The Jesus Letters: Revelation 1-3 | Summer 2009

The Jesus Letters is a series which will begin at DSF on Sunday July 7 and run through the summer. It will explore Jesus letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. 

#1: The Cosmic Jesus
#2: First Love
#3: Faithful unto Death
#4: Battle for the Mind
#5: Wake Up! - Jesus the Thief
#6: Always on the Brink
#7: An Open Door
#8: Let Me In!

The Prodigal God

This is the video we made called The Prodigal God (based on the book and concepts of the same name by Tim Keller)

http://vimeo.com/5159382

I hope it is a blessing to you.

DSF Live - Internet Stream

We are now steaming DSF live for the benefit of those who can't join us on a Sunday night in Delta. Both those who are not a part of our church community and those who are but who are in far off in places like the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Chile, Bolivia, Germany, Wisconsin, and beyond.

The DSF service (every Sunday night at 7pm) will be live over the internet at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dsf-stream - please join us!

By God's grace we use this medium in the spirit of 1 Cor. 9 - that we would use all means necessary to reach as many people as possible with the gospel of Jesus.

The Jesus Scandals: Scandal #2 - The Offensive Parties

"Birth is cause for celebration."

// Elizabeth Kubler Ross, Psychologist

 

"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!"

 // Barbara Hoffman

 

18 Now k John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, l “Why do John's disciples and m the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, n “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 o The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and p then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old q wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” [3]

// Mark 2.18-22

 

33 For John the Baptist has come p eating no bread andq drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come r eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, s a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet t wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 u One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 v And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears andw wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If x this man were y a prophet, he z would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him,“Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred a denarii, and the other fifty. 42 b When they could not pay, he c cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; d you gave me no water for my feet, but e she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 f You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to g kiss my feet. 46 h You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, i which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, j “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among [1]themselves, k “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”50 And he said to the woman, l “Your faith has saved you;m go in peace.”

// Luke 7.31-50

 

 The Wedding at Cana

2 On h the third day there was a wedding at i Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with j his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, k “Woman, l what does this have to do with me? m My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there n for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirtyo gallons. [1] 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted p the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested q his glory. And r his disciples believed in him.

// John 2.1-11

The Jesus Scandals: Scandal #1 - The Offensive Arrival

Introduction

Scandal (sk’ndl): “a publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society.”

 

“And they were offended by him…”

 // Matthew 13.57

 

“We preach Christ crucified…a skandalon.”

 // 1 Corinthians 1.23

 

“Behold, I am laying in Zion  a stone of stumbling, and a rock of skandalon; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

 // Romans 9.33

 

“If I preach circumcision and yet suffer persecution than the skandalon of the cross has ceased.”

// Galatians 5.11

 

The Scandal of the Birth

"And the will be born of a virgin, and you shall call his name Immanuel which means God with us."

// Matthew 1

The Word was with God, and the Word was God... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

// John 1.1, 14

The Scandal of his Baptism

“And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

// Mark 1.11-12

 

“God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life.”

// Mark Galli, Author

 

The Scandal of his First Sermon

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 y “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to a proclaim good news to the poor.
b He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and c recovering of sight to the blind,
d to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 e to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and f sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were g fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today h this Scripture i has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at j the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this  Joseph's son?”

// Luke 4. 17-22

"Repent and believe for the kingdom of God is at hand."

Mark 1.15

 

“The first step toward God is a step away from the lies of the world. It is a renunciation of the lies we have been told about ourselves and our neighbors and our universe. The word used to describe this step is ‘repentance.’ It is always and everywhere the first word in the Christian life.”

// Eugene Peterson, Theologian

The Jesus Scandals | starting Sunday May 10

Scandal #1: The Offensive Arrival
Scandal #2: The Offensive Parties
Scandal #3: The Offensive Miracles
Scandal #4: The Offensive Teaching
Scandal #5: The Offensive Stories
Scandal #6: The Offensive Prophecy
Scandal #7: The Offensive Death


south delta baptist church | 7pm

Dying Young (2 Samuel 12)

2 Samuel 12:15-24

¹⁵After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. ¹⁶David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. ¹⁷The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

¹⁸On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."

¹⁹David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead."

²⁰Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

²¹His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"

²²He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' ²³But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

²⁴Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him;

 

 

Do children who die in infancy go to heaven?

Genesis 18.25

Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

 

Romans 1.19-20

¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

 

 

Jonah 4.5-11

⁵Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. ⁷But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. ⁸When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

⁹But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" "I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."

¹⁰But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. ¹¹But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

 

Luke 18.16

But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

 

Job 1.21

and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

 

Now, let every mother and father here present know assuredly that it is well with the child, if God hath taken it away from you in its infant days. You never heard its declaration of faith - it was not capable of such a thing; it was not baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ, not buried with him in baptism; it was not capable of giving that “answer of a good conscience towards God,” nevertheless, you may rest assured that it is well with the child, well in a higher and a better sense than it is well with yourselves; well without limitation, well without exception, well infinitely, “well” eternally.

       // Charles Spurgeon

If death in infancy does depend on God's providence, it is assuredly God in His providence who selects this vast multitude to be made participants of His unconditional salvation . . . This is but to say that they are unconditionally predestinated to salvation from the foundation of the world.
       // B.B. Warfield

 

Heaven

 

A proper Christian understanding of heaven is not as a place remote from the present world but rather as a dimension normally kept secret of present reality… Heaven is God’s dimension of present reality.
       // N.T. Wright, Scholar

Revelation 1:10, 12

¹⁰On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

¹²I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

 

2 Kings 6.17

And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

 

 

Heaven in the invisible world of reality so far inhabited by God, the departed saints and two categories of angel—those loyal to him and those in rebellion against him.
       // David Lawrence, Theologian

 

 

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

Acts 1:11

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

 

 

Going to Heaven when we Die

 

 

2 Corinthians 5.8

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

 

 

Luke 23.43

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

 

 

“New Heaven & New Earth”

 

 

Philippians 3:20-21

²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

 

Revelation 21:1-4

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

 

 

The presence of spiritual wickedness is in the heavenly places which his why the Bible says that not only will the earth be cleansed and renewed, but the heavens will also be judged and purified.
       // David Lawrence

Matthew 19.28

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

Romans 8:20-23

²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

 

1 Corinthians 15:42-43; 51-43

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

 

 

The resurrection body is not an abstract, spiritual existence having nothing to do with the earth, but something that has a place and a manifold function in the earth.
       // G.C. Berkouwer

Questions About Heaven:

 

·  Will we know everything in heaven?

·   Will we be equal in heaven?

·   Do those in heaven see us now?

·   Will we be bored in heaven?

Community Group Questions

 

Discuss classical understandings of heaven vs. a Biblical one

 

Why is a proper understanding of heaven important?

 

Discuss the idea that not everyone’s experience of heaven will be the same – use 2 Cor. 5.10 and Luke 19.11-27 in your discussion. 

 

How does a view of the restoration of creation rather than the abolition of it change the way we view the world, physicality and stewardship of the earth?

 

Read Revelation 21-22 and discuss what is different about this view of heaven than the classical non-physical view.

 

Discuss how Jesus views heaven and earth: use the Beatitudes, and the Lord’s Prayer in your discussion.