Saturday, September 30, 2006

What to do with the Mary Mother of Jesus?

There is growing interest in Mary the mother of Jesus among Protestants. I think it's a great thing as she is truly an example to other disciples of her Son. There is a very readable book on Mary coming out in November from Paraclete Press by Scot McKnight. He is an evangelical New Testament scholar.

Here is a link to a sample chapter of the book. You can check out Paraclete Press' website for deals on purchasing the whole book.

Give it a read! Let me hear what you're thinking! There will be a discussion group for the book in early December--around the time of the release of "The Nativity" in local theatres. Let me know if you're interested.

Aaron

Monday, September 25, 2006

Monday Morning Remix: The Secret to Fruitfulness

esterday Pastor Gary talked about Three Steps to Fruitfulness:
1. Identify the thorns in your life;
2. Make a lifelong commitment to God's ways;
3. Make wise and firm decisions for righteousness.

The longevity aspect of fruitfulness is what struck me most. I most appreciated Pastor Gary's phrase: "God is committed to your future." Let a hopeless theology junkie talk theology for a moment. One recent idea for theology is to describe God as inhabiting the future, drawing the present into his future. God is committed to our futures because God is at work in the present--even when it seems like he is not. He is at work in the present to draw together his HUGE PLAN of SALVATION. Thanks, Pastor Gary, for reminding me of that!

Any other thoughts? What stood out for you? What did God bring to mind for you?

Monday, September 18, 2006

Monday Morning Remix: The Story of Scripture

Yesterday we took a huge picture look at Scripture. It broke Scripture down as a play into six scenes (I get this picture mainly from N.T. Wright, whose commentaries I recommend highly):

I. Creation
II. Fall
III. Israel
IV. Jesus
V. Church
VI. New Creation

I think the part that frequently hits me when I think big picture like this is God's ability to weave together so many different elements. He takes things that are shortcomings and weaves them into a beautiful picture. Matthew 1, of course, is a good reminder. In chapter 1, Matthew tells Jesus' genealogy and includes four women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah's wife (Bathsheba).

All of these women have negative elements to their stories. Tamar is a widow. Her father in law, Judah, does not give her his third son as was the custom so that she could have children who would care for her. So, she pretends to be a prostitute and sleeps with Judah. (All recorded in Genesis 38.) Their child, Perez, becomes an ancestor of Jesus.

Rahab is a prostitute in Jericho who hides two spies from the Israelites and who is spared as a result. (Joshua 2 and 6.)

Ruth is an early widow. (Book of Ruth.)

Bathsheba is the woman David committed adultery with and whose husband, Uriah, was killed to cover up the sin. (2 Samuel 11.)

All of these women play a role in the birth of Jesus through his history. They all have terrible aspects to their lives. Gives another picture of how big salvation can be, eh?

Any other thoughts?

Monday, September 11, 2006

Monday Morning Remix: Three Relational Killjoys

Let me give a quick recap of the sermon yesterday:
There are three relational killjoys that can be counteracted:
1. Selfishness is a killjoy that can be countered with giving;
2. Resentment is a killjoy that can be countered with focusing on healing;
3. Fear is a killjoy that can be countered with focusing on God's power.


I appreciated the focus on the positive aspect of salvation. Too many times we focus on the negative instead of building up the positive and focusing on the GOOD NEWS of salvation and seeing how extensive it really is.

Any thoughts on the sermon from anyone else?

Monday, September 04, 2006

Monday Morning Remix: God's Extreme Makeover

Yesterday Pastor Gary talked about God's Extreme Makeover. He talked about the wholistic makeover God intends for all of us.

Three issues surrounding the makeover were:

1. A heart that is renewed daily.
2. A heart that is grateful for his grace.
3. A heart that takes delight in being just like the Father.

What stuck out most to me was Pastor Gary's thought on salvation: God is looking for you before we even consider Him. This is one of the pillars of John Wesley's thought on salvation: God is at work before we have ever thought about God. (He called it "prevenient grace" which just means, "Grace that goes before....") Amazing to think that God is working on our behalf in situations that we haven't even thought about yet! Amazing that God is "making over" individuals who may not have stepped in a church door, prayed, or even thought about God!

Any other thoughts on the sermon?