Monday Morning Coffee with Mark
Monday Morning Coffee with Mark. A spiritual boost to start the week.
Monday Morning Coffee with Mark
Waiting on the Porch - Faith for Parents of Prodigals
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Welcome to the Westside church’s special Monday Morning Coffee podcast with Mark Roberts. Mark is a disciple, a husband, father and grand dad, as well as a certified coffee geek, fan of CS Lewis’ writings and he loves his big red Jeep. He’s also the preacher for Westside church.
Hello, and welcome to the West Side Church's special Monday Morning Coffee Podcast. On this podcast, our preacher, Mark Roberts, will help you get your week started right with a look back at yesterday's sermon so that we can think through each other and better work the applications into our daily life. Mark will then look forward into this week's final reading so that we can know what to expect and watch for. And he may have some extra bonus thoughts from time to time. So grab a cup of coffee as we start the week together on Monday morning coffee with Mark.
SPEAKER_01:Got some great coffee here. I've got my Bible open. We're thinking about the 110th Psalm, which was a big part of yesterday. Thinking a little bit more about that Prodigal Son sermon and the Prodigal's Father. I preached that in the 1040 yesterday. It's time to get the week started. It's time to keep pushing all the things that we talked about yesterday into daily living and making sure that we're actually making use of the spiritual momentum that was created yesterday. So grab your Bible, grab your coffee, let's grow together. Yesterday in the 1040, I talked about having a prodigal in your family, especially when the prodigal is your child. That's a really tough area, and that's hard. I hope I did not create all kinds of difficulties, big feelings with parents who are thinking a lot about a child that's away from the Lord. But it's something we need to think about. And I'll just give you an extra thought now that maybe will expand and help us to continue to make good use of that. And that is we need to think about that the father didn't in Luke 15, he did not have just one prodigal. He had two. The older brother never left home, but he was lost, lost in resentment, lost in pride, lost in his own sense of superiority. He didn't run away to the far country, but he was running away inside. And maybe had run away before the prodigal even acted out his own story. I've said for a long time, both of these boys are lost because they're outside the father's house. Now here's what matters if you have a prodigal. The father didn't give up on either son. He ran to the younger son and he went out to the older son. He pleaded with that rebellious boy, he pleaded with the self-righteous boy. He met both of them where they were. If God wants you to mirror anything in this parable, learn anything from this parable, it's not that you have to be perfect, it's that you need to you need to pursue. It's not about control, it's about compassion, and it's certainly not about panicking, it's about patience, it's about continuing to be there, continuing to hold that door open when the prodigal is finally willing to turn around. Remember, you can't fix anybody, well, except yourself, and you certainly can't fix the prodigal's heart. But you could be ready to encourage that prodigal to do right every way possible. I will never forget when my mom called and said she had talked to my brother Chris, and he he lived in a different city, kind of away from the rest of the family, and he said that he couldn't find his Bible, and that he'd been wanting to read his Bible, but somehow, in all the crazy chaos of his life, he'd lost his Bible. And mom simply said, Son, I'll buy you a Bible. And she did. It was the first step in a long road home. And what happened there was mom signaled to Chris that if he wanted to do right, we would help him. We would do more than meet him halfway. We would not judge him, we would not put him on probation, we would run to meet him. And in the end, I think that's what prodigals need to know. We will meet them where they are. We will come more than halfway, we will help them any way we can when they're ready to come home because we want them to come back inside the Father's house. I hope that helps you, and I hope that you'll not give up hope and not give up praying as we continue to pray for the day when we see our prodigals come home. Let's think about Bible reading. Open your Bible to the book of Psalms. So today is Monday, and our reading for Monday is the 110th Psalm. What am I going to say about Psalm 110 when I said everything that I could say possibly say yesterday in the 9 o'clock? Well, how about some coffee here? How about this? Say two things here. Premillennialists are certain that Jesus has to return in the future at some time to rule from the literal throne of David in Jerusalem for a literal 1,000 years. Premillennialism is that doctrine that has the rapture. You sometimes see that bumper sticker, this car will be unmanned in case of rapture. Many of your friends believe in the rapture. So it is essential that Jesus is not reigning now. He will reign later. But what we will see as we're reading in the New Testament this week, what we will see is that Psalm 110 promises that Jesus is reigning at the right hand of God. He is king and priest. You can't break those two apart. You can't. Either he's king and priest, or he is neither. So this is an excellent place if you're having significant, serious religious discussion. This is not elevator talk, but if you're really sitting down with somebody, read Psalm 110. Jesus reigning and ruling now. Everybody wants Jesus to be the high priest, but he also, according to Psalm 110, is the king. Now, the other thing that has to be said about Psalm 110 is that it majors in that already but not yet tension that we find so often in the Bible. When we read in Psalm 110, what we will see is there's stuff that's true right now and stuff that is still on the way. Jesus is seated at God's right hand now. Jesus is reigning now, Jesus is our high priest now, but all of his enemies have not yet been made a footstool, have they? The final defeat of evil is certain, but it is not yet complete. Sometimes we shove Psalm 110 completely into the future. A lot of modernistic liberal Bible scholars shove it completely into the past. They don't want any kind of prophecy going on. So it's all about David's sons, even though, of course, much of that language cannot possibly fit any human being sitting on the throne of David. But we may run to the other extreme. We push everything over into the future. I believe it certainly has application to the New Testament church right now, but I also believe it won't be fully consummated until the end. And reading with that lens will increase our confidence in Christ's present rule and how he serves us as our high priest. But it also explains why the world is still broken. The New Testament has lots of now but not fully or now but not yet tension. Pay attention to that. Watch for that as we read these references this week. Our reading for Monday, Psalm 110. Welcome to Tuesday. Welcome to Tuesday, and now we are in the New Testament. Matthew chapter 22, verses 34 to 46 is our Tuesday reading. And we will get to talk about this tonight on Zoom. Westsiders, see you on Zoom at 7 o'clock tonight. This is our last Zoom for the year. We'll take a break for the holidays, everything that's going on with all of that. But tonight we are in Matthew chapter, well, not tonight. Today we are in Matthew chapter 22, verses 34 to 46. As you're looking at that text, it begins with the question, what's the greatest commandment? Which Jesus easily answers. And then look at verse 41. Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together. See the continuation there? That's the key. They're asking questions. Jesus says, I have a question. Let's talk about the Messiah, verse 42. Whose son will he be? Now that's a softball question. Hey, no problem there. We got that. Yeah, we know that. He is certainly going to be of the lineage of David. 2 Samuel chapter 7, we know he will be the son of David. So then Jesus says, How is it, verse 43, that David in the Spirit, there you go, Psalm 110, it's inspired, says, and here comes the quote out of Psalm 110. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. So the Lord there in Psalm 110 is Jehovah. Jehovah said to my master or to my Lord, that that was hard for the Jews to wrap their minds around. What's the deal? One scholar said, if the Messiah is the son of David and therefore inferior and less than David, why does David address him as Lord? It is astonishing that David should call his son my Lord by Jewish standards of familial respect. It is rather the son who would refer to the Father as Lord. The first is clearly seen as Jehovah. Jesus is asking, who's the second? And so the Jews know that this Psalm applied to David's children, the ones that ruled and reigned on David's throne. Yet there's more to it than that, Jesus is saying, and Jesus is challenging them to realize that the Messiah would be much more than they had thought. Yes, he would be a son of David, but there's only one way he can be David's son and still be greater than David. And that would be for him to be divine, for him to be deity. That is what Jesus is trying to help them see, and that is what Psalm 10 is doing in Matthew chapter 22. Our reading for Monday, Matthew chapter 22, verses 34 to 46. See you tonight, Westsiders, on the Zoom call. It's Wednesday. It is Wednesday, and our reading for today is Hebrews chapter 1. We will read all of Hebrews chapter 1. A couple of things here as we get underway. The first four verses of Hebrews chapter 1 is one complete sentence. It's a long sentence talking about the wonders of Jesus and the glory of Jesus. And I think many times the book of Hebrews has been taught, or the characterization of the book of Hebrews, is people were abandoning Christianity and going back to Judaism. I think that's half right and half wrong. I think there is a temptation here to abandon Christianity, but I don't think so much it's about going back to Judaism. That's not where this book is. It's just about perseverance and endurance and not giving up on Christianity entirely. And I think sometimes we talk about Hebrews too much about going back to Judaism. I'm not sure that's really where this is going to land. One writer has said, especially coming out of the first chapter of Hebrews, that there seems to have been some controversy about worshiping angels. And that may be at the forefront of some of this early discussion in Hebrews. As you read down through Hebrews the first chapter, you'll see there's plenty here about Jesus being greater than angels. In fact, you can get seven characteristics of Jesus out of chapter one. Just watch this as you read through. He is the heir of everything, he is the creator. He is the exact radiance of his glory, of God's glory. He has the character, the exact image of God. He is the sustainer. The whole universe is in his hand. He is the redeemer, and he is the king. He is royally seated as God. And that is where we need to give our attention. Verse 13, as the Hebrew writer really pushes this idea that Jesus is superior to angels, we get the quotation from Psalm 110, verse 1. There, verse 13, to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? Jesus is not an angel. God would never say that to any angel. Instead, this is reserved for Jesus, who is the Son. Our reading for Wednesday, Hebrews chapter 1, with a special emphasis on Psalm 110 and the quotation in verse 13. The reading for Wednesday is Hebrews chapter 1. It's Thursday. It's Thursday, and our reading is Ephesians chapter 1, verses 15 to 23. The reading for Thursday, Ephesians 1, 15 to 23. Please make certain that you catch in verse 15 that this is about a prayer. I am ceasing. Well, goodness, I can't read more coffee. Coffee is the answer. Sometimes early in the morning, you need coffee to make coffee, and you need coffee to be able to read your Bible. For this reason, because I've heard of your faith and your love, I don't cease now, verse 16, to give thanks for you, remembering you and my prayers. And this is what he is praying. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom. And he works on through there, the eyes of your heart being enlightened. You may know your hope. You may know the riches, verse 18, the greatness of his power. Beginning in verse 19, there's just a ton of power words here. It gets very powerful. One writer said, How did Paul expect the Ephesians to come to know the surpassing greatness of the power of God? Because he's given a public demonstration of it in the resurrection and exaltation of Christ, verses 20 to 23. Paul actually refers to three successive events. First, he raised him from the dead, front part of verse 20. Secondly, he made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all competitors, verses 20, the end, into verse 21. And then he's put all things under his feet, verse 22. And then thirdly, he made him head over all things for the church, which is his body. Well, did you hear that business then about his seated at the right hand? Yes, that's verse 20. He is seated at seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. There it is. Yes, that is Psalm 110. There's the echo of Psalm 110 right there, and the exaltation of Jesus Christ. Christ's authority is not just now, though, it is for the age to come, verse 21. Not only in this age, but also in the one to come. He is supreme. He is the head of the church. He has all authority, and he has been seated at the right hand. Psalm 110 says that will happen. Paul says it has happened. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 20. Our reading today in Ephesians, the first chapter, verses 15 to 23. It's Friday. It is Friday. We made it through another week. Feeling good about that. I know that you are glad to be hearing it is Friday. It's Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 to 17 that we are reading today, and this is a great place for us to finish the reading this week. We don't want Psalm 110 to become dry doctrine, something that we now know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jesus is king and priest and seated at the right hand. Okay, whatever. No, no, it's not whatever. It affects us directly in how we live. And the Colossian reading gives us that in spades. Colossians 3, verse 1, if then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. There it is. There's the Psalm 110 connection that we are looking for. But what happens next? Well, Paul talks about things that we can't be doing anymore, things to put to death, notably about verse 5 through verse 11. And then he talks about the things that we need to do, things that we ought to be busy with in verses 12 to 17. So take a look at verse 5. Also look at verse 8. That's called a vice list. Those are very common outside of Scripture, things that people shouldn't be involved in. And there are a number of vice lists in Scripture. Galatians 5, the works of the flesh. That's a vice list. Here's a list of things Christians are not to be part of. And then, as I said in verse 12, we start getting this is what we are to be part of. Put on then. Holy and beloved is God's chosen ones, compassion, heart, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing one another. He just works down through there. This is who we are. But all of it is connected to what? Jesus is supreme. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Jesus is our King and Lord. Psalm 110 drives the Lordship of Jesus. What a great note for us to be thinking about after working with Psalm 10 all this week. What a great time for us to be thinking about this. Lots of people are pretty happy about baby Jesus and seeing a lot of baby Jesus stuff going around right now, but not everybody's that big on King Jesus. Colossians 3 reaches to Psalm 110 and says, He is Lord, and we need to obey him. We're not going to do the stuff in verse 5 and verse 8, beginning in verse 9. We are, we are about the things in verses 12 to 17, because Jesus is Lord. That's what Psalm 10 is pushing for us in a very practical way today. The reading for Friday, Colossians chapter 1, verses, no, Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 to 17. Well, there you go. That's the podcast for the week. Thank you so much for listening. Hope that the podcast is a blessing to you. I'll tell you this: it's a blessing to me to get to work on this and think about this and figure out how all these readings come together and what can be said about it. That'll help you as you begin your day, or maybe you're spending time on your lunch hour, maybe even as a family, you're reading the Bible together in the evenings. How can we make use of this so that Bible reading becomes Bible living? Hope you're telling others about the podcast. This is a great time to be encouraging people to be about daily Bible reading. That'll be one of the big things people want to do in the new year. So, as I always say, I'm Mark Roberts. I want to go to heaven. I want you to come too. I'll see you on Monday with a cup of coffee.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for listening to the Westside Church of Christ podcast, Monday Morning Coffee with Mark. For more information about Westside, you can connect with us through our website, just Christians.com, and our Facebook page. Our music is from Upbeat.io. That's Upbeat with two Ps, U-P-P-P-E-A-T, where creators can get free music. Please share our podcast with others, and we look forward to seeing you again with a cup of coffee, of course, on next Monday.