Pictures - Winter/Spring 08

All Saints Carnival

At our last community group, we didn't get a chance to talk about our intended topic, Evil: Where is it today? We've all had an eventful few weeks, so we talked, prayed, and then decided to shelve our topic until next time. We then went over to All Saints Catholic Church for their annual carnival. They have all of the usual carnival fare: rides, junk food, games, etc. But they also have a few extras: an international food tent with about 20 vendors, a couple beer trailers with 5 diferent beers on tap, a huge dining tent filled with tables and chairs and a DJ spinning tunes. Personally, I'd prefer a live blues band, but I'll take what I can get.


I love that I can go to a church sponsored festival and not get hit up to join the church. It feels like the church is throwing the party for the benefit of the community. I like that.

At our next gathering, Feb. 29 at 7 pm, we'll actually try to get to the topic: Evil - Where is it today?

Masturbation and Porn

Our discussion on porn didn't last very long. Everyone pretty much agreed that "God doesn't like porn/doesn't approve of porn" and that "porn is definitely a problem in today's culture". We essentially agreed that "porn is bad" and consequently dropped it from the conversation. We did discuss the fact that porn is still not addressed as it should be by the church - the elephant in the pew.

Masturbation, on the other hand, was a different matter. There was much discussion of the various aspects of masturbation which have real implications in both our thought life and our physical actions.

Here are some of the issues we discussed:

• When do children become "aware" of themselves sexually? And when does that "awareness" become sinful?


• What does one think about when they masturbate? What thoughts would garner God's approval?


• Is this issue different for women and men?


• Is this issue different for singles and married couples?


• Can a married person just "think of their spouse" while masturbating?


• What if a married person "approves" of their spouse masturbating?


• Can a single person just "imagine their future spouse" while masturbating?


• Is it an issue of self-control or physiological release?


• What if a person thinks of an abstract concept rather than a specific person while masturbating?

During the course of our discussion, we looked at three verses which spoke to the importance that God places on our thought life, as well as the extreme nature of sexual sin in God's eyes: Deuteronomy 5:21 (CEV), Matthew 5:27-30 (NLT) , I Corinthians 6:17-19 (ESV).

We looked at two quotes which were interesting, possibly even absurd.

"Fathers should urge theirs sons, if they masturbate, to imagine their future wife, and never some girl they may know." - James Dobson

"Single males should pray before masturbating, thanking God for the gift of their sexuality and keeping Him in mind while achieving self-release." - Herbert Miles

If you listened to the church, you might be led to believe that women don't masturbate at all, but studies show that 60% of women have masturbated and 30% of the internet porn users are women.

Our next get-together will be on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 5:30 pm. We are going to talk for awhile about Evil: Where is it today?

At around 7 pm, we are going to go down the street and eat at the All-Saints Carnival, a catholic carnival which hosts local food vendors.

What is church?

Having covered the fundamental question, What do you believe about the Bible, we decided to follow up that discussion with another equally important question, What is church? What does it look like? What is its purpose?

We began by having everyone share some of their life experiences concerning church. It was quite interesting to hear about the wide variety of church experiences that we've had collectively, and to see how that has brought us to where we are today. We then went through a list of distinctives that are found in scripture concerning the nature and function of the church. While we went through that list, we discussed whether we had seen these distinctives carried out, rightly or in error, or not at all.

Here are some of those distinctives that we discussed:

• The early church included small house churches as well as large assemblies.


• Jesus is the founder and head of the church.


• Worship together in Spirit (anywhere) and in Truth (genuine).


• Teaching of the Word, with primacy given to the Gospel.


• Praying together (especially over the sick.)


• Singing together. (Not just in a "church service", but anywhere.)


• Giving of resources voluntarily, cheerfully, proportionally, and liberally even in poverty.


• Care for widows and orphans (those without family), and the poor.


• Has appointed elders who are qualified.


• Helps those in the church who had financial troubles.


• Disciplines those in the church who are openly sinning (with witnesses).


• Carries out ordinances of baptism and communion.


• Use of spiritual gifts:exhortation, giving, teaching, mercy, faith, evangelism, kindness, service, prophecy, healing, tongues, interpretation, discernment, pastor/shepherding, administration/leadership, wisdom.

We discussed how some of these elements seem to be purposefully left out by the emerging church movement (to their error), and we discussed how some of these elements have fallen by the wayside by the traditional churches. Surprisingly, our group is pretty orthodox in that we all believed that each of these distinctives were equally important in the nature and function of the church.

We spent a lot of time talking about money and caring for those in need. We agreed that "giving to a building fund" is uninspiring, even if necessary to carry out ministry. We also agreed that if churches were to give more emphasis to the humanitarian uses of monies, people might not have such a sour taste in their mouth when it comes to giving resources.

Our next gathering will take place on Friday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 pm. The question/topic will be: Masturbation and Porn. (Yea, chew on that.)

What do you believe about the Bible, and why?

In our discussion group on Jan. 4th , we tackled the question, “What do you believe about the Bible, and why?”

I asked the group to give, not the textbook answer, but their own personal answers, including any struggles they might have with scripture, citing any source they'd like.

During the course of our discussion, we discovered that this is a supremely important question which affects many other questions we might have concerning spirituality and scripture.

Interestingly enough, none of us really struggled with the transmission or translation of the scriptures from ancient times to modern times. Rather, our struggle was with the actual inspiration of the original texts themselves – more specifically, Paul’s epistles. There was some confusion between the inspiration of the writings themselves and our present-day interpretation of those writings, some of which was left unresolved for a later date.

Some of us concluded that we were big fans of Jesus and His anti-establishment shirking of the legalism of the Pharisees, while at the same time, not being too keen on the way Paul seems to institute still more “rules” on Christian living. There was also some unresolved confusion about the historical context of some scriptures and how that affects our interpretation and implication of those scriptures.

Though somewhat unresolved, we decided to let the question rest for now.

Here was an interesting link I found relating to our discussion about Biblical interpretation: http://www.gotquestions.org/interpretations-Christian.html


Our next group meeting will be on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7 pm. Our question/topic is: What is the church? What does it look like? What is its purpose?

The Book of the Law - Halftime Report

In the past six months we've covered more than half of the Book of the Law. Leviticus has been grueling indeed. If we met every single week, this process would be much easier. As it stands, though, we have decided to take a break from the Book of the Law. Meeting every other week, including a couple of schedule interruptions, has brought our progress to a grinding halt. We will most likely not meet again for our study until the first week of January - what with the holidays and all that. Even then, we need a break from the Book of the Law. When we reconvene in January, we will shake things up a bit with some topical discussion. Well, we're going to give it a try at least.

For each meeting we will bring a pre-prepared question/topic to the table for discussion and investigation. Pre-prepared means that each of us will have done whatever research is pertinent concerning the topic at hand. I offered two resources as a guide for our group in brainstorming some good questions:

1. gotquestions.org - Got Questions is a great site and resource for any spiritual/Biblical/religious/church question you may have.


2. askanything.org - The site set up by Mars Hill Church in Seattle so that anyone could ask Mark Driscoll any question and he would answer it through his preaching in 2008.

So, come January 2008, we'll see how it goes. As always, the invitation is open for anyone to join us. And if anyone would like to give us a topic for discussion, feel free. We will most likely continue to meet every other week on Sunday nights, though we may change it to Friday nights so we can light a bonfire.

Leviticus 10-15

We had the great luxury of having my Jewish neighbors join us for our study of Leviticus 10-15. They brought their authentic Pentateuch complete with Rabbinical interpretations. They also brought a loaf of challah (traditional Sabbath bread). Pretty cool. I tried to refrain from drilling them with questions, but it really was a great element to add to our study of the Book of the Law. Plus, it is just really great having our neighbors over for dinner. They were interested in the practice of us praying for each other, especially when we prayed for their dog which had just run away. At the end of our study, their dog had been found by a neighbor - they were quite surprised by the power of prayer.

Leviticus 10 tells the story of Aaron's sons (paraphrased by me): they improperly lit the incense in the Tabernacle and God burned them alive for their indiscretion. Moses then tells Aaron, "I told you so." And Aaron takes it like a man. Later, Moses accuses Aaron's two remaining sons of improperly handling sacrificial meat (cue ominous music), to which Aaron responds, "We were bummed out about my sons getting fried right in front of us and we didn't feel like eating a bunch of steaks." Personally, I'd have punched Moses in the face. He had it coming.

We then briefly discussed:

• clean and unclean animals for consumption


• bodily discharges - who knew semen was "dirty"?


• Childbirth - women were given a "stigma" because of Eve's inaugural sin in the garden. Paul tells us that Jesus lifted this stigma with his sacrifice.


• Mold and mildew in the home - this is highly appropriate for those of us living in South Florida.
  
• Contagious skin diseases. We noticed that infected people were consistently given the opportunity to be healed and subsequently declared clean. Notice that by the time of Jesus, people who were sick and marginalized were quickly shoved off to the brink of society with little chance for redemption.

In our next Dinner and Discussion, November 18, we'll pick up in Leviticus 16 - The Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 3 through Leviticus 9

We read about the Peace Offering, the Sin Offering, and the Guilt Offering. We also read about the ordination of the priests. We learned that God is not a big fan of people eating blood and fat. We discussed the portions of scripture where something is mentioned as being "permanent." Specifically, we related this question to the words of Jesus in Luke 16:16-17.

We noticed the use of the word unintentional in relation to people committing sins. This brought about the question, "How often do we treat people as intentional sinners, when that really isn't the case?" We also read in Leviticus 4, that ignorance of sin does not excuse guilt. We discussed atonement and forgiveness, both essential elements of the Gospel.

We found out that poverty did not opt one out of the sacrificial system. God made it possible for the poor to also participate.

In Leviticus 6, most of the sins that required a Guilt Offering were basically instances of people lying and stealing. That definitely translates to our contemporary culture. Lying and stealing are still two favorite past times for humanity.

We learned that God always kept the sacrificial fire burning because He is always ready to forgive.

This Sunday, Nov. 4, at 6 pm, we will read about Aaron's two sons -priests who blow it and get fried.

Photos of our Gatherings

Our group of friends try to get together as often as possible. A few of us have been known to throw parties at our homes. Sometimes we go out to the bar, or we go bowling, play billiards or throw darts. And sometimes we just gather and hang out around a bonfire. For the past couple years, we've managed to have these gatherings at least once or twice a month.

We've grown to love each other, depend on each other, and we've met some great new people too. Depending on the circumstances, our numbers have ranged anywhere from 8 to 45 people. There is now a link on the right-hand side of this site which is labeled "Photos of our Gatherings". This link will continue to catalog some of the pictorial highlights from our gatherings.

Pub Theology

Rather than host our usual Dinner and Discussion at our home this week, we decided to take it on the road and inaugurate Pub Theology. We went to Ye Olde Falcon Pub in Davie. They let us use their now defunct cigar room, so it was actually quite conducive to our purposes. Ye Olde Falcon Pub has one of the best beer selections in town (33 taps and over 130 bottles) and they also have some killer authentic dishes like Shepard's pie, bangers and mash, and the Scottish meat pie. In the mood for some Pumpkin Ale? They had two different selections available. That is my kind of pub, though I went for the Anchor Steam, because I've already got some Shipyard Pumpkin Ale at home.



Exodus 40 - Leviticus 2

At the end of the book of Exodus, Moses inspects the completed work of the building of the tabernacle according to God's plans. Upon completion, God moves into the Tabernacle in the form of a cloud.

Leviticus begins with about 9 chapters dealing with the 5 different types of offerings as well as the sins which necessitate those offerings. We covered the burnt offering and the grain offering. Apparently, God does not like honey and yeast, but He does like olive oil and salt, go figure. Also, the business of the burnt offering is pretty nasty to our 21st century "cultured" tastes, unless we've been watching Bear Grylls kill animals with his bare hands. After reading only the first two chapters of Leviticus, I have only this to say: "Thank you Jesus for making yourself a once-for-all sacrifice in payment for our sins."

Our next Dinner and Discussion will be on October 14 at 6 pm. We will attempt cover Leviticus 3 through 9. The next bit of entertaining narrative reading begins in Chapter 10 when Aaron's sons get fried.

Interesting Trivia: The Broward Atheists meet at Ye Olde Falcon Pub every week.

Exodus 33 - 39

Synopsis of Sept. 16 Dinner & Discussion
Exodus 33-39

After the shameful golden calf incident, Moses intercedes for Israel. So rather than killing them all, God had a few thousand killed by the sword and a bunch more by a plague. Moses asks to see God's glory and things get a little trippy. Technically, Moses gets to see God in a roundabout way. Moses heads back up the mountain for another forty days while God writes the covenant down again, since Moses smashed the original tablets.

A notable verse from this section comes from chapter 34:6 - God passed in front of Moses and said, "I am the Lord, I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so, I do not leave sin unpunished..."


Chapters 35 through 39 recount the actual building of the tabernacle. The people are given a list of everything that is needed for the tabernacle and they proceed to bring those things joyfully. 35:21-22 "All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord.... Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing." Eventually they are told to stop bringing gifts because there is more than enough for the project. One question that came up: When was the last time you heard a church or pastor say, "Stop giving because we've got more than enough"?

Next time, we're going to pick up in Chapter 40. We're almost through with Exodus and then its on to Leviticus. Leviticus is where most people come to a grinding halt. Or they stop because of the amount of blood involved. Our next Dinner and Discussion will be on Sept. 30 at 6 pm.

Exodus 30 - 32

At our last Dinner & Discussion, we covered Exodus 30 -32. Specifically, we talked about the remaining building plans for the tabernacle - including the incense, anointing oil, washbasin, and the atonement ransom for each man. We read about the craftsmen who were to build everything, as well as some additional rules about the Sabbath - indicating it as a permanent sign even though Paul later nixed it.

We read the humorous story of the Golden Calf. This story could make a script for the television shows "Three's Company" and "Gilligan's Island". Everyone was trying to throw everyone else under the bus, including God himself. One of our group noticed the invention of Goldschlager in 32:20, nice one. We also discussed the unique relationship that Moses had with God. Listening in on their conversations is quite an eye-opener. We barely made it into the beginning of chapter 33, so we'll probably resume our study with the beginning of that chapter on Sept. 16 at 6 pm.

Exodus 23:20 - 30

During our last Dinner & Discussion, we only actually covered Exodus 23:20 through Exodus 27:21. But in the interest of time and our sanity, we agreed to move through chapters 28, 29, and 30 between meetings, bringing anything of relevance to the table at our next gathering. So at our next Dinner & Discussion, we will pick up in Exodus 31.

Topics discussed last week:

Discussed the "mysterious" angel that bears God's name and has the power to forgive sin. (A Christophany?) 23:20-23

Discussed the idea of fertility as a blessing. 23:26

Discussed whether the hornets of 23:27 & 28 were metaphorical or literal.

Learned that purification by blood enabled the leaders to "meet with God". 24:8

Discussed what the 74 leaders were actually able/allowed to see when they had dinner with God. 24:9-11 (in light of the scriptures in 33:19-23).

We read through all of the building plans for the tabernacle, altar, and ark of the covenant.

Next time, we get to read through the infamous story of the "golden calf", a story which I find quite full of humor.

Exodus 21 - 22

On Aug. 5, we hosted our third Dinner & Discussion, basing our studies on Exodus 20:22 - 23:19.

Topics discussed included:

• altars of worship/modern day houses of worship
• slaves' rights; fetus' rights
• the death penalty as a deterrent for future crime
• the price of a life/the price of Jesus' life
• personal liability/property liability
• sexual responsibility - "keep it in your pants"
• interest rates
• occultism
• orphans and widows
• festivals - "getting together to party"

In our next Dinner & Discussion, Aug. 19 at 6 pm, we will pick up in Exodus 23:20 and probably cover at least a few more chapters.

An interesting question was raised during our time of discussion, which prompted much debate. My "church field trips" began two months ago with a singular self-serving purpose: there were a half dozen churches nearby that I felt would be interesting to check out as an educational experience. For my own personal purposes, I'm attempting to "see what's out there" in my local community as it concerns how people come together to worship God.

Initially, my subjects were limited to a mere six or ten churches which were on my radar, having shown some particular interest to me in one way or another. (As you can see, we've covered quite a broad spectrum already.)

A friend of mine asked me if I had considered going to a Hindu or Buddhist temple (both of which are nearby). I answered that such a field trip had not occurred to me, that I wouldn't be opposed to it, but I honestly wouldn't know where to begin, because it is so far out of my "comfort zone." Someone else asked if the Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Mosque, etc. would be something I would also include in my field trips. Now I have to be honest and say that, personally, these "churches" don't interest me and my initial purposes, but neither would I object to such a field trip.

Someone raised the objection that a "christian" ought not to visit a place where Jesus is not worshipped in the light of the truth of Scripture. I don't think I would agree with this statement, because, historically, there isn't really anything that I'm "afraid of". I'm not really your typical paranoid christian, who's afraid to leave the house for fear that I might offend someone, offend myself, or offend God.

What are your thoughts?

Should our Church Field Trips include those places of worship that are not considered, by popular opinion, to be Bible-based Christ-centered places of worship?

Exodus 19 & 20

At our July 22 Dinner & Discussion, we studied Exodus 19 & 20.

Synopsis:
God meets with the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, and delivers the ten commandments. The people freak out, out of fear, and ask that Moses be their mediator from then on.

• We looked up a few instances of New Testament authors referencing the material we were reading to remind ourselves of its continued relevance. Those guys really knew their stuff!


• We learned that most of the ten commandments carried the death penalty, and that most of them were re-stated in the New Testament.
  
• We discussed the difference between idol worship and the use of art in worship, as well as the use of art in general.


• We also discussed what it means in the modern context to "misuse the Lord's name": swearing - G.D. & J.C. (when my wife first became a christian, she replaced J.C. with "cheese & rice"), using it idly - "oh my God", and even using it in merchandising - bracelets, coffee mugs, t-shirts, etc.

Other thoughts brought out by the text:

• internal thought life vs. external actions


• the need for a mediator between man and God


• sabbath as a day for rest and worship


• does Paul do away with the sabbath commandment altogether?


• Jesus said to stop swearing oaths and "just let your yes be yes and your no be no."


• God can put on a pretty good (terrifying) show when He wants to.

Our next Dinner & Discussion will be Aug. 5 at 6 pm - we will be discussing Exodus 21 - 23:13 - proper use of altars, fair treatment of slaves, personal injury, property rights, social responsibility, and a call for justice.

The Patriarchs

A quick overview of the patriarchs

In looking at these men, pay attention to who initiated the contact - man or God. Also ask why contact was made. Also ask why a covenant was made/confirmed, and what were the conditions/promises of the covenant? As you read through these stories, always be looking for how Jesus ties into them, as He is the centerpiece of the entire Bible.

Adam (lived 930 years)

Gen. 3 - The Fall

Noah (600 years old during flood) (lived 950 years)
Gen. 7 - “because I have found you righteous”
Gen. 9 - covenant – no more floods

Abraham (Abram)
Gen. 12 - Abram called
Gen. 15 – covenant - land and offspring
Belief = righteousness
Read Gen. 15:12-16
Gen. 17 – Covenant = circumcision
Gen. 22 – Abraham tested

Isaac
Gen. 26:3-5 – covenant confirmed

Jacob (Israel)
Gen. 32:22-30 – covenant confirmed
Read Gen. 46:2-4

Jacob’s Sons (70 descendants went into Egypt)
Gen. 46:8-25 – list of sons
Their generation dies, but multiplies
Exodus 1 – The people are enslaved

Moses
Exodus 2 – His birth
Exodus 3 – Burning bush
Exodus 12 – The Passover
Exodus 14:21 – Crossing the Red Sea
Exodus 19 – Arrival at Mount Sinai

We will begin our study in Exodus 19 on July 22 at 6 pm

Book of the Law

We have decided to begin a Bible Study in our home. We will meet every other week in our home on Sunday nights at 6 pm for dinner and discussion. We are going to do a quick overview of the Patriarchs and the Exodus (Genesis 1 through Exodus 18). We are then going to begin reading through the Book of the Law (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). As we read through these books, I will report what we've discovered here on this blog.

Our first meeting is Sunday, July 8 at 6 pm. We are not currently able to entertain children, but we are quickly working to remedy that and should be ready within the month.