Jude 1-7
Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Pray for God’s guidance as you read this passage. You may want to read the entire book of Jude to get a better "feel" for what the writer is communicating to the readers.
Our main focus is on verse 5, where Jude references the Exodus Story.
What is Jude wanting to discuss?
Why is he having to change his topic?
What is going on in the church?
What are the false teachers teaching?
How does the Exodus Story serve as a warning?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
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19 comments:
Here we go again!
It was a thrill to baptize Ben this morning after our worship assembly. I have had the privilege of baptizing all four of my children. It feels good.
Baptism is just the beginning, but it's a huge, good beginning.
I don't know what else to say.
What a last few days! Kedra and I celebrated our 25th quietly by ourselves and then with family, Luke turned 19, and Ben was baptized.
Lester and Maddie came home for all of it, and Luke is on spring break. Life is good.
I sneaked away for a few minutes to take care of some work stuff. We'll have a little more time before Lester and Maddie go back to Indy. Luke will be here through this week.
Allen, that is great news about Ben! You and Kedra have done a wonderful job raising your children. God is Good!
Pat A
Thanks Pat; appreciate it.
This is shaping up to be another busy week. I'll try taking it as it comes; no stress.
I'm getting very excited about Honduras this summer. I just went through everyone's files to make sure we have everything we need. Our group has already raised more than $4,000, which is great. We need about $20,000 more, which we hope will happen on Easter Sunday.
Pray.
Well, the van is now in the shop. The transmission will be replaced before the week is over. I plan on sending Kedra and the kids to Wal-mart with a little cardboard sign that says, "Will work for transmission." I'll make sure their hair is unkempt and that they have dirt smudges on their faces.
We drove the van to Clarksville Friday evening to meet Kedra's parents and Luke as they were driving north from Huntsville and Nashville. We met and ate at Red Lobster to celebrate Luke's birthday, Maddies birthday (belated), and our anniversary; it was a multifaceted meal.
On the way to Clarksville the transmission starting shifting very hard. CLUNK. Then it would shake. We made it to the "Lob" ok. I was concerned about getting home, we clunked and shook and arrived.
I thought a lot about Ben's baptism today, which made me think about the other kids' baptism as well. Ben is the only one who was baptized at the church building. Lester was baptized at Camp. Luke was baptized at Lipscomb's Impact, and Rebecca was baptized at Camp.
I didn't run today. I was planning on it, but I thought I'd better not. I've run six days a week for two weeks in a row; that's a pretty big build up for me. I just felt a little tired. I had a hard 14 miler on Saturday, and it was still with me.
Rest is a good thing.
Tomorrow is Tempo Tuesday: two miles warm-up, 3 miles hard, two more miles cool-down. I may throw a couple more on at the end to make up for today's skip.
This evening was amazingly pleasant. I walked around in the backyard and around the pond and around the woods. I just walked around.
Luke and Ben are working on the busted Bronco. They, along with Lester, chopped the top off on Saturday. They pulled and tugged and straightened up a bunch of the twisted metal. This evening Luke and Ben are making a roll bar (good idea). They went up to Dad's to weld. I wandered up to watch for a while.
OK, I think the ladies are gone now. I can go back upstairs. Ha ha.
Kedra's Bible study ended this evening with a meal. The kids and I sneaked in after they left the kitchen and ate a bunch of their food.
I don't know when it happened or why, but somewhere along the way I have developed an allergic reaction to the tree activity of early spring; feels like a slight case of the flu. It has been going on for several years now.
I woke up early (3.00) yesterday morning and really thought I was sick. I really think it is just allergies. I pushed on through the day, thanks to a couple of naps. I debated with myself all day about running last night. I opted to do it, and I ended up doing it as well as last week. In fact my miles splits were almost identical.
I am taking an over the counter allergy pill, which usually works. I think it needs a little time to build up a residual level. I feel slightly "flu-ee" but have no fever.
Got a lot on the plate today again. I have to get ready for the ElderLink conference, and I need to get ready for my Sunday a.m. class. Both require a fair amount of thought and reading.
This afternoon I have my regular Bible study with a couple from the food pantry. Second-hand smoke city. Last week when I opened the door I couldn't see across the room. They do stop while I am there, which is good.
When I came home last week Rebecca smelled me and commented on it. I told her that I had taken up smoking. "Up to a pack a day already!"
Jude is a fascinating book. Did you know he quotes from two non-canonical books? He makes reference to, and then quotes, 1 Enoch, and he also refers to the Assumption of Moses. This troubles some folks; not me. He doesn't say they are Scripture. I think he is speaking to a predominently Jewish church and refering to Jewish traditions with which they are familar. Paul quotes pagan works three times in his writings. Preachers/teachers often cite things outside of the Bible to make a point. Sometimes they might even sing, "A Country Boy can Survive."
What should we do with Jude? I am trying to figure out modern parallels to his message. He really speaks a lot about character and integrity (or lack thereof) and about respect for authority.
Some say his book is pretty negative in a lot of ways. I think it is -- until you get to the end. It is a warning. People today don't like warnings. I suppose no one ever has really.
I am looking forward to my class this evening. I often determine the direction of the sermon based on what they have to say.
I found this article to be fairly interesting:
Highly Religious Patients Fight to Live Longer
A couple of excerpts:
"People think that spiritual patients are more likely to say their lives are in God’s hands – 'Let what happens happen' – but in fact we know they want more aggressive care," said Holly G. Prigerson, the study’s senior author and director of the Center for Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, according to The New York Times.
You would think that religious folks would be ready to let go and experience a life so far superior to this one. Right? So why do they want to stay here? Afraid? Evidently not, according to the study.
"To religious people, life is sacred and sanctified, and there's a sense they feel it's their duty and obligation to stay alive as long as possible," she added to the NY Times.
It is amazingly beautiful outside!
Still struggling with "flu lite" feelings, especially in the evenings. Allergies.
Yesterday I moved my work to a mobile office. I drove 2 hours north and worked for a few hours and then drove back. Another way to look at this is that I took a group of students on a field trip to Indianapolis. I guess they are desperate for drivers. I did manage to get quite a bit of work done, but I had to sleep some also. Allergies.
Today I am fighting sadness. Luke leaves this morning to go to Alabama. He has been on spring break. The (apparent) girl friend has lost her parenthetical status, so south he goes. She is worth the drive.
Sturggling with Jude!
What do you do with this text/letter? I am hoping to find out this morning. Not having clarity of thought is not helpful. Allergies.
I am looking forward to having a Sunday off next week. I am speaking at ElderLink next weekend in Atlanta, and they are putting Kedra and me in a nice hotel for Friday and Saturday night. The time I would have spent on a sermon here will be spent on my lecture there, but that'll be a nice change of pace.
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