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Coffee Break – 11.11.2013

Coffee Break

This Is Coffee! – The Coffee Brewing Institute created this video to give you as much information about this incredible elixir as possible. You get extra points if you spot the Chemex coffee maker.

The Globemaker – You see them everywhere. They are in schools. They are in libraries. You might even have one in your home. we do. But how are they made? This guy does something fascinating. He makes globes.

Abandoned Amusement Parks – There might not be anything more depressingly eerie than an abandoned amusement park. This series of photos captures that feeling quite well.

When Adam Becomes More Fiction Than Fact – “It’s the beginning of our story, and the beginning is sometimes as important as the end. But that reality, and more importantly our first parents’ existence, has been and continues to be challenged and denied by some voices even within the church.” This is an insightful look at the historicity of Genesis.

“You Can’t Use The Bible To Prove The Bible”… And Other Stupid Statements – I’ve been saying this for years. Using the Bible to prove the Bible is not circular reasoning. This article clearly articulates some of the reasons why.

6 Questions That Will Radically Change Your Marriage – What are you doing to help your marriage continue to grow? Here are several questions you need to be asking and answering with your spouse in order to help your marriage achieve the spiritual intimacy that it was designed to have. If you aren’t married yet, stick these in the back of your mind for someday.

The soul’s deepest thirst is for God Himself, who has made us so that we can never be satisfied without Him. – F.F. Bruce

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:1-2

The beginning of the final chapter of Paul’s letter to Timothy continues his instructions concerning church relationships. He has already addressed widows and elders. He now turns to slaves.

See the passage for yourself at 1 Timothy 6:1-2:

1 Timothy 6:1-2

Slavery in New Testament times was significantly different than it has been in recent centuries, especially as experienced in the US. As a result of this, we have very little comprehension of just what it was like to be a slave in those days. We can’t even imagine what it must have been like.

Slavery in the New Testament had very little to do with nationality, ethnicity or skin color. It was more based upon economic circumstances, or because of war. In fact, it was not a rare occurrence for a person to sell themselves into slavery to improve their situation or pay a debt. Slavery to a good master was often a better place to be than a poor free person.

Slaves made up a significant portion of many of the early churches written to in the New Testament, and Paul addressed slavery in many of his letters, such as 1 Corinthians 7:21-24, Colossians 3:22-25, Ephesians 6:5-8, and Titus 2:9-10. Peter also addressed slavery in 1 Peter 2:18-25.

But why would Paul address slavery in this letter to Timothy? It may be that some problems had arisen among slaves and master, similar to those issues and attitudes among the younger widows, which Paul spends some time discussing.

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Classic Bible: My Favorite Passages From Philemon

This is part of the Classic Bible: Favorite Stories & Passages series. Read more from the series!

The shortest of all Paul’s letters is his personal correspondence with Philemon concerning his slave, Onesimus, who had run away. Though short, Paul skillfully weaves several key Christian principles into the fabric of this letter.

Shackles

Onesimus, a slave, had run away from his owner and escaped. Over the course of time, he met Paul, who introduced him to Jesus, and accepted him as Lord and Savior.

This places Paul in a bind, both legally and spiritually. Paul is obligated to report to his friend and Christian brother, Philemon, that he has found Onesimus, and is sending him home. But what if Philemon didn’t accept Onesimus in a favorable manner? What if there were extenuating circumstances, as verse 18 seems to imply? And is seems that Paul may even want Philemon to release Onesimus, perhaps even to assist Paul in his ministry.

Out of this dilemma, Paul writes this brief masterpiece. He writes to Philemon to appeal to his love as a Christian for Onesimus, encouraging him to release him from slavery. In fact, it seems that Paul could require this, as indicated by the suggestion that Philemon owes his own conversion to Paul’s efforts as well.

By the fact that this letter was preserved in the canon of Scripture, we can assume that Philemon complied to this request. And, in the early second century, there is an Onesimus who is mentioned as a bishop of the Ephesian church. It is not provable if this is the same Onesimus, but the timing certainly fits.

Out of this brief letter, which takes only moments to read, I find a couple of passages to be extremely encouraging. Here are my favorite passages from the letter to Philemon:

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Coffee Break – 11.04.2013

Coffee Break

Coffee Science – Coffee is never not awesome. As indicated by this factual chart. Note the fine print. I’m in full agreement with this.

Field Notes Brand – I’ve journaled for years. My primary journal is a mid-sized Moleskine that I use for dad to day thoughts, sermon notes, and much more. But a couple of years ago, I found Field Notes. These pocket-sized journals are incredibly useful. I carry one with me daily; it’s one of the first things in my pocket each day. Plus, there’s a niche collectability with them as well.

And You Thought YOU Knew How To Play Guitar – Some people are just incredibly talented. That’s all I can say about this.

The Wars Over Christian Beards – November is affectionately called by many “No Shave November.” I can’t grow a great beard to save my life. so I just have to be envious of those who can, and read articles like this one.

Change The Way People Treat You, Starting With One Word – I’ve never had a problem saying no. In fact my kids say that I say no too much. But there is a lot of power in that one incredibly positive word.

7 Ways For Busy Moms To Get In The Word – My wife stays at home with many of our kids, homeschooling them and running a business. She’s busy. Just like a lot of other moms. Here are seven practical ways these busy moms can spend time with God. Simple. Yet effective.

Experience is not the best teacher; evaluated experience is. – Howard Hendricks

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:23-25

Chapter five of 1 Timothy closes with what seem to be a personal recommendation from Paul to Timothy. After this brief digression, he returns to the discussion on elders for one final thought, before moving on to the topic of slavery.

Take a look at 1 Timothy 5:23-25:

1 Timothy 5:23-25

Drink a little wine…

Paul interrupts himself on the topic of elders to give a little fatherly advice to Timothy. There are a couple of different possibilities for his reasoning here. First, Timothy may have been taking Paul’s admonishment for elders and deacons not to abuse wine as support for his practice of only drinking water. But since those comments are also in this letter, that reasoning doesn’t seem likely.

It’s more likely that Timothy may have been influenced by the legalistic tendencies of the false teachers that he was addressing. Their teaching may have prohibited any wine or stronger drink, and to drink only water.

Paul mentions Timothy’s illnesses. There is no indication whatsoever what these illness could have been. They may have been a stomach issue resulting from drinking only water. In New Testament times, wine was seen as medicinal in nature as well as a social drink. The water wasn’t often clean and pure, and the alcohol in wine, weak though it might be, may have been an effective prescription for dealing with whatever bugs might be taken in with the water.

A third possibility is that Paul may have known that Timothy would have a difficult time dealing with church leaders, and encouraged him to float away his troubles… No, of course not!