Philip

Like Peter and Andrew, Philip was also a native ofBethsaida. Originally one of John the Baptist’s disciples, he was with the Baptist when Jesus was identified as the Lamb of God. After being himself called to follow Christ as a disciple, Philip went and found his friend, Nathaniel. 

            Philip was asked by Jesus where they could get enough food to feed the multitudes. He also was approached by some non-believers in Jerusalem who wanted to meet with Christ. Little more is known about Philip, but the overall impression he gives is as a somewhat shy, sober-minded individual.

             According to tradition, Philip preached the gospel inPhrygia and was martyred there, tied with ropes to a cross and tortured until he died. His body was buried there in Hierapolis.

John

A fisherman by trade, John was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the brother of James the Greater. According to tradition he became a disciple of John the Baptist before being called by Christ, along with his brother, Peter, and Andrew.

Among the disciples John had a prominent position. Peter, James, and he were the only witnesses of the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration, and the agony in Gethsemane. Only he and Peter were sent into the city to make preparations for the Last Supper, and at the supper he was seated next to Christ. It is also commonly accepted that John was the “other disciple” who with Peter followed Christ after the arrest into the palace of the high priest. John alone was at the foot of the cross with the mother of Jesus and other women, and John took Mary into his care as commanded by Jesus. After the Resurrection John and Peter were the first of the disciples to run to the grave, and John was the first to believe that Jesus had truly risen. When Jesus later appeared at the Lake of Genesareth, John was the first to recognize his master standing on the shore. His relationship with Jesus was always close, seen clearly in the title by which he was accustomed to indicate himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

Early Christian writers testify that John lived in Ephesus in the last decades of the first century. Justin Martyr refers to John living in that city, and Irenaeus declared that John wrote his gospel there. Tertullian tells that John was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil before the Porta Latina at Rome but miraculously escaped injury. And Eusebius and others state that John was banished to Patmos during the reign of the Emperor Domitian which lasted from 81-96 AD. Saint John is said to have died of old age in Ephesus around AD 100.

James, the Greater

The son of Zebedee, a fisherman, and Salome, daughter of a temple priest, James was the older brother of Saint John. According to many scholars, Salome was the sister of the Virgin Mary, making James and his brother John cousins of Jesus. This might account for Salome’s request that they be given privilege in the Kingdom as well as Jesus’ request from the cross that John care for His mother.

In the synoptic gospels James is called along with his brother John to leave their father and their nets and become Jesus’ disciples. He is often listed, along with Peter and John, as members of a privileged group closest to Christ. He was present at the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration, and the agony in the garden.

He was martyred in 44 when Herod Agrippa I, son of Aristobulus and grandson of Herod the Great, sought to please the Jews of Jerusalem by persecuting the Christian church. As a prominent leader of the growing Christian sect, James was beheaded, the first victim in this campaign. According to tradition, when James’ accuser led him to the judgment seat he was so moved by James’ confession that he became a Christian on the spot and shared James’ fate.

"Watch Your Enemy" Scriptures

Several asked about the Scriptures that I used in yesterday's message. Here they are.

May your personal study bear much fruit for the Kingdom!

1 Timothy 1:20
1 Timothy 3:6-7
1 Timothy 5:14-15
Ephesians 6:10-18
Ezekiel 28:11-19
Isaiah 14:12-15
2 Timothy 2:25-26
2 Corinthians 2:11
2 Corinthians 4:4
Matthew 16:18
Matthew 4:1-10
Psalm 119:9, 11
James 4:7-8
1 Peter 5:8-9
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
John 1:5

A Kingdom Perspective in An Electoral Season

From our Board of Bishops of the Free Methodist Church of North America.... Read it and practice it.

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In the current political and social climate of the United States, we must appreciate the truly global church that we have become as Free Methodists. We are sensing the profound responsibility this places on us—located in the west, in one of the wealthiest and most resourceful nations on earth. We recall that we are kingdom people, that God calls all people everywhere to be His, that our citizenship is in heaven first. In fact, we are bound to and have more in common with brothers and sisters in Christ around the world than we do even our fellow Americans who are unbelievers. We affirm that God does not need us or our nation to carry out His kingdom agenda. The gospel of the kingdom does not depend on the current or any anticipated political, social, cultural status quo.

The church’s mission, no less in an electoral season, in cooperation with God’s Spirit in manifesting kingdom reality, challenges every this-worldly platform and ideology. No party will champion the cause of the kingdom in its entirety. We acknowledge that Christians in the U.S. have often been seduced by reductionist views of the gospel and morality and have thus given uncritical allegiance to partisan agenda that fall short of the Christian hope.

Therefore, we urge our members and adherents to weigh carefully and pray fervently over candidates, ballot referenda, and all political issues before us, and then seek to vote in ways that reflect as fully as possible the heart of Jesus Christ for the whole world. In so doing, we remind our people that the way of Jesus is the way of cross-bearing, of self sacrificing love, of costly obedience, and of giving all for the sake of others, especially for those on the margins. Indeed, this way of Jesus often directly counters the ideologies of this world.

Board of Bishops
Free Methodist Church

Matthew Thomas
David RollerDavid Kendall

Andrew

The younger brother of Saint Peter, Andrew was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee, where he became a fisherman. According to the Gospel of John, Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and, upon recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, introduced Him to his brother. Andrew lived in Capernaum and was one of the closer disciples to Christ, being present with Jesus on several occasions. But he is rarely mentioned in the book of Acts.

Tradition holds that Andrew preached throughout Asia Minor and Scythia, particularly along the Black Sea. He ministered in both Romania and Russia. In time he was crucified in Achaea on an X-shaped cross, commonly known as St. Andrew’s cross. This was at his own request, as Andrew considered himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross on which Christ died.

Simon Peter

Also known as Simon ben Jonah, Simon Peter, and Cephas, Peter was the son of Jonah, the brother of Andrew, and a native of Bethsaida. Married, he and his wife lived in Capernaum. According to both Matthew and Mark, while fishing in Lake Gennesaret Peter and his brother were called by Christ to be His disciples.

All four gospels record that Jesus foretold that Peter would deny Him three times that same night. Before doing so, however, Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest. After Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter was the first to enter the empty tomb.

According to the book of Acts, Peter was an extremely important figure within the early Christian community. He delivered a significant speech on the day of Pentecost, and was a leader in finding a replacement for Judas Iscariot. Peter was dragged before the Sanhedrin on two occasions, went on missionary trips to Lydda, Joppa, and Caesarea, and was instrumental in the decision of the council of Jerusalem to evangelize the Gentiles and accept them without circumcision.

Another early Christian document reports the tradition that Peter was fleeing Rome to avoid execution when he encountered a vision of Jesus. Peter asked Him, “Quo vadis?”, “Where are you going?”, to which Jesus replied that He was going to Rome to be crucified again. Peter returned to the city and accepted his martyrdom.

Early Christian authors such as Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Dionysius of Corinth, and Irenaeus of Lyon all say that Peter was crucified, upside down, as part of the Christian persecution meted out by Emperor Nero in response to the great fire of Rome. Some scholars suggest that it was on October 13, 64.

Litany of the Led

In the summer of 2007 I wrote an article for our denominational Light and Life magazine entitled "Litany of the Led." It included the names of 66 persons throughout church history who have served God by following His will and allowing countless others to follow their example. Frankly, I don't think we can have enough role models in life.

Here is a reprint of that original article, and every week for the next year or so I'll be posting the biography that I wrote for each of these saints, a brief biography that appeared on our denominational web site a year ago.

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Peter. Andrew. James. John. Philip. Bartholomew. Thomas. Matthew. James, son of Alphaeus. Thaddaeus. Simon the zealot. Stephen. Paul. Ignatius. Polycarp. Justin Martyr. Perpetua and Felicitas. Anthony. Athanasius. Basil the Great. Ambrose. John Chrysostom. Augustine. Patrick. Benedict.

Gregory the Great. Bede the Venerable. Bernard of Clairvaux. Thomas Becket. Dominic. Francis of Assisi. Thomas Aquinas. Bonaventure. Catherine of Siena. William of Ockham. John Wycliffe. John Hus.

Martin Luther. Ulrich Zwingli. John Calvin. Thomas More. Ignatius of Loyola. Francis Xavier. Thomas Cranmer. George Fox. John Bunyan. George Whitefield. John and Charles Wesley.

William Wilberforce. Charles Finney. John Henry Newman. Phoebe Palmer. D. L. Moody. Benjamin Titus Roberts. William and Catherine Booth. William Seymour. Alexandr Sozhenitsyn. Karl Barth. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. C. S. Lewis. Martin Luther King, Jr. Jim Elliott. Mother Teresa. Pope John Paul II. Billy Graham.

The litany of those who have had the courage to enter areas of service that may not be immediately compatible with their particular stage of life is endless. Whether leaving their nets with their father on the sea-shore or responding to the needs of the poorest of the poor in the streets of Calcutta, men and women from the time of Christ have abandoned all to follow Him and proclaim His message of hope and grace and joy to the world. When in their own strength they were tempted to go another direction they have trusted God to provide, trusted the Spirit to lead, and because of their faithfulness we are able to stand strong in faith today. We did not get here by accident. We do not go forward alone.

Many other names can be added to this list. Can yours?

A Franciscan Benediction

When I was working on my Ph.D. I spent some time as the research assistant for a leading American Franciscan. At the time he was producing a new translation of the various early documents regarding Saint Francis of Assisi. That work was the beginning of my fascination with this little man who so reflected Christ that he is clearly one of the more popular saints in Christendom.

This past Sunday I used a Franciscan benediction to end my sermon. May it be a blessing to you, a source of challenge to you, a call to believe that when we serve a God for whom nothing is impossible we, too, can do that which the world says cannot be done.

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May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in the world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Amen.

This Moment... This Grace

I tend to read a lot in Church history... no big surprise there, I know, and some of my favorite authors come from a group known as the mystics. They seem to possess an extra, inner insight that allows them to probe deeply into the nature of Christ and His teachings. Some focused on living for Christ in eternity. Others on how Christ helps us to live more like Him on a daily basis. Jean-Pierre de Caussade was one of the latter. A French priest, he was very interested in how Jesus moves in and through us in the here and now, and he wrote a marvelous book detailing his thoughts on the matter called The Sacrament of the Present Moment. I've a copy in my office if you'd ever like to borrow it.

Consider these two paragraphs, referring to the crucifixion:

"Everything in the present moment tends to draw us away from the path of love and passive obedience. It requires heroic courage and self-surrender to hold firmly to a simple faith and to keep singing the same tune confidently while grace itself seems to be singing a different one in another key, giving us the impression that we have been misled and are lost. But if only we have the courage to let the thunder, lightning, and storm rage, and to walk unfaltering in the path of love and obedience to the duty and demands of the present moment, we are emulating Jesus Himself. For we are sharing that passion during which our Savior walked with equal firmness and courage in the love of His Father and in obedience to His will, submitting to a treatment which seemed utterly opposed to the dignity of so holy a saint.

"Jesus and Mary, on that dark night, let the storm break over them, a deluge which, in apparent opposition to God's will, harms them. They march undaunted in the path of love and obedience, keeping their eyes on what they have to do, and leaving God to do what He will. They groan under the weight of the divine action, but do not falter or stop for a single moment, believing that all will be well providing they keep on their course and leave the rest to God."

Do you know the peace that allows you to keep your eyes on what you have to do, believing that all will be well? Do you trust that God will do what God does, and hear your prayers, provide for your needs, give you more grace, and continue to perfect you in faith?

Why not start right now, in whatever small things face you today. After all, if we want to glorify God in the big things, we need to be faithful in the little.