OC Bereans

Gentlemen,

Plan to join us this Saturday, November 16th, from 7 – 9 am for another rich time of fellowship with our Lord and with each other.  Click on the link for a two-page handout including details and a map for this Saturday morning’s Meet Jesus @ Beach gathering at the Montage Resort in south Laguna Beach.

The purpose of these monthly gatherings? … To cultivate the persistent, intentional pursuit of spiritual intimacy with God, so together we as men might move forward in our life of discipleship following Jesus, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the “Agent of Transformation”!

If you have yet to make this a part of your monthly “rhythm of grace,” then I urge you to make this a priority this Saturday.

Plan to arrive before 7 am so we can get started right away.  We will wrap everything up by 9 am.

Feel free to invite a friend (or two) and share the handout with them, too, or simply direct them to this blog post.

Shalom!

~ tr

Today launches the November Psalter Challenge described two posts ago.  If you have not yet read Psalms 1, 31, 61, 91 & 121 for today, then here are three questions which will aid your practice of this daily habit:

1. What are the main points in each of the Psalms read today? … keep it brief and simple.
2. From today’s Psalms, what is God saying to you?
3. What one verse will you meditate on throughout today?

Tomorrow we will all be reading Psalms 2, 32, 62, 92 & 122.  As God reveals insights to you, please share them as comments on this blog … (thank you, Chuck, for already posting a comment this morning!)

Click on this link to download and print a handout to carry in your Bible … November Psalter Challenge.

Blessed reading! … and Shalom!

~ tr

Today is “Reformation Day” commemorating Martin Luther nailing his “95 Theses” to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany nearly 500 years ago.  His action provoked a debate that culminated finally in what we now call the Protestant Reformation.

In a blog post made yesterday at Ligonier Ministries, the significance of Luther’s action may be summed up in this way:

“Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and good works result from our faith, they are not added to it as the grounds for our right standing in the Lord’s eyes (Eph. 2:8-10).  Justification, God’s declaration that we are not guilty, forgiven of sin, and righteous in His sight comes because through our faith alone the Father imputes, or reckons to our account, the perfect righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Martin Luther’s rediscovery of this truth led to a whole host of other church and societal reforms and much of what we take for granted in the West would have likely been impossible had he never graced the scene.”

Click on this link … Luther’s 95 Theses … to see what he staked his life and ministry on, as he nailed them to the door.

Shalom!

~ tr

The Psalter, also known as the Old Testament book of Psalms, was ancient Israel’s song book.  Since Thanksgiving is celebrated during the month of November, what better way to prepare ourselves for this significant national holiday than to read through this book of praise and worship?

To encourage your participation during November, I am proposing that we read through Psalms in a slightly different way than normal.

On November 1st, read the following five Psalms:  1, 31, 61, 91, 121.

On November 2nd, read the following five Psalms:  2, 32, 62, 92, 122.

Continue in this daily sequence until November 30th when we will read:  30, 60, 90, 120, 150.

Since the Psalter is packed with symmetry, be on the lookout for connections between the five separate psalms that will be read each day.

Join in the conversation by posting comments on this blog so we can all learn from each other what God is teaching us as we collectively read our way through the Psalms.

Click on this link to download and print a handout to carry in your Bible … November Psalter Challenge.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

Shalom!

~ tr

Revelation 7:1-17 describes an interlude between the breaking of the 6th and 7th seals on the scroll of God.  In this chapter two additional groups of people are introduced as present in the throne room of God.  As you prepare for next Monday’s study, click on this link for a note-taking handout on Revelation 7:1-17, and think through the following questions:

• What may be significant about “four angels” … “four corners of the earth” … “four winds” in v. 1?
• What is the “seal of the living God” in v. 2?
• What may be the significance of the number 144,000?
• Are these the same 12 tribes of Judah listed in the O.T.?
• Who comprises this “great multitude” in v. 9?
• Does v. 14 indicate that some people may become Christians during the Tribulation?
• How may this be explained in light of a potential “pre-Tribulation rapture” of the Church?
• Define “spread His tabernacle over them” in v. 15.
• What is the significance of the Lamb becoming a “shepherd” in v. 17?

Plan to arrive by 7 pm to enjoy dessert, with the study starting shortly after that.

Shalom!

~ tr

Click on this link for the Revelation 6:1-17 Notes and Revelation 6 Slideshow.  During the three weeks we studied this chapter in which six seals are broken on the scroll of God, by Jesus the “slain Lamb of God,” we observed a progressive unveiling of what happens to humanity when God “gives them over” to the consequences of their sinful behavior … and the worst is yet to come!

This chapter reaches a crescendo in the final phrase of the last verse … a haunting question … “who is able to stand”?

When faced with the “wrath of the Lamb,” there is only one escape … the blood of that same Lamb! … shed on our behalf … Praise God Almighty!

Shalom!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

Join me in a week-long challenge to turn your auto’s interior into an opportunity to listen to God.  Between now and next Monday’s Bible study, whenever you are driving alone in your car, truck, or motorcycle, simply turn off the radio, CD, iPod, or phone.  Instead, simply carry on conversations with your Heavenly Father.

You may choose to ask Him for or about things (prayer) … or for other people (intercession) … or you may choose to sing “outbursts of praise & worship” to Him … but I also encourage you to simply be still and listen to Him.

Come prepared next Monday to share with the rest of us what He said to you! … should be interesting and fun!

Shalom!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

A huge, public THANK YOU to Chuck W. for “pinch-hitting” for me last Monday while I was at the church-planters’ conference!

When we meet tomorrow evening we will quickly review a sampling of the points that Chuck made … specifically, what are the practical implications of the “color-coded horses” of vv. 1-8?

Then we will delve into the final nine verses of Revelation 6 … the 5th and 6th seals that are broken by Jesus.

• Who are the “souls … underneath the altar”?  (v. 9)
• Why are they there?
• Describe in your own words the chaos unleashed when the 6th seal is broken.

See you at 7 pm!

Shalom!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

We are entering the portion in Revelation that we have called “shock & awe” … what most people visualize when they think about the Apocalypse.  There are some interesting surprises in store for us, though … There is much more here than what most folks imagine!

To prepare for Monday night’s study, download the Revelation 6:1-17 handout for taking notes; then think about the following questions as you read through chapter six, specifically focusing on vv. 1-8.

• Following the Lamb breaking the first seal on the scroll in v. 1, who speaks?  What does the command, “Come,” communicate to you? … (repeated in vv. 3, 5, 7)
• What might be significant to the use of horses in vv. 2-8?  How about their colors? … white, red, black and “ashen” (pale yellowish green)?
• Who is riding the white horse in v. 2, and what might the “bow” and “crown” signify?
• What does “a pair of scales in his hand” represent in v. 5?
• What is unusual about a “quart of wheat” or “three quarts of barley” costing a “denarius” in v. 6?  Why the prohibition against damaging the “oil and wine”?
• What roles do “Death” and “Hades” play in v. 8?

Dessert will be served at 7 pm, so plan to arrive in time to enjoy that.  The study begins shortly thereafter.

Shalom!

~ tr

Gentlemen,

After John led us into God’s Throne Room in Revelation 4 & 5, we quickly discovered that it is a place full of praise and worship.  In fact, there are so many hymns of worship … or “outbursts of praise” … in the book of Revelation that it rivals the O.T. book of Psalms in this regard.

There are at least 11 separate songs of worship within Revelation, many with multiple verses, sung by various creatures!  Download and print this handout, Outbursts of Praise & Worship, and use it to unpack this seldom-taught aspect of Revelation.  Who is engaged in praising and worshiping?  For what, specifically, are they praising God?

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”!

Shalom!

~ tr