P. Andrew Sandlin looks at Good Friday as as a celebration of conquest
Message delivered at San Lorenzo Valley First Baptist Church's Good Friday Service, April 10, 2009
There are numerous and momentous implications of our Lord’s death that we celebrate today. I draw attention this afternoon to just one of them: Christus Victor. This view emerged very early in the church, and with good reason — the Bible teaches it. It means “Christ is Victor.” Satan and sin are our enemies. In dying on the Cross, Jesus vanquished these enemies. Jesus’ death defeats the Devil.
Sin enslaves us (Rom. 6:17), and Satan is our captor (2 Tim. 2:26). We’re born into his clutches. We head down the wrong road from the very beginning. Satan and sin snare us. Sin addicts us. We fall into sin and then we despair at the inevitable, destructive consequences, but then we keep on sinning. More ominously, if we persist in sin, we’ll face God’s judgment in the end (Rom. 6:23). Sin separates us from God. It makes us God’s enemy. We’re at w
R.C. Sproul Jr. addresses the question, "Is Christian Reconstruction biblical? Why or why not?"
Tonight I begin a new Bible study titled Loving Your Neighbor. I will begin by beating this dead horse, that he who defines the terms wins the debate. The same applies to the question under consideration. Different people mean different things by the term Christian Reconstruction. Consider these two alternatives. Is it biblical to seek to seize the reigns of government power, and to impose a biblical theocracy on an unwilling people? Precious few if any self-identified reconstructionists would ever agree with such a definition. But what about this- Is it the duty of all Christians everywhere to labor faithfully and honestly to see that every sphere of reality is brought under submission to the Lordship of Christ? Again, even the most strident dispensationalist would be hard pressed to disagree with that.
Is Christianity Good for the World? Role Call:JameyB.com
Jamey Bennett briefly reviews the Hitchens vs. Wilson debate
What happens when you take two brilliant and winsome men who have diametrically opposed views of what Christianity does for the world? What if one of them is a minister and the other considers Christianity not only false, but dangerous and evil?
Well, I guess you get the exchange found in Is Christianity Good for the World? between Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens. Written at a fairly popular level (as far as these things go), both parties do a fine job presenting their side. Certainly I was rooting for the affirmative, and Wilson does not disappoint. Hitchens's sophisticated rhetoric and Wilson's punchy wit make them enjoyably engaging interlocutors.
Nevertheless, it took Wilson a good deal of time before I thought he was actually addressing the debate question. Some of that was Hitchens's refusal to directly address Wilson's million dollar question: One what basis do you critique Christianity? or How do you account for morality? That sort of thing. But it did take a while to get the ball rolling, so to speak.
Though the debate topic's question implicitly suggests some evidence will be offered, Wilson doesn't handle the evidence exactly how one might anticipate. Instead, he centers the answer on the Gospel of Christ itself and places the remaining necessary 'evidence' in playful, poetic language - yet nevertheless remains focused and serious enough.
Since the written debate, Hitchens and Wilson engaged in a debate tour that has been recorded for video. I happily recommend this book, and I look forward to the debate video.
Sacraments for Infants: A Parable Role Call:JameyB.com
Jamey Bennett tells a short tale about nachos and sacraments in the early Church
One day, my neighbor came over to my house on a Sunday night. He was surprised to see me having nachos, because the previous two Sundays I had nachos, but he thought it was just a coincidence the second time.
"I didn't know you have nachos EVERY Sunday night!"
"Yep," says I, "always have."
"But I don't remember you having it until a few weeks ago!"
"Ah, but I did. I just never mentioned it."
"If you had eaten nachos every Sunday night before a few weeks ago, I'm certain I would have known it."
"Sorry, dude, it just never came up."
"I just don't think you did."
"Well, I'm telling you I did. Can you prove that I didn't?"
"Well, no. That's impossible. I can't prove that you didn't have nachos."
Reason magazine has put together an excellent video on beer.
In 1920, the National Prohibition Act destroyed the beer industry in the United States, putting some 1,500 breweries out of business. When the "noble experiment" was repealed in 1933, beer lovers rejoiced, and the beer industry staggered back to its feet. The industry had lost much of its diversity, however, and the emergence of national brands in the 1950s and 1960s led to industry consolidation and fewer choices for American beer drinkers. By 1980, there were less than 50 breweries in the U.S.
By the 1980s, American beer had an international reputation as weak and watery as a case of Hamm's. Most breweries only produced American-style lagers, a light and inexpensive style of beer typically made with rice or corn adjuncts in addition to barley, hops, yeast and water....
"Beer: An American Revolution" is approximately seven minutes. Watch it now!
g. The New Heavens and Earth (Isa 65:17, 2 Ptr 3:13, Rev 21:1)
5. The “Millennium” is only mentioned in six verses in a single chapter out of the whole Bible. (Rev 20:1-10). The “Battle of Armageddon” is never actually fought (Ezk 38-39, Rev 16:16). And, there is not a single “Antichrist” but rather many (1 Jn 2:18, 2 Jn 1:7) who have the “spirit of antichrist.” (1 Jn 4:3)
6. The idea of a “Rapture” is not actually mentioned—instead, it is extrapol
George Grant looks at Teddy Roosevelt's life, and learns something about success, failure, and effective leadership
Theodore Roosevelt was never afraid to fail. In fact, he often wore his failures as badges of honor. To him, the attempt, the effort, and the sheer pluck of involvement was what really mattered in the end, “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
Though he enjoyed many successes throughout his career, he had his share of failures. He never allowed them to stymie his sense of responsibility and calling. He was often knocked down, but never out.
In addition, he was eager to learn from his mistakes. On November 29, 1905, when his administration had lost a strategic legislative battle on the floor of the Senate, he called each of
David Bunker reflects on ashes, Lent, calendars, and this fragile life
The Church’s practice of Ash Wednesday has become a powerful metaphor for life’s transient nature. The very act of bowing one’s knee and having another human place darkened ashes upon your forehead tells a powerful story to our bodies that we are indeed going to face our end. Growing up in the holiness tradition I was fairly unfamiliar with the sacraments and rituals of the high church. Ash Wednesday and its formative power were missed on me and others like me. What was the point of wearing some kind of darkened ash on one’s forehead? In his book Tortured Wonders, Clapp reflects on an experience an Episcopal priest friend of his had during an Ash Wednesday service.
As the priests were offering up prayers and the Gospel, they prepared to offer up the reminder of each and everyone’s frailty in light of the body’s fragile reality. As one of the priests administered the ashes on the foreheads, a stunningly beautiful woman dressed obviously with fashion and panache walked forward and knelt before the priest. Her reticence and awkwardness were obvious and at some point she leaned forward as if she wanted to say something to the priest. He instinctually drew closer to her whispering only to hear her say in halting speech, “Father, I am a model. I know I only have a few years, and then I will be too old for this work. My body is aging, and I can hardly admit it to myself. I do this once a year, at this service. So rub the ashes on. Rub them hard.” - Page 170, Tortured Wonders
I bring up the season of Lent for it is the system of time unde
Jamey Bennett offers some suggestions for a meaningful Lent
I was interacting with a friend about Lenten commitments, and I thought I'd share some of that here. If you're not really sure of the why and how of Lent, I've posted some links below.
Determine to abstain from certain foods in the discipline of fasting. If your church prescribes which foods, follow that (with a measure of grace). If your church does not, a good place to start is abstaining from alcohol and leaving off meat on Fridays (I'd advocate something more intrusive, but it's a start).
Next, do a sweeping interior search - both before and during Lent. What are some major areas of struggle inside? Identify those, and instead of making grand plans and pledging not to do, say, or think those things during Lent, substitute a positive thing that will combat that weakness.
Let me make a concrete suggestion. Make Ephesians 4 your Lenten discipline - the whole chapter. Write it out on a card and memorize it. Daily live by it. This is not Law, this is Gospel working. "Put off the old man and put on the new man." That's what Lent is really all about, right?
One year, I wrote Ephesians 4:29 on a card and carried it everywhere with me: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." And I made it a point to only say edifying things - even about the President (it wasn't easy that year). For 40 days I stopped myself anytime I was about to say anything that was negative about someone else. It was a great practice - and it made me acutely aware of how often I had been misusing my communication.
May we all be delivered from ourselves!
Here's a portion of the text of Ephesians 4
http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/ephstop.htm
Wes Diggs revels in the joy of yuletide surprises for his little family
I've been a daddy now for three years. I've done lots of "daddy" things, but recently I met with a gratification that I hadn't yet come to.
I spent my birthday money at Home Depot. I bought various and sundry items, including my wife Melissa's birthday present to me - a shiny yellow ladder. The fiberglass ladder wasn't cheap, about $125, but the rest of the money went to lights. I bought Christmas lights for my birthday, lots of them. Maybe $100 worth including power cords and other accessories.
I got home by 6:30 while the kids were at their grandparent's house for dinner. I immediately started working on the lights. I racked out my ladder and started opening boxes. First, the vanity solar-powered walkway lamps went into place. I bought a pack of 6, which was just enough to light the path from the driveway you the front porch. I placed them after charging them under the living room l
Two years ago, I was the editor of a beautiful little education newsletter for Eagles Nest Academy of Franklin, TN, called Out of the Nest. The December 2006 edition is one of my favorites.
And We Beheld His Glory by Jamey W. Bennett
The Incarnation & Education by Jamey W. Bennett
The Extraordinary Ordinary Savior by Martin Luther
Stephen Freeman looks at the greatness of God's mercy in seeing him so small
Whom have we, Lord, like you -
The Great One who became small, the Wakeful who slept,
The Pure One who was baptized, the Living One who died,
The King who abased himself to ensure honor for all.
Blessed is your honor! - St. Ephrem the Syrian
We draw near to the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity, and I cannot fathom the smallness of God. Things in my life loom so large and every instinct says to overcome the size of a threat by meeting it with a larger threat. But the weakness of God, stronger than death, meets our human life/death by becoming a child - the smallest of us all - man at his weakest - utterly dependent.
And His teaching will never turn away from that reality for a moment. Our greeting of His mission among us is marked by misunderstanding, betrayal, denial and murder. But He greets us with forgiveness, love, and the sacrifice of self.
This way of His is more than a rescue mission mounted to straighten out what we had made crooked. His coming among us is not only action but also revelation. He does no
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