If you’re in a wedding, don’t lock your knees. But, if you do, then it might look and sound something like you will see in this clip. At no extra price, I’ve included a clip from The Princess Bride.
HT: Kevin DeYoung
Monthly Archive for July, 2010
I am moving the sharing of hurting parents to this post. If you have a rebellious or wayward child, this group could be a great encouragement to you. You can see the original post here.
If you are hurting because of the decisions your children are making, this can be a place of encouragement.
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As a pastor, I have learned that there may be no more hurting group of people in the world, than parents who are concerned for a son or daughter who is making poor choices.
So, in December of 2008, I posted with the goal of encouraging parents of wayward children.
The most effective aspect of the post was that it was the beginning of a small community. After the post, several began to share their struggles with one another in the comments and to pray. The discussion continues. To date, there are over 200 comments – - many of them quite lengthy.
In fact, there are so many comments readers are finding it difficult to read them all. As a result, I am suggesting that we move the encouragement and discussion to this post.
You are invited to join the discussion.
If you would like to study Proverbs, I highly recommend, Proverbs (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)
With the ever quotable Kidner’s help, Justin Taylor provides a concise summary of the lazy person in Proverbs. Notice that it isn’t hard to become a sluggard. It’s as easy as falling asleep.
Derek Kidner, in his 1964 commentary on Proverbs, writes about the sluggard (pp. 42-43):
The sluggard in Proverbs is a figure of tragi-comedy, with his sheer animal laziness (he is more than anchored to his bed: he is hinged to it, 26:14), his preposterous excuses (“there is a lion outside!” 26:13; 22:13) and his final helplessness.
Kidner identified four features of the sluggard according to Proverbs:
(1) He will not begin things. When we ask him (6:9, 10) “How long?” “When…?”, we are being too definite for him. He doesn’t know. All he knows is his delicious drowsiness; all he asks is a little respite: “a little…a little…a little…”. He does not commit himself to a refusal, but deceives himself by the smallness of his surrenders. So, by inches and minutes, his opportunity slips away.
(2) He will not finish things. The rare effort of beginning has been too much; the impulse dies. So his quarry goes bad on him (12:27) and his meal goes cold on him (19:24; 26:15).
(3) He will not face things. He comes to believe his own excuses (perhaps there is a lion out there, 22:13), and to rationalize his laziness; for he is “wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason” (26:16). Because he makes a habit of the soft choice (he “will not plow by reason of the cold,” 20:4) his character suffers as much as his business, so that he is implied in 15:19 to be fundamentally dishonest…
Read the rest here.
My friend, Alice, recently lost her mother. Today she shared some very personal thoughts about grief in a post with the title, “Sad.” Many will be able to relate.
Here’s what nobody can really tell you about bereavement until you experience it yourself and it’s this: Life has an insidious, brutal little way of continuing on. Your car (or both of them) still breaks down. You still have to figure out what to cook for dinner. The bathroom still needs cleaning. Your kids still come home from VBS with a vial of colored sand and sprinkle it throughout your bed, and sand is all over the floor and the shower and the sheets and the pillows and the blankets and you have to rip everything off and throw it in the wash and remake your bed at 11:30 at night. (If you’re wondering if I handled that situation with sweet grace and a tender mother’s love, Readers, oh no, I did not.)
Wittmer points out that this might not play very well on the Larry King show (click here).
Here is a post that will help you better pray for your pastor(s) and his preaching.
Kevin DeYoung has written about the different sections of the figurative choir that preaching needs to address. This points to one of most challenging aspects of pastoral ministry and preaching. We need to constantly address a very wide range of people.
I’m no expert in preaching, neither in its theory nor in the actual doing of it. But one thing I’ve learned is that there are different kinds of people in the congregation who need to hear different sorts of things. Obviously, no sermon can be all things to all people. We must stick with the theme presented in the text. We must preach within our own personalities. Most of all, we must trust the Spirit to preach a better sermon to each heart than the one we deliver.
But still, there’s wisdom in considering what different segments of the church may need to hear. The Puritans were masters at this, often dissecting the congregation into different categories and applying the word accordingly. Early in my ministry I developed a fourfold schema that has served me well. In every sermon I try to remember that I’m preaching to the weary, the wandering, the lazy, and the lost. You may have different categories, but I find these four helpful for keeping my sermons fresh, relevant, and not too lopsided in any one direction.
The Weary
These faithful saints need compassion and encouragement. They are fighting the good fight, but they are struggling in some way. Maybe their kids are wayward, or the test results were not hopeful . . .
Read the rest here.
How about a True or False question? See if you can get this one right.
True or False, God can do anything but fail?
One more time, True or False, God can do anything but fail?
The answer is “False.” There is a long list of things that God cannot do. Generally, the things that God cannot do all fit into one category; God cannot do anything that is untrue to himself.
Understand, no one or nothing outside of God limits God. But, God is limited by His own character. For instance, God cannot be unholy because God is Holy. God cannot lie, because God is truth and to lie. God cannot be unloving, because God is love.
And, get this. God is just. And, He cannot be unjust. This is very important to understand because the Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And, because God is just, he cannot and will not overlook sin – - not even one sin.
This means that when we stand before God, he will not allow any to come into Heaven based on their own merit.
So, the most important question for human beings becomes, how can we ever hope to go to be right with God? And, the answer to that question is only through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is found only in Him.
How about reading John 3 really carefully today?
For a very limited time, you can order an excellent introduction to Jonathan Edwards at 50% off. Click here.
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A few years ago, I mentioned in a sermon that Jonathan Edwards was the greatest theologian in the history of North America.
I added that given that the historic roots of our church are in New England Congregationalism, this should be of particular interest to our church.
As soon as church was over, someone approached me with an interest in reading Edwards. And, at that point, I hesitated. It was ironic. The guy who had just recommended that our people should know about Edwards paused before recommending a particular book.
My reason for hesitation was that I knew the lady had not read very much theology. And, I also understood that Edwards can be hard to follow. I was concerned that if she ordered something like Religious Affections, that she would quickly be overwhelmed.
Thankfully, my answer would now be different. Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney have edited an accessible and affordable set of books that will introduce you to the thought of Edwards in a way that is far more accessible than diving directly into one of his books.
Do keep in mind that this sale ends on Monday, August 2.
I suppose it is no surprise that the economy is affecting church staffing. It reminds me again to be so thankful for how God has provided for our church.
When Tim Ryan was called to an urgent meeting last year to discuss his duties as children’s minister at West Shore Evangelical Free Church, he knew something was amiss.
"This is really hard. I don’t know how I can do this," said executive pastor John Nesbitt, who helps lead the 2,500 attendee megachurch in Mechanicsburg, Pa.
The church, part of the Evangelical Free Church of America, had been growing rapidly but giving was down and well below projections as the recession weighed on members. So Mr. Ryan was losing his job, as was another pastor.
While the economy appears to be recovering from the worst downturn in generations, more clergy are facing unemployment as churches continue to struggle with drops in donations. In 2009, the government counted about 5,000 clergy looking for jobs, up from 3,000 in 2007 and 2,000 in 2005.
Church staff are feeling the pinch, too. In an October survey, about one in five members of the interdenominational 3,000-member National Association of Church Business Administration said they had laid off staff amid the recession.
The official unemployment rate among clergy sits at 1.2%, far below the national average jobless rate, but layoffs can be particularly painful for ministers. Churches aren’t subject to unemployment taxes, so laid-off employees can’t collect the benefits available to other workers.
HT: CT
Usually when Stillman Valley makes the news, it’s relative to high school football. But, a recent Christianity Today article used our church and town to illustrate a point about community. In the CT article referenced below, there was even a picture of our church.
Collin Hansen, the author of this article, is the author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists
In Switzerland, our family quickly missed our community. We were only there a day or two before our children were dreaming about a hamburger at the Royal Blue (our restaurant in Stillman Valley – - seen in the picture). Keeping up with people on Facebook has its place. But, it just isn’t the same as eating a hamburger and a piece of pie while people you known wander in.
In light of how much we love our town, it was a particular blessing to be part of an article that Collin Hansen wrote for Christianity Today. You’ll find an except below, including a reference to the Valley.
The front porch is back. A growing number of buyers are asking for designs that include the iconic hometown amenity, according to Chicago Tribune interviews with building contractors. Front porches provide families and friends with a place to gather while they keep an eye on the kids. By facilitating small talk, they build local community. And local community is no small accomplishment with so many reasons to stay inside and watch television, surf the Web, or play video games. The front porch’s comeback suggests that some people have found no suitable substitute for knowing their neighbors. . .
. . . As my car cut through corridors of corn on the way to Stillman Valley, Illinois, I noticed a surprising sight over the horizon: vapors emitted by a nuclear plant. The farming in this part of the country is good, but the plant provides much-needed jobs for several small towns in north-central Illinois.
Pulling into town with 20 minutes to spare, I was surprised to see an early-arriving crowd walking toward the Congregational Christian Church of Stillman Valley, more commonly known as the Red Brick Church. Eventually, about 200 of the town’s 1,000 residents filled the pews on a cool summer morning as Pastor Chris Brauns preached about the covenant-making ceremony in Genesis 15.
Read the rest here.
