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| Jesus is quite often portrayed as a gift from God on Christmas. Therefore, the moral of the story is that we should give gift to others. However, Is there more we can say about Jesus on Christmas? During the Advent, We have spent four weeks studying passages about Christmas. Instead of going to usual passages in the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2), I want to bring people back to the Old Testament and track down the prophecies concerning the brith of Jesus. There are many of them and I have chosen only four passages this year. I would write down several things I want to highlight in each passage. Passage on First Sunday of Advent: Genesis 3:1-24 Focus: The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:14-15) (1) The coming of Jesus was promised right after Adam and Eve sinned and dishonored God before they experience the consequences of His curse.
(2) The enormity of that small act of offense against God is comprehensible only if we understand God's requirement of perfect holiness.
(3) There are many offsprings of woman in the history of mankind; however, all have failed. These include all the saints in the Old and New Testaments.
(4) The ONE offspring of woman that God has promsied us is Jesus Christ who has destroyed the power of death and Satan. He alone is our hope, not any man.
(5) Christmas points us to that ONE man God has given us and in Him, we find peace with God and security in this world and the world to come.
(6) That man Jesus is also God Himself who come to us as a baby. (The dual nature of Jesus is prefigured in the Old Testament?)
Passage on Second Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 7:10-25 Focus: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) (1) The Septuagint (or LXX) has the Hebrew word (can mean either "young woman" or "virgin") translated into the Greek word for "virgin."
(2) The translators of the LXX were guided by the providence of God
(3) This is how the New Testament authors read and understand Old Testament. With their understanding of Jesus' birth, it is a natural match.
(4) The "son" was given by God to Ahaz even though this king of Judah refused to ask for a sign from God.
(5) Since Ahaz used foreign power Assyria to figh against his enemies in the north (Northern kingdom Israel and Syria), God showed him the problems he and his country will get into, especially how he would be exploited by Assyria.
(6) This "son" does not only point Judah to God's punishment but also His salvation (more in Isaiah 9).
Passage on Third Sunday of Advent: Micah 5:2-15 Focus: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. (Micah 5:2) (1) Micah and Isaiah served in Judah during the same period in history.
(2) Prophecy of Micah points Judah to an upcoming King. This King is no one else but Jesus as we now know it.
(3) This king will come in a humble manner, unlike other kings in the world.
(4) This King has a few characteristics: a. He has an ancient origin - just as Jesus was with God when He created the world (v.2; also Genesis 1, John 1)
b. His arrival will coincide with the reunification of the Kingdom of Israel - just as the Jews and Gentiles will be unified in the new Church of Jesus (v.3; also Ephesians 2)
c. He shall shepherd His sheep - just as Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd (v.4; John 10)
d. He will be known in all the world - just as Jesus now is known throughout the world (v.4)
e. He will be His people's peace - just as Jesus reconcile us with God and give us peace (v.5)
f. He will deliver His people from their enemies - just as Jesus deliver us from sin and the power of death (v.5, v.9ff; Romans 6:6)
g. He will judge the world - just as Jesus has come and will come again as the Judge (v.9ff; also 2 Timothy 4:1, Revealtion 19:11)
Passage on the Fourth Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 8:16-9:7 (over the phone conference) Focus: Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:7) (1) People who do not believe in the Living God chose to believe in the words of the dead through the mediums and the necromancers.
(2) These people walked in darkness and would bring much troubles upon themselves
(3) However, those who repent will see the Light. A son was promised (Isaiah 9:6)
(4) This son comes to rule the world. "His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (v.6)
(5) His Kingdom is one of righteousness and of peace.
(6) The establishment of this Kingdom is entirely the work of God.
It is important that we understand who Jesus is today. He is not just a simple gift from God, but... Jesus Christ comes to bring peace, to rule, to protect, and to judge. Let us worship and serve Him! | | |
| 13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" 14 And he said, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" 15 And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)
This passage in the Book of Joshua is rather peculiar. Joshua was the rightful leader of Israel, the successor of Moses. He was commissioned as the new Moses and would lead Israel to capture Canaan. He was rather successful. In doing all that he did, he was following God's commands. If this was so, he and the commander of the army of the Lord should be on the same side. However, the commander's respond to Joshua's question driving a distinction between his work and the commander's work. The commander of the army of the Lord is neither for Joshua nor for his adversaries. In fact, Joshua had to worship him. I guess this means although one is called to war (ministry), there is still a necessary distinction between his war and God's war. Instead of being called to be faithful to one's war, it is more important one's war is truly align with God's. There are no shortage of examples like this in the Bible where man goes the way of his own war instead of that intended by God while trying to bring God along with him. When Adam and Eve sinned, they shaped God's commands by their own desire following the twists of the serpent (Genesis 3). Picking the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had then a divine sanction. When Ahaz refused to listen to God in refusing a sign from God, he was entirely biblical. He said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." (Isaiah 7:12, cf. Deuteronomy 6:16) Pharisees and the scribes could prevent something from being given to one's father and mother by declaring it Corban (Matthew 7:11) A divine stamp is being used to override God's commandment. Therefore, we should be careful how we apply, use, and shape God's command. We can easily subsume God's command under our own desire. This is why James would say if we are tempted, we are not tempted by God but by our own desire (James 1:14-15). The Law and God's command will not tempt us but our desire can misuse those to cause us to stumble. It is important that we learn to distinguish God's word, God's ministry from our understanding of God's word and our understanding of God's ministry in our life. This is why our prayer should put petitions concerning God's name, will, and Kingdom first, before we lay out our own needs (Matthew 6:9-13). Blurring the distinction between what is God's and what is ours would cause troubles in our life, our Church, and our community. | | |
| For those of us who has a Hebrew Bible and want to follow along in reading it, one page is for chapter-by-chapter recording MP3s and another page for book-by-book recording MP3s. | | |
| Passages from the Bible Christians often use tend to be more civilized. However, the Bible actually contains plenty of stories and euphemisms that we will consider gross, immoral, vulgar, and bloodily inappropriate. Moreover, these are not confined to the Old Testament and the New Testament has its share. Here are some of them... (1) First bloody murder happened in the fourth chapter of the whole Bible. Cain killed Abel. Blood was not wiped from the sentences of the Bible but God said to Cain, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." (Genesis 4:10)
(2) Lot's incestuous relationships with his two (Yes, not one!) daughters gave birth to Moab and Ben-ammi (Genesis 19:30ff).
(3) Jacob's uncle Laban tricked him to marry his older daughter. In the dark, he couldn't tell who that was. (Genesis 29)
(4) Rachel traded Rueben's mandrakes (a plant with a hallucinogenic chemical) with a one night encounter between Leah and Jacob (Genesis 30).
(5) Dinah, a daughter of Jacob by one of his wives Leah, was raped by Shechem, a Hivite prince (Genesis 34).
(6) Judah, a son of Jacob/Israel, had an illicit encounter with his daughter-in-law Tamar thinking she was a cult prostitute resulting in Perez and Zerah. (Genesis 38) Did Judah have merely a prostitute problem or also a cult problem?
(7) Moses was a murderer (Exodus 2). Though he grew up in the Egyptian palace, he killed an Egyptian. He later became the leader of Israel who brought them out of Egypt.
(8) David's illicit encounter with his general's wife Bathsheba was part of God's revelation (2 Samuel 11). It is unusual for a history book of the Jews to highlight the immorality of one of their greatest leaders.
(9) Solomon, the wisest man in the universe, had women problems. Actually, he had a LOT of them. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Therefore, he had more opportunities than any man on earth to use his wisdom.
(10) St. Peter, Roman Catholic Church's first pope, one of Jesus' lead disciples, often said wrong things and asked stupid questions. Out of this pope's mouth spilled dramas and errors.
(11) Little finger, feet, thigh, etc. are often used as euphemistic substitutes for some other organs while intimate encounters are described as "knowing," "going into," "defiling," etc.
(12) Genocidal warfares in the Old Testament have divine sanction and the New Testament contains corresponding imageries
(13) There is much feasting going on in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 19:17ff)
(14) The final Judgment after Jesus returns certainly will send many people to hell. [For this, I don't understand why Christian are uncomfortable in talking about it; after all, those people who find this offensive don't REALLY believe in these after all. Right?]
Knowing all these, some people (atheists? *) would use these to point out the unworthiness of the Bible. However, understanding the movement of the Scriptures from the first book Genesis to the last book Revelation, here are my reflections... A. Adam and Eve put on fig leaves after they have sinned and offended God. God took them off and gave them animal skin instead (Genesis 3). It is our tendency to wrap life in a nice package (from our point of view). Sometimes, it is not just a tendency but we believe it is actually a necessity to put up a good face in order to survive in our society, and even in church ministry. However, God's revelation unwraps our life in order to show us the necessity of Christ, who was unclothed, slashed, and died like an animal on the Cross for us. We cannot be our own savior. We need that One Savior God has given us. Our packagings will eventually fail be it gold foil, exercises, food, clothings, cosmetics, or any plastic surgery. We need a better packaging and that is the righteousness God has prepared for us in Christ. B. Since the Fall (Genesis 3) after man sinned against God, a cosmic struggle commenced between the descendant(s) of woman and the descendants of the snake (Genesis 3:15). Scriptures show us that all these descendants of woman (Cain, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, etc.) have failed regardless of their intellligence, social status, religious upbringing, and educational background; however, the Scripture is looking forward to that ONE descendant of woman Jesus Christ who would end it all. Now, He has come, died, raised from the dead, and has victory over death and freed us from the control of the Devil when we receive Christ. C. Saints in the Old Testament, just as saints today living as member of the New Testament Church need Christ. Human beings are not designed to live as an individual in isolation practicing one's personal faith. We are designed and created to live with one another and with our Creator and Jesus brought us to Him through His blood. We are also designed to be a blessing to many other people who have failed like us believers. D. We can be open and vulnerable but we know Christ is ours and we are Christ's. I say the Bible is bloody, immoral, and gross because it is God's revelation showing us who we really are: how murderous we really are (Matthew 5:21-26), how tragic our life really is (we are violated and we violate others), how vulgar our mind really is (ever try to record all that is going on in your mind?). God knows all of these already and He tells us more than what we can personally experience in our life. However, the Bible as the word of God is also good because it points us to the Word of God Jesus Christ who brings us to God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the all-knowing and yet gracious and loving Father. Becuase of these, we can rejoice this Christmas for our Savlation, Wisdom, and Righteousness Jesus Christ has come! * I thank God for the atheists for they have put up web pages to help me write this post.  | | |
| Northeast Community Church
[Let this be our name for now. We are a church planting project in Northeast Philadelphia. Our goal is to reach the multiethnic community for Christ. All that we do includes an outreach component. Here are our vision, purpose, and values. These were written by Rev. Vincent Tauriello with minor modifications by me. We have English as our core ministry while we have coworkers dedicated to work with several ethnic immigrant groups in the area.
Each core value is written such that the first statement serves as a summary. The Gospel is the key value and it informs all other values. The values are arranged such that there is a progression from the Gospel, the personal, to the communal, to the city, and unto the world.] Vision
Our vision is to bring the peoples of the nations in Northeast Philadelphia into a living, loving, and lasting relationship with the Lord of the nations and his people through a ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed. Purpose
Northeast Community Church exists to glorify God by equipping believers for service so that every man, woman and child in Northeast Philadelphia has an opportunity to hear, understand and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ and that every believer becomes actively involved in the completion of the Great Commission worldwide. Values
1. Gospel – The gospel is the good news that through Jesus Christ the power of God’s kingdom has entered history to redeem and renew the whole world. When we believe and rely on Jesus’ work and record (rather than ours) for our relationship with God, that kingdom power comes upon us and begins to work through us.
2. Changed People – The gospel changes people from the inside out. We receive from Jesus a new identity, freeing us from both self-condemnation and self-righteousness. God empowers us to break the bondage of things (good and bad) that once drove us and ruled us enabling us to follow him wholeheartedly. He frees us to accept people we once excluded and makes us welcoming and respectful toward those who are different.
3. Prayer – The gospel teaches us to devote ourselves to Kingdom-centered prayer. We are to pray to God our Father and for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on the earth. We believe God works through the humble prayers of his people to accomplish his will. We do not believe we have any power apart from Him to do anything good.
4. Worship – The gospel brings us into joyful relationship with God to worship and serve Him daily with all that we have. We have received new hearts to know, love and serve him for the great God that he is and for the great things he has done. Worship inspires us to witness. We celebrate his goodness and tell of his wonderful works in our lives as we gather together and as we live day to day in this world. We live for him who died for us so we might live both now and for evermore.
5. Community – The gospel creates a new community that not only nurtures individuals but also serves as a sign of God’s coming kingdom. In this community we see classes of people loving one another who could not have gotten along without the healing power of the gospel. People from every tribe, tongue and nation are loving God and loving neighbor in humble and remarkable ways. Money, sex and power are being used in unique non-destructive and life-giving ways.
6. City – The gospel promotes the peace and health of the city. It renews individual lives and moves Christians to humbly serve, live with, and love all the diverse peoples of the city. The spreading of the gospel reweaves the fabric of neighborhoods, culture and society. We believe God loves cities and wants to bless them through his people and their engagement with the culture.
7. Mission – The gospel takes us in to the unfathomable blessings of God and sends us out to be a blessing. We will be a church not just for ourselves but also for our neighbors. We realize that one church or denomination is not sufficient to renew all of Northeast Philadelphia spiritually, socially, and culturally. So we are committed to working with others to see many new gospel churches planted near and far. We believe in sacrificially serving our neighbors by using our gifts and resources. © 2009 Northeast Community Church | | |
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