Keep your Armor On -- The Christian Defense

Dear Friends: This Sunday we are going to discuss the New Testament lection, namely Ephesians 6:10-20, one of the few places, and unquestionably the best know place, where the Great Apostle talks about spiritual warfare.

First, let's look at his circumstances. Paul is in prison, and writing to a church that he not only founded, but also one at which he spent a lot of time in evangelical outreach and teaching. In this letter, Paul is like the great general of the troops, temporarily sidelined from the front lines of the war, but who is still trying to give tactical instructions to those who are still on the front. No doubt he is surrounded by Roman guards and troops, and so their armor becomes the perfect illustration of what he wants to say.

Ephesus was a big, cosmopolitan city in Paul's day. The church was surrounded by all kinds of pagan religious practices and peoples. Among other things, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, the Temple to the god Artemis, was prominent on the city skyline. Spiritual warfare was a reality for the Ephesians.

And it is a reality for us today. Now I'm not trying to excuse or minimize human sin or corruption, nor am I trying to downplay the reality of tragedy in life. But Paul is right -- there is evil in the world, and although I don't believe in a little guy in a red suit, with a tail and a pitchfork, we shouldn't forget that there are malevolent forces in the world. These forces array themselves against the Kingdom of God in general and against Christians in particular.

So, as Paul advises, we need to keep our armor on. Paul gives a detailed explanation as to what this armor consists of. We'll look more closely at that on Sunday, but suffice it to say that evil is no match for the power of God. And prayer is the power behind the thrwarting of the threats of the Evil One.

This Sunday we're going to look at the Christian's defence. It's a lesson you don't want to miss, so I'll see you then.

Choose this day who you will serve!

Dear Friends: This week we are going to delve back into the Old Testament, into a part of the lectionary Scripture that is both famous and infamous. Please take time to look over Joshua 24 when you get a chance prior to Sunday.

This is one of the preacher's favorite passages. "Choose this day who you will serve!...As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!!" One can just hear the deep barotone voice of the evangelist rolling those syllables off the tongue!! But laying all drama aside, the words of Joshua have incredible implications for we who are part of God's Church.

The Book of Joshua records the conquests of the Promised Land by the people of Israel after their escape from Egypt, and their 40 years of wandering in the Wilderness. Moses is gone, and the mantle of leadership has fallen to Joshua. He leads them into the Promised Land, and due to his strong leadership and God's guidance, the land becomes theirs after a series of battles. Chapter 24 records the last actions of an aged and respected leader. Joshua calls the people to gather at Shechem (a place filled with history and Biblical meaning; it was here that Jacob led the people in an idol-burying ceremony, a rejection of all that pulled them away from the one true God.). Once there, he delivers his greatest sermon.

Joshua challenges the people to make a choice. Serve the Lord or don't. Reading between the lines, we see that there must have been a lot of folks who thought they could have their cake and eat it too. Namely, they thought they could worship both God and idols. But it doesn't work that way. You can't sit on the fence in the Kingdom of God!! Jesus reminded us that "You can't serve both God and mammon." Two gods is one too many for the Lord and King of Kings.

Obviously we don't serve idols today. But that doesn't mean we don't have idols. Whatever gets in the way of real devotion to Jesus is an idol. And in order to enjoy real life, we have to cast that idol away, and place Jesus on the throne of our lives. This Sunday, we're going to talk more about that, and I'll see you then!!

“Back to school” Church picnic, Sunday, September 20th

We will be having a "back to school" Church picnic on Sunday, September 20^th following Church.

Will be asking everyone to bring an Entrée and also one more item (i.e. salad, side dish, or dessert).

We are looking at Conklin CommunityPark located on Donegal Drive in South Riding, will let all know

If we get this location soon.  Even though park is open to dusk, I'm assuming we will end around 3:00

Unless folks want to leave later.  

Treasure trove of Christian truths!

Dear Friends:  This Sunday we are going to delve into Paul's writings in Ephesians, and boy, is it a treasure trove of Christian truths!  Be sure to take a look at Ephesians 5:15-20 before Sunday.   Here we have the Apostle borrowing a page from the Old Testament, specifically, from the Wisdom tradition.  These writings are typified by the Books of Job and Proverbs.  In a nutshell, being wise is knowing that there is a good God, desiring to be in fellowship with Him, and trying to follow His Will.  The opposite of wisdom is folly, and the foolish person (according to both the Wisdom writers and Paul) would be the person who rejects God's Will.   So what does this have to do with Paul's Letter to the Ephesians.  Well, in Paul's day -- as is the case today -- there were a lot of secular voices shouting at the believer how to live.  Paul very much believed that one could live in the world, but not be a part of the world.  Or to put it another way, we can live in secular society but we don't have to be secular.  As the old saying goes, "Christians aren't perfect -- just forgiven!"    This is an amazingly important lesson for the contemporary Christian.  We are tempted so many times by culture to stray away from what we know is right, and to betray God with our words or our deeds.  Paul gives us some advice on how to prevent this, and when I see you this Sunday, we'll learn together what he has to say.   Peace and Blessings,

Jesus the Bread of Life

Dear Friends:  It seems as though we are talking a lot about food in church these days.  Last week it was grits.  This week our Scripture lessons again lead us into culinary conversation.  We are in the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 37 through 51, and the conversation moves from manna to Jesus as the Bread of Life.

 

In Jesus' day, bread was a basic food staple.  Early each morning, the bread would be made, and then placed in clay ovens, always located away from the house to prevent fires.  Getting the oven to the right temperature was a family affair -- the children placed wood and kindling into the oven to stoke the fire.  Finally, the bubbling dough was ready, and it became much of the nourishment for the day.

 

Jesus says in these verses that He is the Bread of Life.  To the people in His day, these words would electrify with meaning the moment they left His lips.  This means that Jesus is essential for life, like bread is essential for nourishment.  And indeed this is the case -- believing in Jesus leads to trusting Him with our lives.  This trust means spiritual wholeness, that leads to eternal life.  In John's Gospel, eternal life means not only life in the sweet by-and-by, but also enhanced, real life right now.

 

As Jesus makes a point of telling us here, God gave the Israelites manna, that mysterious foof that kept them alive in the desert.  But this is physical life.  Manna doesn't last forever.  Contrary to this, the Bread of Life does last forever.  Whenever we surrender our lives to the Lord, He is more than ready to bring refreshment to our souls.

 

On Sunday we are going to explore this message in greater detail.  See you then!!