OC Bereans

“He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.”  ~ Psalm 50:23

Gentlemen,

As we all prepare our hearts and minds to give thanks to God for His abundant provision to our nation and our families, here are two resources that you may want to share during this Thursday’s celebration:

The First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving-Our National Challenge

See you next Monday for more “Testimony & Teaching”!

Embrace God’s Grace!

~ tr

Charles Haddon Spurgeon preaching at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London (1861)

Gentlemen,

To finish out this calendar year 2012, each of you will have the opportunity to share your testimony of faith, along with some brief teaching on a favorite Scripture passage … all within a span of 30 minutes!  If you were with us Monday night, then you observed a strong template for what this looks like by observing Nate’s testimony.  He skillfully incorporated more than one favorite Scripture passage into his 30-minute presentation!

If you have never shared your testimony of faith in a public setting, then these two links may help you:

• How to Write Your Christian Testimony
• How to Prepare & Tell Your Story

Here are the scheduled dates and presenters:

Nov. 12  –  Steve T. and Steve P.

Nov. 19  –  Roc P. and Bill M.

Nov. 26  –  Brent M. and Rick M.

Dec. 3  –  Rick H. and Rick P.

Dec. 10  –  Bob J. and Scott B.

Dec. 17  –  Bob H. and Scott H.

If scheduling conflicts arise, please contact each other directly to discuss swapping dates, then let me know if there will be a change.

When the OC Bereans did this a little more than two years ago, it was a big hit!  We all look forward to hearing about God’s grace at work in your life!

Embrace God’s Grace!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

The high school youth ministry at Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado Springs is sponsoring a fundraiser for the Cinderella House, a safe-house specifically designed to help young women who are being rescued from human trafficking, by helping them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Restore Innocence is a faith-based organization whose passion is the cause of human trafficking in Colorado Springs.

The coffee sale fundraiser is offering “Restoration Blend“ … coffee beans roasted fresh by Switchback Coffee Roasters, a small batch specialty roaster owned by a young man also involved in student ministries in Colorado.

My son and his bride are active in the youth group at this church, and since he will be visiting our study next week, he has offered to transport the coffee to us.  So far, 22 bags have been ordered!  If you did not place your order with me last night, please email, call, or text me your order by tomorrow (Wed., Oct. 31).  Each bag sells for $15, and all proceeds will go directly to Restore Innocence.

Click on the “Restoration Blend” link above to view the handout with more details.  Checks should be made payable to Pulpit Rock Church.

Embrace God’s Grace!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

Yes, our 5-month-long survey of the New Testament is drawing to a close fairly soon.  Then ἀποκάλυψις … or Revelation … comes!

Literally translated “to uncover, lay open, or make bare” … with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we will take a long, careful and close look at this most mysterious and difficult book in the Bible … the book of Revelation (notice that this name is singular, not plural).

If you have not already begun to read ahead in the book, then I strongly urge you to do so a.s.a.p.  The more you get into Revelation, the more you will learn from our study times together on Monday nights.

To facilitate your study, I have added two new links under the Bible Study Tools tab in the right margin.  You can download mp3 files of Revelation in the KJV, or you can listen online to multiple translations of the book.

Before we get there, however, we have several short N.T. books left to survey.  This Monday night we will explore the transformation of a fisherman … Peter … as we look at his two letters.

Brent is bringing one of his (or his bride’s) award-winning culinary delights! … so plan to arrive by 7 pm before it’s all gone!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

The nine of us who participated last Saturday morning thoroughly enjoyed an hour of guided solitude with our Creator and Lord, followed by an hour of warm sharing with each other what God had been saying to us.

The two handouts we used are attached here so you can download and print them for future use with friends and family:

• Proverbs 2 Meditation
  
• Matthew 13 Meditation
  

Plan to join us the next time we schedule one of these gatherings.  By the way, how often should we schedule these?  Please respond to the poll below at your earliest convenience.

Embrace God’s Grace!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

What is the central message of the Gospel that Jesus preached?

• “Jesus invites us, through faith in Him, to actually live in the Kingdom of God now.”
• The Gospel of Jesus is “how to get into Heaven before you die.”
• “The saint uses more grace than the sinner.”
• “Grace is not opposed to effort; it’s opposed to earning.”
• Practicing spiritual disciplines “requires intelligent effort.”

These are some of the questions and comments explored in two 6-minute video interviews between Dallas Willard and John Ortberg:

– Part 1

– Part 2

Enjoy!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

At sunset this evening, Tuesday, September 25th, the highest holy day on the Jewish calendar began.  Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, ends at sunset, Wednesday, September 26th.  Please read the attachment, Yom Kippur, for an explanation of its significance to those of us who claim Jesus as our Messiah.

~ tr

Gentlemen,

Part of the tagline that appears at the top of this blog is “O.C. men studying God’s Word exegetically …”  But what does “exegesis” mean?

In a book I’m currently reading, “Eat This Book,” the author, Eugene Peterson, adds to our understanding of this word:

“Exegesis is the discipline of attending to the text and listening to it rightly and well.” (p. 50)

“Exegesis is simply noticing and responding adequately (which is not simple!) to the demand that words make on us, that language makes on us.” (p. 51)

“… we are stuck with the necessity of exegesis.  We have a written word to read and attend to.  It is God’s word, or so we believe, and we had better get it right.  Exegesis is foundational to Christian spirituality.” (p. 53)

“Which is to say, the more ‘spiritual’ we become, the more care we must give to exegesis.  The more mature we become in the Christian faith, the more exegetically rigorous we must become.” (p. 53)

“Exegesis is a dust cloth, a scrub brush, or even a Q-tip for keeping the words clean.” (p. 53)

“Exegesis is an act of love.  It loves the one who speaks the words enough to want to get the words right.  It respects the words enough to use every means we have to get the words right.  Exegesis is loving God enough to stop and listen carefully to what He says.” (p. 55)

“But exegesis does not mean mastering the text, it means submitting to it as it is given to us.  Exegesis doesn’t take charge of the text and impose superior knowledge on it; it enters the world of the text and lets the text ‘read’ us.  Exegesis is an act of sustained humility …” (p. 57)

“But without exegesis, spirituality gets sappy, soupy.  Spirituality without exegesis becomes self-indulgent.  Without disciplined exegesis, spirituality develops into an idiolect in which I define all the key verbs and nouns out of my own experience.  And prayer ends up limping along in sighs and stutters.” (p. 58)

Wow! … this is what we are committed to doing on Monday nights as the O.C. Bereans.  Join us tomorrow night at 7 pm as we continue our overview of the New Testament, focusing on a few more of Paul’s letters to 1st Century churches.

By the way, for an online course that I am teaching (N.T. Survey), we are using F.F. Bruce’s classic work, “The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?“ as a textbook.  I found a free copy online, so click on the title to download a 77-page .pdf.

Embrace God’s Grace!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

Click here for a slideshow of Paul’s Missionary Journeys.  These serve as the geographical and historical backdrop for most of the book of Acts.

We will continue our N.T. overview this Monday, surveying a few more of Paul’s letters to churches.  Scott B. is providing the dessert, so arrive by 7 pm to enjoy that.

Continue to pray for each other!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

Happy Independence Day!

This painting of the “Fife and Drum” has intrigued me since I was a little boy … the resilience, the hope, the grit of these Revolutionary War fighters! … their desire for freedom!

Jesus taught His Jewish followers something about freedom as well in John 8:

“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.  So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”  (vv. 31, 32, 36)

Enjoy our nation’s celebration of freedom, while also remembering the ultimate price that Jesus paid to set us free from our sins.

~ tr