Malachi to Luke

"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.

"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Malachi 4: 1-5

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Luke 1: 11-17

God in the Dock

C.S. Lewis wrote a famous essay in the 1940's called "God in the Dock." The word "dock" in this case is the British use term for the place for a defendant in a courtroom...we might say "On the stand" in American English. The gist of the essay is that ancient man was, in effect, on trial before God who was the great judge of all things. Today, things have changed and man (humanity) is the judge and as judge, man has decided to put God on trial. No longer does man have to answer to God, God has to "prove" himself to man...and man can decide whether he thinks God has a very good case for himself.

This week a Nebraska lawmaker took that notion to new heights. See the article below:

Lincoln, NE- The defendant in a state senator's lawsuit is accused of causing untold death and horror and threatening to cause more still.
He can be sued in Douglas County, the legislator claims, because He's everywhere.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week. Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he's trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.
Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terrorist threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused "fearsome floods ... horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes."
He's seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.

Today we look at Luke's evidence so that this "orderly account" might "assure" us of what we have been told about God... a God who put himself in the dock, was found guilty in a sham trial and sentenced for our transgressions.

Mark

The Luke / Acts Story

Most Biblical scholars think that Luke and Acts are the work of one author. If that is the case, then we have a very valuable resource to use as a companion to Acts. Many Christian denominations throughout the ages have been guilty of ignoring or downplaying the book of Acts...a crime that we in the churches of Christ could never be convicted of. We have studied and exalted Acts. Followed its examples, commands and inferences to the letter and generally been heavily influenced by this Lukan volume in ways that most Christians
cannot claim.

Critics might say that we would be well served to spend as much time reading Luke's first book as a lens through which we interpret his second. I guess that is a valid observation, isn't it? Which one of us would start at book two of a modern series such as Harry Potter or others and not take the time to read the first? Or better yet...which one of us would watch episode two of a season’s worth of TV shows and not watch the first? It is in the first where we learn about the characters and their development and begin to see why they behave the way they do in episode two or season two.

Of course, we have not ignored Luke...we have read it just as much as we have the other gospels. But this fall, we want to focus on Luke's writings and look for clues that can help make more sense of this thing we call the church (the entity we see develop so rapidly and amazingly in Acts) and to help us make more sense of this thing we call the Christian life.

Mark

Jesus' Table Etiquette

My poor wife! Up till recently when Rylee came along she has been dealing with a problem that cave woman for centuries have had to deal with. The table etiquette of the cavemen she lives with. She has four of them at her table each evening and has taken on the task of trying to instill (to cavemen that means beat with a club) some sense of etiquette, or table manners in the brains of the men at her table. She is trying to teach them (us) that it’s not okay to grunt and grab and stuff things in their mouths. If she had any hopes that adding dainty little Rylee to the mix might help, those dreams have been dashed by the fact that Rylee has a propensity to throw food and make things even less orderly.

It has often been noted that in the book of Luke we always find Jesus coming to a meal, at a meal or leaving a meal. This fall we will be looking at Jesus in Luke, and often we will be sitting around a table with him. In Luke 14 we see Jesus with a group of Pharisees and religious scholars at a table, and we see him commenting on their manners. He notices they put a great deal of effort into the jostling and positioning of getting the best seat at the table, so he takes the opportunity to tell them a parable about how to choose a seat and whom to invite to their tables.

The meal mentioned in Luke 14, if understood in the context of the culture of the time, would have been not just an occasion to eat, but an occasion to build reputations and connections. The invitation to such an event would have come with an expectation for a similar invitation in return. Jesus gives them a whole new set of table manners. He teaches them and us, that when we come to Christ’s table, everyone is welcome. It does not matter if you can pay him in return, in fact, he invites those who know they cannot repay him. At Christ’s table it does not matter if you are rich or poor, black or white, young or old; you come elbow to elbow with people from all walks of life.

The reason my wife is concerned about table manners is not because she cares about being prim and proper, but because meals are not just occasions to pour fuel into our human machines, they are opportunities to share and reflect and laugh and be a family. Today at the table of the Lord, all are welcome and we are a family. If you show up today knowing that you are poor, lame and blind…then you are minding your manners in a way that would make your father proud.

Mark

In Psalm-niacs

Ever have trouble sleeping? I don’t. Whenever my head hits the pillow I am pretty much out. Yet it is a problem that affects countless Americans, and it has a terrible aspect to it. The more you get into a cycle of sleeplessness, the more you are tired and in need of sleep and the less a true insomniac is able to sleep.

In Psalm 77 the Psalmist speaks of his inability to sleep. In verse 3 he talks about how he lay awake at night as anxiety tormented him. Sleep specialists today blame anxiety as the number one villain in sufferers of insomnia. Those affected find their minds spinning like little computer hard drives unable to “sleep”. (Sad that I have to use a computer analogy to talk about something as uniquely human as sleep.) In many cases the worries and concerns of the next day or the happenings of the previous day cause the mind of the insomniac to stick and worry and sleep never comes.

The Psalmist deals with his insomnia by deliberately turning his thoughts to the past and dwelling on what God has done for him and his people. Psychologists today have a name for this. They tell us we need to recall our pasts, and therapy supposedly helps us “reassign new meanings” to the negative happenings there. The Psalmist does this, and in the midst of his sleeplessness finds peace in recalling the wonderful track record that our Lord has with his people. In short, our track record in being faithful to him is pretty sad, but his track record in being faithful to his people is flawless.

Today we talk about Psalm 77 and the art of remembering and how it brings rest to a weary and tired people.

Mark

Psalm 23

I have preached a lot of sermons in my life, but I don’t think I have ever preached one on Psalm 23. That seems sort of odd now that I think about it . . . maybe I have been avoiding it? Maybe I hear it too often so preaching about it seems boring.

Maybe it was because I am afraid of that first part. The Lord is my shepherd, I SHALL NOT WANT. The not wanting part is tough for me, because I still want. I still want stuff in this world like titles and money and a better car and whatever else I know I probably should not want.

Today we will talk about how the Shepherd calls us not to want. Mark

1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

(NKJV)

Purity

Last week we talked about morality and instructions on the operation of the human machine. We discussed how with even the simplest of machines there is a truism in operating them…do it wrongly and you may ruin the machine, hurt yourself or hurt someone else.

There are lots of aspects to morality that Christians have stressed over the years. In the old days these aspects were displayed as “virtues” and they were called the Cardinal virtues, the word “cardinal” having nothing to do with Catholic church leaders or baseball players…but with the Latin word cardo meaning “hinge of the door”. They are justice, fortitude, prudence and temperance, and the Psalms are full of calls for us to put these virtues on display.

One very important aspect to being “virtuous” is the combination of prudence and temperance in the English word “purity”. The following are some of the myths the Christian establishment tends to believe about purity:

"I am a Christian because of the things I do not do." (1 Samuel 16:7, Isaiah 64:6)

"Purity and morality is only about what I do sexually." (1 Timothy 4:12, Hebrews 12:16, Acts 5:1-11)

"If I choose to do the purity thing, everything will be 'all good' all at once." (Galatians 6:7)

"God will give me whatever I want, if I just stay pure." (1 John 3:13, John 15:18)

Today we look at Psalm 101 and its call to purity. In Psalm 101 we see purity forms powerful results (1). Purity must flow out of a positive, passionate relationship with God (8), and purity flourishes when practiced rigorously (2). In fact, Psalm 101 calls us to put purity and morality in action and reminds us that practicing private purity precedes public performance.

Today we look at: Purity of the mind – Psalms 101:3

Purity of the heart – Psalms 101:4

Purity of words – Psalms 101:5

Mark