February 2010 - Posts

• Ten Commandments Wk7

  Fifth Command                         Exodus 20:12  l  Respect for Authority Begins at Home l  Love for God Must Come First l  The Parent/Child Relationship is the Beginning of Human Society  l  Honor Your Father & Mother l  Honor-Means Heavy or Weighty l  To Honor One’s Parents is to Give Due Weight to Their Position l  To Honor is to Respect, Esteem, Value, and Prize Fathers and Mothers as Gifts From God l  The Opposite of Honor is Dishonor l  Parents Should Not Be Treated Lightly l  Rebellion & Disrespect Against Parents Has Become a Common Sin (Lev 20:9 & Deut 21:18–21) l  thy father and thy mother-Both With Equal Respect (Prov 6:20 & Lev 19:3) l  The Command Applies to Children & Adults l  Respecting Authority Applies to Every Person in Every Relationship l  The Israelites Used the Term father in Relationships Outside the Home l  What is Involved in Honoring Parents? l  Gratitude l  Obedience l  Support (Prov 23:22) l  What’s Involved in Honoring Others in Authority? l  The Government (1 Peter 2:17 & Rom 13:1) l  Our Work (Eph 6:5) l  Leaders in the Church (1 Tim 5:17) l  Respect for Those in Authority is Respect for God l  The Other Side l  Those in Authority Are Responsible to Exercise it to Please God l  Family Duties Are Reciprocal l  Children Are to Obey Their Parents l  Parents Are to Give Proper Discipline (Eph. 6:4) l  Although Children Don’t Always Listen, They Never Fail to Imitate  l  Life & Prosperity l  A Reason to Keep the Command- Our Own Best Interest l  To the Nation of Israel, Long Life in God’s Land l  To All Individuals, A General Promise Conditioned on Obedience l  Repeated in the NT, the First Command with a Promise (Eph. 6:2) l  days may be long upon the land-A Hebrew Phrase for the Fullness of God’s Blessing (Eph 6:3) l  This is the General Purpose of God & Reveals What Usually Happens l  Another Reason, God Holds Us Responsible for Spiritual Instruction l  It is Essential For Salvation & Passing on The Faith (Prov 1:8 & 3:1–2)    Posted Feb 28 2010, 04:01 AM by jbarch with no comments

• Ten Commandments Wk6

  Fourth Command                                Exodus 20:8-11  o What to Do o Remember-More Than Just Memory o The Sabbath Was Not New to Israelites o For the Jew, the Sabbath was Connected with Creation o This Was Not a One Time Event o This Demanded a Total Engagement of Our Person o Sabbath (šabbāṭ )-Stopping or Cessation o Sabbath day-Stopping Day Where Regular Work Ceases o Gives Laborers a Break From Daily Routine & A Heightened Focus on God o To keep it holy-A Day Belonging to God or Setting it Apart for Sacred Use o Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy Preserves the Sabbath Principle of Resting o The Day was Provisional—a Sign of Israel’s Coming Salvation  o How To Do It? o Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work-Our Part of the Week o We Are to Work o Work is Not a Result of the Fall (Gen 2:15) o Having 6 days to Work is Divine Grace o But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God-Belongs to Him for Worship o Unfortunately, Sabbath Became Legalistic Beyond Belief for Jews o No Work for thou, nor thy…-Rest for Everyone o Family Instruction o Employers Responsibility  o Why Do It? o God’s Pattern in Creation is the Model for Our Own Work and Rest o We Work Because We are Made in the Image of a Working God o The Duty to Work is for Everyone, Not Just for People Who Get Paid o We Also Serve a Resting God o The Sabbath Remembered Creation as well as Redemption (Deut. 5:15)  o Our Transition to the Lord’s Day o The Sabbath is Not the Lord’s Day o We Now Ask: How Do I Keep the Lord’s Day? o In Practice, A Special Day is Still a Necessity o We Have Received A New & Greater Deliverance o We Remember That Jesus is Risen from the Dead and Alive Forever o Jesus is the Fulfillment of the 4th Commandment o The OT Sabbath Pointed to the Full and Final Rest Only Found in Christ o Jesus Gives a New Meaning to Work & Rest o He Came into the World & Finished the Work of His Father (John 4:34) o On the Basis of That Work, He Provides Rest to Our Souls (Matt. 11:29 & Heb 4:9–10) o What Are Some Lord’s Day Activities: o Rest is Needed to Restore Efficiency o The Family Needs to Participate Together o The Church Assembles for Worship (Heb 10:25) o The Church Studies and is Exhorted by the Word o The Church Fellowships Together o The Church Gives to the Needs (I Cor 16:2)    Posted Feb 21 2010, 03:16 PM by jbarch with no comments

• Ten Commandments Wk5

  Third Command                       Exodus 20:7  •         The Name Above All Names •         Our Full Names are Given, Not Chosen •         Naming is an Act of Authority •         No One Named God •         It Was an Act of Sovereign Authority •         the LORD ( יהוה ) -YHWH or YAHWEH, Gods Personal Name •         Meaning: I AM Who I AM (Ex 3:14-15) •         God’s Name is His Identity •         His Name Refers to the Essence of His Divine Being •         His Name Represents His Reputation •         God Made a Name for Himself in Creation & Redemption (Ps 106:8) •         Misusing God’s Name •         take-Means Lift Up or Raise •         How Was This Done with God’s Name? •         Used in Legal Situations with the Taking of an Oath •         Used Broadly for Situations When People Took God’s Name on Their Lips •         God’s People Were Not Forbidden to Use God’s Name •         God Gave Us His Name to Address Him Personally •         What God Forbids is Misuse of His Name •         in vain- Means Empty •         Specific Misuses: Carelessly, Thoughtlessly & Flippantly •         To Treat Something Holy & Sacred as Common and Secular •         God’s Name Was Taken in Vain in OT Times: •         In Sorcery-The Occult (Deut 18:10-12) •         In False Prophecy (Jer 14:14-15) •         In Swearing False Oaths-Perjury (Lev 19:12) •         What About Today? •         The Most Obvious is to Use His Name as a Swear Word •         To Use it as a Mild Oath •         Use it to Advance Our Agenda •         All Promises Are Really Oaths Before God •         Broken Promises of Daily Life •         Work is a Promise or Contract •         Oaths in Law Courts •         The Marriage Vow •         Dedication of a Child in Church •         Whenever We Confuse What We Want With What God Wants, We Take His Name in Vain •         Merchandising God’s Name •         By Being Careless in Our Worship  •         The Consequences •         will not hold him guiltless-To Go or Leave Unpunished •         The Precise Punishment is Left Unspecified  •         His Name is Wonderful •         The Positive Side-Use His Name Properly •         The First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Hallowed be Thy name (Matt. 6:9) •         To Hallow Means: To Consecrate or To Set Apart for a Sacred Purpose •         What are Some Ways to Use God’s Name Properly? •         His Name Can Be Praised, Honored, Blessed & Celebrated •         His Name Can Be Exalted, Worshiped & Adored •         From the Book of Psalms: Ps 29:2; Ps 66:2; Ps 72:19; Ps 103:1 •         There is a Clear Connection Between Honoring God’s Name and Spreading the Gospel •         Our Reputation is a Reflection on His Reputation  •         At the Name of Jesus •         Some Will Keep Using God’s Name in vain Until the Day of Judgment (Matthew 7:22–23) •         In That Day, His Name Will Be Praised (Phil 2:10–11)   Posted Feb 14 2010, 11:44 AM by jbarch with no comments

• Ten Commandments Wk4

  Second Command                              Exodus 20:4-6  •        The First Commandment is to Worship the Right God •        The Second Commandment is to Worship the Right God in the Right Way  •        The Explanation of Idolatry •        The Rule •         Don’t Make Any Idols •        graven images-Crafted by a Tool •        likeness… in heaven…earth…water-Everywhere •        not bow down…nor serve them- Forbids Making Things to Serve as Objects of Worship •        The Israelites Had Been Living with the Egyptians •        The God of Israel Refused to be Represented in the Image of Any of His Creatures (Is 44:14-20 & Jer 10:3-5)  •        What is the Process By Which an Idol Becomes a god? •        The True God is Spirit and Unseen •        Let’s Make it Easier to Remember by a Little Image •        Over Time, the Image Ceases to Represent God and Takes the Place of Him  •        What Is the Attractiveness of an Idol? •        Guaranteed Presence •        Selfish Advantage •        Easy Obligations •        Convenient Locations (1 Kgs 14:23) •        Normal Practice in the Ancient World •        Pleasing to the Senses  •        The Reason •        God Forbids Idolatry Because of His jealousy •        We Usually Define Jealousy as: Envy or the Desire to Get Something That Belongs to Another •        A Holy Jealousy is One that Guards Someone’s Rightful Possession •        God Wants us to Worship Him in a Way Worthy of His Honor  •        The Warning •        God Doesn’t Punish an Innocent Generation for Sins of a Former Generation (Deut 24:16) •        of them that hate me -They Are Not Innocent! •        God’s Determination to Punish Successive Generations for Continuing to Commit the Same Sins Learned from their Parents •        The Children and Grand-children of Idolaters Start in Life Under Disadvantages   •        The Promise •        shewing mercy unto thousands-Great Contrast Between 3 to 4 and Thousands •        love me- Not Emotion, But Loyalty  •        Idolatry Applied to Today •        Like Each of God’s Laws, the Second Commandment is Also Spiritual •        God Wants to Be Heard Not Seen (Rom 10:17) •        Idolatry is When Means Become Ends •        Idolatry Substitutes the Thing Seen for the Person   Posted Feb 07 2010, 01:08 PM by jbarch with no comments