Acts 1

• To Theophilus
• Promise of Holy Spirit, Great Comission, Jesus assends to Heaven
• Matthias chosen to replace Judas

Romans 1:1-17

• Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
• I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Acts 2

• Day of PENTECOST
• Fire, wind, speaking in tounges.
• Peter preaches about Jesus; 3,000 are saved.
  

  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom the Lord our God will call."

• Believers live together and share everything in common.

Romans 1:18-23 (philosophy 101)

• God is obvious in his creation
• Because of this, people have no excuse for ignoring God
• Claiming to be wise, people became fools and worshiped other things.
• Therefore . . .

Acts 3

• Peter heals a crippled man in the name of Jesus.

  Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

• Peter preaches:
  • Why are you suprised? (um, duh.)
  • Rember that guy you killed?
  • By His name this man was healed.
  • Repent and be forgiven!

Romans 1:18-32 (philosophy 101 part 2)

• . . . Therefore:
• Because people turned away from God, God abandoned them to sin.
• Exchanging "truth for a lie," people worshiped created things rather than the Creator.
• Men and women gave in to all manner of sexual immorality.
• And also: "envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless."
• Even though they know it is against God's will, they not only do these things but also approve of those who practice them.

Acts 4:1-31

• Peter and John arrested for preaching that Jesus had risen.
• Questioned by the high priests (the same ones who arranged for Jesus to be crucified) about how the crippled man had been healed.
• Peter quotes scripture and explains that it was by the name of Jesus.
• The priests were surprised to be challenged by unschooled fishermen, but since they were afraid of the crowds (plus, you know, the guy who had been healed was, like, standing there!) they let Peter and John go and told them to stop preaching.
• Peter, John and the believers praise God, feel His presence in an earthquake, and continue to preach boldly

Romans 2:1-16

• Do not be judgmental, because you are also a sinner
• Do not be contemptful of God's kindness, tolerance & patience, because God's kindness leads you to repentence.
• God will judge people righteously, and not play favorites.
• Even those who do not know the law have consciences, and therefore are still subject to judgement.
• God will judge people's secrets through Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:32-5:11

• The believers were of one heart and soul, sharing all that they had in common.
• Joseph of Cyprus, better known then and now as Baranabas, sold his land and gave all of the proceeds to the apostles.
• Ananias and his wife Sapphira also sold their property, but while they claimed to give it all to the apostles, they secretly kept a part for themselves.
• When questioned by Peter, Ananias lied and claimed that he was giving all that he had to God.
• Lying to God proved to be a bad idea. Ananias fell over dead and was taken out and buried by the youth.
• Three hours later, Sapphira repeats the lie and the youth group gets to burry her as well.

Romans 5

• We are justified by faith!
• We rejoice in hope of sharing the glory of God!
• We rejoice in our sufferings!
  Because:
  • suffering produces endurance, which produces character, which produces hope!
  • hope does not disappoint, because we have been given the Holy Spirit.
• Some might be willing to die for a good person, but Christ died for us even though we didn't deserve it, so we are justified by His blood!
• Just as sin came into the world through Adam long ago, Grace has now overcome the power of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus.
• Just as sin reigned in death, now grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Acts 5:12-41

• The apostles met at Solomon's Colonnade (part of the temple) and taught & healed.
• People respected them, but were also afraid of them.
• The high priest & Co. were jealous of their popularity and had them arrested.
• An angel let them out, (jail was still locked the next day!) and they returned to teaching at the temple.
• The high council of the priests (Sanhedrin) asked them why they wouldn't stop: "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."
• Peter (AGAIN!) defies them: "We must obey God rather than men!" (he rocks!)
• Gamaliel (a scholar) argues that rather than kill them, the priests should just let them go because if their teaching is of human origin it will soon be forgotten, but if their teaching comes from God it could not be stopped. (do you agree with his logic?)
• So, they had the apostles beaten (whipped, flogged, whatever) and let them go.
• The apostles left REJOICING (!) to be persecuted for the sake of Christ!
  Consider:

  • The apostles were Jesus' best friends & comrades. Jesus loves you too (very truly He does), but if someone told you that following him leads to an easy life, you might want to take a look at the lives of the twelve.

Acts 6

• Some kind of argument about food distribution between native Israeli believers and Israeli believers born in other parts of the empire ("Greek Jews") concerning the distribution of food
  (The Church has only been in existence for a few weeks and already the first argument)
• Seven faithful people were chosen to help with administrative concerns such as this, including Stephen.
• Stephen was a man of great faith, and many miracles were attributed to him.
• Greek Jews had set up their own synagogue, and members of this group who did not follow Christ argued with Stephen, but he proved more than a match.
• So, they stirred up trouble and coaxed men into accusing him of denying scripture.
• Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin (council of priests) to answer to these charges.

Romans 6

Here we go again, Romans 6 is more of the deep philosophical stuff. At first consideration, the opening question seems every bit as ridiculous as it is: "Shall we go on sinning so that God can keep forgiving us?" Who would think such a thing? Bear in mind that this is a letter to the church in Rome, and the Romans were even better than us at the whole "if it feels good do it" mentality. It's not surprising then that some Romans would hear about a religion based not on righteousness but forgiveness and see it as a convenient license to do whatever they wanted. If you sit and ponder the question, however, it is not that hard to believe that some Christians today might be tempted to reach a similar conclusion.

• Should we keep on sinning? No, we "died" to sin through our baptism into Christ and are born into a new life through His resurrection.
• We should not sin, bur rather think of ourselves as dead to sin and alive to Jesus, even though it is our very human nature is to sin.
• Shouldn't we be able to sin because we are no longer subject to the law of Moses, but rather to the grace of Jesus? No, rather we were slaves to sin before following Christ, but now we have been set free.
• Besides, what good ever came from sinning? "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Thanksgiving

We began this Sunday by brainstorming a list of things that were wonderful about life and another list of things that stunk, or were otherwise challenging; taking care to think of twice as many good things as bad. Then we thanked God for the good list and asked Him for help with the bad list, which I highly recommend doing yourself from time to time. Then we read some thoughts on giving thanks from our Devozines.

Romans 8:31-39

"If God is for us, who can stand against us?" So asks the apostle Paul. After some discussion, we came up with a short list of people and things who try to go against our faith:

1. atheist college professors or teachers (Claiming to be wise they became fools, Romans 1:22)
2. friends/peers/colleagues/co-workers/acquaintances who don't believe
3. media (news/tv shows/movies/magazines) that goes against God & His church
4. wealth and easy lifestyle that makes it hard to see that we still need a Savior

But we also recognized that none of these could stand up before God, and importantly that when things go bad only God will still be there.

Romans 8:1-17

• There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ!!!!
• The law (rule about right and wrong) could not set me free from my own sinful nature, but Christ's offering has set me free of the power of sin and death.
• If you are alive in the Spirit, your mind should be on what the Spirit desires, not on sinful desires.
• Your body will die because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
• Those who are led by the Spirit of God are not slaves, as they formally were to sin, but rather children of God who can call Him "Abba, Father."

Romans 12

This week Ron brought the lesson. The class read Romans 12 and identified a few ways we can serve and please God:

1. Thanking God for what we have
2. Telling people about God - witnessing
3. Helping others
4. Worship - Going to church
5. Support church - money - services
6. Treat you body as a temple

Then, thinking about what Paul said about how people have been given different gifts, the class identified a variety of gifts people have that can be used to serve and please God:

1. Music
2. Teaching
3. Serving
4. Prophecy
5. Encouraging
6. Speaking in tongues
7. Ministry

We began by looking at the Devozine discussion for the week which involved a series of articles on different aspects of being and feeling alone. Following this I elected not to return to Romans for this week, so Jeremy recommended Hebrews 11, which a friend later told me was a favorite passage of hers.

Hebrews 11

• "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
• By faith we believe in the creation.
• Faith led Abel to offer an acceptable sacrifice
• By faith Enoch was taken to heaven.
• We can only please/ come to God without faith.
• God rewards those who seek Him.
• Faith led Noah to build the boat, when he could not see the rain.
• Faith led Abraham to leave home, when he would never see the promised city, and expect a child, even though he and Sarah were old, and offer to sacrifice that child to God, even though he loved him as only a parent can.
• By faith Isaac blessed Jacob, Esau & Jacob's sons; Joseph predicted The Exodus; Moses was kept alive and grew up to lead the Exodus; The Red Sea was crossed; Jericho fell; Rehab was saved and became part of the Messiah's family tree;
• Not to mention Gideon, Barak (think tent stake), Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, prophets, etc., etc.
• All of these lived in just the faith of the promised coming messiah, but none of them lived to see the promise fulfilled, because: "God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

Acts 7

No summary this week, just go to the link and read it. This is one the greatest chapters for beginning to understand how the whole story of the Bible fits together in a beautiful unity.
Stephen, a man of great faith, gives a knock-your-socks-off history lesson/sermon/argument/lecture/reprimand to the high priests when he's brought before them on false charges, and for his faithful effort becomes the first Christian martyr. Sad, inspiring, humbling. No one said it was easy to walk by faith, just that it is what we are called to do by the Most High, with the promise that He loves us.

Luke 1-2

No lesson this week because nobody was able to make it, but I would like to encourage each of you to take a few moments and read the Christmas story from the Bible again this year, and try to read it as if for the first time anew.
Have a Merry Christmas.

Ron took the lesson again this week. In class, there was some discussion about things not to take into our bodies. The outline that follows is from Bill.

Romans 14

• "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters."
• People have different convictions on what foods and days should be kept holy.
• We are God's servants and judged by Him in the end, so we shouldn't look down on each other.
• As it is written by the prophet Isaiah: Every knee shall bow before God and every tongue confess that He is Lord. At that time each of us will have to give account to God of only ourselves, not an account of our neighbors!
• Don't do things that you believe to be ok if it distresses your fellow believers. This is a way in which we show love towards one another.
• "Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves."

Acts 8

• Following the execution of Stephen, the church is now openly attacked, causing people to move out of Jerusalem for safety.
• Saul went from house to house looking for Christians to put in jail.
• Philip preached about Jesus in Samaria with great success.
• Philip sent for Peter and John, who came and laid hands on people so that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
• A magician named Simon who believed offered Peter money to buy this wonderful gift of sharing the Holy Spirit.
• Peter rebuked his silliness, but also called on him to repent, and Simon then begged Peter to pray for him.
• Peter and John went back to Jerusalem, but Philip took the road to Gaza where he met an Ethiopian official.
• This Ethiopian asked Philip about Isaiah 53, and Philip explains about Jesus.
  1. The official believes.
  2. He is baptized.
  3. Philip is "taken away by the Spirit" and "appears" at Azotus.
• Philip travels about preaching, as far as Caesarea.

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Acts 9

• Saul got official permission from the high priest to go to Damascus to arrest Christians there.
• On the road there he's knocked down by a bright light, and the voice says: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Notice how Jesus sees persecution of Christians as attacks on Him personally.
• Finding himself blind, he continues to Damascus and spends three days fasting and praying.
• God sends Ananias to witness to Saul, calling him a "chosen instrument" for reaching the Gentiles.
• Saul heads immediately to the local Synagogues and preaches about Jesus.
• After a while, the local Jewish officials conspired to kill him, but he is snuck out of the city.
• When he got to Jerusalem the believers were, naturally, afraid of him, but Barnabas decided he was ok and vouched for him.
• The "Greek" Jews who had attacked Stephen plotted to kill Saul too, but it was discovered and when the believers found out they sent him to Tarsus (his home town).
• Meanwhile, Peter heals a man in Lydda named Aeneas, who was paralyzed, and a woman named Tabitha who had died in Joppa where Peter decides to stay for a while.

Romans 13:1-7

In Romans 13 Paul calls on Christians to obey the government, because leaders are given authority by God. We wondered what he would have said about bad governments, and discussed how Roman Christians might have behaved as a consequence.

• Obey government authorities, because God establishes all authority and to rebel would be to rebel against God.
• Rulers are no threat to people who do good.
• You should follow laws and pay taxes, not just because you might be punished, but also as a matter of conscience.

Do you think Paul regretted these words, or did he mean something different than it first seems? Would he have made an exception for bad governments, or would he have still seen that as God's hand at work? How might this passage have been misused at times to justify hurting people?

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We began this cold morning by talking about why it is important for us to go to church. Easy answers and hard answers, but a question we need real answers to. We finally decided that sharing with other believers was important to our faith. What other reasons are there? Are they sufficient that you will always seek out a church home, or will it be hard once you leave FSLUMC?

The DEVOZINE this week focused on Christians responding to violence around the world.

Acts 10:1-33

• In Caesarea, a Roman centurion who believes in God is told by an angel to send for Peter.
• Meanwhile, Peter is "Praying While Hungry," and not surprisingly has a vision about food.
• In the vision, three times an unholy picnic of unclean animals is lowered to him, and three times a voice tells him to "Kill and Eat."
• Three times he refuses to eat, and three times the voice reprimands him, saying not to call unclean what God has made clean.
• Because of this vision, Peter decides to go see the Centurion, who is named Cornelius.
• Cornelius bows down to Peter when they meet, but Peter says: "Stand up, I am only a man!"

While this is not the first time non-Jewish people came to know about Jesus, it is when God calls Peter to actively preach to Gentiles (like us), so in many ways this event is like a second birthday for the church.

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The Devozine this week focused on how being a Christian sometimes makes us different, causing us to feel awkward or left out. Take a look and see what you think.

Judges 6   This week we turn to the story of Gideon.

• The Midianites were big bad powerful pains in the neck.
• Gideon was hiding as he threshed his grain, when an angel shows up and calls him a might warrior.
• He's a bit taken aback by that, as he's from the smallest of the tribes, of low importance in his own family and is, quite frankly, scared of the Midianites.
• He also looks at the big stories of the Bible as something that happened a long time ago, and not that relevant to today.
• The angel makes it clear that he is, well, an angel after all, and challenges Gideon to tear down his dad's idols.
• He did, but this riled people up a bit, after all worshiping Baal and Asherah was the cool thing to do at the time.
• Fortunately his Dad stepped in and said that if Baal were real then Baal would have to punish him, so Gideon got off the hook.
• And so, a young guy who didn't feel significant or particularly powerful was called by God to do great things. (see the passage for the rest of the story.

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As we begin the season of "Lent" look for a work of art that makes Easter more real to you and bring it to church to share. It could be a song, a picture, a movie clip, a poem, a short story. Whatever you find that helps to point to the wonderful, terrible story of Easter.

Acts 10:33-48

• Peter says that he understands now that God is calling gentiles too.
• He tells the people at Cornelius' house about the time he spent with Jesus, and about how Jesus rose from the dead.
• He explains that everyone who believes can receive forgiveness.
• The people gathered are filled with the Holy Spirit, and are baptized
• Peter stays with them for a while, before heading back to Jerusalem.

Acts 11

• Back in Jerusalem, there is some debate about whether or not they can accept non-Jewish believers, but after Peter explains all that has happened there is no further objection.
• Meanwhile Barnabas starts a church at Antioch.
• When this church begins to grow large, he finds Saul and brings him to Antioch to help him teach the people there.
• A prophesy is made that a famine is coming, so the church at Antioch takes up a collection and sends it to the believers in Judea (Israel) to help out. (By this time it is around ten years after Easter.)

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Acts 12

• King Herod (Herod Agrippa I, aka Herod Part III) has the apostle John put to death.
• Peter is arrested soon too, and held to be tried (& presumably killed) after Passover.
• An angel rescues Peter from prison, and he goes to Mark's Mom's house, where people are praying for him.
• Rhoda famously leaves him standing outside at the door in her excitement.
• Herod has the guards killed (poor guys), but later when people are offering him adulation he is struck down by "an agel of the Lord" and dies: ". . .he was eaten by worms and dies" (eww).

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This week Bill brought in a video of the '80s Seattle rock band Bloodgood singing and acting out the Easter story.

Acts 13:1-12

• Saul and Baranabas are sent out from Antioch as missionaries.
• From this time on, Saul is referred to as Paul either to confuse us, or to symbolize his conversion to his new life of faith in Jesus.
• At Paphos on the island Cyprus they meet a false prophet who is advising the Roman governor (aka: procouncil).
• Paul calls him a "child of the devil" and the false prophet is immediately struck blind.Not really a nice 'Christian' type thing to do, huh?
• The procouncil, Sergius Paulus, listens to Paul's teachings and believes.

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No Bible lesson this week. We read the Devozine about fasting and made a couple of posters for the wall. For Easter, this week Bill shared the classic song "The Champion" by Carman.

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The (old, I know) Easter song this week was from the classic rock band Petra, featuring the live version of their song "It is finished" ( lyrics). Next week promises something even stranger, but at least I'm promising lyric sheets this time.

Acts 13:13-52

• John went home, and eventually Paul and Barnabas come to Pisidian Antioch.
• Asked to speak in the synagogue (traveling was uncommon, so this in itself is not a complete surprise), Paul preaches a sermon, again using the history of Israel to explain how the death and resurrection of Jesus fit in to God's plan.
• Rather than Adam, Paul here compares Christ to David, and explains that Jesus was seen by many people after He rose.
• The next Sabbath the place was packed. (Paul rocks.)
• Jewish synagogue leaders were jealous of the attention, and spoke against what they were teaching.
• Paul and Barnabas explain that even if the Jews reject them they will continue to preach to the Gentiles (Greeks, in this case).
• Leading women and men of the city are convinced to oppose Paul and Barnabas and force them to leave, so they leave shaking the dust off of their feet, but many in the region had already come to believe.

Wow, this missionary stuff is hard. They speak out boldly, get into arguments and get tossed out of town. How does this relate to sharing the faith today? Does it at all? What is different today? What can we learn from them?

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No lesson this week between time change and snow, so take a moment to look at the Devozine for the week on spending quiet time with God. Next week we'll have a short lesson and plan on helping prepare candy for the Easter egg hunt.

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The final Easter song this week was from the obscure rock band The Swirling Eddies, featuring their poignant song with the cliché title "The Twist" ( lyrics).

For most of the class time we helped the 'ol Bunny Rabbit stuff some eggs, but we talked a bit about Palm Sunday as well. I passed around a picture of The Eastern Gate through which Christ rode on that day. The current gate was built on the ruins of the one Christ rode through, as little from the Jerusalem of the time of Christ still stands. In 1541 Ottoman Muslims controlled the Holy Land, and their sultan had the gate walled up to prevent the Jewish Messiah from entering through it to fulfill prophesy. Later Muslims added a cemetery in front of the gate to further wall it off from holy use. The really beautiful thing about all of this is that Jesus had long since already arrived. For more on its place in prophesy, see here.

Matthew 20:1-11

• Jesus triumphantly enters the Holy City.

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Happy Easter.

John 18-21

• Chirst has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
• You are loved, Happy Easter.

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This week Ron brought the lesson and shared the improbable story of Rahab who hid Joshua's spies. After the events in this chapter she lived with the Israelites. Her son Boaz married Ruth, and her great-grandson was Jesse, the father of King David.

Judges 2

• Joshua sends his spies to Jericoh and, go figure, they decide a good hide out would be staying with a local prostitute named Rahab.
• The local king finds out and sends men to arrest them, but Rahab hides the spies on the roof and claims that they've already left her house.
• The city sends men to search the road for them in case they'd left town, and closes the gate in case they haven't.
• Rahab explains to the spies that people in Jericoh had heard of the Israelites and were frightened of them. She knew they served the living God of Heaven & Earth, so she begs them to spare her and her family.
• They agree so long as she doesn't betray them. Rahab then sneaks them out over the wall and gives them directions to avoid the search parties.

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The prophet Jeremiah, one of the "major" prophets, a mighty man of God, one of the true giants of the faith, begins his service feeling anything but ready.

Jeremiah 1:1-9

• "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you . . ."
• "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

Acts 14

• In Iconium this time, things go as usual. Paul and Barnabas teach in the synagogue and perform "signs and wonders" (probably healing). Some believe, some try to stop them.
• After spending "considerable time," there, they discover a plot to stone them and flee to Lystra.
• While in Lystra they heal a crippled man, so the locals decide that they must be the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes.
• The priest of Zeus even tried to sacrifice a couple of bull in their honnor.
• MORTIFIED, Paul and Barnabas tear their clothes and proclaim themselves to be just ordinary men teaching about the Living God.
• Some still tried to worship them, but then to make things worse Jewish people from Antioch and Iconium came and whipped the crowd into stoning Paul instead, leaving him for dead.
• After preaching in and Derbe for a while they return the way they came. They stop in some new cities, but mainly visit places they'd been before to help organize churches (appointing elders with prayer and fasting).
• Their journey ends back at Antioch, where the remain for "a long time."

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The Devozine this week focused on exercise as part of physical well being, and we talked about how all three aspects of our being (mind-body-spirit) all need to be kept healthy.

Then we turned to an ancient story about Deborah who was both a prophet (ok: prophetess, whatever) and Judge of Israel before the time of King David. A powerful lady, a man who doubts and a gloriously gross ending, what more could you want in a Bible story?

Judges 4

• The Canaanites have iron and oppress the Israelites
• Deborah was leading Israel at the time.
• As a prophetess she calls on Barak to lead 10,000 Israelis to fight against superior forces.
• Barak only agrees to fight if she goes with them.
• Deborah agrees to this, but because he won't go without her support she explains that God is now not going to give the enemy commander into his hand, but into the hand of a woman instead.
• They kick but, just like Deborah said they would, but the Canaanite leader Sisera gets away.
• He tries to hide with Jael, a Kenite woman. She lets him into her tent, waits until he's asleep, and, well, she, um, drives a tent stake through his eye socket and out the back of his head.

Acts 15:1-21

• The debate about whether or not gentiles must follow the Law of Moses to be saved finally comes to a head, so Paul and Barnabas are dispatched to Jerusalem for the first major church conference. (The church has been around for several years now).
• After debating the issue, and hearing about Paul and Barnabas's missionary journey, Peter speaks on their behalf and the council decides that gentiles should not be held to the law of Moses.
• Instead, they send a letter back to Antioch with three points from the law that they felt were important:
  1. Don't eat food sacrificed to idols. an admonition to avoid idolatry
  2. Refrain from sexual immorality. a common issue in the Roman world, as well as ours
  3. Don't eat blood. This is from the Law, it was seen as something of a violation of a creature's very life. Maybe a little silly, but many parasites can be avoided this way

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Small class this week, so aside from the Devozine and some off-line discussion, we took a break from the book of Acts and looked into prayer.
Seems like a deep topic, so I'll try to post some follow-up later, assuming I find some spare time!!!!

I Kings 18:30-19:15

The "Uber Prophet" Elijah goes from heroically praying for an incredible miracle, to begging for death, to finding God in a still, soft voice in just a few short days. What can we learn about ourselves from his experience? What can we learn about prayer and building a relationship with God?

How to pray. Jesus gave us these words as a model to guide our daily prayer life:

• Mathew
• Luke

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• Lesson 29, April 27, 2008

  Acts 15:22-16:15

  • Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas are chosen to return to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
  • They take with them a letter from the apostles that directs the Greek Christians to:
    1. Don't eat food sacrificed to idols.
    2. Refrain from sexual immorality.
    3. Don't eat blood or animals that were strangled (not bled).
  • Everyone in Antioch was pleased with this news (probably relieved that the list was so short!)
  • Some time later Paul decides that they should visit the churches they had started on their first missionary journey.
  • Barnabas wants to take Mark (yes, of the book of Mark), but Paul didn't because the last time he left them at Pamphylia.
  • Big, famous argument. Result: Paul took Silas and Barnabas went to Cyprus with Mark.
  • Paul and Silas are joined by Timothy
  • They travel around a bit in Asia Minor, but keep feeling turned back, finally God gives Paul a vision about Macedonia, so they go there instead.
  • Joined now by Luke they finally arrive at Philippi, a Roman city in Macedonia.
  • They meet up with a group of women from the city who gather outside of town at the river to pray every Sabbath.
  • A local businesswoman named Lydia responds to Paul's teaching and has her entire household baptized in the name of Jesus.
  • Lydia then invites them to lodge at her house.

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• Lesson 30, May 5, 2008

  The Devozine this week focused on romantic relationships. This led to some great discussion about attitude and forgiveness, appropriately enough. Then we returned to the book of Acts for one of the best-know Bible stories of all.

  Acts 16:16-40

  • A girl inPhilippi who was possessed by an evil spirit was kept as a slave and used to tell fortunes.
  • She followed Paul and his companions around for "many" days until Paul got tired of it and cast the demon out in Jesus' name.
  • The girl's owners were upset at the loss of income (their investment was ruined) , so they seized Paul and Silas and took them before the magistrates.
  • long story short: They were beaten and jailed.
  • That night, with their feet in stocks, Paul and Silas sang hymns and prayed while the other prisoners listened
  • About midnight an earthquake released everyone, but nobody ran away.
  • The jailer nearly kills himself when he see that the jail is broken, but Paul stops him.
  • The jailer falls before them and asks the most profound question possible: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
  • He invites Paul and Silas into his house to eat with him, and he and his entire household are baptized.
  • The next day the authorities try to release them quietly.
  • Paul refuses and demands a public apology, explaining that they are in fact ROMAN CITIZENS and have been monstrously mistreated.
  • This scared the authorities, who probably weren't even Roman Citizens themselves, so they apologized and politely asked them to leave.
  • They met with one last time, then continued on their journey.

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• Lesson 31, May 11, 2008

  Mothers' Day! and PENTECOST (Acts 2)
  The Devozine this week discussed child-like faith, and being a good example. In honor of Mothers' Day we turned to the birth of Moses:

  Exodus 1:6-2:10

  • The new Pharaoh becomes fearful of the growing number of Israelites in Egypt, so he orders that all of the male babies be killed, foreshadowing the evil of King Herod when Jesus was born.
  • The midwives won't help, but apparently the plan is carried out.
  • Moses's mom hides him for three months in her house, then when he gets too big for that she puts her baby in a basket floating in some reeds on the Nile River with big sister watching over him.
  • The Pharaoh's own daughter finds him while bathing in the river, takes him as her own child, and names him Moses.
  • Moses's sister quickly gets her mother hired as a nurse for her own son, ensuring that he will grown up knowing about God and his Israeli roots.

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• Lesson 32, May 18, 2008

  This week we continued the story of Moses. Note how even though he doesn't seem to have been thinking about God at the time, God used the choices he made:

  Exodus 2:11-22

  • When Moses had grown (later in the Bible it says he was 40 at the end of today's reading), he intervenes when he comes accross an Egyptian beating an Israelite, and kills the Egyptian. This is significant because, besides making him a murderer, it is a clear choice he makes, consciously or not, to give up living as an Egyptian and embrace his Hebrew roots.
  • He hides the body, but word gets around, and soon he has to flee from the Pharaoh.
  • He flees to the land of Midian.
  • In Midian he marries and begins a new life as a shepherd, which lasts for forty years.

  
  

  Acts 17

  • You know the pattern by now, right?
  • This time in Thessalonica.
  • Paul preached in the synagogue on three straight Sabbath days, using scripture to explain why Jesus had to die and be raised.
  • Some believed, but the Jewish leaders got upset and stirred up the crowd saying: "These men have caused trouble all over the world and now have come here"
  • Jason, a Greek believer, was arrested for having Paul and Silas into his house as guests. (He posted bail.)
  • Paul and Silas left at night and went to Berea, where things went well for some time: "they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. "Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men."
  • Until, that is, some folks form Thessalonica came and stired up trouble there too.
  • Silas and Timothy stayed for a while, but Paul went on to Athens, presumably by sea.
  • In Athens, Paul goes to the Areopagus where people gathered to debate ideas.
  • He explains that he has found an altar to the "Unknown God," and proceeds to tell them that this God is the one true creator of heaven and earth. He is not like their little "gods" carved out of stone and metal.
  • Some sneered, but others were interested or came to believe, including Dionysius and a woman named Damaris.

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• Lesson 33, May 25, 2008

  Low-key lesson this week. We wrapped up the story of how Moses got started, then skimmed through Acts 18.

  Acts 18

  • Paul was well received in Corinth and spent quite a bit of time there
  • He worked as a tent maker with a local couple, Aquila and Priscilla.
  • They continue to face some persecution, the faith continues to grow as well.

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• Lesson 34, June 1, 2008

  This week begins a two-week wrap-up of the book of Acts. Following his third missionary journey (we left off with his second trip), Paul goes back to Jerusalem (against the advice of many of his friends who were concerned for his safety) to fulfill a vow he made and to bring an offering he had been collecting to help support Christians living in Jerusalem. While at the temple itself, a mob is raised that tries to kill him. Roman soldiers rescue him and eventually smuggle him out of Jerusalem to Caesarea where he is held by the Roman governor, Felix.

  Acts 24

  • Ananias, the high priest, leads a delegation to bring charges against Paul
  • Paul points out that he wasn't causing any trouble, and that their only real issue with him was that he preached about the resurrection of the dead.
  • Felix, who is familiar with the Christian faith (called "The Way" at the time) decides to put off making any decision.
  • Paul is kept under guard but is well-treated and given many freedoms.
  • Paul is held like this for two years, meeting occasionally with Felix and his wife Drusilla to discuss his faith. There is no charge, he is merely held to appease the Jewish authorities.

  
  

  Stop for a moment and consider why Paul chose to go to Jerusalem where he could easily have been killed, and why he seemed so content to become and remain a prisoner.
  
  After thinking that through, consider why it was so much more difficult for both Felix and Ananias to accept Paul's message than it was for so many of the common people.

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• Lesson 35, June 8, 2008

  This is the end of our study of the book of Acts. We left out some of the more dramatic bits, so by all means grab your Bible or follow the link to read the rest of the story.

  Acts 25 & 26

  • Festus, becomes governor and tries to figure out what to do with Paul.
  • To avoid being turned over to the high priests in Jerusalem, Paul appeals to Caesar.
  • When King Agrippa comes to visit the new governor, they have Paul brought before them to see if they can determine what to charge him with.
  • Paul proceedes to:
    • testify about how he came to know Christ
    • explain from prophesy that The Messiah had to suffer
    • explain that Christ was the first to rise from the dead
  • The king accuses Paul of madness, and asks if he really thinks that he can convince him to become a Christian in such a short amount of time.
  • Paul says that whether a short time or a long time, he prays that everyone who hears him would become a Christian.
  • Festus explains that he could have set him free if he hadn't appealed to Caesar.

  
  

  Acts 28:16-31

  • Luke and Paul arrive in Rome.
  • Paul is allowed to rent a place to live, but is kept under guard.
  • Paul meets with and preaches to the local Jewish community.
  • Some believe, some don't.
  • Paul quotes from Isaiah concerning their difficulty believing, and explains that God's salvation has also now been sent to the Gentiles, and that they will accept it.

  
  

  Paul remains in Rome for two years. During this time he preaches openly to whoever chooses to come hear him, and writes several letters. As far as can be determined, he then had a hearing before the relatively rational and benevolent Claudius and was released. He then is thought to have traveled about for two or more years, possibly reaching as far as modern Spain, and to have written the remainder of his epistles.
  
  Apparently he was then re-arrested and, to go by substantial tradition, was beheaded at the order of the new emperor Nero.
  
  

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Summer Sessions!

• Lesson S 1, June 22, 2008

  We began this year's summer session with a lesson dovetailing from the final chapter of Acts (Acts 28:23-28), where Paul quotes The prophet Isaiah in telling people that they hear but don't understand, they see but do not perceive and that their hearts are calloused.
  
  Then we read a story from the book "Prince Caspian" where a dwarf argues that because the Narnian savior Aslan came such a long time ago nobody can really be sure if he did all the things that were said (like rise from the dead), and that even if he had done all of those things he can't really be on their side any more since nobody had seen him in so long. Because of this the dwarf thought that the inhabitants of Narnia should look to other places for salvation from their current struggles (to themselves or to Aslan's enemies).
  
  Then we listened to the old song "Lost The Plot" by The Newsboys, which discusses how hard it is to remain faithful in a modern, comfortable world with so many distractions.
  
  We concluded by looking at the hard question: "So how does being a Christian make you different today?"
  
  Given that it has been so very long since Jesus rose from the grave, what does remaining faithful to the new covenant mean in our daily living? Do we still wait as a faithful bride awaits the return of her groom for the wedding, or seek only pleasures and live to suit ourselves?

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• Lesson S 2, July 6, 13, 2008

  Over these two weeks we began preparing for discussion on comparative religions. First we listed out some religions and denominations we are familiar with in the world around us and discussed what we knew of them. We followed this by discussing a series of questions:

  • What do we mean by the words "religion" and "denomination"?
  • What aspects does a religion have? What are the requirements for something to be a religion?
  • What are some of the ideas that separate denominations?
  • Where did the main branches of Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) come from?
  • What about religions that talk about Jesus but aren't traditionally considered to be Christian?
  
  If you missed one or both Sundays take a minute and think about religious groups that you know and try to answer each of those questions. Try discussing them with a parent or a friend to see what they think. Hopefully this provides some context for our discussing over the remainder of the summer.

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• Lesson S 3, July 20, 2008

  We began this week by reading about how the prophet Isaiah was dramatically called by God (Isaiah 6), and asking ourselves whether we would give God the same response: "Here am I, send me."
  
  Continuing the discussion on comparative religions, we turned our attention to the Jehovah’s Witnesses (sometimes referred to as the Watchtower Society). Jehovah’s Witnesses is what is known as a restorationist faith. It teaches that shortly after the original apostles died the church apostatized, which means that the church turned away from God. According to them the faith was lost until the Watchtower society formed in the late nineteenth century and began teaching the real gospel. All other churches are considered to be in opposition to Jehovah's plan.
  
  Common teachings:

  • The group takes its name from its rejection of the Trinity. "Jehovah," the common corruption of the Hebrew acronym YHWH is how they refer to God. Jehovah has four main attributes: love, justice, wisdom, power.
  • What Christians call the Holy Spirit is not separate from Jehovah, just his active presence on earth.
  • Jesus was not God. Instead of being the "Word" by which all things were created as the apostle John says, he was the first of the things Jehovah created. Before coming to earth as a man he was the foremost of the angels, some teachings describe him as having been the archangel Michael. The gospel story taught in Watchtower literature is similar, save for Jesus claiming to be equal to God, but rather than Christ overcoming death and rising from the dead his body was destroyed and he was only raised spiritually.
  • Rather than returning to earth, after Armageddon Christ will rule the earth from heaven with 144,000 believers. This reign has been taught as having begun in 1914, the time of a failed prophesy of the end times.
  • The remainders who believe but don't do enough to make the cut will be raised from the dead to live on earth instead of in heaven. This earth will be a paradise similar to the garden of Eden: "The lion shall lie down with the lamb."
  • Even though Jesus so often preached about Hell, there is no Hell as such. There is instead only risen from the dead and not risen from the dead, and the distance from God in the afterlife.
  • The Bible, especially the "New World Translation" put out by the Watchtower society, is the word of God, but is largely allegorical and should not be taken literally. Independent Bible study is discouraged, however reading Watchtower publications is encouraged.
  • Unity is seen as paramount. Disagreeing with or questioning statements made by the governing body violates this unity and is considered to be apostasy.
  • The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement has a very strong apocalyptic element, believing this to be near the end of the ages. This has led to many unsuccessful prophesies, including: 1918-destruction of the Christian church, 1920-world wide anarchy, and most famously Armageddon was publicly prophesized to occur in 1874, then 1914, then 1925, then 1975. These failed prophecies caused large numbers (up to half) to leave the movement each time.
  • There are many unique quirks to the worship practices, examples include not celebrating most holidays, only a few members partaking in communion, and shunning people who are considered to be living in error.
  
  This list is not exhaustive, and some may quibble with a point or two, so let's go over the basics from a Christian's perspective. The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement does not consider itself to be Christian, it considers Christians to belong to a movement that abandoned God long ago. Fundamental differences include the concept of the Trinity and the deity of Christ. A less obvious difference is the emphasis on a select few being chosen as special enough to reach heaven based on their own works and/ or faith. Christians see all as equal before God, and salvation depending on us accepting Christ's free gift, not on anything we do to make ourselves more holy.

• Lesson S 4, July 27, 2008

  This week we looked at two non-Western religions, that is to say religions that are not influenced by Jesus, who is the dominate figure for Western religions, even those who reject Him.
  
  Hinduism (Sanatana Dharama "the eternal law") grew up in India where it continues to have the strongest influence. There is no one formal body of thought known as "Hinduism," so in some sense it isn't a formal religion at all! There is huge diversity in beliefs and practices.
  
  

  • Can be considered to be polytheistic, since it recognizes many gods, but is often though of as "henotheistic" which means that there are many gods, but they all are under the supreme god Brahman. Some Hindus might be classified as atheistic believing that Brahman isn't actually a being at all, but merely a life-force that we are all part of. This is commonly seen in pop-culture representations of Hinduism.
  • gods are typically worshiped by way of little idols called "icons" often kept in homes and worship centers.
  • Much of the worship centers around daily practices of washing and ritualistic purification.
  • Asceticism is a common theme, that is to say the denial of worldly things or pleasures.
  • While Hinduism is ancient, around 600BC the concept of reincarnation entered the collection fo beliefs. This led to many things, including the idea of Karma.
  • Karma is the idea that we build up good points for doing good and bad points for doing bad. A very human idea, but one at serious odds with Christianity. (Sorry, no point system following Jesus!)
  • The idea of rebirth also propagated the Caste System which Americans do not, can not understand. Basically if you were born a Brahman you must have had good karma in the last life and if you were born Untouchable you must have had bad karma. You deserve to be who you were born to be and that is that.
  • Common themes in Hindu teaching:
    • Dharma (ethics and duties)
    • Samara (cylce of life and reincarnation)
    • Maksha (pursuit of liberation of the eternal soul from Samara)
    • Yogas (paths or practices )
      including:
      • Bhakti - (path of love and devotion)
      • Karma - (path of right action)
      • Raja - (path of meditation)
      • Jnana - (path of wisdom)
  • objectives of human life
    • righteousness (Dharma)
    • livelihood & wealth (Artha)
    • sensual pleasures (Kama)
    • liberation from reincarnation (Moksa)

• Lesson S 4, August 3, 2008

  We began this week by reading about how God appeared to the Israelites when the law was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. (Isaiah 6). How is this experience of God's presence different from what we usually talk about in church?
  
  Our comparative religion this week was Judaism. Now to be a Jew goes beyond the religion. Jewishness is a culture, almost an ethnic group, certainly a group apart. To be a Jew is an encompassing identity.
  
  Judaism was the roots of of Christianity (Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, after all), so in a sense we can closely relate to it. Very practically Jews believe in God as manifest in the Old Testament. Jews and Christians should be very close because of this, and in some sense we are, but in general practicing Christians, particularly evangelical protestants, perceive the relationship as much closer that practicing Jews do. Also: Don't ever forget for a moment that anti-Semitism waxes and wanes but remains a force in our culture today.
  
  Common teachings:

  • There is only one God, the messiah has not come yet and when he comes he will not be God or a god. Jews have a particular problem with what they see as a Christian teaching of the Trinity.
  • They believe in the Tanakh (The Old Testament) which is divided into the Torah (5 books of Moses), the Nevi'im (books of the prophets), and the Ketuvim (other writings including histories, poetry, and the rest of the prophets). These books were in their current form and considered to be separate and more holy than other writings dating back to just after the return from captivity described in Ezra and Nehemiah (about 400 years before Christ).
  • the Talmud is considered to be almost as important. It includes assembled discussions and writings of various Jewish Rabies from antiquity. Many of these cover points of law, ethics, customs and discussions of historical occurrences. Christians respect the Talmud, but do not consider it to be holy. First neither Jesus nor his apostles seemed to use it in their preaching, and second Jesus was frequently critical of customs that had grown up around written Law of Moses.
  • The practice of the faith, that is to say participating in the ceremonies and customs, is more important than the personal experience with God. That is to say, it is more important to be an active part of the community which is faithful than to be personally faithful. This reflects the Old Testement sence of being separated from God.
  • "Next Year In Jerusalem." A ubiquitous phrase for many Jews, the Holy City is almost as central to the faith as the Torah is. This makes sense considering how many times in history they have been scattered, dispersed, chased away or otherwise thrown out or murdered in the city King David set aside.
  
  
  Common Practices:
  • The Sabbath is to be kept very holy. Sabbath (Shabbat) begins at sundown on Friday, often with the lighting of candles, and ends at sundown on Saturday. Temple worship is common on this day. The strictness of the observance (for example how the prohibition on working is kept) varies wildly depending on the specific family, local group and denomination.
  • Seven holy feasts are observed each year:
    • The Pilgrimage feasts (when sacrifices were offered in antiquity, now times of repentance)
      • Passover (remembering the escape from Egypt, the forerunner to Holy Communion)
      • Pentecost or Feast of Weeks (remembering the gift of the Law of Moses, celebrating the wheat harvest)
      • Booths or First Fruits (remembering the 40 years in the wilderness with Moses, celebrating the fruit harvest)
    • Rosh Hashanah ("New Year," first day of the seventh month (?) beginning of the most holy time of the year)
    • Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement," 10 days later, the most common day of the year to attend a Synagogue service)
    • Hanukah or Feast of Lights (remembering the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem ~167 BC)
    • Purim (remembering the story of Queen Esther)
  • Formal daily prayers. Certain family members will say certain ritual prayers durring the day. This custom is handed down generation to generation.
  • The concept of clean and unclean. Certain activities, like burying the dead make someone ceremonially unclean and unable to participate in worship for a period of time. See the book of Leviticus for details!
  • Kosher foods. May foods (including pork, squid, blood, meat and milk products together) are considered to be unclean to eat. "Kosher foods" are foods that typically have been certified by a rabbi to not contain anything unclean.
  • The following stages of life practices are very important to Jewish families: Circumcision of boys at 8 days of age, Bat Mitzvah for girls at 12 and Bar Mitzvah for boys at 13 (the age of accountability, typically includes publicly reading from the torah and leading group prayers), marriage, and mouring after someone dies. Others have become common in various groups, but these are nearly universal to the Jewish experience.
  
  
  Organization:
  • While Jews have a wealth of written literature to draw on, there is no central authority to settle points of interpretation. In effect, there is no Jewish Pope or other committee to answer to.
  • Because the Jewish faith has been so dispersed, many different groups with disparate practices grew up around the world.
  • Many diffent loose "denominations," including: Orthodox, Conservative (Masorti), Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal. Many of the differences have to do with how to apply the ancient writings of Moses to the modern world. Some see it as the literal word of God to be followed to the letter. Some follow the teachings of right and wrong but not all of the specific rules for living which sometimes seem quaint (similar to modern Protestants), some believe it should only be regarded as a general guide and only interpreted in light of modern realities with greater emphasis placed on social justice, a feeling of spirituality and equality (in short a humanist interpretation of the Jewish faith). All over the place, certainly, but observant Jews probably reflect a similar spectrum of beliefs as observant Christians.
  
  
  History and conflict with Christianity:
  • Some Christians are anti-Semitic. The reason for this is complicated and ancient, but the phrase "they killed Jesus" is still uttered in ignorance. If you hear this, remind the person quietly that Jesus and all the apostles were very much Jews.
  • It's hard for Christians to understand why Jews have a hard time accepting Jesus (Many have and do, they are still considered to be Jews, but called "Messianic Jews") but consider the complicated history. Jews living in the dispersion throughout Europe were for years considered to be a seperate class of people since they were not associated with the Catholic church, or any church for that matter. This made life complicated and built up generations of resentment. During the crusades Jews in the Holy Land were treated no different from Muslims. During World War II, well, I've been to a holocaust museum and a concentration camp in my travels . . .
  • In a very real sense, many Jews see accepting Jesus as the messiah as a betrayal of their very identity. Share your faith with your Jewish friends respectfully, but understand it will be harder for them to accept Christ than most.

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