Church notes

Just in case you are interested, I thought I would give links to the message John gave in church the first Sunday in Nov.

The transcript is here.
You can hear audio here (click on the 11/2 message on the left sidebar). It is fuzzy at first, but gets clearer after a minute or two.

We have been going through the book of Luke for the entire year. We started with the birth of Christ and are just now to the point of His crucifixion. It is so refreshing to study and be taught in this way, because different things can be revealed as you read familiar passages in light of the surrounding passages. An example was a teaching by Dr. Carl Baum about the passage of the widow's mites. I have copied a portion here, but you can find the entire transcript here.

We are all very familiar with that middle passage, about the two copper
coins. We have been conditioned to expect a certain kind of sermon and
application on this passage, perhaps because we have heard it so many times. The
application is something like this: “You need to give sacrificially, like this
woman.” “It’s not how much you give, but what percentage you give.” “God is
really pleased when you give beyond your means and trust Him to take care of
you.” This may be one of the more controversial things I have ever said in here,
but I don’t think this is what Jesus meant at all!

Why would I say this? For a number of reasons: (1) It doesn’t seem to
fit the context of the surrounding passages at all. Jesus has been on a roll
condemning the leaders for several chapters, and He is quite blunt in verses
45-47. And in the following passage, He goes on to say that God will allow the
whole temple to be destroyed! Why in the world would Jesus squish in between
these things praise for a woman who gives all to this very system? (2) Jesus
never actually commends the woman! He doesn’t say He is pleased with her gift.
He doesn’t say He is pleased by her sacrifice. All He says is look: she has put
in more than the others; indeed, she put in everything she had. He doesn’t make
any of the applications I mentioned earlier. They are not in this passage, and
they are not in the parallel passages in the other gospels. (3) I believe there
is another explanation that makes more sense.... Jesus’ point was simply this:
“Look at this poor woman: she just gave all she had! Beware of the teachers of
the law! Look what they will do to you!”

Carl shared more about the requirements placed by the Pharisees on widows to give, even though Old Testament scripture clearly taught that they should take care of widows.

What has God been teaching You lately?