This Weeks Youth Focus – 5/3

This Thursday we will be looking at the last part of the book of Job. We will be examining God’s responses to Job and discussing what we can learn about God from it. While we have traveled through the book of Job at an extremely high rate of speed, we have observed and learned important truths about God sovereignty, the presence of evil in God’s plan, how we should respond when evil and trials are upon us, and most importantly that God “can do all things, and that no purpose of [His] can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

Hope to see you there!

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Children’s Ministry Change

Hello Church,

I’m writing you to inform you about a change that will be taking place with our Children’s Ministry schedule. One Sunday out of the month there will be no Sunday school classes for the kindergarten through 5th grade children. There are a couple of reasons why believe this is a healthy decision.

First, we believe that one of the responsibilities of parenthood is to teach our children how to worship the Lord. We believe that having our children experience a whole worship service will begin to teach them what it means to worship God through music, listening, and reading God’s Word.

Second, many churches today exclude children and teenagers from the main worship service and then they wonder why the transition into worshiping with the adults once they graduate high school is so difficult. The fact that many college age adults are absent from the church service is something that needs to be addressed and corrected.  I strongly believe that if we effectively teach our children how to worship with adults at a young age we are preparing them to be active participants in the family of God for a lifetime.

This is something new for many if not all of us. I encourage all of you to be patient and understanding with our families and children as they are faced with the challenge of learning how to “parent from the pew.”

Church, please be praying for our families, asking God to give wisdom to our parents, as this can be a difficult task. Parents, I encourage you to begin teaching your children and explaining to them what you expect of them during the service before you arrive at church. I think it is important for me to say that it is perfectly ok if there is some noise and talking. Use this time to help instruct and engage your child in how to worship the Lord.

Some things to think about:

  1. K-5th grade students will remain in the whole worship service on the first Sunday of the month (Starting May 6th). This is our communion Sunday therefore, I would encourage each family to determine whether or not the children will take communion before they arrive at church. Our view is that it is a good thing for our children to take communion even if they are too young to have professed Christ. We should raise our children as if they are believers until it becomes evident that they are not.
  2. There will still be childcare for children ages 0-4 each Sunday.
  3. I would strongly encourage that children sit with their parents instead of with their friends during this service. This will help keep distractions to a minimum, as parents will be able to help teach their children worship and keep them engaged.

I’m looking forward to beginning this process and seeing the fruit the Lord produces.  It is my goal to continue to provide various resources and ideas on how to help our parents teach and develop a love in our children to worship the Lord in the whole community of faith.

God Bless,

Phil

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Catechism Insight – Doctrinal Standard WSC #24

Doctrinal Standard #24

  • Q. How is Christ a prophet?
  • A. As a prophet, Christ reveals the will of God to us for our salvation by His word and Spirit.

Memory Verses

  • “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:1–2, ESV).

Scripture

  • Study Passage: John 1:1-5, 9-18
  • Support Passages: Deuteronomy 18:18-19; Daniel 9:24; John 14:18-24; Acts 3:11-26
  • Bible Story: Luke 24:13-35

Thoughts

  • The statement that Christ is a prophet has the potential of being easily misunderstood. Wayne Grudem in chapter 29 of his Systematic Theology book provides a great explanation on what it does and does not mean.
  •  “Why did the New Testament epistles avoid calling Jesus a prophet? Apparently because, although Jesus is the prophet whom Moses predicted (Deuteronomy 18:18-19), yet he is also far greater than any of the Old Testament prophets, in two ways:”
  1. “He is the one about whom the prophesies in the Old Testament were made. When Jesus spoke with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, he took them through the entire Old Testament, showing how the prophecies pointed to him: ‘And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27)… The Old Testament prophets looked forward to Christ in what they wrote, and the New Testament apostles looked back to Christ and interpreted his life for the benefit of the church.”
  2. “Jesus was not merely a messenger of revelation from God (like all the other prophets), but was himself the source of revelation from God. Rather than saying as all the Old Testament prophets did,  ‘Thus says the Lord,’ Jesus could begin divinely authoritative teaching with the amazing statement, ‘But I say unto you’ (Matt 5:22). The word of the Lord cam to the Old Testament prophets, but Jesus spoke on his own authority as the eternal Word of God (John 1:1) who perfectly revealed the Father to us (John 14:9; Heb 1:1-2).”
  3. “In the broader sense of prophet, simply meaning one who reveals God to us and speaks to us the words of God, Christ is of course truly and fully a prophet. In fact, he is the one whom all the Old Testaments prophets prefigured in their speech and in their actions” [1]

Discussion Questions

  • What is a prophet?
  • What did prophets do in the Old Testament?
  • How is Jesus Christ a prophet like the prophets in the Old Testament?
  • How is Jesus not like the prophets of the Old Testament?
  • Explain how the Road to Emmaus account (Luke 24 does:13-35) teach us that Jesus is much more than a prophet?
  • What word does John 1:1-5, 9-18 use to refer to Jesus? Why?


[1] Grudem, Wayne (1994). Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA; Zondervan Publishing House.



OIA for sermon on 04/29

This week Joe went into further detail on the topic of Covenant Theology. Continue in your discussions from last week to gain further insight into this topic. It is extremely important that we all have a good understanding of this, as it is the basis for understanding the scriptures appropriately.

Observation
1. Are there any cultural or background issues that are important in understanding the listed passages?
2. What key word(s)/phrase(s) really stand(s) out to you in these passages of scripture? Why are/is they/it important?
3. Which scripture passage did you find most intriguing or interesting? Why?
4. If you had to sum up this large portion of scripture in a few sentences, what would they be?

Interpretation
1. Compare at least 3 of the used passages with at least 3 other Bible versions (NIV, ESV, NASB, NKJV, Ect.) What similarities/differences do you observe? Share with your group.
2. Are there any verbs, commands, prepositions, or conjunctions, that seemed to stand out (if any)? What? Why? Share.
3. Read through at least 2-3 commentaries on the listed passage and share what your learned with your group. Here are some free online resources. (http://net.bible.org) (http://www.blueletterbible.org/) (http://biblia.com)

Application
1. Research and discuss “Covenant Theology” with your group.
2. Share and discuss the 5 main “Epics” that were given in the sermon pertaining to scripture. What are the main themes of each epic, and how does each epic support the next?
3. Why is it important to see the Bible as being broken up into specific “Epics”? Share.
4. What has been the most prominent thing that you have learned through the lecture series so far? Share.
5. Why is it so crucial that one have a proper theology of God and the Bible. (I know this is a no-brainer, but I want you to really think about this.) What are the repercussions of poor theology? Discuss.
6. How is your understanding of Covenant Theology changing the way you view Scripture? God? The Church? Share.


In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity

Emmaus Christian Fellowship is almost eleven months old (born June 5, 2011). In some ways it feels as if we have been together for a long time, but in other ways it feels like we have just begun. The past eleven months have been filled with a lot of hard work for the Elders and Leadership core here at Emmaus; lots of study, lots of meetings, lots of writing.

In particular, we have been working hard on the Foundation Documents of Emmaus Christian Fellowship. These documents will include things such as our statement of faith, confession, bylaws, membership process, mission statement, as well as other core documents which will bring clarity to the beliefs, policies, and vision of ECF.

These documents are important and I’m looking forward to the day when we will give them to the people of Emmaus for review and feedback (I have a date in mind as a goal but I rather not say given that rushing these documents for the sake of meeting a deadline would be foolish and potentially harmful to the decades of ministry that await us).

I write this post because we are approaching a time when the beliefs of Emmaus Christian Fellowship will be stated with great specificity. My concern, as we grow in our understanding of the scriptures, is that we maintain a disposition of heart where we are able to, one, stand firm upon our convictions and, two, be humble and gracious towards those who might disagree with us on the non-essentials of the Christian faith.

Maintaining this balance is no simple task. Christians have struggled throughout the ages with this interplay between standing for truth and loving those who might disagree. It has been a struggle because it is a complicated endeavor.

I think the motto, “In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity”, is potentially helpful for three reasons.

First of all, the motto acknowledges that there are essentials to the Christian faith that all must agree upon in order to be a Christian. As a result, there are some things worth fighting for. Consider Paul’s words to Titus concerning the qualification of an Elder within the church: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9, ESV)

Second, the motto acknowledges that within the church we must leave room for liberty in the areas that are non-essential to the Christian faith. Consider Paul’s words to the Romans concerning the diversity which existed within the church of Rome: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.” (Romans 14:5–6, ESV)

Third, the motto encourages us to do all things with charity, which I take to mean, humility, graciousness, and out of a heart of love. Paul encouraged the church in Colossae in the same way saying, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:14, ESV)

We must be careful at this point given that we have made a mess of this “love” concept in our modern day supposing that it means that we are never to disagree, confront, or rebuke. To those who hold the view that love is being perpetually passive I would ask the question, have you ever read about Jesus in the gospels or Paul’s writings to the churches? These men confronted boldly from time to time and yet they did so out of love.

Consider the contrast concerning Paul’s dealings with the church of the Thessalonians. First he says, “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.” (1 Thessalonians 2:7, ESV) And then a few verses later he says, “For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12, ESV) Paul uses the imagery of a nursing mother and an exhorting father to illustrate his care for the believers. Both tenderness and exhortation can and should emanate from a heart of love.

In regard to the charity principle, the point is this – we must be sure that whether we are encouraging or exhorting that our hearts are truly humble and filled with love, even for our enemies. To be perpetually passive or constantly confrontational will not do. It is possible to be passive out of a heart of hatred just as it is possible to confront in love.

The issue is the heart. This is my prayer for Emmaus Christian Fellowship, that our hearts would be pure. We must stand for the truth of the gospel and do so because we possess a true love for God and our fellow man.

Click here for more thoughts on the motto, “In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity.”


Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism

Hello Church,

I noticed that Russell encouraged you in the O.I.A. discussion questions to do some research on “Covenant Theology” in preparation for your Gospel Community Groups. It seems that I am a little behind on this (it is Thursday already and most of you have met) but here is a good resource on that subject. I assume that this will be useful for your discussions next week as well.

I recently came across this chart put together by a Pastor friend of mine from Murrieta Valley Church. I met with him shortly after we started Emmaus Christian Fellowship and he was a great encouragement to me. It was nice to see his work pop up when I Google searched, “Covenant Theology Chart”.

Blessings,

Joe


No Youth This Week – 4/26

Both Mike and Nessa are unable to be at youth this Thursday to lead worship and I have a meeting for work (school) that evening therefore we are cancelling youth for this week.

See you either Sunday or next Thursday.

-Phil

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Catechism Insight – Doctrinal Standard WSC #23

Doctrinal Standard #23

  • Q. How is Christ our redeemer?
  • A. As our redeemer, Christ is a prophet, priest, and king in both His humiliation and His exaltation.

Memory Verses

  • “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,  that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you” (Acts 3:19–20, ESV).

Scripture

  • Study Passage: Psalm 110
  • Support Passages: Acts 3:11-26 – Christ the Prophet; Hebrews 5:1-10 – Christ the Priest; Isaiah 9:6-7 – Christ the King; Psalm 2, 45:1-9; Luke 4:18-19; Acts 2:29-36
  • Bible Story: Genesis 14

Thoughts

  • “Redemption means deliverance from some evil by payment of a price. It is more than simple deliverance. Thus prisoners of war might be released on payment of a price which was called a ‘ransom’ (Gk. lytron). The word-group based on lytron was formed specifically to convey this idea of release on payment of ransom. In this circle of ideas Christ’s death may be regarded as ‘a ransom for many’ (Mk. 10:45).[1]
  • As both Psalm 110 and Genesis 14 explains redemption requires action from the redeemer. The action that was required of Jesus Christ was to live a perfect life and suffer a painful and shameful death on the cross as a ransom for all those who have and will believe in Him.
  • The love of God is magnified in the fact that Christ is our redeemer. The love of God is shown in that Christ would humble himself by becoming a man and take upon the sin of His followers when He himself had never known sin.

Discussion Questions

  • What does it mean to redeem something?
  • What is required in redeeming something?
  • How has Christ redeemed people from sin?
  • What does this teach us about God?


[1] Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (1003). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

 

 

 



"Him we proclaim,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone mature in Christ."
(Colossians 1:28, ESV)

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