On Tuesday, November 15, 2011 EMEU will conduct a special Executive Briefing on the Middle East in the Bay area of San Francisco in the city of Fremont and held in the historic Centerville Presbyterian Church founded in 1853.
The purpose of this special one day briefing is to inform and gain insight into today’s Middle East. EMEU is inviting business and civic leaders, mission pastors, seminary and Bible college professors, and others for full day briefing ending with a banquet in the evening. Included in the briefing will be close interaction and round table discussions between Western and Middle Eastern leadership.
Since its start-up in 1985 EMEU has conducted strategic briefings and consultations on the Middle East. Our last meeting was in Dallas, Texas in November of 2010 when EMEU celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Prior to that, we met in Washington, D.C. at the Capitol Center in November 2009. Other EMEU events over the years have taken place in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jerusalem plus one in 2006 at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois jointly sponsored by EMEU and The Billy Graham Center.
Attendance is by invitation only.
If you are not on the EMEU mailing list or EMEU News list and would like to apply for an invitation to this briefing please click subscribe and type the acronym EBOME in the “why you wish to subscribe” block.
I recently heard a story about a guy who drove his car into a ditch accidentally. It was quite an isolated location and there was no mobile phone reception to call the rescue services. Thankfully, a local farmer saw it happen and brought his horse to help pull the car back on to the road. The farmer hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” Buddy didn’t move. Once more the farmer hollered, “Pull, Nellie, pull!” Buddy didn’t respond. Then the farmer nonchalantly said, “Pull, Buddy, pull!” And the horse dragged the car out of the ditch. The motorist was very appreciative but he was also curious. He said “I am really grateful for your help. I just have one question: Why did you call your horse by the wrong name? The farmer said, “Oh, Buddy is blind – if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn’t even try.” Like “Buddy” we find motivation difficult if we think we are the only ones pulling. That’s why Jesus sent his disciples out in teams of two by two. It iciples out in teams of two. It’ motivated the car bacrove his car into a ditch. s so much easier and more fulfilling to serve in teams isn’t it?
In this last sermon in the series, Jesus and Women, we meet Priscilla the wife of Aquila. In Acts 18, we’re introduced to the ultimate ministry team – Priscilla and Aquila. They’re a married couple who are always mentioned together – three times in Acts 18, then in Romans 16, 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Timothy 4.
The Apostles had wives, and they took them with them when they preached (I Cor. 9:5), but their wives names are never mentioned in Scripture. Aquila’s wife, Priscilla, is.
Significantly their names only ever appear together which suggests they were a team. They were partners in ministry. Indeed Paul commends Aquila and Priscilla as his “fellow workers” who risked their lives for him. Even more significantly, in four of the five places where their names appear together, Priscilla is mentioned first. Let’s find out why. I want to introduce you to Priscilla the disciple, Priscilla the teacher and Priscilla the leader.
1. Priscilla the Disciple
“After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks… 18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.” (Acts 18:1-4, 18-19)
In the year 52 A.D. the Roman emperor Claudius issued an edict expelling all Jews from the city of Rome. Suetonius, the Roman historian, says, some within the Jewish community were persecuting their Christian neighbours and causing considerable disturbance in the city. Claudius cared little about the reason for the trouble, and even less about who the guilty parties were. He knew they were Jews, and that was enough; so all Jews were uprooted from their homes and banished from Rome, the innocent along with the guilty.
This included a Jew named Aquila, who had migrated to Rome from the province of Pontus on the Black Sea, and he decided to migrate to the city of Corinth. By his side was his faithful wife, Priscilla. We do not know for certain whether she was Jewish or Roman, nor are we sure whether or not they were both Christians at the time. God in his providence uses their profession to connect Priscilla and Aquila with Paul. When Paul arrives from Athens, he makes contact with fellow tent makers, possibly to work with them to provide an income for himself as well. Paul worked so that he was not dependent on the churches he founded. Priscilla and Aquila were hospitable and invited Paul into their home and let him stay with them. Paul had confidence in them and invested his life in them. A lasting friendship was born between them. If Priscilla and Aquila did not know the Lord before, Paul’s stay would have left them in no doubt. No one could be anywhere near Paul for very long and not be affected by his passion for Jesus. Paul stayed with them for 18 months, no doubt instructing them in the gospel. Priscilla the disciple.
2. Priscilla the Teacher
“Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervourand taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” (Acts 18:24-26)
Apollos sounds quite an impressive speaker. Aquila and Priscilla were deeply impressed with him, but they detected a serious flaw in his preaching. Tactfully they made no attempt to correct him in front of everyone at the synagogue. Nor did they try and put him straight over coffee after the service. They had a better way. They invited him home for lunch. I remember vividly one of the first evangelistic conversations I had as a young Christian. After it was over my friend, an older Christian, who’d been with me, took me to one side and said, “Well done, but actually the Holy Spirit is a person, not an ‘it’.” I never forgot. Perhaps it was at the kitchen table that Pricilla and Aquila led the conversation round to the mornings sermon, told Apollos what a blessing his ministry had been, asked him how he had become a believer, and then gently introduced the question of baptism.
Gently and lovingly, they explained how the gospel of the Lord Jesus was the fulfilment of the Hebrew scriptures he knew so well; That John’s baptism was a preparation for receiving Christ; and that Christian baptism was a natural consequence of receiving Christ. What Priscilla and Aquila did would not have been possible had they not been discipled by Paul for 18 months. What they learnt from Paul they passed on to Apollos. They multiplied themselves, just as Paul has done. The purpose of discipleship is not the accumulation of knowledge but multiplication. Disciples are meant to become disciplers. We were born to reproduce. That is why our mission comprises three words – win – build – send. We seek to win people to Christ, build them in the faith and send them to do what? Win people to Christ and build them in the faith in order to… It is only because Priscilla was a disciple that she could become a discipler of others. What Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos is the norm. Every Christian teacher, whether it be the Apostle Paul or one of our pastors here, is accountable to the plain teaching of Scripture. If you are not sure about something you hear in a sermon, don’t just accept it. Check it out from the Word of God, and if you are still not sure, ask the preacher. The Berean Christians mentioned in Acts give us our model.
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
Priscilla the disciple became Priscilla the teacher. There is one more dimension to her ministry:
3. Priscilla the House Church Leader
“The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.” (1 Corinthians 16:19)
Given the nature of their trade, Priscilla and Aquila could be flexible where and when they earned their income from making tents. So they left their home in Corinth and followed Paul to Ephesus. He continued travelling while they settled down and opened their home, not only to Apollos but to other believers. In both Corinth and then in Ephesus, their home became a church, a house church. It seems at some point they decided to move back to Rome. Claudius was dead. Once again, their home became a meeting place for Christ followers.
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house.” (Romans 16:3-5)
Given the way Paul affirms them by name, and mentions their role “co-workers” and specifically their bravery “they risked their lives for me” we may assume they became leaders within those churches. Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned one more time in the New Testament, in the last chapter of the last book the Apostle Paul wrote.
Their stay in Rome was short, probably because of the gruesome persecution of the Christians under Nero. They returned to Ephesus one final time. It had been sixteen years since Paul first met them at Corinth, and now he was in a Roman prison for the second time. His death at the hands of the emperor Nero was imminent, and he was writing the last paragraph of his long and fruitful life. “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19). Paul is thinking of his dear friends who were then back in Ephesus where Timothy was ministering. It was just a brief and simple greeting. But Paul wanted to be remembered to them in the last hours of his life. Imagine the impression that Priscilla and Aquila left in the mind of the apostle Paul. Their legacy was not the churches they founded in their homes but the model of ministry they demonstrated consistently – evangelism, discipleship and multiplication – winning, building and sending. We have seen Priscilla and Aquila the disciples, the teachers and the leaders. Tradition has it they eventually died in Ephesus as martyrs like Paul. Their blood was indeed the seed of the church. “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”
Lets pray.
With thanks to Jeff Strite and Timothy Henning for ideas and inspiration. Read their sermons on Priscilla at www.sermoncentral.com
This week saw the birth of the newest nation in the world – The Republic of South Sudan. After centuries of slavery and colonialism, 55 years ago, Sudan finally won independence from British rule. But the suffering was only just beginning. In our life time, Sudan has endured two major, protracted, civil wars. Estimates suggest at least two and a half million people died. Quite a price for self determination.
In September, the Palestinian government will also seek UN approval to be recognised as an independent sovereign state, based on the June 1967 borders with Israel. The aspirations of the Palestinian people go back even further than Sudan, at least to the UN Partition Plan of 1947, 63 years ago, another legacy of failed British imperialism. Unlike South Sudan, however, the United States will veto the declaration in the UN Security Council. Israel is presently buying votes in the UN General Assembly to avoid a 2/3 majority endorsing the declaration.
But will that end Palestinian aspirations for independence? Is the Freedom Flotilla, presently detained by the Greek authorities, a humanitarian attempt to relieve suffering in Gaza or is it an existential threat to Israel’s existence? The Israel ambassador to Spain, Raphael Schutz, said this on Friday. There is “no humanitarian crisis” or shortage of food and medicine in Gaza. The Freedom Flotilla should be seen “for what it is: a propaganda event intended to build solidarity with a terrorist group that wants to wipe Israel off the map and kill the greatest possible number of Jews and Israelis.”
Many Jewish people fear there will be further attempts to annihilate them. Unfortunately there has been plenty of historical precedents. Comparisons between Ahmadinejad and Hitler are common, even among the wiki-leaked US diplomatic cables. So how should we respond? Clearly anti-Semitism is evil. Racism is unacceptable and must not be tolerated.
But how should we respond to those who threaten Israel’s existence? Pastor John Hagee is the leader of the 20,000 member, Cornerstone Church in San Antonio in Texas.
His views are broadcast weekly to around 100 million homes through TV and radio. He will also be speaking in Birmingham at a Bible Prophecy conference in August unless the Home Secretary banns his visit. He offers one novel solution. He said recently,
“The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God’s plan for both Israel and the West… a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ.”
So what is the difference between the pre-emptive military strike advocated by Pastor Hagee and the pre-emptive military strike advocated by Esther 2,500 years ago? Well lets find out. According to the United Nations there are currently over 32 armed conflicts in the world, causing more than 1,000 deaths per year. Although the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ was only coined in 1992, during the Bosnian-Serb civil war, it has clearly been practised for thousands of years. So when we turn to this final episode in the story of Esther, are we not witnessing the same kind of barbaric, tribal, ethnic cleansing we see in places like Iraq, Burma, Ossetia, Kashmir, Indonesia and Botswana?
There is, I think superficially, an element of truth in this. Human nature has not improved over time. I do not imagine the Jews and the Iranians of Esther’s day were anymore righteous than their contemporaries. Certainly we are no more righteous than they. But why does this story of Esther have to end in this way? Why do we recoil from the slaughter? More importantly, why is it recorded here in the Scriptures? We shall find an explanation. It may not be palatable, but it is given. As we reach the penultimate episode in the story of Esther, observe:
The Means of Israel’s Deliverance (Esther 9:1-4)
The Completeness of Israel’s Deliverance (9:5-17)
The Purpose of Israel’s Deliverance (9:18-10:3)
“What do you do for Christ each day?”
a faithful Christian said.
And I replied, “I drive a truck
and fill the stores with bread.”
He said, “I know of your bread route
But that is not the thing.
I mean what do you do each day
For Jesus Christ the King?”
I said, “But I believe a man can
work in such a way
That selling bread is work for Christ
A sacrament each day.”
Once more the man inquired, “But sir,
If this is not unfair
What do you do for Christ each day,
Like witnessing and prayer?”
I said, “Work is my best witness
and selling bread to them
is like a prayer in Jesus’ name.
I drive the truck for Him!”
These Sundays through the Summer we are exploring the relationship between Jesus and Women: Women whose lives were transformed by Jesus. Some are well known by name. Others remain anonymous. Today we come to a lady with two names, Tabitha in Aramaic and Dorcas in Greek. A lady who did not meet Jesus personally but whose life was transformed by Jesus.
I hope you will be inspired and encouraged by her sweet giving spirit. Let’s consider her legacy, her loss and her Lord. Continue reading →
Saturday 16th July at Stanlake Park Wine Estate,
Twyford, Berkshire, RG10 0BN
from 2:00pm-6:00pm.
There will be wine and cheese tasting with a children’s treasure hunt. Free admission but donations welcome to help provide a well and permanent buildings for Goshen School in Nkondo in Uganda. In August a team will be going from Christ Church, Virginia Water to help with the well construction and extend the school.
For more information (and short videos) about how you can be part of this project see here.
A reporter was interviewing an elderly gentleman on his 100th birthday. “What are you most proud of?” he asked. “Well, “said the man, “I don’t have an enemy in the world.” “What a beautiful thought! How inspirational!” said the reporter. “Yep,” added the old man, “outlived every last one of them.”
Kevin Higgin’s observes, “Sometimes I think it would be wonderful to live life without any enemies, and then I realize that one day I will when the Lord Jesus returns… But until then we might as well get used to the fact that not everyone is going to like us, and in fact, many will even hate us. We all go through a wide range of emotions when it comes to those who would do us harm or have ill feelings toward us. Nowhere is this range of emotions better expressed than in the Psalms. There were times when David prayed for his enemies. Other times he asked God to destroy them. Sometimes he prayed for wisdom and guidance in the face of his enemies, and that God would keep him in the way of righteousness. Sometimes David asked why he had to suffer when he was in the right? On other occasions, David praised the Lord for victory over them, for his protection from them, for God’s provision when pursued by them. Sometimes David realised God was using his enemies to punish him for his sins. It can be draining coping with someone who seems out to get us. We can easily harbour feelings of hatred or bitterness and anger against people who wrong us, conspire against us or spread lies about us. At times like this we need to remember what Jesus said about loving our enemies. For the truth is, unless we love our enemies, we will sooner or later run out of friends… How do you respond to opposition, strife or hostility? If you could find a way to overcome those who hate you, use you or abuse you, would you be interested? In today’s episode in the story of how God delivered his people from genocide in Esther 7, I believe the Lord gives us three simple principles that will help us too find victory over evil.
When you find yourself in deep trouble, when the rubber has hit the fan, it really does not matter whose fault it was does it? When you find yourself broke, bruised or beaten up, you are not desperate for a therapist to find out why are you? If you’re distressed, depressed or dejected, it’s not that important to understand the causes is it? All you really want is someone to help, someone to understand, someone to show they care. Someone to hold your hand. You see dying people, broken people, hurt people, used and abused people, don’t need theological explanations, or self-help tutorials, they need practical help, not next month, not next week, but now, today, right this minute. In our series of encounters between Jesus and women, today we meet a mother. A desperate mother.
A mother with a sick child. Imagine that you’ve carried this baby in your womb for nine long months. You’ve been through the excruciating pain of childbirth. You’ve nursed her, fed her, washed her, changed her. Watched her grow, take her first step, say her first word. You can still remember her first day of school. How pretty she looked in that dress. The first time you let her out of your sight. She’s your little girl. Your little girl.
And this was her little girl. Maybe she had been sick before.
A cold here. A headache there, maybe even the flu from time to time. But nothing ever like this before.
Sleepless in Susa : Things are not always as they seem (Esther 6:1-6:14)
Once upon a time a man was shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. He was the lone survivor. Over several months, he constructed a shelter from pieces of wood salvaged from the wreck and from whatever he could find on the island. That little hut was the only protection he had from the elements. It was the only place he cold safeguard his meagre possessions. Upon returning from a lengthy search for food, he was distraught to find the hut engulfed in flames. He spent that night despondent, sleeping on the sand and feeling like God had completely abandoned him. He awoke early the next morning to discover a ship anchored off the island. A crew member stepped ashore and said with a smile, “We saw your smoke signal and came to rescue you.” What seemed to be destruction turned out to be deliverance. And such was the case with Mordecai. He had been shipwrecked by an undercurrent of anti-Semitism on an island of injustice. Now he stood in the shadow of death. Every hope that may have sheltered him had gone up in smoke. But, as we shall see, things are not always as they seem.
We’ve been studying the story of Esther the past few weeks. I don’t know about you, but I’m really beginning to see that God is sovereign. His plans are always providential. Throughout the entire story, although His name is never mentioned, the invisible hand of almighty God has been working behind the scenes on behalf of His people. It’s just like the promise found in Romans 8 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). In the story of Esther we see God working out his purposes for the benefit of those who love and follow Him. This evening I want us to discover five little things you should know about a great big God:
1. When all seems lost, it isn’t.
2. When no one seems to notice, God does.
3. When everything seems great, it’s not.
4. When nothing seems just, it is.
5. When God seems absent, he is truly present
(And I am enormously grateful to Charles Swindoll for 4/5s of this outline and the inspiration for much of the content).
The Anglican Mission in England (AMIE) held its inaugural event on Wednesday June 22 during an evangelical ministers’ conference in central London.
AMIE has been established as a society within the Church of England dedicated to the conversion of England and biblical church planting. There is a steering committee and a panel of bishops. The bishops aim to provide effective oversight in collaboration with senior clergy.
The AMIE has been encouraged in this development by the Primates’ Council of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) who said in a communiqué from Nairobi in May 2011: “We remain convinced that from within the Provinces which we represent there are creative ways by which we can support those who have been alienated so that they can remain within the Anglican family.”
The AMIE is determined to remain within the Church of England. The desire of those who identify with the society is to have an effective structure which enables them to remain in the Church of England and work as closely as possible with its institutions. Churches or individuals may join or affiliate themselves with the AMIE for a variety of reasons. Some may be churches in impaired communion with their diocesan bishop who require oversight. Others may be in good relations with their bishop but wish to identify with and support others.
At the London conference three English clergy who have been ordained in Kenya for “ministry in the wider Anglican Communion” with the support of the GAFCON Prımates’ Councıl were welcomed and prayed with by bishops and church leaders in support of their ministry.
The launch of AMIE follows four and a half years of discussions with senior Anglican leaders in England about ways in which those who are genuinely in need of effective orthodox oversight in the Church of England can receive it.
The AMIE will continue to encourage church planting and all forms of Christian witness in accord with the Jerusalem Statement of the GAFCON Conference in June 2008.
“The AMiE is not only committed to adventurous church planting and the re-conversion of England, but is also prepared to provide alternative episcopal oversight in cases where it is clear that diocesan bishops are failing in their canonical duty to uphold sound teaching. The key institutional innovation is a panel of bishops formed by Bishops Michael Nazir Ali, John Ball, Colin Bazley, Wallace Benn and John Ellison which enjoys the support and encouragement of the GAFCON Primates’ Council.”
Please make yourself comfortable. Now please cross your arms. Not hard was it? Glance down and notice the position of your hands and arms. O.K. Relax, unfold your arms. Now I’d like you to do it again. But this time, put the arm that was underneath on top and the arm that was on top underneath.
In other words, reverse your arms. Got it? I can see some of you are having difficulty. It wasn’t as easy to do this time, was it? Did it feel awkward? Uncomfortable? You really had to think about it. The first time it was natural, it didn’t require any thought, because that’s your preferred way of doing it.
We each cross our arms in a certain way, and no arm crossing technique is right or wrong, good or bad. They are just different. And arm crossing is typical of just about everything we think and do. That is my first point this morning.
1. Recognise in one another our unique God-given personalities
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” (10:38-39)
Martha is feeling a little tense. You would too. Thirteen hungry men have just showed up unexpectedly.
Martha was grateful that the Master felt at home with them. It was an honour and privilege to host Jesus and his friends. But Martha was irritated as well. It was not that she did not have enough food, but that her sister was not helping her serve. Mary and Martha had very different personalities. Mary’s tranquil composure vividly contrasting with Martha’s busy fussiness. Mary was totally absorbed as she listened to the Master. She eagerly drank in his every word. The uppermost question in her mind was “How can I enjoy him the most? What can I learn from him today?”
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On Tuesday, November 15, 2011 EMEU will conduct a special Executive Briefing on the Middle East in the Bay area of San Francisco in the city of Fremont and held in the historic Centerville Presbyterian Church founded in 1853.
Saturday 16th July at Stanlake Park Wine Estate,