Review: "Cast of Characters"

Some people are surprised that I read Max Lucado, given my theological preferences, but I do.  I read him because he is a great story-teller.  He knows how to write and engage; he knows how to expose the fleshy-ness of humanity.  He sees human beings and their sin and shows them as they are.

I read for the story and for the story-telling style.  In his earlier books, I also found some great insight into the humanity of Jesus.

I just read his book, Cast of Characters:  Common People in the hands of an Uncommon God, and I would recommend that you skip it.

The story-telling is good, but the theology is continuing to slip.  Plus, as seems to be the trend with Thomas Nelson authors, he uses the NCV and also the MSG and TLB.  There is a point to be made for making the biblical text accessible to most readers.  However, resorting to paraphrases to make doctrinal points is never wise, because…well…it’s a paraphrase, not a translation.  There is no reason to believe that a person’s paraphrase has kept the Truth of the Scripture.  Translations have their good and bad points; paraphrases should be avoided, and certainly not used to prove a point, which they cannot do, because they are not what God authored.

Moving on from there is the slipping theology.  Now, I’m Reformed, and Lucado is not.  I have known that from day one.

But, on page 156-157, Lucado begins exegeting the word “hallowed,” which he says comes from the word “holy,” which comes from the root “to cut” – all good.  Then he writes, “To be holy, then, is to be a cut above the norm, superior, extraordinary.”  He, to my understanding, “wimps out.”  Is God merely a “cut above the rest,” or is He wholly other?

Most disturbingly, on page 210, he describes Christian adoption through Christ as a court case.  After Jesus has shown His ability to do good works, and ostensibly care for the “orphan” – you or me, God says He will permit the adoption – “I will permit it,” he says, “on one condition.  That the orphan requests it.”

Lucado has just stated that our salvation, despite any good works that Jesus might have done, is completely the individual's decision.  Salvation is completely the work of the person being saved.  All Jesus did in the Gospel may be a waste – loss – Jesus may not save anyone, because, ultimately, Lucado explains, you save yourself.

What? When?

OK.  I just got home to find a number of phone calls, so I will answer in as many places and ways as I can -- not that this hasn't been answered through announcements from the pulpit for several weeks, the newsletter, and the Christmas letter, and nothing has changed since 1995 when I first came to the church as just a person...  Christmas Eve worship will be (D.V.) on Christmas Eve at 7 PM!

Creation, continued

Tonight we will (D.V.) look at the argument for a "24-hour day" interpretation of the days of Creation.  Join us at 7 PM.

Review: "The Hospitality Commands"

God commands you to be hospitable.  I don’t know if I would have ever put it that way if I had not read Alexander Strauch’s little (53 pages) book, The Hospitality Commands.

Strauch argues that “hospitality” was a distinctive mark of the early church (6).

Christ brings people together as a family (10) that loves each other (12).  That love opens up one’s home and life to others in living out the Gospel (17).  Inviting people into the home is key to hospitality (18).

Historically, home meetings have been the most fruitful base for evangelism (21).  Especially when a meal is shared with another (24).  The home was also the first place for travelling ministers to stay and work from (26).  Hospitality includes generous, loving support for workers of the Gospel (29).

In the fourth chapter, he shows that hospitality is an actual command, not a matter of money or ability, but obedience (34).   And all persons are to share in offering hospitality (37).  The biggest stumbling block to this is our selfishness (38).  Nevertheless, we are responsible to show hospitality to all Christians we encounter (40) – for which there may be unexpected reward (41).  Christian leaders, in particular, must show hospitality (43).  Except in the case of false teachers and unrepentant brothers and sisters (44).  This chapter ends with a list (with Scriptures) of fourteen distinctive of Christian hospitality (47).

The final chapter is sixteen “helpful hints” for practicing hospitality – including some additional resources one might find useful.

The book includes a study guide for individual or group use.

I highly recommend this book in an age where we live as though we don’t need each other and “what’s mine is mine.” 

The one point at which I would like further clarification – especially as a minister – is how, when showing hospitality – to keep boundaries.  For example, I prefer not to have people to my house, because it is my sanctuary – it is the one place I can go where people do not show up to make demands on me (in person, anyway).  How might one keep the home, if one invites people in, from becoming a place where people believe they have a right to show up at any time and demand to be provided for because you are the minster and you “work” for them?  Perhaps the answer is found in a mutual understanding of hospitality.  I wish he had spent more time on this.

Review: "Fyodor Dostoevsky"

Biography is fiction.  It is not possible to know what really happened in all its detail, much less what was really said in conversation among people – except to the extent that diaries and letters and others writing exist, and even those are questionable, as they come from the skewed perspective of the writer.

That being said, I have just read Peter Leithart’s Fyodor Dostoevsky, and it is amazing!  Leithart has taught Dostoevsky for many years at New St. Andrew’s College, and here takes his pen to write a short (175 page) biography, written in a unique and compelling style – making it a fast, though deep read.

Leithart writes the biography as a series of dialogs – alternating between Dostoevsky and his friend Apollon Maikov late in Dostoevsky’s life and with vignettes of dialog concerning significant events in Dostoevsky’s life.  This is not just whole cloth:  Leithart – as one can see in the footnotes – has spent much time combing through the diaries of Dostoevsky and his wife, Anna, as well as Dostoevsky’s novels.

One read these dialogs and gets to know the man – the brilliant writer, chronically ill man, political unifier, troubled gambler, devotee of family, and passionate Christian.  Turning from respect to sorrow to disgust to awe to – desiring to go back and reread what I have read and read more of Dostoevsky – this is a première biography and introduction to the man and his thought.

If you want to know something about Dostoevsky as a whole man or want to know how to be a real, but human-all-too-human, follower of Christ – pick up and read.

[This review appears on Amazon.com and on my blog.  I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson for this review.] 

"The Year of the Lord's Favor" Sermon: Isaiah 61:1-11

“The Year of the Lord’s Favor”

[Isaiah 61:1-11]    

December 11, 2011 Second Reformed Church

            Israel had been conquered by the Assyrian army.  Many had been slaughtered.  Many had been taken into captivity.  Many in Israel despaired of their future.  But God was not done with her.  God does not break His Promises; God keeps His Covenant.  All the promises God has ever made will come to pass.

            Chapter sixty-one of Isaiah comes in the midst of a prophecy of restoration and salvation for the people of God.  In chapter sixty, God spoke through Isaiah, telling Israel that there would be remnant who returned to the land.  God would bring them back, revealing His Glory through them – bringing the Promised Savior through the chosen people.

            Then we read:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; “

Isaiah says that God the Holy Spirit is upon him, because God has given him a message to proclaim.  Understand that no one has ever spoken the Word of God rightly without God the Holy Spirit superintending over the message.  Isaiah could not preach the pure Word of God unless the Holy Spirit guided his tongue; I cannot – you cannot – speak God’s Truth without the guidance of God the Holy Spirit.  The proclaimer of God’s Word is one who has been anointed – set apart – chosen for a special purpose. 

            Peter wrote, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21, ESV).  Preaching the Gospel is authorized and commissioned by God and God alone.

Isaiah was sent to preach the Good News – the remnant shall return – God will restore a remnant.  Fear and despair will be done away with.  The captives and prisoners of Assyria will be set free.  He was anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit:

            “to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;”

Isaiah was sent as the herald of future grace – God would establish the remnant and make them His people.  God would do the work of salvation.  God would show Himself to be all glorious through His Work.  And Isaiah was sent as a herald of the vengeance of God – to let the people know that God will require justice.  Everyone will have to answer for and pay for his or her sins.  God will not wink at sin or “let it slide.”  God’s Justice must be satisfied.  Still, there is comfort – there is a partaking of spiritual joy because God is both Faithful and Just.

Is this text about Isaiah?  Is it about all the true prophets and preachers – proclaimers of the Word of God?  Yes, but we know that the merely human proclaimers of the Good News are not the whole story.  They cannot bring the fullness of the Good News or God’s Judgment to pass.

           We have the testimony of Jesus, that this text – though it is about all those who speak the Good News – it is ultimately about Him:

            “And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

           ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’  And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ‘Is not this Joseph's son?’ And he said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ And he said, ‘Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away” (Luke 4:16-30, ESV).

            It was common practice for men to be called up from the crowd to read and comment on the reading from the Tanakh – the Old Testament.  Jesus was called up that day to read and give a word – a blessing – to the congregation.  So, what happened?  Why did they want to kill Him?

            Three reasons:

            First, He stopped the text short – He didn’t finish the reading.  Purposefully, dramatically, He stopped reading after saying that He had come to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, so anyone who knew the text would have the next phrase ringing in their ears:  “and the day of vengeance of our God.”  Jesus’ point was – God sent Him to proclaim the Good News and to condemn them.

            Second, He said that they will reject Jesus and the Word of God that He brings.

            And finally, the last straw, Jesus said that just as in the days of Elijah and Elisha, Israel would reject the Word of God, but the Gentiles – the non-Jews – would receive it.  Which is exactly what happened.

            So, we see that this text is about Isaiah and all those who proclaim the Good News of God, but it is most specifically and finally about Jesus.  The salvation Isaiah is prophesying about is not just the return of Israel to the land, but the salvation of the whole person that is only found through Jesus Christ Alone.

“to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.” 

            Those in exile – in prison – have been in mourning for their loss, but God will come and take away their mourning.  God will remove the ashes of repentance from their heads and give them a crown of glory.  Instead of songs of sorrow, they will sing songs of praise to God.

Have we not heard this promise before?  “[Jesus] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, ESV).

The people of God will be called “oaks of righteousness” – the ones whose righteousness is strong and solid.  Because God will plant them – God will make them His people – for His Sake – for His Glory. 

Although all those who follow God are called to holiness, our righteousness can never save us, because we are not holy.  We cannot earn or merit holiness.  Only God can make us holy, so all glory for our salvation goes to Him Alone.

“They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.”

Jerusalem had lain in ruins for “seventy years.”  They people would return to a vast wasteland – rubble and weeds.  But God cannot be stopped.  God cannot be hindered.  It was the will of the Lord to raise Israel up again, and God will raise up all of His people in His time.  Those whom God has chosen for Himself cannot completely fall away, but God will raise them up again.  He raises us up – all we who believe – just as He raised up Jerusalem.

“Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.”

The remnant would have wondered how they could rebuild:  after “seventy years” in captivity, they had no money or supplies – how could they rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple?  So, God told them that the Gentiles would help them.  They would supply money and supplies and even work for them.  And the remnant of Israel would be known as the priests of God.  No more would there be a separate priestly class, but all peoples, through the Savior, would be able to come to God.

Ezra recorded the return of the remnant to Israel and Judah:  “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

“’Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem’” (Ezra 1:1-4, ESV).

And John wrote, “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:4b-6, ESV).            

And Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV).

And Paul wrote, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11, ESV).

All peoples have come into the household of God and all those who believe have become priests who proclaim that the Final Sacrifice has been offered – we celebrate that fact here this morning – receiving the bread and the cup.  “It is finished.”

Just as God sent help to Israel as the remnant returned, that they would be able to rebuild to the Glory of God, so Christ, as the Head of the Church, causes all types of people to come into the Church that we would work together, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus to the Glory of God.

“Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.”

Israel had sinned and been conquered by God – taken into Assyrian captivity.  The nations around her mocked her and cast dispersions upon her and her God.  But God promised they would not return to dishonor, but God would give them a double portion of joy in their return.

Similarly, as we receive indignities for our faith in Christ, we will receive blessings such that all that we suffered for Christ will be as nothing.  Paul said, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” (2 Corinthians 4:17, ESV).  Just as God did not deny the “seventy years” of suffering Israel suffered in captivity, Paul does not deny the suffering we endure for the sake of Christ.  But God promises a double portion of joy – that the glory into which those who believe will enter will be so much more glorious than everything we ever suffer that it will all be like nothing.

As we suffer on earth, we need to keep that in mind – if we consider the worst suffering we suffer and understand that the glory and joy that we will be received into will be exponentially greater, we can suffer for Christ.  We can endure.  This is a great hope to me as I am constantly ill and in pain, and I know it is for some of you.  Let us do what we can to be well and then hold fast to the promise that – compared to what we will receive in glory – this is nothing.

The opposite is also true – for those who don’t believe – they will enter suffering beyond anything they could ever have conceived.  The worst someone suffers on earth will be like nothing compared with the severity of the suffering of those who never believe.

“For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”

God loves justice and God will bring justice to pass.  The only question before each human being is:  “Will you pay the debt you owe God, or will someone else?”  God is just and faithful and will bring everything to pass as He has promised.  Human beings never keep their promises, but God, Who swears by Himself, will keep the covenant promise He has made for all those who believe in Him.

“Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.”

Here, again, we have the promise that God’s Plan always included all peoples.  God always intended to save people from every nation and tribe and race.  Moses recorded God’s promise to Abraham, which included these words:  “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:18, ESV).  God’s people include people from every nation, not just Israel.

In verses ten and eleven, it is no longer God speaking through Isaiah, but Isaiah speaking on behalf of Israel – and all those who would believe in the Good News:

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Isaiah acknowledges in his proclaiming of the Good News that God’s Word has made him rejoice and praise God, because God has caused Isaiah’s salvation – God has dressed him with salvation; God has covered him with righteousness – not a righteousness that belonged to Isaiah, but a righteousness that was given by God to Isaiah.  God, as his Bridegroom, made Himself his priest and, Isaiah, His bride.

As God told Israel through the prophet, Hosea, “And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD” (Hosea 2:19-20, ESV).

And John says of all those who believe:  “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;” (Revelation 19:7, ESV).

“For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.”

Isaiah calls Israel to look at the Creation:  after the death of winter, the plants sprout anew, and when the dead seeds are planted in the garden, God causes them to sprout up.  In the same way, God has chosen a people to raise from spiritual death – both from Israel and from all of the nations.  And God will cause them to rise up, filled with the righteousness that He gives through faith in His Son.  From this, all the nations will praise God, the Only Savior.

What shall we say to these things?

God keeps His promises to His people today, just as He did to Israel.

God has given us His Word and makes us able to proclaim it and believe it.

God is faithful and just, and so God has given us a Savior to make all those who will believe right with Him.  And God has given salvation to every people – making all those who believes priests to Him.

And whatever the worst is that we endure in this life, it is nothing compared with the glory that He is bringing us into.

Salvation has come through the Person of Jesus, our God.   Will you be raised from the dead, cleansed, dressed, and given to the Bridegroom?  Jesus does this for each one who will believe in Him Alone for Salvation.

Let us pray:

            We come to you, Great Savior, in this, the year of the Lord’s favor, and we ask that You would save Your people.  Meet with us in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.  Give us Your Grace.  Enable us to do Your Will and to rejoice.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Prayer Meeting

Continues (D.V.) tomorrow at 3 PM.  Join us as we come before our God and Father.

While reading a biography of Dostoevsky on a recumbant bike

If Christ died merely for us, then He is a fool -- an imbecile.  But if Christ died merely for His Glory, then how wise is Christ to take the most wretched, incalculably misery-worthy, to be the backdrop that magnifies His Indescribable Glory?

Thursday Night Study

Due to the town holiday party, we will not have our Thursday night study this Thursday.  Please join us next Thursday (the 15th) as we continue (D.V.) our look at the Creation.

Reformed Wisdom

“With the current situation of the American church in  mind, we can say that frequent eating and drinking at the table will inoculate the church against the Gnosticism of modern Christianity (not to mention trendy spiritualisms) that would reduce religion to a private, inner, purely ‘spiritual’ experience; a church whose central religious rite includes baked goods is being trained in proper dominion over creation and will refuse resurgent nature worship in both its religious and political guises; a church that celebrates a feast of wine is being formed into a joyful community that contests the equation of Christian seriousness with prudishness; a church that celebrates the communal meal is bound into one Body and will resist the corrosive individualism of modern culture that has too often invaded the church; a church that shares bread at the Lord’s table is learning the virtues of generosity and humility; a church that proclaims the Lord’s sacrificial death in the Supper is exercising itself in self-sacrifice and becoming immune to the lure of self-fulfillment.  Not automatically, but in the context of teaching and a robust community life, the skills and virtues practiced at the Lord’s table will spill over to fill the whole church with a Eucharistic ethos.  In short, the Supper exercises the church in the protocols of life in the presence of God.  The Supper, then, is not ‘God’s flannel graph’ so much as ‘the church’s role play.’” – Peter J. Leithart, Blessed Are the Hungry:  Meditations on the Lord’s Supper, 185-186.

Review: "Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truths That Last"

Joshua Harris has written an extremely accessible introduction to the major themes and terms of theology in his book, Dug Down Deep:  Building Your Life on Truths That Last.  I would rarely consider a book using the words justification, sanctification, imputation, propitiation, etc., a “quick read,” but this one is.  Harris has written to get people to understand these crucial terms and concepts in theology by writing a conversational, narrative theology – he tells stories about himself, his family, and others he knows.

Harris begins by confessing that he is a sinner and that he did not embrace Christianity in his youth.  In the second chapter, he comforts those who are immediately scared by the thought of theology by explaining that in order to truly love Jesus, we need to know Him.  Knowing Him is what theology is all about.

The third chapter begins the theology looking at God proper.  Harris explains that there is a God and He is Holy, and very other than us.   He looks at a number of God’s Attributes and then considers how we can know a God so different from us.

In the fourth chapter, Harris looks at the doctrine of Scripture.  If the Bible is God’s Word, what does that mean, and how do we read it.  Harris argues against those who say the Bible is a rule book, and show instead that the Bible is the story of Jesus.  (He recommends Lloyd-Jones’ children’s Bible storybook as a first place to learn theology.)

Then, he looks at why the Incarnation was necessary – why God had to become human.  Continuing in the sixth chapter by looking at the atonement and justification, he explains how Jesus made all those who believe right with God, and he also touches on the Lord’s Supper.

The seventh chapter is the story of the conversion of Harris’ father.  Warmly and humorously told, Harris well makes the point that salvation is completely God’s Work.  Humans can do nothing to make themselves right with God.  We do not choose, participate in, or merit salvation.

The eighth chapter, on sanctification, is one of the best, in which Harris works at length to show that all people are born slaves to sin.  God justifies those He wills to, and then, those people are made right with God – by God’s Work Alone.  After that, Christians are still tempted by sin and give in to sin.  We are not holy; we are not yet sanctified in reality.  Sanctification is the process by which, those who have been justified by God, progress towards becoming holy.  He illustrates this through a series of cartoons.

In the ninth chapter, he addresses the Holy Spirit, rightly pointing out that He is a Person, not an “it,” not a force or power.  He begins the chapter by “confessing” that he is charismatic/non-cessationist/continuance about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but he states that it is not necessary to agree with him on this to be a Christian.  He encourages people not to get bogged down in identifying their gifts, but to live for God by the Power of God the Holy Spirit Who lives in every Christian.  And he uses the imagery of a spotlight to explain the Holy Spirit’s Work – that is, the Holy Spirit seeks to illuminate and point us to Jesus.

He then explores the doctrine of the Church – defining the Church as the people of faith, yet arguing that participation in a local congregation is necessary for Christian life.  He mentions three marks of the Church being the right preaching of the Word, administration of the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper and baptism, and church discipline.

He ends the book talking about “humble orthodoxy” – arguing that learning and understanding God and Who He is, etc., ought not to puff us up or make us arrogant, but rather make us humble – seeing ourselves for who we are sinners and looking to Jesus for life and hope, as we seek to spread the Gospel to the world.

The edition of the book I read also includes an in-depth study guide for individuals or groups.  It goes through the book to make sure everything was understood and nothing missed.  After this is an appendix of books for further reading.  I always find it helpful, not merely to look at footnotes, but the books the author has found foundational for his understanding.  I plan to follow up on many of them.

I read this book as a Reformed pastor, and as such, I would say that this would be an excellent introduction to theology for about 90% of people (junior high age and up).  I would, however, say that this book would best be used in a class discussion group because of some denominational issues:

In the Reformed tradition, we understand the Bible to teach that God is Absolutely Sovereign in all things, including salvation.  The certainly seems to be what Harris believes and teaches through this book.  However, I know some traditions would not agree – at least with how he presents it.

Also, as I read this from a Reformed perspective, I found the book lacing in the presentation of the sacraments.  Very little is said, and what is said, I cannot wholly agree with:  both on page 100 and 204, Harris explains that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of what Jesus did.  And I put in both margins “Is that all?”  In the Reformed tradition, we understand that it is not merely a memorial, but Jesus meets with us in the reception of the elements, giving us His Grace, and the Supper is an assurance of the hope we have the Jesus will return.  On page204, Harris states that baptism is only for professing Christians.  We baptize infants, understanding that baptism is a sign of entrance into the community, not salvation.

I might be accused of being a grumpy Reformed guy, as I am talking about a whole three sentences in the book.  However, for this book to be ecumenical – useful to all Christians, he would have done better to simply state that the Lord’s Supper and Baptism are the sacraments – and leave it at that – or briefly present the different views on them.

In the chapter on the Church, he also mentions church disciple, but doesn’t such much about it – I wish he had said more.

Finally, in the chapter on the Holy Spirit, he explains at length his belief that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still for today, though he says that is not the litmus test of Christianity, and he doesn’t want to say that others must agree with him.  But, in presenting it the way he did at all, it will be assumed that this is what Christians ought to believe.  Again, if he desired to mention the gifts of the Spirit at all, he would have done better to give a short explanation of why some believe they are for today and why some do not.

Overall, this is an excellent book, and I do recommend it for group discussion and for example of how to explain doctrine in a vox populi kind of way.  But I would not give this to someone with no instruction other than, “this is Christianity.”

[This review appears on Amazon.com and on my blog.  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.] 

Curious...

I'm curious.  Rarely are there ever any comments left on my posts, but I know from the stats that people are reading my posts.  What I am curious about is why my review of Apolo Anton Ohno's books has gotten almost four times as many reads as any other post.  I'm guessing it at least has to do with people Googling his name and following to the post.  Is that it?  Or is there something more?

Reformed Wisdom

“According to the Bible, the kingdom of God is the creation renewed and brought to its intended end.  Through His redemptive work in Christ, God will bring the world to a condition of cosmic peace, of shalom, of harmony among God, man, and the creation.  Adam’s sin spoiled the harmonious goodness of the original creation, but, through Jesus, the Last Adam and Prince of Peace, God intends to put things in their proper place.  The renewal of the creation is to be understood in the eschatological ‘already-not-yet’ framework that shapes New Testament theology as a whole.  The gospel of the resurrection means not only that the dead Jesus came back to life (though it means that) but also that Jesus has entered the realm of life, of the new creation and of the Spirit.  In him, the new creation has already begun and the Kingdom has been established, though the creation is not fully renewed, restored, or transfigured into a news heavens and a new earth.  Only by faith does the believer know that, through his death and resurrection, Jesus fundamentally renovated the world but his resurrection and ascension guarantee that he will in the end bring the world to its destined fulfillment.” – Peter J. Leithart, Blessed Are the Hungry:  Meditations on the Lord’s Supper, 166-167.

December Sermons

I'm just getting over being sick and, to keep from relapsing, my doctor has recommended I stay home this Sunday.  Pastor Solomon has graciously offered to preach.  D.V., after that, I plan to preach:

12/11/11 Communion/Advent 3

  Isaiah 61:1-11  “The Year of the Lord’s Favor”

12/18/11 Advent 4

 Isaiah 64:1-9  “Now Consider”

12/24/11 Christmas Eve 7 PM

 Luke 2:1-20  “Good News”

12/25/11

 Hebrews 1:1-2  “God Spoke”

Today's Prayer Meeting

Since the pastor is still ill, today's prayer meeting is cancelled.  Please pray at home and with each other.

Review: "Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper"

Blessed Are the Hungry:  Meditations on the Lord’s Supper is a profoundly thought-provoking book.  Through twenty-eight mediations and a concluding essay, Leithart raises questions and makes connections about the Lord’s Supper, food, salvation, creation, recreation, etc.

Leithart suggests that his book be read as a “devotional,” not straight through.  Given that the topics and arguments change, though there is a central theme, his recommendation is a wise one.  Reading one mediation and then spending time thinking about it, searching the Scriptures, pondering the meaning of the sacrament and how all the universe is connected in this meal (he argues) is a worthy enterprise.

Leithart believes that the sacrament is more than a memorial – more than a “time killer” tacked on at the end of the worship service.  It is the embodiment of the Gospel.  It is the God-given visual representation of the Gospel.  It is his goal, he explains in the introduction, to present a number of connections to the sacrament.  He desires to show links from the sacrament to everything.  Still, he admits that this is only an introduction – it is not a systematics treatment.  No, he points out the use of food in Scripture and asks the reader, “Have you ever considered?”  And more often than not, I found myself saying, “No, I hadn’t, but now I need to think about this more.”

Leithart begins, in the first meditation, with considering the purpose and goodness of food.  In the sixth, he argues that the Supper is a Levitical jealousy rite.  In the eleventh, how it is “an edible word.”  And in the ninth, the connection between food and sex.  I have rarely seen so much worthy thinking about and through a topic in such a small book (186 pages).

If you’re interested in sacrament theology, read this book.  If you want to understand the Lord’s Supper better, read this book.  If you’re interested in food and its place in redemption, read this book.  If you don’t know why anyone would want to receive the sacrament every week, read this book.  I consider this mandatory reading for anyone thinking about the Lord’s Supper, and that should be every Christian.

Reformed Wisdom

"...the God we worship is still the God of details and is still indignant when we reject His commandments for the sake of our traditions.  One example will have to do here:  it is abundantly clear that Jesus instituted a meal that involved wine, not unfermented grape juice, and at several points in this point, we have examined some reasons for His choice of wine.  Yet, in our great wisdom, we have decided that wine is so dangerous that it has no place in the House of the Lord on the Sabbath day, while ignoring the fact that the danger of wine is precisely one of the reasons for drinking it.

"More generally, contempt for the Lord's table is contempt for the Lord of the table, and this is true for the church as it was for ancient Israel.  Matthew Henry wisely applied these verses of Malachi to 'those who live in careless neglect of holy ordinances.'  If this is the case, man churches today live in open contempt of their Lord.  The Lord has provided a generous meal for His people; we have a sacrifice from which even those who served in the temple had no right to eat.  Yet we complain that it makes the service too long and is inconvenient and it is repetitive and it is boring and maybe the roast in the oven will burn.  'My, how tiresome it is,' we sniff (Malachi 1:13), and thereby prove ourselves sons of Esau."

-- Peter J. Leithart, Blessed Are the Hungry:  Meditations on the Lord's Supper, 116.

Really?

I was looking at some RCA web sites to see what they say about what they believe.  One of them explained that the word "reformed" means "we believe in faith alone and that preaching is important."

Thursday Night Study

This week's Thursday evening study is cancelled due to the special Classis meeting (and, also, the fact that the pastor is sick).

Review -- Apolo Anton Ohno

Apolo Anton Ohno, Olympic-medalist in short tract skating, has written two “volumes” of autobiography:  A Journey written in 2002, after the Winter Olympics, when Ohno was 19, and Zero Regrets written in 2010, after the Winter Olympics, when Ohno was 28.

Short track is one of the few sports I have ever enjoyed watching, so I was curious to read what Ohno would write about in his books.  Interestingly, and perhaps not unexpectedly, they are not the same, even though the first nineteen years covered the same material.

Thematically, the first book is about how what has always mattered to Ohno was the journey – the training – the road to – not the goals themselves, necessarily.  The second book is not as much about the journey but about not having any regrets wherever he ends up. 

The first book has more of a staccato writing style – this may be in part due to having different writing partners of each book.  There is a journey-istic sense of “getting to what’s next.”  The reader sees Ohno as being intelligent but restless and difficult, strong-headed and talented.  No matter what Ohno ends up doing, there is a fight to get there, both inside him and in reality.  Ohno credits his single-parent father with much of his success and shows a ferocity towards those who disagree with him or try to stop him from moving in the direction he desires.

The second book is more meditative, more gracious, more thankful for what he has achieved.  Although there is no doubt that Ohno continues to be both strong and strong-willed, there is a sense of gratitude that is lacking in the first book.  Ohno is more encouraging of his readers and other athletes in the second book, urging all to go forward with “no regrets.”

The history of Ohno’s father leaving Japan with nothing to come to the US and then raising his only son as a single parent beginning shortly after Ohno’s birth is an inspiring one.  The dedication that Ohno has to his craft – being the best physically, mentally, and socially, is also inspiring.  Ohno seems to be a fiercely loyal friend.

The difference between the two books is not only stylistic and thematic – the histories do not agree in all points.  Two glaring differences are in Ohno’s not getting on the plane to his first training camp.  In the first book, Ohno says his father instinctively knew he had not gotten on the plane, so he tracked him down at a friend’s house.  In the second book, Ohno’s father is completely oblivious until the trainer calls to question why he hasn’t shown up – only then does Ohno’s father set out on a longer search for his son.  Another is the reaction Ohno had to losing a race in 2002 due to a foul which was not called.  In the first volume, he is angry, says he was angry, and even calls his opponent names.  In the second, though he says he was disappointed, he says he was never angry with his opponent and did not allow it to make him have any regrets.

It was interesting to see at the time of Ohno’s confusion about whether to follow short track seriously, he prays “in Jesus’ Name,” and then, more specifically state din the second book, he went on to follow Eastern philosophy.  Both books would have been buffeted by saying more about the specific religious instruction he had, what he believes, and why he has come to adopt the philosophies he has.  Even if the answers are largely that he doesn’t believe “anything,” it would have been instructive to have that information.

Ohno is the most decorated winter Olympian to date, and it will be interesting to see if he races in the 2014 Olympics or retires.  He is on the cusp age-wise for the sport, but it seems he has the ability and the mind to continue.  Either way, perhaps it will spur a third volume, which will fill in some of the gaps, if not clear up inconsistencies, in the first two volumes.