Scratching the Itch

Here is a vid from Ligonier Ministries where Dr. R.C. Sproul is asked about his thoughts on the "seeker-sensitive" movement. Enjoy!

The Perfect Gift

"Lord at thy Birth" from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

Receiving....Growing....Going....

Going....Jesus: Sent for you!

Jesus the Sent One from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

This is War

Here is a video from an artist named Dustin Kensrue. The video is made for a song called "This is War," from his 2008 Christmas album titled, "The Good Night is Still Everywhere" The video contains an intro from Dustin explaining his different take on the advent of Christ as a declaration of war on sin and death.

Receiving....Growing....

The first video from our new location at First Lutheran:

Growing from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

P.S. Next week, the angle for the video should be a little better. Hopefully ;)

Bad News: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

A quick clip from John Piper regarding the bad news of Santa and the Good News of Christ. The complete sermon can be viewed here.

"and you will be hated by all for my name's sake."

What is being called the "first mega-church in China" was attacked by 400 police and hired thugs in China on a rainy Sunday in mid-September of this year. Here are a couple of excerpts from the Associated Press article:

LINFEN, China — Towering eight stories over wheat fields, the Golden Lamp Church was built to serve nearly 50,000 worshippers in the gritty heart of China's coal country.

But that was before hundreds of police and hired thugs descended on the mega-church, smashing doors and windows, seizing Bibles and sending dozens of worshippers to hospitals with serious injuries, members and activists say

Today, the church's co-pastors are in jail. The gates to the church complex in the northern province of Shanxi are locked and a police armored personnel vehicle sits outside.

The closure of what may be China's first mega-church is the most visible sign that the communist government is determined to rein in the rapid spread of Christianity, with a crackdown in recent months that church leaders call the harshest in years.

Courts, police and government officials in Linfen refused to comment on the claims of violence and persecution. A local Communist Party spokesman said only that the case centered on the mega-church's lack of planning approval.

"We have always supported and allowed everybody to believe in religion. But the church itself is an illegally constructed building," said the spokesman, who would give only his surname, Wang.

A lawyer for Wang and Yang, Li Fangping, said the church had applied for permits to build the church from the local religious affairs bureau and the land use authority, but received no reply.

Almost three months after the crackdown, people in and around Linfen refuse to discuss the church, and police vehicles remain parked on virtually every corner of the neighborhood where the Golden Lamp is located.

This church is part of the ever growing "house-church" movement in China. In another part of the article it claims that there are 60,000,000 Christians worshiping in "illegal" churches. There are approximately 20,000,000 worshiping in the state controlled churches. (For the rest of the article click here.)

When Jesus sent out the twelve apostles he told them that they will be hated for his name's sake. We see that this hatred and persecution was not only shared by the apostles but by the early church as well. This hatred and persecution continues on today in many parts of the world.

Have you suffered? Have you been hated because of Jesus' name? What forms do hatred and persecution take? Do you think a lack of proclamation equals a lack of persecution?

Santa vs. Jesus

Here is a little video created by the folks over at Igniter Media. It seems to be geared towards children, but I think we all need to be reminded of this message.

How Helpful Is The New Pew Study?

Interesting, disturbing, yet not surprising article posted on the White Horse Inn's blog regarding a new Pew study. Here are some of the stats:

Between twenty and thirty percent of self-described Christians

• believe that people will be reborn in this world again and again (22%)
• believe that Yoga is a spiritual practice (21%)
• believe that the position of stars/planets can affect people’s lives (23%)
• have been in touch with the dead (29%)
• have found “spiritual energy” in trees, etc. (23%)

The article goes on to point out that,

In addition to pointing out a crying need for catechesis in our churches, this survey should also encourage pastors to be aware: don’t take your congregation’s grounding in the faith for granted. Continual teaching (especially in identifying alternative religious movements and contrasting them with the Gospel) is crucial for disciple-making.

Click the link to read more: How Helpful Is The New Pew Study?

Posted using ShareThis

Pre-Surgery Video from Matt Chandler

Video from Matt Chandler

Suffering Well

As many of you know, Matt Chandler is a preacher I admire quite a bit. I admired him mainly for his boldness and passion in proclaiming the gospel, but now I admire him in a far deeper way. On Thanksgiving morning, 35 year old Matt suddenly had a massive seizure. Never having this happen to him before, the doctors did some tests and found out he had a tumor on his right frontal lobe. This last Friday he went through brain surgery to remove the tumor. Thankfully, he has seemed to come out of the surgery OK so far. He is married with three small children. Below is a message he recorded for his flock shortly before the surgery. It is a testimony to knowing a gracious and sovereign God and walking in that knowledge at all times, good and bad. As he says it, he has joy that he is counted worthy to suffer well for the name of Jesus...

"Biblical"

Here is a quick commentary on the use of the word "biblical" that was posted on www.stufffundieslike.com. Enjoy.

The Bible is ostensibly the fundamentalists authority for all matters of faith, practice, and flatware. As a result, the adjective “biblical” gets applied to anything and everything that the fundy does. There is biblical soul-winning, biblical courtship, biblical dress codes, biblical counseling, biblical dentistry, and so on.

The proverbial fly in the soup is, of course, that very few of these things are actually found explicitly or implicitly commanded to be done in fundy style anywhere in the actual Bible. Nobody would be more surprised than the prophets and apostles to learn that they had unwittingly given explicit instructions for how long a man’s hair is allowed to grow or the types of instruments allowed to play in a church service.

One is left to suppose that requiring actual Bible passages and exegesis to support arbitrary standards is something that is decidedly not biblical. And then one’s head explodes.

Christmas Worship

Andrew Peterson:



HT: Kevin DeYoung

Tim Keller in New York Magazine

Tim Keller is profiled in New York Magazine if you'd like to get a pretty basic sketch of who the man is, and how God is using him.

I just got done reading his latest, Counterfeit Gods, about idolatry (the sin that underlies every other sin). Very well written, convicting and gospel centered. You can buy it here if you like.

Justification

Kevin DeYoung has an excellent article on Justification that I would urge y'all to check out. In it, he discusses the differences among Protestants, and the differences that still divide Protestants and Catholics on this issue. The cool thing is, this is in the Christian Science Monitor in their op-ed section! Christians writing about justification in secular op-eds? Hooray!

Here a quote:

The doctrine of justification is not an esoteric wrangling about words to the people in my congregation. Justification by faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone means we can have confidence before God. There's no need to figure out venial versus mortal sins. There's no purgatory for remaining imperfections because God looks on his people and sees them clothed in the "Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:6; Zech. 3:1-5).

Justification means I don't have to find the god within because I have already been declared innocent by the God without. It means an end to all my futile attempts at self-justification, whether by politics, parenting, or preaching. Justification means I can sleep soundly at night, whether I wake up in the morning or not, knowing that God is for me and not against me.

Read the rest here

A Call of Christian Conscience

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

This declaration has been signed by numerous Christian pastors, leaders, and teachers like Tim Keller, Dinesh D'Souza, Bryan Chapell, and Wayne Grudem. You can sign it too.

HT: Dr. Gaylan Mathiesen

What the Church ought to look like

From the Gospel Coalition's theological vision for ministry:

What is gospel–centered ministry?

It is characterized by:

1. Empowered corporate worship.
   The gospel changes our relationship with God from one of hostility or slavish compliance to one of intimacy and joy. The core dynamic of gospel–centered ministry is therefore worship and fervent prayer. In corporate worship God’s people receive a special life–transforming sight of the worth and beauty of God, and then give back to God suitable expressions of his worth. At the heart of corporate worship is the ministry of the Word. Preaching should be expository (explaining the text of Scripture) and Christ–centered (expounding all biblical themes as climaxing in Christ and his work of salvation). Its ultimate goal, however, is not simply to teach but to lead the hearers to worship, individual and corporate, that strengthens their inner being to do the will of God.
2. Evangelistic effectiveness.
   Because the gospel (unlike religious moralism) produces people who do not disdain those who disagree with them, a truly gospel–centered church should be filled with members who winsomely address people’s hopes and aspirations with Christ and his saving work. We have a vision for a church that sees conversions of rich and poor, highly educated and less educated, men and women, old and young, married and single, and all races. We hope to draw highly secular and postmodern people, as well as reaching religious and traditional people. Because of the attractiveness of its community and the humility of its people, a gospel–centered church should find people in its midst who are exploring and trying to understand Christianity. It must welcome them in hundreds of ways. It will do little to make them “comfortable” but will do much to make its message understandable. In addition to all this, gospel–centered churches will have a bias toward church planting as one of the most effective means of evangelism there is.
3. Counter–cultural community.
   Because the gospel removes both fear and pride, people should get along inside the church who could never get along outside. Because it points us to a man who died for his enemies, the gospel creates relationships of service rather than of selfishness. Because the gospel calls us to holiness, the people of God live in loving bonds of mutual accountability and discipline. Thus the gospel creates a human community radically different from any society around it. Regarding sex, the church should avoid both the secular society’s idolization of sex and traditional society’s fear of it. It is a community which so loves and cares practically for its members that biblical chastity makes sense. It teaches its members to conform their bodily being to the shape of the gospel—abstinence outside of heterosexual marriage and fidelity and joy within. Regarding the family, the church should affirm the goodness of marriage between a man and a woman, calling them to serve God by reflecting his covenant love in life–long loyalty, and by teaching his ways to their children. But it also affirms the goodness of serving Christ as singles, whether for a time or for a life. The church should surround all persons suffering from the fallenness of our human sexuality with a compassionate community and family. Regarding money, the church’s members should engage in radical economic sharing with one another—so “there are no needy among them” (Acts 4:34). Such sharing also promotes a radically generous commitment of time, money, relationships, and living space to social justice and the needs of the poor, the oppressed, the immigrant, and the economically and physically weak. Regarding power, it is visibly committed to power–sharing and relationship–building among races, classes, and generations that are alienated outside of the Body of Christ. The practical evidence of this is that our local churches increasingly welcome and embrace people of all races and cultures. Each church should seek to reflect the diversity of its local geographical community, both in the congregation at large and in its leadership.
4. The integration of faith and work.
   The good news of the Bible is not only individual forgiveness but the renewal of the whole creation. God put humanity in the garden to cultivate the material world for his own glory and for the flourishing of nature and the human community. The Spirit of God not only converts individuals (e.g., John 16:8) but also renews and cultivates the face of the earth (e.g., Gen 1:2; Psalm 104:30). Therefore Christians glorify God not only through the ministry of the Word, but also through their vocations of agriculture, art, business, government, scholarship—all for God’s glory and the furtherance of the public good. Too many Christians have learned to seal off their faith–beliefs from the way they work in their vocation. The gospel is seen as a means of finding individual peace and not as the foundation of a worldview—a comprehensive interpretation of reality affecting all that we do. But we have a vision for a church that equips its people to think out the implications of the gospel on how we do carpentry, plumbing, data–entry, nursing, art, business, government, journalism, entertainment, and scholarship. Such a church will not only support Christians’ engagement with culture, but will also help them work with distinctiveness, excellence, and accountability in their trades and professions. Developing humane yet creative and excellent business environments out of our understanding of the gospel is part of the work of bringing a measure of healing to God’s creation in the power of the Spirit. Bringing Christian joy, hope, and truth to embodiment in the arts is also part of this work. We do all of this because the gospel of God leads us to it, even while we recognize that the ultimate restoration of all things awaits the personal and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ (CS–[13]).
5. The doing of justice and mercy.
   God created both soul and body, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both the spiritual and the material. Therefore God is concerned not only for the salvation of souls but also for the relief of poverty, hunger, and injustice. The gospel opens our eyes to the fact that all our wealth (even wealth for which we worked hard) is ultimately an unmerited gift from God. Therefore the person who does not generously give away his or her wealth to others is not merely lacking in compassion, but is unjust. Christ wins our salvation through losing, achieves power through weakness and service, and comes to wealth through giving all away. Those who receive his salvation are not the strong and accomplished but those who admit they are weak and lost. We cannot look at the poor and the oppressed and callously call them to pull themselves out of their own difficulty. Jesus did not treat us that way. The gospel replaces superiority toward the poor with mercy and compassion. Christian churches must work for justice and peace in their neighborhoods through service even as they call individuals to conversion and the new birth. We must work for the eternal and common good and show our neighbors we love them sacrificially whether they believe as we do or not. Indifference to the poor and disadvantaged means there has not been a true grasp of our salvation by sheer grace.

HT: Justin Taylor

Ofer funny

No Complaining Please

The Rescue- Complaining from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

Just audio here.

Pure Awesomeness

Would this advertisement "draw you in"?

I really do try not to make fun of other ministries productions, since, frankly, our technology is pretty silly most of the time. However, when I see a prosperity gospel teacher make a bad commercial, then I figure it's fair game. For example, watch this amazing connection between the movie Top Gun, Van Halen, and Dr. Shine's Preaching:

Approaching God

The Rescue- God Dwells from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

Just audio here.

A Message for Preachers

Worship: A How To...

The Guardian that leads us to Christ

The Rescue- The Ten Commandments from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

Just audio: here

Youth Group Rules

Jon Acuff has written a book called 'Stuff Christians Like.' His website has a different section of the book everyday, and today's on Youth Groups is particularly funny. Here are his rules:

1. The youth group bus or van will not be purchased from a dealership named, “Vans that like to catch on fire & buses that break down in the middle of the night on the side of the road on the way to New Hampshire ski retreats.”

2. Only one “dude with an acoustic guitar” will be allowed per youth group.

3. If you go on a retreat and you’re boyfriend/girlfriend doesn’t go, they should expect to get dumpedwhen you return home. Cause that’s happening.

4. All youth group ministers should expect at least one kid to ask for a precise definition of “what it means to be a virgin.”

5. Only tankinis and swim shirts shall be worn on youth group beach trips.

6. All youth group retreats should be held at locations that could double for horror movie backdropsbecause it adds to the intensity of the weekend.

7. Youth group volunteers who are helping out primarily to relive their own high school glory days vicariously through the teens will be removed quickly and quietly.

8. At no point should there be a circle of back massages during a youth group event. (Saw that happen a number of times.)

9. At no point should a youth minister try to keep a bad dating relationship together simply because he knows that as soon as the church girl dumps the non church boyfriend he’ll drop out of youth group.

10. Every month there should be at least one gross food related game played. Preferably involving baby food. Preferably not involving me.

11. The big tub of orange drink should not be stirred with a youth worker’s sweaty arm.

12. You should pull and eventually apologize for epic pranks, claiming that you want to do “all things with excellence” when you are caught.

13. The one parent who complains about something you did will not be empowered to steer the entire course of the youth group. The 50 other parents who didn’t complain will also be considered.

14. If someone hasn’t complained or taken issue with or questioned something your youth group has done in the last six months you will retreat to your youth room and ask yourselves, “What are we doing wrong?”

15. The guy with the jeep will always let the pastor’s kid ride shotgun. In 1993 that would have meant me and the jeep guy were pretty tight.

16. If the youth minister changes his/her tone of voice, vocabulary and outfit, when they get around youth, saying things like, “Yo, my tweets are blowing up, we ballin’ on a budget,” that youth minister will be hit with water balloons filled with honey.

"Can you please help me kill my baby?"

Using tax payer's money to pay for abortions is nothing new. According to their annual report Planned Parenthood received $349,600,000 of their $966,700,000 in revenue from "government grants and contracts."

As always, there is something we can do about this. You can contact your Senators and Representatives and let them know that you do not want to see your tax dollars going to fund abortions. This is not a hard or complicated thing to do. The people over at Americans United for Life (AUL) have set up an easy to use email form you can fill out that will be sent directly to those in the Federal government that represent you. The form can be found here: Email Form

If we do not stand up for these little children who will? Who will be their voice? There are numerous scriptures that talk about the shedding of innocent blood. In Proverbs 6 it says that the shedding of innocent blood is something that God hates and that it is an abomination. We should hate what God hates and love what He loves.

Sola Christus

Malcolm Muggeridge:

We look back upon history, and what do we see? Empires
rising and falling, revolutions and counterrevolutions, wealth
accumulated and wealth disbursed. Shakespeare has written
of the rise and fall of great ones, that ebb and flow with the
moon.

I look back upon my own fellow countrymen (Great Britain),
once upon a time dominating a quarter of the world, most of
them convinced, in the words of what is still a popular song,
that ‘the God who made them mighty, shall make them
mightier yet.’

I’ve heard a crazed, cracked Austrian (Hitler) announce to
the world the establishment of a Reich that would last a
thousand years. I have seen an Italian clown (Mussolini) say
he was going to stop and restart the calendar with his own
ascension to power. I’ve heard a murderous Georgian
brigand in the Kremlin (Stalin), acclaimed by the intellectual
elite of the world as being wiser than Solomon, more
humane than Marcus Aurelius, more enlightened than
Ashoka.

I have seen America wealthier and, in terms of military
weaponry, more powerful than the rest of the world put
together–so that had the American people so desired, they
could have outdone a Caesar, or an Alexander in the range
and scale of their conquests.

All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone. Gone with the
wind.

England, now part of a tiny island off the coast of Europe,
threatened with dismemberment and even bankruptcy. Hitler
and Mussolini dead, remembered only in infamy. Stalin a
forbidden name in the regime he helped found and dominate
for some three decades. America haunted by fears of running
out of those precious fluids that keeps their motorways
roaring, and the smog settling, with troubled memories of a
disastrous campaign in Vietnam, and the victories of the Don
Quixotes of the media as they charged the windmills of
Watergate.

All in one lifetime, all in one lifetime, all gone. Gone with the
wind.

Behind the debris of these solemn supermen, and self-styled
imperial diplomatists, there stands the gigantic figure of one,
because of whom, by whom, in whom and through whom
alone, mankind may still have peace: the person of Jesus
Christ.

I present him as the way, the truth, and the life.

HT: The Gospel Coalition

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The Rescue: The Red Sea

The Rescue: The Red Sea from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

For just the audio, click here

The Reason for God

Tim Keller is on the White Horse Inn this week talking about the best modern apologetics book around.

Moses the Mediator

As a Lutheran, I am convinced that God normally works through means, whether that be people, things, etc. to accomplish His plan. This last week we talked about how God raised up Moses to be a Mediator between Him and Pharaoh, and between Him and His people. Moses, in this case, became the means. If God wanted to, He could have just crushed Pharaoh in a matter of seconds and His people would be free; instead he uses means to accomplish His Rescue plan.

No video this week, but the audio can be listened to here.

Redemption

Johnny Cash sings the Gospel:

How Young Adults View the Bible

George Barna has just released his latest survey dealing with how the different generations view the Bible. The different generations are broken up as follows: Ages 18-25: Mosaics. 26-44: Busters. 45-63: Boomers. 64-plus: Elders. Here's a snippet from the article:

"the youngest generations are charting a new, unique course related to the Bible. Here are the types of changes being forged by young adults:

Less Sacred – While most Americans of all ages identify the Bible as sacred, the drop-off among the youngest adults is striking: 9 out of 10 Boomers and Elders described the Bible as sacred, which compares to 8 out of 10 Busters (81%) and just 2 out of 3 Mosaics (67%).

Less Accurate – Young adults are significantly less likely than older adults to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. Just 30% of Mosaics and 39% of Busters firmly embraced this view, compared with 46% of Boomers and 58% of Elders.

More Universalism – Among Mosaics, a majority (56%) believes the Bible teaches the same spiritual truths as other sacred texts, which compares with 4 out of 10 Busters and Boomers, and one-third of Elders.

Skepticism of Origins – Another generational difference is that young adults are more likely to express skepticism about the original manuscripts of the Bible than is true of older adults.

Less Engagement – While many young adults are active users of the Bible, the pattern shows a clear generational drop-off – the younger the person, the less likely then are to read the Bible. In particular, Busters and Mosaics are less likely than average to have spent time alone in the last week praying and reading the Bible for at least 15 minutes. Interestingly, none of the four generations were particularly likely to say they aspired to read the Bible more as a means of improving their spiritual lives.

Bible Appetite – Despite the generational decline in many Bible metrics, one departure from the typical pattern is the fact that younger adults, especially Mosaics (19%), express a slightly above-average interest in gaining additional Bible knowledge. This compares with 12% of Boomers and 9% of Elders.

What does this tell you about the typical young adult in the Church today? On the one hand, the study seems to confirm that young adults don't treat the Bible as sacredly as previous generations. On the other hand, they have more interest than any other group in gaining additional Bible knowledge.

I have seen deep evidence of this myself. The Churches that are the most packed with young adults are ones that have long sermons, are heavy on doctrinal teaching, and don't try to pretend to have it all together. The Churches that are bleeding young people out are the ones trying to "be relevant" by having shorter sermons, simplifying everything down to it's lowest common denominator, and create a community of people that pretend very well to have it all together.

So I say to "Mosaics" (what a cheeseball nickname for 'your generation.') bring your skepticism. We would welcome all the questions, complaints and cynicism you have.

We will be sinners (no sense in trying to deny that one), but redeemed, graciously saved Sinners.

We, in many ways, will appear unprofessional (you should see our song slides!) , and yet, we will spend an hour and a half each weekend studying the greatness of God along with some of the greatest thinkers in the history of the Church.

We won't have all the answers (the Bible doesn't give them to us), but we will have the one answer that matters: Jesus.

Idolatry: The sin underlying every other sin

Tim Keller speaks about why he wrote his new book 'Counterfeit Gods.'

Christ Centered Preaching

From Veith's Pastor:

Pastor Douthwaite had another killer sermon yesterday. See what he does with the “camel through the eye of the needle” text (Mark 10:23-31). An excerpt (with a reference to a woman who had just been baptized earlier in the service):

God did something much more difficult than put a camel through the eye of a needle. That sounds incredible to us, and so many commentators and teachers have tried to soften this teaching of Jesus by claiming that there was a gate into the city of Jerusalem that was named “the eye of the needle” and if your camel had too much stuff on it, you would have to take some off to get through. But it was possible! But let us move past such nonsense to the real point: Jesus meant what He said. Unless and until you can put your big, fat, sinful, camel-self through the eye of a needle, you will never get yourself into the kingdom of heaven. The disciples understood that, that’s why they immediately asked: “Then who can be saved?”

And Jesus says: “All things are possible with God.” Because what had God done? He didn’t put a camel through the eye of a needle, He did something much, much greater: in love, He put His almighty and infinite Son through a virgin’s womb. That His Son, clothed in our flesh and blood, love us to death. That we who are dead in our trespasses and sins and clinging to our false gods, be loved to life. And so Jesus comes to give us what no one and no thing else can: love. True love. Eternal love.

And so in love He is born, and in love He lives. In love He ascends the cross, and in love He dies. In love He takes our sins, and in love He gives us forgiveness and life. For as it was said of the rich young man, so it is true for you: And Jesus, looking at you, loves you. Not because you deserve it, but because that is who your God and Saviour is and what He does: love.

Today you got to see that love in action yet again, as the almighty and infinite Son of God came through the waters of Holy Baptism, and again did something much greater than put a camel through the eye of a needle - He put YuRim through His death and resurrection and gave her the promise of eternal life. He washed away her sins and gave her a new birth and made her His child forever. Not because water can do such great things, but because He can.

And in just a few moments, you get to see this love in action again, as the almighty and infinite Son of God come to you in the bread and wine of His Supper, doing something much greater than putting a camel through the eye of a needle - putting His body into your mouth and pouring His blood over your sin-parched lips, thus giving life to the dead, forgiveness to the sinful, and salvation to the needy. Not because bread and wine can do such great things, but because He can.

God Overcomes Obstacles

The Patriarchs:

The Rescue: God Overcomes Obstacles from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

No 'Jesus Only' people in sports?

Kevin DeYoung takes apart one of the silliest articles I've ever read on the supposed problems w/ evangleical views in sports:

A friend of mine sent me a link to a recent USA Today opinion piece about evangelicals in sports. In “I’d like to thank God Almighty“, Tom Krattenmaker argues that although he is “impressed by the good that’s done by sports-world Christians” and considers “Jesus-professing athletes” as “among the best citizens in their sector,” he’s still has a beef with evangelical sports stars.

The problem, says Krattenmaker, is that evangelicals don’t believe all roads to God.

Evangelical players and ministry representatives in sports aren’t out to harm anyone, of course. On the contrary, they see themselves as fulfilling the Bible’s Great Commission (”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19). In this sense, their mission is pure altruism: They seek to share the gift of eternal life.

But there’s a shadow side to this. If their take on God and truth and life is the only right one — which their creed boldly states — everyone else is wrong.

I don’t know many evangelicals who baldly state “everyone else is wrong”, but it’s true, when it comes being reconciled with God we believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way. I have no problem that Krattenmaker disagrees with this belief or even that he thinks people like me backward for holding such a belief. But Krattenmaker’s complaint against evangelical players and ministries is misguided. In one breath he affirms that evangelical sports starts, “like all Americans, have a right to express their faith.” But then he turns around and questions whether evangelicals should be peddling a faith that is so out of step with the majority of Americans.

Krattenmaker’s argument against the Tim Tebows of the sports world boils down to: “I don’t like that evangelicals think they’re right.” But, of course, Krattenmaker thinks evangelicals are dead wrong in their insistence they alone are right.

There are other contradictions in the piece. Krattenmaker writes in reference to outspoken evangelical chaplains and athletes:

Should we be pleased that the civic resource known as “our team” — a resource supported by the diverse whole through our ticket-buying, game-watching and tax-paying — is being leveraged by a one-truth evangelical campaign that has little appreciation for the beliefs of the rest of us?

This line of reasoning says little more than “I don’t like that the people I root for think I need Jesus.” But Krattenmaker’s “argument” could be used against just about any industry in America. Should we be pleased that the civic resource known as “our movies”–a resource supported by the diverse whole through our ticket-buying, movie-watching and tax paying (especially with Michigan’s subsidies)–is being leveraged by a secular humanism that has little appreciation for the beliefs of the rest of us? The great thing about American is you don’t have to watch a Susan Sarandon flick if her politics are that offensive to you, and you don’t have to watch football if you can’t stand it that some of them believe Jesus is the only way to heaven.

Krattenmaker is appalled that Tebow’s father’s evangelistic association espouses a “far-right” theology that believes in “eternal punishment” and rejects “the modern ecumenical movement.” “In making and acting on rigid claims about who is or isn’t in good standing with God,” Krattenmaker opines, “the Bob Tebow organization is working at cross purposes with the majority of Americans — indeed, the majority of American Christians — and their more generous conception of salvation.” Yeah, so? Can sports stars, on their own time mind you, only work with organizations that pass muster by national referendum? Millions of people in America think millions of other Americans are going to hell apart from the saving work of Jesus. And millions of Americans think those other Americans are neanderthals for believing that. God bless America!

Besides, it’s not like Tim Tebow puts “punish the infidels” on the black under his eyes. He puts a Bible verse. And while it’s well known that Tebow is a conservative evangelical, it’s not like he’s talking about his father’s rejection of the modern ecumenical movement in post-game interviews. No doubt, some evangelical sports stars have been obnoxious about their faith in the locker room. No doubt, some ministries have been rude in their evangelistic strategies. But then those are the players and ministries that most people will ignore. Most, I imagine, try to winsomely persuade non-Christians about the claims of Christ, just like Krattenmaker does with the claims of his pluralistic faith.

We all try to convince others that our way of looking at the world makes sense, even if our way of looking at the world says we shouldn’t be too definite about the way we look at the world. So, yes, evangelicals think Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. That’s not a secret. And it’s not a crime either.

Halloween Alternative

In case you ever wonder if weird fundamentalists still exist, this is an ad from Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, North Carolina. From Veith (not endorsing it!):

Come to our Halloween book burning. We are burning Satan’s bibles like the NIV, RSV, NKJV, TLB, NASB, NEV, NRSV, ASV, NWT, Good News for Modern Man, The Evidence Bible, The Message Bible, The Green Bible, ect. These are perversions of God’s Word the King James Bible.

We will also be burning Satan’s music such as country , rap , rock , pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel , contempory Christian , jazz, soul, oldies but goldies, etc.

We will also be burning Satan’s popular books written by heretics like Westcott & Hort , Bruce Metzger, Billy Graham , Rick Warren , Bill Hybels , John McArthur, James Dobson, Charles Swindoll , John Piper, Chuck Colson, Tony Evans, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swagart, Mark Driskol, Franklin Graham , Bill Bright, Tim Lahaye, Paula White, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn , Joyce Myers, Brian McLaren, Robert Schuller, Mother Teresa , The Pope , Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Donald Miller, Shane Claiborne, Brennan Manning, William Young, etc.

We are not burning Bibles written in other languages that are based on the TR. We are not burning the Wycliffe, Tyndale, Geneva or other translations that are based on the TR.

We will be serving Bar-b-Que Chicken, fried chicken, and all the sides.

If you have any books or music to donate, please call us for pick-up. If you like you can drop them off at our church door anytime. Thanks.

Young Adam

HT: Sacred Sandwich

Excellent 10 minute sermon

Pastor David Peterson speaks on what the parable of the Good Samaritan is really telling us. Listen here now.

Faith Alone

John Piper on why faith glorifies God (speaking to children):

Your daddy is standing in a swimming pool out a little bit from the edge. You are, let’s say, three years old and standing on the edge of the pool. Daddy holds out his arms to you and says, “Jump, I’ll catch you. I promise.” Now, how do you make your daddy look good at that moment? Answer: trust him and jump. Have faith in him and jump. That makes him look strong and wise and loving. But if you won’t jump, if you shake your head and run away from the edge, you make your daddy look bad. It looks like you are saying, “he can’t catch me” or “he won’t catch me” or “it’s not a good idea to do what he tells me to do.” And all three of those make your dad look bad.

But you don’t want to make God look bad. So you trust him. Then you make him look good–which he really is. And that is what we mean when we say, “Faith glorifies God” or “Faith gives God glory.” It makes him look as good as he really is. So trusting God is really important.

And the harder it seems for him to fulfill his promise, the better he looks when you trust him. Suppose that you are at the deep end of a pool by the diving board. You are four years old and can’t swim, and your daddy is at the other end of the pool. Suddenly a big, mean dog crawls under the fence and shows his teeth and growls at you and starts coming toward you to bite you. You crawl up on the diving board and walk toward the end to get away from him. The dog puts his front paws up on the diving board. Just then, your daddy sees what’s happening and calls out, “Johnny, jump in the water. I’ll get you.”

Now, you have never jumped from one meter high and you can’t swim and your daddy is not underneath you and this water is way over your head. How do you make your daddy look good in that moment? You jump. And almost as soon as you hit the water, you feel his hands under your arms and he treads water holding you safely while someone chases the dog away. Then he takes you to the side of the pool.

We give glory to God when we trust him to do what he has promised to do–especially when all human possibilities are exhausted. Faith glorifies God. That is why God planned for faith to be the way we are justified.

An Un- American Sort of Prayer

How God Accomplishes His Promises

The Rescue: Abraham from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

Audio only: Here

Here's the words:

Genesis 12 Abraham

The Power of the Gospel

This 92 year old woman was being robbed at gunpoint. Why waste a good opportunity? She preached the gospel to her would be attacker, and everything changed:

We can do this too right?

Quote of the Day

"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."

-G.K. Chesterton

The Problem with Christian Movies

Dr. Veith again hits the nail right on the head with his critique of "Christian" films:

OK, I’m glad the filmmakers are focusing on better quality. I salute you. But take some lessons from the past. I am currently teaching a course entitled “Major Christian Authors,” covering such authors as Dante, Spenser, Herbert, Bunyan, Hopkins, Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Graham Greene, Flannery O’Connor. NONE of them wrote about people’s personal problems. There is not one terminally ill orphan in the whole lot. No scenes about broken marriages or friends dying or sports teams winning the big game. These classic Christian authors–who actually did influence their cultures–saw Christianity as being rather more than a means of solving life’s problems, and none of them lapsed into the deadly aesthetic sin of SENTIMENTALITY.

Do yourself a favor and read the rest.

The Bible needs to be more conservative?

A few words to describe the following: Stupid, dumb, silly, ludicrous, absurd and annoying. I'm in an Ad Hominem sort of mood today.

Rod Dreher at Crunchycon draws attention to a venture designed to make the Bible moreconservative. It’s a project of Conservapedia, a conservative version of Wikipedia. The idea is to use Wiki-style mass collaboration to make a new translation of the Bible that accords with ten principles. From Conservative Bible Project - Conservapedia:

(1) Framework against Liberal Bias: providing a strong framework that enables a thought-for-thought translation without corruption by liberal bias
(2) Not Emasculated: avoiding unisex, “gender inclusive” language, and other modern emasculation of Christianity
(3) Not Dumbed Down: not dumbing down the reading level, or diluting the intellectual force and logic of Christianity; the NIV is written at only the 7th grade level[3]
(4) Utilize Powerful Conservative Terms: using powerful new conservative terms as they develop;[4] defective translations use the word “comrade” three times as often as “volunteer”; similarly, updating words which have a change in meaning, such as “word”, “peace”, and “miracle”.
(5) Combat Harmful Addiction: combating addiction by using modern terms for it, such as “gamble” rather than “cast lots”;[5] using modern political terms, such as “register” rather than “enroll” for the census
(6) Accept the Logic of Hell: applying logic with its full force and effect, as in not denying or downplaying the very real existence of Hell or the Devil.
(7) Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning
(8) Exclude Later-Inserted Liberal Passages: excluding the later-inserted liberal passages that are not authentic, such as the adulteress story
(9) Credit Open-Mindedness of Disciples: crediting open-mindedness, often found in youngsters like the eyewitnesses Mark and John, the authors of two of the Gospels
(10) Prefer Conciseness over Liberal Wordiness: preferring conciseness to the liberal style of high word-to-substance ratio; avoid compound negatives and unnecessary ambiguities; prefer concise, consistent use of the word “Lord” rather than “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” or “Lord God.”

HT: Gene Veith

Veith concludes with this poignant line:

But more to the point: If you are more conservative than the Bible is, you are too conservative. If you are more liberal than the Bible is, you are too liberal. To read the Bible, you don’t stand above it, evaluating it and passing judgments according to your beliefs. Rather, the Bible evaluates YOU and passes judgment on YOUR beliefs.

Genesis 4-11: The Fall, The Flood and The Flop

The Rescue: The Fall, The Flood, and The Flop from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

For audio: Here

The Good Sort of Relevant Church

The Worst Advertisement in the History of the World

Counterfeit Gods

Tim Keller has a new book coming out October 20th entitled, 'Counterfeit Gods.' The main point of the book is Idolatry, and the primary ways it is manifested in American life. This is obviously, a much needed subject of discussion in our culture. I have tried to read everything I can get my hands on by this man, and I would encourage you to do the same. The first chapter of his new book can be read here.

Quote of the day

Admittedly this is more for pastors, but any one of them will tell you it's true:

C. J. Mahaney: “”There is no romanticism in sermon preparation. I’m 56 years old and it’s still hard. I always get to a point in preparation when I think, ‘This sermon stinks . . . and we are running out of time!’”

HT: Justin Taylor

The Nativity: When God Came Down

The Nativity: When God Came Down from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

For just the audio click here

How to Introduce Christ to a Room Full of People

What's missing?

The Pain of Forgiveness

Just read this story about Lisa Gibson, a woman whose brother was killed in the Lockerbie airplane bombing 20 years ago. This week while Gadhafi was in New York (rambling on about nonsense mind you), Gibson requested a meeting with him to express her forgiveness towards him for her brother's death.

Here's a snippet:

"I welcomed him to America," Gibson told CNN.

The 39-year-old Colorado Springs lawyer said she and another relative of a Lockerbie victim went to see the controversial figure in New York on Wednesday, the same day he delivered a rambling speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

Calling herself an "ambassador of reconciliation," she views the encounter as the latest step in a journey to build bridges between Libyans and Americans -- a mission energized by her strong Christian faith.

"I wanted him to know there were some people out there who've lost loved ones who have a different vision and different heart," she said. "He warmly received us."

The article goes on to tell us that in no way does Gibson say what was done is okay, but that reconciliation is still necessary.

My guess is if you're like me there is a part of you that cringes at this. Gadhafi doesn't deserve forgiveness; he's a cruel dictator and thug. Yet, the reality is if anyone waited until someone "deserved" forgiveness, well, forgiveness wouldn't exist.

In order for real forgiveness to happen, the wrongs done must be absorbed by someone. Just as Jesus absorbs our wrongs on the cross (even while we were still sinners like Gadhafi) so we are to respond like Gibson, with forgiveness towards our enemies.

Supernatural?

Quote of the day:

"Jesus' healings are not supernatural miracles in a natural world. They are the only truly 'natural' things in a world that is unnatural, demonized and wounded."

- Jurgen Moltmann

How big is His grace?

Dr. Veith has a great little post today about the life, crimes, conversion and recent death of Manson family member Susan Atkins:

One night in August 1969, Manson dispatched Atkins and others to a wealthy residential section of Los Angeles, telling them, as they recalled, to “do something witchy.”

They went to the home of Tate and her husband. He was not home, but Tate, who was 8{ months pregnant, and four others were killed. “Pigs” was scrawled on a door in blood.

The next night, a wealthy grocer and his wife were found stabbed to death in their home across town. “Helter Skelter” was written in blood on the refrigerator.

“I was stoned, man, stoned on acid,” Atkins testified during the trial’s penalty phase.

“I don’t know how many times I stabbed (Tate) and I don’t know why I stabbed her,” she said. “She kept begging and pleading and begging and pleading and I got sick of listening to it, so I stabbed her.”

She said she felt “no guilt for what I’ve done. It was right then and I still believe it was right.” Asked how it could be right to kill, she replied in a dreamy voice, “How can it not be right when it’s done with love?”

The matronly, gray-haired Atkins who appeared before a parole board in 2000 cut a far different figure than that of the cocky young defendant some 30 years earlier.

“I don’t have to just make amends to the victims and families,” she said softly. “I have to make amends to society. I sinned against God and everything this country stands for.” She said she had found redemption in Christianity.

The last words she spoke in public at the September hearing were to say in unison with her husband: “My God is an amazing God.”

Veith concludes by asking the question "So are you comfortable with her being your sister in Christ?" I will ask you the same.

Jesus takes our filth

This enlightening and sobering little clip from Pastor Mark Driscoll tells us what really was going on when they offered Jesus a drink on the cross:

The Love of the Father

The following is an ad for John Macarthur's DVD curriculum "A Tale of Two Sons" . I haven't read his book nor have I seen the DVD, but as I watched this video I was struck once again by the awesome picture we are given of the Father's love for his lost children.



HT: Justin Taylor

The Rescue: The Fall

The Rescue: Paradise Lost from Erick Sorensen on Vimeo.

For just the audio, click here.

And if you prefer to read, here's the manuscript:

Genesis 3: The Fall

Poor Joe Wilson...

The first 5 minutes of this SNL clip from last night is excellent (however I don't know about the last 5 minutes; didn't watch it.):

Take and Read

I've been meaning to promote a couple different magazines for awhile, but just haven't gotten around to it 'til now. First up there is a fantastically done magazine called Salvo. Intellectually rigorous, aesthetically appealing and challenging to everyone's comfort, the magazine is put out by some of the smartest thinkers in Christendom. The emphasis in this mag is about confronting the culture around us. Read it.

The second magazine that I must highly recommend is Modern Reformation put out by Michael Horton and the guys over @ White Horse Inn radio show. Always thought provoking, with great guest writers, the mag is the most quality theological writing around. Read it.

David Robinson: Childhood hero

When I was a kid I was a huge fan of "The Admiral" David Robinson. I didn't like his team (cuz they competed with the Lakers), nor was I drawn to his flashiness (he really wasn't that flashy in comparison to most other players). The reason I was a huge fan of his was because of his persona.

Of course I didn't know him at all, but the character I saw on the court was a person who played according to the fundamentals of the game (not really valued to much anymore), worked hard (was always in terrific shape) and was genuinely a nice guy. But that was just his "court persona." We all know that often times what people have chosen to reveal in public is far different than what goes on in private.

The other day Robinson was inducted into the Hall of Fame and best I can tell, he really is the real deal. Humble, grateful, thankful, and worshipful (Robinson is a confessing Christian). Watch the clip below to see what I mean:



Interestingly enough, on the day of the induction speech, I missed David Robinson, but caught Michael Jordan. His speech, and the interview that followed saddened me. Why? Go here to find out. What's the big difference between the two men? Gratitude.