Wawasee Bible Podcast
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After John tells us about Mary finding the empty tomb and Peter and John's foot race to it in chapter 20, he records three encounters Jesus had with people who had some doubt and confusion after his resurrection: Mary Magdalene, the Disciples, and Thomas. Sometimes we might assume doubt is the opposite of faith, but it's not—disobedience is. The key is what you do with your doubt. The good news is that God welcomes our doubts as we bring them to him. Jesus’s resurrection is often met with doubt, but he graciously meets us in it and left us strong evidence! Pastor Josh ends by listing a number of evidences worth considering as it relates to Jesus's resurrection.
Jesus is not only fully God, but became fully human. Because of this truth he understands us better than anyone else. Everyone has experienced dissatisfaction in life. It's because this life is not all there is, and it's because our lives are broken with sin. Jesus gets our dissatisfaction. He understands our wanting and longing for something more. In fact, he's the one who put those longings and desires in each of our hearts to begin with when he created us. And he knows what will truly fill them and satisfy them, because he designed them. Our desire and dissatisfaction in life is a good thing as we recognize who it's actually pointing to and pursue more of Christ.
Jesus is not only fully God, but became fully human. Because of this truth he understands us better than anyone else. One of the human experiences Jesus knows well is grief. Grief is intense emotional suffering caused by a loss. It's the painful emotion of sorrow caused not only by a loss but even an impending loss of anyone or anything that has deep meaning to you. We often associate it with death, but grief also strikes with the loss of a friendship, a job, health, and more. We all grieve in response to loss in our life, and we must all face it. No one is immune. Where there is loss, there is grief. And like an unwanted guest it comes knocking at the strangest of times. Our best response is to open the door, let it in, give it what it wants, then send it on its way until it comes knocking again. The problem arises when we either refuse to grieve (don't open the door) or when we let ourselves sit with it for too long (never sending it on its way) and begin to find our identity in our suffering. Pastor Josh wraps up this week with a metaphor of a tree, and the knots in a piece of wood. Even with the hardest grief, life does go on, and thankfully Jesus shows us the way through.
Jesus is not only fully God, but became fully human. Because of this truth he understands us better than anyone else. This week Pastor Dave opens up John 8:1-11 to see how Jesus understands guilt. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Jesus—who knew no sin—became sin for our sake so that we could be forgiven and made righteous. There's a difference between true guilt and unnecessary self-condemnation. Jesus' approach to guilt, being both gracious and truthful, is seen in his interaction with the adulterous woman, highlighting the balance between acknowledging sin and receiving forgiveness. Pastor Dave suggests practical steps for dealing with guilt including embracing grace over works, standing firm on God's verdict, and seeking reconciliation and healing through confession and prayer. Guilt came with the fall. People use guilt against each other. Jesus comes with grace and truth. Bring your guilt to God.
Jesus is not only fully God, but became fully human. Because of this truth he understands us better than anyone else. In his humanity Jesus experienced and understands fear and anxiety, and he models a way through it to trust and rest in God's love, grace, and control. Often anxiety boils down to just that, not having control. Thankfully God deeply loves us, is near, and is always in full control. When anxiety and fear set in, we should first pause and recognize it. Name it. Then reflect on what our root fear is and on what is actually true (i.e. God's love, control, and nearness), identifying and rooting out lies and any potential sinful causes of our anxiety. Finally we still need to live our lives, but to reengage with Jesus in the middle of everything. This will be a pattern we need to repeat continually as we seek to pursue Christ even in our anxiety. (It's also noted that for some, anxiety is flat-out debilitating and to overcome it we should seek professional biblical counseling and help.)
Jesus is not only fully God, but became fully human. Because of this truth he understands us better than anyone else. In his humanity Jesus experienced long days, weariness, even sleepless nights when he dreaded what was coming the next day. Jesus understands exhaustion, and he also understands and offers the way through it. Jesus calls us to simply come to him, to take on his yoke and learn from him. He offers the best pace and best fit for us as we follow him. His way is kind, and the load he puts on us is light—because he's with us in it every step of the way. Life is demanding & leaves us exhausted, but Jesus is gentle and lowly—come to him.
Jesus is not only fully God, but became fully human. Because of this truth he understands us better than anyone else. Not only did he create us, he lived as a one of us. And he get us. In Luke 15 Jesus tells 3 parables that all go together. They show clearly that all of us are known by Jesus, greatly valued by Jesus, and joyfully welcomed by Jesus when we turn to him. Even though we might feel and/or be overlooked, lost, hiding, afraid—we're known by God, he pursues us, and we can run to him. All of us feel insecure, but God seeks us because of our unspeakable worth to him! Jesus meets our insecurity with surety, mercy, grace, and love.
In Acts 20 Paul is wrapping up his 3rd church planting (missionary) journey, leaving the city of Ephesus for the last time. Six years later he writes a letter to the church in Ephesus (as well as the surrounding region). His letter can be neatly divided into two halves. The first half is Paul reminding them of who they are in Christ, and their new identity. The second half is all about how they should then live because of who they are and Whose they are. Our default is to work hard to get it all right, get enough likes on Instagram, climb the corporate ladder, act a certain way, attain a certain status, or please enough people to achieve our desired identity. But the Gospel turns that all on its head. The truth is that we receive our identity, we don't achieve it. Identity first, then activity follows.
Toward the end of his third church-planting (missionary) journey, Paul spends a few months in Corinth (Acts 20:2-3), likely the winter months (1 Corinthians 16:6). While he's there, he writes to the believers he longs to visit—those in Rome. Paul would not make to Rome on his own terms, but as a prisoner (Acts 28:16). It's possible that he was unsure if he'd ever make it, and that's why he writes ahead of time to at least give them in written form all he hoped to teach. In Romans we likely have the "Cliff Notes" of what Paul taught in all of his stops. Romans is a book of "doctrine rightly applied"—it's what to believe and how to behave in light of it. This week Pastor Josh gives a summary of Romans: We’re all sinners who deserve God's wrath, but Jesus took it for us so we can have and choose new life.
In Acts 20 Paul is wrapping up his 3rd church planting (missionary) journey. We see him visit Corinth, Macedonia, Troas, Ephesus and other places for the very last time. He'll leave this region—and the people he dearly loves there—for the last time, never to return, and he knows it. So what does he do? Like Paul, each of us will leave some things in our wake. Some good, some bad. But what will we leave that actually lasts? As C.T. Studd is famous for writing, "Only one life, 'twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last." The greatest legacy we leave for those we love is to point them to Jesus who loves them even more.
The city of Ephesus was the third largest in the Roman Empire. It was a major commercial port on the Aegean Sea and home to many artisans, beautiful architecture, as well as the capital and religious center of Asia Minor. At the center of life in Ephesus was the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It brought in much wealth, tourism, and renown for Ephesus. After three years of ministry there, Paul was about to move on when a chaotic event happened. The Gospel was having such a profound affect on people's lives that the greater culture of Ephesus was feeling it. As people began following Jesus, they naturally became less interested in Artemis, and the craftsmen who profited from the sale of shrines and other goods surrounding the worship of Artemis began to feel the effects in their pocketbooks. This lead to a near riot that required the mayor of Ephesus (a city of 250,000 at the time) to step in and calm things down. Curiously, he knew the followers of Jesus not for their antagonism toward Artemis, but evidently for their love of Jesus. We're sent out with good news that truly changes lives and must be known by who we're for, not what we're against.
On his 3rd church-planting (missionary) journey, the Apostle Paul spent about 3 years in the city of Ephesus. For about two years he taught daily in the Hall of Tyrannus, teaching about Jesus and reasoning with people. Paul's influence was so great that at one point people were taking his sweat rags and work aprons (from tent-making/leather-working) and taking them in faith to those who were sick and/or tormented with evil spirits, and people were healed. But all of this wasn't due to power in Paul or any of his possessions, but due to God's power. It wasn't about Paul, but God delighted to work through Paul, just as he does us. It wasn't a magic formula but faith in Christ that brought change. The key for us to unlock God's power and change in our own lives is through confession and repentance.
In between Paul's second and third church planting journeys, we're introduced to a man named Apollos. Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria, and he grew to have a great impact on the church in Achaia (Corinth) and become an important partner in the Gospel with Paul over time. Apollos never stopped seeking to grow to know Jesus, and while he was a skilled and eloquent speaker, he was humble enough to receive instruction from others. Apollos used his gifts to build up the church in Corinth and share the good news of Jesus with many. But the key wasn't Apollos, it was God working. As Paul would later write, he planted, Apollos watered, but God provided the growth. What will your 2024 look like? May it be one where you, like Apollos, keep growing and sharing the good news, trusting God to provide the growth!
Dave Bruemmer wraps up our Advent series, "Bright Light", looking at Jesus coming as the light of the world!
The consistent theme of Scripture is that God loves to be with us. He was with Adam and Eve in the Garden, and when they sinned God intervened with a plan to restore everything to his original plan, so that he could be with us forever. The story of the Bible is tracing the promise God made in Genesis 3:15 to make this happen, and eventually we learn that it will all happen through Jesus! Because God loves to be with us, Jesus—the true Light—came to reveal and explain God to us, and to make it possible for us to be with him forever.
Christmas is often full of family gatherings or other gatherings around food. They can be full of joy, but can also be full of angst, anger, and frustration. When Jesus comes at Christmas, his light shines full of grace and truth toward those who come to him, and enables us to do the same, even in the hardest of relationships. Jesus's very nature, God's default, is to be slow to anger, full of mercy, grace, and truth. The Son of God became one us, perfect in grace and truth, grace and truth for you and through you. How will you shine Jesus's light of grace and truth this Christmas?
The craziest trade in the history of the world is recorded in the Bible. It's an offer of God's grace that's made to everyone. God's grace is given in two ways. First, God's generic grace (common grace, general grace) is given to and received by everyone everywhere. But his specific grace, which offers salvation and righteousness through Jesus, while offered to everyone, is only received by some. It's offered as a trade, where Jesus would take all of our sin and failure and gift us his perfect righteousness and life in return. The only way to accept this trade is through faith in Jesus. Jesus came with an offer to make a trade that's not too late to accept! — But you can refuse it. What will you choose?
This year for Christmas we're looking at the first 18 verses of John's Gospel as he describes the incarnation of Jesus by saying "the true light…was coming into the world." In John 1:1-5 we see that Jesus is eternal and fully God in every way. In fact he was there at the beginning and Jesus is the Creator through home everything was made. He is the source of light and light, and believing Christ is the only hope for true life. God's plan from the very beginning was to send Jesus—the Light—to overcome our darkness.
As Paul leaves Corinth we get a glimpse into his attitude toward God and life. It was an attitude of thankfulness. Thankfulness to Jesus for keeping his promise to keep him safe (surely among many other things). It's also demonstrated in how often Paul exhorts us to be thankful people, as thankfulness is a God-honoring attitude. Understanding the active and passive sides of God's will helps us even be thankful in the hardest circumstances (like Job). Paul's life demonstrates how hard life in this sin-tainted world can be and is. And while many of the difficulties and hardships we face are totally out of our control, the thing that is in our control is our response. Our attitude. Will you choose an attitude of complaint, critique, and grumbling? Or will you choose an attitude of thankfulness in everything?
About a year after this first letter, Paul writes again to the church in Corinth. Paul had already written three letters to the Corinthians (two are now lost). In 1 Corinthians (the second of these letters), he used strong words to correct and teach. Most of the church had responded in the right spirit; there were, however, those who were denying Paul’s authority and questioning his motives. So Paul writes again to defend his ministry, and a recurring focus of his is both a recounting of the hard circumstances he's faced, the comfort God gave him during them, and the encouragement and hope God gave him for the future. In life's hardest circumstances God gives comfort. This is hope, and that hope is Jesus.
In Acts 18, Paul spends 18 months getting the church started in Corinth. Corinth was a decadent, wealthy, and licentious place. A few years after leaving Corinth, Paul writes a series of letters to the church there. In one of those letters, 1 Corinthians, Paul writes to address some divisions in the church and answer questions the had about how to live as Christians in their culture gone mad. Paul addresses numerous issues in the church and culture of that day that could just as well have been written to the Church in America today. Pastor Josh also shares the "3 Circles" method of explaining to the Gospel. — In summary, Paul teaches that the Church's sanity in a world gone crazy is the Gospel.
As Paul gets to Corinth, he's spent a lot time in multiple conflicts and on the run due to his commitment to the Gospel. It's likely he was in need of some encouragement, and God provides it in multiple ways. In Corinth he finds Aquila and Priscilla, works along side them (vocationally and in ministry), and stays with them. Later Silas and Timothy arrive as well. When faced with conflict again from the Jews, God encourages him with people coming to faith in Christ (including multiple Synagogue leaders) and a word of encouragement from Jesus in a dream. We see Paul's obedience and Jesus keep his promises. Like Paul, we can find encouragement from each other, from pursuing God's mission together, and from Jesus himself as we do!
After having to leave Philippi, and then flee both Thessalonica and Berea, Paul makes his way to Athens. When he sees the lostness of Athens Paul is saddened. So he enters into the culture, engages with the people of the city, and shares the message of Jesus Christ and the resurrection. During his time in Athens Paul demonstrates what a good Gospel Conversation might look like, and how to pursue one. He starts with friendship, asks good questions, and keeps it simple! When you share God's story, you don't need all the answers—just your own answer.
The church in Thessalonica was facing lots of struggles and persecution because of their faith. Paul lived it first hand in Acts 17:1-9. After escaping Thessalonica and then Berea, Paul took off for Athens and then Corinth. During his time in Corinth he sent two letters back to the church in Thessalonica over approximately 6 months. In both he expresses his concern for them, and encourages them to keep going in their faith, even though life had gotten so hard for them. In 2 Thessalonians Paul gives instruction about Jesus's return and to not be a lazy Christian. Keep going; Jesus will return, so keep working until he does!
Acts | Part 36: 1 Thessalonians: Pursue Holiness
Sunday, October 1, 2023 Acts | Part 34: Philippians – Joy in All Circumstances
In the days and weeks after Lydia came to faith in Philippi, the Gospel continued to take root there in dramatic ways. The influence of darkness was (and is) real. Paul casts a demon out of a young slave girl who had been following them around for days. After being beaten with rods, Paul and Silas are then thrown into prison for disrupting the status quo. However, rather than complain about their suffering they sing and pray in the midst of it, astonishing the other prisoners. God provides a miraculous earthquake to free them, but ends up bringing salvation to their jailer. Paul's example teaches us to prioritize God's purposes over our own personal rights. Ultimately, the influence of darkness and the pressure of culture are no match for the power of God.
God's providence was at work in leading Paul and his crew to Philippi. By providence, we mean that God is continually involved with all created things at every moment. "Circumstances in our lives are not determined by mere chance (randomness) or impersonal fate (determinism) but by God who is the personal yet powerful Creator and Lord." (–Wayne Grudem) This plays out in numerous ways as the Gospel arrives in Philippi. This week we see Lydia come to faith in Christ, and the church in Philippi takes root. God coordinates, we follow (going through the doors he opens and opening our mouths), Jesus saves (he changes hearts).
We're back in the book of Acts after taking the summer off. After a review of where we've been, we pick things up at the end of Acts 15 (Acts 15:36-16:10). Paul and Barnabas make plans to go back and visit the churches they planted years prior on their first trip, but before they head out some conflict arises. Barnabas wants to bring Mark along again, but Paul isn't interested as Mark had deserted them on their first journey. As a result Barnabas and Paul part ways. Barnabas heads to Cyprus with Mark, and Paul heads west through modern-day Turkey with Silas. It seemed like a big setback for the growth of the early church, but God used it to set-up even greater expansion of the church. On the way Paul recruits Timothy and Luke to join him. God can turn every setback into a set-up as we surrender to his will.
