In this message we discuss what worship is from a quick look at worship in the Old Testament, New Testament from a traditional view and contemporary view of worship. Worship may not mean what you think it means... join us as we ask the question, What is Worship?
Thoughts on the Bible, Church, life and living it to its full potential in Jesus Christ!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Just a thought about the prodigals...
I was reading in Luke 15 for today's bible reading and was struck by something that I hadn't noticed before...
I suppose that I am not too different from most, or at least many Christians. We have the ability to, quite smugly, look down our noses at those we might call "prodigals." People who have run away from God, or never were with Him in the first place. You know what I mean. Makes us feel better about our own sin when we see someone who has REAL issues.
But I wonder if there are any redeeming qualities there? When we look at those who are not a part of our "group" and make judgements about them are they mostly on the negative side? I think so. But what if we were to look a little deeper...
As I was reading the prodigal son story again, for the like the bazilionth time I noticed something I hadn't before - well, I'd read it a ton of times but it struck me different this time. It's a small thing, maybe insignificant...but maybe not. Here's a kid that we want to be disgusted by (I'll recount the reasons to dislike him). He brazenly asked for a portion of the inheritance that he should have only received upon his father's death or near death. Jerk. He took the money and took off, leaving his father and brother to do the work while he partied. Jerk. He apparently took his father's money and spent it on prostitutes, according to his brother. Perv. He gets in a bind and expects his father to bail him out...even if it is as a slave.
We want to hear the father say something like, "well, you're a little presumptuous aren't you? You come work and slave and do all the dirty jobs and I'll think about letting you come back." But I'm getting off track.
I noticed today that when the prodigal was away from home, broke and working for pennies in a job he must have hated and been humiliated by (even the prostitutes were makin' more money - though they wouldn't even give him the time of day now!) he didn't steal from his boss...or the pigs for that matter. Did you ever notice that? Jesus tells us that he "longed to fill his stomach with the pods the pigs were eating...but no one gave him anything." He was so hungry he would eat pig slop... but he didn't, even though no one else would give him anything to eat. Now, I'm guessing a little that if the guy who bought him as a slave was able to afford someone to feed his pigs he must have been well off and probably had lots of pigs. If this assumption is true the pigs would be kept in a pen away from the home and probably outside the city on a pig farm of some kind. So the boy would have had ample opportunity to steal, but he doesn't. Even though he is extremely hungry, he doesn't.
There are many Christians who will inadvertently take a candy bar from Wall-mart, forget to pay for it and not go back into the store. Or, in other words, steal a candy bar. But this boy wouldn't do it. Maybe he remembered some story his dad told about being honest, about character or what it means to be a man. Maybe that is why he eventually decides to go home and face the music... lucky for him he had the greatest Father in the world!
So my thought this evening is this, maybe I ought to spend a little more time looking for the redeeming instead of the condemning. Maybe you'll join me?
I suppose that I am not too different from most, or at least many Christians. We have the ability to, quite smugly, look down our noses at those we might call "prodigals." People who have run away from God, or never were with Him in the first place. You know what I mean. Makes us feel better about our own sin when we see someone who has REAL issues.
But I wonder if there are any redeeming qualities there? When we look at those who are not a part of our "group" and make judgements about them are they mostly on the negative side? I think so. But what if we were to look a little deeper...
As I was reading the prodigal son story again, for the like the bazilionth time I noticed something I hadn't before - well, I'd read it a ton of times but it struck me different this time. It's a small thing, maybe insignificant...but maybe not. Here's a kid that we want to be disgusted by (I'll recount the reasons to dislike him). He brazenly asked for a portion of the inheritance that he should have only received upon his father's death or near death. Jerk. He took the money and took off, leaving his father and brother to do the work while he partied. Jerk. He apparently took his father's money and spent it on prostitutes, according to his brother. Perv. He gets in a bind and expects his father to bail him out...even if it is as a slave.
We want to hear the father say something like, "well, you're a little presumptuous aren't you? You come work and slave and do all the dirty jobs and I'll think about letting you come back." But I'm getting off track.
I noticed today that when the prodigal was away from home, broke and working for pennies in a job he must have hated and been humiliated by (even the prostitutes were makin' more money - though they wouldn't even give him the time of day now!) he didn't steal from his boss...or the pigs for that matter. Did you ever notice that? Jesus tells us that he "longed to fill his stomach with the pods the pigs were eating...but no one gave him anything." He was so hungry he would eat pig slop... but he didn't, even though no one else would give him anything to eat. Now, I'm guessing a little that if the guy who bought him as a slave was able to afford someone to feed his pigs he must have been well off and probably had lots of pigs. If this assumption is true the pigs would be kept in a pen away from the home and probably outside the city on a pig farm of some kind. So the boy would have had ample opportunity to steal, but he doesn't. Even though he is extremely hungry, he doesn't.
There are many Christians who will inadvertently take a candy bar from Wall-mart, forget to pay for it and not go back into the store. Or, in other words, steal a candy bar. But this boy wouldn't do it. Maybe he remembered some story his dad told about being honest, about character or what it means to be a man. Maybe that is why he eventually decides to go home and face the music... lucky for him he had the greatest Father in the world!
So my thought this evening is this, maybe I ought to spend a little more time looking for the redeeming instead of the condemning. Maybe you'll join me?
HOSTAGE: part 5 - Anger
What is it that really makes you mad? Did you know that there is righteous anger and unrighteous anger? Which one do you think you spend most of your time with? That's what I thought...me too. But there are some steps we can take to minimize the unrighteous kind in our lives. Remember that anger is not bad in itself, it's what you do with it and how you display it that makes it bad... or good.
HOSTAGE: part 6 - New Creation
You don't have to be held hostage any longer! The Truth in Christ is that you are FREE! The old has gone the new has come and you are a NEW CREATION!!!! Now you just have to live like it!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Hostage 4: Anger
Do you struggle with anger? In this message you'll learn how to begin to turn that part of your life around. The emotion of anger does not have to control your life anymore. What makes you angry?
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