Psalm 1
I'm back after two weeks off from preaching (one week to attend our newest grandson's dedication and another to speak at the 100th anniversary celebration of a church I previously served as pastor).
Thanks for hanging in there. And its Memorial Day weekend, so many people are away for the weekend.
Anyway, I felt led to speak on Psalm 1, for several reasons which I mention in the sermon.
For background, it would be good to review some of the basic characteristics of Wisdom Literature, as it appears in the Bible. Here are two web sites that give good, general background. one two
The psalm uses images from the ancient agricultural practice of harvesting grain. You may be more or less familiar with the steps of harvesting and winnowing, depending on your background. Here is a good video that summarizes the process, as it would have been done in biblical times, and is still done today in many parts of the developing world.
In the sermon I state that we can each choose where to be planted; or we can choose to live among the godly or the ungodly. I mention that that choice is up to us to make; it is not chosen for us. The out come of this choice is predetermined and predestined, but the choice is not. Some readers may react to that statement, believing that sovereignty and predestination extend to the choice itself and are not limited to the outcomes of our choices. You may be right, however after years of contemplation on these topics, and the study of Scripture, I have rather made peace with this idea.
I think God has granted us fee will while, naturally, knowing full well the choices we will make. But knowing them and controlling them are two different things. If I offer you a million dollars, no strings attached, I know up front what choice you will make. You will take it. But I am not controlling your choice; you could reject the gift. If a human can make such a judgment on something so simple, why can't God know all things on all topics in advance, without even blinking an eye. I believe he can and he does.
However, the outcomes of choices we make are predetermined. If I choose to live in disregard of God and his ways, I am headed for a life of sadness that leads to judgment and a future alienated from God. No one can change that. Only by making a different choice in life, can I change the outcome.
People who choose well, live well and die well. This being Memorial Day weekend, let's honor those who have modeled the good life for us.
Thanks for digging deeper.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Nehemiah: Walking in the Fear of God
Nehemiah 5:1-13
This is the last sermon in this short series on Nehemiah. I finished it feeling like we could have just kept going.
As I developed this message, I was led to focus, at least in the last half, on the way in which we see Satan attacking the work of God in the book of Nehemiah, and how those tactics are still used today. If you missed the sermon, you will need to listen to it to catch all of that.
By stopping the series at this point in Nehemiah (basically through chapter 6), we miss the great celebration that ensured when the wall was completed. You can read that celebration in chapter 12:27-47. It is said that the "rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away" (12:43).
In the sermon I spent some time talking about the heavy taxes people had to pay to the Persian government, which levied a huge burden on the individual families, especially considering there was a general famine going on and that most of their time was taken up working on the wall. What bears mention in all this, and which I did not take time to mention in the sermon, is the posture Nehemiah took as the Governor. As a Persian King appoint ruler, he could have demanded a tax from the people, but he did not, and he could have lived very well off the allotted rations that were his right as the Governor. Rather than indulge in all this for himself, he used it to feed 150 people a day at his table, as well as other visitors. He did not claim any land and he did not add to the burden of the people. What a man. Read 5:14-19 for this information.
Finally, I came across another great resource on the Book of Nehemiah in the course of this study. It is a book called Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah by Leen and Kathleen Ritmeyer. Leen is a well-known archaeologist who has worked on any number of digs around Jerusalem. The book is not large, but is filled with color maps and reconstructions that really help you visualize what the city was like in Nehemiah's time. I got my copy through Christianbook.com. Amazon has it too.
Thanks for digging deeper
This is the last sermon in this short series on Nehemiah. I finished it feeling like we could have just kept going.
As I developed this message, I was led to focus, at least in the last half, on the way in which we see Satan attacking the work of God in the book of Nehemiah, and how those tactics are still used today. If you missed the sermon, you will need to listen to it to catch all of that.
By stopping the series at this point in Nehemiah (basically through chapter 6), we miss the great celebration that ensured when the wall was completed. You can read that celebration in chapter 12:27-47. It is said that the "rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away" (12:43).
In the sermon I spent some time talking about the heavy taxes people had to pay to the Persian government, which levied a huge burden on the individual families, especially considering there was a general famine going on and that most of their time was taken up working on the wall. What bears mention in all this, and which I did not take time to mention in the sermon, is the posture Nehemiah took as the Governor. As a Persian King appoint ruler, he could have demanded a tax from the people, but he did not, and he could have lived very well off the allotted rations that were his right as the Governor. Rather than indulge in all this for himself, he used it to feed 150 people a day at his table, as well as other visitors. He did not claim any land and he did not add to the burden of the people. What a man. Read 5:14-19 for this information.
Finally, I came across another great resource on the Book of Nehemiah in the course of this study. It is a book called Jerusalem in the time of Nehemiah by Leen and Kathleen Ritmeyer. Leen is a well-known archaeologist who has worked on any number of digs around Jerusalem. The book is not large, but is filled with color maps and reconstructions that really help you visualize what the city was like in Nehemiah's time. I got my copy through Christianbook.com. Amazon has it too.
Thanks for digging deeper
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Nehemiah: Prayer, the Fabric of Our Lives
Nehemiah 4:1-9
Just by way of reminder, from Sunday's sermon, the book of Nehemiah is divided into three major parts:
Nehemiah’s memoirs (written in 1st person) – Chps 1 - 7
Ezra’s continued reforms (written in 3rd person) – Chps 8 - 12:31
Nehemiah’s memoirs (written in 1st person) – Chaps 12:31 - 13
The two 1st person sections are peppered with the prayers of Nehemiah, both planned and spontaneous in nature. A study of them is an excellent devotional exercise, from which one can learn much.
Just by way of reminder, from Sunday's sermon, the book of Nehemiah is divided into three major parts:
Nehemiah’s memoirs (written in 1st person) – Chps 1 - 7
Ezra’s continued reforms (written in 3rd person) – Chps 8 - 12:31
Nehemiah’s memoirs (written in 1st person) – Chaps 12:31 - 13
The two 1st person sections are peppered with the prayers of Nehemiah, both planned and spontaneous in nature. A study of them is an excellent devotional exercise, from which one can learn much.
Section I records 7 prayers (1:4-11; 2:4; 4:4-5; 4:9; 5:19; 6:9; 6:14)
Section II records 4 prayers (13:14; 13:22; 13:29; 13:31)
There is much we can learn from Nehemiah's prayer life, and that is the focus of the sermon, so I will not repeat it here. I do want to develop a bit more what I just introduce in the sermon, related to the prayers of Nehemiah which seem harsh or vindictive in nature. These prayers occur in response to the opposition Nehemiah had been experiencing.
There is one particularly sharp prayer in the book (4:4-5) and two that tend toward being imprecatory in nature (6:14 and 13:29). These prayers join with other passages in which biblical characters express, often in prayer, ill wishes upon their enemies. The most famous of these passages are a number of psalms that include imprecations. One that might fit well here is Psalm 137, which was written by Jewish exiles living in Babylon and remembering the fall of Jerusalem. Take a moment to read the psalm, especially verses 7-9.
In regard to Nehemiah's prayer against his enemies, we must remember, as I stated briefly in my sermon, that Nehemiah is guarding the work of God against those who would seek to stop it. He is not concerned for his own work or his own reputation, but he is very passionate that God be honored and that His work be done. He knows that those who oppose the building of the wall, are opposing God and that is a very serious thing.
Nehemiah never takes things into his own hands. He wants retribution for the evil done to his workers but he does not seek that himself. He knows the Bible in which God clearly says that vengeance is not ours to take (Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 32:35, and repeated in Romans 12:19). But even though he does not act upon his feelings, he does have feelings, as we all do. But rather than suppress those feeling and much better than acting on them, Nehemiah offers them up to God in prayer.
Prayers like these and Psalms and other passages that include this kind of expression help us see that biblical characters are human and real. They were just like us. And they show us a godly way to process our feelings. If you are interested in reading more on this topic, click here for a good article.
As I was working through this my mind went to a often misinterpreted passage of scripture--Matthew 25:31-46. In this parable of the Sheep and the Goats, at the end of the age the nations are judged based upon how they had responded to the "lest of these brothers and sisters of mine" (or the "least of these my brethren" in older translations). We often assume that the "least of these" are people in need (the hungry, naked and imprisoned, as the parable states). Therefore, the parable becomes an encouragement for the church to reach out and care for the needy of the world. This is, of course, something the church ought to do, however it is not what this passage teaches.
The key to understanding this passage lies in how Matthew uses the phrase "my brethren" (or however translations render it). Whom does he have in mind when he uses this phrase? It is clear from Matthew 12:48-49 and 28:12, that for Matthew, "my brethren" are those who believe in Jesus and follow him. So what Jesus is saying in Matthew 25:31-46 is that in the end, Nations (and individuals) will be judged according how they treated the Christian community in their land and communities. This is something significant to ponder.
How does it relate to Nehemiah--simply like this. Sanballat and Tobiah and others who opposed Nehemiah, were actually opposing God and they will be held accountable for how they have treated the people of God. Nehemiah knew this and offered up his prayers to God, seeking God's honor and allowing retribution to rest in the hands of God. I for one would not want to be Sanballat or Tobiah on judgment day.
Thanks for digging deeper.
There is much we can learn from Nehemiah's prayer life, and that is the focus of the sermon, so I will not repeat it here. I do want to develop a bit more what I just introduce in the sermon, related to the prayers of Nehemiah which seem harsh or vindictive in nature. These prayers occur in response to the opposition Nehemiah had been experiencing.
There is one particularly sharp prayer in the book (4:4-5) and two that tend toward being imprecatory in nature (6:14 and 13:29). These prayers join with other passages in which biblical characters express, often in prayer, ill wishes upon their enemies. The most famous of these passages are a number of psalms that include imprecations. One that might fit well here is Psalm 137, which was written by Jewish exiles living in Babylon and remembering the fall of Jerusalem. Take a moment to read the psalm, especially verses 7-9.
In regard to Nehemiah's prayer against his enemies, we must remember, as I stated briefly in my sermon, that Nehemiah is guarding the work of God against those who would seek to stop it. He is not concerned for his own work or his own reputation, but he is very passionate that God be honored and that His work be done. He knows that those who oppose the building of the wall, are opposing God and that is a very serious thing.
Nehemiah never takes things into his own hands. He wants retribution for the evil done to his workers but he does not seek that himself. He knows the Bible in which God clearly says that vengeance is not ours to take (Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 32:35, and repeated in Romans 12:19). But even though he does not act upon his feelings, he does have feelings, as we all do. But rather than suppress those feeling and much better than acting on them, Nehemiah offers them up to God in prayer.
Prayers like these and Psalms and other passages that include this kind of expression help us see that biblical characters are human and real. They were just like us. And they show us a godly way to process our feelings. If you are interested in reading more on this topic, click here for a good article.
As I was working through this my mind went to a often misinterpreted passage of scripture--Matthew 25:31-46. In this parable of the Sheep and the Goats, at the end of the age the nations are judged based upon how they had responded to the "lest of these brothers and sisters of mine" (or the "least of these my brethren" in older translations). We often assume that the "least of these" are people in need (the hungry, naked and imprisoned, as the parable states). Therefore, the parable becomes an encouragement for the church to reach out and care for the needy of the world. This is, of course, something the church ought to do, however it is not what this passage teaches.
The key to understanding this passage lies in how Matthew uses the phrase "my brethren" (or however translations render it). Whom does he have in mind when he uses this phrase? It is clear from Matthew 12:48-49 and 28:12, that for Matthew, "my brethren" are those who believe in Jesus and follow him. So what Jesus is saying in Matthew 25:31-46 is that in the end, Nations (and individuals) will be judged according how they treated the Christian community in their land and communities. This is something significant to ponder.
How does it relate to Nehemiah--simply like this. Sanballat and Tobiah and others who opposed Nehemiah, were actually opposing God and they will be held accountable for how they have treated the people of God. Nehemiah knew this and offered up his prayers to God, seeking God's honor and allowing retribution to rest in the hands of God. I for one would not want to be Sanballat or Tobiah on judgment day.
Thanks for digging deeper.
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