Kingdom

June 16, 2013

Luke 17

"The Kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed.."

Find the Kingdom - the coming of Jesus was the first of three phases in the unfolding of the Kingdom.  Jesus comes, the church proliferates, and Jesus comes again. Three progressive phases of unfolding of the Kingdom of God.

Who Do You Say that I am?

Luke 9:1-20

Thoughts on Sermons at Andover Baptist

Real power in this world seems to reside with those who have the means to coerce the populace.  Whoever has the guns, money, or food seems to come out on top.  But this power is only temporary.  It is merely the appearance of power because the true power lies with God.

This was illustrated in Worcester v. Georgia where missionaries refused to get licensed to be on Native American land in a bid to keep the government from forcibly moving them off of their land.  The supreme court held for the missionaries but the President and the leaders in Georgia essentially ignored the Supreme Court and mocked the fact that the court had no means to enforce their decision.  But we must see that even these injustices are temporary - and that the true power lies with God and His faithful servants.

An Infinite Debt. Forgiven!

Luke 7:36-50 (January 13, 2013)

Thoughts on Andover Baptist sermons.

A pastor asked his friend if he had heard of a particular theologian and what he thought of him.  The response was surprisingly strong: "Heard of him? I would throw myself in front of bus for him."  Why did this man have such a strong affinity for a theologian?  It turns out that this man had been very close to being denied a prestigious degree by a panel of biased judges and this particular theologian had stepped in and granted the degree. 

I think of Friday in the book Robinson Crusoe.  He'd been saved by Robinson from certain death and pledged himself as his lifelong servant in gratitude.  When we've been given much, and forgiven much, we love much.

Fear the Right Thing

Luke 8:19-58

My thoughts on sermons at Andover Baptist.

What are you afraid of?  Recently a big truck full of goat cheese exploded in a tunnel in northern Norway.  It would be absurd to go around frightened of cheese trucks.  But in fact, we often fear the wrong things in life.  It is absurd to fear the things of this world more than God.

Lord, Do Not Trouble Yourself, For I Am Not Worthy

Review Luke 7:1-36 (January 6, 2013)

My thoughts on sermons at Andover Baptist.

Where does life come from?  Even though scientists purport to know the answer, they end up chasing their tail.  At the end of all of the links in the evolutionary chain there is nothing holding it up.  There is no explanation for where matter comes from and no explanation for how non-living matter became life.  Of course you could agree with some who insist that life, "formed on the backs of crystals" but for many this is not a satisfying explanation.  Jesus came to bring true life and turn the values of the world upside down.

Loving Our Enemies and The Snowball Effect

Review Luke 6:27-38 and Ephesians 3

My thoughts on sermons at Andover Baptist.

Loving Our Enemies
Who do we love? Most of us love many people. Friends and family. But if we carefully think about who we love, we may realize that we don't love many people that don't give us some advantage.  Think about it - who do you love with no advantage to yourself? It is a tough question because it is unpleasant to admit that mixed in with our good and sincere feelings of love are usually selfish motives as well.

For instance, maybe the love we have for our parents is tinged with a selfish emphasis on what we can get from them. Or maybe our love for our children is mixed with a sinful pride in how they positively reflect on us. We would be naive not to admit that our hearts are filled with these sorts of mixed feelings.

But how does God love us?

Luke 5 & 6 Selections: Teachings of Jesus

Luke 5:33 - 6:26

My thoughts on sermons at Andover Baptist.

Regarding Jesus' parable of the wineskins, I had previously asked the question in previewing this passage, "Is this simply a statement regarding a practice not being fitting or appropriate? I have never researched this one and perhaps the question will be explored tomorrow, but that is what this passage seems to be saying."

No! There is much more going on in this parable than simply stating that it is not fitting for the disciples to fast.

Review - Luke 5

Review of Lord’s Day: November 18th 2012

Pastor Shane Walker
Luke 5

My take on Sunday's morning sermon at Andover Baptist and other thoughts.

Jesus did not come to conquer physical death but spiritual death.  The power He shows over death and disease shows His power to make men spiritually alive.

Review - Sunday November 11th

Review of Lord’s Day: November 11th 2012

Pastor Shane Walker
Luke 4

My take on Sunday's Sermons at Andover Baptist and other thoughts

Recent events in the word of cycling have resulted in many cyclists being convicted of cheating.  The most notable of these has been Lance Armstrong who has had all seven of his consecutive Tour de France titles removed.  One approach for dealing with the rampant cheating in cycling was to offer a period of amnesty so that the vast network of cheaters and their methods could finally become unravelled.  The problem with this approach is that one of the sport's main governing bodies would only offer amnesty if the amnesty covered the ruling body as well.  The implication is that the network of deception extended all the way to the governing body itself!

Review - Sunday November 4th: Relationships

Review of Lord’s Day: November 4th 2012

Pastor Shane Walker
Luke 3

My take on Sunday's Sermons at Andover Baptist and other thoughts

What is responsible for the moral consciousness of modern society? It is Jesus Christ and the Christian religion.  Even godless philosophers recognize this. The genealogy of morals begins with Jesus.

Review - Sunday October 28th: Grow and Take Heed

Review of Lord’s Day: October 28th 2012

Pastor Shane Walker and Pastor Neil Jackson

Luke 2:39-52, Revelation 6

My take on Sunday's Sermons at Andover Baptist and other thoughts

LUKE 2
What happens to a stalk of corn grown indoors when you plant it outside in the elements? It doesn't have the strong fibers which enable corn to withstand the wind and the rain so it falls over and dies.  Jesus was faced with difficult life circumstances which enabled Him to grown strong and increase in wisdom.  And we need to seek to grow strength of character and increase in spiritual wisdom as well.  

Review - Sunday October 21st: Joy to the World!

Review of Lord’s Day: October 21st 2012

Pastor Shane Walker

Luke 2:1-38

My take on Sunday's Sermon at Andover Baptist and other thoughts

There are many ways to wait for something.  We find ourselves waiting in boredom or anticipation depending on what we're waiting for.  There are two ways to wait; in idleness or in anticipation.

Review - Sunday October 14th 2012

Review of Lord’s Day: October 14th 2012

Pastor Shane Walker & Pastor Neil Jackson

2 Corinthians 4 and Revelation 5

My take on Sunday's Sermons and other thoughts

Dr. John Byl took the Sunday School and dealt with problems which arise from "Old Earth" and theistic evolution.  I was unable to attend but heard it was a very helpful session.  Read some of Byl's excellent points here.

Review - Sunday Morning October 7th 2012

Review of Lord’s Day Morning: October 7th 2012

Pastor Shane Walker

Luke 1:46-80

My take on Sunday's Sermon and other thoughts

The sermon begins with an introduction to the theme of "Enemies" using the example of baseball fans who cheer for their home team and also whatever team is playing against the New York Yankees.  Perfect! I feel a sudden urge to yell, "Let's GO O's!" but refrain and quickly return my attention to our text.

Review - Sunday Evening September 30th 2012

Review of Lord’s Day Evening: September 30th 2012

Pastor Neil Jackson

Revelation 3:19-22

My take on the sermon

Someone yelling out "wrong way!" when you are driving down a one-way street is a very helpful and loving thing to do.  What kind of person would say, "who are they to tell me this is the wrong way?"  Most would simply be thankful and turn around.  This is much like the passage under consideration as the harsh rebuke to the church in Laodicea is a warning to turn from a dangerous path.

Review - Sunday Morning September 30th 2012

Review of Lord's Day Morning: September 30th 2012
Pastor Shane Walker
Luke 1:1-45

My take on the sermon

Friends on Facebook are of a much different sort than other types of friends. You can rack up friends on Facebook and it merely means you are interested in seeing posts by that person some of the time.  It doesn't necessarily denote a deep and abiding affinity.  In ancient times it was likely a much more serious (in a good way) thing to call someone your friend.  Luke was likely a good friend of Paul and we know they were traveling companions.  Luke was likely a physician and we know that he was well taught by the skill exhibited in his Greek.  He writes in classical historic terms using the word translated "inasmuch" which is nowhere else found in the New Testament but is found in other Greek historians of the time.  This is just one example of his use of the Greek language, the entire "Preamble" to the book is very well done.  Also, when Luke refers to Old Testament passages and ideas he uses the same words that are used in the Septuagint.  The one addressed in this book as Theophilus may well have been a person or could also refer to all Christians.  The name means "friend of God" and forms one of the themes of the sermon: Friends of God.

Review - Sunday Evening September 23rd

Review of Lord’s Day Evening: September 23^rd 2012

Pastor Neil Jackson

Revelation 3:14-18

My take on the sermon

The Church in Laodicea has grown fat and kicked like Jeshurun in Deuteronomy 32:15 – KJV “But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.” Fatties; not physically but spiritually.  They have become self-reliant because of their wealth and strength.

Review - Sunday Morning September 23rd

Review of Lord’s Day Morning: September 23^rd 2012

Pastor Shane Walker

Deuteronomy 32:48 – 34

 

My take on the sermon

One of the key themes in Deuteronomy involves Moses teaching Israel to know God as He really is.  This is an important objective in all epochs, but in Deuteronomy Moses teaches especially against the worship of the false gods of the surrounding nations and against the propensity to “forget God.” In Chapter 33 the concept of Jeshurun, the beloved upright One (Israel), is explored and linked with the Beloved referenced in the New Testament.