Dennis R. Wiles

September 9, 2018

FALL 2018

Finding Your Way . . . in Ministry

September 2 – November 3, 2018

There is a New Place!

Acts 2:41-47

Acts 2:41-47

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The Church – the redemptive community planted on earth to carry out God’s mission in the world.

Conversion

Devotion

Spiritual Formation

Fellowship

Worship

Dennis R. Wiles

September 2, 2018

FALL 2018

Finding Your Way . . . in Ministry

September 2 – November 3, 2018

It is a New Day!

Acts 2:1-21

Serve – a new curriculum designed for our church family to help you find your way in ministry.

PENTECOST – an annual feast on the Jewish calendar originally designed to celebrate the grain harvest. By the first century it also connoted the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai and the renewal of the covenant between God and Israel.

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days, God says,

    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

    your young men will see visions,

    your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

    and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood

    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls

    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

REDEMPTIVE HISTORY

Fulfillment of Prophecy

Gift of the Holy Spirit

Reversal of Babel

The New Covenant

Proclamation of the Gospel

It is a New Day!

Dennis R. Wiles

August 26, 2018

SUMMER 2018

Finding Your Way . . . in Spiritual Formation

June 2 – September 1, 2018

Honoring God with Our Worship

Isaiah 6:1-8

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Almighty God,

We bow humbly in your presence. We offer to You our praise and adoration. We recognize you as the God of the universe and our Heavenly Father. We know you to be perfect, loving, gracious, holy, and righteous.

We acknowledge our own sinfulness before you today. We stand in need of your mercy and your grace. We have fallen short of your glory. We have failed to acknowledge you in every aspect of our lives. We confess our shortcomings and we now ask for your forgiveness and cleansing.

Forgive us, we pray.

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Honoring God with Our Worship

The worship service is a rehearsal for life. It outlines the dialogue which goes on constantly between God and believers, giving God’s word and suggesting the response he wants to hear—response which includes our adoration, our confession, our thanksgiving, our dedication, and our petition. Worship also offers us an opportunity to give ourselves to God in all of life; in token of this, in the worship service we give him our attention as he speaks to us, we give him our praise and adoration, we give him our offerings of money and also of our service in ministry. Finally, worship is becoming like God in our total personhood—body, emotions, mind, and will. The worship service allows us to exercise every part of ourselves, in order that our bodies might be God’s temple, that our spirit might me moved by his spirit, that our mind might be the mind of Christ, and that our will might be one with the will of God.

-Ronald Allen & Gordon Borror, Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel

A glimpse of God and His glory consumes us!

God’s magnificent presence convicts us!

God’s unparalleled mission compels us!

Dennis R. Wiles

August 19, 2018

SUMMER 2018

Finding Your Way . . . in Spiritual Formation

June 2 – September 1, 2018

God is to be Worshiped!

Psalm 96

Fresh Start Sunday

WORSHIP – we must be growing in our worship life. Seeking God is vital to any spiritual growth process.

SERMON TITLE SLIDE

Text: Psalm 96

Sing to the Lord a new song;

    sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, praise his name;

    proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

    he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols,

    but the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

    strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,

    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

    bring an offering and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;

    tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

    The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;

    he will judge the peoples with equity.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;

    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,

    he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Worship the LORD!

Worship Vocabulary:

Hebrew – shachah – to bow down

Greek – proskuneo – to kiss towards

latreuo – to serve

English – worthshippe – ascribe worth

When we consider all the words used for worship in both the Old and New Testaments, and when we put their meanings together, we find that worship involves both attitudes (awe, reverence, respect) and actions (bowing, praising, serving). It is both a subjective experience and an objective activity. Worship is not an unexpressed feeling, nor is it an empty formality. True worship is balanced and involves the mind, the emotions, and the will. It must be intelligent; it must reach deep within and be motivated by love; and it must lead to obedient actions that glorify God.

-Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship

God is the only object of our worship!

God alone is worthy of our worship!

God has been worshiped, is being worshiped, and will be worshiped forever!

Dennis R. Wiles

August 12, 2018

SUMMER 2018

Finding Your Way . . . in Spiritual Formation

June 2 – September 1, 2018

Giving to God’s Work

Exodus 36:1-7

Executive Financial Officer – Phyllis Lisby

Worship Ministry Assessment and Search Committee

Summer Bible Study

Fresh Start Sunday

TRUST – selflessness and stewardship – surrendering control of life and possessions is a step toward maturity and moves us away from our natural tendency to be selfish. Also serving others with proper motivation is indicative of our growth.

Exodus 36:1-7

So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”

Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”

Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

TABERNACLE: In the midst of a fallen world, in exile from the Garden of Eden—the original “heaven on earth”—God undertakes another act of creation, a building project that is nothing less than a return to pre-Fall splendor. The tabernacle, therefore, is laden with redemptive significance, not just because of the sacrifices and offerings within its walls, but simply because of what it is: a piece of holy ground amid a world that has lost its way.

-Peter Enns, The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus

God gifted people to ensure the Tabernacle would be constructed correctly.

God’s people provided the gifts for the construction of the Tabernacle.

God’s people gave generously, graciously, and abundantly!

In God We Trust!!

Dennis R. Wiles

FBC Arlington

Summer Bible Study

August 5-8, 2018

Hot Topics: What Does the Bible Say About . . .?

Wednesday Night:Church: How is the local church supposed to operate?

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

Hermeneutics: We have to employ the science of interpretation to the text

Progressive Revelation: We recognize the progressive nature of God’s revelation

CONTEXTUAL HERITAGE

THREE BASIC FORMS OF CHURCH GOVERNANCE

Episcopal

Presbyterian

Congregational

BIBLICAL MATERIAL

Vocabulary

-Elder – presbuteros

-Bishop/Overseer – episcopos

-Pastor – poemainein

-Deacon – diakonos

Textual Considerations

-Acts 2:37-40, 10:44-48, 16:11-15, 16:31-34

-Titus 1:5-9

-Acts 20:17, 28

-1 Timothy 3:1-13

-1 Peter 5:1-4

-Acts 6:1-7

-Acts 13:1-3

-Acts 15:1-29

-1 Peter 2:4-10

-1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

-Hebrews 13:7, 17

-Ephesians 4:11-13

-1 Corinthians 12:1-31

PRELIMINARY POINTS TO CONSIDER

Evidence for regenerate church membership

Evidence for congregational organization

Evidence for congregational authority

Evidence for congregational involvement in ministry

Evidence for spiritual gifting

Evidence for both plurality and singularity in leadership

Evidence for spiritual authority invested in leadership

CHURCH GOVERNANCE AT FBC ARLINGTON

Congregationally Governed

Staff Led

Councils

Committees

Teams

Dennis R. Wiles

FBC Arlington

Summer Bible Study

August 5-8, 2018

Hot Topics: What Does the Bible Say About . . .?

Tuesday Night:Ministry: How can men and women live out their calling?

Core Principle #1: God’s people have been called to live in a covenantal relationship with Him (Exodus 19ff).

Core Principle #2: Within the covenantal community, God has “called out” leaders to serve as priests, ministers, prophets --- people who both represented God to the people and vice versa (Exodus 28:1-5; Jeremiah 1:5; Joel 1:9, 2:17; Acts 13:1-3; Titus 1:5-9).

Core Principle #3: The calling of God includes the equipping by God! Those uniquely gifted and equipped by God are used by Him to equip others (Ephesians 4:11-13).

CALL TO MINISTRY

-Evidence of an inward call

-External evidence of a call

-Giftedness to match and suit the call

-Qualified to respond to the call

-Disciplined to live a life worthy of the calling

-Discernment of the nature of the call

-Effectiveness in ministry

WHO DOES GOD CALL?

Whomever He chooses!

Leadership within and among the people of God is a complex and diverse phenomenon. God has used both men and women in leadership and ministry in the covenantal community. Prophets, prophetesses, judges, teachers --- there are examples of both men and women serving in these roles.

BIBLICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Genesis 1:26-31

Exodus 15:20-21

Judges 4:4-7, 5:31

Joel 2:28-32

Acts 2:14-21

Acts 18:23-28

Acts 21:7-9

1 Corinthians 11, 14

1 Timothy 2:11-15

1 Timothy 3:11

Romans 16:1-4, 6-7, 12

Philippians 4:2-3

Dennis R. Wiles

FBC Arlington

Summer Bible Study

August 5-8, 2018

Hot Topics: What Does the Bible Say About . . .?

Monday Night:Sexuality: How can we live out our sexuality as Christians?

CONTEXT

Contemporary American society is characterized by support for individual freedom, individual rights, choices, eclecticism and a consensus-based approach to morality and truth.

KEY ARGUMENTS PRESENTED TODAY REGARDING SEXUALITY

Your body belongs to you. You can choose to do whatever you wish with your body.

Sexual intimacy is available, accessible and encouraged. Considerations about morality or marriage are personal decisions and are not bound by any universally recognized truth or moral code. Even in the Bible there are numerous examples of great men who were polygamous and played by their own rules.

People are born with sexual attraction orientations. Gender is principally a psychological phenomenon and is a matter of choice.

Homosexuals are born with a same-sex-attraction orientation that cannot be altered.

The Bible does not really address “homosexuality” itself. The Bible primarily addresses two phenomena with respect to homosexual activity: heterosexuals committing homosexual acts or cultic practices in idol worship that included homosexual activity. Prohibitions in the Old Testament concerning homosexuality are just for Israel anyway. There is no universal truth in the Law and Christians have been set free from the Law. Further, the Bible never really addresses what we know today as homosexuality.

Jesus never addressed homosexuality. If it was such a sinful lifestyle, why did He never discuss it?

The “one-flesh” imagery in relation to sexual intimacy in the Bible is merely a reference to “kinship-bonding” and the Biblical references to “male and female” primarily focus on the sameness of human beings, not the complementary differences between genders.

Anyone opposing gay marriage or “gay rights” is a right-wing, homophobic bigot who needs to be silenced.

A BIBLICAL/CHRISTIAN VIEW OF SEXUALITY

Core Principle #1: God created genders and provided for sexual expression for human beings. Both sexuality and genders are good and reflect God’s design for humanity. The two original humans were male and female: complementary to each other, different than each other. God’s plan was for these original human beings to engage in sexual intimacy in the context of marriage (one-flesh) and procreate. And – He further charged them with the responsibility of exercising dominion over creation. The New Testament affirms this original design (Genesis 1:26-31, 2:18-25;).

Core Principle #2: God’s original design for humanity was corrupted by the fall of humanity into sinfulness and rebellion. The curse is still in effect and all human beings are affected by it. (Genesis 3; Romans 3).

Core Principle #3: Humanity’s bondage to sin has had a profound and deep impact in all aspects of sexuality. Abuse, rape, incest, pornography, promiscuity, bestiality, and all manner of sexual perversions give evidence of the brokenness of human beings (Genesis 19, 34).

Core Principle #4: God’s original design is still best! He has provided an opportunity for human beings to experience deep intimacy through sexual expression within the confines of marriage (Exodus 20: 14; Matthew 19:1-9; Hebrews 13:4).

Core Principle #5: Homosexuality is a complex phenomenon. There are differences between homosexual orientation, homosexual identity, and homosexual behavior. The complexity of the phenomenon requires a complex answer that does not compromise the truths of the Word of God. God’s work of redemption provides for complete transformation and hope! (Leviticus 18:22, 24-30; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

SUMMARY

God created human beings in His image. Consequentially, we have been designed for intimacy. One expression of this intimacy is through sexual relations. God has blessed sexual expression within the confines of marriage. He also has provided redemption and hope through the Incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ!

Dennis R. Wiles

FBC Arlington

Summer Bible Study

August 5-8, 2018

Hot Topics: What Does the Bible Say About . . .?

Sunday Night:Politics: How do we engage in Civil Government?

Biblical Context

Romans 13:1-7

1 Timothy 2:1-2

Titus 3:1-2

1 Peter 2:13-17

Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 22:15-22

Acts 4:13-20

Core Principle #1: There is a distinction between institutional engagement in civil affairs and individual engagement in civil affairs.

Core Principle #2: Christians are admonished throughout the New Testament as individuals to be responsible, supportive citizens.

Core Principle #3: The Church must never lose its prophetic voice in civil affairs.

Institutional Relationship Between Church and State

Identification – Official State Church

Domination – “Two Swords”

Separation – Based on Soul Competency and Religious Liberty

Considerations

Governmental authority is derivative authority – God is the supreme authority!

Governments provide for the ordering of society.

All forms of government are faulty and are designed by sinful people.

As Baptists, historically we have been strong proponents of religious liberty and institutional separation of church and state.

As Christians, we have never believed that any government is totally responsible for all human solutions.

As an institution, the Church must carefully engage the civil society in the promotion of moral values.

As individuals, Christians should carefully and thoughtfully engage the political and electoral process.

Christians should run for political offices.

Christians should vote according to their convictions.

Christians, in every arena, should always behave . . . like Christians!