Don Mackintosh

Weimar University

Don’t Give Up On the Reformation

Okay, let me just pray briefly here after that little introduction and then we'll get into our message.

Father in heaven, bless us tonight as we think of some thoughts here for this Vesper service.

And thank you for your safety and travel for those who went to Japan and those who went to the Reformation, those who went to Kenya, the various mission trips.

And as we hear more of what's been happening around the world in the coming weeks, we just want to thank you for what you've been able to do through each of these groups.

Bless them, bless us tonight as we think about your word.

Yeah, so right away, Welcome back from Japan.

You did send me some links in the middle of the night.

I listened to music various places in the world.

I did not understand the introductions or conclusions, but I did understand the music.

And how have you watched the Crabtree Wedding?

Anybody here go to the Crabtree Wedding or watch it?

They had like 4 special musics or choir pieces during the wedding, which was just a delightful wedding.

I mean, I was, of course it was a different time zone, but Deutsch and I were watching it and we were very blessed by that wedding.

If you don't get a chance to watch it, you should watch that wedding.

We've had a lot of good, blessed weddings this year, right?

People are moving the stuff out of our houses now and moving away, as we heard.

But they're starting new homes, new Christian homes, which are, you know, be lights in their communities.

And that's hard to believe that it's been 31 years since I got married, but it just goes like that, so fast, right, doesn't it, Heather?

By the way, how many of you knew that Heather played the piano so well?

I think we should have her play more often.

I don't know if you're protecting your family from hearing your play, but give them our greetings.

Okay, truth is truth, even if no 1 believes it, a lie is a lie, even if everyone believes it.

And you know, when we were over in these reformation countries, it was important and interesting to see that many people that we were talking with or with, they had no idea about anything that ever happened in their city.

They had no sense of the magnitude of the things that happened in the buildings that they're walking about and among.

They had no connection between the economic success of their nation, for instance, and what happened in that church.

And they kind of looked at us somewhat odd when we began singing hymns around monuments and praying, and you could just tell they're looking, whoa, who are these people?

1 of the things that's kind of happened is that since the time of Martin Luther 500 years ago, people have stopped protesting.

Martin Luther said, peace if possible, but truth at all costs.

And now, Many times the people say, why don't we just all get along and find a way to just unify, which is not a bad thing.

But the question is, which is more important, truth or unity?

Truth and unity in Jesus' prayer, you find the word truth or the word of God 12345 times, and unity 1234 times.

So I guess truth wins by 1, but maybe that's not the way to look at it.

Go ahead and read it with me if you'd like.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I have come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be 1 as we are 1, that they may all be 1 as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, and they also may be 1 in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

The glory which thou givest me I have given them, that they may be 1, even as we are 1.

I in them, thou in me, that they may be perfect in 1, that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and thou hast loved me, and thou hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Pretty much now it's like they may be 1, is kind of winning.

Would you say it's kind of winning in terms of the, in the passage so far?

I mean, this is the big thing, being 1, unity.

We hear a lot of messages like this, but now notice the qualifier.

I have manifested thy name unto the men whom thou hast given me out of the world.

Thine they were, You can read it with me if it helps you focus.

And thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word, for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me, and I have given them thy word.

The world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." And how do you know?

Sanctify them through thy truth, thy Word is truth, and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they may also be sanctified through the, Not sanctified through the unity, but sanctified through the truth and the word which brings unity, right?

How many of you have ever noticed people get together and unify for something that's not good?

Bertrand Russell, the famous atheist, said when he grew up in a Christian home, his mother's favorite text that taught him his whole life was, do not follow a multitude to do evil.

So you can have unity that's based on error or unity that's based on truth.

John 14, 31, But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me what commandment, even so I do." So these words that God gave his son included what?

And you knew that they were unified because of the commandments that unified them.

And he said, nothing that I spoke, that I speak on my own, but I got it from the Father.

So, in the New Testament, Jesus, when the words verily, verily is used, or assuredly, surely, or assuredly, surely in some translations.

That means so be it, so be it, and it's actually a quotation.

He's saying what I'm saying is not what I'm saying.

So when we enter into the words that Jesus has spoken, we enter into the commandments.

This is the only real foundation of true, lasting, positive, truth-filled unity.

And that's what he's saying in the prayer here.

So, righteousness by faith that doesn't have faith is not righteousness.

Some people are hyper-righteousness, and some people are hyper-faith.

So, some people will talk to you a lot about sanctification, some people talk a lot about justification, but it's both, right?

Here are they that keep the commandments and have the faith.

And It just depends on what their experience is.

If they say, I was raised in a legalistic home, they'll talk about the gift of righteousness.

If they were raised in a home of license, they'll talk about, we need holiness.

So if the Sahih know him and does not keep his commandments.

So, if you don't have the sanctification, you don't have the justification.

If you don't have the justification, you're probably never gonna be sanctified.

3rd Quarter Sabbath School 2023: Ephesians

Mark Finley

HopeLives365

01 Paul and the Ephesians

Welcome to another 1 of our Sabbath School series.

We're beginning a new quarter, and in this new quarter, we'll be studying the Book of Ephesians.

This series of Sabbath School lessons was written by Dr.

McVeigh is the president of Walla Walla College, also teaches theology there.

As you look at the book of Ephesians, it has 6 chapters.

The first 3 chapters talk about the gospel, pointing out that we are adopted into the family of God through Christ.

That through the cross of Calvary, the middle wall of petition between all peoples has been broken down.

That we are saved by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ?

Do you remember that renowned text, that famous text in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8, that says, for by grace are you saved through faith.

It is the gift of God and not of yourselves, not of works as anybody should boast for we have his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to good works.

So the first 3 chapters in the book of Ephesians talk about the gospel.

The last 3 chapters talk about the results of the gospel in our lives.

I like when I'm reading the Bible to summarize chapters in the Bible.

And I'll tell you how I've summarized these chapters, and sometimes in my own Bible, I will write the title of those chapters.

And we're gonna just take a look at the entire book of Ephesians, and then go back to follow our lesson study today.

In chapter 1 of the book of Ephesians, we find that Christ's riches are ours.

All the riches of Christ, the glory of who Jesus is, is ours.

In chapter 2, we find that Christ's grace is ours.

In chapter 3, we find that Christ's power is ours.

So his riches in chapter 1, his grace in chapter 2, his power in chapter 3.

Then what is the result of the riches of Christ dwelling in us?

What is the result of the grace of Christ changing our lives?

What is the result of the power of Christ transforming us?

Chapter 4, we are brought into unity with 1 another and unity with God.

We walk in love and we walk in the light of truth and we walk in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

So chapter 5, the result of the gospel is enabling us to walk in love, we walk in the light of God's truth, and we walk in wisdom.

Chapter 6 talks about the armor of Christ.

And if indeed we've been transformed by the grace of Christ, if we're adopted as children of God, we want to put the armor of Christ on.

Verse 13, chapter 6, therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day having done all to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you'll be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked 1 and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

So this armor of God has to do with faith, with hope, with love, with courage, with firmness.

So let's look at the whole book of Ephesians together.

We're transformed by the grace, forgiven by that grace.

Our lives can be changed through the gospel.

The grace of God and the riches of Christ transform us through God's power.

Chapter 4, in Christ, we are unified, brought together as 1 community of believers, the church.

So the book of Ephesians talks about the church as a community of believers, the church as the body of Christ, the church as the bride of Christ.

We are filled with the light of his truth, and we walk in wisdom.

In chapter 6, we put on the whole armor of God to resist the temptations.

Where was Ephesians written from and when was it written?

The book of Ephesians was written from Paul's imprisonment in Rome.

There were 4 of the epistles that were written there.

You have Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon written from that imprisonment.

Paul had visited Ephesus on an occasion, it's in Acts 18, you'll find that on Monday's lesson.

And you'll, actually it's in Sunday's lesson that Paul is the evangelist to Ephesus and he goes there at the end of his second missionary journey.

Ephesus is 1 of the largest cities in the Roman Empire.

It was enjoying a time of great prosperity in Paul's day.

It was at the crossroads also of important land routes.

People worship many deities in that city, including Artemis.

So Paul briefly spends some time there as he has returned from his missionary journeys in Greece, in Achaia and Macedonia.

Macedonia in northern Greece, Achaia southern.

But then he later returns on his third missionary journey and that's what we want to pick up just for a few moments now, this third missionary journey in Acts chapter 19.

You'll find this in Monday's lesson in Acts, the 19th chapter, Paul returns.

He stays there for over 2 years as he's preaching.

The gospel has its impact and it has its impact in the culture.

As the result of that, the sale of the little silver shrines made by the shopkeepers falls off.

Demetrius, 1 of the silversmiths, becomes incredibly angry.

And it says in Acts chapter 19, verse 24, for a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, that's Artemis is the same, that brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

He called them together with the workers of similar occupation and said, "'Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.

"'Moreover, you see it here, that not only at Ephesus, "'but throughout almost all Asia, "'that this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people saying they are not gods, they're made with hands.

He's concerned about the trade is falling off.

So he stirs up the tradesmen, he stirs up the people in town, they enter into the stadium.

This stadium seating about 15, 000 people and as they come into this stadium, they're yelling, they're screaming.

Now you could jam in 25, 000 people into the stadium.

It's at least 15, 000, but if you're looking at the maximum seating capacity, it's 25, 000.

So let's imagine 25, 000 people in there, shouting, the Bible says, for 2 hours, great is the goddess of Diana, great is the goddess of Diana.

2 of Paul's compatriots are brought into that temple, brought into that theater, that stadium.

And It almost appears as if their lives are going to be taken.

But then a clerk stands up in the stadium from Rome.

Some of the officials who were his friends keep him from actually going in there.

Reflect and Renew January 2023

Heather Bennett

Starting with Jesus

King at Last

In my early 20s, I was newly married and excited to land my first job.

A few months in, I started to notice things were different.

I literally got to the end of my rope, and that's what it took to get down on my knees.

Hi, I'm Heather, and I'm so glad that you'll be joining me today.

We will be learning and growing together in our walk with Jesus.

You will surely be encouraged and challenged as we study week by week and hear from the experiences of others.

This week, our focus is on a special story about Michal and her reaction to her husband David when he did something that she despised.

Have you had a chance to read the Renew Starting with Jesus devotional this week?

To read it for yourself, just go to our website startingwithjesus.com forward slash renew or you can sign up for the devotional to be emailed to you.

Just email us at renew at starting with Jesus dot com and let us know that you want those devotionals sent to your inbox each week.

That way you can read the devotional and then join me as we talk about the lesson.

If you haven't had a chance yet to read the lesson, I just want to highlight some points that the author, Merle Poirier, brings out this week.

Our story begins with Michal despising David because of the way he was acting as they brought the ark of God to Jerusalem.

Let's think about what had happened in Michal and David's past relationship.

Many years earlier, Michal was given by her father Saul to David as his wife.

And as time went by and Saul became more and more jealous, he wanted to kill David.

But Michal stepped in and saved David's life by helping him to escape.

While David was running for his life and hiding in the strongholds, Michal was given in marriage to another man.

It wasn't until years later that Michal was given back to David.

We don't know if Michal was glad to see David or sad to leave her second husband.

But we do know that she eventually became hostile toward him.

Now as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michael saw his daughter look through a window and saw David leaping and whirling before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.

Maybe because how they acted or what they said.

Living with feelings of bitterness will just end up hurting us.

Making that choice each day, each moment to let go of the bitterness and Forgive that person.

She studied the Renew lesson and will share a story with us about a stressful experience she had as a young adult with a difficult boss.

It wasn't until she turned to God in prayer that He showed her a beautiful lesson of forgiveness, a lesson that has affected her relationships since then.

In my early 20s, I was newly married and excited to land my first job working at a local newspaper in a small town.

It was me and 1 other girl in my department and we had a boss.

She was about 10 years older than I was at the time and I really looked up to her.

She took me through training on my computer and showed me how we get the paper ready for the press each week.

Well, a few months in, I started to notice things were different.

She started playing favorites, not talking to me as much, not eating lunch with me.

She started yelling at me, stomping around, storming around the office, rustling up the papers on her desk, just very unhappy at anything I tried.

Well I went home every day and cried, I kept asking myself, what's the solution for this problem?

I was tempted to be angry and to quit my job, to be resentful, even revengeful.

And the Lord, He started to work on my heart.

And as I think about that time, What lessons did he teach me?

Well, first, he taught me that I needed to tell him about my problems.

I didn't need to go gossiping to other workers at the office.

And he showed me that no earthly person could fix the abuse I was under.

Second, he showed me that he could heal the pain and he could take the bitterness out of my heart, that he was big enough to do that.

The third thing he showed me was he could give me new eyes.

And what I mean by that is the empathy and the sympathy for this woman who had to be miserable for her to have that kind of behavior.

So instead of focusing on my hurt, I started to think about what kind of hurt is she going through?

The empathy replaced that pain in my heart.

And lastly, he showed me that it's a choice that I would have to repeat this cycle with each challenging moment because, Well, the behaviors continued for a while, but I reacted to it differently because the choice that He allowed me to make and that He walked me through.

This life lesson showed me how important forgiveness is.

In the Bible, God even talks about not letting any root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble in our lives.

In Hebrews 12, verse 15, God knew I needed to learn lessons of forgiveness in my life at a young age.

Well, because as I grew older and had more experiences in my marriage, and as a mother, as a daughter, as a daughter-in-law, I would be tempted, oh so tempted, to be bitter at times.

It helped me heal and it helps me to remember when I face those challenges now what God has done for me in the past.

Back to Menu

All Teachings

Don’t Give Up On the Reformation

43m

01 Paul and the Ephesians

18m

King at Last

11m

01 Jesus

29m

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 1

12m

Revelation 19

36m

01 Paul and the Ephesians

30m

07 Paul & Silas: The Work in Thessaloniki & Berea

4m

Menno Simons: A Forbidden Book

10m

Crime Against Divinity

46m

Walking with the King

28m

William Tyndale: Singing the Same Note

12m

Sound Doctrine