http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/images/logo.gif http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/ wayimp@yahoo.com http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=171 Scripture: Psalm 126 Text: 126:1-3 Intro.: Who gave the famous I have a dream speech? (Martin Luther King), I have a dream that my 4 children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. …I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Who dreamed of a ladder descending and ascending into heaven? (Jacob) Who dreamed of the sun and moon and 11 stars bowing down to him? (Joseph, Gen 37) Who had a dream of 7 fat cows eating 7 lean cows? (Pharaoh, Gen 41) Who dreamed of a huge statue with a head of gold? (Nebuchadnezzar, Dan) Who had a vision of a great dragon battling with the angels of heaven and being hurled down to the earth? (John, Rev 12) Who received a message in a dream that made him decide not to divorce his wife? (Joseph, Matt 1) http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=170 Intro.: Do you know what troubles me sometimes? The possibility that I am wrong about God; And, the possibility that I am right. If I’m wrong, it means that Muslims or Hindus or Animists or Atheists might be right. But if Christians are right, that means that less than 1/3 of the world recognizes Jesus as Savior and stands in judgment for their unbelief. On what basis can we believe that Christianity is the best explanation of who God is and how we will be rescued from his wrath? Atheist Anthony Flew, as a young philosopher, felt that he had convincing philosophical arguments that God did not exist. He attended Inklings, an Oxford writing club with the likes of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Flew presented his case against God’s existence. He left confident that he had won. Though distancing himself from atheistic God-haters like Dawkins, nevertheless, Flew became the philosophical, rational voice for many atheists and wrote over 30 books on the subject. After 50 years of defending atheism, Flew wrote another book: There is NoA God: How the world’s most notorious atheist changed his mind. Flew tells how he came to rationally accept the reality of God. In appendix B of this book, Flew dialogues with British theologian-apologist N.T. Wright. Flew writes in his intro to that dialogue, I think that the Christian religion is the one religion that most clearly deserves to be honored and respected whether or not its claim to be a divine revelation is true. There is nothing like the combination of a charismatic figure like Jesus and a first-class intellect like St. Paul. Virtually all the argument about the content of the religion was produced by St. Paul, who had a brilliant philosophical mind and could both speak and write in all the relevant languages. If you’re wanting Omnipotence to set up a religion, this is the one to beat. He then goes on to interview contemporary Christian scholar N.T. Wright who, Flew says, gives the best case for the resurrection that he has ever heard. For a godless atheist turned agnostic, this is a huge confession. This speaks volume to II Peter 3 and our theme this week, Come let us walk in hope. Peter tells us that scoffers will scoff because of their deliberate choice to forget what God has done. To scoffers, especially atheists, people are premature compost. We are born, live and then become fertilizer. But for Christians, we look forward to the day when Jesus will come again and bring his rule of peace, justice and harmony to the whole creation. Peter asks an ancient question in 3:8-9. Chicago sang it in 1978, Does anybody really no what time it is? As I was walking down the street one day A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch, yeah And I said Does anybody really know what time it is Does anybody really care If so I can’t imagine why… http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=169 Scripture: II Peter 3:1-13 Q & A 52 Intro.: Miller, their charismatic Bible teacher, poured over the scriptures, especially the prophecies of Daniel, and concluded that everything pointed to Jesus’ coming in Oct., 1843. Many of his followers sold everything they had when the time came and waited. But Jesus did not come back in 1843. Miller and his followers went back to their Bibles and re-calculated. One leader pinpointed the date according to a different Jewish calendar as Oct. 22, 1844. Again a multitude gathered looking to the skies for Jesus’ triumphant return. Sunrise came on Oct. 23 and Jesus did not show up. Out of the ashes of this movement came the 7th Day Adventists, JW’s, even some Bahai theology. End time fascination continues unabated despite a hundred 20th century false prophecies about the day of Christ’s return. A Christian newscaster continues the mantra: The 7 signs have been fulfilled. Among them, Israel exists as a nation. Therefore we expect Jesus in our generation, really soon. The hope of Christ’s soon return has been dear to Christians through the ages, including the apostles. But Peter wants us to think rightly about this truth. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=168 Scripture: II Peter 1:1-4 Q & A 27-28 Intro.: Is there anything that you need? Can you name something? (money to pay bills; new car; retirement fund; bicycle; dollhouse…) Of all the things we listed as needs, how many could go into the category of wants? As we saw last week, Simon Peter is either the personal author of this letter or, a disciple of his may have penned it. More than likely it was a scribe whose Greek was not up to par with Silas’ (I Pet 5:12), the scribe of 1st Peter. Whoever penned it wrote well enough to get this Gospel message out. So the apostle Peter is the author personally or influentially. What has Christ given? http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=167 Introduction to II Peter: 1:1-3,16-21 Belgic Confession Articles 3 - 7 Intro.: Have you ever met a gentle giant - people who have the stature of a bully, but are as gentle as a kitten? I picture Peter as a bouncer turned gentle giant. When he came on board with Jesus, he was inspired, unwise, boastful and bold. Inspired? You are the Christ, the Son of the living God! (Mt 16:16). Unwise? This shall never happen to you Lord! Jesus: Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God! (16:22f) Boastful? Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will! (26:33) Bold? When Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, who drew a sword and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear? (Jn 18:10). Peter the bouncer. Peter is the kind of guy you want in an alley with you. But his fighting spirit had to be re-tooled into something more useful in God’s kingdom. He needed to born a soldier of Christ fighting the power of the evil one, not the men and women who need Christ’s salvation. Peter wrote 1st Peter. Did he also write 2nd Peter? http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=166 Scripture: I Peter 5:8-14 Text: I Peter 5:12-14 Intro.: Proverbs describes a Christian friend who sticks closer than a brother: 18:24; see also 17:17. Do you have a friend like that? http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=165 Scripture: I Peter 5:4-11 Text: I Peter 5:10-11 Q & A 128-129 Theme: The hugeness of grace. Intro.: How many of you, when asked, have never raised your hand? This week you have opportunity to vote for the President of the U.S. What a privilege! What a responsibility! What a nightmare! They are preparing riot police for some cities. There is anger, rage, fear, hatred, bitterness. Some think that if you vote for Barak O’bama the government will take more control of our lives and drive this nation to socialism with mandated, government health-care, babies within the womb and outside the womb will remain options for death by abortion, the sanctity of marriage threatened. But if you vote for John McCain you are hoping that government won’t raise taxes and we’ll keep fighting the terrorist war on foreign soil with a military hero in charge and moral values won’t decline as fast. Or you might vote for Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin hoping that he will get us out of the United Nations and remove us from policing the world, protecting American interests and babies. Then there’s Libertarian Robert Barr, Jr. and Green Party candidate Cynthia Ann McKinney and no-party candidate Ralph Nader. Through all this turmoil, do you trust that the God of all grace is with you? Do you believe that … http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=164 Scripture: I Peter 5:4-11 Text: I Peter 5:8-9 Q & A 127 Intro.: What is the most frightening thing that has ever happened to you? As a short boy in junior high (I’ve grown tall since), I was delivering newspapers in Union Gap, WA @ 6 am. As I passed 1 customer’s driveway a police dog rushed out barking like crazy and assaulted my newspaper bag and bicycle ferociously. I jumped off on the opposite of my bike keeping it it between us. My heart was racing. He could have all the Yakima Herald newspapers he wanted. I was terrified! After jerking on my paper bag for a while, he finally turned around and headed back down the driveway, growling, giving me the evil eye, and barking as he went. I slowly walked away, my knees shaking, then I jumped on my bicycle and took off! Or, Have you ever been under water and felt like your lungs were going to burst? Have you ever been claustrophobic? Depressed? Have you ever been in a car accident and watched everything helplessly unfold before you in slow motion? Have you ever had someone scare the be jibbers out of you? Peter tells us how to be ready to be assaulted by the worst enemy of all. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=163 Scripture: I Peter 5:1-8 Text: I Peter 5:5-7 Q & A 104 Intro.: Have you ever had anybody call and leave a message on your phone that ended with, Do you consider me to be a humble person? Would a truly humble person ask such a question? There is a difference between being humbled by circumstance and being humble in character. Those of you who have a financial portfolio have been humbled this past month. It is shocking to see how quickly things can change, how fast a country can fall economically. Unless we walk humbly with our God, we will not be ready for this just as they weren’t ready for it in The Great Depression. Let me tell you what will happen. This will past. People will get on their feet again. It is not the end of the world. Hopefully it won’t take as long as the Great Depression or result in a World War started by some charismatic personality, but tough economic times are a part of life. Who are the humblest people in all of scripture? There are many examples. Num 12:3 (Moses); I Tim 1:15-17. Nobody willingly humbled themselves as much as Jesus: Phl 2:8. It was a theme of Jesus’ life: Mk 10:45. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=162 Scripture: I Peter 5:1-7 Intro.: What is one of the oldest religious offices in the world? (elder) Did you know that the office of elder is nearly 2,000 years older than pastor? In fact it goes all the way back to Moses http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=161 Scripture: I Timothy 4:9-16 Text: 4:9-16 Q & A 1 Intro.: How do you begin a church? We moved to Tualatin in 1989. Timidly, I began going door to door, doing a brief survey of what people might be looking for in a church. The 5th door I knocked on, Don Linton answered. He was a sales person for Coca-Cola who was home for the day because of back pain. He answered my interview and invited me in to talk. We visited, I shared the Gospel with him and he committed his life to Christ. That was the beginning of Christ Community. Don went to sister churches with me to do presentations as we geared up for our Phones-4-U campaign. He faithfully attended our Saturday men’s Bible Study meetings and became one of CCCs first members until he moved to Chico, CA. Home Missions and Don challenged me to dream big dreams. So in 1990 I envisioned a church of 2,000 by the year 2,000. That was catchy and, why would the Lord not honor that? Now I can only tell you what Bill Perkins told people when he used to do men’s seminars at mega-churches while pastoring a small church. I pastor a church from 19 to 20,000. Did you catch that? From 19 to… I Tim 4:9-10 is a foundational confession: Our hope is in God. See 1:5. Even when I was ordained back in 1985, a retired pastor in G.R., MI, told me that he would never want to serve as a minister in today’s church. Life is busy. The 40 hour work week is gone. People do not commit like they used to. My uncle was born, baptized, raised, made profession of faith, served as an elder and deacon in the same church for 80 years until he died this past August. And talk about diversity! We start a fall Bible Study group this week on the topic of How a Christian should vote? There are Christians who will vote for McCain and those who will vote for O’Bama, and those who are certain that God does not want them to vote for either and some who may not to vote at all - just in our fellowship. Welcome to the church visible. Isn’t it amazing, that in this maze, God builds his church? That’s so cool! Paul gives you 10 imperatives Brad in the face of an apostate society: 4:1. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=160 Scripture: I Peter 4:12-19 Q & A 126 Theme: Trust the Lord and continue to do good. Intro.: Have you ever heard of Jackson Charles Pharris? Probably not unless you are a student of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Gunner Jackson Charles Pharris was on the USS California when the first Japanese torpedo struck almost directly under his station. Pharris was stunned and severely injured by the concussion that hurled him to the overhead and back to the deck. His eardrum was pierced. He had flash-burns over his face and back. The ships officers were on shore on leave. Though wounded and handicapped by painful injuries, Pharris took command. He set up a hand-supply ammunition train for the antiaircraft guns. With water and oil rushing in where the pork bulkhead had been torn open, with remaining crewmembers being overcome by oil fumes, plus the ship was listing heavily as a result of a 2nd torpedo hit, Pharris ordered the ship counterflooded. He passed out twice because of the nauseous fumes. Yet he persisted, repeatedly risking his life to enter flooding compartments to drag unconscious shipmates to safety who were being submerged in oil. He saved 17 lives. His medal of honor reads: By his inspiring leadership, his valiant efforts and his extreme loyalty to his ship and her crew, he saved many of his shipmates from death and was largely responsible for keeping the California in action during the attack. What his medal doesn’t tell you is that he spent 35 months in the hospital and suffered from his injuries the rest of his life (1966). That was just 1 of thousands of stories of suffering and heroism at the US Pearl Harbor memorial. Suffering proves sin. Pastor Perry Tinklenberg surprised us all by being at Classis. His doctor said his liver should be back to normal about a year from now. His kidneys are functioning at 50%. He is weak but he is surviving. He told the story of a woman who came to him who had been abused and raped multiple times, yet spoke this truth: Everything can be taken from us except Jesus Christ. Her words fit Peter’s message of suffering for Christ (1:6b-7; 2:18-19,21-24; 3:14,16-17). It does not make suffering easy, but it gives hope. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=159 Scripture: I Peter 4:7-11 Q & A 86 Intro.: What is near? Is Conner sitting near you? If you’re next to him, yes. If you’re on the other side of the room or in the back, no. But it’s all relative, isn’t it? If you are at the high school, then everyone in here is near him. That’s physical nearness. There is also relational nearness. Hayley is good friends with Chanel. Hopefully spouses are relationally near each other – emotionally, physically, and, as Christians, spiritually. There is nearness to God. Song: Nearer, still nearer, close to Thy heart, Draw me my Savior so precious Thou art… Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side. So when Peter says, The end of all things(pas – all) is near, we hear that as chronological nearness. This is a common theme among NT writers: Rom 13:11-12; Ph 4:5; Ja 5:8; I Pt 4:7; I Jn 2:18; Rev 1:3; 22:20. Peter does write II Pet 3:8-9. Yet it does seem that the apostles were sure Jesus was coming back soon, probably in their lifetime. Some would say that this shows that the Bible is false because, if it is inspired, these guys would know better. Come on! Get real! It’s been 2000 years and he is not here! Hello! This shows us is that the writers of the Bible were human. Even under divine inspiration, their timing is not God’s. Now the Lord did come for each one of them not many years after they wrote their letters. So, in that sense, the Lord is always near. But it was not the end of all things. My uncle Jake was married 61 years. Then he died. All of a sudden, for Aunt Dorothy, the end is not only near, it is here. Her marriage is no more. Now, what principle can we gain from Peter’s statement? http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=158 Scripture: I Peter 4:1-7 Q & A Theme: Live life in Christ by imitating Christ’s attitude toward life. Intro.: Do you know who I admire lots? Christians who suffer for their faith. And do you know who’s life-style I have no desire to experience? Christians who suffer for their faith. Peter begins 4:1 with, Therefore, What should a therefore cause us to ask? (What’s it there for?) It links us back to Peter’s teaching on Christ in 3:18. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=157 Scripture: I Peter 3:18-22 Q & A 72-74 Intro.: If Jesus told you to jump off a cliff, would you? That was the question a person asked me who believed his group had the only true view on baptism. But what did Jesus say when someone told him to jump off a cliff? Mt 4:7. So if Jesus told you to jump off a cliff, respectfully quote Mt 4:7 and listen to his answer. Jesus is not in the entertainment business, but in the transformation business. Last week we saw that your hermetical approach to scripture is crucial. Though literalism applies to much in the Bible, i.e. you shall not steal… you must take some symbolically, i.e. If your right eye offends you gouge it out!? As we have seen, Peter uses the flood as an antitype (antitupos) of Christian baptism. God told Noah to build the ark or he and his family would have drowned. Peter uses Noah to say that the water of baptism is also symbol of what saves us. And what saves us? God is our Savior. Noah was commanded by God to build an ark and, in faith, he built it and was not immersed. The flood waters floated the ark that saved Noah and his family. The Christian is commanded by God to be baptized with water and is symbolically linked to and identified with Christ as Savior. So it is God as Savior that is crucial. Turn to Mt 4:36-39. In listening to Jesus there, you definitely don’t want to be raptured into judgment and damnation. You want to be left behind and saved. So it is your relationship to God that makes all the difference. Peter says baptism is an important symbol. So what do we know from scripture about baptism? Let’s do a brief walk-through history. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=156 Scripture: I Peter 3:18-22 Intro.: Could the thief on the cross (Lk 22:42-43) be saved by Jesus today? What is your answer? (Of course he could. Jesus can save anyone he wants to.) That is so obvious it shouldn’t even be asked, right? Yet, at least one group is convinced that the only people who are saved are those who are baptized properly. So if there method of biblical interpretation is right, death-bed conversions have came to an end with NT baptism. This shows us how important our hermeneutical methods are in coming to a right understanding of truth. I Cor 2:12 tells us we do not do this alone. But what principles do you use to understand scripture? Let’s look at 2 hermeneutical methods of biblical interpretation: literalism and symbolism. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=155 Scripture: I Peter 3:18-22 Text: I Peter 3:19-22 Q & A 6-8 Intro.: What is the 2nd worst story in the whole Bible? The fall into sin in Gen 3 has to be # 1. Its fruit includes all the evil, sickness, meanness, death and destruction that is human history. How about Jesus’ crucifixion? That was horrible, but it is also redemptive. Plus Jesus rose again. So what is the 2nd worst story in the Bible? How about the flood? Noah’s ark is a cute children’s story (hold up book). It was the worst disaster in history that drowned an estimated 1 to 10 billion people in one fell swoop of God’s wrath plus innumerable animals in a holocaust that will never be equaled again until the final judgment (II Pet 3:10). Comparably, all of China would have to be destroyed in hours during this month’s Olympics. Peter tells this story as a salvation story for 8 people. He uses this illustration to encourage the struggling church of his day, which may feel small and alone against a flood of evil, to keep on suffering for righteousness’ sake. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=154 Scripture: I Peter 3:18-22 Text: I Peter 3:18 Q & A 86 Theme: Christ died for sins once for all. Intro.: How do you cope when you are having a particularly difficult time in life – whether from horrible suffering, or the death of a loved one…? Some cry out in deep sorrow, others go silent. Some yell in anger at God; others, like me, go into a shock-like state and just keep on keeping on. In early February my dad had died and Bud’s health continued to fail until he took his last breath. I was functioning in grief in low gear, going steadily forward, when a man tried to show me the true teaching on baptism. What he taught on baptism was biblical, but the devil was in his application. Using I Peter 3:21 and other texts, he judged that I and most other people who call themselves Christians, were not saved because we did not make our appeal to God with a clear conscience for the remission of sins through baptism. Only their group had discovered the code, the magic key by which you can be saved. So my dad and I, and most of Christendom, were deceived into thinking we were saved. Being told that the faith and hope of you and your loved ones in Jesus was meaningless cut to the heart. President Jimmy Carter, in Our Endangered Values, observed that it is hard for any Christian not to become self-righteous and fundamentalist in their thinking, i.e., I’m right. You’re wrong. Period! While exegeting this passage, Dr. John Piper said doctrinal controversy is essential, and deadly. Jude 3 tells us that we must contend earnestly for the faith. Truth is precious. But controversy can be deadly when it focuses on the reasons for truth rather than the reality behind truth. Paul tells Timothy that the goal of our instruction is love: I Tim 1:5. Paul told the Philippians that he prayed for them that their love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight to the glory and praise of God (1:9-11). Now let’s take a look at I Peter 3 and see whether or not my dad and I could be considered Christians. Remember that one of the major themes of Peter’s letter is suffering for your faith. That is the context of this passage. Noah and baptism are word pictures used by Peter to help us understand suffering for your faith. Peter links 3:18 with the previous passages with For. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=153 Scripture: I Peter 3:13-18 Text: I Peter 3:16 Q & A 86 Theme: A godly character of high integrity is your best defense…& offense. Intro.: When it came to sharing Jesus, Peter and John were told several times, Shut up or else! Here is there response: Acts 4:18-20; 5:27-33. Peter, John and the apostles were like the talking parrot in a pet shop. As a woman looked at the parrot on its perch, the parrot said, Awk! You’re ugly! The woman said, What did you say? The parrot replied, You’re ugly! The husband was upset. But the parrot was no respecter of gender, Awk! You’re ugly! The husband complained to the pet shop owner who apologized profusely. He grabbed the parrot by the throat, thumped him hard on the beak, shook him furiously and told him to never say that again – ever! He sat the parrot back on its perch, apologized again, and left. And no sooner had the owner walked away when the parrot repeated, You’re ugly. The parrot couldn’t shut up. That’s what the Jewish leaders thought of the good news of Peter and John and the apostles, It was ugly and they wouldn’t shut up! How does Good News become the dark side of something beautiful? Paul described how good news can be seen as ugly in II Cor 2:15-16. Have you ever been in the right, but then treated as if you had done wrong? Didn’t you hate it when the whole class gets punished because of one person? Peter commands us in 3:16, to have a good, clear conscience. Let’s look at the power of good. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=152 Scripture: Read I Peter 3:13-15 Q & A 86 Theme: One of the most powerful apologias a Christian has in a non-Christian world is a hopeful, servant heart. Intro.: Possibly the most powerful defense spoken with great authority in scripture was given by Stephen in Acts 7. Stephen was asked by the high priest, Are these charges about you speaking against the holy Temple true? With Holy Spirit fire in his bones and a glory shining from his face, he declared, Brothers and fathers, listen to me! He proclaimed the wonder of God’s grace and power in Abraham’s life, the foretold cruel history of Israel as slaves, the story of Joseph and, centuries later, how God raised up Moses. When he stuck to the inspired story, they were with him. But when he got to application he became a dead man: You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! These Jews were circumcised! Those were fighting words. You always resist the Holy Spirit! You betrayed and murdered the Righteous One! That was it! Stephen’s listeners gave their cloaks to a Pharisee named Saul, then they stoned him to death. Now, are you ready to make a defense for your faith? http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=151 Scripture: Read I Peter 3:13-16 Q & A 88,90 Theme: The Christian life is to be not just a duty, but a delight in God. Into.: Several years ago researchers performed an experiment using rats to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water. Within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. That second group of rats swam for over 24 hours (then drowned). Why? Those animals had the hope that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. Hope multiplied their fight for life 24 to 1. If hope holds such power for rats, how much greater should the effect of hope be for Christians? Life for us is something like those rats. You keep swimming and, if someone doesn’t rescue you, you drown. But if something or someone gives you a little reprieve, a little hope, you hang in there and go on. Peter shows us why we have a hope worth sharing and commands us to share it. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=150 Scripture: I Peter 3:13-17 Text: I Peter 3:15 Intro.: At our Tuesday OSP men’s Lifeline Bible Study, I shared the 3rd part of Lee Stroebel’s recently released DVD, The Case for Christ. It was Lee’s powerful conclusion to this question, Is there evidence to confirm that Jesus of Nazareth was the son of God and the savior of the world? After the DVD I asked, What was the greatest insight you gained from Lee’s evidence for the resurrection and his testimony of how Jesus changed his life? Immediately, one inmate started sharing stories of his some 50 years of incarceration in the Oregon prison system (2nd longest). After other stories I asked for prayer concerns and praises. Not one mentioned how phenomenal the resurrection of Jesus is! Not one. The whole teaching was portrayed in a popular medium by a popular writer and no one seemed to notice. Is this modernity? Are most people just spiritual today not caring about truth. Are we strictly pragmatic: does it give me peace? does it work? Evil works. Evidence used to be so important. Now, experience seems to rule the day. The Shack is a modern day illustration. It is both a heart-breaking and heart-warming novel of theological fiction, wrestling with living life after the murder of one’s child. I was intrigued by Dr. Eugene Peterson’s strong endorsement on the cover, This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. That is quite a statement. But, in all honesty, The Shack is no more like Pilgrim’s Progress than Dan Quayle was like Jack Kennedy to quote Senator Bentsen. But The Shack has the potential to have a huge Pilgrim’s Progress kind of impact. The Shack is something like a fictional OT theophany giving you creative insight of how a loving, triune God in relationship might look. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegorical journey that will help you understand life better as a Christian. When you’re done walking with Christian you will know the Bible better than when you began. When you finish The Shack you will have a bigger view of God, but your Bible knowledge will not increase. i.e. Sam Stukey gave this Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English as a gift copy from CCC to 12 residents at Hillcrest. After the first chapter, one of the kids wrote out all the scripture references in that chapter (see pages 7-8). You wouldn’t be able to do that with The Shack. Nevertheless, The Shack is worth your reading (CCC library has both books). Both books will give you insight into God. Only one feasts on the Word. But welcome to modernity. A believer must have a relationship with God. But one of the primary ways to know God is through his Word. Peter says, http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=149 Scripture: I Peter 3:8-14 Q & A 86, Why do we still do good? Theme: Live in harmony, remember your blessed inheritance, pursue peace, do not fear. Intro.: What is one of the most crippling things in life? (disease, poverty, depression) According to Peter, one of the biggest hindrances to life is fear. Peter commanded, Do not fear! That means a redeemed, blood-bought, Holy Spirit infused Christian should be able to live life with great courage. 3:8-12 closes Peter’s huge 20-verse instructions by living submissively to all, he says, Finally (telos - end, close), be H.I.P. That is Live in Harmony, Remember your Blessed Inheritance and Pursue Peace. 1. Live in HARMONY. The 5 exhortations in 3:8 give us an ideal portrait of the church. Please know that these are not more laws to add to the Christian’s life. Always take NT orders in the Spirit. Otherwise, you fall back into legalism. The law will weigh you down. Life in the Spirit is freeing. So, a. Live in harmony together. 3:8. Illustration: Sing God is so Good/The Joy of the Lord is my Strength. After they are singing well, play How Great Thou Art on piano. Wonderful song, but not harmonious. Literal Greek is be like-minded. Paul: Phil 2:1-4. http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=148 I Peter 3:1-7 Q & A 104 Theme: In God’s economy every believer can be drop-dead gorgeous! Intro: Can any respectable, 21st century Christian take I Peter 3:1-6 seriously? James S. Hewett tells the story of a tyrannical husband that demanded his wife conform to his rigid household standards. He made a list of rules for her to do for him as a wife, mother, and homemaker. In time she came to hate her husband as much as she hated his list of rules. Then, one day he died. Sometime later, she fell in love with another man and married him. She and her new husband lived harmoniously together. Joyfully, she devoted herself to his happiness and welfare. One day she ran across one of the sheets of the dos and don’ts her first husband had written out, i.e. Start coffee and breakfast at 6 am while I shave and shower. Breakfast will be on the table at 6:30 am… You must see that all relatives get birthday and anniversary cards... Schedule a night out for us once a month. I prefer action movies…The smell of a home-cooked meal must be in the air when I walk through the door….Dishes are done immediately after dinner and everything is put away. She was amazed to find that she was doing for her 2nd husband all the things her 1st husband demanded even though her new husband had never once suggested them. She did them as an expression of her love and desire to please him. In 3:1, Peter commands, Wives, in the same way be submissive (put yourself under) to your husbands. This is the kind of command that makes the hairs on peoples necks’ bristle. Can we really say that this passage is God’s will for our lives today? Let’s see. Why did Peter write this? http://www.crchurchtualatin.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=147 Scripture: I Peter 2:18-25 H C Q & A 127 Intro.: How in the world does, Slaves, obey your masters, apply to you at all today? Maybe in much the same way a cat and a dog view theology. A dog says, You love me, shelter me, feed me and serve me. Therefore, you must be God! A cat says, You love me, shelter me, feed me and serve me. Therfore, I must be God! (Cat and Dog Theology by Bob Sjgroen) In the first century church, it is believed that most Christians were servants or slaves. When Peter wrote this letter, there are an estimated 60 million slaves in the Roman empire! In Rome, work was beneath the free man, so all work was done by slaves. The word for slave here means household or domestic servant (oiketes). Now slaves could have a prosperous and respected life. Slaves were doctors, teachers, musicians, actors, etc. Yet, like a dog, a slave had no rights and was considered a non-person. Aristotle said, A slave is always a tool. Another ancient writer said that the only difference between a slave and a beast and a farm wagon was that the slave could talk. So when a slave became a Christian, they discovered that in the eyes of God they had great worth: 2:9-10; Gen 1:27. So Peter taught them about how to live honorably as slaves. Now they have this tension of being free in Christ, and yet they are still property. In Philemon, Paul is walking a thin line when he tells the master, Onesimus, to receive his runaway slave back as a brother in Christ . He is your slave, but he is not a farm tool, he is your brother. That is a radical gospel! How many of you employers regard your employees as brothers/sisters in Christ? We are slaves to our supreme master, Jesus. So Peter says that …