Val started a cooking/discipleship class for young women. Here is a picture of everyone!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Cooking Class!
Val started a cooking/discipleship class for young women. Here is a picture of everyone!
A View from the Few in the Living Room Church
On September 19 we looked at Luke 5:1--11, a powerful word picture for a church plant, on the southeast coast of North Carolina. Luke utilizes certain details of the middle east fishing community to describe the call of Simon, and the Holy Spirit encouraged us disciples in the Southport area, as well.
Note just a few of the details in the narrative: We see clearly all three offices of Christ presented in this order: Prophet (5:1-3)as Jesus teaches the Word of God, regarding the Kingdom of God (4:43); King (5:4-7) as Jesus takes command of the greatest catch of fish the seasoned fisherman Peter had ever seen; and Priest (5:8, 10) as Jesus hears the confession of Simon and re-orients his life’s direction.
Which is the greatest catch of fish here? Is it the net-breaking and boat-capsizing catch of fish, or the catch of people on the bank under the influence of His Word, or the catch of the one known later as the Big Fisherman, Simon Peter?
Details! The Holy Spirit spares us none so that we can get excited about this dramatic glimpse into the life and work of our Savior, who came “to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Note the two different words used in the original language to describe the “catch”: the catching of fish (agra) is the word for what always happens when one catches fish--the fish are caught and they die. The second word (logreo) signifies the catching alive for life. That is the radical change of Peter’s vocation specified in Luke 5:10.
And isn’t it just like real fishermen who find themselves in waters teeming with fish to NOT YELL (or radio) to the world for help? Luke tells us that they beckon or signal only to their partners for assistance (5:7).
The Word of our Lord is taught at the beginning and the Word is obeyed in the middle of the story (5:5), and at the very end (:11). The consternation of Simon at the instructions of an inland carpenter (“Didn’t HE see us washing our nets from the previous night of fishing?” Simon may have wondered),whom Simon addresses as ‘Boss’ or ‘Chief’ or ‘Skipper’(was there some sarcasm or derision there in verse 5?) would have been justified. However, Simon’s fishing world where he was an expert was invaded by One who knew more than where the fish were! And yet, look how the title changes in verse 8! Simon falls down at Jesus’ feet and acknowledges Him as Lord. There Simon learns in that encounter with the Holy One, that he is a sinner; it’s an encounter similar to the one of Isaiah 6. It’s not “Oh Wow!” or even “Ohmygosh!” but more like, “Oh WOE is me!”
Jesus corrects some flawed thinking of this soon to become fisher of men (and all of us at one time): Simon thinks the unclean sinner will defile the Holy, but Jesus instructs us all that He,the Holy One, cleanses the dirty sinner. What is imperative is the connection! It is the Gospel of the Kingdom that announces this good news for lost sinners who need to repent and believe in the Lord of the Catch. And He’s right here to make it happen.
Note just a few of the details in the narrative: We see clearly all three offices of Christ presented in this order: Prophet (5:1-3)as Jesus teaches the Word of God, regarding the Kingdom of God (4:43); King (5:4-7) as Jesus takes command of the greatest catch of fish the seasoned fisherman Peter had ever seen; and Priest (5:8, 10) as Jesus hears the confession of Simon and re-orients his life’s direction.
Which is the greatest catch of fish here? Is it the net-breaking and boat-capsizing catch of fish, or the catch of people on the bank under the influence of His Word, or the catch of the one known later as the Big Fisherman, Simon Peter?
Details! The Holy Spirit spares us none so that we can get excited about this dramatic glimpse into the life and work of our Savior, who came “to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Note the two different words used in the original language to describe the “catch”: the catching of fish (agra) is the word for what always happens when one catches fish--the fish are caught and they die. The second word (logreo) signifies the catching alive for life. That is the radical change of Peter’s vocation specified in Luke 5:10.
And isn’t it just like real fishermen who find themselves in waters teeming with fish to NOT YELL (or radio) to the world for help? Luke tells us that they beckon or signal only to their partners for assistance (5:7).
The Word of our Lord is taught at the beginning and the Word is obeyed in the middle of the story (5:5), and at the very end (:11). The consternation of Simon at the instructions of an inland carpenter (“Didn’t HE see us washing our nets from the previous night of fishing?” Simon may have wondered),whom Simon addresses as ‘Boss’ or ‘Chief’ or ‘Skipper’(was there some sarcasm or derision there in verse 5?) would have been justified. However, Simon’s fishing world where he was an expert was invaded by One who knew more than where the fish were! And yet, look how the title changes in verse 8! Simon falls down at Jesus’ feet and acknowledges Him as Lord. There Simon learns in that encounter with the Holy One, that he is a sinner; it’s an encounter similar to the one of Isaiah 6. It’s not “Oh Wow!” or even “Ohmygosh!” but more like, “Oh WOE is me!”
Jesus corrects some flawed thinking of this soon to become fisher of men (and all of us at one time): Simon thinks the unclean sinner will defile the Holy, but Jesus instructs us all that He,the Holy One, cleanses the dirty sinner. What is imperative is the connection! It is the Gospel of the Kingdom that announces this good news for lost sinners who need to repent and believe in the Lord of the Catch. And He’s right here to make it happen.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
End of Summer Update
The Living Room phase of our life is growing – slowly. We praise Him for that and thank Him, so we continue on our path of making friends for Christ’s sake. Through the summer we studied how Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 5:5-15), with one eye on the cultural context of Jesus’ day and the other eye on our own cultural setting here in Southport and Brunswick County. We are learning how valuable a study of the Middle East context is in understanding what our Lord teaches us.
Now, this fall, we are engaged in studying a few of the dramatic actions of our Lord Jesus. Take, for example, the inauguration of His public ministry in Nazareth in Luke 4:16-30; as we did last Sunday. How did the brief reading from Is. 61 enrage a congregation? It is a fascinating study, and a sober lesson to us who are called to engage our culture in proclaiming the Good News of our Savior and representing His compassion in a lost as well as broken world.
Are you “engaged?” Seems to be the operative word these days around our house! But seriously, are you engaged in this dramatic activity of the Spirit of our Savior who still is actively seeking and rescuing folk disconnected from our Father God? Would you join us in learning how to love and befriend the many without Christ? Come over here and help us….leave more than footprints in the sand of North Carolina’s beautiful beaches.
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