Restitutio

This is now our third and last episode in our series on work.  We’ve talked about the Christian work ethic and honorable work (i.e., what sorts of jobs Christians should shoot for as well as avoid) and now today we are talking about work’s opposite: rest.  This is a really important topic to consider.  Listen in to the discussion with Sean Finnegan, Rose Rider, and Sean Kelly as we talk about the crazy pace of American life today as well as why we need to take breaks each day, each week, and each year.  What is the Sabbath?  Should Christians keep the Sabbath?  How can we lead balanced lives?  

What do you believe about hospitality?  The scriptures lay out three major kinds: (1) hospitality to the saints; (2) hospitality to the needy; (3) hospitality to the unbeliever.  As it turns out showing hospitality is an important Christian practice, even if it takes courage to invite others into our houses.  In our present age, hospitality just might be the secret the church has been looking for to reach out to others with God’s grace and love.  For example, when a pastor invited over Rosaria Butterfield, a lesbian, feminist, vegetarian, English professor, she was able to begin seeing through the negative hype about bible-believing Christians and started on a journey that ultimately led to her conversion.

Picking up where we left off last week, we continue discussing the Christian work ethic and, in particular, delve into Max Weber’s “Protestant work ethic” hypothesis.  Next Rose shares about her own career path, including graduating with a 4.0 in graphic design and her two year struggle to find a career job.  After that, we looked at three criteria for honorable work: Does your job require you to sin? Are you contributing to something that causes harm? Is it dishonest work? If you can say, “No,” to each of these, then you’re in good shape.  However, considering that the most common jobs in America are retail salespersons, cashiers, food preparers, and office clerks, all of which pay well under the mean wage, how should a Christian feel about such work?  We talk about how we have to be careful to find our identity in Christ rather than in our job, no matter how well or poorly it pays.  Drawing on the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi we talked about ideal jobs that produce enjoyment, enable a team mindset, and better our world.  Last of all, we addressed how we as Christians should think about unemployment.

This is now the third in a series of messages related to monotheism.  Having established that the Father of Jesus is the only true God (John 17.3), we must be careful not denigrate or demote Jesus in any way.  He is the perfect one who lived without sin and courageously faced death on behalf of all of us.  In this message, John Cortright shares what the scriptures say about talking with Jesus.  His full notes are available online here.

What is the Christian work ethic?  What does the bible say about work?  Join Rose Rider, Sean Finnegan, and Daniel Fitzsimmons for an honest conversation about how the biblical understanding of work challenges us.  Leaning on Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, as well as the epistles of Paul, they share how work is God’s gift to us, that we should take pleasure in it, and that we should work hard regardless of who’s watching.

by Sean Finnegan The Shema has been the core creed of Judaism from the time of Moses to today.  It stands as an immovable witness to God’s identity as well as our proper relation to him.  Even though Jesus confessed the Shema, most Christians today aren’t familiar with it.  This is because after the New Testament age, under the influence of Greek philosophy Christian thinking metastasized into Trinitarian dogma, scorning its native Hebrew context in the process.  Eventually, “Yahweh” became “Lord” and “one” became “three in one” and the church became estranged from the bible’s legacy of unitarianism.  This led to persecuting Jews and Christian monotheists.  Listen in to this message about the Shema to find out how to stay true to the bible’s teaching about God’s identity. Notes:   Deuteronomy 6:4 This verse begins the passage known as “the Shema.” Shema Yisrael, Yahweh eloheinu, Yahweh echad Hear, O Israel: Yahweh [is] our God, Yahweh [is] one Deuteronomy 6:5 Not only is God one, but we are to love Him with everything we have, including all our heart, all our soul, and all our might. These are more than just words on a page for Jews. It’s what they die for, what they live for. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 Jews say the Shema each morning and night in obedience to this command. The Shema is not a silent belief but something spoken aloud daily. Deuteronomy 6:8 For prayer, Jews wear tefillin, small black leather boxes with scrolls in them. Deuteronomy 6:9 On Jewish homes all around the world you can find mezuzah, small decorative cases hung on their door posts containing scrolls. Deuteronomy 6:10-15 Sadly, Israel did forget God’s commands, and they did worship other gods, which resulted in their exile from the Promised Land. However, after they returned, they remembered. How do we process this as Christians? We must look to Christ and see what he said about this idea. Did he accept it, reject it, or change it? Mark 12:28-34 Jesus and the scribe completely agree on who God is. “He is one, and there is no one else besides him.” Jesus knows the Shema and endorses it. What about you?

Who determines truth?  Is there such a thing as objective truth or are all claims subjective in nature?  Join Rose Rider, Daniel Fitzsimmons, and Sean Finnegan as they discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly about relativism before bringing in a biblical perspective to help you think through this critical issue.

by Vince Finnegan From Exodus and Deuteronomy, God makes clear who he is and how he wants his chosen people to worship him.  He is Yahweh, the one God of Israel, the only one.  His identity does not change.  Sadly, later on God became the victim of identity theft, as Christians developed the dogma of the Trinity and substituted three for one.  Now is the time to repent of this egregious act of hubris and return to how God defines himself.  He is the only one who is truly God who reigns supreme over all, even Jesus.  Join Vince Finnegan (my dad) as he teaches with boldness and conviction in a message that is sure to fire you up! Notes: Exodus 6:1-8 The revealing of YAHWEH as Almighty God. YAHWEH is the proper name of the one true God. The manner in which God led Israel out of the bondage of Egypt showed them that YAHWEH is God. Exodus 7:4 and 5, 14-17; 8:10, 22 This incredible event also showed the Egyptians and the entire world that YAHWEH is God. God’s salvation for Israel and His judgment on Egypt is how He revealed His Identity. Exodus 16:1-14 The manna from heaven revealed that He was YAHWEH their God. Exodus 20:1-7 After making clear His identity as YAHWEH their God, He gave commandment that there were to be no other gods before Him. Deuteronomy is a recapitulation of what was communicated in Exodus to their fathers. Moses therefore repeated, and also more largely explained; to which are likewise added several particular laws, instructions, and directions. The time frame addressed is the fortieth year, eleventh month when Israel was in the wilderness. Deuteronomy 1:6-8, 10, 30-40 The people Moses addressed in the book of Deuteronomy are the children of those who went into the wilderness. Only two of the millions went into the Promised Land. All the rest died in the wilderness, primarily because they refused to believe that YAHWEH was the one true God. They held onto the false gods of Egypt. During the years they lived in Egypt (about 210), everyone believed in the many gods of Egypt. The reason God selected the ten plagues was it directly challenged the gods of Egypt. Everyone they (Israel) knew believed in these gods. For them to believe in YAHWEH, a monotheistic God, would have made them outcasts or weird. Everyone believed in polytheistic gods. Moses is declaring YAHWEH as Almighty God to a people who have experienced His supernatural intervention all their lives fire by night, cloud by day, manna, Mount Horeb, angel leading them, etc. Deuteronomy 2:29, 31, 33, and 36; 3:2, 3, 18, 21-26 “YAHWEH” is used 439 times in Deuteronomy; “YAHWEH YOUR GOD,” 239; and “YAHWEH OUR GOD,” 21 times. “YAHWEH” is used 1,555 times in the books of Genesis to Deuteronomy. Christians who witness tell new people to read the gospel of John to learn about God. It is no wonder that so many people think Jesus is God because the emphasis is placed on Jesus with the exclusion of God. Thus, many followers of Christ are ignorant of the information YAHWEH provided about Himself. It is absolutely impossible to understand the Son without first knowing the Father. Deuteronomy 4:23 and 24, 35-39; 5:6-10; 6:4 and 5; 7:9-11; 10:17-21 YAHWEH wants to be identified and worshiped. Malachi 3:5-7 YAHWEH does not change. He is Who He is and has always been. His identity did not change with the birth of His Son. 5,789 times, YAHWEH is used in the Old Testament, and not once is there the slightest indication that He is three in one. Contrariwise is the powerfully empathic communication that YAHWEH IS ONE. Yet, the commonly accepted belief of most Christians is the Trinity dogma of the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. Ezekiel 25:17; 36:22-32; 39:7-10, 22 In Exodus, God’s wrath against Egypt and His salvation for Israel showed the world that He was YAHWEH. So it will

Have you ever struggled to interpret the bible?  Although many today think only professionals who are trained in seminaries can understand the bible, the truth is that every reader is a theologian to some degree.  The moment you pick up the book and begin reading, you also begin interpreting what you read.  The only question is: are you going to be a good theologian or a bad one?  Join Jerry Wierwille as he explains some of the key strategies you can use to understand scripture accurately.  He also covers some of the common pitfalls to avoid.  For more information about Wierwille, visit his website at jerrywierwille.com.

Last week I attended a youth camp in Indiana called FUEL.  They assigned me the text on the Prodigal Son (Luke 15).  As I pondered and prayed how I should approach this powerful parable, I sensed God wanted me to interweave my own story in with the prodigal.  As a result, I decided to share my testimony in an honest and raw way.  The next day, John Guthrie wrote this summary, which I felt well-encapsulated my message: Pastor Sean Finnegan used the Parable of the Prodigal Son as a jumping off point to tell his personal “prodigal son story.” Sean, the son of a pastor, seriously strayed from God when he first attended college. Sean spoke of his several serious addictive behaviors that led to situations that could have very well killed him. His addiction to video games was primarily the cause of his academic dismissal after only 2 semesters of college. His dad was furious at this news and told Sean he was a loser (which he acknowledged he was). He sank even further into trouble when he renewed his connections with former high school friends. His mom insisted he go to a community college, but he continued his destructive behavior which led to poor academic performance again. Like the prodigal son of Luke 15, Sean finally “came to himself.” He finally realized how out of control he was. And so, one night, he cried out to the God of his youth, “save me,” and if he would, Sean would live for Him. In spite of what may have been the wrong attitude, God did save him and Sean literally woke up a new man. He found new friends, went back to community college, learned how to study, and his grades were almost all A’s. He eventually had his way paid to attend RPI where he graduated with a 3.9 GPA in engineering. He asked us to access where we were in our spiritual journey. He hoped some could learn from his story and not follow the wrong path that he had taken. He shared Romans 10.9 and asked that those who had not yet decided to follow Christ might consider that. He asked, “Why not tonight?”