I think this post is a good discussion starter. Especially check out the video.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2012/07/10/the-whole-sweep-of-scripture-rjs/#more-30115
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Monthly Meeting, Thursday July 19th at Noon
This month's theological discussion will take place on Thursday (NEW DAY!) July 19th at Noon. We will be meeting in the PIU main classroom because the library is in the middle of a renovation. Our topic this month will be "Preaching Christ from the Whole Bible" and will basically continue the hermeneutics discussion we began in the regular meeting last week. Jesus said that the scriptures were "written about me." What does that mean and how should we "preach Christ" in the scriptures, especially the Old Testament? Bring your brown bag lunch and we will provide the coffee. See you there!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Last Month's discussion
The June 15th Guam Theological Discussion Group continued the discussion from May on the church's proper response to a culture that no longer recognizes the Bible as an authority for living one's life. The discussion especially focused on the church's response to the gay community on Guam. One of the attendees brought the statement from Catholic organization DignityUSA to our attention. The whole statement can be found here: http://dignityusa.org/1986-pastoral This served to launch the discussion. Again the discussion came to finding the balance between "I do not condemn you" and "Go and sin no more." There was quite a bit of discussion on the issue of genetic versus environmental factors in homosexuality with the idea that one's dispositions, urges, orientations, compulsions etc should not be determinative in their choices. Again, it was a good discussion, with some real disagreements that was handled with collegiality. Next month's discussion topic is not yet determined. I am looking for some recommendations. There has been some consideration toward moving the discussion to the 3rd Thursday of each month instead of Friday. So we will be meeting in the PIU library at noon on July 19th or 20th. Final determination to be made later this week.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Sunday Sermon–“Jesus the Lamb of God” John 1.19-51
The last two weeks I had the opportunity to preach at Faith Presbyterian and Reformed Church of Guam. Last week I preached on the prologue of John in verses 1-18. This week the subject was the beginning of God’s kingdom on earth as depicted in Jesus’ baptism and calling of his first disciples in John 1.19-51. I have been thinking quite a bit on these ideas, since over the last month my morning readings have been in John, and I recently finished reading “Simply Jesus” by NT Wright. (I used his perfect storm illustration to introduce the sermon.) The basic point was that Jesus’ baptism marked the “new age” with a new covenant and a new people of God. Jesus however did not begin the new age with an armed revolution as was expected but instead chose to spread the kingdom of God into the world through discipleship. The passage is divided into sections by the phrase “the next day.”
The first section of the sermon dealt with Jesus’ baptism and makes the point that Jesus is bringing in the “age to come.” John the Baptist came announcing this new age (v.23) and urged people to repent to be ready for it. When the delegation of Jewish religious leaders wanted to know the source of his authority for this announcement, John draws his authority from the Father who sent him (33), the Holy Spirit (32) and, of course the revelation of the Son of God (26-27, 34). God’s entrance into the world in the person of the Son announces the beginning of the new age. It is no accident that the next event recorded in John is the Wedding at Cana, a picture of the Kingdom banquet (Isaiah 55 for example)
In the second section John announces that Jesus is the “Lamb of God.” We tend to immediately go to the category of substitutionary atonement when we hear this phrase (and this is definitely an important part of the meaning of this) but John’s original hearers would have made a wider application. They would have been thinking in terms of the Passover and the Exodus – this was a new “4th of July” for God’s people. The Passover is a key theme and structural marker in the Gospel of John. The “lamb” would have reminded them of the “pass over” of the death angel, the judgment inflicted on Egypt and the redemption of Israel which began the nation. In addition it would have brought to mind that spiritual battle between God and Satan (plagues), the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the provision of manna (Jesus the Bread of Life), Parting of the Red Sea (Jesus walking on the water), a new law (new covenant), new temple (Jesus cleansing of the temple) all in an “already not yet” format which inaugurates with the giving of the Spirit and involves suffering and difficulty, crucifixion and death before glory and consummation as in the wilderness wandering.
Finally Jesus does this in an unexpected way. Instead of leading an armed revolution, as many “messiahs” of that day did, Jesus calls out a group of people to follow him as disciples in a “kingdom that is not of this world.” Jesus and John the Baptist are both examples of this Godly methodology. John, recognizing that discipleship must be centered in experience and relationship with Jesus, points his own disciples to Jesus. How many leaders today would be willing to give away their disciples to someone else? Three of Jesus’ sayings in this section point out Jesus discipleship methodology. First, he reaches out to them, “What do you need?” Then he invites them into relationship with Himself, “Come and See!” Finally he calls them into a ministry of learning from Him and emulating Him, “Follow me.” It is people in relationship with Jesus which will form the foundation of the church (42). Jesus tells Nathaniel that He is the “Bethel – “House of God” – that provides the meeting point between heaven and earth and connects people to God. Ultimately through the Holy Spirit we function in the same way. We become holy, moveable, portable temples to connect people to God wherever we go. This is how the Kingdom of God will work in this age.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Meeting Tomorrow (Friday June 15th at Noon)
The next meeting of the Guam Theological Discussion group will be at Noon on Friday June 15th in the PIU library. Coffee will be provided. We will be continuing our discussion from the previous meeting. I would also propose that in some future meeting we should discuss the new Code of Ethics for Pastors being proposed by the National Association of Evangelicals. See you tomorrow!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Next Meeting June 15th
The next meeting of the Guam Theological Discussion Group will be Friday June 15th in the usual place – the Pacific Islands University Library. We have decided to continue the subject from last month. We had quite a discussion as to how we respond/evangelize in a world that does not necessarily hold the Bible in high esteem. We recognized that Guam society is becoming much more pluralistic and while, that provides the church with new challenges, it is not necessarily a bad thing as it also provides us with new opportunities to reach out with the message of Christ.
One big issue of discussion was to understand and communicate what the Bible teaches about homosexuality. This is a hot issue and the church has not done a good job in the past in communicating what we believe. It is important that we see the issue in terms of the “trajectory” (See Scot McKnight’s book The Blue Parakeet” for an excellent discussion of the gay issue in terms of the trajectory of the Bible) of how it is handled in the Bible. It is also important that the issue be seen in terms of the whole creation being in a state of “brokenness” from sin. All of us reflect this brokenness in some way and homosexual tendencies are only one of the ways that this brokenness is seen. Tim Keller’s assertion that “no one goes to hell for being gay (or lazy, a gossip, violent etc), we go to hell for refusing relationship with Jesus” was very helpful.
Another issue that needs more discussion is how to keep truth and love balanced here. What does that mean in terms of the church’s political and social involvement? How do we balance Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 5.12, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside,” with Jesus’ statement that we need to be “salt and light” in our communities? The bottom line is that we are all sinners and we all need Jesus’ healing touch. How do we as the church on Guam provide that, to the very community that rejects many of our biblical values, with Jesus attitude that says both “Neither do I condemn you” and “Go now and leave your life of sin?”
Monday, May 14, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Next Meeting May 18th
Next Friday May 18th we will have our monthly
theological group discussion in the PIU library at Noon. You are welcome to
bring a lunch and we will provide coffee. This month’s subject is the issue of
how we respond/evangelize to a world that does not hold the Bible in high
esteem. I have provided below links to some videos made by atheists (rough
language – be warned) and then links to Christian blogs that advocate very
different responses to the new atheism/homosexual marriage etc. These are very
applicable to Guam.
Atheist Videos:
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/19343 (a response from Breakpoint)
Two different views from Christian blogs on the latest vote
on homosexual marriage in North Carolina with different opinions on how the
church should respond….
Hope to see you Friday the 18th.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Next Meeting April 20th
The next meeting of the Theological Discussion group will be at Noon April 20th in the library at PIU. I heard that the discussion on the relationship between local and universal church discussion last month went very well, but was not finished. Therefore this month we will continue the discussion and talk about the role of church leadership in both the local and wider church. Hope to see everyone there!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Next Meeting March 16, 2012
The next meeting of
the Guam Theological Discussion Group will be Friday, March 16th at the Pacific
Islands University library. The discussion will be led by PIU professor Michael
Owen. The main issue for discussion will be the nature of the church and how
that nature works out practically in cooperation between churches. Some issues
within this larger issue of discussion would be "is the 'church on Guam'
just the sum of the 'local churches of Guam' or is it more?" "Should
churches work together?" "If churches cooperate what is the goal or
mission of that cooperation?" "If churches should cooperate what does
that look like practically?" "How do parachurch
organizations fit into this?"
Come, drink some coffee with us and join the discussion.
Come, drink some coffee with us and join the discussion.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Next Meeting February 17
The next meeting of the Guam Theological Discussion Group will be at Noon, February 17th in the PIU library. The main subject will be a continuation of the subject of "law" that we discussed last month. This time we will be focusing on "law" as opposed to the Law of Moses. We will be looking at the balance between law and grace, the relationship of rules to holiness, and growth in grace and the role of the authority of the church as we try to disciple our people toward holiness. Some related issues could be discipleship methodologies, church discipline, etc. Come join us for some stimulating discussion that will give you some things to think about and hopefully, help you become a better minister.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Next Meeting: January 20, 2012
Our next meeting will be at Noon on January 20 in the PIU library. As requested our subject will be the relationship between the believer and the law. Below I am pasting in a discussion of the OT law that I use in my classes to get discussion started. I also include a link that demonstrates some of the practical implications of this discussion. This link has already generated a pretty good discussion on my Facebook page.
Questions about the Law of Moses
1. What is the relationship between the Mosaic and Abrahamic Covenant?
a. The Mosaic covenant explained how Israel was to maximize the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant.
b. It tells how to enter the Abrahamic blessings
c. It came alongside it.
2. Is the Mosaic covenant the same as the 10 commandments?
a. The 10 commandments are only part of the Mosaic covenant.
b. The Mosaic covenant also contains religious and civil laws
3. Are Christians required to keep the Mosaic Law?
a. No. It was given to the nation of Israel. Exodus 19.3
b. The law was not to be imposed on Gentiles within the church Acts 15.23-29
4. What is the Christian’s relationship to the Mosaic Law?
a. They are not under the Law of Moses Romans 6.14-15
5. Are Christians under any Law?
a. Yes, the law of Christ. Galatians 6.2
b. In the New Testament nine of the ten commandments are repeated as applying to Christians (without penalties)
c. The sermon on the mount shows that the Law of Christ requires internalization of the law with the goal of loving God and fellow human beings
6. What is the value of the Mosaic Law today?
a. It reveals God’s character and standards.
b. It reveals the sinful character of man.
c. It shows the need for grace.
7. Were Israelites saved by keeping the law?
a. Abraham was saved by faith. Genesis 15.6
b. All Old Testament era believers were saved by the sacrifice of Christ’s death. Romans 15.6
c. The sacrificial system was a clear indication that law-keeping could not provide salvation.
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