Category: Christian Worldview

We are all needy people

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My thoughts and prayers are with the folks who are navigating their way through their neighborhoods and towns in the wake of ice storms. My friend Barry, who is from Missouri, has posted some pictures and some background about the storm there and what it’s left behind. I also have other friends who have been caught in the storm in their areas as well.

It is during times like these that we have opportunities to look at how God moves powerfully in our lives, even in ways that seem harsh. With one brush of His hand, God breaks into our lives and gives us just a glimpse of his power, creativity and sovereignty. We are left amazed and helpless. God, who seeks glory in all things, stands alone during the storms in our lives. Daniel 4:35 says God “does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’ ”

But we can also know “that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” It’s good to know that the same powerful God who makes the storm also directs our lives for good if we love him. And see our need.

Footnotes

The potential of life and the hand of God

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For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

— Psalm 139:13-16

Fireproof in 60 seconds

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For those who want to get their Fireproof fix, but don’t have two hours, here is the plot of “Fireproof” in 60 seconds. I would suggest, however, that you find time to watch the whole thing, it’s worth your time.

Click on the image to view the movie
Click on the image to view the movie

Free resources online from D.A. Carson

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D.A. Carson
D.A. Carson

A tremendous resource is now available online and free. The Gospel Coalition recently  has made available messages from D.A. Carson. You can listen to many of his sermons there in MP3 form for free. The messages are categorized by date or topic to help locate them.

Thanks to Andy Naselli, Ben Peays and Ryan James for gathering all these into one place and for making them available for free!

HT: Justin Taylor

Where ‘Do Hard Things’ came from

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Alex and Brett Harris, teen authors of Do Hard Things and the The Rebelution blog,  explain how a message at the New Attitude conference in 2004 changed their lives:

Growing up, going to New Attitude was always the highlight of the year. Not because it was our big brother’s conference, but because of the worship, teaching, and discussion that took place. The sessions by men like CJ Mahaney, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, and John Piper were the catalysts for major steps of growth in our walk with God.

In 2004, Dr. Mohler delivered a message on the modern crisis of young people delaying adulthood—particularly in the area of marriage. His challenge to embrace responsibility resonated with us. It served as the seed for an idea that grew and matured over the next two years — the Myth of Adolescence, and a challenge for young adults to rebel against the low expectations and “do hard things” for the glory of God.

In 2004, that idea became a ten-minute speech for competition in the NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communication Association), placing first in the nation. In 2005, that speech became the first series on our new blog, The Rebelution. In 2007, that series turned into the opening session of our first conference tour. In 2008, that session developed into one of the first chapters in our book, Do Hard Things.

Can a conference change the whole course of your life? For us, the answer is yes.

Battling discouragement: We’ve only just begun

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And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. — Philippians 1:6

As a followup on the post on comparing, we also need to know that we kind find hope in not looking around, but looking to Christ. Discouragement is always waiting to devour us if we continually look at others or ourselves and see where we always fall short. But in looking at Christ and what he has done and is doing for us daily before God, we have hope and a way to battle discouragement.

God’s grace is there daily for us to see, even in small measure. If we truly believe that “all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose,” then we can have a strong hope to withstand the attacks of discouragement.

We are not perfect. There are flaws in our lives and the believers we see each day and week. But while we are justified, we are also not what we will be. Know that one day Christ will return and complete that good work he has started. And rest in that hope and press on.

Tips on filmmaking

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Isaac Harris, younger brother of Do Hard Things authors Alex and Brett Harris, is liveblogging at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival over at The Rebulation. As Isaac is posting through the sessions he is reporting on the great tips being given by speakers such as “Fireproof” and “Facing The Giants” producer Stephen Kendrick. Be sure to check it out.

Rick Warren drawing heat from the AP over association with Jesus

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This man invokes Jesus.
This man invokes Jesus.

It appears that the Associated Press has learned that there are Christians like Saddleback pastor Rick Warren who invoke the name of Jesus (!) when they pray and that it may offend some — notably people like journalists who hold to a faith that relies on human understanding alone. Warren, for his part, played it coy:

Warren did not answer directly when asked whether he would dedicate his prayer to Jesus. In a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, Warren would say only that, “I’m a Christian pastor so I will pray the only kind of prayer I know how to pray.”

“Dedicate” his prayer to Jesus? What kind of people are these Christians? The Associated Press investigates further and finds this, courtesy of the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, who invoked the name of Jesus at George W. Bush’s 2001 inauguration:

Evangelicals generally expect their clergymen to use Jesus’ name whenever and wherever they lead prayer. Many conservative Christians say cultural sensitivity goes way too far if it requires religious leaders to hide their beliefs.

“If Rick Warren does not pray in Jesus’ name, some folks are going to be very disappointed,” Caldwell said in a recent phone interview. “Since he’s evangelical, his own tribe, if you will, will have some angst if he does not do that.”

This Jesus thing is tricky. Everybody knows that the only people allowed to invoke his name are liberal politicians bent on shaming conservatives into paying way more taxes. When it comes from an acknowledged evangelical minister it can only mean proselytizing. Fortunately, the Associated Press is on the case. Stay tuned.

John Piper’s book on John Calvin now available

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John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God
John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God

John Piper’s tiny new book  — 64 pages — on John Calvin, “John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God” is now available from Desiring God.

From Desiring God:

John Piper focuses on the supremacy of God by unfolding Calvin’s zeal for the glory of God.

God rests lightly on the church’s mind in our time. We are obsessed with ourselves and God takes second place, if that. The experience of his majesty sometimes seems to have disappeared from the modern evangelical world.

John Calvin saw a similar thing in his day. His aim was to “set before [man], as the prime motive of his existence, zeal to illustrate the glory of God”—a fitting banner over all of his life and work.

“The essential meaning of Calvin’s life and preaching,” writes John Piper, “is that he recovered and embodied a passion for the absolute reality and majesty of God. Such is the aim and burden of this book as well.”

This book comes as we enter 2009, the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth. Look for more titles concerning Calvin to come out in the coming year. For another resource into this influential Christian thinker, see also Piper’s biographical message at the 1997 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors: The Divine Majesty of the Word: John Calvin: The Man and His Preaching. You can read it, listen to it streamed or download it.

How do we help the poor?

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There is a divide in this country, and you can almost discern it based on the question, “How do we help the

How do we help the poor?
How do we help the poor?

poor?” Politically, there is a divide for sure, but even within the church there is divergence on this question. To be sure, the Bible instructs us that we are to care for the poor, but even that point is debated as one group emphasizes responsibility and another justice.

Because faith without works is dead, we need to understand just how it is we should care for poor and downtrodden in our society. Tim Keller, writing at Thermelios, has written a thorough and helpful essay on the subject, “The Gospel and the Poor.” Keller is senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, N.Y., and an adjunct professor of practical theology at Westminsters Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Among the books he has written are “The Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism” and “The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith.”

In his essay, Keller explores from the position that the church is commanded to help the poor, yet this is not the primacy of the gospel:

So what does it mean to be committed to the primacy of the gospel? It means first that the gospel must be proclaimed. Many today denigrate the importance of this. Instead, they say, the only true apologetic is a loving community; people cannot be reasoned into the kingdom, they can only be loved. “Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.” But while Christian community is indeed a crucial and powerful witness to the truth of the gospel, it cannot replace preaching and proclamation. Nevertheless, the primacy of the gospel also means that it is the basis and mainspring for Christian practice, individually and corporately, inside the church and outside. Gospel ministry is not only proclaiming it to people so that they will embrace and believe it; it is also teaching and shepherding believers with it so that it shapes the entirety of their lives, so that they can “live it out.” And one of the most prominent areas that the gospel effects is our relationship to the poor.

It is a lengthy read, but well worth your time. For conservatives, it is a good reminder that merely proclamation of the gospel while failing to help the poor and needy shows a lack of understanding of the gospel. For liberals, it is a good reminder that giving aid is not an end in itself.