One thing that puzzles me is how to view people in history regarding slavery. We must confront America’s history of our country’s leaders owning slaves. It becomes an intense discussion in Christian circles about Christian leaders, pastors, and theologians owning slaves. The Bible is not always clear on whether God approves or disapproves of slavery. Quite honestly, God approving of slavery would be disturbing if understood in the wrong way. Does our passage in I Timothy 6:1-2 justify slavery of all sorts? That is the question I seek to answer this Sunday.
There are horror stories about the ways churches treat their pastors. From low pay (or no pay) to false accusations to general mistrust. There are also horror stories about the ways pastors have sinned against people in their churches. From abuse of power to laziness to false teaching. In 1 Timothy 5:17-25 the Apostle Paul gives instruction that is balanced and fair on how the pastor/church relationship should exist. Pastors are a part of the family. There are family rules about how they should be treated and how they should be accountable to the church.
The world and the Kingdom of God often have 180 degree different views on life. How older adults are valued is a big one. The world tells us that older people are over the hill, past their prime, and even invisible. God’s Kingdom takes a totally opposite view. The Bible teaches that older adults are valued for their wisdom, experience, knowledge, and street smarts. Not only are older adults not put out to pasture, but are used as warriors in God’s church. One great example is the widows in I Timothy 5:9-16. Widows are to be enrolled into service in the church. To disciple. To mentor. To pray. To serve. To live their entire life for Jesus!
God has been clear since the beginning of time regarding who He wants us to be. In Leviticus, God calls for us to be holy (Lev. 19:2). In Micah, God calls us to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8). In the New Testament, God calls us to love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). And in the book of James, God tells us what pure and undefiled religion is all about; “visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world…” (James 1:27). All of these callings reflect the heart of God. Loving. Compassionate. Kind. Merciful. Gracious. God’s heart is to be imitated by each of us. This week in our study in I Timothy, God gives specific instructions on how to care for widows. What an opportunity to mimic the heart of God!
One of the traditions at The Rock that I look forward to each month is dinner after communion. It makes sense. It fits. To gather as a community to eat after our sacred gathering as the community of God around the Lord’s Table sounds exactly like the right thing to do! On top of it being good and right, we get to do it the first Sunday of every month!
We’ve all heard the phrase; “Friends that become family.” It is really a beautiful sentiment. I have experienced this with people and am blessed because of it. Life is good when you have friends that feel like family. In the Christian life the phrase is often reversed; “Family that become friends.” Why? It is because the Bible teaches that when one becomes a Christian, they are called children of God. And as children of God, all Christians are therefore brothers and sisters. Family! Then when we meet one another in church (already family), we become friends. I love it.
We live in a world with many competing voices. Voices that demand our attention come from the internet, social media, YouTube, mainstream media, and even our friends and family. It can be overwhelming and confusing. If you are anything like me, it is nice when there is a clear voice with confident authority that clarifies what is important, and what is not. In our passage in I Timothy 4:11-16 this week, the Apostle Paul clarifies what is important for a pastor to focus on in order to serve the church. The simple command is to “keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching…” It is a command to have strong character and solid biblical doctrine.
IMPORTANT SERVICE CHANGE
This Saturday is our Super Saturday Service. We will meet at normal 4:30 pm service time, BUT on Saturday rather than Sunday (There will be no service on Sunday). Please mark your calendars, put a note on your fridge, and/or tie a string on your finger. Anything that helps you remember to head to church Saturday night instead of Sunday this weekend!
One of the things I can guarantee the coaches of the football teams going to the Super Bowl will say next week is; “Avoid the noise!” They are speaking to all the nonsense the media, internet, and fans are saying about the big game. The “noise” comes from people who do not have an understanding of exactly what goes into playing a winning football game. Those who have not been trained to coach, play, and win football games bring the noise. The Apostle Paul is saying something similar in I Timothy 4:7; “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.” The Bible is essentially saying; “Avoid the noise!”
Church life mirrors our regular lives. There are joys & sorrows. Triumphs & failures. Victories & losses. One of the saddest aspects of church life for me is when people depart from the faith. There are many reasons why people leave their first love, Jesus. And all of the reasons have one common denominator - the deceitful lies of Satan. The Apostle Paul warns the Ephesian church about these departures. He warns the Ephesian Elders in the book of Acts 20:29-30 before he wrote to Timothy. He warns the church again through his letter to Timothy in I Timothy 4:1-5. And he is still warning us today through these words.
This week we watched as wind and fire ravaged local communities. In the worst wildfire loss in Los Angeles history people lost their homes, were evacuated not knowing what they would return to, and were left worried for family and neighbors all over town. Many have said it looked and felt apocalyptic. As of today, we still are having trouble grasping the enormity of loss. These are moments when we feel like we are going through the storm Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:24-27. The storm that can be prepared for by building your metaphorical house on rock or sand. If we build on the sand of not listening and heeding God’s words, we will be left with nothing to help us. But if we build on the rock, Jesus tells us that no matter what the storm, our spiritual house will not fall.
The final Sunday of Advent means that our waiting and longing will soon be rewarded. Christmas is near! The future of those waiting for the Messiah was a glorious hope. That hope became reality when Jesus came and accomplished His purposes. The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus lived a righteous life for us, died a substitutionary death for us, and offered eternal life as a free gift to us. Christmas hope fulfilled! There is still a future hope for the Christian. The hope of eternal glory in heaven. Just as God fulfilled his promise of Jesus in the 1st coming, God will fulfill his promise of heaven - eternity in God’s presence. This Sunday I will focus on our future hope in Jesus! Then on Christmas Eve at 5:00 pm we will celebrate that Jesus appeared!
Christmas is a time of joy! We certainly rejoice during times of parties, gift giving, opening stockings, singing Christmas carols, and gathering with family. As Christians, we rejoice in a much deeper way as well. We rejoice that Jesus has come to save us! We rejoice that just as God has kept all of His promises in giving us Jesus, He will keep all of His promises in the promised hope of heaven. This week in we will look at how Israel will rejoice in the future and compare it to how we rejoice at Christmas! Also, this Saturday is The Rock’s annual Christmas party. Click to go into full article to see the invite and what you can bring.
I’m excited about this Sunday! First and foremost, like any Sunday we get to worship our God through song, prayer, Word, and fellowship. Second, it is the 2nd Sunday of Advent - we anticipate the coming of the Baby Jesus with a reading from Luke and lighting of the 2nd Advent candle. Third, we will welcome 8 new members to the church! Fourth, we will take communion together remembering what Jesus has done for us on the cross, in His life, and in our hearts. Fifth, we will eat a communion meal together (provided by the church) immediately following the service. Finally, we will watch the Manhattan Beach Christmas firework show together. After church, plan to park somewhere on 11th street west of Sepulveda and walk to the top of the hill to watch the firework show together. Wow!
Next Thursday America will celebrate Thanksgiving. A holiday designed to give thanks. To many people it will simply be a commercial holiday surrounded by family, turkey, pie, and football. To others, it will be a genuine day to give thanks for their good fortune. For the Christian, it is both of these combined with the greatest reason to give thanks - God’s goodness to us in Jesus! This Sunday I will preach on the radical thanksgiving one woman showed to Jesus. It was humble. It was heartfelt. It was a little bit weird. But it might be the best example we have in the Bible of how we are to celebrate Thanksgiving!
There are four important things we will do this Sunday in our weekly worship service: 1) We will sing to the Lord with hearts full of thanksgiving; 2) I will preach a short devotional message from Psalm 107:1-2; 3) There will be a time of testimonial thanksgiving from the congregation. I want to encourage you to think of a few things you are thankful for in your life. Then consider sharing them with the church on Sunday. It will encourage others and bless you to speak these truths in front of others; 4) Enjoy a Thanksgiving style meal together! Please click on link to full article to sign up to help with the meal.
Above all else in I Timothy, the Apostle Paul wanted the people of God to know how they ought to behave in the church. This was important to the Apostle. Paul knew that the church in Ephesus (like all Christian churches) was the church of the living God. This church was a “pillar and buttress of the truth.” The Ephesian church was a part of upholding the structural foundation of God’s truth. The truth of Jesus. The truth of the Bible. The truth of life itself. We, at The Rock, are also a “pillar and buttress of the truth.” We are called to know and live like Jesus.
The function of Deacons in the New Testament church is not as clear as the function of Pastors. We are giving limited direction of what exactly the Deacon’s role is in the church. We DO know that the role involves meeting material needs of the congregation. We also DO know that Deacons free up Pastor/Elders to do the work of spiritual rule in the church - preaching, teaching, prayer, and spiritual care. In relation to this, we DO know that the Deacon’s role does not involve the spiritual side of leadership. This week I will continue to unpack the leadership roles in the church and apply it to The Rock.
We are entering into the Thanksgiving and Christmas season! I know it seems early, but I wanted to get dates out so you would block them off in your calendars!
November 3 - Communion Sunday
November 17 - Thanksgiving Service and Meal Following Service
December 1, 8, 15, 22 - 4 Sundays of Advent
December 8 - Communion Sunday with Meal & Manhattan Beach Fireworks Following Service
December 14 - Rock Christmas Party
December 22 - Rock Final Sunday of Advent Christmas Service
December 24 - Combined Christmas Eve Service with Harbor Covenant Church
Are you tempted to skip over Bible passages regarding church leadership structure? I admit, these passages are not the ones people want to talk about most. This does not mean that they are unimportant. It also does not mean these passages don’t mean anything to your everyday life! I believe passages on church leadership help us to establish proper foundations for any church. If church leadership is operating properly, churches can avoid many struggles and problems. Also, if church leadership is operating properly, ministries of love, mercy, teaching, and prayer will thrive!
