Sunday highlights

In the morning the pastor spoke on the world hating Christians using John 15 (?) as his text. I tend to think that is obvious, otherwise why wouldn't we be more willing to share our faith with people. We know it makes people mad, one way or another.

Jesus knew it would happen too, that is why he prepared his disciples. "They will hate you, remember they hated me first." "They will think they are doing God a favor when they kill you."

In the evening the preacher spoke on Revelation 19, that was the text. His theme was obliquely related to the morning since Revelation was written to a persecuted group to explain what was going on in the spiritual realm and how God saw all of this.

The preacher went on to summarize Revelations and take an older approach. Revelation is not some premillenial dispensational text. The whore of Babylon is not Rome but Jerusalem. The leaders in Jerusalem were in deadly rebellion against God.

He states that Revelation was written before the destruction of the temple and it predicted that destruction. It would mean that God had judged Israel and that the church has replaced Israel and God's family. The temple sacrifices are no longer needed and have been replaced.

A couple of weeks ago this same preacher said people do not understand Revelation rightly. Today he went into much more detail as to why.

I am not sure his idea totally fits all that Revelation says. And Paul seemed to say, especially in Romans, that the Jews are not totally replaced, they have been temporarily removed to let the Gentiles in. But they are still God's beloved and will eventually come back. I think Paul can be read that way and so can the Revelation of John.

Dispensationalism, in some forms, says that the Jews have been simply placed in a new relation to God. The church has been added in, wild grape branches added to the vine, that is God. But the domestic branches, the Jews, can still be re-grafted in if they repent and come back.

Barbara called during her break in KC around 5 PM. We were practicing the anthem so I let her hear our soloist practicing. She stayed on the line for two minutes listening. Then after we were done I called her back. She is getting a lot out of it and working very hard.

Deborah drove in from San Angelo and arrived at 7 PM Saturday. We hung out Saturday night. She made the dewberry pie. In the morning she helped me man a communion station. That was very nice. Then she went to the wedding shower. That was the reason she came into town. We got to pray together last night and worship together today. She was going to head back to San Angelo as soon as the shower was over. She planned to stay over in Marble Falls tonight and drive the rest of the way tomorrow. She sounded like she was being very safe. I got a text saying she made it in to Marble Falls.

Deborah will be back for the summer in two weeks.