The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of February 24, 2019

Sermon: “Shooting at the Sun”

Text: Psalm 37

This winter southern California has seen its share of storms.  We have had more rain this year than in the recent past and many of the effects of our long term drought seem to be improving. 

At first I heard the welcoming words as the rain fell.  “Boy do we need the rain.”  “We haven’t seen rain like this for years; I hope it sticks around a while.” “All these storms are good for the snowpack.”   But storm after storm have come and the attitude is starting to change. 

“When will it ever end?”  “Had enough rain yet?”  “We should think about building an ark.”  We are such fickle people. 

Back in 2017 in one of the most devastating hurricane seasons on record, some people in Florida had had enough.  As hurricane Irma was ready to make landfall a Facebook event popped up called, “Shoot at hurricane Irma” and everyone in Florida was invited. 

I’ll let the New York Times pick up the story from here:

On Tuesday, Ryon Edwards of DeLand, Fla., created a Facebook event page about the imaginary gathering. In it, [he said] “LET’S SHOW IRMA THAT WE SHOOT FIRST.”  Mr. Edwards’s show of comic bravado was a hit. His friends started signing on and making jokes. Then a few strangers joined, and then a few more. On Sunday, more than 55,000 people had visited the page and expressed interest in attending.

Mr. Edwards said, “I guess that a lot of people just connected to the joke, and the more it got shared, the more attention it seemed to get,” he said on Sunday. On Facebook, some people posted pictures of themselves with rifles and promised to charge directly into the eye of the storm. Related Facebook events popped up with names like “Everybody Points Their Fans at the Hurricane to Blow It Away” and “Why Don’t We Just PUSH Florida Somewhere Else!!”

Mr. Edwards said that the tens of thousands of “attendees” of his event seemed to be in on the joke. After all, he said, “There is no way I’m going to be out in a windstorm wielding a firearm.”

Still a few commenter’s criticized Mr. Edwards, appearing to take his post literally. Some expressed alarm that he might inspire someone, somewhere, to fire ammunition into hurricane-force winds.  The sheriff’s office in Pasco County, Fla., tweeted a stern warning against shooting weapons at Irma: “You won’t make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects.”

I know it shouldn’t shock me anymore that the sheriff’s department had to make that tweet.  It just makes no sense! 

There was a meme going around the internet last summer during some of the hottest weather on record showing a handgun pointed at the sun and a person demanding, “Enough!”  It was done in fun and it makes no sense, but once again, some thought it was serious.  You know, humanity is known for acting illogically. 

You know, this is not a modern phenomenon.  People have been acting in ways that defy logic for centuries.  When life does not go as planned; people like to take life in their own hands. The author of our text is no stranger to this kind of behavior.  Listen to the words of the 37^th Psalm,

Do not be preoccupied with evildoers.
Do not envy those who do wicked things.
They will quickly dry up like grass
        and wither away like green plants.
Trust the Lord, and do good things.
Live in the land, and practice being faithful.
Be happy with the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Entrust your ways to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will act on your behalf.
He will make your righteousness shine like a light,
        your just cause like the noonday sun.
Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.
    Do not be preoccupied with an evildoer who succeeds in his way
        when he carries out his schemes.
Let go of anger, and leave rage behind.
    Do not be preoccupied.
        It only leads to evil.
Evildoers will be cut off from their inheritance,
    but those who wait with hope for the Lord will inherit the land. (Psalm 37:1-9)

In the book titled “The Sinner/Saint Devotional – 60 Days in the Psalms” Donavon Riley writes the following:

When we struggle and our faith seems to be eggshell fragile, it is often hard to see God at work anywhere.   When it seems that every moment of the day throws more temptations and afflictions at us, we wonder when God is going to step up and do something to help us. 

And why does God allow wicked people to curse and mock us?  It even appears that wicked people who do not trust God or believe in him, catch all the breaks while we fight to just get out of bed each morning…

This is our great comfort, especially in suffering and trials.  The righteous person is not the one who never struggles, never falls into sin, and is applauded for his saintliness. A righteous person is righteous because he trusts only in what Jesus does, and therefore God declares him to be righteous for Christ’s sake.   The enemies of the Gospel lean on their abilities, skills, gifts and strength.  In fact, they end up trying to drive away the righteous because he trusts only in God’s promises of forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation, not in anything he has done, good or bad. In fact, when we try to impress God with our doing, we are like a man who tries to bring down the sun by shooting it with a pistol. 

There are many who think that they can impress God, that by their own righteous efforts they can earn an eternal reward.  It makes about as much sense as staving off a hurricane with a handgun or taking aim and shooting the sun. 

Listen to Paul’s words from his letter to the Philippians.  Paul has just recounted his many righteous acts done in this world and then continues, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Philippians 3:7-9) 

While shooting sun is not the answer, we do find salvation in the Son who has targeted you.  He is not impressed with your effort or acts but he targets you as a recipient of grace and love and mercy. 

Donovan Riley continues:

The true saint who clings to Jesus’ bloody suffering and death for his justification will be the target of slander, cursing, gossip, false accusations, and the like.   Only trust in Jesus’ saving work for us is of any lasting value in this life and into the new creation.  God does not care about the size of our house, how many cars are parked in the driveway, how many friends surround us, or the number of people at church who call us “saint” and hold us up as an example of the God-pleasing life…

God holds us up in all suffering and affliction.  He will not let our faith be taken from us.  He will not allow us to sink irretrievably into hopelessness.  His arm and hand are over us and have an unbreakable grip on us…And through faith in Christ Jesus alone, no matter how rough the going gets, we will be vindicated.  God is on our side, so who can be against us?  Who can overcome us? 

No one, because the one who overcame sin, death and hell for us will never leave us or forsake and in him alone we live, move, and yes, even suffer…because we trust that God will act on our behalf.

When things go wrong and storms come, we don’t take aim to shoot the sun, but we trust that we have been targeted by the Son who took all the shots the devil had and in so doing takes your sin and gives you the strength to face the storms of life and more importantly he give you his righteousness so that you stand forgiven, and for that we are profoundly thankful.

-Pr. Seth Moorman

The One Year Bible- February 25

Congratulations on almost two months of reading the Bible! This is a big accomplishment and you should be proud. We are in a tough stretch right now with our readings from Leviticus but hang in there. I hope you have settled into a routine and that spending time in the Word is becoming a habit. Before we get into the meat of the study I want to touch on one of the Psalms we read this week. Psalm 40 has had a special place in my heart for a long time. It wasn’t that it spoke to me in a time of trouble; it wasn’t that I heard a great sermon about it; it wasn’t even the fact that it was written by David. The reason this Psalm is one of my favorite is because the rock band U2 has a song called “40” that uses the same words. If you are not familiar with U2 you might have heard of their lead singer who goes by the name Bono. When they started out as young musicians in Ireland in the late 70’s, their music was influenced by their faith. You can still hear the message of faith in many of their songs today. The best way to share this song with you is for you to hear it. Thanks to good old YouTube here is a link to the video: https://youtu.be/1XzHlySYR_Y

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

I want to spend some time talking about one of the most important days in the life of the Jewish people. The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is the holiest of days in the worship life of God’s chosen people. This was the day that the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies (the inner part) in the Temple and offer a sacrifice for the forgiveness of the people. We read about its regulations this week. Let me put it into some easier terms for you. God had set up a system of blood sacrifice that was to be done for the forgiveness of sins. Originally it was to be the one who committed the offence, but God in his mercy and grace said that he would take a substitute in the place of the person (most of the time this means a lamb or bull without anything wrong with it). The people were to come to the temple at least once a year to make a blood sacrifice for the atonement of their own sins, and then once a year a special sacrifice was to be made for all the people. On Yom Kippur, all the people were to fast and the High Priest was then to enter behind the curtain in the presence of the Ark and the other sacred objects including the mercy seat, which was the covering of the ark. This is where the blood was to be poured to cover the sins. This whole event is ripe with symbolism and New Testament parallels. A few interesting things about the actual event: the High Priest was the one who represented all the people. His sacrifice was sufficient for everyone in Israel. He was the only one allowed to enter the presence of God and as soon as he went in he had to make a sacrifice for himself first. Jewish tradition says that the High Priest would tie a rope around his midsection and another priest would hold the other end. The High Priest would also have bells tied to his robes. In the event that he did something wrong, or he angered God and was struck down, the other priests could pull him out without endangering themselves by going into the Holy of Holies. This act of sacrifice could only be done at the temple and was the only way of forgiveness. Let’s bring the forward to Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This was a physical symbol that the Day of Atonement was no longer necessary. Jesus, who called himself a temple, became the High Priest and offered a sacrifice for the forgiveness of all people for all time. The New Testament speaks of this as the fulfillment of the Old Testament requirements. Paul, in Ephesians speaks of Jesus dividing the barrier of hostility, a possible image of the temple. The book of Hebrews speaks of Jesus being the High Priest and that this sacrifice meets the requirements of the Law and that at the Temple (Jesus) atonement has been made. Theologians call this Vicarious Atonement, meaning that we are now at one with God because Jesus was our substitute sacrifice.

One last thing, we have seen a lot of blood in Leviticus and we have talked about this before but to a Jew blood = life. In fact the Hebrew word for blood can also mean life. That makes some neat comparisons to Jesus. We have life because of the blood (life) of Jesus. We drink his blood in communion and that gives us life. Once again, we see that understanding the Old Testament really brings the things in the New Testament to life (no pun intended). Here is a picture and map of the temple that may help you get a visual of its structure:

The New Testament

In our readings in Mark we see more miracles and stories of Jesus. In Mark 7, Jesus makes reference to some of the washings we have been reading about in Leviticus. Jesus makes some people angry when he says it’s not all about keeping the laws and traditions. In fact, there is much more to it. We need to not only be clean on the outside, we must be cleaned on the inside as well. It is not what comes from inside that makes us unclean, but what comes out of our heart. Just a small aside here; the heart was seen by a Jew as the center of not only the emotions but also the entire soul, including the intellect. When Jesus says these things come from our heart, he is saying that our entire being is full of wickedness. This is something we all need to hear. We are all sinful and unclean. There is not one who does good. And we all fall short of the glory of God. We are in need of a Savior. Jesus has some words for the disciples about being a servant. The disciples were fighting about who was the greatest and once again Jesus turns conventional wisdom on its ear. He tells them that they must be a servant of everyone else. They must put the needs of others before their own. This was a radical way of thinking. We sometimes forget how radical Jesus’ words were.

Bits and Pieces

We will finish up the book of Leviticus this week and start with the book of Numbers. The book of Numbers continues the story of the people from Mt. Sinai on to the Promised Land. Here are the vital stats for Numbers:

Purpose: To describe how the LORD preserves Israel despite the obstacles from Sinai to Canaan

Author: Moses

To Whom Written: The People of Israel

Date Written: 1450-1410 B.C.

Setting: The vast desert of the Sinai region, as well as the lands just south and east of Canaan

Key Verses: “Not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.” Numbers 14:22-23

Law Themes: Duties; uncleanness; punishment for complaining; rebellion; cursing.

Gospel Themes: Redemption, “I am the LORD your God”; consecration; purification; atonement; blessing.

Numbers records the story of Israel’s unbelief and should serve as a dramatic lesson for all God’s people. God loves us and wants the very best for us. He can and should be trusted. Numbers also gives a clear portrayal of God’s patience. Again and again he withholds judgment and preserves the people. But his patience must not be taken for granted. His judgment will come. One of the recurring themes in Numbers is that of complaining. It is complaining that gets the people into trouble. Complaining and grumbling become very destructive for the people. Many of them even wanted to go back to Egypt. They had already forgotten that in Egypt they were slaves!!

Have a great week and let me know if you have any questions!!

The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of February 17, 2019

Sermon: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered…I’m Yours!”

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:19-28

During the Epiphany Season the assigned Scripture readings have manifest two equal truths.  We are the delivered people of God and at the same time, we are the deployed people of God.  

In the 15th chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, (its 58 verses you can read it in a few minutes) St. Paul articulates how the epiphany of the Easter event, the revelation of The Resurrection, clearly demonstrates these two truths.  

Through 57 verses Paul shows how Jesus' perfect life, suffering and passion, and victorious resurrection has delivered us from, as Luther put it, "sin, death and the devil."  Then Paul caps this description of the delivered people of God with these words, "Therefore, Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."  We who have been delivered are now deployed as "epiphanies", "manifestations", and “revelations".  Our congregational values, The Bethany Blueprint, show "how to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord."  Such a deployment is not dysfunctional (such labor is not in vain).  Therefore as His delivered person, deliberately embrace being one of His deployed disciples.  

-Pr. Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- February 18

It seems like every year we get busier and busier. Life seems to add things to our plates on a daily basis. This past week I have been busy planning Bible studies, writing sermons, leading worship with our Bethany family in the desert, getting ready for Lent, as well as gearing up for Mission Alaska. Right now time seems to be at a premium. To put it mildly, I am busy. Even my Bible reading has suffered.  I am a little behind so it is my plan to read two days of readings every day until I catch up.  When you have days, or, weeks, or months like this I hope you will lean on the strength that you will find in God’s Word. On to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

Not much to talk about from a theological perspective on this week’s readings from the Old Testament. The big thing is the rules and regulations regarding offerings and health. Last week I gave you some info on the different kinds of offerings. Please refer back to that if you need to as we continue to read. The other thing about this week is the copious use of blood. I think we have talked about this before, but remember that this was a different time and culture. In our day, blood is seen as bad and possibly containing diseases. For the people of Israel the spilling of blood gave them life. This all points to Jesus and we have talked about that time and again. I got an email a few years ago at this time from someone who was reading The One Year Bible and I want to share the question and the answer with you:

Good Morning Seth,

In Leviticus 11:1-12:8 today the Bible states the following:

"And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you." What does it mean when God says it is unclean? Is it His law that we not eat pig or does it just make us unclean? This was interesting this morning as I did not know that God has commanded us to eat or not eat certain foods.

Any insight you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

My Reply:

I just finished that reading myself. The thing you need to remember about all these laws and regulations is that they are for the people of Israel in the wilderness as God is forming them to be his people. All these laws were not written for us in the US in the 21^st Century. The reason that God placed some dietary restrictions on the people was two-fold. First of all many of the animals that were considered unclean had problems with parasites and other things that could make the people sick if they were not cooked or handled properly. God needed the people to be healthy. Secondly, many of these animals were used by the pagan people they would encounter in the Promised Land in their worship of false Gods. God did not want them to associate with them so he set them apart.

Fast forward to today...some people still follow these dietary laws but they are no longer required. The ceremonial law was fulfilled in Jesus and we now have freedom. This does not mean that we can abuse our freedom, but we are not bound to all of the requirements of the Old Testament Law. If it were so we would have many more things to do every day (like ceremonial washing, staying outside of the city until sunset if we are unclean, men not shaving beards, etc.) Rest assured that eating pork, or lobster, or a cheeseburger (all would be unclean in the OT) is OK. I hope this helps.

Pastor Seth

You may have had the same question and I hope this helps you as well. Please feel free to email me your questions or better yet make a comment on the blog, I will answer it and others can benefit from the discussion. You can always comment as “anonymous” if you would like.

The New Testament

The book of Mark is filled with miracles and parables. It is no wonder many point new believers to this Gospel. Mark lays out the evidence that Jesus is the savior of the world and Jesus proves it by his miracles. Jesus also is a good teacher and as all good teachers he uses the power of stories. Stories teach in ways that other words cannot. Stories captivate our imaginations, they take us to places we have never been, they can help us understand complex ideas. Jesus knew the power of story and he used it. In our reading for the 20th we see that “He did not speak to them without a parable.” (Mark 4:34a ESV). What better way to teach to a bunch of uneducated people. I think at times we have lost the art of storytelling in our Churches. We do a good job of it in Sunday School but we often forget it with Adults. I feel that we all can benefit from a good story and what better story to start with than the story of Jesus Christ.

I also want to address one historical point today. In the reading for Feb. 22^nd we are introduced to King Herod. We have not seen that name since Matthew’s Gospel. What you need to know is that the Herod in Mark 6 is not the same one as in Matthew 2. A bit of history here; in Matthew 2 we are talking about Herod the Great who was the king of Judea, Galilee and other areas at the time of Jesus’ birth. He was the one who ordered all the baby boys killed to try to take care of the new king that was born. When he dies his kingdom is split between his three sons, Herod Philip II, Archelaus, and Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas was the ruler of Galilee and is the one who puts John the Baptist to death and is mentioned in Mark 6 (And Matthew 14). This is also the same Herod we will see in Luke 23 when Pilate sends Jesus to see him just before the crucifixion. We will see two more Herods. In Acts 12:1-24 we will see Herod Agrippa I who is a grandson of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa I is the one responsible for killing the apostle James, who put Peter into prison and was killed by an angel. In Acts 25 and 26 we will see Herod Agrippa II who is the son of Herod Agrippa I. This is the Herod who Paul has a trial with before he is sent to Rome. If you didn’t follow all of that don’t worry. Just remember that we are talking about one royal family with the same name.

Have a great week!

The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of February 10, 2019

Sermon: “Is That the Best You Can Do”

In the "Big Game" the other week there were plenty of fans screaming, "Is that the best you can do?"

Some might wonder the same about the lineup of servants (Isaiah, Paul, Peter, Andrew, James and John) that the Lord assembled in this week's readings (Isaiah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 and Luke 5:1-11).  A ‘foul mouthed friar’, a proclaimer of the faith who was a persecutor of the faithful, a crew called to fish for people that seemed to never be successful at catching fish without divine intervention...Lord, is that the best you can do?

Even those so chosen recognized their own limitations:  "Woe to me I am a man of unclean lips."  "I am unfit and am the least of the apostles."  "Leave 'us' Lord; 'we' are sinful men."  Is this the best that can be done?

What else these 3 accounts of these servants who having been purified from the altar, washed in baptismal water, and found in the presence of the Lamb who takes sins away of the world…is their passion and dedication to the calling.  "Here I am send me, send me!"  "I work harder than the others and am eager to be about the sharing of the good news."  "They left everything and followed Him."

The fair question to the biblical accounts that I have asked, is one that I also ought to ask honestly about my life, "When it comes to serving am I doing the best I can?"

-Pr. Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- February 11th

This week we will start the book of Mark and right at the beginning of this Gospel there is a verse that jumps out at me, “News about him [Jesus] spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee” (Mark 1:28 NIV). Just think of the power of Jesus. Mark tells us “At once” everyone around knew about him. It reminds me of living in the Internet age. We can get information “at once” as soon as events happen. It is amazing how fast news travels. But what has happened to the good news about Jesus? Why is his fame not being spread everywhere? Well one reason is because the Devil doesn’t want it to. Satan is waging war against the good news of Jesus Christ and at times he seems to be winning. Satan is not happy that you are reading the Bible this year and he will work on your soft spots to get you behind and tempt you to give up. Don’t let his tricks get you down. You have the most powerful weapon in the fight, the Word of God. Remember that the battle belongs to the Lord and even though we may loose a few skirmishes here and there the ultimate victory is the Lord’s. Keep up the good work and fight the hard fight as you pick up the sword of the Spirit daily. On to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

The end of Exodus is just a foretaste of what is to come in the book of Leviticus. We will be taking a break from the narrative story for a while and read about many of the nuts and bolts of religious life of the people of Israel. We usually do not read these sections of scripture in Church so they may be brand new for you. Exodus ends with the building of the tabernacle and all the furnishings. This place (and later the temple) is the physical representation of Yahweh on earth. It is quite literally, God’s house. The building of this structure is important for many reasons. First of all, it gave the people something tangible in their relationship with God. Secondly, it was a place where God could interact with his people bringing mercy and forgiveness. Third, it sets up the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus referred to himself as a temple that would be destroyed and build again in three days. Jesus himself came down to be a physical representation of Yahweh on earth. In John 1:14 we read, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The word we translate at “made his dwelling” literally means that Jesus “tabernacled” among us. When Jesus came to earth he becomes another tabernacle, this one wrapped in flesh and poised to be the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins of the world. Now the tabernacle had its own purpose in the days of the Israelites, and the temple as well for that matter, but they both point to a greater tabernacle and temple in the person of Jesus Christ.

One other thing I want to do this week is give you an introduction on the many different offerings that are mentioned in Exodus and especially in Leviticus.

Burnt Offering: Leviticus 1; 6: 8-13; 8: 18-21; 16: 24 The burnt offering was for unintentional sin. This was a blanket sacrifice for wrongdoing in general. The price was a male bull, lamb or goat. It had to be a perfect animal, without defect. The poor could offer a pigeon or dove. The penitent would present the animal at the entrance to the tent, which housed the altar and the tabernacle. After presenting the animal, the sinner would place his two hands on the animal and thus, it was accepted as an offering for sin. Probably this act transferred the sin from the human to the animal, which paid the penalty and was sacrificed. They would kill their own offering and then the priests took over.
The priests bled the animal and cut it up ceremonially. The priests sprinkled the blood on the altar. Some of the internal organs and legs were washed. They then burned it whole on the altar. The aroma was said to be pleasing to God. The fire had to be continually burning and was never extinguished.

Grain Offering: Leviticus 2; 6: 14-23 Voluntary worship and thanks: A grain offering is just what it says. The grain had to ground into flour and could be put into loaves or cakes. Olive oil and incense were added to make a pleasing aroma when it burned. Yeast was forbidden for this offering. The cakes had to be salted. The offering was presented to the priests who burned a small portion of it on the altar. The rest was food for them and the Levites.

Fellowship Offering: Leviticus 3: 7: 11-34
A voluntary act of worship, thanks and fellowship: This is called a fellowship offering because the sacrifice is eaten communally instead of burned. Any clean animal, male or female could be offered. Bread, both with and without yeast, was also part of the offering. These were presented at the gate of the tent. The priests would sprinkle the blood on the four corners of the altar. The internal organs, the fat on them and the best part of the liver were burned as a food offering. The rest had to be eaten within two days or else it was burned also.

Sin Offering: Leviticus 4: 1-5: 13; 6: 24-30; 8: 14-17; 16: 3-22 Mandatory for specific sins: All of these offerings for sins are for unintentional transgressions. If you were guilty of premeditated infraction, these offerings didn’t help you. Your stature in the community determined the kind of sacrifice that you were required to offer. A young bull was required for the sin of a high priest or for a community sin. Leaders had to present a male goat. The common people could bring a female goat or a lamb. The poor were permitted to offer a dove or pigeon and the very poor could get away with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour. The bull’s fat was burned inside the camp but the rest was burned outside. Leviticus 5 records the sins for which a sin offering was required. These include unintentionally touching an animal that is ritually unclean, touching something unclean of human origin or making a careless promise.

Guilt Offering: (Repayment Offering) Leviticus 5:14 – 6:7; 7: 1-6 Mandatory for unintentional sin requiring restitution: This is a repayment offering for a sin committed against God, like holding back your tithe. A ram or lamb was brought to the tent to be sacrificed. The debt would have to be paid plus an additional twenty percent. These were the offerings outlined in the first seven chapters of Leviticus. God could forgive mistakes but intentional sins were another matter.

The New Testament

At the beginning of last week we saw the familiar words of institution as Jesus gives his disciples communion for the first time. Remember that meals were very important for the Jews and the connection that this new meal of remembrance first occurred during Passover is by no means a coincidence. Remember that Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience and this new covenant made in blood would ring a bell with all his readers. This would cut to the heart of any Jew, hearing about this because blood equals life. It is not in our culture to think of that. In fact when people outside of the Christian faith hear about being washed in the blood of the lamb, they get turned off from Christianity. I guess my point here is we need to watch how we word some things. To a Jewish audience, Matthew does the culturally relevant thing; when we share the message of Jesus we need to be careful not to offend or even gross out someone when talking about blood.

I want to say a few words about the Great commission this week and I hope not to loose you when I start talking about Greek grammar. First of all every time we translate the Bible from its original languages we loose something. The phrase “Lost in translation” is really true. At times when we translate into English we then, without thinking place certain rules and meaning based on sentence structure and word order. Unfortunately many people, myself included, have misinterpreted portions of scripture because of our cultural bias toward English. In reading the Great Commission in English it seems to be that Jesus is giving us a command (called an imperative) in the word “go”, but in the Greek this word is an adverbial participle, not an imperative. What is an adverbial participle? The action described by an adverbial participle is primarily directed toward the verb. This kind of participle is usually translated with an adverbial phrase. “While studying for his Greek final...” or “While going through the world...”. So we see in Matthew 28 an interesting grammatical sentence that if translated properly is very poor English. A very literal interpretation would be, “As you are going, disciple all the nations, by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things...” The only imperative in the Great Commission is to disciple others—literally to make them learners. How do we do it? Well, Jesus tells us, we are to baptize and teach. Again these words are not imperatives but the natural flow of what will occur by “discipleing” others. Don’t even get me started on the NIVs use of the word “obey”. What a poor translation that is! We are to observe the things of Jesus through his word and actions and they serve as a guide. They are descriptive on how we are to live not prescriptive. I could go on about this one but we don’t have time here.

One quick thing about the book of Mark. As you read look for the extensive use of the word “immediately” (or similar phrases such as “at once”, they are usually the same word in the Greek). This is a book of action. It hits the ground running and never stops. It is a good book to read as we slug through Leviticus. It will give us some balance to our readings for the next couple of weeks.

The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of February 3, 2019

Sermon: “Outrageous”

Read: Luke 4:21-30

The crowd is NOT upset that Jesus says the Scriptures apply to Himself!  Joyous affirmation however becomes furious confrontation when Jesus says God’s kingdom, His work and His grace are for those they’ve written off! 

If the Good News is for “OUR POOR” that’s one thing; freedom comes for “OUR PRISONERS”, great; sight for OUR BLIND, hurray; release for OUR OPPRESSED, preach it brother! 

Had Jesus said, “Amen”, they would have said, “Alleluia!” 

Instead of trying to throw Him down a hill they would have hoisted Him upon their shoulders…it wasn’t until He said to the ladies aid (who probably knitted Mary a baby blanket), “God had plenty of widows in Israel”. When Elijah went to the one in Sidon (that’s Phoenician territory, Samaritan land)…what Jesus was saying was, “God’s heart and mission is opened even to those your head and menu are closed to.”  As if that weren’t enough, Jesus goes on to say in the presence of the VPHW - Vets of Philistine Wars, “There were plenty of people afflicted with leprosy in the Jewish community but Elisha wasn’t sent to any of them but rather the commander of the Syrian army.”….what Jesus was saying was, “God’s peace extends to those your nation considers enemies – perhaps is even at war with.”  The folk (who minutes before were willing to embrace the declaration that Jesus is the one upon whom the spirit of the LORD rests), suddenly find themselves in a state of unrest and their intention is that Jesus rest…in peace, so to speak.  They intend to kill Him!  Let’s be clear their anger at Jesus at this time is NOT based upon the notion that they want to limit HOW God be here…in human flesh; rather their fury flows from the fact that they have set limits upon WHO God can be for... 

               

Now, to embrace that God loves everyone doesn’t mean we have to agree with everyone!  To embrace that God is for all, doesn’t mean we don’t have differences from many!  But we cannot remotely begin to love neighbor as self until we confess that He loves everyone as much as He loves us. 

God loves everyone, and none more than others nor others more than some. God loves ALL…fully, unilaterally, unconditionally!  God loves men as much as women and girls as much as boys, Africans as much as Europeans and Americans as much as Venezuelans. God loves Democrats as much as Republicans and Conservatives as much as Liberals. God loves persecutors as much as the persecuted; and the hateful as much as the faithful – don’t buy it, read the account of Saul in the book of Acts. God loves unbelieving salespersons as much as the ordained clergypersons. Don’t buy it, read the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

He loves Patriots as much as Rams and Rams as much as Patriots and both equally to the same degree as Steelers…I don’t get it but I know it to be true!  His love for you is such that I can say without question:  there is nothing you have ever done that could cause God to love you any less and there is nothing you could do that would cause Him to love you even more…He loves you completely, utterly and freely in Christ. 

-Pr. Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- February 4th (Two Days Late....sorry!)

This week’s readings have been filled with many of the most theologically significant passages in all of scripture.  I hope you have found that seeing some familiar passages in context helps in the understanding of them.  We have a lot to get to so let’s get on to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament:
This weeks readings begin with the most revered event in Jewish history—The Exodus. After the plagues, Pharaoh finally relents and lets the people leave. As the people are leaving, God blesses the people by having the Egyptians give the people of Israel gifts of gold, jewelry and other valuables. These “gifts” will come in handy a bit later in the story. We begin to see what will become a pattern for the people. They start complaining. We will read about their complaints over and over in the upcoming chapters. This pattern continues once they get into the Promised Land as well and eventually explodes into open rebellion from God. God continues to show the people mercy even though he does not have to. He would have every right to get rid of them all but in His love He doesn’t. While they are in the desert God gives the people instructions on how to live, how to worship, how to conduct business etc. This is really a time of learning for the people. God is preparing them to be a Nation. One of the most significant things that God gives them is found in Exodus 20. Here we have what many have called “The 10 Commandments”. In Jewish tradition they were never called “commandments”. They were always referred to as “The 10 Words” or “The 10 Sayings”. They are as follows:

1. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt.
2. You shall have no other Gods but me.
3. Do not misuse my name.
4. Remember the Sabbath day.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. Don’t murder.
7. Don’t commit adultery.
8. Don’t steal.
9. Don’t give false testimony.
10. Don’t covet.

Christians disagree about the numbering of the commandments because of a misunderstanding of what “The 10 Words” were all about. Many see the Ten Commandments as a list of laws and rules that the people had to obey. They are seen as only a message of the law. When we look at these from a Jewish point of view we see that all the “words” flow out of a message of the Gospel, “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt”. Because of what God has done first then we are able to do the other 9 things. It is like saying; “Because God led us out of Egypt, is merciful to us, remembered us and loves us we would never think of having any other gods, or misusing his name etc.” The numbering of the commandments differs between Christians as well. Some make two commandments out of “You shall have no other Gods” and “You shall not make any idols”. In the Lutheran tradition, we have divided “Do not covet” into two commandments. So what is the point of all of this? Are we doing something wrong? Not really. The numbering of the commandments is a side matter. The big idea here is that the commandments are really our response to what God has done for us (this is a very Lutheran way of thinking anyway). Because God loves us our response is to follow his law. Some get it turned around and think that because I follow God’s law then God loves me. This was the thought of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.

In our readings this past week God gave instructions for the tabernacle and all of the furnishing that will go into it. This was to be a forerunner of the Temple that would be built by Solomon in Jerusalem many years later. It was a visible sign of God’s presence with His people. It was a place for sacrifice and a reminder of God’s law as well as his promises.

Another tidbit of foreshadowing comes in a warning that God delivers to Moses.  God said not to have any interaction with the people who possess the land they will be inheriting.  He said, “Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you” (Exodus 23:32-33 NIV).  Eventually as the people enter the Promised Land they will not heed this warning and their involvement with the local people will cause problems for them for their entire history.  Remember this passage and see how this plays out in the weeks to come.

The New Testament
In our readings we see a few encounters that Jesus has with the Pharisees. As Jesus speaks the truth to them he only makes them more upset and fuels the fire to arrest and kill him. One of the more interesting things I have seen in our readings came on February 3rd & 4th. On the 3rd we see Jesus restating the Law of Moses. When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is he replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV). In a few short sentences, Jesus states the entire message of “The 10 words”. To love God with all your heart, soul, and mind is to have no other Gods, to not misuse the name of God, and to worship the LORD alone. To love your neighbor as yourself is to follow all the others. I find it fascinating that the very next day we see “The 10 words” in our Old Testament reading. I think the Spirit had something to do with this. Jesus also teaches quite a bit about signs of the end of the age. His main point is that we must be ready. Don’t worry about when it will happen or how it will happen, just know that it will happen and we must be ready. He makes his point clear with the story of the sheep and the goats.

We just started the story of the Passion this week and it will be good for us as Lent begins soon to read the whole story in preparation.  Take some time this week as you read the Passion account to ready your heart and mind for Lent this year.

Bits and Pieces

We will be starting two new books this week.  First off we will move into the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament.  A word of caution here, many people do well getting through Genesis and Exodus but Leviticus is a different story, it can be a brick wall for some people.  The narrative story takes a break for God to give some needed instructions to the people.  The book of Leviticus is not the easiest reading, but remember it is still God’s Word.  Be patient and remember that this is all part of the old covenant that has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  It may take you a bit longer to get through the readings but hang in there.  We will run into this again in a few of the prophets.  But for now, remember that we are not the primary audience of this book.  Put yourself in the context of the hearers and it will make some more sense to you.  Here are the vital stats for the book:

PURPOSE: To teach Israel how God shares His holiness with them and how they should live in His holiness.
AUTHOR: Moses
SETTING: At the foot of Mt. Sinai. God is teaching the Israelites how to live as a holy people.
KEY VERSE: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God am holy” 19:2
KEY PEOPLE: Moses, Aaron, Eleazar (Aaron’s son)
KEY PLACE: Mt. Sinai
SPECIAL FEATURE: Holiness is mentioned more times (152) than in any other book of the Bible

GOSPEL THEMES: Cleansing; atonement; redemption; consecration; rest.

LAW THEMES: Uncleanness; sin requires a blood sacrifice; diseases resulting from sin; walking in God’s statues and commands.

We are also starting the Gospel of Mark this week.  I love the book of Mark and I suggest that this is a good book to start reading with a new Christian. Marks favorite word is “immediately”. He uses it often. Mark has been called the action Gospel or the Gospel to the Gentiles. Mark is believed to be the writer of Peter’s story.  Many scholars see the fingerprints of Peter throughout the book.  Here are the vital stats:

PURPOSE: To proclaim Jesus the Son of God, who calls disciples to repent, to believe the Gospel, and to bear the cross.

AUTHOR: John Mark. He was not one of the 12 disciples but he accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:13)
TO WHOM WRITTEN: The Christians in Rome, where he wrote the Gospel
DATE WRITTEN: Between A.D. 55 & 65
SETTING: The Roman Empire under Tiberius Caesar. The empire with its common language and excellent transportation and communication system was ripe to hear Jesus’ message, which spread quickly from nation to nation.
KEY VERSE: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (10:45)
KEY PEOPLE: Jesus, the 12 disciples, Pilate, the Jewish leaders
KEY PLACES: Capernaum, Nazareth, Caesarea Philippi, Jericho, Bethany, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Golgotha
SPECIAL FEATURES: Mark was probably the first Gospel written. The other Gospels quote all but 31 verses of Mark. Mark records more miracles than any other Gospel.

LAW THEMES: Repentance; political and religious opposition; uncleanness; authoritative teaching; heard-heartedness

GOSPEL THEMES: The Good news; baptism; compassion; mercy; cleansing; authoritative teaching; ransom; Lord’s Supper