The Prodigal

In my previous post I recommended a book & sermon series on the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).  Below is another "version" of the same parable, this time in the form of a song and visual.  This video was featured at the recent NEXT 2010 conference.






The Prodigal
By Meghan Baird and Ryan Baird
As recorded on Sons & Daughters


You held out Your arms, I walked away
Insolent, I spurned Your face
Squandering the gifts You gave to me
Holding close forbidden things
Destitute, a rebel still, a fool in all my pride
The world I once enjoyed is death to me
No joy, no hope, no life

Where now are the friends that I had bought
Gone with every penny lost
What hope could there be for such as I
Sold out to a world of lies
Oh to see Your face again, it seems so distant now
Could it be that You would take me back
A servant in Your house

You held out Your arms, I see them still
You never left, You never will
Running to embrace me, now I know
Your cords of love will always hold
Mercy’s robe, a ring of grace
Such favor undeserved
You sing over me and celebrate
The rebel now Your child

© 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)

Summer Kick Off Recap

We had a good turnout for the summer kick-off last night.  It was good to see several new highschool grads join us!  We enjoyed burgers & fellowship and I shared a brief introduction to the summer study on parables.  As a way to continue the parable theme, I gave away a copy of John MacArthur's book "A Tale of Two Sons," which is about one of the most well-known parables in our Bible - the prodigal son.  Drew Savary was our winner!
For the rest of you, I want to commend Pastor MacArthur's sermon series on this parable (from which the book is derived).  You can listen or download the 3-part series here for free.  I can assure you that this will be one of those sermon series that you'll always remember.  Consider MacArthur's description of the parable:

Of all Jesus’ parables, this one is the most richly detailed, powerfully dramatic, and intensely personal. It’s full of emotion—ranging from sadness, to triumph, to a sense of shock, and finally to an unsettling wish for more closure. The characters are familiar, so it’s easy for people to identify with the prodigal, to feel the father’s grief, and yet still (in some degree) sympathize with the elder brother—all at the same time. The story is memorable on many levels, not the least of which is the gritty imagery Jesus invokes. The description of the prodigal as so desperately hungry he was willing to eat husks scavenged from swine food, for instance, graphically depicts his youthful dissolution in a way that was unspeakably revolting to His Jewish audience.
Read more here.

I'll be posting more links, quotes & articles related to the parables & other helpful topics all summer, so come back often.  In fact, the best way to keep up with the blog is to subscribe by email.  It's easy, spam free and you'll only get emails when the blog is updated.  Click here to subscribe.

NEXT 2010 Conference Audio

I just downloaded all 7 sessions from the recent NEXT conference hosted by Sovereign Grace Ministries.  I'm almost done listening to Josh Harris' opening message entitled, "What are You Built On?"  In this message, Josh reminds us of the importance of sound doctrine (keep in mind that this conference is focusing on the primary doctrines of the Christian faith:  the doctrines of God, Scripture, Sanctification, Church, etc.)  but also challenges us to be sure that our doctrine is not an end in itself, but rather the means by which we get to Christ.  Doctrine is a pointer.  The Point is Christ.

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me..." John 5:39

The other reason I'm highlighting this message is because Josh is preaching from one of Jesus' parables (the wise and foolish builders in Luke 6:46-49).  By now you should know that the parables will be our focus this summer during 222, so let me commend these messages to you and especially Josh's opening message from this well-known parable.

Lastly - while poking around on the NEXT website I discovered their monthly webzine.  Looks like some great articles & resources here - not to mention the incredible graphics!!

2010 Summer Study | PARABLES

This Thursday, June 3rd, we'll kick off our summer study with a cook out at the home of Michael & Naomi Hamline. Please RSVP with the survey in the sidebar or visit our 222 Facebook event page. All you need to bring is your appetite!  We'll have hamburgers, chips, dip, etc.  You'll also want to try Aaron's "Special Sauce" on your burger.  Good stuff.
Our summer study will begin the following Thursday, June 10th at 6:30pm.

Click image to enlarge.
Email for directions & more info.

Win Free Registration to the NEXT 2010 Conference (Formerly Na)

This is for registration only, you'd still have to buy your own plane ticket. :)

Click here for details.

2.22 will resume in June

2.22 Will take a temporary hiatus until the end of May.
We will have a summer kick-off fellowship at the end of May and then begin our summer Bible study on Thursday, June 3rd.

Please watch this blog for further details.

God's Word on Our Work

From our study tonight about God's Word on Our Work, here are a list of helpful passages that give us instruction on how to conduct ourselves while under employment.

• Ecclesiastes 9:10
• Ephesians 4:28
• Ephesians 5:15-17
• Ephesians 6:5-7
• Colossians 3:17
• Colossians 3:22-23
• 1 Thessalonians 4:9-1
• 2 Thessalonians 3:8-12
• 1 Timothy 5:8
• 1 Timothy 6:1-2, 6-10
• Titus 2:9-10
• 1 Peter 2:13-25

How Many Wills of God?

Here's the John Piper article referenced in our study on Decision Making and the Will of God. Below is a short snippet.

The most compelling example of God's willing for sin to come to pass while at the same time disapproving the sin is his willing the death of his perfect, divine Son. The betrayal of Jesus by Judas was a morally evil act inspired immediately by Satan (Luke 22:3). Yet in Acts 2:23 Luke says, "This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan (boule) and foreknowledge of God." The betrayal was sin, and it involved the instrumentality of Satan; but it was part of God's ordained plan. That is, there is a sense in which God willed the delivering up of his Son, even though the act was sin.

Fall Book Study

This fall we will be going through Gary Friesen's book, Decision Making and the Will of God. You can find out more about the author and sample the first two chapters of this book at his website, gfriesen.net.

It'd be ideal to secure your own copy of this book for our study, but even if you don't, you'll still benefit greatly from the weekly teaching.

Also, remember that the first Thursday of each month will be a special, off-site fellowship night. We'll announce the location each month.

Who are You to Judge?

On July 2nd we looked at Paul's command to stop judging one another found in Romans 14. From this chapter we considered five principles to keep us from sinfully judging:

1. Welcome the Weak
2. Make Up Your Mind
3. Build Up the Believers
4. Firm Up Your Faith
5. Glorify God

Listen to the message on judging:

RIGHT CLICK to Download

Part 2 on this subject of judging was taught on July 16 from 1 Corinthians 4. Listen to "Who are You to Judge (Pt 2)" below. (lest you get confused, the opening illustration for Part 2 is the same one used in Part 1)

RIGHT CLICK to Download

Internal Power for Lasting Patience in External Pressure

Jason Vaden was our guest speaker Thursday night and took us through Ephesians 4:1-3 as we considered how to bear with one another.

His message, entitled, "Internal Power for Lasting Patience in External Pressure" had three basic points:

1. Enduring Patience in External Pressure
2. Internal Power for Enduring Patience
3. The Eternal Person of Internal Power

Jason spoke some challenging words as he showed us how humility is the internal power for enduring patience.

Listen to Jason's message

RIGHT CLICK to Download

Resovled Conference :: FREE Live Stream

California is a long way to go for this year's Resolved Conference. But now you can watch LIVE for FREE! You must register first, but that's free too.

Admonish One Another

Continuing in our "One Another" series, here is "Admonish One Another" from Romans 15:14 as well as a list of other "admonish" verses found in the New Testament.

Romans 15:14
Acts 20:31
1 Corinthians 4:14
Colossians 1:28
Colossians 3:16
1 Thessalonians 5:12
1 Thessalonians 5:14
2 Thessalonians 3:13-15

We learned that "admonish" is in the Greek as "noutheteo", meaning "to set in one's mind" and carries the idea of addressing another believer with the Word of God. Though often coupled with teaching, admonition always implies a problem or something that is wrong in the life of the one being confronted.

Jay Adams is probably best known for coining the term "Nouthetic Counseling" and has a good summary of this here.

Listen to "Admonish One Another"

Or RIGHT CLICK to Download

One Another Passages

Here is a pretty exhaustive list of all the New Testament "one another" passages that we quickly looked at Thursday night. As we take a closer look at a dozen of these this summer at 2.22, perhaps you can use this as a supplemental personal study.

Be of the same mind	Romans 12:16; 15:5
Build up	Romans 14:19; 1 Thess 5:11
Be at peace	Romans 14:19
Receive/accept	Romans 15:7
Admonish/comfort	Romans 15:14; 1 Thess 4:18; 5:11
Greet	Romans 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Peter 5:14
Care	1 Cor 12:25
Serve	Galatians 5:13
Bear burdens	Gal 6:2
Forbear, be patient	Eph 4:2; Col 3:13
Be kind	Eph 4:32
Submit	Eph 5:21
Esteem highly	Phil 2:3
Forgive	Col 3:13
Seek the good	1 Thess 5:15
Stimulat	Heb 10:24
Confess sins	James 5:16
Pray for	James 5:16
Be hospitable	1 Peter 4:9
Be humble	1 Peter 5:5
Fellowship in the light	1 John 1:7
Do not owe anything but love	Romans 13:8
Do not Judge	Romans 14:13
Do not devour/consume	Gal 5:15
Do not provoke/challenge	Gal 5:26
Do not envy	Gal 5:26
Do not lie	Col 3:9
Do not hate	Titus 3:3
Do not speak against/complain	James 4:11; 5:9

This list was taken from Richard Mayhue's book, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Focus on the Bible Commentaries).

One Another: Love One Another

Listen to the introduction and first message of our summer series, "One Another."

Or RIGHT CLICK to download

Summer Teaching Series

Please join us beginning this Thursday at 6:30pm as we embark on a summer study of the "one another" passages in the New Testament. Aaron will kick off the study in John 13 with Jesus' high calling of mutual love.

Family behavior in the body of Christ starts with ‘Love one another’. Our Lord told the disciples, By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).
The epistles refer to this overarching principle more than ten times (Rom 12:10; 13:8: 1 Thess 3:12; 4:9; 2 Thess 1:3; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11; 2 John 5).
From this general statement, the epistles then specifically explain the various features of ‘one another’ ministry in the church. They are numerous and, in general, self explanatory.
~Richard Mayhue, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Triumphs and Trials of a Consecrated Church; Christian Focus, 2003

We'll be meeting in the student ministries room at the Bible Church of Little Rock for fellowship at 6:30, then our worship thru singing & preaching will begain promptly at 7:00pm. We look forward to seeing you there!

Jeff's Announcement

Greetings 2.22,

If you weren't there on Sunday, Judy and I announced that I have just received and accepted the call to be the senior pastor of Anchorage Grace Church. That's right Anchorage, Alaska. We believe the Lord has directed this decision and given us the desires of our hearts (Ps. 37:4). We just didn't know Alaska was our heart's desire until God opened this opportunity up for us!

Allow me to express my deep gratitude for the part you played at 2.22 and in our lives. It has been our humble and unique privilege to minister the Word to you through teaching and personal discipleship. The Lord has taught us valuable lessons through 2.22 - lessons that will carry over to Anchorage Grace Church. I count your impact on our lives as what in large measure is launching us on this new adventure. So thank you!

As you know, Aaron and Anita have been the glue and gasoline for 2.22 for a long time! So, it is my joy to report that Aaron will take the lead for 2.22 this summer. Here's the plan, Lord willing: There will be no regular Thursday night meetings in May, but there will still be a couple of opportunities for fellowship, including a movie night at Elizabeth Howell's home. Then in June, Aaron will be leading a study during the summer months - with the help of a few "guest" speakers - that I trust will be a blessing to you all. There will also be the monthly fellowship opportunities.

The May events, summer study and fellowship opportunities will all be announced via email & the blog very soon.

We love you and will miss you. Grace and peace,

Jeff

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