YAM eNews Week of August 10, 2003
If you would like to contribute to the YAM eNews, send an email to tfbyam1@hotmail.com.
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IN THE eNEWS THIS WEEK
REGULAR HAPPENINGS
SUMMER EVENTS
STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
STUFF FROM THE WEB— Pray-o-matic May 2003
[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE] Tom on “Issues to think about when viewing/listening to current media...”
THE GATHERING—Finding God in the Matrix
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY-- The book of Beginnings: Genesis 1-11
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REGULAR HAPPENINGS
WORSHIP @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
EATING TOGETHER, 4th Sunday @ 11:45 am
Next EATING TOGETHER is August 24, [restaurant to be decided next Sunday]
SDGs (SPIRITUAL DISCUSSION GROUPS)
The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Current Study: "Seeing God in The Matrix" taught by Tom
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Communal Discovery @ 8 pm on Tuesdays—YAM room
Current Study: How it all began... Genesis 1-11
An online version is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
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SUMMER EVENTS
Hollywood Bowl
Yoyo Ma’s Sounds of Brazil
[TRIP CANCELLED]
Experience: Worship Space—Holy Wind
Curated by YAM
Saturday, August 16 @ 8 pm
Prayer Space by Jonathan Pribble
Entry Space by Jeff Barnhart
Art Space by TBA
Community Space by TBA
Getty Museum
http://www.getty.edu/museum/Saturday, August 23 @ TBA
COLLEGE BRIEFING
***SIGN-UPS HAVE BEGUN!! INVITE A FRIEND!!***
August 29 to September 1
Forest Home
…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
Dodger Baseball—early September
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STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
The Ultimate Lifestyle
Romans 8:1-39
A LIFE WITHOUT CONDEMNATION. (v. 1-4)
A life without condemnation means: GOD IS NOT ANGRY WITH ME.
John 3:17-18a
John 5:24
A LIFE WITHOUT DOMINATION. (v. 5-17)
A life without domination means: I DO NOT HAVE TO SIN.
[side note from Tuesday Communal Discovery: notice that one of the effects of sin is that humans are dominated by sin. This is a great distortion of reality. Genesis 1:26-27 says that humans were created to have dominion, not to be dominated.]
A LIFE WITHOUT DESPERATION. (v. 18-27)
A life without desperation means: I CAN LIFE WITH HOPE.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
1. We have the hope of a future resurrection. (v. 23)
2. We have the hope that the Holy Spirit is praying for us even when we’re going through these troubles. (v. 26)
A LIFE WITHOUT MISCALCULATION. (v. 28-30)
A life without miscalculation means: EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE HAS A PURPOSE.
Philippians 1:6
[side note: the word translated “will complete it” is ‘epiteleon’ and means “1) to bring to an end, accomplish, perfect, execute, complete 1a) to take upon one's self 1b) to make an end for one's self 1b1) to leave off 2) to appoint to, impose upon “… what seems like a mess now, is safe in God’s hands because he is able to bring all the pieces together to accomplish exactly what he wills]
A LIFE WITHOUT INTIMIDATION. (v. 31, 33-34)
A life without intimidation means: I CAN LIVE WITH CONFIDENCE
Hebrews 13:6
A LIFE WITHOUT SEPARATION. (v. 35-36)
A life without separation means: I WILL NEVER GO THROUGH LIFE BY MYSELF.
John 10:28
SIT BACK AND SAVOR THIS ONE:
Isaiah 43:2-3a NLT (emphasis mine)
WHEN you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. WHEN you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! WHEN you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Notice the ‘when’s… messy life is a guarantee… God’s presence is a guarantee… you can take that to the bank!
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STUFF FROM THE WEB— Pray-o-matic May 2003
From “cynical columnist investigates spirituality”
http://www.gospelcom.net/watkins/shorspi.htm#prayomatic
You, too, can pray with confidence and competence with the new 'Pray-O-Matic" system. Just choose a phrase from each category and you'll touch heaven from your prayer closet just like the saints of old. (There are over 10,000 possible combinations.)
Opening
[ ] Our gracious and loving Heavenly Father
[ ] We come before You
[ ] We come into Your midst
[ ] We come into Your presence
Transitions
[ ] We beseech Thee
[ ] In Jesus name
[ ] In the powerful name of Jesus
[ ] For Thy boundless love and mercy
[ ] This is weighing heavily on our hearts and minds
[ ] For Thy sake we pray
[ ] We look to the Lord in prayer
[ ] O, Lord Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth
Praises
[ ] We want to praise You
[ ] We just want to praise You
[ ] We just really want to praise You
[ ] We just lift You up
[ ] We just want to thank you, Lord
For meals
[ ] Bless this food to it's intended use
[ ] Bless this food to our bodies
[ ] Strengthen us so we may serve you
[ ] God is great, God is good . . .
For health
[ ] We rebuke this illness in the powerful name of Jesus
[ ] Bless those who are sick of our number
For missionaries
[ ] Bless the missionaries who labor in foreign fields, especially those who have gone out from our assembly
For protection
[ ] Thank Thee for Thy watchcare over us
[ ] Grant us Thy traveling mercies
[ ] Protect us on our way
[ ] Surround us with a hedge of protection
[ ] Cover us with Your blood
[ ] Now I lay me down to sleep . .
. For wisdom
[ ] Grant us Thy insight on this matter
[ ] Guard, guide, and direct us
For other needs
[ ] Be with all the "unspoken requests"
[ ] Convict them with your Spirit
[ ] Lift their burden
Closing
[ ] For Thy sake we pray, amen.
[ ] In the Name of Jesus, amen.
[ ] . . . I pray the Lord my soul to take, amen.
Better yet, why not just talk to the Father as your father:
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you (Galatians 4:6-7).
(c) 1999, 2003 James N. Watkins.
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[YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD BE HERE] Tom on “Issues to think about when viewing/listening to current media...”
What morals are being portrayed? Would Jesus approve if He were sitting next to you watching/listening. If questionable, what could you learn NOT to do, or how NOT to act. Are they legitimizing anti-Christian values such as sexual freedom, homosexuality, adultery, lying. Are Christians/religious people portrayed as stupid and intolerant while any of the above are portrayed as the fun, smart, hip people. Is it a do your own thing, live for the moment, kind of mentality.
How do they portray truth? Everyone has a right to their own truth. There is no absolute truth. You're intolerant if you don't accept other's truths.
Who are the authority figures? Sport stars, movie stars? What qualifies Arnold Schwarzenegger to run for governor? Church leaders, teachers?
What kind of language is being used in music. Hateful, violent, sexual, loving? What influence will this have on adults, teens, children who listen.
Are we as a society becoming deadened to violence, sexual immorality, lying, homosexuality, godlessness? Do we as a society need greater and darker levels to achieve more of a thrill?
THINK how we can use all the positives and negatives to bring God more in focus. We should NOT just turn our backs and ignore what's happening to the world. We should seek to be a light to world, pointing at God. How can we make a change?
- Tom
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THE GATHERING—Finding God in the Matrix
[also available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
Today we talked about the role of knowledge, truth, and reality.
Take some time this week to check out what God says about truth, knowledge, and reality.
Matthew 7:13-14; 9:4-6; 13:10-11; 17:18-20
Revelation 3:20-22
John 8:31-32 [Tom’s favorite]
2 Corinthians 4:6; 10:5
Ephesians 1:17; 4:11-13
Philippians 1:9-10
Read through these scriptures. What has been added to your understanding of knowledge?
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TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY-- The book of Beginnings: Genesis 1-11
[available—with more stuff—at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
Last week we looked at Genesis 2 (focusing on verses 18-25, the creation of woman).
Things to notice in the text:
There is a chiasm in verses 18-20.
A: “I will make a helper suitable”
B: “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air”
C: “He brought them to the man to see what he would name them;”
C’: “and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”
B’: “So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. “
A’: “But for Adam no suitable helper was found.”
See more on chiasm, and other literary features, on the YAM Bible Study Blog
There are two terms translated “man” in this text. The first is ‘adam’ (just like the man’s name), and can mean ” man, human being; man, mankind” (Source: http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=0120&version=nas). This term is used in verses 18-22 and in verse 25. The second term is ‘ish’, and can mean “man, male (in contrast to woman, female); husband” (Source: http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=0376&version=nas). This term is used in verses 23 and 24, where the man is contrasted with the woman.
An important literary device uses this word ‘ish’. In verse 23, the man is actually saying, “She shall be called ishah (the word for woman), for she was taken out of ish.” This wordplay tells us that living in relationship is a necessary part of who we are. This is, in fact, the main idea in this passage.
Another important word in this passage is ‘ezer’—the word translated “helper” in the NIV. Ezer simply means “helper.” The important thing about this term is its usage elsewhere. In the Psalms, ezer is used exclusively of God. This gives us a clue to the kind of help the woman was to be for the man—help coming from strength.
http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/freqdisp.cgi?book=ps&number=05828&count=11&version=nas
The word “suitable” is a translation of the term “neged”, meaning “what is conspicuous, what is in front of; in front of, straight forward, before, in sight of; in front of oneself, straightforward; before your face, in your view or purpose with preposition” (Source: http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=05048&version=nas)
The woman was designed by God to stand beside him and rule with him as an equal partner, as the completion of humanity (see also Genesis 1:27, where it says point blank that the human—male and female—were created in God’s image.
Here are some thought questions:
1. The passage says that the woman was created as the ‘ezer’, the suitable helper, of the man. How has human culture distorted this? Where does human culture reflect this? What can you do this week to begin reversing the distortion in your sphere?
2. The passage shows the human exercising dominion over the creatures by naming them. How has human culture distorted this? Where does human culture reflect this? What is our responsibility as Christ-followers?
3. The passage says that marriage is a natural outgrowth of the ezer—suitable helper—relationship. What does this imply for the marriage relationship? What might change in your dating relationships if this were lived out?
Next week we’ll look at Genesis 3 (focusing on verses 1-7, The Sin)
Get a headstart. Spend one of your personal worship times reading over Genesis 3. Put yourself in the serpent’s shoes—he had legs then, you know—and then in Eve’s shoes. Describe the serpent’s clever tactics and Eve’s taking the bait—as in hook, line, and sinker!
--Laura
