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I think the saying ‘be careful what you wish for’ applies here. But either way I am thrilled to point everyone I know to the blog my friend, pastor and mentor… Tom Polker.
No one has influenced my life more, or taught me more about Jesus and His Kingdom than Tom. Please follow his blog, rss, bookmark it, whatever. Just read his Reflections.
Tags: Genesis Toledo
Recently at Genesis we have been exploring and talking about what happens when we die. Here is a quick article by NT Wright that concisely offers up a few of the thoughts we are finding in scripture. Check it out if you dare. 
NT Wright – Neither is the final destination.
Tags: Genesis Toledo, theology
10/22/09 – The Story of God #7 – Cain and Abel
> In Genesis 4 we read a small account of two brothers named Cain and Abel. It is a common story found in a few short verses. Here are a few thoughts from last week’s Bible study.
> In the course of time each brother brought an offering. God accepted Abel’s offering and did not accept Cain’s. Cain brought fruit from the ground. Abel brought the firstborn from his flock.
> There are two important distinctions in each brother’s offering.
- Cain brought effort. The work of his hands to seek God’s pleasure.
- Abel brought life. A blood sacrifice which found God’s pleasure.
> The story of these brothers is a wonderful picture of a loving God who is unwilling to let us ignore the truth about us. Our work is not good enough. We are not right and it will take a sacrifice to make us right.
> How often do we bring our good works to God? It is as if we are “carting out our vegetables” before him seeking approval. There must be a sacrifice and Jesus is our only hope of finding God’s approval and acceptance.
- 1 John 4:10 – In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Tags: Genesis Toledo
For the past several weeks I have been a part of a Bible Study called Genesis on Thursday nights. Each week Tom Polker teaches from God’s word and we respond in singing and communion. Its been a good time.
In an effort have a few thoughts from my notes on this blog and to catch up so I can start entering them on a weekly basis; I will share a few things from the first 8 weeks.
Here we go.
9/3/09 – Story of Hosea and Ephesians 4
- Hosea provides a great depiction of the state of the church today. Israel takes blessings from God and worships idols. No faithfulness in their love for God. A lack of knowledge of God divides them from God.
> Ephesians 4 tells us there is one Church. One Body. This should lead us to unity and forbearance with one another.
> The offices of the 5-fold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) are designed by God for His Body, the Church. All roles are necessary to restore the Church as the beautiful bride of Christ, equipped and built up in unity, knowledge and maturity.
> Jesus is the perfect incarnation or expression of these offices.
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9/10/09 - The Story of God #1 – Genesis 1
> The story of creation is not meant to propel us toward science. And, there is no answer found in the text to solve the creation vs. evolution arguments of our day.
> The people first reading this would have been asking “Who?” and “Why?” rather than searching out “How?” “What?” and “When?”. This is significant to remember in our day.
> The key to the story of creation is relationship.
- God is Powerful. (He speaks and it is so.)
- God is Good. (Psalm 33 & Isaiah 51:12)
- God is the owner of all things. (All things exist for his purpose and glory.)
- God is the creator. (He gets credit. He holds the copyright. Col. 1:15. We are the clay, not the potter. Psalm 29:15-16)
> Our only proper response is Worship. (By obedience to what he says. Gratitude and contentment for what we have. Stewardship with what we have been given. Reverence toward who God is.)
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9/17/09 - The Story of God #2 – Genesis #2
> The creation is about God making something from nothing. He creates by separating order from chaos.
> Separation is always God’s means to move us from chaos to God’s divine order. (Huge concept!!!)
- Often, when we move away from God, we do so by moving away from separation and blurring the lines between what God has set up. (Ex. – Men/Women – Work/Rest.)
> Psalm 148 follows the creation narrative. A beautiful chapter to read in light of the creation story.
> Job 38. This is our God. Amazing.
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9/24/09 – The Story of God #3 – Genesis 2
> The creation of man was the first and only time God shares his image and his rule with his creation.
> The Hebrew/Jewish culture would NEVER have simply looked at their lives as some result of a sperm and an egg. But instead as a significant creation with the Imago Dei.
> The Imago Dei is an enormous belief we need to cling to on a daily basis. In a culture that places SO much weight on our looks and outer appearance we must be a people that remembers we were created with the very image of God in us!
> Psalm 139.- The poetry of creation.
> We are to have dominion. Dominion is not domination but stewardship. Care. Cultivation. Don’t make me get all ‘green’ on you! Just read our original mandate.
- To cultivate the earth is to bring all things forth to glorify the one who created it!
- One of the destructive things about the worldview of evolution is that we end up looking to the animals to determine who we are and where we came from. The creation story calls us to look to God to answer those questions.
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10/01/09 – The Story of God #4
> 4 Identiites we carry from creation.
- We are to model who God is and what he wants.
- We are to cultivate the creation.
- We are to carry out God’s intentions.
- We are to demonstrate a trinitarian-like relationship. Unity.
> The tree determines God’s ownership and authority.
>The tree represents God’s wisdom in dispersing moral knowledge. He knows best, what is right and wrong and how to handle that knowledge. Many of our issues come from trying to determine for ourselves what is right or wrong.
> 5 seeds of uncertainty from the serpent in the garden.
- Distrust. “You will not die…”
- Jealousy & resentment. “God knows…”
- Desire. “When you eat…”
- Dissatisfaction & Pride. Dissatisfaction in who you are, and Pride in who you could become. “You will be like God…”
- Independence & Control. “You will know good and evil…”
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10/08/09 – The Story of God #5
> 2 Consequences of the Fall. Vertical (Man & God) and Horizontal (Man & World)
> One of the first scenes in the fall is Adam and Eve hiding and finding clothes. Sin was not simply an action but shameful. It was a change to who they were, not simply what they had done.
> We are children of wrath. Eph. 2:1-4.
> Sin is complete, total and without exception. Romans 3:9-18.
> The Tree or Eden and the Tree at Golgotha hold powerful contrasts. (1 Peter 2:24 refers to Christ on a tree, not just a cross)
- Eden’s was forbidden. Golgotha’s tree welcomes us.
- Satan moves us toward the tree in Eden, and away from the tree of Golgotha.
- The result of the tree in Eden is being cast out. The result of the tree of Golgotha is being welcomed in.
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10/15/09 -The Story of God #6 – Genesis 3:8-19
> The curse seen manifest in two ways. Relational. Man and woman experience problems with one another. Creational curse between man and the world. Thorns and thistles and labor and toil.
> We don’t get the garden. All of the desires of our heart leave us longing for perfect haven of the garden, and we don’t get it. We desire 3 pieces of the garden all day long.
- Justice. Instead, we get corruption, lieing and cheating.
- Beauty. Instead, we see and experience death.
- Joy. Instead, we get heartache, depression and lonliness.
> Our call is to bring forth these 3 things in our world. “Your Kingdom on Earth, as it is in Heaven.”
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