Bow-Ties

Nathan Finn and I somehow digressed in our conversation to talking about fashion (egads!), in particular bow-ties and searsucker suits. I know there are at least a few other people who read this blog that love a good bow-tie. In my not-always-humble opinion, there is one store (well actually two) in the world (Charleston and London) that make the grandest bow-ties known to man:

Ben Silver

With the miracles of the internet one does not have to travel to the Holy City nor skip across the pond to buy one of these fantastic pieces of cloth - he can now burn $70 on-line!

Remember, as you look - one glance is fine...more then one glance is lustful!

Putting the "T" in TULIP

Over on my group blog, One in Christ, there is a discussion on the "T" in the TULIP. Check it out.

God's Promises Always Bring Good News (Luke 2:1-21)

1. God arranges his promises (v.1-7)

- v.1 – every 14 years there was a census taken. It just so happened that one of these censuses were being taken about the same time that Jesus was to be born.

- v.2-3 – They took a census for two reasons: to see who existed and to see who was capable of military service. Jews weren’t subjugated to military service so Joseph was primarily going to Bethlehem to have his name marked ‘present.’

- v.4 – Joseph had to go to Bethlehem because that was his ancestors’ base town.

- v.5 – Mary was his betrothed and she was pregnant – this would not look good.

- v.6 – It was an 80-mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was a small town but many people had families from there so the town was most likely packed. Being that Mary was pregnant and probably riding on the back of a donkey, I imagine it took quite a long time to make it to Bethlehem.

- v.7 – There was no room at the inn for two reasons – 1) Because Scripture predicted it, and 2) Because Mary and Joseph were probably late getting there.

ILL: Who went to the Christmas cantata? Think about the lights, the props, the backdrops, the singing parts, the practices, the dress rehearsals. All of that had to put together and be arranged before people could watch and enjoy it.

Jeremiah 23:5-6 predicted that Jesus would be from the line of David. Micah 5:2 predicted that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Isaiah 7:14 predicted that Jesus would be born of a virgin.

God arranges his promises of good news. He arranged how Jesus was going to be born. On the surface it looked like everything just fits together, and it does. But God has a reason for everything that he has arranged and put together. He had a reason for where Jesus was born and how he was born and he also has a plan for our lives. Even though we don’t get to see the behind-the-scenes work that God does in our lives, if we trust his guidance we’ll get to see the finished product which always is perfectly put together.

2. God announces his promises (v.8-14)

- v.8 – Shepherds were generally considered dirty people because they lived out “in the fields” and were most likely considered unclean by most orthodox Jews. They were the downtrodden, the outcasts because their job was to take care of dumb animals.

- v.9 – An angel of the Lord appeared to them while they were out in their workplace. Again, shepherd were probably the last group of people most would expect would be visited by angels.

- v.10 – The angel said ‘fear not’ so he must have been pretty astounding to look at. The news he was going to bring would be good news of great joy for all people…even shepherds.

- v.11 – Just like the prophecies predicted, Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

- v.12 – The sign for the shepherds would be that Jesus would be a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger…not an ordinary sight.

- v.13 – At that moment a multitude of angels appeared praising God.

- v.14 – They were giving all the glory to God.

ILL: Why do people give announcements? There is important information that we don’t want you to miss. Why do we not want you to miss the important information? Because we believe that this information will benefit your life.

God announced his promise of Jesus being in a manger to the shepherds because he 1) he loved them 2) there was someone who could save them, 3) all glory goes to God for salvation. Likewise, God loves you and sent someone to save you and all the glory goes to God for salvation.

3. God fulfills his promises (v.15-20)

- v.15 – When the angels left, the angels decided to go and see this sign which the Lord had made known to them.

- v.16 – They went with haste, meaning they went quickly, and saw the baby with Mary and Joseph just as the Lord had promised.

- v.17 – When they saw Jesus the told the people there what they had been told by the angel. They wanted to let them know that God fulfilled his promise to them.

- v.18 – All who heard wondered about what they were told, perhaps choosing on whether or not to believe that God would talk to mere shepherds.

- v.19 – But Mary treasured all these things in her heart. She was probably proud, amazed, humbled.

- v.20 – When the shepherds returned the fields they praised God and glorified him for all they had seen, as it had been told him

The main reason that God fulfills his promises to us is so that we will praise him and give him the glory and increase our faith in him.

4. God reinforces his promises (v.21) – When he was circumcised, he was finally given the name that the angel had told Mary his name would be, before he was conceived in the womb, Jesus.

And the bible tells us that by this name, Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord. God will reinforce his promise when we see him at the end

Pondering Fatherhood

This has been the first Christmas where I've been a father. As I daily watch my son grow and do more and more things for the first time, I often wonder how Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, must have felt knowing that he was chosen by God to raise and take care of the Son of God. How inadequate he must have felt. He probably thought, "What can I teach this boy that he already doesn't know or will know?"

I often feel the same way when I talk to my son and he starts to to "talk back." Just this week he has started stringing together vowels and consonants and is trying his hardest to talk as he wrinkles his eyes and makes facial expressions as if genuinely trying to tell me about his day. During these communication sessions I often wonder, "How am I going to teach this boy about God, life, or anything for that matter?"

Fatherhood is both amazing and frightening. And as I continue to spend time with my son and try to learn his ways, as he tries to learn mine, I wonder also in equal amazement and fear how our Heavenly Father sees us. Indeed, he must see us as babies that are 100% dependent on Him and daily needs his perfect guidance. What an extraordinary and mysterious relationship that is.

Merry Christmas

You thought that my next post would be on 1 Timothy 2:12, didn't you? You were wrong...that's the next one.

Should Women be Quiet in Church? (1 Timothy 2:11)

"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness." (1 Tim. 2:11, ESV).

Paul continues his directions on what is proper for women in the church setting with a somewhat startling statement to let a woman learn quietly with submission. What is Paul saying here? As with all controversial statements there are numerous explanations. Here are a few:

1) This was instruction only to Timothy's church in Ephesus - if this is the case and this instruction has no purpose today then why do have it in Scripture? I believe that this conclusion invariably leads to a slippery slope that eventually undermines the reliability of Scripture.

2) That women should not speak in church - I also don't feel that the inflection in the Greek should be translated this way. Some people use this as an excuse to demean women so that they have no say in church matters. This is just unloving and unbiblical. Let's look at the different ways that scholars have translated this passage:

NIV - Women should learn quietly and submissively.

NAS - A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.

NKJ - Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.

NLT - Women should learn quietly and submissively.

ESV - Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.

The Message - They (the women) should study to be quiet and obedient along with everyone else.

So it seems that Paul urges that women should seek to learn quietly and in submission to the leadership of the church. Why did Paul have to teach this? Obviously there were women (and are women) who do not act this way. We will look more into this issue in the next post. But before we do, I'll state the third option for this passage that I ascribe to:

3) Women should learn quietly under the authority of the leaders in the church.

The Benefits of Believing in God's Promises (Luke 1:57-80)

1. Belief in God’s promises leads us to joy (57-66) – When God declares something, it comes true.

a. Joy when we realize God’s mercy (v.57-58) – Elizabeth was a recipient of God’s mercy because she was old and didn’t think that she was able to bear children. Barren women now can go through procedures where they can have children if they were previously unable to. However, in Elizabeth’s time if a woman was barren, there was nothing she could do except have faith that God would do a miracle. Sometimes the best blessings from God come when we allow him to be merciful to us and when we are patient. We can have joy when we realize how God blesses us through his mercy.

b. Joy when we realize our mistakes (v.59-64) – The eighth day of birth was when the parents took the child and circumcised him and gave him his name. The people assumed John would be named after his father or a family name. Zechariah asked for the writing tablet, which he was probably very familiar with, and stated what John's name was going to be. When we realize our mistakes and repent and ask forgiveness, we realize joy, like Zechariah.

c. Joy when we realize God’s plan (65-66) – For the neighbors it was a reverent fear. But you can realize how joyful John’s parents were when everyone talked about that the hand of the Lord was with him. I remember after Jackson was born the doctor told me that he was smart. For the first time I realized what it felt like to be proud of my son. I had tremendous joy over this little comment about my child so I can only imagine the type of joy that John’s parents had in hearing what people were saying about their child and knowing that he was going to prepare the way for Jesus. They had joy when they realized God’s plan.

2. Belief in God’s promises leads us to praise (67-75)

a. Praise God because we are redeemed (v.67-68) – Zechariah is thanking God and these are the first words that he has uttered in 9 months. The redemption that Zechariah is talking about is the redemption from sin. What redemption is: God buying you back from a slave owner. Before we accept Christ, we are slaves to sin. Sin owns us and the only way we can break away from this owner is by Christ redeeming, or buying us back. Z was praising God because now that John was here, Jesus was soon to follow and he would redeem everyone who believes in Him.

b. Praise God because we are rescued (v.69-71) – God also rescues us when we accept Christ. This horn is a symbol for the horns of a great leader (military term) who has rescued us from our enemies. This leader is Jesus.

c. Praise God because we are able to serve (v.72-75) - The purpose of God’s rescuing us is so that we would truly serve him. The Jews couldn’t truly serve God at that time because they were being oppressed by the Roman Empire. Some Jews thought that the Christ was going to win a great war with Rome. Non-Christians cannot serve God. It’s impossible. We have to be rescued and delivered from the bondage of sin before it is possible to serve God.

3. Belief in God’s promises leads us to understanding (76-80)

a. We understand God’s forgiveness (v.76-77) – There had not been a prophet for 400 years. Now, Zechariah says that John will be the prophet of the Most High…that’s quite a prediction! Malachi 3:1, 4:5-6. John gave knowledge to his people by forgiveness of sins. John would preach that only through repentance can sinners find forgiveness.

b. We understand God’s guidance (v.78-80) – the sunrise that will visit us is God’s son coming down to the lowly earth. And by his light he gives light to those who are living in sin, sitting the darkness and cannot see. Then once we can see, his light guides our path into a way of peace. One attribute of accepting Christ is that he gives us peace in a world filled with uncertainty, anxiety, and turmoil.