The Sower Magazine - What does the Bible say? (1st quarter)

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TheSower Volume 15 Issue 1 | 1st Quarter 2013

The quarterly magazine of Spirit & Truth Fellowship International速

Opening Letter

Jan/Feb/Mar 2013

What Does the Bible Say? Each and every Christian is very important to God’s work on earth, and we can each have a tremendous impact in spreading the light of the Good News about Jesus Christ.

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his is the first issue of The Sower in 2013, and I am looking forward to a wonderful year of God’s grace and love. I also think it will be a difficult year for many people when it comes to physical and fleshly things. That means this is a good year to press forward in our Christian quest to turn away from focusing on things that give us physical pleasures and turn instead to “seeking first the Kingdom of God.” Some of the ways we can do that are by spending more time in prayer, reading the Bible, volunteering and helping others, and sharing our lives and faith with others.

The book of Daniel foretells that as the End approaches, knowledge will increase (Dan. 12:4). Granted, we do not know how far off the Rapture and the Tribulation are, but we do know that knowledge is increasing exponentially. Although this may at first seem to be a good thing, other prophecies show that in the context of the End, it is not, because the knowledge will not be accompanied with genuine wisdom and love. Furthermore, Amos foretells that as the End approaches there will be a famine—not a shortage of food, but a famine of the Word of the Lord (Amos 8:12). That certainly seems to be the case today. Many people do not understand even the basic message of the Bible, and this has serious consequences in our modern world.

When people and governments do not understand God or His wisdom, they slip into ungodly and even demonic

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thoughts and practices, and this can be discouraging for Christians who want to live by God’s Word. However, all we have to do is to look at the history of the world to realize that life has always been challenging for people who love God and want to follow His ways. We must not get discouraged by difficulty or any ungodliness around us, but see ourselves as God sees us: lights in a dark world, the salt of the earth, and ambassadors for Christ. We can view the darkness around us as the glass being half full, not half empty: it means each and every Christian is very important to God’s work on earth, and we can each have a tremendous impact in spreading the light of the Good News about Jesus Christ.

In the lead article, Dan Gallagher writes about one of the most basic questions we must ask ourselves and help others ask and correctly answer, a question that Jesus himself posed to those around him: “Who do you say I am?” Until we know who Jesus is, and especially things such as that he is the lord and the Way to everlasting life, this life will have little genuine and lasting meaning. Of course, we learn who Jesus is mostly from the Bible, and so the Contender article, “Unity: A Worthy Goal” is important in shoring up our confidence that the Bible can indeed be trusted as the final authority on who Jesus really is.

May God bless us all as we seek to learn the Bible and who Jesus is, and then make those things central realities in our lives.

John Schoenheit

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Credits Publisher Spirit & Truth Fellowship International

®

Executive Editors John W. Schoenheit Dan Gallagher Editors Janet Speakes Renee Speakes

Contents

12 The Lost Israel Tour Videos

Volume 15 - Issue 1 - Jan/Feb/Mar 2013

26 Dear Sower

Lead Article

The Contender

Partner Profile

Who Do You Say I Am?

Unity: A Worthy Goal

Dean Barnes

by Dan Gallagher

by John W. Schoenheit

Page 4 “But what about you?” was Jesus’ question to his disciples, because it doesn’t really matter how others answer the question. What matters is, “Who do you say I am?”

Page 10 There are some essential ingredients to unity, including humility, logic, wisdom, and a scholarly approach.

The ABC’s of God

Manners & Customs

The Vine

A Shot in the Arm for a Lamb

The Need for Hospitality

Start With a Meet and Greet

by Cara Hanson

Page 20 God commanded Christians who had food and shelter to provide hospitality for others, and that is something we should still be willing to practice today.

16 REV Commentary 23 Kindle Books 27 Our YouTube Videos on DVD

Magazine Designers Ryan Maher Austin Williams Staff Writers John W. Schoenheit Dan Gallagher Production Coordinator Dustin Williams

Research Websites TruthOrTradition.com Over one thousand articles pertaining to many biblical issues.

BiblicalUnitarian.com Explore an entire website dedicated to the truth of One God & One Lord.

Home Office 180 Robert Curry Drive Martinsville, IN 46151 888.255.6189 or 765.349.2330 M-F 9 to 5 (ET) Fax: 765.342.8430 STF@STFonline.org STFonline.org

by Dean Barnes Page 17 Dean Barnes explain why he is a partner with Spirit & Truth Fellowship.

You may view the electronic version of this magazine at STFonline.org/sower View back issues at STFonline.org/backissues All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.

NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984

by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. References taken from other translations or versions will be noted, e.g., King James Version=(KJV). In verses or quotations from other authors, the author has emphasized words by placing them in bold print. Words inside [brackets] have been added by the author.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version™. © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

Page 18 In his brave endurance, Jesus left us some sage advice: Take it like a lamb.

by John W. Schoenheit

by Dan Gallagher Page 24 The Body of Christ is realizing that genuine biblical fellowship is not the refreshments and socializing that happens at the end of church services.

Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 3

Lead Article

FEATURE

Who Do You Say I Am?

by Dan Gallagher

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he night was dark, much darker than usual. The inky blackness that seemed to envelop those gathered was not a result of the lack of moon or starlight; it had more to do with the gargantuan evil that was unfolding before the small crowd of wicked men. In this ancient hall stood a solitary man, dragged before the hostile crowd of inquisitors. Despite his disheveled appearance, the kind you would expect from being manhandled and pummeled, he stood with poise before his captors with his hands tied and his guards close by. This was a trial and everyone present understood the gravity of the proceedings, for what was at stake was the life of this man. Then, stepping forward with the arrogance that so often accompanies unquestionable power was a man dressed in fancy robes, and other accoutrements of one who has great authority, as he spoke with disdain and contempt. It was as if his words slid off his tongue with oily venom as he demanded, “I charge you under oath by the living God, Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!” 4 The Sower Jan/Feb/Mar 2013

The same question was on everyone’s mind

The question the High Priest and the rulers of Israel asked Jesus as he stood before their council two-thousand years ago was the same question that multitudes had been asking for quite some time. For well over a year the people of Judea and beyond had debated the identity of this man.

The problem for many was that no one had ever heard of him, his family, or his background. Some said he came from the most prestigious family in all Israel, a descendent of the greatest king, David himself. But then there were many others who claimed to know the family, and they said he was a bastard child, an illegitimate son of a modest family in Nazareth. Certainly both couldn’t be true. And despite his seemingly powerful grasp and deep understanding of the Torah, no one was aware of his having any formal training in the rabbinical schools.

First-century Israel was an honor-shame based society, the type of culture where a person’s perceived worth was based on his or her position. Great importance was placed on knowing one’s position and then staying there. Honor was

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based on a person’s family background, achievements, trade, and even the town he came from.

Clearly this man had none of these, which compounded the problem of answering the question, “Who is he?”

We’ve never seen anything like this before Despite everything that culturally indicated he was a “nobody,” a person deserving no special treatment or respect, everyone who spent any amount of time near him soon realized that there was indeed something very special about him. Stories abounded about the many sick people who were healed at his mere command. As the news spread about him the stream of people who sought him out grew as well. They came deaf but left with the

sounds of joy and the songs of birds ringing in their ears. It was reported that the blind saw and the leprous exchanged their scabs for skin as soft and smooth as a newborn’s. There was a story of a widow’s son being raised from the dead right in the middle of the funeral procession, and even a man named Lazarus, dead for four days, coming out of the tomb wrapped in grave clothes.

His miraculous works were beyond anything one could imagine, and his words had the power to pierce the hardest heart or comfort the saddest soul. People were used to walking away from the rabbinical teachers feeling a heavy load, as if there was never enough they could do to satisfy God. Their dry teachings tended to paint Yahweh as a tyrant that no one could satisfy, except

Lead Article

of course people like themselves– the most pious– but never the common people. The people all felt the burdens of the rabbis’ words, but this man, unlike anyone else they had ever known, had the courage and strength to confront them about their hypocrisy.

Matthew 23:2-4 2) “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

3) So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.

But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

4) They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

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Lead Article

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It was exciting to see him confront them but it was also very unsettling, at times even scary. People who confronted those in authority did not last long.

There was a clear pecking order in this society and those who went against the system were quickly quieted, or eliminated.

Many who listened to him had great difficulty grasping the meaning of his stories, his many parables about a spiritual kingdom and the coming judgment. For some, his stories were unsettling as he confronted the crowd, especially about loving God and others. The way he portrayed God as a Heavenly Father was entirely new. And to think that God really loved everyone; so much so that He numbered even the hairs on everyone’s head! To think that any man or woman could ask God and that He would give them everything they needed for life was exciting. But the thing that electrified the souls of many was learning that God was very loving and that He would forgive them of their sins. This reminded them of the Psalmist’s words that their sins would even be cast as far away as the east is from the west.

Is this a prophet from the past?

Everything Jesus said and did, the way authority seemed to naturally flow from his pores, indicated that he was a man deserving of honor. It was just a few months earlier that a powerful prophet named John had appeared, calling thousands to repent and turn back to God. Could it be that after almost five hundred years of silence God was once again visiting His people?1 Everyone had heard the stories of times past when prophets had done similar deeds. There was the time Elisha healed Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, who was healed of leprosy as he dipped himself in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:1-14). And, similar to Jesus who fed thousands with

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a few fish and a few loaves of bread, Elisha had fed a hundred men with only twenty loaves of barley bread (2 Kings 4:42-44). It was also Elisha who had raised a young boy back to life and presented him to a Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:18-36), resembling what Jesus did for the widow and her son at Nain. There was one thing that many who followed Jesus were clear about–he definitely was a prophet.

Matthew 21:9-11 9) The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

10) When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11) The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Nevertheless, some people were confused about Jesus as they asked, “Could this be Elijah?” The way he confronted the evil rulers reminded them of the stories about how Elijah had confronted Jezebel and Ahab. After all, the Scriptures even said that Elijah would come again (Mal. 4:5, 6). There was great confusion as many wondered if God had resurrected a prophet from the past. Many asked, “Is this Elijah, Jeremiah, John the Baptizer, or another prophet?”

Matthew 16:13-14 13) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14) They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the

prophets.”

It’s hard to see when the picture is fractured

Although the Scriptures are filled with prophetic images of the coming Messiah, the nature of the prophetic is that often we can only see them clearly when we look back on events. Even those closest to Jesus, ones who had properly perceived his identity, did not clearly grasp his mission and “the plan.”

The prophetic picture painted of him is very much like a tapestry of many yarns; it is only when they are properly woven together that the observers can clearly seeing the portrait.

On the one hand he is portrayed as a conquering king and on the other a suffering servant. These two perspectives alone can be confusing, and they are only a part of the prophetic picture of him.

Scripture presents a mosaic consisting of many fractured pieces, and it is only with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, especially looking back at his death and resurrection, that we can answer the question, “Who is he?”

The Jewish leadership demands to know his identity

Four months before his arrest, at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), the Jewish leadership confronted Jesus about his identity.

John 10:22-24 22) Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23) and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.

24) The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

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Lead Article

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One of the problems with their questioning was that if he answered them “plainly,” as they demanded, they would have cause to kill him. According to “their” law anyone who claimed to be the Messiah, the Anointed One, was claiming to be the Son of God, and deserved death for committing blasphemy. Jesus, knowing this, always avoided directly answering their questions.

However, this all came to a head when he was arrested and questioned on the night of his trial. The High Priest questioned him in a very purposeful manner, as prescribed in Leviticus (Lev. 5:1). In essence, when charged under oath before God, a person must answer honestly, and silence is considered to be the same as admitting to the charge.

This is why when the High Priest then said, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God,” that Jesus was compelled to answer.

I envision everyone present to have been leaning forward as far as they could, anxiously waiting for his response as the words of the High Priest still echoed off the stone walls. Then slowly and deliberately he spoke, but not with arrogance or pride. He spoke with the simple tone of someone who really knows in the depths of his being who he is. “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied (Matt. 26:64).

Many thought, “Finally it is out in the open for all to hear, he has claimed to be the Anointed One.” In their rush to rid themselves of him, their pride blinded them from seeing the reality of who was standing in their midst. Jesus’ simple answer to the question, “Who are you?” was profound and should have shaken them to the core. His words declare for all with ears to hear that he is: The Seed of the Woman (Gen. 3:15) The Holy One (Ps. 16:10) The Cornerstone (Isa. 28:16) Immanuel (Isa. 7:14) The Mighty Hero (Isa. 9:6) The Counselor (Isa. 9:6) The Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6) The Battle Bow (Zech. 10:4) The Redeemer (Job 19:25) The Rock (Ex. 17:6) The Branch (Jer. 33:15) The Heir to the Throne of David (Ps. 132:11) The Scepter (Num. 24:17)

The most important question everyone must answer Despite many Christians’ deep devotion to him as their Lord and Savior, their daily actions seem to indicate that they really do not know

who he is. Our personal perspectives can cloud and distort our view. Consider the many different “types” of Jesus that people’s actions present to the world.2 Although there is some truth in many of these views, focusing on any one of them presents a distorted picture of who he really is.

Touchdown Jesus: He helps athletes run faster, hit harder, and jump higher than their competitors. He determines the outcomes of games, especially the Super Bowl and World Series.

Therapist Jesus: He is primarily concerned with our self-esteem and wants to help us heal our past hurts, and help us with every little hurt.

Prosperity Jesus: He wants us to be wealthy, healthy, and have great abundance. Of course this includes a big home, a large bank account, and lots of “bling” so that unbelievers are attracted to our Gospel message.

Republican Jesus: He is against tax increases, activist judges, welfare and free handouts. He is for lots of firearms, and family values.

Democrat Jesus: He is against corporate greed, Wall Street and WalMart. He is for a strong centralized government, mercy programs provided they include government handouts, and the environment.

Hippie Jesus: He teaches everyone to “give peace a chance,” and imagine

Watch Dan Gallagher’s Video - “Who do you say that I am?”

YouTube.com/TruthOrTradition

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a world without religion and war. He helps us remember that all we need is love, and that we must fight the “establishment.”

New Age Jesus: He hates religion, churches, pastors, priests, and all the trappings of the denominational churches. He would rather people be at one with nature, find god within and listen to ambiguously spiritual music.

Psychic Jesus: He is the one people turn to when seeking the answers to life’s questions, such as “Should I go to college?” “What should I major in?” “Who should I work for?” And of course the big one, “Who am I supposed to marry?”

Platitude Jesus: He is especially good for Christmas specials, greeting cards, and sayings on coffee cups. He inspires people to believe in themselves and lifts people up so they can “soar with the eagles.”

Guru Jesus: He is a wise and inspirational teacher who had great insights on how to live life and find balance.

Boyfriend Jesus: The one who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love.

The question, “Who is he?” remains for all to answer

The question that Jesus posed to his

close followers, “Who do you say I am?” is the most important question that every man and woman will ever answer.

Matthew 16:13-17 13) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14) They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15) “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

“But what about you?” was Jesus’ question to his disciples, because it doesn’t really matter how others answer the question. What matters is, “Who do you say I am?” Finding the answer to this question is not like struggling with some complex formulas in an advanced mathematics course. This is an “openbook” exam with the answer clearly laid out now in the pages of Scripture.

Unlike those who walked with him who had trouble seeing the “picture,” today we get the benefit of hindsight.

This allows us to piece together the colorful mosaic and see the details of the Masterpiece. The most important question for every person alive today

is still the same one Jesus asked two thousand years ago, “Who do you say I am?”

We all see things differently because of our varied backgrounds, callings, gifts, and needs. Jesus is gracious enough to meet us where we are, which means at times he will show up in many of the ways described above. But the reality is that he is a very particular person, filling a very specific role in God’s plan, not just who we think he is.

The proper answer to his question, “Who do you say I am?” is what the Bible says, which is The Lord of Lords, and King of Kings; he is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Firstborn from among the dead, the Firstfruits, and the Savior of all mankind. He is the Anointed one, the Chosen one of God, and the Messiah of all mankind. He is the Mediator between God and man, and he is the Way to everlasting Life!

Notes: 1. Prior to John the Baptist, it had been about 500 years since the prophet, Malachi, circa 430 BC. 2. The list of the various “types” of Jesus described above was adapted from a Blog by Kevin DeYoung at “DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed.”

Kevin’s blogs can be found at TheGospelCoalition.org/blogs

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The Contender

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Unity

A Worthy Goal I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

- 1 Corinthians 1:10 (KJV )

by John W. Schoenheit

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ources vary widely on how many Christian denominations there are in the world, but a conservative estimate is over 20,000 and some estimates are over 40,000. Of course some of those “denominations” are quite small.

Furthermore, some denominations agree quite closely on what the Bible says, but disagree on how to administer the church. But we still must recognize that God has asked us to work toward unity.

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

We are of the opinion that Christians can be much more unified, particularly over doctrinal issues, than the Christian world we see around us indicates. It does take some effort, however. There are some essential ingredients to unity, including humility, logic, wisdom, and a scholarly approach.

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Error Hurts Relationships

We all know how painful it can be when someone believes something about us that is not true. Do we really believe that God does not care if we, His children, do not think correctly about Him? Has God changed how He feels about people knowing Him in the last 2500 years? In Jeremiah He said, “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding” (Jer. 4:22).

God loves people, but He is distressed when His children do not love Him enough to learn about Him, and He calls those people “senseless children.” God wants us to “get it right” about Him, and He deserves that from us. People learn the truth about us from our words and actions, and we have God’s words and actions so that we can learn about Him. The Bible is God’s letter to mankind, and it should be interpreted like other letters. When we write a letter to someone, we want that person to know what we mean, not just what he or she thinks we mean. In fact, if we write a letter to someone who misunderstands what we say, it is not

uncommon that we would be upset with the person. Similarly, God wants us to read His letter and understand Him. While it is true that God’s letter can be hard to understand in places, it still seems that there should not be nearly the amount of division over what it means as we see in the Church today. That seems to reflect a lack of caring and scholarship.

Why There Can Be Unity

Many people think, “So what if different people believe differently?

What harm does that do?” Disunity is harmful in many ways, but one of them is that it means that some people are wrong about God, something He does not like or deserve. The reason that we can be unified is that there is one God, and He is the way He is. God does not change who He is when different people believe differently about Him. We are who we are no matter what people believe, and God is who God is no matter what people believe about Him. It is because God exists and is a certain way that we can be unified about Him. We believe He has revealed Himself in His Word, and by

THE CONTENDER

“...I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints� (Jude 3)

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rightly interpreting His Word we can be unified about Him in many things.

What Question Are We Asking?

If we are going to be unified in our understanding of the Bible, it is vital that we ask the proper questions about it. Individualism is highly esteemed in these modern times, and it has become fashionable for people to read the Bible and ask, “What does this mean to me?” While that question is important, a much more important question is, “What is God saying?” It does not require any study of the Bible to answer the question, “What does this mean to me?” Any passage of Scripture can mean any number of things to the person reading it. We must realize that God did not write the Bible so we could tell Him what we thought about it. He wrote it for many reasons, but certainly one of them was to guide us in life and tell us about Him. We have to get from, “What does this mean to me” to “What does this mean?” Only when we know what the Scripture means should we then go back to, “What does this mean to me,” and figure out how to apply the Scripture in our lives.

Division is Harmful

Another reason we should care about division in the Church is that it is harmful to both Christians and unbelievers. Division is harmful to Christians because it establishes a “nobody knows for sure” attitude in the Church. This can cause people to give up trying to read their Bible and learn eternal truths. That is a sad situation, because God gave us the Bible so we could know things, not to be confused or to decide that nobody can know for sure about spiritual things.

Division is harmful to unbelievers as well as Christians. Once I was in the shop of a man from a different religion and the topic of religion came up. He told me he did not know what to think about Christianity because every Christian who came to his shop told him something different about it.

Christians should greatly desire to have

a unified witness to give to unbelievers, and that is an important reason to strive to know the truth and be unified about it.

Unity is Not a Truce

Sadly, one way that some people suggest we become “unified” in the Church is by ignoring the difficult issues and “just getting along.”

Someone might say, “Do we have to talk about it?” Frankly, at some point we do have to talk about what we believe if we are going to have genuine unity.

God wants us to have “fellowship” with each other, and that means that we have to be able to talk about what we believe and at least try to understand each other.

Ignoring what we believe by agreeing not to discuss it may prevent fighting in public, but it does not produce unity in the faith. A truce is not unity. A truce is when enemies agree not to fight, and it can look a lot like unity (“Look, they are getting along together!”). When Christians try to reach unity in the faith, but still disagree, then a truce and treating each other in a loving and godly manner is the right thing to do. Every Christian is a child of God and a member of the Body of Christ, and if we can have loving and godly relationships with each other that will be a blessing to God and to the world.

The Contender

Obadiah 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you.

One way pride deceives us is that it can keep us from admitting we are wrong and changing if we find new truth. It can be hard to admit we are wrong, and hard to change things to adjust to the truth we have discovered, but we should. The Christmas story can fall into this category. In the true Christmas story portrayed in the Bible, the magi (sometimes called the “wise men”) were not “kings,” they did not travel as a company of three, and they did not arrive at Jesus’ birth.

Nevertheless, the traditional songs, Christmas plays, and manger scenes have become so comfortable that many Christians have no interest in trying to change them even when they learn their traditions are not true according to the Word.

Our Emotions Can Keep Us from Truth

Humility

The road to true unity is paved with humility, and humility is certainly one of the most important things one must have in order to properly understand the Bible. In fact, the humility that leads people to a proper understand the Bible is of the deepest kind. To be humble to the truth we must value finding it above our pride, our insecurities, and our friendships.

Our emotions can stand in the way of being humble to the truth. The Bible is about life, and life is deeply emotional. A good example of how emotion can stop our quest for truth concerns the state of the dead. The Bible says that when a person dies, he is dead in every way.1 Death is horrible. Actually, God wants us to get in touch with how horrible death is so that we will greatly appreciate the resurrection and everlasting life.

Unfortunately, the horror of death is so emotionally troubling that some people are unwilling to even consider the possibility that the Bible says the dead are dead. Those people are comfortable believing their dead relatives are in heaven, and they will not consider that the Bible could say something different.

Pride Will Keep Us from Truth

Our Insecurities Can Keep Us from Truth

Pride always gets in the way of truth, and it does so in lots of different ways. For one thing, it is deceptive.

Our insecurities are another thing that can keep us from being humble enough to see the truth or act on it. No

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The Contender

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one wants to be different or rejected, but truth is a powerful divider. Jesus made this very clear.

Matthew 10:34-36 34) “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35) For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-inlaw against her mother-in-law— 36) a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

Wow! What is it about Jesus’

message that would even divide households? People are often so emotionally staked to what they believe that they cannot even talk peaceably about it with people who believe differently. We can often figure out that saying what we really believe will cause others to reject us, and at that point many people take the “safe” road and never mention what they believe. Of course, the word “safe” is in quotation marks because it is not really safe; at best it is only temporarily safe until the Day of Judgment.

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes 14 The Sower Jan/Feb/Mar 2013

in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

The English word “ashamed” does not carry the full sense of what this verse is saying.2 It is saying that if we are ashamed of Christ, or if we lack the courage to stand up for him, he will not “stand up” and support us at the Judgment. This makes perfect sense.

Jesus gave everything for us, including being tortured and killed. If we do not muster the courage to speak up on his behalf, he will not ignore that fact on the Day of Judgment. Jesus does not ask us to be unwise or obnoxious, but we should ask ourselves if we are

hanging out with the right crowed if we do not feel comfortable saying what we believe about Jesus.

Jesus had to be very honest with himself about what he was going to go through or he would not have been able to endure it, and he has been honest about what he expects from us—that we love him with all that we are.

Matthew 10:37-39 37) “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38) and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

39) Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

To be truly humble enough to follow the road of discovery wherever it leads, we have to get over our insecurities and trust that God will be at the center of what we discover.

Logic and Wisdom

Once we have become humble enough to search for truth wherever the search leads, foundational building blocks to discovering truth are logic and wisdom. God expects us to use logic in life and in understanding Him

and His Word. God challenges us to reason with Him. The Bible tells us: “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD” (Isa. 1:18). Following his Father’s example, Jesus used logic in many of his teachings and when dealing with people. For example, the tradition at the time of Christ was that it was considered breaking the Sabbath to heal on the Sabbath.

Jesus did not have a verse from the Old Testament that said, “It is okay to heal on the Sabbath.” No such verse existed, so Jesus used logic to show the tradition was ungodly, and pointed out that it was not breaking the Sabbath to pull an animal out of trouble on the Sabbath. Then he concluded: “How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good

on the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:12). If we were confident in using logic as a tool of exegesis, we could remove a lot of error from the Church.

A Scholarly Approach

A scholarly approach to understanding the Bible means to approach it as we would any other historical document we are trying to understand. To really understand the Bible, we must understand its content, its words, its idioms, the culture of the times it was written in, the geography of where it was written, the history of where it was written, etc. We expect this of our “experts” in other fields, and we should expect it of our biblical experts too. We do not say this to discourage the average Christian from reading the Bible, and there are many simple and straightforward truths set forth in Scripture that beginning readers can understand. But there are also things that require years of study to understand to the point of being able to teach them to others, and we should require that study of our prominent teachers.

Even to understand the general content of the Bible is no small undertaking, because the Bible is a big book and covers many subjects. Sadly, many people who teach the Bible have never read the whole Bible or read it enough to grasp even some of its more fundamental concepts. Certainly there

are some situations, such as in places where the Church is persecuted or where youth are teaching, that we are thankful that many of the concepts in the Bible are simple and easily taught.

We want the Christian faith to spread and people to grow by doing, but at the same time, we have to realize that not knowing the Bible leads to disunity in the Church. Every Christian should be striving to honor God by knowing His Word.

The Word Does Not Interpret Itself

We must also realize that we need to know more than just the Bible to really understand it. A commonly held misbelief is that the Word interprets itself, and thus all one needs to understand it is the Bible itself. That is simply not true, but because of that misbelief there are a number of people who will not read a commentary, Bible dictionary, or Bible study help.

Of course knowing the scope of Scripture is important in interpreting the Scripture, but it is wrong to think that the Scripture interprets itself fully without help from sources outside the Bible.

Examples of the Bible not interpreting itself are too numerous to count. The meanings of the vast majority of the Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible are arrived at with help from outside the Bible. We know

what a “centurion” is, and that he was a Roman soldier over one hundred men, not from the Bible, but from Roman culture. We know that a “denarius” is a coin worth a day’s wage, not from the Bible, but from the Greek and Roman culture. We use Hebrew and Greek lexicons to know what the words in the Bible mean, but the definitions come to us with the help of the collective literature of those cultures, only rarely from the Bible alone.

We know where the countries of the Bible, such as Egypt or Assyria, are on the map, not from the Bible, but from a study of geography. We know about the daily life and customs of biblical people from the collective literature from and about those cultures, and from archaeology—what we find in the ground. The Bible mentions customs but rarely describes much about them, so we learn the details about them from other sources.

The more we know about the vocabulary, geography, and history of the biblical world, the more we learn about the Bible. If we do not understand the vocabulary in the Word, we cannot understand the Word. A good example comes from the King James Version, which says that Abraham settled in the “plain of Mamre” by Hebron (Gen. 13:18).

Modern versions say he settled by the “oaks” or “great trees” of Mamre. Why the difference? In 1611 the translators Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 15

did not know the meaning of the Hebrew word, and it’s always nice to pitch a tent in a flat place, so they took an educated guess and translated the Hebrew word elon as “plain.” As our knowledge of the Hebrew language grew, it became known that elon referred to trees, and old, huge trees were admired in the ancient world just as they are today. Abraham pitched his tent by those huge trees. This is just one of thousands of examples where our knowledge of the Bible did not come from the Bible interpreting itself, but from a greater knowledge of what the words in the original text of the Bible really mean.

We Will Be Unified

The reality is that Christians will never be totally unified in this life, but this does not mean it is not something that we should work toward now. God says He wants “no divisions” and for us to “be unified in mind and thought”

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(1 Cor. 1:10), so that means we must work toward this. In a similar way to God telling us He wants us to “be holy,” we do not quit trying just because it is not something we can completely do until Christ returns. God wants us to be unified so we must work toward it.

Thankfully, one day we will be unified.

Ephesians 4 speaks of a future time when “we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

The fact that we will be unified in the future should give us the energy to realize that a good measure of unity is attainable right now. Yes, we may disagree on some of the things in the Bible. But we cannot forget that the Word of God is a document. It is made up of words, and its events and people occurred in a real historical context.

If we are willing to humble ourselves to God’s truth, and approach the

Bible with prayer, logic, and scholastic integrity, we will almost certainly find that the unity that God said He wanted for us in 1 Corinthians 1:10, is not as far away as some people have imagined.

And, if we cannot be in unity about a doctrine or action, we can agree to be considerate of each other, knowing that one day we will all fully know God’s truth.

Notes: 1. For more information on what happens when we die, see the book, Is There Death After Life, by Graeser, Lynn, Schoenheit, and the audio seminar: “Death and Resurrection to Life” (TruthorTradition.com) 2. The Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament by Friberg speaks specifically of the use of the Greek word usually translated “ashamed.” It is epaischunomai (Strong’s number #1870 ἐπαισχύνομαι; pronounced ě-pay-skoon’-ŏ-my), and it means, “denoting reluctance through fear of humiliation; be ashamed, be afraid (to), lack courage to stand up for.”

Partner Profile Dean Barnes

“It’s my heart to see the whole Body of Christ come into greater unity and STF is one important part that is helping to make that happen, and that’s why I support it.”

T

he youngest of three boys, I was raised in Sylvania, Ohio, and attended the First Methodist Church as a child. Both of my parents were active in the church, and my mom, with a beautiful soprano voice, sang in the choir. I’m thankful that from an early age my parents instilled in me a great desire to know and love God. But I understood little about the Bible.

When I was seven, my mother died of cancer; my brother Phil was twelve, and Roger was in college. It was not a good time for us. While working in Toledo in the early 1970’s, after nearly five years in the Navy, I began my search for “truth” and how to become a Christian – going from church to church, trying to find the way to salvation, but always coming home empty. Sincere as these Christians were, they could only tell me to “take it by faith,” but provided no real answers for me.

After a period of time I was introduced to a ministry that finally taught me Romans 10:9 clearly, as well as other truths.

God was working for me! And unknowingly, I was applying a principle of “seek and you will find.” Praise God! Sharing Romans 10:9 and other truths with clarity became a lifestyle for me afterward.

Years later in 2004, while witnessing to a fellow worker, I became aware of Spirit & Truth Fellowship. The publications and materials really impressed me, and I began to financially

PARTNER

support them and have continued to this day.

I realize that Jesus Christ is working diligently to enlighten the entire Body of Christ into greater unity in love and truth, and STF is vitally important in its role of biblical research and sound teaching. Additionally, STF makes most of its materials free to Christians and others around the world via their Internet websites. The REV New Testament and Commentary are perhaps the most accurate in the world today! I have also enjoyed STF’s Men’s Camps over the years as well as the 2012 Summer Fest. And STF-USA is being developed to help establish and nurture local fellowships.

I know in my heart that God loves and values every Christian and person equally. And I am realizing more and more how important it is for me and every Christian to walk in love, without denying the truth we know. Giving, both financially and in other ways, is an important principle in God’s Word for helping to build and maintain The Body of Christ, and is an investment in our eternal future. It’s my heart to see the whole Body of Christ come into greater unity and STF is one important part that is helping to make that happen, and that’s why I support it. God Bless You!

with Spirit & Truth Fellowship International

Sign up online at STFonline.org/partnership Or call us 888.255.6189 M-F 9 to 5 (ET).

Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 17

Featured Article

The ABC’s of God Lessons from my children

by Cara Hanson

A Shot in the Arm for a Lamb

H

ow did we survive twelve or more years of schooling without being taught about the microscopic magnets inside the shinbone and the big toe? Even with my limited science background, I have deduced that these body parts are attracted to some sort of magnetic field surrounding sharp corners on furniture. We are warned not to run with scissors or eat paste, but none of that has helped me in life. I would have appreciated a warning about keeping a twenty-foot radius between my leg and the corner of the bed frame.

This week I injured myself on two different pieces of furniture.

Feeling down about myself, I uttered the self-ascribed nickname, “Clumsy Oaf,” and then deliberated for a few minutes about what in the world an “oaf ” is and why it is so much fun to say. After snapping back to reality, I realized that the problem does not really reside in me, but in the manufacturing companies. Furniture manuals give elaborate diagrams and details about the parts required for assembly. Not once have I seen parts labeled “Toe-Stubber” and “Shin-Splitter.” Hello, Freedom of Information Act, anyone?

I’m not exactly proud about how I handled the pain. As I was crying out and leaping in circles like a onelegged grasshopper in a circus act, I suddenly pictured Jesus on the cross. My histrionics came to a grinding halt when I realized he had remained silent even

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“In his brave endurance, Jesus left us some sage advice: Take it like a lamb.” while his entire body was tortured.

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

In his brave endurance, Jesus left us

some sage advice: Take it like a lamb.

This week was also my four-year-old Nate’s annual checkup, and he was due for a shot. If there is one thing I hate more than being in pain, it is seeing my children in pain. As he stood waiting for the nurse to arrive, he looked so small and vulnerable in his Spiderman underwear. All of his cuteness culminated in his protruding belly button, which I just wanted to beep like

Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” a car horn, but he had other plans.

He called me over to his side and whispered in my ear.

“I’m concerned.” His blue eyes watered and swelled to the size of hard-boiled eggs.

It’s funny how people can condescend to children, when here was the perfect example of a man’s heart living in a little boy’s body. No need to patronize this guy.

“The shot is going to hurt,” I told him. “But it won’t hurt for long. I believe you can take it like a man.”

He nodded in agreement, as the nurse entered and prepared her portable torture chamber. She asked me to have him look away, but my post-40 reflexes must have taken over, and I couldn’t react in time.

Oh, no. He’s going to scream. I braced myself for the worst.

The needle entered Nate’s arm, and he was completely still. I had witnessed the “calm before the storm” many times, the deafening silent scream which precedes the actual one. But this storm must have gone out to sea, because nothing happened. He just sat there and endured the pain without a sound or a tear.

Try as I might, I could not help but flash back to my earlier injuries and the ensuing circus acts. Here was my four-year-old, rubbing his Winnie the Pooh Band-Aid and grinning with pride at his bravery and fortitude.

“Mommy, I took it like a man!”

No, my dear. You took it like a lamb.

AUDIO TEACHING Who do you say I am?

Almost two thousand years ago Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” This is the most important question that any person could ever answer and, in many ways, it still echoes through the world to this very day.

In part one of this teaching, “Who Do You Say I Am?” Dan Gallagher explains why there was so much confusion about the Messianic identity of Jesus among those he interacted with. Then, in part two of this teaching, Dan discusses how despite many Christians’ deep devotion to him as their Lord and Savior, their daily actions seem to indicate that they really do not know “who he is,” at least not in a practical way. We believe you will enjoy this teaching as you gain a new perspective for Jesus’ question and look more deeply at how you answer it.

Subscribe to our audio podcast in iTunes and listen to this teaching for free at STFonline.org/podcast

Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 19

The Need for Hospitality

By John W. Schoenheit

H

elping people understand and apply the lessons of the Bible is one of the great goals of The Sower, and in that light we are presenting a series of short articles on customs of the Bible.

The Bible is written in such a way that it is completely and inextricably interwoven with the culture and the customs of the times and places in which its events occur.

While the cultural references were well known to the people who lived in biblical times, many of them are unfamiliar to us today. Learning biblical customs has many advantages: it

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makes reading the Bible more enjoyable when we know about the people and how they lived; it clarifies things in the Bible we would otherwise not readily know, or that do not make sense to us at first; it alerts us to possible mistranslations in the Bible; and it gives us great insight into how to properly apply the Word of God in our lives.

[Author’s Note: Some of the customs articles I write explain ancient customs so we can better understand the Bible, but do not have any direct modern application. That is not the

Biblical Customs case with this article on hospitality. Although our motels and restaurants are nicer today than the inns of the Roman world, Christians should still “seek to show hospitality.”

Ecclesiastes 5:13 warns us about wealth that harms its owner, and that can be the case today. Sometimes we are afraid to open our homes to others because we fear what might happen to what we own.

While we want to be wise, true wisdom lies in the eternal verities of valuing relationships, helping others, and fellowshipping around the Good News.

These are the things we should be seeking.]

Show Hospitality

Romans 12:13 (ESV) says Christians should “seek to show hospitality.”

The biblical customs concerning hospitality differ greatly because the Bible takes place over thousands of years and involves many cultures. In this article we will focus on the necessity of Christian hospitality in the Roman world.

The New Testament admonishes Christians to show hospitality to others.

Besides Romans 12:13 quoted above, the Bible specifically tells Christian leaders to show hospitality (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8), and 1 Peter 4:9 says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” One of the many reasons Christians were to show hospitality to others was because the inns in the Roman world were almost always unpleasant, ungodly places. Travel has always been difficult, and in fact, our English words “travel” and “travail” not only come from the same Latin root word, they were once the same English word and were differentiated only recently.1 In the Roman world, the condition of the inns made travel even more difficult.

Avoiding the Inns

People who could avoid the inns usually did. Most wealthy people and dignitaries were able to make other arrangements. They usually stayed in private residences, but sometimes they just camped beside the road. Friends, and even mere acquaintances or third party contacts, often had an “I’ll stay at your place and you stay at mine” agreement, and sometimes formalized it with a tessera hospitalis. The tessera was a small clay tablet or a clay flatfigure that was often in the shape of a pig, cow, lion, or shaking hands. The tessera was broken in half, and each party to the agreement kept a half.

The traveler carried his half, which gave him entre to the other home even if the owner was away—if the halves matched, slaves or servants who watched over the house immediately granted room and board to the traveler.

In many cases sleeping under the stars by the side of the road would have been nicer than staying in a Roman inn, but the danger of robbers was usually so great that people sought out the “safety” of an inn. The general exceptions were wealthy people and groups. The wealthy usually traveled with a small army of servants who would carry the tents and food and act as bodyguards, while groups were generally protected by virtue of their size.

The Innkeepers and their Clientele

As a class of people, the innkeepers were of such ill repute that Roman law forbade them from joining the army or forming a trade guild. They were generally cheats and thieves, and suspected of spying on their clients and selling the information, which was very likely since they, and their prostitute staff, were in a good position to find out lots of juicy information from the clientele. Innkeepers’ wives also had a bad reputation, and St. Augustine warned travelers about innkeepers’ wives who were witches and who would add magic potions to the food and turn the traveler into a mule.

The standard clientele of the inns were usually just as rough as

the innkeepers. They were peddlers, muleteers, sailors or soldiers, slaves or freedmen running errands, runaway slaves, and the like.

The Inn

Although inns in the Roman world all differed somewhat, just as our modern motels do, they also had a lot of similarity. A standard Roman inn was a courtyard surrounded by rooms.

Baggage and animals stayed in the open yard, while people spent the night in a room (or beside their animal if they thought it might be stolen). Almost all inns had a kitchen and a dining room, although sometimes the cooking and eating occurred in one big room. Some inns converted the dining room into a dormitory if the rooms were all full.

Innkeepers made money most any way they could, so many inns had some kind of shop attached, such as smith’s shop where travelers could have repairs made to animal tack, carts, etc., and some inns offered medical treatment, if it could be called that, to people who got sick on the road.

The cold of winter and the heat of summer are always hard on travelers, and most inns offered only a little comfort. To fight the winter cold, some of the more expensive inns had a hot air duct system under the floor or in the walls (the same basic system that was used to heat the cauldarium, the “hot pool,” in the Roman baths). The average inn, however, would have had some kind of brazier or fireplace that heated with coal or wood, or else no heat at all. When it came to the heat of summer there was no reliable relief.

The only way to cool rooms during the summer was any breeze coming through the door or a window. Many inns had second story rooms that better caught the daily breezes and were more comfortable than lower rooms.

A Place to Sleep

Unlike our hotels and motels, the average inn did not rent a whole room to the traveler, but rather rented a sleeping space in a room. In nicer inns a person could rent a bed with a straw mattress, but often the “bed” was just a spot on the floor with straw or grasses Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 21

“God commanded Christians who had food and shelter to provide hospitality for others, and that is something we should still be willing to practice today.” cut from a field. The obvious question anyone renting a place in the inn would ask themselves was, “With whom (and with how many) will I be sharing a room tonight?” One had to guard his person and belongings very carefully. Roman records show that a number of people who stayed at the inns were murdered for the goods they were carrying, and stealing was very common.

Every experienced traveler also became an expert at inspecting bedding for bedbugs and other creatures, such as fleas, spiders, lizards, etc. No telling how many people had already slept on the matting that was the bed. Bedbugs were so common that they had a nickname: cauponarum aestiva animalia, “the summertime creatures of the inn.”

Food, Drink and Entertainment

The inns were not usually very desirable places to eat, so it was nice that the larger towns had many restaurants to choose from besides the inn. However, in the countryside there often was very little choice.

Most travelers carried at least a little something to eat on their journey, making Jesus’ specific instruction to his Apostles not to take food with them when they traveled an unusual request (Mark 6:8). The ancients watered down their wine, and that included the Romans. Unscrupulous innkeepers, however, watered it down

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a lot, hoping their thirsty clients would not notice. Paul refers to this practice in 2 Corinthians 4:2 (NASB), and says he is not “adulterating the word of God,” that is, he did not water down the Word for his own profit, but taught it full strength in spite of the consequences.

Much more ghastly than watering down the wine was the cheating of some innkeepers (actually, the Roman physician Galen said he knew of many) who stole dead bodies from the Coliseum and cooked them to boost his profits. Inn food was usually in the form of spicy soups and stews so clients rarely noticed. One cheating innkeeper was discovered, however, when a human finger bone showed up in the stew.

All inns had gambling—it just came with the clientele who stayed there. However, there were locals who frequented the inns to take part in the gambling and perhaps enrich themselves with some of the travelers’ purses. In fact, just as today people go “bar-hopping” or on a “bar-crawl,” occasionally some of the more wellto-do townsfolk would go from inn to inn, gambling and carousing through the night. The noise from the raucous partiers could make sleeping in the inn difficult.

Most inns were staffed by male and female slaves who, along with their everyday chores, made money for the owner by being rented out as prostitutes. So if the person or persons the traveler was sharing the room with had the money to pay for sex, well, that

would be an added distraction in the room.

Show Hospitality to One Another To avoid the inns and the ungodliness associated with them, Christians tried to find other Christians with whom they could stay. Thankfully, many Christians knew about the believers in other towns and where to find them, and people usually willingly opened their homes and hearts to brothers and sisters on the road. God commanded Christians who had food and shelter to provide hospitality for others, and that is something we should still be willing to practice today.2

Notes 1. Both “travel” and “travail” came from an older Latin root word that changed somewhat in the Late Latin, and then developed on somewhat parallel paths in the Old French and Middle English. Writings from as late as the 1700’s show “travail” being used when today we would use “travel.”

2. Selected Bibliography: Bouquet, A. C., Everyday Life in New Testament Times (B. T. Batsford, Ltd., London, 1953). Casson, Lionel, Travel in the Ancient World (Book Club Associates, London, 1974). Davis, William S, A Day in Old Rome (Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1962). Gower, Ralph, The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times (Moody Press, Chicago, 1987). Hamblin, Dora Jane, and Grunsfeld, Mary Jane, The Appian Way: A Journey (Random House, New York, 1974). Johnston, Mary, Roman Life (Scott, Foresman and Company, Chicago, 1957). Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome, “On the Road and on the Sea with St. Paul” (Bible Review magazine; summer 1985, p.38-47).

Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 23

The Vine

The Fellowship Network STFonline.org/network

Start with a Meet and Greet

By Dan Gallagher

A

lthough at times change can be hard, it can also be a very good thing. A number of months ago my wife Lori and I pulled up stakes and moved our family back to the West Coast. On our trek west I reflected on our situation as we followed the historic Oregon Trail, the route that American settlers seeking a new life in the West followed more than a hundred of years ago.

Fortunately, unlike those early pioneers, we didn’t have to worry about food, water, disease or Indian attacks. Not only could we traverse many hundreds of miles in a single day, we did so in the comfort of air conditioning. Amazingly, despite our many modern blessings, there were still times when we found things to complain about. This time instead of taking the fork in the road that leads over the Sierra Mountains to the golden state of California, we turned our modern wagon-train northward to our new homestead in the great State of Oregon.

One of the hardest parts of moving is not necessarily all the packing and lifting, or even the physical act of moving; rather, it is the mere fact of change. We humans are all creatures of habit and moving demands that we break our routines. A significant relocation equates to “new”—new home, new neighbors, new grocery store, new schools—new everything! In our case it even meant a new time zone, new weather patterns and, of course, the mandatory new coffee shop. As hard as

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“For many Christians the word “fellowship” has lost its true meaning, but thankfully the Body of Christ is realizing that genuine biblical fellowship is not the refreshments and socializing that happens at the end of church services.” all the unfamiliar physical and mental terrain can bring, the “new” can also be a sense of “re”—rebirth, regeneration and refreshment.

One of the biggest benefits of our move was that Lori and I got the opportunity to plant a brand new simple church.1 We never questioned that once we got settled we would once again embark on hosting a “church” in our home. My sister Teresa however made it very clear to us that she believed one of the purposes of us moving to “her town” was for her and many of her

friends to be able to attend.

Although this was the third time in twelve years that Lori and I have started a new church work, this time things were quite different. In the past we have had the benefit of our personal connections to others in the community. In this instance, besides my little sister and her family, we really had no social connections of our own. We soon realized that our success required us being much more methodical in our approach. This time we would need to build momentum if we were ever going

to, so to speak, “get the ball rolling.”

Here are a few practical things that greatly helped us get our new church off the ground:

us that what we found is that people are craving genuine Christian fellowship, true intimacy with others in the Body of Christ.

Host a “Meet and Greet”

Take the time to explain the true meaning of “fellowship”

There are many reasons why someone may not want to come to your new “simple church.” Oftentimes people don’t really understand the concept, and going to a stranger’s house can bring an element of intimidation. However, in our experience most people love meeting with friends and feeling loved and accepted. So, rather than trying to just launch the new church, consider taking the time to host a few “gettingto-know-you” type of gatherings where you can build relationships and cast a vision for a new spiritual work.

In our case, we invited people to come over for a casual evening of coffee and dessert, explaining that we wanted to get to know them better and also to explain our idea for genuine Christian fellowship. Our first gathering was very informal with a lot of time spent learning about everyone’s background, spiritual journey, and hunger. Lori and I also cast our vision for starting a weekly get-together of Christian “friends-with-friends” for the purpose of supporting one another as we all try to follow Jesus. It comes as no surprise to

For many Christians the word “fellowship” has lost its true meaning, but thankfully the Body of Christ is realizing that genuine biblical fellowship is not the refreshments and socializing that happens at the end of church services. As Pastor Rick Warren recently stated in his blog, Daily Hope, “God intends for us to experience life together.

The Bible calls this shared experience fellowship…

Real fellowship is so much more than just showing up at services. It is experiencing life together. It includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the other “one another” commands found in the New Testament.... When it comes to fellowship, size matters: Smaller is better. You can worship

with a crowd, but you can’t fellowship with one.”

During our gatherings we took the time to explain the true meaning of fellowship and the model that the first-century saints followed. Gathering for them was merely a part of their lives and not something reserved for a special day of the week. True fellowship, the act of intimate joint participation, is intended to be a fundamental part of our walk with others in the Body of Christ. Soon it became clear that many had a desire for close connections with others. This seamlessly led to the next step in getting our simple church going, which was, “Let’s get this started!” So we have, and if you long for intimate joint participation with others, please consider opening your doors and hosting a fellowship too. We have plenty of helpful resources to get you started and keep the ball rolling.

Notes: 1. The term “simple church” refers to a small group that meets anywhere, with or without leaders, formal liturgy, programs, or structures. Most simple churches are small in number, usually consisting of no more than 20-25 individuals. The tradition of “simple church” can be traced all the way back to the historical roots of Christianity.

Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 25

Dear Sower Live Stream Teaching

I wanted to say thank you to John Schoenheit for the teaching he did live on Obedience. I enjoyed it because it was God’s word. He took on a seldom talked about subject at least in an accurate way and presented with love.

Thank you for the stand you take and your love for God’s people.

God Bless You Don C.

YouTube Feedback

I lost my Bible so I’ve been watching this channels videos. Thank you guys very, very much. Thank the Lord for you fellas.

Brandon M. Editor’s Note: Check out our YouTube Channel, visit Youtube.com/truthortradition

Truth Seeker I have been so thankful that the Lord has led me to your site.

There were so many things that I always believed in my heart to be right and true, and I always believed that God was revealing these things to me by his spirit.

Then when I began to read and study some of the teaching topics on your website, magazines, and CD’s, I was so very thankful, and praised God for directing me to the all truth.

Thank you again for your wonderful labor of love and for all the good work that you, and Dan, and everyone else there does.

Maggie F.

26 The Sower Jan/Feb/Mar 2013

Editor’s Note: See all of our live stream videos at livestream.com/stfonline

REV Feedback I can’t express how amazed I am with the REV contents you’ve posted online! I’ve never seen a translation that gets Jesus’ genealogy correct in Matthew. I did a double-take when I saw that it correctly listed Joseph as Mary’s father, not her husband, and then clarified in the notes that her father and husband were both named Joseph. And the notes on the Greek text and Aramaic are quite correct but seldom referenced let alone utilized.

I’m looking forward to reading more.

David B. Editor’s Note: For more information visit STFonline.org/REV

Podcast Feedback The last couple of months some of the podcasts have been very helpful as our church Sunday school has been working through I Corinthians.

God Bless!

Sandy S.

Website Feedback Your website is an answer to prayer and a gift from God. Keep up the good work and be blessed to be a blessing.

Irene F. [England] Editor’s Note: Visit our research website at TruthOrTradition.com

Audio CD’s Thanks for your continued stand on God’s Word. I enjoy reading the Sower and listening to the CD’s. I usually carry the newest one in my car so I can listen to it over and over as I drive.

Marilyn Hanichak

Teaching of the Month Thanks for all the love and labor that all of you put into this ministry.

Each of you are much appreciated

by Christ and your fellow believers. I always look forward to the teaching of the month and the Sower. Both always bless me.

S.E. Grady Editor’s Note: Visit STFonline.org/podcast

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Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 The Sower 27

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