Genesis 1 (The Clapps Chapel online Bible Study)

Genesis 1 (NIV translation)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.


3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
God's Creative act started history, this act created time, space and Matter, Before this there was only GOD.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds:the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
At this point we should realize the design that is taking place. order coming from nothing that is heading somewhere, being prepared for some crescendo. God declares his work good
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Now we see why God created such a good place and what it was designed for. His creation is completed with his image bearers, this act of creation will bring Love into the world since he has now created the object of His love. With it will come what love is compared to....hate.
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Here is a declaration that not only gives all mankind worth but also defines mankind as male and female. two parts of one whole. The foundation of love, togetherness, and dependence on on other.


28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

The original God ordained vocation. God said to be fruitful and multiply to His original children, He has repeated this command to his disciples to be fruitful and make more disciples.
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

While God is always sovereign He enjoys employing His image bearers in the creative process as he has given us dominion over nature (and therefor a directive to conserve and protect it) and a role to play in his next act of creation which will end in a full family of God and the New Heaven and New Earth to come.




Grace and Peace

Gabe

Five plagues of the Churches of your Town.

 The Study of the Book of Revelation has me thinking of the seven churches of 90AD and the churches of today.  I have often heard the arguments about which is better, a small church or a large church. You might say the little church doesn't have the resources to reach more people, or that someone can just be lost in the crowd in the large church. I will submit to you that  both sizes of church have many advantages and disadvantages but the both should have the same Lord. I do not want to focus on what is different between the two here but on what problems they share. I put forth for your consideration the five disciple destroyers that plague churches of all sizes.

1. Theological drift- I have seen the Gospel take a back seat to all kinds of crazy teachings in churches of all sizes. Whether a charismatic leader is taking the church down a path he claims God is leading him or changing political and cultural winds blow whole denominations off course, the drift away from orthodoxy can wreck churches of any size. Church discipline and a steady course of proper teaching and discernment is required to stave off this illness.
2. Growth over Gospel- Small churches need to grow to keep the lights on and pay bills while large ones need to grow to support the huge amount of continuing maintenance caused by large buildings and growing technology needs. These aren't bad things but our faithless reaction to them can be. Sometimes in the name of putting but in seats we make decisions to please the seeker instead of praising the Lord. Growth comes from the Holy Spirit and not by making the Gospel so palatable that it offends no one. The true Gospel is very offensive but it has the power to save. the key to avoid placing to much importance on growth is to put your faith in God to fill the pews as long as you are truly faithful to his message
3. Serving the servers- in every church there is always people complaining about what the church is or is not doing most of the time the topics they raise have more to do with services provided by the church or a lack of appreciation for the work someone has done in the Church. People demand their name be put in the bulletin or an award be given (like the Susanna Wesley award) and Church leaders fear if they don't feed the ego of church members some may withhold tithing or worse leave. Pastors are attacked based on their personality instead of the substance of their sermons or work. Pastors are worried about the attendance and pension more than they are about getting the Gospel to the community and Bishops become rich and entitled worrying about appointments and who is paying apportionments. It often feels like the job of the church is to supply employment instead of make disciples. 
4. "Working" for the church- More time has been spent by"leaders" trying to save the crumbling UMC than in developing ways to evangelize and disciple a growing non Christian population. Bishop's and pastors like Adam Hamilton are willing to give theological ground in any direction to save their beloved UMC. I've heard many refer to it as THEIR Church the same way local congregations do allot when talking about saving THEIR Church from shrinking congregations. They make an Idol out of the"church" when they are willing to change the Gospel to"save" it. We should double down on the true Gospel and be willing to sell buildings and divide from those who appose the Gospel in order to spread It.
5. Dumb disciples-the modern Church has the most access to the most reliable translations of the Bible ever in history yet a large number of the layman in the pews know little to nothing of theology. This has definitely been a failure of church leadership who are afraid to push people to spend time and effort and study out of a fear that they will find the church boring and move on to more fun and entertaining diversions. But a lot of the blame also lies on the individual Christian who's laziness has caused them to not only neglect their own study and spiritual growth but also that of their children. these parents who feel inadequate because of their own lack of knowledge have been trusting local churches to teach their children about the Bible. And when faithful teachers try to get serious when it comes to teaching the young people the doctrines that will keep them in the faith the rest of their life the same parents will allow their students to skip Sunday School and spend zero time reading the Bible at home. This has caused an entire generation of people who are biblically illiterate and therefore are handicapped when it comes to sharing the gospel with others. These parents would never dream of letting their children skip math class or English and be illiterate for the rest of their lives but if the child says they don't like Sunday school or their friends aren't there or it's boring then they'll let them skip or switch to a different church that's more about fun then education. Regardless of our age it is time for Christians to dedicate ourselves to the study of the scriptures again so we will not be fooled by false leaders or use as an excuse of inaction that we don't know what to do.

Here at Clapp's Chapel we are trying to turn a corner by inviting a ministry called the Spirit and Truth into our congregation to help us with evangelism and and discipleship. I truly believe if we are faithful to evangelizing and discipling that God will be pleased and our church will be whatever he wants it to be, small large are no longer.

Grace and Peace

Gabe

Bonus Cast#1

Click Here for this weeks Bonus Cast. 

This week we dig into the Book of Psalms I hope you join us Monday Night for our study.

Its not about me

Most Americans today are pretty egocentric. If you think about it, a lot of money is spent on self-help books and videos. Everyone is worried about being skinnier, smarter, and richer. I fear modern Christianity is traveling the same road as our secular culture. Many of the popular preachers today preach a prosperity gospel and collect a lot of money while leading many astray. I think most earnest Christians are not fooled by these charlatans and would be the first cry foul when they ask for seeds to be sown in their own pockets. The preachers I worry about seem to have great effect on the brothers. They are so self-driven that they somehow can read themselves into every part of the Bible. They even read their audience into it as well. What bothers me is that the Bible is not about you and me; it is about Jesus Christ. If the message of Christ defeating death and the blessed assurance of eternity is not enough; we have problems. These vipers are leading people to believe they are like King David, or Joshua. The problem is not everyone is like King David; there is no promise in the Bible that we all can be kings here on earth. It is the heavenly kingdom that Christ points us to, and we should focus on, not any success or power we might obtain here on this temporary world. It is hard to be a humble servant of our Lord and Savior if we can’t get past our own greatness and purpose. Remember it is always safe to just keep pointing toward Christ, since it is he who clothes us in righteousness.

Careful Little Eyes

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” Philippians 4:6

One evening I was about to sit down and watch some T.V. with my children, while scrolling through the mind scrambling number of movies on Netflix I kept running across movies that I had watched and liked in the past but thought they were inappropriate to watch in front of children. This thought hit me like a freight train. I didn’t want my kids to see the nudity and vile language in these movies for their own good but had been content to download all the blasphemy and hyper sexual content into my own mind. I recalled the above passage in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians and thought about the finite amount of time we get each day. While I was wrestling with how violent or vile our entertainment could be and not warp the kids the way I had been warped I had missed the point entirely. We should fill our time with what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. I should be searching out things that are excellent and praiseworthy. If I would not show it to my children or listen to it with my Pastor then I probably should not be consuming it. But that’s just a guideline, in reality we should be only imbibing things that improve or inspire us. We as Christians shouldn’t have enough time to waste. We should be reaching the lost or preparing to do so.

The First Fruits Project

I find myself this time of year asking people for money a lot. Whether it is to buy a Christmas tree or pecans to support our Outreach Ministry, or passing the plate at the second Saturday breakfast to fund the Men’s Group, I find myself shilling for Jesus and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I come to you now wanting to sell you CD’s called the First Fruits Project. The First Fruits Project presents the good news of Jesus through original songs, the written word and clear preaching. It is meant to be a self-contained evangelism message that you can give to those who need Christ. It is also a tool for funding missions. All proceeds are split equally between three well established Christian missions. The Knox Area Rescue Ministries, Samaritan’s Purse, and the Bible League. For more information on the project and to listen to the music please visit http://www.joebeelermusic.com/#/first-fruits-project-2014 . I understand that we as Christians perceive that times are tight but with a little honest self-evaluation I believe that we will all come to the conclusion that The Great Commission is not as large a part of our budget as it should be. This could be a perfect opportunity to those who are not comfortable bringing up salvation verbally, This CD can do the talking for you. So please hop over to the website and support this worthy attempt to share God’s Grace with the world.

Letter from the front lines

The battle front seems to be on all sides and our outer walls and defenses are often breached by the enemy with pride, fear, and a lack of forgiveness. Some of our compatriots have fallen at the hands of our own brothers and sisters as the pressure of constantly being besieged from all sides has caused some division. We have not been idle; some of us have been sharpening our swords in study, Feeding on your word, and lifting our spirits in worship. We have decided that if we just stay inside we will eventually be overran. Our Pastor has encouraged us to carry the fight to enemy by charging out into the fray. He believes not only can we help to bolster other Christians already on the frontlines but to bring hope to some of our young people who were not around during times when we seemed to be winning. We pray that you will strengthen us Lord as we try to take the Gospel outside the friendly confines of the Church. The world is strong and tempting but we know that faith and love can conquer all. With the Holy Spirit as our general we believe we can add to our numbers and use the church more as a garrison rather than a stronghold. Hope always springs from you our Lord since you have already won the battle. Your servant: Gabe

Answers to tough questions

I find that the world is full of tough questions today, from politics, morality, to accountability. I hear people argue vehemently that they have the answer while others work tirelessly to tear them down. There is something missing in all of these discussions and that is Jesus. I know that sounds cliché’ but it is so true. Think about it Paul never tried to curry favor of a plan to change the laws of the Roman Empire he always preached Jesus. If you want a change of circumstance turn your life over to Jesus. If the majority of people called on Christ as their Lord then most of the ills of society would go away and the love of each other would cover the rest. I know this is Pollyanna but it is the answer. I would never tell someone not to vote or to quit trying to better oneself financially but it is all folly without the savior. I would say to each one of us who say we are saved, “how much time do I spend complaining about the ills of this fallen world opposed to proclaiming Christ crucified?) The Gospel is the answer to all tough questions and it is our job to spread it far and wide. Once we are done with that command of Jesus we can see about our own agendas.

Your brother in Christ
Gabe Davis

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Do not despair even while the news tells us that things are bad, we have a Savior who has purchased our place in eternity.......  A wise man once said "If you worry don't Pray. If you Pray don't worry."

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A tale of two conversations

I had two conversations with two different friends at church tonight that basically bore the same subject from two different angles. I don't think my two good friends would mind me sharing, though they will remain nameless. One friend is a female, and one is a male. The one friend had rightfully expressed concern that every show on television has at least touched on the subject of same sex partnerships in some way. It is as if the topic is far too over publicized for the minority of the population it represents. Clearly, there is an agenda of either the networks, or society as a whole to desensitize the population at large to the idea. As if for the last 8-10 thousand years American culture is the first to experience the CHOICE some make to pursue an alternative lifestyle, and the attempt to force its assimilation into main stream culture. It doesn't make us more civilized, advanced, nor tolerant, only ignorant to real history.

The second conversation I had was about the propensity of the American (little c) church to elevate the relativity of one sin above others, and minimize the effect of other sins on believers and non-believers alike. For example consuming alcohol, or gambling which are of a public and taboo nature because of their obvious implications in regards to behavior, and a lack of self control, verses tobacco use, or excessive secular activity, which seem to be more private, and effect only the sinner directly.(I guess?) And possibly their family, and relationship to God, but that is beyond my ability to judge, and is between them and the Lord.

"Well yes I smoke and watch dancing with the stars for the outfits and obvious innuendo, but I don't drink or buy lottery tickets!"

I too am disgusted by the assault on our beliefs, and tempted to elevate myself above a lost and dying world. I love God, and am offended by the worlds disregard for Christ and His gospel. But I'm not sure we are fighting the right battle as believers.

Men deny God and quench the Holy Spirit, as well as reject Jesus for a number of reasons, too many to mention. Chiefly, its because they want to do what THEY WANT to do. If there is no (g)od they don't have to be worried about what (h)e has to say.(They actually do know that God exists see Romans 1:18-20) Once they've convinced themselves that they don't "believe" in (h)im,(suppressed the truth) they have to place the conviction they feel somewhere, so they begin to try to convince the rest of us that there is no (g)od(2nd Peter 2:12-14). Once they get on that train they begin to pick fights with people who are believers. By doing this, they feel as though they give themselves validity. They now have a cause; enlighten the ignorant, and defeat the tyrannical, oppressive evangelical, thus protecting the ignorant masses from the poisonous fairy tale of a sovereign, benevolent, creator. At this point they are ready to debate in favor of a truth that we already know; Man is free to do whatever he wants. Then there is us.
We know that God is real, we know that the Bible is His communication to man, we know that human kind has a sin nature. We have heard and believed the gospel of Christ. But being trapped in our sinful bodies(Romans 7:21-24)we are tempted to set ourselves above all others by looking down on them and deeming ourselves morally superior. This way, we can rest assured that we are not on the same slow boat to hell that "they" are,(which we're not but not simply because we know what is right and what is wrong). So what do we do when they pick a fight with us, guided by their desire to disprove God's true existence? We tell them they are hell bound dirt bags, based off of the "one" in dwelling sin they are trying to protect and defend. When in reality, what we should be screaming is that any person outside of a relationship with Jesus, is condemned.
Romans 3:23
John 3:18-21
John 3:3

Don't get me wrong, when faced with discussing particular sinful activity we should be lovingly honest, bringing the truth of Christ to bare on the conversation. But to harp on just one hot button, controversial, or common sin, is short-sighted, and neglects the truth of the gospel. Jesus came not to condemn but to save(John 3:17).

When faced with these type discussions I am drawn to John 8, and the story of the adulterous woman. She meets Jesus in verses 1-10, he facilitates her redemption. It is only after that, that He says, "go and sin no more." Jesus points out that the only way they can take it upon themselves to "punish" the woman, is if they are completely without sin. They weren't and neither are we. We are fighting people who don't know Him, because they are not following Him? His birth, life, teaching, miracles, death, burial, and resurrection mean nothing to them, let alone the Bible. Until they KNOW HIM they will continue to war against us by flaunting their bad behavior, mocking our every belief, and daring us to stop them. When they meet Him, they will war against themselves(1st Peter 2:11). "Do I need to quit all my bad habits, and sinful behaviors to come to know Christ?" Is the wrong question, and "Yes" is the wrong answer. Jesus paid the price for sinners like you and me. Don't leave the spreading the good news of Christ to the pastor in favor of proving your point about bad behavior, the negative effect thereof, and its modification through morality training. He has called us to "Go and make disciples"(Matthew 28:19) THEN teach them how to act as Christians.(Matthew 20:20)

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"-Romans 3:14

SPREAD THE GOSPEL-JOHN 3:16

Leave the behavior modification to the Holy Spirit.

Dusty

Wisdom

Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old fellow who always prayed, 'Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.' After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.

He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this....
I got an old barn out back.
It's been there a long time, it's withstood a lot of weather, it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years.
It's still standing.
But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit.
So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on it's leaning side so it wouldn't fall.
Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn.
I've been around a long time.
I've withstood a lot of life's storms.
I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing, too.
But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time,
so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times.
Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred,
leaning toward cussing, leaning toward jealousy, leaning toward revenge, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't.
So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side, so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.''

"In God we trust!"

There are 3 kinds of people,
People who make things happen,
People who watch things happen,
And people who wonder what happened!

Casting Crowns- Jesus, Friend Of Sinners(LYRICS ON SCREEN HD)

"Every Man Shares in Evangelism, Mission, and Spiritual Life"

United Methodist Men shall be a creative, supportive fellowship of men who seek to know Jesus Christ, to grow spiritually and to seek daily his will. Our primary purpose is to declare the centrality of Christ in the lives of men and in all their relationships.

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Contact us at:

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Corryton, TN 37721

Phone:

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Email - rgdtennessee@gmail.com

Cradling Us

Wednesday, March 14

Read: John 11:1-12:11

In late 1992, having been through a miscarriage, I was thrilled and terrified

to find myself pregnant again. Complications began early, and my

doctor told me I had likely lost the baby, “but come in for one last ultrasound,

anyway, so we’ll know what to do next”. Two doctors and a technician

were in the room with me for that ultrasound. For agonizing minutes

they looked and listened for signs of life. “I’m so sorry,” they told me,

shaking their heads and looking away. Then, as the technician made one

last sweep, static appeared on the monitor… and then a low, rapid sound:

“ker-thump, ker-thump”. There was not a dry eye to be found, as we all

listened to the steady, blessed beat of my son’s heart. Living proof? Without

question. Our faith, in this season of Lent, is about finding hope,

when evidence points only to despair; about following a path through

darkness to light we cannot imagine; about living through sorrow and

reaching for joy. In our moments of deepest sadness, our Savior is with us,

steady and blessed, cradling us with his body, longing to make us whole.

Prayer:

Too often, Blessed Lord, we give up and give in to darkness, to despair, and

to sorrow. Help us to be still and silent in those uncomfortable and painful places in

this season. Open our tear-filled eyes to find you there with us, for us. Cradle us with

your body and make us whole. Amen. ~Lynette Johnson

The Spirit is Manifested

Monday, March 12

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:7

As Chaplain and Bible Teacher at an inner city mission school, I often

asked students to act out a story for the weekly chapel service. One year I

assigned one of the 6th grade "trouble makers" the role of the little boy

who brought his lunch of five loaves and two fish to Jesus to help feed the

hungry crowd of 5000 people. The disciples were not at all sure where

they could find food for all the people, and this little boy volunteered his

lunch. The 12-year-old in my class really enjoyed his role as the child willing

to share his food. He played it beautifully. However, the results after

the play were the living proof to me of Jesus' influence to change lives.

This boy had been the ringleader of many "incidents" leading to confusion

and chaos in the classroom. From the day that he played the boy sharing

his food, he never caused any further challenges. In fact, he became the

leader by good examples. Just playing that role was living proof to him

that he could be active in a positive way as a class leader.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for challenging us by your example to be leaders in our

homes, communities and daily lives. This Lenten season help us to be open to the manifestation

of your Holy Spirit so that we have opportunities to see the living proof of Jesus

in our lives every day. Amen. ~The Rev. Dr. Nora Ramirez

Relying on God

Sunday, March 11

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

For most of my early adult life, I was an ambitious young man who

principally pursued my own desires and interests. I had been told for so

long that I was very smart, and I believed it. I was told I had excellent

communication skills that would serve me well, and I was sure of it. An

older professional colleague of mine told me that he was sure I would succeed

at anything I attempted to do. A woman told me that I was very

good looking, and I loved that. Yes, I had great strengths and abilities that

would take me far in life. Years later I found myself drowning in the consequences

of bad decisions I had made; broken relationships I had left

behind; self-destructive addictions that had consumed me. I came to believe

that I was untrustworthy and that I could not even trust myself. It

was only then, when I didn’t know who to trust anymore, that I began to

rely on the strength of the Lord. In my weakness and in my surrender,

God’s strength lifted me. The brokenness of my life was healed and I was

strong in the strength of Christ, who was and is there for me and for you.

Prayer:

Gracious God, thank you for being my strength, for I have none. Thank you

for bringing hope and blessings, for I have no capacity to bring them. I am yours,

o Lord, and I rely upon you. Amen. ~Bozh Lubovnik