Following the victory at Jericho, the army of Israel experiences and unexpected setback, caused, they would soon learn, by the sin of one man within the covenant community. The impurity within God's people contributes to the death of thirty-six men in the ensuing battle, after which the LORD enlightens Joshua about the sin that must be dealt with. Unfortunately, because the guilty party does not come forward of his own accord, in the end, his life is forfeit. The episode illustrates the seriousness of sin within the people of God, and its potential to cause harm far beyond the one who commits it.
This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Sermon Video: The cost of sin among God's people - Joshua 7
At the 10:50 mark, my daughter Clara interrupts the message to tell me that she can't find her donut from before church, being quick, she escaped the nursery volunteer and ran into the sanctuary to tell me this crucial bit of information...
Following the victory at Jericho, the army of Israel experiences and unexpected setback, caused, they would soon learn, by the sin of one man within the covenant community. The impurity within God's people contributes to the death of thirty-six men in the ensuing battle, after which the LORD enlightens Joshua about the sin that must be dealt with. Unfortunately, because the guilty party does not come forward of his own accord, in the end, his life is forfeit. The episode illustrates the seriousness of sin within the people of God, and its potential to cause harm far beyond the one who commits it.
Following the victory at Jericho, the army of Israel experiences and unexpected setback, caused, they would soon learn, by the sin of one man within the covenant community. The impurity within God's people contributes to the death of thirty-six men in the ensuing battle, after which the LORD enlightens Joshua about the sin that must be dealt with. Unfortunately, because the guilty party does not come forward of his own accord, in the end, his life is forfeit. The episode illustrates the seriousness of sin within the people of God, and its potential to cause harm far beyond the one who commits it.
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Sermon Video: The Fall of Jericho - Joshua 5:13-6:27
The story of the fall of Jericho being fairly familiar to many Christians, the text itself from the book of Joshua contains two moments that often are overlooked: (1) The encounter that Joshua has with the "commander of the army of the LORD" in which he is told that God is on "neither" side in the upcoming battle, and the destruction of the "devoted" things in Jericho, which included all living things, people included.
The response to Joshua's question, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" is an important reminder that God is not on our side, rather we have been called to conform to his will. God cannot be on the side of any particular human being, or group of people, for God is entirely holy, righteous, and just, and no human endeavor can make such a claim. The focus of God's redemptive story in history is to call humanity back to communion with God, to his will, his mind, his perspective.
The destruction of the people of Jericho is a difficult and disturbing one to consider, but necessary just the same. Until we understand the absolute right of God to judge the living and the dead, and until we comprehend just how pervasive and vile sin (rebellion against God) truly is, we will fall short of understanding how/why God can pour out wrath on various segments of humanity. In the end, we must face the reality of the judgment of God, soberly without glee, for it is a tragedy whenever someone created in the image of God is lost, if we are to truly understand grace and mercy.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
The response to Joshua's question, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" is an important reminder that God is not on our side, rather we have been called to conform to his will. God cannot be on the side of any particular human being, or group of people, for God is entirely holy, righteous, and just, and no human endeavor can make such a claim. The focus of God's redemptive story in history is to call humanity back to communion with God, to his will, his mind, his perspective.
The destruction of the people of Jericho is a difficult and disturbing one to consider, but necessary just the same. Until we understand the absolute right of God to judge the living and the dead, and until we comprehend just how pervasive and vile sin (rebellion against God) truly is, we will fall short of understanding how/why God can pour out wrath on various segments of humanity. In the end, we must face the reality of the judgment of God, soberly without glee, for it is a tragedy whenever someone created in the image of God is lost, if we are to truly understand grace and mercy.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
After the politics, will you listen?
After you vote today, after the cheering or cursing that will come tonight when the results are known, after the gloating or seeking of blame, will there be an opportunity for the Church to speak Truth and be heard before the partisan passions close people's hearts and minds ahead of the next election? I know that in the modern American political system that campaigning never ends, that spin is ceaseless, and strategic planning a constant, but perhaps, if the LORD gives us this grace, we might take a step back, turn down the volume of rhetoric and vitriol we're listening to, and open ourselves up to the Word of God that it might speak to us.
What would happen if the people of God viewed the political realm through a Biblical lens instead of viewing the Bible/Church/Gospel through a political lens? What would change in the Church (and individual Christians) if the world we live in, its problems, and our attempts to "solve" them, were seen through the mind of Christ? Can you imagine a Church devoid of the need for wealth and power, and instead wholly focused upon holiness, righteousness, and servant-hood? At present, as is typical in Church history, there are pockets of believers living their lives with Christ at the center, as obediently following the Word of God as their imperfect minds and still present sinful natures allow (As always, by God' s grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit). There are also, however, once more in typical Church history pattern, those within the Church (whether they truly belong to Christ or not) who have chosen instead to live according to the rules of the kingdom of man instead of the kingdom of God. They retain a lust for power not acknowledging that our Lord and Savior sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven with unassailable glory and might, and it has corrupted them (us).
What would happen if the Church listened to God, not just some of us, and not just superficially, but most of us, and with all of our fiber and being? I pray that God will be this gracious to us, will allow us a chance to mend our ways and seek him faithfully, and perhaps he will, but it also seems clear to me that as long as the Church is using politics to interpret the will of God, we won't hear the Word of the LORD when it speaks to us.
Philippians 2:5-8 New International Version (NIV)
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
1 John 2:16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
What would happen if the people of God viewed the political realm through a Biblical lens instead of viewing the Bible/Church/Gospel through a political lens? What would change in the Church (and individual Christians) if the world we live in, its problems, and our attempts to "solve" them, were seen through the mind of Christ? Can you imagine a Church devoid of the need for wealth and power, and instead wholly focused upon holiness, righteousness, and servant-hood? At present, as is typical in Church history, there are pockets of believers living their lives with Christ at the center, as obediently following the Word of God as their imperfect minds and still present sinful natures allow (As always, by God' s grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit). There are also, however, once more in typical Church history pattern, those within the Church (whether they truly belong to Christ or not) who have chosen instead to live according to the rules of the kingdom of man instead of the kingdom of God. They retain a lust for power not acknowledging that our Lord and Savior sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven with unassailable glory and might, and it has corrupted them (us).
What would happen if the Church listened to God, not just some of us, and not just superficially, but most of us, and with all of our fiber and being? I pray that God will be this gracious to us, will allow us a chance to mend our ways and seek him faithfully, and perhaps he will, but it also seems clear to me that as long as the Church is using politics to interpret the will of God, we won't hear the Word of the LORD when it speaks to us.
Philippians 2:5-8 New International Version (NIV)
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
1 John 2:16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Christian Antisemitism: An utterly absurd oxymoron
Tension between Judaism and Christianity goes back to the generation of Jesus and the Apostles. John the Baptist was accepted as a prophet by the followers of Christ, but rejected by the official leadership of Judaism in Jerusalem. Likewise, Jesus himself, although like John receiving support from the masses, was rejected by all but a few in the hierarchy of Judaism, a group that was the focus of much of Jesus' ire in his preaching. In the Early Church, first centered in Jerusalem under the leadership of Jesus' half-brother James, and peopled almost entirely by converts from Judaism (who considered themselves to be reformers of Judaism, not founders of a new religion), there was also tension with the leadership of Judaism which led to the first Christian martyr after Jesus: Stephen.
The Early Church might have retained a strong connection to Judaism if not for two later developments: the massive success of the Apostle Paul among Gentiles (and concurrent failure among his own people, leading to the anguished thoughts of Romans 9-11, excerpted below), and the destruction of Jerusalem leading to the end of 2nd Temple Judaism and the Diaspora. As the first generation of the Church came to a close, the organization took on a distinctly Gentile character, and its Jewish origins faded into the background.
Animosity and hostility toward the Jewish minority in what was to become Christendom was not non-existent, but it was never widespread on the level that would become the later pogroms, forced conversions by the Inquisition, and then ultimately genocide at the hands of the Nazis until the Late Middle Ages. In 1096, in response to Pope Urban II's call for a Crusade to recapture the Holy Land, Peter the Hermit, who raised an army in the Rhineland, perpetuated there the first large scale massacre of Jews by Christians. To the shame of the Church, this trend has continued to this day, and while few are alive who witnessed the Holocaust, the scourge of Antisemitism residing within those claiming to be a part of the Church remains.
This is, of course, a patent absurdity. There is no such thing as Christian Antisemitism. There are those who claim to be Christian who espouse Antisemitism, and there may be those who are indeed Christians whose minds are still infected with Antisemitism, but the two mindsets are diametrically opposed to each other. In the end, the mind of Christ will prevail, and hate will be banished, or the true un-regenerated nature of those claiming to follow Christ will be revealed and their ongoing hatred will refute any pretense of being a Christ-follower.
There is, and must be, a gap between Christianity and Judaism (as long as one accepts and the other rejects Jesus as the Messiah), but that gap ought to elicit sorrow and compassion on the part of Christians, as it did for the Apostle Paul, and not prejudice or hatred. We have, as Christians, an undeniable debt toward Judaism, for our New Covenant and New Testament are built upon the Abrahamic/Mosaic Covenant and the Hebrew Scriptures.
It is incumbent upon Christians, always and everywhere, not as an option but an obligation, to reject Antisemitism in both its violent forms and its more subtle conspiracy theories and racial stereotypes, those who fail to do so are doing a disservice to the Gospel, and those who instead embrace them by their attitudes/words/actions are declaring themselves to be fighting against the Word of God, and calling into question their own salvation.
That the Church has failed to live up to the demands of Scripture by allowing Antisemitism to fester and even thrive in its midst, and that the people associated with the Church have been either bystanders to, or complicit in, the brutalization of the Jewish people and eventually their genocide, is the greatest shame and most enduring stain upon the Bride of Christ. We, collectively, over the past 2,000 years, have failed in this, we will answer to God for that failure, for Christian Antisemitism is an abomination.
Romans 9:3-5 New International Version (NIV)
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
Romans 11:1-6 New International Version (NIV)
11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Romans 11:11-24 New International Version (NIV)
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
The Early Church might have retained a strong connection to Judaism if not for two later developments: the massive success of the Apostle Paul among Gentiles (and concurrent failure among his own people, leading to the anguished thoughts of Romans 9-11, excerpted below), and the destruction of Jerusalem leading to the end of 2nd Temple Judaism and the Diaspora. As the first generation of the Church came to a close, the organization took on a distinctly Gentile character, and its Jewish origins faded into the background.
Animosity and hostility toward the Jewish minority in what was to become Christendom was not non-existent, but it was never widespread on the level that would become the later pogroms, forced conversions by the Inquisition, and then ultimately genocide at the hands of the Nazis until the Late Middle Ages. In 1096, in response to Pope Urban II's call for a Crusade to recapture the Holy Land, Peter the Hermit, who raised an army in the Rhineland, perpetuated there the first large scale massacre of Jews by Christians. To the shame of the Church, this trend has continued to this day, and while few are alive who witnessed the Holocaust, the scourge of Antisemitism residing within those claiming to be a part of the Church remains.
This is, of course, a patent absurdity. There is no such thing as Christian Antisemitism. There are those who claim to be Christian who espouse Antisemitism, and there may be those who are indeed Christians whose minds are still infected with Antisemitism, but the two mindsets are diametrically opposed to each other. In the end, the mind of Christ will prevail, and hate will be banished, or the true un-regenerated nature of those claiming to follow Christ will be revealed and their ongoing hatred will refute any pretense of being a Christ-follower.
There is, and must be, a gap between Christianity and Judaism (as long as one accepts and the other rejects Jesus as the Messiah), but that gap ought to elicit sorrow and compassion on the part of Christians, as it did for the Apostle Paul, and not prejudice or hatred. We have, as Christians, an undeniable debt toward Judaism, for our New Covenant and New Testament are built upon the Abrahamic/Mosaic Covenant and the Hebrew Scriptures.
It is incumbent upon Christians, always and everywhere, not as an option but an obligation, to reject Antisemitism in both its violent forms and its more subtle conspiracy theories and racial stereotypes, those who fail to do so are doing a disservice to the Gospel, and those who instead embrace them by their attitudes/words/actions are declaring themselves to be fighting against the Word of God, and calling into question their own salvation.
That the Church has failed to live up to the demands of Scripture by allowing Antisemitism to fester and even thrive in its midst, and that the people associated with the Church have been either bystanders to, or complicit in, the brutalization of the Jewish people and eventually their genocide, is the greatest shame and most enduring stain upon the Bride of Christ. We, collectively, over the past 2,000 years, have failed in this, we will answer to God for that failure, for Christian Antisemitism is an abomination.
Romans 9:3-5 New International Version (NIV)
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
Romans 11:1-6 New International Version (NIV)
11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? 4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Romans 11:11-24 New International Version (NIV)
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
What Every Christian Should Know About: Church History
Church History
In this 3 part series, Pastor Powell seeks to highlight some of the most important ideas, people, and movements within the universal Church during its two-thousand year history.
To view the PowerPoint used by Pastor Powell during the presentation, click on the link below:
Church History PowerPoint
In part 1, the Early Church, the Early heresies regarding the person of Jesus, the Ecumenical Councils, and St. Augustine are the focus.
In this 3 part series, Pastor Powell seeks to highlight some of the most important ideas, people, and movements within the universal Church during its two-thousand year history.
To view the PowerPoint used by Pastor Powell during the presentation, click on the link below:
Church History PowerPoint
In part 1, the Early Church, the Early heresies regarding the person of Jesus, the Ecumenical Councils, and St. Augustine are the focus.
Church History, Part 1 of 3
In part 2, Monasticism, the power struggle between popes and emperors/kings, the Great Schism, and the Crusades are discussed.
Church History, Part 2 of 3
In part 3, The Reformation, the Thirty Years War, the Modern Missions Movement, and the status of the Church in the World Today are discussed.
Church History, Part 3 of 3
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