The Missing Essential – His Personality (Men's Thursday Night Study)

Have you ever sent an email intended as playful, but without your tone of voice or facial expressions for the reader to hear and see it, it was misinterpreted? What about a word of correction, without your smile or reassuring tone, the message came across as harsh?

Without the tone of voice, the twinkle in his eyes, the lift of an eyebrow, a suppressed smile, a tilt of the head, or unflinching gaze we misinterpret a great deal of what is in the Gospels. Reading the gospels without the personality of Jesus is like watching TV with the sound turned off, very dry and two dimensional people doing strange and undecipherable things.

Read Matthew 15:22-28

What do you make of this passage?  Is Jesus harder man than you thought?  What comes to mind when you think of Jesus?  Is Jesus near or far?  What if we look at this passage again and see Jesus being playful, that would change everything.

Does he have a sense of humor?  If you gathered all the books written about Jesus and combed them for the words most often used to describe him you would probably put loving and compassionate at the top of the list.  Beautiful qualities and certainly true but two dimensional especially when we color these virtues with religious tones. 

What is the personality trait or traits of Jesus your “particular brand of church” or circle

of friends emphasizes? Is it an inviting picture? Is it a true picture?

In your own words, describe the qualities and personality of the Jesus you know or would

like to know.

What is missing in our Gospel reading—and in our attempts to “read” what Jesus is saying and doing

in our own lives right now, this week—is his personality undraped by religion.

Here is a commentary I found regarding the passage above and thought it applied.

Now, let's make some observations about this flow:

• First, Jesus has made an implicit commitment to allow the disciples to rest. If Jesus were to go with this woman, the crowds would be thronging them, and they would be right back where they were in the last 2-3 chapters. Jesus has to "draw the line" somewhere. There is a time to rest and a time to work.
• Jesus' comment to the disciples about 'the lost sheep of Israel' does two things: (1) it 'sets them up' pedagogically on a different track for His dialogue with the woman; and (2) SOMEHOW, encourages them to let the woman into His presence.

This latter point could be accomplished in a number of ways, many of which are not able to be conveyed in the text. We know, for example, of several cases of irony/sarcasm in Jesus' words that can only be learned from the setting (cf. Luke 13.33: In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day -- for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! or John 16.31: "You believe at last!" Jesus answered. ) For all we know, this verse might have been said with a 'tired irony'--something like the modern--"I was sent only to the Lost Sheep of Israel--yeah, right!". In any event, his words or his tone or his gestures encouraged them to 'let her in'.

• The woman now makes a request "(come to my house and) perform an exorcism" which conflicts with Jesus' current 'mission' to provide rest for his disciples. But instead of saying "No," he turns the event into a three-pronged teaching and development session--for her, for his disciples, for us--WITHOUT compromising His commitment to his disciples' rest, or His compassion for this woman's need.
• He responds with a mini-parable or image of supper-time, little children, and their inside pets. This image is so well chosen, that it will deliver two 'payloads' to two different audiences.

Remember, the disciples were 'set up' with the theological statement about 'to the Jew only/first.' They will 'process' the words of Jesus with the equivalencies of "children-Jews"//"puppies-Gentiles". They will hear Him speak about how God has a special place for the Jew in the salvation of the world.

The woman, on the other hand, has probably neither heard this remark, NOR has the theological sophistication to make this connection. She is not an Israelite, and although she uses the Son of David title for Jesus, probably has little or no understanding of the theological subtleties required to process the words in the same way as the disciples. But she has already had some interaction with the disciples, and they have probably told her that they are there to rest, not minister. So SHE will hear the words of Jesus and make the equivalencies of "children-disciples"//puppies-me". She will understand Jesus to be saying that she WILL GET FED, but that He must take care of His disciples FIRST. There is not a 'NO' in Jesus' words at all--just an implicit "WAIT."

This "WAIT vs. NO" scenario is what prompts the woman to persevere. Either the image or the tone of Jesus encourages her to make her quick-witted response.

• The image Jesus has chosen is an image of endearment, not insult. The picture of supper-time, with little kids at the table, and their pet "puppies" (the Greek word for 'dog' here is not the standard, 'outside' dog--which MIGHT BE an insult--, but is the diminutive word, meaning 'household pets, little dogs'... see gooddoggy.html) at their feet, maybe tugging on their robes for food or play. The puppies, dear to the children and probably so too to the master (cf. 2 Sam 12.3f: but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.), were to be fed AFTER the children (notice: not DENIED food--there was no "NO" in Jesus image--only "WAIT"). But the temporal order is clear--Jesus must take care of His disciples FIRST, and if meeting her need involved interrupting their rest and GOING SOMEWHERE, then it was going to have to wait.
• Implicit in Jesus' image, however, is a very obvious 'hint' to the woman as to how next to proceed. His word choices are interesting. He COULD HAVE SAID "it is not fitting to take the children's food and give it to the (outside) dogs", but instead said "it is not fitting to take the children's food and TOSS it to the (inside) pets." The image, using the different Greek form for "inside puppy-pets" rather than that of the "outside dog" (cf. Luke 16.21), makes the "toss/inside puppy-pets" stand out in the saying. If the woman had ever had any inside pet-related experiences, she would have instantly visualized the obvious--the little pets NEVER sit still away from the table--they are always (esp. the puppies) 'hounding' the children, with the often result of a morsel here or there BEFORE their real mealtime. The hint is there; and the quick-witted woman instantly seizes upon it.
• And the woman apparently took no insult, nor was discouraged at all. Instead, realizing the dynamics of the image, she instantly saw the built-in "way out"--she didn't want to interrupt the meal--she only wanted a simultaneous 'bite'. She quickly agrees with Jesus ("You are absolutely right Lord, I do not want to interrupt that...") and develops a latent feature in the image ("...in fact, I want you to do that so abundantly so that some of it 'falls off the table' to me the puppy--that way I can eat my little bite at the same time")! This amazing statement amounts to believing (1) that Jesus can do the two things at once--bless His disciples with rest, while He heals her daughter; and (2) that the miracle she needs is a simple 'crumb-size' work for the Son of David! This is 'action at a distance' (without the physical presence of Jesus), an implicit version of the Centurion's faith in Luke 7:

"Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, `Go,' and he goes; and that one, `Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, `Do this,' and he does it." 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

And, accordingly, earns the same praise and deep response from Jesus.

• The woman, upon getting the 'your request in granted', maintains her great faith, and leaves without needing Jesus to return with her. Her faith has proven strong, but she has also learned something--that there will still be a BIG FEEDING time for the "puppies"--in the future. This notion of the future time for blessing of the gentiles is ALSO present in that image, and this would have been instructional both for her personal faith, and for the theological education of the disciples--they needed to know about the later mission to the gentiles that would occur (cf. John 10.16: 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.).
• Thus the Teaching Master, in a masterful stroke, instructs the woman, heals her daughter, avoids the spotlight, grants rest to his disciples (while teaching them), and creates a masterful example to us all!

A Blind Beggar – Seeing Jesus with Open eyes

What are some of your earliest mental pictures of Jesus?

What are some of the stages you have gone through as you have come to recognize who Jesus is?

What are some of the significant steps that brought you to your current relationship with him?

A first century blind man encountered Jesus, and slowly, step by step, the blind man “saw” Jesus.

Read John 9:1-5

What do you think Christ’s words meant?

Read John 9:6-12

How would you describe the beggar’s faith as he responded to the situation?

Read John 9:13-34

What pressures did the beggar have to cope with?

Notice the references to sin in regard to both the man and Jesus in verses 1-2, 29 and 34.  Why are these kinds of accusations particularly painful?

What is wrong with the view of sin portrayed by these accusations?

Verse 16 says that the Pharisees were divided in their opinion of Jesus. Why?

The beggar believed in Jesus at least in part because of what Jesus had done for him.  What has God done in your own life that has helped you to believe in him?

What connections do you see between the blind man’s faith statements and some of the stages that your own faith has passed through?

Read John 9:35-41

How would you explain Christ’s statement about blindness and sight?

The beggar spent many years in darkness preparing to see.  How have the dark times of your own life prepared you for deeper faith in Jesus?

In the coming week be sensitive to the possibility that people along the normal paths of your day may be spiritually blind to the reality of Jesus, but that God may be calling them to see.  Be prepared to guide them toward the spiritual sight.

6th Annual Campout

Hope everyone enjoyed another great year at Huntsville State Park.  I know I did!! As we sat around the dinner table I asked Carol and the girls what their favorite part of camping this year was and it seemed as if there were too many to mention or they were exhausted and were unable to speak, just kidding!  There was a wide range of favorites and maybe some of them were the same as yours.

Campfire Stories, Roasted Marshmallow Contest (David, did I hear that you want to compete next year?), Fishing (OK maybe not so much fishing but more like feeding your bait to the fish)  Alligator sightings, kickball tournament (somehow I even managed to make it around the bases once), T-shirt designs (I personally liked this year over tie dying), Great food, scooters, bikes and nature walks, a visit by a turtle.

Church on Sunday - a Baptism, David having the right tools to defeat Goliath, Old Pete thirsting for water like our souls thirst for the Lord (Psalm 42:2), a praise team that helped us lift our voices to the Lord.

Best of all, the good Lord provided us great weather!!

I am already looking forward to year seven!

A Throwaway Woman: Redeemed by Christ - Wednesday 23rd

Some people just don’t make it.  They are mentally ill, low in intelligence, or uneducated, possibly socially inept, lacking self-confidence, or physically disabled, perhaps they are stuck in various forms of addiction. Capable people moving all around them going here, going there, always seemingly in a rush.  But these “throwaway people” hover at the edges of society, unnoticed and undervalued by their busy counterparts.

What kind of people does society tend to “throwaway”?

Think of several types of people that you tend to avoid.  Why do you avoid these people?

Are you refusing to help because you know that you cannot solve their big problems?

Are you protecting yourself? From what?

In all of his relationships Jesus showed a different value system from that of society in which he lived.

Read John 8:1-11

What event led to Christ’s meeting with the woman?

Most of us have had at least one occasion when we felt that we were treated like trash.  What effect does that kind of experience have on you?

Leviticus 20:10 “if a man commits adultery with another man’s wife – with the wife of his neighbor – both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death” is the law these religious leaders had in mind.  In view of that law, why do you think that they brought the woman but not the man?

Why was their question a trap?  The Hebrew law demanded the death penalty however the Roman political law denied enforcement.  So if Jesus allowed the stoning he could have been tried in Roman courts for murder, If he failed to uphold the Hebrew law he could have been tried in Jewish courts for Heresy.

How did Christ’s actions show that the woman was not a throwaway?

Jesus spoke to both the woman and the religious leaders about sin. Why?

Jesus showed he valued the woman even though the temple leaders did not.  What difference does it make to you that Christ values you – no matter what you have done?

How can you treat people who enter your life in a way that mirrors Christ?

Read aloud verse 10 – 11 as if Jesus was speaking directly to you, let God search your own heart and receive his forgiveness.

Anna & Simeon: Growing Old With God - Wednesday 16th

What do you want to be like when you are old?

What qualities have you admired in people who are old?

What qualities do you hope to avoid as you become aged yourself?

When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple at the age of forty days, they encountered two aged people: Simeon and Anna.  Both had lived long and well with God.

Read Luke 2:21-40

If you had been a bystander observing these events, what would have impressed you and why?

What did Simeon know about the past and the future? (vv. 29-35)

Why do you think Simeon felt he was ready for God to dismiss him from this life?

What would you like to see happen so that at the end of your life you could say “Lord, now dismiss your servant in peace”?

Why might you say that Anna’s life was difficult but fulfilling?

How did God use Anna?

What do you admire about the aged characters in this story?

What could you do now to prepare for an old age that is at peace with God?

Take time this week to pray for an older person who has been an example to you aging gracefully with God.

 

 

 

Happy Friday - Fun Friday - Fantastic Friday

 

GREAT Friday!

 

I have missed a few Friday postings due in part to our busy Family Circus schedule and also because life just keeps interrupting my plans!  haha  The plans for the camping trip next weekend are shaping up and the shopping has begun.  So excited!

 

 

Tuesday night Bible study - The Story - we had our first meeting on the 8th and it was amazing!  We covered the first 3 chapters Creation, God Builds a Nation, and Joseph: From Slave to Deputy Pharaoh.  The next meeting is on the 22nd.  Chapters 4-6, Deliverance, New Commands and a New Covenant, and Wandering.  Please come and join us for fellowship and discussion.  Yes, even if you have not read the book.  Contact me directly for more details like location and time.

 

I will be sending out the final camping info this weekend and I will also have hand outs at Church on Easter Sunday. Jimmy and I will not be there this coming Wednesday so please please find me on Sunday for final payment if you have not done so. 

 

I will get back to you soon.. I hope everyone had a GREAT Good Friday and Happy Easter to you.. a little early!

 

HE IS RISEN!

 

 

 

 



 

Thursday Night Men's Study

The Playfulness of God and the Poison of Religion



Does the thought of Christ being “playful, funny, so human, so hopeful, so unreligious” strike you as a breath of fresh air or does it sound a little irreverent?

How have you thought of Christ?

Read John 21:1-12

The Scene: The events of the past two weeks have been something of a whirlwind of a ride, The triumphant entry into Jerusalem with palm branches waving and people shouting “Hosanna!!” then all came crashing down.  Jesus, their friend and mentor, had been tortured, executed and entombed, bringing them to a very low moment in emotions.  But then something fantastic happens, he rises from the dead and appears to the disciples twice and now we arrive here to this moment, not really sure where Jesus has gone off to and not really sure what to do.

So what does any self-respecting fisherman do that needs to clear their head and think do?

They go fishing!!

How does Jesus show up?

He is so casual about his appearance that even his friends do not even recognize him.  Think about this for a moment Ruler of the Heavens, He could have announced his presence with radiant Glory “It is I, the Lord! Come thou unto me!” But he doesn’t.  He acts kind of like a tourist who knows nothing about fishing and ask “Catch anything?”

Why do you suppose Jesus enters the scene like this?

At this moment what do you think is Jesus’ mood?

Do you remember how Jesus first encountered these men?  (Luke 5:4-11)

Most Christians can tell you in detail how they met Jesus, especially if it was a dramatic encounter.  This story of how they met Jesus must have been talked about many times, as guys will do, especially fishermen! Sitting around the campfire, somebody says with a smile “Peter, the look on your face was priceless” and imitating Peter’s reaction, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man” and they all bust out laughing again.

Does this sound familiar?  A group of guys sharing an inside joke ribbing one another?

So here they are again, three years later at their favorite fishing hole, just spent an all-nighter catching nothing when this guy walks up and asks “catch anything” setting them up for the hook, “Lay down your nets on the other side of the boat” Jesus gives them the proverbial wink, reminding them of the running gag.

The John throws a very specific detail into the story which added a beautiful touch.  There were precisely 153 fish in the net.

What is up with the 153 fish?

Not a boatload, not about a hundred and half, nor was it over a gross, but it was precisely 153.  Consider the circumstances, this is after the crucifixion and the resurrection; Jesus is standing on the beach and we learn there are exactly 153 fish in the net.  So how did they figure this out, did they stop and make Jesus the newly risen Lord of creation, the Sustainer of their beings, He who died for them and for Whom they would gladly die wait while they counted the fish “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…..”

Or could it of happened this way, right after breakfast, which by the way if you did not catch it Jesus prepared one of them says “well we oughta get that catch counted up,”  another says, “yep,” and Jesus as he is taking his last bite of roasted Tilapia, says, “There’s a 153.”

The Poison of Religion

Read Mark 3:1-6

What!?!? Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, and the Religious order of the day was ready to kill him!!

But Jesus as we have been told and told again is a peacemaker but as we read the Gospels we find that he is frequently embroiled in conflict, which he is usually the one who provoked it in the first place.  Every one of these hostile encounters happens with very religious men and not one of the encounters involved a “pagan”.

If you approach the gospels without bias or assumptions you will find no trouble believing that religion is the enemy. Those that opposed Jesus we would consider them to be highly invested in doing religion right.

How does Satan deceive you from fulfilling God’s purpose for you?

Satan is too subtle to rely on persecution alone, his most masterful works are of deception, just ask Adam and Eve. 

What if you send someone you love to school for a decade, yet they remained illiterate, or you referred them to a doctor for treatment yet they failed to treat the disease but came away worse with HIV and Gangrene, what would you conclude about the education or the doctor?

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath and they wanted to kill him, do you really think that’s over today.

Read 1 John 4:1-3,6

Many of us pay as much attention to this as we do a preflight safety demonstration, so let’s break it down so you can see how important this advice is.

Spirit of Truth – The Holy Spirit

Spirit of Falsehood – which John calls the spirit of the antichrist.

Many deceivers have infiltrated our world animated by this spirit of falsehood.

If John did not think you would fall prey to it he would not have warned you about it.  Before the ink was dry on the Gospels the early church was swimming in this stuff.

The spirit of falsehood is often a very religious spirit.  How else could it sell it’s deceptions?

(talk about deceptions – witch  trials, inquisition, televangelist etc ask about the “witch trials of today”)

What is it about Jesus that provokes the religious people so? Have you experienced the playfulness of Christ or the poison of religion? How so?

Read Hebrews 1:1-3

Jesus came to reveal God to us.  He is the defining word on God, on what the heart of God is truly like, on what God is up to in this world, on what God is up to in your life.

To know Him as he is, to have his life, joy, love, and presence cannot be compared.  A true knowledge is our greatest need and our greatest happiness.  To be mistaken about him is the saddest mistake of all.

So, What is Christianity supposed to do?

Read 1 John 1:1-3 if anyone has the message use that version

What!?!? So we can experience him as they did; this intimate connection with the Father and Son.  John says you can enjoy the same friendship with Jesus that he knew.

If you do not know Jesus as a person – playful, cunning, fierce, impatient with all that is religious , kind, creative, irreverent, funny; if you do not know the comfort of his presence, do not hear his voice speaking to you personally, if you do not know of his indwelling life in you, shaping your personality, healing your brokenness, enabling you to live as he did--- You have been cheated, robbed and plundered.