The Gift of Worship

How is the Church Relevant to the Culture?

Once again, a wonderful view of vocation and it's effects on the broader culture. Notice that Keller makes a distinction between the individual of the church and "the Church." Very important distinction. The culture is not changed by legislation or any other mass force feeding, but rather one person at a time.

Moving Again

For the seventh time in five years, my family has moved. As much as I have done it (for school, to save money, for more space, etc.) I can tell you that it has not gotten any easier. I hope we don't have to do it again for a long, long time (If we do have to do it again, I hope that we will be able to hire movers that can pack up everything into a truck while I read a book).

So what's the point of me telling y'all this? Well, the other night at Adult Catechism class I declared that the biblical idea of worship was to be found in all of life, no matter what we're doing. We worship in work, school, play, and everything else, including moving. I have to confess: Yesterday I did not find myself moving with a joyful heart, thankful for God's amazing grace to me. I did not find myself worshipping God with my attitude.

Today the Holy Spirit has graciously convicted me of this disconnect between my words and my actions. May God by His sanctifying grace truly transform us from the inside out so that when these challenges come in the future we might display lives of worship!

The encouraging words of the Apostle Paul:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

John Stott's Basic Christianity

This book is a great read for getting what "the faith" is all about. This week is the 50th anniversary of its original release. Below is a small, but it seems to me, very relevant passage:

"The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers - the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people still ignore Christ's warning and undertake to follow him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called 'nominal Christianity'. In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a great, soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life, while changing its place and shape to suit the convenience. no wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the church and dismiss religion as escapism." (p. 108).

Jesus said, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."

Why Catechism Matters

I've been meaning to post something on this story for quite awhile. A few years ago Christian Smith, a researcher from the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found some disturbing trends among youth and their views of God.

It seems that their religion can be summed up with the words, "Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism." That is, there is a God who created the world and watches over it kind of (Deism); He wants us to be nice and fair and "good." (Moralistic) However, the only time that God seems to matter is when you're going through hard times (Therapeutic).

Of the three thousand teens interviewed in this study, most of them had no idea what the basic beliefs of their faith were. They seemed to talk about God as being good to talk to, but not as a Deity, as a Friend. Unfortunately, many of those questioned were Christian kids who had grown up in Church.

What should the Church do in order to counteract this thinking?

"It's a great time to invest"

I figured with all of the bad news we keep getting about the economy it would be appropriate to have a little humor. Check out this classic clip from Saturday Night Live:

R.C. Sproul on the Philosophy of Despair

The title doesn't sound like much of anything you might want to check out, but this teaching video from R.C. Sproul really gives us great insight into much of today's thought. In the video he teaches primarily about the views of Sartre and Heidegger, arguing that they are the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. If you have about a half an hour, it is certainly worth your time.

Update: The link should be fixed now!

Pressing On Toward The Prize

This week's sermon was based on Luke 9:51-62. It's about the various distractions that come to would be followers of Jesus. You can listen to it here.

Great Sermon

The Reverend David Peterson is the Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is my friend Jeff Proctor's Pastor. God has gifted him and speaks the gospel through him wonderfully. Enjoy one of his sermons here.

Once we spend our money, we will show you that all Religions are the Same

Check out this story about the powerful of Hollywood and the Tech World coming together to spread peace and unity between the religions.

This idea of "religious commonality" is becoming more and more accepted. The fact that this view is based on complete non-sense doesn't seem to matter all that much. Truth in itself is no longer a value to be debated or distinguished. What matters is that we promote "good." What is "good" you say? Tolerance and Acceptance. What is bad? Claiming to know the truth.

I suppose George Orwell said it would be like this.

Update: (Thank you Matt) I should make clear that I have no problem with groups that seek to promote peace between the various religions. The problem is that often times these groups tend to squeeze out any mention of exclusive truth claims (See National Council of Churches; World Council of Churches, etc.) The person who does hold to their religion as being the only way to God is then seen as disrupting the peace.

Is it ok to doubt God's faithfulness in difficult times?

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is a piece of legislation that is being pushed forward that would basically do away with any and all preventative regulations regarding abortion. This would include things like parental consent for minors and partial-birth abortions. All the information you need regarding the FOCA is at this site.

There are some noteworthy items on the site:
1. Video of President-Elect Barack Obama speaking to Planned Parenthood
2. A story about a 14 year old girl that was given an abortion by Planned Parenthood after she was impregnated by her 21 year old soccer coach. Her parents were not informed.
3. Petition to show that you are not in favor of the FOCA.

Like a good friend of mine once said, "This is not a political issue, we are talking about murder."

Its up to you.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.
(Psa 139:13-16 ESV)

Smart People Believe in God Too

This morning I read this great article (HT: Veith) on the comeback of Philosophers who believe in God. The popular culture often times gives the impression that the only people that believe in God anymore are those who just haven't really thought about it.

This article shows otherwise.

The writer of the article, William Lane Craig, truly is one of the most brilliant apologists for the Christian faith today. I would encourage anyone interested in learning how to defend their faith to check out his work. He is, in my opinion, the best.

Why Can't Women be Elders?

It seems lately I have had quite a bit of discussion about the role of women in the leadership of the Church. Many that I have spoken to have assumed that surely women could be Pastors in our Church. When I tell them this is not the case there is a bit of surprise (thankfully, not anger or disgust). I will then try and explain the biblical basis for my thinking on the subject. Below is a video, once again put out by The Gospel Coalition that gives a good synopsis of my take:

Quitting Church

It seems that recent studies confirm that there is an exodus starting to go on from Evangelical churches. The White Horse Inn, yesterday interviewed Julia Duin, the author of a new book entitled "Quitting Church," which deals with these happenings. The reason people are quitting? It's not because they're fickle and just want the "next big program." Rather it's because they're not getting solid Bible teaching. Their deepest questions seemingly are not being answered and the sermons are consistently 5 steppers on how to have a better marriage, better finances, and be a better parent.

People are interested in substantive, thought provoking, challenging biblical teaching and the Churches they go to just aren't interested in giving it to them. So they go somewhere else or just stay at home. I have seen clear evidence of this desire for more in-depth theological training from the members of my Church as our Adult Catechism class has continued to grow since its beginning just a couple of months ago.

Often times what happens in our quest to be "relevant" is we end up going too far. When this happens, Michael Horton says, "We don't save the lost, and we lose the saved."

So how do we integrate new people into the Church without oversimplifying the message so that the veterans are unfulfilled?

The Strange Math of the Kingdom of God

Last week's sermon was based on Luke 9:37-50. It deals with the question, "What makes someone great?" Listen to it here.

To tithe or not to tithe?

I haven't shared this with many, but lately I have been rethinking my view of the New Testament believers "mandate" to tithe. I like many, have believed in the past that the believer is supposed to tithe (give 10% of their income) to the Church or various ministries. I have taught this. But a few months ago I decided to do a study of this idea just to make sure what I was teaching was right. As difficult as it was for me to admit, I came to the conclusion, that my view may not have been correct. Below is a video from The Gospel Coalition that I think summarizes my view of the subject quite well:

The Christian's Responsibility to Government

Mouwage is what bwings us togedthow

This last week's sermon was based on Genesis 2 and was all about marriage!

Listen to it here if you like.

An Important Reminder this Election Day

Insightful little commentary by Mark Driscoll on his blog The Resurgence about the politics of the day.

More than any previous election I am aware of, this year's has been marked by a nearly fevered pitch for some kind of Savior to ride into Washington. Obama has praise songs written to him, and some Republicans think Sarah Palin is the savior of their party. The sad thing is because each of these political candidates are human, they will prove to be imperfect in their solutions. Our idols will once again show themselves to be made of wood.

For a biblical perspective:

Romans 13 states about governing officials: "For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."

"For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer."

And never forget, Ephesians 1:20-21 says, God "raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come."

He will not fail us!

Kill the Babysitter

Interesting article in the L.A. Times today linked the amount of sexual content kids watch on TV with the likelihood of teen pregnancy. Shocking. It also said that kids from a two parent household had a lower probability of pregnancy. Again, shocking. Thoughts?