The Lost Tomb of Jesus, Or Is It???

This paper was also written for my Apologetics this summer. This paper looks at the recent Discovery Channel "documentary" on the Talpiot Tomb, otherwise known as "The Lost Tomb of Jesus." You can access this document at: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d36dmsw_5dpg5xd. Read it for more information/study!

The Resurrection, Evangelism and Religious Tolerance

I recently wrote an application paper for my Apologetics class. This paper can be viewed at: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d36dmsw_4fgtp2r. Let me know what you think...and enjoy!

Heavy Heart...Need Prayer...

I write today with a heavy heart. We found out that Josh & Tim Schrauger (Tim is on the left, Josh on the right) were killed in a tragic car accident on Saturday, September 29, 2007. Tim was a very active member of our youth group at 412 Youth and had just been accepted into our Student Leadership Program. I knew Josh a little, but not as much as I knew Tim. To complicate matters, the family has been through the "ringer" in the past year. One of the family's older sons, David, serves our country in the military and was deployed in Iraq. His humvee was hit by an IED and he was gravely injured while the rest of his comrades were killed. He has been going through numerous surgeries in a Texas military hospital and he is recovering...but not out of the woods yet. Now, their family has lost their two youngest children.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that both of these young men met their Jesus on Saturday. In fact, I would not be surprised if they have already organized a massive heavenly game of paintball! :) I had the priviledge of hearing Tim's testimony last Sunday as we had student leadership interviews. His biggest concern about becoming a student leader was that he would lead students TOWARD Jesus, not away from Him. He wanted his fellow students to see that a relationship with His Lord is so awesome and can be exciting! It was an honor knowing and encouraging Tim as his youth pastor. This is something that I prayed would never happen in my ministry to students. However, I KNOW that God WILL BE GLORIFIED in and through this. Josh & Tim impacted many lives with their love for Jesus through the way they lived...and now Jesus has an opportunity to impact many through them in their death.

The funeral is going to be at Lake Orion High School on Thursday, October 4 at 4:30 PM. I will be eulogizing Tim as part of the service. Please pray that God would give me and the other two pastors wisdom about what to say and how to be the most effective for Christ and for the family. Pray that God will be glorified. Pray that the family will be comforted. Pray for the students in our youth ministry and many others that knew and loved Josh & Tim. It is a sad day for us...but an awesome time for Josh & Tim. They are with the One they loved the most. They are with their Best Friend. They are with their Jesus...I have to admit...I'm a little jealous. ;)

Discipling Worshippers of Jesus...

The Great Commission is all about "making disciples" of the nations. It is the point of the entire commission. Jesus then tells the Apostles (and us) how to go about making disciples: baptize them and teach them to obey everything that Jesus had commanded them. The process of becoming a disciple is the same as being a disciple: being baptized indicates a desire to be publicly identified with the Risen Jesus as the individual's Lord and Savior, while obedience is the "spiritual act of worship" in Romans 12:1. When a person is a disciple of someone (whether Jesus or not), they are one that learns from the teacher; they become an imitator of their teacher (DISCIPLE
mathetes NT:3101, from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

The very definition of the word "worship" (proskuneo in the Greek) calls for an act of reverence or homage to God OR to man. I like to define worship as "worth-ship", or what we decide is most important in our lives, that possession, thing or person is what we worship.

Since the definition of worship is what we deem as worthy in our lives, discipleship follows that definition. In the church today, being a disciple of Jesus can be defined as simply as only going to church in many instances. In order to be a true disciple of anyone, there has to be an indication of priority in an individual's life. As Dr. Michael Mitchell indicated in his "The Conditions of Discipleship", self-denial, renunciation, leaving all, steadfastness, fruitfulness and love are all indications of a disciple (Mitchell, 1-2). "Being a follower of Jesus Christ was an all-consuming obsession" (Barna, 21).

Christians worship so many things in their lives today: money, relationships, sex, possessions, sports...the list could go on. This worth-ship of worldly things also is a strong indicator of who or what we are a disciple of. We learn from everything that influences us, whether we realize it or not. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is NOT an easy thing to do. It takes a constant pursuit of the One who saved our souls and gave up His life for us. It DOES take sacrifice. I love what King David said in 1 Chron 21:24,
"No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing ." NIV A sacrifice was required to save us...a sacrifice is required to be a true disciple. I have a poster in my youth room that my students constantly see that states, "Dying for us was the most He could do. Living for Him is the least we can do." I believe that with all my heart. I'm not always the best at it, but it is what I strive for.

Christian Education...

Christian education must be centered around the person of Jesus Christ and the application of his teaching and life to the disciple. Christian education must have three people involved in the process: the Lord, the leader and the learner. The leader and the learner are a requirement of education and the Lord is a requirment for the Christian. We truly must learn more about our God. We can have a general knowledge of God through His creation (Romans 1), but in order to worship Him for who He truly is, we must learn of Him. This "education" must be centered around Christ.

In order for eduction to be productive, there must be a way of evaluating the learning process and the product that is being produced as a result of that education. We don't always like to do that in the church, but if our goal is to produce mature, worshipping believers in the Savior, we must be able to evaluate the process. The process is simply stated in our class notes: "Christian educaiton is...Christ-centered, Bible-based, life/expeience focused, family-oriented and others-related." This process also provides us with a way of evaluation.

Let's take a different look at Christian education (while we're here). The first thing that comes to the minds of most people when speaking of "Chrsitian Educaiton" is either a Christian school or Sunday School within the church. While these are both VERY valid forms of Christian education that can fully entail the "people, purposes, products and process" (class notes) that are required, the truest, most effective form of Christian education occurs in the home. This can impact the "who" that we focus on (especially for those of us that are in youth ministry).

Deut 6:6-9 states:
7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
NIV

We must help the family as a unit realize what God is saying here. We must EDUCATE our people on how to do the above. This is the education of discipleship.

We have problems in the church with our processes. We have problems with our purposes. Yes, we have problems with the product we produce from time to time. However, Christian education loses its focus when we forget the people. We MUST realize that our lives are about Christ...not just parts. EVERYONE involved in this process must be convinced of that. When we focus on the program (purposes, products and processes) and forget the people, it is so easy to lose the people.

Faith and Practice...

Experiences in life are the best educator when it comes to one's walk with God. I have taught junior high and high school students for around 10 years now, and the biggest learning opportunities have been when they put their faith into practice. Head knowledge can be gained in the "classroom" or as a person studies the Bible. Where a person puts their head knowledge into practice is when that knowledge becomes true wisdom. The Apostle Paul uses the illustration of the training athlete in order to speak of the Christian life. When an athlete is training, knowledge is a definite need. He/she needs a teacher that is able to communicate what will have to happen in order for the athlete to be successful. However, knowledge alone will not bring that athlete success. That knowledge must be applied to the training, the experience, in order for there to be life-change and success in the athletic endeavor. I truly believe that is part of what Paul is getting at. We cannot rely just upon knowledge without the ability to apply that knowledge to various situations in our lives. It is not knowledge that saves us...it is the belief in who Christ is, what He did for us on the cross and accepting what He did in our place. Belief itself is NOT just knowledge. When we truly believe something, our lives change. That equates to knowledge and experience. Christ said that people would know that we are his disciples by how we love each other. That is an experience that we have with each other. Experience can also teach us more about God. We must put our faith into practice.

Being an Example...

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Paul makes a huge statement in Phil 4:9...whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me...put it into practice. Paul tells the Philippians to look at his life and do everything he does. As they follow his example, they will learn to follow Christ in all that they do. The ministry application from this verse is tremendous. I am a youth pastor and this has impacted and will continue to impact the ministry that God has given me. I believe that Paul would hold to the adage that a teacher cannot expect to take his pupils where he has not already been. The life of the teacher/pastor must be an example. However, this does not imply perfection...in fact, I believe it is far from it. Paul even stated in Romans that he found that the things that he should be doing were the things that he didn't do...and the things that he shouldn't be doing were the very things that he found himself doing! I wouldn't say that Paul was constantly living a life of sin, but he also wasn't perfect and he would be the first one to tell others that! I think that when Paul speaks of being an example to his pupils, he speaks of being a good and sometimes a bad example. Paul had to be real with the people that God entrusted to him. He recognized his weakness and had others around him. Paul's attitude was that of a man that sought to follow Christ in all that he did, but he did not present himself as perfect. When a pastor/leader presents himself as "above" his people, he loses almost all ability to impact anyone. Nobody can relate to a perfect person that everyone knows is imperfect. Realness is of utmost importance when ministering to real people.

Ministry Demands Proximity

The very definition of the word, "minister", requires that there be proximity between people. Dictionary.com describes the word "minister" as a descriptive noun and a verb. The minister can be a person that is a pastor or a member of the clergy and the verb form takes on the issue of proximity. One can only minister to someone if they are in their presence...in one way or another.

Mark 3:14, Acts 4:13 and I Thess. 1:5 all speak of the importance of proximity to those that you are ministering to. The reason that the disciples were able to learn so much from Jesus was because they SPENT TIME with Him. They were able to watch every aspect of Jesus' life and were then able to put those things into practice as Jesus taught. The church of Thessalonica had seen what God had done in and through Paul and the Apostles because they had spent time with the church. True ministry cannot be accomplished without personal involvement.

Churches would change if real ministry involving proximity was truly the goal. Churches would explode because the needs of the people around them would be met by the Savior of the Universe...THROUGH MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH! The problem is that we are too busy with our own lives. We don't have time for anyone else in our schedules. We don't understand what Jesus was teaching us. He met the needs of people by getting INVOLVED in their lives. He may have been involved for only a brief moment, but that moment changed that person's life forever...and constituted continued involvement! When we are willing to follow our Rabbi and become more like Him...learning what His love is all about...then we are able to truly minister. In order to make an impact in the world around us...we must GET IN THE GAME!!!

Image of God...Fallen Man

As I consider the fact that mankind is made in the image of God (as seen in the creation account in Genesis) and that we are fallen, that is, full of sin...I am drawn to what Paul had to say in Romans 7:7-25.

Sin has taken control of mankind. This is a direct result of the "first Adam" (Rom. 5:12-19). The Law was given to Israel in order to "define" what sin is and what God expects of His people. The Law did not save man, Christ did. We can recognize sin because of God's Word...we can be saved from sin because of the Son of God! We have a new nature within us (2 Cor. 5:17), however the old nature is still at work within us! Paul describes this in a bit of detail. He finds himself doing the things that he knows he should not be doing...he states that he does the things he HATES! There is nothing good in the heart of man...the heart is full of sin. The regenerate man/woman has the desire to do what is right, yet that person finds that he/she does evil in the middle of that desire. The sinful nature is strong and alive. Who is going to save us???!!! (I ask this question along with Paul.) Jesus is the ONLY answer. We have been given a second chance. We have no ability to overcome sin in ourselves...all we have is the old, sinful nature. Through Jesus Christ and because of the Holy Spirit, we have a new nature...one that allows us to overcome sin through the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit!

I am also drawn to Romans 5:12-21 where Paul speaks of how sin entered the world through Adam and justification entered through the "second Adam," Jesus. Death entered through Adam and all of mankind has no choice but to sin as a result of his sin being passed down through every generation. Justification entered the world because of Jesus' sacrifice that satisfied the holiness of our God. We are blessed to "receive God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness..." (Rom. 5:16) because of Jesus Christ!

It is of utmost importance that leaders of the church remember the nature of the people that God has placed in our care. The nature of all people is sinful.

Jer 17:9

9 The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
NIV

We are without cure. We are a deprived and immoral people...without the cross of Christ. The Holy Spirit enters the life of the individual that accepts Christ as their Savior and that person become regenerate. However, we are BEING saved...from grace to grace. Our salvation is a process that is continual. We are all at different points in our journey and the goal of discipleship is movement toward God. We cannot expect the people in our care to go from a "1" to a "7" in the span of a week, month or year. The goal is to introduce people to Christ, educate them about who He is and what God's Word has to say (this is through personal interaction and training people how to disciple themselves) and facilitating growth at all stages of life. We cannot overemphasize the fact that we are all sinners...or the fact that we have Christ living within us. Both are equally true. We all need to become more like Jesus EVERY DAY THAT WE LIVE...and we all need help getting there...one day, one step at a time.

It's Been Awhile...

So sorry for taking so long to post again! It's been a long few months, but a good few months. I'll post updates...

• The workcamp this summer went very well. We all rasied the money we needed and built porches, painted houses and hauled the a lot of concrete away from worksites. All in all, we helped about 5 different families with the students from our youth group. Praise the Lord!
• We have recently began our 412 Student Leadership Team! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us!
• We recently presented a $16,000 budget to the church to revamp the entire lower west wing of the church building to become the new "youth wing." That budget was approved and we hope to begin construction/demolition as soon as possible. We'd LOVE to have the project close to completion by Christmas this year.
• My degree continues to go well. I am currently finishing up two classes, Apologetics: Miracles and Discipleship Ministries.
• My weight loss has finally gotten some momentum. I have now lost 18 lbs. Started at 356 and am down to 338. Jeannie and I are excited!
• The basketball season has begun and I am a ref. It's fun and great exercise.

Anyway...that's what's happening in my life right now. God bless you!

412 Workcamp!!!

Please be in prayer for 412 Youth Ministry! Seven junior and senior high students along with myself and two other adult leaders are going to Bay City, MI to help out some people that can't keep up with their houses! Many of the elderly in Bay City cannot keep up their homes because of many different circumstances and we are going up there to paint, build wheelchair ramps, repair walls, repair decks, repair porches...we're just going to serve God! Love God and love others!!! We'll be gone from July 8-13, so please...keep us in your prayers as we'll all be moved out of our comfort zones and be looking for God to reveal Himself to us in a special way. Pray that God will move in the hearts of the people we serve and in our hearts as well. Pray that God will speak to us and draw us closer to him...and also pray for our safety! Thanks so much!

Grade Progress...

Well...a grade report for my first two classes in my MDIV...I got a "B" in Church History I (about 1.5 percent away from an A) and I got an "A" in Old Testament I. I've got a 3.5 GPA! WOOT! WOOT! I now have 21 units toward my degree which is 90 units large. I will be taking an Apologetics course on miracles in August for a week. It's an intensive course, so it will be tough...but good. Please continue in prayer for me! God bless!

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament Book Review

As a part of my Old Testament class, I did a book review of "Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament." You can view the review at: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d36dmsw_3hbdfm9
Enjoy!

Personal Stuff

Well, after posting in March...life has remained tough for me. Down to 345...but not a lot of weight loss in two months. I've been up & down on my diet. I have been working out...I'd like to believe that I've added some muscle which has slowed my weight loss...and people have been saying that Jeannie & I are looking good (losing weight), but in our minds...we're still the same. Your mind can really play tricks on ya. I appreciate the prayers that you have been offering...and still hope you will offer them on our behalf. Love you guys!

OT Posting Board #2

When comparing the OT to other documents from the ancient Near East, what implications can be drawn for us as Christians as to how we are to relate to our culture today?

Moses was a masterful writer, educated by the best of the best in Egypt by God's leading in his life. As a prince of Egypt, nothing was withheld from Moses as he learned and he knew the culture that he would lead as well as minister in. He was God's minister to God's people. Moses dealt with what was going on in the culture in his day. God directed him what to write, but there wasn't much if anything that was left untouched by the Mosaic Law. Social responsibility, justice, order of worship, care of animals, honoring others, friendships, marriages...all this and more were covered. In much the same way, the Laws of Lipit-Ishtar, the Laws of Hammurapi and others covered many of the same things...but in light of men, not in light of the one, true God. Moses directed the attention of the people to God through the Law. The Law did not save them, but it told them what God expected of them and told them how to maintain their relationship with God and each other. We see this in the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments deal with the vertical relationship and the next six deal with our horizontal relationships.
Just as Moses did, we must direct the attention of people to the one, true God. We MUST know our culture. The Word of God, the Bible, is just as applicable today as it was for the early church and for the nation of Israel. We may see it as history, not prophecy, but it applies just the same. This fact should spur Christians to learn more about the Word of God and the CONTEXT in which it was written so that we can then apply it to the CONTEXT of our world today. We cannot speak in a language that people do not understand...we must seek to meet people where they are...we must speak with our lives, as the OT writers did. They weren't perfect...we aren't perfect. The persevered...we must persevere. They sought God...we must seek God.

OT Posting Board

Has the reading of these ancient Near Eastern documents raised specific questions or difficulties concerning your understanding of the OT or how we as Christians are to read the OT?

It's always so funny to me when I have a question raise in my mind about something God says in Scripture or a time where I just don't understand something and then God allows me to answer my own question through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. He is the revealer of all TRUTH!
While reading the creation and flood accounts of the ANE, questions about the validity and the originality of the OT were raised in my mind. What documents came first? Did the other civilizations copy the OT or did Moses "borrow" material from the other writings of the ANE? If Moses did reference material from another source, does that really effect the inerrancy of the accounts? I was a bit unsettled.
I spent time in prayer and thought about those questions while continuing to read and compare. The conclusion I came to was that the other writings of the ANE did nothing other than to solidify my belief in the Pentateuch as the Word of God. These events REALLY happened! The very existence of other accounts only ground the events in history! Men were trying to answer the questions of why the flood occurred...how were were made...where man came from...MEN were trying to answer those questions. The gods that the ANE wrote about where not God-like. They acted as men. They even depended upon men to an extent (Epic of Gilgamesh and the sacrifice of Utnapishtim). They quarreled...all of this points to god-men, not God. GOD answered those questions through his servant, Moses. God is in control...He has no equal. He always acts in love toward His children.
The documents and culture of the ANE plays a part in how we read the OT. The context is so very important...the context of the text AND the culture. I love the illustration of this in "Introduction to the Old Testament" by Longman and Dillard. Song of Songs 1:9 states, "I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses." I read that the first time and went...HUH!? Upon learning a bit of the culture, however, there is a bigger picture in this passage. Egypt never used mares to pull their chariots, they only used stallions. A stallion is VERY distracted by a mare because of procreation! There was an actual battle tactic of setting loose mares amongst chariots to distract the stallions and throw the enemy into a bit of confusion. Solomon is basically saying, "Honey, you're so hot that I can't even think about work!"
While I hope this brings a smile to your face...the need for context is greatly seen here. Placing the OT in its context allows us to more fully understand what Moses meant, grounds the historical records of the OT in our history and allows us to better apply God's Words to our lives today.

How much should the ancient Near Eastern setting of the Mosaic Law influence our application of the law in our own lives today?

The reader of the Old Testament accounts and specifically the Mosaic Law MUST take into account the culture in which that text was written in order to fully understand it. So many practical things are covered in the Mosaic Law that dealt with specific instances of wrongs, sins and even what to eat that were specific to the culture and the time period.
Exodus 21:28-32 speaks of a bull goring a man or woman that causes that person to die. If the bull has done it for the first time and no one knew that the bull had that tendency, the bull must die and the owner has no responsibility. However, if the bull had been known for goring and the owner had been warned and the owner takes no precaution in order to prevent it from happening again, the owner is held responsible and BOTH the bull and the owner must die unless the owner has the opportunity to redeem his life by paying what is demanded. I liken this to owners of dogs today. I can't say that we got this law or way of acting specifically from the Mosaic Law, but it make sense. We don't own bulls...but we do own dogs....pretty easy application.
Exodus 22:16-29 speaks of various social responsibilities that we can read today and not be able to make heads or tales out of unless we learn a bit of the culture. This passage can be read word for word and not be heeded because we don't see the SPIRIT of the law that is here. God is worth our best. We don't necessarily give our firstborn children to God, but yet we do give Him our hearts...we are to give Him our BEST. God delivered the firstborn in the Passover...the people of Israel are God's chosen, His firstborn. The firstborn belonged to God because of the salvation given to them as they left Egypt. Our "firstborn" or the BEST of us now belongs to God because of the salvation afforded to us through the gift of Jesus Christ on the cross! What a parallel and what a gift given!

The OT and the Ancient Near East (ANE)

Genesis 16 relays the story of the "help" that Sarai and Abram felt they needed to give to God in order for the Abrahamic Covenant to be fulfilled in their lives. Abram and Sarai had not had any children and it seemed as though Sarai was getting impatient about having children so she hands Hagar, her maidservant, over to Abram for him to sleep with and hopefully concieve a child. This passage has always been a mystery to me. I could never fully understand why a wife would give her husband another woman to him in order to have an heir. The cultural significance of this practice come heavily into play in this passage of scripture. In the "Adoption of Shennima" it describes a situation where a wife or concubine would be given to Shennima if his wife, Gilimninu, does not bear children. An heir was of utmost importance in this culture as the family line could not continue without children...family was the "politics" of the time period. A whole civilization's way of live could end if no heir was born!
In the same story, but a different part of the story in Genesis 16, Sarai has now become pregnant and become jealous of Hagar and Ishmael. She does not want to be "bested" by her maidservant, so she goes to Abram and speaks of this to him. Abram places the fate of Hagar in the hands of Sarai and she mistreats Hagar. Hagar flees from the family and goes to the desert with Ishmael. I had always wondered why Ishmael "fell off the face of the planet" after this happened. I had the understanding that all children were heirs of their father, but those born to a concubine didn't have as much of a share. However, after reading in the "Laws of Lipit-Ishtar," the Sumerian laws (where Ur, Abram's homeland, was located)1 allowed for a man to free his slave woman and her children. The child born of the slave woman would have no rights in the estate of his father(Arnold, 108). The culture plays a role here that would be missed had I not studied it.
Finally the stark contrasts and similarities between the creation account of the Old Testament in Genesis 1-2 and the Akkadian account in Enuma Elish really suprised me. The splitting of Tiamat's corpse to create the two spheres of water and the dividing of the firmament on the second day is one of those similarities. Both split the firmament in order to create the sky and the waters. The manner in which the world was created as a whole is the most stark contrast. God spoke everything into being. There was no anger, no hurt, no selfish intent...it is about God's glory! The glory He alone deserves! In EE, Marduk creates humans from the blood of Tiamat's friend Kingu and the universe from Tiamat's corpse! Man is created for the sole purpose of freeing the gods from their work. I count it a privilege to see the different creation accounts and the fact that, in the case of EE, they are trying their best in order to answer the question of where we came from. However, this is MAN'S idea, it is not born from the mind/heart of the one, true God. This is evidenced by how the gods in EE react to their plight and their selfish and humanlike attitudes. There is really no separation between the gods and man other than their "powers" like superheroes. God is God...God spoke out of love and thus we were created....all to HIS GLORY! It's not about war or conquering, unless you are talking about the conquering of sin. That comes later...:)

Introduction to the Old Testament

I have now begun my next course in my graduate program with Liberty University, OBST 591, Introduction to the Old Testament. I have been learning A LOT in this class as well, and future posts will be about this course.

Research Paper: Constantine the Great's Influence on the Church

You can view the document at: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d36dmsw_1c6bbkc . Enjoy!