Australia – and at Church he looked the perfect Christian. I asked him to come and speak to my young adults group about being a Christian in the workplace. He sort of paused for a minute and then said – look I’m not sure I can do that. At work I’m not a Christian – I’m just a ruthless business man – I don’t work as a Christian. So I wouldn’t know what to say to others about being a Christian in the workplace.

I didn’t get him to speak!

Psalm 51:10-17 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from guilt that requires my blood, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Dummies Guide to Maturity

Just Not Funny

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To get to the other side!

Q: What did the cat say to the elephant? A: Meow

Q: What kind of keys do kids like to carry? A: Cookies

Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? A: Frostbite

Q: Why do bees hum? A: Because they’ve forgotten the words!

Q: Why did the cat cross the road? A: It was the chicken’s day off!

When you were a kid most of those would have been the funniest things you’d ever heard. My son has a joke book and he loves it – can’t get enough and the kids will hit one or two that simply crack them up. Watching him is much funnier that the jokes themselves.

How come we don’t find them funny as adults?

Because we’ve matured! We might have started out on jokes like them but tastes change as we grow and develop. That’s what happens with childhood – we grow out of it. How fast do kids go from kindergarten to hitting high school and suddenly needing to sort out university placements? Can you remember the events of your kids’ lives as they have grown – riding a bike, eating some weird food, learning to write or read, performing their first song or dance or concert or whatever – developing strengths, abilities, growing, maturing – do you remember?

Watching Christians Grow

Childhood is one of the main analogies the Bible uses to talk about maturating as Christians.

Mark 10:13-16 “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”

The only way we can receive the kingdom of God is to come as children – with childlike faith – putting our trust and our lives in Jesus hands – we have to receive the kingdom without any pretense that somehow we are the ones earning it or making our own way to salvation. But childhood is not where we should stay – though many Christians do!

Hebrews 5:11-14 “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

There should be an expectation, just as we do in every area of life, that young Christians will grow and mature. If you have teenagers at home – what are your hopes and expectations and plans for them – whatever plans they have? How do you feel about them staying at home till they are 25 or 35 or 45 – not making a career, not getting their own lives, not marrying, playing video games or partying for the next 20+ years…? We’re seeing some of these phenomena in our society and it grates on us – we see it as a lack of maturing. We have expectations a progress of maturity from childhood to adulthood.  A child who never learns to cross the road by themselves is in grave danger. Your boss is unlikely to be happy if you never grow to maturity in you job. You can’t drive on L plates for the rest of your life – you’re expected to move on and grow. You can’t expect mum and dad are going to pay for your life forever – at some point you have to grow to maturity and take responsibility for yourself.

Why don’t we assume the same thing in faith and Christian life? An expectation of growth to maturity and then growth in maturity.

The Danger of Immaturity

Many churches suffer from immaturity – from a lack of growth. Paul tells Timothy that there are dangers for the immature Christian.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”

The debate on Stem Cell Research continues – it’s a hard, complex topic with many interest groups on both sides. But one of the most common points made in its defence is that the scientists and researchers are all only interested in helping mankind, bettering mankind, easing suffering and curing diseases. I’m sorry to point this out but that’s like saying North Korea and Iran only want nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes. When did we become so gullible? There is a huge amount of money to be made in stem cell research – most of which is being funded by multi-national pharmaceutical companies. There is a huge amount of control and power to be gained, and a massive amount of kudos to be gained – imagine being the scientist who cures Alzheimer’s. There may or may not be merit to stem cell research – but being gullible in the debate leaves us open to foolish decisions.

Being gullible in faith does the same. Maturity leads to the ability to discern between right and wrong, between good and evil, between deceiving spirits and the Holy Spirit. Paul says to Timothy the danger is very real – don’t be a fool when it comes to Christian things – there will be people who want to take advantage of Christians. How do we deal with it?

1 Timothy 4:6-8 “If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

How do we deal with the danger? We be open about it – we confront wrong teaching, we stick to the truth of the Bible, we leave old wives tales to the old wives and we train ourselves to be Godly. These words are written to Timothy as a leader – but he’s told to pass them on to reliable Christians who will also pass them on – this is Christian maturity at work.

Training To Be Godly

Training ourselves to be Godly is not hard – being Godly can be hard – but the training process is simple. I’m trying to loose weight and get fitter again after a couple of years of setbacks in those areas. It’s not something I find easy but I know that physical training is of some value so I get out there and walk. I know that self control with food is one of the keys so I’m watching my diet and eating well. Training takes hard work but the process is simple enough.

Godly training holds great value for this life and the next – and it’s relatively obvious what we have to do. Timothy had some basic instructions to follow.

1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Do you think it would be fair to say that if Timothy and all who follow in his footsteps are to devote themselves to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching – then we should be devoted to those things as hearers and readers?

The Dummies Guide to Maturity says some pretty simple things.

1. Devote yourself to the reading of Scripture! To know God’s will and purpose and teaching means god speaks and we listen? We should be reading the Bible for ourselves – that’s what mature Christians do. Listen to it in the car. Read it at lunchtime. Read it on the train. Stop watching 1 TV show a day and read it. Don’t have dinner in front of the TV – instead sit at the table and read it after dinner with the family. Read it to your children before bed. Read it instead of the newspaper. Read it on the toilet. Get up 15 minutes earlier and read it. These aren’t rules – just good basic plans – if you want to mature in understanding then you have to read the Bible. Do you have a good modern translation to read from? Does your family know you need some space each day to read the Bible? Do you have a list of what to read? Are you willing to ask questions about what you’re reading? To watch your life and doctrine closely you have to work out from God’s word what they should be and persevere at them over a lifetime.
2. Get yourself a good Bible Study group where they read the Bible, study the Bible and discuss the Bible so that they can apply the Bible. If we regularly spend all our time at growth group, praying and sharing prayer points and little time reading and thinking and discussing then we’ve gone of track. A Bible Study group is one of the best most intensive ways to grow – and it should be an environment where you are encouraged by a whole group to stick with the Scripture and not give up.
3. If you’re tempted not to go to church… fight the temptation. Timothy was told to devote himself to the public reading of Scriptures and to preaching and teaching. If that’s the right instruction for the teachers then it has to be the same for the listeners. We are told in Hebrews not to forsake gathering together but to do so more and more as the day of Christ approaches. So that’s what we should do. And when we get together our focus should be the same as Paul commands Timothy – the public reading of Scriptures, the teaching and preaching of God’s word. We might do other things together, but the basis has to be the word of God proclaimed.
4. Growth and maturity come with ministry. You want to know if you really know something – try and teach someone else what you know!? Each of us has been gifted by God for the work of ministry – probably we have more than one gift – and all of us have the gift of ministry. And the responsibility.

Why do we gather together…?

Colossians 3:16-17 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

With the word of God our task is to teach and admonish one another – to minister to each other’s needs and maturity. The Dummies Guide to Maturity says that ministry is not just formal or done from the front – but is informal – it’s about relationships – it happens over morning tea, it happens when you’re singing a tune, it happens when you pray with someone, matter of fact it’s happening right now.

Sorry – couldn’t resist!

When you speak to others after church will your aim be ministry or are you totally focused on coffee? If someone is hurting will you pray for them and listen to them – will you be obviously open to that – will you pay attention and offer assistance rather than wait for them to start? Will you share the truth of God’s word together or the reality of the weather?

Can I ask… Is it hard to ask the right questions or speak the truth?

“Hi George – how have you been?”

“What did you think of the sermon this morning? Do you know – I’m not sure I know how to encourage people with my singing – what do you reckon?”

“Hi there – I don’t think I’ve met you – I’m Alfred. Great passage this morning – that young fella Paul’s a gun preacher – but I’m not really sure I got his last point. What did you think?”

“You know… Paul really laid it on the line for Timothy. He was only 19 – big responsibility. I must admit I find it hard some days to read the Bible…”

One Track Mind

The Dummies Guide to Maturity has a bit of a single track – reading the Bible. It hasn’t said much about the Holy Spirit or prayer, or about helping other, acts of kindness and mercy, singing, worship, praising, meditation, fasting… all good stuff. But when it comes to maturing the big element is the Bible.

• The Holy Spirit works through the Scriptures to turn us to Christ.
• Prayer should happen in response to what we are reading and bringing before God the things on our heart – including our growth and maturity.
• Singing, worship, praising, acts of kindness – all worthwhile as we grow – all necessary responses to faith and the scriptures – but that’s what they are – responses.

Jesus says that growth comes from receiving, hearing, retaining and persevering in the word of God.

Luke 8:11-15 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

Which one are you? When the seed comes do you…

• Hear but not believe and so are not saved?
• Have you responded with joy but lost hope and faith?
• Have you heard and responded but been choked by the world and are not mature?
• Have you heard, changed, retained the word and are persevering to produce the crop?

It’s interesting I think – there is only one crop that makes sense – there’s only one sort of Christian – the maturing persevering sort. The rest of the soils produce nothing – they are not growing – they whither and die.

Dummies Guide to Materialism

The Husband Store

A friend sent me this great news article about a new store in New York – “The Husband Store!”

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, catering for women wishing to choose the perfect husband. As you enter the store you are greeted like royalty and escorted to the lift – and handed an instruction sheet, which explains how the store operates.

You may visit the store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and as the lift ascends each level so do the qualities and attributes of the men increase. There is of course a catch – you can choose a bloke from any floor but once you have passed on a floor you cannot revisit – you can only go back down to exit the store!

So, this woman goes in one day to the Husband Store to find a husband.

Into the lift she goes and to the 1^st floor. The doors open and she reads the sign over the doors; 1^st Floor – These men have jobs and love the Lord. (This is America after all.)

Sounds great but she wonders to herself what the next floor might contain. So up she goes. The lift opens and the second floor sign reads; 2^nd Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.

Tempted as she is – and really who could want for more, she presses the button for the third floor. The doors open and she reads… 3^rd Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are extremely good looking and guaranteed to remain faithful.

“WOW”. This is just too good to be true – yet she feels compelled – what might she be missing out on… so she pushes the button, the lift ascends one more floor. The doors open again, this time on the fourth floor and she reads… 4^th Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are incredibly good looking, guaranteed to remain faithful and help with the housework.

Fact of the matter is she can hardly wait to close the door – again tempted as she is to rush out and grab one off the rack. She can hardly stand the suspense, pushes the button, and fidgets as the lift so slowly ascends once more. The doors open on the fifth floor and she reads… 5^th Floor – These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are unbelievably gorgeous, are guaranteed to remain faithful, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak.

There is however one floor left – she almost pounces on the button, hardly able to contain herself wondering what on earth the 6^th floor might hold that could be better than all she has seen so far. The door opens and she steps out, eagerly scanning the sign, a large electronic display which reads… 6^th Floor – You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely to prove that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!

Wanting it All

I don’t know if the story has any element of truth – but I do know materialism comes from one place – being impossible to please.

Discontentment!

Western society is affluent – in Sydney plenty of people on unemployment benefits have mobile phones and Foxtel. We consume at a rate that beggar’s belief. Australia is clearly in the top ten wealthiest nations on earth yet in surveys more than 60% of us say we cannot afford the things we need to buy. We are in the top 5 countries for disposable income. Houses are getting bigger; families are getting smaller. The term coined in the last decade or so seems so appropriate – affluenza – the disease of greed and affluence. Materialism is a disease – it’s an enemy that plays on our lack of contentment. Instead of giving glory to God for his provision we turn to materialism… “I can make my life comfortable, happy, fulfilled, complete, by filling up with things”. “If I can just get ‘xyz’… then I will be happy, fulfilled and content!

It’s such a threat Jesus says…

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Now – if you have your Bible handy cross out Money and put back in the word that should be there – Mammon – you cannot serve both God and mammon. It means money, possessions, the values of the world… filling up.

Jesus says…

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Mammon is simply treasured possessions… as Jesus says… they are treasured so highly that they become the boss.

• It could be a general attitude to money and possessions – I need more and more and more to make myself feel powerful, feel in control, feel worthwhile and successful.
• It could be a specific thing – the way we treat our home, our car, the money we lavish on entertainment where enjoyment becomes the god… or some other possession.
• It could be our investments, making them the master in terms of our decision making – or superannuation – where we pour our resources into future life.
• It could be family – we lavish every good thing on our family to protect and care for them, to be in control of their future and their happiness.

Materialism or affluence – is not simply money – it’s really about ownership and the gathering in. Possessions, things, money, riches – in themselves they mean nothing – they are neither good nor bad. But when they become master – when the possessions possess us – then we have a problem. Jesus calls us to recognize that we cannot serve God and mammon – we cannot place ourselves at God’s disposal as his slaves and servants, and be dedicated not just in word or thought but in action to the requirements and activities of the kingdom – and at the same time be dedicated to the gathering of wealth and possessions and to the demands and activities of that lifestyle. We cannot at the same time be storing up wealth on earth and storing up wealth in heaven – the two simply don’t go together.

A Man’s Inheritance

Luke 12:13-15 “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

What does Jesus say to the bloke who asks the simple and fair question – my brother is ripping me off out of my inheritance – can you tell him to share what is rightfully mine. Seems fair enough doesn’t it? The Rabbis, of which Jesus was one, regularly settled these sorts of disputes – so there is no surprise that the man comes to Jesus. And let’s be honest – we hate it when life seems unfair – we’re automatically on the side of the questioner. We want Jesus to side with him, to say “of course it’s unfair, you are totally in the right and of course I will talk with him.” We can see ourselves in the same boat and wishing we could have Jesus side with us in our disputes.

Yet Jesus says “Watch Out!”

Watch out for what?

The desire to get his fair share of what is rightfully his is a form of greed – fair or otherwise life is not about possessions. Instead of answering Jesus tells a parable.

Luke 12:16-21 “…“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

God says… “You fool”. He has a bumper year; his barns can’t hold what he harvests so he builds. Perfectly logical! Then he says “I’m going to enjoy the fruits of my hard work.” Why not – he probably has worked very hard, made good decisions – God has obviously blessed his labors and it’s time to enjoy. His neighbors are all jealous of his success – “…wish it was me…” Surely Jesus’ words come as a shock. One of the foundations stones of Australian society is work hard so you can enjoy. Work for the weekend used to be one of our catch phrases. Almost every Australian worker is storing up the abundance of their crops in bigger and bigger barns for future enjoyment and relaxation – it’s called superannuation. Jesus says… “You fool.”

How is he a fool?

A Fool and His Possessions

Luke 12:19 “And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

He thinks life is about accumulating possessions – the one with the most toys, wins! That’s what kids think – they look in catalogues or watch the ads on TV and declare adamantly that they need to get the latest doll, game, sports equipment, MacDonald’s burger deal, holiday to New Caledonia… Target is having a toy sale – we should go! Big W has a DVD sale – we need some new ones dad!

It’s not just kids that think this way though – we should have learned that life is not about how much stuff you have – yet how often do we judge the worth or value of someone, how often do we assess their lifestyle based on what they earn, what they have, the house they live in, the car they drive, how much they earn, the clothes they wear. Our society agrees with the rich fool – life is about possessions.

A Fool and Life

Not only does the fool think life is about possessions – he also thinks life is about now. He’s planning what he can spend in the short period of life we call retirement. You work till 65, you might live another 20-30 years. They used to say superannuation was a way of helping your kids. Now the ads say superannuation is about revenge on your kids.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Saving for the future is sensible – trusting in it is not. We had Christian friends who had it all in retirement – their life savings were substantial to say the least – he worked massive hours and was paid handsomely. He was a hoarder of wealth – in any form he could manage it. He died 18 months after retirement. His widow lives in their massive waterfront unit in a beachside suburb and has lots of money. Their children are not Christians – but they are successful – they learned the lessons they were taught.

Like the rich fool what we need to be prepared for is not the 20-30 years of retirement but the eternity that follows. That doesn’t just mean becoming a Christian – it means living as one. It means giving up the world’s value of possessions and money and not trusting in them. It means seeing our wealth, small or great, as an opportunity to be generous.

The Dummies Guide to Materialism

Luke 12:15 Jesus said… “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:19 Jesus said “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

The Dummies Guide to Materialism says…

1. Being content with what God has given you will break materialism’s hold. No matter what you do you can never have enough to be content! The richest people in the world continually go for more of everything.

Luke 12:22-26 “Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”

2. Only a fool thinks that life is about having it all. Are you tempted by that? When is enough… enough?
3. God does not want us to be wealthy in material possessions. Wealth and possessions is not a sign of faith – and the lack of possessions and wealth is not an indicator of a lack of faith. The one who gathers possessions and wealth actually proves to be a fool.
4. There are churches that teach that God wants us to be wealthy – avoid them like the plague because they are teaching a different gospel from what Jesus spoke.

Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”

5. Whatever we have, we have received from God. The fool says “look at what I’ve done” – rather than giving thanks to God.
6. When you’re walking through the massive shopping mall remember Jesus’ words… “Watch Out – life does not consist of the abundance of possessions”. When you read the junk mail realize that they should come with a health warning – this junk mail could seriously damage your life.
7. What opportunities do you have to be generous to God? Church, missionaries, the poor and destitute, the spread of the gospel, feeding the third world, helping your neighbor…

Luke 12:21 “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

This still doesn’t mean we will be wealthy – but God will provide our basic needs and maybe even some of our desires – he is a generous God who wants us to be content – not in the things we do or don’t have but content with his power, control and sovereignty. To defeat the allure of materialism we have to trust in God’s sovereignty. Life is not about the abundance of our possessions – life is about being rich towards God.

Luke 12:32-34 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Reading The Bible for Yourself 3

How’s it going? It can be hard work in some ways setting time aside each day to read and pray—there are so many things that seem so important. Martin Luther the reformer of the church used to get up early in the morning to pray and read—5 am every morning. On particularly busy days he got up an hour earlier—he believed and practiced that the busier he was and more important the things were that he had to do the more vital it was that he prayed and read God’s word. But that’s alright for him—he was a monk after all.

Which is true, though he was married and had kids and held down a job—and reformed the church from the inside out—so maybe not all that different from us.

How do you find the time? Make a daily diary and fill in how you are going to spend your day with the things that absolutely must happen—kids to school, travel, work, sleep, eating, ablutions (which is a complex word for all those things we do to keep ourselves clean that involve the bathroom), food shopping, basic cleaning, ministry involvement and groups, kids’ sport, study and so on—whatever there is in your life that absolutely must happen. Be realistic with your time.

Having done that work out all the things you would like to do—shopping, recreation, TV, internet, sport etc—make a list of all these things and how long they take including the travel and preparation time. Again be realistic. Before you add them to your daily diary work out how long you plan to spend on reading the Bible and praying. I would suggest a minimum start would be 10 minutes for each—20 minutes a day. If you can find an hour spend an hour. You will gain great benefit from whatever time you spend in God’s word and in prayer.

Having done all that start with the most important things on your list—Bible reading and prayer—and fill in your daily diary—work out where each important thing will go each day and block out that time. If you find that everything is important and they just don’t all fit in then you need to reassess how you spend you days. Apparently Australians watch an average of 3 hours TV a day. How important is that—realistically? The first few times you give up your favourite shows it might feel like you’re missing out—but after a week or two you’ll suddenly realise that you’ve hardly missed a thing.

Once you’ve got it planned ask God to help you stick to it and then start—choose a day and start.

So now you’re reading – how about understanding?

Let’s be frank – at times understanding the Bible can be difficult, especially if you are new to it. The simplest thing to do is ask yourself questions about what you are reading (tool – understanding bible – link to a handy bookmark you can print out and keep in your Bible that details some basic questions you can consider, and the fundamentals of exegesis, hermeneutics and homiletics). The aim when we are reading God’s word is to understand what he would say to us—rather than what we think it means or would prefer God to say. So our aim is to understand what the passage actually says, to explain what the passage means and then to apply the passage to today and especially to myself.

This might seem complex at first but it’s really what we do every day when we read a newspaper or magazine. When we read the comics we understand that they are comics—not news, not editorial, not scientific information but humour. That tells us how to explain them and why they were written and then how to apply them. When we come to the main story we know to consider that this is current news which may or may not mean something directly to me, or family, or friends, or work, or country or world. We understand that the main stories are news—we read them and work out the main points and where it fits into the world I live in and then we work out how it applies to me, or how I need to apply it. We can apply this same basic and daily process to the Scriptures. As much as it’s the word of God, it is also literature and the same basic principles that apply to our interpretation and understanding of any media – writing, TV, video, music, photography and artwork – should be applied to the reading of he Bible.

In a future post I will look at some examples and apply the basic principles.

Response

One important aspect of reading and understanding, that I will only briefly note at the moment, is how we are lead to respond, and especilly thinking of whether the passage prompts us to pray or praise. Almost all passages – possibly all – will either prompt us to a response, and maybe cause us in a fairly natural way to responsd – to pray (asking, thanking) or praise (honour, worship, give thanks, declare or acknowledge)—and often enough to do both. So that’s worth looking for—should I be seeking forgiveness, praying for strength or opportunity or something else? Should I praise God for something he is or has done? Is my natural response to be blown away by God’s love for me in Christ and to sing praises – or simply to stand in awe and wonder and say thank you. And so on.

Reading the Bible is an opportunity without parallel in this world—as is praying. It is an opportunity to find out the mind of God (within limits—he is God after all) and to talk with the creator on a personal level. Can’t get much better than that.

Here’s something to consider. During a training course I ran a while ago it turned out that that lots of kids of Christians don’t have their own Bible—how ridiculous. Time to put it on the agenda! Get your kids a Bible, help them understand it, read it together – and see the blessing of God at work in your life as a family.

Leading a Bible Study Group

One of the most effective ministries in any church is well run Biblical Bible Study Groups. I know… you’ve just read that sentence twice and you’re thinking— “Biblical” Bible study groups?” What’s he going on about now?

What is a Bible Study Group? Well… it’s not a prayer group… or a gossip club… or a twelve step group… or a counselling group… or a social club. It’s a Bible Study and the Scriptures clearly state that the central activity of our time gathered as Christians—including in home Bible Study groups—is to be spent focussed and based on the Scriptures.

1 Timothy 4:9-13 “This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.”

In the Bible the church is the gathering of God’s people around Christ who is the word of God. God is a gathering God, bringing His people together – that is the great picture of heaven in Revelation 20-21 – the kingdom of priests gathered before the throne of heaven with Christ the Lamb at the centre and listening to the word of God – the lamb on the throne – for all eternity, as his people worship him in songs of never ending praise.

Any church, or Bible Study group, that claims to be faithful to God, yet has a preponderance of time and teaching on things other than the Scriptures… is not the church, or is at least not being obedient to Scripture. Forbidding people to marry, forbidding certain foods, mandating worship on a certain day, twisting Scripture to take the focus off Christ crucified – these are not the church! They may well be an assembly of like-minded God fearers, spiritual worshippers, even Bible readers – but without the Scriptures truthfully taught and believed they are, as Paul says, hypocrites, liars, without clear conscience (1 Tim 4:1-2). Strong words! It may of course be that the folk in those churches don’t know any better – but the ministers should and the Bible is pretty clear (and harsh) about ministers and teachers who lead astray the people they are meant to be shepherding. (see

Our vision, however we phrase it, should ultimately be should be to give God all glorify, honour, power and majesty by proclaiming the saviour Jesus Christ. A Bible Study group should be an extension of the churches mission and focussed on that every week. The only way to give God glory is to give Christ our obedience and honour. A faithful religious Jew strives to give God honour and glory—but as moral, upright and religious as he is, as much as he reads the OT faithfully and prays, he cannot give honour to God because he refuses to be obedient to the claim of Jesus.

Colossians 2:6-8 “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

This is what honours God—and this is what should drive us in our Bible Study groups. To be Christian means we have a new found desire to grow and mature to be like Christ – imperfect, but by the work of the Holy Spirit, in the reading of God’s word, praying, meeting together as the body of Christ, ministering to others, bringing our sinfulness under the control of the Holy Spirit, by repentance – we will become the great tree deep rooted in Christ. The small group setting provides the ideal hothouse for growth. It is the place where we can learn in depth, where we can discuss and question in a group of like-minded Christians – hopefully people of similar maturity and with a similar desire to grow.

Who should lead? The Bible gives us ample guidelines for leaders—check out the character and faith that are the big foci in Titus and Timothy in their lists of overseers. But here are the four criteria we should be looking for…

1. A desire to lead and serve others, to grow them to maturity in Christ. A desire to lead is not a desire to lord it over, but to serve as a shepherd serves.

2. A level of Christian knowledge and maturity above those we are leading and a willingness to honestly seek answers when we don’t know (teachable).

3. Character that has been shaped like Christ (not perfectly) and that is known to other mature Christians

4. People willing to follow you as a leader.

How do you start? Pray and think. Talk to your minister or church leaders. If it’s appropriate that you start a group, talk to those you might meet with, and get started.

What should my Bible study group look like?!

Is that a hard question? Every group is different, different churches do them different ways, they can be long and dull or lively and fast—or both. But what should we expect of them?

People call them Growth Groups, Home Church Groups, and a few other names—I call them Bible Study Groups (BSGs) because the thing we need to do together is study God’s word. That’s the main purpose and the main activity. If your group is not reading systematically through Bible books then it’s not a Bible Study. Systematically is important because if we simply chop and change all over the place we simply take the bits we like and often relegate the hard stuff. A preaching program should have a basic ethos of preaching the whole Bible, not just the parts we like—the things some churches/preachers might leave out because they’re too tough—I’d rather tackle head on. It’s one reason to exercise caution with the NIV Study Bible—especially the study notes—they almost always only comment on the easy things—the hard ones they simply bypass. It’s still a good Bible Study tool and if it’s the only commentary you have access to then go for it – just remember it’s limitations and the bias of the authors of the notes – good, bad or indifferent they do not carry the authority of the Scriptures.

Back to BSGs… there should be a leader or leaders who are mature (for their age and experience) and able to lead. They should be respected in your church—and you should respect them.

In planning time together, the Bible study should take a majority of the time. In most groups I would recommend a minimum of an hour of study. We should be praying together and sharing, with an aim of building each other up in maturity. That aim means we should be cautious what we share—intimate and hard stuff are better done in smaller settings, say with one or two close friends. Too many groups spend all their time sharing and praying and next to none listening to God by reading his word.

Sometimes we have this idea of a home BSG as being a church – when two or three are gathered in my name… and that’s fair enough. But f that is the intention and your Bible Study is to be a church then it should have the NT elements of church—evangelism, mission, financially supporting the gospel ministry and the poor, praise and edification, the Lord’s Supper—all centred around the word of God—the church is to preach the word of God so there should be teaching and preaching, not just Bible Study but the proclamation of the gospel. The group would need an outward focus.

The Bible Study group can also be the starting place for pastoral care—your group might be the first you call on for help, and the paid staff of your church might be the last to visit you in hospital. more on this another time.

Get into a great Bible Study Group—they are the best place to grow as a Christian and to encourage others.

Reading The Bible

One of the Bible’s most consistent themes is the need for God’s people to bring themselves regularly into contact with God’s word—in Old Testament times the Jews were required to regularly attend the Temple for the reading of God’s word—and in fact the very placement of the Temple and before it the Tabernacle right at the centre of the nation—literally—with the 12 tribes arrayed around it—was all designed to make the point that the central issue in the life of God’s people was not their worship of God but his word to them. The Temple was where you came to hear God’s voice, to discuss and think through what it meant and then to go away and day by day, week by week act upon it. In many ways the Tabernacle was a tent-shrine for the Ark of the Covenant which held the Ten Commandments and the Torah—the first five books of the Bible.

In the New Testament the focus on the word of God is only expanded and made more pointed.

1 Tim 4:13 “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.”

2 Tim 3:16-17 ^“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

1 Peter 3:15 ^“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

How can we have a Christian mind if we never read what God has said? How can we be profoundly influenced by that which we do not know? If you are filled with God’s word, your life can then be informed and directed by God. We so often ask for God to direct our ways—and then maybe are disappointed by the seeming lack of response from God. If we refuse to read what he has already caused to be written how can we expect him to speak again? The reality of my life, and many Christians testify to this—that God so often answers my prayers with his written word.

Do you find it hard to read God’s word? Maybe it’s different to other things you’ve read but read as it is written, with a sensible program of reading to guide you, it is not difficult. Sure, there will be plenty of things that first up do not make sense or are difficult to work through—but there a multitude of passages will make perfect sense.

If you’re new to reading the Bible my suggestion is you start with one of the four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You could start at Genesis and just keep going, though by the time you get to Leviticus you may be battling to go much further. Better to start with Christ himself—Mark’s gospel for example is a great story as much as a vital link in our understanding—in Mark’s very concise account we get the no frills version of Jesus’ life—the important bits in a shortened version and in relatively easy English. Make sure you use a modern version—the NIV remains my choice because it is a clear reasonably accurate translation, though with the demise of the NIV84 we will all be looking at the next ubiquitous version. You could also use the NASB, NRSV or ESV, or the Holman Bible. Use a version that is as close as possible to the original, rather than interprets the text through paraphrasing. If you find reading particularly difficult then The Message or the NLT might be helpful. Regardless don’t use a King James—the language is archaic and often misinformed. And if all you have is the King James then read on!

So… you have your Bible, and you know where to start—what do you do now?

1. Set aside some time—if you can grab 15-30 minutes a day for prayer and reading this is ideal—if not put aside at least 10 minutes to start with plus some time to pray.

2. Try to get some personal space when you read and pray—the last thing Satan wants is you reading the Bible… so the phone will ring, the kids injure themselves, the dinner will burn and so on if you try to read and pray whilst doing other things. Many Christians call this time a “Quiet Time” – time out with God—and it’s certainly worth making it special time. If you can’t do this at home maybe you could try at lunch time. If you drive a long way to work you could listen to the Bible on CD and pray—just don’t close your eyes.

3. Pray—a simple prayer is more than enough—God knows what you are doing and he’s all for it. “Father—please be with me now as I read your word. May your Spirit be at work in me to understand what I read, to apply it day by day and to make me more like Jesus. Amen”

4. Start—read a small section at a time and work through it slowly—a chapter or smaller. Most Bibles are broken down not just into chapters but sections as well—so you could simply read up to each new heading. Just remember that the headings are not the Bible—they’ve been put there by well meaning editors but often as not can be misleading in understanding.

5. Meditate—no, not crossed legged on the floor saying a mantra—consider what you have read. Ask yourself what the passage is about. The simplest form of study is to ask five questions of the passage and answer them honestly.

• What does the passage say…

• … about God?
• … about Jesus?
• … about me?
• … about the World?
• What should I do in response to this passage?

Not every question will apply in every passage but in most they will.

6. Pray—in response to the passage, about yourself, family, friends—everything.

There are many ways of studying God’s word, some of which we’ll investigate over the coming months—but the hardest part is starting. Having started you will find like so many others that the word of God becomes an indispensable part of life. If you’re starting off, or trying to get going again why not ask your growth group to pray for you, and tell your minister or ministry minded friends and get them to pray too.

Psalm 119:103-104 “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.”