Tag Archives: evangelism

Jude 1:3, 20-25. Pastor Rick’s Study Notes and Small Group Questions

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Jude vv. 3, 20-25

v. 3 Beloved, I’ve been very eager to write to you about the salvation we share and especially the need to urge you to stand up for the faith that one time for all has been entrusted to those set apart and made holy by God.

v. 20 You who are beloved, build yourselves up in the purist things of your faith; keep praying in the Holy Spirit.

*v. 21 Remain in God’s love and keep anticipating the mercy and kindness of Jesus Christ our Lord leading toward eternal life.

v. 22 Show a patient kindness to those who are struggling to believe.

v. 23 But to others, pull them up from the fires and pull them toward a right relationship with God; still others, show them compassion even as you despise and shudder at their lives sullied by their sinful nature cut off from God.

v. 24 And to Him who is able to keep each of you from stumbling, standing blameless and celebrating in the presence of His glory;

v. 25 To the only God, our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord, yours is the splendor, majesty, power and dominion before time began, until now, and through all the ages. Amen.

v. 3 Beloved, I’ve been very eager to write to you about the salvation we share and especially the need to urge you to stand up for the faith that one time for all has been entrusted to those set apart and made holy by God.

Those who are loved. It seems that Jude, James’ brother and the half-brother of Jesus, had been eager to write this gathering of Christians about their shared redemption in Christ Jesus; but the urgency is made all the more crucial by the news of selfish and wicked people seeking to hijack the faith. The salvation shared is the “koine” or common salvation, that is, common to all. He writes to the saints. Hagios. We who are His have this incredible trust given, to make Jesus known to the next generation. It can also be noted that this is the same Jude mentioned in the Gospels who sought to take Jesus home fearing he’d lost his mind and mocked him for not going to Jerusalem earlier like others who wanted to be seen and heard. Jude is the last mentioned when Jesus’ half-brothers are listed, so probably the baby brother.

“The faith” is that core set of beliefs that by now had become the “kerygma” and the “beliefs.” Delivered or Entrusted.

The “stand” is for the Faith and at the same time against the preceding: 1) choosing a lifestyle that contradicts the holiness of God (v. 4) or “I am opposed to what doesn’t affirm my feelings or identity”2) following what feels good instead of what is faithful and right and the reign of individual expression or “I am what I feel” (vv. 9-11), 3) grasping for power and influence – the reign of personal power or “I am what I control” (vv. 16-19). Summary: power, sex, expressive individualism. In the culture, these three lead to destruction; in the church, they lead to splits, shame, and spiritual death.

v. 20 You who are beloved, build yourselves up in the purist things of your faith; keep praying in the Holy Spirit.

Again, beloved. We are responsible for doing what is needed to build ourselves up in the practical working out of our beliefs the Father delivered to us. This use of “pistis” is the practical, live by faith; contrast this with verse three, “the faith.”  And to build up, we need the most holy things that make our faith so powerful. Knowing what our faith is built on is essential. Praying in the Spirit is needed. The reflexive “yourself” leads the next verse and but goes with “keeping yourself” or remaining in God’s love instead of here.

v. 21 Remain in God’s love and keep watching with anticipation for the mercy and kindness of Jesus Christ our Lord leading toward eternal life.

This is the kind of waiting and anticipating that is both expectant for a positive outcome and looking to receive what is needed; in this case, God’s mercy poured out that will take us toward eternity. Note the triune implications in these two verses: praying in the Holy Spirit, Remaining in God (the Father’s love), and looking for the mercies of Jesus the Son.

v. 22 Show a patient kindness to those who are struggling to believe.

The word for doubt is a complicated word again reflexive meaning doubting or hesitating, but for good reason in considering and trying to decide. Mercy, or patient kindness, is due to that person.

v. 23 But to others, pull them from the fires and pull them toward a right relationship with God; still others, show them compassion even as you despise and shudder at their lives sullied by their sinful nature cut off from God.

Again, Jude uses words that are hard to translate word-for-word with just one word. Rescue them by snatching them from the fire and toward God. The word means from something toward something in the rescue. Even more graphic, show compassion and mercy to those who are stained by a life without God. He is saying that we love the person, even though we might recoil from the sin.

v. 24 And to Him who is able to keep each of you from stumbling, standing blameless with joyful celebrating in the presence of His glory;

Able as in powerful enough to keep us on our feet and standing at attention exulting and celebrating in joy because we are in God’s presence.

v. 25 To the only God, our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord, yours is the splendor, majesty, power and dominion before time began, until now, and through all the ages. Amen.

This is one of several early “doxologies” that developed as a way of praising God at the end of one’s words. Four-fold praise here; seven-fold in Revelation.

Small Group Questions:

Jude 1

  1. Jude was the brother of James and half-brother to Jesus. He is one of Mary’s kids. What does it mean to  you to know that Jude came to believe that Jesus is both Savior and Lord (read verse 24-25)?
  2. What is the difference between “the Faith” and “your personal walk of faith?” How can you build up your “Faith” and your “faith” in 2023?
  3. Have  you ever gone through a time of doubting and struggling to believe? What helped settle you struggle and doubt?
  4. Have you ever been where your life choices left you far from God? What or who pulled you back toward the Father?
  5. How can we pray for you?

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes Matthew 22:34-40

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Matthew 22:34-40

v. 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 

The word means “gagged” as in shut them down completely. Like the muzzle on an ox.

The Pharisees were overjoyed to see the Sadducees put in their place. So, they huddled up to come up with their own question.

vv. 35-36 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

This is someone who lives by the law, interprets the law for others. It’s an honest question that a seeker might have; it’s a trap if he can get Jesus to dismiss part of the code in favor of another.

Interesting factoid about the law and the lawyers: “The scribes declared that there were 248 affirmative precepts, as many as the members of the human body; and 365 negative precepts, as many as the days in the year, the total being 613, the number of letters in the Decalogue” from Robertson/Vincent.

Jesus wasn’t caught in the trap of talking minutiae and getting stuck in siderail issues. Love God with all you have; love others out of the healthy love you have for yourself.

How do you determine a commandment is great? Is it great because of the limitations it brings (I must wear fringes around my robe to be holy) or because of the freedom it brings? Love the Lord; Love others like you esteem yourself. Against such there is no law.

The word for “trap him” may have been simply to “test Jesus” to give him a conundrum that would test his mettle in determining a righteous answer.

v.37-38 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. 

This was written on a little piece of parchment and contained in a tiny square box and worn on the arm as a reminder of the Greatest Commandment. The lawyer was likely wearing this very verse.

v. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

This law was pulled from a chapter on ceremonial rules; but it was given a high place of honor by Jesus as he combined it with the first and greatest. The vertical and the horizontal driven by a passionate love was the positive rule to live by. This has been called the Great Commandment alongside the Great Commission in Mt 28.

v. 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Out of the whole of the revelation of God’s Word, this is the summation. Base on, hung on like two balances to all the compendium of the law. Without these two in clear position, the law is cumbersome. Only Mark shares the Lawyer’s response. He affirms it and leans into Jesus’ teachings.

Surprised by an Angel… and the Call to Tell the Story!

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Nearly everyone loves to hear a good story. Movies, novels, poems, and digital versions of it all, invite us to become a part of the action or the suspense, or the romance, or the journey. Most stories we read or watch or listen to come and go. They may touch us or speak a bit; but they are easily filed away somewhere dusty and hard to find. Some stories are grab our hearts and our imagination. We identify with the people or the crisis they face and how they survive.

Then, there is the story that comes along once in a lifetime. Not only does it capture our imagination – it changes our lives. We look back on this rare story, the characters and what they experienced, and we realize that what happened meets us right where we live, it changes how we see life, and that story redefines who and, more importantly, why we are.

That’s the story the sheepherders found themselves a part of over 2000 years ago on the hillside overlooking the town of Bethlehem. Luke 2:1-20 are the verses that, surprisingly, make up an assignment my high school teacher at NMBHS way back when had me memorize and recite (yes, that was another day.)

It’s the story of Joseph and his betrothed wife Mary, their trek to Bethlehem, the birth of God’s one and only son, Jesus, and a bunch of unwary sheepherders who became a part of the Story of stories.

1At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

This baby, who is both King and Savior, was born in perhaps the most available and approachable place in the town – in a stable around the corner from a hostel, just shouting distance from the streets of the town. God chose to send His Son, fully human and fully God, to be born where word would get out. And this prepared the town for what happened next. And, this is when the sheepherders are invited into the story.

8That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. 

The Good New story met the sheepherders right where they lived. And it began with the herders who drew the night watch. While their partners caught up on sleep, an angel appeared right in the middle of their conversations. And this angel had just come from the presence of the Father to bring the news about the Son. And the glory of God remained.

And they were terrified. They were used to fighting off wild animals or climbing down the cliffs to rescue a lamb. But, an angel! How many times in the Bible did God show up through His presence, through a vision, or through an angel’s visit – They were scared beyond words. And the answer: Don’t be scared! God met these sheepherders right where they lived.

  11 “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

If the angel’s visit was at first terrifying, the message that he brought was liberating. As good Jewish sheepherders, they heard this message through all they knew about Lord God of Israel.

  • Good news means freedom.
  • Messiah and Lord means salvation.
  • And if you throw in King David, they understood they would be God’s people again, under the rule of His King.

The message from the throne room of God through this single angel literally changed who they were. Sure, they remained sheepherders. But this Good News brought the promise of…

  • Peace that comes with freedom from the oppression of the enemy.
  • Hope that comes with the promised Messiah.
  • Celebrative Joy that comes with being together as God’s people ruled by His King.

And whether in response to the Good News being proclaimed on the hillside or in response to the faith and joy of the shepherds, the worship of the heavens broke through into the physical realm, and…

13Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

This was more than the sheepherders could contain and, by now they were all together on the hillside echoing the same rejoicing. They had to see it for themselves.

15When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

There in a stable for animals, the greatest expression of God’s love slept. The message propelled the shepherds to check it out for themselves and discover if the Good News was really the Good News. And it was. And it changed both who and why they were. They had to tell others and fanned out through the streets of the town telling anyone they saw that Jesus, the Messiah, the Lord and King was born – in a stable, just around the corner, right where anyone could find Him.

The Good News met the shepherd right where they lived, and the truth of the message of Christmas transformed who they were and became the reason for why they lived. God’s great Story intersected their story and surprised them and transformed them.

  • This Christmas – surprise you with His peace, His love, His joy, His hope. He is God near to us.
  • His Good news meets us where we do life.
  • He invites you to approach Him, come to him – with fears, with broken plans and promised, with empty and dead spots in our lives.
  • And he speaks to you right now – no fear except the awe of a Savior with unchangeable love, no loneliness or emptiness because he fills us and comes close, no dead spots because he brings life and mercy.

Welcome again to the Story. Praying it intersects your story frequently in 2020!

“… I’ve never seen so many…”

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When the doctors and their team working in Liberia during the height of the 2014 Ebola epidemic saw the damage the disease caused, one reportedly said “I’ve never seen so many bodies.” One doctor was in charge of gathering and disposing of those who died from the disease; he and his team worked tirelessly to serve the Liberians by helping them through the collection and, with a respectful process, cremation of their dead.

Stephen Rowden was a first time volunteer with Doctors without Borders; his team processed between 10 and 25 cremations a day in Monrovia as the work sought to contain the epidemic to the region. He said his team of 36 have shown no signs of the disease even though they worked in such proximity to the dangers of the contagion.

When ask about his motivation, Dr. Rowden confessed that he is “a practicing Christian” who finds support and “strength from his faith and family.”

Since the first centuries of Christianity, those who follow Christ run toward the danger, the tragedy, the hurt… even the contagion, while most flee. From the Antonine Plague in the mid-100’s that wipe nearly 25% of the Roman Empire into eternity and those many epidemics that followed, Christ-followers sought to stay and help and serve…and suffer, in order to live a life that gives credit to the Good News and the love and power of God.

While many might say that Christianity was established in the empire because of edits, it really spread as a revolution of love, sacrifice and suffering. We run toward the need, even if the rest are running away.

Dr. Rowden captures this kind of faith through his actions.

Live sacrificially,

Rick

(Thanks to a great NPR interview by  at https://www.npr.org/2014/10/09/354890862/in-collecting-and-cremating-ebola-victims-a-grim-public-service and Baker Book called Restoring All Things: God’s Audacious Plan to Change the World through Everyday People by Stonestreet and Smith.)