The Ezra Project

As part of my studies at the Moody Theological Seminary, I have been doing an in depth literary study through the book of Ezra.  I’ve learned a lot and been convicted by God’s Word through this study.  As a result of that work, I’d like to share what I’ve gleaned with you.  Would you join me over the next five Tuesdays on this study?   You’ll be able to choose the depth of your involvement, but the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.  I’ll give you reading assignments, study questions, and homework that will help you apply the book of Ezra to your life.  Its up to you how deep you want to go.  If you choose to study along with me, please let me know in the comment section of the blog and please share what you are learning and any questions you have.  I look forward to doing this study with you!

Where is Ezra?  That’s somewhere after Genesis and before Revelation right?

                Have you ever read Ezra?  Don’t feel too bad.  Most Christians I know haven’t.  And if you have read Ezra, chances are you’re like me before I started this project for class.  I had read through Ezra before and I knew it was inspired by God and good for me.  But I found it boring.  Its full of genealogies, lists, numbers, and seemingly unimportant details about who got to carry the gold from one city to another.  It seemed to me that this book was a dry historical account about the rebuilding of the temple and that’s it.  

So why Ezra?  Because there is much more to it than what you or I might see on our first reading.  It really is God’s Word and is useful for our lives today.  Let me set the stage.

Do you remember the stories of the mighty prophet Elijah?  He's the man who prayed that God would hold back the rain and God withheld rain for three and a half years.  Then he prayed again and it rained.  He's the guy who outran a chariot drawn by horses.  He's the one who didn't just die like the rest of us, but was taken into heaven in a fiery chariot!  He's also most often remembered for standing up all alone against the many prophets of Baal and defeating them in a worship contest.

But do you know the story of his depression?  Elijah had been serving God hard.  All day, every day, he was going all out for God.  He preached to a people who didn't want to listen.  He rebuked a people who grew angry instead of repenting.  Every day he lived among a people confused by idols.  After his victory against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, the evil queen Jezebel ordered him hunted down.  As if Elijah didn't have enough problems, he is now running for his life.  He is burned out, exhausted, hopeless, and afraid.  The prophet was depressed.

Normally, I put up Feature Friday blogs about a recent movie, song, or news article.  But since the big talk of the town is the new Twilight movie and I can't stand them enough to write about them in length, I'll be sharing something I saw in real life this week. 

So I was riding on the train this Wednesday when I saw this.  Notice anything wrong here?  There were a lot of people standing who had no seat, including an older woman not shown in the picture.  The seat in front of me, as you can see, was occupied by two plastic bags.  A few people who got on the train would actually look right at the seat, then at the guy next to them, and back at the seat.  But the guy sitting there looked the other way every time.

There was an old woman sitting next to me who didn't like what she saw.  So she actually tapped this guy on the shoulder and tried talking to him.  She told him that there were people who needed a seat and asked him to please move his bags.  She was actually very polite.  His response?  "If they need a seat, they should tell me."  He put his head-phones back on and didn't move the bags!  A gentlemen who had an aisle seat gave up his seat for the older lady then gave this guy a dirty look and still he did not move his bag.  

What is evolution?  Does the Bible disagree with evolution?  Has evolution been proven a fact?  These are some questions I intend to answer.  Answering these questions could take up volumes, so I will not be able to address every little detail.  I will try to summarize but this is going to be a lot of info.

Thanksgiving is coming up pretty quickly.  We all have a lot of things to be thankful for.  Our family, friends, jobs, homes, full refrigerators, cars, church, toys, and so much more.  A lot of times, we say we are thankful for these things because it is the right thing to say, even when we don't necessarily feel very thankful.  But think about some times that you really, truly have felt thankful.  Maybe it was when you were younger and your parents bought you a video game system for Christmas that you had been dying to get all year.  Maybe it was when your spouse surprised you with an incredible day all about you.  Maybe it was when someone stood up for you or defended you in front of others.  Can you remember a time you were truly thankful?

You probably know this guy.  You may have seen him on commercials, follow him on Twitter, remember him from That Seventies Show, know him as Demi Moore’s husband, or watch him now on Two and a Half Men.  You may not have heard about the recent trouble he got himself into on Twitter.  

Penn State recently fired football coach Joe Paterno.  Ashton Kutcher read a headline about it and, without knowing the full story, he put his opinion up on Twitter.  Kutcher said, “How do you fire Jo Pa? #insult #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste.”  If you’ve been following the news or are really into college football, you know what a mistake this was.

Most of us have never seen a female pastor or priest.  How come?  Is the church sexist?  Why can't women be leaders in the church?  What is the deal?

Well, not all Christians agree on this issue.  In fact, there are now several denominations of Christianity that are allowing women to be pastors.  So what is your opinion Pastor Mark? 

Do I really have to go to church on Sundays?  As a youth pastor, I get this question a lot.  Teens in particular struggle with waking up early on Sundays, sitting through a sermon that is primarily geared toward adults, and being deprived from their video games for hours on end.

But, if we adults are honest, we struggle with those things too.  Sometimes its just been a long week and it would be so much simpler and easier to just stay home on Sunday morning.  There are Sundays when we attend church and for whatever reason just don't feel like we got much out of the sermon.  And that's not even mentioning the fact that going to church causes us to miss the first half of the game on TV.  These things are normal.  So... do I really have to go to church on Sundays?

Have you been watching Steven Spielberg's new masterpiece?  If you catch Terra Nova on Fox, you're in for breathtaking nature scenes, futuristic technology, and, best of all, dinosaur-packed action!

Enough Sci-Fi, did you know the Bible talks about a Terra Nova?  

What makes something good and other things evil?  Why are some actions right and other actions wrong?  Why do almost all of us agree that stabbing someone out of jealousy is wrong but shooting someone in self defense and in defense of others is not?  Who decided how we ought and ought not act?  Are certain things right or wrong just based on our opinion?  Is it based on a certain set of laws?  Where does morality come from? 

The Moral Argument

In our fourth attempt to prove the existence of God, we will be looking at another age old argument known as the moral argument.  This argument bases itself around the question, "Where does morality come from?"  There are several possible answers to this question, but only one answer makes sense.  The only logical answer to this question is that morality comes from a personal, absolute, transcendent being (God).  To read about this in depth, I highly recommend C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianity.