I've been listening to the A29 Bootcamp live while working this afternoon. Right now they have a Q & A session going and one of the questions asked was "What does it mean that A29 is a reformed network?" This led into a discussion of Calvinism where Driscoll pointed out that he's not a fan of the Five Points because they are "negative theology," or were written in response to Arminianism, which is "not a good way to do theology." I dig that. He also mentioned that many call Calvinism "God-centerd" theology, but that, in his view, it's not God-centered because it starts with our total depravity rather than the glory of God, e.g., it starts with Genesis 3 rather than Genesis 1.
"I'm not against the five points of Calvinism, but I'm not for them either." - Mark Driscoll
9.30.2010
9.28.2010
Increase Your Gospel Fluency
Do you know the Gospel? Could you articulate it? Can you address everyday issues with the Gospel?
If you know it and can articulate it, the next question is: Are you experiencing ongoing repentance and growing faith in the Gospel?
How can you increase your gospel fluency and live out the gospel on a daily basis? Answering this question is what Jeff Vanderstelt tackles in this article.
HT: GCM Collective
If you know it and can articulate it, the next question is: Are you experiencing ongoing repentance and growing faith in the Gospel?
How can you increase your gospel fluency and live out the gospel on a daily basis? Answering this question is what Jeff Vanderstelt tackles in this article.
HT: GCM Collective
9.22.2010
9.21.2010
Knowing, Showing, Growing: Helping Children Know and Understand the Gospel
This new book by Robert J. Morgan helps parents of elementary school-age children clearly explain to their kids what it means to receive Christ as Savior, follow Him in baptism, and begin the basic habits of the Christian life (Bible reading, prayer, obedience, and witnessing). Fun, illustrated short stories with colorful characters like Mary Motley, Herman Hackler, and Lola Nola Mazola easily connect to highlight the exciting message of John 3:16, and meaningful discussion between parent and child. With its prayer suggestions, memory verses, and well-arranged content (ten chapters that require no more than thirty minutes each), the book is even suitable for Sunday school and small group settings.
Order here.
9.11.2010
C.S. Lewis on Calvinism and the Question of Free Will
In Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C. S. Lewis, a selection from among his many letters, there is a short description of Lewis' take on Calvinism and the question of free will:
"On Calvinism. Both the statement that our final destination is already settled and the view that it still may be either Heaven or Hell, seem to me to imply the ultimate reality of Time, which I don't believe in. The controversy is one I can’t join on either side for I think that in the real (Timeless) world it is meaningless." (pp. 117-8)
"All that Calvinist question—Free-Will and Predestination, is to my mind undiscussable, insoluble. Of course (say us) if a man repents God will accept him. Ah yes, (say they) but the fact of his repenting shows that God has already moved him to do so. This at any rate leaves us with the fact that in any concrete case the question never arrives as a practical one. But I suspect it is really a meaningless question. The difference between Freedom and Necessity is fairly clear on the bodily level: we know the difference between making our teeth chatter on purpose and just finding them chattering with cold. It begins to be less clear when we talk of human love (leaving out the erotic kind). ‘Do I like him because I choose or because I must?’—there are cases where this has an answer, but others where it seems to me to mean nothing. When we carry it up to relations between God and Man, has the distinction perhaps become nonsensical? After all, when we are most free, it is only with a freedom God has given us: and when our will is most influenced by Grace, it is still our will. And if what our will does is not ‘voluntary’, and if ‘voluntary’ does not mean ‘free’, what are we talking about? I’d leave it all alone." (p. 186)
Red Flags of Discipleship
Great post over at Acts 29 entitled, "The Red Flags of Discipleship." I particularly like the first "red flag" listed:
Flag # 1 What: The goal is to make a copy of your self. “Yes the world needs more me. I need to make copies of me that are making copies of me.”
Truth # 1 What: The goal is to make copies of Jesus. I am not Jesus. I need Jesus. We need to repent of our self-righteousness and pride when thinking we are the finish line instead of Jesus.
Read the rest.
Flag # 1 What: The goal is to make a copy of your self. “Yes the world needs more me. I need to make copies of me that are making copies of me.”
Truth # 1 What: The goal is to make copies of Jesus. I am not Jesus. I need Jesus. We need to repent of our self-righteousness and pride when thinking we are the finish line instead of Jesus.
Read the rest.
9.09.2010
Your House is a Church, You are a Priest
"Abraham had in his tent a house of God and a church, just as today any godly and pious head of a household instructs his children ... in godliness. Therefore such a house is actually a school and church, and the head of the household is a bishop and priest in his house." - Martin Luther
9.02.2010
Worshipping One God in Three Ways
Vertical Worship
The Bible tells us that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places” where he would spend time alone with his Father, and in the book of Matthew Jesus himself tells us: “…when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” We want to encourage you in daily, personal quiet time with God and with His Word.
Corporate Worship
Because God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always existed within the perfect community of the Trinity, we too are to live in a loving community: the Church. We’re to live as a community of believers who depend on one another. The book of Acts tells us that the early Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” We want to encourage you to be active in your local church and to live in relationship with other Christians.
Acts of Worship
The apostle Paul wrote “…whether you eat or drink … whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This means that everything we do should ultimately be pointing to Jesus; living out the love He showed us on the cross by loving others in word and deed. As James tells us, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” We want to encourage you to live out your faith in every area of their life while caring for “the least of these.”
The Bible tells us that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places” where he would spend time alone with his Father, and in the book of Matthew Jesus himself tells us: “…when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” We want to encourage you in daily, personal quiet time with God and with His Word.
Corporate Worship
Because God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always existed within the perfect community of the Trinity, we too are to live in a loving community: the Church. We’re to live as a community of believers who depend on one another. The book of Acts tells us that the early Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” We want to encourage you to be active in your local church and to live in relationship with other Christians.
Acts of Worship
The apostle Paul wrote “…whether you eat or drink … whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This means that everything we do should ultimately be pointing to Jesus; living out the love He showed us on the cross by loving others in word and deed. As James tells us, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” We want to encourage you to live out your faith in every area of their life while caring for “the least of these.”
More Teens Becoming Fake Christians
If you're the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:
Your child is following a "mutant" form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.
Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.
Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.
HT: Pure Church
Your child is following a "mutant" form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.
Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.
Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.
HT: Pure Church
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