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In this episode of the Mutuality Matters podcast from CBE International, hosts Mimi and Charel speak with Dr. Jeannine Brown who discusses the pressing need to interpret the Biblical text of 1 Peter 3:1–7 within its first-century Greco-Roman context. Dr. Brown emphasizes the importance of understanding the cultural and historical background behind the passages on submission, particularly 1 Peter 3:1–7. She explores how Peter's household codes provide agency to often marginalized groups like wives and slaves, contrary to the hierarchical norms of the time. The conversation underscores the relevance today of recognizing and respecting context while interpreting Biblical texts—an essential factor for both scholars and modern readers. 00:00 Introduction to Mutuality Matters 00:02 Exploring the Context of Submission in 1 Peter 00:49 Welcome and Introductions 01:33 Reading and Analyzing 1 Peter 3:1-7 02:57 Cultural Background and Interpretation 03:37 Household Codes in the Greco-Roman World 07:24 Missional Moments and Divided Households 08:20 Challenges for Christian Wives in the First Century 10:03 Slavery and Moral Agency in 1 Peter 11:28 Understanding Peter's Use of Household Codes 16:50 Modern Interpretations and Misconceptions 27:46 The Role of Headings in Biblical Interpretation 30:15 Instructions for Husbands in 1 Peter 3:7 36:30 Exploring Social and Physical Vulnerability 37:19 Interpreting 'Weaker Vessel' in Context 38:02 Challenging Traditional Views on Gender Roles 40:18 Co-Heirs and Inheritance in Early Christianity 41:50 Family Metaphors in 1 Peter 43:37 Egalitarian Impulses in the New Testament 45:28 Household Codes and Their Implications 50:08 Suffering for Good and Loyalty to Jesus 52:47 Translation Challenges and Responsibilities 58:01 Applying 1 Peter in Modern Contexts 01:04:03 Conclusion and Further Resources Guest Bio: Dr. Jeannine Brown Jeannine Brown is professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary and Program Director of Bethel Seminary's Online programs. Jeannine received in MA from Bethel Seminary, Saint Paul, MN. and her PhD from Luther seminary, Saint Paul, MN. Dr. Brown has taught at Bethel Seminary for over 20 years. She teaches in the areas of New Testament, Greek, hermeneutics, and integration. Dr. Brown has focused much of her research and writing on the Gospels, hermeneutics, and interdisciplinary integration. In addition to a book on biblical hermeneutics (Scripture as Communication, now in second edition) and two books on integration, she has published three commentaries on Matthew's Gospel and one on Philippians (Tyndale NT series). She is a member of the NIV translation team and is an editor for the NIV Study Bible, revised edition (2020). Her current writing projects include a commentary 1 Peter (NICNT) and book on themes in 1 Peter. Jeannine's other published works include: Scripture as Communication (2021, 2007); The Gospels as Stories (2020); Relational Integration of Psychology and Christian Theology (2018); Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation (2011); Embedded Genres in the New Testament: Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation and three commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew (2018, 2015, 2012). Jeannine Brown co-edited the second edition of Jesus and the Gospels (2013). She has published numerous journal articles and book essays on the Gospels of Matthew and John, 1 Peter, and topics of hermeneutics. Some of these have been published in Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, and Horizons in Biblical Theology. Jeannine thoroughly enjoys teaching in churches and ministries on the topics of Bible interpretation and the New Testament. She is married to Tim Brown, singer-songwriter, and has two adult daughters. Story Notes Today's podcast focused on 1 Pet 3:1–7. In the NIV it reads: "Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." Exploring the cultural background, Jeannine suggests that Peter is calling Christians to display behaviors that reflect Christ even as male dominance was a given. Jeannine explained that in the first century, Roman interest in well-organized households should mirror a well-organized Rome. Roman citizens were to live harmoniously within a well-organized Roman household. Where the passage makes a surprising move is in the call for husbands to have empathy for their wives with a consequence: that God will hear their prayers. Further Christian wives should view themselves beyond the cultural standard of female beauty. As the passage states: it's not the adorning of women's outer selves but their inner lives of faith in God. Doing right, and with faith that does not give into fear given God is ultimately in control. This passage is countercultural in its emphasis on Christian faith and the development of a peaceful inner life both of which acknowledge God's supremacy versus that of emperor's. This passage calls both husbands and wives to do what is right: to be brave, to have faith in God who rules over all of Rome's emperors, verse 7, to live within a culture with very differing values that offend Christian moral life. In this passage there is a tension in negotiating life lived in a culture at odds with Christian values, supremely concerning the divinity Jesus, or that of an emperor. While Jesus died on a Roman cross, even so, the passage evokes faith and courage in Christian households. The passage is helpful to missionaries in similar circumstances. How to live with courage and faith, elevating the gospel with behavior more often than words in a culture that exploited slaves and women. Turning to 1 Peter 3:7 that reads: "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." The Petrine texts lean into sibling language, especially that of children, which overall is very egalitarian in the cultural context of first century. Further, the language of “father” was not very much present in NT as it was in 1st century non-Christian texts. God's children in Christ were to face each other in humility and this very egalitarian impulse in relating to one another. God is father, but in Christ we're all siblings. Women and men are co-heirs is throughout NT. Leadership structure are notes but not ones in the NT. The whole Petrine text is a significant challenge to the top-down rule from emperor as God down throughout the household structure which was central. Given what Peter is doing with family metaphors—of believers as children / siblings who are to love earnestly as family love each other, and as the elders are a group too much have wisdom but must lead by example. These impulses, leader on top, and wife below: this does simplify decisions, but this is not the texture of Peter. As he thinks of his context, and the household code, it is not a prescription but a triage—a pathway for healing top-down leadership. It's what Christians do in an emergency. Emergency advice to the Christian community so it can survive. It's about survival for the most vulnerable. The thrust of text is a call to attentiveness to the most vulnerable. In light of Tom Holland's book—Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World—in brutal detail reveals the cruelty of Rome. In thinking of our next, the advice is that even if you suffer for doing good, you are blessed. And take comfort in that truth and knowledge that even those who slanders you, remain loyal to Christ, if you suffer as Jesus did, you will also share in his glory. In fascinating detail, Jeannine describes the history of Bible translation and the canonical review that follows. For the NIV team, on which she contributes, their voting policy requires a 75% majority in approving translation choices. Thus, the team must make a compelling case to change something, so for 1 Peter, and the NT generally, it's always wise to examine and read many translations to see differences. In considering the backdrop in which the text arises, submission is not a new requirement. What is new for this culture is to ask that all behavior must be Christ-like. While believers are clearly frightened by opposition to Christian faith, the text calls them to act in ways that others will recognize their soul-allegiance to Christ. Win others over to Christ not out of fear but confident behavior that imitates Christ's live. Jeannine recommends entering the text with a disciplined imagination that brings implications of texts to life then and now. Idolatry is key issue underlining the concerns in this text which encourages faith and living life not with words but by example. Jeannine points listeners to the following resources: Nijay Gupta's book, Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught and Ministered in the Early Church. Listen to Jeannine Brown's Hayward Lectures at Acadia Divinity College Jeannie will resume this conversation in subsequent episodes of Women and Worlds: Exploring the Difficult Passages. Disclaimer The opinions expressed in CBE's Mutuality Matters' podcast are those of its hosts or guests and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of CBE International or its members or chapters worldwide. The designations employed in this podcast and the presentation of content therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of CBE concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers.
This program is a discussion of the evidence for infant baptism in the first century.
Series: First Love Living | Making our house a First-Love Home | August 3, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world. Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century. It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world. It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through. And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more! Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.
We hope this message in our series "Acts - Turning The World Upside Down" is impactful and uplifting in your walk with Jesus!If you would like to dive deeper, check out the links below.Listen to the Acts Companion Podcast:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPe4iZS-2t-qwfMP9RrwHKpdDwENmO9JKStay in touch with us on Instagram | Facebook | Spotify - True Hope ChurchCheck out our Website:https://www.truehopechurch.org
Series: First Love Living | The Best Way To Love | July 27, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world. Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century. It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world. It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through. And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more! Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.
Paul in writing to the Romans speaks about “the power of God”. What does he mean? He is not referring to physical power such as will be shown at the time Jesus returns when the greatest earthquake ever (Rev. 16 v.18) and other terrible events will occur.In today's reading in Romans, Paul writes of the gospel saying, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes “ [1 v.16].Paul's point is that the Gospel makes sense, compared to the nonsense surrounding the many gods (of human imagination) the Romans, and all except the Jews, believed in.Today, we can say it makes sense – compared to the nonsense that so many teach about evolution which more and more willingly accept as true. They think that everything that exists, sort of created itself, and there is no need for a creator God. Much of this attitude seems to be motivated by a desire to be free of the restrictions God's laws impose on their lives.A particular example of this is evident at the moment. In Ch. 1 v.26,27 Paul particularly singles out acts of homosexuality – writing “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the dishonouring of their bodies … “ The fact that more and more Governments are legalizing same-sex “marriages” would horrify those living a generation or two ago! But most of all – what must God think!? What action will he take?But we need to also realise that to believe a gospel about believer's having a future life in heaven is also nonsense and, as a falsehood, has no power at all. It is only the gospel God revealed to men through his son that has “power”- because it is truth.It is based on historical fact, because the events of the First Century and what followed,make sense the more we think about what is written. The conviction of many people became so strong it had the power to turn the beliefs of the pagan Roman world upside down in the 2nd & 3rd Centuries – but sadly, then the Gospel became corrupted and expressed in Man-made creeds. .We must let this gospel become a power in our lives – if we are to really live a life worth living with the wonderful prospect of eternity. We must not let ourselves be influenced by those who scoff at “the power of God.”
Series: First Love Living | Dressing up in Purity | July 20, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world. Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century. It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world. It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through. And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more! Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.
A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity St. Luke 5:1-11 by William Klock Our Gospels during these first few Sundays of Trinitytide—so far—have all had us following Jesus as he made his way to Jerusalem to observe the Passover for the last time. But today's Gospel—from the Fifth Chapter of Luke—takes us back to the beginning of Jesus' ministry—those early days when he was travelling around the region of Galilee a long way from Jerusalem. Luke gives a series of vignettes in Chapter 4. Every sabbath, he writes, Jesus was teaching in the synagogues. He read from Isaiah one sabbath in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth and then he told the people, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your own hearing!” The people were so angry that they tried to stone him and he fled from the town. So he went to Capernaum and taught in the synagogue there. That's where a demon-possessed man stood up and shouted at Jesus: “I know who you are. You're God's holy one!” And just to prove it, Jesus then cast out the demon and word went out throughout the whole region. On another sabbath, after preaching in the synagogue, he was invited to the house of Simon Peter. Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. Jesus rebuked the fever and straightaway she recovered and served them lunch. Pretty soon everyone who was sick or who had a demon showed up and Jesus healed them all. And because of that, no matter where Jesus went, Luke writes, the crowds hunted for him. And that's how today's Gospel begins. One day Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. Finally a moment of peace. An early morning walk on the beach. He found a little cove. The shores of Gennesaret (or Galilee as it's otherwise known) are full of little coves. He watched as the fishermen dragged their boats ashore after a night of hard work. But then someone came down the trail to the beach. And he saw Jesus. And he went running back up the trail out of sight shouting, “He's here! He's here! I've found him!” And others began to follow the man back down the trail to the beach. And more and more until another crowd had gathered and was pressing in on Jesus. They had seen for themselves or they had heard the stories of the amazing things the God of Israel was doing through Jesus and they wanted to see more. They wanted to hear more of the good news that Jesus was proclaiming. But it was no good trying to preach from the middle of the crowd. People kept interrupting them with their problems. Even if he could get a few words out, the crowd just couldn't hear him. So Jesus had an idea. Sound travels wonderfully over water and the little beach cove was a perfect amphitheatre. So he made his way down to the water where he'd seen the two boats, and got into one of them, and standing there, he called to one of the fishermen. Jesus recognised the man. It was the same fellow who'd invited him to lunch after the synagogue service. It was the same fellow whose mother-in-law he'd healed. “Hey you! Was it Simon or Peter or Simon Peter. Yes, this is your boat isn't it? Row me out a little way from the land.” Maybe Peter felt like he owed Jesus something or maybe he was flattered that Jesus had chosen his boat and remembered him from the other day. Whatever the case, Peter set aside his net, got in the boat, and rowed Jesus out into the middle of the cove. And Luke says that Jesus sat down in the boat and began to teach the crowd. It was probably some version of Jesus' favourite sermon. Luke has preserved one version of that sermon that we sometimes hear called “The Sermon on the Plain”—because Jesus preached it in a flat, open place, but mostly because it contrasts with the version preserved by Matthew, where Jesus preached from a hillside. We call that version “The Sermon on the Mount”. That's the sermon where Jesus preaches about the kingdom of God. It's the sermon in which he calls the people of Israel to trust in the Lord because he never fails to provide. He clothes the flowers of the field that wither tomorrow. He feeds the birds so that they have no need to worry. How much more important are you—the Lord's elect, chosen, called covenant people—than flowers and birds? So stop worrying and trust him. Pursue, seek his kingdom above everything else, and trust him to take care of you. Israel had struggled for forever with idolatry—in one form or another—instead of trusting in and giving her full allegiance to the Lord. That's what got them exiled to Babylon. The Pharisees were right. That idolatry and fickle faith was what kept them in a sort of in-house exile in their own time. So, in other words, Jesus is saying to the people of Israel: Give the Lord your allegiance. Give your all to his agenda: to holiness, to being light in the darkness, stop being so fickle. You do that and, just as he promised, the Lord will take care of you—he'll even pour out his blessings on you. And Peter sat there right in front of Jesus, holding the oars, keeping the boat in position and Jesus facing the shore, and he listened. The Bible doesn't tell us anything about Peter's past, but just like anyone else, he had one. I don't think Peter was any great or notorious sinner or anything like that. Reading between the lines, I think it's safe to conclude that he was just your ordinary, average Judean who obeyed torah as best he could, who celebrated Passover with his family every year, who went to the temple in Jerusalem as required—at least most of the time. But he knew he wasn't perfect. He could be impetuous at times. He could fly off the handle. But most of all, as Jesus preached, I think Peter was convicted of his own fickleness. He tithed, but sometimes he did so grudgingly. He kept the sabbath, but sometimes he worried where the money was going to come from when he took off that one day a week from fishing. Some days, especially in the summer, sunset on Saturday just couldn't come soon enough for Peter so he could get back to work. Jesus got Peter thinking. Did he really trust in the Lord? Or did Peter trust in Peter? Had he really given his full allegiance to the God of Israel or was Peter really serving Peter? And Peter mulled on these things as Jesus finished speaking and said to him, “Put out into the deeper part, and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter was still playing through in his head what Jesus had been saying about trusting the Lord and giving him his full allegiance. This snapped him out of it. No more introspection. It's like Jesus knew what he was thinking. Peter didn't really want to let down his nets. He'd fished all night and they hadn't caught anything. They certainly weren't going to catch anything in the daylight. That's because they fished with nets made of linen. The fish could see them in the day, but they'd swim right into them in the dark at night. And Peter had just finished cleaning and mending his nets. Now he'd have to clean them—and if they hit a snag, maybe mend them too—all over again. Peter was born and bred to fishing. He knew everything there was to know about it. He knew the habits of fish, he knew about nets, he knew about the seasons, the time of day, and the play of light in the water. He knew about boats. He knew about marketing and selling fish. He was a fisherman! And if First Century fishermen were anything like Twenty-first Century fishermen, the last thing you'd want to do with Peter is start an argument over fishing—especially if you're not a fisherman. And, of course, Jesus was not. His father had taught him the carpentry and the building trade. Peter really, really didn't want to cast his net into the water again and he wouldn't have for anyone else. But this was Jesus. Just like everyone else, Peter wasn't quite sure exactly what to make of him, but he'd not only heard the stories; he'd seen it for himself. His mother-in-law had been on the verge of death, but Jesus made her well—so well that virtually instantly she was up serving them lunch. And so he says to Jesus, “Master”. Let me pause there. Master is okay, but it might not be the best translation. In the Gospels people address Jesus as “teacher” or “rabbi” or even as “lord”, but unique in Luke's Gospel, people occasionally address him as epistata. An epistates is someone in charge, someone with authority. The ten lepers address Jesus as epistata. The disciples, when they were in the boat being tossed around by the storm, addressed him as epistata. That's how Peter addresses Jesus here. “We were working hard all night and caught nothing. But okay, Master. You're the boss, you're calling the shots here. So if you say so, I'll let down the nets.” Peter sounds like he's letting down his nets grudgingly. I wonder if that's how it really was. He's been convicted in his own heart of how he's been half-hearted in serving the Lord. He's just been hearing Jesus preach about God taking care of flowers and birds. Or something along those lines, because we know Jesus liked to preach on that topic. It was exactly what fickle, half-hearted Israel needed to hear. So Peter probably didn't want to go through the hassle of letting down his nets again, but I think he wanted to trust that through Jesus, the God of Israel really would look after him. Jesus might not know anything about fishing, but Peter had seen that Jesus had authority and that he took charge of things—whether demons or blindness or sickness or even the fish in the sea. He could see, plain as day, that the God of Israel was working through Jesus. Peter was thinking on those words: “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these thing will be added to you.” I think the main reason Luke records these words from Peter about having fished all night and caught nothing is that he wants to remind us that this is the way the Lord works. Jesus is telling Peter to fish at the worst possible time to fish. Jesus does this throughout the Gospels. He hears that Lazarus is sick and near to death, but then he waits three days before going—time enough for Lazarus to be well and truly dead. So instead of healing Lazarus from sickness, he raises him from the dead and calls him out of his tomb. Or think of the woman who was bleeding for twelve years or the man who was blind from birth. In that last instance Jesus had the opportunity to explain why these things happened. The disciples with their conventional wisdom assumed that either the man or his parents were great sinners and that the Lord had punished him with blindness. But Jesus said that, no, the man was born blind that God might reveal his glory. Because that's how the God of Israel works and Israel is the chief example. The Lord allowed his people to become slaves in Egypt so that he might display his glory both to them and to the watching nations. In the events of the Exodus the God of Israel exposed the king and the gods of Egypt as frauds, totally lacking the great power and authority they claimed to have. The God of Israel single-handedly beat the gods of Egypt at their own games and humbled mighty Pharaoh—the greatest king on earth—and drowned his army in the sea. And at the same time, in Israel, he created a people who would forever be singing his praises and announcing his glory to the nations. All because they had watched him do the impossible. Every newborn baby boy was circumcised and, in that, he was given the sign of God's covenant promise. And every year the fathers of Israel led their families as they ate the Passover meal and recalled the Lord's promises and the glory he displayed on their behalf in the Exodus. Jesus was doing the same thing. He had come to lead the people in a new exodus and along the way, he was acting out that exodus, that divine deliverance as he did the impossible—and the more impossible the better, because the more power and authority it displayed. Why had Peter (and James and John, his partners) why had they been skunked that night? I don't know. Maybe Peter said something unkind to his wife before leaving that night. Maybe he'd shorted the Lord in his tithing that week. Maybe he'd dallied too long with that dancing girl the day before. Maybe Peter thought his empty nets were punishment for some sin. But if he'd asked Jesus, “Why did I toil all night and catch nothing? Did I sin?” Jesus would have said, “No, Peter. It was so that the Lord, the God of Israel, would be glorified.” And that's exactly what happens. Luke writes, beginning at verse 6 that when they let down their nets, they caught such a huge number of fish that their nets began to break. Usually they'd fish all night for a catch that wouldn't break their nets, but now Peter let down his net and before he could even pull it back into the boat to keep from becoming over-full of fish, the catch was so great that it strained the integrity of the net. I assume it was just he and Jesus in the boat and he and Jesus were, themselves, straining to pull the net in. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, Luke writes. So they came, and filled both the boats, and they began to sink. And right there, in a sinking boat, with fish wriggling all around them, Luke writes that Peter took stock of everything that had just happened. He fell down at Jesus' knees. “Depart from me, Lord!” he said, “Because I'm a sinful man!” James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon Peter's partners were just as amazed, Luke writes. But being in the other boat, they couldn't kneel at Jesus' knees. But Peter knelt there convicted of his sins by this amazing display of God's glory. I found myself asking this week why Peter didn't have this same reaction when Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Why was Peter's mother-in-law sick? For the same reason: so that Jesus could display the glory of the God of Israel. Presumably Peter was impressed when he saw the healing. But it didn't impact him the way the multitude of fish did. And maybe that's because Peter was a fisherman, not a doctor. It highlight the fact that God gets to each of us in different ways to convict us of sin and to move us to faith. Every one of us has a different story of how God got hold of us. That, too, is how he works. But one way or another, each of us has been amazed and captivated by the glory of God. Our reactions to that revelation are often different too. Some people encountered God's glory and were moved to faith as Jesus wiped away their tears. Peter, however, is met by that glory and is moved to tears. He knew how the prophets had preached about the coming judgement of Israel for her sins. He'd heard Jesus preach—not just the warm-fuzzies, but also the announcement of soon-coming judgement. And when he saw the glory of God, when he experienced the presence of the holy, Peter found himself overwhelmed by his own sinfulness. He knew he didn't belong in the presence of the holy. He knew he belonged with those people who would find themselves in the outer darkness weeping and gnashing their teeth. He responded just like Isaiah when he found himself in the presence of the holiness of God. Remember Isaiah. He cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost. For I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). But it was just as Isaiah acknowledged his sinfulness that an angel flew down to touch his lips with a cleansing and holy fire. The angel announced that his guilt had departed and that his sin had been blotted out. And when the Lord called out, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? Who will proclaim my message to Israel?” Isaiah cried out, “Here I am! Send me!” And it's that scene all over again in that sinking fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee with fish wriggling all around. Peter knelt there shaking at Jesus kneels and Jesus said, “Don't be afraid. From now on you'll be catching men!” Jesus is, himself, the holy fire who purifies us from our sins. Now, it doesn't come across in our English translations, but when Jesus says that Peter will be catching men, that “catching” isn't usually a word associated with fishing. It has the sense of catching someone or something alive—like a warrior catching an enemy, but sparing his life. There's a reason behind Jesus' odd choice of words. What he's doing is echoing the words of Jeremiah 16. There, through the Prophet, the Lord announced the judgement that was about to come on the people of Judea for their unfaithfulness and their idolatry. The Babylonians would come and none would escape. The Lord says, “I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them…For my eyes are on their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed form my eyes.” Jesus draws on the common Greek translation of the prophet. He uses the same word: catch. The people of Judea in those days wouldn't be killed, but neither would they escape the judgement of exile. But now Jesus flips the imagery around. The people of Judah are still in their long exile, still experiencing the punishment brought by their sins, but now the Lord will send fishers again, this time to catch sinners and to rescue them alive from the coming judgement. What was in Jeremiah's day an image of the Lord's judgement on sinners, Jesus now turns into an image of God's mercy for them. As Jesus says in John's Gospel, “God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world could be saved by him.” That's what Jesus has come to do. And even though only he can go to the cross to accomplish the redemption of sinners, he's not going on this fishing trip alone. He's calling Peter (and James and John and eventually a whole host of men and women that we call the church) to go fishing with him, to catch men and women that they—that we—might be delivered from our sins and from the coming judgement. How much of this did Peter understand that day? Probably not much. But what he did know is that in Jesus the God of Israel was at work. He knew that judgement was inevitable and he knew that somehow and in some way the Lord was making deliverance possible through Jesus. He had seen the glory of the Lord and there was no going back. And so, Luke writes, They brought their boats to land, then they abandoned everything and followed him. Peter walked away from all of it. The boats, the net, the sea, the fish. They had been his source of security. That's what he'd trusted. But he heard that reminder from Jesus: Seek first God's kingdom, and all these things will be added to you. If the Lord could fill his nets to bursting just to make this point, Peter was ready to trust him with everything—to give his full allegiance to Jesus the Messiah. If God could do this, he could do anything. And so Peter gave his allegiance to the Lord Jesus. And he knew hardship and he knew persecution and eventually he would even come to know martyrdom. His faith and his love for Jesus would eventually lead him from Jerusalem all the way to Rome and all along the way he proclaimed the glory of God. All the way he proclaimed the good news that Jesus died to forgive sins and rose to restore God's life to us and to the world, and that this Jesus is the Lord of all who shows us the glory of his Father. Peter went out into the world to challenge the fake gods and the fake kings in whom we trust, and proclaimed the crucified and risen Lord so that everyone would know the glory of the one, true God. Peter eventually died for that message. But Peter knew that his risen Lord was master over death itself, just as he'd been master over all those fish that one morning years before. And so he trusted Jesus' promise: Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness—even if it means martyrdom—and he will take care of you. Let's pray: Father, you have called us and made us your people. You send us out, like Simon Peter, to fish for people that they might know the life of your kingdom. When we're tempted to protest, thinking that we are unworthy of the task, that we are too sinful, that we aren't up to it, remind us that in Jesus you have forgiven us, that you have made us holy, that you have filled us with your Spirit, and that you have given us this remarkable and irresistible story to tell the world, this story of your goodness, your love, your grace, your mercy, and your faithfulness. Your glory. Give us the grace to do the work of your kingdom as we trust in your faithfulness to us and to all who hear it. Amen.
Series: First Love Living | Maturing in our Calling | July 13, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world. Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century. It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world. It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through. And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more! Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.
Despite what many claim, we don't “lose down here.” Christ is King, and we are commanded to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20). His kingdom shall never cease, and it has been on the rise since the First Century. It is a ploy of our enemy to get us to think that we have no hope of victory in this season. God's Kingdom triumphs by HIs power through the gospel. In this sermon, Pastor Daniel provides a biblical strategy for advancing the Kingdom of God from generation to generation.
Anyone who believes in Jesus – is also meant to be an Ambassador of Christ. Now – that's not an easy role. Sometimes being Ambassador requires some tough talk. Other times it's about diplomacy – the question is, knowing when to call a spade a spade, and when to be more … circumspect. It's Not a Shouting Match One of the most embarrassing things I've ever seen as a Christian – and I've seen it a few times – is some guy standing on a soapbox in a Mall or on a street corner, or as I shared a few weeks ago, at a Saturday morning market, screaming out the so called, "Good News" about Jesus Christ. Now, I'm a Christian and so I will sometimes stop and see if I can understand where they're coming from. And truly, most of the time, I just can't figure it out, but there they stand on their soapbox, with a Bible in their hands and surrounded by some pretty tacky placards normally, screaming the Gospel at people. Do I think God can use that? Sure – I mean, He seems to use the foolishness that I preach sometimes, in peoples' lives, so why not the guy on the soapbox on the street corner? Do I think, however, that it's the most effective way of dealing with the issue? Is it the best way to communicate the incredible love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, the riches available to those who put their faith in Him? Is it the best way to share that Good News? Not by a long shot; not by a very long shot! And yet, it's easy ... it's so easy for us to imagine that telling people about Jesus is kind of like getting on that soapbox. That it's about two equal and opposite ideologies – God's and the world's – butting heads and locking horns. Over the last couple of weeks and again this week on the programme, we are having a chat about living our lives out as ambassadors of Christ; His emissaries, if you will. If I believe in Jesus; if you believe in Jesus, then one of the things that we have to do with our lives – one of the main things - is to communicate His love; to carry His love out into a lost and a hurting world. That's what the Apostle Paul said in writing to his dear friends at the church in Corinth – way back in the First Century. Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20: So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. Each one in our own way, of course but otherwise, how can we possibly claim to be His ambassadors? How can God make His appeal to this world to be reconciled with Him through someone who looks nothing like Him; who sounds nothing like Him? Now, that presents us with something of a dilemma! Does me, anyhow, because what I see is that sometimes Jesus stood up and berated people – not too often, but sometimes He did. He called the religious leaders of the day "hypocrites", "a brood of vipers" and a whole bunch of other things as well. And yet other times, He dealt with people with such tender love and compassion, it kind of moves you to tears when you read about those times. Like the woman caught in adultery – you can read her story in John's Gospel chapter 8. I mean He pretty much puts Himself between her and the angry mob that wanted to stone her to death. Go figure that out!! So how do we reconcile that? How do you or I, if we want to be like Jesus, learn to speak into this world the way that He did? When do we speak with tender love and when do we stand up to be counted and call a spade and spade, no matter who it's going to offend? I guess that's kind of where we are going this week on the programme – looking at how we speak into this world like Jesus. How do we connect His message of love and forgiveness and a new and abundant life to the needs ... the often desperate needs in the lives of the people around us? Do we call a spade a spade and get right into peoples' faces or do we speak with compassion and love? And if it's both of those, how do I know when to use one and when to use the other? Now these questions, as you can imagine, are questions that I have mulled over a lot and as I look at how Jesus communicated, He only got upset ... really upset with people on a handful of occasions. In other words it was the exception rather than the norm. He didn't see His role as God in the flesh, as being one half of a shouting match most of the time. And so far as I can see, He reserved His anger for the people who should have known better; for the people who said they believed in God – the religious leaders. Have a listen – Matthew chapter 23, beginning at verse 12: All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and then when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross the sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Or when He went into the temple, John chapter 2, verse 15: Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. See, the only time Jesus really got stuck in was when He encountered hypocrisy amongst the religious leaders. When they held themselves out to be clean on the outside but actually, they were filthy on the inside – when they oppressed the people who were looking for God; when the powerful stood over the weak; when the rich exploited the widow and the poor; when the judges were dishonest to the detriment of the ordinary people. You know, when Christians, at least here in Australia where I live, sometimes stand up to politicians and publicly speak out against injustice and wrongs and decisions being made and laws being passed that just aren't in the interests of the common people, like you and me, the most common response of the politicians is that Christians and church leaders should keep their noses out of politics. I couldn't disagree more! When we see wrongs and injustices – and can I say, especially when we see those things in the church; especially when we see hypocrisy amongst God's own people – I believe it's time to stand up and to say so. This isn't a clash of ideologies; it's not a slanging match or a shouting match; it's not some irrelevant joker standing on a soapbox on a street corner - because you know something? The truth … the truth rings out, clear as a bell. Sure, people with vested interests aren't going to like it. Sure, there's going to be a cost, but God's heart ... God's heart is for justice for the poor and the oppressed. And sometimes we are called to speak out. Next, we are going to have a look at the flip side of that coin – the gentle speech of the diplomat; the ambassador. The Diplomacy of an Ambassador Let's take a look at the flip side of the coin – the diplomacy of an ambassador because Jesus used that much more than that other really direct and angry approach. Most of us, you and I, we have blind spots. In fact, the reason they are called, "blind spots" is that we can't see them. And when it comes to our own blind spots in life, what's amazing is how defensive and touchy we are about them. It's almost that we hold them to be sacred. Let's say that our blind spot is anger – that's the one we are dealing with in our lives - and we are prone to flaring up quickly and someone comes along and points it out to us. Well, they'd better watch out! Or if it's low self-esteem and someone tries to help us with it, we can crawl even further inside our shells. So how do you help someone with their blind spots? Because my blind spots – if I don't deal with them, will end up hurting you and stunting me and you know, my friend, your blind spots, if you don't deal with yours, will end up hurting the rest of us and stunting you. That's what sin does! And before we get all judgemental: Sin! Sin! What century is this guy coming from? Let me read out to you a succinct list of the sorts of things that I'm talking about – just so there's no mistake. Now, I'm reading from the Message translation which is a really contemporary translation of the Bible, written by a guy called Eugene Peterson. It's coming from Galatians chapter 5, verses 19 to 21. Have a listen to what God calls sin: "It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on,” writes Paul. “This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit the kingdom of God." Now, you don't have to be a rocket scientist here to figure out that the sort of things that God calls "sin", which Paul is talking about here – they are exclusively the things that cause us and other people pain. And the thing that we want to do when someone's sin is causing us pain is we want to give them what for – we want to tell them exactly what we think about them and hold them to account and, if needs be, have a shouting match with them and get our own way – we do! Because what we are driven by is desire to stop our pain. What we are driven by is "wanting" to win. But here's the thing: if what we want to do is to live our lives as ambassadors of Christ then we need to handle these incredibly difficult issues, with His wisdom. And time and time again, when Jesus encountered people whose sin was ruining their lives, He dealt with them with such incredible compassion. Tax collectors back in Jesus day were a really grubby lot – they were dishonest, they rorted the system, they applied extortion and this behaviour was sanctioned by the Romans who occupied Israel – so long as the Emperor got his taxes! So, by the common Israelite, they were despised; they were considered to be the worst sinners of all; they were traitors and turncoats. Let me read you some of Jesus wisdom and how He handled them. Matthew chapter 9, verses 9 to 13 – if you have a Bible, grab it, open it up – Matthew chapter 9, verses 9 to 13: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And so, he got up and followed Jesus. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why is it that your teacher eats with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, Jesus said, “Those who are well don't need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but the sinners." See, you and I, when we see people whose sin offends us or hurts us; when we are on the receiving end of their sin, the thing we want to do, naturally – it's a natural human response – is to cut them off; to cut them out of our lives. That way we are protected; that way we don't have to deal with them; that way we don't have to deal with the pain that they cause in our lives. But what Jesus is saying here is that it was precisely for these people; these sinners; these rejects, that He came and so He went and ate a meal in that house. Here He was, this veritably rock star – huge crowds were following Him - He comes into town, He decides to go and eat with what – the Mayor, the Governor, the church leaders, the synagogue leaders, the bishops? No, no – the tax collectors! Do you see this huge ... huge symbolic act that was going on here? He knew that it would do two things. That He would draw vocal criticism from the religious leaders and He'd also confer honour upon the sinners. And by conferring honour on them, He was building a relationship with them. He was accepting them just as they were; without a word of condemnation or judgement. And my hunch is that that completely changed their attitude towards Him. You know something? They had their blind spots – they were rationalising away their extortion and dishonesty and if Jesus had come and berated them or condemned them or ignored them, nothing would have changed in their lives. Instead He came and ate with them and drank with them and listened to them and took the criticism that everyone else heaped upon Him for doing that – and He built a bridge by honouring them. And so powerful was this that one of them, Matthew, became one of His disciples. He wrote the first Book of the New Testament. You want to be an ambassador of Christ – then we need to learn the language of an ambassador? Being an ambassador, as we saw on last weeks programme, about building relationships and bridges, so that when there are difficult issues that have to be dealt with, there is already a connection of relationship and trust in place, through which to deal with the problem. Think about it – who are the people in your life to whom you give a licence to talk to you about your blind spots? I know who they are in my life – it's the people who have honoured me and stuck with me and who've proven themselves to be wise and trustworthy. They're the ones with that licence! And as I look back, it was through those people – people just like that; people who had eaten with this sinner; loved this sinner; coped with my sins – it was through those very people that I encountered the transforming love of Jesus Christ. They were His ambassadors in my life. They treated me the way He treated those tax collectors and friend, without them I wouldn't be with you here right now. It makes you think. Preaching with our Ears Today and over these last few weeks on the programme we have been chatting about what it means to be an ambassador of Christ; to live our lives - if we believe in Jesus - as one of His ambassadors. Remember, the Apostle Paul – Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20 writes: So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God. Now, one of the things that strikes me is how strong differences are across cultures. We've had a man recently join our team here at Christianityworks – his name is Gregory. Now you may or may not have known this but we Australians are fairly direct in the way we speak. Americans on the other hand, are less so – we often joke about that. Gregory will ask where the bathroom is, whereas I'll ask where the toilet is. So we Australians are much more direct. But even more than that, Gregory grew up; spent many of his childhood years in Japan, and so he has a lot of Japanese culture on the inside too – a culture that's very much about politeness and face. And even though we have known each other for a very long time, working together now every day has been a real learning experience for both of us. When I ask him what he thinks, I want him to actually tell me what he thinks. If he thinks I'm off with the pixies on some issue, I actually want him to tell me so. Forget hierarchies – I just want his direct, honest input because that's how we will get the right results. He, on the other hand, can find that just a bit confronting because that's not the cultural background that he's come from. It's just one simple example but it's a good one. Imagine if I, as direct as I am, were sent as Australia's ambassador to the U.S. or even more so, to Japan. I'd have to learn a lot about their cultures before I could communicate effectively on a diplomatic level with those countries. I'd have to find different ways of saying things I want to say. I'd have to listen carefully to what their diplomats were saying to make sure I actually hear what they mean to say. You know something? Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people around us is no different to that. After fifteen years of walking with Jesus, I have a whole different perspective on what success is, what joy is, what happiness is, what sin is, what pain is – and all sorts of things, from someone who has never met Jesus – from someone who doesn't have that relationship with Jesus. Why would I ever imagine I could talk to them as though they have the same perspective as me? You know, for a long, long time in my life, I just wasn't ready for anyone to tell me about this Jesus. I mean, get lost! I couldn't stand those God botherers. I had a totally different perspective to theirs. I just knew that life was about making lots of money and being recognised in my field and being successful. I knew I'd find my pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. I had, back then, a whole bunch of misconceptions about life and where I wanted to be headed and what would make me happy. And I didn't need anyone to preach at me - least of all those God botherers telling me about Jesus. What I needed was someone to listen to me – what I needed was someone to understand me and help me to understand myself. I needed someone to preach to me with their ears – if that makes sense. An ambassador from one country who is about to be sent to another country has to learn about the culture and the language and the issues and the aspirations and the concerns of the country to which he or she is being sent. Someone who lives in one country and is going to be a missionary in another country, well, they have to do exactly the same. I believe the most important asset an ambassador can have are his ears and his eyes – to observe, to perceive, to listen, to see, to understand. Jesus grew up in the Hebrew culture of First Century Israel. He attended school in that culture. He knew how to speak and He had a lot of time listening. He spent time eating and drinking with tax collectors; with sinners. He spent time living with His disciples. He spent time getting to know the issues in peoples' lives. I remember when I was working in a retail buying group – quite some years ago. The chairman of our board was a man called Stan Brown – he owned a menswear store in Sydney. I remember him saying that a shop attendant who walks up to a customer and opens up with, "Can I help you?" well, he'd say it's like asking someone to marry you on the first date. First he said, you need to find out who they are, why are they here, why did they come into your store, what's their taste, what are they looking for? First you have to find a point of connection, he said, then ... then they'll be open to receive any help. As I look at people who God brought to me; the ambassadors whom He sent in my direction when I needed to meet Him, what I realise, is that they, for the most part, preached with their ears – they listened, they understood, they laughed, they cried with me and once they understood – once I really knew they understood – then I relaxed. Then I let them into my thoughts and into my heart – then they were allowed to influence me because they got me. Then they had the opportunity to show me who this Jesus really, really is. The stock-in-trade of an ambassador is diplomacy. It's about trust and communication and understanding and if you and I ... if you and I are going to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ, then that's something I believe we are going to have to learn. When I take the time to get to know you and understand you – whether or not I agree, I have just built a bridge into your life that honours you. When you feel understood, you feel secure and you experience trust and it's exactly the same back in the other direction. Friend, Jesus was an amazing communicator – He was prepared to confront the difficult issues when they needed to be confronted and He was prepared to show compassion because that's what flowed out of His heart to people in need. And it was that bridge of compassion that we can build with people. That's the bridge that, one day, Jesus will walk across. Trust me, that's the bridge and it all comes from preaching with our ears. Go figure!
The Apostle Paul famously served as a tentmaker to support himself during his ministry in the First Century. What does it look like for Christians today to follow in his entrepreneurial footsteps? How can tentmaking serve Kingdom priorities in the rainy days ahead?On this episode of the Christian Emergency Podcast, Troy Albee – pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church on the South Shore of Boston – provides helpful insights from his own experience as an entrepreneur. Like Paul, Troy helped support himself while in ministry by identifying a need anddeveloping the skills to meet it. In Trent's case, he launched a successful lock and key business – South Shore Lock and Key.Side hustles provide Christians additional income, flexibility and opportunities. Small business ventures also offer unexpected spiritual insights. You may be stretched and face rejection. But you will also discover new strengths, while finding opportunities to mentor the younger believers around you and engage the lost in your midst. Christians should not take all of this for granted. The cultural landscape is increasingly hostile. The workplace is toooften a place where Christians are targeted and pressured to compromise. That is why Christian enterprise will play a critical role in the coming days.If you find this episode helpful, please give us a positive rating and review wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Also share this episode with a friend so they too can be blessed by these insights.To learn more about resources mentioned in this episode, see the following.Pastor Troy Albee (Email): troy@gracesouthshore.orgSouth Shore Lock and Key (Website)Christian Emergency Alliance (Website)Christian Emergency Alliance (Twitter):@ChristianEmerg1Christian Emergency Alliance (Facebook):@ChristianEmergencyThe Christian Emergency Podcast is a production of the Christian Emergency Alliance.Soli Deo Gloria
Behind The Curtain: Mysteries of the Past and Present with Josh and Ryan
In this episode, we talk with our good friend, Tahe Governor. Tahe is an amazing communicator and Bible teacher. He has conducted extensive studies on ancient texts, particularly on the topic of discipleship. Tahe is a graduate of Dr. Michael Heiser's Awakening School of Theology. He has led large ministries for college-aged students and leadership training programs, where participants dive deeply into theology. Tahe has a heart for helping people know Jesus and enjoys having fun along the way, often with a manga in one hand and a Bible in the other! Connect with Tahe!Theology: youtube.com/@MakingWholeDisciplesGaming: youtube.com/@ShonenDiscipleTahe's recommended resources for deeper study of Discipleship:-Discipleship in the Context of Judaism in Jesus' Time Part I: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/333538-Discipleship in the Context of Judaism in Jesus' Time - Part II: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/345018YouTube-Walking the Text, Rabbi and Disciples Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBopsNhilpsQxdk5_ZHnINOAdGwkOBqEn&si=Q4GmypezUASd4fprBooks-Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith: https://a.co/d/aUor6UB-New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights from His Jewish Context: https://a.co/d/gpdwIcm-The Jewish People in the First Century: https://a.co/d/65SS5fp-The Unseen Realm: https://a.co/d/fChDR84___________________________________________________________Connect with us! Social: Instagram.com/behindthecurtainpcYoutube.com/btcmysteriesTikTok.com/btcmysteriesEmail: behindthecurtainpc@gmail.comFair use Music in this episode: Opening & Closing track"Last Breath" by Jim Hall
A Sermon for Rogation Sunday St. James 1:22-27 by William Klock I was out on my gravel bike this week, riding the trails through Merville and Black Creek and down to Williams Beach. At one point I had to stop to take a picture. I was riding down this narrow corridor with walls of little yellow flowers on both sides. It was really beautiful. But just a short way down the trail I ran into a big group of people cutting it all down. I had a stop and wait for a minute so they could get their cart off the trail. One of the women asked how my ride was going. I said I was having a great ride. It was a beautiful day. I pulled out my phone and showed her the picture I'd just taken of the trail. I thought it was beautiful, but she scowled at it. “We'll get there tomorrow morning,” she said, “Ugh! Vile stuff, but we'll get it!” (And, sure enough, when I rode through again a few days later the walls of scotch broom were gone.) I was kind of disappointed, but I'm sure the “broom busters” were happy, because they really, really, really hate scotch broom. The funny thing is—I notice this most places they cut it down—is that when they're done, there's usually still scotch broom as far as the eye can see—on the other side of a fence. It's like that where I was riding my bike. They cut it all down on Regional District property, but they can't touch the private property on the other side of the fence. And later in the summer, I'll be riding my bike down the trail and in the heat of the day I'll hear the seed pods popping open and scattering their seed on both sides of the fence. And next year the scotch broom will be back. To me the whole thing seems pointless, but these folks envision an island scoured clean of scotch broom and so they come back year after year after year to cut it down wherever they can get to it. Even though that island scoured clean of broom will never be. As I rode later in the week and saw the trailsides devoid of broom, but acres and acres of yellow flowers on the other side of the fence it got me thinking about the theme of our Eastertide scripture readings. (I know, you think I'm just out there riding my bike, but I'm out there praying and meditating on scripture and putting sermons together in my head.) We began Easter with the theme of hope. Jesus' resurrection meant something to the disciples. It wasn't just a miracle. It was the evidence, the proof that God's new creation had begun and that Jesus is king. That's what lit a fire under them to go out and announce the good news to Jerusalem, to Judaea, Samaria, and to the whole world—even though it eventually got them all killed. This theme of resurrection life carries all through Eastertide and we meet it here again today. We could run with either the Gospel or the Epistle, but I'm going to go with the Epistle—this lesson from St. James that begins with those familiar words: Be people who do the word, not merely people who heart it and deceive themselves. Brothers and Sisters, the good news of Jesus' resurrection from the dead ought to give us a vision of the world set to rights—of sin and death defeated and cast forever into hell, of no more trials and no more tears, and of new life with nothing to separate us from the presence of God. When we look at the mess and the darkness around us that hope might sound crazy—like an island scoured clean of scotch broom—but the fact is that God has done the hard part already. He gave his son to take up our flesh, to die, and to rise to life again. The rest is just his people—us—going out to preach and to do that good news and to let his word and his Spirit spread and grow his new creation. So don't just hear the word. Go out and do it. Don't just long for God's kingdom, go out and be it. It also helps to understand that for the Jews, speaking Hebrew, to hear and to obey were inextricably linked together. The Hebrew word for “hear” is a call not just to the ears, but to the heart, and to hear is to respond, whether it's for the Lord to hear the cries of his people in their bondage and to come to their deliverance or for Israel to hear the word of the Lord and to take it to heart and do it. When Moses and the Prophets announced, “Hear the word of the Lord!” it wasn't just a call to listen, but to obey—to do. We have a word in English that we don't use anymore that is very similar: hearken. Don't just hear, but take note, take what you hear to heart. Do it. Brothers and Sisters, words are important—and the word of God especially so. As I've said so many times, God's word brings life. By his word he created life in the beginning and when we were mired in sin and in slavery to death, he heard our cries for deliverance and sent his word again, this time in human flesh, in Jesus, to die and to rise from death so that we might know life again. This is at the core of Easter and so, these last two Sundays of Eastertide we read from St. James' epistle about the power of God's word to bring us life and to transform us. But first he contrasts God's word with our words, which are so often spoken in anger or spoken, not to heal or to give life, but to hurt. This is in the first chapter of James. Our Epistle begins at verse 22, but I want to back up a bit into last week's Epistle, to verse 19. Here's what James writes: So, my dear brothers [and sisters], get this straight. Every person should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. Human anger, you see, doesn't produce God's justice. (James 1:19-20) “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” How many times would that have saved you a world of hurt if you'd only heard and obeyed? Now, there can be a place for anger. So often we get angry because the world isn't what we know it should be. Sometimes—a lot of the time—that's just our pride being hurt or our selfishness being tweaked, but when we see real wrongs being done, when we see real injustice in the world, there is a place for just and righteous anger. Godly anger over sin and injustice is often precisely what we need to get us up and out into the world to help the needy or the hurt, to stand up for the defenceless, or otherwise to speak out and to work for wrongs to be righted. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry” but then there's an “and”, a big “and”: “and do not sin.” Deal with what needs dealing with and “do not let the sun go down on your anger,” because that “gives opportunity to the devil”. If you're angry because your pride has been hurt, put a stop to it right there. Swallow your pride and move on. If you're angry because something is truly wrong, use that anger productively to set things right, but do not sin in the process. Two wrongs won't make things right. And righteous or not, don't let your anger fester. Deal with it one way or another, because simmering anger is fodder for the devil and for all sorts of sin. We all know that from experience. Let your anger simmer and before too long you're thinking about payback and revenge and neither of those things have any place in the Christian life. That was our lesson two Sunday's ago: As he has vindicated Jesus, so the Father will one day vindicate us. We don't need to vindicate ourselves. In short, James says, “Human anger doesn't produce God's justice.” In other words, your anger is not what will set this broken world to rights. I know it always seems like it will at the time, but it won't. Just consider: You think your anger will set things right so you lash out at that other person. And now what are they thinking? They're thinking the same thing: All the situation needs is a little bit of their anger to fix it so they lash out at you. And all it all does is make everything worse. Brother and Sisters, James reminds us to instead be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. God is the one who will bring justice to the world and right the wrongs. If we have been wronged, God will vindicate us. The best thing we can do is to respond with the gospel and the Spirit. Where the world is broken, where relationships are broken, we should be asking ourselves how we can bring to bear the things that God's Spirit gives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Our anger won't help God make things right. And so James warns: So put away everything that is sordid, all that overflowing malice, and humbly receive the word which has been planted within you and which has the power to save your lives. Do you see what he did there? More often than not, when we get angry, it's because our pride has been hurt and that kind of anger tempts us to lash out—it tempts us to respond to a hurt or a wrong with some kind of sin. Insults, brawling, that sort of thing. In contrast, James says that when our pride is threatening to take control of us, we need instead to meekly receive—to hearken to—the word that God has implanted in us. If this were St. Paul, he'd be reminding us to put off the old man and to put on the new. The pride and anger are the old man talking, but in Jesus and the Spirit God has made us new. James puts it in terms of the word by which God has forgiven us and made us a new creation. I think James had Isaiah 55:10-11 in mind when he was writing this. That's where the Lord, through the Prophet, says: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. This is one of my favourite passages in all of Scripture. When I get frustrated with my own sin and my own shortcomings and my own failures to be faithful to God, I remember what he says about his word here. And as a pastor, when I'm discouraged with ministry and when it seems like nothing is happening or people aren't maturing or when I see sin and shortcomings and failures to be faithful in the church, again, I come back to what the Lord says about his word here and I go back to the word, because God's word is the source of life. Nothing I can do will bring the life of God to myself or to other people—only his word can do that—and he promises through Isaiah that his word always accomplishes what he purposes and it always succeeds in that for which he sends it forth. So I preach his word to myself and I preach his word to you and trust him to cause it to bear fruit in me and in you, because he says that that is what he will do. God's word is life. So, Brothers and Sisters, don't let God's word go in one ear and out the other. James writes, “Be people who do the word, not merely people who hear it and deceive themselves.” Don't just listen to the word. Don't just read it. Hear it, Brothers and Sisters. Hearken to it. Do it. If it helps, read your Bible with your finger in your ear to remind you not to let it go in one ear and out the other. These are God's words and they are life! Too often we come to church and hear the word or we sit down at home and read the word, but we don't actually hear it, we don't let it sink in, we don't let it take root like a seed, and so we don't become doers of the word, letting it make a difference and transform us. If we just let the word go in one ear and out the other we're in danger of deceiving ourselves. We think, “I've read the Bible or I've listened to it in church and I've done my duty,” but Friends, if the word doesn't take root in our hearts and minds, if it doesn't make a difference, we miss out on the life of God. He promises that his word will accomplish what he purposes—that it will make a difference, that it will bring new life—but first we have to hear it, not just listen, but hear it, take it in, obey it, and let it change us. James uses an illustration here. Look at verses 23-25: Someone who hears the word but does not do it, you see, is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. He notices himself, but then he goes away and quickly forgets what he looked like. But the person who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and goes on with it, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer who does the deed—such a person is blessed in their doing. You walk past a mirror, have a look, then walk away and forget. In one ear and out the other. That's not how we should approach God's word. And how do we know if we're really letting God's word take root and grow in us? We know it's growing in us when we go from being mere hearers to being actual doers of that word. When we don't just know in our heads that truth is important, but when we stop telling lies, when we stop misrepresenting people, and speak the truth. When “love your enemies and do good to them” goes from being something in your head to something you actually live out. When love your wife or submit to your husband translates into loving your wife or submitting to your husband in real and practical ways. When the Lord's Supper goes from being something you eat to something you live out in your interactions with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, showing love and living in the unity Jesus has given us. When we confront the injustices of the world, not with anger, but with the gospel and the life of the Spirit. And notice how James makes this point. He takes us back to his own roots. He was a Jew. He was circumcised into the Lord's covenant people when he was eight days old. He grew up living torah, because he was one of the covenant people and that's what covenant people did. That's how they were faithful to the Lord in return for his faithfulness to them. And they learned the torah, the law, by reading and studying God's word. And as much as Jesus changed everything, he didn't change the fact that the Lord continues to live in covenant with his people. Jesus established a new covenant, but it's still a covenant. And the Spirit has given a new law, but it's still a law. God's people are still called to be different from the world. As he marked out the Jews with circumcision and called them to live according to the torah, so he marks out the people of Jesus with baptism and calls us to live the law of the Spirit—what James calls the “perfect law, the law of liberty”. Faithful Jews were doers—keeping the sabbath, eating clean foods and not eating unclean foods, all of that. Some people think that Jesus has freed us from all of the doing, but it's really just the opposite. Jesus calls us to even more and better doing, the difference is that instead of pointing to a list of laws written on stone and saying “Do that”, he fills us with God's own Spirit, gives us his own example of love at the cross, rises from the dead and gives us a foretaste of his new creation and says “Do that in the power of the Spirit”. And this new law, instead of burdening us, actually ends up freeing us from all those things that used to weigh us down: anger and filthiness and wickedness and replaces it all with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as the Spirit and the word work in us to redirect the affections of our hearts from sin and from self to love for God and love for each other. And so James sums it up in verses 26 and 27, writing: If anyone supposes that he is devout, and does not control his tongue, but rather deceives his heart—such a person's religion is futile. As far as God the Father is concerned, pure, unsullied religion works like this: you should visit orphans and widows in their sorrow, and prevent the world leaving its dirty smudge on you. God's word and God's Spirit will transform us. It doesn't happen in an instant, so we have to be careful here. Our expectations for a new Christian aren't the same as they are for a mature Christian, but still, a Christian will show the transforming work of God's life-giving word in his life. And so James says that if you think you're religious—note that “religion” isn't the bad word some people make it out to be today. Religion is our service to God. There's good religion and there's bad religion as we'll see in a bit. So if you think you're serving God but you don't have a bridle on your tongue—that's not the only thing that might show this, but since James has been talking about anger and sinful words, this is the example he uses here—if you speak hateful and hurtful and untrue things, you've deceived yourself. You've been letting God's word go in one ear and out the other. You haven't actually heard it and so it hasn't taken root and it's not growing in your heart. It calls into question your profession of faith and your place in the covenant. We enter the covenant through faith in Jesus. And we show our membership in the covenant by doing the word, by living the law of the Spirit. And if you aren't living the law of the Spirit, well, it begs the question: Are you really a member of the covenant? Is your faith in Jesus real? Because a Christian without the fruit of the Spirit, a Christian who is worldly and doesn't bridle his tongue, well he's like a Jew who isn't circumcised and who labours on the sabbath. He's a contradiction. In contrast, true religion, real service to God looks like this: visiting orphans and widows and keeping yourself unstained by the filthiness of the world. James could have listed any number of things here, but he's certainly practical and these are things that stood out in the First Century and made people take note of Christians and the Church. It was a dog-eat-dog world, but the Christians took care of each other and they took care of the poor and vulnerable, because that's what love in action looks like and because that's what new creation looks like. And in a world of filth, where culture was crude and vulgar and religion often involved ritual drug use and prostitution, God's people stood apart—much as the Jews of the old covenant had stood apart. Jesus' people, transformed by word and Spirit, should stand as beacons of his new creation, by our lives and by our proclamation, lifting the veil on what God has in store for this broken world. So Brother and Sisters, be Easter people. If you have believed that Jesus died and rose from the dead to forgive our sins and to make us part of his new creation, prove it. Really be Easter people. Immerse yourselves in God's word and hear what he has to say. Don't let it go in one ear and out the other. Let it sink in and take root and grow. And then be the new creation that God's word will make us if we give it the chance. As he promised, he will make us the firstfruits of his new creation—and that, Brothers and Sisters, is how he is setting the wrongs of this world to right. Not by our anger, but by his word and by his Spirit. Let's pray: O Lord, from whom all good things come: Grant to us, your humble servants, that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your merciful guidance put them into practice; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Were there bishops in the early Church? What will happen to the world at the end of time? And is love truly necessary for salvation?
Episode 130: Year C In today's episode, we focus on three details, one per reading for this upcoming 5th Sunday of Easter, Year C. The detail in the first reading, which is Acts 14:21-27, relates to the objection posed by some Protestants that there were no first century rank of bishops but merely elders/presbyters. The […]
JT Thompkins Fishing has started on the second half of his 2025 season on the Elite Series. This week he just secured a top 5 fiinsh with an incredible bag of over 120 pounds for the 4 days. A tourney that saw 10 anglers achieve this feat and the all time largest bag was in jeapordy. The lake could only be the one and only Lake Fork in Texas. The show that this lake and these anglers put on may have rivaled any moment in sports over the weeked and possibly years of history on the Elite Series. It was an honor to have JT call in on his way to the nest stop on the Sabine River. We talk baits, his surrent streak, and the rest of the season with 4 events left. He has made us proud all year, and at this streak he is on he will have a hot finish and be a force to reckon with on all the bodies of water left on the schedule. Be sure to go check out all of his videos and give him a follow on all the social media platforms out there. Go Get Em JT!!!! We are here cheering loud!!www.trilogyoutdoorsmedia.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/trilogy-outdoors--5441492/support.
Did the teachings of Vatican I—like papal primacy and infallibility—suddenly appear in the 19th century, or do they have roots in the early Church? In this episode, Karlo Broussard explores whether first-century Christianity shows signs of the very authority Vatican I defined. From Peter's leadership to early documents like First Clement, we trace the continuity between apostolic Christianity and conciliar declarations, helping you respond to historical objections with clarity and confidence. Join The CA Live Club Newsletter: Click Here Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 04:59 – How can we avoid begging the question against the Catholic faith when talking to Orthodox? 12:34 – Does sitting in adoration impart grace? 18:46 – If sacrifice is the only actual worship, how is it that the offering of the Eucharist, worship of Jesus if we're offering his own body? 18:46 – If sacrifice is the only actual worship, how is it that the offering of the Eucharist, worship of Jesus if we're offering his own body? 21:26 – Why was Jesus’ death so horrific but the sacrifice of Isaac didn’t seem like it was as brutal? 31:44 – If all the angels were created in a perfect state, what inclined them to their first sin? 36:23 – I believe that being elevated as one of the greatest like Mary and John was because of their humility. What are your thoughts? 42:14 – Are the teachings of Vatican 1 apparent in the first century? 47:35 – I know that communion on the hand was allowed recently but was the intended form palm to mouth? When did picking it up with our fingers and placing it into our mouth specifically allowed? 50:52 – I'm a new convert. How does the Church view the imparting of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost?
Many Christians find it hard to see the papacy in the first-century Church. In this episode, Erick Ybarra addresses the historical and biblical foundations for the papal office. Was Peter truly the first pope? How did early Christians view his authority? And what evidence do we have from Scripture and tradition that connects the leadership of Peter to the role of today's pope? Join The CA Live Club Newsletter: Click Here Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 12:33 – I struggle with not seeing the papacy in the first century. Can you help clarify where we see it? 18:30 – How close have we ever gotten to the pope who was the minimal requirement, a male baptized Catholic? 22:32 – Regarding his debate with Ubi Petrus. Do you have clarification from one of your questions from the debate? 35:29 – How is it ok that we added the filioque to the Nicene creed? Didn’t the Nicene Creed have a clause that not one word could be changed? 42:09 – How do you think the Church balances separating itself from being too political and how it’s done that historically? 48:24 – How closely do we tie our belief in Christ to our belief in the Church? If the pope were to dogmatically declare heresy, would it invalidate the magisterium? 52:06 – What do you think about the passages in First Clement where he says the Holy Spirit is writing/speaking through him? Is this evidence of papal infallibility?
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Love God. Love people. These two commandments comprise the entirety of God's Law. The church at Ephesus was doing a lot of things right back in the First Century. This body of believers was committed to the truth of the Gospel, and they worked hard to share it with the world. But the Lord had one thing against them, and, as you'll see today, it was a pretty big problem! Stay with us now as Ron moves ahead in his teaching series, “Ready For His Return,” based on Revelation chapters 1 to 3.
Created by Mike Nawrocki, co-creator of VeggieTales, the animated series, Dead Sea Squirrels, is now out. The Dead Sea Squirrels follows the adventures of a pair of First Century squirrels who are ready to dive into the 21st century. They love sharing the lessons they learned first-hand from Jesus’ teachings. Mike will join Wednesday’s Mornings with Eric and Brigitte to share his creation with us. https://gominno.com/deadseasquirrelsDonate to Moody Radio: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/morningshow/wrmbSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent St. Matthew 15:21-28 & 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 by William Klock In today's Gospel St. Matthew tells us that Jesus and his disciples left Jewish Galilee for the district of Tyre and Sidon. While there were plenty of Jews living in the district of Tyre and Sidon, this was Canaanite country—pagan country—outside the bounds of Israel. I expect they kept themselves to the countryside and away from the cities crowded with unclean gentiles. That, and Mark's telling of this story suggests Jesus was taking a little bit of a holiday from the crowds that followed him everywhere in Galilee. So Jesus and the disciples found a quiet place to stay, but there's no peace and quiet for Jesus. Last week the devil found him on his forty-day retreat in the wilderness. Now a local Canaanite woman hears he's in the neighbourhood and tracks him down to the place where they were staying. As Matthew remembers it, he writes that: A Canaanite woman from those parts came out and shouted, “Have pity on me, Lord, son of David! My daughter is in a bad way…she's demon-possessed!” Remembering what happened that day and how Jesus and how he and the other disciples responded to her, Matthew tells us that Jesus said nothing at all to her. And for their part, the disciples prodded Jesus saying, Send her away! She's shouting after us. These are the same disciples that shooed away the little children when they approached Jesus, so their reaction doesn't seem very surprising or out of character. After all, they were here to get away from all the people and here's this pagan, gentile woman shouting at them. It probably does seem a little odd, however, that Jesus would ignore the woman. But writing decades later about what happened that day, if we listen closely, we do get a sense of how the gospel had softened Matthew's heart. Back then she was just an annoying gentile disturbing their day. But looking back, Matthew describes her plight with compassion. Her daughter was in a bad way, he says. That's how he usually describes the hurting people who came to Jesus for mercy. Her daughter, the woman cried out, was demon-possessed. A terrible thing. And yet the key to the story is in Matthew's detail that she was a Canaanite. That's the problem. Think about how we often struggle to feel compassion for people who put themselves in bad situations or do dumb and irresponsible things and then suffer the consequence. Play with fireworks and you might blow your fingers off. Do drugs and you'll end up a junkie strung out on the street. Sleep around and you'll end up with an STD. Lie with the dogs and you'll get up with fleas. We have various ways of describing this. “Play stupid games; win stupid prizes” comes to mind. The Bible has a saying too: You reap what you sow. Most Jews would look at this Canaanite woman with a demon-possessed daughter with that kind of attitude. If you worship false gods—remember that Paul says those false gods are just demons in disguise—if you worship false gods, it's your own fault if you or your children end up possessed by demons. You reap what you sow. One of the patron gods of Sidon was Eshmun, a Phoenician god of healing. He had a great temple in the city. I expect that this woman had taken her daughter there many times to pray to the idol there and to offer it sacrifices in the hope that it would heal her daughter. Little did she know that her worship of this demonic false god was just the sort of thing that brought demonic possession on her daughter. No wonder she didn't get better. But now she's heard about Jesus. Even people in her pagan country were talking about him. She heard her Jewish neighbours tell how he had delivered people from demons. She also heard them say that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of David, that somehow, through him or in him or something like that, the God of Israel had come to visit and deliver his people. She'd never prayed to the God of Israel before. That would be dumb. She was a Canaanite. She wasn't his problem. She had her own gods. Plus, from her perspective, the God of Israel couldn't be any better than her gods. His people hadn't heard him speak for hundreds of years. And he allowed them to be oppressed by the Romans. He didn't sound very powerful—or even very present. Gentiles like her mocked the faith that the Jews put in him. “Where's your God?” they jeered. But as she listened to the stories about Jesus, it sounded like the God of Israel was finally waking up. Through this “son of David”, through this “Messiah”, the promises he had made centuries before were starting to come true. If her gods wouldn't help her, maybe she should go and find this Jesus. Yahweh wasn't her god or even the god of her people, but maybe in Jesus he would show her mercy. And so she went looking for Jesus and when she found him, there he was talking with his friends. She decided it was best to be respectful. Jews—especially rabbis—avoided contact with gentiles. They thought people like her were unclean. Plus she was a woman and it wasn't appropriate for a woman to be too forward with a man who wasn't family. And so she called out from a distance. Again, Matthew writes: Have pity on me, Lord, son of David! And to her dismay—although I doubt she was surprised—Jesus ignored her. But that wasn't going to stop her. Maybe if she could annoy him enough, he'd just giver her what she wanted. That's more or less how the pagans thought it worked with the gods. Think of our Ash Wednesday gospel and Jesus' warning about heaping up words with long prayers. That's what the gentiles do, he warns. So she cries out some more at which point the disciples, who had been ignoring her so far, turn to Jesus and plead with him: Send her away! She's shouting after us. And finally Jesus responds—but to them, not to her. Matthew says that Jesus answered, I was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Ouch. Where's all that “For God so loved the world that he sent his only-begotten son” stuff that Jesus says in John's Gospel? Well, we'll come back to that. But first, now that Jesus has acknowledged her presence if not actually spoken directly to her, the woman feels comfortable drawing nearer and speaking to Jesus. Matthew says that she came and threw herself down at his feet. “Lord, she said, “please help me.” And Jesus answered, “It isn't right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” Wait. Did Jesus just call her a dog? But Jesus is just making a point. He's reiterating what was the normal, common view that Jews had of gentiles. They were “dogs”. There were two types of people in the world: Jews. And everyone else who wished they were a Jew. At least that's sort of how the Jews saw things. The Jews were God's people: chosen, called, especially loved. They were the people who lived with the living God in their midst. Or, at any rate, they used to be…and they were sure they would be once again. That was the difference. The gentiles, they were unchosen, unclean, and unloved. They worshipped idols and they did evil things. They were dogs. And when they talked about dogs, the weren't talking about cute little lap dogs or friendly pets. They were talking about feral dogs that roamed the streets at night eating garbage. That's how Jews saw gentiles. In contrast, they we're the Lord's beloved children. And the woman understands all of this. She already knew she had no right to be there. She had no claim on the God of Israel or his Messiah. I know, Lord, she says to Jesus, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. I expect Jesus finally smiled when he heard that. He wasn't really a jerk. He said and did all of this for a reason. It was another one of his acted prophecies that said more about his mission and his ministry than words ever could. So having made his point, Jesus replied, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be as you wish. And Matthew adds, And her daughter was healed from that moment. Maybe Matthew just knew that this is what happened because this is what always happened, but I suspect that the report got back to Jesus and the disciples. Maybe the woman brought her healed daughter to meet Jesus. Who knows. The point is that this woman saw the God of Israel at work in Jesus, she came in faith, and even though she had no claim on him, the God of Israel healed her daughter. But back the question: Why would Jesus treat this woman this way? Why would he call her a dog? What's with all this about not giving the children's bread to the dogs? Didn't God so love the world that he sent his son? He did. But here's the thing: remember that Matthew wrote his Gospel for a Jewish audience and a big part of his agenda was to show them that Jesus really was their Messiah and that he'd come in fulfilment of their prophecies. In doing that, Matthew reminds us that Jesus didn't jump into history to save humanity and the world at any old random time and place. There's been a tendency in the Church to abstract Jesus' ministry, to separate theology and story, doctrine and history. He is the Saviour of the world after all, and so we start thinking that if he'd wanted to he could have come at any time and any place and any people to do his saving work, but in doing that we forget that—no—he came and he had to come where and when and to whom he did because Jesus is part of a bigger story. Jesus of Montréal couldn't have saved the word. Jesus of Nazareth—because he was Jesus of Nazareth—could. This is why I say that this was sort of an acted-out prophecy. I expect Jesus planned to help this woman from the start, but what he says and does here stresses a point that will be vital to his own people and that, ultimately, will be vital as the gospel goes out from Judea to the whole world. And that point is that Jesus reveals the faithfulness of the God of Israel. He does that by first ignoring this gentile woman, then he refuses her request and calls her a dog. But maybe the most remarkable thing—and it highlights that he really was a prophet—is that his refusal of her request ends up prompting her to speak that vital truth when she says, “But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table.” Take note: The dogs don't eat until the master's children have eaten. And, Brothers and Sisters, just so with the gospel. The gentiles can't eat until the children of Israel have first been fed. The Lord must fulfil his promises to his people before those gospel crumbs can fall to the gentiles. The amazing thing—and what this Canaanite woman couldn't have realised at the time—was that those crumbs that fell under the table would, in time, become a great feast for the nations. But what has drawn the nations to the table was seeing the faithfulness of the Lord to feed his own children, just as the household dogs only came to the table, because they saw the master feeding his beloved children and hoped to eat what was dropped. We too often forget this. It's true that “God so loved the world”. But we've forgotten the bigger story of which this is just one part: the story of the people of God that runs from Genesis to Revelation. We tend to lift Jesus out of his historical and Jewish context, out of his First Century context, which means lifting him out of the story of Israel—which again means lifting him out of the Genesis to Revelation story. And when we do that, we lose the very thing brought—that still brings—the nations to Jesus: the great theme of the faithfulness, the righteousness of God. But Matthew won't let us do that. Today he shows us Jesus right in the middle of the big story. So it's true what Jesus says to the woman here: He did not come to the gentiles. Jesus came to Israel. Jesus is Israel's Messiah. “But again,” we protest, “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son…” Jesus said it. Yes. Jesus brings salvation for all, but we need to first understand that he does so as Israel's Messiah. Jesus stresses it right here: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus came to bring the kingdom that had been promised to Israel through Abraham and through David and he did it to fulfil the Lord's promises—to show his faithfulness. There were aspects of that kingdom that were new and different, but Jesus' kingdom is built firmly and immovably on the covenant and the promises the Lord had made with Israel down through the ages from Abraham's time. He had called Israel to be his people. He had promised to be their God. He had rescued Israel and set her apart so that he might show her his blessings and give her his word and he did it all so that the world, the nations, the gentiles would see God in the midst of his people and be moved to come and give him glory. And that's exactly what Matthew wants us to see happening in our Gospel today. We don't know exactly what this Canaanite woman hard heard or what she knew. There were enough Jews living in her part of the world that she might very well have known their stories and have heard about their prophets. Knowing those things made it all the easier to mock the faith of the Jews. They told these stories of past greatness. They told stories about Abraham being led across the desert by their God. They told stories about their deliverance from slavery in Egypt—about the plagues and the Red Sea—about the law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They told stories about how the Lord had conquered the land of Canaan for them. And the Canaanites laughed: “Where's your God now?” Because the God of Israel wasn't in the temple anymore. He hadn't spoken in centuries—if he had ever really spoken at all. The stories were probably all made up anyway. Consider that these pagans had their own stories about their own gods. And, yes, the God of Israel was so much better in Israel's stories. He was just and righteous and loving. Their gods were fickle and capricious and subject to all their passions. You couldn't trust them, which is why they heaped up long prayers. But their gods didn't speak and, as far as they could tell, neither did the God of Israel. But then, he did speak and he did act. The first gentiles to notice were the wise men from the East. The God of Israel placed a star in the sky that guided them to his king, to his Messiah. And as Jesus travelled around Galilee healing the sick, the lame, the blind, the deaf, and the demon possessed. As Jesus preached good news and coming judgement, it got the attention of some of the gentiles. There was that Roman centurion in Capernaum who went to Jesus to plead for the life of his son. There was the demoniac in the Decapolis. Jesus had cast his demons into a heard of pigs and now he was healed, sane, and proclaiming what the God of Israel had done. And now this Canaanite woman. She'd heard what the God of Israel was doing through Jesus. In a world of idolatrous and demon-filled darkness, she had a glimpse of the light, and so she came to Jesus in faith—faith that this foreign God whom she'd once mocked, just might actually be for real and unlike any of the other gods her people had ever known. And through Jesus the God of Israel healed her daughter, drove the darkness away, and sent her home with her faith confirmed. Brothers and Sisters, the Canaanite woman, responding to that little glimpse of God's light in the midst of the darkness, prefigures what God knew would happen with the gentiles once the light of his righteousness, his faithfulness began to blaze out from the cross and from the empty tomb. This was his plan all along. Because he loved the whole world, he sent his son take up the identity and mission of his people, Israel. Through Jesus—and especially in his death and resurrection and through the judgement that Jesus brought to Judea—the God of Israel fulfilled the promises that he had made to his people. And in those events, he made his glory known to the gentiles. In Jesus, the gentiles saw a God unlike any god they had ever known: a God who speaks, a God who acts, a God who is present with his people, and most of all a God who is faithful and just. And they abandoned their false gods, their demonic idols and through Jesus they bowed down, they submitted in faith, they gave their allegiance to the God of Israel. And in that, God gathered the dogs and made them his children. He took what was unclean, and washed it pure. As Paul writes in our Epistle today: God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. By putting his glory on full display in Jesus, he has taken us away from our idols and our idolatry and made us holy. Brothers and Sisters, the Canaanite woman is us—or the vast majority of us, at any rate. An unclean, gentile dog now washed clean and made holy by Jesus, because we have seen the glory of God shining forth from him—from his cross, from his empty tomb, and from his ascension. Our ancestors believed and we believe, because the good news about Jesus outshines every god, every demon, every philosophy, every ism, every idol. And, Brothers and Sisters, my prayer is that—particularly during this season of Lenten fasting—that God by his word and by his Spirit would hold his glory before us and drive away all the distractions that we've let creep back into our view, that his glory would drive away every idol, whether that be worldly thinking, selfishness, politics, money, sex, entertainment—whatever our distractions might be and that we would fix our gaze and our grip solely on Jesus, the glory of his Father, and the life of his Spirit and that we would remember that he has delivered us from uncleanness and called us to holiness. Let's pray: Gracious Father, as you revealed your righteous glory to the Canaanite woman through Jesus, let your glory blaze forth as we recall the good news of Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension. Keep the gospel ever before us so that as we see your great glory, everything else, every idol, every false source of hope and security pales in comparison. Cause us to let go of everything that we might hold tightly to you and you alone. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.
Discover the enchanting history and ancient legends of the Philippines in "The Philippines: The Land of Gold - Unveiling Ancient Legends." Join us on a captivating journey as we explore the mythic connections to treasures like Paradise, Ophir, and Chryse. Through stunning aerial visuals and historical insights, we delve into the accounts of renowned explorers, from Roman geographers to Marco Polo, who depicted the Philippines as a land rich in gold and wealth.Learn about the cultural significance of gold in Filipino heritage and how these legendary narratives still resonate today. Don't forget to like and share this video to spread the magic of the Philippines! #Philippines #AncientLegends #Gold #Ophir #CulturalHeritage #traveldocumentary OUTLINE:00:00:00 Islands of Gold and Legend00:02:25 Charting the Golden Archipelago00:06:55 Whispers from Ancient Texts00:08:16 Ophir and the Eastern Trade Winds00:09:08 Gold in the Tapestry of Culture00:12:03 Echoes of Chryse and Argyre00:12:59 A Legacy Gilded in GoldFor our full position, which no one can challenge without actually reviewing (now, that is nonsense!), read our international books available on Amazon, International Bookstores, and Shopee PH:The Search For King Solomon's Treasure in English, Tagalog, or Ilokano (free in eBook); Garden of Eden Revealed: The Book of Maps; and our New Release, The Mystery of the Three Kings (in English or Tagalog, free in eBook)Links at our new website on: https://thegodculture.org/And watch Solomon's Gold Series:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru2qbCMGOi4PhVocfJEi1oZRRj0AWnzxFor those immediately thinking about the location of the Rivers from Eden which are never represented in the Bible as the Occult Creation Myth in Mesopotamia is that origin, certainly never the Tigris which did not exist prior to the Flood according to Gen. 2; never Israel in any sense as the Gihon Spring is not a River, and the River cannot be in Israel according to Genesis 2 unless one moves Israel into Africa (which is illiterate); and never found in India despite Josephus' confusing the Ganges as the Pison which is why maps in the First Century actually illustrate the Ganges in Indochina. Oops! Rivers From Eden Series:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru2qbCMGOi6Xt-ts2C1QVz-ZnAZxicWJFind the Garden of Eden Series:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLru2qbCMGOi4KPuAcFq4Bx4A2l8dmcfxPFinally, why Lanzones as the Forbidden Fruit? No scripture ever defines that as an apple. However, the Book of Enoch describes this fruit. Watch:Forbidden Fruit?: https://youtu.be/-zDrflASad8Why are Adam and Eve Medium Brown on the cover? Anyone calling themselves a scholar or academic that are not aware the "dust" from which Adam was formed was "red" has executed no research. Learn what the Hebrew Bible has always said. Watch: What Color Was Adam?: https://youtu.be/bVDmWI-Q_5MEnjoy the journey. One last thing, this is our channel, and our rules. There will be no debate on an 8-min brief of research that stems over 1,000 published pages supported by a 300-page Sourcebook, and 100+ videos. Those who attempt so will be muted without notice. We have already responded to likely every single one of those objections throughout our research and we are not entertaining trolling in ignorance. Go review the evidence, because an 8-min. brief is not such. One should know better. We invite you to review the full position even with skepticism. No one has proved these conclusions wrong in over 8 years now since 2017 when our first video went viral. Scoffing and ridicule are not positions, nor is "nuh uh." Yah Bless.TheGodCulture.comSupport the show
We have been reading in Leviticus about the laws and offerings that were to come into operation now that they had made the Tabernacle with its Holy Place, altars and other furnishings. The clothing and rituals for the priests are very detailed and elaborate.Today's reading (Ch. 8) is about how the LORD tells Moses to bring Aaron and his sons and assemble all the congregation to the Tabernacle. They are then to hold what might be called an ordination ceremony. There are various ordination offerings (v.22,28, 29,31) Aaron and his sons are to stay within “the tent of meeting … until the days of your ordination (the A V uses the word consecration) are completed, for it will take 7 days to ordain you.”[v.33]Now all this is a total contrast to the way the church operated in the First Century. The New Testament has no mention or indication of anything like an ordination ceremony, there is no mention of them building places of worship – they appeared to meet in the homes of members as we read today in 1 Corinthians 16 v.19 to “the church in their house”– and note Acts 2 v.46. The word church does not mean a building, it means an ‘assembly' or congregation, as it is translated in Acts 19 v.32,39.There were elders and Peter simply describes himself as “a fellow elder” [1 Peter 5 v.1] and goes on to write that elders should “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering … but being examples to the flock.” [v.2,3] Jesus bluntly said, “call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” [Matt 23 v.9]It was not until the Church was officially recognised by the Roman Empire in the 4th Century that an elaborate ritual of ordination and costuming was developed and this still happens today; most of the world is aware of the present drama of deciding who will be the next Pope! The First Century believers saw Jesus Christ as their only Priest. Read Hebrews 4 v14 to 5 v.10. Even the Jews abandoned their Priesthood system after their Temple was destroyed.Is there not a sense in which baptism is an ordination? When each individual ordains to be baptised, that is decides, they are made aware in various ways of the commitment they are making to Christ and to GodHow meaningful are those “the days of ordination” – what searchings of the heart! – but this world then presents them with many challenges and the regularly feeding of their and our minds on God' word is an essential source of strength to “endure unto the end.”
Because of a computer glitch only the last half of this sermon was captured on video. Please listen to "The Rest we Need, Part One for the audio and the transcript.1. Let us Focus on Rest Today.2. How Does this Passage Focus on the First Century of the Christian Era?3. As with the Olivet Discourse, There is an Initial Fulfillment in the First Century.4. The Mark of the Beast Contrasts with the Mark of the Lamb.5. There Is no Rest for the Wicked.6. Who Made me a Judge or an Arbiter Between you?7. Take your Rest.8. There Is Labor that Is Restful.9. Take your Burdens and Give them to Jesus; then Find Rest in Worshipping God.
Useful Luke 1:5-17 Out of all the thousands of Levites serving in the Temple in the First Century, Zechariah is one of the only ones we know by name. God knew where to find Zechariah. God does not require that we have a big, flashy, well-known life to be significant to Him. All that matters is what He sees, what He thinks, and how He is pleased with our lives. This is not a flashy, outgoing couple. They are dutifully behind the scenes in their lives. Zechariah and Elizabeth were just a tiny, almost insignificant part of a community of thousands of Levitical priests, grouped into 24 teams that took their turns on duty at the Temple of God. Zechariah was one of 24,000 priests who served 2 weeks each year by rotation. An an aged man, it was a supreme honor given once in a lifetime to serve at the altar of incense. The incense was offered daily before the morning sacrifice at about 9am, and after the evening sacrifice about 3pm in the afternoon. It was probably the evening offering that was assigned to Zechariah. Application: God knows your address. You can be plain, unknown to most people in the world, never achieving public fame, live as an ordinary person, having a nondescript life and still be living a Spirit-filled life, useful to God. Resources: If you're ready to take a step of faith and finally finish your book we have a few ways we can help you. 1. Free Writing Week Challenge: Create a Writing Habit in 15-Minutes a Day Even if you feel overwhelmed or stuck in procrastination, sitting down to write for just 15 minutes a day is the best way to finally reach your writing goals. Most writers think they need hours of uninterrupted time to make progress in their writing. However, in this free challenge, we will show you how much you can accomplish in just 15 minutes of focused writing. Click here to create a consistent writing habit this week. 2. Book Writing Lab Workshop - Map Out Your Book in Just 90 Minutes If over the last year, you've struggled to get your book written, this workshop is for you. Choose your book topic, write an outline, and create a writing plan in just 90-minutes! Finally, feel confident that you will actually finish your book. Get started now for just $27 3. Want More Support? Join Christian Book Academy Most writers stay stuck and never finish their first draft. Inside Christian Book Academy, we help you partner with God to write your book so you can become a published author. Finally, ditch your self-doubt and take a step of faith so you can finish your book. Join Christian Book Academy (coupon code PODCAST) Get 50% off your first month by using the coupon code PODCAST at checkout.
Dr. Miles Smith of Hillsdale College Religion and Republic: Christian America from the Founding to the Civil War The post The Role of Religion in America's First Century – Dr. Miles Smith, 2/4/25 (0353, Encore) first appeared on Issues, Etc..
Luke 4:21-30Then he began to say to them, "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!" And you will say, "Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum."And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet, Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow in Zarephath of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. If you heard last Sunday's sermon, it was full of good news, but I warned you that things were going to change. Back in Nazareth, Jesus' hometown – his friends, family, and neighbors had heard what he'd been up to – preaching and teaching his way around Galilee, and when he showed up in the synagogue, where we find him, still, today – he had that good news for them, which he has been anointed by God to share: “good news for the poor, release for the captives, recovery of sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and the year of the Lord's favor.”And they were all over it. Their home-town boy made good. A local hero. An anointed prophet, filled with spirit and good news and so many gracious words falling from his lips.And Jesus knows they'd like more than just to hear about these things. They'd like to see some of his best work, too, which is why he kind of teases them with that old proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself.” “Show us a trick.” “Give us a show.” “Let's see just how ‘anointed' you really are.”He knows what else they're thinking, too: “Jesus, do something for us – your family, friends, and neighbors – like we've heard you've been doing out there in the world. Release some captives, here. Heal some of us who are sick. Give some of the Lord's favor to those of us who know you best, now that you're home. If you're doing it for them, surely you can do it for us, too.”But Jesus reminds them – not so subtly – that this “Lord's favor” the prophets spoke of wasn't about playing favorites, or taking sides, or “us and them.”He reminds them about how – during a famine once, way back in the day – when all of Israel – the nation of God's chosen ones – could have used a little release and recovery and a dose of the Lord's favor, the prophet Elijah was sent outside the fold, to help some widow at Zarephath in Sidon. And he reminds them about how, during the good ol' days of the prophet Elisha, there were plenty of Hebrew lepers who could have used a cleansing, but that God sent the prophet to an outsider – some foreigner named Naaman, from Syria.And when they hear it, Jesus' newly minted fans lose their minds. They turn on a dime. They turn on Jesus. And they run him out of the synagogue, and straight out of town.“You mean this grace and favor and this recovery and release stuff isn't just for us?!” “You mean we aren't supposed to look out for number one?!?!” “You mean we don't take care of our own, first, and then pick and choose who we think might be worthy?!?!?” “You mean this ‘recovery' and ‘release' and ‘freedom' and ‘favor' is for them, just as much as it is for us?”And, to begin to grasp what was so upsetting and unsettling to Jesus' hometown crowd, we need to be reminded about the insignificance of these widows and these lepers and these foreigners about whom he was telling them. They were at the bottom of the barrel as far as social standing was concerned. They were outcasts. They were outsiders. They were unclean, unworthy, unloveable, and unwanted by the rest of the world. (They were probably undocumented, too, if you know what I mean.)Because, not only was Jesus talking about the outcast, the sinner, the shamed, and the shameful, he was talking about people outside of the Jewish circle. Jesus was saying that, just like the prophets Elijah and Elisha had shown … foreigners to Israel were welcome to the grace of God, too. Not only was God's grace for losers – like lepers and widows – but it was even for Gentile widows and Gentile lepers, too. Which seems to imply that there wasn't anyone beyond the reach of God's love, or beyond the reach of Jesus' own ministry, as a result.Could this be a more hard, holy, timely lesson for us, these days? If Jesus walked into the midst of his people this morning – Christian churches on Sunday morning, filled with those of us who call ourselves, friends and family and brothers and sisters and siblings in Christ – what would HE find, and what would WE do, if he reminded us about the likes of Naaman, the Syrian, or about that widow from Zarephath in Sidon – outsiders and outcasts and foreigners, too?It reminds me of how Bishop Mariann Budde, from the National Cathedral simply, humbly, faithfully, graciously, kindly asked our President to show mercy to immigrants who are afraid of what border policies and deportation practices could mean for them and their families – and about how at least one US Congressman proposed she be deported for it; the 21st Century, American version of being hurled off a cliff, you might say.It makes me think of the rabbit hole of reels and Tik Toks I found myself in, just this week, where Christian-flavored people spend a lot of time explaining why women can't be and shouldn't be allowed to be priests and pastors in the Church. These were men and women, young and old, red and yellow, black and white followers of Jesus – in the year of our Lord, 2025 – who are blind to the fact that, other than Jesus, the very first person EVER to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel, was Mary Magdalene on that first Easter morning.It makes me think, too, of a conversation at the Wellness Center, right around the corner – and quite recently – where someone made note of how, as more people of color find their way there that “the quality of the clientele seems to be going downhill.” I couldn't help but wonder where she might be worshiping Jesus this morning.And did you know that just this past Monday, the Idaho House of Representatives passed a memorial suggesting the US Supreme Court reconsider – and undo – the legalization and protection of same-sex marriage in our country? Heather Scott, the Idaho state representative behind it all, blamed it on Jesus, suggesting that Christians across the nation are being targeted by having to welcome the idea of marriage equality.The sad truth is, too many Christians are still too busy looking for cliffs whenever the message of God's grace and love and mercy and favor gets too wide and too mighty and too scary and too uncomfortable and asks too much of us. And Naaman, the Syrian, and that widow at Zarephath, in Sidon – and those knuckleheads in Nazareth – are all just First Century examples of our 21st Century reality.So today, “this Scripture that is fulfilled in our hearing,” convicts us to ask, who are the 21st Century “widows” and “lepers” among us – because none of this is about widow and lepers anymore. Who are the unloved, the unloveable, the unworthy, or the unwanted as we sit here this morning? Even more, who do we pretend is outside the circle of God's grace as far as Christians in the Church and our community are concerned?We can try to limit God's grace or draw lines in the sand and keep it for ourselves. We can even vote for politicians and policies that do our bidding one way or another. And we can pretend that Jesus' preaching and teaching has nothing to do with those politicians or those policies.We could even try to silence the truth by running the messenger out of town or by hurling him off a cliff or by nailing him to a cross – but we have been there and we've done that and we know how that story ends.Or, rather, we know how that story begins, thanks be to God.Because it is the resurrection that reminds us that God's grace will be shared – no matter what. It will bring good news to the poor. It will release the captive. It will restore sight to the blind. It will let the oppressed go free. The Lord's favor will be proclaimed – whether you and I – Jesus' friends, family, and neighbors are on board or not.And what always gets me when I hear about Jesus' near-death experience that day in Nazareth, is the invitation to get with the program. What I hear is a call to the Church – our congregation at Cross of Grace and the larger Church as God's people in the world – to not be left standing on the cliff like the people of Nazareth, only to find that Jesus has passed through the midst of us – untouched.What I don't want any of us to find is that he's continued on his way sharing grace, doing justice, and offering God's blessings to a world so desperate for it, but that we were too busy or too angry, too self-absorbed or too blind, too partisan or too proud, too selfish or too scared, to join him in that work.Amen
We never expected to be here, especially less than two years after launching. Thanks to everyone who has listened, watched and supported us. In this episode we look back at our story so far and talk about how far we have come. https://www.patreon.com/TheEuroLegionsPodcast https://linktr.ee/theeurolegionspodcast mythic legions toy collecting fantasy cosmic legions
Jake McCandless speaks with Darren Huckey about the Jewish context of discipleship and what it means for parents raising children in faith. Learn how first-century discipleship was more than just knowledge—it was about full-life transformation through devotion, imitation, and replication. Key Takeaways: How first-century discipleship worked What Jesus meant when He said, "A disciple, when fully trained, will be like his teacher." How parents can model and teach discipleship at home Darren Huckey is the Assistant to the Rabbi at Shalom Macon Messianic Synagogue in Macon, Georgia. He is a husband, a father, an author, a teacher, and posts weekly videos to the Shalom Macon YouTube channel. He has published seven books to date with his eighth book due out the first quarter of 2025. He has been active in ministry and/or religious leadership since 1994. Learning about the Jewishness of Jesus has radically changed his life and understanding of Jesus' call to discipleship. His focus over the last several years has been connecting the church back to its Jewish roots, bringing insights into the life, teachings, and ministry of Jesus from Jewish sources. Darren currently lives in Macon, GA with his beautiful wife and four of his five wonderful children (the oldest is happily married and living in Texas), building community with the people he loves. Darren's book: Four Responsibilities of a Disciple, https://a.co/d/3LIICOZ Darren's website: https://www.emethatorah.com
John 1:19-34,19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said.”24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” Today we're gonna talk a lot about John the Baptist, and I'll admit it feels a little bit strange because John the Baptist was so much not about himself. I think that if John the Baptist were here he'd tell us to Hurry up, move on, don't spend too much time on him — But we're still gonna talk about him because the Bible talks about him, and here in the Gospel of John he's not just in Chapter 1 but he also shows up in Chapter 3 and Chapter 5 and Chapter 10. John the Baptist is an important person in this Gospel, so we're gonna talk about him, but true to the wishes of John the Baptist, I'm gonna try to keep the part about him brief and I'll end with why he matters for us as a local church in St. Paul, in the year 2025. So for the sermon, I got two things about John the Baptist and one thing about us. Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit and for the Holy Scriptures. And thank you that as your people we can gather together for worship. As your children, this morning we have come eager and expectant. We want to hear from you. Speak our hearts, we pray, in Jesus's name, amen. First thing about John the Baptist …1. John the Baptist is a bridge. Remember the first time John the Baptist is mentioned is back in verse 6. Almost out of nowhere verse 6 says:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.The purpose of this mention in verse 6 is the same as the purpose of the mention in verse 15:John the Baptist is the one who brings the news of the eternal Word into history. Remember this Gospel starts in verses 1–5 with this tremendous explanation of the Word — the Word is God, is life, is light — and this is deep and wondrous and it stretches our minds, and then John the apostle, the narrator, he interrupts this depth with verse 6 to tell us that God sent a man named John … and John came to tell us about this Word. Verse 14 picks back up the wonder of this Word, telling us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” — and we saw this last week: this is a profound statement — this is dense theology; it's full of Old Testament allusions — and then, Boom, again, there's John in verse 15! Same guy from verse 6! John bore witness about this Word made flesh.Mining the FitAnd I know that in some of our English translations verse 15 is put in a parenthesis, but it doesn't have to be. Verse 15 actually fits nicely with what comes after it and I want y'all all to see this. So look with me. Chapter 1, verse 15 … 1:15.Verse 15:John bore witness about him [Jesus], and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.' ” 16 For [or because] from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. “Grace upon grace” — now what's that mean? Well, let's keep reading …Verse 17:“For [or because] the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”Track with me here, okay? Verses 15–17 are a series of explanations: Verse 17 explains verse 16 explains verse 15. Verse 17 is a contrast between the law (which came through Moses) and grace and truth (which came through Jesus). These are two different moments in the history of redemption: The ‘law/Moses' is a stand-in for the old covenant; and ‘grace and truth in Jesus' is the new covenant. And that explains that phrase “grace upon grace.” Another way to translate that little preposition “upon” is to say “in the place of.”John is saying: From the fullness of Jesus we have all received grace in the place of grace, because the law (which was one grace) came through Moses; but grace and truth (a better grace) came through Jesus Christ.John is saying in verse 16 that in Jesus we have received new covenant grace in the place of old covenant grace.And remember verse 16 is supposed to explain verse 15 about John the Baptist. But how?Well, it's because in the movement from old to new, John is the bridge. A Foot on Both SidesWhen John stepped onto the scene of what became the First Century, there's no doubt that he was an Old Testament prophet. It had been a long time since Israel had seen a prophet, but John was sent by God as a prophet to Israel with a message. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John the Baptist is this “Elijah figure” who was prophesied in the Book of Malachi — the other Gospel writers tell us that John the Baptist literally dressed like Elijah. He was an old school prophet leading a Jewish renewal movement. Even within Islam, they recognize John the Baptist as a prophet. Historically, this is a fact. Josephus, the Jewish historian, described John the Baptist as a moral-political troublemaker — which is prophet material.So John the Baptist was this Old Testament prophet and he came at an extremely important historical juncture. It's like John the Baptist has got one foot in the Old Testament and one foot in the New. He's got one foot in Promise and the other in Fulfillment. Imagine it like this: Say you're going on a hike. We've got some hikers in here, right?You're going on this hike, and it's a long one — there's a lot of ground to cover. It starts with a nice garden, but then there's a big river (or two) to cross, there's a high mountain, there's a desert, at times it gets really dark and quiet, and kinda spooky. There are some signs along the way pointing you forward, but this terrain goes on and on (for 39 books).But then you come to the edge of this thing, and there's like a ditch between you and the other side. And you look over at the other side and it's full of color, and they're having a party over there — it's a 27-book long party! But you're not exactly sure how to get from where you are to there. And that's when “There's a man sent from God whose name was John” — he's standing where you are but then he's able to reach one foot over to the other side and he says, “Come on!” He becomes a bridge.John the Baptist is the biblical bridge from the old to the new. That's what he is: a bridge. That's John the Baptist as a category. The second thing to know is that …2. John the Baptist is a voice.Verse 19 brings this all down to the ground even more. This marks the beginning of the official testimony of John the Baptist, and it starts with questions. John the Baptist was making a splash; he was gaining a following within the Jewish world, and the Jewish leaders wanted to know what's going on, so they send a delegation of men to look into it (we learn in verse 24 that it's the Pharisees who sent this delegation), and that's important because the Pharisees were a sect of Jews who were looking for the Messiah. They were devoted to the Hebrew Bible and they knew it said a Messiah would come, so they have that anticipation, and it's reflected in the questions these men ask John. They ask five questions and he responds to each one. That's verses 19–23, but I want to situate these verses within the whole of Chapter 1. Altogether, in Chapter 1, the identity of John the Baptist is referred to eight times (either by himself or by John the apostle). Seven of the eight mentions of John the Baptist are either negative or a deflection. The overwhelming majority of the times John the Baptist is talked about it's either about who he's not or it's about how great Jesus is — He ranks before me! I'm not worthy to untie his shoe! The only time we actually see a positive statement about John's identity is verse 23. Y'all look at verse 23.Just a VoiceThe delegation that's asking him questions basically gives up. In verse 22 they say, Okay, look, you keep telling us who you're not, but we gotta tell our leaders who you are. What do you say about yourself? (What a question! We're gonna come back to that!)But look what John the Baptist says, verse 23:23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said.”John the Baptist tells us that he's getting this from Isaiah, and we can turn back to Isaiah 40, verse 3, and we can read where Isaiah says this. Isaiah 40, verse 3,3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”John the Baptist is saying: That's me. I am the voice. Y'all know that singing competition show called The Voice? …It really has nothing to do with this. Except that, as I understand it, when that show started, the difference between that singing competition and all the others was that the judges could not see the contestants, they could only hear them. The genius was that they were de-emphasizing physical appearance, and focusing completely on the sound of the voice. So it's called “The Voice” as in just the voice. And that's what John means here — except that he's de-emphasizing his person entirely! He's solely focused on what he has to say. The voice is defined by its witness to the word. The Word is what he wants you to hear!So hear him — The Word, Jesus Christ, he is before me! John says …He's higher than me! I'm not even worthy to touch his feet! He is that great. Behold, he's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He's gonna baptize with the Holy Spirit. John is saying that Jesus is bringing the kingdom of God — the promised end-time kingdom, where the Spirit is poured out, where God judges and saves — Jesus is bringing that here. So you better get ready! All of y'all better get ready!Preparing the WayThat's what Isaiah was talking about when he said a voice cries “prepare the way of the Lord.”He doesn't mean prepare the way for the Lord as in Jesus's way to us needs to be prepared. Isaiah is taking about our way to Jesus. Jesus doesn't need any help. We're the ones who need the help. In the context of Isaiah 40, Isaiah is prophesying about the end of Israel's exile. He's saying the road from exile to restoration should be made straight. Clear the way. Level the ground. Make the pathway from a dark exile to a restored Zion CLEAR — he's not talking about how the Messiah gets to us, but it's about how we get to the Messiah. That was the mission of John the Baptist. He was a voice — just a voice — sent for our sake. He's a bridge and he's a voice — two things about John the Baptist. Now one final thing about us. 3. We should be like John the Baptist.Within all of redemptive history, John the Baptist is the model witness to Jesus Christ. He's the paragon that every witness to Jesus thereafter is supposed to look to. That's why he matters to us as a local church in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2025.We want to have a voice like his, and there are two things especially that standout. These are two things from the example of John the Baptist that I pray would be true of us. 1. We should clear the way for people to get to Jesus. And I'm thinking first corporately: Cities Church — are we clearing the way for people to meet Jesus or are we getting in the way?That's a question worth asking. Jesus is the cause of our existence. We are here by him and for him, and he's everything to us. And we want more of him. We want more of him for ourselves and we want these cities to have more of him through us. Corporately, we want Jesus to take our utmost — all that we've got, all we can give — we want him to take our utmost for his highest. We're a church committed to his fame. We want him to be impossible to ignore in the cities. We want people to know Jesus. Amen?So are we doing that? Are we helping people know Jesus? What about people who currently don't know him? Does our being a church make any difference for the people in these Twin Cities who don't know Jesus?That's a question for our church corporately, but what about you as an individual Christian? Does your life — does the way you live, the way you work, the way you interact with neighbors and others — does your life forge a path for people to get to Jesus or does it put obstacles in the way?Hey, let's be like John the Baptist!Let's make straight — in this 21st century post-Christian land — let's make straight a highway to our God! Every valley lifted up, every mountain and hill made low, uneven ground made level, rough places made plain — let us resolve, altogether and as individuals, to do everything we can to clear the way to Jesus, not be in the way.2. We should remember it's Jesus people must get to, not us. I'll say it like this: we want to clear the way for people to get to Jesus while also remembering that we're not Jesus. This gets back to that amazing question in verse 22. They asked John the Baptist: “What do you say about yourself?”This is the question: how do you understand who you are? Everybody has some kind of self-understanding, so what is ours as a church? What do we think of ourselves as a church and what would we say about ourselves if asked?Well look, the first thing John the Baptist says when he's asked this question is “I am not the Christ.” Don't rush past that. This is really important. It is absolutely essential to know that in the work of being a witness it is not yourself you are pointing to. You need to know that right from the start. If you're planting a church, you need to know that. And I can't think of a better time to remember this than on our 10th birthday, which is today (we're gonna celebrate next Sunday, but it was this Sunday, ten years ago, when we first gathered to worship as a church). We've been doing this ten years. Ten years. And ten years is a milestone, because now we're way past imposter syndrome. We feel pretty legit, and maybe we stand a little straighter now. Maybe we can start to think, Hmm, look at us. Maybe we feel a little increase in our self-understanding. STOP IT. Don't go there. Remember who we are and why we're here. It's not for ourselves. The goal is not our comfort. It's not that people would know us. Hey, we are all about Jesus. Who the Twin Cities need is Jesus Christ, not Cities Church. Jesus must increase, we must decrease. We show him. We point to him. We clear the way for people to get to Jesus. Clearing the WayAnd I want to end like that: if you're a guest with us this morning, or if you're here and you don't know Jesus, I want to tell you about him. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to this world as man to reveal and redeem. He came to show us what God is like, and he came to reconcile us back into a relationship with God. The short way of saying it is that Jesus came to save sinners, which is all of us. We were condemned because of our sin, but Jesus went to the cross in our place: took our sin upon himself, he suffered the punishment we deserved. He was crucified, dead, and buried, and then on the third day he rose from the grave in victory. Jesus defeated sin and death, and now in Jesus forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. If you turn away from trying to be your own savior, and if you put your faith in Jesus, he will set you free. He will make you alive. You will become a son or daughter of God — not because you've earned it, but because of what Jesus has done. So trust him. I'm trying to clear the way right now. If you've never put your faith in Jesus, put your faith in him now. Say to him: Jesus, I can't save myself and I'm done trying. You died and rose to save me, and I trust in you. Put your faith in Jesus. And if you have, if you are a Christian, we now come to this Table to remember what he did. The TableAt the Lord's Table, the bread represents the broken body of Jesus, and the cup represents his blood. Together, this is a symbol of his sacrificial death for us. So when we eat the bread and drink the cup, we are saying This is our hope. We have been united to Jesus by faith, and we eat and drink to give him thanks. So if you are a Christian this morning, if you have put your faith in Jesus, we invite you with us to this table.
Matthew 1:18-21Everyone in Nazareth would have known Jesus' mother, Mary, was pregnant before she and Joseph were married. While everyone knew about the scandal, no one understood Mary's conception was miraculous and one day her baby would save the world.
Special links! The interview on "Two Creations One Creator" is found on Spotify at the following link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fBBumuP8DngBzRCBp8cXT On to the episode!Rome! City? Empire? Church? Why, yes. This episode deals with all three. Join in for an overview of the significant moments of Rome in the first century for church history. Title: Rome of the First Century Date: 0 - AD 100 Place: The City of Rome, the Province of Judea Key Figures and Events: Nero, Vespasian, Domitian, Clement, Peter, and Paul. Contact: churchhistoryandtheology@proton.me Want to Support the Show? If you'd like to help cover hosting costs, development, and general support of the show, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/churchhistory License: Church History and Theology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For full license details, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Under this license, you are free to download, copy, share, remix, and translate episodes. You must credit Church History and Theology, link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. These materials may not be used for commercial purposes.
Special links! The interview on "Two Creations One Creator" is found on Spotify at the following link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fBBumuP8DngBzRCBp8cXT On to the episode!Rome! City? Empire? Church? Why, yes. This episode deals with all three. Join in for an overview of the significant moments of Rome in the first century for church history. Title: Rome of the First Century Date: 0 - AD 100 Place: The City of Rome, the Province of Judea Key Figures and Events: Nero, Vespasian, Domitian, Clement, Peter, and Paul. Contact: churchhistoryandtheology@proton.me Want to Support the Show? If you'd like to help cover hosting costs, development, and general support of the show, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/churchhistory License: Church History and Theology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For full license details, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Under this license, you are free to download, copy, share, remix, and translate episodes. You must credit Church History and Theology, link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. These materials may not be used for commercial purposes.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! (Psalm 98:4). In this Adventures in Lutheranism episode, Rachel shares her recent experience joining a new-to-her church choir. Beginning with a brief foray into the history of sacred choral music — from ancient Greece to Garrison Keillor and beyond — she then examines the physical and mental health benefits of singing in groups and ponders the long decline of church choirs (even as choral singing in general has been on the rise). She invites Sarah and Erin to relate their own experiences with church choirs before sharing her personal choral history up to the present day. At the end of the episode, she airs interviews with each of her four children, who confirm that church choir is absolutely for all ages. Sources cited in this episode include: Choir - Wikipedia Why do Lutherans Sing? Lutherans, Music, and the Gospel in the First Century of the Reformation | Church History | Cambridge Core Singing the Reformation - Lutheran Reformation The Young Lutheran's Guide to The Orchestra How a superspreader at choir practice sickened 52 people with COVID-19 | Live Science Pandemic brings opportunities for some choirs hit by coronavirus restrictions | ABC News - YouTube Interest in choral singing is not declining in America, so why are church choirs disappearing? – Baptist News Global Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram! Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at lutheranladies@kfuo.org.
What if the key to understanding your faith lies in the stories of the past? Join us as we welcome Marty Rind, a passionate youth minister from Western Illinois, who shares his unique journey of faith and leadership inspired by first-century youth ministry. With personal tales of overcoming adversity, from bullying to depression, Marty illustrates how mentorship and transformative experiences, like his unforgettable trip to Israel, have reshaped his approach to engaging with the Bible and inspired him to make ancient teachings relevant for today's youth. Marty's connection with Heather, a former youth pastor and author of "First Century Youth Ministry," adds depth to his understanding of discipleship and brings a refreshing energy to our conversation.For full show note details, go to the episode webpage:https://thelionwithin.us/podcast/450-first-century-youth-ministry-with-marty-rind/Send us a textGet started for free with our 30 Day to Unleash the Lion Within series In just 30 days, you'll embark on a journey of self-discovery and growth. This free resource offers a series of messages, with proven methods to simplify and apply God's Word to your life, empowering you to be an effective leader. Visit thelionwith.us/unleash to get started for free today. Support the showJoin the Community TodayThe exclusive community for men who are seeking Truth and Accountability which creates courage to lead, fulfillment and direction. Start your 30-Day Risk-Free trial today!Join the Daily Spiritual Kick OffJoin Chris and other members every weekday morning in our app FREE! Dive into God's Word and leave with practical ways to simplify and apply it to your daily walk. Join the Daily Spiritual Kick Off today!
Sources: https://www.returntotradition.org Contact Me: Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.com Support My Work: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStine SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-tradition Buy Me A Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AnthonyStine Physical Mail: Anthony Stine PO Box 3048 Shawnee, OK 74802 Follow me on the following social media: https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/ https://twitter.com/pontificatormax +JMJ+ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anthony-stine/support
Today's Scripture reading: Ecclesiastes 5.8 - 9 ( MSG)
Today's Scripture reading: James 5.1-6(MSG
In this "lost scripture" called the Ascension of Isaiah, the prophet gets a tour of the heavens. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss what Isaiah sees, including what sees concerning Jesus, and what it means for us today. The post The Ascension of Isaiah (First Century Christian Apocalypse) appeared first on StarQuest Media.
In this "lost scripture" called the Ascension of Isaiah, the prophet gets a tour of the heavens. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss what Isaiah sees, including what sees concerning Jesus, and what it means for us today.
This "lost scripture" focuses on the biblical prophet Isaiah and contains traditions about Jesus not recorded in the Gospels. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss the Ascension of Isaiah, when it was written, what it says, and its relationship to the Bible. The post Lost Scriptures: The Martyrdom of Isaiah (The Ascension of Isaiah; First Century Apocalypse) appeared first on StarQuest Media.
This "lost scripture" focuses on the bibllical prophet Isaiah and contains traditions about Jesus not recorded in the Gospels. Jimmy Akin and Dom Bettinelli discuss the Ascension of Isaiah, when it was written, what it says, and its relationship to the Bible.
Click here to get a 25% discount on the Dwell Bible App. Apostle Paul's letter to the fledgling Christian church in Rome - which he wrote during the second half of the First Century - has often been hailed as the hub of Christian theology because in it he establishes the foundational walls of biblical orthodoxy. In fact, all you have to do is read the statement of faith listed on a few of your favorite Christian church or ministry websites to discover that the majority of our doctrinal beliefs as Christ followers have been mined from this New Testament treasure trove called the Book of Romans. However, Romans is broader and more nuanced than just a brilliant treatise on humanity's need for salvation and justification, so we're kicking off this rollicking adventure through Romans by pulling up on the proverbial nose of the plane for a 30,000-foot view to better understand the historical and sociological context of this profound epistle. So please grab a pumpkin cream cold brew – is it just me, or are coffee shops pulling out the pumpkin drinks earlier now? If memory serves me correctly, those fancy pumpkin flavored coffees didn't use to debut until September so the whole gourd theme made sense in light of the Fall season, but now they start advertising pumpkin-juiced-java-lattes in July when the back of my thighs are still sticking to my hot car seat and my hair looks like Beetlejuice because of the humidity and it just feels wrong. If we've got any Back Porchers who are big dogs in the coffee industry, will you please tell the powers that be to push the pumpkin campaign back a few weeks, y'all – at least until projectile perspiration season is over? Well anyway, regardless of whether it's squash infused or not, please grab your favorite cuppa Joe or tea, your Bible and a notebook because our excursion through Romans for the next several weeks is going to be chock full of so much good stuff it'll be hard to hang onto without jotting a few notes! Then pull up your chair and join Alli, Dr. Howard and me on the porch – I can't overstate how glad we are that you've chosen to hang with us today.
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