Joe White Drive Time Podcast

On the Third Day - Luke 24:46

"Like everything is good that ever happened, there's cynics. There's critics who deny the fact that it ever happened, but they have not considered the evidence. And I thank my good friend Josh McDowell for his exhaustive research on this subject. But there's four main arguments that the cynics and critics give. The ones who don't want to believe in Christ have you give for their excuse that there was no resurrection."

Family Discussions:

1. What does the resurrection of Christ, what difference does that make in your life today?
2. If Jesus is alive inside of you, what kind of life should you and I be living in our homes, in our schools, in our, in our workplace, and especially in relationship with those that are close to us?
3. What is the resurrection Jesus do inside of me for the people that I'm around?

Transcription:

00:14          This is one incredible line in scripture. This is awesome. This is from the eye witness accounts, the greatest moment in history. Luke 24:46 and it says this, "and he said to them, thus it is written that Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead on the third day." We talked just the other day about what happened to Jesus on the day of his crucifixion and about the resurrection. Well, like everything is good that ever happened, there's cynics. There's critics who deny the fact that it ever happened, but they have not considered the evidence. And I thank my good friend Josh McDowell for his exhaustive research on this subject. But there's four main arguments that the cynics and critics give. The ones who don't want to believe in Christ have you give for their excuse that there was no resurrection.

 

01:10          First of all, the cynics and critics say that Jesus really didn't die. It's called the Swoon theory. That that somehow on the cross, Jesus just sort of went to sleep. That somehow he survived the flogging of Rome. There was a torture designed to take a man within one breath of his own death. He survived the Roman crucifixion, which always meant death. He survived the signature of two Roman coroners, who according to Roman law would sign the certificate of the dead body. And if they were wrong, they would be crucified for their mistake. Somehow he survived the wrapping of the Jewish tradition of the bombing process of that day where they would take linen clothes and a hundred pounds of spices and wrap around the man's head and his body. Somehow he would be able to with his shoulder, revive himself in the tomb and knocked the one and a half to two ton stone away from the opening. Somehow he would have the ability after going through all of that to overcome a guard of 12 to 16 men trained by Rome to defend a piece of ground that gets an entire invading army. And then somehow he would get out of those linens and he would be able to show himself as more of life and appear to over 500 people over a period of 40 days. He is the Lord of life. That's not true. Jesus died and Jesus was resurrected.

 

02:29          The second argument is that the Jews stole the body, and that's probably the funniest argument in the world because if the Jews would have stolen the body, all they would've had to do is take the body of Jesus, put it on a wagon and parade it down Main street in Jerusalem and Christianity would have been done forever. The third argument is the disciples stole the body. The disciples went and moved the stone and beat up the Roman guard somehow and they stole the body and hid it away. But not so because men, especially 11 cowards who ran after crucifixion of Christ, knowing that they would be the next to be crucified, that something happened in those men's lives, that those menwent out and died martyrs' deaths. Men will not die for a lie. They know is a lie. Men will die for lie if they think it's the truth. But when will not die for a lie if they know it's a lie. Those men became some of the bravest man who ever lived on the face of this earth because they saw a resurrected Christ.

 

03:22          And then the fourth argument is preposterous as it may sound, is that the women went to the wrong tomb. That someday somehow on Sunday morning, they forgot where he was buried. Although if they went to the wrong tomb, that meant that the disciples must have gone to the wrong tomb. That meant that the Jews must've gone to the wrong tomb and the tomb was a private burial. Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Folks, Jesus is alive and again, it is the fact that history that sets Christianity apart from every other faith. You could go to the tomb of any other man who ever lived and especially one who claimed to be God and raised so much attention as Jesus did and you'll find their bones. Jesus is unique. Jesus is indeed Lord and Savior. And Jesus is indeed one who deserves for you and me to give our allegiance and give our lives. And my question for you today is what does the resurrection of Christ, what difference does that make in your life today? And if Jesus is alive inside of you, what kind of life should you and I be living in our homes, in our schools, in our, in our workplace, and especially in relationship with those that are close to us? What is the resurrection Jesus do inside of me for the people that I'm around?

 

Move Closer - Revelation 5:9-10

" I heard a story years ago that I will never forget the story was of a man who entered the museum. And the museum was famous for all of its fantastic artwork. But when the man came in, his face was downtrodden and sad and the caretaker of the museum has seen this face many, many times because people would refer people to his museum when they were going through incredible difficulties in life. "

Family Discussion:

1. Who is the object of your worship?
2. What would your new song be if you were on your knees as close to Jesus as you can get looking up in his face today?

Transcription:

00:13          If you and I could possibly imagine the fascination that John must've been in the day that he saw the vision that the angels of the Lord began to speak to him and tell him that the things that were to come. In this particular passage in Revelation chapter five verses nine and 10, John comes to a moment when he begins to weep because he sees the scroll with the seven seals and scholars believe that the scroll may have been the title deed to the earth. In each of the seven seals is a judgment upon the earth. In Revelation five nine and 10 begins to open up the next chapter of the judgements of God and he says this, "And they sing a new song. Saying worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals. For you were slain and purchased of God with your blood. Men from every tongue and people and tribe and nation, You've made them to be a kingdom of priests to our God and they will reign upon the earth."

 

01:10          John weeps because no one can break the seals. But then Jesus, who has purchased us with his blood, comes and breaks the seals one at a time in the rest of chapter five and on. Tell us about each of the judgments in the seals of God, but as John beholds Jesus, he begins to worship. He worships Jesus as one who is worthy. He worships Jesus as one who was slain. He worships Jesus as one who bought us out. Scripture says he purchased us by his blood. He redeemed us. And this is where John begins to worship because the word for redemption is the Greek word exagorazo. Exagorazo means that we've been bought out the slave market never to be returned to the slave market of sin again. And John begins to praise and worship Jesus and begins to sing a new song. And it makes me think today, what is the object of my praise and worship? What is the object of your praise and of your worship?

 

02:07          I heard a story years ago that I will never forget the story was of a man who entered the museum. And the museum was famous for all of its fantastic artwork. But when the man came in, his face was downtrodden and sad and the caretaker of the museum has seen this face many, many times because people would refer people to his museum when they were going through incredible difficulties in life. And as soon as he saw the man, he pointed to a painting over a wall. And it was a gigantic painting, but the man couldn't see what it was. And the curator, the museum said, move closer. And the man moved closer to the museum. And then the curator said, now lower.

 

02:43          And the man started stooping down and the curator said, move closer. And they may move closer to the painting. And the curator said, now lower. Move closer. Now lower. Move closer. Now lower. Move closer. Now, lower. Pretty soon the man was standing under the painting or actually kneeling under the painting, looking straight up into the painting right over his head and their on his knees as close to the painting as he could get. He could see the face of Christ on a cross crucified with blood down his brow, looking down at him. And a spirit of hope and a spirit of compassion begin to melt into this man's broken heart. And the man became relieved and smiled. You can only see Christ when you're low and when you're on your knees.

 

03:24          And when I think about the judgements that are coming upon this earth, and I think about the one who could open the scroll to begin to describe the judgments will be the one that would redeem you and redeem me. He purchased us by his blood. It makes me move closer and it makes me get lower. It makes me move closer and it makes me get lower. And there you'll find the compassion in the face of Christ. And when you're in that position, you will sing a new song and you will worship him both men and woman. And the questions for the day are this: who is the object of your worship? And the second question is, what would your new song be if you were on your knees as close to Jesus as you can get looking up in his face today? Make it be a day of worship.

A Gift Inside of You - 1 Peter 4:9-11

"When you think of a big time Christian and who do you think about? You think about somebody who's on television and they get this incredible gift of speaking or teaching? Do you think about some gigantic political leader that also happens to be a Christian? Or do you think about somebody, you know, in Hollywood that's an absolute rockstar and also is a believer? You know what? I don't. I think about a very humble woman who I called 'Pardner" and I want to tell you in a minute why she's my hero."

Family Discussion:

1. Talk to the person in your family today and find the spiritual gift in them and encourage them in that gift.

Transcription:

00:14          When you think of a big time Christian and who do you think about? You think about somebody who's on television and they get this incredible gift of speaking or teaching? Do you think about some gigantic political leader that also happens to be a Christian? Or do you think about somebody, you know, in Hollywood that's an absolute rockstar and also is a believer? You know what? I don't. I think about a very humble woman who I called 'Pardner" and I want to tell you in a minute why she's my hero.

 

00:51          First Peter Chapter Four, verses nine through 11. Watch out! If you start living this Bible verse, you're going to be somebody hero too. "Be hospitable." Scripture says "to one another without complaint. As each one of you has received a special gift. Employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, let him do so as one who utters the utterances of God. Whoever serves let him do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies. So that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

 

01:34          My Grandmother Pardner as she called, we called her because she said, don't call me grandma because I'm not old enough to be your grandma. I'm your partner. She lived to be a hundred. Pardner died the day she gave everything away. Pardner had the gift of giving and she was everybody's hero. And Pardner would have you over for a visit. She'd give you something. It would be something that was valuable. She could not let you leave her house without giving you something. I don't care if you are rich or poor or king or peasant. That woman would use her spiritual gift of giving and she would give you a smile, a hug, a big old Texas, you know, a howdy or she'd give you something out of her house. After she gave it all away, she went to heaven.

 

02:19          Another one of my heroes, my dad, he had the gift of encouragement. You know, he was the guy that said 'atta boy.' He was the guy that said, 'I'm proud of you.' He was the guy just before he died, just before he died, who gave me a thumbs up. Even when he couldn't speak at the end, he was muted by his stroke but he could do that. He's my hero.

 

02:41          I think about another hero of mine. I've never met her. Hopefully we'll meet her in heaven one day. Mother Teresa, I was talking to when a president, Reagan's right hand advisers and I said, who's your favorite? He met everybody in the, you know, the world leaders. And he said, Mother Teresa's my favorite back in Reagan's Day. And I said, so special about Mother Teresa. He said, oh, those eyes, he said those little steely blue eyes. You said she could look a hole right through you. I said, tell me a mother Theresa Story. He said, we were sitting there, President Reagan, myself and the secretary of state and the secretary of state said, mother Theresa, how many children down the streets of India a year. And said she looked at that man with those steely blue eyes and she said, none. I hold him in my arms before they die. And then she looked at President Reagan and she said, and you could do something about that too if you wanted to. Mother Theresa became famous because of her gift of mercy.

 

03:38          Do you know what? You've got a spiritual gift inside of you. And you may think that you'll never be super famous and you know what? You probably don't even care to be, but to somebody, you need to be their hero. And it may be your father and maybe your wife, or it may be you know, the guy who's working in the cubicle next to you in that company. But when you take the spiritual gifts that God's given you and you employ that gift to serving one another, scripture says you employ the gift God's given you to make Jesus look good - to make Jesus the hero. And you know what's cool is your days past, somebody will look back over their shoulder and they'll think fondly of you the way I do of Pardner and my dad and Mother Teresa. Everybody's got a spiritual gift. And you've got one too.

 

04:28          So my question for you today is talk to the person that gets in your family today and find the spiritual gift in them and encourage them in that gift. And you know what? As you encourage each other in the home and your spiritual gifts, that gift is going to come into full bloom. So how can you do that today? And by the way, be sure to hug somebody today.

Respect Like Christ Respects - 1 Timothy 5:1-2

"And when you  really respect God, then when your day to go home and be with him comes, you're going to be excited to meet him face to face."

Family Discussion:

• How can you better honor those who are above you, those who are your elders?
• How can you respect those better who report to you? Maybe it's your younger siblings or maybe it's your kids, or maybe it's people in your company.
• Why do you think this virtue of respect has slowly started to fade out in our society, and what kind of effect has it had on families and on crime and on the disruption of teams?
• What are you going to do today to be more a man or a woman of respect?

Transcription:

00:06 I've got in my hands one word that I think is the greatest team builder and the greatest home builder and the greatest relationship builder of any word I can think of except for a word like Jesus or God. And the word is respect. Check out 1st Timothy chapter five, verse one and two, it says: "Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father and the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers and the younger women as sisters with all purity."

00:49 I remember one time when my youngest boy Cooper was just a little five year old and he was just a jolly vivacious little guy. We would memorize scripture at night before I'd tuck the kids in bed, and I was traveling and I called home from Nashville and my wife got on the phone, she was dying laughing. It was 9:30 at night. And I said, what's so funny? She said, well tonight when I tucked Cooper in bed, he said, Mama want to memorize another Bible verse. So when daddy comes home, I can tell it to him. And she said, well, Cooper, a good verse is "children, obey your parents, for this is pleasing to God." And he pulls his thumb out of his mouth. And he said, that's not in there. And she said, what? He said, that wasn't in there, you just made that up. And she died laughing, she said, it's in there. Let me tell you, it's in there.

01:32 It's amazing how we want to take difficult verses and rip them out of the Bible. But man, respect is the deal. I respected my dad. My Dad taught hand to hand combat in World War II. He was a tough man. He was a man's man. But you know what I respected the most about my dad? My Dad respected my mom. I never heard my dad one time say anything negative about my mom. Never did. He respected that woman and she respected him and no wonder they were married for 66 years. No wonder when my father died, the last thing that happened, my Mama said before my daddy died with her, he was laying in a chair and life was literally leaving his veins. He wasn't eating. He wasn't drinking. He was unconscious. His left arm had been paralyzed because of a stroke. But, here she was where she had been for 66 years on his right side and respecting him and he respecting her day after day after day. Even would write her love notes. Sometimes daily little love notes. He leave them on the kitchen counter when he'd go off to work. But just as daddy died and as Christ was taking my dad home to be with him, in his subconsciousness my daddy reached over with his left hand, which hadn't moved in months. This is a true story. You can ask my mom. And he took my mom's hand and he raised her hand over his head and held it up as high as he could hold it. And I know what he was saying as Jesus took him home. He was saying, Jesus, I'm ready to go. But she goes too. When you respect your boss, you may not agree with everything he says, but when you respect him, it's going to build a company. When you respect your dad or your mom, you may not agree with everything they say, but it's going to build a good home. When you respect those who work for you, even though they may not be perfect, but when you respect them, you're going to build a good company. And when you respect God, when you really respect God, then when you're day to go home and be with him comes, you're going to be excited to meet him face to face.

04:03 So here's the questions for today. How can you better honor those who are above you, those who are your elders? And second question is: How can you respect those better who report to you? Maybe it's your younger siblings or maybe it's your kids, or maybe it's people in your company. And then this question: Why do you think this virtue of respect has slowly started to fade out in our society, and what kind of effect has it had on families and on crime and on the disruption of teams? The last question is this: What are you going to do today to be more a man or a woman of respect? And here's the lifeline today. Respect is one of the few things we can control for ourselves and what we can give to others.

Honoring God With Our Choices - Colossians 1:28-29

"For Paul, his desire was to be as sinless as possible, and it didn't stop at the prison door."

Family Discussion:

• What entertainment choices have you made recently that are especially God-honoring?
• If you're struggling in the area of making wise entertainment choices, describe why. Talk about it. If you don't, why not? What's going on inside there?
• What practical things will you do in the future, to labor and struggle and strive with his energy to help present everyone complete in Christ?

Transcription:

00:06 Well, you can check out the latest beauty magazine; "17" in this case, a teen magazine, and you can get your little heart really confused. 525 fashion and beauty tricks. 525... you try all those, no wonder everybody is so confused about what to do with our mind and our body and our heart. That's the message of the world today. Paul's got a different message today that I think might be a little bit better. It's in Colossians 1 verse 28 and 29 and Paul says this in that verse: "And we proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that we might present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose, also, I labor striving according to his power, which mightily works within me."

01:03 In Colossians 4:10, Paul the apostle informs us as he writes that he is serving prison time in Rome. Can you picture yourself in his shoes when he writes these great letters? No electric lights, no flush toilets, no fashion and beauty tricks and no gas furnace, no queen sized mattress. Instead a dingy cell, drury, smelly, bug infested, cold; and to pass the time, there's no telephone, there's no radio, no personal little bookshelf, no prison library. And no television! Could have been the biggest blessing of all. And worst of all, absent are the voices, the smiles, and the touch of most of his closest friends. Sounds pretty miserable, doesn't it? You might expect that someone who could find themselves in a similar situation would maybe drop their guard regarding your personal holiness, the condition of your heart. Aa little sin now and then after all, who's going to notice? Who's going to care? But for Paul, his desire was to be as sinless as possible, and it didn't stop at the prison door. It wasn't motivated by what situation he found himself in, or who might or might not notice. He knew that God's eyes were on his heart. His result, Paul went to great effort to honor the Lord with his decisions and his life choices. In addition, he declared a desire to present everyone complete in Christ. I love that goal. What a fantastic goal. He added this, he said: "to this end, I labor," struggling, striving with all his energy, which so powerfully worked in the life of any believer. Notice that it wasn't a casual pursuit. It was a struggle. It was work.

02:59 Let's apply this to our entertainment and our selections of what we listened to and what we watch. Do you realize that God cares deeply about what you watch and listen to, your choices in movies, your choices in television programs, the iPod, the iPhone, etc. Did they honor him? Are you careful to labor, to struggle with all your energy, to keep your mind free from the media messages that Satan has a foothold in your thought life? Special concern for you and I are those things that are done in secret. The computer screen when you're all alone, do you let your guard down when you're alone? You know, is there a website out there that's that you are addicted to, or sliding a compact disc in your CD player that champions, despair, perversity or rebellion? When Paul was alone in secret, not only was he concerned with his own walk of faith, but he considered how you might present everyone, everyone, complete in Christ. How bout you? Are you equally concerned? When you are, everything changes inside here because you've got to goal that trumps every decision that you make.

04:21 And here's the question today. What entertainment choices have you made recently that are especially God-honoring? And then secondly: If you're struggling in the area of making wise entertainment choices, describe why. Talk about it. If you don't, why not? What's going on inside there? And then: What practical things will you do in the future, to labor and struggle and strive with his energy to help present everyone complete in Christ? And that starts with you and me. And here's the lifeline for today. The win is identify a particular Christian friend or somebody who does not honor Christ with his entertainment choices and begin to pray how you might influence that person to make positive changes, especially if it's in your home.

Humility Before Knowledge - 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

"Humility comes before knowledge. Every time."

Family Discussion:

• Can you give an example of how knowledge can be a blessing and an example of how knowledge can be a curse?
• Have you ever felt like a know-it-all, and if so, what were the results?

Transcription:

00:06 Hey, if you've ever found yourself on the back row of the classroom with me, or in the middle of the defensive land where they say they don't put the sharpest knives in the box, you're going to be encouraged by this one today. First Corinthians chapter 8, verses 1-3. It says this, "now about food sacrifice to idols, we know that we all possess knowledge, but knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know, but the man who loves God is known by God." Well, you know what? Just when I think I know everything, someone asks me a question I can't answer. Here's one that kind of humbles me. What is uglier than the devil? More beautiful than God possessed by the poor and desired by the rich? If you say nothing, then you're smarter than I am.

01:12 Sometimes on the ladder of knowledge, a man must be knocked down a step or two for him to realize how little he truly knows. You know, the universe is a vast vault of secrets, still undiscovered by the world's greatest thinkers, but in First Corinthians 8:1-3 today, Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that know-it-all's are like party balloons, all puffed up and full of themselves, yet it only takes one simple question, one tiny pinprick for someone's pride to be popped. Then everyone can see him as he truly is, an empty windbag. Paul further shares that loving God is more important than any amount of knowledge. Love builds up. Knowledge can make you look good to others. Knowledge can make you feel good to others, as others might look up to you, but you know what? It's a false sense of security. As we begin to believe we know it all, we developed an arrogant attitude full of self-pride, and usually those with strong personalities and opinions have a hard time learning from others and listening to God.

02:19 You know what, man? That challenge of the Christian life every day is to crucify that sinful mindset. You know what? Love is more important than worldly knowledge, it's the way to grasp God's knowledge. We must love him and show his love to others being compassionate, loving, caring to others, especially in the family. And you gain more ground with an attitude of love than with an attitude of knowing-it-all, as an old friend of mine said one time, he said, the older I get, the less I know for sure. Until you people who are being married, do you want to be married or you want to be right? That's the question you face every day. Hey, knowledge can be a blessing and a curse. Can you give an example of how knowledge can be a blessing and an example of how knowledge can be a curse? And have you ever felt like a know-it-all, and if so, what were the results? Here's the lifeline for today. "Recognize today that your knowledge, though it may be great, is like a grain of sand in the shore of all the knowledge of all time." Humility comes before knowledge. Every time.

Unifying Your Fellowship - 1 Corinthians 1:10

"Teams go nowhere when they quarrel and argue and fight. They only succeed if they work as a unit."

Family Discussion

• Name some consequences a family like yours experiences when people don't work together.
• In the Corinthian church, what were the sources of their quarrels and squabbling? Can you see the same source in your church or in your small group or in your family?
• Name one way you intend to become more unified today.

Transcription

00:14 Men, as an old college football coach, coaching the Texas Aggies, and then coaching a High School football and even coaching peewee football, I'll tell you, there's nothing that pleases a coach more than a team that works together well, and there's nothing that pleases a dad or mom more, or certainly God, than a family who works together well. Check this verse out today. First Corinthians chapter one, and check out verse 10, it says this: "Now I exhort you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you will all agree in that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind, in the same judgment." You know, what was going on in the Corinthian church is that same thing that goes on all over the country and all over the world in families and teams and businesses in church.

01:08 And I know it just wearies God probably, you know, brings his anger. But in the Corinthian church, you know, Paul, he had brought unity to the church and they were squabbling. You know, I'm of Paul, some say I am of Apollos, some would say I'm of Cephus, you know, and they were squabbling about who taught them. Paul says in First Corinthians 1:10, he says, "by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but you made complete in the same mind, in the same judgment." Man, teams go nowhere when they quarrel and argue and fight. You know what? They only succeed if they work as a unit. This is what Paul wanted the Corinthian church to know more than anything else. And it's exactly what God wants today's Christians to know too, you know. Our K-2 Buddy, you know, Adam Donia, he runs the K-2 basketball camp.

02:09 He just takes this team of guys to the state championship. For some, it's not by talent, you know, not by height and how high they jump, but because they've got those kids to work together. They were like one family going down the court. We used to play the University of Texas, they were the national champions every year. And I played nose man, and we knew we were going to get killed, not because they had the best talent in America, because they had 11 guys in orange shirts that came off the ball in one heartbeat. They won 38 straight games. Three of them were right over the top of my head because that team was unified under the brilliance of Darrell Royal. And so it is with a family. And if you're in a church working now or a ministry, you could take this principle and apply it and I'll tell you that you'll succeed in whatever you do in the long run.

03:06 So here's the question for today. Football teams get penalized if they spend too much time quarreling in the huddle. Don't you like that? Name some consequences a family like yours experiences when people don't work together. And then in the Corinthian church, what were the sources of their quarrels and squabbling? Can you see the same source in your church or in your small group or in your family? And then name one way you intend to become more unified today. I mean it, you can change in your heart to become more unified with the Christians that are in your family or in your team or in the church that you're serving. And here's the lifeline of the day. "Just as an athletic team must be unified to work toward a common goal, we as Christians must lay aside our petty differences and be unified in the work Jesus has called us to do." What differences have you had in your family that need to be laid aside to create unity today?

Going the Wrong Direction - John 18:25-27

"Back in sixth grade. Our basketball team was good because we had one guy, his name was Bill Gilliam. He was taller than everyone. He was faster than everyone. He was stronger than everyone is. His only difficulty was that he'd get confused sometimes when he'd get really excited during the game."

Family Discussions:

1. How is sin like taking the ball to the wrong basket?
2. Hebrews 11:25 said that sin satisfies for a season. Why does it look good at first?
3. How can you actually turn back when you're going the wrong direction?
4. Denying Jesus is going the wrong direction. How do we deny Jesus today?

Transcription:

00:06 Hey, have you ever been on a sports team where one of the players with the wrong direction with the all? I have. I'll never forget it. I'm going to tell you about in a minute, but first I'm going to read John 18 verse 25 through 27 a sobering moment in the life of Peter. Listen to what scripture says. "Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself so that they said to him, you are not also one of his disciples, are you? He denied it and said, I am not. One of the slaves of the high priest. Being a relative of one of those whose ear Peter cut off said, did not I see you in the garden with him? Peter then denied it again and immediately a rooster crowed going the wrong direction." It was back in sixth grade. Our basketball team was good because we had one guy, his name was Bill Gilliam.

01:06 He was taller than everyone. He was faster than everyone. He was stronger than everyone is. His only difficulty was that he'd get confused sometimes when he'd get really excited during the game. Man, it's been decades since I was in sixth grade, but I'll never forget the night we were playing Hearne Texas, uh, back down in south Texas where I grew up and man, did we want to win that tournament? You know, Bill tipped the ball in the, in the opening jump and, and he hit the ball, hit Jerry Davis, his knee who was outside the circle. It came back to Bill. He was so excited in the thrill of the moment. He started dribbling the ball in the wrong direction all the way to the wrong basket. Needless to say, no one on Hearns team tried to stop him where he made an easy layup.

01:50 He stretched his arms of self praise. He was so excited. And then all of a sudden his praise turned to pity when he saw everyone pointing and laughing at his hilarious mistake. Uh, I did almost the same thing against Texas Tech when I was playing down at SMU, uh, similar, uh, awful experience. But nevertheless, uh, boy going the wrong direction. How embarrassing can it be? Here's the questions. How is sin like taking the ball to the wrong basket? Hebrews 11:25 said that sin satisfies for a season. Why does it look good at first? And then this question, how can you actually turn back when you're going the wrong direction? And then this question denying Jesus is going the wrong direction. How do we deny Jesus today? And here's the lifeline for the day. Hey, let's work together hard to keep our homes, to keep our family going in the right direction.

Temple of the Holy God - John 18:1-6

"NASA's most recent discovery in space says that in the beginning, God spoke and 100 billion galaxies came out of his mouth. Now, not all of them acknowledge it was God, but nevertheless they've gone back to the inception of the cosmos and 100 billion galaxies immediately came from somewhere out of nothing they say and spread themselves over a 27 billion light year expands just like that. "

Family Discussions:

1. Who is speaking through us when we say, oh my God, or God or my God is a word of trivial, you know, exclamation?
2. What did God mean when he said, thou shalt not take my name in vain?
3. What does a holy God mean the term, holy God, what does that mean?
4. Why is God's holiness so powerful and to be so protected and respected?
5. When Jesus said I am he and they fell to the ground, what was he saying when he said, I am he?

Transcription:

00:14 Did you know that NASA's most recent discovery in space says that in the beginning, God spoke and 100 billion galaxies came out of his mouth. Now, not all of them acknowledge it was God, but nevertheless they've gone back to the inception of the cosmos and 100 billion galaxies immediately came from somewhere out of nothing they say and spread themselves over a 27 billion light year expands just like that. When you say God, you said at all. Listen to John Chapter 18 verse one through six, "When Jesus had spoken these words." Now we're at the last night of Jesus' life before the crucifixion. "He went forth with his disciples over the ravine of the Kidron where there was a Garden in which he entered with his disciples. Now, Judas also who was betraying him, knew the place for Jesus often had met there with his disciples. Judas then having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

01:31 So Jesus, knowing all these things were coming upon him, went forth and said to them, 'Whom do you seek?' They answered him, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' He said to them, 'I am he' and Judas also who was betraying him, was standing with them. So he asked and said to them, I am he. When Jesus said that, it says they withdrew and fell to the ground." Holy, awesome, powerful. You know, during a wonderful era of early Jewish tradition, uh, long before the copier, you know that we have in the office that shoots off copies like that. Hey, a scribe would make copies of holy scripture by taking his feather pen, his quill and carefully, perfectly hand copying God's word from one scroll to another with perfection. When the scribe would get to the word God or Jehovah or Yahweh, as they would say in that day, he would stop.

02:42 He would pray, he would undress, he would take a bath. He would put on clean clothes. He would get a brand new quill and then go back to his work to write the word God. In contrast, man, look where we've come. We defy God's third commandment by throwing God's name around like it was dirt. When we take his name in vain in our conversations, in our anger or television or in movies and in books, you know, we say, oh my God, or my God or Jesus Christ or God Almighty. You know when we say what we were mad, we're, we're upset or we just kind of want words to fill in the blank or look cool in our day to day conversations, uh, you know what man, you don't need to bathe and change clothes to say God, but Jesus made it clear that God was holy.

03:41 God was awesome. God was placed in a position of reverence, in highest respect. And here's the questions for today. Who is speaking through us when we say, oh my God, or God or my God is a word of trivial, you know, exclamation? And, and what did God mean when he said, thou shalt not take my name in vain? What does a holy God mean the term, holy God, what does that mean? And why is God's holiness so powerful and to be so protected and respected? And then here's, here's the one man. When Jesus said I am he and they fell to the ground, what was he saying when he said, I am he? Here's the lifeline for the day. How can you make this home that you're in a temple of the holy God?

Reverence to God - John 17:1-6

"A 14 year old hero of mine who in Boulder, Colorado stands up in her classroom alone every day to say the pledge of allegiance. It's optional in the her classroom to stand up and just say one nation under God and so nobody stands but her. "

Family Discussions:

1. How is America turning our back on God?
2. What does Jesus say that is telling us how to reverence God?
3. What does he mean when he says that eternal life is knowing god? 

Transcription:

00:14 I want to tell you about a 14 year old hero of mine who in Boulder, Colorado stands up in her classroom alone every day to say the pledge of allegiance. It's optional in the her classroom to stand up and just say one nation under God and so nobody stands but her. This little girl got some courage from this passage right here. It's John Chapter 17 verses one through six Jesus's last prayer before he left the upper room to go to Garden of Gethsemane to pray and then on to the crucifixion. Here's what he says in this tender moments of his life, it says, "Jesus spoke these things and lifting up his ass to heaven. He said, 'Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you. Even as you gave him authority over all mankind that to whom all you have given him, he may give eternal life.

01:04 This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was, I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave to me out of the world. They were yours, but you gave them to me and they have kept your word.'" The phrase, "One nation under God" believe it or not, is being thrown out of the pledge of allegiance in many public places across our country. This is the desire of many of our lawmakers. you know, the boy scouts had been under legal fire for years for saying, I will do my duty to God and my country. Uh, you know, years ago the girl scouts even took God out of their pledge.

02:03 Uh, you know, today it's illegal in some cities to put up manger scenes around government grounds because the courts say it's a violation of the first amendment to put up a manger scene. Can you believe that? Where have we come in this nation, man? The laws that govern our land are being twisted from their original God-fearing meaning to this anti-God bias that makes it very difficult for Christians to live and worship God with our daily lives. Folks, Jesus showed us deep reverence and awe in his devotion to God. Our founding fathers knew that reverence. This nation was not founded by religionists but by Christians on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

02:56 Benjamin Franklin said that, and then this quote, "He who introduces into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world." Thomas Jefferson said that. It checked this quote from a founder "Of all the systems of morality, ancient or modern, which you've come under my observation, none appear to men is pure, is that of Jesus. No power over the freedom of religion is delegated. No power over the freedom of religion is delegate to the United States government." That's Jefferson. Hey, even though it's more difficult today, we can still give God the honest respect he deserves. Just like that little girl who stands up all by herself. It says "One nation under God." I don't care what anybody thinks. Here's the questions today. Hey, how is America turning our back on God and, and then, and then this in the scripture reading from today out of Jesus's last prayer in the upper room. Oh, what does Jesus say that is telling us how to reverence God? This is awesome. What does he mean when he says that eternal life is knowing god? Is that cool? And then here's the lifeline for today. Man. Home is the best place where God, he is highly respected and put in a position of greatest honor. How are we going to do that in our home?