The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of May 26, 2019

Sermon: “Dying for Those Who Live: Living for He Who Died”       

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

"He (Jesus) died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised to life again" - II Corinthians 5

If you explore #iliveforthis you'll see images of: exotic traveling and kitchen table game playing, family and frivolity, baseball, brunch and bass fishing.

We live, mercifully, thankfully, abundantly and eternally BECAUSE of His cross and empty tomb and so In response to His perfect living, innocent, sacrificial dying and victorious rising for us, at Bethany #weliveforthis - Christ crucified and risen!

That is why - we Worship Faithfully (because we live for this), we Form Spiritually (because we live for this), we Serve Passionately (because we live for this), we Share Intentionally (because we live for this), and we Give Proportionately (because we live for this).

#weliveforthis

-Pr. Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- May 27th

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I want to remind you today of the main purpose of reading the entire Bible. The Bible has one story and that is about Jesus Christ. There are many, many detours along the way but in some way shape or form the message stays the same. Why bring this up now? First of all we need to be constantly reminded of the reasons to read and study God’s word. Secondly, in today’s study I make some direct references to Jesus in the Old Testament story of David. There is an old adage that says, “Keep the main thing the main thing”. We need to do that with the Bible at all times. That is not to say we need to press every word and make them proclaim Christ but the overarching story is the story of Salvation, which has its completion in the person and work of Jesus. Here is a quote from a great book:

“At the heart of all doctrine is the biblical truth that we are justified by grace through faith in Christ alone. All other teachings relate to this one. God has revealed his truth to us so that we will know and receive salvation in Christ Jesus. All other doctrines prepare for this, reveal this, convey the benefits of Christ to us, and respond to his gracious work. His saving work is the very heart of Scripture and of all true theology.” (p. 22, Called to Believe, Teach and Confess, Edited by Steven Mueller)

Do not forget to keep Christ in mind as you read all parts of the Bible. On to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

The over arching theme for this week in the life of David is once again DRAMA!! That guy is just a lightning rod for trouble. He never seems to catch a break, and when he thinks things are going well, he does something stupid and gets himself into trouble (sounds a bit like us doesn’t it??). The prophet Nathan is there to try to keep the king in line, but he is not always successful. We do catch a glimpse of the good side of David in his dealings with Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. David loved Jonathan and he missed his best friend very much. David found out about Mephibosheth and wanted to show him kindness. Now Mephibosheth was crippled and needed help. If David is a type (remember typology) of Christ, as some theologians suggest, then the relationship that David has with Mephibosheth is similar to our relationship with Christ. He seeks us out to show kindness to us and we are the crippled ones in need of help. Because of the kindness of David, Mephibosheth eats at the banquet table of the king. The same will happen for us one day; we will eat at the heavenly banquet table prepared for us.

The rest of the story could be the plot of a bad Lifetime movie or a daily Soap Opera. We have incest and rape, rebellion and fornication, murder and treason. Hollywood does not have to look far to find some shady storylines. I think one of the overlooked points of the story is that because of sin there will be consequences. David sinned when he had an affair with Bathsheba. He sinned when he had Uriah killed. These were just a few of the sins of David. Nathan comes to confront David and David realizes his sin and asks for forgiveness. This is the occasion when David penned Psalm 51. If you don’t remember it, look it up right now and read it before you continue on with the study..... seriously........read the Psalm.................O.K. now that you are back you read that David asked for forgiveness and God has promised to forgive those who repent and ask for forgiveness. So, David is a forgiven man but why do all these bad things still happen to him? Well there was a little caveat from the Lord, “This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. (which happens later in the story, YUCK!).... But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die’” (2 Samuel 12:11, 14 NIV) There are consequences for sin. We should not fool ourselves in believing that just because we are forgiven, our lives will be without problems. We will constantly struggle with sin and its consequences until the day we are taken to heaven.

The New Testament

Two things to highlight this week; first of all, Jesus spends a lot of time talking about sending the comforter or advocate after he leaves. This is a direct reference to the Holy Spirit. Since we just celebrated Pentecost, now is a good time to dig a bit deeper with what this all means. The Greek word is parakletos. In my Greek dictionary I found this definition:

Summoned, called to one's side, esp. called to one's aid, one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate, one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor, of Christ in his exaltation at God's right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of our sins , in the widest sense, a helper, succourer, aider, assistant, of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give them divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom.

This is a pretty deep word and John is the only New Testament writer who uses it. You might be familiar with the Latin version of this word, paraclete. There is a Catholic high school in Lancaster by that name and it is the preferred word in a Catholic Bible. Jesus spends a lot of time with this word because when he is gone, he wants to assure His disciples (and us too) that we are being looked after. This is a source of comfort for us.

Second thing this week is the continuation of the “I Am” statements. I hope you are not getting sick of reading about these, but I find them so fascinating. The big one comes when Judas brings the guards into the garden to arrest Jesus. Jesus asks them who they are looking for and they tell him that they are looking for Jesus. And then he drops the bomb.......”I AM he” and note what happens next, “When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:6 NIV) Why did they fall on the ground? What was the reason? It could only be that they were taken aback by the power of the name of Yahweh. And they retreated in respect of at least the name and possibly the person speaking. Jesus says it three times (most likely symbolic by John), and then all heck breaks out. Peter cuts off an ear. Another follower (possibly Mark) runs away naked....it is just a mess. It is interesting that John does not record that Jesus healed Malchus, the high priests slave. I am not sure why but the scene moves quickly to the high priest. We finished up with the passion of Jesus and his death on the cross. We have been over the big issues of this part of the story before, but if you have any questions please let me know.

One thing I want you to look for this week. When Jesus says, “It is finished” from the cross he uses a word that has a meaning of completing the goal. Not the end of something but the completion of a task. Jesus reached the goal of atoning for our sins with his death. His resurrection is then proof of his power. I know that is sort of a tease but this word is the climax of the salvation story.

Bits and Pieces

The Old Testament

We will be finishing up the book of 2 Samuel this week, move into the book of 1 Kings and we will see the end of David’s reign and beginning of Solomon’s reign. Here are the vital stats for 1 Kings:

PURPOSE: To show that the Lord of history executes the threats and keeps the promises of His holy covenant.

AUTHOR: Unknown. Possibly Jeremiah or a group of prophets

SETTING: The once great nation of Israel turned into a land divided, not only physically but also spiritually.

KEY VERSE: “As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said ‘You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel’” (9:4,5)

LAW THEMES: The Lord condemns the evil deeds of Israelite and Judean kings who violate the covenant, especially by instituting idolatry.

GOSPEL THEMES: The Lord establishes David’s household through Solomon’s line, from which would come the Messiah’s everlasting kingdom; promised mercies are delivered through the temple services.

KEY PEOPLE: David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Elijah, Ahab, Jezebel

SPECIAL FEATURE: The books of 1 and 2 Kings were originally one book

The New Testament

We will also be finishing the Gospel of John and we will get into the book of Acts. Here are the vital stats for the book:

PURPOSE: To link the Gospel of Jesus and the service of the 12 apostles with the missionary work of the apostle Paul.

AUTHOR: Luke (a Gentile physician)

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Theophilus and all lovers of God

DATE WRITTEN: Between 63 and 70

SETTING: Acts is the connecting link between Christ’s live and the life of the church, between the Gospels and the Letters.

KEY VERSE: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judean and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (1:8).

LAW THEMES: Kingdom of God; way of God; call to bear witness; repentance; devotion to the Law; turn to God; call to preach; condemnation of lying; magic; simony; and superstition; resisting the Spirit; persecution; generosity urged.

GOSPEL THEMES: Kingdom of God; way of God; God’s promises fulfilled; resurrection; filled with the Spirit; salvation; Jesus’ name; forgiveness; fear of God; grace; Gospel proclamation.

KEY PEOPLE: Peter, John, James, Stephen, Philip, Paul, Barnabas, Cornelius, James (Jesus’ brother), Timothy, Lydia, Silas, Titus, Apollos, Agabus, Ananias, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, Luke

KEY PLACES: Jerusalem, Samaria, Lydda, Joppa, Antioch, Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Malta, Rome

SPECIAL FEATURE: Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Because Acts ends so abruptly, Luke may have planned to write a third book, continuing the story.

The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of May 19, 2019

Sermon:        S___________

                       O___________

                       A___________        

                       R___________

Text: Isaiah 40:31

On this day as we witness our youth as they are confirmed in the faith (this past Sunday) our text comes from a special Bible verse for me.  It was on a warm June Sunday 35 years ago, I knelt at the front of the church and had this verse spoken over me by my father,

“Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed.
They will soar on wings like eagles.

They will run and won’t become weary.

They will walk and won’t grow tired.”   (Isaiah 40:31)

I don’t know about you, but it’s not often that I feel like an eagle.  Let me tell you, I have run, and become weary, I have walked and been tired, so, why did my father choose this as my confirmation verse?  Well, I’ve never asked him, and I probably should, but here is what I have come up with. 

Most times I really don’t feel like an eagle.  My strength is weak.  It’s not just in being physically active; it’s also in looking at the to-do list.  It’s endless!

There is an old saying that goes like this, “God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never die.”

Some days I just want to soar on wings like an eagles, high above the storms of life, above the frenetic fray of this sinful world, but often I feel more like a turkey, than an eagle.  Perhaps you feel the same way. 

When I was younger I had a teacher who had a coffee mug that said, “It’s hard to soar like the eagles when you are surrounded by turkeys.”

Turkeys are grounded poultry, they aren’t that pleasing to look at, they are loud and obnoxious and their round shape is better suited to be lying dead on a table on a national holiday than soaring in the sky.

But honestly, I am much more turkey than eagle.  I’m guessing you are too.

Probably the most famous thanksgiving episode of any television sitcom is titled "Turkeys Away," from the first season of "WKRP in Cincinnati." The series was about a struggling radio station that changed formats from easy listening to rock and roll. The conflict, and thus, the comedy came from the contrast between the people who worked for the station beforehand, including bumbling but kindhearted station manager Arthur Carlson and the new, young and hip hires.

The seventh episode of the series, titled "Turkeys Away" showed Mr. Carlson trying to take on more of a hand's on approach to prove that he still had what it took to run the station. He came up with a secret promotion for Thanksgiving. It was all hush hush until the end of the episode, where long time newsman Les Nessman was on the street, reporting live when the event occurred.

As it turned out, the secret project was that Carlson was having a bunch of turkeys dropped from a helicopter high up in the air into the crowd below. The trouble, of course, is that turkeys aren't particularly known for flying. Nessman called the drop in the style of Herbert Morrison's famous radio call of the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, right down to Nessman echoing Morrison's famed cry, "Oh the humanity!" and described turkeys hitting the ground like bags of wet cement.  Whatever turkeys survived then turned on the crowd and attacked.

When Mr. Carlson and long time station salesman Herb Tarlek walked back in to the station they were in shock, their suits were torn up & they were covered in feathers. As the episode ends, he uttered the famous line, "As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!" The episode was a classic!

You can watch a quick recap here: https://youtu.be/ST01bZJPuE0

Well, as God as my witness I know that this turkey can’t fly. Often times it seems that my best efforts are like wet bags of cement hitting the pavement. I don’t think scripture is calling us to soar on our own.

But what is the meaning behind my confirmation verse after all?  Perhaps the annals of history can give us some clarity.

In 1782 the United States adopted the great seal of the country with a bald eagle as the centerpiece.  About a year and a half later, founding father Benjamin Franklin penned a letter to his daughter expressing is displeasure in choosing an eagle.  He wrote the following:

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

"[The Bald Eagle] is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank coward…For the truth the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and… a true original native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack…the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on."

Perhaps there is hope for us turkeys. Our hope is to soar, be we have been grounded by our sin.

What has grounded you?  What is that thing that keeps clipping your wings causing you to crash?

I know there is something. 

Perhaps its doubt or debt, lust or lying, greed or gluttony, anger or envy, vanity or apathy…should I go on? 

There is not one person here who has not been grounded by their own sin, entangled by temptation and destined for destruction. 

But we have a God who desires us to soar, to walk, to run so He sent not an eagle but a Lion.  The Lion of Judah, the Messiah, the Redeemer has come to take upon himself all those things that ground us and by his death and resurrection he says, “You are forgiven!”

The waiting is over, our hope has come! In Christ alone we are given the strength to soar to walk to run for him.  Perhaps we have come to the core of the text.

How can a turkey like me, like you, soar like an eagle?   We can do so by Standing On (the) Almighty Rock.

Our standing is not based on our ability or inability to fly, but comes to us in our greatest need when we have been grounded, mired in our sin, stuck in the pit unable to get out.

It was Christ who stood in our place, taking the shame of the cross, bearing the weight of sin, and exchanging the acts that ground us and by is death he enables us to soar.  In his resurrection we find life.

In this life there is nothing that covers everything but there is someone who covers everyone and in Christ our sin is covered, we are no longer grounded by sin but we can stand in His victory because He is Risen! (He is Risen indeed!)

We stand on the almighty rock of Christ who grants us forgiveness.  It’s not some bag of wet cement, but a solid foundation.

Perhaps David said it best in one of my favorite Psalms of all time, Psalm 40:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined & heard my cry.
He lifts me up out of the pit, out of the mire and clay.
He sets my feet upon a rock, made my footsteps sure.
He puts a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

As a special bonus for Bullet readers- the reason that Psalm 40 is my favorite comes from the rock band U2 and their song that used David’s words.  You can watch a video of that song here- https://youtu.be/1XzHlySYR_Y

Perhaps it’s not for me to figure out why my father gave me that verse and look to the Lord who directed the process.  The Lord knew that this turkey would ground himself and in so doing I would need to be driven to the cross where in Christ I Stand On the Almighty Rock and SOAR and so do you!

-Pr. Seth Moorman

The One Year Bible- May 20th

In September of 1990 PBS aired the miniseries “The Civil War” by Ken Burns. It was 11 hours in length and an estimated 40 million viewers watched the premiere episode. More people watched the premier episode of “The Civil War”, than just about anything else in prime time in the past 20 years except the Super Bowl. Needless to say, the Ken Burns film was a hit! It is still one of the most popular shows in the history of public television. Why bring this up? Well the story of David and Saul is a story of Civil War. It is a time where brother fought against brother and many died. The events surrounding the end of Saul’s reign and the beginning of David’s are filled with intrigue and action. I am not sure that 40 million people would tune in to watch it as a miniseries but countless millions have read it and have seen the events unfold in the pages of Scripture. At times there are things that we read that don’t seem right. Some of the stories we find in the Bible are disturbing but we must remember that they are still the word of God and we need to dig to try to find what they mean. That is one of the reasons for this study. I hope that you can start to put it all together as you read. Without further ado, on to the study...

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament

The saga of David and Saul continues in our Old Testament readings this week. The story has its climax towards the end of 1 Samuel. I think that David and Saul had a very co-dependent relationship. They both hated and loved each other and this made things very confusing. One moment they want to kill each other, the next they say how much they love and respect one another. We see some interesting things about David’s character in this story too. David is revered as one of the best kings that Israel ever had. But his record is not spotless. In fact he is not the nicest of guys at all. David often took the high road (i.e. not killing Saul in the cave) but equally as often he took the low road (i.e. taking multiple wives and the fiasco with Bathsheba). David is an interesting king for sure. I think that remembering that David took the low road at times is something we cannot forget. Even after all the bad things that he did, God still loved him and promised that his kingdom will last forever in the person of Jesus. A couple of other things from this week that I want to make note of: I have always liked the story of Saul going to see the medium at Endor. For those of you who are fans of the Star Wars movies you would remember that George Lucas called one of the planets in the Star Wars universe by the same name. It was on a moon of Endor that the final battle in “Return of the Jedi” took place. Did George Lucas know his Bible or did someone feed him that name, I don’t know. It is just another example that things from the Bible are everywhere. That story has another point. Saul has lost his trust in God. He seeks the advice of a medium to try to get information. The LORD has left him and is now with David and that makes Saul angry. Finally during a battle Saul is injured and falls on his own sword and dies. It was a bad day for the house of Saul. “So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.” (1 Samuel 31:6 NIV) This starts another Civil War and eventually David becomes king. I find it odd that the first thing that David builds in the new capital of Jerusalem is a palace for himself. He does not build a place for God or for the Ark. We will see why a bit later.

The New Testament

In the story of the death of Lazarus, Jesus says “I am the resurrection and the life.” What a great analogy and given at the right time. It is by the power of Jesus that Lazarus was raised from death to life again. We see a glimpse of the human side of Jesus, showing love in the shortest verse of the bible, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) Confirmation students often want this to be their verse given at confirmation since it is so short. I hope no teachers have used it in that context but nonetheless it is still a powerful verse. Jesus shows his emotion and his love for his friend Lazarus, and it is that same love he has for us. He died not only for Lazarus but for us as well. Our resurrection will not be in this world but will be in heaven on the last day. What a great comfort. Jesus shows that love a few verses later when he washes the disciples feet. That was a tender act of love that shows the servant heart of our Lord. Just after this we have another great “I Am”. “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.” (John 13:19 NIV) This “I Am” statement is a direct pointer to the name Yahweh. Jesus was again telling them who he was and what he was all about. There is a lot more in this section of scripture, but I don’t have the time to dig into all of it. If you have any questions please let me know.

Psalms

We started reading Psalm 119 this week and I want to make a few comments. First of all, it is the longest Psalm in the Bible; secondly the Psalm is a giant acrostic poem. There are twenty-two stanzas in the Psalm, one for each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within each stanza begins with the Hebrew letter named in its heading. So in the first stanza, known as “aleph”,  each line begins with the Hebrew letter “aleph” and so on for each of the 22 letters. Of course, once you translate it you loose this unique structure. This is a common literary form used for Hebrew poetry. When you know some of the structure, you can see more of the beauty of the original.

The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of May 12, 2019

Sermon: Love Divine

The account of John chapter 10 (portions of which are historically read for each Easter IV Sunday) begin with a question that rings very familiar this Easter Season, “Don’t keep us in suspense any longer.  Tell us plainly….”  Now the conclusion to the question when asked here at Bethany as of late has been, “when we will be in the sanctuary?”  The conclusion of the question when asked originally to Jesus was essentially, “Are you THE sanctuary?”  In other words, “are you the physical manifestation of God on earth?”  Of course, our answer is, as soon as we can!  Jesus answer was, “I’ve already told you…but ‘yes I am!’”  Jesus assurance of who He is; is set within the dynamic of the eternal relationship between Father and Son, He who sends and He who is sent.  “The Father loves me because I lay down my life – only to take it up again!”  Think about that, the reason the Father loves the Son is the same reason we love the Son…because He laid down His life for us and took it up again.  What Love!

We’ve been Loved BY – the Anointed One, the Messiah; The Promised One so long awaited; The One Begotten of the Father from eternity and the One Sent by the Father in time.  We are Loved by He who was sent and by He who did the sending.  What Love!

We’ve been Loved WITH – a unilateral love.  In love, God acts!   This love is undeserved, unearned and of it we are unworthy, for there is nothing in rebels like us that He should love us.  Yet, Love He does.  His love is such that there is NOTHING you COULD POSSIBLY do to make Him love you any more than He already does AND there is NOTHING you have EVER DONE that could cause Him to love you any less than He does.  His is a sacrificial love – given freely!   His is an all powerful love – no one takes His life from Him and…Jesus continues that sentence, “and NO ONE can take your life from my hand.  What Love!

We’ve been Loved FOR  – the result of His loving us is that we love Him and we love HIS!  On one occasion Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments to two with one verb: LOVE. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” Now we can’t escape the reality that when the commands of God are presented the first thing they do is expose our guilt. When it comes to my love, I must confess that far too often God and others gotta get in line behind….me. My love is so often shallow and self-absorbed. My love for Him and for others so often waxes and wanes. Yet, His love always remains the same, INDEED it has been proven in Christ who laid down His life for me; and whose loving presence is ever with me and comes to me through His Word, gifts, and people on a daily basis. His is a love which forgives the guilt the Commandments expose, His is a love that covers the sinner in His own righteousness, and His is a love that moves us to follow His commands. So the same command that exposes our guilt guides us to our Savior and then directs us in life…and in this case directs us in love. Thus our love for others flows not out of personal connection, ministry affiliation, ideological unification…or anything of the like…We love others because EVERYONE is SOMEONE for whom Jesus laid down His life. *Last week on May 5th, if you weren’t at Bethany you need to ‘gotta’ catch it on the pod cast, Dr. Seltz was talking about attending a HHS hearing in DC in which participants were asked how can we draw down some of the tension and partisanship … a rabbi in attendance said, “If we all remember that we are each created in the image of God…”  Today’s scripture goes a step further…each person you encounter is someone for whom Jesus laid down His life…and if Jesus loved them…how can we not?  We may disagree with a life choice…still love; we may have a totally different take on a life style…yet love; we could even view life itself from an opposite perspective…nevertheless love for Christ laid down His life for all. 

-Pr. Kevin Kritzer

The One Year Bible- May 13th

Tom and Jerry, Super man and Lex Luthor, USC and UCLA, Coke and Pepsi, Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, APPLE and Microsoft,; these are just a few of the great antagonistic relationships in pop culture. We all know a great rivalry when we see it; you have the “good” guy and the “bad” guy. You have drama, intrigue, verbal exchanges, misunderstandings and bad blood. One of the best rivalries in literature is found in 1 Samuel. We all know about David and Goliath but a much greater story is David versus Saul. This story has more twists and turns than an episode of General Hospital. There is deception and mistrust, attempted murder and slander. But once again it all points to our need for God and salvation through Jesus Christ. Samuel warned the people that having a king would bring hardship and pain but the people insisted on their own way. This story should serve as an example of God’s patience and mercy; for Jesus came to die for Saul and for David and for us as well. In this twisted tale we see David as the good guy but soon he will be the foil in another story unfit for the family channel. The good news is that in his patience God forgives us and loves us, even as we are mired in our own sin. As you read this tragic story, don’t forget that it serves a purpose to point us to Christ. On to the study…

Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
We focused this week on the beginnings of the monarchy in Israel. God had finally allowed an earthy king but He said that it would be filled with some unexpected problems. The people still insisted and there were troubles. Saul was a man who had no equal. He was a head taller than the others and was good looking too.. Samuel reminds the people of what will happen to them under a king and gives them this warning, “But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, you and your king.” (1 Samuel 12:25 ESV) For those of you who remember the story this is exactly what happened. Many generations later the people were taken into exile and swept away. Only a remnant survived. Chapter thirteen begins a regular pattern that we will see when the Kings are discussed. “Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years.” (1 Samuel 13:1). The Hebrew text is rather vague here. It is unclear as to how old Saul was from this text or exactly how long he reigned (If you are reading the ESV you may have noticed the note in the text describing this). The one thing to note is the pattern. We will see this same pattern when each King is introduced. “X was Y years old when he became king, and he reigned for Z years." Saul seems to be doing OK until he gets a bit impatient. Saul ended up sacrificing a burnt offering himself without Samuel or a priest there, big mistake. Samuel tells Saul how foolish a thing he has done and then he drops the bomb, “But now your kingdom must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart.” Wasn’t it just a few verses ago that Saul was anointed king? The kingdom talk is about his line or family. And a few chapters later, “So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” God has decided to have the monarchy go to a different family, because of Saul’s sin. Now Saul will still to be king for a while and God will use him but the days of his kingdom are numbered. This will be different (and I am getting ahead of myself a bit) with David’s kingdom. God will promise that the kingdom of David will last forever. This will come to pass because Jesus will come from the line of David and fulfill this promise, as he is a king today and forever. After Samuel anoints David as the new king, a strange turn of events puts the old king and the new king in close quarters. A tormenting spirit filled Saul with depression and fear and he needed some comfort. The ESV translates it as an “evil” spirit and this is accurate to the Hebrew but we need to understand that this was not “evil” in the sense of being from the devil. Nothing “evil” comes from God. The idea here is that it tormented Saul to the point of frustration. One way that Saul dealt with this is to have music played in his presence. David ends up being the one to play his harp in the king’s presence and to be his armor bearer. This is no coincidence. Saul and David will have a long a tension filled relationship. The best word for it is “DRAMA”. Those of you with teenagers or remember those days know what I mean. Saul acts rather childish and the rest of his life is filled with drama. After the familiar story of David and Goliath we read that Saul and David returns victoriously to Israel and the people chant, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” This really gets Saul’s feathers ruffled. “And Saul eyed David from that day on..” (1 Samuel 18:9 ESV) This was the beginning of some violent interactions between David and Saul. I think Saul goes a bit nuts in his obsession with David and even lies on the ground naked all day once. One other great storyline is that of David and Jonathan. They became the closest of friends. They watched out for each other and I believe that their relationship can be a model for us today. Two other things caught my eye in my reading this week. Fist of all when Saul sends his men to David’s house to kill him he escapes and his wife tells them he is sick and in bed. In reality David is not in bed but it is a pillow with goats hair on top. This rouse gave David enough time to escape. Here I thought that the guys who escaped from Alcatraz had a new way of deceiving the guards and David did the same thing years earlier. This coming week we will get a description of the kind of people who were hanging out with David in the caves. The ESV describes them like this, “And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul gathered to him. And he became captain over them” (1 Samuel 22:2). Sounds a bit like the “sinners and tax collectors” that Jesus hung around with! It was really just a rag tag bunch of misfits.

The New Testament
John has an amazing way with words, even after it is translated into English. We read the account in chapter eight that is not in many of the Greek manuscripts. Why was it not there? It is hard to be certain, but I love the story that the section contains. The woman who was caught in adultery is guilty. By the law she is condemned to die. It is a powerful scene. Mel Gibson uses this scene in The Passion of the Christ and it is amazing. I wonder what Jesus was writing in dirt. Could it be that he was writing the sins of each of the people who had rocks in their hands? Whatever it was, the people left. I wonder how they felt? Were they convicted of their own sins or were they mad that they did not get to do what they wanted. At any rate it is a great story. Did you notice the “I Am” statements this week? The “I Am” statements in 8:24 & 28 occur in a section where people were trying to figure out who Jesus was. “Listen Up People!!! He is telling YOU!!” When he says “I Am” that is your clue. He says it again in verse 58. I guess I would have to put myself in their position. Would I be able to figure it out? I don’t know. I might be one of those who thought Jesus was a crazy guy. We also read some of the “I Am” metaphors. In chapter 8 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ESV) He uses the same metaphor again in chapter 9:5. The “I Am” statements keep flying out of Jesus’ mouth in. Jesus says “I am the gate” meaning that he is the only way into heaven. There is no other way for salvation. It is by him and through him that we are saved and enter the safety of the heavenly sheep pen. He also says, “I am the good shepherd”. Is he really a good shepherd? He leaves all the other sheep unprotected to look for one lost one. But that is the point. Jesus will do anything, even give up his own life in order to save the sheep. He knows all of the sheep and will sacrifice his life for each and every one of them. Jesus also spends a lot of time trying to show the relationship he has with the father. The disciples just don’t seem to get it. Jesus says that he and the father are one, and that he is doing the work of the father. These statements are found only in John. He uses them to give an analogy for the reader; to help us understand who Jesus is. They are wonderful statements that I am convinced Jesus said. Some believe that John was putting words into Jesus’ mouth in order to make a literary point. I disagree. I think Jesus knew what he was doing when John remembered these statements as he wrote his Gospel.

Bits and Pieces
We will move on to the book of 2 Samuel this week. It is basically the continuation of the same story but here are the vital stats of the book:

PURPOSES: To Record the history of David's reign; to demonstrate effective leadership under God; to reveal that one person can make a difference; to show the personal qualities that please God; the depict David as an ideal leader of an imperfect kingdom, and to foreshadow Christ, who will be the ideal leader of a new and perfect kingdom.
AUTHOR: Unknown; some have suggested that Nathan's son Zabud may have been the author; the book also includes writings from Nathan and Gad
SETTING: The land of Israel under David's rule
LAW THEMES: Barrenness; covetousness; neglect of fatherly duties; unfaithfulness; rejection of God’s rule; failure to keep God’s Word; rash vows; jealousy; divination.

GOSPEL THEMES: The Lord provides leaders; the Lord promises an everlasting kingdom and priesthood; victory in the Lord’s name; godly friendship; blessings through the tabernacle; David’s mercy.

KEY VERSE: "And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel" (5:12)
SPECIAL FEATURES: This book was named after the prophet who anointed David and guided him in living for God.

Have a wonderful week!!!

Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of May 5, 2019

What a gift to have Rev. Dr. Greg Seltz with us this past week at the National Day of Prayer event and on Sunday morning. 

To hear his message go to the podcasts on the Bethany website, they should be uploaded sometime this week.  http://www.bethanylutheran.org/ministries/sermons/.  For more information about his work in DC go to https://lcrlfreedom.org/.

The One Year Bible- May 6th

Congratulations on finishing more than one-third of the Bible!  I hope the past four months have been a blessing to you because they sure have been good for me.  It was 2005 when I started to read the Bible in a year and I have done it every year since.  It is a big task but one thing that always helps it to celebrate milestones.  So celebrate today as we continue the journey.  On to the study... Seth’s Thoughts

The Old Testament
The book of Judges ends just as it began, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25 NIV) Remember the point of the book is that God loves his people and will find ways to save them. Even after some good stories, the problems still remain. People still sin, but God still loves them. The book of Ruth comes in next and at first seems a bit out of place. There are a few wonderful gems found in this small book. First of all we have a story of faithfulness. Ruth was faithful to her mother-in-law Naomi. She cared for her and wanted to be with her. On one level Ruth serves as a role model for faithfulness. The other neat thing is this idea of a “kinsman or family redeemer” (Ruth 2:20). In Israel, a kinsman redeemer was a person who would marry a widowed relative so the family land could stay with the family. It was an important position because land was so important to the people. The only way a widow could keep her land and possessions in the family was to be redeemed or bought back by a close relative. This redeemer would pay for the land and then he would be able to claim it as his own. This same idea is brought up again when Jesus is called the Redeemer in the New Testament. Jesus bought us back at the price of his own life so that we might be his own. I hope you see how the Bible is a book with one main story. The last big thing in the book of Ruth is the fact that Ruth and Boaz are the great-grandparents of King David. Genealogies are very important for the Jewish people; we saw that in the Gospels and in Numbers. It is important to note that Ruth was not an Israelite. She was from Moab, but her great-grandson became the most famous King of Israel, not to mention a distant relative to Jesus (See Matthew 1:5).

The book of 1 Samuel begins with the story of his mother Hannah. She was so distraught that she did not have any children. This was a big disgrace to an Israelite. She cried out to God and God heard her prayer. She gave birth to Samuel but gave him up to the Lord. Samuel served the Lord with Eli and one night God called him. Many think it is funny for Samuel to serve with the priests and not know the Lord. Once again we have a language problem here. The word that we translate as “know” has a much greater and deeper connotation than the simple English word. The word means to know intimately, to know everything about someone or something, to have a close and personal relationship with. We find this same word used in the Old Testament for example “Adam knew his wife and she became pregnant.” I am sure that Samuel knew of the Lord, in fact I would guess that he knew some history of the Lord’s action in the world but he really did not “know” the Lord...yet.

Not that we have time here but I just love the story of when the Ark is taken and it is placed in the temple of Dagon. When the citizens of Ashdod went in the temple the next day, their god Dagon had fallen, face down on the floor next to the ark. The next night the image of Dagon gets all broken up. There must have been some sort of fight in the middle of the night. That is a very funny story. Then with the gifts of gold rats and tumors....what a great sense of humor our God has. More about Samuel and Saul next week.

The New Testament
The Gospel of John is a great read. I hope you have seen how it is very different than the other three Gospels. John has a very different writing style and it is evident in his use of the phrase “I Am”. Lets go back to the Old Testament to get some perspective. In Exodus 3 we read about Moses’ encounter with the burning bush. God asks Moses to be his mouthpiece and to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses doubts that the people will listen to him and he says, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God or your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God then says to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM as sent me to you.’” The Hebrew name that was given was YAHWEH. This is God’s personal name. This name was the mark of the one true God; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus uses this name on several occasions written down by John. Most of the time when Jesus uses this name he does so on purpose and to prove a point. The first is in John 4:26. “Then Jesus declared, ‘I who speak to you am he.’” It is hard to pick out in the NIV but it is there in the Greek. Jesus is talking with the woman at the well and she had just said that she knows that the Messiah is coming. Jesus doesn’t just say that he is the Messiah, he uses the personal name of God to do so! No wonder the woman left her water jar and ran off to tell the others about Jesus. The next time Jesus uses this name is in chapter six. The disciples were out on a boat in the middle of the lake when a storm came up. The wind was blowing, and the waters were rough and the disciples were scared. Jesus comes walking on the water out to them and says, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Again it is a bit obscure in the NIV but trust me it is in the Greek. Jesus uses the personal name of God. The NLT says, “Don’t be afraid, I am here!” This is a bit clearer. Just a few verses later, Jesus uses the name again. “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) This is the first of the seven “I Am” metaphors in the Gospel of John. It is very interesting that each time Jesus uses the phrase “I Am...” which is also the personal name for God. It is no coincidence that Jesus uses this phrase when talking about himself for he is God in the flesh. We will see these “I Am” statements again (8:12, 8:24, 8:28, 8:58, 10:7, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1, 18:5). Look for these as we continue to read. They are so powerful and I will most likely talk about them as they come up again.

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