Currently, we will be using this podcast as a platform on which to share our Monday night lessons!
Flourishing are those who forgive and restore even in the face of the most painful debts because they are showing that they have and will receive forgiveness and mercy from God. Flourishing are those who have congruency between internal and external righteousness because they will be ever expanding in their eternal delight of the triune God. Flourishing are those willing to seek peace in relationships and mediate peace for others because they are like their peace-seeking, relationship-restoring God. Flourishing are you whenever you receive hate for saying and doing the right things because all is and will be set right in God's Kingdom. Flourishing are you when you are slandered because you've done rightly in being associated with Jesus. Be happy, because while you might lose everything here, you will receive everything in heaven and have taken up the mantle of the righteous ones before you.
Flourishing are those who know that they are spiritually destitute, for only from this beginning point can one receive everything in the Kingdom. Flourishing are those that feel and mourn the weight of your own sinfulness and the brokenness of the world because God will comfort you by changing you and setting all things right. Flourishing are those that act humbly and not seeking the power struggle of self-exaltation because God will give the earth to those who did not exalt themselves. Flourishing are those that yearn for being a whole person living in accord with God's way because He will grant what He commands.
The beginning of the flourishing life—the door of the Kingdom even—is for those that confidently, humbly acknowledge their radical spiritual bankruptcy.
The Apostle's Creed is a faithful summary of the Biblical data regarding where Christ was between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Concluding his humiliation and beginning His exaltation, Christ descended to the realm of the dead (consciously, as both God and man) to declare victory against demonic forces and for His church.
God is directing our lives and missions. He takes us to surprising and new places, and there we find that households can shake empires.
This is a special episode where Sam Somesan delivers a lecture at Taylor University on the topic of informative speech preparation and sermon construction.
The church defends the free Gospel by faith alone (with no law) and no idolatry.
The dynamic dependence required by faith can be frightening, but freedom is worth the fright of rest.
The church is an institution composed of members. Those members play an active, essential, vital role as priests who guard the church against heretical doctrinal and practice. Members are collectively authorized to stamp and un-stamp their approval on “who” true Christians are. Thus, members carry a gravely important responsibility that must be exercised with wisdom and caution, but it must be exercised nonetheless. Institutions, membership, and church discipline must all be seen as flowing from, not antithetical to, love.
No matter the highs and lows, Paul and Barnabas successfully completed their first missionary journey by resting in Christ and His calling—not on the praise of men. They didn't think of themselves as entirely different or better. They were messengers who told the news of Jesus come what may. They were then faithful people who returned to encourage the disciples to remain faithful in the fight.
Jesus, by the hands of Paul and Barnabas, conquers and sets free an island territory bound under the Satanic spell of syncretistic false religion.
Using the exodus motif from Israel and Jesus, Luke prepares the reader for a new phase in the life of the Church. Persecution, sluggish faith, and the powers of the world are easily overcome by God. Jesus continues to use the unlikely and unimportant as models for watchful faithfulness as He works to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Following in the positive wake of Peter's defense, the church becomes surprisingly multiethnic in Antioch. Jerusalem sends an encouraging man by the name of Barnabas to help the ministry; as the ministry grows, Barnabas recruits his old friend Paul for further assistance. In a surprising twist, famine strikes the Jerusalem church, and it is Antioch which comes to the aid of Jerusalem. These surprises and hardship prove that the church moves forward as one with the same generosity it has had since the beginning.
In prelude to the Gentile Pentecost, Peter heals Aeneas and raises Tabitha. These episodes continue to stretch Peter's understanding and involvement in the gentile mission. Luke is likely contrasting these individuals with characters from Virgil's Aeneid to highlight that the expansion of the kingdom of God brings life in contrast to the destructive expansion of the worldly kingdom of Rome.”
Paul comes to life and exits exile as the church affirms Paul's conversion and is baptized. Paul immediately begins acting on the calling that the Lord has given him by ministering to both Jew and Gentile audiences, proclaiming Christ to them. A few years later, Paul engages with the Apostolic headquarters in Jerusalem largely thanks to Barnabas' affirmation of Paul. Paul escapes death threats once again, this time heading for his hometown of Tarsus.
Saul, later called Paul, begins as one who opposes the church but is transformed on the Damascus Road. In a story of ironic spiritual reversals, the heavenly light of Christ shows Paul that he remains in personal spiritual exile while the church of many nations has found the way out of exile. In a parallel text, Paul receives his commission to act as a mini-Isaianic servant who is a light to the Gentile nations.
In this lesson, we review chapters 1-8 of Acts as we return to our study of the book. Main points from this lesson are: Jesus reigns. The restoration of all things has begun. The true temple is spreading across the world in the Gospel.
These two lessons aimed to assist parents in grasping what the self is in order to more clearly aid their child in understanding who they are. We discussed that there are matters essential to our identity with uniquely essential parts of our identity given to us in union with Christ. Beyond the essential matters of identity, there remain “accidental” portions of our identity which require careful instruction from parents to children. Despite the transient nature of these accidental qualities, our essential qualities as Christian, human persons should be brought to bear on these matters. Because of this, every quality about our persons (and every introspective identity thought) should ultimately have its terminus on God, increasing His beauty in our minds and decreasing our prideful self-absorption and idolatry.
This lesson provides a biblical basis for a discussion of "identity" which prepares for part 2, application of identity questions to parenting.
This lesson discussed the Scriptural directives regarding how parents are to transmit the story of God to their children. Some “best practices” on how to accomplish this were offered regarding education generally and spiritual education according to cognition, affection, and volition. Within the topic of spiritual education, the what, who, when/where, and why of discipline were addressed as parents represent the loving chastisement of God our Father. These best practices were considered together in the culminating activities of familial and corporate worship. Lastly, because Scripture sets the provocation of children in direct contrast with raising them to love the Lord, fourteen “worst practices” of provocation were educed for consideration.
The idyllic end of the story is an absolutely essential hope in the parent-child relationship. This ideal is not merely some ethereal, fairy-tale ending; rather, Jesus incarnates and embodies the ideal. At His first coming, He inaugurated the restoration of all things which is first seen in the new nature of Christians. Like all humans, children must participate in the ideal. This is only possible by the Father's election, the Son's accomplishment, and the Spirit's application of redemption. Often through parental evangelism, God frequently and graciously imparts faith to the hearts of children which transforms their cognitive, affective, and volitional heart functions. As more and more hearts are redeemed, the sin issues both within and without of a child begin to disappear as righteousness prevails. Ultimately, these redeemed hearts congregate into a spiritual family called the church. By virtue of Jesus' person and work, the creation mandate is fulfilled in the church which allows all individuals to participate in parent-child relationships despite physical calling. Parents, both physical and spiritual, thus participate in the sanctification of the redeemed hearts found in their children.
These two lessons have attempted to argue that story itself is of principle importance to parenting because story is how we make meaning of the world. Secondary to this then we must be sure that our children are receiving the right story. The story of Christianity offers that the problem of humanity is sin. This sin issue is found both within our child and without the child in the external world. Initially, parents function to protect them from the evils of life, but ultimately, good parents are preparing children to transcend their guardianship in order to dynamically navigate the evils of this life as part of the church.
Where do children find themselves in the great story?
A good framework allows both a dynamic, flexible, individualized approach while resisting the relativistic notion that there are no universal principles to be applied.
Stephen engages in apologetics for the Christian faith and is falsely accused at trial. No servant is greater than the Master, and all must prepare to suffer in the footsteps of Jesus. Though the world hates the cause of Christ, we must reflect the glory of Christ to them by participating whole-heartedly in the Temple where the Word is proclaimed and the people are enjoyed.
In contrast to the acceptable sacrifice of Barnabas, Ananias and Saphira offer an unacceptable sacrifice by lying to God while attempting boost their image before men. Peter confronts both individuals regarding their sins, seeing that Satan is attempting to disrupt the koinonia of the church. God though Peter guards and keeps His temple pure from hypocrites by miraculously killing Ananias and Saphira. Reverential awe and fear God reverberates through the church and community at large on account of this incident.
The believers in the church are inwardly united at the heart level, internally united in generosity within the body, and externally united in their proclamation of the resurrected Jesus. Their radical community fulfills the OT expectations for Israel's behavior and establishes a new, true temple while also appealing to the ethical ideals of the Greek philosophical world. Good leadership and encouraging new characters are present, and the church is, therefore, flourishing despite the difficulties faced.
In the Peter's portico pronouncement, Peter confronts the audience with the problem of their sin, offers the solution of faith in the person and work in Christ, calls for a repentant response. This results remittance of sins, spiritual refreshment, future restoration, and reading Scripture Christocentrically.
Luke gives an account of the first healing in the Last Days Temple continuing to fulfill the prophecy spoken of in Joel. Peter heals a lame man in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth showing that Jesus is the one who saves and heals and that Jesus is still reigning from Heaven. The lame man provides a beautiful picture of what the Gospel is and what it looks like for a lost wretch to be transformed by God into a new creation. The collision of the Last Days Temple with the old temple shows that Jesus is building up His Church starting in Jerusalem and extending towards the ends of the earth.
Luke provides his first summary statement in Acts where he describes the church as faithfully engaging in the Word, the Lord's Supper, fellowship, prayer, Spirit-movement, crazy generosity, and intense community for the praise of God which attracts more and more people to the power of Jesus on display in His new temple of people.
In this passage, Peter finishes his sermon by arguing that Jesus, the ascended one, has been enthroned as Lord and Christ. Despite being guilty sinners, there is forgiveness and a lavishing of spiritual gifts to be found in Jesus. Any who would come is welcome, and none will be cast out.
Peter goes on offense in describing the person and work of Jesus. Peter describes Jesus as a fully incarnated man attested to by God's signs and wonders. Peter describes Jesus as one crucified and killed by God's sovereign plan and man's evil will. Peter describes Jesus as the Greater David who overcame the power of death (and the realm of the dead) in a way no one else could. This Jesus stands ready to forgive the guilt of all who crucified Him if they will believe and repent toward His person and work on their behalf.
Combining the temple backgrounds of Sinai and Babel, Luke reveals that with the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, the eschatological temple has come down from Heaven. This end times temple is made not of stones but of people. This people forms a new humanity under King Jesus that is unified while maintaining its distinctives to God's glory. God's judgement of the nations is precisely the means by which His salvation will occur, and people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will worship the King forevermore.
From the humble beginnings of a small group which obediently waits the direction of their King, God will build His Kingdom. God is sovereign over everything and victorious over those who oppose Him. He destroys all that oppose His anointed and His Kingdom. Under the providential selection of God, the eleven select Matthais to complete the twelve once again. Thus, the tribal heads of Israel are reconstituted in preparation for the restoration of Israel by the establishment of True Israel at Pentecost.
Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to empower His people to proclaim the Good News throughout the world. Christ's ascension is the seal of authenticity of his ministry on earth. He is still working in heaven as Prophet, Priest, and King. Just as He went up into heaven, so also, He will return again to judge the living and the dead.
In the prologue to the book of Acts, Luke portrays it such that Jesus is about to continue acting and teaching after His ascension, through the apostolic foundation. The bodily resurrection and promise of the Spirit indicate that the Kingdom is indeed at hand and will usher forth to the nations from Jerusalem. Everything is on schedule according to the plan of God.
Galatians 5:1-6, 13-15: The Best People in Life Are Free by Sam Somesan
Galatians 3:1-14: How to Stay a Member of the Family by Sam Somesan
Hear Dr. Nate Meece speak on the role of the mind and intellect in the life of the Christian!
Galatians 2:15-21—You're Not Enough, but You Are Loved by Sam Somesan
Galatians 1:6-10: Remaining in the Promised Land by Sam Somesan
Listen to Pastor Tony as he concludes our unit on Biblical counseling!
Listen to Jim Fain discuss the differences between Biblical counseling and secular psychology
Hear Pastor Tony deliver an introduction to the principles of Biblical counseling!
Sam Somesan delivers a call for unity within the body
Listen to Justin Williams share about missions and his experiences on the mission field!
Listen to Pastor Tony provide practical evangelism training to begin our Gospel proclamation unit
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