Evangalize - Be a Witness to the Word

According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, evangelism is defined as:
Pronunciation: \i-ˈvan-jə-ˌli-zəm\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1626

1 : the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ
2 : militant or crusading zeal

Interestingly, the use of such a word in mainstream Christianity often brings thoughts of Tammy Faye Baker with her Eyelashes caked together



and the constant request for money from a televised mega-church. But evangelism is the call of all Christians; “go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19).

I was thinking about this command again the other day as I was watching the Duggars (the family with 18 children).



They are truly espousing the word of the Lord. They are not standing on a pulpit or “teaching” in any standard way that we think about it. Instead, they are just sharing their experience. In sharing, they are spreading the word. I thought this was a good example for all of us. We need not be ministers or deacons or Sunday School teachers (although it is certainly wonderful if you are), you can fulfill this commission by sharing your experience. You may never know who you reach or how or when the words that you speak will take root, but you have met the command if you speak the word.



“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 13:9 (KJV)

“Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.” Isaiah 42:18 (KJV)

Man Arrested for Stealing Communion Wafers

Last night, I saw the most disturbing news story on the news. It was reported that a man in Florida was arrested for stealing communion wafers in a church. He was actually physically held down by parishioners until the authorities came.

I guess I may have a warped view of this, as I have thought it before when I have heard about church robberies, so forgive me for spouting, but I figure that if someone has the gaul to come into a sanctuary and take something that they know is for the worship of God then perhaps they need it more than the church does. Specifically I think to several scriptures:

Matthew 12: 1-8

"1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath."
3He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (NIV)

1 Samuel 21

1 David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?"
2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, "The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, 'No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.' As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find."
4 But the priest answered David, "I don't have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women."
5 David replied, "Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men's things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!" 6 So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. (NIV)

Matthew 25: 31-46
31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (KJV)

I am sure that I could go on and on, but you get the point. I am also sure that there is more to this story than the briefing in the news, but if a man has to steal wafers, should we not hand him the whole bowl?

Book Club - The Year of Living Biblically

A.J. Jacobs is insane. Trying to live a year following the all the rules in the Bible literally, is the definition of ab absurdum. His wife Julie deserves all of our respect. She not only endured this year but did it while carrying twins. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed his experience from the safe distance of my couch.

I was intrigued by this book, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possibly, as soon as I heard about it. It seemed like an interesting way to learn more about religion and to hear another opinion about God’s word without having to endure the slog through another dry read. This book is witty, insightful, and a joy to read. There were some areas that I wish he developed more, but he does a good job covering a huge range of Biblical topics from the wearing of tassels to snake handling.

I would not recommend this book to people who believe that the Bible IS the word of God as they will call it heretical and dismiss it outright, but for those who believe that it contains the word of God, this is a worthwhile read. This book will make you consider areas of the Bible that you had not before. It may give you insight as to why the Bible calls us to do things that we don’t fully understand.

As for A.J., a self-proclaimed agnostic, it is interesting to read his own personal transformation: from purposeful prayer to inspired prayer; from A.J. to Jacob and back to A.J.?; from Jewish by genealogy to Jewish by life choice. One of my favorite scenes was his time locked in his bathroom – did the handle fall off or perhaps a greater hand in his lesson? A.J.’s voice is friendly and interesting and though most of us probably would have given him wide berth in his white un-mixed fiber costume, you will want to continue to hear from him. In fact, I plan to try to get his other book The Know It All out of the library today.

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(Oh wait - I have to read Suite Francaise for the Book Club - see how this becomes a problem?)

Children's Sermon - Parable of the Wheat

As we talked about last time, this book, the Bible, is full of stories. Some of the stories that you will find are called parables. Jesus actually tells many parables in the New Testament. Does anyone know any parables? (if you get them to respond and get a good list of them, you do not need to continue with the next line)

Some parables that you may be familiar with are the Mustard Seed, the Lost Sheep, Laborers in the Vineyard, the Talents, the Good Samaritans, the Prodigal Son, but there are also many, many more.

I looked the word up parable online; this is the definition that I found: "1. A short moral story 2. Any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message." A synonymous word is fable. See the unique thing about a parable is you are hearing one story, but if you think about what you are hearing you will realize that there is another story hidden inside it. The hidden story often carries with it a moral.

Today, I am going to read you the parable of the Wheat in Matthew 13:24-30.
“Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' “(NIV)

In this particular case, Jesus helps us along in our understanding by explaining the parable a few verses later in Matthew 13:36-43, but I think that if we really put our thinking caps on, we can figure it out for ourselves.

Have any of you gardened?

Have you planted seeds? What did you plant?

Did you have to weed after that? Was it hard sometimes to tell the difference between the weed & the plant?

Which is good, the weed or the plant?

Which is bad?

What if we imagine that this garden was full of people instead of plants? Are there good and bad people?

Ok, what if the garden wasn’t a garden but the whole world? Who do you think the gardener of the world might be? (make sure that they come to the conclusion that the Gardener is God).

You guys are very smart! So when we hear the parable of the wheat we are to understand that Jesus is talking about us. That at the end of times God will separate the good from the evil. The good will be rewarded in the Kingdom of heaven.

Some of Jesus’ parables are easy to understand and other times they take a lot of thought and consideration, but I encourage you to read more of them by yourself or with your parents. If you ever want additional help understanding them or you are not sure if you have discovered the real secret message – I’m sure that (insert your minister's name) will happily discuss your thoughts.

Before my words of prayer are said, I fold my hands and bow my head:
Dear God, Please be with us as we explore your words. Help us to uncover the meanings in your world and to lead our life in the way your word directs.
Amen

The Parable of the Vineyard Understood

Matthew 20:1-16 (King James Version)

“For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”

The parable of the vineyard is so antithetical to our American morals. We are told, “Work hard and you will earn your reward,”, “The early bird gets the worm”, “First come, first serve”. We practically invented the theory of survival of the fittest. So it seems foreign to us that Jesus could tell a story where people that work all day in the vineyard are rewarded the same as those who only worked an hour.

I had never heard this parable as a child. When I can across it in my Sunday school curriculum for the first time, I could not process the story myself, let alone teach it. I was very lucky that we were using a curriculum that told me exactly what to say. I couldn’t quite grasp unequal work, equal pay. I understood that it was the wine maker’s prerogative, but why would he do such a thing.

As I recommend to others and to my students at the time: I though on the scripture, I prayed on the scripture, I read and talked to others about the scripture.

I realized that I was looking at the parable backwards; I was focusing on what we could do to receive the reward instead of focusing on the winemaker giving the reward. The reward, eternal life with God, is given by God to all whom ask. It is wonderful that some live a good long Christian life. It is good that some come to God in the middle of their life. But, it is also good to come to God at the end of your life. Even if it takes your entire life to come to him, the reward is the same.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (King James Version)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

There is no reason to be jealous or angry at another’s reward for we are all receiving the finest reward. No longer is there a beginning or an end of the line. No first and no last, but an eternity in heaven for all that believe in the Lord.

Bible Gateway

Do you ever have those times when you think you know a scripture, but you can’t quite remember how it goes? This is the site that I go to. Search by keyword, by subject, or by Chapter and verse. On their home page is posted a verse of the day. And you can search scripture in more Bibles than I knew existed. They even have audio versions. There are reading plans, commentaries, dictionaries, and study tools. I have only touched the surface of what is available. It has been so important to me that I have put it on my favorites and probably refer to it daily. I highly recommend that you add it to your favorites too.

The Naked Archeologist

Are you tired of watching people try to debunk your Biblical Beliefs? Are you sick of people scraping away at the very foundation of your religion? Are people constantly ignoring The Word and doing everything in their power to deny the Truth that it presents? Then, you may enjoy The Naked Archeologist on the History Channel.

Simcha Jacobovici explores the Bible and its stories in a way that will interest you, challenge the naysayers, and really make you think. On a website for the show, Jacobovici says “My goal is to demystify the Bible in general, and archaeology in particular, to brush away the cobwebs and burst academic bubbles.” And this he does. Jacobovici is to Archeology documentaries as Bill Nye is to Science teachers. The style will appeal to adults and children alike. He not only discusses the issues, but talks to leading experts and travels with you to the places that these stories took place. Some of his episodes include: Who invented the Alphabet?, Jesus, the Early Years, Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. I encourage you to check it out. You can check out the History International Channel’s upcoming episodes to see when The Naked Archeologist is next airing.

Redemption of the Apple

I am again serving coffee hour tomorrow. I have decided to serve canteloup melon, strawberries, deviled eggs, and apple muffins. I made apple pies for Friday's Church Baked Bean supper so I had some extra apples to work with. I must say that the idea of serving apples at church got me laughing a little bit, so I decided that I should replace my vision of Eve and the serpent with a more positive vision of apples. So here are some apple scriptures that I found:

"Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about." Psalms 17:7-9

"Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye." Proverbs 7:2

There are also several scriptures in Songs of Solomon, but I'll leave those for you to find.



Now interestingly, here comes the learning part of my blog. As I used the concordence to find apple scriptures, I learned that yet again I have been influenced by outside forces. Genesis did not come up. There is no apple in the Adam and Eve story. I had to google this question. I found that apparently in the Latin translation, the word malum means both evil and apple. People clung to this idea and started to use apples in pictures of this scene, thus our idea of the apple. What was actually eaten? fruit taken from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There is no other mention of what kind of fruit it was. I'll bet you it was one of those spiky looking fruits in the produce section of the grocery store.

Does this remind you of the question of the blonde haired, blue eyed Jesus?

The Bible - A book of Real Stories about Real People

Genealogy is not just a great way to look into your personal history. It is a great way to make the Bible real to children. So much of what children read is fiction, I’m not sure that they fully understand the truth in the Bible. Also, children can be very disconnected from the stories of the Bible as the stories occurred so long ago. When I taught 3rd grade, I liked to put up a family tree in the corner which we continued to add to as we read the Old Testament. The tree helped the kids to see that the Bible was a historical book. It helped them to see the chronological development and put one story in perspective to the next. It also helped to make the characters in the Bible personal to them.

I also found having maps and relating stories back to them helped achieve “realism” to the stories. Maps are real and concrete to children. To realize that these characters from so long ago walked in areas that still exist today, made the people more real and in some cases more understandable. Honestly, it wasn’t until I read “The Secret Magdalene” as an adult that I realized that when Jesus went into the wilderness that it wasn’t a wilderness of trees as I would think of it, but a desert wasteland. The more that we can connect the Bible to the children’s lives, the more they will be willing to continue to delve through the book looking for ways to apply The Word in their lives.

Listening to the New Testament

My husband is not a reader like me. One, he just is not a reader by nature, but two,he doesn't have time to. However, he has made a goal of reading the Bible. So as a gift I purchased him this audio version of the New Testament. The nice thing about this version is that many famous people read the parts including Richard Dreyfus, Lou Gosset, and Stacy Keach. This diversity and fine reading makes it interesting for him to listen to during his commute to Mass. It has even intregued the kids and they enjoy listening in the truck. I like listening, reading, and talking about scripture as each time it seems I learn a little more and yet know almost nothing.

"Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready." 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

And my family and I admit that we still have a lot of preparation to do and we are willing to work on it.



Do any of you have suggestions for a good audio version of the Old Testament?