Completing the Task Together

Thoughtful treatment of a rarely treated subject

2011-04-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

While checking out the landing page at The Gospel Coalition I came upon an article who's subject line caught my eye. "End of Sexual Identity". The book being reviewed, ' The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are' by Messiah professor Jenell Williams Paris suggests that within the Christian community we allow too much identity to be wrought from sexual labels. The author purports that we do this so much so that we usurp the identity which we are to find in God and diminish and marginalize the homosexual community because of it, and do the same in the opposite direction with the heterosexual label though to a lesser extent.

Over the past year and a half my wife and I have befriended a homosexual coworker of hers from her last job, and have since developed a relationship not just with him, but his boyfriend as well. In all honesty I wrestle frequently with the reality of this friendship. Is it healthy or not? How long and how many times should we witness to them before we disengage? Is that even the right way to think about it? If there's any segment of evangelism I'm unqualified for having been a vocational missionary for three years, it's to homosexuals. However, this article helped clarify some of the questions I wrestle with as far as identity is concerned.

If someone were a drug addict I wouldn't unfriend them on the evangelical facebook. Sure, they'd know I don't agree with their drug use and I'd get them help if they'd take it, but I wouldn't tell them we can't be friends anymore simply because they refuse to stop doing drugs. So far as I see it. why should it be any different for someone who struggles with homosexuality.

I'm not sure I stand with the reviewer of the book and author of the article in that using the label 'gay' is a good thing for a celibate Christian to do, but I do think on the identity discrepancy from the label homosexual gets in the way of ministering to an entire subculture of broken, lost souls who God loves.

I'll be interested to hear from the rest of you since for the most part we all come from similar cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Left...Left...Left...RIGHT!

2011-04-20T16:12:00.001-07:00

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her by the washing of water with the Word." -Ephesians 5:26-27

Lately the Lord has been bringing Ephesians 5:25-26 to mind. I've been thinking more seriously about how to love my wife so as to pour myself out in leading her to greater holiness. In other words, I want to do more than simply make her feel loved; I want to be a crucial part in her sanctification. To be honest, I hadn't come up with any groundbreaking ideas, and I certainly have not transformed into Super Husband. Nor has this passage occupied every spare moment of my life. It's just been there, replaying in my head every few days.

Also, I've felt a burden of sharing Jesus with my brother (again) and with my dad (for the first time) when we visit them over Easter. Usually when I pray to share the gospel, I feel guilty because I'm so weak and scared about sharing in an awkward manner. Lately, I've been feeling strangely empowered by God by the simple message of the gospel and my responsibility to be an ambassador of God.

Also, my wife and I are expecting our first child at the end of August.

I now perceive all these things to be a series of left jabs. The Lord was setting me up for the right hand, and I think He just hit me with it:

"Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord."

-Psalm 128:3-4

To be honest, I have a lot of fear of man issues. I'm good at blending in with people, and adapting myself to match a dynamic that I'm presented with. I'm a bit of a chameleon, but certainly not in the double life sense (I'm not doing drugs with the addicts or watching porn with the perverts). But I do seem to always try to blend in, and a big part of it is because I care too much what other people think. The Lord connected with His right hand in Psalm 128:3-4 to tell me that my wife's and kid's fruit-bearing in righteousness is related to my fear of no one else but God.

In other words, my purity is crucial to lives of my wife and kids (did I mention that He "randomly" brought to mind "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" to mind today?)

I have to cling to Him and His guidance and stand up amidst the opposition that will come as I seek to share the gospel with non-believers. I have to cling to the bible despite the ridicule that may come as my wife and I seek wisdom about how to raise this child in the Lord. The Lord is telling me to revere Him above all else; to take Him more seriously, and to confidently and consistently obey every last little thing that He instructs. I sense the Lord desiring that I spend more serious time in His word to help overcome what I perceive to be "normal."

So, why post this?

It seems to me that Psalm 128:3-4 states that a fruitful family begins with a father's reverence for God. Men, are we taking this seriously? Do we comprehend how our prayers, Bible-reading, discipleship, and obedience to the word of God is linked to fruitfulness in our families? Is our time with the Lord of the absolute utmost of importance to us, or has it all become a To-Do list? Are we doing what He commands? Is God's word transforming us internally and externally? Will we if we understand that our families depend on it?

I say these things as the man with a plank in his eye. Maybe you've got merely a speck; but don't be deceived by pride. The bottom line is that God created us, bought us at the great cost of His Son, owns us, and deserves our absolute reverence and obedience; and our wives and kids likewise need such a man if they are going to flourish.

Men, let's stop playing around. Let's spend hours in prayer. Let's spend hours in the word. Let's spend hours in worship. Let's invite our families into it. And let's revere the Lord above all things and do all that He says.

Ezra 1, Big Idea 4

2011-01-16T17:06:00.001-08:00

4) God is not tolerant!

Cyrus was not a true believer in God. He was a mere instrument who was used for a good purpose; however, due to his unbelief, God didn’t know him (Isaiah 45:4), and therefore, though he was good, is not saved.

God does not think that if you do the best you can on whatever path you choose to take that you deserve eternal life – as if He were some kind of self-help guru trying to enrich your disobedient life. No, He is holy, and to disregard this is to spit in the face of your Creator. It is roughly equivalent to having loving parents who desire nothing but good for you, and have worked endlessly to that end, and you say to them that they are as good as dead to you. No, God does not tolerate sin. He loves diversity – people from every tongue, tribe, and nation are His children; but He upholds the truth and despises what is false.

Romans 2:5-11 puts it this way:

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

To say, “I do good, the very best I can; so I should get eternal life” is just silly. God’s response to that is no one is good (Romans 3:10-12), and the good that you think you do is equivalent to a soiled menstrual rag (Isaiah 64:6). Also, we can only be righteous if regenerated and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be like Jesus. It is sobering to know that God will judge everybody’s actions, and that the standard for heaven is perfection. How assuring it is, as Christians, to know that Jesus merits our eternal destinies, and not ourselves. How assuring it is to know that when we are judged for our works, it is for reward, not destination (1 Corinthians 3:10-12). How foolish it is to assume tolerance on a God who does all things for the glory of His name when we do otherwise.

Ezra 1, Big Idea 3

2011-01-13T16:04:00.000-08:00

3) God provides spiritual wealth for His people. The world is not enough! (1:2)

The Israelites received a bunch of gold and silver; however this was so that the temple would be a worthy location for the presence of God. It was not for them to be wealthy. Furthermore, notice how they were not delivered in order to follow their own desires. God delivered them in order to commission them to rebuild His Temple – the place where He would meet with them, and they would worship Him.

A few things should be noted.

First, we don’t have such a place in the New Covenant. There is not a single place where we must go to be in the presence of God. We are more blessed – we have Him constantly in the temples of our bodies. Paul writes, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 – the “you” is plural, indicating that the body of believers is the new Temple where God dwells); “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 – this one is singular). Jesus also referred to His own body as a temple in John 2:19, which makes sense, seeing as how Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit (see Luke 4:1, 14, 18, for example)

Second, just as the temple was adorned with gold and silver, so ought our bodies to be adorned with righteousness. Paul finishes this thought in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” See also Colossians 3:9-10, 12-13: “…seeing that you put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator…. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and…forgiving each other.” We are to be adorned – not with gold and silver, but with Christ! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). How blessed we are to have the substance of the New Covenant and not that foreshadowing of the Old!

Lastly, our true spiritual richness given by God is the adornment of the new man that God so desires to give us. Ephesians 3:16-17 says, “According to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Notice that this is not so that we can be made much of, but that we can see the glory of God and honor Him: “But God, being rich in mercy…made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4, 5, 6-7). Just as the Old Temple is for worship, so the New Temple of our bodies is meant for worship. God seeks to glorify Himself in us (Ephesians 1:6).

Ezra 1, Big Idea 2

2011-01-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

2) God works effectually in believers and non-believers for His glory (1:1, 5; Isaiah 45:1)

Notice how the events of rebuilding the Temple begin: “God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus…. Everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord…” (Ezra 1:1, 5). This was not man’s idea, nor was it presented to men for agreement. God wanted this done to fulfill His own Word, so He spoke and it came to pass. God’s present reign over the universe continues just as it began: He speaks, and it is.

Notice He does not just use the men of His household. God may use non-believers to accomplish His purposes. Here Cyrus, an unbeliever, sets into action what God’s eternal decrees.

It seems as if Cyrus may be a believer, for he even gives the God of heaven the credit for allowing him to conquer so much (Ezra 1:2-4). However, this guy is very manipulative or very misinformed. He actually did a very similar thing to the Babylonians and their false chief god about a year before this. The Cyrus Cylinder recounts the time Cyrus took over the Babylonians, and describes how he restored the city and, unlike their former King, he respected their false god Marduk. Yes, he is very tolerant; but that only means he either deceives all people with false conviction (manipulation) or he truly thinks that many gods exist (misinformed). Either way, Cyrus doesn’t truly believe in the one true God of heaven (notice Cyrus says in verse 3, “may his God be with him,” and in verse 5, “He is the God who is in Jerusalem.”). Rather, he is manipulative (trying to please people) or polytheistic (believing that different gods reign in different areas/peoples). Cyrus tried to please them all, and in the end, God concludes, “I name you, though you do not know me” (Isaiah 45:4).

In the end, God uses whoever He wants to accomplish His purposes (even vile sinners like His grace-received children), and He gets all the glory.

Ezra 1

2010-12-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

When I'm really studying a book of the Bible, I try to write out some thoughts, applications, comments, etc. I've actually only completed this process for Ezra, and am closing in on completing my study of Nehemiah in this manner. Since a lot of the content of those two books deal with church planting, I thought I'd try to share some of my thoughts on here. Basically, I just plan to post my way through Ezra and Nehemiah from time to time. Sometimes I'll post everything, sometimes only a bit. Here is some stuff from Ezra 1:

Background on Cyrus

Cyrus, King of Persia, was a very good guy. According to his Wikipedia, Cyrus was a master leader and administrator. He set up a phenomenal government. He set up governors called satraps to help rule his people. Cyrus’s motto was “Diversity in counsel, unity in command” – meaning this guy sought guidance so that all might be united in his decrees. He’d win in a landslide if he ran for office in the US.

Cyrus was a lover of diversity. He proclaimed a freedom of religion. He helped the Jews rebuild their temple as well as reestablishing many cult sanctuaries. He helped the homeless and freed slaves as a leader in human rights. This guy was generous and turned conquered victims into loyal supporters. Cyrus was even pleasing to the Babylonian chief god Marduk (the chief god of the people he conquered!). Cyrus’s legacy is that he replaced his contemporary cruel cultures with a “humanitarian” love for people. One of the artifacts from his conquests, the Cyrus Cylinder, proclaims how much he respected all peoples and their gods.

The Bible is clear on Cyrus’s purpose in Isaiah 47:28 – 45:4; 45:13: Cyrus is God’s instrument to glorify God’s name – even though “[Cyrus does] not know [God]” (Isaiah 45:4).

Big Idea 1) God’s word is true (1:1)

Notice how God’s purpose in raising up Cyrus was that His word would be true. He gave Jeremiah His very word to preach to the people in regards to their enslavement to Babylon for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11) and His subsequent restoration of His people (Jeremiah 29:11). The repentant nature of His people is not given for His reason of acting, for God need not have man’s approval or agreement to do anything. Rather, God said it, and so He will do it. It is true what He said through Isaiah: “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it” (46:11).

This is why there is no need to question anything in the Bible. We may be amazed, or shocked, or dumbfounded, or unsure; but we ought not to disbelieve. To disbelieve the Word is to “make Him a liar” (1 John 1:10), for we are saying to God that what He has said is wrong. To think that a finite creature can say to the infinite Creator, “You are wrong!” is absurd. If ever tempted to disbelieve what the Father has said, we should humble our finite selves in presence of the Eternal God and ask for wisdom or repent of disbelief.

Under the Law

2010-11-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

I just read this in John Stott's The Cross of Christ. It is a succinct and clear explanations of what it means that we are no longer under the Law if we are in Christ:

"First, through Christ we are no longer under the tyranny of the law. It comes to many people as a surprise that the law, God's good gift to his people, in itself 'holy, righteous and good,' could ever have become a tyrant that enslaves us. But that is exactly Paul's teaching. 'Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.' The reason is that the law condemns our disobedience and so brings us under its 'curse' or judgment. But Christ redeemed us from the law's curse by becoming a curse for us. It is in this sense that 'Christ is the end of the law' and we are no longer 'under' it. It emphatically does not mean that there are now no moral absolutes except love, as the advocates of 'the new morality' taught in the 1960's, or that we now have no obligation to obey God's law, as other antinomians teach. No, since the tyranny of the law is its curse, it is from this that we are liberated by Christ, so that we are not 'under' it any more. The law no longer enslaves us by its condemnation.... The first four verses of Romans 8 bring these strands together. They say that for those who are in Christ there is 'no condemnation' (Rom. 8:1), for God has already condemned our sins in Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:3), and he did it in order that 'the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us' (Rom. 8:4). So the same cross of Christ, which frees us from the law's condemnation, commits us to the law's obedience."

The Meaning of Jesus' Temptation

2010-11-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

This morning I read in Luke 4 about the temptation of Jesus. A few things stuck out to me that I thought I'd pass along:

1. Jesus is very clearly being portrayed as the 'New Israel'. Israel was tempted in the wilderness by the Evil One and failed miserably because of their fallen, human nature (Exodus 34, Deut. 9). Jesus is the New and Greater Israel.
2. All of the temptations that come at Jesus are in some way tied to his identity. The first temptation begins with the phrase, "If you are the Son of God..." Satan is tempting Jesus to miraculously satisfy his hunger because he has the right to as the Son of God, instead of living on every word of God. The second temptation is for Jesus to take his proper inheritance, the nations, now, before he goes to the cross. The final temptation strikes at Jesus' identity as the Son of God by tempting him to put God to the test.
3. All of our temptations are analogous to Christ's temptations. They in one way or another question our identity and tempt us to disobey the first command: Have no other gods but God.
4. Our hope for fighting temptation is the same as Jesus'. We must set our minds and hearts upon the truth of who we are according to the Bible. For example: when I am tempted to be anxious, my hope is setting my heart upon the fact that my Savior is risen and that he promises that he will keep me in his love forever.

Church Planter's Wives

2010-10-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

I hope you don't mind me jumping in in an attempt to sort through some thoughts. I have been on a spiritual retreat of sorts, while Matt is out of town. This time has been hugely beneficial and rejuvenating. Interestingly enough, I found myself reading blogs by church planter's wives. I really tried to sort through and only read/watch things that would be beneficial. Meaning, I watched topics such as: Dealing with Criticism in Leadership, Expectations/Being Yourself in Leadership, Finding Community in Leadership, and Encouragement for Pastor's Wives. These topics are truly so very important and I know that I am completely inexperienced and naive when it comes to these topics. However, I left my time of learning with a feeling of confusion. I am not sure where I stand--not on these topics or issues...but regarding the general culture of church planter's/pastor's wives. Well, wait, I know where I stand on Christian culture in general.... But, now I'll be honest, it seemed to me like a whole lot of old stuff repackaged. You know? Ok, something concrete. I admit/confess, that I dread the idea of becoming a frumpy old pastor's wife--piano playing, doiley wearing, -mousey person. I don't think that that will ever happen, but I almost feel I have something to prove against it! I really want to be "cool" and "hip." Not that I am even close to either of those things, or that I really even think about it that much, but when I think of being a church planter's wife, I know that I must do something so as not to be that mousey pastor's wife that we often despise! Which brings me back. All of these women are not only beautiful, trim, and stylish...but they are cool! They have the coolest clothes, technology, graphics and their husbands always have the hippest haircuts! (I am even thinking of trying to convince Matt to try a cool haircut!) Gosh, there is so nothing wrong with being cool. I just feel a little funny. I guess these blogs hit close to home on one level, because I can easily see myself becoming just like one of these women. But, there is another part of me that knows that I am different. My goals aren't quite the same as some of these truly Godly women. I'm not sure what about me feels different, but I know there is something. This is strange and exciting at the same time. On one hand, I think of all the possibilities that perhaps someone different could bring to the role of a church planter's wife. On the other hand, though, I bet all these women think that they are different and unique and are bringing fresh new perspectives to their roles as church planter's wives. Honestly, they probably are in some ways...(bearing in mind that there is nothing new under the sun). I want to give them credit where credit is due. I know that God must be working through them and changing lives and bringing people to know and love Him.

I guess that is my peeve. Sometimes I wonder if church planter's wives typically get many evangelistic opportunities outside of their families/kids. I know for me, evangelism opportunities are a must. Unless God has me cooped up as some church administrator or something, I think, maybe, that God is leading me to be in the secular world. But, how do you maintain that as a pastor's wife? I think one of my main idea's has been through work/further education outside of the church. But, how do you balance life with church planting...and then maybe kids? Is it crazy that I think that God might open a door for me to achieve all of these things? I certainly don't see how it can work out from a practical human perspective.

Overall, though, I have been nothing but pumped about the church plant. I realize that God very distinctly put Matt and I in the role of church planters for specific reasons and I am PUMPED! I feel more confident than ever before that this is the path that God has for us. I have grown so much since we've been here in State College! It seems that Church Planting is a part of what's going to keep me on a trajectory of growth for many years to come.

Sorry, I know mostly guys read this blog and this is highly introspective. Really, you don't have to read my rant. I just needed to get these things out. :-)

A Man Crisis

2010-09-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a powerful clip by Darren Patrick on the necessity for men in general, and pastors in particular, to lead their churches.

Reflections on John 16

2010-08-26T03:25:00.001-07:00

I wonder how many of us really believe Jesus statement: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you?” Do we really believe that the Spirit so empowers and directs us that we are personally better off, as were the disciples, with the Spirit being poured out rather than Jesus being personally present? Do we realize that the Spirit has regenerated us and circumcised our hearts in such a way that we will not fall away? Do we really believe that we can walk in the fullness of the Spirit and be empowered to live in progressive victory over sin? Do we really believe that the Spirit will personally convicts us of sin and glorifies Christ by making the gospel sweeter and sweeter to us? Do we really believe in the magnificence of the Spirit’s objective leading through scripture and His subjective leading in our hearts? Do we really believe that the Spirit gives us supernatural gifts to serve the body? I think very few of us, writer included, really experience the ministry of the Spirit in our lives and, therefore, we find Jesus’ statement utterly unbelievable. Lord Jesus, pour out your Spirit in power upon me and upon the Church. I pray that I would know the fullness of intimacy, conviction and power that you give through the Spirit. Help me to walk in all that you intend for me.

I also wonder if we really believe Jesus when he says: “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you...ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full?” Do we really pray as though this is true? Do our prayer lives display that this has resonated in our hearts? Do we really believe that prayer is a means to a greater end and that greater end is joy? Do we really believe we are loved by the Father?

Jesus clearly sees the persecution coming for us. We, however, are not like those who have no hope. He has overcome the world. He has poured out the Spirit. The Father hears us because we come in his name. Take heart, be joyous, persevere.

Sexual Sin

2010-08-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I'm helping a Christian friend with his addiction to porn. He's convinced that it is wrong and sincerely grieves his sin. He approached me for accountability, but every time I ask about it there is no good news on that front. What advice can you guys give me to help encourage him and spur him on to good works? Anything will help: discipline recommendations, theological foundations, anything. What works for you? What works for others? Have you encountered a situation where a fellow believer cannot seem to overcome sin? If so, what did you do? This also happened to another friend in college - addiction to porn and no victory over it. Since this is a huge issue for boys and men, so I would like to hear some good counseling strategies. I'll respond soon with some things I've said to him once I get some feedback. Thanks!

Wise Words from Billy Graham

2010-08-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some wise words from Billy Graham about effective pastoral ministry. I intend to heed his advice.

Reflections from Iowa

2010-08-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Iowa Evangelistic Biking Trip was one of the most physically grueling and spiritually beneficial experiences of my life. I loved almost every minute of it! Upon reflection, there are several important lessons I learned over the course of a week that saw us bike nearly 500 miles and converse with dozens of people who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of my reflections have to do with evangelism in particular, while others are spiritual and life lessons that the Lord opened my eyes to along the way.

Perhaps the most important lesson I learned while pounding the Iowa pavement into submission is that I am incredibly small. It’s true, I am not even five and a half feet tall, but that is not what I mean. Each morning of the trip my sweet wife and I would wake between 5:15 and 5:30. We would pack our camping gear into the van as the sun was breaking through the horizon and the grass was still soaked with dew. As we climbed on to our bikes, again and again, all awareness of time seemed to be removed from my mind. The morning part of the rides were crowded. I felt like I was in the middle of a school of fish swimming up stream. We simply peddled along, quickly riding out of town and into the endless Iowa corn fields. It seemed like just a blink of an eye and the first ten miles were already done, my mind had been lost gazing at the fields and weaving in and out of the massive crowds. There is nothing quite like the combination of a large crowd and the vastness of creation to make you feel small and insignificant. I often live under the illusion that I am extremely important and indispensable. Certainly, all human beings are valuable. We are created in the image of God and those who have been redeemed through faith in Christ are children of the Father. We are valuable indeed. However, we are at the same time so small and insignificant. Where were we when God laid the foundations of the universe and the plains of Iowa? History is like a movie and I am not the main character. I am but an insignificant extra in the story of our great God. Riding through Iowa reminded me of his grandeur and sovereignty and it reminded me how foolish I am to worry and be anxious. God is big, I am small and my future hope is certain in Christ. Iowa taught me the joy of being tiny.

Another lesson the Lord taught me in Iowa is the incredible importance of kindness. I went to Iowa to talk to people about Jesus. I make no apology for that. The 500 miles was just a leg-thrashing detail. As I sought to engage folks in conversation and talk to them about the love that God extends to us in Christ I was reminded how important it is to simply be kind to people. Most of us are too busy or to proud to be very nice. We have way too much to do to bother with kindness. It was incredible to see how open people are to hearing about Christ once they are shown basic kindness. The people on my team were genuinely interested in each and every person with whom they spoke. This sort of simple kindness opened countless doors for the gospel to be explained, especially on the day that we rode sixty-five miles in a torrential down pour. Most of us were tempted to be pretty crabby that day.

I learned another important lesson while trying to ride 88 miles on a day that had a heat index of 105 degrees. Actually, I learned two lessons that day. The first is that water is a miracle. The second is how encouraging it can be to other Christians to see someone sharing their faith. On this particularly horrendous day I was riding along talking to anyone I could and happened upon two sisters. They were both Christians and desperately wanted to see their third sister come to know Christ. They, however, felt inadequate to share Christ with their sister because she is a successful doctor and they are so imperfect. I explained to them that it is more often the way we handle difficulties, not great victories, that speak volumes about our God and our faith. The rest of the conversation is a little bit of a blur because I was focused on simply staying conscious, but apparently what I said and the fact that I was out sharing my faith was a great encouragement to these two women. Iowa taught me that boldness is encouraging and contagious.

The final lesson I learned in Iowa is that Iowa is not flat. It just isn’t, I don’t care what you say. It may feel flat in a car, but when you are in the saddle of a bicycle four to seven hours a day for seven days straight it might as well be the Rockies. Now please excuse me, I have some icing to do.

Asleep in Gethsemane

2010-07-29T10:14:00.001-07:00

I was reading through Matthew as part of the ESV Study Bible reading plan when I came across the familiar Gethsemane part in Matthew 26. Jesus brings Peter, James, and John with Him and asks them to keep watch with Him. He goes and prays and comes back to find them asleep. He then makes the following statement,

"Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Sure enough, they slept again. The results? Our Savior, strengthened by the Father, endures the cross. The chief disciples, weakened by the flesh, abandon and renounce their Lord.

This struck me as it never has previously. In reflecting on the above verse, I've found that I really long to glorify God in what I do, but I often seem to come up short or do not glorify Him as I think I ought to. My spirit is so utterly willing to do so, but my flesh is utterly weak. My discipline is weak. My flesh battles to lead me to laziness and self-regard. How desperately I must be on the lookout for these temptations...and how desperately I must pray! I must abide in the Lord through prayer to bear the fruit of my God-glorifying desires.

I share this with you guys as many will be taking part in planting a church in Philly. Though our desire to do much God-glorifying good in loving and serving Jesus and Philadelphians through biblical depth and outreach, our flesh is so terribly weak. We must throw ourselves before the throne of God in fervent and abundant prayer if we want to bear fruit. Having a willing spirit is not enough; we must depend on God in prayer, just as the God-Man did on the eve of His cross.

Please friends, do not be like me in neglecting prayer for so long! Please do not believe in God's sovereignty to the detriment of communing with our Lord in prayer! Thanks be to God: my heart finally believes what my mind always knew - the value of prayer.

Thoughts on the Wedding at Canaan

2010-07-06T06:12:00.000-07:00

John chapter two marks the beginning of the Lord Jesus’ ministry of work, word, and signs. D.A. Carson sees the early ministry of our Lord spanning from 2:1 through the end of chapter four. 2:1 also marks the first of several somewhat successive events where John displays how the Lord fulfills and surpasses Judaism. Chapter two is also part of the ‘sign chapters’ in John in which Jesus’ glory is displayed through his works. John’s purpose here fits his overall purpose of evangelizing Jews and Proselytes.

The first event that John appropriates to display Jesus’ superiority over OC Judaism is the wedding at Canaan where Jesus performed his first public ministry. This is a bit of a mysterious scene. Jesus, his mother and some of his disciples are taking part in a several day wedding celebration. The groom was financially responsible for the wedding and he is in the grave danger of running out of provision and shaming himself and his family. Jesus’ mother tries to step in, perhaps she was coordinating the celebration for the family. She tries to enlist Jesus to fix the situation. As a, likely, now single woman she has gotten used to relying on her oldest son. I suspect that even at this point she has some idea that he is a powerful man of God, perhaps a prophet. Jesus, however, protests the enlistment. His time or hour has not come. In John’s gospel this phrase is almost always a reference to the Jesus’ passion. The Lord knew that his exaltation would only come through suffering and was careful to protect himself from too much public or political notoriety (See Mark’s gospel).

Though Jesus at first protests, his mother prevails over him. He turns the ceremonial washing water into wine, the best wine. Though wine in that day was not as strong as it is today, it certainly contained alcohol, probably slightly less than the modern beer, this passage alone should silence those Christians who prohibit alcohol consumption outright.

The result of the Lord’s sign was that his glory was displayed before all, but only those who had eyes to see believed.

A complete understanding of this passage is predicated upon recognizing the OT background. The water was used for ceremonial washing, but Jesus does away with this water and turns it into wine, which John will later use a symbol of the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood. Below the surface of events the Lord Jesus is pointing toward the cross where he will die as a ransom for sin and inaugurate a New Covenant where ceremonial washing is no longer necessary because we can be cleansed by the Savior. Who else is worthy of worship than this one who is greater than Abraham and Moses? Who else is worthy of the devotion of our lives than this one whose exaltation came through suffering on our behalf?

Dwell 2008 Conference

2010-05-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

Gents,

Here is a link to a blog post from the resurgence blog. It's all of audio/video from the conference held by Acts29 at the Redeemer Church planting Center in NYC.

I've not yet partaken of any of this content as of yet, but I'm guessing that it would be well worth our time as we pursue planting a church in Manayunk late next year.

Feed back would be great!

The Generosity Matrix

2010-05-22T04:29:00.000-07:00

Matt and I have been discussing Ministries of Mercy by Keller, and I've just been full of guilt for not giving nor doing enough to help the needy. This is not to be the motivation for giving, nor is it what Keller is promoting. We ought to be generous givers motivated by the gospel of Jesus.

...But what does that mean?

Here is a blog post about generous, uncompulsory giving. Justin Taylor summarizes another's post, and though it is quite long, I recommend reading the original post. I think JD Greear does such a good job of taking much of what the Bible has to say about money and possessions and balancing them so that we can be generous but not guilt-driven. This has been a burden for me lately, and I'm excited to discuss this with my wife!

Incredibly encouraged

2010-05-09T17:57:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to share with you some things a general superintendent from the Church of the Nazarene shared with us today in church.

He was talking about his visits to foreign countries. He was speaking of outbreaks of faith in Ethiopia, and how he had feuding tribes hearing him preach under the same roof with great rejoicing in the Lord. He spoke about how people were rising to leadership quickly and how everyone there was memorizing the whole bible since few are literate. He spoke about God's movement in Bangledesh, where about 20 or so years ago there were 10 Nazarene churches and about 400 Nazarene believers, and now there are over 1000 Nazarene churches and 65,000 members, along with 900 non-officially organized bodies with a preacher and common meeting time each week. He spoke about how Cuba's 2nd in command, the lady under Raul Castro (though I cannot find out who she is), asked a Nazarene leader to send more Nazarenes to Cuba because they were making Cuba a better place, though she didn't understand how they did it. He also spoke about 100,000 missionaries from an unnamed, non-Christian country rising up to head through many countries, preaching the gospel, to eventually arrive at and preach in Jerusalem.

It was incredible to hear how God is working in other places around the world. He then posed the question, "Why is it happening there and not here?" The jist of his answer was, I think, was at least part of the correct answer: we live too safely here in America.

This fired me up to continue working towards planting a church in Philly. I've lived too safe in the Lord, and I'm looking forward to serving the Lord there and ministering to the community. And I know that if anything is going to happen, it's not going to be because of me, but because Jesus changes hearts. I pray that we would effectively lift up the name of Jesus.

A Helpful Answer to a Very Tricky Question

2010-05-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

With typical clarity and grace John Piper answers the question: "Why is homosexuality wrong?" The answer is not perfect or exhaustive, but extraordinarily helpful as a place to start.

Ouch!

2010-05-05T04:10:00.000-07:00

"If Jesus answered all your prayers from the last 30 days, would anything change in THE World or just YOUR world."

This convicted me for sure! I do pray for Philly almost every day. Do you have prayers like this?

Ligon Duncan's Exhortations

2010-05-02T05:34:00.000-07:00

Ligon Duncan, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, offered these six exhortations to young pastors. If you are at all interested in pastoral ministry or want to know how to pray for your pastor, then give this a thirty second read. I know I feel challenged!

I Love This Song!

2010-05-01T04:04:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to some worship music by Sovereign Grace Ministries lately. This song in particular has been an immense blessing to me! Give it a quick listen.

Ten reasons to not over-program your church...

2010-04-30T06:42:00.001-07:00

These ten thoughts on why we shouldn't over-program our church are quite helpful.

Evangelism and the Idea of Redeeming Culture

2010-04-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

If you get a chance watch this video of Mark Dever and Ed Stetzer. Dever offers a very interesting counter thought to Tim Keller's call to Christians to renew the culture as an implication of being transformed by God through the gospel.

I have a great deal of respect for both Dever and Keller and would love to hear your thoughts on the relationship between evangelism and 'renewing the culture.' I'll lay my cards out a little bit on this one. I think Dever accurately sees ultimate cultural renewal as being the work of God eschatologically (Rev. 21:23-24). Moreover, I tend to agree that the primary responsibility that Christ gives to the church is to makes disciples of all nations (Mt. 28:19-20).

I am afraid, however, of being reductionistic. We are called to love our enemies, seek their good, and prove the purity of our religion by caring for those in need (Mt. 5:43-47, James 1:27). Moreover, the early church was known for its care for the poor both within and outside their community (Acts 2:42-47). Can the imperatives of Christ be ignored?

I agree with Dever that the book of Revelation depicts culture spiraling out of control until it is renewed at the Second Coming and the inauguration of the New Heavens and the New Earth (Rev. 20-21). I agree, therefore, that we should focus most centrally on rescuing people from the coming judgment and making disciples of Christ. BUT, true disciples of Christ follow his commands (1 Jn. 1:6). These commands include being honest in our business practices, loving our enemies and seeking the welfare of the poor. Yes, I think disciple-making takes priority, but it seems to me that disciple-making should lead believers to bring the gospel into every area of life that they find themselves, that is, their culture.

Please help sharpen my thoughts on this important question if you have time.

What Is So Radical?

2010-04-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

The other day I had some extra time and decided to take a ganders at Brian McLaren's website. Seeing that I believe that God is sovereign, the Bible is inerrant and Hell is real, I guess this was an unexpected move. McLaren denies each of my previous three affirmations. Still, I admit it, I want to learn from McLaren. He has a heart for the poor and I want so desperately for mine to grow. So, I took a ganders at his sight.

After reading a little bit I got tired and went to sleep. I've been thinking about McLaren ever since. His website has a lot of interesting articles, most of which seem to have one theme: evangelicals have domesticated and taken Jesus corporate, therefore, we have to bring people to the true, radical Jesus. Of course, this radical Jesus is a pacifist who does not believe in Hell or monologue preaching!

I think John Piper is right when he laughs at the idea that recasting Jesus as a pacifist who cares for the poor, but not about actually saving sinners from Hell, is reclaiming the radical Jesus. How is taking all the authority, wrath and intense sacrificial love away from Jesus going to make him more radical? There is nothing radical about a Jesus who is exactly like Brian McLaren!

I am truly thankful for everyone I can learn from. I mean no disrespect to Mr. McLaren. I think he has some great ideas about extending arms of mercy to the poor. Still, I have to say, don't waste your time on his website. If you want to learn about mercy ministries, then pick up Keller's Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road. Keller's book will teach you what McLaren, sadly, cannot: how to perform biblical, gospel-centered deeds of mercy for our brothers, sisters and neighbors (everyone!) in need.

What Calvinism is For...

2010-03-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

What is Calvinism for? Why does the doctrine of election exist? If you were to look around the American evangelical landscape you might be tempted to respond; "Calvinism exists to split churches," or "Calvinism is for creating a prideful and combative spiritual elite."

This semester I have spent a great deal of time meditating on Ephesians 1:3-14. As a result of this time it is my prayer that people will look at my life and say the exact thing Paul says in this marvelous passage: Calvinism is for worship.

The Power of Faith

2010-03-31T03:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I read Rev. 19-22 during my devotional time. Those chapters form such incredible picture of our sure and certain hope in Christ. They are truly stunning. As I read, I found myself just mouthing to myself, "believe it, believe it." Don't get me wrong, I believe in God, I trust Christ. But, really, do I believe this is the future that is coming? Is my heart set at peace by this hope? Is my life ordered around this future reality where Christ is glorious and central to all things? I look at myself and I constantly wonder, "do you really believe it?"

God help us to take Him at His Word!

IRS, Social Security and Christ

2010-03-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

On his blog Justin Taylor has a link to a very interesting article on Christian ministers opting out of social security. The article also references an article on the same subject by a professor at my school. I have not thought about this issue much, but it's about time I do so, especially seeing that two men I respect are so adamently opposed to ministers opting out, going so far as to call opting out dishonoring the name of Christ and the Scriptures.

Thoughts?

Free Driscoll book!

2010-02-06T07:06:00.000-08:00

Head on over to www. christianaudio.com and download Driscoll's new book "Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions" for FREE in February. You'll have to sign up, but that's free as well.

(Sorry Nick, I've been thinking of your post for a while, as I'm reading through Genesis now too; but haven't really sat down and thought too much about it yet.)

Old Testament fornication...

2010-01-21T03:40:00.000-08:00

This morning I'm sitting here reading Genesis 22, one of the most memorable and foreshadowing events of the OT and at the end it's giving a short genealogy of Abraham's broheim (cause it sounds more Jewish than brother) and all of a sudden it says this as thought it was an afterthought...."Moreover, his (Abraham's brother Nahor) concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah."

Does it not seem a bit 'below board' that both the father of the Jewish faith and his broheim had children illegitimate children? and moreover that it seems that everyone knew based on the fact that it made the historical report!

I'd love to hear some thoughts on why this monster sin seems to be sort of glossed over. How come there's no record of God's anger about this? It must make the story line for a reason...I mean it's not just there to make us think...huh? wonder why that's there...

Your thoughts....please!

When J.I. Packer Speaks I Listen

2010-01-12T14:49:00.000-08:00

If you have a few minutes I would encourage everyone to listen to Packer talk a little bit about theological training and the work of a minister of the gospel.

Let me know what you think!

A Helpful Little Resource for us...

2010-01-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a very brief church life stage summary. Give it a read an tuck it in the back of your brain. This may help all of us in being better leaders/evaluators in the churchs that we serve for Jesus.

Calvinist Confessions 1-5

2009-12-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

Thought we all might like to read THIS blog post about one pastors bouts with calvinism vs. his God. There are five of these. I've only read the first one. I'd love to know if this is something that we all struggle with together...it's my guess that we do.

Ezra-Nehemiah

2009-12-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

For those who are planning to be involved in any type of ministry in building up the church (specifically to those planning to plant a church in Philadelphia), may I recommend to you that you study the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. I've been camped here for many months and have learned so much about how God works to build up a church and a city. I will probably be here for many more months in my study. I want to ask you to join me here.

I understand that we all have our own quiet times, and that I may be interrupting your normal flow or study elsewhere in the good book. Nonetheless, I think it would be great for us all to examine Ezra and Nehemiah and at some point discuss.

What particularly struck me today was Ezra 7:10: "For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach His statutes and rules in Israel." In fact, his heart was so set on the Bible and teaching God's people that he traveled 900 miles over four months with thousands of people (including children and the elderly) to call Israel to repentance by using the gift that God had given him.

Is that your heart, men?

Tortured for Christ

2009-12-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

Hey guys and gals,

I've been reading Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand the last two days. I'm about half way through, and I must say that this book has shocked me and tested my faith like no other book I've read. Wurmbrand recounts his days in Romania from his salvation to his evangelism to Romanian/Russian communists as part of the Underground Church, to his 14 torturous years in Communist jails, to defeating communism. His faith, boldness, and love for Christ and Communists is exemplary. I've been edified immensely in reading the depth of love that many persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ have for our Lord and for their persecutors. It's very hard for me to explain how in awe I am of the passionate, strong faith of those mentioned in this book.

I would highly recommend that you get your hands on this book. I got mine for free from Campus Crusade (though I had to pay shipping), and if you go to www.studylight.org, a similar offer pops up as the home page loads. It says the book is free, but I imagine you would have to pay the shipping and handling for it as well. It is well worth it.

Interesting.

2009-12-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

A quick blurb from Joel Osteen on money:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/12/18/brainless.baby.pkg.koaa

I like to hear it from the horse's mouth.

Clarification & Wisdom

2009-12-17T13:33:00.000-08:00

One of my chief concerns now that I have written the earlier post about disagreeing with Mark Driscoll concerning his interpretation of Titus 2:5 is being misunderstood. So, here are a few words of clarification.

First, we need to be careful not to construct laws where the scripture gives us principles. Arguably one of the largest themes in the Bible is wisdom. We like to construct laws because we lack wisdom and constructing laws is always simpler and easier than using biblical wisdom in order to apply the principles we are offered in scripture.

Secondly, I wholeheartedly believe that the Bible contains commands that are to be obeyed. We are not justified in rationalizing our way out of clear commands. I am not advocating that you pray for wisdom about whether or not you should fornicate. Just don't do it. In the case of Titus 2:5, however, we are not given an exhaustive explanation of what it means for a woman to work at home and take care of her children. We have to be wise about this.

Third, we can never use biblical wisdom as an excuse to make the Bible say exactly the opposite of what it says. The Bible says that women with children should work at home and take care of their kids. Though I don't believe this means she cannot do anything more than literally be at home all day, I do believe that it means she must make it her first priority to care for her children and husband. I just don't believe this excludes a mother from leaving the house...which is what she would not be allowed to do if you press this verse in a way that it is not meant to be pressed.

Fourth, I think we should be just as concerned when a mother refuses to care for her children as when a husband refuses to provide. A husband and wife are ontologically equal, but they have different roles. The husband's primary role is to lead and provide, the wife's is to be a helper-suitable to him. This is not all they do, they just don't do less!

In conclusion, I do believe that Titus 2:5 means what it says, do you? Does your wife?

I Have to Disagree

2009-12-11T08:59:00.000-08:00

I listen to Mark Driscoll sermons religiously. I think he is one of the best preachers I have ever heard. He beautifully models pastoral leadership for a generation of men, like me, who didn't know you could be strong and tender simultaneously. To say the least, I admire him.

Some of my favorite Driscoll sermons are the ones from the Song of Solomon series. There is, however, one thing that Driscoll continually mentions in these, and other sermons, that I have to disagree with and that is the issue of motherhood. According to Driscoll, the Bible forbids a woman from working outside the home if she has children who have not yet reached adulthood.

Let me be clear. I believe in biblical gender roles (Eph. 5). I am also not saying that it is best for a mother to work outside the home. In many cases it may not be. The question I am seeking to answer is not: "what is best?" On the contrary, I want to understand what the Bible actually teaches.

Driscoll bases his view that mothers are forbidden to work outside the home, except for very rare & extraordinary exceptions, on Titus 2:5, which says that women should be taught to love their children and work at home.

The primary problem with Driscoll's view is that he formulates his entire theology on this issue based on one verse. He seems to ignore the many commended woman in the Bible who worked outside the home, such as Deborah, Lydia, the Proverbs 31 industrious woman, the many woman mentioned throughout Luke's gospel who are considered to be woman of means and, possibly, Priscilla.

This is not the place for extended exegesis. Still, I think that if we look at the scripture holistically we will see that though it may be best for a mother to stay at home full-time and raise her children, it is not commanded in the scripture that they do so. Titus 2:5 is not an exhaustive text on womanhood. It should be taken seriously and women should ask the Lord if they are fulfilling their duties to be primarily homeward focused. Still, to say that this text forbids woman from working outside the home because it teaches that woman should work in the home, is an argument from silence that pushes this text beyond the breaking point.

Now, you may ask, "Matt, if you think it is best for a mother to be at home primarily when her children are young, then why do you oppose someone teaching that woman must stay home?" The reason my friends is because we cannot tolerate someone going beyond what scripture says and creating an extra-biblical commandment, even when we might agree with the principle they are propounding. In my opinion, when we create commands we are not only guilty of legalism, but we deny the sufficiency of scripture.

At the end of the day, I love Driscoll and think he is an amazing man of God. But on this point, I have to disagree.

Ok, my book is over, let me have it...in love I ask.

Ella Hart

2009-12-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

The newest Hart has been born!

Rural Church?

2009-12-04T15:50:00.001-08:00

Take a quick read of what Mr. Keller said on the Gospel Coalition blog. Let me know your thoughts.

Matt Chandler

2009-12-03T04:33:00.001-08:00

Read this and you will understand why Matt Chandler desperately needs our prayers right now.

Also, no matter how busy you are, please, find a way to listen to this sermon he preached out Southern Seminary a couple weeks ago. Perhaps the most important sermon I have ever heard for me personally.

I love you guys!

A friend of Cohen's...

2009-12-02T04:11:00.000-08:00

A 'friend' of Matt's the Dean of the school of Theology at SBST wrote and interesting blog post recently. I'd ask for you to give it a read and leave you thoughts here.

Gospel-Centered Ministry

2009-11-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

All this week Justin Taylor will be posting on distinctive marks of gospel-centered ministry. I would encourage you guys to check out the posts each day. This is a great resource from the gospel coalition, which is led by D.A. Carson and Tim Keller.

Let me know what you think! Back to Hebrew...

9Marks Journal on Church Discipline

2009-11-02T11:02:00.000-08:00

I want to encourage each of you to take a look at 9Marks new ejournal on church discipline. Here is my question: Have any of you witnessed church discipline first hand? If so, what did it look like?

A Biblical Vision

2009-10-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

If you get a chance, especially Nick & Kevin, throw this sermon on your ipod. The sermon is about bringing gospel-revival to a city through social justice. This sermon has helped me tremendously in developing a vision for what the church must be about. As always, Tim Keller nocks it out of the park!

Wisdom from my Friends...Part 2

2009-10-21T03:29:00.001-07:00

One of the great joys of my life are my Monday conversations with Nick. I knew Nick back when he did not know Christ from a long snap. Every Monday I get to rejoice as I listen to Nick speak of his love for Christ. The evidence of God's magnificent grace is right before my eyes in these conversations, I love it.

This Monday I asked Nick what God is teaching him. He replied:

"I am learning the joy of seeing God provide for my family, without me making providing for my family the consuming reality of my life."

Now, this, like the Kurtz quote, is a botched paraphrase of something that was once quite eloquent. Still, there is something amazing about this quote. In this statement Nick captures the simple truth that when we are consumed and solely focused on providing for our families, we cease to rely on the Lord. Nick is a mighty hard worker, but he lives the truth that our lives are far more than our professions, even when we are in ministry. I love this guy!

Wisdom from my Friends

2009-10-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

Recently my good buddies Nick and Kurtz have both unloaded their incredible arsenal of wisdom on me in the form of pithy statements that have stuck with me.

The other day I was talking with Kevin, who is soon going to begin looking for a new job in Philly so that he can be a part of planting a Christ-centered church with Nick and me. This is a huge step of faith on Kevin's part and I can't put words to how much I admire him for it (and many other reasons). When I told Kevin how incredible I think his faith is, he simply replied with this one liner:

"You know...when you finally get Romans 8:28, then there is really no point in worrying anymore."

Simply amazing! Kevin & kelila are willing to leave their home and jobs to follow Christ. I pray that we all would take Jesus' call to discipleship seriously and take him at his word.

Nick's wisdom is to come...

Incredible Words from Bonhoeffer

2009-10-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

These simple, profound words from Bonhoeffer should move us all to repentance and action.

Our 'obedience' to Jesus' word would then consist in our rejecting simple obedience as legalistic obedience, in order to be obedient "in faith." This is the difference between us and the rich young man. In his sadness, he is not able to calm himself by saying to himself, In spite of Jesus' word, I want to remain rich, but I will become inwardly free from my riches and comfort my inadequacy with the forgiveness of sins and be in communion with Jesus by faith." Instead, he went away sadly and, in rejecting obedience lost his chance at having faith. The young man was sincere in going away, He parted from Jesus, and this sincerity surely had more promise than a false communion with Jesus based on disobedience.

Interesting stats on church size and beliefs

2009-10-06T04:06:00.000-07:00

So you all have heard enough pastors reference the Barna group in sermons. Almost enough to think that they might be somewhat affiliated with the dharma initiative (which for those of you locked in a bunker for the last several years is the slightly mysterious research organization in the hit TV series LOST). We'll I've finally hear enough of said references to drive me to the site and today while at Starbucks (which is where my wife works) before work I found THIS interesting article about how the size of a church relates to their 'net' spiritual beliefs. Check it out and let me know what you think....G'day mates...

Online Campus?

2009-09-23T18:55:00.001-07:00

What are your thoughts about churches having online campus'?

ah....technology...the lovesong of my gadget heart

2009-09-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

Check THIS and THIS out! I love this! Material, Music, Giving, Info...all in one easy to find easy to use location that everyone has their pocket. Evangelism doesn't get any easier! Thoughts?

Discuss

2009-09-20T16:46:00.001-07:00

Is idolatry the root of all sin?

Guess who?

2009-09-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Since all but one of you that contribute to this blog may never earn a seminary degree, I am prompted to ask...guess who never had any formal theological training...???

If you guessed John Calvin, then you are correct. Scholars from every Christian tradition, by and large, agree that Calvin is the most important exegete/theologian since Augustine. He has not only shaped all of Christendom, but also modern law and political theory. Certainly, he had incredible gifts, but the God who gifted him is with you. Love Jesus, study the scriptures, teach with passion, and watch what God does! Your impact may be greater than you expect!

Get Behind me Satan

2009-09-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why when Peter rebukes(!) Jesus for saying that he will be crucified, Jesus calls Peter Satan? Have you ever wondered why when Jesus is transfigured and the few disciples see his glory, he tells them to keep quiet about it? Has it ever struck you as strange that it is the demons who proclaim Jesus' messianic identity? And lastly, doesn't it seem weird that when the people want to anoint Jesus as the King, his response is to want to leave town? All of this seems so strange.

In order to answer these questions we must understand what happened during our Lord's temptation in the wilderness. When Jesus is offered the kingdoms of the world, what Satan is doing is tempting him to claim his rightful glory without the humiliation of the cross. The Lord runs from the anointing crowds because he is seeking a greater anointing that will be his after his resurrection. The demons proclaim Jesus' messianic identity because they want him anointed now and not later after he has shed his blood for our sins. If we miss this crucial point we will misunderstand the gospels.

Our Lord came to suffer. He said himself, "my kingdom is not of this world." He did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus came for the cross and we who receive him as our gift and follow him must bear ours as well. Our kingdom is not of this world.

A Lesson from Luther

2009-09-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Martin Luther, the great magisterial reformer was once asked how he sparked the protestant reformation. He responded with a famous quote:

"I preached the Word, slept, and drank Wittenburg beer."

Luther went on to explain that the entire Protestant Reformation was born out of Spirit-empowered, Christ-centered preaching. This quote weighs on my not just because it is pithy and awesome, which it is. This quote weighs on me because I want to be a pastor. I want to reach a city. I want to see countless men and women become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. This should be the goal for all of us, not just pastors.

How do we accomplish such a task? We can't. It is the work of the Word by the Spirit.

Is There a Difference?

2009-09-03T09:14:00.001-07:00

Today a good friend of mine asked me: "Is there a difference between what N.T. Wright teaches about justification (that final acceptance before God is on the basis of works) and lordship theology that teaches that Christians must do good works?"

Yes! There is a massive difference between believing that your ultimate acceptance before God will be on the basis of your whole life lived and the biblical teaching that just as fruit trees bear fruit, so Christians grow and do good works.

This question is a good one. It will never go away and it makes a massive difference in the way we live. If you take Wright's approach you are left wondering if God loves and accepts you. To take the biblical lordship view is to trust in Christ's death and resurrection alone for your standing with God. We are free in Christ from having to establish our own lives before God. Those who live and breath justification by faith alone are those who are born again. Now, let me make a crucial point: new birth is effective. The person who is born again becomes a new being who does, ever so slowly and slightly, new things. We are justified and promised glorification on the basis of faith alone apart from any works. The faith alone that saves will never stand alone. By its very nature, true saving faith produces works.

If we don't get this distinction right we will lost the gospel and begin trying to establish ourselves before God on the basis of works. If we don't get this distinction we will not soar with joy at what Christ has done on our behalf! If we miss this distinction we lose the extravagant love of Christ and, consequently, will lose our vision for extravagantly loving our wives.

Yes...there is a big difference! Thoughts?

works vs. faith

2009-08-20T01:45:00.000-07:00

In some Christian circles today there seems to be something of a revival of the Galatian heresy. Many Christians are flocking to book stores to buy N.T. Wright's new book on justification and countless of them will buy into his very sophisticated re-working of justification. In short, Wright and others want to say that initial justification is by faith, but final, eschatological salvation is on the basis of works. The arguments and justifications (no pun intended) for this view are complex, but the question that is really at the core of this controversy is really the age old issue of the relationship between faith and works in salvation. Are works necessary for salvation?

In response to this question I side wholeheartedly with Luther. Yes! Works are absolutely necessary for the Christian! Luther said "Works are necessary for the Christian in the same way that it is necessary for the sun to shine."

We must always remember that if justification, present or future, is by works then it is not a gift. Justification must be by faith alone or we die in our sins, all of us! But, lets be clear, just as apple trees grow apples and the sun shines, so the Christian glorifies Christ and loves their neighbor.

Good Question

2009-08-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

My good friend Aaron Hart posed this question to several of us via facebook. I thought I'd copy it in here along with my answer:

AH: Hey guys, I know we can't all spend time in the Word together but I enjoy learning from you and interacting with you in pursuit of the truth, hence this message. Romans 5:9-11, I read it recently and was struck with the thought that Paul makes notable separation between reconciliation and salvation. Is this so?

MC:First, I think Joey is just about right when it comes to the definition of reconciliation. I would say that reconciliation most literally means to bring together, or make peace between, two estranged or hostile parties (1Cor. 7:11).

Secondly, in order to properly understand this passage we have to see its structure. One important aspect of the structure to notice is that verses 9-11 are the conclusion and summation of verses 1-8. Another, perhaps more important, structural element to notice is that verses 9 & 10 are parallels that make the same point.

Thirdly, we must define the terms of the passage accurately. Justification (not salvation) is the legal term in this paragraph. Justification refers to the believer being declared innocent by the judge. Reconciliation refers to the believer being brought into joyous communion or friendship with that same judge. Salvation or being saved in this passage refers to being saved from the wrath to come on the day of the Lord at the end of time.

Conclusion:

I think that Paul is trying to encourage the believers at Rome that if through faith in Christ and his shed blood on the cross they are both declared not guilty and reconciled in friendship to God, then they can be certain that they will rise, just as Christ did, to life on the last day and not judgment. Justification and reconciliation are present realities and salvation is a future one that is already accomplished.

Praise God!

Sources:

Thomas R. Schreiner - Romans (Baker Exegetical Commentary)
Douglas J. Moo - Romans (NICNT)

testing

2009-08-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

testing

one more thing about blogs

2009-08-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

Check on the Aug 4th post on www.stevenfurtick.com and read the post called systematic thoughtfulness. Talk about motivating! I love a good ole kick in the rear to get me obeying the holy spirit!

fun blogs...

2009-08-11T16:28:00.001-07:00

So, I just thou:ht I've give you all a heads up about two new blogs that I"ve discovered and have really enjoyed. I"m usually not much of a blogger, but I've found these two extremely helpful:

www.hollyfurtick.com and www.stevenfurtick.com

I don't know if you all have heard of Elevation Church in Charlotte, but these blogs have really resonated with me. Partially because they are so dang real and so non-super-spiritual! I know, that sounds so anti-Christian, but I can appreciate a blog where every word is not a scripture citation. I don't know about all your wives, but I've found it difficult to find Christian women's blogs that don't put me off from the get go by writing about swapping recipes or hyper-domesticity....Anyway, these blogs have been encouraging these past two weeks. What do you all think of them?

Something to Consider

2009-08-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Friends,

Let me give you some background of where I am at right now. I've been systematically going through the Five Points of Calvinism to see if they are biblically legit, when I got to our favorite L. I've been struggling mightily with this since any generalization I attempt to make seems contradictory in some sense to something else. For example, if Jesus died only for the elect, then there are so many verses with the words "all" and "world" and "everyone" that must be prefaced with, "i.e. all/the world of/everyone of the elect." If Jesus died for everyone, then how in the world are "all things" (specifically unbelievers) reconciled to God in Colossians 1:20? What exactly does the death of Christ accomplish for unbelievers? - it seems to do something (see Colossians 1:20, 1 Timothy 4:10, and 2 Peter 2:1), but how He is the Savior of all, reconciling all to Himself, and buying false teachers? I feel like I'm at a point where I can't find a biblical answer to those questions, and I'm not sure if I should attempt to answer them myself.

This is the danger: To get some perspective on my whole search, I sat back and wondered if I would offend a strict Limited Atonement Calvinist by saying Jesus is a ransom for all. The reason I pondered this is because it's a direct quote from the Bible, and yet it's very threatening to their theology! If we're offended by verses, or if this verse scares us, or if we diminish the importance of this verse, we need to repent of our theology. When I read that verse and some others mentioned above, the last thing I want to do is manipulate its meaning to serve my theology. I wonder if too many people put too much authority behind "theology based on logical consequences of what we do know for sure," even if it is not clearly taught in Scripture. This brings me to my questions:

To what extent is it good to develop a systematic theology of the Bible? Should we attempt to weave a nice Biblical theology that unites all seemingly contradictory statements? (Is that even possible?) Or should we simply proclaim what the Bible says, not going beyond Scripture to resolve the tension between some texts, in order to be faithful to God's revealed wisdom?

In other words, should we seek resolve antinomies (antinomies are defined by J.I. Packer to be things which appear to be contradictory because we cannot see how they can be true together) if we cannot do so with Scripture, or should we simply acknowledge that somehow they do not contradict?

Another Recommendation

2009-07-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll...I know it's Friday night, but Andrea got stuck at work so it's cool.

Honestly, I don't know that I have read much outside of the scripture about the church that has been more helpful. The book is a very unique balance of sound theology and its practical application. Give it a look and let me know what you think. Kurtz and I will try to stimulate some good discussion!

Cheap Grace

2009-07-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

Dietrich Bonhoeffer so eloquently describes, perhaps, the greatest heresy preached by American evangelicals in the last 25 years:

"So the Christian need not follow Christ, since the Christian is comforted by grace! That is cheap grace as justification of sin, but not justification of the contrite sinner who turns away from sin and repents. It is not forgiveness of sin which separates those who sinned from sin. Cheap graces is that grace which we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance..."

This is taken from his book The Cost of Discipleship, which I finished reading on my way home from Dallas this weekend...if nothing else I would recommend taking a ganders at the first chapter.

Reflections from the Nation of Texas

2009-07-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I returned from Dallas, Texas. Though I could spend my time teasing Texans for thinking they live in a modern Utopia or for naming all their sons names like Colton, Weston, and Wyatt, I'll refrain out of love for my Texas brethren.

I was in Texas for a week preaching at a high school church camp for my good friend and former mentor Drew Svendson. It was wonderful to see Drew and to have the opportunity to bring the Word of God to students once again. I never tire of this great calling.

As I reflect upon my time in Texas I am convinced once again about the truth of our Lord's saying, "No one can come to me unless the Father draws him..." (John 6:44). The camp this week was full of sorrowful celebration. It was celebration because I had the opportunity to see students moved by the Spirit through the sung and preached word. I saw hearts of stone melted and blind eyes opened. Eternity will not be the same on account of the work of God this past week.

The camp was sorrowful, on the other hand, because some students refused to open their hearts to the gospel. We preached, prayed, listened, and loved, but some students simply would not repent of their sin and trust Christ.

It is simply amazing. Two brothers can come to the same camp, from the same church, and the same school, and the same home and hear the same message. One's heart is open and the others closed.

No one comes to Christ apart from the miraculous work of the Father. I will preach, I will celebrate, I will cry, and I will trust God. He is working all things together for the praise of his glorious grace. Let us praise him!

What do you Treasure More?

2009-07-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Kurtz has patiently waited for an answer to two very important questions. In what follows I will try to offer my thoughts on the issue of complaining vs. appropriately venting.

First, we must establish that complaining is a sin. This can be done simply by quoting Paul; "Do all things without complaining (grumbling)..." (Phil. 2:14).

Another important question concerns the nature of the offense. Why is complaining wrong? Romans 8:28 says that God works out all things for the good of those who love him. Similarly, in Ephesians 1:11 he says that God, in his mercy, works all things according to the counsel of his will. The Apostle Peter said that, if it is God's will, it is better that we suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil (1Pet. 3:17). The implicit reality is that our Lord may will that we suffer, which is always a difficult experience. Of course, the list of verses could go on. The point I am making is a simple one: when we complain we are, at core, complaining against the sovereign will of God. This is a grave and serious thing, no matter how often or how comfortable we are with it.

Having said that, we must recognize that the issue is just not that simple. Yes, God's will is perfect, but biblically speaking I believe God has two wills. First of all, God has a sovereign will. God's sovereign will includes those things that God wills which cannot be frustrated. These include such things as the passion of Christ and the perseverance of all true believers. Secondly, God has a commanded will. This is the will of God which he freely allows us to violate. God's commanded will includes commands like "be holy," which are violated every day.

We live in a world where God's commanded will is constantly violated and the consequence is that we all suffer. Our lives are filled with incredibly difficult circumstances, many of which are completely out of our control. We must not pretend that our suffering is anything but what it is; suffering. Difficult jobs, health problems, marriage conflicts, financial stress, and persecution for our faith are all real, painful situations. We must remember that Jesus Christ faced trials beyond what we can bear and some of them made him weep.

How does all this apply to complaining? The above biblical revelation makes me think we must be very careful to examine our hearts in the area of complaining! Any time we stand over God's sovereign decrees and proceed to give him a lesson about how he should run the universe we are treading on very dangerous ground. Our God is a God of love. He has redeemed those who once counted him as enemies. Our lives our now hid with Christ, who loves us and gave himself up for us. Any speech that cheapens that grace by putting more emotional stock in our circumstances than the reality of God's grace is a complaint of sinful proportions. We can never afford to forget the cross when we are thinking about this issue of complaining.

Now, I also think that there is a way to communicate about our suffering that honors the God that ordains the suffering we are experiencing. One way we do this is by calling evil what it is. When we suffer as a result of evil we should grieve because the Holy Spirit grieves. However, we should not grieve as those who have no hope beyond the grave.

I also think that we should communicate with our spouses and friends about the difficulties in our lives. I think we should explain the deep pain that we feel over the myriad of sufferings in our lives. If we want to call this venting, then I say vent away. After all, how can we bear one another's burdens if we do not share them with one another by 'venting'? Make sure, however, that you don't vent in such a way that is hopeless. Moreover, don't complain is a way that would put you to shame if Jesus were actually in the room, after all, He is.

I hope this helps Kevin. As I reflect on your question I think that it if we want to to conquer our slavery to complaining we must grow to treasure Christ more than enjoyable circumstances. I can't lay down a legalistic line for what is and what is not complaining. As believers, we often know the line intuitively. I think we are better off spending our energies killing the speech in our lives that we are certain does qualify as complaining. There will be enough there to keep me busy for a life time. Ultimately, this is an issue of the heart. What do you treasure more, your life or Christ?

Has this blog been abandoned?

2009-05-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Hopefully not...because I have two questions needing responses.

The first one can be found immediately below this post.

The second one is this: where in the gospels did Jesus speak about His atonement? He talked often about His death, but I cannot think of where He spoke about the implications of His death.

Post away.

A question that's been in my head

2009-05-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Where is the line (or, is there a line) between venting and complaining?

As Promised...

2009-04-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I said that I was going to post my devotional habits, but that promise has not been fulfilled until now. Before I describe my morning ritual I want to clearly say that our "devotional lives" are far more than our quiet times. If we define "devotions" as those things we do in order to immerse ourselves in Christ, then I need to recognize how dependent my devotional life is upon the body of Christ, especially Andrea. Christianity is unequivocally corporate!

Having said that, typically I get up each morning at 5:30 and do school work until 6:45/7:00 when Andrea leaves for work. I have trouble having my quiet time without being alone and Andrea and I live in a one bedroom apartment, so having your own space means being alone in the apartment. My devotions usually last a little over an hour. I always begin by praying through a Psalm in order to get my heart set on the Lord. After that what I do varies. Last month I was reading through Matthew and working on memorizing Philippians. This month I follow the Psalm up with Mark Dever's book The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, then I continue to work my way through my Philippians memorization (I'm in the middle of chapter three). Finally, I take out my journal and make my prayer list for the day. The first items are always the same: (1) Meditate on what I have read in the Word, (2) Pray for my marriage, (3) Pray for Andrea. After that I usually pray for the things before me that day and people in my life. It is rare that I don't pray for all the authors of this blog and their wives, as well as those in my small group.

For time purposes, the majority of my prayer time is done while I shower and get ready for the day/eat breakfast.

Now, how often do I actually do the above. I would say it is very rare for me not to do the above on weekdays. Now, the weekends are another story, it is rare Saturday or Sunday when the above happens. Still, I don't lose any sleep over this, I'm not trying to earn my standing before God through my quiet time.

Hope that this is of some help. Thanks for sharing your habits guys!

I need verses

2009-04-13T18:15:00.001-07:00

Matt: some time ago you made the comment that a big problem in the church is people thinking they need to work to keep their salvation by doing good works. I wholeheartedly agree with this, especially as one who lived that for too long. However, when I took a brief look at the Word and some resources to see where this was proclaimed, I was unsuccessful in finding some good solid passages and was overwhelmed with passages full of commands.

Gentlemen and Andrea, I am in need of some verses/passages that describe how our sanctification (our present Christian lives after justification) is grace-based and not independently based on good works. In other words, which Scripture instructs us how to work out our salvation properly? Your comments on said passages would be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance.

THE "NEW" PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2009-04-03T11:53:00.001-07:00

One of my students passed this on to me today, what do you think?

New Pledge of Allegiance

Since the Pledge of Allegiance
And The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached

NEW School prayer :

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks..
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

To things on manhood and husbandhood (if it's not a word it is now)

2009-04-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

These are two resources from Mark Driscoll. I pray that these won't distract you from your devotional life with Jesus, but that they would help to keep us on the path to righteousness.

First is this Portable Digital File (PDF)...you learn something new each day!...it's for boys only so Andrea if your reading please consider this brotherly protection and take my advice you don't wanna read this unless Matt has read it first and thinks it would be edifying for you. It's a 2 hour read and while the first third is mostly theological in genre, the second third is a transcript of Dr. J. Dobsons's interview with Ted Bundy, and the third is a serious discussion of Military life, pornography and prostitution. Pray before you read this, but this a resource that we have chosen to make available to all of the men in our ministry here and think it's something that can jolt this lazy generation of men from their complacency.

Second is this vodcast...just like a podcast, but video...two new things you may have learned today. Again something that I think is part of the wake up call that we know our generation needs, but to this point no one has done. This is just over an hour and I realize that I'm throwing a lot your way and that you are all busy but if you have some free time between classes or a bus ride that you have to take somewhere...check this out on your iPod or something. In this sermon Mark gets real with men about their laziness, apathy and chauvinism. He screams at the camera and at the audience. I got chills during this one...that's why I'm passing it on.

If you get a chance to go over any of this let me know what you think. Hidden in Jesus.

Nick

3 minutes for your encouragement

2009-03-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Check this short bio of a sister out. It's only a few minutes and it's sure to gladden your spirit.

Thoughts on Devotional Life

2009-03-13T07:23:00.001-07:00

I recently listened to an interview done with Ben Patterson, campus minister at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. I heard about the interview from Justin Taylor's blog, which is quite a helpful resource. Anyway, I hope you take the time to listen to the interview while cleaning the apartment, working out, etc. It was incredibly motivating for me.

I have been thinking a great deal about the concept of the "quiet time" lately. I think the quiet time has fallen on hard times. Many Christians today are re-discovering the centrality of corporate spiritual disciplines. Within many Christian circles eyes are being opened to the reality that our Christian lives are not meant to be inward, individual lives of contemplation. I praise God for this!

Moreover, I believe there is a renewed sense in Christian circles that holiness is not synonymous with the amount of time we spend in prayer. Read Leviticus 19! Holiness is wholeness. Holiness is synonymous with a whole life devoted to God. I praise God for this as well!

One sad consequence that has flowed from the great movements mentioned above is the neglect of the personal spiritual disciplines. This is very sad. The Christian life is far more than your time alone with the Lord, but it is not less than that. We know that the spiritual disciplines do not change us. However, they are a means for beholding the face of Jesus Christ so clearly in front of our eyes that we are changed by him.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another."

The purpose of the devotional life is to be alone with the Father and by the power of the Spirit to see him in the face of Christ in the gospel. When we behold Christ we will grow in holiness. Therefore, I think it is a sad thing to try and disconnect the personal spiritual disciplines from the call upon the Christian disciple to be holy.

So, that brings me to a question: What is your devotional life like? Would you mind describing it for us? How would you like it to grow? I'll post my usual practice soon!

P.S. Remember that the gospel is always our motivation and our starting point for the spiritual disciplines. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that your discipleship is in anyway your grounds for having a standing before God! We are justified by grace apart form works of the law!!!

Funny...But Not

2009-03-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

Now, Jeremy, I am sure you will find this more interesting than the rest of us, but I would love to hear thoughts from anyone...

Moving Words

2009-02-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

Matt Chandler's words (scroll down a little) about the way we communicate God's truth are incredibly moving. His message applies to everyone, not just preachers.

The Unconditional Love of God and It's Relationship to Daily Ministry

2009-02-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

I'm recommending that all of you go to desiringgod.com and read Piper's blog from yesterday about the unconditional love of God (I'm purposely not summarizing it here so that you have to go and read it.). I think that all of us are operating from similar theological foundations and therefore will agree with the points Piper makes in his blog. A question that warrants some discussion though, I think, is how should this Biblical truth shape our ministries? We all have them: in elementary, middle, or high schools; in corporate America; in graduate schools; at universities; with friends; in our families. Undoubtably people with whom we come in contact in each of these contexts will have a different idea about what God's unconditional love is; it may be one of the areas of theology that is most subject to popular stereotyping. How then, do we work through the strata of potentially misguided perception to really get to the heart of what it means to be loved unconditionally by the God of the universe?

I believe, and I'm sure that you do too, that being loved unconditionally in the ways positively articulated in Piper's post are far superior to being loved unconditionally as that concept is commonly understood. How do we, in all grace and love, then, walk with (we cannot be responsible for moving them) the people to whom we minister to from unconditional love point A (common understanding) to unconditional love point B (Biblical understanding)? It seems to me that it all must start with faithfully representing in daily living and teaching Bible-based truth about the glorious nature of God. Isn't that really what God's unconditional love boils down to? God loves in the manner that he does precisely because of who He is in and of Himself?

Now I'm starting to ramble a bit, but you get my point. Understanding this truth is eye-opening and life-changing. Many, dare I say most, of the people we are seeking to minister to don't understand it. How do these facts influence our ministries? Tell me what you think.

Prayer Request

2009-02-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

I would love prayer for this upcoming Sunday. I will be preaching at a church here in Louisville and am extremely excited to see what God is going to do. Thanks for all the prayers! The text is 1 Peter 1:3-7.

On another note, God-willing within the next couple months I will be uploading all of my sermons to youtube and linking them to my website. I am prayerful that doing this will help continue to open the door for me to bring the gospel to young people, especially athletes, around the States.

DG Pastors Conference

2009-02-04T05:43:00.000-08:00

The Desiring God Pastors Conference is moving toward its close and some of the videos are already posted at the DG website. Check it out!

What Parts of the Country are Religious?

2009-02-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

If you get a chance check out this interesting new study by Gallup on which regions of the country are most and least religious. Al Mohler summarizes it quite well.

Free Sermons

2009-02-02T15:54:00.001-08:00

Lately I have benefited tremendously from listening to sermons by Tim Keller. Most of Keller's sermons cost a couple dollars each. However, there are tons of free sermons at the redeemer website on everything from the gospel to work. I hope you benefit from them as much as I have!

New Year & exercise

2009-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

It is good to be back on the blog and writing something not related to seminary. It has been on my mind to write a little something about exercise. It is only one month into the new year, so it is not too late to start this year off on a good foot.

Now, I realize you are a theologically astute bunch, therefore, let me build a little bit of foundation here. The Bible teaches that care of ones body is part and parcel of being a good steward of God's gifts. Our bodies are the temple of the Spirit and Paul does teach us that physical training has value. Moreover, scientific studies have confirmed that regular exercise increases energy levels, as well as releases endorphins, or "happy hormones."

What is my point? I simply want to prod all of us along in our exercise endeavors. I guarantee that you will love to workout or run, in a month, if you start today. Are you lacking motivation. Here is a thought; enter a 5k. Once you put down the money you are committed, so you better prepare. On the other side of things, you could grab your wife, or a friend, and go to the gym together. Do anything, do something, do it all for your joy in the glory of God!

P.S. On the flip-side, if 2008 was a year of body obsession or struggle with physical image, then let me encourage you to see your body through God's eyes. I've been at this place, so I understand your pain. Your justification is not written on the scale. We are justified by God's gracious work, through Christ's death on the cross, resurrection and our faith. Allow your heart to soar in the gospel and take a few days off from the gym, it may be the most important spiritual fast you have ever done.

Jesus vs. that red-suited-overweight heathen

2008-12-31T07:14:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I hope everybody had a good Incarnation (that is, a good Christmas).

I was curious to get your thoughts on Christmas. The past two years I've been half-joking, half-serious about my dislike of Christmas in America. The red-suited behemoth, the glowing-nosed beast, the costly cards(!), and etc. really lead me to rebellion. I don't like how the myths/stories have become so great a part of our culture, and transformed the memory of the greatest act of Grace into a lesson on being good and kind to others. Even the plays at our church in the past couple of years have revolved around being too busy with the pagan nature of the holiday, with, at the very end, a remembrance of the "true" meaning of the holiday. Bah-humbug!

The big question is: How ought we to act/react to the pagan celebration that is usurping that of Christ's Incarnation? But, for the sake of breaking it down, here are some areas I'm curious about:

1) Am I being a sour-puss for my bah-humbug spirit against all things non-Jesus at the commemoration of His Incarnation? (remember, I am serious about my dislike for what it has become, but I do so with humor [for example, I rewrote the lyrics of the song "God rest you merry gentlemen" to depict God's wrath on Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty. I think that's funny, but I'm not sure many others would...]);

2) In our churches, should we so heavily address the holiday distractions? Or should we make a greater attempt to overcome that reaction by some in the congregation by magnifying the glory of Christ?

3) What about the children?!?!?! How might we appropriately teach our children about the Christmas stories that have infiltrated our American culture? Do we deny all access? Do we tell them they are not true? Do we allow them to believe that they are true and later tell them they're not?

I would appreciate your thoughts!

Brief Personal Opinion Poll...?

2008-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a step of the beaten path and ask a question about personal rights.

Before I post any personal opinions I wanted to see what you all think.

I'd like to know what everyone thinks about the second amendment?

Here it is in it's original language:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Also, aside from what this law may or may not say, I want to know what you all think about personally owning and carrying a handgun?

Look forward to hearing from all of you!

New Post, but I urge you: keep thinking about the previous post!

2008-12-04T19:08:00.001-08:00

As the title reads, do not disregard the Post about where Jesus went after His death just because there is now a post above it. I want lots of input on that post!

Anyway, I want to bring up a thought that occurred to me after listening to a song tonight. The lyrics are as follows:

"Grace make your way to the well,
To those who deserve it, for after all they've earned it.
But vain, it's in vain, cause they don't need it."

It got me thinking about the effects of teaching morality in the church, and how hard it is for a self-perceived "good person" to admit that they are a vile sinner deserving God's wrath and that they are desperately in need of His grace. They may think that they are deserving of salvation; therefore the true gospel of grace seems irrelevant (for "they don't need it").

It seems to me that many who go to church misconstrue good works as a means to salvation. I know I fell into this category: I just always assumed that you had to be a good person to go to heaven because I always remembered being taught to do good things in Sunday School. Salvation by good works seems to be the human intuition.

Then I thought that if this is a widespread problem in the church, we need to figure out how we can effectively remove the preaching of legalism.

So here are my questions for you guys:

1) Is there really a widespread false belief in salvation by good works? or is it just a stereotype that we make because we may have fallen into this category, or because we have known someone who has? in short: Is this reality or a myth, and how do we know?

and,

2) If it is a gigantic problem, how can you and I work to remedy it? (especially in what we teach children, who may not be fully capable of understanding the gospel of grace but could probably very easily understand a lesson on good works)

Question?

2008-11-18T04:54:00.001-08:00

This is a question on behalf of Nick that I think we should all try to answer from the text of scripture:

Where was Jesus Christ during the three days he was dead?

Clarification

2008-11-18T04:38:00.000-08:00

This clarification is a long time coming. Nick and I have talked and I want to passionately clarify that I love and support Campus Crusade. I think Crusade has some blind-spots, the most prominent being its disconnection from the church and its obsession with the newest evangelical fads.

Having said that. We should all be incredibly grateful for Crusade. Crusade has gone to the hard places and done the difficult mission when the rest of us are comfortable on our couches. God used Crusade to shape my heart and my life and I am forever grateful for it and all the people that make it great. I apologize if any of my earlier comments called my gratefulness and admiration into question!

My Poem based on Jesus' High Priestly Prayer

2008-11-10T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Lord’s Prayer

He looked at them with love & sorrow

knowing full well what would come tomorrow

“The future you face brings trouble and trial,

fear not, take heart,” he said with a smile.

After saying these words he looked to the skies

the love of the Father still filling his eyes.

What will he utter what will he pray

while knowing the disciples have no power to stay.

“Father, father the time has now come

glorify the Son for we two are one.

Whatever glory you give I’ll reflect back to you

for all that you’ve given I’ve proclaimed to be true.

To all you have chosen I give eternal life

I call them out of the sorrow and out of the strife.

And this is life, that they might know you

for you are the gospel and the gospel is true

It is for your glory I’ve come to this earth

I’ve long brought you praises, even from birth.

Exalt me now Father to your right hand

and in our glory, exalted I’ll stand.

To all you have chosen I manifest your name

they keep your word and extol your great fame.

They look at me now and faithfully sing

sent from the Father, truth he does bring.

I pray for them only and not for all

for the ones you have chosen, the ones big & small.

Being yours and mine they stand justified

their lives transformed & my name glorified.

Father, I’m coming to you, my life here is done

sin will be conquered and victory won.

I pray for them Father, for they will remain

keep them from strife and disunities stain.

In me each abides and none have I lost

they have surveyed the course and counted the cost.

They bear your name and overcome Satan’s ploy

I pray for them hope and I pray for them joy.

They are not of the world they are of me.

Insult and hate their inheritance will be.

Around them Satan crouches in hate,

keep them in the world and safe from his bate.

As they live in the world sanctify them

cleanse them O Father in the fruit of your pen.

It is for you and for them I go to the cross

and surrender to suffer and suffer great loss.

My momentary loss will bring them such gain

they will go out in the world and proclaim your great name.

So I pray for them Father and those they will reach

that our glory will be known to all that they teach.

The glory I have to them I pass

though they will die and wither like grass.

Protect them Father until all work is done

Join them together, together as one.

From everlasting to everlasting your glory is mine

this to no created creature did you ever assign.

I want them to see my glory and power

I long for them to be with us this near hour.

The world does not know you my magnificent Father

busy and blind they don’t even bother.

My disciples and I know you forever

to walk with another we will never endeavor.

These you have chosen I love as my own

I call them my brothers, bone of my bone.

I’m in you Father and in me they stay

it is for your glory I ask and I pray.

-John 17

The Shack

2008-10-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

I'm sure some of you guys have heard about "The Shack" - a New York Times' bestseller about a father who loses a daughter to a serial killer and then has a lengthy encounter with God that renovates his heart. Well, I have just read it.

And you guessed it, here's a rant.

The problem with this book is that its main purpose is to paint a picture of God that makes sense to the human mind. The story is simply the author's "illustration" that he uses to make points. Unfortunately, I find much (read: most) of the author's theology to be very unbiblical and very mind-driven.

As you can tell, this book bothered the crap out of me on a number of levels. The main character (Mack) is portrayed as a complacent "Christian" that we see so often around us today. He has no real relationship with the Lord, no love for the Word, not even any sense of fundamental understanding about the nature of God. What bothers me is that when God shows up, HE IS NOT REBUKED.

You can probably figure out where this goes: it paints a picture of a god who is "Love personified" in the mind of a human. This god has no anger, no wrath, no hatred of sin; rather he loves those who do evil and hate him, and all he wants to do is restore each and every person (if only they would come to him...I mean her, for in this book the Father and the Holy Spirit are women).

Basically, the thought process starts that God loves. As a result, he wants everyone to be saved, because he cannot send people to hell. But, he cannot force them into a loving relationship (because love cannot force, of course), so he simply woos. And through all the evil that is outside of his control, he tries so badly to make good out of it. Though he cannot stop it, he tries to paint a beautiful picture with the "colors" this god has been dealt. In fact, at one point it mentions that this god was with the about-to-be-murdered girl in the car of the serial killer. (my immediate thought: if "God" was there and is loving, how come this "God" didn't step in and prevent this murder? That doesn't seem loving by the author's definition...but I digress).

So, the book basically defines "God" by what the author thinks love is. Whatever he thinks is love is what God is, and whatever he thinks is not love is what God isn't. As a result, he does not paint a picture of the jealous, wrathful, hating-on-sin God of the Word. He paints a picture of a weak god who works with the hand that creation deals him, a god who has no control over the events happening in our world, and a god merely feels bad about the sinful choices a "free" person makes. The result is a god who is a cheerleader and not in control of the "game"; a god who is a parole officer, not a judge; and a god who is offended by sin, but is never sinned against. This is a very low view of sin: sin is simply doing wrong that does not outrage God. It's this low view of sin and its impact on God that Paul works so hard to diffuse in the first three chapters of Romans. And, I will be so bold to say that a low view of sin is THE BIGGEST HINDRANCE for sinners in believing the gospel. Without coming face to face with our filthiness, how can we see our need for a Savior?

Many think that a God who reacts to our free choices of love is ideal. On the other hand, John Piper repeatedly says that the sovereignty of God is the supreme comfort and blessing of the Word. I, like Piper, take no comfort in a god who can be in the presence of a girl who is about to be murdered and is powerless to change this. I do take comfort in a God who is sovereign over all the suffering and evil in this world and directs all things for His glory and our good.

I'm mostly bothered by a god created by the human mind. Isaiah 55:8-11 are so precious to me: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." God is above whatever our minds can conjure up; hence we cannot form a "correct" God in our thoughts. Hence, God delivered the Word for this purpose: that it might transform our lowly thoughts about God and do so according to God's purpose.

We CANNOT create God in our minds. God can only be created from Scripture, whether we like the picture it paints or not. And yet we see this so much: people paint a god that makes sense to them (in fact, the author rebukes Mack in the book for painting an incorrect picture of God in his mind when this is THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE in The Shack!). But here is one reason that God gave us Scripture: to be a first-hand account, to the lowly creature, of the royalty and magnificence of the Creator. Without this, it is mere speculation, and as I found in The Shack, the speculation can be frightening.

Furthermore, the author states that God the Father really never left Jesus' side at the cross, only that Jesus could not sense him (or her, if you go by the book). And it states that ALL human beings are God's children, and uses this to show that God could never put someone in hell. It would be too painful for God to do this, like a father having to choose which of his children to kill. Thus, the author uses this to disprove the biblical doctrine of election. The problem with this is that, to be biblically consistent, these "children" shouldn't be lovely beings; they should be vile creatures who hate their father, spit on him, love what he hates, speak evil of him, do evil to him, reject his love, and are utterly undeserving of anything good from him. It's a bit tougher to think that such "children" should go unpunished by a loving Father!

I could find more, but I'm going to stop now. I'll end with this: I told my Arminian pastor that if I had to logically reconcile what I see in the world with the fact that there is a God above it, I would theologically be Arminian. Free Will Theology is the logical conclusion of my human mind, and I never wanted to be Calvinistic. It's too confusing and tough to reconcile with my experience. However, when my boys Jared Hollick, Scott Welch, and Matty were pouring their lives and the Word into me Freshman year, and I saw what Scripture said, I had no choice but to renounce the logic in my mind for the reality of the mind of my Lord as revealed in the Word. My mind must conform to the Word, and the Word must never conform to my mind.

Thanks for reading. I feel better now.

Interesting Choice

2008-10-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

So, ya, I am going to open this can of worms. The presidential election is less than two weeks away and I am still an undecided voter. I'll admit it, for a time I was sold on Barack Obama, but I am no longer certain. I am pretty much sold against McCain. But this is your opportunity, convince me one way or the other. Come on, you know you want to. Just take a minute and try me. I miss you guys.

An Exegetical Exercise

2008-10-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

Gents,

I am writing a paper on 1John 5:16-17 (10-15 pages). Take a look if you get a chance and tell me what you think. Have fun!!!

Just two thoughts...

2008-10-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

Gents, Just a few quick thoughts here...

First I have been listening to a series of sermons by Mark Driscoll recently. He's talking through the Song of Solomon. At first I was skeptical, cause lets be honest...if you've heard Tommy Nelson do this book all of us would say you've heard it all...Right? But, it's been incredibly helpful for Abbie and I. Helping us to find places in our marriage where we need to grow, and giving us practical advice on avoiding bigger problems down the road. So, no more than a strong recommendation for that.

Second, If you haven't already watch this video . I'll let it speak for itself, but I think that this bible is the best thing out there.

With love,
Nick

I need help

2008-10-07T17:14:00.001-07:00

Ok guys, I need some help. In a couple weeks I will be preaching at a college retreat up at PSU. The theme of the weekend is living with an eternal perspective and I will be preaching out of Phil. chapter two.

One of the talks will be primarily practical. I am going to try and flesh out what it looks like to live with our hearts and minds set upon Christ.

I need you guys to remind me of some practical areas of life that you think most Christian college students struggle to live with an eternal perspective. An example of what I am looking for would be dating or sex.

Thanks for the help.

A Sober Reminder

2008-10-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Guys,

This morning at church our pastor preached from Galatians chapter two. We have been working our way through Galatians, but for the next two weeks our pastor is going to be camping out on chapter two verse 10.

In Galatians chapter two Paul writes about his meeting with the Apostles at Jerusalem. He had gone to Jerusalem for two reasons; 1. To deliver a gift in light of a prophecy concerning a coming famine and 2. In order to confirm with the other Apostles about the gospel he was preaching to the Gentiles.

The passage in Galatians chapter two is incredible! Paul lays out the gospel he preaches before the Apostles and what happens? They add absolutely nothing to it! When have you ever heard a theological discussion like this, where someone presents their understanding of the gospel and no one in the listening group has anything to add? This never happens, but this time it did because the gospel they received was not from men. The section ends at verse ten when Paul says that the only thing they said to him after offering him the right hand of fellowship was; "Remember the poor."

This is incredible. They do not tell him to make sure he remains prayerful. They don't tell him to watch out for sexual immorality or to keep up on the new trends in church polity. They don't even warn him about the persecutions he will face. No, though he came to Jerusalem to offer a gift to the poor, they leave him with three words; remember the poor.

The gospel, apparently, is inextricably connected to care for the financially needy. Certainly, we have read our Bibles enough to know that the theme of care for the poor is everywhere in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Apparently, if we do not care for the poor it is a direct reflection upon our belief in and comprehension of the gospel.

I am convicted. I care for the poor, but I do little. It's not that I do nothing, but I do very little.

I want some dialogue on this. How can we, practically, begin to do this? We need each other for accountability on this. I don't mind saying that none of us, perhaps barring Nick, are very good with this. I don't mean that to be offensive, but we know and love each other. We know this is not our area of strength. Still, this does not seem to be an optional part of following Christ. How can we grow?

If you want to listen to this incredible sermon go to ibclouisville.org, I miss you guys.

Appetizers First...

2008-10-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Boys,

I'll post a more complete update next week. Until then, please keep me in prayer. My first final is tomorrow at 11:00am. It's only a one credit class, but every point matters.

Erica and I are busy, but doing well. She dazzles me every day, and I am continually convinced that she is the most amazing woman in the world.

I have some exciting things to share, but they'll have to wait until next week. I love all of you guys.

Hello

2008-10-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Gents,

I hope all is well in your lives. I am in agreement with Daise, we need some updates. What is going on in your lives? Are you guys feeling as busy as I do? This time of the semester is nuts.

Thankfully, today I got to spend the afternoon reading C.S. Lewis. Sure, it was for school, but still, it felt like spending an afternoon with an old friend. I love reading Lewis because it takes me back to high school when I first discovered him. I think Lewis actually taught me to read. This afternoon I was reading The Great Divorce mostly. I am moved by the fantasy world that Lewis could create with his writing, while simultaneously being edified in my walk with Christ. I also read a little out of the third chapter in his book Miracles. It is hard for my contemporary mind to fathom just how far ahead of his time Lewis was when it came to apologetics. Still, his writing reminds me that there is nothing new under the sun, especially from those who in the futility of their thinking deny the existence of the very God that allows them to take each consecutive breath. I think I miss philosophy.

Andrea has been doing well. She is working hard in school and loving being a nanny and, of course, my wife. She is heading home this weekend to see her family, which is cool because it makes her parents happy. She's absolutely fabulous.

On another note, I got in my first car accident this week. A woman turned left into me in her company Cadillac, ouch! Of course, her car had no damage, but the little put-put Co-Cart has a nice little dent, which her employer is eagerly paying for. The accident shook me up a bit. I wasn't scared for my safety, but I was afraid of having to do a bunch of paper work. I hate paper work! Still, the situation could not have turned out better. God blesses me again and again.

Tomorrow I get to hear Ray Ortlund preach at chapel. He preached on Tuesday as well. The sermon was phenomenal and I would recommend it to all of you, especially if you ever plan on teaching the Bible in any capacity. It is such a blessing to have this time of training and preparation for life and ministry.

Ok, enough about me. I miss you guys!

(andrea here) I think that Matt should realize that he wrote more about ray ortland than he did his wife. Will this guy ever get a clue?

The door to the Kingdom...

2008-09-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

Gents,

It is a good day when I come to check the blog and there are updates, so lets get on that! I wanna know what's going on in your lives...that's what we created this thing for right?

Today was a good day on campus. I got the joy of being able to usher one of God's sons into the Kingdom! He now rests back home, where he belongs. His name is Matt Costa. He's still learning to walk with God, but really likes to read Genesis and John in the NIV that I gave him. Please pray for him that he wouldn't be allowed to be sifted by Satan. Pray for his walk and that there would be more and more people who come around him and encourage him from the body.

Jesus is blessing the ministry here at West Chester with 11 people coming to know Jesus in the first 5 weeks. He's is active and moving! Praise HIM for that!

In the midst of all of this Abbie's grandfather is dying. Just today the doctor moved his expected time left in his earthly tent from 3-6 months to 6 weeks. He's a strong believer, and a joyful sufferer, but this is the first person that Abbie is very close to that she's losing, and the first time I've known anyone who is saved who is approaching his home-going. It's truly a bitter sweet moment that we must endure with joy and thanksgiving, but it's also a moment that's filled with sorrow and a sense of deep loss. So please lift that in prayer as well.

written with the joy of the gospel!
Nick

A Recommendation

2008-09-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Gentlemen,

I know this may come as a shock to you some of you because I am usually painfully critical about these sorts of things, but I want to recommend a Christian film. Andrea and I went to see Fire Proof tonight with a couple from school. I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was entertaining and radically Christ-centered. I am blown away that something like this has hit the big screen.

I would go on and on, but I want to let you guys see the movie. Take care.

For more than looking cool!

2008-09-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

I've often been asked; "why did you choose to get an undergraduate degree in philosophy?" First of all, and this is the only time in this post I plan on sounding preachy, this question really does reveal the state of the secular university in the United States. People ask this question because they think that the reason people go to college is so that they can get a job. The notion of actually becoming a more educated person is all but laughable to most of us. I am just as bad as the next person when it comes to this because I am always advising high school students who do not know what they want to do to get business degrees because that way they are set up for a plethora of job options. I do, admittedly, feel a bit like a sell-out every time I advise the business route.

Anyway, the original question is important. Why should anyone be interested in philosophy? Specifically, is there any reason why a Christian would benefit from studying philosophy, either formally or informally, besides the obvious reason of looking cool at parties?

I think there is, allow me to digress. Right now I am taking an eschatology class here at Southern. In this class one of the topics we spend a bit of time studying is heaven. It is amazing, just looking at a small sample of popular writing on the subject, both Christian and non-Christian, to see how insane we are when it comes to our theology of heaven. Scores of Christian writers conceive of heaven as a non-physical realm where we become absorbed into God through eternal worship, of course, via harp playing. The interesting thing to note is not that the popular conceptions of heaven are non-biblical, but rather it is interesting to see where these notions of heaven come from. Clearly and unmistakably these disembodied pictures of heaven are born out of Platonic-dualism that sees the physical as inherently bad, a notion that is rejected on countless pages of the Bible.

Now, why do I bring this up. I bring it up because this heaven business is just one of literally thousands of examples of contemporary people believing something that is born out of a philosophical system that they cannot name nor are they familiar with. Another great example of this is in the area of ethics. In Desiring God, John Piper writes about how most of us operate under a frame-work of ethics born out of the writing of Kant without ever having read a word of his writing.

Like it or not our minds are far more influenced by philosophical systems then we know. Moreover, the frightening reality is that we are probably blind to dozens of areas where our lives are directed by philosophies that are, at least at some points, anti-biblical.

So What? What is my point? My point is that it would be healthy for all of us to develop some little, tiny knowledge of the history of western philosophy that influences us. One great book that will offer you a broad overview of some of the key topics and thinkers in western philosophy from a Christian perspective is called; Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, by J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig.

Ok, enough of my ranting. I hope something I wrote will help in some tiny way. I miss you guys and I pray for you constantly.