Christian Fellowship Church - Hammond's Bible Church

Teacher Training : Lesson 5

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 13:59:44 -0700

The “Teacher Training” blog is designed to enhance the Bible teaching skills at our church. Lessons #1 and #2 dealt with the characteristics, prayer life, and knowledge of the teacher. At Lesson #3, we began a study of 17 principles of hermeneutics that guide our interpretation of the Bible. Lesson #3 and Lesson #4 went over two principles each. Here are the next two principles:

5. Scripture interprets Scripture:

This is a principle where we see how verses in the Bible help explain other verses. Some verses are difficult to understand but by using another verse to gain understanding then the initial verse can be understood with greater clarity.

Per Dr. James Rosscup, this is defined as “One or more Scripture passages help interpret the right meaning in another text.”

For example, Rosscup states: John 3:5 is obscure when it refers to being “born of water and of the Spirit” (sic). Some suggest that the water refers to water baptism. Others say the reference is to the water of the Word, i.e. a figurative idea for the cleansing ministry of God's Word (cf. Ephesians 5:25, 26). This has some support in such passages as Psalm 119:9-11, where the Word is active in cleansing a man's life. Still others suggest that John 3:5 refers to being born of water in the physical birth when a woman's water sack is involved, and then later being also born of the Spirit in the new birth. A fourth group explains John's 3:5 by cross reference with Ezekiel chapter 36:25-27, where three of the same essential elements are a focus of emphasis--the work of the Holy Spirit, new birth, and water that effects cleansing. They say, properly correctly, that Jesus had Ezekiel 36 in mind and meant that a person needs to be born of water in the sense of the cleansing ministry of God in his life, in close association with the Holy Spirit. The Word of God and the Spirit could work in harmony here in the new...Read More

Teacher Training : Lesson 4

Fri, 12 May 2023 10:35:36 -0700

The “Teacher Training” blog is designed to enhance the Bible teaching skills at our church. Each blog is designed to pull in material on 5 subjects:
The character of a teacher
The prayer life of a teacher
The Bible knowledge of a teacher
The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
The presentation skills of a teacher
This lesson is focusing on subject #4. In our last study, we started an examination of the first two of 17 hermeneutical principles. The study will look at two more (2) principles.
May God bless your preparation to teach!
Pastor Mike

The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
This March 2023 we held a Teacher Training Day at CFC. We went over key principles of hermeneutics. As stated in lesson #3, over the next several months, I am going to define and illustrate the 17 principles. Yet, know the 17th principle deals with Figures of Speech where we have 18 different figures. This will be a very profitable study.
We begin with these two principles:
1A. Principles of Hermeneutics:

3B. Clarity of Scripture
This is the principle that the Bible is written to be understood. Lexham Survey of Theology says this about the Clarity of Scripture principle:
Scripture is sufficiently clear to leave people no excuse for disobedience to their present duties.
In one sense nothing is ever revealed unless it is revealed clearly. Unclarities mask content and deter communication. But revelation is a form of communication; it cannot exist when unclarities...Read More

Teacher Training : Lesson 3

Thu, 04 May 2023 07:27:29 -0700

The “Teacher Training” blog is designed to enhance the Bible teaching skills at our church. Each blog is designed to pull in material on 5 subjects:
The character of a teacher
The prayer life of a teacher
The Bible knowledge of a teacher
The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
The presentation skills of a teacher
This lesson is focusing on subject #4. The study will look at two (2) principles.
May God bless your preparation to teach!
Pastor Mike

The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
This March 2023 we held a Teacher Training Day at CFC. We went over key principles of hermeneutics. Over the next several months, I am going to define and illustrate the 17 principles. Yet, know the 17th principle deals with Figures of Speech where we have 18 different figures. This will be a very profitable study.
We begin with these two principles:
1A. Principles of Hermeneutics:

1B. Single Meaning
This is the belief that a text has one intended sole meaning. It does not have multiple meanings. Our goal is not to find what a text means to me. The goal of interpretation is to find the one sole intended meaning of a text using other hermeneutical principles. But this principle of single meaning is the goal.
Example. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6.
The single meaning is that Jesus is attesting to the fact that He Himself is the focal point of faith for a person to have a relationship with God the Father. This...Read More

Teacher Training : Lesson 2

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 09:55:56 -0800

The “Teacher Training” blog is designed to enhance the Bible teaching skills at our church. Each blog is designed to pull in material on 5 subjects:
The character of a teacher
The prayer life of a teacher
The Bible knowledge of a teacher
The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
The presentation skills of a teacher
Here is this month's lesson.
May God bless your preparation to teach!
Pastor Mike
1. The character of a teacher
Basic Point: The excerpt that follows is a quote on how important your character is when you are a teacher. The reason being that as a “man of God” you represent God. If you are woman teaching children or teaching women, you too represent God.
"In Scripture, God’s spokesmen are often referred to by different titles such as prophet, elder, evangelist, and pastor. Generally, these titles refer to the task the man executes. One title, however, refers to the character of the man holding an office. That title is “man of God.” It is used frequently in the Old Testament. Moses (Deut. 33:1; 1 Chron. 23:14; Ezra 3:2), the anonymous prophet who pronounced divine judgment on Eli’s family (1 Sam. 2:27), Samuel (1 Sam. 9:6), David (Neh. 12:24, 36), Elijah (1 Kings 17:18), and Elisha (2 Kings 4:8–9) are among those designated “men of God.” In each case, the term “man of God” refers to someone who represented God by speaking His Word." ^[1]
2. The prayer life of a teacher
This lesson introduces the “Teacher Training” blog that the leadership of CFC wants to use to enhance the Bible teaching skills at our church. Each blog is designed to pull in material on 5 subjects:
The character of a teacher
The prayer life of a teacher
The Bible knowledge of a teacher
The study skills (hermeneutics) of a teacher
The presentation skills of a teacher
The material will come from preaching and Bible study books. The material in each lesson is footnoted. Some months the material will only come from one source but in other months from multiple sources. The book “Rediscovering Expository Teaching” will be the main source used as it contains many godly and knowledgeable authors who wrote in the book that I knew personally. Those authors were also my seminary professors who put the essence of my training into the section of the book each wrote.
Each section will have a basic point then the more detailed quote will follow. You can read just the basic point but the excerpt that follows in quotes will challenge you even more!
This blog is designed to spur the teaching of God’s word in a manner that honors God. The material used is not to belengthy so as to not be overburdensome to the disciple (the disciplined learner).
In the Old Testament, Ezra 7:10 models this:
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul tells us all the responsibility of every teacher in 2 Timothy 2:15:
For this warning goes out in James 3:1-2:
May God bless your preparation to...Read More

The Discipline of Worship

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 21:42:45 -0700

Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Psalm 95:6
The discipline of worship is an essential practice for the believer. Like breathing is necessary for life, so worship is necessary for knowing God. Both breathing and worship are practices that seem simple, but if you become proficient at both there are great advantages.
The athlete or singer who wants to excel must be trained in breathing skills; this doesn’t just come naturally. Worship is no different—it is a discipline to master.
Worship comes from a heart that truly desires to acknowledge who God is and to demonstrate love to Him. But it is a heartfelt discipline that takes work. And the practice is an endless one—for we worship God on earth now, and we will worship Him in heaven for all eternity.
A.W. Tozer said, “I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven.”1
Do you see worship as something that just happens? Do you see it as a discipline? Is this a practice you are working at? Growing in? Putting thought toward?
This article is a wake up call to see worship as a discipline at which to work and build upon. I want to motivate you to not only practice it but master it as a discipline.
The discipline of worship is unique among the spiritual disciplines. It can stand alone, but it also applies in every other discipline—prayer,meditation, singing, reading of Scripture, study of Scripture, serving,confession, etc.
Read More

The Need for a Proper Gospel

Sat, 09 May 2020 09:56:10 -0700

This blog is about the number-one issue in finding a church. At the same time, it is about the number-one issue every person must resolve: what is the gospel? The word gospel means “good news,” and I will show you why it is the greatest news ever and what exactly that news is!
Why is this the number-one issue for every person? Because, as you will see, the Bible itself makes this the number-one issue for you to understand. Second, biblical logic dictates that it is the number-one issue.
First, the Bible clearly makes this a top priority. Bible teachers often cite 1 Corinthians 15:1‒4 as one of the best gospel summaries in Scripture, and I believe they are correct. In this text, the Apostle Paul tells the church at Corinth about the gospel. He says that he delivered the gospel to them as of “first importance.” He then goes on to summarize the key topics of the gospel.
Note that Paul says in verse 3 that the gospel is of “first importance.” This means it is of top priority. To miss this would be not just one of the worst mistakes you could ever make in life, but THE worst. I cannot overemphasize it. I do not want to sound like an overeager salesman. But I do want to bring a heightened awareness that if you miss out on the true gospel, you lose everything.
Again, this warning is scriptural; even in the great passage John 3:16, often put forth as a key gospel passage, Jesus says that “whoever believes in Him [Jesus] should not perish, but have eternal life.” The word “perish” means not just to disappear, but “to lose all that is valuable.” To not believe in the true gospel is to lose all that is valuable in life.
The gospel’s priority not only is a clear declaration from Scripture, but also fits well with a systematic theology. In putting together a systematic theology of the Bible and what I know of life, I would conclude this: knowing the true gospel is of the gravest priority. Here is why:
First,...Read More

How can I find a good church?

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 14:40:13 -0800

How does a person find a good church to attend? Is there a checklist to review, a universal standard to apply? Do you select a church just on a gut feeling?
Today’s marketplace of churches can leave one confused. The process is complicated because, first and foremost, people pick a church the same way they do a restaurant or movie. And many churches have realized this consumer mentality, learning to market themselves using worldly “selling” principles. They advertise with slick mailers or television commercials. They decorate their church building like a modern office building. To make the aura just right, they adjust the lighting and music to make the visitor’s experience ever so appealing.
I know of churches that promote enticing coffee bars for adults and climbing walls for kids. Other churches are constantly building a new facility or addition that passes the “smell” test—people are drawn as to a new-car aroma. The pastor will preach in twenty to thirty minutes or less, using a canned message bought off the Internet—or a message with key talking points that the home church mandates all its satellite churches preach. Now, I am not denying that some of these things are attractive and in themselves not bad. But when you compromise and accept weak teaching for a hot latte, then a problem arises.
What is wrong with a church presenting God’s house of worship no differently than a business selling its services? The Bible makes it clear in 1 John 2:15 that the believer is not to love the world:
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Worldly principles that “sell” a person on a new church miss what God holds as important.
I have always told our people that “what you win a person with, is what you win them to.” The meaning is this: if you win a person to a church with outward enticements, that is what the person is committed to. In the end,...Read More

Why you need the Bible in your life!

Sat, 26 Oct 2019 20:11:33 -0700

You need answers in life. You need the Bible—for many reasons. The Bible tells you how to get into heaven and how to have a better life, just to name a couple things. Only the Bible can give you real answers. Even if you consider yourself a good person and have a good life, you still need the truths of the Bible.
The Bible is the best-selling book every year for a reason. The Bible has wisdom that is unparalleled. We all need its superior truth.
But, not only do you need to read the Bible, you also need a church that teaches the Bible correctly. Like the eunuch in Acts 8, you need someone to guide you through the Bible. It’s similar to a map. If you read it wrong, you will get even more lost.
Most people are lost. The Bible says that people without God lack love and direction. The Bible compares lost people to the man who is “in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” We all need the light of the Bible, so that we aren’t like this man.
So, if you do not want to be lost, I suggest attending a “Bible Church,” a church that really teaches the Bible. A Bible Church is committed to using the Bible as its standard. A Bible Church is driven by what the Bible actually says, because a Bible Church believes the Bible is the Word of God. A church’s view of the Bible impacts what a church does and believes.
It seems like a “no-brainer” that a person going to church would want to know what God says. At Christian Fellowship Church, we see ourselves as Hammond’s Bible Church. We believe the Bible is critical to understanding God, and we want the people of our community to know God. I always say, “right thinking leads to right living.” We can only think right and live right if the Bible is driving our thinking.
Today, many lives are in disarray because God’s word is ignored. I truly believe that people’s lives get even more complicated by churches that...Read More