Yesterday, (01/24) we got a bit more personal about our spiritual lives and the varying degrees of progress that we each feel we made throughout the 12 months of the Year of Our Lord 2009. It was good. It was fueled by a self-evaluation that Louis had put together, and I've included a link to it below. I'd really encourage you to take a bit of time and read through it and try to come up with some answers. We'll be going over it again next Sunday. But you don't have to come for the evaluation to be worth your while.
May peace and grace of an absurdly mature nature abound around you this week.
self evaluation-epic.doc
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Managing Wealth - Week Two
On Sunday, January 10th, Shannon and Mark led us in another week of discussions about personal finances and how we, as Christians, are called to interact with the green. During the first week (1/3/09) we had talked about the finances, wealth, and poverty in terms of the global perspective. While it's easy to forget it in moments of want or frustration, I hope that each of us is aware that even those who have it bad in the U.S. still have it pretty good compared to much of the world. Our nation is ridiculously wealthy. Therefore even if we don't feel burdened with large sums of money, we should all feel a responsibility to use what the Lord has given us wisely.
Biblical Insight on Finances
What does the Bible say about getting into debt?
What about investing and saving money?
Taxes are required, but are they Biblical?
What exactly is tithing?
Tithing was introduced in the Old Testament as a law that required all Israelites to give 10% of earnings (money, crops, animals) to the temple.
Old Testament believers gave from the firstfruits of their crops, not the leftovers!
The New Testament instructs us to give cheerfully, to give generously and to give regularly. The specifics are up to us.
As a group, we seemed to have a lot to say on the topic of tithing. A lot of folks had really good comments. First off was the disparity between the OT "you must" and the NT "do, ya know, whatever, if ya want". I guess we mainly talked about how, if taxes weren't mandates, very few people would willingly give to the government. Having it written as law simply takes our human tendency of avoidance out of the equation. It simply is. It's simplified. But that's only at the surface level. A lot of what the NT talks about is giving as you feel led to cheerfully give. If you feel led to not tithe, then don't tithe against your will. But don't use the "as you feel led" to tithe less than you feel led to simply because you know you've got this vacation coming up and it'd be really nice to be able to spend another day out there. Tithing should, like all thing, be prayerfully done. God wants our hearts, not our money, and the idea is that once God has our hearts it will bring us joy to give to Him. And a C. S. Lewis point was brought up: he wrote in some writing that you should feel it when you tithe. If it doesn't affect your lifestyle at all, your not giving enough because tithing is a way for us to learn that all things come from the Lord and for us to remove our psychological dependence on a padded pocketbook.
These were the things I took away. As always, if you disagree or agree differently pop up a comment. But I'm through for now.
Biblical Insight on Finances
What does the Bible say about getting into debt?
- Psalms 37:21 - The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;
- Proverbs 22:7 - The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
- Romans 13:8 - Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law
What about investing and saving money?
- Proverbs 21:20 - In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.
- Matthew 25:14-30 - [FOLLOW LINK: Parable of the servants sewing the masters talents.]
Taxes are required, but are they Biblical?
- Matthew 22:15-22 - [FOLLOW LINK: 'Paying Taxes to Ceasar']
- Romans 13:2-7 - 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
What exactly is tithing?
Tithing was introduced in the Old Testament as a law that required all Israelites to give 10% of earnings (money, crops, animals) to the temple.
Old Testament believers gave from the firstfruits of their crops, not the leftovers!
The New Testament instructs us to give cheerfully, to give generously and to give regularly. The specifics are up to us.
As a group, we seemed to have a lot to say on the topic of tithing. A lot of folks had really good comments. First off was the disparity between the OT "you must" and the NT "do, ya know, whatever, if ya want". I guess we mainly talked about how, if taxes weren't mandates, very few people would willingly give to the government. Having it written as law simply takes our human tendency of avoidance out of the equation. It simply is. It's simplified. But that's only at the surface level. A lot of what the NT talks about is giving as you feel led to cheerfully give. If you feel led to not tithe, then don't tithe against your will. But don't use the "as you feel led" to tithe less than you feel led to simply because you know you've got this vacation coming up and it'd be really nice to be able to spend another day out there. Tithing should, like all thing, be prayerfully done. God wants our hearts, not our money, and the idea is that once God has our hearts it will bring us joy to give to Him. And a C. S. Lewis point was brought up: he wrote in some writing that you should feel it when you tithe. If it doesn't affect your lifestyle at all, your not giving enough because tithing is a way for us to learn that all things come from the Lord and for us to remove our psychological dependence on a padded pocketbook.
These were the things I took away. As always, if you disagree or agree differently pop up a comment. But I'm through for now.
"That's SO 2009"
Howdy folks, Chris Cook here with another exciting Epic blog post! Over the last four months of 2009 Louis led us through a ton of great topics during our Sunday mornings together. Obviously it's been a bit and I can't even hope to begin to reiterate any worthwhile portion of the discussions we had, but I can post links to the Powerpoints that Louis made for some of the different discussions. See below.
God.pptx
OT violence.pptx
The Bible 3.pptx
What Christians Believe.pptx
humanity.pptx
predestination.pptx
God.pptx
OT violence.pptx
The Bible 3.pptx
What Christians Believe.pptx
humanity.pptx
predestination.pptx
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Managing Wealth - Week One
We are tackling the issue of wealth and finances for the next couple of Sundays in Epic. I pray that we will all have an open mind and heart as we look at what God as to say about money, generosity and the heart of the matter.
This week we looked a global perspective of the wealth, discussed the importance of attitude when giving and spending and introduced the idea of managing, not owning, the money God has given us.
We spent some time this week studying 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 which reminds us that it is not the amount we give but the attitude and purpose that matters most. Since we are simply managers of God's riches, we must use the money he has provided us to advance his kingdom and bring him glory.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."
his righteousness endures forever."
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
During his message at Hillcrest this morning, Darrin Plant said that surrendering was the "Ultimate New Year's Resolution". Is money the part of your life that needs to be surrendered to God?
We will take a deeper dive into tithing, loans, debt, savings and more in the weeks to come... Stay tuned!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Biblical Interpretation
Thanks to Chris for posting the link to the Bibilical Interpretation powerpoint. I have put it below again for reference to my comments.
This presentation is based on a two-part talk I heard back in 2002 as part of a spring break retreat to the Rockies. After sitting pretty much dormant in the back of my brain for several years, I remembered it and wanted to put it in a more concise format for sharing.
The main points of the teaching can be summed up as follows:
We need to give careful consideration to how we approach God's Word. As part of this approach, we need to commit to utilizing a sound interpretive process for our reading.
A very basic interpretive process includes first finding out what the text meant to the original readers, then recognizing the truth principles which underpin the text and hold true even still, and lastly making contemporary and personal applications.
Doing this will help us to walk wisely in between two poor alternatives. The first mistake is to do what I often do: to read a portion of scripture but not put any critical thought into it and stop thinking about it once I close my Bible. James 1:22 speaks to us about the folly of doing this. The other mistake is to do what I also sometimes do: to read a portion of scripture and make an application with only a partial or incomplete understanding of the context in which the passage lies.
Biblical Interpretation
-Kelly Blackwell
This presentation is based on a two-part talk I heard back in 2002 as part of a spring break retreat to the Rockies. After sitting pretty much dormant in the back of my brain for several years, I remembered it and wanted to put it in a more concise format for sharing.
The main points of the teaching can be summed up as follows:
We need to give careful consideration to how we approach God's Word. As part of this approach, we need to commit to utilizing a sound interpretive process for our reading.
A very basic interpretive process includes first finding out what the text meant to the original readers, then recognizing the truth principles which underpin the text and hold true even still, and lastly making contemporary and personal applications.
Doing this will help us to walk wisely in between two poor alternatives. The first mistake is to do what I often do: to read a portion of scripture but not put any critical thought into it and stop thinking about it once I close my Bible. James 1:22 speaks to us about the folly of doing this. The other mistake is to do what I also sometimes do: to read a portion of scripture and make an application with only a partial or incomplete understanding of the context in which the passage lies.
Biblical Interpretation
-Kelly Blackwell
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Blog Attack p2...and 3 now
The way we all operate these days makes it seems as though there's nothing left for Christ to do except make our existence more comfortable.
Several weeks ago I mentioned the book Unchristian. Several of those who have been in Epic and at Hillcrest for a few years said that Pastor Mark did a sermon series on the book. So, some are familiar with the book and some are not. For those not I will briefly summarize the book by saying that it deals with the very negative perceptions that people outside the church (and even many who are within the church) have of Christianity because of the drastic and damnable gaps that has grown first between what we as disciples of Christ are called to be and what we as American Christians claim to be, and secondly between what we claim to be and what we do. Christ calls us to humble ourselves, ask forgiveness, and love. Christianity has, in many ways, become little more than a moral code (and, for those our age, a philosophical mindset). Very few self-identified Christians adhere to that moral code.
We are seen as posers of extreme proportion.
That being said, the part part of the book that has stuck with me the most was a brief section that discussed Matthew 5: 13-16, the verses that call us as disciples to be
The group has spoken of it several times, but in '10 I'll be pushing for it: that Epic gets involved in the community. Probably gonna be Harvesters or something. It's been mentioned that a great way to tie it in would be to do some volunteering right before a retreat, which will hopefully get lined up for early '10. I'll be pushing for that too. But involvement doesn't have to be as a group. It's might be more fun, but much harder to organize. Get out there if you can.
Several weeks ago I mentioned the book Unchristian. Several of those who have been in Epic and at Hillcrest for a few years said that Pastor Mark did a sermon series on the book. So, some are familiar with the book and some are not. For those not I will briefly summarize the book by saying that it deals with the very negative perceptions that people outside the church (and even many who are within the church) have of Christianity because of the drastic and damnable gaps that has grown first between what we as disciples of Christ are called to be and what we as American Christians claim to be, and secondly between what we claim to be and what we do. Christ calls us to humble ourselves, ask forgiveness, and love. Christianity has, in many ways, become little more than a moral code (and, for those our age, a philosophical mindset). Very few self-identified Christians adhere to that moral code.
We are seen as posers of extreme proportion.
That being said, the part part of the book that has stuck with me the most was a brief section that discussed Matthew 5: 13-16, the verses that call us as disciples to be
- the salt of the earth
- the light of the world
- a city on a hill
Being salt and light demands two things: we practice purity in the midst of a fallen world and yet we live in proximity to this fallen world. If you don't hold up both truths in tension, you invariably become useless and separated from the world God loves. For example, if you only practice purity apart from proximity to the culture, you inevitably become pietistic, separatist, and conceited. If you live in close proximity to the culture without also living in a holy manner, you become indistinguishable from the fallen culture and useless in God's kingdom.And I think that it's very easy to practice neither one. It's very easy to separate ourselves from the world and still not practice the purity. I actually think that it's more likely that if we section ourselves off and just hone in on Epic and Epic time and that it can become a simple social group where we are not out among the world nor calling ourselves to purity and Christ-like-ness. I feel like spreading God's love isn't a responsibility, a requirement for salvation, but a necessity for growing into a Christlike person. It's a pressure we put upon ourselves so that the pressure might shape and harden us. Most of us would never study if we didn't have a test coming up. If I hadn't volunteered to lead a week on Christ I never would have done the reading I did. I would guess that the same is true for Louis, Kelly, and Paul to extents.
The group has spoken of it several times, but in '10 I'll be pushing for it: that Epic gets involved in the community. Probably gonna be Harvesters or something. It's been mentioned that a great way to tie it in would be to do some volunteering right before a retreat, which will hopefully get lined up for early '10. I'll be pushing for that too. But involvement doesn't have to be as a group. It's might be more fun, but much harder to organize. Get out there if you can.
Blog Attack p1
Here is a link to the powerpoint for the Biblical Interpretation talk that Kelly lead a few weeks ago.
>> THE LINK <<
I wasn't there, but share thoughts or highlights if you recall them.
>> THE LINK <<
I wasn't there, but share thoughts or highlights if you recall them.
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