Sunday, November 23, 2008

Define...


This video starts a little slow, but really comes around in the end. My wife and I had the chance to see John Piper at the text and context conference at Mars Hill in Seattle. He has a wonderful way of delivering the Gospel in its simplicity and its entirety at the some time. Blows the mind!

(thanks Mr. Piper and Vitamin Z)


Blood and worship blah blah blah

For the last forty days the church that I attend has been going through a curriculum put out by Pastor Warren called Forty Days of Community, a series I have struggled with. As part of the series I chose to include the bible study God has blessed us with into the small group portion of the Forty Day curriculum. It has been trying to meld the methods and content of Pastor Warren into the culture of our group. Though we have struggled through it and watched the video (some slept through it), and read the devotional (well....), it has proven to be beyond me to reconcile it to the group in a way that I felt content with. To put it bluntly I screwed it up.

Last Wednesday night was our last Forty Day group meeting, and instead of turning the group over to Pastor Warren, I decided to pull the content for that evening from the previous Sunday sermon ( also part of the Forty Day curriculum, and well delivered by our pastor, thanks Stacey) and Mark Driscoll's Vintage Jesus (page 160something). It was the first time that I ever lead a topical Bible Study, though I think it went rather well. Worship is an all encompassing topic. We spent time defining what worship was and wasn't ( we decided that music was only a very small part of it ), and what worship looked like practically in our lives.   

Here are a few of our talking points...
  • We are all worshippers Christian or not
  • Worship isn't a musical style (thank you Jesus!)
  • Worship is holistic and on going
  • Without sacrifice or a person or object of glory, worship is not happening
  • Worship costs us something (or everything)
next stop Colossians!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Puke and Politics

Colossians 1. 3-5
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hop laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel...

Colossians 1.19-20
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

and I ramble....

November 4th was a very exciting day for me. Because it was a day that conservative leaning elements of the Church in America can look back on as a great stepping off point. A victory if you will. An opportunity to divorce ourselves from a political party that has been groping us for far too long. To pack our bags only with the Gospel and go out into the world as the bride of Christ and not the servant of a political party. Hopefully when you cast your vote, it wasn't for an old man from Arizona, or a young upstart from Chicago. But, for the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. Who's platform is to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. What could be more important? Nation first? America the hope of the world? Where do you cast your lot?

to this I add, Vote early and Vote daily...

Jesus is my President.