Following Jesus Son of God …

Not Just Suggestions but Commands!

You’ve heard that before I imagine. “The Ten Commandments. Commandments, not just suggestions. Not the Ten Suggestions.”

If you have been on the planet for any length of time and have been in church or listened to Christian radio, you surely have heard this. “Not just suggestions.”

• But what you probably HAVE NOT HEARD is this phrase–“Not Just Suggestions”–used in references to the two greatest commandments.

Interesting, isn’t it? The commandments that we have deemed most important “get all the press,” but the two COMMANDMENTS that Jesus says are the most important, the greatest, not so much.

Our priorities are skewed!

“Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and might” — Not a suggestion!

“Love your neighbor as yourself” — Not a suggestion!

“Love your enemies” — Not a suggestion!

And more “not suggestions” …

• (Leviticus 19:18 ESV) You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
• (Romans 13:8 ESV) Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
• (Galatians 5:14 ESV) For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
• (Colossians 3:14 ESV) And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Not suggestions but it seems that too many of us don’t know this.

There is tremendous blessing in letting God establish our priorities and living by those priorities. It is a faith challenge well worth the journey.

Message Title: Second Love, Second Doctrine!

Message Text: Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-37

• MP3: Second Love, Second Doctrine : Matthew 22:34-40 : Luke 10:25-37 : ffc : dave scott : 011215

#1 PRIORITY BEFORE GOD:
Love God, love neighbor as yourself, Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 19:16-22, Leviticus 19:18, Colossians 3:14.

• QUESTION: WHO ORDERS YOUR PRIORITIES?

#1 MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD:
The gospel according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:1-9.

• QUESTION: FROM WHOM DO YOU RECEIVE YOUR MESSAGE?

#1 KINGDOM TO BE CONSIDERED:
The kingdom of God, Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:1-2.

• QUESTION: TO WHOSE KINGDOM ARE YOU LOYAL?

Hello All,

Brrrr……. Hope you are warm and safe during this bitter cold.

So this week we are looking at the #2 Doctrine in Scripture according to Jesus.

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself!

Message Title: Second Love, Second Doctrine!

Message Text: Matthew 22:43-40, Luke 10:25-37

• PDF Second Love, Second Doctrine Matthew 22:34-40 : Luke 10:25-37 : ffc : dave scott : 011115 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF Second Love, Second Doctrine Matthew 22:34-40 : Luke 10:25-37 : ffc : dave scott : 011115 : STUDY SHEET TWO

-> This has been “big worm” week. Do you know what I mean?

Some years ago I heard this advice: “When you start your day, if you have two worms to eat, eat the big one first.” If I remembered who said that, I would certainly give them credit, but, alas, I remember not.

But I do remember and practice the principle. This is that time of year where I am still trying to organize expense budgets, estimate taxes, breakdown salary package, review IRS regulations, hope my calculations and estimates are correct, etc.

Yes! All of that is just as much fun as it sounds. So Thursday Kerry and I are planning a fun day. Celebrating victory over the worms maybe?

• (Philippians 4:4–9 ESV)
  ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

-> A spoonful of Scripture helps the worm go down …

Yes. Rejoice. Truly rejoice. In fact, I have found that I appreciate the good things in life so much more, so much tastier after eating several worms. Cleansing to the palette possibly?

Mmmm……..

• (1 Thessalonians 5:16–19 ESV)
  ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.

Not cliche. Not rose-tinted glasses.

-> But the word of God!

And Jesus taught that the #1 doctrine was to love God first with of our heart, soul, mind and might!

• Two vital questions:
  ONE: When we are commanded from Scripture to love God and love our neighbor, is that Bible doctrine?
  TWO: What priority should we give this command?

Jesus’ doctrinal teaching was so powerful that after he finished the discussion on the greatest commandment in Mark 12 that no one else dared to question him.

• (Mark 12:34 ESV) And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Message Title: First Love, First Doctrine!

Message Text: Mark 12:28-34 & Revelation 2:1-7

• MP3: First Love, First Doctrine : 010415 : FFC : dave scott : Mark 12:28-34

Welcome to 2015!

For the four Sundays in January I am going to preach a “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” series from selected texts. I thought to myself several months ago, “What a good way to begin the new year!” So here we are.

Did you know that the instruction, the teaching, to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength was Bible doctrine?

We do this weird thing sometimes. We have “love” and “doctrine” in separate categories. Someone asked me one time if I thought love was more important than doctrine.

Doctrine in its most basic form is teaching, instruction, what is taught. The word used predominantly is διδαχή (didachē) in various forms in the Greek.

DOCTRINE … διδασκαλία (didaskalia), teaching, instruction; διδαχή (didachē), teaching.

Jesus was a “doctrine” man.

• He taught doctrine (Mark 1:21).
• People were astonished at his doctrine (Mark 1:22).
• People were amazed at Jesus and his doctrine (Mark 1:27).
• Jesus rebuked those who were teaching the rules of men as the doctrines of God (Matthew 15:9).

But somehow when the scribe approaches Jesus in Mark 12:28, and Jesus calls us to the love of God, our image of Jesus morphs from powerful teacher of the Word of God to this gentle man who wants us to be nice to each other.

This question that the scribe approached Jesus with in Mark was a hotly contested theological issue among the religious experts of the day. They were determined to test Jesus’ theological mettle.

• (Mark 12:28–34 ESV) And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

They wanted to know out of the 613 commandments (their number), Which one was the most important?

This was a test. They wanted to see how Jesus would interpret the law, their Bible. They wanted his view on doctrine.

So when Jesus began with the Shema (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and then called them to love the Lord their God, he was saying, “You want the most important doctrine of all, then here it is. Love God first and love him with everything you have.”

Message Title: “First Love, First Doctrine!”

Message Text: Mark 12:38-34, Revelation 2:1-7

• PDF First Love, First Doctrine : 010415 : FFC : dave scott : Mark 12-28-34 : HANDOUT ONE
• PDF First Love, First Doctrine : 010415 : FFC : dave scott : Mark 12-28-34 : HANDOUT TWO

• ▶︎ Great or small, heavy or light … Which one is most important?
  The question asked by this scribe, this expert in the knowledge of the whole body of Jewish religious literature—God’s written law and its oral interpretation and application, could be expected of him. The rabbis, devoted to hairsplitting legalism, carried on lengthy debates about the commandments, arguing whether a particular one was great or small, heavy or light. It was natural, therefore, that they debated the question, “Which of the 613 commandments, 248 of them positive, 365 negative [according to their count] is foremost of all?” (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S.J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Mark (Vol. 10, p. 492). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)

Good Monday Morning to You,

Forgiveness! Right with God!

We should be thrilled. How exhilarating! What joy and peace! Right with God through Jesus Christ now and forever! In this age and every age to come!

Message Title: Forgiveness … Right with God!

Message Text: Luke 7:36-50

• MP3: Forgiveness – Right with God : FFC : dave scott : 122814 AM EDITED

FORGIVENESS IS CROSS-WORK!

Hello All,

Forgiveness! Do you ever wonder why we as Christians struggle with forgiveness the way we do? Forgiving others … Allowing God to forgive us … ?

Do we realize what forgiveness is? What it means?

Try this on for size. Forgiveness means “right with God.” Right with God. Are you following me? Right with the Supreme, Omnipotent Ruler of the Universe. Right with God Most High. Totally fitting into God’s holy plan and purpose.

The “Consuming Fire” has welcomed us with outstretched arms to his family.

Message Title: Forgiveness … Right with God!

Message Text: Psalm 32:1, Luke 7:36-50 & Selected Texts

• PDF Forgiveness : 122814 : FFC : dave scott : Luke 7-36-50 : HANDOUT ONE
• PDF Forgiveness : 122814 : FFC : dave scott : Luke 7-36-50 : HANDOUT TWO

Last message from Romans until we come back to that study on February 1, 2015.

Message Title: If God Is for Us …

Message Text: Romans 8:31-39

MP3: LESSON 21 If God Is for Us : Romans 8:31-39 : FFC : dave scott : 121414

While still in the praying part of planning my preaching schedule and thinking very seriously about preaching through Romans, I was somewhat intimidated by the challenges. How to handle this? Explain that?

And then I realized (God spoke to me?) that my approach was wrong. Why be concerned with covering all the variations and interpretations? Really. Look at the long lists of scholars who don’t have it all figured out. They can’t agree. Why would I put myself under the pressure to make these things clear to everybody.

So I decided that I would study and preach the text to the best of my ability.

AND … I decided that I would not try to answer the “unanswerable” questions in this amazing letter. It was encouraging for me to note as I have progressed through the study that I have very good company with this thought.

Preach the text and don’t try to say more than what God says.

Part of my dilemma came from my background. Too often as evangelicals and fundamentalists we believe ourselves to be THE answer people. We can answer everything. Just give us a Bible and we will show you.

Now we are answer people in that we do have the answer in Christ and in God’s Holy Book. But we tend (in our pride and misunderstanding?) to come up with more answers than are presented in “the Book.”

What a blessing this study has been! I worship and praise God every week as he “blows my doors off” with the amazing truth of his word.

And now a note from Leon Morris on predestination. A wonderful, strengthening doctrine so clearly taught by the Apostle Paul.

• Paul goes on to predestination. [1] This is an important New Testament concept and one which some people find difficult because they are so sure that we have free wills. This is not the place to go into a discussion of the relative places of the two; it must suffice to notice that the meaning of the word is plain. We must not allow ourselves to be sidetracked by modern notions of what is or is not possible for God. Paul is saying that God is the author of our salvation, and that from beginning to end. We are not to think that God can take action only when we graciously give him permission. Paul is saying that God initiates the whole process. As Barrett puts it: “The history and personal make-up of the Church are not due to chance or to arbitrary human choices, but represent the working out of God’s plan.… Our own intentions, like our own virtues, are far too insecure to stand the tests of time and judgement.” He sees it as “the most comfortable of all Christian doctrines, if men will accept it in its biblical form, and not attempt to pry into it with questions which it does not set out to answer. It is … the final statement of the truth that justification, and, in the end, salvation also, are by grace alone, and through faith alone.”[2]
• [1] 138 προορίζω means “set the boundary (ὅρος) beforehand” and clearly points to what we mean by predestination.
• [2] Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (pp. 332–333). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.

Hello Friends,

I know I am repeating myself, but God is amazing. Kind of learning why we will spend so much time worshiping and praising him when we get to heaven.

Sometimes as we wrangle with our theological issues and try to answer questions which are unanswerable, we forget the WHO and the WHY of our salvation.

God so loved the world …

Sound familiar? Maybe too familiar because we sometimes miss the power and glory of God’s salvation plan.

• HE SAVED US BECAUSE HE LOVED US!
• AND …
• HE WILL SAVE US!

Message Title: “If God Is for Us …”

Message Text: Romans 8:31-39

• PDF 21 If God Is for Us : Romans 8-31-39 : FFC : dave scott : 121414 : STUDY SHEET ONE
• PDF 21 If God Is for Us : Romans 8-31-39 : FFC : dave scott : 121414 : STUDY SHEET TWO

Make no mistake! God’s love is strong! God’s plan for our lives as believers in Jesus Christ makes us more than conquerors!

• Some think there is a careful division into subsections, others that it is a fine rhapsody, paying little attention to the sequence of thought. Be that as it may, it will suffice to notice that in the first half Paul is concerned with … the impossibility of any charge against the believer being sustained before God (vv. 31–34), and in the second with the impossibility of anything separating us from God’s love (vv. 35–39). [Morris, Leon (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 334). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.]