This is kinda’ fun is you have a few minutes. Click here to take the hermeneutics quiz, which gives a score between 20 and 100 based on how you interpret the Bible. Thank you Brian Evans for the link. By the way, I scored a 61.
Isaiah 1
I just read a very good (if not somewhat lengthy) post here on Isaiah Chp. 1. I’ve preached more than once on this text. It’s a harsh reprimand for people that “play church” by doing all the churchy things, but not worshiping in spirit and in truth. If you’ve been reading my weblog, you know how I feel about that. Isaiah mentions all the things they’re doing; the stuff God commanded. But the problem is they have innocent blood on their hands. They live in their sins, and act out the motions, but are not changed people inside. God (through Isaiah) finally tells them to stop doing evil, and learn to do good. Jesus quotes Isaiah when he says “this people love me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” In Deuteronomy, God says to “circumcise your hearts.” Replace everything in the Isaiah 1 list with singing hymns, praise and worship choruses, powerpoint slides, taking collection, etc. Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman about worshiping in spirit and in truth. Isaiah says that true religion is to visit the widow and the fatherless, an idea echoed in the New Testament. Worship is an outward extension of what’s inside of us, not something we can rehearse until we get it right.
New Friends
I’ve listed the blogs I read in a recent post. Some I know personally, some I’ve got to know by what they write online. There is a certain personality type that blogs I guess, and bloggers probably have certain things they all share in common. But what about this:
Jack and Shirley have a blog called Notes from a Retired Preacher. Jack is a retired preacher, 78 years of age. His latest post (as of this moment) is titled “How to Share Christ.” I think that’s awesome.
Let’s say there is no God…
For the sake of this argument, the premise is that the atheists are right. God does not exist, and all religions are mistaken about any type of higher power, intelligent design, etc. I want to examine for a moment the pragmatic effects of having Christians in the world.
I know that from time to time Christians do really dumb things. Continue reading
Blogs I read
I didn’t start blogging because there were no good blogs out there. Quite the opposite; reading some very good blogs is what inspired me to write also. Here are some of the blogs I have found. Some of these are listed in my blogroll, some are not. Perhaps more should be. If you find your blog listed below and don’t wish to be, let me know.
UPDATE: All the blogs listed below are now in my blogroll, regardless of what each one says.
Two Channel Station: I met Ricky online by way of his blog. He recently added Adam as his blogging partner. I’ve never seen or spoken to either of these guys, but they write thought provoking material on religion, philosophy and politics. I highly recommend them – after you read my blog each day, of course:-)
Third Watch: This is a group blog also. Sometimes they have cute pictures of their kids. If you’re an old grouch about that sort of thing, stay away. But they also have very insightful commentary on the Christianity in America.
Redhead Rev: not on my blogroll yet, Red Head Rev is a female minister in the Assemblies of Christ. Her husband Chris appears with her on a video she has up right now from Palm Sunday. You’re welcome to feel however you wish about women in ministry. But before you comment, just remember this post is “Blogs I Read” not “Blogs for you to agree or disagree with.”
Pilgrim’s Journey: is on my blogroll. Brian and I met in college. He went on to get his M.Div. at Midwestern in Kansas City. Don’t ask his opinion unless you really want him to answer honestly. Atheists – stay away from this guy. He’s not nice like me.
Life in Mordor: also on my blogroll. Mike Frizzell has been blogging quite a while. His archives are extensive, and he’s pretty well read. You and I could both learn a lot from him.
Noel Heikkinen: on my blogroll. I once watched this guy throw a coconut threw a full length mirror. He then explained we’re broken by sin, and cannot be put back together. His blog is a lot of things, religion being one of them. Most of it’s hilarious. I’ll be hilarious someday; I’m working through the serious stuff first.
A Small Faith: not on my blogroll, but I should probably add it. A Small Faith is another group blog, with some good theology. By listing their blog here, it will prevent me from just copying and pasting their stuff in my own blog to make me look smarter than I really am.
Internet Monk: many of you are already familiar with Michael Spencer. I’ve seen internet monk listed on some of your blogrolls. Reading his stuff is what prompted me to go to wordpress and start my own. If you want to mess with him, send me an email and I’ll tell you how. If you want to know what post-evangelical is, ask me instead. You don’t want to get him started.
Garment of Praise: Sometimes poetry, sometimes photos, sometimes really personal insight, Garment of Praise is almost like a daily devotional in convenient blog format. I would have done my taxes by now if the IRS was in “convenient blog format.”
There you go. Some of these are listed on my blogroll, I subscribe to them all. When I’m not writing, I’m reading one of these. Is there a blog you read (or write) that I should know about? Let me know, and it might make my next list.
Creation – Intelligent Design – Big Bang debate continues
The post on Ben Stein’s movie “Expelled” is by far the most read blog post I’ve ever written. Below are a couple of comments I added to the discussion myself, which I thought were too good to leave buried 20 comments deep in a long thread. So here they are as their own post, and the debate continues.
Let me suggest what an answer (to the question “where did the material of big bang fame come from in the first place?) might sound like. Continue reading
Jesus’ Example, the Samaritan woman
The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is found in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel. Jesus sets the example for us by doing several things wrong here. By “wrong” I mean he didn’t follow proper procedure for first century Jewish culture. He went against the conventions of culture to share the good news. Continue reading
Ben Stein’s Expelled
Ben Stein has a movie coming out April 18th titled “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” which criticizes the way proponents of intelligent design has been laughed off, discriminated against, or ignored. Many Christians are optimistic this will open doors to discussions of intelligent design, creation, and theism or at least get people asking the right questions. I don’t know if this secular movie creates an opportunity for sharing the gospel or not, but many think it will. It at least challenges closed minded thinking that any idea other than evolution is laughable and that the book on that subject has long been shut. Here is an excerpt of a letter from Chris Bougie sent out to campus ministry leaders everywhere:
The evangelistic opportunity we're referring to will be created by the release of the cutting-edge, controversial documentary by the well-known and brilliant Ben Stein. Continue reading
Jesus’s Example; preaching the Gospel
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15 (ESV)
All through the Gospels, Jesus gives us examples of how we are to be his followers, treat our neighbors, who our neighbors are, and how to minister to the world around us. Mark 1:14 is about the very beginning of Jesus’s public ministry. The first thing he does is tell his audience of Jews the time is fulfilled. Without going into an Old Testament history lecture, Jesus’s listeners would have known he was talking about the prophesies of the Messiah. Saying the “kingdom of God is at hand” probably got them thinking the wrong thing, namely that we was the military leader type Messiah that would throw out the Roman Empire and sit as king on the throne in Jerusalem. Yes, he was beginning to build the kingdom of God if that’s what you’re thinking; I also think he’s announcing the kingdom of God is close to them, close at hand, as in himself. Jesus is the way into the kingdom of God, so in a sense, the kingdom of God was within arm’s reach of the people listening. Then it gets really good. Continue reading
Disciple the Nations
“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” is how the Great Commission is recorded in Mark’s gospel (or “preach the gospel to every creature” for those brought up KJV). Jesus says elsewhere to “Make disciples of all men,” but I can’t put my finger on that verse right this second.
I LOVE MY JOB. Let me begin by saying that. Some days I forget, but on those days God gives me the grace to keep my big mouth shut until I remember again. Working at a Christian boarding school, with an average of 15 – 20% international students at any given time, allows me to minister to the nations without ever even getting in my car. I can see my house from the window in the Campus Ministry Center. It’s about a 10 minute walk. I didn’t create this site to be about me, but that I could share with others my thoughts on the Gospel message and living the Christian life. I tell this story for the glory and honor of God: in our small group Bible study (Sunday school class if you must) I was the only White Anglo-Saxon Protestant male in the room. My wife is a W.A.S.P. female, and the only other person that came close was a white anglo-saxon Roman Catholic male. The other students were from Guatemala, Nigeria, and China respectively. Like anything else, when you see that type of thing happen everyday, you don’t notice any more. I’m not kidding. Every once in while, God blesses me by letting me realize how special that is, and to remember that the Kingdom of God will be made up of people from “every tribe, every tongue, and every nation.” Hallelujah!
The Master's Table 