Galatians Ch. 6 Recap

Unbelievable! That is what kind of group we have going on at the Grind on Tuesday nights. I am so pumped after spending time with you guys it is ... ridiculous.

Galatians 3:19 - 29

What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (NIV)

We had a great discussion on the forbidden fruit syndrome. Why do those things that should be off-limits to us as believers seem all the more tempting? What would Jesus do...we know that He wouldn't be doing some of the stuff that we fall into --> that is for sure. Sometimes I wonder where did that come from? Where in the world is my will power? Then, I am thankful that my will power comes from the power of Christ.

Most of the study centered on God's law...is it a good thing or a bad thing? What positive role does God's law play in our spiritual lives? Why is it so difficult for people who are mostly moral to believe that they fall short of God's perfect standard (Rom. 3:23)? Is there value in reading and studying the Old Testament? For answers to these and other questions that have us sharpening each other...you'll have to join us at Tuesday Night Grind (Tuesdays, 6:45pm).

Have a great week men, stay strong and pray for the men of Lamb's!

I am watching you, Dad...

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5486ae62fd502645138e

PROPOSITION 8: Vote YES

I strongly encourage you to consider voting yes for proposition 8.

The California civil code already guarantees full rights for homosexual civil unions; proposition does not take away those rights.


However, if proposition 8 is NOT passed, our view and right to teach marriage as being the union between one man and one woman WILL be taken away.


The consequences of this would be very ugly and far reaching. Furthermore, the process by which California has now arrived at actually granting homosexual marriage licenses is a travesty – a perversion of the democratic process where imperial judges are overriding the ‘consent of the governed’ and imperiling our culture.


I encourage you to watch this video which explains some of the reasons for a ‘yes on 8’ vote in a pretty fair way.


I also encourage you to check out the http://www.protectmarriage.com/ website for further info.


My strongest encouragement to you is to vote YES on Prop 8. Protect marriage.

Saturday Night is Live @ Lamb's!

We went to the EDGE on Saturday and were totally blessed! What a great time it was to worship and be filled with God's Word on Saturday night.

The photo at right is almost exactly what the band looked like and people were all about praising God. It is actually Chris Tomlin in concert, but Tyler and the worship team were tight, Pastor John's message was right on the mark (as usual) and the atmosphere was awesome.


We'll be making the switch and inviting as many people as we can to come worship with us!

Tuesday AM Study: Week 2

Hey Guys!

Strong Arm, Weak Will
Samson: His triumphs pale against tragic choices.

Check your email for week two of the Tuesday 6:30 am bible study at Church led by Men's Ministry Leader Kerry Holmes.

This is a great study, part one was about Jacob and how God persistently blessed him despite Jacobs faults. Have faith in him and he will bless you.
Have a Great Week!!

Galatians Chapter 5 Recap

The Law and the Promise

What an awesome night of ridiculousness!

Most of us that came together this past week thought that we didn't understand much of this chapter, but God put us all on the same page. What a trip. One of the guys was kind of discouraged and even thought about quitting the study...he was just being ridiculous though (inside joke).

Galatians 3:10 - 18

Isn't great how God can give us understanding even though we don't even realize it? Is your walk filled with license or legalism?

A neat section of the study centered around a discussion about an image of a joy-filled Christ contrasted with the somber, rule-keeping nature of many Christians. What gives? Jesus was/is joy-filled and the joy-giver, why are we so, so, so bummed out? Remember the joy of your salvation? What happened to it? Let's get it back men and make it contagious to those others around us!

See you Tuesday Night (6:45pm) at the Grind!

Stay Strong

Galatians Ch. 4 Recap

Welcome George!

Looks like I will have to go back to Berean (shameless plug) and get some more books...it will be my third trip as our group has now reached 10. Thanks to God for growing our group and adding to our number.

With urgency and intensity, the apostle Paul admonished believers in Galatia to remember the fundamental truth of Christianity: Just as we came to Christ by faithe alone, so now we walk with Him by faith alone. Religious works, no matter how great, do not merit approval from God.
Galatians 3:1-9

"Oh foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? - Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain - if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. (NKJV)

Paul used some pretty strong language to the Galatians to make a point that we need to reflect on today: who/what has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?

What is getting in the way of you exercising your faith in Christ? Have you ever really thought about the love of Christ? If you have for any length of time, it is ridiculous to think that we can comprehend it.

Picture this, everyone that you come in contact with - you love. Not in a fleshy way that we look at love, but a deep abiding care and concern for each person that you come in contact with.

You want nothing more than to be your best for them, to put yourself out, to help them, and comfort them. You do not get to choose who or when or why.

It is love all the time for everyone, regardless of how you are treated, regardless of if you feel like it and regardless if you get it back (most times you won't) --- oh and then you get to die. Not of old age, but you will willingly lay down your life in the most horrific type of prolonged agony that you can imagine. Think any one of the latest horror flicks.

Oops, forgot one part, you do not get to choose who you are dying for...it is for everyone equally, even your worst enemy.

What should our response to that kind of love be?

Follow the rules, don't drink, don't swear, go to church on Sunday, serve on a ministry team, keep our list of don'ts and our list of do's in order? How about love Him in return? How? Get in to His Word and He will show you. Just do not add anything to it and remember the JOY of your salvation!

http://www.allaboutgod.com/christian-love.htm

Stay Strong

1Jn2:17

Joy?

Check out this Godtube.com video a small boy (18 - 24 months old?) preaching God and Jesus to a congregation of people. Kind of crazy, but this kid has so much joy in him. Just look at how he moves between his proclamations of "our God" and "Jesus".

Is this jibberish or does he know what he is doing? Do you hear the crowd and how they are clapping and cheering him on? What do you make of this? Is this joy?

At first, I thought this was nuts. Here is some preacher guys son walking around drooling on a microphone. But as I played it over and over, I realized something very strange. It was my Rob side that had a problem with this. It was Rob that thought it was weird, odd, strange. Then I sat back and let Jesus take over and realized that there was nothing more awesome than this little child of God proclaiming His name. It became joy to me, because I let Him in.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9c69d4acc9dd49eaf89f

Galatians Ch. 3 Recap

Wow, two new brothers added to the Tuesday Night Grind! Well done...

Galatians 2:11 - 21

The non-Jewish Galatians had put their faith in Christ, but were subsequently being told that they must adhere to Jewish laws to insure God's approval. The apostle Peter (of all people!) added to the cornfusion by showing favoritism to the Jews.

Paul confronted and corrected Peter and reiterated that only Jesus can make us right (or justified) with God.

We spent some time discussing what it must have been like for Paul to confront Peter in front of everyone like that. We had some differing opinions on who would do it like that or how it should be done. We checked out Matthew 18:15 - 18 too.

There have always been those who feel that "too much emphasis on grace" encourages people to believe that they can live however they want. Is this a valid concern?

"Why do so many people have a hard time understanding and embracing Christ's actions on their behalf?", was a question that kicked off quite a good discussion. I am coming to an understanding that I do not really understand "love". I have been stuck on this for a few weeks now.

What compelled God so much to want a relationship with us that He would love us unconditionally and send His Son to die for us? Do we really understand love in His context? My feeble attempts to grasp what it would be like to have everyone truly and unconditionally love each other ... is mind boggling.

What would that look like?

Is that a picture of heaven?

If God is love, then everything He does for us is done with love and is about love. eh? He loves for no other reason than love. We / I love and do things for people in the name of love so that I can get something out of it. Most of the world, in my opinion, are not believers or followers of Christ, yet He loves. That is wild my friends, but that is our God!

Hope you all have a great week. Drop a line and respond to the blog when you get a chance.

Stay Strong,

Gal 6:9-10

Fireproof (the movie) Your Marriage!

Check out this movie with your wife. Take her on a date, leave the kids at home and invest some time with her. We are called to be men of Christ, but this must start at home. Check out the trailer for the movie - make a date with her and just tell her that you want her to go with you. It will be one of the best times that you will have. The only theatre in the valley that this is playing out right now is Tower Plaza in Temecula. This independent film is from the makers of other great hits like "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel". We need to support these films so that those who don't know the real love that we have can feel it through a cinematic experience. I am taking DeAnne tonight (10/4). A review will follow.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810036605/trailer

Galatians Ch 2 - DEFENDING THE GOSPEL

So good to hear about all of our unique faith stories that were shared last Tuesday. Awesome that no one can tell us that God has not done anything for us -- for we live with and for His changes everyday!

The discussion about Paul's testimony (v.15) revealing something about God's grace and mercy was AWESOME. If He know every hair on our head before we are conceived, why did God allow Saul to persecute His followers and then convert him to Paul? God has some kind of patience.

How zealous are you? Have you lost your passion for Christ, how can you get it back? I shared some tough things that I had been reading in Crazy Love regarding Lukewarm Christians. Francis Chan believes that this saying "Lukewarm Christian" is an oxymoron. Revelation 3:15-18, Jesus says:

I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, "I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing." But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white robes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Tough words for sure. We attempted to examine what zealousness is. But maybe it our modern understanding of lukewarm that needs correction. Jesus is saying to the church that because they are lukewarm, He is going to spit them out of His mouth. There is no gentle rendering of the word spit in Greek. This is the only time it is used in the New Testament, and it connotes gagging, hurling, retching. Many people read this passage and assume Jesus is speaking to saved people. Why?

When you read this passage, do you naturally conclude that to be "spit" out of Jesus' mouth means you're a part of His kingdom? When you read the words "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked," do you think that He was describing saints? When He counsels them to "buy white clothes to wear" in order to cover their "shameful nakedness," does it sound like advice for those already saved? (Crazy Love, Francis Chan, pgs. 84-85)

Some things to ponder for sure ... until next week!

Stay Strong
Gal 6:9-10

Rob