My course this round is a book titled "The New Testament: Its Background & Message" by Thomas Lea & David Black. I will do 3 chapters a week. They are as follow: Ch 7- The 4 Gospels Ch 8- The Birth, Childhood, and Early Ministry of Jesus Ch 9- Jesus' Ministry in Around Galilee
Ch 7 gives a brief history on each of the Gospels. It starts with the authorship, then the features of each, then and outline. One feature of Matthew is he says Kingdom of Heaven instead of Kingdom of God. They state that its because Jews wouldnt say "God". With Mark they conclude it was probobly the 1st written, but authorship is debated a little. There is also debate on the last of Mark, early forms stop at verse 9.
The title of my course is CHURCH GROWTH. The instructor is Terry Forrest. I will be watching three DVDs this week. The title of my book is SURPRISING INSIGHTS FROM THE UNCHURCHED. The author is Thom S. Rainer. I will be reading two chapters this week.
The first DVD was aabout a few reasons why some churches are so weak and fragile. The first reason is they are not obeying biblical mandate. The second reason is they are not centered around evangelism. Another problem is that they don't want to admit that they have lost their focus.
I was suprised at the subject of doctrine. It makes sense that somebody thats searching for the truth is going to connect if the church or pastor is preaching it and is clear on it. Does it give any example of what being clear on it is?
This week I will read chapter two of the book written by Henry and Tom Blackaby titled "The Man God Uses". Chapter two is titled,"How God Shapes a Man".
There are many ways God shapes us. He can shape us through life experiences whether good or bad he can use those time to shape us. He can shape us through blessings,through a crisis, or through tragedies. As a matter of fact God can use anything that happens in our lives to shape us. The question is, are you shapable? The key to being shapable is the condition of your heart.
It begins with talking about what everyone thinks Job is about. Which everyone thinks is Suffering. And to a point it is, but it shows its more than that.
It does not talk about any particular doctrine. I think that the research team as well as the author leans more toward Southern Baptist. Most of the people that he talks to are from that demonination. I think that the idea is more focused on a church having a clear doctrine that they stand on.
I have to say that I think that every minister should read this book. It is full of good info on ways to reach lost people. Do you guys have any ideas that might help us win people to Jesus?
I got half-way through the book of Job with you. That's one reason I'm glad you are (or have read) reading this book. Job does let us know that things we might not understand may come our way.
I feel joyful when I think about God shaping us by our experiences. Its something that proves to me that theres something great behind this thing we describe as life. No one lives the exact life. To me , that cannot be an accident. But in thinking of our experiences, does God allow them, or orchestrate them?
In ch 8, so far its putting a timeline together of Jesus' life with all the gospels. Nothing else is used so far to do this except scripture. It does mention how Matt. & Luke start with a geneology, but John starts with before there was anything, Jesus was there.
When we've discussed the book of Job, I think it is ultimatley about faith #1 & #2 perserverence. Jb had no clue what was going on, BUT, showed both of these and was double blessed. I'm not sure but I think its in Job that says "Mans days are few and full of troubles". Truer words were never spoken. Suffering to some extent is inevitable. Its how we face them is what will shape us.
In the book he talks about many peoples wonders about the book and thats 'why is the reason this is happening to Job revealed at the beginning?'. Which is actually a pretty good question. But in it he brings up 'that it would change the whole meaning behind Job'.
I have always heard that Job was the oldest book in the Bible. I find it interesting that Job started asking for a mediator that he could plead his case to. What Job yearned for is what we have available to us through Jesus Christ. Isn't that AWESOME?
We just got home from VBS. It was our last night. Tomorrow is commencement. I hope you guys will pray for any lost people that may be there. I hope we can reach at least one family. That's what it is all about.
Another thing the chapter talks about is Jobs friends. How they tell Job that 'he sinned and thats why all this is happening,' even though Job knew he had not. And that honestly the best thing that his friends did for him is just be there silently by him.
Well through a big portion of the book Jobs friends were sitting there blaiming Job. Even though their arguments made sence Job still said 'I have not done anything', till the very end. Well near the end when God makes his entrance God lets Jobs friends have it, because they were wrong about Jobs suffering!
It also shows how job is viewing God. He is viewing him as a person who punishes the good and the wicked. Even though he sees God like this, he never forsakes God.
When God appears in Job, He comes like a whirlwind. Then starts talking about the grand creation he has made. After that Job cryed for saying what he had, and was sorry for it as well.
Ch9 discusses Jesus' ministry. it puts in chronological order of all the Gospels the best it can. One of the discussions is on the sermon on the mount. One book says it was on a mountain, Another says it was on flat ground. They conclude that it was a flat area on the mountainside. It also mentions that a majority of Jesus' followers left Him after this sermon. The words were too hard to deal with. It makes me realize how messed up we can be as people. Its scary to know that even with God in the flesh, we will reject Him.
Some others think that the sermon on the mount and the sermon on the plain were actually two different events where Jesus talked about many of the same things. Of course, if it were only one event, they have explained how that could be by the flat surface on the side of the mountain.
The VBS commencement was very good. The kids did a very good job. I was impressed by the director and all who helped out. It could not be possible to have a VBS if we did not have the help we did. Thank God for those poeple!
The chapter also talks about how these days are Job like times. For one we ask many of the same questions Job asked. For example, 'why is there suffering?'.
It also talks about how this reflects more than just on Job. That this whole event is a cosmic battle. A battle between Good and Evil, that affected the whole universe
You will notice some posts below that relate to various topics of discussion by our online community of preachers.
One of the purposes of Preachers' Meeting is to provide a place for young ministers or those recently called to preach to interact around the principles in a course of study recommended by our local group of preachers in the Southern Illinois area.
We invite you to look in on our conversations. If you would like to add comments as a guest, you are welcome to do so. If this looks interesting to you, you may join us as we start a new session. You can look in the side bar (or sometimes it is moved to right below this post) to see the weekly requirements. We start new courses every 8 or 9 weeks. As already mentioned, you are welcome to comment as a guest before that time.
Below these posts, you will see the word, "comments." Just click on it, and you will see a box on the right side of the screen where you may add your comments.
Look around. Enjoy yourself, and come back often!
Weekly Requirements
Here is a review of the general requirements for each week.
You have three assignments each week
(1) Make at least two initial posts in your posting area. The first one will be the name of the course, and the names (or numbers of the DVD's) of the chapters or lectures you will be covering during the week. The second one will be a comment on one of those chapters. You will receive one point for getting the first post in on Tuesday or Wednesday. You will also get a point for getting at least one more initial post in.
(2) Go to your fellow student's posting areas, and ask them a question or make comments about their intial posts. You will recieve one point for completing this assignment before 12:00 a.m. on Friday morning (that would be before midnight on Thursday).
(3) Answer the questions asked.
(4) On Fridays, I will also give directions for making remaining posts during the week. Be sure and read those, and take them into account when making at least one of your remaining posts.
In all, we want to make at least nine posts during the week. You will receive points for that as follows:
9 or more posts - 12 points
6-8 posts - 10 points
3-5 posts - 6 points
1-2 posts - 3 points
You will have the extra points you had accumulated by getting things in on time. Those are bonus points that will be used only to move your grade closer to 100 if you need them. They will be awarded each week if needed to move your grade up to 12 for the week. If you do not need them for that week, they will be carried over to the next week(s). Remember the posts that count for points will be at least three sentences long.
Thoughts on Application
Roger gave some good thoughts on application:
"Chapter 75, titled: 'Apply Within' is a lesson in application. The writer explains why it is sometimes difficult applying a sermon to real life situations. I will list some of the reasons application is not applied to our lives.
"First it is "hard work", it is hard to find application to every situation in the congregation,
"second, is wrong assumptions, assuming the audience is able to apply any and all biblical truths is totally a wrong assumption,
"third, is fear, fear of being to deep or to simplistic in the text and failing at application, and then there is training or lack thereof,
"many preachers know the text, and the history and the order of things but are totally untrained in application. One gentleman said it this way," how can you be a good football player when you can pass the ball, or when you can kick the ball, or when you can run with the ball but you don't know the rules of the game."
If you live in the souther Illinois area, we would like to invite you to a Couples' Marriage Enrichment Seminar on Saturday, February 27. It starts at 6:00 p.m and will run to 9:00 p.m.
After the welcome, there will be a dinner. Then there will be an opening session, followed by two breakout sessions, then a short closing.
The Keynote Speaker is Dr. Randy Carney (That's me :)!) and Roger and Janet Dutton will be speaking during the breakout sessions (That's Roger, who is commenting on this blog during this term!). Randy and Rhonda (my wife!) Carney will also have a breakout session discussing "Keys to Marital Bliss."
The Keynote Address will be on the topic of "The Way to a Successful Marriage: The Shocking and Surprising Truth."
Roger and Janet will be talking about "Hope for Restoring your marriage."
The cost is $15.00 per couple and that includes a dinner and all seminar materials. A nursery and childcare will be available. (Please indicate that you need these services when you register.) A book table with resources from Handfuls on Purpose Christian Bookstore will be available.
The seminar is for couples of all ages, ranging from newlyweds to marriage veterans!
To register, call 618-627-2228 to let the church know how may will be attending. Payment can be made at the event. (Make checks to TFBC.) For more information, call the church at 618-627-2228.
The Greatest Love
Since Valentine's Day falls on Sunday this year, I imagine there will be a ton of sermons going out on the topic of love.
Paul talked about love and respect in marriage (Ephesians 5), but he was really saying that that was an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church.
Christ
Left Heaven to come to this earth.
He
Overcame adversity while here. He even conquered death!
He
Valued mankind so much that He gave Himself on the cross.
He desires fellowship with us. He reconciled the world to Himself, so that people could have an
Intimate realtionship with Him.
He meets all of our
Needs.
He is the supreme example of
Giving.
Do you see the word, LOVING, there? That is what He is--our LOVING Savior! Because of that, we should love one another.
Course 11 Week 4
Scroll down to the week 4 area to begin commenting.
Dealing with the Closed American Mind
One of the chapters Roger is reading is entitled, (something like) "Dealing with the Closed American Mind." I don't know if it is mentioned in the chapter, but I suspect that if you tak about something where a person has a felt need, you can gain their hearing somewhat.
What are your thoughts?
You may scroll down and comment in the week 3 comments area. Visitors are welcome to comment also.
Connecting with Postmoderns
This is something most preachers do every Sunday. If you have young unchurched visitors in your church, you will be trying to reach postmoderns. Even some of your church youth are more influenced by postmodernism than by their previous Sunday school teaching.
Here is my reply to one of Roger's posts:
"Roger, what tips stand out to you for commecting with postmoderns? I think the term modern referred to an age in history that related to new thoughts in science, etc. (If I am off base, refresh my memory.) Post modern refers to the time following that era. Connecting with postmoderns is something you have to do, whether you realize it or not, almost every time you preach."
I will post some of his answers here if he sees the question in time.
Preaching--Proclamation of God's Word
Preaching, by one definition, is the proclamation of God's Word. As such, a person, can take the Scriptural passage and find some of its main points and emphasize those points.
While I believe we should learn all we can about the grammatical construction of the words of Scripture, and that we should learn all we can about the historical setting for when those words were originally spoken; the nice thing about proclaiming the Word is that you can just take what the text says and emphasize it. Then the Word will not return void.
People with all different types of backgrounds have been called to preach throughout the centuries. Some very "unlearned" (as the world would put it) men have had great results by simply taking the main ideas of Scripture and simply emphasizing them. As long as we do not twist the meaning, this simply shows the amazing power of the Word of God.
New Format
I am going to try putting my comments for each day in this left sidebar. The comments areas for the remaining weeks are displayed to the right. That is where you will place your comments for each week.
37 comments:
My course this round is a book titled "The New Testament: Its Background & Message" by Thomas Lea & David Black. I will do 3 chapters a week. They are as follow: Ch 7- The 4 Gospels
Ch 8- The Birth, Childhood, and Early Ministry of Jesus
Ch 9- Jesus' Ministry in Around Galilee
Ch 7 gives a brief history on each of the Gospels. It starts with the authorship, then the features of each, then and outline. One feature of Matthew is he says Kingdom of Heaven instead of Kingdom of God. They state that its because Jews wouldnt say "God". With Mark they conclude it was probobly the 1st written, but authorship is debated a little. There is also debate on the last of Mark, early forms stop at verse 9.
The title of my course is CHURCH GROWTH. The instructor is Terry Forrest. I will be watching three DVDs this week. The title of my book is SURPRISING INSIGHTS FROM THE UNCHURCHED. The author is Thom S. Rainer. I will be reading two chapters this week.
5. Why They Returned and Stayed
6. Doctrine Really Matters
The first DVD was aabout a few reasons why some churches are so weak and fragile. The first reason is they are not obeying biblical mandate. The second reason is they are not centered around evangelism. Another problem is that they don't want to admit that they have lost their focus.
I was suprised at the subject of doctrine. It makes sense that somebody thats searching for the truth is going to connect if the church or pastor is preaching it and is clear on it. Does it give any example of what being clear on it is?
This week I will read chapter two of the book written by Henry and Tom Blackaby titled "The Man God Uses". Chapter two is titled,"How God Shapes a Man".
There are many ways God shapes us. He can shape us through life experiences whether good or bad he can use those time to shape us. He can shape us through blessings,through a crisis, or through tragedies. As a matter of fact God can use anything that happens in our lives to shape us. The question is, are you shapable? The key to being shapable is the condition of your heart.
This week I will be reading chapter 2. It is titled Job: Seeing In The Dark. I'm guessing its about the book of Job.
It begins with talking about what everyone thinks Job is about. Which everyone thinks is Suffering. And to a point it is, but it shows its more than that.
It does not talk about any particular doctrine. I think that the research team as well as the author leans more toward Southern Baptist. Most of the people that he talks to are from that demonination. I think that the idea is more focused on a church having a clear doctrine that they stand on.
I have to say that I think that every minister should read this book. It is full of good info on ways to reach lost people. Do you guys have any ideas that might help us win people to Jesus?
Corey, what is the name of your book again?
Corey, and Roger,
I got half-way through the book of Job with you. That's one reason I'm glad you are (or have read) reading this book. Job does let us know that things we might not understand may come our way.
I feel joyful when I think about God shaping us by our experiences. Its something that proves to me that theres something great behind this thing we describe as life. No one lives the exact life. To me , that cannot be an accident. But in thinking of our experiences, does God allow them, or orchestrate them?
In ch 8, so far its putting a timeline together of Jesus' life with all the gospels. Nothing else is used so far to do this except scripture. It does mention how Matt. & Luke start with a geneology, but John starts with before there was anything, Jesus was there.
When we've discussed the book of Job, I think it is ultimatley about faith #1 & #2 perserverence. Jb had no clue what was going on, BUT, showed both of these and was double blessed. I'm not sure but I think its in Job that says "Mans days are few and full of troubles". Truer words were never spoken. Suffering to some extent is inevitable. Its how we face them is what will shape us.
Its called 'The Bible Jesus Read'. Its by Philip Yancey. Its pretty good.
Roger whats the favorite thing about the book your reading?
In the book he talks about many peoples wonders about the book and thats 'why is the reason this is happening to Job revealed at the beginning?'. Which is actually a pretty good question. But in it he brings up 'that it would change the whole meaning behind Job'.
I have always heard that Job was the oldest book in the Bible. I find it interesting that Job started asking for a mediator that he could plead his case to. What Job yearned for is what we have available to us through Jesus Christ. Isn't that AWESOME?
We just got home from VBS. It was our last night. Tomorrow is commencement. I hope you guys will pray for any lost people that may be there. I hope we can reach at least one family. That's what it is all about.
Thanks, Corey,
Tyler, I do hope you will be able to reach several for Christ through you VBS commencement.
Another thing the chapter talks about is Jobs friends. How they tell Job that 'he sinned and thats why all this is happening,' even though Job knew he had not. And that honestly the best thing that his friends did for him is just be there silently by him.
Well through a big portion of the book Jobs friends were sitting there blaiming Job. Even though their arguments made sence Job still said 'I have not done anything', till the very end. Well near the end when God makes his entrance God lets Jobs friends have it, because they were wrong about Jobs suffering!
Hey, Corey,
You got your picture added. Great!
You are becoming a pro this go around!
It also shows how job is viewing God. He is viewing him as a person who punishes the good and the wicked. Even though he sees God like this, he never forsakes God.
When God appears in Job, He comes like a whirlwind. Then starts talking about the grand creation he has made. After that Job cryed for saying what he had, and was sorry for it as well.
Oh, and bro. Randy, the last weeks I couldn't find a picture to put up or I would have.
Ch9 discusses Jesus' ministry. it puts in chronological order of all the Gospels the best it can. One of the discussions is on the sermon on the mount. One book says it was on a mountain, Another says it was on flat ground. They conclude that it was a flat area on the mountainside. It also mentions that a majority of Jesus' followers left Him after this sermon. The words were too hard to deal with. It makes me realize how messed up we can be as people. Its scary to know that even with God in the flesh, we will reject Him.
Some others think that the sermon on the mount and the sermon on the plain were actually two different events where Jesus talked about many of the same things. Of course, if it were only one event, they have explained how that could be by the flat surface on the side of the mountain.
Corey, you have two bonus points this week.
Roger, you have two bonus points this week.
Sean, you have two bonus points this week.
Tyler, since you asked your question before Friday morning, you have three bonus points this week.
Roger, you had no bonus points going into this week.
Tyler, you had three bonus points going into this week.
Sean, you had four bonus points going into this week.
Corey, you had three bonus points going into this week.
Correction:
Sean, you have three bonus points this week. Sorry I must have looked past June 10 as I started looking for questions.
Thanks for asking about this. That's why I remind all of you part of the time to let me know if I miss something.
The VBS commencement was very good. The kids did a very good job. I was impressed by the director and all who helped out. It could not be possible to have a VBS if we did not have the help we did. Thank God for those poeple!
The chapter also talks about how these days are Job like times. For one we ask many of the same questions Job asked. For example, 'why is there suffering?'.
It also explains that Job asked God to awnser these guestions. Which God did. Just not in the way Job expected.(sounds like God 2 me)
It also talks about how this reflects more than just on Job. That this whole event is a cosmic battle. A battle between Good and Evil, that affected the whole universe
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