Many in my Sunday class yesterday were asking why the Jews are so special, why is Israel so special?
There are many reasons from a Biblical perspective. This morning, as I was reading my Bible, I came across this verse: For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” (Ex. 33:16)
Here, Moses is asking God to be with them and make the people distinct. I believe God did that and still does that.

shared by @Quackendall (Chris Kuykendall); from “Vintage Jesus” by Mark Driscoll. 1. Jesus’ Resurrection was prophesied in advance by 700 years. 2. Jesus predicted his resurrection. 3. Jesus actually died on the cross. 4. Jesus was buried in a tomb that was easy to find. 5. Jesus appeared, physically alive, three days after his death. 6. Jesus’ resurrection was recorded as Scripture shortly after it occurred. 7. Jesus’ resurrection convinced his family to worship him as God. 8. Jesus’ resurrection convinced the cowardly to become courageous. 9. Jesus’ resurrection was confirmed by his most bitter enemies, like Paul. 10. The most compelling evidence is you.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, Proverbs 30:5-6 and Revelation 22:18-19

Some who read the Revelation passage would argue that this is talking about new extra-biblical revelation (over against those who believe the gift of knowledge is for today), or those who would use a translation they don’t consider acceptable. For clarification, I am not speaking of cult translations like the Jehovah’s Witness version of the Greek NT and thus their New World Translation or the Book of Mormon. My primary concern would be those who pick a specific translation and lift it (and it only) up above all others.

I contend the main thrust of these passages is the issue of legalism and liberalism.

In Deuteronomy 4:2, God gives clear instruction “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” This addition was unacceptable, primarily because God knew what they needed to have and extras were just that, extra.

Jesus spoke against the Pharisees and their practice of both behaviors in Matthew 23. In verse 4, “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” This shows the addition of rules not found in God’s law. In verse 23, Jesus declared they had “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

While teaching the people rules, they followed a different path. Thus, teaching legalism (adding to God’s instruction) they practiced liberalism (ignoring God’s instruction).

Proverbs 30:6 warns against adding to the word of God, “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

The last statement on the issue in Scripture is the Revelation passage (22:18-19). My understanding is that this applies specifically to the words of Jesus as found in Revelation. Trying to make it fit all Scripture may preach well, but it is a hermeneutical stretch, in my opinion.

I believe the warning found in the Revelation verses is similar to that of Deuteronomy and Proverbs. Don’t add to what Jesus said, or he will add the plagues; don’t take away from what Jesus said, or your name will be removed from the book of life. That’s a serious warning.

All who would add to the teaching of God as found in Scripture are often labeled legalists and those who would take it away are liberals. Both are guilty of opposing the clear teaching of Scripture. May we be like Paul and walk the middle line between either excess and avoid the problems inherent in either side.

Creation came ‘from nothing,’ not God: Stephen Hawking http://usat.me?39958622

What is interesting about this article is that a physicist is speaking about something decidedly non-scientific. Science demands observation and reproducibility. Hawking ignores both aspects of science and simply declares “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to … set the Universe going.”

By saying “Invoke God,” Hawking still acknowledges God, even if it is in a roundabout fashion. Creation ‘ex nihilo’ means God spoke all that is into existence. This ties in with the Genesis account. Without a Creator who makes the stuff, there is still no solution to the origin is the universe. Since we were not present at the creation, and we have no demonstrable evidence of a spontaneous creation as described by Hawking, I’m not buying his theory/hypothesis.

I’m interested in reading this book by Hawking, but in the meantime I’ll keep my ‘simple’ understanding that God created the earth in the fashion described by Genesis chapter one.

Has a disaster happened to you?

Read Psalm 57

Colossians 3:23 says we should do everything as if we are doing it for God. Recently I was contemplating other reasons we do our best. I came up with this:

Excellence is all about removing distractions so people can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If the only thing people notice is misspelled words, broken microphones, or dirty walls in church, they may miss the most important thing - hearing the gospel! When I am in church and see something wrong, it distracts me. I’m pretty sure it distracts other people, too.

If the only thing someone sees in you is that bad habit, your unbrushed teeth and halitosis, or the way you mistreat your wife and kids, they will likely not hear the gospel from you.

In your pursuit of excellence, always be reminded of Psalm 16:2-3:

2 I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

The Long Tail is a term used to describe the idea that there are more people who don’t buy into the majority position than those that do. This is used in varying areas ranging from sales & marketing to military threat assessment. While reading the Wiki article on The Long Tail, I thought to myself, “How does this apply to the church?”

One former Amazon employee put it this way: “We sold more books today that didn’t sell at all yesterday than we sold today of all the books that did sell yesterday.”(1) According to Chris Anderson, who coined the term, “”The Long Tail is about the economics of abundance—what happens when the bottlenecks that stand between supply and demand in our culture start to disappear and everything becomes available to everyone”(2)

This sure does sound like something every church (and believer) should desire in regards to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we spend all our time trying to reach the people who have already been reached, we actually succeed less than if we go after those in the majority (i.e., the “lost). This concept is exactly in line with what Scripture teaches us God did.

In the Old Testament, we see God select one person to start a new nation, a people who would eventually be named Israel. They were His chosen. Through them, He intended to save the entire world.

In the New Testament, Jesus was born of a virgin into that group of people. When the time came, he began his earthly ministry and he targeted 12 men to teach and train in his ways. After his death and resurrection, they in turn obeyed His instruction to “go into all the world” with the Good News of rescue from sin for all sinners.

Humans would have chosen to bring a majority influencer to the world to reach the world. Not God; He chose obscurity and made the obscure one the Famous One. What can we learn from this?

It is in the daily living out of our beliefs that we most affect the world for Jesus Christ. Big names and big ministries don’t have near the impact that the many smaller, seemingly less significant, ones. For all who wonder if what you do matters, remember this - it does. More people will be reached today through the small ministries and “nobodies” of the church than all the big ones combined. That is the lesson of the Long Tail for the Church.

I’m writing this review mostly for myself, but figured I would publish it.

Review Material: They Like Jesus But Not the Church

Type: Small Group DVD Video material

Author: Dan Kimball

Format: DVD

Leader Guide: Yes (Sort of - seems like a copy of his book was included, not a true leader’s guide)

Participants Guide: Yes

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/They-Like-Jesus-but-Church/dp/0310277884/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Target: churches that aren’t reaching their community or culture

Problems: The speaker is stilted in his speech. He never sounds like he is comfortable being on camera. He uses hand gestures so much that is is forced and looks odd.

The content is good, but it may not be received well by some in the church. This is not because of the content, but presentation. While he has some good concepts, the applications seem to be a bit narrow and focus on the flavor(s) of people he is dealing with in Southern California.

Kimball tries too hard to make connecting with the world about never offending. While I agree with the core of his premise, even Jesus offended. Most of his offense was directed at the self-righteous and religious, but there were many who left him because of what he was saying to them. It was too hard for them to hear. The idea of Paul’s teaching of “All things to all” would have been a good discussion to have here, and it didn’t happen.

His presentation makes it difficult to hear the parts of the message that matters the most: Preach the Gospel. If the Gospel offends, that’s life, but you should not offend unnecessarily in your actions, attitudes or speech.

Useful for church at large: Not ours

Useful for some small groups: maybe for some