1) The document discusses a famous violinist, Joshua Bell, who performed anonymously in a Washington D.C. subway station. Despite his immense talent, playing a $3.5 million violin, he received only $32 in donations from 27 of the over 1000 commuters who passed by.
2) The pastor draws parallels between this story and Christianity. Just as commuters ignored Bell's beautiful music, Christians can overlook or superficially regard Christ. The pastor urges listening deeply to Christ rather than adding other requirements to salvation or regarding others and Christ only by outward appearances.
3) Good theology, understanding Christ as fully sufficient for salvation, leads to good worship, while poor theology distorts the gospel
Who Is The Messiah? Proved From The Ancient ScripturesChuck Thompson
Who Is The Messiah? Proved From The Ancient Scriptures. The real meat. Christianity at work. Great resource information. Gloucester, Virginia Links and News website. Incredible.
After the disciples have spent so much time with Jesus watching him heal and teach and forgive it seems that Jesus feels it is time to give his disciples a ‘midterm test.’ He wants to see what they have learned after spending so much time watching him minister to others. But before he asks them the one and only question on the test, he has them hike 25 miles to the region of Caesarea Philippi.
Why the long hike? What is the one question he asks them….and asks us? And how would you answer?
Making disciples who make disciples is at the heart of the call to follow Christ. Here are some notes on the gap between our intentions and practice (adapted from Greg Ogden's book, Transforming Discipleship).
Kleptomaniac: Who's Really Robbing God Anyway Tithing StudyDr. Frank Chase Jr
This book started out as a 117-page power point study. The research for this book became a historical and biblical analysis of modern so-called monetary tithe verses the authentic and approved biblical agricultural and livestock tithe. Journey through the power point presentation and then read more exhaustive 400 page book analysis of tithing system and how it got commuted to cold hard cash. The truth is shocking and will inform you of the truth that was hidden in plain sight. Check out the Tithe No More blog at http://tithenomore.com
Who Is The Messiah? Proved From The Ancient ScripturesChuck Thompson
Who Is The Messiah? Proved From The Ancient Scriptures. The real meat. Christianity at work. Great resource information. Gloucester, Virginia Links and News website. Incredible.
After the disciples have spent so much time with Jesus watching him heal and teach and forgive it seems that Jesus feels it is time to give his disciples a ‘midterm test.’ He wants to see what they have learned after spending so much time watching him minister to others. But before he asks them the one and only question on the test, he has them hike 25 miles to the region of Caesarea Philippi.
Why the long hike? What is the one question he asks them….and asks us? And how would you answer?
Making disciples who make disciples is at the heart of the call to follow Christ. Here are some notes on the gap between our intentions and practice (adapted from Greg Ogden's book, Transforming Discipleship).
Kleptomaniac: Who's Really Robbing God Anyway Tithing StudyDr. Frank Chase Jr
This book started out as a 117-page power point study. The research for this book became a historical and biblical analysis of modern so-called monetary tithe verses the authentic and approved biblical agricultural and livestock tithe. Journey through the power point presentation and then read more exhaustive 400 page book analysis of tithing system and how it got commuted to cold hard cash. The truth is shocking and will inform you of the truth that was hidden in plain sight. Check out the Tithe No More blog at http://tithenomore.com
What is giving? What is tithing? The answer to that question depends on how you interpret the Bible. In this presentation Dr. Frank Chase Jr discusses the giving practices Hebrew/Jewish perspective. The slides also give reasons why pastors should work a full-time job because Apostle Paul was a tent maker who worked while spreading the Gospel. Many of the historical documents cautioned against gospel workers not to be dependent and to avoid becoming a public charge by making a living at something other than through preaching and teaching the Bible. A man who preaches and refuses to work will often resort to relying on charity by becomming a public charge which Paul frowned upon. In the presentation, you will see a part of my research for my book, Kleptomaniac: Who's Really Robbing God Anyway? I did not actually finish the work because I started writing the book, which is now published. THe book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Book Baby. My website is http://www.fcpublishing.com/about_kleptomaniac
This is a study of Jesus being Paul's example. Paul said follow me and imitate me just as I follow and imitate Jesus. They both become examples for us to imitate.
New Testament Survey no.18: Paul - His Prison LettersClive Ashby
As part of the New Testament Survey Course, Session 18 provides an overview of the four letters Paul wrote during his imprisonment in Rome. Though it is likely a person assisting Paul wrote these letters given that he was chained continually to one of the Roman guards for these 2 1/2 years. (Course taught at Harare Theological College - 2016).
Hymns and Songs that Inspire: Amazing GraceJeff Gissing
You cannot be united to Christ in salvation unless and until God’s amazing grace has first interrupted your life, gotten your attention, taught you to fear, convicted you of your sin and need for a savior, and brought you to the place where you acknowledge your need for Jesus and cry out with Newton: “mercy!”
What is giving? What is tithing? The answer to that question depends on how you interpret the Bible. In this presentation Dr. Frank Chase Jr discusses the giving practices Hebrew/Jewish perspective. The slides also give reasons why pastors should work a full-time job because Apostle Paul was a tent maker who worked while spreading the Gospel. Many of the historical documents cautioned against gospel workers not to be dependent and to avoid becoming a public charge by making a living at something other than through preaching and teaching the Bible. A man who preaches and refuses to work will often resort to relying on charity by becomming a public charge which Paul frowned upon. In the presentation, you will see a part of my research for my book, Kleptomaniac: Who's Really Robbing God Anyway? I did not actually finish the work because I started writing the book, which is now published. THe book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Book Baby. My website is http://www.fcpublishing.com/about_kleptomaniac
This is a study of Jesus being Paul's example. Paul said follow me and imitate me just as I follow and imitate Jesus. They both become examples for us to imitate.
New Testament Survey no.18: Paul - His Prison LettersClive Ashby
As part of the New Testament Survey Course, Session 18 provides an overview of the four letters Paul wrote during his imprisonment in Rome. Though it is likely a person assisting Paul wrote these letters given that he was chained continually to one of the Roman guards for these 2 1/2 years. (Course taught at Harare Theological College - 2016).
Hymns and Songs that Inspire: Amazing GraceJeff Gissing
You cannot be united to Christ in salvation unless and until God’s amazing grace has first interrupted your life, gotten your attention, taught you to fear, convicted you of your sin and need for a savior, and brought you to the place where you acknowledge your need for Jesus and cry out with Newton: “mercy!”
The Way to Build Fellowship
-Zac Poonen
INDEX
*. Prologue
1. One Body - the Basis of Fellowship
2. Growing in love
3. Equal members
4. Helping one another
5. Submission and leadership
6. Power through unity
CFC, Christian Fellowship Church, Christian Fellowship Center, Christian Fellowship Centre
1. THE INDWELLING SPIRIT Based on I Cor. 3:10-16
2. THE CHRISTIAN AND SUICIDE Based on I Cor. 3:1-17
3. THE CHRISTIAN AND DIVORCE Based on I Cor. 7:8-16
4. DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE PART 2 Based on I Cor. 7:10-16
5. THE IDEAL AND THE REAL Based on I Cor. 7:12-16
6. THE PAULINE PRIVILEGE Based on I Cor. 7:12-16
7. THE THIRD CHOICE Based on I Cor. 7:17-24
8. SINS AND MISTAKES Based on I Cor. 7:25-31
9. DEVOTION TO THE LORD Based on I Cor. 7:32-40
10. LOVE MAKES THE SIMPLE COMPLEX I COR. 8
11. FROM START TO FINISH Based on I Cor. 9:24 to 10:12
12. AN ACT OF OBEDIENCE Based on I Cor. 10:1-5
13. THE CONCEPTION OF COMMUNION CLARIFIED I Cor. 11:17-34
14. A MOVING EXPERIENCE Based on I Cor. 11:23-26
15. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING INFORMED Based on I Cor. 12:1-11
16. TEST OF THE TONGUE Based on I Cor. 12:1-3
17. GIFTS UNLIMITED Based on I Cor. 12:4f
18. GIFTS FOR THE COMMON GOOD Based on I Cor. 12:7f
19. THE GIFT OF WISDOM Based on I Cor. 12:8f
20. THE GIFT OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE Based on I Cor. 12:8f
21. LAYING THE GROUNDWORK Based on I Cor. 15:5-11
22. THE BURIAL OF HIS BODY Based on I Cor. 15:1-11
23. THE GOSPEL AND THE BODY Based on I Cor. 15:1-12
24. THE CONTEMPORARY CHRIST Based on I Cor. 15:12-28
25. THE IMMORTALITY OF PERSONALITY based on I Cor. 15:35-49
26. BODY LOVE Based on I Cor. 15:35-49
27. THE RESURRECTION BODY based on I Cor.15:35-49
28. THE MYSTERY OF DEATH Based on I Cor. 15:51-58
29. WORK AND WAGES Based on I Cor. 15:58
1. THE
Jesus was sure, without me you can do nothingGLENN PEASE
This is a study of Jesus being sure in saying, without me you can do nothing. Nothing that matters for eternity can be achieved without Jesus involved.
This is a study of how Jesus is the greatest changer of hearts and lives in all of history. He makes people change and become what God wants His children to be.
This is a study of Jesus being omnipresent. He promised to be with His church in all the world. He is everywhere present with everyone, for like HIs Father He is omnipresent.
I JOHN
1. THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE Based on I John 1:1-2
2. FELLOWSHIP IS FUNDAMENTAL Based on I John 1:3
3. GOD IS LIGHT Based on I John 1:5
4. TRUTH IN ACTION Based on I John 1:6
5. WALKING IN THE LIGHT Based on I John 1:7
6. CHRISTIAN CONFESSION Based on I John 1:8-9
7. PERFECTION Based on I John 2:1
8. WE HAVE A LAWYER Based on I John 2:1b
9. BLESSED ASSURANCE Based on I John 2:3
10. HATRED HIT HARD Based on I John 2:7f
11. LOVE'S LIMITATIONS Based on I John 2:15-17
12. WORDS OF WARNING Based on I John 2:18f
13. SATANIC SEPARATISM Based on I John 2:19f
14. THE WINNING WIND Based on I John 2:20
15. CHILDREN OF GOD Based on I John 3:1-2
16. GOD IS LOVE Based on I John 4:7-12
17. THE CONQUEST OF THE WORLD Based on I John 5:4
18. PROFOUND SIMPLICITY Based on I John 5:7
II JOHN
1. THE MYSTERY WOMAN
2. A LETTER TO A LADY
III JOHN
1. THE FEELING FINE Based on III John 1-8
In today's class (March 22) we are beginning in our study of the DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY.
When is the last time most Christians have studied the Trinity and understand why it is so essential to our Christian faith? The goal in the next few weeks is to better understand and be able as a group to articulate this which comes under our study of the Doctrine of God.
Jesus was the sender of the gospel to allGLENN PEASE
This is a study of the Great Commission of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark with comparisons with other texts. Jesus sent his disciples into all the world to bring the good news of salvation.
I posted an earlier version of these slide, which was not the version used at the recent small group event. Here are the accurate slides as presented at the small group event.
Even when it's hard to see God in our story, God is the author who will faithfully write the ending. Sermon preached at the five weekend services of First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem on September 12-13, 2015.
The church is the mother of believers--the God-ordained school of virtue in which Christian disciples learn how to desire the good and to reject what is false. Romans 12:9ff outlines covenant life in the congregation.
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way
SBs – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
Homily: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday 2024.docxJames Knipper
Countless volumes have been written trying to explain the mystery of three persons in one true God, leaving us to resort to metaphors such as the three-leaf clover to try to comprehend the Divinity. Many of us grew up with the quintessential pyramidal Trinity structure of God at the top and Son and Spirit in opposite corners. But what if we looked at this ‘mystery’ from a different perspective? What if we shifted our language of God as a being towards the concept of God as love? What if we focused more on the relationship within the Trinity versus the persons of the Trinity? What if stopped looking at God as a noun…and instead considered God as a verb? Check it out…
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
1. 1
“Appearances can be Deceiving”
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 | Colossians 1:15-20
16
Fromnowon, therefore,we regardnoone accordingto the flesh.Eventhoughwe once regarded
Christaccordingto the flesh,we regardhimthusnolonger. 17
Therefore,if anyoneisinChrist,he isa
newcreation.The oldhas passedaway;behold,the new hascome.
2 Cor. 5:16-17
15
He isthe image of the invisible God,the firstbornof all creation. 16
Forby himall thingswere created,
inheavenandon earth,visible andinvisible,whetherthronesordominionsorrulersorauthorities—all
thingswere createdthroughhimandfor him. 17
And he isbefore all things,andinhimall thingshold
together. 18
Andhe is the headof the body, the church.He is the beginning,the firstbornfromthe dead,
that ineverythinghe mightbe preeminent. 19
Forinhimall the fullnessof Godwaspleasedtodwell,
20
and throughhimto reconcile tohimselfall things,whetheronearthor inheaven,makingpeace by
the bloodof hiscross.
Col. 1:15-20
On January 12, 2007 commuters in a Washington, DC subway station were treated
to a free, unpublicized concert by violinist Joshua Bell.
You may have seen the video online.
He played for 45 minutes on his 1713 Stradivarius violin, which is reported he
bought for $3.5 million.
Bell’s performance was part of a study to figure out how we humans make
decisions when we’re confronted with something of immense beauty, impeccable skill, all
in a context where we’re not expecting it.
Subway commuters are all familiar with musicians playing on the platform—it’s part
of the cityscape. Most of the time traveler tune out the beauty.
Some may hear it and then immediately move on, ready to get where they’re
going.
Some may throw a buck into the violin case either out of guilt or because they
appreciate the snapshot of beauty in the bleakness of the subway.
Does the calculation change if the musicianis really good…or really bad?
2. 2
What is the moral mathematics of the moment?
Just days before this impromptu performance, Bell and his Stradivarius had played
to a full house at Boston’s Symphony Hall were decent seats cost $100.
Bell’s subway performance elicited $32.17 in donations, which were contributed by a
mere 27 of the more than one thousand commuters who passed him.
Only seven people stopped to listen to his performance, of them one alone
recognized him as a famous violinist.
Appearances can be deceiving, can’t they? No one expects a virtuoso to perform on
a Stradivarius in a subway station. It doesn’t make sense. Why do it?
Do you see Christ, truly perceive him as he is? Or is Christ tucked away in the margins of your life playing
beautiful music that you’re ignoring?
As Paul continues his letter to the Corinthian church, he points out to them that
they are like commuters hurrying through the station and missing the performance.
Their understanding is superficial, it’s shallow, they’re looking only at the surface,
and not going deeper.
Is that you? Is that us?
Are we like the Christians in Colosse? They received a letter from Paul in which he
bursts into the beautiful doxology we read just now. Why did he do so?
Paul’s doxology corrects the Colossians’ poor theology—the heart of their problem
is what is often at the heart of our own problems: an inadequate view of the person and
work of Christ.
The Colossians faced the temptation that each of us faces: the voices, the
influences, the forces that tell us that we need Jesus + something else in order to be made
right with God.
3. 3
The truth of the Gospel is that salvation is found in Christ alone and in Christ only.
The atoning death of Christ is the only means by which men and women can be
reconciled with God. According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, ordinarily that
happens as people hear the gospel communicated, receive it, and turn—by the Spirit’s
empowering—to embrace Christ as Lord.
That can happen through no other name and by no other means. Lose this, and the
church loses its identity. It’s in Christ alone that salvation is found.
And it’s also in Christ only. So often we hear that we need to believe and then to do
in order to be made right with God.
Michael Horton is one of my favorite theologians. In his book The Gospel-Driven
Life, there’s a chapter with the prophetic title, “Don’t just do something. Sit there.”
How many of us are busy?
How many of us are busy in an attempt to please others?
How many of us are busy in order to prove our worth to ourselves?
Most importantly: how many of us are busy in order to prove
our worth to God?
Jesus + something = nothing
The “do more, be more, try harder, produce more” Christianity is not the biblical
gospel.
Listen: there is nothing you can do to make yourself any more valuable to Christ
than you already are.
Nothing.
The moment you try to add something, grace vanishes. It’s gone like a vapor.
We cannot justify ourselves to Christ. We can only receive his grace, his gift. Then
we can rely on him to change our lives.
4. 4
Our message here at First Presbyterian Church is “We are more sinful and flawed in
ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and
accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Jesus. Get away with
Jesus and you’ll recover your life.
He’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how
I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
We’ll be exploring this more deeply in Lent, so make sure to check it out.
The Colossians had added things to this gospel. Paul uses worship, doxology to
correct their faulty theology.
Why?
...Because good theology produces good worship
…Poor theology produces deficient worship
We have lost any sense that theology is something for everyday Christians. It is! It
has to be! Theology is the church’s before it is the universities!
That’s because theology is the knowledge of God, it is Christian truth.1
Poor theology distorts God and leads people away from Him. For this reason
theology alone of all the “academic disciplines” has an eternal context: the eternal destiny
of the human race is affected by the knowledge of God.
How we believe and what we believe isn’t some adjunct to the Christian life. Yes,
you can be deeply Christian without knowing the first bit of theology. However, the
moment you start to share your experience of God with another person, you’re doing
theology—you’re finding words to make sense of your experience. And according to the
1
G. L. Bray, “Rescuing Theology from the Theologians” in Themelios 24:2 (Feb 1999): 48.
5. 5
New Testament, our experiences cannot stand alone as authoritative for validating our
faith or our maturity as disciples of the Lord Jesus.
So, the next time someone tells you: “theology divides.” Tell them: “Yes. That’s the
point.”
How are you like the Colossians: adding things to the gospel to try to prove our worth before God?
How are you like the Corinthians: simply looking upon Christsuperficially?
Paul says that the Corinthians were “regarding Christ according to the flesh.” That’s
a strange turn of phrase.
What might it mean?
Paul uses the word (Gk.) sarks, which literally refers to the flesh or the skin or the
body. As a comparison, think of our English phrase, “beauty is only skin deep.” It means
that appearances can be deceiving and that physical beauty is not a sure guide to a
person’s character.
During his earthly ministry, the vast majority of people encountered Christ from a
worldly perspective, according to the flesh—they looked at outward appearances.
He was rejected and crucified as a blasphemer and a trouble maker. He was, in fact,
the Messiah and the Son of God, in whom the new creation and reconciliation with God is
found.
Just as we easily view Christ outwardly, it is easy for us to view one another
outwardly as well. Paul says that we are no longer to do that—to view people exclusively
from an outwardly perspective. “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh…”
(5:16).
Instead, we are to use prayerful spiritual judgment and insight as we consider
others’ lives and situations. Our experience of Christ’s love moves us to stop viewing others
6. 6
according to superficial standards of success and to learn to view them in the light of
God’s decisive act of salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
We look around us and we see people who disagree with us or who don’t like us or
whom we don’t like. And as we do that, we exercise a very superficial discernment.
You see, you’ve never met an ordinary person. Did you know that?
Never.
There are no ordinary people. There are only people who have been created in the
image and likeness of God, who are loved by God, and with whom God desires a
relationship in and through Christ.
We, as Christians, have been given the mission of connecting people to Jesus Christ
so that he can change their lives. That’s why we’re here.
You’ve never met an ordinary person.
Stop for a moment. Look around you. There are no ordinary people in this room—
just people who are God-created and God-loved.
Here’s something else to consider: there is not a person in this room who is not
immortal.
In his sermon “The Weight of Glory,” C. S. Lewis notes that all kinds of things are
mortal Lewis notes. Things like cultures, nations, arts, and civilizations.
Those things pass away, what remains are the immortal souls that we—in Lewis’s
words—“joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.”2
We’ve been created to live
everlastingly—the body may pass away but we live on, and one day we will have a new
body, at the resurrection.
2
C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory” in Lyle W. Dorsett, ed. The Essential C. S. Lewis. Touchstone, 1996, 369.
7. 7
There are therefore no ordinary people.
There are kind people, generous people, rude people, supercilious people, grateful
people, ungrateful people, bitter people, contented people, but there are no ordinary
people.
Every person you’ve ever met, Lewis pointed out, is on a journey. Each of us, today,
is on a journey to becoming what we will be in eternity.
Those who are traveling God-ward in the company of Christ, falteringly become
more like Christ until in the age to come they resemble Christ perfectly.
Those who are living as if there is no God are on a journey away from Christ till in
eternity they receive their self-imposed punishment: God’s absence. God says to them,
“thy will be done.”
There are no ordinary people. There are only people who—in Lewis’s view—would
either one day be “immortal horrors” or “everlasting splendors.”3
[Closing]
3
Ibid.