MINISTRY NOTES

Week of August 30, 2009

Hi Everyone,

Jesus tells us to "go and make followers of all people … Teach them to obey everything that I have told you…" in Matthew 28:19 (ICB). This can be accomplished by sharing with others or inviting them to Church or a start could be sharing these Ministry Notes. If you know someone who would like to receive these Ministry Notes regularly, let me know and I would be glad to add their email address to our list.

Last weekend, Barbara and I visited our son and daughter in law, who recently moved to Chicago, after finishing school in New York. It has been around 40 years since I have been in Chicago and during that time they have more than doubled in population and appear to have been building big buildings the whole time. In ways the city is more attractive and certainly more congested. Makes me appreciate Tulsa even more and after we got back it was in the news that Tulsa was rank # 1 in cities over a half million, for cost of living and #2 for quality of life. Now if we could have Tulsa ranked #1 by Jesus for the highest percentage of our population going to heaven, it would be even better.

Message:

God is Good

For hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth, God's people developed religion and religious teachings. Frequently, Jesus' was teaching that their religious teachings were incorrect. An example would be regarding the day of rest known as the Sabbath, Jesus said the day of rest was made to help people not people made to be burdened by rules on the day of rest1. In Jesus' day, the people creating burdensome religious practices were called Pharisees. Today, the Jewish people called Hasidim support similar religious practices. Their religious attitude makes many people turn away from God. Christians have also made up many religious practices in the last 2,000 years. Some even follow the teachings that are similar to those of the Hasidim, many of which are contrary to what Jesus taught. Others follow what Paul wrote in his letters2 or what other godly men wrote such as Augustine (354-430AD), who influenced many others for centuries and that influence is present in most Churches today. As Christians turn to what Jesus teaches, many initially think that Jesus introduced a new way of life, since it is so different from what religion teaches.

As we grow and become more acquainted with what Jesus teaches, we realize that Jesus was focused on directing people back to God. One frequently mentioned teaching of Jesus, …"Love your neighbor as yourself"… is actually a quote from what God said as recorded by Moses over 1200 years before Jesus' birth3. Jesus also quoted Moses when He said God is one and that we should love God with all we have4. A teaching, that is contrary to many religious teachings in Christianity, is when Jesus taught that to get to heaven we must do what God wants5. Jesus leads us to God!

Jesus made it clear that only God is good6. When that statement is made, it is natural for the Accuser to remind people when God punished people and even told His people to destroy other evil people7. Although God needs no defense for His actions, as a parent, if your back yard became full of poisonous snakes that were a danger to your children, you would immediately destroy the snakes. God eliminates evil that are a danger to His children. Although we are created in God's image8, we must remember that God is not to be evaluated like a person and that God's ways are higher that our ways9. God is good6. God loves us so much that He sent His only Son10 to remind us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength4.

"Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus and for helping us to remember how good You are. Help us to never cease to love You completely, in every way. Thank You, in Jesus name, amen."

1. Mark 2:27

2. Romans - Philemon

3. Mark 12:31, Leviticus 19:18

4. Mark 12:29-30, Deuteronomy 6:4-5

5. Matthew 7:21

6. Mark 10:18

7. 1 Samuel 15:18

8. Genesis 1:26

9. Isaiah 55:9

10. John 3:16