CategoryChurch

Bible Class: The Blessings of Christ Part 1

6 Min read

Bible class audio for July 18, 2010: [audio:http://www.gregchaney.com/wordpress/audio/0718_092104.MP3]

Bible class audio for July 25, 2010
[audio:http://www.gregchaney.com/wordpress/audio/0725_091856.MP3]

1.  Elephant and the Rider (monkey) from the Happiness Hypothesis Jonathan Haidt (University of Virginia psychologist)

Weakness vs Strengths
Elephant (Emotions):  lazy and skittish, quick payoff over long term gain (ice cream vs thin)
Rider (Rational) :  think long term, think beyond the moment, to plan

Strengths vs Weaknesses
Elephant:  Compassion, sympathy and loyalty, protection instinct, love
Rider:  overanalyze, over-thinks, spins wheels, mechanical, no passion

When rational thinking and emotions disagree…emotions always win.

Plato:  In our heads we have a rational charioteer who has to rein in an unruly horse that “barely yields to horsewhip and goad combined”

2.  Understanding the blessing of Jesus

  • The first four deal with our own state of being, the second how we deal with others
  • They build on each other
  • Are about our heart (emotions) not our head (rational)
  • Don’t look for a list of commands to follow but a way of approaching God

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Tuba City Mission Trip: Day Three (Sweat Lodge)

4 Min read

Work continued in ernest today, I never saw one of our 76 children or adults slacking…they were all working hard for Jesus. The wood hauling crew on which most of the Merkel folks were working cleared branches and loaded wood so fast the Forest service crew working ahead of them had to work overtime to catch up. Texans can certainly work.

The wood they collect will be distributed to the Navajo most in need this winter. This act of good will builds the trust Paul needs to break barriers to spread the good news.

To better appreciate the culture we are serving everyone was given the opportunity to participate in Sweat Lodge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweat_lodge Sweat lodge holds important spiritual, ceremonial and purifying purposes to the Navajo. Our experience and this account in no way serves as a legitimate source for authentic sweat lodge information or the meanings and purpose behind them. I am only recounting our experience.

As we drove 20 miles out of Tuba City, 3 miles on a single lane dirt (gravel and sand) road the sun was just thinking about setting. We arrived at the sweat lodge site at an authentic hogan on a working Navajo ranch. As you will find sporadically around the Navajo nation an authentic (and well used) sweat lodge was a short walk format the back door.

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Tuba City Mission Trip: Day Two (Toothbrush for Jesus)

2 Min read

So this mission trip is really church camp on steroids…replace craft time, nap time, and activity time with hard core work for others and you have this mission trip. The normal Bible study and devotional time is still included for growth but the real lessons are the life lesson of service.

After a slow start this morning the seventy souls on this mission where divided into work projects including building a house, re-roofing a barn, building a shed, vacation Bible school, and hauling/stockpiling firewood for use by the locals this winter.

All of these projects help Paul break down tremendous cultural barriers in the Navajo community in Tuba City. Little by little he is gaining their trust and spreading the gospel…every soul counts.

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Tuba City Mission Trip: Day One

2 Min read

I can’t decide how to start this series. Possibly with a mention of a cliche’ I observed when an American Indian crossed the road in the middle of the desert holding a half empty quart and another full; or maybe I should start with a discourse on the perils of long distance travel in a small van with church youth. I really want to write about the mountain top worship the Merkel folks had on Sunday night complete with communion and a great lesson by Dustin.

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The Blessings of Jesus

4 Min read

Bible class audio for June 20, 2010: [audio:http://www.gregchaney.com/wordpress/audio/0620_092004.MP3]
Bible class audio for June 13, 2010: [audio:http://www.gregchaney.com/wordpress/audio/0613_091627.MP3]

We interpret the blessings of  Matthew 5 through the eyes of materialistic and superficial Americans.  In our modern world happy has come to mean a conscience state of a feeling well or ecstatic.  If WE are happy WE feel good.  I’m not doubting that if we love God and obey his command we will be internally happy, but I firmly believe the emotions Christ was trying to evoke were much deeper.   Speaking to Jews he was asking them to recall familiar passages from the Torah (Deuteronomy 28) in which the Jews were brought into a state of blessedness because of their obedience.  They were blessed because they were reconciled to God into the peace (Shalowm) He intended.  The opposite state was cursed or separated from God.

Each beatitude pronounces the person who possesses that quality as “blessed.” We need to understand this word because, as some have rightly noted, the Greek word used by Matthew,makarios, can also be translated as “happy.” Happy, however, is not the correct translation in this context.Happinessissubjective; the same things do not always make everybody happy. And we can certainly rule out mourning as a producer of happiness. Instead, Jesus makesobjectivejudgments about the state of the citizens of God’s Kingdom. He declares, not what they feel like, but what God thinks of them. People with these qualities gain His approval. Because God thinks well of them, they are “blessed.” God’s blessing is far broader and exceedingly more important than merely being “happy.” From Ritenbaugh, John W. Forerunner “Personal” February 1999

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Sermon Audio: Nicodemus

2 Min read
[audio:http://www.gregchaney.com/wordpress/audio/0613_174059.MP3]

Nicodemus

When:  Sometime after he cleared the temple

Who:  Ruler on the Jewish ruling council (71 members tasked the elite) V1

  • “As under the Greek rulers the Jews were allowed a large measure of self-government, many points of civil and religious administration fell to the lot of the high priests and the gerousía to settle. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13444a.htm “
  • “Teacher of Israel”  v10 Only the most trained became teachers of the Law in general, the ruling council, and certainly “Teacher of Israel.
  • the Jewish Encyclopedia and many Biblical historians have theorized that he is identical to Nicodemus ben Gurion, mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy and popular holy man reputed to have had miraculous powers.
  • Sanhedrin…put Jesus to death

Motivation:

  • Sent by the ruling council “we know” to address the incident in the temple (Sadducees were the target)
  • Possibly sent to recruit him
  • Inspired by his message…a prodigy recognized by a Jewish master. ILLUSTRATION: The master musician and the hillbilly prodigy

[SEGUE NOTE:  Regardless of the motivation Nicodemus becomes flustered with Jesus’ answer to a question he never asked.)

The Message:

v3-5 The kingdom is experienced by rebirth not reform ILLUSTRATION:  The president of a college of theology

v5-8 Rebirth is spiritual not physical

  • ILLUSTRATION: Jewish ceremonial rebirths.
  • The Jews were fixated on the Messiah coming as a physical King of Israel (Triumphal entry)
  • Pharisees were the experts in external

v13- 14Jesus is not from God he is God (Jesus finally answers implied question) Jesus must be lifted up on the cross (compare to Moses in Numbers 21)

Conclusion (The Cameos)

John 7:45-52 Nicodemus, knowing the law risks retribution to defend  Jesus but was not yet willing to give up his status

John 19:38-42 Nicodemus gives Jesus the burial of a king

Call

John 3:16:  The message to Nicodemus is clear Jesus isn’t  just from God he is God.  He was lifted on the cross so that whoever like Jews on the serpent gazes on it will be saved through a rebirth through the spiritual cleansing of baptism.  Our rebirth isn’t just a new addition to our life or a way to reform it…we die to the old life.  If Nicodemus can do it so can we.

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Sermon Audio: The Journey

1 Min read

Sermon Audio “The Journey”

When the Israelites stood at the far side of the Red Sea they had escaped certain death and were delivered to life by the hand of God, but their journey wasn’t over.  The Israelites wandered through the wilderness before reaching their promise, and it wasn’t always pretty.  At times God’s anger burned toward them but in the end both He and they looked back their wanderings with fondness.

The Israelite’s story is our story.  When we stand at the banks of our salvation we have to know that our spiritual journey is not over, it’s only beginning.  We will journey through the wilderness of our lives and like the Israelites, Christian wilderness travelers trust God, need each other, look for God’s glory, and never turn back.

Exodus 14, Exodus 33, Jeremiah 2:1-2, Psalms 103, Luke 9:23, Matthew 22:36-40, 1 John 1:7, Philippians 3:12-14

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Bible Class: Defining the Kingdom of Heaven (God)

6 Min read

Bible Class Audio May 23, 2010 “Kingdom of God (Part 2)

Bible Class Audio May 16, 2010 “Kingdom of God (Part 1)

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17 (TNIV)

1.  A Central Theme of Jesus Teachings

The Kingdom of heaven is a central theme in the teachings of Jesus throughout his ministry.  It’s difficult to gain the deeper faith and understanding from his message without understanding the kingdom message first.

As you discover the depth to which the kingdom of God message is infused into the preaching of Jesus and the Apostles you have to wonder where in our church history was that message lost?  If it was so central to the original message, why did we water it down?

“It may be said that the teaching of Jesus concerning the Kingdom of God represents his whole teaching. It is the main, determinative subject of all his discourse. His ethics were ethics of the Kingdom; his theology was theology of the Kingdom; his teaching regarding himself cannot be understood apart from his interpretation of the Kingdom of God” (Dr. F. C. Grant, from “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” Biblical World, 50, pp. 121-191).

The gospel  (good news) message is still preached proudly, something from which we can never stray.  Jesus is the salvation for the world, He is the final sacrifice for sins, He was crucified and buried in a tomb, He was triumphant over death, He is the mediator of the new covenant.  What has been lost I’m afraid is the rest of the story, that Jesus has redeemed us into the Kingdom of God.  As Jesus said,

“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached…” (Luke 16:16 TNIV) (more…)

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Motivation 3.0 for the Christian Leader

4 Min read

I grew up in a time when church frequently included special gospel meetings that featured a guest preacher imploring nightly over the course of a week to get right and reap the rewards of heaven or certainly go to hell. We were encouraged to invite our friends and neighbors where every night the message and volume would escalate until a satisfactory number had responded to avoid the punishment of hell. Unfortunately, the fear motivated responses rarely resulted in life-long change, many left the church quickly never to return.

As I read Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us it struck me that we have built a church, family, and work culture based on an inferior motivational model. In a sense, our churches are stuck in a 20th century when such practices were the norm, but fall short with today’s generation. Because we were raised in this environment most of today’s leaders are just modeling what we know.

Pink presents a compelling case for a deeper method of personal, peer, and subordinate motivation. He contends that human motivation has evolved from a basic needs model, to a “carrot and stick” model, and as he proposes, a more stable intrinsic motivation model. In modern vernacular he labels these models in the style of a progressive human operating system upgrade: Motivation 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.

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