Mar
8
2010
In the Wilderness
Illustrations by Simon Smith. Music by Explosions in the Sky.
Mar
3
2010
God Chooses His Friends
Band of Brothers - 1
It’s a temptation to water down the Bible to make it palatable for “normal” people (let alone watering it down for ourselves!). Problem is, before we know it, what we are teaching bears little resemblance to the actual Bible. The Bible has odd corners where we think it should be smooth, and it says nothing about many things we moderns deem crucial. So let the hungry eat cake.
Many youth leaders, and even pastors, present the Almighty as being desperate for our company. Although He is not needy, what He desires is more than relationship. He wants “friends,” but His definition of this word is not ours. Even if we don’t go down the track of using the actual phrase “heavenly buddy” in our teaching, we are still further off the biblical mark concerning friendship with God than we might have thought possible.
Feb
27
2010
Disgraceland
Some great quotes from an interview by Barbara Demarco-Barrett with author Mary Karr:
“[My young son] came flouncing in in his Power Ranger pyjamas and said “I wanna go to church.” I said “Why?” and he said, “To see if God’s there.” It was about the only sentence he could have said that would have gotten me to go. So we did this thing we called God-a-rama in which we went to various temples and mosques and zendos. I had no interest in going to church so I brought a latté and a paperback.
Feb
25
2010
Unread Books
From Peter Leithart’s blog:
Jay McInerny reviews First Chapter: How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard in the NYT. He says in part:
Feb
21
2010
Forever Young
Heavenly Father,
Today we celebrate
Your work in Your Son,
the One who said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
Feb
20
2010
Anorexia Nirvana
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God knows us infinitely better than we know ourselves. God has said that celibacy is “not good.” It is not good for the man and not good for the church. A celibate clergy will distort the gospel in subtle ways without meaning to do so, because they are living in an unsatisfactory situation.
Feb
6
2010
Bullies and Shrinking Violets
or What’s Wrong with this Picture?
“When I began to edit the film, something happened. I found I was being educated. And not just with arguments. I was watching a Christian life. I was seeing a Christian man.” —Darren Doane
Just watched The History Boys, a film based on an entertaining but self-indulgent West End play by Alan Bennett. Despite the fact that under Course Language and Sexual References it should also have a “gay theme” warning (but I guess that’s not politically correct), the film is hysterical is places and unwittingly highlights a fatal flaw in our culture.
Feb
5
2010
Backseat Driver
The Pharisees’ call for miracles from Jesus was a sign of immaturity. As the story of the patriarchs demonstrates, the growing maturity of the people of God is illustrated in less of a need for proofs. The Word is enough. Miracles are occurring around the world in places where the gospel is new and faith needs assurance. In the West, genuine miracles of this nature seldom occur. Is it due to a lack of faith or a call to greater faith? We have had the Scriptures forever, and the childish desire for (and manufacturing of) miracles, betrays a reversion to childhood.
Feb
2
2010
Idolatry
“Idolatry is the attempt to squeeze out of a finite thing what only the infinite can provide. When we turn away from what the infinite God has supplied for us, we are forced to try to get more from the rest of the world than it can possibly provide. This is because God has set eternity in our hearts, and we seek out eternal things wherever we go, whatever we do.”
—Doug Wilson
Jan
27
2010
Whose Freedom Are You?
A gripping sermon from Doug Jones in 2007. He contrasts unitarian and trinitarian worldviews.
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Read the Foreword here
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Jordan Complete
