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Stay There

May 21, 2013 — 3 Comments

The most important thing for a husband to remember is the most important thing for everyone to remember, and that’s the gospel of Jesus. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the most important thing to remember.

This is for many reasons, but take just one. Men were made to be strong and to lead their wives. But men are sinners and foolish, and they marry sinful and foolish women and that’s just for starters. But the gospel is good news for sinful men and women, even the kind who get married to each other. And so you have to remember the gospel.

Paul says as much to the Ephesians: Husbands love your wives like Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. This means that husbands are called to die for their wives in order to be strong for them and lead them. The problem is that dying sounds like losing. Far too many men plunge into a conflict and after suffering for a bit, after they feel that they have felt the sensation of dying enough, jump off the cross and start barking orders and demand to know why no one is listening.

But when Jesus was mocked as weak, Jesus refused to jump off the cross. The problem many men have is that they jump off the cross thinking that the sensation of dying is the same thing as having died. And unfortunately this is the worst of both worlds. Now your wife’s miffed and you feel like you’ve been through death but haven’t actually fixed anything. And so many men, even Christian men, secretly conclude that it just doesn’t work for them. But that’s like shooting yourself in the foot, and concluding that guns just don’t scare bad guys away. Yeah, good luck with that.

Jesus didn’t jump off the cross. He stayed there and suffered and bled until it was finished, until He died. If you have conflict over how to train your children, where to go to church, what your sex life should be like, how to spend your money, how to spend your time, you need to remember the gospel. Not like some kind of mantra. Not like some kind of good luck charm. You need to remember how the gospel works. Jesus died for sin. He took the shame. He took the false accusations. He took the lies. He took your mess. And He died for it. Now that’s your job, husband. Not that you take away your wife’s sin, not that you’re some kind of perfect savior. No, but it’s your job to imitate Christ to and for your wife. So it’s your job to patiently, graciously listen to her, talk gently to her, pray with her, study the Scriptures with her, get counsel with her, and then make the best decision you can muster for her, remaining calm, cheerful, gentle, affectionate, good humored, full of tenderness and kindness. No matter what. And stay there. Stay there. Continue Reading…

In Bible - Ephesians, Family, Grace, Manalive, Marriage Bed, Pastoral Theology, Theology - Christology, Theology - Soteriology, Wisdom

Pentecost: Ps. 50-51: The Holy Spirit & Covenant Mercy

May 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

Introduction
God is love, and this is because He is Trinity. The love that binds the Father and the Son is the Spirit (Rom. 5:5, 15:30, 2 Cor. 13:14, Col. 1:8). God’s love is not just a feeling, an emotion, it’s a fierce, personal, saving loyalty. This is what the Bible calls God’s hesed, His lovingkindness, His covenant mercy toward us (Ex. 34:6-7, Dt. 7:9, Lk. 1:72-73). Today we consider the gift of the Holy Spirit as God’s covenant mercy.

The Text: Psalm 50 begins with God calling Israel to court (Ps. 50:1-7). His complaint is not with their sacrifices per se (50:8), but with the fact that they don’t understand what they mean. God doesn’t need their sacrifices because He’s hungry or poor (50:9-13). He wants their sacrifices to embody their worship, their praise, their loyalty, their need for Him (50:14-15). God’s complaint is with the fact that they take His covenant in their mouth, but they are wicked, hate instruction, are friends with thieves and adulterers, and love lies and slander (50:16-20). God has not kept silent because He doesn’t know about it, so they need to do some serious thinking and seek His salvation or be destroyed (50:21-23). Continue Reading…

In Bible - Psalms, Church Calendar, Grace, Pentecost, Sermon Outlines, TRC, Worship

Getting Grace

May 13, 2013 — Leave a comment

Sin is insanity. Sin doesn’t make sense. And for that reason sin always looks for an excuse, justification. And for the same reason, any excuse will do, any justification will work because there really isn’t a good one.

All sin makes matters worse. But we momentarily pretend that sin is the solution, our salvation, our deliverance. Things are not going my way, so I will get angry. Things are taking too long, so I will demand them. I am sexually frustrated so I will serve my lusts. I do not feel respected or honored enough, so I will criticize the success of others. I am depressed and lonely so I will drink until the pain is numb. I have no direction so I will sit here and watch movies and play video games and check facebook every five minutes. I was late to work, so I will lie to my boss. It’s all insane. It never makes sense.

But this isn’t the same thing as saying that sin is completely random. From the perspective of grace, walking in the Light, sin can look horribly schizophrenic and at times completely out of nowhere. But grace also teaches us wisdom, and that wisdom can see the way seeds are planted, sprout, and grow up into big problems. While sin is a certain breed of insanity, it has it’s own predictable logic and trajectory. And that logic includes the need for justification.

Because God is good and righteous and holy, and we are made in His image. We have an inherent need and deep desire for goodness, righteousness, and holiness. In other words, we like being right. We like when things come together, are harmonious, make sense. Only those who are truly mentally handicapped can be at ease with being wrong or inconsistent. And even then, we probably don’t realize or understand how it’s still not that simple. Continue Reading…

In Grace, Pastoral Theology, Wisdom

Nobody Wants to be That Guy

April 29, 2013 — 2 Comments

Nobody wants to be that guy preaching the gospel on the street corner. Nobody wants to be the guy knocking on his neighbors’ doors inviting them to church or sharing Christ with them. Nobody wants to be the girl who tells her roommate it’s a sin for her boyfriend to have his hands down her pants. And no, it doesn’t matter that you’re planning to get married. Nobody wants to be that family that walks out of the theater because they refuse to hang out in the company of losers on screen. Nobody wants to be that student who raises his hand and points out that if there is no god then gang rape is a perfectly reasonable option to consider for sexual fulfillment.

Nobody wants to point out that your favorite television show is full of vile language and more tits than even any self respecting farmer ought to see in a life time. Nobody wants to be the lady who gently suggests that the reason you got that piercing was to offend the older women at church and maybe score with the cute boy in the choir. Nobody really wants to repeat what Paul says about husbands and wives, cheerfully without apology, in a clear voice into the microphone. Don’t worry: I won’t repeat it here in case there are some tender consciences reading. Continue Reading…

In Bible - Romans, Culture, ethics, Evangelism, Grace, Manalive, Wisdom

What is a Christian?

April 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

A Christian is someone who believes that the answer to all the brokenness, pain, and evil in this world is the death of a man named Jesus two thousand years ago.

How could the death of one man be the answer to terrorism, abuse, betrayal, cancer, or crime?

The answer is that this man Jesus was not like any other man who has ever lived or ever will live. This man was actually the One who made this world.

Despite the horror, despite the pain, despite the senseless evil that has filled this world, this world is still filled with unexplainable, astounding glory and beauty. From sunsets to galaxies, from laughter to love, from music to dance to ice cream — this world is gut-wrenchingly good.

Christians believe that God made this world and loaded it with glory. He invented this place. He imagined this place. And He filled it with treasures and wonders and pleasure and beauty. But men and women have not listened to His voice. We wanted to go our own way. We wanted to be our own bosses, our own gods. Instead of listening to the words of the Inventor of the universe, we decided to listen to other words, to make up our own words.

This rejection of the Good God who made this good world is called sin. And since God invented life, and His word is what gives life to all things, to turn away from His word, to turn away from His life, is ultimately to embrace death. The wages of sin is death. Sin is asking for death. Therefore sin deserves death. Of course people don’t think that they are begging for death when they sin, when they disobey the voice of God, but still we sin and still death comes again and again and again. Continue Reading…

In Bible, Creation, Evangelism, Grace, Justice & Mercy, Preaching, Theology - Christology, TRC

The Straight Bloody Gospel

April 15, 2013 — 2 Comments

Introduction
I’m calling this Bible Study “Boot Camp” for at least two reasons. First, boot camp is meant to get a man into shape. It focuses on the basics of fitness and health and is meant to train a man’s instincts. Similarly, this study is just the basics, nothing fancy, but hopefully it’s the kind of “basic” that gets in your face a little. Second, boot camp is training for service. This study rests on the assumption that God made men to die. Our glory is our strength, and that strength is meant to be spent sacrificially in obedience to Jesus until there’s nothing left. Related to this is the fact that this is what leadership actually is. And to the extent that the Christian Church is weak and worldly, this is because men in the Church are fearful, cowardly, and refuse to die. This means dying to sin, dying to fear, dying to pride, dying to pain, dying to shame, dying for the good and blessing of others, and dying ultimately all for the sake of Jesus.

Nothing But the Blood: The Straight Bloody Gospel

Paul says: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Rom. 1:16)

This means at least two things: First, the gospel is the kind of good news that someone might be ashamed of. It may seem embarrassing. Secondly, the gospel is the power of God to those who believe and this runs across the most entrenched divisions in human society: Jew/Greek, male/female, Palestinian/Jew, black/white/hispanic, Democrat/Republican, rich/poor, educated/ignorant, abused/abuser, etc. And both the belief and the border crossing nature of the gospel are a good bit of what makes it tempting to be ashamed of.

“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:17-18)

We know of course that Jesus did send His apostles to baptize, and Paul did baptize. But I take him here to be emphasizing the supremacy of the preached word. If we can borrow a phrase from catholic ecclesiology, the Word is the first among equals. And this is because Jesus is the Word (Jn. 1:1). But this isn’t rationalism or intellectualism – as though people are saved by diagramming sentences or reading fat theology books – because the efficacy isn’t in the rhetoric or mental gymnastics. The power is in what is preached, namely the cross of Christ. Again, Paul points out that this will appear foolish to those who are perishing, but to those who believe and are saved, it is seen clearly to be the power of God. People may be tempted to ascribe power to water, but the power is in the Word. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 Corinthians, Bible - Romans, Boot Camp, Evangelism, Grace, Manalive

Witnesses of the Resurrection

April 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

We’ve just celebrated Easter yesterday, proclaiming Christ is risen! and in many of our communities and churches we will continue to celebrate over the next number of weeks proclaiming this truth, singing this truth, sharing this truth with neighbors and family members and friends. This is the good news, the gospel, that Jesus is risen from the dead, according to the scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-4ff).

But when it comes to evangelism and sharing the gospel with unbelieving friends, neighbors, and family members, we often get hung up on the peripheral details. How do we explain why homosexuality is sinful? Why do we believe in creationism? Why should abortion be illegal? I’m not saying those aren’t hugely important questions, but we oughtn’t get sidetracked from the central question which is: Who is Jesus and what happened to Him? And why does it matter?

Fundamentally, we are testifying to the truth that Christ is Risen. That’s the bottom line. If that’s not true, then we’re still in our sins and all our preaching and evangelism and witnessing and apologetics is worthless (1 Cor. 15:14). But Paul knows that Jesus really is risen from the dead because he saw Him. Paul got his life interrupted by Jesus. Continue Reading…

In Bible - 1 Corinthians, Church Calendar, Culture, Evangelism, Grace, Theology - Soteriology

A Feast for the Hungry

March 31, 2013 — Leave a comment

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Is. 55:1)

Isaiah promised the restoration of Israel and said that the sign of that restoration would be a lavish feast spread for the hungry without cost. This is that feast. There is no cost to eat here. But there is a requirement. The requirement is that you must be thirsty. The requirement is that you must have no money. You must want to be here.

The great ongoing challenge of the church is proclaiming this grace, this open-armed grace. On the one hand, what could be more easy? Have you sinned? Just come, there’s forgiveness for you. Have you messed up with your kids, with your spouse, just come. There’s mercy, there’s grace. Have you been bruised, hurt, abused? Come, Jesus’ blood is strong. Jesus’ blood can make the foulest clean, can heal every broken heart. Continue Reading…

In Bible - Isaiah, Church Calendar, Eucharistic Meditations, Grace, TRC

A Party in Here

March 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

Is God good?

That’s not just a question about intentions or absence of evil. I mean is God good? And if it’s God we’re talking about, He doesn’t get His attributes from the thrift store. He didn’t pick His goodness up at a garage sale. His attributes are not two sizes too small or something He has to grow into. God’s attributes are God-like, divine, perfect, ultimate. In other words the goodness of God is not a hat He puts on occasionally. God’s goodness is infinite, eternal, unchangeable, unsurpassed. To say that God is good is necessarily to claim that God is the Highest Good, the Greatest Good.

So, is God good? Is He explosively good? Overflowingly good? Everlastingly good? Uncontrollably good?

The answer to this question is the difference between light and darkness, the difference between joy and despair, the difference between true repentance and forgiveness on the one hand, and wallowing around in guilt and regrets and fear on the other.

Romans 1 says that the difference between light and darkness is the difference between thankfulness and ingratitude. Because God’s attributes — His glory, His goodness, His love, His mercy are all clearly seen in the world. You can’t miss them. The world is fully loaded with His goodness. But some people insist on not seeing, insist on not worshiping the God who makes it Christmas every day. These people refuse to give Him thanks, and Romans says that when they do this, their hearts are darkened. But it doesn’t stop there. When their hearts are dark, they begin to profess themselves to be very wise. They write books, publish articles, and have quite a lot to say about things, but they are actually fools. And you can tell because they start worshipping inanimate objects and animals and pretty much anything in creation other than the Awesome God who made it all. And God gives them over to their folly, and pretty soon men in suits are explaining in calm voices how sex with animals is probably a natural urge. Continue Reading…

In Bible - Romans, Creation, Grace, Misc, Wisdom, Worship

Paid in Full

February 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

In my sermon this last week, I said that God’s approval of us is not based on our performance but based solely on Jesus and what He has done for us. A reasonable question might be: But what about the fact that the Bible somewhat frequently describes God’s disapproval based on people’s performances? Don’t people reap what they sow? Didn’t Jesus say that men will be judged for their every idle word?

And the answer to these questions is yes. But everything hinges on whether you’ve already been judged or not.

In other words, if one day you get a bill in the mail out of nowhere and it turns out there was some major accounting failure, and now you owe hundreds of millions of dollars in back payments, well, unless you have a nice stash of cash somewhere, you’re sunk.

And just to keep things interesting, what if you knew that even if you worked 80 hour work weeks your entire life and only spent the bare minimum necessary to live, you’d still never be able to pay the debt? You’d still be sunk by millions.

But what if you already knew about the bill before it came? And what if you knew the debt was already paid? Well then, when the bill showed up, it would come more like a scheduled visit to the dentist. You don’t really look forward to those sorts of appointments and they aren’t usually fun, but they’re bearable and expected.

And here’s what I mean. For those who know Jesus, they already know that they have sinned and will sin again, and that Jesus freely suffered and bled for those sins already. They know that bills have piled up, and they know that there are still more bills in the mail. We may not know the exact breakdown of the bills, but we know what the total was. The wages of sin is death. The total debt owed was a perfect, sinless life, impossible for any sinner to pay. But the news that changed our lives was the news that Jesus has paid our debts in full. Continue Reading…

In Bible - Colossians, Evangelism, Grace, Jesus is Enough, Lent, TRC, Wisdom