As we have said there are three tents, the individual physical body, the gathered believers and the Body of Christ.  This third tent transcends the other two and is the standard by which their authenticity is measured.  So whether it be a denomination, a prayer group, a house church or any gathering of believers its purpose, structure and activity find their definition in the Body of Christ as illustrated in Scripture.

In the last segment we looked at the conception of the…

So far we have looked at two tents, the individual believer and the gathered believers.  Now we want to look at the third tent, the universal Body of Christ.  It is here we find the standard by which the first and second are measured.

The place to start is Matthew 17:13-19 where Jesus asks Peter who the Son of Man is.  This is the critical passage that identifies God’s plan for those who believe in Him.  It not only describes the third tent but its fabric as well.  So let’s…

In our last segment we looked at the scriptural understanding of our physical bodies being ‘tents’ in which believers live temporarily in this world.  Just as the Hebrews moved through the wilderness in caravans and set up tents so today we are mobile tents set up in a secular wilderness in which the tent is not only the individual body but also our relationships with God and one another.  “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Mt.18:20 NIV).”

When the bodies…

“Given personal trust in Jesus and His daily plan of reliance on Him, it is the spiritual equipment we’ve been given that needs to be developed.”  That is our tents, meaning our bodies, our congregations and the universal Body of Christ (from last segment).”

In the NIV there are 346 references for ‘tent.’ 99% of them are found in the Old Testament. In each can be found something spiritually adaptable to our individuality.  That is the point of the Old Testament.  It lays the…

I don’t know how many of you have ever been camping in your travel but the experience is quite different from our everyday sleeping and eating in an already established house.  Some of our friends say their idea of camping is a Holiday Inn.  In other words there is a tremendous contrast between our age and the biblical age when traveling involved camping for anyone and everyone, without exception.  It was a major undertaking requiring exacting preparations.  The tent was the critical piece…

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am (Jn.14:1-2 NIV).”

I’m looking at ‘the many rooms’ Jesus is preparing for us in the Kingdom.  That phrase carries the exciting experience of recognized uniqueness.  Every…

We have been dwelling on the subject of uniqueness.  What are the implications of uniqueness for each of us?  Let’s let the Scripture guide us here.  Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (Jn.13:34 NIV).”  The operative word here is ‘one.’  ‘One’ another has the connotation of uniqueness.  The love is the unique love of the ‘One’ God in Christ being extended through our uniqueness to the uniqueness of another ‘one. ‘  The…

If there is one insight that has struck me in the years of my life it is that Jesus is the most unique person to ever have graced this universe.  For some reason, and I can only say it is a Holy Spirit led reason on my part, this idea of the uniqueness of Jesus is absolutely essential for each of us to embrace if we expect to really understand who God is, who we are and why we are here.  To see the unique Jesus as one of a kind, special, an Only, penetratingly singular, disturbing yet…

What we need to grasp is the concept of uniqueness.  Every person born into this world is different, individual and unique.  Why?  Because Jesus is unique.  It is His uniqueness that is the pattern for every person born.  Remember, as we have mentioned before, that after He was resurrected Jesus told Mary Magdalene not to hold on to Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father and that He was going to ‘your Father and my Father.’  The Father is unique and the Holy Spirit is unique.  Yet…

What should we be looking for in a sermon?  What should we hope that a preacher does with his time in the pulpit?  What is the purpose of a sermon?   

Preaching is all about the elevation of God’s mind as seen in Jesus Christ.  Every Scripture passage is in someway a revelation of Jesus; His mind, His heart and His Spirit.  God has made Himself known in Jesus and Scripture is His heart, mind and Spirit at work.  To let the Scripture speak through the prompting of the Spirit…

“After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.” Matthew 27:53 The Message (MSG)

I’m not letting this one go. 

In the last writing I zeroed in on what this whole passage (vs.51-53) had to say about the crucifixion experience.  The moment Jesus died there was an earthquake, graves were open, rocks were split and the bodies of believers were raised.  All the events has individual significance.  As the above verse…

Address below is my sermon today at Feed and Seed Church in Asheville (actually Fletcher just south of Asheville). 

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3247094/Feed%20and%20Seed%206-26-11.wav

Spiritual Gifts mentioned in other places

Rom.1:11-12  I so want to be there to deliver God's gift in person and watch you grow stronger right before my eyes! But don't think I'm not expecting to get something out of this, too! You have as much to give me as I do to you (The Message).

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith…

“Do You Swear to Tell The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth, So Help You God?”

I’m sure you remember that as a question asked of a witness in a courtroom before he gives his testimony.  Truth there means the witness is being asked to express his view of the facts as best as possible about a given situation.  Everything hangs on the moment of the testimony and the subsequent decisions of a judge and a jury.  But human beings are flawed with imperfect reason,…

As we have already indicated, a spiritual heart is a heart sensitive to the spiritual dimension wherein our relationship with Jesus guides us with His Word.  He is the light that reveals its contents and the bread that sustains us within it.  He brings us into His Kingdom, the Kingdom of the hearts, the Kingdom of God.  He is the gate through which we walk each day and the shepherd who protects us along the way.  He sends His Spirit who makes us one with Him and gives us His eyes to see and…