Next week we're back to Romans

Gentlemen of the desolate and forgotten table, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And to our diverse friends, Merry Chrismaquanzadonukkah. Anyhoo, just thought I'd remind you all that we won't be meeting tomorrow morning (12-29), and that our study will resume next Saturday morning. As of now, we will be meeting at our regular time, but keep posted for a potential change to an indoor BBQ in the afternoon. Keep reading regularly. Remember, we're cover the first section of chapter 2. See you at the Lord's house.

CANCELLED!!!

Due to a probable late night for everyone at the Christmas Banquet tonight, I am cancelling Bible Study tomorrow morning. If you have questions, give me a call. Keep checking to see when we'll be meeting next. Have a great night and I'll see you all at the banquet.

The Heart of Romans

Gentlemen of the fallen, yet redeemed table, greetings. We will continue our study through Romans tomorrow morning at 9am at the Mission's House. Remember to read through Romans, especially 1:16-17, and listen or read your commentators on that passage. Our question is whether or not these verses are a call for evangelism or an encouragement to believers about future salvation in heaven. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. See you on the morrow.

Let Us Begin Right Merrily

Gentlemen of the vacant, but prepared table, we begin again. As requested by some of you, we will be out at the Pancake House for our inagural meeting through the book of Romans. I would like to meet at 8am instead of 9am so we miss the rush of people. I'll try to speak to each of you about that before Saturday. This week we'll be reading through Romans 1:1-15. Hopefully each of you have chosen a commentator/ pastor to guide you through your study. I will expect each of you to be very familiar with the passage as well as familiar with what your commentator has to say about it. I'm looking forward greatly to this study. If you haven't chosen a commentator, I've posted several new links in the links side of things to help you out. Just click on a name and it will take you to their material on Romans. Happy studying and see you on Saturday morning.

Preemptive Strike

Gentlemen of the completed table, we will continue our study through the good Book this Saturday morning at 9 am at the Randall St. Pancake House behind the Outback in S. Elgin. Please read through the Cambridge Declaration on the 5 Solas for our discussion. Think through why these 5 issues are so important to the church today and how they have impacted your view of salvation and the scriptures. Here is the full text in case you don't have a copy:

THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION

of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

April 20, 1996

Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith.

In the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word "evangelical." In the past it served as a bond of unity between Christians from a wide diversity of church traditions. Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It embraced the essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a common heritage in the "solas" of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.

Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that the word "evangelical" has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning. We face the peril of losing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our commitment to the central truths of the Reformation and of historic evangelicalism. These truths we affirm not because of their role in our traditions, but because we believe that they are central to the Bible.

Sola Scriptura: The Erosion Of Authority

Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.

Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church's understanding, nurture and discipline.

Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliche's, promises. and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God's truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God's provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the preachers opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given.

The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God's grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura

We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Solus Christus: The Erosion Of Christ-Centered Faith

As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.

Thesis Two: Solus Christus

We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Sola Gratia: The Erosion Of The Gospel

Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches.

God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.

Thesis Three: Sola Gratia

We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Sola Fide: The Erosion Of The Chief Article

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ's imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gospel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.

Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing the distinction between the biblical Word and the world, robbing Christ's cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to secular corporations.

While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ's substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God's children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ's saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.

Thesis Four: Sola Fide

We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice.

We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion Of God-Centered Worship

Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's centrality in the life of today's church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.

God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God's kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.

Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria

We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

Call To Repentance And Reformation

The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ's kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary zeal.

We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the "gospels" of our secular culture, which are no gospels. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure adequately to tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ.

We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to implementing this Declaration in the church's worship, ministry, policies, life and evangelism. For Christ's sake. Amen.

---

ACE Council Members:
Dr. John Armstrong
Rev. Alistair Begg
Dr. James M. Boice
Dr. W. Robert Godfrey
Dr. John D. Hannah
Dr. Michael S. Horton
Mrs. Rosemary Jensen
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Dr. Robert M. Norris
Dr. R. C. Sproul
Dr. G. Edward Veith
Dr. David Wells
Dr. Luder Whitlock
Dr. J. A. O. Preus, II

http://www.reformed.org/documents/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/documents/cambridge.html

I hope you find the read instructive and informative. See you on Saturday.

The Quest is Completed

Gentlemen of the treasurious table, congratulations on finishing the quest. This Saturday will be our last study through our book. We'll read the last 3 chapters (12-15) for our discussion Saturday morning. We'll be taking the next three weeks off for various reasons, and we'll begin our study through the book of Romans on November 17 with perhaps another breakfast at the Randall St. Pancake house (yes, the King Kong may strike again). I look forward to our next meeting.

The BBQ Is Here

Gentlemen of the round, meaty table, the BBQ is finally upon us. Make sure to bring your own beef, chicken, lamb, venison, boar, pork, fish, or meat substitute for the grill. We'll be meeting at high noon at the Mission's House to discuss the next two chapters (11-12) as well as discuss where we are going with our study through Romans. I hope you all can make it. It's going to be a tasty time.

I Can Almost Smell the BBQ

Gentlemen of the questing table, where is everyone? I have to say that I miss you guys. It seems like forever since we've all met together. I hope more than three of you can make it this week, but if not, I trust that those who come have been directed there by God and that the rest of you have a good reason for missing. I hope Matt and Joe do great in their tourney tomorrow.

We will be meeting tomorrow morning at 9am to discuss chapters 9-10 in our book. The following week I would like to have our BBQ so we avoid having it when it is too cold. We'll discuss that tomorrow. Also, is there a better time for you all to meet? Just wondering. I hope you are all doing well. Talk at you tomorrow. Later...

Whazzup!?

Gentlemen of the vacant table, it is good to be back. How's it hangin' wich yu? The vaca was nice, and it was good to see Cali again and enjoy some nice In-n-Out, but there's nothing like sweet home Chicago.

I am curious about who will be coming this week to Bible Study. I've heard from Nick and Dwayne that they won't be able to make it. Depending on our number, we might have to cancel or meet at Caribou. Either way I'm planning on meeting the week after and having a little BBQ if you can make it. So, let me know your plans. I would really like to get back into a regular schedule of us meeting, especially since we took that past two weeks off. We'll be discussing the next two chapters (ch. 7-8), so be ready to discuss. Later...

Whazzup, Jewish Style

A Break in the Quest

Gentlemen, I will be traveling to and from California these next two Saturdays. We will not be meeting, but continue to work on your treasure maps. Plan on discussing the next two chapters when we come together again (maybe for a BBQ) on September 29. I'll talk with you all when I get back.

A Sleepless Night on the Hunt

Gentlemen of the hyper-active pumped up on caffeine table, the Lock-in is here at last. I hope you all have thought about our discussion from last week about leading by serving and are taking advantage of this Lock-in to serve your leading ladies.

On Saturday morning, after everything is finished, we will be heading north to the Randall St. Pancake House in S. Elgin. We'll be discussing chapters 5-6 about taking the lead and the first risk in the relationship. I hope to see you all there.

Gentlemen of the Quest

Hello knights of the quest. I hope the week has treated each of you well. We are continuing our study tomorrow morning concerning matters of the heart. We'll be discussion chapter 3 and reviewing our "treasure maps". I look forward to hearing from you all.

On a side note, I am wondering of a different time would be better for us to meet now that school has started. Just something to think about. Also, if some of you can stick around afterwards to help set up for the auction, I would really appreciate it. It should only take 15 minutes or so. Until tomorrow @ 9 @ my house.

The List

Gentlemen of the strangely vacant table, what's up? Last week was a very enjoyable discussion. It was Jonah, M. Stern, and myself at Caribou, enjoying caffeine and building each other up. I was saddened to see so few, even though it was a great time. I have to say that I was wondering where everyone was, and it occured to me that Sat. morning might not be the best time to meet anymore. If that is the case, please leave a comment or give me a call. I don't want the majority of our group to miss this book simply because they couldn't come to our meetings.

With that said, I enjoyed seeing the first two lists of what to look for in a bride and I hope the rest of you are thinking and praying about what you are looking for. We will be meeting again this Sat. morning at 9am, and I hope more of you can make it. If you are going to be gone, just leave a comment or give me a ring. See you guys later.

The Quest

Gentlemen of the Questing table, we move on. I hope you have enjoyed the read so far. We will be continuing our study of the Quest tomorrow morning here at the Mission's House. Make sure to have chapter two read as well as the beginnings of a list of what you are looking for in a spouse. See you soon.

Can you taste the Pancakes Yet?

Gentlemen of the soon to be IHOPed table, I hope you are ready for another great book. As I've been reading through the first chapter of Matters of the Heart, I have been challenged to think more seriously, even about my marriage relationship. It should be a great time of discussion. I hope to see you all at IHOP at 9am on Saturday morning. Make sure to bring $$ for your meal. Let me know if you have any questions. See you tomorrow morning.

Done with Doctrine, on to Dating

Gentlemen of the Indoctrinated table, I salute you all for a job well done. Tomorrow is our wrap up of Wayne Grudem's book, Bible Doctrine. I hope you all are prepared and ready for our discussion. In case you forgot, you were supposed to come up with at least one question for discussion, as well as one thing you learned from the study that has changed your life or your view of God. I look forward to our time together.

Next week, we'll be at IHOP to begin our discussion of Matter of the Heart. Bring your appetite and your $$ and your book. I'll see you tomorrow morning, 9am, at my house.

Service, Study, and Savory Steaks

Gentlemen of the eschatologically astute table, I bid you greetings. I hope you have all read up on the Millennium as presented in the next chapter of Bible Doctrine. I'm very much looking forward to our discussion tomorrow morning at Caribou in South Elgin at 9am. We'll be discussion the pros and cons of the different views and hopefully get a good perspective on what scripture says about "the end".

Afterwards, we'll head over to the Ferrell's for the service project. Everyone else is arriving there at 10:30am. We'll work there for a few hours, take a break for lunch at 12:30pm, then either finish up the rest of the work or take a swim (yes, that does mean UpBall for those of you interested). I hope to see you there. Until then...

The Last Things

Gentlemen of the Apocalyptic Table, the long awaited chapters regarding eschatology have arrived. I am very much looking forward to our conversations and our study. I posted last week that we would be having our BBQ this coming Saturday, however, because of a wedding, I am pushing that one week later to July 21st. We will be meeting this week at our regular time at my house. Next week we'll be meeting at Caribou at 9 for our discussion, followed by the service project, followed by the BBQ and a little up ball at the Ferrell's. Let me know if you have any questions. Later...

The Holy Spirit and Hearty Sirloins

Gentlemen of the "Up-Ball" excelling table. How's it hanging? It has been a while since we have met, and I wanted to make sure you all knew that we were meeting tomorrow morning at the usual time. We'll be discussing chapters 29-30 regarding the Holy Spirit and His gifts. I hope to see you all there tomorrow at 9 am.

As for the sirloins, we'll be doing our BBQ next Saturday on the 14th where we'll begin our first discussion on the Doctrine of the Future. If all goes according to plan, we'll be working at the Ferrell's for a service project in the morning at 9 am and discussion and eating after that at their house (followed probably by a little up ball in the pool). I hope you are all pumped for that discourse. If you have any questions, let me know. More information to follow. See you tonight at game night.

Skipped meetings and Service Projects

Gentlemen of the Temporarily Abandoned Table, thank you for you patience and tolerance for a busy youth leader. As most of you know, we will not be meeting this weekend for study because of a wedding I must attend. However, we will be having a service project later on Saturday. We'll be meeting at the Mission's House at 3:30 and driving down to Batavia to serve the Zabels. We'll be spreading mulch and doing other various tasks for them. It should take a couple of hours, so we'll have a hot dog snack back at the Mission's house when you return. Spread the word to your fellow students. I'll see you on Saturday.

A New Book, A New Chapter, and a New Attitude

Gentlemen of the hip I-hoppin table, yesterday we dined well. Thanks for the great discussion on the church. Here were some of the more talked about points if you missed it.

1- The church as we know it began at Pentacost (Acts 2), although the church universal was defined much the same way as the Kingdom of God was: God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. This includes all Christians in all times, from Abel to David to Paul to you and I.

2- We discussed being involved in more than one church, going to one for Oasis and another for Sunday worship. We're all still wrestling through that issue as many in our youth group will after my workshop at camp.

3- We also talked about the influence of culture in forming a church, especially in the areas of women being pastors. Women pastors directly contradicts 1 Tim. 2:12 and can lead to not taking other passages in scripture seriously. Ultimately, we would become the authority for what is important in scripture rather than scripture being that authority.

Just a few reminders for the weeks coming up:

1- Those of you who went to Na will be sharing a testimony of what God taught you and is still challenging you with since the conference. Let me know this week what you are planning on sharing.

2- Make sure to order the new book by July 1 to get the discount and the free shipping. Here is the link ( www.crossway.com/na07 ). Just follow it and click on the picture of "Matters of the Heart" (it's the one pictures above) . It should be a good break from the heavy theology before we dive into some Luther or Calvin in the fall.

3- Stay posted for news about a work project that will probably be happening this Saturday after Bible study.

That's it for now. Have a great week walking with the Lord.

Mmmmmm.... IHOP sound good to me

We begin our second to last doctrinal study this week, and what better way to do that than at IHOP. We'll be meeting there at 9am this Saturday to discuss the church. I hope to see you all there.

Back Home and Ready to Work

Gentlemen of the soul-satisfied table, it is good to be home. I know what you're thinking, when can I serve at another service project? Well, the answer is on Saturday. We'll be spreading mulch at the Palmer's house on Saturday after Bible study, so if you can come, I would encourage you to be there.

We'll be finishing our look at the doctrine of redemption as well as discussion some things from the Na conference. If you didn't have a chance to attend, I would encourage you to grab the downloads of the messages ( www.sovereigngraceministries.org ). They will serve your soul well.

I'll see you on Saturday morning gentlemen.

New Attitude, Here We Come

Well, the conference is finally upon us. We'll be joining 3,000 other individuals in KY to grow in discernment and humility in regards to orthodoxy. For those of you not attending, we will not be having bible study this Saturday, but we will resume our study next Saturday at the normal time.

Here is the pertinant information in case you missed in on Saturday

Depart: 9 am on Saturday morning

Saturday
3pm Check-In Begins
7:30pm-10:00pm General Session – speaker: Josh Harris
10:15pm-11:30pm Community and Family Groups

Sunday
9:00am-10:30am Community and Family Groups
10:45am-1:00pm General Session – speaker: Mark Dever
1:00pm-3:00pm Break
3:00pm-4:30pm General Session – speaker: Al Mohler
4:30pm-7:45pm Break
7:45pm-10:15pm General Session – speaker: CJ Mahaney

Monday
9:00am-10:30am Community and Family Groups
10:45am-1:00pm General Session – speaker: Eric Simmons
1:00pm-3:00pm Break
3:00pm-4:30pm General Session – speaker: John Piper
4:30pm-7:45pm Break
7:45pm-10:15pm General Session – speaker: John Piper

Tuesday
9:00am-10:30am Community and Family Groups
10:45am-1:00pm Final Session
1:00pm Conference Concludes

Return: 7 pm on Tuesday night

I'll have more information posted throughout the week. Stay in touch.

Service, Sanctification, and Sparcity

Gentlemen of the sparcely attended table. Thank you to those of you who came last week. We had a great discussion about the relationship between Covenantalism and Justification. It is amazing to see that God's consistency in establishing the two covenants and ordaining our participation in those covenants exposes His unchangeableness even more. He truly is a great God.

This week we'll be continuiing our study through salvation, moving onto Sanctification (ch. 23). We'll also be having furthur discussion on the Covenantalism pamphlet I handed out.

On a side note, we do have an opportunity to serve someone in our congregation as well as earn a little money for our NA Conference. We'll be helping Leslee Jelm pick up brush in her yard next Saturday, May 19th from 10am-Noon. It would be great if you all were available for this, but at least the guys going to NA should plan on helping out. I'll have more information at our meeting on Saturday. Keep up the reading and don't forget to put sin to death daily.

New Attitude $$$

Well, the conference is fast approaching (1 month left), and so is the final bill. Here is what you are going to be responsible for as far as payment. We will be putting a bulletin anouncement in this week asking people for projects for us to do in order to raise money to cover the $145 each that the registration costs. Transportation is being taken care of by the church and the Sterns. That leaves food. If each of you could be responsible for your food costs, that would be excellent. We will be having around 6 meals at the conference that aren't provided, so if you could bring enough money to cover that, plus additional personal expenses (books from the bookstore, souvenirs, etc.) that would be excellent. I'll have more info on the projects on Saturday morning. Thanks guys, and see you later.

An Early Meeting

Gentlemen of the Creative Caribou Coffee table, thanks for a great discussion last weekend. For those of you who couldn't make it, Jonah, Anthony, Dwayne and I had a great time at Caribou, indulging in the common grace of good coffee and specific grace of God's word. It was profitable to better understand the elements of common grace and what our response should be to those revelations.

In regards to our upcoming meeting, I would request that we meet 1 hour earlier to accomodate a trip my family is taking on Saturday with the Szobodys. If that's not possible, we'll have to work something else out. Let me know if any of you can't come because of an 8:00 meeting. Also, we need to come up with some fundraising ideas for our trip. I'm open to any suggestions. Just post them in the comments section or give me a call or email. That's it for now. Adios amigos...

Resurrection and Redemption

Gentlemen of the mulched and fertilized table, I bring you greetings. After the week off, I hope you are ready to continue in our study. As I looked at the upcoming chapter, I realized that it is very short, so what I would like to do is discuss chapters 16-17 for next week. That will finish up our discussion of Christ and begin our discussion on Redemption.

I know of few of you will be gone, but I'm not exactly sure who that will be. If those of you who won't be there would let me know on Wed. or just leave a comment, I would appreciate it.

I'll see you on Wed. or Sat. Have a profitable week.

No Meeting, but the Service must continue

Gentlemen of the dirty table, I hope all of you are planning on attending the service day this coming Saturday morning at our normal Bible Study time. It's a great opportunity to be an example to your fellow students and also to serve the Lord by serving the church. Plan on meeting again the following week to continue our study on the person of Christ.

For those of you who can, I plan on watching the NCAA Tourney finals tonight after 24. It should go 'til around 11pm. I'll see a number of you tonight as we cheer for Jack to defeat terrorism. Adios muchachos.

The Atonement at IHOP

Gentlemen of the syrup soaked table, the IHOP discussion is fast approaching. I am greatly anticipating our time together as we indulge in pancakes and God's Word. While the pancakes are international, I wonder if the Atonement also is? We'll have to wait and see. Make sure to read chapter 15. We'll be meeting there at 9 am.

After our time at IHOP, those of you interested in the NA conference we talked about will come back to the Mission's House with me and we'll register together there. Make sure to check with your parents whether or not you are able to attend. Here is the website in case you forgot: www.newattitude.org I'll see you later.

Christology

Gentlemen of the early morning table, thanks for the great discussion last week. It is great to be able to have so many doctrines at least discussed and worked through. Sin is an especially relevant topic to all of our lives. This coming Saturday we begin our study of Christ (Chapter 14). There's a lot of great info in this chapter, so make sure to read up.

Also, as we discussed last week, we will be having our IHOP breakfast a week from Saturday morning on March 31. We'll be going over chapter 15, The Atonement, so it should be a good time. I'll see you when I see you.

Sin on St. Patrick's Day

Gentlemen of the well-rested table, it is good to be back. As is our custom, we'll be meeting again this coming Saturday morning to discuss Hamartiology, or the Doctrine of Sin (Ch. 13). Make sure to read carefully and come with any questions and comments you might have.

On a side note, it was great to be away for a bit, but it is really good to be home. I trust you have all been putting into practice the things we discussed over the past few weeks, particularly being biblical, manly leaders in the youth group. I look forward to hearing how things are going in that arena.

Keep the faith gentlemen, and I'll plan on seeing you on Saturday at 9 am.

Jonah sent me this. Stare at the four dots in the middle for 30 seconds then look at a plain surface, like the ceiling. Who is that???

A Few Weeks Off

Well, gentlemen of the meat saturated table, thanks for a great afternoon. The meat of the cows, chickens, pigs and boars was delicious, as was the meat of God's word. Thanks for the great discussion. As many of you may have pieced together, we will not be meeting for the next two weeks. I'm leaving on a Spring Break vacation this Friday and won't be back until Sunday. Unfortunately, that means missing two Saturdays with you. Plan on picking things up the week after, right where we left off, with chapter 13, the unlucky chapter about the unluckiest thing of all, sin and the Fall of Mankind. Make sure to read up and be ready to discuss. See you later...

Bible Study, BBQ, and lots of Beef

Hello gentlemen of the round table. As many of you are aware, we aren't having our Bible study at its regular time due to a meeting I have to attend at my restaurant. However, I would still like to meet with you all on Saturday. We will be having our bible study at 12 noon instead of the regular 9 am time. I'll be providing the grills and you'll be bringing the meat for our Bible Study BBQ. If it's raining, which it is supposed to, we'll break out the Foreman grills and cook inside. Either way it should be a great time of eating the meat of the Word and the real meat from our friendly neighborhood cows. Let me know if you can't make it. Our chapter is number 12 and we'll be discussing the different roles of men and women. See you all there.

Gentlemen of the Theological Table:

As you may have surmised, we will not be meeting this coming Saturday morning in light of Winter Camp this weekend. We will be meeting the week afterwards, continuing our study of the Doctrine of Man here at my house. Thanks for the great breakfast last week. There's nothing like pancakes and eggs to start a day off right. I look forward to our next meeting. Until then...

Clarification:

There has been some confusion about this coming Saturday morning, so here are the facts. We'll be meeting at the IHOP in Elgin off of Randall Rd. in front of the Elgin Fox Theatre by Rt. 20. Times are the same (9:00am - 10:15am). Bring money for your breakfast. I'll see you there.

-Josh

Thus begins the study of Man. Don't forget that we're taking this week off for you to rest up and get ready to tackle anthropology. We'll pick up with chapter 11 on Feb. 10 at IHOP. That's right, I said the International House of Pancakes. Plan on meeting at the Mission's house promptly at 9am. We'll carpool over to the IHOP up north. Plan on being back around 10:30, so tell your folks not to pick you up until then. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hello gentlemen. Thanks for the great discussion on God's providence in prayer last week. I hope you've been applying it well to you lives.

This next week is the ever exciting topic of Angels, Demons, and Satan. Make sure to get a good read of the chapter and come with lots of questions and comments. This is a fun topic. Hopefully we'll get a good Biblical perspective on it this Sat. See you there at 9 am.

Just a side note, I need to cancel our meeting for Feb. 3 as I will be unavailable to meet. I'll remind you on Sat. when I see you. Later...

Tomorrow's Meeting:

We'll be covering chapter 7: Creation at tomorrow's meeting. Make sure to read up for our discussion time. Later...

Discussion Questions from Sunday School:

There were several great questions brought up yesterday in Sunday School. I hope the "Who did Christ die for?" question was adequately answered. Like I said in class, it is in issue that sparks endless controversy because the Bible isn't crystal clear about it. Something to remember is that the atonement accomplished salvation for all who believe. That simple statement encompasses infinitely hard topics to understand with our finite minds. However, that doesn' mean they are untrue.

Other questions that were brought up were equally hard to understand, but also good to discuss. Here are a few if you want to take a crack at them:

1 Peter 3:18-20 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through water."

-Who did Christ preach to, where did he preach, and when did he do it?
Possibilities- Christ descended to hell to preach to unbelievers between his death and resurrection
- Christ, after his death, proclaimed his victory to the fallen angels

While there are several answers to this question out there, I find the most agreeable one to my mind is the one offered by John Calvin in his commentary on 1 Peter. I provided the link to his thoughts below:
http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/comment3/comm_vol45/htm/iv.iv.viii.htm

If there are any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. For now, adios amigos