Thursday, August 7, 2008
We're Moving...
I found that I can make more materials available at wordpress and so I hope you will make the leap with me and continue reading my somewhat eradic posts at my new address. Hopefully in the near future you'll also find notes for Bible classes and other materials. My students at RCA will be able to download our handouts from the site as well. Unfortunately, if you are a current e-mail subscriber to this blog, you'll have to sign up again with wordpress. Just click on the Subscribe section and its very easy! Fortunately, that involves very few... and I mean very few people.
My goal is to make the site more usable and more handy... not just a location for my random thoughts... though it'll serve that function as well. For the time being, I'm leaving this blog online, but won't be updating it. Who knows... I may miss 'blogger's unique features and want to return sometime??
Thanks! Let's go to... http://jamescblack.wordpress.com/
Monday, August 4, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Little Big Man
The following is an article that came across my desk last week and I thought it should be shared with everyone. Last month I preached a lesson where I challenged us to consider what we could all do for the kingdom with “what we’ve got.” Too often we view challenges such as world hunger as “just too big” to do anything about… but oh, if we could just have the attitude of a child…
Little Big Man
Catch this idea. Little five year old Jackson Watson sees a TV program that is trying to raise awareness and money to feed starving West Africans. There are flies on these young children, they don’t have enough food to eat, the food they have is not that good for them.
Darryl sits and looks at the jar, decides to preach a lesson about it, puts the jar down on the Lord’s table, notices after services that there is $100 bucks in the jar, decides to bring little Jackson to the podium that evening, puts him on a chair and “little big man” explains to the congregation what he saw on TV. Enter another $509 bucks to the “bug jar.” The next Sunday another plea is made. The total is now $1000. Darryl tells the congregation about a worthy work in
Now I don’t know what you think about
What a lesson in just lifting where you stand with what you have in your hand. I hope
-Lesley Brumfield—Safari for Souls 2008 Campaigner
I “amen” what Mr. Brumfield suggests. By the way… little
Monday, July 21, 2008
A Crazy Summer
It’s not that it isn’t true… I’m sure it is. For years now people have been telling us that “these are the best years” referring to these years with our small children, Andy -8, David- 6, and Michael- 4. I have not doubt that this sage wisdom from those parents who are just trying to encourage us is absolutely true… its just that sometimes it doesn’t FEEL like it. I do have the sense, however, that these years are slipping away very quickly. It seems to me that Andy should be, oh… about three… maybe four, but not eight! Where has the time gone?
So, I have really tried this summer to kick back, relax and spend more time at home or doing things with them. Last Spring was so busy with baseball and school activities that I hardly felt like I had time to sit down. So, I decided that my more flexible schedule this summer should allow me more time with them. We’ve been to
With all of this kicking back and relaxing with the children… I’m exhausted! Anybody ready for school to start?
Monday, July 7, 2008
A Time of Refreshing
One of the problems of the Christian life, however, is that we can easily forget just how refreshing it is supposed to be. We can still allow the pressures and burdens of this life to get us down. We can even allow the activity of the church and the various works with which we are involved to take up so much of our energy that we get down… or sometimes even burned out. How tragic this is! Of course this ‘burn out’ as the world calls it is caused because we have failed to stay plugged in to the ultimate power source… Jesus Christ. We have failed to connect with him in a way that continually sustains and continually refreshes.
I always try to make Summer time a time of refreshing for me. It is a time when I try to sit back after a busy Spring and reflect, dream and think about my own faith and the faith of those with whom I minister. Last week the family and I went up to Nashville for a conference at Lipscomb University and for a time of refreshing. What a blessing it was to hear great messages from some terrific preachers who challenged me and spurred me to greater spiritual growth. Next week, we are going to try to get away for a few days just for some fun and relaxation. We all need these periods of “down time.” If you haven’t sought any spiritual refreshing this Summer, let me challenge you to do so. With school starting so early these days, most of us only have a few weeks left! Here’s a few ideas…
- Read a book that will challenge you spiritually.
- Go to a conference or lecture series.
- Read through a Biblical book that you haven’t read in a while.
- Listen to a sermon from someone other than me on the internet (check below for some suggestions...)
- Get away for a few days of retreat and reflect on what God is doing in your life.
- Do something different to challenge yourself spiritually.
Summer will grind to a halt soon enough and we will all be back in the groove of work, school, and activity… take advantage of every opportunity to be refreshed by God’s Word!
Listen online to great messages from preachers I have listened to...
Russ Adcox
Maury Hills Church of Christ, Columbia, TN
http://www.mauryhills.com/podcasts.htm
Shon Smith
University Church of Christ, Tuscaloosa
http://www.universitycofc.org/podcasts.html
Jeff Walling
Providence Road Church of Christ, Charlotte, N.C.
http://www.prcoc.org/Default.asp?page=239
Mike Cope
Highland Church of Christ, Abilene, TX
http://www.highlandchurch.org/resource/podcasts
Rick Atchley
Richland Hills Church of Christ, Dallas, TX
http://www.rhchurch.org/index.cfm?pg=doc&id=99
Patrick Mead
Rochester Church of Christ, Rochester, MI
http://www.rochestercoc.org/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=FaithHighway/10000/4000/974RO/sermons
David Salisbury
Lomax Church of Christ, Hohenwald, TN
http://www.lomaxchurch.com/
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Center
As I said on Sunday, there are all sorts of things that distract us in our world and cause us to take our focus off of Jesus. There are all sorts of things which cause spiritual blindness. If you are like me, then you are easily distracted. I’m distracted by a beautiful sunset when I’m driving down the road or by my children when I’m trying to write a bulletin article or any number of things! It’s a natural reflex even… my eyes automatically go to what is new, colorful or interesting… regardless of what I am trying to focus on. Is that how it is with our spiritual lives? Did the Apostle Paul lock onto something here? Staying focused requires… well… focus! It requires effort. It requires a deliberate, willful and intentional effort to stay focused.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sharing the simple gospel...
Over the last few weeks I’ve been trying to explore some different thoughts along the theme of the “gospel.” I’ve heard the term gospel all of my life as have most of us and I’m afraid that we just kind of take it for granted what we mean by it. The word itself just means “good news” but what is this “good news”? Some have tended to see it primarily as a list of principles to believe… tenets of faith, if you will. Thus when Paul talks about the gospel in 1 Cor. 15 and says that “it is by this gospel you are saved” he would be meaning that by believing these certain articles of faith you are saved. Others have viewed the gospel more in terms of obedience and see it as a list of commands or instructions that must be obeyed. I certainly respect their emphasis on the fact that just believing isn’t enough, we must also act on those beliefs… I’m just now sure that gets at it either. By that Paul would be saying that by obeying a certain list of commands we are saved… but wouldn’t that be salvation by works?
To me, the answer is so simple. Paul is pretty clear in that 1 Cor. 15 passage and even clearer in 2 Tim. 2:8 when he says, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.” Paul didn’t understand “the gospel” to be a list of principles or commands! He understood the “good news” to be Jesus Christ risen from the dead! So the “gospel” is a man! Jesus Christ!
What implications does this view have towards evangelism, then? As we are commanded by Jesus himself to go out and preach this “gospel” (cf. Mark 16:15-ff) how does this change our attitudes, our mind-set and even our methodologies? Any thoughts? This is what I want to explore next Sunday.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Our First Woman President!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Simple Christianity 2.0
This Sunday we are returning to a sermon series that I began last November… “Simple Christianity.” This time, however, we are stepping it up a notch. This is what I wrote in the bulletin back then…
Preachers and theologians like to throw out big, twenty dollar religious words like “propitiation,” “soteriology,” and (my favorite) “dispensational eschatology.” I suppose we like for folks to think that we are smarter than we really are or that our education was just as hard as theirs, I don’t know? For whatever reason, I believe that many of us have created a religion that is much more complicated than God ever intended “the faith” to be! As you look at the Bible, as we have over the last few weeks, I think you’ll find that it is not nearly as complicated or complex as some of us have made it. God’s Word, even given all of the factors that make it difficult to understand, is remarkably simple. God’s intention for man is remarkably simple. God’s plan of salvation is remarkably simple. We do not need to muddy the waters by complicating God’s simple gospel with our “learned” opinions or religious systems.
This Sunday I want to continue our thinking along this very premise… the simplicity of the gospel. While we acknowledge its simplicity, I also want to challenge us to delve deeper into our theology and understanding of the gospel. What is it and how does it really change and shape our lives? Let me encourage you to use this opportunity, not only to reexamine your faith and practice, but also to invite your friends and family to be a part of our worship services.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Dakota's story...
Here’s a bit more of the story that I shared with our church on Sunday. April is my amazing cousin and Gene is her wonderful husband. The story of their experience is heart-wrenching, but uplifting.
Gene's Story: I want to thank the MOD for everything that they are doing! I have a story that I feel compelled to share although it is not a happy one. You never know how perspective can change and how much the MOD means! After a couple of years of trying to conceive on our own, my wife and I went to a fertility specialist and went through in-vitro fertilization. My wife carried the first 2 embryos for about 8 weeks, at which time she miscarried. We waited a few months and tried again. My wife was implanted with 2 more embryos, and our son was conceived in December of 2006. All of the ultrasounds were amazing. Since he was an in-vitro baby, we got to see him every week via ultrasound, watching him grow every step of the way. Everything was running smoothly until April, 2007, when her OB/GYN noticed a little funneling in her cervix. She was referred to a high risk
God isn’t finished with this story yet, by the way…
Saturday, April 26, 2008
If you've been looking for me... I've been at the ballpark!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Standing thru... death
With all of the uncertainties of life, there is one thing that is certain… death. The Bible says, “It is appointed unto man once to die and then to face the judgment!” It is an appointment we will all keep, even though few of us know when it will come. This Sunday we will be concluding our series “Stand in the Rain” by discussing the “rain” that will fall upon us all… death. Death is certainly a tough one! The death of a loved one, especially a life-long spouse can be devastating. The prospect of one’s own death can also loom over us like a specter and rob us from living to the full the moments we DO have. What is God’s answer to death? How can we “stand” when death looms over us? How can we continue on when we have lost someone so dear to us? These are the questions I hope to explore together Sunday morning. If you’ve ever wondered about any of those questions, I hope you’ll be encouraged by God’s Word.
Through this series I have hoped to offer words of encouragement and hope for folks who have been through some pretty tough stuff. Let me know what you have thought and how you have been touched by God’s promises through it all.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Stand in the Rain... of Disease
Like so many things in life it hits us when we least expect it. Things seem to be going along just fine. The sun has been shining. The flowers are blooming. No problems… life is good! Then the doctor comes in and shuts the door behind him… and it starts to rain. The words you never expected to hear, but have always feared come out. It is cancer. It is heart disease. There’s a blockage. Or it is some medical term you’ve never heard, but it strikes fear just the same. You rush home and to the internet to find out all you can about it. Instead of calming your fears, you’re just more worried. What do you do?
This scenario is played out thousands of times a day all over the world. The Bible says that it rains on the just as well as the unjust. Disease is no respecter of persons. It happens everywhere and can happen to anybody. Some diseases are relatively mild while others can be life altering… even life-threatening. What do you do when the diagnosis of serious disease hits? I have had the privilege of watching so many do just what the psalmist suggests… “seek shelter in the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1) When the storm of life which is disease hits… the best thing we can do is to seek shelter in God! As we continue our lesson series this Sunday, “Stand in the Rain” I want to explore the storm of disease and look for God’s answer to our suffering. God DOES have an answer to pain and suffering… but it may not be what you would expect.
I want to invite you to explore together with me just a few of the many stories in Scripture of folks not unlike many of us who sought after Jesus for healing. There was the woman with the constant problem of bleeding in Luke 8:42-ff. There was the blind fellow who Jesus told to go and wash in the pool in John 9. There were the demon-possessed and those struck with leprosy. During Jesus’ time of ministry, he was constantly inundated by sick folks calling out to him for help. What was his response? What is his response to you? Come and let’s seek shelter in the Most High together this Sunday.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Standing in the Rain... of divorce
We’ve all probably seen the pictures on the news following devastating storms… pictures of houses blown apart, sometimes up to their roofs in floodwaters and in some cases even sliding downhill into the sea. It i amazing that something as commonplace and normal as rain can at times be so devastating to homes. This Sunday we’re continuing our series “Stand in the Rain” by looking at the “rain” of divorce. Nothing can tear a home apart quicker than divorce. It is something that has probably affected most of our families in one way or another. Whether it was your parents, maybe your children, friends or perhaps even your own marriage… divorce has touched all of us in some way. Sadly, the statistics of divorce among Christian families isn’t all that different from the rest of society. Why is that?
As I approach this topic for the lesson on Sunday I am painfully of aware that church has not always done a good job handling this subject. It seems churches have taken one extreme or another when it comes to divorce. Either we want to preach so dogmatically the error of divorce that we leave the impression God hates the divorcee (a gross misinterpretation of Malachi 2:16)… OR in an effort not to offend anyone we lesson the force of Malachi 2:16 and leave an equally false impression. The reality of it is… God DOES hate divorce and I imagine anyone who has been through one personally understands exactly why. It isn’t God’s intention for us. It disrupts the family, God’s first and primary institution! And it is never fair to the children.
So, for Sunday I want to do several things. One, I want to pray for God’s protection for our families. Divorce doesn’t just happen… it is the culmination of events over time that lead a couple to make this decision… or that lead a spouse to leave. But God can strengthen good families and protect them from harm and from the chaos of divorce if we will “dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (our theme verse for this series—Psalm 91:1). Two, I want to offer hope and healing to those who have experienced or are experiencing a painful divorce. God can heal the brokenhearted. He can heal hurting marriages and he can heal those dealing with the scars of long ago. Third, I want to rejoice in the grace that is available to all of us. Divorced or not… the truth is that we have ALL sinned and fallen short of God’s ideal… yet we are extended grace by a loving and forgiving God who understands us better than we understand ourselves.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Stand in the Rain
Occasionally, I am overwhelmed from the pulpit as I am preaching… looking out at the myriad of faces that are (mostly) paying attention and listening to what I have to say each Sunday. The responsibility to say the right thing… not just the right thing doctrinally… but the thing that people need to hear. That’s a daunting thing. The longer I have stood before them the more I have come to know these people and the more I have come to be a part of their lives. Sometimes it is just overwhelming to think about what some of these dear folks are going through. I have been there with them beside the graves of their mates. I have watched them hurt when a husband has left and I have seen what that has done to their families. I have sat with them in hospital waiting rooms awaiting news from the doctors. I’ve watched many of them deal with serious and life-threatening illnesses… cancer, heart disease, strokes. I have been there with them at graduations, weddings, bar-mitzvahs… okay, I don’t actually remember any bar-mitzvahs, but you get my point. I have come to deeply love my congregation and the more I love them the more it hurts to see them hurt. During this time, I’ve had my own share of ups and downs. I’ve had close family receive the dreaded diagnosis of cancer. I’ve grieved with a dear cousin over the loss of an infant! I’ve lost a father-in-law and buried an aunt. As I have experienced loss… and sought comfort from my church family, I have become increasingly aware of just how fragile life really is. Sometimes rain falls. How are we to stand? Will we allow the rains to just wash us away?
I’m going to begin THIS Sunday with “doubt”… a common thread that runs throughout Scripture. What do we do when we doubt God’s presence or purpose in our lives? What do YOU do?
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Table
God invites us to His Table! As we have been celebrating all month long… and actually as we celebrate it every Sunday… God invites us to His Table in our weekly practice of Communion. It is a reminder that God wants more than anything to know us, to have a relationship with us and to fellowship with us on a very personal level. Jesus instituted the Supper during the Passover feast in the hours before his arrest and crucifixion. This last purposeful act of Jesus has forever been memorialized in our assembling around the Table to “remember” what his sacrifice has done for us. Not only that, we also look forward to his coming again when we will enjoy a fellowship around the Table with Him that we can only imagine today! The Apostle Paul said that, “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” The Lord’s Supper is a testimony to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and it is enjoyed each week by Christians in hopeful expectation of his coming again. We rejoice in the death, burial and resurrection, proclaiming that gospel to the world. And we look forward to eating it one day with Jesus in the fullness of the Kingdom of God!
Monday, March 10, 2008
"Doing Church" in the 21st century... the fifth act
I was struck today from something I am reading on the thinking of David Lipscomb and James A. Harding. It comes from Kingdom Come published by Leafwood publishers and is written by a professor friend of mine, John Mark Hicks and a co-author, Bobby Valentine. On their chapter concerning Lipscomb and Harding’s emphasis on the importance of Bible study, the authors elaborate on an increasingly popular analogy that I found pretty insightful.
Living the story of God is like performing a drama. Our life in Christ is analogous to a group of Shakespearean disciples who want to perform a newly discovered six-act play by Shakespeare. But the fifth act is missing. We only have the first four acts and the last one. Suppose, however, these disciples wanted to perform the play. How can they perform it without the fifth act? They will have to improvise. In order to do so, they would have to “live and breathe” the [other] works of Shakespeare. By knowing the mind of Shakespeare and thoroughly understanding the extant acts, they are able to improvise the fifth act in a way that is faithful to the other acts.
Christian discipleship is like performing the fifth act. Scripture bears witness to the mind of God in Christ. We have the first act—Creation—and thus know God’s intent for his world. We have the second act—
Their conclusion was that our ability to faithfully improvise and perform this “fifth act” depends directly upon our “living and breathing” the works that we do know… the writings of Scripture. We come to know the mind of God through our knowledge of Scripture… and without that knowledge we are left wandering aimlessly in this life. Pretty insightful, I thought…
Another "Political Question" of the day...
Is it a good idea for the current #2 to offer the #2 position to the current #1… especially given the fact that the current #1 knows he is in the #1 position and not in the #2 position? What does this say about the #2? Just asking…
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Whew!
Well, I'm looking forward to a lot more excitement keeping up with all of the fun. You know what they say, "It's not over till.... its over." I for one, don't wish for it to be over any time soon. Its too much fun.
Monday, March 3, 2008
The Cup & the Bread
Since the ancient days of the early church, Christians have regularly gathered around the Lord’s table to remember the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross through our partaking of the cup and the bread. These emblems serve as an awesome reminder of his body and blood which was broken and shed for us. Where would we be without the forgiveness of sin? At
Political Thoughts...
Now it looks like McCain has the nomination all but sealed up on the Republican side… BUT the Democratic side has been the real one to watch this year! Who would have ever imagined this time last year that anyone but Hillary was even going to come close? She has been the clear front-runner since shortly after the last election in ’04. Everyone all but assumed that she would be the nominee. And out of nowhere comes this vibrant, energetic, young unknown running on a platform of little else other than the catch-word “change”. Sounds a whole lot like another vibrant, energetic, young unknown who came out of nowhere (
So who will it be… Hillary or Obama? Tomorrow may very well be the defining moment… “Super Tuesday II” as the papers are dubbing it. Will Obama continue his momentum and deliver Hillary a knock-out blow? Or will the “come-back kid’s spouse” make a come-back herself and stay in the game for another round? Who knows? It is exciting to watch, though. I’m not sure who I’m rooting for… Obama or Hillary? My beliefs usually fall more in with the traditional tenets of the Republican party, but I’m not a real huge McCain supporter either. So, what to do? I actually believe that Obama will be the tougher candidate for the Republicans in the Fall, so I guess that just leaves me… ambiguously ambivalent. One thing for sure, though. I’ll be watching and listening to the results tomorrow night… I just can’t help it.
Monday, February 25, 2008
The "Closer"
The whole purpose of our study thru the book of "beginnings" hasn't been to wallow in the past, but to remind ourselves of WHO WE ARE and WHERE WE CAME FROM so that we would be better prepared to face the future! I believe God is still doing great things at Washington Street and that he wants to continue to do great things in each of our lives... but will we be ready to face the challenges ahead? That's the thought I want us to explore this coming Sunday. And I am VERY VERY interested in hearing what you have to say. Here are some questions that I would like to hear back from you on...
- How do you feel about the future of the church here at Washington Street?
- What would you say are some of the biggest challenges that we as a church face?
- What specific ideas do you have that would help us in the future?
Our Elders, deacons & ministers will be meeting together soon for our annual Leadership Summit to discuss just some of these very things. We value your input and suggestions.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Babel
"Burj Dubai has now reached 141 stories, more stories than any other building in the world," the company said in a statement. There is speculation that, spire included, the final height could be more than 800m, but Emaar is keeping structural details secret.
It's curious to me after reading through Genesis 11 again that we're still building buildings all these years after Babel and still trying to reach toward the heavens. I did a Google search on the world's tallest buildings and learned that there's quite a competition going. Every year it seems a new building beats the record and arguments are raged about exactly WHAT is being measured. Does the spire count? What about the cell phone towers on top? Everybody wants theirs to be the tallest building. And they want to put their name on it. Funny.
Given all this interest in tall buildings... it makes me think again about the tower at Babel. What exactly was the problem? It sounds to me like a good thing that the people were able to come together and building something so monumental using such archaic tools and methods. I look back at history and see some of the great architecture from some of the great civilizations of antiquity and wonder... what was the problem? It is beautiful, much of it. Why did God get so upset at Babel... and why did he confuse their languages? THAT one especially get me! If it weren't for Babel I could go to Honduras and order a hamburger and be understood! Aargh!
This Sunday we're going to be looking together at Gen. 11 and the story of Babel. Read it again this week and let me know what you think...
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Flood
To be honest I’m not sure what is more difficult… to preach a text that is familiar to all of us or a text that isn’t. If it’s just the same, I think I would rather preach on one that nobody has ever read before, actually. That way, who’s going to argue with me? But this Sunday as a part of my “In the beginning” sermon series I come to Genesis 6 and the story of Noah and the flood. It’s going to be a great challenge on the one hand because it’s a story that we all know! I mean, it’s probably the first story (other than maybe Adam & Eve) that I remember from Sunday school as a kid. I know the story… Noah, a righteous man (in fact the only one of his kind in those days) is instructed by God to build a big boat. He does. He follows the instructions meticulously. Then he loads up the animals “two by two” and down comes the rain… just as God said it would. The world is destroyed. Noah and his family are saved. Great story! What’s next? You see the challenge, right? It’s a challenge precisely because we all think we know the story. I can just imagine the snoring I will induce on Sunday when I say, “Let’s all talk about Noah…he was a righteous man.”
On the other hand, I wonder if there might be something I have missed? I wonder if the story’s familiarity has kept me from seeing the point of it all? Why was the flood necessary? Why did God act then to enact judgment on the world? Might it be time for another one? How would this story have encouraged the Hebrews as they were preparing to enter in to the
Monday, February 4, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Broken
As I stood with my dear friend, Jason, beside the casket of his wife a couple of weeks ago… my heart was filled with almost unbearable sorrow for him and his family. As a minister, I have had the privilege to walk with a lot of families through the difficult time of a loss of a loved one… but I cannot remember one that has come close to the grief of that moment. Not only is he a dear friend, but his wife, Evette, has been as well. For my wife she was about as close to a family member as you can get without actually sharing the same DNA. Evette was 32. She and Jason have been married just over 10 years. They have three beautiful children, two girls and a boy. She practically grew up in my brother-in-law’s home… alongside his girls, Jenny and Tara. Jason preaches for the church in
As we stood there beside the casket, near the pulpit where he regularly brings a word from the Lord… I desperately searched for a word… ANY word, but particularly a word from the Lord. I don’t think I ever came up with one. All I could do was wrap my arms around him and promise to pray.
I wish I understood such things. I wish I had something wise and spiritual to offer. I didn’t. And even as I have reflected on it these last few weeks, I’m not sure I’ve got anything better now. It still doesn’t make sense. Life can be so unfair. It can be so fleeting. And it just stinks sometimes!
My text for this Sunday is Genesis 4… some of the first happenings after the fall. The story actually makes more sense to me now than it ever has. After the appearance of sin on the scene in chapter 3, the story of Adam and Eve takes a backseat to the soap opera that their family becomes. One of their precious sons is cut down in the prime of his life, before he ever even gets a chance in this life… by his own brother. Cain, apparently jealous that God loved Abel more, lures him out into a field and viciously slaughters him. Imagine the grief of Adam and Eve… knowing that this is what the result of their “wanting to be like God” has brought upon the world. As a result of the brokenness of this world death is the new reality. Even Abel’s name says it all. It means literally “vapor” and is the same word Solomon uses in Ecclesiastes to talk about life being as a “vapor.”
But there is still hope in this story and if you look closely towards the end of chapter 4 you find it. Read it this week and see if you see the same thing I do… hope amidst a fallen and broken world.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Two Trees
Monday, January 14, 2008
In the beginning... EDEN
We are continuing our study through the opening chapters of Genesis on Sunday morning and I am again blown away by the honesty and frankness of the Bible. I have heard it said that it is usually the teacher who learns the most from the lessons he or she presents. That has certainly been the case here! The camera angle shifts from the ‘big picture’ of creation depicted in chapter one to the more personal account of Adam and Eve in chapter two. I am struck by several things. Let me encourage you to explore this chapter this week. Of all the creation there was one thing that God said was not good. That struck me as odd, because in the account in chapter one God makes a special point at the end of each day to say, “It is good.” What could God have created that could have failed on this point, I wonder? But then, I understand. “It is not good for man to be alone,” he says in vs. 18.
To remedy this “problem” God sets about the task of creating woman and goes on to establish for us the grounds which will become the marriage relationship in vs. 24 and following. But back up with me just a moment. What is at the heart of verse 18? Man wasn’t complete until God made for him a friend. This sounds like such a simple thing and yet it is really quite profound. Man (and woman for that matter) was created from the very beginning with the innate need for friendship… for relationship with others. You would think that would be a fairly simple thing and yet it can be so difficult.
It seems to me to be especially ironic in our day and time that people have such a difficult time with relationships. We live in a world where the ability for people to connect is easier than ever before… and yet there are so many who continue to live “alone” without personal relationships of a substantial nature. Why is this? We have technologies today which are designed to connect people. From the old-fashioned telephone and the increasingly dated “e-mail” to the more tech-savvy text messenging and Facebooking… the opportunities to connect with people are like never before! Why, then, would anybody be lonely? Yet that is what so many of the statistics are telling us today. The overwhelming need for people in the 21st century is relationships! This shouldn’t surprise us. Genesis 2 tells us that God hard-wired us this way.
There is much to explore in this great chapter and I am sure that we won’t exhaust its riches this Sunday… but let me encourage you to seek out people this week to connect with. Look for those who don’t have the relationships in the body of Christ to draw support from. Seek them out. Encourage them. Befriend them. And, as you have opportunity, tell them about your relationship with the Lord… the ultimate need that each of us have!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
In the beginning... Creation and Genesis 1
If you grew up going to Sunday School then I’ll bet you can remember like me making little decorative mobiles describing the creation that Moses describes in Genesis 1. What a wonderful and jaw-dropping account of an all-powerful God speaking the universe into existence! It is absolutely incredible to imagine God creating from nothing everything in our universe. From the Milky Way to the Grand Canyon… from Pluto to