New Book: Green Pastures CH1

 

We are starting a new book for T4D called, "Green Pastures." Many churches seek to focus on different means like entertainment, skits, of the latest music to bring people in and to keep people there. However, church is meant to be committed to the very means God has given for his church. In this is a book, we will gain a better understanding to the provisions that God gives us as a church to help us grow and strengthen our Faith. Those means are, the Word, Lord's Supper, Baptism, and Prayer. These we call the ordinary means of grace. They are not ordinary because they are boring, but ordinary in that these are the normal ordained means.  This book will helps us under stand what scripture say about these means as well as what we confess in our confession of faith. We will be meeting this Thursday at 7pm and discussing the introduction and chapter 1. Please have this section read and ready to discuss.  

Here is a video clip to wetting your apatite for what is to come

None Greater Ch 12: Jealousy and Glory

 

As we read scripture we see that God is jealous for his own glory. Exodus 34:14 states, "For the Lord whose name is jealous, is a jealous God." How are we to understand this? In our sinful humanity we can see jealous as a negative trait, but for God that is not so. There is such a thing as godly jealously. God being God deserves all our worship. He is our creator and that is our obligation. But we have hearts of idol factories and tend to worship other things. God is jealous for our worship, and that is right. We should have no other gods but the the true God, and God wants the worship of the hearts of his people. Spurgeon rightly said, "     God's glory is the result of his nature and acts. He is glorious in his character, for there is such a store of everything that is holy, and good, and lovely in God, that he must be glorious. The actions which flow from his character, the deeds which are the outgoings of his inner nature, these are glorious too; and the Lord is very careful that all flesh should see that he is a good, and gracious, and just God; and he is mindful, too, that his great and mighty acts should not give glory to others, but only to himself."
Tonight we will consider this thought for our discussion. Have chapter 12 read and we will finish our book and begin the next one. 

Ch 11: Can God Be Both Holy and Loving?

How can God be just and uphold his righteousness while also being loving? We know that sinners deserve to be punished and that  God would be unjust if he just forgave. Today for T4D we will be discussing this. We are meeting at PBC at 7pm and have chapter 11 ready to discuss. 

Here is a helpful article by Rc Sproul that will help with our discussion:

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/holy-love-god/

None Greater: Ch 10 The All Knowing All Powerful God

 In Chapter 10 we are dealing with the three O's of the attributes of God: Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnisapience. This is to say God is All Powerful , he is All knowing, and All Wise. Understanding this helps us understand the grandness of God in comparison to us. Yet it is this God that we can have fellowship with. For tonight, read chapter 10 and come to meet at the church building at 7pm and we will begin our study. Feel free to bring snacks to share. If you can not make it we will plan on having Zoom available. 

Here is a link for a sermon more on this topic for our discussion:

None Greater: Ch 9 Omnipresence

This Thursday we will be meeting at the church building for T4D and will be going over chapter 9 dealing with God's Omnipresence. This will deal with the question is God limited by space or not. We will plan on meeting at the church building at 7pm, but zoom will be available for those who cant make it. Feel free to bring a snack to share. 

None Greater: Ch 8 God's Timeless Eternity

 

Sorry for not posting the last few weeks here as we dived into the doctrine of Impassibility. This week we are looking at ch. 8 in our book, dealing with God's timeless eternity. I will be at the church building tonight for anyone who wants to join, otherwise I will be zooming it as well. Be looking for a email with the details. 

None Greater: ch 6 Immutability

 

So often we try to picture a God who is like us. As we go through life, our lives are filled with changes that we go through. But no so with God. God does not change. This understanding is a truth that has been confessed and affirmed throughout church history. Understanding this helps us to have a higher and more accurate view of God as well as providing great comfort. As Malchi 3:6 says, “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." See you all on Zoom tonight at 7pm. 

None Greater Ch 5: Simplicity

In our chapter this week, we consider the doctrine of Simplicity. As we studied Asiety last week, it naturally flows into the doctrine of simplicity. Since God is not dependent on anyone or anything, he is self-existent and simple. By saying God is simple is not to say he is easy going or not intelligent, but that he is not comprised of components but is one, he is simple. This deals with the question, does god have a parts? Read chapter 5 for our book study this week for our discussion for tonight's meeting on Zoom. 

Here is a helpful podcast dealing with Simplicity:
https://youtu.be/uTn4yI2XqYA

Bonus: Listen to this podcast with RC Sproul, on the importance of studying doctrine of God
https://openbookpodcast.com/r-c-sproul-and-dolezals-all-that-is-in-god/

None Greater Ch 4: The Aseity of God

Aseity is a word that describes that God is self-existent and not dependent on his creation. This doctrine is hard for us as creatures to fathom. When we contemplate that God is eternally self-existent not dependent on anyone or anything. However we as creatures are completely dependent on God. God did not create because he was lonely and needed creatures to be fulfilled. God does not depend on anything and he doesn't need us. This attribute we are pondering today for our study is a incommunicable attribute of God, meaning we are creatures do not share this attribute with God. As Barrett says, "this attribute is assumed and taught everywhere in Scripture and proves to be the key that unlocks God’s attributes." We are studying this attribute tonight for our theology for dinner.  Have chapter 4 read and lets be ready to discuss it tonight at 7.

None Greater Ch 1: Incomprehensibility

Are we able to fully know and understand God? Are we able to know the in and outs of God exhaustively? How can we as finite creatures grasps the infinite? Is God even knowable? Moses faced this when he met God. What would that have been like if you were in his sandals? What would it have been like to plead to God for his people's sake. This Wednesday evening we will be discussing chapter 1 of our new book study, None Greater, and discuss these questions. We will be joining together on Zoom at 7 pm. Please read chapter 1 and Also read Exodus 32 and 33 for tomorrow as it will aid for our discussion. I will be sending a email with the zoom details soon.

Putting it to Pratice

We are having our zoom call tonight at 7pm for T4D. We have no new assignment, but we will be putting into practice things we have learned. SO the homework was for each person to pick 2 hermeneutical principles taken from chapters 4-6 and then pick a text or two to show those principles.An email has been sent with the zoom details. 

Ch 6: Practical Tools for Bible Study

Every worker needs good tools to do good job. When we come to scripture it is helpful to have tools to help assist us in our studies, to better have a grasps on the text we are approaching. In this chapter we will be discussing several tools that we can have to help us. Have chapter 6 read and we will review it for today at 7pm. Be on the look out for the zoom details. We will also be discussing the new book we will be studying.

Ch 5: Culture & The Bible

How does the bible relate to the culture we find ourselves in? In chapter 5 of Knowing Scripture we will be learning how. For theology 4 dinner tonight we will be going over chapter 5 and looking at a few examples of what we learned in Chapter 4. We will not get through all of chapter 5, but have it read for tonight. I emailed the details for tonight's call. 

Ch 4 continued

Hello Men. We will be continuing our Zoom call tonight and continuing chapter 4 at 7pm. Have it read and be looking for a email with the zoom details.

Ch4: Practical Rules for Interpretation

People want to hear from God. Many even believe the scriptures are from God, and seek to read it to find out what he is saying to them. This in a way is good, but in these days there are all sorts of weird methods of interpretation. I heard a story once that went like this: 

Two old friends met one day after many years. One attended college, and now was very successful. The other had not attended college and never had much ambition.

The successful one said, “How has everything been going with you?”

“Well, one day I opened the Bible at random, and dropped my finger on a word and it was oil. So, I invested in oil, and boy, did the oil wells gush. Then another day I dropped my finger on another word and it was gold. So, I invested in gold and those mines really produced. Now, I’m as rich as Rockefeller.”

The successful friend was so impressed that he rushed to his hotel, grabbed a Gideon Bible, flipped it open, and dropped his finger on a page.

He opened his eyes and his finger rested on the words, “Chapter Eleven.”

I thought that was comical, but it is not far from what people actually do.Some want to find God's will for their lives so they will open the bible to a random page, put down their figure at a verse and take it as a word from the Lord for their given predicament. While God does speak to us through his written word, proper interpretation is not done by randomly placing your finger down at a verse. We dont do that with any other book, so why do it with the bible? The bible should have the same meaning for you as it does for me, but it can have different applications for you and for me. In our chapter today we will discuss practical rules for biblical interpretation. We need to understand the different literary genres and features we see in the scripture so we can better interpret the meaning from the text. 
For this week have chapter 4 read of "Knowing Scripture" for our zoom call on Wed the 6th. We will likely only do half of the chapter this week. I will send the Zoom details soon. 

Hermeneutics part 2

Since we didnt finish our chapter last week, this week we will finish up chapter 3 on Hermeneutics. Have chapter 3 of "Knowing Scripture," read for our discussion. We will be meeting again wednesday 4/29, on Zoom at 7pm PST. Be looking for an email from me with the call details.

Ch 3: Hermeneutics

How can we properly interpret the bible and understand its meaning? Is it what ever we feel it means or is there a inherent and object meaning when we come to a given text?  The bible is true and is inspired by God as the ultimate author, so the bible can not mean what ever we want it to mean, but it has objective meaning and we as bible readers ought to understand it. In this chapter we will understand how we can better read our bibles. We will consider Hermeneutics, which is the science of biblical interpretation. It deals with principals so we can understand the message of scripture. There has been different approaches to this over time, we will consider these and understand the correct way we should approach scripture. Have chapter 3 of "Knowing Scripture," read for our discussion. We will be meeting again wednesday 4/22, on Zoom at 7pm PST. Be looking for an email from me with the call details.

T4B now T4D meeting 4/15: Ch 2 Private Interpenetration

Have you ever heard someone say "That's Your Interpretation?" As if there are many different interpretations that can all be right? How does this stand as we consider the doctrine of the clarity of scripture? Is there one correct meaning or can there be multiple meanings? What are some principals that can help us understand the bible better and make sure we land in the correct interpretation? In chapter 2, of Knowing Scripture, we will be considering these. Please read this chapter ahead of time. Again we will not be meeting in person at the restaurant, but will be meeting on Zoom again. Be on a look out for the Zoom link from me. We will start at 7pm as we do Theology 4 Dinner. If you dont get a link, and would like to be on, email me

T4B Resuming Wednesday

Theology 4 Breakfast will be resuming this Wednesday, however due to the Covid-19 outbreak we will be meeting virtually via Zoom. After a poll for time, we will be meeting at 7pm, so technically it will be Theology 4 Dinner, until we can physically meet again. We will be starting a new book called, "The Holiness of God," by RC Sproul. Have the preface and chapter 1 read before hand for the call and ready to discuss it. In order to participate you must receive a email invite  with the room and password so we can avoid hackers trying to crash the party. Go to zoom.us and sign up for free and download the zoom client. Test it out before hand and seek to be on the call at least 5 min before hand. Below is a vid pastor Jeff made on how to sign up. 

Ch 10-11: Concluding Sproul's Holiness of God

This week at Theology for Breakfast we will be finishing the last two chapters in the extended version of the Holiness of God. I emailed out these chapters to those who may not have the extended version. Please come tomorrow as we discuss them. Also make sure to get our next book to study, "Knowing Scripture" by Sproul.

Ch 9: God in the hands of Angry Sinners

As we conclude our book, RC recalls the famous sermon by Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." In it, Edwards gives a vivid illustrations of the reality that it is only by God's grace that keeps sinners out of hell. This is an attempt to get people to awaken from their sleep and realize the great severity in God wrath that awaits them if they remain in their sin. A proper understanding of God's holiness will demand that God must punish sin, or he would not be just. If we are to properly understand God's holiness we need to realize his demands are perfection. If we trust in our selves then hell awaits, we need to trust in the only remedy, Jesus Christ, they perfect one who died for our sins. However, people today would rather go on rejecting God and then judge him, all while in reality God is holding them up being patient, which is meant to lead them to repentance. If we reject a God of wrath who judges sinners, then the God we worship is not a Holy God. RC states, '"if we say "My God is a God of love not wrath." But a God of love who has no wrath is no God. He is an idol of our own making as much as if we carved Him out of stone." We need to accept God on his terms and who he is. He adds, "We may dislike giving our attention to God’s wrath and justice, but until we incline ourselves to these aspects of God’s nature, we will never appreciate what has been wrought for us by grace." The only remedy is reconciliation through faith in Christ which is by grace alone. RC discuses the reality in this chapter. Have it read for tomorrow as we conclude the book study.

Ch 8: Be Ye Holy

The command from God to all mankind, who are made in the image of God, is to "Be Holy for I am Holy." This is something that is not a option, but our obligation to our creator by virtue of being creatures. The problem is we can not do this perfectly and Sin.  Yet the bible can still call us as "saints" for us who are in Christ. Since we are now in Christ, we who are saints are to "present ourselves as holy and pleasing, which is our spiritual act of worship." We will still struggle with sin in this life, but now, by having a renewed mind and by the work of the Holy Spirit in  us, we now can seek to grow in godliness and sanctification in this life and bear fruit for God. God promises that we who have been justified will be sanctified and will also be glorified. RC Sproul will discuss this truth and the motivation for the believer to grow in godliness. Read ch. 8 for tomorrow.

No Theology for Breakfast this week (1/22)

This week, 1/22, we will not have Theology for Breakfast. Jeff is out of town and not arriving back until Wednesday evening. We will get back into it on February 12th. Until then, have chapter 8 read, called "Be Ye Holy."

Ch. 7: War and Peace with a Holy God

We are continuing our book study of the Holiness of God. We will be in chapter 7 this week as we consider War and Peace with God. By nature we are sinners who are at war with God. Sproul writes, "The struggle we have with a holy God is rooted in the conflict between God’s righteousness and our unrighteousness. He is just and we are unjust. This tension creates fear, hostility, and anger within us toward God. The unjust person does not desire the company of a just judge. We become fugitives fleeing from the presence of One whose glory can blind us and whose justice can condemn us. We are at war with Him unless or until we are justified. Only the justified person can be comfortable in the presence of a holy God." Despite being rebels with the God of the universe, God, in his love, sends his Son Jesus, to bring peace to those who were once his enemies. We will ponder this truth this Wednesday at 6:30am at Fairmount Restaurant. See you then!