Back in March about 4,000 men from nearly every state and over 70 countries, from various denominations and independent churches, gathered in a most unlikely place to celebrate an ancient yet often ridiculed belief. They were lovingly served by over 700 volunteers from one church for an entire week.
Several years ago a mom was leaving our church service with her seven year old son. Out of the blue, he looked at his mom and said he might like to be a pastor someday. The mom was so excited to hear that God was moving in his heart. Treading very carefully on such sacred ground, she asked, “Why do you think you might want to be a pastor?” To which he replied, “It looks pretty easy. They only have to work one hour a week.
Spiritual Warfare and Church Leadership … and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that we will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil (I Timothy 3:6-7). “Teleo” is a common Greek New Testament verb that means, “I complete, I accomplish, I finish, I carry out a task.” It’s often used in reference to a religious obligation. “Tetelestai” shares the same root word, is a verb in the perfect tense and passive voice. Perfect tense means the action is completed and has continuing results into the future. Passive voice indicates the subject of the verb has been acted upon. On Sunday evening December 14, I challenged the church in response to Romans 5:1-5 to make their justification in Jesus the focus of their joy over the next three weeks. You can watch it here. Paul outlines 3 reactions of joy due to our justification in these verses. One of the most intriguing of chapters in all of the Psalter is chapter two. No author or context or musical information is offered in its title. Despite the historical mystery it is the most quoted psalm in the entire New Testament. Luke quotes from it often in Acts (2:36; 4:25-28; 13:33) and the apostle John refers to the messianic dimension throughout Revelation (particularly chapters 6 and 19). If we consider all the references to Jesus as God’s Messiah and Son in the New Testament then quotations of Psalm 2:2 and 2:7 are dozens upon dozens.
In these days we have enjoyed a mini-series in our church on Psalm 119. I remembered during my study that years ago I taught through much of this Psalm during our Wednesday night Bible Study. At the conclusion then, I shared this list. It’s been slightly revised and I share it again with our church family. These lessons are still undeniable based on reading the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. |
AuthorUnless otherwise noted, all posts are written by Pastor Chris McKnight Archives
March 2024
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