Category Archives: Christianity

Christmas Card Theology

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I wrote a post two years ago with the same title.  It’s very short, here’s a link.  In that post I begged the question what if everything we know about Christmas we learned from reading Christmas cards?  You know, details such as exactly 3 wise men were at the manager with the shepherds on the night Christ was born, and that angels are beautiful women with blonde hair, hymn books and choir robes.  I worked that into a sermon last year and it’s a shame I don’t have all those pics online somewhere.

Well, here’s a Christmas card that I like.

Continue reading →

There is Much to be Thankful For

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A psalm for giving thanks.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
-David, Psalm 100

Easter and Christmas are the most prolific Christian holidays celebrated in the United States, but in the strictest sense those are not commanded in scripture.  As far as we know, the followers of Jesus never did anything special for his birthday.  Recognizing that the Son of God came into the world as incarnate deity is paramount to the Christian faith, but what I’m saying is that no verse in scripture instructs us to celebrate Christmas.  Further, Christians worship on Sunday rather than the Sabbath, or seventh day, because the resurrection was on the first day of the week.  In a sense, every Sunday is Easter Sunday.

We are instructed to give thanks. Continue reading →

Jesusween

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Not all Christians feel the same way about Halloween.  To be fair, Christians feel differently about all kinds of things from playing music to consuming alcohol.  The answer to any question very much depends on who you ask.  But Halloween is next week and Christian responses really run the gamut on this one, from full participation to turning the lights off and going to bed early.

Jesus Ween seeks to make October 31st all about Jesus.   Continue reading →

The Rich Young Man; Look Again

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He came to Jesus professing he had kept all the commandments from his youth.  After Jesus told him to sell all he had and give to the poor, the man left very sad for he had great possessions.  We all know this story, there’s nothing else to learn from it right?  (It’s a trick question, don’t answer.)

The story of the Rich Young Man (or Ruler, historically) is accounted in Mark 10:17-22.  He asks Jesus what he must do in order to have eternal life.  Perhaps you’ve heard religion is what we do, the gospel is what Jesus does for us.  But Jesus tells him to keep the commandments.  The man replies he has kept all of the from his youth.  Now we know that he is either lying or more likely has deceived himself.  He thinks he is good, bound by the notion that what he does will earn him salvation.  For those of us that know this story, the way I thought I knew this story, look again at verse 21:

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Jesus looked at him, loved him, and then responded.  Jesus was actually listening to him, not just waiting for his turn to speak.  This man left sorrowful because he had many possession.  The scriptures do not say that Jesus was sorrowful, but we know that it is God’s will that no one should perish.  Jesus wept over Jerusalem and prayed for the ones that hung him on the cross.  Jesus loved the rich young man.  This was a good person that was tragically attached to his worldly possessions.  Jesus loved him.  But this person, like so many others, found something else that he loved more than Jesus.  He went away sad that day.

Every single person you met today: Jesus loves them.  There is a lesson to be learned about how to receive eternal life, but look at the lessons here for Christians.  Look at people.  Listen to them.  Love the way that Jesus loves.  And remember that there are no Super Christians.  Every person that Jesus witnessed to did not get saved either.

What About Ghosts?

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Halloween is coming up.  You can read my obigatory Halloween rant here; I want this post to be something else.  Let’s examine the reality of witches, demons, evil spirts and ghosts.  Let’s separate literal truth from literary fiction, because in this life “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorites, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  Eph 6: 12

In Matthew 14, Jesus comes to the disciples walking on water.   Continue reading →

Lessons from Jonah

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There is old saying about quality over quantity.  The old testament book of Jonah is only 4 chapters long, but it has much to teach us.

Lesson #1: Listen to God

Many people spend a lifetime “searching” for God.  Even those who know God still spend much time seeking his will.  God plainly speaks to Jonah, telling him exactly what he wants done.  God has ordained the events of history.  Paul says we see through a glass darkly, so it makes sense to listen to the one who sees all things clearly.  Consider Genesis 50 and Acts 2 when pondering free will.  Man does what he wants, God always gets what he wants.  God had plans for Nineveh, and Jonah was to be the instrument God used.  We could save ourselves a lot of pain (and wasted time, energy and effort) if we would just listen to God in the first place, especially when he makes it that clear. Continue reading →

Can a Christian …

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Can a person be a Christian and _________?  We’ve all heard that or wrestled with it at one time or another.  We may  be tempted at times to wish for a simple list of 80 gazillion rules that spell out every possible situation, leaving no grey areas to deal with.  That’s basically what they had in the Old Testament and that didn’t work out either.  There are so many issues the Bible either doesn’t speak to or doesn’t address as clearly as we would like.  Can a Christian drink?  What about smoking?  Can I be a Christian and still get a tattoo/play cards/dance/listen to pop, rap and/or country music?

The Bible may seem at times to give conflicting instruction.  We are to walk circumspectly of the world, and to not love the world or the things the world loves.  Paul makes cryptic statements like “all things are lawful for me but not all things are profitable.”  That’s the law of grace, but… what?  Can I play Texas Hold’em or not?

Dave Miller at SBC Voices does an awesome job with this.  He divides most issues up into four categories, and rather than attempt to answer each question he guides the individual to set up a rubric of sorts to work them out.  I found this post in particular very well written and extremely helpful.  He links to many other posts in the series.  Highly recommended.

Truth Matters: The Gospel According to Paul

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The Truth Matters Bible Conference was held earlier this month at John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church.  The focus of the conference was the Gospel According to Paul.  Grace to You has all 11 sermons available as free downloads!  Includes John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Don Green and Col. Jeffrey N. Williams.  I feel very Michael Spencer linking these resources.

 

Blog Fodder: Palestine, SBC and Rob Bell

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These are perhaps the most blogged stories over the past few days in the Christian blogosphere.  Each is somewhat divisive, and everyone has their own opinion.  In no particular order:

Palestine is petitioning the U.N. to create a Palestinian state.  President Obama and former president Clinton agree that doing so at this time is a bad idea. Clinton however railed on the Obama White House last week that all the current problems with Israeli relations are the fault of Obama policies. Benjamin Netanyahu describes the U.S. is a friend of Israel, but Obama is in a delicate political position right now.  Palestine would need the support of the U.N. Security Council to move forward, and the U.S. has said it will veto the measure if it comes to that.  Obama’s political career needs for it to not come to that.

Southern Baptist Convention might seek a new name.  Back in the late 80’s an SBC name change was handily defeated. “North American Baptist” was the proposal back in the day, implying a broader base than the South. I once heard an IMB missionary to Canada comment on the irony of planting Southern Baptist churches there. Since slavery is no longer the dividing issue (SBC denounced all historic ties to racism back in 1991) it begs the question of why all American Baptists could not re-unite. The answer is that SBC would never give up their organization, but we MUST beg the question.

Rob Bell is leaving Mars Hill Church. Bell went to the unlikeliest of places and practically did the impossible with Mars Hill. His recent book Love Wins seems to imply universal salvation, and has not been received well (to say the least) by some Christians. He said something about broadening his horizons by leaving, whatever that means. Rick Warren suggests the danger here is that leaders no longer have a community to keep them accountable. Bell could easily support himself without Mars Hill; selling books and DVD’s might be far more profitable than pastoring.

Discuss: I’ll Give You a Topic

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As a matter of fact, I’ll give you three topics.  I’m going to toss these out in no particular order and sort out the results later.

1. Palestine asked the UN to be recognized as a state.  President Obama advised against it.  The U.S. does not want to veto it in the Security Council, but says it will if necessary.

2. The Southern Baptist Convention is considering a name change.  None of us had blogs back in the 80’s, so maybe this is entirely for our benefit.

3. Rob Bell has resigned from Mars Hill.  Rick Warren had comments, what are yours?

…

12 hours later and no takers.  Comments to this post are closed.

Read Blog Fodder: Palestine, SBC and Rob Bell at The Master’s Table.