Sunday, December 22, 2019

Book: Organic Ministry to Women

Organic Ministry to WomenSo, I have one more book to review this year. It’s been put off because, well, it’s a book about women’s ministry and I’m not a women. There’s always a conundrum for me examining resources like this, because I may sound condescending or out-of-touch. But, such is life. I wanted the book because I’m out of touch with women’s ministry and needed some help.

So, I turned to a reliable publisher: Kregel Ministry. And to a pair of trustworthy authors: Kelley Matthews I have seen a little bit from, and Sue Edwards who writes excellent Bible studies (Discover Together Series) and teaches at the second-best seminary in the Dallas metro area. (Dallas Theological Seminary) (I teach at the best, sorry.)

The first thing that should be noted: Organic Ministry to Women is a rebuild of 2003’s New Doors in Ministry for Women. I say “rebuild,” because a great deal of cultural and church change has hit since that work provided guidance on women’s ministry at the beginning of the century. The past 16-17 years have also brought new examples of women leading well in ministry to be noted as “Women of Influence” throughout the work.

Next, one should note that Edwards and Matthews have a specific form of ministry in mind as they examine women’s ministry. The first couple of chapters lay this groundwork: the purpose will not be to expand the numerical footprint of a ministry or to have a social impact. The purpose advanced by Edwards/Matthews is a ministry which sees the lives of those involved transformed to be more like Jesus.

That is, the impact can be measured in differences, although it will also be measurable in numbers as others are invited and involved in the ministry.

Edwards and Matthews then go on to provide practical concepts of how to build this type of women’s ministry from scratch within an evangelical church.

What do I make of it as a church pastor?

If someone within the church I lead wanted to see a strong women’s ministry, I would hand her this book as the blueprint. It’s sound, looks like it should work, and addresses the various needs depending on age, life stage, and resources.


Note: I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for the review.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Sermon Recap for December 8

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons


Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Sermon Recap for Dec 1 2019

Good afternoon!

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Book: John’s Letters (Big Greek Idea Series)

John's Letters Today’s book is part of a series that I think many pastors and students of the Bible will find useful. It is the “Big Greek Idea” series, and this volume is John’s Letters.

First, let’s take a look at some of the overall series features—the long-term plan here calls for the whole New Testament to be covered in differing volumes, and there are certain features that are intended as the definitive approach of the Big Greek Idea series. First, these are Greek-based works. Most traditional (English) Bible commentaries are English-based, with any work in the Greek used to explain the text, either correcting the chosen translation or supporting it, or amplifying it. Here, however, the primary text is the Nestle-Aland 28th edition Greek text. (Obviously, if it takes longer to produce the series than it takes for NA29 to come out, later volumes may use NA29.)

That may sound intimidating, but the text is given in a format similar to an interlinear as well as being presented in a clausal outline. Now, I know, we’re supposed to be so great at Greek that an interlinear arrangement (which shows a phrase in Greek, with a basic translation of that same phrase in English just underneath it) is unnecessary, but many people serving in ministry struggle with the vocabulary that left after the last final in seminary. This format enables the reader to clearly see the relationship between the Greek base text and the English translation. (And, if you like, you can always re-do the translation yourself.)

The use of clause-based outlines is also a beneficial arrangement. Rather than being sentence-driven or verse-driven, the text is broken down into units which are then shown in clauses. Each unit is headed by its “Big Greek Idea,” which is essentially the unifying concept in that section.

The unit is then also discussed in terms of the overview of the Greek structure. This notes any key repeated terms or important clauses. Further syntax explanations follow the clausal outline, with each clause broken down as well as significant portions of the syntax highlighted in ‘nuggets’.

Overall, the concept works well. The reader is given a mixture of seeing the basic Greek structure as well as seeing how the clauses and structure carry meaning in a larger unit. Do you need to know Greek to use this? It does help, but the clearly stated audience is people who are not great with Greek, and that is where I fit. This is perfect for me—uses and reinforces what I know and enables me to do better.

As to the specific volume: John’s Letters was an interesting introductory choice. There is more depth developed than I expected in 2 and 3 John, and the work through of 1 John, while not earth-shattering, was solid in explaining the text.

I think this series will be useful for ministers and Greek students.

I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for the review.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Sermon Recap for November 24

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.
If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users.
Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93
Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons








Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Sermon Recap from November 17

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss 

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93 

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons 


Monday, November 11, 2019

Sermon recap for November 10


Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons


Monday, November 4, 2019

November 3 Sermon

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons


A note: as of right now (November 4, evening), the sermon audio is not uploaded yet. It should be by November 5 and then the player will have it ready-to-play. You may have to “skip” ahead to it.


Monday, October 28, 2019

Sermon Recap for October 27

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons


We would have had business meeting at the evening service but were 4 short of a quorum. I’m almost always ready to preach, so that’s the way we rolled.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Sermon Recap

Well, it’s the week of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, so I'm running behind on everything. I'm about to have breakfast for Tuesday, I think. All that to say, here's the morning sermon and the video embeds from the ABSC. The sermons from Jamar Andrews and Sonny Tucker are excellent. So is Greg Sykes', and unfortunately I'll be watching the rest of them this week as I was at other activities with the annual meeting and missed those sermons. I have no doubts about their quality, just haven’t seen them yet!

First, though, here’s East End Baptist from October 20th.

(please forgive the proud father moment of linking Angela/Steven doing “For the Cause,” which is Keith and Kristyn Getty’s work and the official hymn of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary into the sermon video. They’re better than me.)

Tuesday night, Sonny Tucker:

Please note that you can go here: https://www.absc.org/watch to see all the video segments. Right now, Jamar Andrews’ Convention Sermon is only available through that page…he starts at one-hour, 23-minutes in.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Reports of Others: 1 Thessalonians 1

In Summary:

So we come to the letters to the Thessalonians. Paul wrote two letters to these Christians, and most Biblical scholars are agreeable that 1 Thessalonians was written first. (You think that’s self-evident? It’s not—1 Thessalonians is first in your Bible because it’s longer than 2 Thessalonians. The chronology is a separate study.) This church was founded from Paul and Silas’ preaching in Acts 17, though the evidence in Acts is that the Apostle was not even in Thessalonica for a month!

1 Thessalonians opens as most of Paul’s letters do: with a standard greeting. Here, however, we see something different with Paul not asserting any title alongside his name. In most of his letters to churches, Paul identifies himself as either an apostle or a servant of the Lord Jesus. Here, he is simply “Paul,” writing with Silvanus and Timothy. Silvanus is the Latinized version of the name Silas, so this is Paul, Silas, and Timothy, the three men who were the initiators of Christianity in the region. They had persuaded many that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer (including death) and then rise from the dead, then turned to demonstrating that Jesus was this Messiah.

Beyond the difference in the introduction, Paul’s greeting is familiar: grace to you and peace, followed by an expression of his thanksgiving for the church. Here he uses “we,” as the letter would be considered as from all three of the named authors, but Paul is the primary writer. He highlights that the church came to be not only in word but in power, though we have no information from Acts about very many miracles or events that fit this description. I would suggest to you that part of the demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power in Thessalonica was that the church established and flourished without Paul or Silas being there for an extended time—later, in 1 Thessalonians 3, we’ll see that Timothy was sent back to encourage and strengthen the church, but it was already there.

In Focus:
Let us take a moment to look hard at 1 Thessalonians 1:7-9. Consider what is said here of the Christians in Thessalonica: they are an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. That’s the bulk of modern-day Greece, dear readers, and indicates the church was not just doing well in its own town but sending out the Word of God to other places—as we see in verse 8! Paul notes that their faith has gone out (these days, I’m using CSB but I forgot how to change the automatic reference link) to the area. They have not quietly sat in their own church—despite knowing from the beginning (look back at Acts 17:1-9) that following Jesus would bring them trouble from the people around them.

From this point, Paul now states that he hardly needs to say anything about the work of faith in the people at Thessalonica: their reputation of obeying God’s word spoke for them.

In Practice:
Well, the first, most obvious point of application is this: what does our reputation say of us? For example, of our own local church?

Are we:
1. An example of joy in persecution? (v. 6) Not that we should seek persecution or idly let it happen if there are God-honoring means to prevent it, but “fear” or “panic” are not the responses we’re called to. How did you respond to suggestions of change in tax policy to persecute churches? How do you feel about government policies that sideline religion? Joyful? or angry, fearful, vengeful?
2. Followers of Christ with an active faith? Do we sit by and trust that someone will hear of us or do we go out and tell the world about Jesus? Oh, and do not think that we can do this with a Gospel of words only, but it must come with power shown in changed lives. If the church sits idly by in the face of sin in the camp, we are not showing an active faith.
3. Willing to share about the good things God is doing in the lives of others? Think about: the other churches shared the good that the Thessalonians had done. Does anyone hear of the good work done by the churches in your town…from your church?

In Nerdiness:
1. Saying that Paul wrote two letters should be qualified with a term like “that we have” or “that we know about.” It’s possible that Paul wrote the Thessalonians every other week but we don’t have the letters.
2. Not relevant to the text, but in 380 AD the Edict of Thessalonica was the proclamation of Nicene Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. This came approximately 70 years after Constantine shifted the Roman stance to toleration, then a hearty approval of Christianity.
3. Traditionally, we’ve called the city Thessalonica, and I have followed that here, but it is considered more correct to use Thessaloniki as the English formation of the Greek name.
4. In most of my resources, two things stand out on the authorship of 1 Thessalonians: there are very few that suggest it was written by anyone other than Paul and there are many who are certain it was the first of Paul’s writings. And, by extension, they also hold it to be the oldest of the New Testament writings.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Sermon Recap for October 13

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Note: Sunday Night includes the opening Q/A session that we do on Sunday evenings. Some nights I don’t post it, but I think I remembered to repeat the questions well enough for it to make sense.


Thursday, October 10, 2019

Sermon Recap for October 6

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Monday, September 23, 2019

Sermon Recap for September 22 2019

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Morning Sermon: 2 Kings 3

Evening Sermon

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Sermon Recap for September 15

Looks like I’m running behind this week.

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons



Context: Where does this fit in the Big Picture of God's Glory?

Passing of Ahab, moving toward the handoff from Elijah to Elisha

There’s our friend, the Mesha Stele, celebrating the rebellion of Moab...

Baal-zebub; Beelzebub; Lord of the Flies

Overview: What's going on here?

FIRE FROM HEAVEN, SUCKERS!

Ahaziah does a bad thing.

Then he does a dumb thing.

Then, he sends soldiers to do an awful thing.

->Side note: you do not always have to say everything for folks to understand what you are about—and you cannot fault people for thinking through the implications of your attitude, your history to go along with your words and actions.

Reflection: Why does this matter?

You’re not Elijah.

You’re one of the fifty.

Are we respecting the Word of God, given through the Son of God?

Or do we come humbly?

Because we could face the fire—or take the grace.

Expectations: What do we do about it?

Salvation

Believers

Church

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Book: Trinity without Hierarchy

Trinity Without HierarchyToday's book is Trinity without Hierarchy, from Kregel Academic. It’s edited by Michael F. Bird and Scott Harrower, both of Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. No, there is not an audiobook of the whole thing done in Australian accents. Sorry.

This is a theology book. It does not have a great over-arching narrative or passionate character development. Why? Because it’s a theology book.

It does have a relevant backstory: theology debates, even within the bounds of orthodoxy, tend to go in cycles. One of the current cycles of debate relates to the Trinity and the interrelationship between the Father and the Son. (We’re not really on the Filioque Controversy and the Spirit right now.) It’s connected, by argument, to the ongoing discussion of family relationships, specifically the relationship between husband and wife.

For those of you who do not keep up, and I don’t blame you for being one of those folks, there is a position which advocates that a wife’s submission to her husband is based in the Son’s eternal submission to the Father. This book addresses not the first part—home relationships are not the actual material in view—but the second: is there eternal, functional submission of the Son to the Father? After all, if there is not, then there is no extension of the argument to household roles.

Please note that Bird, et.al., are not trying to sort out the proper understanding of household codes in Trinity without Hierarchy. The intent here is to investigate the actual theology of the Trinity. After all, if one’s theology does not get this right, it’s hard to figure that the trickle-down remainders will be adequate.

Now, this is not a single-author book. There are sixteen contributors counting the two primary editors. I would have liked to see one-paragraph, or even one-footnote, worth of bio on each contributor, just for my own curiosity. For example, is the Jeff Fisher chapter 9 the former coach of the Tennessee Titans? I suspect not…and I’m fairly certain that Stephen Holmes is the one who spoke at a doctoral colloquy I attended, but I’m not certain.

That is, really, the only ding on the content: I found the chapters a well-rounded study of the historical expression of the doctrine of the Trinity as well as the Biblical doctrine itself. Being a history major, I personally favored the historical information, such as Amy Brown Hughes’ chapter on Gregory of Nyssa. The reader should keep in mind that the intent here is to track Nicene Orthodoxy, which is rooted in Scripture and history.

Biblically, the arguments are sound. The chapters are independent of each other, so the book is easy to read segment-by-segment. The closing chapter on the generational effects of theology is worth the reading of the whole work.

All in all, this is as good of a book focused on the Trinity as I have read. Some doctrinal points were clarified, like the difference in economic and immanent relationships. I highly recommend Trinity without Hierarchy.

(Please note: I received a copy of this book from Kregel Academic.)

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

From a Solid Point: Jude

In Summary:
Jude. We’re in the ‘short letter’ section of the New Testament, though that’s not exactly how the Church initially classified these. Instead, these are counted among the “Catholic” or “General” Epistles, accepted as letters written to the Church-at-large, contrasted with the letters Paul wrote to specific churches or people.

The thrust of Jude is not all that different from 1 or 2 John, or Galatians, or several other portions of the Bible: correction of false teaching, including warning the church about false teachers. It was a recurring theme even in the era of the New Testament Church: False Teachers will show up. That’s something we tend to neglect when we pine for those supposed halcyon days of the Early Church. It had life-threatening persecution, family-splitting religious changes, AND false teachers.

It’s important to note that, while it seems much of Jude is condemning people who live wickedly, it is expressly targeted at those who have abandoned the Lord Jesus Christ to live wickedly. In short, it’s not about the pagans. It’s about the Church.

In Focus:
Let’s put Jude 22-23 under the close-up lens. First of all, we see the command to “have mercy” on those who waver. You should note that “mercy” shows up in Jude 21 as well, and this repetition is valuable. The readers are encouraged to wait expectantly, trusting in the mercy of the Lord Jesus and then…extend that mercy to others.

That is the response to those who waver. Not condemnation nor abandonment, but mercy. Before you think Jude is soft, though, catch the rest of Jude 23: snatch them from the fire, hate even their defiled garments. This is not a “just validate their feelings and go on” instruction.

The mercy that we show not only intervenes, mercy loves enough to remove someone from danger. But then, that mercy restores them to walk with Christ and with the body of Christ fully, not holding past wavering as a club to harm those who have been restored.

In Practice:
What does this look like in practice?
First, may I suggest that we spend far too much time worrying that being merciful will cause others to enjoy sin? I’ve heard this since I was in youth ministry, back in the dark ages before video projectors—when Youth Specialties Ideas Books were quarterly, rather than a dusty stack of books that aren’t cool anymore: “We can’t be merciful to that youth who wavered, others will go that direction!” That’s whether it’s the young lady who is pregnant, or the young man who is now a father…or that youth who got caught smoking, drinking, etc…

Second, though, is this caveat: “wavering” is personally destructive, and the idea here is that we show mercy to the one who wavers to restore them to fellowship and on the right track before they become destructive to others. This verse should never be taken as an instruction to return an abuser to power or control. An abuser can come to Christ, be forgiven, but there are some prior actions that are disqualifying for some responsibilities. If someone has abused others, the church must never place them in a position to do harm.

Third, the idea is here about “hating the garment stained by the flesh,” which relates to avoiding falling into the same trap that the wavering one is being rescued from. This is a warning not to sin for the sake of showing mercy, nor to take any profit from the rescue. For example, if you know someone has wavered in their temptation toward drunkenness, do not begin getting drunk to rescue them. Avoid it, rescue them from dry ground—when saving a person who is literally drowning, the last thing you want to do is actually get in the water (sorry, Hasselhof fans). Reach, throw, row—keep yourself steady.

Same thing in spiritual rescue.

In Nerdiness: 
Authorship for Jude has to slide down here to the Nerdiness section. Obviously, there’s a great tell on who the author of Jude is, found in Jude 1. It’s a person named “Jude,” although one could also translate that name as “Judas,” since in Greek one is kind of left with that option: Jude or Judas are both an Anglicized version of  Ἰούδας, so the original name is the same.

That doesn’t clear it up, does it? After all, there’s at least two other guys named Jude/Judas in the New Testament, though one of them is clearly deceased and not the author of an epistle to the Church. The other is the son of Jacob, one of the Twelve Apostles. Oh, and there’s a Judas mentioned in Acts 9; a Judas in Acts 15; and there’s a Judas mentioned in Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 as the brother of Jesus.

So…do we know that this Jude/Judas is the same as any of these? Or know that he’s not? We can dismiss Iscariot, but what of the others? (For the record, I’m good with Jude the brother of James/Jacob, author of James and half-brother of the Lord Jesus. And no, there is no Biblical need for Jesus’ brothers to not be born of Joseph and Mary.)

Nerd Point 2: “Mercy” is used almost as much in Jude as it does in Romans, and many of the Gospel usages (mainly in Matthew and Luke) are Old Testament citations or allusions.

Nerd Point 3: Body of Moses? Archangel disputing? Get David Helm’s commentary in the Preaching the Word Series and let him help you with that.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Sermon Recap: September 8

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Monday, September 2, 2019

Sermon Recap September 1

Good morning! Here’s yesterday’s sermon—we didn’t have evening service because we wanted to provide folks time to enjoy the longer weekend.

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Book: Into His Presence

And…I’m back in the book review business. I have let the blog basically go to see for the past year or so, and as a result have actually slipped up on some reviews that I owed—which I hope to fulfill, even if I’m now no longer in those review programs—and left several review programs due to lack of time and interest. Fortunately, my collapse coincided with a hiatus on the part of Kregel Academic and Ministry’s blog review program, so I didn’t lose my opportunity to write for them. I have yet to encounter a bad Kregel Academic work, so I am quite happy about this.

Today, we’ll take a look at my review copy of Into His Presence: A Theology of Intimacy with God by Tim Anderson. (The link will take you to Kregel’s page where you can read an excerpt, order the book, or see other reviews on Goodreads.) Anderson is a professor at Corban University, where he teaches theology and biblical studies. He also, as many theology professors do in the evangelical traditions, serves in various ministry programs including international ministry training programs.
Into His Presence is presented as a “Theology of Intimacy with God.” That is a tall order to meet, and Anderson begins rightly by working to define what “intimacy with God” actually is. His basic working definition is “the movement of God and Christians toward a good place of true knowledge and close contact.”  This works as a starting point, and then the rest of the work builds out this description.

Each chapter ends with a section labeled “Now What?” that provides questions to contemplate what the reader has seen and consider where the next step in exploring intimacy with God lies. These are open-ended questions, there are no right/wrong answers. (Well, I’m sure you could go far, far wrong on some of the questions. But it’s not a multiple-choice type of question.)

I found that Anderson hit a great balance between the academic examination of theology and the practical, spiritual engagement of personal intimacy with God. I found his examination of personification helpful, looking at how God uses comparisons with things we understand. That helped clarify some questions about areas of Scripture.

The final chapter, looking at our “songs of intimacy,” provides some good questions for worship planning in churches. It is focused on the specific type of song referring to intimacy, and it is not critical of modern music but rather challenges us to think through the adequacies of the music we choose to sing, no matter the age.

I can gladly recommend Tim Anderson’s Into His Presence for those desiring to understand intimacy with God better.
Book provided by Kregel Academic.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Gatekeepers: 3 John

In Summary:
3 John is another short book in Scripture. In fact, at a little over 200 words in the original Greek, it’s the shortest book in the whole Bible. (You can compare Greek-to-Greek by using the Septuagint.)

One of the great things about Scripture, though, is every word is valuable, and every word is given by God with a purpose. So, even the short 3 John has value. We see a couple of points in summary:

First, John writes to a friend, opening with his concern for Gaius’ own health and prosperity. There is no reason to get carried away with “prosperity” in 3 John 3, as it can simply mean the overall meeting of needs and provision for life. And, it’s linked to the prosperity of his soul—the focus is on the relationship with Jesus not on material.

Second, John keeps his eyes on the importance of walking in the truth. Realize that this is the same pen that wrote “God is love” in 1 John 4:8, so John is not short on acknowledging the love of God.

But he sees that love as inseparable from the truth of who God is.

In Focus:
John’s primary purpose in writing, though, is to address the issue of the gatekeepers of the church. In this case, we’re not talking about a gate in a fence, but rather the overall idea of those who determined who was permitted to come into the church, who was permitted to speak or teach, and to whom the church extended hospitality.

The church in question had a problem here, because Diotrephes had become the power broker in the situation. He utilized his role in the church for his own power and his own privilege, rather than for the betterment of the body. Why? John said he “loves to be first.”

John further highlights that he will, when he gets there, deal with Diotrephes.

In Practice:
Why do you think John wrote this to Gaius? It is most likely that John hoped Gaius could persuade Diotrephes to repent. Perhaps they were friends, family members, they had some relationship that had endured despite the questionable behaviors of Diotrephes.

And John wanted Gaius to work through that relationship to bring Diotrephes to repentance and restoration, for the sake of his own soul and for the good of the whole church.

You see where this is going, right? In the current era of the church, we have similar problems. There are people who have warped the church of the Living God for their own power and pleasure, to the detriment of the church and to the harm of many souls. Meanwhile, most of these have friends and associates who have remained faithful, true to the Gospel, living in the truth, and the question becomes:

Will they call their friend to repentance? In a Christendom filled with folks claiming to be Daniel or Peter or Paul or David, we need men and women to step up and be Gaius. We need those who will step forward, look their friend in the eye, and call them to repentance.

And not secretly after the first attempt: John’s letter is no closed-door meeting. The opportunity for Diotrephes to have private repentance and restoration had passed, for the damage was too wide, too public, and the only restoration could be found if the repentance matched the sin.

So what will we do? What did John find when he came to Gaius and the church? Did he find himself having to rebuke not only Diotrephes but also Gaius for falling from the truth?



What will Jesus find when He calls us to account?



In Nerdiness: 

Authorship discussions likely belong here, but there is not much to say that has not already been said regarding 1 John or 2 John. If those two are written by the Apostle John, then this one is. If not, it is likely that this one was not, either. There is very little reason to suggest a different author among the Johannine Epistles, and the determination of the Apostle John’s authorship is more a matter of historical study than it is examination of the inspired text. It does not follow that a New Testament text must be written by an Apostle to be counted as inspired by God (as referenced in 2 Timothy 3:16). We need to be cautious not to confuse the value of the text with the worthiness of its originator.

Which, of course, needs its own caveats even today for texts that are not “inspired” in the same manner as Scripture. For example, David is “inspired” in a manner that I would label as “without error” or “inerrant” when he wrote the Psalms of praise found in the text. A modern worship song may be “inspired” in a positive way, but can be wrong—some songs are really good, inspired, with one bad line in them! There is a difference.

However, on point, there is a challenge in addressing the character of the author of a text. On the one hand, David committed adultery and murder and wrote Psalms of praise; Saul persecuted the Church in its infancy and wrote much of the New Testament; James and Jude, brothers of Jesus, only show up in the Gospels as not believing in Him and write two important letters; Peter, Mark, Matthew all have issues in their background—and we do not discard their writings. On the the other hand, what do we do with others?

First, I would suggest that we set aside those writings received by the church throughout her history as inspired by God and in the canon of Scripture. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Mark’s account of the Gospel, Ezra’s retelling of the building of the Second Temple, all of these fall under slightly different rules—rules driven by a belief in the inspiration of the text. The real question comes in things written more recently.

Sometimes only a hundred years more recently, like a 2nd century Church Father, or 1900 years more recently, like a nineteenth century minister. What do we do with those?

A couple of thoughts:

1. Compare someone’s “progressive” nature or “cultural” situation to where he or she is coming from, not where you are looking back from. A writer of the 8th century speaking of women as “surprising in their ability to have an intellect equal to men” was ahead of his time, not repressive and misogynistic. Saying the same thing now would be rude—but we live in a society that has had time to process such things.

That is not to say that some blind spots have to be ignored. Many of prior centuries views on race are so distant from what appears to be clear Biblical teaching as to confound us as to how the readers got there. But, honesty should compel us to admit we might have gotten it just as wrongly.

Do we toss all of the writings of ministers, poets, scholars of those eras? I would say we do not, but we must remember to check their lenses if we use them today.

2. The other side is one of character: while blind spots, even egregious ones, can be understood culturally, we cannot dismiss blatant, constant character failings. The authority of one who could never keep a marriage vow or was abusive to those in his care must be questioned, and typically rejected. It is unlikely that there is any one person, past the Apostles, whose contribution is so unique and so foundational that his (or her) work must be held onto regardless of their own character. Salvation by grace is not preached only in Luther or Calvin or Zwingli, for example, if one finds that any of the Magisterial Reformers were too wicked to trust their theology.

And the same can be said for songwriters, etc., for no one who writes is perfect. I am not stating that all should be sinless or discarded, but if someone is actively engaged (or, historically, was actively engaged) in a sinful lifestyle then their work should be heavily reconsidered. We sing “Amazing Grace” because John Newton wrote it after seeing his sin in slave-selling. Had he written it while in the midst of profiteering on human suffering, we should perhaps find a different song.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Sermon Recap for August 25

Here is what you’ll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You’ll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons


Wednesday, August 21, 2019

For the Sake of the Truth: 2 John

In Summary:

Well, we’ve hit a book that is just one chapter, so the summary will have to introduce the book and knock out the whole chapter in one fell swoop. Which should be easy, though it is not uncommon to write about 2 John and use more words than the whole of 2 John contains. In fact, take a minute and go read 2 John. I’ll be here when you get back in 5 minutes.

This letter, like four of John’s writings, is technically anonymous. It is written from “The Elder” and addressed to “The Chosen Lady.” How do we get “John the Apostle” (also, traditionally called “John the Evangelist,” as the author of the Gospel, or Evangel) from “The Elder”? Well, that’s a good question, dear reader, and it takes some examination. At this point, some 1900 years after the writing of 2 John, we can start as taking this as received tradition. When you look at it from that perspective, it’s like a replay of a football call: you accept what has been said, unless you find clear and convincing evidence to overturn the call. So you can start there, but you have to acknowledge two things: 1) it’s not explicit in the inerrant text, so you could be wrong; 2) even the early church was not certain that it was the same John.

However, the received tradition is based on a couple of usable clues. First, the authority evident in the letter itself suggests someone who is well-regarded by the church and needs no introduction. Unlike our “this man needs no introduction,” which we typically follow up with a “here’s the introduction,” apparently The Elder needed no introduction…and got none. Second, there are language similarities to 1 John and John, as well as theological themes in common. There is not a strongly compelling reason to think the tradition is wrong, but we should be careful hanging too much on authorship here.

The next question becomes: who is “The Chosen Lady?” You get two choices here as well. It’s either symbolic or literal. You’re either seeing a letter sent to a group symbolized by the term, or to a definite person who is the audience. The Church is often referred to as the “Bride of Christ,” which would legitimately result in this type of address. Further, The Elder addresses not only The Chosen Lady but also her “children,” and this is often taken as the church and those they have reached with the Gospel. Further, the closing verse of “the children of your chosen sister greet you” (2 John 13) could be an indicator that The Elder speaks of another congregation. We know that the early church used family terms to refer to one another and their fellow congregations.

However, it is also possible that The Elder (John) has developed a relationship with a believing family and is writing for the purpose of encouraging a specific lady and her children. Perhaps she has been a supporter of the ministry or is a believer who has recently had to relocate and needs both news of her children left behind (v. 4) and guidance for traveling teachers she will encounter at times (v. 9).

Either way, the message then comes to us, as written initially to a person or a congregation of the ancient world, and now we strive to apply it to our modern day.

In Focus:

With that in mind, while there are many quick truths here, put your focus on 2 John 10-11 about greeting those who do not abide in the teaching of Christ. The instruction is not to even bring those who teach falsehood into the home. This rejection of hospitality is notable: that was not the way of the world at the time. You provided hospitality to those in need or even those traveling about, even if you did not know the person. The exception were those who had deeply wronged your family.

And The Elder is instructing the Chosen Lady to treat false teachers in exactly that manner: they are wronging the family. Do not so much as let them in for lunch.

In Practice:

What does that look like for us?

First, what it does not look like: if the recruiting team for another religion knocks on your door and you bring them for a glass of water and to tell them about Jesus, then you are not violating this principle. That’s a good thing to do.

What should we not do? We should not do things like: send that snake-oil peddling Gospel-denying TV preacher $50 just “in case” or anything of the sort. We should not support those ministers who harm the family by being wolves in sheep’s clothing and abusing their authority or position.

We have to be discerning. Which requires us, as the people of God, to know the Word of God well enough to discern right from wrong and, as Spurgeon (I think) said, discern right from “almost” right. Remember that Truth is like asking if the power is on or off before you rewire the ceiling fan: there’s no “almost” or “maybe.” That wire is either hot or it isn’t. And if it is, you’re going to get zapped.

For the sake of the truth, we must know the Truth and hold to it.

In Nerdiness: 
Well, some of the nerdcontent is up there in the In Summary section, but a few more notes: if 3 John is written by the same person as 2 John, then we could consider the intro to 3 John in deciphering 2 John. 3 John is from “The Elder” to “The Beloved Gaius.” It would be logical that the formula in 2 John matches and “The Chosen Lady” is a name formula.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Sermon Recap for August 18, 2019

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!

Doug

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

A Conquered World: 1 John 5

In Summary:

It’s taken me a long time to finish 1 John. Which is, honestly, somewhat odd because I’ve preached through 1 John several times and greatly enjoyed it. I do not remember who first suggested it, but I remember being advised that the best place to point a new believer in the Bible was to 1 John. Through these five short chapters, one can gather a background in the basics of Christian belief, the person of Jesus, and the way of walking with Him.

That being said, let us take a look at this last chapter.  John presents his closing arguments to the church. He is writing, per 1 John 5:13, to help them have confidence in the eternal life that comes through Christ. But that eternal life is not a “later-on” thing which holds no import in the current day. Instead, the beliefs underpin a changed life now. It starts with loving God, which is demonstrated by keeping his commands (1 John 5:3) but then goes on to “conquer the world,” (1 John 5:4). Conquest would be something clearly understood in the original time: the Romans were typically ruling over places that they had conquered at some point in the past, and that past was not too far away. John himself would have been well-aware of the life of Israel as a land conquered by Rome, and many in the churches would have been descended from those Rome had overrun.

In Focus:

In focus, though, look at how this conquest takes place: 1 John 5:5 speaks of Jesus conquering. He is the One who has conquered not just by water but by water and blood, with the Spirit testifying to the truth of this. This should be understood as a reference to both the baptism and crucifixion of Jesus, showing this is how He demonstrated who He is and why He came.

This is not the type of “conquest” that many people were looking for. It is a conquest that starts with individuals converting from their self-driven kingdoms and surrendering to God. The change, the new kingdom starts within and works outward, loving God and loving one another.


In Practice:

What, then, do we do?

First, we need to get our focus right. Our conquest of the world starts with allowing God, through His Word and His Holy Spirit, to conquer us. That’s entirely different than forming political action groups or gathering to boycott, protest, or any other form of earthly structures. If we are not mastered by the Word of God, then we are in no shape to be part of God’s plan in the world around us. To get there, we must learn His Word that we may follow Him, that we may obey Him.

Second, let us keep in mind that we are conquering. That should put in our hearts a readiness for opposition. That opposition should be coming from the world, though, and not structured by our own hearts or our fellow conquerors.

Which brings us to point three: guess what you learn in the study of history? Most conquests fall apart not from lack of strength but because, internally, strife and division destroyed the unity and strength of the conquerors. And if you look at the church today, why do we not conquer? Disunity and strife. Strife from abusive leaders that should be removed, corrected, and guided to repentance. Division from church members who think the church is their property and not the property of the Living God. Strife from the tyranny of traditions and division from the chaos of trying to always embrace the new.

The solution is to be unified in the power of God, grounded in the Word of God.

In Nerdiness: 

A. There’s a textual criticism issue with 1 John 5:7, which most newer translations footnote with “late mss (for ‘manuscripts’) add testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 8. And there are three who bear witness on earth:” followed by v. 8 as we have it in the text. Because those manuscripts are the foundation of earlier Bible translations, like the King James or the Geneva Bible, the first appearance here is that newer translations are removing part of Scripture. However, the other side of the debate suggests that, historically, at some point a scribe copying 1 John added the phrase, and the newer translations are restoring the original text. Which is accurate? I personally hold that the text is without error in its original form, so here I would say whatever and however the Holy Spirit inspired John to write, that was inerrant. If the Holy Spirit did not inspire the longer rendering, then it should be out.

And we can figure this out with some degree of certainty, but it is not a great place to camp out dogmatically. Textual criticism (the term for this branch of study) is a science, and as such remains open to new evidence, new methods. We can be certain, though, that no doctrine is at risk here. The doctrine of the Trinity is pretty explicitly spelled out in the later reading, but it’s not like it’s absent in the rest of Scripture. Plus, there’s a potential lean in the wrong direction of restricting the Trinity to Heaven only with that line rather than seeing the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit at work on earth. Still and all—don’t get overwrought by some of the textual questions. There are good scholars who take the Word of God seriously who spend their lifetimes on this stuff; not everyone with a textual question is a heretic out to destroy the faith. Many of the faithful women and men in Biblical Studies as an academic field are trying to make sure we understand fully rather than only through tradition.

B. John’s conclusion is quite different from Paul’s letters: there are no personal greetings here, no notes of travel plans. Just a final warning: beware of idols. It’s a good one for us, as well: guard yourselves from idols. An idol cannot do anything to you unless you embrace it.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Sermon Recap for August 4 2019

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!

(There’s only video for the evening sermon because somebody named Doug left the audio recorder data card on his desk instead of taking it back to church.)


Monday, July 29, 2019

Sermon Recap for July 29

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!




Oh, and as a bonus…

Monday, July 22, 2019

Sermon Recap for July 21

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Sermon Recap for July 14

Well, we had a pretty raging party for Bastille Day, so I didn’t get the sermon recaps posted Monday. Here they are.


Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!

Audio Player:

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Beloveds: 1 John 4

Dear readers: yes, it’s a blog post from Doug. You may have forgotten you subscribed, but I hope you’ll stick around.

In Summary:
It’s amazing, really, how much John packs into this chapter as we look at 1 John 4. He opens with the need to test the “spirits,” moves through the spirit of the antichrist, and then passes through to the importance of love for the family of God. It’s a well-packed chapter. 1 John has five of those, honestly, which make it one of the better “read this first!” sections of the New Testament. In fact, that’s usually my guidance to a new believer: start with 1 John. The Gospels give us the events of the life of Christ, the miracles and teachings that are key to understanding who Jesus is. 1 John, though, distills much of the Gospel and has deep truth for the long-time disciple of Jesus while still presenting great first step points for the new disciples.

The chapter breaks down into three major sections, each one opening with John’s preferred address for the church: “Beloved.” The first section challenges the church to test the spirits, because there are false prophets in the world. He then gives a basic test, and it’s a doctrinal one: is this spirit in agreement with the truth that Jesus has come in the flesh? (1 John 1:1) If not, then it is a false spirit. The real test of spirituality is right doctrine: you do not get closer to God through wrong-headedness about the person of Jesus.

The second “Beloved” section addresses God’s love for people, and features one of the top five most misquoted, context-removed segments of Scripture: “God is love.” That definition only works when you let God’s Word define love. It doesn’t work with a cultural love, a Hollywood love, or a personal quest kind of love. This love includes Jesus coming as the propitiation for sins: the sacrifice necessary to appease the wrath of God. Love, then, is seen in sacrifice. Connected with the first section, where we saw the importance of acknowledging Jesus came in the flesh, here we see that right doctrine also includes knowing Jesus came to die for our sins, and that the further test of spirituality is right love: your right doctrine is required and must be acted out in surrender to Jesus and His love shown on the cross.

The third “Beloved” section delves deeper into the love for one another that comes as a result of God’s love for us: we love one another because the love of God is in us. Right doctrine and right love for God results in a full love for God’s people. If you love God but cannot find a love that is sacrificial for His people, you are missing something.

In Focus:
In focus, though, let us look at 1 John 4:15: whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God abides in him, and he in God. If you have confessed Jesus is the Son of God, surrendered to Him as Lord and Saviour, then you are not simply “on your way” to God’s presence or hopefully traveling—you are there. You abide in God and God abides in you. Now, we will not attempt to resolve this issue right here and right now. I would say it falls under the wondrous mystery of how God works. But God is with you, right there, in whatever situation you are in, fellow believers. You are not abandoned, even if all the church has failed you, even if your closest loves have failed you. God abides in you, and you abide in Him. It’s a state of reality.

In Practice:
What do we do about it, then?

1. Learn to trust this as reality. Just like kids learning to walk, following Jesus is a learning to walk type of exercise. You need to remind yourself, daily, that you are in God and that God has not abandoned you. The best way to do that is to read your Bible, pray, and make a few notes about how God is at work in your life.

2. Because you are secure in God, take a chance or two in life. Love those who seem unlovable. Share what God has done in you and what He has taught you—love one another sacrificing your self-image and your pride; love one another by surrendering what you hold tightly inside so that others can see Jesus in you.

3. And since you are secure in the God who abides in you, stop chasing after every nut who claims to be spiritual. Test the spirits and see if God has really spoken through them—if they change the focus off the truth of the Incarnation of Jesus, that Jesus came, really, in the flesh, died for sinners, and rose again, move on. They’re either false or a useless distraction.


In Nerdiness:

1. The “Beloved”s are all in the vocative case in Greek. If you want to be really particular, they are substantive adjectives in the vocative case, plural in number, masculine in gender. The vocative is used primarily as direct address, like calling someone’s name. You could translate the single word Ἀγαπητοί as “Beloved ones that I am speaking to” or some other extended phrase, but this fits. Which is part of the nerd note here: what’s a “literal” translation? :) Further, what’s a “thought-process” translation? Greek is a gendered language, each word is masculine, neuter, or feminine, and that cannot be changed for modern understandings, so we have this reality: a group of anything but all women will be referred to with a masculine term. This masculine word is inclusive…unless, of course, one assumes that the early church was deliberately gender-segregated and the letters were only to the men in the church. Which, in turn, reads a culture onto the text that may or not be there.

How, then, do you translate it? Here, NASB, ESV, and KJV get it simplest: “Beloved” brings across the sense of the word. CSB and NLT’s “Dear friends” works for this word, but I think it loses a bit of the love repetition that John uses through the book (he uses words rooted in αγαπαω more than 25 times in 1 John).

2. Antichrist. We have to deal with this sometime: this word only appears in Christian writings, it may have been a word created by John—it only shows up in 1 and 2 John. (That’s right, the Greek word for “antichrist” is not in Revelation.) When you are trying to understand a word in Biblical studies (or any language, really), your first key to meaning is the pre-existing semantic range of the term: What did it mean when the author used it? You see the problem here, I am sure: there is no semantic range prior to the New Testament usage. Same with checking usage outside of the author in question: John is the only one who uses the term. That leaves two other good factors: context of the word and, if it’s a compound word (made up of known parts), looking at the individual parts to see what you have (this can lead us in questionable direction: take the English word “butterfly” as an example; the ‘butter’ part needs some research, though the thing does ‘fly,’ it’s not exactly a ‘fly’). The context gives us the idea that we are looking at a personal agent, and then the term parts are “anti” and “Christ.” Now, we have to remember that we need the Greek meaning of “anti” and not the English, so….generally, it means “opposite” or “in place of.” If you take the word “antichrist” apart and get its components, it means “something or someone opposed to or in place of Christ [the Anointed One].” I think the term “Christ” is definitely a personal title for Jesus in almost of all of its usage in the New Testament, so that’s what an “antichrist” is against, opposite, or in place of: the person of Jesus.

Monday, July 1, 2019

Sermon Recap for June

Well, folks, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve had the time to actually get this together on the blog. Keep in mind that the video channel has any sermons you may have missed and the audio player will just keep on going back as far as we have records.

Thanks!

Doug


Monday, May 13, 2019

Sermon Recap May 13

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!


Monday, April 22, 2019

Sermon Recap for April 21

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!

It was Easter Sunday, so we had morning service and then encouraged family time in the evening.



Easter Sunday 2019

Easter Sunday 2019

Doug Hibbard / General

Mark 15:33–38


Context


Mark 15:33–38 CSB
When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “See, he’s calling for Elijah.”

Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, fixed it on a stick, offered him a drink, and said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”

Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed his last. Then the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.



Observations


   1.    Revisit the Crucifixion


   2.    Address that Jesus is dying for sinners: for people who have sinned and do sin; which is all of us


Reflection


The question at hand: what will each of us do with the Resurrection?


Expecations


Will we be:


1. The Centurion: lament?


2. The Women (especially Mary and Mary Magdelene) : caring?


3. Joseph of Arimathea: coming forward?


4. Mary and Mary Magdelene: Telling?




Exported from Logos Bible Software, 5:03 PM April 22, 2019.

Monday, April 15, 2019

Sermon Recap for April 14

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!


Fronds in Low Places

Fronds in Low Places

Doug Hibbard / General


Context


Mark 11:8–11 CSB
Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom

of our father David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!

He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.



The Triumphal Entry of Jesus


The End of His Preaching Ministry


Overview


Jesus arrives in Jerusalem


Psalm 118:26 CSB
He who comes in the name

of the LORD is blessed.

From the house of the LORD we bless you.


It’s a time of celebration


Reflection


After we worship, it’s time to get to work


Expectation


Mark 11:15–17 CSB
They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!”


   1.    Prioritize: why are we here?


   2.    Get the right problems solved: the challenge here is not about church fundraisers—those are a different problem


   3.    The issue is prayer against performance: why are we in worship?


   4.    Performance seeks to bring perfection before God for His approval


   5.    Prayer brings our reality before God for His grace




Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:57 PM April 15, 2019.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Sermon Recap for March 31

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!


Wet Feet: Joshua 3

Wet Feet: Joshua 3

Doug Hibbard / General

Joshua 3; Joshua 1


Context:


Book of Joshua


Probably 1400 BC (Give or take a few)


Joshua has been “Moses’ aide”



Overview


The People of Israel need to Cross the Jordan River


Joshua is new leader


Joshua 1 contains this command:


Joshua 1:8 CSB
This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.



Reflection


The faith to walk into the waters comes from having the Word of God deep in our hearts


Expectation


   1.    Read the  Word of God


   2.    Read the Word of God for  Understanding


   3.    Read the Word of God with  Others


   4.    Read the Word of God for  Obedience


   5.    Take the  Steps  into the River


Invitation




Exported from Logos Bible Software, 5:11 PM April 2, 2019.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

March 24 Sermon Recap

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!


Saturday, March 23, 2019

Sermon Recap from March 17

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!


Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Sermon Recaps for a while

So, with several other things going on, I haven’t been too adept at getting the sermons posted to the web. Plus, I think I’ve tweaked a setting somewhere that now auto-posts them to the church website and was hammering the site. I think I have that fixed.

We continue to search at East End Baptist for a music leader, so I’d appreciate it if you would pray for us in that search. Here are the sermons:

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!


Monday, February 18, 2019

Sermon Recap for February 17 AM

Here is what you'll find: there is an audio player with the sermon audios built-in to it, just click to find the one you want. You'll also find the embedded Youtube videos of each sermon.

If you'd like, you can subscribe to the audio feed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/east-end-baptist-church/id387911457?mt=2 for iTunes users. Other audio feeds go here: http://eebcar.libsyn.com/rss

The video is linked on my personal Youtube Page here: https://www.youtube.com/user/dheagle93

Sermons are stockpiled here: http://www.doughibbard.com/search/label/Sermons

Thanks!

Here’s a link to the outline.

Here’s a link to a funny.

Sermon Add-on for March 10

 Continuing the use of Artificial Intelligence to try and generate discussion questions from the sermon, here's what it gave me this wee...