To shout the supremacy of Christ in all things…
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Posted by Pastor Pat on November 20, 2009
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
The intent of this article is to show how what we once were in Adam we no longer are, but still have. Paul’s point from the beginning of the letter all the way through chapter 3 is to note how those who were once in sin’s debt and alienated from God are now redeemed from sin and adopted into God’s family. He is their Father and they are His children.
Posted by Pastor Pat on July 14, 2009
Read Mark 8:10-21
In this short study, I would like us to consider the biblical warning to “watch out” and “beware.” The word “watch out” is used three times in Mark’s Gospel (1:44; 8:15, 24). It is only here where it is used with the force of an imperative. Mark uses the word for “beware” fourteen times. It is used with force in Mark 4:24; 12:38; 13:5, 9, 23, and 33.
Posted by Pastor Pat on July 10, 2009
Read Mark 8:1-9
I believe it is important to keep our Lord’s movements in mind when reading the various stories. Jesus is in the Decapolis and is speaking to a predominately Gentile audience. It is important to remember the continued conflict with the religious leaders and political authorities. He has come to His own people first and then begins reaching out to the Gentile world. In the world in which Jesus lived, everyone who is non-Jewish is Gentile. Mark shows how Gentiles are included in the story of God. Mark opens this idea with Jesus addressing the Pharisees on the topic of “clean versus unclean.” He then heals a Canaanite woman’s daughter of a demon. He continues His handling of the unclean Gentiles by healing a deaf and mute man. To show equality among the Jews and Gentiles, He repeats His feeding miracles among a predominately Gentile audience. His actions do not negate Jewish primacy. Jesus did not forget that it was to the Jew and through the Jew that God’s revelation and divine incarnation would take place. Such action on His part reflects an impartial worldview. In fact, His actions always reflect a Christian worldview. Often I think as Christians we need to be reminded that a Christian worldview is a Christ worldview. His worldview is to be reflected by and represented in our worldview. It is not the other way around. Sometimes I, we, confuse our nationalism, our patriotism, our tribal instinct, our religious experience for a biblical worldview. What is His worldview? What is a Christian worldview? WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Pastor Pat on July 6, 2009
Read Mark 7:31-37
This narrative continues to celebrate the innate goodness of God. Regardless as to what our thoughts and opinions might be concerning Jesus, they must conclude with the idea that He is good. It is because He is good that what He does is good. It cannot be otherwise. In our present passage, Jesus heals an individual who is both deaf and speechless. His inability to hear contributed to his inability to speak. Regardless as to the condition, it was just cause for our Lord to act and, in acting, to display His power over all disease. In so doing, His status as Messiah continues to be established. In commenting on the grammatical structure of this statement, A.T. Robertson notes how, “The present perfect active shows the settled convictions of these people about Jesus.” Jesus was never charged with doing evil. Everything He did was “good.”
Posted by Pastor Pat on July 2, 2009
“Even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
Read Mark 7:24-30
Posted by Pastor Pat on June 28, 2009
Read Mark 7:1-23
Remember to whom Mark writes. He is writing to a Roman audience, a Gentile audience. He is showing how they are included in the redemptive purpose of God to secure for Himself a people who will love Him and worship Him forever. It is these people who will enjoy the presence of God forever. Although this truth caused the religious establishment to put Him to death, it caused the larger world to rejoice.
Posted by Pastor Pat on June 20, 2009
17 “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife’”(Mark 6:17, 18).
Posted by Pastor Pat on June 12, 2009
Read Mark 6:1-6
In all of our stories from Mark 4:35 and following, there is consistent thread of faith. Faith appears throughout as a precondition to the miraculous. Nonetheless, is faith a precondition to the miraculous or is it a consequence of the miraculous?
Posted by Pastor Pat on May 30, 2009
As believers, you and I are in constant spiritual warfare. Often, however, we fail to recognize our battles as such. In addition, we are often ignorant of Satan’s mode of operation. And finally, we regularly fail to fight from a position of victory. Although this is a lengthy study, I would like to simply note several verses and then conclude by noting how we live from victory and not for victory.
Posted by Pastor Pat on January 23, 2009
Where do we go from here? Because the story exceeds the boundaries placed on it, it engulfs everyone and everything that lies in its path. God wrote every detail into the story. He knows what will happen before it happens simply because He is God. There is only one book that gives us “the rest of the story.” It is found almost exclusively in the book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is notably apocalyptic literature. This means it uses symbolism to communicate its thoughts. The meaning is not in the symbol but in what the symbol represents. “It is literature born out of crisis and was a means of addressing that crisis to a religious community.”(http://faculty.bbc.edu/rdecker/phd/depriest/1defined.html) This means the intent of the literature was to explain present conflict and provide immediate hope. The book of Revelation is remarkably singular in its purpose. Chapter 1 verse 1 opens with the following statement,
Posted by Pastor Pat on January 13, 2009
We have already noted how the Hero’s work has left His people with a legacy. This legacy is to be carried out by every succeeding generation. The mission for His people is to share His legacy. Luke 24:47 notes how the message is to “be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Luke continues this idea in Acts 1:7, 8. ”He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth’”.
Posted by Pastor Pat on January 7, 2009
In the story of God, He created a world in which His story would unfold. From the very beginning a villain, an antagonist was presented. But God also wrote into His story a deliverer who would bring deliverance. This hero was foreshadowed and imaged throughout biblical revelation and history. The foretelling and figure were so exact that when the hero arrived all who were looking were able to identify God’s hero. The Hero came at a very specific time in history and with a distinct purpose. He came as a deliverer, and He brought with Him deliverance. The Hero has finished the work entrusted to Him by His Father; now He gives to His people the responsibility to carry on the work of proclamation to all the nations. Even though we acknowledge the story of God, we fail to see how we are living in the story and how our lives are a part of the ongoing story of God.
Posted by Pastor Pat on January 5, 2009
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4, 5).
Posted by Pastor Pat on January 4, 2009
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4, 5).
Posted by Pastor Pat on December 23, 2008
As I think about this Advent season, I am reprimanded by my neglect individually and perhaps corporately. Although the Hero has arrived, we continue to ignore His presence. We enter Advent with little thought and preparation. We do not anticipate or expect His appearance. I do not believe celebrating Christmas as it currently exists undermines the truth it contains, but I do believe that we must not forget who and what this is all about. Although the words on paper read harshly, my intent is not to chasten, but to remind. It is to speak as a Shepherd and not as the Butcher. Today, my intent is to be touched by God.
Reigning Grace
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"When all is said and done and your life on earth is finished and the dust settles over your lifeless carcass, the only thing that will matter is the unadulterated, undiluted and undistracted worship of Jesus Christ."
Waukesha Bible Church is a family of families seeking to live in the Storyline of the Bible. She is determined by design to have a God-centered, Christ-exalting worship; a Word-centered teaching focused on personal discipleship through intentional and systematic instruction; a Global-impacting mission that resolves to be a church planting church; and a Grace-based fellowship where disciples are invited to live under a reigning grace characterized by a Gospel-driven sanctification that celebrates a divine monergism to the Christian life.