Last night at house group I commented that I don’t think it’s coincidence that right around the month we are finishing paying off our considerable debt is the one I suddenly get a very well paying job. I think if I had received the kind of salary I’m going to be on a few years ago we’d be very tempted to “live to our means”. However, having gone through the process of know what we really need to live it’s been so revealing and will set us up for being able to save and spread our expendable income around to the right places and not just blow it on pointless purchases.

I’m going to be relying on you all though to keep us on track though so if you spot me waving my wallet around feel free to remind me of this post!

William Temple

[9] In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
[10] Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; [11] and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
[12] Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. [13] And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.

The only thing I’ve not noticed before is the “He saw the heavens opening”. I always thought the “he” was John.

Also, verse 12 where it talks about “immediately” seems to differ quite a lot from the account in the gospel of John.
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This is a series of posts on The Gospel of Mark. I’m taking notes for myself really but if you have input then please leave a comment so myself and others can benefit. In no way do I think I’m some great theologian so please feel free to point out the flaws in my logic. The rest of this series can be found here.

technorati tags:TGoMS, christian, study, mark, chapter1

This morning I read verses 1-8 of chapter 1 [ebible.com NAS]

[1] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
[2] As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU,
WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;
[3] THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,
‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD,
MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’”
[4] John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [5] And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. [6] John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey. [7]And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. [8] “I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

One of the things that stuck out at me straight away was the quote in verse 2 about the messenger preparing the way. I think often we see messengers purely as “delivery boys” in a dump-and-run style. In this situation though the messenger is active and it’s what we should be. We are not just to point the way to God and His salvation but also to ready the person for what they will hear.

The other things I got from this passage were more questions than anything! In verse 4 it talks about John’s baptism being “.. of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. I wondered in the context of the Old Testament whether this is a new offering in the similar vein to sacrifce of animals and if it satisfied God at all.

Lastly, in verse 8. Is this the first mention of the Holy Spirit as a seperate entity? I want to find out more about the origins of the Trinity as I know the Jews have different view on it to Christians.

More questions than thoughts and I’ll post updates if I get any great revelation tomorrow!

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This is a series of posts on The Gospel of Mark. I’m taking notes for myself really but if you have input then please leave a comment so myself and others can benefit. In no way do I think I’m some great theologian so please feel free to point out the flaws in my logic. The rest of this series can be found here.

technorati tags:TGoMS, christian, study, mark, chapter1

“perhaps instead of just trying to get people to have a worship
experience, or to sing louder, pray longer, or whatever it may be,
perhaps we need to be getting people to fall in love with Jesus, to
have Him as the source of their joy and hope. Worship to a large degree
should be natural.”

It got me thinking and these are my thoughts.

I love things that challenge my role in church, if it never happens you become complacent and being to take for granted that you should just continue with life it is. What can come out of such situations is change, not for changes sake or because we’re such a been-there-done-that-now-I-am-bored society but real, worthwhile, God-led change.

I’ve always battled between the role of the worship leader being one of an usher and that of a trumpeter. The usher shows the way in to the presence of the King then backs away silently to the background. The trumpeter declares the Kings glory with all his might, exalting everyone to rise up or bow down. Or is the reality you have to play both roles with there being a time and season for each?

I guess the real dilemma as expressed by Daniel is whether either role should be required at all? Surely our love for God just bubbles up and overflows and is magnified by our joining together as a group and focusing on Him (a.k.a. church). However, the deeply flawed beings that we are, what actually needs to happen is for us to be exalted to exalt. No leader is capable of forcing someone to worship God however inspirational they are. Sure, they can make someone go through the motions, create a nice sound, have a ‘nice’ time, but God isn’t worshipped. Are we focusing incorrectly on creating the right worship ‘experience’? I don’t believe we are but we must assure that we are correctly focused on revealing God, His glory, His will. Revelation and response.

“This is a time for seeing and singing. This is a time for breathing You in and breathing out Your praise. Our hearts responsed to Your revelation, all You have spoken, all You been, commands a life of praise” - Matt Redman

technorati tags:worship, church, life