Pastor's Reflections: July 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

A Fourth Grader asks, "Why does God love us?"

Blog » A Fourth Grader asks, "Why does God love us?

Thursday July 31, 2014
Jeff Lampl

Hi ____________ in fourth grade,

Thanks for asking a great question! Here’s what you asked. “Why does God love us?” There are a lot of answers to this question. Here’s the first one. Notice this Bible verse.

“God is love” 1 John 4:8

This verse tells us that God always, always loves us because He can’t help it. That’s just who God is. He loves us because He is love itself.

A second answer is that God made us and we are his children and every good father loves his children. Notice what this verse says;

“Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own children . . . .
His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to!”
Ephesians 1:4-5 (TLB)

This verse tells us that he made us and then he even adopted us into his family because he wants us as his children. That’s amazing! God WANTS you as his son or as his daughter. He PICKED YOU! He picked you to love and when you do something wrong, guess what, he forgives you every time that you ask Him to! On the cross Jesus took the things you do wrong onto himself and forgives you! Why? Just because he wanted to!!!!

This means that God loves you when you’re good and God loves you when you’re bad, He just loves you all the time, no matter what! That’s really, really good news!

Hope this helps!

God bless,
Pastor Jeff

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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

A Bible Study on the Rapture

Blog » A Bible Study on the Rapture

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Since Nicholas Cage is about to be left behind this fall in his new movie about the rapture I thought it might be helpful to do a Bible study of the passage that tells of a ‘rapture” (from the Latin word for “caught up” in. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

The idea of rapture, where believers will disappear and be taken up into heaven so that they will not face a terrible coming tribulation, comes from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians 4:13-18. Here’s verse 16:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God."

Paul is using imagery that every Jewish reader would immediately understand. Every Jew listening to this letter read to them to explain what happens to believers when they die would first in their minds be “seeing” Moses coming down from Mount Sinai to the sound of a trumpet blast as described in Exodus 19. Paul uses the same imagery in first Corinthians 15 where he writes that at the sound of a trumpet we will all be changed. Paul is telling the believers in Thessalonica that Jesus will return to earth one day with the same authority with which Moses descended the mountain with the 10 commandments (note: the scholar who first put me on to understanding all of this is NT Wright, but he’s one of many others)

Now notice the next verse. Paul is now using another image that citizens of the Roman Empire would understand.

“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep."

When Paul wrote, “the coming of the Lord”, he used the word, parousia, referring to the visitation of a king to his province. As a variety of scholars have noted, In the minds of those hearing Paul’s letter read to them this word would have evoked a mental picture of Caesar, for example, coming back to visit a city he had colonized, Corinth for example. Paul is comparing this event to Jesus the true King coming back to his world. The rightful ruler is coming back to rule his world in person. Jesus would not just be here in spirit, but one day would come back in full power personally present to rule his world the world he died for.

Notice, now, this verse:

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."

Those of us who are still alive when Jesus comes back won’t meet Jesus before those who have died. Those who died will already have met Jesus. What then happens when the Emperor comes to rule his territory personally? Notice this next verse.

“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."

Some interpreters think that this verse means that one day in the future believers will be raptured (caught up in the air) out of this world and into heaven. However, if we stick with the what Jewish listeners would have heard and what Paul was most certainly doing, we can then see that Paul was using a third image that Jewish believers would have been very, very familiar with. It is an image from Daniel where we read of “one like a son of man”, a Messiah coming to rule every nation, every tribe, every language group. Daniel 7 sees . . . .

“In my vision at night I saw in front of me someone who looked like a human being coming on the clouds in the sky. He came near God, who has been alive forever, and he was led to God. He was given authority, glory, and the strength of a king. People of every tribe, nation, and language will serve him. His rule will last forever, and his kingdom will never be destroyed." Daniel 7:13-14 (NCV)

The picture evoked in the hearers would have a picture of people leaving their city and going out meet their newly arrived rightful ruler, not to leave with him, but rather to accompany him back to their city where he would now rule over them with love and justice. Perhaps the picture is a little bit like Palm Sunday when the crowds went out to meet Jesus and then escorted him back into the city. The clouds are an image from Daniel of the power and Lordship of the coming Messiah arriving in person to be the rightful ruler of his kingdom.

At this point then believers are not transported away from earth, rather they and the earth are transformed and a new heaven on earth world will have been established. The earth will be under new management, under the new leadership of the Messiah.

The dead in Christ (someone rather sarcastically said this proves that Presbyterians will be the first to enter heaven) will be raised and those alive at his coming will be transformed. Paul finishes chapter 4 with these words.

"Therefore encourage one another with these words."
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (ESV)

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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A bullet point answer to "How did we get the Bible?"

Blog » A bullet point answer to "How did we get the Bible?"

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

"All Scripture is given by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right."
2 Timothy 3:16 (NCV)

Two of the questions that have been asked recently have to do with the origin of the Bible.

“How were the writings that became our Bible chosen? Is everything is based on the King James Version? And what’s the significance of the Old Testament anyway.”

Furthermore a 6^th grader asked this great question. If the Bible was written so long ago why is it typed?

Here’s a bullet point response.

·     The OT written between 1400 BC and right after the Jewish People were set free
              from Babylon around 400 BC
        ·     Moses is thought to have written or had a hand in writing the first five books called
              variously the Law or the Torah.
        ·     Editors were involved in editing what he wrote, a process which Christians believe
              was directed by God.
        ·    The first 11 chapters of Genesis tell us where we came from, what we were made
              to do wand what's wrong in the world.
        ·    Then from Gen 12 all the way to Malachi it tells us how God builds a people, Israel,
              will rescue the world from sin, death, evil, and satanic powers
        ·     About 50 years after the birth of Jesus the New Testament writings were begun.
              These writings were composed between about 50 and 90 AD. They include four
              gospels (narratives of Jesus life death and resurrection, a history of the early
              church (Acts) many letters from various writers and a final writing full of “code”
              language from the Old Testament which was intended to encourage believers who
              were being persecuted for their faith (Revelation)
        ·     It is not true that what books got into the Bible and what books didn’t was a huge
              debate settled only by Constantine in the 300’s.
        ·     From the end of the first century the collection of writings (what became our Bible)
              being circulated among the churches throughout the Roman Empire were pretty
              much what we have now.
        ·     Most of what you may have read about other gospels having been discovered, as
              well as other archeological “discoveries” turns out to be either sensationalism or
              even fraudulent. None of the other gospels were considered authentic by the early
              church.
        ·     Until recently it was true that the earliest copies of the biblical writings were
              sometimes copied more than a thousand years after they were first written down.
        ·     How then, can we trust that the copies we have are what the authors actually
              wrote?
        ·     Listen to this!!!!
        ·     One day in 1947 a shepherd boy threw a stone down a hole in the desert near the
               Dead Sea.
        ·     He heard a clang, and climbed down to see what it was.
        ·     In the cave below the surface he discovered clay pots containing what turned out
              to be scrolls of the Old Testament and other writing preserved by a Jewish Sect
              called the Essenes who lived at the time of Jesus and whose settlement was called
              Qumran
        ·     One of the scrolls was a mostly complete copy of the book of Isaiah.
        ·     Previously the earliest copy Isaiah that anyone had of Isaiah was from around 900
              AD
        ·     Here’s what’s amazing: when the copy from Qumran and the copy from 900 AD are
              compared they are almost identical and whatever discrepancies exist are
              inconsequential!!!
        ·     That’s as much as a one thousand years period over which copying was done
               almost perfectly!
        ·     Another person asked what LXX is. It is the Old Testament copied into Greek in
              about 200 BC. It is called the Septuagint (70) because seventy translators worked
              on the project. That translation was necessary because the Conquest of the known
              world by Greece in the prior century meant that the official language of the empire
              had become Greek. Sometimes New Testament authors quote the Septuagint
              rather than the Hebrew Old Testament.
        ·     What about typing.   The printing press was not invented until the end of the 15^th
              century and it was in 611 that the King James Version of the Bible was published.
              It was a translation from the Latin translation of the Bible in 400 AD by Saint
              Jerome.
        ·     The newest translations are completed for earlier manuscripts in the Greek and
               Hebrew and Aramaic languages

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Monday, July 28, 2014

People are Liking this Book!

Blog » People are Liking this Book!
Monday, July 28, 2014

"Give and it will be given back to you."
Luke 6:38

Remember that when you buy one of these books, $3 of the $15 cost will go toward the Give Bikes challenge. In fact on Sunday we’ll hold the drawing to find out who gets to deliver them! Below is a note I was given on Sunday from someone who loved what she read in the book. Enjoy! Jeff

Dear Pastor Jeff and all the Deacons,

My husband and I are very grateful for the help you give us. I felt the caring in the gifts you give us. We live in a mobile home park, have had very bad storms about two weeks ago, of course you know. A very big tree fell on a home and smashed the front of the home. Thank the Lord that no one got hurt but their home had a lot of damage to it. So I called the office manager and asked if I could put a donation jar in the office for that family. At first they were not willing to do this; they said their homeowners insurance would take care of it. But I said they will need more help than just us and home owners insurance. I should know - I told them when I lived in Lansdowne I had a house fire and my whole home and belongings were gone. It was so hard for me to understand this. I was left with nothing and I know how loss can be. So the office said OK, that is a very nice thing to do. I asked them that my name not be used at all, that it was in their hands now and most of all it was in the Lord’s hands now. I pray that people would help out the family with a cash donation and I started it with a ten dollar bill. I did this because I have been given a lot of help by the Lord thru the church, Pastor Jeff and the members of CLC. We thank you for your kindness.

Please pray for this family; I do not know their names but the Dear Lord knows their names and their needs. I pray that people will open their pockets and give something . . . anything would help. Last week at church I was given a book, “I Like Giving”. I looked at this as that the Lord knows I needed that book. I’m not a real good book reader but when I started to read the book I found it hard to put down. I also underlined some of the messages. Who would know that what happened by that book was the Dear Lord’s work at hand. That book opened my eyes and heart more even though we don’t have much of anything ourselves. But I realize the Lord is at work all the time even if we don’t believe this. Thank you and love for the church and the Lord and for this book and may the messages in that book can open your eyes and heart. Sharon

“Heavenly Father, propel me to live to give to bless others. Amen”

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Friday, July 25, 2014

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Questions from KidZone!

Blog » Questions from KidZone!

Thursday July 24, 2014

Jeannette, our Director of Children’s Ministries did a really great thing. She collected questions about God and the world from the children two Sundays ago. I thought it might be interesting and helpful to you to read their questions and my answers a few questions at a time in the next few blogposts. Maybe they will help you as parents in your discipling of your children to be the best Christ followers they can be! I’ve left out the children’s names to preserve their privacy. Jeff

Hi ___________ in fourth grade,

You asked a really good question. This is the question you asked. “How does God help a lot of people?”

One of the really great things about God is that God can be everywhere on earth all at the same time. God can be with you helping you at the very same time that he is helping someone else somewhere else on earth! Isn’t that amazing? The way he helps is mostly by giving you just the right friends and family to help you just at the very time that you need help the most. Other times, God will give you thoughts and ideas that will help you. Sometimes God even gives you extra energy to finish something, like your homework for instance, right when you don’t feel like doing it. Here’s a verse from the Bible that I hope helps you.

“God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do”. 1 Corinthians 12:6 (CEV)

Hope this helps, __________

God bless,
Pastor Jeff

Hi __________________ in fourth grade,

Thanks for asking a great question! This is the question that you asked was about heaven, “What is it like up there?” That’s a hard question to answer, but I’m sure it will be so beautiful that you won’t be able to stop staring at everything you see. Have you ever gotten up really early on a beautiful spring day and noticed how the darkness outside slowly gets brighter and brighter until the sunshine shines on the tulips and daffodils and flowering trees and the morning mist and coolness goes away and suddenly the day is so beautiful you almost can’t stand it?

Here’s a verse for you.

“No eyes have ever seen,

no ears have ever heard,

and no mind has ever imagined what (great things)

God has prepared for those who love him!!!!” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Here’s another verse that tells us that heaven will be a joyful place where all the bad things that happen now won’t happen there.

Hope this helps.

God bless,
Pastor Jeff

Hi ________ in Grade Five,

You asked a very good question, ________. You asked, “Does Jesus have a last name?” The answer to your question is no, Jesus does not have a last name. Many people think that Jesus’ last name is Christ, but Christ is not his last name. Instead Christ is Jesus’ title. Just like your dad is an engineer, but when I say about your father, Dan the engineer, the word engineer is not your dad’s last name, instead engineer is what your dad does, sort of his title. Christ, is what Jesus does, his title. Christ means “the One who will rescue and save the world from sin and everything bad”. So when you say Jesus Christ you are saying that you believe that Jesus is the most powerful person in the world, the one you can trust make everything that has gone wrong right again.

Here’s a Bible verse that will help you.

“We have only one God, and he is the Father. He created everything, and we live for him. Jesus Christ is our only Lord. Everything was made by him, and by him life was given to us.” 1 Corinthians 8:6 (CEV)

Hope this helps, __________

God bless,
Pastor Jeff

Hi ___________in grade three,

You asked a question that is very, very hard to answer! Here’s your question, “How did Noah get all the animals on the ark?”

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly how Noah did it. I’m sure that Noah had no idea how he was going to do it either, he just knew that God told him to fill the ark with animals and when the time came for animals to come on board, God made it happen. That’s a really good thing for us to learn for our own lives. Sometimes God wants us to do things that seem impossible to us, but we must obey God anyway. And then just when we don’t know what to do next, God helps us with the exact help that we need.

Here’s a good Bible verse for you to remember.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.
Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (TEV)

I hope this helps ___________!

God bless, Pastor Jeff

HI ________________ in fourth grade,

Thanks for asking a great question. Your question was, “why was the Bible made?” Here’s a really good verse from the Bible that gives an answer to your question.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what
is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

The word “scripture” means the Bible. The Bible is the story of how God made the world, what went wrong with the world, who we are and how God is working to remove all the bad from the world and make it into a world where only good exists. It was written down so that people all over the world could read this story and trust in God and in his Son, Jesus, so that the can live the really good life also.

Pastor's Reflections

Thursday, July 31, 2014

A Fourth Grader asks, "Why does God love us?"

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

A Bible Study on the Rapture

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

A bullet point answer to "How did we get the Bible?"

Monday, July 28, 2014

People are Liking this Book!

Friday, July 25, 2014

More Questions from the Kids!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Questions from KidZone!

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