Good morning…number of items to share with you this week:
First, as I mentioned on Sunday, we’ve put together a brief survey to allow folks to give us some feedback regarding the vision. We (the elders) are eager to get the ball rolling on it but would like some guidance as to where we might begin. You can participate in the survey by going to the church website (www.andrewsbridge.com) and clicking on the survey link halfway down the page, or just click here.
If you would prefer, we will have paper copies of the survey available as well…just see me. We hope to give a vision update in May!
Secondly, thank you to everyone who was able to greet and visit with Thomas and LeAnn Derr on Sunday. We are looking forward to having the Derrs join us again on May 5th!
Finally, this Sunday we will be looking at the relationship between David and Saul’s son Jonathan on Sunday. Here is 1 Samuel 18:1 in a couple of different translations:
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. (NIV)
After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David. (NLT)
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (ESV)
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (KJV)
Some folks believe that the wording of this verse implies that the relationship between Jonathan and David was sexual in nature. They will then claim that the story of these two men shows that the Bible approves of homosexuality. This interpretation, which I believe is completely false, has been around for a long while, but has gained popularity over the past two decades. Enough popularity that I feel I should address it here.
So why do I believe this is false? Let’s start by focusing on the “big picture” and narrow it down from there.
As much as some folks would like to think this isn’t the case, the Bible consistently teaches that any sexual relationship or activity outside of the one man/one woman/married for life parameters is outside of the will of God and therefore sin (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Colossians 3:5).
It is often pointed out that Jesus never directly condemns homosexuality, but that is very misleading. The Bible doesn’t record Jesus directly condemning many sinful activities during His earthly ministry. Rather, during His earthly ministry He went straight to the heart issues and intensified the commands against immoral behavior found in the Old Testament.
For example, Jesus doesn’t just condemn adultery as one of the Ten Commandments does. Jesus condemns even the lust that leads to adultery.
If we narrow our study down a bit to just David’s story it becomes quite clear that David sought physical intimacy with women, not men. In fact, David sought way too much physical intimacy with women. It got him nothing but grief and heartache as an adult, especially in his late adulthood.
If we narrow our study again to just 1 Samuel 18:1, we find that the Hebrew word that gets translated as “love” is aheb. Aheb has a broad range of meanings and is found in many instances in the Old Testament. For example, aheb is used to describe our love for God (Exodus 20:6), and loving one’s neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18). It is also used to describe treating foreigners well (Leviticus 19:34) and sharing friendship (Job 19:19). What it is NEVER used to describe is physical intimacy between two men or two women. When that activity is being described the Hebrew word that is used is yada.
I can’t end it without saying this: Homosexuality is not an unpardonable sin. It is the same as any other type of sexual sin, including the heterosexual ones. Christ can forgive and change those caught in the sin of homosexuality just as well those ensnared in adultery or pornography. This makes any form of hatred or prejudice or “gay bashing” very inappropriate for followers of Christ.
Here’s what’s happening:
- There will be a drive-in movie night at the church on Friday 4/19, starting at 7:45 pm. Rain date is 4/26. Refreshments provided! Movie is “Facing the Giants.”
- The Senior High Youth meet this Sunday at 6:30 pm at the church. Weather permitting, we hope to have a fun night involving slinging “stones” at Goliath’s head and roasting s’mores over a campfire! We’ll wrap things up around 8 pm.
- Men’s Breakfast is on Saturday 4/27 at 8 am at Hometown Kitchen. This will be the last breakfast for the spring. We will start the breakfasts again in September.
- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is in the evening on 4/28. If you are participating, you should have received your instructions for the meal on Sunday. Please see Mary Lois Kreider or Becky Myers with any questions.
- “Meet the Derrs” Sunday for the youth will be on 5/5. Thomas will be giving his testimony during the morning worship service. After the service all of the youth and their parents are invited to head downstairs for lunch. Please bring a hot and a cold dish to share. We’ll have lunch together and then have a time of “Q &A” with Thomas and LeAnn. We’ll look to wrap things up by 1pm.
- We could use some help maintaining the flower beds around the church property this spring/summer/fall. If this is something you would be willing to help with, please see Gary Barrett.
We all have moments in life where you realize that things won’t ever be the same again. Sometimes those moments are full of joy, sometimes they are full of sadness, and sometimes those moments have both! Those moments in life can also leave us in doubt and confusion. On Sunday we’ll be in 1 Samuel 2o, where David and Jonathan have just such a moment.
Blessings,
Scott