Tim Chester's Blog, page 30

The Glory of the Story Sample: Day 105 – The older will serve the younger

Reading: Genesis 25:19-34

Here is another extracts from The Glory of the Story , my father’s devotional introduction to biblical theology in the form of 366 daily readings which show how the Old Testament story is fulfilled in Christ. The Glory of the Story is available as a Kindle book for $2.99 from amazon.com and £1.99 from amazon.co.uk. I’m posting extracts from the chaper on the story of Jacob, usually on the first Monday of the month.

After twenty years of marriage Rebekah finally conceives, but has a difficult twin-pregnancy. The antenatal in-fighting of the babies (22) foreshadows the life-long conflict that is to follow. Even as they are born there is no let up. The second baby comes out clutching his brother’s heel and is named Jacob, signifying ‘grasper’, ‘deceiver’. Though twins, their characters develop quite differently. Jacob is a stay-at-home of quiet disposition, while Esau is a man of the open country and a skilful hunter. The prophecy given to Rebekah is the fulcrum for their story: ‘Two nations are in your womb … and the older will serve the younger.’ (23)

The LORD warns that the usual conventions of society are going to be overturned. In this case the younger twin, Jacob, would continue the line of God’s purposes, with the implied opposition of the stronger son, Esau. This would lead eventually to the separate nations of Israel and Edom. The way Isaac and Esau disregard God’s word for their own preferences governs how the story develops.

One day when Esau is famished he requests of his brother, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew!’ Jacob replies ‘First sell me your birthright’ – your status as head of the family (30-31). Jacob may have been prompted by a belief that there is a significant future for him in God’s purpose. If so, his acceptance of God’s role is commendable, even if the means he uses leaves much to be desired.

Esau, on the other hand, fecklessly embraces the present and the tangible at any cost. He goes through with the choice (33) and walks away unconcerned (34) – clearly no where near to death! (32) The narrator’s final comment is not ‘Jacob cheated his brother,’ but ‘Esau despised his birthright.’ Esau is saying, in effect, ‘If clinging to my inheritance rights means present hunger and pain you can have the lot, Jacob!’

The letter to the Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians who, facing persecution and social ostracism, are being tempted to revert to Judaism. They are exhorted not to be like Esau and forego their spiritual inheritance in favour of their present comforts (Heb. 12:16). It is an exhortation that is always relevant.

Closing thought

Read Hebrews 10:32-39. We can live through great difficulties when we are sure about the ultimate outcome.

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10 questions to ask of new year’s resolutions

Here’s an article I’ve written for The Gospel Coalition website based on my book You Can Change. You Can Change is available here from amazon.com andamazon.co.uk.

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Why do mission? (again)

[image error]A couple of months ago I wrote a post entitled ‘Why do mission?‘ which is was adapted from my book Mission Matters. Here’s a rather different take on the question.

Ever since he was five years old, Steve Davies dreamed of playing for West Ham. He covered his bedroom walls with photos of West Ham players. He wore the shirt with pride and would travel to see the games as often as he could – even though this involved a 180-mile round trip from his home in Rushden.

Trevor Brooking was his hero. One day in 1980 he was watching West Ham at Upton Park when the ball flew toward him and he caught it. And it was Trevor Brooking who ran over to fetch it. Steve refused to throw it him and made Brooking come over to collect it so he could be close to his hero.

Steve went on to play amateur football for a pub team in Milton Keynes. “I was never really good enough, if I’m honest,” he says. And he was distracted by travelling to see West Ham home and away. “I’d get stuck in places like Sheffield,” he says, “and couldn’t get home, sleeping in empty stations.”

Then Steve married Kelly and in 1990 they had their first child, Chloe. Chloe was followed in 1993 by a boy whom they named Samuel Brooking after Steve’s hero, Trevor Brooking.

One day a friend, another West Ham fan, phoned Steve. “We’ve got a pre-season game over at Oxford – fancy it?” In was a summer’s night in 1994.

The West Ham manager at the time was Harry Redknapp. “Harry being Harry, he talks to people,” says Steve. “He said hello and all that. A few fans exchanged pleasantries. But there’s no airs and graces with Harry.”

Then the game kicked off. And West Ham’s star striker, Lee Chapman, is getting grief from the Oxford defenders. And so Steve gives him grief from the side-lines. Then he starts on Harry Redknapp. “We ain’t got that Lee Chapman up front do we – I ain’t coming every week if he’s playing.”

At half-time Redknapp had made five substitutions. But someone was injured and there’s no-one left to bring on. So Redknapp turns to Steve in the crowd and says, “Oi, can you play as good as you talk?” Suddenly Redknapp is walking Steve into the changing room. “What’s your name, son? What size boots are you?” Steve is kitted up and Chapman is taken off. “I thought Harry was having a laugh with me,’ says Steve. “I didn’t think I was actually gonna get on.”

But the second-half kicked off and he was out there on the pitch. “It was quick football,” he says. “This was a step up from Sunday league, to say the least.” He was out of his depth. After the first five minutes, his legs were shaking. He was playing for West Ham!

Then in the 71st minute, half an hour after being in the stands, swigging beer and smoking a cigarette, Steve gets the ball in front of goal. “I just hit it,” he says. The ball flew past the goalkeeper into the bottom corner and Steve set off in celebration. “It was like time stopped still – it was the greatest moment of my life,” says Steve.

The perfect end to the story. Or it might have been. In fact the referee blew for off-side and the goal was disallowed.

But for 45 minutes a fan go to play for his team.

Why get involved in mission? Asking that question is a bit like asking a football fan if they would like to play for their team! Why be a spectator when you can be involved. Why be a fan of Jesus when you can join him on the pitch?

The call to mission is an opportunity to get out your seat in the stadium and come to the pitch-side. At the front someone is going to ask you’re the missionary equivalent of the question, “What size boots do you wear?”

This story is adapted from Jeff Maysh, ‘The day Harry Redknapp brought a fan on to play for West Ham,’ The Guardian, 5 September 2013.

For more on world mission see my book Mission Matters which available from amazon.co.uk and amazon.com.

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Bible Reading Plan 2016

I’ve posted this Bible reading plan before. If you’ve been using it then you’ll be interested in postcard-sized weekly reading plan for 2016.

Here’s the complete three year plan. And here it is in Word so you can create your own handy version of it in the future.

If you’re not reading through the Bible then the approach of the new year is a good time to review your Bible reading habits. Here are a couple of old posts on why that would be a good idea – Hearing God Speak and Must I Read My Bible Every Day?

This plan has a number of differences from other plans.

1. Flexibility

The plan specifies a number of chapters for each week rather than for each day. This makes it more flexible. You can read a chapter or two each day or you can read it in two or three sittings. Or you can set out reading a chapter a day and then catch up at the weekend. It means it fits more readily around people’s lifestyle.

2. Communal

It is designed to be followed with a partner or among a group of people. There is only one section each week (occasionally two shorter books). So you don’t have to read a section from one book and then a section from another book each day. It means the sections are somewhat uneven, but it makes it easy to discuss what you have been reading when you meet up with other people.

We’ve been using it for a year now and it works very well in this way. I meet up with a friend each week for lunch. It’s easy for us to discuss what we’ve been reading because there is only one Bible book to focus on.

It also means I only need look at the Bible plan once a week – I don’t need to refer to it each day.

3. Realistic

Following this plan you read the OT in three years and the NT twice in three years. This works out at about nine chapters a week. It means you are not rushing through what you are reading to ‘get it done’. I’ve found with other plans I tend to read it with my mind disengaged. This plan gives time to meditate on the passage.

4. Balanced

The plan balances OT history, prophecy, wisdom, Gospel and Epistles throughout the year. You move between genres so you’re never faced with reading OT prophecy continuously for six months.

 

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We can’t be more generous than God

In a previous post I looked at the need to be generous if small churches are going to work together to plant churches. Looking at 2 Corinthians 8, we saw that we can’t be more sacrificial than God. Now in 2 Corinthians 9 we discover that we can’t be generous than God.

Look at 2 Corinthians 9:6-11. There is a danger that these verses misinterpreted as advocating some kind of prosperity gospel in which we earn blessings from God. The harvest Paul that promises here is a harvest of ‘righteousness’ (9:10).

But the prosperity gospel is not our danger! I suspect our danger is much more likely to be a functional deism in which we operate as if God is not present and active in a dynamic way in our lives and churches. So let’s take these promises seriously.

Look at verse 6: ‘Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.’ The imagery is clear: if you plant 100 bean seeds you’ll get a bigger harvest than if you plant 10. But there’s a straight-forward cause and effect between planting seeds and harvesting fruit.

It’s not so clear that the money you give to the poor in Jerusalem, the greater the harvest you will reap in Corinth. Unless, God promises to bless your giving. Unless, God is no man’s debtor. Unless, we can’t be more generous than God.

Look at how Paul goes on in verses 7-8: ‘Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.’

‘Every good work’ is literally ‘all good works’. So there are five ‘all’s in this verse: ‘all grace … all things … all times … all you need … all good works’. How would you like this to be true of your church? ‘In all things at all times, [we have] all that we need [so that we] abound in all good works.’

If you want that, then sow generously and give cheerfully. You cannot be more generous than God. When you sow generously, when you give cheerfully, God ‘makes all grace abound to you’. And what happens then? ‘You may abound in every good work.’

How do this work? I think we can identify some lines of cause and effect:

Generosity encourages generosity. Generosity in one area encourages generosity elsewhere because giving loosens the grip of wealth. A generous church creates a culture of generosity in which its members are generous.
People replace people. Churches often testify that, when they have sent people, others have come to replace them. But there’s a also a natural sense in which people leaving creates gaps for others to fill. It creates opportunities for people to step up.
Mission inspires mission. Involvement in mission leads to involvement in mission. It changes mindsets. It makes them missional. It encourages creativity. It gives courage.

These are the natural lines of cause and effect. But there is also something supernatural going on here. God is generous to those who are generous.

Look at verse 10: ‘Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.’ If you sow generously then God will give you more seed! And what do you do with seed? You sow generously.

Verse 11 is even more explicit: ‘You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.’ If you give generously then God will give generously to you so you can continue to give generously. He entrusts us with his resources. If we’re generous then he entrusts more – so that we can be more generous.

The economy of God

There’s almost a sense in which resources move backwards and forwards. In 8:14 Paul says: ‘At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.’ There’s a constant circulation of resources. My church gives to your church. Your church gives to another church. That church gives to my church. And we end up back where we started. And you’re tempted to say, Why bother? Why is the economy of God like this? Why this circulation of resources with everyone giving to everyone else? Three reasons to close:

Verse 13: It evokes God’s praise: ‘Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.’
Verse 14: It connects God’s people: ‘And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.’
Verse 15: It highlights God’s generosity: ‘Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!’ All the time we are remembering God’s generosity to us in Christ.

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The Word made flesh

Here’s a short advent video I made for the Keswick Ministries Facebook page

It’s based on a chapter of my book The One True Light.

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We can’t be more sacrificial than God

This is based on a talk I gave for Plant North Yorkshire.

How can churches in Europe, especially in rural areas, work together to plant churches in Europe when they themselves are so often few in number. In North Yorkshire most churches have fewer than 30 people in the congregation. Some are without pastors. None has what you might call a staff team. We don’t have congregations full of people with nothing to do or bank accounts full of cash with nothing to do. None of us can plant with feeling it – without a feeling of sacrifice.

So there are lots of reasons to leave the task of reaching North Yorkshire to other people. Or wait until our churches are bigger, stronger, richer. I think that’s a mistake. In fact, I think our churches won’t grow bigger, stronger, richer if we don’t own the task of reaching our country. If we turn inwards then we will become introverted and introverted churches wither and die. But if we look outwards then God will bless our endeavours.

It is, of course, easy to be generous in theory. The practice of partnering together to plant churches will involve some tough decisions. But I want to celebrate and reinforce this spirit of generosity by looking at 2 Corinthians 8-9.

Paul is raising money to relieve the poverty of the Jerusalem church. 2 Corinthians 8-9 are his fundraising appeal to the Corinthian church. We’re not raising money for the poor. But we are asking one another to give resources for mission – money, time and (perhaps hardest of all) people.

There is another point of connection. The Jerusalem Collection was controversial. So controversial that in Romans 15:30-32 Paul asks the Romans church to pray that it will be well-received: ‘I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray … that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favourably received by the Lord’s people there.’

Why might a gift to relieve poverty not be received favourably? The answer is that Paul sees it as a sign of unity between the Gentile and Jewish churches. Their welcome of the gift will be a sign that they welcome the givers as fellow brothers and sisters in the family of Christ. And that meant accepting Gentiles without them becoming Jewish. It was a sign of unity in justification by faith.

The point is that giving is not just giving. It binds us together. It creates relationship. Paul puts it beautifully in 1 Corinthians 9:14: ‘And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.’ It’s reflection of the words of Jesus: ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ (Matthew 6:21) Your hearts follows your giving. It gives you a personal investment in the partnership.

Giving fosters partnership. And partnering together is an expression of our unity in the gospel. That means we need to be willing to receive help as a sign of unity in the gospel. And it means we need to be willing to give help as a sign of unity in the gospel.

I was once phoned by someone asking for the names of our worship leaders. At that time, our worship leader was me on my guitar, but I suspected that was not what he had in mind! So asked him why he wanted the information. The answer was that he wanted to bring the worship leaders of the churches in our city together ‘for unity’. They would rehearse together and then lead an evening of worship ‘for unity’. I kept pressing him on what the point of this was and he kept saying ‘unity’. So feeling mischievous I said, ‘We don’t believe in unity.’ Paused. And then added, ‘We believe in co-operation’. My point is that co-operation implies working something together for a bigger goal. Our unity in Christ is expressed when we work together to reach the lost.

So let’s look at 2 Corinthians with this in mind. I want to focus on two sections.

We can’t be more sacrificial than God (8:1-9)

2 Corinthians 8 begins: ‘And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.’ (8:1) What is that ‘grace’? Verse 7 talks about ‘this grace of giving’ (8:7). The grace or the gift that God has give not the Macedonians is giving. Not simply, I think, the ability to gift, but also the opportunity to give. Giving itself is a gift from God.

But this is not just giving. This giving is sacrificial.

Look at verse 2. The Macedonians are giving ‘in the midst of a very severe trial’ and ‘their extreme poverty’. Extreme poverty is not a good context for generosity. Except that Paul says it is! It’s the ideal context for sacrificial generosity. Notice at his formula: joy + poverty = generosity. Giving without poverty is not true generosity because it’s not sacrificial.
Look at verse 3: ‘For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.’ That’s the definition of sacrificial giving: beyond our ability. Think what that means for church planting. It means giving time when there is plenty for you to do in your own church. It means giving people when there is plenty for them to do your church.
Look at verses 3-4: ‘Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.’ This is willing and unconstrained. They’re not waiting to be asked. Instead they’re the ones doing the asking – asking if they can give because they count partnership a privilege.

What creates this kind of behaviour? Look at verse 5: ‘And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.’ They didn’t have to decide to be generous – it was the natural consequence of a bigger decision: they had given themselves to the Lord and to his people.

How? Why? Here we come to the central point. Look at verse 9: ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.’

You cannot be more sacrificial than God. Sacrificial giving expresses, reinforces and reminds us of God’s sacrificial gift. This is why giving is ‘a grace’. Giving is a gift because every act of giving:

loosens the power of wealth over us
strengthens our satisfaction in God
reminds us God’s generosity to us

Verse 7 is ironic. Paul says: ‘But since you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.’ (NIV1984) The Corinthian was not short on confidence. Paul is about to address the super-apostles who boasted in their faith, speech, knowledge and so on. They thought of themselves as super-spiritual Christians. So Paul says, ‘If you really excel then you will excel in giving.’ Their danger is that they full of their own abilities – and no doubt they were very able – but they were missing the point.

A gospel church is more than an orthodox church which reads the right books, sings the right songs and has the right kind of preaching. A true gospel church a sacrificial church because at the heart of the gospel is the sacrifice of Christ.

We’re called to be sacrificial. But we can’t be more sacrificial than God.

In a future post we’ll look at 2 Corinthians 9 and see that we can’t be more generous than God.

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The Glory of the Story Sample: Day 104 – Introducing Jacob

Over the coming year I’m going to post some extracts from The Glory of the Story , my father’s devotional introduction to biblical theology in the form of 366 daily readings which show how the Old Testament story is fulfilled in Christ. The Glory of the Story is available as a Kindle book for $2.99 from amazon.com and £1.99 from amazon.co.uk. All the extracts will be from the chaper on the story of Jacob and I’ll usually post them on the first Monday of the month.

The story of Jacob begins in Genesis 25 with the crucial, story-shaping prophecy given to Rebekah, ‘the older [Esau] will serve the younger’ [Jacob]. Jacob’s story then follows a similar pattern to that of Abraham. Both have an early encounter with the Lord, followed by struggles which call for the exercise of faith and which involve long periods of waiting. While Abraham’s story revolves around the promise of a son, Jacob’s revolves around the promise of God’s presence and protection. After his encounter with God at Bethel come twenty long years of service for Laban’s daughters (31:41). Then follows his life-changing experience at Peniel. Jacob is renamed ‘Israel’ and finally reconciled to Esau.

Another thirty years pass before the family moves to Egypt and Jacob is reunited with his favourite son, Joseph. It is a period of human frailty, evident in favouritism, sibling rivalry, hatred and murder. But it is also a time of God’s gracious providence working despite, and sometimes through, such frailties. It is, of course, God’s intention to bring the chosen family under foreign domination until Canaan is ripe for possession (Gen. 15:13-16). So this present chapter leaves us marvelling at the overarching sovereignty of God.

But what about the longer term future? In Genesis 12 God begins to forge a chain of redemption, the last link of which is Jesus (Matt. 1:1-17). According to Matthew the first three links in the chain are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We might have expected the fourth would be Joseph, but surprisingly (to us) the covenant line continues through his brother, Judah.

Closing Thought

Take heart from the fact that when Jacob thinks everything is against him (Gen. 42:36), everything is in fact, working for his good (Rom. 8:28).

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Preaching biblical narrative

How can we turn biblical narrative into sermons and still retain a sense of the story?

This following material provides some simple techniques. It assumes a Christ-centred gospel hermeneutic. In particular, it assumes you have asked the question, Why? Why does the author say this? Why does he say it here? Why does he say it in this way? What response does he want from his readers? How does he aim to elicit this response?

This material focuses instead on creating sermon outlines and headings.

1. Creating an outline

Here are three approaches to creating an outline for sermons on biblical narratives:

1. Plot

2. Characters

3. Literary features or biblical allusions

1.1 Plot

Identify the key moments in the narrative. Plots often follow the pattern: equilibrium – tension – resolution (perhaps with a new equilibrium). But there may be other ways of breaking up the narrative. The paragraphing in our translations may offer some pointers. The movement between action and dialogue may also help highlight the key moments in the narrative. There may be a chiastic structure.

Summarise what is happening at each stage in the narrative and the overall message of the story. Use this to create an outline.

Example: Plot-based outlines for Mark 6:30-44

1. Jesus provided rest for his disciples (30-32)

2. Jesus provided bread for the crowd (33-44)

OR

1. Not enough (30-38)

2. Enough (39-42)

3. More than enough (43-44)

1.2 Characters

Identify the key characters in the narrative. Summarise the stance or contribution each character makes to the narrative. Or summarise the perspective or attitude they represent or exemplify. Use this to create an outline.

Example: A character-based outline for Mark 6:30-44

1. The people were in need

2. The disciples could not provide

3. Jesus could provide

1.3 Literary features or biblical allusions

Look for literary features or biblical allusions in the narrative. These might include:

repeated words or phrases
repeated imagery
repeated narrative patterns (like reversals or contrasts)
editorial comments or explanations
significant names or locations
inclusio (when a section is starts and finishes in a similar way)
sandwiches (when one narrative is contained within another so they mutually interpret one another)
quotes from other parts of the Bible
allusions to, or echoes of, previous stories in the biblical narrative
Identify a prominent repeated literary feature or repeated biblical allusions. summarise how each example functions within the narrative. Use this to create an outline.

Example: An allusion-based outline for Mark 6:30-44

1. Jesus is the new Moses (Exodus 16)

2. Jesus is the new Elisha (2 Kings 4:42-44)

3. Jesus is the new David (Ezekiel 34)

4. Jesus is the divine Shepherd (Psalm 23)

2. Creating headings for sermons on biblical stories

Use the section summaries you have created from plot, characters or literary features to create sermon headings. To form a bridge between the biblical narrative and your hearers create headings that are immediately descriptive of your hearers by doing the following:

1. Replace names with first person plural pronouns or generic terms

2. Replace the past tense with the present tense

2.1 Replace names with first person plural pronouns

Your summarises are likely to refer to the key characters in the narrative. Replace their names with first person plural pronouns – we, us, our.

E.g. God rescued Daniel -> God rescued us

You could also uses generic words and phrases like ‘the world’, ‘God’s people,’ ‘our enemies’ or ‘mediator’:

the crowd -> the world
the Israelites -> God’s people
the Philistines -> our enemies
Moses -> our mediator

2.2 Replace the past tense with the present tense

Your summarises are likely to be in the past tense because they are summaries of what happened in the past.

Both English and Greek often use what is called the ‘historic present’ in which we use the present tense to refer to past events in a lively way. E.g. We might say, ‘Paul says in Romans 8 …’ (present tense) instead of ‘Paul said in Romans 8 …’ (past tense). You can exploit the ‘historic present’ to write headings that simultaneously describe events in the narrative (in the past) and the situation of your hearers (in the present).

So create headings in the present tense, switching from the past tense if necessary.

E.g. God heard Daniel’s prayer -> God hears our prayers

Example: headings for Mark 6:30-44

1. We face a needy world (The people were in need)

2. We are needy people facing a needy world (The disciples could not provide)

3. We are empowered by a mighty Saviour (Jesus could provide)

Summary

1. Take a biblical story and identify sermon outlines using each of the following:

plot
character
literary features or biblical allusions

2. Convert your summaries into headings:

using first person plural pronouns or generic terms
in the present tense

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Review from The Church Times

I enjoyed this review of The One True Light from The Church Times:

The One True Light is by Tim Chester, who is a pastor at Grace Church, Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire. Judging by the ten commendations on the cover, he is a noted figure in the independent Evangelical movement. He is apparently “insightful” and “thoroughly biblical”. Church Times readers should not be put off. This is a splendid book, full of — yes — “insights”, theologically orthodox, but imaginative and often deeply moving. His daily reflections, a verse at a time, are followed by passages for meditation culled from a wonderfully rich spectrum — medieval Roman Catholic, traditional hymns, modern worship songs, and even the Book of Common Prayer. I have never read any of his 40 or so books, but it was a joy to encounter an author one can truthfully describe as a catholic Evangelical.

The One True Light is available here from thinkivp. It’s not yet available in the US.

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