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Articles from Pastor Jon's Blog

Growing In God's Word 2008-01-23 01:00:00 This is the last entry for Pastor Jon's Blog. The blog has been renamed and moved. It is now Growing In God's Word. I am moving to a self-hosted Wordpress. As I learn more about the system, the blog will utilize full web 2.0 capabilities. You are invited to update your favorites, e-mail subscriptions, and feeds to the new address. Thank you for reading Pastor Jon's Blog. Looking forward to "seeing" you at Growing In God's Word. This site will remain active through at least mid March. But, there will not be any more posts. Thanks!<:))))><< ...

John 8:12 2008-01-23 00:00:00 John 8 - The Light of the World B. The light of the world. 1. (12) Jesus, the light of the world. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." a. I am the light of the world: Light was an important symbol in the Feast of Tabernacles. During the feast, many emblems and ceremonies remembered the pillar of fire that gave light to Israel during the Exodus. Now, Jesus takes this important symbol and simply applies it to Himself: I am the light of the world.  b. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness: Jesus, being the light of the world, brings light to those who follow Him. If we are not abiding in Jesus, we are not in the light. i. The other important picture of light in the Bible relates it to God’s Word: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105). Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me (Psalm 43:3). ii. Since J ...

New Site 2008-01-22 07:06:00 The new site is up and running! You can check it out here; Growing In God's Word. There will be an update on Wednesday. <:))))><< ...

John 8:10-11 2008-01-22 00:00:00 John 8 - The Light of the World 5. (10-11) Jesus challenges the woman to sin no more. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." a. Has no one condemned you? With her accusers gone, there was no one left to condemn the woman, and Jesus Himself did not condemn her. In the same way, there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus (Romans 8:1). i. Some debate whether or not Jesus actually forgave the woman. It’s probably a pointless angle to discuss, because Jesus certainly showed the woman mercy and He called her to repentance (go and sin no more). b. Neither do I condemn you: If the law of Moses condemned the woman, what right did Jesus have to show her mercy? Was His display of mercy against the righteousness of God? Not at all - Jesus’ mercy ...

John 8:7-9 2008-01-21 00:00:00 John 8 - The Light of the World 4. (7-9) Jesus passes sentence upon the woman - and her accusers. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.a. In Jewish law, witnesses to the capital offense began the stoning. When Jesus said, He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first, He was really said, "All right, let’s execute her. But let’s do it right. One of the witnesses has to have a hand in her execution. So who among you is the one who witnessed this crime, but only brought to Me the woman, not the man?" i. Jesus makes it plain - whoever the witness is, whoever the one who has the right to cast the fir ...

Numbers 2 - The Camp Of Israel 2008-01-20 00:00:00 Numbers 2 - The Camp of Israel B. Observations. 1. God is a God of order; here, before Israel can take the Promised Land, He requires they order themselves also. Not only is it more efficient and useful, but it also simply more like God - ordered and organized.  a. There is a limit to what we can be and what we can do for the Lord without order and organization. It isn’t that order and organization are requirements for progress in the Christian life; they are progress in the Christian life, becoming more like the Lord. b. Nothing is accomplished in God’s kingdom without order and organization. While it may seem so to us, it is only an illusion - behind the scenes, God is moving with utmost order and organization, though we cannot see it. 2. God orders things according to His wisdom, not ours. In the arrangement of the tribes, He did not place the largest tribes closest to the tabernacle (as if bigger was always better); Ephraim, the closest westward tribe, is the ...

Numbers 2:18-34 2008-01-19 00:00:00 Numbers 2 - The Camp of Israel 5. (18-24) The tribes camped to the west of the tabernacle. "On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies, and the leader of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud." And his army was numbered at forty thousand five hundred. "Next to him comes the tribe of Manasseh, and the leader of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur." And his army was numbered at thirty-two thousand two hundred. "Then comes the tribe of Benjamin, and the leader of the children of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni." And his army was numbered at thirty-five thousand four hundred. "All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Ephraim, one hundred and eight thousand one hundred; they shall be the third to break camp."a. On the west side shall be the standard of the forces with Ephraim according to their armies: Ephraim wa ...

Numbers 2:3-17 2008-01-18 00:00:00 Numbers 2 - The Camp of Israel 2. (3-9) The tribes camped to the east of the tabernacle. "On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah." And his army was numbered at seventy-four thousand six hundred. "Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall be the leader of the children of Issachar." And his army was numbered at fifty-four thousand four hundred. Then comes the tribe of Zebulun, and Eliab the son of Helon shall be the leader of the children of Zebulun." And his army was numbered at fifty-seven thousand four hundred. All who were numbered according to their armies of the forces with Judah, one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred; these shall break camp first."  a. On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those ...

Numners 2:1-2 2008-01-17 00:00:00 Numbers 2 - The Camp of Israel A. The tribes of Israel arranged around the tabernacle.  1. (1-2) The command to arrange around the tabernacle. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: "Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard, beside the emblems of his father's house; they shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting.”  a. Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard: Israel had been on this Exodus journey for more than a year, and had assembled just about any way they had pleased. But now, ready to enter into the Promised Land, they had to take the next step in organization: Ordering themselves.  b. They shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting: At the center of this order was the tabernacle itself. The tribes would arrange themselves to the east, south, west, and north in relation to the tabernacle. Since the tabernacle was symbolically the presence of God with the ...

Changes To Laboring In The Lord Blog 2008-01-16 12:40:08 The new Laboring In The Lord Blog is up and going. I have moved to Wordpress to gain the advantages of that platform. If you tend to the geek side, this is an independently hosted site as opposed to a Wordpress.com hosted site. The process is going along well. Later this year this site will also go over to the world of 2.0. So, check it out! Please let me know what you think. Comments are free...<:))))><< ...

Ruth 1:15-22 2008-01-16 00:00:00 Ruth 1 - Ruth’s Journey 5. (15-18) Ruth’s eloquent statement of faith. And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.” When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. a. Look, your sister-in-law has gone: Naomi did what she could to discourage Ruth from coming with her back to Israel. It wasn’t that Naomi didn’t want Ruth to come, but she didn’t want a fair weather friend either. b. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people: This was a noble - even outstanding - frien ...

Ruth 1:8-14 2008-01-15 00:00:00 Ruth 1 - Ruth’s Journey 2. (8-9) Naomi petitions her daughters-in-law to go back to Moab. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. a. Go, return each to her mother’s house: By all common sense, this was the wise thing to do. Orpah and Ruth had stronger family ties in Moab than they did with Naomi, so it made sense for them to stay in Moab instead of going to a new land - Israel - with Naomi. b. The Lord deal kindly with you . . . The Lord grant that you may find rest: With these words Naomi freely blessed them. She prayed that they would remarry (each in the house of her husband). i. Deal kindly is the ancient Hebrew word hesed. “Hesed encompasses deeds of mercy performed by a more powerful party for the benefit o ...

Ruth 1:1-7 2008-01-14 00:00:00 Ruth 1 - Ruth’s Journey A. Background: Elimelech and his sons. 1. (1) A sojourn in Moab. Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. a. In the days when the Judges ruled: This account begins in the closing days of the Judges, a 400 year period of general anarchy and oppression when the Israelites were not ruled by kings, but by periodic deliverers whom God raised up when the nation sought Him again. i. Notable among the Judges were Gideon, Samson, and Deborah. Each of these were raised up by God, not to rule as kings, but to lead Israel during a specific challenge, and then to go back to obscurity. ii. The days when the Judges ruled were actually dark days for Israel; the period was characterized by the phrase everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, and 21:25). b. A certain man of Beth ...

Ruth - Introduction 2008-01-13 00:00:00 Ruth - Introduction Why study the book of Ruth? It’s a beautiful literary example; an exemplar of life in early Israel. Laws of Gleaning, Redemption and Levirate marriage all covered (study the Daughters of Zelophehad). Critical element in Messianic Genealogy: connects the House of David with the tribe of Judah. Jesus would not have been born in Bethlehem otherwise. This is a love story between Ruth and Naomi; Ruth and Boaz. God’s love for us: Redemption required God to become our kinsman. Ruth is one of the most dramatic books of prophecy in the Bible. The ancient Jewish scriptures often included Ruth with the book of the prophets. The basic theme is that these 66 books are a single message system; every book, every name, every detail is there by design. In Ruth every detail not only carries this romance along, it also carries along the romance of redemption, and it gives us hints about God’s plan (Kinsman-Redeemer; Israel and Church). In studying the Bible th ...

Numbers 1:47-54 2008-01-12 00:00:00 Numbers 1 –The First Census of Israel 14. (47-54) The special case of the tribe of Levi. But the Levites were not numbered among them by their fathers' tribe; for the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying: "Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it; they shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they shall attend to it and camp around the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall set it up. The outsider who comes near shall be put to death. The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, everyone by his own camp, everyone by his own standard, according to their armies; but the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congreg ...