JP: These are the finalist name suggestions for the “Name the Class” contest.

We intend to vote on these (a weighted ballot where class attendees will be able to vote on multiple names) on Sunday January 29th.

• Armorbearers
• Bereans
• Bible Explorers
• Connections
• Conquerors
• Grace Proclaimers
• Overcomers
• Sojourners
• Swordbearers
• Tentmakers
• Truth Seekers

What is the ultimate message of the Psalms?

There are more prophecies and allusions and types of the Messiah in the Psalms than in any other book of the Old Testament! Some of these, as we shall see, are so very detailed and precise that they appear to be the descriptions of those actually viewing the events instead of foretelling them hundreds of years before. Below is a suggested list, although I do not intend it to be exhaustive.

Psalms Reference — New Testament Fulfillment:

Ps. 2:7 God declares Him to be His Son. Matthew 3:17
Ps. 8:6 All things will be put under His feet. Hebrews 2:8
Ps. 16:10 He will be resurrected from the dead. Mark 16:6, 7
Ps. 22:1 God will forsake Him in His hour of need. Matthew 27:46
Ps. 22:7, 8 He will be scorned and mocked. Luke 23:35
Ps. 22:16 His hands and feet will be pierced. John 20:25, 27
Ps. 22:18 Others will gamble for His clothes. Matthew 27:35, 36
Ps. 34:20 Not one of His bones will be broken. John 19:32, 33, 36
Ps. 35:11 He will be accused by false witnesses. Mark 14:57
Ps. 35:19 He will be hated without a cause. John 15:25
Ps. 40:7, 8 He will come to do God’s will. Hebrews 10:7
Ps. 41:9 He will be betrayed by a friend. Luke 22:47
Ps. 45:6 His throne will be forever. Hebrews 1:8
Ps. 68:18 He will ascend to God’s right hand. Mark 16:19
Ps. 69:9 Zeal for God’s house will consume Him. John 2:17
Ps. 69:21 He will be given vinegar and gall to drink. Matthew 27:34
Ps. 72:1–19 He will be a worldwide king. Revelation 19:11–20:6
Ps. 109:4 He will pray for His enemies. Luke 23:34
Ps. 109:8 His betrayer’s place will be filled by another. Acts 1:20
Ps. 110:1 His enemies will be made subject to Him. Matthew 22:44
Ps. 110:4 He will be a priest like Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:6
Ps. 118:22 He will be the chief cornerstone. Matthew 21:42
Ps. 118:26 He will come in the name of the Lord. Matthew 21:91

William Blake – The Four and Twenty Elders Casting their Crowns before the Divine Throne

Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, by Viktor Vasnetsov. Painted in 1887

My notes for Revelation 4-7 are below:

JP: Helpful chart from Revelation, John Walvoord, p 121

We all know who submitted “Occupy Plymouth”. She will be dealt with! Two people suggested “Truth Seekers”. We may need to have some sort of tie-breaker process put in place.

Enter your name suggestion here

JP: The above antique Christmas card is from my sister-in-law’s collection. She comments on it here:

Some of you know that I collect vintage postcards. By far, the best selection is found on Ebay. I no longer collect them at anything near the rate I did when I first started a few years ago, though I did buy a nice one yesterday that I’ll look to scan for you soon. I found a postcard selection displayed in a wooden sewing machine drawer in an antique shop and saw that it was a perfect fit, so that’s how I keep mine now. Christmas being a favorite holiday, I love to pull them out and look at them. A couple of years ago, I found a large lot of religiously themed postcards on Ebay, more than 60 of them. Most people prefer vintage Santa postcards, which can be pricey, so I got the lot at a wonderful price. I noticed when I got them that they all mentioned a certain girl and that’s where the mystery comes in.

All the postcards have to do with a girl named Doris Ridgway, have a religious theme, and all are sent from European countries in December of [date unclear], though to a few different addresses. Some are sent to Doris at her address in Ridgway, Virginia. Some are sent to “Radio Luxembourg” and annotated, “pour Dorothee”. The two scans are typical of all 60 some postcards. I love the script in the second scan from a little Belgian girl. It’s been awhile since I studied French but I think this is an accurate translation: “I am a little girl your age. I am Belgian. I think well of you.” So sweet. You’ll notice that it is addressed to “dise millions d’auditeurs”, which I’m thinking is “ten million listeners” or some such thing. I’ve googled all kinds of things with no luck, exploring Dorothy Ridgway… Hardy, Virginia…Radio Luxemboerg with no luck. Thoughts that have crossed my mind is that maybe little Doris was ill and it was a postcard writing campaign, or maybe there was some type of contest to get the most postcards or collect the most signatures as several of the postcards are signed by more than one person. In any case, I’ve now inherited this collection written to little Doris and I treasure them all, though the story is unknown to me. If any of you are so inclined, have the time and are amateur sleuths, I’d love it if you could tell me the story of this collection.

Chuck Bumgardner has a very helpful blog post entitled Observations on the Incarnation through Church History. Below are links to his blog posts (a veritable feast for the mind and soul!):

• Irenaeus ( – c. 202) on the Incarnation
• Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220) on the Incarnation
• Cyprian ( -258) on the Incarnation
• Methodius ( -311) on the Incarnation
• Athanasius (293-373) on the Incarnation
• Ambrose (c. 340-397) on the Incarnation
• Chalcedon (451) on the Incarnation
• Martin Luther (1483-1546) on the Incarnation
• John Calvin (1509-1564) on the Incarnation (1)
• John Calvin (1509-1564) on the Incarnation (2)
• John Donne (1572-1631) on the Incarnation
• John Gill (1697-1771) on the Incarnation
• Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) on the Incarnation (1)
• Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) on the Incarnation (2)
• Charles Wesley (1707-1788) on the Incarnation
• Louis Berkhof (1873-1957) on the Incarnation
• C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) on the Incarnation
• David Wells (1939- ) on the Incarnation
• Robert Reymond on the Incarnation

Charles Hodge is one of my favorite theologians. Here he offers The Scriptural Facts concerning the Person of Christ.

Brief excerpt only … select the above link for detail:

The proof of this doctrine includes three distinct classes of passages of Scripture, or may be presented in three different forms. First, the proof of the several elements of the doctrine separately. Secondly, the current language of the Scriptures which speak of Christ, from beginning to end, sometimes as man and sometimes as God; and combine the two modes of statement, or pass from the one to the other as naturally and as easily as they do where speaking of man as mortal and immortal, or as corporeal and as spiritual. Thirdly, there are certain passages of Scripture in which the doctrine of the incarnation is formally presented and dogmatically asserted

In Revelation 3:20 we encounter the familiar verse:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

I’m sure readers are familiar with the image of Christ knocking at the door.

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The painter of “Christ at Heart’s Door” was Warner Sallman who also is known for the familiar “Head of Christ”

William Holman Hunt’s The Light of the World preceded Sallman’s work by nearly a century.

My notes for this Sunday are here:

Book Review – Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Intro:

The Bible is a big book, and since the nineteenth century, many big Bible dictionaries have been published to assist readers and students of the Bible to understand important words, concepts and background information. The most recent effort in the field of Bible dictionaries is the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary (ZIBD). This dictionary is Moisés Silva’s substantial revision and expansion of Zondervan’s previous Bible dictionaries, the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary (ed. Merrill C. Tenney) and the New International Bible Dictionary (ed. J. D. Douglas).

ZIBD is, in all technical aspects, quite well done. The full color photographs, maps, and charts are helpful without being overdone so as to dominate the text. The introduction is entirely correct when it says that “the new artistic design and use of fonts greatly enhance the attractiveness and clarity of the work” (v). In the articles I compared with the original Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, the changes in wording improved the clarity. One other commendable point is that the publisher has kept the price affordable for such a large volume, as well as making a Kindle version available for those who prefer an ebook.

JP: Notes for Sunday December 11th. Image above: The Pergamon Altar

Now that there are two young adult classes at 4th we need to come up with a name for ourselves.

The process will be:

• Submit your name suggestion here
• The leadership team will sift through the suggestions and eliminate names that we just don’t think will work (eg “Occupy Plymouth”)
• The sifted, sorted list will be submitted to the class for a vote
• Whoever submitted the name selected will receive a Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary

The small print (contest rules): This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Minnesota for any disputes arising out of this Contest. If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Contest, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Contest. If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Contest by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Contest, so please play fairly.