Tuesday September 30, 2014

Read Romans 14:5-8

I remember a particular church I was in. Being a smaller congregation meant that Christmas times were always slightly worrying. You simply never knew if anyone would turn up for the Christmas Day service. In one particular year, we held a Christmas service and a family were rather irate that we pandered to the world by having a service. They decided to leave the church! The following year we decided NOT to hold a Christmas service and other families were incensed that we didn’t make the most of this wonderful opportunity to reach out to the world. They threatened to leave the church!

Apart from teaching us that we can’t seek to please people, the episode teaches us how divided sections of the church really are. We tend to elevate the minor issues to major issues. Often the major issues become minor issues! Paul tells us that whatever we think about certain days, we are to be fully convinced before the Lord and we hold our opinions to the Lord. In no way are we to push these opinions on disputable matters upon each other.

Whether we consider Christmas a special day or an ordinary day, we do so to the Lord. Whether we eat only vegetables or both meat and vegetables, we do so to the Lord. In fact, what ever we do, we do to the Lord. We live for the Lord and even die to the Lord. Our lives belong entirely to Him.

If only we had that kind of view of our own lives. I suspect that many believers simply have a predetermined ’To Do’ list for each day of the week. On work days we go into auto-pilot and simply do the things we have to do. On weekends we have a sport filled, house and yard filled, shopping filled To Do list. Having a list is not the problem. The problem arises because God often gets left out of the list or left to the very bottom of the list. The Lord Himself challenges us in these verses - So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

When you wake up each morning acknowledge that you belong to the Lord by praying to Him, committing yourself to Him and by reading His Word. In your busyness, invite the Lord to walk ahead of you. You might be surprised! He might lead you away from your normal ‘To Do’ scenario. Make it your prayer to obediently and faithfully serve the Lord each and every day, even in the midst of your busyness! 

When we commit ourselves to the Lord each day several things happen. We slow down and de-stress. Life becomes a journey rather than a race to be won. Life becomes joyous and meetings, engagements and appointments take on a whole new meaning. Opportunities for Godward service and outreach open up consistently.

When we put God at the head of our agenda and seek to serve Him and to live for Him major issues stay major issues and the minor issues remain minor issues.

Prayer:

Use today’s Bible reading and notes to pray along the following lines.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Pray for those in your congregation who may be sick or suffering in some way. Ask the Lord’s healing hand upon them and His comfort and peace upon them as they recuperate.

¨ Pray that God would be gracious and merciful to our brothers/sisters in North Korea who suffer intolerably. Pray that the Kingdom of God would grow greatly in this land.

 Walk Moment:

The Lord values and loves obedience. You simply can’t be obedient in auto-pilot mode. To get out of this mode, try reciting Bible verses and singing His praises throughout the day.

 Discussion Questions

1. Can you summarise the main point of Romans 14:5-8?

2. What would be a Godly reaction if your church did not run a Christmas day service when you expected one (or vice versa)?

3. How does today’s passage speak to believers who think that one Sonday attendance at church per week is all that God requires?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: Each and every day we have too many things that need to get done. Some times life is really hectic. We can serve God even when life is really busy.  Sometimes it’s easier to run away from God than to serve Him.

Discuss a time when you ran away from God. What happened? How did it turn out?

Read  Jonah 1:1-3

What did God call Jonah to do?

What was Jonah’s reaction?

Pray together that you would not run away from God but would joyously and willingly choose to serve Him.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: It’s hard to be a leader but when God calls us to lead we should step up to the challenge rather than run away from it. Sometimes it’s easier to run away from God than to serve Him.

Discuss a time when you ran away from God instead of stepping up to lead. What happened? How did it turn out?

Read  Jonah 1:1-3

What did God call Jonah to do?

What was Jonah’s reaction?

Pray together that you would not run away from God but would joyously and willingly choose to serve Him.

Monday September 29, 2014

Coming Up: Sonday October 5, 2014

Romans 14:1-15:22. Tolerance in the Church

 Read Romans 14:1-4

There are many things that potentially divide the Christian church - issues which really ought not to be issues at all. Things like musical instruments, the issue of smoking (I’ve heard that some people like to cast out the demon of smoking if you’re a smoker), styles of worship in church, song choices in church (whether we sing choruses, hymns or a balance of both) and even the existence of other denominations have all caused division in the church.

The principle laid out in Romans 14 and 15 covers disputable matters, matters as described above and other matters including food and holy days. Rather than condemning these people and relegating them to the back of the church, we are commanded to accept or receive those who are weak in the faith.

When the Bible talks about being weak in the faith it is talking about those who have not come into the full freedom of the glorious Gospel. And we are not to see it as our solemn sworn duty to bring them up to speed or to educate them or to set them right. It is our duty, as per verse 1, to accept them fully as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Paul gives an example of a person who desires to eat only vegetables. The man who can eat everything with a clear conscience is not to look down in judgement on this other person. The Lord will make this person stand and all are to accept him/her in the congregation of believers.

Unfortunately the word ‘disputable’ has spread in the modern day church to include almost every single doctrine and belief. In the New Testament Scriptures we see an acceptance in ‘disputable’ matters but a total anathema towards those who would seek to water down the genuine Gospel. As such Paul would rather have a false gospel preacher condemned than accepted into the church (Gal 1:8). He commands the church to expel the immoral and unrepentant brother in the Corinthian church (1 Cor 6:13). Jude reveals to us that only the blackest darkness awaits those who change the grace of God into a licence for immorality (Jude 12-13). Paul tells Titus and the church in Crete to avoid the brother who continues to create division (Titus 3:10).

The kind of tolerance that accepts all teaching is simply not tolerated in the churches of the New Testament. The Apostolic witness is unanimous - we must protect the Gospel at all costs. We must not allow false teaching to infiltrate the church.

But within that Gospel there are disputable areas. There are areas where we can hold a difference of opinion. It’s in these areas that we are to show loving, Jesus-reflecting acceptance to our brothers and sisters in the church.

Prayer:

Use today’s Bible reading and notes to pray along the following lines.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¨ Ask the Lord to bring depth and maturity in your church so that it will be an accepting and loving Church that repudiates false teaching.

¨ Pray for the various cells that meet and ask God to mature them, bless them and use them for kingdom growth.

 Witness Moment:

Jesus said, ‘By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another. Love and acceptance communicates  Jesus clearly to a broken world.

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Draw up a list of topics that you think are tolerable within the church and state your reasons why you think they are tolerable.

2. Draw up a list of commonly held beliefs within the wider church that are intolerable and state your reasons why you think they are intolerable.

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: It’s possible to love other Christians and to serve with them even though we don’t agree with everything they believe about the Bible. But some parts of the Bible we have to defend at all costs.

Discuss a time when you had to work beside another believer who held different beliefs to you. How did it go? How did you cope?

Read  Mark 12:28-24

What are the two great commandments that Jesus draws out?

Discuss ways that you could show love to a believer who doesn’t celebrate Christmas, for example.

Pray together: that your church would be a loving and receiving church that carefully guards the Gospel.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: Boys like to settle things by fighting. But it’s possible to love other Christians and to serve with them even though we don’t agree with everything they believe about the Bible. But some parts of the Bible we have to defend at all costs.

Discuss a time when you had to work beside another believer who held different beliefs to you. How did it go? How did you cope?

Read  Mark 12:28-24

What are the two great commandments that Jesus draws out?

Discuss ways that you could show love to a believer who doesn’t celebrate Christmas, for example.

Pray together: that your church would be a loving church that carefully guards the Gospel.

Saturday September 27, 2014

Read: Romans 13:14, James 1:13-15, Philippians 4:8

In the early 1990s there was a television advertisement for Pepsi that featured a famous American basketball player. One very young fan, who is holding an ice cold Pepsi, looks on with amazement as the player joins in on the game of basketball that the kids are playing. After the game the player looks for a drink and sees the young fan. Coming over to him the player reaches out as if to ask for the bottle of Pepsi. The young fan’s response? “Don’t even think about it!”

This is essentially what Paul is saying here in Romans 13. They are to clothe themselves with Christ and to grow in holiness. Part of this is that they are not even to think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. They are to be so serious about dealing with sin in their lives and living in a way that is fitting with Christ’s imminent return that they are not even to think about how to satisfy their sinful desires.

A number of places in Scripture we see that sinful actions begin in our hearts and in our minds. James gives us a powerful illustration of this process. We are not tempted by God,  we are tempted by our own sinful desires. As we think about how to satisfy these desires and we dwell on sinful things we are dragged away and enticed. These sinful thoughts turn into sinful actions and we reap the brokenness and consequences that come from our sinful deeds.

You can see why Paul would command that we don’t even think about how to satisfy the sinful desires of our flesh. Instead we are to deliberately turn our minds towards wholesome and holy things. Instead of thinking about sinful things we are to turn our minds towards pure and righteous things. This is the exhortation that Paul gives the believers in Phillipi, to turn their mind towards good and noble things. If we are serious about our faith and serious about dealing with sin we must turn our thinking away from sinful things towards holy and righteous things.

Think of what this would look like in your life. Rather than thinking and plotting how to satisfy your greedy desires to grow your wealth and get that bigger and better stuff you turn your mind towards the ultimate satisfaction that can be found in Christ alone. Rather than think about how to get others to serve your own selfish needs you turn your mind towards Christ being the perfect servant and you seek to serve others. Rather than fantasising about how to satisfy those sexual desires you have you turn your mind towards being satisfied with what God has provided and serving your brothers and sisters in Christ.

This applies even beyond our own personal struggles. Paul has been talking about how believers are to be devoted in loving and serving one another. We are not to even think about how others in the church could satisfy our own sinful needs or desires, instead we are to turn our minds towards how we can love and serve others. We don’t even think about how we can use people to get love and satisfaction for ourselves, we think about how we can provide that love and satisfaction for others. When it comes to sinful desires…”Don’t even think about it!”

Prayer:

Use the Bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¥ Pray that God would be working in your mind today to turn your thoughts away from sinful things towards wholesome things. Pray that He would be changing your heart.

¥ Pray for the families of those who came to Extreme Week. Pray that God would be working powerfully in the hearts of all those who were involved.

 Word Moment:

One way that God works to change our thinking and to change our hearts is through His word. The Psalmist found this also, that God’s Law (word) would change his thinking and his heart. Take some time to read through Psalm 119 and notice how God’s Word changed the Psalmist and helped him grow.

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. What are some strategies you could employ to turn your mind away from sinful things towards Godly things?

2. How could you help one another in this area?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: We spend a lot of time thinking! During the whole day we are always thinking and learning.

Share: What are some of the things that you think about? What do you think about when you are at school?
Read: Romans 13:14 Paul says we should be so serious about living how God wants us to live that we don’t even think about sin! What is sin? What could we do to stop ourselves thinking about sin? Who could we ask for help when we are having trouble? What could we think about instead of thinking about sin?
Pray Together: Pray that God would help us not to think about sin but to think about Him instead.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: We spend a lot of time thinking! During the whole day we are always thinking and learning.

Share: What are some of the things that you think about? What do you think about when you are at school?
Read: Romans 13:14 Paul says we should be so serious about living how God wants us to live that we don’t even think about sin! What is sin? What could we do to stop ourselves thinking about sin? Who could we ask for help when we are having trouble? What could we think about instead of thinking about sin?
Pray Together: Pray that God would help us not to think about sin but to think about Him instead.

Friday September 26, 2014

Read: Romans 13:11-14, Galatians 5:16-26

Do you remember the excitement and anticipation that you felt about Christmas when you were a child? I can remember never sleeping well on Christmas Eve. Because of the excitement it would take a long time to fall asleep and even then it was often broken interrupted sleep. Even in the days leading up to Christmas the excitement would build and build. The knowledge that Christmas was coming would change the way that I went about my days. In an even bigger way the knowledge that Christ is coming should change the way that we live and act now. The excitement and anticipation of His return should change the way that we act now.

Paul makes this point here in the last part of Chapter 13. We are to be loving one another understanding and remembering the present time. Paul exhorts the believers to wake up from their slumber, to change the way that they live. Why? “Because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”  Paul is looking forward to the day that Christ will return and the work of salvation that He has begun in us will be fully realised. He is looking forward to the day when Jesus returns and sin, sickness, suffering and death are dealt with once and for all. He is looking forward to the day when we shall receive new, resurrection bodies and no longer battle against the flesh. Paul is looking forward to the day when God will fully complete the work that He has begun in us.

In light of this incredible day that is coming Paul exhorts us to live differently. We are to “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.” Verse 13 deals with the first half of this command. We are not to live as the world does, in the sinful deeds of darkness. Paul lists of a number of things that we are to avoid as followers of Christ. These kinds of deeds are those of sinful and rebellious people (Romans 1). God has redeemed us and is at work changing us. We still struggle against sin but we are being changed and we no longer live in the way that the world does. In Galatians Paul gives an even more comprehensive list of the acts of the sinful nature that we are to avoid. To live in light of Christ’s return is to steer clear of these kinds of actions.

But Paul’s exhortation isn’t just about what to avoid. He also tells us what to strive for. We are to put off the deeds of darkness but put on the armour of light. In vs 14 we are to “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” Growing in holiness is not just about what to avoid. It is also about what to put on. Paul exhorts us to put on the armour of light, to grow in holiness and righteousness. We are to clothe ourselves with Christ, to grow in relationship with Him and to become more and more like Him. In Galatians Paul describes how this looks in more detail. Those who live by the spirit display the fruit of the spirit in their lives. They are growing in love, overflowing with joy, finding peace in God, becoming more patient, showing kindness to others, living lives of goodness, growing in faithfulness, displaying gentleness and showing self-control. Living in light of Jesus return means that we are turning our backs on the sinful things of the world and growing in holiness and righteousness through the work of God in us.

Prayer:

Use the Bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¥ Pray that God would be at work in your life helping you to turn away from sinful and rebellious deeds and grow in holiness and righteousness. Pray that He would be bringing out the fruit of the spirit more and more in your life. Pray that as He does you would be an encouragement to others.

 Walk Moment:

If we are serious about our faith and serious about living for God we can’t allow even a hint of sin. We need to be constantly on guard and constantly fighting against sin in our lives.

On guard!!

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. How does remembering the return of Christ change the way that you go about your day to day life?

2. How does the return of Christ change the way that you approach evangelism? What could you do about it today?

3. How can you regularly remind yourself and each other of the coming return of Christ?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro: Have you ever been so excited about something that it has changed how you acted?

Share:  What is something that you have been super excited about? Why were you excited? How did it change what you did?
Read: Romans 13:11-12 Paul was very excited that Jesus is coming back one day. Why do you think Paul was excited about this? What does Paul say we should do? What does it mean to put aside the deeds of ’darkness’? What sort of things do you think Paul means? What does it mean to put on the armour of light? 
Pray Together: Thank God that He is coming back! Pray that He would help us to love Him and not sin.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro: Have you ever been so excited about something that it has changed how you acted?

Share:  What is something that you have been super excited about? Why were you excited? How did it change what you did?
Read: Romans 13:11-12 Paul was very excited that Jesus is coming back one day. Why do you think Paul was excited about this? What does Paul say we should do? What does it mean to put aside the deeds of ’darkness’? What sort of things do you think Paul means? What does it mean to put on the armour of light? 
Pray Together: Thank God that He is coming back! Pray that He would help us to love Him and not sin.