HomeBuilders

OT and the Trinity

2010-09-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Some comments about last Sunday's lesson...

First, thanks for bearing with me in trying to cover some deeper issues fairly quickly. I wasn't really fair to the texts in the OT we were looking at to make the kinds of points I was trying to make in the short amount ot time we had. Maybe we'll take it slower this week. But hopefully it was a helpful exercise for you guys to look at the OT and discuss how it applies to the Triune (three-in-one) God revealed in the NT.

A couple of issues were brought up that I wanted to address. Thanks to Roy for bringing them up and keeping me on my toes as a teacher. I wasn't really prepared to discuss their implications given preparation time (or lack of it) and actual time in class. But I don't want to leave things hanging either so I've had a chance to think and read some about them.

1 - Does Isaiah 48 really talk about Cyrus, the Persian emperor who took over the Babylonian empire? I was not aware of this context Sunday morning but chapter 48 does refer to Cyrus, as God's agent to punish Babylon and let the Jews return to Judah and Jerusalem. Cyrus is actually mentioned by name earlier in Isaiah (chapter 44 and/or 46 I think). In chapter 48 God is encouraging the Jews through the prophet that he will use Cyrus to free them out of exile. However, for verse 16, which we focused on for our Trinitarian discussion, it is not clear who is speaking...and this is the significant issue here. Who says, "The LORD God has sent me and His Spirit"? There are three main opnions: 1) Cyrus (minority opnion), 2) the prophet Isaiah himself, or 3) the Suffering Servant which is the subject of chapter 49. The grammar and syntax is somewhat ambiguous, but most choose option 2 or 3. The Suffering Servant is a recurring figure in Isaiah and some chapters on Him are explicitly linked to Christ in the NT. This is the interpretation I was assuming (based on Wayne Grudem). You can see how significant this verse is for the Trinity if Christ the Suffering Servant is claiming to be sent by God along with the Holy Spirit. But we must stop short of being dogmatic on this point given the ambiguity in the text.

2 - Were the Hebrews of Moses' day true monotheists or polytheists? As for the Hebrews themselves, we have Biblical evidence that they believed in and worshipped other gods besides Yawheh, so I think this is a given many were polytheistic. The real question is, was the author(s) of the Pentateuch a true monotheist or a henotheist (one who believes in multiple Gods but only worships one). I think you can make the case for either. On the one hand, there are passages that seem to assume the existence of other gods who are not to be worshipped. However, there are other passages that talk about the other gods as if they were just dumb and powerless pieces of wood, stone or metal. This seems to undermine the idea that the author in any sense considered them 'real'. Additionally, the creation story seems to point back to a single Creator that would necessarily be a supreme God. I lean to the author of the Pentateuch being monotheistic for the following reasons, but again I'm not dogmatic:

1. I believe what he wrote was inspired by God, and so he had God's perspective on the truths of the existence of other gods.

2. Even though there are passages which seem to assume the existence of other gods, I don't think this means he believes they are indeed real. Today we also talk about other gods such as Allah, Molech, or even objects such as money and fame without actually believing they are actual gods. I might say, "don't make money a god" to someone but I don't actually believe in a transcendent being that is personified by money.

Anyway, I look forward to this Sunday discussing the Trinity in the NT.

-casey

The Prodigal God, Week 1

2010-07-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, Ladies and Gents!

This week we started our first week in the six week study of Luke 15 and the parable of the prodigal son based on Tim Keller's book and study. I encourage you to check out the book and read it as were going through it.

You can also check out the web site with a preview video and links to Keller's sermons, etc at: http://www.theprodigalgod.com/

Please join us for Wednesday night discussion down in the Homebuilders Sunday School room from 6:00 - 7:30 PM...child care is provided. We will meet to discuss personally and in more depth what the lessons cover on Sunday mornings. Here are some questions we'll probably ask this week that you can ponder in the mean time:

1. Was there anything from the DVD that was new to you or had an effect on you? Did you hear naything that raised questions in your mind?

2. Who do you indentify wih more, the younger brother or the older brother? Why?

3. How close is a great feast to your idea of heaven?

4. Is there anything you would like the group to pray for you personally or as a result of what you saw on the DVD?

See you Wednesday!

casey

The Book of Job and the Problem of Evil

2010-06-26T10:49:00.001-07:00

This last Sunday we turned our focus on the first two chapters of Job and discussed what God had to say about evil and suffering through this story. If you missed Sunday and haven't read in Job for some time, I encourage you to sit down, crack open the book and at least read the first two chapters. Most of the rest of the book is more difficult to read (but still rewarding), but the first two chapters are easy and shouldn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes.

OK, done? :)

I asked the class to discuss six questions I felt there might have been answers to in the text. I'll list the questions, references, and summarize the discussion below:

1. Why did God single out Job to Satan? (1:8, 2:3)

This is a difficult question to answer, and we should always tread lightly when guessing God's motive without it being explicitly revealed. Some answers were, "to teach Job a lesson" and "to teach Satan a lesson". I like these. I also put forth "to bring attention to His glory". God is glorified in the faith and worship of His creatures. Pointing out Job's righteousness is a way to bring glory to Himself. Consider how this might motivate God in what He does in this story and your story.

2. What is Satan's motivation in this story? (1:9-11, 2:4-5)

I believe that it is ultimately to defame God...detract from His glory. Satan wants to show God that He shouldn't receive glory from Job because Job is only faithful for what God gives him, not because of who God is. Consider this when thinking about how and why the enemy might attack you.

3. Is Satan free to do whatever he wants to? (1:11-12, 2:5-6)

Obviously not. He appears free to think, desire and plan, but ultimately God is sovereign and Satan can do nothing apart from God's permission or restraint. How does lead you think about the bad things that happen in your life? As we discussed before, evil can be explained in part by God allowing his creatures the freedom to choose against Him...but there is apparently a limit to the evil that God will allow. Cross reference these verses with 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7 in regards to God restraining evil, and with Luke 22:31-32.

4. By what methods does Satan attack Job? (1:15-19, 2:7)

Satan apparently had/has the ability to provoke men to evil and violence (the Sabeans), cause natural disasters, and infect with disease. Obviously not every evil act of man, natural disaster or sickness has Satan behind it. But how does this open your eyes to what happens around you?

5. Characterize Job's response to His suffering. (1:20-22, 2:10)

Its important to study Job's reaction to his pain because the Bible says that in it he did not sin.

Job grieved. The tearing of the robe, shaving the head and mourning were typical cultural expressions of grief. Its OK to be sad when life is painful.

Job worhipped. Our pain and suffering does not change who God is. He is still holy and requires our worship.

Job self medicated. I think. The bit in 2:10 about scraping himself with potsherds seems to me some way to deal with the pain or discomfort of his boils. If you're sick, go to the doctor. If you are deeply wounded, seek Godly counsel. If you you are exhausted, take some time to rest.

Job acknowledged God's sovereignty. This goes hand in hand with worship. Job knows God is sovereign and just, even if he does not understand it. Without all of his questions being answered, at least for now he is content to receive from God whatever God plans.

6. Who does Job blame for his problems? (2:10)

Could Job have raged against the Sabeans for stealing his livestock and demanded justice? Could he have cursed nature for killing his children? Could he have blamed the devil (though he didn't know about the conversation between God and Satan)? Since he believes God is sovereign, why is he not angry with God?

Job believes God is ultimately responsible...He could stop it if He wanted to. But he does not assign blame to anyone. Can we understand responsibility without blame?

And this tension is what makes the rest of Job, I think. Job sees the apparent injustice of what has happened to him. He is horrified and tortured about it, because he knows His God could have stopped it, but didn't. He can't blame God, but he knows He is responsible.

If that is bothering you, I reocmmend you read the rest of the book, or at least the last four or five chapters when God breaks the silence to answer Job.

One more point that is embedded in some of the questions above is that the evil done to Job was planned, desired and perpetrated by Satan. Yet God explicitly allowed it to happen for His purpose. We don't always know why things happen. Take comfort that God is in control and working all things to the good of those who love Him, but don't accuse God of evil. Evil come from His creatures, not from God.

Problem of Evil and Suffering Pt. 2

2010-06-16T19:22:00.001-07:00

This Sunday we continued our discussion on the problem of evil and suffering. For part one see the previous blog post below. This week we started out continuing our discussion on evil which can be summarized as thus:

- Can God be really good and all powerful and never end or finally do away with evil? Last week we discussed why a good and all powerful God allowed evil to happen in the first place (see the previous post). But can this God allow evil to exist forever? I say, "no". God would not be just if evil is never judged. In Revelation 20:10 - 21:4 tells us that one day God will judge and banish all evil and suffering...and that He will make His dwelling with man forever. So we know that God is just and will one day set everything right...Praise God!

- Why is God waiting to end evil...why doesn't He end it right now or why didn't He end it as soon as Adam sinned? God could have ended evil right after Adam sinned, but the result would have been in Adam's eternal condemnation and a people less heaven. God loved Adam (and his descendants) too much to let things end that way. Without Christ's sacrifice no one can survive the coming judgment. Why didn't God end the world after Christ's sacrifice? All I can say is that He is patient and long suffering...God will end things on his own time, but until then perhaps He wants as many people with him eternally as possible.

- Are evil and suffering the same thing? What is suffering if not? Suffering and evil are tightly related but different things. Suffering can be seen as a consequence of evil. If we look in Genesis 3 we see the first suffering enter the world because of Adam's sin. It was a direct consequence, seemingly brought on by God's curse, but why?

- What is the purpose of suffering? God uses the consequence of evil, suffering, to redeem us. Imagine if life on this earth was easy and pain free...would we even know that we were desperately in need of God and His forgiveness? Our pain and suffering lets us know something is wrong, that we are missing God, and it drives us to him. This is why Paul can say they we should consider it joy when we suffer. But suffering can have other purposes to, I think. Sometimes suffering can be punishment or discipline. But the Christian should primarily view it as discipline to train us to depend only on God.

But God is not distant in our suffering. God was not content to let evil steal his creatures and His creation or to lose them forever to evil. God the Son became a man so that He could bear our suffering with us and for us. Ultimately he suffered on the cross and the agony of being separated from His Father.

This enabled God to end evil without ending us. His suffering produced our salvation.

This Sunday we will look into the book of Job to see what insights it gives us on human suffering. Please prayerfully read at least chapters 1 and 2 in preparation and also 38 through 42.

Thanks...

casey

How Can A Good and All Powerful God Allow Evil and Suffering?

2010-06-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hello, family!

Today we kicked off a topic we will be discussing the next few weeks in class regarding understanding how and why God allows evil and suffering in our world. Its an objection that many skeptics and atheists bring up as reasons to doubt the Christian message. I also think the issue ruminates in the heads of many Christians from time to time, even if its not spoken.

Here is a recap of the discussion this morning:

- The question (if there is a God, how can he allow evil) itself presupposes true evil and good, or injustice and justice. The argument for an objective and universal good or morality really requires a God in the first place.

- Examples of evil and suffering include: human genocide, natural disasters, suffering of innocents, God's apparent injustice in the OT.

- Where does evil come from? Our free will to reject God and His will.

- Why does God allow evil to exist? Because he desires a true loving relationship with people, so they must have the option to not choose God. If there is no other choice but God, the "relationship" is contrived and forced.

- What is evil? Evil is the rejection of God, disobedience to his command, or deviation from His will and character. Evil cannot exist without goodness...it is defined in the negative as a lack of goodness. Evil can be defined as being "not good". Whatever is not good, is evil. It is much like light and darkness, in that darkness is not a hting in and of itself, but merely a lack of light.

- Is God at fault for creating evil since he gave humans free will and knew they would choose it? No. First, evil is not a created thing since it is just a rejection by free agents of God. Secondly, even though God knew man would sin, man bears the full responsibility of choosing evil instead of God (and Satan too).

There is a lot more to discuss and say about this subject (we only made through about 25% of my notes). I would love to have everyone come contribute the next couple of Sundays. If the tming works out, I also plan to open up the book of Job to see what insights it offers.

Until next Sunday, I leave you guys with this 18 minute video from Christian apologist Paul Coban on the same subject:

Good God & Evil World (in 18 Minutes) from Paul Copan on Vimeo.

Worshipping with Our Minds

2010-05-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hey folks...long time no post, I know. I think we will try to be better about that starting this summer. yes, I've probably said that before.

Anyway, here is a link promoting John Piper's Desiring God conference this year. The emphasis is on how right thinking is very important to the Christian life. I agree with one point in the video, that American evangelicalism in the 20th century was sometimes characterized by anti-intellectualism. Its understandable in some ways because the intellectual community by and large have attacked Chrsitiantiy in the last couple of centuries. However, we cannot cede the fruits of disciplined thought and study over to the skeptics and atheists...and we as individuals cannot neglect to feed out intellects as well as our souls.

So this is a challenge...LET'S NOT BE LAZY INTELLECTUALLY! Let us worship God with our minds as well. It's much easier just to react to events and ideas with pre-supposed opnions on everything. Its much more difficult to challenge our own thinking, and to let revelation (the scriptures) challenge how we think. But we don't do this detached from faithful prayer and devotion. Thinking should be an act of worship...not something exercised apart from faith.

Dug Down Deep

2010-03-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

Check out this promotional video for the book I referred to in our February talks on theology. It is Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. You might recognize some of the quotes in the video.

DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

WOW...PASTELS!

Pre Easter Activities for Kids

2010-02-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

From Elizabeth:
As a Baptist, we don't celebrate a church calendar and often we hit Easter with a quick-Jesus died and rose again, okay now bunnies, eggs, flowers! While Christmas has a big lead in (we can't escape it) Easter doesn't. In college I had an Episcopal roommate (and friend) so I began celebrating Lent and I LOVE it-how it prepares us for Easter. Here are some Lent activities for children I found on the web, we are going to try the Pot one and save the jelly beans for next year (I kinda edited the meanings of the pot one but might work on the jelly bean's wording).
Let me know if you do anything special (and you don't have to call it Lent).

Prayer Pot Instructions
On Ash Wednesday: Place the prayer pot (little clay pot-can be made or bought) in a special place where it can't be missed, perhaps the center of the family table. It reminds everyone that Lent is here, but remains empty for the next few days.
On the First Sunday of Lent: A small heart cut from construction paper is placed in the pot during the main meal, to remind everyone of God's love and that they should show their love for, and be kind to, others.
On the Second Sunday of Lent: A small seed is placed in the pot to remind everyone that God's love for them constantly grows and that they should show love and compassion for other people.
On the Third Sunday of Lent: Place a rubber band in the pot as a reminder that God always stretches His patience and everyone should do the same for others, even when it isn't easy.
On the Fourth Sunday of Lent: A marble is placed in the pot to remind everyone of all that God has given to us and the importance of taking turns and sharing with others in all that they do.
On the Fifth Sunday of Lent: Add a Band-Aid to the pot to remind everyone that God ‘binds up the broken-hearted’ and we should help other people when they are sad or hurt.
On Palm Sunday: Place a tiny piece of a palm, to remind everyone that Jesus is their King and they should remember to say their prayers to Him.
On Easter Sunday: The last item is a tiny piece of eggshell to remind everyone that Jesus rose from the grave and will always be with them and is always ready to hear their prayers.

Last year our kids were 3,4 and 6 and we felt 40 days to give up one thing was a bit long for them. We came up with this idea instead to go along with the jellybean prayer and it was a hit at our house. The kids are excited to do it again this year.

On Ash Wednesday we set out a glass jar for each child with a small copy of the jellybean prayer taped to it. We determined a behavior to go with each jellybean color (corresponding with the prayer). Each day the kids could earn a jellybean of any color they followed through on. They could not eat the jellybeans until Easter. The kids could not earn white jellybeans, these represented the Grace of Christ, which is a gift not earned ourselves. On Easter morning, the kids woke to find their jars filled up where they were still empty (lacking) with white jellybeans (Christ's grace)

This is how we interpreted each color. You can make your own ideas based on ages and needs of your children.

• Red is for the blood Christ gave (each morning we chose something to sacrifice that day to earn the red jellybean. It had to be something they would have had the opportunity to have or do on that day)

• Green is for the palm's cool shade (green jellybeans were earned for good deeds. It was a good dead to provide shade for Jesus with the palm)

• Yellow is for God's light so bright (yellow jellybeans were earned for sharing God's light through kindness to others)

• Orange is for prayers at twilight (orange jellybeans were earned for attentive behavior during bedtime prayer time and night time bible story)

• Black is for sweet rest at night (these were earned for going to bed good. we used blue though, as our kids are not fans of black jellybeans)

• White is for the Grace of Christ (these we could not earn as mentioned above)

• Purple is for His days of sorrow (we earned these through apologizing to anyone we hurt with our words or deeds that day)

• Pink is for each new tomorrow (pink jellybeans were earned when we forgave those who apologized to us for hurtful behavior)

During the course of 40 days the kids did not tire of this activity and have talked about how fun it was throughout the year.
Of course, the Easter bunny might not want to bring any more jellybeans for the baskets!!

More on Movies and Theology

2010-02-12T19:16:00.000-08:00

I found a really cool video today of some "captial T" theologians from Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY, including seminary president Albert Moehler, discussing theology and the movie Avatar...and using it to discuss how Christians should engage movies generally and the culture at large. Some really interesting stuff is said that parallels some of our recent discussions in class.

Enjoy.

How to Watch Movies

2010-02-08T19:58:00.001-08:00

The last couple of weeks we've been challenged to know what we believe and why...and to be aware of outside influences on us through entertainment and media that could challenge and undermine the truth. Though we Americans are probably over saturated with entertainment and could stand to dial it down, we are still going to view a LOT over the next few years. So instead of being passive receptors of whatever values and worldview (what I call little 't' theology) those storytellers have, we as Christians should consciously interact with it to 1) strengthen and fill out our own beliefs, 2) resist untruthful messages and influences, and 3) be discerning about what we subject ourselves and our family to.

I've compiled a list of suggestions and questions to ask below to help us in this endeavor. your homework is to run a movie/book/TV show through these things this week to try to flesh out the theology of a given story. I've suggested we could all do it with Star Wars (any of the episodes, but especially 4, 5 and 6 since I'm a geezer) and discuss in class this Sunday. I have since thought of a better idea...The Matrix! Either way, the goal is just to interact with the story and have some good discussion about either set of movies (or anything you want to apply it to).

‘Theology’, in the context of a story (movies, books, TV, etc.), is best understood in a more general sense as a philosophy, set of values, or particular perspective on reality rather than a proper Christian belief system. But we want to compare the theology in these stories with our (hopefully) orthodox Christian theology.

Look for explicit as well as implicit theology in a story. This will be necessarily subjective to some degree (different people might see different things, and we are many times guessing the author’s intention).

Look for intentional and unintentional parallels with orthodox Christian theology, in addition to contrasts and contradictions. Unintentional parallels are a result of the fact that the Christian view is the one based in reality, and since it is a reality and common to everyone including unbelievers, parts of it will show up in competing theologies sometimes unintentionally.

Here are the questions I suggest asking as a starter to try to figure out what the theology of a particular story might be. Of course there can be many more based on the individual story you are interacting with. Additionally, some of these questions might not make much sense in one story, but give you a lot to think about in another story.

· How does the story portray God (or its version of God)? If the story does not portray God at all that is still very significant. Does it assume God does not exist, or if He does that He is just not important or relevant? How does that impact the story?
· What is the significance or meaning of any supernatural events in the story…or lack of them?
· How does the story portray human nature, purpose and destiny?
· Compare and contrast the hero/heroine with Christ…stories love messiahs. Values, actions, words, etc. If there is not a clear hero, are there implications of that?
· Analyze the values and characteristics of the ‘bad guy(s)’. What makes them ‘bad’ from the viewpoint of the story teller?
· What in or about the story are you supposed to find funny (if anything)?
· What is it that you are supposed to really like about the story overall? (Some common things in movies are good looking people, cool/hip style, violence, etc.) What is the Christian view of those things?
· How does the story address the following themes: sin, forgiveness, evil, death and afterlife, religion, suffering, rebirth, etc?
· Overall, what characteristics or concepts does the story celebrate versus condemn? (Perhaps none are being either celebrated or condemned…what does this say? A very commonly celebrated concept is ‘romantic love’, for example. Though not necessarily bad and even good in some contexts, our culture tends to idolize it and props it up as the ideal or source of happiness...a position that only God should have.)

Often times, many of the celebrated and condemned values will line up in accordance with Christian belief due to a common understanding of morality (love is good, greed is bad, etc.).
However a very subtle, yet crucial, departure from Christian belief will be present in how the story portrays human nature, potential, and morality.

Train yourself to see life (and stories) through the glasses of the gospel…the understanding of which is based in theology!!!

Easter!!

2010-02-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Easter Season is soon upon us!
We will be having our second annual Easter Egg hunt at the UT graduate student housing Breckenridge. This will be an awesome social event, as well as an outreach.
Please mark your calendars for Saturday, March 27 10:30-1 (the hunt will be at noon, we will hand out fliers, set up and have lunch before).
Also please start buying eggs and candy which we will be collecting in Sunday school and stuffing at an upcoming playgroup.
Great crowd from last year!

January-February 2010 Calendar

2010-01-16T21:15:00.001-08:00

Christmas Party

2009-12-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well this is as good as we got with our Christmas babies (sorry to Luke who just left and Noah & Judah who are covered). They are in it, but not a single smile!!! But we did have a great time.

Christmas Giving

2009-12-02T13:02:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to all!
We hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season and wanted to share a few ways that you can give back to that baby who gave us so much!
1. Its the season for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. This supports Southern baptist missionaries around the world. Please pray about how your family can give generously and sacrificially this year and be creative-match your Dec tithe, give as much as you spend on gifts for family, give your unexpected bonus or if God isn't pressing on your heart to give really big, please give something. We are highly encouraging everyone in our church to give to this (for more details read below).
2. The Homebuilders Sunday school class is collecting money for Norman Elementary family Christmas food boxes ($35) and sleeping bags for homeless who attend Church Under the Bridge ($10). We will be accepting cash or checks (made out to HPBC) Sundays Dec 5 & 13 and a big in gathering at our Christmas party on Dec. 12. Let's see how many our class can do.
Thanks for your generous spirit this Christmas season!

Lottie Moon served as a missionary to China for almost 40 years during the end of the 1800s. She tirelessly wrote letters home to urge Southern Baptists to give so more missionaries could join her sharing the good news. A lot of changed since that time and the IMB now has around 5000 missionaries serving overseas. They are supported by Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program. Last year the LMCO fell $30 million short, so the number of missionaries being able to go in 2010 is extremely limited. Caleb and I went with a two year program in 2002 that is now on hold in 2010 so if we wanted to go this year the IMB would have to tell us sorry but there isn't enough money! Yes the economy is bad but we are very very blessed and all of us have money that we can give so others can go and share the gospel. Many other missionaries with other agencies spend years raising support to go but Southern Baptists have always supported missionaries so the didn't spend the time and have the financial worries; an independent missionaries normally raises $60-80,000 per year to live while the IMB only uses around $41,000 per missionary per year so the money is well spent. Let's not be the generation that stops supporting our missionaries. Let's let God soften our hearts and give so the $100,000 HPBC goal is blown out of the water!

Save the Date! Christmas Party...

2009-10-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

We'll be celebrating Christmas with a traditional family dinner on Saturday, December 12th at 5 PM. There will be an ornament exchange for the children, so please keep that in mind as you do your Christmas shopping. Please save the date early so we can enjoy the beautiful season as a church family! An E-vite will follow in a few weeks.

Abraham Pt. 6 -- The Climax

2009-10-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

This week we will study the climax of Abraham's story in Genesis 22. I anticipate only covering one chapter this time because of the richness and depth of the story as how it relates to our story in Christ.

Please take the time to read this chapter and meditate on how it relates to us. you should see some obvious parallels between this story and the gospel, as undoubtedly many have heard them before.

Often in OT study these parallels are called "types". Types are people, events or even themes in the OT that occur repeatedly. Often we see these types as foreshadowing events and people in the NT. Chatper 22 is rich in these types, so see what comes to mind when readng it.

Also, here are a couple of questions to consider:

1. How could a good and loving God really ask Abraham to sacrifice his own son? Doesn't that seem barbaric?

2. The Bible says God was testing Abraham...what exactly was he testing Abraham for? Abraham had already left his home and family and circumcised himself in trust and obedience to God...what more did God want?

3. If God knows everything, including Abraham's heart and thoughts, why does He need to test Abraham at all?

-casey

Pumpkin Fun

2009-10-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Pumpkin patch and Phil's tonight. We missed everyone who wasn't able to attend.

October Shopping Time

2009-10-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's time to go shopping for good causes!
Shopping List- Candy, children's underwear, canned foods and toys!
HPBC is doing a lot in October and here is how you can be a part:
Bring a bag of candy for Fest 31 the Oct 31 Festival at the Quarries, then bring your family and invite your friends and neighbors.
All children's Sunday schools are collecting children's underwear (Undies Sundays in Oct) for an orphanage in Juarez, Mexico.
Its Fall food drive and boxes are by all the doors of the church. With the recession many are in need right here in Austin.
Coming up is Operation Christmas Child, where we will pack boxes for children all around the world (be looking more details on this one).
If you have any questions let me know:
elizabethharris01@yahoo.com
And remember it is more blessed to give than to receive!

Abraham Pt. 2 and 3

2009-10-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to type a few notes about what we covered last Sunday and give a heads up on what we will be covering next Sunday.

First...last Sunday.

I want to correct a mistake I made in class...I said that, within the context of Chapter 16 that Sarai (Abram's wife) was already at menopause. I was wrong...that isn't explicitly stated until chapter 18.

Going back to chapter 15, we see that God makes a covenant with Abram regarding the promised land and Abram's descendants. Abram seems to doubt God's promises of offspring and land by asking God for some tangible evidence of their fulfillments. We might be temtped to think Abram shows a lack of faith, but the story doesn't seem to implicate Abram in the least and he is even commended for his belief and faith within the story.

How should we look at it, then? I think it actually paints a positive picture of Abram in that he aggressively asks God to fulfill his promises. God has already promised to Abram the things he asks for...so I don't think that Abram is so much doubting God as he is seeking the fulfillment of his promises...the blessings from God. It reminds me of Jesus' following teachings:

1. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled"
2. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all of these things will be added unto you"
3. The parable of the man who knocks on his neighbor's door in the middle of the night to borrow something. Jesus says that he who knocks repeatedly is who will be answered, versus the guy who knocks once and gives up when his neighbor doesn't wake up.

The lesson is that vibrant faith does not simply wait idly for God's blessing, but persistently seeks it from God. Here Abram is the father of faith and his reward is the covenant which acts as an unbreakable contract with God over the promised land.

For next week we will cover chatpers 17, 18 and 19 which deal with circumcision, Isaac, and Sodom and Gomorrah. Come with comments and questions!

until then...

casey

Reading for Sunday's Lesson

2009-10-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we will continue to study the life of Abraham in Genesis. Specifically we plan to cover chatpers 15, 16 and 17. I know this is way short notice but please read ahead tonight or tomorrow morning if you have time. I think you will get more out of class if you take some time to do so...plus we might have more interesting questions and discussion in class.

Going forward we will try to do better as far as letting you guys know ahead of time what to read and maybe getting some points to think about as well.

See you tomorrow!

Fall- October Social!

2009-09-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars for OCTOBER 17th! We'll be meeting at Saint John's Methodist Church's annual pumpkin patch! it is usually a very beautiful patch. Very very kid-friendly, they set up on their playground and it is a fenced in area. Dress in oranges, browns and yellows as we hope to get a good group photo! Pick a pumpkin and then we'll move down the street to Phil's Icehouse for dinner and ice cream!!!

Saint John's Methodist Church is located on 2222 at the intersection with Burnet Road, Phil's is just down the street on Burnet. We realize this is TX-OU weekend and hope to celebrate a post game win!!!

Fall Mission Opportunities

2009-09-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give you a heads up on some missions opportunities for the next few weeks:

Pray 9:38 is going strong. Commit to pray for 38 minutes for the 9 weeks between 24 and Great Destinations that God would send labors into his harvest field (Mt 9:38). Pick up brochures in the breezeway and to strengthen this commitment, watch this 6 minute video.
http://www.higherpraisetube.com/video/7205/Tears-of-the-Saints--Leeland-Delirious

Great Destinations (HP's annual missions weekend) is Nov 13-15.
Nov 13-Guy's night at the Quarries
Nov 14-Ladies brunch with Operation Christmas child shoe box packing after (be watching for more details)
Nov 15-Sunday evening service will be a time of testimonies with missions fair following including children's activity area and extended childcare for two and under.

A mission trip is going to Latvia Oct 13-23.
The team will also be taking craft supplies for the church that are unavailable in Latvia or too expensive. We are asking anyone who feels led to help us in this area. They need Tacky glue, soft stickers, regular stickers, washable markers, ribbons of various colors and widths, inflatable balls for child development games, and music CDs that are peaceful and relaxing.
They are also collection scholarships for handicap children to attend a Christian program.

A Mission trip is going to Sudan Oct 27-Nov 7.
"We are taking art material that will be used in a very large Mural that will be developed during the week during the presentation of the Gospel - $600. This mural will stay there as a testimony." They need donations to fund this project.

There will be a box at our basement coffee bar the next weeks to collect supplies and money for these trips. Remember these groups in your prayers! Let me know if you have any questions.

Our Class is Moving THIS Sunday...

2009-08-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Once again the Homebuilders classroom is on the move! We'll be relocating to the SOUTH BUILDING BASEMENT, SB2. To find this room, take the elevators just outside of the A Division (where the nursery is) down to the basement. You'll notice that the entry way to the preschool divisions looks MUCH different. The ARC and colorful wall paintings are gone. We have been promised something very special and inviting to take the place in the coming weeks. There will be coffee and fellowship as usual. The Door will also be joining us in the basement! If you have any questions please email us. See you Sunday!!!

1 John and Love

2009-08-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Loving What God Loves
Today's Reading: 1 John 4:7-21
Recommended Reading: Matthew 25:31; Luke 10:25-37; 19:1-8

We all have people in our lives who absolutely drive us nuts. We might call them EGRs because, in order to be around them, Extra Grace is Required. Maybe they're socially awkward, and conversations with them seem about as invigorating as reading the tax code. Or maybe they're loudmouths who hold really strong opinion and think that everyone else wants to hear their advice. Or maybe they just have a personality trait that is completely opposite of yours. Whatever the case, one thing is true about all of these EGRs: They matter intensely to God.

And if that doesn't induce enough guilt, John piles on more. He points out that if you say you love God yet secretly detest a fellow believer, you don't really understand what loving God means.

When it comes to loving what God loves, John points out that your response affects more than God. It's also of crucial importance to you! John states this forcefully because refusing to love what God loves poses a huge danger to us. If we dishonor the very people for whom God sent his Son to die, we can't be in tune with God's heart at all.

So when we love what God loves, we make sure to control what we say. We think through how we will come across to people around us. We willingly reign in our responses, aiming to make them godly. In short, we attempt to respond as God would respond, to act as Jesus would.

We'll make these efforts because we want the kind of relationship with God that he wants us to have. As Christians, we're called to love what and whom he loves, and that starts with one another - even our EGRs.

Questions:
Who are the people in your life you'd classify as EGRs - people you find tough to love?
What steps can you take to show these people that they matter to God - and to you?
What steps can you take to change your hearts towards your EGRs?

from the Men's Devotional Bible via Mary!

BBQ Mission

2009-08-12T20:09:00.001-07:00

I take this BBQ stuff way too seriously.

Though I’m a born and raised Texan who has always ‘liked’ BBQ, only last summer did I really begin to understand and develop a passion for true central Texas BBQ, and what separates the sublime from the mediocre. Almost everything in Austin, by the way, falls under mediocre. I’ll wax philosophical on the difference later if you want to hear a fat boy talk about BBQ in detail, but first I want to offer some suggestions of how to do this trip if you are interested.

I would bring at least $30 in cash. You might only need $20, but I’m not sharing my brisket if you run out of money. We are going to four places in the span of a few hours…so PACE YOURSELF. I would order a representative sample of the mains meat (usually brisket, sausage, and pork ribs, but whatever you want). If I’m eating at four places, I’m eating at most at each place a quarter pound of brisket (hopefully less, but its funny ordering 1/8th a pound), one pork rib, and a couple of bites of sausage. It can make sense to get in groups of about four and let one person order and pay for the whole group, switching the payer at each place. You could also take a small cooler to hold your left-overs at each place to save for later. Prioritize…I don’t recommend getting sides. They needlessly take up space, cost money, and are typically somewhat mediocre anyway.

Alright…about what makes Texas BBQ special and what separates the great from the mediocre.

While Texans will smoke about any meat and serve it with potato salad, typically three meats are considered Texas BBQ staples: brisket, sausage, and pork ribs. Honorable mentions go to beef ribs and chicken. Out of those three, brisket is considered the most uniquely Texan, the most difficult to cook given it being really tough, and therefore the key meat on which Texas BBQ is judged.

Brisket naturally comes in both lean and fatty sections, and the one that yields the best flavor and texture, when smoked correctly, is the fatty or ‘moist’ section… so my suggestion is to ask specifically for it. According to central Texas tradition, brisket is ideally slow smoked over real wood (post oak, sometimes mesquite) in a real pit. Gas and commercial smokers are frowned upon. Additionally, it is only seasoned by a dry rub consisting mostly, if not entirely, of salt and pepper. No marinades or basting allowed. It takes a lot of experience and skill to get the best results consistently this old fashioned way, but the reward should be some of the best meat you have ever eaten. These are the key characteristics of a brisket done right: moist, tender, good crust, rendered fat, and deep smoky flavor.

Rendered fat is fat that has basically melted so that few actual ‘globs’ of fat are left in the brisket…and what globs there are melt in your mouth and are not gristly at all. This also leads to the meat being tender and moist. The smoking process actually bastes the meat in its own fat. As far as the crust, the rub should have mixed with the smoke, heat and fat to form a very flavorful bark or black on the brisket. The blackened ends of a good brisket are usually the most coveted. And finally…smokiness. Often you get moist and tender brisket that tastes like really good roast beef…but we are after BBQ here, and a deep smoky flavor throughout the whole meat is desired.

You may notice I never mentioned sauce. That is because if BBQ is done right it doesn't need any sauce. One of the places we will go to (Kreuz, former #1) doesn't even have sauce. I really didn't understand this until I had really good BBQ last year, and now I hate it if I have to use the sauce somehwere...and I really like sauce (generally speaking).

For pork ribs, many of the same things are desired: moist, tender, crusty, and smokey. You will see two styles of ribs this Saturday, some with only a salt and pepper rub similar to the brisket, and others with a sweet glaze. I can’t decide which is my favorite.

And finally, the sausage. Sausage varies greatly from place to place, but in at least Lockhart and Luling, the sausage is primarily all beef sausage and pretty different compared to most other places I have been to. If you aren’t familiar with this style of sausage, which I think owes its uniqueness to the heritage of German and Czech meat markets that birthed this kind of BBQ, it may surprise you somewhat. I love it, though, and can barely eat plain store quality pork sausage anymore. It’s often judged on how coarse the grind is (almost like ground beef shoved in the casing) and how much snap the casing has. I think rating sausage is the most subjective process of the three meats.

If you’ve read this, I apologize for wasting your time pontificating on meat. BBQ is better enjoyed through eating than reading. See you on Saturday! Don't be late or you are going to need your own map or GPS.

-casey (fat boy) birch

Recap of 1 John 4 and 5

2009-08-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 2nd - 1 John 4:7 – 5:3

Obviously, the main theme of this passage is love. This is the third time John has taken time in his letter to address the importance of loving ‘the brothers’. While the central theme is enforced and reinforced each time, John also adds a new aspect each time to the teaching. In chapter 2, John presents love for other believers as obedience to God’s commands, and as evidence of knowing Him. In chapter 3 he adds that we love because Jesus loved us; and that as he laid down his life for us, we should lay down our lives for each other…loving in action and not just talk. Here in chapter 4 John focuses on love in three basic concepts.

1. Those who truly love God love their fellow Christians. In the span of 18 verses, this thought is stated about 10 times in one form or another.

2. We love, because God is love, and he loved us first by sending us Jesus. “God is love” is the new concept here and I think unique to 1 John, at least in terms of being explicitly stated. Three ways of understanding this passage as I said it aloud, putting stress on different words. First, it is only in god we find perfect love. The world desperately tries to find love in so many things and people, but it is found only in God. Secondly, God is love right now. We might be tempted at times to think of God as being loving when he sent Jesus, or when thinking of being in heaven with him in the future, but often forget to understand that God is love right now…and will be forever. And finally…everything that love truly is and should be…is found in God. The ultimate expression of love is what God is and came to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

3. Jesus and his life was/is God’s love for us in that he died for us. That death paid the price for our sins. That death brought us, who were in death, into eternal life. That death provides for us to be free from fear of judgment.

And this is why it is an imperative that we love, and one reason why John seemingly uses it as the prime example of obedience and knowledge of God…because God himself is love, and our relationship with him through Christ is solely due to an act of love. It is the basis of our relationship with God. And when John stresses the importance of believing the right things about Jesus (all God, all man, and the Christ), those are the things which underline and emphasize his act of love that saves us.

So as much as the idealists in our world hope for love without God…it is impossible. You can’t have one without the other.

Sunday July 9th - 1 John 5:4-21

In verses 4 and 5 John tells us that we have and will overcome the world. Defining the world as the systems and values of fallen humanity, we discussed what this really means. There are several levels I think this could be understood: 1) that ultimately one day God (and us) will triumph over evil decisively and eternally, 2) that by believing Jesus now we have already beat the world’s power over us, and 3) we are beating the world’s influence in our lives every day.

But this victory we have by our faith isn’t just by faith for faith’s sake, or positive thinking, it is because of the object of our faith…Jesus Christ. And the testimony of Jesus (who came to us through blood and water as a man) is presented to us through his baptism (water), and his crucifixion (blood) and subsequent resurrection. And the Holy Spirit, as it descended on Christ at his baptism like a dove, testifies of him to us now and dwells in us, giving us eternal life. God’s children will live forever.

So we should approach God in prayer knowing he will hear and answer us according to his will. And what is more according to his will than that his children overcome their sin. So we should expectantly pray for each other when we sin. Now, sinning unto death is a phrase that is somewhat confusing to us, but I’m inclined to believe that is doesn’t refer to one particular sin, but more to the person that is in open rebellion against God according to what John has laid in this letter. This rebellion would be characterized by: refusing to believe the truth of who Jesus is and what he did, refusing to love other Christians, and giving no heed to obeying God’s commands. Those who are described as thus are in death, even as we are in life.

God has promised to keep those safe from sin and death those who are his children…and apparently he uses our love and prayers for each other’s sin to do this.
With such a God…how can we entertain thoughts of putting anything else before him (idols)?

I’ve really loved digging deep in 1 John and teaching it, and I look forward to continue to understand and teach the word of God in this class. But before we move on, Caleb will teach on these same passages the next couple of weeks with an emphasis on how we apply these truths to our everyday lives.

1 John 4:7 - 5:3

2009-07-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is the next to last section of 1 John that we will be covering. The focus on this passage is obviously love. I hope you have continued to read the whole book around once a week and that it has helped you grasp this little book that says so much in terms of its force.

If you can, please take some time between now and Sunday morning to read and meditate on this passage. Here are some questions to consider while doing so:

1. What is the expectation John is placing on believers and to whom are the targets of our expected actions?

2. Why are we expected to do this?

3. What does John say enables us to do this?

4. What are the four reasons John lists as to why God sent Jesus to the world? (Three are pretty obvious, the fourth really isn't too explicit, but its closely related to the other three.)

-casey

John 3 Recap

2009-07-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Honestly I wasn't very pleased with how the lesson came out and I apologize if you didn't get the most out of it. I will try harder next time to make the most out of the time we have. So let's review some of it briefly.

1 John 3:1-3

How loving is it for God to take us, who were children of the devil rebelling aginast Him in our sin, and adopt us to make us His children, which gives us forgivenss, heaven, purity, etc?

Do we really put our hope in not only what Jesus has done for us but in also what he will do for us when he comes back? That he will make us as he is? Does that thought give you comfort, give you hope, and make your day better when you think of it? If so...John says that hope in Him purifies us. Only hoping in Jesus do we beat the sin in our lives.

3:4-10

If sin is rebellion against God, what Jesus came to take away, and was not ofun in ?Jesus at all...how can we keep on sinning when He lives in us ans we in Him? That is the question John is asking. Rmember though, he isn't asking it to shake his finger at believers, but to show that the heretics in John's churches could not be of God since they had such a cavalier attitude towards their sin. They were sons of the devil, as were we before we were born again...born of God.

3:11-18

What else distinguishes the children of Satan from the children of God? Their love for the brothers (and sisters). Those of Satan generally hate God and his offspring as typified in Cain. Hate is murder (remember the Sermon on the Mount?). Murderers abide in death. God's children love as he loved us. Instead of taking life through hate we give ours in love. We passed from abiding in death to abiding in life...Jesus, the word of eternal life.

3:19-24

The children of God can have confidence to approach our heavenly father in prayer. Living a righteous life of love (which requires believing in His son) assures our hearts to ask God for what we need and He wants to give us.

Until next time...

casey

1 John 3 - Children of God

2009-07-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

This will be briefer due to the fact that I'm doing this update from my phone (which means probably even more typos than usual). Chapter 3 is all about being children of God. It covers much of the same subjects that were covered in the God is light section, but adds its own insights. I hope everyone will be reading the whole book this week in addition to reading chapter 3 with a little more depth. Here are spmecwuestions to consider while reading:

vv.1-3: why would John say that it is loving for God to make them his children?

vv.4-15: how comfortable are you with the phrase 'children of the devil'? Why or why not? Who are they and how do we treat them?

vv.16-24: does your heart ever condemn you? What should you do about it or keep in mind?

See you Sunday morning...God bless!

Casey

Recap of Sunday

2009-07-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

1 John 2:18-28 and 4:1-6

I will recap last Sunday’s lesson by reviewing some of the major concepts and terms from the passage that we discussed and give verse references with them:

‘the last hour’ (2:18) – John tells us we are in the end times, which can be a little hard to understand if the last hour started almost 2000 years ago and Jesus still hasn’t come back yet. I think it is important to understand that a few things together marked the start of the last days, or ‘beginning of the end’, for the apostles. That would be first foremost the first coming of Jesus (Heb 1:1), but also the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) and the appearance of antichrists. While the apostles were certain those events signaled the ‘last hour’, they were not certain how long this time would last before Jesus returned.

‘Antichrist’ and ‘antichrists’ (2:18, 22; 4:3) – John says that (the) Antichrist is coming, but that many antichrists have already come. One way to read this is that John says one big bad Antichrist is going to come and signal the end times, but there are many lesser antichrists already on earth making trouble. These antichrists are actually the primary reason for John’s letter…they have come out of John’s churches and broken away to teach their own heresies. John says that the fact that they broke away reveals they were never true believers to begin with. John defines antichrists by their denial of Jesus as the Christ, the God in man.

‘anointed’ and ‘anointing’ (2:20, 27) – One thing John says differentiates the believers and the antichrists is the anointing from God the believers have. He may be using a play on words. ‘Christ’ is a term meaning ‘Messiah’, but literally means ‘anointed one’ in the Greek. Therefore antichrist literally means ‘opposite of’ or ‘against’ anointed or anointed one. It is the believer who has the anointing, the Spirit of God and His word indwelling, that gives them knowledge and teaching, not the lying antichrists.

‘abide’ (2:24, 27, and 28) – John uses this word over and over in his Gospel and letters…to understand what the Holy Spirit is telling us through John we have to understand this concept. We are to abide in Jesus, and therefore abide in the Father. At the same time, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and his word is supposed to abide in us. This is the idea…that we continually live and exist in Him, and He in us. It’s a picture of close fellowship and communion, and this should characterize the lives of all believers…and maybe a description of the union of our spirit and identity with His…the new creation.

‘test the spirits’ (4:1-6) – There are really only two ultimate sources of spiritual inspiration…God and the evil one. How do we tell them apart? John says the spirit of antichrist denies Jesus the Christ came in the flesh from God. Also, only people from the world listen to this message. On the other hand, only people of God listen to the Spirit of God’s message, that Jesus is the promised God-man. It may seem a bit simplistic to us (and inadequate to judge today’s false prophets), but that could be attributed to two things: 1) this was all that was needed by John’s church members in this specific situation to tell the false prophets from the real guys, and 2) his church members probably needed to basic and clear cut guidelines to help the confusion that undoubtedly occurred as the result of the schism.

I'm loving our journey through 1 John so far, and can't wait to go through the rest of it!

-casey

The Spirit of the Antichrists

2009-07-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! This Sunday we will be covering 1 John 2:18-29 and 4:1-6. We are taking the first few verses from chapter 4 out of order because the subject matter is very similar in these two passages. John speaks about antichrists and false prophets that were among the members of his churches. And if you haven't read through all of 1 John this week please take 15-30 minutes and do so.

Take extra time if you can to focus on what we will cover Sunday and consider these questions as you do so:

1. What does John mean by "it is the last hour"?

2. What is the difference between "antichrist" and "antichrists"?

3. What is the "anointing" and how does it "abide" in people and teach them?

4. How have we overcome the antichrists/false prophets?

One more thing, we are combining classes with the Door due to the holiday, so we might end just staying in their room...not sure at this point as it will probably depend on how many folks show up in total.

-casey

Michael Jackson and 1 John

2009-06-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

I think probably everyone in our class felt some sort of reaction at the death of Michael Jackson this last weekend. For our generation, Michael Jackson’s music played a large role as the soundtrack to our adolescence. Maybe that is more so for us fogies up in our middle 30’s, who were just around 10 years of age when Thriller came out, but I think it continued to resonate for even most of you younger folks too. He was a gifted musician and performer who could capture attentions across age, gender and race.

Now what in the world do the life and death of Michael Jackson have to do with our study in 1 John? I’ll get to that, but first let me say a few things. First, in partial answer to that question, any real concept revealed in scripture should be applicable to real world life. Not every teaching will touch every part of your life, but, generally speaking, it should be easy look at life and the world around you and be reminded of how scripture teaches us about, and applies to, our lives. Secondly, I am not writing this to bash Michael Jackson at all. As troubled as he seemed to be, especially later in his life, we should be saddened by his passing or the passing of any human, if not for their loved ones, for the thought that they will be meeting God and eternity, and the consequences of not being prepared for that. May God have mercy on his soul.

Really what sparked this post was not so much MJ’s death as much as one blogger’s words in reflection on it:
And therein, to me, lies both the triumph of his achievements but also the makings of his (and in a sense, our) tragedies. As Jeff Chang argued, "for that voice, he lost his childhood. Or more precisely, he gave it to us," which isn't quite like saying he died for our sins but I think part of what Jeff is suggesting is that if Michael wasn't blessed with such a magical presence, we may not have liked him so well. And if we didn't like him so well, maybe his life would have turned out more normal, less (self)-destructive. These "what if" scenarios are impossible to answer, of course. All we know is the Jackson we were given and if his life is to be read as a kind of sacrifice to our pleasure, at least we can honor that by celebrating his libations.

From Soul Sides blog.

It was the blogger’s intentional references to Christ that made me consider what lessons might be learned. He is, of course, very right that the life and death of MJ wasn’t for our sins, but later he suggests his life could be “read as a kind of sacrifice to our pleasure”. In context, he is speaking of the fact that Jackson’s life appeared to be very tortured as he got older and this was almost certainly due to the fact that he was so loved and adored by his fans from an early age. In that sense, it was for our pleasure that he sacrificed his life.

Obviously I have to compare that to Jesus, who sacrificed his life that we might have life itself…eternal, meaningful, with God, cleansed and forgiven of the sin that stains us. What a waste, it seems, to sacrifice a life for the sake of pleasure. And I mean pleasure in a worldly sense…not in the divine. Divine pleasure is to take joy in nothing other than God, or in other things only as they give glory to Him. Worldly pleasures in music, food, sex, power, personalities, and things, as ends unto themselves, lead only to death…like MJ’s. He is an example of somebody who was devoured by our lust for those types of things. Jesus, too, died as a result of our fleshly cravings. But he rose from the dead to give us life and freedom from those earthly desires. He and desires for him will live forever! Desires for the things of this world will be destroyed with it. If you haven’t caught on yet, this directly relates to 1 John 2:15-17 that we have discussed the last couple of Sundays in class.

This passage, and the example of MJ, stands as an opportunity for us, especially as Americans, to examine our hearts for those desires that fall short of God. I’m actually a little flabbergasted that the blogger suggests we should be “celebrating his libations”. A ‘Libation’ is a drink poured in sacrifice to a god. Should we really celebrate MJ’s tragic life as a sacrifice to the god of our temporal, meaningless quest to be entertained? (I know he probably only means to celebrate those enterntaining, moving things MJ did with his life for us, but with a heavenly perspective, what is the difference?)

We love to be entertained. We love our music. We love our sports. We love our movies and TV shows. We love our houses and cars. We love our celebrities. We love them to death…and that is the problem. That kind of love only leads to death. The King of Pop lies cold in the ground waiting on eternity…a victim, some would say, of our lust for entertainment. But the King of Kings already paid the price for our lusts and now calls us to be much more than earthly entertained…to enjoy God Himself!

-casey

Teacher's forum recap with sound files

2009-06-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm posting the sound files from the 2nd part of the teacher's forum we did on June 7th. Enjoy:

Josh talks on the sometimes violent or evil heritage of Christianity.

Russ talks on why God seems so distant some times.

Russ talks on what is required to enter heaven plus a follow up question.

John 1:1 - 2:17 Recap

2009-06-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

IT was a lot to cover and we were short on time, so I apologize the lesson was rushed. I'll summarize what we covered as briefly as I can and I was going to give the outline, but it doesn't format very well on the blog. I look forward to Caleb's application lesson this Sunday.

Summary:

"Jesus who was with the Father from the beginning is eternal life and became man. We saw him, fellowship with him, and would love for you to do the same.

Let me cover the basics...God is light. Light and dark don't mix. Being in the light with God means we are forgiven sinners. If you claim not to sin, you are a liar. Being in the light with God means you do what he says. If you claim to know God and don't do wat he says, you are a liar. Doing what he says means loving your brother. If you say you know God and hate your brother you are a liar.

I'm writing you guys because I believe you are in the light, forgiven, and know God...be encouraged!

But...do not love the world...that is incompatible with the love of God. the world is passing away, but God and those who do what he says will live forever."

Some additional thoughts:

1. We know John is writing this at least in part to respond to heretics who have torn the church. It's inferred in this passage that they were claiming to be sinless and also to know God while not keeping his commandments nor loving their brothers. John calls them out for being the liars they were.

2. Consider the profundity of John calling Jesus the "word" both here and in his Gospel (John 1:1-5). Jesus not only carried God's word or message, but was the very essence and substance of God's message for us.

3. Notice how there appears to be little middle ground for John...you are either with God in the light or in the darkness...there doesn't seem to be in between. Either you keep God's command or you don't. Either you love your brothers, or you hate them.

4. What an encouragement verses 12-14 must have been to John's readers at a time when their churches had just been ripped apart and faith had been challenged.

5. I think the warning in verses 15-17 should resonate loudly with American believers today...I think we really struggle with loving the world.

Women's Discussion

2009-06-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

Summer-July and August
Wednesday night 6-7:30 at HPBC (room tba)
We will begin by discussing Shepherding A Child's Heart so get a copy and read a few chapters. After we feel we have covered that we will move on to another book.
Dinner is served in the Fellowship Hall starting at 5 (great price good food) if you want to join in that. Childcare starts at 6.

Update - Thanks for praying and Keep it up!

2009-06-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

Last week was VBS Xtreme Encounters and at least 7 Homebuilders volunteered-thanks. We had a great week. Around 450 kids attended, many prayed to receive Christ and lots of money was given for Sudan and CWJC food pantry. 7 kids and our own Mary & Dave got baptized on Friday in Quarries Lake-Praise the Lord! Thanks for all your prayers.
...Now keep them up because this week is the family mission trip to So. Texas. They will be doing manual labor around a Christian camp and then an all age VBS. The Clarks are part of the team!
After the Sudan trip, Josh deKoning shared with both classes about his experience. If any of you were moved and want to be more a part of praying for Africa, here is an opportunity:
Come and join in prayer for God's work among the peoples of Africa.
Saturday, June 27th, 10am-noon, Friendship Hall, HPBC.

1 John 1:1 - 2:17

2009-06-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

I know it is a lot but this is the passage we will be covering (or attempting to cover) this Sunday morning. So, in addition to your at least weekly reading of the whole book in a single setting, I am asking you to read just this section (1:1-2:17)with some particular focus. As you do so, keep these questions in mind:

1. In the introduction (1:1-4), what does John teach his churches about a) Jesus and b) the undergirding reason for his writing? Does this passage echo any other passages in the Bible you can think of?

2. How does section 1:8-2:2 either seem to balance or contradict section 2:3-11? Especially 2:1 vs. 2:4?

3. When reading section 2:12-14...try to hear it as one of John's church members might have. How would you take it?

Thanks...can't wait to see you guys this Sunday morning!

Oh, I also need to post some notes form last week for those who weren't here and want to catch up with our journey in 1 John. I'll try to do that.

casey

This Sunday, June 14th

2009-06-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

This week we start a new series of lessons that I am really excited about. Reading the results of the class survey we handed out back in March, one thing that resounded over and over was the desire for the class lessons to really dive into the Word of God. This is completely in line with my own desires, so we will be studying the book of 1 John for the whole summer.

The curriculum we were (mostly) following is also studying 1 John, but only for the month. I want to dig into the Bible and really try to understand the truths of 1 John and how to apply them on their own terms, instead of quickly going through selected portions topically...if that makes sense.

Caleb and I are going to try some new things as well so you can take advantage of what we feel are some of our individual strengths. This Sunday I will be just giving an introduction to the book and how we will be studying it. I've already had a blast just preparing for this introduction.

What you can do: PLEASE try to take some time in the next few days and spend 15-30 minutes to read through the whole book of 1 John in a single setting.

There are only five chapters folks, its not too hard. I recommend reading through the whole book in a single sitting so you can try to grasp the meaning of the whole work, as it was intended to be read, rather than only focusing in a few verses or passages within the book. Those verses and passages make much more sense, sometimes, when you have a good feel for the context of the whole book. If you don't seem to get much out of it the first time, don't worry, after reading it a few more times it starts to sink in...and that is exaclty what I'll be encouraging us to do while we are studying it....read through the whole thing at least once a week.

I hope on Sunday to hear some of your initial thoughts or reactions to 1 John as a whole.

See you Sunday morning!

casey

Moms, Kids, and Discipline Questions

2009-06-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to go ahead and try to give an answer for a couple of questions we got for the teachers' panel that we won't get to in class. I'll quote the question and give my best answer.

1st Question: when the bible refers to the "rod" in discipline does it mean spanking or could it just mean consistent discipline? how literally do we take it?

All of the references to the 'rod' I'm aware of come from the book of Proverbs. In context I believe the writer of Proverbs (generally believed to be Solomon) is meaning a literal rod for disciplining that looks very similar to how folks discipline via spanking today.

The question then becomes (with the assumption that the Bible is the authoritative word of God), are references to the rod in Proverbs to be interpreted as 1) absolute commands, and 2) the only alternative for every situation. I believe the answers to both of those questions to be "no". While I do take the Bible very seriously, I also believe Proverbs is primarily a collection of sayings that give general and practical advice. For the most part, they are not commands, but rather applications of Godly based wisdom phrased in such a way that they are memorable and stick with you (at least in the original language and culture, though its amazing how well some of them translate).

Therefore, I don't see that we are commanded to use 'rod' based discipline as the only option in our parenting. However, at the very least these verses in Proverbs stress the importance of serious discipline, and further they lend a lot of wieght to spanking as a method, being that it is the only one specifically prescribed in scripture that I'm aware of (outside of stoning in the OT law, but that is another subect).

Question #2: im reading a book on moses and the author used moses's birth mother as an example of stay at home moms. she had the opportunity to train him up in his toddler years and lay a religious foundation that stuck w/ him into adulthood. he encourages all mothers to follow by example and stay at home w/ their kids and not do preschools ect (unless you have to). i am a stay at home mom who also takes advantage of preschool so my son can develop socialization skills. he is painfully shy and would never adjust to school otherwise. what does other scripture/biblical examples suggest? is preschool not a good thing?

I don't know that we have a lot of scriptural examples for things like pre-school. The example of Moses is only tangentially related, in my opinion. Being raised in Pharoah's house as his own grandchild is a little different than sending your kid to a pre-school...it is more like giving your kid up for adoption. That being said, there are a few legitimate parallels you could draw, however it is far from being prescriptive on how to raise your children, other than showing the importance of instilling in them the faith we have.

In Moses' situation, he was going to be solely raised by another family and be ignorant of his people's customs and God. Moses' mother was able to not only give him those things he would miss, but also be his mom. This is quite different than already being a stay at home mom, and sending your kid to a part time preschool to help him socialize.

I think there are definite advantages to moms staying home with their kids, but some situations won't allow it. The Bible, I think, is silent on trying to impose some sort of rule. Like many other things, this is not necessarily a black and white issue, but requires consideration of many angles, weighing of pros and cons, and possibly most importantly, a check and review of motives.

Relating to both questions, while the Bible has made many issues black and white, there are many more which are gray. If you think about it, religions often have opportunity to give many commands that ultimately end up being culturally or situationally relative. Part of the amazing nature of the New Testament is it's lack of culturally relative commands. Not that there aren't any, but I think God very much limited scripture to focus on the basic absolute truths that are easily applicable across time an cultures. Other "holy" books are full of commands that make little sense out of their chronological and cultural context. The Old Testament could be accused of this as well, however, the New Testament provides us the lense in which to apply and understand the OT laws.

The flipside of that, however, is that we don't have specific direction or commands from the Bible for many of life's questions and decisions, and we are left to apply His law of love situationally. Prayer, His Word and Holy Spirit help us with that, and there is a lot of freedom we have in decisions...often we abuse our freedoms for our own selfish ends. But praise God for his wisdom, direction and the freedom we have in Him. It is tough trying to guess WWJD in all situations of life, but He is graceful and merciful where we get it wrong. We are not going to mess up our kids beyond God's ability to save them. Raising them our very best our kids are still sinners in need of redemption and sure to be "messed up" to some degree or other.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR SAVING US!

Teachers' Panel on 5-31-09

2009-06-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hello good people of the Homebuilders and the Door!

I've uploaded audio files of the teacher's panel we had last week and have the links below just in case you missed class that day or if you just want to make sure you heard us right because you can't believe what kind of heresies came out of our mouths. :)

I'm just kidding, of course, but seriously, none of us are claiming to be infallible in our interpretation and application...we are trying to be as faithful to the Word of God as possible, though, and not relying on the wordly philosophies de jour.

We covered four questions in class and I've got links for each (questions about Moses and tunring the other cheek are combined):

Introduction and Caleb discusses questions related to suffering.

Casey answers questions on the sin of Moses at Meribah Kadesh and how to apply Jesus' instruction to "turn the other cheek".

Josh gives a short answer to the question of why we pray when God already knows what He is going to do.

I've got another post coming soon addressing two questions on stay at home moms and disciplining children, since we won't cover those in class.

As always...I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

casey

Dinosaurs

2009-06-01T21:09:00.001-07:00

Someone asked how dinosaurs fit in the bible. While I am going to restrict my answer to dinosaurs alone it is obvious that this question pivots on another broader question of evolution

I believe there are two main opinions on this question. We’ll address them separately.

1) Young Earth – dinosaurs must have existed we know this from fossil records and man existed form the beginning of creation so thus they must have coexisted and we might expect a mention or showing in the bible… This is coupled with a few side arguments that explain the disappearance of the dinosaurs later, most commonly it is sited that they didn’t live after the flood.

Evidences in support of this opinion:
a) A plain reading of Genesis with our culture’s understanding of “Day” makes it certainly seem logical – man created in first 7 days… unless dinosaurs died the same day they were created they should coexist!
b) Several passages in the bible describe unknown creatures with characteristics so wild that they might be dinosaurs, here are a short list of them
The Behemoth : Job 40:15-24 (brontosaur)
The Leviathan : Jobe 41:33 and Psalms 104:26 (Kronosaurus)
c) The bible in several places uses the Hebrew word that also means “dragon” and it is often translated differently though. For example in the story of the creation Genesis 1:21 when the NIV mentions “great creatures of the sea” which in the KJV was translated “great whale” is this Hebrew word that is sometimes also translated “dragon”… since the word “dinosaur” certainly wasn’t around then some people suggest this usage should be translated differently,… possibly dinosaur.
d) There is a limited few people who seriously claim that archeological evidence can be found for the existence of various known dinosaurs with well known ancient civilizations, thus proving that man and dinosaur did coexist. Here are two links but I have no idea if this is valid or not!!!!
http://www.rae.org/pteroets.html
http://www.bible.ca/tracks/peru-tomb-art.htm

2) Old earth (ie - evolved earth) – this is the bible doesn’t mention dinosaurs because they were mostly extinct by the time man/Adam evolved.

Evidence for this opinion:
a) Scientist of various beliefs, some Christian, other not, down through the history of exploration have almost entirely agreed with the fossil record. While there are limited attempts to say that the majority of the fossil record formed quickly by Noah’s flood – this is suspect since the no plausible explanation of why the massive flood would so neatly lay down layers that contain only specific species of creatures, then another layer with other species, and another layer with different species –so many layers that show a dynamic growth, dying off, growth, dying off… etc. of the species of the world.
b) The descriptions of leviathan in the bible can be matched up with creatures we are familiar with such as the great whales and odd species such as the Oar fish that resemble massive beasts or sea serpents. Whalers for hundreds of years referred to the whales as the leviathans. The massive Nile crocodiles fit the job description of the behemoth possibly.
c) As for the coexistence of dinosaurs and man… that is obvious to modern scientists and the reason why I said earlier that they where “mostly” extinct. Not only do we coexist with their supposed offspring/relatives the birds; alligator, crocodile, caimans, and gavials are most certainly living dinosaurs that have lived almost unchanged for hundres of thousands of years. Though they’re considered reptiles they are certainly odd since they don’t have scales, have four chambered hearts – while all other reptiles have only 3 chambers…etc… they are only placed there in classification cause they don’t fit anywhere else.
d) The extinction of species has been common for thousands of years – according to the fossil record it has been a long time since there was a diversification of species via evolution. So if the bible mentions creatures that are uncommon to us that is certainly possible, but it doesn’t mean we have to assume it is one of the known dinosaurs of the fossil record. It could be any number of creatures that have gone extinct, but are most likely common animals to us that are described in an ancient unlearned language.

Now for my personal opinion. From my reading and education I land on the side of opinion #2. I think that the enormous weight of evidence for an older earth is hard to argue against. It is more likely in my mind that words, literature, and biblical passages do not have to be interpreted in a way that is so drastically antithesis from scientific observation which is in it’s basic framework without any agenda.

Tragedy and pain

2009-06-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Two things I wanted to add/clarify from Sunday morning.
1) I think it was understood where our joy and satisfaction are suppose to come from... but I never remember saying it clearly. Point is: if we trust in the promise to come and are so satisfied with our relationship with Christ... if his promise of peace in our hearts is real... then we find all the joy we need in Christ and the hope of heaven. So we relate to sufferings in the light of a greater happiness.

2) Also I should have guessed that people would suggest that I'd be mad at my dad, but I never think that way. He may have made a sad choice but for me the world around him is the target of my anger, the sin and unjustness that brought about deep depression. If a little girl comes home and says she believes she is fat and ugly... I'd hope we don't get angry at her for what the world has unfortunately forced into her mind. A man who comes to the conclusion that his life is worthless is to be pittied even if he caused other people trouble because of his decision.

This in my opinion is an example of how the futility of life is a means that God uses to make us look to him. If he allowed this world to be full of meaning and purpose we might not look to him, the ultimate glory. But if this world is seemingly pointless, troublesome, futile and purposeless then we have a tendency to look up to him for help. This is what he wants. So my dad has never been the target of my anger... his story is instead a reminder that we grown inwardly and wait in hope for something infinitely greater than this and it makes me say "come lord Jesus, come!"

I'll post a link to a copy of my notes for the talk today and a copy of the sermon I mentioned by John Piper and
more about dinosaurs in the bible this evening here on the blog.

To Be a Baptist (or not)...

2009-05-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for a great discussion this morning! I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts and opinions on the whole denomination thing. I really like that we have some diversity of denominational backgrounds in the class...and thanks for not being timid about it.

Please go check out the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message:

Its not too terribly long and gives a great overview of Southern Baptist theology, though again, Southern Baptist churches are not required to adhere to it, necessarily.

Here are a few additional details that we didn't get to related to Baptist beliefs. In addition to the things we discussed about Baptism, I forgot to mention (though most of you probably know) two things: Baptism is strictly by immersion (meaning a dunk vs. a sprinkle) and is required for local church membership (of which voting is a key privelage). Regarding "immersion", that is quite the literal meaning of the Greek word we translate "baptize"; see "βαπτίζω". It is documented, I think, that sprinkling became an alternative way to baptize for those who were not near an adequate water source to dunk in...and so for many it eventually became the standard.

Also, Baptists, being out of the Separatists tradition, also agree very much with the separation of church and state for two reasons: 1) they do not want a state endorsed denomination where government would influence the church, and 2) they do not want law overriding man's conscience on spiritual matters, in which they believe he should be free from compulsion. That has the potential to be in conflict with the portion of the Baptist Faith and Message that says something to the effect that encourages Christians to influence law to reflect Christian morality...but that is another subject.

I know there are other things too but just reading the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message should fill in the gaps.

Also, I have a new blog I'm just starting to discuss the strange things I wrestle with in my head and my first real post is about this whole Baptist thing. Check it out and comment if you'd like: theought.wordpress.com.

see you soon...

casey

May 17th Class Lunch

2009-05-16T17:59:00.001-07:00

Reminder that we are meeting at Phil's Icehouse and Amy's Ice cream after church on Sunday, May 17th. There is a wonderful playground outside (with shade).

2009-05-10T11:26:00.001-07:00

Here is a recap and one point we never got too.

Central question: While Barnabas is named for his speaking encouragement to other people... ponder the physical real tangible encouragement he gives... he doesn't just encourage with words, he gives money, he trusts and stands up for people, he attends and participates, and mKeep this also in mind, we're looking at Barnabas as he gives us an example of a early church member, not a 'leader'.

Ch2:41-47 Early church characterized by generosity, benevolence, fellowship miracles and learning from the apostles. (interestingly the first meetings seem to be held in the temple...)

Ch4:36-37 Enter Barnabas(Joseph). Joseph was a Jewish christian born in Cyprus and comes to the church leaders with money from the sale of land. He is called Barnabas which means "Son of Encouragement"
- His first recorded "encouragement" was to give cold hard cash

Ch7:54 - Ch9:28 Enter Saul. Saul is not welcomed by the apostles ... not shocking as he is connected with the first martyr of a Christian in Jerusalem! (Stephen). It is Barnabas who speaks up for him and welcomes him!
- He 'encourages' the inclusion of a very unlikely convert by bringing him to the apostles. Barnabas is not a first hand witness to Saul's conversion nevertheless he trusts and vouches for Saul...

Ch.11: 19-30 Enter the Gentiles! Up to this point Christianity was Jewish. As Gentiles became believers the leadership in Jerusalem wanted to check it out... they send Barnabas. Barnabas then does something unlikely, before he goes back to Jerusalem with any news he goes to get Saul!!!
- Saul's first mission trip was initiated by Barnabas... Saul was "encouraged" to be a missionary by being taken by the hand and physically brought!

(We didn't talk about this one) Ch.15:1-35 Gentiles included! Barnabas and Paul go to the "Jerusalem Council" to decide what should be required of Gentile Christians. I'd speculate that Barnabas's words where probably more reliable still than Paul's... I mean he has a bad history in Jerusalem...

Ch.15:36-41 Barnabas raises a new missionary/Barnabas and Paul split. In a past mission trip John Mark had left them in the middle of the trip. Now Barnabas wanted to bring him back in on another trip, but Paul didn't. Paul didn't want a "quitter" on his team. So Barnabas and John Mark go to on a different mission trip.
- Here Barnabas stays in his role of "encouraging" new members
- Here Barnabas doesn't judge John Marks past 'failure' if indeed it was , but 'encourages' him by taking him on another trip... he doesn't give up on John Mark.
- Paul, now sufficient, still mimics his former leader and brings on other men (Silas and Timothy)

While I will never be compared to Paul... I might hope to be compared to Barnabas someday.

Taking Your Questions...

2009-05-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

On May 31st we will have a combined Sunday School class with the Door in which the five teachers between the two classes (me, Caleb, Josh, Russ, and Dave Taylor) will form a panel to do our best to answer any questions you may have.

So think about what questions you may have that really puzzle you or cause you some consternation. You can either email those to homebuilders.hpbc@gmail.com or add a comment to this blog post with your question (which you can do anonymously if you want).

I'm looking forward to your questions!!!

-casey

Pray for Africa Group

2009-05-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who were inspired by Josh's trip to Sudan, just wanted to let you know that there is a HP group who regularly prays for Africa and God's work there. They have a quarterly brunch. Anyone can attend and the next one is:
Sat June 27th 10am
Friendship Hall
African nationals, people who have been to Africa and anyone who wants to see God's work there is invited. I (Elizabeth) went to the last one and it was awesome-African American gospel singing, powerful prayer by a Nigeria woman and a short lesson by a man from Ghana. Robert shared about the Sudan trip. Caleb played with the girls at a park while I went so if others want to go I am sure we could work out childcare sharing. They also meet weekly on Sunday nights to pray.

This Sunday AM

2009-04-22T19:01:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone is having a great week! Please remember Josh and the Hyde Park mission team in Sudan this week as they are living the activities we will read about in Acts 2 this Sunday. Of course, we all should be living it here, but I think a trip to Sudan is much more focused and obvious!

We will be in Acts Chapter 2 this week, so please read the whole thing with a particlar emphasis in verses 14-41, if you will. As you read, ask yourself the following questions:

1. In verses 14-41, we see Peter as the main orator, basically giving a sermon. Compare and contrast (is this high school english class?) Peter in this passage versus how he acts in Luke 22:50 (cuts off an ear), Luke 22:55-62 (Peter denies Christ), and Luke 24:14. Is there a difference and if so...why?

2. When Peter quotes the prophet Joel in verses 16-21, how does Joel's prophecy relate to what was happening at that moment? Does the OT prophecy have implications beyond what was happening in Acts 2?

EXTRA CREDIT (we must be in high school again)...

Have you ever wondered why God chose the particular time, place, and people he did to reveal Christ and His holy spirit? Why didn't he reveal Jesus much earlier?

love you guys...see you Sunday!

-casey

Easter Sunday Lesson Overview and Additional Thoughts

2009-04-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some closing thoughts and comments on Easter Sunday’s lesson from Luke 24:
In the marketing world we have a term called “FUD” or fear, uncertainty and doubt. We use it when one company spreads some negative press about a competing company’s product or service. Whether it was due to human nature, or possibly even Satanic influence, there definitely was some FUD among the disciples about Jesus’ and their own fates.

Though the events in Luke 24 all center on the resurrection of Jesus, they really seem to be more about how the disciples come to grips with it, and how Jesus helps them understand and overcome their FUD, rather than theological teaching on the resurrection itself. We spent a few minutes discussing the importance and theological impact of the resurrection, and I would refer you to 1 Corinthians 15 for further study there, but I think one way Luke’s witness of the resurrection is helpful to us is its example of overcoming our own doubts and fears of God as believers.

Jesus used two primary tools to calm and convince his followers that he indeed did rise from the dead and could be trusted to keep his word: the physical evidence of himself and the witness of scripture. I’d like to talk about how these can help us when we doubt God and his goodness and trustworthiness as well.

Even though it might seem completely sufficient for Jesus to just to have offered his own risen body as evidence, he made a strong appeal to scripture, even using it before he revealed himself to the two on the road to Emmaus. Why bother taking them through the OT when he could have just said, “Here I am, put your fingers in my nail holes!”? I think for a couple of reasons:

Jesus was a Jew (as were his disciples) and the Jews held the scriptures (think OT, here) in very high regard. It was important that what happened to Jesus had legitimate basis in the scriptures to have validity. Even though the event was miraculous in itself, if it wasn’t founded in what God’s word had to say about Messiah, it didn’t matter.

This begs the question, though, if the Jews regarded the scripture highly and studied it thoroughly, then how did they miss Jesus as fulfillment of the Messianic promises? The answer to this question is intertwined with the second tool Jesus used to dispel the FUD…himself. Remember if you will that on a couple of occasions in Luke 24 the scripture tells us that Jesus himself had to open the disciples’ minds so that they can understand the scripture. And so Jesus himself is the key to understanding the very scriptures and witness to him that they are. Studying the scriptures on their own without a humble and repentant faith leads to nothing but empty head knowledge.

CONCLUSION:

Today we have the scriptures of the Old Testament in addition to the New Testament to provide truth and guidance in our lives, even the very Word of God. It is easy to criticize the disciples for their lack of faith and trust in Jesus and what he said, but if we are honest many times we realize that we don’t believe God in all he has to say in our lives. Our fear and doubt can put a wall of separation between us and the risen Lord…not allowing him to work in us. The solution? I think the example is that we should seek what the scriptures say about the character and promises of God related to our lives…but we can’t stop there. The power to really understanding what the word has to say lies in focusing on Jesus and relying on his power via the Holy Spirit to open our minds. We have to trust, or at least want to trust, even when we doubt. We have to look at this beautiful crucified, yet risen, savior and fall in love with Him and the hope he gives us. If we approach the scriptures enamored with Christ, I believe the Holy Spirit will open our hearts to truly understanding what God’s word has to say to use so that we can be changed, and the FUD will be dispelled.

-casey

Easter Sunday!!! (Luke 24)

2009-04-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

Otherwise known as Resurrection Sunday...

If I focus on it long enough, I get really excited about celebrating this day of most important significance with you! I say 'if I focus', because most of the time
I feel so distracted I can't focus on anything but what is right in front of me. I think our spiritual lives would greatly benefit from practicing some regular quiet times of focus on Him.

This Sunday morning we are continuing in Luke 24. I encourage everyone to please read it a few times and meditate on its meaning and let the Word impact you. What is the significance of the events described in the chapter? What main points is Luke trying to get across by framing his resurrection account how he does? At the very least, please consider the following two questions:

1. In between chapter 23 which we covered last week (the crucifixion), and chapter 24 this week (the resurrection), there is a period of about 36 hours. In this time what feelings and thoughts do you think the disciples and women were going through?

2. In what ways do we "look for the living among the dead"?

And for extra credit:

3. Compare the different gospel accounts of the resurrection and see if you can determine the sequence of the events of the first encounters the disciples and women have with Jesus and the angels. (Matt. 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20) It is probably more challenging than you think!

Postscript April 5th - Christ on the cross

2009-04-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some main points discussed this Sunday as we read Luke 23. Number 4 is the most important so skip to it if you are low on time.

1) We discussed vs. 3 & 4 where there is fuel for people who would attack Christianity that Christ never claims divinity as we believe. The language in the verse can be translated to mean “YOU said it, not me” and then Pilate takes this as reason to find him innocent of the accusation that he claimed to be king. We need to have a deeper and broader understanding of the Gospels so that we cannot be tripped by such a false claim.

2) Since we are convinced that he does claim and die for the idea that he has a "Kingdom not of this world" and believe it is evident even to a non-Christian who would read the gospels - it is instructive to reflect on the "Liar Lunatic or Lord" idea as we read this passage. This challenge says that the claim that Christ was just a good religious leader, equal to others, is ridiculous. A man that dies with the accusation that he has claimed that he is the Messiah (sent by God, of God and brings eternal salvation) can't be "just a good teacher" he is likely just a crazy person, a deceiver, or who he says he is. This is a good question to put toward people if we can get them to read the gospels for themselves and see his claims, character, death and resurrection.

3) It was wisely said that we shouldn't expect this little evangelical tool to automatically convince someone and we shouldn't present it that way. While it might be evident to us that Christ’s person is completely different than Joseph Smith – who died in a gun battle trying to save himself, or Muhammad – who sanctioned and lead the mass murder of any dissention to his group, other faiths may also try this type of challenge. A person will not be argued into the kingdom and that isn't what I wanted to suggest when I brought this up, but that it is a good challenge to get them to at least start considering what their heart tells them... NOT their brains! What does their heart tell them he is after they have read the gospels and considered the choices?

4) An evaluation of the two criminals is eye opening. The interaction is an example of salvation being given to a person from Christ himself and a little illumination brings some clarification to salvation. Two initial observations are striking. One is – The man who was offered salvation didn’t ever ask for it…he just received it. He just asked that Christ remember him when he is in heaven. This man assumed that he would be in hell at that time! Two is – the other criminal is the one who asked for salvation! It is obvious to any reader that the difference really isn’t the asking, but the heart condition of the individual. This comparison clarifies for me that salvation is, truly is, an entirely free gift of amazing grace extended to the repentant. The clarification is made deeper when we consider whether “belief” or “faith” is what saves… and not meaning to cause any great issue I’d say the lesson is simply that neither of those is what saves… God saves those who are repentant. Consider also Paul who never ASKED to be saved! This was made even deeper by one person who reminded us that even repentance is granted by God. Point is – God is sovereign and gracious, handing out salvation at no cost to those who deserve it none at all.

The cross to toddlers?

2009-04-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Discussion prompt:

Everything about our faith needs to be entrusted to our children. It has come to my attention that there are some differing opinions about when and how to talk to our children about the wonderful truths of Easter. Here are some opinions. Please respond to this blog with opinions for all of us to benefit from.

1) The death and resurrection of Christ is paramount to our faith and thus should be shown, taught and explained to our children at the earliest possible time, with no filtering at all. Children should be made to understand his sacrifice in totality.
2) The death and resurrection of Christ is paramount to our faith and thus should be shown, taught and explained to our children at the earliest possible time, but the graphic nature of the story should be toned down and it should be made "kid friendly" so that it doesn't scare them.
3) The death and resurrection of Christ is paramount to our faith, but is too graphic of an idea for young children and should be avoided till they are older. Also, making it "kid friendly" miss-communicates the true suffering of Christ and cheapens his sacrifice by making it "pretty" and so it should only be communicated when it can be safely communicated in total truth.

lesser ideas to discuss:
4) The Easter bunny and eggs are to be avoided since they are "secular"
5) The Easter bunny and eggs are harmless cultural icons and can be used along side christian ideals.

Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-04-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at our Easter Egg Hunt/Picnic/Playground time! We think over 75 kids participated. We handed out lots of fliers, gave and got several emails and had a good time visiting with the residents of Brackenridge! We also discovered ways to make next year even better (a megaphone!).
See slideshow below.

Easter Egg Hunt!

2009-04-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend!

2009-04-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hope to see everybody at the Egg Hunt. If you can't be there, then pray for us and that God will bring many out for the fun and to hear about the real reason for Easter and our church.

Sunday School:
To get back on schedule, we are now finished with Nehemiah. Remember: focus on the wall (or whatever God has given you to do)!
This week we'll start a four week series on Easter-the cruificition and Jesus.
Read Luke 23.

Nehemiah 5

2009-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

We have at least one lesson left in Nehemiah (possibly two). It would thrill me to death if most of you actually read Nehemiah chapter 5 this week in preparation for this Sunday's lesson. If you do find yourself reading it, I'd like you to consider the following questions and be prepared to discuss your thoughts in class, if you are so inclined:

1. In chapter 5, we find that Nehemiah and the Jews with him in Jerusalem and the surrounding area have another big issue that becomes an obstacle in accomplishing Nehemiah's (and God's) goals. At a high level, how does this issue compare/contrast with the issues Nehemiah faced that we discussed last week (chapters 2 and 4)?

2. How do the issues presented in chapter 5 compare with issues our nation is facing right now?

Thanks...I look forward to seeing everyone Sunday morning!

casey

Nehemiah 2:19 - 4 :23

2009-03-20T05:48:00.000-07:00

We will discuss Nehemiah chapters 2 through 4 on Sunday if you want to read it by then. Our focus will be on events in the very last part of chapter 2 and events in chapter 4, not 3 though it has some interesting details about the wall that a map may come in handy for. One above shows how Nehemiah's wall section compares to the larger city of Christ's time. Also, a quick Google search for pictures of what remains of Nehemiah's wall is interesting.

Two fairly opened ended starting questions:

1) While verbal opposition started early, who where the first people to be physically attacked because of the wall project and what might this tell us about opposition to our own plans? (hint - it wasn't Nehemiah's workers)

2) In 2:19, they tell Nehemiah that he is "rebelling against the king" - why is this a silly taunt, and more importantly why didn't Nehemiah respond with "I got permission ....!"

LogOn Online!!!

2009-03-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Many of our church family have enjoyed the benefits of receiving the weekly Hyde Park LOGON online.

Receiving the LOGON online enables you to get the publication earlier in the week as well as saves the printing and postage charges associated with providing you a hard copy.

If you are willing to begin receiving the weekly Hyde Park LOGON online, contact the church at: 512.459.6587 or email charris@hpbc.org

Easter Fun!

2009-03-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

Egg Prep Playgroup
Wednesday, April 1 (no joke) 3:30, HPBC playground by the Ark
We'll let the kiddos play while moms stuff eggs. Bring eggs and candy (if you can't come to the playgroup, you can bring these to church before). There is always Wed night dinner-great food and price-at 5 if anyone wants to stay.

Class picnic & Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 4, 10-1, Brackenridge UT Student Housing (Seth & Angie's place)
We will let the kids play while some of us get the word out about the Egg Hunt to the residents (as an outreach). We'll then have a picnic and set the eggs out. At Noon will be the hunt and we will have info sheets about our class and church for people who come. Bring your friends, your family's lunch and something to share (chips, cookies, drinks, etc).

Nehemiah Chapters 1 and 2

2009-03-08T17:45:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! Nice to see everybody this morning who made it out. This is the second week in our new digs with the Door and it is still a little tight for those of you who have been. But don't worry, our fearless leaders are working on a resolution that we should have really soon. We've actually had just enough room for the number of folks that have come the last two weeks, but if everyone showed up we would be busting the seams! But we have about three proposed fixes so I'm confident we will get it resolved in the near future.

I thought we had a good lesson this morning on Nehemiah, but I'm sorry we didn't have more time for discussion. I would imagine we might have more time for it in the next couple of lessons...but I'm not sure.

I just wnated to recap the main points of the lesson:

1. In Nehemiah, we see God as the main character using Nehemiah to further His plan of redeeming the world. Don't we want God to be the main character of our life stories, using us to bring about his redemption of the world?

2. There are three main things I picked out of Chapters 1 and 2 that I think we can apply to ourselves if we want to part of God's redeeeming plan like Nehemiah.

a. Nehemiah knew his PURPOSE. We was committed to the covenant between the Jews and God. He could have been content just to live the nice life of a royal employee in Persia, but he longed to see his people in their promised land, safe and protected in Jerusalem where they could rebuild their nation, and worshipping God in his temple. This work lead to the possibility of Jesus being born when, where and who he was.

b. Nehemiah PRAYED for his role in rebuilding Jerusalem. He prayed for days, night and day. Possibly for four months straight! His prayer in chapter 1 stands as an example for us.

c. Nehemiah had a PLAN to fulfill his purpose. When the opportunity came to ask the King of Persia permission to rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah already had a detailed plan in place of what he needed from the King to accomplish his goal.

Are we committed to and aware of our PURPOSE in the new covenant of Jesus Christ? Are we in PRAYER about how we go about bringing God's redemption through Christ in our world? Do we have a PLAN to go execute what we know we are supposed to do?

I hope that this lesson causes you to re-evaluate your life in terms of what you are doing and why, and how it relates to the great commission Christ gave us. I know it has caused me to do that. I look forward to the next few leesons in Nehemiah this month. God bless!!!!

casey

Starting Nehemiah

2009-03-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!

I'm excited to start our seiries of lessons this month in Nehemiah. Most of the lessons are focused on looking at Nehemiah's example and applying that to our lives, so I focused this morning on the redemptive-historical importance of Nehemiah's life and work. God used Nehemiah to bring about fulfillment of his covenantal promise to Moses and Israel, which ultimately led to the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ. Therefore Nehemiah also gives us a foreshadowing or 'type' of Christ in that he was used by God to further redemtption.

I challenge everyone to read Nehemiah this month (and Ezra too if you want to go all out). As you read and as you hear the lessons, keep in mind that Nehemiah doesn't just serve as a good moral example for us (even though he does), but that we can see God working out His plan of redemption through Nehemiah and the other characters of the story. Try to see Christ in it as well.

We didn't get to dive into the actual lesson this morning from Nehemiah Chapter 1 but I encourage you to consider these questions from the literature as you study it:

1:1-3

1. What do we learn about Nehemiah from these questions?
2. What do you think would be the natural response from someone in Nehemiah's position?
3. What questions should we be asking about the world around us?

1:4-7

1. Why did Nehemiah begin his prayer focusing on God?
2. What do we learn about the character of God from Nehemiah's prayer?
3. How can we embrace the character of God as we pray for the needs of others?
4. How does our commitment to prayer demonstrate our commitment to the needs of others?
5. How would our world be different if Christ followers saw confession as one of our first action steps to meet needs?

1:8-11

1. When we act on the promises of God, what qualities should characterize our service?

Thanks and God bless...

casey

March Family Friendly Events in Austin

2009-03-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

3/4/09 Austin Farmers Market at Triagle Park. 4-8 pm. Free parking in nearby garage. austinfarmersmarket.org

3/7/09 Explore UT -- Open House at the UT campus. Events and fun for everyone. 11- 5pm. utexas.edu/events/exploreut

Celebrate Texas parade up Congress Ave. 10:30 am.

"If You Give A Pig a Pancake" and Other Story Books performance at One World
Theatre. 11 am and 1 pm. $12. oneworldtheatre.org

Sunset Valley Farmers Market -- Fresh meats, produce, and specialty prepared
foods available for purchase in the parking lot of the Tony Burger Center. 9 am - 2 pm. sunsetvalleyfarmersmardet.org

3/13/09 - 3/28/09 The Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo will be held at the Texas
Fairgrounds in Austin. A sneak peed event will take place on March $13
with $1 rides, free gate admission, and free parking. www.rodeoaustin.com

3/18/09 Absolutely Incredible Kid Day at the Austin Children's Musuem. 5 - 8 pm.
$1 austinkids.org

3/28/09 Zilker Garden Festival -- Musical entertainment, vendors, and children's
activities. Zilker Garden 10 am - 5 pm. zilkergarden.org

Moving & One Year!

2009-02-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

Great things for our class-
We have outgrown our room so THIS SUNDAY March 1 we are moving
Homebuilders – MOVING FROM S238 TO E228 (if you are at the stairs with the water fountain and painted deer just down from the Ark this is just up those)

Our class is ONE YEAR old and we are having a celebration weekend! March 14 & 15 starting with a bag making party along with the Door. This to make Easter themed bags to hand to people on the sides of the road (look for more details and evite to come). Then Sunday during our class instead of a regular study, Caleb and Casey will lead discussion about our class-what were our original goals, are we doing all God wants, how can we all be involved? Then after the service we will be having a class lunch at Central Market! Plan to join in all the fun.

Mark your calendars - Two great fundraisers

2009-02-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

Here are two great groups to support. We can talk about going as a group.

Austin LifeCare (Pregnancy Support Center) Partnership Dinner
Friday, March 6, 2009 6pm - 9pm
Doubletree Hotel, Austin

Christian Women's Job Corps (provides training for women in poverty)
Ladies' Luncheon
Tuesday, April 21 - Great Hills Baptist Church
Tickets are $20 and childcare is provided.

Easter Fun

2009-02-07T06:05:00.000-08:00

Our class is planning an Easter Egg hunt at an apartment complex for our children and the children living there. The Dollar Store already has their Easter Eggs in stock, so feel free to start buying them. Not only will we need them for the hunt, but we plan on making Easter bags for the homeless and hope to include some Easter eggs in there as well. Thanks for all that you do!!!

Clubhouse Worship?????

2009-02-07T06:01:00.000-08:00

Anyone? Our class is suppose to work tomorrow! At the same time, one of our little ones, Avery is being dedicated so feel free to go to that too.

Can you Believe it???????

2009-02-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

We have ANOTHER new class member! Dylan Jacob Miller was born at 7:11 am on 1/24/09. Little Dylan is still at the Children's Hospital and needs our prayers. Please pray for his speedy recovery and peace for both him and his family. Also, the family would appreciate it if we prayed for all of the kiddos in the hospital. Thanks!!!

SUPER BOWL

2009-02-02T11:03:00.001-08:00

We had a great time at our Super Bowl party last night and thanks for coming. We had 18 football fans here watching the game on our 70inch screen! There was TONS of good food and it was a blast.

More Introductions...

2009-02-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

We recently had 2 other babies born that didn't get properly introduced. I'm pleased to introduce you to....

Carter Vaculik

Gloria Joy

Another new class member

2009-02-02T10:18:00.001-08:00

Scott James Waldo was born on Friday, January 30, 2009 at 10:06pm.

A New Class Member

2009-01-30T08:54:00.001-08:00

Casey and Kathryn Birch had their beautiful boy, Levi Thomas. He was born January 28th at 9:35p weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce and was 20.5 inches long. Congratulations guys!!!

Super Bowl Party

2009-01-30T08:53:00.001-08:00

We are having a Super Bowl Party at the Ashcraft's house! Bring your favorite party snack and join us for a fun night. Email us for directions!!!

Club House Worship

2009-01-30T08:51:00.001-08:00

We need volunteers to work Club House Worship on February 8th. Club House Worship is the children's church that takes place during the big service. All you'll need to do is make sure the kids stay safe and help the teachers with the projects. Let us know if you are interested.

Party!!!

2009-01-15T06:13:00.001-08:00

January Party!

2008-12-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

Homebuilders White Elephant Regift Exchange-Did you get one too many Christmas sweaters or how about suckers shaped like Sigmund Freud? Come to our post-Holiday White Elephant Regift Exchange! Bring the whole family to Caleb and Elizabeth's. We'll have pizzas, chips, veggies and dips. Feel free to bring a dessert. If you don't have an appropriate gift to unload, come anyway, we have plenty to share.
Let us know if you didn't get the evite for more details.

Christgiving Party

2008-12-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for coming to the Christgiving Party! The food was delicious and the kids were having so much fun they stayed out past 10p. Here are a couple of pictures from the night!

Christgiving Party

2008-11-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

On Saturday December 6 we are celebrating both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please join us for dinner at the Birch's house and lots of holiday fun. The turkey and drinks will be provided and it would be awesome if you could bring a side to add to the meal. Also, we will be having a Christmas ornament exchange! Bring a wrapped kid friendly ornament to exchange (because I'm sure they will be helping us:) Lastly, we will be collecting canned goods to donate at the party as well. We really hope you can celebrate the holidays with us!

Guys Lunch

2008-11-14T18:21:00.001-08:00

Please join the HomeBuilder guys for lunch this Sunday at Sam's BBQ following church!!

politics...again

2008-10-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Another thought from John Piper's blog: (http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1998/1054_The_Other_Dark_Exchange_Homosexuality_Part_2/)

My closing declaration is this: God has not called us to win elections, but to win souls and hearts and minds; he has not called us to control Congress, but to preach the gospel; he has not called us to be safe, but to tell the truth. He has not called us to avoid conflict, but to love everyone (1 Thessalonians 3:12). So speak the truth in love, entrust your cause to God, and keep the glory of God in the center of your soul, so that all the planets of your passions will be pulled into their proper orbit.

This quote was in context of a lecture on homosexuality, but I thought it applied.

birch out!

vote, as though not voting

2008-10-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Weird title, huh? Well, it is the title of John Piper's latest Desiring God blog/email and it will make much more sense when actually reading it on his website: (http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2008/3347_Let_Christians_Vote_As_Though_They_Were_Not_Voting/)

For those who don't want to read the whole article (I really recommend you do) I will give my own summary, though you will miss the richness of the scriptural refrences:

A Christian's priority is the kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of this world. Our primary concerns are the laws of God applied to the souls of men, not the laws of any country. Our eternal citizenship is in the kingdom of heaven, so it very much trumps any earthly kingdom citizenship we have. Our battles are not against flesh and blood, or people of this world, but against spiritual things.

I'm not saying don't vote, don't have an opinion, or do nothing in regards to american politics...but keep it in perspective. It is temporal...a secondary concern for a Christian. There isn't an absolute right or wrong answer with one party or candidate, even though there might be with any given issue...we are voting for the lesser of two (or more) evils, however you judge that. That isn't a slam on any candidate, it is just a fact of life when dealing with political systems whose loyalty is to other things (the nation, wealth, selfishness, etc.) before it is to God.

God bless...

casey

Upcoming HomeBuilder's Events

2008-10-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

10/24 Noah's Ark Festival at HPBC

10/25 Bonfire with the Door

10/26 Meet in Chapel for Sunday School

10/26 Costume Party at the Ashcraft house at 4pm

10/27 Playgroup at Chick-Fil-a on Parmer at 9:45am

11/2 Girl's Night at 7:30 at Mandola's in the triangle

11/5 Playgroup at the Ashcraft's house at 9:45a (it's a Wednesday)

11/10 Playgroup at the Birch's at 3:45p (making boxes for Samaritan Purses)

11/16 Guy's Night at 7:30 at Sam's BBQ

12/6 Christgiving Party at the Birch's (Thanksgiving/Christmas party)

12/7 Sounds of Christmas at Worship Center at 6p (Orchestra and Ensemble groups)

12/14 Christmas Night of Praise at Worship Center at 6p

*if you didn't receive an evite for the bonfire or the costume party please know that you are welcome to come. Email me for more information:)

*more playgroups will be announced at a later date

*The Christgiving party is going to be so much fun. We are having a traditional spread of Thanksgiving/Christmas food along with an ornament exchange. There will be crafts for the kids and I'm already excited about it! We will also be collecting can goods at the party.

Fall Festivals

2008-10-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

Fall Festivals

Noah's Ark Festival
October 24, 2008 5:30-8:30pm
Hyde Park Baptist Child Development Center is hosting their 21st annual Noah's Ark Festival. There will be games, train rides, pony rides, bouncey houses, food, a silent auction and more. Children can dress up as their favorite animal. Please come out and support this important ministry of our church.

Fall Festival
October 31, 2008 6-9 pm
First Baptist Church in Round Rock. There will be games, candy, inflatable jumpers, a silent auction, candy, and food. For more information, see www.fbcrr.org.

Fall Festival at Bannockburn Baptist Church
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October 31, 2008 The Bannockburn Baptist Church is hosting a Fall Festival October 31, 2008. The festival will be held from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the church. There will be food, fun, games and lots of candy for preschoolers and children.
For more information visit www.bbcfamily

Community Candy Carnival
Join Fellowship Church Southwest and Bowie High School as they co host the 5th Annual Community Candy Carnival Sunday, October 26, 2008 from 4:30pm–7:30pm. This annual event is a free community initiative that benefits Bowie High School clubs and organizations, Capital Area Food Bank of Texas, and serves south Austin by providing a safe environment for a family-friendly Halloween alternative. The carnival event offers free admission, games, prizes, candy, activities, entertainment, and free or very inexpensive food, even public service demonstrations provided by the Austin Fire Department and Austin Police Department.
Food and drink, such as pizza and a soda, will be available for a nominal fee. Attendees will enjoy great live music for the length of the event, while having full access to the variety of festivities for all ages. Carnival attendees are encouraged and welcome to wear family-friendly costumes.

Bible 101 Catch Up

2008-09-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! I'm finally posting up the slides from the last three lessons...as well as the rest of the slides. These slides will undergo a reorder and touch up before I do this series again, though. I think I've settled on a different order of the lessons that makes more sense.

Here are some quick summaries of the last three lessons:

Bible Languages and Translations

In this lesson we talked about how the words of the biblical authors get to us from them writing the original in Greek or Hebrew to us reading it in English. We discussed textual criticism and how experts look at many manuscripts form the last two thousand years to come up with what the originals looked like. We also talked about how various English translations differ based on which critical texts they translated from, and their method of translation. Some translations take a more word for word or literal approach, while others take a more thought for thought approach. Both approaches have theirs pros an cons my personal recommendation is to have at least two tranlsations that cover both. No translation is perfect.

Bible Study Tools and Methods

In short, their are LOTS of tools out there to help you understand and apply the Bible to your life. Just be aware that these tools are human made and are capable of mistakes and biases.

The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible

Christians are often accused of using circular reasoning to defend our beliefs that the Bible is the inspired. I think it is true that we cannot prove with observable facts what we believe. However, it is not unreasonable. If we believe the gospel of Jesus we have to accpet the gospel accounts of his life as at least true and historiclaly accurate. Once we do that, we see that they tell us Jesus believed that the OT was the inspired and authoritative This lays the foundation for what we believe.

Here are the slides: http://www.sendspace.com/file/exf0tv

Help

2008-09-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

As you guys know, Texas suffered quite a hit this weekend due to hurricane Ike. One of our close friends Lindsey, Shaun and Rylan (6 months old) lost everything. Their home had 6-8 feet of water in it when the surge hit. They also had their vehicle in their garage and lost that as well. They are such a sweet family who loves the Lord and trusts he will take care of them. I was hoping we could help them get back on their feet. Has it been a while since you cleaned out your closets? They lost all of their clothes, shoes, work clothes, baby blankets, crib sheets, baby toys, basically anything you can imagine. She is a 6th grade math teacher and he is a high school principal. If you feel like cleaning out your closet and donating any clothes or baby items you can bring them to church with you and I'll make sure they get them.
Her sizes:
M-L shirt
8-10 pants
6 shoe

His sizes:
L shirt
33, 34 pants
11.5 shoes

Baby clothes:
he is going to need 9-12 month clothes or bigger. he also lost all toys, blankets, etc.

If something doesn't fit them I know they will give the items to another needy family. Their entire town (Bridge City) was lost in the surge.

Thanks so much!

HomeBuilder Happenings

2008-09-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for the donations guys. We were able to donate 18 baskets worth over $600 dollars to the mission trip silent auction. Pretty amazing right?

We were also able to donate 2 boxes to the soldiers for spread the light.

Guys night is this Wednesday at 6:30 at Antonio's Tex Mex restaurant. Guys feel free to meet up for dinner and enjoy manly conversation while eating yummy food.

Also, we are celebrating both Judah and Casey's birthday this coming up Saturday. Dinner and dessert will be provided so please come and celebrate with us. It'll be at the Birch's home around 5:30. Email us for directions.

The Toddlers Bible

2008-09-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hi, I mentioned to some of you about the great Bible my mom got for Lydia. Most kid's Bibles have too many words on a page or the pictures look silly...This one is called The Toddlers Bible by V. Gilbert Beers (yes its a paraphrase not a translation:) FaithKidz, Cook Communications Ministries. Its for kids from 1-3 and she loves it. All the stories are 4 pages long.
If anyone else has one they like you should comment on this post.
Thanks-Elizabeth

family commitement & domestic support

2008-09-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

We continued discussing a list of His 5 largest emotional needs and Her 5 largest emotional needs. We finished talking about Family Commitment. Here are some things group members suggested during our discussion
How can we show our spouse our family commitment?

Don't undermine the others authority, specifically Husbands make sure to support what the wife has decided if she is the one at home all day with the kids.
It makes it easier to both be involved in the development if the course of action is decided on in agreement between the two of you. If it is all just one persons idea, the other is disinclined to help.
Take care of the family in other ways too, not just domestic... wills, insurances, etc - family decisions that she for what ever reason can't or doesn't want to do.

What makes our spouses feel like we do not have family commitment?

When we give our time to anything else, even normal work sometimes.
When we make our spouses feel bad for working (this was said specifically about working mothers, but I think wives also make husbands feel guilty for working sometimes).
If mothers stay home and a husband suggests that it would be better if she worked so they could have more money, making the mother seem unvalued.

Next we talked about His need for "Domestic Support" - loosely defined as 'he has a need for comfortable home, and needs his spouse to be supportive in that area'
We only got as far as to hear from Guys in the room about whether or not it was truly a need of theirs and I think it was a clear Yes. We agreed that we wanted our homes to be places of rest and refuge, especially right after work (which is typically when we are called on to take over for the mother). Women also, obviously, would like some domestic support, so here again is an example of how it is a felt need of both spouses. Men just typically rank it much higher on their list of needs than women do. According to his research this author says that men would typically give up affection, conversation, openness and honesty, as well as financial support and family commitment to have a spouse that provided domestic support. We also mentioned that men need to remember the other forms of "domestic support" that may wives provide, not just house stuff, things like keeping up with family members for us, doing the cordial stuff like RSVPin, thankyou cards and birthday cards, wedding presents, things that makes our household better, more hospitable and respected by others. We will pick up on this topic in a few weeks, and continue up the lists.

Here is some interesting reading. The first one, pay attention to the graph, which shows that historically men are doing heeps more work than they use to, and women are doing less than they use to. And, now the increase in work from single to married is about the same for men and women, women just already did alot more work to begin with while single. Also, since I still have access to most of UT's online library I looked up the original publication and I was surprised to find out that almost everything that men typically do around the house wasn't considered "housework", namely house maintenance and repair, yard work, and car repair & maintenance, which I kind of feel helps maintain the home so should have been included.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080403191009.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070827174300.htm

Admiration/family commitment

2008-08-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we started discussing his & her five most important needs. Remember the loss of these needs, according to this author, is what leads to distance, lack of fulfillment and ultimately divorce. Here is the authors website if you care: http://www.marriagebuilders.com/graphic/mbi3300_needs.html

The his list is
1. sexual fullfillment, 2 recreational companionship, 3 attractive spouse, 4 domestic support, 5 admiration.
Her list is:
1. affection, 2 conversation/communication, 3 openness and honestly, 4 financial commitment, 5 family commitment.

We discussed that the order might switch around for some people, for example #2 seemed too high on the list for some guys, 5 too low. I am kind of shocked myself that this author says women need money (4) more than family commitment (5)... some women might reorder their list too, but we are going to discuss them in this order for simplicity.

Notes from today: We camped out on "admiration" alot, perhaps too much. Some thoughts about it that people in the class brought out:

It does need to be verbal , and criticisms limited.
It isn't the same as "respect" or even "appreciation" - it's much simpler.
These needs are interconnected, if he is going to provide the financial & family commitment needs, he wants some admiration for that role.
Yes, women have a need to be admired & appreciated, though this author says it is much less than the need men have, but it is important to note that these "needs" are not owned exclusively by one spouse.
Admiration doesn't need to be for when things are done "perfect" - you can admire effort, willingness, attempt, thoughts, ideas, integrity, honesty, commitment.... not just jobs well done.
We seemed to equate - and this is my fault - the need for admiration to the needs for self worth. I would say that if a man had the strongest self image possible - he would still be tempted to gravitate away from a spouse who did not full fill this kind of need. God can give him self-worth, but he still has a need to be admired by his spouse for that worth!

We began talking about "Family Commitment": here are initial thoughts and questions for next time.

Women agreed that this was a true need.
Women often carry the burden for the development of the kiddos, they need husbands to be as committed to it as they are.
The synopsis I read says women want men to take a leadership role in the development of the kiddos, but it seemed to me that many ladies said the need was more for support of what they were doing - I'm interested in discussing these two situations.
? for next week - What gets in the way from women feeling fullfilled in this need? - guys and girls might have different answers. What are suggestions for men to DO to let the wives see their commitment?

Other comments: There is a tendency to say 'but what about me' or try to find out 'why do they need that' - We possibly talked too much about "why" men want admiration instead of "how" to lovingly fulfill that need. Also, while it is most certainly true that God meets our needs I would caution us that unless we address "how" that can lead us to feeling like "well - it isn't ultimately my job to do those things" when in fact it most certainly is. Take other needs, such as physical needs, God can certainly provide those to people, but it is most often done through others, and it is often up to us to do so. Interestingly reading the new testament we are told that meeting the physical needs of the poor is paramount to serving God himself, when we DO something to meet any need, God is involved through us whether it is a spiritual, emotional or physical need. Now, emotional needs are just as profound and God graciously meets them through other people. Be careful that the "get it from God" doesn't just equal fasting... fasting of course is a great spiritual discipline and Paul even talks about abstaining from sex to devote yourself to prayer (very much as fasting from a basic need) - but fasting forever has ... well.. negative consequences. My point is: yes, God ultimately provides for our needs... and he has provided a spouse to do so.

2008-08-17T20:40:00.001-07:00

SplashJam will take place at Elizabeth Milburn Park on Sunday, August 31 from 1 to 8 pm. Their will be live music, swimming, games, prizes, and fireworks. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children (pool admission is seperate). The park is located at 1901 Sun Chase Blvd. The pool has slides and other water activities. It looks like it would be a lot of fun for the kids.

2008-08-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Oak Hill United Methodist Church is hosting their Annual Summer Jam next Saturday, August 23 from 5 to 8 pm. Bands from local churches will be performing. Their will be barbecue and activities for the kids as well. The tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children. Bring a lawn chair and a swim suit. The church is located at 7815 Hwy 290 West. This sounds like a good Christian family event.

DONATIONS PLEASE

2008-08-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! We need your help. Our class is busy collecting items for several different reasons. First we are making a few baskets for a HPBC silent auction and we are making care packages for soldiers. If you can donate any of the following items that would be awesome. You can bring them to class or contact us.

For Auction
-children's books
-mom's relaxation items (candles, soaps, lotions, good book, etc.)
-can get business to donate a gift card to auction
-can donate your time or craft for the auction as well (photography, art work, jewelry making, etc.)

For Soldier Care Package
-snacks (beef jerky, hard candy, mints, sunflower seeds, jaw breakers, gum etc.)
-nice letter
-things to do (books, magazines, deck of cards, dominoes, puzzles, dice, hacky sack, etc.)
-AT&T international calling card
-toiletries (sunblock, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, shampoo, icy hot packs, chap stick, foot powder, etc.)
-inflatable pillow, stress relief ball, pens, rayzors, disposable camera, etc.

Thanks so much for your help and support!!!

Children's/Families' Programs and Events

2008-08-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Wells Branch Community Library, 15001 Wells Port Drive does a Baby Sign Time every other Tuesday at 2:00 pm. The next one takes place Tuesday, August 26. I've not been to this specific program but I have attended a few of their storytimes and Brooklyn and I have really enjoyed them. This sounds like it would be a really neat program for those with pre-verbal children.

This Sunday - Bible Translations and Versions

2008-08-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Continuing in our Bible 101 series we now enter the third section which focuses on how best to study the Bible. To study the Bible, we have to actually read it (surprise, surprise). Given that most of us can't read ancient Hebrew and Greek in which the Bible was originally written in, we have to pick an English translation and rely on it to accurately relay the truths to us from the original languages. Therfore, kicking off this section we will be talking about English translations, trying to answer the following questions:

Which translation is best to use for study?
Are some translations better than others? Do the "KJV only" folks have good reasons why it is better?
What exactly are the differences between various translations?
Are there different approcahes to creating a translation?
Do all translations use the same source Hebrew and Greek texts?

So...bring your favorite translations and be prepared to tell us why you might prefer one over another as we talk about their unique characteristics and histories!

Recap Sunday 8-10

2008-08-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

I feel like today went well, though I wish I had emphasized the difference between how Mr. D's and Mr. J's philosophical views contrasted with how they actually lived; The more "conservative" view sacrificed for his wife's career, and the more moderate seemed to his insistence that he get his way (like his new acquisitions... Glock, Motorcycle, flat screen...). Perhaps there is no real contradiction? Of course, you understand I orchestrated real data somewhat for discussion so I hope you do not criticize either man too much, I know you don't.

Over all I hope two points came across: 1) It was easy to pick apart my simplistic view of these two guys, but do you know your own problem areas, where you need to work? 2) We should remember this when we start to judge others who might have more obvious flaws...

The OT Canon Wrap Up

2008-08-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

To recap Sunday's lesson on the OT canon, I realize I need to spend a little more time talking about how the 39 books we do have came together. The majority of the lesson on Sunday focused on what the OT Apocrypha is and where it came from and why other Christian traditions include it in their OT and we don't. Honestly, there is not much to say about how the other 39 books came to us. There is not much historical information on exactly how and when the Jews made their decisions on which books they considered scripture, other than this process (which may have taken place over hundreds of years) seemed to be complete and settled by the 3rd century BC or so.

Through quotations made by Jesus and the NT authors, as well as some other historical references, we are pretty confident that the books the Jews considered scripture in 1st century Palestine are the 39 books we (and the Jews) have today in our OT. There has been some speculation on the inclusion of three of the books, as we discussed; Esther, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes, primarily due to their content (or lack of it).

To sum up our talk on the apocrypha, I'll just cut and paste from my conclusion slide:

•The 39 books Protestants use today were most likely the books considered scripture by Jesus and the apostles, without the apocrypha
•The Christian support for the apocrypha primarily came about through the Septuagint, or Greek translation of the OT
•The vast majority of the early and medieval church (2nd - 16th centuries) embraced the apocrypha as scripture to some degree
•Today it is generally universally recognized by those that include the apocrypha that it is not as authoritative as the other OT books

I guess one take away I have from this is that we shouldn't let the fact that some traditions place the apocryphal books in their OT cause too much division. Since most of the early church has found these books valuable to their faith, they may be worth the read, though I would stop short of basing any doctrine on them.

Here is the updated deck for download:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/0h54qn

Until next time...

-casey

Mission Opportunity

2008-08-05T05:28:00.001-07:00

The Singles Department at Hyde Park is organizing a pair of supporting
Mission Trips to Paraguay (in South America between Brazil, Bolivia, and
Argentina). The first trip will be October 10th through 18th, and the
follow-on trip will be the 17th through 25th. They need a team of 10
people to attend each trip and already have several spots filled. The
second trip plans to organize and run a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and
use it as an opportunity for evangelism. The first trip will perform
promotion for the tournament and some door-to-door evangelism.

If you are interested in attending or supporting these Mission Trips,
Chuck Haddox (the HPBC minister to singles) is hosting an informational
session on this Sunday, August 3rd, in Room W218 after the 11am service.
Please come by if you can.

Next sunday

2008-08-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Next sunday: We are going to discuss two people that I know personally, we call them Mr. D and Mr. J. The point of issue will be how they personally portray biblical husband leadership in their family and to think about how we ourselves view biblical husband. There will be specific problems and positive things in each man's description for us to discuss. Read up on pertinant scripture about husbands and wives (1 Corinth 7, 13 and 14; Eph 5; 1 Peter 3; 1 Timothy - do a word search! (We can talk about wives later)

Recap on "evolution" talk

2008-08-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

The first two points summarize what I said the first two weeks, in total I hope it might serve guidelines for how to defend your faith or help a struggling seeker/family member.

1). The creation story in the first two chapters of Genesis are complicated and allow multiple interpretation. The simplest interpretation, based on no other information is what we call young earth creationism. I argue that to properly understand passages in the bible that have complex and seemingly contradictory verses we need other information to help guide our interpretation of scripture, we should do so here. We do the same thing to most challenging verses, ask me for examples if you don't think so.
2) Evolutionary theory is like gravitational theory; and idea that is based on solid factual scientific evidence. The earth looks millions of years old. All Living beings look commonly derived.
3) Some science should be used to show that belief in God is not made impossible by even pure evolution such as evidence of the Big Bang, all matter and energy had a definite beginning!
4) The sheer improbability the Big Bang resulted in a universe capable of evolution is crazy, but it happened. It's like all 100 roulette tables in a casino coming up with exactly predicted numbers that stood in precise ratios to other tables; table 1 is .2 and half of table 2, which is one third table 3, etc.)
5) The Universal Moral Law would teach us to counter act evolution - even ardent evolutionist don't want pure evolution. Typically animals massacre, annihilate and kill those that stand in their way from their propagation. "The notion that there is something such as a common good would never occur to a lion. "We seem to have a lot of zebra left over from that last kill. Shall we drop over to visit with that pride down the block who seems to be struggling with all those new cubs?" (quoted from an evolution website)
6) I would then suggest that this at least makes the presence of a God possible, even ceding all evolution, and then begin to probe the heart: What do they want? Do they inwardly know they have a purpose? Does anything in them cry out for love, rescue, help, redemption? Do they know that some of what they do is wrong and in need of forgiveness? These things make me personally chose to believe.

Overall, we Christians need to be less concerned about being "right" about evolution vs creation. Give the evolutionist their data, they're not making it up, but they still need a Saviour. We need to quickly bring it to the heart of the matter.

I hope this little side trip was beneficial.

The New Testament Canon

2008-07-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone! Sorry I had to miss this Sunday.

I just wanted to recap our discussion on the New Testament Canon. I think that the signifcant take aways for me are:

1. The NT canonization process wasn't really as smooth or cut and dry as we are often led to believe, or as I would be most comfortable with.

2. Even though this is the case, I think an objective look at history still gives us great confidence in the NT as we know it today. It is nothing short of miraculous, to me, that by the 3rd century AD the bulk of the NT was almost universally agreed upon by churches and pastors that were spread from the British isles, to Spain, to North Africa, to Ethipopia, to Italy, to Greece, to Turkey, to Syria, etc.

Here are the points from the summary slide listed below:

•At least 18 books of the NT were quoted and considered to have some authority within ~100 years of Christ’s life.
•20 of the NT books were fully accepted by the whole church by around the 3rd Century, while the other 7 were also known and had some support.
•Today, all major Christian groups accept the 27 books of the NT as inspired, genuine, and authoritative except: the Syrian church only use 22; and some Eastern churches exclude Revelation
•The 7 books that have been ‘disputed’ at times carry no essential doctrines that are not also found in the other 20 books.

The updated Bible 101 slides can be found here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/o5dkeg

Right in line with our discussion the oldest 'complete' copy of the New Testament we have made the news last week because it is being published online. I think some of the details of the story are particlarly interesting in light of our class last Sunday: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/24/online.bible/index.html?iref=newssearch

PEACE

- casey

Rick Warren and politics

2008-07-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/22/warren.qa/index.html

Interesting article on Rick Warren inviting both candidates to speak at his church.