YAM eNews Week of September 14, 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—Worship, Eat, The Gathering, Communal Discovery
WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL
STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
NUGGETS FROM THE SDGs
YAM SERVICE TEAM—Applications due September 21
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REGULAR HAPPENINGS—Worship, Eat, The Gathering, Communal Discovery
WORSHIP @ 8:45 am—Main Worship Center
EATING TOGETHER, 4th Sunday @ 11:45 am
Next EATING TOGETHER is September 28
Now taking restaurant recommendations…
SDGs (SPIRITUAL DISCUSSION GROUPS)
The Gathering @ 10 am—YAM room
Current Study: “How to lead a bible study” taught by Jonathan Pribble
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
Communal Discovery @ 7:30 pm on Tuesdays—YAM room
Current Study: How it all began... Genesis 1-11
An online summary is available weekly at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/
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WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL
Colossians 3:5-11
(5)So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. (6)God's terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. (7)You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. (8)But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. (9)Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.
(10)In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. (11)In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
This passage reminds me of The Learning Channel show “What Not to Wear”. Verses 5-9 is like the first part of the show, where Wayne and Stacey come out and tell the person all the things they should not wear. Verses 10-11 are like the second part of the show when the “victim” gets the wardrobe rules.
Get out a piece of paper. Make two columns. Label the first column, “what not to wear” and label the second column “wardrobe rules.” Now, read through the passage and fill in the columns.
Think about your daily life—what you put into your soul via the media, how you act, what you dwell on. Which column do you live in most of the time? The “what not to wear” column or the “wardrobe rules” column.
Spend a few minutes talking to God about your list.
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STUDYING ROMANS WITH PASTOR CHARLIE
September 14, 2003
The Christian View of Life, part 21
GOD'S PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE
Romans 8:28-31
GOD’S PROMISE IS TO USE EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CULMINATES IN WHAT IS BEST FOR ME. (v.28)
This verse does NOT say:
“All things are good”.
“All things work out the way I want them to”.
“All things have a happy ending here on earth.
Genesis 42: 36 versus Genesis 45:5
GOD’S PURPOSE IS TO COMPLETELY CHANGE ME INTO CHRIST-LIKENESS. (v.29)
Genesis 1:26,27
Primary tools God uses to change me:
1. God uses the Bible
John 17:17
2 Corinthians 3:18
2. God uses my circumstances.
James 1:2-4
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
GOD’S PROCESS OF CHANGE STARTS AND ENDS WITH HIM. (v.29,30)
Foreknowledge: God knew all about you in advance and committed Himself to you.
Predestination: God decided in advance to change you into Christ-likeness.
Philippians 1:6
Called: God invites you to be saved.
Justified: God declares you legally guiltless – just-as-if-I’d never sinned.
Glorified: God completely and permanently transforms you into His image.
1 John 3:2
MY RESPONSE IS AN ATTITUDE OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD. (v.31)
1. Trust God with my life and future.
2. Submit to God’s plan and will.
3. Choose Contentment.
1 Timothy 6:6-8
4. Express thankfulness and praise to God.
5. Adopt a teachable spirit.
“And now, all glory to God, who is able to keep you (me) from stumbling, and who will bring you (me) into his glorious presence innocent of sin and with great joy. All glory to him, who alone is God our (my) Savior, through Jesus Christ our (my) Lord. Yes, glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to him. In the beginning, now, and forevermore. Amen. Jude v.24,25 (NLT)
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NUGGETS FROM THE SDGs
[more detail is available at http://tfbyam.blogspot.com/]
The Gathering… Leading a Bible Study Part I: Studying the Bible
Led by Jonathan Pribble
Why study the bible? II Timothy 3:16-17
Verses on the Word of God
Psalms 33:4; 119:9, 11, 89, 105; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 40:8; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:21; John 5:24; Acts 9:30-35; 10:44; 12:24; 17:11; Romans 10:8; II Thessalonians 3:1; II Timothy 2:15; 4:2; Hebrews 4:12; 5:12; I John 2:14
Tuesday Communal Discovery… September 9 we looked at Genesis 8-9, focusing on 8:20-9:7.
Observation: What it says.
- First, some context. What happens before this passage? Look at 8:1-20. What happens after this passage? Read the rest of chapter 9. It’s a doozie.
- The narrative. The story in this passage is simple. Noah builds an altar and offers sacrifice (8:20). God smells the aroma of the sacrifice and makes a decision (8:21). After making this decision, God blesses Noah and his sons, and speaks to them (9:1).
- The dialogue. This is not simple. There are two bits of dialogue: 8:21b-22 and 9:1b-7. The bit of dialogue in chapter 8 contains the content of God’s decision. The bit in chapter 9 contains the content of God’s blessing. Spend a few minutes reading these two bits of dialogue.
Interpretation: What it means.
- God’s response to Noah’s sacrifice is similar to God’s response to Noah’s righteousness in 6:1-7. In chapter 6, God had decided to wipe out everything on the earth, but Noah found favor, resulting in God’s saving Noah, Noah’s family, and every kind of animal. Here God smells Noah’s sacrifice—he sees Noah’s “godwardness” and decides that he will not destroy the earth again, even though humanity remains intent on godlessness.
- The continuing existence of natural systems gives evidence that God is sticking by his decision not to destroy the earth.
- God’s blessing of Noah and his sons contains both responsibility and provision.
Application: Our response.
1) God’s favor toward even one person can greatly affect the world around that person.
2) God is faithful to his decisions.
3) God expects his people to live out the blessing—to fill the earth with God-fearing community and to respect life, especially human life.
Spend some time talking with God about how he wants you to respond to his Word.
Next week we’ll look at Genesis 9 (focusing on verses 8-29)
Get a headstart. Spend one of your personal worship times reading over Genesis 9.
NOTE: As always, there is way more on the web, so check it out: http://tfbyam.blogspot.com
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YAM SERVICE TEAM—Applications due September 21
YAM Service Team Applications have been delivered. Applications are due Sunday, September 21, 2003. If you are interested in serving on the team, either in YAM or elsewhere in TFB, be sure to fill out an application.
In his letter to the Ephesian believers, Paul reminded them that the ministry happens in the members:
“He [Jesus] is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT
In other words, it is the job of every believer to be part of a community and to use their gift(s) to help make the community more like Jesus. How can you use your gifts to make YAM more like Jesus?
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