August 29, 2010 - Matthew 7:15-12: Watch for False Gospels

Here are the audio and notes from last Sunday's morning message.  We are quickly coming to the end of our study of the Sermon on the Mount.  Next Sunday will be our final message on this wonderful text of Scripture.  I hope it has been as much of a blessing for ya as it has been for me.




Audio
Notes


For more:
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:43-48 - Love God as He Loved You
May 23, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 6:1-4 - Camouflaged Gold:  Why Christians Should Give In Secret
May 30, 2010 - Matthew 6:5-8 - Jesus on Prayer:  Our Inward Motivations
June 6, 2010 - Matthew 9-13 - The Model Prayer 
June 13, 2010 - Matthew 6:14-15 - The Forgiven Forgive:  The Inseparable Reality of the Gospel of Forgiveness
June 27, 2010- Matthew 6:16-18 - The Gospel of Self-Denial:  Why Fasting is Biblical and What it Says About Our Faith
July 11, 2010 - Matthew 6:19-24 - Investing in the Kingdom of God  
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God:  What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God 
August 8, 2010 - Matthew 7:1-6 - Judge Not But Please Remove This Speck.  Its Killing My Eye:  Learning to Judge Righteously, Not Hypocritically   
August 15, 2010 - Matthew 7:7-12 - The Golden Rule and a Community of Love 
August 22, 2010 - Matthew 7:13-14 - The Gospel is for Fools:  How to Empty a Church and Grow a Kingdom 

This is Who We Are: What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Son

Summarizing the doctrine of Jesus Christ on one page is like eating an entire elephant in three bites with Elijah’s Mickey Mouse fork.  Its impossible.  The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 gives us with a good summary of all that we mean when we speak of the 2nd person of the Trinity.

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.


Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

The Confession of Faith describes the nature of Christ as eternal, incarnational, virgin born, fully human yet sinless, obedient to His Father, and fully divine.  It goes on to describe the work of Christ as substitutionary, redemptive, resurrected, ascended, active, and will one day return.  Take any of these doctrines and an entire book can (and has) been written on it.

The nature of Christ is complex but fundamental to our understanding of the  Savior.  Jesus is fully God unified and yet at the same time distinct from the Father (welcome to the mystery of the Trinity).  He has always existed and has always be one with the Father and yet not the Father.  Furthermore, Jesus is fully human who left His throne in glory (see Philippians 2) to take on human flesh through the miraculous conception of virginity.  Mary’s virginity prevented Christ from inheriting Adam’s sin and yet at the same time allowed Him, the God-man, to take on human flesh.  It is imperative that we embrace both His humanity and His divinity.

Regarding His work, Christ stands as our mediator and Savior.  He died a substitutionary death whereby our sins were placed upon Him suffering the penalty of our sins.  And Christ was also resurrected in righteousness whereby His righteousness is imputated (to use a heavy theological word) onto us.  This means that God not only declares us as righteous, but at the same times makes us righteous.

Are you lost?  Are you confused?  How far are you on that elephant?  The doctrine of Christ is heavy and yet profound.  Who He is and what He has done has perplexed and brought salvation to billions throughout the years.  Because He is human, we know how to live and suffer.  We are not alone.  Our Savior has suffered and lived like us.  Because He is God, we have confidence in His promises.  Because He died a substitutionary death, we know that our sins have been nailed and forgiven at the cross.  Because He has been resurrected, we know that we are being made righteous and will be raised with Him in glory (1 Corinthians 15).  It is because of Him we have direct access to the Father, able suffer with hope and perseverance, live with understanding and are guided by His example.  We give as He gave.  We forgive as He has forgiven.  We love as He still loves.  We sacrifice as he sacrificed.  We serve as he served.  We suffer as He suffered.  We pray as He prayed.  We submit to the Father as He did. 

The doctrine of Christ matters and it matters greatly.  Get this wrong and you will get everything else wrong.  Focus on Christ and never take your eyes off of Him.  His nature and work are the reasons we live, breath, and stand justified before the Father. 


For more:
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Introduction
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - Scripture
This is Who We Are:  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God
This is Who We Are  What a Baptist Is and Believes - God the Father

Never Give Up: A Must See Video

I thought this was a powerful video.




HT: Ben Witherington III

Bonhoeffer on Cheap Grace

Anybody that has followed this site is well aware of how influential Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book The Cost of Discipleship has been in my life as we have walked through the Sermon on the Mount.  I find many of Bonhoeffer's words timely and desperately need to be heard for Christians today.
Perhaps this isn't more true when it comes to Bonhoeffer's chapter on cheap grace.  The first chapter of this Christian classic (written about 80 years ago) discusses the problem with accepting a cheap gospel, what Bonhoeffer calls cheap grace.  He defines cheap grace as:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.  Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.  -44-45

I can think of no better definition than that.   We all want forgiveness, but few of us want to live forgiven.  We all want baptism, but few of us live as if we have been washed.  We all want grace, but few of us want discipleship.  We all want the cross, but few want to die to ourselves.  We all want grace, but we want a cheap grace whereby we deny the incarnation of Christ (and act as if His life and example mean nothing), Hid death (and act as if Hid death meant nothing calling on us to sacrifice all like Him), and His resurrection (and act as if His resurrection meant nothing calling on us to live a new life differently from the old self).

Bonhoeffer begins his book with the following:


Cheap grace is the deadly enemy f our Church.  We are fighting to-day for costly grace.

Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks’ wares.  The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices.  Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost!  The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing.  Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite.
 
Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system.  It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian ‘conception’ of God.  An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins . . . no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin.  Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial o the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God.
 
Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner.  Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything an remain as it was before. -43

Let Bonhoeffer's words pierce through our souls.  Have we bought into cheap grace, or a cost grace?  A grace that says everything about God's love and nothing about His holiness?  A grace that says everything about grace and nothing about repentence, regeneration, or conversion?  Or will we accept a more costly grace?  A grace that may cost us our reputations, our desires, our dreams, our wants, our plans, and even our very lives?

One is salvific (the costly grace) the other is damnable (cheap grace).  Bonhoeffer, and I believe Christ, is calling us to reject cheap grace that magnifies the soul over the Savior and accept a more costly grace that humbles the soul and magnifies the Savior.


For more:
Bonhoeffer on Anxiety  
Bonhoeffer on the Golden Rule 
Bonhoeffer on Treasures in Heaven  
Bonhoeffer on Matthew 5:7-9 
Bonhoeffer: The Meaning of Poor In Spirit and the Joy of Being Spiritual Bankrupt
Bonhoeffer:  "By Willing Endurance We Cause Suffering to Pass" 
Weekly Recommendation: "The Cost of Discipleship"
Bonhoeffer: Truth and the Cross

Bibledex on Mark

Here is the folks at Bibledex's discussion on the Gospel of Mark.  This video is significantly longer than the others.  As always, I don't agree with everything they say, but it should get us thinking.




For more:
Bibledex on Luke 
Bibledex on John 
Bibledex on Romans
Bibledex on 2 Corinthians
Bibledex on Ephesians 
Bibledex on Philippians
Bibledex on Colossians 
Bibledex on 2 Thessalonians

TableTalk Magazine on Mark

Last week I directed you to the article on the Gospel of Luke in RC Sproul's TableTalk Magazine.  In the same edition of the magazine is a good article on the Gospel of Mark written by S. M. Baugh.  The author summarized his article thus:

In conclusion, Mark provides the listener with a dynamic account of the majestic authority of Jesus in word, but especially in powerful deeds that stunned His contemporaries with their supernatural character. These acts were a demonstration that the kingdom of God had indeed drawn near with His arrival. Yet the inauguration of this kingdom was not a political revolution but the King’s own substitutionary sacrifice for His people before His resurrection and ascension to “the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). Mark has told this story in such a way that the attentive listener will be led to confess, along with the first disciples: “You are the Christ.”

Like the others, its a good read that sums up the material and the book quit well.


For more:
Tabletalk Magazine February 2009 - The Witness of Mark  
TableTalk Magazine on Luke 

The Gospel Animated

The following video is an animation that presents the gospel.  The "preacher" is Dr. John Piper, a very well known author and pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Michigan.  If you want to understand the gospel, watch this.





HT: Between Two Worlds 

August 22, 2010 - Matthe 7:13-14 - The Gospel is For Fools: How to Empty a Church and Grow a Kingdom

Here are the notes and audio from yesterday morning taken from Matthew 7:13-14.  Certainly it is an unpopular message, but the gospel is itself unpopular.  Its is hard to believe and comes with a great cost.  And let us preach it as fools!



Audio 
Notes 


For more:
Weekly Recommendation "Hard to Believe" by John MacArthur 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:43-48 - Love God as He Loved You
May 23, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 6:1-4 - Camouflaged Gold:  Why Christians Should Give In Secret
May 30, 2010 - Matthew 6:5-8 - Jesus on Prayer:  Our Inward Motivations
June 6, 2010 - Matthew 9-13 - The Model Prayer 
June 13, 2010 - Matthew 6:14-15 - The Forgiven Forgive:  The Inseparable Reality of the Gospel of Forgiveness
June 27, 2010- Matthew 6:16-18 - The Gospel of Self-Denial:  Why Fasting is Biblical and What it Says About Our Faith
July 11, 2010 - Matthew 6:19-24 - Investing in the Kingdom of God  
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God:  What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God 
August 8, 2010 - Matthew 7:1-6 - Judge Not But Please Remove This Speck.  Its Killing My Eye:  Learning to Judge Righteously, Not Hypocritically   
August 15, 2010 - Matthew 7:7-12 - The Golden Rule and a Community of Love  

August 15, 2010 - Matthew 7:7-12: The Golden Rule and a Community of Love

Here are the notes from last weeks message. Sorry that I'm just now getting around to posting it.  I've been a little busy.  I don't have any audio, but only the notes.  Oops.  Our text was Matthew 7:7-12:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!   In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

 Notes 


For more:
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:43-48 - Love God as He Loved You
May 23, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 6:1-4 - Camouflaged Gold:  Why Christians Should Give In Secret
May 30, 2010 - Matthew 6:5-8 - Jesus on Prayer:  Our Inward Motivations
June 6, 2010 - Matthew 9-13 - The Model Prayer 
June 13, 2010 - Matthew 6:14-15 - The Forgiven Forgive:  The Inseparable Reality of the Gospel of Forgiveness
June 27, 2010- Matthew 6:16-18 - The Gospel of Self-Denial:  Why Fasting is Biblical and What it Says About Our Faith
July 11, 2010 - Matthew 6:19-24 - Investing in the Kingdom of God  
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God:  What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God 
August 8, 2010 - Matthew 7:1-6 - Judge Not But Please Remove This Speck.  Its Killing My Eye:  Learning to Judge Righteously, Not Hypocritically 

What is the Bible All About?: Tim Keller Weighs In

I really liked this video.  Author and pastor Tim Keller gives what he thinks the Bible is really about.  In short, he sees everything in Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, pointing us towards Christ.  The question is, is the Bible about us and what we can do or is it about God and what He has done and is doing?




I find this video helpful and well-put together.  I have summed the Bible up as:  The Failure of Man (Old Testament) and the Triumph of Christ (New Testament).

Its good to understand the big picture before diving in.


HT:  The Gospel Coalition 

For more:
Reviews - "The Reason for God" by Tim Keller  
Reviews - "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller
Reviews - "The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World"

What Do Mormons Believe? Watch This Cartoon

When I was a youth pastor, we were shown the following video (but the movie included more than just the following cartoon).  On the one hand, it makes me laugh.  The production value isn't great, the animation is choppy, and some of it is rather ridiculous.  However, it does present fairly sound Mormon theology.  I'm sure much of it will surprise you.




It is important to clear up one thing that may be going through your mind after watching the video.  The cartoon suggests that Mormons believe that blacks are a cursed race.  Is this really true?  Well, yes and no.  Ask the average Mormon and they will reject it and will probably not even know that that was once believed by their church.  However, it is true that official Mormon doctrine on this issue use to believe this but, like the polygamy issue, have sense changed their doctrine.

The Book of Mormon says:

And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sons cursing, because of their iniquity.  For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. -2 Nephi 5:21

Other passages could be mentioned, but this one is troubling.  I should repeat that to most, if not all, Mormons, they reject the idea that they believed that blacks were a cursed race.  However, texts like this are difficult to get around and many have tried.

I would not begin here when talking to a Mormon, but instead discuss the gospel.

Shai Linne: Triune Praise

Tonight at Bible Study we studied different musical mediums in which persons are spreading the gospel and one of them is rap.  I read the lyrics to the following song (which I included) to everyone and have now included the actual song.  I hope you like it.  But one cannot doubt that lyrically this is about as strong of a song as you'll find today.




Verse 1
 
Praise God the Father, the Immortal Creator
For Your glory you made us, You're the Sovereign Orchestrator
All that You decree will most surely come to happen
You're awesome as can be and Your glory none can fathom
Nothing could ever stain You, the heavens can't contain You
We thank You for sending Your Son to explain You
Otherwise we would have remained in the dark
but You sent Your Holy Spirit to spark a change in our hearts
According to Your eternal purpose and will
You determined to reveal Yourself to those who deserve to be killed
Those of us whom You foreknew adore You
We praise You that You predestined us to be conformed to
The image of Your Son who's the radiance of Your glory
When I meditate on it, the weightiness of it floors me
So Father, we'll praise you over and over again
Because You sent Your only Son to atone for our sins

Chorus 
 
Glory to the Father, Glory to the Son,
Glory to The Spirit- Three and Yet One
One in Your essence, Three in Your Person
The same in Your nature, distinct in Your working
Oh my soul- behold the wonder of the Trinity
Blessed be the Trinity, Oh, what a mystery!
I'll stand amazed for the rest of my days
Pouring out my heart in Triune praise

Verse 2

Praise God the Son, Second Person of the Trinity
You're distinct from the Father, yet you share in His divinity
Fulfilling an eternal covenant- You came through
To planet earth to save who? All the Father gave You
You became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief
For the glory of Your Father You extinguished the beef
That stood between us at the cross- the Father's anger released
The Shepherd slain for the sheep, the situation is deep
I can't find the right language to speak, in fact it's making me weep-
Just the thought of You saving this creep
You're risen from the dead, I still can't get this in my head,
How the Judge could leave the bench and go to prison instead
Lord Jesus, you're amazing, Your bleeding is what saved men
It's the reason why we're praising, can't wait to see Your face
In the meantime, please help us to see You as colossal
And by the Spirit live lives worthy of the gospel

Verse 3

Praise God the Holy Spirit, 3rd person of the Trinity
Distinct from Father and Son, yet share in Their divinity
Holy Spirit we praise You, You don't like the spotlight
You'd rather point away from yourself and give props to Christ
But yet because You're God, You deserve veneration
And You're the One responsible for our regeneration
You apply the finished work of Christ to all the elect
Your call is effectual- You haven't lost one yet
You comfort us when sin, Satan and the world got us bothered
And it's only by You that we cry out "Abba Father"
You're the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Truth,
You graciously provide Your people with the gifts and the fruit
You help us kill sin and dis-attach us from our idols
If it wasn't for You, we'd never understand the Bible
Because You wrote it- For our life it will surely suffice
Amazingly, You do it all for the glory of Christ!

Bibledex on Luke

Here is the video from the folks at Bibledex on the Gospel of Luke.  Like always, I don't like everything in the video, but it at least raises some of the stories and issues surrounding the the book.  One thing I didn't like is how at the very beginning the video notes, via one of its scholars, that Luke focuses on the poor, the marginalized, and women.  This is true, but this is not his primary perspective.  Many social gospel leaders point to Luke and Jesus' emphasis on the poor, but they forget that Luke was sponsored by a rich man Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4).

Anyways, the picture to the left is the traditional symbol of Luke's gospel and it is that of an ox or a bull.  The reason for this symbol (remember that John's was an eagle who can look directly at the sun) is because Luke opens and ends with a sacrifice.  At the beginning there is mention of the sacrifice Zachariah was offering when he discovered his wife was pregnant and at the end is the sacrifice of Jesus.  As a result, many use the ox or bull to point Christians towards the command to sacrifice all like Christ.  Or as Luke records Christ, "pick up your cross and follow" Jesus.

Here's the video:




For more:
Bibledex on John 
Bibledex on Romans
Bibledex on 2 Corinthians
Bibledex on Ephesians 
Bibledex on Philippians
Bibledex on Colossians 
Bibledex on 2 Thessalonians

Tabletalk Magazine on the Gospel of Luke

A small magazine that I would recommend is called Tabletalk and comes from Ligonier Ministry which is the ministry of RC Sproul.  Back in February 2009, the magazine highlighted each of the Four Gospels and they are available online.  I recommend we read each of them, but being that tonight we'll be looking at Luke, I want to especially highlight it.  It is a good summary of the book and a good place to start to understanding this important Gospel.

Robert Rothwell, the article's author, concludes:

Humanly speaking, nothing required Luke to record these aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry. He could have chosen other events to describe, for he, just like the other Evangelists, had no shortage of material from which to draw upon (John 21:25). Under the direction of God the Holy Spirit, however, Luke gave us a gospel that shows the historicity of the Christian faith and emphasizes the Almighty’s concern for Gentiles and other outcasts. We can be grateful for these emphases because they give all of us who have been cast out of the kingdom on account of our sin, Jew and Gentile alike, real hope that God has intervened in history and will not regard forever as outcasts all those who believe on His Son.

Tabletalk Magazine February 2009 - The Witness of Luke 

Cool Churches Are Empty Churches: The Wall Street Journal Wakes Us Up

The Wall Street Journal has an article that is a must read for every Christian and church leader to read and seriously think about.  Here's the issue:  are cool churches growing and making a difference, or considered foolish and irrelevant?  Two things will empty a church:  liberalism and pursuing relevancy.

The article is entitled The Perils of Hipster Christianity and Why Young Evangelicals Reject Churches That Try to Be Cool. A smaller title is "The Perils of 'Wannabe Cool' Christianity.  As the titles suggest, churches that are spending their time wearing trendy jeans and doing sermon series on how to have better sex are being rejected by young people in droves.  In other words, relevancy makes us irrelevant.

Brett McCracken, the article's author, gives ample evidence on the subject.  It is at this point that we must ask ourselves if we are falling for this trap.  Will we grow simply because we change our style of music?  Will we explode because we look trendy?  Will the culture love us and want to hear us if we change our message?  The answer is an emphatic no.  Our effort to be more like the culture corrupts and strangles the gospel.

No amount of messy games with the youth will make the gospel more powerful.  No drum set will make the gospel more affective.  No holes in the pastors and staff's jeans will make the Holy Spirit move more.  If the gospel is transcendent, then music, clothes, tattoos, games, technology, and jokes will have no affect on the power and reception of the gospel.

As a guy who worked exclusively with youth for a half a decade, I have found that being "cool" is more ineffective than being honest.  Let's be honest.  If I wanted to play games, I would stay home and turn on the Playstation, not go to church.  If I want to learn about the mechanics of sex, I would wait for lunch at school, not go to church.  If I want to be entertained, I would go to the movies, not go to church.  And yet many Christians and churches have fallen for this trap.  Hear the evidence.  Pursuing relevancy makes us irrelevant.

So where do we go from here?  No where.  We stand firmly on the gospel.  Instead of debating music styles or cultural trends, let us proclaim with boldness the gospel of Jesus Christ and only the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Unless we look to the cross and preach the resurrection to everyone including ourselves, we will be irrelevant because we are without the Holy Spirit. 

In other words, preach Christ and when we're done, preach Christ again.


Brian McCracken (The Wall Street Journal) - The Perils of 'Wannabe Cool' Christianity  


For more:
Commentary - Accomodationism Breed Irrelevancy:  Why Liberalism Fails and the Transcendent Gospel Triumphs  
Sermons - November 29, 2009:  The Transcendence of the Gospel  
Goshen - Are We Contemporvant? 
Goshen - "Christ, Christ Baby!":  Why I Do Not Seek to Be Relevant 
Reviews - "Do Hard Things"  
Theology - Mohler:  Youth Ministry in a New Key?  Substance Over Sugar-Coating 
Theology - Lets Get Back to Ministry:  When Entertainment Creeps into the Church 
Theology - Old Enough to Know Better. But I'm Still Too Young To Care 
Reviews - "Start Right Here"
Reviews - "Already Gone" 

August 1, 2010 - Matthew 6:25-34 - Worry and the Providence of God: What Our Anxiety Says About What We Believe About God

I know I've gotten a little behind, but with this I should be caught up with posting all audio and notes from Sunday morning sermons online.  This is the notes from August 1 when we looked at Matthew 6:25-34 regarding worrying in light of our understanding of God's providence.

Audio 
Notes


For more:
Bonhoeffer on Anxiety
MacArthur on Anxiety
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:43-48 - Love God as He Loved You
May 23, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew Thus Far:  Matthew 1-5 
January 17, 2010 - Matthew 5:1-12 - If Your Joyful and You Know It . . . 
January 24, 2010 - Matthew 5:13 - Stuck Between Salt and Manure:  The Call to Preserve the Gospel 
January 31, 2010 - Matthew 5:14-26 - Its Dark in Here:  The Call to be the Light of the World 
February 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:17-20 - Medium Rare is Unbiblical or What Do Christians Do with the Law
February 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:21-22 - I Am a Murderer . . . And So Are You 
February 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:23-26 - Resetting What Was Broken:  The Necessity of Reconciliation
February 28, 2010 - Matthew 5:27-30 - America's Pastime: Our Lust for Lust 
March 7, 2010 - Matthew 5:31-32 - The Gospel and Divorce:  What Does the Bible Say?
March 14, 2010 - Matthew 5:33-37 - Allergies to Toast, the Gospel, and Integrity
March 21, 2010 - Matthew 5:38-42 - I Surrender!  I Surrender!
March 28, 2010 - Matthew 6:1-4 - Camouflaged Gold:  Why Christians Should Give In Secret
May 30, 2010 - Matthew 6:5-8 - Jesus on Prayer:  Our Inward Motivations
June 6, 2010 - Matthew 9-13 - The Model Prayer 
June 13, 2010 - Matthew 6:14-15 - The Forgiven Forgive:  The Inseparable Reality of the Gospel of Forgiveness
June 27, 2010- Matthew 6:16-18 - The Gospel of Self-Denial:  Why Fasting is Biblical and What it Says About Our Faith
July 11, 2010 - Matthew 6:19-24 - Investing in the Kingdom of God  
August 1, 2010 - Matthew 7:1-6 - Judge Not But Please Remove This Speck.  Its Killing My Eye:  Learning to Judge Righteously, Not Hypocritically

August 8, 2010 - Matthew 7:1-6 - Judge Not But Please Remove This Speck. Its Killing My Eye: Learning to Judge Righteously, Not Hypocritically

Here is the audio and notes from last Sunday's message.

Audio
Notes




For more:

How Much Do You Owe?: Mark Driscoll on our Need for Redemption

Today has been a crazy day to say the least.  A roller coaster ride from sun up to now sun down.  I am reminded that no matter who I meet, the situations I find myself in, or the confusions I have it is the following message found in the video below that must motivate and move us.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is our only hope.  Let us not forget that.

The following video is a sermon clip from Pastor Mark Driscoll who ministers in Seattle, WA.  One of the most secular and unreached cities in America.  It is good to hear the gospel being preached in such a dark place and we desperately need it in our Bible-belt town.




For more:
Weekly Recommendation:  "Death by Love"  
The Church as Family   
Review -"Religion Saves"
Review - "The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World"
Review - "The Radical Reformission"
Review - "Vintage Jesus"
Theology - Churches Helping Churches: MacDonald Makes His Plea
Theology - The Myth of Adolescence: Mark Driscoll Weighs In
Theology - Does Satan Exist? Debate
Theology - Driscoll on ABC

Bonhoeffer on the Golden Rule

I found this interesting from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's pen regarding the Golden Rule.

To sum up: it is clear from the foregoing that the disciple has no special privilege or power of his own in all his intercourse with others.  The mainspring of his life and work is the strength which comes from fellowship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus offers his disciples a simple rule of thumb which will enable even the least sophisticated of them to tell whether this intercourse with others is on the right lines or not.  All he need do is to say ‘I’ instead of ‘Thou,’ and put himself in the other man’s place.  ‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets.”  The moment he does that, the disciple forfeits all advantage over other men, and can no longer excuse in himself what he condemns in others.  He is as strict in condemning evil in himself as he was before with others, and as lenient with the evil in others as he was before to himself.  The evil in the other person is exactly the same evil as in ourselves.  There is only one judgment, one law, and one grace.  Henceforth the disciple will look upon other men as forgiven sinners who owe their lives to the love of God.  ‘This is the law and the prophets’ – for this is none other than the supreme commandment: to love God above all things and our neighbours as ourselves. -The Cost of Discipleship, 188.

Bibledex on John

I haven't kept up with these as well as I wanted to, but here is the Bibledex video for the Gospel of John which we will be looking at tonight.  Again, I would remind everyone that I do not agree with everything stated in many of these videos, but they do introduce us to some of the issues surrounding the book.

The picture to the left is that of an eagle and is oftentimes associated with the Gospel of John.  The reason is because the eagle is believed to be the only animal that can look directly at the sun.  Change the "u" to an "o" and you can get the point.




For more:
Bibledex on Romans
Bibledex on 2 Corinthians
Bibledex on Ephesians 
Bibledex on Philippians
Bibledex on Colossians 
Bibledex on 2 Thessalonians

See, I Told You So: Women Love Men in Red

According to recent research, women find red more attractive than any other color.  That means that if you want to attract a special lady or if you husbands want to look especially special to your wife, wear red.  The story comes from Reuters with the title, "Women find men in red more appealing?"  The first paragraph reads:

Men wanting to catch the eye of women should dress in red, a color which new research shows makes them more alluring to the opposite sex.

Click on the title of the article to read the rest.  Of course this is all for giggles and kicks.  I now know why I was able to catch such a perfect wife:  I'm a Louisville Cardinal fan! 

A Parable From Home Improvement

Tomorrow we'll be discussing hypocritical judgmentalism from Matthew 7:1-6.  I thought the following clip from the show Home Improvement was a great illustration of the Jesus parable of the two men, one with a speck in his eye and the other with an entire plank.

Providence and Prayer: Carson Response

Tonight we discussed God's providence and how it affects and applies to us.  We didn't discuss the issue of prayer.  If God is provident, then what is prayer?  I won't go much deeper than that at this point, but I do want to share a video from theologian and author DA Carson (whom I greatly respect) on the subject.  Its not great, but still pretty good.  Plenty here to think about:



HT: Pure Church