Tag Archives: gospel

The Read and Share File

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Image is unrelated, but is something I read this week.

Culture war, church culture, shallow Christianity, need for the Gospel – they’re all featured in this post on Internet Monk.

Praying in Jesus’ Name – John Piper offers four “filters” for how to do it right.  Here is a 3 minute clip; you can watch, listen to, or download the full sermon at this link.

This article at 9Marks is interesting, but will perhaps apply to only a very few readers.  Marcus Glover writes a list of ways aspiring pastors can serve their wives now.  Huh?  Once you become a church pastor, there are some things you will miss.  Make sure to engage in those now.

Obama has come out in support of gay marriage.  He supported gay marriage as a state senator, but changed his position to run for U.S. Senate.  So he is now changing back to his original position, in support of gay marriage.  So: why does Obama evolve but Romney flip-flops?  Both men, like many politicians, have changed their views over their political careers.

I recently added Steve Brown etc. to the blogroll, and am anxious to link something.  Here is the latest post, an update to what’s known as the watchmaker argument.  Dr. Rana, author of the post, has a PhD in biochemistry and is the vice president of research and apologetics at Reason to Believe.  The post includes links to that site, as well as Dr. Rana’s recent appearance on Steve Brown’s radio show.

Tall Skinny Kiwi recently insisted he and his family are not living in a commune.  Watch this local news report about Justin Duckworth (not your ordinary bishop) and decide for yourself.

Faith by Hearing is an aggregator of audio resources, including audio books, podcasts and sermons.  Kind of like a blog, but also featuring an extensive and growing collection of audio material.  The archives are divided by topic, speaker, faith tradition and other classifications.  Faith by Hearing is a treasure trove that simply must be explored to fully appreciate.

Leon Brown Responds to Common Objections to the Gospel

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I don’t have a “Watch and Share File” but take a look at this.  Leon Brown wrote an article listing three common objections people have to receiving the Gospel.  In a sit down interview he discusses those objections and lists practical responses.

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I’m listening to Leon Brown and thinking about the ministry of Jesus.  Jesus was not thinking about the number of baptisms he could list or the number of contacts he could report making.  His ministry wasn’t about sheer numbers as much as it was about changing people’s lives; real people that he cared about.  Jesus sometimes argued with religious leaders, but he didn’t really waste a lot of time on them.  He was more likely talking to tax collectors and prostitutes, touching lepers, preaching the Gospel to the poor, or explaining the kingdom to the working class.

There’s a lot of wisdom in the things Leon Brown says, but notice also how he carries himself and the mind set with which he approaches sharing the Gospel.  He is sowing seeds rather than trying to win a debate about how everyone else is wrong.  This is some of the most practical apologetics I’ve heard in a long time.  Let me blunt:

We should all listen to this guy and share the Gospel the way he does.

*I’m not the first blogger to link this.  Props to Paul Wilkinson and the Wednesday Link List.

There’s More Than One Way to Not Share the Gospel

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What do Fred Phelps and Joel Osteen have in common?  There’s no punchline, I really am going somewhere with this.

Fred Phelps is the pastor of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church.  You’ve seen them in the news or online protesting military funerals and more recently posting statements of judgment on Twitter.  I’ve never heard him say “Hell is hot and sin ain’t right” but I imagine he would agree with that statement.  Phelps is completely occupied with God’s judgement.  God does hate sin, and the wages of sin is death.  That seems to be just about the only weapon in the Westboro arsenal.  The message is a call to repent.

At the polar opposite end of the spectrum is Joel Osteen.  He has never used the words wrath and God in the same sentence.  Sin, the cross, the blood of Jesus, he quit preaching on those things years ago.  He actually said in an interview that everybody has already heard those things.  Osteen has his, um, church members hold up their Bibles each week, repeat some little mantra, then put them back down while he tells funny stories for another half hour.  He is an excellent speaker – funny, polished, very encouraging – I just wouldn’t call him a preacher.  His message is to think positive thoughts, believe that God wants to bless you, will bless you, and that nothing would please God more than to bless you.  He has a million dollar smile, gorgeous wife, two books on the New York Times Bestseller List, and 50,000+ attendees every week at Lakewood “Church.”  He’s doing much better in that department than Phelps, whose congregation consists mainly of his own family members. Continue reading →

What is the Gospel?

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The goal of the Master’s Table is to be God honoring and Christ centered.  The importance of living Christ-centered Christian lives is stressed on the About page, explaining Christ should be at the center of everything Christians do.  Perhaps you’ve heard me say (and by heard I mean read) that the Bible is about Jesus.  The Bible tells one story, of how a holy God relates to a sinful, broken and fallen people.  At the center of the that story is Jesus.

I talk a lot about the Gospel.  I attempt to preach the Gospel in every single sermon, regardless of where in the Bible the sermon begins or what the “topic” is.  I have endeavored to not only share the Gospel but also explain what it is, what the word means, and why it is important for Christians to keep hearing it.  Of all the things the church has to offer, the Gospel is what the world needs to hear. Continue reading →

The Read and Share File

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I would like to try something new.  Sometimes I’m reading or watching the news, and a statement or comment lights that creative spark and I sit down and crank out a blog post.  At other times I read something in an article or on a blog and think “Oh that’s neat,” then go about what I’m doing.  I don’t feel compelled to write 800 words, but would like to share with my readers those things that have blessed me or twisted my noodle just a little bit.

I’m still working on the concept – and the title – but let’s begin with the Read and Share File and see how it goes.

Daniel Jepsen at his self title blog explains Why I Don’t Preach the Law.  The Apostle Paul points out that the Law is useful, but has limitations.  Namely the Law does not make us righteous.  Jepsen lists shortcomings of preaching the Law rather than sharing the Gospel.

Internet Monk (apparently doing a whole series on wilderness, but I missed the announcement) has this to say about the Wilderness of Life Under the Law.  If all you get from the Old Testament is the Law, you’re missing out.  Abraham was justified by faith before God gave the Law.

Steve Brown of Steve Brown Etc. had published a book, Three Free Sins.  He is in the middle of a very short book tour.  Tons of stuff to read, download and listen to on his blog.

Paul Wilkinson publishes the mother of all link pages every Wednesday.  Here is the special, limited edition Leap Day Link List.

John Wayne, Robert Schuller, and Why I Read Snopes.com

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If you think that title is a little far out, just be glad I didn’t settle on “Will I Meet John Wayne in Heaven?”

Snopes.com is an incredible resource for fact checking urban legends and internet scams.  Remember the whole Veggie Monster debacle?  There are still plenty of people that think Cookie Monster has been removed from Sesame Street and replaced with a health conscious, veggie munching counterpart designed to combat childhood obesity.  There was an email writing campaign to get him back on the show.  Thing is, he never went anywhere.  He admits that “Cookies are a sometimes food” but there is not now nor has there ever been a Veggie Monster.  Sesame Street has denied rumors and even issued press releases, but the rumor is larger than life.  People repeat it without any confirmation whatsoever, making it the perfect example of what happens when we copy and paste total fabrications.  If people would spend 60 seconds on Snopes, such stories would die a quick death. 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.

The Gospel of the Old Testament

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Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the Gospels in that they tell the story of the life of Jesus.  Jesus preaches in Mark 1 “repent and believe in the gospel.”  More than those four books, gospel means good news.  Jesus died for our sins; he is the way, the truth and the life; he brings the New Covenant, and we are no longer under the Law; all things things are part of the gospel message.  Paul says the Law is bad news; it cannot make us righteous, only more guilty.  But there is more to the Old Testament than the Law, and it’s not all bad news.

The Bible has many stories and characters, but only one message.  (Have you read this?)  The Old Covenant was about keeping the Law and bearing the mark of circumcision.  Paul has many analogies about the difference between the Law and the Gospel; the Gospel brings life, the Law only brings death.  But my point is that there is plenty of good news in the Old Testament as well.  It is part of God’s message. Continue reading →

A Royal Priesthood

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If you’re a follower, online or in real life, you know how I feel about the Old Testament: everything is a metaphor.  The nation of Israel, sacrificial system, temple, alter, high priest, exodus from Egypt, brass serpent, passover, circumcision, etc. are all symbolic of what Christ does in the New Testament.  You’ve probably heard me say (or at least read) that Moses leading the Hebrews through the wilderness is a portrait of Jesus leading us through this present wilderness.  They were marching toward the “promised land” and so are we.  Abraham was willing to offer his son Isaac… you get the point.  Is there an analogy left that I could possibly make?  Why yes, yes there is.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  –1 Peter 2:9

We – all Christians – are priests.   Continue reading →

The Gospel 360

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There are 360 degrees in a complete circle.  Relating your conclusion to the introduction when making a speech is a good way to tie everything up neatly.  If you finish your career the way you started, or move back home after relocating many times, we say you have come “full circle.”  Jesus begins and ends his ministry on earth the same way – sharing the Gospel. Continue reading →