We have provided the answers to three text questions received during the Sunday Worship Services. If you have any additonal questions or commenst about today's message or other messages, please post your comments. We want to hear from you! 

Question 1: Where in the word does it designate the time/date of the birth of Christ?
There is not 100% certainty that December 25th is the correct date. However, scholars are pretty sure that it was in the winter season based on evidence in the Bible. I found an article on bible.org that provides a little more detail. I have included the pertinent section below. Here is the link to the full article. Here is the excerpt:

And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flocks by night.
The mention of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in verse 8 brings up the issue of the time of Christ’s birth. When did it occur? Was it in December, January, February or April? Part of the argument for the time of the year revolves around these shepherds.

The traditional date of December 25 goes back to as early as Hippolytus (A.D. 165-235). This would indicate some form of observance or remembrance. Chrysostom (A.D. 345-407) in 386 stated December 25 is the correct day.

One of the main objections has been that sheep were usually taken into enclosures from November through March and were not in the fields at night. This is not conclusive, however, for the following reasons: (1) It could have been a mild winter. (2) It is not at all certain that sheep were always brought into enclosures during the winter months. (3) It is true that during the winter months sheep were brought in from the wilderness and Luke tells us the shepherds were near Bethlehem rather than in the wilderness indicating, if anything, the nativity was in the winter months. (4) The Mishnah tells us the shepherds around Bethlehem were outside all year and those worthy of the Passover were nearby in the fields at least 30 days before the feast which could be as early as February (one of the coldest, rainiest months of the year). So December is a very reasonable date.

James Kelso also sees the winter as the best time for the birth of Christ.

The best season for the shepherds of Bethlehem is the winter when heavy rains bring up a luscious crop of new grass. After the rains the once-barren, brown desert earth is suddenly a field of brilliant green. One year when excavating at New Testament Jericho, I lived in Jerusalem and drove through this area twice every day. At one single point along the road, I could see at times as many as fine shepherds with their flocks on one hillside. One shepherd stayed with his flock at the same point for three weeks, so lush was the grass. But as soon as the rains stopped in the spring, the land quickly took on its normal desert look once again.

Since there seem to have been a number of shepherds who came to see the Christ child, December or January would be the most likely months. Though Christ was probably born in the winter months, the biggest obstacle for establishing the 25th as the exact date of Christ's birth is the fact this was observed by what some have called the mother-child cult in various parts of the world even before the birth of Christ. Today, however, these pagan mystery ideas are little known and haven’t been for centuries. The main problem with Christmas is that we have allowed Satan to take this season, which should speak of the grace of God in giving us His precious Son, to focus the minds of men on the wrong things, thus perverting the real significance of Christ’s birth.

Our family, and many other biblically concerned believers, use the Christmas season as an opportunity to properly focus on Christ’s birth and what it means to us, though not as some holy day we must keep for spirituality (Gal. 4:8-11; Col. 2:16-17). Those who argue against this and condemn celebrating with trees and presents, etc., in my opinion are being legalistic.

Question 2: Who were the Amorites?
Good question. Here is everything you would ever want to know about the Amorites. And by the way, this information comes from Torrey, R. 1995, c1897. The New Topical Textbook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Logos research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA.

1. Descent of. Ge 10:15,16; 1Ch 1:13,14.
2. One of the seven nations of Canaan. Ge 15:21; Ex 3:8,17.
3. Governed by many independent kings. Jos 5:1; 9:10.
4. Kings of, great and powerful. Ps 136:18,20.
5. Originally inhabited a mountain district in the south. Nu 13:29; De 1:7,20; Jdj 1:36.
6. Acquired an extensive territory from Moab east of Jordan. Nu 21:26,30.
7. Had many and strong cities. Nu 32:17,33.
8. Of gigantic strength and stature. Am 2:9.
9. Character of
   1. Profane and wicked. Ge 15:16.
   2. Idolatrous. Jos 24:15.
10. Defeated by Chedorlaomer, &c. Ge 14:7.
11. Joined Abraham against the kings. Ge 14:13,24.
12. Jacob took a portion from. Ge 48:22.
13. Forbearance of God towards. Ge 15:16.
14. Doomed to utter destruction. De 20:17,18.
15. Refused a passage to Israel. Nu 21:21-23; De 2:30.
16. Deprived of their eastern territory by Israel. Nu 21:24-35.
17. Land of, given to Reubenites, &c. Jos 13:15-31.
18. Western kings of, confederated against Israel. Jos 10:1-5.
19. Miraculous overthrow of. Jos 10:11-14.
20. Kings of, degraded and slain. Jos 10:24-27.
21. The Gibeonites a tribe of, deceived Israel into a league. 2Sa 21:2, Jos 9:3-16.
22. The Israelites unable to expel, but extracted tribute from. Jdj 1:34,35.
23. Had peace with Israel in the days of Samuel. 1Sa 7:14.
24. Brought into bondage by Solomon. 1Ki 9:20,21.
25. Ahab followed the abominations of. 1Ki 21:26.
26. Manasseh exceeded abominations of. 2Ki 21:11.
27. The Jews after the captivity condemned for intermarrying with. Ezr 9:1,2.
28. Descent from, illustrative of man’s natural state. Eze 16:3.

Question 3: How can God be a jealous God?
It is helpful to think about this from the viewpoint of God’s holiness. God is not jealous in the same way that we are. It may be surprising to some to know that jealousy can be both good and bad. To be jealous is to desire something that someone else has. Jealousy can be good particularly when we see Christ-like qualities in others that we desire to develop in our own lives. But as I mentioned, jealousy can denigrate into something bad. This happens when we feel frustrated and bitter when we cannot obtain what we want. When a husband see’s someone trying to alienate his wife’s affections and seduce her, he has the right to be jealous (righteous jealousy). However, when this same husband experiences anger and bitterness when someone is having a simple conversation with his wife, his jealousy has become sinful.

God is the most supreme being in the universe. He has no opposite and there is no one greater than him. For this reason, we were made to reflect back to him and others his supremacy. We do this when we savor him, and enjoy him. He created us to live our lives in a way that make him look like the greatness, beauty and infinite worth he really is. Again this is what we were created for. We belong to God and he has no desire to share our affections, in the same way that a husband has no desire to share the affections of his wife with another man. Because God is holy, he is not capable of sinful jealousy. God created us to be exclusively devoted to him. Therefore he has every right to desire the exclusive devotion of his people and act with jealous zeal towards us when we do not give him this devotion.

Well, as usual, if you have additional questions or need more clarification don't hesitate to let us know! I always enjoy researching your questions. Thanks again, and see you next time.

Questions/Comments: info@onechurchhome.org  

This question was asked among many through text message during the sermon on Sunday. Unfortunately time did not permit to get to this question. So we will answer it here.

Bible college is geared towards undergraduate work and seminary is strictly graduate work. In a bible college you work to obtain an undergraduate degree such as a bachelors. However in seminary all the degress are masters, doctorate degrees. Bible college programs are typically a minimum of four years to complete. Whereas most seminary degrees are like other masters programs and are planned for two years. However, there are a few seminaries such as Dallas Theological who offer a four year Master of Theology degree. I hope this answers your question. If not, let us know in the comments.

Robert

Wondering how we end up in the tent of discontentment? Desperate to find out how to avoid getting miserably comfortable in that tent? During Sunday's message, Pastor Conway gave us 5 Steps the enemy uses to lead us into discontentment. This is what he had to say from Genesis 3:

Step One: The enemy disguises himself [v.1].
Step Two: The enemy gets you to doubt God’s Word [v.1b].
Step Three: The enemy’s deception causes you to believe his thoughts are your thoughts [v.2].
Step Four: The enemy distracts you from enjoying the many things you have [v.4].
Step Five: The enemy gets you to believe his doctrine [v.5].

So now that you have this information, what does it mean for your life? What questions do you still have about the issue of contentment vs. discontentment? Share your thoughts with us on the OneBlog, just click below.

blog by Robert Johnson
Genesis 30:1-8

Too often we will lay down our lives to get some of the luxuries that come with this life. In fact, some of us have. We work countless hours of overtime, just to make enough money to barely afford that new house when the one we have if just fine. Some waste day after day pursuing a mate in hopes of getting married and having children. Why can’t we just be content with what we have? Why do we constantly long for more? Why do we desire to have things that don’t belong to us? How much of our lives have we dedicated to trying to obtain things we don’t need because of our discontentment? I’ll let you calculate the hours…

In the same way that singles sometimes devalue their singleness (by focusing only on getting married), and married people often complicate their marriages because of the frustrations that come along with it (thus wanting to be single again), Christ followers too often will give up our contentment by failing to accept that our lives are providentially designed by God for our good.

Our discontentment reveals our confusion and misunderstanding about the nature and character of God, particularly his sovereignty (or providence). It’s a theology problem. And the problem is not with God, it is with us.

Understandably, Rachel’s barrenness was difficult for her to endure, especially at that time. It's difficult to imagine the emotional, psychological, and physiological turmoil that comes with a situation such as this. But God still longs for her to be content with what He has given her and for her to trust His will. I imagine that if Rachel came to the end of her life barren, she would probably feel cheated that God never allowed her to have children. I challenge you to ask yourself, “If I knew today was my last day on earth, would I regret the life God has given me?” If yes, then it is possible you may not be content. Unfortunately we fail to see one of the many pitfalls of discontentment - it results in us never being satisfied. It's never just that "one thing," it's always one more thing. 

This life is about accepting God’s design for us. His design is such that we live the life He has given us to the fullest (2 Peter 1:3). The life He has providentially given you is exactly the life you need right now.

SilenceSolitude.pdf (30.20 kb)