Well, I gave this blog a trial run of about 2 months to see if I could realistically write and post the way I had envisioned amidst everything else going on in my life right now.

Short answer…not gonna happen.

I’m finding it difficult to write when I’m spending my entire day focused on work that has nothing to do with what I’m writing about. And when I’m at home I want to spend time with my family.

So…it was fun, I enjoyed it (when I could find time), but maybe some other time.

Off to more important things!

Our faith is a person; the gospel that we have to preach is a person; and go wherever we may, we have something solid and tangible to preach, for our gospel is a person.

If you had asked the twelve Apostles in their day, ‘What do you believe in?’ they would not have stopped to go round about with a long sermon, but they would have pointed to their Master and they would have said, ‘We believe him.’

‘But what are your doctrines?’ ‘There they stand incarnate.’

‘But what is your practice?’ ‘There stands our practice. He is our example.’

‘What then do you believe?’ Hear the glorious answer of the Apostle Paul, ‘We preach Christ crucified.’

Our creed, our body of divinity, our whole theology is summed up in the person of Christ Jesus.
— C.H. Spurgeon

HT: Ray Ortlund

I loved this quote from Dan Allender, addressing our laziness as parents when we don’t play with our children in the name of efficiency:

Play requires more time and demands more engagement than does your work … work is onerous and efficient, whereas play is fun and prodigally wasteful. You can weed a flowerbed far faster alone than you can by involving a child in the process. One can ride a bicycle far faster and farther without the encumbrance of children. A walk will produce more physical exercise when undertaken alone than it can if a child is tagging along asking questions about trees and birds and whether you saw that lizard dart into the rocks…Play is ridiculously inefficient. It splurges and spends, often without any apparent return on its investment.
— Dan Allender, How Children Raise Parents

God knows I need this reminder sometimes.

It is so easy for me to forget that time spent just being with my kids, regardless of whether or not anything measurable is being accomplished, is time well spent.

HT: Life Together

It is obvious that as a society of parents we are more restrictive, protective, and paranoid than just 20 years ago when I was growing up.

But the question is: does this paranoia help or harm our children in the long run?

Michael Chabon writes in the New York Review of Books:

We schedule their encounters for them, driving them to and from one another’s houses so they never get a chance to discover the unexplored lands between. If they are lucky, we send them out to play in the backyard, where they can be safely fenced in and even, in extreme cases, monitored with security cameras. When my family and I moved onto our street in Berkeley, the family next door included a nine-year-old girl; in the house two doors down the other way, there was a nine-year-old boy, her exact contemporary and, like her, a lifelong resident of the street. They had never met.

The sandlots and creek beds, the alleys and woodlands have been abandoned in favor of a system of reservations—Chuck E. Cheese, the Jungle, the Discovery Zone: jolly internment centers mapped and planned by adults with no blank spots aside from doors marked staff only. When children roller-skate or ride their bikes, they go forth armored as for battle, and their parents typically stand nearby.

I can’t imagine letting my kids run loose in the neighborhood from morning until dinner time; but, why not? Is this right? Is this even founded on rational concerns?

I’m not sure that it’s entirely, even mostly, rational – perhaps our fears are hyped up because of our own overexposure to sensationalized media stories and movies about crimes against children.

Chabon goes on to write:

But the primary reason for this curtailing of adventure, this closing off of Wilderness, is the increased anxiety we all feel over the abduction of children by strangers; we fear the wolves in the Wilderness. This is not a rational fear; in 1999, for example, according to the Justice Department, the number of abductions by strangers in the United States was 115. Such crimes have always occurred at about the same rate; being a child is exactly no more and no less dangerous than it ever was. What has changed is that the horror is so much better known.

We all need to find a balance between offering our children the adventure and beauty of the freedom of exploring their world on the one hand, and adequately protecting them from potential harm on the other.

I am fearful of the negative effects of falling too steeply on either side: over protectiveness will certainly stifle my children’s experience, adventure, enjoyment of childhood, and confidence in facing the unknown. Under protectiveness could leave them more vulnerable to harm and exposure to morally questionable environments.

What is the right balance? I can’t say; I don’t think it’s formulaic.

What I can say is that I’ll pray for wisdom on when to let them run free and when to keep them on a tight leash.

And I’ll pray for the Lord’s good protection over them from the ill effects of my parenting mishaps – whatever side those mishaps fall on.

Go read The Wilderness of Childhood.

When it comes to social media technology, it’s simply too naive to either fully embrace them as an answer to all of our disconnectedness, or to fully denounce them as inherently harmful and narcissistic.

I think wisdom calls for a stance that recognizes both the value and the danger in our usage of social media.

A wise insight from Ed Stetzer on social media technology in an interview at Going to Seminary:

It was Marshall McLuhan who coined the phrase, “The medium is the message.” We must acknowledge that how a message is communicated affects the message itself. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are nothing more than tools, like the printing press, radio, television, and the mobile phone. They can help in small bursts or can become a bane to relationship building. Their usefulness is determined by the manner they are used.

Twitter. Facebook. Blogs.

They are tools. Tools to help us connect with others. They can be used for good – of that I am thoroughly convinced.

But they can also quickly suck us away from our real flesh and blood relationships, into a world where we control both what we see about others and what we reveal about ourselves. They can quickly become a “bane to relationship building.”

So, I think we just need to be wise. We need to be discerning. We need to watch our time spent in these worlds of social media, and put our primary time emphasis on the people, communities, and responsibilities where we actually physically exist.

Feeling sapped? Joyless? Far from Christ?

I have a question for you: have you heard a Christ-exalting, Scripture-saturated, passionate sermon lately?

Instead of looking inward when we feel out of touch with God, we need to look Christ-ward.

And the primary means by which God points us in that direction is through preaching.

In a sermon, we hear a word from God that comes to us from without, that comes to us to call us out of our own selfish world and into His story.

In preaching, our gaze is directed Christ-ward in faith – and it is from Christ alone lasting hope, joy, and love is kindled in our hearts.

An insightful word from John Piper on expositional preaching, joy, and strength:

Here’s another reason I am joyfully committed to expository exultation, that is, preaching.

Look at this amazing statement of what biblical exposition is like when it’s done well—in the power of God’s Spirit and riveted on biblical texts.

Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people…. [T]he Levites helped the people to understand the Law…. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading…. And all the people went their way…to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (Nehemiah 8:5-8,12)

First, there was a reader of the word of God. Then there were those who explained the words. Then there was true understanding in the minds of the people. Then there was great rejoicing “because they had understood the words.”

It is astonishing to me how many pastors apparently don’t believe in pursuing the joy of their people in this way. Evidently they think it doesn’t work. I’m sure there are many reasons for this abandonment of biblical exposition.

But I simply want to wave the flag and say: There was joy then. And there is joy today when God’s people see real, divine meaning in texts that they had not seen before.

If you want to see a strong church, keep in mind that it is no accident that in this very context the writer says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

What joy? The joy of verse 12: “All the people went their way…to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.”

God’s truth followed by faithful, Spirit-anointed exposition, leads to great joy, which is the strength of God’s people. So give the sense, brothers. Give the sense!

— John Piper

After church this morning, I’m feeling greatly encouraged; not because of myself, but because of my mighty God.

We closed today by singing Mighty to Save by Hillsong.

These words are always a refreshment to my weary soul; but my heart was solely set on a friend this morning for whom I have great hope that God will move mountains to show him Christ.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Amen.

God, you alone are mighty and merciful, and nobody is outside of your reach. Work your wonders God and bring yourself praise!

This is a continuing series of posts where I am summarizing and reflecting on the sermons in our senior pastor’s four part series on biblical prophecy, “So What’s Next?”.

• Introduction to the End Times
• Reflection on the first sermon
• Reflection on the second sermon
• Reflection on the third sermon – part I
• Reflection on the third sermon – part II – The Rapture
• Reflection on the third sermon – part III – The Great Tribulation

So now we come to it – the big chebang, the moment of truth, the whole enchilada.

The second coming of Christ.

There is only one major difference of note – in the dispensational scheme of the end times, this return of Christ is to the nation of Israel to deliver them from enemies that have allied at their gates under the united leadership of the anti-Christ.

In the amillennial view, this second coming will be to deliver all his people, Jew and Gentile, finally and completely from this present age as He ushers in the age of eternity.

There was also reference made to Zechariah 14; I haven’t studied up enough on this passage to know whether or not I agree that it is talking about the second coming of Christ or not. But in the sermon, it was obviously taken as a literal description of the second coming, as he preached that Christ will literally split the Mount of Olives in two as he lands after his descent.

I’ll have to read up on that some more before I land.

There wasn’t one main text or exposition dealt with in depth on the second coming, it was just delivered in such a powerful way that I found myself caught up in the wave of joy thinking of that day when Christ returns for His bride.

It was preached with genuine emotion and contagious passion – any Christian, regardless of his or her millennial view would have been touched by the painted picture of Christ returning in a victorious procession to crush the enemy.

It was very moving as he spoke of Christ coming as “the rider on the white horse”; but I think it would have been even more powerful if the passage from Revelation was read aloud.

Check it out:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
— Revelation 19:11-16

This isn’t your friendly neighborhood Jesus. This isn’t Jesus meek and mild. He is coming as the returning King with some serious business to take care of.

His authority is unmatched, his strength is beyond measure, and his mission is unstoppable.

And His names tell the story – He is called Faithful and True, He is called The Word of God, He is called King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Breathtaking.

And this is my great hope, that one day I will see Him. Actually see Him face to face. Actually see the radiance of his face. Actually touch His white robe. Actually bow down to worship at his feet (his literal flesh and blood feet!)

It’s actually going to happen. Someday. Sometime. Someplace.

Christ is coming back.

What an awesome thought.

Have you ever been a part of a small group where the bible study felt like a pooling of unfounded opinions, a winding road to nowhere, or a painful root canal?

A short while ago, I came to my own conclusions that small group “bible study”, where a group goes through a fill-in-the blank type study of Scripture, on the spot, just doesn’t work.

Now, when I say that, I’m referring to a specific type of small group, probably the most popular type today.

I’m not talking about a group of men or women that decide they are going to get together and really get into Scripture, including preparation and study on their own ahead of time and a mutual committment and enjoyment of getting at the meaning of texts.

I’m talking about the type of small groups, often mixed with men and women, where there is little to no preparation beforehand and the goal is to engage everyone in discussion.

In my experience, these types of groups, when engaged in “bible studies” on the spot, end up as one of the following:

• dominated by those with more bible knowledge
• with sounds of chirping crickets as everyone sits in silence unable to offer up any answers
• leaving the objective sense of the text behind as everyone fishes for what this verse means to me

Studying the bible, first and foremost, involves arriving at an accurate meaning of the text in front of you. Giving it a cursory read and starting to talk about “what it means to me” just doesn’t cut it.

Arriving at the intended meaning is not easy – it takes time, effort, dedication, and the Spirit. I think we shortchange Scripture, and make people feel unnecessarily self-conscious and guilty, when we expect them to come up with meanings/interpretations of texts on the spot.

Now, this is not to say that these types of small groups are bad – far from it. They are wonderful environments for discussion, application, fellowship, and prayer that is all based on biblical truth; I just don’t think they are good environments for defining what the biblical truth is.

So maybe that’s where these groups should be focused in order to be most effective and helpful – application instead of interpretation.

T. David Gordon put this into words in a spot-on piece that available over at his site. I found myself agreeing the whole way through, as he makes the case that the whole dynamic of small group environments is actually antithetical to the nature and process of studying Scripture as God’s objective revelation.

Check out Small Group Bible Study?

Certainly all pastors have room for improvement, and should be striving and working hart at improving their preaching and other aspects of their ministry.

If they are not, then they are lazy and not considering the weight of their calling.

However, next time you complain about a sermon or would rather be listening to one of the uniquely gifted big-names on your iPod, it’s worth asking what lies at the root of your complaint.

Have we succumbed to the celebrity culture in our churches – constantly comparing our pastor(s) with the brilliant preachers we’ve heard elsewhere?

Tim Challies writes:

The fact is, God has put us in churches with less-than-perfect and often less-than-brilliant pastors. The fact that there are extraordinary preachers tells us that there must be vast numbers of perfectly ordinary pastors. This means that most of us have been blessed by God with a very ordinary kind of pastor, just as most of our wives have been blessed by very ordinary-looking husbands. These men, these ordinary pastors, are the ones to whom we owe our loyalty. They are the ones to whom Paul refers when he tells the church at Thessalonica “to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” These are the men God has given to serve you and to labor as pastors before you. It is through these men that God means to specially bless you in that unique body called the local church.

Read the whole thing