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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 4/27/2005 1:08:10 PM
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noblesinger
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12:45pm Mar 22, 2005
I'm not sure whether to continue with my comments on Romans. With the upcoming changes here in out Community, our Blogs may not continue in their present form. However, like Lisa is planning, I will copy my Blog and continue it somewhere else. This is too much fun to just let it die.
Consider this a <bump>.
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"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 4/27/2005 1:11:10 PM
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noblesinger
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10:29pm Mar 27, 2005
I'm not going to let this Blog die. I'll keep on Posting here until I find out one way or the other what will happen to our happy little Blog Town. So, until we get some news...
a Blessed Easter to one and all!
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 4/27/2005 1:14:40 PM
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noblesinger
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11:18am Mar 31, 2005
I am, like many of you are, absolutely appalled at what is going on down in Florida concerning Terri Schiavo. I've been aware of this case for a good while, but never really paid a great deal of attention to it...until now.
The way that this whole thing is playing out is nothing short of murder by starvation. And with the blessings of our "wonderful" legal system. To think that a judge, who is un-elected, would ignore a federal subpeona - not to mention a bill that was passed by Congress - is totally incomprehensible to me. Who does he think he is? God? I'm sorry, but he ain't the God I know and serve! The God I serve is the God of justice, the God of life, and One who does not stand for mistreatment of people. When person after person gives sworn affidavits of how Michael Schiavo repeatedly said he didn't know what Terri's wishes were, how he wished that the *slang term for a female dog* would die, how Terri nearly went into a coma after receiving Humulin R (a fast-acting insulin) - when she's not even diabetic! - while he was shut up in the room with her for 20 minutes...and have every bit of it ignored. Folks, we have just started down the slippery slope to legalized euthanasia, IMMHO. And God will not stand for it! He is going to judge this nation severly if we don't turn around, and do it quick.
God bless the people who have tried desperately to keep Terri alive; Randall Terry, her parents and siblings, Sen. Rick Santorum, Sean Hannity, Gov. Jeb Bush and members of the Florida Legislature, Jerry Falwell, Don Wildmon and the American Family Association, Jesse Jackson...the list goes on and on. Their efforts may end up not being able to save her life, but they haven't got unnoticed in the Halls of Heaven. God is going to bless them all for what they've done on Terri's behalf.
My greatest prayer right now (beyond Michael's repentance for his actions), is that Terri would become lucid before she dies, and that she would ask her "loving" husband (in the presence of witnesses) why he had done this to her, why did he try to kill her - and then she would slip away into eternity. That would be a dying accusation, just as legally binding as a dying confession of guilt. That alone would be enough to get the investigation re-opened. And it would then allow justice to be truly done in the life of Terri Schindler-Schiavo.
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 4/27/2005 1:23:24 PM
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noblesinger
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02:38pm Mar 31, 2005
Just after I finished Posting my last entry, my wife, Mary, called to tell me that Terri Schiavo had died. My heart goes out to her father & mother, as well as her brother and sister. These last few weeks have been nothing short of hell on Earth for them. And, as if to add insult to injury, Michael Schiavo denied them access to her room in her final moments...but he was nowhere to be found. Are you surprised? I'm not. Any man that would do to his own wife what this "man" (and I use the term very loosely) has done, there's no way he'd be in the room with his wife as she entered eternity. I can only hope and pray that Terri was spiritually ready to die, that Jesus Christ was her Lord and Savior in a real and personal way.
May God have mercy on this nation in general, and all those who fought to kill Terri in particular. And that was not a typo; I meant "kill," because that's what they did. I pray that God does not let them go to sleep without her face, before & after her illness, passing before their eyes. And may their sleep not be peaceful, until such time as they repent for their disgraceful actions.
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 4/27/2005 1:27:49 PM
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noblesinger
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10:28am Apr 8, 2005
I have not said anything until now about the death of Pope John Paul II, but since his funeral is over, I'll say a few things.
One, I'm saddened by his death, but rejoicing in the fact that his struggle in this life is over. He was quite a man of faith. I was never totally in agreement with him doctrinally, but his committment to the sanctity of life was quite apparent. For that I applaud him. I also have to commend him for not being swayed by the "progressives" in the Church who tried to move him towards moderating many of his stances on moral issues.
Two, my complaints (minor ones) are concerning all of the hulabaloo made over his funeral. In fact, any time a Pope dies, there is a great deal made about it. Can anyone remember the same fuss being made over a Protestant head of a church? I can't. Did they have to make such a fuss over carrying his body through Saint Peter's Square - without him being in a coffin?!? I'm sorry, my Catholic brethren, but that is just a little bit too weird for my tastes! 
Three, it's interesting the contrast that was made in the media between his death and Terri Schiavo's. Here was a man dying on his own terms; going at a time appointed by God, unhastened by the hands of men. He had a feeding tube in his nose, but (to my knowledge) no other means of pain management. Terri Schiavo, on the other hand, had her time hastened by the hand of her "loving husband," not to mention the courts of this country. She had her feeding tube removed, but it was replaced by a morphine drip. She did not go on her own terms, but rather those of the "culture of death" that has gained great sway in this nation. I wonder what the two of them have said to each other in Heaven, because I believe that they have met one another there.
It is my hope and prayer that the RCC will find another man of John Paul's caliber to lead them; a man who is firm in his convictions, but one who listens to all sides. Perhaps the Catholic Church will even allow priests to marry under this new Pope. After all, if the Pope is a type of Peter, then he should be married; Peter had a mother-in-law, and you have to be married to have a mother-in-law...don't you? But, then again, maybe it's NOMB.
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 5/2/2005 10:40:19 PM
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noblesinger
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This is my first new Post in awhile, so I won't make it a long one.
I've been privileged to sit and listen to 3 very excellent sermons lately. The Assistant Pastor at my church has been in the pulpit for the last three Sundays, at the urging of the Senior Pastor, and he has done very, very well. Beginning with my next entry, I will give you my notes on those sermons. I hope that you are blessed by them as much as I have been.
God bless!
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 5/5/2005 10:58:30 AM
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noblesinger
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Here are the notes I promised you last time. Reid Clark, my Assistant Pastor, preached this sermon on April 17th.
Title: "Love Unquenchable"
Text: John 13:1 - "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end."
Extra texts: 1 John 4:10 ("In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.") and 3:16 ("By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.")
Note these 2 facts:
1) God defines love, not humans.
2) Love necessitates action.
The Origin of God's Love for His People
- It's not found in us
- There is a love that God has for all people, called "common grace", but it only stems from the fact that He created all humanity
- But God has a special, covenant love for His children, those who have received the spirit of adoption through Jesus
- It originates in His character (Ex. 34:6-7)
- It also origininates in His decision to love (Deut. 7:6-8a)
The Expression of God's Love for His People
- The sacrifice of Jesus
- The Cross is the exclamation point at the end of the sentence "God loves you!"
The turmoil of His impending death and suffering could not distract Jesus from His people.
The glories of Heaven cannot distract Jesus from His people.
The wieght of Kingship cannot distract Jesus from His people.
Sin and failure cannot distract Jesus from His people.
Nothing can distract Jesus from His people!
See what I mean? The young man can flat out preach! I pray that this has blessed you.
BTW, to all my American brethren: Today is the National Day of Prayer, so take some time to pray for the USA. And if there is an observance near you - go there and join other Believers in beseeching God on behalf of our country. Perhaps this will be the year that brings the revival we so desperately need!
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 5/11/2005 11:06:58 AM
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noblesinger
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I'm still working on transcribing my sermon notes from Pastor Reid, so I'll post this here to keep from being archived.
I noticed in Pat's blog her comments on how everything in nature has some relationship to the Holy Spirit (Did I say that right, Pat?), and it reminded me of something I found several years ago in Genesis. Take a look at Gen. 1:11-13.
11And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants[a] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
I was reading this one day when the thought just leapt into my head: Jesus was raised on the 3rd day. Why then? Why not the next day? Or the second, or the fourth, or even the eighth- which is the day of new beginnings? Then I realized that Jesus was called by Paul "the first fruits of them that sleep." Also in Scripture, we find Him referred to as "the seed of the woman." I found it to be highly interesting that God created fruits and seeds on the third day. Is this a spiritual truth or just something that I'm reading into it? I don't know, but it does bear some meditation.
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 5/18/2005 9:54:47 AM
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noblesinger
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Our Senior Pastor, Keith Cobb, recently shared this illustration in one of his sermons. It really struck me as soemthing to remember, so I thought I'd share it with you all.
The story is told of an annual event in which the University of Chicago divinity school used to invite all Christians in the area to come for a picnic and a speech by some influential theologian. One year the speaker was Paul Tillich – a well-known liberal. It is said that Tillich talked for 2 ½ hours “proving” that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since he felt there was no such thing as the historical resurrection, the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus who, in fact, never rose from the dead. He then asked if there were any questions.
After about 30 seconds, an old country preacher stood up in the back of the auditorium. “Docta Tillich, I got one question,” he said as all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his sack lunch, pulled out an apple and began eating it.
“Docta Tillich . . .” CRUNCH MUNCH . . . “My question is a simple question,” CRUNCH MUNCH . . . “Now I’ve never read them books you read” CRUNCH MUNCH .. .”and I can’t recite them scriptures in the original Greek” CRUNCH MUNCH “I don’t know nothin’ about them theologians you talk about” CRUNCH MUNCH . . .
He finished the apple. “All I wanna know is this: That apple I just ate – was it bitter or sweet?”
Tillich paused for a moment and answered in scholarly fashion: “I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven’t tasted your apple.”
The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, “Neither have you tasted my Jesus.”
I hope you enjoyed this little illustration as much as I did. God bless.
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 5/19/2005 2:23:50 PM
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noblesinger
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Here are the notes from Pastor Reid 's sermon for April 24th.
Title: "Unquenchable Love Flowing Out"
Text: Rom. 5:5; 1 Cor. 13
"On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him." - C.S. Lewis
"Love will have an expression." - Reid Clark
"Grace is not amazing until sin is overwhelming."
If you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Savior, then you have become a "child of God,' you have experienced the expression of the love of God. You, like me, are still trying to grasp the magnitude of this love - but you are His and He is yours! You have experienced...
The Reception of Love
Rom. 5:5 - "What is strikinig about this first reference to God's love in Romans is that Paul should speak of it in such vivid experiential terms - God's love not simply as something believed in on the basis of the Gospel or the testimony of the Cross, not simply the certainty of God's love, but God's love itself experienced in rich measure." (Dunn, Word Biblical Commentary)
Paul wrote about something that's not in the realm of the cerebral - you know, just general accepted knowledge - but something more visceral in nature - you just KNOW, deep in your gut, that God has loved you. It is the EXPERIENCE of the love of God that every believer ought to have.
John, called the apostle of love, makes it clear that since God's love has been genuinely imparted to us, it must exhibit a certain charateristic - reciprocity.
The Reciprocity of Love
* 1 John 4:21 - if we love God, we must love our brothers
* 1 John 3:10 - if we don't, then we belong to the devil
* 1 John 3:16 - if Christ laid His life down for us, then we should lay ours down for our brothers
* 1 John 4:11 - if God loved us, we ought to love one another
* John 13:34 - Jesus said, "I loved you, so you love must love each other."
The proof of our sonship toward God is our love toward God's other children. Plain and simple.
"Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor, act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliiking him less." - C.S. Lewis
I think I'm running a little long, so I'll finish this in the next Post.
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 5/19/2005 3:28:29 PM
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noblesinger
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The Reality of Love
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor. 13:1-13 (ESV)
One of the great preachers, Martin Lloyd-Jones, outlined this passage in 3 headings: Love's Value, Love's Virtues, and Love's Victory.
Love's Value - (vs. 1-3) more valuable than spiritual gifts, spiritual power, and self-serving sacrifice.
Love's Virtues - (vs. 4-8) Love is patient - this is a passive aspect of love. It's when we refuse to become exasperated because of another's faults or slights; Love is kind - the active aspect of love. It's the positive action that love generates, and appears only here in the NT and only two othere times in known Greek literature; Love is not envious - desiring the best for otheres instead of yourself; Love is not boastful - not telling of our own virtues or attributes (real or imagined); Love is not arrogant - the Greek word here is derived from the word for "bellows." You know, the air pump used to inflate something or increase air flow to a fire. In other words, don't get "puffed up"; Love is not rude - you don't act in ways that don't take into account the feelings of others; Love is not demanding - it never seeks it's own advantage to the hurt or neglect of others; Love is not irritable - this means you don't walk around with a short fuse or a chip on your shoulder; Love is not resentful - it soesn'nt hold on tothings done to you in the past (real or imaginary); Love does not rejoice in wrongdoing (or evil), but rejoices in truth - Anything stemming from an unrighteous act or resulting in an unrighteous act is repulsive to true love; Love bears and endures all things - this means love is like the Energizer Bunny - it just keeps going and going and...; Love believes and hopes all things - true love is trusting. That doesn't mean gullible, but true love knows God is its source and knows that He can change any person or situation.
Love's Victory - (vs. 9-13) Paul sums up this most beautiful portion of Scripture with the statement: "love never fails". Spiritual gifts will end. the days of us seeing dimly and knowing partially and speaking foolishly will end, but love will endure forever. Somebody once said, "Love at first sight is easy to understand. It's when two people have been looking at each other for years that it becomes a miracle."
The Result of Love
* Happy Pastors - Paul said in Philippians: "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."
* Joy - (John 15:10-12) C.S. Lewis wrote a book called "The Joyful Christian." That's rather redundant - kinda like saying "tooth dentist." We, above all other human beings, should be joyful.
* Evangelism - (John 13:35) - if we love each other, people are gonna notice and start to ask questions. This will open the door to share the Gospel.
I hope you have been blessed by this sermon.
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 5/26/2005 3:42:10 PM
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noblesinger
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Pastor Reid Clark's sermon for May 1st was entitled "Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?" He used this opportunity to encourage us to participate in the upcoming "Fellowship Dinners" that we will be having. The program, in a nutshell, goes like this: Couples sign up for the dinners, then they are assigned to a group. Once that group agrees on a date, they all meet for dinner at one home. After dinner, you are free to fellowship in any way you choose - going to a movie, playing Putt-Putt, having a Bible Study or a time of worship, etc. Then, on the next go-around, you are paired up with a whole new group of people and the process starts again. It's an interesting concept.
OK, enough commercializing; it's time for the notes.
_______________________________________________________________________
"Guess Who's Coming For Dinner"
In order to set some foundations, let's see how the ditctionary defines "hospitable" and "fellowship".
* Hospitable - friendly, kind and solicitous towards guests; favoring the health, growth, comfort, etc., of new arrivals.
* Fellowship - companionship; friendly association; a mutual sharing, as of experience, activity, interest, etc.
Within in the Church...FELLOWSHIP is the goal, HOSPITALITY is the mindset and lifestyle.
God has built within each of us the desire for relationship. Even when sexual immorality happens, (and this is not an excusing of that particular sin), part of it is out of that God-given desire to relate to somebody.
When somebody new walks through the doors at Perrow Church, will they find fellowship and hospitality to be prevalent...or almost non-existent?
The early church modeled fellowship
* Acts 2 - together, together, together. That was their modus operandi, becaue they were always doing things together - meals, prayer, teaching by the disciples, sharing of possessions, etc.
* Connectedness and interdependence were the highlights.
The modern church models "non-fellowship"
* This degeneration has accelerated in the last century, and especially in the last 50 years. There are a number of reasons for that acceleration, and some of them are:
1) People no longer have to depend on each other in the community or the church.
2) Real neighborhoods are few and far between. Houses no longer feature a front porch, but a back deck. As a result, people no longer watch their kids (or the neighbor's kids) play in the front yard. That was the way discipline was maintained "back in the day"; you hollered at the one being mean and said, "Hey! Boy, that's no way to act! You better straighten up or I'll tell your Daddy!"
3) The automobile has changed the nature of the church. Folks used to walk to the church on the corner, but now people will drive upwards of an hour to get to a church that appeals to them. This reduces the sense of community.
4) The church is a melting pot of people from all walks of life.
5) Conflicts often arise of petty issues, such as the color of the hymnbooks or whether the Pastor came to visit while someone was sick...even if he wasn't told that they were sick, he still should have come.
6) The church is no longer the sole source of spiritual input. There are books galore, CD's, DVD's, tapes, Christian radio and TV (Some of which shouldn't be on the air - but that's another sermon!)
An excellent Biblical example of hospitality is, of course, Abraham. Genesis 18 tells us of how he acted:
* 18:2 - Abraham hurried to greet them. He made the first move.
* 18:2b - Abraham humbled himself and honored them.
* 18:3 - Abraham spoke first - he was intentional.
* 18:4, 5 - Abraham served them, not his servants.
* 18:6, 7 - Abraham gave them his best - not last night's leftovers.
* 18:8 - Abraham kept his eye on them to meet any addtional needs- he didn't "set it and forget it".
Hospitality is...
- A command for all believers
* Rom. 12:9-13
* 1 Tim. 5:9-11
- A command for leaders
* 1 Tim. 3:1-7
* Titus 1:6-8
- One aspect of a changed life
* 1 Pet. 4:1-11
Our ultimate motivation for hospitality and fellowship is found in Rev. 19 - "the marriage supper of the Lamb." It is there that we will see our Model, Jesus Christ Himself, serving us - not us serving Him. He will have prepared the meal, set the table, and made everything ready for His family. And then He will seat us at the table and lovingly, graciously, and abundantly serve us, and we will fellowship with Him around that table...forever. What a sight that's going to be!!!
Duane
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 6/8/2005 10:52:07 PM
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noblesinger
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Let me give this blog a little *BUMP* to keep it out of the archives.
_____________________________
"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 6/15/2005 2:02:52 PM
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noblesinger
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Finally, here are the notes for Pastor Reid Clark's sermon on Mother's Day, 5/8/05. Sorry that it's taken me so long, gang, but I've had some things crop up that needed to be taken care of, and I also needed to get the texts and PowerPoint slides burned to a couple of discs. That's the reson for the delay. So, without any further adieu, here is the sermon.
Title: Mothers in Israel
Here is some Mother’s Day trivia: During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.
During this time many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass every year.
In 1907 Anna Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
No man is poor who has had a godly mother. Abraham Lincoln.
An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest. Spanish proverb
Why honor mothers?
* Cultural forces in our nation de-value motherhood
* Satan would love to warp and destroy Biblical womanhood
* Motherhood is subject to much fatigue, discouragement, and confusion
* God places a high value on motherhood
* The Bible has a lot to say about motherhood
* Motherhood is plain hard work
Another reason for honoring mothers is that motherhood is subject to sorrow. The first use of the word “mother” in the Bible is in the context of separation – the son “leaving” his mother. The second reference to Eve’s motherhood relates to the pain of childbirth. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was told that “a sword will pierce your soul.”
Mothers – and women in general . . .
* have many roles and tasks
* should be loved and cared for
* must fight to follow God’s plan
1. Mothers – and Women in General – have to do whatever is required
If you were to try and pin down a job description for Godly women – from the Bible – you’d be hard pressed to do it. Women in the Bible wore so many hats that any woman should be able to identify with one of them. You see sinful women and saintly women, wealthy women and poor women, influential women and obscure women, barren women and women who had babies every time they turned around, old foolish women and young wise women. There are all types of women in the Bible. Let’s look at a few and their characteristics:
A) Deborah (Judges 4-5)
- was serving as judge in Israel - only because men were not willing to do the job. Deborah is pointed to by the feminists as the prototype of God’s design for women to lead in the church. But the way in which she led and served is so much different from what is often portrayed, which we'll look at later on.
- She was a prophetess, a strong and godly woman
- She heard from God and was very wise - in Him
However, I think that the Biblical text shows us that her leadership – as a woman – was not the norm, but unusual in the history of God’s people. Here’s why:
o She tried to get a man to do what he was supposed to do and rebuked him when he didn’t
o The setting in Israel was a time of upheaval and many of the judges were, shall we say, less than exemplary. She apparently was an example in her character, but not setting a precedent by her gender. One write said, “Because the rule of women was not normal in Israel, her prominence implies a lack of qualified and willing men”.
o The scripture does not say that “the Lord raised up” Deborah – as it says for some of the other judges – but that “Deborah was judging”. So, even though He used her, there is a question as to whether this was His ideal.
o She was not a national leader, but more of a local leader.
o I’m not sure how much weight to put on this, but her husband’s name is feminine in gender. Might he have been an example of the Israelite men shirking their manly roles?
o Two times in Isaiah, the consequences of God’s judgment on the nation involves rule by “youths” or “women” (Isaiah 3:4,12)
Deborah is the subject of some debate between feminists and conservative Biblical scholars. Jewish writers don’t treat her well at all – and I think unfairly. One writer in the Talmud scornfully refers to her and says that her name, in Hebrew, means “hornet”. Other scholars say that Deborah means “honey bee”. See the tension?
I think that Deborah is a wonderful example of a woman’s ability to adapt and function in roles that may not be ideal. I think that she’s also an example of what women are forced to do when men shirk their duties. But as for ability – she had it. As for courage – she had it. As for her dedication to God – she had it, and gave Him the praise in the song in chapter 5. As for ability to hear from God – she had it. As for wisdom – she had it. But I believe that she also tried to encourage men to do what they were supposed to do – a good example for mothers today and women in general.
B) Ruth
- a most remarkable woman
- young and widowed, she was given the opportunity by her mother-in-law to return to her native land.
- she, instead, makes the life-altering decision to stay with Naomi to help and minister to her
- as a result, she receives great blessings from God, and from Boaz.
Ruth is an example today of a woman filling an unusual role, being devoted and loyal to the elderly and needy, and being blessed by God for it. Ruth is also an example for Godly women today.
2. Mothers – and women in general – should be loved and cared for
a. Old Testament law – although it seems strange in many ways to us, protected women. They had rights and protections by law, and were not treated as property. It has been pointed out that Christianity did more for the status of women that anything else in history. And we see it in the OT. There would have been no person more vulnerable than a widow in those days, but the law prescribed how they were to be cared for.
b. Exodus 20 – we are commanded by God, in His “short list” of do’s and don’t’s, to honor our mother. God thought it so important that He included it in the 10 Commandments.
c. Ephesians – men are commanded to love their wife, using the highest example of love ever expressed as their model. They are commanded to love their wife “as they love their own body”, and to even lay down their life for their wife.
d. Colossians – men are commanded to love our wives and not to be harsh with them
e. 1 Peter – men are commanded to live with our wives in an understanding manner, so that our prayers may not be hindered. Husband, if you’re not treating your wife as you should, no wonder you can’t get answers to prayer!
God’s plan is for men to love and care for women. This extends farther than the husband-wife relationship and encompasses male-female relationships in general. Men ought to be opening doors for women, we ought to be giving up our seat to a woman, we ought to be defending women in war, and we ought to be caring for women and children in need. That’s what men ought to be doing. Mothers – and women in general – should be loved and cared for. But they have a part in this, too.
3. Mothers – and women in general – must fight to follow God’s plan
a. Temptation to rule
i.) Genesis 3
1. I wonder if you understand the effect of the curse that God placed on all of creation when Adam and Eve sinned. Do you may understand how God cursed Adam and Eve specifically in their relationship to each other?
Here’s what God said in Genesis 3:16-17. Among other things, God said to Eve, “your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” Now, at first glance, that sounds like she’ll now begin to crave her husband’s attention and affection and that he will now be in the leadership role. However, that’s not it.
The word “desire” is a word which means to crave mastery. It’s the same word used in 4:7, when God told Cain that “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” The curse, for Eve, turned her loving partnership with Adam into a struggle for control. Likewise, Adam’s leadership now turns into domination and rule. Men err on one of two sides – either domination or passivity. God’s place is in the middle – loving leadership. Women err when they begin to try to control and usurp their husband’s leadership. Only in Jesus can we relate correctly together – and even then we have to fight the flesh to overcome.
ii.) Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3
1. The NT clearly teaches that wives are to submit to their husband’s leadership
b. Temptation to follow worldly values and priorities
Over one hundred years ago, G.K. Chesterton asked: "Can anyone tell me two things more vital to the race than these; what man shall marry what woman, and what shall be the first things taught to their first child?" Chesterton goes on to comment that: "the daily operations surrounded her with very young children, who needed to be taught not so much anything but everything. Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, a woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at the time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren't...Our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world....But when people begin to talk about this domestic duty as not merely difficult but trivial and dreary, I simply give up the question. For I cannot with the utmost energy of imagination conceive what they mean....If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge (at his work)....But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless, and of small import to the soul, then I say give it up...."
How can it be an (important) career to tell other people's children about mathematics, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe?...A woman's function is laborious...not because it is minute, but because it is gigantic. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.
i. Work
The world wants you ladies to think that a career is more important than the anonymity of being a homemaker and mother. It is a lie from hell. And I know something else – many times, it’s easier to work outside the home than it is to be a homemaker and mom. Don’t give in to that temptation. Paul told Titus that older women were to teach the younger ones to be “keepers in the home” and to “love their husband and children”. That’s plain and simple.
ii. Childbearing
The world, being the devil’s mouthpiece, wants you to think that pregnancy is a disease to be avoided. Seventy-five years ago, you wouldn’t have heard of Christian women using birth control. Now, we somehow think it’s a right and even a responsibility. However, the Bible says that God opens and closes the womb and that children are a sign of God’s blessing. There is not a nobler mission than to bear and raise children – whatever lies Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem have bred into our culture.
iii. Childrearing
And what about the job of raising children who know and love Jesus? Is there a nobler call. Spurgeon said, “I cannot tell how much I owe to the prayers of my good mother. I remember her once praying, "Now Lord, if my children go on in sin it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold on Christ and claim Him as their personal Savior."
c. Temptation to despair
Eight common challenges faced by mothers of young children:
1) Low self-esteem
2) Monotony and loneliness,
3) Stress from too many demands
4) Lack of time with husband
5) Confusion about discipline
6) Home atmosphere
7) Need for outside role models,
8) Training of children. Susan A. Yates
Yes, mothers, there is a strong temptation to worry and to despair and to be overwhelmed. But you have to know that your children WILL one day rise up and call you blessed. Your labor in the Lord is not in vain. One day there will be generations around the throne of God who look to you and say “Thank you for fighting against the lies and temptation to shirk the duties of Godly motherhood. Thank you for believing the Bible and that God’s ways are the best ways. Jesus said, ‘Wisdom is proven by her children’, and the wisdom of your choices is shown by the worshippers around the throne who came from your body”.
The mother of three notoriously unruly youngsters was asked whether or not she'd have children if she had it to do over again. "Yes," she replied. "But not the same ones." David Finkelstein, Reader's Digest.
Ladies, you are in a battle. A battle for God’s priorities and values. You are a prime target, and, sadly, we men haven’t protected you as we should – just as Adam didn’t protect Eve. But today we want to re-commit ourselves to being what we should be to you.
I want to close by challenging all you women, mothers or not, to be what God has called you to be.
After his closing prayer, instead of singing a hymn or praise song, we were asked to be seated. Then came the moment that many of us had been dreading for several years: Reid announced to us that he was going to be leaving. During the nearly 2 years that we were between Senior Pastors, he filled the pulpit very admirably. This confirmed to him that his ultimate calling was to have a church of his own. He had been "putting his name in the hat" for months, but the call never came. He then began to look at being part of our denomination's Church Planting Program, but this was not what God had in mind. For years, Reid has been drawn towards the Sovereign Grace network of churches, because of their doctrine, their worship style, and their emphasis on small groups. He has been led by God to go back home to Georgia (the Atlanta area) and link up with a friend of his at a Soverign Grace church until such time as he can attend their Pastors College and plant a church of his own. He will be working in the secular job market again, all the while sewing seeds for the future congregation he will lead - in God's perfect time. Reid, his wife Marjorie, and their 4 children - Mary Evelyn, Paul, William, and Annie Rose - will be greatly missed by our entire Body, but we rejoice in what God is doing in their lives.
Duane
< Message edited by noblesinger -- 6/15/2005 2:20:36 PM >
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"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 6/21/2005 7:16:46 PM
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noblesinger
Posts: 860
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: "Almost Heaven"
Status: offline
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It's been awhile since I updated everyone on my weight loss journey, so I'll do that while I get some more semon notes together from Pastor Reid.
I'm still at it. The pounds aren't coming off as fast as they were earlier, but that's to be expected - everyone hits a plateau at some point. I had gone up and down or maintained for a number of weeks until three weeks ago, when I finally made it to 50 pounds lost. Glory be to God!!! The very next week, after changing absolutely nothing in my routine, I gained 2 lbs. This sort of got me discouraged, but I kept plugging away at it. Last week, I lost 1.5 of the 2 from the previous week, so that put me at 49.5. Unfortunately, I also had contracted poison ivy over the weekend, so the doctor put me on methylprednisone the next day. Prednisone is known to put weight on a person without them overeating, so I geared myself up for another slight gain. I watched what I ate very carefully in order to limit the gain, walked some, then just prayed that I wouldn't go too far. After playing golf yesterday, I came home, grabbed a quick bath, then went to my meeting. I stepped on the scales..............and nearly fainted at what I saw. I had lost 9 pounds!! That's right! 9 pounds!! That puts me at 58.5 pounds lost total. Needless to say I'm grateful to God for what He has done in my life with this weight loss journey, and I'm planning on continuing down this road until He says that I've reached the end.
Gotta go for now. Mary has some errands to run and I'm the driver. Just call me "Hoke."
Duane
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"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 10/14/2005 1:37:33 PM
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noblesinger
Posts: 860
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: "Almost Heaven"
Status: offline
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Greetings once again, everyone. It's been almost 4 months since my last entry here. Part of that was due to some unavoidable circumstances at work and at home which precluded me from Posting here, and the other was due to a 'time-out" (so to speak) from the Admins because of said inactivity. I am bound and determined to not allow this Blog die, so if anyone sees me going too long without a Post - just PM or e-mail me and I'll hit it with a <bump>. Thank you, my friends, for your indulgence.
I'll not get into anything major right now, except to say that I'm finally over a hump in my weight-loss journey: the total is now 60.5 pounds. There have been a number of ups and downs - no pun intended - during this time. I'll do what I think is a great job in monitoring my intake and I'll gain 2 lbs., then I'll do a lousy job the next week and I'll lose the 2 lbs. from the previous week. Gofigyuh!
Mary and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary the week following my last entry. It was just a nice quiet dinner, followed by a movie. I also bought her a book and an outfit. She bought me a nice looking shirt and a book. Can you tell that we like to read?
Speaking of gifts, I'm already planning for her 40th birthday, which comes up on May 16 of next year. She has 2 half-sisters that live only 5 houses apart in Seymour, TN and a half-brother in Atlanta. We have met one of the sisters and the brother, but not the other sister. So I'm going to be taking her on a road trip to Tennessee and Georgia to see where they live and just relax for awhile. This is, of course, not what I'm hinting to Mary that I'll be doing for her. She thinks that her best friend and I are conspiring to do something absolutely awful - like plaster her picture and age on signs all over our hometown, or give her black balloons and a "Over-the-hill" cake with a black & white candle shaped like the number '40' - when we are actually figuring out how to let her know what is going on just enough in advance so she can make arrangements for the care of her foster sister while she's gone.
That's enough for now. See ya' later!
Duane
< Message edited by noblesinger -- 10/14/2005 10:18:30 PM >
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"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 10/18/2005 2:31:24 PM
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noblesinger
Posts: 860
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: "Almost Heaven"
Status: offline
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Greetings every one, and a good Monday afternoon to you all. Oops! This isn't Monday; it's Tuesday! Sorry about the mixup, but I was off from work yesterday and my days are all bumfuzzled. I'll tell you why I was gone...
Back in March, there was a big Industrial and Equipment Expo here in Charleston. Businesses dealing in heavy equipment, as well as engineering/technical services, were on display for 2-1/2 days, and Dept. of Transportation employees were encouraged to attend. I took an afternoon and went over to see what was there. I picked up all sorts of pens, pencils, and other knick-knacks as advertising for these firms. But the WV State Parks were also on hand to try and attract companies to hold their training seminars or other type meetings at their facilities, as opposed to going to regular hotel/conference centers.
I stopped to talk with a representative from one of the parks, Canaan Valley State Park, which is located in the north central portion of WV. It's a beautiful area of the state; in fact, there are 2 state parks there, and they are both within a National Forest area, which makes for some beautiful scenery throughout the year. Anyway, as we were conversing, I mentioned that I had played their golf course several times and really enjoyed it, but that I had one big problem with the course. He asked me what it was, and I told him, "You've got too many cows on your course." He seemed incredulous until I told him that I meant "the cows of the air" - Canadian geese. They are just thick on a number of the golf courses in WV, but are worse at Canaan Valley than anywhere else. And where geese are thick, so is their "doody" - if you get my drift. That make for some very messy play. He apologized to me for the mess and asked if I would come back to play if he gave me a free round of golf. I jumped on that offer like a duck on a Junebug! He took my name and address and promised to send me a certificate for 18 holes of golf at no cost to me, but I would have to pay for a cart to ride. That was no problem to me, I replied. A month later, the certificate arrived on the mail. I then began talking to my mentor, John, who is also my golfing buddy. When I told him of the free round, he said "My dad's camp is up at Canaan. Why don't we go up one evening and spend the night, then play the next day and come home?" I thought it was a great idea, so we began making our plans.
After many false starts and interruptions during the spring and summer, we were finally able to make it up there on this past Sunday evening. I had arranged for a 9:40am tee-time on Monday, hoping that it wouldn't be too cold. Blessedly, we've had some warmer weather this month, which made for favorable conditions this weekend. We arose yesterday morning, cooked breakfast, then packed up and drove to the course. It was sunny, beautiful...and 43 degrees when we teed off! And once we began our round, the wind started blowing, just to make it a bit chillier than it already was. But we still enjoyed ourselves; the course was in good shape (not too much "doody"), we were the first ones on the course, the fall foliage was glorious, and we spotted 17 deer while we played. Plus, I played better than I had for quite awhile, so that made the day just a little sweeter still. After we finished, we ate lunch then headed back home, arriving just in time to be stuck in the 5:00 traffic. But even that couldn't ruin my feelings of pleasure, because I had spent some time with a good friend and mentor, speaking of spiritual things, and enjoying our favorite game in the beautiful outdoors of the place known as "Almost Heaven."
Father, thank You for a good friend, a wonderful trip, the magnificent scenery of Your Creation, and most of all, Your Son and the forgiveness He purchased for me. Blessed be Your holy name!
Duane
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"...the worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love." - Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man
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RE: Songs of the Noblesinger - 10/19/2005 1:43:06 PM
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