• Let’s try to make sense of the New Testament for you today.
• Galatians was the first letter Paul wrote in 49 AD after his 2nd missionary journey.
• Keep in mind that scholars dispute the date and origin of some of our NT books.
• But a council put the 4 Gospels and Acts at the beginning of the NT.
• Then Paul’s letters from the longest (Romans) to the shortest (Philemon)
• Lastly are all the other letters of the NT.
• When we use the term “church” in this series, we are referring to the Greek word “ekklesia” which means assembly or gathering of the members of a community.
• The “church” is the community of those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to be the Savior for the World… and they “gather” to express Him.
• The “big picture” has at its center an unbroken pattern of God’s working. And this pattern reflects God’s ultimate goal – which is to have community on this earth that expresses His nature in a visible way.

 

• It is great for reading one’s own biases into the text, but it is horrible for understanding the intent of the biblical authors.
• Filter the text with the text.
• Without understanding the historical context of the NT, Christians have managed to build doctrines and invent practices that have fragmented the Body of Christ into thousands of denominations.

 

1. The Godhead/Trinity has always existed.

• Titus 1:1-2 – 1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.[1]

 
- God’s purpose was to create a community on earth that would reflect the community among the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

• John 17:21-23 - 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me, so that they may be made completely one, that the world may know you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.[2]
• Ephesians 3:9-11 - 9 and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. 10 This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. 11 This is according to his eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.[3]

- God, who sees the end from the beginning, takes the first step in carrying out His plan.
- Within the Eternal Son are hidden ones who God has chosen to part of His ordained community.
The names of the hidden ones are written in an eternal volume called “The Book of Life.”
 - Revelation 3:5 - 5 “In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.[4]
 
-God completes all things before He creates all things.

• Hebrews 4:3 - 3 For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said, So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest,” even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world.[5]

 
- God’s “eternal purpose” provokes Him to create a universe and an earth.
- He weaves into His creation pictures and symbols of His Son and of this future community that will express His nature.
 

1. The Son is sent to earth.

• The Son will come into the world to establish the community that God purposed in the timeless past.
• Galatians 4:4 - 4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law[6]
• Ephesians 5:25-27 - 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.[7]

 

• How did Jesus’ life become the division of world history through our dating system of BC/AD?

 
Question: "What is the meaning of BC and AD (B.C. and A.D.)?"

Answer: It is commonly thought that BC stands for "before Christ" and AD stands for "after death."

• This is only half correct.
• How could the year 1 B.C. have been "before Christ" and 1 A.D. been "after death"?
• BC does stand for "before Christ."
• AD actually stands for the Latin phrase "anno domini" which means "in the year of our Lord."
• The B.C. / A.D. dating system is not taught in the Bible.
• It actually was not fully implemented and accepted until several centuries after Jesus' death.
• The year numbering system for the Common Era was devised by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525 to replace the Diocletian years, because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians.
• He attempted to number years from an event he referred to as the Incarnation of Jesus although scholars generally believe that Jesus was born before AD 1.
• Dionysius labeled the column of the Easter table in which he introduced the new era "Anni Domini Nostri Jesu Christi".
• Numbering years in this manner became more widespread with its usage by Bede in England in 731.
• Bede also introduced the practice of dating years before the supposed year of birth of Jesus, and the practice of not using a year zero.
• In 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to switch to the system begun by Dionysius.

 

• Philippians 2:10-11 - 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth--11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [8]

 

• CE – Common Era, Christian Era or Current Era
• BCE – Before Common Era, Before Christian Era or Before Current Era

 

1. Nazareth Chronicle (4 BC – 28 AD)

• Divinity takes on humanity.

Matthew 1:21-23 - 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”[9]
 
What year was Jesus actually born?

• Josephus recorded that Herod died in April of 4 BC.
• Yet sometime before Herod died, he had calculated that Jesus might already be two years old.
• Therefore by this reasoning, Jesus could have been born no later than 6 BC.

 
When did Jesus’ ministry begin?

• Jesus is a carpenter by trade. He lives around thirty years on earth before he begins His earthly ministry.

Matthew 1-3; Mark 6; Luke 1-4

• All four of the New Testament Gospels mention the ministry of John the Baptist who was a forerunner of Jesus, but only Luke makes the essential connection with secular history.
• (Luke 3:1) states that the Word of the Lord came to John in the 15th year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, calling him to preach in the region around the Jordan River.
• The reigns of the Roman emperors are well known from secular history.
• Caesar Augustus reigned during the period 27 BC-AD 14 and was followed by Caesar Tiberius who reigned during the period AD 14-37.
• Therefore, the 15th year of Tiberius’ reign must have been AD 28, fixing the date for the start of John the Baptist’s ministry.
• The Law prescribed a minimum age of 30 years before someone could enter into Priestly service (Numbers 4.1-4).
• Sometime later into the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus came and was baptized by him (Luke 3:21-22).
• Then He was tested 40 days in the Judean wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), after which time He returned to the region of Galilee where He began His ministry (Luke 4:14-15).
• Therefore, Jesus’ ministry could have begun as late as AD 29 but could not have begun before AD 28.
• The community of the Father, Son and Spirit dwells inside of Him.
• The eternal fellowship that exists within the Godhead continues unbroken.
• It simply moves from the heavens to the earth where Jesus has taken up residence.
• Colossians 2:9 - 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.[10]
• The Message: 9 Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. (Message)

 

1. Galilean Chronicle (28-30 AD)

How long was Jesus’ ministry?
When did Jesus die?

• The Bible does not actually give a duration for Jesus’ ministry, but it does record two distinct Passovers during His ministry subsequent to the one discussed above.
• Following the Passover mentioned in (John 2.13), another one is mentioned in (John 6.4), and then the final one in (John 13.1) when He was crucified.
• Of course if these were the only ones, His ministry could have lasted only a little over two years.
• The problem with such a view is that it forces Jesus’ entire Galilean ministry, i.e. (Matthew 4.12-19.1; Mark 1.14-10.1; Luke 4.14-9.51), into an interval of only about 18 months.
• Although this is theoretically possible, it seems implausible because it would require a much more compressed sequence of events during this period than is indicated in the remainder of the Gospels.
• For this reason, most scholars believe that Jesus’ ministry actually lasted a little over three years and that mention of a fourth Passover is simply omitted.
• Depending on one’s view, Jesus’ ministry would have ended in the Spring of AD 30/31/32, with the most likely year being AD 30.
• In Galilee, Jesus calls 12 men to live with Him for three years:

Peter (also called Simon & Cephas)
James and John, the sons of Zebedee (but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”)
Andrew, brother of Peter
Philip
Bartholomew (also called Nathanael)
Matthew (also called Levi)
Thomas (also called Didymus)
James, son of Alphaeus
Thaddaeus (also called Judas and Lebbaeus)
Simon, the Zealot (also called Simon the Canaanite)
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him)

• Just as the Son fellowships with His Heavenly Father, the 12 disciples learn to fellowship with the Son.
• The Twelve will become the primitive embryo of this community.

 

1. Calvary (30 AD)

• Jesus enters Jerusalem (Matthew 21:11; Mark 11:1; John 12:1)
• Friday – Noon to 3:00 PM – Cries of the lambs fill Jerusalem as they are slaughtered for the feast
• Jesus, the real Lamb of God, is crucified.
• Jesus breathes His last breath
• Earthquake occurs
• The veil in the temple is torn from the top to the bottom
• Jesus has solved the problem of the fall of man
• Sunday – Jesus was put into the earth as a corn of wheat, suffering death alone.
• He resurrected as a new grain with many others to follow.
• John 12:23-24 - 23 Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.[11]
• Jesus meets with the Twelve and breathes the Holy Spirit on them.
• John 20:21 - 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.[12]
• Jesus ascends to heaven, takes the right hand seat next to His Father
• Jesus now acts as the High Priest for His people
• He has paved the way for the Church – a community that will express His nature

• How many books of the New Testament were written during Jesus’ human life on earth?

 
The Church is Born
Ephesians 3:9 - 9 and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. 10 This is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. 11 This is according to his eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.[13]

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Tt 1:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 17:21–23). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Eph 3:9–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Re 3:5). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Heb 4:3). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ga 4:4). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Eph 5:25–27). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Php 2:10–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Mt 1:21–23). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Col 2:9–10). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 12:23–24). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 20:21–22). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Eph 3:9–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

• I realize in this room we have many emotions concerning the celebration of Moms on Mother’s Day.
• We have those who’ve had great mothers and those who’ve had abusive mothers.
• We have those whose mothers are still alive and those whose mothers have passed.
• We may have some in here who have never known their mother.
• But today is rare for my teaching at Leavener. I want to share a message to potential mothers and current mothers.
• In so many years from now, this message will be purged from the teachings of Leavener on the internet.
• I’m assuming that Hallmark will eventually lose the battle of marketing both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day due to gender equality.
• Our world is doing everything it can to wipe out the differences between men and women.
• That means women will never have clean seats in Starbucks restrooms. Welcome to our world!
• I’ll try not to say anything divisive for the sake of keeping you focused on the intent of this message.
• If you focus on the decisions this world is making about gender in light of what I have to say, then you missed the message and evil one wins the hour for you.

 
- Divide the room according to Mothers & Fathers-
Young Girls
(Mothers to be)
- 2 Timothy 4:1-5 -  1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: 2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. [1]
What is going to influence your decisions and morality?
“Science of Good and Evil”, (2019) TIME
The choices we make, to behave morally or immorally, are a different matter, and there is a wide variety across populations. Simply knowing or intuitively feeling a rule does not mean we will follow it. Where do those intuitions come from? And why are we so inconsistent about following where they lead us? Scientists can’t yet answer those questions, but that hasn’t stopped them from looking. Brain scans are providing some clues. Animal studies are providing others. Investigations of tribal behavior are providing still more. None of this research may make us behave better, not right away at least.[2]
- Know your identity in Christ
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 - 6 So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.[3]
If you are a Christian, you have an identity in Christ. Once you become a new creation in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17), your whole identity changes because you've been rescued and redeemed from sin and darkness and welcomed into God's Kingdom family (Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:9).
You are handpicked by God, treasured, irreplaceable, loved, forgiven, worth dying for, free, precious, and so much more.
Even if you don't feel it, know that it is true. You're a child of the One True God.
That's worth celebrating. You're worth celebrating.
 
Young Mothers
(Mothers of children at home)
 - Obviously know your identity in Christ.
 - Teach identity in Christ to your children.
USA TODAY -“Why American moms are seriously struggling”
"This ideal of what it means to be a good mom is to put your child's needs above your own. An ideal worker in the U.S. economy means being fully dedicated and committed with your undivided attention – that you can come in at a moment's notice, that you don't have anything that distracts. This doesn't work if you have kids," said Caitlyn Collins, a sociology professor at Washington University.
American mothers are struggling.[4]  

• In 1975, more than half of mothers stayed home with their kids. Today both parents work in 70% of families with children.
• Child care costs on average $12,350 to $13,900 a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In some cities, it's double that.
• Dads are taking on more parenting responsibilities than ever, but surveys show it’s still unequal in more than half of households even when both parents work full-time. 
• Nearly half of grandparents live more than five hours from their grandkids.
• Moms in 2016 spent 14 hours a week outside work on child care, up from 10 hours a week in 1965, according to the Pew Research Center.
• Social media is pervasive, and research shows mothers who frequently compare themselves to others on social media feel more depressed, less competent and less positive about their co-parenting relationships.[5]

• The most important relationship in the house is between the husband and the wife.
• The mother carries a child for 9 months and the bond begins. Not so with the father.
• Continue to date (equal opportunity)
• Put the phones down
• Pursue healthy sexual intimacy
• Vacation without kids!
• Make your spouse the priority behind Jesus.

What you do impacts for generations to come.
“Science of Good and Evil”, (2019) TIME
In the alternative, there are neurological explanations for human selflessness. We’re sympathetic creatures, but not in the prettified way we usually use that word. Our brains are wired with mirror neurons— cells that make us mimic the behavior of the people around us, so that we laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry, yawn when they yawn. We even wince at other people’s pain. That provides social cohesion, but it also reduces our most generous impulses to something more transactional: we relieve the suffering of strangers in part because it hurts too much to do nothing.[6]

• Don’t chase after what the world tells us is the “thing to do”. This would be your flesh.
• Mom blogs…
• 1 John 2:15-17 -  15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever. [7]

 

• Pursue the Spirit that resides in you.
• Romans 8:12-17 -  12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, 13 because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. [8]
  
  
• There is no reason to compare yourself to others when you know your identity.
• Romans 14:5-9 - 5 One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, and he gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living.[9]

 

• Suffering is going to happen… but that suffering has eternal value.
• Romans 8:16-17 - 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. [10]

 
Mature Mothers
(Empty Nesters & Grandmothers)

• A loss of purpose
• Frustration over lack of control
• Emotional stress
• Marital stress
• Anxiety about your children
  
  
• If half of grandkids live more than 5 hours away… adopt a family!
• Disciple other women about what you know… your identity in Christ.
• Encourage people through their temporary suffering.

Volunteering is for Everyone
“Science of Good and Evil”, (2019) TIME,
“People who are givers are happier and across the board tend to have better mental health,”[11]
“If you can raise a caring child, that child is likelier to be happier and probably live a longer and healthier life,” recommends Post, whose work now centers on studying and advocating for service as a way to prevent and recover from addiction—particularly among adolescents.[12]
1 Peter 5:1-10 - I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: 2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because
God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble. (Proverbs 3:34)
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.
10 The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. 11 To him be dominion forever. Amen. [13]

• Ask the Fathers to pray over the Mothers.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (2 Ti 4:1–5). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] “Science of Good and Evil”, (2019) TIME, Editor Edward Felsenthal & Jeffrey Kluger
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (2 Co 5:6–8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] “Why American moms are seriously struggling”
Analysis: Economic, cultural and technological changes have piled on new pressures for moms.
Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY Updated 1:47 p.m. EDT May 9, 2019
[5] “Why American moms are seriously struggling”
Analysis: Economic, cultural and technological changes have piled on new pressures for moms.
Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY Updated 1:47 p.m. EDT May 9, 2019
[6] “Science of Good and Evil”, (2019) TIME, Editor Edward Felsenthal & Jeffrey Kluger
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (1 Jn 2:15–17). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ro 8:12–17). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ro 14:5–9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ro 8:16–17). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] “Science of Good and Evil”, (2019) TIME, Editor Edward Felsenthal & Jeffrey Kluger
[12] “Science of Good and Evil”, (2019) TIME, Editor Edward Felsenthal & Jeffrey Kluger
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (1 Pe 5:1–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.