Union Church

The Story of God: Mark

Mark 4:35-41

Mark 1:1

The providence which has ordered the whole of our life…has ordained the most perfect consummation for human life by giving to it Caesar Augustus, by sending in him, as it were, a savior for us and those who come after us, to make war to cease, to create order everywhere…the birthday of the god [Augustus] was the beginning of the gospel for the world that came by him. - Priene Calendar Inscription, 9BC
"There was a human being in the first century who was called 'Divine,' 'Son of God,' 'God,' and 'God from God,' whose titles were 'Lord,' 'Redeemer,' 'Liberator,' and 'Saviour of the World.'" Most Christians probably think that those titles were originally created and uniquely applied to Christ. But before Jesus ever existed, all those terms belonged to Caesar Augustus. They were taking the identity of the Roman emperor and giving it to a Jewish peasant. Either that was a peculiar joke and a very low lampoon, or it was what the Romans called majistas and we call high treason.” - John Dominic Crossan

“The introduction of Jesus is no less momentous than the creation of the world, for in Jesus a new creation is at hand” - James Edwards

15:39

“The wind and the waves recognized Jesus’ voice. (They had heard it before, of course–it was the same voice that made them, in the very beginning). They listened to Jesus and they did what he said.” Sally Lloyd Jones

“Jesus does not reproach the disciples for their lack of knowledge, however, but for their fear, the Greek word for which means “losing heart” or “cowardice.” The real threat to faith comes not from lack of knowledge but from doubt and fear.” - James Edwards

“Then Jesus turned to his wind-torn friends. “Why were you scared?” he asked. “Did you forget who I am? Did you believe your fears, instead of me?” Jesus’ friends were quiet. As quiet as the wind and the waves. And into their hearts came a different kind of storm. “What kind of man is this?” they asked themselves anxiously. “Even the winds and the waves obey him!” they said, because they didn’t understand. They didn’t realize yet that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus’ friends had been so afraid, they had only seen the big waves. They had forgotten that, if Jesus was with them, then they had nothing to be afraid of. No matter how small their boat–or how big their storm." - Sally Lloyd Jones
“If the sight of Jesus bowing his head into that ultimate storm is burned into the core of your being, you will never say, “God, don’t you care?” If you know that he did not abandon you in that ultimate storm, what makes you think he would abandon you in the much smaller storms you’re experiencing right now? And, someday, of course, he will return and still all storms for eternity.” Tim Keller

Only two groups seem to give anywhere near the expected response—the desperate and the demoniacs. The latter at least show signs of knowing who Jesus is; but they get no further because recognition leads to resistance, not faith, till they are delivered. The desperate alone are seen to be faithful. They have nowhere else to go, and no future to hope for without a cure. In the main they cast themselves on Jesus and find all that they need, and more. - Donald English

Mark 5:19-20

The Story of God: Matthew

Listen along as we enter the New Testament and see the arrival, announcement, and acts of the Messiah.

Notes//Quotes:

Matthew
Matthew 3:1-17

“First, God generally designed or allowed a desperate situation to arise before presenting His deliverance. Secondly, He always called upon a faithful servant to “stand in the gap,” making intercession to Him on behalf of the people (Ezek 22:30), and to be His agent through whom He performed His work.” William MacDonald

“The remedy for sin is not denying sin’s presence or explaining it away, but openly admitting it. We are free from sin only when we face it; we disown sin by owning up to it; sin is remitted where sin is admitted.” - Dale Bruner

The wrath of God is not the irritability of God; it is the love of God in friction with injustice. It is the warm, steady, patient, but absolutely fair grace of God in collision with manifest selfishness. - Dale Bruner

If we hear the Father’s twice-repeated Voice at the baptism and transfiguration correctly, the one fact the Father wants believers to know, above apparently all other facts, is how much we have in Jesus. If we know this, we know the most important fact in the world. “Here,” God is saying in so many words, “in this man, is everything I want to say, reveal, and do, and everything I want people to hear, see, and believe. If you want to know anything about me, if you want to hear anything from me, if you want to please me, get together with him” - Dale Bruner

“You have to keep unmasking the world about you for what it is: manipulative, controlling, power-hungry, and, in the long run, destructive. The world tells you many lies about who you are, and you simply have to be realistic enough to remind yourself of this. Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to dare to say to yourself: 'These feelings, strong as they may be, are not telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God's eyes, called the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting belief.” - Henri Nouwen

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Matthew 11:3
“Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the vengeance of God. He will come to save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,” etc. (Isa 35:4–5)

“For immediately after John’s sermon, in the rest of chaps. 3 and 4, Jesus comes (almost like a sinner) to be baptized, and in water! John even tried to dissuade Jesus from being baptized (3:13–15). In John’s eyes, Jesus was from the very first a little baffling, a little strange; less messianic than he had expected and less cataclysmic than he had preached. Then in the Three Temptations, Jesus rejects rather than accepts the powerful ministries offered by Satan (and even well-meaningly predicted by John)—sensational, spectacular, and speedy ministries (4:1–11). In the Three Services (4:12–25), Jesus called his first disciples with power—but just a few were called (four are recorded), they were not persons of great influence (they were simply fishermen), and their task seemed less to be setting the world on fire by destroying evil (which was John’s main picture) than it was, more prosaically, “catching people” into salvation (which is Jesus’ main picture, 4:19).” 

“In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught “with authority,” but what he taught seemed more calculated to put axes in the hands of his opponents than in the hands of his disciples: disciples were in fact specifically forbidden avenging attacks on evil, were particularly promised persecution and tough times, and when talk did come to great and powerful deeds (7:22: prophecy, exorcism, many miracles), Jesus seemed less to encourage them than to warn of them. The whole Sermon on the Mount calls its hearers to a fundamental morality—to such prosaic deeds as scriptural reverence, temperamental patience, sexual purity, marital fidelity, no oaths, nonviolence, and even the love of enemies (the Six Commands of 5:17–48). Are these “the deeds of the Messiah” preached by John and predicted by the OT?" - Dale Bruner

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Matthew 11:4-6,

The Story of God: Malachi

Listen along as we close out the Old Testament.

Malachi 2:17-3:5

“The book of Malachi sits aptly in our Bibles as the last book of the Old Testament, for it looks back to the Old Testament and assumes, summarizes and applies its message. But it also looks forward to the New Testament, with its promises of the coming reign of God.” - Peter Adam

“The general picture we get from the book is that the long years of Israel’s exile did not fundamentally change the hearts of the people. They’re still in rebellion against God, the temple is corrupted, and the reader is left waiting for some kind of resolution. And that’s exactly what Malachi announces. The Day of the Lord is coming to purify Israel from all moral compromise and evil, so that a faithful remnant can emerge out of the other side. While the tone of the book is kind of a downer, it ends with a hopeful note that God will come one day to sort everything out. And that final, hopeful note is precisely what makes Malachi a great ending to the Christian Old Testament. But remember, it’s not the original ending.” Amber Dillon

Mal 1:2

“One of the book’s most striking features is the way in which every word of God is contradicted or questioned by God’s people. This is the deep structure of the book, and its recurring theme. Contradicting God and his words was unfortunately characteristic of this contrary people! Whatever God said, they contradicted by questions.” - Peter Adam

Mal 1:6-8

2:10-16
2:17
3:6-12
3:6-12
3:13-18
4:1-6
Exodus 19:4-6
1 Pet 2:9-10

The Story of God: Haggai and Zechariah

Haggai 1:1-15 & Zechariah 9:9&10

 

Title: Perspectives & Priorities

 

“The destruction of the temple was a defining moment for ancient Israel. As a result of the loss of the temple structure, it was no longer possible to worship the Lord according to the prescriptions of earlier Israelite practice. A large portion of the community was either dead as a result of the conflict with the Babylonians or were in exile in Babylon with great restrictions imposed on their religious freedom. The destruction of the temple was for those who survived an unpleasant reminder of the spiritual failures of the nation; its absence was a painful metaphor of the religious and moral condition of the community itself.”

- Richard Taylor

 

A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.” Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?” (2) (Haggai 1:2-4, MSG)

 

“Take a good, hard look at your life.

Think it over.

You have spent a lot of money,

but you haven’t much to show for it.

You keep filling your plates,

but you never get filled up.

You keep drinking and drinking and drinking,

but you’re always thirsty.

You put on layer after layer of clothes,

but you can’t get warm.

And the people who work for you,

what are they getting out of it?

Not much—

a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.” 

(Haggai 1:5–6 MSG)

 

“’The backwards law’ [is] the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place. The more you desperately want to be rich, the more poor and unworthy you feel, regardless of how much money you actually make. The more you desperately want to be sexy and desired, the uglier you come to see yourself, regardless of your actual physical appearance. The more you desperately want to be happy and loved, the lonelier and more afraid you become, regardless of those who surround you. The more you want to be spiritually enlightened, the more self-centered and shallow you become in trying to get there.”        

- Mark Manson

 

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it” 

(Mark 8:35; Matt 16:25; Luke 9:24)

 

“Haggai made it clear that putting self first is always self-defeating…Ironically, even though these people were residing in the Promised Land with all of its potential blessing, their disobedience subjected them to the curse. The conditions of drought described in verses 10 and 11 echo Deuteronomy 28:38–40 in detailing the kind of chastisement inflicted upon covenant breakers. Not having God and kingdom-work as the main priority in life is serious. Putting God first equates to obeying the greatest of all the commandments to love God totally (Deut 6:5). Not putting him first equates to the greatest sin.” 

- Michael Barrett

 

“When was the last time you did something outwardly "for God" that was actually inwardly motivated by personal gain? That's a hard question because it first requires the courage of humble honesty. It's not easy for us to admit that we prioritize ourselves over our Lord and Savior. But second, it's a hard question because we struggle to see our motives, words and actions with biblical accuracy.”

 

“Let me rephrase the question and lead with personal confession, using two examples from my own life and ministry. When was the last time you served someone you loved, not first because you wanted to freely sacrifice for their good, but because you were attempting to put them in your debt for later? When was the last time you participated in a public ministry activity, not first because you wanted to build the Kingdom of God, but because you wanted other people to notice, respect, admire, or accept you?”

 

“You see, in our everyday lives, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of self are always at war with one another.

 

As long as sin remains, our motives, words and actions are shaped by a troublesome mix of the agenda of these two kingdoms. So today, I want to give you five questions to ask of yourself regularly. These questions are not designed to beat you down with guilt, but to give you eyes to see the deceptive kingdom of self.”

 

Self-Focus: Before making a decision, do you think, "What's in it for me?" or do you freely sacrifice for the good of another without expecting a return?

 

Self-Righteousness: Are you more concerned with, and on the lookout for, the sin, weakness and moral failure of others than you are your own?

 

Self-Satisfaction: Do you feel regularly discontent, always looking for something new to satisfy you, instead of being satisfied with a God-honoring life?

 

Self-Reliance: Do you avoid living in intrusive and intentional relationships, where others admit their need for grace and seek the help of biblical community?

 

Self-Rule: Which law gets the most attention and the quickest response in your life and relationships, the Word of God or your own desires?

 

“That's a pretty devastating list of questions! Which of us could ever measure up to that standard?”

- Paul Tripp

 

“Here then is how the Spirit makes us wise. On the night before he died, Jesus told his disciples that he would send the Holy spirit and ‘when he, the Spirit of truth, come … he will glorify me …’ (John 16:13-14). The Spirit does not make us wise in some magical kind of way, giving us little nudges and insider tips to help us always choose the best stock to invest in. Rather, he makes Jesus Christ a living, bright reality, transforming our character, giving us new inner poise, clarity, humility, boldness, contentment, and courage. All of this leads to increasing wisdom as the years go by, and to better and better professional and personal decisions.” 

- Timothy Keller

 

“There is a Warrior Savior, and abundant grace for the battle of these two kingdoms! On the Cross, Jesus broke the power of the kingdom of self. He paid the debt for every self-centered motive, word and action that we prioritize over biblical living. On the Cross, Christ purchased power for us to obey, and with his resurrection, he guarantees that some day our kingdom conflict will be over. Until then, your Lord battles zealously on your behalf, and he will never rest until the battle is over.”

- Paul Tripp

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of God: 6 Month Recap

A special episode where Anthony and Jon sit down to discuss the first 6 months of going through the Bible as a church.

The Story of God: Zephaniah

Zephaniah 2:1-3 - Crystal Reading

Zephaniah 2:1-3

“The phrase “the day of Yahweh” (the Lord) refer both to the ultimate time when Yahweh will punish and restore/re-create the whole world and to the periodic pen-ultimate days that clarify and anticipate it." - Jason DeRouchie

“God’s judgment passed through Egypt to hold the nation accountable and passed over Israel to rescue them from death and slavery. God then instructed the people of Israel to observe Passover every year, so that they would remember his deliverance and defense of the afflicted. For Israel, the Day of the Lord was something to celebrate, until Israel began to resemble their former oppressors.” Tim Mackie

What is your only comfort in life and in death? 
That I am not my own, but belong— body and soul, in life and in death — to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

One of the problems with the ways we tend to talk about the power of hell is that we shift the blame for the cruelty that is ours in the world away from ourselves and toward the heart of the God who is good. Our problem is not that we are good and God is evil. The gospel flips this illusion on its head: God is good and we are evil. Our healing begins with our repentant acknowledgment of this fact; then we can fall into the arms of mercy that are waiting to receive us.” - Joshua Ryan Butler

“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn”
In the gospel story, heaven and earth are currently torn by sin. Our world is being ravaged by the destructive power of hell. Sin has unleashed it into God’s good world, and God is on a mission to get it out, to reconcile heaven and earth from hell’s evil influence to himself through the reconciling life of Christ. The time is coming when God’s heavenly kingdom will come down to reign on earth forever, when Jesus will cast out the corrosive powers of sin, death, and hell that have tormented his world for so long. - Joshua Ryan Butler

Zeph 3:14-20

The Story of God: Jonah and Nahum

Listen along as we continue through the story of God.

Text: Jonah 1:1-3 & Nahum 1:1-6a.
Title: Poet, Punk, Prophet

“Assyria must surely have among the worst press notices of any state in history. Babylon may be a byname for corruption, decadence and sin but the Assyrians and their famous rulers, with terrifying names like Shalmaneser, Tiglath-Pileser, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, rate in the popular imagination just below Adolf Hitler and Genghis Khan for cruelty, violence, and sheer murderous savagery.”
- Paul Kriwaczek

“While historians tend to shy away from analogies, it is tempting to see the Assyrian Empire, which dominated the Middle East from 900-612 BC, as a historical forebear of Nazi Germany: an aggressive, murderously vindictive regime supported by a magnificent and successful war machine. As with the German army of World War II, the Assyrian army was the most technologically and doctrinally advanced of its day and was a model for others for generations afterwards.
- Simon Anglim

“10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (Jonah 3:10-4:2)

 

The Story of God: Obadiah and Micah

Listen along as we explore two more minor prophets and see some pressing questions and a promised King.

Notes/Quotes:

Obadiah. 1-4, 
Micah 5:2-5a 

Deut 2:4-5

Obadiah 1

Obadiah 13-15

 

“Hope is taking in your real-life situation and finding God smack-dab in the midst of it.” - AJ Swoboda

Micah 2:1-3

“In Micah’s time, as in our own, this development led to a few rich people getting richer, not simply at the same time as the poor becoming poorer, but at the expense of the poor. It has been, and will continue to be, a major political and economic debate whether increasing affluence necessarily produces these disparities. For Micah there was no debate, only denunciation. His book, in common with most Old Testament prophets, makes it plain that in both Judah and Israel the fabric and foundation of national life were being systematically threatened.” John Marsh

“No system that carries oppression, silencing, dehumanizing, violence, abuse, and corruption within is healthy, no matter how godly the goals of that system may be. Tolerance of such things, out of fear, disbelief, or self-deception, will not protect the system from the disease that will kill it if left untreated.” - Diane Langberg

Micah 5:4

“God’s Kingdom of justice and peace is not wrought by the love of power, but by the power of love.” - C. René Padilla

Micah 6:6-8

“If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.” Tim Keller

Micah 7:18-20

The incarnation took all that properly belongs to our humanity and delivered it back to us, redeemed. All of our inclinations and appetites and capacities and yearnings are purified and gathered up and glorified by Christ. He did not come to thin out human life; He came to set it free. All the dancing and feasting and processing and singing and building and sculpting and baking and merrymaking that belong to us, and that were stolen away into the service of false gods, are returned to us in the gospel."
-Thomas Howard

The Story of God: Joel & Amos

Listen along as Anthony continues our time through the minor prophets.

Notes/Quotes:

Joel 2:12-13 & Amos 5:4-8

Text: Joel & Amos
Title: Prophets, Prescriptions, Promises

(Joel 1:5,8,11,13,&14)
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
 and wail, all you drinkers of wine, 
because of the sweet wine,
 for it is cut off from your mouth.

8 Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
 for the bridegroom of her youth.

11 Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
 wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
 because the harvest of the field has perished.

13 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
 wail, O ministers of the altar.
 Go in, pass the night in sackcloth,
    O ministers of my God!
 Because grain offering and drink offering
 are withheld from the house of your God.

14 Consecrate a fast;
 call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
 and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
 and cry out to the Lord.

(Amos 5:11-15)
11…because you trample on the poor
 and you exact taxes of grain from him,
you have built houses of hewn stone,
 but you shall not dwell in them;
 you have planted pleasant vineyards,
 but you shall not drink their wine.

12 For I know how many are your transgressions
 and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
 and turn aside the needy in the gate.

13 Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good, and not evil,
 that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
 as you have said.

15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate;
 it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
 will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

(Amos 5:21-24)
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts,
 and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
 I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
 I will not look upon them.

23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
 to the melody of your harps I will not listen.

24 But let justice roll down like waters,
 and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Righteousness = TSEDAQAH; equity despite social difference
Justice = MISHPAT; actions taken to correct injustice

Questions:
1. Do we know ourselves enough to recognize our need for repentance even though the specifics might not be staring us in the face?

2. Is the exploitation seen in Amos by God’s people an aberration or do we still wrestle with the issue today?

3. Is there good news and hope for us if we sincerely turn to Jesus today? 

The Story of God: Hosea

Listen along as we work our way through the minor prophets.

Notes/Quotes:

Hosea 14:1-9 - Denise

Hosea 14:1-9

“The task of the prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.” Walter Brueggeman 

Hosea 1:2
Hosea 1:10-2:1
Hosea 2:14-21

“For all its brevity, this little prophecy entwines together strands which only separately delight us in other more familiar passages. In a few lines we have the picture of nature at peace with man (cf. Is. 11:6-9; 65:25), of weapons discarded (cf. Ps. 46:9; Is. 9:5; Mi. 4:3) and of God’s people at one with Him (cf. Je. 31:33f.; Ezk. 36:26f.). It is the last of these that God lingers over, for it is the heart of the matter.” - Derek Kidner 

“Perhaps this is why Hosea captures, as no other writer does, the tension within God’s love for His elect – for He refuses to ease the pain of the relationship either by compromise or by quitting. He loves these people despite their blatant unfaithfulness (‘they turn to other gods’), which He cannot for a moment condone, and despite their fatuous and brutish scale of values.” - Derek Kidner

3:5

In every direction His people have played Him false: in religion, with other gods, another cult; in politics, with shabby intrigues and dubious patrons; in morals, with unbridled sex and violence. His reaction might well have been to write them off and waste no more affection on them. But He is not so easily dismissed. - Derek Kidner

“Amos cries, “Turn, for in front of you is destruction;” but Hosea, “Turn, for behind you is God.” George Adam Smith

It is rather easy to grow up with a naïve idea of God – something like a child’s impression of the adult world – and with a worrying conundrum about His way of doing things. The conundrum is this old one: If God is all- powerful and all-good, why does He not rid the world of evil? (The church too, for that matter?)
One of the things that Hosea does for us is to give us, with extraordinary frankness, the other side of that anomaly. God’s side. The child’s idea of his elders is a puzzled one. They make the rules (he says to himself) – there’s power for you! And they have money, whatever they may say – there’s freedom! What couldn’t we do, we children, with all that freedom, all that power? In this book we see things not in these simplistic terms, where situations and people are uncomplicated and power is like a magic wand. Hosea introduces us to a family which is a miniature of our world, but it is a problem family, and God compares His situation not to that of an autocrat whose orders nobody dares question, nor of a father who rejoices in an adoring wife and children, but to that of a husband whose wife has left him, and a father whose children are like strangers in his own house and are fast destroying themselves. - Derek Kidner

The ‘whoever’ of this verse suddenly exposes us to the same searching encounter, for the word of God goes on speaking; it never slips safely into the past. The rightness of God’s ways as revealed in this book is so far above us in both holiness and love, as to leave self-sufficient man without excuse, self-condemned, while those who turn into the way of righteousness find themselves met more than half-way. - Derek Kidner