Men's Fraternity Week 25

Men’s Fraternity
Week #25 – Letter of Honor/Tribute to Parents



Ephesians 6:2-3
“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

• Honor means to prize, to fix a value upon.
• Value means to place worth, importance and usefulness on them.

The action of showing value is appreciation and respect.

Proverbs 6:20
My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.

Proverbs 23:22
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

• Placing a value on who they are, no matter what they might have done or did not do.

I. Two-fold promise that is affected by honoring parents.

1. First Promise – It affects your relationship with the Lord. “That it may go well with you…”

The actions you take toward your parents reflect your heart toward God.

Matthew 15:3-6
He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

For Jesus, doing what was wrong in dishonoring your parents could never be linked with what was right in God’s eyes.


2. Second Promise – It affects your own life in a positive way.

Proverbs 16:24
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Results of dishonoring life with parents:

Proverbs 30:11-14
There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. There are those—how lofty are their eyes, how high their eyelids lift! There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.

II. Practical Tips to Bring Honor

1. Meaningful touch
2. Spoken words of gratitude
3. Give them words of high value
4. Give them a picture of a special future

When parents grow older, they want to know we love them much more than to receive what we can buy them. One parent put it this way: ”Give me a kiss and time for my birthday. That way I don’t have to dust it.”

Personal Application/Exercise

Take the time we have left and write a “I am thankful” letter to your parents by next week.

If your parents are deceased, write a “tribute letter”. When you have your children and grandchildren together read this to them and let them know the qualities you received from your parents.

Men's Fraternity Week 21

Men’s Fraternity
Week #21 - Review

Introduction

1 Corinthians 16:13
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

Hebrews 2:1
Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Discussion:

When your alarm goes off in the morning do you immediately shut it off and get out of bed, or do you hit the snooze button? How many times do you hit the snooze button?

• The effectiveness of the alarm is in direct correlation to how much you don’t want to hear it!
• We are going to review the journey we have taken through the 33 Series and ask ourselves – Have I pushed the snooze button?

I. Man and His Design

1. God’s call to Every Man!

Philippians 2:5-8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped, [Rejected Passivity] but emptied himself by taking form of servant, being born in likeness of men. [Accepted Responsibility] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [Lead Courageously] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. Invest Eternally


2. Four Faces of Manhood

Acts 13:36
For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep.


• King - Righteous Energy
Proverbs 20:7
The righteous who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him!

• Warrior - Courageous Energy
1 Corinthians 9:26-27
So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

• Lover - Relational Energy
1 Thessalonians 2:7-9
But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

• Friend - Connecting Energy
Proverbs 17:17; 27:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
3. Seasons

Psalms 90:12
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Transitions between stages of Life.

• Spring: 0-20 - Identity
• Summer: 20’s-30’s - Learning and Growing
• Fall: 40’s-60’s - Influence
• Winter: 60’s-beyond - Sage


4. Man and His Story

Psalms 34:4, 6
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

Events and Experiences that have shaped your life!


• Look back to make peace with your wounds.
• Father wound
• Mother wound
• Loneliness wound
• Heart wound
• Dealing and Healing of Wounds.


5. Man and His Traps

Jeremiah 2:13
for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Looking deep into our heart idols in our lives and the traps we get entangled in.
• Control idol
• Significance idol
• Comfort idol


6. Answering the Alarm

Ephesians 5:14-16
Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

The way we are designed by our Creator is that we are built to live for something greater than ourselves. We are wired to outlive our life!
• Discover the Transcendent Cause – Reject passivity.
• Leverage your influence now – Accept responsibility/Lead Courageously.
• Invest for eternity - Make an eternal difference in the lives of those around you!

Discussion:

Why is it difficult for us to hear and respond to the early warning alarms God puts in our lives?

What alarms sounded off in your life through this series?

As we reviewed our 33 Journey of these past weeks, where have you seen yourself pressing the snooze in your life? What do you need to wake up instead of pressing snooze?

Men's Fraternity Week 16

Men’s Fraternity
Week #16 Battle Plan Modeled


Pastor Brian likes to begin our sessions with short videos, today he showed this one:



Review

Our “Battle Plan”

• Admit the Struggle.
• Identify the lie.
• Replace with the truth.

1. Jesus’ Example

1. Just like Adam in the Garden of Eden, Jesus was tempted by the great liar himself, satan.

Hebrews 2:18
For because he himself (Jesus) has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. [And because Jesus was human we will suffer when tempted the same way He did.]

• There is a suffering we face when dealing with temptation.
• Jesus can identify with the suffering we face in times of temptation and help us.

Hebrews 4:15-16
We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

• We need to have confidence in the grace and mercy of God to give us the help we need.

2. Jesus’ Model for us.

A. Jesus tempted with the deep idol of comfort

Satan: ”If you are the Son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Matthew 4:3

Lie: Satisfy your needs through your own means.

Jesus: ”Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

Replace with Truth: True happiness comes not in immediate gratification but in self-sacrifice to benefit others.

B. Jesus tempted with the deep idol of significance.

Satan: ”If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Matthew 4:6

Lie: Proving his significance through effort of power and performance.

jesus: ”It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Matthew 4:7

Replace with Truth: Understand your place and God’s authority.

C. Jesus tempted with deep idol of control.

Satan: ”All these [kingdoms of the world] I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:9

Lie: Happiness comes when you are in charge.

Jesus: ”Be gone satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Matthew 4:10

Replace with Truth: God is the focus and the only one we serve. [The things we are in charge of end up being in charge of us.]

”Our chief enemy is the lie that says sin will make our future happier. Our chief weapon is the truth that says God will make our future happier. When my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we smell the steak sizzling on the grill.” John Piper

Discussion:

How do the two passages in Hebrews help you when you are dealing with temptations in your life?

Remember that all idols over-promise and under-deliver. Discuss what idols are out there today that we as men are getting duped by? What are they promising? [Everywhere we look are advertisements promising that if we drive a certain type of car or drink a certain type of beverage etc we will be happier, more successful, more attractive to the opposite sex. Many promises that never deliver.]

Proverbs 28:13 says, ”People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them they will receive mercy.” Discuss amongst yourselves why we want to conceal and why we are reluctant to confess our sins? What is the truth conveyed here?

Ephesians 5:11, 13 says ”Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them… When anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.” What is the truth that we need to acknowledge here?

1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

What is the challenge for us when we read this vese?

Men's Fraternity Week 13

Men’s Fraternity
Week #13 Idols

Pastor Brian began our first session of the new year with this video from the Skit Guys.



Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before me.

Psalm 106:36
They served their idols which became a snare to them.

1. Goals for this session:

• Discuss some key realities that are foundational to the traps that a man faces in life.
• Describe a framework for understanding temptations in the life of a man.
• To help get to the root issue. The sin beneath the sin.

Questions for Discussion:
1. Many men live in both shame and guilt while hiding from those around them. Why would men abandon the “abundant life” that is available in Jesus Christ for idols that trap them in bondage? (Some examples of these idols are: workaholism, pornography and other addictions, desperate need for approval, disappointment with life or fear of failure).

2. Why would we ever choose anything other than God’s best for our lives?

2. Key Realities:

a. In order to experience ultimate freedom you must practice ruthless honesty.

2 Samuel 10:11
And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.

[Praying for others is good but you must also be willing to step in and help others in need.]

David White puts it this way: “All of us live in fear of exposure. We don’t want the worst things about us to be made known. We posture and wear masks. We establish elaborate facades and hide behind our good deeds. This refusal to be truly known and exposed keeps us stuck in our sin.”

b. There’s no such thing as a life apart from struggle and temptation.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

c. Understand grace.

[Grace can be defined as unmerited favor granted to us by God.]

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

d. Authentic manhood is primarily about heart change.

• The noble fight against sin and temptation is not just about behavior modification.
• For instance, God doesn’t want us just to stop lying He wants us to love the truth!
• Behavior modification without heart change is dangerous.

3. The Framework of Idolatry

• An idol can be anything, even a good thing. [The idol itself is not necessarily evil. Like guns: guns are not evil, it’s what we do with them.]
• Idolatry is built on a lie. [This will make me feel better, help me achieve my goals, etc.]
• Idols come from legitimate desires that are being expressed in inappropriate ways.
• Idols can be divided into two categories, or what Pastor Tim Keller calls surface idols and deep idols.

Examples of Deep Idols

• Control

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

• Significance

Galatians 1:10
If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. [This follows closely with my own life verse 2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed rightly handling the word of truth.]

• Comfort

Questions for Discussion:
1. The idols that we face are tempting us with relentless intensity throughout life. Which of the idols discussed above is one that is a consistent area of struggle for you? Practice “ruthless honesty” on this one!

[I volunteered that one of my most difficult idols to overcome is money: something that I think and worry about too much and that I have the most difficulty giving over to God. Another man at my table mentioned Control and it was generally agreed upon that some control is probably necessary in most situations but we also have to understand that things will not always go as planned and we need to be flexible.]

2. It has been said that we are only “as unhealthy as our secrets.” Do you agree or disagree with that statement? Why or why not?

[A couple of the men at my table started talking about secrets and were of the opinion that some secrets are better left unsaid as bringing them to light will only cause more harm. I’m not really sure what to think about that. I think it really comes down to trust, if you’re sharing your secrets with someone you truly trust with your heart and soul then that person won’t judge you for it or be hurt by it; they will help you to rise above it.]

3. Share one or more of the idols that you would like others to be praying for your concerning. Then take a few minutes together and pray before heading out for the rest of your day.

In The Blink Of An Eye

Last Friday, a terrible tragedy occurred in the state of the Nebraska. At approximately 4pm, a van carrying two coaches and eight boys of the Broken Bow high school basketball team was returning home from a basketball clinic in Kearney. Just two miles from home, a pickup truck traveling the opposite direction on Highway 2 swerved over the center line and hit the van head-on. The driver of the pickup, a man from Ansley, Nebraska, and both coaches in the van were killed. None of the eight boys in the van were killed although, as of today, three of them remain in the hospital, one in critical condition.

Broken Bow is a small town with a population of about 3,100, and Ansley is very small consisting of only 469 people. In small towns, tragedies like this one are felt more deeply, I believe, effecting not only the families and friends of the victims, but really the whole town. My prayers continue to go out to all those effected.

It only goes to show you that you just never know how much time you may have on this Earth. We all expect to live long, full lives, but now and then we receive these painful reminders that that just may not be in the cards for all of us. The driver of that pickup truck was 70, but the two coaches were aged 38 and 24.

We just never know when our time may come. That’s why it is so important to always be ready. Imagine if you had an argument with your parent, sibling, friend, etc, and then died the next day, never having resolved it. I guess that’s why it says in Ephesians 4 verses 25 and 26:

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger ESV

It would be a terrible thing to leave that kind of unresolved business behind us when our time comes, but it would be even more tragic if we were not right with God. It’s so easy to think, “I’m young, I’ll have plenty of time to learn about God later on so I’ll live my life the way I want to now.” I used to think that way myself and now I know how foolish I was. Maybe you have plenty of time and maybe you don’t. We just don’t know.

There are plenty of scriptures that speak very plainly about this. Luke 21 verse 34 for example:

"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. ESV

And Mark 13, verses 32 and 33:

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. ESV

An even better example is the parable of the bridegroom and the virgins from Matthew 25, verses 1 through 13:

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. ESV

Now, I know those verses are speaking about the day Jesus returns to the Earth, but I think it kind of works either way. Whether it is our time to go, or His time to come, the point is we need to be ready because, just like it says, “you know neither the day nor the hour.” It could happen next week or tomorrow or later on today.

I know, I know, this topic is kind of a downer. Who wants to sit around and think about the day we’ll die? The hard truth is that, as responsible Christians and human beings, we do need to think about it. Don’t be caught unawares; be prepared!

Journal - Customer Service

Busy, busy, busy! "Audio Book Heaven" is all ready to go as far as the settings and layout are concerned. That table of contents I created is proving to be very handy. As part of my book reviews, I’ve begun adding a section called "Related Books" where I list other books from the series, etcetera. The books in the list are linked to other reviews if I’ve already done one. The table of contents makes it much easier for me to make the links. I hope my readers find it useful too, assuming I ever get any. ~smile~



On the Audible program, I’ve finally been approved as an affiliate. They had previously denied my application because I had put the wrong URL on it. That’s been fixed and I’m all set to go. I started looking through the different links they have that you can put on your website. I sort of want to modify the wording a little bit to fit my blog a little better, but I thought I should ask them first. So I sent an email to ask about that and I’m waiting for their response.



I also have an account set up with Amazon. They have some different things you can do, you can link to individual products or to product categories. I just got done emailing them some questions about that. I think it would be better to link to a category, namely books, but I asked them what would happen if someone clicked my link and then bought something in a different category. Also, it seemed like all they had were banners, so I asked if they had text links available. We’ll see what they say.



I also heard about another affiliate program with ABE Books. They sell new and used books, although I’m not sure if they handle audio books. I’ll give that a look sometime, my reviews are written from and for audio books but they would still apply to text books for the most part.



I’m still kind of playing around with the stat counter thing. Not having much luck though. I’ve heard of people having trouble not being able to see their own counters, although people on other computers can see them. So if you go to "Audio Book Heaven", let me know if you see a counter at the bottom of the page. I think it’s at the bottom anyway.



That’s it for now. See ya later!



Update! I just got an email back from Audible where I had asked if I could modify the link. The rep asked for an example of what I wanted it to say so I showed her what I wanted. I must say, the various people I’ve been contacting at Audible, Amazon, WordPress, and Stat-Counter have all been very good about getting back to me quickly. They've also been very friendly and helpful. It's nice to know that there are still friendly customer service reps somewhere out there.



Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.



2 Peter 1:7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

Journal - Odds and Ends

Well, I ordered some new speakers for the computer today. It’s gotten very difficult to make my headphones work, and I know it won’t be long before they don’t work at all. Naturally, I tried different pairs of headphones, but that’s not the problem, it’s the jack in the speaker. It really sucks to have to spend money on something like that, but I have to be able to use headphones at the computer. Without them, I won’t be able to hear well enough, and if I turn it up louder everyone will have to listen to it. I’ve been agonizing over this for the last five days, so I kind of feel better that the decision is made. They should get here early next week.

I also ordered Joni’s birthday present. I think she'll really like it, it's a…

Oops! I better not tell. Somebody who reads this might tell her what it is.

On Tuesday Joni and I ran into Gibbon to visit the doctor. We’re not sick, we just needed to give her that paperwork for BCBS. I’ve only been to this doctor a couple of times so there wasn’t much. She made copies for us, then we took it over to the post office and mailed it. So the ball is back in their court again. Can’t wait to see what they say next.

I’m looking forward to a good basketball game tonight. The Lady Huskers are playing Kansas. Kansas hasn’t had a very good year, but Nebraska played them earlier this year and, from what I’ve read, Kansas almost won. Also, it sounds like Kansas has to win this game to get into the NCAA tournament so they will be fighting hard. Nebraska is in the tournament no matter what so there’s no pressure. They still have their record to think of, though. Nebraska is two games away from a perfect season. I wonder if the basketball team has ever done that before?

Oh, one more thing. Today is my big sister’s anniversary! Happy Anniversary Bobbi and Mike! I know you guys have many more happy years ahead of you. Especially now that most of the kids are gone! Hahaha! Have a great day guys!

Colossians 3:14 over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

That’s it for today. See you next time!

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.