All To Us

Precious Cornerstone

Sure foundation

You are faithful to the end

We are waiting on You, Jesus

We believe You're all to us.

Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the church

Let the righteousness of God be a Holy flame that burns

Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives

We believe You're all to us.

Only Son of God sent from Heaven

Hope and mercy at the cross

You are everything

You're the promise

Jesus, You are all to us.

You're all to us

You're all to us

You're all to us

Yes, You are.

When this passing world is over

We will see You face to face

And forever we will worship

Jesus, You are all to us.

"All To Us" by Chris Tomlin

Hopeful words

When lies get a voice in your ear,
And whisper your deepest fear

Well you can either believe,
Or push past those empty things

Acknowledge the hard things as ships that are passing,
Don't let pain destroy your life

Pray that your misses find gentle forgiveness,
As deep as the hue of red wine,
Oh, there is love we can find
We will find

-Jon Black: There is a Love We Can Find

Ephesians 2

[All this stuff about how we used to live in the flesh]..."But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." - Ephesians 2:4-7


"But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity." - Ephesians 2:13-16


This chapter is unbelievable.  It's worth months and years of study all on its own.  I encourage you to read and reread it and absorb it, because it is the foundation of so much of our beliefs.

Especially interesting in my opinion are the distinctions Paul draws between the blood and the body and the cross.  I would be interested in any theories on that front.

Here's a footnote from MacArthur that I thought was great.  I hope this counts as fair use, haha!
- "This (2:6) spiritual realm is where believers' blessings are (1:3), their inheritance is (1Pe. 1:4), their affections should be (Col 3:3), and where they enjoy fellowship with the Lord.  It is the realm from which all divine revelation has come and where all praise and petitions go."

I'm proud of you guys.

Powell

Ephesians 1

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which he lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which he purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on earth."  -Ephesians 1:7-10


"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe."  - Ephesians 18,19a


It feels good to be ruled by Christ, and to live from and in the Spirit.  Ephesians 1 is worth reading many, many times and I hope that y'all find time to pray through it this week.

Practically, I think if you had to sum up the message of the gospel for somebody, this might be the perfect chapter to do it with.  What do you think?

Powell

Galatians 5

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." -5:1

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." - 5:17

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." - 5:22-23

This was a funny passage - Paul seems to want so badly to communicate his point that he kind of spits and sputters through his illustrations, only to leave us holding a bag full of fierce admonitions and general proclamations of truth.  I think the emotion and emphasis he displays indicate the importance of his point, though.

I think one key distinction Paul makes is between two possible ways to live life.  One is by the Spirit, and the other is by the flesh.  The flesh is the medium through which most people live their lives.  It entails submission to sin compounded with the guilt of the law.  It is focused, like Bobby was trying to tell us, on a surface-level management of sin.

The second way to live life is through the Spirit.  Paul gives us a good look at what this looks like.  He tells us what the fruits of the Spirit (their manifestations in our lives) are, specifically, and reminds us that "it is for freedom that Christ set us free."  This is perfect for the Man Group.  This chapter is a measuring stick by which we can see our progress in the transition from living in the flesh to living in the Spirit

This weekend, let's focus on praying for each other to live in the Spirit. 

Powell

Galatians 3 and 4

But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying "Abba, Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. - Galatians 4: 4-6

We are all in the family of God.

And it begins with Christ. When we receive Christ in our hearts, we are able to cry out to God and identify Him as our Heavenly Father, just as Christ did.

And if God is our Father, then we are His children, and He has beautifully adopted us.

He chose us; despite all of our faults, He chose us. Loved us enough to call us His own. To set us a part from others and to have His hand on us. All He wants is for us to have faith in Him and to love Him.

There wasn't a tryout- spelling contest, 50-yard dash, the last one left in "never have I ever."

We did nothing to deserve His adoption, and He has done everything. Sent His Son, in fact, to shrink the gap between God and man. To walk among us, under the law, amidst sin and temptation, persecution, and death.

He conquered it all, so that we may have life through Him.

Gentlemen, we serve an amazing God that loves us dearly, who constantly pursues us and calls us to be a part of His kingdom, for he is a wise and loving king.

"Safe? Oh, he's not safe, but he is good."

Live today as an adopted son of a righteous and loving God.

Walker

Galatians 1 and 2

"I did not receive it [the gospel] from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ." - Galatians 1:12

"For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” - Galatians 2:19-21

These first two chapters of Galatians tells me something right from the start: the Galatians had some sort of issue with Paul.  Whether it be that they did not quite believe him or they just were not sure exactly what to believe.  Paul does acknowledge that before in his ministry and even in Galatia that there were those who were 'perverting' the Gospel.  Sounds like the Galatians had quite a few televangelists running around in their area.  I kid, but seriously, what might be some things that 'pervert' our view of the Gospel?

Let me move to the most uplifting verses in these two chapters.  Christ Jesus came to die for us and give us that righteousness and free gift of grace.  We talked alot at Man Group on Monday about righteousness, actually seems to be a true theme of our goal of studying the Word other than peace through Him, and I think this builds upon what we have talked about.  By having faith in Christ and accepting what He did for us in a loving way He then becomes our righteousness and in God's eyes we are as perfect as Christ.  The act of dying with Christ and 'rising' as a new being, a new humble person, who has been infused with Christ is an awesome moment.  I wish it was that easy to keep that up all the time.  If only our focuses or needs, as Powell brought up last week, did not distract us from righteousness and being as Christ would be as much as they do.  We talked Monday about what that enemy could be for each of us and what can be donw about them.  So I pray now that we may attack those enemies knowing again that Christ is now in us and through Him we can shine with His righteousness and beat the crap out of our worldy, disgusting and perverted personel gospel!

Men, I hope that today and everyday we can clothe ourselves in righteousness and that we would fully deserve to do it.  Live for Him today and do not forget what He did.

Pew

Proverbs 92

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And your faithfulness by night . . . For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands." - Psalm 92:1-2, 4


"A senseless man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid man understand this:  That when the wicked sprouted up like grass and all who did iniquity flourished, it was only that they might be destroyed forevermore." - Psalms 92:6-7

Since it's coming up on Thanksgiving and we didn't set the reading for this week, I just picked a thankful Psalm.  David was a man after God's own heart and therefore is somebody worthy of emulation.  He exhibited a very thankful, worshipful tone throughout Psalms.  David always focused on what the Lord was doing or had done, and tried to see how it was good (because it's always good).

I think that's a quality that at least I could take to heart a little more (and I know a couple of you could take it to heart too. . . ahem Pew).  I tend to list toward despair because the world sometimes seems to be so much more rewarding than any reward the Lord could give me.

I realize that's a significant deficiency in faith, and I can't wait to outgrow it.

That's why I think David put verses six and seven in there, to give "stupid" men like me a lens through which to see that the world is just a tool for God to demonstrate His greatness.  In the end, that grass is gonna get cut and our faith will be rewarded.

In closing, how about this image for us to pattern ourselves after:

"The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."


Powell

Proverbs 29 and 2 Corinthians 13

"An unjust man is abominable to the righteous, and he who is upright in the way is abominable to the wicked." - Proverbs 29:27


"Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice!  Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.  And the God of love and peace will be with you."


Approval is a hard issue for me.  I've been talking to Kari about how we've struggled with striving after our parents' approval.  It's been a lifelong battle.  I remember in Wild at Heart, John Eldredge talked about the false motivations that men struggle with.  His was performance, but he also pointed to approval and women as other examples of substitutes for Christ.

This verse doesn't seem applicable at first (our parents and jobs or women or whatever aren't necessarily 'the wicked'), but I think it still goes straight to our goals as Christians and as men.  Sometimes we have to make a choice between following after the Lord, seeking the restoration of our souls, and knee-jerking back to the bent of our flesh.  For example, since I'm approval-motivated, that proverb serves as a warning to me that I can't expect to be both righteous and approved-of by everybody.

It's essential for us to recognize the sacrifices we have to make on the way to our full restoration.

I'd like to talk about this a little more on Monday.  Try to make a little mental list of times when you have had to decide between being righteous and doing what everybody else would do so we can compare notes.  It's good to know our enemy.

Powell

Proverbs 28 and 2 Corinthians 12

The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions- Prov. 28:1

I don't want what you have--I want you. After all, children don't provide for their parents. Rather parents provide for their children. I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me- 2 Corinthians 12:14-15

This is a great picture of Christ--only wanting your heart, rather than your belongings. Giving himself away "gladly," and unfortunately, loving us much, much more then we love him. Sometimes we get disillusioned to his deep love for us.

Remember men, that you are as bold as lions. You can stand boldly in front of the throne of the Lord. Your confidence in Christ is what sets you apart. There is something different about you--your relationship with God is fully realized. You know what you were destined for before you accepted Christ. Now, you are as bold as a lion.

Be bold today gentlemen. For a mighty and wonderful King has saved you. Reflect his love and his bold and beautiful heart.

Walker

Proverbs 27 and 2 Corinthians 11

^"As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart." - Prov 27:19

"It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." - 2 Cor 11:15

People in Corinth just never seem to fully get it.  Paul needed to go on and on about what he had been through just so that they would see that he was the one that should be listened to.  As in Prov. 27:19, Paul shows exactly what his heart is thinking.  He loves the people of Corinth and wants them to stop all the problems that we have read about all throughout 1 and 2 Corinthians and fully get behind Christ.  I wonder if they ever really did?

I do not think Paul was doing anything to move the spotlight over to him and away from Christ.  I believe he was just trying whatever it took to have people listen and hear that he was doing all this for the people of Corinth so that they might believe.  He wanted to show them that he was not 'masquerading' but that he was simply doing what was in his heart.  Boasting, because that seemed to be the only way Corinthians would listen, not boasting because he just wanted some attention.  Now that is merely my opinion, what say you?

Lord, help us to not be so hard-headed about believing and accepting everything you have and will do for us.  May we believe with open hearts of the love that you have always had for us and not be as blind as the Corinthians.  May we boast in the cross and the enjoy the fact that having faith in you will result in a new life and eternity partying with you and the angels.  Amen.

Pew

Pleasing to the Father

Figured I would pass along a post from earlier today that I put up on the blog we use for our Luke Study.

"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too.  And as He was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased." - Luke 3:21-22

It is good to see Jesus stepping into the limelight and having God declare who Jesus was.  The final transition, as MacArthur said, to the fulfillment of the prophesy of the the 'Sinless One'.  The whole part of the Trinity together, at one moment in time, showing the glory of God and everything that He has set out to do for us.  And isn't a good thing that they showed up.

These lessons also reminded me of a Louie Giglio sermon I heard once about the type of god we see in God.  Of course, I do not remember the exact wording, but Louie mentioned about how awesome it was to have God step out and do something like this.  This is what everyone wants from their father.  They want their father to step up and say 'I am proud of you and I appreciate you and your decision.'  Not only did God do that for His son but He opened up heaven and made it so that everyone knew exactly what was happening.  Jesus Christ stepped into a muddy and disgusting river and humbled himself, again, and received the love from God and the blessing of what Christ's mission was to be for us.

Always good to have God's love for Christ reinforced in my mind because that does nothing but reinforce in my mind how much God loves me.  Feels good.

Pew

Proverbs 25 and 2 Corinthians 9

"Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit." - Proverbs 25:28


"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." - Proverbs 25:2


"Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." - 2 Corinthians 9:7


This is the first time I haven't been able to find any common ground in the two passages for the day, but I did find some important principles.

The first passage was convicting for me, because I feel like a city that has been broken into sometimes.  In v. 28 Solomon puts the responsibility for control over our spirits on our own shoulders.  Bobby's church has some insight into the nature of the body, soul and spirit, so I think it would be interesting to ask him about the nature of the spirit and post it on the trenches.  I have a feeling that sharpening the conscience is a tool by which we can keep control over our spirit.  A sharp conscience, in any case, is desirable.

Proverbs 25:2 is a classic one for man group.  Searching out matters of the Lord is the goal of our group and the goal of this blog.  Thank you Jesus, for an opportunity for glory.

9:7 is really about tithing, but I think you could stretch the principle into advocating generosity in general.  Generosity is a hallmark of following the Lord, because it demonstrates our lack of attachment to earthly things and our love for the object of our giving.  And it's the same kind of love that led our heavenly Father to give his son for us, the same generosity.  To the extent we can reflect those traits of the New Man, we do well.

Happy Manday!  Can't wait to see you guys tonight!

Powell

Proverbs 22 and 2 Corinthians 6

"Do you see a man skilled in his work?  He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men." - Proverbs 22:29


"Behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the day of salvation" - giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves a servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things." - 2 Corinthians 6: 2-10


Let's become skilled in our ministry, so that we'll have much to be proud of when we stand before the King.

Powell

2 Corinthians 4

"For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  

So death works in us, but life in you.

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:11-12, 16

The imagery of baptism is always profound to me.  The way we are submerged, symbolizing the death of the old man, and then raised to a new life in Christ is overwhelming.  There is much opportunity for exploration here.

One easy tributary is the "old man."  He is not going to make it.  I heard not too long ago that "life is a fatal disease."  Everybody dies eventually.  I find it interesting that our culture ignores this elephant in the room almost entirely.  Every commercial emphasizes the desirability of youth and stigmatizes the old, warns against disease and attempts to confine our view of the world to where we can spend our money.  Death is game over.  Luckily that is not true for us, just for that old man.

Instead of counting the years as only youth traded for money, we have an opportunity to watch as our life grows in the Lord.  Jesus gave us our new life, and it is bound inextricably to Him.  As He is the source of our life, we can cast off this flesh more and more, "day by day," as we renew our life in the inner man, Christ.  That way, instead of buying in (no pun intended) to culture's view of age and death as terrible things to be avoided, we can look forward to growing deeper into Christ, and living more and more each day.

Powell

Proverbs 19 and I Corinthians 3

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."   I Corinthians 3:17-18

"Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days."  - Proverbs 19:20

Do you ever feel as if you have a long way to go to become what you were meant to be?

I do.  Often.  Many days I wake up and feel like the hare after his nap - fuzzy, lazy and inadequate.  My heart's desire is to look at myself in the mirror and be uniformly proud of what I see.  But I know I can't accomplish that by myself. 

Thankfully, our God also desires for us to become what he intended us to be.  Like a loving father, His desire is not passive.  The Lord takes an active role in shaping us to his pleasure by disciplining us to bear his Son's image.

Solomon advises meting out and accepting discipline three different times in chapter 19.  There are many other proverbs in which he lays out the benefits of using the rod and refusing to spoil your children.  Discipline is consistent with love and good parenting.

I think that part of God's plan for us is to shape us into his image, a continuation of our creation.  Our toils and struggles arise as we disobey or show some character flaw that needs to be chiseled off.  We are being continually chiseled by our loving Father.

Paul gives us a glimpse of the goal of this lifelong process in v. 18, when he refers to our transformation into the image of Jesus. Thank God for our discipline.

Be transformed a little more today, men.  Be proud of your reflection, because you bear the holy image of your heavenly Father.

Powell

Proverbs 16 and 1 Corinthians 16

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

-Proverbs 16

I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

-1 Corinthians 16

We don't plan for moped wrecks. We don't plan for a lot of things that happen in our lives. The world would chalk this up to chance, but we should know better. In fact our lives, our words, even our schedules should actually say "if the Lord permits."

Maybe not those exact words.

Its amazing how hard God has been trying to hammer this concept into my brain and even deeper into my heart. As the leader of my family, I'm in charge of the planning. When things fall apart it falls on me. This can quickly invite a lot of worldly pressure into your life, and if you don't have a godly perspective on planning, you can quickly lose site of the gospel.

Seriously, the gospel?

Seriously, the gospel. Let's take Paul for example. Before his life was radically transformed by Jesus, Paul lived for his own glory. As a religious man, he persecuted Christians to prove his obedience to God and others, however, his self-righteousness was blinding him to God's true purpose for him. He made a plan to go to Damascus to continue this religious act; then God showed up. In fact He straight up knocked him on the ground with this concept. From that point on we see Paul's life radically changed by the gospel into a life lived for the gospel.

The point is; our lives have radically been changed as well. Our plans and schedules should scream "I love Jesus and want to do His will." And this takes seeking His will. So stop and look at your plans. Do they point towards your glory or God's? The truth is, if we surrender our lives wholly to Him, He will do great things for His glory and our good; whether we planned for it or not.

-Tyler

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