A Deeper Look at Daniel

We’ve been going through the stories of the Bible, and this Sunday we came to the book of Daniel. Rather than preach the stories of Daniel, I took 3 prophecies and expounded them. Afterwards, I talked to a lot of people who were just blown away that God (through Daniel) prophesied such major events in world history.

As I said Sunday, unless the Scriptures say ‘…this is what it means…’ we can only speculate through study what the prophecies mean. In Daniel, both of those things happen! The interpretations of the 3 mentioned prophecies come from the Scriptures, world history, and theological study. I want to encourage you (if this topic interest you) to go a bit deeper by studying some really great resources.

The first was the dream/statue. Read Daniel 2. Here is a quick explanation. The emphasis of this passage is on the stone that crushed the feet of clay; that stone grew into a great nation. The stone is Christ, and the great nation is the church. A kingdom was coming that was greater than any kingdom before it – an everlasting Kingdom. Jesus said that He is the Kingdom.

The next prophecy we talked about was a prophecy on a famous Greek general, namely – Alexander the Great. Read Daniel 8. The passage speaks about Greece overtaking the Persian empire, and even speaks of Alexanders fall and his dividing the Greek empire among his four generals. You can read all about Alexander the Great here. Did you know that according to the historian Josephus, Alexander spared Jerusalem after being shown the Daniel 8 passage?

Last, we talked about the seventy weeks prophecy. Basically, God showed Daniel how long it would be before the Messiah would come into Jerusalem. This corresponds to our calendar quite beautifully. Here is a really good article explaining the seventy weeks. It’s rather long, but if you’re looking for a detailed explanation, check it out.

Hope you enjoy digging deeper into Daniel.

Pastor Dave

Why Do We Baptize?

There’s been a lot of talk about baptism lately, so I wanted to take a minute and give a brief overview of why we baptize. This will be a quick overview, but for more info you can contact us.

First, let’s understand the word baptism. The New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek, the international language of the time. We have english translations like the KJV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, ESV, etc. Just grab any Bible you have and see what translation it is! Anyway, the word we translate into ‘baptize’ comes from the word ‘baptizo.’ If we look at the meaning of ‘baptizo’ we see that is means ‘immerse, dip, or submerge.’ By purely looking at the original word used in the New Testament, we can only conclude that baptism should be by immersing, dipping, or submerging. All of the stories of baptism include going into water. That’s why we immerse when we baptize, because it clearly represents Scripture.

Next, we ask who can be baptized. It’s pretty clear throughout the book of Acts that baptism was for believers. See Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, and 16 for starters (though there are many more). Never did the apostles or Christians baptize unbelievers, or infants. Immersion is for those who have faith in God, and want to have their sins washed away.

That’s exactly what baptism does. It washes away our sins. See Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16. It is the place that our sins are forgiven. It’s also the place where we receive the Holy Spirit. Again, Acts 2:38 (as well as Romans 6) talk about this. We are united with Christ in baptism, and we receive the same spirit in our baptism. Speaking of Romans 6, it beautifully describes what happens when we’re immersed. We are buried in the water (death with Christ), and raised back up (resurrection with Christ). Baptism unites us.

Last, Peter tells us that baptism saves us (1 Peter 3:21). It is at our baptism that we have the assurance of salvation. There is no prayer that can bring this, nor is there any act that was done to us without our knowledge or faith (see Colossians 2:12). It is only at baptism that we can have the forgiveness of sins and receive God’s spirit.

The Bible teaches that all of these things are equally important in becoming a follower of Christ – faith, repentance, confessing Jesus as Lord of your life, baptism, and faithful living. Baptism is no more or less important than any of these. They are all equally important.

And that’s why we baptize. For more information, email us at info(at)dasselchurchofchrist.com or give us a call.

Pastor Dave

Kingdom Ministry and Mindset

Every Wednesday night we have different classes for all ages. I want to quickly share with you about one of our adult classes here at Dassel Church of Christ.

This week, our adult class that discusses ‘practical theology’ will start studying a series on Kingdom Ministry and Mindset. This class will cover a wide range of topics, from how we should see ourselves and others to how we experience and know God. When a person finishes this study series, they should not only have a deeper understanding of a kingdom mindset, but a deeper passion for kingdom ministry.

I hope you can join and commit to this series. See you Wednesday night at 6pm for dinner, and classes at 7pm!

Pastor Dave

10 Challenges for 2012

It’s New Years Eve and we’re all preparing to close out 2011 and start 2012. This time of year usually brings out our desire for changes and challenges. Here are a few I’d like to give you.

1 – Evaluate your faith. Where are you with your relationship with Christ? Be real with your answer. Make 2012 a turning point for your faith, and a year that you will not forget.

2 – Evaluate your church, ministry, and philosophy.  Make sure the church you belong to follows Scripture, including DCC. Above all, be real yourself and identify with like-minded Christians.

3 – Make assembling together with the body of Christ a priority. (Hebrews 10:25)

4 – Find accountability in small groups. There are numerous ways to get connected, and more coming in 2012.

5 – Read more – not just the Scriptures, but books to educate and enlighten you more. For a Scripture reading plan, check this out. Here is a good book. Here’s another.

6 – Stop complaining. It’s actually easier than it sounds! (Philippians 2:14)

7 – Pray, give, and fast. Make each of these a pillar of your faith. (Matthew 6)

8 – Focus on your family. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church. Wives, submit to the spiritual leadership of your husbands. Parents, raise good and Godly children. (Ephesians 5-6)

9 – Serve someone. Go out of your way to sacrificially do something for someone else.

10 – Be an encourager. Try to think and speak positively of yourself and others. Build up, not break down.

I hope these challenges can help you set some spiritual goals for this coming year. God is doing some wonderful things at Dassel Church of Christ. We can enhance them by living what we talk about. Happy New Year to you and your family.

Pastor Dave

Updates! Yes, it’s about time!

Apologies for the slow updates lately! We’ve been settling into the new routine with Brandt here and our website has passed me by! We’ve got some great things coming in 2012, and I’ll share with you some of them.

1) We’re continuing our series ‘The Story,’ starting back up in a few weeks. We’ll continue to go through the major stories of the Bible and see what they can teach us today.

2) Our ministry in the Dominican Republic (Haitian Ministries) will be sending Jean Paulite (the pastor we support) to visit Dassel Church of Christ in January. This will be a great time for you to learn more about him, and the ministry.

3) Fitness CHAOS will continue to meet every week at the church. The ladies are having fun! For more info, contact the church.

4) Wednesday night groups will be starting back up next week (Jan 4, 2012)! Dinner at 6pm, groups at 7pm.

5) SURPRISES! New things coming for DCC in 2012, but we’re going to wait and tell you later!

Hope you had an amazing Christmas, and have a great and safe New Years! See you Sunday!

Pastor Dave