Musing – What Would Cause the Church to Grow Faster?

Hebraic Musing – What Would Cause the Church to Grow Faster?

Where do we see an example of amazing spontaneous explosive expansion of local congregations? 
A – In Acts 1:15 the church starts with Peter preaching to 120 believers; and it grew by adding 5,000 a few times and by Acts 21:20 the scholars believe there were 50,000 to 100,000 Jews in the church.  (And a lot of Gentiles!)  In a very short time the church (believers) grew from 120 to at least 50,000 people, mostly Jews.

Rick Warren asked an important practical question “Where in the world did they hold all of these people?”  Well, they used a method that could still work today.  “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”  Acts 5:42 NIV   Two observations:

First, they met in the big gathering places (temple courts & Synagogues), but also in their homes (“house to house”).  They were connected with home fellowships!  In my earlier Christian days we did a lot more home group gatherings!  Not so much anymore!

Second, “they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news.”  Would that enthusiasm grow the Kingdom of God?   And/or your church?

In Acts 2:42-47 we find Secrets to Success; the bases for their enthusiasm and their church building success:
 - They grew spiritually.
 - They spent time in fellowship.
 - They worshiped.
 - They were filled with Awe!
 - They ministered to one another.
 - They met daily.
 - They were viewed favorably in the community.
 - They evangelized the lost.

Acts 2:42-47 is entitled The Fellowship of the Believers?  Do you see each of these “Secrets of Success”?  “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.   Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.   Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

These small groups in Acts were microcosms of the Church of Jesus Christ.  They fulfilled the five purposes of the church: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. They were purpose-driven small groups, meeting daily in homes!  A healthy church has healthy groups!

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

Did you score yourself on the 8 “secrets to Success”?   What can I do that “They” did?    

How can I/we be as enthusiastic as “They” were?     Why aren’t we/I?   Why not?!?!

Notice that the numbers grew without mention of overt evangelism!!!
(I’ll bet the neighbors were watching their genuine enthusiasm.)

Where does Spiritual growth best take place?  Large assembly?  or   Small groups?

Where will the Church meet during this or the next or permanent “lockdown”?

My favorite song after accepting Christ! ♫  It only takes a spark to get a fire going,  And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.  That's how it is with God's Love, Once you've experienced it, You’ll spread the love to everyone,  You want to pass it on.   I wish for you my friend  This happiness that I've found.   You can depend on Him, It matters not where you're bound.    I'll shout it from the mountain top - PRAISE GOD!    I want the world to know…  The Lord of love has come to me    I want to pass it on.  ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                  May 26, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by Rick Warren’s “What the Bible Teaches About Small Groups”, August 7, 2019

Musing – The Second of the Greatest Commandments. (2 of 2)

Hebraic Musing – The Second of the Greatest Commandments.  (2 of 2)

(This and the last Musings are from Kurt Johnson’s “Greek Insight” of May 7, 2020)*

The Setting:   One of the scribes (lawyers) came, and asked Him (Jesus) “which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him “The most important one,” Mark 12:28-30  KJV   Jesus answered – the Shema  --- “Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,” which is the most popular and most recited daily prayer for the Jews.

We mused about that first and most important commandment last week.  But Jesus’ answer continued “And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 KJV

Jesus stressed  “And the second is like” — “unto it” as demanding the same affection, and only the extension of it, in its proper measure, to the creatures of Him whom we thus love—our brethren in the participation of the same nature, and neighbors, as connected with us by ties that render each dependent upon and necessary to the other.

“Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself…” Now, since we are not to love ourselves supremely, this is a command not to love our neighbor with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.  Thus it condemns the idolatry of the creature.  Our supreme and uttermost affection is to be reserved for God.  But as sincerely as ourselves we are to love all mankind with the same readiness as we should desire them to show to us.

“There is none other commandment greater than these.”  It is as if He had said, “This is all Scripture in a nutshell; the whole law of human duty in a portable, pocket form.”  It is inconceivable that God should require from his rational creatures anything less, or in substance anything else. He can claim all this alike in heaven, in earth, and in hell!  As this incomparable summary of the divine law shines in its own self-evidencing splendor, so it reveals its own true source.  

The religion from which the world has received it could be none other than a God-given religion!

Thank you for your insight Kurt! (See Note below)

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

So…How are we to love our neighbor(s)?

How much do you love and care about yourself?

Who are our neighbors?

♫ What the world needs now is love, sweet love; It's the only thing that there's just too little of ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      May 19, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”   

* Please let me know if you would like to receive Kurt Johnson’s weekly “Greek Insights”?

Note: This “Insight” is taken from Kurt Johnson’s “Greek Insight” of May 7, 2020. 
He acknowledges it as an abridged version of the same article from Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 85). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. This article uses the KJV.

(This and the last Musings are from Kurt Johnson’s “Greek Insight” of May 7, 2020)*

The Setting:   One of the scribes (lawyers) came, and asked Him (Jesus) “which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him “The most important one,” Mark 12:28-30  KJV   Jesus answered – the Shema  --- “Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,” which is the most popular and most recited daily prayer for the Jews.

We mused about that first and most important commandment last week.  But Jesus’ answer continued “And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 KJV

Jesus stressed  “And the second is like” — “unto it” as demanding the same affection, and only the extension of it, in its proper measure, to the creatures of Him whom we thus love—our brethren in the participation of the same nature, and neighbors, as connected with us by ties that render each dependent upon and necessary to the other.

“Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself…” Now, since we are not to love ourselves supremely, this is a command not to love our neighbor with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.  Thus it condemns the idolatry of the creature.  Our supreme and uttermost affection is to be reserved for God.  But as sincerely as ourselves we are to love all mankind with the same readiness as we should desire them to show to us.

“There is none other commandment greater than these.”  It is as if He had said, “This is all Scripture in a nutshell; the whole law of human duty in a portable, pocket form.”  It is inconceivable that God should require from his rational creatures anything less, or in substance anything else. He can claim all this alike in heaven, in earth, and in hell!  As this incomparable summary of the divine law shines in its own self-evidencing splendor, so it reveals its own true source.  

The religion from which the world has received it could be none other than a God-given religion!

Thank you for your insight Kurt! (See Note below)

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

So…How are we to love our neighbor(s)?

How much do you love and care about yourself?

Who are our neighbors?

♫ What the world needs now is love, sweet love; It's the only thing that there's just too little of ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      May 19, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”   

* Please let me know if you would like to receive Kurt Johnson’s weekly “Greek Insights”?

Note: This “Insight” is taken from Kurt Johnson’s “Greek Insight” of May 7, 2020. 
He acknowledges it as an abridged version of the same article from Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 85). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. This article uses the KJV.

Musing – Falling in Love and Courting, Biblically

Hebraic Musing – Falling in Love and Courting, Biblically

If you are past this stage in life, do you know young folks who desperately need to do this right?  It has been said that “Falling in love” produces some of the most wonderful and powerful emotions we can experience, while simultaneously warping our ability to think clearly.  If you are over 21 years of age, you can relate.

First question – Who is the pursuer and who is the pursued? 
Our son-in-law, Kirk, demonstrated this principle very early in his relationship with our daughter, Beth. They were attending the same church, but Beth was dating someone else when Kirk first approached her with a question – “Beth, will you please let me know when I may court you?”  When Beth told us that, as her father, I knew there was something right and special about that young man.  He was clearly the pursuer and she was to be the ‘pursuee’.  He wanted to go about the process respectfully, and Biblically.

What awakened me to the importance of this principle in courtship was a statement made by a Christian woman who was licking her wounds after her third divorce.  Her comment was “I sure have done a poor job of picking husbands.”  Whoa!    Who was pursuing who?     

Proverbs 18:22 says  “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.”  Biblically, ‘he’ is being advised that ‘he’ is to seek and find a good wife.   Who did the choosing in 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people,…”?  Who is more committed to the relationship?

Biblical principles are also practical.  If ‘he’ is the pursuer, then there is commitment.  If ‘she’ is the pursuer, “he” may consent out of a heavier dose of ‘lust’ rather than ‘love’.  Enough said, especially dealing with the typical “dating game” that leads to marriage ages in the teens and early twenties.  Was advice sought from parents, pastors or mature elders before it was too late?

A young, or older, man ought to be very concerned when he finds that she is chasing him.  What are her motives?  How might I find myself hooked?  How is she trying to hook me?  Where might this lead?  What would God say about this relationship?  Can He, Our LORD, go with us on our dates?

What should be the criteria for selecting a bride?   A wife?   A sweetheart? 
Consider these three CRITERIA that I have been sharing with young men, in order to get their attention:

1. Don't date a girl you wouldn't marry. This first one came from my sons, who came home from Christian colleges with this admonition drilled into them.  It always reminds me of the traditional Jewish mother that told her daughter “You do not have to marry a doctor...... Just hang around with them”.

2. Make sure the sparkle in her eye isn't the light shining through from the other side.  This second criteria came from my mother.  Hopefully, no explanation is required.

3. Pick your wife with your ears, not your eyes.  This is the most important criteria in my opinion (based on 50+ years of marriage). Unfortunately, when sharing this third criteria with groups, the younger men downplay or refuse to acknowledge the importance of this advice.  If you have been married more than five years, what do you have to say about the importance of this?  And our goal is to celebrate at least a silver anniversary.  How many years of listening does that require?  Especially when she has to get out the proverbial 10,000 words a day; compared with his 3,000 words.

The remainder of the chapter* on Dating and Courting assumes the purpose is to eventually find the appropriate partner for life – a wife.  Any other dating or meeting activity is fraught with dangers, pitfalls and/or leads toward sinful behavior.  Do I need to repeat this last thought?

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

What might happen if he and she both wait for and trust the Holy Spirit to find the right match?

Did you pursue Jesus?  Or did He come to pursue you?  Whose commitment is greater?

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you…”  John 15:16

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      May 5, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”   

*  Excerpted from chapter 2 “Falling in Love and Courting” in “Biblical Marriage” by Yosef (me) 2012
            available from Amazon – search “Biblical Marriage Yosef”