Who gave us partial birth abortion?

For those following the Kagan interviews for Supreme Court.  Here is an interesting piece on her role in crafting language for Partial birth abortion that went against the American College Obstetrics and Gynecologies original recommendations.  Read about it here.

Where's Jesus? Cain, Abel and others (Genesis 4)

Murder is bad, and fratricide is a horrific form of murder for it reveals so many ugly things about a family - disfunction, hatred, poor parenting, bad relationships, jealousy, etc.  All these are part of what leads a person to kill his or her brother.  The sheer violence recorded in the Bible is amazing, after only 3 chapters, God's Word tells us of the murder of Abel by his brother Cain and then it goes on to record the heart of one of Cain's progeny.  Where is Jesus in a story like this?


Cain and Abel represent two types of people.  There are those who worship God right and those who worship God by their own ideas of what is right.  The Word tells us,

The Reformer's Hermeneutic (Way of Interpretation)

Here is a great 3 page article on why we should read the Bible with an eye to see Jesus in all the stories of the Old Testament.

The Replay of 6/27/2010

It's Tuesday and here is a replay of the service on Sunday.  We had an hour dedicated to praying 6 locations around the world.  Here is an overview of the 6:

Tunisia (Africa) - a former Christian stronghold in the 1-3 century, now this area is predominantly Muslim.  Pray for God to bring the Gospel back to this country and its neighbors and to strengthen the few believers here with boldness and courage to stand up and proclaim Christ, even under penalty of death.

Christian groups and the future of the campus

Yesterday an interesting Supreme court ruling occurred.  You can read about it here.  In the ruling, the court determined that public schools can deny funding to groups who aren't open to anyone with any ideology or persuasion as members or office bearers.  Sounds great right?  Maybe and maybe not.  Essentially what the court just did is to say that the religion of America is secular pluralism and that any group wanting to have money from the government must hold to a secular pluralist perspective, or forfeit the right to have funding.  Seems to me this could go a long way to kill the faith based initiatives of the white house.

While the court did not grant the schools the right to keep exclusive groups off campus, they did deny them the use of funding common to many groups, like photocopies, free rentals, etc...The good is that this will force Christian groups to put their own money where their belief are; the bad, it is a blatant violation of the constitutions separation of church and state, for the government has just enshrined a particular worldview and hence a state church has been born.

For the official Supreme Court ruling, go here.

Scripture Memorization Songs

Mark Ruiter sent me these websites he found.  It is great.  There is one site related to Memorizing sections of Galatians and Ephesians.  At another, there are 4 free songs to download but they give you a feel for the kind of work that can be done with music and the actual text of the Bible.  The singer/songwriter uses the ESV version.  I love this.  I bought one of the CD's.  I hope you will find this music encouraging and uplifting.

Get the 4 free songs here.

See the CD's here.

You can download the Galatians and Ephesians songs here.  Just a note, the song title needs to be clicked on to hear and download the song.  The scripture reference just brings that actual bible text up.

Heidelberg Catechism Devotional Q32

Q.32. But why are you called a Christian?

A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing.  I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

Monday

Last week we learned that Christ means anointed. Therefore, a Christian is an anointed one, or one who is set apart for God’s work and service.  But can any follower of Jesus truly call himself or herself a Christian?  Certainly, the disciples in Antioch used this term.  Read Acts 11:26.  These men and women were assured that they were not just following Jesus, but that they were anointed by God to serve his purposes in the world just as Jesus did.  Be encouraged that this is true of you as well.

How the love of stuff destroyed America

A friend of mine at the church sent this article over on the economy and particularly how we got to where we are.  It traces the roots of the generations through the 60's, 70's, 80's and into the present to show how one bad decision after another has snowballed because greed and the love of money, or as Augustine translated in his City of God, the love of acquisitiveness is the root of all evil.  I hope you enjoy.

Where's Jesus? The Fall of Man (Genesis 3)

A fruit tree, bad choices, and talking serpents are what most of us remember from Genesis 3, but there is so much more to this passage than just the surface details.  These 24 verses contain wonderful references to Christ which we must never forget.  I once told a student of mine, "If you understand the first 3 chapters of Genesis and the last 3 chapters of Revelation then you will have understood the gospel, everything else is the details." I still believe that is true, let me explain:

The Replay

Welcome to a new weekly post (I hope) related to Sunday's message.  As a quick way of getting us to keep thinking on God's word as it was delivered in Sunday's sermon.  Here is a recap of our sermon on Galatians 5:22-23:

1. We live in a world that exhibits and uplifts anger, rage, abuse, etc.  Where do you see these kinds of actions at work around you and in your life?
2. God promises to bear the fruit of His Spirit in our lives.  That Fruit is centered in Love and Love is a description of Christ and his sacrifice for us.  Therefore, patience, kindness and goodness are facets of love.  How do these three qualities expand upon or enhance your understanding of God's love for you?
3. Patience and Kindness are God's way of leading us to repentance.  How can you practice patience and kindness in order to lead others to repentance?
4. Goodness is all that God is and does - his salvation, his life, even his anger and judgment are good for they are a way of loving his chosen people and ensuring that they are safe for all time.  We, God's people, can train our minds to focus on his goodness by immersing ourselves in the Scriptures.  Do you spend as much time reading the word and thinking on Christ and his love as you do on taking in the messages that the popular media wants you to absorb?  If not, how can you seek to change what you dwell upon in your mind?  Remember, our transformation begins in our mind's.  
5. Finally, there were three challenges issued to do one act of patience, kindness and goodness to those who you desire to be in relationship with and who also need to hear the gospel of Christ proclaimed in both word and deed.  Go forth this week and live your faith.

Good Books to Read

I finally found the list of great books that I have been working through.  You can find the full booklet here and print it off as I have, it has a short paragraph or two on each entry to inform the reader about what the book covers.  Or you can see the TOC below.  Many of these books can be found for free online at a variety of sites, but the Christian Classics Ethereal Library has proved fruitful for me.

Patience, Kindness and Goodness (Galatians 5:22-23 Part III)

In a world of road rage, sexual abuse, animal cruelty and other dark and evil things; in a world that thrives on knowing about the latest tragedies and has an insatiable appetite for other “news worthy” things that show human misery and suffering; in a world that has lost the basic civil understandings of respect and service, what do patience, kindness and goodness have to say?

We must remember that these three words are but different facets of the one fruit of the Spirit, which is love.  Patience is a way of loving, as is kindness and goodness.  You can’t practice one without the other; all of them are interrelated.  It is impossible to grow in peace and not grow in patience, to grow in kindness and not grow in gentleness, to grow in faithfulness and not to grow in self-control.  Each of these aspects of love builds upon all the others.  That is why there is but one fruit, with many facets.

A world like ours desperately needs people who are growing in love and exhibiting the various aspects of love.  A world like ours full of violence, anger and cruelty needs people indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit who live out patience, kindness and goodness.  Lets look at each of these.

Heidelberg Catechism Devotional Q31

Q.31. Why is he called “Christ,” meaning anointed?

A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance; our only high priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.

Monday

A man walks into a room and is crowned the King of a nation.  Another walks into a church and is pronounced a reverend. A third has a star pinned on his chest and becomes a sheriff.  Each of these is an act of ordination.  Ordination is the setting apart of someone for a specific purpose.  In each of these scenarios the public recognizes the authority the person has been granted and the ordinand accepts certain responsibilities in return for the authority and title received. 

God set Jesus apart to be the savior of the world, and in exchange for this responsibility, he received authority to rule.  This doesn’t mean there was a time Jesus had no authority, for he is uncreated and fully divine.  (This is the trouble with language.) Rather, this kind of language serves to illustrate that Jesus is the fulfillment of all our poor attempts to model his authority and responsibility in human acts of ordination.  Read Hebrews 1:8-9.

Motives for managing our families well

Here are more notes from Richard Baxter on what should motivate us to manage our families well and train them up in Christ.
1. When we govern our families well, this is a major part of God's government of the world.  If families are controlled, reverent and trained in godliness, then we are participating in God's plan for the world.
2. An ungoverned, ungodly family is a powerful means to the damnation of all the members of it." In a godly family there are continual motivations and inducements to live as Christ and love as God loves, while in an ungoverned family, no such models, motivations or inducements exist.
3. A well governed family creates safety and ease and pleasure for its members.  This is because sin is being nipped in the bud and love is being nurtured.
4. A well governed family prepares its members for  a well governed church.  This allows ministers to continue to train up the people of God and move them from milk to true food, as well as preparing the way for spiritual discipline and admonition as needed.

Family prayer Times

Should families pray together?  Of course, we answer, but why?  Simply stated, because all churches ought to pray to God and praise him and

a Christian family is a church...a society of Christians gathered for the worshipping and serving of God (Baxter. p83).

This is the call of the family, to gather and worship and serve God in life by discipling new and young believers, modeling Christian living and faith, praising God for his answers to pray and requesting of him the necessities of life.  This is our call as Christians generically and as churches corporately.  Maybe the lack of church prayer stems from a lack of family prayer and a misuderstanding of the nature and purpose of family.

Families don't exist to make us feel good, though that is a by product of true family.  And Families don't exist to meet our needs, thought this too happens.  Rather families exist to glorify God - and glorifying God happens through worship and service, of which prayer is a part.  Let us, as families, commit to praying and teaching our members how to pray that God may be glorified in the present and future generations.

Cultivating Love, Joy and Peace in a world that manufactures Markets, desire and tolerance (Galatians 5:22 Part 2)

We live in consumer-oriented world.  Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Consumer to Consumer.  All we need to do is look at the world to realize that everything is a commodity that can be bought or sold or traded.  And that means that everyone is trying to create a desire in everyone else to buy his or her product.  Whether it is eBay, or television, the circular ad or the Internet pop-up the world is “for sale”.

So what does the fruit of the Spirit say to a world intent on marketing anything and everything to us?  It says, “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).   This morning we are going to focus on the first three items in Paul’s list: Love, joy and peace.  But before we get there let’s review a few points from the last two weeks.  Two weeks ago, my sermon focused on the fact that as believers in Christ, we have been set free to love and serve each other.  The contrast painted between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit is one of love and service versus pride and selfishness.  And last week looked at what we desire?  Do we really want Christ formed in us for the Fruit of the Spirit are the character qualities of Jesus?  Do these sermons bear upon a world intent on manufacturing markets and the desire for them?  Absolutely, for today’s passage reminds us the Fruit of the spirit IS…  Is means present, is relates to the present reality not the past or the future, but the present reality.  The Fruit of the Spirit has bearing on life now in this world and under these situations.

What then does love say to manufactured markets and what does joy say to manufactured desire and what does peace say to manufactured tolerance? 

Is American Education going the way of Nazi Germany?

I have been reflecting on my elementary education recently, particularly my vastly inadequate understanding of American History and why our public school system failed to teach me the truth.  For example, I was taught that the Founders of the United States of America were not Christians but deists.  As I look back, no proof was ever given for such statements, but then again neither were the original documents ever opened to me for examination.  I never read the Constitution, although I did get the first amendment.  I never read the Articles of Confederation, or any of the primary source documents related to the revolution.  I was not shown the state constitutions which made explicit reference to God the Father and Faith in Jesus Christ as conditions for serving in the government.  Yes, these conditions were considered legal even after the ratification of the Constitution for the states reserved unto themselves all the rights not expressly stated in the Constitution.  I was told the Civil War was fought over slavery when in fact it was fought over state's rights.  Why were so many things left out?  Was it purposeful or accidental?  

Where's Jesus? The Creation Story (Genesis 1-2)

How many battles have been fought over the opening chapters of Genesis.  Creation, evolution, intelligent design, the nature of "days"- each of these and countless others have been battled over in culture and in the church.  I do not want to downplay these arguments, for there are many things at stake on both sides of the debates, but I would like to refocus our eyes today, by asking the same question, which I am so fond of, "Where is Jesus in the Creation narrative?"

It is my firm belief that answering such a question will clarify many of the above questions as either "important" or "irrelevant." The Scriptures begin with these words,

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

Old Books to Read

Today at church I was asked to list off some of the old books I would recommend for Christians to read.  So here is my list of great old and older books:

1. Augustine's Confessions
2. Luther's 95 Theses
3. John Owen's The Death of Death
4. Richard Baxter's The Godly Home
5. Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Cost of Discipleship
6. John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress
7. Francis de Sales Introduction to the Devout Life (Catholic)
8. George Müller's Autobiography
9. Joseph Alleine's Alarm to the Unconverted
10. Ursinus' Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism

Here is my first shot, I will add more later.

For those wanting a list of great books and articles from the past, visit this site.


Here are a few more I recommend:

1. Brother Lawrence's Practicing His Presence 
2. for authors that aren't quite so old, but still very worth the read, try CS Lewis, Henri Nouwen,

On Managing Your Family

Men, here are some words of advice from an 18th century preacher:

1. Teach your family that your fatherly authority comes from God and that God establishes all authorities both in the home and in society.
2. Fear God greatly and allow that fear and reverence to affect every action and instruction you give.
3. Do not lose your authority by failing to use your authority.
4. Study God's word to learn how to lead, where to go, what to avoid, etc.
5. Understand the temperaments of your family members and deal with each accordingly, not with all the same.
6. Let love manage your life so that your family desires to obey
7. Obey God first.  They wont obey you if they see you disobeying God.
8. Make the enjoyment of God the ultimate end of all you do.
9. Ensure God's authority is maintained more carefully than your own.
10. Love the souls of your family.
11. Don't work them to death, practice moderation.

These have been modified or simplified from Baxter's list in "The Godly Home."  

On missionary dating

We have all heard this before:

I know they will be converted.  God can call them if he will;  if i just love them and share God with them we can marry and he or she will become a believer later.

Listen to Richard Baxter's response over 300 years ago,

"First, then, it seems because you love an ungodly person, you will be easily turned to be ungodly.  If so, you are not much better already.  If love will not draw you to their mind to be ungodly, why should you thing love will draw them to your mind to be godly?  Are you stronger in grace than they are in sin?  Second, if you know well what grace is and what a sinful, unrenewed soul is, you would not think it so easy a matter to convert a soul.  Why are so few converted if it is so easy a thing?  You cannot make yourselves better by adding higher degrees to the grace you have; much less can you make others better by giving them the grace that they do not have.  Third, it is true that God is able to convert them when he will; and it is true that for aught I know it may be done.  What of it?  Will you, in so weighty a case, take up with a mere possibility?  God can make a beggar rich, and for aught you know the contrary, he will do it; and yet you will not, therefore, marry a beggar; nor will you marry a leper because God can heal him.  Why then should you marry an ungodly person because God can convert him?  See it done first, if you love your peace and safety." p44-45

Heidelberg Catechism Devotional Q30

Q.30. Do those who look for their salvation and security in saints, in themselves, or elsewhere really believe in the only savior Jesus?

A. No.  Although they boast of being his, by their deeds they deny the only savior and deliverer, Jesus.  Either Jesus is not a perfect savior, or those who in true faith accept this savior have in him all they need for their salvation.

Monday

Have you ever been asked to do something only to find out that the person who asked you went ahead and did it himself or herself or asked someone else because they didn’t think you could actually do the project?  This is what question 30 is getting at, either we believe Jesus capable of all he promised, or we don’t and so we look for someone or thing else to aid him.  Our actions display our true beliefs for the entire world to see.  In Galatians, Paul wrote to believers who were trusting in their works to save them.  Read his response in Galatians 5:2-4.

On Choosing a Spouse

I promised to share more gems from Baxter's The Godly Family.  Here is one for all the singles to consider, and for the parents to pass on to their children:

If you fear God, your chief end in marriage will be to have one who will be a helper to your soul and further you in the way to heaven. p42

Going on Baxter gives some advice in evaluating potential prospects,

1. "Judge them by their love...If they love the Word and the servants and worship of God and love a holy life and hate the contrary, you may embrace such, though their knowledge is small and abilities weak.  But is they have no love to these and live a common, careless, sensual life, you may avoid them as ungodly."p43-44
2. Be able to identify why you love them.  "To say you love but that you do not know why is more beseeming children or the insane than those who are soberly entering upon a change of life of so great importance to them.  A blind love that makes you think a person excellent and amiable who, in the eyes of the wisest who are impartial, is nothing so or that make you overvalue the person whom you fancy who in the eyes of others is next to contemptible - this is but the index and evidence of your folly." p 39-40
3. Pay attention to their nature and disposition.  Make sure you can stand it.  Are they easy to please?  Can they match wits and intellect with you?  Are they humble?  Can they be quiet?  Will they speak?  Each of these is important.

If Christians were to pay attention to these guidelines from the 1700's, marriages would have such a better foundation and success rate.  particularly #1, for if one hates being around god's people, or says they love the Bible but refuses to ever read it with you and pray with you, this is a sure sign to be concerned.

Where's Jesus? Joseph reassures his brothers (Genesis 50:15-28)

As we come to the last of Genesis, we encounter the final conversation between Joseph and his brothers now that death has taken jacob from them.  I can imagine their fear must have been high.  "Dad is dead, now what is Joseph going to do to us for selling him?" Words like this must have plagued their minds, they plague mine when I know I have wronged someone and the stop I see holding back the vengenance has been removed.  


I love Joseph's response for it echoes Jesus in so many ways, 

“But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:19–21)

Like Joseph brothers who intended harm, the Christian in his pre-regenerate state hates Christ, mocks him, sins against him and even crucifies him and for all these things we come to the cross and cry out for mercy, and in response, God gives us not just mercy, but he saves us and provides for us and our children.  This is covenant, this is grace, this is mercy and radical forgiveness.  This is a picture of the gospel.  Now let us go and live out the example of Joseph to those who have wronged us and let us use words to draw the wonderful parallels between our actions and the actions of Christ.  To God be the glory!

[For those wondering where the Where's Jesus post will go next, I plan on returning to Genesis 1 and picking up the first 28 chapters which I skipped when I started this particular series of entries.  Tune in next week for Genesis 1 - Where's Jesus?]

Reflections on Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning

I completed Wilson's Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning a few moments ago.  By and large, I enjoyed the book however I don't agree with everything Wilson wrote.  Then again, I don't agree with everything anyone writes, I guess that makes me human and an induvidualist - a true product of the American West.  And that is one of Wilson's main arguments in the book, education has duped us in to thinking we are really thinking when in fact we are just parroting out the same things that others believe, just like I think I am unique, but when everyone is unique, unique is just another name for "the same."

Grief or Repentance

There is an eternal difference between regret and repentance.  Regret feels bad about past sins.  Repentance turns away from past sins. Most of us are content with regret.  We just want to feel bad for awhile, have a good cry, enjoy the cathartic experience, bewail our sin and how selfish/stupid/sorry we are.  But we don’t really want to change.  We don’t really want to live different than we have been.  - Kevin DeYoung

What do you want? (Gal. 5:22-23 Part 1 of 4)

Gal. 5:22-23 Part I: What do you want?

In his book Fruit of the Spirit, Stephen Winward reminds his readers of a question Jesus once asked a blind man: What do you want me to do for you?  (Mk 10:51).   This question is a powerful question to reflect on so I thought all of us would be wise to contemplate this morning.  Please take your bulletin and with a pen or pencil scratch your answers down to my version: “What 3 things do you want more than anything else in the world?”

Heidelberg Catechism Devotional Q29

Q.29. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus” meaning “savior”?

A. Because he saves us from our sins.  Salvation cannot be found in anyone else; it is futile to look for any salvation elsewhere.

Monday

How many dogs have you known named “Spot” or cats named “Socks?  We can probably all think of at many, and frequently these animals received their names because of some distinguishing marks on their bodies.  They were the embodiment of their names.  The same is true of Jesus.  Read Matthew 1:21.  When the angel came and named the baby that Mary was to bear, he named him Jesus because he would embody that name.  He would save people from their sins.  Consider all the things that Jesus has saved you from.

What awaits us after death?

I received this from a friend.

A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to 

Leave the examination room and said, 'Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.' 

Very quietly, the doctor said, 'I don't know.' 

'You don't know?  You're, a Christian man,  And don't know what's on the other side?' 

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; 

On the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness. 

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, 'Did you notice my dog? 

He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened,  he sprang in without fear.  I know little of what is on the other side of death, But I do know one thing....I know my Master is there and that is enough.'

This is a great way for us to explain death to our children, of course as they grow they will have more questions and while we can't answer all of the questions about the afterlife, there are a few things that we do know about heaven.  Read this Scripture for a primer on the topic: Revelation 21:22-22:5

Requirements for Baby sitters exceed that of teachers?

"One of the great ironies among modern evangelicals is the fact that many have higher and stricter standards for their children's baby-sitter than they do for their children's teachers. Is a baby-sitter needed?  She should be a Christian, and a reliable one.  She should be known to the family, or highly recommended by someone who is.  And for what task?  To keep Johnny safe and dry until bedtime and then to tuck him in.

But five years later, Johnny comes home from his first day of school.  He bursts in the front door, full of news.  His parents ask all kinds of questions.  And one of them is:  'Who is your teacher, Johnny?'  The parents don't know the teacher's name.  They don't know if the teacher is an atheist or a Southern Baptist.  They don't know is he is a socialist or a conservative Republican. They don't know if she is a lesbian or straight.  And what is the teacher's task?  Her task is to help them shape the way the child thinks about the world.  Does God exist?  If He exists, is His existence relevant to the classroom?  And what is the nature of man?  what is the purpose of society?  How did many get here?  Where should he go?  How should he conduct himself on the way?  None of these questions can be answered without certain worldview assumptions, and the parents in this example do not even know whether they share the worldview of their child's teacher."

from Douglas Wilson, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, pg 57.

Christian Education and Parenting

"Just being around godly people is insufficient...some of the most tragic stories in the Bible concern parental failure."  (Wilson, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, pg. 72)

These words, present a challenging view to most modern parenting and most Christian approaches to education.  Somehow we took the epitaph, "Bad company corrupts good people" and inverted it to say, "Good company creates good people.  As parents we often think that our children will catch the faith by being around us, other church going believers, and by attending a Christian school.

Where's Jesus? Jacob's Death (Genesis 49:29-50:14)

The death of Jacob and the subsequent funeral procession recorded in Genesis 49:29-50:14 make for an interesting story.  There are three phases to the pericope.  First Jacob gives some final instructions before leaving this world (Genesis 49:29-33), second Joseph begins the mourning process which takes 40 and 70 days respectively, and third, Jacob's sons obey their father's final instructions.

We don't often look for Jesus in the midst of burials and funerals as protestants, but he is there.  Here are my thoughts:

1. Just as Jacob gave final instructions before leaving this world, so Jesus gave his church final words before leaving.  Matthew 28:18-20 records these as,  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Similar words are recorded in Mark 16:15-18 and Acts 1:8-10.  Jesus death, resurrection and ascension were not the end, but the beginning of a journey that would take his family, the church, to the Promised Land, just as jacob's death reunited the family in Canaan for a brief period.