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Questions from Sunday

17 Jun

On Sunday mornings we invite creekside folks to ask questions via text message.  Here are two from this week:

What about companies tithing?

When I was growing up our church did an annual blessing of the businesses.  We prayed for our local business owners and encouraged them to lead their businesses on biblical principles.  Many of these business leaders tithed off of their companies profits, and their companies prospered.  If you are a business owner tithing off of the profits of your organization can be a great blessing to your business, as well as to your self as the leader.

This is something that you should definitely pray about, and if you have a board of directors or any other governing committee you should definitely involve them in the decision making process.

Why does what jesus did only cover the sin of those who confess him? If faith is truly a gift originating in God, how is this just?

These are really great questions and I’ll try my best to answer them.  First things first though, behind this question there is a sense that we deserve salvation apart from God.  The truth is that without the Sacrifice that Jesus provided for us on the cross we cannot be saved.  We do not deserve Jesus’ grace.  Because Jesus is completely perfect, and we are completely imperfect.  Jesus’ dying on the cross provided a way for sinners like me and you to have restored relationship with God.

On the cross we are not getting what we deserve, Jesus is getting what we deserve.  That’s not fair at all for Jesus, that’s not just for Jesus but he did it anyway.  So our ideas of justice need to be changed because of what Jesus has done.  We want justice when we are wronged but we don’t generally want justice when we have wronged others.

Jesus provided grace for us when we didn’t even deserve it.  However, the Bible tells us that:

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Confession is acknowledgement of our own sinfulness, and our need for Jesus grace.  If we don’t confess then we do not acknowledge God’s work in the world and we deny Jesus’ work on the cross, and we ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit that prompts us to salvation.

Now all of this sounds like God doesn’t care about the people who don’t confess, but he does.  God’s desire is that all men would come to faith. (John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:3-5)  Humans in our sinfulness don’t think we need Jesus so we don’t have a natural proclivity to confess Jesus as Lord.  And for every single person who doesn’t confess a need, God’s heart breaks.

God’s justice in forgiving humans is all about the gift of grace which is available for all.  But sadly many people are not willing to open that gift.  The problem isn’t God.  The problem is us.

I would love to continue the conversation, please comment or email me jdeuman [at] gmail [dot] com

Happy St. Patty’s Day

17 Mar

Mark Driscoll has a great post on St. Patrick. I would recommend everyone read it.

. . .

Go ahead, read it.

The Prophet Like Moses = Jesus

13 Mar

This was a pretty cool happening.  In my bible reading this morning I read Deuteronomy 18 which talks about the Prophet like Moses, and Mark 13, where Jesus is speaking as a prophet in the temple.  Pretty awesome “coincidence.”  Thanks Biblegateway.com

A New Prophet like Moses

15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

Mark 13

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the Close of the Age

3And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

14“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be ( let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

Welcome Forest Hills Church

8 Dec

I just saw that Forest Hills Church linked to my review and response to other opinions on The Shack.  Thanks so much for the link.

Forest Hills Church is doing a Christmas Series called Christmas At The Shack.  Here’s where you can find the messages.

On another note, I listened to an interview with William Paul Young, the author of The Shack, and it was really great, it’s from Catalyst so there is a discussion before hand that you gotta get through, but the interview is worth it. You Can download that here.

The Roles of the Holy Spirit

1 Dec

great post from Tony on the Roles of the Holy Spirit.

I think Tony may be on to something.  Because of some fairly odd behavior from some Charismatic circles, I think many churches may have shyed away from the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps now is the time for the church to come back to talking more about all the members of the Trinity, and specifically the Holy Spirit.

Deitrich Bonhoeffer – Life Together Quote

30 Sep

In my Meaning of Christian Community class we are reading Life Together by Bonhoeffer –  This is a book of pure Christian Ninja-ry.  

There are loads of great quotes and here are a few

“Only those who give thanks for little things receive the great things well.”

“Pastors should not complain about their congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God.  Congregations have not been entrusted to them in order that they would become accusers of their congregations before God and their fellow human beings.  When pastors lose faith in a Christian community in which they have been place and begin to make accusations against it, they had better examine themselves first to see whether the underlying problem is not their own idealized image, which should be shattered by God.”

“Like Christian sanctification, Christian community is a gift of God to which we have no claim.  Only God knows the real condition either our community or our sanctification.  What may appear weak and insignificant to us may be great and glorious to God.”

hmm.  Things to think about.

the Reason for God – Review

28 May

Tim Keller is a brilliant evangelical mind. With the heart of a pastor he writes a powerful, yet simple apologetic for the Christian faith. The book is divided into two parts. The first part looks at several of the protests against the Christian faith (and faith in general). Keller does a masterful work at look at these arguements, and how their logic falls apart on itself. Keller isn’t trying to make people feel stupid in their atheism, but he also wants to show that it’s not the intellectual end all for smart people.

In the second section, Keller examines the various clues that point to God. Having read some Lewis and Wright I felt like Keller was rehashing stuff that I’ve already read. But I had to remember that this book wasn’t written for me. It was written for people who do not believe in the Gospel of Christ.

Even though I am no the target of this book I was still moved by the power and majesty of God. I was moved by his love and powerfully reminded that the Gospel is bigger than anything that I can ever really comprehend. But Keller does a wonderful job of breaking it down, and taking these big and powerful concepts like the Trinity and showing how it all makes sense.

As a pastor I would recommend other pastors read this work. But also if you want to be able to talk with your friends who are atheists, then this would be a great resource that doesn’t make you want to fight with people, rather to love them, listen to them and dialogue with them. Pass it on to your friends who are far from God.

Chew on This for the weekend

12 Apr

I was perusing the blog-o-verse today and I came across this thought from Peter Blue, who is a worship leader in Canvas and serves at Cedar Park.  Peter was the worship leader in youth group when I was growing up and he was always a huge encouragement in my life, as well as someone who always made me think.  Today he made me think again.

What good is initial physical evidence if there isn’t any other evidence to follow? “ If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” What a mighty percussion section we have become.

Chew on that for the weekend.  And read the rest of the post here.

The God Who Smokes – Review

10 Apr

The God Who Smokes is a refreshing look at theology through Timothy Stoner’s personal experiences.  All of theology should apply to life and when you read The God Who Smokes I believe you will see all the various ways that God is talking to and revealing himself to you.

TGWS is a middle road between the fundamentalist and the emergent streams of theology.  If you like Rob Bell but are a little concerned with some of the things he has written or said, Stoner helps you see why and what a more biblical view may be.  If you love Driscoll and Piper but are overwhelmed by their headiness and need for rock solid reason and arguements, then Stoner provides a meaningful way that you can still believe in absolute truth, and still feel comfortable with questions.  Written in the tone of compassion this book was a very refreshing and at times humorous book.

This book really could be several shorter books.  And sometimes it doesn’t quite feel like a cohesive work.  But it’s definitely worth the read.  Particularly Stoner’s theology of the artist.  It reminded me of why I do what I do, I believe that preaching is an art form and God is pleased when I declare his love and grace, or when I teach people about how to live in that love and grace.

Also interesting are Stoner’s perspectives on growing up as a missionary kid oversees, and they way he lived out love before his friend David.  I really recommend this book.

Dude, It’s a Metaphor!

3 Apr

So I was listening to Mark Driscoll talking about the Trinity today, and he was talking about the Shack. which our church has recommended people read. I don’t usually post my disagreements with other church leaders on here, but I just had to. And normally I think Driscoll is encouraging and challenging in a good way, I totally dig on his teaching. But I couldn’t let this one go, because he’s painting everyone who reads this book as a Heretic, and that’s just wrong and it’s not his job.

I think that the biggest struggle that Driscoll is having with the book is Metaphor. William Young is not saying that God is a woman, or that the Holy Spirit is an asian chick. The whole thing is a metaphor trying to get across one of the most complex issues in our doctrine in an accessible way.

Driscoll argues that the book proposes modalism, which is a weak arguement because throughout the story you see that the Trinity is independent and yet unified. They are all working together, in Community and Love.

Pilgrim’s Progress, Hind’s Feet on High Places, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and the Shack are all efforts to teach people the love and grace and mercy of God in a way that is accessible. Are they going to get it 100% accurate to the nth degree? Are they going to throw footnotes in all over the place? No. It’s a story, it’s a metaphor. If it helps people get a grasp on the love of God, and if it sets them in the right direction to ask more questions and to continue to pursue Jesus then it has worked.

Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a woman who lost a coin and went looking for it. In all this kingdom of God, are we really just under the bed of this woman who is doing her spring cleaning? No, it’s a metaphor. So is the Shack.

The struggle that I am having with these hip, cool, new reformed Pastors is that they are uncomfortable with metaphor, and questions. And the danger is that they are going to get into a place where they are looked at like just the Reincarnate Jerry Falwell (but they vote democrat instead of republican).

Dude, It’s a Metaphor! You can’t read it like a treatise. Relax, breathe, take you meds and lay off the red bull.

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