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South Fellowship Church

Week 06

Red Couch Theology

Sermon Conversations with Alex and Aaron

There’s only so much we can cover in a Sunday morning gathering!
Each week, you’re invited to tune into our podcast at 11 am on Thursdays – recorded (and sometimes prerecorded) for later, online viewing.

What can you expect? Pastors Alex, Aaron, and the occasional guest having a casual conversation, diving deeper into ideas related to last Sunday’s teaching.

Ask Questions about the Sermon Series, Out of the Ordinary – “The Extraordinary in an Ordinary World”
by texting 720-316-3893 prior to, or during the “LIVE” Thursday podcast.

Blog sites:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCWnNSTN-6XA7oYy6TBfS0LAxqxPvxVjH

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/guys-drinking-tea/id1616539767

Red Couch Theology2023-07-18T13:52:02-06:00

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, August 3

Introduction: For hundreds of years many Christian traditions have read passages of scripture using a tool called a lectionary. During this ordinary season, our devotional team decided to resource you with selections from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Source: the Revised Common Lectionary Year A

(Note. If you desire to read these passages in a different version of the Bible, this link will provide all the readings for week 6 in ESV in Bible Gateway where you may also choose other versions of these passages.)

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
13:31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;

13:32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;

13:46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;

13:48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.

13:49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous

13:50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

13:51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.”

13:52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Application:  In today’s passage in Matthew Jesus provides many word pictures of the kingdom of heaven. Here is a painting by Rembrandt depicting one man’s discovery of an extremely valuable treasure. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal a portion of his hidden spiritual riches to you today.

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, August 32023-06-16T16:08:35-06:00

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, August 2

Introduction: For hundreds of years many Christian traditions have read passages of scripture using a tool called a lectionary. During this ordinary season, our devotional team decided to resource you with selections from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Source: the Revised Common Lectionary Year A

(Note. If you desire to read these passages in a different version of the Bible, this link will provide all the readings for week 6 in ESV in Bible Gateway where you may also choose other versions of these passages.)

Romans 8:26-39
8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

8:27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.

8:30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

8:31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

8:32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

8:34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Application: Today’s passage is a favorite for many. The Spirit indeed helps us in our weakness, especially when we remember the unseen world around us.
Meditate on the supremacy of Jesus and the power of his Holy Spirit inside you as you pray this prayer:

O sovereign God,
in Jesus Christ you set your holy reign upon this earth and within your people.
So let its coming be like the mustard seed that grows into greatness,
and like the leaven that mixes with the grain until the whole becomes greater,
to the praise of the triune God, who lives forevermore. Amen.

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, August 22023-06-16T16:08:03-06:00

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, August 1

Introduction: For hundreds of years many Christian traditions have read passages of scripture using a tool called a lectionary. During this ordinary season, our devotional team decided to resource you with selections from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Source: the Revised Common Lectionary Year A

(Note. If you desire to read these passages in a different version of the Bible, this link will provide all the readings for week 6 in ESV in Bible Gateway where you may also choose other versions of these passages.)

1 Kings 3:5-12
3:5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.”

3:6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today.

3:7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

3:8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.

3:9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”

3:10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

3:11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,

3:12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.

Psalm 119:129-136
119:129 Your decrees are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them.

119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.

119:131 With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.

119:132 Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your custom toward those who love your name.

119:133 Keep my steps steady according to your promise, and never let iniquity have dominion over me.

119:134 Redeem me from human oppression, that I may keep your precepts.

119:135 Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.

119:136 My eyes shed streams of tears because your law is not kept.

Application: Today’s passage in I Kings reveals a young, humble King Solomon asking for all the right things from God as he begins his reign.
Humble yourself before God as if you were just beginning your walk with him by singing along with this hymn.

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, August 12023-06-16T16:07:18-06:00

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, July 31

Introduction: For hundreds of years many Christian traditions have read passages of scripture using a tool called a lectionary. During this ordinary season, our devotional team decided to resource you with selections from the Revised Common Lectionary. You will encounter texts from the Psalms, the Prophets, and the New Testament as well as formal prayers.

Source: the Revised Common Lectionary Year A

(Note. If you desire to read these passages in a different version of the Bible, this link will provide all the readings for week 6 in ESV in Bible Gateway where you may also choose other versions of these passages.)

 

Genesis 29:15-28
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”

29:16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

29:17 Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful.

29:18 Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

29:19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”

29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

29:21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.”

29:22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast.

29:23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.

29:24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.)

29:25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”

29:26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country–giving the younger before the firstborn.

29:27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”

29:28 Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

 

Psalm 105:1-11, 45b
105:1 O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.

105:2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.

105:3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

105:4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually.

105:5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

105:6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

105:7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

105:8 He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

105:9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,

105:10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

105:11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”

105:45b Praise the LORD!

 

Psalm 128
128:1 Happy is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways.

128:2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

128:4 Thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.

128:5 The LORD bless you from Zion. May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

128:6 May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

 

Application:  Today’s passage in Genesis describes Laban giving his beautiful and youngest daughter as wages for Jacob’s excellent work. As an unexpected bonus, Laban awarded Jacob his oldest daughter first. It was not a pleasant surprise. Here is an artist’s depiction of the scene where Jacob confronts Laban.

Have you had a similar unpleasant surprise? When you read the above Psalms, ask God to change your perspective about your situation.

The Lectionary for Ordinary Times, July 312023-06-16T16:09:02-06:00

Red Couch Theology

Sermon Conversations with Alex and Aaron

There’s only so much we can cover in a Sunday morning gathering!
Each week, you’re invited to tune into our podcast at 11 am on Thursdays – recorded (and sometimes prerecorded) for later, online viewing.

What can you expect? Pastors Alex, Aaron, and the occasional guest having a casual conversation, diving deeper into ideas related to last Sunday’s teaching.

Ask Questions about the Sermon Series, Between You and Me – “Abiding in Hope (of The Promise)”
by texting 720-316-3893 prior to, or during the “LIVE” Thursday podcast.

Blog sites:

Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCWnNSTN-6XA7oYy6TBfS0LAxqxPvxVjH

Apple Podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/guys-drinking-tea/id1616539767

Red Couch Theology2023-05-20T12:33:52-06:00

As Good as Dead — Life in Small Spaces

We’ve been examining Romans 4 and how having children (or not) affects our sense of hope for a fruitful future. Today’s aspect of that future is old age and death.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Romans 4:19-21 ESV

For various reasons, people of faith might lose heart when facing advanced age: with no children to provide them with a sure legacy or safety net should they fall into a dependent or debilitating condition. How can someone in that situation avoid despair? Let’s first consider the elderly widow Anna, featured here when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple with them:

There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having been married to her husband for seven years until his death. She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment, she came up to them and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38 NET

Although this event highlights Anna’s holy occupation, I’ve often wondered where she ate and slept.  Did she sleep in a small space or even outdoors? Was she viewed as an outcast?

This brings me to the topic of elderly, and/or incapacitated people living in small spaces in facilities called “assisted living” or “nursing homes”. Since I’ve observed my mother and mother-in-law in those facilities, I comprehend why many people dread them. They are usually a final destination for the “good as dead”. What if you face such a destiny? How should you prepare?

I remember Gladyce who turned her last days on earth in my mother’s Nebraska nursing home into a holy occupation. Gladyce married late, her husband passed away, and she had no children. When she was in her mid 80s, she could no longer walk or live alone because of a hip issue. She had been a Christian for many years, and her determination to make the most of the rest of her life was undeniable.

Gladyce chose to share her small, sparsely furnished room with a blind lady who needed her company. Gladyce had also organized a dining room group (of other elderly women living in the facility, whose minds were still sharp), leading daily discussions of current events and faith topics. Those discussions eased the boredom that sets in after entering such an environment.

Gladyce also kept a stash of trinkets and candy for children. When my 5 year old daughter accompanied me for visits with my mother, she’d make a beeline to Gladyce’s room for a long chat. Other residents reached out, desperate to touch my daughter, but Gladyce’s thoughtful plans drew my child to her.

Application:

Although those such as Anna and Gladyce who are in the habit of praying for and giving to others are never “as good as dead”, not every elderly person with no spouse or children has developed a servant heart like Anna or Gladyce. Some, like my mother, suffer from dementia or other conditions that severely diminish capabilities they once exhibited.

Let’s guard against increasing cultural pressures to view the elderly or incapacitated (including ourselves) as excess baggage or “as good as dead” Take a look at present and oncoming pressures to end seemingly unproductive lives. Ask Jesus to search your heart and show you his mind on these matters. This long article tracing the evolution of Canada’s MAID law alongside official church views of the law may inform that search. This map shows the advance of those ideas in the U.S.

As Good as Dead — Life in Small Spaces2023-05-20T12:14:53-06:00

Being Sure of What We Hope For

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead–since he was about a hundred years old–and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:18-22 NIV

Hope – such an important concept in our Christian walk. Abraham was given an incredible promise to be made into a nation, while he and Sarah were both childless and way beyond the normal age for conceiving and carrying a child. I am sure this first promise given by God in Genesis 12:2-3 gave this childless couple hope, but it also had to be quite a shock because Abraham was 75 and Sarah was 65 at that time.

It is important to keep in mind that within the culture Abraham and Sarah lived, a woman who was unable to have children was scorned, ridiculed, and mistreated. She would have endured this sort of treatment her entire adult life.

My husband and I were not able to conceive when we wanted to either; it took us four years to have our first child, so I know a little of the hopelessness that Sarah and Abraham must have felt. But I was not childless for very long. Sarah was 90 when she became pregnant with Isaac. It can be extremely overwhelming to think about wishing for a child, being promised a child, then waiting another 25 years for that child to be born.

God reaffirmed His promise to Abraham several times: in Genesis 12:7; He made a covenant with him in Genesis 15:5-21, God confirmed the covenant in Genesis 17:4-8 and changed their names to foreshadow it. He made the promise again in Genesis 18:18-19, and in Genesis 22:17-18. God confirmed the promise of becoming a great nation to Isaac in Genesis 26:2-4, to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15, 35:11-12, 46:3, and to Moses in Exodus 3:6-8.

Hope – what it is: Hebrews 11:1-2 says,

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

In Romans 4:18 Paul says that Abraham had this kind of hope. He believed God would do what He said He would do. He had hope in the promise of God. Hope means to trust, believe, have faith in what God said that He would do, He will do. What about you? Do you have hope in God’s promises? Has God made a promise to you that has not yet been fulfilled? Do you need God to remind you of a promise He already made to you? If you want to do a deeper study on hope I found this article on hope to be helpful:  https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/hope/ I find this hymn a good reminder of where our hope lies: https://youtu.be/QvBlrooUszQ

Being Sure of What We Hope For2023-05-20T11:31:37-06:00

Faith Couple

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Romans 4:16–17

I went to several Christian camps while in high school. During one of those experiences, the speaker asked us to write down what we wanted someone to say about us at our funeral. It sounds morbid, but it was meant to help us think about the kind of life that would produce a beautiful eulogy. I don’t recall everything
I wrote that day, but the idea stuck with me. Now, I have children, and much of my life’s legacy is wrapped up in them. I long for them to grow up to know and love God. I want them to discover and use their gifts to better the world.

Imagine if God had spoken to you and told you that your children would become a nation that would bless the world. That is what happened to Abraham and Sarah. Paul acknowledges that reality but extends the idea beyond Abrahams’s biological descendants. Paul tells us in this passage that Abraham’s true children are those who are of the Faith.

Even if you don’t have children, we all long to make a mark on the world. Paul is telling us that we can. Our faith and the faith we encourage in others is the true goal of life. For many of us, that will manifest in how we parent and transfer our faith to our kids. For others of us, it will look different, but the point is that God wants us to have an offspring of faith. That is a calling that anyone can participate in, whether you are a parent, empty nester, or single.

Might God be asking you to inspire faith within special persons? How might you invest your life in others so their faith becomes part of your legacy?

Faith Couple2023-05-20T10:16:31-06:00

Impossible Promise

A few years ago, I was in Paris enjoying one of my favorite activities, window shopping. Strolling in a neighborhood with many small and interesting stores, one display caught my eye. In this window was a beautiful nesting doll, a symbol of fertility in Russia. Normally, I’m used to seeing these dolls with just a few pieces nesting inside –- perhaps 5 to 8. The doll in this window must have had well over 60 pieces, which is many more than I could have imagined possible.
This elaborate and intricate work of art seems to be a fitting metaphor for the promise God gave Abraham and Sarah, a promise they didn’t have the power to imagine. It’s also a way to expand our understanding of the promises God gives to us.

God had promised Abraham and Sarai not only a son, but a much bigger family. That family would be more numerous than the stars in the sky, blessed by a covenant that would cover descendants generation after generation:

God took him outside and said, “Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You’re going to have a big family, Abram!” Genesis 15:5 MSG

How many of us can relate to the amazement and hope Abraham must have felt when God gave him the promise of a child? There is something so powerful and compelling about having children. In Abraham and Sarah’s time, children were tied closely to social status and security — to be childless was to be vulnerable. While the social norms are different for us, the hope and longing is familiar. Having children guarantees sleepless nights and up close and personal encounters with challenges that range from messy to heartbreaking, yet that’s not enough to dissuade generation after generation to take the plunge.

The promise of a son for Abraham and Sarah was so riveting, in fact, that they were tempted to make having children an end in itself. In their case, their longing for a child year after year turned into taking matters into their own hands. Sarah, impatient with waiting to become pregnant, had Abraham sleep with her maidservant Hagar. While we may not immediately be able to relate to that twist in the story of Abraham and Sarah, it’s not hard, for me at least, to understand their actions. I often made my children into the be all and end all. My children and their well being have, at times, become the most important thing I was living for. Perhaps others can relate to this as well. It’s common for people to feel adrift and empty at the end of child raising, as if God’s purpose for their usefulness has ended with that phase of life. It’s as if we received and opened a beautiful nesting doll from God and then closed a chapter of our story. Whatever our story, we too may be able to relate to fiercely wanting a gift from God, and then getting so wrapped up, getting exactly what we want, that we lose perspective.

Back to the 60 plus layer nesting doll I saw in that Paris shop. Imagine receiving that doll as a gift and beginning to unpack the layers — one after another after another. That’s what God’s promise of descendants to Abraham and to us, through faith, is like. Just like Abraham and Sarah, we want to focus on what’s easy to understand and expect — at least one or two, maybe three or four children. God has so much more for us. If you have never had children, if you are hoping for children who have not yet come, or have raised them and now contemplate a new season in life, God’s promise to us is so much bigger than we can grasp or imagine. He promises to bless many through our faith, and there is no limit in time or circumstance when He can work through us.

Application

Imagine receiving a beautiful nesting doll from God and beginning to unpack the layers inside. How has God worked through you to bring a blessing to “descendants” — literal or figurative? What season are you in at the moment? Is it full of promise for children or are those days for you reaching an end? Did you hope for a season of children that has not come yet or that you were not at all able to experience? Pray for wisdom and faith to see how God can expand your vision of His promises and work through you whatever your circumstances or life stage.

Impossible Promise2023-05-20T09:49:15-06:00
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