A Family of Adoptees

Check out Dennae's new post at Together for Adoption. Feel free to leave a comment or question on the website. http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=10606

Loving Someone Who Doesn’t Look Like You

Loving Someone Who Doesn’t Look Like You
Dennae Pierre's great series of posts on this important topic.
for Together for Adoption - www.togetherforadoption.org
Simply click each title below to go to the link...

Loving Someone Who Doesn’t Look Like You, Part 1 «

Loving Someone Who Doesn’t Look Like You, Part 2 «

Loving Someone Who Doesn’t Look Like You, Part 3 «

"LIFE SONG" Lyrics (Habakkuk Rap)

These are some of the lyrics to the Habakkuk version of the "Life Song" that we did this past Sunday at Roosevelt.

LIFE SONG Lyrics (Habakkuk Rap)

Put it down, you know He put it down

Way before we ever even ever been around

No sound, just You existing everlasting

With a powerful range that we barely even grasping

We’re rapping about this God’s sovereign rule

Patiently waiting, not burning a fool

Huh, well not yet won’t forget to judge

He sees the evil, won’t relent or shrug

Don’t bug but this big God filled with love

Is also filled with wrath, He will smash in blood

Don’t trip, just peep we need to see this

Majestic ways that will leave us speechless

Put it down, you know He put it down

Let Your people praise with a pleasing sound

You have made us all, a yes yes ya’ll

We stand in awe, so pause; Selah

Thoughts from the Sermon, “The Glory of God Through the Severity of Judgment” Habakkuk 2:5-20

Thoughts from the Sermon, “The Glory of God Through the Severity of Judgment” Habakkuk 2:5-20

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

1. God shows his full awareness of Babylon’s sin in this passage and his intention to judge them accordingly. God’s judgment will be severe but fair. God is a righteous judge will always judge unrighteousness. He does this so that he alone, and not anyone else, will be glorified throughout the earth (Hab 2:14).

2. Babylon will be judged for the following categories of sin. Eventually all who are guilty of these kinds of sins will be judged by God. For the most part all of these sins involve Babylon taking advantage of others for their own benefit.

            1. Extortion and theft (Hab 2:6-8)

            2. Exploitation and pride (Hab 2:9-11)

            3. Oppression and violence (Hab 2:12-14)

            4. Humiliation and destruction (Hab 2:15-17)

            5. Idolatry (Hab 2:18-20)

3. No person will be able to stand guiltless before God when judgment comes, for ultimately all people have sinned against him and fallen short of this glory (Rom 3:23). Thankfully this righteous God was also willing to show grace and mercy. We see this grace and mercy in the person of Jesus. In Jesus God himself comes down into rebellious sinful humanity. And in Jesus we see God stolen from, exploited, oppressed by others, violated, abused, humiliated, and eventually destroyed on a cross. Jesus was victimized in all these ways so that he might be in position to drink the cup of judgment that we should have had to drink. Jesus is killed so that he could be the divine Savior to all those who leave behind their own selfishness and pride and idolatry and place their faith and trust in him.

4. We should be judged. But instead we are saved through faith in God’s work for us at the cross. In response we now live our lives for God’s glory. Indeed, we were saved out of judgment for his glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 – “We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

HABAKKUK STUDY GUIDE part 3

HABAKKUK STUDY GUIDE part 3

QUESTIONS

     1.   Jehovah is described as Yahweh (“Lord”) of Hosts in Habakkuk 2:13. Another way to say this would be “God the Warrior”. What does it mean to characterize God as a warrior? What does this say about him? Does this title for God “bother” or encourage you? Why do you think you react that way? If you were in Habakkuk’s position, how do you think you would respond to the idea of Yahweh of Hosts?

     

       2. List some of the sinful deeds described in the five woes (v.6-20). Do we still see this kind of behavior in today’s world? What should be our response to this? What will be God’s response to this?

     3.  A comparison is made between verses 18-19 and verse 20. What or who is being compared? Make a small list contrasting their characteristics below. How does this comparison help us better appreciate who God is?

                          Why do you think this compare and contrast is made in the context of a passage predicting Yahweh’s impending judgment on Babylon?

     4.  In the midst of these judgment oracles, we see Habakkuk 2:14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” The violence of this world will eventually be replaced by God’s tranquility when he brings his kingdom to all creation. The unlimited God will ultimately and permanently triumph over wicked man. When this happens, God’s glory – his royal majesty and awesome power – will be universally and intimately known. Please explain how this verse of hope and promise makes sense and fits within the context of Habakkuk 2:5-20 (i.e., why is verse 14 in chapter two … “does it belong”?).

     5.  We should not distance ourselves too much from the Babylon. We continue to guilty, individually and corporately, of selfishness and pride, seeking the best for us often at the expense of others. We too will be judged, unless we have found life in the gospel of Jesus Christ. How does the gospel save us from judgment and transform us into a people who proclaim and display the glory of God?

     BONUS QUESTION: In regards to 2:17, one commentator says part of the reason Babylon is condemned is because they “even went as far as denuding lands of their tree covering. This metaphorical understanding is supported by the context, since Babylon is also said to extend her savagery beyond shedding man’s blood to the destruction of animals and even of the earth itself. Not only inter-human atrocities but also ecological excesses receive condemnation.” Do you agree with this interpretation of 2:17? If so, what is its significance? If not, what is a more accurate way to interpret this verse?

                HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

THE RISE OF BABYLON AND THE FALL OF ASSYRIA

The transfer of power from Assyria to Babylon was the biggest story of 7^th century BC. God used Babylon to conquer and punish many sin-filled nations in the Ancient Near East, including Judah. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar overtook Jerusalem in 605 BC and again in 598/7 BC, and he deported the Judean elite throughout the Babylonian Empire for the next 70 years. No Empire lasts forever, of course. Babylon began fading in prominence as subsequent leaders began making poor decisions and demonstrating general ineptitude.

Things began to greatly change in the mid-sixth century as the Persians began to rise.  Cyrus II of Persia conquers Media (550 BC), Lydia (546 BC), and even Babylon itself (539 BC).  Originally, Cyrus of Persia was a Babylonian ally but because of rising Persian power, along with an insatiable appetite for more territory, it was inevitable that the two Kingdoms would come into conflict with each other.  Much of Babylon’s conquering was done under the regime of Nebuchadnezzar, who died in 562 BC. 

After 7 years of what can only be termed political instability, Nabonidus ascended the Babylonian throne in 555 BC.  His single-minded adoration of the moon god, Sin, would be his undoing.  Why?  The Babylonians were primarily devoted to Marduk worship and did not appreciate Sin’s encroachment of sorts.  For example, after the king had led a successful campaign in the north he made a statue to Sin, not Marduk!  This led to a conflict between the king and the worshippers of Marduk.  The priests stood up for their god and eventually Nabonidus had no choice but to go into exile.  Belshazzar ruled in his stead during this time.  When Nabonidus returned a decade later, it was too late.

THE RISE OF PERSIA AND THE FALL OF BABYLON

In 539 BC, a Persian commander named Gutium marched into Babylon’c capital, much to the delight of the populace. They were just itching to worship Marduk again instead of Sin and they knew Cyrus of Persia would happily allow this.  King Nabonidus was so unpopular there because of his attempted religious “reforms”, that the overthrow of the capital required no fight – it’s hard to believe that mighty Babylon fell without a fight!    

Persian power ruled the nations with an organization and effectiveness that neither the Assyrians nor Babylonians before them could achieve, and its strength continued into the next century. This turned out to be good for the Jews living scattered abroad because they were allowed to return to Jerusalem to repair the Temple and rebuild the city walls.    

FURTHER REFLECTION

 God wants to display…the absolute character of his glorious righteousness…to make his stunning mercy all the more beautiful. If there is no judgment, there is no mercy. If no one is ever punished for their wrongdoing, then mercy ceases to be mercy and becomes nothing more than injustice. God wants us to know him as a God who is capable of somehow maintaining justice and righteousness even as he forgives sin. If God does not judge, he does not keep his word and we cannot trust him. A god who does not keep his word is not worthy of worship. A God who keeps his word and finds a way to forgive sin and show mercy to the guilty, that is a God who is worthy of worship. God’s glory in salvation through judgment is supremely displayed in the cross of Christ, where justice and mercy meet, where righteousness and peace kiss, where God’s infinite holiness and everlasting love are displayed on the cosmic stage at the hinge of history. This righteousness and mercy calls us to repent, trust, bow, and worship.

-       Jim Hamilton, Author of God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment 

Source: http://www.9marks.org/blog/gods-glory-salvation-through-judgment-my-answers-dees-questions

For further reading:

God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology 

By James M. Hamilton, Jr. (Crossway Books, 2010)

Unadoptable?

Another great post by Dennae Pierre on the Together for Adoption blog.


http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=10432

Study Guide for Habakkuk 1:12–17 - Habakkuk’s Dilemma

SUMMARY OF HABAKKUK 1:12-17 AND 2:1

 God’s amazing disclosure left the prophet even more perplexed and bewildered. Habakkuk’s complaint about the sin and lawlessness in Judah (vv. 2-4) was met by God’s response that He was not ignorant of His people’s conduct. Judgment was on its way. The Babylonians  would soon take these erring people captive. The prophet was astonished, just as God said he would be (v. 5). He was appalled that Yahweh would employ so evil an instrument to punish Judah. Habakkuk expressed his deep concern; he questioned God’s plan. 

- 

*Adapted from J. Ronald Blue from The Bible Knowledge Commentary

QUESTIONS

1.      At first, Habakkuk was frustrated God didn’t respond to his concerns. After hearing Yahweh’s response, Habakkuk is frustrated with the answer. Summarize the main concerns of Habakkuk in his next prayer found in 1:12-2:1.

Identify 2-3 commendable things Habakkuk does in this prayer:

1.

2.

3.

2.      Go back and review Habakkuk’s original complaint in 1:2-4. Next, look over his second complaint in 1:12-17 and 2:1. Do you share some of his same frustrations in your life right now? In what way?

3.      What does God mean when he tells Habakkuk that “the righteous will live by faith”? (2:4) Read Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 19:38. How is the phrase “the righteous will live by faith” expanded upon and used in these passages?

4.      Our faith in God secures our eternal relationship with God and ensures that we are justified (i.e righteous, not guilty). Because we are justified we can be faithful to God now and in the future.

5. How should these truths impact how we see ourselves and how we handle major events in our lives - whether they go well for us or they don’t go well for us?

6. How can these truths help us trust in God’s plan and his timing, especially when we don’t understand it? (2:3-4)

 

 TIMELINE OF THE FALL OF ISRAEL

*1446-1406 BC – The Exodus and wilderness wanderings

*1406-1399 BC – The Canaanite conquest under Joshua

*1350 BC - Era of the Judges begins (Deborah, Gideon, Samson, etc.)

*1051-931 BC – United Monarchy under Saul, David and Solomon

*931 BC - Kingdom divides into North (Israel) and South (Judah)

*722 BC - Assyria invades Samaria, results in the fall of Israel
*586 BC—Babylon invades Jerusalem, results in the fall of Judah

*586-515 BC – The 70-year Babylonian exile begins

  

CASE STUDY

Over the next 9 months, you have the worst 9 months of your life. All the bad things that can happen to you and people around you – do. Extremely negative things happen at work, death strikes your family, you make some horrible decisions and the consequences are hard to face, your finances take a serious hit, a dispute disrupts some of your closet relationships, you become diagnosed with some strange illness, you discover you’ve been lied to about some pretty big things, and some other “smaller tragedies” occur as well (use your imagination).

All of this causes you to seriously question your faith. How could God let these things happen like this? You have a close friend who is a strong, mature, and loving Christian. You meet up with them one day and recount all the horrible things in your life right now and explain you are unsure if you believe anymore.

How does your friend counsel you in a biblical and Christ-centered way?

BONUS QUESTIONS

1.      Perhaps you (or someone you know) are struggling with disappointment with God’s seeming lack of response or even a disappointing response. Based upon Habakkuk’s second prayer in this section, what should you (or they) do? How should you (or they) proceed?

2.      When we are in these kinds of tough situations in life, what are some of the ways we should NOT respond:

3.      Please clearly state why these responses are harmful and how they betray a lack of trust in God and a lack of satisfaction in Christ. Please be detailed!

4.      Have you taken these things to the Lord in prayer like Habakkuk? If not, will you make a commitment to do so this day?

FURTHER REFLECTION

“But, God, who once commanded light to shine out of darkness, can marvelously bring, if He pleases, salvation out of hell itself, and thus turn darkness itself to light. But what worketh Satan? In a certain sense, the work of God! That is, God, by holding Satan fast bound in obedience to His Providence, turns him whithersoever He will, and thus applies the great enemy’s devices and attempts to the accomplishment of His own eternal principles.” - John Calvin, The Secret Providence of God 

Shallow Small Group

This was very funny. And convicting when you realize that for many of us, what's parodied in the video is actually kind of what we want (much to our detriment).

"We're not here to deal with messy stuff like feelings and emotions. You got problems? You deal with them."

Study Guide, The Book of Habakkuk [week 1]

THE BOOK OF HABAKKUK

Habakkuk was a prophet who lived during the same time as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zephaniah. He prophesied during the final days of the Assyrian empire and the beginning of Babylon’s world domination. God used the Assyrian empire to punish the northern kingdom of Israel and the book of Habbakuk anticipates how God will now use the Babylonians to punish the Assyrian empire and the southern kingdom of Judah.

The book of Habakkuk was most likely written during the reign of King Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34-24:17). In stark contrast to his righteous father King Josiah, Jehoiakim was a wicked king whose reign was marked by much sin and injustice. Habakkuk questions why God seems passive in the face of such rampant wickedness. But even worse, when God does decide to act, he uses people who are even worse to judge his people. Why would God do this? Habakkuk can’t understand what God is doing and expresses his frustration to God.

God does graciously answer many of Habakkuk’s complaints by telling him that he will act according to his timetable and letting him know that eventually the Babylonians will also be judged. Ultimately however, the book of Habakkuk calls for believers to place their faith in God, finding hope and joy in the knowledge that he will ultimately work everything out for his glory and in perfect righteousness and justice.

TIMELINE

• Contemporaries of Habakkuk: Nahum, circa 660 BC. Zephaniah, circa 640 BC. Jeremiah, circa 625 BC. Habakkuk, circa 615 BC, Ezekiel, 593 BC, Daniel, 536 BC.
• After discovering the Book of the Law in the temple (622 bc), King Josiah made great reforms (2 Kin. 23). These were quickly overturned by his successor, King Jehoiakim (Jer. 22:13–19).
• Death of Josiah (609 bc) by the Egyptian king Necho at Megiddo (2 Chr. 35:20–24).
• Nebuchadnezzar commenced his military march through Nineveh (612 bc), Haran (609 bc), and Carchemish (605 bc). These assaults mark the final fall of Assyria.
• Babylon invades Judah in 605, 597, and 586 BC 

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

I. Habakkuk’s Complaint

Habakkuk 1:1–4. The prophet cries to God because of the lawlessness he sees around him and asks how long it will go unpunished.

II. Yahweh’s Response

Habakkuk 1:5–11. In reply, God announces that he is raising up the Chaldeans (i.e. the Babylonians) and describes the fierceness of their armies and their contempt for all who stand in their way. 

III. Habakkuk’s Second Complaint

Habakkuk 1:12–17. But if God is holy, why would he send the Chaldeans to punish Israel, when their atrocities and idolatry are worse than the evils that they are sent to punish?

IV. Yahweh’s Second Response: The Righteous Shall Live By Faith!

Habakkuk 2:1–5. The prophet waits upon his watchtower to see if God will resolve his dilemma. The answer comes in the assertion that the pride of the Chaldean will be his downfall and the faithfulness of the righteous will be his salvation.

V. Woe to the Chaldeans

Habakkuk 2:6–20. A taunt-song (māšāl) addressed to the Chaldeans, consisting of a series of five woes predicting dire consequences upon them for the acts of brutal inhumanity for which they are responsible.

VI. Habakkuk’s Prayer

Habakkuk 3:1–19. This psalm of Habakkuk describes a revelation of God coming in his awful majesty to bring judgment upon the nations and salvation to his people.

 Outline adapted from: D. R. W. Wood and I. Howard Marshall, New Bible Dictionary (3rd ed.; Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 438.

QUESTIONS

1.      Habakkuk had a complaint about the way things were going. What is he concerned about? (see 1:2-4)

2.      In what ways is Habakkuk a good example to us? Or is he? Why or why not? In what ways do you think we should emulate his action in the first four verses of this book?

3.      Habakkuk knew (as do we) that God loves justice and hates injustice. Why then does God let injustice continue?

4.      Do you think the Lord’s answer to Habakkuk’s question would be much different now in our day than what it was back then (as found in Habakkuk 1:5-11)?