Snippets

Often some of the best teaching inspiration comes when a pen and paper are not handy.  Thanks to my phone I’ll often record a 10-30 second recording of an observation, question or thought on the fly.  (most of which are done in the car if you can’t tell by the background noise.)

Here are a few from the last couple of weeks.  Click to listen.

Every other religion says…

Do you really want to continue…

I want to be a mouthwash man…

Don’t hammer yet…

The wild life…

Wounded permission…

Blue Letter Bible

www.blueletterbible.org

In the process of prepping for the recovery message a few weeks back I ran into this website. I began to use it yesterday for the same purpose and realized that this is something we should all have at our fingertips, when searching the scriptures. Blue Letter Bible is a mish mash of resources devoted to, you guessed it, the Bible. However, the depth of these resources is astonishing. Whether you wish to do a strong’s word study on your favorite translation of the Bible, or read a commentary by Martin Luther this site is for you.

The best part about Blue Letter Bible is that it is a free resource. There are amazing commentaries, audio visual, maps, devotionals, and a wealth of other resources all for free. Of course like most things there is an opportunity to donate but these resources are not a pay per use sort of service.

In the process of going to college I have kicked the idea around about purchasing a Bible software program. While I will probably still do so someday free in depth Bible resources like this make it easy not to be in a hurry. Whether you are prepping for a teaching or you are just trying to sort out a piece of scripture for yourself or your kids, this resource is for you.

Within the Blue Letter Bible site is an institute of which you can take up to 12 courses that were designed to give a rich theological education for what I can tell is free. BLB is a ministry of Sowing Circle.  [ http://sowingcircle.org/]

Sowing circle seems to be doing some amazing work with these ministries. It is my hope that this resource is one that you will find helpful in understanding the Word of God.

meet the reviewer: dustin barnes

Dustin Barnes is from Cambridge, MN and currently lives with his wife Kelly and his two sons Grant and Austin in Burnsville. After a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol Dustin was saved and has been seeking the life saving Power of Christ. Dustin works for a treatment center West of the Twin Cities called New Beginnings at Waverly, as the coordinator of the non-profit alumni association. When he is not at work or being of service Dustin enjoys hunting, camping, and fishing.

The Book of Jonah

A personal reflection about The Book of JONAH

The 32^nd book of the Old Testament

Can you remember the first book you ever read from cover-to-cover? I sure can. I was eight years old and the book was Crackerjack Halfback, by Matt Christopher. The main character (Freddie) loved football, but he was afraid to tackle. In the story he and his football coach went to a football movie, but on their way home they had to swerve out of the way of an oncoming truck and skidded into a river. This experience taught Freddie some lessons and helped him overcome his fears. It was a great book. I even skipped dinner so that I could finish it. I believe that from this point onward, I developed a love of reading books.

A short time after this delightful experience, I decided that I wanted to read a whole book of the Bible in one sitting. I systematically paged through my Bible looking for one that wasn’t too long and stumbled across the book of JONAH. In this book of the Bible, I read about a person who also was afraid, learned a lesson in the water, and ultimately accomplished a victorious feat. As a young boy, I was cut to the heart by the story of Jonah. Reading all four chapters in one sitting was not easy for a child, but it revealed to me the power of God’s Word if I was just willing to read it. I believe that from this point onward, I developed a love of God’s Word.

As an adult, I still love to read the Book of JONAH. It teaches about how our disobedience to God results in consequences. It also shows how God listens to our prayer of repentance and is ready to deliver us from sin and its consequences. Furthermore, it reveals how quickly we forget God’s goodness after He works in our lives and yet He is willing to show us loving kindness.

Whether you are eight or eighty years of age, I encourage you to read the Book of JONAH all in one sitting. May God richly bless you as you do.

“I cried out the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me.”  – Jonah 2:2

meet the reviewer: jon schommer

Jon Schommer grew up in Calumetville, Wisconsin (dairy farm country) and currently lives in Woodbury, Minnesota. He has been married for 21 years to Lisa and they have two children; Dave aged 16 and Emily 14. Jon’s hobbies include gardening and hiking. During the summer, he enjoys golfing once or twice and during the winter he enjoys ice fishing a few times. Jon earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and currently is a professor at the University of Minnesota.

Review: MacArthur Bible Studies

If you are looking for some new materials to use in a Bible study, you might want to try the MacArthur Bible Studies series.   In the Bible study I participate in, we’ve used 3 or 4 of the MacArthur Bible study guides and we’ve generally been pleased with them.

Each guide focuses on a specific book of the Bible and contains between 10 and 14 lessons.   Each lesson starts out with “warm up” questions which serve to introduce the related theological points.  MacArthur then presents the scripture for the lesson and provides helpful commentary on the language and context of scripture.  After you read the scripture and the commentary, the guide walks through a series of questions which help drive a group discussion.  Many of the questions contain reference scriptures that can be used to help tie the lesson’s scripture to other areas of the Bible.  This helps to clarify and emphasize the particular point of the lesson.

In our group, each individual completes the lesson before we meet.  It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to work through the lesson on your own and about the same about of time for the work through the lesson as a group.

The MacArthur Bible Studies series does an excellent job explaining the scriptures and promoting discussion. The only thing I don’t care for in the MacArthur Bible Studies series is that MacArthur seems to prefer the New King James Version (NJKV) of the scripture, which I find more difficult to read and understand than the New International Version (NIV) or New Living Translation (NLT).  Each study guide costs about $10.

To check them out for yourself, you can look at one of the lessons for James online at Amazon.com.

meet the reviewer: tim schmitt

Tim Schmitt has been attending the Alley since September of 2007, where he serves on the setup team, the A/V team, the communion team.  Tim also organizes the Alley’s two bowling teams.  Originally from Litchfield, MN, Tim moved to the Twin Cities area to attend college at Concordia St. Paul.  Tim is an I/T professional and enjoys bowling and riding his bicycle on the various trails in the Twin Cities area.

Spiritual Disciplines (4 of 7) :: Meditation

When I was in college I took a J-term class on monasticism.  2 weeks of that class were spent in the classroom studying the subject matter and one week was spent actually living in a Monastery.

We did our best to mimic their life in every way.  We ate when they ate, prayed when they prayed and practiced many of their spiritual disciplines alongside of them including a day of silence.

The one monastic practice that I found most challenging initially and most rewarding later was that of meditation.  Maybe it was the hour of silence at 6:00 in the morning however the first few days were torture.  My greatest fear was that someone would catch me snoring.   However, after the first few days, what had been torturous became a gift.

The simple practice of quietly meditating on God’s word, silencing everything else and simply listening became then a beautiful and treasured experience.  Even now, a key piece of my message preparation is sitting in silent meditation and praying on God’s word.

Some of you reading this may be reacting right now.  The current stigma of meditation is that it is a new age spiritualism and that it opens the door to demonic influences.  Let me be crystal clear that the meditation I am speaking of is meditation on the Word of God alone and in prayer to Him.  It is NOT the seeking of a spirit guide.  It is NOT finding the center of myself or the god within.  It IS silencing all else so that I might reflect on, pray to and glorify the One True God.

In fact, the Scriptures speak to this…

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:8

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. Psalm 143:5

So, following the Spiritual Disciplines laid out thus far.  Set up a routine and time.  Enter into confession and repentance before God.  And meditate on His word.

Here’s a quick link to the other Spiritual Disciplines.

Spiritual Disciplines (1 of 7) :: Spiritual Influence

Spiritual Disciplines (2 of 7) :: Routine

Spiritual Disciplines (3 of 7) :: Repentance

You asked: Is Jesus the only way to heaven?

Thanks for all of your responses and questions.  Please keep them coming as I would like to answer all of them over time.

Sarah asks about Matthew 7:13-14…  “What does he mean by FEW?”

In order to best answer that question I have to answer another one…   “Is Jesus the only way to heaven?” (check back tomorrow for part two and the answer to Sarah’s specific question of  “What does Matthew 7 mean that few find that road?”)

The Bible clearly teaches that there is one way to heaven/salvation and that is through Jesus alone.

For example:

“There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.“  Isaiah 45:21

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“  Jesus in John 14:6

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Peter speaking about Jesus.  Acts 4:12

Jesus lived a perfect life where we could not.  His death on the cross carried the weight of our sin with him.  And his resurrection showed his victory over death and validated him as the way, truth and life.

A common reaction to this is that the Bible and therefore Christianity as a whole are intolerant.  “How dare we say that everyone else is wrong.”  Yet, this rude, intolerant and narrow-minded stance is frequently referred to in the Bible as “Good News”.

Saying that Jesus is the only way to heaven is NOT hate speech but hope speech!

See, some think that we teach that Christians are somehow holier than others and therefore deserving of heaven.  That is just not true.  Actually what the Bible teaches is that NO ONE deserves to go to heaven.

“No one is righteous- not even one” Acts 3:10

So if you’ve every heard someone jab a Jesus follower as a hypocrite, bigot, self-righteous, messed up… ect.  Remember that no one claims that we aren’t.  In fact, we should be the people who are the MOST honest about our imperfection and need for a savior.  We do NOT deserve a God who would sacrifice Jesus for us.  Rather, we have a God who gave his only son as a ransom for us, in spite of us.

Our hope is NOT that if we clean up our act enough he’ll say we’re we’ve earned it.  Rather, we know we’re not okay and because we put our hope in him he begins to clean up our act.  Or as the Bible puts it, makes us new.

“For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son (Jesus) while we were yet his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.”  Romans 5:10

Tolerance argues that it’s narrow-minded to claim Jesus as the only way.  The Gospel claims that it’s amazing that he has allowed us a way at all because not one of us deserves it.

“23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.” Romans 3:23-26

In my laziness I didn’t shovel out my driveway last night. And in my haste this morning I lodged my mini-van into a 3 foot bank of snow in my own driveway.  Desperate to be free, everything I did only made it worse… rocking, pushing, digging only deepened the hole I was stuck in.   My neighbor brought his car over to tow me out.  Two snapped ropes later I was just as hopeless.   Until yet another neighbor came by who just so happened to have a tow rope in the back seat of her car.  Ten minutes later the van was free.

I didn’t think that my neighbor was intolerant to offer me a rope that was specifically designed for the job.  I was thankful that she had it and offered it.

No analogy is perfect but let’s think about it.  It is no secret that the world is broken.  Sin is a universal issue.  Hang around with a 2 year old and you see it.  Watch congress try to make a decision.  Spend a few weeks around a church.  It doesn’t matter where you are, it’s there and it’s universal.   Even the best person has a dark side.  Sin is a disease common to all men.

The Bible says that the wages of sin is death.  Not just the “big” sins but any sin.  You could say that we are stuck and though other things might make us feel better about our situation… there is ultimately only one way out.

Lots of options have been offered.  From self-help to rehab to just plain ignoring that there is a problem at all.  But none of them answer the real issue.  Sin’s ultimate end is always death.  No one wants to hear that they need help or that they are wrong, but ultimately it is NOT logical for everyone to be right.  There is one ultimate and absolute truth and I love you enough to tell it to you.

Without God’s gracious intervention we are without hope.

Thank God that help is here and has been given.

And hope is what we have.  I know that this isn’t a popular truth, but it is the truth.

I also know that some reading this won’t take the Bible’s word for it and certainly won’t take my word for it.  I know that to some this will come off as complete foolishness. However, there will be a day when all else fades away and this one hope will be all we are left with.

If you don’t believe this I dare you to challenge it.  Not to me, but to God.  He is real, he can answer for himself and he says in his word, “Ask you and you will receive.  Knock and the door will be opened. Seek and you will find.”  Ask him, seek him and may he open your eyes to see the fulness of his truth.   Test him.  But know this.  He will answer you on his terms and not on yours.

Sunday Reflections

This last Sunday we took the first step in what will be a 7 month long journey through the book of Romans.

We saw immediately just how important the “good news” is to Paul.  To him, it is everything… nothing compares to it.  As he says, (Phillipians 3) compared to knowing Christ he considers everything else garbage (dung).

Out of that fervor come the cornerstone words of the book in 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

We focused on Sunday on the fact that not being ashamed of the gospel should not happen because it’s written here or because someone tells you not to… it should happen because you get what the gospel really is.

The real question for us to think about is what does that look like in our lives?

Definitely not by Chance…

Hot off the presses!

Check out the new Street Sheet content and design!

Some of the new features include a section of kid questions for those using it as a home study and a “Dig Deeper” section with a solid list of reference passages.

Real Wisdom

Here’s a book of James truth “indexed” style.

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