Image of the Temple

JOHN CHAPTER TWO:
¹⁸ So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ²⁰ The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" ²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. ²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

One of the dominant Biblical images is of the Temple. Jerusalem was a city on a hill, and the Temple was on a mount within that city. It could be seen from miles away. Jerusalem was seen as THE place of worship for all Jews. They traveled to Jerusalem from far and wide on pilgrimage. There were at least two versions of the temple, as the first was destroyed by marauding invaders under Nebuchadnezzar. To build this incredible artifice took roughly seven years of labor by thousands of Israelites. Jesus says He alone will rebuild it in three days...what do you think He was trying to say here? What would you imagine the reaction of the Jews to be who knew the history of the original Temple?

Thinking Eastern Pt. 3

We have been looking at this study of 'thinking Eastern' for the last 3 weeks. It has captured my attention and my thoughts for several weeks now. When I was growing up in Church as a child, we rarely dealt with the Old Testament. As children we were taught the stories of Creation, Noah and the Flood, Samson, and the Boy David slaying Goliath. But we ignored completely the Levitical Law, The Song of Solomon and those little books at the end of the Old Testament.

Perhaps because of this background the fact that Jesus was most often referred to as Rabbi never really struck me until I read "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Philip Yancey. In this book Yancey argues convincingly that we can only truly understand Jesus within his backdrop of Judaism.

I have been mulling this over for several years now, and as we walked through the words of Christ this past year, it seemed to me that there was a hidden key within Judaism that I had overlooked. Now, as I am seeking to put together the pieces of what it truly means to be the community of God, I have returned to these scriptures as a means of understanding the early disciples. As I was studying this week's lesson, I was looking at Mark 2:20-ff., where Christ is discussing the Sabbath. I went to my Early Christian Commentary, and found to my surprise that the early Church Fathers did not deal at all with the Sabbath, but instead focused on the fact that since Jesus was eating he was a real man, and what it meant for his followers to be true disciples. Consider this quote:

"Now every week has seven days. Six days God has given to us for work, and one for prayer, rest, and making reparation for our sins, so that on the Lord's Day we may atone to God for any sins we have committed on the other six days. Therefore, arrive early at the church of God; draw near to the Lord for confess your sins to him, repenting in prayer and with a contrite heart. Attend the holy and divine liturgy ; finish your prayer and do not leave before dismissal. Contemplate your master as he is broken and distributed, yet not consumed. If you have a clear conscience, go forward and partake of the body and blood of the Lord." -- First Century Sermon recorded by the Historian Josephus.

Thinking Eastern, Part 2

OK, tomorrow will be the second lesson on thinking 'Eastern', and I wanted to include some links that you might find helpful!

Click HERE to access an excellent site about the tabernacle...

Click HERE to access a site about the history of the Eastern Orthodox faith...

Click HERE to access a site about icons of the Eastern Orthodox faith...

See you tomorrow!

One of my heroes, Craig Tullis

I sometimes use this space to highlight individuals that I find to be very inspiring. Today I would like to share with you about my friend, Craig Tullis. Craig is the Pulpit Minister at the Pilot Point Church of Christ, just east of Denton. He has been there about 6 years now, and been very faithful in following God's voice. He is a quiet, unassuming man, and you might be tempted to underestimate him. But that would be a mistake. He is a very deep thinker and serious about his desire to follow the Lord no matter where that path may lead.

Many ministers would move on from Pilot Point after a couple of years to a Church closer to the freeway, or where new rooftops are appearing. Who could blame Craig if he wanted to move to a larger Church that could offer a higher salary, more benefits, and other staff members to work alongside?

But instead Craig has been faithful in his ministry to the people of Pilot Point. He brings thoughtful, insightful lessons from God's Word. He reads widely in an effort to be the best minister he can be. He has pioneered a new 'program' called 'Be The Church Nights'. These happen once a quarter on Sunday nights, and this little Church has been able to bring the healing power of Christ to their small community in big ways. They have brought school supplies to nearly 100 needy children as well as provided shoes and diapers for needy children, and cared for shut-ins and orphans.

And Craig delivered one of his greatest sermons a couple of years ago, when he and Jennifer gave up their parsonage because they felt the kingdom needed it more. They have had a steadily growing number of kids attending on Wednesday nights in the last few years, and they felt they needed to have the necessary space, so Craig and Jennifer decided to find someplace else to move and let the youth group use the parsonage as their home base. Thus, he surrendered one of the great benefits

Sunday

Don't forget we are joining the Pilot Point Church of Christ for worship this Sunday Morning, and a fellowship meal to follow!

We will meet at my house at 9:15am and caravan up to the east side of Denton...unless you want to go up yourselves, and if so, click HERE to go to their website (created by the Peripetee Creative Resource Group!) which has a map!

I am headed to Chicago with Kara and Taylor for the next three days (Kara's graduation present!), so I will see you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,

Ryan