Read the book of Joshua
1. Lets review the training of Joshua. Look at the following verses and tell what you learn about the building of the replacement of Moses - Joshua
Ex. 17:8-14
Ex. 24:13-18
Ex. 32:17,18
Ex. 33:11
Num. 11:28
Num. 13:16
Num. 14:6
Num. 27:18
Num. 32:12
Deut. 1:38
Deut 3:21
Deut 3:28
Deut 31:7
Deut. 34:9
2.Read Joshua 2. Why do you think Joshua sent out the spies?
Do you think God told him to?
What were the benefits of sending out the spies?
What does this tell you about God?
3. Read the following passages and write down what they teach us about finding or achieving God's will or plan for our life;
Josh. 3:3,4
Josh 3:15,16
Josh 5:2
Josh. 7:12
Josh 8:34,35
Josh. 9:14
3. Lets look at Rahab a little more in depth in Chapter 2.
Read Ruth 4:18-22 and Matt.1:5. What important part does she play in the history of mankind?
Read Heb. 11:32. Rahab is included in the faith chapter in Heb.11. How did she demonstrate faith in chapter 2 of Joshua?
It appears she lies in Chapter 2. Look at some other instances of "lying" that seemed to be condoned in the Bible;
1Sam. 16:1-5
Jer. 38:24-28
1Sam. 20:27-31
Ex. 1:18-20
John 7:8-10
Here are some other passages that don't condone lying;
Ex.20:16, Prov.6:16-19, Rev.21:8, John 8:44,, Col.3:9, Lev.19:11, Ps 34:13, 1Pet 3:10, Ps.119:163 (to name a few)
Come up with a policy,as a Christian, on lying.
4. Read Joshua 7&8. What sin did Achan committ?
What was the punishment?
Why was the punishment so harsh?
Look at 7:21. What are the 4 steps in stealing?
1. ________________________________
2. _______________________________
3. ______________________________
Hiding
4. _______________________________
What does the last step tell you about the folly of stealing, especially in light of the items he took?
Look at Joshua 8:2. What does that tell you about this sin?
5. Look at Joshua 7:2-4 and 9:14,15. What mistake did the Israelites make in both of these passages?
Read 9:9-11, 22-25. How did the Gibeonites show their faith in God?
Like Rahab, what does this show you about God?
6. Read Josh 15:63, 16:10, 17:12, 17:16. What is common to all these passages?
What does it reveal about the people?
Contrast this to Caleb, once again, in 14:6-14
Notes to teachers/students;
Even though these passages seem brutal we must remember that God gave them over 400 years to repent but their sins continued to grow to complete deprivation. Just like a rabid dog, something had to be done. Instead of a flood which God swore He would never do again, He used the Israelites to wipe them out - not that inside they were any better as we will see in Judges, but God chose to use them because of His love and His divine purpose to show the world His power thru them(4:24), to bring the Messiah thru them(5:13-15), and bring the Bible thru them(24:26). In the midst of this, if people bowed before God they still could be saved as in the cases of Rahab and the Gibeonites. It's interesting that God used the flaws of the Israelites to His advantage in both of these cases - the lack of faith in sending out spies and self sufficiency in making a treaty with the Gibeonites.
To enter into the promised land took wholehearted devotion to the Lord. Spiritually speaking, if we are stuck in the wilderness of the Christian life and we want to experience abundant life in Christ, these are some steps we have to take.
1) Follow God's lead - listen to Him. Have quiet times daily to listen to what He has to say. (Mark 1:35-39)
2) Step out in faith - the water was at flood stage and they had to step in it. The walls were impenetrable and they had to walk around them and yell. Are you willing to follow God even if it is dangerous and seems to make no sense?
3) Remove sinful areas from your life. Like circumcision these must be cut off and like Caananites, not a single one can remain even if they are determined to live there or seem unbeatable like iron chariots. God gives you the power thru the Holy Spirit that every sin can be defeated.
4) Get your own food. Are you waiting for the pastor to feed you or the Sunday School teacher? Have fun in the wilderness!
5) Become part of a body. You can't do this on your own.
The folly of Achan is in all of us. We see it in the paper all the time, someone steals -takes something they shouldn't. It affects you, your whole family, and everyone around you. Plus if he had just waited, in the next city they were allowed to take everything. And then if you do steal something, you can't use it because everyone will wonder where you got it. Stupid!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Christian Music Reviews 2012 - Part 2
Alright, here goes another year of Christian music (CDs) reviews. One major change for this year. No screamo reviews; I just can't bear to listen to them. Also, Gospel Music is not enjoyable to me so I really can't give them a fair review so I won't review those. No EPs either and no bands that may have Christian members but don't sing clearly Christian music (by my definition) The scoring system remains the same but it is more of a guideline than absolute.
9
7.9
7.2
6.3
6.2
6.0
4.8
4
5.9
4.4
4
6.2
3.5
7
4.5
3.9
5.2
5.1
8.3
Biased 7
8.2
6
5
6
7
8.2
1 - worst album of the year
2 - regretted listening to it once
3 - worth one listen
4 - one good song
5 - two to three good songs
6 - four good songs
7 - five good songs
( 8-10 are worth buying)
8 - six good songs
9 - seven good songs
10 - instant classic
Here are the top 5 albums of the year so far (January - March)
9
7.9
7.26.3
6.2
And here are April's thru July
6.0
Decent rap. Probably best of year so far
4.8
Another rap album from KJ52. Best line, "I have more passion for Jesus than Jim Cavezal"
4
I'm not sure what people see in her. This one will put you to sleep.
5.9
A cross between TobyMac and Skillet but not as good as either
4.4
Very average worship. (is that an oxymoron?)
4
The song he does with Jimmy Needham is great. Otherwise this rap album is very weak
6.2
Worship in the style of Caedmon's Call and All Sons and Daughters
3.5
Another Worship album with no songs that are standouts.
7
Disclaimer - yes this is safe for the whole family and will be a staple for K-Love, The Fish, and The Message. That being said, I actually liked it , and it should replace Mercy Me and Casting Crowns in the continuous play CD players at youth nights or on The Fish or K-Love(though it won't)
4.5
Newsong meets GoFish in this somewhat embarressing release. I could imagine 80 year olds listening to this and thinking they really rock
3.9
Worship done poorly
5.2
One of the best rock bands in Christian Music, TFK, fails to hit the mark in this one
5.1
Alright, I did review "Gospel" but he is an ex major league baseball player that gives Kirk Franklin a run for his money.
8.3
I haven't posted much lately because since Big Daddy Weave, everything has been really weak.(this includes Bluetree, Point of Grace, Ben Cantelon, MercyMe, Lovelite, 12 Stones, Children 18:3, The Choir, Mary Mary, John Schlitt, Phil Keaggy, The Washington Projects, Our Hearts Hero, and Write This Down. Bellarive comes out with a really nice premier project that I would describe as upbeat, well produced artsy meandering worship. In the same vein as Lovelite, Sons and Daughters, Fike, Caedmon's Call, but much better!
Biased 7
I know Martha (she was in the youth group I led) Her first album, produced on a shoe-string budget with only 7 songs, but I love 5 of them. Hopefully this can catch the ears of someone and she can get some airplay
8.2
The Rocket Summer never fails to deliver creative, well-done Christian music that appeals to secular and Christian audiences. Very good throughout the whole album, yet maybe no superb moments like some of his more uneven albums
6
Unfortunately the best songs are the secular ones but still a good album with a unique sound
5
Decent worship but not in the same league as Passion
6
Best since Satellite
7
Better than Decemberadio. Southern rock
8.2
Creative Christian rock different from anything else out there.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
How To Determine If The Guy You Are Dating Is Really A Christian Or Just Pretending
After years of parenting, being an elder, teaching youth, being a deacon, being a Christian for over 50 years, counseling thousands of women in a busy OB/GYN practice - I have heard this quote over 100 times - "I am dating the most wonderful guy. You would approve ,too , because he is an awesome Christian."
OKay, ladies. Here is how you tell if he is a "good Christian guy" and it isn't rocket science but you have to be willing to take the blinders off. Here it is.... after years of study...
Are you having sex?
There it was. Did you miss it? I'll say it again
Are you having sex?
If you are he is not a good Christian guy. WAKE UP!!!
Now you might take the blame and say, "It was my idea; I'm the one to blame."
It doesn't matter. He should have said, "No, as the spiritual leader it is my job to present you as a pure and Holy bride to Christ. It is my job to model what it means to be a Christian. I respect you so much that how dare I cause you to sin."
You might say, "Wow that's a mature response. How many Christian guys are that mature?"
Well, they might not be able to say those exact words but even my 13 year old boys knew to wait until marriage.
Come on ladies. There are so many phonies out there. Be wise. Don't say, "he goes to church" or "we pray before we eat" or "I've never heard him cuss" or "he wears a cross" or "he likes gospel music" or "he helps the poor" or countless others. I gave you the litmus test. Are you willing to accept it?
OKay, ladies. Here is how you tell if he is a "good Christian guy" and it isn't rocket science but you have to be willing to take the blinders off. Here it is.... after years of study...
Are you having sex?
There it was. Did you miss it? I'll say it again
Are you having sex?
If you are he is not a good Christian guy. WAKE UP!!!
Now you might take the blame and say, "It was my idea; I'm the one to blame."
It doesn't matter. He should have said, "No, as the spiritual leader it is my job to present you as a pure and Holy bride to Christ. It is my job to model what it means to be a Christian. I respect you so much that how dare I cause you to sin."
You might say, "Wow that's a mature response. How many Christian guys are that mature?"
Well, they might not be able to say those exact words but even my 13 year old boys knew to wait until marriage.
Come on ladies. There are so many phonies out there. Be wise. Don't say, "he goes to church" or "we pray before we eat" or "I've never heard him cuss" or "he wears a cross" or "he likes gospel music" or "he helps the poor" or countless others. I gave you the litmus test. Are you willing to accept it?
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Growing in Christ Bible Study Genesis to Revelation Week 17
Read Deuteronomy
1. Being "green" is something that is "politically correct" so many of us Christians rebel against it just for that reason. Lets read some Bible passages and see if we can come up with a Christian view on ecology.
Read these passages about animals
Deut. 22:4,6-7
Deut 25:4
Deut 14:21
Deut. 7:22
Prov. 12:10
Summarize what God is saying about animals in these verses:
Now lets look at the land. Start from the very beginning by reading the following verses.
Gen. 1:11-12, 31- 2:2
Gen. 2:15
Gen. 9:13
What do you learn about the land in these passages?
Lev 18:25-28
Lev. 25:4
Num. 35:34
Deut 24:4
Lev.26:34,35
What do you learn about the land from these passages?
Ps. 65:9-13
Ps. 96:12-13
Luke 19:40
Deut. 11:11-15
Deut. 20:19,20
Mark 4:41
Rom. 8:19-21
What do you learn about the land from these passages?
2. God introduces another concept that is mentioned over and over in Deuteronomy. This is the concept of remembering and passing it on to the next generation.
Lets look at remembering - read the following passages and tell either what they were to remember and or how they were to remember;
Deut. 1:29-33
Deut. 4:32-38
Deut. 3:21,22
Deut 7:17-19
Deut. 20:1
Deut. 26:1-11
Deut. 27:1-8
Deut. 29:2-7, 16-18
Deut. 31:4
Josh. 4:1-7
1Sam. 7:10-13
Now look at some verses and tell how and why they were to pass it on to the next generation;
Deut. 6:6-9
Deut. 11:1-7 & 18-20
Deut.31:12,13
Watch this video and tell how it relates to the next set of verses.
Deut. 31:19-22, 32:1-46
Ex. 12:24-27
3. Remember the concept of moral laws (transgressions that were sins and required sacrifices), ritual laws (when "life" went out from the body they needed to be ceremonially cleansed) , and national laws (requirements in order to be different from all other nations) that we introduced in a previous lesson. Look at the following verses and tell which category it falls under;
Deut 5:7-21
Deut 14:1-21
Deut 22:6-12
Deut 23:9-14
Deut 23:19-20
Deut 27:15-26
Notice the roadkill law and the law on charging interest. Both of these (national laws) are laws for the children of God but not laws to be demanded in dealing with unbelievers. I know this is deep, but try to come up with some ways this principle might be applicable to us today.
4. In Deut. 16 there are listed 3 feasts that required "pilgrimiges". Look at the 3 new testament passages and tell what feast was being observed
John 7
Acts 2
John 18
Which feast will we be observing in the millenial kingdom according to Zech. 14:16-19?
5. Another concept that keeps appearing in Deuteronomy is the concept of testing. Look at the following verses and answer the question below;
Deut 8:1-5
Deut 13:1-3
2Chron. 32:31
2Cor. 1:8,9
Judges 3:1-4
Jer. 35
1Pet. 1:6,7
John 6:5-7
Give 4 reasons why God tests people
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
6. Read Deut 20:5-9. In 5 to 7 there are 3 reasons given to get out of going to war. What are they?
Verse 8 may give the underlying reason for these excuses. What is it?
Why is it dangerous to let him go to war?
Now read the parable of the banquet in Luke 14:16-24. What were the 3 excuses given to the master?
Now read Luke 14:25-27 and 31-33. How does this passage in Luke relate to the one in Deuteronomy?
Notes to teachers/students
Deuteronomy means "second law". In effect what is happening is Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is- through his personality (notice how many times he blames them for the fact that he can't go in) reviewing everything they need to know before they go into the promised land and he dies. One of the reasons we know is it is inspired is because God is outside of time and therefore prophecies (Deut.18:15, 21:23) are commonplace and laws are given for the future. (laws concerning kings, divorce, the poor, rebellion - all of which are commanded against but God is basically saying "you are going to do it anyway so here is how to deal with it when it happens")
He gives lots of practical ways of remembering the miraculous things God did for them to show His power and His love, so when times get tough they could look back on His faithfulness in the past and trust. Moses remembers how close they were to entering the promised land and because of unbelief couldn't enter and doesn't want this to happen to this new generation of Israelites. He remembers how easily they went to worship other gods and how easily the opposite sex swayed them. He doesn't want this to happen again. Moses gives practical ways to pass them on to their children, who didn't see many of the miracles, and we see Godly parenting is a full time job, from rising to sleeping, and not to be left to the "church" to train your kids spiritually. The other application to us is, how are we remembering God's acts in our lives? Do you journal? Some people have treasure chests that they keep rememberances in. I've heard of rock gardens where people paint on rocks God's miracles in your life. How about keeping track for a year and every thanksgiving go around the room and share. Are you singing with your kids? Teach them Christian songs. We would make up scripture memory songs and our kids memorized complete books of the Bible this way.
In Deuteronomy we are introduced to the concept of testing. God tests us to see what is in our hearts. Are we only happy and praisers of the Lord when everything is going well? Are we relying on ourselves to meet our needs? Will we stand firm in the midst of peer pressure or temptation? God, who knows the future, knows how we will respond so the testing really isn't for His benefit but more for ours - to see where our faith lies and how strong it is. When we pass, just like in school, we get to move up to the next level of growth/testing.
Christians rarely talk about it because it is such a politically correct topic, but we as Christians need to be concerned about the environment. Granted, it is for completely different motives(the Earth isn't my mother and animals aren't my ancestors nor do I anticipate the Earth having to be here for another million years). The motives can be boiled down to two; 1) The earth is God's masterpiece. He didn't rest on the 7th day because He was tired but because He was utterly satisfied with His creation. Creation declares His majesty and we should be curators of this museum. 2) We are stewards of it. Adams job was to work the garden and care for it. We should guard against it's destruction. When the flood destroyed everything, God actually made a covenant with the Earth (Gen 9:13) that He wouldn't destroy it again.3) It obeys God better than we do. We should be on God's side in this. Because of these reasons we see God commanding the people to treat anomals with respect (they still could eat them, though). We see God commanding them to not randomly destroy creation when they go in and raze cities. God commands them to give the land a rest every 7 years. Someday He will freecreation from its bondage and we should have God's heart in that.
As we look at more moral, ritual, and national laws, Deuteronomy adds a few national laws (laws to make the Israelites different from the rest of the world) One of these is sanitation. Just think, if the world had followed the Bible's advice, how many typhoid, cholera, etc deaths could have been prevented.An interesting law is the "roadkill law". It appears they couldn't eat it but they could sell it to unbelievers. The same was true of interest - they couldn't charge interest but they could to non-jews. Obviously we need to see what all of scripture says, but I see this as a principle where we, in non-sinful areas that are matters of choice to be different from the world (food, drink, clothing, music, entertainment, etc.) are able to deal/sell/work in these areas to unbelievers who don't have the same standards.
Lastly, I see the whole restrictions on going to war as concessions rather than restrictions. To me, Moses is basically saying, "If you are afraid to risk your life because you are missing out on your wife, your home, your possessions, by all means - stay home. I don't want your fear spreading among the rest of the troops." In the same way, Jesus in Luke gives a parable of a feast where people stay away for mainly the same reasons as in Deuteronomy. He goes on to say that before you go into a battle you should count the cost. If you value anything more than Him, don't join up. The Christian life is a battle, not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities, and Jesus says that we must give our lives fully or we can't follow Him.
1. Being "green" is something that is "politically correct" so many of us Christians rebel against it just for that reason. Lets read some Bible passages and see if we can come up with a Christian view on ecology.
Read these passages about animals
Deut. 22:4,6-7
Deut 25:4
Deut 14:21
Deut. 7:22
Prov. 12:10
Summarize what God is saying about animals in these verses:
Now lets look at the land. Start from the very beginning by reading the following verses.
Gen. 1:11-12, 31- 2:2
Gen. 2:15
Gen. 9:13
What do you learn about the land in these passages?
Lev 18:25-28
Lev. 25:4
Num. 35:34
Deut 24:4
Lev.26:34,35
What do you learn about the land from these passages?
Ps. 65:9-13
Ps. 96:12-13
Luke 19:40
Deut. 11:11-15
Deut. 20:19,20
Mark 4:41
Rom. 8:19-21
What do you learn about the land from these passages?
2. God introduces another concept that is mentioned over and over in Deuteronomy. This is the concept of remembering and passing it on to the next generation.
Lets look at remembering - read the following passages and tell either what they were to remember and or how they were to remember;
Deut. 1:29-33
Deut. 4:32-38
Deut. 3:21,22
Deut 7:17-19
Deut. 20:1
Deut. 26:1-11
Deut. 27:1-8
Deut. 29:2-7, 16-18
Deut. 31:4
Josh. 4:1-7
1Sam. 7:10-13
Now look at some verses and tell how and why they were to pass it on to the next generation;
Deut. 6:6-9
Deut. 11:1-7 & 18-20
Deut.31:12,13
Watch this video and tell how it relates to the next set of verses.
Deut. 31:19-22, 32:1-46
Ex. 12:24-27
3. Remember the concept of moral laws (transgressions that were sins and required sacrifices), ritual laws (when "life" went out from the body they needed to be ceremonially cleansed) , and national laws (requirements in order to be different from all other nations) that we introduced in a previous lesson. Look at the following verses and tell which category it falls under;
Deut 5:7-21
Deut 14:1-21
Deut 22:6-12
Deut 23:9-14
Deut 23:19-20
Deut 27:15-26
Notice the roadkill law and the law on charging interest. Both of these (national laws) are laws for the children of God but not laws to be demanded in dealing with unbelievers. I know this is deep, but try to come up with some ways this principle might be applicable to us today.
4. In Deut. 16 there are listed 3 feasts that required "pilgrimiges". Look at the 3 new testament passages and tell what feast was being observed
John 7
Acts 2
John 18
Which feast will we be observing in the millenial kingdom according to Zech. 14:16-19?
5. Another concept that keeps appearing in Deuteronomy is the concept of testing. Look at the following verses and answer the question below;
Deut 8:1-5
Deut 13:1-3
2Chron. 32:31
2Cor. 1:8,9
Judges 3:1-4
Jer. 35
1Pet. 1:6,7
John 6:5-7
Give 4 reasons why God tests people
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
6. Read Deut 20:5-9. In 5 to 7 there are 3 reasons given to get out of going to war. What are they?
Verse 8 may give the underlying reason for these excuses. What is it?
Why is it dangerous to let him go to war?
Now read the parable of the banquet in Luke 14:16-24. What were the 3 excuses given to the master?
Now read Luke 14:25-27 and 31-33. How does this passage in Luke relate to the one in Deuteronomy?
Notes to teachers/students
Deuteronomy means "second law". In effect what is happening is Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is- through his personality (notice how many times he blames them for the fact that he can't go in) reviewing everything they need to know before they go into the promised land and he dies. One of the reasons we know is it is inspired is because God is outside of time and therefore prophecies (Deut.18:15, 21:23) are commonplace and laws are given for the future. (laws concerning kings, divorce, the poor, rebellion - all of which are commanded against but God is basically saying "you are going to do it anyway so here is how to deal with it when it happens")
He gives lots of practical ways of remembering the miraculous things God did for them to show His power and His love, so when times get tough they could look back on His faithfulness in the past and trust. Moses remembers how close they were to entering the promised land and because of unbelief couldn't enter and doesn't want this to happen to this new generation of Israelites. He remembers how easily they went to worship other gods and how easily the opposite sex swayed them. He doesn't want this to happen again. Moses gives practical ways to pass them on to their children, who didn't see many of the miracles, and we see Godly parenting is a full time job, from rising to sleeping, and not to be left to the "church" to train your kids spiritually. The other application to us is, how are we remembering God's acts in our lives? Do you journal? Some people have treasure chests that they keep rememberances in. I've heard of rock gardens where people paint on rocks God's miracles in your life. How about keeping track for a year and every thanksgiving go around the room and share. Are you singing with your kids? Teach them Christian songs. We would make up scripture memory songs and our kids memorized complete books of the Bible this way.
In Deuteronomy we are introduced to the concept of testing. God tests us to see what is in our hearts. Are we only happy and praisers of the Lord when everything is going well? Are we relying on ourselves to meet our needs? Will we stand firm in the midst of peer pressure or temptation? God, who knows the future, knows how we will respond so the testing really isn't for His benefit but more for ours - to see where our faith lies and how strong it is. When we pass, just like in school, we get to move up to the next level of growth/testing.
Christians rarely talk about it because it is such a politically correct topic, but we as Christians need to be concerned about the environment. Granted, it is for completely different motives(the Earth isn't my mother and animals aren't my ancestors nor do I anticipate the Earth having to be here for another million years). The motives can be boiled down to two; 1) The earth is God's masterpiece. He didn't rest on the 7th day because He was tired but because He was utterly satisfied with His creation. Creation declares His majesty and we should be curators of this museum. 2) We are stewards of it. Adams job was to work the garden and care for it. We should guard against it's destruction. When the flood destroyed everything, God actually made a covenant with the Earth (Gen 9:13) that He wouldn't destroy it again.3) It obeys God better than we do. We should be on God's side in this. Because of these reasons we see God commanding the people to treat anomals with respect (they still could eat them, though). We see God commanding them to not randomly destroy creation when they go in and raze cities. God commands them to give the land a rest every 7 years. Someday He will freecreation from its bondage and we should have God's heart in that.
As we look at more moral, ritual, and national laws, Deuteronomy adds a few national laws (laws to make the Israelites different from the rest of the world) One of these is sanitation. Just think, if the world had followed the Bible's advice, how many typhoid, cholera, etc deaths could have been prevented.An interesting law is the "roadkill law". It appears they couldn't eat it but they could sell it to unbelievers. The same was true of interest - they couldn't charge interest but they could to non-jews. Obviously we need to see what all of scripture says, but I see this as a principle where we, in non-sinful areas that are matters of choice to be different from the world (food, drink, clothing, music, entertainment, etc.) are able to deal/sell/work in these areas to unbelievers who don't have the same standards.
Lastly, I see the whole restrictions on going to war as concessions rather than restrictions. To me, Moses is basically saying, "If you are afraid to risk your life because you are missing out on your wife, your home, your possessions, by all means - stay home. I don't want your fear spreading among the rest of the troops." In the same way, Jesus in Luke gives a parable of a feast where people stay away for mainly the same reasons as in Deuteronomy. He goes on to say that before you go into a battle you should count the cost. If you value anything more than Him, don't join up. The Christian life is a battle, not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities, and Jesus says that we must give our lives fully or we can't follow Him.
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