Church Bulletins:

Eight-week study on ‘peacemaking
principles’ starts Sunday evening

• RED BLUFF —  Pastor John Bohrer, of Antelope Home Fellowship, invites all in the community to attend a series of studies titled “Peacemaking Principles, Responding to Conflict Biblically.”
  This is a study developed by Peacemaker Ministries out of Billings, Mont. The focus is on how everyone has conflicts in their lives and this study will teach how to respond according to scripture.
  There will be a pizza party at 6 p.m. Sunday to kick off the eight-week study.
  The church meets at Berrendos Middle School, 401 Chestnut Ave. They will be meeting jointly with Union Southern Baptist Church pastored by Robert Wheatly, for this series of studies on Sunday evenings.


St. Peter’s announces Lent services

• RED BLUFF — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church offers worship services during Lent:
  • Every Wednesday in February (Feb. 27) — Evening prayer service at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary.
  • Every Thursday Morning –Morning Prayer Service at 8 a.m. in the Sanctuary.
  • Sundays during Lent (Through March 9) — Taizé Worship Service at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary
  St. Peter’s is located at 510 Jefferson St. on the corner of Jefferson and Elm streets in Red Bluff.
  Information is available by contacting 527-5205 or nvem@sbcglobal.net.
  
  
  Pastor to speak at First Christian
  
• CORNING — First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, 1421 Marin St., welcomes the Rev. Jerri Handy, who will be bring the message and will be “trying out” for the position of interim pastor.
  A coffee hour follows the 11 a.m. service. Adult Bible study starts at 10 a.m. with Art Moniz. For more information, call 824-5664.


Jews for Jesus presentation on ‘Christ
in Passover’ at Sunrise Bible Fellowship

• RED BLUFF — What do the Jewish Passover and Jesus’ Last Supper have in common? Aaron Abramson, speaking on behalf of Jews for Jesus, will answer that question in a presentation called “Christ in the Passover” at Sunrise Bible Fellowship, 956 Jackson St., at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 1.
  Using a visual display of traditional Passover accouterments, the “Christ in the Passover” presentation enhances the Christian’s understanding and appreciation of the Jewish background of the Christian Communion. Ancient and modern Jewish customs are discussed and described with an emphasis on the aspect of redemption which Christ accomplished at Calvary.
  A table is set with the traditional Jewish Passover items, including representative foods which are explained, but not eaten. The ceremonial Seder plate, the three-compartment pouch in which the matzo (unleavened bread) is kept, as well as the traditional cup of Elijah are presented, and new insights to their Christological significance are provided.
  Those attending the “Christ in the Passover” program at Sunrise Bible Fellowship on March 1 will also have an opportunity to examine some of the aforementioned literature and materials. The program is open to the general public and Aaron Abramson will be available to answer questions those attending might have.
  For more information, call Sunrise Bible Fellowship at 530-527-6818 or e-mail Pastor Pat Hurton at hurton@sbcglobal.net.

Teaching from a grasp of Scripture

The Sermon on the Mount may have appeared at first to e without connection to the Scriptures. Their rabbis carefully built around the Law, following the traditional interpretations of the Scriptures. The rabbis followed a predictable path, citing the accepted authorities, always within the orthodox structure of ideas. But Jesus cited no one, except to use the traditions as a contrast. He did not obviously cite Scripture either. Yet Jesus was teaching from Scripture, he was teaching the intention of Scripture.

The Sermon on the Mount is carefully built on a Psalm about a Rock, although it is not obvious. Jesus followed the order of this Psalm, teaching the application of the meaning. He understood the meaning of the Scriptures; He taught what His Father revealed to him through Scriptures. Jesus was fulfilling Scripture; the Scriptures bore witness to Him. The teachings of Jesus are based on an understanding of Scripture, not on an orthodoxy built around it.

The message that Jesus preached is Scriptural, but it was not part of the orthodoxy. The kingdom of God is near; Scripture bears witness to this. But the traditional teachings did not express this The religious scholars had carefully analyzed Scriptures for centuries, but did not find the good news.
The intention of Scripture is build the life of Jesus Christ in us. Scripture cannot be understood in isolation from life; it is not just fact. Scripture is like DNA; a complete listing of human DNA is of little value itself. In order DNA to have meaning, it must be expression a living organism. then the intention of the code can be see; DNA is expressed in what it builds, and in the mechanisms that come from it.

In the same way, the Scriptures are to build life in a person; the true intention of Scripture can only be seen in a living man.

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Teaching is to come from the Word made flesh.

Excerpt from "The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Teaching with authority

When Jesus finished that day, those who had listened recognized that He taught with authority. This contrasted with the way their educated men taught, who carefully followed the traditional interpretations.

"The result was that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes." Matthew 7:28-29

Jesus taught what no one else had taught; He did not lean on the religious traditions in what He taught. he even used those traditions as a contrast to what He taught.

Yet Jesus did not set aside the Scriptures; He clearly made the point that the Scriptures will not pass away while the earth endures. but Jesus looked at the Scriptures in a very different way than their teachers had approached them. Their teachers looked at Scriptures as something to build around; the Jewish traditions were built to keep men from breaking the Law. They stated that they were building a fence around the law; they assumed that they could keep the Law if they worked at it diligently.

But Jesus sought to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not just keep a distance from them. Jesus saw that the Law and the Prophets were meant to build something; they were not just rules. Jesus taught what the Scriptures were meant to accomplish not what men had built around them.

Jesus looked for something in the Law and the prophets. The traditional teachers had only built around the Law and the Prophets. [Read More]

Excerpt from "The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Teaching for a purpose

Jesus was making disciples as He sat on the mountain teaching.

The accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke indicate that Jesus called certain fishermen, Peter and Andrew, and James and John, to follow Him before the Sermon on the Mount. These men would have been there listening. But others were there as well. The account in Matthew records the Sermon on the Mount in great detail; the accounts in Mark and Luke do not. The complete structure of the discourse indicates that Matthew was listening intently. But the accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke indicate that Matthew himself was called later, as he sat at his tax office in the city. Matthew had sat on the mountain listening to Jesus; this tax collector remembered details, every detail.

(Zaccheus, also a tax collector, also was good at remembering details. In Luke 19 he told Jesus he would repay four-fold everything he had taken by fraud.)

When Jesus passed by Matthew sitting at his table collecting taxes, Matthew knew what this Man taught. When Jesus said "Follow Me" Matthew was ready to leave his place in life, and follow Jesus. Jesus had been making a disciple of Matthew as He taught on the mountain.

Teaching is for a purpose. It is to bring inward change.

"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Timothy 1:5

Teaching needs to address the inward; otherwise discipleship becomes a school of acting. Discipleship should give a heart that has been cleansed from sin, an internal conscience that is useful in doing what is good and a faith that is not the result of role-playing. Love is to come from a changed person, not a well-acted part.

Excerpt from "The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Teaching with content

Discipleship is based on content; discipleship is more than loyalty to a leader. The teacher needs to have something significant to teach; he needs to have something to give.

Jesus had something to say. His teaching was challenging. He did not teach what they already knew; nor did He teach what was too abstract to be useful. Jesus taught about life; He gave light for what was real to those who listened. He taught about real things. If He were teaching us today, He might have used examples of Western materialism, the hypocrisy of our religious culture, and the addictions of our world. He would address us, challenging us to make real changes.
Jesus challenged those who listened to make changes in their lives. he preached that the kingdom of God is near; when He taught He taught how to find it. Those who listened heard about reality; what He taught applied.

Jesus used contrast often, taking examples from their culture. He could make what He taught useful because He could clearly state what was right and what was wrong.

Teaching should be challenging to understand, have significant application, and be illustrated with clear examples. Teaching should use language and details that are understandable, but the content should be difficult. Teaching should communicate change, not creed.

Excerpt from
"The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Teaching in relationship

Discipleship is based on relationship, a mutual relationship of significance. The teacher is to be recognizably worth following; the disciples are to be of value to the teacher.

Jesus came to a highly religious society, with firmly established institutions and recognized systems of instruction. Yet, some followed Jesus as he preached because He had a life that no one else had. He spoke with an authority that others did not have; He had power that others did not have. But more than this, Jesus dealt with the individual; each person was significant to Him. Each person He healed, He healed face to face. Those who followed Him were following Someone who recognizably thought they were significant. Those who teach need to value the individuals they are teaching.

Excerpt from
"The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Teaching through example

Discipleship is based on the character of the teacher; disciples are following the teacher. Those who followed Jesus up the mountain were following the Man. A teacher is more than one who verbalizes information; a teacher is an example of what he teaches. A disciple will become like his teacher; he cannot become more.

"A disciple is not above his teacher nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he becomes as his teacher, and the slave as his master..." Matthew 10:25

This is a part of discipleship. Christianity is based on discipleship, not information. Disciples are to make disciples, disciples of themselves.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 38:19-20

Only disciples can teach other to keep all that Jesus commanded; because only disciples keep His commandments themselves. Anyone can communicate information, but only a disciple can make disciples.

Teachers are to be personally an example of functional Christianity.

"Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well." Jams 3:1-2

Those who teach are to be mature, complete examples of Christian growth. God will discipline teachers more strictly for this purpose.

Excerpt from
"The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Making Disciples, cont.

"And when He saw the multitudes, he went up on the mountain; and after he sat don, His disciples came to Him. and opening His mouth He began to teach them saying..." Matthew 5:1-2

Jesus climbed mountain in the sight of everyone; but only His disciples followed. The crowd did not climb the mountain; they stayed below. When Jesus sat down to teach, only those who had climbed the mountain were listening. He taught disciples.

This is a part of discipleship. Teach those who are willing to follow, separately from those who are not ready to put out an effort. Teach disciples, those who want to learn. The Greek work translated "teach" here could be more literally rendered "cause to learn". (We get our word "didactic" from this word.) The way Jesus taught illustrates how a teacher "causes to learn". Learning occurs best when everyone listening wants to learn.

Excerpt from
"The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Making Disciples

"Teaching those who follow
Christ intends for His church to make disciples, those who follow the teachings of Christ. Many people came to see Jesus, bringing the sick and hurting to Him. These people came in faith, sometimes putting out great effort to bring those they loved to be healed. But they only wanted Jesus to help them; they did not necessarily want to be changed themselves."

Excerpt from
"The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

Discipleship (Structural Plans)

"Every building begins with plans, a set of drawings. Each part of the structure is planned to fit into the whole. The Sermon on the Mount has an overall structure as well. Each piece fits into the whole message. The beginning of the discourse lays an outline for the whole message Discipleship is like deep, structural foundations."
"...like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock..." Luke 6:48

Excerpt from
"The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

The Foundation of Discipleship (pg 4)

"The Sermon on the Mount is about discipleship in the ordinary parts of life. This is in contrast to most of what we think discipleship to be. We see discipleship in great actions, or in great experience in contrast to be. We see discipleship in great actions, or in great experiences, or in great depth. But Jesus taught about the ordinary challenges of life. Our house must be built on a rock; the lowest level of the structure must rest on something solid."

Excerpt from
"The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity

The Foundation of Discipleship

"We must be changed in the ordinary aspects of life; for if we are not, the failures in the ordinary will undermine all of our grand works. This is what we have been struggling with all along; it has not been in the extraordinary that we have failed usually, but in the ordinary parts of life. When we disciple others to seek the grand achievements, we are not only neglecting what they need in the ordinary, we are also inflating their pride. We can be doing more harm than good as we communicate a distorted image of discipleship.

The Sermon on the Mount is about discipleship in the ordinary parts of life. This is in contrast to most of what we think discipleship to be. We see discipleship in great actions, or in great experiences, or in great depth. But Jesus taught about the ordinary challenges of life. Our house must be built on a rock; the lowest level of the structure must rest on something solid."

Excerpt from "The Foundation of Discipleship" by Greg Whitten, [angiken@gmail.com] or Basic Christianity