The Silent Holocron

Tim Ellsworth, a fellow Tennesseean, recently wrote an immensely good post called A Layman’s Advice For Preachers. It is so good, I cannot in good conscience merely tell you to follow the link. Here it is in its entirety.

I’m not a preacher. Though I’ve done it a few times, preaching is not what I’m called to do, nor do I consider myself to be any kind of expert in sermon preparation.

I do, however, know a few things about what preaching should be. Just as you don’t have to be a chef to know if the food you’re eating tastes good, you don’t have to be a preacher to know if the sermon you’re hearing has any value.

So to those of you who are preachers, here’s one layman’s encouragement and advice to you as you proclaim the Word of God to God’s people.

1. Preach the Bible. That sounds simple enough, but sadly, it’s growing more and more uncommon in today’s pulpits. And when I say “preach the Bible,” I don’t mean “Pick a topic and tell me what the Bible says about it.”

Instead, pick a text from Scripture – any text will do – then tell me what that text means and how it applies to my life. I desperately need a deeper understanding of Scripture. Give it to me.

2. Preach the gospel. I’ve listened to too many sermons where the gospel was nowhere to be found. What I need more than anything in my life is the gospel. I need to be reminded of what God did for me through the work of Jesus Christ. If your sermons don’t include any mention of the gospel, then you have failed your listeners.

If I’m ever at a point where I’ve moved beyond the gospel, I’m in a bad place. So please don’t think that just because I’m a Christian, I don’t need to hear the gospel anymore. I need to hear it every day. I need to hear it in every sermon. Don’t leave it out.

3. Talk less about yourself and more about God. Too many times after I’ve listened to a sermon, I could tell you quite a bit about the preacher, but precious little about God. There’s nothing wrong with using personal examples from time to time, but keep it to a minimum.

As an I example, I can cite a sermon I heard about a year ago from Vance Pitman, pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas. Vance was preaching at a conference I attended. I’d never heard him before and didn’t know anything about him. After the first time I heard him preach, I still didn’t know anything about him – but I knew more about God. He exalted the Lord in his message, and not himself. Follow this pattern, and your listeners will benefit.

4. Don’t tell me about the Greek and the Hebrew all the time. Yes, I think studying Greek and Hebrew has value. Greek was one of my majors in college, so I know how valuable it can be. But while it’s OK for you to study the Greek or the Hebrew in your sermon preparation, you don’t need to make it a point to inform your listeners of that. Constantly referring to Greek and Hebrew words and constructions comes across as arrogant.

And please, if the Greek word means the same as the English word, don’t spend 10 minutes dissecting the language to tell me that.

5. Keep the humor to a minimum. Too many preachers think it’s their job to get their listeners to laugh. It’s not. Your job is to proclaim to them the Word of God. If you spend the first 10 minutes of your sermon telling jokes, and I’ve heard preachers do this too many times, you’re telling me that you don’t have anything important to say.

There’s nothing wrong with interjecting humor from time to time. But when you’re finished preaching, what I should remember most is what you had to say about God – not the joke I heard you tell.

6. Have a structure to your message. Don’t just give me a running commentary about the passage on which you’re preaching. Decide what the main points of the text are, and build your sermon around those main points. Clearly listing your main points makes it easier for the listener to follow what you’re saying.

7. Don’t read your sermon. When it’s time to preach, I hope the sermon is so burned into your heart and mind that you don’t have to read it verbatim. Using notes is fine, but you’ll lose your listeners if you stand up and read.

8. Believe what you’re saying. Preach with emphasis and earnestness. Make me think you believe in the importance of what you’re saying. If you speak like you’re bored with your subject matter, don’t expect me to be interested.

I’m grateful to God that for most of my life, I’ve been blessed to listen to men regularly whose preaching was exalting to Christ and challenging to me. My father was the first one who fit that description. My pastor now, Lee Tankersley, does as well.

I respect the position that pastors and preachers hold. Your work is important. It has eternal ramifications. Listeners like me need for you to take your task seriously, as the wellbeing of our souls is at stake.

May God help you to fulfill what He’s called you to do.

The Silent Holocron dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 1:19-21 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

Romans 1:9-12: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you–that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Famous Faith Is…

Before we began this series, I preached a sermon on “Faith.” That sermon was preached to introduce you to the concept of faith. In this chapter of Romans, Paul talked about obedient faith in the previous verses. In verse 8, Paul tells us that obedient faith tends to make itself famous. Let’s review what obedient faith, famous faith, looks like. Famous faith is:

• Obedient faith (Romans 1:5)
• Humble faith (James 4:10)
• Faith that trusts God alone (1 Cor. 2:5)
• Mustard seed faith (Matt. 17:14-21)

What does this faith do? In today’s verses, Paul is telling the Christians in Rome what their faith does in his life. If you and I have Famous Faith, what happened in Paul’s life will happen in the lives of other Christians as well!

Famous Faith Causes Prayer.

When we have Famous Faith, other people are led to pray for us (v. 9). One thing I have noticed from looking at prayer lists at different churches, and especially prayer lists in our own church, is that people usually will not pray for people they do not know. We will pray for our friends in church, at work, in school, or in our neighborhoods. We will pray for family members and friends of our families. We usually will never give prayer requests for people outside of our circle of acquaintance.

But what really sticks out to me in these prayer lists is that quite often, we will pray for famous people. We will pray for celebrities – some of you requested prayer for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ baby! Many of you have asked for prayer that some celebrities will be saved. We will pray for politicians. Not a week goes by when one of you asks for prayer for President Bush, the government, elections, or something related to politics. We will definitely pray for athletes! I remember when Cory Lidle, the New York Yankees baseball player, was killed in a plane crash. Some of you asked to pray for him and his family. Some of us actually prayed that the Yankees would recover! We often pray during games for favorable outcomes for “our” teams! We will also pray for famous Christians. Many of you prayed for famous pastors in America. I asked you to pray for SBC president Frank Page this summer and fall. Some of you have requested prayer for your favorite Christian authors. Some of you have asked for prayer for my seminary professors.

But to summarize, we will always pray for celebrities in America. Famous people naturally draw our attention to them. Jesus understood this. That is why the Bible says that Jesus became famous and got more famous as His ministry progressed.

Famous Faith also creates…

Fellowship.

Famous Faith creates in other people a desire for fellowship with those who have Famous Faith (v. 10-11a). We naturally want to be around famous people. We all want to hang out with Alex Rodriguez, Peyton Manning, Brian Brohm, Dwayne Wade, George Bush, John Piper, Pastor Tim, Marlee Matlin, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt, and all these other famous people. In the same way, we want to be around strong, faithful Christians with powerful testimonies. We want to be associated with them. We want to be influenced by their example. We hope that, through them, we can become better Christians. And this is a Biblical idea – Paul once told the Corinthian Christians to copy how he lived (1 Cor. 4:15-17), so that they can learn how to live a life of faithfulness to Jesus.

But I must warn you – we must never substitute living like another Christian for living like Jesus. Other Christians are nothing more than guides on our walk with Christ. They are pointing us towards Jesus, not themselves. If an older Christian advises you or another young Christian to live like them because they are holy, or because they believe all the right things, or because your church is wrong, or for whatever reason, run away! Our duty as Christians is to point young believers to Jesus, not to ourselves. If I ever tell a young Christian to copy me, I must have a goal of showing them how to be like Jesus, not Stephen. If I try to make them a “mini-Stephen,” I have sinned!

And last but not least, Famous Faith brings…

Encouragement.

Famous faith creates the desire to encourage others (v. 11b). When we meet a famous actor/actress, we always tell them how good their movie/TV show is. If we were to meet President Bush, we would tell him that we have been praying for him and his administration. If we met our favorite athlete or favorite team, we would tell them how much we enjoy watching them and that we are cheering for them.

In the same way, we always lift up strong Christians with encouragement and prayer. Maybe we write a letter to our favorite author telling them how much we enjoy their books, or how our lives were changed by what they wrote. Maybe we tell our pastor that his message caused us to think about things for the first time. Maybe we give someone the greatest encouragement of all by accepting Jesus as our Savior and Lord. When we see Famous Faith, we want it to keep going! We want it to live forever! So we encourage it whenever we can.

Famous faith causes us to want encouragement (v. 12). We feel good when someone famous says something positive to us or teaches us something. I would have been absolutely thrilled if I had met my baseball heroes as a young boy, and they had said positive things about how I played. When my professors said positive things about things I wrote for class, I felt good. I’m sure that when you met your heroes and they said something good and encouraging to you, you were uplifted. In the same way, when strong Christians lift us up, we feel encouraged. We feel as if we are growing, that we are doing something right. And remember, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him! Encouragement brings us that holy satisfaction with God that we need.

Let’s review what we have learned today. If we have Famous Faith…

• Other people will pray for us.
• Other people will want to be around us.
• Other people will encourage us.
• Other people will be encouraged by us.

Famous faith is the bedrock of the church! Without it, a church cannot thrive and grow. God will not be glorified. And Christ most likely will never be preached. And if Jesus is not preached, no one will ever be saved. So, to close I have a question for you:

Do You Have Famous Faith?

I’m going to tell you the same thing I told you last week. If you don’t have Famous Faith, the only place it can be found is in Jesus. Pray today that God will give you the faith to believe that He is the only Savior, and the ability to place your trust in Him as the only way to God. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)”

Don’t wait! Jesus has knocked on your door once with His death on the cross for our sins, and with His resurrection from the dead, He has knocked again, calling all who will believe to repent and place their trust in Him. Don’t ignore His call, only to find yourself at the Day of Judgment having to tell God that you refused to have Famous Faith. If you belong to Him, God can and will change your heart of stone into a heart of flesh, one that can live famously. Come to Him today!

The Silent Holocron dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday. Since Stephen has been grossly negligent in posting his sermons, the next few will be “catch-up” posts until we get to Romans 1:18 or thereabouts, where Stephen is currently located.

Romans 1:8:
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”

Give Thanks!

Paul, continuing his introductory address to the Roman church, praises them for the exact thing he has just declared about himself; namely, that the Roman church has received the same obedient faith that was given to him. As such, Paul wants the Romans to know that he is thankful for them.

Paul is quite obviously thankful that, in the place that would claim his life, there are brothers and sisters in Christ present with whom he can fellowship with and be ministered by. Rome at this time (likely the time of Nero) is a hostile, dangerous place to be a Christian. With the rise of emperor worship, it is dangerous to refuse to worship Caesar, more so to preach an exclusive way. What a relief it must be, to Paul, to have members of his spiritual family around him in such an inhospitable place!

Paul is teaching us, the modern reader, that giving thanks to God for fellow Christians is the first thing we ought to do. Whenever we find ourselves away from our church homes and extended Christian fellowship, our first thought should be for our brothers and sisters that may be in that location. Where are they? Will I be able to meet with them? Will they be able to meet my needs while I am away from my primary Christian family? Finding them, then, must bring about thanksgiving and praise to God for them.

Famous Faith

Next, Paul gives thanks for the faith of the Roman Christians. Having found those who call themselves saved, Paul discovers that they are indeed those he has previously heard about! Wonderful! I’m around the greatest believers in the Empire!

This thanksgiving teaches us something important. Remember, faith is a gift, and as such gifts must be received with thanksgiving. We should be thankful for God’s gifts. Not only that, we should be thankful when God gives things to other people. Such a concept is counter to our modern culture. Today, we become jealous when someone else gets something beneficial. We want it too!

But such jealousy misses the point. My pastor, Tim Bender, always says that instead of saying, “I’m jealous,” we should say, “You’re blessed!” Perhaps another person’s blessing could end up saving your life or the life of someone important to you. Perhaps that person’s blessing could give you comfort when you are hurting. Perhaps that person’s blessing could indirectly affect your fortunes. We should never become jealous of another person’s gifts. Be content with the gifts God has deigned to give you, and be thankful for them. And thank God that He gives His gifts to all His children.

I was touched once by an infertile couple’s story. This couple struggled for ten years to have children, and when they finally conceived, they gave direct credit for not giving up to God’s gifting of other couples in their support group with children over the years. They readily acknowledged the hurt and envy they experienced when, time after time, God chose to bless these other couples and not them. But it was telling for them when, after God called their number, those couples who had gone before them became their greatest confidantes, coaches, and supporters. Those couples had blazed a path so that this couple might have wisdom and prayer from fellow believers to guide them through their adventure.

Paul, furthermore, is thanking God that the faith of his Roman brethren is famous. They have famous faith! What exactly is famous faith? Famous faith is:

• Obedient faith (Romans 1:5)
• Humble faith (James 4:10)
• Faith that trusts God alone (1 Corinthians 2:5), and
• Mustard seed faith (Matthew 17:14-21)

Such faith can do nothing but advertise itself and its giver. When we are obedient, we are working our faith. When our faith is working, we are humble enough to point to the One who died and rose again for us. When we are humble enough to do that, we trust in Christ alone and His will for our lives as revealed in Scripture. When we trust Christ and His Word, we have powerful faith that cannot be ignored. Mustard seed faith! See the Sermons category in the sidebar for Pastor Tim’s excellent and revealing sermon on mustard seed faith.

I’d like to close this sermon with a few illustrations of what famous faith is and what famous faith is not.

Famous Faith Is NOT:

All about ME, baby!

A matter of stopping your negative self-talk and starting to claim the positive fruit God wants in your life!

Denying the Trinity and declaring God wants me to be rich!

Hatred against things I’m afraid of.
(Note: Any and all hatred against homosexuals–and all other types of sinners–is deeply disgusting and thoroughly condemned by The Silent Holocron. The “God Hates Fags” church and its adherents are more accurately described as a cult, as they do not belong to any denomination and preach very un-Christian behavior. Furthermore, they cannot rightly be called a church, as their membership is largely the immediate and extended family of its controlling, tyrannical, bitter pastor. Please pray that God will put a stop to their foolishness.)

Refusing to allow my faith to determine how I act (hypocrisy).

Using my faith to manipulate others into supporting me and my agenda, even though I’m not all that firm in my faith.
(Note: Anyone who seriously doesn’t believe “faith” is being used by politicians to curry favor seriously needs to crawl out from underneath the rock under which they’ve been living. Additionally, anyone who thinks Bush is a serious believer ought to ask themselves why he would, in the days after 9-11, pledge himself to Muhammad and Islam knowingly, if he’s such a “strong believer.”)

Staunch right-wing politics, legalism, and anti-intellectualism running rampant.

Claiming to speak for God.

Famous Faith IS:

Being a student of God’s Word.

Seeking to be a consistent, fervent prayer warrior.

Faithful involvement in the worship and ministry of the church of which I am a member.

Seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ in every part of my life.

Before we leave, I want you to seriously think about this question:

Do You Have Famous Faith?

If you don’t, the only place it can be found is in Jesus. Pray today that God will give you the faith to believe that He is the only Savior, and the ability to place your trust in Him as the only way to God. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9-10)”

The Silent Holocron devotes Monday space to the sermon to be preached the following Sunday.  However, since Stephen did not preach yesterday and will not preach this Sunday, he will share with us Pastor Tim Bender’s sermon from this past Sunday (yesterday).

Matthew 17:14-21 (NCV)

When Jesus and His followers came back to the crowd, a man came to Jesus and bowed before Him. The man said, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son. He has epilepsy and is suffering very much, because he often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to y our followers, but they could not cure him.’“Jesus answered, ‘You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong. How long must I put up with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.’ Jesus commanded the demon inside the boy. Then the demon came out, and the boy was healed from that time on.“The followers came to Jesus when He was alone and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we force the demon out?’ Jesus answered, ‘Because your faith is too small. I tell you the truth, if your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. All things will be possible to you .’”

Our Faith is Like a Mustard Seed

1. Mustard Seed Faith Begins As A Grain
Grain faith is small. When each of us were saved, God gave each of us a certain amount of faith (Romans 12:3). That faith is God’s gift to us. It is enough to save us, but it is not enough for that faith to remain a seed. God wants us to invest and grow our faith. How do we do this?

Grain faith must be planted. A planted mustard seed uses up water in 72 hours, and grows leaves in 2 to 3 days. By that time, it is ready to handle whatever weather conditions it may face! In the same way, we must plant our faith squarely in God. Our trust must be in none other than Jesus. We must not trust money, possessions, family, friends, jobs, education, etc. We must soak up the nourishing water that is the Word of God. That is the only way we will be able to grow and face the challenges of life in this fallen world.

2. Mustard Seed Faith Turns Into A Plant.
Planted seed is greater than herbs. The mustard plant, Pastor Tim said, was more valuable than other herbs such as parsley, sage, etc. Why? Because it is larger than other herbs. Those plants are small; whereas a mustard plant can grow into a tree!

Our faith should never be smaller than when we were born-again. If we actually have less faith than when we accepted Christ, there is something seriously wrong with us! In that respect, we should never discourage young believers from using their faith. Oftentimes we will see a young believer who is all fired up and excited for the Kingdom, and they are hyperactive, wanting to do everything they can. What do we do? “Shush! Don’t make a fuss, young-un! You’re embarrasing me!” That, says Pastor Tim, is like crushing the mustard plant before it can grow into anything of substance! It is like putting your foot over the place where the seed will sprout and not allowing it to grow! That is wrong and sinful.

Planted seed must be well rooted. An interesting fact is that the root of a mustard plant grows three times faster than the stalk. It becomes well-grounded in its habitation. In the same way, our faith in God should be three times stronger than our living by sight. We must be well-rooted in our Lord. How? Through the Word and daily living by it.

3. Mustard Seed Faith Turns Into a Tree

Tree faith must grow. Mustard trees grow up to 21 feet tall, and the root is down to 63 feet in the ground! The seed has a destiny – it is to become a tree. God set the natural order of things in such a way that each of His creations has a purpose to fulfill, according to His pleasure. When God made the mustard seed, He told it, “I have a goal for you. You are, when you are planted, to become a tree.” In the same way, God has a purpose for our faith that must be fulfilled.

Tree faith must have branches. Mustard tree branches grow up to 72 feet long! It covers the entire area in which it is planted. In the same way, our faith needs to spread out three times more. It must not merely only cover us when we are at church. It must not merely cover us for ourselves, our own personal struggles and needs. It must cover our brothers and sisters in Christ, those we pray for, those to whom we witness. It must cover all whom we seek to reach for Christ through our ministry as believers.

4. Mustard Seed Faith Turns Into A Great Tree
Great tree faith is not seasonal. Like evergreen trees, mustard trees don’t shed their leaves or change color. Our faith is not something we can set aside until Sunday or Wednesday, or for when the pastor is around. Our faith is not something that we keep hidden (“changing our color”) when we are around non-believers. Our faith is something that is to be used daily, just like we use our eyes to see daily. Remember, we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Our faith is to proclaim loudly that we belong to Jesus. Which leads to the next point:

Great tree faith is attractive. Pastor Tim told us an interesting thing about the mustard tree. Sheep love the mustard fragrance and will lay under the tree. Sheep love the fragrance of the tree. Christians are to love the sweet fragrance of God poured out in His Word through the preaching of the Gospel and fellowship with Christians. They are to love being in His presence!

Also, the leaves of the mustard tree close at night, and water drips from the leaves onto the wool coat of the sheep to kill ticks, fleas, and lice. The oil of the plant is curative. Imagine! The fragrant oil of the Lord is curative for the Christian! He heals us of the consequences of our sins, and protects us from further temptation. But unless we, like the sheep, “lay under” (trust) Him, this will not happen.

Then Pastor Tim shared a fact with us that reminded me of my post On Sheep and Goats. Goats hate the fragrance of the tree, and may even attack the tree! The fragrance of the mustard tree, the oil, is repugnant to them. They can’t wait to get away from it! If it gets on them, they are miserable. Miserable! Their distaste for the mustard tree is so intense that they will ram the tree attempting to destroy it, and in some cases even to the point of death. They will ram against the tree so many times, so forcefully, that their skulls fracture, their horns break, they bash themselves to death against the trunk of the tree.

Non-believers despise God and His Word. Many will not consciously admit it, but they do. Non-believers do not want to place their trust in the Lord, and as such will get as far away as they can from God and His people, and at the very worst will attack them. It takes a work of the hand of God Himself to change a goat into a sheep. Truly, we did not choose Him, He chose us!

Great tree faith has powerful influence. Nothing grows under a mustard tree’s branches; no weeds, insects, or even bird eggs. In plant form, the mustard plant is considered a weed; it chokes out and kills any other plants around it. In tree form, the oil from the tree is poisonous to certain plants and animals. The ground underneath the tree is bare dirt. No ants or other bugs live around it. Birds may nest in it, but the oil and fragrance will kill a hatchling. In the same way, the world is powerfully influenced by our faith. The world should not influence our faith; instead our faith should destroy the influence of the world!

Great tree faith is resilient. Interestingly, a mustard tree can withstand a 3 1/2 year drought. If you go to California, you will see many thriving mustard trees despite the heat and drought, provided they haven’t burned in wildfires. Remember, as a 2-3 day old plant, it is ready to face whatever weather conditions it is presented! In the same way, our faith must not depend on seeing God move all the time. We must not depend on “signs,” or “hearing His voice,” or on “seeing God moving,” or what have you. Our faith must depend simply on trusting in Him.

True faith does not need constant contact with the Lord. God does not speak to people all the time. We cannot depend on answered prayer and such. We can’t say, “Oh, I will try praying and see if God answers. If He is real, He will answer.” That is bull, plain and simple. God doesn’t have to prove a thing to us. He doesn’t kowtow to our expectations of Him. On the contrary, it is we who must kowtow to Him. And as such we are to merely trust that He will answer when He is good and ready. We must merely trust that He has a purpose and plan that will not be thwarted. We must merely trust that what we want from Him may not necessarily be what we need or even what He wants to give us.

Pastor Tim concluded with this scripture from Mark 4:30-31 (NCV):

“Then Jesus said, ‘How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What story can I use to explain it? The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest seed you plant in the ground. But when planted, this seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches, and the wild birds can make nests in its shade.’”

There are 8 points Pastor Tim wants us to remember from this sermon:

1. God has given you an amount of faith (Romans 12:3).
2. Your faith should be alive, active, increasing, growing daily.
3. Don’t be afraid to use and share your faith.
4. Stop playing it safe with your faith.
5. Stop depending on someone else’s faith.
6. Living the 5 Purpose Driven Life purposes: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, Mission will help your faith to grow.
7. Reading/studying/meditating on the Bible and consistent prayer will help your faith to grow.
8. Ask the Lord to increase your faith (Luke 17:5).

The Silent Holocron devotes Monday space to Stephen’s sermon for the following Monday.

Okay, last week’s sermon (the one that got preached yesterday) ended up being split into two parts when I typed up the Powerpoint.  I realized there was too much material in Romans 1:5-7 to cover in one sermon without overwhelming my Deaf audience, so I decided to cover the bulk of verse 5 (“through whom we received grace and apostleship in obedient faith in all the nations”).  You can see that my sermon naturally ended here with in invitation to obey the Gospel command to trust in Christ.

 Next week’s sermon can be found at the previous post linked above, beginning with the subheading “For the Sake of His Name.”

The Silent Holocron dedicates Monday space to the sermon that will be preached the following Sunday.  Stephen will flesh out each of his sermon points in these posts.  To read any Greek or Hebrew fonts that may be present, download SIL Greek or SIL Hebrew as needed from the link in the sidebar.  Any feedback you can give on what is posted would be greatly appreciated.

Romans 1:5-7

diH oÆ l€bomen c€rin ka± ‡postolÑn e¸v ÃpakoÑn
p°stewv n p‚sin to²v žqnesin Ãpšr to ìnçmatov aÇto n oµv ste ka± Ãme²v kljto± HIjso Cristo p‚sin to²v oÊsin n hRðmÛ ‡gapjto²v qeo kljto²v ƒg°oiv c€riv Ãm²n ka± e¸rÐnj ‡pè qeo patrèv Ómòn ka± kur°ou HIjso CristoÂ

di ou elabomen charin kai apostoljn eis hupakojn pistews en pasin tois ethnesin huper tou onomatos autou en hois este kai humeis kljtoi Iesou Christou pasin tois ousin en Rwmj agapjtois theou kljtois hagiois charis humin kain eirjnj apo theou patros hjmwn kai kuriou Ijsou Christou

Through whom we received grace and apostleship in obedience of faith in all the nations for the sake of the name of him in whom you are (and you are called ones of Jesus Christ), to all the beloved, called, holy ones of God in Rome; grace to you and peace from God the father of us and our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Obedience of Faith

Having named the Son of God in verse 4, Paul then tells us something interesting.  It is through Jesus, the Son of God, that we receive grace.  Not only that, but it is through Jesus, the Son of God, that we receive our calling, the job which God has planned for us from before the foundation of the world.  But Paul, echoing what he will write later in Romans, tells us the way in which we receive the grace that Jesus brings us – the obedience of faith.

What is this “obedience of faith?”  We must remember first what faith is.  Faith is belief and trust in something we know.  Faith is not faith if it lacks any of these three components.  We must know about the object we are to have faith in.  We must believe in the object; that is, we must believe to be true what we know about the object.  We must also trust the object of faith.

What this means is that faith is not a feeling.  Faith is not an emotion that grows bigger and smaller.  Faith is an action.  A classic illustration of faith is given in a chair.  I know the chair is designed to hold my weight if I sit on it.  I believe the chair will hold my weight if I sit on it.  But until I trust the chair by actually sitting on it, I do not have faith that the chair will hold my weight.  Faith must be acted upon, or it is not faith.

This is what is meant by the term “obedience of faith;” that trusting action that is the mark of true faith.  And that trusting action is resting on Jesus Christ, the Son of God revealed by the Gospel.  We could also call this “obedient faith.”

The Result of Obedient Faith

What is the result of obedient faith?  Paul says that we receive the grace of God dispensed through Jesus Christ.  We receive God’s unmerited favor simply by trusting in His Son.  Paul will write in Ephesians 2:8 “By grace you have been saved through faith.”  Faith is the entryway to God’s grace; it is the “narrow gate” of which Jesus speaks in Matthew 7:13-14.  The first and most important result of obedient faith is that we are saved.

Second, Paul says that he received apostleship.  He received the job by which he identifies himself in verse 1.  Each of us receives our task as Christians when we place our trust in Christ.

When I first trusted Christ, I was immediately called to ministry by the Holy Spirit.  Oh, how I resisted it!  I “knew” I did not want to be a preacher.  But God had decreed how I would serve Him long before I was born.  It was foolishness for me to run from His divine call on my life.  Remember, Paul says that he is Jesus’ slave.  I am a slave of Jesus, just like Paul, and I have no right to tell God I won’t do what He has called me to do!

In the same way each of you were given a task to accomplish when you placed your trust in Christ and became His slave.  Why do some of you resist His calling on your life?  You don’t have the right to tell God “no!”

In All the Nations

Paul then tells us something remarkable.  Grace is now available to all who exhibit obedient faith anywhere in the world.  This is an echo of John 3:16, in which God promises eternal life to all who believe.  Grace, God’s favor, is no longer limited to a dinky little backwater nation in the middle of the desert.  It has been brought to the whole world in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and all people must do is place their trust in Him.

For the Sake of His Name

Why has God allowed His grace to be dispensed?  So that the name of the one who dispenses His grace is glorified.  That is the meaning of the phrase “for the sake of his name.”  God has given His grace to all who place their trust in Christ for one reason only – to bring glory to His name in the person of Jesus.  He didn’t do it for me or for you.  He did it solely for Himself.

Realizing this, we should be stricken to our knees in awe that He condescended to allow one such as ourselves to be the vessels by which His name to be glorified!  He did not have to choose us to be vessels of glorification, yet He did!  Praise be to His glorious name in all the earth!

In Whom We Are

Next, Paul says that we are in the one whose name is being glorified.  We are in union, in relationship, to the one whom we have trusted.  If there is any doubt in the reader’s mind, Paul quickly reminds us that we are the called ones of Jesus Christ.  We are His slaves, and as such are joined to Him in a way that cannot be broken.

The Beloved, Called, and Holy Ones

Now Paul addresses his intended audience.  Having given such a great pedigree for himself and his brothers and sisters in Christ, he turns to a specific group of those brothers and sisters.  He calls them the beloved, called, holy ones of God.

Each of us who have trusted Christ is loved by God.  John 3:16 tells us that only those of us whom have trusted God experience His love in Christ.  If God loves the world through Christ, then the only way for us to experience that love is also through Christ.  Trust in Christ brings us the rich experience of the love of God that cannot be had through any other avenue.  Those in Rome had experienced the rich love of God in Christ.

Remember, each of us who have trusted Christ is called to perform a specific task for the Lord.  Those in Rome were no different.

But Paul also calls them holy.  The word I translate “holy ones” here is usually translated “saints” in our Bibles.  What a remarkable thing!  Each of us who have trusted Christ are holy ones, saints!  We are holy not of ourselves, but by virtue of the grace we have received through our faith in Christ.  What a contrast to the Catholic Church’s idea of a saint, so-called through manmade designations!  It is not the declaration of a church, a priest, or a Pope that makes us holy; it is the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Greetings of Grace

Paul greets those Roman Christians by wishing that they continue to receive from God grace and peace through their trust in Jesus.  What a wonderful way to say “hello!”  This kind of greeting is one that wishes only the best for the other person.  We as born-again believers must desire nothing but the best for our brothers and sisters in the faith.  Nothing could be better than God’s favor and peace!

Have you ever had God’s favor and peace?  I tell you today, the only way to have grace and peace in your life is to place your trust in Christ.  I have shown you that Jesus is the Son of God by whom God saves us.  I have shown you that anyone can be saved if they would simply trust in Jesus.  You know what I have told you.  Do you believe it to be true?  If you do, would you trust the truth I have shown you?  If you are a beloved one of God, you will trust Him.  All you must do to trust Him is repent of your sins and believe in Christ, and you will experience the love of God that saves sinners.  Don’t wait!  Trust in Christ today!

All righty, Romans 1:1 was a success.  I’ve yet to hear how this helped our interpreters, but hopefully it did a great deal of good for them.  In keeping with posting the upcoming Sunday’s sermon, let us move now to Romans 1:2-4 and the topic of the day, “Declared to be the Son of God.” Once again you’ll need SIL Greek font (see sidebar for permanent link) to read the Greek parts.  Feel free to critique in the commnts!

ê proepjgge°lato di tòn profjtòn aÇto n grafa²v ƒg°aiv per± to u³o aÇto to genom™nou k sp™rmatov Dau±d kat s€rka to érisq™ntov u³o qeo n dun€mei kat pneÂma ƒgiwsÀnjv x ‡nast€sewv nekròn HIjso Cristo to kur°ou Ómòn

“Which he promised before through his prophets in holy writings concerning his son, who became flesh from David’s seed, who had been declared Son of God in power according to a spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord”

Having given us an explicit statement of who he was and what he was doing here (unlike Stockdale, who couldn’t), Paul now turns to the what of his mission, the Gospel.  Today I would like for us to learn what Paul has to say about the Gospel in verses 2-4.

A Promise From the Lord

Paul first tells us that the Gospel is something that was promised a long time ago (though fortunately not in a galaxy far, far away).  This is signified by the word proepjgge°lato. It contains a preposition at the beginning of the word, pro, which gives the meaning “before.”  We see this in words in modern usage such as “prologue.”  The remaining word is translated “to promise” or “he promised,” in this specific configuration.  So we arrive at “he promised before (or beforehand).”

Paul then tells us who the promise was made to.  The promise of the Gospel was given to the prophets of Israel, who in turn wrote it down in what would become the Old Testament.  Given that the entire Old Testament contains prophetic references to the Gospel, we can say that every biblical writer was in this respect a prophet.  The Bible is not just a history book or a book of legend (as some in the world would have us believe); it is a promise which has been handed down to successive generations over three to four thousand years.  The promise is still given today to all who do not believe, and is realized and lived out by all who have placed their hope and trust in it.

Paul now is ready to tell us what the promise is about in which we are to hope and trust.  The promise is about God’s Son.  This son was to become flesh.  That means it was to become a human being.  Not only that, His Son was to be born from one of David’s descendants.  To a first-century Jew, the name David would evoke images of none other than the great King David of history.  That meant that God’s Son would be descended from the royal line of Israel, from an anointed ruler.  Perhaps this is a reason why messiah translates “anointed one,” because just as their greatest king was an anointed one, so the final ruler of history was to be an anointed one as well.

Declared the Son of God

Having told us who the promise is about, Paul now looks to tell us how we would know the promise would be fulfilled.  Paul uses an interesting word to describe this prophecy’s fulfillment.  He says the Son of God would be to érisq™ntov, declared, to be what he is.  He would not simply show up and assume his mantle.  He would make himself known to Israel and the world.  The Greek word used here is an Aorist middle participle, and is translated roughly as “the one who had been declared.”  So the Promised One would also be a Declared One.  Such a pronouncement brings to mind the story of Jesus’ birth, with an angelic announcement that he had been born.  What a declaration!

But Paul says the promise was specific about how the Son of God would be declared.  He would be declared in three ways:

1.  In Power.  The Son of God was to be declared in power.  This son would wield incredible power.  The Jews considered this power to be largely political, one that would bring freedom and autonomy to their oft-oppressed nation.  But the Old Testament, according to Paul, painted a different picture.  The Son of God’s power would be a spiritual power, one that would bring to an end all rebellion against God and would bring God’s people into a right relationship with Him.  Certainly, as the Son of God, he had vast material power that no ruler could possibly stand against.  But as Paul would later explain in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

2.  According to the spirit of holiness.  An interesting turn of phrase once again.  Instead of simply saying “Holy Spirit,” Paul brings us a brand new term.  It is never seen anywhere else in Scripture.  The Son of God would be known for his personal holiness.  But I would like to make a distinction here.  As flesh, this person could never be holy on his own.  As God, this person could be infinitely holy.  As God, this person certainly had access to the benefit of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, and as such the Son of God’s spirit would be one of marked holiness and virtue, not of himself, but by way of the Holy Spirit who led him.  He would be the standard by which God declared, “Be holy, for I am holy (Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26).”  Since we sinful, fallen humans could never reach this standard, the Son of God, having access to the Holy Spirit, demonstrates that our personal holiness comes not from ourselves but from God.

If we want to translate this as “Holy Spirit,” we need look no further than Jesus’ baptism, where the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove.  “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:16-17).”

3.  By resurrection from the dead.  The final declaration of the Son of God would be the most magnificent of all.  He would be raised from death.  Immediately this tells us that the Promised One would suffer death, but even death would not be enough to defeat the promise of God.  Everything that God had promised would come to pass, even though it meant the Promised One had to die.  The fact that God had declared it so means that it was 100% necessary for the Son of God to die.  

And God declared this long before we were born, as we saw in Romans 1:1 and Galatians.  The Son of God did not die because of anything you and I have done.  He died, quite simply, because God said so.  It was God’s holy plan for His Son to die and be raised, that His name might be declared and glorified.  It is foolish for us to presume that God reacts to what we have done.  Rather, it is God who declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-11); history has no choice but to obey His decrees.

Jesus Christ our Lord

Finally, Paul reveals who the Son of God is.  We have been breathlessly waiting on the edge of our seats for the identity of such a spectacular individual.  Surely he is the greatest of all people!

The Promised One, the Declared One, says Paul, is Jesus who is called the Christ.  Even the Roman authorities knew who he was, having written about it by the time of the writing of Romans or soon after.  What an offensive notion!  Not only to Romans, but to Jews as well!  A man who was crucified as an instigator of rebellion, condemned by his own religious authorities as a heretic, is the Son of God?  Outlandish!  Hogwash!  Pass the Guinness!  If Jesus is the Messiah, I’m a knock-down drag-out rip-roarin’ drunkard!

“But wait!”  Paul says.  “Listen carefully to the Gospel.  He fulfilled each of these declarations perfectly.  He performed miracles, witnesses to which are still alive.  He was a person of unimpeachable holiness.  None could rightly accuse him of impropriety or sin!  Not only that, the Holy Spirit himself came down upon him when he was baptized, and a voice from heaven outright declared Jesus to be the Son of God!  There are still witnesses alive to that as well!  And if you were to go to his tomb today, you would find it empty.  That in and of itself, while unremarkable, is made to fulfill the promise because he is truly risen.  He appeared to me.  He appeared to James and Peter.  And he appeared to 500 others, many of whom are still alive!  I tell you, Jesus is the Promised One, the Declared One, the Son of God in whom we have salvation!”

I can imagine, in the eye of my mind, people silencing their snickering to listen a little more closely.  Maybe he isn’t really crazy.  Maybe he’s telling the truth.  “We will think on these things,” they might say.  A few might stay after the sermon to ask more questions.  Still more might be convinced, and by the power of the Spirit place their trust in Jesus.

Is that true of you?  If you belong to God, there is no doubt in my mind that you are convinced.  You believe what I have just told you.  You believe what Paul has written.  You believe the promise which God gave to his prophets all those thousands of years ago and passed down to me.  I haven’t done anything to convince you of the truth.  You know it is the truth because of that same spirit of holiness that resided in Jesus.  That same spirit of holiness, if you belong to God, is calling you to trust Him and His Son today.  All you must do is repent of your sins.  Confess them, turn away from them, and place your trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  It really is that simple!

If you belong to God, you will do this.  Just ask Him for the faith to believe and trust in Jesus.  Will you do that today?

As promised, below is my sermon outline for Romans 1:1, to be preached this coming Sunday. I’m doing it in manuscript form so you can see how I am going to attempt my argument rather than just giving you the usual bullet points. I’m also changing the title; after I wrote this out I realized that “The Designated Hitter” didn’t really enter my mind at all. No decision yet on what the title will be; I’ll get there eventually. Anyway, with no further ado….

Romans 1:1 - “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, one called an apostle, one set aside to the gospel of God” (Deaf Jedi Translation – DJT)

This verse is an important verse for all of us. It is the first time in the Bible that Paul talks directly to us, his readers. And Paul chooses to tell us three things about himself: 1) he is a slave of Jesus; 2)he has been called to be an apostle; and 3) he has been “set aside” to the Gospel. Today I would like for us to look at what Paul is tellilng us about himself.

Paul the Slave

Paul calls himself a “slave” of Jesus. Why does he do that? First of all, the Greek word translated “slave” is also translated “servant.” Together, this tells us that Paul is someone who is under commitment to serve. That commitment is something he cannot break even if he wanted to. He is a slave, and because he is a slave, he does not have any rights whatsoever. The only rights Paul has are those granted him by his master. Paul will tell us later in Romans that he has had two masters in his lifetime: sin and Jesus. What happened was that Jesus came and bought him from his former master, sin. He is still a slave; he simply serves a different master now.

In the same way, Paul will tell us later in Romans, all of us are slaves. We are slaves first to sin, and after God saves us, we are slaves to Christ.

Paul the Called One

Paul also calls himself “the called one.” He is a person who has specifically been chosen. Not only that, Paul says he was chosen to do fill a specific job, that of an apostle. An apostle is someone who has been sent to deliver a message. So Paul is telling us that he is a slave who has a specific job, to deliver messages for his master. God has chosen Paul to deliver messages for Him.

In the same way, Paul will tell us later, each of us has been chosen by God to do a specific job. These are, firstly, our spiritual gifts, which Paul briefly talks about in Romans 12:3-8. He also talks a lot about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. Secondly, God has chosen each of us to do certain things with our lives. Paul was a tentmaker by trade (Acts 18:3), Luke was a doctor (Colossians 4:14), some of the apostles were fishermen, tax collectors, or accountants. You might be a minister, you might work at the post office, some of you work with me at UPS, some of you are stay-at-home moms, and some of you are fortunate enough to be retired! But God has chosen that role for each of you, just like He chose Paul to be an apostle.

Paul the Set-Aside One

Lastly, Paul calls himself “one set aside.” What does he mean by that? Well, remember that Paul first says that he is a slave. Then he says he is a slave who has been given a specific job. Now he tells us what that job is. He has been picked to deliver a specific message, the Gospel.

In the same way, each of us is to use our spiritual gifts in a specific way. I use my gifts to teach, preach, and counsel. Some of you use yours to encourage, to support, to speak the truth, to love, to speak wisely, and so on. Each of you use your spiritual gifts to do a specific thing, and no one uses them the same way. Pastor Tim usually uses his preaching gift to encourage and challenge you in the truth; I usually use my preaching gift to teach doctrine and show you the truth. We have the same gift, but we use it in two different ways.

We also do our worldly jobs differently. Before I was promoted, I had the same job as some of our Deaf people at UPS, but I did it in my own way, just as they did their job in their own way. If you watched us side by side you could tell that we did some things differently. But each of us does our job in the way that God has decided that we will do it, not the way we want to do it or someone else wants us to do it.

“At The Same Time”

I want to draw your attention to the words “set aside” for a moment. Did you know those are the most important words in the entire sentence? In the Greek, the word that we translate “set aside” also tells us that Paul is a slave, a called one, and has been set aside at the same time. They are one and the same! Paul is a slave who is an apostle who has been set aside to preach the Gospel. To Paul, these three mean the same thing!

Not only that, but the Greek word used here tells us that God is the one who made Paul a slave, called him an apostle, and gave him the job of preaching the Gospel. Paul will tell us in Galatians 1:15 that God had already chosen Paul before he was born. God decided long before Paul was born that he would become Jesus’ slave and would be responsible for spreading the Gospel.

The Greek word also tells us that this is happening to Paul every day. Each day, Paul becomes Jesus’ slave, is called an apostle, and is given the job of preaching the Gospel. This is what we mean by the word sanctification. Every day Paul had to recognize that he belonged to God and had to obey God’s will for his life.

You and I are also slaves, called ones, and set apart ones at the same time. Just like God is at the same time Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we show a picture of that by being Christians, disciples, and witnesses.

You and I also were chosen by God before we were born. Even before God made the universe, He chose you to play a part in His work. He saved you by His grace in Jesus’ death on the cross. He commands you to obey Him in all things. Won’t you give up trying to do things your way? God has already taken care of everything; all you must do is obey Him. How can you obey Him? Repent of your sins and trust Jesus as your Savior.

If you are not a Christian, I ask you to trust Christ today. All you must do is repent of your sins. Ask God to give you faith to believe, and you will trust Jesus. When you trust Jesus, you will discover what God has made you to do in this life!

If you are already a Christian, when you repent of your sins and trust Jesus, your sins are forgiven. You are restored to a right fellowship with God. Your bond with the Lord becomes deeper and stronger, because you have trusted Him to make you holy.

The Bible tells us that now is the perfect time to repent and believe. Will you obey what God has said and trust Him?

The Silent Holocron, beginning this week, will devote Monday space to the following Sunday’s sermon.  I feel this will help not only me as I tweak the sermon prior to Sunday through any feedback you may feel led to give, but it will also help our voice interpreters by allowing them to prepare beforehand.  You’re getting the first one a day early, just because I feel that dang good.

In an attempt to see if Blogger for Word does the trick with my Greek fonts, I’m going to post my Greek work for next Sunday’s sermon using that tool.  You may need to download the SIL Greek font to read this work.  I hope many of you don’t.  But oh well.

Next Sunday I will begin preaching through the book of Romans.  Being in a Deaf church is conducive to the type of exposition Romans requires, because I cannot successfully lump large blocks of text together in a sermon.  More on that in my series on Deaf ministry.

But with no further ado, let us examine the Greek text of Romans 1:1.

PaÂlov doÂlov Cristo HIjso kljtèv ‡pçstolov ‡fwrism™nov e¸v eÇagg™lion qeoÂ

Transliterated, we have:

Paulos doulos Xristou Iesou kletos apostolos aphorismenos eis euangelion theou

Translated, we have:

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, one called an apostle, one who is being separated to a gospel of God

This is a very powerful verse.  Once we leave behind the book of Acts and begin to really get into the meat and potatoes of the New Testament, we encounter this statement from Paul.  There are three major words in this verse:

doÂlov- This noun can be translated either servant or slave.  It has traditionally been translated as “bondservant.”  The construction it begins is describing Paul as one who is enslaved to Jesus.

kljtèv- This is an adjective that can either refer back to “Paul” or to “slave.”  I believe the context of the verse points this adjective back to Paul, given that it begins a second construction in the phrase.  This construction is also descriptive, naming Paul as “a called one,” and specifically “one called (to be an) apostle.”

‡fwrism™nov- Now we arrive at what I believe to be the most important word in the verse.  This is a Present Passive Participle translated “one who is being separated” or “one who is being set aside,” used descriptively of its noun, “Paul.”  Here are some bullet points that I hope will underscore why I think this is the most important word in understanding the verse:

• The present participle indicates simultaneous action.  This means that Paul is at the same time a slave, a called one, and one who is being separated.  There is no distinction between the three.
• This simultaneous action means that Paul was enslaved, called, and set apart at one moment.  In lay terms, the moment Paul was saved, in that instant he was also the Apostle Paul who preached the gospel.
• The present tense indicates progressive, continual action.  This means that Paul is constantly being enslaved, called, and set apart.  This is an every day occurrence for Paul, not a one-time event.
• This means that, in Paul’s mind, his salvation, sanctification, and service is something that happens daily; and not in the Catholic sense of works (confession, Eucharist, etc.) – it is a work of something outside of himself, as we will see in the next bullet point.
• The passive voice indicates the subject is being acted upon by something outside of itself.  This means that Paul is saying very clearly that he is not the one who enslaved himself to Christ; he is not the one who called himself to apostleship; and he is not the one who set himself apart to the gospel.  Someone else did.
• This is why it is important to understand that it is faith, not human works, that brings us to Christ.  It is the electing and providential work of God – not human effort – that saves us, determines our calling in life, and how we will fulfill that calling.

As you can see, this word theologically loads what otherwise could be a ho-hum introduction to the letter.  We could also say of this word as indicating Paul has been “designated” to the Gospel.  Paul is a slave who has been designated to deliver a specific message.  He is the “designated hitter” that God has inserted into His lineup!  More on that tomorrow.

Now, a slave does not have the right to designate his assignment, much less to whom he will be indentured.  This means there must be prior planning on the part of the one whom has procured the slave.  One does not just buy a slave indiscriminately.  There must be a plan in place for the slave before it is procured, and the slave-master, when looking over the market, would be thinking of the exact job description.  All that is left for the slave-master to do is procure the slave that he thinks best fits the purpose for which he is procuring the slave.

What this tells us is that Paul is indirectly referencing – hold on to your hats, now – election.  God owns all the slaves.  All of us agree with this (I hope).  However, as the master, He may select any slave for any specific purpose in His mind.  He goes to the slave-market that is the world and redeems certain of the slaves for the purposes that He has, and sets them to their work.  God does not have to redeem every slave; indeed, the master only selects those slaves of which He has need.  He has selected some and passed over others.

How arrogant must we seem, to God, to beat our chests and proclaim that we have a choice of whether or not to accept Christ?  We are slaves, and Paul will make that abundantly clear in later chapters of the book.  And as slaves, we have no legal rights whatsoever.  We do not even have the right of free choice.  This is why election is necessary – God must choose us before we could ever hope to choose Him.

With that, I will stop.  Tomorrow I will unveil my sermon outline and show how the discussion above relates to each point.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Enjoy!        

UPDATE 5:43 PM: Before I forget, SIL Greek font rocks the casbah. Go get it and use it for all your Greek needs. It looks good on Blogger, but of course there likely will be the need to download it in order to view it online. I used it to write Greek research papers in the past, and the current version is even easier to use. There is also a SIL Hebrew font, but I don’t currently have the link on hand–I’ll have to dig it out.

Hearne, look for that first verse of John 3 later this week now that I’m finally satisfied. I hope this offering will appease you until then!