Online Matthew Bible Study

Posted on February 7, 2008 by gophumek | Permalink 7

 

 

(Sponsored by Zach’s House, a non-denominational faith community in Irving, Euless and Bedford, TX)

 

Matthew 1:1-17

The Genealogy of Jesus

 1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
    2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
         Isaac the father of Jacob,
         Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
       3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
         Perez the father of Hezron,
         Hezron the father of Ram,
       4Ram the father of Amminadab,
         Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
         Nahshon the father of Salmon,
       5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
         Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
         Obed the father of Jesse,
       6and Jesse the father of King David.
      David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
    7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
         Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
         Abijah the father of Asa,
       8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
         Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
         Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
       9Uzziah the father of Jotham,
         Jotham the father of Ahaz,
         Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
       10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
         Manasseh the father of Amon,
         Amon the father of Josiah,
       11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
    12After the exile to Babylon:
         Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
         Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
       13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
         Abiud the father of Eliakim,
         Eliakim the father of Azor,
       14Azor the father of Zadok,
         Zadok the father of Akim,
         Akim the father of Eliud,
       15Eliud the father of Eleazar,
         Eleazar the father of Matthan,
         Matthan the father of Jacob,
       16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

 17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

 

 

Questions for Discussion

We’ll begin with two easy questions for everyone: Have you ever researched your family history? Are there any stories in your family that have been kept secret?

 

1. Do you recognize any names from this list? If so, how many?

 

2. Does this list say anything about God?

 

3. Does this list say anything about Jesus’ family?

 

You can comment below but you can also send me an email at zachshouse at gmail dot com and give me your answers or questions there. 

 

Thanks, 
Brian

 

 

Click here to see the Zach’s House faith community upcoming gatherings and events 

 

 

 

 

Bible Lesson

Beyond Your Backyard by Tom Ellsworth

Posted on February 6, 2008 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Not too often can I say the introduction of a book is worth its purchase price. I can say that about BEYOND YOUR BACKYARD. Tom Ellsworth, preaching minister of Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington, IN, begins with the premise that the church is not built of brick and mortar. The church is the flesh, intelligence, compassion and love of the people who follow Christ in any geographic area. The church is not the building.

Sometimes we read books that will stretch us theologically. I haven’t been stretched with this reading because I already agree with Tom. However, this book will stretch the thinking of members in hundreds if not thousands of congregations that merely go through the motions each Sunday morning.  As for me, this reading has given me another kick in the pants to do more good in my community.

Tom Ellsworth nudges readers to get out of their pews and serve others. Not only does Tom urge us to serve others but he encourages us to love those that are different. With our church plant, Zach’s House, named after Zacchaeus, I dearly loved Tom’s exposition on Luke 19:1-5. Tom makes an outstanding point that it is easy to serve others if we only open our eyes, especially if we open our eyes to those we’d rather ignore.

Chapter 3, my favorite, includes important points on friends and connecting with others. This chapter is absolutely necessary for anyone that hasn’t heard the term “Christian community.”  Tom states we can connect with others with whom we have built a bond. I would add that this can happen while we serve along others and with those we serve.

An 8 session discussion guide can be purchased along with BEYOND YOUR BACKYARD. If you can only afford the book, you may find the Stepping Out to Serve sections at the end of each chapter very handy for small group or class discussions. They are filled with brilliant discussion points that will encourage service to others.

Tom sums up the book and encourages readers with a couple well written sentences from a section titled It’s About Sacrifice, Not Satisfaction, “…when we make sacrifices so that we can invest our lives in others, we discover a deep sense of satisfaction. Don’t hold back. Start looking for specific ways to help someone. Look around – it’s not difficult to find hurting people who need you.”  




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Pastors Not Sold on Being Missional

Posted on February 5, 2008 by gophumek | Permalink 2

 

I’ve just been reading some interesting research done by Ron Sellers of Ellison Research (Phoenix, AZ) on how involved Protestant churches are in community focused efforts. Community efforts are such things as blood drives, homeless ministries, after-school programs for children, low-cost day care services, abortion or pregnancy counseling, domestic violence programs, food donations, adult literacy and the such. A couple of thoughts ran through my mind as I read a summary of this research.* What Sellers really researched is what the pastoral staff thinks. Throughout the summary you read comments like “all pastors were asked” and “but pastors in larger churches.” Therefore, this is really not research into what the church (the ekklesia) thinks, but what the leadership believes. There appears to be a strong distinction made by leadership between community outreach and evangelistic outreach. It may have been the way the study was structured, but it seems that most pastors do not view community outreach as having an evangelistic component and vice-versa. This dichotomy between the two is wrong and needs to be corrected. It may also be one reason why many evangelical faith communities view emerging/missional as a modern form of the old “liberal social gospel” movement.

 

 

Except for food donation and holiday food programs, few faith communities have any type of community outreach. According to Sellers, “fewer than 1 out of 10 Protestant churches offer any kind of free or low-cost day care services, abortion or pregnancy counseling, domestic violence programs, English language classes, job skills or job training, or adult literacy or reading classes.” I think by extension you could add just about any type of community related effort to this list. Could we say that leadership does not perceive being missional as important? Before you answer that last question, here are the excuses 4 out of 10 pastors gave for not offering more community related programs (with my interpretation in italics):

 

  • They would rather focus on spiritual needs than on physical needs (physical needs are the job of the government, we only deal with the spiritual).
  • They would rather focus on their own congregation than on the community (and I’d get fired if I didn’t).
  • Their community has no major needs (yes, they really said this).
  • They don’t see it as a major priority for their church (they must have deleted Mark 12:31 from their bibles).
  • Their congregation really isn’t interested in community outreach (we’re a private club and can’t be bothered).

 

These type of response demonstrate a strong lack of understanding of who we are called to be (an incarnational people), pastors bowing to the pressure of the congregation to focus on them exclusively, and an ignorance of the post-Christian culture we now live and minister within. All pastors, regardless of their church’s level of involvement, said (quoting Sellers), “[when] asked what’s holding their church back from being more involved in their community. Four different reasons are cited by at least half of all pastors: lack of sufficient volunteers (58 percent), lack sufficient staff (56 percent), lack of sufficient lay leaders (52 percent) and lack of sufficient funds (50 percent). Staff, volunteers, and funds are helpful, but to me these type of response demonstrate for me how ingrained the top-down American business model of organization, program and structure is in the American church and how it obstructs the missional purpose of the church. What is your reaction?

 

 

* As found in the January/February 2007 addition of “Fact and Trends,” LiveWay Christian Resources.

 

 

Rick Meigs and his wife have two wonderful boys in college and attend Greater Portland Bible Church. You can send Rick an email at rick AT blindbeggar DOT org. Check out his blog at http://blindbeggar.org/.

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Posted on January 11, 2008 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Getting Rid of the Gorilla by Brian Jones

 

 

                  Click this link to purchase this book today on Amazon

 

This isn’t a self help book for men who have a bit too much hair on their backs. Believe it or not, this book addresses an even more serious matter, unforgiveness. Brian Jones, founding pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley near Philadelphia, PA allows his honesty and transparency to pierce the hearts of all who have an unforgiving heart, which in this book, is represented by an ever present, menacing gorilla.

 
Brian Jones doesn’t hide his feelings. He’s not one of these ministers who pretends to be perfect. He admits his flaws and failings including his distaste for Barry Manilow music, his failure to obey speed limits and the fact he does not like to forgive people. Believe it or not, Brian admits his dislike to forgive in a stunning confession early in the book. Check out his words, “I don’t like forgiving people.” A pastor doesn’t get more real than that. 
 

Authors sometimes neglect the root of the problem when they address issues like forgiveness or the lack of it, not Brian Jones. He digs deep, into his own past, and reveals where the gorilla of unforgiveness originates. He dedicates an entire chapter to the origin of unforgiveness, it’s titled Rage. In this chapter, Brian discusses how natural anger is in response to how we or others are treated. Jesus became angry plenty of times, however, he was never filled with rage. Identification of our rage is paramount before forgiveness begins.

 
I like the way Brian has organized Gorilla. He speaks of the problem of unforgiveness and then explains where it comes from and some of the affects on the hearts of unforgiving people, such as distancing ourselves from others and living with a pessimistic world view. That pessimism, he relates from personal experience, can be seen in sarcastic talk, which is sometimes humorous but can also be dangerous to our relationships. Sarcasm, Brian reveals, comes from a Greek word that means “to tear flesh.” Woah! That’s some powerful knowledge shared that makes me want to watch my words a bit closer.

 

 

In the chapter titled Myths, Brian shares his theological view on Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Brian says this saying of Jesus is not relevant to Christians because it was said by Jesus before he died on the cross. Brian’s argument is not new. There have been books written on this subject because of the divorce and remarriage issue. Nevertheless, due to my inability to forgive many times, I hope Brian’s right on this matter, but do some research into this for yourself.

 

 

Brian shares some more theology with us when he discusses Satan’s plan. He states that Satan can’t hurt God. True. So instead, he tries to hurt those closest to God, his children. Steps need to be taken to get rid of that hurt which manifests itself in an unforgiving heart. Discipleship, kindness and prayer lead to having a forgiving heart. The most important factor of getting rid of the gorilla is the idea of having spiritual mentors, friends or directors. We need to be transparent and be able to see into the messiness of each other’s lives. Without putting forth an effort to allow someone else to see the real us, the gorilla won’t go away. It won’t be killed or injured, but will grow stronger and more powerful.

 

 

You will take away many positives from this new effort by Brian Jones, but remember the biggest of all, the need to be open with others. Without transparency, we would not have access to the heartfelt and helpful thoughts of a pastor on a mission to get rid of his own gorilla. Without transparency, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of your own gorilla. Standard Publishing has a companion 6 session discussion guide that will help propel small groups in sharing honest and transparent thoughts. Here’s hoping your own gorilla will one day be locked away in the zoo where it rightfully belongs.



Visit Brian’s blog by clicking here




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