Repentance

Thomas Watson once wrote that repentance is vomiting up the soul.

New Music Site added

Check out Further Up if you are interested in good music resources and literature

Generous Orthodoxy thus far

So as most of my two or three readers know, I am reading a book by Brian McLaren entitled A Generous Orthodoxy, which I know concerns those readers. McLaren is a bit of a hot topic of late (last 3-5 years) because he is a leader in this thing called the Emergent movement. I am about 7 chapters into this book and I must confess that I am enjoying the book. He raises some good points and critiques about the conservative wing of Christianity/ Evangelicalism. For instance, McLaren makes the point that conservatives focus on “personal salvation,” to the neglect of being a blessing to others. To strengthen this vein of thought, he poses the question of, “How beneficial is Christianity to its non-adherents?” This is a great question. Hypothetically if the majority of the world’s population is Christian, then the world should be a better place to live, right? Not necessarily because of the majority only, but because the majority should be seeking the minority’s best interest as well. And by this I do not mean aggressive fire and brimstone preaching/evangelism, but rather something along the lines of addressing poverty, social injustices, caring for widows, feeding the hungry, etc. It is the Abrahamic covenant thing—I will bless you and you will be a blessing to others.

On the downside, I do not think McLaren addresses ultimate ends very well at all. The end of missions/the gospel, for instance, is other people and their betterment. Maybe I haven’t read far enough into the book yet, but I don’t think it will matter. The problem with this is that if people and their good is the ultimate end, then they become gods because the ultimate end has to be the most valuable. I also do not like the fact that McLaren does not even try to answer the question of hell and its dangers. He unapologetically says he has no answer. And then he makes the statement that this will upset his conservative readers. Of course it will! Not because we want people to burn in a literal place called hell. I would much rather believe in universalism, total annihilation, or separationist theories, but I cannot deny, revise, or edit what the Bible (and particularly Jesus) has to say about the subject.

Over all, I am enjoying the book. It makes me think and even rethink some things. I am appreciating the fact that my eyes are being opened to some downfalls in fundamentalism. I am also appreciating being a fundamental.

Please make welcome...

the newest blog site added to my list:

The Shepherd's Scrapbook,

and the newest website to the magazines and sites list:

Mars Hill

Click. Enjoy.

3 hour waste

Apparently Tuesday night is the night all tv stations agreed upon to have absolutely nothing worthwhile on television. As a result, my wife and i just spent the last 3 hours watching the American Music Awards. Watching the program was like looking at an open flesh wound--it was bad, but for some reason we couldn't look away. Maybe it was that we were laughing at Barry Manilow because he looked about as bored singing his song as everyone else did having to listen to him. Perhaps it was the fact that there is a dirth of good songwriters and a plethora of "singers" who just repeat one line of a song (Beyonce--"to the left", Gwen Stephanie--"wind it up", Snow Patrol--"if i just lay here", JayZ--"show me whatcha got" and every other performer that stepped on stage). Not only were most of the performances bad, but they were really bad. And if that were not enough, most of the performances looked like they belonged in strip clubs (i am purely assuming at this point). And maybe worst of all, all of the bumper music and graphics were reminiscent of Saved by the Bell!

Perhaps the one redeeming part of the show was when Kirk Franklin won an award and said that he apologized for so many people running around saying they were Christians but did not prove it with their life. Very salient, very true.

So what do we make of all this. Much of pop music stinks. That is about all i can come up with right now since my brain just got dumber for watching the show.

Thanksgiving address at GMCS

Thanksgiving may conjure up many different images and emotions for each of us. Growing up my family spent Thanksgiving day at my grandparent’s house in Little Rock. I remember being excited on Wednesday night because there was no school the next day. I recall waking up late and watching the parade on TV. I can remember Grandmother’s cornbread dressing, creamy corn, mashed potatoes. I remember crazy deserts (pecan pie, raisin pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie). I also remember sitting at that smaller table off to the side, affectionately known all over the world as the “kid’s table.” I remember playing catch, whether it was baseball or football, with my cousins, and occasionally the dads would come out to play a game of wiffle ball. We all have different memories and traditions we look forward to, mainly the indulgence in a spread like no other. But today I want us to think about those people we often associate with Thanksgiving—the pilgrims.

There is great debate over whether or not the Pilgrim’s celebrated the first thanksgiving. They probably did not. I am sure many people got together to celebrate the harvest season years before the pilgrims did. But we are fairly certain that the Pilgrim’s did celebrate with a large, communal meal. However, historians tell us that this harvest celebration revolved more around a church service than a meal. Now here is what I find amazing about the pilgrims and their ability to celebrate: after being openly mocked, possibly even persecuted by their fellow Europeans for their religious zeal, after leaving their homeland, after crossing the sea, after losing many to sickness, starvation, elements, and battles, it is then that they look at what they do have and they turn to God and say “Thank You.”

If we were to encounter the same types of frustrations, setbacks, sorrows, and grief’s as the pilgrims did, I am afraid we would more likely shake our fist at God than to thank Him for what He has given us. We would be more likely to take credit ourselves for the things we do have. “Look at what we have done.” “Look at what I have accomplished.” “We deserve to have plenty to eat and warm blankets to cover up with.” But let us not forget that we do not get what we deserve and that is a good thing. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Let us not forget that we are not limited to having those things which we accomplish, for if we did, we would have nothing. “For by him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities, all things were created through Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together.” “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”

So this Thanksgiving, admire the providence and sovereignty of God, who has created you to live in this time and not in 1620, when we may have cursed God. Praise Him for all that has happened to you and for all you do have, because every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of heavenly lights. Wrap your arms around your children and grandchildren and whisper prayers of thanksgiving into their ear and cherish them as gifts, on loan, from God. Bind together with your family and celebrate the season by celebrating Christ, the ultimate reason to be thankful. By having Christ, we truly reap a harvest that we did not plant, and our mission becomes to plant Christ into the hearts of others so they can reap the blessing that surpasses all.

Memorization

I copied this link on scripture memory from Justin Taylor's blogsite.

Interesting

I found an interesting article that you can read here. I am anxious to see some responses from my buddies.

Moved

I was moved by Mark Dever's post at www.togetherforthegospel.org:

Lost Emotions
by mdever
.
Preaching through II Peter, seeing the warnings against immorality, and at the same time reading of current movies, I'm reminded that the immorality of Peter's day is alive and well in our own time. Our secular friends view our Christian morality as a losing proposition--we lose out on experience and pleasure, all for rigid, legalistic rule-keeping.
A couple of years ago, I read an interesting rebuttal against this idea. Christianity wasn't in view. Rather, it was a less morally controlled present pitying a more morally controlled past. And this is what one character in John Fowles' novel The Magus says in response. It's worth considering.
“We lay on the ground and kissed. Perhaps you smile. That we only lay on the ground and kissed. You young people can lend your bodies now, play with them, give them as we could not. But remember that you have paid a price: that of a world rich in mystery and delicate emotion. It is not only species of animal that die out, but whole species of feeling. And if you are wise you will never pity the past for what it did not know, but pity yourself for what it did.” (John Fowles, The Magus, p. 149).
A whole species of feeling lost: the price of the loss of innocence. That's a lot more expensive than even the over-priced movie tickets of today.

Between Two Worlds: The Purpose of Moral Education

This post by Justin Taylor is worth a quick glance.

Between Two Worlds: The Purpose of Moral Education

excellent blogging matthew!

Check out this great post from my friend Matthew Woodside on the use, or shall i say, the overuse of words.

Coming out of the book closet

Okay, i admit it! I read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and loved every 435 pages of it. I know this comes as a shock to some, a disappointment to others. But i just couldn't hide anymore. Maybe now that i have confessed, i can get back on the straight and narrow of theologically anchored books.

Top 50 evangelical books

Check out the top 50 influential evangelical books according to Christianity Today here

Preaching advice for all my preaching buddies

Here are some great thoughts by mark Driscoll on how to work through a text for preparing and preaching:


I prayerfully choose a book of the Bible (and sometimes a thematic theological series) that bites me and plan on spending months, sometimes years, studying that book in preparation to preach it. A book like Genesis will take me over 1,000 hours of work to study, write commentary, and preach.

I continually pray for the Holy Spirit to teach me His Word as I am studying the Scripture. No amount of theological training can overcome the deficit of a preacher who is not led by the Holy Spirit to understand and proclaim the very words that He inspired.

As I study, I wrestle with tough texts as Jacob wrestled Jesus. I find that preaching tough texts such as gender roles, the flood, hell, etc., are much like driving a car into a steep curve. If you hit the brakes in fear you will lose control, but if you accelerate into the tough turns, gravity actually slingshots you through smoothly. In the pulpit, momentum and authority come through accelerating into tough texts in the study and then driving the church through them.

As I study Scripture I steep in the verses/phrases/words/pictures that bite like tea flavoring in hot water. Too often the principles of Scripture are preached when the images and word pictures are far more impacting and memorable. For this reason other movements have even adopted the biblical images so that a dove now represents peace, not the Holy Spirit, and a rainbow represents gay rights, not the Flood, by which God killed people for sin (including sexual sin). I find that sermons are memorable if the images in the Scriptures can be drilled into the imaginations of people. Perhaps the master at this was Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who would not just describe a scene of Scripture, but actually put you in it through your imagination.

Only after I have spent considerable time in the naked text do I check my studies with trusted teachers to ensure that I have not come to heretical conclusions. I try not to pick up the commentaries until I have had many months in the Scripture I am preaching to ensure that I do not get lazy or simply rely on another man's walk with God. I will read it repeatedly in multiple translations, and read every decent commentary from every theological persuasion I can find to examine the book from every angle.

I live what I learn, teach it to my family, and spend a lot of time repenting of sin and seeking to obey God's Word by the grace He provides. Much of my sermon is simply explaining what the Scripture says, how that has changed my life, and how that is transforming my family and those people with whom I live in community. In this way I hope to demonstrate to my church what it means to come under Scripture; by talking about my own sins and flaws, they see me struggling through Scripture and not just preaching my tidy answers at the end of my studies. Because of this my sermons are long, anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half.

I find myself continually coming back to five questions that shape every one my sermons:

What does Scripture say?To answer this we need to check translations, do our word studies, and find out exactly what words best convey the meaning of Scripture.

What does Scripture mean?Here we need to interpret what is said, which requires commentaries, cultural background studies, etc. At this phase John Glynn's Commentary and Reference Survey is a must-have for every preacher and teacher as he rates all of the best commentaries and other reference material on various books of the Bible and theological topics.

Why do we resist this truth?Here we are assuming that people will not simply embrace God's truth but fight it with their thoughts and/or actions because they are sinners who, like Romans 1:18 says, suppress the truth. So, we attempt to predict their objections and resistance so that we can answer them and remove their resistance to get them to embrace God's truth for their life. This part of the sermon must be confrontational and often ends up in people walking out, standing up to argue, and sending nasty emails, all of which indicates you've hit a nerve like God wants you to. The real fight begins at this point and a preacher needs to come with his hands up looking for an opening much like a boxer.

Why does this matter?We need to connect all that we have said to a missional purpose for our lives, families, church, and ultimately God's glory. Something may be true but if people do not find it to also be important they tend not to act on it. On this point I like to connect Scripture a lot to the character of God, nature of the gospel, our mission in our city, and the quality of our lives both individually and collectively as a city of God within our city.

How is Jesus the hero?The Bible is one story in which Jesus is the hero. Therefore, to properly teach/preach the Bible we have to continually lift Him up as the hero and any sermon in which the focus is not on the person and work of Jesus will lack spiritual authority and power because the Holy Spirit will not bless the teaching of any hero other than Jesus.

Normalization

So I was watching some hack journalism show the other night (20/20 or Primetime, i can't remember), and the whole show was designated to "Outsiders"--people who live outside the bounds of the normal, every day folk. They have been doing this special on "Outsiders" for about a month and they have covered several different groups of people such as the Amish community, people who belong to the Children of God (a sexual cult), people who live with wild animals. In each of these shows these different groups have truly been seen as outsiders. This last week they featured moms who strip for a leaving, and couples who swing. Now i don't know if it is because my ears go to attention when these types of moral/ immoral topics are discussed, but i found each feature normalizing. It was made to appear that this things were no big deal. The interviewers asked the common questions, but there were no hard hitting questions or even the same intensity used as in the other interviews. Maybe it was just me, i don't know. Whatever the case, these moral questions are being discussed in the media marketplace and there is only one side being voiced--those who are participating in the immoral behavior. What say you?

Cultural Critique

Here is a great cultural critique by my good buddy m. woodside (he sometimes asks me for advice!!!). Go here to read it: http://mwoodside.blogspot.com

Wasteland

"The fundamental problem in the evangelical world today is not inadequate technique, insufficient organization, or antiquated music, and those who want to squander the church's resources bandaging these scratches will do nothing to stanch the flow of blood that is spilling from its true wounds. The fundamental problem in the evangelical world today is that God rests too inconsequentially upon the church. His truth is too distant, his grace is too ordinary, his judgment too benign, his gospel too easy, and his Christ too common." David Wells, God in the Wasteland, p. 30

The need for me to be a man

I just finished reading the book of Matthew last week and I came across a passage that I have been stewing over. Matthew 16 recounts for us the conversation of the apostles and Jesus as they are traveling. The apostles notice that they do not have any bread for supper, and they very worriedly tell Jesus this. Jesus tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The apostles are confused-do they sell out of date leaven? Jesus was referring to the Pharisees and Sadducees teachings, not their bread. Here is the deal--we should be more concerned about living out theology, doctrine, and the teachings of Christ than where the money for our next value meal is coming from. We should also be more concerned about protecting our families and church from false doctrines. Jesus had previously proven himself as the provider for physical needs (see chapter 15-16). We should trust him to do so for us, while being aggressively engaged in expanding our minds and deepening our lives with his word.

As a husband, and future father, the responsibility falls on me to lead my family to live this way. Men in our society are far too concerned with salaries, boats, trucks, real estate, etc. I want to be the man who can discern between good leaven and bad leaven.

the beauty of weeping

This past week has been very tough for a few of my close friends. When they hurt, I hurt. An car accident took the life of a friend's daughter, and this reached to the depths of the souls of many of my good friends. Words don't help much in these situations, but my friend who preached the funeral did an excellent job and i just want to share a few comments on what he said about the death of a saint.
First, He spoke from the passage Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one His saints." Scott simply told us that weeping is an appropriate and biblical response at this time because not only does it honor the life of the one lost, but also glorifies God. There would not be much crying over the death of someone who was not honorable. That is why there is a ton of crying at a soldier's funeral. Also, we see Jesus give us the example of crying over a lost loved one. We cry because a life well lived has left the earth. A life that reflected the image of God departed. That calls for tears. These thoughts brought me comfort and i hope you can find comfort in knowing that it is right, biblical, and godly to cry your brains out at times.

Banners and what not

Here is a passage from a book i am currently reading that rocked my world:

"'His (Christ) banner over me is love.'" The banner is an emblem of safety and protection--a sign of the presence of a host...Christ has a banner for his saints; and that is love. All their protection is from his love; and they shall have all the protection his love can give them. This safeguards them from hell, death--all their enemies. Whatever presses on them, it must pass through the banner of the love of the Lord Jesus." John Owen, Communion with God.

Can i get a witness?