SBS 2012 HAS STARTED

Introducing the SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES 2012!

On March 19, 2012 the SBS officially started!  We have eleven wonderful students that are teachable and hungry for the word of God!  We have people from Korea, New York, Nebraska, California, Washington and all over the place.  As we welcomed the school we had a dinner for them.  Here are a few pictures, notice the Biblical motifs.  It was a fun game to see how many they could see through dinner.    

 How many loaves of bread do you see? Yes that's right there are five, sound familiar?  

 Yes our names are on scrolls.  Yes, those are palm leaves.  Yes, those are fish. Yes, those are stones.  Yes, that is fire.  Yes, those are red napkins.  Are you embarrassed that we are such nerds or impressed that we can find so many lame Biblical Motifs at dinner.  

 Yes, this was the ultimate example of being a Bible nerd!  Yes, that is a manna chandler.  Impressive I know!

Our lovely staff and students enjoying a Passover meal together!

What God has said about this year!

We are anticipating what God is wanting to do this year.   We felt God say that he is emphasizing Identity to this school.  That he is going to build staff and students beliefs through His word and that is going to refine character and it is going to impact lives and nations.  He gave us a picture of a tree.

Isaiah 61:3b "...that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified."

Please pray for us and the school that through our continual study of the Word that we would be rooted and grounded in His Word and that through our understanding of the Identity that we have in Christ it would have an impact.  

Quarter Itinerary for Scott and Rachael's Teaching:

Scott has or is teaching the following:

• Canonicity of the Bible: March 21
• Mark: April 3-10
• Colossians: May 7
• Philemon: May 9
• 2 Corinthians: June 4-6

Rachael has or is teaching the following:

• Bible Overview: March 21
• Titus: March 21-27
• Luke: May 13-18
• Acts: May 20-27
• Galatians: May 30-April 2

Please pray for us as we are teaching a lot and also consecutively.  We need his grace and revelation as we teach His word.  Thank You!!! 

PRAYERS:  

First we just want to thank you for those of you that have been praying!  We feel so blessed and really feel like God is showing us how to have hearts of Thanksgiving for the big and small things in our life.  We are daily blessed by the new place we get to live in!  

Please pray for rest and grace in this busy season.  

Pray for my (Rachael's) migraines and neck as it has been bothering me again

You can pray for a car too!  We are blessed to have tires now but are going to very soon need a car that we can drive long distances or over big hills:)

Thank you we love you all!

What We Believe and Why?

BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

I recently have been challenged by this idea of our perception of reality and how we as Christians define this reality.  For so many of us this reality is defined by our culture, family, friends, and of course church.  The lens in which we see our world is obstructed by all these streams that come filtering through our understanding of reality.  Although not all bad they do affect our understanding of the world around us.  

NT Wright states “Worldviews are the basic stuff of human existence, the lens through which the world is seen, the blueprint for how one should live in it, and above all the sense of identity and place which enable human beings to be what they are.”1

We see how intricate worldview is in our understanding of how we interpret and therefore act in life.  As Christians we should ask what is defining and molding our worldview and what are the implications of that worldview in our life?

I have been humbled to realize that for so many of us the Word of God is not at the center of our perception of the world around us.  The sad statistics are that only 5% of Adults have a Biblical Worldview.2  The sorrow that comes with that statistic and the reality that our actions and the way we live are not based off of a Biblical Standard.  If they are not based off of God and how he defines our reality what is the root of the way we live.  Barna Group did another study showing that only 16% of adults claim to make moral decisions based off of the Bible.3

  

What is the compass that guides us anymore?

As I began to study the connection between worldview, one thing became apparent is that our theology or in simpler terms our understanding of who God is defines the reality of the world we perceive.  What we believe will affect the way we live.  

But are we as Christians having a Biblical Worldview and if not who or what are we allowing to define our reality of the world? 

I have come across this as we have been teaching in the School of Biblical Studies and as I myself have been challenged with some of the hard concepts of the Bible is that it is sometimes easier to change God than to change my beliefs.  And why do we as creation always have this desire to define the Creator?  How does the lesser define the greater?  

Are we as the body of Christ willing to lay down our own philosophies or what makes us as people feel safe or comforted or how we define what is good and just and allow God to define those things?  Or are we all to willing to change the God of the Bible to the reality that fits us?  

I am challenged as I write this in my understanding of so many things when it comes to who God is and how my understanding of Him affects the way I live because I know that each day I fall and each day He teaches me His goodness and faithfulness in my weakness.  

I want us as Christians though to have a worldview that continues to be sanctified by the Word and that our reality is not molded by emotion or culture but rather by the One who made this world.  Are we willing to look at the implication of our beliefs and how they have influence and bear fruit in the world around us?

¹ N.T. Wright. “The New Testament and the People of God.”

² "Most Adults Feel Accepted by God, But Lack a Biblical Worldview." The Barna Group - Barna Update. Barna Group, 9 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. <http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/174-most-adults-feel-accepted-by-god-but- lack-a-biblical-worldview?q=bible>.

³ "Most Adults Feel Accepted by God, But Lack a Biblical Worldview." The Barna Group - Barna Update. Barna Group, 9 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2012. <http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/174-most-adults-feel-accepted-by-god-but- lack-a-biblical-worldview?q=bible>.

Contentment

     In the pastoral epistle of 1 Timothy, the apostle, the friend, the father, Paul writes to his "true child in the faith" (1:2) Timothy. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to minister to the people there. Ephesus, at the time, was the greatest city in Asia Minor. It was the center of everything you could think of or want. Commerce, education, idolatry, magic, the worship of gods and goddesses, and anything to satisfy what the flesh desired. One of the main issues that Paul deals with in this letter is false teaching, which is a big problem that Timothy was encountering in the church. Teachings that went against the truth of the gospel which Paul and many others had persevered to proclaim, the message that Jesus is enough. In 6:1-10, Paul warns Timothy of those who would use the gospel as an avenue to gain more. They are prideful. They are greedy. Basically, Paul is telling that these people are teaching , " I need more than Jesus, he is not enough"  and that in the end, their greed will lead them and others away from the faith and into ruin. So in 6:6-8 (ESV), Paul's advice to Timothy is as follows:


     But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.


     So, the question, I present is this, what is true contentment and how can we be content? This is something my wife and I have struggled with recently. Rachael and I had just returned to Colorado Springs after traveling for the last three months and upon arrival quickly put together a list of things that we "needed". Everything from an apartment to an organizer for all of the random nails and screws tucked away under our bed. As we were out pursuing these things, we quickly found ourselves in a cycle of hope, discouragement, prayer, and perspective.  We would go into stores and struggle with buying or putting back on the shelf the things that we needed but could live without, but still wanting them. Then looking at town homes and apartments, worrying about our car that needs new tires, we were constantly brought back to the reality of how much money we actually have coming in each month. Then it causes us to think, "we could alway step out of ministry and get jobs and life would be so much easier.". The Holy Spirit was rather quick to convict us. There were many things that never were crossed off of the list, but that was all right because as the Holy Spirit worked in our hearts, we were reminded of what it means to be content.
    So, What is contentment? Kenneth Wuest says in reference to this passage in 1Timothy 6:6-8 " Contentment is autarkeia(Greek). It speaks of an inward self-sufficiency as opposed to the lack  or desire of outward things."(1) Even when we all are found lacking or desiring outward things, how can we be content? It is quite a simple answer, but I think that it is so simple that sometimes we tend to overlook it.
     The message of the gospel is the answer, that Jesus came to save sinners like you and I, that God has dealt with us far better than we deserve. Ephesians 1:3-14 speaks volumes about what we have all been given through Jesus:


     Every spiritual blessing
     We were chosen before the foundation of the world
     Predestined for adoption as sons of God
     Redemption through Jesus' sacrifice
     Forgiveness of trespasses
     An inheritance
     Salvation
     Sealed with the Holy Spirit


     This my friend is how we can be content, that God has given us far more than we deserve or could ever earn or buy, therefore we can rejoice and praise Jesus for what He has done for us, and what He has done for us is more than enough, it is all that we need. Be encouraged because Jesus is our contentment. Like Rachael and I did when we were discouraged, ask God to help you when you are not content. Do not let the things of this world take the place of Jesus and what He has done for you and given to you. I love the next thing that Paul tells Timothy, 6:11-12(ESV) and I will leave you with these words:


     But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.




(1) Word Studies in the Greek New Testament. Wuest,Kenneth. The Exegesis of 1 Timothy, pg 94