Aaron O’Kelly delivered a wonderful sermon this morning at Cornerstone on Psalm 19. I was helped by his exposition noting how God speaks through creation and Scripture and that this speech calls for a response. It is well worth a listen.
350 Pounds of Books
Here is a statement just released from Union University’s Ryan Center for Biblical Studies about a wonderful opportunity:
The Ryan Center has an exciting opportunity to partner with Indigenous Outreach International in their ministry in Ethiopia. IOI, founded and led by Union alum Patrick Beard, has been working in Ethiopia for years. This April they will launch a library/reading room with English language materials. The library will have two primary purposes. First, it will provide resources for area pastors. In this way it is practically a sister institution to the Ryan Center. Secondly, it will have an evangelistic purpose. The public schools in Ethiopia teach English as a required subject and the students are eager for anything to read in English. This library will give them the opportunity to read English Bibles and Bible material. I think this is a wonderful project.
The Ryan Center is helping to gather books. We are accepting donations of books to place on the shelves there in Addis Ababa. When Patrick and his team go to launch the library in April they have room in their luggage for 350 pounds of books.
Will you help us collect 350 pounds of useful books to help pastors and to proclaim the gospel in Ethiopia? A wide variety of Christian literature is needed. In addition to a case of Bibles that has already been donated we hope to add Bible study materials, books on theology, Christian living, church life, etc. Many Ethiopians have an excellent ability to read English but since it is not their first language they would benefit most from books which are easy to understand, perhaps on a school age level.
Book donations can be sent/brought to the Ryan Center. We will screen the books before sending them on. Any that are not best suited for the library will be used in other ways here. Also, since the airlines now charge for extra baggage you can help pay this cost, if you are able, by placing a dollar in books you donate.
If you have any questions about this project feel free to contact Brian Denker (bdenker@uu.edu) or Ray Van Neste (rvanneste@uu.edu).
Bold Testimony
I appreciated Eric Smith’s recent post, “Meeting a True Bishop,” for the portrayal of proper pastoral boldness in the life of Basil the Great. It brought to mind a section I had just read in Baptist Piety: The Last Will and Testimony of Obadiah Holmes
Edwin Gaustad, the author, is describing the setting into which Holmes was born. He recounts the martyrdom of John Bradford who had pastored in Stockport, the village nearest Holmes’ birthplace. Five months before he was burned at the stake, Bradford wrote his parishioners from prison with a powerful exhortation including these words:
Oh! forget not how the Lord hath showed himself true, and me his true preacher, by bringing to pass these plagues which at my mouth you oft heard me preach of before they came: specially when I treated of Noah’s flood and when I preached of the 23rd chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel on St. Stephen’s day, the last time that I was with you … you have been warned, and warned again, by me in preaching, by me in burning.” (p. 6; emphasis added)
This sort of pastoral exhortation and example is powerful. No trite truisms, or bland cliches here.
Temptation
I am really enjoying reading Boyhood and Beyond: Practical Wisdom for Becoming a Man
Temptations are invitations to do evil. Everyone receives them. Each temptation invites you to destroy your life. Every invitation to do evil, no matter how small, is designed to destroy some valuable part of you. Temptations look good, but they always contain a lie. They don’t tell all the truth. (57)
Schultz then gives a good example of a boyish temptation and the various ideas which might come to mind making it attractive. He then points out that these tempting thoughts are lies and then re-presents the temptation pointing out what is actually true in each point such as:
You will feel guilty even if you don’t get caught
You will lose your good name, your parents’ confidence, etc.
What you think is funny may actually bring real pain into someone else’s life and you have not paused to think about what is going on in their life.
This is a great book which has prompted many good conversations for us- and we’re not half way though the book yet!
The Holiest Day of the Year
The flap over the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad has been interesting and particularly revealing. About a week ago I heard a guy on ESPN complaining about it (his name has escaped me) and I remember thinking, “He is making a religious argument.” He was essentially arguing that the Super Bowl was sacred space that was sullied by such discussions.
Then, today, I read the latest Shepherd Press newsletter which quoted sports writer Greg Doyle as saying this:
“And I’m not complaining about the ad because it’s anti-abortion and I’m not. I’m complaining about the ad because it’s pro-politics. And I’m not. Not on Super Sunday. If you’re a sports fan, and I am, that’s the holiest day of the year. That’s a day for five hours of football pregame shows and four hours of football game and three hours of postgame football analysis. That’s a day for football addicts to gorge themselves to the gills on football.
It’s not a day to discuss abortion. For it, against it, I don’t care what you are. On Super Sunday, I don’t care what I am. Feb. 7 is simply not the day to have that discussion.”
Wow! Someone will say he is intentionally exaggerating. However, notice that this event is supposed to nullify for the moment any other weighty matters. In other words it is sacred. Revealing.
We are always a religious people. The only question is, “Who are the gods?”
Audio of the Psalms
As another way of imbibing the Psalms I recently purchased The Listener’s Psalms and Proverbs, narrated by Max McLean from Audible.com. McLean reading voice is well known, and he does a good job with the Psalms. The text being read is the NIV. I have long appreciated the rendering of the Psalms in the NIV- I think it is the greatest strength of the NIV.
In Bible reading, I am most accustomed to close, slow reading of small texts. Listening gives me the opportunity to take in larger sections of texts, hearing Psalm after Psalm. It takes time to acclimate to this form of reading. Of course, you can’t pay attention to all the details as you can in slow reading. However, I have noticed broader patterns and themes, and connections across the Psalms. It has been beneficial to just allow the words of the Psalms to wash over my mind on the ride into work, or home, or wherever. I am really enjoying this recording.
Indictment on Evangelical Worship
Justin Wainscott, pastor and poet, has penned a powerful poetic challenge to much of what is typical in evangelical worship today. If you do not already read his blog, I recommend it to you.
Indictment on Evangelical Worship
M. Justin Wainscott, © 2007
Set the stage and dim the lights,
Create my mood; abuse my rights.
Out-do all you did last week,
And never let the silence speak.
Entertain me, at all costs,
Blur the lines ‘tween true and false.
Smile and tell me all’s okay,
I’ll believe whate’er you say.
Give me mirrors; give me smoke,
Fill me with cliches and jokes.
Like an orphan with no story,
Cut me off from all before me.
Hide the pain and fake the smile,
Lamentation’s out of style.
Give me milk and warm the bottle,
Make sure it’s the latest model.
Numb my mind with borrowed tricks,
Feed my soul with Pixi-stix.
Don’t confront what lurks within,
Or else I’ll never come again.
When the Church Has No Power
Local Church Delivers Sermon From Boxing Ring
2 Corinthains 4:1-6:
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
HT: Tim Ellsworth
The King of Glory
This past Sunday I benefited greatly from a powerful sermon on Psalm 24 by Tom Fox, former IMB missionary and fellow member at Cornerstone. Tom particularly emphasized the point from verses 1-2 that God is not a tribal deity- His concerns embrace the whole world. Tom’s applications on world mission were compelling. He mentioned reading that a missionary was among those dug out of the rubble in Haiti and said, “Praise God! Missionaries ought to be dug out of rubble where rubble is to be found.”
The whole thing is well worth a listen.
Serving Christ
An audio series by Doug Wilson (available free!) I have been listening to plus a Sunday School lesson by Bob Sparks has been stirring my mind about wonderful truths related to the doctrine of vocation. This wonderful truth that all of life resounds to the glory of God (and ths God is interested in every area) continues to need recovering in our churches. I teach on this doctrine regularly and continue to be blessed by seeing new facets of it.
This week what has struck me is that we directly serve Christ in our menial tasks. I am most accustomed to thinking of serving for Christ, serving on behalf of Christ, or for the sake of Christ in my various activities. However, Colossians 3:24, after calling us to do whatever we do for Christ, says “You are serving the Lord Christ.” So when you are grading papers, or dispensing discipline, or folding clothes, sweeping a floor, or cleaning a dirty diaper you are serving Christ. This has a significant impact on how we see our daily routines and duties.
In the midst of writing this, I stopped to help one of my sons with a math problem. I ended up discussing this point with him. He responded with, “Mom must be really good at serving Jesus then with all she does.” Yes, son, exactly right!