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)?

Thoughts from the Sermon, “The Promise of Joy and Peace in Christ” John 16:16-33

Thoughts from the Sermon, “The Promise of Joy and Peace in Christ” John 16:16-33

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

1. We all will face and have faced difficult times in our lives. No one is immune from dealing with trial, suffering, and pain. Many times our response to trouble is one of sorrow, fear, despair and even cowardice. We retreat into ourselves. We either fail to do what we should do or we do the things we shouldn’t do, things which aren’t ultimately helpful for us but that we do nonetheless in order to somehow deal with our situation.

2. There can be a different response to our trials. Rather than running away from difficulties we can lean into them, meeting them with joy and peace and confidence.

3. How do we make this transition? By the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus promises his disciples that because they will see him, their sadness will turn to joy. Indeed, because Jesus has conquered sin and death in his resurrection, we who believe him can find peace in him.

4. What believers gain because of the risen Jesus is a transformed life. It means having a joy that no one can take away (John 16:22). It means never being alone because we have a permanent relationship with God as our Father. We can speak to him and know that he will hear us and answer.

5. Being a Christian does not mean life gets easier. Believing in and following Jesus will mean some unique difficulties and hardships. Jesus never promises that we will be saved out of trouble (“In the world you will have tribulation” John 16:33). What he does promise is that in the midst of trouble we will be able to act differently. We can rest in his peace, respond to trouble with joy, and know that ultimately we will overcome all our troubles through him and the victory he has already secured by virtue of his resurrection.

6. “This is the great departure of Christianity from every other religious faith. It does not simply set out an ideal or a moral code; it offers a means of achieving it. Christianity is the offer of God to live in his followers and achieve in them the victory demonstrated in his Son Jesus Christ. And in that indwelling, an indescribable peace will be ours despite the fury and foment of the world around us.” Gary Burge, John: The NIV Application Commentary

7. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4

Loving Children When They’re Unlovable

Loving Children When They’re Unlovable

Check out Dennae's NEW post ("Loving Children When They’re Unlovable")
 at the Together for Adoption website here.

- http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=10429

Voice of the Martyrs Mini-Profiles

Voice of the Martyrs Mini-Profiles

Today's sermon was from John 15:18-16:4 and was called I HEART HATERS. We talked a lot about the modern day persecution of Christians all over the globe and at the end of the service, prayed for some of them together. Here is a list of the folks we profiled today. Please continue to pray for them.

CHINA
Shuying, 77. Tortured and imprisoned for her faith. Her husband died the day after she was released.

SUDAN
Mary Achai. Kidnapped, sold into sex slavery, burned, leaving her arms “frozen”.

INDIA
Vasant. Ex-radical Hindu, persecuted Christians. Now an evangelist, locked away by his family, poisoned by his mother, but continues to pass out 25-30 tracts a day in remote areas.

SOMALIA
Musa. House church leader. His two oldest sons were beheaded after their father gave a prominent Muslim woman a Bible which resulted in her conversion.

NIGERIA
James Kake. Muslims burnt his church down then macheted his hands and wrists after they asked him if he was an infidel and he said “yes”.

NEPAL
Shyma Kumar. Teenager who was severly burned while attending church and it was bombed by Hindu extremists.

PAKISTAN
Pastor "Joseph". Bound for praying with a beggar. Preached to his attackers as they beat him.

NORTH VIETNAM
Pastors Phan and Trang. “Running pastors” who flee from tribe to tribe, conducting services, baptisms, and communion for small rural congregations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE FOLKS AND MORE LIKE THEM, GO TO http://www.persecution.com

Interview with Pastor Vermon and Dennae on Adoption [video]

Interview with Pastor Vermon and Dennae on Adoption [video]

Great Interview with Pastor Vermon and Dennae on Adoption at a House Conference in Phoenix, Arizona by Together for Adoption. Also, be sure to check out Dennae's post ("Adopted") at the Together for Adoption website here.

Dan Cruver of T4A interviews Vermon and Dennae Pierre about their foster-to-adopt story, which could not have happened without their local church.
The house conference initiative is an effort to bring teaching on God’s story of adoption and its implications for the global orphan crisis to living rooms in select cities across the United States. Obviously, not everyone can fly across the country to attend a T4A conference. So, in part, the house conference initiative aims to “bring a T4A conference to a living room near you . . . for free.”

"Be Merciful to Me" Unpacked

"Be Merciful to Me" Unpacked
by Alden Powers, The Music Guy @RCC

A song we have been doing for a few months now is Be Merciful to Me by the band Caedmon’s Call. This song isn’t particularly “new” (it was released in 2006), but it is a recent addition to RCC’s song repertoire. I love to sing this song after we come to the Lord’s Table. It gives us an opportunity to ask for God’s mercy, and at His table we see the ultimate display of His mercy in His broken body and shed blood. The language of the song isn’t as clear as some other more modern songs we might do during worship. The lyrics are taken from a 19th Century hymn. However, once we dig in and examine what the song is saying, the truths will jump out more vividly and I think we will gain a greater appreciation for the song.

Out from the deep I call,
To Thee, O Lord, to Thee.
Before Thy throne I fall
Be Merciful to me

The first verse puts us squarely in the mindset of a faithful worshipper. Throughout the Bible, we see God’s faithful servants, when encountered with God’s holy presence, respond by falling down and pleading for mercy. In Isaiah 6:1-6, the prophet Isaiah comes face to face with the glory of the Lord. All he can say is “woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips”. Ezekiel does likewise in Ezekiel 1:28. John also falls to his feet in Revelation 1:17. When we come into the presence of what is supremely holy, we are instantly reminded of our great unholiness. All we can do is fall and plead for God’s mercy.

From the garden to the Cross,
Thy mercy did endure.
My soul purged from all dross
In blood made pure

The great news is that God is merciful. Although He is supremely holy, He is also supremely merciful. His mercy is displayed again and again in the Old Testament. "Garden” in this song refers to the Garden of Eden, where mankind originally fell from grace and was cast out of God’s presence. Even in that moment, rather than destroy his rebellious creation, God clothed them and promised that the offspring of the woman would one day crush the serpent’s head (Gen 3:15).

This longsuffering continues all throughout Israel’s history where they continually rebel, only for God to respond with mercy. God’s ultimate act of mercy is seen at the Cross of Jesus Christ, where God’s wrath for sin was placed on His Son. His sinless Son was the sacrifice for our sins and His death was the death that we rightfully deserve.

The third line can be the most challenging for the modern listener to understand. A basic understanding of metallurgy is necessary in order to appreciate this line. When you have a freshly mined piece of precious metal such as gold or silver, it is hardly ever found in a pure form. The metal has to be melted and the impurities separated. These impurities are called “dross”. The Bible uses this term to symbolize God getting rid of wicked people from the nation of Israel, as well as purifying the hearts of His faithful followers in Christ Jesus. So to summarize, lines 3 and 4 tell us that our souls have been purged of all impurity and made pure by the blood of Christ.

Thy mercy Lord is true,
As ever truth will be.
But still I cry for you,
Be merciful to me.

Paul tells us in Philippians, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” (Phil 3:12). God has shown us the supreme act of mercy at the cross. His blood has made us pure. Yet we still need to ask God for forgiveness for our sins daily in order to be made Holy. The process of sanctification in the Christian’s life is an ongoing process and we should never take the grace we have received for granted.

May this song remind us of the mercy God has given us through His Son. And may we continue to see His mercies in our lives all of our days.

Thoughts from the Sermon, “Love through Obedience” John 14:15-31

Thoughts from the Sermon, “Love through Obedience” John 14:15-31

by Vermon Pierre, Lead Pastor

1. God is not pursuing a casual friendship with us. He’s not looking to date us and then try things about by living together. God is pursuing a committed relationship with us.

2. A committed relationship with God brings with it certain obligations. Central to these obligations is obedience to Jesus (John 14:14, 21, 23). Jesus makes it clear – we can’t truly love him, and thus can’t truly love God, apart from keeping his commandments. As Leslie Newbigin put it, “Obedience is the test of love, love is the content of obedience.”

3. Jesus promises that we will receive two tremendous gifts as part of our committed relationship with God.

  

    a. The gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-20, 26) 

    The Holy Spirit is the person of God resides within us. He ensures that God is always with
    us, ready to encourage us, strengthen us, and guide us in all situations. He is “the Spirit
    of truth” who reveals God’s truthto us and helps us remain faithful to God’s truth.

   b. The gift of peace (John 14:27) 

   Jesus will give us a peace that gives us a sense of composure and confidence even in
   the midst of trouble and conflict. His peace helps us to maintain unity with other believers.

   

4. And so, our committed relationship begins ultimately with God, since he must move towards us through Jesus Christ in order that we might be in relationship with him. Our relationship will develop and grow by the grace of God as he gifts us with his Spirit and peace and as we obey him in love.