Christ Church

Kirkers Read 02 – John’s Epistles & Apocalyptic Vision

Ben Zornes on

Week Two – John’s Epistles & Apocalyptic Vision

As you work through John’s epistles I want to draw your attention to one very important feature. John loves establishing a vital doctrinal point––in the case of 1 John this is the doctrine of Christ’s Incarnation––and then imploring his listeners to live out the practical implications of that doctrine. God has come in the flesh, so love your brother. The Gospel is that Jesus is God’s Son—our only hope of eternal life and the only propitiation for our sin—so refuse to believe antichrist’s false Gospel. God, through Christ, dwells in us; so rest in that assurance. Doctrine and love are not at odds for John, but the truths of the Apostles’ doctrine form the basis for our fellowship with God and with those He has begotten.

Revelation is perhaps the most fervently debated book of the Bible, and one thing we often skip right over is found right at the beginning. It is a Revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1) and is for our blessing (Rev. 1:3). Christ is being revealed as the great conqueror and King of the cosmos, and this is to bolster the faith and confidence of His servants, even in the face of apocalyptic disasters and trials. In Rushdoony’s commentary on Revelation he makes this salient point: “For too many people, the purpose of any reading of Revelation is to enable them to walk by sight. They demand a chart telling them what to expect and how to walk in full and open sight. But the calling of the Christian is to walk by faith, and the purpose of Revelation is to strengthen us against the enemy, prepare us to do battle, and to walk in the faith that our Lord will triumph, that the great work He has begun, He will accomplish (Thy Kingdom Come, pg 214).”

A couple things to keep in mind as you trace through the disorienting maze which Revelation can sometimes be, there is an echo of the Exodus story throughout: the plagues upon Egypt are paralleled by the cycles of judgement upon Jerusalem––spiritual Egypt. As God delivered the Israelites from Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, He is now delivering True Israel (i.e. believing Jews & Gentiles) from spiritual Egypt (i.e. Jerusalem). Let me make a shameless plug here for you to read through Pastor Doug’s current series of blogposts where he is working through Revelation. Really helpful and insightful stuff there.

As always, don’t forget that the point of reading the Word of God is communion with the Living God. It is food after all. And furthermore, the Word is edible food, it isn’t gravel. You’ve made it through one week, now on to week two and beyond!

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Summer Bible Challenge #2

Becky Pliego on

¡Hola, hola! What a blessing it was to read all the many testimonies of the first week of our summer BRC. Thank you for all the pictures and all the joy your shared with us. We are grateful for you and keep you in our prayers.

Last week we finished reading the gospel of John, a gospel that announces the gospel message and demands we respond to it with faith. Chapter 1 starts with a powerful scene that reminds us of Genesis 1: the Triune God separating light from darkness, moving, speaking, giving life. And just like God was the One who took the initiative to reach out to Adam and Eve when they fell in the Garden to bring judgement and mercy, here we see God again, reaching out to men. This time, however, He takes the form of a man: Jesus Christ, Immanuel, which means “God with us,” the Messiah, the One whom God promised to Adam and Eve that would come to crush the Serpent’s head, came into the world. The Word that spoke creation into being, became man and dwelt among us. And why did He come? To condemn the world that had been so unfaithful for centuries? No. He came to seek and save the lost, to bring light into the world, to make reconciliation with the Triune God possible through grace by faith (as we read in Galatians).

And here we are, reading this amazing story and we cannot pretend that we can read it and remain spectators in it. We are already in this story and have a role to play. We were born in this story, Friends. And we must respond to this Gospel message, to this love that is like nothing that we can compare or imagine by repenting of our sins and turning away from evil and believing and embracing full forgiveness in Christ. Isn’t that amazing? We can love Him, because he loved us first. We can respond  to Him because He called us first. We can repent of our sins, because it is “in His kindness that He leads us to repentance.” (Rom.2:4)  All of our salvation is by grace through faith. All of it is a gift. We read how Jesus called his disciples, and saw how all of whom He called came.  How His grace is indeed irresistible!  God loves to save sinners!

This week we will be continue reading the writings of John. His three epistles and the book of Revelation. See how the same themes that John brings up over and over again in his gospel, are present in his letters, especially in the first one.

John writes with the aim to help us believe so that we may have life as we see in John 19:35, 20:31, and 1 John 5:13. So, Friend, as you take the Book of God this week and read it, pray that the Lord will open your eyes to see Jesus in the text, to believe in Him and in His Word. To eat and be satisfied, to drink and not thirst, to walk in light and free from sin and free to obey and walk in light and love.

Don’t be intimidated to read the book of Revelation. Eat it and trust that the Lord will bless you as you read verse after after verse and chapter after chapter. This is also an inspired book by God and He gave it to us to nurture and strengthen our faith.  Reading larger portions in one sitting will make it easier for you to understand the big picture: The Victory of the Messiah over all His enemies and His reign over all nations and individuals. He is King of kings today and all things whether on earth or in heaven are being reconciled to Him (Col.1:19-21).

Those doing the extended version, will be reading the first and second epistles to the Thessalonians and will start Ephesians.

When you read the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians, notice how he repeats that he is confident that the gospel, the Word perched in “much affliction” and “in the midst of much conflict” will bear much fruit. Paul reminds us of the power of the Word in the life of the Believers to help them persevere in the midst of great trials, because the Word of God is alive and always at work in the life of the people of God. So we pray that we will persevere in the Word in the happy days and in the days in which we are living in much conflict, and the Word helps us persevere in Christ. And now you are probably remembering what we read in John 15 (an amazing passage to meditate on!).

In the second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul calls us to remain faithful and to stand firm in the midst of severe persecutions, and the only way to do this is to stand strong in the Gospel of Christ. And we trust that our holding fast does not depend on us, we know that “the Lord is faithful. That He will establish us and guard us against the evil one.” (2 Thess.3)  So we take the Book and read it, trusting that His Word is at work in us and drawing us closer to Him each day.

Do not forget that you can always invite more friends to join us. No need to catch up with the rest and read the previous readings, just encourage them to jump in on the day we are at! (we will come back to the previous passages at another time!)

May our prayer this week be: “ Lord, direct our hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” In Jesus name, Amen (2 Thess. 3:5)

Under His sun and by His grace,

Becky Pliego and the Christ Church Ladies Fellowship

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Kirkers Read 01

Ben Zornes on

Let’s get this Bible Reading Challenge show on the road…

Read the New Testament over a span of three months. A rather simple and straightforward goal. We’ve organized a few things in order to help cheer you on in that goal: these weekly blogposts, the Facebook group, and the weekly Kirkers Read podcast (hosted by the Christ Kirk podcast). Remember, if these help spur you on in reading your Bible, great. But don’t let these become a good thing keeping you from the better thing of, you know, actually reading your Bible!

Week One – John’s Gospel

A couple things to keep in mind as you read through the Gospel of John in this first week. Of the four Gospels, John was written last. Matthew, Mark, and Luke largely present the public ministry of Christ––His miracles, teachings, passion, and resurrection––in a chronological fashion. These Gospels present a factual gospel proclamation. By contrast, one thing to notice in John’s Gospel, is that it carries a reflective quality. John has clearly spent his life preaching, defending, and explaining the gospel, and his Gospel record unpacks the theological implications of Christ’s Incarnation, Life, Death, and Resurrection. Leon Morris points out that “it is undoubtedly an interpretive document. In selecting its material it omits much that the other Gospels include and includes much that they do not.” We should not view this difference with the other Gospels as contradictory, but as complementary. John’s Gospel is a barrel of well-aged whiskey, which offends both Jews and Greeks with its theological presentation of Christ’s saving work.

Another thing going on in the background, is that John employs Greek philosophic terms, but in adopting them, he adapts them and incorporates them into his theological presentation of salvation in Jesus Christ. The most prominent and famous example of this is in the “prologue” of John (John 1:1-18) where John speaks of the “Word made flesh.” “Word” here is the Greek word––and philosophical term––logos. Morris again comments: “Though John would not have been unmindful of the associations aroused by the term, his essential thought does not derive from the Greek background. His Gospel shows little trace of acquaintance with Greek philosophy and less of dependance on it.” In essence, John takes Hebrew ideas, shows Jesus as the fulfillment of those ancient doctrines and prophecies, all in terms of Greek philosophical notions.

Finally, as you read, notice the motif of “signs” throughout the book. For John, presenting the miracles of Christ was not a means of showing the mere wonder of the miracle; rather, the miracles were a means of signifying something beyond the amazement of the act itself. All of this culminates in the epilogue of the book: “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:30-31).” John wants to make sure that these miracles compel us to evangelical faith in the salvation found in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

Happy reading!

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Summer Bible Challenge #1

Becky Pliego on

¡Hola, hola! Welcome to the Summer Bible Reading Challenge! We are so very grateful that you are joining us and look forward to hearing what the Lord will be doing in your life through this challenge – let us know through email or on our Facebook page!

Our plan is designed for us to abide in the Word of God with much intentionality through the summer. We have two plans running simultaneously: one will take you through the New Testament once reading only 4 chapters a day, and the second option will take you through several epistles three times and a few psalms, reading 6 chapters a day. Each week we have readings assigned Monday through Friday, and Saturdays are set apart for you to review and meditate on the Scripture passage that we will be considering closely each week (Saturdays are called “M-Days” and of course you can use them as catch-up days too!)

I recommend that you print your weekly memory/meditation card and have it ready by Monday. That week read it and meditate on it, pray it, and even try to memorize it by reading it 5-6 times a day. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of memorization. Keep it at hand and be intentional about reading it and meditating on it several times a day, and then on Saturday – our M-Day – you will be surprised to see how much you actually remember. Note that our plan is not organized following the order in which the books appear in our Bibles, but rather in a unique, well-thought order. We will start with the gospel of John, followed by his three epistles, and then the book of Revelation, which he also wrote. Pay attention to what John chooses to tell us in his gospel about Jesus and then see how these things closely relate to the doctrines he develops in his letters. Note themes like light/darkness, dead/life, confession of sin, repentance, loving God and His people (but hating the world!). Those of you choosing to do the extended plan will be reading almost twice this per week. I am sure you will find many connections with what we will be reading in John’s writings while at the same time finding so much encouragement in seeing how our justification is through grace by faith alone.

The meditation/memorization passages are chosen to tell one story if you put them together. In June we will memorize John 3:16-21, 1 John 1:5-10; and Revelation 21:1-4. If you take a moment to read them all at once you will see that we are going to be meditating on the gospel message: The Father sends His Son to the world to save the world, to bring many to the light, and God is the Light and in Him there is no darkness at all, so we must repent (instead of saying that we have no sin!) and believe and trust that only the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us and not only forgive us but cleanse us from all unrighteousness! And then in the passage of Revelation we will read how, when we are in Him as part of His church, we will be in a restored relationship with Him. He will dwell among us, He will be our God and we will be His people forever! Sin will no longer have dominion over us, but all things will be made new in Christ Jesus! Alleluia!

As you meditate on each week’s passage, I hope you see how important it is to consider the immediate context of the text, and it’s context within the whole letter. This will make your meditation richer.

Friends, we are praying that you will be nourished as you come to the Scriptures every day this week. Remember that we don’t need more willpower to persevere, we need more hunger and more thirst, and we cannot produce those ourselves. Ask God to give you more hunger and more thirst of Him, He will surely answer you and draw closer to you as you draw closer to Him.

May our prayer this week be, “ Father, help us abide in your Word as your true disciples do.” (John 8:31)

Under His sun and by His grace,

Becky Pliego and the Christ Church Ladies Fellowship

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Bible Challenge #37

Becky Pliego on

¡Hola, hola! Friends, we are here, this is our last week of the first round of our Bible Reading Challenge! Praise the Lord! We thank God for each one of you and for the work of His Spirit in your lives. The testimonies we have heard have been really encouraging, and as I mentioned in some other email, the common thing in all these was hearing how much His Word changed you and sustained you through the hardest seasons you went through. This is wonderful to hear because we see again and again that God’s Word is alive and working in us, feeding us, sustaining us, transforming us. We can say with assurance that we never read our Bibles and pray in vain.

We have walked a long trail with some easy parts and other harder parts, and now we have arrived at the top of the mountain and can see the most amazing view: God’s grand redemptive story laid before us. From Genesis to Revelation one main story line, “the reconciling of all things to Himself, whether things on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of Jesus’ cross” (Col.1:20). And this makes us not only know the Lord more and understand our place in the story even better, but we also love Him more.

But as rich as these past eight months have been, we cannot live by what we got from being in the Word these past months. Our lives depend on the Word of God as much as we depend on oxygen and water to live. So we will not stop here. We will take the Book of God and read it, and meditate on it, and pray it, and continue to be transformed by it. We don’t know what lies ahead of us, but we now Who is ahead of us, and we know how our Father works all things together for our good and the glory of His name. So we take courage and do not lose heart, but take our two sleeved habit and wear it every day: reading and praying the Word.

This Summer we will continue reading the word and praying, but will also pay attention to the seam that binds this habit we now love to wear: meditation (memorization). Our summer plan (which starts on Monday, June 4) includes a passage that you will be memorizing (or meditating) starting on Monday of each week and reviewing on Saturday. You can print the passages and carry them with you in your purse, your pocket, and read them 5-6 times a day meditating on them, praying over them, considering them carefully. We really hope you can join us as we dig in deeper into the New Testament this summer. All the information can be found here. (Also, we will not have webinars during the summer, but the weekly emails will continue to be delivered to your inbox.)

This week we will be reading ten psalms and finish with Psalm 119 (the Psalm with which we started), and I trust that you will find it a joy to read and will see how much more the Lord has increased your love for His Word these past months. You will, I am sure, read it with more delight than when we started this challenge.

On our last day, we will read Romans 8 (bonus reading is Romans 1-10). This chapter is a fantastic one to meditate on as we close our Bible Reading Challenge. The chapter shouts good news: “No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” In Adam we fell, we died, we were condemned, the Law was given to show us our desperate need for a Savior and our impossibility to save ourselves. But God always comes to seek and save the lost, so He became man and came, and dwelt among us and being humbled to that point, He died on the cross to redeem His own and deliver us from the condemnation that was upon us. His grace – irresistible grace – broke the yoke and through grace by faith we have been set free, free from all sin, free from all guilt of sin, free from the punishment of sin, free! Free to love God and our neighbor, free to serve Christ and His church, free to proclaim the good news to all, free to live in joy, free to ground our identity in Christ and not in our achievements, failures, neither sins we have committed or sins that have been committed against us. We are free! Free indeed by the blood of the Lamb!

May our prayer this week be, “Father thank you for the freedom we have in Christ, we pray now, give us the assurance we need to boldly proclaim in the midst of our circumstances that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Important end note: Since Monday I will be traveling back home form the other side of the Atlantic, I will be recording our last webinar today, Friday, May 25 at 10:00am, maybe you can join me live?

Under His sun and by His grace,

Becky Pliego and the team of Ladies Fellowship from Christ Church

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