In recent decades, the fights that many churches have had over musical styles have been termed the ‘worship wars’—typically cast as a battle between traditionalists on one side, who wish to retain the noble beauty and heritage of historic church practice, particularly in music; and modernizers on the other, who want church services to be contemporary, relevant, engaging, and so on. (more…)
→ God and his holiness
Link
Tim Challies has an interesting reflection on God’s holiness:
Holiness is a difficult term to define. Most Christians know that a dimension of holiness is God’s set-apartness, his being essentially different from everyone and everything else, but there is far more to it than that.
John 13:34-35
Bible 101
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
There’s a story about John the apostle as an old man, recounted by Jerome.1 Whenever John’s disciples carried the frail apostle in to their meetings, he would say, “Little children, love one another”. Every. Time. (more…)
The dilemma of preaching and hearing God’s word
Pastoral Ministry
As a preacher, I work hard to maintain good habits in preparing a sermon. Translating from the original Greek or Hebrew text, engaging with the commentators, creating a clear structure for the sermon, and finally, figuring out how to communicate God’s word in an enlightening fashion (as opposed to a dry and boring one). (more…)
1 Kings 8:38-40
Bible 101
“…whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers. ”
Israel’s great King Solomon is remembered primarily for two things: his wisdom, and the temple that he built in fulfillment of the promise that God made to his father David (1 Kings 8:15-20, cf. 2 Samuel 7:13). Soon after its completion, Solomon dedicated it for use in Israel’s life (1 Kings 8:12-66). As Solomon prayed at the temple, he reflected that its completion was not simply the fulfillment of a promise, but an event with cosmological significance. The God who could not be contained by the highest heaven (1 Kings 8:27) had nevertheless come to his people, and made his dwelling place among them. The temple is called the ‘house of Yahweh’ eleven times in these central temple-building chapters (chs. 5-8). This is more than a symbolic statement: Israel was a nation who lived their lives in the presence of God. (more…)
The perils of plundering the Egyptians
Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel
flickr: Gary Soup
In our previous post, we looked at a story that has often been used as analogy for the way that Christians can use secular wisdom in gospel mission and ministry. This is the account of the Israelites, plundering the gold of the Egyptians as God rescued them from slavery (Exodus 3:19-22). The analogy works because at least some of the Egyptian gold probably ended up being used to worship God (Exodus 25:1-8). But keen readers will notice that there’s another place the Egyptian gold ended up too:
(more…)
Can The Trellis and the Vine be a Trellis?
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
In April I had the privilege of serving alongside Marty Sweeney at the Matthias Media booth at the ‘Together for the Gospel’ conference in Louisville, KY. In addition to improving my geographical knowledge (who knew you could sleep in Indiana and walk each morning to Kentucky?) and enjoying good fare (thank you Troll Pub!), the time at T4G gave me helpful and encouraging insight into the impact of Matthias Media and its resources. It will probably come as no surprise to this blog’s readers that the resource mentioned most frequently by those who stopped by our booth was The Trellis and the Vine. In fact many of the conversations I shared went something like this: (more…)
Editorial: Inside baseball
Moneyball is exactly the sort of movie I thought I would hate. I loved it.
Released last year, it’s a movie in which Brad Pitt plays the manager of a fairly average baseball team trying to put together a successful season on a tight budget. (more…)
→ Breaking Hearts
Link
I am here and not there because He has brought this to pass. I am here for Shannon’s sake, for her good. I am here for my own sake, for my good. And I am here for the sake of Darby, Campbell, Delaney, Erin Claire, Maili, Reilly and Donovan. My Father knows what each of my children need. He knows how to grow the fruit of the Spirit in each of them. He knows precisely what they each need to become more like Jesus. And He has the power to bring this to pass. What they need right now if for me to be here.
Tragic; beautiful.
Libertarian censorship
Life
Censorship was a debate most people thought was won (or lost) in the 1960’s. But it has been neither won nor lost—just changed—and that for the worse. (more…)
→ Some singing in church
Link
We’re publishing a major article on singing in church by Rob Smith in the September Briefing, but if you’re in Sydney and want to hear some singing by Rob Smith before that, try this …
Plundering the Egyptians: The place of secular wisdom in gospel mission and ministry
Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel
flickr: knitsteel
Rock performances. Accounting textbooks. Voice coaching sessions. Self-help books. Leadership seminars. Adult education techniques. Sociological surveys. Jazz piano lessons. Child safety courses. Food safety courses. Statistical surveys. Statistics lectures. Corporate management textbooks. Primers on psychology. Magazine articles on cosmology. Blogs on modern communication techniques. Tips on writing style. (more…)
The 4 Ps of being a shepherd (Mark Dever)
Pastoral Ministry, Trellis & Vine Talk
In this talk from a Matthias Media conference in 2009, Mark Dever talks about what it means to be a ‘shepherd’ of God’s people, and what a shepherd does. (more…)
Hebrews 12:22-24
Bible 101
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
Where do you go to church? For me, I go to an Anglican church in North Epping, Sydney, Australia. Easy, right? I suppose a better question is this: where are you when you’re at church? These verses from Hebrews 12 show us why that’s a question that’s worth asking, and what’s going on when we gather as God’s people. (more…)
What joy in hell?
Thought
There is no joy in hell.
Its very existence reassures us of ultimate justice. Where else can the victims of the Holocaust find justice? But justice is little comfort when we consider hell’s horror. (more…)