The 2 Timothy 2:2 Objective

The Work of the Holy Spirit - Filling

2010-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

The final study in our look at the Holy Spirit is the filling of the Spirit. This is another greatly misunderstood aspect of the work of the Spirit. I believe the misunderstanding stems from an emphasis on the work "filling" and focusing in on the idea of quantity. The idea, wrong though it is, is if something is filled then there is more than there was before. Thus, there are some believers who have more of the Spirit than others, and there are those believers who do not have as much of the Spirit as another. This is not only a gross misinterpretation of Scripture, it also produces within the body of Christ different "classes" and thus a type of elitism. It places terrible burdens on those who have not displayed some type of evidence of filling which, in turn, brings many to produce these evidences falsely or to give up on Christianity all together (I have heard many friends give personal testimony to this effect). The idea of filling of the Spirit must be understood for one to be a healthy Christian.

The outline I used for this sermon is as follows:

I. What is filling of the Holy Spirit? (Eph 5:18)
A. Filling is not maturity
B. Filling is control

II. What are the conditions in which we can be filled?
A. Do not quench the Holy Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19)
B. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30)
C. Walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16)

III. What happens when we are filled?
A. We will display Christian character (Gal. 5:22-25)
B. We will truly worship (Eph 5:19-20)
C. We will engage in service (Eph. 5:21)

I think the crux of this topic is found in (Ephesian 5:18. In short, this verse indicates that filling of the Spirit is not about maturity but it is about control. The picture used in this verse is the similarity between alcohol and the Spirit. When alcohol is in control of people they are no longer in control but the alcohol is. Inebriated people will say things they would not normally say, they will do things they would not normally do, think in ways they would not normally think. The alcohol controls that person while they are drunk. THIS IS THE POINT!

The filling of the Spirit means that someone is not allowing alcohol to control them but instead the Spirit is in complete control. A person, full of the Spirit, will say things he would not normally say, he will do things he would not normally do, he thinks in ways he would not normally thing. The Spirit is in control. Filling of the Spirit is not about acting drunk in front of a crowd, it is not about having more of the Holy Spirit than the guy sitting next to, it is not about how spiritually mature a person is. It is not about quantity. It is about control. It is not how much of the Spirit you have but how much the Spirit has you (I know...a cliché but it speaks the truth).

When a person accepts Christ, they receive the Holy Spirit and they get ALL of the Holy Spirit. However, the person must yield more and more control of their life to the Spirit. It is this process of yielding which can be characterized as filling of the Spirit.

So, if filling is yielding our lives to the Holy Spirit, then there must be some conditions which more easily allows that yielding. This is my second point: what are the conditions which allow the Spirit to have more control of our lives. First, we must not quench the Spirit. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 the Holy Spirit is pictured as a fire and we are told to not put that fire out in our lives. When we do not allow the Spirit to work in our lives, we are quenching the Holy Spirit. Second, we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin. The Spirit wants to work in us but that is prevented when we live in rebellion. This grieves Him and He cannot be in control if we are willing to allow sin to control us. Finally, we are to walk in the Spirit. The point here is that our lifestyle, our habits, our though process, all need to be more and more under the control of the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit does not mean that we will obtain sinless perfection on earth, but it means we are making that our goal.

So if we understand that filling is control of the Spirit in the believer's life, and that there are conditions which allow the believer to yield to the Spirit, then what does that look like? What happens when someone is filled with the Spirit? While there are many characteristics which could be mentioned, I focused on three. First, the person filled with the Spirit will display the fruit of the Spirit. You cannot be an apple tree and not produce apples. A Christian yielded to the Spirit will display Chist-like character. Secondly, Paul tells us in the Ephesians passage that when one is controlled by the Spirit, a godly worship will be produced. Finally, Paul goes on to say that the yielded believer will be subject to others. In short, the person will serve others much like Christ came to serve.

The filling of the Spirit is simply a metaphor for the control of the Spirit in the life of a believer. To the extent one is allowing the Spirit to work and direct one's life, the results are far-reaching.

My denomination does not seem to have historically spent a lot of time preaching on the Holy Spirit, although that seems to be changing. It is good to spend some time and think about the Spirit's work in our salvation, our life, and our eternity. It is amazing thing to think of the incredible gifts God has given those who have trusted in Christ's work on the Cross and have the Spirit of God working within them.

The Work of the Holy Spirit - Sealing

2010-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Another work of the Holy Spirit, and one that may get overlooked sometimes, is the sealing of the Holy Spirit. This work is one which should bring great hope and encouragement to the believer.

Here is the outline I used in this sermon:

I. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Est 8:8, Eph 1:13-14)
A. The seal of the Spirit shows ownership (1 Cor 6:19-20)
B. The seal of the Spirit gives security (John 10:27-29)
C. The seal of the Spirit is irrevocable.

II. We are given a guarantee by the Spirit of God (Eph 1:13-14)
A. The inheritance is kept for us (1 Pet 1:3-5)
B. We are kept for the inheritance (Phil 1:6)

III. We are marked by the Spirit of God
A. We have the mark of holiness on us (1 John 3:9)
B. We have the mark of resemblance on us (1 John 2:6)

To help in understanding what the Ancient Near Easterner heard when the author used the picture of sealing I went to Esther 8:8. We see in this text that the owner of the seal determines how secure that seal is and if it is the king's seal then that seal is irrevocable. This is the picture of what sealing of the Spirit is. When a believer accepts Christ at that moment he or she is regenerated by the Spirit, indwelt by the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, and at that moment the believer is sealed by the Spirit. That seal shows the ownership of that person. Like the king's signet ring, our heart, our lives, are stamped to show they are God's and God's alone. The Spirit's sealing also gives believers the security that no one will take that mark from them. This is because that seal is irrevocable. Once God stamps the believer with Him mark, the mark can never be removed.

In the Ephesians passage, Paul show a connection with the seal and the guarantee of our hope. This is my second point about the Spirit's sealing. When the Spirit seal us that sealing is a down-payment, so to speak, on eternity. It teaches us that His sealing preserves an inheritance for us. It also teaches us that He will preserve us for that inheritance.

Finally, while I touched on in my first point, I finished this study by focusing on what it means to be marked by God. The seal of God means that there is a mark on His followers. People should look at His people and know they are His people because of His mark on their lives. While there may be many "marks" which one could identify as showing God's ownership, I chose two. First, there should be a mark of holiness on those who have the seal of the Spirit. I am not advocating entire sanctification but I do believe that if someone is truly sealed by the Spirit, if they truly are a believer, their lives should not be characterized by sin. The Spirit working in our lives will result in increased holiness, from God's work and to His glory. Second, there will be a resemblance of believers to Christ. Much like some parents could never disown their children because the children look like little clones of the parents, a believer should have a walk that resembles Christ.

The sealing of the Spirit is usually not spoke of as a dramatic, dynamic work of the Spirit. This might be because 1) people would rather talk about the controversial aspects of the work of the Spirit like baptism or 2) the sealing of the Spirit seems to be mostly internal. The sealing begins as a work of God which He alone sees as a mark of His children. The results of this are more visible, like someone turning from a sinful life and living and loving more like Christ. Nevertheless, the sealing of the Spirit is an incredibly amazing work of God in the live of believers. We are marked as His and that mark is permanent and can never be removed. Because of that, we can know we will be with Him for eternity and eternity will be there for us. All of this should produce in us a desire to live more and more like the One who died for us. What a great God we serve!

The Work of the Holy Spirit - Baptism

2010-03-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

The next post in our study of the Holy Spirit is possibly the most controversial in the study. This is because of the misunderstanding of both Scripture and the practice of baptism. With this study, it is my goal to shed light on this topic so that the believer can be confident where he or she stands in Christ and what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means to the believer.

It is critical to understand what the bible says about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and what difference it makes in the believer’s life. Because so many have been mislead regarding this aspect of the work the Spirit, it is important to stick with what the Scripture plainly teaches regarding this topic.

Here is the outline I used:

I. We must understand its prediction (Matt 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33)
A. We need to understand the words.
   1. Not water baptism
   2. Meaning of the word baptism
B. We need to understand it had not happened before Jesus
C. We need to understand its parallel with John’s baptism

II. We must understand its fulfillment (Acts 1:5, 11:15-17)
A. Jesus guaranteed it (Acts 1:5)
B. Peter remembered it (Acts 11:15-17)

III. We must understand its purpose (1 Cor. 12:13)
A. Identifies us with Christ (Gal. 3:26-28)
B. Creates an oneness with Christ (Rom. 6:1-5)
C. Puts us in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14)
   1. All believers have been baptized by the Spirit
   2. The baptism of the Spirit does not erase racial, social, and sexual differences, but it makes them irrelevant in the church.
   3. Baptism of the Spirit is something Christ does to us.

To begin with, one must understand the predication of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to understand its fulfillment. John the Baptizer was in the wilderness baptizing people in the Jordan River and Jesus comes to be baptized by John. It is at this time John predicts the baptism of the Holy Spirit. ( Matt. 3:11, John 1:32-33). To understand this prediction we first understand the words used. To begin with, while John was baptizing in water, he made a clear delineation between what he was doing and what Jesus was going to be doing. The point is, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not related to water baptism. Too many times the two are equated because the same word is used. The Greek word "baptidzo" literally means "to sink, to envelope, to immerse." In short, John is simply saying that he is enveloping, immersing people in water, but Jesus will envelope or immerse people in the Holy Spirit.

To understand the prediction of the Holy Spirit we also need to understand that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is connected to the work of Christ. It is not connected to a religious work or rite but it comes to the believer because Jesus Christ died on the cross, was resurrected, and then ascended to heaven. The prediction of the baptism of the Holy Spirit indicates it is not connected with water baptism and it is not something that people work for or deserve.

Finally, to understand the prediction of the baptism of the Spirit, one must note the parallel to John's Baptism. The "stuff" John baptized with was water; the "stuff" Jesus baptizes with was the Spirit. John plunged people into water; Jesus would plunge them into the Holy Spirit. John would cover those who came to him with water; Jesus would cover those who come to him with the Holy Spirit. The point to all of this is that many today teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes when one is baptized in water. This first point, "We must understand its prediction" shows us that the two are parallelled but are not connected.

After we understand the prediction, we must understand the fulfillment of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The fulfillment of John’s prediction came at Pentecost. We know this because first, Jesus guaranteed it. In this passage, Jesus has risen from the dead and had been appearing to people for forty days. He is about to ascend into heaven to sit on His throne and he said (Acts 1:5). Jesus ended His ministry on earth they way it began: with John’s prediction of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. My point is that Jesus pointed to Pentecost as the fulfillment of the Baptism of the Spirit. This means when the apostles received the Spirit, they were also baptized in the Spirit. It was not two separate events but one event - receiving the Spirit and being baptized in the Spirit.

In addition to Jesus guaranteeing it, Peter remembered Jesus guaranteeing it. In Acts 11:15-17, Peter is recounting the story of Cornelius receiving Christ after Peter had a vision in which God told him Gentiles could also receive the Holy Spirit. So Peter went to Cornelius’s house, share Christ, they received Christ, and were baptized both with the Spirit and with water. So when Cornelius was saved, it brought to Peter’s mind Jesus guarantee of the Holy Spirit baptism. My point is that when we see the actual baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Scripture, it is an event that happens at salvation. Cornelius’ experience is the normative Christian experience for today’s believers.

In short, when one understands the fulfillment of the prediction of the Spirit's baptism, one will see that when a person accepts Christ, they are baptized in the Holy Spirit AT THAT MOMENT. Many today teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is separate event to conversion. Many who teach this indicate that this baptism is evidenced by speaking in tongues. This teaching is not only a misunderstanding of Scripture, it places undue burdens on those who have not spoken in tongues and makes them feel like second-rate believers when, in fact, they have been just as baptized in the Spirit as every other believer the minute they trusted in Christ.

Finally, after understanding the Spirit's baptism and understanding its fulfillment, we must understand the purpose of the baptism of the Spirit. To put if briefly, the baptism of the Holy Spirit identifies us with Christ (Gal. 3:26-28), creates an oneness with Christ (Rom. 6:1-5), and puts us in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14). The baptism of the Spirit is not about another level of spirituality as compared to other believers. It is about becoming one with Christ and one with the body of Christ.

The points made in this sermon are greatly debated but I believe this is what Scripture clearly teaches. The two main misunderstanding connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit are 1) the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes when one is baptized and 2) the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate event than one's conversion. Neither of these are correct and neither are supported in Scripture. The baptism of the Spirit happens the moment one trusts in Christ. I hope this study helps. Please post any comments and opinions related to this issue.

The Work of the Holy Spirit - Indwelling

2010-03-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Another aspect of the Holy Spirit's work is that He indwells believers. While I attempted to make each of these sermons an expository sermon, that is, examining one main pericope of Scripture, the rest of these sermons on the Holy Spirit are more like topical sermons. The remaining sermons are biblical and they are theologically sound but are pulled from various passages throughout Scripture.

The Spirit's indwelling is an amazing part of the Spirit's work in the believer's life and is important to understand. Here is the outline I used for this sermon.

I. What is Indwelling? (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim 1:14)

II. What does indwelling provide?

A. Indwelling makes God’s presence possible. (John 14:16-17)
   1. The new presence would be their advocate.
   2. The new presence would bring new knowledge.
   3. The new presence had not been experience before (John 7:37-39)

B. Indwelling makes eternal life possible (Rom. 8:9-11)
   1. The Spirit shows ownership (9)
   2. The Spirit brings life after death (10-11)

C. Indwelling makes holiness possible (1 Cor. 6:18-20)
   1. The temple
      a. There was great care in the design of the temple
      b. Great wealth in the construction of the temple.
      c. The people knew the temple is where God resided.
   2. Believer’s are the temple of God
   3. Strength for holiness comes from the Spirit (Eph. 3:16)

This study begins with understanding indwelling. Indwelling is a separate act than that of regeneration even thought it occurs as the same time. Like regeneration, the minute one places their trust in Christ, that person becomes indwelt by the Holy Spirit. "Dwell" in the 1 Corinthians passage is a word which means "to occupy a house, to reside" and by implication it means "to cohabit" with someone. In the 2 Timothy passage "dwell" is made up to two words. The first word is the preposition which denotes a fixed location. It would be the word "in." The second is the word we just discussed: "to reside, occupy, dwell." The Holy Spirit indwells us. When we accept Christ, the Spirit of God comes down and takes up residence within us. He occupies, sets up house, within us.

The word "dwell" or "indwell" in Scripture has a permanency to it. In our culture, there is such a transitory nature of the word "residency." We hear something about occupying a house, we think in a temporary nature. That is not the case for the Ancient Near East. "Dwelling" means permanency we will talk about that more in a moment. My point is that indwelling occurs and it occurs for each and every believer, it happens at the moment of salvation, and it is permanent. There is never an evacuation or expulsion of the Spirit from the believer’s life.

The second part of this study delves into the result of the Spirit's indwelling in the believer's life. The first amazing provision of indwelling is that God is presence is possible. This new presence would be their advocate, or paraklete, a word that It literally means "someone who is called along side" and has the connotation of someone comes along aside to help you through. This new presence would also bring new knowledge. Jesus promises the disciples they will know things they did not really know before. The point is Christ said that He will love and disclose Himself to those who have the Spirit, the paraklete. Finally, the new presence had not been experience before. This presence of the Spirit would be different than anyone had experienced before because Jesus had not been sacrificed and had not been risen from the dead. This means the indwelling we have right now as believers is something Abraham did not have, Moses did not have it. David did not have it. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel did not have it. Even John the Baptist did not have it. It is a new presence which was brought by the glorification of Jesus. The indwelling provides believers with a unique presence of God in our lives.

The second provision of the Spirit's indwelling is that it makes eternal life possible. Being indwelt by the Spirit means we have eternal life. This is because the Spirit shows ownership. When one receives Christ, the Spirit regenerates that person, and He is poured out upon that person. But this also means the Spirit of God comes and makes His residence within them. This means that person belong to Christ. Therefore, if you have the Spirit, you belong to Christ. If you do not have the Spirit, you do not belong to Christ. Additionally, the Spirit brings life after death. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in believers and doesn’t do death. This fleshly body may fade and die. But first, believers' spirits are alive because of the Holy Spirit in them. But in addition to that, it is not just a Spirit resurrection. The Spirit will raise our mortal bodies from the dead. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit guarantees us eternal life.

The final provision of the Spirit's indwelling covered in this study is that it is only through the Spirit's indwelling that the believer can be holy. By comparing believers and the Old Testament temple, Paul utilized this powerful image to show that God provides holiness to the believer. Like the temple in the Old Testament was holy ground because God indwelt it, the believer is holy because that same God indwells them (please note: I do not hold to sinless perfection or that the believer lives in perfect holiness. Only that God sees Christ's sinlessness in those who have trusted in Christ). The point is that the Spirit is the one who strengthens our inner man for the holiness needed as the temple of God. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit leads us to a holy life.

Once again, this is not an exhaustive discussion on the indwelling of the Spirit but is a nice introduction to the study of indwelling of the Spirit. It is an amazing and awesome idea that the God of Creation and the Sustainer of Life resides in believers and gives them the power needed to live in a way that glorifies him. And if you are believer, all of this is available. You have the presence of God within you. You have eternal life. And you have the power through the Holy Spirit for holiness. If you are not a believer, surrender to Him today.

The Work of the Holy Spirit - Regeneration

2010-03-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

After discussion who the Holy Spirit is and what He does, the next five sermons focused in on specific works of the Holy Spirit. These are not meant to be an exhaustive list or exhaustive sermons on each topic. The list of the work of the Holy Spirit in each believer's life would be a long list indeed, and each topic could be expanded more than what could be covered in a 30 minute sermon. Nevertheless, this session deals with Spirit's work of regeneration. I based the sermon on Titus 3:3-7 and here is my basic outline.

I. The Holy Spirit shows us we need a Savior (3)
A. Sins of a person nature/Sins of the inner person
B. Sins of the outer life/Sins of the outer person

II. The Holy Spirit is how God saves us (4-6)
A. Not through good works but through grace & mercy (4-5a,7)
B. Through the washing of the Holy Spirit (5b)
1. Washing produces regeneration
2. Washing produces renewal
3. The washing is complete (6)

III. The Holy Spirit is how God adopts us (7)
A. Adoption begins with justification
B. Adoption makes us heirs
C. Adoption gives hope

To begin with, the Spirit shows us we need a Savior. This the first step of the Spirit's work of regeneration. He point out the sins of an internal nature (foolish, disobedient, and deceived) and the sins of an external nature (enslaved to lusts and pleasures). The sins of internal nature could be considered mental or intellectual. It deals in the realm of the mind, like disbelief and deceived. The sins of the external nature are summed up in the word for "pleasures" used here. It indicates this is a hedonistic lifestyle that only is concerned with pleasing self, that is, in a physical way. Hence, the reference to the external nature or flesh.

The point is we all were either there at one point in our lives, or we live there now. In either case, as the previous post on the Holy Spirit discusses, it is the Spirit who convicts one of these sins. Paul begins his discourse on regeneration with the topic of conviction of sin.

Next, we see that when one trusts in the work of Christ on the cross, we are saved through the Spirit's work in our life. He saved us through his grace (getting something we do not deserve) and his mercy (not getting something we do deserve). One is not saved through religious activities, good works, or a sacrificial lifestyle. It is only through God's grace and mercy we are save. Paul states this in an interesting way and enlightens us of the Spirit's work in salvation.

The phrase Paul uses "by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" is much debated. "Washing" automatically brings to mind for many the act of baptism. But first of all, Paul has JUST SAID that it was not through any work we do but through God's grace and mercy alone. Also, I am not sure why baptism, of any mode, could be considered "washing." Pouring, sprinkling, nor immersion could be describes as one washing. But because of the mistaken belief that baptism can cleanse one of sin, many mistake this as a description of the physical act of baptism. This is wrong and changes the whole tenor of what Paul is saying.

"Washing" here is solely the spiritual act the Spirit works in the believer's life. Through my study I have come to the conclusion that washing describes both regeneration and renewal. In other words, the phrase could read, "the washing of regeneration and the washing of renewing by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit washes us and this washing results in both regeneration and renewal. The word used for regeneration is literally "to be born again." The word "Renewing" is literally the word "renovation." Once a person accepts Christ's sacrifice, the Spirit renovates the person and they are born anew.

Paul finishes his thought by saying that the washing the Spirit provides is complete. He says that God "pours put" the Holy Spirit "richly" on believers. The phrase "pouring out" is in the aorist tense, which connotes a historical act from the past completed in the past. Paul is speaking to believers so they had received the Holy Spirit in their past. They received Him and it was completed in the past.
When we accept Christ, the Holy Spirit is poured out on us. And He is poured out richly, generously. We are not given only part of the Holy Spirit only later to get more of Him. Paul tells us that God’s pouring out of the Holy Spirit is totally complete for each one who receives Him.

The final part of the Holy Spirit's regeneration has to do with adoption. Once regeneration occurs in the believer's life, which happens at the moment of surrender to Christ, that person is justified. The popular definition of justification is "declared innocent" and can be cleverly summed up by saying "being justified is being able to say that God sees me 'just if I'd' never sinned."

Adoption also makes us heirs to the promise God has given His children. In fact,
Romans 8:14-17 tells us that believers are co-heirs with Christ. This is an amazing truth which should produce hope and encouragement to every believe, which is the final point.

Because we are adopted and heirs, this means that we have a hope that the lost do not have. Hope in Scripture is not wishful thinking. Instead, it is expectant waiting. The two are diametrically different and must be understood. The believer, being regeneration is adopted and is now expectantly waiting for the time when he or she will spend eternity with their Creator and Savior.

The Spirit's power in our lives is powerful and amazing. This first lesson on the specific work of the Spirit in our lives should stir the believer to praise, worship, and service of the one who so lavishly loves us.

Another Cool Feature

2010-03-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Make my blog a widget on your blog! (Like anyone is going to do that). If you click the link below, you will see the widget and then you can customize it and then press "Get Widget" and it will give you code to paste into your blog. Again, I just thought it was neat and truly do not think anyone will take advantage. However, if there is any one who does, let me know. I am sure we can find some help for you somewhere.

Click here to get the widget.

What Does the Holy Spirit Do?

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

Getting back to the topic I was posting on before my missions break, I will be posting on my sermon series on the Holy Spirit. My second sermon was about what the Holy Spirit does. As the first sermon was a general discussion of who the Holy Spirit is, this sermon was a general discussion of what He does. Using John 16:8-14, here is my sermon outline.

I. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost (8-11).
A. Of sin because they do not believe (9)
B. Of righteousness Christ is not physically here (11).
C. Of judgment because Satan has been judged (10).

II. The Holy Spirit helps the believer (12-13)
A. He guides us in all truth
B. He guides by speaking (13)
   1. He does not speak on His own initiative.
   2. He speaks what he hears
   3. He discloses what is to come

III. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ (14)

This passage provides the reader with great overview of the work of the Spirit. To begin with, He convicts the lost of sin. He explicitly says that this is the sin of unbelief. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world, a word John uses throughout his gospel to refer to humankind who are opposed to God and His will, of their unbelief. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost that they have rejected Christ. It is the Spirit’s job to convict men of this rejection. The Spirit pricks men’s consciences of their unbelief. We cannot logically argue them into heaven. We cannot provide enough evidence to convict the lost of their rejection. We cannot nag someone until they receive Christ. It is the Holy Spirit’s job alone. We are supposed to have an answer for our faith and being ready to give an answer is a must. But in the end, the Spirit is the one convicting of unbelief and the lost person must respond to that conviction.

The Spirit also convicts the world of righteousness. When Christ was walking on earth, people could look at Him and see the epitome of righteousness. However, Christ rose to heaven and is now not able to be seen. Because Christ’s physical body is not here and cannot be seen, the Holy Spirit is the one convicting of unrighteousness.

You may have seen this when you tell people you are a Christian. They may have been cursing one minute but then after you tell them they immediately clean up their language and begin talking in church-talk. This is a little like what we are talking about. They are convicted of righteousness but are looking at it in relative terms. Imagine if Christ showed up in His glorified body and stood before them or us. I would think our thoughts, words, and actions would change. But since He does not physically show up, the Spirit is the one who convicts of unrighteousness. This gap between our unrighteousness and God’s righteousness teaches us we need a bridge to God, a mediator. It is the first step in our relationship with God. We need Christ and the forgiveness he brings. The Spirit brings that conviction about.

The Holy Spirit also convicts the world of judgment. This is not the future judgment. We know this by the context. Satan has already been judged. This is in the perfect tense, which indicates an act in the past completed in the past, but the results continue on from that completed act. Satan was judged on the cross and was condemned. He may be the prince of this earth right now, but his fate has been sealed already.

"Judgment" here to the lost is that when we examine every thought, word, and action in light of Christ’s absolute righteousness, we realize we are condemned because we do not measure up. John referred to this once already in the His gospel (John 3:16-19). The fact is, the lost have already been on the cross and they have been found guilty. In fact, every one of us have been judged and found guilty. The good news is that if one receives the forgiveness provided for by Christ, that judgment has been paid for by Christ Himself.

So the summary of the first part of the sermon is this: The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts people that they have been judged. It is this conviction that leads people to accept Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts the world they have rejected Christ, their righteousness falls short, and they have been judged and found guilty as a result of this.

The second aspect of the Holy Spirit's work is that He helps believers. He guides the Spirit by speaking to the believer. John tells the reader three things about the Spirit's communication with believers. John first says the Spirit does not speak on His own initiative. Second, John says the Spirit speaks only what he hears from the Father and Son. Finally, the Spirit discloses what is to come. Now, when Jesus said this to His disciples, it is clear he was referring to all the disciples would encounter as recorded in the Book of Acts. But also, in reference to John specifically, the book of Revelation and the end times.

The final aspect John reveals about the Spirit's work is that He glorifies Christ. I believe this is where most teaching on the Holy Spirit goes awry. If we look at the Holy Spirit, we should see him pointing to Christ. The Spirit does not draw attention to Himself but to Christ. In short, the Spirit points to, or glorifies, Christ and Christ shows us what God is really like.

This provides the listener a nice introduction to the to the work of the Holy Spirit. Knowing that I was going to spend the next five week speaking about the work of the Spirit, I was not concerned that this was not an exhaustive study on the work of the Spirit. In fact, there are some very important things the Spirit does which are not brought up in this passage of John. However, it provided a great starting point for delving deeper into the work of the Spirit.

More Than Gold - Home Again

2010-03-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

I have been back from Vancouver for about two weeks and I need to close out my series on my mission trip to Canada. I thought I would finish my posts with some pictures of Vancouver and things we experienced there.

Here is a picture of the Olympic Village in Vancouver. If you look closely, you can see the Union Jack's where the team United Kingdom team was lodging and the Norwegian flag where their team was staying (click picture for larger image).

Here is one of the shores in town where a local resident comes and stacks rocks. I am not sure why or if they represent anything, but it is interesting and he does a good job of stacking them....I guess...I do not really know what constitutes good rock stacking. I leave it to you. (click pictures for larger images).

One of the places we served at was First Baptist Church of Vancouver. It was established in 1910 and it was a beautiful building. I do not know about the health of the church but they had a small group reaching out to their own city. Here are some pictures of this church (Click pictures for larger images).

On the streets of Vancouver I found this monstrosity. I do not even know what to say about it (click picture for larger image).

In the "Gastown" district of town, they had a steam powered clock. That was pretty interesting and when it whistled every quarter hour. It sounded like a musical train. Note the steam out the top of the clock. The plaque has some interesting information (click pictures for larger images).

Finally, we went downtown to look at the cauldron for the games. I am not a huge fan of the design (not sure what that is all about) but I think someone told me that when you look at just right it is supposed to look like a maple leaf. I must have not been at that angle (click picture for larger image).

More than Gold 2010 - Vancouver: Days 6-7

2010-02-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, the sun came out and we had a beautiful day to work outside. We started the day with worshipping with Royal Heights Baptist Church, which is the church where we have been sleeping. Lee Byrum, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Craig, Colorado and I gave testimonies of what God has been doing through us since we arrived. Then the pastor gave a gift of hats with Canadian Hockey on it and "pastor" written on the back. Here are pictures of us receiving our hats and me sharing some stories of our encounters. (Click on the picture for a larger image):

After church, we served again at Main Street/Science Station. There were SO many people there because it was Sunday and the weekend was ending so everyone and their dog (literally) were out walking around. This station is one of the main spots in town so we were able to talk to a lot of people. However, I was not able to really talk in depth with anyone. I was able to tell many that we came here to give them some hot chocolate and to tell them I serve a God who is caring and who loves them.

As an interesting sidenote, I was interviewed by Baptist Press so I am hoping I will get in an article. That would be a neat momento. For those of you in Colorado, be looking for the article in the Rocky Mountain Baptist.

Mike, our leader, came to our spot and went out with a hot chocolate pack on his back. Here are some pictures of him (Click on the picture for a larger image):

Monday evening, we will be serving at a place called the Hobbit House. I do not even know what that means but it is a little house which is used by First Baptist Church. It is a little cafe where people can come and sit inside and have coffee and hot chocolate. We will be the first group from our group to serve at this place so it should be another aventure. We will serve 4:30 pm to 11:30 pm and then the train and bus ride home. Should be a more relaxed evening. I will fill you in on my next post. Rhonda and I made our way over there today. Here are some pictures (Click on the pictures for a larger image):

Continue to pray for us, for our safety, and for God to work in us to build His Kingdom in Vancouver.

More than Gold 2010 - Vancouver: Days 4-5

2010-02-13T23:02:00.000-08:00

Friday we began our ministry in Vancouver. Rhonda and I were stationed at Yaletown Station. After the Opening Ceremonies, they anticipated at least 8000 people coming right by our table where we could serve them hot chocolate and water. They anticipated correctly. Here are some pictures of our serving the crowd. It is dark so it is hard to see. You can see Rhonda talking to a person but I did not want to use the flash for fear of interrupting the moment she was sharing with the person. (Click on the pictures for a larger image):

I had some good conversations with some folks. I talked with an Indian gentleman about what were doing there. I told him we were showing hospitality to show that we serve a good God who is kind and hospitable. I talked to a person I presumed to be homeless who wanted some change because he had not eaten. I gave him Slim Jim’s instead. I talked to a young man named Ryan who was drunk and wanted to use my phone. I told him “No” and told me he lost his girlfriend and needed to talk to her. I figured he meant he did something dumb and she left him for someone else. After a little talking, I realized he meant that he literally LOST HIS GIRLFRIEND. I called her for him (the phone was not leaving my person) and got her on the phone. She told us where she was at and we found her. He was so happy but he was so drunk and could barely understand me. I just told them to hold hands and make sure they do not get separated again.

I had other conversations as well. We got back to the church around 1:30-2:00 am.

Saturday, we had another good day. It was not as long as Friday and had some good conversations with folks. We served at Main Street/Science Station. It is essentially across the river from the Olympic Village. We got to the spot but there was no truck from which we were working so we waited until it got there. We had to wait two hours but God is constantly teaching us that we must be flexible when serving Him.

We walked over to the Science Station where the Russians are staying (I think). They are already preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Soshi, Russia. Right when we got there to look at the place, some protestors began to shout “Soshi: land of genocide!” and the crowd began to curse at them and yell at them to shut up. Rhonda and I got out of there as fast as we could. Here are some pictures of the Russians promoting the 2014 Olympics (sans protestors). (Click on the picture for a larger image):

After that we needed something to lighten the mood. This seemed to do the trick (Click on the picture for a larger image):

The truck finally arrived and we began serving our hot chocolate. We have backpacks which hold and dispense the hot chocolate. So after being filled up with hot chocolate, we walked over to the train station and began serving people hot chocolate. Here are some pictures of the backpacks (click on the picture for a larger image):

We had many good conversations with many different people. It is amazing how peoples’ faces light up when you give them chocolate. There was a group of young people around 20 years old (three guys and one girl). They said they wanted some hot chocolate and I asked them if they were from here (meaning Vancouver). They said they were from Quebec. I told them I was from Colorado and we drove here. One of the guys said, “You drove all the way from Colorado to hand out hot chocolate?” I replied, “Yes. I drove all the way from Colorado to give you a cup of hot chocolate and tell you that I serve a good, kind God who loves you.” They gave a kind and nervous laugh and said, “OK. Well, thanks. Bye.” I just pray that they think about the lengths God goes through to reach one person. It is not that he sent me to Vancouver from Colorado; it is that He sent His Son from Heaven to Earth. That is the lengths to which God will go.

When Rhonda’s and my shift were over, we headed back to the church. I wanted to find a restaurant to sit and eat at but decided we just should go back to the church. We rode the train and then the bus. I was a little disappointed that I had no real in-depth conversations today. When we got of the train, we saw a Wendy’s and thought we should just go there and eat. A young Indian man got off the train before us and was going the same direction we were going. He sort of looked back and I joking told him, “We are not following you; we are just going the same direction.” He smiled and continued walking. Suddenly, he stopped and turned and began to talk to Rhonda and I.
He told us that he had a friend die yesterday when a car hit him. We talked for just a minute to get the details and his name, Dep, and then I told him I wanted to pray for him. He said he does not understand much English, so Rhonda grabbed his hand and I put my hand on his shoulder and I began to pray for him. I am not sure he knew what was going on or what we were saying, but God heard us. He said, “I cannot understand hearing it very good but I can read it good.” I gave him a New Testament and I encouraged him to read 1 Corinthians 1 where it talks about God comforting us with all comfort so that we can comfort others. Then I encouraged him to read John. I pulled out a More than Gold pin and asked if I could explain the colors to him. He said he had to go because he was meeting some friends but he asked if we were part of a church. I told him we were part of Royal Heights Baptist Church just down the street a few blocks. He asked what time he should be there. I told him “10:00 am tomorrow.” I had not clue if that was the right time or not – turns out their service starts at 10:30 so that would be a great time. We blessed him and then he left. I pray he truly was interested in Jesus and will come to the church tomorrow.

I will post more in the next day or two as time allows. Please continue to pray for us.

More than Gold 2010 - Vancouver: Days 1-3

2010-02-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

I am on a mission trip to Vancouver, B.C. to reach out to those attending the Olympics. I left on Feb 8 and are here with 26 people from two associations in our state. Here is a picture of our group (click on the picture for a larger image):

We traveled for two days (two FULL days) and arrived in Vancouver on Feb. 9. On Wednesday, we we traveled around the public transportation to get used to traveling on public transportation, to get used to engaging people on the trains, and to see the city. Here are some of the things we saw (click on the picture for a larger image):

This is the building where the Russian athletes are staying (at least that is my understanding). You can see that they are already gearing up for 2014 winter Olympics.

I was able to engage several people throughout the day about our mission there. I gave one lady the More Than Gold pin which explains the message of salvation. Because the train was coming I had to leave somewhat quickly but I left here with the pin and the explanation.

On Thursday, we had More Than Gold orientation all day. However, we took a break because the torch was being passed right in front of the building. The mayor of Vancouver was the one carrying the torch and he passed it to someone else. Here he is (click on the picture for a larger image):

There at the torch passing, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police where there. I have always thought they look sharp in their uniforms (Click on the picture for a larger image):

After this, we went back inside and got a picture with a torch (it was not the one being carried. Here is Rhonda and I.

The first bus I took on Thursday, there was a young lady named Margarita. I began talking with her and asked her if she had any "spiritual inclinations." She was Russian Orthodox. I shared a pin with her and went through the plan of salvation with her. Right when I finished, we had to get off. I do not if she did receive Christ but she heard the message and has the card explaining it to her. I am praying that the seed will be harvested later by someone.

I know the above may not seem like missions but we begin our missions tonight. Rhonda and I will be working from about 6 pm to 12:30 am. We will be working the rest of the week in different parts of the city. I will keep update and my time and straight allow.

Please be praying for us that we would see God increase His Kingdom in Vancouver.

Beginning of More Than Gold 2010

2009-12-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am going on a mission trip in February. I will be joining 34 other Coloradoans on a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, to minister during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games there. I will be posting more about that as the day gets closer. I will probably have a series of post about my trip. However, I was very excited to get my passport today. That was really the last piece I needed in order to go. So I am ready...really I am not ready at all but at least I have my passport.

So my first post regarding my More Than Gold 2010 Mission Trip is that I received my passport today.

Here is link to More Than Gold 2010 if you are interested in what we will be doing there.

And, yes, my passport picture is terrible. I like my blogger profile picture better.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

2009-11-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

My first sermon of the series on the Holy Spirit was about who the Holy Spirit is. This was a general introduction of the Holy Spirit. It was by no means exhaustive but it was the basics of introducing someone to the Holy Spirit. Here is the basic outline I used.

I. The Holy Spirit is a person.
A. He has a mind (Rom. 8:26-27)
B. He has a will (1 Cor. 12:11)
C. He has emotions (Eph. 4:30).
D. He communicates (Acts 13:2, 16:6-7)
II. The Holy Spirit is Deity (God)
A. God’s characteristics
   1. He is omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10-11)
   2. He is omnipotent (Luke 1:35)
   3. He is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10)
B. God’s existence
   1. He is eternal (Heb. 9:14)
   2. He is part of the Trinity (Matt. 3:16-17)
III. What are the Implications?
A. We can have a relationship with Him.
B. We should worship Him.
C. He is not far off

This provided a nice introduction to the whole series. The main aspects I portrayed through this sermon was first, that the Holy Spirit is a person and not a force nor an idea. Scripture shows He possesses characteristics of personhood which is an important aspect of understanding who the Holy Spirit is. It should be noted that "person" here is used in the classical sense of the word and should be distinguished from "human." Saying the Spirit is a person is NOT saying that He is human but instead it is saying that He is an individual being.

Secondly, while He is a person, He is fully God and possesses the same characteristics as the other two persons of the Trinity. It is important to understand that the Spirit is wholly God and is equal to the Father and Son. While taking a different role, much as the Son took on a different role, the Spirit is still an eternal part of the Trinity and is God.

Finally, I emphasized what different these truths should make in the daily life of every believer. Because the Spirit is a person, we can relate to Him. Because He is God, we should worship Him. Because He is God AND a person, it means that He is not far off but is active in our lives. Again, while not exhaustive, these implications should change how we relate to our God and how we live our lives.

Summary of the Work of the Holy Spirit

2009-11-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

OK. So I took a "brief" break from blogging and during that time have preached through a series on the Holy Spirit. I think it was really good for me to preach through that series and I think it was good for our body at Summit as well. In teaching about the Spirit, I truly think He worked in the hearts of many in our congregation. I really enjoyed it and grew through the process.

What spurred my thoughts on doing this series is something with which I challenged my students at Pikes Peak Bible Institute. During our Christian Theology class, we discussed Pneumatology, or the study of the Spirit. I found a nice visual aid on the internet HERE (page 31), which I gave to the students for an overview about the work of the Spirt. I challenged them that this handout would make a great sermon series on a topic which sometimes gets overlooked.

So, I took up the challenge myself. I preached a seven-part series on the Holy Spirit. I will post the sermons but I will note that many of my thoughts came from Systematic Theology books which populate my bookshelf and various sermon outlines morphed into original outlines. In short, I borrowed from everyone to make new outlines which works for my style of preaching.

In the next few days or weeks, I will post my sermon outlines and some thoughts about it. After that, I will go back to my posts on Matthew. I hope these will be helpful and I hope you will leave some feedback.

Matthew Section 8: The Great Commission

2009-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

In our overview of Matthew, some scholars see a final section of Matthew in 28:11-20. Personally, I believe this should actually be part of the seventh section for several reason. First, I think being a good Jew, Matthew may have made seven sections for his gospel, much like there are seven days to the week. This would be interesting in that the last day of the week was the Sabbath, the rest, and Matthew's seventh section is about the true Sabbath, the rest which comes through Jesus (Heb. 4:8-10).

The second reason I believe this section should be included in the previous section is that every section in his gospel has a major section of Jesus speaking (see the posts regarding the first six sections). However, in the post for section seven, you can see there is no discourse. However, if section 8 was part of section 7, then the Great Commission would be the discourse for the final section of Matthew (I am not sure that all made sense).

The final reason I think this section 8 should be part of section 7 is because if this is a separate section, it seems much too short. It is only 10 verses long. It does not seem like 10 verse constitute a section compared to the other sections Matthew has contructed.

That all being said, I posted this as section 8 just so you all could make your own decision. Here is the visual aide for this section (click picture for large image):

This is either one or two sermons, depending on how much time you want to spend on the Great Commission.

This is the overview of Matthew. I will be posting the individual sermons I am developing for this series. Hopefully, I will be doing so a bit more regularly than I have with the overview. I would love to hear any comments you have on this overview and if the visual aides have been helpful.

Matthew Section 7: The Passion of Christ

2009-07-14T17:15:00.001-07:00

The pinnacle of Matthew's gospel his recording the last week of Christ's life on earth. In this section, he does not spend time detailing the whole week as the other evangelists do. Instead, he focuses in on the night before the crucifixion, the crucifixion, and briefly on the resurrection. Therefore, we have a short story about Judas' betrayal and the institution of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper.

An interesting characteristic found in this section is that there is no major discourse found. In all the other sections, Matthew records a major discourse or sermon from Jesus. In the Passion section, Jesus needs no sermon as his sacrifice on the cross says more than any words can capture. And I think Matthew intended to capture this idea. Each section, Jesus preaches, teaches, rebukes, or something. In every section a powerful discourse to remember what Jesus said. But this section records the most powerful, loving, amazing thing Jesus had ever done: sacrificed Himself for us. Therefore, the real discourse of this section, and of the whole gospel, could be considered Matthew 27:32-56.

Here is the visual aide for this section (Click picture for larger image):

I anticipate maybe 20 sermons from this section. However, knowing that this is the purpose for the gospel to be written, and since this part of the gospel is the crux of the Christian faith, I could see possibly moving slower through this section.

While there is a brief section Jesus' resurrection, which is the real hope for believers, Matthew focuses mostly on Jesus sacrifice. This makes some sense. As he was writing to Jews, he paints Jesus as the ultimate Passover Lamb. What an amazing God we serve and how thankful I am that Jesus did pay the price for us!

Matthew Section 6: Conflicts

2009-06-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Matthew strategically places the sixth section of his Gospel. After talking about Jesus' authority and purpose, Matthew draws the reading into the conflicts Jesus had with those who doubted Jesus' claims and the other trouble Jesus experienced near His crucifixion.

Many of the stories in this section start with the religious leaders asking Jesus a question to test him (19:3), 22:15-16, 22:34-35) or the disciples (or their mothers) asking questions of Jesus (19:10, 19:25, 20:20-21, 24:3, for example). While questions are not difficulties or problems, per se, they are showing the trouble Jesus had getting people to truly understand the nature of who He was.

This was really nothing new, as the reader see in the challenge to repent found in Matthew 23:37-39, where Jesus indicates that "Jerusalem" had been rejecting God for quite a long time. Of course, the main section of teaching in this section referred to as the Olivet Discourse and speaks of the coming Kingdom and the end of time.

Here is the visual aide for this section (Click picture for larger image):

I see maybe 25 to 30 sermons in this section. Perhaps more, depending on how slowly one needed to move through the Olivet Discourse. This section is filled with didactic material in that a question is given to Jesus and then He gives an answer. However, because the answers Jesus give can be difficult to understand and even harder to apply, preaching through this section would probably take a while.

Section six is a fascinating part of this Gospel and Matthew uses it well to contrast the previous five sections and to set off the pinnacle of his record found in the upcoming section: the crucifixion and resurrection.

Matthew Section 5: Purpose Revealed

2009-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

After showing Jesus' authority (Section 3) and explaining why Jesus came (Section 4), Matthew then shows that Jesus began to declare His purpose for coming. This section begins, interestingly, with examples of people misunderstanding Jesus' purpose. First, the people in His home town reject Him simply because they knew Him as he grew up (Matt. 13:55). Then, Matthew tells how Herod misunderstood Jesus as well. Herod saw Jesus as John the Baptist reincarnated and then Matthew gives the background story between John the Baptist and Herod. Next, the crowds misunderstand why Jesus came. Jesus feeds the 5000 and there are leftovers enough for twelve baskets, presumably for the disciples. John's Gospel indicated that the people misunderstood Jesus feeding them (John 6:14-15). Finally, after the feeding of the 5000, the disciples sailed out on the sea of Galilee and were afraid when Jesus came out to them. After Jesus commented on their lack of faith (Matt. 14:31), the disciples began to see that Jesus was in fact God's Son (Matt. 14:33).

After these stories, Matthew portrays Jesus interacting with the crowds directly and talking about Jesus' purpose. For example, Jesus explains why he speaks in parables (Matt 15:15-20), He talks to the disciples about who Jesus is (16:13-20), and He begins to tell them of His suffering and death (17:11-13). Then Jesus launches into an extended sermon about forgiveness.

Here is a visual aide for the fifth section of Matthew (Click picture for larger image):

I would expect about 20 sermons from this section as well. This fifth section, Matthew begins to clearly show Jesus' purpose. While the disciples will not truly understand until Jesus rises from the dead, believers today have the benefit of hindsight and see that Jesus did tell them His purpose as Messiah.

Matthew Section 4: The Parables

2009-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

After a couple of days of graduation obligations, a holiday, and a couple of days of conferences, I am trying to get back on track with my overview of Matthew. The forth section of Matthew is a little hard to summarize. The title (not original with me) is "The Program of the Messiah Explained." This is not real helpful when reading just the title. However, this section starts with John sending his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the one they had been waiting for or is their someone else coming. Jesus answers them by saying:

Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me. Matthew 11:4-6

After this, Jesus shows through actions and short speeches explaining His purpose. For example, Matthew 11:30, 12:8, 12:50. Then, Jesus gives word pictures (parables) of what His Kingdom is like. All of this helps us see clearer what is was Jesus was accomplishing through His ministry.

The main discourse of this section is the parables, which is really more like several short speeches put together. But again, this shows Matthew "editing" Jesus' parables for a purpose. Matthew 11:28 provides the reader with a challenge to accept Jesus and His purpose and Matthew 13:51 provides the reader with a challenge to understand Jesus' purpose.

Here is the visual aide for this section (click picture for larger image):

I would expect about 20 sermons from this section, although some of the shorter parables will be taught together to get the thrust of overall message conveyed through them.

In the forth section, we get a clearer picture of Matthews purpose of His Gospel. Jesus fulfilled the Messianic predictions, and He taught the principles of the new Kingdom. He showed He had the authority He claimed He had. He now begins to communicate why the Messiah was sent.

Our New Backyard and Neighbors

2009-05-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of our new backyard (click image for larger picture):

My daughter took this picture from our back porch. I kind of miss the mountains found in Colorado Springs, but this view is still really nice.

Here is a picture of our neighbors to the east (click image for larger picture):

The five horses in this field go out every day and graze. They romp around and have a good time. We will go over and talk to them and give them grass sometimes. They are pretty good neighbors.

Just thought I would share my backyard view for a nice change.

Matthew Section 3: Jesus' Authority

2009-05-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

As section two closes there is a mention that the people are impressed with Jesus' authority (Matt. 7:28-29). As section 3 opens, Matthew gives story after story which shows that the people were right on track. In each of the narratives found in section three of this gospel, Jesus displays His authority over sickness, the physical world, the spiritual world, and even death. However, the authority is linked to the theme of people placing their faith in his authority. For example, the centurion who wanted his servant healed displayed enough faith in Jesus' authority that Jesus comments on it (8:10). The woman who touched Jesus' garment was told her faith in Jesus' authority to heal was rewarded (9:22). Then, after these stories, Jesus lays his hands on the disciples and transfers His authority to them (10:1).

The major discourse for this section is the commissioning of the disciples found in chapter 10. The challenge Jesus sets forth in this section is the challenge to follow, found in 10:34-42. In short, Jesus says He must be first priority over every aspect of the believer's life or they cannot follow him.

Below is the visual aide for this section

I would anticipate somewhere between 15-18 sermons in this section (at least another four months). With the third section we begin to see some progression with Matthew's thoughts. Jesus fulfilled the Messianic predictions, and Jesus taught the principles of the new kingdom. Now he begins to show the power with which he will rule His Kingdom.

Matthew Section 2: Jesus' Teaching

2009-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

The second section of Matthew begins with Jesus calling the first of His disciples and beginning actual ministry. The majority of this section is what is known as The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is essentially setting the religious establishment on its ear with this sermon. Matthew shows that Jesus, being the Messiah, has the authority to preach in such a manner. In fact, that is how the section ends (7:28-29).

The major discourse for this section is obviously the Sermon on the Mount. It is two chapters long is the longest sermon of Jesus we have on record. If we want to know what Jesus was about, we must understand these chapters. In this section we have the first of the challenges we find throughout Matthew. Here we have the challenge to enter into the kingdom. The bible student will remember this passage as the wide gate and the narrow gate. The observations of these challenges are not original with me but, again, I cannot seem to find who enlightened me of them.

Again, I have a visual aide for this section. And, as with all the visual aides I will produce for the overview of Matthew, the title is not mine but I cannot find whose it is. The brief section titles are mine to help me remember the flow of thought throughout Matthew. (Click picture for larger image).

Jesus covers a multitude of topics in this section and it should be fascinating to not only trace Jesus' thoughts throughout this sermon, but also to preach on what Jesus preached on.

I see no more than twenty-three sermons in this section. However, I would anticipate a much smaller number since many of the section are two verse sections. This indicates to me that they are not stand alone thoughts but are related to the previous or following verses. Again, this is one whole sermon and was not meant to be busted up into several weeks of teaching. However, to do a fair job with the text and in the culture we live in today, the pastor must do just that while remaining faithful to the passage. In short, I am not sure how many sermons would be produces from this section but I would anticipate at least four months in the sermon on the mount.

Matthew Section 1: Messianic Fulfillment

2009-05-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

The first section of Matthew is the story of Jesus' preparation for ministry. It is Matthew's genealogy, birth narratives, some discussion of John, and Jesus' baptism and temptation. The major discourse of this section is John's preaching, which makes sense because Jesus' ministry had not started yet. But it also helps Matthew show that John is the "voice in the wilderness" (Matt 3:3) which Isaiah wrote about.

In fact, Matthew uses six Old Testament passages to show that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah. Also, Matthew uses four Old Testament passages during Jesus' temptation (one misused by Satan) to highlight places where the people of God had failed miserably. But where they had failed, Jesus succeeded. In addition to all these, when being baptized by John, Jesus says He needed to do so to "fulfill all righteousness" (3:15). In short, by simply existing, being born, and being baptized and tempted, Jesus fulfills many prophecies on which the Jews were waiting. Matthew makes is clear that Jesus is the one to fulfill all these prophecies.

I have included a graphic of the section. The title is from a commentary but for the life of me I cannot remember which one and as I look through the commentaries I have, I cannot find it. I am sure it is not original with me. The summaries of each section of the chapters are my titles. They are brief but descriptive enough for me to remember the story and perhaps see the theme throughout each section. (click the picture for a larger image)

So to get his audience ready for the message he was going to convey to them, Matthew shows Jesus fulfilling prophecy after prophecy even before He officially begins His ministry.

I would anticipate somewhere between seven and nine sermons out of this section. If I preached one sermon per section it would obviously be nine. However, it could be seven because I could see gathering the wise men, the move to Egypt, and Herod's massacre being one sermon. However, I would think this would mean a skimming over these important events.

New Cool Feature

2009-05-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

I found a neat new feature for my blog. I am sure many of you have already found it. It is called RefTagger. By adding a brief bit of HTML in the footer of my blog, I can automatically have verses pop up in a little window when the mouse has rolled over the verse. For example, I type 2 Timothy 2:2 and it should provide a link to the verse so it is easily read.

I can type a whole chapter (Psalm 63), I can type several chapters (Matthew 5-7), or a couple of verses (Eph. 2:8-9).

I will try this to see if it is easier for me then typing the HTML for Studylight.org, which is what I have been doing. Let me know what you think.

Overview of Matthew: Addendum

2009-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make a brief addition to the introduction discussion on Matthew. Specifically, I mentioned in the previous post that I identified eight sections through the book. I would like to make a few comments on this. First, these eight sections are probably more like seven. As I will show in the upcoming posts, the last section I identified is probably more like the tail end of the seventh section. So it may be more accurate if I said I see seven sections throughout the book. Nevertheless, I am going to post eight.

Also, I have read more than one commentary which identifies only five sections. They make a good argument for these five section. For example, Mounce (NIBC) says about the structure of Matthew,

The clue lies in the formula "when Jesus had finished saying these things," which is repeated with only minor variations at the close of each section (Matt 7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26:1). This fivefold structure is common in ancient Jewish literature (cf. the five books of Moses, the five divisions of the Psalms, the five Megilloth, etc.). Barker, Lane, and Michaels point out that Matthew's five "books" deal with the ethics of the Kingdom (5:1-7:27), mission (10:1-42), redemptive history (13:1-52), church discipline (18:1-35), and eschatology (23:1-25:46). These would be major concerns of an early church desirous of instructing new converts. pg. 3

This is interesting and somewhat convincing. But I wonder about chapters left in the gaps of these five sections. For example, I see chapters 8 and 9 integral to understanding chapter 10. And this all flows from the end of chapter 7, which I see as the previous section. Allow me to explain.

The section section of Matthew (roughly chapters 5-7) ends with the people amazed at Jesus' authority in his teaching. Then chapters 8 and 9 tell story after story of Jesus' authority over sickness, the spiritual world, the natural world, and even death. Then the beginning of chapter 10 begins with Jesus transferring that authority to the twelve disciples and sending them out into the world.

To me, it looks like Mounce has chapter 10 as the second section but does not show how the surrounding chapters related to that section. Therefore, I am sticking with my seven/eight sections and working from that point of view.

Overview of Matthew

2009-05-12T18:03:00.001-07:00

As I begin to look at the study of Matthew, I want to take several posts to gain a bird's eye view of the entire book. This post I will give some introductory thought and then the next few posts will reveal the main sections throughout Matthew.

To begin with, I hold to the traditional view which says the disciple Matthew is the author of this Gospel. This disciple was also called Levi and who was the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14) It is interesting to me to note that the call of Matthew (found in the previous verse) is the only call of a disciple in which only one person is called. We read of Peter and Andrew's call (Matt 4:18-20) and James and John's call (Matt 4:21-22). Matthew's call is the only recorded call where he is alone. This may go to show how much of an outcast his profession made him to his fellow Jews (Mark 2:14) or it may mean nothing at all. I just find it interesting.

I also believe Matthew was writing to Jews. There are many proofs of Matthew's audience throughout the book but a few of the specific items which I would focus on is first the lineage which Matthew starts his Gospel. The evangelist starts by showing that Jesus was from the line of Abraham and from the line of David. Second, Matthew uses the Old Testament in a very specific manner. That would be to show that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies (more will be said about this in upcoming posts). Finally, the focus on Jesus being the King and that His Kingdom has come is a significant characteristic of his Gospel which shows his audience are Jews.

The last thing I will discuss on the overview of Matthew is that I identify eight distinct sections which make up the whole of his book (these divisions of the book are something of a mix of my thoughts and those from different commentaries). In each of these sections, there is a large narrative section in which the story of Jesus is unfolded. Additionally, there is a section of significant discourse in each of these sections. The only exception to this is the section on the passion of Christ which does not have an extended discourse but is mostly all action. Finally, in each discourse found in each section there is challenge issued to the readers. These will be identified in the upcoming posts.

The next several posts will continue the overview of Matthew but will look a bit more closely at these eight sections.

Buy My House...Please

2009-05-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

Buy our house...Please! If you are reading this, you are a potential candidate. Who wouldn't want to live here?

Click Here to see a video of our house.

After watching the movie, click on the "More Photos" to see...um...more photos.

The Beginning of the Beginning of the New Testament

2009-05-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

I have been doing some preliminary work for studying through the book of Matthew. The more I study it and the more I talk to others about it, the more I look forward to preaching through the first gospel. I will be posting my thoughts throughout the study on and off. I am not sure my posts will be a complete representation of the entire book. We will have to see. Nevertheless, posting helps me communicate my thoughts and maybe they will be an encouragement to you, too.

This first post I want to address the approach I will take to the book of Matthew. I have been through many studies of the different gospels and usually the study turns into a study of the harmony of the gospels: John said this, Mark said that, and it all takes place between these two verses in Luke. While I think a study of the harmony of the gospels is an important one, and while I think anyone going through one of the gospels needs to understand how they all fit together to tell the story of our Savior, I also think that each gospel writer had a message to tell in their own individual gospels.

Thus, I want to study Matthew and understand his message to his audience. I know studying Matthew will necessitate some reference to the other gospels. But I think Matthew placed the events of Christ's life and ministry in the order he did and mentioned the events he did to contribute to his overall message. And when these events are place in the appropriate chronological order with the other gospels, then Matthew's message becomes muted if not silent.

So, as I post my thoughts regarding my study through Matthew, I expect to only rarely refer to the other gospels unless that will contribute and clarify the story and message Matthew is conveying.

So let me know what you think of my approach. Is it valid? Do you agree? Let me know.

Next, I will post an overview of Matthew.

Quote of the Day - 2.25.09

2009-02-25T16:58:00.000-08:00

All originality and no plagiarism makes for dull preaching.

Charles H. Spurgeon

A Personal God - Prime Reality, Part 4

2009-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

In our discussion of the Prime Reality of life, the first issue one must address is the question of the existence of God. But the discussion does not stop there. If one comes to the understanding that there is indeed a God who exists somewhere outside of our time-space continuum, then the discussion must turn to the question of what that God is like. As a review, Hebrews 11:6 says,

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is rewarder of those who seek Him. (NASB)

To come to God, one must first believe He exists. This is the first question of Prime Reality. The verse continues to say that one must believe "He is the rewarder of those who seek Him," which is the issue of character, or, the question of what God is like.

But where does one start the discussion of what God is like. If I asked you to describe the taste of coffee, without using the word "coffee," to someone who has not tasted it before, how would you describe it? If one really thinks about this for a while, one would probably find that it would be hard to really describe how coffee tastes. If our human language makes it difficult to describe something as pedestrian as coffee, how much more will it be to describe the indescribable God. However, we must attempt to do so in order to understand the God we worship.

I think a good starting point in the discussion of what God is like is to say that God is personal. In some of the classes I have taught, when I ask what I meant by saying "God is personal," many have answers which indicate they think personal means personable. Or they think it means God is their private God. Saying God is personal does not mean He is friendly nor does it mean He is your personal God.

God as personal means that He is a person. God is not an idea, God is not a force, God is not the universe. God is a person and has attributes of a person. God exists (Heb 11:6), God has an intellect (Psalm 104:19-30), God has a will (Acts 13:17), God has emotion (Deut 9:7, Rom 5:8), God relates to others (Exo 3:4-4:17, God is a person.

This idea of God as a person should significantly effect the way one attempts to approach God. As a person, He has set attributes which cannot be made up by the one approaching Him. For example, one may want to make assumptions about me, a person, if they come to introduce themselves to me, but just because they have those assumptions does not make them true. However, once I begin to show others what I am like, then they get to know me better. The longer they know me, the more I show who I am, and the more they get to know me. This is why usually our closest friends are those who have known us the longest or seen a lot of who we are and still like us. This time together is time sensing who each other is, or simply thinking about each other, it is time conversing and relating in intimate ways.

Similarly, as one attempts to approach God, one cannot just make up what they think God is like and then expect God to be like those assumptions. Because God is person, we cannot make God into who we want Him to be but instead must get to know who He is. We look for how He has revealed Himself to us. And, because He is not just some other human person, but instead Almighty God, we must then approach Him on His terms. Additionally, one does not simply sense God or meditate on something to find God. Since God is a person, we talk with him (also known as prayer) and relate to Him in a way we can with no one else.

God as personal is big stepping stone for our discussion of Prime Reality and "What is God like?" This single concept is radically different than many other worldviews and is one of the truths which makes Christian Theism unique. However, the question is not how unique it is, the question is "How true is it?" If our discussion is concerning the Prime Reality, the implications are far reaching in every area of life. If God is a person, then perhaps He did create humans in His image and thus all humans, in every stage of life, has inherent value. If God is person, and can think and emote and chose, then perhaps there is a basis for the things we call "right" and "wrong." If God is person, then perhaps there is a way to commune with Him and have a relationship with Him.

For those out there wondering about this, the answer is "YES! There is a way to relate to God through the person and work of Jesus Christ." Please choose Christ today! If you would like to know more, either click HERE to see how to receive Christ, or respond to this post and we can talk.

Finding Eureka Kansas in Houston Texas

2009-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

I was in Houston, Texas this last weekend for my brother-in-law's wedding (Congratulations Sean and Sonya). My wife, my daughter, and I were driving around and we got a little lost. However, we found someplace a little familiar. Here is the picture:

You may not be able to see it (it is a poor picture) but it is the corner of Eureka and Kansas. My parents and brother live in Eureka, Kansas so the street signs at this corner gave me a chuckle and I had to get a picture of it.

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 1.23.09

2009-01-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

MY PANTS!

Rhonda, my wife, while running across a major street in Houston, TX.

The Intelligence Behind DNA - Prime Reality, Part 3

2009-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

The discussion of Prime Reality begins with the discussion of whether or not there is a God. As a believer in Jesus Christ as the incarnate God, and a believer in the Bible being the inspire Word of God, it is not hard for me to answer in the affirmative. However, I understand that there are those out there who find the question hard and struggle to find an intellectually satisfying answer. So they would probably ask me, "Why do you believe in God?" and that is a fair question.

I do not believe one can prove the existence of God. I believe one can make the case with a preponderance of evidence, but in the end one must make the choice to believe or not believe. I think the Scripture affirms this in Hebrews 11:6, which says

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is rewarder of those who seek Him. (NASB)

This verse say that, first, faith is paramount in the discussion of the existence of Go in that it says that if one is to come to Him, they must believe that He actually exists. Second, it says that the one who comes to Him must believe certain things about His character, that is, who God is. In short, for one to come to God, you must have faith in His existence and in His character. This is essentially the two questions of Prime Reality. I am not saying that God exists because I have faith He does. Obviously, things do not exist simply because we have faith they exist. I am simply saying that this issue involves faith, no matter the way one decides.

However, there is evidence of a Creator. Without dealing with mountains of material, I would simply point to the issue of DNA. I am not a scientist, but I do know that DNA contains information and in every other aspect of life, when one encounters information, one assumes intelligence behind that information. This should stagger most anyone who comes to this discovery. Even Francis Crick, the Nobel Prize winning scientist who essentially discovered DNA's double-helical structure, saw such an intelligence behind DNA he developed a theory called Directed Panspermia, which says it was possible that intelligent life on other planets seeded our planet with DNA and that we evolved from that DNA (click here for the original article - you have to at least read the abstract).

Take a minute and ponder that idea. This should bring up several questions from the thoughtful reader. First, If the answer to the source of intelligent life on this planet is that it came from intelligent life on another planet, it begs the question "Where did life from that planet come from?" If that answer was, "from intelligent life from yet another planet" then the question would be "Where did life from THAT planet come from?"

Secondly, why is belief in life on another planet easier to believe than a God who creates? Neither can be proven. There has been NO evidence that there is life on any other planet.

The point here is that even the scientist who won the Nobel prize for his work on DNA acknowledges there is an intelligence behind DNA and that chance could not account for its appearance. While this seems to be a discussion regarding the beginnings of humanity, my point is that is more about the existence of God. If the beginnings of humanity cannot be explained by natural means, and the discovery and information explosion of DNA is making that harder for unbiased scientists to do, then the question becomes "What kind of intelligence is responsible for the creation of DNA and genetic information it contains?" Many may have no problem placing their faith in a scientifically superior race of beings on another planet who could create DNA and then ship it to earth, even though this scenario does not really answer the ultimate origin of life. I find it more intellectually satisfying to place my faith in a God who creates and created humans in His own image and gave them inherent value and purpose in this life.

This is not the only evidence of the existence of God. There is so many other things. But I believe this is a crucial "clincher" for many. So the question is, "What is the intelligence behind DNA?" There is no doubt there is intelligence behind DNA. Francis Crick, in his book Life Itself, said,

An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some senses, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.

So, where do you place your faith. Intelligent life from other planets, or a Creator God? In my mind, these are the informed choices.

Giving the Masses What They Want - Prime Reality, Part 2

2009-01-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Over a year ago, I posted on topic which I not only enjoy talking about but I think is critical for everyone to discuss: the topic of Prime Reality (click here to read that post). Since then, there have been many hits to my site accessing that particular post. In fact, of the last 289 keywords which users have entered into search engines to access my blog, 132 specifically referenced "prime reality" in some sense. This means 45.7% of people who have saw my blog (and hopefully have read something on it) have done so because they were looking up information on the topic of prime reality. And this does not include the other posts which were related to the topic in some manner, like my book reviews which deal with the same topic.

So I think I am going to attempt a series about this issue and see if that will interest anyone. To begin with, I want to repeat what was said in the previous post and I will be from that. Previously, I said,

Put simply, the Prime Reality is the question of existence of God. This is based in two questions:

1. Is there or is there not a God?
2. If there is a God, what is that God like?

The previous post addressed question number one briefly and provided some links to the help with the discussion. Almost everyone above the age of 16 or so has spent time thinking "Is there really a God?" This is a fundamental question which each person must answer because it directs every other aspect of their life. This is why this issue is called "The PRIME Reality."

I stand firm on the issue by answering "yes, there is a God" and I will spend some time answering why I think this but the majority of these posts will be addressing question 2 from above: If there is a God, what is that God like?

So I hope these future posts will help you, encourage you, and will give you an understanding of this topic.

Let me know what you think!

Ten Moments of 2008

2009-01-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

Last year, I posted ten memorable moments of 2007. This year I thought I would do the same. It is just a nice exercise for me to look back over the year and see how God has worked and enjoy the memories my family and I have made.

So without further ado, here are my ten memorable moments of 2008.

1. Summit Baptist Church of Wiggins, Colorado calling me as their pastor (December).
Without a doubt, this is the most defining event of the year. Even though it occurred in the last two weeks of the year, the last five years have been building toward this event. I am sure the repercussions of this event will impact my ten moments list next year (like moving, making new friends, starting a new ministry, etc.) but for now, this is the most memorable thing that happened to me in 2008.

2. Rhonda and my trip to Las Vegas, Nevada (April).
In April, Rhonda and I traveled to Vegas so I could preach at a church which was interested in me as their pastor. They put us up in the Plaza Hotel in the penthouse, and we braved Fremont street at night looking for milk (which is harder than it sounds in Las Vegas). They transported us back and forth from the airport in a limo. And we strolled through the Plaza casino in our Sunday-go-to-meetings and got some interesting looks. It was a great experience. While they obviously did not call me (see #1 above), it shaped most of my year.

3. Learning to turn wood on a lathe (beginning in May).
In May, I ordered and received a wood lathe and began a new hobby. Additionally, I began to blog about that hobby as well (see A Turn of Events). It has been fun and relaxing to start this new hobby and I know it will serve me well in the future. This shaped most of my year because now all I think about is, "If I chopped that tree down in my back yard, I bet I could get some good bowls out it."

4. Jessica and my trip to Kansas (June).
In June, my daughter and I traveled to southeast Kansas to see my family. It was a nice trip because I saw each of my siblings and was able to spend time alone with each of them. I also was able to take mom to the Lawrence, Kansas library where my brother's memorial tree is located (click here to see the post regarding Rob's tree). It was a nice time with my family. And it was a good time with just my daughter and I.

5. Working on my in-laws sprinkler system (throughout the summer).
This may seem like an unusual item to make a list like this but working on my in laws sprinkler system throughout the summer was a nice time for this year. I would go over every other day or two (whenever I recuperated from the previous work day) and fix leaks and sprinkler heads on all their seven zones of their yard. It was good physical labor for me, I would get incredibly sweaty and muddy, and my family and I spend a good amount of time with my in-laws. I did not get completely finished and will need to do more when the ground thaws, but I enjoyed working on this project throughout the summer.

6. Studying and working through the Psalms of Ascents (last half of year).
Beginning in June, I began a study of the Psalm of Ascents and posted the results of those studies on this blog (Click here for the overview of those studies which provides links to each post). The posts look like I was focused only on the outline of the passage, but this is not true. However, I posted the outlines in hope that it will help someone as they preach through these important passages. While I have not preached through these psalms, with my new church (see #1 above, again) I am looking forward to sharing these with others. I spend most of the year reading through these psalms, studying them, and working with the outlines to place where I believe I can preach through them. When I think of 2008, I will think about the time I spent with these fifteen psalms.

7. Our trip to New Mexico (July).
My family and I took a short trip to New Mexico to pick up my niece and nephew from Rhonda's side of the family. Rhonda, Jessica, and I went down to Sante Fe, spent the night at a hotel, picked up our niece and nephew at Glorietta the next day, and brought them to their Grandparents house. It was a nice, short, little trip and a great memory.

8. Rhonda and my ACTUAL anniversary (February).
My wife and I got married on Leap Day in 1992, which means we only have a real anniversary once every four years. In 2008, we celebrated our fourth anniversary (16 years for those mathematically challenged). We did not do anything special, but we did celebrate our 16 years of marriage. I posted about that in February and even posted a picture of Rhonda and me (click here to see that post).

9. Introduced to Settler's of Catan (February).
In February, a friend from church introduced us to a new game called "Settlers of Catan." I explain it as a board game of a computer strategy game. It is hard to explain but it is fun (and a little addictive). Here is the website for the game. You can also play it online for free at this website.

10. Teaching online classes for Oklahoma Baptist University Ministry Training Institute (throughout the year).
I taught my first completely online class in 2008. I had taught classes with online components of the in-seat class, but I had not taught a completely online class. I had students in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Montana. I really enjoyed interacting with the students through email and chat. I anticipate doing more online instruction with OBU. Teaching online did not shape my year, per se, but it did keep me busy while I waited for God to provide a pastorate.

Well, there they are: my 10 most memorable moments of 2008. 2008 proved to be something of wild ride. Up and down and all around, but always flying a break-neck speed. I am looking forward to 2009, although I anticipate much of the same craziness.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

I pray that you and yours have a great Christmas and that celebrating the birth of Christ will bring you closer to the one true God.

Have a great Christmas!

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 12.24.08

2008-12-24T22:06:00.000-08:00

notafinga!

Mr. Parker, played by Darren McGavin, on The Christmas Story, when he is angry at his wife for breaking his "major award."

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 12.10.08

2008-12-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

The note G makes our china sing and coffee makes our mugs buzz.

My daugher, Jessica. It would take too long to explain.

In the Beginning

2008-12-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine has recently had a book published. It is entitled In the Beginning (click title to see it on Amazon) by Leanne Thomas. It is a retelling of the first seven chapters of Genesis.

You can read sections of this book from her blog Leanne Thomas Writes.

If you are needing a Christmas gift for someone, purchase this unique book for them. They will love it.

That "That" That I Use

2008-12-01T10:44:00.001-08:00

As an instructor and as someone who writes my thoughts down regularly, I try to continually educate myself on proper grammar, sentence structure, and other issues in the English language (I will deal with my use of the comma before "and" in another post). I have noticed THAT I have spent a great deal of time talking to students about the use of that word "that."

It has been my experience that most of the time, when "that" is used, it is really not needed, it can be simply eliminated from the sentence, and the sentence would read just as well. However, there are times it must be used. So I set out on a quest to find when and when not to use the word "that." I came across some helpful articles.

This article shows THAT the sentence, "He said that that 'that' that that man used was wrong" is a grammatically correct sentence and why it is so.

This article is a brief summary of the rules of when to use "which" and when to use "that."

This article gives the rules again but in a more technical sense (restrictive and non-restrictive clauses).

Sometimes when I read students papers, I can mark out about 80% of their uses of the word "that" and it reads great. However, these articles have helped me judge when it is time to use THAT word and when it is not.

I hope THAT this has helped you, too.

Summary of Psalms of Ascents

2008-11-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

If you have not been to my blog before, I have just finished posting on a series through the Psalms of Ascents (Psalms 120-134). I have really enjoyed posting on these and hope the reader has benefited from the post. I wanted to sum up my thoughts on these psalms and my posts regarding them.

First, I want to acknowledge that these are songs which were meant to be sung and they were not necessarily meant to be analyzed as deeply as I may have done. Do not get me wrong, because the Psalms are God's Word and inspired by Him, they are valuable to teach through (2 Tim. 3:16-17). But I want to let the reader know that I know these are poetry and I have attempted to handle them as poetry while I have attemped to form them into something I can communicate to the modern hearer.

Second, and related to the first, the reader may be tempted to think that I am more concerned about the structure of the outline of the sermon/lesson than I am about the content of the sermon. This simply is not true. I want to communicate to today's audience what the audience heard when these psalms were sung. This is the main reason I have attempted to connect a "modern" song to each of these. I hoped to communicate the same message the psalmist was sending through his words. In the post, it looks like the outline is the source of the discussion. I did post the outline first but the discussion which follows each outline is really the basis for which the outline comes. Whenever one is studying Scripture in an attempt to teach it, the content is the most important part of the passage; not the outline we use to communicate that content.

Rabbit Trail: By the way, I was preparing these for my home church, which sing mostly hymns which is why these songs are hymns and not "contemporary" (i.e. 80's) praise songs. I have nothing against praise songs and enjoy utilizing them in worship. The audience I have preparing these for, however, do not enjoy nor utilize these in their worship. Thus, I used what would communicate to them. If you use these outlines as a the basis for a sermon series, and you are going to attach a song to each psalm, you should think about what song would best communicate to your audience.

Finally, I pray these will be useful for someone. I hope that if you are pastor or a Christian leader wanting to preaching through these psalms, these psalms will provide you with "sermon seeds" which will allow to you powerfully commuincate the message God has laid on your heart. If you have used these, would you let me know by either posting here or emailing me at rkenneson[at]comcast[dot]net. I would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.

Because the blog puts the most recent posting first, all the posts are in reverse order. Thus, below I have made a list in numerical order so that you can bookmark this page and simply refer to it to get each post in the order you want.

Psalm 120 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Dissatisfaction of living in a foreign land
Title: Longing to Go Home
Song: Beulah Land

Psalm 121 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Protection along the journey
Title: My Help Comes from the Lord part 1 part 2
Song: His Eye is on the Sparrow

Psalm 122 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Praising God at the arrival to Jerusalem
Title: When We All Get to Heaven
Song: When We All Get to Heaven

Psalm 123 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Asking God for mercy
Title: Finding Mercy
Song: ?

Psalm 124 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Praising God for past help
Title: Whose Side is God On?
Song: God Will Take Care of You

Psalm 125 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Praising God for a relationship with Him
Title: I Have Found a Friend in Jesus
Song: Lily of the Valley

Psalm 126 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Remembering redemption from slavery and prayer for restoration
Title: Remembering the Great Acts of God part 1 part 2
Song: Count Your Blessings

Psalm 127 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Vanity and family
Title: Vanity and Children
Song: ?

Psalm 128 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Family and corporate worship
Title: When We Walk with the Lord
Song: Trust and Obey

Psalm 129 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Persecution from enemies
Title: My God will Deliver Me
Song: He Hideth My Soul

Psalm 130 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Conflict within self
Title: The Comfort which Comes from God
Song: Heaven Came Down

Psalm 131 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Benefits of relationship with God
Title: The Life which Comes from God
Song: The Solid Rock

Psalm 132 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Prayer for the restoration of the Davidic kingdom
Title: The Davidic King is Coming
Song: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

Psalm 133 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Unity with the people of God
Title: True Unity
Song: The Family of God

Psalm 134 (NASB, NIV, KJV)
Subject: Continuation of worship
Title: Wrapping Up with Worship
Song: Amazing Grace

Book Review: Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament

2008-11-05T07:20:00.001-08:00

I recently read Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament: A Guide for the Church by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. In this book the author addresses a critical issue needed to be heard by today's church leaders: the importance of Old Testament to believers and they manner in which the Old Testament should be taught to the people of God.

Kaiser begins his book with the need to preach and teach from the Old Testament. Too many times pastors either skim over the Old Testament material or they simply neglect it. When, for example, was the last time you heard a sermon in Zephaniah, Micah, or Obadiah? How does 1 Chronicles impact the 21st century Christian? How are we to apply the Song of Solomon in the body of Christ? Kaiser spends four chapters convincing his readers the need to recapture the importance of the Old Testament. He argues for the value of the Old Testament and then defines the problem which the Old Testament provides today's exegete. He speaks a little on preaching the Old Testament and moves into the importance of expository preaching as it relates to the first 39 books of the bible.

After this section of the book, Kaiser moves to the practical section of the book in which he puts forth the mechanics of how to preach and teach different genres from the Old Testament. He provides instructions on how to preach through narrative sections of the Old Testament, Hebrew wisdom literature, and the Prophets. He addresses the lament found throughout the Old Testament and give a guidance on teaching through the Torah. He spends time discussing the praise psalm and finally he writes on apocalyptic literature. In each of these sections, the author provides a sample sermon to show how one can move from exegesis to homiletics and provide a challenging exhortation to today's believers.

Kaiser concludes the book with chapter which encourages Christian leaders to change the world with the Word of God. The whole of the author's argument throughout the entire book is that Scripture is the Word of God and the Old Testament is part of Scripture and therefore the Old Testament should be taught regularly so believers can receive the whole counsel of God. In this concluding chapter, he says,

So let us mark it down as a principle: Where the preaching of God's Word is thin or abandoned for more "relevant" issues and encouragements, the growth, power, and effectiveness of the church wanes and ultimately is extinguished. But where the Word of God multiplies, spreads, and is sought after by all, the body of Christ demonstrates a resourcefulness and a power that goes forward despite all modern or ancient barriers, oppositions, or persecutions.

This is what the book is about. Recovering ALL of the Word of God and making it a priority to be preached and taught throughout the churches of the world.

The book has two small appendices. Both are useful for the serious reader. Appendix A is a worksheet for doing syntatical-tehological exegesis. It is worksheet the author uses and provided it to the readers as a helpful tool in doing studies in the Old Testament. Appendix B is reproduction of an article entitled, Biblical Integrity in an age of Theological Pluralism (Evangelical Journal 18 (2000) 19-28). The author of this article says that in 1946, W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsly wrote an article in the Swanee Review entitled "The Intential Fallacy" which began the thought which denies meaning is found in what the author intended to say but instead what the reader thinks is said. Biblical Integrity in an Age of Theological Pluralism is an article worth reading to show the importance of the concept of "authorial intent" and how that plays a part in biblical interpretation.

This book combines two of my favorite interests: the Old Testament and preaching. I think it is must read for anyone who want to preach the whole counsel of Scripture faithfully. The principles put forth in this book will help the bible student not only reclaim this part of Scripture in the life of the church, but will renew in them a passion for the Old Testament.

2t22 rating:

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 11.3.08

2008-11-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Good thing you didn't say 'Wackenhut.'

Ben Bailey, Host of the Discovery Channel show Cash Cab. By the way, Wackenhut is a security company like Brinks.

Wrapping Up With Worship

2008-11-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

As we come to the last psalm in our study of the Psalms of Ascents, we come to Psalm 134. A quick review will allow us to see the themes which lead up to the final of these psalms. In Psalm 130, the psalmist prays about the conflict which comes from inside himself. In the next psalm, Psalm 131, the psalmist praises God for the life which God gives him. In Psalm 132, he begins to pray for the whole of God's people by anticipating the restoration of the Davidic line. In Psalm 133, the psalmist praises God for the unity found in the people of God. Not surprisingly, with Psalm 134 this series of psalms ends in a prayer for more worship to flow from God's people.

Read Psalm 134 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my working outline. I would appreciate any suggestions for improvement.

The Worship of the Lord

I. The continuation of worship (1)

II. The expectation in worship (2)

III. The blessing from worship (3)

It is fitting that the last psalm of this series ends in an exhortation to continue in worship. One can imagine the priest climbing the steps of the temple singing one of these fifteen psalms for every step he takes. Then he stands at the top of the stairs and sings at the top of his voice the words of this psalm.

He begins by first encouraging those who are to serve the Lord into the night to continue to praise the Lord. The priests did not serve 24 hours a day. Instead, they served in shifts. The psalmist came to Jerusalem to participate in one of the yearly celebrations which required all the males to return to Jerusalem. He came to worship and they had been worshipping all day. The psalmist now asks those serving in the temple to continue this worship into the night. The worship of the Lord should and will always continue.

Next, the psalmist tells those who are worshipping to lift their hands to the Lord in their worship. This is a physical posture which indicates a spiritual attitude of expectation. The lifting of hands to heaven shows the worshipper is expecting to receive whatever they have asked for from the Lord. It shows they know the Lord is able and willing to give to His people. The NASB says raise your hands "to" the sanctuary and the NIV says to raise your hands "in" the sanctuary. The NASB is indicating where the receiving is coming from and the NIV seems to connote the place where the worship is taking place. While a minor issue, it is one which needs to be addressed.

Finally, the psalmist asks the Lord will bless the reader. One of the draw backs of the NIV translation is that it translates the word "Bless" as "Praise" as in verse 1. However, the NASB translates this psalm better in showing that verse 1 and verse 3 both have the word "bless" in. In this case, it is almost a reciprocal relationship: you bless the Lord and He will bless you. Whatever the best translation should be, the point is that there is a benefit of worshipping the Lord, specifically, that He will bless His people.

This is a great way to finish our study of the Psalms of Ascents: We should pray for the continuation of the worship of the Lord, we should have expecation that God will work great things when we engage in worship, and there are great benefits of worshipping the Lord.

As I have tried with all these psalms, I want to find a song sung in today's churches which communicates the same theme as the psalm. For this final hymn, I think Amazing Grace communicates the message of Psalm 134. I think the three points of the outline are represented in reverse order in this psalm. The first three verses of Amazing Grace portrays the benefits of worshipping the Lord. The fourth verse relays the expectation of receiving good things from God. The final verse of Amazing Grace pictures the continuation of worship all throughout time.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

I will have one more post on the Psalms of Ascents to sum up the whole study. Please let me know if any of these have been helpful.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T11:23:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween. Here is our pumpkins from several years ago. (Click image for larger picture)

If you are not familiary with Veggie Tales, this is, from left to right, Bob, the Tomato; Larry, the Cumcumber; and Jimmy and Jerry Gourd (I may have those two confused - I never know which is which). Here is a picture of the whole Veggie Tales gang.

And, as Bob, the Tomato, always says, "Remember, God made you special and He loves you very much!"

True Unity

2008-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

After the longest psalm in our study of the Psalms of Ascents, we find the second to the last psalm in this series. The psalmist has just spend a comparatively considerable amount of time reminding God of His oath with David and praying for the installation of the Davidic king. He now turns to what could be considered the beginning of the conclusion of these particular psalms. The psalmist proclaims how good it has been to be in Jerusalem with the people of God.

Read Psalm 133 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my working outline. As always, it needs work and I would greatly appreciate any suggestions in improving it.

The Blessing of Unity

I. Unity with the people of God is good (1-3a)
     A. Religious illustration - oil
           1. It is a sanctifying oil
          2. It is a fragrant oil
     B. Natural illustration - dew
          1. It is refreshing
          2. It is fruitful

II. Unity with the people of God brings God's blessings (3b)
     A. It come through Christ ("there" = Zion)
     B. It is eternal

This is another little psalm (see Psalm 131) which has a big message. Interestingly, it amplifies a theme found in Psalm 122:4-5, which is unity. Verse one sets the topic for the entire psalm: how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.

Before any mention of the similes used in this passage to speak of unity, two things should be mentioned. First, the psalmist spoke of "brothers" having unity, that is, the people of God. Without God, there is no real unity. Which is really the starting place for point two: this concept of unity should be seen in the context of what these psalms have already said about unity. Specifically, Psalm 122 talks about unity and that unity does not mean uniformity nor does it mean licentiousness. In today's Western society, unity means the opposite of this. From a biblical Worldview, unity begins and ends with God.

This unity the psalmist has enjoyed brings to mind two images to his mind: one religious and one natural. Each of these bring an interesting aspect to his concept of unity. First, the oil mentioned here is the priestly oil for which God gave the recipe in Exodus 30:22-33, and with which Aaron was initially anointed and thus sanctified (Lev. 8:12). It must have also been incredibly fragrant (see the recipe in Exodus).

Both the issue of sanctified and fragrant speak to the believer. First Peter 2:9-10 calls believers a royal priesthood. This means we have been set apart for the service of God to represent the people to God and God to the people. Additionally, 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 speaks of how the Christian is to "stink" like Christ. The point here is that unity is based upon the work of Christ in the person's life.

The second illustration used to speak of the unity the psalmist experienced was dew from Mount Hermon. It is my understand Mount Hermon stands at almost 10,000 feet (what we call "tree line" here in Colorado). Click HERE to see pictures of Mount Hermon and read a little about it. In a desert place, where there is virtually no rain in the summer months, the dew which forms on Mount Hermon is a picture of refreshment and fruitfulness (with water available in the summer months, there is apparently something growing there all the time). The beleiver can easily see the application of unity with fellow believers producing a refreshing and fruitful time.

The psalmist finishes with the blessing this unity has produced. He first points out that the dew comes down from Hermon to Mount Zion, which is the temple mount, which is the place of sacrifice. It is here, on Mount Zion, where the Lord will give his blessing. This blessing was provided in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And it is this work which will provide everlasting life.

As I think of a song which is sung in churches today to capture the heart of this psalm, two come to mind. One of these songs is "Blest be the Tie that Binds." In fact, the Baptist Hymnal indicates that Psalm 133:1 is the Scriptural basis for this song (pg. 737). However, my church sings another song more frequently which also captures the theme of Psalm 133: "The Family of God" (click to listen).

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God

You will notice we say "brother and sister" 'round here,
It's because we're a family and these are so near;
When one has a heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God

From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,
No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,
I'm not worthy to be here, but PRAISE GOD! I belong!

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God

The Davidic King is Coming

2008-10-28T06:00:00.001-07:00

We are coming close to the end of our study of the Psalms of Ascents and we have come to the longest in this series. By way of review, the psalmist cries out to God because of the persecution he faces from his enemies. The psalmist confesses the conflict within himself in Psalm 130. Then in Psalm 131, he praises God for the benefits which come with a relationship with God. In this next psalm, Psalm 132, the psalmist lifts up the king of Israel, specifically the king from the Davidic line.

Read Psalm 132 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my working outline. It is not a teaching outline yet but is more of an exegetical outline. To teach this, it really needs work to become a homiletical outline. If you have any teaching points which could be made from these main points, please do not hesitate to post your suggestions.

David and the Lord
I. Remember David (1-9)
A. David swore an oath to the Lord (2-5)
B. We heard about it/it was renown (6)
C. David fulfilled his oath (7-9)
??There is a request for...??
1. Worship (7)
2. Lord and ark came (8)
3. Priest are righteous (9a)
4. Saints have joy (9b)

II. Restore David (10-18)
A. The Lord swore an oath to David (10-12)
1. David's descendants on the throne (11)
2. Based in faithfulness ???? (12)
NOTE: (This last point needs to be researched and rethought in light of the unconditional Davidic> covenant. Nevertheless, in this psalm, there is this big "IF" which needs to be dealt with. )

B. The Lord chose Zion
1. His dwelling place forever (14)
2. Abundant provisions (16)
3. Priest and saints worship (16)
4. The king will rise (17-18)

I find this psalm the most fascinating of the 15 Psalms of Ascents. First, the structure is really interesting (I got the following structure analysis from a commentary but I do not remember which one. When I remember, I will post it.):

v.1 Davidic dynasty was a memory
v. 2 Intro to quote
vv. 3-5 quote
v. 6 Intro to quote
vv. 7-9 quote

v. 10 Davidic dynasty needs restoration
v. 11 Intro to quote
vv. 11-12 quote
v. 13 Intro to quote
vv. 14-18 quote

I think this is not a forces structure but one that leaps out of the text. I can see the priest standing on the second step to the top leading to the temple and singing as loud as he can asking God to remember and restore the Davidic kingdom. Even more striking is thinking about when Christ walked the earth and standing in listening distance of the priest, when the priest was actually singing about Him.

Second, I think the reciprocal oaths in this passage are interesting. David swore an oath to the Lord and the Lord in return swore an oath to David. It is on the basis of these reciprocal oaths the psalmist asks the Lord to remember David (v. 1) and then not to reject his anointed one (v. 10). In the psalmist's context, the anointed one was the Davidic king (note the distinction in verse 10: "For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one"). To the New Testament believer, one immediately thinks of THE Anointed One, Jesus Christ, who will always be on the throne (v. 11), who will be a light (v. 17), and whose crown will be resplendent (v. 18).

In short, this is an amazing psalm which shows that God responds to things humans' do. The psalmist shows that David wanted to please the Lord by making a place for God to dwell, so to speak (v. 5). In response to that, the Lord made an oath to David which said that one of David's descendants would be on the throne forever.

I think a song is sung in churches today which speaks of the Davidic King coming and ruling and being worshiped by those under His rule is "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." There may be better songs but I love content of this hymn and I love the fact that there are three versions in the Baptist Hymnal. Click HERE for the Diadem version (my favorite, mainly due to the bass line), Click HERE for the Coronation version, and Click HERE for the Miles Lane version. The words are the same for all the version with the exception of how many "crown Him's" you want to sing and which part of the verse you repeat. The following verses are for the Diadem version.

All hail the power of Jesus’ Name!
Let angels prostrate fall, Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him, crown Him, crown Him, crown Him,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
ye ransomed from the fall, ye ransomed from the fall;
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him, crown Him, crown Him, crown Him,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Let ev' ry kindred, every tribe
On this terrestrial ball, On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him, crown Him, crown Him, crown Him,
and crown Him Lord of all.

O that, with yonder sacred throng,
we at His feet may fall, we at His feet may fall!
We'll join in the everlasting song,
And crown Him, crown Him, crown Him, crown Him,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 10.26.07

2008-10-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

We're gonna need some more FBI guys, I guess.

Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson, played by Paul Gleason, in the movied Die Hard.

The Life Which Comes From God

2008-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

In a review of our study of the Psalms of Ascents, the psalm laments the persecution he faces from others in Psalm 129. In Psalm 130, he speaks to the conflict which comes from inside himself. In the next psalm, Psalm 131, the psalmist praises God for the life which God gives him.

Read Psalm 131 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my outline for this little psalm (the outline is bigger than the entire psalm):

The Life which Comes from God
(the title could use some work)
The life which comes from God produces...

I. Humility (1)
A. Pride undervalues others (1a)
B. Pride overvalues oneself (1b)
This is opposite of Jesus' teaching

II. Contentment (2)
A. Freedom from spiritual unrest (2a)
B. Freedom from spiritual dissatisfaction (2b)

III. Hope (3)
A. Place of hope (3a)
B. Permanence of hope (3b)

In this pithy psalm, the author brings up three characteristics which he brings up in his conversation with God. He first brings up Humility. He verse one, he says his eyes are not haughty. This is the idea of being better than another; looking down on others. The point in the outline is the negative statement about this: Pride undervalues others. It could just as easily been said: Humility is not looking down at others, or something like that. He finishes the first verse by saying that he does not concern himself with things too wonderful for him. This does not mean that the psalmist does not think about great things. We are called to love the Lord with all we have, including our mind. What the psalmist is referring to here is the issue of trying to run things as only God could. It is stated negatively again in the outline: Pride overvalues oneself. With these two points, pride is nailed down. Pride is thinking less of others than one should and it is think more about oneself than one should. The psalmist is thanking God that God has brought humility into his life.

Second, the psalmist thanks God for the contentment he feels. The image is great but must be understood how the psalmist meant the image to be seen. It is a weaned child with his mother. An "un-weaned" child goes to his mother for a reason. He wants something. Specifically, he wants to be fed. However, a weaned child no longer feeds from the mother and comes to the mother for love and comfort. This image is the image of contentment within the soul. The author first states that he has quieted his soul, which means he is free from spiritual unrest. Then he uses the image of the mother and child to amplify the concept of contentment to show that the psalmist is satisfied with his relationship with God. His life with God has rid of him the spiritual unrest and dissatisfaction this world brings. He is now truly content with God.

Finally, the psalmist thanks God for the hope God brings him. Encouraging the people of God to join him, he confesses that God is the one place in which he can place his hope, for God does not change and God's promises will come to be. Then he praises God for the permanence of this hope: both now and forevermore.

The life which God gives us through Jesus Christ brings humility, contentment, and hope. Are you in need of these today? Ask Christ into your life today, renew your relationship with him, and they will be yours.

I have been trying to end the Psalms of Ascents with a song sung in today's church which communicates the same message as the psalm. I thought of "The Solid Rock." You can hear humility (dependence upon God), contentment, and hope in these verses. Click Here to listen.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the vale.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

The Comfort Which Comes From God

2008-09-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

In our last study of the Psalms of Ascents, the psalmist was lamenting to God concerning the persecution he faced from others. In Psalm 130, the psalmist turns introspective and cries out to the Lord because of the conflict inside.

Read Psalm 130 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my working outline. As always, suggestions are wanted and desparately needed.

The Comfort which Comes from God

I. We can cry out to the Lord (1-2)
we can cry out and He answers

II. We can have forgiveness with the Lord (3-4)

III. We wait on the Lord (5-6)
III. We have faith in the Lord (5-6)??

wait = hopeful expectation
A. Based in His Word (5)
B. Sure as Morning (6)

IV. We have hope in the Lord (7-8)
this is because of His ...
A. Lovingkindness/Loyal Love (Heb. Hesed) (7a)
B. Redemption (7b-8)
1. Abundant (7b)??
2. Complete (8)??
(are these these the same thing??)

After the last few psalms, this one seems much more self-explanatory. However, there are just a couple of issues I will point out to clarify my outline. The first two verses are clear that the psalmist cried out to God and asks him not only to hear and be attentive to his pleas. Anyone with children or dogs realize the difference between hearing and being attentive. The psalmist wanted God to act in response to his request.

Verse 3 and 4 are about forgiveness. Thankfully, the psalmist says, that God forgives those who surrender their lives to Him. Forgiveness can be found, but it is only found through God on His terms, which is the foot of the cross of Christ.

Verse 5 and 6 are where I want to expand my thoughts a bit. Here the psalmist commits to waiting on the Lord. "Waiting" in scripture is an expectation of God to work. So he waits and does not take matters into his own hands. He waits because God's Word says God will act for His people. Because of his trust in God and His Word, the psalmist is more sure of God acting than the sun rising in the morning (6). If the title is the issue of comfort in trying times, which the psalm seems to be about, then I am not sure if "waiting" or "faith" is more comforting. I tend to think emphasis on waiting is more comforting because it indicates I know God is going to act and I am waiting for it. It may be all semantics and not worth worrying over.

Finally, the psalmist is comforted by the hope we have in the Lord. The clauses in the text indicate this hope is due to God's Loyal Love (Hebrew: Hesed - tranlated many times as Lovingkindness but is probably better translated Loyal Love - see interesting articles here, and here). The psalmist also has hop in the Lord because of his redemption. Because of the "and" found at the beginning of verse 8, it seems like he is praising God for his "abundant" redemption and his complete ("all iniquities") redeption. However, these almost sound the same. Obviously, redemption is the other source of his hope. Again, the other issue of abundant and/or complete is simply semantics...probably.

As I think of hymn used in today's churches, one does not immediately come to mind which captures the essence of this psalm. The Baptist Hymnal uses Psalm 130:1 for the basis for the hymn "Out of My Bondage, Sorrow, and Night," which sounds like a great song but I do not think I have ever heard it. I think a more appropriate and interesting pick for a hymn which conveys the author's intent is "Heaven Came Down" (click here to listen). I may change my mind but for now, I think I like this pick.

O what a wonderful, wonderful day, day I will never forget;
After I'd wandered in darkness away, Jesus my Savior I met.
O what a tender, compassionate friend, He met the need of my heart;
Shadows dispelling, with joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart.

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, (filled my soul)
When at the cross the Savior made me whole; (made me whole)
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! (filled my soul)

Born of the Spirit with life from above into God's family divine,
Justified fully thru Calvary's love, O what a standing is mine!
And the transaction so quickly was made, when as a sinner I came,
Took of the offer, of grace He did proffer, He saved me, O praise His dear name!

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, (filled my soul)
When at the cross the Savior made me whole; (made me whole)
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! (filled my soul)

Now I've a hope that will surely endure after the passing of time;
I have a future in heaven for sure there in those mansions sublime.
And it's because of that wonderful day, when at the cross I believed;
Riches eternal and blessings supernal, from His precious hand I received.

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, (filled my soul)
When at the cross the Savior made me whole; (made me whole)
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! (filled my soul)

My God Will Deliver Me

2008-09-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

In our journey through the Psalms of Ascents, we have encountered a couple of psalms which seems a little different and hard to summarize with one thought. That is perfectly normal for psalms, as they were songs and not meant to be analyzed in the fashion in which we are doing. However, because they are additionally the Word of God, we can look at them in a critical fashion and pull out the message we are intended to receive through them. In 127, there seemed to a strange shift from vanity to family. In 128, the issue of family continues only to change into the topic of corporate worship. In 129, the psalmist seems to go back to communicating one idea through the entire psalm. In this case, he is concerned about persecution.

Read Psalm 129 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my working outline for Psalm 129. Like the many before it, it needs work and I need your help in that. Please help me and those reading through this blog with your comments and suggestions.

Still Working on Title - maybe God Delivers

I. The enemy's persecution...(1-4)
A. Was often (1-2a)
B. Has not prevailed (2b)
C. Was intense (3)
D. Was stopped (4)

II. God's Retribution...(5-8)
The enemies of the God will ...
A. Be turned back/put to shame (5)
B. Wither (6)
C. Be unfruitful/ineffective (7)
D. Be un-blessed (8) (I know it is not a word)

The psalmist, with psalm 129, pens a lament of the persecution he faces simply for being one of God's people. He begins by repeating how many times the enemies have persecuted him, ever since he was a child. They continually persecuted him. However, he is clear to point out they have not prevailed. He brings in word pictures of farming to show how intense these persecutions have been. It is as if they have plowed on his back and made their furrows long and deep. This is no light trial. However, even thought they consistently and intensely persecuted him, God in His righteousness puts a stop to it. Using another farming metaphor, the cords indicate the reins one would use on a plowing animal. They have been plowing on my back but God cut the reins and they stopped. The psalmist is lamenting to God concerning the persecution he has faced but then praises God for his deliverance from those trials.

The psalmist moves into a discussion of God's retribution of those who rebel against Him.

Rabbit Trail: hating the Lord does not mean an atheist or a Satan worshipper. Hating the Lord in Scripture is someone who disregards the Creator and Sustainer of life. They are the ones who say "So what if God has said thus and so. I will life my life as I want." These are the haters of God. This principle is affirmed in the New Testament as well. James 4:4 says, "Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (NASB) Jesus says in John 14:1, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (NASB) In the mind of God, one either loves Him and lives in accordance to His word, or one hates Him.

The psalmist looks to God's retribution of those who hate God. God will first put them to shame. "Turning back" and "put to shame" are in parallel here and are used to say the same thing.

God will also cause them to wither like the grass which grew on the their rooftops. In the Ancient Near East, houses were made of clay and had flat roofs. Dirt would collect on these flat roofs and many times grass and weeds would begin to poke up through the ground. However, since the soil was so shallow, the grass would quickly wither. The psalmist says this would be like those who hate God.

Additionally, this grass would not help anyone who was harvesting. the reaper would not be able to harvest anything from this grass. Nor could the one binding the sheaves find anything to bind from this grass. In essence, the reaper and the binder would be ineffective. This is the plea of the psalmist. God will make His enemies ineffective.

Finally, the psalmist indicates that the enemies of God would not receive the blessings which others usually would put forth to others. They are not blessed. Since the psalm ends on this issue, one could place this side-by-side with the previous psalm and see a comparison of those who are blessed by God and those who are not. Perhaps that is the point of this psalm.

I am not sure about a song we know today which captures the point of this psalm. There are not many hymns which sings about God's retribution on those who live their lives independent of them. However, the other side of that coin is the issue of God's deliverance of this people. Thus, perhaps "He Hideth My Soul" would then be appropriate. I will tentatively post it as this psalm's modern equivalent until a better one is brought to my attention (click here to listen).

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God
For such a Redeemer as mine!

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love
I’ll shout with the millions on high.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

When We Walk With the Lord...

2008-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Since I received such a rousing response to my question regarding feedback about this blog, as you can see from the comments posted on the previous post, I will nevertheless continue in my study of the Psalms of Ascents since it is, as the very least, somewhat therapeutic for me.

In the last post, I noted that Psalm 127 seemed to be the pivotal point of these 15 psalms. This does not mean that Psalms 128-134 all spiral down into despair. Instead, it seems there is a shift of focus in the last half of these psalms than from the first half. The first seven Psalms of Ascent seem to about the anticipation of going to Jerusalem, the praise of being there, and worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even though there are aspects of lament and supplication in these first seven psalms, the major thrust seems upbeat.

Starting in Psalm 128, the Psalms of Ascent seem to go another direction. Playing off the last half of 127, Psalm 128 is concerned about the family and spiritual health of his people. In Psalm 129-132, the psalmist cries out to God about different concerns he has (we will address them as we continue on through our study).

I am not sure if this shift in focus is correct, but it seems like the tone changes after 127. Any insights on this would be helpful. Nevertheless, lets look at Psalm 128.

Read Psalm 128 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

I am really struggling on an outline for this psalm. I am getting closer but I really need help with this. If you are reading this, please put your two-cents in.

Still working on a title

I. Personal Blessings (1-4) ??
A. Our work will be blessed (2)
B. Our families will be blessed (3)
1. They will be prosperous (3a)
2. They will be stable (3b)
C. Certainty of blessing (4) ??

II. Spiritual Blessings (5-6) ??
A. God will bless you wherever you go (5a) ??
B. The worship of God will continue (5b)??
C. The people of God will be whole (6) ??

This outline needs serious help but I thought I would post it in its current form to get help and to show the development of thought. The main thing I am struggling with is the two main points. It seems obvious to me that the psalm has two main thoughts: the blessings one has when you live a life obedient to God and the thoughts about Zion, Jerusalem, and Israel. This second set is harder to nail down a thought which encapsulates what the author is saying. I will cover that in a minute.

I summed up the first thought with "Personal Blessings." Verse one is clearly tells the qualification of these blessings. When a person walks in God's ways, lives a life habitually obedient to God and His Word, then God will bless that person. It should always be in the forefront of one's mind that the psalms are not promises. This may put a bur under someone's saddle but that is the case, nonetheless. Therefore, this is the psalmist saying a lot of the time, when a person walks with the Lord, that person will experience these blessings. It goes without saying that a single person who is walking with the Lord, will not have a spouse or children, but they will still be blessed. However, this psalm refers to these things. This does not nullify the blessings for anyone who walks obediently.

The first blessing the psalmist mentions is that the work of one's hands will be productive, satisfying, and will be enjoyed. He continues to move from work to family. He says one's wife will be fruitful like a vine. Many will say this has to do with bearing children, but it has more a thrust of a Proverbs 31 woman. One who is industrious and does whatever is necessary to provide for her family. Staying with the theme of family, the author says that the children of one who is faithful will be like olive plants. This is a picture of stability. When olive trees are young, they do not produce fruit. When an olive tree ages to about 14 to 15 years old, it begins to produce fruit and can continue to do so for an extremely long time. One who faithfully obeys the Lord will be blessed with children who will be stable and produce fruit for a long time. Again, this is not a promise but a condition that usually is the case. He finishes this section by restating what he did in verse one, these blessings are for those who revere the Lord (4) and thus live in accordance to His ways (1).

The next section moves into a spiritual realm of blessings. It may be this is not personal blessings but more communal blessings. However, verse 5 does not indicate a communal aspect (maybe you can convince me otherwise). He begins to pray that Lord will bless his reader from Zion. The issue here is that God's presence was understood to be in the temple on Mount Zion and blessings would be issued out from there. This indicates that wherever the faithful would travel, God would bless them from Zion. It is more about the source of blessing then where the person receiving the blessing is located.

Second, the psalmist prays that the reader would see Jerusalem prosper all the days of his life, and he prays that the reader would live a long, long life. He is praying for the city which was the center of worship for his people. There is a direct relationship between the welfare of Jerusalem the the welfare of the worship of God. If Jerusalem was doing well, then the worship of Yahweh was doing well. If Jerusalem was ransacked and the enemy had taken residence, then not only was the author's worship interupted, but the entire people's worship had stopped. Thus, he prayed for Jerusalem so that the worship of God would continue. The first half of verse six is part of this request. If the reader would see Jerusalem prosper all the days of his life, then the psalmist is also asking God to let the reader live a long life.

Finally, the psalmist asks for the peace of Israel. "Peace" here is the word "Shalom" and it means much more than "lack of war." It connotes the issues of "completeness, wholeness, wellness, peace." In short, the psalmist is praying for the well-being of those who worship the one true God. He not only wants the worship of Yahweh to prosper (above) but he wants the worshippers of Yahweh to be well, too.

As I say at the end of all these posts, any suggestions you give would not only help me, but would also help many who have been looking at and reading through the Psalms of Ascents posts.

As with the rest of these particular psalms, I have been trying to match a song we sing today which would relay the same heart as the psalmist for that individual psalm. The Baptist Hymnal uses Psalm 128:1 for the basis of the hymn "Would You Bless Our Homes and Families," but I do not know that hymn. When I think of this psalm, the hymn "Trust and Obey" comes to mind. The psalm begins by essentially saying, "if you trust and obey the Lord, then He will bless you." This is the same message of this hymn (click here to listen).

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Book Review: How to Read Literature Like a Professor

2008-09-17T06:03:00.001-07:00

Have you ever read a story or watched a movie and knew something more was going on than what you were reading or seeing on the surface? Have read a popular fiction book and thought it seemed awfully familiar but you convinced yourself you were reading too much into it. Have you watched Pleasantville or The Truman Show and wondered just what the director wanted to convey? If you have and you want to become better at reading between the lines, I have recently finished a book which you should enjoy.

The book is entitled How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster of the University of Michigan at Flint (New York: Harper Collins, 2003). Foster must be a fantastic professor because the book easily guides the reader along different themes which convey a deeper meaning than at first glance and teaching the reader great insights without sounding like a textbook. His easy and humorous style make the book easy to comprehend and keeps it from being intimidating. It was a fun read.

In twenty-six short chapters, he enlightens the reader to this new world of symbolism, metaphor, and authorial intent (kind of). After these chapters, he presents a test case with which the reader can test what he or she has learned from the book. As a good instructor, he asks questions of the students understanding and then asks the students to compare their insights with his. For what is essentially “homework” is was quite fun.

Some of the chapters which really helped me was the chapters which spoke of the literary connotations of rain (10), the Christ figure (14), sex (16 and 17), and then the issue of irony in literature (26). The test case (27) was a nice touch for the book. I also appreciated Foster’s Reading List found in the Appendix.

There was some things I did not care for in the book. For one thing, Foster cites a lot of books (as well he should) to prove his point and as he does, it feels like he is consistently showing me how little I am well-read. This is not his fault as I am sure he must read and enjoys reading these books he mentioned. Most the books I have to read for my classes and enjoy reading for my self are non-fiction and if one attempts to go deeper than what the author is saying, then one is really distorting the book. Nevertheless, when he cites these books, he does a fantastic job with telling the reader who has never heard of these books why he is using them. In fact, there are several, after he explained his point, which I will want to pick up and read for myself.

Additionally, I did not find the chapter on Sonnets all that helpful, but again, that is not Fosters fault. I just do not read much poetry. This is because I do not understand poetry. Which may be because I do not read poetry. Anyway…the Sonnet chapter really did nothing for me.

I appreciate the fact that Foster did make brief mention of movies. I have been able to see things in movies that are deeper than the surface more than I have in literature. In fact, because of this post, I may post on this later. I have not been that observant with literature. This may be because 1) I do not read that much fiction and 2) I just have not been actively looking. After reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor, you can be sure that the next fiction book I read will be slowly reading through the rainstorm, or really looking at that road in the book, or wondering why the character has that particular illness. Who knows, maybe I will see something which will make the story even better.

2T22 Rating

Anyone There?

2008-09-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in a week but have not forgot our study through the Psalms of Ascents. However, I was hoping for some feedback before I moved forward with more on these special psalms.

Has any of the posts on the Psalms of Ascents helped you in some way? Maybe helped you in a preparation of a bible study or sermon? Or helped you in your personal study? Do you have any suggestions on the outlines which would help others?

If you are just stopping by, but found these posts helpful or even a little interesting, I would appreciate a quick post to share that.

I am not trying to be self-serving. After all, we all could use a little encouragment every now and then.

Vanity and Children...but Not Related Topics

2008-08-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

The next psalm in our journey through the Psalms of Ascents is interesting. It is found in the exact middle of the fifteen ascent psalms. It is the only one of the fifteen written by Solomon. There are seven psalms before it (120-126), two of which were written by David and five which are anonymous. After Psalm 127, there are seven psalms, two of which were written by David and five of which are anonymous. With the Hebrew propensity for chiasms (see here, here, here, and here), and the symmetry that appears to be here, the psalm may be the high point of the Psalms of Ascents. It is not perfect but close enough to take a minute to examine it.

120
121 David
   122
      123
         124 David
            125
               126
                  127 Solomon
               128
            129
         130
      131 David
   132
133 David
134

Additionally, the psalm seems to be a bit different in that it seems to address two different issues in the psalm: The vanity of life without the Lord, and children.

Read Psalm 127 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my working outline. Once again, I would love any suggestions which may improve the flow of thought in this outline. This outline needs much improvement.

Still Working on a Title

I. Vanity (1-2)
A. Vain labor - unless the Lord builds
B. Vain watching - unless the Lord guards

still working on #C.
C. Vain vigilance - because the Lord gives in sleep
C. Vain to do anything - unless the Lord gives

II. Children (3-4)
A. Children are a gift
B. Children are a defense
C. Children are a blessing

Many people want to make this whole psalm about family. I am not sure the context will allow that. Granted, when the Hebrew author wrote about a "house", as in verse 1, it could mean a literal house or a house as in "family" or even "dynasty." However, the rest of verse one speaks of guarding a city and verse three speaks of work. I am not sure each of these could be figurative for family. It is interesting to note that verse three talks about God "giving" during sleeping and then the next verse says that children are a "gift." Perhaps this is the connection between the two sections of this psalms. However, unlike the previous psalms in this study (120-126, so far), this does not seem to have a unifying theme through the psalm. In that, it is very much like the proverbs, most of which are attributed to Solomon, just like this psalm.

As for explanation of the outline, I think verse one is somewhat self-explanatory. If a person builds or a person guards, and thinks they are doing it in their own power, they are gravely mistaken. It may be human work that builds a building phyiscally but it is God who give the strength to do so, the resources to be able to, the weather which does not blow it down, and on and on. A guard may think he is protecting the city but it is actually the Lord doing so.

Verse 2 give the idea that it is vain to do anything without the Lord. The idea of rising early and going to bed late means when we rise, when we go to bed, and everything inbetween. In fact, even when we are sleeping, God is at work. We sometimes believe that we can do great things and accomplish fantastic tasks. The fact of the matter is, anything good we have done is becasue the Lord has allowed it and He should get the credit. These versed do not discount human effort, but indicate that without the Lord's intervention, it is vain.

The topic shifts to that of children. The real issue in this section is verse 4. The question is, "How are children like arrows?" When dealing with Hebrew poetry, it is good to let the image sink in for a while. What do we think of when we think of arrows? They are long-range weapons and are not used for hand-to-hand combat. In fact, they were used for defense. The archers would not be the on the frontline but would fire a curtain of defense for those fighting on the battle front.

This is like children to those who are aged. The phrase about the "gate" in verse 5 points to the place where legal issues would be taken up with the city's leaders. If someone had wronged you, you could go to the city's gate and plead your case. If you had children, they would go with you and stand behind you to back you up, much like archers would. They would take up your defense and fight with you. Thus, they are blessing to have.

I am not sure of a song from today which would capture the heart of this psalm because this psalm seems to have two "hearts." If anyone has any insight to this, please post so we can all benefit from it.

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 8.27.08

2008-08-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

"...Barak Obama, the son of a black man from Kenya, and a white man from Kansas."

Terry Moran, from ABC's Nightline

Remember the Great Acts of God - Addendum

2008-08-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I was working with Psalm 126. This post is an expansion of verses 5-6 of this psalm.

Read Psalm 126 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

The context of this passage is the return of the Israelites from captivity. When they returned to Jerusalem and the promise land, they had to start again. Being an agricultural society, planting seed was of primary importance because they needed food. These farmers weep while sowing in remembrance of the good life before the Babylonian captivity. Sowing is hard work and starting over is never easy. These Israelites had to trust God completely to bless them. They released everything they owned, their seeds, and planted it in the ground. After that, it was up to God to bless them with a great harvest. And that is the promise given here.

Many want to relate this verse to the parable of the soils that Jesus told (Matt 13:1-9, 37-43; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). However, the force of the verse is closer to Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (NASB). This certainly does include evangelism, but it includes so much more.

A loss of a job may be sown in tears but reliance upon God during the time of uncertainty reaps shouts of joy. A child going their own rebellious way brings weeping but when reconciliation with the Lord occurs it comes with rejoicing. A passing of a precious believer may bring sorrow to those left behind but if one comes to the Lord through the witness of the life that deceased loved one there will be sheaves of joy, even in heaven (Luke 15:10).

The Christian can rejoice that whatever valley they are going through, whatever calamity has been brought upon them, whatever it is in their life that has been sown with weeping and tears, God will bring about a joyful harvest. And ultimately, believers, with a "shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" will enter into God presence.

What in your life today can you identify as being "sown in tears?" Trust God during this difficult time. He will bring about a joyful harvest.

Remember the Great Acts of God

2008-08-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

(See the addendum to this post here)

I have been blogging recently on the Psalms of Ascents and hoping that my posts on them will firm up some of my outlines. I also hope that others will contribute to the process and provide suggestions which will improve the outlines and provide a great skeleton for teaching through these psalms.

To briefly sum up where we have been so far, the psalmist travels to Jerusalem (120-122). He begins his worship by asking God for mercy, praising God for His help in the past, and about the relationship they have currently (123-125). In the next psalm, Psalm 126, the psalmist now remembers how the Lord brought them back to Jerusalem and requests that the Lord will restore them to what they once were.

Read Psalm 126 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is my working outline. It really needs improved so any suggestions anyone could give, please post those in the comments. I know that many will be helped by it (I have notices a little more traffic coming to the posts regarding these psalms so you will be helping many other pastors by posting your thoughts):

Still Looking for a Title

I. Past rescue/redemption (1-3)
A. Too good to be true/Astonishment (1)
B. Rejoicing (2b)
C. Noctice by others/Noticable (2b)
D. Gratitude (3)

II. Present Request for Restoration (4)

II. Future Blessing/Rejoicing (5-6)
A. Sow in tears -> Reap joyful shouting
B. Weeping with bag -> joy with sheaves

One of the reasons I have waited so long between posts is because the incompleteness of these outlines. They really need some serious work, but I thought I could post these and maybe we could get a dialogue going to hone them a bit.

The first three verses is an obvious "flashback" to a time when God brought the people back to Jerusalem. It seems that this is a reference to the Babylonian exile but it could be a reference to the Exodus from Egypt. The issue for me is the term "brought back." While the Exodus did bring the people back to the land Jacob lived in before they moved to Egypt, the fact is they were there 400 years and everyone who came out of Egypt had never lived in the promised land. However, they were only in Babylon 70 years and many of the people remember what living in Judah was like. Additionally, the context (especially verse 4) indicates the psalmist is referring to captivity. While they were slaves in Egypt, they were not captured. They moved there and eventually became slaves. Babylon came and captured them. However, this is really not the main point of this psalm or this section.

The point is, the psalmist is remembering a past rescue God preformed for His people. The psalmist expresses his emotions concerning this act. It was like a dream, they would have never imagined it. They laughed and laughed and shouted with joy. It was such a marvelous act, the lost nations even commented on the great things their God did for them. They just were glad that God had done so many great things for them.

The remembrance of these past acts of God prompts the psalmist to petition God for restoration. He asks God to restore the people to what they were before they were taken captive. The simile used here is that of the seasonal wadis found in southern part of Israel. In the months of little rain, these streams will completely dry up and there will be nothing remaining but a ravine where the water once ran. In the spring, when the rains come again, the streams will fill up again, some almost immediately (if you can find a video clip of this, you should watch it because it is pretty amazing how fast and furious these streams become one the rain begins).

Finally, the psalmist declares his faith in God's activity to bring about the restoration of his people. To 21st-century believers who have both the Old and New Testament at their disposal, and who are familiar with Jesus' parable of the soils, it is easy to read a message of evangelism in these verse. However, these verses speak about broader issues than just evangelism. I will post more about this tomorrow because these two verses deserve a little closer look. The point here is that when God's people returned to the promise land from their captivity, there was sorry for what they had lost (tears, weeping). However, the psalmist is looking forward to the time when God will restore them to what He wants them to be (joyful shouting, shouts of joy).

I think the believer can walk away with from this psalm thinking about the great things God has done for us in the past, the most amazing being salvation. These thing, when recounted, can really astound us at how great God really is. But in times of trouble, or doubt, or struggles, we cry out to God for restoration. And we place our faith in the goodness of God that even though we may be crying now because of our tough circumstances, God will use it for His glory and our refinement.

Calvin said, "The reason why so many examples of the grace of God contribute nothing to our profit, and fail in edifying our faith, is, that as soon as we have begun to make them subjects of our consideration, our inconstancy draws us away to something else, and thus at the very commencement, our minds lose sight of them." Remembering the past acts of God will strengthen our faith as we go through or are coming out of troubled times. If God is has been faithful in the past, and God does not change, then He will be faithful in the present and in the future. We can count on it.

As I have been posting for this psalm, the hymn "Count Your Blessings" has been coming to mind. Perhaps, this hymn conveys the mindset of the psalmist (click to listen).

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

I Have Found a Friend in Jesus

2008-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

In our series of the Psalms of Ascents, we come to psalm 125. to recap briefly, the psalmist travels to Jerusalem (120-122). He begins his worship by asking God for mercy (123) and then recounting how God has been the source of their help in the past (124). In this psalm (125), he sings about the current relationship he has with the Lord.

Read Psalm 125 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is the tentative outline I developed for this psalm. As always, please send feedback. I think they always can be improved. I would like the flow of thought to be better than this. This is just the initial thoughts.

Our Relationship with God

I. A relationship with God provides...(1-2)
A. Stability (1)
B. Protection (2)

II. Warning to those who have a relationship with God. (3)
A. God's people do not have control over this land (3a).
B. God's people should not be tempted to do evil (3b).

III. Holiness is expected of those who have a relationship with God. (4-5)
A. Prayer for the good
B. Warning for the bad

I want to give some of the thought process of my outline briefly. In verses 1-2, the psalmist uses geographical analogies to communicate a truth about the people of God. First, he mentions Mount Zion. This is by no means the highest "mountain" in Jerusalem and is in fact more a hill (I live in Colorado so I may be biased). The point of using Mount Zion is it permanency. Mount Zion was the temple mount and was the center of the Jewish religious system and the center of religious activity in the future (Rev. 14:1, for example). The use of this imagery is to show how God's people are stable in Him. He makes them like Mount Zion: permanent, stable.

The next geographical analogy used is the mountains which surround Jerusalem (although probably still hills by Colorado standards). Here, instead of the analogy being used to describe His people, the picture is used to describe God. His people are like little Mount Zion but God is like those big mountains which surround Jerusalem and protect it from attack. The Lord gives His people protection.

In the next point, point II, there are two warnings given in this psalm. The first half of verse 3 indicates that those that do not trust in God (the wicked) are in control of lands around Jerusalem (septer) but will not rest on the land of God's people. The point here is that in this world, there are evil people who are leaders around the world (most call them politicians) :-) God's people are not in control of this world. While God is ultimately in control of all things, He has temporarily given authority of this world over to Satan. This is a warning to God's people. This world is not home.

The second warning comes in the last half of verse 3: the reason the wicked's septer will not reach the land of God's people is so they will not be tempted to do wrong things. The warning is that God's people should not be tempted to do evil in this world. If the wicked are in charge, they may tempt God's people to engage in behavior and activities which would defile them. Becare, the psalmist says, to not let this happen.

The last two verses, making up point III, are pretty self-explanatory: the psalmist is praying that God will do good to those who are faithful to Him (those who do good) and he is warning those who live as they want (who turn aside to their crooked ways) that God will punish them. In short, the Lord expects holiness (upright in their hearts) from those who are to be in relationship with him.

I think this message is would be a great message for new believers and matures believers, alike. A relationship with God through Christ will bring us stability and protection. However, that does not mean that this life will be easy. Those who are lost are in control for now but we must not be tempted to live like them. Instead, God expects holiness from us. Any Christian could benefit from a reminder like this.

As I was thinking about a song from today which captures the essence of this psalm, my mind when to "The Lily of the Valley" (click to listen) because it tells how we are in relationship with God through Christ and that in temptation he helps us stay pure.

I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
He tells me every care on Him to roll.

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tower;
I have all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
From my heart and now He keeps me by His power.
Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal.

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
While I live by faith and do His blessèd will;
A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessèd face,
Where the rivers of delight shall ever roll.

He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.

Whose Side is God On?

2008-08-12T06:00:00.001-07:00

Psalm 124 is the fifth psalm of those labels "Psalms of Ascent." After traveling and making it to Jerusalem (120-122), the psalmist begins his worship of God (123), which is why he came to Jerusalem in the first place. In this psalm, he is continuing that worship by recounting how God has helped His people in the past.

Read Psalm 124(NASB, NIV, KJV)

Here is the outline I developed for this psalm. I am happier with this outline than the previous two, but I would still love some comments on them. I would especially like to hear suggestions on making the sub-points of II alliterated. :-)

The Lord is on Our Side

I. God is on the side of His people (1-2)

II. God keeps His people from being... (3-7)
A. Swallowed (3)
B. Drowned (4-5)
C. Prey (6)
D. Snared (7)

III. God helps His people (8)

A somewhat simple outline with a great message. In today's world, it is popular for the lost to say things like "God is not on anyone's side" or "God does not pick sides" but this is just not the truth. God IS on the side of those who have placed their faith in Christ and are called His people.

How many times have we felt like we have been swallowed by some problem overtaking us. Or that we are drowning in the issues of everyday life. How often do we feel like we have become prey to those who would want to harm us because we carry the name of Christ. Or that someone is trying to snare us, to cause us to fall and do harm to the name of our God. God keeps us from this. If you doubt this, read 1 Corinthians 10:13, where it says that God temptation to overcome us (and that would include the temptation to lose faith in God in the midst of trying circumstances).

I think a hymn that captures the essence of this psalm may be "God Will Take Care of You" (click to listen).

Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, over all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, over all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

All you may need He will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you.

God will take care of you,
Through every day, over all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.

No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
God will take care of you.

Finding Mercy

2008-08-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

The fourth psalm in the Psalm of Ascents is psalm 123. To recap our travel through our series of the Psalms of Ascents, it begins with the psalmist desiring to go to his true home (ps. 120). It continues with the psalmist praising God for His protection during the journey to Jerusalem (ps. 121). He reaches Jerusalem and praises God for the great things he finds there (ps. 122). In this next, brief psalm, we find the psalmist in Jerusalem and beginning to do what he traveled there to do: worship Yahweh. To begin this worship experience, he asks for God to send His mercy.

Read Psalm 123 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

Because this is such a short psalm, the outline is also short. It is still a rough draft and I really do not like it much but here is what I have.

God is the Giver of Mercy

I. We depend on God's mercy (1-2)

II. We desire God's mercy (3-4)

First, I really need a new title. Actually, I really do not need a title at all but I have been trying to title my sermons for the purpose of summarizing what I going to speak about. If anyone has a thought about a better title PLEASE post it so we can all see it.

Second, it is obvious in the first two verse that the psalmist is talking about his dependency on God for mercy. Verse two is not about the servants looking to their master for orders, but instead looking to them for the necessities of life. The psalmist uses these to show how we desperately need God to give us mercy because it cannot be found anywhere else.

The last two verses of the psalm shows the psalmist desire for that mercy. Because others (namely the proud, who depend on no one for anything) have attacked us (ridiculed and hold contempt for us) we need God's mercy to get through.

It seems to me that this psalm also is like stairs step:

I look to God in heaven (v. 1.)
   until he shows us mercy (v. 2)
        because we have endured much contempt (v. 3)
                from the arrogant (v. 4)

This also could also be an outline for this text. Any help with these outlines would be great.

I love the message of this little psalm: "God is the only place for me to find mercy and I need that mercy greatly."

I still need a "modern" song with which to end this sermon. The first song of thought of (with the help of my wife) was "Mercy Came Running" by Phillips, Craig and Dean, but since I do not not agree with their doctrine, I am hesitant to use this song thinking that someone may see that as endorsing them. Then I thought of the hymn, "At the Cross" where the chorus says, "Mercy there was great, and grace was free...Pardon there was multiplied to me...There my burdened soul found liberty...at Calvary." That may be the right one. Any suggestions?

I will have to update this one later as I continue to work on it.

When We All Get To Heaven

2008-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing my series on the fifteen Psalms which are entitled "Psalms of Ascents," I will be looking at Psalm 122 today. This is the third psalm in this series (you can read my previous posts on 120 and 121 here). In the first psalm of the series, 120, the author communicated a dissatisfaction with living in a foreign place and he longed to go to his true home. The psalm 121 the psalmist wrote about the dangers of traveling to his true home but his God watched over him to keep him safe until he arrived. This next psalm seems to indicate that the traveler made it and rejoices that he is now home.

Read Psalm 122 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

The psalmist essentially tells of the things which he is happy to experience now that he is home. i realize that this was written by an ancient Jew happy to be arriving in Jerusalem, but it seems to me there is some correlation here to a Christian arriving in the heavenly Jerusalem. Here is the sermon (this is still rough - any suggestions you may have to improve it would be greatly appreciated):

When We All Get to Heaven

I. We will experience joy (1-2)
A. Joy from the community in getting there (1)
B. Joy at arriving there (2)

II. We will experience unity (3-5)
A. Unity does not mean uniformity (4)
B. Unity does not mean licentiousness (5)

III. We will experience peace (6-9)
A. The peace that comes from security (6-7)
B. The peace that comes from prosperity (8-9)

I think I probably need to give a rationale for some of my thoughts here. I think the information in point I is probably self-explanatory (if you would like some explanation, just post a comment here and I will happy to respond).

Point II may not be as clear. The psalmist begins in verse 3 by saying that Jerusalem is a city which is compact. We must interpret this no in a Western Post-modern way but in a Ancient Near-eastern way. In today's understanding a city closely compacted together usually brings irritation, crime, rudeness, and many other things which are the antipathy of unity. However, in the psalmist day, a city closely compacted was safe and gave strength in numbers against an attacking enemy. The psalmist was speaking of the unity he felt when entering Jerusalem.

Then in verse 4, he mentions how the different tribes of the Lord all come up and worship in the same manner. The point is, though the twelve tribes of Israel were all different and had their own little quirks, and sometimes they fought amongst themselves, they came together to worship the Lord. There was diversity among the people of God and yet there was unity among the people of God. This produces the sub-point A: Unity is not uniformity.

Yet in balance with the diversity of the tribes, verse 5 mentions the thrones of David, where judgments were rendered. It seems the psalmist is saying that even though there is diversity and unity, this does not mean anything goes. There is still law, and still judgments to be rendered and when all the people come together they acknowledge this. Thus, while there is unity, there is not a licence to live contrary to God's will. Unity is not licentiousness.

Finally, in point III, the issue of peace is brought up. In these four verses (6-9) the word "peace" is mentioned three times. The psalmist wants peace (wholeness, completeness, Shalom) in Jerusalem. For the ancient jew, this is somewhat literal. No more wars and no more fighting amoung themselves; a wholeness for the people of God. To the Christian, peace is found through Christ and Christ alone. However, the peace we will find in heaven must be beyond anything we can fathom in this physical world.

The psalmist finds peace from the walls of Jerusalem which keeps the enemies out. In short, he finds peace through security. Second, he seems to indicating that he finds peace through the prosperity of Jerusalem. PLEASE NOTE: I am not referring to the prosperity that the charlatans called prosperity preachers are talking about. I am talking about how well off we will be in heaven. I do not expect to live like a king on this earth. I am, however, a child of the King of everything and will be living with him forevermore. I do not know how much more prosperous one could get.

In keeping with my practicing of assigning a "modern" song to each of these psalms, the obvious choice for me was used in the title: the hymn "When We All Get to Heaven" (click to listen).

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace.
In the mansions bright and blessèd
He’ll prepare for us a place.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

I am so Proud of Her

2008-08-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned my brothers on my blog but I am not done. My sisters are also amazing women doing great things.

My sister Audra is the coordinator for Smart Start of Bulter County (Kansas), which provides multiple areas of service and advocacy for families in that part of Kansas (Audra, if I have this wrong, let me know and I will change it). Here is her website:

Smart Start of Butler County

And here is her picture. You should click here, and then email and tell her that her brother is bragging on her.

Oh...and here are a couple of pictures of her dogs, Gracie and Georgie. Gracie is the older, white dog. Audra just got her new puppy, Georgie, who is the smaller, brown dog. I think the pictures tell the whole story (click pictures for larger image).

Love ya, Audra.

My Help Comes from the Lord - Addendum

2008-08-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I wrote about Psalm 121 and gave an outline (please read that post before moving on with this post). I have adapted this outline to make the flow of thought a little more easy. Here is the new outline and then I will share my rationale.

My Protector Watches Over Me

I. My protector is the Creator (1-2)

II. My protector is omniscient (3-4)
     A. He keeps me from slipping (3)
     B. He does not sleep (4)

III. My protector is omnipotent (5)

IV. My protector is omnipresent (6-8)
     A. No matter the time (6)
     B. No matter the situation (7)
     C. No matter the place (8)

The first point is the same in both the previous post and in this one so I will not comment on it here.

Second, one may balk at the use of these theological terms but I think first it will give the pastor/teacher an opportunity to teach these theological truths that EVERY Christian should understand and be able to communicate. Yes, the teacher could use "All-knowing", "All-powerful", and "All-places" in these points, but I do not think we should dumb-down our sermons. We should teach those entrusted to our care what they need to know. If the critics will use these theological terms (and they will) then Christians should be able to know what they mean.

Thirdly, I do not think these are "forced" in as they may first appear. For point II, "omniscient" is communicated, I feel, for his stating that God will not let his foot to slip and God does not sleep. God knows the obstacles coming on the path and helps the author miss them. Even when the psalmist is sleeping, God is watching. He always knows what is going on. The theological term for this is omniscience. What peace comes from knowing our God knows all that will come along our path!

Also, omnipotent is understandably used here as well. Verse 5 speaks of God is the shade on our right hand. First, the right hand poetic for power. Second, shade indicates that something is between the speaker and the sun, namely, God. This is all poetic language to indicate that the psalmist's power is really Gods power. God fights for him. An enemy steps in front of the psalmist and then God steps in between them, casting a shadow over the psalmist.

(RABBIT TRAIL - Sometimes in a Western Post-Modern mindset, shade or a shadow is a bad thing - cold, dark, mysterious. In an Ancient Near-eastern mindset, a shadow is relief from the sun in a place with no air conditioners. It is shade and relief).

The psalmist is singing about God's power and how that helps in in times of trouble. What encouragement comes from knowing that God is not only powerful, but ALL-powerful! He is omnipotent.

Finally, the term omnipresent was used because the psalmist spoke of the circumstances in which God saves. God will protect from the sun during the day and the moon at night. This is a poetic device named "Merismus," which lists the extremes to make the point that whatever being talked about is the extremes AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.. One of these was used in verse 2, "maker of heaven and earth." THis means God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in them, under them, over them, and, in short, everything. In verse 6, the psalmist here mentions the day and night. This means God is watching all day. We would say 24-7. No matter the time, God is watchinging over you.

Next, the psalmist says God protects from all evil. No matter what evil is going on around you, God is watching over you.

Finally, the psalmist says your coming and your going: another merism. Not only when you come and not only when you go, but anywhere you go.

Anytime, any circumstance, any place. The theological term for this is omnipresence. What encouragement we should have knowing that God is with us everywhere we go!

It is these thoughts which bring to mind the song, "His Eye is on the Sparrow" (see previous post). Our God watches over us. He protects us. And this is all because He loves us.

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 7.22.08

2008-07-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Dan Scarlton...AWAY!

Dan Scarlton, a character from the FUGE video about "Adventure Now" which my nieces showed me.

Don't Worry...It's Not Me. It's My Brother

2008-06-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

My brother is running for reelection in Greenwood County, Kansas. If you are there during voting time, remember to vote early and vote often.

Just Over One Year

2008-06-17T22:08:00.001-07:00

Last June, I began this blog. I have posted more regularly than I thought I would. I am wondering if anyone has benefitted from anything posted.

I began tracking hits through ClusterMaps (see to the right) beginning June 22, 2007. Here is a map of the hits for the last year up to today. (Click the picture to see a larger image or click the map on the right side of the screen)

Granted, many of these hits are just people who pop on the blog, see it is some religious site, and then get out of there as fast as they can. However, it is still amazing to think that many people have at least hit my little ol' blog.

I have put a quiz over on the right side of screen about your favorite type of article that shows up on this blog. Let me know what you think as I prepare for another year of mindless yammering.

Rob and His Tree

2008-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, May 29, I drove my mom and my daughter to Lawrence, Kansas to up keep my brother's memorial tree. My brother, Rob, passed away May 2, 1994 and instead of being buried in a graveyard, his memorial is a tree at the public library in Lawrence. We went up and clean out the weeds and overgrowth and then planted new flowers. Since he worked in the reference area, they called him "Robbie Reference." Here is some pictures of Rob's tree.

Here is his obituary:

Robert P. Kenneson Jr., 31, of Lawrence died at his home Monday, May 2, 1994. Services were scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at the Lawrence Public Library.

He was born Nov. 2, 1962 in Akron, Ohio to Robert P. Kenneson Sr., and Joan M. Hoch Kenneson of Eureka. He graduated from El Dorado High School, the Automotive & Electrice Institute in 1981, and attended Kansas State University. He worked for a design and landscape company in Kansas city, Kan., Pence Garden Center in Lawrence, and in April 1991 he began working at the Lawrence Public Library as a reference clerk.

Survivors include: parents, Joan & Robert Kenneson Sr. of Eureka, grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kenneson of Coleville, Pa., brothers, Rory of El Dorado, Rolland of Colorado Springs, Colo., sisters, Angela Hoyt of Cassoday, Audra Kenneson of Eureka.

Memorials are to the Lawrence Public Library, Rumsey Funeral Home has the arrangements. (El Dorado Times, May 6, 1994)

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 6.6.08

2008-06-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

All its going to take is your complete cooperation, absolute secrecy, and twenty live turkeys.

Arthur 'Big Guy' Carlson played by Gordon Jump on the Turkeys Away episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

My Help Comes from the Lord

2008-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

(See the Addendum to this post here)

The second Psalm of the Ascents is Psalm 121. Psalm 120 expressed the psalmist dissatisfaction with living where he is at and his longing to go home. It marks the beginning of his journey. Our current psalm, Psalm 121, is about his journey. He has set out and is traveling to Jerusalem. And on his journey, he knows the Lord will keep him safe.

Read Psalm 121 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

The word for "watch" or "keep" is used six time in these eight verses (3, 4, 5, 7-2x's, 8). It is about God watching over his people when they are journeying through life. Here is my rough draft outline:

My Protector Watches Over Me

I. My Protector is the Creator (vv. 1-2).

II. My Protector is Vigilant (vv. 3-4).
     A. He keeps me from slipping (3)
     B. He never sleeps (4)

III. My Protector is Powerful (v. 5).

IV. My Protector is __________ (vv. 6-8).
     A. He watches over me all of the time (6)
     B. He watches over all my life (7)
     C. He watches over me no matter where I am (8)

This sermon, like the one for Psalm 120, should provide the audience with encouragement that, while they are in the middle of the journey, and things may look dangerous, God is one who watches over them, no matter the time or place.

I am struggling with this outline. The most obvious thing above is the phrase for point IV. I want something like "complete" or "comprehensive" but those are not exactly what I am looking for. I am always a sucker for alliteration (it helps me remember as I am preaching and it can really help the audience remember when they walk out the door) so ideally, the last word in each point would begin with the same letter. That is really not necessary, though. I think the title should be stronger - it is a bit elementary. Even the lost will look up to the sky sometimes and say, "someone up there is watching me." Maybe that could be the title?

Again, I covet your input. Am I accurately relaying the text as the author intended? Do you have any suggestions on the outline or the general message of the psalm? Let me know.

As I said in the previous post, I want to end each of these sermons with a song we sing today which captures the idea of what the psalmist was communicating. I will point out, I will not be singing them (that would just be cruel) but reading them. For this psalm, I chose, His Eye is On the Sparrow (click to listen).

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Longing to Go Home

2008-06-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Psalm 120 is the first of the fifteen Psalms which are entitled Psalms of Ascents. There is several debates on how these psalms were used. Most hold that they were sung by those who had to travel to Jerusalem for the different festivals which the men had to be present. Some old Jewish teaching indicates that perhaps the Jewish priest sung one of these psalms on each of the fifteen steps leading up to the temple. However, they were used, they were an important part of the Jewish ritual system and religious life.

Psalm 120 is a great start to these group of songs because it expresses a dissatisfaction with the place the psalmist is currently living. It marks the beginning of their journey and that journey greatly anticipates the arrival at Jerusalem. The psalmist is longing to go home.

Read Psalm 120 (NASB, NIV, KJV)

It strikes me that this is the feeling of the believer as well. How we long to make the journey, so to speak, to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22)! We are so tired of sin and pain and death that we cannot wait to stand in God's presence. This is akin to what the psalmist is writing about.

Understanding that outlining poetry is committing a mile injustice to the material, but also understanding that my intending audience best learns in outline style, I have been working on an outline and I need help completing it. Here is my rough draft:

How to handling living in a sinful world.

I. We face terrible distresses but God answers us. (vs.1)

II. We face deceitful tongues but God saves us. (vv.2-4)

III. We face barbaric enemies but God brings peace. (vv. 5-7)

The whole point of the sermon would be to point out that the psalmist is honest about living in a lost world. It is not a bed of roses. As one commentator put it, "God rescues us from distress but does not preserve us from distress altogether." So the believer should learn some encouraging principles from this sermon regarding the dissatisfaction they experience in this lost world.

I think the phrase "deceitful tongues" and "barbaric enemies" could use some work. I am also wondering if the whole construction gives away "the punch line." That is, in the teaching point, I give God as the answer and thus I am wondering if the teaching is over. I also do not like the "how to" in the title. In fact, I am not thrilled with the title at all. I have come to a standstill but I know I am so close.

I would sure like some input from several people. What do you think? I am abusing the text terribly? Do I need to change the whole direction of the sermon? If you have some suggestions on different phrasing or anything like that, please post them.

I am attempting to finish each on of these psalms of ascents with a song or hymn from our time that captures the same sentiment. I think a song that captures what the author of Psalm 120 is attempting to communicate is old Gospel song, Sweet Beulah Land (click to listen).

I'm kind of homesick for a country
to which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken,
And time won't matter anymore

Beulah Land I'm longing for you,
and someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land... sweet Beulah Land

I'm looking now across that river
to where my faith is gonna end in sight.
There's just a few more days to labor,
Then I'll take, my heavenly flight

Beulah Land I'm longing for you,
and someday on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land, Sweet Beulah land

Mind Cramping - Your Input Needed

2008-06-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have been attempting to develop two sermon series for several weeks now. The first is a series through the book of Haggai. I have been enjoying the study and hope to post some thoughts about it in the next few days.

I have also been attempting to develop sermons from the psalms of ascension (Psalms 120-134). I recently taught through Psalm 119 and thought I should continue through Psalms. I realize it is not the same as preaching through Ephesians, or Genesis, or even Haggai. Hebrew poetry is a challenge, which I why I want to work through it.

As I have been working through these, I have really just cramped up in the brain. I just cannot think through some of these things. I have been praying through the study, I have just sat and read through the passages, and I have come to a standstill, so to speak. So I try to go on to other things and let my mind engage in other activities and then come back to these passages later and still nothing.

Let me be clear, I am obviously finding all kinds of valuable material and great application for sermons. It is, after all, the Word of God and is always alive and profitable. The problem I am having is attempting to find the teachable points needed in a sermon. Granted, I have a somewhat traditional model of preaching and some have issues with that. But my goal, as always, is to faithfully relay the text to the audience with relevant principles for today.

So as I was struggling with these things, my wife told me to post some of my thoughts and have others let me know what they think. So, I will be posting some of my thoughts, outlines, and other things on these passages and I any help you all could give me would be greatly appreciated. Also, if these are useful to you please use them and share them as needed. If you do that, let me know how you used them - just because I am curious.

I think I will begin with the Psalms. However, I will start with the next post. This post is already long and I do not want to combine topics (it is easier to sort when it is only one topic per post, so to speak). So I hope the following posts will help you and I hope you responses will help me.

Blogging....But Not Here

2008-06-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged here for a while but I have been blogging. I started a new blog recording my new hobby. You will have to read it to find out what I have been up to...not that you do not have any thing better to do.

Click Here to read my other blog: A Turn of Events. Or you can click the link to the right.

I will get back to these things but I am having fun playing right now.

Book Review: The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching

2008-05-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

I recently completed The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching: Connecting the Bible to People edited by Keith Willhite and Scott Gibson. This is an older book I found on a discount shelf and read through pretty quick. It is essentially a compliation of chapters by different authors all to honor Haddon Robinson, who is one of my favorite teachers. In Robinson’s book Biblical Preaching (a must read for all preachers), he puts forth an idea he calls “The Big Idea.” In short, the Big Idea is the one message the author of the text is communicating. With this concept, Robinson declares several things: we can truly know what a biblical text is communicating; every biblical text may have many applications but only one interpretation; when preaching a text, the pastor must bring out this meaning; and a host of other ideas. It is a revolutionary concept if one has not every thought in this manner before and in our post-modern society, there is a generation of people who have been taught that meaning resides in the reader and not in the text. Thus, Robinson’s principle of the Big Idea is a truly a big idea. Thus the title of the book of this review, The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching, is really a play on words about the concept found in Robinson’s book.

The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching declares the concept of the Big Idea as the best basis for preaching. It begins by revealing to the reader why it is the best way to preach. In short, the various authors say preaching with the Big Idea in mind helps the preacher keep sight of the one thought the biblical author is attempting to communicate with his audience. In doing this, the preacher can confidently declare, “thus saith the Lord.”

The next section of the book helps the bible student understand the Big Idea’s biblical and theological power. The authors do this by explaining how to find the Big Idea when navigating through the different genres of the Old and New Testament. The principles, examples, and outlines shared through this section were helpful and bring to light the importance of preaching what the text brings forth and not what one wants to make the text say.

The book concludes with some helpful chapters on how to communicate a message based on the concept of the Big Idea. They discuss issues like flow of thought, the use of illustrations in the message, and how preaching with passion makes a difference. Each of these topics are handled well and could be very useful to any preacher.

Overall, I think this book is a valuable encouragement for preachers even though it is a decade old. I also think that if one has not read it, Biblical Preaching should be read first. Biblical Preaching is a better “How To” book while The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching will help the bible student further refine the concept of the Big Idea and how to incorporate that into their sermons. It is also the kind of book that would be helpful to reread if one has not read it in a while. Useful to have on a pastor’s bookshelf.

2t22 Rating

Sing It Sister!

2008-05-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

I am not sure who this it is or who her parents are but this little girl has apparently heard The Lord's Prayer sung several times. She does a great job for a 2 year old.

What a cutie!

Book Review: Submerged

2008-05-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

Submerged, by Alton Gansky, is the third book in a series of stories about protagonist Perry Sachs, although I did not know this when I pick it up from the book store. Even though it was the third book, the author did a great job of brief character development so the reader would not feel like he or she missed anything by not reading the first two books. In this installment, Perry travels to Nevada in an adventure to save his dying father and solve a mystery from thirty years earlier.

The story has a feel which Area 51 conspiracy theorists would really enjoy. The characters related to each other well and their dialogue seems relatively believable. The banter between Jack and Gleason is particularly enjoyable. It creates an emotional attachment with these characters.

Essentially, in the early 1970’s, a group of scientists were brought to investigate an underground base which could not have been built by any government on the planet. Thirty years later, these same scientists begin to die by a strange illness. Perry’s father, who was one of those scientists, reveals a secret which begins Perry and his pack of buddies on an adventure that will bring more questions than they ever could have imagined. With the help of some Nevada deputies, and through some confrontation with mysterious military personnel, they experience a life-changing experience.

I really enjoyed the book and drilled through it a couple of days. The whole experience was fun but I did not care for the last chapter. The author attempts to explain what they saw through biblical “eyes” but instead produces, if true, a strange, strange, doctrine about the afterlife (I cannot reveal more than this without giving away the story). The author does have a note at the end of the book explaining that this is a fiction book and the theological points made by the characters are just that – theology by a fiction character.

The story may have been better if I had read the previous two stories about Perry Sachs, and that may have provided me with more investment in the characters. Nevertheless, it was fun and a fast read that can provide you with a nice break from whatever you want distracted from.

2t22 rating:

Hey...That's a Little Creepy

2008-04-14T09:29:00.001-07:00

The other day I logged on to StatCounter.com to see how many people have hit my blog, where they came from, and how they got there. StatCounter is free tracking service that will tell its users some good information about who visits your site. One of the nice pieces of informaiton it provides is how the visitor came to your site. That is, if they performed a search through Yahoo or Google, it will tell you what they were searching for - the purpose of this is to see if your site is providing people for what they are looking for.

Anyway, the other day I noticed that someone from Hong Kong hit my blog. I always am happy to see that people from other countries at least have my blog pop up on their screen (I have no idea how long they stay but at least it crossed their line of sight). I also noticed that they found my sight because they performed a Google search for my name. That's a little unnerving. I do not think I know anyone living in Hong Kong. Who is searching for my name? (Click image to see the entry)

I mean, that is OK. People are allowed to search for whatever they want. But, really, who in Hong Kong knows my name (spelled correctly I might add) and why were they searching for my name? It is just kind of funny, kind of...

If you are the one from Hong Kong searching for me, give me a post here and let me know how I can help you. Unless you mean me harm...then post on Mark's blog.

I'm Back...I Think...

2008-04-11T14:45:00.001-07:00

I have another friend and fellow Baptist that is in the blogisphere now. Check out Don's blog at philetus.blogspot.com. He writes about theological issues and has some original articles also available through his site. Of particular interest is his article on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Done has done much research of the Dead Sea Scrolls over the last couple years and was able to put together an interesting overview of what they are, their history, and their impact for today. I would encourage you to print out his booklet and read through it. If you like, contact him through his blog and let him know how much you liked it.

With Don starting his blog and my friend Mark, continuing to post on his blog, Converging Heritage, I thought, maybe I ought to get in gear and start blogging again. I just have found too many excused to not to.

Things that have kept me from blogging this month:

• Transforming a bedroom into a home office
• Building a website for my friend's business
• Family "stuff"
• "Teaching" an online Philosophy of Religion class for OBU MTI
• Distraction over an up-coming interview at a church
• Laziness
• Company
• Changing the faucet on our kitchen sink
• Church "stuff"
• Games (with the family, on the computer, and online)

Needless to say, I have found a great number of reasons not blog. But, I am going to attempt to get back into the swing of things.

Here is what I plan to blog on in the upcoming weeks (not that I think anyone is greatly anticipating anything I will be blogging on next - this is more for me as a "to-do" list):

• Finish the sermon preparation series
• Post a couple of book reviews
• Random thoughts which have been rolling around in my head during the Philosophy of Religion class.
• Thoughts on bible studies I am going through on my own
• AND, of course, more "the funniest thing I have heard today" - looking for those throughout the day are what keep me sane

"all this and more, coming soon!" That is, unless I find a good excuse to not do it.

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 3.25.08

2008-03-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

tanophobia

Jessica, my daughter, doing what she thought I told her when I told her the fear of Satan is called "Satanophobia."

Eighth: Preach It Man!

2008-03-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

In continuing my series on sermon preparation, the final step is to actually preach the sermon. The most I can say about the actual act of preaching is to pray, pray, pray. God will do the work. It is the preacher's job to prepare and remove himself as much from the sermon as possible so the congregation can hear God as clearly as they can. If the preacher prepared well, then he will not wonder what he will say, or how long it will be, or how the passage will flow. He will know the point of the sermon and not chase rabbits all day and so loose the listener. The sermon will be direct, to the point, and will say what need said using the most efficient amount of words. That is not to say sermons should be short or fast - but they should be long for the simple sake of being long. My philosophy is, "I have something to say from Scripture and I will get up, saying as efficiently as I can and then watch God work." My preaching is the weakest link in that process.

As for some of the more practical or physical issues of preaching, most of the mechanics of public speaking can be applied and it will help the presentation. Here are some things to think about:

1. Talk slow and clearly. You have been thinking about the sermon for quite a while now. When you lay a big theological concept on them, take a second or two to let it sink into their minds. Otherwise, they will park there and miss the next few minutes of what you are teaching. You are not talking as slow as you think you are and your nerves make you talk faster than you think you are. Train yourself to preach at a appropriate pace for the audience.

2. You should be able to out-preach a crying baby. Invariably, there will be a crying kid in your sanctuary. Do not let it rattle you. Just keep preaching. The parents will appreciate that you did not point out that their child was unhappy. If you think that something was missed because of the commotion, just note that the point is too important to miss so you are going to repeat it.

3. Use meaningful gestures and good posture. One of most helpful things I learned from preaching class was the issue of what to do with your hands and how to use meaning gestures. To help us students work on this, we were to video ourselves preaching and then play the video back on high speed. This will magnify any repetitive behavior which can really distract a listener from the message. For example, there were some men in the class who rocked back and forth while they preached. At high speed, they looked like Weeble Woobles. There was another man who lift his arms from his side and put them back down. At high speed, it looked like he was trying to fly. I do not remember having repetitive behavior but I would walk back and forth behind the pulpit but would not let go of the pulpit. As if it was a life raft and if I let go I would drown. As for posture, get your hands out of your pockets. Jingling change while preaching is distracting to the listener. And they will wonder what in the world you got in those pockets. No slouching over the pulpit - it makes one look tired and lazy.

4. People do funny things when listening to sermons. Do not let that distract you. I am not sure what runs though their minds, but people do the weirdest things while preaching. Once, while guest preaching, I looked over at a prominent church leader and he was sitting upright with both hands over his face. His head was not bowed - he was sitting normally as if he was looking and me and listening, he just had both hands over his face. Strange. Recently, when sharing a sermon, I had a man in the crowd shaking his head as if I was way, way off theologically (I was not) and flipping through the pages to apparently find his proof. I have had people just burst out and ask a question about something (that I do not mind at all). There is any number of things that can distract you from what you were saying. Train yourself to stay on track.

5. Preaching is a spiritual exercise and God will work how he wants. Allow me to say, I am not saying preaching is performance. I am saying that if we want to minimize any distraction which would hinder the listener to hear the message, then we need to look at ourselves as well. Do we have distracting habits which would hinder the message? How can we improve the delivery of the message? These points are about attempting to communicate the message as clearly as we can. It has nothing to do with natural ability. I am the world's worst speaker. But there are things I can do to improve and become better at the call God gave me, with His help.

6. Handling compliments. I still do not know how to do handle the comments after the sermon. People will invariably tell you, "That was a good sermon" or something like that. However, we are not want to preach a "good" sermon which people really found entertaining or fun. We want to preach a life changing message which will bring about a change in the relationship between people and their God. When someone compliments one of my sermons, I usually saying something like "I hope it helped" or sometimes just "Thanks." I hate doing that but I think the people 1) are trying to encourage me and 2) do not really know what to say after a challenging sermon. So I am trying to know their heart and hope they know mine.

I will post one more in this series - a summation- and then I will move on to other topics.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

Too Busy to Post

2008-03-24T08:44:00.001-07:00

I have not posted for several days because I have not had the time. I am not complaining as I enjoy having projects I must complete and time lines to work with. I have transformed one of our house's bedrooms into a home office for my wife, I have preached a Wednesday night study for my pastor, I began "teaching" an online Philosophy of Religion class with OBU MTI, and maintained the house while my wife left town on a business trip. Those are the things I can remember.

So, for what it is worth, I just thought I would notify anyone who reads this that I will attempt to begin blogging again. Sorry for the break. I hope someone noticed. :-)

Geekfest 2008...Revisited

2008-03-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I mentioned how I was looking forward to some movies. Well...that was then, this is now. Many of those movies have trailers out and they look fun. Here they are:

Speed Racer

Star Trek: Under Construction

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Batman: The Dark Knight
This is just a tad disturbing so do not watch if you are creeped out easily or are afraid of clowns (the bad guy, after all, is "The Joker").

I could not find the trailers for X-men or Wolverine. But nevertheless, the above movies should be fun to watch. I am a sucker for superhero movies, cartoon-into-live-action movies, and great-books-turned-into-movies movies. Should be a fun summer.

Seventh: Practice

2008-03-11T10:53:00.001-07:00

In the continuation of the series of post regarding sermon preparation, we next turn to the issue of practice. We have worked a lot on this passage (1 Timothy 1:3-11) and have developed a decent sermon so far. The next step I take at this point is practicing delivering the sermon.

Now, first of all, some may have the concept of "practicing" delivering a sermon. I am sure thoughts such as, "If God has anything to do with it, you will not need practice" or "I do not want to practice my sermon, I only want to say what the Holy Spirit wants me to say." While these are valid thoughts, practice does not negate these concepts. In fact, practice can hone the thoughts what God would have you say to the audience to which you are speaking.

In addition to this, public speaking does not come naturally to me. When asked to extemporaneously give speeches or even announcements I have a hard time communicating correctly. I invariably flub some important part or leave out some integral detail. I do not want this happening when I preach. Why would God call someone who is that bad at public speaking to preach? I continual ask Him the same question. I rest on Paul's statements that I am strongest when I am at my weakest and the weak things of the world are what God chooses to work through.

When I practice my sermon, I do just as I would if I was standing before the congregation. I pray over my sermon, although at this time I am praying for God to prepare my heart and the people's heart who will be receiving this message. I am praying for God to show me what exactly He would want me to share with the people. Then I begin. I preach through the material I have prepared. I have a pen with me and when I come to a place that needs work or I feel like something needs added, I make note of it and move on. I also time myself. I want to know how long this message will take to preach through.

Practicing the sermon does several things for me. First, it helps me smooth the rough edges off the sermon. If there are awkward moments in the sermon or transitions that do not seem to flow, I can identify those and work on them.

Second, it helps me memorize my sermon. I know what is coming and do not have to looks at my notes when preaching the sermon. Also, when the sermon is memorized, it helps me live it out when I am running around town. If I am preaching about loving the lost and my sermon notes are running through my mind, I will think about the slow cashier differently (and it may provide a good sermon illustration at the same time).

Third, practicing the sermon helps gets more of "me" out of the sermon. That is, if I am unprepared then the audience gets a lot of me - my thoughts, my mistakes, my misspoken words, etc. Practicing helps minimize the things that may distract the listener from getting the whole message.

Finally, it may help me create a whole new "shape" for the sermon. For example, as I practiced our current sermon on 1 Timothy 1:3-11, I started with an illustration about counterfeiting and how Abraham Lincoln founded the Secret Service. This made me think that perhaps a good way to approach this sermon is something like "God's Secret Service" or "We must be God's Secret Service Agents." Then the main points could be a creative use of that topic. However, I was not able to do that as the time came for me to preach it without having time to "redevelop" the sermon in that manner.

I have one more note about practicing. I want to mention what practicing is not. I do not practice my sermon so I can produce the highest level of emotion in the congregation that I can. I do not practice my sermon so that I can have the best pointing jesters or waving or whatever. I am not practicing so the sermon will be my best performance ever. These are self-focused reasons for practicing and one must always remember to avoid such practices. I practice my sermons so that the message can be clearly heard and I can be removed as much as possible in the delivery.

We are almost through this series. While not a complete study of sermon preparation, it may help in giving a direction in which to move toward.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

Book Review: Naming the Elephant

2008-03-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

I recently read James W. Sire’s book Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept. It declares itself a companion book to Sire’s The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. The Universe Next Door is an essential reference book every Christian leader needs to read and have on their bookshelf. This book is an examination of eight major worldviews to which the majority of people on the planet hold. It begins with a definition of what a worldview is. However, eventually Sire was not happy with his own definition.

That is where Naming the Elephant comes in. This book is entirely about redefining a worldview. I found this refreshing because Sire is not apologetic for saying that while his definition was adequate it could be better defined to clearly communicate the definition of worldview. Sire begins Naming the Elephant with a history of the definition of worldviews. This discussion is worth the price of the book. Sire lays out in detail the trail of philosophers, Christian and secular, who have had the greatest influence in the development of the concept of worldview.

Next, Sire provides the reader proof of the need for the reworking of the definition of worldview. He moves from that topic to showing that a worldview is more than a set of presuppositions but is more of a way of life. This is important because of Sire’s previous definition of worldview. Following this logically and sequentially is Sire’s thought on how the concept of worldview impacts individuals and societies.

It is only at this point that Sire provides his redefinition of a worldview. Sire’s original definition of worldview, found in The Universe Next Door, says,

A worldview is a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic makeup of our world. p. 16

With the risk of spoiling the ending of Naming the Elephant, Sire’s new definition of worldview is,

A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being. p. 122.

Some of the main differences Sire points out, are a worldview is “a fundamental orientation of the heart.” In other words, it is a spiritual issue. A worldview shows where the person is at spiritually. Or perhaps said backwards, where a person is at spiritually will define their worldview. It is expressed as presuppositions and it impacts the way we live. It is my opinion this redefinition is clearer and helpful for the dialogue.

Sire finishes his book by discussion what difference this discussion makes. Since worldviews are a spiritual issue, and since they impact the way we live, we should understand how to use our worldview. Understanding what a worldview consists of and how that is manifested in a person’s life will provide the Christian leader with an essential “tool for analysis.” If we know what we are looking for as we read various authors’ work, their worldview shines through their words. As we look at art or listen to music, worldviews issues are easier to pick out. Our worldview helps us identify others’ worldview which in turn can help the Christian leader minister a bit more effectively.

The entire book was just a little over my head. I felt like I was in the deep end of the pool and was able to keep my head above water most of the time but very often my head would go under for a short time. I feel it is always good to read to stretch oneself in ones reading and this book did that for me. It is a good resource for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the topic of worldviews.

2t22 rating

Sixth: Illustrations

2008-03-04T11:14:00.001-08:00

In continuing my series on sermon preparation, we turn to the topic of sermon illustrations. Illustrations are an integral part of the sermon. To begin with, sermons are well communicated when each main point has explanation, illustration, and application. That is, you state the main point and then explain what the author is saying about that principle. After that, a good illustration will help hammer home the point you are attempting to make. Finally, application MUST be made. Howard Hendricks says,
Observation plus interpretation minus application equals abortion. In other words, every time you observe and interpret but fail to apply, you perform an abortion on the Scriptures in terms of their purpose.

But, this is a coming post.
Back to the point at hand, illustrations help the preacher communicate his point clearly and help the audience remember the point.

Here is how illustrations made their way into our sermon on 1 Timothy 1:3-11. (Click here for our outline as it currently stands). As I was refining the outline (see previous post) I was also thinking of illustrations. For example, the first main point is:

I. We must have ministries marked by sound doctrine
A. Watch for counterfeits
B. Watch for divisions
C. Watch for the goal - LOVE

This got me thinking about identifying counterfeits. The "standard" illustration is the "you must know the real dollar bill to identify the counterfeit - and the better you know the real dollar the easier it is to identify the counterfeit" but I figured many had already heard that illustration in a sermon about combating false doctrine. Therefore, I wanted to find something new or original to make my point of identifying counterfeits.

Next, the second point says:

II. We must avoid ministries marked by false doctrine.
A. Their direction is off.
B. Their discussions are empty
C. Their desire is wrong.

This made me think of an illustration about false signals leads the follower astray. I wanted to find an illustration about that.

I could not think of anything for the last point while refining the outline so I needed to continue to think about that. I also wanted a illustration to kick everything off that captured the idea of the entire sermon. I was thinking something about the impact of counterfeiting on the economy and comparing that to the spiritual life.

Now that I had a good idea of what I was looking for I began to search for some good illustrations. What makes a good illustration? There are many things. Mostly, for me, I want to find personal illustrations first. I had a story about me, a compass working wrong, and me being lost in Fort Worth, TX. It is a somewhat amusing story but it communicate the point of following a false signal: "The compass may say west but you are going east. That is the way it is counterfeit teachers proclaiming a counterfeit gospel. They lead people astray" and so forth.

Next, I try to find illustrations I have not used before and have not been used so much they are almost expected from the audience. This is the same as them not listening. There are several places I look for illustrations.

Online
www.sermonillustrations.com
www.sermoncentral.com

Books
I have several books of sermon illustrations. They are categorized by topic. I usually try to pick up these books when I see them on sale or in the discount bin. The trouble with these type of books is that, first, they are not that personal, and second, others have used them. However, you may not be able to get around that. When there is a good illustration, use it make the most of your point.

In the case of our 1 Timothy 1:3-11 sermon, I found most of the remaining illustrations on www.sermonillustrations.com. At least, I found the idea for the illustration on that site. Finally, I searched online for information about counterfeiting and was directed to the Secret Service's website. This provided me some great information for the beginning of my sermon.

Here is a list of the illustrations that I decided to use in the sermon (they are all listed except the illustration of my personal illustration). This search online really helped me because I found a great illustration for the final point of the sermon regarding the purpose of the law. When I read the illustration you see on the above link, I thought immediately of an object lesson of the level. I could bring a level in and show them the illustration.

Here are some things to note about illustrations:

1. The sermon is about teaching God's Word and illustrations help bring out the meaning of the text in a way that is memorable. The illustration is not about being "funny" or even "clever" it is about making the greatest impact with God's Word. It is a tool to help communicate God's Word.

2. The Emergent Church folks say the way we should be preaching is telling stories with God's Word to illustrate the story (I have sat in meetings with other pastors who seriously were talking about this as if it was a great idea). This is plain and simply wrong. There is no story anyone needs to hear and no story that will change anyone's life other than the Gospel story. I firmly believe that the Word of God must be plainly taught and illustration help make the point the author is attempting to communicate. You can take or leave illustrations but you cannot minimize God's Word to an illustration.

3. This is the not the part of the sermon that should take the longest time in preparation. That is, if you exegesis is weak because you have not taken the time you needed with it, an illustration will not help you have a biblical sermon. It may be entertaining but not biblical. Sometimes you may not find the illustration you are looking for and you have run out of time. Preach the Word. It is the Word that God promises to not return void, not our illustrations.

Our sermon is really ready to get into shape to preach. That will be the focus of the next post.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

The Street Where You Live...or Die

2008-03-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

The other day, or other month, Colorado Springs Police Department published a list of the most dangerous intersections in the city. Here is the map of the top five with a description of each intersection. Click on the marker to read the description.

View Larger Map

Here is an article with the entire list of the top 25 most dangerous intersections in Colorado Springs.

I am thankful that while my family and I pass by many of these intersections every day, we have not been in an accident for quite some time. We go past where these accidents "live" and are not injured so far. It gives a whole new meaning to the song,
I have often walked down this street before
but the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before.
All at once am I several stories high
knowing I'm on the stree where you live.

Book Review: 1984

2008-03-03T10:21:00.001-08:00

I recently reread George Orwell’s 1984. I had first read 1984 in 1984, when I was in high school. I am not sure I appreciated much of the books message but this time it was an interesting read. Since 1949, when Orwell wrote the book, I am sure there has been countless reviews of 1984, so I will not review it as much as pull out some thoughts I had while reading it.

While reading this somewhat disturbing book, it really struck me how many little details in Orwell’s book were very close to reality today. First is the issue of the technology in the book. Things like the telescreen and the versificator are technology essentially used today. Granted, our TV’s do not transmit, but Tivo does monitor your viewing and provide you with suggestions based on your viewing habits. Computers can show a picture while projecting another with a small camera. These are eerily close to the telescreen. Songs are not written without any human invention as in the story, but one person on a computer can create a symphony (although, they usually don’t and it usually comes out more hip-hop than anything else). One really cannot contemplate today’s popular music and it almost seems its purpose is to numb the mind of the masses. Compared to something like Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, where each movement presents a musical interpretation of a season, today’s music seems a little less complicated, to say the least. Will it be long before pop songs are written entirely by a computer with no human behind it?

Second, some of the philosophical issues are very real today, which is exactly the point of the book. Orwell did not believe the socialism of his day went far enough. He conveys this thought through one of his characters, O’Brien, he says,
“We are different from all the other oligarchies of the past in which we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that.”

This does not mean Orwell was against socialism. He just did not believe it would work in it form in which it existed in his day. And he was right. He believed that for it to work, socialist leaders needed to be honest about their motives, and do everything they could to keep the proletariat from raising to the middle class. This can also be seen in the book from Winston’s continual thought, “If there is hope, it lies in the proles.”

It always strikes me about those who reject a capitalistic society desperately want a system of governance in place which would allow them to think differently and act differently than the "oppressive capitalist", when everyone under a socialist government are not allow them to think differently from the government and cry out to be saved. The problem with their thought process is they begin from the false premise that people are good. They believe people will work hard and at the same level as everyone else. They believe people want to share. The problem is, as Scripture reveals, people are not good at their core, they to be compensated fairly for the work they do, and they are by nature selfish.

The final thing which was eerily close to circumstances today is the issue of revisionist history. Historians are essentially allowed to rewrite history and that revision then is the way it happened. This was evidenced by my wife and daughter on a recent trip to Washington D.C. They were either in the rotunda or in the Supreme Court and were listening to another group being led on a tour. The tour guide pointed to the images which were obviously Moses and the 10 commandments. The guide told the group, “The one through ten Roman numerals on those two tablets represent the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which we call the Bill of Rights.” This simply was not the case. However, someone has “written history” and has declared these were not the Ten Commandments but the Ten Amendments. Thus, that is what they are and have always been. This is but one example which permeates children’s textbooks and other areas of our live.

1984 has some vulgar content in it but overall it is fascinating read, if read critically. As the version of the book I read said, it is a warning. If you have some extra time, I would suggest rereading it. It is not the best book I have ever read but it is a classic and it is worth being reminded of the warning.

2t22 Rating:

Happy Anniversary to Us

2008-02-29T08:16:00.000-08:00

Today is Rhonda's and my fourth anniversary...think about it....think about it...there! Yes, you are correct. It is leap day and that means we have been married 16 years. And it has been a fantastic 16 years...at least for me. I thought I would include a picture of us (click the image for a larger picture).

I love you, Rhonda. I can not imagine who I would be without you. Happy 4th Anniversary.

Fifth: Refining

2008-02-28T18:42:00.001-08:00

Continuing in our study of preparing a sermon, we are at the place were we want to refine our outline to something preachable and memorable. This is something that comes with practice. And even with practice, some preaching outlines are just better than others. When you are preparing two or three sermons per week, sometimes you have to go forward with something good when, if you could spend some more time on it, it could be great. This does not negate the sermon. After all, it is God who speaks to the person's heart and it is God who promises His words will not return void. The purpose of intense preparation is not to do God's work; it is so that there will not be any hurdles in the way of the person who needs to hear the message. If we ramble, if we have disjointed thoughts, if we are unprepared, it can be a hindrance to hearing the message. Yes...God can and does work through those sermons that are confusing and are hard to follow. But how much more could He work through us if we have spend the time preparing.

But I digress...the point of this post is discuss refining our outline to make it a bit more teachable than its current condition.

First, when I begin refining I have been reading the passage and looking over all my previous notes. I have spent a lot of time with the text and beginning to formulate what needs to be taught through the passage. So, to refine the outline, I begin to look at different outlines other preachers have used.

One source that is easy to use is SermonCentral.com. Here is what I looked at when considering the 1 Timothy 1:3-11 passages.

SermonCentral outline 1

SermonCentral outline 2

These were OK but they were not what I was looking for. It should also be noted that I do not use these outlines. I use them as sermon seeds. Which brings to mind another resource I look to for refining outlines: SermonSeeds.org. This site usually has some good helps, but not for our passage in 1 Timothy.

Here is a list of outlines from the commentaries, from the Internet, and anywhere else I can pick someone's brain for some sermon seeds.

The issue with most of these are that they are exegetical outlines or theological outlines and not homiletical outlines. That is fine because the commentaries are not about having homiletical outlines, but they are an outline of the passage. This is why preaching from a commentary doesn't work. It was not made for that purpose. The idea of a sermon is to move from the exegetical (a statement of what the text says), through the theological (the truth pulled from that passage), to the homiletical (a statement which teaches that idea). Let me give an example of an entire passage.

A commentary would have more an exegetical outline. It is just an outline of how the passage flows. Here is an exegetical outline for Hosea 14:

I. Exhoration for Future Grace
A. The Prophet’s Call to Repent (14:1-3)
B. Yahweh’s Promise (14:4-8)
Garrett, NAC

A theological outline states theological truths but not in teachable principles. They just state the truth. This could be used as a sermon but may provide dry content and your audience may not leave remembering what your preached. Here is a possible theological outline for Hosea 14.

I. The Effect of Genuine Repentance 14:1-9
A. The need for repentance (1)
B. The attitude for genuine repentance (2-4)
C. The results of genuine repentance (5-9)
Hunt, Old Testament Outline

This is more of a teachable outline. The words "We" or "you" appear more frequently, there is an attempt to make the main points memorable (notice the repetition of "repent"), and the flow of the passage is still faithful to the text (refer to the outlines above). Here is homiletical outline for Hosea 14.

I. We have a need to repent. (1-3)
A. Accept responsibility for your sin. (1)
B. Make an honest confession of your sin. (2)
C. Let go of false gods. (3)
II. God is faithful when we repent. (4-8)
A. God Will Revive Us. (4)
B. God Will Restore Us. (5-7)
C. God Will Remind Us that He Sustains Us. (8)
III. We must make the choice to repent. (9)
A. There are Two Ways in life.
B. It is a matter of the will.

Again, this is not essential to make sermon. And, again, I do not want to convey the idea sermon creation is solely an intellectual exercise. This entire process is to be bathed in prayer. However, there are little things we can do to help our audience catch the idea of the text and have it keep with them.

Here is progress on our 1 Timothy 1:3-11 passage. I have attempted to show the progress of thought in the order in which I thought through the outline. These are in red. The underlined points are the statements which I settled on for the time being. Refining the outline takes time, which means it is harder to do the night before the sermon is to be preached.

It hard to describe how ideas come. All I can say is that I have a small book I essentially take everywhere with me. In this notebook, I had the outline written down and prayed over it, scratched out, rewrote, thought out, etc. for at least a week. I thought about the audience of this sermon and what they may need to gain from this passage. I thought about what would help me remember the outline best. I thought, worked, and wrestled. The document link above shows that progress. To see the outline in its present form without the extra commentary and word studies, click Here.

This is still not ready to preach but it is getting closer. And it will not be THE perfect sermon nor the IDEAL sermon, but it is shaping up to be something that will preach.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

The Funniest Thing I Heard Today - 2.26.08

2008-02-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

"You do and it will be the biggest mistake you ever made, you Texas brush popper."

Marshall Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, played by John Wayne, in the movie True Grit. It is better when you hear Rooster saying it. Click Here to hear the clip. By the way,

A “brush popper” (also known as a brush buster, brush hand, brush rider, brush thumper and brush whacker) is a cowboy who works in brush country. (Quote from http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/texas_brush_popper/

Excursus: The Value of Commentaries

2008-02-25T08:06:00.001-08:00

In my series on sermon preparation, I indicated that a valuable resource in creating a sermon is commentaries. I have heard many people condemn the use of commentaries, stating things like, "I do not use commentaries. I only use the Word of God" or "I do not care what the scholars say, I only care about what Jesus says" or "Using a commentary is essentially saying some man's views are as inspired as the Bible." I assume statements like these are meant to sound spiritual but in reality they sound arrogant and uninformed. Commentaries are a useful and crucial part of studying Scripture. Here is why.

To begin with, it should be noted that no one believes commentaries to be as inspired as Scripture is. This is a straw-man argument. It is easy to for someone to critique another for using a commentary in their study by accusing them of something that is not true and then knocking down that argument. I know of no bible student, NO bible student, who views commentaries with the same value as they view the Bible.

Instead, bible students see commentaries as a personal consultant, so to speak. Which one of us would NOT ask a knowledgeable, mature, strong Christian their opinion on passages we may be struggling with if that Christian was sitting next to us in the pew. That is what we are doing when we consult a commentary. The scholars who write commentaries may have devoted their entire Christian life studying one book or a section of books (this does not mean they do not read the whole Bible, they just spend their professional career in a few books). They have devoted themselves to understand the times which the book was written. They have spent hours pouring over the text in the original language. They have had a lifetime of allow the text transform them through the principles gathered from their studies. They have taught others the nuances of the text. In short, they are experts regarding the text, usually.

If there is some student out there that says, "I do not need the insights of mature Christians who have studied the text in depth and could add to my understanding" then that student should stop their study, get on their knees, and begin to ask God to work on their pride issues. Yes, we each have the Holy Spirit. But why do the critics assume the Holy Spirit does not work in those who spend their life studying a particular text. Additionally, why do the critics fear thinking about the text instead of just "feeling" it. God has given us mind which can comprehend truth. We should use it.

Secondly, there are times we are wrong about our own interpretations about a text, as much as we do not want to admit it. I had friend tell me once that the passage in Isaiah that says "Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength" was not about "waiting" as in patiently waiting for the Lord, but it was instead about "waiting" like what waiters do. Therefore, his "new" interpretation of the text was that those who are busily serving the Lord will renew their strength. This may preach in some congregations and there may be pastors who want this to be the interpretation but the fact is, it is a wrong interpretation. A quick study of the words show that "wait" strangely enough means "wait, to patiently wait on the Lord" much like Jesus told his disciples, "wait in Jerusalem until the Promised one comes." (Can you imagine Jesus telling the 11 disciples who were holed up in their room after his death, "go about busily serving me until the Holy Spirit comes.") Working with commentaries would help us see when we are misunderstanding a text.

Yes, it is true that commentators can also be wrong about a text. This happens frequently. That is why one should consult several different sources and not just their favorite author. It not always majority rules but we come up with "waiter" and every other person in the world and throughout history has said "patiently wait," perhaps we may want to rethink our interpretation. Or are we so arrogant to think that God has not revealed this insight to anyone else throughout history and earnest, godly men have missed this meaning simply because they just were not smart/spiritual/ingenious enough?

Thirdly, not all commentaries are equal. There are some that better than others. There are some that are conservative in their approach to Scripture and there are some that liberal in their view of Scripture. A good Bible student researches these, and can avoid the liberal commentaries, unless he needs to see how liberal theologians are misleading the church. There are commentaries which deal more with the technical issues of the text and some that more devotional in content. Some are scholars working with the text and some are just transcriptions of a pastor's sermon. All of them have their place and it up to the Bible student to find the right mix to provide a good overview of the text in question.

Finally, please note that consulting the commentaries came closer to the end of the study process than the beginning. No commentary was written to be the first source. If you ask any commentator about the use of their material, they will affirm that the Bible should be studied independently at first and then after sufficient time with the text should a commentary be consulted. Perhaps, this is where the critics do understand. Maybe when they use commentaries they are tempted to go directly to them and they have not been properly taught about the use of commentaries. Or perhaps they have seen people misuse commentaries. Whatever, the case, consulting commentaries should be closer to the end of the study rather than at the beginning.

As I have said in different posts (here and here) commentaries are the tools through which the Bible student does his job. Imagine taking your car to the mechanic and he says, "Well, I need to replace your transmission and I can do a great job of it." You look on his walls and around his shop and there is not one tool; no wrenches, no screwdrivers, no impact wrenches, nothing with which to accomplish the job he said he could do. Sure, he could do it. It may take him a long time, and it would not be a quality job (do we really think he could tighten all the bolts to safety specifications with his bare hands?). Tools help him do the job well and safe. That is the job of a good commentary: to provide the exegete with a good tool to do his job safely so that he can accurately convey the Word of God.

Diagram -> Outlining -> Excursus -> Word Studies -> Commentaries -> Excursus -> Refining -> Illustrations -> Practice -> Preaching

Another Cool Craftsman

2008-02-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

Craftsman Tools have a cool little clip on their site. Last Halloween, they had a skeleton made entirely out of tools. This is another one of those.

Follow THIS LINK to see the Craftsman crew chief.

I am not sure how much longer they will have it there so click it quick and watch. Pretty cool.