Senior Recognition Sunday on 5.31.09

This Sunday we will be recognizing graduating seniors in all our services. At 8:30 A. M. there will be a breakfast hosted in their honor in Room 2111. This will be a great time to meet the seniors and congratulate them on their accomplishment while welcoming them to join InRoads. Look forward to seeing you there!

Quote of the Day 5.20.09

Growing up in a small conservative church in the South, you hear more about morality than you do about Christ. If you were immoral, if you danced, drank, or cussed, you were made to feel that God no longer liked you. And if you were moral, you were made to feel not one with Christ, but right and good and better than other people. These things were not stated directly but the environment left me with this impression. Christian spirituality, then, hinged on whether or nor a person behaved.

I don’t mean any of this to suggest I don’t want to behave, or that I want to go on sinning and say that it is okay with God. There is no part of me that believes anything like this can be defended scripturally. A god who says everybody can do as they please would be a bad god, a bad father, giving license for anarchy. Love creates rules, and forgives when they are broken. People would hurt themselves if they did anything they wanted. People do hurt themselves and others all the time by neglecting laws and rules.
What I really wanted, though, was a reason for morals, a reason stronger than somebody's simple suggestion that right was right and wrong was wrong.

When David wrote his Twenty-third Psalm he indicated God led him in the paths of righteousness s for His name's sake. This struck me, recently, when I was reading through the psalms. I had always thought morality was something God created exclusively to keep mankind out of the ditches, and to a large degree I suppose this is true, but David concept of morality was quite new to me and I wondered exactly what he meant by the phrase "for His name sake."


Morality, then, if you think about it, is the way we imitate God. It is the way we imitate the ways of heaven here on earth. Jesus says, after all, to know Him we must follow Him, we must cling to Him and imitate Him, and many places in Scripture the idea is presented that if we know Him, we will obey Him.

If you look for this relational concept of morality, you see it all through Scripture….[all of Scripture] keeps saying if we know God we will love our brother, and if we know God we will obey.

from Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

Quote for 5.12.09

Sometimes I think it is easier for you and me to believe Jesus is God now that He is in heaven than it might have been back when He was walking around on earth. If you would have seen Jesus do miracles, and if you were one of those who were healed by Him or if you were one of the disciples, then it would have been easier, but for most people, especially the Jews, Jesus would have been a stumbling block.

At the same time, however, we are at a disadvantage because the Jesus that exists in our minds is hardly the real Jesus. The Jesus on CNN, the Jesus in our books and in our movies, the Jesus that is a collection of evangelical personalities, is often a Jesus of the suburbs, a Jesus who wants you to be a better yuppie, a Jesus who is extremely political and supports a specific party, a Jesus who has declared a kind of culture war in the name of our children, a Jesus who worked through the founding fathers to begin America, a Jesus who dresses very well, speaks perfect English, has three points that fulfill any number of promises and wants you and me to be above all, comfortable. Is this the real Jesus?

Is Jesus sitting in the lifeboat with us, stroking our backs and telling us we are the ones who are right and one day these other infidels are going to pay, that we are the ones who are going to survive and the others are going to be thrown over because we are Calvinists, Armenians, Baptists, Methodists, Catholics; because we are Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, or liberals; because we attend a big church, a small church, an ethnically diverse church, a house church, or is Jesus acting in our hearts to reach out to the person who isn't like us-the oppressed, the poor, the unchurched-and to humble ourselves, give of our money, build our communities in love, give our time, our creativity, get on our knees before our enemies in humility, treating them as Scripture says, as people who are more important than we are? The latter is the Jesus of Scripture; the former, which is infinitely more popular in evangelical culture, is a myth sharing
a genre with unicorns.

Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

Study of John

In Roads
John 2:12-24
Jesus clears the Temple

1. Miracles – Messiah – Isaiah 9:1-2 – Zebulom and Naftali (Assyria destroyed) when he spent some time in Capernaum he chose disciples – He ministered with his family (mom and brothers).
2. Passover – Jerusalem – big travel from Capernaum in the North all way to the South. Once/year – We should do our evaluation the same way. Exodus 12 – April – first month, Jesus is our Passover (Lamb without defect, prepared 3 days before sacrifice (he entered the city 3 days before), sacrificed by all congregation, no bones broken– He had the Last Supper at the Passover – 1.446 BC when they left Egypt they were 2.000.000 people.
3. Passover had unleavened Bread – no yeast meant no sin. The Passover Feast lasted one day, and the Unleavened Bread lasted a week. Celebration of Freedom from Egypt. We all have left our Egypt, what are the milestones?
4. Luke 2:49 – Jesus was always in the Temple, and he purified it twice – Mark 11:15-18. See prophecy Malachy 3:1.
5. God’s place was a market place – Exchange rate and animal business – why we go to church to make business contacts and have personal agendas? Are we busy..
6. Jesus had Authority – what was wrong was wrong – He showed tough love. We need today pastors that preach the Bible and no compromise.
7. He would destroy the Temple and raise it in 3 days – what does it mean? His body versus physical building. Do Physical buildings mean much theses days?
8. Some believers were superficial – when he was popular they followed him but when he was persecuted they shouted “crucify”. Do we act based on conveniences, or conviction?

John 3:1-22
Nicodemus visits Jesus at night

1. Pharisees – Matthews 3 – definition
Nicodemus was part of the Jewish ruling council and was an important role, although he was following Jesus at a distance. How many do that today? Jesus challenged their views so he wanted to check for himself, and see him face to face.
2. How do we see the Kingdom of God?
. Talking to a council member? We need to be born again: another disruptive principle or truth – remember John Baptist (He comes after, but was before me), Jesus clearing the Temple (we will destroy the Temple and will rebuild in 3 days – it took them 46 years to build it).
3. Knowledge is not salvation – We should know/study the Bible but also understand God (not rationalize it).
4. Speak of earthly things, you don’t understand it, how will you understand of heavingly things (what language you speak? What are your habits) Do you see difference in friends that don’t speak the same language or go the same places?
5. Snakes in the desert – looking up for the snake would save people, so Jesus was the same as people looking up to Him would be saved – Numbers 21:8-9.
6. John 3:16 – God’s love is reaching out – to have a ministry, a purpose. It is like Friendship that requires sacrifice.
7. Light x Darkness – When you do something wrong, you try to hide it, and then you live with FEAR. Come to Light, and be aware that it is only because of what God has done through you (always GOD).
8. Have you searched Jesus like Nicodemus? In the secrecy of your life? One on one?
. If not, need to do so (stop complaining, whining, wondering) Psalms 40:2-3 – Ask God to put a new song in your mouth.
. If you have done so (are you living in the light, still have the first love, passion – is anything your way?
. Bill Harbels – Chicago church and the 4 categories of people today. (not know the Gospel, start attending, Christ like but one problem, God is Lord).

John 4:1-26
The Samaritan Woman meets Jesus in the Well.

1. Jesus was gaining popularity – He left Jerusalem – Not the right time to conform the leaders openly. So He went back to his refuge = Galilee. (Where is your Galilee? Where do you feel like you are yourself, at home?) Where you can let your guards down, and recharge.
2. Samaritans were not pure JEWS, they had intermarriage with foreigners – City called Sychar.
USA – 19-26 years old - 70% accept interracial marriage today. Do we have prejudice? I don’t go to the East I 75 – that’s for Hispanics, New Orleans.
3. Jacob’s well – given to Joseph – how interesting Have Jesus sit at the same well. Feel tired like anyone else…after a long journey.
4. Samaritan woman x Jesus as a Jew. How did she know that he was a Jew? Accent?
5. Disruptive Truth: Living Water – never be thirst again. How could Jesus draw water from the deep well? Are you greater than Jacob?
6. She asked Jesus to give her the water…Why Jesus asked for her husband? Jesus knows our Flaws … She said I have no husband (yes, had 5 so far).
7. She asks about the place for worship. Why? Does she have to move? After Jesus explained, did she get it? The Messiah will explain…
8. True worshipers in Spirit and Truth - God seeks those people.
9. She was evasive, and not willing to comfront reality. Jesus could not be more clear – “ I who speak to you am He”. Help me to help you, some people don’t want to take the effort. Opportunity was so close, in her face, but she did not want.
10. Jesus broke the barrier and talked with the prostitute and how she broke the “Jewish” cultural barrier. He told everything she had done. At that time they had no “cameras, face-book. Still true Today?
11. Rabbi eat something – Spiritual x carnal – Why Jesus responded so harshly?
12. Disciples were surprised Jesus was talking to a woman, but they did not ask…should they?
13. A man who told what I did = Christ. Is that a valid definition? What would He need to do to convince you He is the Christ?
14. I have food to eat that you know nothing about!! Disruptive Principle – Was Jesus too harsh? What is your food? What keeps you going?
15. How do we know God’s will?
16. Jesus needed to finish God’s work, it means it started years ago as we studied through the Old Testament. God is working on you…
17. Reap what you have not worked for ---Are we sowers or reapers? Who is the reaper and who is the sower?
18. Do we trust people with bad reputation for advice? Why the crowd took her word?
19. We should have our own faith and experience, and not live on our father’s or because someone told us…

Quote of the Day

Though our principles may give us a sense of safety and prevent us from making some wrong moves, they can also give us the false impression that we have it all figured out. The result is an air of smugness filled with the unpleasant odor of misdirected zeal, and it's hardly attractive or helpful to those who are hurting - or even to those who simply crave a dynamic relationship with a nonformulaic God. People who are struggling generally have questions that aren't easily answered by broad scripture principles. We need a personal touch. And hyperdoctinalism is anything but personal.

Fixing Abraham by Chris Tiegreen