Intro: Ticks at church camp, liturgical worship vs. “what we grew up with.”
Today’s message: The temptation of self-evaluation. Our roles can create a false self that we try to bring into our prayer life and present to God instead of being who we really are.
The Atlanta Braves victory parade attracted hundreds of thousands of fans. Staged in two locations, the parade began in downtown Atlanta at noon and ended at Truist Park in the Battery at 3 PM. Then the program started, followed by concerts and a party that lasted well into the night. You probably know the Braves won the World Series in 6 games, shutting out the Houston Astros 7 – 0 at Minute Maid Park Tuesday evening. It’s the Braves second World Series title since moving to Atlanta in 1965. They made a remarkable worst to first run in the National League West Division (it’s a long story) in 1991 and won the World Series for the first time in Atlanta in 1995.
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Intro: Update on the book, teaching Mark, Osteen’s ministry lacks Jesus, Losing Mum and Pup,
Today’s program: A letter from a reader and Internet Monk’s response. Choice A: Liturgy, historical connection to tradition, very little Bible teaching. Choice B: Strong biblical teaching, modern worship. Is there a C? Why can we not have the best of both?
I saw a headline just two days ago that said supply chain problems could mean bah humbug. At ports on both coasts are dozens and dozens of container ships with goods waiting to be unloaded. The backlog could mean that by the time the regular Christmas shopping season starts, traditionally the day after Thanksgiving, there will be no toys, clothing and electronics left on store shelves. By the American way of thinking no stuff means no Christmas.
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Have you seen that meme here before? Probably. Will we run it again next year? Chances are.
This is Happy Monday #451.
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This article in Atlantic outlines how the political fault lines across our culture have made their way inside our churches. Scott Dudley, senior pastor at Bellevue Presbyterian church, is just one voice of experience we hear from. “Many people are much more committed to their politics than to what the Bible actually says,” Dudley said. “We have failed not only to teach people the whole of scripture, but we have also failed to help them think biblically. We have failed to teach them that sometimes scripture is most useful when it doesn’t say what we want it to say, because then it is correcting us.” Dudley notes that he has heard of people leaving a church because it doesn’t align with their politics but has never heard of someone changing their politics because they did not align with their church’s teaching.
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Shoutout to Van Til in the intro. Then a discussion of evangelical liturgy and the call to worship.
In the second half: veteran worship and ministry leaders, with skill and experience, being shown the door. Is it just to replace them with younger guys that can be told what to do? The focus on church growth is coming back to bite evangelical churches in the long run.
The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang is demanding $1 million ransom be paid for each of the 17 missionaries they hold hostage or he has vowed to begin executing them. Pictures and video have been released that appear to confirm all 17 are still alive. The US State Department believes the video to be legitimate. Christian Aid Ministries does not want to make any comment that may endanger the lives of those missionaries being held. I have a pastor friend that has traveled to Haiti many times both for humanitarian relief and to train local pastors to be effective in their ministry. Haiti is an impoverished nation with government corruption and mismanagement of the highest order. Pray for the people of Haiti, these 17 missionaries in particular, and the political situation which prevents conditions from changing.
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The Master's Table 