Saturday, April 20, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
To compete in Cedar
Today, I am going to attempt to cover everything I've covered in my bible study over the past couple of weeks to talk about one verse. So here it goes.
In Jeremiah, God uses the prophet(Jeremiah) to tell the people if they don't repent of their sins that famine, pestilence and sword will fall upon them. That's the first 20 chapters. I thought that would be a lot harder but what I want to go over is what Jeremiah has to tell the king. In chapter 22, Jeremiah tells the king of how God will destroy them if they don't obey; then God turns his direction to the sons is what we see here in verse 11. So at this time, Babylon is already invading Israel and killing their people; at the same time Josiah son(Jehoiakim) is having a pissing contest with other kings by building his new palace. Now here's the verse I want to talk about: "Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar?" To Jehoiakim, his pleasure, his security, all comes from this ornate palace he has built wrongfully. We read on to find that he didn't pay his workers. A very selfish king that pursued what would make him look good while Babylon was invading his land.
How many times do we do that? The idea were we put up a show on the outside to let everybody know everything is going alright but secretly everything underneath is chaos. We have so much agony, pain or questions inside but we portray to the world that "Hey, I'm a Christian. I have it all together.". This here lies the problem. How are we expected to grow with each other in small group, if we can't even be vulnerable in this safe enviroment. How can we expect non-believers to come to Christ if we can't be vulnerable with our sins with them or what we are struggling with? If we are not open and honest about our sins to one others how are others going to be open on coming to grips with theirs?
So this week, what are some idols in your life? For Jehoiakim, it was his palace and his place as a king. But for you, what if God were take away something so drastic it would make you question his existence? What is that idea or object? That gentlemen is what we call an idol. In my life, I find that one of my idols are my finances. It so much of an idol that I didn't tithe for 4 years because I was afraid that the power of the cross was not enough in my life. This week in prayer time, we're gonna talk about this. So be prepared to talk about what idols you have in your life. We are looking for genuine open and honest answers this week. Prepared to get vulnerable with your brothers in Christ.
Much love this week.
-K
In Jeremiah, God uses the prophet(Jeremiah) to tell the people if they don't repent of their sins that famine, pestilence and sword will fall upon them. That's the first 20 chapters. I thought that would be a lot harder but what I want to go over is what Jeremiah has to tell the king. In chapter 22, Jeremiah tells the king of how God will destroy them if they don't obey; then God turns his direction to the sons is what we see here in verse 11. So at this time, Babylon is already invading Israel and killing their people; at the same time Josiah son(Jehoiakim) is having a pissing contest with other kings by building his new palace. Now here's the verse I want to talk about: "Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar?" To Jehoiakim, his pleasure, his security, all comes from this ornate palace he has built wrongfully. We read on to find that he didn't pay his workers. A very selfish king that pursued what would make him look good while Babylon was invading his land.
How many times do we do that? The idea were we put up a show on the outside to let everybody know everything is going alright but secretly everything underneath is chaos. We have so much agony, pain or questions inside but we portray to the world that "Hey, I'm a Christian. I have it all together.". This here lies the problem. How are we expected to grow with each other in small group, if we can't even be vulnerable in this safe enviroment. How can we expect non-believers to come to Christ if we can't be vulnerable with our sins with them or what we are struggling with? If we are not open and honest about our sins to one others how are others going to be open on coming to grips with theirs?
So this week, what are some idols in your life? For Jehoiakim, it was his palace and his place as a king. But for you, what if God were take away something so drastic it would make you question his existence? What is that idea or object? That gentlemen is what we call an idol. In my life, I find that one of my idols are my finances. It so much of an idol that I didn't tithe for 4 years because I was afraid that the power of the cross was not enough in my life. This week in prayer time, we're gonna talk about this. So be prepared to talk about what idols you have in your life. We are looking for genuine open and honest answers this week. Prepared to get vulnerable with your brothers in Christ.
Much love this week.
-K
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Quiet Time. Part 1
So Zach, Zerbe and I have all harped how important it is to have a quiet time and I really just wanted reiterate how important it is and how to have a quiet time. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I tried having a quiet time and it ended up like this: "flip flip flip, close my eyes, point to a verse. Ah okay this is what God wants me to learn today." I've come to learn over years and years of disappointment that this is not the best way to grow and become intimate with God. Because sometimes you'll flip to this and then you'll flip to this. Yes, you might find something that speaks to what you're going through but don't count on this technique to do that.
I often find the best illustration of how important a quiet time is how you become a friend. As sad as this is, it is remarkable true. So being completely generic, let's go through this. You first meet a dude or a girl and its exciting, a lot like when you accepted Christ, you find them on Facebook and you begin to examine their likes, dislikes, photos, and friends. Again this is a lot like reading the Bible and learning about God. But do you have a personal relationship with them? No! All you know about is some superficial thing that results in awkward 10 second conversations, "So you like One Direction? Yep...." and that's how that conversation ends. You don't begin to understand how a person thinks or why they believe what they do until you talk with them. Growing a relationship with a girl or a guy isn't about how much time you spend on Facebook looking at their profile, its about how much time you spend talking to them and asking intentional questions. This is how we should pray. When we pray we begin to understand God's heart and his wisdom and why he has put stuff in the Bible. Now, I'm not saying disregard reading the Bible; what I'm saying is that prayer is an equally powerful tool in the Christian's arsenal to understanding the Bible. So what is it I'm suggesting for your quiet time? I'm glad you guys are such great askers of questions. Here's my answer:
Get out your iPhone and put it on do not disturb(yes put it on do not disturb) and then set a timer for 10 minutes. Then, pick a book of the Bible, I suggest John, and read for those 10 minutes. Now this is like English class a bit but you're not graded. When you read, I want you to ask these 4 questions:
-K
I often find the best illustration of how important a quiet time is how you become a friend. As sad as this is, it is remarkable true. So being completely generic, let's go through this. You first meet a dude or a girl and its exciting, a lot like when you accepted Christ, you find them on Facebook and you begin to examine their likes, dislikes, photos, and friends. Again this is a lot like reading the Bible and learning about God. But do you have a personal relationship with them? No! All you know about is some superficial thing that results in awkward 10 second conversations, "So you like One Direction? Yep...." and that's how that conversation ends. You don't begin to understand how a person thinks or why they believe what they do until you talk with them. Growing a relationship with a girl or a guy isn't about how much time you spend on Facebook looking at their profile, its about how much time you spend talking to them and asking intentional questions. This is how we should pray. When we pray we begin to understand God's heart and his wisdom and why he has put stuff in the Bible. Now, I'm not saying disregard reading the Bible; what I'm saying is that prayer is an equally powerful tool in the Christian's arsenal to understanding the Bible. So what is it I'm suggesting for your quiet time? I'm glad you guys are such great askers of questions. Here's my answer:
Get out your iPhone and put it on do not disturb(yes put it on do not disturb) and then set a timer for 10 minutes. Then, pick a book of the Bible, I suggest John, and read for those 10 minutes. Now this is like English class a bit but you're not graded. When you read, I want you to ask these 4 questions:
- What is the context of the passage you're reading?
- What else can you observe?
- What could it mean?
- How does this apply in my life?
- 10 Minutes in the word
- 10 Minutes in Prayer
- 10 Minutes in another Christian text
-K
Monday, February 18, 2013
Suffering, a good thing?
Suffering is a word we hear about as Christian often and weirdly enough it is supposed to encourage us in our walks with God even though it seems to be a very negative thing. It always reminds me of Yoda's famous quote "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, and suffering leads to the Dark Side" but that isn't true the bible tells us that suffering leads in an entirely different path, "we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5.
In the past few years I personally have gone through times of great suffering when I was a Sophomore and Junior in High School I was sick at home suffering from intense anxiety and depression. All of my friends ignored me and my acquaintances thought I had died, my pastor at the time (not Pastor Jim or Pastor Don they are great) didn't even come to visit me and he lived half a block away, but I knew that through all of this God was with me and He would get me though it, and He did I ma here today and stronger than ever because of the things that happened to me.
The same is true for you no matter what type of suffering you are going through weather it be as small as getting a bad grade on a quiz or as large as breaking up with your girl friend or not getting int the college you wanted "Fear not for, I (God) am with you; be not dismayed, for I am you God; I will straighten you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good..." Romans 8:28
So next time you are suffering don't think "Dark Side" think of it as an opportunity to grow with God into a Righteous Man of God.
-Stephen Zerbe
In the past few years I personally have gone through times of great suffering when I was a Sophomore and Junior in High School I was sick at home suffering from intense anxiety and depression. All of my friends ignored me and my acquaintances thought I had died, my pastor at the time (not Pastor Jim or Pastor Don they are great) didn't even come to visit me and he lived half a block away, but I knew that through all of this God was with me and He would get me though it, and He did I ma here today and stronger than ever because of the things that happened to me.
The same is true for you no matter what type of suffering you are going through weather it be as small as getting a bad grade on a quiz or as large as breaking up with your girl friend or not getting int the college you wanted "Fear not for, I (God) am with you; be not dismayed, for I am you God; I will straighten you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good..." Romans 8:28
So next time you are suffering don't think "Dark Side" think of it as an opportunity to grow with God into a Righteous Man of God.
-Stephen Zerbe
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Listening
So I had a really hard time coming up with tonight's post, but I thought about a recent situation that occurred to me at work and maybe can help you with your walk with God
Story time:
So Second Empire, the job I've had for almost 4 years, requires every single lady that works there be walked to their car at night. I think its a great policy. It keeps girls safe and chivalry alive. Now, recently, we had a new girl hired on at the restaurant. At the end of our shift I was required to walk her out. I absolutely have no issue with that, oh but she did. She griped and complained that she could take care of herself. That her previous work experience would keep her safe, that if anybody came close she could handle it. Regardless of my own experiences, she knew it all.
Isn't that how we treat God sometimes? Isn't that how we read our Bible sometimes? We read a story that we've heard hundreds of times but fail to listen to what God may be showing us through that. Or maybe we already "understand" God I feel like I do that a lot. All the time Jesus has better experience, we can read it about how he lived the perfect life in the NT. Guys as you read this week or listen through sermons. Try to remove your preconceived notions and pray that God opens your eyes to new revelations through repeated scripture. Much love my brothers.
-K
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Story time:
So Second Empire, the job I've had for almost 4 years, requires every single lady that works there be walked to their car at night. I think its a great policy. It keeps girls safe and chivalry alive. Now, recently, we had a new girl hired on at the restaurant. At the end of our shift I was required to walk her out. I absolutely have no issue with that, oh but she did. She griped and complained that she could take care of herself. That her previous work experience would keep her safe, that if anybody came close she could handle it. Regardless of my own experiences, she knew it all.
Isn't that how we treat God sometimes? Isn't that how we read our Bible sometimes? We read a story that we've heard hundreds of times but fail to listen to what God may be showing us through that. Or maybe we already "understand" God I feel like I do that a lot. All the time Jesus has better experience, we can read it about how he lived the perfect life in the NT. Guys as you read this week or listen through sermons. Try to remove your preconceived notions and pray that God opens your eyes to new revelations through repeated scripture. Much love my brothers.
-K
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Wednesday Night Recap
So guys, first thing. Great Bible study last night. The conversation was great and was really awesome to hear y'all open up. Second, get in the Bible and read at some point. Expect another blog from a leader before next small group.
So if you weren't here, this is what you missed.
So if you weren't here, this is what you missed.
- We started 1 Timothy 1
- We went over the story of Saul
- If you need an update click here for a good recap.
- Paul and Timothy have a relationship where Paul pours into timothy things about God and spirituality.
- We call this discipleship in modern terms.
- Timothy was told to stay in Ephesus by Paul to teach against false prophets and preach the gospel.
- Finally, we talked about Paul's conversion. Paul considered himself to be one of the worse sinners ever. He actually killed Christians(God's people).
- This week just take time to think about your relationship with God and if it's bearing fruit. If you think that its not or just have questions talk to us. We'd love to point out things in your life where you are growing or need growth.
Much love this week brothers.
"16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."
"16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."
-K
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