All Episodes - Podcast & Media - Vine39
Sermons from weekend gatherings at Vine39 by Joel Hubbard.
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Disruption to Difficulty to New Creation
Disruption to Difficulty to New Creation
Boundaries- Wise and Fool
Boundaries- The Wise and the Fool Proverbs 9: 7-9, Proverbs 12:15 and Proverbs 14:17 The wisdom literature of Proverbs often contrasts the wise and the fool. It’s too easy to say that there are wise people and there are fools. In reality, even those of us who have grown to be as wise as possible have areas of life that need developed. However, the warning is there in scripture because we need to pay attention to what we are dealing with. Is the person in front of us teachable, curious, willing to learn, seeking wisdom, honest, discerning, and capable of good decision making? That’s a wise person. Do I need to be more cautious and boundaried because the person is lacking judgement, reckless, reactive, easily duped, assumes they know, and has a history ignoring wisdom and good advise? That is the way of the fool. We welcome the wise but we need to have appropriate boundaries when dealing with foolish behavior or foolish relational interaction. This is complicated. Let’s learn together and from each other. A theme in scripture is “pay attention to wisdom and more wisdom comes.” Where our attention goes our energy follows. If we tune into wisdom and connect to wise people we grow in wisdom. Who has been a source of wisdom for you and how have they helped you learn? We all grow and mature in our lives. Was there an area of your life that took you a long time to learn because you were too locked in and unteachable for a while? Have you ever had to put a boundary in place with someone that was hard but proved fruitful over time? (OR) Is there a boundary you need to create with anyone right now? Is there anything going on where you need wisdom right now? Could you bring that up and open yourself to the shared wisdom of the group?
Teach Us To Pray- Whatever Is...
What are we “praying” about? Meditation, Contemplation, Rumination.
Teach Us To Pray- 4 Responses from Jesus
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Teach Us To Pray- Pray AND Ask
Teach Us To Pray- Pray AND Ask Read Philippians 4:6-7 In this short verse Paul is teaching on prayer and makes the point that relationship and connection with God is the main goal of prayer. Any relationship that is primarily transactional and about getting our own needs met isn’t a healthy relationship. That’s not the kind of relationship we want with God. In prayer we seek a sense of connection, freely sharing ourselves, a sense of peace, a safe place to express all our emotions... and we make requests. What is one of the most powerful prayer experiences you’ve had? Paul distinguishes between prayer AND supplication or “asking” for things. What do you think is the difference? One thing emphasized here and other passages is that prayer is about connection to God first. Why is it so important that it’s a prayer of connection first and foremost? Paul instructs us on how to make requests when he says, "with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Why is that important? VS 7 sounds like it’s the result of praying how we are instructed to in VS 6. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The result of praying this way is peace. Why is that?
Biblical Genres- Gospel
Read Luke 9:28-36 Luke 9 has several stories in it and in the middle of these stories about other people there is a pause for a story about Jesus himself. In the middle of a longer chapter there is an aside for this story of the transfiguration. It begins by making a note that it is eight days after the previous story. This is a new week. We have no idea what had been going on in the previous week but the author points that out so the story stands out. Jesus takes three disciples; Peter, James, and John with him up a mountain. Traditionally, Mount Tabor in lower Galilee was the site of the event, which doesn’t look like a mountain to us but more like a hill with it’s peak elevation of 1886 feet. They go there to pray. Something Jesus often did alone but this time he brings witnesses. As the disciples pray they get sleepy, just like they do in the Garden the night Jesus is arrested. Then they are awakened by a profound experience where they see the heroes of the Jewish faith and God speaks in a way that is reminiscent of when Jesus was baptized and with a similar theme. When the voice was done speaking there was no one there but Jesus. The experience was over as quickly as it began. This story follows an arch. They ascend, there is an experience, there is confusion, God breaks through and speaks, then they descend being told not to share about the experience. Often in the western church, when you ask someone what the “gospel” is, they quote the Apostle Paul and something about being saved. As N.T. Wright put it, we should be asking, “What is the gospel in the gospels.” This story is in the Gospel of Luke. What is “gospel” or “good news” about this story? Jesus takes three disciples with them but then tells them not to tell anyone about there experience. (which they did or we wouldn’t have the story) Why do you think this story is told? Who was the experience for? Peter, as usual, is the first to speak. Jesus is there, Moses and Elijah are there... and Peter speaks first. It’s kinda funny. He’s so overwhelmed that he just starts talking. Where it says “He did not know what he was saying” may have been Peter’s own commentary when he shared this story. Why does that moment get attention in an epic experience about the identity of Jesus? Jesus is baptized in Luke 3 and the Spirit of God says, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” This launches the ministry of Jesus. This time the voice of God says, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” Jesus is about to go to Jerusalem where he is killed and his ministry is passed on. This is why Jesus is talking about his death after they go back down. How do you see the message God speaks about Jesus to be different in these two occasions? All these stories have something for us in them even when they are a story that is pretty far removed from our experience. When reading scripture notice what STANDS OUT for you because there is something FOR YOU in that feeling. What stands out to you and what do you need to take with you?
Biblical Genres- Prophesy
Jonah is an old testament story about a prophet who missed what it was all about. He is told to prophesy to the people of Ninivah to repent or they will be destroyed. They do repent and his is angry because he wanted them to be destroyed. We see in him the truth that it isn’t just the gift that matters but the heart. His heart isn’t there for people so he misses the point through what could have been a powerful and beautiful experience. The book ends with God posing a question to Jonah about how he should care for people. That is at the heart of the prophetic.But for life groups this week:Biblical Genre’s- Prophesy Sunday we talked about what Prophesy is in the scriptures. Throughout the bible Prophesy is either a foretelling or a forth telling. About 10% of biblical prophesy if foretelling something that will happen later. About 90% of biblical prophesy is a “telling forth,” or explaining what is really going on right now in front of us. The prophetic in scripture is often showing its audience, “This is really what’s going on behind the scenes. This is what you’re doing wrong, this is what you should be doing, and this is what will happen if you don’t.” The ancients saw time as circular and cyclical and prophets would explain how, “What has happened before will happen again.” In the modern Christian sense we ask the question, “What is God saying now?” If we are asking the biblical questions we would ask, “How would God pull back the curtain on what is really going on right now? How would God speak truth to us right now and call forth right action in us?” It’s natural for a small percentage to look at the future and ask and pray, “Where is this all going? What is this leading to?” *NOTE- The prophetic has always been important the Vineyard movement. In the Vineyard movement we have been trained that prophesy to another person should be a calling forth of what God is doing in that person. The vast majority of the time it should be encouraging and should only call out the negative in someone if we have deep relationship with them and have earned the right to talk about it. Vineyard has often categorized the prophetic in three categories. True prophesy, false prophesy, and non-prophesy. True prophesy is someone speaking true things over you they could not have known where the result is you draw closer to God and his purpose for you. False prophesy is someone speaking something that completely misses the mark and doesn’t resonate with the moment or come true. (Often because they are making guesses about you based on their own experience or they are saying something about the future. ie- modern end times claims) Non-prophesy is saying vague things about the future that could be interpreted in many different ways and uses lots of words with little substance. If it can’t be tested or confirmed by the community it isn’t prophesy. ALSO- Vineyard has had rules about prophesy like, “Don’t prophesy specific dates, mates, or babies” because it can lead to pain and heartache. We also keep the prophetic to individuals and not to wide scale national or global events. Today the prophetic should call people to who God is making them to be. The prophetic is when someone calls out what they see God doing in you in an encouraging and uplifting way. The prophetic prayer asks, “What good thing is God doing in this person right now.” Jesus was often prophetic when speaking to an individual person. Can you think of the heart and approach to how Jesus used the prophetic with someone? Have you experienced someone speaking to you in a way that it felt like they saw straight through you and encouraged you in a profound way? Have you ever felt the inner compulsion to speak something you sensed or felt to someone to encourage and lift them up? Some of us feel emotions for others, or have thoughts that feel like they are from outside us, or hear words, or imagine pictures, or even feel physical sensations when we are praying for someone. All of these can be different ways God speaks to us based on how he’s made us. Have you ever experienced this? Take a moment to pause, breathe, and pray. This is just practice. Practice asking God if there is anything he would like to share to encourage someone here. We don’t always get it right but we are trying to learn to hear God’s hearts for others. Pray, ask, listen... and share with someone here.
Biblical Genres- Wisdom
Our series on Biblical Genres continues with Wisdom literature.
Biblical Genres- Law Code
Biblical Genres- Law Code Read Exodus 20: 1-21 The ancient idea of Law wasn’t like our concept of law. Some “laws” carried public consequences for breaking them and some were internal issues that others couldn’t see. Law Code functioned more like a wisdom code. In modern times people have been talking about a “rule of life,” a set of personal values to direct where they are going. There is a context to these commands. They had strict and predictable order in Egypt and now they are in the desert learning how to be a people. This is chaos. Law code is wisdom literature to direct a new people in a way that brings order. Slavery was structured. Freedom is more complex and feels like chaos until you learn to live in wisdom. The point of law code is to give you the structure to build a wise life so you can learn to live as free people. Do you have a different understanding of law code after this weekend? How do you understand this chapter differently? To have a rule of life you have to think about your context. We live in the wealthiest and most powerful nation the world has ever known. “You shall have no other gods before me” could be hard to interpret in our modern times. We may not have other literal gods but there are “functional gods” that we put our hope in. What pulls your attention off of God most frequently? The fourth command is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. This is the one Jesus spoke to and said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Jesus showed us that the law is there to serve us but if we aren’t careful, we end up serving the law. Have you seen the law used against people as a power grab? The opposite of the function it’s there to serve? The first four commands are about how we relate to God. The next five are observable behaviors about how you relate to each other. But the last one is about coveting. That’s internal. It’s not observable unless you act on it. Why would God put a non-observable commandment in the top 10? Verse 20 “Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Why would Moses say to not be afraid and the fear of God will keep you from sinning? The story transitions after this detail in VS 21. “The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.” What do you make of the author saying the people remained at a distance? Why do we “remain at a distance” from the challenge of God?
Biblical Genres- Story
New series on the genres of literature in the bible. We start with "Story."
The Resurrection of All Things- Easter Sunday
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Daniel 4- Lessons From The Fire
Daniel 4- Lessons From The Fire Read Daniel 4:27-37 King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a great and powerful tree that is cut down. Daniel interprets the dream as being about how the great king will be cut down and become like a beast of the field for a time. In the Old Testament the word “righteousness” means “right relationship with others.” It’s about care for others and justice requires those with power to take care of those without. Daniel states what the dream means in verse 27 by calling Nebuchadnezzar to “be kind to the oppressed” so his prosperity will continue. But... he doesn’t. If those with power aren’t kind to the oppressed they become like beasts. It’s quite the imagery. It’s easy to critique those with the most power but we all have our little kingdoms. How do we become more human? A dream and interpretation that seemed important to Nebuchadnezzar is forgotten 12 months later and he fulfills the dream with his own forgetting. Jewish writers leave lots of space for interpretation. Do you think Nebuchadnezzar forgot? Did he not care? Is there a difference? Does it matter? Again, the author of Daniel is very visual. The great king becomes a lowly beast who’s hair is like eagle feathers and nails like the claws of a bird. The bird who soared above the tallest trees is like a grounded bird. Then at the end of the time the king “raised his eyes toward heaven and his sanity was restored.” What do you make of that phrase? Twice in the last few verse the king says his sanity was restored. THEN he is returned to power and becomes greater than before. Also, the last four verses have Nebuchadnezzar speaking in first person. It’s “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” He is judged because he forgets the message. He learns a lesson and turns. But he forgets again in the next chapter. What do you think about this cycle of forgetting, remembering, repenting... over and again? Can you relate?
Daniel 3- "Yes" to God through a "No"
Daniel 3- A “Yes” to God through a “No” Read Daniel 3 The author of Daniel is such a visual artist. He paints incredibly vivid pictures in his story telling to engage the imagination and pull you into the story. The story is dramatic and dynamic. The author wants to grab your attention so you get the point. Following the chapter about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream where his kingdom was represented by a head of gold, the king has a statue of himself made out of all gold and it’s to be worshiped. We should hear the story teller’s nod to Moses and the golden calf story. These young jewish wise men know they aren’t to bow down. They say “no” as a way of saying “yes” to God. They are exiles in a foreign land and they have still become a community that help each other stand and have a clear stance for what they value. They support each other in what is right. The message is clear. “When we play, you dance. We’re in charge.” This is the proclamation and demand. When the music plays you fall and worship and fall in line or die. It’s simple and clear. Almost everyone did what was expected. Sometimes there is a lot of debate around the right thing to do. Sometimes it’s incredibly clear. This was a defining moment in the lives of these young men. Do you remember being young and hitting a decision point? Did you go with the crowd or form your own way? Have you ever gotten in trouble for doing the right thing? Has doing the right thing ever cost you dearly? What was that like? In verse 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego give a great response to the king. They are clear about what the right thing is for them to do before God. It’s not about them and what they want. It’s not about their safety or comfort. It’s about being true to their values. They tell the King God can save them but even if he doesn’t... they stand their ground. What do you think it would feel like in that moment for them? They take their stand and earn their sentence. They are thrown into the fire. They weren’t delivered from being exiled from their homeland but they are delivered through the fire. Not from the fire, through the fire. They are not kept from the fire but they are brought through it. How does the message of that moment impact you? What does it say to you? The story ends with Nebuchadnezzar praising their God and threatening to kill anyone speaks against their God. Quite the change in tune. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are promoted. It doesn’t always work out that way, especially in the old testament. The author is making a point about standing in the right place during hard times, through the fire, because eventually you will come out on top. This is the wisdom theme of Proverbs. Where does this speak to you right now?
Daniel 2- But God Can
Daniel 2- But God Can Read Daniel 2 Daniel has been through three years of training and is working in the king’s court. He is one who has proved himself wise enough to be there but this is the ultimate challenge. There is an impossible task, all the other wise men hopelessly say it’s impossible, Daniel agrees it’s impossible, but then he says, “But God Can.” There was a weird dream with a weird interpretation. The interpretation couldn’t be proven for generations and that is an interpretation of hindsight. Nebuchadnezzar knows that kingdoms rise and fall. They disperse into smaller kingdoms. But he sees that Daniel is tapped into the one who is beyond time and the kingdoms of men. We must remember that we are tapped into the one who is beyond time and kingdoms. The king asks an impossible task. The wise men are told they have to tell Nebuchadnezzar what the dream is and interpret it. He could tell them the dream and they could make up an interpretation. That’s easy. They’d probably done it before. He’d had enough of that. They tell him it’s impossible and no one has ever asked this. The king commands the wise men to be killed. Daniel asks for time because God can reveal it. When the task feels impossible. It doesn’t seem like there is a way through. “This has never been done before.” What do you do? Have you ever whispered to yourself in that space, “But God Can?” Have you met the God of the impossible in your life? We don’t know how it happened but God revealed the mystery to Daniel. He woke up and praised God. He says, “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others.” Considering the dream about kingdoms rising and falling, why do you think this is part of the praise? Daniel tells the King what his dream was and interprets it. Why does Daniel tell the king, “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future” if the kind didn’t know but Daniel showed him the dream and it’s meaning? In verse 47 the king says to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” This story positions Daniel in the rest of the book as a wise man who reveals mysteries. That is a major theme of the book. Why do you think and oppressed people group like the Jews held to this story through the years. Is there a value we could adopt? What do we need to seek based on this story? What are you seeking wisdom on right now? How are you calling on the revealer of mysteries?
Daniel 1- Thriving in the Darkness
Daniel 1- Thriving in Dark Places Read Daniel 1 Daniel was just a teenager when he was taken from his home in Judah to Babylon to serve Nebuchadnezzar. Growing up Judah was under Egyptian rule and 2 Kings says Jehoiakim who was placed on the thrown by Egypt did evil in the sight of the Lord. Daniel grew up a man of faith when his own King (of Judah) was evil and they were paying heavy tribute to Egypt who oversaw them only to later be captured buy the Babylonians and taken as a servant to a foreign land. This is how the book of Daniel opens. The Babylonians weren’t like other superpowers that would demolish enemies. The Babylonians assimilated those they conquered into their culture. This is why Daniel is promoted after meeting the standards of being smart, handsome, and athletic. He was trained for three years to BE a Babylonian. But Daniel never forgot who he was and who God was. He held his identity and his faith. He learned to thrive, even in dark places. The book of Daniel opens with a story about food. Really? Food? Why is this the first step in assimilating these young men? Why does Daniel take a stand right here? Verse 17 says God gave them “Knowledge and understanding of literature and learning. Daniel also understood visions and dreams.” This is telling you what this culture valued. The practical and the mystical. Daniel understood both. How do you think Daniel adapted to the culture? What do you think it was like for him? Daniel doesn’t try to go home. Escape. Maybe at times he imagined he would be like Moses and lead people out of captivity. But he doesn’t. He says. He learns to serve and thrive in a place he didn’t chose. What do we need to learn from that right now? What is a hard situation you are in right now where you need knowledge and understanding and spiritual wisdom to thrive in? How can you thrive in a hard place?
Vine and Pipeline - 1 Thess 3
1 Thessalonians 3 - Vine and Pipeline Read 1 Thess 2:17- 3:13 “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?” Paul asks. There is a celebration of the community of faith in this section of scripture. There is an emphasis of “let’s celebrate each other” in this passage. Adding to this he says, "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.” Let’s do the same today. Share a story of someone who influenced you in the faith early on. Who were they and what did they do for you? This past weekend people shared encouragements about each other. We just typed them in the chat but there was still power in it. What was it like for you? It’s often even more powerful to encourage someone in person. Is there anyone in the group today you could share an encouragement with? Either something you see in them or a positive way they have affected you?
Message and Motivation- 1 Thessalonians 2
1 Thessalonians 2- Message and Motivation In 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul is speaking up for himself and those he worked with to start the church there. He uses relational language and clarifies his motivations. He wants them to understand his heart and where he was coming from. He uses language of being a child to show humility. There is also parental imagery demonstrating his heart to be a nurturer and provider. Paul gives us a good example of leadership in his relational language as well as a good reminder to check our own motivations. Share with the others about someone who has led you well from a relational space. Who was a good example to you as someone who led more from relationship than position? Paul uses the language of family to describe his leadership. Has there been a time you have been able to lead as a spiritual parent? Have you been able to help someone along by being a brother or sister in Christ to them? Have you ever been surprised by your own motivations in wanting to help someone? Have you ever caught yourself wanting good things for others but your motives got in the way? Verse 19-20 says, “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” This reminds us what all of this is about. Paul is demonstrating the heart of Jesus. WE are the reward. That is how important we are. Jesus thought you were worth dying for and Paul and many after thought you were worth dedicating their life in service of. To see you grow in the faith. How does that feel or what comes to mind when you see it laid out so clearly there?
Gods and the True God
Gods and the True God 1 Thess 1:8-9 Your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God Paul is making a point in 1 These that there is the true God and other “false gods.” False gods can come in the form of culture and religion but can be anything that silences the voice of the true God and replaces it with a falsity. The true God says you are loved and I sent my son because I believe you were worth dying for. The false god says you are never enough and could never be good enough to earn the love of ‘god.’ Often the voice of the false gods can come in the form of the internal values, motivations, and lies we tell ourselves. The true God is motivated by and motivates us with, love. Here are some examples of the lies whispered too us: There is never enough. I am not good. I am inherently flawed. I am not loved. I am not wanted. I am a failure. I am not worthy of love. I am not special. I don’t have enough to meet the demands of the world. I am not safe. I won’t be supported. I’m not secure. I don’t have enough. I won’t have what I need. I’m weak, lazy, and won’t have an impact. I’m always the problem. I have to bend toward others to have peace. What do you think is missing from this list? Are there any voices you have to combat that you would add to the list above? Which of the above list do you relate to the most? What is the truth you can speak in the place of the lie you struggle with? What would the True God say to you today that you need to remember on a daily basis?
A Life of Impact
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 “Grace and peace to you. We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sistersloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep convictionA Life of ImpactVerse one talks about "work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope.” The work, labor, and endurance comes from faith, love, and hope. The first set of words (work, labor, endurance) are words of effort, but the second set (faith, love, and hope) come from a different place. They come from the Holy Spirit. They come from a surrendered life. It’s not effort first. We don’t labor for love but labor FROM love. We don’t work for faith we work FROM faith. The author Paul is trying to rearrange our natural order of thinking it’s up to us again. He knows when we start with God and a focus on him the other things will be in their right place. When we properly value God we’ll properly value everything else. They all come from the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you ever catch yourself living like you need to work for love than from love? Do you feel like you have to do something for God instead of knowing if you follow God he will put things before you to do? In verse 5 Paul says, “our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.” When did you first experience what felt like the power of the Holy Spirit? Share an experience early in your faith where you experience this good news in a powerful way. In verse 6 Paul says, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” The mark of a disciple (learner) is they imitate Christ. The question to ask yourself is, “Do I have a life worth imitating?” Remembering people don’t need perfect examples but living examples. Who has set a good example for you as a person of faith worth imitating? What have you been given in the faith to pass on to others? What is something God has put in you that you want to see in others?
Danielle's Testimony- Suit Up and Show Up
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Advent- Love
WITHNESS. Love is with. Not against, not away, and not forced toward. Love is with.(Notes from Zoom Chat)God with us: receptivity. Receive God as God. Easier to accept God’s holiness than his love. God finds a way to come to us in Jesus. We believe more in getting rid of the bad than nurturing the good in us. It’s about nurturing the garden not getting rid of weeds. The focus is on growing trees, not destroying weeds. We are gardeners, not guards.Us with God. Us leaning forward toward God. Be with God without try. Meditate on the beauty of God. Silent with God. Be still and know God is with you. Absorbing the present moment of the presence of God.Us with one another. The old lines between people of who is holy (set apart) and created divisions. Separate from each other. My holiness is better than your holiness and so we must separate. Can we be with each other? Can you be there for someone and not where you want them to be? The line that divide. Peace that you don’t have to have someone else cross over to your side. Move from definitions of God that separates to an experience of God that unites.
Advent- The Light In The Darkness
Advent- Light and Dark Luke 2: 1-21 The Shepards were keeping watch over their flocks AT NIGHT. The angel appeared and the LIGHT- the glory of the Lord was bright around them. The light comes in the darkness. The message of light, that God had come in human form, came to those who were forgotten in the dark. Shepards, the outcasts of society, are the witnesses to the story. The light often breaks in at unexpected times to an unexpected audience. God often shows up as a surprise with an unexpected message... a baby for a unwed Mary and old and barren Elizabeth. Again the light shines to Shepards and a star appears to foreign wise men of a different religion. If you are going to proclaim the birth of the Messiah, why do it at night to those who are on the outskirts of society? Do you think an announcement like that could have found it’s way to a better audience? Where did the light of the message of God first meet you? Name a time when you were in a dark place that the light of God met you unexpectedly. Have you ever seen God speak through a surprising source? Have you seen the light of God come through you in a surprising way? In what ways do you want Emmanuel (God with us) to meet you this season?
Advent- Words Part 2
See message on youtube here.Advent- Hope and Words Luke 1:1-25, 57-66 From Genesis and throughout scripture there is a theme of words creating new worlds and new realities. Words can bless and build up and encourage. Words can tear down, separate, discourage. We want to use our words well but it can be hard to develop that habit because that’s not how words were used toward us. In Luke chapter 1 The archangel Gabriel comes to Zechariah to prophesy the birth of John the Baptist. This is a man who has lived through many years of disappointment and lost hope around having a child. He is so disillusioned that even the sight of an angel speaking to him doesn’t cut through his past hurt. The angel speaks of what will happen. Zechariah questions it. The angel tells him, “because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will be silent, unable to speak, until the day these things take place.” In the place of silence God works on Zechariah as all other voices are strained out... And in the end Zechariah experiences a redemption when he proclaims the same of his son to be John, accepting and embracing the word of hope of Elizabeth and him. What do you think was going through Zechariah’s mind during his time of silence? It was the years of disappointment that led to this miracle being possible and this amazing story to be told. Elizabeth and Zechariah lived a lifetime of wondering why something didn’t happen only to have it fulfilled at such a late time in their lives. Maybe they though of Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Is there anything you can relate to in that? Like Zechariah, we can loose hope due to repeated disappointment. What would you like to see God breath hope back into your life about? Where are you looking for redemption these days? Have you ever experienced a redemption after a long season of disappointment? What is something you are praying for the redemption of right now? What do you want to see in the coming season?
Ecclesiastes- A Time To Keep and A Time To Throw Away
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Ecclesiastes- A Time For Everything
Ecclesiastes- A Time for Everything Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 As the Byrds sang, “To everything turn, turn, turn” based on this passage of Ecclesiastes. There are seasons, there are moments, there is a time for everything. This time right now is the time for this to happen. We want to be “there” but we can only be “here.” When we get “there” it will be the new “here” but for now... we are here. This is the way the teacher of Ecclesiastes talks. It doesn’t settle or answer questions but invites us into the deeper wisdom of mystery. Our brains like certainty but that isn’t the higher wisdom. The teacher starts chapter 3 bookending the life of anyone with “a time to be born, a time to die.” Everything that follows is what takes place between those two “times.” Discern the season. Be present to it. And know that the current reality isn’t a permanent reality. Is there any part of these verses that you find encouraging? Anything that settles your spirit? What part of this passage do you find frustrating or unsettling? Apparently right now is a time for what’s happening. What do you wish was happening right now? What do you wish it was a time for? Take a moment to dream about it and share it. “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” How do you understand this given our current reality? Our current reality is hard on many folks. A global pandemic, greater isolation, political uncertainty, contentious social media, kid’s home from school, economic downturn, winter approaching with shorter days, upcoming holidays... And that doesn’t even include the personal stuff you were already dealing with. Is there anything in this passage that you find comforting in light of all that? Again and again the teacher comes back to a phrase something like this throughout the book, “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.” What does it feel like for you to return to that phrase?
Ecclesiastes- Vapor and Breath
Ecclesiastes - Vapor Ecclesiastes 1, 2 38 times in the book of Ecclesiastes the author uses a Hebrew word that means “Vapor” or “Breath.” Some versions translate the word to “meaningless” or “futile” but the word doesn’t carry that negative connotation in Hebrew. The author certainly goes back and forth from negative to positive as he looks at the whole of life... like we do. See if you an notice your own experience in this ancient wisdom as we struggle with deeply human questions. In Ecclesiastes 1:3 the author asks, “What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?”He is explaining the ups and downs of life in these two chapters and all the things he thought would give him what he wanted. But it was all “Vapor.” The author is looking for “benefit?” This is the struggle we deal with around, “If I live a certain way I should get certain things or feel a certain way.” Have you struggled with this feeling of feeling like the payoff doesn’t match the effort? Have you experienced the chasing of things you though would fulfill and realized they were just smoke? Can you name things that you’ve looked to for fulfillment only to realize you couldn’t hold on to the feeling? The author talks about pursuits (accomplishments), pleasures, and escapes (a natural desire to sooth the pain). To a certain extent we all do these things but can you name your go to coping mechanism to deal with disappointment? Read Chapter 2:24-26 The author hints at something he’s going to go deeper on by the end of the book. The ability to find enjoyment is a gift from God. Where are moments of real enjoyment for you? Talk about moments that gave you great joy, comfort, or peace. These are the meaningful gifts from God. Take a moment to thank God because you were able to enjoy them. Do this out loud together so others can witness it.