Verse of the day
Syndicate
Meeting Notes for 05-02-10
Lamentations 3:19-39
While it’s important to understand the historical context of the prophets, we should also be able to apply it to today.
V- 7 In the first part, Jeremiah complains or pours his heart out to the Lord. It is a common human experience for us to encounter suffering and cry out to God, but God is not answering. This asks the question of God’s sovereignty.
God’s Sovereignty – to be sovereign you must have the right and power to rule. When God’s power is manifest, it is because He has power to do this. All authority comes from God—there is no authority without God. Even though God has all authority, he does not always exercise his power.
Meeting Notes for 04-04-10
Dr. Bill Teubl
Bruce Hempel
Dr. Bill Teubl: Nature of the Resurrection and What it Means to See the Lord
We have certain thoughts concerning the Lord when we try to seek the Lord, and when we look for Him, we cannot find him as easily.
V11 - We see that Mary had affection for the Lord. If we do not have affection for the Lord, we cannot grow. This affection had an impact on what she was about to see.
V13 – She comes to the tomb with affection for Jesus. When we have affection for someone, the natural action is to see what we can do for that person. Mary has gone to serve the Lord by embalming the body. However, she looks in the natural.
We cannot look for the natural when we are trying to seek the Lord. If all we assume is that Jesus
V14 – Mary was so entrenched in the natural that she could not even recognize the Lord. If we are looking for the Lord in only a small specific way, we can could look at the Lord, and not see him. This is not a condemnation of Mary, but it helps us to look and live beyond.
V15 – Jesus does not get frazzled or disturbed that Mary does not recognize him.
V16 – In speaking her name, Mary knows he is alive. After he speaks she recognizes him
V17 – This verse is very reminiscent of 1 Corinthians 8:6. The use of “father” is one of first references in the NT. Jesus finally finished his work, thereby allowing the children of Israel to approach the Lord as a father. It is not “my” father, it is “our” father.
V18 – Mary no longer thinks of the Lord in the natural (dead) but now she goes to the disciples and proclaims the good news.
Jesus does very little between now and his ascension to proclaim that he has risen from the dead. This is important to us because Jesus is not about making a big affect; he is about changing the heart. No matter how many facts we have, the heart must change. This is why Jesus started with the hearts of those what were open – the disciples.
We cannot change the human heart, so we must be aware of the Spirit’s promptings. This is why we must be so careful not to look for God in only one place. Being alert to different ways in which the Lord might work will help us to be more ready to share with others, thereby allowing the Lord to work through us and change the human heart
Bruce Hempel: The Resurrection
Grow something physical and spiritual. Physical growth is extremely instructional.
When:
John went into the tomb. There was a special relationship between the Lord and John. John was tasked with taking care of Jesus’ mother, he was closest to the Lord at the Last Supper, and he was there at the cross.
How did the resurrection happen?
We don’t know, it was a miracle. It is not explainable by human terms.
It is a tremendous mystery: Death is swallowed up by life. When you kill the author of life, it reverses.
Who was involved around this time:
Peter had a one-on-one with Jesus.
Cleopas (one of the disciples on the road to Emmaus) believes when Jesus breaks bread
Thomas believed when he saw Jesus' wounds
The disciples believed when they ate with Jesus
Mary believes when Jesus calls her name at the tomb
If you are in the trial, don’t hate it. Believe that the Lord has a purpose for the trial.
Jesus went into the ground, but he rose again. When we go into the ground (in a trial) we are tempted to think that it’s the end. Jesus knew, though, that it was the beginning.