W.K.O.F.W.J.B

Just a note to remind me of a (an?) hilarious sketch to illustrate group dynamics at CF. What kind of fish would Jesus be? Indeed.

1 Corinthians - old Central Focus notes

I've just found some old notes on 1 Corinthians on the Central Focus resources page here.

Hocus-Pocus ... the return

Gosh - it's been quite a long time since I blogged. It has been quite a busy time for the husband and me, but at least it seems to be calming down slightly now.
So, my attention turns to prep for the year ahead in the mid-week Bible study I go to. This year - 1 Corinthians. A cursory reading throws up lots of very interesting points to look into in more detail, and plenty of 'wrestling with the text' will have to be undertaken.
For my use (even if no-one else finds it useful), I'm going to post some useful links to sites/blogs re: 1 Corinthians (thanks to Mete Pyers for starting me off with some useful links re: cessationism etc.).
This year is going to be fun!

Testing Times: Stop!

Sermon notes from this morning - really good, and excellent service (lots of Psalm-singing). Really useful as well, as we are just beginning to study Judges in Central Focus, and so it was helpful to go back a little in Israel's history and understand the 'backstory'.

This is about coming so close, but being so far from glory. About the agony of loss. About the rewards of perserverance for those who never stop believing. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Numbers 13-14

Research (13:1-33)
Gathering Intelligence
Spies are sent out into Canaan to gather intelligence. They report back that it is a land of milk and honey - BUT - the people are strong, the cities fortified and large.

Minority Report - Caleb reports back and is v.positive - 'we should go up at once! we are well able etc.'

Majority Report - the other spies persuade the people that they are not able. The people of Canaan are stronger. Spin the news - v32b - land devours its inhabitants, 'we are like grasshoppers'.

Response (14:1-10)
The people panic
Focussing on God's enemies, rather than God's power.
The faithful preach
Do not rebel, do not fear - 'they are bread for us' - 'their protection is removed'.
Danger of making people big and God small

We are so often immobilised in our spiritual lives due to fear of what pressing on with Jesus might mean (oh, so very true).

Reaction (14:11-38)
Disinheritance threatened
God would disinherit - look back - only Joshua and Caleb remain from the generations in the wilderness who refused to go in.
Prayer for God's glory
v17 - appeal to God's character as revealed in Exodus 34.
Moses recognises that God must be just.
The final straw
All the grumblers - vv36-37. 10 spies die (the majority report). v29 - all your numbernumber who have grumbled against me will die in the wilderness. Look back at Numbers 1 - a great nation then - all died in the wilderness.
The faithful few


Today if you hear his voice ....
No loss is so gut-wrenching or permanent as losingout on heaven. Do not surrender to the flesh and devil.

Hocus Pocus Central Focus

Was simply excellent this evening. 14 people in the group, of whom 3 were new, and lots of people who had not been able to make it for a while.
John 15:1-17.
Lots of discussion, lots of people enjoying handling God's Word and encouraging one another. Lots of cake!
Quote of the evening - "God wants a big fat healthy vine with lots of big fat juicy grapes". I quite liked that.
Joy. Joy. Joy!

Thoughts from Central Focus ...

I should preface this post with the comment that these thoughts are not necessarily mine - just notes I made during the study that I thought worth recording.

Would we allow strangers, friends, family to insult our mother (or indeed, sister, brother, father, friend)? Probably not...
Why then do we allow the Name of Jesus to be insulted? Why do we not react?

When we sin, do we only feel remorse, or do we actually repent? Are we sufficiently aware of the distinction?

Boooks... and Revelation.

One of the happy side effects of this blog is that many of those reading have a much better library than me.
This means that the day after I post my comments on the 39 Articles I am lent a nice big fat book on them.
And it has Latin in it (purring contentedly like a cat .... not that this particular cat reads Latin.... but just likes things that are a bit hard..... like the mammoth mp3 by Don Carson on the "New Perspective on Paul" which comes in at an enormous 2hrs 36. Not sure that I've understood very much of it at all, but I'll just keep listening until I do.....)

Hellenists met again tonight - covered another four verses. We should be looking at John itself next term which is both good and terrifying. Will have to do some work.

Might be going to Uganda with Feeble in September which is exciting, but may need to rearrange other holiday plans. Perhaps I should just use one of my weeks off as a reading week. I could go and sit in the British Library. Or indeed, I could go and get a brown Bod Card and sit in a library in Oxford. (Sigh, contentedly).

Finished Revelation in Central Focus this evening - all over so quickly. Point for thought - given Rev 22:17 - what stops us praying this? What are we putting in front of our desire for Jesus to return? (e.g. the holiday we are planning, the social plans we have, the things we want to 'achieve' in church/work etc., family plans....)

Central Focus....

Revelation 21 this evening. I love these verses - whenever I begin to lose sight of the glorious future that God has prepared for His people, I should remember to read this. How can we but praise Him?

Also attended 'The Hellenists' before Central Focus started. Lots of fun. 1 John 2:7-9.

Rice pudding in the slow cooker when I got back, and no closure of the Blackwall Tunnel - hurrah!

Remorse vs. Repentance

Really interesting study this evening, looking at Revelation 17-19

Some notes/thoughts:
The subtle temptations of Babylon seeking to seduce us. We should be seduced by the Bridegroom, not Babylon.
What does it mean to come out of Babylon? To reject the subtle, mundane temptations and not to forget that we are in a spiritual war.
There is a distinction between remorse (passive) and repentance. Repentance is an active thing - do we stop, turn round, actively flee?
How do we reject Babylon? Reading the Bible, being immersed in His word, understanding our inheritance - we are bought with a price - we are not our own.

Looking forward to heaven a little less

but to glory a little more...
Excellent weekend away with Central Focus looking at the end times. Have learned so much and been challenged on some of my understanding so lots of things to think and pray through.
A couple of thoughts:
Romans 5:1-2
1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Hope is having the future glory present in our minds.

John 13:3-5
3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
4rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.
5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Jesus, knowing that he was about to die, served.

Being utterly confident of the future, we should be ready to serve now.

And a few things to think about:
Amillenialism vs. Postmillenialism.
Everything lasts....
Understanding the impact of uncertainty about the timing of the Second Coming on our understanding of chs.4ff in Revelation (i.e. is it 'last days' then 'the end', or is it a little different?)

Revelation - 'coffee' questions

This post is effectively my Post It note of questions to follow up from my weekly Bible study on Revelation at Central Focus.

The idea being that I can do a survey of commentaries to see the different viewpoints on these verses and then add them here.

From Revelation 6-8:6

Horseman 3 - more deatils on whether it is a random affliction of food, or purposeful restraint by the LORD.

Horseman 4 - is it that the horsemen combined have authority over a quarter of the earth, or that individually they each have a quarter of the earth (i.e the whole earth is under the effects of the horsemen). Does the comma mislead?

What is the justification for the shift in time frame from seals 1-4 to seals 5-6? The Lamb is slain, hence must be post Resurrection, but there is a sense in which it is entirely outside time.

Central Focus starts again

Central Focus started again this evening, with Revelation 4-5. Really enjoyed the study - a timely reminder that I need to keep reading passages like Rev 4-5 and Job 38 to keep me focussed on the majesty of God and help me keep a right attitude in prayer. I love Central Focus!

Still tired. Must go to bed early - Birmingham tomorrow.