Tag Archives: gospel

The Foolishness of the Cross

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Paul wrote to the Corinthians “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”  (1 Cor 1:18, KJV)

This is one of those occasions where I prefer the King James translation.  The ESV uses word of the cross instead of preaching, and chooses folly over foolishness.  The meaning is unchanged.  For those of us that have been Christians for many years, or perhaps in church our whole lives, we worship at the foot of the cross.  We sing hymns about the cross, decorate our churches with images of the cross; we glory in the crucified savoir.  Paul reminds us to never loose sight of the fact that to the world, to the unsaved, to those hearing the gospel for the first time – it sounds foolish. Continue reading →

Gideon Sunday and Mark 4

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Today was Gideon Sunday, at least where we live.  I wrote about the work done by the Gideon’s International last year.  I’ve also written before about sowing gospel seeds, based on the parable in Mark 4.  Just this morning I noticed a strong correlation between the two. Continue reading →

Things Change: A Sermon on Epiphany

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Today is January 2nd, and we are nearing the end of Christmastide or the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Western Christians (i.e. Roman Catholics and most Protestant faiths) celebrate Epiphany on January 6th.  Let’s continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus by recognizing that when Jesus arrives, thing change.

Colossians 1:15-20 is a short passage that describes who and what Jesus is.  While the following sermon does not provide exegesis of these verses, they describe not only the incarnation but also the purpose of it.  The birth of Jesus is the meeting of heaven and earth; it changes everything.  Let’s start simple and work our way up. Continue reading →

Archives: Who Does God Call?

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I don’t make a habit out of running repeats.  Like leftovers in the refrigerator, some old posts keep better than others.  This one is still good.

When Moses encounters the burning bush, he asks of God “Who am I, that I should speak to Pharaoh?”  That’s a legitimate question.  Who am I that I should preach the gospel?  Who are any of us?  We are those called by God into his service.  He calls us, saves us, then equips us to do his work for the Kingdom.  Moses was a herdsman, already wanted for murder.  David was a shepherd when he was called, and only a child at that.  Look at the disciples; blue collar workers at best, rejects and outcasts at their worst.  But look at who God calls; every major character in the Bible was tragically flawed in some way.  God takes the small, the broken and the unwanted and fixes them up.  He then sends us into the world, a world that is fallen and broken.  It may look great at times, but we live in a fallen world affected by the curse.  God calls little children wrecked by sin into his service, to spread the gospel among all his other little sinwrecked children.

Click here for the original post Who Does God Call? (Sep. 14, 2008)

Religion is Bad News

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If you type “religion, gospel” into the Google search bar, you get 3.6 million results in about 0.22 seconds.  Search on WordPress and the results are even more along the lines of “Religion vs. the Gospel” and such like.  Lots of people are aware of the shortcomings of religion compared to the Good News of Jesus Christ.  But even for the believer, and certainly for everyone else, the temptation is still there to not fully trust in the concept of grace.

In Mark’s Gospel (Mk. 5:1-20) Jesus and the disciples land on the coast of the Gerasenes.   They encounter Legion, a mad man filled with demons.  After Jesus casts the demons into a herd of pigs, the locals are amazed to see the man formerly known as Legion clothed and in his right mind.  Rather than allow him to follow, Jesus commands him to go back to his home town and tell them what God has done.  In this case, the man does so.  Ergo: You don’t have to fix all your problems before coming to Jesus.  How many people plan to come to church as soon as they quit drinking, stop smoking, get back with their ex-wife, find a job, etc. etc.  We cannot fix our own problems, and if we could then we wouldn’t need Jesus in the first place.  Remember what Jesus told the Pharisees; it is the sick who need a physician, not the well.

The rich young man (Mk. 10:17-22) come to Jesus with one simple question; What must I do to be saved.  Religion is about what we do.  We could substitute Law if we were comparing the Law to the Gospel.  Keeping the Law, very religious.  This man claims to have keep each of the commandments since his youth.  Unlikely.  David was a man after God’s own heart, and he failed all kinds of ways to keep the Law.  We simply cannot do what is right, just like we cannot in and of ourselves fix what is wrong.  Religion is what we do; grace is what God has already done.

We can’t.  That’s the story of fallen man.  We can’t keep the Law.  We can’t be right.  We can’t fix what’s wrong.  Religion is our attempt to either be right or fix the wrong, and we the human people are epic failures at both.  Religion is bad news; the Gospel is Good News. Tell the world.

Can You Really _______ for Jesus?

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This is a promotional video for the Light of the World Ballet Company.  I’ve watched two performances today, and didn’t take a single picture or video.

These are professional performers who tour the world, entering places like India and China that perhaps wouldn’t be open to missionaries (preachers) and share the Gospel while they are there.  Perhaps only Baptists would even second guess ballet as ministry.  Are other denominations as critical of dancing?  “A praying knee and a dancing foot don’t grow on the same leg,” I was told by one preacher’s wife.  Very Baptist.

I told our students (private Christian school) that whatever God has gifted them to do, do that for the glory and honor of God.  How many country music singers learned to sing in church, or got their start in the church choir?  But let me open this box: Can you really do anything for the glory and honor of God? David danced before the Lord; Psalm 150 mentions dancing, blowing horns and crashing symbols.  But where is the line?  Can you skateboard for Jesus?  Bowl for Jesus?  Play in a Christian rock band?  Are there things “done for Jesus” that are really just whatever we wanted to do in the first place?  Can you really (fill in the blank) for Jesus?  Or maybe answer this question: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever witnessed supposedly done for the glory of God?  I could easily link “preaching baby” again.

The New Thing in Sermons

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In the Old Testament, the prophet was a person who did the speaking for God.  Not necessarily predicting future events, the prophet acted as the spoken voice of God on earth.  During Jesus’s earthly ministry, he was found daily in the temple or synagogue reading and teaching.  While his sermon on the mount may have turned the Pharisees’ world upside down, he was regarded as a rabbi in most Jewish circles.  In Acts chapter 2, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter preaches something entirely new. Continue reading →

Memorial Service for Michael Spencer

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UPDATE:  Check out internetmonk.com for transcript/ audio of the memorial service.

Services were held this afternoon for the Internet Monk Michael Spencer.  The Internet has abounded this week with articles of tribute and expressions of sympathy for the family.  David Head and Bill Haynes both did excellent jobs.  David has a remarkable understanding of how Spencer’s ministry reaches a worldwide audience through his blog, and Bill did exactly what Michael asked him to; he preached the Gospel. Continue reading →

The Importance of the Resurrection

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Jesus, resurrectionThere was a time I wondered why so much emphasis was placed on the resurrection.  Jesus died on the cross as the all-sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the world.  Even if there had been no resurrection, his sacrificial death would have brought salvation; what could be more important than that?

The blood of Jesus was a more excellent sacrifice than that of bulls, sheep and birds.  His death on the cross brought an end to the temple sacrifice system.  The entire Gospel pivots around the cross.  It is the universal symbol of Christianity.  But the implications of resurrection are equally powerful, a fact that I can now appreciate as well.  Continue reading →