Ep. 186 - The Word Of God
Welcome to another episode of Tell Me More. Katie Reed Hodges, myself, doctor Wiles are in the studio today talking about everything going on in the life of First Baptist Arlington and also, what it means for us to start a new season of Lent here at our church. We hope it's a meaningful episode for you, and we hope you enjoy it.
Speaker 2:Alright. We're back in the studio. It is Monday morning, and this is tell me more. You got three of us. You got Luke.
Speaker 2:You got D Dub. You got me. Here we go. Here we are. We we this is a well planned, well oiled podcast.
Speaker 2:It is. It's manuscripted this week.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Let me get my We're
Speaker 2:gonna read it word for word.
Speaker 1:Teleprompter that none of us are gonna
Speaker 2:look at? Did I get that? I missed the line. No. Script.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It's not ever. But today, we are gonna start we did talk about this. We're gonna start from the top and tell you what's going on around here because as we try to get our mind around it It's a lot. There's a lot going on around here.
Speaker 2:And it's all truly, truly things you don't wanna miss or I don't want you to miss. And so let's go chronological.
Speaker 1:This week.
Speaker 2:Today's Monday. There's Flourishing Together Forever happening across the street
Speaker 1:Right now.
Speaker 2:With our senior adults.
Speaker 1:You too late. You missed it.
Speaker 2:But it's great. If you missed it, there's another one coming.
Speaker 3:It's so good.
Speaker 2:It's always really good. Okay. So but Monday, you we've survived it, I think.
Speaker 1:That's happening now.
Speaker 2:Tomorrow seems like a pretty pretty regular Tuesday around here. Mhmm. But Wednesday evening for midweek, have extra events.
Speaker 1:The do do do do. Yep. Playground grand opening. Y'all drum roll. 5PM ribbon cutting at 05:30.
Speaker 3:I was supposed to punch one of those buttons. I have a celebration.
Speaker 1:Oh, big that was big. I hit it. To everybody.
Speaker 2:We'll have so much fun
Speaker 1:on the playground. The playground. Get to be laughing.
Speaker 3:They're still laughing.
Speaker 1:It's still laughing. I I panicked everyone, and I'm very sorry. I said
Speaker 2:I said big cheer and that there is no big I'm curious.
Speaker 3:It is. We got the big We're not gonna hit it now.
Speaker 2:I like this. So but we are dedicating the the preschool playground. Yes. It is mostly designed for, like, the 1st Floor kids.
Speaker 1:I have had a good time playing with the giant scissors upstairs in the Wade Building. I've done some paper.
Speaker 3:I've ready.
Speaker 1:Yes. Offered to give Ryan a haircut with them. Love it.
Speaker 2:That does that playground is designed for Jackman and Sam.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It is.
Speaker 1:Love it.
Speaker 2:They're gonna They are gonna They're gonna go wild on that.
Speaker 1:It's gonna be so fun.
Speaker 3:My granddaughter thinks it was designed just for her.
Speaker 2:Well, it's perfect for,
Speaker 3:like, the When is my playground?
Speaker 1:Has been begging Five. Weeks. Yes. Yes. It's gonna
Speaker 2:be really fun. So we want anyone there to come celebrate this Mhmm. You don't have playground. No. But $5.30 is the ribbon cutting.
Speaker 2:Yeah. The official kind of Giant scissors
Speaker 3:included. And for you as parents, you're not going to have to clean out the shoes of your children.
Speaker 1:No more mulch.
Speaker 3:Yeah. You're not gonna have to clean their clothes because they're on the playground.
Speaker 2:Sand. One of the
Speaker 1:best things we've ever done for our CDC parents Yeah. Is getting rid of mulch and sand.
Speaker 2:We have
Speaker 1:a rogue
Speaker 2:cat problem that our facilities folks really are diligently addressing. Yeah. I think there's a little more structure to it, but we if you've ever driven around our campus, you noticed, like, cats and then more Downtown
Speaker 3:has it.
Speaker 2:Yes. Because there's a UTA student group that feeds the cats. I mean, that's let's just talk
Speaker 1:about it.
Speaker 3:That's what it is.
Speaker 2:To not have sand in our playground
Speaker 3:It's a gift.
Speaker 2:With that in mind is really great. So it's all state of the art, state standards. You know, the CDC will obviously benefit from it. It's a real cushy turf. It is.
Speaker 1:It's so good.
Speaker 2:It's cushy turf, and it's, fun. It's engaging. It's colorful. It's it's just really great.
Speaker 3:They will love
Speaker 1:it.
Speaker 2:So that's Wednesday. We've only gotten a Wednesday at five.
Speaker 1:And so also on Wednesday,
Speaker 2:we have 05:30 is the cut, but they can come play earlier.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Mhmm. We have an Islam training in the chapel, so it's how to share the gospel with your Muslim friends.
Speaker 2:With whom?
Speaker 1:With Budd Houston.
Speaker 2:Y'all know Budd. If you listened a few weeks ago, he did a great job.
Speaker 1:It'll be so good. That'll be in the chapel. We will have more Ramadan gift bags.
Speaker 2:Starting at six. Normally, week time.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So if you have not yet picked up a blessing bag Great. And you go to the training, you're like, oh, I feel So
Speaker 3:where's the training gonna be?
Speaker 1:Training's gonna be in the chapel, right off the welcome center. You don't know where it is, we'll have you get there.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And then we Alongside all the other midweek still
Speaker 1:have all the other midweek programming going on.
Speaker 2:So we made it to Wednesday. Wait. Take a day off on Thursday. And then Well, Thursday night, if you're coming, this is ticket only, but doctor Wade is being honored at the TB Master in Ethics That's right. That's right.
Speaker 2:Of us will be in the fellowship on Thursday night.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:We're honored to do that.
Speaker 1:Then It's a huge
Speaker 2:more publicly, Life Home. It's Faith at Home.
Speaker 1:It's not too late to sign up, I
Speaker 2:at home weekend, I have no idea, but I'm gonna say
Speaker 1:We're gonna say it's not too late to sign up. A lot
Speaker 2:of people. I'm a say, come on.
Speaker 3:It'll be fine.
Speaker 2:I'm excited. It's mission possible.
Speaker 1:It's gonna be really good.
Speaker 2:As in you and your young family or just family, sorry, kids at home in general, can actually do mission together.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:And there's some practical ways we're gonna talk about all that. So Yep. We'll be there.
Speaker 1:And then there's but wait. There's more. Not this weekend, but the coming Yeah.
Speaker 2:You're have to give me a break because that's I need a break after that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Encounter weekend is coming, which is for our students. Yeah. It's the ministry.
Speaker 2:The new kinda modernized wake up weekend Mhmm. If I could say that respectfully. It's kinda using best practices in youth ministry now with safety and just all that. And they go to retreat center.
Speaker 1:And it's so well done. Gonna be great. It's so good.
Speaker 2:I had very spiritual experiences, very significant spiritual experiences at DNOW when I was like 13. So I do really believe in just what they're trying to do.
Speaker 1:Retreats are huge.
Speaker 2:That Sunday night, the eighth, March 8, we will have an ordination service which we have almost every year of some sort to ordain. We will have a deacon if if the ordination council
Speaker 1:Approves.
Speaker 2:Approves, and we're hoping with the preparation we've done in the sense of leadership that that's all gonna happen, but if if we all vote as a church, even that morning, we will ordain a deacon, ordain a minister to gospel ministry, and license a minister to they'll get licensed. I don't actually know how to word that. So we want that is an all church event and childcare, normal kind of worship care, Sunday morning, three and down Mhmm. Is provided, and we would want anyone there to participate in that because it is the church
Speaker 3:Like it.
Speaker 2:Ordaining, laying on hands to do that. So that's the eighth at 6PM.
Speaker 1:And then, doctor Wiles, you were very excited to point out that some of us will then be going to
Speaker 2:Get on a plane the next Mhmm.
Speaker 1:That's right. Which we'll talk more about that probably after the fact because there's always just so much Yeah. We're having we can come away with.
Speaker 3:And it's
Speaker 2:really launching? Public launching. Yes. It's not we've been we have been kind of on the obviously, you in the very beginning, but some of the curators meetings is what they've called them.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Think this is year four.
Speaker 2:Sounds good.
Speaker 1:For me.
Speaker 2:Yeah. We're Awesome.
Speaker 1:And doing then we have Is there something after
Speaker 2:spring spring
Speaker 1:break things happening. The college ministry will be serving at Arlington. The youth ministry will be doing kind of an engage Arlington, three days of local service. I'm sure there are a million other things. We have the
Speaker 2:Must be evangelism training.
Speaker 1:On March 28. So we'll be working with DGCT. We're hosting a training with Oza Jones. He's preached here before, has talked at encounter week. He's the BGCT evangelism director, if I'm getting his title right.
Speaker 1:Correct. Mhmm. And basically, we'll be strategizing about how we use the World Cup as an evangelism opportunity. So that's March 28. And then it's basically Easter, so Good Friday, Easter services.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then summer Yeah. Hits way faster than any of us are ever ready for. We're ready for it, but it just Yep.
Speaker 3:It just keeps coming. Downhill, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yes. So if that felt overwhelming, don't worry. It's all good.
Speaker 1:Day by day.
Speaker 2:Slash events Mhmm. We'll get you there.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:That's great. We'll vote on, like, everything in the church on the morning of March 8. We have four different items of vote. Budget. Congregationally governed.
Speaker 2:It's all kind of the normal regular in a good way. Yeah. Budget, rubbish offering excuse me. Engagement offering Mhmm. Committee on committee members, and what I just talked about in the ordination.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we'll learn all
Speaker 3:that that morning.
Speaker 2:Work. It is.
Speaker 1:And it's
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 1:So much, it's taken us nearly ten minutes to talk about all the work that the church is doing.
Speaker 3:Hey. I love it.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:This is sponsored. My first ever church.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:But we're also in the middle of a well, we've just launched We started. A very meaningful launch, and now we're in it's Lent.
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 2:We're walking through Lent. Mhmm. Kurt Grice had an interesting moment this morning at our all staff meeting, which we've the new in the new year, we've implemented this Monday morning meeting. And he just had everybody raise their hand if you grew up with Lent or Advent. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:I don't know. Luke, how many? Five of us maybe? Five of
Speaker 1:us grew up with it, maybe.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It was a small number.
Speaker 1:I think half of the ones who did grow up with it did not grow up Baptist. That's right.
Speaker 2:Well, look yeah. Tanner and I grew up Methodist, so I kinda looked for Tanner. We were kinda the quickest to say, oh, yeah. Of course we did, you know.
Speaker 3:I did.
Speaker 2:Few others in the room. But good reminder, though, that this isn't necessarily part of our, I'd say DNA, but I think taking sin seriously, I think repentance Mhmm. I think lament is part of our DNA, but expressing it in this one way maybe isn't.
Speaker 1:So Yeah.
Speaker 2:Good to just a good reminder that it may be fresh for some people still wondering Mhmm. What that's all about. So with with that in mind, it's very meaningful that so many were willing to kinda actually come forward over the past two years service. For the imposition of Ashes.
Speaker 3:Even know. I would have to go back and look. I guess, I don't because I just right now, I don't remember. We have all since I've been the pastor of this particular church, we've always had holy week celebrations. You know, we've done a service on Good Friday, and I think in the past, they had services on Maundy Thursday.
Speaker 3:I don't I don't know if if every year that I've been here, we had some type of a service on Ash Wednesday. Maybe we did. I'd I'd have to think back
Speaker 2:on it. As long as I can remember being here. Yeah. We did. My first college year
Speaker 3:is there. Maybe we were doing it.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 3:We didn't do the imposition of the ashes, but
Speaker 2:No. That
Speaker 3:was we had something else have to think about it.
Speaker 1:But I feel like it's become one of the high points of our worshiping life together as a church.
Speaker 2:There are a few of these, I don't know, special services, ones that aren't weekly Mhmm. That that are particularly meaningful for me. Yeah. But part of that is because I get to craft them. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:So, you know, obviously, you're and I get to get to I don't what know the right word is. It is an honor. Yeah. We talked about it this morning. When when doctor Wade is in your line Mhmm.
Speaker 2:On Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, and the line that D Dub has asked me to say, I mean, you know, there's a couple things you can say, is repent and believe the good news about Jesus. Mhmm. What are supposed to do with that? This is for yeah.
Speaker 2:So it's meaningful for me, I guess, what I'm saying. You got we've added service remembrance that has its own flavor.
Speaker 1:Good
Speaker 2:Friday's. So rich. Moving. Yes. Just moving.
Speaker 2:Yes. And I'm grateful. And and, obviously, music and that part of worship is so much a part of it.
Speaker 1:It is. And we're
Speaker 3:we're blessed to have
Speaker 2:that. So
Speaker 3:Yeah. This is it's, you know, it's it's the to me, it's the best of the liturgical calendar in the Baptist tradition, if you wanna call it that, that that I've ever experienced in my ministry life, I would say. It's it's it's really
Speaker 2:Very meaningful for our people.
Speaker 3:Marks things in the year for everybody Mhmm. Appropriately and without a slave to it, you know, where it's not just ritual. It really is filled with meaning
Speaker 2:for us. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I'm I love tangible expressions of things. Mhmm. And as as we said at the Ash Wednesday service, the imposition of ashes is not an ordinance of the church. That's baptism of the Lord's Supper from at least from our perspective, theologically.
Speaker 1:And even for the Catholic church, they would not classify this as a sacrament.
Speaker 3:That's right. That's not what it is. But it is the marking of a season, though, which I think is important, a spiritual marker. Mhmm. And there's something there's something about that, knowing that you know, you think about how the Jews, their their calendar was built around their festivals.
Speaker 3:It was built around their story, you know, their their encounters with God, their history with God, their hope for the future. And and everything they did was just built around that.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And so, you know, you read the gospels and Jesus, that was his world. He was he did all of that. You know, he was he was there for the feast of purification. You know, he was he was celebrating Hanukkah. Obviously, the Passover and the feast of booths and, you know, their whole world was just built around it every year.
Speaker 3:Well, I love the fact that we've embraced that as a church. Christianity for sure, but I mean, for us, I think we've done it in a in a very meaningful way and and Yeah. It's beautiful. It is. It's been it's been really good.
Speaker 3:It's been rich for us, I think. So But We began we began the Lenten season Wednesday.
Speaker 1:Series? I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:Series, The Good Shepherd. Launched that Sunday, and we've got seven Sundays to walk through the gospel of John. I'm really excited.
Speaker 2:So far in the rooms I've been in, it's hard for you to get out of John one.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 2:It's so rich.
Speaker 1:But before we before we get into John one, I
Speaker 3:Can't help it.
Speaker 1:Always feel like it's
Speaker 2:Hit us with it.
Speaker 1:Fascinating for or just encouraging for our people to to hear how you got to the point of thinking and praying through
Speaker 2:Why behind it?
Speaker 1:This is the season Mhmm. Of Lent. How did the Lord lead you to preaching The Good sermons across John focusing on the good shepherd for this season. So kind of what's the why
Speaker 2:Tell us more.
Speaker 1:Behind just this curtain. I love it. It's a good thing to do at the start of a new preaching season for us, new season of church life.
Speaker 3:Well, it's it's it's it's a big question, actually, because you both have been in the preaching lab that we've been attempting to do here.
Speaker 1:It's little bit why I'm pulling back the curtain for everybody.
Speaker 2:We'll have it tomorrow.
Speaker 3:We've about What? Breads, one of the one of the you know, I I never learned how to crochet or sew. It's not too late. I used to watch my mama do it, you know, but I never knew how to do it. But I've always been fascinated with the imagery of threads being used to develop, you know, whatever you wanna call it.
Speaker 3:It's a mosaic or whatever word you would use to describe it. It's always fascinating.
Speaker 1:A tapestry.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Tapestry. Mosaic. I do
Speaker 3:do that. And and and and the fact that it's so, like, when you go through the the tapestry part of the Vatican Museum there's so many things at the Vatican Museum. My goodness. Overwhelming. But there's one section of the Papal Apartments where there's this long hallway.
Speaker 3:And there's tapestries, many of them designed by Raphael. Because most people associate Raphael with paintings, which obviously we should, but these massive tapestries and just how, you know, they date back to the fifteen hundreds, just how brilliant they are in their colors. And when you sit and look at them, think these were all created with threads that someone had to figure out how to how to get them woven together so you could see Jesus stepping out of the tomb in in this incredible tapestry. And and you stand over on this side and you look up at that tapestry and Jesus is facing you and he's stepping this way out of the tomb and then you kinda keep walking and his eyes follow you all the way around. You get on the other side and he's he's looking that way and stepping that way out of the tomb and you're like, okay, how can that be?
Speaker 3:So several times while I've been there, I'll go back and do it all over again and go, okay. I just saw him stepping to the left looking at me and now I'm over here and he's stepping to the right. How did they do that? But anyway, so all these threads are just there for me. And so, as I began reflecting on praying through just this entire season of our church's life over these next five years or so, asking the Lord, what's what is it that that I I wanna make sure as the pastor that I have helped to imprint on the life of the church?
Speaker 3:And what do we what I think we need. And, you know, for us as Baptist, historically, we we've been really good at evangelism. That's kind of our contribution, I think, to the global Christian family. You know, we're very much focused on those personal decisions for Christ. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And obviously, we have other things that I'm very proud of, the religious liberty and Mhmm. You know, the priesthood of the believer.
Speaker 1:To celebrate.
Speaker 3:Yeah. There's a lot
Speaker 2:that I Social ministry
Speaker 3:at our best.
Speaker 2:Have the hospitals
Speaker 3:At our best.
Speaker 2:Come to mind, that kind of thing. You know? But You're right. Like, that personal evangelism Yes.
Speaker 3:To mark us. But I don't know that we've always given enough attention on teaching people how to follow Jesus, intentionally at least. It feels at least it's felt like to me one of the weaknesses in my ministry life through the years has been just assuming you come here, you're gonna you're gonna just learn how to do it. You you can't help yourself. I mean, you you hang out with us.
Speaker 3:Well, I've become convicted about that. And so, a couple years ago, when I was off studying, I just felt like God impressed that on me that we've got to address this somehow. What does this really mean? And so, where I landed was it looked to me like that the people who figured that out flourish.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And so we embrace this whole flourishing journey, obviously. But this past year while I was off, it still felt incomplete to me. And and that's when I just really began asking the Lord, what what is it that why why are you nagging me? I feel really good. This person here is awesome.
Speaker 3:We're involved in this study and we got all these Yeah. Scholars with us. And it it to me, our church is a very educated church. It kinda scratches that academic side for First Baptist, which I think we have. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:But I just I I was out walking one day, and I just felt this nagging, but you you've gotta you've gotta give this another push. And and I just felt It's
Speaker 1:like you'd found the destination, but you still had to get the road to get there.
Speaker 3:Right. And that exactly. And I've I just felt like, what is it? And I kept I kept sensing that the Lord was pushing me toward discipleship. And and so I thought, okay.
Speaker 3:So I ended up back in my study and just did this deep dive into what so what does that mean? Who what is a disciple? And where I landed was was asking the question, so what does everybody really need? What is it you really need? And I mean everybody, no matter who you are.
Speaker 3:And that's where I just started to just to, I guess, pour into the the concept of what you discipled and you need to be intentionally discipled. And Jesus did that. And so that's where the whole idea of of knowing God and experiencing God and serving God kind of grew out of that. Well, once I landed on that, then I began to ask the question, well, how do I help guide that as a church for our church? And the image of the shepherd is just so it's just looms so large in my mind about discipleship.
Speaker 3:Because I love the imagery throughout the scripture of we talked briefly about it today in our staff meeting that, you know, in Genesis when Jacob is blessing his kids, he blesses Joseph and he refers to God as his shepherd. Genesis four eight. First time that image is ever used. And then he'll say something about again in Genesis 49. He'll refer to God as his shepherd.
Speaker 3:The shepherd, the rock of Israel is what he calls him. And then of course, you get to the Psalms and you get all that imagery. And then, you know, in the Psalms where the Bible says that God took David out of the sheep pen and appointed him the shepherd over his people. And he did that with integrity and with skill. And so, that has really captivated my heart and my mind that that's our role.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. So, the whole that whole idea of the Lord being our shepherd. And so, as I started mapping out this year about discipleship, my one of the things that I felt led to really kind of guide our church in was the the understanding that you need to be shepherded. Everybody does. You don't need to be driven because we're not cattle.
Speaker 3:You know, we don't we don't drive people. We lead people, and shepherds lead. And and, you know, as I was praying about it, thought, well, the best example of that would be Jesus. And it and it caused me to change because I had originally planned this year to use Luke as our guide and save John for next year. And and but as I was praying through it, I just kept I kept finding myself in John one, John 10
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:John 20. And and I even told the Lord, you know, I really wanna use Luke. You know, Luke is my favorite, really. I love Yeah. I love Luke.
Speaker 3:We asked a lot of y'all who's the favorite. Luke is my favorite.
Speaker 1:I've heard of your first ones.
Speaker 2:Public. I mean,
Speaker 3:come on. I just love Luke and Acts together.
Speaker 2:It's in a private room. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, I'm as a historian, I'm thinking, thank you, Luke. When we get to heaven, we we we have to tell Luke thank you
Speaker 1:because We do.
Speaker 2:You know? Look what he Do this, Luke.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Look what he did for us. You know
Speaker 2:who else we have to thank for a third of the New Testament? Yeah. John. Yeah. Of course.
Speaker 3:Right. We do.
Speaker 2:Sounds like a
Speaker 3:And so I just kept but I couldn't help myself. You know, I just couldn't so finally, I told the Lord. I said, well, I plan to use Luke, but, you know, John actually fits this better right now for the church. And I wanted to save John for next year for a couple of reasons. The whole imagery of fruit and influence and bearing fruit and showing fruit, show yourself to be on the site, all that
Speaker 2:was But it starts on the vine. Like, to me, when you said, I'm drawn to John for this year Mhmm. I'm and you didn't mention, like, upper room discourse. Uh-huh. I'm like, it's John 15 because discipleship come I mean, from my POV.
Speaker 3:Right. Does
Speaker 2:abiding. Book of John Right. Through a lens of discipleship, it's all about abiding. Right. That's where it all starts.
Speaker 2:Right?
Speaker 3:Anyway, so once once I settled that, and I actually I actually fought it for a little bit. I spent about three or four days just saying, okay. I'm not using John. You know? I'm gonna figure out.
Speaker 3:So I did I did this deep dive in background images in Luke, how Luke uses the old testament, what's because I was in seminary, I did this seminar on the I say, ah, there was a we had a group of us. And our assignment was to take the quotations in the New Testament and compare them to the Hebrew Old Testament or the Greek Septuagint and try to figure out when when these writers are quoting. Are they quoting from Septuagint? Are they quoting from the Hebrew text? And and so I'm pouring over Luke going, come on Luke, give me some shepherds.
Speaker 3:Okay? Give me some imagery here. Well, Luke has shepherds, know. They're the ones that get the announcement. And I'm starting, you know, I'm starting and I'm going, this is gonna be good, man.
Speaker 3:I'm I'm way to go Luke. You you got so much that you draw out of the Old Testament. And then I kind of I reached kind of a wall and I just keep reading Luke and I keep going back to the illusions of the Old Testament. And so I did that for about three days. So I have all these notes about all that.
Speaker 3:And finally, I woke up one morning and I just felt like the Lord saying, Luke is next year. This is John. Just get over it. You know? So I got up that morning.
Speaker 3:I took all those notes and what I had in my computer and I just put them aside and I said, okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna get after John. So I have I do have a robust set of commentaries on John. So the next thing you know, I'm in the middle of John and just lay out the whole year.
Speaker 2:It just spoke great. It did. It felt To be in God's will
Speaker 3:And then
Speaker 2:with the book of John.
Speaker 3:So then I said, okay. What am I going to address? So I decided we were in you know, did the flirsing survey. I wanted to leave a little room at the end of the year to make some adjustments based upon what we learned from that survey. So I did that.
Speaker 2:Different way to do that.
Speaker 3:But then I decided, well, you know, Jesus is such a good shepherd. The best. And Lenten season lends itself to this kind of personal reflection with Christ. And so what if we just let him shepherd us through the Lenten season? Well, that's how I got to it.
Speaker 3:So then I decided, well, I'm gonna look at all the I am statements and see how they reflect him as a shepherd. And so I built my preaching on his self revelation connected to the I am statements that actually to me give us insight into the kind of shepherd he is. So sorry. It's a really long answer to but that's how we got there. You know?
Speaker 3:I love it. And so there's a whole lot in there for me. So it's almost like I can't I can't wait to get to Sunday for every one of them that I have laid out because I know what I wanna do, but I know I don't have enough time to do it all.
Speaker 1:That's why this is called tell me more.
Speaker 3:There's so much in there. And but also when I was praying about it, I also knew we were going to be in you know, Ramadan was going to be alongside us this year. And I just I felt like god
Speaker 1:It only happens like this, like, every thirty
Speaker 3:three years. About to say it's just not
Speaker 2:that common. Because it moves eleven days a year because it's based
Speaker 1:air Ash Wednesday and Ramadan are both based on a lunar calendar, but not the same lunar
Speaker 3:calendar.
Speaker 2:And so it They With with our calendar that we work through every year, I think Ramadan shifts eleven days every year.
Speaker 3:So
Speaker 2:So it kinda scoots out of
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:You know, what we normally have for
Speaker 3:that. So as I was thinking about that, well, eventually, I decided, you know, the first sermon I mean, Ash Wednesday, I just
Speaker 1:want to set the Set the table.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's it's the good shepherd. That's what we're going to do. But I thought, you know, this first Sunday
Speaker 2:And you went for it. I mean, Psalm 23, all of it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Just Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't mistake it. Don't miss it.
Speaker 3:This is
Speaker 2:what we're doing.
Speaker 3:Right? It's awesome. But I thought
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 3:The first sermon, though, on Sunday is really gonna be more
Speaker 1:of shepherding.
Speaker 3:Theological reflection to make sure, particularly our younger folks know Elegy is a way of shepherding. Yeah. Who who Jesus
Speaker 2:Wasn't as explicit as as the Psalm 23 Ash Wednesday.
Speaker 1:Theology kills people. It does. So
Speaker 3:just felt like we need
Speaker 2:to they're subjugated
Speaker 3:or abused. Or I felt like this first Sunday, let's we're gonna talk about the good shepherd, but, you know, John one is so powerful just to make sure reinforce what some of my mature folks already know that, you know, the the word of God, the son of God is eternal. And And if you
Speaker 2:well, if you can't get the son of God right.
Speaker 3:Right. So I just thought, let's just start there and make sure our younger folks, our college students, our young adults can get this planted firmly in their minds, in their hearts, and in their at the heart of their theology that the incarnation is really is what separates us from everyone else. Mhmm. And so, yeah. So that's where this sermon came from.
Speaker 3:And really and and I I I said Sunday morning, it's really more of a theological reflection for me than a quote unquote formal sermon. But, yeah. And it's so rich. I mean, Cindy and I were talking about it Sunday night briefly. We had a dinner after our business meeting then we got home.
Speaker 3:You know, she she loves John, and and and and we have this conversation a lot about the word of God, the son of God, and and just how the church has, historically, the church has tried to figure that out, you know, and all the conversations the church has had about it. And we just got back from Rome, so I've just finished lecturing on, you know, the Arian controversy.
Speaker 1:Yeah. These are like the high button issues of the year March.
Speaker 3:Yes. Trying to what do you do with him? You know, how do you what does this mean? And what do you how do you even translate some of the Greek phrases in here into, you know, a and and and understand the interpretation of those Greek phrases. And, of course, they had the advantage because they all spoke Greek.
Speaker 3:I mean, that was their that was their language, and so they're struggling with the language they know. And then what they
Speaker 2:Back to my point that every room I've been in with you for the past few weeks has still been John one because there's so much there.
Speaker 3:So much there.
Speaker 1:And
Speaker 2:So much there. I mean, a couple three
Speaker 1:Dense. Couple
Speaker 2:three pastors bible studies.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:MLTs talked about it. It's come out in staff. Yeah. It's just it's hard to even get out of John one.
Speaker 1:So if you feel like doctor Wiles is living in John one
Speaker 2:It's because he has been.
Speaker 1:Because he has been. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's because there's I mean
Speaker 3:I mean, it it
Speaker 2:There's so much.
Speaker 3:You know, you you you know, the the in in art, the apostles all have have symbols, and John has an eagle. And one of the reasons for that is is because of this prologue, this idea that his his writing just kinda soars above, you know, everything.
Speaker 2:Right. It's just this Particularly in comparison.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's like Herschel Hobbs said in the quote I read. You know, Mark starts with John the Baptist here on the banks of the Jordan River. You know, Matthew takes you back to Abraham. Luke takes you back to Adam.
Speaker 3:John just says, let's just start at the beginning. And Herself
Speaker 1:says All the way back.
Speaker 3:Whenever that was or whatever that is. And so it's just this cosmic, you know, reality and embracing a truth that to me, he states it very simply, really, in Greek. You know, it's it's not like it's complicated per se. It's just complex truth though. That that's what's hard, you know,
Speaker 2:to try to grasp it. My husband, one, loves bible, but when he was in high school or maybe early college, they did celebrate life at First Ever San Marillo, the musical. Yeah. But but it was like a seventies musical, and this would be like the late aughts. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Like, o o six or something.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I was gonna say that came along when
Speaker 2:I I know. So that's why it's funny because it's like, why did and maybe it just got to Amarillo as a joke about Amarillo. But, anyway, he and his best friend have the prologue of John memorized because I guess it's in celebrate life. Uh-huh. But still on the phone, and so around my house, I hear one half of it, and it's he can it's very wordy even for Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You know, youth to be reciting it.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:But he's got it. So I've got that cadence in my mind, but it's James and Ryan, my my my What a great
Speaker 1:thing to have memorized. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And and I have it in the King James, you know, is is where it's it's lodged in my brain.
Speaker 1:Well, I know this will be controversial, but I really enjoy this chapter and the message. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:So Yeah. You know, I haven't I haven't spent a lot of time in the message.
Speaker 1:I don't spend a lot of time in it, but Yeah. Eugene Peterson
Speaker 2:Yeah. The message
Speaker 1:translates this way in such a way that it it hits your ear in a new way. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's lovely.
Speaker 3:I'll I'll have to go back and read it because I've I've just been I've been living in the Greek text with it just trying to figure out
Speaker 1:what Okay. But I don't care. And I and
Speaker 3:I don't let me I don't let me in a boastful way. It's just because I've been so puzzled by Oh, I'm drawn to it.
Speaker 1:Well, the Greek is both so simple and so complicated. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:So Well, I have, like So like James on speakerphone saying things like, without him, nothing was made that has not been made or that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of man. It's so Right.
Speaker 3:Deep. In him was life.
Speaker 1:But it is true. I mean, you read the Greek. If you were to go to seminary, John is one of the easier books of the New Testament to translate into another language. So as a, you know, elementary Greek student, you would get this text.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:You would. But just
Speaker 3:because On first John linguistically
Speaker 2:simple Greek.
Speaker 1:Doesn't mean that it's theologically simple.
Speaker 3:No. So what I where one theologian said in John's gospel, children swim and elephants drown. And and I think there's
Speaker 1:a lot
Speaker 3:of truth to that. It's just Yeah. On the one hand, you could you know, you know, for God so loved the world,
Speaker 2:he gave
Speaker 3:his only son. Lovely. Who believes in him will have an everlasting life. Awesome. You know?
Speaker 3:But what does he mean by the world? What okay. The world, Cosmon
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Is used in so many different ways in this book. Is he what's he talking about? Is he talking about the world system? Is he talking about the people? Is he talking about what he created?
Speaker 3:Mhmm. And why would he love that? You know? You're like, no. Wait a minute.
Speaker 3:So it wasn't mean to believe in him. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Yeah. What's the nature
Speaker 3:of belief? Talk about faith. He talks about belief. Why don't you talk about faith? Paul talks about faith all the time.
Speaker 3:I don't think John ever uses the word faith in the whole gospel.
Speaker 2:Meanwhile Yeah. Your kid actually believes it and is living it out. You know?
Speaker 3:Now I'm over here trying to survive three sixteen.
Speaker 2:Yeah. They're just hiding it in their heart. That's right.
Speaker 3:So so, yeah, it's it's really good. And then the the whole identity of the son of God and and trying to, you know, just grasp how the word became flesh just the way John says. You know, you you've got in John one, you got it in the beginning was, get the little word in, the the Greek word. So was the word. And then you get to verse 14, and you get he became something.
Speaker 3:The word became. So another word signaling the initiation of something. Yeah. You know? And then he became flesh.
Speaker 1:And that's the word Paul uses Yes. For flesh. Yes. It's the So It's sarc's. I was about
Speaker 3:to say, so okay. So this right here, he became them. Sorry. I'm touching. Look.
Speaker 3:He became this. Yeah. Think about that. The spirit I mean, God is spirit. Nobody's ever seen God.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:You can worship God in spirit and truth. And now all of a sudden, he's he's this. He's one of us. And and I love that that idea that, you know, as you grapple with it, that he becomes fully human and doesn't sin because it's really not natural to sin. That we weren't designed for sin.
Speaker 3:We were designed to live a holy life, a perfect life in the very presence of God and and reflect the glory of God. And he did that. He was not unnatural. He's the most natural human that's ever lived. You know?
Speaker 3:So he wasn't Second Adam. Yeah. Right. He he really was one of us.
Speaker 2:Think about that.
Speaker 3:So
Speaker 2:He's really the ideal human.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:I mean, in every way.
Speaker 3:Yes. And so the writer of Hebrews says he's the radiance of god's
Speaker 2:I love that. That just whatever it's supposed be serve the service yesterday. With him. Mhmm. The exact imprint of his
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What is it? Yeah. It's just lovely.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Just he he completely represents the image of God.
Speaker 2:But he's also the the ideal
Speaker 3:He also goes to bed at night. Human because he's tired.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Don't miss that. He's not so He eats
Speaker 3:when he gets hungry. He
Speaker 1:cries when he's sad. That's right. I mean,
Speaker 3:can you imagine?
Speaker 1:I mean,
Speaker 3:just think about that. That's powerful. And so
Speaker 2:Think about it.
Speaker 3:Shirley Guthrie, you know, who who's written this little book, Christian I say little book. He would be offended by that. But what I mean is not this massive systematic Which is impressive.
Speaker 1:Hopefully, eyes you well enough that when you call something or someone little Yeah. It's a term of endurance. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's just so quite impressive to make a concise theology in that way.
Speaker 3:What he does. And Yeah. But he just says, okay. If don't you wanna talk about the incarnation because you think you've got it figured out, well, then, obviously, you're that tells me you misunderstand nothing because you're you're basically proclaiming your ignorance when you're acting like you really understand.
Speaker 2:Out I have no respect for that.
Speaker 3:Exactly. That's basically what he says politely. Yep. Yep. And and so that that would be my take on it that my goodness.
Speaker 3:Yes. It's profound. And, join me in the mystery. You know, Luke just thinking about sharing the gospel with Muslims. This is a hang up for Muslims.
Speaker 3:This It is. This right here. This right here.
Speaker 1:Which I would say hard. If you're thinking about sharing the gospel to Muslims, don't start here.
Speaker 3:No. That's right. And you you can't talk about God having a son to Muslims. That that is to them that mean that's that's blasphemy. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Because in your because in their mind, you're you're making god into a sexual creature.
Speaker 1:God is so transcendent. He's a member. He's a fully other.
Speaker 3:Why could yeah. Why could you talk to him like talk about him like that? Yeah.
Speaker 1:They don't even think you can know god.
Speaker 3:Exactly. So but if you talk to them about, you know, God, his word, and his spirit, well, yeah, they they believe in all that. It's just when you transfer over to the sonship, that's where it gets really hard for them. Well and what I like to say, I I was in a village one time in West Africa and talking to this imam, Mubakar. And and that and and we're in a obviously, we're having to have a translator, so it makes it difficult.
Speaker 3:Because first of all and I said that to him. Said, Bubikar, I'm trying to say something to you in English. And my translator here is saying it in full full day, but we're talking about something in Greek. Okay?
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:So I had my Greek New Testament and he was very impressed by that because he has a Koran in Arabic. And he just said, I want you to tell me, I want you to tell him, translator, what this says. I want you to read it out loud in Greek. I wanna hear it, you know, because I can read to you the Koran in Arabic. So I love mean, I mean, we're in this remote village, but these guys are smart.
Speaker 3:This guy's not some bumpkin that's just sitting around and decided to become a Muslim. That's not who Bubbaqar is. He is he is studied. He's living in a village in a hut, but he's got the Koran in his village. Okay?
Speaker 3:So we're talking about it. So I told him, I said, this is hard because I'm reading this in Greek. I'm giving my English translation to it. I'm handing it to my translator. He's given it to you for full day.
Speaker 3:And and Bubba Carr said, that don't worry about it. That's fine. Let's talk about it. And so when I asked him about, you know, do you believe in God? Do you believe God's eternal?
Speaker 3:He said, of course, I believe God's eternal. And I said, well, do you believe the word of God is eternal? He said, of course, I believe the word of God is eternal. I said, well, do you believe the spirit of God is eternal? He said, of course, I believe the spirit of God is eternal.
Speaker 3:And I said, I have so much hope for you. Yeah. You know? And he said, but you haven't mentioned the son. You didn't mention the son.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. And I said, well, that's because I wanted to I wanna build a bridge to you.
Speaker 1:Which this is good evangelistic. Just wisdom, is start with what you hold in common. Yes. Start where you're different.
Speaker 3:Because I knew that would be controversial to him. But what I loved about him was when I finally said, okay. Well, you you got me. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Because I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna read verse 14 to
Speaker 1:you.
Speaker 3:The word became flesh. Mhmm. And and he just said, well, how can this be? And I said, well, join me in the mystery. There's a lot of mystery in your faith too.
Speaker 3:Join me in this mystery. And he sat there for the longest time and he said, you've given me a lot to think about. He said, but this is really hard in my mind to somehow believe that God has a son. He said, God God does not have children. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:You know, that's not that's not God. And so but when we talked about the word, that imagery was still powerful to him. Well, here's what's interesting. That was my goodness. When was that?
Speaker 3:2008 or so? I don't know. It's been a long time ago. Well, so we're 2026 now. His brother was the chief in that village.
Speaker 3:He has died, Ibrahim. But his but Ibrahim's son, Mamadou, is now the new chief. Cindy calls him Mamadou GQ because he's very handsome. But anyway, which I think is interesting.
Speaker 2:A great nickname. Yeah. Anyway Good job, Cindy.
Speaker 3:Momadoo is now the chief. Well, he's a believer. He's follower of Jesus. He's left the mosque. Bubakar is his uncle.
Speaker 3:And he's the eman. He's known momadoo his whole life.
Speaker 1:It's a big deal.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean? He's known him his whole
Speaker 1:It's a big deal.
Speaker 3:And so but but we've had a lot of things happen there that we're not able to go there anymore in this particular country. It's really difficult. But Bubikar has decided that he's hosting conversations at his hut, on his mat, front of his hut. And he now has these little solar powered translations Yep. Of the New Testament in full day.
Speaker 3:And he's hosting conversations on his mat in the village and he's the imam. But he's saying to the people, these are important. This is the NGO. This this is an important message. We need to try to understand this.
Speaker 1:Also a good reminder that the Muslims in your world and in your life heavily respect the gospels. They do. That's what the NGO.
Speaker 3:Right. The NGO. I'm sorry. The NGO is the gospel. So I I think about this.
Speaker 3:I'll pray for him every once in while when I think about it. Like, you know, Bubikar, he's old now, you know. But it's somehow we've gotten reports. He's allowing conversation. The very same conversation I had with him on that mat in front of his hut.
Speaker 3:He's allowing that to happen now in the village, and they're just listening to the word of God in their language. And so I have so much hope for it. But but think about that. That's what is it? Fourteen year or however long it's been.
Speaker 3:It's taken a long time
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:For him to grapple with this and try to come to an understanding of it. But he's listening to John in his own language now, you know. So, yeah, that's why this is powerful. So, know, and I'm thinking about as we make our way through this series for the Lenten season, we're going to just let Jesus shepherd us. That's what we're going to do.
Speaker 3:That's really the goal. And what I hope will happen from that is first of all, we'll receive that. Just church members, us, Jesus will show us how he's going to shepherd us. Mhmm. But what I also want happening underneath that is all of us learning how to shepherd other people.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. That's kind of the application that we will eventually get to with our people before this series is
Speaker 1:over. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:We're not Jesus. I get that. He's unique. I mean, we just set him apart this past Sunday. Okay?
Speaker 3:He's he's God in the flesh. But we can learn about people and how they need be shepherded by watching how he shepherds us. So that's really my hope in this journey. And and that fits into the overall intentional discipleship effort where people need to be shepherding. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:So that's how it all kinda fits together. It's a good list. It fits together in my brain.
Speaker 1:Mean, it's great.
Speaker 2:It's a great place to start.
Speaker 3:Not always come out.
Speaker 1:Well, we're excited for everything think it usually is. To come in the season of Lent as we head towards Jerusalem Mhmm. Yeah. And everything that happens on Easter.
Speaker 3:It's a great season of the year for us as as followers
Speaker 2:of Jesus. Don't miss it. Yes. If you're a faithful podcast listener, be be a part of all of this. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Don't Yeah. Don't don't miss it.
Speaker 1:From ribbon cuttings to everything in between.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You know, Easter's kind of our thing.
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 2:So perhaps the preparation for Easter ought to take seriously. It's awesome. Don't get so busy with, you know, kids sports and work and a lot that you don't miss it.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Because it is. I get it. But don't you love it when you you know you're in the middle of that season and to see all the different types of people who were here Wednesday night and Sunday? Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's it's their life is busy. I get it. But they're allowing this is a priority too, though. You know what mean? This this this is the a place they know they need to be in this conversation and in this
Speaker 2:space. Absolutely. Yes. And, obviously, no judgment if you're missing. I don't mean attendance as much, although that's valuable.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But But But don't don't wake up
Speaker 1:spare your heart.
Speaker 2:Don't wake up April 5 and be like, oh, yeah. Kinda missed that whole season at our church. It's the thing that we're here for. That's right. So Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't miss it. Okay.
Speaker 1:Well, thanks for listening, everyone. We'll be
Speaker 2:back next week. Amen. Don't miss next week. Thanks for listening to the tell me more podcast today. You can subscribe to this podcast on your app of choice, or you can visit us at fbca.org to find out more information about the podcast and our church.
Speaker 2:Thanks for listening. Have a good day.