Plainfield Ponderings - Scripture Meditations

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Ponder the laying on of hands with me! This is not something we speak about very often in the church. It is not something physically that I have seen practiced either. However, the principle behind much of the laying on of hands IS practiced. What is that principle though? We'll distinguish the apostles laying their hands on people and then discuss what it meant in the early church when they laid hands on people. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about how all the different aspects and perspectives of God's glory lead us to Jesus. We have been speaking about God's glory on the first Sunday of the month, but I want us to consider how all these different scenes that we have spoken about lead us to Jesus. Perhaps even more intriguing, all these different perspectives are found in the first two chapters of John! Let's pull on the thread of glory and see where it leads. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me once more about Jacob's wrestling match with God. The Lord blesses Jacob and yet he limps away from it and remains that way forever. Is that what it means to be blessed by God? Sometimes, yes. We'll also ponder how Hosea uses this wrestling match to speak to northern Israel about how they are acting too much like old-Jacob. Can we say we are a changed person with a new identity in Christ or are we acting like old-Jacob too? To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me about the leadership of elders. In the New Testament, after the apostles passed away, this is the highest role of leadership you can find in the church. It is so vital! Not all Christians have this leadership and so it's easy to take them for granted. Let's think through how to honor them in I Timothy 5:17-21. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with me one of the strangest passages in Scripture—Jacob wrestling God! On the eve of meeting Esau again Jacob wrestles God and the Lord put his hip out of socket to humble him. He goes from wrestler to clinger in the moment of suffering. I wonder if that's what we need to finally stop fighting and submit to Him? Let's think through this amazing story together. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with Bryan about the need for the team. I love thinking about the church as a team. I've loved playing sports and following sports all of my life, and the need for one another is never more evident than in team sports. Following Jesus means you are a part of a team. We need each other. Christ never intended on you being isolated. Being on this team requires a degree of vulnerability though. We need to let others in for us to benefit the most from the team. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with Bryan about the Christian race. Runners do everything in their power to run their races as light as humanly possible. They are not carrying anything excess. The Hebrews writer picks up on this, which Bryan unpacks, that we ought to be laying aside "every weight"...what are these? And finally, how is the success of our race determined? It's not on speed, but on constant movement forward, because Christ already ran the perfect race for us. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with Bryan Shciele about hungering for God. Keeping our hung and thirst for spiritual things can be difficult. Bible study can become like a side-job almost, or we might even think it's boring. This is certainly not a problem with the Lord. It could be that we have been "snacking" too much on worldly things and our spiritual taste is out of whack. Let's ponder how we can keep the right hunger, knowing God alone satisfies. To God be the glory!

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Ponder with Bryan about remaining teachable. A disciple is a learner, so we should even have to say this, and yet many of us feel like we have arrived when we have a certain level of knowledge. We think we "know enough". This is discipleship poison. Remaining teachable is vital, but so is the goal of learning. We learn not just to learn what the Master knows. We learn to do what the Master does. I needed this one! To God be the glory!

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Let's ponder with Bryan Schiele and his sermon series on being "Unveiled". We recorded an episode on February 10th with Bryan, advertising his upcoming sermon series which he preached here in mid-March. I'm going to release all the lessons over the next 5 days. This one is about reflecting what we behold, which is how mirrors work, and it's how Christlikeness works too. Keeping your eyes fixed on Him will slowly transform us into being more and more like Him. Join in on this challenging series. To God be the glory!

Please email me any comments or questions at [email protected]