tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13410150808984926022024-03-14T01:06:18.714-05:00The Jesus AgendaGood news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovered sight for the blind, setting the oppressed free, proclaiming Yahweh's favor.Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-51713993976194866962020-05-11T22:07:00.001-05:002020-05-12T00:23:45.245-05:00<br />
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Old Testament Use of Parental
Metaphors & Imagery For God<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God As Father<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.
Moses<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C1V31"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Deuteronomy
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C32V6"></a>32:6 Do you thus requite Yahweh, foolish people and unwise?
Isn’t he your father who has bought <i>(or created)</i> you? He has made you,
and established you. <i>(Note vv. 11-12, 18 in same chapter.)<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.
Isaiah<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C63V16"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">63:16
For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn’t know us, and Israel does not
acknowledge us: you, Yahweh, are our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is
your name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C64V8"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">64:8
But now, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and
we all are the work of your hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(The context of these passages is that although God is
Israel's Father, he didn't appear to be acting like one. The prophet begs
Yahweh to come to Israel's aid and act like the Father he is.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. Jeremiah<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C3V4"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3:4
Will you not from this time cry to me, ‘My Father, you are the guide of my
youth?’<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C3V19"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3:19
“But I said, ‘How I would put you among the children, and give you a pleasant
land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall
call me “My Father,” and shall not turn away from following me.’<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C31V9"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">31:9
They shall come with weeping; and with petitions will I lead them: I will cause
them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not
stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(The
point of Jeremiah's uses is that God desired to be Israel and Judah's Father
but they made a mockery of this. Even so he looked to a future day when his
fatherhood would prevail.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4.
Malachi<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C1V6"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1:6
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then
where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? Says
Yahweh of Armies to you, priests, who despise my name. You say, ‘How have we
despised your name?’<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C2V10"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2:10
Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal
treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our
fathers?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(The
point of Malachi's uses is that Israel's behavior contradicts the fact that God
is their Father.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5.
Remaining References to God as “a Father” </span></b><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(Not necessarily <u>our</u> Father.)</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A.
David's Seed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1
Chronicles 7:13 “I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take
my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor.” (cf 2 Samuel
7:14; Hebrews 1:5)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psalm
2:7 “I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, </span>‘You are my son. Today I
have become your father.’ ”</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C89V26"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psalm
89:26 “He will call to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my
salvation!</span>’ ”</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C9V6"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah
9:6 “For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will
be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">B. God
acting as a father to others, or likened to a father:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Deuteronomy
1:31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God
carried you, <b><i>as a </i></b>father <i>(lit. man)</i> carries his son, all
the way you went until you reached this place.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psalm
27:10 “When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psalm
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C68V5"></a>68:5 “A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the
widows, is God in his holy habitation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psalm <a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C103V13"></a>103:13 “Like a father has
compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God As Mother<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.
Moses<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><i>Genesis</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C1V27"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1:27
God created man in his own image. In <b>God’s image</b> he created him; <b>male
and female</b> he created them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span>
appeared to him and said, “I am <b>El-Shaddai*</b>—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me
faithfully and live a blameless life. (NLT) </span><br />
<i style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></i><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">*El-Shaddai is used 9 times by Moses; 48 times in OT. </span></i><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="StrongEmphasis">"Almighty God</span>. In Hebrew El (the Strong
One) </span></i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Shaddai<i>
(the Breasted One). Abraham now learns that God is not only El, the mighty
Creator Who can do wonders, but the One Who cares for him as a </i><b>mother</b><i>
would, for He is the All-sufficient One. As mothers do, </i>El Shaddai<i>
reproves Abraham for obeying someone else...." (Footnote at Genesis 17:1,
Pilgrim Edition of the Bible, 1948)</i></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><br /></i></span>
<i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Cf. 1 Peter 2:2-3: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”</i></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C11V11"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">11:11-12
“Moses said to Yahweh, 'Why have you treated with your servant so badly? Why
haven’t I found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people
on me? <a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C11V12"></a>Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them
forth, that you should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a
nursing infant, to the land which you swore to their fathers?’”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TNIV
Study Bible footnote: “The implication is that the Lord conceived the people of
Israel” and “was their nurse.)”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><i>Deuteronomy</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C32V11"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">32:11-12
“As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, he spread
abroad his wings, he took them, he bore them on his feathers. Yahweh alone led
him. There was no foreign god with him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">32:18
“You ignored the Rock who <b>gave you birth</b>; (<i>or begot you</i>) you
forgot the God who <b>brought you forth</b>.” (HCSB)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><i>Psalm 90</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">90:2 “Before the mountains were born or you <b>brought forth</b>
the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">See comments about “brought forth” under Solomon, below.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Job<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C38V8"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">38:8-9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it
broke forth from the womb, when I made clouds its garment,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and wrapped it in thick darkness...?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C38V29"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">38:29
“Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth
to it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These are part of a list of questions to which God alone is
the answer. Compare this idea of God having a womb to Paul saying God is the
One in whom we live and move and have our being because we are God's offspring.
(Acts 17:28-29)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. David<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Psalm 131:1-3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span>, my heart is not proud; I don't look
down on others. I don't do great things, and I can't do miracles. But I am calm
and quiet, like a baby with its mother. I am at peace, like a baby with its
mother. People of Israel, put your hope in the Lord now and forever.” (NCV)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Compare verse 2 in NLT: “like a weaned child who no longer
cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
Also note Psalm 34:8 and 1 Peter 2:2-3 (above).<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Solomon<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Proverbs 8:22-25<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The
LORD <b>brought me forth</b> as the first of his works, before his deeds of
old; I was <b>formed</b> long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world
came to be. When there were no oceans, I was <b>given birth</b>, when there
were no springs abounding with water; before the mountains were settled in
place, before the hills, I was <b>given birth</b>....”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The TNIV Study Bible Footnote says: </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“brought... forth.<i> The Hebrew
for this verb is also used in Ge 4:1: 14:19,22 ('Creator'); Dt 32:6
('Creator').”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first occurrence of “</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">brought forth”<i> was when Eve gave birth to Cain and
proclaimed, “I have brought forth a man-child with the help of Yahweh” (Genesis
4:1). The Hebrew verb is clearly that act of a woman giving birth and it is
used frequently of God bringing things into being (creating). See for example:
Job 38:8-9,29; Psalm 90:2 (above). It is frequently used in parallelisms as a
synonym for giving birth (e.g., Job 15:7). The word is often also translated as
“Creator” (see Genesis 14:19,22; Deuteronomy 32:6).<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Isaiah<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="C49V15"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">49:15
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on
the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you! <i>(Note
context of vv. 13-16)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="en-AMP-18935"></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">66:12-13 “For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will extend
peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing
stream; then you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and trotted
[lovingly bounced up and down] on her [God's maternal] knees. As one whom his
mother comforts, so will I comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
(Amplified)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6. Sidebar: The NT & God's Maternity<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The purpose of the above survey is to note key examples of
parental images of God in the OT. It has by no means been exhaustive, as many
other OT and NT passages can certainly be cited. It should be sufficient,
however, to show that the OT clearly presents God as both paternal and
maternal.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
few NT passages interspersed in the notes above are but a sampling with regards
to the NT's support of God's maternal nature, in addition to his paternal
nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, Jesus may have had
God's maternal nature in mind when he speaks of things like being “born again”
and “born of the Spirit.” Note for instance the discussion in John 3:1-8, where
Jesus says: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' ” If
there's one thing mothers do that fathers don't, its give birth! Note therefore
how Nicodemus even wonders if all this means he must reenter his mother's womb!
Likewise, 1 John repeatedly uses the phrase “born of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have already noted above Paul and Peter's imagery of
God's womb and breast milk—a strong metaphor for God's Word!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Since the purpose of the above study has been to focus on
the OT understanding of God's parental nature, a more extensive list and
treatment of NT examples will have to wait for another study.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Observations & Explanations:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. God is prior to male/female distinctions, as he existed
before gendered species were created.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Both male and female, father and mother, find their
definitions and examples in him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. The more masculine a man is and the more feminine a woman
is, the more the each reflect their Creator!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. God is not “like” a father or mother; fathers and mothers
<i>are to be like</i> God as imitators and image bearers!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">5. Why then does the Bible seem to favor and emphasize the
masculine/Father side of God?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a. The Bible tells us that when sin entered the world
equality between the man and woman was disrupted. Male
domination was one result.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">b. Christ came to reverse the effects of Humanity's Fall and
restore our original equality as partners before God. To
do that he had to demonstrate and model how the dominant was to change in the
new order or redemption—kingdom values. Had he come as a woman the
strong and powerful would not have identified with his example of
servanthood and submission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">c. God chooses to make Fatherhood and masculine imagery a
primary metaphor in order to challenge those who have
become powerful in the Fall to imitate things like his goodness, justice,
mercy, compassion and grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
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Study Guide:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>© Copyright 2009 David R.
Leigh. All rights reserved. Used by permission.</span></div>
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<br />Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-18443890995708946202015-11-20T23:16:00.001-06:002015-11-20T23:16:49.976-06:00AN EXPERT ON THE BIBLE asked: “Who, really, is my neighbor?”<b>Jesus gave him this story:</b> “A man was on his way to church with his family in Aleppo when the city was attacked by terrorists. The terrorists bombed the man's house, his church, his neighborhood, and the entire Christian sector of his city, stripping him, his family, and his neighbors of their clothes and all they had. The terrorists beat them all to a bloody pulp and left them half dead with no safe place to hide.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPmPXihTHdQ/Vk_9Du0gyWI/AAAAAAAAHoA/BPSXY9eWr9o/s1600/GoodSamaritanMeme2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPmPXihTHdQ/Vk_9Du0gyWI/AAAAAAAAHoA/BPSXY9eWr9o/s320/GoodSamaritanMeme2015.jpg" title="Getting the Point - Source Unknown - Best guess: Johannes de Silentio" width="232" /></a><b>"An American Evangelical Christian</b> happened to see the bombed out city, along with its burning churches and buildings, as he watched on television, but he quickly turned the channel.<br />
<br />
<b>"So too, an American senator</b> saw the same events on TV, went and visited the city, but she too decided to avoid the problem by focusing on U.S. domestic legislation rather than foreign policy.<br />
<br />
<b>"But then an American presidential candidate</b>, as he campaigned, read reports and saw video footage of the church-going man and his family who was fleeing the burning city and seeking refuge for his family and for his neighbors by begging the United States to let them come into the country for shelter, protection, and help.<br />
<br />
"'We need to erect a wall!' the candidate tweeted, 'A very long and tall wall!' And his supporters cheered. And as they cheered louder and louder, they grew in numbers! 'We cannot bandage these people's wounds, feed these people, or give them shelter,' the candidate declared, 'because they will only bring the terrorists with them, along with disease and more mouths to feed! Think of all the extra expense!'<br />
<br />
<b>“Which of these three," Jesus asked, "do you think was a neighbor</b> to the man and the city that fell into the hands of terrorists?"<br />
<br />
The expert in the Bible thought for a moment, flipped back and forth from one Bible page to another, then replied: “This is NOT the way the story of the Good Samaritan is supposed to go!”<br />
<br />
"What you do to the least of these," Jesus said, "you have done to me. This will be my verdict on your day of judgment when I separate the sheep from the goats."<br />
<br />
<b><i>See how the story is supposed to read here</i></b>: <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37&version=NIV" target="_blank">Luke 10:25-37</a><br />
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Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-67443655798456058632015-11-17T22:54:00.000-06:002015-11-17T22:54:47.038-06:00TWO REFUGEES I’VE KNOWN<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I’ve had a privilege not many Americans get</b>. I’ve had occasion to interact as a pastor with two groups of refugees. I would like to tell you about one man from each group.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The first group</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I encountered when pastoring an urban church in central Massachusetts during the early 1990s. Their country, Liberia, was in a civil war carried on by tribal and Muslim factions. A family member had been attending my church when they were given opportunity to enter the U.S. as her relatives.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Their story was an unthinkable ordeal by American standards</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In their homeland, they’d been school teachers, secretaries, office workers, and retail merchants. In less than a day, they’d become fugitives hiding in the African bush. Their only crime was belonged to the same tribe as the deposed president whom the rebels had brutally and publicly tortured and executed.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sFUV_hvHaFE/VkwDl6xylII/AAAAAAAAHnw/HvSjmeEPwmQ/s1600/liberia.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sFUV_hvHaFE/VkwDl6xylII/AAAAAAAAHnw/HvSjmeEPwmQ/s200/liberia.png" width="185" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>In order to escape</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> certain death this family disguised themselves in the clothing and manner of a neighboring tribe. They took a circuitous route from the nation’s capital, where they lived, to a refugee camp in a neighboring country. But on their route an armed band of rebels stopped them and their brother was recognized by a soldier who was his former classmate. To save their own lives, the family (mother included) had to deny they knew the man and stood by as they watched him brutally molested and executed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>When I met them on American soil,</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> they’d never experienced snow, had no clothing suitable for our climate, no papers to prove their education, no resumé’s or references to check out for employment. Their English was choppy and their hearts were hurting and fearful.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I worked with them</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to help obtain food and clothing. I taught them how to drive and get licenses. In addition to my preaching and pastoral duties, I drove a 15-passenger van so that I could pick them up for church each Sunday. They came faithfully and many more showed up on foot.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>One of the men still calls me 20 years late</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">r to tell me how fondly he and his family remember me. We speak of old times and old acquaintances. He tells me what his life is like today. He is married and has children. After I left that pastorate for another, he went on to enlist in the U.S. Army, where he served our country with gratitude. As a veteran, he returned to go to school and today he has an outstanding job helping others as a counselor. Likewise, his siblings went on to be productive members of our society as nurses, laborers, and office workers. They give back to society and worship Jesus Christ in gratitude for what they have.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2-ZHI6DqQVM/VkwC0DWtEEI/AAAAAAAAHnk/VxBleZ9iXgA/s1600/Armenian%2BCross1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2-ZHI6DqQVM/VkwC0DWtEEI/AAAAAAAAHnk/VxBleZ9iXgA/s200/Armenian%2BCross1.jpg" width="154" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The second group</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of refugees I encountered was more recent, while pastoring an Armenian Evangelical church that’s been in the Chicago area for nearly a century. The Armenians have been a persecuted people for much of the past 100 years. Driven out of Turkey by the Ottomans in a genocide during the early 1900s, they were scattered around the globe. Many came to America. Others found themselves dispersed throughout the Middle East and other continents. Many landed in Syria, where a huge Christian community formed in places like Aleppo, not far from Damascus. Having settled in Syria, they were counted among the Syrians when, like their neighbors, they had to flee for their lives to escape destruction. This was an earlier wave of refugees than the one we’re seeing now.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Like us, they once had lovely homes</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, went to wonderful churches, enjoyed productive careers in their city, and were esteemed members of their community. But in a brutal flash of violence and civil war, they were driven out with only the shirts on their backs. They cannot prove they graduated from college or even that they had careers. They struggle to learn English and to qualify for menial jobs and basic housing. They rely on the kindness of family, friends, and church to start their lives over for themselves and their children. Even before the recent wave, these refugees found resistance and red tape hindering the approval of their immigration applications. As their pastor, I wrote letters on their behalf attesting to their character and participation in our faith community. But each request was met only with more delays.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>One of these refugees is a Christian</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> man who once ran his own successful business. His children attended Sunday school at my church and his wife helped with VBS. A local friend of his helped him get started in HVAC repair. Another of his friends, a Syrian Muslim who owns a business in Chicago, remembered the man’s kindness to him in Syria and helped him and his family in a variety of ways, out of gratitude and indebtedness. Because of these things, my Christian friend and his family give back to their community today and love the Lord. He has told me he wants always to be my friend and I can’t think of a greater honor.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The reason I tell you about these people</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is because if you’re like me, you may not have realized that refugees are so much like ourselves. I didn’t know this until I met these families, held their children in my arms, and listened to their stories. If you’re like me, you may also forget that our ancestors too came here under similar circumstances. Maybe not all were refugees, but they came as foreigners, often feared or despised by the local population, yet looking for an honest fresh start. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>America’s identity</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has always been about huddled masses yearning to be free in a land of opportunity. But opportunity is not limited to new careers or new freedoms. It also includes the opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ and his love through God’s people who are here to show grace and mercy to the stranger and foreigner, the widow and the ophan.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>In Germany today</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> there are reports of many Muslim refugees coming to Christ because of the loving ministries of the churches there. Some are being baptized and one church reports more than tripling in size due to Muslim conversions.</span></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do not make the mistake</b> of seeing refugees as a confusing faceless mass of inhumanity. They are people just like you and me. They are victims of the people we fear. But we should not fear. Because as Christians we know that greater is the One within us, than the one who is in the world.</span>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-82341841298087665552011-12-24T07:55:00.002-06:002011-12-24T07:58:33.523-06:00Merry Christmas!God's answer to all of humanity's sin, their twisted history and struggles and striving against him, and all the longings of his people: a baby, tender and mild--Yahweh in a small, adorable, delicate and vulnerable, fragile package! At the moment of conception God and humanity became one in a single Person. And in his birth the whole world order would be overthrown. Blessed Christmas! Glory to God! Peace on earth and good will to all. Come and see! -- Dave LeighDave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-90776147214475261372011-11-29T00:55:00.003-06:002011-11-29T18:26:24.883-06:00My Pastoral Advent Letter to the Armenians<i>Editor's Note: As you may know, for the past few months I've been serving in an interim pastoral capacity at the The Armenian Evangelical Church of Greater Chicagoland. Recently the leaders there asked me to write the annual Christmas letter to their mailing list. Here's your sneak peek, minus the fancy formating and stationary:</i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><strong><em><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;">For unto you is born this day...</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: right;"><strong><em><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Savior</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Luke 2:11</span></span></em></strong></div><span lang="EN" style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN"></span><br />
<span lang="EN"></span><br />
<span lang="EN"><div align="CENTER"><strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Krisdos dznav yev haydnetsav; tsezee, mezee Medz Avedis!</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">(Christ is born and revealed; Good News to you and to us)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>ear</strong> brothers and sisters,</span></span></div><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"> <b></b></span></span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lrupss0hhvI/TtR-G0hrJtI/AAAAAAAAAk8/sbjJ7zLEtec/s1600/What+Child+Is+This.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lrupss0hhvI/TtR-G0hrJtI/AAAAAAAAAk8/sbjJ7zLEtec/s200/What+Child+Is+This.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fuk2nHRZrnk/TtSAQPaNtOI/AAAAAAAAAlM/9S0-RIwfX_o/s1600/father-mother-daughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fuk2nHRZrnk/TtSAQPaNtOI/AAAAAAAAAlM/9S0-RIwfX_o/s200/father-mother-daughter.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><b>As I write this, people are being pepper-sprayed in a Walmart</b>, fighting over discounted Christmas merchandise; nations are at war; the global economy is reeling with uncertain direction; homeless families wonder where they will sleep; hardworking women and men find their jobs do not cover their needs; and even Christians find themselves at odds over petty differences that leave feelings bruised and relationships torn.<br />
<b></b><br />
<b>Does it seem strange to celebrate Christmas amidst such times? </b>Do you find it a struggle to come to church and worship God because you, yourself, are under great pressure and stress? Whether you’ve been overwhelmed by a busy life or buried in unfortunate problems, <i>I hope you’ll read this entire letter and consider my invitation to rediscover the gift God has for you in his Son and in his people this holiday season.</i><br />
<i> </i> <b></b><br />
<b>Christmas is a holiday that, like the Armenian people, is born of persecution and suffering, </b>but when properly understood and embraced fills the soul with wonder and joy. You know I’m not talking about the commercialized counterfeit that calls itself Christmas. I am talking about the birth of the Child whose family was forced to go to Bethlehem by an oppressive regime and who had to be whisked away before soldiers brought a blood bath of innocents at his birthplace. Even the religious leaders of that day, who knew enough about where to find Jesus to have joined the wise men in welcoming the Child, used their knowledge instead to tip off the murderers!<br />
</span></span><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;">A Savior From What?<br />
</span></span></span></i></b><i><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></i><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e6dd8; font-family: 'Calligraph421 BT'; font-size: large;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"> <b></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><b>Like Moses</b>, whose parents were oppressed by a tyrant who ordered parents to drown their own children, so Jesus was drawn from the same depths of his people’s oppression in order to deliver all who would follow him. Moses lifted his staff when backed against the Red Sea, opening a way through the very waters Pharaoh would have drowned him in. But Jesus put his back (bloodied from scourging) against the rough-hewn wood of Calvary’s cross, opening heaven itself for us so that all his followers (that’s you and me) might enter with him into Heaven’s Most Holy Place.<br />
<b></b><br />
<b>Christmas is about <i>this</i> gift! </b>But it is also about God’s deliverance being found in the midst of our own suffering as God overturns the world order. If you’re not used to thinking of Christmas this way, consider what Jesus’ holy mother said the nativity meant: <br />
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><dir> <dir> <i>His mercy extends to those who fear him, <br />
from generation to generation.<br />
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; <br />
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. <br />
He has brought down rulers from their thrones <br />
but has lifted up the humble. <br />
He has filled the hungry with good things <br />
but has sent the rich away empty. <br />
- Luke 1:50-53<br />
</i></dir><i> </i></dir> <b>The Gospels tell us</b> those who abandoned Christ amidst suffering and crisis are the ones who missed the most amazing opportunities to see God at work! It’s my prayer you will not be counted among them, but will draw all that much closer to your Savior--the Lord born in the manger of his people’s troubles--with us who gather each week at <i>The Armenian Evangelical Church, </i>where even now the Root of Jesse and the seeds of revival are already sprouting!<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Now is the time to discover and rediscover the wonders of Christmas </b>as they relate to the real world--your world! As the saying goes: <b><i>The Wise Still Seek Him</i></b><i></i>! We look forward to seeking him with YOU! <br />
<br />
<i>“O Come, All Ye Faithful!”</i><br />
</span></span><b><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: green; font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><div align="RIGHT">Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!</div></span><div align="RIGHT"></div></span><div align="RIGHT"></div></span><div align="RIGHT"></div></b><br />
<div align="RIGHT"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;">Pastor Dave Leigh</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"></span></span></div><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'JF Armenian Serif'; font-size: medium;"></span></span>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-80247847573926836172011-11-20T00:26:00.007-06:002011-11-20T02:21:00.690-06:00So Near, Yet So Far: Thoughts on The Kingdom of God and Politics - by Dave Leigh<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HY0ioGfJJN0/TsicD9-uc-I/AAAAAAAAAkw/5fFUjhoXxes/s1600/lonely+walk+-+photographer+Arash+Karimi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HY0ioGfJJN0/TsicD9-uc-I/AAAAAAAAAkw/5fFUjhoXxes/s200/lonely+walk+-+photographer+Arash+Karimi.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lonely Walk:<br />
photograph by<br />
Arash Karimi</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Some say</b> that my believing in global warming makes me a liberal. <em><strong>To me,</strong></em> it just makes me rational.<br />
<br />
<strong>Some say</strong> that believing abortion is usually wrong makes me a conservative. <strong><em>To me,</em></strong> it just makes me concerned about the life of another human being.<br />
<br />
<strong>Some say</strong> that if I believe a nation that possesses the technology and resources to give the best medical care possible to all its citizens should do so, then I’m a socialist.<strong><em> I say</em></strong> it just makes me compassionate and desirous of living in a just and merciful world.<br />
<br />
<strong>Some say</strong> if I believe in personal property and an economic system that rewards hard work, intellect, and resourcefulness, I am a capitalist. <strong><em>To me,</em></strong> it just makes common sense that a society will not excel without personal incentives.<br />
<br />
<strong>Why do liberals and conservatives both insist</strong> on demonizing someone for taking a single position, as if that position forces one into this or that camp? What if the principles of truth, justice, and humanity force us to come to all these conclusions? Namely, that: <br />
<ul><li>God made us caretakers of his creation and therefore doesn’t want us to pollute it into oblivion.</li>
<li>We should cherish all life, even the life of our enemies and a life developing in the womb.</li>
<li>Like the good Samaritan we, as a society, should take care of each other’s wounds and medical needs.</li>
<li>People have a right to property and to earning wealth in reward for their labor, but with this comes a responsibility to show mercy, compassion, and justice toward those who are less fortunate and/or oppressed.</li>
<li>All people have the right to be respected as human beings and to live free of hatred and oppression, regardless of things like their race, creed, nationality, ethnicity, sex, gender, familial status, or orientation.</li>
</ul><strong>In other words, what if</strong> I should desire to see my nation and all nations surrender to, and advance, the Kingdom of God? What if I truly don’t want to confess Caesar as Lord, but rather the Lord as Lord? For political parties to pick and choose between these kingdom principles--and thereby force us to do the same--do they not attempt to divide truth and pit righteousness against itself? Has reason become divided and turned against reason? Can we really select which forms of compassion we prefer, and form parties that exclude the compassion and principles of truth we’d rather ignore? <br />
<br />
<strong>The more I think about all this,</strong> the more I wonder at our political landscape and the less it surprises me that it has become dominated by craziness, paranoia, and extremes.<br />
<br />
<strong>What if the Kingdom of God</strong> is not the exclusive domain of Christendom, Judaism, Islam, or any other world religion or philosophy? What if it is neither Democrat nor Republican? What if it is not the proprietary property of any nation or human institution? What if, rather, it is has to do solely with the person and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, who bears little resemblance to those who claim to represent him?<br />
<br />
<strong>What if all people</strong> of all faiths and philosophies would come to seriously wrestle with and live out those teachings in how they establish their communities and even their governments, their personal relationships, and even the relations between nations?<br />
<br />
<strong>What if the Kingdom of God were that simple?</strong> What then would become of our political parties, our nationalisms--<em>and our craziness</em>?<br />
<br />
<strong>Hmmm. Is it possible?</strong> Could it really be that close to the noses on our faces?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><em>"As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." - Jesus (Matthew 10:7-8)</em></blockquote>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-21839835156373172292011-10-22T02:32:00.004-05:002011-10-22T11:47:22.549-05:00The Heart God Wants (Hebrews 8)<div><strong>Editor's Note:</strong> <em>The comments below are some notes for a sermon I've been working on about Hebrews 8, still in rough form. Please note, this is not the sermon itself but my preliminary reflections on my studies thus far. Consider it research and ramblings. But any feedback you may have is much desired!</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWY4Lh2o17E/TqJvgzTDoaI/AAAAAAAAAkU/uz4sFhmGbhk/s1600/stethoscope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWY4Lh2o17E/TqJvgzTDoaI/AAAAAAAAAkU/uz4sFhmGbhk/s1600/stethoscope.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>This weekend we'll focus on the spiritual heart.</strong> What does it mean to have a hardened heart? And how does Christ's superior ministry and better covenant involve a different kind of heart. <br />
<br />
Note the contrast between shadow and substance, and how the Law belongs to the shadow but the substance belongs to Christ. By knowing him, we pass from a two-dimensional knowledge about God to a fully-dynamic, interactive, relational knowledge (i.e. relationship) of (i.e. with) God in Christ. <br />
<br />
People should end up asking themselves: Do I have a hardened heart or the kind of heart the new covenant calls for? Do I know God or just about God? If they find themselves in need with regards to either of these areas, I'd like them to discover how to have what God wants for them in each of these areas--and choose to pursue that--through Christ's perfect sacrifice.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Review: </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">There has been a change of priesthood and so, a change of law (Heb 7:12).<br />
<br />
Why? Because the old law could not do the job (Heb 7:11).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The New Priesthood:</b></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
NOT BASED ON: family or tribe or nationality (Aaron, Levi, Israel)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>IS </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">BASED ON: Jesus as High Priest in the eternal order of Melchizedek ... Priesthood of all believers (no clergy/laity). He alone can fix and provide what the old law could not!<br />
<br />
With this, Jesus is now the guarantor (promiser/provider) of a BETTER covenant.<br />
<br />
OLD Cov't = temporary, passing away (lit. “about to pass away.”)<br />
<br />
NEW Cov't = eternal and coming now upon us in the new order of the KOG .<br />
<br />
OLD needed repeated sacrifices day after day because it was partial and temporal.<br />
<br />
NEW is based on Jesus full, final, permanent, and complete sacrifice--perfect and lacking nothing.<br />
<br />
And so we come now to Jesus, who is the perfect high priest who:<br />
<br />
1. Sits on the throne of majesty in heaven as king forever, and<br />
2. serves in the true sanctuary, not a replica (like Aaron's tabernacle), as priest forever!<br />
<br />
OLD = copy and shadow (2 dimensional & dark, boundaries of shadow give us parameters, not a relationship.)<br />
<br />
NEW = the real deal! Involves a</span><span style="font-size: small;"><i> BETTER covenant</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> that is AS MUCH BETTER as substance or person is better than the shadow cast. And it comes with </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>BETTER PROMISES!</i></span><br />
<em></em><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>THE PROBLEM: </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">Hebrews 8:7 - There was something wrong with the first covenant. What was it God found fault with?<br />
<br />
Answer in 8:8-9 - The </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>people</b></i></span><span style="font-size: small;">. Specifically, something was lacking in their hearts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>GOD'S SOLUTION: </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">Heb 8:10f - The new covenant changes the human participants in the covenant. God places his laws on their minds and writes them in their hearts. (According to the prophets, God will do this by placing a new spirit in our hearts!) The result is a full and actual relationship (not just one in name only or based on second-hand information): "I will BE their God; they WILL BE my people." And in v. 11 "They will </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>all</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"> KNOW me from the least to the greatest." </span><span style="font-size: small;">(Note OT use of verb “to know.”)<br />
<br />
Knowing and experiencing God on an actual relationship level is now not just the exclusive experience of patriarchs, prophets, earthly priests, or kings, but ALL will know him: young and old, great and small.<br />
<br />
How will this happen? 8:12 reveals that Christ's final and perfect sacrifice, of which we've been speaking, resulted in full forgiveness and opens for us total reconciliation with God.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>OUR QUESTION:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
So this leaves us with a huge question because it now is clear just how important the heart is to God. Since the heart is the key to experiencing the fullness of the new covenant, passing from the shadow to the substance, then what does a heart look like that God wants, and what does one look like that he rejects?<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> The heart is mentioned over 575 times in the OT and 150 times in the NT. We could spend years studying what the Bible has to say about the heart because it probably is the biggest concern God has for his people.<br />
<br />
As early as Deuteronomy, Moses was calling people to circumcise their hearts, even though the whole generation born in the wilderness were not physically circumcised for the forty years they wandered--until Joshua brought them into the land of Canaan (Josh 5). Jeremiah echoes this (Jer 4:4; 9:23-26). And Paul makes circumcision of the heart the test of a true Christian or Jew (Ro 2:25-29; Col 2:11). The symbolism is of removing the flesh, particularly dead flesh, and making ourselves open to God.<br />
<br />
The kind of heart most often objected to in the Bible is the kind we've heard the Hebrews writer admonish us against repeatedly: the hardened heart.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What does a hardened heart look like?</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
There are several NT passages outside of Hebrews that describe it for us: Mt 13:14-15, Jn 12:40, and Ac 28:27 all look to Isa 6:9-11. And here's what we find:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><u>A hardened heart results in and is therefore evidenced by these symptoms:</u></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
1. Little or no understanding of God<br />
2. Does not hear God (and therefore does not heed God)<br />
3. Does not see God or his truths<br />
4. Therefore it will not and cannot turn from its errors (repentance) and therefore,<br />
5. It prevents God from healing the person who has it. And the major area of healing is in regards to their relationship to God, but also in regards to having a healed, healthy spirituality that lives in harmony with God and his world.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>EXAMPLES OF HARD HEARTS:</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
The greatest example is Pharaoh - 17 references in Exodus to his hardened heart attempting to undermine God's plans. (cf "God hardened his heart" to "my sister got me angry.")<br />
<br />
Proverbs 28:14 - Contrasts hard heart to one that trembles before God (in reverence and awe).<br />
<br />
Daniel 5:20 - The whole chapter is a chilling example of how Nebuchadnezzar's hardened heart and now his son's similar heart, brought horrible consequences -- the fall of Babylon and the death of the king that very night. Here the hard heart is associated with pride and brings God's opposition and judgment.<br />
<br />
Zechariah 7:12 & context, esp. vv. 8-14 - Those who ignore social justice and the oppression of the poor are said to have hardened hearts. We might add to this, those who ignore the salvation needs of their lost neighbors, families, and friends.<br />
<br />
Jesus associated divorce with hardness of hearts. In other words, our relationships are affected, even broken and destroyed, when we harbor a hard heart. Hard hearts are uncircumcised hearts. And therefore they operate in the flesh rather than in the Spirit. They block God out and presume to live life without his power. Even if a person with a hard heart seeks to live a holy life, they do so in their own strength and will always end up in the opposite place from holiness. As in the case of divorce, hard hearts lead to sin, even adultery, alienation of relationships, animosity, division , fighting, complaining, bitterness. This is a brief summary based on a cursory survey of the passages that talk about the heart.<br />
<br />
When the disciples lacked understanding and faith in Mark 6:52 and 8:17 with regards to Jesus' ability to provide loaves of bread, Jesus explains their lack of faith and understanding as hardness of heart! The message here is that hard hearts prevent faith, that therefore can block God's provisions and miracles in our lives.<br />
<br />
There are many other passages we could discuss. But the last three times the NT speaks of people hardening their hearts is in the passages we studied together in the past few weeks (Heb 3:8,15; 4:7). Those passages, you will recall, hearkened back to the problems God and Moses had with the people complaining and rebelling against their leaders in the wilderness. Even though they complained about seemingly necessary things like needing food and water and security and safety, their behavior was in accord with hardened hearts rather than hearts of faith, full of the knowledge of God. And so an entire generation fell in the wilderness and none of those people, not even the ones who made it into Canaan with Joshua, found their way into God's rest.<br />
<br />
Again, we could spend a long time on this. Hopeful we can develop it more in the weeks ahead. The Bible has much to say about a heart that's right and acceptable to God. David asks God for clean heart and a new/right spirit (Ps. 51). Ezekiel speaks of the same (Ez 36:24-28) and calls us to have an undivided heart (Ez 11:19). Jesus promised that the pure in heart would see God (Mt. 5:8). The Psalms say in a couple of places that only the one with clean hands and a pure heart may enter God's sanctuary.</span><br />
<br />
<div align="LEFT"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>OUR RESPONSE:</b></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">None of us is immune from having a hardened heart. Even the most devout among us can find hardness has crept into our thoughts, our decisions, our choices, our conscious and unconscious commitments. This is not the kind of thing we can finger point about. Nor can we judge others harshly when we ourselves must remain constantly vigilant over our own hearts. (In fact, it is usually those who are most judgmental who have the hardest hearts!) So: "Guard your heart!" the book of Proverbs warns, "for everything you do flows from your heart!" (Pr 4:23).<br />
<br />
And so with what little time we have in this service, I want to beg each of us to examine our hearts. Consider if you've hardened it to God or to others in your life. You don't need special instructions or hours of discipleship to know this. You probably felt a twinge of awareness as soon as I raised the matter.<br />
<br />
Where is your heart today? Is it open? Is it laid bare before God and thirsty for his Spirit to be poured out? Is is sensitive to his voice and compliant with his leadings? Or is it eclipsed by your own fleshly attitudes and opinions, your own self-confidence and your own selfish agendas?<br />
<br />
God wants you and each of us fully immersed in his new covenant. That's the place were all sin is removed and forgotten because of the shed blood of the now risen Christ--our high priest.<br />
<br />
God wants you on his team—the Melchizedekian priesthood, interceding for others and bringing the gospel to others. But most of all, he wants a relationship with you, where in you KNOW him as he knows you. He wants you to understand, hear, see, turn and be healed. What a blessed life of peace and wholeness that will be! This is what it means to enter his rest. This is what the priesthood of Jesus, his sacrifice, and his covenant are all about!</span></div>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-54241364788292321502011-01-27T19:00:00.014-06:002011-01-27T19:00:00.588-06:00Does loving your Muslim neighbor mean sharing your church with them?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TUHuwA8-ODI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/9OCVpX0D1-M/s1600/Lords+Prayer+in+Arabic.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TUHuwA8-ODI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/9OCVpX0D1-M/s1600/Lords+Prayer+in+Arabic.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lord's Prayer in Arabic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>A <span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Christianity-Today/dp/B000060MJC?ie=UTF8&tag=davidrleigh&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Christianity Today</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=davidrleigh&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000060MJC" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span> article, entitled <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/whyopenchurchmuslims.html">Why We Opened Our Church to Muslims</a>, tracks a debate among Christians about sharing their church facilities with Muslim groups needing meeting spaces. Steve Stone says: <blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Jason Hood raised issues about inviting Muslims to share worship space with Christians. Hood, who is a scholar in residence at Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, referred to our flock Heartsong and me. While I couldn't tell exactly where Hood stood on the issue, it seemed that he had decided that our decision to allow Muslims from the Memphis Islamic Center (MIC) to use our Celebration Center for Ramadan prayers was made off hand and without much, if any, theological reflection. Nothing could be further from the truth. </blockquote><br />
Stone then goes on to cite the church's justification for its actions and says:<br />
<blockquote>As a Jesus-following tribe we could not be more evangelical and exclusivist when it comes to Jesus. We are 21st century Jesus freaks, and we fly that flag on T-shirts which many of us wore as we greeted the Muslims who came for Ramadan prayers each night. All we have ever done or will ever do is a witness to Jesus—his teaching, his life, his death and resurrection, and the presence of the Holy Spirit with, in, and through us.</blockquote><blockquote>Our Muslim brothers and sisters know this about us because we always speak of Jesus and our love for him, and our love for them because of him, every time we are with them. There was no trading of theologies. They are Muslims; we are Jesus followers; both of us are clear about that. Jesus said people would know we are his disciples by our love for one another, and that is just what is happening with the dear and gracious people of the MIC. They recognize us as people who have been with Jesus.</blockquote><strong>What do you think of Christians opening their church buildings for use by their Muslim neighbors? </strong><br />
<br />
After <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/januaryweb-only/whyopenchurchmuslims.html">reading the article</a>, what do you think of the church's justifications for its decision?Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-22862637005993879502010-11-08T15:11:00.001-06:002010-11-08T21:35:38.760-06:00Schaeffer's Perspective on Criticism & Attacks<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=davidrleigh&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0891074090" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=davidrleigh&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0891074090" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">G</span>od willing, I will push and politick no more</strong>.... The mountains are too high, history is too long, and eternity is longer. God is too great, man is too small, there are many of God's dear children, and all around there are men going to Hell. And if one man and a small group of men do not approve of where I am and what I do, does it prove I've missed success? No; only one thing will determine that—whether this day I'm where the Lord of lords and King of kings wants me to be. To win as many as I can, to help strengthen the hands of those who fight unbelief in the historical setting in which they are placed, to know the reality of 'the Lord is my song,' and to be committed to the Holy Spirit—that is what I wish I could know to be the reality of each day as it closes."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"> - Francis A. Schaeffer, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Francis-Schaeffer-Spiritual-Christian/dp/0891074090?ie=UTF8&tag=davidrleigh&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"><em>Letters of Francis A. Schaeffer: Spiritual Reality in the Personal Christian Life</em></a>, ed. with intro. by Lane T. Dennis (Westchester, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1985), p. 39.</div>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-82844997285381463252010-10-30T03:20:00.001-05:002010-10-30T03:22:33.819-05:00Presupposing: The Apologetics of Francis Schaeffer and Cornelius Van Til<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>midst all the strange events of the 1960s</strong>—flower children, hippies, marches for peace and marches for Jesus—when college students were challenging the establishment, the Vietnam War, racism, and conventional social structures, an even stranger thing happened. A squeaky-voiced little man in knickers, who in 1948 felt called of God to become a missionary and to move with his family to a lonely chalet in the Swiss Alps (knowing not a word of local language), began to attract young intellectuals from all over the world.<br>
<br>
<strong>Francis A. Schaeffer</strong> (1912-1984) had written no books or popular articles in those early years.1 He made no broadcasts or tape-recorded messages in his early ministry.2 Yet by the end of the decade Schaeffer's remote chalet had become a place of refuge for young people searching for answers to life's deepest and most troubling questions. This phenomenon would come to be known world-wide as “L'Abri” (French for “the shelter”).<br>
<br>
Rev. Louis Gifford Parkhurst, Jr., who served the Schaeffers as their pastor in the last years of Dr. Schaeffer's life, describes L'Abri's beginning:<br>
<blockquote>L'Abri began in a very real way with Priscilla [Schaeffer's daughter] on the weekend of May 6, 1955. She brought home from college a girl who had many questions, and so began the flow of people. L'Abri came to be a spiritual “shelter” for people with real and honest questions. God's hand was so obviously in the work that Dr. Schaeffer courageously wrote his mission board on June 5 and resigned. He asked that all salary be cut off immediately, and he told of the beginning of L'Abri Fellowship. The Schaeffers had had the reality of the existence of God demonstrated to them in real ways up to that point, and L'Abri was begun simply from a desire “to demonstrate the existence of God by our lives and our work.” 3</blockquote><strong>From this humble beginning Schaeffer's work began to grow</strong> and to attract attention. In the late 1960s Schaeffer began to speak at American colleges like Wheaton in 1967 and, later, at Westminster Seminary. By the end of the decade and the beginning of the next Schaeffer was speaking at Harvard (1968), Princeton (1972) and Yale (1973) as well as some prestigious universities in Europe and Asia.4 It was during this same period that Schaeffer began to publish his lectures in book form.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/presupposing-apologetics-of-francis.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-55768118488246096642010-10-28T10:30:00.125-05:002010-10-28T10:30:00.226-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 11/11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMjwxtOGeJI/AAAAAAAAAIk/FgmMri8A5ds/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMjwxtOGeJI/AAAAAAAAAIk/FgmMri8A5ds/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><em>and</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>What's A </strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Search Committee</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>To Do?</strong></span></div><br>
<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>e began</strong> this series with a hypothetical pastoral search committee faced with a dilemma. They need a pastor but all the applicants are women!<br>
<br>
After our brief survey of the key texts that are involved in the complementarian-egalitarian debate, what should our search committee now conclude? <br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_28.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-50487997309794135442010-10-27T11:30:00.086-05:002010-10-27T11:30:00.798-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMe8C70l0FI/AAAAAAAAAIg/apeqYnSHlak/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMe8C70l0FI/AAAAAAAAAIg/apeqYnSHlak/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a></div><br>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>WOMEN ELDERS <br>
AND OUR <br>
MALE-BIASED <br>
TRANSLATIONS</strong></span><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">P</span>aul's instructions for choosing elders/overseers</strong> fuel our case that, contrary to traditionalist interpreters, Paul not only saw women as vital participating church members, but that he actually had both genders in mind for the jobs of pastors, elders, and deacons.<br>
<br>
We looked at 1 Timothy 2 in the last few blogs. In the next chapter, 1 Timothy 3, and in Titus 1:5-2:5, Paul gives us lists of qualifications that most churches today include in their pastoral selection process.<br>
<br>
After asserting in 1 Timothy 2 that women will be <a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_25.html">restored by faith and faithfulness</a>, he goes on in chapter 3 to say, literally, "Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task." It does not say, as some translations have it, "If any man desires" but it says literally, "if anyone" does.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_27.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-11073378162212995332010-10-25T23:30:00.075-05:002010-10-27T00:34:39.772-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 9<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMUPVjfHgrI/AAAAAAAAAIY/CblCyVlMips/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMUPVjfHgrI/AAAAAAAAAIY/CblCyVlMips/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>THE</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>SPEAKING ROLE</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>OF WOMEN</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong> IN THE</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>NEW TESTAMENT</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>CHURCHES - 2c</strong></span></div><br>
<strong>From an Obscure Word to an Interpretation that Illumines the Whole Chapter</strong> <br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>o far, </strong>we've looked at several possible ways to interpret Paul's statement in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%202:12-14%20&version=TNIV">1 Timothy 2:12-14</a> that many take as restricting women from teaching or speaking in church. All of these proposed interpretations make sense and show that an anti-woman rendering of this passage is unnecessary. <br>
<br>
But there is another scenario that not only explains Paul's meaning in this verse but also brings the whole chapter together into a meaningful whole. (Remember that <a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_23.html">when we looked at the entirety of chapter two</a>, we found it riddled with problematic statements.)<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_25.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-1378737736781544652010-10-25T08:30:00.025-05:002010-10-30T03:24:53.108-05:00Who Is My Neighbor?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMUntImzPuI/AAAAAAAAAIc/ObRAKNwBRWc/s1600/Lords+Prayer+in+Arabic.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TMUntImzPuI/AAAAAAAAAIc/ObRAKNwBRWc/s200/Lords+Prayer+in+Arabic.bmp" width="200"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lord's Prayer in Arabic</td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>How far we've come....</strong><br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he American backlash against Muslims</strong> since 9-11-2001 has infected many Christians' attitudes toward the people of Islamic faith. There was a time when the Evangelical's opinion of Muslims was simply that they needed to be missionized and evangelized. We recognized the danger of some radical elements, but coercive and violent forms of persuasion were not commonly given respect in serious consideration of how to interact with Muslims. <br>
<br>
<strong>Rather,</strong> we thought of sending missionaries and teams of evangelists, either covertly or overtly, to convey <strong><em>the unconditional love of Jesus</em></strong>. And we did so recognizing the dangers.<br>
<br>
<strong>Lately, that love has not seemed so unconditional,</strong> at least if you gauge it by the eroding Evangelical-American attitudes that seem to becoming more hostile and widespread daily.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/who-is-my-neighbor.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-88858193191876673502010-10-24T23:30:00.005-05:002010-10-24T23:30:00.176-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL-5Z7egkKI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/ZTEg7VvTYf0/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL-5Z7egkKI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/ZTEg7VvTYf0/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">THE</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">SPEAKING ROLE</span></div><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">OF WOMEN</span><br>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">IN THE</span><br>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">NEW TESTAMENT</span><br>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">CHURCHES - 2b</span><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>e continue our discussion of 1 Timothy 2:11-14</strong> by noting that there are several plausible explanations for Paul's words, other than taking them to mean women cannot lead or teach men. The fact that other explanations are possible should signal for us the inadvisability of using this passage to dogmatically restrict woman for exercising their Spirit-given gifts for the edification both sexes in the church.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_24.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-5434987606891361592010-10-23T23:30:00.013-05:002010-10-30T03:26:03.037-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 7<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL-sR6pGLmI/AAAAAAAAAIM/gAdDhqz39Rw/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="163" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL-sR6pGLmI/AAAAAAAAAIM/gAdDhqz39Rw/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a><br>
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>THE</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>SPEAKING ROLE</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>OF WOMEN</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>IN THE</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>NEW TESTAMENT</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>CHURCHES - 2a</strong></span></div><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">The Issue at Ephesus<br>
And the Infamous 1 Timothy 2:11-14</span></strong><br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">S</span>o what's the deal</strong> with Paul's comments about keeping women silent and restricting them from teaching in 1 Timothy 2:11?<br>
<br>
Doesn't he say a woman should learn in silence?<br>
<br>
Well, the word used for silence, <em>hesuchia</em>, more literally means "quietness." When Paul instructs women to learn with quietness and submission, he is simply telling them to be cooperative. Some scholars point out that just by commanding women <em>to be taught</em>, Paul was advocating a significant liberating advance for that culture from the perspective of both Jews and Greeks. It is as though he said, "Let the women go to seminary and get their M.Div. degrees." It may be that the women Paul refers to did not even know how to behave in such a context.<br>
<br>
Why then, our hypothetical search committee asks, does Paul explicitly say in 1 Timothy 2:12-14 that women may not teach or hold authority over men?<br>
<blockquote>"I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent [<em>hesuchia: quiet</em>]. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner." (1Tm 2:12-14)</blockquote>This seems to contradict all we have been saying -- and all the New Testament is saying -- about women and their total equality with believing men as priests. But just how explicit is Paul in this chapter?<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_23.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-43906710106109201432010-10-22T23:30:00.127-05:002010-10-22T23:30:00.196-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL52znRaytI/AAAAAAAAAIE/TSBLG1NS9KY/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="163" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL52znRaytI/AAAAAAAAAIE/TSBLG1NS9KY/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a></div><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>THE <br>
SPEAKING ROLE <br>
OF WOMEN <br>
IN THE </strong></span><br>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>NEW TESTAMENT</strong></span><br>
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>CHURCHES - 1</strong></span><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>e began this series</strong> with a hypothetical pastoral search committee considering applicants, all of whom turn out to be women. We can imagine that after hearing the evidence we've considered so far, someone would raise this objection: <br>
<blockquote>"Why does Paul then instruct women to remain silent in 1 Corinthians 14:34-36 and 1 Timothy 2:11?"</blockquote><strong>There are a number of possibilities</strong> that would reasonably explain Paul's comments.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_22.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-48076369415319250142010-10-22T07:00:00.057-05:002013-11-07T13:00:18.430-06:00W-W-I-D (What Would Isa DO?) - When One in Four People Call Jesus Isa<div style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span>id you know</strong> there are <a href="http://jaq.org/blog/2009/10/10/all-passages-about-jesus-in-the-quran/" target="_blank">nearly 50 references</a> to Jesus Christ in the Quran?<br>
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<strong>Ever wonder</strong> what the Quran actually says about him?<br>
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You'll find each reference presented with many other helpful resources on the Tools and Resources page of <a href="http://www.jesusandthequran.org/" target="_blank">JesusAndTheQuran.org</a>. <br>
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JAQ is an organization committed to helping Christians build a constructive dialogue with their Muslim neighbors and friends. It asks a simple and profound question:<br>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;">"If one in four people on the planet considers himself/herself a Muslim, shouldn’t we learn how to talk with them well?"</span></blockquote>
In an age when 1400 years of tensions between Christians and Muslims has come to a constant simmer at near-boil, immanent-spill capacity, isn't it time that we all take the initiative to really understand each other and better communicate the faith we hold so dear to our hearts?<br>
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<strong>How would <u>you</u> share the gospel lovingly with a Muslim?</strong><br>
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<strong>Consider the compassionate and creative example</strong> in this video of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWq2kS85mw8&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">JAQ member Jon Stallsmith</a>.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/w-w-i-d-what-would-isa-do-when-one-in.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-10818333664510129872010-10-21T23:30:00.000-05:002010-10-21T23:30:00.550-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL33TVcZzdI/AAAAAAAAAIA/UtXFL-4-EwA/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="163" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL33TVcZzdI/AAAAAAAAAIA/UtXFL-4-EwA/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br>
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</div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>The nature of headship - 2</strong></span></div><br>
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<em>Yesterday we looked at Paul's use of kephale-head in 1 Corinthians 11. Today, let's take a look at his use in Ephesians 5.</em><br>
<blockquote>"For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior." (Eph 5:23)</blockquote><strong>Because the context</strong> of this verse mentions submission, some interpreters are quick to infer that headship involves an authority relationship. A careful examination of the full context, however, reveals that this simply is not so. <br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_21.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-21471321008634432172010-10-21T15:07:00.011-05:002010-10-21T15:56:34.407-05:00Dave's Recommended Books<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Build your library! Enrich your faith! And each purchase supports this blog!</strong></span><br>
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Here is a <a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/p/daves-recommended-books.html">list of books and authors</a> that have influenced me over the years. Perhaps you'll enjoy them too!<br>
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But if I had to narrow that list down to ten, I guess it would be these:<br>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My Top 10 Short List:</span></strong><br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/daves-recommended-books.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-61683727139355369522010-10-20T23:30:00.002-05:002014-02-08T14:25:56.093-06:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The nature of headship - 1</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>f Jesus taught</strong> that we, his disciples, are <strong><em>not</em></strong> to exercise authority over one another (Mt 20:25-26), and if there is <strong><em>no longer</em></strong> male or female in Christ as far as status (Gal 3:27-28),<em> then there is a serious problem with any interpretation that gives men status or authority over women in the church based on sex/gender differences.</em><br>
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<strong>Often the idea of "headship" is invoked</strong> by complementarians who want to do this. And while nowhere in the New Testament are leaders called "heads" in Christ's body, there are two key passages where men are called "heads" (<em>kephale</em>) to their wives. Today we will look at Paul's use of this word in 1 Corinthians 11, then we'll progress to the other uses in our subsequent blogs.<br>
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<strong>A passage very often</strong> <strong>cited</strong> to support this form of sex-based hierarchy and authoritarianism is:<br>
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"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." (1Co 11:3)</blockquote>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_20.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-9856269391911893942010-10-20T12:30:00.033-05:002010-10-21T11:15:08.604-05:00Confessions of an Idolator<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL6um92FzKI/AAAAAAAAAII/cdil_Pdi1zI/s1600/Artemis-ie-Diana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TL6um92FzKI/AAAAAAAAAII/cdil_Pdi1zI/s320/Artemis-ie-Diana.jpg" width="240"></a></div><br>
<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he belief that an idol holds power</strong> "over me" is not attractive. Nor is there any appeal in obligations to serve it.<br>
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<strong>The belief that an idol imparts power to me</strong>, and the idea of serving and appeasing a god so that I can manipulate and control it, now THAT has potential!<br>
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<strong>Whether an idol is made of stone or flesh or chrome and leather</strong>, we humans have no need or hunger to worship it. We lust instead for something to manipulate that will empower us to fulfill all our pleasures.<br>
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<strong>When it comes to worship, after all, we prefer to BE worshiped</strong> or to worship ourselves. It's against our fallen nature to truly and selflessly want to render thankless service to another. <br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/confessions-of-idolator.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-67785138876430951252010-10-19T23:46:00.000-05:002010-10-19T23:46:24.343-05:00The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TLy2BPggqaI/AAAAAAAAAH0/o9CogSrW5Gk/s1600/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="163" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TLy2BPggqaI/AAAAAAAAAH0/o9CogSrW5Gk/s200/6_mother-father-and-child.jpg" width="200"></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br>
</div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES <br>
RELEVANT TO THE <br>
STATUS OF WOMEN <br>
IN CHRIST'S CHURCH</strong></span></div><br>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>wo key elements required to understand</strong> the equal status of women with men are often missed by those who interpret the Bible to exclude women from ministry and church leadership. They are: <br>
<blockquote>1. The nature of authority in the church, and <br>
2. The nature of headship. </blockquote>We will deal with the nature of authority today and the nature of headship tomorrow.<br>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">The nature of authority in the church</span></strong><br>
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<strong>The first mistake</strong> many of us make is to assume that leadership positions in the church are positions that hold authority by virtue of their office. The truth is that leadership and authority are always earned. Spiritual authority is something that comes as one's leadership abilities, wisdom, and character come to be recognized by others. <br>
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As for authoritarian leadership, Jesus rejected that outright. Recall:<br>
<blockquote>Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials <em>exercise authority</em> over them. <em>Not so with you.</em> Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant...." (Mt 20:25-26, emphasis added).</blockquote><a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/full-stature-of-women-as-servants-of_19.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-83803689371191880092010-10-19T13:15:00.004-05:002014-02-08T14:43:09.828-06:00How Divine Is Jesus?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>f you asked</strong> an Evangelical Christian, as late as the mid-1970s, if Jesus was equal to the Father in all respects, or if he was somehow less or subordinate to the Father in authority or rank, the unanimous reply would have been that each member of the Trinity is equal in all respects, and that any suggestion of hierarchy or subordination within the Trinity is an error likened to Arianism and Jehovah Witness teaching.<br>
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<strong>But something has happened</strong> under the "big tent" of Evangelicalism. And that answer is no longer unanimous.<br>
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I cut my theological teeth in the late 1970s studying the orthodox view of the Trinity as a reply to the cults. Resources like Walter Martin's <em>Kingdom of the Cults</em>, and the <em>Spiritual Counterfeits Project Newsletter</em>, helped me shape my understanding of Jesus' full and complete deity. My studies since then, as a theology student, pastor, and Christ-follower have deepened my love for the Trinity doctrine.<br>
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It seems that since the late 1970s a group of Christians with a social agenda aimed at imposing gender-based hierarchy in the family, church, and society have found it convenient and expeditious to harvest examples from church history that cast some doubt on the certainty we Evangelicals once had with regards to the total non-hierarchal and equal standings of each Person in the Trinity.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-divine-is-jesus.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341015080898492602.post-91488200225843447372010-10-19T12:00:00.007-05:002010-10-19T14:06:33.962-05:00God In Search of Us - Part 2 of 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TLyw5nd4KLI/AAAAAAAAAHw/cUiHbfjGNVI/s1600/Photo_081706_001+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1KSJlNQ1qEY/TLyw5nd4KLI/AAAAAAAAAHw/cUiHbfjGNVI/s200/Photo_081706_001+(1).jpg" width="200"></a></div><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>hen asked how he knew</strong> the Bible was God's Word, Karl Barth, the great theologian and scholar put it this way: <br>
<blockquote>“You might as well as a child how she knows her mother's voice is her mother's!”</blockquote><strong>Something inside us just knows the voice of Yahweh</strong> who birthed us into being. Somehow, it is a self-evident thing. This is a wondrous thing that only faith can appreciate.<br>
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<strong>Imagine you and I are sitting across the table from each other.</strong> We see each other, feel each other's warmth, hear each other's voices, and laugh at each other's jokes. Would it make any sense at that point to entertain arguments claiming that either one of us did not really exist? Certainly on a playing field of absolute skepticism such arguments might exhaust us without end. But if we just relax and admit what we know, we each know the other is present and real. The same is so with the soul's knowledge of Yahweh. His reality is evident within us and all around us, as he is everywhere present. <br>
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<strong>Sometimes we have to get in touch with ourselves</strong> to realize this. Self-awareness can be a rare commodity today. And if you doubt this, you are probably among those most guilty of it. It usually takes a self-encounter before someone can step outside the mental maze we get ourselves into as if chasing our own tail. When we come to this self-encounter we discover that it has only been our desire to push away Yahweh and to rule ourselves without him, that we came to block him out of our consciousness by conscious or unconscious choice. But deep down our soul knows. Make no mistake about that. And our heart bears witness to it when it hears his voice and words. It tells us what our mind has resisted: that we have come home, that this is our Source of Being and the One in whom we live and move and have our being.<br>
<a href="http://thejesusagenda.blogspot.com/2010/10/god-in-search-of-us-part-2-of-2.html#more">Read more »</a>Dave Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07847179298782279430noreply@blogger.com0