YAM eNews Week of May 25, 2003
=============================
IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
Calendar
Coming Up
NewsFlash—Now Accepting Entries for Experience
NewsFlash—Training Day
Service Opportunity—Summer Sunday School Volunteer
[Your Contribution Could Be Here]
How To Be God’s Hero—Pastor Charlie
The Gathering—Looking Ahead
Soul Work—Get your creativity working: consuming fire
=============================
CALENDAR
SUNDAYS
Worship @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
Current Study: Pastor Charlie is teaching through Paul’s Letter to the Romans
The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Current Study: “Oh my god, you’re God!”
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Eating together (most weeks) @ 11:45 am—restaurant changes, meet in the patio or see Mike N
TUESDAYS
Bible Study @ 8 pm—YAM room
Current Study: Big Rocks, taught by Laura
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
=============================
COMING UP
SUNDAY, June 1
11:30 am
Dreaming Lunch for “Consuming Fire”
SUNDAY, June 1
7:15 pm
Congregational Meeting
SATURDAY, June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
TRAINING DAY: UNIQUELY YOU
Trying to figure out what you were made for?
Discover your divine design!
SATURDAY, June 21
8:00 to 10:00 pm
EXPERIENCE
Consuming Fire
alt.worship event
TFB Youth Room
SUNDAY, June 22
10:00 am
“They’re here…”
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FRESHMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUMMER EVENTS… at least so far (send in your ideas!!)
Sparks games
Baseball
Weekend retreat
Taco Saturday
Pool Party
MTA Los Angeles Art Tour
LABOR DAY WEEKEND, August 29 to September 1
COLLEGE BRIEFING
Forest Home
In our world we are often faced with hard and challenging situations.
What do you depend on during these times?
Jesus Alone!
…CHRIST IS ALL THAT MATTERS… Colossians 3:11 NLT
Cost: $145, $25 non-refundable deposit due at sign-up
Scholarships available, ask Laura or Tom
Visit http://www.gospelcom.net/foresthome/collegebriefing2003.htm for info
=============================
NEWSFLASH—NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES
Experience
Consuming Fire
June 21, 2003
Experience is a multi-sensory, non-linear worship event presented by YAM (that’s you). If you are interested in creating words, aromas, colors, pictures, sounds, flavors, textures, or actions for “consuming fire,” contact the curator: Laura Springer at lkspringer@msn.com.
There will be a dreaming lunch on June 1 to begin weaving the pieces of the event.
=============================
NEWSFLASH—TRAINING DAY
June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Ever wonder what God has planned for you?
Think you know, but want to make sure?
Wanna be involved in YAM leadership?
Ya gotta go to UNIQUELY YOU
See how your gifts and personality work together in God’s design.
Price is $25
If you need assistance, scholarships are available.
=============================
SERVICE OPPORTUNITY—SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL VOLUNTEER
Helpers needed urgently for the Preschool Sunday School class beginning June 8th, one Sunday a month on a rotation with other volunteers. Both guys and girls needed.
Contact Lynne Foster ASAP if you can help:
tfbce@pacbell.net
=============================
[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE]
=============================
HOW TO BE GOD’S HERO—PASTOR CHARLIE
Hebrews 11
Hebrews 11:1-2
The key to becoming a hero to God is to be a person of faith.
YOU ARE A HERO TO GOD WHEN YOU BELIEVE HE IS REAL AND HE CARES, v. 6, 3; 1 Peter 5:6-7
YOU ARE A HERO TO GOD WHEN YOU GIVE HIM YOUR UNCONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE
To give you an idea of unconditional obedience, let me tell you about Timmy. Timmy was about five years old and he was an active boy—really active. One morning for breakfast he decided that he would rather not sit and eat. After each bite, Timmy got out of his chair and ran to the living room to play. First he played with his trucks, then he played a game. Finally, his mom had enough, so she picked him up, sat him in the chair and put her hands on his shoulders. After a couple minutes Timmy, in his best five-year-old wisdom said, “Mommy, I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.” Unconditional obedience is when you are sitting down on the inside as well as on the outside.
1. You obey even when it does not make sense, v. 7, 30
2. You obey even when you do not know the whole plan, v. 8; Genesis 12:1; John 14:15
YOU ARE A HERO TO GOD WHEN YOU BELIEVE GOD CAN AND WILL KEEP HIS PROMISES, v. 11, 19; Ephesians 3:20; Luke 1:37
YOU ARE A HERO TO GOD WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR HEART SET ON ETERNITY
1. You wait patiently to receive what God has promised, v. 13
2. You see yourself as a foreigner and temporary dweller on this earth, v. 13
3. You willingly give up earthly status, fame, and power to follow God (recognize that earthyly accomplishments do not compare to following God), v. 13, 24; Luke 9:23-24
4. You keep a light grip on material possessions, v. 26; Luke 12:15; 1 Timothy 6:17-18
5. You see what God has in store for you in eternity, v. 35, 16, 10; Hebrews 10:34; John 14:1-3
YOU ARE A HERO TO GOD WHEN YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN HIS FUTURE FOR YOU ON EARTH, v. 20, 22; John 10:10; Jeremiah 29:11
-Pastor Charlie (typed by lks)
=============================
THE GATHERING—
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
Beginning June 1
Oh my god, you’re God!
What happens when someone comes face to face with God?
Let’s just say the words “splat,” “eek,” and “wow” come to mind.
=============================
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
YAM Tuesday—Big Rocks
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
[A "Big Rocks" study booklet will be available in a few weeks. Send an email if you're interested.]
Coming up...
Big Rock Eight: Church--Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ephesians 4:7-16
Big Rock Nine: Future--Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 20:11-15
THE MENU
First: Get out your bible and read the passage a few times.
Second: What do you notice—who, what, when, where, how?
Third: Divide the passage into chunks that make sense.
Fourth: Summarize each chunk with a crispy sentence.
Fifth: Using the passage as your guide, try to answer your questions.
Sixth: Ask yourself, “So what?” What difference does/should this passage make in your life?
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--John 16:5-15
Here’s a few thoughts from Tuesday:
- The big idea: The sent and coming Counselor …convicts the world of sin (unbelief), righteousness (proven by Jesus’ resurrection), and judgment (God’s sure judgment shown by Satan’s now standing condemned).
Thinking it through:
- The passage says that Messiah sends the Counselor from the Father to the disciples, and that his purpose is to convict the world.
- Since the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) resides in the disciples (the people of God), how might he fulfill this convicting of the world through the people of God (the church)? How might he fulfill this purpose through us? Through you?
Completed:
Big Rock One: The Word: 2 Timothy 3:10-17; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Big Rock Two: God: Psalm 145:17-21; Hebrews 12:4-11
Big Rock Three: Man: Genesis 1:26-31; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
Big Rock Four: Sin: Genesis 2:25-3:7; Ephesians 2:1-3
Big Rock Five: Christ--Isaiah 9:1-7; John 1:14-18
Big Rock Five: Redemption-- Isaiah 53:10-12; John 3:16-21
Big Rock Six: (oops... how in the world does one lose a big rock?)
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--Ezekiel 36:22-32
--Laura
=============================
SOUL WORK—Get your creativity working: consuming fire
Here’s a few semi-random words to ponder, courtesy of your friendly, neighborhood thesauras:
blaze, bonfire, campfire, charring, coals, combustion, conflagration, devouring, element, embers, flames, flare, glow, hearth, heat, holocaust, hot spot, incandescence, inferno, luminosity, oxidation, phlogiston, pyre, rapid oxidation, scintillation, scorching, searing, sparks, tinder, warmth, animation, ardor, brio, calenture, dash, drive, eagerness, energy, enthusiasm, excitement, exhilaration, fervency, fervor, force, ginger, gusto, heartiness, heat, impetuosity, intensity, life, light, liveliness, luster, passion, pep, punch, radiance, red heat, scintillation, snap, sparkle, spirit, splendor, starch, verve, vigor, vim, virtuosity, vivacity, white heat, zeal, zing, zip, élan
burn, enkindle, ignite, kindle, light, set ablaze, set aflame, set alight, touch off, cast, discharge, eject, explode, fling, heave, hurl, launch, let off, loose, pitch, pull trigger, set off, shell, shoot, throw, toss, touch off, animate, arouse, electrify, enliven, enthuse, exalt, galvanize, heighten, impassion, incite, inflame, inform, inspire, inspirit, intensify, intoxicate, irritate, provoke, quicken, rouse, stir, thrill
If you had to explain God as “consuming fire” without using words, how would you do it?
YAM eNews Week of May 18, 2003
=============================
IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
Calendar
Coming Up
NewsFlash—Now Accepting Entries for Experience
NewsFlash—Training Day
Service Opportunity—Summer Sunday School Volunteer
[Your Contribution Could Be Here]
Studying Romans with Pastor Charlie
Suggested Study Plan For Romans
The Gathering—Looking Ahead
Soul Work—Digging Deeper in I Corinthians 15
=============================
CALENDAR
SUNDAYS
Worship @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
Current Study: Pastor Charlie is teaching through Paul’s Letter to the Romans
The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Current Study: Tom on, “The Importance of Easter: What it means and what it doesn’t mean”
Coming Up: Laura on, “Oh my god, you’re God!”
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Eating together (most weeks) @ 11:45 am—restaurant changes, meet in the patio or see Mike N
TUESDAYS
Bible Study @ 8 pm—YAM room
Current Study: Big Rocks, taught by Laura
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
=============================
COMING UP
SUNDAY, June 1
11:30 am
Dreaming Lunch for “Consuming Fire”
SATURDAY, June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
TRAINING DAY: UNIQUELY YOU
Trying to figure out what you were made for?
Discover your divine design!
Required for participation in YAM leadership.
SATURDAY, June 21
8:00 to 10:00 pm
EXPERIENCE
Consuming Fire
alt.worship event
TFB Youth Room
SUNDAY, June 22
10:00 am
“They’re here…”
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FRESHMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUMMER EVENTS… at least so far (send in your ideas!!)
Sparks games
Baseball
Weekend retreat
Taco Saturday
Pool Party
MTA Los Angeles Art Tour
LABOR DAY WEEKEND, August 29 to September 1
COLLEGE BRIEFING
Forest Home
In our world we are often faced with hard and challenging situations.
What do you depend on during these times?
Jesus Alone!
…CHRIST IS ALL THAT MATTERS… Colossians 3:11 NLT
Cost: $145, $25 non-refundable deposit due at sign-up
Scholarships available, ask Laura or Tom
Visit http://www.gospelcom.net/foresthome/collegebriefing2003.htm for info
=============================
NEWSFLASH—NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES
Experience
Consuming Fire
June 21, 2003
Experience is a multi-sensory, non-linear worship event presented by YAM (that’s you). If you are interested in creating words, aromas, colors, pictures, sounds, flavors, textures,or actions for “consuming fire,” contact the curator: Laura Springer at lkspringer@msn.com.
There will be a dreaming lunch on June 1 to begin weaving the pieces of the event.
=============================
NEWSFLASH—TRAINING DAY
June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Ever wonder what God has planned for you?
Think you know, but want to make sure?
Wanna be involved in YAM leadership?
Ya gotta go to UNIQUELY YOU
See how your gifts and personality work together in God’s design.
Price is $25
If you need assistance, scholarships are available.
=============================
NEWSFLASH—SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL VOLUNTEER
Helpers needed urgently for the Preschool Sunday School class beginning June 8th, one Sunday a month on a rotation with other volunteers. Both guys and girls needed.
Contact Lynne Foster ASAP if you can help:
tfbce@pacbell.net
=============================
[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE]
=============================
STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
The Christians View of Life, Part 12
THE "FACTS & ACTS" OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
Romans 6:1-14
Charlie Rice
Justification – being set free from the penalty of sin.
Sanctification – being set free from the power of sin.
Glorification – being set free from the presence of sin.
THE "FACTS" OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
We all inherited a sin nature (the tendency to sin) from Adam. But for the believer, there is another set of facts to know.
WHEN YOU BECOME A BELIEVER, YOU DIE TO SIN (v. 1).
1 John 3:9
1 John 1:8,9
When Christians desire to sin, it is NOT from our nature, but rather from the leftover, residual effects of the dead sin nature.
WHEN YOU BECOME A BELIEVER, YOU ARE PLACED ‘IN CHRIST’ (v. 2-5).
2 Corinthians 5:17
Colossians 2:12
WHEN YOU BECOME A BELIEVER YOUR SIN NATURE IS CRUCIFIED. (v . 6, 7).
Ephesians 4:22,23 “…put off your old self…put on the new self…”
Colossians 3:8, 9 “…rid yourselves of such things…put on the new self…”
Galatians 2:20 “…I live by the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
We don’t realize the truth that we are not sinners.
We take our eyes off Jesus.
We are in the middle of the flesh-spirit struggle, Galatians 5:17
WHEN YOU BECOME A BELIEVER YOU ARE GIVEN VICTORY IN CHRIST (v. 8-10).
We’re guaranteed to win and no soldier will die, but we’ll lose some skirmishes and some will be wounded.
THE "ACTS" OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
COUNT ON GOD’S WORD.
Romans 4:3
Know fully what God says is true.
CUT YOUR TIES TO SIN (v. 12, 13).
Galatians 5:16
CONSECRATE YOURSELF TO GOD (v. 13).
Romans 12:1
Offer yourself to God.
THE POWER OF GOD’S GRACE
Titus 2:11,12
--Charlie (lks)
=============================
SUGGESTED STUDY PLAN FOR ROMANS
1. Read a chapter a day. When you’ve finished the book, start over. By the end of the series—about six months—you will have read Paul’s Letter to the Romans eleven or twelve times. How cool is that?
2. Memorize! Three plans:
LIGHT LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2—a total of 25 verses. Memorize one verse a week and you will finish in about six months.
MODERATE LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2 and Romans 12— a total of 46 verses. Memorize two verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
HEAVY LOAD: memorize Romans 12:1-15:13— a total of 71 verses. Memorize three verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
To know it, you gotta DO it!
=============================
THE GATHERING—
Beginning June 1
Oh my god, you’re God!
What happens when someone comes face to face with God?
Let’s just say the words “splat,” “eek,” and “wow” come to mind.
=============================
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
YAM Tuesday—Big Rocks
[A "Big Rocks" study booklet will be available in a few weeks. Send an email if you're interested.]
Big Rock One: The Word: 2 Timothy 3:10-17; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Big Rock Two: God: Psalm 145:17-21; Hebrews 12:4-11
Big Rock Three: Man: Genesis 1:26-31; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
Big Rock Four: Sin: Genesis 2:25-3:7; Ephesians 2:1-3
Big Rock Five: Christ--Isaiah 9:1-7; John 1:14-18
Big Rock Five: Redemption-- Isaiah 53:10-12; John 3:16-21
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--Ezekiel 36:22-32
We did some Spirit-following and had a great discussion about life and family and work and how hard it is sometimes. Conclusion? Following God is not for sissies.
Next Week:
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--John 16:5-15
THE MENU
First: Get out your bible and read the passage a few times.
Second: What do you notice—who, what, when, where, how?
Third: Divide the passage into chunks that make sense.
Fourth: Summarize each chunk with a crispy sentence.
Fifth: Using the passage as your guide, try to answer your questions.
Sixth: Ask yourself, “So what?” What difference does/should this passage make in your life?
Here’s a few thoughts from Tuesday:
Thinking it through:
Coming up...
Big Rock Eight: Church--Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ephesians 4:7-16
Big Rock Nine: Future--Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 20:11-15
[the above preview may change, but it probably won't]
--Laura
=============================
SOUL WORK—Digging Deeper in I Corinthians 15
If you want to dig a bit deeper into 1 Corinthians 15 and proofs for the resurrection, here are some links:
A Refresher Course on the Resurrection of the Dead, 1 Corinthians 15
1 Corinthians Study Guide—outline and comments
False Theories Against the Resurrection of Christ
YAM eNews Week of May 11, 2003
=============================
IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
Calendar
Coming Up
NewsFlash—Summer Sunday School Volunteer
NewsFlash—Training Day
The Things You Can Find With A Decent Search Engine—Prib’s Realm
[Your Contribution Could Be Here]—Funny: Influential Things My Mom Has Taught Me
Studying Romans with Pastor Charlie
Suggested Study Plan For Romans
The Gathering—Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:1-19
Tuesday Bible Study—Big Rocks
Soul Work—
=============================
CALENDAR
SUNDAYS
Worship @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
Current Study: Pastor Charlie is teaching through Paul’s Letter to the Romans
The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Current Study: Tom on, “The Importance of Easter: What it means and what it doesn’t mean”
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Eating together (most weeks) @ 11:45 am—restaurant changes, meet in the patio or see Mike N
TUESDAYS
Bible Study @ 8 pm—YAM room
Current Study: Big Rocks, taught by Laura
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
=============================
COMING UP
SATURDAY, June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
TRAINING DAY: UNIQUELY YOU
Trying to figure out what you were made for?
Discover your divine design!
SUMMER EVENTS… at least so far (send in your ideas!!)
Sparks games
Baseball
Weekend retreat
Taco Saturday
Pool Party
MTA Los Angeles Art Tour
LABOR DAY WEEKEND, August 29 to September 1
COLLEGE BRIEFING
Forest Home
In our world we are often faced with hard and challenging situations.
What do you depend on during these times?
Jesus Alone!
…CHRIST IS ALL THAT MATTERS… Colossians 3:11 NLT
Cost: $145, $25 non-refundable deposit due at sign-up
Scholarships available, ask Laura or Tom
Visit http://www.gospelcom.net/foresthome/collegebriefing2003.htm for info
=============================
NEWSFLASH—SUMMER SUNDAY SCHOOL VOLUNTEER
Helpers needed urgently for the Preschool Sunday School class beginning June 8th, one Sunday a month on a rotation with other volunteers. Both guys and girls needed.
Contact Lynne Foster ASAP if you can help:
tfbce@pacbell.net
=============================
NEWSFLASH—TRAINING DAY
June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Every YAM student and leader is expected to attend Uniquely You on June 14.
Price is $25
If you need assistance, scholarships are available.
=============================
THE THINGS YOU CAN FIND WITH A DECENT SEARCH ENGINE—Prib’s Realm
Yep, J. Pribble has a website… http://web.umr.edu/~pribble/
=============================
[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE]
INFLUENTIAL THINGS MY MOM HAS TAUGHT ME
My mother taught me logic: "If you fall off that swing and break your
neck, you can't go to the store with me."
My mother taught me medicine: "If you don't stop crossing your eyes,
they're going to freeze that way."
My mother taught me E.S.P.: "Put your sweater on; don't you think that I
know when you're cold?"
My mother taught me humor: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't
come running to me."
My mother taught me patience: "Sure, you can do that--as soon as you're 21
and leave the house!"
My mother taught me diplomacy: "I don't want to hear who started it. It
takes two to fight."
My mother taught me sharing: "Play nicely with that or I'll just take away
from both of you."
But most of all, my mother taught me love: "You know that whatever you do
or whatever happens, I'll stand behind you because I love you."
--Author unknown.
Source: http://www.gospelcom.net/ifc/newsletter.shtml
Editor’s Note: For most Mother’s Day is a happy day of rejoicing, but for others, it is a sad day of mourning. Please remember to rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn.
=============================
STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
The Christian View of Life
How Jesus Replaced What Adam Erased
Romans 5:12-21
WHAT ADAM ERASED—or how we got into this mess
- Adam gave us sin, 5:12
- Adam gave us death, 5:12
Three Different Kinds of Death
1. Physical death—body stops working, Hebrews 9:27
2. Spiritual death—disconnected from god, Ephesians 2:1, 2, 4
3. Eternal death—permanently disconnected from God
- Adam gave us the sin nature, 5:12
By condemning the entire world in one man, Adam, God was able to save the whole world though one man.
WHAT JESUS REPLACED
- Jesus replaced Adam’s sin with his sacrifice, 5:15
- Jesus replaced God’s judgment with justification, 5:16; 3:28
- Jesus replaced death through sin with life through death,, 5:17
- Jesus replaced the sin nature with his righteousness, 5:19; Phil 2:8; Rom 6:23
--Charlie (lks)
=============================
SUGGESTED STUDY PLAN FOR ROMANS
1. Read a chapter a day. When you’ve finished the book, start over. By the end of the series—about six months—you will have read Paul’s Letter to the Romans eleven or twelve times. How cool is that?
2. Memorize! Three plans:
LIGHT LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2—a total of 25 verses. Memorize one verse a week and you will finish in about six months.
MODERATE LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2 and Romans 12— a total of 46 verses. Memorize two verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
HEAVY LOAD: memorize Romans 12:1-15:13— a total of 71 verses. Memorize three verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
To know it, you gotta DO it!
=============================
THE GATHERING—
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
From Tom's Table:
Happy Mother's Day!! We may not all be mothers but at least we all have mothers!
Today, I went into 1 Corinthians 15:20-38.
Paul is now going into the fact that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. For those of you who attend the service today, Charlie was right in step with us here at YAM. He was going over Romans 5:12 - 21. Rom 5:12 goes into exactly what this segment of 1 Cor 15 does, that is the comparison of Christ with Adam. That through Adam came death, but through Christ comes life.
Christ's resurrection marks the beginning of a new era which Paul recognizes. The Messiah has now risen. This leads the way for all of us to now look forward to our resurrection. When God will take us up into heaven. Jesus' resurrection is an incredible act in which He overcomes death. giving us the same assurance that all His promises will be fulfilled. For when Adam, living in the garden of Eden, brought sin into the world, along with sin came death, which affected all to come after Adam. But now Christ reverses this. He has conquered death, He has provided the means, through faith in Him, that we can be forgiven ours sins, and now, with that saving faith, we will be able to be back with Him in heaven. So the downward fall of man is now reversed to the upward path through Christ.
Paul alludes to what the suffering Christian's are willing to endure (v32 ...fighting with wild beasts...). The early Christian's suffered persecution of all sorts. Paul says, if the dead are not raised, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." To use modern vernacular, he's saying if all this stuff about the dead being raised is not true, then "let's party!" But Paul knows from his own personal encounter with the risen Lord, and all the witnesses he mentioned earlier, that it is true. So now he says, quit messing around, start thinking seriously, stop sinning. Especially since there are still those out there that don't know God! An interesting verse from Rom 5:7-8 "For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." This talks about how Christ was willing to die for us, even though we are lowly sinners. But the verse is also making us aware that who among us is willing to die even for a good man? Likewise, who of us would be willing to die for good cause? For us humans, it would probably have to be a reeeeeeeeeal good cause. But who would die for a fake cause??? No one would be my answer, assuming they knew it was fake. Yet here are all these early Christians (and even still to this day) willing to die because they KNEW Christ has been raised, that he conquered death, and they now had that promise from Him, that He would raise us up at the end.
Paul winds up the section we're looking at (v 35-38) where I can imagine Paul's not thrilled with people questioning the idea of bodily resurrection and here mimics the scoffers saying "How are the dead raised, and with what kind of body do they come?" (say this with your best sarcastic voice). Well the next line, which probably seems mild to us, probably wasn't too mild back in Paul's day. He says, "You fool! ..." (say this in your best Mr. T voice, [assuming you all know who Mr. T is]). If you look at Matthew 5:22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, "You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." This was Jesus speaking and saying your guilty enough to go to "fiery hell" for saying "you fool" to someone, must make that a pretty bad thing to say to a person. (Fortunately for Paul, he's addressing a hypothetical scoffer here and not someone directly). Obviously, Paul is very serious here. He goes into a familiar "seed" metaphor that is used in many places in the NT. Essentially he saying that unless the grain (or seed) dies, it will not come to life. We are the grain or seed. Like a seed of a tree "dies" meaning that it must give up it's "life" as a seed to get a new life as a tree, otherwise, its potential will never be realized. We likewise, need to shuck off the old life, the life without Christ. Now we begin to realize the potential God has for us as believers. We won't realize our full potential that God has in store for us until after our resurrection, when He bring us into heaven with Him. That's when these little seeds of who we are now, which are sown in dishonor and weakness (v43) will be raised in glory and power. We have some awesome times to look forward to. This should make it easier to understand why people like Paul had no problem putting their earthly lives on the line, because they knew what was to come.
For next week, I will finish up 1 Cor 15, where Paul goes into greater detail of what was talked about above, that is the change from our earthly body to our heavenly bodies.
Have an awesome week in the Lord, study hard, pray hard, tell someone about the reason for the hope you have!
Tom
=============================
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
YAM Tuesday—Big Rocks
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
[A "Big Rocks" study booklet will be available in a few weeks. Send an email if you're interested.]
Big Rock One: The Word: 2 Timothy 3:10-17; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Big Rock Two: God: Psalm 145:17-21; Hebrews 12:4-11
Big Rock Three: Man: Genesis 1:26-31; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
Big Rock Four: Sin: Genesis 2:25-3:7; Ephesians 2:1-3
Big Rock Five: Christ--Isaiah 9:1-7; John 1:14-18
Big Rock Five: Redemption-- Isaiah 53:10-12; John 3:16-21
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--Ezekiel 36:22-32
THE MENU
First: Get out your bible and read the passage a few times.
Second: What do you notice—who, what, when, where, how?
Third: Divide the passage into chunks that make sense.
Fourth: Summarize each chunk with a crispy sentence.
Fifth: Using the passage as your guide, try to answer your questions.
Sixth: Ask yourself, “So what?” What difference does/should this passage make in your life?
Here’s a few thoughts from Tuesday:
- Yahweh’s putting his Spirit within his rebellions people Israel …causes his people to remember their sins and reveals Yahweh’s holiness before the nations.
- Spend some time searching out repeated words and ideas—they are important in this passage.
- Note especially the sandwich: “not for your sake.” When a passage has the same idea at the beginning and the end, that’s a KEY to the main point of the passage.
Thinking it through:
1. Ask yourself—off the top of you head—why did God give us his Spirit?
2. According to Ezekiel 36, God sent his Spirit to show himself holy. How does your list compare? If you’re like most people, you listed things like: to guide us, to assure us, to help us remember, etc. Well, surprise! The primary reason God sent the Spirit was to show his own holiness—to magnify his own glory. Now the Spirit does those other things, and more, but let’s not get fooled into thinking that it’s all about us. Nope. It’s all about God.
3. How is the Holy Spirit demonstrating through you? In what ways are you hindering the Spirit’s primary work of demonstrating God’s holiness?
4. Spend some time in silence and solitude practicing quietness before God, and let him teach you.
Coming up...
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--John 16:5-15
Big Rock Eight: Church--Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ephesians 4:7-16
Big Rock Nine: Future--Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 20:11-15
[the above preview may change, but it probably won't]
--Laura
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YAM eNews Week of May 4, 2003
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IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
Calendar
Coming Up
NewsFlash—Summer Job at TFB
NewsFlash—Training Day
[Your Contribution Could Be Here]—
Studying Romans with Pastor Charlie
Suggested Study Plan For Romans
The Gathering—Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:1-19
Tuesday Bible Study—Big Rocks
Soul Work—Thought Question
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CALENDAR
SUNDAYS
Worship @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
Current Study: Pastor Charlie is teaching through Paul’s Letter to the Romans
The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Current Study: Tom on, “The Importance of Easter: What it means and what it doesn’t mean”
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Eating together (most weeks) @ 11:45 am—restaurant changes, meet in the patio or see Mike N
TUESDAYS
Bible Study @ 8 pm—YAM room
Current Study: Big Rocks, taught by Laura
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
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COMING UP
SATURDAY, June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
TRAINING DAY: UNIQUELY YOU
Trying to figure out what you were made for?
Discover your divine design!
SUMMER EVENTS… at least so far (send in your ideas!!)
Sparks games
Baseball
Weekend retreat
Taco Saturday
Pool Party
LABOR DAY WEEKEND, August 29 to September 1
COLLEGE BRIEFING
Forest Home
In our world we are often faced with hard and challenging situations.
What do you depend on during these times?
Jesus Alone!
…CHRIST IS ALL THAT MATTERS… Colossians 3:11 NLT
Cost: $145, $25 non-refundable deposit due at sign-up
Scholarships available, ask Laura or Tom
Visit http://www.gospelcom.net/foresthome/collegebriefing2003.htm for info
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NEWSFLASH—SUMMER JOB AT TFB
Helper for Director of Christian Education (Lynne Foster)
Everything from grunt work to program planning
Ten weeks
$100 (before taxes) a week for a total of ten weeks = $1000
Payday is every two weeks
Contact Lynne Foster if interested:
tfbce@pacbell.net
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NEWSFLASH—TRAINING DAY
June 14
9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Every YAM student and leader is expected to attend Uniquely You on June 14.
Price is $25
If you need assistance, scholarships are available.
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[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE]
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STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
The Christian View of Life
HOW GOD USES SUFFERING IN OUR LIVES
Romans 5:3-4
What we should be rejoicing about:
- We ought to rejoice in hope, 5:2
- We are to rejoice in our suffering, 5:3
- We are to rejoice in God, 5:11
What God Wants to Produce in us Through Suffering
- Perseverance: the opposite of panic, 2 Corinthians 1:8-9; the lesson learned here is “I can’t handle it, but God can.”
- Character: (1) something that is tested and proven reliable, (2) something that reflects Christ-like qualities, Hebrews 2:10; James 1:2-4
- Hope: Philippians 4:13
Attitudes Toward Suffering that Counteract God’s Work
- Rebellion : refusal to let God in the suffering, 1 Samuel 4:13
- Resignation: just grin and bear it
- Complaining: we all know what this is, 1 Corinthians 10:10; Philippians 2:14-16a
- Worry: tormenting oneself with disturbing thoughts, 1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6-7
Quote from Lawrence O. Richards: “Both anxiety and worry spring from natural and legitimate concerns that are part of life in the world. But legitimate concerns are handled wrongly when they do one or more of the following: 1) become dominating concerns in our life and lead to fear, 2) destroy our perspective on life and cause us to forget that God exists and cares, 3) move us to drift into an attitude of constant worry and concern over a future that we cannot control.”
- Fear: not trusting God, thinking, “I thought you really loved me,” 2 Timothy 1:7; Isaiah 43:1-3a
- Self Pity: woe is me… you should really feel sorry for me.
--Charlie (lks)
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SUGGESTED STUDY PLAN FOR ROMANS
1. Read a chapter a day. When you’ve finished the book, start over. By the end of the series—about six months—you will have read Paul’s Letter to the Romans eleven or twelve times. How cool is that?
2. Memorize! Three plans:
LIGHT LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2—a total of 25 verses. Memorize one verse a week and you will finish in about six months.
MODERATE LOAD: memorize Romans 14:1-15:2 and Romans 12— a total of 46 verses. Memorize two verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
HEAVY LOAD: memorize Romans 12:1-15:13— a total of 71 verses. Memorize three verses a week and you will finish in about six months.
To know it, you gotta DO it!
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THE GATHERING—
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
From Tom...
Hi everyone. Hope everbody's been having a good week. I know finals are just around the corner for many. I hope the studying goes well.
Today we talked about 1 Cor 15:1-19. In this chapter Paul is talking to the Corinthians about an apparent problem they're having regarding bodily resurrection. In this particular case, not Jesus' but our eventual resurrection. The Corinthians for the most part believed in Jesus and were in fact Christians but many doubted we also will be resurrected by God.
Paul first establishes the fact they have received the word and are believers. Then that Christ was buried and raised on the third day. Paul then mentions many of the post resurrections appearances Jesus made. Most of the witnesses were still alive at the time Paul wrote this letter. This would mean people in doubt could check it out for themselves, ask questions. It would have been very foolish of Paul to give this list of people if it were all a lie.
Paul then talks about last of all, Jesus appeared to him. Paul calls himself the least of the apostles because he persecuted the church. We should all remember that Paul was Saul, the persecutor of Christians. Paul was the Pharisee's Pharisee. He was intelligent, educated, and a passionate Jew, and extremely well versed in Jewish law, the (OT) scripture, etc. He also had a strong dislike for these new Christians. These followers of the "Christ". The one side note I'd like to add here, is as believers in Christ, it no longer matters where we were in our walk with God, especially if things were bad. God can use us and all our experiences, good and bad. There are experiences we've had that may help us relate to others who don't know Jesus and even those who do. Back to Paul. Well, Paul is now on fire for the Lord and he says so, but acknowledges it's not from him but from God.
In the next section of text, Paul uses some simple but great logic. He's saying how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? Since Christ is fully human and fully God, He does have a physical body. Paul's established that they hold Christian beliefs and as Christians would believe that Jesus had been raised. But, if someone is saying the dead are not raised, how can they say that Christ has been raised. He was a man, He died, He was raised. So the dead have been raised, right? If the dead haven't been truly raised, then Christ hasn't been raised either, and if He hasn't been raised ... Paul says his preaching has been in vain, their faith has been vain, they've testified against God because they said God had raised Him from the dead, and the over all consequence is our faith is worthless, we are still in our sins, those who believed in Christ who have died are just dead, and we're just a bunch of pitiful people who have hoped in Christ for our eternity with God, but it's only for this life. Remember how Paul mentioned all those witnesses? All someone would have to do is go seek out some of those people. If they found Jesus hadn't been raised, Christianity all becomes a lie. Paul hinges it all on that. This wouldn't be a very good tact for Paul to take if it were all a lie. Paul and most all the apostles gave their lives for Christ because they saw Him die and saw Him raised.
Paul spent a lot of time in prison for his beliefs. Would he have done that if he knew or even thought it was a lie? Would he have gladly given his life if he knew it was a lie? Would the apostles go from trembling and fear to the bold leaders they became for what they knew was a lie? Can you think of anyone, in any circumstance who would give their life for a lie? I don't think so. Can you think of anyone who would give their life for something they knew was true? I'd say without a doubt!
Well, I ended today at verse 19. But looking one verse ahead, Paul says "But now Christ has been raised from the dead..." So you can read ahead or wait until next week (if you can stand the suspense!) when we continue and learn about our future lives with Christ and the impending transformation of our own bodies?!?!?!?!
Have a great week, study hard, pray hard!
In God's Love
Tom
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TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
YAM Tuesday—Big Rocks
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
[A "Big Rocks" study booklet will be available in a few weeks. Send an email if you're interested.]
Big Rock One: The Word: 2 Timothy 3:10-17; Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Big Rock Two: God: Psalm 145:17-21; Hebrews 12:4-11
Big Rock Three: Man: Genesis 1:26-31; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4
Big Rock Four: Sin: Genesis 2:25-3:7; Ephesians 2:1-3
Big Rock Five: Christ--Isaiah 9:1-7; John 1:14-18
Big Rock Five: Redemption-- Isaiah 53:10-12; John 3:16-21
Laura was as sick as a dog, so YAM Tuesday did not meet this week. She’s getting better, so we’re on for the sixth.
Coming up...
Big Rock Seven: Spirit--Ezekiel 36:22-32; John 16:5-15
Big Rock Eight: Church--Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ephesians 4:7-16
Big Rock Nine: Future--Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 20:11-15
[the above preview may change, but it probably won't]
--Laura
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SOUL WORK—Thought Question
How are you being a Christ follower?
Can you answer that question without talking about different things you are doing? It’s a tough question, but a crucial question. Christianity is about being, not about doing. So, how are you being a Christ follower?
