Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Not a Crutch
"Christianity isn’t a crutch for the weak; it’s a stretcher for the dead. The gospel doesn’t claim to help the weak; it claims to make the dead live again. We reject the notion of the crutch of Christianity because we don’t need something to hel...p us walk along; we need something to make us truly alive." - Michael Kelley
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Bob Kauflin hits on something we NEED to hear!
How seriously do we take the command to tell the coming generations what we know of God and worshiping God?
How many of our thoughts about music and worship revolve around what we like, what we prefer, what interests us, and what we find appealing? And how often is that attitude passed on to the next generation, who then focus on what appeals to them?
I suspect this may be one of the reasons churches develop separate meetings for different musical tastes. In the short run it may bring more people to your church. But in the long run it keeps us stuck in the mindset that musical styles have more power to divide us than the gospel has to unite us.
How do we pass on biblical values of worship to coming generations when we can’t even sing in the same room with them?
We have to look beyond our own generation, both past and future, if we’re to clearly understand what God wants us to do now. Otherwise we can be guilty of a chronological narcissism that always views our generation as the most important one. As Winston Churchill insightfully wrote, “The further back you can look, the further forward you can see.”
Enough thinking about ourselves and what kind of music we like to use to worship God. God wants us to have an eye on our children, our grandchildren, and even our great grandchildren. We have a message to proclaim: “God is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let’s not allow shortsightedness or selfish preferences keep us from proclaiming it together.
read the rest here:
http://www.worshipmatters.com/2009/09/the-legacy-of-asaph-learning-to-sing-in-the-same-room/
How many of our thoughts about music and worship revolve around what we like, what we prefer, what interests us, and what we find appealing? And how often is that attitude passed on to the next generation, who then focus on what appeals to them?
I suspect this may be one of the reasons churches develop separate meetings for different musical tastes. In the short run it may bring more people to your church. But in the long run it keeps us stuck in the mindset that musical styles have more power to divide us than the gospel has to unite us.
How do we pass on biblical values of worship to coming generations when we can’t even sing in the same room with them?
We have to look beyond our own generation, both past and future, if we’re to clearly understand what God wants us to do now. Otherwise we can be guilty of a chronological narcissism that always views our generation as the most important one. As Winston Churchill insightfully wrote, “The further back you can look, the further forward you can see.”
Enough thinking about ourselves and what kind of music we like to use to worship God. God wants us to have an eye on our children, our grandchildren, and even our great grandchildren. We have a message to proclaim: “God is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let’s not allow shortsightedness or selfish preferences keep us from proclaiming it together.
read the rest here:
http://www.worshipmatters.com/2009/09/the-legacy-of-asaph-learning-to-sing-in-the-same-room/
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
HYPE!
"Let's be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming." - Francis Chan
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
SELF-esteem...?
Someone asked...
"In God's eyes, what are you worth?"
I say, "Nothing!"
Yup! And not just me...all of us put together are worthless.
"All have turned away, they have together become WORTHLESS; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Rom 3:12)
Outside of Christ there is NO worth.
"But I thought we were 'worth Jesus' to God"
Then you've missed the whole point of the Gospel and Grace! God didn't send Jesus because we were 'worth Jesus,' but because we were NOT! In fact, we were worse than worthless:
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us...when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son."
In other words we were disgusting and opposed to Him.
"But weren't we made in the Image of God?"
Yeah, and everyone of us trashed that image. The whole point of an image is to accurately reflect its Object, it has no substance of its own. So it's not a term to get egotistical about. It is not a point of pride!
Now before you get your psycho-babble, SELF-esteem knickers all in a twist, what you need to "develop in" is "Christ-esteem," NOT self-esteem. Only then will your life be a God-honoring expression of what He wants you to be. Because, "your life is now hidden with Christ in God."
Remember: Outside of Christ there is NO worth. Anything you have or are is only legitimate because of Him. You have no identity outside of Him. Everything good about your life is ONLY connected to Him.
So quit worrying about your worth, get your mind off yourself! And thank God that Jesus is Worth it all! It is ALL because of HIM!!!
"In God's eyes, what are you worth?"
I say, "Nothing!"
Yup! And not just me...all of us put together are worthless.
"All have turned away, they have together become WORTHLESS; there is no one who does good, not even one." (Rom 3:12)
Outside of Christ there is NO worth.
"But I thought we were 'worth Jesus' to God"
Then you've missed the whole point of the Gospel and Grace! God didn't send Jesus because we were 'worth Jesus,' but because we were NOT! In fact, we were worse than worthless:
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us...when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son."
In other words we were disgusting and opposed to Him.
"But weren't we made in the Image of God?"
Yeah, and everyone of us trashed that image. The whole point of an image is to accurately reflect its Object, it has no substance of its own. So it's not a term to get egotistical about. It is not a point of pride!
Now before you get your psycho-babble, SELF-esteem knickers all in a twist, what you need to "develop in" is "Christ-esteem," NOT self-esteem. Only then will your life be a God-honoring expression of what He wants you to be. Because, "your life is now hidden with Christ in God."
Remember: Outside of Christ there is NO worth. Anything you have or are is only legitimate because of Him. You have no identity outside of Him. Everything good about your life is ONLY connected to Him.
So quit worrying about your worth, get your mind off yourself! And thank God that Jesus is Worth it all! It is ALL because of HIM!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Arminianism leads to...
Something my friend Bill Mallory posted on his blog:
http://christcenteredresearchgroup.blogspot.com/
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