“The kingdom of God is the new and final age that began with the coming of Jesus. His kingdom is not part of the present age — an age where the flesh reigns; where people are divided, relationships are broken, and suspicion and competition dominate; where money, sex, and power are abused; where leaders are first and servants last; where behavior is controlled by laws, and identity is defined by race, gender, or social standing; and where gifts and resources are used for the advancement of oneself.
Rather, the kingdom of God is the new age. It is the age of the Spirit (Matt 12:28). It is the age of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). The Kingdom of God is about the renewal, restoration, and reconciliation of all things, and God has made us a part of this great story of salvation.
This kingdom is about the restoration of relationships, justice, and equality; about freedom from every lord except Jesus; about reconciliation, forgiveness, and the defeat of Satan. It is about compassion for the poor and powerless, about helping those who are marginalized and rejected by society, and about our gifts and resources for the advancement of others. It is about new communities and the transformation of society and culture, so that race, gender, and social class no longer define identity, nor are they used to control and divide. For Paul, to preach the gospel is to preach the kingdom, is to preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:24-27).
The gospel sums up the whole message of good news that he brought to the nations — particularly to the downtrodden and powerless. And since it is good news, our response to the message of the kingdom is to be one of repentant faith (Mark 1:15).”
- Neil H. Williams, Gospel Transformation
HT: Jon Anderson
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
CJ Mahaney on Biblical Masculinity
Steve Shank interviews CJ Mahaney on Biblical Masculinity.
An excerpt....
Read the whole interview.
An excerpt....
"And I would say to all of us fathers that we must understand that this category of “companion” is broader than just the individuals our children hang out with. Television is a companion. The Internet is a companion. The iPod is a companion. These are all means of transferring foolishness to one’s heart and therefore we need to help equip our sons and daughters with these two categories to protect them from being numbered among the fools and experiencing the consequences of fools and to, instead, be numbered among those who are wise and to taste the sweet fruit of wisdom."
Read the whole interview.
Tom Brady: This Can't Be What It's All Cracked Up to Be
From the Founder's Ministry Blog:
"Tom Brady, the 3-time Super Bowl champion quarterback of the New England Patriots was featured the week in a 60 Minutes interview with Steve Kroft on CBS. Brady is already a sports legend in one of the citadels of professional sports in America, Boston. His current team is 15-0 and is poised to finish the season undefeated, something that hasn't been done in the NFL in 35 years. He has won the Super Bowl MVP twice and been named to the Pro Bowl 4 times. He also was recently named the Associated Press' "Male Athlete of the Year."
"He has dated actresses and supermodels and makes millions of dollars a year. He has been called America's most eligible bachelor. By most popular standards, he has it all. That is why I was struck by hearing him make the following statement during the interview:
When Kroft asked him, "What's the answer?" Brady responded, "I wish I knew. I wish I knew. I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I'm trying to find."
Read the article.
"Tom Brady, the 3-time Super Bowl champion quarterback of the New England Patriots was featured the week in a 60 Minutes interview with Steve Kroft on CBS. Brady is already a sports legend in one of the citadels of professional sports in America, Boston. His current team is 15-0 and is poised to finish the season undefeated, something that hasn't been done in the NFL in 35 years. He has won the Super Bowl MVP twice and been named to the Pro Bowl 4 times. He also was recently named the Associated Press' "Male Athlete of the Year."
"He has dated actresses and supermodels and makes millions of dollars a year. He has been called America's most eligible bachelor. By most popular standards, he has it all. That is why I was struck by hearing him make the following statement during the interview:
"Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be."
When Kroft asked him, "What's the answer?" Brady responded, "I wish I knew. I wish I knew. I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I'm trying to find."
Read the article.
Dever on Criticism
Mark Dever on the 5 Points of Criticism:
1. “Directly, not indirectly”
2. “Seriously, not humorously”
3. “As if it’s important, not casually”
4. “Privately, not publicly”
5. “Out of love for them, not to express your feeling or frustration”
1. “Directly, not indirectly”
2. “Seriously, not humorously”
3. “As if it’s important, not casually”
4. “Privately, not publicly”
5. “Out of love for them, not to express your feeling or frustration”
Americans Identify with Christianity
According to Gallop....
About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.
Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer, these results suggest that well more than 9 out of 10 Americans who identify with a religion are Christian in one way or the other.
About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.
Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer, these results suggest that well more than 9 out of 10 Americans who identify with a religion are Christian in one way or the other.
One-Third of Americans Believe the Bible is Literally True
One-third of Americans believe the Bible is literally true, according to Gallop.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Church with Benefits
From the Jonah Syndrome
Essentially, the one night stand or the FWB is intended to produce a maximum amount of immediate pleasure with little to none ongoing commitment towards the other party. In the same vein, as I experience emotional or isolationlows, I can immediately begin looking through my iPhone for my next hookup to relieve me of my crisis and the great thing about the "booty call" is that it is on demand, when I want it, and there's no expectation that I have to respond to anyone else's expectations of me. It is 100% on my terms.
And millions are doing the same thing with church. I attend when I want to, and only for my benefit. I am there because I am experiencing a personal spiritual, relational, or emotional crisis, and I want God to give me my "spiritual booty call" to make me feel better. But don't ask me to make any ongoing investment in the church. Don't have any expectations of me as someone who came to that church. Just allow me to come in, use your church as I would a prostitute (I might even pay you for your services), and then I can move on, go back to my life and I'll get back to you if I need you again.
Essentially, the one night stand or the FWB is intended to produce a maximum amount of immediate pleasure with little to none ongoing commitment towards the other party. In the same vein, as I experience emotional or isolationlows, I can immediately begin looking through my iPhone for my next hookup to relieve me of my crisis and the great thing about the "booty call" is that it is on demand, when I want it, and there's no expectation that I have to respond to anyone else's expectations of me. It is 100% on my terms.
And millions are doing the same thing with church. I attend when I want to, and only for my benefit. I am there because I am experiencing a personal spiritual, relational, or emotional crisis, and I want God to give me my "spiritual booty call" to make me feel better. But don't ask me to make any ongoing investment in the church. Don't have any expectations of me as someone who came to that church. Just allow me to come in, use your church as I would a prostitute (I might even pay you for your services), and then I can move on, go back to my life and I'll get back to you if I need you again.
Who Would Jesus Bomb? War, Peace, and the Christian
Russell Moore on Just War & Pacificisim:
In truth, questions of war and peace are never easy this side of the New Jerusalem. This is why Christians through the centuries have avoided both pacifism and militarism: holding to a "just war" concept that killing is never good but is sometimes best. This "just war" concept limits such action to duly constituted governments, and strictly contains the bounds of such warfare. The intentional killing of innocent non-combatants, for instance, is wrong and outside the parameters of just war.
There are times when the alternative to war is clearly more bloodshed, more violence. Think about what would have happened around the world if the United States had taken no action after the attack on America on September 11, 2001? There are other times when the issues are much more complicated, and good Christians may disagree about whether military action is biblically warranted, even as we remember to pray for our leaders to make wise decisions.
In truth, the guy with the "Visualize World Peace" bumper sticker is partly right. And so is Toby Keith when he talks about justice raining down with vengeance on the enemies of what's good and true. Both are grasping at something that can only be found in the gospel story of Christ Jesus. War is sometimes necessary, and we as Christians should be willing to support, fight, and die for our country in those times. But every time we see a war-even a just and necessary one-we should be reminded that it means we're still living in a world groaning under the weight of sin.
We shouldn't tie dye our shirts and pretend a United Nations enforced peace can end bloodshed. But neither should we callously cheer the violence of war, as if it were a video game. Yes, we should visualize peace-but only a real peace, when the true Emperor of the universe rules over a world so pacific that we cannot even imagine the violence we once saw on CNN, or on Animal Planet. On that day, and maybe not until that day, there won't be the sound of rattling swords, firing guns, or bombs bursting in air.
Whole Article
[HT: Between Two Worlds:Whom Would Jesus Bomb?]
In truth, questions of war and peace are never easy this side of the New Jerusalem. This is why Christians through the centuries have avoided both pacifism and militarism: holding to a "just war" concept that killing is never good but is sometimes best. This "just war" concept limits such action to duly constituted governments, and strictly contains the bounds of such warfare. The intentional killing of innocent non-combatants, for instance, is wrong and outside the parameters of just war.
There are times when the alternative to war is clearly more bloodshed, more violence. Think about what would have happened around the world if the United States had taken no action after the attack on America on September 11, 2001? There are other times when the issues are much more complicated, and good Christians may disagree about whether military action is biblically warranted, even as we remember to pray for our leaders to make wise decisions.
In truth, the guy with the "Visualize World Peace" bumper sticker is partly right. And so is Toby Keith when he talks about justice raining down with vengeance on the enemies of what's good and true. Both are grasping at something that can only be found in the gospel story of Christ Jesus. War is sometimes necessary, and we as Christians should be willing to support, fight, and die for our country in those times. But every time we see a war-even a just and necessary one-we should be reminded that it means we're still living in a world groaning under the weight of sin.
We shouldn't tie dye our shirts and pretend a United Nations enforced peace can end bloodshed. But neither should we callously cheer the violence of war, as if it were a video game. Yes, we should visualize peace-but only a real peace, when the true Emperor of the universe rules over a world so pacific that we cannot even imagine the violence we once saw on CNN, or on Animal Planet. On that day, and maybe not until that day, there won't be the sound of rattling swords, firing guns, or bombs bursting in air.
Whole Article
[HT: Between Two Worlds:Whom Would Jesus Bomb?]
Russell Moore on Adoption
Russell Moore writes in Touchstone on Adoption:
"The Brotherhood of Sons: What Some Rude Questions About Adoption Taught Me About Adoption"
"The Brotherhood of Sons: What Some Rude Questions About Adoption Taught Me About Adoption"
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Making a Jesus Out of Your Faith
From ideliglog
William Romaine (18th century English Anglican Evangelical) was a great man. His Letters are spectacular and in fact the great Thomas Chalmers said that Romaine’s letters are the best book to read to heal you of a legal spirit (i.e. legalism.) In Letter 37 of the Select Letters (kept in print by Old Paths Gospel Press and sold by Dr. Beeke at http://www.heritagebooks.org) he writes about the problem of making a Jesus out of our faith and how this robs us of our comfort. Here is an excerpt:
“For you are looking, not at the object of your faith, at jesus, but at your faith. You would draw your comfort, not from Him, but from your faith. And because your faith is not quite perfect, you are as much discouraged as if Jesus was not quite a perfect Savior… But, besides this mistake, I can see one of the greatest sins in your way of reasoning, and yet finely cloaked under a very specious covering. I pulled it off; and behold there was rank treason under it, against the crown and majesty of my Lord and God; for you are kept looking at your act of believing. What is this for? Why, certainly, that you may be satisfied with it. What then? No doubt you will then rest in it, and upon it, satisfied now that Christ is yours, because you are satisfied with your faith. This is making a Jesus of it, and is in effect taking the crown of crowns from his head, and placing it upon the head of your faith. Lord grant you may never do this any more!
"I observe… how, by this mistake, and by this great sin, the sin of sins, you are robbed of the sweet enjoyment of the God of all comfort. You lose what you seek, and lose it in the way of seeking. You want comfort, and you look to your faith for it. If faith could speak it would say, ‘I have none to give you, look unto Jesus, it is all in Him’ Indeed my friend it is. The Holy Ghost, the Comforter, will not glorify your faith. he will not give it the honour of comforting you. he takes nothing to comfort with but the things of Christ - and His things, not as used by you, but as given by Him, who is all yours… I grant you, and I know it well, that much faith brings much comfort from Christ, and carries much glory to Him; but the way to get much faith is not to look at it, as you do, but at the Savior; not to look at your hand, but at Jesus; not how you hold Him, but that He is yours , and holds you, and your faith too, and therefore you shall never perish, but shall have everlasting life.”
William Romaine (18th century English Anglican Evangelical) was a great man. His Letters are spectacular and in fact the great Thomas Chalmers said that Romaine’s letters are the best book to read to heal you of a legal spirit (i.e. legalism.) In Letter 37 of the Select Letters (kept in print by Old Paths Gospel Press and sold by Dr. Beeke at http://www.heritagebooks.org) he writes about the problem of making a Jesus out of our faith and how this robs us of our comfort. Here is an excerpt:
“For you are looking, not at the object of your faith, at jesus, but at your faith. You would draw your comfort, not from Him, but from your faith. And because your faith is not quite perfect, you are as much discouraged as if Jesus was not quite a perfect Savior… But, besides this mistake, I can see one of the greatest sins in your way of reasoning, and yet finely cloaked under a very specious covering. I pulled it off; and behold there was rank treason under it, against the crown and majesty of my Lord and God; for you are kept looking at your act of believing. What is this for? Why, certainly, that you may be satisfied with it. What then? No doubt you will then rest in it, and upon it, satisfied now that Christ is yours, because you are satisfied with your faith. This is making a Jesus of it, and is in effect taking the crown of crowns from his head, and placing it upon the head of your faith. Lord grant you may never do this any more!
"I observe… how, by this mistake, and by this great sin, the sin of sins, you are robbed of the sweet enjoyment of the God of all comfort. You lose what you seek, and lose it in the way of seeking. You want comfort, and you look to your faith for it. If faith could speak it would say, ‘I have none to give you, look unto Jesus, it is all in Him’ Indeed my friend it is. The Holy Ghost, the Comforter, will not glorify your faith. he will not give it the honour of comforting you. he takes nothing to comfort with but the things of Christ - and His things, not as used by you, but as given by Him, who is all yours… I grant you, and I know it well, that much faith brings much comfort from Christ, and carries much glory to Him; but the way to get much faith is not to look at it, as you do, but at the Savior; not to look at your hand, but at Jesus; not how you hold Him, but that He is yours , and holds you, and your faith too, and therefore you shall never perish, but shall have everlasting life.”
Friday, November 23, 2007
An Honest Atheist
By Living Waters quotes atheist Thomas Nagel...
"In speaking of the fear of religion…I am talking about…the fear of religion itself. I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God, and, natural, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God’ I don’t want the universe to be like that… My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and that it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of evolutionary biology to explain everything about life, including everything about the human mind."
This comes from Thomas Nagel’s The Last Word (Oxford University Press, 1997) 130-1.
"In speaking of the fear of religion…I am talking about…the fear of religion itself. I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God, and, natural, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God’ I don’t want the universe to be like that… My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and that it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of evolutionary biology to explain everything about life, including everything about the human mind."
This comes from Thomas Nagel’s The Last Word (Oxford University Press, 1997) 130-1.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Long-Haul Preaching
Long-Haul Preaching
by Steve Mathewson
David Jackman, veteran preacher and President of The Proclamation Trust in London, England, made this statement last week in a preaching lecture in Chicago: “Life transformation takes time. So preach over the long haul. You are a long distance runner.”
I needed to hear this statement because I’m prone to impatience! I can get impatient with the people to whom I preach. Why don’t they get it?! Why are they still the same old bunch that they were last week or last month or last year? But this line of thinking doesn’t stop with my congregation. It invariably leads to impatience with myself! What’s wrong with my preaching? What must I do differently? The lack of response must be my fault!
Now I’m not suggesting that preachers avoid rigorous self-evaluation. I’m on a life-long quest to improve my preaching for the glory of God and the good of His people. But I cross the line from healthy critique to unhealthy blame when I forget that life-transformation takes time.
Why don’t I get this? Perhaps it’s because God sometimes bring dramatic, instantaneous change in listeners’ lives. Sometimes. But these “sometimes” raise my expectations that God will do this almost every time. Yet that is not God’s usual way of working. As Richard Mouw claimed in a sermon a couple decades ago, we need to hear more about the slowness of God. God has the power create and change things instantly. But from our vantage point in the unfolding drama of redemption, it appears that God takes his time. Sanctification is a slow process. It happens over the long-haul. So behind my impatience with my listeners, myself, and the process of preaching is impatience with God. Lord, have mercy on this impatient preacher!
I still pray that this Sunday will be the moment in someone’s life – or in a number of lives – when striking transformation occurs. But whether it happens or not, or whether I see it or not, I need to stay the course and do my best to proclaim God’s word over the long haul. May God grant you the grace and perseverance to do the same.
by Steve Mathewson
David Jackman, veteran preacher and President of The Proclamation Trust in London, England, made this statement last week in a preaching lecture in Chicago: “Life transformation takes time. So preach over the long haul. You are a long distance runner.”
I needed to hear this statement because I’m prone to impatience! I can get impatient with the people to whom I preach. Why don’t they get it?! Why are they still the same old bunch that they were last week or last month or last year? But this line of thinking doesn’t stop with my congregation. It invariably leads to impatience with myself! What’s wrong with my preaching? What must I do differently? The lack of response must be my fault!
Now I’m not suggesting that preachers avoid rigorous self-evaluation. I’m on a life-long quest to improve my preaching for the glory of God and the good of His people. But I cross the line from healthy critique to unhealthy blame when I forget that life-transformation takes time.
Why don’t I get this? Perhaps it’s because God sometimes bring dramatic, instantaneous change in listeners’ lives. Sometimes. But these “sometimes” raise my expectations that God will do this almost every time. Yet that is not God’s usual way of working. As Richard Mouw claimed in a sermon a couple decades ago, we need to hear more about the slowness of God. God has the power create and change things instantly. But from our vantage point in the unfolding drama of redemption, it appears that God takes his time. Sanctification is a slow process. It happens over the long-haul. So behind my impatience with my listeners, myself, and the process of preaching is impatience with God. Lord, have mercy on this impatient preacher!
I still pray that this Sunday will be the moment in someone’s life – or in a number of lives – when striking transformation occurs. But whether it happens or not, or whether I see it or not, I need to stay the course and do my best to proclaim God’s word over the long haul. May God grant you the grace and perseverance to do the same.
Authenticity of the Gospels
From Pen & Parchment: The Gospels: Embarrassingly Authentic?
This is why the potentially embarrassing elements of the Gospels are a significant part of their historicity. Notice these accounts from the Gospel of Mark taken from Gregory Boyd and Paul Rhodes Eddy in their excellent new book Lord or Legend: Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma.
* Jesus’ own family did not believe him and even questioned his sanity (Mark 3:21)
* Jesus was rejected by people in his hometown and couldn’t perform many miracles there (Mark 6:2-5)
* Some thought Jesus was in collusion with, and even possessed by, the devil (Mark 3:22)
* At times Jesus seemed to rely on common medicinal techniques (Mark 7:33; Mark 8:23)
* Jesus’ healings weren’t always instantaneous (Mark 8:22-25)
* Jesus’ disciples weren’t always able to exorcise demons (Mark 9:18), and Jesus’ own exorcisms weren’t always instantaneous (Mark 5:8-13)
* Jesus seemed to suggest he wasn’t good (Mark 10:18)
* Jesus associated with people of ill-repute and gained a reputation of being a glutton and drunkard (Mark 2:15-16)
* Jesus sometimes seems to act rudely to people (Mark 7:26-27)
* Jesus seemed to disregard Jewish laws, customs, and cleanliness codes (Mark 2:23-24)
* Jesus often spoke and acted in culturally “shameful” ways (Mark 3: 31-35)
* Jesus cursed a fig tree for not having any figs when he was hungry, despite the fact that it wasn’t the season for figs (Mark 11:12-14)
* The disciples who were to form the foundation of the new community consistently seem dull, obstinate, and cowardly (Mark 8:32-33; Mark 10:35-37; Mark 14:37-40)
* Jesus was betrayed by an inner-circle disciple (Mark 14:43-46), and Peter cowardly denied any association with him (Mark 14:66-72)
* Women were the first to discover Jesus’ tomb was empty—while the men were hiding in fear! (Mark 16:1-8)
* The primary hero (Jesus) was crucified on a cross bringing a definite curse upon him (cf. Deut. 21:22-23)
If the Gospels served to form the backbone of the emerging Christian community of the first century, why include such details if they were not true? In other words, historic inquiry must ask the question concerning the raising of such stories, What explanation best accounts for their inclusion? Why make up details that are damaging?
This is why the potentially embarrassing elements of the Gospels are a significant part of their historicity. Notice these accounts from the Gospel of Mark taken from Gregory Boyd and Paul Rhodes Eddy in their excellent new book Lord or Legend: Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma.
* Jesus’ own family did not believe him and even questioned his sanity (Mark 3:21)
* Jesus was rejected by people in his hometown and couldn’t perform many miracles there (Mark 6:2-5)
* Some thought Jesus was in collusion with, and even possessed by, the devil (Mark 3:22)
* At times Jesus seemed to rely on common medicinal techniques (Mark 7:33; Mark 8:23)
* Jesus’ healings weren’t always instantaneous (Mark 8:22-25)
* Jesus’ disciples weren’t always able to exorcise demons (Mark 9:18), and Jesus’ own exorcisms weren’t always instantaneous (Mark 5:8-13)
* Jesus seemed to suggest he wasn’t good (Mark 10:18)
* Jesus associated with people of ill-repute and gained a reputation of being a glutton and drunkard (Mark 2:15-16)
* Jesus sometimes seems to act rudely to people (Mark 7:26-27)
* Jesus seemed to disregard Jewish laws, customs, and cleanliness codes (Mark 2:23-24)
* Jesus often spoke and acted in culturally “shameful” ways (Mark 3: 31-35)
* Jesus cursed a fig tree for not having any figs when he was hungry, despite the fact that it wasn’t the season for figs (Mark 11:12-14)
* The disciples who were to form the foundation of the new community consistently seem dull, obstinate, and cowardly (Mark 8:32-33; Mark 10:35-37; Mark 14:37-40)
* Jesus was betrayed by an inner-circle disciple (Mark 14:43-46), and Peter cowardly denied any association with him (Mark 14:66-72)
* Women were the first to discover Jesus’ tomb was empty—while the men were hiding in fear! (Mark 16:1-8)
* The primary hero (Jesus) was crucified on a cross bringing a definite curse upon him (cf. Deut. 21:22-23)
If the Gospels served to form the backbone of the emerging Christian community of the first century, why include such details if they were not true? In other words, historic inquiry must ask the question concerning the raising of such stories, What explanation best accounts for their inclusion? Why make up details that are damaging?
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Observations on Church Planting
From John Piper:
1. There are 195 million non-churched people in America, making America one of the top four largest “unchurched” nations in the world.
2. In spite of the rise of mega-churches, no county in America has a greater church population than it did ten years ago.
3. During the last ten years, combined communicant membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.5 percent (4,498,242), while the national population increased by 11.4 percent (24,153,000).
4. Each year 3,500 to 4,000 churches close their doors forever; yet only as many as 1,500 new churches are started.
5. There are now nearly 60 percent fewer churches per 10,000 persons than in 1920.
* In 1920 27 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
* In 1950 17 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
* In 1996 11 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
6. “Today, of the approximately 350,000 churches in America, four out of five are either plateaued or declining.”
7. One American denomination recently found that 80% of its converts came to Christ in churches less than two years old.
8. Hence the claim of many leaders: “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches” (Peter Wagner).
1. There are 195 million non-churched people in America, making America one of the top four largest “unchurched” nations in the world.
2. In spite of the rise of mega-churches, no county in America has a greater church population than it did ten years ago.
3. During the last ten years, combined communicant membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.5 percent (4,498,242), while the national population increased by 11.4 percent (24,153,000).
4. Each year 3,500 to 4,000 churches close their doors forever; yet only as many as 1,500 new churches are started.
5. There are now nearly 60 percent fewer churches per 10,000 persons than in 1920.
* In 1920 27 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
* In 1950 17 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
* In 1996 11 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
6. “Today, of the approximately 350,000 churches in America, four out of five are either plateaued or declining.”
7. One American denomination recently found that 80% of its converts came to Christ in churches less than two years old.
8. Hence the claim of many leaders: “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches” (Peter Wagner).
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
James Jordon on Halloween
From Biblical Horizons
OPEN BOOK, Views & Reviews, No. 28
Copyright (c) 1996 Biblical Horizons
August, 1996
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter.
"Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint," in that "hallow" is just an alternative form of the word "holy" ("hallowed be Thy name"). All Saints’ Day is November 1. It is the celebration of the victory of the saints in union with Christ. The observance of various celebrations of All Saints arose in the late 300s, and these were united and fixed on November 1 in the late 700s. The origin of All Saints Day and of All Saints Eve in Mediterranean Christianity had nothing to do with Celtic Druidism or the Church’s fight against Druidism (assuming there ever even was any such thing as Druidism, which is actually a myth concocted in the 19th century by neo-pagans.)
In the First Covenant, the war between God’s people and God’s enemies was fought on the human level against Egyptians, Assyrians, etc. With the coming of the New Covenant, however, we are told that our primary battle is against principalities and powers, against fallen angels who bind the hearts and minds of men in ignorance and fear. We are assured that through faith, prayer, and obedience, the saints will be victorious in our battle against these demonic forces. The Spirit assures us: "The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20).
The Festival of All Saints reminds us that though Jesus has finished His work, we have not finished ours. He has struck the decisive blow, but we have the privilege of working in the mopping up operation. Thus, century by century the Christian faith has rolled back the demonic realm of ignorance, fear, and superstition. Though things look bad in the Western world today, this work continues to make progress in Asia and Africa and Latin America.
The Biblical day begins in the preceding evening, and thus in the Church calendar, the eve of a day is the actual beginning of the festive day. Christmas Eve is most familiar to us, but there is also the Vigil of Holy Saturday that precedes Easter Morn. Similarly, All Saints’ Eve precedes All Saints’ Day.
The concept, as dramatized in Christian custom, is quite simple: On October 31, the demonic realm tries one last time to achieve victory, but is banished by the joy of the Kingdom.
What is the means by which the demonic realm is vanquished? In a word: mockery. Satan’s great sin (and our great sin) is pride. Thus, to drive Satan from us we ridicule him. This is why the custom arose of portraying Satan in a ridiculous red suit with horns and a tail. Nobody thinks the devil really looks like this; the Bible teaches that he is the fallen Arch-Cherub. Rather, the idea is to ridicule him because he has lost the battle with Jesus and he no longer has power over us.
(The tradition of mocking Satan and defeating him through joy and laughter plays a large role in Ray Bradbury’s classic novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is a Halloween novel.)
The gargoyles that were placed on the churches of old had the same meaning. They symbolized the Church ridiculing the enemy. They stick out their tongues and make faces at those who would assault the Church. Gargoyles are not demonic; they are believers ridiculing the defeated demonic army.
Thus, the defeat of evil and of demonic powers is associated with Halloween. For this reason, Martin Luther posted his 95 challenges to the wicked practices of the Church to the bulletin board on the door of the Wittenberg chapel on Halloween. He picked his day with care, and ever since Halloween has also been Reformation Day.
Similarly, on All Hallows’ Eve (Hallow-Even – Hallow-E’en – Halloween), the custom arose of mocking the demonic realm by dressing children in costumes. Because the power of Satan has been broken once and for all, our children can mock him by dressing up like ghosts, goblins, and witches. The fact that we can dress our children this way shows our supreme confidence in the utter defeat of Satan by Jesus Christ – we have NO FEAR!
I don’t have the resources to check the historical origins of all Halloween customs, and doubtless they have varied from time to time and from Christian land to Christian land. "Trick or treat" doubtless originated simply enough: something fun for kids to do. Like anything else, this custom can be perverted, and there have been times when "tricking" involved really mean actions by teenagers and was banned from some localities.
We can hardly object, however, to children collecting candy from friends and neighbors. This might not mean much to us today, because we are so prosperous that we have candy whenever we want, but in earlier generations people were not so well o_, and obtaining some candy or other treats was something special. There is no reason to pour cold water on an innocent custom like this.
Similarly, the jack-o’-lantern’s origins are unknown. Hollowing out a gourd or some other vegetable, carving a face, and putting a lamp inside of it is something that no doubt has occurred quite independently to tens of thousands of ordinary people in hundreds of cultures worldwide over the centuries. Since people lit their homes with candles, decorating the candles and the candle-holders was a routine part of life designed to make the home pretty or interesting. Potatoes, turnips, beets, and any number of other items were used.
Wynn Parks writes of an incident he observed: "An English friend had managed to remove the skin of a tangerine in two intact halves. After carving eyes and nose in one hemisphere and a mouth in the other, he poured cooking oil over the pith sticking up in the lower half and lit the readymade wick. With its upper half on, the tangerine skin formed a miniature jack-o’-lantern. But my friend seemed puzzled that I should call it by that name. `What would I call it? Why a "tangerine head," I suppose.’" (Parks, "The Head of the Dead," The World & I, November 1994, p. 270.)
In the New World, people soon learned that pumpkins were admirably suited for this purpose. The jack-o’-lantern is nothing but a decoration; and the leftover pumpkin can be scraped again, roasted, and turned into pies and muffins.
In some cultures, what we call a jack-o’-lantern represented the face of a dead person, whose soul continued to have a presence in the fruit or vegetable used. But this has no particular relevance to Halloween customs. Did your mother tell you, while she carved the pumpkin, that this represented the head of a dead person and with his soul trapped inside? Of course not. Symbols and decorations, like words, mean different things in different cultures, in different languages, and in different periods of history. The only relevant question is what does it mean now, and nowadays it is only a decoration.
And even if some earlier generations did associate the jack-o’-lantern with a soul in a head, so what? They did not take it seriously. It was just part of the joking mockery of heathendom by Christian people.
This is a good place to note that many articles in books, magazines, and encyclopedias are written by secular humanists or even the pop-pagans of the so-called "New Age" movement. (An example is the article by Wynn Parks cited above.) These people actively suppress the Christian associations of historic customs, and try to magnify the pagan associations. They do this to try and make paganism acceptable and to downplay Christianity. Thus, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc., are said to have pagan origins. Not true.
Oddly, some fundamentalists have been influenced by these slanted views of history. These fundamentalists do not accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of Western history, American history, and science, but sometimes they do accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of the origins of Halloween and Christmas, the Christmas tree, etc. We can hope that in time these brethren will reexamine these matters as well. We ought not to let the pagans do our thinking for us.
Nowadays, children often dress up as superheroes, and the original Christian meaning of Halloween has been absorbed into popular culture. Also, with the present fad of "designer paganism" in the so-called New Age movement, some Christians are uneasy with dressing their children as spooks. So be it. But we should not forget that originally Halloween was a Christian custom, and there is no solid reason why Christians cannot enjoy it as such even today.
"He who sits in the heavens laughs; Yahweh ridicules them" says Psalm 2. Let us join in His holy laughter, and mock the enemies of Christ on October 31.
----
These reflection questions are from Ransom Fellowship
Questions:
1. What is your first reaction to Rev. Jordan’s essay?
2. Why did you respond this way?
3. What explanation(s) concerning Halloween—its origins and practices—have you heard in the past? To the extent they are different than Jordan’s, how will you resolve the conflict?
4. If you disagree with Jordan, show wherein he is uninformed, misinformed, illogical or incomplete in his argument.
5. To many believers, the notion of mocking or ridiculing the enemies of Christ might be a novel idea. What do you think about it now? Why?
OPEN BOOK, Views & Reviews, No. 28
Copyright (c) 1996 Biblical Horizons
August, 1996
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter.
"Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint," in that "hallow" is just an alternative form of the word "holy" ("hallowed be Thy name"). All Saints’ Day is November 1. It is the celebration of the victory of the saints in union with Christ. The observance of various celebrations of All Saints arose in the late 300s, and these were united and fixed on November 1 in the late 700s. The origin of All Saints Day and of All Saints Eve in Mediterranean Christianity had nothing to do with Celtic Druidism or the Church’s fight against Druidism (assuming there ever even was any such thing as Druidism, which is actually a myth concocted in the 19th century by neo-pagans.)
In the First Covenant, the war between God’s people and God’s enemies was fought on the human level against Egyptians, Assyrians, etc. With the coming of the New Covenant, however, we are told that our primary battle is against principalities and powers, against fallen angels who bind the hearts and minds of men in ignorance and fear. We are assured that through faith, prayer, and obedience, the saints will be victorious in our battle against these demonic forces. The Spirit assures us: "The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20).
The Festival of All Saints reminds us that though Jesus has finished His work, we have not finished ours. He has struck the decisive blow, but we have the privilege of working in the mopping up operation. Thus, century by century the Christian faith has rolled back the demonic realm of ignorance, fear, and superstition. Though things look bad in the Western world today, this work continues to make progress in Asia and Africa and Latin America.
The Biblical day begins in the preceding evening, and thus in the Church calendar, the eve of a day is the actual beginning of the festive day. Christmas Eve is most familiar to us, but there is also the Vigil of Holy Saturday that precedes Easter Morn. Similarly, All Saints’ Eve precedes All Saints’ Day.
The concept, as dramatized in Christian custom, is quite simple: On October 31, the demonic realm tries one last time to achieve victory, but is banished by the joy of the Kingdom.
What is the means by which the demonic realm is vanquished? In a word: mockery. Satan’s great sin (and our great sin) is pride. Thus, to drive Satan from us we ridicule him. This is why the custom arose of portraying Satan in a ridiculous red suit with horns and a tail. Nobody thinks the devil really looks like this; the Bible teaches that he is the fallen Arch-Cherub. Rather, the idea is to ridicule him because he has lost the battle with Jesus and he no longer has power over us.
(The tradition of mocking Satan and defeating him through joy and laughter plays a large role in Ray Bradbury’s classic novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is a Halloween novel.)
The gargoyles that were placed on the churches of old had the same meaning. They symbolized the Church ridiculing the enemy. They stick out their tongues and make faces at those who would assault the Church. Gargoyles are not demonic; they are believers ridiculing the defeated demonic army.
Thus, the defeat of evil and of demonic powers is associated with Halloween. For this reason, Martin Luther posted his 95 challenges to the wicked practices of the Church to the bulletin board on the door of the Wittenberg chapel on Halloween. He picked his day with care, and ever since Halloween has also been Reformation Day.
Similarly, on All Hallows’ Eve (Hallow-Even – Hallow-E’en – Halloween), the custom arose of mocking the demonic realm by dressing children in costumes. Because the power of Satan has been broken once and for all, our children can mock him by dressing up like ghosts, goblins, and witches. The fact that we can dress our children this way shows our supreme confidence in the utter defeat of Satan by Jesus Christ – we have NO FEAR!
I don’t have the resources to check the historical origins of all Halloween customs, and doubtless they have varied from time to time and from Christian land to Christian land. "Trick or treat" doubtless originated simply enough: something fun for kids to do. Like anything else, this custom can be perverted, and there have been times when "tricking" involved really mean actions by teenagers and was banned from some localities.
We can hardly object, however, to children collecting candy from friends and neighbors. This might not mean much to us today, because we are so prosperous that we have candy whenever we want, but in earlier generations people were not so well o_, and obtaining some candy or other treats was something special. There is no reason to pour cold water on an innocent custom like this.
Similarly, the jack-o’-lantern’s origins are unknown. Hollowing out a gourd or some other vegetable, carving a face, and putting a lamp inside of it is something that no doubt has occurred quite independently to tens of thousands of ordinary people in hundreds of cultures worldwide over the centuries. Since people lit their homes with candles, decorating the candles and the candle-holders was a routine part of life designed to make the home pretty or interesting. Potatoes, turnips, beets, and any number of other items were used.
Wynn Parks writes of an incident he observed: "An English friend had managed to remove the skin of a tangerine in two intact halves. After carving eyes and nose in one hemisphere and a mouth in the other, he poured cooking oil over the pith sticking up in the lower half and lit the readymade wick. With its upper half on, the tangerine skin formed a miniature jack-o’-lantern. But my friend seemed puzzled that I should call it by that name. `What would I call it? Why a "tangerine head," I suppose.’" (Parks, "The Head of the Dead," The World & I, November 1994, p. 270.)
In the New World, people soon learned that pumpkins were admirably suited for this purpose. The jack-o’-lantern is nothing but a decoration; and the leftover pumpkin can be scraped again, roasted, and turned into pies and muffins.
In some cultures, what we call a jack-o’-lantern represented the face of a dead person, whose soul continued to have a presence in the fruit or vegetable used. But this has no particular relevance to Halloween customs. Did your mother tell you, while she carved the pumpkin, that this represented the head of a dead person and with his soul trapped inside? Of course not. Symbols and decorations, like words, mean different things in different cultures, in different languages, and in different periods of history. The only relevant question is what does it mean now, and nowadays it is only a decoration.
And even if some earlier generations did associate the jack-o’-lantern with a soul in a head, so what? They did not take it seriously. It was just part of the joking mockery of heathendom by Christian people.
This is a good place to note that many articles in books, magazines, and encyclopedias are written by secular humanists or even the pop-pagans of the so-called "New Age" movement. (An example is the article by Wynn Parks cited above.) These people actively suppress the Christian associations of historic customs, and try to magnify the pagan associations. They do this to try and make paganism acceptable and to downplay Christianity. Thus, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc., are said to have pagan origins. Not true.
Oddly, some fundamentalists have been influenced by these slanted views of history. These fundamentalists do not accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of Western history, American history, and science, but sometimes they do accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of the origins of Halloween and Christmas, the Christmas tree, etc. We can hope that in time these brethren will reexamine these matters as well. We ought not to let the pagans do our thinking for us.
Nowadays, children often dress up as superheroes, and the original Christian meaning of Halloween has been absorbed into popular culture. Also, with the present fad of "designer paganism" in the so-called New Age movement, some Christians are uneasy with dressing their children as spooks. So be it. But we should not forget that originally Halloween was a Christian custom, and there is no solid reason why Christians cannot enjoy it as such even today.
"He who sits in the heavens laughs; Yahweh ridicules them" says Psalm 2. Let us join in His holy laughter, and mock the enemies of Christ on October 31.
----
These reflection questions are from Ransom Fellowship
Questions:
1. What is your first reaction to Rev. Jordan’s essay?
2. Why did you respond this way?
3. What explanation(s) concerning Halloween—its origins and practices—have you heard in the past? To the extent they are different than Jordan’s, how will you resolve the conflict?
4. If you disagree with Jordan, show wherein he is uninformed, misinformed, illogical or incomplete in his argument.
5. To many believers, the notion of mocking or ridiculing the enemies of Christ might be a novel idea. What do you think about it now? Why?
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Flannery O'Connor on the Generation of Wingless Chickens
It is easy to see that the moral sense has been bred out of certain sections of the population, like the wings have been bred off certain chickens to produce more white meat on them. This is a generation of wingless chickens.
Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Friday, October 26, 2007
Hanging Out
Jeff Eliff writes:
If you had just three years to make a major impact on the world, what would you do? Jesus spent His three years in constant motion, being with people as much as possible, and pulling away as necessary to pray and meditate. He gave special attention to the disciples, but, regardless, it was people that Jesus was about.
1. Find a hanging out place, or several, in your area. This will be easier for some than others. I've even spent some time in the local hamburger place. For most this will have to be early in the morning before work, but others may be able to invest a bit more. The morning usually attracts the "regulars" that you will be best able to connect with.
2. Learn the names of the people you meet. It is good to jot their names down somewhere for reference.
3. Take your Bible and spend time reading it, writing notes in your notebook, or reading a good Christian book while out.
4. Keep a friendly, approachable look about you. Speak to people. Introduce yourself and find out about them. Focus much of your talk on them. They'll also be curious about you.
5. Seek to get to the layer of philosophical talk. What do these new friends believe about important issues of life and death? This makes for deeper and more significant relationships.
6. You will find that they will be curious about you and your beliefs also. Talk freely about what you believe and how you approach life.
7. Make friends, real friends, who will be important to you no matter what their spiritual preferences are. Love them for who they are.
8. If you have read something interesting that you can pass on, by all means do so, especially if it has something to do with the true love of your life, Jesus Christ.
9. Expect God to do something. Christians make a difference! You might help a fellow believer or a person who does not have a spiritual bone in his body. You never know what God may be doing. The world reacts and responds to "lighted" Christians.
If you had just three years to make a major impact on the world, what would you do? Jesus spent His three years in constant motion, being with people as much as possible, and pulling away as necessary to pray and meditate. He gave special attention to the disciples, but, regardless, it was people that Jesus was about.
1. Find a hanging out place, or several, in your area. This will be easier for some than others. I've even spent some time in the local hamburger place. For most this will have to be early in the morning before work, but others may be able to invest a bit more. The morning usually attracts the "regulars" that you will be best able to connect with.
2. Learn the names of the people you meet. It is good to jot their names down somewhere for reference.
3. Take your Bible and spend time reading it, writing notes in your notebook, or reading a good Christian book while out.
4. Keep a friendly, approachable look about you. Speak to people. Introduce yourself and find out about them. Focus much of your talk on them. They'll also be curious about you.
5. Seek to get to the layer of philosophical talk. What do these new friends believe about important issues of life and death? This makes for deeper and more significant relationships.
6. You will find that they will be curious about you and your beliefs also. Talk freely about what you believe and how you approach life.
7. Make friends, real friends, who will be important to you no matter what their spiritual preferences are. Love them for who they are.
8. If you have read something interesting that you can pass on, by all means do so, especially if it has something to do with the true love of your life, Jesus Christ.
9. Expect God to do something. Christians make a difference! You might help a fellow believer or a person who does not have a spiritual bone in his body. You never know what God may be doing. The world reacts and responds to "lighted" Christians.
Piper on Trusting Christ
“Saving faith is the heartfelt conviction not only that Christ is reliable, but also that he is desirable. It is the confidence that he will come through with his promises and that what he promises is more to be desired than all the world.”
- John Piper, Desiring God
- John Piper, Desiring God
Keller on Trusting God
"Someone says ‘I wish I could trust God.’ The answer is, you can. You are just refusing to mistrust yourself, and you are refusing to question the things you have put your trust in.”
- Tim Keller
- Tim Keller
Keller on God's commitment to end suffering...
The Cross means that God is so committed to ending the suffering and brokenness of the world that he would himself become embroiled in it and pay the ultimate cost! And if we ask: "Why isn't the suffering over yet?" the answer is: "We don't know, but here's the proof that he's committed to it! The cross!" Only Christianity has a God who has suffered, proving his commitment to us in our brokenness.
- Tim Keller
- Tim Keller
Liturgy: The Church Year
From City City Pres Church Denver:
The Celebration of the Church Year. For centuries Christians have followed what is known as the Liturgical or Church Year. The year is based upon the major events in the life of Christ and the early Church. It is comprised of the following major seasons: Advent, celebrating the coming of Christ to us in his birth and culminating on Christmas Day; Epiphany, celebrating the visit of the Magi to the Christ child and his manifestation to the Gentiles (non-Jews); Lent, a season of reflection and repentance which begins 40 days prior to Easter (coinciding with Christ’s 40 days of temptation in the desert); Holy Week, which commemorates the last week of Christ’s life, and culminates on Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection; and finally Pentecost, which marks the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the first Christians and the birthday of the Church. All Sundays after Pentecost are marked as Ordinary Time.
As Thomas Howard writes in Evangelical Is Not Enough: “The liturgical year is nothing more (and nothing less) than the Church’s ‘walking through’ the gospel with the Lord. Since it is a plain fact of our humanness that we are rhythmic creatures who must keep coming back to things that are always true, it is especially good for us to do this in the Church. We do it in our natural lives: someone is born and is with us day after day, year after year...we marry and take up daily life with spouses year after year, but once a year we find that it is a good thing to mark this ever- present fact, not because it is less true on other days but because we are the sort of creature that is helped and filled with joy when the routines and ever-present fact are set apart, gilded, and held up for our contemplation and celebration...
"It enriches our apprehension of the thing; whereas, left to our own capacity to keep things alive in our minds, we might find that they have sunk into a kind of autumnal dimness. They need to be revivified, not because they dwindle in significance between times, but because we dwindle in our capacity to stay alive to them.”
The Celebration of the Church Year. For centuries Christians have followed what is known as the Liturgical or Church Year. The year is based upon the major events in the life of Christ and the early Church. It is comprised of the following major seasons: Advent, celebrating the coming of Christ to us in his birth and culminating on Christmas Day; Epiphany, celebrating the visit of the Magi to the Christ child and his manifestation to the Gentiles (non-Jews); Lent, a season of reflection and repentance which begins 40 days prior to Easter (coinciding with Christ’s 40 days of temptation in the desert); Holy Week, which commemorates the last week of Christ’s life, and culminates on Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection; and finally Pentecost, which marks the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the first Christians and the birthday of the Church. All Sundays after Pentecost are marked as Ordinary Time.
As Thomas Howard writes in Evangelical Is Not Enough: “The liturgical year is nothing more (and nothing less) than the Church’s ‘walking through’ the gospel with the Lord. Since it is a plain fact of our humanness that we are rhythmic creatures who must keep coming back to things that are always true, it is especially good for us to do this in the Church. We do it in our natural lives: someone is born and is with us day after day, year after year...we marry and take up daily life with spouses year after year, but once a year we find that it is a good thing to mark this ever- present fact, not because it is less true on other days but because we are the sort of creature that is helped and filled with joy when the routines and ever-present fact are set apart, gilded, and held up for our contemplation and celebration...
"It enriches our apprehension of the thing; whereas, left to our own capacity to keep things alive in our minds, we might find that they have sunk into a kind of autumnal dimness. They need to be revivified, not because they dwindle in significance between times, but because we dwindle in our capacity to stay alive to them.”
God is not fond of intellectual slackers
"God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you: you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all."
- C.S. Lewis
- C.S. Lewis
Celebrant: O eternal God and merciful Father, we humble ourselves before your great majesty, against which we have frequently and grievously sinned.
All: We continually break your commandments; failing to do what you have commanded us, and doing that which you have expressly forbidden. We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned to our own way.
Celebrant: We acknowledge our waywardness, and confess that our moral debt is so great that we cannot even begin to repay. We are not worthy to be called your children.
All: Nevertheless, we know that your mercy toward those who turn to you is infinite; and so we take courage to call upon you from the depths of our hearts, in the name of our Mediator, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Celebrant: Hear us now as we confess our sins before you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Almighty and most merciful Father, forgive all our sins for the sake of your dear Son Jesus. Have compassion upon us in our weakness. Wash us in the pure fountain of his blood, so that we may become clean.
All: Cover us with his innocence and righteousness, for the glory of your name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
All: We continually break your commandments; failing to do what you have commanded us, and doing that which you have expressly forbidden. We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned to our own way.
Celebrant: We acknowledge our waywardness, and confess that our moral debt is so great that we cannot even begin to repay. We are not worthy to be called your children.
All: Nevertheless, we know that your mercy toward those who turn to you is infinite; and so we take courage to call upon you from the depths of our hearts, in the name of our Mediator, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Celebrant: Hear us now as we confess our sins before you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Almighty and most merciful Father, forgive all our sins for the sake of your dear Son Jesus. Have compassion upon us in our weakness. Wash us in the pure fountain of his blood, so that we may become clean.
All: Cover us with his innocence and righteousness, for the glory of your name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Nouwen on the Busy-ness of Life
“The great paradox of our time is that many of us are busy and bored at the same time. While running from one event to the next, we wonder in our innermost selves if anything is really happening. While we can hardly keep up with our many tasks and obligations, we are not so sure that it would make any difference if we did nothing at all. While people keep pushing us in all directions, we doubt if anyone really cares. In short, while our lives are full, we are unfulfilled.”
- Henri Nouwen
- Henri Nouwen
Blamires on the Sacramental View of Life
The Christian Faith presents a sacramental view of life. It shows life's positive richness as derivative from the supernatural. It teaches us that to create beauty or to experience beauty, to recognize truth or to discover truth, to receive love or to give love, is to come into contact with realities which express the Divine Nature. At a time when Christianity is so widely misrepresented as life-rejecting rather than life-affirming, it is urgently necessary to right the balance.
- Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind
- Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind
Thomas Howard on Communion
“In the simple act of taking bread, and of blessing, breaking and giving it to His disciples, the Lord gathered up all the mystery of the gospel: that the Word must become flesh, and that this flesh must be broken for the life of the world...At that supper table with His friends, Jesus revealed Himself for what John the Baptist had hailed Him as long before: the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Here is My body. Here is My blood. This is the whole Old Testament now brought to its fulfillment. And you, My friends, are invited, not only to be spectators or merely to recall what I am doing. You are invited, at this table, to participate in the mystery.”
Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard
CS Lewis on Trying to be more spiritual than God
“There is no use trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it...”
- C. S. Lewis
- C. S. Lewis
Confession: We have forgotten our redemption...
Celebrant: O Lord, in your providence and great love you have provided a Passover Lamb for the redemption of your people that we might not taste death but know life eternal.
All: Yet we have forgotten that our redemption has made us your children, and freed us from the tyranny of sin. We have ignored our Savior, and returned to idols that can never return our love, or satisfy our souls. We confess that both our individualism and our desires to glorify ourselves have dishonored you, and brought misery to our lives.
Celebrant: Hear us now Father as we individually confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Great God of grace and compassion, and Father of all mercies, From the beginning of humanity, you have shown mercy to those who would humble themselves. We do so now and acknowledge our hearts are proud, and our desires are wrong.
All: Forgive us this day for our many failings, and remove from us forever the stain of our sin. Grant that we may walk humbly in the light of your Word. In the perfect name of Jesus we seek your forgiveness. Amen.
All: Yet we have forgotten that our redemption has made us your children, and freed us from the tyranny of sin. We have ignored our Savior, and returned to idols that can never return our love, or satisfy our souls. We confess that both our individualism and our desires to glorify ourselves have dishonored you, and brought misery to our lives.
Celebrant: Hear us now Father as we individually confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Great God of grace and compassion, and Father of all mercies, From the beginning of humanity, you have shown mercy to those who would humble themselves. We do so now and acknowledge our hearts are proud, and our desires are wrong.
All: Forgive us this day for our many failings, and remove from us forever the stain of our sin. Grant that we may walk humbly in the light of your Word. In the perfect name of Jesus we seek your forgiveness. Amen.
Nouwen on Death
“Preparing ourselves for death is the most important task of life, at least we believe that death is not the total dissolution of our identity but the way to its fullest revelation. Death, as Jesus speaks about it, is that moment in which total defeat and total victory are one. The cross on which Jesus died is the sign of this oneness of defeat and victory. Jesus speaks about his death as being “lifted up.” Lifted up on the cross as well as lifted up in the resurrection. Jesus wants our death to be like his, a death in which the world banishes us but God welcomes us home.
How, then , do we prepare ourselves for death? By living each day in the full awareness of being children of God, whose love is stronger that death. Speculations and concerns about the final days of our life are useless, but making each day into a celebration of our belovedness as sons and daughters of God will allow us to live our final days, whether short or long, as birthing days. The pains of dying are labor pains. Through them, we leave the womb of this world and are born to the fullness of the children of God.”
- Henri J.M. Nouwen
How, then , do we prepare ourselves for death? By living each day in the full awareness of being children of God, whose love is stronger that death. Speculations and concerns about the final days of our life are useless, but making each day into a celebration of our belovedness as sons and daughters of God will allow us to live our final days, whether short or long, as birthing days. The pains of dying are labor pains. Through them, we leave the womb of this world and are born to the fullness of the children of God.”
- Henri J.M. Nouwen
Woody Allen on Dying
“It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens.”
- Woody Allen
- Woody Allen
Liturgy: Gloria in Excelsis
From City Pres Church Denver:
Gloria in Excelsis (“Glory Be to God on High”) On the night Christ was born in Bethlehem, heaven was astounded. Nothing the angels had seen or experienced prepared them for the Incarnation of God. Here was something so far removed from their frame of reference that even the accumulated wisdom of millennia could scarcely comprehend it. We read in 1 Peter 1:12 that they “long to look into these things.”
So on the night of Christ’s birth the great host of angels who appeared to the shepherds of Bethlehem were perhaps in their own way as stupefied as the shepherds. And they respond in the only fashion that makes sense to such cosmic events – they worshipped. “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.” These are the opening sentences of this morning’s Congregational Prayer of Praise, Gloria in Excelsis.
This ancient hymn originates from around 140 A.D., and has been used by the Christian Church for centuries as a hymn of praise, especially around the season of Advent, when we celebrate the birth of Christ.
The Gloria celebrates Jesus as the “Lamb of God”, a title which harkens back to the Old Testament Feast of the Passover, which was celebrated by sacrificing a lamb as a reminder that one day the ultimate Lamb, the Messiah, would come and offer himself as a sacrifice to take away the sin of His people.
Many Christians from all over the world are using the Gloria as part of their worship today.
Gloria in Excelsis (“Glory Be to God on High”) On the night Christ was born in Bethlehem, heaven was astounded. Nothing the angels had seen or experienced prepared them for the Incarnation of God. Here was something so far removed from their frame of reference that even the accumulated wisdom of millennia could scarcely comprehend it. We read in 1 Peter 1:12 that they “long to look into these things.”
So on the night of Christ’s birth the great host of angels who appeared to the shepherds of Bethlehem were perhaps in their own way as stupefied as the shepherds. And they respond in the only fashion that makes sense to such cosmic events – they worshipped. “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.” These are the opening sentences of this morning’s Congregational Prayer of Praise, Gloria in Excelsis.
This ancient hymn originates from around 140 A.D., and has been used by the Christian Church for centuries as a hymn of praise, especially around the season of Advent, when we celebrate the birth of Christ.
The Gloria celebrates Jesus as the “Lamb of God”, a title which harkens back to the Old Testament Feast of the Passover, which was celebrated by sacrificing a lamb as a reminder that one day the ultimate Lamb, the Messiah, would come and offer himself as a sacrifice to take away the sin of His people.
Many Christians from all over the world are using the Gloria as part of their worship today.
Confession: Christ came to se the captives free...
Celebrant: Christ came to set the captives free. Let us now confess our sins in his name, and experience the freedom God offers.
All: Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge and confess before you our sinful nature – prone to evil and slow to do good – and all our shortcomings and offenses against you. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love.
Celebrant: Hear us now as we individually confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession.]
Celebrant: God of grace and compassion, and Father of all mercies,
All: Have mercy on us, who are ashamed and sorry for all things in which we have displeased you. Teach us to hate our errors. Cleanse us from our secret faults, and forgive our sins for the sake of your dear Son. In your mercy send your purifying grace into our hearts, that we may henceforth live in your light and walk in your ways, according to the commandments of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
All: Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge and confess before you our sinful nature – prone to evil and slow to do good – and all our shortcomings and offenses against you. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from your ways, in wasting your gifts, in forgetting your love.
Celebrant: Hear us now as we individually confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession.]
Celebrant: God of grace and compassion, and Father of all mercies,
All: Have mercy on us, who are ashamed and sorry for all things in which we have displeased you. Teach us to hate our errors. Cleanse us from our secret faults, and forgive our sins for the sake of your dear Son. In your mercy send your purifying grace into our hearts, that we may henceforth live in your light and walk in your ways, according to the commandments of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession: Ascension Sunday
Celebrant: God of grace, and Father of all mercies, as we celebrate this day the ascension of our Lord Jesus into the glories of heaven, we are reminded of how far his ways are above ours. We confess that while he is kind, loving and compassionate, we are not.
All: Though Christ has called us into his glorious light, we confess that we often return to the shadows to hide our wretchedness. Though called by Christ to be his friends, we have betrayed his love, and lived as traitors. Though Christ has given himself as our atonement, we continually seek to justify ourselves.
Celebrant: O God you are full of compassion and patience – hear us now as we confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession.]
Celebrant: Merciful Lord Jesus, who sits now crowned with glory at the right hand of the Father,
All: You have promised to go before your people, and to prepare a place for us in the kingdom of your Father, that we may one day reign with you. Grant that we would this day claim these promises, and look to another day when you will return in power and majesty, to establish justice, and remove all sin forever. Amen.
All: Though Christ has called us into his glorious light, we confess that we often return to the shadows to hide our wretchedness. Though called by Christ to be his friends, we have betrayed his love, and lived as traitors. Though Christ has given himself as our atonement, we continually seek to justify ourselves.
Celebrant: O God you are full of compassion and patience – hear us now as we confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession.]
Celebrant: Merciful Lord Jesus, who sits now crowned with glory at the right hand of the Father,
All: You have promised to go before your people, and to prepare a place for us in the kingdom of your Father, that we may one day reign with you. Grant that we would this day claim these promises, and look to another day when you will return in power and majesty, to establish justice, and remove all sin forever. Amen.
Despair as Self-love
Despair is the absolute extreme of self-love. It is reached when a person deliberately turns his back on all help from anyone else in order to taste the rotten luxury of knowing himself to be lost...Despair is the ultimate development of a pride so great and so stiff-necked that it selects the absolute misery of damnation rather than accept happiness from the hands of God and thereby acknowledge that He is above us and that we are not capable of fulfilling our destiny ourselves. But a person who is truly humble cannot despair, because in a humble person there is no longer any such thing as self-pity.
- Thomas Merton
- Thomas Merton
Liturgy: Ascension
From City Pres Church Denver:
Ascension Sunday. Following his resurrection, Jesus appeared numerous times to his followers over a forty day period. At the end of this time he gathered together his original eleven disciples (minus Judas Iscariot) on Mt. Olivet and gave them his final instructions to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
We call this the Great Commission. Then according to Luke’s account in Acts chapter 1, “he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Unlike Christmas or Easter, the Ascension of Christ receives very little attention, and is not celebrated in most Protestant Churches. But the Ascension can't be jettisoned without losing an essential part of the Christian story.
The Ascension marks the beginning of the Church—and anticipates the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world. It requires us to think in Trinitarian terms, as Christ ascends to sit at the right hand of the Father, where he is our high priest, and promises the Spirit to the church. John Calvin pointed out that "Christ left us in such a way that his presence might be more useful to us—a presence that had been
confined in a humble abode of flesh so long as he sojourned on earth. ... As his body was raised up above all the heavens, so his power and energy were diffused and spread beyond all the bounds of heaven and earth." Christ's spiritual presence is with his people wherever they are, whether trauma centers or traffic jams or on troop transports. Now we always have Christ.
Calvin highlights at least three key benefits of the Ascension: First, Christ opens the way to the heavenly kingdom. His ascension inaugurates the kingdom of God. The "age to come" has come to Earth because Jesus has ascended to heaven.
Second, Christ has become our Advocate and Intercessor. Instead of looking on our sin, God looks on Christ's righteousness. We are received by God's grace in Christ as God's children because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Nothing can fill us with complete confidence more than knowing that Jesus supports us and mediates for us in the presence of God.
Third, Christ gives us his power. In his resurrection and ascension, Christ was raised victorious over the evil powers of sin and death. As Paul wrote, "When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive" (Eph. 4:8, NRSV). Christ now sits on high, writes Calvin, "transfusing us with his power" while he "daily lavishes spiritual riches" upon his people.
Ascension Sunday. Following his resurrection, Jesus appeared numerous times to his followers over a forty day period. At the end of this time he gathered together his original eleven disciples (minus Judas Iscariot) on Mt. Olivet and gave them his final instructions to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
We call this the Great Commission. Then according to Luke’s account in Acts chapter 1, “he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Unlike Christmas or Easter, the Ascension of Christ receives very little attention, and is not celebrated in most Protestant Churches. But the Ascension can't be jettisoned without losing an essential part of the Christian story.
The Ascension marks the beginning of the Church—and anticipates the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the world. It requires us to think in Trinitarian terms, as Christ ascends to sit at the right hand of the Father, where he is our high priest, and promises the Spirit to the church. John Calvin pointed out that "Christ left us in such a way that his presence might be more useful to us—a presence that had been
confined in a humble abode of flesh so long as he sojourned on earth. ... As his body was raised up above all the heavens, so his power and energy were diffused and spread beyond all the bounds of heaven and earth." Christ's spiritual presence is with his people wherever they are, whether trauma centers or traffic jams or on troop transports. Now we always have Christ.
Calvin highlights at least three key benefits of the Ascension: First, Christ opens the way to the heavenly kingdom. His ascension inaugurates the kingdom of God. The "age to come" has come to Earth because Jesus has ascended to heaven.
Second, Christ has become our Advocate and Intercessor. Instead of looking on our sin, God looks on Christ's righteousness. We are received by God's grace in Christ as God's children because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Nothing can fill us with complete confidence more than knowing that Jesus supports us and mediates for us in the presence of God.
Third, Christ gives us his power. In his resurrection and ascension, Christ was raised victorious over the evil powers of sin and death. As Paul wrote, "When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive" (Eph. 4:8, NRSV). Christ now sits on high, writes Calvin, "transfusing us with his power" while he "daily lavishes spiritual riches" upon his people.
Confession: You promise forgiveness. We need it.
Celebrant: Father in heaven, you promise forgiveness, and we need it. We have broken your laws, being impressed with our own ability to direct our lives. We come to you dirty. Cleanse us as you promise.
All: Father, you also promise to give us new hearts, and we need them. Our root problem is not in our outward behavior. Our root problem lies in our hearts. We have strayed far from you. We have run after idols in search of happiness, significance and meaning. We come to you with corrupt hearts. Give us new ones as you promise.
Celebrant: You are the King of compassion and Father of all mercies – hear us now as we confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Merciful God, you tell us in the scriptures that all your promises find their “Yes” in Christ. Thank-you that you adopted us as your children, and put the
Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
All: Fill us and renew us, that we might live our lives as befits the followers
of Christ. We ask these things for your glory, in his name. Amen.
All: Father, you also promise to give us new hearts, and we need them. Our root problem is not in our outward behavior. Our root problem lies in our hearts. We have strayed far from you. We have run after idols in search of happiness, significance and meaning. We come to you with corrupt hearts. Give us new ones as you promise.
Celebrant: You are the King of compassion and Father of all mercies – hear us now as we confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Merciful God, you tell us in the scriptures that all your promises find their “Yes” in Christ. Thank-you that you adopted us as your children, and put the
Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
All: Fill us and renew us, that we might live our lives as befits the followers
of Christ. We ask these things for your glory, in his name. Amen.
CS Lewis: God incognito
"We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labor is to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake."
~ CS Lewis
~ CS Lewis
Liturgy: Pentecost
From City Pres Church: Denver
Pentecost: Ten days after the Ascension of Christ into heaven and fifty days after his resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was an established Jewish festival also known as the Feast of Weeks, which drew people from many nations back to Jerusalem. Pentecost symbolizes a new beginning.
The band Nirvana once sang, “I love myself better than you, I know it’s wrong but what should I do?” That lyric sums up the situation most of us find ourselves in. We look at our lives and our actions and we see patterns of self-centeredness. These patterns are so deeply entrenched we cannot think of a way out. We think that change is virtually impossible, so we just sigh heavily and move on with life. This type of cynicism (about ourselves and about others) is one of dominant marks of our culture. We have been let down so many times by ourselves and others that we refuse to believe that change is possible.
The Bible on the one hand shares our pessimism about human nature – that left to ourselves we cannot hope for meaningful, lasting change. But on the other hand Scripture teaches that God has not left us to ourselves. Into our desperate situation comes the gift of God’s Spirit first poured out on Pentecost Sunday. On this day of the church calendar we celebrate God pouring out the Holy Spirit into our world (see Acts 2 in the New Testament). The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to transform our hearts more and more to reflect the heart of Jesus. Or, to use the words of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, the Holy Spirit replaces our hearts of stone with
hearts of flesh, that we may begin to truly love God and our fellow humans.
So what does that mean? It means that no matter who you are, no matter how self-centered you understand yourself to be, you can come to God and say, “Gracious God, heal me. Change my heart. Make it capable of loving you and loving others.” Because of Pentecost, we can come to God with real hope for real change.
Pentecost: Ten days after the Ascension of Christ into heaven and fifty days after his resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was an established Jewish festival also known as the Feast of Weeks, which drew people from many nations back to Jerusalem. Pentecost symbolizes a new beginning.
The band Nirvana once sang, “I love myself better than you, I know it’s wrong but what should I do?” That lyric sums up the situation most of us find ourselves in. We look at our lives and our actions and we see patterns of self-centeredness. These patterns are so deeply entrenched we cannot think of a way out. We think that change is virtually impossible, so we just sigh heavily and move on with life. This type of cynicism (about ourselves and about others) is one of dominant marks of our culture. We have been let down so many times by ourselves and others that we refuse to believe that change is possible.
The Bible on the one hand shares our pessimism about human nature – that left to ourselves we cannot hope for meaningful, lasting change. But on the other hand Scripture teaches that God has not left us to ourselves. Into our desperate situation comes the gift of God’s Spirit first poured out on Pentecost Sunday. On this day of the church calendar we celebrate God pouring out the Holy Spirit into our world (see Acts 2 in the New Testament). The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to transform our hearts more and more to reflect the heart of Jesus. Or, to use the words of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, the Holy Spirit replaces our hearts of stone with
hearts of flesh, that we may begin to truly love God and our fellow humans.
So what does that mean? It means that no matter who you are, no matter how self-centered you understand yourself to be, you can come to God and say, “Gracious God, heal me. Change my heart. Make it capable of loving you and loving others.” Because of Pentecost, we can come to God with real hope for real change.
Confession: We have ignored our Good Shepherd
Celebrant: Gracious Heavenly Father, we confess that we have rebelled against you and ignored your commandments. You love us as children, yet we run from you like prodigals, denying your authority in our lives and breaking your commandments.
All: Forgive us our Father, and have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd, and have laid down your life for
your flock. Yet we confess that we have strayed as sheep, and ignored our Shepherd. We have sought to be our own saviors through seeking our own pleasures, and pursuing our own selfish agendas.
All: Forgive us Lord Jesus, and have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Spirit of Truth, you are the Comforter, and have come to lead us in paths of righteousness. Yet we confess that we resist your work in our lives, and grieve you continuously, failing to do the things you lead us to do, and deliberately pursuing things you lead us away from.
All: Forgive us O Lord, and have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Hear us now as we individually confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: O Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
All: Have mercy on us. In your compassion forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, for your name’s sake. Grant us repentant hearts, and keep us close to you. These things we ask for your glory, that your will might be done on earth, and in our lives, even as it is done in Heaven. Amen.
All: Forgive us our Father, and have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd, and have laid down your life for
your flock. Yet we confess that we have strayed as sheep, and ignored our Shepherd. We have sought to be our own saviors through seeking our own pleasures, and pursuing our own selfish agendas.
All: Forgive us Lord Jesus, and have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Spirit of Truth, you are the Comforter, and have come to lead us in paths of righteousness. Yet we confess that we resist your work in our lives, and grieve you continuously, failing to do the things you lead us to do, and deliberately pursuing things you lead us away from.
All: Forgive us O Lord, and have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Hear us now as we individually confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: O Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
All: Have mercy on us. In your compassion forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, for your name’s sake. Grant us repentant hearts, and keep us close to you. These things we ask for your glory, that your will might be done on earth, and in our lives, even as it is done in Heaven. Amen.
McGrath on the Trinity
“In the end, the doctrine of the Trinity represents our admission that we cannot tame God to fit our tidy little systems.”
- Alister E. McGrath, Understanding the Trinity
- Alister E. McGrath, Understanding the Trinity
Schaeffer on the Trinity
“Every once in a while in my discussions [about Christianity] someone asks how I can believe in the Trinity. My answer is always the same. I would still be an agnostic if there was no Trinity, because there would be no answers. Without the high order of personal unity and diversity as given in the Trinity, there are no answers.
Let us notice again that this is not the best answer; it is the only answer. Nobody else, no philosophy, has ever given us an answer for unity and diversity. So when people ask whether [Christians] are embarrassed intellectually by the Trinity, I always switch it over into their own terminology – unity and diversity. Every philosophy has this problem, and no philosophy has the answer. Christianity does have an answer in the existence of the Trinity. The only answer to what exists is that...the triune God is there.”
- Francis Schaeffer
Let us notice again that this is not the best answer; it is the only answer. Nobody else, no philosophy, has ever given us an answer for unity and diversity. So when people ask whether [Christians] are embarrassed intellectually by the Trinity, I always switch it over into their own terminology – unity and diversity. Every philosophy has this problem, and no philosophy has the answer. Christianity does have an answer in the existence of the Trinity. The only answer to what exists is that...the triune God is there.”
- Francis Schaeffer
Liturgy: Trinity Sunday
From City Pres Church: Denver
Trinity Sunday. While every Christian worship service is a celebration of the Trinity, Trinity Sunday focuses explicitly on the mystery, power, and beauty of the triune God. Our Christian identity and mission are given to us as we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Our worship is not only directed to the triune God but is also enabled by the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the mediation of Jesus Christ. At its best, our worship is also an expression of the unity and common purpose of the church, which Jesus prayed would reflect the unity between himself and God (John 17:20-21). Trinity Sunday, which is traditionally celebrated one week after Pentecost, marks the acknowledgment that all three persons of the Trinity exist together from eternity to eternity.
During our worship this morning we will be reciting the Nicene Creed. In the third century A.D. a controversy arose regarding the nature of the Trinity, and of Christ in particular – was he only a mortal endowed with unique wisdom, or was he indeed God incarnate, having both a human and divine nature? To deal with this controversy, over 300 bishops gathered together at the urging of Emperor Constantine to settle this issue and maintain the peace and purity of the Church. This was known as the first great Ecumenical Council, convened in 325 in Nicaea (now Isnik, Turkey).
After lengthy study and discussion the Council affirmed the historic understanding of Christ. The Nicene Creed was formulated upon the truths reaffirmed at the Council of Nicaea, and declares “We believe one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.”
Christians throughout the centuries from many denominations and traditions have used historic creeds such as the Nicene Creed to publicly confess their faith in worship, to demonstrate the essential unity of Christ’s Church in all its manifestations, and to teach Christian doctrine.
Trinity Sunday. While every Christian worship service is a celebration of the Trinity, Trinity Sunday focuses explicitly on the mystery, power, and beauty of the triune God. Our Christian identity and mission are given to us as we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). Our worship is not only directed to the triune God but is also enabled by the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the mediation of Jesus Christ. At its best, our worship is also an expression of the unity and common purpose of the church, which Jesus prayed would reflect the unity between himself and God (John 17:20-21). Trinity Sunday, which is traditionally celebrated one week after Pentecost, marks the acknowledgment that all three persons of the Trinity exist together from eternity to eternity.
During our worship this morning we will be reciting the Nicene Creed. In the third century A.D. a controversy arose regarding the nature of the Trinity, and of Christ in particular – was he only a mortal endowed with unique wisdom, or was he indeed God incarnate, having both a human and divine nature? To deal with this controversy, over 300 bishops gathered together at the urging of Emperor Constantine to settle this issue and maintain the peace and purity of the Church. This was known as the first great Ecumenical Council, convened in 325 in Nicaea (now Isnik, Turkey).
After lengthy study and discussion the Council affirmed the historic understanding of Christ. The Nicene Creed was formulated upon the truths reaffirmed at the Council of Nicaea, and declares “We believe one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.”
Christians throughout the centuries from many denominations and traditions have used historic creeds such as the Nicene Creed to publicly confess their faith in worship, to demonstrate the essential unity of Christ’s Church in all its manifestations, and to teach Christian doctrine.
Confession: Proclaiming our own goodness
Minister: God of all mercy and consolation, come to the aid of your people, turningus from our sin to live for you alone.
All: We confess we dishonor you by our words and thoughts and deeds. Depending on our own strength we stumble; proclaiming our own goodness, we sin; glorying in our own righteousness we corrupt everything we touch. Turning our faces from you, we desire the things of this world to satisfy us.
Minister: Merciful Father, hear us now as we make private confession to you...
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession.]
Minister: Almighty and most merciful Father,
All: Have mercy on us. We pray now, that you forgive our many sins, cleanse the darkness from our lives, and turn our faces towards you. Uphold us by your Spirit so that we may live and serve you in the newness of life, to the honor and glory of your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
All: We confess we dishonor you by our words and thoughts and deeds. Depending on our own strength we stumble; proclaiming our own goodness, we sin; glorying in our own righteousness we corrupt everything we touch. Turning our faces from you, we desire the things of this world to satisfy us.
Minister: Merciful Father, hear us now as we make private confession to you...
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession.]
Minister: Almighty and most merciful Father,
All: Have mercy on us. We pray now, that you forgive our many sins, cleanse the darkness from our lives, and turn our faces towards you. Uphold us by your Spirit so that we may live and serve you in the newness of life, to the honor and glory of your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession: We are slow to acknowledge His rule...
Celebrant: Righteous God, you have crowned Jesus Christ as Lord of all. And you say in your Word that on the last day at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and
every tongue confess that He is Lord.
All: Yet we confess that we have not bowed before him and are slow to acknowledge his rule. Instead we bow down and worship the idols of our hearts. We give allegiance to the powers of this world and fail to be governed by justice and love. We are rebellious subjects, ignoring the rule of our great King and running from his mercy and grace.
Celebrant: Merciful King, hear us now as we make honest confession to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: God of kindness and mercy and fountain of every grace,
All: In your mercy, forgive us. Raise us to acclaim Jesus as ruler of all, that we may be loyal ambassadors, obeying the commands of our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
every tongue confess that He is Lord.
All: Yet we confess that we have not bowed before him and are slow to acknowledge his rule. Instead we bow down and worship the idols of our hearts. We give allegiance to the powers of this world and fail to be governed by justice and love. We are rebellious subjects, ignoring the rule of our great King and running from his mercy and grace.
Celebrant: Merciful King, hear us now as we make honest confession to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: God of kindness and mercy and fountain of every grace,
All: In your mercy, forgive us. Raise us to acclaim Jesus as ruler of all, that we may be loyal ambassadors, obeying the commands of our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
Conn: An Advance Copy of the New World Order
Let people know that by giving their allegiance to Christ they will be embarking on a great campaign to banish war and poverty and injustice, to set up a life where love and service and justice have taken the place of selfishness and power. Let people know that the church that sends out this manifesto plans to be an advance copy of the new world order it preaches.
— Harvie M. Conn
Evangelism: Doing Justice & Preaching Grace
— Harvie M. Conn
Evangelism: Doing Justice & Preaching Grace
Clowney on the Mission of Jesus
Jesus came in the flesh not to bring the judgment, but to bear it; not to slay with the sword of his lips, but to receive the nails in his hands and the spear-thrust in his side. In no other way could his kingdom come and God’s will be done in earth as in heaven. The kingdom established by grace must be advanced in grace, then consummated in glory. Not by political power, but by the power of the Spirit, is the gospel carried to the nations.
— Edmund P. Clowney
The Church
— Edmund P. Clowney
The Church
Marva Dawn: Worship is a Royal Waste of Time
“To worship the Lord is – in the world’s eyes – a waste of time. It is, indeed, a royal waste of time, but a waste nonetheless. By engaging in it, we don’t accomplish anything useful in our society’s terms.
Worship ought not to be construed in a utilitarian way. Its purpose is not to gain numbers nor for our churches to be seen as successful. Rather, the entire reason for our worship is that God deserves it.
Worship is a royal waste of time, but indeed it is royal, for it immerses us in the regal splendor of the King of the cosmos. The churches’ worship provides opportunities for us to enjoy God’s presence in corporate ways that take us out of time and into the eternal purposes of God’s kingdom. As a result, we shall be changed – but not because of anything we do. God, on whom we are centered and to whom we submit, will transform us by his Revelation of himself.”
— Marva Dawn, from “A Royal Waste of Time”
Worship ought not to be construed in a utilitarian way. Its purpose is not to gain numbers nor for our churches to be seen as successful. Rather, the entire reason for our worship is that God deserves it.
Worship is a royal waste of time, but indeed it is royal, for it immerses us in the regal splendor of the King of the cosmos. The churches’ worship provides opportunities for us to enjoy God’s presence in corporate ways that take us out of time and into the eternal purposes of God’s kingdom. As a result, we shall be changed – but not because of anything we do. God, on whom we are centered and to whom we submit, will transform us by his Revelation of himself.”
— Marva Dawn, from “A Royal Waste of Time”
Confession: We have turned our backs on you...
Celebrant: Almighty God, in the Scriptures you remind us of the gracious promises of your Covenant, that you will be our God and we will be your people. Although you have graciously placed the sign of your Covenant upon us in our baptism, we confess that we often turn our backs upon you, break our baptismal vows, and instead worship the idols of our hearts.
All: We admit that we have been unfaithful to you in our thoughts, our words and our behaviors. We have ignored your commandments, we
have not loved our neighbor as ourselves, we have not forgiven our enemies, and we have quenched the work of your Spirit by pursuing our own lusts.
Celebrant: Hear us now, as we silently confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Most merciful God, you who dwell in holiness and desire truth in our inmost being,
All: For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
All: We admit that we have been unfaithful to you in our thoughts, our words and our behaviors. We have ignored your commandments, we
have not loved our neighbor as ourselves, we have not forgiven our enemies, and we have quenched the work of your Spirit by pursuing our own lusts.
Celebrant: Hear us now, as we silently confess our sins to you.
[Silence for self-examination and personal confession]
Celebrant: Most merciful God, you who dwell in holiness and desire truth in our inmost being,
All: For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
CS Lewis: We are far too easily pleased...
Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. We are far too easily pleased.
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis
Augustine on Sin & Idolatry
Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try
desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in him.
St. Augustine
Confessions
desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in him.
St. Augustine
Confessions
Ministerial Clothing
The Ministerial Robe (from City Pres Church: Denver)
The question is often asked, “Why does the minister wear a robe?” The answer is, because he is extra holy and has special access to God...not. Quite the opposite. The robe is designed in part, to de-emphasize the personality of the minister (a
refreshing concept in a time when American Protestantism has become so personality- driven.) The robe represents the office and calling of the minister, and directs our thoughts to the fact that in worship we enter into the presence of God, not the Cult of Personality.
A second reason is that in the Bible clothing and calling are often connected; a person’s calling or office – together with whatever authority is connected with the office – is often visually symbolized by the clothing the person wears. The purpose of the robe is to cover the individual and accent their God-ordained office or calling.
Thirdly, the minister leading the worship plays a symbolic role during the service. When he leads the congregation in prayer, he symbolizes Christ leading the church in prayer before God. The same is true when preaching the Scriptures, administering Communion, etc. The robe is not meant to place the minister above the congregation, but to set him apart from them because of his unique office during the Lord’s Day worship service.
Finally, the minister is not a businessman or CEO of the ecclesiastical corporation (the image that is conjured up when the pastor wears a business suit – the de facto clerical garb of American Evangelicals. The ministerial robe reflects the dignity and reverence of our worship services, with a timeless style that is free from the tyranny of contemporary fashion. It represents the fact that our access to God is not predicated on our social class or economic status. All have equal access to our Heavenly Father.
The question is often asked, “Why does the minister wear a robe?” The answer is, because he is extra holy and has special access to God...not. Quite the opposite. The robe is designed in part, to de-emphasize the personality of the minister (a
refreshing concept in a time when American Protestantism has become so personality- driven.) The robe represents the office and calling of the minister, and directs our thoughts to the fact that in worship we enter into the presence of God, not the Cult of Personality.
A second reason is that in the Bible clothing and calling are often connected; a person’s calling or office – together with whatever authority is connected with the office – is often visually symbolized by the clothing the person wears. The purpose of the robe is to cover the individual and accent their God-ordained office or calling.
Thirdly, the minister leading the worship plays a symbolic role during the service. When he leads the congregation in prayer, he symbolizes Christ leading the church in prayer before God. The same is true when preaching the Scriptures, administering Communion, etc. The robe is not meant to place the minister above the congregation, but to set him apart from them because of his unique office during the Lord’s Day worship service.
Finally, the minister is not a businessman or CEO of the ecclesiastical corporation (the image that is conjured up when the pastor wears a business suit – the de facto clerical garb of American Evangelicals. The ministerial robe reflects the dignity and reverence of our worship services, with a timeless style that is free from the tyranny of contemporary fashion. It represents the fact that our access to God is not predicated on our social class or economic status. All have equal access to our Heavenly Father.
Confession: Bonds of Oppression
Celebrant: Let us confess our sins to God and one another.
People: Merciful God, we know that you love us and that you call us to fullness of life, but around us and within us we see the brokenness of the world and of our ways. Our successes leave us empty; our progress does not satisfy. We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom, intellect and reason, and have turned them into bonds of oppression. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Hear us now Father as we individually confess our sins to you.
(Silence for self-examination and personal confession).
Celebrant: God of grace and compassion, and Father of all mercies,
All: Our prosperous land is not the Promised Land of our longing. Forgive our willful neglect of your word, our insensitivity to the needs of others, and our failure to obey your Spirit that is within us. Help us, forgive us, and set us free to serve you in the world, as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus
Christ. Amen.
People: Merciful God, we know that you love us and that you call us to fullness of life, but around us and within us we see the brokenness of the world and of our ways. Our successes leave us empty; our progress does not satisfy. We abuse your good gifts of imagination and freedom, intellect and reason, and have turned them into bonds of oppression. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Celebrant: Hear us now Father as we individually confess our sins to you.
(Silence for self-examination and personal confession).
Celebrant: God of grace and compassion, and Father of all mercies,
All: Our prosperous land is not the Promised Land of our longing. Forgive our willful neglect of your word, our insensitivity to the needs of others, and our failure to obey your Spirit that is within us. Help us, forgive us, and set us free to serve you in the world, as agents of your reconciling love in Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Bonhoeffer on Admitting You are a Sinner
The grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand, confronts us with the truth and says, ‘You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are to God who loves you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and others, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner.’
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Communion of the Saints
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Communion of the Saints
CS Lewis & the Rebel
Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender - this movement full speed astern - is repentance.
- C.S. Lewis
- C.S. Lewis
Camus & the Rebel
The rebel defies more than he denies. Originally, at least, he does not suppress God; he merely talks to Him as an equal. But it is not a polite dialogue. It is a polemic animated by the desire to conquer.
Albert Camus
The Rebel
Albert Camus
The Rebel
Confession: Traditional
Merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you
with our whole heart and mind and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be,
so that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your holy name.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you
with our whole heart and mind and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be,
so that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your holy name.
Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Mormons: We are Christians too...
LDS spokeswoman Kim Farah:
"We are Christians and we have a deep faith in Jesus Christ. ... I think if you had to describe us, we are Christian, but perhaps we are different. We are not protestant, we are not Catholic. We hold a unique place in the religious mosaic as restored New Testament Christianity . But We are Christians and quite frankly we don't need others to agree with us, it is just something that we know of ourselves and something we will always use to describe ourselves as."
Houston Chronicle
Oct. 2, 2007
"We are Christians and we have a deep faith in Jesus Christ. ... I think if you had to describe us, we are Christian, but perhaps we are different. We are not protestant, we are not Catholic. We hold a unique place in the religious mosaic as restored New Testament Christianity . But We are Christians and quite frankly we don't need others to agree with us, it is just something that we know of ourselves and something we will always use to describe ourselves as."
Houston Chronicle
Oct. 2, 2007
Confession: We Confess our Wandering Hearts
Father, we come to you this morning as people who need to be redeemed. We need to be made whole. We confess that we need You to heal us for we cannot heal ourselves.
We confess our wandering hearts. We run after acceptance, prestige, wealth, order, pleasure and novelty in a desperate effort to heal our hearts. None of these can redeem us, none of these can make us whole. Yet we are slow to learn. Forgive us we pray.
We confess that we remain fixated on our own failures or the failures of others.
We quickly forget that your grace is infinite. We quickly forget that Jesus came, not to call the righteous, but the unrighteous.
Forgive us, God of mercy. Invade our lives by your Spirit and make us new.
That we may know the joy of abundant life given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord.
Amen.
We confess our wandering hearts. We run after acceptance, prestige, wealth, order, pleasure and novelty in a desperate effort to heal our hearts. None of these can redeem us, none of these can make us whole. Yet we are slow to learn. Forgive us we pray.
We confess that we remain fixated on our own failures or the failures of others.
We quickly forget that your grace is infinite. We quickly forget that Jesus came, not to call the righteous, but the unrighteous.
Forgive us, God of mercy. Invade our lives by your Spirit and make us new.
That we may know the joy of abundant life given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord.
Amen.
Confession: We Run From Your Embrace
Eternal God, whose promise to us is never broken, we confess that we fail to follow
you. Though you have bound yourself to us, we run from your embrace. In Jesus
Christ you serve us freely, but we refuse your love and withhold ourselves from
others. We do not love you fully or love one another as you command.
In your mercy, forgive and cleanse us. Lead us once again to your arms and unite us
to Christ, who is the bread of life and the vine from which we grow in grace. Lord,
have mercy on us for Christ’s sake. Amen.
you. Though you have bound yourself to us, we run from your embrace. In Jesus
Christ you serve us freely, but we refuse your love and withhold ourselves from
others. We do not love you fully or love one another as you command.
In your mercy, forgive and cleanse us. Lead us once again to your arms and unite us
to Christ, who is the bread of life and the vine from which we grow in grace. Lord,
have mercy on us for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Communion Prayer: Treasure the Signs of Reconciliation
O Lord, our God, we give you thanks
for uniting us by baptism in the body of Christ
and for filling us with joy in the eucharist.
Lead us toward the full visible unity of your church,
and help us to treasure all the signs of reconciliation you have granted us.
Now that we have tasted the banquet
you have prepared for us in the world to come,
may we all one day share together
the inheritance of the saints in the life of the heavenly city.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
ever one God, world without end. Amen.
for uniting us by baptism in the body of Christ
and for filling us with joy in the eucharist.
Lead us toward the full visible unity of your church,
and help us to treasure all the signs of reconciliation you have granted us.
Now that we have tasted the banquet
you have prepared for us in the world to come,
may we all one day share together
the inheritance of the saints in the life of the heavenly city.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Confession: Not Living Up to the Family Name
We confess, our Father, that we do not live up to the family name.
We are more ready to resent than to forgive,
more ready to manipulate than to serve,
more ready to fear than to love,
more ready to keep our distance than to welcome,
more ready to compete than to help.
At the root of all this behavior is mistrust.
We do not love one another as we should
because we do not believe that you love us as you do.
Forgive us our cold unbelief,
and make more vivid to us the meaning and depth of your love at the cross.
Show us what it cost you to give up your Son
that we might become your sons and daughters.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our righteousness.
Amen.
We are more ready to resent than to forgive,
more ready to manipulate than to serve,
more ready to fear than to love,
more ready to keep our distance than to welcome,
more ready to compete than to help.
At the root of all this behavior is mistrust.
We do not love one another as we should
because we do not believe that you love us as you do.
Forgive us our cold unbelief,
and make more vivid to us the meaning and depth of your love at the cross.
Show us what it cost you to give up your Son
that we might become your sons and daughters.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our righteousness.
Amen.
God's Calling, The World's Great Need
God’s calling is the place where our deepest joy and the world’s greatest need intersects.
— Frederick Buechner
— Frederick Buechner
Brueggemann on Barrenness
Barrenness is the way of human history. It is an effective metaphor for hopelessness. There is no foreseeable future. There is no human power to invent a future. But barrenness is not only the condition of hopeless humanity. The marvel of biblical faith is that barrenness is the arena of God’s life-giving action. Inexplicably, this God speaks his powerful word directly into a situation of barrenness. This is the ground of the good news. This God does not depend on any potentiality in the one addressed. Abraham and Sarah were quite without potential. The speech of God presumes nothing from the one addressed but carries in itself all that is necessary to begin a new people in history. The speech of God overcomes and overpowers the barrenness of reality.
Walter Brueggemann
Genesis, in the Interpretation Commentary Series
Walter Brueggemann
Genesis, in the Interpretation Commentary Series
The Call of Abraham
The call of Abraham is the beginning of God’s answer to the evil of human hearts, the strife of nations and the groaning brokenness of his whole creation.
Christopher Wright
The Mission of God
Christopher Wright
The Mission of God
Prayers of Meditation for Those Not Communing
Prayer for Those Searching for Truth
Lord Jesus, you claim to be the way, the truth, and the life. Grant that I might be undaunted by the cost of following you as I consider the reasons for doing so. If what you claim is true, please guide me, teach me, and open to me the reality of who you are. Give me an understanding of you that is coherent, convincing, and that leads to the life that you promise. Amen.
Prayer of Belief
Lord Jesus, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but through you I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you for paying my debt, bearing my punishment on the cross, and offering forgiveness and new life. Knowing that you have been raised from the dead, I turn from my sins and receive you as Savior and Lord. Amen.
Prayer of Commitment
Lord Jesus, you have called us to follow you in baptism and in a life of committed discipleship in your church. Grant that I may take the necessary steps to be one with your people, and live in the fullness of your Spirit. Amen.
Lord Jesus, you claim to be the way, the truth, and the life. Grant that I might be undaunted by the cost of following you as I consider the reasons for doing so. If what you claim is true, please guide me, teach me, and open to me the reality of who you are. Give me an understanding of you that is coherent, convincing, and that leads to the life that you promise. Amen.
Prayer of Belief
Lord Jesus, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but through you I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you for paying my debt, bearing my punishment on the cross, and offering forgiveness and new life. Knowing that you have been raised from the dead, I turn from my sins and receive you as Savior and Lord. Amen.
Prayer of Commitment
Lord Jesus, you have called us to follow you in baptism and in a life of committed discipleship in your church. Grant that I may take the necessary steps to be one with your people, and live in the fullness of your Spirit. Amen.
Guidelines for Reception of Commion
Communion, also called The Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist, is the family meal of Christians. We invite all committed followers of Jesus Christ to partake of this sacrament: those who are baptized members of a congregation that proclaims the gospel, who are at peace with God and with their neighbor, and who seek strength to live more faithfully for Christ. If you are not a Christian, or if you are not prepared to share in this meal, we encourage you to spend this time in prayer. We hope that this time is helpful to you as you consider your relationship with Jesus Christ and with His people, the church.
City Church SF
City Church SF
Confession: People who need to be redeemed...
Father, we come to you this morning as people who need to be redeemed. We need to be made whole. We confess that we need You to heal us for we cannot heal ourselves.
We confess our wandering hearts. We run after acceptance, prestige, wealth, order,
pleasure and novelty in a desperate effort to heal our hearts. None of these can redeem us, none of these can make us whole. Yet we are slow to learn. Forgive us we pray.
We confess that we remain fixated on our own failures or the failures of others.
We quickly forget that your grace is infinite. We quickly forget that Jesus came, not to call the righteous, but the unrighteous.
Forgive us, God of mercy. Invade our lives by your Spirit and make us new.
That we may know the joy of abundant life given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord.
Amen.
We confess our wandering hearts. We run after acceptance, prestige, wealth, order,
pleasure and novelty in a desperate effort to heal our hearts. None of these can redeem us, none of these can make us whole. Yet we are slow to learn. Forgive us we pray.
We confess that we remain fixated on our own failures or the failures of others.
We quickly forget that your grace is infinite. We quickly forget that Jesus came, not to call the righteous, but the unrighteous.
Forgive us, God of mercy. Invade our lives by your Spirit and make us new.
That we may know the joy of abundant life given in Jesus Christ, the risen Lord.
Amen.
St. Augustine on Faith to Believe
Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.
— St. Augustine
— St. Augustine
The Winds of Time
It takes more than a good intention
It takes more than a cursory line
It takes more than mortal vigor
To withstand the winds of time
It takes more than an eager heart beating
It takes more than an enigmatic smile
It takes more than positive thinking
To stand against this tide
It takes more than mindless passion
It takes more than dogma in mime
It takes more than virtuous passion
To withstand the winds of time
It takes a saturated soul
And a faith that will never let go
To withstand the winds of time
— Mark Heard
The Winds of Time
It takes more than a cursory line
It takes more than mortal vigor
To withstand the winds of time
It takes more than an eager heart beating
It takes more than an enigmatic smile
It takes more than positive thinking
To stand against this tide
It takes more than mindless passion
It takes more than dogma in mime
It takes more than virtuous passion
To withstand the winds of time
It takes a saturated soul
And a faith that will never let go
To withstand the winds of time
— Mark Heard
The Winds of Time
Justifying My Whole Existence
I'm forever in pursuit and I don't even know what I am chasing. . . And now in one hour's time, I will be out there again. I will raise my eyes and look down that corridor, with 10 lonely seconds to justify my whole existence.
— The character “Harold Abrams”
Chariots of Fire
— The character “Harold Abrams”
Chariots of Fire
Mother Theresa on Doubt
My smile is a great cloak that hides a multitude of pains...[people think] my faith, my hope and my love are overflowing and that my intimacy with God and union with his will fill my heart. If only they knew.
— Mother Teresa,1958
— Mother Teresa,1958
Plagued by doubts...
I am plagued by doubts. What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely paid too much for my apartment.
— Woody Allen
— Woody Allen
The nations first appear in the biblical grand narrative in the context of life after the flood—God’s catastrophic judgment on human wickedness. By Genesis 11 the nations have been scattered in confusion. The conflict of nations mirrors the brokenness of humanity as a whole. With undoubtedly deliberate intent, the final book of the Bible comes to its climax with the picture of the nations purged of all sin, walking in the light of God, bringing their wealth and spendor into the city of God, contributing their redeemed glory and honor to the glory and honor of the Lamb of God (Rev. 21:24-27). The brokenness of humanity is healed at the river and tree of life (Rev. 22:1-2). And between these two great scenes in Genesis and Revelation—the primal and ultimate state of the nations—the Bible records the story of how such cosmic transformation will have been accomplished. It is, in short, the mission of God... God’s mission is what fills the gap between the scattering of the nations in Genesis 11 and the healing of the nations in Revelation 22. It is God’s mission in relation to the nations, arguably more than any other single theme, that provides the key that unlocks the biblical grand narrative.
— Christopher J.H. Wright
The Mission of God
— Christopher J.H. Wright
The Mission of God
Smack 'em up side the head with Glory....
What we have lost...is a full sense of the power of God — to recruit people who have made terrible choices; to invade the most hopeless lives and fill them with light; to sneak up on people who are thinking about lunch, not God, and smack them up side the head with Glory.
Barbara Brown Taylor
Home By Another Way
Barbara Brown Taylor
Home By Another Way
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Frame on Culture
Frame on Culture:
(1) Seeking to transform culture in this way does not mean trying save the world apart from God’s grace. It simply means obeying God as our thankful response to his grace.
(2) A transformational approach does not assume an unrealistic optimism about what is possible in fallen society. We know, just as much as the dualists do, that the world is fallen, deeply sinful, totally depraved. But we also have confidence in God’s common grace and his special grace. Real change for the better can occur, and history shows that it has occurred. Not perfection, but real change for the better.
(3) To apply Christian standards to art, for example, does not mean that we must turn our artistic works into salvation tracts. The Bible doesn’t require that. I do believe that the gospel of salvation is a fit subject, indeed a glorious subject for artistic treatment. Bach’s Passions and Da Vinci’s Last Supper are proof of that. But art should deal with all aspects of God’s creation.
(4) A transformational approach does not mean that every human activity practiced by a Christian (e.g. plumbing, car repair) must be obviously, externally different from the same activities practiced by non-Christians. There is always a difference, but often the difference is that of motive, goal, and standard, rather than anything external. The Christian seeks to change his tires to the glory of God, and the non-Christian does not. But that’s a difference that couldn’t be captured in a photograph. When changing tires, Christian and non-Christian may look very much alike.
(5) Critics have often bemoaned the lack of high standards in Christian art, music, and other cultural activity. To some extent, anyway, these critics are right. But the answer to this problem is not to accept secular standards uncritically. (Again, even if we did, which ones should we accept?) The answer is rather to be more faithful to God, both in his special and in his general revelation. We ought to be humble enough to learn what we can from the knowledge in these areas that God has given to unbelievers. But we should always be challenging it on the basis of our knowledge of the true God.
(1) Seeking to transform culture in this way does not mean trying save the world apart from God’s grace. It simply means obeying God as our thankful response to his grace.
(2) A transformational approach does not assume an unrealistic optimism about what is possible in fallen society. We know, just as much as the dualists do, that the world is fallen, deeply sinful, totally depraved. But we also have confidence in God’s common grace and his special grace. Real change for the better can occur, and history shows that it has occurred. Not perfection, but real change for the better.
(3) To apply Christian standards to art, for example, does not mean that we must turn our artistic works into salvation tracts. The Bible doesn’t require that. I do believe that the gospel of salvation is a fit subject, indeed a glorious subject for artistic treatment. Bach’s Passions and Da Vinci’s Last Supper are proof of that. But art should deal with all aspects of God’s creation.
(4) A transformational approach does not mean that every human activity practiced by a Christian (e.g. plumbing, car repair) must be obviously, externally different from the same activities practiced by non-Christians. There is always a difference, but often the difference is that of motive, goal, and standard, rather than anything external. The Christian seeks to change his tires to the glory of God, and the non-Christian does not. But that’s a difference that couldn’t be captured in a photograph. When changing tires, Christian and non-Christian may look very much alike.
(5) Critics have often bemoaned the lack of high standards in Christian art, music, and other cultural activity. To some extent, anyway, these critics are right. But the answer to this problem is not to accept secular standards uncritically. (Again, even if we did, which ones should we accept?) The answer is rather to be more faithful to God, both in his special and in his general revelation. We ought to be humble enough to learn what we can from the knowledge in these areas that God has given to unbelievers. But we should always be challenging it on the basis of our knowledge of the true God.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Pelikan on the Reformers & RCC
From Reformed Catholicism:
Here are a number of passages from Pelikan in his The Riddle of Roman Catholicism (Abindgon Press, 1959), interspersed throughout the chapter entitled “The Tragic Necessity of the Reformation”, and found on pp. 48-54:
Here are a number of passages from Pelikan in his The Riddle of Roman Catholicism (Abindgon Press, 1959), interspersed throughout the chapter entitled “The Tragic Necessity of the Reformation”, and found on pp. 48-54:
Hence the Reformation was indeed a catholic movement. If we keep in mind how variegated medieval catholicism was, the legitimacy of the reformers’ claim to catholicity becomes clear. With men like Augustine and Bernard on their side, the reformers could well protest against the usurpation of the name ‘catholic church’ by their opponents. A leading irenic and orthodox theologian of the seventeeth century Johann Gerhard (d. 1637) spoke for all the reformers when he said: “If the papists want to prove the truth of the name ‘catholic’ as applied to their church, let them demonstrate that the dogmas of their church are catholic, that is, that they are in conformity with the catholic writings of the prophets and apostles!….If the papists want to deny us the name ‘catholic’ let them demonstrate that we have seceded from the catholic faith and that we deny the mystery of the Trinity.”
Not a new ‘Protestant’ gospel, then, but the gospel of the true church, the catholic church of all generations, is what the Reformation claimed to be espousing. Substantiation for this understanding of the gospel came principally from the Scriptures; but whenever they could, the reformers also quoted the fathers of the catholic church. There was more to quote than their Roman opponents found comfortable. Every major tenet had considerable support in the catholic tradition.
That was eminently true of the central Reformation teaching of justification by faith alone. For the reformers, this teaching stood or fell with the question of biblical support for it; but because it was so important to the very life of the church, the reformers could expect to find it being taught by theologians between Paul and Luther, too. That the ground of our salvation is the unearned favor of God in Christ, and that all we need to do to obtain it is to trust that favor–this was the confession of the great catholic saints and teachers. Justification by faith alone really means justification by grace alone, “grace” understood not as something in man which wins God’s good will, but as something in God which makes man pleasing to him. Without this teaching, the reformers maintained, there was no church, catholic or otherwise, but only a human institution built upon human merit. The target of their critique was only one strand in the development of the medieval teaching on justification, and with other strands of that development the reformers had a definite affinity……
Loyalty to the catholic fathers consisted in subordinating them to the Scriptures, as they had subordinated themselves to the Scriptures.
In their own way, therefore, the reformers not only retained but actually restored the ancient Christian definition of catholicity as identity plus universality….
According to both of these Reformers (Luther and Calvin) the church had been Christian and catholic before the papacy; therefore it could be both Christian and catholic without the papacy. In the name of such Christian catholicity they were willing to challenge Rome….
To save itself from its own distortions, catholic Christianity has repeatedly needed prophets, who have been born of Mother Church but have grown up to denounce her for her harlotry. Tertullian, Bernard of Clairvaux, Savanarola, Luther — all these were sons of the catholic church whose devotion to the church compelled them to speak a prophetic word against the church as it was…
Tripp on Losing Heart
Tripp's commentary on Ps. 27
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
What causes a person to lose heart? What makes a person want to give up? Why do we ever entertain fantasies of running away? What causes us to have little enthusiasm for what we once found very motivating?
Your motivation to continue is only as strong as what you've placed your hope in. Perhaps this is why we so easily lose heart in the face of obstacles, opposition, or difficulty. Perhaps what we've unwittingly done is to have tried to build our reason to continue on the shifting sand of flawed and impermanent things that were never meant to be the foundation of our meaning and purpose or inner sense of well-being. No human being is capable of carrying your hope. This side of heaven we're all weak and flawed in some way. No circumstance can carry your hope. Every situation you're in is in someway touched by the brokenness of the fall and isn't under your control. Amassing physical pleasures and possessions won't give you lasting hope. For all of their momentary enjoyment, they fill the sense, but do not satisfy the heart. When you look horizontally for your reason to continue you'll inevitably end up losing hope.
This is precisely why you could hear no better advice than in the three words that begin and end the last verse of Psalm 27, "Wait for the Lord." What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for your husband to finally become romantic? Are you waiting for your wife to finally agree that your marriage isn't so bad after all? Are you waiting for that job that will fulfill you? Are you waiting for life to get easier? Are you waiting for your church to finally become all a church could be? Where do you look and say, "If only I had________ then my life would be_________?
There's only one place where stable and reliable hope can be found. There's only one place of rest for your heart and surety for your soul. There's only one reliable place to find your reason to get up in the morning and continue. There's only one source of motivation that's sturdy enough to weather the storms of life in a fallen world. "Wait for the Lord" really does say it all.
When your hope is in the Lord, when you're getting your inner sense of well-being and security from him, when he's the reason you continue even when things are hard, then you're building your life on something that's reliable and sure. When you're waiting on the Lord, you've placed your hope in One who's the ultimate source of everything that's wise, good and true. When you wait for the Lord, you're placing your safety in the hands of One whose power is unmeasurable. When you wait for the Lord, you're getting your comfort from One whose love is boundless. When you wait for the Lord, you can be secure in the reality that he rules over all things. When you wait for the Lord, you can live with confidence because you know that every one of his promises is true. When you wait for the Lord, you can be hopeful even in weakness because you know that his grace is sufficient.
We lose heart because we tie our hope to the wrong things. What are you waiting for? To what have you tied your hope? "Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Paul Tripp: Losing Heart
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."
What causes a person to lose heart? What makes a person want to give up? Why do we ever entertain fantasies of running away? What causes us to have little enthusiasm for what we once found very motivating?
Your motivation to continue is only as strong as what you've placed your hope in. Perhaps this is why we so easily lose heart in the face of obstacles, opposition, or difficulty. Perhaps what we've unwittingly done is to have tried to build our reason to continue on the shifting sand of flawed and impermanent things that were never meant to be the foundation of our meaning and purpose or inner sense of well-being. No human being is capable of carrying your hope. This side of heaven we're all weak and flawed in some way. No circumstance can carry your hope. Every situation you're in is in someway touched by the brokenness of the fall and isn't under your control. Amassing physical pleasures and possessions won't give you lasting hope. For all of their momentary enjoyment, they fill the sense, but do not satisfy the heart. When you look horizontally for your reason to continue you'll inevitably end up losing hope.
This is precisely why you could hear no better advice than in the three words that begin and end the last verse of Psalm 27, "Wait for the Lord." What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for your husband to finally become romantic? Are you waiting for your wife to finally agree that your marriage isn't so bad after all? Are you waiting for that job that will fulfill you? Are you waiting for life to get easier? Are you waiting for your church to finally become all a church could be? Where do you look and say, "If only I had________ then my life would be_________?
There's only one place where stable and reliable hope can be found. There's only one place of rest for your heart and surety for your soul. There's only one reliable place to find your reason to get up in the morning and continue. There's only one source of motivation that's sturdy enough to weather the storms of life in a fallen world. "Wait for the Lord" really does say it all.
When your hope is in the Lord, when you're getting your inner sense of well-being and security from him, when he's the reason you continue even when things are hard, then you're building your life on something that's reliable and sure. When you're waiting on the Lord, you've placed your hope in One who's the ultimate source of everything that's wise, good and true. When you wait for the Lord, you're placing your safety in the hands of One whose power is unmeasurable. When you wait for the Lord, you're getting your comfort from One whose love is boundless. When you wait for the Lord, you can be secure in the reality that he rules over all things. When you wait for the Lord, you can live with confidence because you know that every one of his promises is true. When you wait for the Lord, you can be hopeful even in weakness because you know that his grace is sufficient.
We lose heart because we tie our hope to the wrong things. What are you waiting for? To what have you tied your hope? "Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Paul Tripp: Losing Heart
20,000 'little popes' & their Bible
"I would rather have 20,000 “little popes” with their Bibles, all believing they can err and be corrected by scripture, rather than one pope who cannot err or be corrected by scripture."
The Internet Monk, Five Questions on the iMonk & Catholicism
The Internet Monk, Five Questions on the iMonk & Catholicism
Friday, October 12, 2007
Valley of Vision: A Present Salvation
May I be always amongst those who not only
hear but know You,
who walk with and rejoice in You,
who take You at Your word and find life there.
hear but know You,
who walk with and rejoice in You,
who take You at Your word and find life there.
Valley of Vision: God Enjoyed
I bless You that You have made me capable
of knowing You, the Author of all being,
of resembling You, the Perfection of all excellency,
of enjoying You, the Source of all happiness.
O God, attend me in every part of my arduous
and trying pilgrimage;
I need the same counsel, defense, comfort
I found at my beginning.
Let my Christianity be more obvious to my conscience,
more perceptible to those around.
While Jesus is representing me in heaven,
may I reflect Him on earth.
While He pleads my cause, may I show forth His praise.
of knowing You, the Author of all being,
of resembling You, the Perfection of all excellency,
of enjoying You, the Source of all happiness.
O God, attend me in every part of my arduous
and trying pilgrimage;
I need the same counsel, defense, comfort
I found at my beginning.
Let my Christianity be more obvious to my conscience,
more perceptible to those around.
While Jesus is representing me in heaven,
may I reflect Him on earth.
While He pleads my cause, may I show forth His praise.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Sherpherding a Child's Heart
Rick Gamache of Sovereign Grace Fellowship asks his kids these questions....
# How are your devotions?
# What is God teaching you?
# In your own words, what is the gospel?
# Is there a specific sin you’re aware of that you need my help defeating?
# Are you more aware of my encouragement or my criticism?
# What’s daddy most passionate about?
# Do I act the same at church as I do when I’m at home?
# Are you aware of my love for you?
# Is there any way I’ve sinned against you that I’ve not repented of?
# Do you have any observations for me?
# How am I doing as a dad?
# How have Sunday’s sermons impacted you?
# Does my relationship with mom make you excited to be married?
# (On top of these things, with my older kids, I’m always inquiring about their relationship with their friends and making sure God and his gospel are the center of those relationship. And I look for every opportunity to praise their mother and increase their appreciation and love for her.)
HT: JT
# How are your devotions?
# What is God teaching you?
# In your own words, what is the gospel?
# Is there a specific sin you’re aware of that you need my help defeating?
# Are you more aware of my encouragement or my criticism?
# What’s daddy most passionate about?
# Do I act the same at church as I do when I’m at home?
# Are you aware of my love for you?
# Is there any way I’ve sinned against you that I’ve not repented of?
# Do you have any observations for me?
# How am I doing as a dad?
# How have Sunday’s sermons impacted you?
# Does my relationship with mom make you excited to be married?
# (On top of these things, with my older kids, I’m always inquiring about their relationship with their friends and making sure God and his gospel are the center of those relationship. And I look for every opportunity to praise their mother and increase their appreciation and love for her.)
HT: JT
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Man who says he followed every verse of the bible for a year...
Extreme Makeover
NEWSWEEK: It’s been a little over a year since your experiment ended and you shaved your beard. How’s the life of sin?
A. J. Jacobs: It’s all right. I miss my sin-free life, but I guess I was never sin free. I was able to cut down on my coveting maybe 40 percent, but I was still a coveter. Flat-screen TVs, the front yard of my friend in the suburbs, a better cell phone, higher Amazon rankings. And that's not to mention coveting my neighbor's wife. I live in New York, I work in publishing, so there’s a lot of coveting, lying and gossiping.
NEWSWEEK: It’s been a little over a year since your experiment ended and you shaved your beard. How’s the life of sin?
A. J. Jacobs: It’s all right. I miss my sin-free life, but I guess I was never sin free. I was able to cut down on my coveting maybe 40 percent, but I was still a coveter. Flat-screen TVs, the front yard of my friend in the suburbs, a better cell phone, higher Amazon rankings. And that's not to mention coveting my neighbor's wife. I live in New York, I work in publishing, so there’s a lot of coveting, lying and gossiping.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Leithart on Faith & Reason
For centuries, Christians have posed the dilemma of Christian theology as a problem of faith v. reason. That's a non-starter, a concession of defeat, for it assumes that there can be such a thing as a faith-free rationality. But there cannot be.
What we have is not a conflict of faith and reason, but a conflict of various faith-reasons or reason-faiths.
HT: Leithart
Monday, August 27, 2007
Luther on the Bible
The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.
Luther on Bible Study
I study my Bible as I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest might fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf.
Spurgeon on Rewards
"I do want to get a heavy crown in heaven--not to wear, but to have all the more costly gift to give to Christ. And you ought to desire the same, that you may have all the more honours, and so have the more to cast at his feet."
"Particular Election"
The New Park Street Pulpit, No. 123 Vol. III
"Particular Election"
The New Park Street Pulpit, No. 123 Vol. III
C.S. Lewis on his conversion...
"I never had the experience of looking for God. It was the other way around: He was the hunter (or so it seemed to me) and I was the deer. He stalked me like a redskin, took unerring aim, and fired. And I am very thankful that this is how the first (conscious) meeting occurred. It forearms one against subsequent fears that the whole thing was only wish fulfillment. Something one didn't wish for can hardly be that."
Spurgeon on Election
"I know nothing, nothing again, that is more humbling for us than this doctrine of election. I have sometimes fallen postrate before it, when endeavoring to understand it. I have stretched my wings, and eagle-like, I have soared towards the sun. Steady has been my eye, and true my wing, for a season; but, when I came near it, and the one thought possessed me,--"God hath chosen you from the beginning unto salvation," I was lost in its lustre, I was staggered with the mighty thought; and from the dizzy elevation down came my soul, postrate and broken, saying, "Lord, I am nothing, I am less than nothing. Why me? Why me?"
A.A. Hodge on Interpretations & Creeds
“…the Scriptures are from God, the understanding of them belongs to the part of men. Men must interpret to the best of their ability each particular part of Scripture separately, and then combine all that the Scriptures teach upon every subject into a consistent whole, and then adjust their teachings upon different subjects in mutual consistency as parts of a harmonious system. Every student of the Bible must do this, and all make it obvious that they do it by the terms they use in their prayers and religious discourse, whether they admit deny the propriety of human creeds and confessions. If they refuse the assistance afforded by the statements of doctrine slowly elaborated and defined by the Church, they must make out their own creed by their own unaided wisdom. The real question is not, as often pretended, between the word of God and the creed of man, but between the tried and proved faith of the collective body of God’s people, and the private judgment and the unassisted wisdom of the repudiator of creeds.”
A. A. Hodge, A Commentary on The Confession of Faith, 1926, p. 19-20.
A. A. Hodge, A Commentary on The Confession of Faith, 1926, p. 19-20.
Newbigin's Wager
“I am - in Pascal’s famous phrase - wagering my life that Jesus is the ultimate authority. My answer is a confession: I believe. It is a personal commitment to a faith that cannot be demonstrated on grounds established from the point of view of another commitment….The Christian commitment is distinguished in that it is a commitment to a belief about the whole of human experience in its entirety – namely, the belief that this meaning is to be found in the person of Jesus Christ, incarnate, crucified, risen, and destined to reign over all things.”
Leslie Newbigin, The Open Secret, p. 15.
Leslie Newbigin, The Open Secret, p. 15.
Packer on "Being an Effective Witness"
“You are not usually justified in choosing the subject of conversation with another till you have already begun to give yourself to him in friendship and established a relationship with him in which he feels that you respect him, and are interested in him, and are treating him as a human being, and not just some kind of ‘case’. with some people, you may establish such a relationship in five minutes, whereas with others it might take months. But the principle remains the same. The right to talk intimately to another person about the Lord Jesus Christ has to be earned, and you earn it by convincing him that you are his friend, and really care about him. And therefore the indiscriminate buttonholing, the intrusive barging in to the privacy of other people’s souls, the thick-skinned insistence on expounding the things of God to reluctant strangers who are longing to get away—these modes of behaviour, in which strong and loquacious personalities have sometimes indulged in the name of personal evangelism, should be written off as a travesty of personal evangelism. Impersonal evangelism would be a better name for them! In fact, rudeness of this sort dishonours God; moreover, it creates resentment, and prejudices people against the Christ whose professed followers act so objectionably. The truth is that real personal evangelism is very costly, just because it demands of us a really personal relationship with the other man. We have to give ourselves in honest friendship to people, if ever our relationship with them is to reach the point which we are justified in choosing to talk to them about Christ, and can speak to them about their own spiritual needs without being either discourteous or offensive. If you wish to do personal evangelism, then—and I hope you do; you ought to—pray for the gift of friendship. A genuine friendliness is in any case a prime mark of the man who is learning to love his neighbor as himself.”
J. I . Packer, Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God, pp. 81-82.
J. I . Packer, Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God, pp. 81-82.
Calvin's Prayer on Going to School
O Lord, you are the fountain of all wisdom and learning. Out of Your special goodness to me, You have granted that the years of my youth should be instructed in an education that can assist me to be honest and to live a life dedicated to You. I pray that You would also grant that my mind might be enlightened and energized, which sometimes is slow and lazy, so that I might be able to acquire more knowledge. Also, strengthen my memory so that I can remember what I have learned. And move my heart so that I may be willing and even eager to profit from what I have studied, or else the opportunity that You have given me to educate my mind will be lost through my sluggishness. I pray that You will be pleased to have Your Spirit work within me, the Spirit of understanding, so that my studies will be successful and that my teacher will not have wasted his or her time in teaching me.
In whatever I study, help me to keep this in mind: that I am to know You in Christ Jesus Your Son. May everything that I learn assist me to live a life that is pleasing to You. I pray that you will teach me to be humble, so that I will prove myself to be teachable and obedient to you first, and then to others that You may place in authority over me. Finally, in all that I do in school, let my goal be this: that I may be glorify You in all that I do, and in doing so, qualify myself to be a servant that You can use in whatever You will have me do when I grow up.
Amen.
In whatever I study, help me to keep this in mind: that I am to know You in Christ Jesus Your Son. May everything that I learn assist me to live a life that is pleasing to You. I pray that you will teach me to be humble, so that I will prove myself to be teachable and obedient to you first, and then to others that You may place in authority over me. Finally, in all that I do in school, let my goal be this: that I may be glorify You in all that I do, and in doing so, qualify myself to be a servant that You can use in whatever You will have me do when I grow up.
Amen.
John Stott on Church Community
The world’s third challenge, then, concerns the quality of the church’s fellowship. We proclaim that God is love, and that Jesus Christ offers true community. We insist that the church is part of the Gospel. God’s purpose, we say, is not merely to save isolated individuals, and so perpetuate their loneliness, but to build a church, to create a new society, even a new humanity, in which racial, national, social, sexual barriers have been abolished. Moreover, this new community of Jesus dares to present itself as the true alternative society, which eclipses the values and standards of the world.
It is a high-sounding claim. But the tragedy is that the church has consistently failed to live up to its own ideals. Its theological understanding of its calling may be impeccable. But, comparatively speaking, there is little acceptance, little caring and little supportive love among us. People searching for community ought to be pouring into our churches, especially if they offer a small-group experience. Instead, the church is usually the one place they do not even bother to check out, so sure are they that they will not find love there.
The Contemporary Christian, p. 235
It is a high-sounding claim. But the tragedy is that the church has consistently failed to live up to its own ideals. Its theological understanding of its calling may be impeccable. But, comparatively speaking, there is little acceptance, little caring and little supportive love among us. People searching for community ought to be pouring into our churches, especially if they offer a small-group experience. Instead, the church is usually the one place they do not even bother to check out, so sure are they that they will not find love there.
The Contemporary Christian, p. 235
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