Five Rivers Church

Meeting Times

2011-09-10T23:10:00.001-04:00

I think I'm going to take a break from my regular sermon notes posting. Going to have a lot on my plate getting ready to teach at Sinclair this winter so blogging is not a real high priority. Our regular meetings are not going to be affected, but I just won't be blogging on a weekly basis anymore. Here are our current meeting times for anyone who comes across this blog and would like to join us:

Sunday Evening Worship Service @ 5:30pm (meal afterwards)

Wednesday Evening Bible Study @ 7:00pm

A Warning from the Prophet Micah

2011-08-29T22:36:00.000-04:00

Melting earth

This past week I ended up reading the book of Micah. I'm not really sure why I was in Micah. I was just flipping around and decided to read it. As I went through the book, a couple things stood out to me that I want to briefly share.

In Micah 1:1-6, God sends a warning to the people. Their rebellion is going to bring about the judgment of God. However, the image of judgment is not one of God hurling lightning bolts from the sky or raining down brimstone. Instead, Micah says that God is actually going to set foot on this planet. When God does this, the mountains will melt underneath God's feet (this is what I've tried to depict in my elementary Sketchbook diagram). See, the Scriptures teach that God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). This is a metaphorical way of saying that God is dangerously holy. So the day of fire described by Micah is really the day when the whole earth is consumed by the holiness and justice of God. This is good news for the righteous and bad news for the unrighteous. The righteous will be able to dwell in the presence of God's holiness because they are themselves a consuming fire. For the unrighteous, the day of the Lord will be a day for weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is what Micah explains in Micah 2:1-5. In this passage Micah proclaims woe against the powerful, the oppressors, and the unjust. These are people who lay in bed at night dreaming about how they can cheat and extort people. In the morning, they rise and go about their unjust ways. On the day of the Lord, God will repay these people according to their deeds and right the wrongs they have committed. My natural reaction to a passage like this is, "Yeah, Lord, you get those evil people out there! You show them!" However, if we go on and read Micah 7:1-6, we should have a much more sober attitude about ourselves. In this passage, Micah reveals the depth of evil and wickedness that dwells in the heart of each human being. The same evil is in my heart as is in the thief or the murderer. Maybe I don't act on those evil desires, but they are there nonetheless. In this case, we all need to throw ourselves at the mercy of God. None of us are holy in and of ourselves, yet one day we are going to stand in the presence of a holy God. Our prayer should be that God would forgive us, deliver us, and transform us into holy beings who can stand in the presence of God's consuming fire on that day. Amen.

Hebrews 12: A Father's Discipline

2011-08-22T22:40:00.000-04:00

As the father of an active and curious toddler, I am quickly learning about the art of a father's discipline. For example, this past week my wife gave our son her set of keys to play with. Don't ask me why, but the boy loves playing with keys. Unfortunately, he was playing with these keys at a friend's house that is not "baby-proof." Looking over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of our son attempting to stick a car key in an electrical outlet. Immediately, I intervened and made it very clear to him that doing something like that was wrong. Naturally, he was upset and thought I was ruining his fun. On his end, he could not see that my discipline was definitely for his good. In this case, my discipline was a matter of life and death. If I don't correct this particular behavior, one day my son could pay the ultimate price.

In Hebrews chapter 12, we find that the discipline of an earthly father provides a window into the discipline of God. Our earthly parents apply discipline, education, and guidance so that we will eventually grow to become mature adults. In the same way, God applies discipline to his children so that they will share in God's holiness, so that they will have the character of God. In short, God wants children that bear a kind of family resemblance-- the image and likeness of God. If a person does not receive discipline from God, they are not legitimate members of God's family. They don't bear the family traits so they are not a part of the family. Since the defining family trait is holiness, this means that no one can see God who is not holy or has not been sanctified (Heb. 12:14).

This teaching, that you must be holy to see God, is all throughout the book of Hebrews. In fact, the overarching message of Hebrews is that there is no final salvation without holiness. Drawing on the Exodus story, Hebrews tells us that you can be saved out of Egypt but not enter into the final salvation of the Promised Land if you reject the discipline of the Lord. As Christians, we are warned against making the same mistake as the Israelites-- being saved but coming up short of the grace of God (Heb. 12:15). Going back to my initial example with my son, God applies discipline to us so that we do not pay the ultimate price-- eternal death. To reject God's discipline is to be in a dangerous place.

Although this teaching is plain in Hebrews and elsewhere in the Scriptures, we've done a good job of making holiness optional or even irrelevant in a good many of our churches today. This is actually a scary thing when we consider the sobering message of Hebrews 12. This means there are Christians, who like the Israelites before them, are openly rejecting God's discipline. As for me, I don't want to be that kind of person. I want to go along with the Lord and allow him to shape me and change me. My hope is that other Christians might come to this same revelation and desire for holiness. Amen.

The American Dream and Christ

2011-08-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

When we think of the "American Dream" what comes to mind?

Upward mobility and success in your career
Comfort and security
At least modest wealth
Home ownership in safe neighborhoods with good schools
College degree from a good school
Golden years of retirement
Healthy and successful children (2-3 of them)
Time for leisure, hobbies, and vacation
Honor and positions of influence in your local community
"Toys"-- automobiles, boats, motorcycles, gadgets, big screen televisions, etc.

As I reflected on the American Dream as described above, I ended up asking myself a question, "What if I had to make a choice between the American Dream and Christ? Which one would I choose?" See, in the past it has been possible to have both Christ and the American Dream. Historically speaking, America has been a place where Christianity has enjoyed widespread esteem and acceptance. Therefore, following Christ in America has not cost a person social standing or the ability to live the good life. What if this were to change, though? What if being a Christian cost something? What if it cost a person the ability to go after the American Dream? Would anyone still want to follow Christ then?

In the time of the New Testament Church, following Christ did cost a person. Christianity was an illegal cult, and Christians lived under the authority of a foreign occupying power, Rome. Participating in Christianity would almost certainly have cost a person socially if not in other ways as well. For many, being a Christian did not just cost them worldly success or wealth; it cost their lives. The Apostle Paul was a person who was willing to accept the cost of following Jesus. In Philippians 3:4-11, Paul says he considers his old life complete rubbish. Now keep in mind Paul was from a good family and had great religious zeal. In his society, he could have been somebody. He could have been the top Pharisee at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Instead, he threw it all away on a harebrained scheme-- following Jesus and the leading of the Holy Spirit. He gave up a life of power, wealth, success, and honor for a life of radical obedience to God.

Paul was able to make this decision because he knew something very important: You can be a loser and not lose. You can be a winner and not win. See, Paul understood the teaching of Jesus in Luke 9:23-25 and Luke 12:33-34. As Jesus tells us, we can suffer great loss in this life and not come out behind. We can sell our possessions and give away the proceeds and not lack. On the other hand, we can gain everything and hoard wealth to ourselves and come out empty handed. Why is this the case? The answer is simple. Christ gives to the poor and humble. The person who is empty handed can receive from God, but the person who is full already has received their blessing.

So, we can see that rejecting the American Dream is not such a bad idea. Sure, our friends and family might think we are a little nuts. I have a feeling people thought the same thing about Paul. But, by giving up the American Dream, we place ourselves in a position where we can totally depend on God and be beneficiaries of God's grace and kindness.

Universalism

2011-08-08T09:54:00.000-04:00

Usually I don't like addressing theological topics with my Sunday evening messages. Instead I like to share a reflection on a passage of Scripture and a practical application. However, this week I deviated from my typical approach because I felt like it was important to address a mindset rapidly gaining in popularity: universalism. Of course this perspective has been around for a long time, but it is gaining more widespread acceptance among Christians today, especially those educated in the multicultural and postmodern milieu of the American university. Amongst intelligent young people, it is less and less fashionable to say that only certain types of people will go to heaven and the rest will go to hell. To say this is to be closed-minded, bigoted, and hateful. For this reason, more and more people are subscribing to the viewpoint, "When we die we'll all go to heaven where we'll be with our family and friends for all eternity."

Although this mindset sounds nice-- I'm mean, who wouldn't want to believe that we all go to heaven?-- it ignores or rationalizes away a good bit of Scripture. It is also rather naive and short-sighted. Let me try to explain the inadequacy of this viewpoint. See, to begin with we need to realize that heaven is God's house. This is how Jesus describes heaven in John 14:1-3. He compares it to a mansion with many rooms. So "going to heaven" really means going to live in God's house. Heaven is not a mystical gathering place where we see all our deceased loved ones. Heaven is not the great golf course in the sky. These typical mindsets about heaven are incredibly self-centered and completely ignore the fact that heaven is God's house. Heaven is not the place where we can do whatever we want, when we want, and as often as we want. With this in mind, I ask just one question, "If we've spent a lifetime alienating ourselves from God and rebelling against God, how can we just move back into the house on the day we die?" When we think about it this way, the idea of universalism is nonsensical. For many people it would be a terrible thing to spend eternity living in God's house. Why, you might ask? Living in God's house means obeying God, loving as God loves, and having the same character as God. When we say that all people go to heaven, we are assuming that people will magically change their ideas, attitudes, and behaviors when they die. We are also assuming that people will want to go to heaven and live with God. On the contrary, I think there will be those who will prefer hell to the eternal torment of living in the purifying love of God.

We also need to take seriously the clear warning of Scripture: not everyone is going to enter into the Kingdom of God (or God's house). In Matthew 7:21-23, we see Jesus telling people that they cannot enter in. These people are genuinely surprised. They think they have done all the right religious deeds-- prophesy, exorcism, miracles-- to gain entrance into heaven. However, entrance into God's house is not based on our performance of religious deeds. As Jesus says, the ones who are allowed to enter in are the obedient children, the ones who have done the will of the Father. Paul gives a different warning in I Corinthians 6:9-11. He says that there are certain people who cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. These are people who live in gross rebellion against the will of God. As we know from the story of the Prodigal Son, God will allow people to come home, but only if they have an attitude of repentance and reconciliation. However, for the rebellious person with no desire for repentance and reconciliation there can only be one possibility. By willfully rejecting the grace of God, this person chooses the eternal torment of hell. They bring judgment upon themselves. Why would God send people like this to hell though? The answer is obvious. God cannot have the rebellious children ruining the experience of heaven for the obedient children. This is the same reason Satan and his minions were cast out of heaven. For the sake of the obedient angels, God had to expel Satan. He could not let Satan's disobedience contaminate the rest.

So we can see from these Scriptures that only obedient children who have been reconciled to the Father can enter into heaven. Knowing this, I have to ask myself, what is my relationship like with God? Am I maintaining a good relationship so that I can move back into God's house one day? Or am I a wishful thinker, hoping to move back in although I know that I am living as a rebellious and unreconciled child?

Hebrews 11: On Faith and Righteousness

2011-08-02T08:58:00.000-04:00

As people, whenever we look at the world, we are always dividing other people into different categories-- rich and poor, white and black, tall and short, educated and uneducated, cultured and uncultured, and so forth. We are good at placing people into different groups and showing them different treatment on that basis. However, when God looks at the world, God does not see these various divisions that we have created. They mean nothing to God. But, there is a division that God sees when God looks at people. The division is not on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, level of intelligence, or anything like that. As we see from Hebrews 11, the only difference between people is whether or not they have faith.

For example, Noah was a man of faith. By this I mean that Noah could see something his neighbors could not see, and Noah acted in accordance with what he saw. When Noah stood out in front of his home and stared off into the distance, he could see dark and ominous storm clouds forming far away at the very edge of the horizon. However, the other people in Noah's town could not see this coming storm. When they looked at the horizon, they could only see clear blue skies as far as the eye could see. In Noah's case, faith is the ability to see the unseen. Or to put it differently, Noah had the ability to see what God could see. Since he saw a storm coming, he built a boat and prepared himself and his family. When the storm came, Noah and his family entered into the salvation of the ark. Unfortunately, the ones who had no faith, who could not see the unseen storm coming, were washed away. The Flood very clearly divided the people into two groups-- those who had faith and those who had no faith. Reading through the rest of Hebrews chapter 11 reveals that faith divided other people-- Cain and Abel, Abraham and his Canaanite neighbors, Moses and Pharaoh, Rahab and the people of Jericho. This is the only true division between people. All other categories are superficial and meaningless. Except, this is not exactly right.

See faith, which divides people, leads to a second division-- righteous and unrighteous. Because the saints of Hebrews 11 had faith, they also had righteousness. Since they could see the things God saw, they began to act the way God acts. They could see God's perspective and God's priorities and they changed their actions to come into line with this new worldview. This is righteousness, acting the way God acts and having the character of God. What I am getting at is that faith and righteousness are intimately linked. You cannot have one without the other. Unfortunately, in the Church we've done a good job of separating the two. We've told people that you can be a person of faith without being made righteous by the transformative power of Christ. We've made Christian growth and maturity optional. We've made it an appendix to faith. This not the message of the Scriptures, though. To be people of faith is also to allow God to change us.

So I see God drawing a line in the sand through the message of Hebrews 11. The line is this, "Who will be changed? Who will be made new?" Our human nature often tends to resist change and the unfamiliar, but, if we are going to come to Christ by faith, we have to be willing to be changed. This then is the division between all people-- those who will let God work on them and those who refuse to allow God to change who they are. Let us be the kind of people who will submit to the transformation that comes from God.

Someday

2011-07-30T23:56:00.000-04:00

Future of Forestry-- Travel II

Tonight as I was preparing my notes for tomorrow's Sunday evening meeting, I was listening to Future of Forestry. For whatever reason I was finding the song, "Someday," from their Travel II [EP] to be encouraging. Thought I would share the lyrics on here:

All of us could dream about a place of quiet rest
All of us could do without the pointless questions of worry and the fray today

Someday the light be your sonnet
Someday the song cover over you
Someday the time will be forever

All of us could take a trip
To where the noise grows dim
All of us could take a sip of that silence
Until the weight is gone
However little do we know
Of science, death and life
All of us could use a home
Where sons and daughters will try and steal your heart away

If you want to find out more about Future of Forestry, you can visit their website here.

II Peter 1:12-15: A Reminder

2011-07-25T09:21:00.000-04:00

Whenever I go to the shoe store, a part of me is always attracted to new bright white shoes. I mean, they look so good on the rack at the store. Every now and then I give into the urge to buy them in spite of the reservations. The first week or so that I wear those new white shoes I am extremely careful about where I walk. If there is a muddy puddle in the middle of the sidewalk, I'll make sure to go around. For about the first week, I do everything I possibly can to keep those new shoes sparkling white. After a week, though, something happens. I begin to forget about my new shoes. The novelty wears off. Once this happens, I go bounding through puddles or wear my white shoes to hike muddy trails. Having got them dirty, now I stop trying to keep them clean.

Something analogous to this happens with our Christian life. When we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, God cleans us up and dresses us in white. As a new Christian, we are mindful to care for this new life. For a time, we make intentional decisions to live a life of obedience, love, godliness, and purity. However, once enough time goes by the novelty wears off and the initial fervor for Christ begins to wane. We forget the amazing gift we have been given by God, and we forget the commitment we've made to God. Having forgotten these things, it is easy for us to drift into complacency, apathy, indifference, and ritual. This is a rather common problem for people of faith. We get off to a good start in our Christian journey, but over time our love grows cold (see the letters to the seven churches in Revelation for examples). In a sense, we forget we are wearing white shoes, and we forget to make intentional efforts to stay clean.

Peter has a solution to this problem. As long as he has life and breath, Peter is going to keep reminding us of something. He is going to keep reminding us that we are wearing white shoes-- that God has redeemed us, cleansed us, and commanded us to walk in obedience to Him. Even though we already know these things, Peter is going to keep repeating this story over and over until it finally sticks in our heads. See, we have a memory problem. We quickly forget all the things God has done in our lives, and we quickly forget the vows we've made to God in the past. Since this is such a common problem in the Christian life, we should be doing everything we possibly can to improve our memory.

How can we improve our memory? I thought of a couple suggestions, but this is not meant to be a totally exhaustive list. For starters, we have to constantly be reading and meditating on the Word of God. The Scriptures are what remind us of these spiritual truths that we so easily forget during the daily grind of life. We have to refresh our memory on a daily basis by spending time in the Word. Secondly, we need time each day to commune with God through prayer. If we are not spending any time in fellowship with God, it will be easy to forget our Christian duties and obligations. Finally, we need to regularly gather in Christian community. The Christian life is not a solo journey. We are meant to be in the struggle together. We are meant to help one another keep our white shoes clean. Since this is the case, we should make it a priority to meet with fellow believers as often as we can. If do these three things, I think we will find that our memory problem starts to go away.

II Corinthians 5:1-10: Longing for another home

2011-07-12T22:50:00.000-04:00

Throughout Paul's letters (and the other NT epistles) we learn that Christians should have a very sober perspective about this temporary life. Things are not all they are cracked up to be. In fact, Paul expresses a strong desire to depart from this life, which is a struggle and burden, and go on to the next life where he will dwell in the presence of his Lord. I must admit that I have a hard time relating to Paul. I am always perplexed by his disdain for this present life. To me things seem pretty good. I enjoy being a husband and a father. I like sharing various experiences with family and friends. My job as a pastor gives me a sense of purpose and meaning. Why does Paul have such a different attitude?

Paul's perspective comes from two worldview-altering revelations:

1) While we live in this life we are naked. This is a strange statement, considering we spend a good majority of our time wearing clothing. In what way are we naked? This nakedness comes to us from Adam and Eve. On the day they sinned against God, they realized they were naked. This implies that they were previously clothed. Clothed with what though? Considering that mortality arrived simultaneously with their awareness of their nakedness, it seems quite plausible that they were originally clothed in the life of God. They were not meant to be temporary beings. However, they took their clothes off and ever since humans have been temporary creatures.

2) While we live in this life we are burdened. In addition to losing the life of God, Adam and Eve are also cursed. The curse to each of them relates to the fruitfulness and flourishing of life. Eve will have pain in childbirth, and Adam will labor to make the ground produce food. Prior to this curse life would have flourished on its own. Having decided to be like gods, Adam and Eve are left to bring about life without the power of God.

So Paul realizes that life is not what it was meant to be. Knowing this causes him to have a sober perspective on this life and to long for the life to come. God has made a promise to us: "I'll cause life to flourish again." This is the vision of the Old Testament prophets. They are always looking into the future and seeing a time where God will turn deserts into gardens again. In John 10:10, Jesus says that he came to give us abundant life, the abundant life that was lost in the beginning. See what I fail to realize on a daily basis is that God has so much more for his creation. This life is not the end all, be all. We are simply living in the opening act. When I realize this, then I can begin to share in Paul's attitude about this life. This also makes it easier for me to give of myself and make sacrifices in this life because I know that there is a better life to come. I do not have to cling onto every last ounce of this life as if there was nothing better. I can put my hope and faith in the home that Christ is preparing for me.

Christian Growth and Maturity

2011-06-27T10:07:00.000-04:00

This past week I read and re-read Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Reflecting on the letter in its entirety caused me to see some things that had never stood out before. When taken as a whole, the letter reveals an extremely immature and dysfunctional church. The Corinthians of course do not see themselves in this light. In fact, they think of themselves in very high terms. However, Paul writes to them like a father correcting an adolescent child who is still living in the terrible two's. This becomes very clear in I Corinthians 3:1-4. In this passage Paul tells them that he wishes he could talk to them like mature adults in the Christian faith. Unfortunately they are like little children who still have to be nursed on the milk of the faith (see also Heb. 5:12-6:2). By now Paul would have expected growth and maturity. Instead the Corinthians are still acting like "mere men," going along with their natural and fleshly desires. At this stage of the Christian life, Paul had hoped that they would be transformed into something more, but they are still walking in their old patterns of living.

As I reflected on the situation in the Corinthian church, I realized that the Corinthians have made a common mistake. They have fallen into the trap of thinking that Christian growth and maturity automatically happen. They have assumed that they are mature believers simply because they have been "going to church" for several years now. However, real Christian growth requires conscious effort and attention. It does not magically happen when we are not looking. Christian growth is a lot like gardening. The Christian life must be tilled, cultivated, weeded, watered, pruned, and fertilized. If not, our faith will never grow into anything fruitful and productive. This is what has happened to the Corinthians. Instead of making an effort to leave their old sinful ways behind and submit to the will of God, they have brought all their rivalry, arrogance, pride, lust, selfishness, greed, and double-mindednes right into the church.

On Wednesday nights we have been reading from I Peter, and I think that Peter has something helpful to say to the Corinthians (and us if we will listen). In I Peter 4:1, Peter tells his readers to "arm yourselves also with the same purpose [as Christ had]." The purpose Christ had for his life was to do the will of God even if it lead to pain, suffering, and death. We can see this time and time again when we look at the life of Christ. He resolved to do what was right even if it hurt. Peter says we need the same kind of purposeful intentionality in our lives. We have to make a conscious choice to grow and put in arduous effort through self-denial and submission. Otherwise, we fall back into our old patterns of living, thinking, and interacting. Peter encourages Christians to leave behind this "futile way of life" we have been born into and press forward into the abundance of Christian living (I Pet. 1:18).

The question ultimately becomes, "Do I want to grow up?" Like the Corinthians, I think many of us have fallen into the trap of thinking that Christian growth just happens. When we do this, we end up being infants for life. God is hoping for more, though. God is hoping that we will grow to become something more than just comfortable and casual Christians.

What I've been listening to recently

2011-06-19T23:10:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I like listening to a wide variety of music around the house. For Christmas my lovely wife got me a turntable which only encourages me even more. Having a record store within walking distance of my house only further exacerbates the problem (although used records are pretty easy on the wallet). I also recently found out that the downtown library has a good selection of music on CD (at least that doesn't cost me any money). Here are a few things, new and old, that I've bought and been listening to recently:

Fleet Foxes-- Helplessness Blues

Bright Eyes-- The People's Key

Bruce Springsteen-- Live 1975-85

Florence + The Machine-- Lungs

Bruce Springsteen-- The River

The Walkmen-- Lisbon

Panda Bear-- Tomboy

Community Garden Update

2011-06-11T22:31:00.000-04:00

Hey thought I might post a few new pics of our community garden here in South Park. Our lettuce is doing great. We've been eating some pretty tasty salads the last couple weeks. The carrots should be ready in a few more weeks to add to our salads as well.

Our bed with carrots, red leaf lettuce, beans, and cucumbers

The lettuce looked much better after we gave it some water

Our carrots are getting close

Job 38-42-- The limits of our understanding

2011-06-06T09:06:00.000-04:00

Throughout the book of Job, the main character desires to have a word with God about matters of divine providence and justice. Although Job maintains an attitude of faith, he still has some serious questions to ask God. After listening to his three friends pontificate for about 30 chapters and after listening to a fourth character, Elihu, harshly attack Job's perceived pride and arrogance, Job finally gets his wish in chapter 38. From the whirlwind, God responds to Job's demands. However, when God finally responds, Job does not get the kind of answers he is looking for. See, Job is in possession of a kind of a Rubik's cube of questions about God and life-- Why do bad things happen to good people? How can a good God allow people to suffer unjustly? Is God in control of the events of this life? What happens after a person dies? These are the things he is puzzling over. Unfortunately Job cannot quite get all the colors in the right places. In essence, Job wants God to clear everything up and put all the pieces of the puzzle in place.

However, God does not clear up the puzzle. Instead, God puts Job in his place. God reminds Job who God is and who Job is. Job seems to have forgotten who is who. To do this, God asks Job a series of questions about creation, the animals, and the natural world. Job wants to ask questions about what is unseen, but God starts with questions about what can be seen and observed. Presumably, these are "easier" questions than Job's questions. If Job can answer these, then God can answer the "harder" questions Job has asked about what cannot be seen. God's questions reveal something to Job, though. Job is not the one in power and Job cannot even understand the mysteries of the natural world with his finite mind and understanding. Job realizes that he will never be able to comprehend the things of God with his human mind. He cannot think long enough or hard enough. The puzzle of God is not one that can be solved. The colors of the Rubik's cube are never going to fall into place so long as we live in this finite and temporary world.

The question for Job becomes, "Can you live with not knowing and not understanding?" The answer for Job is yes. The same question is posed to us today. Can we live with only knowing and understanding in part? A day is coming when we will see clearly, but for now we have to live with only a dim understanding of the mysteries of God and life (see I Cor. 13:8ff). This is why the Christian life must be lived by faith. We'll never get all the answers we desire, but this should not prevent us from obeying God and submitting to God by faith.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-26T08:11:00.001-04:00

Due to the holiday, we will have no evening meeting this week. Assuming the weather is actual nice (which is a big assumption these days), you might consider spending time outside this weekend with family or friends. We will resume our Sunday evening meetings on June 5th. See you then.

Acts 2:37-47: "Be saved from this perverse generation."

2011-05-16T09:21:00.000-04:00

Since we are nearing the celebration of Pentecost forty days after Easter, I thought I would return again to Acts 2, a chapter I have read many times and preached from before. In the story of Acts 2, the disciples are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and they begin to speak in foreign tongues. Jerusalem, being a cosmopolitan city and a destination for religious pilgrims, was filled with people from around the world. When the people heard the disciples speaking their native tongues, they assembled into a both a skeptical and curious crowd. Peter, having a captive audience, takes the opportunity to preach to the crowd about the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, as prophesied by Joel in the Hebrew Scriptures. He follows this by telling the story of Jesus-- his life, death, resurrection, and ascension-- and presents the message of the Gospel. As I read the story again for the umpteenth time, I was struck by the way Peter preaches the Gospel. In Acts 2:40, which is the climax of his sermon, Peter says, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"

Having grown up in the Christian church and having attended a Christian high school, I have heard my fair share of Gospel presentations in my lifetime. As I reflected on Peter's message, I noticed a subtle difference between the Gospel Peter preaches and the one I have heard many times before. Peter is telling the people that they need to be saved from this present life. Typically when I heard the Gospel preached, I hear that we need to be saved from something in the next life. The typical message is, "Be saved from hell." We are told that we have sinned against God and are doomed to eternity in hell if we do not accept Jesus as our Savior. Once we receive this Gospel message, we spend the rest of our lives going to church, doing good things for other people, and avoiding as many temptations as we can. This, however, is not the Gospel Peter preaches, and it is also not the Gospel Paul preaches.

In Galatians 1:3-5, Paul tells us that God has rescued "us from this present evil age." We need saving from this world, not the next. Paul says the same thing in Ephesians 2:1-7. Before receiving Christ, Paul says that we all "walked according to the course of this world" and "lived in the lusts of our flesh." However, when we received Christ, we were set free from this bondage to the world and to our fleshly desires so that we could freely love and serve God. Once again, we need saving from this life, not the next. Peter explains this same message in one of his letters as well. In I Peter 1:17-19, Peter says we were "redeemed…from the futile way of life inherited from your forefathers." Strictly speaking, our problem is not that we are going to go to hell when we die. Our problem is the way we live this present life. The Good News is that we can turn around and live life according to the Spirit in the here and now. This is why Peter tells the crowd to repent, which means to turn around your life, and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is the Gospel. God wants to save us from this world and our human nature, both of which are opposed to the will of God. This Gospel has important implications for the way we live the rest of our lives. If we need to be saved from this world, then the way we continue to live in this world matters deeply. Our lives, then, become an opportunity to obey God and act out the will of God.

Get off the yellow bus and get on the green bus

I've tried to create a picture to illustrate the difference between being saved from hell and being saved from this world. Imagine a bus destined to go off a cliff and into destruction. Being saved from hell just says I am hoping to get off the bus before it goes over the cliff. However, Peter is telling us to get off the bus right now. Don't wait any longer. The truth is that God has another bus destined for eternal life. We have to get off the bus destined for destruction and get on the bus destined for life. This happens now, not later. In my picture, the message of the Gospel is, "Get off the yellow bus and get on the green bus." The message is, "Repent and receive the Holy Spirit."

When we look at Acts 2:42-47, we can see a group of people who have embraced this Gospel. They recognize that God has given them salvation in this life. This means that their priorities and values have totally changed. They don't look at things the way they used to, and they no longer simply go along with the pattern of this world. Instead, we see that they form a new community where they practice radical obedience to God, which manifests itself in sincere love for one another. Their lives also become powerful testimonies to the people around them, and they become extremely effective as witnesses for Christ.

My hope is that we, like them, would receive this Gospel and truly become the people of God. Amen

Job and Suffering

2011-05-12T09:24:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I shared some thoughts on the first five chapters of Job. In many ways, my reflections on Job are a continuation of my message last week from I Peter 1:3-9 on suffering and the Christian faith.

Job is a man who has it all-- wealth, righteousness, children, animals, servants, zeal for God, and a great reputation. Naturally, Job worships and fears God because he recognizes that God has blessed him with all these things. It's sort of like the football player who thanks God after winning the Super Bowl. Not too hard when you are on the winning side, but what happens when you are the loser? This is the question Satan poses to God. Does Job love God for God's blessings or simply because Job loves God? The issue is disinterested love. Do we love God in hope that we will get something out of it-- blessings, wealth, health, eternal salvation? Or, would we love God even if we did not benefit in any fashion? Would we love God simply because he is God?

So Satan and God agree to a little test. First, Satan takes away all of Job's external blessings-- children, animals, and servants. Job is devastated, but he manages to keep faith. Then Satan hits Job with the second wave. He takes away Job's physical health. Job is left sitting on a pile of ashes, scratching his boils with a piece of a broken pot. To make matters worse, Job's wife has lost faith, and she has harsh words for her husband. "Curse God and die," she says. At this point we can imagine Job is barely holding on, but he is holding on. He does not curse God. He remains steadfast in his faith in spite of his horrible circumstances. The story continues with an extended dialogue between Job and his friends. They show up to "comfort" him in his grief. Job's buddies all seem to be self-appointed experts in theology, and they have a lot of "truth" to speak to Job. Unfortunately, their theological truths are meaningless to Job. His friends are convinced that he has sinned against God and needs to repent. In their minds, if you are good, then you get good things from God. On the other hand, if you are bad, then you get bad things from God. Since Job is getting bad things in his life, he has clearly sinned against God and needs to repent. In this kind of theological view, God is a cosmic Santa Claus. Job has made the naughty list and got a giant lump of coal in his stocking. While this line of thinking is quite natural and popular, it just isn't true, not in the least bit. The frightening reality of Job is that the opposite is true.

In Job 2:9-10, Job says that he is willing to accept both good and adversity from God. This is probably one of the most radical statements of the Bible if we really consider it. Job's faith is so strong that he is willing to accept whatever God gives him, even if it looks bad on the surface. I liken Job's statement of faith in God to Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Not my will but yours be done (Lk. 22:41-42)." Like Job, Christ was willing to accept adversity from God if it was God's will. These statements by Job and Christ tear through careful systematic theologies about evil, suffering, divine sovereignty, and theodicy. Even though Job struggles to make sense of his situation, he maintains faith in God and resigns himself to living in the hands of God.

The story of Job challenges me in several ways. First, I realize that my interest in God is often very selfish. I'm hoping to get something from God, whether that be blessing in this life or the next. Second, I can see that I really only want good things from God. Since I come to God with selfish motives, I am not willing to accept both good and adversity from God. In reality, I want to tell God what he can give me. This is to treat God like a genie in a bottle, captive to my whims and wishes. Third, and finally, the story of Job tells me that the righteous person should expect to suffer. It is precisely because Job's faith is strong that he is subjected to such a difficult test. He is not facing trials because he is being bad. He is facing them because he is being good. If I am truly following the Lord and obeying him, I should expect to face trials and adversity precisely because I am following him. Will I accept both good and adversity from God? That's the question of Job.

I Peter 1:3-9: Suffering and the Christian Life

2011-05-02T10:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of sharing with New Hope Church on Sunday morning in addition to sharing at our church on Sunday night. New Hope is a church just a few blocks away from us in East Dayton. The church is actually a re-plant of the former Otterbein United Methodist Church which is now Target Dayton Ministries. I really appreciate the pastor at New Hope, and I am really encouraged by the work they are doing in their community. It was a joy and pleasure to be able to share God's Word with my brothers and sisters in Christ in the city.

My sharing yesterday was a simple message on I Peter 1:3-9. Peter's letter is written to a group of Christians who are living as aliens and strangers in the world because of their faith in Jesus Christ (see this blog). They are surrounded by people ("Gentiles") who do no think like them, talk like them, or act like them. In this kind of situation, it can be difficult to stand firm in your faith and do the right thing. Peter's letter is, therefore, an encouragement and a challenge to these believers. I call it "good news" and "bad news."

The "good news" (or Gospel) is that God is doing a good work in the lives of the people. God has given them new life in Jesus Christ ("born again"), given them the hope of resurrection, and filled them with the Holy Spirit, a downpayment on the inheritance to come (see this blog). Knowing this is an encouragement when facing difficult situations. If God is at work in our lives, then we know that God will bring us through whatever trials we have in our lives. This also tells us that God has a good end in mind. God is working all things for our good (Rom. 8:28). The "good" in this case is forming us into the image of Jesus Christ and bringing us into final salvation.

Peter also has a bit of "bad news," or I might call it sobering news. While television preachers are always promising us health and wealth if we follow Jesus Christ, Peter is promising something else. Throughout the letter, Peter assures us that we will face trials, ordeals, sufferings, and testings if we are Christians. This is just part of the Christian life. In James 1:2-4, we learn the same thing. We should consider trials a joy because they lead to our perfection and completion in Christ. Hebrews 12:7-11 has a little different emphasis, but it fits as well. In this passage we learn that God disciplines all of his children. If we come into the family of God, we should expect to experience trials and tribulations. These things are actually the discipline of the Lord. God uses experiences that seem bad on the surface to shape us, change us, and transform us. Peter says all this so that his readers will not lose heart when they face trying times. Instead, they can take comfort that God is with them in the midst of trials, bearing them through and using trials to strengthen their faith.

One final comment is in order. As a Christian growing up in America, I feel like I have always been told, consciously or subconsciously, that I will not suffer as a Christian. In fact, you can almost imagine someone saying, "Praise the Lord that we do not have to suffer in America!" When we consider what Peter is saying, this is actually a very ironic (prophetic?) thing to say. If we are trying following the Lord, Peter basically guarantees that we will suffer in some way. The Christian life is not meant to be something easy and comfortable. While we may not face overt physical persecution, there are other kinds of suffering we should experience as Christians, even Christians in America. If nothing else, we should be suffering against our sinful and selfish desires and striving to love God and neighbor. That kind of suffering is universal amongst all Christians.

Collaborative Preaching

2011-04-28T11:53:00.000-04:00

This weekend I've been invited to share a message at another church here in the neighborhood. As I began thinking about sharing at this particular church, I realized how accustomed I have become to preaching in the living room of my home. Granted, this church is not your typical "traditional" church with all kinds of rules, rituals, and formalities, but there is still a difference between preaching in your living room to family and friends and preaching from the front of a room to a crowd of people. In order to fit this different context, I'll inevitably have to tweak my "style" a touch. Typically when I prepare a message for our house church I leave room for questions, feedback, rebuttals, and other forms of spontaneity. I always have a good idea of where I am headed in my message, but I allow for flexibility and improvisation. This is a lot harder to accommodate in a typical preaching setting. At best the congregation can respond with sounds of approval, but it is difficult to allow space for anything else. It just is not practical to allow 50 or 100 or 1000 people the opportunity to respond with an insight or ask a question. Having spent almost two years now in the house church environment, I realize how much I appreciate the conversational atmosphere of living room preaching. I like the fact that someone can stop me in mid-sentence because something is unclear. I like the fact that someone can offer their own way of understanding a verse, which may be different from my own. I like the fact that everyone has the ability to voice what is on their hearts.

When I think about more "traditional" styles of preaching, I am troubled by how one-directional they are. In most models of preaching, the preacher has an idea in his or her mind that they are trying to communicate to their listeners. In this way of preaching, the flow of information is from the front of the room to the masses. There is no reciprocity, no mutual edification, and very little participation. On the contrary, the style of preaching that can take place in the living room allows for this kind of reciprocity and mutual edification. Often times people share an insight or comment in response to the content of my message that encourages and challenges me. Preaching becomes a two-way street then. Instead of me preaching to them, we are, in a sense, preaching to each other. The final outcome of the message often becomes a synthesis between what I have planned to share and what other people contribute to the conversation. This is a wonderful experience that I am less inclined to trade for pulpit preaching these days.

The name I have come up with for this style of preaching is "collaborative preaching." I chose this term because I think it captures the multi-directional and spontaneous dynamic of living room preaching. My only hope is that more churches and more pastors would discover the depth of preaching in a way that allows for everyone to contribute.

Urban Farming

2011-04-25T11:22:00.000-04:00

Since I don't have any sermon notes from yesterday to share, I thought I might post a few pictures of our community gardening efforts here in South Park. This is my first stab at "urban farming," which is apparently all the rage these days (see this article in Audubon Magazine). Now, I can't take credit for starting this new endeavor in our neighborhood. A fellow cast member from last year's neighborhood production of Romeo and Juliet started it last summer with his wife. This year they expanded things beyond a meager beginning to involve more neighbors. Just the other week they added more raised beds, bringing the total up to 30. The lot where we are planting used to be the site of low income housing. Apparently the city demolished the buildings before we moved into the neighborhood and is now allowing South Park to use the land for the community garden. I'm glad to see the land put to good use.

I planted my first set of seeds back at the end of March, hoping to get an early harvest and taking my chances with lingering cold weather. I planted 3 rows of carrots and 3 rows of leaf lettuce. We'll see how they do. I'm not sure if I have enough soil depth in the raised bed to get very large carrots. The ground below the bed is hard and probably will not allow the roots to penetrate for deeper growth. Already I have some signs of growth. The other week I decided to go ahead and plant some other late spring crops. I did several rows of cucumbers and several rows of bush beans. So far there have not be any signs of growth from those seeds, but they probably still need another week or so before they begin breaking through the surface of the soil. I also tossed some cucumber, bush bean, and scallion seeds in a flower bed in our backyard since I ran out of room in our community garden bed. With all the rain we are having this week, hopefully it will cause us to have an abundant harvest. If our garden is fruitful, we will certainly share our produce on Sunday nights. Here are some pictures I took last week on one of the only sunny days:

30 raised beds with Miami Valley Hospital in background

#20 is our bed

Leaf lettuce

View of the whole bed

Easter Sunday

2011-04-21T09:52:00.000-04:00

This Sunday there will be no evening service at our house in South Park. Instead, we will participate in a joint worship service with several other house churches on Sunday morning at 10:30am. If you need more information about this service or directions to the location, you can email me at fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Romans 8:6-11: The mind set on the Spirit

2011-04-11T22:36:00.000-04:00

As I've re and re-read the book of Romans over the years, I've become more and more convinced that chapter eight may be the most important part of the letter. Paul's argument about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which begins in chapter one, reaches it's climax in chapter eight. This is where Paul brings everything together-- freedom in Christ, life of the Spirit, overcoming the flesh, and hope for the future. If the letter to the Romans were a symphony, chapter eight would be the crowning movement. Yet, although chapter eight is certainly one of the most important parts of the whole letter, it is also one of the most difficult to explain and preach. This is because chapter eight really has to be experienced to be understood. Paul is not simply talking about abstract or speculative theological concepts. He is talking about a Christian life guided by the Spirit and fixed firmly on the hope of ultimate redemption. Sounds simple enough, but how do you explain this to a person who has not experienced the work of the Spirit and has no hope in God's good future? This is why it can be difficult to preach and teach on this particular chapter. In spite of this, last night I tried to share some thoughts and reflections on what it means to have our minds set on the Spirit.

As I thought about this, I realized that a mind set on the Spirit is more than just an attentive or focused mind. I would also say that it is more than just a mind that thinks about God, Jesus, or the Spirit. Rather, the mind set on the Spirit is a mind consumed by the Spirit, consumed by the life and thoughts of God. On the contrary then, a mind set on the flesh is a mind consumed by our earthly ways of thinking, our earthly priorities, our animal instincts, and our selfish desires. With this in mind, I can do a simple test on myself to see which type of mindset I have. All I need to do is ask myself, "What is on my mind? What consumes my mind?" If my mind is consumed by fleshly things and fleshly concerns, then this is a strong indication that my mind is probably set on the flesh. On the other hand, if my mind is consumed by the things of the Spirit and the thoughts of God, then this is probably a good indication that my mind is set on the Spirit. When I listed out all the things that are typically on my mind, I found that I spend a lot time thinking about, planning for, and arranging my life around things that honestly do not amount to a hill of beans. My mind is often consumed by things that really just do not matter. They are temporary things-- sports, movies, books, music, politics, opinions, projects, chores, errands, jobs, etc. Although I typically take this for granted and do not think much of it, Paul is telling me that this is a problem, a big problem. Paul says that a mind set on the flesh results in death and hostility towards God. But, as I reflected on this more, I saw that I do not just need new thoughts. The solution is not just swapping thoughts about the Cincinnati Reds for thoughts about the Bible or Christian theology. I need a whole different way of thinking. I need an entirely different perspective and a different set of priorities, not just new and different thoughts.

See, this is the problem the Apostle Peter has several times during his life (see Mt. 16:21-23; Mt. 26:69-75; Gal. 2:11-14). Sometimes his mind is set on the flesh. This does not mean he is thinking about doing something sinful or wrong. He is just thinking about things from a human perspective. Take Matthew 16:21-23 for example. In this story Peter tries to convince Jesus not to suffer and die on the cross. Jesus rebukes him quite harshly for this. Why? Jesus says that Peter has his mind set on man's interests rather than God's interests. To put it another way, when Peter looks at the situation, he sees things from a limited human perspective and applies his finite human rationale to the situation. From Peter's perspective, he cannot see how suffering and death fit into the plan and will of God. So Peter does not just need new thoughts. He needs a mind change. In order to see things God's way, he will literally need to be able to access the mind of God. But how could he do this? Paul tells us the answer back in Romans 8:9. A person who has their mind set on the Spirit is a person who is filled with the Spirit of Christ. Paul says this Spirit actually possess the ability to animate the body with a type of life that comes from God rather than from blood and oxygen. Only when we are filled with the Spirit, only when we have the person of Christ living in us, can we think with the mind of God and look at things from God's perspective. So when Paul tells us to have our minds set on the Spirit, he is not just telling us to focus our thoughts on the Bible or think about God a lot. He is telling us to receive the person of Christ in us and allow the Spirit to guide and control us.

As I said at the beginning, this is really something that has to be experienced in order to be understood. It can only be explained with words to a limited degree. My hope, then, is that we would be people who open ourselves up to God and receive the work of the Spirit in our lives, which will enable us to have the mind of Christ. Amen.

I Peter 1:3-9: God at work in my life

2011-04-08T09:17:00.000-04:00

The first two weeks of our new Wednesday night Bible study we focused on several of the big themes of I Peter-- alienation and suffering. This week we took a closer look at the first section of the letter. In verse three, Peter starts by blessing God because God has done something in our lives worthy of praise. More specifically, God has caused three things to happen in our lives, according to I Peter 1:3-5:

Born again (Jn. 1:12-13)
Gave me hope (I Cor. 15:50-57)
Obtain an inheritance (Eph. 1:13-14)

This is important because it reminds me that I did not cause myself to be born again, I did not give myself hope, and I did not save up my own inheritance. Rather, God freely and graciously did all these things on my behalf because of God's love and kindness. This, then, tells me that I am God's good work (Eph. 2:8-10). Often times, our typical mindset is that we do good works for God or on behalf of God. However, Peter and Paul are saying that God is the One doing a good work, regardless of my participation or non-participation. The question for me is, "Will I let God do his work in my life?" God wants to work in me life. Even more, God is already at work in my life whether or not I even believe in God or honor God. The issue, then, is whether or not I want to submit to God's work and participate in God's work.

My decision to participate in or reject God's good work may then depend on what kind of work God is doing. To put it differently, "What work is God trying to do in me?" Is God trying to make me wealthy, famous, and happy? If so, lots of people would be willing to participate in this kind of work. On the other hand, if God's good work involves suffering and alienation, two things Peter talks about constantly throughout his letter, then maybe God's work is not as attractive on the surface. I think there are two key passages in I Peter that help explain the kind of work God is doing. In I Peter 1:13-16, we find out that God is first trying to de-conform us from the world and then, secondly, re-conform us to the image of Christ, or as Peter calls it "holiness." This is the image which was lost in the Garden of Eden and is now being restored through the death and resurrection of Christ. In I Peter 2:9-10, we see that God's work for us individually also has a collective element. God is working collectively in all of us to form a people, or as Peter says earlier a "living" and "spiritual house," who can bear testimony to the goodness and excellency of God. This is what God is doing-- transforming each of us individually and collectively forming us into the people of God. Now we can see why alienation and suffering fit into the picture. When we are changed into the people of God, we now longer fit in with the people around us. This results in alienation. Also, we can see that trials, tribulations, ordeals, and sufferings are all tools of transformation. Going through these situations refines the image of God in us and strengthens our faith.

My prayer for us is that we would go along with this good work and be transformed by God.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

2011-04-03T00:17:00.002-04:00

The other week I was experimenting around with the way I play the old hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." I typically take cues from the Passion version with the added chorus. However, when I was tinkering with the song I dropped the added chorus and just went back to the original verses. Then I decided to add a series of ascending notes at the end as a repetitive outro-- maybe drawing inspiration from a cathartic Sigur Ros build? When I sat down to record my new version, I ended up deciding to add in several layers of reverb heavy vocals. I don't really love the sound of my voice by itself so it is fun to play with effects and multi-tracking in Garage Band. One of my favorite experimental musicians, Panda Bear, is the inspiration behind the vocals on this track. Since I liked the way everything came together, although it is only demo quality, I thought I might share it on the blog.

Here it is (by the way, this works for me in Firefox but not Safari):

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (end coda) by jarrettdickey

Exodus 17:1-7: Grumbling in the Wilderness

2011-03-28T10:57:00.000-04:00

The route from Egypt to Mt. Sinai

Last night we jumped into the middle of the Exodus story, picking up with things at Massah and Meribah. The map to the right shows two possible routes for the Exodus journey. Exodus 17 takes place near the lower right corner of the map at the place marked as the Plains of Rephidim. This is one of the final stops before the people reach Mt. Sinai. Along the way the people have seen some miraculous things and experienced the mighty hand of God. First, God, having heard the cries of the people while in slavery, delivered them from the oppressive hand of the Egyptians. In order to get Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free, God sent a series of ten plagues on the land to force Pharaoh to the let the people go and to prove the supreme power of the Hebrew God. Second, God delivered the people from Pharaoh another time. After letting the people go from the land of Goshen, Pharaoh has a change of heart and decides to pursue the Hebrews with his army. He catches up with them at the shore of the Red Sea, trapping the people between his army and a vast body of water. Just went things look the bleakest, God miraculously parts the Red Sea so that the people can pass through safely to the other side. When the Egyptians try to follow them, God causes the sea to close again and destroys the Egyptian army. Once they get to the other side, the people begin journeying through the wilderness of modern day Saudi Arabia. While they are in the wilderness God continually meets their basic needs, giving them drinking water and manna to eat. In Exodus 17 the people arrive at Rephidim and set up camp. Because they are in the middle of a desert wilderness, their campsite does not have any water. The people demand that Moses give them water and begin to grumble and complain against Moses. They say that Moses brought them out to the wilderness to die. Moses speaks to God about the situation, and, once again, God provides for the needs of the people. However, Moses names the places Massah and Meribah, words that mean "test" and "quarrel," because the people tested God.

As I reflected on this story, one thing in particular stood out to me. All along the Exodus journey, the people are constantly grumbling and complaining against God and Moses. At one point in time, they even go so far as to say that they would rather be slaves in Egypt than wonder around in the wilderness as free people (Ex. 14:12). Even though God has proven himself time and time again-- ten plagues, parting of the Red Sea, water, manna-- the people continue to doubt God's provision and complain when things start to get difficult or look uncertain. I wondered to myself, "How long is it going to take before these people trust God? What is God going to have to do to prove himself to these people?" If I had seen what they saw, I think I would trust God! ...Or would I? Although I've never seen anything like the ten plagues or the parting of the Red Sea, I have seen God's hand at work in my life. However, I am also good at rationalizing or explaining away God's providence. It's easy to say that things were lucky, coincidental, or fortunate. When we do this, we actually harden our hearts against God because we are subconsciously refusing to give God credit for the good things God has worked out in our lives. So, in many ways I can relate to the Hebrew people. Even when we see the mighty hand of God at work over the course of our lives, it can still be difficult to trust God when we are faced with uncertain and difficult circumstances. However, God is looking for trust and obedience. God actually takes us through these difficult and uncertain circumstances-- God makes us hike through deserts-- so that God can prove his faithfulness, provision, love, and care. Once God has proven himself, though, God wants us to begin to trust him. God does not want us to flip out when we are presented with hard times. Instead, God wants us to remember that he has gotten us through things before, and trust that God will bring us through this trial as well.

So Exodus 17:1-7 is a challenge to acknowledge the work of God in our lives and trust that God will continue to lead and guide us the remainder of our days. If we've seen God's providence time and time again, let's start to trust God rather than grumble and complain when things get difficult. This is what God is looking for any way. God is actually taking us through these difficult times so that we will trust God and rely on God. Ultimately God is working all things for our good. Let's trust and obey him.

Acts 15:36-16:15: The Start of Paul's 2nd Missionary Journey

2011-03-21T09:55:00.000-04:00

In Acts 15:36-41, Paul approaches Barnabas with a proposal: "Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." This seems like a decent enough idea. On Paul's first missionary journey, he and Barnabas had started Christian churches in the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, which were all located in the southern region of Galatia (modern day Turkey). Before they had returned to Antioch at the end of their trip, they had appointed elders to oversee the fledgling congregations. It seems reasonable that Paul would want to go back and check up on these Christian brothers and sisters. However, when he begins to discuss logistics with Barnabas, there is a big disagreement about a man named John Mark, who had deserted them on the first missionary journey. The disagreement is so strong that Paul and Barnabas choose different traveling companions and set off in different directions. Barnabas and John Mark go by boat to Cyprus in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and Paul and Silas go by land to the churches in Galatia. The beginning of the second missionary journey contrasts sharply with the way the first one started. In Acts 13, we see that the first journey started because the Holy Spirit prompted the believers in Antioch to set aside Paul and Barnabas for missionary work. The church leaders fasted and prayed about this, and then laid hands on Paul and Barnabas to commission them for the work. Contrary to this, the second journey begins with an idea from Paul, not necessarily the Spirit, and begins with division and disagreement rather than prayer and unity.

Paul's Second Missionary Journey

Having parted ways from Barnabas, Paul goes to Derbe and Lystra where he finds a new right hand man, Timothy. Now Timothy is a Greek, which means he has never participated in the Jewish custom of circumcision. So Paul decides to circumcision Timothy so that, more or less, Timothy will not be a "stumbling block" to the Jews in the area. Instead of dealing with constant controversy and conflict, Paul just decides to circumcision Timothy so that certain Jewish Christians will find Timothy acceptable. Ironically, during this same trip Paul is also bringing around the decree of the Church council in Jerusalem (Acts 15), which declares that people do not have to follow Jewish Law as Christians. So, when Paul circumcises Timothy, he is doing the very thing he is telling the believers in Galatia not to do. Then, after leaving Lystra with Timothy and Silas, Paul tries to begin making his way first into Asia and secondly into Bithynia. However, the Spirit of Jesus prevents him from going to both of these places. Instead, Paul sees a vision that tells him to go to Macedonia (modern day Greece). Paul obeys this vision and eventually ends up in the city of Philippi, where a woman named Lydia receives the Gospel of Jesus and a new church is born. As I reflected on this story, I saw things in a new way. Up until Paul obeys the Macedonian vision, I am not sure if Paul is really doing God's will. From the nature of the story, it seems that Paul is doing his will. It is Paul's idea to go on the trip. It is Paul's idea not to take John Mark. It is Paul's idea to circumcise Timothy. It is Paul's idea to go to Asia and Bithynia. While some of these things might appear to be good or logical ideas, none of them may be God's ideas.

The story of the book of Acts is the story of God doing a good work. In this particular story, God's work differs from Paul's work. Take the issue of Timothy's circumcision for example. Paul clearly circumcised Timothy because he thought they would be spending a lot of time in Asia Minor ministering to Jews and Jewish Christians. If, however, Paul had known they were going to Macedonia, would he have still circumcised Timothy? Probably not because there would have been no need. So when Paul circumcised Timothy, he may have been wrong. Also, when Paul tried to go into Asia and Bithynia, he obviously was not following the Spirit's leading because the Spirit prevented him from going to these places. God was doing something in these regions, as indicated by the introduction to I Peter, but God's plans in Asia and Bithynia did not involve Paul. Although it was reasonable and logical, Paul was wrong to plan to go to these areas. Fortunately, this story also shows God working in spite of our mistakes and wrong decisions.

Ultimately this story reminded me of Ephesians 2:10, which says, "For we are His [God's] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Several things are important about this verse. One, it reminds us that God is working on us. Often we are quick to want to do good things for God, forgetting that God is doing a good work on us. Second, it tells us the definition of a "good work." A good work is any work done by God. A good work is not anything we define as good. As Christians we are especially prone to coming up with our own good ideas and own good works. Many of our ministries and outreaches are a product of our own good ideas. This passage from Ephesians and the story of Paul's second missionary journey remind us that good works are defined by God, not us. Instead of being quick to come up with a list of good things to do for God, we should allow God to work on us and allow the Spirit to lead us in the works that God has prepared for us. Then we will find ourselves going along with God rather than fighting against the Spirit.

Aliens and Strangers

2011-03-17T09:54:00.000-04:00

Roman Empire circa 150 AD

At the beginning of Peter's first epistle, we learn that he is writing to a group of Christians "who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (I Pet. 1:1)." Introductions like this with strange place names are easy to skip over without much thought. However, there is a lot going on in the background of this statement that is worth looking into. Why does Peter call these people "aliens" and why have they been scattered in these five regions, which are located in modern-day Turkey? Unfortunately, we do not know much about the historical background of these Christian communities. They were not established by Paul on any of his missionary journeys and the book of Acts does not record any other apostolic activity in these areas. Bible scholars debate about the origins of these Christian communities. Some take these Christians to be literal aliens, who have been scattered to these regions of Turkey by persecution. It is very possible that they were dispersed from Rome by the emperor Claudius. This would also explain their connection with Peter, who later in his life became associated with the church in Rome. On the other hand, it is quite possible that these churches were started some other way. In which case, the people would not literally be "aliens."

Jewish Diaspora in the first century AD

However, the question still remains, "Why does Peter call them aliens?" If we look at a couple verses in the letter, we can see why. The first set of verses is 1:17-19. In these verses, Peter says that the people were redeemed by God from their futile way of living in the world. Until they learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ, they lived normal, earthly, and fleshly lives, focusing on the cares of the world and going along with the desires of the world. Now, though, they have been made citizens of a new place and have been given a new type of life in Christ. For them, this earth is only a temporary dwelling place and they are just staying here until the revelation of Jesus Christ. The other important verses are 2:11-12. In these verses Peter says that Christians should be strangers to the fleshly lusts of the Gentiles. Instead, a Christian should conduct himself righteously so that his good conduct will be a witness to those who do not believe. In these two verses we can see why Peter calls them "aliens," and it has nothing to do with their earthly citizenship. Their alienation is a byproduct of their Christian commitment and their unwillingness to go along with the ways of their unbelieving neighbors.

In this way, all Christians should be aliens. However, this kind of feeling can be hard for me to relate to. I live in the country where I was born. I speak the dominant language of my country. I am a member of the largest racial group in my country. The majority of people in my country profess to be Christian just as I do. I fit in culturally-- eat the same things, dress the same way, share the same customs. Rather than feeling like an alien or a stranger as a Christian in America, at times I seem to fit right in. However, Peter's letter challenges this attitude. He is saying that alienation is a normative part of the Christian experience. If I have truly been redeemed by Christ and am seeking to live in obedience to Him, I will definitely struggle to fit in. I will find it harder and harder to relate to people the more I live by faith in Christ. So, I have to ask myself a question, "Am I willing to risk alienation for the sake of Christ?" If my hope is to fit in and go along with the flow, I will never be able to fully and truly follow Jesus. Peter's encouragement to me is that I would be willing to walk in faith even if that means I end up walking alone.

I Peter

2011-03-15T23:31:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow night we will begin our Bible study on I Peter. Anyone is welcome to join us at 7pm at our house in South Park. This will be the third NT letter we have studied since we started last fall (James and I John are the other two). It's been a good learning and growing process for us. Even if you cannot join us in person on Wednesday nights, I would encourage you to read along through I Peter on your own. I'll post some thoughts from our studies occasionally as well for those who cannot make it.

The Explorer's Son

2011-03-14T10:02:00.000-04:00

In Galatians 5:6, Paul says, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love." In many ways, this bold statement is a summary of Paul's entire "theology." For him, everything always comes back to faith-- we are justified by faith, sanctified by faith, saved by faith, and live by faith. But, when I read this verse again this past week, I found myself asking the question, "What is faith?" See, typically we think of faith as a mind thing. Faith is what you know or believe about God. If this were the case, though, then Paul would be saying that the most important thing is what a person knows in their mind. However, when we take the whole of the Scriptures into account, faith is clearly not a set of ideas or mental propositions. If we look at Hebrews 11, we can get a better picture of faith. Based on these verses, I wrote this definition of faith:

Faith is an enduring conviction about the future (or the unseen) that alters our actions in the present (or the seen).

In order to make this definition more comprehensible, I wrote another short story this week. The story is about an explorer's son and his faith convictions. Here is the story of Matthew, which is also loosely based on the story of Abraham leaving his hometown to journey to Canaan.

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Matthew was the son of an explorer. When he was a little boy, his father would sit him on his knee and tell him wondrous and marvelous stories about his travels and adventures. Matthew’s father recounted tales about strange people, bizarre creatures, and far away lands. The little boy hung on every word that came from his father’s mouth. One of Matthew’s favorite stories was about the legendary city of Zion. Matthew begged his father to tell the story almost every night. He never grew tired hearing about the streets of gold, the gates made of pearls, the buildings fashioned out of precious gems, and the walls of glass. Even more amazing were the inhabitants of Zion. People of all tribes, nations, and races lived inside Zion’s walls. All of them, from the youngest to the oldest, were righteous and good people. The city had no need for laws or rules because no one harmed anyone, but, rather, each person looked out for his fellow citizen. One day, Matthew’s father promised, he would take Matthew to see the city for himself.

When Matthew was twelve years old, his father left on another one of his adventures. He kissed his wife and boy goodbye and promised to be back in six months. Matthew never saw his father again. A whole year passed and his father did not return home. Matthew was devastated. The local townspeople held a memorial service in honor of Matthew’s father. During the service, the townspeople told their favorite stories about Matthew’s father. Some people laughed and others cried. Near the end, Matthew stood up and shared his father’s story about Zion. The story was received with awkward silence by those in attendance. The people had always assumed that Matthew’s father had made up the story about Zion to entertain his son. None of them believed that Zion actually existed. They thought it was just a fairy tale for children. Afterwards, no one said anything to Matthew about the story for fear that they would further increase his grief. In due time, they thought, the boy would grow up and forget the childish fantasies crafted by his father.

On the day of his twenty-first birthday, Matthew packed a small hiking bag with his belongings and told his mother that he was going on a journey to Zion. In spite of what the townspeople had assumed, Matthew had never stopped believing in his father’s story about Zion. This news made Matthew’s mother very sad and upset. She, like the townspeople, always figured that the story about Zion was a tall tale. Unable to control her emotions, she blurted out that the story was made up and that Zion did not exist. She tried to persuade Matthew to stay at home and work in the town. Matthew was grieved by his mother’s reaction. He had hoped that she might come with him. Instead, Matthew, undeterred by his mother’s words, resolved to go on the journey alone if necessary.

Leaving his mother, Matthew went into town to get a few extra supplies for the trip. At the general store he bought a small tent and a sleeping bag. When the owner of the store asked him about the nature of his purchase, Matthew confidently declared that he was going on a journey to find Zion. The shop owner, who had been in attendance at the memorial service years ago, was amazed that Matthew still believed his father’s silly story. He tried to let Matthew down easy by telling him that his father had meant well, but the story was a fantasy. For a second Matthew’s faith faltered. What if his father had lied to him? No, Matthew thought, he knew his father’s character. His father had always told his story about Zion with an air of the utmost truthfulness. Regaining his resolve, Matthew thanked the shop owner and left to see one more person before he set off on his journey.

A few blocks away from the general store was a small doctor’s office. Matthew stopped and knocked at the door. A voice inside told Matthew to enter. Opening the door, Matthew was greeted by the smiling face of a young man about the same age as him. The young man was Matthew’s good friend Paul. He was apprenticing with his father and eventually hoped to take over the family practice. Not wanting to waste too much time, Matthew told Paul about his plans to journey to Zion. At first Paul thought Matthew was playing a prank on him. When he realized that Matthew was serious, Paul’s countenance changed from happiness to concern. Immediately, he tried to talk Matthew out of his plans. Paul even offered to hire Matthew as his assistant at the doctor’s office if he stayed. Matthew politely declined Paul’s gracious offer and wished his friend well in his future career. Knowing about Zion, Matthew knew in his heart that he could not just stay in their small town the rest of his life, working at Paul’s office. Parting ways with his friend, Matthew left the doctor’s office and headed out of town on the main road.

Reaching the crossroads several miles outside of town, Matthew stopped and looked in all four directions. Although he knew his destination, he did not know how to get where he was going. Matthew immediately realized the foolishness of his journey. Just as he began to consider going back, Matthew remembered his father’s words, “Follow the sun to the place it sets, and you will find Zion.” In the western sky the summer sun hung low over the blue hills. Without hesitating any longer, Matthew set off in the direction of the sunset. He could still cover several more miles before the onset of evening.

Unbeknownst to Matthew, a farmer sat on the porch of his home watching Matthew at the crossroads. He saw the young man deliberate for a period of time and then finally take the western road. The farmer watched Matthew’s figure slowly dwindle on the horizon until he disappeared altogether. This was the last time anyone from the town ever saw Matthew again. Just as his father had done years ago, Matthew disappeared and never returned. Eventually the townspeople gave up searching for him and held a memorial service. The people all told nice stories. Matthew’s mother cried. Strangely, though, no one mentioned Zion.

Changes

2011-03-10T13:39:00.000-05:00

I decided to mix things up and try out a new blog layout. Hopefully everyone finds this to be readable and user-friendly. We had been using the old design for a while now, and I just thought it might time for a change to keep things fresh.

A Story of Two Boys

2011-03-07T10:13:00.000-05:00

This story is meant to be an illustration of two key passages from Paul's letters: Galatians 4:1-11 and Romans 8:1-17. In these two passages Paul teaches that we have been set free from our old way of living according to the flesh so that we can live a new life guided by the Spirit of God living in us. Unfortunately, Christians often fall into the trap of going back to their old way of living, their old mindsets, their old habits, and their old customs. Paul constantly encourages Christians to continue to walk in their new life and the freedom of the Spirit. There is no reason to go back to the old. The following is a story I wrote to show the folly of going back to our old lives. The story is open-ended because it invites our response.

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Once upon a time, there were two boys born in the same household on the same day. These boys were not twins, though. One was the son of the master of the household and the other was the son of a servant in the household. Because the two boys shared the same birthday and lived in the same household, they grew up together, sharing many of the same life experiences. As young boys, the two were great playmates. They would spend many hours together playing in the master’s house and on the master’s property. Two of their favorite activities were playing hide-and-seek in the house and climbing trees in the orchard. When they got a little older, the boys began attending school together. All the way through school, they shared the same teachers and learned the same things. They even had a childish crush on the same girl in the eighth grade. Now, although the boys were from two very different families, they treated each other like equals and were like two peas in a pod. In fact, the local townspeople often had a hard time telling the difference between the two boys.

When the day of their 18th birthdays came, things began to change for the boys. The master of the household threw a large party for his son because the son was going off to study at the university in the fall. On the other hand, the servant’s son only had a meager birthday party. He would not be going off to school that fall. Instead, now that he was an adult, he would be expected to work in the master’s fields along with his parents. When the day came for the master’s son to go to university, he kissed his mother goodbye and embraced his friend, the servant’s son, in a parting hug. He promised to come back in four years and help his father manage the family estate.

During the next four years, the two boys changed in many ways. At university, the master’s son experienced a time of great freedom and growth. His knowledge and understanding of the world around him developed and grew. He moved beyond the simple education of his youth and starting thinking in more complex ways. He also met new people and built new friendships. These relationships were very different from his childhood friendship with the servant’s son. He began relating to others as adults, rather than as playmates. This had an effect on the development of his relationship with his father as well. The two became good friends and colleagues. While at university, the master’s son did his best on all his school work in order to please his father and bring honor to his family. Unbeknownst to the boy, something else happened during this time period. He became more and more like his father. He started to think like his father, reason like his father, and act like his father.

Back home, the servant’s son had a very different life experience, especially as it related to the master of the household. Unlike the master’s son, who became friends and equals with his father, the servant’s son formed a relationship of reluctant obedience with the master. He did as he was told out of fear in order to avoid punishment. Over time the relationship between the servant’s son and the master became very strained. Also, since following the orders of the master consumed all of his time, the servant’s son did not enjoy the freedoms of the master’s son. He did not grow in his knowledge and understanding of the world around him, but continued to think and reason in childish ways. He also did not have the experience of building new relationships and encountering new types of people.

At the end of his time at university, the master’s son returned home to help manage the family’s estate. Since he had become so much like his father, the master decided to turn over control of all the daily operations to his son. There was no need for the father to continue to run things since his son was fully capable of making the same decisions and doing the same things that the father used to do. Putting his son in charge, the master decided it would be good for he and his wife to take an extended vacation. They were fully confident the son could handle all things in their absence. They promised to come back after they had finished their travels.

One day while walking through the fields, the master’s son came across his old childhood friend. They had not seen one another in four years. They embraced one another and then sat down on some stumps to catch up. After just a few minutes of visiting, they both sensed that the other had changed much in the past four years. The master’s son used language that was strange and obscure to his friend. The servant’s son said bad things about the master that made his friend uncomfortable. By the end of their conversation, they two young men recognized that they had totally different mindsets about life and that they were interested in very different things. They parted ways amicably that afternoon, but both boys knew in their hearts that their childhood friendship was no more. They had become two very different adults.

As more time went by, something very strange happened, though. The master’s son had an unexpected change of mind and started acting in very curious ways. Instead of acting like the manager of the household, he began putting on servant’s clothes and worked out in the fields during the day. By acting like a servant, he hoped to re-establish the friendship he once had with the servant’s son. Before long the two boys once again became inseparable and indistinguishable. Forgetting his growing experiences at university, the master’s son reverted to his old childish ways and habits. He even adopted his friend’s hostile attitude towards his father.

After a time, the master and his wife returned from their travels abroad. When they entered the house, they were surprised to find things in a state of gross disrepair and neglect. Their son was nowhere to be found. The master entered his old office and took the household ledger off the shelf. Scanning through the pages, he saw that his son had been neglecting his duties as manager of the estate. Confused, the master went outside to search for his son in the fields. Not finding anyone at work in the fields, the master went to the servant’s quarters. Opening the door, he saw his son at a long table with the household servants. Since no one was giving the servants orders anymore, they had begun neglecting their duties, and instead they spent their days feasting and drinking the master’s wine. Seeing this, the master was both angry and confused. Here was his son, who had been given the family inheritance and had been given responsibility to oversee the family affairs, acting like a servant!

How do you think the master will respond to this situation?

James 5:7-11: Waiting on the Farmer

2011-03-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

In the NASB translation, James 5:7-11 begins with the word "therefore," which means that James is making a conclusion based on what he has been saying in the preceding verses. In James 5:1-6, James offers harsh words for rich people who exploit their hired laborers by not paying them for their daily work. He also indicates that some of these rich people have even killed righteous people. In James 5:4, James says that God Almighty has heard the cries of the righteous and oppressed and is going to act decisively in their favor. Yet, as we can see in this week's set of verses, God seems to be taking his time handing out justice. These rich people, who have been exploiting others and living luxuriously, do not seem to be getting their comeuppance. In the meantime, the righteous continue to suffer at the hands of the unrighteous. James is trying to bolster their hope and confidence. The day of the Lord will certainly come. We just need to be patient and wait for it.

Waiting for the early and late rains

In order to help them understand what is going on, James tells a brief, one-sentence parable about a farmer. After a farmer plants his seeds in the ground, he sits down and waits for the early (i.e. spring) rains to come and water the seeds. These spring rains cause the seeds to germinate and the first shoots to burst through the soil. After the plants begin to grow, the farmer continues to wait. He waits all summer long until the late (i.e. autumn) rains come and cause the plants to grow to full maturity. Now James may just be using this as an illustration of patience, but I think he is trying to say a lot more about God's justice and the coming day of the Lord. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells three parables about a farmer-- the parable of the sower, the parable of the wheat and tares, and the parable of the mustard seed. In each story, the farmer plants something in the ground and then waits. Why does the farmer wait? In each story, he is waiting for something to grow. Growing, of course, takes a lot of time and patience. In the second two parables, we can see even more clearly why God is letting things grow. In the story of the wheat and tares, an enemy sows bad seed in the same field where God has planted good seed. When the plants first come up the farmer notices but decides to let both kinds of plants grow together until harvest. Why? He is afraid of "accidentally" pulling out some wheat along with the tares if he weeds the garden right away. Instead, he gives them time to grow so that the plants can clearly differentiate themselves. Then, at harvest it will be easy to gather up the wheat and not make any mistakes. In the story of the mustard seed, God gives it time to grow so that it can become a mature tree. The mature tree then becomes a home for a nesting bird. The mature tree, in a sense, spreads life to other things. So, in these three parables, we can see that God waits for differentiation and maturity. He wants to give his plants time to see what kind of plants they really are.

This brings us back to the point James is trying to make. See, the Christians are basically asking the question, "What is God waiting for?" In Revelation 6:9-11, we see the martyrs under the throne of God asking the same thing. They want to know when God will give them justice. They are given the same answer as James' readers: wait. Why wait though? Because God is allowing things to grow. He cannot just fast forward to harvest time. In a sense, James' readers are stuck between the early and late rains and they want to skip ahead. God, however, will not do this. Why not? One very important thing happens between the early and late rains. The plants differentiate themselves. God is giving tares the time to become wheat plants. He is giving people the chance to repent and believe before final judgment comes. Once harvest comes, that is the end of the story. There is no chance for the plants to grow or differentiate themselves after harvest. So we can see that the compassion and mercy of God holds the justice of God at bay for a time. The day of final judgment will certainly come, but in the meantime God is giving people the opportunity to receive mercy before that final day.

Money In, Money Out

2011-02-23T23:00:00.001-05:00

Tonight at Bible study we looked at James 4:13-17 and 5:1-6. These are two passages that can be really challenging if we take them seriously and apply them to our lives. In these passages James is addressing issues of pride, arrogance, hubris, wealth, and luxury. If we didn't know that this was an ancient letter written to Christians scattered throughout the Middle East, we might think James was speaking directly to our situation as American Christians (maybe he is?). In these two passages, James calls us to repent from our tendency to think that we are in control, that we are the masters of our own destinies, and that we can generate wealth in order to provide for our various desires and pleasures. Instead, James wants us to acknowledge that our lives are in the hands of God and to live accordingly. This means we adjust our attitudes towards the future, towards planning, towards making money, and towards the way we use money.

The second passage, James 5:1-6, includes some of the strongest language in the entire letter. James proclaims a whole series of woes and calamities against the rich. On the surface, this part of the letter can be read to say that being rich in and of itself is evil. This interpretation can then be used to justify a liberation theology mindset, which I believe to be a gross distortion of what James is actually saying. In reality, the money itself is not the issue that James is addressing. James is not saying that it is evil or bad to be rich. Rather, he is addressing the way that people handle or use their money. In this passage, the rich people that James describes are committing two sins with their money:

Money in, money out

1) They are bringing in money unjustly. They are getting rich because they are withholding wages from their workers. Essentially they are robbing others in order to get rich.

2) They are spending the money unjustly. Instead of showing concern and care for brothers and sisters in need (see James 2:14-17) they are spending their money on a life of luxury and selfish pleasure.

So as I reflect on this passage, I have to ask myself some tough questions about the way I handle my money. Have I acquired my money in a just manner? Did I diligently work the hours I was paid for or did I fudge things a bit? Have I withheld money from whom it is due in order to have more than I ought? Have I done anything unethical or dishonest to increase my wealth? Have I increased my wealth at the expense of another person? Then, on the other end of things, have I spent (or given) my money in a just manner? Are my expenses justifiable or frivolous and self-indulgent? Did I spent money on clear needs or simply on my desires and wants? Did I spent my money on things that were luxurious and nonessential? Did I fail to share my excess wealth with those who needed my help?

As Christians, we are ultimately accountable to God for the way we handle our money. We cannot just plead ignorance or indifference. Both the way money comes in and the way money goes out are subject to the scrutiny of the Spirit. To not subject our finances to the lordship of Christ is to sin against God. As James says, "To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17)." Tonight's Bible study was a reminder to do the right thing when it comes to handling the financial resources that God gives to us.

Adding to the Gospel

2011-02-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

Galatians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a handful of churches scattered throughout the southern region of Galatia. These churches were founded by Paul during his first missionary journey. After spending time preaching the gospel and encouraging the new believers in Christ, Paul would appoint a leader to take his place so that Paul could continue his mission to pioneer new churches in places where the name of Christ had never been proclaimed (see Rom. 15:20). Unfortunately, once Paul left to continue his travels, many of the churches he founded fell into various problems. In fact, a lot of Paul's letters were written to address problems in churches that Paul had started and then left to other leadership. After Paul left Galatia teachers with a strong Jewish background came into the churches, which included both Jewish and non-Jewish Christians, and started adding to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Near the beginning of Galatians, Paul accuses the believers of turning from the gospel preached by Paul to another gospel, which is really no gospel at all. This of course begs several questions: What was the gospel preached by Paul? What gospel did they turn to once Paul left?

The best way to answer these questions is to start with defining Paul's gospel. If we go to Romans, we can find Paul's own succinct definition of the gospel in Romans 1:16-17. Paul says this:

For 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; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."

For me it is helpful to paraphrase these verses and put them in my own words. This is the simple way I would summarize what Paul is saying: The gospel is God's free offer of a righteous life on the basis of faith. This is the gospel message that the Galatians embraced and this is the message that transformed their lives. However, as Paul tells us in Galatians 1:6-9, the people turned away from this gospel and turned to a distortion or perversion of the true gospel message. Since this new gospel is a perversion of the true gospel, we can paraphrase it by twisting a few key words in our definition of the gospel above. The false gospel is man's ability to earn a righteous life on the basis of works.

Adding to the Gospel: Jesus plus "good works"

In the Galatian churches, the Christians started to think that you had to believe in Jesus plus keep certain aspects of the Jewish Law and adhere to certain Jewish customs. In particular, people were saying you had to be circumcised in order to be a true Christian. Additionally, they may also have been making rules about keeping the Sabbath and about following Jewish dietary law. As Paul explains in Galatians 3:1-5, the people began adding works of the Law to faith in Christ. In order to be a righteous person, you had to believe in Jesus plus do something else. This mistake made by the Galatians is a mistake that is very easy to make, and it is one that has been repeated down through the centuries. We are always in the business of adding rules, rituals, traditions, morality, and politics to the good news of Jesus Christ. In order to be a true Christian we are always telling people that they have to believe in Jesus plus do something else-- go to church, give money to charity, volunteer, help others, go on a missions trip, speak in tongues, obey certain rules about morality, vote Republican (or Democrat) and on and on. Whenever we inadvertently do this, we totally undermine the gospel message.

Turning the gospel of faith, grace, and freedom into a gospel of works and law has two negative consequences:

We re-alienate ourselves from God. Paul literally says we are accursed in Gal. 1:9.
We create divisions between ourselves and fellow Christians who do not share our particular rules or traditions. This is what happens with Peter in Gal. 2:11-14.

As I reflected on this problem, which seems to continually sneak up on as Christians, I asked myself a question. Why do we add stuff to the gospel? In all actuality, I think we do it because we are afraid of living by faith. We would rather have someone tell us what to do and give us a list of rules to follow than to live by faith in Jesus Christ. True Christian freedom scares us. Traditions and rules are safer and easier. However, in Galatians 2:20, Paul tells us that the Christian life is a life of faith. It is a life of submitting to the person of Christ at work in me. Following rules can never be an acceptable alternative to obeying the Lord and hearing his voice. The Galatians started out with a fervor for the Lord but this quickly faded, and they returned to the safety and comfort of the old ways. As followers of Christ today, let us not make the same mistake. Let us be bold to follow the Lord even if it takes us into uncertainty and uncomfortable situations. Let us walk by faith rather than add rules to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20: Choose Life

2011-02-16T09:13:00.000-05:00

"So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them (Dt. 30:19b-20 NASB)."

These are the parting words of Moses to the Israelite people before Moses' death and the conquest of the Promised Land. Moses knows that his time with the people is coming to a close, and he wants to say some final words. In this passage from Deuteronomy 30, we can see Moses encouraging the people to choose life and cling to God. If they do, they will experience blessing and prosperity in the land. However, if they turn away from God, their blessings will become a curse and their prosperity will become adversity. Moses says all this because he has a fear. He is afraid that the people will turn from the living God and serve idols. Why would the people do this, especially after the Exodus experience? Moses explains his fear more fully in Deuteronomy 8:11-20. When the people are blessed and prosperous, their pride will cause them to forget God. When they have received good gifts from God, they will forget that God is the One who has given the gifts. They will think that they created their own wealth and their own flourishing by their own human strength. Then, the very things God gave them as a blessing will cause them to be alienated and separated from God. So Moses implores the people to choose life. He says that a person chooses life by loving the LORD your God, obeying God's voice, and holding fast to God. In fact, Moses says that this is a person's life. This is the whole purpose and point of life-- to love God, obey God, and hold fast to God. As we saw last month, this is the same thing Solomon tells us about life at the end of Ecclesiastes. In fact, I would argue that, in a sense, all the writers of the Bible are telling us the same thing: "Choose life." This is the message of the Scriptures.

But, this message raises another interesting point. When Moses is speaking, he is speaking to a group of living, breathing human beings. Their hearts are pumping blood through their bodies. Their lungs are bringing oxygen into their bodies. The neurons and synapses of their brains are sending electric currents back and forth to control the functions of their bodies. So it seems strange to tell a bunch of people, who are alive, that they need to choose life. Life is one thing they clearly already have, or so it would seem.

So Moses and the rest of the Scriptures are telling me something very important. In my natural condition I do not have life. I have to choose life. However, it seems as if I already have life. This means that there must be two types of life. One which I already have and one that Moses wants me to have.

Two kinds of life:
1. Biological, earthly, fleshy, temporary, unrighteous
2. Spiritual, heavenly, eternal, holy

When we look at Romans 8:1-17, we find Paul talking about these two kinds of life-- one according to the flesh and another according to the Spirit. See, just by being born into this world we receive fleshly life. But, the Spirit life offered by God must be freely chosen. This is the message of the Gospel: "Choose life." Through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, we are able to have an abundant Spirit-filled life. This is the life that both Paul and Moses want us to accept.

But, Paul has the same problem as Moses. People either do not want the life of God or they do not think they need it. When Paul writes to the Corinthians, he calls them "mere men" because they are still acting like people who are living according to the flesh (I Cor. 3:1-4). They say they believe in Jesus. They go to church and give money. They probably even do good works and acts of charity. Yet, when it comes down to it, they act just like everybody else. The are not really receiving the life of the Spirit, which seeks to transform us into something greater than mere flesh and blood. God is offering us the opportunity to be more than "mere men." God wants to make us into sons and daughters of the living God.

So the words of Moses are very relevant to us today. God is offering us abundant life, but if we think we already have life or already have abundance we will not receive the life of God. This means we need to reckon ourselves dead and impoverished so that we might receive life and blessing from God. Then, once we have received this life we have to walk in it by loving God, obeying God, and holding fast to God.

James 2:14-26: Faith and Works

2011-02-09T22:09:00.003-05:00

I have to make a confession. James is a hard book for me to read. As I mentioned in an earlier post, James is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied books of the Bible. Having been to a liberal mainline Protestant seminary, I have a lot of baggage when it comes to James. I am trying to sort out all the misinformation I've gotten from Luther, the Social Gospel, and Liberation Theology. One of the hardest passages for me is James 2:14-26. For me it is a lot like Romans 9, a passage that always confuses me every time I read it even though I think I have things sorted.

Whenever I read James 2:14-26, I end up feeling this overwhelming sense of dread. I feel like I need to go do some good work in order to prove my faith. James makes it very clear. If there are no works, then there is no faith. Of course this causes me to start asking, "What good thing should I go do in order to prove my faith?" Should I volunteer somewhere? Should I donate money to a cause? Should I help the first random stranger I meet? Should I read books to kids after school? Should I build a home with Habitat? Should I slop food on plates at a soup kitchen? Should I engage in political advocacy on behalf of the "least of these"? Unfortunately, I'm not sure what it is that I am supposed to do. I just know I need to do something, anything.

However, when you consider the examples of faith and works that James gives, Abraham and Rahab, it changes our perception of doing good works. Neither Abraham nor Rahab seeks out a good work to do. A situation presents itself to them and they respond appropriately. Abraham does not dream up moving to an unknown place, having a son (which is physically impossible for him), and then offering that son as a human sacrifice. Rahab does not dream up committing treason and harboring spies in her home. Neither Abraham nor Rahab decides to go do a good work in order to prove their faith. On the other hand, both Abraham and Rahab were certain kind of people-- righteous, faithful, and obedient. Their actions were simply the outcome of their pre-existing faith and character. God gave them a command or brought something their way and they responded in faith.

So what I've realized is that James is not really telling me to go do anything in order to prove my faith. I am the one telling myself I need to do something. This is my prideful ego assuming that I can justify myself on my terms and conditions. See, I like coming up with a list of good things to do for God because then I am in control. Personally, I don't want God coming to me asking me to move to the middle of nowhere, sacrifice my son, and commit treason. I'd rather identify and do my own good works and feel better in the end about it. But, as James proves, this is not what God means by good works. The good works that God desires are those they come out of faithful obedience to God's lordship and command. If I'm truly following the Lord, these kind of good works will not be lacking in my life. They will naturally flow out of the life of Christ that is living inside of me.

Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-05T09:26:00.002-05:00

We are still planning to meet at our regular 5:30pm time tomorrow night. After church is over, we'll turn the Big Game on for those who wish to stay and watch. If you'd like to bring some Super Bowl snacks to share, that would be appreciated. See you tomorrow night.

City of God

2011-02-01T12:19:00.002-05:00

My most recent extra-biblical reading has been Augustine's City of God. I decided to read this book for several reasons. One, I just like reading Augustine. At my seminary it seemed like Augustine was out of vogue, but I've always connected with his way of thinking about things. Two, like it or not, Augustine has been highly influential on Christian theology and Western thought. Reading Augustine illuminates the roots of much Western thinking on politics, theology, ethics, and philosophy. Three, I am intrigued by the parallels between Greco-Roman society and modern American society. In short, I would say that we are, in some sense, a continuation of Rome (and Athens).

The basic premise behind the book is that Augustine is writing to address criticism of the Christian faith. Since the book is over 1000 pages, the basic idea obviously flowers in many directions (snowballs out of control may be a more accurate way of putting it). In the year 410 the Visigoths attacked Rome. By this time Rome had become a "Christian empire" and had renounced worship of the pagan, Greco-Roman gods (Jupiter, Minerva, Mars, Saturn, etc.). After the attack some people began to blame Christians and the Christian religion for their bad fortune. Augustine begins the book by taking up the defense of the Christian faith against these accusations.

As I read the first few books of City of God, which mostly address Greco-Roman mythology and Roman history, I had an unusual reflection. In many ways it astounds me that the Romans had such superstitious and foolish religious beliefs. How could rational, cultured, and sophisticated people believe in an irrational and mythical pantheon of gods? The Romans worshipped gods for everything-- fortune, wealth, health, power, crops, war, etc. To a modern reader, the Romans appear barbaric and uncivilized. Yet, in many ways the Roman civilization is still one of the greatest, if not the greatest, civilizations to have existed on the face of the planet. Their works of architecture and engineering endure to this day. Their philosophical and intellectual contributions still form the backbone of Western thinking. Their political ideals led to the formation of the American democratic republic. Their art and culture still continue to be influential and highly admired. How, then, could a society like this have such superstitious religious practices? This question, however, leads me to my main point. Since we are in many ways like the Romans and the Greeks, I asked myself, "Who are our modern gods? What are our bizarre and irrational religious practices?" Unless we want to make the claim that we are better or more civilized or more advanced than the Romans (which many would probably say), then we are forced to admit that we may have some of the same pagan religious practices as them. So, I've been asking myself, who are the gods of America? I have a few ideas-- Liberty, Prosperity, Power, Freedom, Intellect, Individualism. Like the Romans we also have demi-gods as well (human beings who we venerate as gods)-- Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt. Really we are not much different than the Romans. We've just developed more sophisticated ways of talking about our gods. We don't call them gods anymore, but they are in effect the same reality. We call our temples to these gods "memorials" or "monuments" and so they escape our casual notice. As I continue to read Augustine, though, I've realized that we are very much like the Romans. Unfortunately we have not yet realized that we've adopted their religious practices in addition to their political and philosophical ways.

Basketball Officiating and Futility

2011-01-24T10:30:00.003-05:00

This week I once again used my reading of Ecclesiastes as a way to reflect on my experiences as a basketball official. Basketball officiating is often a thankless job (although it typically pays well). You might get a few handshakes at the end of a game, but mostly you are only booed and cussed at for your efforts. Fans can be amazingly harsh on refs even at the elementary and middle school levels. You'd think it was the NBA Finals the way they scream and holler! Since I've had a number of disappointing experiences this year, I've begun to re-evaluate my interest in officiating and, to some degree, sports in general. As I mentioned last week, I've been asking myself the question, "What's the point?"

This week I was reading Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 where Solomon says that wisdom is futile. In short, he says that gaining wisdom and knowledge is not the point of life. In fact, he says gaining wisdom and knowledge only results in grief, pain, and despair. When Solomon examines the world with his mind and intellect he only sees death, vanity, injustice, wickedness, and futility. His brain power is unable to unlock the hidden mysteries of life. Therefore, he is plunged into despair. In chapter two, he even goes so far as to say that he hated life (2:17).

This tells me that as long as I apply my mind to analyzing sports, I am always going to find vanity and futility. But then I realized something important. I realized that this is what God wants. God wants me to find futility and vanity in sports and in sports officiating. Now this might sound strange at first because most of us believe that God wants us to be happy and satisfied. Why would God want me to experience futility and vanity? The answer is so that I might seek God. If sports were truly fulfilling, then I would have no desire for God. I would already be fulfilled. The same is true of wisdom. God has made it so that a person's wisdom cannot discover meaning, happiness, and purpose. If human wisdom could acquire these things, there would be no desire for the wisdom of God.

This makes me look at basketball officiating differently. Now I see that it is good that the fans boo me and cuss at me. If they cheered me and congratulated me, I would get a big head about myself and think pretty highly of myself. I would become very content and satisfied in my involvement with sports (or so I would think). However, in all this there is a very good chance I would forget God. So I realized that God allows the fans to boo me. God doesn't do this because he wants to hurt me. Rather, it is the mercy of God that fans boo me. Because when they boo me it drives me to seek for meaning, fulfillment, and happiness in God.

What's the point?

2011-01-17T08:41:00.003-05:00

Last night I began by sharing a couple of my basketball officiating stories. As you can imagine, I have quite a few stories about angry coaches and crazed fans. After games where things have gone particularly bad, I usually sit down and reflect on what went wrong. Did I make a bad call? Should I have given the coach a technical foul? Did I let the players get out of control? Sometimes I ask even deeper questions about the nature of sports and my role as a referee. Ultimately I end up asking myself the question, "What's the point?" I mean, when you think about basketball from an objective perspective it is a strange game. You have ten players running up and down a court, passing a ball around, and trying to throw it through a cylinder hanging ten feet above the court. In the course of the game, my job is to more or less make sure everyone plays nice as they toss around the ball. The fans and coaches on the sidelines scream, holler, and cheer in hopes that all the noise they are making will inspire the players to be more effective in their playing of the game and shooting of the ball. Seems pretty trivial when you think about it like that. However, people do not treat it as if it is a trivial activity. Every father thinks that every game is like the NBA finals and every mother thinks her child has a shot at going pro. Every coach coaches like his job is on the line if his team loses, making him or her angry, argumentative, and ultra-competitive. Players pout when you call a foul on them and complain when you do not call a foul on their opponent. If one stumbled across a basketball gym and observed the whole scene for the first time, I imagine they would find it to be a bizarre spectacle. Which leads me back to my question, "What's the point?"

Well, there is a book of the Bible that asks this very question. That book is Ecclesiastes and the author of the book is King Solomon. Of course Solomon is not interested in my questions about basketball. Instead he is interested in the meaning of life. He is trying to figure out the point of life. What he says, though, is not terribly appealing. He begins his book by saying, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity (Ecc. 1:1)." Having reflected on life, Solomon concludes that all of life is vanity. The word vanity can have two meanings: (1) the quality of being worthless or futile and (2) excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements. In many ways, the word "vanity" accurately describes youth basketball. However, Solomon is not just saying that sports are vanity. He says everything is vanity. I don't like that.

He goes on in the opening section (1:3-11) and the rest of the book to reveal the vanity of life. Work is vanity because you work so hard to make money, but then you die and you cannot take it with you. Instead, you leave all your hard-earned money to someone else, who may or may not be a good and wise person. Pleasure is vanity because it never fully satisfies a person. If it did, you would not need to continually pursue the same pleasure over and over again. Wisdom is vanity because much wisdom results in much grief and much knowledge results in much pain. Furthermore, being wise does not guarantee that life will go well for you. The same blessings and curses fall on both the wise man and the fool. Solomon points out other reasons that life is vain. First, life is temporary. A man's life is but a blink of an eye compared to the life of the earth. Second, nothing new ever happens. Life is a cycle of the same events repeating over and over again. Third, man is typically unable to see the vanity of life. Instead of having a sober perspective on this world, man pursues the wealth, wisdom, and pleasures of the world, not knowing that his efforts are worthless and futile. Finally, when a man dies, he is forgotten. Given enough time, the memory of each and every person who lives on this earth will be erased. Reading Ecclesiastes is not a "pick-me-up." As you read what Solomon has to say, you keep asking the question, "Well, what's the point then?"

Fortunately, Solomon does not leave us without an answer. He spends the whole book pointing out the vanity of life, but it is not until the very end that he tells us the meaning of life. In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Solomon answers our question. He says that the ultimate meaning of life is to fear God and keep God's commandments. It's as simple as that. There is no other meaning. Trying to pursue meaning another way is futility and vanity. The point of life is only found in relationship to God. This helps me answer my initial question about being a basketball referee. The point of officiating basketball is that I conduct myself in the fear of God and that I do the right thing. In many ways the game itself is quite trivial. However, the game is an opportunity for me to love God and do the right thing. That's the whole point.

James and the Mouth

2011-01-14T13:37:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday evenings we've been going through the letter of James. In my experience James is one of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misapplied books of the Bible. As Protestant Christians, I think we bring a lot of baggage to the table every time we read James. After all, Martin Luther, the father of Protestant Christianity, was unable to form a fair and balanced view of James. He called it the "epistle of straw." Because Luther was unable to see how to reconcile James with his Pauline emphasis on justification by faith alone, Luther was quick to relegate James to the margins of the biblical canon. In modern times our view of James has become further tainted by the social gospel, which emphasizes a kind of works based righteousness, and liberation theology, which casts the Christian message in a rich versus poor dialectic.

When I began going through James again, with all this baggage in the back of my mind, I asked God to help me see James with fresh eyes. As I re-read James from this perspective, certain words began to leap off the page-- ask, say, speak, tongue, mouth, boast, curse. The abundance of these words show that James has a certain preoccupation with the mouth. Why would this be? More than any of the other epistle writers, James shows a clear interest in the teachings of Christ. Considering this, I think the letter of James can be viewed as a kind of sermon on Matthew 12:33-37. In this passage Jesus says that a man's words reveal his heart. That's what I've tried to demonstrate in the picture above. James is concerned about our mouths because our mouths indicate the state of our hearts. When viewed from this angle, it becomes clear that James is addressing a series of mouth problems throughout his letter-- complaining, boasting, double talk, lip service, talking too much, etc. However, James isn't really interested in just cleaning up a person's mouth. In fact, James himself says that the tongue cannot be tamed. This means James must be trying to tell us that we need a heart change. What, though, can affect this kind of change? James tells us in chapter one to receive the Word of God that has been implanted in us. The way our hearts are changed is by receiving the Word of God and allowing it to change us from the inside out. This is the message of James.

Acts 10: Peter and Cornelius

2011-01-12T10:07:00.002-05:00

For a long time, I've always read the story of Peter and Cornelius as the story of Peter bringing the Gospel to Cornelius. Peter is the main character; he is the missionary going to Cornelius. However, as I read the story again this week and meditated on it, I realized that I've been reading the story wrong for a long time. The story is not about Peter doing something for Cornelius (i.e. bringing him the Gospel). Acts 10 is actually the story of God, who is the real main character of the book of Acts, completing a good work in both Peter and Cornelius. In all actuality, Peter isn't really brining anything to Cornelius. Cornelius is already a devout and God-fearing man. His response to the angel's visitation proves that he is a man of faith. He simply has not heard the name of Christ, but for all intents and purposes he is already a "Christian." The Spirit of God falls upon Cornelius and his family before they can even be baptized with water. Therefore, this story must be about God working on two men of faith. God is proclaiming the name of Christ to Cornelius and pouring out God's Spirit on him.

What is God doing for Peter, though? As we learn in this story, Peter has some pretty mixed up ideas about people groups. His Jewish dietary restrictions have caused him to think that he cannot have fellowship with Gentiles (which is an improper conclusion to draw from OT Law). The fact that Peter does not eat certain foods has caused him to think whole groups of people stand outside the salvation of God. Even more, Peter has convinced himself that this is how God looks at things too. Not only does Peter have mixed up ideas, but he attributes those ideas to God. The work God is doing on Peter is transforming his whole way of thinking. It's not that Peter just has some wrong ideas. Peter has a wrong way of viewing the world around him. In order to form Peter into a true apostle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God is going to have to do some serious work on Peter. That's the piece of the story I've always missed. The story is not Peter doing something for Cornelius. The story is God doing something for both Peter and Cornelius. So ultimately as I reflect on this story I have to ask myself the question, "Will I let God do his work on me?" Sometimes I can get so wrapped up in thinking that I am doing something for other people-- helping them, serving them, preaching to them-- that I can forget that God wants to serve me and work on me.

Best New Music of 2010

2011-01-01T23:12:00.004-05:00

A good buddy of mine from Atlanta told me he was looking forward to a list of my favorite music from 2010. As many of you know, I enjoy listening to good and creative music. So here is my list of what I liked this year.

Stuff I bought and liked (in no particular order):

1. Sufjan Stevens- The Age of Adz

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. The National- High Violet

4. Jonsi- Go

5. She & Him- Volume Two

6. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening

7. Vampire Weekend- Contra

8. Avey Tare- Down There

Stuff I listened to online and liked but didn't buy:

1. The Walkmen- Lisbon

2. Flying Lotus- Cosmogramma

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

Stuff I bought on vinyl since I got a turnable for Christmas:

1. Percy Faith- Music of Christmas, Volume 2

2. Percy Faith and His Orchestra and Chorus- Leaving on a Jet Plane

3. Tony Bennett & Count Basie- Strike up the Band

4. Duke Ellington & Count Basie- First Time!: The Count Meets the Duke

5. Frank Sinatra & Count Basie- Sinatra at the Sands

6. Duke Ellington- The Best of Duke Ellington

7. Bing Crosby- Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits

8. Willie Nelson- Willie Nelson's Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be)

9. Simon and Garfunkel- Bridge Over Troubled Water

This coming year I might not be buying as much new music. Instead I'm looking forward to finding hidden gems at the thrift store to add to my new vinyl collection.

Luke 2:1-20: The Shepherds

2010-12-27T10:29:00.003-05:00

Hopefully everyone had a good Christmas this year. We had a whirlwind experience as we tried to bring Carson to as many family gatherings as possible. Since it was his first Christmas, he made out like a bandit. He got lots of cool new toys (an Elmo guitar being a big highlight for him) and plenty of outfits to last him through the next year. One of my more unusual gifts was a turntable from my lovely wife. Yesterday I went to the record store and picked up some Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Frank Sinatra. I'm listening to the Duke and the Count as I write this blog.

Yesterday we participated in a joint Christmas service with several other house churches. I was asked to give the message. Here are my notes from the service:

Each year when I read the Christmas story again, I realize that I don't have everything figured out. I think I do, but I don't. I notice some new detail or a new character jumps out at me. This year I started thinking a lot about the shepherds. We've gotten so used to the shepherds being in the story that we don't even think twice about it. But, you have to ask yourself, "Why shepherds?" The band of angels could have appeared to any number of people-- farmers, fishermen, tax collectors, priests, carpenters, soldiers, bakers, blacksmiths. So why did they pick a group of shepherds? I mean shepherds don't exactly make the best evangelists of the Good News. They are people who are pretty low on the totem pole of society-- no wealth, no power, no privilege, no influence. Why didn't the angels appear to Caesar instead? If they had appeared to Caesar, then he could have issued a royal edict proclaiming that a new king was born. The message of the Christ child could have spread to the edges of the known world. Even more, Caesar could have proclaimed the Christ child as the Messiah and forced people to worship him. If the angels had gone to Caesar, the Roman empire could have become a Christian empire well before the time of Constantine. So why did God bring the message of Jesus to the shepherds? There are two main reasons:

1. The message went to the shepherds in order to fulfill the words of Mary in Luke 1:52-53: "He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed." As I reflected on this passage, it occurred to me that the angels did go to Caesar. However, when they went to his palace that night they found his hands full-- full of power and full of wealth. Since Caesar's hands were already full, he could not embrace the Christ child. So the angels had to go somewhere else. As they wandered through the empire that night, they finally stopped in a pasture. There they found a bunch of nobodies, a bunch of shepherds. They found some guys who were empty-handed. Their humility and emptiness enabled them to embrace the Good News. When they heard the message about the baby, they left right away to investigate for themselves. See, the angels are really willing to bring the message to anyone-- rich or poor, powerful or powerless, famous or unknown. However, the angels can only be received by certain people, those who have open hands. These are the humble and meek. They are the ones who can receive from God.

2. But God also appeared to the shepherds for one more reason. In I Corinthians 1:26-29, Paul says that God intentionally chooses the weak things of the world in order to shame the strong. He chooses the foolish and powerless to shame the wise and powerful. Why does God do this? God does this so that people will humble themselves and boast in God. See the problem of the rich and powerful is that they glory in themselves. So in order to confront this inherent human tendency, God picks the lowly so that God will get the credit rather than men. See if God had chosen Caesar to be the first evangelist, then Caesar would have gotten the credit for the spread of the Gospel. On the other hand, God picked shepherds (and later fishermen, tax collectors, etc.) to bring the Good News so that God would receive the glory.

So as I reflected on this passage, I had to ask myself a question, "Will I be like the shepherds?" In order to receive anything from God I must become like them. I have to humble myself and drop whatever is in my hands in order to embrace the Christ child. If I refuse, God will find someone else who is willing to embrace him, but I will have missed out on the greatest gift of all.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T11:24:00.002-05:00

May God bless everyone this Christmas season as we celebrate God's gift of the Christ Child. In the midst of all the gift giving, feasting, football games, and family celebrations, let's keep our focus on Jesus Christ and his coming again.

This week there will be no Sunday evening meeting at our house in South Park. Instead there will be a joint worship service on Sunday morning, the 26th, at 10:30am. We will gather with several other house church fellowships in town. I will be giving a message on the Christmas story. If you'd like more information or directions, just send me an email at fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Merry Christmas!

Isaiah 35: The New Heavens and the New Earth

2010-12-20T09:44:00.003-05:00

After speaking about the judgment of God in very graphic and vivid images in Isaiah 34, Isaiah turns to the subject of restoration in chapter 35. On the heels of a hard word, Isaiah offers a word of hope, a word of redemption. In verses 1-2, Isaiah says that the wilderness and the desert will be glad on the day of redemption. Then he mentions 4 specific places: the Arabah, Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon. In order to fully understand what Isaiah is saying, we need to know a little bit about each of these places.

Arabah? A large plain or desert that stretches from Mt. Hermon in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. Encompasses the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River valley, and the area between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. Much of this area lies below sea level and the lowest point on earth (the Dead Sea) can be found in the Arabah.
Lebanon? Lebanon is an area just to the north of Israel that takes its name from the Lebanon Mountains that run parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. The area is known for its scenic beauty and rich vegetation. At one time the area was covered with the famed Cedars of Lebanon. Unfortunately the Cedars of Lebanon were decimated by the peoples of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, and Tyre. The wood was used for palaces, furniture, ships, coffins, and musical instruments. By the 6th century A.D. the beautiful forests were almost completely gone.
Carmel? The word "carmel" literally means "garden or orchard of God." Carmel refers to a mountain range stretching 13 miles along the Mediterranean coast. The mountain range juts out into the sea in a promontory named Mt. Carmel. The mountain rises 470 feet above the sea coast.
Sharon? A fertile coastal plain that stretches for approximately 50 miles from the Carmel mountain range in the north to the vicinity of Joppa in the south. Sharon was known for two main things-- a caravan route that connected Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor and the beautiful flowers that grew in the region.

According to Isaiah, these 4 places have something in common: "The land mourns and pines away, Lebanon is shamed and withers; Sharon is like a desert plain, and Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage (Isa. 33:9)." As Isaiah looks into the future, he sees that all of these places will become destitute and ravaged. Great forests will be cut down. Beautiful coastal plains will turn into deserts. Lush forests will lose their foliage. All of these places had a glory that was lost. Isaiah prophesies that the glory will be returned one day.

What Isaiah says about the future helps us make more sense of Paul's words in Romans 8:18-22. Paul tells us that the creation itself is eagerly waiting for the Coming of the Lord-- the trees are waiting, the flowers are waiting, and the mountains are waiting. Why are they waiting? They have all lost something and are waiting to get it back. For a time they have been subjected to futility-- decay, desertification, deforestation, desolation-- but a day is coming when the creation will be set free from its "slavery to corruption." The day creation gets its glory back is also the day we get our glory back. Paul calls it the "revealing of the sons of God." See, we too have lost our glory-- the image and likeness of God. God is going to restore all the glory on a single day.

However, this realization challenged me. If I am honest with myself, I often lose sight of the second coming of Christ. I get caught up in my daily routine and do not fix my hope on the good future to come. When I fail to keep hope alive, the creation keeps hope alive for me. The trees have not forgotten their former glory and they look with eager expectation to the future. If the earth is looking forward to Christ, then I should be looking forward to Christ. When Christ returns, hopefully the trees and flowers will not be the only ones who have kept faith. I want Christ to find me keeping faith as well.

Advent Song

2010-12-15T12:23:00.003-05:00

Here is another song we recorded during our Sunday evening snow day sing-along. Adam and I play guitars and sing. Hannah and Carson provide backing vocals and various baby noises. This is a song I wrote last year. I must confess that I was heavily inspired by Sufjan Steven's Songs for Christmas album. The words are a combination of John 1 and Luke 2. I thought it would be interesting to incorporate John's Gospel into a Christmas song because John usually gets overlooked at Christmas time since Matthew and Luke are the only Gospels with birth narratives. Here are the words:

God sent his Son into the world

To bring us life and to bring us love

The light of the world took on our flesh

Humbly was born in Bethlehem town

And on the night when he was born

Shepherds lay watching over their flocks

A band of angels appeared in the sky

Giving praises to God: "Glory to the Most High!"

Emmanuel, God is with us

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

2010-12-12T22:28:00.003-05:00

Since we got hit with a big winter storm tonight, we didn't have our typical Sunday evening meeting. Instead, I set up my new computer on the living room coffee table and those of us that could make it circled around for a Christmas sing-along. On this song I sing and play guitar, Adam sings and plays guitar, and Hannah and Carson provide backup vocals. These recordings are not studio quality. They are just for fun. I didn't mix or edit them--I kept all the found sounds and baby screams in the mix. It creates an interesting sound any way.

We recorded some other songs with Ben and Linda when they showed up. I'll post more later this week. Enjoy. Merry Christmas.

Angels We Have Heard on High

2010-12-09T23:19:00.004-05:00

Before Thanksgiving I made the big leap and purchased my first Apple computer, an iMac. I've been having fun learning how to use Garage Band, iPhoto, and iMovie. The video above is an experiment in both Garage Band and iMovie. I recorded this well-known Christmas carol using the external mic that comes with the computer. To spice things up I added some virtual keyboards to my guitar and vocals. I'm still learning how to use Garage Band, but I thought this is a nice demo for everyone to check out. This is also my first movie project on iMovie so I kept it pretty simple--a title slide and the same backdrop throughout.

Enjoy. Merry Christmas.

Isaiah 11:1-10: The coming reign of the Messiah

2010-12-06T10:05:00.005-05:00

Advent (n.)--the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event

Starting with the first Sunday after Thanksgiving the Christian Church has historically celebrated the season of Advent. As indicated by the definition above, Advent is meant to be the month-long celebration of the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. This begs the question, though, whose arrival are we celebrating? Obviously the answer is the arrival of Jesus (any good Sunday school student knows the answer is always Jesus). However, when we focus exclusively on the arrival of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem 2000 years ago we miss the point of Advent. Contrary to popular belief in Christian churches, Advent is not exactly a countdown to Christmas Day. During Advent we are supposed to be looking forward to the Second Coming of Christ as we remember the First Coming of Christ as a babe in Bethlehem. We forget that there are two arrivals--one that has already happened and one that is yet to come.

In Isaiah 11:1-10 we get a picture of the final arrival of Christ. Isaiah looks into the future and describes a time where God's anointed king will reign over all the earth, ushering in a time of peace, harmony, righteousness, and justice. In this passage, Isaiah gives a glimpse into two things--the character of the Messiah and the nature of the Messiah's kingdom. The Messiah is a person filled with the Spirit of God. He is a man of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength. He lives in the fear of the LORD, which is to say that he obeys the commandments of God and does the will of God. He makes judgments with his heart rather than with his eyes or ears. He is not deceived by appearances but judges righteously and fairly. His word is like a thundering sword that strikes the earth and slays the wicked. He is clothed in righteousness and faithfulness. This man described by Isaiah is clearly no mere mortal. No earthly king has ever or will ever fulfill this description. The person described by Isaiah is literally God-in-the-flesh. He is speaking about the Messiah, the Christ.

In the second half of Isaiah 11:6-10, Isaiah tries to give us a picture of the Messiah's kingdom. He tries to help us imagine the unimaginable, comprehend the incomprehensible. He describes the reign of the Messiah first by a series of statements about animal life. In the kingdom of God, animals will no longer hurt or destroy each other. Carnivores will lie down with herbivores. The violence and discord we observe in creation is not meant to be. One day God is going to restore order. When order is restored not only will there be harmony between the animals but there will be harmony between man and the created world. Isaiah says that little children will be able to play by the cobra's den without fear. In short, the old will pass away and all things will be made new. A new creation with a new world order will dawn. There will be no more crying, mourning, pain, or death (see Revelation 21:1-5). In that day, Isaiah says the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD. No longer will the peoples of the earth worship and serve false gods. Everyone will know the One True God.

As I reflected on this hope for the future, I realized why we do not talk about the Second Coming during Advent. One, we are so caught up in our daily grind that we cannot imagine Christ returning during our lifetime (or anyone's lifetime for that matter). Two, God's good future is so hard to imagine that we just give up trying. It is easier to focus on the manger, the baby, and the shepherds. We can get our heads around that. Three, because we cannot really grasp Bible passages that speak about the future, we fail to see how the Second Coming of Christ applies to our daily lives. What difference does it make to the way I live, think, and act?

I would like to offer 3 applications in response to this problem:

1. Focusing on the Second Coming of Christ gives us a sober perspective of this life and this world. The things we call "good" in this life are only a shadow of the good things to come, which is to say that they are not in fact good at all. The things that bring us joy and happiness in this life are only a foretaste of the true joy and the true happiness to come. We are not designed to be fully satisfied by the things of this world. We were designed to find our full satisfaction and fulfillment in God alone. When we operate with this sober perspective, our success, riches, honor, and fame dwindle in significance. In the glorious light of Christ, my accomplishments as a student, athlete, or worker become rather mundane and trivial. On the other hand, our struggles, trials, and tribulations become more bearable. Because we are looking forward to a good future, which is guaranteed by the promises of God, we can make it through this life.

2. In light of this new perspective, we live differently in the present. We no longer have to participate in the "rat race" of our culture--buy this, go here, do that, think this way, dress like this, work here, watch this, etc. In Matthew 24:32-41, Jesus says the coming of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah. People will be living their lives--eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage--and the coming of Christ will catch them off guard just like the flood caught people off guard. Jesus does not want us to be caught off guard. He does not want us to be swept away with our culture. Focusing on the coming of the Lord keeps me from being swept away.

3. Finally, the Second Coming of Christ gives us hope for the future. Our hope is not limited to this world. This frees us from political activism or social idealism. The kingdom of God is not utopia. We do not bring about the coming of Christ by our human strength and ingenuity. The kingdom of God is not human progress. God is going to bring about God's good future without my help. My job is to prepare myself and others to live in the coming Kingdom of Christ.

Bible study on James continues tonight

2010-12-01T10:14:00.001-05:00

After taking the week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, we will resume our regular 7pm Wednesday evening Bible study tonight. We will pick up right where we left off two weeks ago with James 1:5-8. Hope everyone had a good holiday. See you tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T23:32:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone has a good time this weekend eating turkey and spending time with family and friends. Just a couple of quick reminders:

There will be no Wednesday evening Bible study on November 24th due to the holiday.
There will be no Sunday evening worship service on November 28th due to the holiday as well.
Our next gathering as a church will be on Wednesday, December 1st for Bible study. We will resume our study of the book of James on that evening.
Ben and Linda will be hosting a day of prayer and fasting on Saturday, December 4th. They are planning to have people at their home starting at 10am.

That's all I've got for now. Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend.

What Would Jesus Do?

2010-11-22T09:28:00.002-05:00

Often times when Christians are faced with difficult decisions, they will ask themselves the question, "What would Jesus do?" If Jesus were standing on a used car lot, would he buy a Honda Pilot or a Toyota Highlander? If Jesus were looking for a new computer, would he buy an Apple or a Dell? If Jesus were at a voting station on the first Tuesday in November, would he vote Republican or Democrat? If Jesus had a co-worker who was driving him crazy, would he lose his patience or keep his cool? If Jesus were a baseball player, would he steal second base or would this be considered a violation of the Ten Commandments? In I Corinthians 11:1, Paul says, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ," and, in Ephesians 5:1, Paul says, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children." Based on these verses, we know we are supposed to be like Christ. So, when we are faced with choices and decisions, we ask ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" If I want to be like Christ, I have to make the same decisions, act the same way, and have the same priorities. Unfortunately, Jesus is typically not presented with the same choices, temptations, situations, and decisions I face on a daily basis. There were no cars in his day, no computers, and no American politics. In order to come up with an answer, we have to look at what Jesus did and extrapolate. Therefore, the question "What would Jesus do?" can only be answered if we know what Jesus did do.

What did Jesus do?
--Lk. 4:14ff--Preached and taught
--Lk. 4:33ff--Cast out demons
--Lk. 4:38ff--Healed the sick
--Lk. 5:20ff--Forgave sins against God
--Lk. 6:17ff--Radiated healing power
--Lk. 7:11ff--Raised the dead
--Lk. 8:22ff--Calmed a storm
--Lk. 9:12ff--Multiplied food to feed 5000 hungry people
--Lk. 18:35ff--Gave sight to the blind

As I reflected on this list of things, I realized that I cannot do most of these things, at least not on my own strength. In fact the answer to the question "What would Jesus do?" is a list of things that are impossible for me. He would cast out demons, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, raise the dead, calm storms, feed the hungry, and forgive sins. The problem with the question "What would Jesus do?" is that it turns Jesus into a moral role model. He is someone to copy and emulate. In this way, Jesus becomes no different from any other great moral role model. For example, we might just as well ask, "WWGD?" What would Ghandi do? Or we might ask, "WWMLKD?" What would Martin Luther King, Jr. do? However, Jesus is fundamentally different from Ghandi and Dr. King. He is not just someone to be copied and emulated. Jesus is not a role model.

But, wait a minute, I thought Paul told us to imitate Christ? He did, but he did not mean that Jesus was meant to be a role model. The key verse is Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." See, the Christian life is not really a life of imitating Jesus, although many people say it is. The Christian life is actually the person of Christ living in me and through me. Instead of me copying him, he is doing his works through me. When I am faced with a big decision, I do not ask, "What would Jesus do?" Instead, I allow the Lord to work in me and make the decision in me. This is what it means to walk by faith and walk according to the Spirit. The Lord is living inside of me, directing me and guiding me.

The Negation of Christ

2010-11-18T11:44:00.004-05:00

Last night I watched the latest Michael Moore documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. Although I rarely find myself agreeing with Mr. Moore, I still find his movies entertaining and thought-provoking. As a Christian pastor, one thing stood out to me in this movie. Mr. Moore consistently used Christ, through the opinions of Catholic priests and bishops, to back up his political and economic ideology. I wrote the following reflection in response to people who use Christ to justify their political positions, mindsets, lifestyles, etc.
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I am continually astounded by the way people appeal to Jesus Christ for personal validation and vindication. Even persons who do not call themselves Christians will conveniently appeal to Christ in order to justify themselves, their actions, or their mindsets. People who are thoroughgoing capitalists think Jesus was a capitalist. Socialists think otherwise. Pacifists think Jesus was a pacifist who would not lift a finger against any living thing. People who serve in our armed forces might beg to differ. People who support gay marriage claim that Jesus taught tolerance and acceptance. People who are opposed to gay marriage think otherwise. Some people see Jesus in favor of big government. Others see Jesus in favor of small government. For many Jesus is a political liberal and revolutionary radical. For others Jesus is a whole-hearted conservative Republican. Some people think Jesus would drive a hybrid. Others see Jesus riding in a pickup truck that gets ten miles to the gallon. Some folks think Jesus could care less about the environment. “Let it burn!” they say. Others think Jesus would stand in front of a tree ready to be chopped down. The rich think Jesus favors and blesses them. The poor think Jesus favors and blesses them. Those in power think Jesus supports their agendas. Those without power also think Jesus supports their agendas. White people think Jesus was white, black people think he was black, and Asians think he was Asian. Good-looking people think Jesus must have been good looking. People not blessed with physical beauty think Jesus is like them. People who live in Boston think Jesus was a New Englander. People who live in Indiana think Jesus was a Midwesterner. People who live in Nebraska think Jesus was from the Heartland. People who live in Los Angeles think Jesus was a sun-soaking, convertible-driving, beach bum. The question, “What would Jesus do?” ultimately becomes a carefully disguised act of self-worship and self-justification. The answer is always, “Whatever I am doing.” When I look at Jesus, I see myself and feel affirmed.

When I read the Gospels, I get a totally different image of Christ. Instead of seeing a man who validates me at every turn of the page, I see a man who constantly invalidates and negates me. I find a man who never affirms a person, never tells a person what they want to hear. To Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel and scholar of the Law, he says, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things (Jn. 3:10)?” Instead of affirming Nicodemus in his intellect and knowledge, Jesus challenges him and confronts him. To the woman caught in adultery, he says, “Go. From now on sin no more (Jn. 8:11).” Although he forgives her sin, he does not validate her sin. In fact, he confronts her lifestyle. He tells her that she must change. To a man who wanted Jesus to validate him in a financial dispute with his brother, he says, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you (Lk. 12:14)?” The man wanted to use Jesus to back up his position. Jesus refused to give the man what he wanted. To the rich young ruler, Jesus says, “Sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor (Lk. 18:22).” This is not a negation of wealth in general but a negation of the rich young ruler, who was seeking self-justification. Whenever people came to Jesus, seeking to be justified and affirmed, they were turned away. To those who came asking questions about the Law, Jesus turned their own questions back on them, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you (Lk. 10:26)?”

If we are seeking self-justification, we should look somewhere else than Christ. He offers no self-justification. When we use Christ to justify ourselves, we are guilty of idolatry; we are guilty of forming the Son of God in our own image and likeness. Although Jesus does not offer self-justification, he does offer justification to the one who comes under the Cross. The Cross, which is the ultimate negation of the flesh and of the self, is the only means by which a person may be justified. Only by putting to death all our attempts to justify ourselves may we be justified. If we receive this justification, then we will no longer need to use Christ to justify ourselves. We will not need to appeal to him to justify our politics or our lifestyle choices. The one who stands under the Cross is already justified.

Gathering in Christian Community

2010-11-17T12:28:00.007-05:00

This morning I finished up my reading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together, a short book on the subject of Christian community. I must confess that I enjoyed The Cost of Discipleship much better because of the clear and sustained focus on Scripture throughout the book. Do not get me wrong, Life Together is still a worthwhile read, but at the same time I felt like Bonhoeffer got more bogged down with non-Scriptural, philosophical discussions in this book. However, I found some parts of the opening chapter, "Community," to be quite helpful and insightful.

At the beginning of the book, Bonhoeffer says that we should not take it for granted that we can gather together as Christians. Christians, according to the will of God, are meant to be a "scattered people." Jesus calls us the salt of the earth. By design, we are supposed to be spread out, living in the midst of those who do not believe. This is the way that the Gospel is spread. In Acts 8:1-4, the believers are scattered by persecution in Jerusalem, which results in the Gospel spreading to Samaria and Judea. Since we are a scattered and isolated people, it is not necessarily a given that we will be able to gather together.

However, here in America we do take it for granted that we can meet together. We take it for granted that there are two churches on the same city block. We take it for granted that a good majority of Americans still profess to be "Christian." Things do not necessarily have to be this way. In fact, in many places around the world today, Christian community is not such a sure thing. Taking Christian community for granted means that we do not value it and do not prioritize it. We can do with or without it. Christian community is not a big deal.

Bonhoeffer argues against this kind of mindset. "It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and sacrament (Life Together 18)." Christian community is a gift from God. The ability to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ should be "a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer (19)." However, many of us see Christian community as an obligation or duty. We have to go to church rather than we get to go to church. There is a big difference. From the one perspective Christian community is a burden and a drain. From the other it is life-giving and energizing.

I must confess that I often view Christian community as an obligation. Therefore, it becomes a burden and a drain to me. Rather than filling me up with life, it sucks the life out of me. This should not be. My biggest problem is failing to see the grace of God at work. I do not realize the gift God has given me in Christian community. If I did, my attitude would be different. My prayer for myself and others is that we would have eyes to see the good gift of God that is to be found in Christian community.

Bible Study on James Starts Tomorrow

2010-11-16T23:47:00.004-05:00

Last week we finished up our Bible study on I John. Since we enjoyed our time together and found the study to beneficial, we decided to keep things going this week with a new book of the Bible--James. James is a very practical book and an easy book to read (only 5 chapters). This week we will look at the first few sections of chapter 1. Since James is a short book, I would encourage you to read through it before coming to Bible study if you have the time. Our meeting time will remain the same--7:00pm at our house in South Park. All are welcome to join us for out time of study and discussion.

For more information, please email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

God is a Consuming Fire

2010-11-15T08:24:00.005-05:00

"For our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29)."

Near the end of the book of Hebrews, Paul makes a bold declaration about God. Paul says that God is a consuming fire. Now, it is easy to skip over this verse without really reflecting on the vast implications of Paul's statement. What does it mean that God is a fire? What is Paul getting at with this metaphor? Furthermore, what does it mean for me to have fellowship with this type of God? How can I have fellowship with a consuming fire? In Psalm 50:3, the writer says that "fire devours" before God "and it is very tempestuous around Him." According to these verses, the throne room of God is a mesmerizing, awe-inspiring, and dangerous place. Being in the presence of God is like standing before a raging forest fire. In order to better understand this image of God as a consuming fire, it is helpful to make some simple observations about fire.

Basic observations about fire:
--Gives warmth and heat
--Puts off light
--Burns and destroys things
--Refines things
--Inspires awe and wonder
--Has movement and life to it
--Releases energy and power

Based on the above observations, what does this tell us about God? I think it tells us two important things. One, God is beautiful and mesmerizing. Two, God is dangerous. When Paul says that God is a consuming fire, he is saying that God is simultaneously beautiful and dangerous. The God we serve is not a tame or safe God. However, God is good.

What happens, then, when a person comes into contact with this type of God? There are a few stories in the Bible that record encounters with God. In Isaiah 6:1-7, the prophet Isaiah stands before the throne of God. He describes his experience with both awe-inspiring and terrifying images. The One seated on the throne is surrounded by a host of seraphim who call out day and night. Their presence around God is like a tempest--the beating of their wings is a whirlwind and the sound of their voices is like rolling thunder. As Isaiah looks around, he sees the place filling up with smoke. Smoke means one thing: fire. Isaiah's response is telling of the situation, "Woe is me, for I am ruined!" In modern language, Isaiah essentially says that he is dead meat. When he stands before the fire of God, he thinks his life is over. Who can stand in the presence of a holy and powerful God? Just when we think the story might end badly for Isaiah, something curious happens. One of the seraphim takes a burning coal from under the altar of God and flies to Isaiah. The seraphim touches the coal to Isaiah's mouth, cleansing him of his iniquity. Isaiah is enabled to stand in the presence of God because he has been refined by the fire of God.

What happened to Isaiah should happen to each and everyone one of us (maybe not on such a dramatic scale). In order to have fellowship with God, who is a consuming fire, we must be baptized with fire. In order to stand in the presence of a raging forest fire, we must become a fire as well. Fire can dwell with fire. This is why John the Baptist says that the Messiah is going to bring a baptism of fire and the Spirit (Luke 3:15-17). Ultimately fire is simply a metaphor for the nature of God. Christ has come that we might receive the nature of God, that we might be baptized with the fire of God. If we receive this new nature from Christ, this baptism of fire, then we will be able to stand in the presence of God. However, without a new, fiery nature, when the Lord comes back to earth we will be consumed by his blazing presence. This is why the Old Testament prophets describe the day of the Lord as a blazing fire. The day of the Lord is simply the coming of the presence of God on earth. Who can stand on such a day? Only the righteous, only those who already dwell in fire. The wicked will be burned up like chaff and will be no more (Malachi 4:1-3).

Today is our opportunity to pray to the Lord to receive his baptism of fire and the Spirit, which will enable to stand in the presence of the One who is a consuming fire.

Meditation on God's Word

2010-11-11T08:56:00.005-05:00

Since I found Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship to be helpful and insightful, I thought I might read a few more of his works. I picked up copies of Life Together and Ethics at Barnes & Noble last week. Since it is the shorter of the two (only 122 pages), I decided to start with Life Together, a book on Christian community.

Chapter three of Life Together is called "The Day Alone." In the previous chapter, "The Day With Others," Bonhoeffer describes a day in Christian community (not life in the monastery but life in the Christian family). In the "The Day Alone," he switches to describing a day in Christian silence and solitude. At first glance the topics of silence and solitude seem oddly out of place in a book on Christian community. However, Bonhoeffer argues that a person cannot be a functioning member of a community unless they can spend time alone with themselves. Therefore, our times of solitude enhance our times together.

According to Bonhoeffer, our times of silence and solitude should be marked by three main practices: Scripture meditation, prayer, and intercession. While the practices of prayer and intercession are familiar to many Christians, the practice of meditation is often foreign to our concept of the Christian life. In fact, the word "meditation" is often misunderstood by Western ears, conjuring up images of Eastern religious practices and people seated in the lotus position. Bonhoeffer anticipates this misunderstanding and attempts to explain the practice of Christian meditation on the Word of God.

When we meditate on Scripture, we should focus on a brief selected text, maybe only a verse or two. This allows us to mine the rich depth of the Word of God. As we begin our meditation, our focus should be on applying the Word to ourselves. This is what Bonhoeffer says, "In our meditation we ponder the chosen text on the strength of the promise that it has something utterly personal to say to us for this day and for our Christian life, that it is not only God's Word for the Church, but also God's Word for us individually (Life Together 82)." When we meditate on the Word, we are treating the Word as if it were God's personal revelation to us, which it is. We should not be trying to come up with messages for others, which is the trap the minister or preacher can fall into, but we should be listening for God's Word to us. In order to hear this Word, though, we need help. Meditation is not simply an activity of the intellect. Meditating on Scripture requires listening to the Spirit. Bonhoeffer says, "This is the very reason why we begin our meditation with the prayer that God may send His Holy Spirit to us through His Word and reveal His Word to us and enlighten us (82-83)." Without the revelation of the Spirit, we will only be able to grasp a surface meaning of the text. We will not be able to hear God's Word to us.

This is the practice of Christian meditation--focusing on the Word and listening to the Spirit. There is nothing scary or frightening about it. In fact, quite the opposite. It is a life-sustaining and enriching practice, without which we cannot hope to survive the Christian journey.

Haggai: Drought and Recession

2010-11-08T07:48:00.004-05:00

Last night we continued in the minor prophets, skipping Zephaniah who I on taught on last year here and here, with the prophet Haggai. Haggai prophesied during the time period (520 BC) that followed the Babylonian captivity. As we saw last week in Habakkuk, God used the military might of Babylon to bring judgment upon the idolatry and faithlessness of Judah. In the year 586 BC, Babylon definitively conquered Judah and carried the upper crust of society off into exile. However, as we saw last week, God promised not to leave Babylon unpunished. After a time, the Persian Empire emerged as a military power and eventually conquered Babylon. The Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return home in the year 538 BC after approximately 50 years of exile and captivity. When the people returned to the land, they began to rebuild their homes and society. One initial point of emphasis was rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by the Babylonian military campaign. At first this project was undertaken with dedication and passion. However, the people eventually lost enthusiasm for the rebuilding project and left the Temple incomplete.

Haggai's little book begins with a word from God. God challenges the people's neglect for his house (i.e. the Temple). The people have taken the time to build for themselves luxurious homes paneled with cedar while the house of God lies desolate. In II Samuel 7:1-3, David examined his own living conditions (a house paneled with cedar) and the "living conditions" of God (a tent for the ark of the covenant) and resolved to build a house for God. Unfortunately, the people of Haggai's day lacked David's revelation. They were content to live in their well-built homes and let God's house remain a pile of ruins. This means that their focus was not on the Lord. The people of Haggai's time lacked David's faith and devotion to the Lord.

Through Haggai, God attempts to issue a wake up call. He tells the people to look around and examine the signs of the times. The people plant much but harvest little. Their food and drink leave them unsatisfied. They clothing fails to keep them warm. They money vanishes like they have holes in their pockets. What is going on? God explains that he has brought drought and economic futility on the land to wake the people up. God is trying to get their attention. He wants them to turn back to him. In order to get them to turn back, God simply removes his hand of blessing. God is hoping that someone will say, "What have we done to lose the Lord's blessing?"

As I reflected on Haggai, I was forced to ask myself a question about our contemporary situation, "Could something analogous be happening today? Is God trying to get our attention for some reason? Is God hoping that people will remember him and turn back to him in our day?" It would certainly seem as if God has removed his blessing from our nation for a time. If he has, for what purpose would God do this? God would do this in order to wake people up and turn their lives back to him. See, we are not so different from the people in Haggai's day. We are easily caught up in our own affairs--jobs, school, family, hobbies, sports, etc. In fact, we are so caught up in our own affairs that we rarely have time to think about God and seek God except for a few hours on Sunday morning. I think that our (relative) military futility, economic recession, and political circus are a wake up call from God. God is hoping that people will stop focusing on themselves and trusting in themselves. To get people's attention God is shaking things up in our day.

Fortunately, in Haggai's day the people were paying attention. They listened to the message of the prophet and repented of their self-centered ways. This is a rare phenomenon. Most of the prophets are ignored and reviled. However, the people in Haggai's day had ears to hear and hearts that were soft to the message of the Lord. My hope is that we have ears to hear the message of God in these times just as they did in their times.

Church--Sunday Night

2010-11-06T11:56:00.002-04:00

This Sunday evening we will gather at 5:30pm at our house in South Park. All are welcome to join us for our evening of worship and Christian fellowship. The message will be on the prophet Haggai. His book is short--only 2 chapters--so you might consider reading it before coming to church if you have the chance. After service we'll share a meal together. Hope to see many of you tomorrow night.

If you'd like more information about our house church services, please email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Keeping God's Commandments

2010-11-04T11:11:00.003-04:00

For the longest time I've had a hard time making sense of I John. Throughout John's first letter he keeps saying that we are able to love one another and we are able to keep God's commandments. In fact in I John 5:3, John says that the commandments of God are not "burdensome." They are not too hard for us. The yoke of Christ is easy and his burden is light (Matt. 11:30). However, when I really think about it, loving my neighbor as myself and keeping God's commandments are easier said than done. Far from not being burdensome, I find the commandments of God to be a great burden at times. How can I rectify my experience with the seeming idealism of John? As if loving others and keeping God's commandments were not hard enough, John ups the ante several times throughout his letter. In I John 5:18, John says, "We know that no one who is born of God sins." Excuse me? Did I read that right? Those who are born of God do not sin? Based on my Christian experience, this seems like pie-in-the-sky idealism. John is saying that Christians are able to love one another, keep God's commandments, and avoid sinning. If this is true, I am yet to see it with my eyes.

The key to understanding John's "idealism" is in I John 5:4, which says, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith." John is describing a very important sequence of events that enables us to keep God's commandments.

Faith --> Born Again --> Overcome the World --> Able to keep God's commandments

The key word is the first word in the sequence--"faith." The only way to keep God's commandments is by faith. We cannot do it on our own strength and by the power of our own will. This is because my natural self is unable to follow God's laws and unable to love with the love of God. In order to do this I have to be given a new self, a new nature. I must be born again. According to Paul, when we receive Christ by faith, when we are born again, something amazing happens. We are set free from the tyranny of sin and are filled with the power of the Spirit (see Romans 6-8). This is how we overcome the world, not by our will power but by the power of God's Spirit. The reason we are able to keep God's commandments is because the presence and power of God dwells inside us and enables us to do it. Without faith, though, the whole sequence of events falls apart and we are unable to keep God's commandments.

This explains why my personal experience does not match up with Scripture. I have fallen into the trap of trying to keep God's commandments, love others, and avoid sin on my own power. Every time I try to do this on the basis of my own willpower, I fall short. The real issue is walking by faith. When I do not walk by faith, I cannot avoid sin. However, when I am walking in obedience to the Spirit, it follows naturally that I will keep God's commandments, love others, and avoid sin. This is not because I am doing it. This is because Christ is doing it through me. What a relief! Now I can see that the commandments of God are not burdensome. God will help me keep them if I simply go along with him by faith.

Habakkuk

2010-11-01T10:09:00.005-04:00

Last night we took a look at one of the hard-to-find and easy-to-miss books of the Bible, Habakkuk. Habakkuk is one of the minor prophets, "minor" because his book is short not because his book is insignificant. Habakkuk wrote and prophesied around 600 BC to the southern kingdom of Judah, making him a close contemporary of Jeremiah. His message was a message of warning and judgment. The army of Babylon had just conquered the nations of Assyria and Egypt. Times were uncertain and Judah appeared to be the next nation to fall to Babylon's imperial growth.

Out of this cultural situation, Habakkuk's book begins with a question, "How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear (Hab. 1:2)?" Habakkuk pulls no punches; he cuts to the chase right off the bat. Habakkuk has some difficult questions and wants answers from God. He goes on to say that he lives in a time of injustice and violence. Iniquity and wickedness are ever before Habakkuk's eyes, and the righteous of the land are overwhelmed by the wicked. Habakkuk is essentially saying to God, "Do you see what is going on down here? If so, why are you not doing anything about it?" How can a good and holy God allowed injustice and violence to go unchecked and unpunished? Habakkuk wants God to do something. In this way, Habakkuk is just like Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 12:1-3, Jeremiah confronts God with similar questions, "Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease (Jer. 12:1)?" Jeremiah, like Habakkuk, wonders if God sees what is going on down on earth and wonders if God is going to do anything about it. In case God needs help, Jeremiah has a suggestion for God: "Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter and set them apart for a day of carnage (Jer. 12:3)!" Jeremiah wants God to deal out judgment and wipe the wicked off the face of the earth. We might rightly assume that Habakkuk has similar feelings.

Fortunately, God does not handle justice like a man. In response to Habakkuk's question, God offers a curious response: "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days--you would not believe if you were told (Hab. 1:5)." Essentially God says to Habakkuk, "I see what is going on and I am already doing something about it." Unfortunately, Habakkuk is unable to have God's perspective. He can only see things from his limited and finite human perspective. For this reason, God says that he cannot even explain to Habakkuk what he is doing. It is something too astonishing and wonderful to express to a human mind. God's ways are beyond Habakkuk's comprehension.

However, God tries to explain a portion of God's plan to Habakkuk. God says he is raising up the mighty army of Babylon to invade Judah and be the agents of God's justice. This idea does not go over well with Habakkuk. The Babylonians were well-known for their violence and ruthlessness. God himself says that the Babylonians are a "fierce and impetuous people" who make their own rules about justice and do not obey any authority but their own (Hab. 1:6-7). Habakkuk pushes back. How can a good and holy God use the most wicked people on earth to punish people who are less wicked than them? Is this justice?

Once again, God's response is curious. He does not address Habakkuk's questions about the Babylonians. God simply says, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run (Hab. 2:1)." God is essentially telling Habakkuk, "I'm not going to change my mind on this one. Write down the prophecy so that some might hear and respond." The hope is that the righteous will heed Habakkuk's words and get out of town before the Babylonians arrive. God goes on to assure Habakkuk that God is able to handle matters of justice. As Paul says in Galatians 6:6-10, God is not deceived, a man will reap what he sows. Just as the Israelites reaped judgment because of their disobedience so too will the Babylonians. What goes around comes around.

God's answer to Habakkuk can be summed up in two words: "Trust me." God is not blind to the violence and injustice in the world. God knows what is going on down here. Furthermore, God will bring about judgment and justice in his own time. He does not work on man's timetable. Thank goodness for that because Jeremiah wanted immediate justice. However, God is patient and gives the oppressors and the unjust time to repent of their evil deeds before God hands out final judgment. Ultimately, though, God will repay each person according to their deeds (Rom. 2:5-8). We can trust in the ultimate justice of God and live at peace. In spite of what our eyes tell us, we can trust that God is in control and live our lives accordingly. This is why God says to Habakkuk, "But the righteous man will live by his faith (Hab. 2:4)." The only way we can get through this life and the next life is by faith.

Church--Sunday Night

2010-10-30T22:58:00.003-04:00

We will be gathering this Sunday evening at 5:30pm at our house in South Park. We will spend time together worshipping God with song, sharing our joys and concerns with each other, and hearing a message from the Scriptures. For the message time we will take a look at the prophet Habakkuk. After the service we will share a potluck style meal together.

All are welcome to join us for our Sunday evening services. If you would like more information or directions to our home, please email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

The Love of God

2010-10-29T09:40:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday night I drew a diagram on my whiteboard to illustrate the point I was trying to make in my last blog. Drawing on John 3:16-21, we can see that God did not send Jesus into the world to judge the world. Rather, Jesus came to save the world. John uses two different metaphors throughout his Gospel to express this--life and light. In John 1:4, John says, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of Men." So God is sending Jesus into the world to bring life and light. If this is the case, then it says something about the world. The world is a place of death and darkness. When the world refuses to receive the life and light of Christ, the world passes a judgment on itself. The world chooses death and darkness over life and light. As I was saying in my previous blog, this is the "wrath of God." The wrath of God is ultimately a giving over, a letting people have what they want. Since all we have is death and darkness, the giving over leaves us with death and darkness, which is hell. Therefore, the wrath of God is actually the rejection of the love of God.

I tried to diagram this in a visual way below. This is my first attempt to use Photoshop to make something like this so it may be a little rough around the edges and cartoonish. I think it suffices to illustrate my point though.

The Wrath of God

2010-10-28T10:35:00.004-04:00

Disclaimer: Before being accused of being an angry TV preacher, I want to say a couple things. One, I myself do not like the word "wrath." I'd like to pretend it isn't in the Bible. It makes me uncomfortable. However, the word "wrath" is a biblical word, and, if I want to take the Bible seriously, I cannot avoid this word. I cannot black it out.
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Last night at Bible study we read from I John 4:7-21. This is probably one of the most well-loved portions of Scripture because of the emphasis on love. I John 4:8 is the highlight: "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." The statement, "God is love," is considered by many to be one of the crowning statements of Scripture. All other statements must be interpreted in light of God's Love. As I reflected on this statement, my mind asked a couple of questions:

1. How can God be love when the Bible is so full of judgment, anger, violence, and wrath, especially the Old Testament?

2. How can the love and mercy of God be reconciled with the wrath and judgment of God?

In my experience, the above two questions are ones that many non-believers and disillusioned Christians are asking. Their minds cannot make sense of the statement, "God is love," within the context of the rest of Scripture. Unfortunately they are not receiving helpful answers from pastors and fellow Christians. Therefore, they reject Christianity. I'd like to offer a few words in response based on our Bible study last night.

First, the Old Testament teaches the grace, mercy, and love of God. Many casual Bible readers have created a false division between the Old Testament and the New Testament. They naively believe that the God of the Old Testament is angry and wrathful (see the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the conquest of the Promised Land, etc.). On the other hand, in the New Testament they find a God of love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace. This is a common way to look at the Bible. However, this viewpoint represents an extremely shallow reading of the Scriptures. For example read Psalm 103. In verse 3, David says that God pardons iniquities. Wait a minute; I thought forgiveness of sins was just a New Testament thing? In verse 6, David says that the LORD performs righteous deeds on behalf of the oppressed. In verse 8, God is described as compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness. This sounds like the New Testament! In verse 13, David says that God is like a loving Father who has compassion on his children. Psalm 103 is not the only passage in the Old Testament that sounds like this. Psalm 146 speaks of the justice, mercy, and love of God. In Exodus 34:6, the LORD reveals himself to Moses as a gracious and compassionate God. In Deuteronomy 1:31-33, God is portrayed as a loving Father, carrying his children through the wilderness. In Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Moses talks about God setting his love on the Israelite people. These are only a handful of verses that illustrate the point. However, the Old Testament does also have statements about God's anger and wrath. In fact, if we are honest in our reading of the New Testament, we will find this same balance--statements about God's love are right alongside statements about God's judgment in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. How can we reconcile these seemingly contradictory portrayals of God? Are we to say that God has bipolar disorder, oscillating back and forth between anger and love?

God's wrath is actually the rejection of God's love. In John 3:16-21, Jesus says that God sent him into the world to save the world, not to condemn the world. Through Jesus God is offering something to the world--life and light. This must mean that the world is a dark and dead place otherwise God would have no reason to offer the world light and life. Although Jesus did not come into the world to judge the world or condemn the world, a judgment is passed. What is the judgment? The world rejects the offer of God's life because they refuse to come into God's light. They want to remain in darkness. The judgment of God is actually the judgment man brings upon himself when he rejects the light and life of God. When he rejects this loving and gracious offer, he is simply left to live in his own darkness and death. If a man does not receive the life of God, then eternal death (i.e. "the wrath of God") is the judgment he has selected for himself. God turns the person over to their own desires. God lets people have what they want. If they want something other than God, God lets them have that. This is the wrath of God--people rejecting God's love and God giving them over to their own darkness and sinfulness.

II Timothy 3:16-17: On Good Works

2010-10-25T09:25:00.004-04:00

Last night we went back to II Timothy 3:16-17, and I attempted to pick up the pieces from the preceding week's message. In last week's message, we began by talking about the purpose of Scripture. Why do we study the Bible and what do we hope to gain from the experience? This short passage from Paul to Timothy answers our questions. Paul says that the Scriptures are profitable for teaching and training, specifically in the area of righteousness, so that we can be equipped to do good works. Here is a flow chart, diagramming what Paul is saying about Scripture:

Scripture ---> Righteousness ---> Good Works

Unfortunately as Christians we are often guilty of flipping this around. We typically think that the Bible is full of a list of good works that we ought to do. When we do those good things we feel better about ourselves and feel justified in the eyes of God. Although we claim to be good Protestants, believing in justification by faith alone, we actually believe in a Gospel of works-righteousness. What Paul says to Timothy shoots this through and through. If we are not trained in righteousness, then we are inadequate and unable to do good works. This means that righteousness must necessarily precede good works, not the other way around. Therefore, only the righteous can truly do good works. Of course this statement raises quite a few eyebrows. How can we say that the unrighteous cannot do good? Are not atheists and unbelievers doing good things every day? In order to answer these questions, we first have to ask another question, "How do we define or determine what is good?"

In order to answer this question, I developed the metaphor of the boat (see my previous blog). For something to be considered truly good it must fulfill several criteria. I called these criteria the rules, goals, and virtues (these are not my own terms, but classic ethics terms). Now, if we are looking at things from a Christian perspective, who determines the rules, goals, and virtues for good works? The answer should be obvious. God determines the rules, goals, and virtues. So this led me to three more questions.

First, what are God's rules?
--Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
--The Great Commandment--Love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40)
--Believe in the Son and love one another (I John 3:23)

Second, what are God's goals?
--Romans 8:28-30--God is working all things towards the Good. The good end of God is that people are conformed to the image of God's son.
--Genesis 1:26--The plan of God is to form a people in God's image and likeness. Adam and Eve's sin does not foil God's plan. God is still working to accomplish this goal.
--Ephesians 4:11-16--Individually and collectively we are being conformed to the image of Christ. God is maturing the Church into the full stature of Christ.
--Revelation 21:1-4--God is ultimately going to create a new heaven and a new earth. The old will pass away and all things will be made new.

Third, what are God's virtues?
--Philippians 2:5-8--The attitude of Christ Jesus is one of submission, sacrifice, obedience, and humility.
--Galatians 5:22-23--The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
--Isaiah 5:7--God is looking for justice and righteousness in his people.

So in order for a work to be called "good" from God's perspective, it must fulfill all three criteria at the same time. If it only fulfills one or two, then it cannot be called truly good. For example, when we are only following the rules, we call it legalism. We are only doing something because we are told, not because we want to. Simply following the rules does not guarantee that we have the corresponding interior virtues. If we are only interested in the goals, then we run the risk of violating the rules in order to accomplish a particular end--"the ends justify the means." If we are only interested in God's virtues, then we will be well-meaning people without a sense of direction and without purpose. In order for a work to be truly good, it must adhere to God's rules, further God's goals, and build God's virtues.

When we look at things this way, my original statement, "Only the righteous can do good works," makes more sense. In fact, now we might even ask a different question. How could an unrighteous person possibly do any good? It is not in their nature to even obey God's rules! An unrighteous nature can only produce unrighteous works. Salt water does not come from a fresh water spring, does it (James 3:11-12)? Nor does a bad tree produce good fruit, does it (Matthew 12:33-35)? If there is only evil and unrighteousness on the inside of a person, then no good can come out of that person.

This raises one final question. How, then, can anyone do good works? Looking at Ephesians 2:10 can help us see the answer. First, we have to let God work on us. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul says that we are God's workmanship. We have to place our lives on God's pottery wheel and let him shape us and conform us. We have to be trained in righteousness first so that we will be adequate and equipped to do good works. Second, we have to participate in God's good work. We do not establish good works on the basis of our own judgment or criteria. Taking my above criteria as a checklist for good works is actually a bit of a misapplication. According to Paul, God has prepared the good works for us beforehand. We simply walk in them. Therefore, good works are really just the works of God. How, then, can we do good works? We let God work on us and then we participate in God's good works.

Church--Sunday Night

2010-10-23T19:13:00.002-04:00

We will gather this Sunday night at our house in South Park at 5:30pm for our weekly worship service. The message will be a continuation of last week's discussion about good works. After the service we will share a potluck style meal together. All are welcome to join us. If you would like more information, you can email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Good works

2010-10-20T23:15:00.006-04:00

At church on Sunday night we got into a pretty lengthy discussion about "the good" and how we can determine whether or not a particular action is in fact "good." Based on II Timothy 3:16-17, I said that only a person trained in righteousness by the Scripture can do good works. Anyone not trained in righteousness is inadequate and unequipped to do good works. This of course raised a few eyebrows. Are we to say that an atheist who stops to help a stranded motorist is not doing a good work? In the truest sense of the word "good," the biblical answer is no.

Let me try to explain with a different kind of example. Imagine a sailboat floating in the middle of the ocean. Is the boat good or bad? The answer depends on 3 factors:

1. Is the boat seaworthy? Does the boat have a leak? Does the rudder work properly? Are the sails in good condition or are they tattered and torn? We might call these the virtues of the boat.

2. Is the boat being sailed properly and in accordance with the rules of sailing? Is it running into other boats? Is the boat violating international laws regarding fishing or whaling? We might call these the rules governing the boat.

3. Is the boat going in the right direction? Does it have a destination or is it drifting aimlessly at sea? Is the boat a fishing boat or a rescue boat? We might call these the goals (or telos) of the boat.

Any time we are trying to determine the good, we have to take these three factors--virtues, rules, and goals--into consideration. Leaving one out or elevating one over the others will never get us very far. There is not much value in sailing a leaky boat in the right direction. You will sink before you ever get where you are going!

When we are taking a Christian perspective of good and bad, right and wrong, we have to ask ourselves the question, "Who or what determines the virtues, rules, and goals?" Do we merely determine them on the basis of human rationale and reason? Clearly, no. From a Christian perspective, God determines the virtues, rules, and goals. Therefore, an ungodly or unrighteous person cannot do good. This is because they do not possess God's virtues, nor do they follow God's rules, and nor do they have God's goals in mind. Going back to our boat metaphor, the unrighteous are like leaky boats with broken rudders that are running into other boats while sailing in no particular direction.

In today's postmodern and pluralistic world, I do not expect this to be a popular viewpoint. We all have non-Christian friends or family who appear to be "good" people doing "good" things. In fact, atheists may be more charitable and volunteer more than their Christian counterparts! What are we to say to these objections? Only this, the "good works" of the unrighteous are only good in a relative and temporary sense. They are good from a human perspective but not from the Divine perspective. The only works that can be considered good from God's perspective are those works which coincide with the divine virtues, rules, and goals. Only the righteous are capable of doing these kind of works, not because of their own righteousness, but because God is living in them and doing the good works through them. The good works of the righteous are not really their own. They have nothing to brag about and have no cause to elevate themselves above the unrighteous. Their good works are simply the by-product of the life of God, living in them and working through them.

II Timothy 3:14-4:5: On Scripture

2010-10-18T09:02:00.006-04:00

Last night I began the message by asking a couple of questions. First, "Why teach from the Bible each week?" There are a lot of good books on my bookshelf. Why pull the Bible off the shelf each week and teach from it? Why not preach from C.S. Lewis or Augustine or Martin Luther or John Wesley? These men have written some of the great works of Christian theology! Of, if theology is not your cup of tea, why not preach from Tolstoy or Dostoevsky or Tolkien? These men have written some of the great works of literature and are Christians as well! Out of all the good books in the world, why preach on the Bible every week? Second, "What is the goal of teaching from the Bible?" Are we hoping to be entertained? Do we just want to hear a good story with a moral twist? If so, we might be better served reading from Tolstoy each week. Are we looking to learn more information about God so we can know more facts? If so, we might be better served reading works of Christian theology. What are we trying to accomplish by studying the Bible?

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul answers these questions. In II Timothy 3:15-16, Paul explains why we should read from the Bible each instead of any other book. He tells Timothy that the "sacred writings" (the Hebrew Scriptures) are "able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (II Tim. 3:15)." The reason we read from the Bible is because the Bible is able to communicate God's wisdom to us, and this wisdom has a power. The wisdom of God is able to lead us to salvation through faith. What other book can make this kind of claim? Other books can offer man's wisdom and self-help, but no other book can offer the wisdom of God and the salvation of our souls. In the next verse, Paul goes further. He says that "all Scripture is inspired (II Tim. 3:16)." This means that God is the source of the words in the Bible. Some translations say that the Scripture is "God-breathed." Can any other book make this claim? When we call a book "inspired," we simply mean that it is heart-felt and well-written. When we say that the Bible is inspired, we mean that the words come to us from God. When we look at it this way, we might ask, "Why would we teach from anything other than the Bible?!" It is clear why we read from the Bible each week. Through the Scriptures God is revealing his wisdom and that wisdom leads us to salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul also answers our second question in these verses. In II Timothy 3:16, he explains the purpose of Scripture. He says that Scripture is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (II Tim. 3:16)." According to these verses, the goal of Bible teaching is clear: training in righteousness. All Bible teaching should have a practical application. We are not just trying to entertain and we are not just trying to convey facts. We are trying to encourage people to walk in righteousness. However, this is not the end of the line. Righteousness has a purpose as well. Paul says we teach from the Scriptures "so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (II Tim. 3:17)." The goal of Bible teaching is to train us in righteousness so that we can be equipped to do the good works of the Lord. We can diagram this visually in this way:

Biblical Mindset
Scripture ---> Righteousness ---> Good Works

However, as I reflected on this, it occurred to me that we typically teach the opposite in our churches, and, therefore, we typically think the wrong way as Christians. This is how I would diagram the typical Christian mindset:

Typical Mindset
Scripture ---> Good Works ---> Righteousness

When we come to the Scriptures, we typically think that the Scriptures contain a list of the good things we should do--help the poor, feed the hungry, work for justice, honor our parents, give away our money, love others, act kindly and so forth. Then, we think that if we do those things we will be righteous before God. God will see us helping the less fortunate and controlling our temper and donating our money and God will count that as righteousness. We know this is true because of the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. Jesus divides people into two groups according to their works. The sheep did good works for the least of these so they inherit eternal life. The goats did not do good works for the least of these so they inherit eternal death. Since none of us wants to go to hell, we ask, "What must I do to be a sheep?" Answer: Be charitable, do good works, volunteer, and serve.

If this were true, though, and it does sound convincing, it would undermine the rest of the Scripture. The entire of the Scripture is clear that righteousness comes by faith, not by works. Abraham was credited as righteous on the basis of his faith. He did not do anything. In fact, Abraham predates the giving of the Mosaic Law so there were no rules for him to follow, no list of things to do. Therefore, righteousness always precedes good works, never the other way around. The good works are the fruit of a righteous life. Therefore, only the righteous can do true good works. Sheep are not sheep on the basis of their good works. They are sheep because they are righteous. Their good works are simply a manifestation of their righteous life. They are the fruit, the sign.

Unfortunately, this is the one message we do not want to hear. We actually want to know what good things to do to justify ourselves. We do not want to be told, you must become righteous. Becoming righteous means that who I am has to change. I have to surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ and allow him to work in my life, shaping me and forming me. Then, and only then, will I be able to do his good works. In fact, then I will not have to try. The good works of Christ will simply flow out of the life of Christ which is already dwelling in me.

Church--Sunday Night

2010-10-17T08:13:00.003-04:00

This Sunday we will be gathering for church at our house in South Park at 5:30pm. We'll spend time together singing, sharing, praying, fellowshipping, and listening to a message from the Bible. Our main focus passage for the evening will be II Timothy 3:14-4:5. We'll be talking about the Bible and why we spend so much time focusing on it in the first place and what we hope to get out of studying the Bible. After service we will share a potluck style meal together for all who wish to stay a little later. You are welcome to bring something to share for that meal if you so desire.

All of our meetings are open to anyone who wants to join us in Christian fellowship and worship. If you have any questions or would like directions to our home, please email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

The Call to Discipleship

2010-10-13T09:59:00.004-04:00

In Romans 1:5 Paul says that his mission as an apostle of Jesus Christ is to "bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles." In this declaration Paul links two key words: obedience and faith. However, we typically think of them as separate things. Obedience means following the rules and faith means believing in something we cannot see. In Protestant theology especially we have so elevated the role of faith that we have eliminated the need for obedience. We have created a kind of Christianity so centered on belief that we have eliminated the need for discipleship, discipline, and obedience.

In Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship, he tries to restore the concept of obedience to the Christian experience. Bonhoeffer explains the Christian life this way at the beginning of the second chapter:

"The call goes forth, and is at once followed by the response of obedience. The response of the disciples is an act of obedience, not a confession of faith in Jesus (57)."

In the Gospels a person becomes a "Christian" when they commit themselves to following Christ. The disciples hear the call of Christ, drop their nets, and follow. Peter's confession of faith does not come until the middle of the story, and even after that point Peter's confession turns to denial. The glue holding everything together is not Peter's confession of faith but his willingness to follow and to obey. Judas ultimately falls away from the group of disciples not because of his beliefs, but because he is unwilling to follow Christ in the way of suffering and death. As Bonhoeffer says, "When we are called to follow Christ, we are summoned to an exclusive attachment to his person (59)." To accept the call of Jesus means more than just believing in him, although it does require belief in him. Accepting the call means that we bind ourselves to him and follow him no matter the cost.

Christianity today has often failed to teach the "obedience of faith" as Paul taught it. We've told people to believe in Jesus--to believe that he is the Son of God and that he died and rose again--without telling them to follow Jesus, cling to Jesus, and abide in Jesus. Belief without obedience removes the need for discipleship. We can be "saved" without ever being inconvenienced. So long as we have the right beliefs, doctrines, or dogmas, we can continue living life our way. The disciples never had the option we've created for ourselves. Their only choice was to follow and orient their entire lives around complete devotion to the person of Christ.

My hope is that we would hear the call to discipleship in this day and respond with the obedience of faith.

I Thessalonians 2:1-12: Paul's Ministry

2010-10-11T08:12:00.006-04:00

In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul takes a few moments to remind the Thessalonians about the nature of his ministry. This is a fascinating passage that gives us a window into the way Paul conducted himself as a minister of the Gospel of God.

In I Thess. 2:1-2, Paul reminds the Thessalonians of the circumstances leading up to his first visit to Thessalonica. Before coming there, Paul had been in Philippi where he had "suffered and been mistreated." Once Paul arrived in Thessalonica things did not get any easier. Paul says he faced "much opposition" to his preaching in Thessalonica. In spite of this opposition to his ministry, Paul kept pressing on. He could have thrown in the towel and went back to Jerusalem. In fact, he could have interpreted his suffering as a "sign" from God that it was time to pack things up and go home. Maybe God was not blessing his ministry. Instead of giving up, Paul kept on going. Paul's ministry is a radical testimony of perseverance, commitment, and endurance.

While Paul was in Thessalonica, he says that he conducted himself in accordance with his message. Paul did not just preach at the Thessalonians. He lived a life that embodied the message of the Gospel. If the Gospel message is that the "righteous shall live by faith (Rom. 1:16-17)," then Paul demonstrated to them what it meant to live that out. In order to demonstrate the Gospel, Paul says he did several things:

1. Paul did not use flattering speech when he was amongst the Thessalonians. He did not use his words to deceive or manipulate or control. When we flatter people, we use our language to try to butter people up and get what we want from them. It would have been tempting for Paul to use flattery to get people to accept the Gospel. However, in I Corinthians 2:1-5 we can see that Paul goes out of his way to ensure that he does not use his speech to control people. He does not use "superiority of wisdom" or "persuasion" in order to convince people about the truth of the Gospel. He simply relies on the power of the Spirit of God to convict and compel the hearts of people.

2. Paul did not use the ministry as a pretext for greed. He did not use his role as a spiritual leader to make money off of people or take advantage of people. In fact, Paul went out of his way to prove to people that he was not in the ministry for the money. He worked hard amongst the Thessalonians so as not to be a burden on them. This was not, however, because he did not have the right to receive money and support from them. On the contrary, in I Timothy 5:17-18 Paul says that elders should receive wages for their hard work as preachers and teachers. What Paul is doing is denying his right as an apostle. He has the right to receive bread from the Thessalonians, but he gives up his right in order to prove to them that his ministry is not a pretext for greed. What a radical attitude! Who would gladly sacrifice their right to financial support? Paul is only able to do this because he has learned the "secret of contentment (Phil. 4:10-14). " He knows how to get by with much and with little. His contentment and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ enables him to have a detached attitude towards money and possessions.

3. Paul was not looking for honor and praise from men. He was not hoping that the Thessalonians would view him as a great spiritual authority worthy of awe and reverence. In fact, in Galatians 1:10 Paul says he would not be a minister of the Gospel if he were looking for praise from men. He would do something else much more praiseworthy and honorable. Maybe he would be a philosopher or a teacher of Judaism, but he would certainly not be an apostle of Jesus Christ.

4. Instead of being the kind of person that took advantage of people and controlled people and manipulated people, Paul says he acted like a loving parent when he was amongst the Thessalonians. He says he cared for them like a "nursing mother tenderly" caring "for her own children (I Thess. 2:7)." Paul exhorted and encouraged and implored the Thessalonians just as a "father would his own children (I Thess. 2:11)." For this reason, Paul did not simply preach to the Thessalonians. Paul says that he was "well-pleased" not only to share the gospel with the Thessalonians but also his own life (I Thess. 2:8).

In verse 12, Paul explains why he conducted himself in this fashion, "So that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory (I Thess. 2:12)." Paul acted the way he did because he was setting an example for Christians to follow. He was showing them the way. Paul's conduct is not just an example for other Christian ministers. His life is a model for all Christians. The life of Paul is the Christian life. Unfortunately, when we think of the life of Paul, we think of it as something that is unattainable for us. When we called Paul a "saint" or an "apostle," we separate ourselves from him. How can we ever be saints? How can we live like apostles? This division is not meant to be, though. Paul himself says in Philippians 3:17 that we are to follow his example and observe his pattern of living.

In today's passage, we can clearly see the character qualities of Paul:
--Perseverance
--Commitment
--Endurance
--Contentment
--Humility
--Compassion
--Gentleness
--Tenderness
--Kindness
--Honesty
--Forthrightness
--Self-sacrifice
--Selflessness

These character qualities are not just descriptions of the "apostles" or the "saints." These are meant to be descriptions of all Christians. Paul lived in such a way as to demonstrate the Christian life to us. Instead of calling him "Saint Paul" we should call him "Brother Paul." Our older brother has shown us how to live as Christians. Are we willing to follow his example? I pray that we are. Amen.

Church--Sunday Night

2010-10-09T20:59:00.002-04:00

This Sunday evening we will meet for church at our house in South Park at 5:30pm. We will spend time together singing praises to God, sharing from our lives, hearing a message from the Bible, and eating a meal together. Our main focus text for the evening will be I Thessalonians 2:1-12. In this passage Paul talks about the nature of his ministry and how he conducts himself around fellow believers. I think we can all find something from this text to apply to ourselves. If you have the chance, you might read and reflect on this passage before coming to church in the evening. Hope to see many of you then.

Our meetings are always open to anyone who would like to join us. If you would like more information or directions to our home, you can email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Jarrett

Cheap Grace

2010-10-06T08:45:00.005-04:00

Recently I ordered a copy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer's name seems to keep coming up these days so I thought I ought to give him a read. Suffice it to say that I have been quite impressed and challenged. Rarely do you find a Christian theologian who understands the nature of the Gospel with such clarity and conviction. If you want to know a little more about Bonhoeffer you can check out this bio. Bonhoeffer has become most well-known for his role in resisting the Nazi regime in Germany during the time of World War II. Bonhoeffer's Christian convictions compelled him to actively resist Hitler (much like the characters in the recent movie Valkyrie). This ultimately cost him his life as he was executed on April 8, 1945 at a Nazi concentration camp. In his short life, he was only 39 when he was executed, Bonhoeffer wrote a number of books which continue to challenge and encourage believers today. His most well-known and widely read work is probably The Cost of Discipleship. I'd like to share a few thoughts from the opening chapter, "Costly Grace."

Bonhoeffer begins by saying, "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace (43)." He goes on to criticize the Church for selling grace "like cheapjacks' wares." The Church mass markets grace. Like Ford's assembly line vehicles, the Church tries to make grace available to everyone at the cheapest prices possible. "Grace without price; grace without cost!" says Bonhoeffer. Cheap grace is the kind of grace that is merely a theological principle or a doctrine. If we have the right ideas about God, if we believe the right things, then we are covered in grace. Cheap grace forgives sin without challenging the sinner to be transformed. Cheap grace pats us on the back and tells us everything is okay. God loves us just the way we are. In the name of cheap grace, Christians press forward in sin and disobedience. Our sinfulness reveals God's mercy and grace! To obey Jesus and keep his commandments would be to deny grace! "Instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the consolations of his grace (44)!" Ultimately Bonhoeffer says that cheap grace is the kind of "grace we bestow on ourselves" and it is "grace without discipleship (44-45)." This kind of cheap grace was infecting the German church in Bonhoeffer's day. It was the kind of grace that allowed the Church to be swept along with the world. Bonhoeffer's critique is eerily prophetic. The cheap grace of the German church sounds an awful lot like the grace of the American church today. Are we selling cheap grace in our sanctuaries and worship centers? Are we mass marketing the kind of grace that pats us on the back and tells us everything is okay?

In opposition to "cheap grace," Bonhoeffer talks about "costly grace," which is in some sense an oxymoron. The word "grace" itself means it is free. However, true Gospel grace is costly. This is how Bonhoeffer puts it, "Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ (45)." Any kind of grace that does not involve discipleship and obedience is no grace at all. It is a lie; it is cheap grace. Costly grace requires sacrifice because Christ sacrificed his life. Costly grace requires service because Christ came to serve rather than be served. Costly grace requires obedience and submission because Christ humbled himself and submitted himself to the will of the Father, even to death. Costly grace is the only kind of grace. There is no other.

Bonhoeffer's critique challenges us on several fronts. What kind of grace do I believe in? The grace of God cost the life of his Son. Is it costing my life? Am I following the Lord? Obeying the Lord? Submitting to the Lord? If not, it reveals that I believe in cheap grace, which is no grace at all.

I John 2:25-29: Eternal Life

2010-10-04T09:19:00.002-04:00

"This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life (I Jn. 2:25 NASB)."

As a leader in the early church, John is trying to strengthen and encourage the believers to continue in their faith with vigor and zeal. He does not want to see them led astray by false teachers who deny the Lord by not walking in the light and by not loving their fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. In order to spur them on to love and good deeds, John reminds them of the promise made by Jesus: eternal life. Reading through the gospels, we can see that Jesus made this promise on a number of occasions. However, one particular occasion stands out to me. In John 14:1-6, Jesus comforts his disciples by reassuring them about the future. Jesus says that he is going ahead of them to his Father's house in order to prepare a place for them. Once preparations have been made, Jesus promises to come again for his disciples and bring them to the place where Jesus is. Thomas is confused by this statement. He does not know where Jesus is going and how to get there. Jesus responds by saying, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6)." Jesus says he is the way of getting there. If Thomas knows Jesus, he has the means by which to get to that place. Jesus is telling Thomas that he is eternal life. John 1:4 and John 5:26 confirm this. Jesus is Life Itself. He is Life come in the Flesh. Jesus has in himself the kind of life that never ends. Therefore, if we have the life of Jesus in us, then we too have the kind of life that never ends.

This tells us something very important. Eternal life is a person. Sometimes when we talk about eternal life we talk about it like it is a something, an object. We tell people that God is offering them the gift of eternal life if they will only accept it. This is not entirely wrong, but it is a little too simple of an explanation. The reality is that eternal is a someone, not a something. Eternal life is the type of life Jesus possesses in his very being. Therefore, in order to have eternal life, we have to receive Christ into us. We have to partake of him and abide in him.

This is why John then turns to the subject of abiding in Jesus in verses 26-29. If eternal life was a something, we could just keep it in the closet or put it on the shelf. However, if eternal life is a someone, then we have to remain connected to that person. We have to continue to allow the life of Christ to flow into us and sustain us. This is why John talks about the metaphor of the vine and the branches in John 15. In a grapevine the main vine has the life. It pulls the nutrients and water from the soil and then sends the life to the branches. The branches, once receiving life, bear fruit. If the branches cut themselves off from the vine, they lose their source of life. They are dead and cannot bear any fruit. In order to gain eternal life, we have to remain connected to Jesus. We have to remain connected to the main vine, the source of life. How can we do this? John tells us in his gospel that in order to abide in Jesus we have to keep his commandments (Jn. 15:10). This means that we have to be in the Scriptures in order to know the commandments, and we have to be in prayer so that Jesus can teach us how to keep his commandments. If we are not at least reading the Scriptures and praying on a regular basis, how can we say that we are abiding in Jesus? We cannot.

John's letter adds one more twist to what we are talking about, though. In verse 29 John changes to the subject of righteousness. At first glance this seems to be a strange addition. Why change from talking about eternal life to talking about righteousness? However, John has not changed the subject. He is simply talking about one more quality of the life of Christ. Eternal life is one quality of the life of Christ. Another quality is righteousness. In himself, Jesus possesses the kind of life that is both eternal and righteous. Therefore, we know that anyone who is born again, anyone who has the life of Christ in them, must also be righteous. How can we say that the righteous life of Christ is in us if we do not see any signs of the righteousness?

Our problem is that we like the eternal life of Jesus--everyone wants to live forever--but we are not as interested in the righteous life of Jesus. We want to pick and choose. Unfortunately, God has not made this an option. If we want the eternal life, we also have to have the righteous life. This is because in both instances we accepting the person of Christ into us to live in us, guide us, shape us, and form us. Is that what we really want? If so, the person of Jesus is happy to come into our lives and share both his eternal life and his righteous life with us.

Jarrett

Church--Sunday Night

2010-10-02T23:58:00.002-04:00

This Sunday evening we will be meeting at 5:30pm at our house in South Park. For the evening we will be focusing on I John 2:25-29 and talking about eternal life. Hope to see many of you tomorrow night.

Our meetings are always open to anyone who wants to join us. If you need more information or would like directions, you can email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Jarrett

Juvenile Diabetes Walk

2010-10-01T08:36:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow morning we are walking in the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk. The walk will be held downtown at Island Park at 10am. You can arrive between 9:30-10:00am. Dogs are welcome on the walk as well. We are doing this in support of my parents' neighbors who have a grandson with juvenile diabetes.

Scenes from Romeo and Juliet

2010-09-29T09:26:00.004-04:00

Since some of you weren't able to make it out the other weekend for our neighborhood performance of Romeo & Juliet, I thought I might post a couple videos here on the blog for your enjoyment.

Here is the opening fight scene where I play Abraham of the house of the Montagues.

Here is the party scene where I play Paris who is arranged to marry Juliet.

I Timothy 6:3-5--The doctrine conforming to godliness

2010-09-27T09:28:00.006-04:00

The word "doctrine" is a word that typically leads to debates and arguments. When we hear the word doctrine we typically think of a list of beliefs--dogmas, creeds, confessions, statements of faith, and the like. One of the reasons we have so many denominations today is that we cannot agree on the niceties and technicalities of these beliefs. What is our view on baptism? The role of the Spirit in the Christian life? The role of women in the Church? The mechanism of salvation? Christians will argue with each other until they are blue in the face over their doctrine or, simply, what they believe about the Christian faith.

In Paul's pastoral epistles (I and II Timothy and Titus) he uses the word "doctrine" a lot. However, as I reflected on I Timothy 6:3-5 this week, it occurred to me that Paul means something quite different from us when he uses the word "doctrine." A simple standard definition of doctrine would go something like this:

Doctrine = right or correct teachings about the faith

In I Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy to stand up against false doctrines in the church. He charges Timothy to teach the true faith, the true doctrine he received from Paul. In chapter 6, Paul elaborates on what he means by the word "doctrine." First, Paul says that there are people in the church who are teaching a "different doctrine" and they do not agree with "sound words." This could mean that they are teaching some strange belief about Jesus or maybe about Mary. Paul doesn't tell us, though. In fact, Paul doesn't say anything about their theology. Paul simply says that the people who advocate a different doctrine are envious, filled with strife, abusive in their talk, and engaged in constant friction with other believers. On the other hand, Paul says that he taught Timothy the "doctrine conforming to godliness." From Paul, Timothy learned about righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness (I Tim. 6:11). As I reflected on this, it occurred to me that this is the doctrine. Paul's doctrine is the message of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

In a simple sense, the word "doctrine" just means teaching or instruction. The Greek word is didaskalia. This is where we get our English word didactic, which means intended to teach or instruct. So when Paul uses the word "doctrine" (or didaskalia), he is referring to the content of his teaching or instruction and that content is godliness. This means we need to revise our earlier defintion of doctrine:

Doctrine = right or correct teachings about the faith that leads to a godly life

Doctrine always has a practical application--godliness. If a particular doctrine or teaching about the faith does not lead to godliness, then it is of little value to a Christian. Speculative doctrines typically only lead to strife and arguments. The true doctrine leads to godliness. Anything else is a false doctrine, a "different doctrine."

If we look at the second chapter of the letter to Titus, we can see that Paul speaks about doctrine in the same way. In Titus 2:1, Paul commands Titus, "But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine." By this Paul does not mean teach good Christology or good pneumatology or good eschatology (to use some big theological terms). Paul tells Titus exactly what he means. Titus is supposed to tell the older men to be temperate, dignified, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance. He is supposed to tell the older women to be reverent, astute in the way they speak, temperate, and so forth. He also has practical instructions for the young men and the bondslaves as well. Paul sums everything up by saying that the doctrine should be adorned (Titus 2:10). What we believe should be worn and displayed in the way we live.

This should challenge us in two respects. One, this means that we can know the truthfulness of a particular doctrine or teaching by its fruits. If a certain doctrine only leads to strife and ungodliness, then it is a false doctrine. We should run from such doctrines. On the other hand, if it leads to godliness and love and faith and hope, then we should cling to such doctrines. Two, this means that doctrine is not just intellectual information. It is more than speculative theology. Having sound doctrine means living in accordance with the teachings of Jesus. That is different than believing the right things about Jesus (i.e. Jesus is the son of God). Does what we believe make a difference in how we live? If not, then our beliefs are worthless to us. If they do, then we are on the right track.

My prayer is that we would be people with "sound doctrine." That we would be people marked by our righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Amen.

Jarrett

Church--Sunday Night

2010-09-25T21:03:00.003-04:00

This week we will be gathering for Sunday evening worship at our house in South Park. Our meeting begins at 5:30pm. After service we will share a potluck-style meal together. All are welcome to join us.

If you'd like more information or directions to our house, you can email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Jarrett

Bible Study--Wed Nite

2010-09-21T22:45:00.002-04:00

Now that Romeo & Juliet practice is over, we will resume our regularly scheduled Wednesday evening Bible study. This week we will be reading and discussing I John 2:18-24.

Anyone who is interested can join us. We meet at our home in South Park at 7pm. For directions or more information, you can email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Jarrett

Amos 8:11-12: Famine of the Word

2010-09-20T09:11:00.003-04:00

Recently we've been listening to the message of the "major prophets" Isaiah and Jeremiah (see here and here and here and here). This week, however, we turn to Amos, one of the "minor prophets." Since the minor prophets (Amos, Joel, Micah, etc.) are short books with difficult messages, they are easily overlooked. However, as I've been saying recently, we cannot afford to overlook the prophets. Their messages to the nations of Israel and Judah are messages to the Christian Church today. The old adage stands true: "If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it." If we will pay attention to the prophets and hear their message, we can avoid falling into the same mistakes as the Israelite people.

In today's text, Amos 8:11-12, Amos makes a strange prophesy about the future. He says a day is coming when God will send a famine on the land. However, this is not your typical famine where there is no rain and a shortage of food. Amos prophesies that God will send a famine "for hearing the words of the LORD (Amos 8:11)." Amos says the people will stagger about, seeking the word of God, but they will not find it.

Since the people refuse to obey the commandments of God, God essentially says that he is going to stop talking to them. God is going to stop wasting his breath. In Amos 8:4-6, Amos says that the people cheat each other, take advantage of each other, exploit each other, and wrong the poor and vulnerable. In Deuteronomy 15 and 24, God had explicitly commanded the people to treat one another with justice, especially the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. Instead of loving their neighbors, as God commanded them, the people did the exact opposite--exploiting them, cheating them, and wronging them! When prophets like Amos prophesy, they are always pointing back to the Law. Usually we think prophets make predictions about the future, but that is only a small part of what they do. Mostly prophets remind people. As we saw a few weeks ago, people have memory loss problems. They forget the commandments of God so prophets like Amos have to come along and call the people back to God.

If we aren't interested in obeying the Lord today, the same thing could happen to us. God will simply stop talking. He will stop wasting his breath on us. He'll find people who want to listen and focus his energy on speaking to them. In James 1:22-25, we can see that hearing the word of God implies that we obey the word of God. What good does it do us to say we heard if we don't obey? This is why the people in Amos's day stopped listening to God. They didn't want to have to obey God so they tuned him out. They didn't want to have to live justly and righteously. They wanted to cheat each other and exploit each other.

So the question for us is, "Am I ready to obey the Lord?" If we aren't interested in being obedient to God, then we shouldn't expect to hear from God. On the other hand, if we are ready to obey the Lord, then we will find that he is quite eager to speak to us and communicate his will to us. In the Gospels, Jesus is always saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Mk. 4:9)." We want to be the kind of people with ears to hear. This means more than just hearing audible sounds. This means having hearts that are ready to obey what we hear. If we have soft and obedient hearts, the words of Jesus will be able to be planted in our lives and they will bear much fruit. Let's be those kind of people. Amen.

Jarrett

Church--Sunday Night

2010-09-18T15:43:00.002-04:00

This Sunday we will be gathering at 5:30pm at our house in South Park for our weekly worship service. We will spend time together singing, sharing, praying, and listening to the Scriptures. Our main focus text for the evening will be Amos 8:11-12. If you have the chance, you might read and reflect on it before coming to church. After service we will have a potluck style meal together.

Also, for those who are interested, you can hang around and catch the final performance of Romeo and Juliet in the park at 8pm Sunday night.

If you have any questions about our church or our weekly services, you can email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Jarrett

Romeo & Juliet

2010-09-13T08:59:00.003-04:00

This coming weekend is our neighborhood community theater production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I will be playing two small parts--Abraham and Paris. We will be practicing every night this week in preparation so there will be no Bible study on Wednesday night. If you want to check out the fruit of our labor, stop on by Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. The performances will be held at the South Park Green on Hickory Street next to Hope Lutheran Church and Emerson School. If you are coming to the performance, you are welcome to park on Bradford Street by our house. The play is only one block over from us. Hope to see many of you this weekend. If you need any extra incentive, I have both a fighting scene and a dance scene. Should be interesting!

Here are the quick details:

September 17, 18, 19 8:00pm
South Park Green on Hickory Street
Admission is free
Bring a blanket or lawn chair

Church Picnic

2010-09-09T08:01:00.005-04:00

This Sunday morning we've been invited to join several other house churches for a joint worship service and picnic. Things will be begin at 10:30am at Art Van Atta Park. This is a great opportunity for us to share time with other like-minded believers. When you turn into the park, you will want to follow the park road towards the very back of the park. You should find a group at one of the picnic shelters.

There will be no evening service this Sunday. Evening services will resume on September 19th at 5:30pm. My final performance of Romeo and Juliet will follow church next week at 8:00pm for those who wish to stay and take in some theater.

Art Van Atta Park is located near the intersection of N. Dixie Dr. and Benchwood Rd. You can access the park easily from the Benchwood exit on I-75.

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God's Plan

2010-09-06T08:22:00.003-04:00

When we take a look at the world around us, it can appear as if chaos and chance reign. Often times we can find no rhyme or reason for why things happen or the way things happen. Whenever something unusual happens, we say it was luck or coincidence. However, I think the Bible teaches another story. Through the Scriptures, we can see that God is guiding human history towards a good end. Sometimes we cannot always make sense of each step in the process, but God has a definite plan. Knowing God's plan is helpful in several ways. One, we can trust in the plan of God even when things around us seem to be falling apart. Two, knowing the plan of God allows us to participate in the plan of God. Three, the Bible begins to make more and more sense when we see that all the stories, sayings, prophecies, and psalms fit into the overarching narrative of God. Now, you might rightly ask, "What is this plan?" Let me try to explain it as best I can.

God's plan: Form a people in God's image and likeness

In Genesis 1:26, God says, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." When the creation story begins in Genesis 1:1, the Earth is formless and void. During each of the days of creation, God shapes new forms, separates things, and orders life. On the sixth day of creation, God forms humankind from the dust of the ground, like a potter forming a piece of clay, and breathes life into his creation. At the end of the sixth day, the Earth is no longer formless and void. It is filled with the form and life of God. However, we know what happens shortly after this in the story. Adam and Eve sin against God and they lose or mar the image and likeness of God. We might think this ruins the plan of God. It does not. Since the Fall, God has continually been working to complete the original plan, to restore the image and likeness to humanity.

In Genesis 12:1-3, we can see God "starting over" with Abraham. From Abraham, God promises to form a people. God says they will be a great nation and all the earth will be blessed through Abraham's descendants. If we go to Genesis 17:1-8, we can see the promise repeated to Abraham. God intends to form a nation from Abraham that will be fruitful and prosperous. Through Abraham's descendants, God essentially intends to complete what he started with Adam and Eve--form a people in God's image and likeness. We can see this more clearly when we look at Genesis 18:17-19. In this passage God clearly says why he chose Abraham: "For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice (Gen. 18:19)." Not only is God forming a nation, but he is forming a nation with a particular kind of character. God wants the descendants of Abraham to be a people who are marked by their righteousness and justice. God wants them to have his character, his image and likeness.

This plan does not end with Abraham. It continues with Moses and the Israelite people. In Exodus 19:5-6, God speaks to the people from Mount Sinai. God makes a covenant with the people saying, "Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex. 19:5-6)." The covenant made on Mount Sinai is essentially the same covenant made with Abraham, but now it is explicitly made with all the people. God desires to form for himself a people who are made in God's image and likeness--a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

I think it is safe to assume that this plan still stands today. Why would God go back on his work in Creation and his work with Abraham and his work with Israel? He wouldn't. Through the Christian church, God is still forming a people in the image and likeness of God.

When I look at the Old Testament, something else stands out about the plan of God. Humanity as a whole rejects its inclusion in the plan of God. In general, people are not interesting in participating in God's work. They don't want to be formed and shaped. They want to do their own thing and go their own way. Often times they pay God lip service, saying they want to participate in God's plan, but then later turn their backs. In Exodus 19 and 24 the people say, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do (Ex. 19:8; Ex. 24:3)!" At first they are eager to participate in God's covenant. However, only a few chapters later they go back on their word and create for themselves an idol to worship and follow (Ex. 32--the Golden calf).

Therefore, in order to complete God's plan, God is always working with a remnant. Throughout history, God is weaving together a lineage of people who are faithful to him and faithful to the covenant. This lineage includes Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, Samuel, and all other people who have faith (see Hebrews 11). We, too, can be a part of this lineage, this remnant people. There are no restrictions except faith. However, if we are going to participate in God's plan, we will have to go against the grain of our culture. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus says that the vast majority of people are headed through a gate that leads to destruction. The way that leads to life is narrow and only a few, only a remnant, go that way.

My hope for us is that we would participate in God's plan. That we would submit by faith to the work of God and allow God to shape us and form us into a people for God's own possession. Amen.

Jarrett

Church--Sunday Night

2010-09-05T07:58:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend. We took Carson out for a nature hike at Sugarcreek Metropark yesterday. It was a beautiful day to be outside, enjoying God's creation.

Although it is a holiday weekend, we will still meet at 5:30pm tonight for our regular Sunday evening worship service. As is usual, we will spend time together singing, praying, listening to the Scriptures, sharing with one another, and receiving communion. After the service, we will have a potuck-style meal for all who wish to stay. You are welcome, but not required, to bring a side dish to share.

If you would like more information about this new church plant or our weekly worship services, please email fiveriverschurchplant@gmail.com.

Jarrett