Bible Think Tank

Jesus: on Hell

2011-09-18T09:41:00.005-04:00

Intro

In today's sermon, we examine Jesus' teaching on who's in the kingdom and who's out. He brings up the reality of hell: eternal conscious torment of sinful mankind. Below are some resources for you to continue your investigation into this teaching. Feel free to contact me to discuss anything you have concern about.

The Doctrine of the Bible Fellowship Church

Article 26 - The Judgments

26-1. The Scriptures enumerate several judgments that differ in time, place, subjects, and results. All judgment has been entrusted to the Son by the Father.1

26-2. Through the death of Christ on the cross, the believer's sins have been judged, and he has passed from death unto life.2 In no case do the redeemed come again into judgment concerning their eternal destiny. Each saint, however, will be required to give an account before the judgment seat of Christ regarding his works and conduct.3

26-3.The unregenerate will be judged, condemned, and banished to eternal damnation in the lake of fire.4

1 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son (John 5:22).

2 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24).

3 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1). For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Cor.5:10).

4 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev.20:11-15).

Article 28 - The Eternal State

28-1. There are two final, eternal destinies for man: heaven for the righteous and penitent, and hell for the unrighteous and impenitent.1 At the great white throne judgment, all of the enemies of God will be consigned to the place of eternal conscious punishment, from which there is no escape.2 The new heavens and the new earth shall be created3 as the final state in which the righteous shall dwell forever in the presence of God.4

1 Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life (Mat.25:46).

2 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no
place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev.20:11-15).

3 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:10-13).

4 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God (Rev.21:3).

Read our whole Doctrinal statement here

Links

Books

Orthodox

Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears

God Wins: Heaven, Hell, and Why the Good News is Better than Love Wins by Mark Galli and Randy Alcorn

Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity, and the Things We Made Up by Francis Chan

Erasing Hell promo video

In Error

Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell

The Last Word and the Word after That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity by Brain McLaren

Webpages

If I Don't Preach on Hell by Jeff Hamilton of La Vista Church of Christ

The Teaching on Jesus Concerning Hell by RC Foster

What Did Jesus Christ Teach About Hell? by Kato Mivule

a Response to Prof Cox's Letter in the Morning Call

2011-07-25T11:48:00.002-04:00

Several weeks ago, Paul Carpenter wrote an editorial in the Morning Call about the Bible and abortion. I added my two cents in the following week. In the continuing saga, an OT Professor at Moravian took me to task. Below is his letter in the July 22 Morning Call and my response to him.

First, Professor Cox's Letter in the Morning Call

read it here

Biblical passage addresses abortion

Recent discussion in the Town Square pages about abortion in the Bible has overlooked the only specific mention of it there, found in Numbers 5:11-31. It is a case law:

A wife suspected of adultery by her husband is brought to the priest, who requires her to submit to a prescribed procedure. She is made to drink a potion of water mixed with some of the dust from the floor of the tabernacle. She is told that if she is guilty it is intended to create bitter pain, which no doubt — regardless of her guilt — it does. Further, it is intended to discharge what is in her womb, which no doubt it does. However, if she is innocent, "she shall be exempt from punishment and shall be able to bear children."

This passage is a clear example of the need to read a literary unit of the Bible within its own historical context. What was at stake in ancient Israel was the integrity of the family and the purity of the blood line. The genealogies emphasize the importance of the ancestral lineage. While biblical families always treasured births, circumstances could require abortion for the sake of the integrity of the family.

Bethlehem
The writer is a professor emeritus
of the Old Testament at
Moravian Theological Seminary.

My Response:

Professor Cox brings up an interesting text for us to consider. The headline invites the reader to believe that the Bible does address abortion in a favorable light. His comments go on to drive this point home, when he concludes "while biblical families always treasured births, circumstances could require abortion for the sake of the integrity of the family." What circumstances might "require" abortion according to Prof. Cox? A child conceived through adultery. He uses Numbers 5:11-31 as his text.

The mistake he made with using this text to validate his argument is basic: the text does not say that the wife's unfaithfulness caused a pregnancy. It simply says "you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had intercourse with you" (Numbers 5:20). Prof. Cox furthers his incorrect argument by asserting that this ceremonial potion "is intended to discharge what is in her womb." Where does the text say that?

First, the text does not say that she is pregnant. Second, the text does not say that this ceremony aborts the pregnancy. Third, the Bible is not, as Prof. Cox asserts, interested in preserving "the integrity of the family and the purity of the bloodline" through the means of abortion but rather through the means of marital faithfulness.

This text is not about abortion as Prof. Cox's headline would have the reader believe. This text is about adultery and the jealousy of the wounded party. God cares that marriages are safe, happy, and playful. When a spouse believes they have been cheated on yet they have no proof, God can put your racing mind at ease so that your marriage can continue to be safe, happy, and playful with renewed mutual trust.

Timothy Schmoyer

NOTE: I am sending my response to Professor Cox and I'm posting it here. I do not intend to send it in to the Call. I think they are tired of it. I'm frankly disinterested in writing on it. I'm much more interested in the Gospel than this issue. Priorities... priorities...

Rebuttal - FINAL COPY

2011-06-25T21:36:00.003-04:00

My last post was a letter I wrote to the editor of the Morning Call. It was a response to Paul Carpenter's Father's Day editorial entitled "Biblical rule on abortion is unclear." The Editor said I could get it published if I cut it to 725 words, so here it is. Still good... not as good.

Here is the original article.

A Rebuttal of Paul Carpenter's "Biblical rule on abortion is confusing"
by Timothy Schmoyer
June 22, 2011

Paul Carpenter's editorial attempts to make the case that the Bible is vague on abortion. Yet Mr. Carpenter, while admitting he is no Bible scholar, inaccurately portrays biblical teachings. I am a biblical scholar and would like to bring clarity to what Mr. Carpenter falsely calls “unclear”. As a Christian pastor, I whole-heartedly agree with Mr. Carpenter's main point as shown through these statements: "I [decry] efforts to impose religious dogma on others by force" and "no law governing abortion or anything else should ever be enacted just because of a narrow ideological doctrine." While the faithful gladly obey what God teaches them, sincere Christians have always insisted that obedience comes from what God does in one's heart, not by what one man forces on another.

The biblical case is that "personhood" begins at conception. Mr. Carpenter questions this using Genesis 2:7: "God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and in this way man became a living being." Certainly the first man, Adam, was not alive until God breathed life into him. Yet, Adam's creation is not the normal way life is brought into the world. The Psalms hold more helpful texts which address when life begins. As David considers God's immense devotion to humankind, he writes in Psalm 139:13-14, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Also, while confessing his sin to God, David declares in Psalm 51:5, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." How can it be that I am both wonderfully made by God AND AT THE SAME TIME sinful since conception? The answer lies in a God of love who wants to free, rescue, restore, and do more with us than we could do alone. Religious people take abortion seriously because we long to see what a God of Redemption could do in that life if only it'd be given a chance to continue living.

Next, Mr. Carpenter addresses Deuteronomy 12:23 which warns against drinking animal blood as pagan worship, since "life is in the blood". Can we say that to kill an unborn human before it has blood is okay since "life is in the blood"? Talking this way makes the whole debate a farce. We shouldn't take a verse about animal blood to answer the question of when human life begins, as Mr. Carpenter wrongly attempts.

Third, Mr. Carpenter references Exodus 21:22-24 where Moses gives case law for personal injury: if two people are fighting and one accidently strikes a bystanding pregnant woman and the pregnancy is lost, there must be restitution. Notice the accidental aspect to the passage. In Old Testament case law, if a man kills another man accidently, he is not to be executed (Numbers 35:13-28). There is a clear distinction Biblically between willful decision and unintentional accidents. Abortion is an intentional decision and not an accidental ending of life; therefore, Mr. Carpenter's use of Exodus 21:22-24 does not add to the abortion debate.

Finally, I would like to respond to Mr. Carpenter’s slapstick treatment of Genesis 38, though the passage has no relation to the issue of abortion. Onan's selfish sin illustrates a lack of care for the helpless. In those days, society provided for widows through their children. If a man died leaving his wife childless, his brother would marry her and give her children (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Onan shrugged his responsibility towards his sister-in-law. This passage is one of many in which we see God’s immense concern with the helpless in society (Deuteronomy 10:18, 14:29, 24:17; Luke 18:16; James 1:27, to name a few more).

I encourage readers to view Christianity through a different lens. Christians are not anti-abortion or even pro-life. Christians are pro-Gospel. The Gospel (Good News) started by our leader, Jesus Christ, is a message that is far more holistic and uplifting than one specific issue. Our message is one of gracious love and eager forgiveness, not hateful condemnation. Christians are not interested in changing lawbooks, but hearts. We are not interested in exerting power over those outside faith; we are eager to introduce Divine power to those outside faith. We see God doing that one heart and mind at a time.

A Rebuttal to "Biblical Rule on Abortion is Confusing"

2011-06-22T09:12:00.003-04:00

On the Father's Day edition of the Morning Call, columnist Paul Carpenter wrote an editorial entitled "Biblical Rule on Abortion is Confusing." My fear is not the content of the column, but rather that readers glance over the headlines and see "Bible" and "Confusing", cementing further their rationale for never picking up the Book.

Here is a link to the original article.

Below is my response

A Rebuttal of Paul Carpenter's "Biblical rule on abortion is confusing"
by Timothy Schmoyer
June 22, 2011

I am writing in response to Paul Carpenter's editorial entitled "Biblical rule on abortion is confusing" published in the Morning Call on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Mr. Carpenter attempts to make the case that the Bible is vague on abortion. I would like to share the meaning of the Biblical passages he chose.

Let me first say that I whole-heartedly agree with Mr. Carpenter's main point when he writes "I [decry] efforts to impose religious dogma on others by force" and later "no law governing abortion or anything else should ever be enacted just because of a narrow ideological doctrine." As a Christian pastor, I agree 100% with these statements. While those inside the faith gladly obey what God teaches them, sincere Christians have always insisted that obedience comes from what God does in one's heart, and not by what one man forces on another by the sword. This is the fundamental of the American experiment, which is birthed out of Christians pursuing a land of liberty where they could believe, live, and govern as they understood Scripture.

While I concede to the greater argument, Mr. Carpenter spends much time inaccurately portraying the teachings of the Bible. He goes to some lengths to point out what the Bible does and does not say about abortion, while admitting he is no Bible scholar. I, however, am a Biblical scholar and would like to bring accurate interpretation to the attention of the reader.

The Biblical case is that "personhood" begins at conception. Mr. Carpenter questions that assumption using Genesis 2:7 which says "God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and in this way man became a living being." Certainly the first man, Adam, was not alive until God breathed life into him. Should we say by this text that no one is alive until they breathe on their own? Certainly we can agree that Adam's life is not the normal way life is brought into the world. More helpful texts as to the question of when life begins are Psalm 139 and Psalm 51. As David considers God's immense devotion to humankind, he writes in Psalm 139:13-15, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Jews and Christians believe that God formed us and planned our days while each one of us were still in the womb. Later in David's confession of sin before God, he declares in Psalm 51:5 "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." This text shows that we are spiritual beings while still in the womb. The seriousness of how we treat the womb is in the fact that each one of us began life in a state of sinfulness and we are in need of forgiveness from the time we are only a sperm and egg in union. How can it be that I am both fearfully and wonderfully made AND AT THE SAME TIME sinful since conception? The answer lies in a God of love who wants to free us, rescue us, restore us, and do more with us than we could do alone. Religious people take abortion seriously because we long to see what a God of Redemption could do in that life if only it'd be given a chance to continue living.

The second text Mr. Carpenter chooses to point his readers to is Deuteronomy 12:23 which warns against drinking animal blood as pagan worship, since "life is in the blood". Turning to human development in the womb, circulation typical begins by six weeks and the average pregnancy is discovered between 5-7 weeks. Can we say that to kill a unborn human before it has blood is okay since "life is in the blood"? What a farce we make the whole debate by talking this way! When God wants us to know something, He says it plainly. We shouldn't take a verse about animal blood and make any application to when human life begins.

The third text Mr. Carpenter references is Exodus 21:22-24 where Moses is giving case law for personal injury. If two people are fighting and one accidently strikes a bystanding pregnant woman and the pregnancy is lost, there must be restitution. Notice the accidental aspect to the passage. In Old Testament case law, if a man kills another man accidently, he is not to be executed (Numbers 35:13-28). There is a clear distinction Biblically between willful decision and unintentional accidents. Abortion is an intentional decision and not an accidental ending of life, therefore Mr. Carpenter's Exodus 21:22-24 has nothing to add to the abortion debate.

The final text, from Genesis 38, has no relation to the issue of abortion, however I would like to respond to Mr. Carpenter's slapstick treatment of it. The event of Onan's selfish sin is one that illustrates a lack of care for the helpless. In those ancient days, society provided for widows through their children. If however a man left his wife childless, it was his brother who would marry her and give her children (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Onan shrugged his responsibility towards his sister-in-law. God is immensely concerned with the helpless in society: the widow, the orphan, the alien, the slave (Deuteronomy 10:18, 14:29, 24:17, 27:19). Jesus reached out to the fringes of society: the tax-collectors, prostitutes, drunkards, 'undesirable' races. To the 'annoying' children, He gladly said "do not keep the little children from coming to Me" (Luke 18:16). James writes that "pure and undefiled religion is ... to look after orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27).

In conclusion, I want to encourage readers to view Christianity through a different lens. Christians are not anti-abortion. Christians are not even pro-life. Christians are pro-Gospel. The Gospel (Good News) started by our leader, Jesus Christ, is a message that is far more holistic and uplifting than the specific issue of abortion. Our message is one of gracious love and eager forgiveness, not hateful condemnation. Christians are not interested in changing lawbooks, but hearts. We are not interested in exerting power over those outside faith; rather we are eager to introduce divine power into those outside faith. We see God doing that one heart and mind at a time.

Feel free to post any comments you have below.

Core Challenge Videos

2011-03-28T09:35:00.001-04:00

I wanted to make a post that shows all the videos in one spot. As I upload more content, the Vimeo Widget will automatically add them to this blog post. Enjoy!

Core Challenge - Session Four

2011-03-20T17:54:00.006-04:00

Designing Church to Disciple Post-Moderns

Introduction

In this session, we ask how we can disciple Post-Moderns within our churches.

Video

Notes

Powerpoint Download

Session 4 Powerpoint

Core Challenge - Session Three

2011-03-20T17:42:00.004-04:00

Reaching Post-Moderns with the Truth in Love

Introduction

In this session, we talk about the invitation God gives to step out from the Christian sub-culture and enter the Post-Modern culture in order to share the Gospel to Post-Moderns.

Video

session3 from Bethany BFC on Vimeo.

Notes

Apologetics - Session 3

Powerpoint Download

Session 3 Powerpoint

Core Challenge - Session Two

2011-03-20T17:35:00.004-04:00

The Power of the Gospel in the Hearts of Post-Moderns

Introduction

In this session, we take courage from the Word of God that people really can be changed by the power of Jesus. Post-Moderns might not believe that there is truth or certainty, but God has the power to prove His ways to them.

Video

session2 from Bethany BFC on Vimeo.

Notes

Apologetics - Session 2

Powerpoint Download

Session 2 Powerpoint

Core Challenge - Session One

2011-03-20T17:26:00.005-04:00

What is Post-Modernism?

Introduction

In this session, we introduce the philosophy of Post-Modernism and trace the history of philosophical development that led to the creation of Post-Modern thought.

Video

to be uploaded...

Notes

Apologetics - Session 1

Powerpoint Download

Session 1 Powerpoint

Videocast #2 - "He Doesn't Wish Any to Perish"

2011-02-02T11:21:00.002-05:00

From 2 Peter 3:9 which we looked at in Morning Worship, Sunday, January 23, 2011. We had time then to look at the practical emphasis of the verse. In this video, we want to unpack the theological implications of the verse. We'll pull in other verses as we do so. WARNING: please watch this when you have time to devote full attention to the issues raised, as they are deep and potentially unsettling.

Jesus' Consuming Passion is Our Holiness - Video Blog

2011-01-20T20:38:00.002-05:00

So I finally am posting this. I recorded it last Thursday (1/13/11). Post your feedback below.

Warnings of Saul's Sins

2010-06-09T10:45:00.006-04:00

I wanted to enumerate in writing some of the real lessons for our lives from the life of King Saul. We had little time on Sunday (June 6, 2010) to get in to the comparisons of Daul and David and the consequences for their sins. Here are some of my thoughts.

Here is the text and then my thoughts

1 Samuel 13:7-14

Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. "What have you done?" asked Samuel. Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering." "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." read all 1 Samuel 13

Warning 1: Sin Has Temporal Consequences

Saul's sin of sacrificing the burnt offering impulsively cost him the legacy of his throne. He would go on to have a long reign of forty years, but no descendant would inherit his throne. We talked on Sunday about those who wish to use this text to insinuate that one can truly have salvation and then have it taken away because of their arrogant sin. That sort of interpretive work is sloppy and undistinguishing. Can we not see the obvious, that God removed his kingdom, not his salvation? To parablize this or any narrative is certainly creative, but not making distinctions that are clear as day. For when King David after Saul sins in more heinous ways than Saul, he repents of his adultery and murder in Psalm 51. He prays "so not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. " (v11) David had witnessed firt-hand the temporal consequences of Saul's sin. How God had taken His Spirit away from Saul and Saul was no longer gifted to administer well like he was while under the Spirit's enabling. David did not want to experience the same removal of God's enabling power in his kingly activity. Can we say the same? God will not remove His salvation, but can we lose His divine enablement? Can we lose our witness due to our sin? Can we lose the ability to shape and impact this world for His kingdom's sake? I believe the answers to all these questions is yes. We can be so stubborn through our continued or high-handed sin that God divests us of His support in our ministry endeavors or in our secular endeavors. He has not removed our salvation, but our ministry. He has removed our lampstand since we have blown out our lamps.

Warning 2: Restoration is Conditional Based on One's Response to His Sin

There is hope for the believer in Saul's predicament: repent. Turn again your attention and affection back to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. He will again soften that hardened and stubborn heart. He can again reuse that pot that He has reshaped. It may be a different gift than the one you once had. It may be in a different geographic area or in a different ministry area. It may be to a different culture or to a different denomination. God is looking for a man after His own heart, for a person who is pliable, moldable, teachable, humble, who is quick to come to Him, quick to hear from Him, quick to say yes, quick to repent from sin when he has failed. This is what set David apart from Saul. We will see this more clearly in Morning Worship on Sunday, June 13.

Anyway, hope that helps to deepen your understanding of Saul's sin and the consequences thereof. May God bless you as you walk this life with Him!

God Became Man

2009-12-02T19:06:00.004-05:00

And the Word became flesh,
and dwelt among us,
and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father,
full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

I was presented this morning with the powerful reality of the Incarnation of God. Incarnation is the teaching that God became a man. This teaching is unique to Christianity. No other faith has the audacity to present God as so humble. Many men have made themselves out to be gods, but no other god has made himself out to be man. This unique and holy teaching is explained by J.I. Packer in his unriveled book, Knowing God. He writes:

"In the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the profoundest and most unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation resides. "THE WORD BECAME
FLESH" (John 1:14). God became man; the divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. And there was no illusion or deception in this: the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it the more staggering it gets. The mystery of the incarnation is unfathomable."

What immense humility our Almighty God has! The deep swallowing of pride that the omnipotent would be taught to speak! The immense demonstration of love that He would allow Himself to be helpless so that ultimately He could help the helpless to become children of God!

During this busy holy season, take time to reflect on why we busy ourselves. The cliche is that Jesus is the reason for the season. But take time to ponder what He did in becoming one of us. Take time to ponder why He would stoop so low. And praise Him as you do so!

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

2009-11-09T11:35:00.004-05:00

People crave relationship. God infused this desire into our very being. In trinitarian community, God made man and after fashioning Adam in His own image, and this was the first creation that wasn't good. Remember after each day... God said "it is good". But when He made man, He said "it is not good for man to be alone." So God set out to find man a suitable helper. No creature He had made was adaquate to be Adam's partner, so God made Eve. While there is immense and romantic imagery we could observe about husband and wife, we want to simply observe that humans need relationship. We need relationships of varying kinds (Romance, friendship, co-workers, family). It is not good for man to be alone.

Enter our society's answer to this craving. In a culture where good fences make good neighbors and where we do not know the name of the family across the street, we create spaces for friends to gather. Remember the theme song to the late, great tv show Cheers? "You wanna go where everybody know your name." Hopefully it isnt a bar for you, but can you think of a place where you and your friends gather to just be together. I'm a coffegeek and for my ilk, the coffeeshop is the place where friends gather. Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks wants his shops to that special gathering spot for friends all around the world. He calls it what many marketers call it, The Third Place. The third place is that spot aside from home and work where you spend your time gathering. Ray Oldenburg coined the phrase and this is how he describes The Third Place. It is "a generic designation for a great variety of public places that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work." (Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place. 1999. p.16.) These are secular guys expressing the Christian value of community.

So why not the church? Can the church be the Third Place for people craving community? I think so. I believe that the Church merges all the loftiest hungers of the human spirit. Think of it: the Church experience merges relationship, celebration, self-betterment, and spirituality all in one place. People look for these elements to life in a variety of other pursuits but they are all waiting in the one place so many people don't want to look.

As you experience Bethany, ask yourself how you can make it your Third Place. Ask yourself how you can make it someone elses's Third Place. As we find fulfillment within Christian community, let us give God the glory for His redeeming work of making His Church a family!

Evaluate!

2009-11-05T11:01:00.003-05:00

It's Time to Review

At Bethany, our elders have committed to annually reviewing the effectiveness of our ministries. We believe that God wants our very best, the first-fruit of our labor. So we want to give Him our all, our best, a church that is the most effective that it can be. So we do our best, then we evaluate. We are using "The Eight Systems of the Church" model created by Church Leader Insights as a starting place for our church-wide review. At next week's meeting, we begin with the "Weekend Service" system.

Reviewing the "Weekend Service" System

We call our weekend service "Sunday Morning Worship Gathering". What happens from 10:30am-12:00pm every Sunday?

We praise the Triune God (Father, Son, Spirit).
We examine His Word for direction in life.
We make our gifts to His work, the Church.
We greet one another and encourage each other for godly living.
We read His Word publicly.

Some Questions

Toward You

How meaningful is this gathering to your faith and walk?
Do we motivate you for godliness?
Do we mobilize and equip you for your areas of ministry service?
Do we stir your passions toward God?
Do we do these things graciously or strictly?

Toward God

Is the service rigidly structured or a free-flowing expression of our gratitude toward God?
Is God blessed by our expressions of thanks?
Is He honored by our use of His Word?

Some Links that We are Using in Our Evaluation

Church Systems Report v2.0 by Church Leader Insights
System #1- The Weekend Service by Church Leader Insights
Evaluating Your Sunday Service part 3 by Lean Churches
Evaluating the Ministry by Aubrey Malphurs

Grow!

2009-09-30T19:04:00.002-04:00

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:14

In Sunday Morning Worship, we are reading thru Philippians together. We just came across the middle of chapter three this past Sunday, where Paul resolves for himself and encoucourages his readers to deepen their faith. In my last post, I mentioned a scene from Shawshank Redemption where a main character, Red, tells the lead character, Andy, to "get busy living or get busy dying."

A similar statement is true in our faith, we are either growing or backsliding. We need to be sensitive to what the Spirit is trying to do in our souls. What does He want to teach you? Where does He want to stretch you? Where has He been challenging you and where has He been chastising you?

God created us to mature. Look at our biology. There is a period in utero where we are safe and incubated. Then we are born and begin to unpack and grow. I just had a baby, or rather, my wife did. We just had our fourth child. In the womb, limbs are all folded up and the body is relatively scrawny. Now four weeks later, her legs and arms stretch out straight and she is packing on the pounds as she eats and grows. Biology shows us that we are created to mature. And the same is true in spiritual ways.

We begin this faith in a simple, stripped down way. Jesus is God. He loves me and died to pay the punishment for my sin. I need Him in my life. As we mature, we learn more about Him. As we mature, we use what we learn to make good, godly decisions. As we mature, we love Him more as we know Him more completely.

Press on toward that goal! Deepen your faith!

Get Busy Living

2009-09-11T16:22:00.003-04:00

One of the most powerful quotes from a great movie, Shawshank Redemption, is when Red was talking to Andy, who was in the dregs of depression. He said "Get busy living, or get busy dying." I think that is an interesting one-liner to reflect on this Patriot's Day, 2009.

It was eight years ago, in the nine o'clock hour of the morning that four planes crashed as this nation was attacked by Islamic extremist terrorists. In result, over 3,000 American civilians were murdered and our nation declared war on terror.

My parents never forgot where they were when JFK was shot back in the 1960's. I doubt we will never forget where we were on 9/11/2001. I was a Senior at Philadelphia Biblical University and was sitting in Church Planting class. One student walked in late and announced that a plane had crashed in NYC, but none of us took it as seriously as we would later that day. As news spread of the extent of the attacks, we moved from shrugging it off to shock and emptiness. Many of us moved from shock to anger in the days to come. As I graduated from college, I got more interested in news and politics and national security. I began listening to talk radio. Eight years have passed and I have come to the realization that its all vanity and chasing after wind.

I have been called by Jesus Himself to serve His Church and to bear His Name to the world. To spend time in any other pursuit is a waste of the time God has granted me. It all started while I was in church planting class... the pursuit of nurturing a community of faith and seeing the Spirit bless a redeemed group of people. I've spent too long being side-tracked with private interests. Too long on politics and the give-and-take in Washington. Let's face it: Washington will change lives, but it will never change hearts. It will change our circumstances, but will not breath life into that which is spiritually dead. The war on terror-tactics needs to be fought and perhaps it is a genuine calling-by-God for some. But I have recently realized that calling and the daily attention I have given to it is not what God has called me to.

So I rededicate myself today to the pursuit of my calling: to water, to plant, to nurture in God's vineyard... to share His grace in a dark world... to equip and serve His people, the Church. I'm going to get busy living! Today is the first new day of a full life of ministry and service.

To God be the glory!

Back to Work

2009-09-11T16:15:00.003-04:00

okay, okay, okay... so I haven't blogged in over a year. It has been insanely busy for me and I apologize. So enough with it already, I'm back to work.

I think that it is important for pastors to blog. I think we shouldn't be online 40 hours a week... its not our job to comb the internet for ideas to rap about. But I think we have a powerful tool here to talk with our people, the Church-at-large, and the general community about Jesus, culture, and godly living.

So I'm not going to update 25 times a day. I'm not going to spend every waking moment delving the bowels of the internet for content on this blog. But I will sort-of journal my thoughts about missional life, church dynamics, and Jesus' revolutionary message of grace and forgiveness.

With all that said, it's back to work!

Inviting People to Receive Jesus

2008-08-14T22:07:00.011-04:00

"We beg you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God!"

- 2 Corinthians 5:20

When Paul writes "beg" this is not a request or a invitation. Rather it is an imploring, a pleading, a passion-filled & anxious kind of asking. Let us never forget that we are on a mission. How much hard work goes into our Gospel messages? The Christian life is the greatest adventure in all of human history. Let us awake to our calling! Let us pour our hearts and sweat and tears and prayers into God's harvest! Jesus said "Look! the fields are ready for harvest." Are we, like Paul, living with an attitude of eagerness and busy-ness? Are we imploring people to receive the gift of friendship with God?

The Theological Side of Being Saved

It is important when we talk about someone receiving Jesus that we understand what the Bible teaches about how someone actually becomes born again. This is how the BFC read the Bible
with regard to being saved:

Article 12 - Salvation
12-1. Salvation is the work of God in which He reconciles fallen men to Himself, ultimately removes the consequences of the curse, and bestows upon His redeemed Creation the riches of His grace, all to His glory.

12-2. Salvation is offered in the gospel to all men and is accomplished in all the elect. It is received by grace through faith and the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit, apart from works or human merit. Salvation centers in a person, Jesus Christ, and receiving Him includes the remission of sins on the grounds of His shed blood on the cross, the imputation of His perfect righteousness, the reception of the Holy Spirit, and the impartation of eternal life.

It is pretty clear in these two paragraphs that we believe and teach that it is God who saves men and women, boys and girls. The Bible teaches us that He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). But notice the second sentence of BFC Article 12-2... how is this salvation received? "It is received by grace through faith and the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit." Yes God saves us. When He saves us, He awakens our spiritually dead soul (Ephesians 2:1,4-5) using His Spirit. When He awakens our soul we are born again and He enables us to call on Jesus to forgive our sin and to be our Lord and Savior. We invite and beg people to be saved knowing that it will be God at work in the inner man. We invite them to call out for Him to save them, knowing that as God moves in their heart, He will lead them to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. If they never call on the name of the Lord, they will not be saved (Romans 10:9-10). This may seem like a lot of high-falutin' ideas, but it is important to see what the Scripture teaches about how someone becomes saved and the relationship between receiving and becoming saved.

Tim Bertolet has a great article on the balance of theology and evangelism here

The Practical Side of Being Saved

Now that we have discussed some of the theological realm, let's talk brass tacks... let's talk practically. Yes, only God can save. He initiates and He orchestrates the entire process. But do not think for am moment that we are off the hook.

First, do not think that the sinner is off the hook for his sin. Paul engages this in Romans 9:19-20. Someone asked "How can God still condemn for who can resist His will" Essentially saying that if only God can save, why should anyone be damned for their sin since they cannot change His mind about who He saves and who He won't save. This is what 90% of Christians say every time they insist that it is me who initiates my salvation. They reject the Scripture, but worse they reject God: the author and finisher of our faith; unknowingly, to be sure, but sadly, they do, for their objection to this truth is right here in the text for anyone to read. No one is off the hook even though only by God's grace someone can be saved.

Secondly, no one is off the hook to be a witness for Jesus. The Scripture is clear in Romans 10:14-15. "How will they call on the Lord unless they believe? Believe unless they hear? Hear unless preached to? Preached to unless someone is sent?" We have been sent. Sadly too many of us don't live like we're sent! In this week's BFC Board of Missions Email, Jack Lasater wrote "the believer who has made this effort should feel that he has pleased God just as much as the person who has discovered the convicted heart ready to trust Christ." But even in our opening verse, 2 Corinthians 5:20, we see the call to be message-carriers.

Wrap-Up

"We implore you!" Let us invite people to Jesus! Let us call people to receive His Good News! Let's pray with people to follow Him!

Bow Your Head to the Mission Story (There is Work to Be Done)

2008-07-31T19:30:00.004-04:00

Sorry

I haven't actually posted in a while because I've been busy. I hope that it has been not just busy-ness, but better, about the Father's business. So I'm sorry. Lots has been floating around my head recently with the mission of the church. I think slowly and surely, our church is lowering her sails into the wind and about to go on a great adventure of God's making.

My Current Adventure

This week's adventure has been our three 5-Day Clubs hosted at three homes and run by CEF missionaries. CEF is Child Evangelism Fellowship; they minister to kids in a variety of venues. In this venue, our church invites children from a neighborhood to attend an evangelistic meeting in the backyard of one of our families. We have had a total of 31 kids in the three neighborhoods. The overwhelming majority of these kids have little to no exposure to Jesus and His Good News. Thank you Lord for bringing the kids to these events! Many have received Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Intro to a Great Song

I've been thinking lots about our mission the past two months. I am ashamed of how casually I have taken my personal outreach mission. Yes I preach the Word in season and out of season. But this is largely to the believers at my church. This is less than half of the great commission. As God has been burdening me with all this recently... I came across a song by Steve Delepoulos "There Is Work to Be Done". All I can do is weep. It is so good. It is so passionate about our job. It is honest about our distractedness but at the same time compelling to get out there.

Lyrics

She was older
Lost connection
Lost that light above her head in all directions
But she climbed that mountain
And cried aloud like a marching drum
Sound your horns and heed your calling

There is work to be done
There is work to be done
We’re all just dust to glory
There is work to be done
There is work to be done
Bow your head to the mission story

He couldn’t see it
But he heard it
She saw him struggling with the symbols
So she wrote it down

She looked right through him
And saw the shadows of the risen Son
Cast your nets unto the ocean

There is work to be done
There is work to be done
We’re all just dust to glory
There is work to be done
There is work to be done
Bow your head to the mission story

I remember when I borrowed all my healing from a stranger
And I recall when I reached to the ocean like a soldier
And the burning sun just made me colder
And the hollow moon just made me older
So I reached out of my body and the stars became a story
And I bowed my head in glory
As the story ends in One

Filling Up Christ's Afflictions - Col. 1:24

2008-06-03T17:12:00.006-04:00

Colossians 1:24

Greek

νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία

(Click on a word above to have Zack Hubert at Re:Greek parse it for you)

Greek Translation
Now I rejoice in the sufferings for your sake and I fill up the deficit of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh for the sake of His body, which is the Church.

NIV
Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the Church.

Accurately obscures the sufferings at the beginning of the verse. Later, Paul fills it up in his body, so most likely this first sufferings does refer to himself, but NIV rightly keeps it the way he wrote it. The “what is still lacking” is bad not only because the still isn’t there in Greek, but also because Paul is filling in the gap presently, so it no longer is still lacking… Paul is filling it. Although pathemasin at the beginning and thlipseon in the middle can both be translated “afflictions,” the NIV did good to translate them differently to keep the distinction between Paul’s sufferings and Christ’s afflictions… that they are separate trials in intensity and in affect.

NASB
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the Church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Interprets the sufferings as mine. Not at all sure where NASB gets the “in my flesh I do my share.” This is a rare case in which NASB does some inappropriate interpretive work. Major word order problem bringing the “in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the Church” to the middle rather than keeping it at the end as it is in the Greek. Diddo NIV in keeping “sufferings” and “afflictions” distinct.

KJV
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the Church:

Thoroughly unreadable in the 21st century. Diddo NASB: interprets the sufferings as mine. Granted we are separate by 400 years, but it sounds in 21st century English like KJV is saying Paul’s sufferings are behind Christ’s afflictions. That is to say, his don’t measure up to His. But this is not what the Greek says. The Greeks says “I supply the deficiencies of Christ’s afflictions.” Consequently this "behind Christ's" is what Tyndale (1534) translated it as. Tyndale's verse 24 is "Now joy I in my sufferings which I suffer for you, and fulfil that which is behind of the passions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the congregation." He got the distinguishing of Paul's and Christ's afflictions wrong where he translates both as "passions." I like what Tyndale wrote in commentary. "Passions or sufferings of Christ: is the passions which we must suffer for His sake. For we have professed and are appointed to suffer with Christ. John 20, as My Father sent Me, so send I you." That we don't suffer FOR Him, but we suffer WITH Him. Consequently, Wycliffe (1388) got it right and I will add that below...

Wycliffe (1388)
And now I have joy in passion for you, and I fill those things that fail of the passions of Christ in my flesh for His body, which is the Church."

He got the passion wrong in making both sufferings and afflictions the same English word. Making two English words distinguishes them just as Paul distinguished them in Greek even though they have the same range of meanings. And now I wonder if it is not Christ's afflictions on Calvary that are deficient, but His afflictions in my body. That is to say, Christ is suffering in my body as I am wounded for His Name's sake. But His suffering is not yet complete... His plan is that I suffer more and that He in me suffer more. The Wycliffe translation puts more likeliness in this than the other English translations. I suppose the possibility is there in the Greek. See my Greek translation at the top.

ESV
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the Church.

Diddo NASB and KJV: interprets the sufferings as mine. Word order issue, moving “in my flesh” to the front of the phrase. Overall, pretty good translation. Diddo NIV, NASB, and KJV distinguishing “sufferings” from “afflictions.”

NLT
I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ’s sufferings for His body, the Church.

The temporality of the rejoicing is not in the Greek, as it is in James 1:2 (hotan, whenever). “I suffer” in the Greek is a noun, not a verb… should be “in the sufferings” rather than “when I suffer.” Puts “in my body” with “the sufferings” rather than with the “I am completing” as it is in the Greek. Gets the meaning pretty good with “I am completing what remains of Christ’s sufferings for His body.” That is, the thrust of Paul’s comment is to say Christ is in me, ministering to His Church through me. As he got done saying in the previous section v13-22, that Christ is the first place, He wins everything, He is responsible for all good. And then anticipates well what Paul will say in v27 that the mystery is “Christ in me” and in v29 “His power working mightily in me.” This is the least possibly-arrogant of the major translations. Paul wasn’t really bragging in the Greek, but in English you could (and you’d be wrong) accuse him of boastful pride. NLT captures best the heart of his comment. Kudos!

See my comments on the whole section of 1:23-29 here.

An Anthem Passage for the Missional Church

2008-06-02T21:42:00.007-04:00

Colossians 1:23-29 was the passage we looked at this past Sunday night. The title of my message was On Mission with Jesus. (Audio and Notes)

There are many passages that herald the Missional Church movement. This one falls somewhere are the top of that list. Listen to the words of Paul:

"23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly )established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. 25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me."

Here we see the assignment of our mission (v23b), the extent of our mission (v24), and the enabling of our mission (v27b, 29).

I. The Assignment of Our Mission (v23b)

How far must the message of Jesus go? To the whole world. Paul said it had been proclaimed to all creation under heaven. Elsewhere, he says he completed the task of preaching to all the world. To Timothy, he says in 2 Tim 4, that "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." What are we doing to get the Word out to the rest of creation? As God said of David when he was buried "David, having served God's purpose in his generation, was buried with his fathers" (Acts 13:36).

II. The Extent of Our Mission (v24)

The group last night had lots of curiosity about the seeming audaciousness of Paul's claims in verse 24. That Paul filled up what was lacking in Christ's afflictions. What is lacking in Christ's sacrificial death? Is the messenger part of the salvation? There are a lot of possible interpretations but the best is that Jesus suffered to accomplish our redemption, but the Christian suffers to take the message of that redemption to particular believers. Not that we all suffer, but it is the willingness to do whatever it takes for His good news to get out.

See my translation work on this verse here

III. The Enablement for Our Mission (v27b, 29)

How are we able to be part of Jesus' mission? How are we adequate for this high calling? The answer is in these two verses. Christ is in us. How radical that Christ is in His believers. Campus Crusade gets picked on for the diagrams, but we DO need to see that Jesus is on the throne of our hearts... that He is the LORD of our lives. Then he wraps up the section with this: "I strive according to His power, which mightily works in me." Are we able to say that the ability we have to impact our community is in His power rather than in our own? Too often, I think, we do ministry from our own thoughts, ways, power, etc.

Wrap-Up

So let's use this text within the Missional conversation. Let us get the job done in presenting every man woman boy and girl complete in Christ. Let us expend ourselves for His sake and join Him in His mission to this world. Let us do all this in His strength and not in our own.

The Relevant Church

2008-04-17T09:36:00.003-04:00

a re-review of "The Relevant Church: A New Vision For Communities Of Faith" by various authors.

I've had this book for a while, but I just recently picked it up again and read from a few selections. Essentially, each chapter is written by people in the trenches doing ministry in unique ways. It is not so much the methodology that is unique as it is the philosophical underpinnings (which drive methodlogy) that makes this book and the approaches in it a challenging, refreshing, essential tool in the transitioning society we find ourselves in.

I'd like to interact in this post with a paragraph in the chapter written by Dustin Bagby, a pastor at Mosaic in Manhattan, NY. He writes:

Unfortunately, many people who have grown up in church were taught to avoid culture at all costs. They were taught that we need to form an enviornment
in which to live and then invite other people to join. the problem is that the people who we are inviting to join are not coming. Now it is time to go 'out there' and meet them. I find that most of Jesus; teachings are about going and harvesting. I hear very little about sitting back at an event and hoping people who are not followers will attend. Jesus always went to where the people in need were.

Week after week, we pray for God to bring visitors to our church and that rarely happens. The time is over for churches to expect the unchurched to pop in to find God. They are finding what they think is meaning elsewhere. Certainly, what they are finding will not satisfy long because only Jesus can fill their deepest longings. But too many generations have separated the lost from churches. It was subtle in the beginning... devoted Christians would take kids to church, but those kids didn't find it relevant so they bowed out until those kids had kids of their own. Then when they had kids, they took their kids to Sunday School and maybe morning worship. Then that new crop of kids bowed out with mom and dad when they were too old for Sunday School to hold their affections. By the time those kids had kids of their own, maybe they'd drop off the new generation of kids at Sunday school or maybe grandparents would take the grandkids. What we face now is that twenty-somethings and thirtysomethings are having kids but never consider church as any kind of option because the fact is, they never went themselves as kids. Higher and higher percentages of the younger two generations have little or no church experience.

And so when we today within the church pray for people to come and wonder why our prayers go unanswered, God is conversely wondering (Antrhopomorphism... God can't wonder, He is omniscient) how long it will take for us to figure out that the lost are just that: LOST. They can't find us, they don't know that they need us, it isn't they reject Jesus but rather that they've never heard there was a Jesus.

What Bothers You in God's Word?

2008-04-12T23:09:00.002-04:00

Intro

In Morning Worship this Sunday (4/13/2008), we talked about things in the Word that we don't get, things that are hard to accept. The central character trait that God wants us to build in life is that of faith. Often, Jesus’ followers exhibit faith and still have doubts, confusions, misgivings. We see this in the Gospels when the man with a sick daughter cries “Jesus, I believe, help my unbelief.” We see this after Jesus was raised from the dead and shows Himself to the Eleven when we read “when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some were doubtful.” We see this in our lives when we read some difficult saying and ask the question “does He really mean that?” or say to ourselves “no, He must mean something else, it can’t mean that!” I know of a dear faithful woman that had read about God’s choice of some to be saved from sin and not others. She read in Romans 9:13 “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated.” Her response was to accept the truth of God’s election. However, she also reacted to that verse by saying “I hate that!” Granted, that verse doesn’t beat around the bush on the matter, nor is it very sensitive. But it is what it is and we need to come to grips with our misgivings and doubts and begin to believe and do what God has revealed to mankind in His holy Word, the Bible. So buckle up, it’s going to be a fun, honest, open, frank discussion of specific concepts that bother us in God’s Word.

Things We Couldn't Get To

You write "Hosea – his life was tragic for an object lesson!"
Very interesting observation. Hosea was directed by God to do some very hard things. I don't want to brush over that. Yes, God wanted to teach a lesson to His people thru this one man's experiences. Yes, Hosea had a very difficult life for the purpose of an object lesson. Why would God USE someone like that? Writing about the years of wandering in the wilderness, Paul tells us that "these things were written for our instruction" and later "these things happened for our instruction" (1 Corinthians 10). That later phrase is very interesting. It is useful to see all of human history as redemptive history and instructive to our generation's struggles. It was true of Hosea, it was true of the exodus Jews, it is true for all history. The saying goes "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" and this saying is shown in the 1 Cor 10 passage. Is it fair or nice of God to do this to poor Hosea? Remember the notion we did present in the morning message, God is the conductor of the orchestra, He ordains it all to happen the way He wants. We do not answer back to the potter. Read Isaiah 45 and Romans 9 on this idea.

You wrote "Violence in Jerusalem"
I think that this respondent was referring to modern violence in the city of Jerusalem... the nation of Israel in its struggle with Palestinian terrorists. Yet this is a historic struggle between God's chosen people (Israel) and the enemies of God. All throughout the Old Testament, there were wars between these groups. Why can't people get over it? Why when the New Testament, in particular, invites us into a worldview of peace can't the world be at peace? How can the angels announce on the first Christmas "hosanna to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will to men with whom God is pleased" when Jesus didn't bring peace to this world? That is to say, Jesus incarnated Himself yet there are still wars. There isn't a good answer to this. All I can say is that Jesus has brought peace to the souls of His people. While war and aggression seem to be ever-abiding and while Christians debate over their level of participation in the affairs of civil government, the Christian is invited to be at peace with God. We were once rebels against Him, in enmity with Him, yet Christ made the peace between us when He killed our rebel spirit on the cross. That is some pretty Good News, as I see it.

...more to come...

A New Kind of Church

2008-04-07T19:08:00.003-04:00

All of this got started when the truth hit me like a ton of bricks: we really don't have a coffee shop in Dover. Yeah there's a Coffee Beanery at the food court in the mall, but that isnt a cafe. Yes there are Starbucks at at least two grocery stores in town, but those aren't cafes. There is a place at lawyer central but I haven't been there yet... I think its a deli, but I'll give it a try.

And then the self-pity kicked in... Smyrna has two on Main Street. Milford has two on Main Street. Our town is like double the size of those two towns... what is up? Matt B tells me there used to be one in Dover, so what is our problem?!? We don't drink coffee? Where can I sit with a laptop or a book or some paper and just read... write... talk with people?

So I started to dream. I came full circle to the realization that a coffee shop is not really economically viable. I read a guy on Slate that says to break even you'd have to sell $500 a day in coffee AND work it yourself full time along with your parttime help. He couldn't do it in Manhattan, I don't think I could do it in Dover. That is a mess of coffee to unload per day.

But it got me thinking about church. The first church met in the upper room of someone's house. Acts 1 tells us that 120 of Jesus' followers met continually awaiting the gift of the Spirit. They hadn't bought their own building. They probably weren't even renting, the owner just let them hang out up there. No, I'm not advocating house church, but I think it is worth having a discussion of rethinking church methodology.

I'm just throwing this idea out there: how would you do church on Loockerman Street? What would it feel like? Think upper room. Convert the apartments on the second floor of a storefront into one large room for congregational gatherings. You'd plug it as "the Upper Room." The main floor storefront would be a coffeeshop, bookstore, whatever. Obviously the symbiotic relationship would defray the expenses related to being in that district. Additionally, you'd have the name recognition of the store when telling people about worship gatherings. Most importantly of all to ask: What kind of people would come to that kind of church? Why would that kind of person NOT come to a "normal" church?

I'm not suggesting that we stop doing "normal" church, I'm floating the idea of doing this new kind of church in addition.

Tomorrow? No way! Down the road? Why not. Really, I'm just asking the question...

Careful Approach: a MetaNarrative Theme of the Old Testament

2008-03-29T10:43:00.009-04:00

Intro

I'm still decompressing from the busy Easter Season. We had intense set of seven services between Thursday (the night of Passover when Jesus was betrayed and arrested) and Easter Sunday (when Jesus rose from the dead). This post is some gleanings from the season as we compare and contrast the Old System with our New Covenant.

My Theory

In the Old Testament, God's people were initially free to approach God how they thought best but as they began to enter in careless, prideful ways, God gradually restricted the method by which they could enter into worshipful relationship. By contrast, in the New Testament, we can enter boldly before the throne of grace within the heavenly realm of God's presence. That our sin, although we need to existentially conquer it, no longer precludes us from intimate fellowship with God because Jesus has claimed entire victory over sin and death.

What in the OT Has Driven Me to This?

There are two Old Testament instances where we see God limiting free worship of Him. The people previously had freedom to worship how they thought best, but through sin God limited it.

Passover: Pre-Exodus to Post-Kadesh

The first instance that came to my mind during the Easter season, came during our observance of Jesus' Last Supper on Thursday night. Today, Jews do not eat lamb during Passover as Jesus did on the night He was betrayed. Why not? In Deuteronomy 16:5-6 Moses writes God's new way of doing Passover:

"You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which the LORD your God is giving you; but at the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt."

Whereas the previous incarnation of Passover (the original one in Egypt), Moses had instructed the people to kill the lamb themselves for their household (Exodus 12:21), now they had to go to the professional religious leaders in the capital and have it done for them rather than do it themselves. What happened between the exodus in Exodus 13 and the commands of Deuteronomy 16? Lots... the golden calf, the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea, the constant idolatry, the pinnacle of idolatry at Baal Peor. Within these forty years of wandering, the people proved incapable of approaching God righteously. As David wrote 500 years later, "who may ascend Your holy hill? He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3-4). They lost their freedom for using it to sin rather than to serve God and others. Certainly there are parallels for us. Paul writes "do not use your liberty as a license to sin, but rather to serve one another" (Gal 5:13).

Day of Atonement: God Limits the Approach

The other instance I see in the OT of this process is within the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur is a solemn day within the Jewish faith during the season of Fall. In 2008, it is October 21-22. So it has little to do with Easter. Jesus was crucified during the Passover Feast in Spring. But often, Christians associate the two events because of theological (not chronological) connections. The Day of Atonement is the one day in which the Jewish high priest can enter the Holy of Holies within the Temple and make intercession for the people. The Christian book of Hebrews connects this "once a year" principle with the once for all time sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The author (I think Paul, but the book never says) tells us that Jesus through His sacrifice entered the real Temple of God in heaven not the shadowly, earthly temple of the Jews which is a representation of the real temple of God in heaven. So there really is a theological connection between Jesus death on the cross and the Day of Atonement... read Hebrews. Anyway, I realized listening to a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll that the Day of Atonement regulations were instituted in reaction to (or at least connection with) the "strange fire" offered by Nadab and Abihu in the Holy of Holies. Their sinful worship was in Leviticus 10 and Yom Kippur regulations begin in Leviticus 16. But listen to 16:1-2

"Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died. The LORD said to Moses: 'Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.'"

So Day of Atonement is theologically a result of the sin of offering "strange fire." Haphazard worship was the reason for detailed regulations. Indeed as the author of Hebrews says "it is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (10:31). But the regulation came as a result of the sin. One might say "perhaps God orchestrated the narrative events to unfold as they did because He desired to institute the regulative principle of Jewish worship." And I would certainly agree... God does not react to our decisions, instead He has foreordained to great sweeping and the small, seemingly inconsequential events of human history to the praise of His glory. But while we say this, we need to observe quickly that while in the OT, the letter of the Law limited man in his sin to enter God's presence, conversely in the NT, the wonderful grace of Jesus liberates men freed from the consequences and guilt of sin (which they are still wrestling against) to enter boldly to worship a holy God.

Wrap-Up

We see in this comparison the multifaceted and grandiose glory of our God, a confusing, all-wise Person of love and justice. A God who reveals Himself with this enigma throughout the OT:

"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation" (Ex 34:6-7).

Forgiving, yet by no means clearing the guilty. In justice, keeping the faithful from access due to their faults. In grace, welcoming rebels into total access by declaring them righteous. What grace! What a change! Just as Paul declares to the Ephesians "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ!" (Eph 3:18)

Our Amazing God - Sermon Series Intro

2008-03-26T16:14:00.002-04:00

Intro

Over the next four weeks we will talk together about our amazing God. We've asked for your responses and here they are. I (Pastor Tim) am going to try to squeeze in all your responses during the sermons. Each week we will share your answers to one of four questions. To get you warmed up, here are your answers.

What Excites You about God?
3/30/2008, 11am

1. He was born again
2. The ways He brings people to Himself and the ways He works in the lives of His children to further His kingdom
3. Who He Is
4. His creation around me
5. The amazing things He provides us all
6. His love
7. His amazing grace
8. The creation of the world and everything in it
9. Everything
10. He cares for us
11. How He provides needs in unexpected ways
12. That He loved us to die for us

What Baffles You about God?
4/6/2008, 11am

1. That He who was perfect died for us un-perfect people
2. His idea of picking Israel. Israel’s relation to the Church
3. God could have made it so this world would be without sin forever, why didn’t He?
4. There isn’t much that baffles me
5. The grace of God for forgiveness
6. That He could love us so much
7. I’m baffled that children are allowed to suffer. You cant turn on the TV or read any kind of news without hearing about how a child was abused, starved, or forgotten. I will never understand that.
8. How God can let bad things happen to good people. Although I know in my heart he has His reasons.
9. Why God continues to love, guide, and bless me in spite of me.
10. How God Himself could come to earth in the form of a human and die for me.
12. How did Jesus get power?

What Bothers You in His Word?
4/13/2008, 11am

1. Not having a lot of friends
2. Sin seems to be running rampant in the world. Why people seem to be repelled by God’s plan of salvation and His love.
3. That I don’t understand it all.
4. All the different wars and fighting of different religions. Wouldn’t it be nice if God descended down from heaven and said to the whole world this is what I need from you all and this is the proper religion.
5. Implications that women are second class to men
6. Violence (Jerusalem)
7. If everyone believes in a God of peace, why is there so much wrong
8. That we have no idea when He will return. How bad does it have to get before He comes. He said it will be soon but it has been 2000 years
9. Hosea – his life was tragic for an object lesson!
10. Continual use of sexual language to describe intimacy with God
11. That the wages of sin is death

What Renews You about God?
4/27/2008, 11am

1. That He will forgive us when we sin, if we ask Him
2. His unchanging love and unending forgiveness.
3. He is everything we are not
4. That there is always hope in the world
5. The giving of His son for our eternal life
6. The hope to dwell in the house of the Lord for all eternity
7. His patience
8. His everlasting love in us
9. That He’s always there for me, never changing
10. His promises, eternal life, reigning with Him, freedom over sin
11. He died and forgave me

If you leave comments here before the Friday (two days) before the sermon, I may include your responses in the message.

Good Friday Worship Gathering

2008-03-26T16:10:00.001-04:00

Intro

We spent time to meditate on His sacrifice both as individuals and small groups. We travelled to different parts of the building to experience distinct aspects of the crucifixion story. Using different senses, I think we deepened our spiritual connection with Jesus. Yes, it was different than a typical worship gathering, but then again, the first Good Friday was different than what God’s people had seen of Him before. That God would die a humiliating painful death?!? Very different than natural thinking! I think we met our goal to leave refreshed and renewed in appreciation and commitment to Him.

The Meditation Activities

Meditation A
“That Which We Touched with Our Hands”

Around the room were six objects with ink pads alongside each object. We read the text related to each object. We stamped the object on the ink pad and then the corresponding box in our booklet. As we handled each object, we thought about that day many years ago when our Lord endured hardship to obtain your soul. If you were in a group, you talked about the objects and shared insights together.

Meditation B
“That Which We’ve Heard”

There was a song playing in the room on repeat. Wherever in the song you came into the room, you just followed along and let the truths soak in to your heart. As you began to tune your heart, you used the space below to journal, write a poem, draw a picture, or otherwise express your thoughts about our great Savior.

The Lamb of God
Written by Twila Paris
Performed by the Mars Hillbillies
Your only Son No sin to hide
But You have sent Him,
From Your side
To walk upon this guilty sod
And to become
the Lamb of God

Your gift of Love
They crucified
They laughed and scorned
Him as He died
The humble King
They named a fraud
And sacrificed
The Lamb of God

Chorus:
Oh Lamb of God,
Sweet Lamb of God
I love the Holy Lamb of God
Oh wash me in
His precious Blood
My Jesus Christ,
the Lamb of God

I was so lost
I should have died
But You have brought me
To Your side
To be led by
Your staff and rod
And to be called
A lamb of God

Chorus (twice)

Meditation C
“That Which We’ve Tasted”

Here, we observed the Lord’s Supper. The Scriptures teach us that “as often as we eat the bread and drink of the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Both with the bread and cup, Jesus taught us that we should eat it in remembrance of Him. There is something evangelistic to taking part in this meal. We both remember and proclaim. There is nothing magical or supernatural in this meal, but rather it brings our heart and mind back to that singular event 1,980 years ago as we remember and proclaim His death for our souls. As we took part in this meal of remembrance, we took time to pray individually or corporately, quietly or out-loud. Some read Scriptures, sang a praise, thanked the Lord for His death for our sakes.

Meditation D
“That Which We’ve Seen with Our Eyes”

In this experience, we got a visible picture of what Christ did for us on the cross. On a table, there were note cards, pens, nails, and hammers. Each of us took a card and wrote our sins on it. No one looked at this except you and the Lord. The cards were disposed of with respect to privacy. This was a time to carefully, introspectively talk with God about your faithfulness. We confessed to Him and then rejoiced that it has already been removed from us on the cross. We took to heart these words from Colossians: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (2:13-14) After we wrote, we folded the card twice and nailed it to the cross. I think we felt the release as we saw that Jesus really has paid it all… sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!

Meditation E
“That Which We’ve Looked At”

Here, we picked one or two of the last sayings of Jesus while on the cross and meditated on them. Each passage along with a visual depiction hung on the wall. We read it over in our Bibles. We considered what drove Jesus to utter THOSE words out of all the things He could have said. Then we asked God to give us desires that are in tune with Jesus’.
1. Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:32-34)
2. I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:39-43)
3. Mother, Your son. Son, your mother. (John 19:25-27)
4. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:45-49)
5. I Thirst (John 19:28-29)
6. Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. (Luke 23:44-46)
7. It is finished! (John 19:30, Rev. 21:5-6)

Opening and Closing

We spent five minutes before and after the travelling to worship through public Scripture readings and the singing of praises as well as prayer. This unified us on a collective quest despite the private journeying during the bulk of the gathering time. Overall, all the feedback (written and oral) that I received was very favorable and young and old got a lot of spiritual nourishment from the gathering.

The Experiential Church

2008-03-25T21:11:00.003-04:00

What a fun, meaningful, inspiring, God-centered week! Yeah I'm still exhausted but I just gotta say how encouraging it has been to see people growing in their love for Jesus because of the week's worship gatherings. The collection has been a real evolving work-in-progress for us and this year it really hit me how much more significant gatherings are when they are experiential.

Our VBS has been using Group's curriculum for a few years now. We've noticed that kids LOVE the Bible times more with this curriculum than with others. We obviously want them to love every station, but we certainly want the Bible lessons to be remembered and put into practice. But why do they love Bible time? It is experiential. The kids DO the lesson, not see it, not hear it, they themselves DO it. Can it work for adults?

Once adults move beyond the immediate inner groan of "is he really going to make me do this?" They truly do retain more for a longer amount of time and it means more to them for the long-run. This doesn't eliminate the preaching ministry of the Church, but it does tell me that if I can get people to involve themselves somehow in the Word, it will benefit their walk with God more than merely listening could.

Another word about marketing the Church. I hate the word, you hate the word, but you get my drift... when I tell someone about our Easter gatherings, what makes ours stand out from any other one? There is a church in town that does a phenomenal play/musical every Christmas and Easter. This is the first year I have noticed other churches advertising a play at their church too. Why would I steal another church's idea and do it poorly. I don't have actors, so it will stink. We're doing something, somethings, that no other church is doing. I had a good talk with one of our elders about marketing this corner-on-the-market for next year. Its a great idea.

Here is the rub. Why does it have to be special seasons that we get experiential? If we do it all the time, it loses its edge. If we do it once annually, it communicates that we can only be edgy occasionally. People want to be loose / cutting-edge / different / in-the-unknown occasionally.

I'm just throwing ideas out there. Just rambling really. Rap with me if you want to engage on the issue. I guess it would be good to go over WHAT we actually did. I'll post later about that. I just didn't want this blog entry to be too long.

Holy Spirit's Role in Jesus' Sacrifice

2008-03-18T19:40:00.004-04:00

The Text

Hebrews 9:13-14 "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

A Brief Explanation

Our discussion this past Sunday night (3/16/2008), was on the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' sacrifice of Himself on the cross for our sins. Specifically in this verse, what does it mean that Jesus offered Himself "through the eternal Spirit"? What is that Spirit? Is the the Holy Spirit? Is it Jesus' soul/spirit? If it is the Holy Spirit, then what role did the Holy Spirit have in Jesus' death? The Notes are available here and the sermon audio is available here.

Barne's Notes

“Who through the eternal Spirit” —This expression is very difficult, and has given rise to a great variety of interpretation.—Some mss. instead of “eternal” here, read “holy,” making it refer directly to the Holy Spirit; see “Wetstein.” These various readings, however, are not regarded as of sufficient authority to lead to a change in the text, and are of importance only as showing that it was an early opinion that the Holy Spirit is here referred to. The principal opinions which have been entertained of the meaning of this phrase, are the following.
(1) that which regards it as referring to the holy spirit, the third person of the trinity. This was the opinion of owen, doddridge, and archbishop tillotson.
(2) that which refers it to the “divine nature” of christ. Among those who have maintained this opinion, are beza, ernesti, wolf, vitringa, storr, and the late dr. John p. Wilson. Mss. Notes.
(3) others, as grotius, rosenmüller, koppe, understand it as meaning “endless” or “immortal life,” in contradistinction from the jewish sacrifices which were of a perishable nature, and which needed so often to be repeated.
(4) others regard it as referring to the glorified person of the saviour, meaning that in his exalted, or spiritual station in heaven, he presents the efficacy of his blood.
(5) others suppose that it means “divine influence,” and that the idea is, that christ was actuated and filled with a divine influence when he offered up himself as a sacrifice; an influence which was not of a temporal and fleeting nature, but which was eternal in its efficacy. This is the interpretation preferred by prof. Stuart.
For an examination of these various opinions, see his “Excursus, xviii.” on this Epistle. It is difficult, if not impossible, to decide what is the true meaning of the passage amidst this diversity of opinion; but there are some reasons which seem to me to make it probable that the Holy Spirit is intended, and that the idea is, that Christ made his great sacrifice under “the extraordinary influences of that Eternal Spirit.” The reasons which lead me to this opinion, are the following:
(1) It is what would occur to the great mass of the readers of the New Testament. It is presumed that the great body of sober, plain, and intelligent readers of the Bible, on perusing the passage, suppose that it refers to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. There are few better and safer rules for the interpretation of a volume designed like the Bible for the mass of mankind, than to abide by the sense in which they understand it.
(2) this interpretation is one which is most naturally conveyed by the language of the original. The phrase “the spirit”—τὸ πνέυμα to pneuma—has so far a technical and established meaning in the New Testament as to denote the Holy Spirit, unless there is something in the connection which renders such an application improper. In this case there is nothing certainly which “necessarily” forbids such an application. The high names and Classical authority of those who have held this opinion, are a sufficient guarantee of this.
(3) this interpretation accords with the fact that the Lord Jesus is represented as having been eminently endowed with the influences of the Holy Spirit; compare notes on John 3:34. Though he was divine, yet he was also a man, and as such was under influences similar to those of other pious people. The Holy Spirit is the source and sustainer of all piety in the soul, and it is not improper to suppose that the man Christ Jesus was in a remarkable manner influenced by the Holy Spirit in his readiness to obey God and to suffer according to his will.
(4) if there was ever any occasion on which we may suppose he was influenced by the Holy Spirit, that of his sufferings and death here referred to may be supposed eminently to have been such an one. It was expressive of the highest state of piety—of the purest love to God and man—which has ever existed in the human bosom; it was the most trying time of his own life; it was the period when there would be the most strong temptation to abandon his work; and as the redemption of the whole world was dependent on that act, it is reasonable to suppose that the richest heavenly grace would be there imparted to him, and that he would then be eminently under the influence of that Spirit which was granted not “by measure unto him.” notes, John 3:34.
(5) this representation is not inconsistent with the belief that the sufferings and death of the Redeemer were “voluntary,” and had all the merit which belongs to a voluntary transaction. Piety in the heart of a Christian now is not less voluntary because it is produced and cherished by the Holy Spirit, nor is there less excellence in it because the Holy Spirit imparts strong faith in the time of temptation and trial. It seems to me, therefore, that the meaning of this expression is, that the Lord Jesus was led by the strong influences of the Spirit of God to devote himself as a sacrifice for sin. It was not by any temporary influence; not by mere excitement; it was by the influence of the “Eternal” Spirit of God, and the sacrifice thus offered could, therefore, accomplish effects which would be eternal in their character. It was not like the offering made by the Jewish high priest which was necessarily renewed every year, but it was under the influence of one who was “eternal,” and the effects of whose influence might be everlasting. It may be added, that if this is a correct exposition, it follows that the Holy Spirit is eternal, and must, therefore, be divine.

Hope that helps you in your study of the Holy Spirit!

Joy in the Journey

2008-03-11T21:10:00.003-04:00

Martin Luther on Issue of the Christian Journey

"This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished but it is going on. This is not the end but it is the road; all does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified."

- Martin Luther

Wow!

What helpful insight for this journey of faith we are on. Did you hear his heart expressed in these words? We aren't there yet, but we will one day by God's grace be there. There are two extremes in the discussion of sanctification. Both are unhelpful and are anathema.

The Extreme of Entire Holiness

One the one extreme is the teaching that perfection is attainable in this life. In this camp, many even say that unless one is perfect, they cannot be assured of their eternal destination. We ought to strive to attain perfection since God repeats the call dozens of times in the Scriptures "be perfect for I am perfect." What is unhelpful and dangerous to true piety here is the lie. The lie that some Christians are perfect, sinless, finished sounds nice and comforting but let us call to mind what John the apostle taught "if someone says 'I have no sin' he is a liar and the truth is not in him" (1 John 1:8). Conversely, we are growing toward that end goal day by day as the Spirit makes us like Christ.

The Extreme of Laziness

The other extreme is not so much taught as it is lived out by so many Christians. I dare say that most of us settle in this camp than in the first. This extreme is one of apathy. People here recognize the reality that perfection is unattainable in this life. So their reaction is, well, one of disinterest and one of hopelessness. Here people fail to make efforts to grow. Here people wait to Jesus to act when all the time, He in His still small voice whispers "work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13). Too many Christians, I fear, have fallen asleep and just don't try anymore.

Now for the truth...

Luther builds for us a third way which is truthful, motivating, and grace-filled. He speaks the frank truth when he says we are not righteous even as Christians. That is to say we are justified... declared righteous... but we are not yet experientially righteous. This is what he had struggled with while in the Roman Church. He always felt unworthy because he was imperfect. The truth of Scripture is that "in the Gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith" (Romans 1:16). Did you catch righteousness in this verse that God used to save Martin Luther? Through faith in the Gospel, we receive the righteousness of God. It is not I who am righteous that earns salvation, but rather God who freely grants to me HIS righteousness. Righteousness is a gift from God to those He makes into believers. The message Luther gives to us is not only truthful, but it is also motivating. It is a motivational truth. Too many motivational speakers pump us up with emotion and challenge, but no substance, no truth content. Luther speaks the truth in a motivating way. We are not righteous, but are growing in righteousness. This speaks of the lifelong journey of Christians. We begin this journey at the moment of salvation and continue down this path with God as we progressively become more like Jesus. Paul describes this sanctifying grace this way "I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). God began this work of making you holy when He saved you. It is He who will continue that work until Jesus returns. And not only is Paul pitching the idea of progressive sanctification, he also begins by writing "I am confident of this." How reassuring to our souls is God's Holy Word! Because I know that God is doing this great work, I now live life expecting it, looking for it, watching the quiet background for His change of my life. I now see it and am prepared for it. I now readily await the opportunity to say "yes" when He knocks on my heart.

Summary

We are all on a journey of faith with God. Where are you on that journey?

Emerging/Emergent - He Said It Again

2008-02-26T20:16:00.003-05:00

By the testimony of two or three witnesses, or more accurately the same witness twice now, I feel that the following notion is valid...

The Emerging Church is a distinct group from the Emergent Church.

I was listening to Mark Driscoll tonight at the Resurgence Conference. Watch it live here. He said that they are different. I wrote in my blog about this back in October after the BFC Ministerial Convention. Read that post here.

So again my question: can we the BFC feel comfortable trying this out at least on a trial basis without the fear of throwing in our lot with heretics?

I'd love your comments.

Fellowship News Article

2008-02-20T16:32:00.004-05:00

T H I S I S S T I L L J U S T A D R A F T

Two articles have gotten my attention recently in Fellowship News. The first is “A Missionary Mandate for the 21st Century” by Colby Weinhofer (Sept 2007 and Oct 2007) and the second was “Having Missional Impact” by Dave Gundrum (Dec 2007). Without restating what these brothers have already written, I’d like us all to continue the conversation our denomination needs to have about effective, longterm outreach to our spiritually dead neighbors.

Our Fantastic Message

I believe that the Church has a phenomenal message. What Jesus brought to humanity is a beautiful thing. Namely, that I the rebel against God have received mercy by a lovingly gracious Creator. In that mercy, God satisfied His wrath against me by punishing His one and only beloved Son, who is our Savior, Christ Jesus. Not only has He soothed His anger against me, but He has brought me into His family, put His Spirit in me, declared me righteous, and continually makes me more like Jesus until the day He takes me home to be with Him forever. What a truly fantastic and (in many ways) unbelievable message!

Let’s Get The Job Done

In many ways, the Church is like the Jamaican bobsled team that has found itself broken down only a few meters from the finish line. We, who alone in the world have a great and lasting message of hope from God to mankind, have only a few steps to go before we finish what Christ commissioned us to do.

While we have only a few steps to go worldwide, it seems that the Church is losing footing in areas that once were shored up. Europe, once the bastion of Christianity, has thousands of beautiful, empty church buildings. New England, once the home of the Great Awakening and her sequel, now is a very spiritually cold area. America, wherever you turn does not seem very Christian. While much of the missional conversation discourages us with the onslaught of terrible statistics, I would like to encourage, uplift, motivate, and otherwise stir up our spirits.

At last, our job is nearing completion. Let us not grow weary in well doing. Let us send out our finest and brightest to the uttermost in missionary service! Let us plant Bible Fellowship Churches where Christ’s light in a community is all but snuffed out. Let us talk with our neighbor about Jesus. Let us stop merely memorizing that verse and begin to live it when Jesus said “let your light so shine before men that they would see your good works and glorify Your Father who is in heaven!”

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

I am convinced that our hesitancy in outreach is all about the “how.” We know the “why” of outreach. We know the “what” of outreach. We need work on the “how” because we do not want to look like door-to-door salesmen or cult members and we do not want to sell Jesus short of all the majesty and glory that is due to His Name. So the “how” is important.

There is a two-pronged approach to effective outreach. First, there needs to be church-wide outreach activities. We need to run events that are both “safe” enough that unbelievers will come and “safe” enough that our people will invite outsiders in. These events ought to have some perceived-needs addressed. Financial seminars, sports ministries, support groups, soup kitchens, and countless other ministries are perceived-needs-based ministries that let a spiritually sick and dead community know that we care and want them to be made whole.

The other, equally important, prong of effective outreach is one-on-one discipleship. All of us need to know our neighbors. We need to care about our neighbors. When you hear them fighting, let them know you pray for them. When your kids are in soccer league together with theirs, sit with them at the game. Have them over for dinner, let them return the favor. Be with your neighbors. This is, after all, what the Almighty God did when He took on flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) with us. “You shall call His Name Immanuel which translated means ‘God with us.’” People want to know that we care. Don’t you like to feel cared for? The lost are no different than you, except for their eternal destination.

And now, let me offer a shameless plug. This October, your pastors are invited to attend the BFC Ministerial Convention. It is for everyone on ministry staff at your church. Our theme this year is “Reaching Your Jerusalem” in which we will answer the challenge of how we can fulfill Jesus’ commission of being His witnesses and making disciples of Him in our local communities. Make sure your pastors go.

As for all readers, pray about your level of involvement in the Great Commission. Pray that God would lay some soul upon your heart. Pray that God would stir in your church, our churches, and the Church Universal the burden to reach lost souls with the great message of hope that we hold within us.

Now more than ever, we, the Bible Fellowship Church, need to be “an expanding fellowship of churches united to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Church Growth

2008-02-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

How does your church grow? Not with silver bells and conkle shells but with two important activities going on simultaneously. Many mega-churches have recently admitted that they have pushed one without the other. Will miny-churches admit that they have pushed the opposite one without the first one?

Act Like Acts

Acts certainly sets the tone for how the church should function. In reviewing some of my old sermons, I stumbled across this one taken from Acts 16:5-15. Verse 5 reads this way “the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily” (NASB). So we see that there are two elements to a healthy, growing church. First, the disciples are strengthened in the faith and secondly, the lost are becoming saved. For those who may think that this is an isolated incident and that the model throughout Acts is not this way, let us look at other instances of “strengthening” and “increasing” in the book.

Strengthening

9:22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith,

15:32 Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message.

15:41 And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

18:23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Increasing

2:47 And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

4:4 the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

5:14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number,

6:1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews,

6:7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem

11:21 the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord

14:1 spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

Conclusion

Let us be diligent and faithful to strengthen the faith of those in out congregations. Let us equally be diligent and faithful to rescue the perishing and thereby add to our number.

Is This Still the Case?

2008-02-14T19:37:00.005-05:00

I have been working on redesigning our denomination's Historical Society website. The old one is BFCHistory.org ... the new one will be there, but I am testing it now at my church site here. So I am reformatting all the library items and came across an interesting paper written for the Bethlehem Globe Times newspaper by one of our pastors, W.S. Hottel, in 1915. My question for you as you read is: would you still say that this statement is true of the Bible Fellowship Church as W.S. declared it true of our former incarnation, the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church. Listen to what he says:

So then, it is at once discernible that the name "Mennonite" has been adopted and is held to merely for the sake of distinction and historical continuance. With the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, it is no barrier to prevent the incoming of new light from God, by way of advance knowledge, because of a deeper and clearer insight in to Divine revelation. The Mennonite Brethren are not a church bound down to the traditions handed down from their forefathers, others than those which are in full and strict accordance with the Scriptures. They always welcome new light from God, upon his word, gladly following and obeying it. Their apparent narrowness is not Godward but manward; they holding with a firm and tenacious grip of faith to the Divine Authorship and Authenticity of the Scriptures. To them the Scriptures are the ground of faith, their creed, and also the rule of life. Whatever in word, principle and spirit the Scriptures enjoin, they hold it to be carried out and obeyed in every day life and practice. In short, they stand for the spiritual illumination of the mind, its transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the truth, so that the principles of God's word are inwrought into the mind, will and character of man, so that those who really and heartily accept the divine "form of doctrine" became living epistles "known and read of all men."

Do we, the BFC, always have an ear open for God to grant some new light? Is ALL we have the Scriptures and them alone as our creed? Do we add immutable statements on top of God's Word -or- is it Scripture alone?

I'd love to hear our responses?

The Former Alcoholic Comment

2007-12-21T22:06:00.000-05:00

Intro

I love when people at trekking with my sermons... when they're thinking and engaging and wrestling with the text and feasting on the Word. This past Sunday (12/16/07) we were thinking about Haggai and the promise of God's presence with His people. I relayed a story of one of my old friends who was rescued out of a life of drunkenness and carousing. The point of my story was to illustrate God's eternal presence with us... when we are obeying and when we are sinning. I think the main point was evident.

One of my guys came up afterwards and asked why I wouldn't just say that going into a bar was a sin. I had said in the message that I wasn't going to get into that question. Again, my point was to highlight God's omnipresence. Well, I thought about it a little and replied to my friend "The Bible never says going into a bar is a sin." We went back and forth for a bit and I said I'd have to pull the tape to find out exactly what I said. Below is what I said in it's entirety. You can listen to the sermon in its entirety here.

Pulling the Tape

So here is what I said on Sunday about having the sealing and indwelling of the Spirit this past Sunday (December 16, 2007).

I remember a friend who used to be an alcoholic and when he got saved he changed his life and he said "you know I'm not going to go to bars anymore." I'm not going to make any comments on going to bars but what I'm simply saying is here's a guy who was an alcoholic, he got saved, and now God's Spirit dwells in him. And he said "I'm not going to go to bars anymore." He wasn't saying bars are wrong but what he was saying is "I just can't take Jesus into a bar. I remember what going to bars was when I was a young, unsaved guy. I just don't want to take Jesus there." Do you believe you take Jesus with you where ever you go?

So let me know what you all think about God's omnipresence, going to bars, and/or the indwelling Spirit.

What Restoration Looks Like

2007-12-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

Intro

This is the place to comment on Zephaniah the Prophet, my sermon from Sunday, December 2, 2007.

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So what are your thoughts and impressions of Zephaniah?

Let's face it, we all sin. Even having plead for the mercy of God to rescue us, even after our salvation, even after growing to love Jesus, even after growing to serve Him more and more faithfully, even still we sin. Let us not excuse ourselves... but let us confess the reality. When we do sin, we often feel the result of that sin, the consequences of them. He feel banished, chastised, unworthy, ashamed.

What do we do in this state? Bunyan would have called it the Castle Despair. Having fallen asleep, Hopeful and Christian were captured by a giant who continually tormented them for their sin. We, like Christian in that tale, can enter into periods of torment whether by God or by self or by the evil one. When we come to our senses, confess our sins, and wait on the LORD, He will restore us.

What a joy that "His anger is for a moment, but His love is for a lifetime" (Psalm 30:5, Isaiah 54:8).

So let me know what you thought...

Habakkuk the Prophet You Never Heard Of

2007-11-26T19:28:00.000-05:00

Intro

This is the place to comment on Habakkuk the Prophet, my sermon from Sunday, November 25, 2007.

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So what are your thoughts and impressions of Habakkuk?

I think it is tremendously important that this book actually "made it" into the Scriptures. Think about it... don't you feel guilty when you question God? Well, when a man of God does the same thing AND it is included in the Bible, we observe that God is "man" enough to take what we can dish out. He is big enough to take it. Our questions are never big enough to keep Him from being God.

While on the one hand we can question God and He even wants us to question Him... on the other hand, we should not perpetually live in a constant lifestyle of questioning doubt. Doubt for the moment can motivate us to the next level of spiritual development in Christ. In this sense, doubt is a trial. But eternal doubt is inappropriate for a person of faith.

So let me know what you thought...

Capito, Sattler, and Emerging Church Philosophy

2007-11-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

Introduction

The year: 1527 AD. The place: Strasbourg, Germany. Not exactly a hot bed of openness to new ideas. The Reformers had just revolted from Roman oppression within the last decade. They weren't much better than the Catholics when it came to divergent viewpoints on the Scriptures. Enter the Anabaptists. At the elemental level, the only disagreement between the Reformers and the Anabaptists was their view of baptism. Not a core doctrine from the 21st century perspective. To the Reformers, this divergence was so extreme that it demanded capital punishment. In all fairness, the Lutherans and Catholics also executed Anabaptists within their communities. Wolfgang Capito describes Michael Sattler's execution this way:

"Michael ... their leader and instigator is said to have been condemned by triple judgment, namely that in the city his tongue was cut out, second, that his body was torn with red hot tongs twice in the city and three times again at the gallows, thus tearing out his flesh, and third, that he was burned alive."

Such madness even if for a vile madman, let alone an innocent man like Michael Sattler.

Emerging Thought in 1527

Anyway, to my main point... the man Wolfgang Capito was way before his time. I am not sure of all of his theology, but he is remembered as "ecumenically open" and "willing to converse with others." He was consistently and thoroughly a Reformer. Now this is what he writes about his dealings with the Anabaptists like Michael Sattler.

"Now we were not in agreement with him as he wished to make Christians righteous by their acceptance of articles and an outward commitment. This we thought to be the beginning of a new monasticism. We desired rather to help the believing life to progress by contemplation of the mercies of God, as Moses bases his exhortations to good works, on the reminder of divine favors and of the fatherly disciplining of the people by God (Deut 8); which is the order of salvation [how thoroughly Calvinist!!]. Namely that we confess our sin and know that God has forgiven us the same through Christ, and that out of pure grace He desires to give us eternal life, which we are assured by the Spirit of the children of God, which then gives birth to fear, yea, which penetrates us with fear, so that we become conscientious in all our action that we might not act against God. This is followed by wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, and pure childlike reverence which remains eternally."

Basically here he said that he is right, the Anabaptists are wrong, on the issue of the order of salvation. He recognizes that the Anabaptists are generally advocating holiness then salvation and the Reformers are on the other hand advocating salvation then holiness. But now listen to what he says about these "unorthodox heretics..."

"But it can happen that the elect of God have this fear and desire from their hearts to serve God, but have not yet received the spirit of wisdom and do not really know that God looks only on the yielded heart, rather think they will please Him with their works. [Now listen!] Such persons are certainly saved and have a good zeal, but not with right knowledge. These are to be loved as brothers and fellow members, to be dealt with tenderly in their weakness, in their ignorance to be shown the truth with a mild spirit. This is what Paul calls accepting the brother who is weak in the faith, which is what faith and love for the honor of God and brotherly love toward the neighbor demand of all of us."

So he calls them wrong AND he calls them his brothers. There is Truth or at least truth. Capito even contends for the faith. But he does so without discarding the real faith of those who disagree with him. I've said this many times within the past few years, but five or ten years ago I believed the opposite: Arminians are saved, they just don't know why. I used to think that they were not saved because of their lack of understanding. I am now seeing that we are not saved by our thinking, we are saved by a gracious God who saved the Ephesians long before they knew that there was a Holy Spirit. He called the Corinthians "Saints" despite the truth of the matter. And today He works on all of us despite ourselves not because of ourselves.

Capito was a rare breed in 1527. He recognized that to be saved by the mercies of God is not in response to our assent of the truth. Zwingli and Luther were passionate for the Truth, and so when they met to merge at the Marburg Colloquoy they agreed on twenty-some points of doctrine yet the disagreed on one "what happens at the Lord's Table?" They parted ways thinking the other was not truly born again. So when I say Capito stands out, it really is true.

For Us Today

So the thought for us in our generation is: are we willing to see ourselves as part of a much larger fellowship of churches?

My heart weeps for those who attend church Sunday after Sunday and never hear the Word of God. When the prophet said there would be a famine for hearing the Word of the Lord, it isn't fulfilled today except through our own fault. These churches that do not open the Bible in their meetings... it is very hard for me to call these leaders "brothers." They are in sin for not teaching God's Word to their people. It is cocky, arrogant, self-indulged to think that my clever conversation is better for my folks than God's Counsel. Yet can I call these "brothers"?

Can I call the Arminians brothers? Tony Jones calls 90% of Americans "semi-pelagian" (Arminians are semi-pelagian as are Catholics). So to dismiss them as unbelievers we need to lay all the cards out on the table and recognize that we are talking about a large group of people. These people think that they can accept or reject God and even if they accept, they can later reject. They believe that their sinfulness is not so bad that they cannot reason in themselves and choose God. They have a low view of God and a high view of themselves. They do not have a holistic understanding of God's Word. Is it our thinking that saves us or is it God's mercy that saves us? The answer is obvious, but the next question is tougher: if it is God's mercy that saves us, He guides us into all truth, what of the person who is not being guided into all truth? Difficult question to answer... I am going to lean on the side of caution. These are my brothers.

Let me close with this already quoted line "It can happen that the elect of God have this [conscientious] fear and desire from their hearts to serve God, but have not yet received the spirit of wisdom and do not really know that God looks only on the yielded heart, rather think they will please Him with their works."

All blockquotes were cited from "The Legacy of Michael Sattler" edited by John H. Yoder. Herald Press: Scottdale, PA. 1973. pp. 87-88.

Cut It Out!

2007-11-12T20:48:00.000-05:00

Introduction

This past Sunday night, we continued a series called Tough Sayings. What difficult sayings does the Bible make, what things seem confusing or contradictory? Let's answer them... that is the point of this series. So here is a seemingly contradictory practice:

In one instance, Paul circumcises a disciple of Jesus (Timothy) in another instance Paul boldly refuses to circumcise another disciple of Jesus (Titus). How can it be okay to do this and at the same time not be okay to do this? If we are no longer under the Law then why would he do this? If we are still under the Law then why would he refuse this?

Paul Circumcises Timothy

Acts 16:1-4

"Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe."

My Comments

Who was Timothy? He was half-Jewish and half-Greek (v1). His dad was a Greek (v3) and so Timothy had never undergone circumcision. His mother and grandmother were OT believers when the Christians came to town with the news of Jesus death and resurrection. They mom and grandmom came to Christ and both raised Timothy in the Scriptures. He became a follower of Jesus too (v1). Paul saw great potential in this young man and wanted him to join Paul's ministry team. Paul's basic strategy was to go into a new town and enter a synagogue to present the Good News of Jesus to the Jews in the town. If and when they reject, then Paul would move on to the Gentiles of the town. This is important because in the text Paul recognizes that there were many Jews in the area nd they all knew that Tim's dad was a Greek and that Timothy would not have been circumcised. Paul's ministry would be hindered among the Jews if they knew of Timothy's faux paux. So to remove the road block to the Gospel, he cut away any distraction (a big fat pun intended).

Paul Refuses to Circumcise Titus

Galatians 2:1-6

"Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)--well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me."

My Comments

Here we see something very different. Here are Jewish men who are allegedly followers of Jesus (v4) but Paul asserts that they are not in fact born again. Anyway, they insist that Titus become circumcised and that one is not born again unless they have become a Jew first. But Paul? He does not yield in subjection for even an hour! Why does he refuse now in something he unreservedly did with Timothy? These people would want the distortion of the good news. Paul is concerned that the only thing in the Gospel is the Gospel. Christianity plus anything is not Christianity.

Who Do We Care About?!?

The main point of this dichotomy in Scripture is this: I will do all that I can to remove any distractions from the unbeliever on their path to salvation. I will do all that I can to trip up a Christian who is in error, I cannot allow a Christian to remain ignorant AND arrogant.

You're trying to live for Jesus, you've organized some things in your life that insulate you from unbelievers, are these good boundaries or are they hindrances to their salvation?

Hmmm...

Bearing Your Soul

2007-11-11T22:11:00.000-05:00

Intro

This is the place to comment on Jeremiah the Prophet, my sermon from Sunday, November 11, 2007.

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So what are your thoughts and impressions of Jeremiah?

And what did you think of the worship gathering structure. No worries, we aren't going to it full time. But I thought it would be fun to try something weird and different. Maybe it illustrates the chaotic time of Jeremiah's generation. Anway, your thoughts on content of the books and the structure of the gathering are all welcome here.

An Incedent Proposal

2007-11-06T09:02:00.001-05:00

Intro

This is the place to comment on Hosea the Prophet, my sermon from Sunday, November 4, 2007.

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So what are your thoughts and impressions of Hosea?

Awesome Reformation Party!!

2007-11-03T16:31:00.000-04:00

Today, Satuday Nov 3, was our church's annual Reformation Party. We had a blast! The kids played Rescue the Nuns and Throw out the Relics. Adults played win, lose and draw Reformation Edition. And Rachel and I sang a neat song about Martin Luther that we found whilst googling reformation party activities.

A Martin Luther Reformation Song
To the tune of “Super-cala-fragil-istic-ex-pi-ala-docious”

Verse 1:
When I was just ein junger Mann I studied canon law;While Erfurt was a challenge, it was just to please my Pa.Then came the storm, the lightning struck, I called upon Saint Anne,I shaved my head, I took my vows, an Augustinian! Oh...

Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation -Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!

Verse 2:
They loved my tracts, adored my wit, all were exempleror;The Pope, however, hauled me up before the Emperor."Are these your books? Do you recant?" King Charles did demand,"I will not change my Diet, Sir, God help me here I stand!" Oh...

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Duke Frederick took the Wise approach, responding to my words,By knighting "George" as hostage in the Kingdom of the Birds.Use Brother Martin's model if the languages you seek,Stay locked inside a castle with your Hebrew and your Greek! Oh...

Repeat Chorus

So sing it and have a hoot!

We'll post some pics of the party after we get our act together.

A Whale of a Story

2007-10-29T20:20:00.000-04:00

Intro

This is the place to comment on "Jonah the Prophet", my sermon from Sunday, October 28, 2007.

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I probably took an unorthodox position on Jonah this past Sunday. Essentially, I called him a villain for a variety of reasons. While we could condemn him, we should probably observe that he was a type of all of his countrymen of that day. Countless prophets also illustrated the whole nation's insensitivity to their calling as God's representatives to the rest of the world. And while we could condemn Israel for not doing its job, I suppose we should also honestly observe that we as individuals and we as churches and we as the Church do the same thing. Not an outright "NO" to God's audible voice, but a subtle and lazy no to the Word of God when it says "you will be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and even to the uttermost parts of the earth. List the ministries of your church and ask what you do for insiders and outsiders.

The Miracle(s)...

Obvious is the miracle of survival within the fish. Jonah calls it a great fish. Jesus calls it a sea monster. Was it a whale? A shark? A dinosaur? A really big tuna? (Remember this was before the ages of high-tech fishing techniques and high populations. Fish would grow larger as they aged given the chance to grow old.) Yet, some Christians, perhaps many, doubt that this event literally occurred. They say something like it is a tale which illustrates the seriousness of the nation's desperate carelessness to God's directives. To be sure, the story of Jonah DOES do this, but I would say, it actually happened. It is enough that it is in God's Word, but to add weight to the claim, Jesus Himself compares His death and resurrection to the actual event of Jonah's time in the fish. I'm not gonna call names, but these people are wrong.

The bigger miracle is that Nineveh repented. We happen to believe that it is God who turns a sinner's heart to Him through the preaching of the Word. It is not the convincing arguments of the preacher. It is not the cleverness of the recipient. Salvation is a work of God from beginning to end. God was certainly busy in Nineveh the day (notice one-day) that Jonah preached. Now on this one-day business. Jonah 3:2 says that the city was large and it was a three day's walk. Meaning, to get into every neighborhood and deliver the message to everyone it would take three days. Compared to Philly, New York, LA, this is a rather small city, but in that day Nineveh was enormous. How long did Jonah stay in town? One day and then chapter four tells us that he left to await their annihilation. Said annihilation never occurred... because they did repent, just as Jonah knew that God would act. So either Jonah was a truly fast walker, or the people responded quicker than normal, or he did his job half-hearted. Knowing what we know of Jonah, I venture to say he did it in a half-hearted way.

Exam Time... Pencils Ready... Begin

So the test for you and I: to whom has God told you: "Go up and speak against so-and-so for their iniquity has come up before Me." What are you doing in keeping with this calling?

And your church? And then don't lament or gripe, but lead them in this!

Emergent vs. Emerging

2007-10-21T21:06:00.001-04:00

Symantics or Real Distinction?

I've heard both words floating around and I wondered if there was any difference. Mark Driscoll in this YouTube clip says they are different. He says that Emerging Church is the overall movement and there are lots of little groups in that movement. He says some are pockets are really conservative theologians trying to engage their culture (sound familiar BFC?) but he says there are others that are social gospel, liberal theologians hyped up on the new perspective on Paul (this group labels itself "Emergent").

Research on the Distinction

So I did some research to see who says what about each word.

Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones are high-ups in the Emergent Village, I watched this clip and Tony couldn't stop from saying "words like justice love and gospel mean the exact same thing. Justice IS Gospel, to work for justice to be actively engaged in God's justice in the world means to be gospel people." Clip below:

Enter the Modernists

SO then John MacArthur, very modern, anti-emerging pastor and author comes along and listens to the overall conversation of the emerging church. He isn't happy with it.

He, DA Carson, many many others in the modern Church rail against the emerging movement because they are concerned that the movement is a reincarnation of social gospel. These are men who grew up in churches that fought against liberalism and then became solidiers in the same battle and really won that battle. Now they see they old enemy rearing its head again. I like MacArthur, I really do. I think (especially if Driscoll is right) that MacArthur is in reality not against the emerging church (even though he says he is). Instead he is really against the emergent church.

Should We Wade In?!?

But the question remains: is emerging and emergent the same? Can a BFC Church or the BFC be part of a movement which has under the same large umbrella social gospel types. Just because emergent is a small group amidst a large umbrella of emerging... does it disqualify us from participation in the greater point? I said earlier, I don't count myself as part of the emerging movement. I'm closer than many of the brethren at the ministerial convention, but I'm not in yet. I'm headed that way slowly (so Tim B and others: rescue the perishing!). What I said earlier is this emergent thing (if in fact the two words ought to be distinct) does make me think twice. But if Driscoll is right, it is valuable and "safe" to be in it and not be identical to everyone in it. FIF sang a song: unity not uniformity. That may fit at this point.

Rescue me before I hurl myself headlong!

Be a Man!

2007-10-20T22:47:00.000-04:00

Intro

This is the place to comment on "Paul's Closing Reminders", my sermon from Sunday, October 21, 2007.

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Driscoll on the Church's Need for Men
Paul wrote in v13, "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." This is the clip I wanted to play in the message. It's just too rough around the edges for my people, but it's true and straight forward about getting men into Church. The whole thing is good, but I am referring to around 4:20 and onward...

and here are some others on the subject by him... looks like he worked with Desiring God.

Macho Man

Why Churches Need Dudes

Why Men Don't Go to Church

BFC and the Ministry of the Word

2007-10-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

Intro

So I thought I'd try a vlog for once. Is that what it is called?... a video log, a vlog? Anyway, I want us to think about sermons, the pulpit, the ministry of the Word, and the BFC. A while ago, one of our pastors (It might have been our conference pastor) said while visiting other BFC churches, he'd noticed that few had a Scripture reading as part of the worship gathering. At Camden, we do. But a lot of isolated events recently reminded me of that email and it got me thinking about the effectiveness of the pulpit ministry in our Church.

Mark and John (no, not the disciples)

Mark Driscoll talking about The State of the Pulpit

John Piper talking about the Ministry of the Word

My Thoughts on Expository Preaching

So this is my brief manifesto on why I preach expository. I answer with a question: why did God write the Bible? He wanted our lives to change and be made whole. If God can part an ocean so that His people can walk on dry ground... if God can feed 5,000 men along with countless women and children with only two loaves of bread and two fish... if God really does have the power to change my heart, then He would do it in the way He sees fit. They way He chose was His Word.

Let's Compare Topical and Expository Styles

In Topical preaching, the pastor tells you his formulas for shaping up.

In Expository preaching, the pastor explains God's formulas listed within His flow-of-thought.

In Topical preaching, the pastor can avoid topics he doesn't want to talk about.

In Expository preaching, the pastor is forced to explain what God means on the subject He brings up.

In Topical preaching, the pastor shares what he thinks and adds some Scriptures to prove him right.

In Expository preaching, the pastor lets God's Word do the thinking.

In Topical preaching, the pastor illustrates his own skills at digging.

In Expository preaching, the pastor illustrates that anyone can read a book and digest it.

In Topical preaching, the Word is viewed as a logic jumble that only a skilled technician can dissect in order to find valuable nuggets.

In Expository preaching, the Word is viewed as simple and understandable and accessible.

In Topical preaching, the listener has no understanding of why a declaration is made. The listener is expected to accept a statement as undeniable without any more reason than: it is God's Word.

In Expository preaching, declarations are just as bold, but because the verse, passage, and book are viewed as one logical unit and they are presented that way, the listener sees why a statement was made along with the logical and rationale behind the statement.

Epistemological Humility

While I appreciate Expository preaching, I accept as true the observation made by Dan Kimball in his book "The Emerging Church." He says: the lover of expository preaching cannot find one example in the Bible of a preaching preaching in an expository manner. This is where epistemological humility comes in. I believe my position is the most God-honoring, Scripture-valuing way to communicate and teach God's Word but I am humble enough to recognize how far I can push my agenda and criticize my "opponent."

You aren't really my opponent if you prefer topical sermons, but on this point we do disagree. I love you and the Lord loves you, but your wrong and I'm right. I hope you hear my sarcasm...

Alright, I'm done. Hopefully I gave you something to think about. Peace out.

Emerging Church Follow-Up

2007-10-17T17:44:00.000-04:00

Seeing Value Even If We Disagree

Here’s the deal. I try to see both the good and bad in what someone is saying. I really am against the charismatic movement despite some of the positive things I have said of them recently in our examination of the spiritual gifts in Morning Worship. Despite all that could be said of them in a negative light, we must admit that they have done a service to God’s Church insofar as they have forced us all to reexamine the Scriptures on the subject of spiritual gifts. For this, they are valuable. If it is not a stretch (I do not think that it is), I would like to make the same observation here about the emerging church. Despite all the negative things that could be said of them, they are offering to all of us a conversation about the weaknesses of the modern, “scientific” Church. For this, they are valuable.

Where Am I in This Conversation?

Before I get into it, I think it would be appropriate to define myself and my biases before I begin. I am more comfortable with the emerging movement that most BFCers. But I am not part of the Emerging Church because of a lot of the more vocal voices that are unorthodox in the classic sense of the word. There are some great guys in there, Driscoll and Kimball are phenomenal writers, speakers, pastors among countless others in the movement. But there are a lot and the more vocal and center-stage that are out-right heretics. I don't use the word lightly and I won't name names because it isn't my intention to bulldoze someone without the fair trial that I don't have time for here. But, this is why, thus far, I don’t want to call myself part of the movement even though my heart resounds with a lot of what they are calling us into.

Enough, What IS It Already!?!?

Essentially, the Emerging Church is a philosophical movement reacting against the excesses of the Modern Church. And now you might be saying “blah, blah, blah.” Before you start throwing full wine bottles at your computer screen, indulge me. This movement loathes our use of scientific rationale to exegete the Scriptures. They view what the Church has done to God as putting Him in a box. If He is searchable, definable, reasonable, rational, and wholly knowable than He is no longer “worth it.” The intrigue and the seduction of Christian faith is that is faith, reasonable faith, but faith nonetheless. The example that I witnessed which drove me towards the postmodern (or maybe premodern) worldview was a series of events at my college. We had this same speaker, John Franke, come and speak at the Student Theological Society. Many professors attended and after the event, they had a pow-wow in which they denounced the Doctrine of Illumination (which teaches that the Spirit unpacks the Scriptures as the Christian reads, to “guide him into all truth” as Jesus promises in John 16:13). Rather, the professors came to the consensus that it is through the proper implementation of hermeneutics and exegesis (big words for scientific method) which gives the reader the correct interpretations and applications of God’s Word. This is why Tony Jones calls evangelicals “soft Gnostics.” Only those with proper training can induce the meaning of God’s Word. It’s poppycock and any rational Christian should know it.

This is the kind of thing that the Emerging Church is reacting against. Rather than the individual with their proper methods, the Emerging Church values corporate readings of Scripture with time for alternate interpretations within the “conversation.” As all hear and engage the conversation, the Spirit moves the group to conclude the things He wants for them. Can't we say this in the political election process: each person has their say, yet it is "Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes" (Daniel 4:32). Conversation sounds great, but at the same time, I’ve been in Bible studies where the average IQ (and EQ) was lower than a box of rocks. IQ isn’t everything and I don’t want to be guilty of the aforementioned poppycock, but sometimes conversation is good and sometimes it is bad.

Some of Franke's Thoughts

I like what Franke said about our system of doctrines “if we claim that our theology is absolutely concluded, then we par it with Scripture.” This new movement emphasizes suspicion based on finitude. In other words, no one can be certain unless they are God. In an industry that takes pride in certainties, it is uncomfortable to question commonly held beliefs. Yet all the famous men throughout Church history have questioned. That being said, all the villains in Church history have also questioned.

The Foundation for the movement is the question of knowable Truth. So let’s engage in this concept: “the truth is: there is Truth, but only for God.” In other words, emerging church adherents believe that there is Truth with a capital-T, but that only God can possess it. We can and do hold truthes with a lowercase-t, but while they remain true, they do not measure the same intensity and totality as the Truth as God sees it. Franke said “Even the Scripture itself in our eyes is less full then the same Scripture in God’s eyes. The Church Father Iranaeus talked about this when he wrote “God is light, but like no light we have ever experienced.” John Calvin also said similar things when he wrote “humans cannot comprehend knowledge the way God can.” Tim B tells me this is the Reformed Doctrine of Analogy. From what I can tell from orthodoxy and from my own epistemological humility, it makes a lot of sense intellectually and practically. It explains for me why we’re right and everyone else is wrong. I jest… it explains why the men and women who all love Jesus just as much can come up with such wildly diverging views of faith and practice.

Franke says that in God’s sovereignty, He allowed divergent faith traditions within the Church. Tim B whispered to me “is that God’s permissive will or decreetive will?” Or in other words, did God want that or allow that? Franke says that the core of Christianity doesn’t change with differing cultures, but that just as different cultures need “it” in their language, they also need “it” in their heart expression too. That is my lingo for Franke’s thought. When we translate the Bible, we do it in a way that faithfully both expresses the message of the original language AND impresses the heart of the hearer. And similarly, in the way we “do Church” we need to express the counsel of God and impress the heart of the hearer. God is seeker sensitive. That is why there are four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), two chronicles of the kings (Kings and Chronicles). All express the same events as their competing authors but in a way that is sensitive to the hopes and aspirations of the author’s audience.

Franke asked a tough question in his closing lecture: “does theology change as we converse?” He said it as a statement of fact, not as a question, but professors do that all the time. It is some subset technique to the principle of cognitive dissonance or something, I don’t know. I heard it as a question in my mind. It is true that iron sharpens iron and a brother sharpens his brother, but it is also true that jello doesn’t sharpen jello and idiots likewise don’t sharpen each other. So I suppose the truth (lower case) of the statement depends, which I guess emergents would love to hear that! He referenced three Scriptures and then asked this question: “if the Spirit guides, how can we be so divergent from each other?” Ummm! Great question. Here are the Scriptures:

“We have the mind of Christ through the Spirit who searches all things” (1 Corinthians 2:13, 16)
“The Spirit will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13)
“You need no teacher but the Spirit” (1 John 2:27)

Either He lied, or He is bad at His job, or we are the way He wants us to be. Franke didn’t say as some extremists say “or some of us aren’t really saved.” Franke chalks it up to this phrase used twice in the NT “the manifold grace of God” (1 Pt 4:10, Eph 3:10).

Wrap-Up

So those are some real stumpers. Hopefully my overview got you thinking over the whole issue. Even if you don’t want to embrace the emerging culture, it is my hope that you want to engage the emerging culture. Whether we like it or not, more and more people are thinking this way. Maybe not the people in our churches, but people in the world are thinking this way. We need to know where they are so that we can rescue them.

Alrighty, you know the drill... commence commenting!

What the Reformation is Working Out Today

2007-10-16T22:50:00.000-04:00

Introduction: Review of the Outworking

My thesis over the past posts on this topic has been: the spirit of the Reformation is never done. Luther began a discussion that he did not finish. He called into question the authority of tradition over that of Scripture. When tradition taught that one was justified before God through a rigorous process of mortifying the flesh, he read the Scriptures which taught that one is justified by the grace of God. The verse that became the driving force for his departure from the Roman Church was Romans 1:16-17

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.”

He could not get out of his head this notion that God offers us His righteousness for the purpose of our salvation. So this took him and the other Reformers on a path to seeking truth and practice from the Scriptures rather than from status quo.

As I have said before, Luther and his contemporaries did all they could in their day. But in the finitude, they unknowingly held onto many of the practices and teachings of their old culture: Rome. The one concept that Luther began which I would like us to consider is “the Priesthood of All Saints.”

The Priesthood of All Saints

Martin Luther was a professor of theology, Augustinian monk, and priest in the Roman Church before October 31, 1517. As a priest, he interceded for the people before God and brought God’s counsel to the people. The concept of priesthood is central to the Old Testament structure of faith and rightly so, since it was God’s revealed methodology for interaction between God and man in that period of time. The question we need to ask ourselves is: has Christ changed anything in the interaction between God and man?

We need to read Hebrews to gain understanding into the divergence Christianity took from OT Judaism. The book begins with this saying “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Hebrews 1:1). He then tells us in chapter four, “since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). In the OT era, only the high priest had access to the “throne of grace” which was ontop the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. Now we all are called to draw before it BOLDLY. The high priest once a year would draw near with trepidation since they always knew if they did “it” wrong, God might kill them like He did with Nadab and Abihu. Now we all are called to approach boldly. We all have access into God’s presence in that spiritual and mystical sense. Peter tells us that we Christians are “a chosen race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Luther picked up on these distinctions between Roman practice and Scriptural admonition. He told his fledgling movement that they all were priests to God, representing Him to the world. But I think where he and the Reformers failed to apply this teaching, today’s Church is beginning to enact all the nuances of the doctrine of the Priesthood of All Saints. Whether you embrace the charismatic movement or not, I think we can all agree that they have brought the Protestant Church (for that matter, Roman Church) far in its understanding of spiritual gifts and the deployment of said gifts. They have forced us all to reread Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4, asking the all-important question “what does it mean and what does it look like to practice this?” We can agree or disagree on revelatory and sign gifts, but on the whole, charismatics have forced non-charismatics to read the text. For this, we must praise them.

The Priesthood of All Saints and the Role of Vocational Pastor

I have been asking myself since my ordination back in April (2007), “what sets an ordained pastor apart from volunteer lay ministry leaders?” Traditionally speaking, I am in good company. Biblically speaking, there is not a lot of evidence for (or against) vocational ministers. Read my Biblical Relationship of Elders, Pastors, and Deacons here.

Within the Bible Fellowship Church conference, we see leadership as coming from a group called elders. All pastors are on the board of elders (but the lay elders select which pastors are voting members of the board). So the lay and vocational elders eld the local church. How does and elder eld? What does it mean to eld. Eld isn’t a verb, but I think you understand what I am driving at. How does a pastor differ than any lay elder? Traditionally, a pastor has more real or perceived clout than does a lay elder. But Biblically? Nothing…. Does the Pastor shepherd the church, does the elder board shepherd the church? Let’s look at the word shepherd in the NT. Only twice is the word used in reference to someone other than Christ in the NT. Once in Acts 20 and once in 1 Peter 5.

Acts 20:17-18, 28
“From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, … ‘Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.’”

1 Peter 5:1-4
“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Notice who it is that shepherds God’s Church? The elder. The title of the office in both instances is “Elder” and the tasks in both are “shepherd” and “overseer.” Consequently, the English word “pastor” only shows up once in the Bible and it is in Ephesians 4:11 and in Greek, it is the noun form of the verb in Acts 20 and 1 Peter 5 “to shepherd.”

So What?!?!

If Luther was right in saying that Priesthood is a position for all saints than let me word it in modern lingo: “If you are a Christian, you are a minister.” I hate being called Reverend, Minister, and the like. Only God is to revered, all Christians are ministers. Call me a pastor if you need to call me anything (just don’t call me late to supper). Discover how God has wired you to serve His kingdom and get busy! What is the unique role of the pastor? We are gifted to equip you for your work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). But you, me, all Christians are busy in the harvest field, or at least should be.

Let me close with Jesus words on the harvest. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

Just As He Said

2007-10-15T11:56:00.000-04:00

Introduction

This is the place to comment on "The Reality of the Resurrection", my sermon from Sunday, October 14, 2007.

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There are Witnesses to the Fact

How many people need to say they saw things in the same way before you say "these witnesses proove that X happened?" Well, it says in verses 1-6 that over 500 men actually saw Jesus physically risen from the dead. Now this is important, it is not that 500 men believed He rose, but 500 men SAW His risen. There are around one billion Christians today, they believe that their Savior died for their sins and then rose fom the dead. But there are also one billion Muslims who genuinely believe in the doctrines of their faith. It's not the numbers who believe that validate the facts. It is the number of witnesses that can testify to having seen the teachings in action.

Our Faith Rests on the Fact

Imagine a Christianity without the resurrection. Imagine all the doctrines are the same but the resurrection is missing. Paul goes down thie rhetorical path for a while with the Corinthian church in verses 12-17. His conclusion: if Christ didn't rise then we are still in our sins (forgiveness didn't happen) and our faith is meaningless. There can be no Christianity without the physical resurrection of Jesus.

All History Culminates in the Fact

From beginning to end, all of history points to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In verses 20-26, Paul goes into a comparison of Jesus to Adam. Adam, the beginning of human existence brought death to his descendants. Jesus brings life to those who are "in Christ." And so, all of human existence points to the moment when God resolves our sin and death.

The Future Depends on the Fact

The Scriptures say that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. And so our future depends on what Christ has really accomplished on Calvary. Without His resurrection, we have no hope of eternal life. But the opposite is indeed true, He promised that even if we would die, we will still live.

Wrap-Up

What are your thoughts on 1 Corinthians 15?

The Story of the Anabaptists

2007-10-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

Introduction

We're continuing to tell the story of the outworking of the Reformation. Today, I'd like to tell how God guided His Church to the truth of baptism.

Luther, Where We Left Off...

Again, Luther opened Pandora's Box, so to speak. He asked uncomfortable question: do we put our trust in the Church or the Scripture when the two diverge? He started at square-one with the core of Christian faith: justification by grace through faith. But he didn't ask the question in all matters and was instead comfortable in his cultural view of baptism. Examining Scripture makes it pretty clear that baptism is a visible sign of the inward work of God's removing our sin and cleansing us from it's guilt. (Pedobaptists, I get your view, I hear you, you're wrong, but whatever...)

Who are the Anabaptists?

The story I want to tell is of a group right after the Reformation got going who took an unpopular position, but God used them greatly and His Church today is forever changed for the better because of their commitment to the Scriptures. I want you to hear the story of the Anabaptists. The prefix "ana" means again in Greek (and it can mean from on high). So in John 3:3, Jesus says you must be born again (or from above). These first generation anabaptists were born as Catholics as were all first generation Reformers. They were baptized as infants by their parents in the Catholic Church. When they read the Scriptures and saw that believers should be baptized and not all people, they began to baptize each other. So they were baptized again (first at birth as Catholics, then at conversion as Anabaptists). They didn't believe in being baptized twice, but they couldn't undo what their parents had done. They were convicted in their study of the Scriptures that only believers ought to be baptized into Jesus' Church.

The Church in Europe had been Reforming from 1517 until 1525 and it really took hold in central Europe. Switzerland was a hotbed for Biblical study and practice. In Zurich especially, Ulrich Zwingli transformed the town into a theological center. Some of his followers began taking unpopular positions on theological matters. Grebel, one of Zwingli's followers was much more extreme than the moderating Zwingli. History tells us that both men disdained Mass, but when the town council insisted in 1523 that it be practiced, Zwingli obliged, while Grebel left. Wikipedia says "These young 'radicals' felt betrayed by Zwingli, while Zwingli looked on them as irresponsible." Men like Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, et al began the Anabaptist movement on January 21, 1525 when Grebel baptized Blaurock in Zurich, Switzerland. Only later, in 1536, did Catholic monks, like Menno Simons join the movement.

The Reaction Against the Anabaptists

Nearly immediately, they were hunted down, ridiculed, tortured, and killed. Felix Manz became the first martyr on May 20, 1527 when Catholics arrested and drowned him. But it was their conviction that what they were doing was Biblical that kept them from disowning the faith. Ironically, it was other churches that hunted them down. Granted, these other churches thought that the Anabaptists (who would not baptized the babies born within the Anabaptist Church) were damning their children to hell.

Anabaptists Today

This movement has continued to this day. Most likely, if you are reading this blog, you are part of this movement. Who are the Anabaptists today (at least on the question of baptism)? Mennonites, Brethren, Quakers, Baptists, Bible Churches, Amish, and mostly all of the Evangelical Church are all members of the Anabaptist movement.

Wrap-Up

Why was the Anabaptist movement born? Because Luther had asked the question one decade earlier: do I trust in the Bible or the Church when the two diverge?

The Outworking of the Reformation

2007-10-08T08:34:00.000-04:00

Introduction

Since it is Reformation Month, culminating on the last day of October when we remember Martin Luther, a Augustinian monk and Professor of Theology at Wittenburg University, I wanted to spend some time together thinking about the outworking of the Reformation. In other words, my belief is that this select generation (mid 1500's) pushed the Church in a direction that is beyond what they intended BUT was what the Spirit of God intended.

Luther's reFormational Principle

Here is the reasoning. When Martin began reading the Bible and found inconsistencies between the doctrine in the Word and the doctrine in the Church. His position was that we must believe the Scripture rather than the Councils and Traditions. It is ironic, however, that he still read many of the Scriptures with his Catholic glasses. For example, he didn't for the longest time seek marriage though he encouraged many of his former monks and nuns to marry. Finally, however, he did wed. Another example would be his view of the sacraments. Both the Eucharist (communion) and baptism were imported from Catholicism with some minor alterations in the Eucharist (and he still called it that).

Application of the Principle

So now for some application of this principle: the reformation began as a principle that continues to this day and into the future. Luther started at square-one and proceeded from there. What happens in all our lives is that there is some guiding principle, some formative philosophy that drives us to alter our behavior. The principle applies to all of life, but we are only able to work on some of the things that need reforming. Luther started with what he felt was central: the mode of justification. But his starting culture, namely the Roman Church, still held sway over his comfort zone for other issues like baptism of infants.

Comfort Zones Hold Us Back

He was so comfortable within the Roman view of baptism that I don't think he saw it as inconsistent to hold justification by faith and baptize the unjustified. But the generations after were able to continue where the preceding generation left off, constantly, slowly, reforming the Church to a more Biblically shaped one. Again, when we start with the question "what does the Bible say?" it is much different than the question "what has been done?" or the question "what is nice or meaningful to do?"

For Us

So, what is unBiblical about our generation's Church? What is in need of reforming? What in your walk with the Lord is in need of reforming? It began in 1517 with some rumblings before it. But the aftershocks will never stop.

BFC-MC Emerging Church Follow-up

2007-10-06T20:57:00.000-04:00

If you're wondering what we did at Ministerial Convention, lemme tell ya. I would love to tell you, but my good friend Tim Bertolet already did it. He and I attended together. He is the pastor at the Mount Pocono BFC.

Read Tim Bertolet's Thoughts on Dr. Franke's presentations.

So this is what I'm going to do... I'll read his 3 blog entries this coming week and then post any additional things I had to chip in here AND as a coment on his stuff. Fair? I guess.

It's October 17, 2007

OKAY, so I finally got around to it. Sorry, sorry, thousand apologies, sincerely. I meant to do this really for you and for me. So here it it: My Follow-Up Appointment with the Emerging Church.

If Solomon lived today he'd say "of the reading and writing of blogs, there is no end" (Ecclesiastes 12:12).

New BFC Logo

2007-10-04T21:48:00.000-04:00

Here it is, the moment we've been waiting for. I know that my hand drawing back in April didn't do any justice, so try to look at this with fresh eyes.

When you compare the old and new logos, think of these two things:

1) Bible Fellowship Church - the name and elements of the name
2) The Vision Statement - "We, the Bible Fellowship Church seek to become an expanding fellowship of churches united to make disciples of Jesus Christ."

So think and compare and embrace:

*New Logo*	*Old Logo*

So let's hear what you have to say about it!

BFC-MC : The Emerging Church

2007-10-01T13:09:00.001-04:00

Well, we're off to Ministerial Convention. We'll be sleeping at my wife's folks tonight. Rachel's mom is going to watch the kids Tuesday and Wednesday. This will be the first time Rachel and Evelyn, our youngest, will be apart through the night and the second or third time Rachel and Nathaniel, our oldest, will be apart through the night. Early tomorrow morning, we'll be driving up to Pinebrook for the convention.

The agenda is a conversation on the Emerging Church which will be led by Dr. John Franke, a professor of theology at Biblical Theological Seminary. Franke has led the seminary to enganging the issues of postmodernity, missional theology, and the emerging church. There are of course many opinions on these issues. Some say that to even talk about postmodernism is to tread across orthodoxy into heresy. Personally, the jury is still out for me, but I DO think we should not be afraid to engage in a conversation on these issues. We should be eager to examine what is happening in the church culture and the greater societal culture and make plans to minister to the lost in a more successful way.

A Methodist brother in the minstry told me his church hired a consultant who has been studying Delaware culture for some time. According to my brother, only 16% of Delawareans have gone to church in the last 2 years. There is no doubt, even if the study is off on numbers, that God's Church is not reaching the lost in this world. Why wouldn't we talk together about how we can do better in our mission?!?

Using Your Gift to It's Full Potential, Part One

2007-10-01T09:43:00.000-04:00

Introduction

This is the place to comment on "Using Your Gift to It's Full Potential", my sermon from Sunday, September 30, 2007. It ended up being Part One since I yapped too long.

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Tongues and Prophecy

I get it. We don't do these things in our church, in the evangelical church. I get it. All week long, I wrestled with how and even why to present this text. I really genuinely felt passionate about the introduction to the sermon. WE CANNOT BE A MODERN THOMAS JEFFERSON. We cannot blot out things that don't apply to us. Just because we don't practice these gifts and just because we happen to believe that they have actually ceased from the roster of the Spirit's gifts doesn't mean God's Word is useless in this passage. So let us uncover the deeper principles that can transfer to the using of any of our gifts. AND THEN let us use our gift to it's full potential.

Wrap-Up

What are your thoughts on 1 Corinthians 14?

Will Christianity Survive?

2007-09-29T20:46:00.000-04:00

Introduction

No, this isn't about Jesus' words "I will build My Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." No, this isn't about the long term viability of the Christian Church. We've been around two thousand years and we'll be here til Jesus returns. This is about the TV show Survivor, now in its fifteenth season and yes some people still match it (myself included).

CBS: Survivor China

Survivor always has a collage of characters. If you watch Survivor Live on CBS.com, you'll learn that most of the cast (aways) are cast offs from the acting world. In other words, most of them are actors and not real people. This season, just look at Dave and Ashley. Dave is a former model and Ashley is a female wrestler. They are at each others' necks the whole two episodes so far and no wonder, they are both actors! I wonder if CBS gives the cast aways "Scripts" at least loosely like "Alright you want to be this kind of person.." or "pick one person to pick on and be cool with everyone else." Cuz it seems that many of them fall into these predictable niches. Or maybe CBS just sees into their souls and can readily identify who will turn out a certain way.

Contestant: Leslie Nease

Which brings me to the point of this entry. Leslie... the token Christian. Leslie seems at first glance like a nice lady. A Christian Talk Show Radio personality. Actor... So shes a talker and a Christian woman... you'd figure a nice personable kind of lady. We haven't seen much interaction between her and other tribe members yet. Except episode two's major blunder. She receives a gift from the opposite tribe: a clue to the hidden immunity [insert non-religious word here]. What does she do? Look for it a little and then tell it to the token gay guy. And then there's the great scene in episode one where she takes James under her wing (that was a touching picture, a sincere reaching out on her part).

But what is she known for? As they arrive on set at the beginning of the game, the Buddhist monks welcome the Survivor contestants to China and invite them to participate in a ritual of welcome. Jeff Probst, the host, is sure to tell the contestants before the ceremony that nothing religious is being done but it is rather a cultural, non-religious welcome. The contestants then put on garb and enter the temple with a huge Buddha statue. The monks play some music and start bowing down to Buddha. The contestants are asked to do it and they follow suit. Leslie begins, but is convicted about it and she stops and exits the temple. Probst immediately pounces upon her afterwards. He asks why she left, which is okay to ask. But then he asks, "do you think this decision will affect her interaction with her new tribe?" That question stinks and automatically prejudices her tribe against her no matter what she says.

Then we come to the opening music for the show. Every contestant gets two video sequences about them. One is their mug shot and another is of them doing something in the game. Leslie's video? Her crying after leaving the temple.

Wrap-up: Media Biased

Come one CBS, throw us a bone, just cuz we have some standards, don't throw us to the lions. This is the problem with Christians in the media. It's not that we behave badly, it's that you'll find any reason to make us look different and weird. And we are... just as Peter told us... "we are strangers and aliens in this world."

All You Need is Love

2007-09-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

Introduction

This is the place to comment on "How to Use the Gifts of the Spirit", my sermon from Sunday, September 23, 2007.

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Weeding Motives

So, Love. Love ought to be the sole motive for our ministries. In the small church, many serve out of necessity or a sense of obligation. In a large church, many may serve our of a desire for fame or the admiration of others. Regardless, weeding the garden of our soul from all motives but sacrifical love is a difficult thing. But like those green nasties, spiritual weeds get worse too if gone unchecked. Get out into the fields and weigh your motivations for ministry.

Measuring Up

Of the list of descriptors for love, which are you good at, which do you fall short in? You can but don't have to reply to that, but certainly ask yourself and the LORD that question.

What Will Cease When?

We had a good conversation Sunday night after Evening Worship about another point raised in the text. Gifts will cease, but the trio of faith hope and love will remain. But interestingly, Paul cites three examples of the gifts and chooses 3 revelatory or sign gifts out of the 25 gifts. Is he indicating that only revelatory and sign gifts will cease, but other genres will remain? The alarm sign that raises in my mind if some but not all have ceased, why hasn't the Bible clearly given us both doctrinal and applicational teaching to this end? God has prepared us in the Scripture for every good work, yet He has not instructed us on this point. That being said, the observation of "prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will cease" is a very important and interesting one.

Wrap-Up

What are your thoughts on 1 Corinthians 13?

Living Biblically for a Year

2007-09-23T21:46:00.000-04:00

The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs.

What would your life be like if you obeyed all the commands of the Bible? What a really neat, quirky question! Okay, what a ridiculous question. Ridiculous that I would ask you since this is the very cry of your heart. Ridiculous that a Newsweek writer would find it fresh and intriguing in an intellectual sense. Here is the article I am referring to.

Listen to the tagline of the article "What if you spent one year following every rule in the Bible? A. J. Jacobs did exactly that." Right, here's an unbeliever who's actually going to obey it all for even a day, let alone a whole year!?!? No offense, it just isn't possible. Not for you or me and not for the author. For the author's reputation sake: he admits in the article that he didn't keep them all even for one day.

But it does bring up two interesting questions. First, which of the over 630 commands are we required to obey as Christians? Second, can we keep all the ones that are required -and if not - how diligent are you to obey? It won't happen by accident.

The final question (and probably the most important) we need to talk about is: should I grow out my beard like Jacobs'?

Greek for 9/23/07

2007-09-23T17:01:00.000-04:00

This Week's Text

1 Corinthians 13

We will study this text together at Morning Worship on Sunday, September 23, 2007

Introductory Thoughts

I hate when people use this text in a wedding. It isn't about romantic love! It's about the proper attitude for ministry. That's what happens, I guess, when people don't read the Bible as a book. No one ever picks up a chapter of Grisham or a paragraph of Agatha Christie. Alright, enough of that rant... seriously, good stuff here for ministering within and outside the Church using your gift in a loving way. With that introduction, now the text:

The Text

Greek

Translation

12:31b και ετι καθ υπερβολην οδον υμιν δεικνυμι

1 εαν ταις γλωσσαις των ανθρωπων λαλω και των αγγελων αγαπην δε μη εχω γεγονα χαλκος ηχων η κυμβαλον αλαλαζον

2 καν εχω προφητειαν και ειδω τα μυστηρια παντα και πασαν την γνωσιν καν εχω πασαν την πιστιν ωστε ορη
μεθιστανειν αγαπην δε μη εχω ουθεν ειμι

3 καν ψωμισω παντα τα υπαρχοντα μου καν παραδω το σωμα μου ινα καυχησωμαι αγαπην δε μη εχω ουδεν ωφελουμαι

4 η αγαπη μακροθυμει χρηστευεται η αγαπη ου ζηλοι ου περπερευεται ου φυσιουται

5 ουκ ασχημονει ου ζητει τα εαυτης ου παροξυνεται ου λογιζεται το κακον

6 ου χαιρει επι τη αδικια συγχαιρει δε τη αληθεια

7 παντα στεγει παντα πιστευει παντα ελπιζει παντα υπομενει

8 η αγαπη ουδεποτε πιπτει ειτε δε προφητειαι καταργηθησονται ειτε γλωσσαι παυσονται ειτε γνωσις
καταργηθησεται

9 εκ μερους γαρ γινωσκομεν και εκ μερους προφητευομεν

10 οταν δε ελθη το τελειον το εκ μερους καταργηθησεται

11 οτε ημην νηπιος ελαλουν ως νηπιος εφρονουν ως νηπιος ελογιζομην ως νηπιος οτε γεγονα ανηρ κατηργηκα τα του νηπιου

12 βλεπομεν γαρ αρτι δι εσοπτρου εν αινιγματι τοτε δε προσωπον προς προσωπον αρτι γινωσκω εκ μερους τοτε δε επιγνωσομαι καθως και επεγνωσθην

13 νυνι δε μενει πιστις ελπις αγαπη τα τρια ταυτα μειζων δε τουτων η αγαπη

Read on BibleGateway

Research on ZHubert

^12:31b And yet I will show you a higher way.

^13:1 If i speak with the tongues of mean and of angels but I do not love, I become a clinging ring or a noisy cymbal.

² And if I have prophecies and I see all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have faith as to move mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing.

³ Even if I might feed with all my possessions and if I might give over my body to be glorified [burned], but I do not love, I benefit nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous, it is not boastful, it is not arrogant.

⁵ It does not act unbecomingly, it does not enumerate wrongs.

⁶ It does not rejoice concerning evil, but it fully rejoices with the truth.

⁷ It endures all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it perserveres all things.

⁸ Love never fails. But whether prophecies, they will be ended. Whether tongues, they will cease. Whether knowledge, it will be ended.

⁹ For in part we know and in part we prophesy.

¹⁰ But when the perfect comes, the part will be ended.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. At the time I have become a man, I have ended the things of a child.

¹² For I see presently through a mirror in obscurity, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will fully know just as I am fully known.

¹³ But now remain these three things: faith, hope, love. But the greatest of these is love.

Read on BibleGateway

Spiritual Gifts

2007-09-15T21:13:00.001-04:00

The List of Spiritual Gifts
taken from the Notes for Sunday, September 16, 2007

These are the Spiritual Gifts listed in the NT
Click on one for a in-depth explanation of that gift. The unfinished ones will be coming Monday.

I. Revelatory Gifts
1. Word of Wisdom
2. Word of Knowledge
3. Prophecy
4. Faith

II. Sign Gifts
5. Healing
6. Miracles
7. Discernment
8. Tongues
9. Interpretation

III. Saving Gifts
10. Apostles
11. Evangelism

IV. Growth Gifts
12. Teaching
13. Pastoring
14. Exhorting

V. Church Gifts
15. Helps
16. Administration
17. Leading
18. Service
19. Giving
20. Mercy

SGs - Administrations

2007-09-15T21:11:00.001-04:00

What is This Gift?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:28

SGs- Teachers

2007-09-15T21:09:00.001-04:00

What is This Gift?

See the Following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11, Romans 12:7

SGs - Apostles

2007-09-15T20:57:00.000-04:00

What is This Gift?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:28, Acts 1:12-26, 1 Corinthians 15:7-9

The gift of Apostleship is the "first" gift according to Paul not because it is the first in importance, but first in chronology. It was the first gift given. Apostleship is a gift of leadership authority by which the recipient is entrusted by God to open the door of salvation to new people groups. Interestingly, Jesus tells Peter that "whatever he binds will be bound and whatever he lossens will be loosened" (Mt 16:18-19) and Peter opened the door of salvation to the Jews, Samaritans, and the Gentiles.

The twelve Apostles presided as the elders of the church of Jerusalem until at least a generation, for they were all still there at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). Yet it was James (Jesus' brother) who seemed to lead the group and not Peter. Church history tells us that soon after this council, the apostles went out as far as India, Spain, Russia, and Egypt with the Gospel.

Are there still apostles today? Missionaries serve in the role with a lowercase "a" but certianly the job of opening the doors of salvation was a one-time gig, accompished by the first twelve (or thirteen, depending on your count).

SGs - Tongues and Interpretations

2007-09-15T20:44:00.000-04:00

What are These Gifts?

I'm sorry. I don't have a lot of patience for this issue. It is such a hot button that I don't even want to address it, but I will. This gift is listed last in every list it appears on. It isn't less important than the others, for the whole thrust of 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 is that all the different gifts really are equally important. It appears last because for some strange reason, everyone wants to make it preimmanent. Paul places it last on three lists because he doesn't want God's people to think it's first. It is funny how the calendar changes but some issues don't change. Today, you either love 'em or you hate 'em.

What is tongues? The first instance of speaking in tongues in the Bible is on the Feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled the twelve apostles along with 108 other Christians to evangelize to foreigners visiting Jerusalem. They didn't speak Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek. Each disciple spoke the language of the person he was speaking to. To a Persian, the disciple spoke Persian. To a Dalmatian, he spoke that local dialect. The first instance of this gift is evangelistic. Within twenty or thirty years after Petecost, Paul had to write to this church and the Church to tell them their use (rather, misuse) of this gift was hurting worship of God, edification of the saints, and evangelism of the lost. Read chapter 14 for more on that.

Today?!?

Today, if you are willing to say tongues is still a practiced gift, it ought to be practiced evangelistically and not within the walls of the church building. You have tongues, eat an egg roll, chalupa, or spaghetti. That isn't sarcastic. Rescue the perishing!

SGs - Distinguishing Spirits

2007-09-15T20:32:00.000-04:00

What is This Gift?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, 1 John 4:1-4

This is the only text which explicitly calls this a spiritual gift. Elsewhere it tells us to weigh the words of a speaker (whether they be a prophet or otherwise). The gift of distinguishing spirits is the ability to discern whether a speaker is speaking the words of God, self, or a malicious spirit. We know that Satan and his "ministers" decorate themselves as ministers of light. We know that cults dress in sheeps clothing all the time being ravenous wolves. We know that holders of false doctrine love to mislead the elect people of God rather than the "unaffiliated" non-Christians. It is not a mistrust of God's servant or a natural tendency to doubt the prophet which drives us to seek discerning people. Rather, it is the knowledge that liars put their best foot forward which causes us to want and need discerning people.

SGs - Prophecy

2007-09-15T20:08:00.000-04:00

What Is This Gift?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:10, Acts 13:1-2

Prophecy is telling people God's message. In the OT, God recited a message which the prophet dutifully wrote down exactly how God said it and then went out to tell everyone what he had just been told. In the NT, local church prophets functioned in much the same way. Before God's Word had been completed and circulated, God's people were in need of instruction in doctrine and godly morals. Prophets fulfilled this job. God revealed to them what He needed from the congregation and they communicated it to everyone. The gift of distinguishing spirits was given to test the prophetic revelations, just so everyone could relax and receive the word from God confident that it really was His word. Notice in the text that distinguishing spirits is immediately after prophecy just as interpretation of tongues immediately follows speaking in tongues (1 Cor 12:10). We can conclude safely that distinguishing is a gift in the same manner as interpretation.

Does This Gift Still Work Today?

We know what God expects from us. We have all doctrine. Peter tells us, we have everything necessary for life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him" (2 Peter 1:3). Is there still room for this gift? Although we always think of prophecy as "telling the future" or "revealing a previously hidden truth from God to man," the OT and NT prophets often reminded. Certainly this aspect of prophetic ministry is still valuable today, but is not much different than the role of a pastor, exhorter, or teacher.

There is another way in which a prophet is still used of God today. Often, a local church is in need of direction from God that is not pertinent to the universal Church. Think of a ministry, program, decision. The Bible would be too large if His entire will were expressed for every local church throughout history. Nor is it necessary that God should reveal His whole will in the Bible. there is room for God to use a prophet to reveal His will for that local church to that local church. Obviously distinguishing of the spirits is necessary, but we should embrace God's will as He tells us through Paul

"19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good." (1 Thes 5:19-21).

God's Church is constantly in need of His counsel and the revelation of His will. We should seek the prophet out to hear God's counsel.

SGs - Healing and Miracles

2007-09-15T19:47:00.000-04:00

What Are These Gifts?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:9-10

These are two distinct gifts, but for time's sake, I will treat them together in one blog entry. The gifts of healing and miracles are both miraculous in that the effect of both of them is supernatural occurences that are scientifically inexplicable.

Healing is obvious in its application: it is the miracle of restored physical health. In the Bible, we readily think of numerous healings by Jesus for the blind, lame, leprous, etc. We can also think of Peter raising Dorcas, Paul raising the sleepy worshipper, and many others. Today, we can see this on the mission field, especially in areas where the Gospel is penetrating for the first time. I can relay a second-hand story of a missionary (who was a cessationist) and in an African tent meeting, they prayed for a man with a shrivelled arm. As they prayed, the man's arm began to blow up like a balloon and was fully restored.

Miracles is the gift of doing miraculous things beyond the realm of health. Moving mountains, walking on water, exorcisms, causing fruit to grow on barren trees and vice-versa, all are examples of NT miracles. Also, there are OT examples, like the widow's oil running endless. Many-a-Christian can recount financially tight years when their "oil" miraculously continued to pour.

In the Bible, the use of both these gifts always involved prayer. Even Jesus usually prayed before discharging the miraculous. More often than not, these gifts were employed in the evangelism of unbelievers. Today, it is the Church's experience that miraculous sign gifts occur much more in the frontiers of God's kingdom than in the "conquered territory."

SGs - Faith

2007-09-15T19:20:00.001-04:00

What is the Gift of Faith?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:9

The spiritual gift of faith is a different "thing" than saving faith. All Christians possess saving faith and saving faith IS a gift from God (Eph 2:8-10). However, the spiritual gift of faith is beyond saving faith. Even in the text, we see this "to another is given the gift of faith by the same Spirit." Some have it, others do not have it.

So what is it? I think the best text which explains this gift is Jesus' words about faith in Matthew 17:14-21

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 "I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him." 17 And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me." 18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" 20 And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21 "But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

So faith is described by Jesus as an ability to believe impossible things and trust God to accomplish them for His Name's sake. And how can it be done? Through prayer to God (v21). Notice in this passage it is certainly miraculous. The context is driving out demons. Jesus' other example is the moving of mountains (literal or figurative) Paul cites this allusion again in the very next chapter of 1 Corinthians in 13:2 "if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."Again, Faith is believing that God will act in an impossible way for His Name's sake and asking Him to do it.

Who Had This Gift in the Bible?

The people that come to my mind are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Listen to what they said to the king when they faced the fiery furnace.

17"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." (Daniel 3:17-18)

Others who had this gift are listed in the faith chapter, Hebrews 11. Certainly many NT examples can be listed. Compare Zecahriah's lack of this kind of faith with Mary's possession of this kind of faith in Luke 1.

SGs - Word of Knowledge

2007-09-15T18:48:00.000-04:00

What is a Word of Knowledge?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:8

This spiritual gift is a special revelation of the Lord's truth. It was especially useful during the time period in the Church in which all the books of the NT had not yet been written and widely circulated, but it is still useful today. When a local church or the Church is struggling with a particular doctrinal issue, it is this gifted person that the Spirit uses to instruct the congregation in the truth of God. This person does this by taking the Word of God and explaining it to the group. In situations in which the Bible does not specifically address the question at hand (e.g. before the closing of the canon, or certain specific modern moral dilemmas like human stem cell research), the person often alludes to relate passages of God's Word and makes applications that the congregation can use in beginning to assess the Lord's will on the matter.

Honestly, many of the issues we face today are not explicitly talked about in the Bible. It is men and women gifted with the word of knowledge that have a width, breadth, and depth in knowledge and understanding who can comb through all of God's Word and tell us the pertinent Scriptures to the dilemma.

The obvious question for non-"charismatic" evangelicals is "how highly do we esteem comments made that are above and beyond the Scripture?" Are their words inspired in the same way the authors of Scripture were inspired? Should we equate the word of knowledge given today with any Scripture? For me, flat out, there is no raising of these statements to the par of Scripture. But God has given this gift for the upbuilding of the Church and He has also given the gift of discerning of spirits to the Church as well to aid in balancing a rogue use of this gift. I would hate to dismiss God when He tells us through Paul "do not forsake prophetic utterances" (1 Thes 5:16).

Who Had This Gift in the Bible?

Most of the NT writers employ this gift in their epistles. Think of how they used OT statements and breathed fuller life into them in applying them to circumstances in their own day. I think especially of James who did this frequently in his epistle.

SGs - Word of Wisdom

2007-09-15T16:55:00.001-04:00

What is a Word of Wisdom?

See the following Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:8

This spiritual gift is a special revelation from the Lord to an individual that the rest of the body is not privy to. It is closely associated with the next gift listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8, word of knowledge. Two examples: first, the congregation is considering a building project that exceeds the financial ability of the group so they consider taking a huge debt to finance the project and the person(s) gifted with the word of knowledge speaks God's counsel from the Bible about debt to the congregation. Second, a small group at church is considering methods of evangelizing as a team and after the small group evaluates several options, the one gifted with the word of knowledge senses the Lord's direction towards one method, he communicates his burden and the team implements that method with great success.

In these two examples, the first is God's will communicated in Scripture. All are privy to His wisdom but the gifted one is the one whom the Spirit "reminds." Wisdom often is taking truth and being able to apply that truth to a particular situation. Often the practical implications are much more sophisticated than my given example. The second ecample is God's will which is not communicated in Scripture. God does want us to evangelize, but the technique employed is not. Wisdom is necessary in order to assess which is befitting to the group's situation. What are their skills? Whom do they want to reach? What will hook their audience? What venue is appropriate? All these require wisdom.

Is wisdom a specially revealed object? Is there wisdom available to the gifted person that is not available to any believer? Insofar as there is a spiritual gift with this name, and the text teaches us that "to one is given this, to another is given that... all to the common good of the body of Christ" we must say that the one given this gift is given wisdom beyond that wisdom which is ascertainable to the general Church body.

When I'm Not Around

2007-09-13T18:24:00.000-04:00

My daughter just turned one. All you who know her, see her as an incredibly pleasant and smiley baby girl. The deep-dark-secret is that she is fooling you all. At home, she is really fussy. I know everything said on the Internet lasts forever (as the experts say) so sorry girly ... i hate to embarrass you.

Just now, Evelyn was playing on the kitchen floor while I read Ray Bertolet's blog and while Rachel was in the bano. She was pleasant and even cheery. As soon as Rachel came out of the bathroom, Evelyn started fussing and reaching out for mama to hold her. As Nathaniel always said as a baby, "hold you me!"

So Rachel commented after this fuss: "Why is she only pleasant when I'm not around?" Believe you me, it is frustrating and stressful to hear the wailing of a baby. But in this moment, I thought about things from my baby girl's perspective. She is thinking "I happiest when I'm in my mama's arms."

All this got me thinking about us and the Lord. There are times in my life that I am close to the Lord and there are times when my spiritual vitality is dry and my soul is hungry for Him. When I see Him moving in my life, or in the lives of those around me. I realize that He is there and I do all I can for Him to hold me and stir and fill my aching soul. When I am blind to His quiet working, when I don't notice His presence and workings, I am content to busy myself in the matters that surround me.

Like my baby girl, I am pleasant when I forget about my God but when I see Him, all I want is for Him to be close with me. May I put away the propensity to be content apart from Him. May my spiritual eyes be restored to full sight. May I always see His movings. May I always hunger and even ache for closeness to Him. May I be eager to hear the whispers of love and assignment from His Spirit.

God at Work in China

2007-09-10T13:08:00.000-04:00

The Facts, Ma'am, Just the Facts

Read this article by Pastor John Piper: "Mark This Day and Marvel at the Work of God." This past Friday marked the two-hundreth anniversary of the first Protestant missionary to enter China. I want to encourage you to read Piper's comments, but for now, I'll quote the missionary's prayer. His name was Robert Morrison and he wrote in his journal to the LORD: "“May he be the first-fruits of a great harvest, one of millions who shall come and be saved on the day of wrath to come." God, teach me and my church and my nation to pray this way.

Where China is Today

There are 111 million Christians in China. 90% of them are Protestants. A CLOSED NATION IS THE THIRD LARGEST CHRISTIAN NATION IN THE WORLD!!!! We have GOT to pray more for God to work in this world.

Do you think He is waiting for us to ask before He works? It reminds me of that poignant statment by Jesus "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith in the world?" (Luke 18:8) He says this right after preaching on the need for intense, consistent prayer for God to act on one issue.

We're ALL Charismatic

2007-09-10T08:20:00.000-04:00

Order in Ministering Together

Let's talk about last Sunday (9/9/07).

What are your thoughts about the roles of different ministers in the church? Is it hard or easy to see yourself as a minister? Is it easy to recognize laypeople as ministers? Is it easy to see the pastor as one-among-many ministers? I'll post after a few go ahead. My sermon is available on the church site in audio and notes. My Greek Translation of the text is available on the blog.

Specifically focusing on 1 Corinthians 12, but other texts are okay too.

React to This!

How do you feel about the statement "all Christians are Charismatics" ??

Greek for 9/9/07

2007-09-06T18:40:00.000-04:00

This Week's Text

1 Corinthians 12

We will study this text together at Morning Worship on Sunday, September 2, 2007

Introductory Thoughts

Again, nothing terribly controversial here. The hot-n-heavy stuff enters in chapter 14. I would really like to know where (so-called) charismatics are coming from in v10 "to some, tongues" (i.e. not to all, but to some) and v19 "if all were one part, where would the body be?" I call them so-called charismatics because we are all charismatic. That is to say we are all gifted by the Spirit. When they call themselves charismatic, they are really saying they practice the sign gifts (like tongues, prophecy, miracles, etc). With that introduction, now the text:

The Text

Greek

Translation

1 περι δε των πνευματικων αδελφοι ου θελω υμας αγνοειν 2 οιδατε οτι οτε εθνη ητε προς τα ειδωλα τα αφωνα ως αν ηγεσθε απαγομενοι 3 διο γνωριζω υμιν οτι ουδεις εν πνευματι θεου λαλων λεγει αναθεμα ιησους και ουδεις δυναται ειπειν κυριος ιησους ει μη εν πνευματι αγιω 4 διαιρεσεις δε χαρισματων εισιν το δε αυτο πνευμα 5 και διαιρεσεις διακονιων εισιν και ο αυτος κυριος 6 και διαιρεσεις ενεργηματων εισιν και ο αυτος θεος ο ενεργων τα παντα εν πασιν 7 εκαστω δε διδοται η φανερωσις του πνευματος προς το συμφερον 8 ω μεν γαρ δια του πνευματος διδοται λογος σοφιας αλλω δε λογος γνωσεως κατα το αυτο πνευμα 9 ετερω πιστις εν τω αυτω πνευματι αλλω δε χαρισματα ιαματων εν τω ενι πνευματι 10 αλλω δε ενεργηματα δυναμεων αλλω [δε] προφητεια αλλω [δε] διακρισεις πνευματων ετερω γενη γλωσσων αλλω δε ερμηνεια γλωσσων 11 παντα δε ταυτα ενεργει το εν και το αυτο πνευμα διαιρουν ιδια εκαστω καθως βουλεται 12 καθαπερ γαρ το σωμα εν εστιν και μελη πολλα εχει παντα δε τα μελη του σωματος πολλα οντα εν εστιν σωμα ουτως και ο χριστος 13 και γαρ εν ενι πνευματι ημεις παντες εις εν σωμα εβαπτισθημεν ειτε ιουδαιοι ειτε ελληνες ειτε δουλοι ειτε ελευθεροι και παντες εν πνευμα εποτισθημεν 14 και γαρ το σωμα ουκ εστιν εν μελος αλλα πολλα 15 εαν ειπη ο πους οτι ουκ ειμι χειρ ουκ ειμι εκ του σωματος ου παρα τουτο ουκ εστιν εκ του σωματος 16 και εαν ειπη το ους οτι ουκ ειμι οφθαλμος ουκ ειμι εκ του σωματος ου παρα τουτο ουκ εστιν εκ του σωματος 17 ει ολον το σωμα οφθαλμος που η ακοη ει ολον ακοη που η οσφρησις 18 νυν δε ο θεος εθετο τα μελη εν εκαστον αυτων εν τω σωματι καθως ηθελησεν 19 ει δε ην [τα] παντα εν μελος που το σωμα 20 νυν δε πολλα μελη εν δε σωμα 21 ου δυναται [δε] ο οφθαλμος ειπειν τη χειρι χρειαν σου ουκ εχω η παλιν η κεφαλη τοις ποσιν χρειαν υμων ουκ εχω 22 αλλα πολλω μαλλον τα δοκουντα μελη του σωματος ασθενεστερα υπαρχειν αναγκαια εστιν 23 και α δοκουμεν ατιμοτερα ειναι του σωματος τουτοις τιμην περισσοτεραν περιτιθεμεν και τα ασχημονα ημων ευσχημοσυνην περισσοτεραν εχει 24 τα δε ευσχημονα ημων ου χρειαν εχει αλλα ο θεος συνεκερασεν το σωμα τω υστερουμενω περισσοτεραν δους τιμην 25 ινα μη η σχισμα εν τω σωματι αλλα το αυτο υπερ αλληλων μεριμνωσιν τα μελη 26 και ειτε πασχει εν μελος συμπασχει παντα τα μελη ειτε δοξαζεται μελος συγχαιρει παντα τα μελη 27 υμεις δε εστε σωμα χριστου και μελη εκ μερους 28 και ους μεν εθετο ο θεος εν τη εκκλησια πρωτον αποστολους δευτερον προφητας τριτον διδασκαλους επειτα δυναμεις επειτα χαρισματα ιαματων αντιλημψεις κυβερνησεις γενη γλωσσων 29 μη παντες αποστολοι μη παντες προφηται μη παντες διδασκαλοι μη παντες δυναμεις 30 μη παντες χαρισματα εχουσιν ιαματων μη παντες γλωσσαις λαλουσιν μη παντες διερμηνευουσιν 31 ζηλουτε δε τα χαρισματα τα μειζονα και ετι καθ υπερβολην οδον υμιν δεικνυμι

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Research on ZHubert

1 Now concerning the things of the Spirit, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 Know that at one time you were nations with mute idols, by which you were led astray. 3 Therefore, I make known to you all that no one in the Spirit of God speaks saying "Cursed is Jesus" and no one is empowered to say "Lord Jesus" if it is not in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are diverse gifts but there is one Spirit, 5 and there are diverse ministries and one Lord, 6 and there are diverse works but one God who works all things in all. 7 But each one is given a clear display of the Spirit for the purpose of the commono good. 8 For inded, one through the Spirit is given a word of wisdom, but another a word of knowledge from the same Spirit, 9 still another faith in the same Spirit, but another a gift of healing in the one Spirit, 10 but another a work of power, but another prophecy, but another a discernment of spirits, still another a variety of tongues, but another an interpretation of tongues, 11 but all these works are in one and the same Spirit who divides specially assigned tasks to each one just as He pleases. 12 For even as there is one body and it has many parts, so all the many parts of the body are in one body, so Christ is also. 13 For also in one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jew or whether Greek, whether slave or whether free, and we all are given drink in one Spirit. 14 For also the body is not in one part but many parts. 15 If the foot might say "since I am not a hand, I am not part of the body" from this is it not from the body? 16 And if the ear might say "since I am not an eye, I am not of the body," from this is it not part of the body? 17 If the whole body is an eye, where is hearing? If all hear, where is the sense of smell? 18 But now God destined the members, in each one in the body just as He chooses. 19 Now if all are in one, where is the body? 20 But now, these many are still one body. 21 But the eye is not able to say to the hand, "I do not have need of you." 22 Now those members of the body which are supposedly weaker are necessary. 23 And that which we think to be less honorable of the body to these we bestow a more excessive price and the indecent of us has more excessive honor, 24 but the honorable of us does not have need. But God united the body giving more abundant honor to the one who lacked, 25 in order that there be no schism in the body so that the members might be anxious for one another. 26 And if a member suffers, all suffer with the member, 27 But we are the body of Christ and members out of the whole. 28 And God appointed in the Churh first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, next a gift of healing, helps, leadership, kinds of tongues. 29 Not all are apostles, not all are prophets, not all teach, not all work miracles, 30 not all have a gift of healing, not all speak tongues, not all interpret, 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts.

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An Invitation

What is your spiritual gift? How do you use it?

Sweet ... at First

2007-09-06T07:14:00.000-04:00

The Text

Revelation 10:9-10

So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.

Some Thoughts

How would you describe your devotions today? this week? this month? Would you say they give you warm fuzzies all the time? Feeling close to Jesus is a good thing and I wouldn't want to rob someone of it. My belief is that sometimes, devotions need to hurt. Have your devotions ever hurt?

The saying goes: no pain, no gain. I'm not ready to buy it hook-line-and-sinker, but the axiom: pain makes you grow, I believe that is true. How does this relate to devotions? Sometimes we need the comfort and affection of Jesus in our one-on-one times with Him. But sometimes, as my dad says, we need a yardstick whacked over our heads. Sometimes it should be sweet to the taste. Sometimes it should be bitter in our stomach. Don't feel like you devotion times are no good when you feel far from Him. We are only ever far from Him when WE move far from Him. He always stays on course; we are the ones that meander all over the thicket on either side of the path. When devotions hurt, it's often because we are being convicted of wandering.

This is why, in general, I am not crazy about these devotional booklets. They certainly have their place in life, but when was the last time you read one and it said something tough to swallow? Too often, I fear, Christians stuff themselves on spiritual junk food (all fluff and no subtance) instead of truly craving spiritual meat (sometimes tough to chew, but always beneficial). I'm not indicting all devo books, I'm just throwing an idea out there.

When John ate the scroll, it tasted sweet at first, but became sour later on. Many times it feels good to start in on devotions and you're reading and all of a sudden, it hits you like a ton of bricks: I fall short. I don't measure up. It becomes bitter. Don't stop your devotions! This is the ministry of the Spirit in your life. He convicts in order to fix, He fixes in order make you like Jesus. This is His job. And you'll never end up like Jesus until you surrender to His convicting. Let Him work... He's a professional!

Neat Labor Day Blog

2007-09-06T07:03:00.000-04:00

I was reading my favorite blogs and came across this one about Labor Day and eternity. Will we work in heaven? Read this blog by Mike Metzger over at Vanguard Church.

Taking the Lord's Name in Vain

2007-09-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

The Text

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain." Exodus 20:7

Some Thoughts on This

In a few months, we will be doing "Tough Sayings" in Evening Worship. The first will be the Unpardonable Sin that Jesus speaks of in the Gospels. Essentially, the unpardonable sin is ascribing to Satan the works of the Holy Spirit. Is this command in the Big Ten related at all to the Unpardonable Sin?

Enter, Dennis Prager

I heard on the radio this week a Jewish man speaking about war atrocities. His thesis was that atrocities in the name of secular ideology far outweigh the atrocities in the name of religious idealogy. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and other 20th century dictators kiled more for their purposes than all of the crusaders throughout the millenia. Then he came to the current atrocities perpetrated by Islamic extremists. They kill in the name of their god. He said they are breaking this Big Ten. Taking God's name in vain means (to the Hebrew mind) to do evil for God and call it good. I had never heard that before.

Aw, Jeez...

According to this scholar, "oh my G-d" and "J-sus Chr-st!" when you are shocked, hurt, etc may be wrong, but it isnt part of the Big Ten. He says God is big, noble and He wouldn't vaporize you for that. But what He cannot abide is when truly wicked people make religion and make Him appear to be advocating the sick and truly evil behaviors of those spokesmen. I get it. That certainly is more evil than "goodness gracious!"

It's Your Turn

Your thoughts on the Third Commandment?

Roles of Men and Women

2007-08-31T21:05:00.000-04:00

Alright, I'm ready for it. Let's talk about last Sunday (8/26/07).

What are your thoughts about the roles of men and women (husbands and wives) in church? I'll post after a few go ahead. My sermon is available on the church site.

Specifically focusing on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16, but other texts are okay too.

Just Added!
I just read this interesting blog about the gender roles debate

WWJB ???

2007-08-29T07:46:00.000-04:00

I Found This Cool Bumper Sticker?

Dean's Beans has this bumper sticker out to promote their fair trade organic coffee. At first, I just laughed about it. I'm not one to bicker about religious humor as long as it isn't sick humor (oxymoron?). Then it made me start to think... what would Jesus brew for real?!?

By all accounts, brewing the roasted fruit of coffea arabica began at least 1000 years ago, but probably not 2000 years ago. So Jesus more than likely did not brew anything. But the question remains: would He drink coffee today and if so, what brand?

What's the Point?!?!

You could read a lot into this bumper sticker. My read is that it is a push for their fair-trade coffee. Jesus could only enjoy a cup-o-joe if it wasnt made with the sweat and tears of slaves. The emperialist Tim says I wouldn't drink anything made from sweat and tears cuz it would be pretty salty. The Christ-like Tim says most of the coffee we drink IS made by oppressing the local farmers of the third world. We get upset when we hear Kathy Lee Gifford atrocities about little kids in Hondurna sweat shops. But we also don't audit the life stories and situations of the coffee farmers.

I'm not trying to be a bleeding-heart lib, nor am I trying to make Jesus out to be simply a 21st century ethics professor. Jesus taught the poor and downtrodden to be happy with their wage and to not get Him involved in sorting out their financial dealings with other people. He only made it a point to pay taxes when others made a fuss over it.

Should we be concerned with the source of what we put down "the hatch?" What would Jesus brew? Our coffee comes from Latin and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and some from Arabia. The farmers hardly break even on the transaction with the traders who act as middle men between the roaster (Folgers, Starbucks, and all the other brands) and the farmers. They can't argue with the traders who would just go to the next farm down the way. The trader wants to buy low and sell high. All-in-all we buy our $4 cafe lattes with chocolate drizzled ontop and the farmers see pennies for their work.

This brings us to Fair Trade coffee (and other products are moving this way too). You pay more for the coffee so that the farmer can actually move up the economic ladder or at least keep their heads above the water. According to Dean's Zine, Fair Trade farmers make three times what they would have otherwise made. Would Jesus insist on only drinking Fair Trade coffee? Or would He turn a blind eye to the subjugation of hard working (South) Americans?

At the end of the day, the sticker is less funny than I first thought...

Sinful vs. Foolish

2007-08-29T07:16:00.000-04:00

I want to ask a question that I have been thinking about for a long time and I haven't come to any conclusion on yet. Here goes: is there a difference between a sinful act and a foolish act? Is there a difference between a righteous act and a wise act? There are lots of applications to the answer. "A fool spends all that he has." Is it a sin to spend all that one has?

So, I'd love to hear your insight. Give me reasons why you answer the way you did. I will go through with my rationale in the comments section. Peace.

Greek for 9/2/07

2007-08-27T20:49:00.000-04:00

This Week's Text

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

We will study this text together at Morning Worship on Sunday, September 2, 2007

Introductory Thoughts

Nothing terribly controversial in this passage, however it is so crucial to our walk with Christ to participate in the Lord's Supper in a proper way. We all know that there are varying views on what exactly "happens" at communion. We are inwardly pursuaded of our own view. Perhaps the question we can talk about is "why are there varying views?" And now, the text:

The Text

Greek

Translation

17 τουτο δε παραγγελλων ουκ επαινω οτι ουκ εις το κρεισσον αλλα εις το ησσον συνερχεσθε 18 πρωτον μεν γαρ συνερχομενων υμων εν εκκλησια ακουω σχισματα εν υμιν υπαρχειν και μερος τι πιστευω 19 δει γαρ και αιρεσεις εν υμιν ειναι ινα [και] οι δοκιμοι φανεροι γενωνται εν υμιν 20 συνερχομενων ουν υμων επι το αυτο ουκ εστιν κυριακον δειπνον φαγειν 21 εκαστος γαρ το ιδιον δειπνον προλαμβανει εν τω φαγειν και ος μεν πεινα ος δε μεθυει 22 μη γαρ οικιας ουκ εχετε εις το εσθιειν και πινειν η της εκκλησιας του θεου καταφρονειτε και καταισχυνετε τους μη εχοντας τι ειπω υμιν επαινεσω υμας εν τουτω ουκ επαινω 23 εγω γαρ παρελαβον απο του κυριου ο και παρεδωκα υμιν οτι ο κυριος ιησους εν τη νυκτι η παρεδιδετο ελαβεν αρτον 24 και ευχαριστησας εκλασεν και ειπεν τουτο μου εστιν το σωμα το υπερ υμων τουτο ποιειτε εις την εμην αναμνησιν 25 ωσαυτως και το ποτηριον μετα το δειπνησαι λεγων τουτο το ποτηριον η καινη διαθηκη εστιν εν τω εμω αιματι τουτο ποιειτε οσακις εαν πινητε εις την εμην αναμνησιν 26 οσακις γαρ εαν εσθιητε τον αρτον τουτον και το ποτηριον πινητε τον θανατον του κυριου καταγγελλετε αχρις ου ελθη 27 ωστε ος αν εσθιη τον αρτον η πινη το ποτηριον του κυριου αναξιως ενοχος εσται του σωματος και του αιματος του κυριου 28 δοκιμαζετω δε ανθρωπος εαυτον και ουτως εκ του αρτου εσθιετω και εκ του ποτηριου πινετω 29 ο γαρ εσθιων και πινων κριμα εαυτω εσθιει και πινει μη διακρινων το σωμα 30 δια τουτο εν υμιν πολλοι ασθενεις και αρρωστοι και κοιμωνται ικανοι 31 ει δε εαυτους διεκρινομεν ουκ αν εκρινομεθα 32 κρινομενοι δε υπο του κυριου παιδευομεθα ινα μη συν τω κοσμω κατακριθωμεν 33 ωστε αδελφοι μου συνερχομενοι εις το φαγειν αλληλους εκδεχεσθε 34 ει τις πεινα εν οικω εσθιετω ινα μη εις κριμα συνερχησθε τα δε λοιπα ως αν ελθω διαταξομαι

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Research on ZHubert

This is my project for Tuesday morning. I will post it asap. For now, read it in NASB by clicking the link below.

Read on BibleGateway

An Invitation

There are four views on what happens at communion.

Transubstantiation: the prayer of communion actually turns the bread into Jesus' physical body and the wine into the physical blood of Jesus so that the participant eats Jesus.
Consubstantiation: the prayer of communion brings the spiritual presence of Christ to be with the bread and wine so that the participant eats the elements and receives the spirit of Jesus.
Memorial: the prayer of communion beseeches God to strengthen the union between Him and the participant so that the participant remembers the cross and commits anew.
Spiritual Nourishment: Jesus isnt the element nor is He with the element, but communion isnt just a history lesson either. This would be a step between Consubstantiation and Memorial in which the worthy participant does "feed upon Christ to their spiritual nourishment."

Which one are you and why?

Lazarus and the Rich Man - Luke 16

2007-08-27T08:07:00.000-04:00

The Question

Is the following passage a parable or a real event?

The Text

19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[c] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Luke 16:19-31 (NIV)

Let's Talk... Topic... THE FIRES OF HELL!

Here we have the all-familiar story of Lazarus and the Rich Man. We all hopefully know the main point of the passage: there is no "It's a Wonderful Life ... there are back again" scenario. Once you go to hell, it's too late for regrets.

Here is my question. Is this a parable or an event. Did it really happen? The woman and the lost coin is a parable that could happen. That parable didn't need to happen in order for us to understand the lesson. What about Lazarus and the rich man? Are they real people that died or are they characters in a story about eternity?

In a parable all the events of the story are make-believe, only the moral of the story matters. In an event, everything happened exactly how it is told. Bryan Huie does a lot with this question in his article. So let's look at the specifics of the story and see if that is the way it is.

All we know about the characters is one lived luzuriously and one lived in squallor. Is this the reason for eternal destination? (v19-21)

Those in heaven and hell can talk to and see one another. (v23-24)

In eternity, the wicked still prey on the righteous (v24)

In hell, people care about their undead relatives and friends (v28)

I don't think any of these things are true, but Jesus also never says that this is a parable. In v1-9 He tells another story that is likely a parable and not an event. Both stories begin with "there was a rich man..."

SO, what do you think about all this? Which parts are real and which are just part of the story?

The Biology of Sin and the Incarnation of Jesus

2007-08-25T16:28:00.000-04:00

Introduction

The Reformation of God's Church initiated by Martin Luther in 1518 and continued to this day began out of a desire to begin and end on God's Word, the Bible. We believe and put into practice only those things that are expressly taught in the Holy Scriptures. This has been and remains to be a clarion distinction between the Protestant Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. With that being said, I begin today's discussion of the biology of sin and the Incarnation of Jesus.

How Does One Become a Sinner?

This is a hugely important question and (as all hugely important questions always are) is answered in wildly divergent ways. For most of Catholic Church history and all of Reformed Church history, the answer is: we inherit a sinful nature at the time of our conception just as the saint, King David expressed in his Psalm of confession "Truly I was sinful since birth, sinful since the time my mother conceived me" (Ps 51:5). Paul echoes this in his Spirit inspired discussion of salvation: "you were dead in your trespasses and your sins,... but He made you alive together with Christ" (Eph 2:1, 5).

The question of who I inherit my sinful nature from is one very different. Is it mom? Is it dad? Is it something biological, or does God pronounce me thus insofar as I am a descendant of Adam, the sinner? And if it is something that I inherit apart from anything I have done, how does Christ not inherit it?

I always heard that we are imputed with it due to Adam's fall in the garden, but that imputation is inherited through the male parent and not the female. The only proof for the male and not the female was a logical one, since Christ did not inherit a sin nature. He had no human father, but He did have a human mother, so obviously the sin nature is inherited through dad and not mom. It always bugged me that even the learned theologians are careful to spell everything out Biblically, except for this one, they prove it logically.

I'm No Techno-Biologist, But I Am a Thinker

I don't have a firm grasp on the intricacies of cloning or genetics, but I do know the basics human genes. Normal, healthy humans have 46 chromosomes. 23 from dad, 23 from mom. At conception the sperm's 23 get into the egg which holds the other 23 and oh-la-la, we've got a human embryo. One of the male sperm's 23 chromosomes is either an X-shaped or a Y-shaped and this determines if the offspring is a boy or a girl. Girls are all X's and boys are all X's with one Y. That is where my bio-knowledge ends.

We've been hearing a lot about human cloning these days. I am not up to speed on my news, so I don't know how far scientists have taken us, nor if they even should be going as far as they could. But I hear something about taking the guts of a sperm and the guts of an egg and frappeing them and putting the mush into an empty egg, making a baby distinct from mom and dad. This is just human-controlled conception.

Well, what would happen if you took 23 from an egg and 23 from another egg and frappe-ed and put it in an empty egg. Different from mom and mom. Life... 46 chromosomes. No dad. Theology time: has this human embryo inherited a sinful nature. No father from whom to inherit the sinful nature. We could have a whole strain of human that are innocent. I don't know if we can do this yet or if we could ever possibly do this, but I bet there would be a whole segment of the population that would want to (i.e. lesbians). I am also of the conviction that our view of inherited sin is currently lacking and will be thoroughly lacking whenever science surpasses this threshold.

Why Jesus REALLY Had No Sin Nature

Let's go over what we know about Jesus' Natures.

1. Jesus was born from Mary
2. Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:18)
3. The conception was caused by "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Lk 1:35).
4. She remained a virgin until after He was born (Mt 1:25).
5. His Father was God in a different way than God is our Father (Jn 8:41-47, Rom 8:14-17).
6. He was in the beginning with God and He is God. (Jn 1:1)

Does any of this add up to Jesus Christ being a biological descendant of Mary? The Bible is not a science book and it never claims to be. God desires us to accept the virgin birth of Jesus Christ on faith. But nowhere in the Scriptures can we make the case that He was OR He wasn't the biological offspring of Mary. He was carried by and delivered by her. A modern parallel might be the image of a surrogate mother, who carries a baby during gestation for a couple who can not physically carry a baby to term. She raised Him and nurtured Him throughout His youth and she followed His ministry and was at His execution. She should be admired and imitated for her faith in something we treat very casually.

The Celestial Flesh of Jesus

Menno Simons picks up on the lack of foundation for a Jesus-Mary relation and further develops a view called the celestial flesh of Jesus. This celestial body view is just that, namely, Jesus physical body was created in heaven and implanted into the empty womb of Mary. There has no Divine Sperm that impregnated Mary's egg. There was no miracle which took any of Mary's genetic material, but rather a miracle which ex nihilo fashioned the embryo within her womb.

Menno has written:

"Our doctrine and belief is that this same Word, Wisdom, and First-born, as we have confessed, in due time descended from heaven, and that He became a true, mortal man subject to suffering and death by the power of the most High and His Holy Spirit, not of Mary but in Mary, above all human comprehension."

and elsewhere

"We confess and say, and that in accordance with the Lord's Word, that the Scripture exempts none from sin but Him that is free indeed, namely, Christ Jesus. . . whereby it is plainly shown that He is not of Mary's flesh."

Menno received this understanding from Melchoir Hoffman, another Anabaptist. Hoffman wrote in Truthful Witness that

"We have now heard enough that the whole seed of Adam, be it of man, woman, or virgin, is cursed and delivered to eternal death. Now if the body of Jesus Christ was also such flesh and of this seed. . . it follows that the redemption has not yet happened. For the seed of Adam belongs to Satan and is the property of the devil. Satan cannot be paid in his own coin."

Menno makes a lot out of the phrase, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven" in John 6:32-33. What is this bread? you ask. "This bread is my flesh" Jesus replies (v51). Simple logic. Bread from heaven... bread = flesh... therefore flesh is from heaven. It is interesting that they all knew exactly what Jesus meant, for they bicker amongst themselves: "At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.' They said, 'Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven''?" (v41-42).

Admittedly, the Anabaptist reformers get a bad wrap for this element of their theology. It should be noted that not all Anabaptists, nor even all Mennonites embraced Menno's and Hoffman's view of Jesus' Incarnation. However, I personally tend to lean that way.

Is this anything inconsistent with BFC doctrine? No, we say only this about His Incarnation:

"He took on Himself man's nature, with all of its essential properties except sin: Being conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, He embodied two perfect and distinct natures in one person. He is truly God and truly man, the only mediator between God and man" (BFC AoF 4-1).

Back to the Biology of Sin

Since the fact of Jesus' biological relation to Mary is suspect, how can we put much weight on it in order to prove the mode in which we inherit sin from our parents?

My mom and dad are equally riddled with sin. Their bodies are equally wasting away (as is all creation) by the consequences of humanities wickedness. When they conceived me, they were participating equally in the creation and defilement of me. It really is chauvinist to have dad assume all the guilt, mom is just as responsible.

Conclusion

Really, what I guess my conclusion and challenge is: let's not ask questions the Bible doesn't ask. I know your heart because I know mine, we will ask those questions, so if we do: let's not answer questions the Bible doesn't answer. When we go beyond the Word, we become as guilty as we make the Catholics out to be, who stand on councils and tradtions as co-equal with the Word.

Church Makes Life Too Busy?

2007-08-22T15:07:00.000-04:00

I love maintaining my church website! Before I got my calling to the ministry, I was going to go into computers. So I still have a passion for all things techy. All that to say, I am a veracious consumer of other church content on the web. I see what others are doing to get ideas for our site. When I read about all the activities other churches are doing and then I look at my church calendar, I think to myself: "we aren't really doing very much." It bums me out that we could be doing more for the Lord and we aren't.

But I came across this statement from the President of my grad school in one of his missional journals. David Dunbar says "Over-programmed churches have turned their best people into the Christian equivalent of stressed-out soccer moms." You know the old analogy of the chicken running around with it's head cut off. I'm not so sure Jesus had it in His mind to keep us so busy at church that we wouldn't live in and among hell-bound sinners in need of the same grace God gave to us.

Hmm. So I asked my wife about. She says that she feels that way from time to time when she is juggling house work, kids, and church ministry. It's my job, so I never really feel that way.

But I wonder how you feel. Do you ever feel that church functions and ministry bog you down rather than lift you up? I think if we could do less at church it would free us to BE the church to our lost neighbors. Weigh in, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

God's Presence with Us - Exodus 32-34

2007-08-21T17:06:00.000-04:00

God of Grace when We are Wicked
Last Sunday night, we talked about the God of grace, in our series, What God Is Like. We began our study looking at a conversation God had with Moses. It happens right after the people of Israel worship the golden calf at Mount Sinai. God set them free from slavery in Egypt, parted the Red Sea so that they could escape the Egyptian army, fed them and gave them water to drink in the middle of the desert, and their reaction is: "God has left us and killed Moses (neither is true) so let's make our own god that can lead us to the Promised Land."

A Divine Conversation
That is when God begins saying many new things to Moses. Reading from Exodus 32:34 "But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you." Whereas He used to say "I will lead you to a good land" now He says "you lead them" and "I'll send an angel to guide you there." Later He says in chapter 33, "if I would go up in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you" (v5). We begin to think that God is giving up on these people. Have you ever invested tons of time into a project and in the end, realize that it isn't going to pan out like you thought it would. Maybe a relationship that you dumped a lot of time and energy into and the two of you just couldn't fit well together. These things are common in our lives, but it seems to us that the Lord would be different. In our minds, God never starts something He can't finish and He never met a person He couldn't befriend. Now we read this passage in a careful way and the idea begins to enter our minds: "is God really that different than us?" "Is He bound to the same limitations in relationship that we are?" He concludes in 33:5 "let Me see what I am going to do with you." It is almost as if He needs to think about it for a while.

Your Presence with Us
So Moses, in his conversation with God, says "See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me" (Ex 33:12). Then he says "If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?" (Ex 33:15-16). Moses wants to know how he is supposed to plug away. How could he do this huge task without God being with him.

Time for Honesty
Two things: 1) I can't do this life without God reigning in my heart and impulses and 2) every chance I get, I try to run my own life on my own terms. I have tried to make the best out of my life and screwed it up horribly. That is the whole point of salvation. We don't really need to convince people of their sin, everyone knows we are desperately needy. But now that God woke me up, cleaned me up, set me on His pathway, and guides me toward godliness: why am I so hungry to start making my own choices and not seek His choices for me? Do I think on the inside that salvation is just a way of starting over again? He fixed me and now says, "try again?" I know Biblically that that view is wrong, I know from this and every other passage in the Bible that we can't do it on our own. In my favorite cartoon show, Strong Bad created this one-legged dog character called Lil' Brudder who's catch-line is "I can do it on my own."

The Friend of God
Moses truly is the friend of God. Me, not so much. He is the first to say "if You don't go, I'm not going." We would tend to say, "thanks for not wiping us out, if You are going to bring us in with Your angel, could we, like, get a piggy-back ride, our feet are sore." We tend to think God's blessings are good enough. I don't need God's presence, all I need is His blessings. The fact is: the deeper into friendship with Him we go, the quicker our heart is to want Him. Thank God that I am not bound to remain in this state of mind. He will change my heart to want Him more than His blessings. A relationship with God is a lot like any human friendship. God has frequently portrayed His relationship with His people as a marriage relationship. Read Hosea or Ephesians 5:22-33 to see this illustration in action. So when I was first dating the woman that would later become my wife, I really liked kissing, I really liked being a boyfriend, "attached" and not "single." These are fringe benefits of the relationship, they are not the be-all of a dating relationship. Now that I am married, I see (and see more each day) that knowing this one person so closely and being one with that one person is FAR more valuable to me than the fringe benefits of the relationship.

A Closing Prayer
"LORD! Teach my heart to want You and nothing else. I don't want heaven, or mansions over the hilltop, or a Promised Land, or to be healthy wealthy and wise, or an inspiring church, or a good pastor-teacher, or manna or quail. I don't want the things that You provide, the things that surround You, the things from You. I Want You and Your presence."

Recent Study - Liberty

2007-08-21T07:36:00.000-04:00

What is Christian Liberty?

At church over the last few weeks, we've been talking about Christian Liberty. Essentially, this point is: do whatever you want as long as God is cool with it. Too many unbelievers stay that way because they see Christians saying NO to everything. The fact of the matter is that there are very few "rules" for Christians and all of them are summed up in the chief rule, the law of Christ, "love God and love others like you love yourself."

So, Specifically, I Can...

So what can we do? Can we drink, smoke, play cards, dance, picnic, go to movies (even movies where people kiss), date, go to public school, work on Sunday? These are all things that Christians have for many generations in America have said NO to. Recently however, Christians, at least the BFC, have changed our mind on many of these things. Many of them used to be labeled "especially pernicious to youth." Which I never knew what that meant and as an ordained pastor, I still don't think I know what it means so thankfully we are no longer making that kind of statement.

Dan Kimball has a interesting article on the alcohol and junk food. Essentially he makes a good point, why are Christians cool with overeating but not drinking in moderation? The Bible is all about moderation. Even the qualification for ELDERS, "he must not be addicted to wine" (1 Tim 3:3). I love what he says about causing others to stumble

"When I often hear Christians say they don't drink in public because it may cause someone to stumble, and I ask them who is the 'some' that they mean. It always turns out to be they worry about Christians who would judge them for drinking, not someone actually struggling with alcohol and would 'stumble'. That seems to be unfair to the biblical text quoted and is then more about the fear of Christians than the original meaning of that verse. That's why its important to study the Scriptures on this issue."

That is so huge. We evangelicals really are a bunch of jerks at times. We spend so much time with each other that we really don't know anyone that would really stumble if they saw us drinking. So we've changed the meaning of Paul's statement to something other than what it meant... so "don't cause your brother to stumble" becomes "don't cause your brother to gossip about you." IF we really are free to drink, Biblically. And IF a brother in Christ sees us drinking. And IF he decides to tell someone (gossip). Why am I judged by someone else's conscience? I haven't done anything wrong. THe Bible permits me to use (not abuse) alcohol.

An Assignment

So here is a daunting, yet inspiring project. Go through the New Testament (Matthew -> Revelation) and write down all of the commands. It would be good to write the command and the reference. If you find a duplicate command, write the command once and include both references after it.

Why not the Old Testament? Aren't we bound to follow ALL of God's counsel? I'm lazy and don't even want to get into it now. Just do the assignment and like it! (Hopefully you hear the sarcasm here.) Seriously, it is a huge answer that Christians have been back and forth on forever. The answer is much larger than the scope of this post so I'll get to it later this week.

Listen Up Addicts

Now, in closing I need to make this statement since I am responsible for the outcome of souls: if you are an addict to something, God isnt cool with you even dabbling in your liberty. You aren't free to enjoy what others can. You have a track record of not enjoying that thing, but rather a track record of being controlled by that thing. So don't go away from this post thinking you could get back into some kind of moderate usage. Maybe after a lot of one-on-one counseling with a bonafide professional therapist or pastor, but even then I think your life would be fuller without that thing in your life at all.

Greek for 8/26/07

2007-08-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

This Week's Text

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

We will study this text together at Morning Worship on Sunday, August 26, 2007

Introductory Thoughts

Some interesting things to say about men and women... more accurately: husbands and their own wives. Don't get caught up in the external manifestation of headship and submission. Wrestle with the heart of the issue. A woman that wear head coverings could have no respect for her husband. A woman that does not wear one could have immense respect for her husband. So before we obey or discard Scripture based on a behavior, wrestle with the heart of the matter. In our present culture, a respectful wife is ten times more noticeable than a covered wife. That being said, I'm cool with a woman if she chooses to OR if chooses not to wear a head covering. Let's be completely honest here: women have stopped respecting their husbands and men have stopped being respectable. And now, the text:

The Text

Greek

Translation

1 μιμηται μου γινεσθε καθως καγω χριστου 2 επαινω δε υμας οτι παντα μου μεμνησθε και καθως παρεδωκα υμιν τας παραδοσεις κατεχετε 3 θελω δε υμας ειδεναι οτι παντος ανδρος η κεφαλη ο χριστος εστιν κεφαλη δε γυναικος ο ανηρ κεφαλη δε του χριστου ο θεος 4 πας ανηρ προσευχομενος η προφητευων κατα κεφαλης εχων καταισχυνει την κεφαλην αυτου 5 πασα δε γυνη προσευχομενη η προφητευουσα ακατακαλυπτω τη κεφαλη καταισχυνει την κεφαλην αυτης εν γαρ εστιν και το αυτο τη εξυρημενη 6 ει γαρ ου κατακαλυπτεται γυνη και κειρασθω ει δε αισχρον γυναικι το κειρασθαι η ξυρασθαι κατακαλυπτεσθω 7 ανηρ μεν γαρ ουκ οφειλει κατακαλυπτεσθαι την κεφαλην εικων και δοξα θεου υπαρχων η γυνη δε δοξα ανδρος εστιν 8 ου γαρ εστιν ανηρ εκ γυναικος αλλα γυνη εξ ανδρος 9 και γαρ ουκ εκτισθη ανηρ δια την γυναικα αλλα γυνη δια τον ανδρα 10 δια τουτο οφειλει η γυνη εξουσιαν εχειν επι της κεφαλης δια τους αγγελους 11 πλην ουτε γυνη χωρις ανδρος ουτε ανηρ χωρις γυναικος εν κυριω 12 ωσπερ γαρ η γυνη εκ του ανδρος ουτως και ο ανηρ δια της γυναικος τα δε παντα εκ του θεου 13 εν υμιν αυτοις κρινατε πρεπον εστιν γυναικα ακατακαλυπτον τω θεω προσευχεσθαι 14 ουδε η φυσις αυτη διδασκει υμας οτι ανηρ μεν εαν κομα ατιμια αυτω εστιν 15 γυνη δε εαν κομα δοξα αυτη εστιν οτι η κομη αντι περιβολαιου δεδοται αυτη 16 ει δε τις δοκει φιλονεικος ειναι ημεις τοιαυτην συνηθειαν ουκ εχομεν ουδε αι εκκλησιαι του θεου.

Read on BibleGateway

Research on ZHubert

1 Become an imitator of me just as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you all that you all remember me also, since I commend you all, you hold fast to the traditions. 3 But I wish you all to know that Christ is the head of all men, so the man is the head of the woman, so God is the head of Christ. 4 Every man while praying or prophesying having down from a head dishonors his head. 5 and every woman while praying or prophesying [with] an uncovered head dishonors her head. For in the same way also is the one having been shaved. 6 For if a woman is not covered, also she should shave herself. But if it is dishonorable to shave or shear a woman, she should be covered. 7 For a man on the contrary is not bound to cover the head being a representation and a glory of God. But a woman is a glory of man. 8 For man is not from a woman but a woman from a man. 9 For also man was not made through the woman, but a woman through the man. 10 Because of this a woman is bound to have an authority upon the head because of the angels. 11 However, neither a woman [is] apart from a man nor [is] an man apart from a woman in the Lord. 12 For just as a woman is from the man so also the man is through the woman. But all are from God. 13 In these things you all judge. Is it proper for a woman to be uncovered while praying to God? 14 Does not even nature itself teach us that, on one side, if a man should have hair it is a dishonor to him? 15 And on the other, if a woman should have hair it is a glory to her? Since hair has been given to her as a covering. 16 But if a certain one thinks to be contentious, we have no other custom, nor the churches of God.

Read on BibleGateway

An Invitation

You would be shocked to know how many people at my church have asked me or my wife: "what is Tim going to say when you get to this section?" Well before I say anything, what do you think about men, women, head coverings, and headship?

Greek of the Week

2006-11-14T18:48:00.000-05:00

Philippians 4:2-9

Peace, joy, and godly attitudes are the themes of this passage.

Greek		Translation
2 Εὐοδίαν παρακαλῶ καὶ Συντύχην παρακαλῶ τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν ἐν κυρίῳ 3 ναὶ ἐρωτῶ καὶ σέ γνήσιε σύζυγε συλλαμβάνου αὐταῖς αἵτινες ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ συνήθλησάν μοι μετὰ καὶ Κλήμεντος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν συνεργῶν μου ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα ἐν βίβλῳ ζωῆς 4 χαίρετε ἐν κυρίῳ πάντοτε πάλιν ἐρῶ χαίρετε 5 τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν γνωσθήτω πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς 6 μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ δεήσει μετὰ εὐχαριστίας τὰ αἰτήματα ὑμῶν γνωριζέσθω πρὸς τὸν θεόν 7 καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν φρουρήσει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ 8 τὸ λοιπόν ἀδελφοί ὅσα ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ ὅσα σεμνά ὅσα δίκαια ὅσα ἁγνά ὅσα προσφιλῆ ὅσα εὔφημα εἴ τις ἀρετὴ καὶ εἴ τις ἔπαινος ταῦτα λογίζεσθε 9 ἃ καὶ ἐμάθετε καὶ παρελάβετε καὶ ἠκούσατε καὶ εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοί ταῦτα πράσσετε καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης ἔσται μεθ' ὑμῶν		I call for Euodia and Syntuche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Truly I ask you also, sincere lfellow-laborer, assist them, whoever in the gospel works together with me in company also with Clement and the rest of those who work with me, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always! Again i say, Rejoice! The gentle one among you all, let him be known by all men. The Lord is close at hand. In nothing be anxious, but in all prayers and supplications with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God surpassing all understanding will keep watch of your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. To the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is innocent, whatever is lovely, whatever is reputable, if anything is of good quality, and if anything is worthy of praise, enumerate these things! Which also you discovered and receieved and heard and saw in me, these things practice! Also the God of peace will be with you all.

Greek of the Week

2006-11-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Paul urges us to think about the way we walk. Many, many Christians think just about doctrine and knowledge and facts. These are important, but the Bible is not merely a book of facts, rather, it is a book of lives. It teaches us what things are on the heart of God and what we should pursue for the betterment our character. Notice the two kinds of walks in the text.

Greek		Translation
17 συμμιμηταί μου γίνεσθε ἀδελφοί καὶ σκοπεῖτε τοὺς οὕτω περιπατοῦντας καθὼς ἔχετε τύπον ἡμᾶς 18 πολλοὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦσιν οὓς πολλάκις ἔλεγον ὑμῖν νῦν δὲ καὶ κλαίων λέγω τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ 19 ὧν τὸ τέλος ἀπώλεια ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν οἱ τὰ ἐπίγεια φρονοῦντες 20 ἡμῶν γὰρ τὸ πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὑπάρχει ἐξ οὗ καὶ σωτῆρα ἀπεκδεχόμεθα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν 21 ὃς μετασχηματίσει τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ δύνασθαι αὐτὸν καὶ ὑποτάξαι αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα 4:1 ὥστε ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ ἐπιπόθητοι χαρὰ καὶ στέφανός μου οὕτως στήκετε ἐν κυρίῳ ἀγαπητοί		Become my imitators, brothers, and be careful of the way in which you walk around since you have a pattern in us. For many walk of which I was saying many times to you, but now also weeping i say, these are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is the stomach and glory in their shame, thinking earthly. For our citizenship is in heaven, out from where also we receive a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our low estate conformed to the body of His glory according to the energy of His power and submission of all things to Him. So that, my beloved and longed for brothers, my joy and crown, in this way stand in the Lord, beloved.

Hell No!

2006-10-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

Just checked out the Brian McLaren book, The Last Word and the Word After That. The basic premise of the work is that there is no hell. At least no place of eternal conscious torment. Why does Brian feel this way? Because his daughter is sad that her unsaved friends will go there. Is this how Christians should form their beliefs? Maybe it IS how they do, but I do not think it is how they SHOULD. Let us entertain a few foundational principles when we form our systems of belief:

We ask 'What does it say' not 'how do I feel'
When I don't like what its says, what has caused my feelings to be different than God's?
Does the Church's belief match up with the Bible
If the idea I am entertaining does not match up with my study of the Word, which will I discard? No pretending or fudging.