Recently Leadership Magazine commissioned a poll of a thousand pastors. The pastors indicated that 12 percent of them had committed adultery while in ministry – one out of eight pastors! – and 23 percent had done something they considered sexually inappropriate. Christianity Today surveyed a thousand of its subscribers who were not pastors and found the figure to be nearly double, with 23 percent saying they had had extramarital intercourse and 45 percent indicating they had done something they themselves deemed sexually inappropriate. One in four Christian men are unfaithful, and nearly one half have behaved unbecomingly! Shocking statistics! Especially when we remember that Christianity Today readers tend to be college-educated church leaders, elders, deacons, Sunday school superintendents, and teachers. If this is so for the Church’s leadership, how much more for the average member of the congregation? Only God knows!
Kent Hughes

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E-pistle for August 14, 2009

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#1 · August 12, 2009, 2:57 pm

Posted by: info <info@...>

E-pistle

                                                         Dr. Dan Hite, President       FreeWay Foundation            August 14, 2009

We are beginning a study in the book of Matthew for the next few months –

I pray that you enjoy it and learn from it.

Shady Ladies In Jesus' Lineage

(Matthew 1:1-25)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I.  Concentration:  on the contents of this chapter

        1.   Matthew traced the genealogy of Jesus Christ back through

              David to Abraham, vv. 1-17.

2.      Matthew focused on Joseph who was betrothed to Mary; when

        he discovered she was pregnant, he thought about divorcing

        her privately, but an angel appeared in a dream telling him that

        the child has been conceived by the Holy Spirit, vv. 18-20.

3.      Joseph was told to name the child Jesus, because He would save

        His people from their sins, v. 21.

4.      Matthew stated that this fulfilled the "virgin birth" and "Immanuel"

        prophecies of Isaiah 7:14; Joseph obeyed the commands of the angel,

        v. 22-25.

II.  Meditation:  on the genealogical list

1.      The genealogical list contains the names of people, good and bad,

        godly and ungodly, worthy and unworthy.

2.      According to Matthew (1:17), God had a specific time frame:  14

        generations each from Abraham to David, from David to Babylonian

        Captivity, and from Babylonian Captivity to Christ.

3.      Between David and Babylonian Captivity, all men were of the royal

        line; Jesus is the King of the Jews.

4.      Only four women are mentioned in this listing, not Sarah, Rebecca, etc.

III.  Revelation:  on the four women mentioned here

1.      Tamar (v. 3) – Reference Genesis 38 – A woman who intentionally

        committed incest with Judah, her father-in-law.

2.      Rahab (v. 5) – Reference Joshua 2; 6:22-25 – A harlot or prostitute who

        aided Joshua's troops and who was saved when Jericho fell.

3.      Ruth (v. 5) – Reference Ruth 1-4 – A Gentile from Moab who married

        Boaz and became the great-grandmother of David.

4.      Bathsheba (v. 6) – Reference II Samuel 11 – Uriah's wife who committed

        adultery with King David.

IV.  Applications:  as a Christian, I need to . . .

        1.   Realize the God keeps a detailed record of all that I do, say, or think . . .

              He knows my influence on family members and others.

2.      Recognize that God has a time-table for the events in the world . . .

        including my life and destiny.

3.      Acknowledge Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, as both God and man;

        "Immanuel" means "God with us."

4.      Rejoice that God can and does use flawed, sinful persons . . . like me . . .

        to accomplish His divine purpose.

I Want To Be A Bethlehem Star

(Matthew 2:1-23)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I.  Concentration:  on the contents of this chapter

        1.   Wise men from the east followed a star to find the newborn

      king, vv. 1-12.

2.      Warned by an angel, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled for safety

        into Egypt, vv. 13-15.

3.      King Herod, trying to kill the newborn king, slaughtered

        innocent children in Bethlehem, vv. 16-18.

4.      Upon the death of King Herod, the family of Joseph, Mary, and

        Jesus returned to Nazareth, vv. 19-23.

II.  Observations:  on the wise men who saw the star

        1.   Wise men were astronomers and astrologers from Persia,

              Babylonia, and other nations east of Judea.

2.      Their system of star-gazing divided the heavens into 12 "signs"

        . . . similar to the present-day Zodiac.

3.      Each nation of the known world was assigned its own sign in

        the Zodiac,

4.      These men were scholars, familiar with literature, including the

        Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament).

III.  Meditation:  on the star which the wise men saw

        1.   The appearance of a new star in the Hebrew portion of the sky

                  told the wise men of the birth of a Jewish king.

2.      They confirmed this by looking into Jewish prophecy: 

      Numbers 24:17.

3.      They searched for a king in the palace of Herod, but this king

        was born in a humble stable.  (Philippians 2:5-11)

4.      As these wise men followed God for one step (going from Persia and

      Babylon to Jerusalem), He gave them more guidance from Scripture

      (Micah 5:2) and from the star (leading them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem)

       . . . for which they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

IV.  Revelation:  on the spiritual significance of this "Star of Bethlehem"

        1.   The star shined brightly in the darkness.

        2.   The star alerted men that a king had been born.

        3.   The star caused them to search the Scriptures.

        4.   The star led them to the King, whom they worshipped.

V.  Applications:  as a Christian "Star", I need to . . .

        1.   Let my light shine brightly in this dark generation. (Philippians 2:15-16)

        2.   Witness to people that "God loved us and sent His Son" . . . a King!

        3.   Cause people to search the Scriptures for truth and guidance, whatever    

              their problems may be.

        4.  Guide people to Jesus, where they'll joyously worship Him.

"It's what you do, unthinking, that makes the quick tear start;

the tear may be forgotten - - but the hurt stays in the heart."

- Ella Higginson

        

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