UPDATE: New Series on Genesis - Wednesday, October 2

We will begin a new series on the first 11 chapters of Genesis this Wednesday, October 2nd.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/update-new-series-on-genesis-wednesday.html

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A Vibrant Church - Pastor Tito Lyro - Acts 2:40-47

AUDIO LINK -- If you find these lessons helpful, or if you have questions please write to us at contact@olympiabp.net or visit us at facebook.com/olympiabp. We would love to hear from you and learn how we can serve you. 

http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-vibrant-church-pastor-tito-lyro-acts.html

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A Vibrant Church - Acts 2:42-47

Introduction – Happy the Lutzs are joining!

I. Institutional Life in Community, 42.

A. A response of faith to the preaching of the Gospel brought them together, 40-41.

B. They gathered around four things: Word, worship, sacrament, and prayers, 42.

II. Organic Life in Community, 44-46.

A. In a vibrant church, members are selflessly generous toward one another, 44-45.

B. In a vibrant church, members are in each other lives because they love each other, 46.

III. The result of Life in Community, 43, 47.

A. The world feared the church, 43.

B. Their love for one another instigated more praises to God, 47a.

C. Their winsome love for one another gained them favor even with unbelievers, 47b.

Conclusion – David Wells's No Place for Truth

"It is the Lord whose prerogative it is to add new members to His own community; it is the joyful duty of the community to welcome to their ranks those whom Christ has accepted." F.F. Bruce
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-vibrant-church-acts-242-47.html

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PRAYER: Outreach Event Today

Please be in prayer for our church outreach today (Sept. 28) between 9am and 11am.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/prayer-outreach-event-today_28.html

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Wednesday Service at Tacoma BPC @ 7PM

REMINDER: Please join us at Tacoma BPC for the popular meeting of the Great Western Presbytery @ 7PM. There will be no regular Wednesday Evening Service here at the church.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/wednesday-service-at-tacoma-bpc-7pm.html

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PRAYER: Presbytery Meets Today

Please be in prayer for the Great Western Presbytery today as they meet in Tacoma.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/prayer-presbytery-meets-today.html

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MEMORY WORK: This Week's Catechism Questions

First Catechism  FCQ. 18. What did God give Adam and Eve besides bodies? He gave them spirits that will last forever. Westminster Shorter Catechism SCQ. 19. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell? All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/memory-work-this-weeks-catechism.html

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Flee from Idolatry - Pastor Tito Lyro - 1 Corinthians 10:14 - 11:1

AUDIO LINK -- If you find these lessons helpful, or if you have questions please write to us at contact@olympiabp.net or visit us at facebook.com/olympiabp. We would love to hear from you and learn how we can serve you.  http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/flee-from-idolatry-pastor-tito-lyro-1.html

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PRAYER: Outreach Event Today

Please be in prayer for our church outreach today between 9am and 11am. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/prayer-outreach-event-today.html

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Free from Idolatry - 1 Cor. 10:14-11:1

Introduction – What a rich passage! I. Review of How We Got Here: Chpts. 8-10. A. Chapter 10 is part of a context that started back in chpt. 8. B. Some Corinthians Christians were acting unlovingly toward the brethren, particularly toward those who disagreed with them in the issue of Christian liberty. II. How Do the Sacraments, Particularly the Lord's Supper, Fit in This Whole Discussion? A. At least some of the Corinthians were trusting in their baptism and in their participation in the Lord's Supper as the basis of their qualification for heaven. B. They saw eating the bread and drinking the cup as a kind of sacramental antidote to any ill effects that might come from tasting the poison of idolatry. C. Paul challenges them by saying that this idea led to the destruction of thousands of Israelites in the wilderness, 10:1-5. D. All these things regarding what happened to the covenant people of God in the wilderness were written down so that we could learn from them and not commit the same mistake, 10:6. III. Back to the Passage and the Lord's Supper A. The Corinthians overestimated what the Lord's Supper did for them AND they underestimated what the Lord's Supper did for them. B. They failed to see that the purpose of eating the bread and drinking the cup was to share in the life of Christ and to fellowship with him as one body, 10:16-17. C. So they underestimated the purpose of the Lord's Supper, and thus its true power in the fight against idolatry and sin. IV. The Tremendous Seriousness of Such Error A. The Lord's Supper is precious beyond words as a gift from Jesus to his church not only as a reminder of his death for us, but also as an occasion when he draws near to nourish our intimacy with him and strengthen us by his shed blood and his broken body. B. When we turn it into an idolatrous exercise that encourages us to sin, we are doubly missing the blessing that it is supposed to be. C. The other mistake they made was that they underestimated the purpose of the Lord's Supper as spiritual fellowship with Christ. V. Powerful against Idolatry A. The real power of the Lord's Supper comes from its true purpose, namely, to deepen and strengthen our participation in the benefits of the cross, or to nourish our fellowship with Christ himself and each other. B. And the reason this is powerful against idolatry is given in verse 21. Conclusion – For at this table this morning you will sit with Jesus at the banquet of the benefits of his death, and such an experience dare not be profaned. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/free-from-idolatry-1-cor-1014-111.html

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PRAYER: Session and Deacon Meeting

Please be in prayer for our Session and Deacons as they meet tonight. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/prayer-session-and-deacon-meeting.html

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The Comfort of God - Pastor Tito Lyro - Isaiah 40:1-11

AUDIO LINK -- If you find these lessons helpful, or if you have questions please write to us at contact@olympiabp.net or visit us at facebook.com/olympiabp. We would love to hear from you and learn how we can serve you.  http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-comfort-of-god-pastor-tito-lyro.html

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The Comfort of God - Isaiah 40:1-11

Introduction  There have been more pages written about this part of Isaiah then any other part of the Bible, most of it regarding its authorship. We, however, are confident of its authorship. We know it was given to the Church of Jesus Christ by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in order to bring glory to God and good to his people. This passage shows us that we have a God who is greatly powerful and at the same time supremely tender toward his people.  I. Overview of context  God's people had not been obedient to God. They had decided to worship idols instead of the true God of the Bible, the God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. In God's providence, envoys from Babylon had just come to see Hezekiah and in a moment of great foreign policy brilliance, he shows them all the treasures of the kingdom. As a consequence of that visit, Isaiah prophesies the impending doom of the Babylonian captivity. Hezekiah really missed the point and was glad that these things weren't going to happen during his life.  What a scary and dreadful thing to have God turn his back on you because you turned your back on him! To be sent away from him to a place you won't experience his blessing and will constantly know of his judgment. You can imagine that there was a fair amount of discouragement among God's people after hearing this message, especially among those who loved the Lord. Following the message of doom, the Lord comforts his people through the herald of his Word.  II. Comfort Them With  A. The reality of the forgiveness of their sins, 40:2.  B. The glory of the Lord displayed to us Christ Jesus, 3-5.  C. The permanence of the Word of God, 40:6-8  D. The tenderness of God, 40:9-11  III. The Tenderness of God, 40:11  A. This beautiful description of the love and care with which God deals with his people is nestled in a greater context of God's power and sovereignty, 40:9, 12-26.  B. God's tenderness toward his people is described in terms of a loving shepherd dealing with his sheep.  C. Don't we see a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ here?  Conclusion  Ultimately this is the only encouragement a Christian needs: Jesus Christ crucified and risen. This is the only encouragement that actually works. I heard it said that the one who has Christ as his Lord and Savior and has everything else in the world, doesn't have anymore than the one who has Christ alone.  So we preach this great and tender God, and as we do so we also preach to ourselves. As we do that our drooping hands will be lifted up and our weak knees will be strengthen to the work that God has called us to do. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-comfort-of-god-isaiah-401-11.html

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REMINDER: Missionary Conference Tonight with the Baldwins

Join us at 7pm tonight at the church to hear from the Baldwins, our missionaries to Cambodia. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/reminder-missionary-conference-tonight.html

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REMINDER: Women's Fellowship Tonight (September 9)

Women's Fellowship is tonight (Monday, September 9) at 6:30 pm at the church. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/reminder-womens-fellowship-tonight.html

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CATECHISM: This Week's Memory Work

First Catechism  FCQ. 16. Who were our first parents? Adam and Eve. Westminster Shorter Catechism SCQ. 10. How did God create man? God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/catechism-this-weeks-memory-work_9.html

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The Grace of God in the Struggles of Life - Pastor Tito Lyro - 1 Corinthians 10:1-14

AUDIO LINK -- If you find these lessons helpful, or if you have questions please write to us at contact@olympiabp.net or visit us at facebook.com/olympiabp. We would love to hear from you and learn how we can serve you.  http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-grace-of-god-in-struggles-of-life.html

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The Grace of God in the Struggles of Life - 1 Cor. 10:13

Introduction Paul uses the examples of the people of God in the Old Testament, who were trusting in their pedigree for their standing before God, to confront the Corinthians with their sins.  Remember, the Corinthians thought they were above it all, that they had arrived, and that this life of holiness thing was for the weak Christian.  Paul tells them that idolatry, sexual immorality, testing Christ, and complaining are serious sins that will lead to destruction.  He concludes with the solemn warning: Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  We can imagine the silence that overtook the Corinthian church when these words were read to them.  "We are guilty of all these things!  We are doomed!  How are we going to persevere to the end?", they say. Paul then pens what is one of the best-known verses in 1 Corinthians and a favorite one that gives hope to Christians struggling with sin, v. 13.  Do you notice what is odd about this verse?  It doesn't seem to fit.  A verse of comfort is stuck in the middle of a passage about warning.  If anything, the passage would have flowed more smoothly if verse 13 did not exist.  Read verses 12 and 14 together: Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.  Yet, we praise the Lord that verse 13 exists.  And it is so typical of the grace of God in the struggles of life.  We cannot, on our own, overcome sin.  But Christ can and he freely offers us his grace to the point that Paul can say in Philippians, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Paul may also be anticipating an argument as well.  The Corinthians might respond, "Paul, you don't know how tough it is to live a Christian life in Corinth.  We live in a city in which the temptations are so great.  The sexual temptations are in our faces.  As far as idolatry, the very way of life and the economy are inseparable with the Greek/Roman religious practices.  What do you expect of us?"  The answer is: be completely and thoroughly bathed in the grace of God in Jesus Christ, that's where holiness of life dwells. I.             A Brief Word about Temptation A.   Temptation itself is not sinful. B.   Different people struggle with different things, but everybody is tempted. C.   We are in constant war against the world, the flesh, and the Devil and we must never forget that. II.          God Tempting Man? God…with the temptation will also make the way of escape." A.   Although different scholars have tried to explain this statement in ways that would exonerate God from tempting anyone, the grammatical construction of this sentence requires that we understand it otherwise. B.   So, the meaning is that God tempts or tries his people, but with that trial/temptation he also provides the grace not to fall into sin. C.   The Scriptures are full of examples of God trying/tempting his people. D.  Now the problem is that James says something that seems to be opposed to this. E.   This tension between what Paul says and what James says has led the Christian community to use language of permission. F.   Others have tried to relieve God from any association with sin and evil by saying that God does not know what man will do. G.  Others deal with this tension by ignoring it. H.   The best way to look at this tension is by believing that both Paul and James are right. I.     So, as a sovereign God, he has ordained and decreed all the temptations we will face, yet we are responsible for the sins we commit. J.    There is great comfort in knowing that God is ultimately behind our trials and temptations. III.       What Is Common to Man A.   Let's go back to the beginning of the verse. B.   As you remember, Paul's intent is to encourage the Corinthians after showing them that God's wrath is poured upon the disobedient. C.   The first thing Paul wants the Corinthians to know is that no one is tempted more severely than the person next to him or her. IV.        God Is Faithful A.   As he continues to encourage the Corinthians, Paul reminds them that God is faithful. B.   God will not abandon those that are his. C.   The ultimate proof of God's faithfulness to us is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. V.           It Is Always Bearable A.   Because he is faithful, he will not allow us to be tempted or tried beyond what we can stand. B.   All trials are bearable C.   This is not to say that all trials are easy to go through, but they are all go-through-able. D.  Now why does God try us? Why not just leave us alone? VI.        The Way out Is Always There A.   Because our God is faithful he will also give us the grace to resist the temptation and not to fall into sin. B.   It is important for us to notice that Paul says that God makes THE way of escape, not A way of escape. C.   Notice that the way of escape may be the grace to bear under the struggle, not the removal of the struggle. VII.     Practical Considerations A.   Based on this understanding of this verse, let's consider a few practical applications. B.   The first one is that a Christian cannot say that he or she is not able to resist temptation because of the uniqueness of his or her problem. C.   Secondly, a Christian cannot say that he or she is not able to resist temptation or deal with any given sin because of the weight of the temptation or the seriousness of the sin. D.  Thirdly, a Christian cannot say that he or she is not able to resist temptation or deal with any given sin because there is no hope. E.   The bottom line is that a Christian cannot say I can't. F.   A Christian just cannot say I can't because God is faithful to him/her. Conclusion The grace of God is present in the struggles of life.  We get in trouble when we think these struggles are only ours and we have to deal with them on our own strength.  God is faithful and he has proven that by sending his Son.  Life may present you with all kinds of struggles and temptations, but the grace of God in Jesus Christ is sufficient to handle any and all struggles and temptations. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-grace-of-god-in-struggles-of-life-1.html

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