John 6

Well, it finally happened. When God called my wife and me to start this church we knew that there was going to be resistance from some people. We knew that it wasn't going to be an easy thing but we also knew that what ever happened God would give us the ability to overcome. Well at least now I know where the first bit of trouble will be coming from. I am trusting that God is my shield and my buckler and will fight on my behalf and those whose confidence is in the Lord will not be put to shame. To God be all the Glory for great things He will do.

VI Jesus feeds the Five Thousand, Walks upon the Water, and says He is the Bread of Life
A. vs 1-15 Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
1. vs 1-4 Jesus sits on a mountainside with His disciples and a great crowd follows
2. vs 5-7 Jesus tells the disciples to feed the people and Philip says that 8 months wages would not be enough to buy all the food needed
3. vs 8-9 Andrew says there is a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish
4. vs 10-11 Jesus sat the people down and passed out enough food to feed everyone
5. vs 12-13 Jesus had the disciples gather the leftovers
6. vs 14-15 Jesus withdrew to a mountain
B. vs 16-24 Jesus walks upon the water
1. vs 16-21 Jesus walked to the boat in the midst of a storm, upon the water
2.vs 22-24 The crowd gets into boats and begins to search for Jesus
C. vs 25-59 Jesus says He is the Bread of Life
1. vs 25-27 Jesus knows that the crowd is looking for Him just because He fed them
2. vs 28-29 Jesus tells them they must believe in Him
3. vs 30-31 The crowd wants to know what miraculous sign He will give them so they will believe in Him
4. vs 32-33 Jesus says the bread from Heaven did not come from Moses but God and He is that bread
5. vs 34-40 Jesus is the bread of Life and will never turn away any who come to Him
6. vs 41-42 Some do not believe because they knew His parents yet He says He came from Heaven
7. vs 43-51 No one comes to Him unless the Father draws Him and all who eat of Him will have everlasting life
8. vs 52-59 Jesus says you must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have everlasting life
D. vs 60-71 Some that follow him, depart
1. vs 60 What Jesus says is difficult to understand so some stop following Him
2. vs 61-65 Jesus confronts the grumbling disciples and reminds them that no one can come to Him unless the Father enables Him
3. vs 66-69 Jesus asks if His Twelve will leave Him also and Peter says they will not
4. vs 70-71 Jesus says that one of the Twelve will betray Him

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him - John 6:44

I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life - John 6:47

Here in just a few verses is one of the dichotomies in Scripture that has always boggled my mind. How are we saved? God draws us! How are we saved? We must believe! These two ideas are held in perfect tension in the mind of God. God is responsible for our salvation and we are responsible for believing. God commands all men everywhere to repent but only He can give us the ability to repent. Look at the other side of the coin and you see the problem. If we are not saved who is responsible for our damnation? Us and us alone. Though we are not saved because God did not draw us, we alone are held responsible for our sins. How can this be? Because we are but clay pots in the hands of our Master and He will do with us as He pleases. Some will go to everlasting Life and some to everlasting Death and God alone makes the decision on who to save and who to not save. Therefore, work out your salvation with fear and trembling and pray that you will endure to the end. Also pray that laborers by sent into the harvest so many will repent and the Lamb will receive the full reward for His sufferings.

2 Timothy 1

I've decided to do just 2nd Timothy this week and save Titus for next week. As I read both First and Second Timothy I am really surprised at how important doctrine was to Paul. I'm not sure how I missed this. It really makes me examine my own ministry even more to be sure I am keeping Paul's commands to Timothy. As a Youth Pastor, there is always a line to be walked between entertainment and teaching. It needs to be something they enjoy coming to and feel comfortable inviting their friends too, and it also needs to be meaty and Bible-saturated. I know that in the past I have had youth services that have been filled with fluff and have thrown out candy and had a fun time but no one learned anything. I also know that I have had services that have been so teaching-focused I wonder how much of what I said was retained. However, after reading these books I think the answer is to continue to teach doctrine but to try do it in engaging and interesting ways. I spend so much time studying for lessons (reading commentaries, word studies, etc.) and while that's a good thing, I need to invest time in illustrations and stories that make what I am saying memorable. One thing I won't do under any circumstances is have an all-entertainment, fluffy teaching on how to be a better you with no doctrine.

I Be faithful and use the gifts God gave you
A. vs 1-2 Greetings
B. vs 3-7 Fan your gift into flame
C. vs 8-12 Do not be ashamed of the gospel or of its apostles
D. vs 13-15 Guard what was deposited in you by the Holy Spirit
E. vs 16-18 Paul prays for Onesiphorus

This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
2 Timothy 1:9

What day were you saved? According to this verse, if you are saved it was because of a decision that was made wa-a-a-a-a-y before you were born. God chose you to be in Him before the first act of creation and your repentance and trusting in Jesus was just confirmation of what was already written. There is a lot of comfort in this verse. The most comforting aspect is if you are saved He will hold you safe through this life. There is nothing you can do to get unsaved. Those that fall away were false converts and were never saved in the first place. Nothing surprises God and He already knows all of our days. Not only does He know them but He also ordained them. God actively works in our life to bring His best plan for all of us to fruition. God is a good God that can be trusted and loved whole-heartedly and with abandon.