Page 6...The Portland Observer...November27,l991
i Portland Observer
Scripture o f the Vbe-fi
RELIGION
The Power Of The Lord’s Right Hand
for hundreds of years thereafter.
There will always be people who
doubt the reality of the great miracles
in the Bible--even some who claim to
be Christians. The Plaques of Egypt,
the parting of the Red Sea, and the
miracles in the Wilderness wanderings
make easy targets for skeptics and ra
tionalists, but the true disciples of Je
sus Christ don’t need to be shaken by
their scornful attacks. You see, we
know the God who created all things,
and it’s not surprising to us that our
God would do such great signs and
wonders.
And the LORD is the real Hero of
the song the Isrealites sang. I’d like to
develop a few “ word pictures” which
describe their mighty God, because he
is the same God we Christians worship
and serve. With the ancient Children
of Israel, we can personalize our rela
tionship with him: “ The LORD is my
strength and song, and he has become
my salvation: he is my God, a n d ... my
father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Ex
15:2).
First, my is a warrior! This im
plies that he is strong and powerful, but
it says a lot more. Our God is coura
geous, ready to come running to our
aid, to shield us from the attacking
enemy. Like a strong soldier, our God
is trained in the arts of war: he has a
strong “ righthand” and “ arm ” (15:6,
12,16) which is “ glorious in power,”
that is, skillful in its strength, able to
know and do the things which are nec
essary to win the battle and deliver us.
We need to know that our God
will fight our battles, and has the skill
in his “ righthand” to protect us in our
hour of trial. As the gospel chorus
teaches us, “ What a mighty God we
serve!”
Second, my God is the real God!
“ The Lord is his name” (15:3). “ The
LORD” is our usual translation of
Yahweh, which some have mistakenly
transliterated ‘ ‘Jehovah. ” It is the per
sonal name of God, and it emphasizes
two things: that Yahweh is the god
who really exists (the name apparently
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY
Dean of North Portland bible college
The text fo r the Sunday School les
son (International Series) fo r next Sun
day is Exodus 15:1-10,13. Our churches'
Sunday Schools are starting a new se
ries (D ec.-Feb.) on some key songs
and prayers o f the Bible. This would be
a great time to recommit ourselves to
studying the Word o f god with our
families in Sunday School.
How do you picture your God? Is
he a vengeful tyrant, looking for an
excuse to attack anyone who doesn’t
obey his whims? A preoccupied celes
tial manager, without time to really
notice or care about our personal pre
dicaments? A doting grandfather who
is supposed to give out all kinds of
goodies if we only ask nicely?
It is impossible really to see God,
to picture him as he really is. That’s a
tenet of our faith which even many
non-Christians can accept. Neverthe
less, it is crucially important how we
picture God in our m inds-w hat images
we use to approximate the character
and attributes of our Creator. For these
pictures allow us to relate personally to
a Person who transcends all space and
time, a Person who is vitally important
to every one of us. For example, the
image of the Lord in Psalm 23 (“ The
Lord is my Sherpheid, I shall not want” )
has brought com fort and hope to count
less individuals over the centuries.
Hebrew poetry is particularly beau
tiful because it uses so many emotion
ally charged images, and allows its pic
tures to be easily translated into other
tongues. In this week’s Bible lesson,
the “ Children of Israel” (the Israelite
nation) wrote a song to commemorate
the great Exodus from Eqypt, and par
ticularly the parting of the Red Sea.
[For additional poetry on the Exodus,
from a less joyful perspective, read
Psalms 105 and 106, especially 106:6-
12.] The events of the Exodus serve
such a crucial role in the history of that
nation, that it was imperative that they
perserve its emotional impact in a song.
And I’m sure they continued to sing it
derived from the Hebrew root “ to be” ),
and that Yahweh keeps his covenant
with his own people.
In the Eqypt of that day, people
worshipped a pantheon of gods, and
depicted them using heads and other
body parts of animals, attached to a
human form. Even those few Egyptians
who arose and taught the worship of one
god, still identified that god with the sun
or some other part of creation. Baby-
loians, Canaanites, and other civiliza
tions had similar patterns of worship.
The claim of the name Yahweh is
that he alone is real, and that all other
gods are phony. The plagues in Egypt
were especially aimed at the supposed
stregths of the Egyptians’ gods. Yah
weh “ defeated” these phony gods by
using their “ spheres of influence’ ’ against
their own worshippers. Now Yahweh’s
victory at the Red Sea Conclusively
proved his reality to anyone who wit
nessed it. “ Who among the gods is like
you, O Yahweh? Who is like you, ma
jestic in holiness, awesome in glory,
working wonders?” (15:11, based on
NIV). In this context, the “ Holiness”
of Yahweh refers to his transcendence-
he is beyond the comprehension of his
creation, including you and me.
Third, our God is a saviour! “ Thou
in thy mercy hast led forth the people
which thou hast redeemed’ ’ (15:13). He
doesn’t just beat up people, he also res
cues his people from danger, and shows
compassion on them, and guides them
to a place of safety and worship. He
brings them to his “ holy habitation,”
probably Mount Sinai, so they can
worship him. At its best, our worship of
God is not based on fear and anxiety,
but on love and intimate fellowship
with him. As the sacrifices were intro
duced later, they often included eating a
fellowship meal “ before the LORD,”
in joyful communion with him.
“ These pictures of our God might
not fit the analytical categories of a sys
tematic theology, but they do speak
volumes to the needs of the human
heart. Again I say, “ What a mighty god
we serve!”
VANN & VANN
FU N ERA L
Jesus! The Great
Physician
We can look to the scriptures for
everything in our lives. We have many
illnesses and physical infirmities but
Jesus, the great healer and physician,
has the answer for everything.
Go to these sources:
Matthew
he’s a preacher and a
teacher
Mark
he’s a cleanser and a
healer
Luke
he cares for the homeless
and the home
John
he works miracles and
he calms a raging storm
Matthew 9
he’s a hematologist
Mark 5
he’s an oncologist
D
i s c i p
l e
s
God’s Presence promises
Power through Jesus Christ In
Good Times and Bad Times
Mctthecu f !:28
"Come to me oil you who are
weary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest"
9:45am
11.00am
7:30pm
Sunday School
Morning Worship
Tuesday Bible
Study and Prayer
Denise
Inter-racial Congregation
H
Sell. Pastor
126 N.E. Alberto + Portland, OR 97211 + (503) 288-5173
« ( jospi
i
M l .S.I.C. P roduction »
John 8
Ft, udii / ’ rr v nls
he’s an ophthalmologist
C kftistm as C c ü e h a tio n
Matthew 9
he’s a podiatrist
/ eaturinn
Mark 13
The “ Prince” of Gospel
he’s a speech therapist
John P. Kee
Luke 7
he’s an ENT man
John 14
he’s a social worker
We, believers, call him a special
is t No matter what you need - Jesus is
all that you need.
Jesus is indeed everything you need;
come rain or shine. He walks and talks
to you all the time and when misfortune
comes - to Him we flee to tell Him of
our plight, in life.
Jesus has the answer - because He
is the answer.
And
The New Life Community Choir
Behold how good and
pleasant it is for
Brethren to dwell
together in unity
PSALMS: 133
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Since 1954
Serving the City of Portland
for over 37 years
In your hour of need
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M allory Avenue
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Luke 17
he’s a dermatologist
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Colossians 3:15-17
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( '(, S il >\st « I I I \ \ I S Ik >1 SI» C l IM M l SI IA I HOIK
■
Worship Services 8:00 A.M. & 11:00 A.M.
Church School 9:30 A.M. to 10:30 A.M.
Bible Study. Wednesdays. 116 N.E.Schuyler
10:30 A.M. and 6:30 P.M.
Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00 A.M.-KBMS
Cleodus Vann
503/281-2836
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
5 2 1 1 N. W illia m s P o r tla n d , O r. 9 7 2 1 7
Church Office 116 N.E. Schuyler,
r~
M allory
C hurch
3908
of
C hrist
NE M A L L O R Y
AVENUE
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
13 tlx
a
V
a
Bible Study
9:30 am .
Morning Worship
««»/
10:45 am .
M en’s Training Leadership
W om en’s Bible Class
C ity W ide
T hanksgiving C rusade
5:00 pm.
Evening Worship
November 28th - December 1
6:00 pm.
Attended nursery for all
services
Wednesday prayer m eeting
8:00 pm Nightly
3:30 pm on Sunday
at Highland United Church Of Christ
4635 NE 9th (corner of 9th and Going St.)
by
Elder Leon Brewer, Jr.
Pastor of The NewTestament Church
Minister Gregory Fobbs
and bible study
7:30 pm.
Radio Ministry Each Sunday, 11:00 AM - KBMS
288-1092
Bro. James Robin from West Covina, CA
RESTORING
NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
City Wide Mass Choir singing each night.
f
JBaptist (llljurch
8101 N. Fiske Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97203
Church Phon«: 2 8 9 -0 1 4 7
Study Phone: 2 8 9 -1 9 1 1
Sunday Service
10:45
Sunday School
9 :3 0
Bible Study
6 :0 0
Evening Service
7 :0 0 P.M.
/Tiffor Rev James C.E. Faulkner
Them e: W h atever you're going to do
fo r th e Lord, do it now
I Peter lv.11
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