The Theological Musings of Ludosomnus

John Wycliffe: The Morning Star

2012-01-27T22:28:00.001-06:00

My Amazon review of the life of John Wycliffe:

Admittedly, the production is a little bit cheesy at times, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this brief overview of the life of John Wycliffe. Principle to this man was the centrality of the Scripture and his radiant faith in Christ, even when standing in situations of his life's peril. There are many valuable lessons that can be brought away from this film, namely Wycliffe's compassion and vigilance for the rights of the poor peasants of 14th century England, his love of teaching his students, as well as the beauty of Wycliffe's love of the Scriptures and his desire to see it translated into English. This is a wonderful piece of history, easy to follow, and ideal for a small group study or a family worship time (the film is very tame, with the only questionable content being a couple dead men following one of the peasant revolts.)

Side-note (not part of the review): this was my first disk received from Puritan Picks, and I'm really glad to have found this service. Basically it's an alternative to NetFlix, but with good films and theology DVDs (so it's not just the material you find at the local LifeWay, but rather reaching by Sproul, Keller, etc.) I'm looking forward to receiving more from this service.

PleaseConvinceMe Podcast 235

2012-01-04T09:58:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed the recent Please Convince Me podcast (#235), although it was more of one of his side-topics that caught my attention. Jim was discussing some of the Facebook comments about "Wealth and Prosperity" gospel teachers, and made some good points about the manner in which a pastor should be living. With someone in a pastoral role, there is a level of prosperity a pastor should not exceed, as it hurts our testimony and causes a weaker brother to stumble. With new cars, expensive clothing, etc - the question becomes, are we in it for the right reason? Megachurch pastors are frequently living large, and although they might give away thousands, they are making millions,
and are living in a way dramatically larger then they ought to live. These people are the billboard that others will see and use (correctly or falsely) judge the faith. Coming from Jim Wallace, who was a strong non-believer for many years, I think he makes a fair point with this.
If you want a voice with everyone that you want to have a voice with, you can't trot around with bling and hope to convince people who might question your true motives.
Rather, it's how the twelve apostles lived is how we should live, with the understanding that we don't expect things to get easier but to get harder.

Some of the other topics covered, such as Tebow, didn't really capture my attention, but not being a football fan I guess I just don't follow the hype.

Voddie Baucham - Family Shepherds

2011-12-17T22:49:00.001-06:00

(my Amazon review of Voddie's latest book 'Family Shepherds')

Voddie Baucham’s “Family Shepherds” gives a good amount of really good material for fathers who want to step up in taking the initiative in leading their wives and children spiritually, and while I really enjoyed the various steps offered in the book, and usually enjoy everything I read from Voddie, with this I came away feeling that it didn’t go quite far enough or deep enough.

Voddie outlines the importance of the role of family shepherd and lays out, among other things, the importance of family worship, the primacy of the marriage relationship, training and discipline of children, as well as regular corporate worship. All of these are great, but so many of these sections seemed superficially breezy without really packing in material that men need to hear. The assumption I had with this book is that shepherding is a responsibility that many men have neglected in recent years, thus the importance of this book was calling and guiding men back to this task. An excellent intention, but so many parts of the book, such as the importance of catechism, left me a little dry, as Voddie speaks of the importance of catechism, but then leaves the section with “do your research to find the best catechism to fit your doctrine.” What? This struck me as a cop-out. Again, in today’s world Dad’s aren’t doing this, so why would he leave this point so open-ended? So, are fathers just supposed to jump onto Google and look up whatever catechism they can find? Rather, instead of skimping, Voddie could have easily jumped into the importance of something like the 1689 London Confession, or the Westminster standards, or any Biblically-solid catechism to help men get started, instead of leaving them dry. I would have loved more here, even as an appendix, with a sage hand pointing to some sound sources to get started.

Likewise, addressing the importance of singing hymns as a family: an excellent point, yet WHAT hymnals? Why does Voddie leave it to fathers to know what song books to use? Should we just go to Lifeway and pick up a generic “hymnal” on the shelves, just because some of the songs look “Biblical”? Why not offer up some specific examples, such as the Trinity hymnal, and justify it with some of the many reasons that back this a solid, Scripturally-sound hymnal to incorporate? We use, and love, the trinity hymnal, but it’s details like that which would have really served to help point men to the right resources. Our Trinities are a little worn, and I’m always open to find other Biblically-solid hymnal to incorporate, so why couldn't there be more specific examples here?

I do agree with Voddie’s remarks about the “3-legged stool, and think that is a good outline, but I found his second requirement for church leaders as being “Godly, manly pastors and elders” to be a little bit skimpy in his description. “Manly” elders? Pastor/theologians who come to mind that I greatly appreciate, such as Wayne Grudem and Edmund Clowney, aren’t exactly the model of what I consider “manly”, but rather as examples of well-educated teachers with an extraordinary understanding of the Bible. I think one of the issues I have with this Voddie’s comment on elders, as well as with Grace Family church in general, is the practice of lay-eldership, or men without formal seminary training, serving as elders and teaching. “Manliness” isn’t that big of a concern to me as much as men serving that are “not a novice” (1 Tim. 3:6 - νεόφυτος) if I'm expected to submit myself and my family to their training. Lay elders who work full-time in the market and then are expected to teach on weekends is no different than asking a guy who read a bunch of books on heart surgery to do your triple-bypass. Maybe this sounds harsh, but I don’t believe that deacon-qualified men should serve as elders, and Voddie could have put a little more Scriptural backing into what the Bible really says about the role of an elder, above and beyond just “manliness”.

The Michael Pearl/pelagianism discussion (p. 116-118) was an entertaining detour. I’m amused (and a little alarmed) by this bearded, knife-throwing arminian, so it was interesting to to read Voddie’s attack on Pearl’s skewed behaviorism model. Voddie was right on spot regarding discipline, and this day and age, there can’t be enough said about the need for Biblically-consistent discipline of children. The extensive references to Cotton Mather’s teaching were a perfect outline to follow, and I really gained a lot from that particular section.

Family Shepherds is definitely worth the read, but again, it didn’t go far enough for me. Sadly, I was also disappointed that there was virtually NOTHING about the father as the homeschooling leader. This was a notably huge absence, as I firmly believe that one of the family shepherd’s principle responsibilities is to be actively involved in the homeschooling of the children - and I don’t mean necessarily teaching every subject, but rather being extremely well-aware of what the curriculum is, including the worldview of the curriculum and the Biblical orientation it follows, and offering as much support as possible to the mother who labors to educate the children. A family shepherd, on a day off for example, should be completely capable of sitting down, picking up a teachers instruction manual, and jumping right in to be able to help guide and instruct their child, just as competently as the wife does, without excuse. A family shepherd should actively be seeking out ways to incorporate additional education after work, on weekends, etc, whenever possible, with a positive, engaged interest in the love of learning in their children. As a personal aside, I also believe that a family shepherd should be capable of picking up a spatula every now and then, being able to navigate a grocery store, and also change a diaper or two (thousand.) Family shepherds should loathe the Asherim that is television.

At the close of Family Shepherds, I found that even the resources in the appendix were disappointing, as these “tools” seemed more like copy-and-paste excepts from Grace Family’s weekly bulletin, and felt more like a promotional vehicle for the church, and less of actual family shepherd tools. While I respect all that is put into the Grace Family church bulletins, to me, far more practical that simply seeing the list of family names to pray for would be to see, for instance, how do some of the different families of Grace Family conduct family worship? What are some of the general outlines that they follow? What songs do they use? Any Biblical study material they could recommend? Particular catechism? If (according to the appendix) the officers of Grace Family supposedly call/visit their members once a month, then there should be a wealth and bounty of practical examples to share of family worship framework examples, right? (e.g. “Jim and Tammy” follow this particular model: Jim opens with prayer, their oldest daughter plays a solo hymn on the piano, the oldest son reads a chapter from Old Testament, father then reads a study guide based on the chapter, etc, etc. Another model is the Smith family, that uses this general outline: etc, etc...) Again, this book exists because Dad’s aren’t naturally performing as family shepherds today - so give Dad’s more resources and actual tools and examples to help them! I seriously don’t think Voddie could have overdone it with examples. Pack in more punch, instead of leaving me dry, which is how I felt at the end of reading.

A side-note on the graphic design, when I took the book out of the Amazon envelope, I was studying the lower middle portion of the book for awhile, as it appeared initially that mold spots were growing on the cover (had the book been damaged at the Amazon factory with moisture?) Apparently that’s the design, but the seeming appearance of mold dots on a smooth paperback cover didn’t make a great initial impression.

Luke 10:25-37 and Richard Baxter

2011-11-16T16:20:00.000-06:00

I've been reading Richard Baxter's 'The Reformed Pastor' recently, and even from a lay perspective I'm just amazed at the wealth of value in this book. What I find so fascinating is Baxter's focus on the pastor who visits, teaches and knows his congregation on a personal level, which is something so uncommon with so many churches that I've been to. Baxter emphasizes personal catechizing and instructing of the flock, and this particular book addresses not only the many benefits of this approach, but even takes the time to respond to common objections to this approach. Do pastors even do as Baxter suggests, and keep a book with a list of their people, with "notes of their character and necessities?"

This could be a misapplication, but I thought of Baxter during the reading of Luke 10:25-37 this weekend on the Lord's day. The text describes the priest that walks past the mortally-injured man, crossing by on the other side so as to avoid personal contact. Is it that much of a stretch to apply that to pastors who teach once a week yet distance themselves from personal contact during the week with laity?

Baxter also emphasizes to me the problem I see with lay elders leading a church. Our previous church planted a sister congregation, pastored by two non-seminary educated men. And while I do agree there are occasionally rare exceptions of remarkable men who have pastored without seminary (Spurgeon) the bigger problem I see with this model is, these two men both have full-time jobs, a commute, and wives and children to devote time to (in addition to sermon preparation, in addition to the administration of the church.) How on earth could they practice a Richard Baxter-level of attention to the members of their congregation when their days are already packed full? They couldn't, and I think this speaks to the negative aspect of expecting laity to pastor, when it should be the responsibility of a full-time dedicated elder/teacher.

Baxter has really shaken the pastoral paradigm for me, and I'm really wondering why there isn't more shepherding of church members like this. Maybe there are just no shortage of objections, like "I do not thing that God doth require that we should thus tie ourselves to instruct every person distinctly, and to make our lives a burden and a slavery."

Billy Sunday

2011-10-20T07:44:00.000-06:00

We've been reading the biography of evangelist Billy Sunday during our family worship time at night, and it's been an interesting insight into one of the popular "revivalists" during the early part of the 20th century (although, obviously, no one can plan a "revival". Only the Holy Spirit brings a genuine revival in a believer's heart, in God's perfect timing. But all the same, it's good to read about folks like this who make up the tapestry of Christian history). The story is entertaining and lively in describing how Billy was a popular baseball player-turned-evangelist, and how he translated his baseball player flair into his evangelical revivals. Situated in the Prohibition era, the bio describes Billy's crusade against the alcohol industry, having himself struggled with drinking during his time as a baseball player. The description of his mannerisms and methodologies are colorful, describing Billy jumping about on stages and calling folks to follow the "sawdust trail", but his theology can, at times, be lacking (e.g. using a revival tent as a vehicle to encourage men to go off to fight in the first World War?) Likewise, there's a crudeness of some of his message content, often resorting to using goofy slang and childish name-calling, versus simply preaching the message of Christ (Gal. 3:16). Sadly, as the book nears the close we learn that due to Billy (and his wife) spending long times on the road away from his children, leaving them at home in the care of a housekeeper, that ultimately all of his four children died early, with two of his boys sinking into alcohol that ultimately took their lives (sadly ironic, in light of Billy's crusades against liquor). If anything, that's probably the principle message I took away from this text: while evangelism and ministry is important, don't pursue this at the cost of your obligation to shepherding your own family.

What's More Important than a Wedding?

2011-10-09T22:07:00.000-06:00

Voddie Baucham is right on with the message from Ruth chapter 4 and correcting the false mindset that prioritizes the wedding as more important that marriage itself, instead illustrating how a Christian marriage represents the redemptive model of Christ and his love for his bride, the church. Voddie contrasts the message of modern culture of $25-30k weddings, with weddings also being the culmination or highest-point of a modern relationship, with the story of Ruth and Boaz, a message not of a fairy-tale wedding but rather Boaz as redeemer-kinsman, the obligation and commitment to Levirate marrriage, the genealogy and lineage unfolding to David and subsequently Christ, and the ultimate message of redemption from the book of Ruth.

No Room for Personal Vengeance - Voddie Baucham - Romans 12:19-21

2011-09-30T21:21:00.000-06:00

Here's a link to a recent message by Voddie on Romans 12: 19ff. His message centers on the theme of vengeance and how we are not to repay evil for evil, as the attitude of "avenging ourselves" of a wrong-doing ultimately puts us in the place of God. With vengeance, Christ's death was not enough, and we are insisting on adding another death to Christ's. Rahter, our attitude should be one of compassion for our enemy: "if they are hungry, give them something to eat" rather than seeking revenge.

It was interesting to me in the message how Voddie did seem to dodge to topic of how it's apparently ok to defend yourself. So while we shouldn't avenge ourselves, there's nothing wrong with shooting and killing someone who breaking into our home? I've got some issues with that. Voddie made an illustration of the veteran who comes home, unable to sleep with the thoughts of people he killed in foreign lands, so I wonder, how is that any different than killing another person in self-defense? More and more I'm seeing defense as something the magistrate provides, and I think he could have gone further with this message to extend Paul's message in Romans 12, of "overcoming evil with good", to include challenging those who are ready and willing to shoot and kill anyone who breaks into their house. I would have also liked to have heard him extend this message into the topic of Christians serving in the military, and if doing so is consistent with Romans 12, but he'd likely be stepping on a few too many toes with that one...

Paedocommunion

2011-09-27T13:52:00.000-06:00

At "Theological word of the day" (one of my favorite sites) the word of the day is paedocommunion, which "describes the practice of allowing infants or small children to the Lord’s communion table." As someone who personally sees infant baptism as something NOT in Scripture, I've long wondered why Presbyterians and Methodists don't also practice paedocommunion as well, or feeding the elements to babies as well. It wouldn't be any different than infant sprinkling: the baby has no idea what's going on, has no understanding of the nature of sin, and basically an ordinance is incorrectly applied to someone who doesn't understand what's going on. So why don't ALL churches that sprinkle babies also feed the communion bread to those "covenant babies" as well? There's a pretty substantial inconsistency going on there. As a reformed baptist, I believe that the table, and baptism, are ordinances that should NOT be observed by someone until they are at an age of maturity to understand the true meaning of what Christ established in these ordinances. Anything else would be heretical.

I've wondered: If a church practices paedocommunion, what happens with a parent that is exclusive breast-feeding a child? Would they introduce foods like this when the child is only consuming the mother's milk? Would they be forced to observe this as part of the "sacrament" of the church?

2010 Fall Anabaptist Identity Conference

2011-09-26T10:19:00.002-06:00

I was recently listening to a number of messages from the 2010 Fall Anabaptist Identity Conference, which offers a large number of downloadable MP3s. The message that I just listened to was Believer's Baptism - A Fundamental in the Separation of Church and State, which prevented a solid Scriptural defense of believer's baptism (although how any paedobapist can profess to defend this practice from Scripture is totally beyond me...)

Anyhow, from the message you see how the Anabaptists draw a strong distinction of church and state (which considering my growing disillusionment with all things political, this is something I'm finding more and more easier to agree with.) And on the topic of a state church, you can't have a true state church without infant baptism, compromising the requirements of membership in order to just bring more people into the church. On church and state, the question is asked: if all society is in the church, then where is the world, of which we are to be separate?

The church is to teach of the intention of making disciples. Who should be baptized? Disciples. We are commanded to teach all nations, a command observed everywhere, and our message is not to change until the end of the age. We should not teach based on assumptions or traditions, but on the Word of God.

Where in Scripture has Christ commanded infant baptism? He hasn't. Scripture says to repent and be baptized. Unless there is genuine repentance, no baptism. Paedobaptists will sometimes misquote Matt. 19:14, of “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven", saying that Jesus here is allowing children into the kingdom of heaven via infant baptism. But if this passage is about infant baptism, and the disciples were familiar with this, then why did they object to the children going to Jesus? There is a distinction between "blessing" and "baptism". Additionally, how could they be baptized into the kingdom, if according to v.14 the kingdom already belongs to them?

Paedobaptists also misapply Col. 2:11, "In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ," in drawing an incorrect association with circumcision and baptism. Water baptism was never intended to replace circumcision, and while circumcision was done by the hands of men, baptism is about internal change, and operation of God alone. And if this parallel is to be drawn, it is notable that Abraham was circumcised AFTER his faith, not before. Additionally, appeals to traditions, in addition to being a fallacy of special pleading, run into a difficulty when you find traditions such as described in the Didache. Are infants really supposed to fast two days prior to baptism?

Believer's baptism is making a covenant before men, and being willing to give up everything (as the early radicals were when they defied the infant baptism traditions of the state church.) Infant baptism, on the other hand, includes sinners by design.

Studying Theology as a Servant of Jesus by John M. Frame

2011-09-19T07:36:00.000-06:00

I received the booklet 'Studying Theology as a Servant of Jesus' by John M. Frame from RTS and thought it was excellent. I thought this part was especially note-worthy:

"If you try to minister to people without a solid knowledge of God’s Word and an ability to apply it to human needs, you are worse than a physician who treats people in medical ignorance. Worse, because the consequences can be eternal.

Thinking as such does not distort or deny the Word of God; sin does. The anti‑intellectual too often focuses on only part of the problem, the depravity of the intellect, minimizing the effects of sin in other areas of life. On the other hand, in doing so he overlooks significant God‑given tools of sanctification and thus loses the full impact of the Word upon him. But one with a fully biblical concept of theology will use all these means to apply the Word to God's people. We should use to the fullest all the tools of learning: linguistics, archaeology, reason, imagination, logic, and so on.

Through such theology we will become more obedient, and through obedience we will become better theologians. If theology is a confrontation with the living God in His Word, then we dare not bring before Him any less than our best. To do so is sinful complacency, arrogant pride."

John 7:25-36

2011-08-24T11:05:00.000-06:00

Pastor Jess spoke on God's purpose for irony this week, from John 7:25-36. Scripture is full of irony, including things such as Job's ironic comments to his friends ("wisdom will die with you") to Elijah mocking the priests of Baal about their false god being "distracted" Sometimes irony in literature can be difficult to spot, and the reader needs to dig into the literal meaning of words. In terms of systematic theology, is the particular massage consistent with the rest of scripture?

The locals of Jerusalem came into the picture, and commented that they knew "where this man comes from". In verse 28, Jesus responds with a comment of irony, "You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me." Jess identified this as a form of corrective irony. Historical irony is another example here, as a mean in which God's providence is illustrated. The Jewish leaders didn't understand Jesus' message ("Where will he go?") Jesus was speaking about heaven, a place they could not go. Jesus was speaking with a prophetic meaning, in that God was bringing to purpose his sovereign will by means of wicked men.

131 Christians Everyone Should Know - Book Review

2011-08-23T21:46:00.003-06:00

Review of 131 Christians Everyone Should Know that I just posted over at Amazon.

"131 Christians..." really proved to be something of a hit or miss title for me. I started to incorporate it as part of our family worship, but ultimately abandoned it entirely for a number of reasons. First is that most of these biographies, far from being captivating insights into these people's lives, actually reads like a droll, static textbook from a secular college. Even otherwise exciting accounts of people like Hudson Taylor and David Livingston are here presented as somewhat cold and factual, without some of the more exciting episodes or accounts of the miraculous (Taylor in particular, whom I've read a number of biographies of, has some thrilling accounts of God's miraculous provisions, but the 'Christian History' editors decided to leave those out, which is a little bit telling of the ambiguity of their genuine Christian perspective.

The thing I realized is that this isn't "131 Vibrant, Faithful Christians of a Solid, Biblical Testimony", but rather a breezy overview of 131 folks, some stupendous (Calvin), some not so (Finney), that these editors somehow thought worth of writing dull biographies of. The flavor seems cold on Calvinism, mild on the historic misdeeds of Roman Catholicism, and at times leans favorably towards mystical flavor - which today appeals more to the new agey crowd (and shoppers at Lifeway stores) but not necessarily to me.

Notably missing, much to the detriment of this book, were Christians like John Owen, Richard Baxter, J. Gresham Manchen, Martyn-Lloyd Jones, Cornelius Van Til, or even missionaries like Amy Carmichael or George Mueller, and yet the book included T.S. Elliot and Billy Sunday?

Most troubling is the inclusion of Henry VIII, who's section the editors ridiculous titled as "Defender of the Faith" (a title given to Henry by a Pope, mind you.) Henry was a murderous adulterer, with an awful track record and hardly what I'd consider a "Christian" that I "must know". I'm surprised the authors of the book didn't give "Bloody Mary" a chapter with another Papal-approved title such as, "Mary, Darling of Roman Catholicism". The lack of genuine Christian history is really showing here as the authors completely overlooked Lady Jane Grey, Henry VIII's martyred daugher who had a powerful testimony of faithfulness during her short life, and would truly belong in a book about Christians that you should know. This book is genuinely about "Man for All Seasons" bad theological history going on here.

One star simply because this serves as a mediocre overview of some historical figures throughout church history, but there have been far better biographies written. In fact, much more highly recommended would be John Piper's Christian Biographies at Desiring God. These are far more energetic, emotional and edifying, unlike what the Christian History editors have presented here. In fact, some comments from Piper on Erasmus really seem to fit the spirit of how the writers presented this "131 Christians" book. These Christian History edits, as with Erasmus, seem to have a "touch of irony, a superior ambiguity", as if "to be dogmatic about the full theology of Christ was to be distasteful, below the best, elite humanist heights." I think Piper nailed it with Erasmus, and the glove fits this stale title as well.

Skip it, and check out Piper's bios instead.

John 7: 11-24

2011-08-19T10:31:00.000-06:00

Pastor Jess spoke on John 7 this week about the pitfalls to genuine spiritual growth, referencing Heb. 5 and how Christians are supposed to 'grow up' in our maturity. Often our priorities are wrong, and we devote precious hours to goals that have no eternal worth. We should all repent, pray and ask for grace to grown and learn.

In his message, he took a "shotgun" approach with the points, identifying ten things that, in some way or another, are bound to hit someone.

Getting Wrapped Up in Hearsay (the crowds had falsely maligned Jesus with gossip)
Fearing Men rather than God (the crowd was hushed and fearful of the Pharisees)
Erecting Unbiblical Tests for Orthodoxy (Jesus' teaching and miracles wowed the crowd, but they rejected it on a wrongful basis. "He had not been to through the Rabbinical schools, so where is he getting this teaching from?")
Being Unwilling to Obey God's Will (Choosing to follow Christ is never a strictly intellectual decision.)
Living for your own Glory (The teachers refused to change their views and opposed Jesus at every turn.)
Nurturing Sinful Desires (Jesus - "Did not Moses give you the law, and no one from you does the law")
Becoming Defensive when you should become introspective (Don't be quick to form an opinion to something you don't understand fully.)
Applying the Bible Inconsistently (In John 5, Jesus healed a man at the pool of Bethesda, and the Pharisees were ready to kill Jesus, even though they would have no problems with circumcising on the Sabbath day.)
Engaging in Superficial Judgments (Don't judge according to outward appearance, and don't simply follow what looks good externally)
Neglecting to Employ Righteous Judgment (Use fair judgment, taking in all information. How you judge is how you will be judged. Once you take out your own problem, then help your brother with his problem.)

'Family Driven Faith' by Voddie Baucham

2011-08-16T22:08:00.001-06:00

I just finished Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham, a book I actually read most of a few years ago, but I finally got around to finishing. There is a lot to really enjoy from this book, primarily being the theme of calling fathers back to leadership and discipleship of their families and the centrality of family worship in the home. Indeed, it wasn't until at Voddie's church and hearing Don Whitney visit and talk about the importance of family worship as a regular, focused feature of the Christian home, that we started implementing this as well. We've visited with friends who, following dinner and games would welcome us into their family worship, for hymns and Bible study, and its a wonderful blessing (plus it gives you ideas of things to incorporate into your own family worship as well.)
Voddie's focus on this in the book is wonderful, although I wish he could have gone a little bit deeper. To be honest, sadly, I think the idea of worship in the home is such a completely lost concept in mainstream Christianity that a book like this almost needed "baby steps" of how to get started. For instance:

Catechisms - Which catechisms should be used? Which ones skipped? How much? Which ones are best for which age groups?
Hymns - Which hymnals? which are good, which are worth skipping?
Bible study guides - There are a gazillion to choose from, and I've been blessed by studies like the Big Book Of Questions & Answers About Jesus by Sinclair Fergusen, but I'd love to know of others.

True, Scripture reading is always going to be enough, but like that Ethopian talking to Phillip in the book of Acts, sometimes it helps to have someone explain a certain book to you.
Those are the types of things that went through my head while reading Family Driven Faith. For any parent looking to revitalize the home as a place of worship, and to work to cultivate a genuine faith and Biblically-centered worldview with their children, this book is worth checking out.

Essential Anabaptist Mennonite Doctrines and Practices

2011-08-15T14:54:00.001-06:00

A link to some of the Essential Anabaptist Mennonite Doctrines and Practices. While some of it is still hit or miss for me, I think they are one of the few groups that gets it right with head coverings, family and church/state relations, etc.

Defending Church Membership - Hebrews 10:19-25

2011-08-15T10:37:00.000-06:00

(Found some of the family camp notes from last year, so wanted to jot these down and link to the messages online, as the teaching was excellent).

Theological distinctions are important and need to be defended, in charity. These do make a difference on the church. Congregations need to know why they believe what they believe. Heb. 10 speaks of the principles of local church membership, as mandatory for two reasons:

1) You must be a member because of what you've been given. Membership is a response of thankfulness to what we've been given. We have free, confident access to God (and we often take it for granted.) The walls of separation to God the Father have been removed.
2) We have a Great Priest - Christ rose and His ministry is ongoing. To fail to join with a congregation is to neglect what God has given to us as Christians. The church is a local manifestation of Christ's body.

Heb. 10:22-23 - We are called to live out our faith in the context of a community. How do you obey "us" without an "us"? We are called to gather with genuineness, in faith, and not to trust in our own righteousness. Membership is being part of a living community. Many churches today care very little about those it allows as members, particularly in terms of the gospel, the doctrine of Scripture, God's holiness, etc.

The church is not about me. Many people are simply critics who go to be served. We should provoke people to do good deeds. We should consider one another when we worship.

Biblical Genres

2011-08-15T09:16:00.000-06:00

Legal
Narrative
Poetry (songs, praise, laments, stanzas of Hebrew thought)
Wisdom literature (Proverbial wisdom)
Gospels - both doctrine and narrative.
Logical Discourse - the epistles. Books like Romans.
Prophetic - future prophecy. Vast have already happened.

The epistles are primarily Paul.

Expository - expounding various turths and doctrines
Hortatory - "Go out and do" (indicative vs. imperative)

Structural analysis - every writing has a structure that can be observed.

John G. Payton Biography

2011-08-03T14:57:00.000-06:00

Here's a link to an excellent message about the life of John G. Payton. What's so noteworthy about Payton's life isn't just his own remarkable mission work to the New Hebrides, but the details of the powerful Christian walk that John's father James had. Per the message, James never felt a specific calling into the ministry and did not intrude into it, but he Biblically guided his own children with a tremendous amount of prayer for them, and a message like this really speaks especially to fathers specifically as to the impact that your shepherding and guidance has on the life of your own children.

1 John 3:3-9

2011-08-03T14:47:00.001-06:00

(This is from a devotion I wrote for Alpha-Omega a few years ago...)

And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning The Son of
God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. [1 John 3:3-9 NAS]

This passage speaks about how all of our own efforts to purify ourselves are completely futile. Works-based righteousness will NEVER succeed in making us righteous in God's eyes. Ultimately, our righteousness is only obtained through the work of the Holy Spirit, calling us repentance and belief in Christ alone. Sanctification is God working in us, and us manifesting outwardly that inward working of the Holy Spirit. The legalist would say, "I obtained righteousness myself, and God is happy with what I achieved", when in actuality, the correct attitude of the believer should be one of "God DID IT within me, and I'm forever grateful that he overcame my own sinful, fallen nature in order to do it." One of the things that makes Christianity distinct from all other religions of the world is God's perfect grace, and that our salvation is not based on our own works and perfecting of ourselves, but rather its God who alone perfects us.

I was reading some of Calvin's remarks on the book of I John, and he makes the observation that John "plainly declares that the hearts of the godly are so effectually governed by the Spirit of God, that through an inflexible disposition they follow his guidance" Calvin later continues that "God testifies that he gives a new heart to his children, and promises to do this, that they may walk in his commandments.

We as believers should all take comfort in knowing that God's grace is sufficient in our lives, and that our righteousness is not dependent at all upon us or our works, but instead is solely a gift of God through Christ
Jesus our Lord.

Q&A with Dr. Waldron and John Divito

2011-08-03T10:57:00.000-06:00

Some fair observations made about the FIC model (although right off the bat Dr. Waldron gets it wrong by pronouncing Dr. Baucham's name as "VAH-dee". The rejection of systematic age-segregation ministry could be seen as overreacting, yet at the same time Voddie makes good points in that, if this system works, why do so many kids in this model turn from their faith when they go off to college.

I would agree with the observation that FIC churches reject nurseries for babies. I have no problem with nurseries, and one of the things I found with Voddie's church was that even though there was no nursery per se, there would still be a gathering of women in the back room on any given Sunday with their fussy babies, so why not just make an accommodation for them?

Now one thing I think Dr. Waldron did miss was that FIC model churches ofter place a much stronger emphasis on father-led worship in the home, particularly encouraging the daily practice of family worship (more than just simple, trite and irregular devotional times). I had never heard of this prior to attending Voddie's church and it definitely introduced a very important practice into our own home, with daily hymns, Bible reading and prayer as a family.

Q&A with Dr. Waldron and John Divito | Waldron on the Family Integrated Church from MCTS on Vimeo.

"Mother Goose is a Witch"

2011-07-25T21:44:00.002-06:00

Interesting sermon on various overt and subtle occult references in a number of familiar book titles. Although some of this at times sounds a little extreme or over-reactive, I think there are some fair points made here by Pastor Faust (a curiously-ironic name considering the subject matter) about examining all aspects of what books (namely, fairy tales) are allowed in ones house. Of course the Harry Potter/Twilight books are (rightly) condemned, but Pastor Faust goes further into the deeper content and history of works like Mother Goose and McGuffy Readers, etc. The biggest take-away is to really examine everything that you allow into your house under the close scrutiny of Scripture in light of 2 Corinthians 6:17 and caution to "touch not the unclean thing".

What's strange, in light of the creepiness of so much of the content discussed, is that I have no idea how this one appeared on my MP3 player, as I have no memory at all of ever downloading this (a providentially-mislabeled SermonAudio title, perhaps?). Ah well, worth checking out.

Lady Jane Grey: A Woman of Whom the World was not Worthy

2011-07-25T14:31:00.001-06:00

Pastor Justin's message about Lady Jane Grey, whom I had never heard of previously. This was a wonderful message, and a humbling reminder of standing strong for the gospel, even when you are presented with a simple avenue of escaping persecution by renouncing faith. A message really worth listening to.

GFBC Annual Spring Conference 2011 with Conrad Mbewe

2011-07-19T11:15:00.002-06:00

Our family was blessed to be able to attend one of the sessions of Grace Family Baptist's Annual Spring Conference for this year, and the following are some of the notes that I took. Pastor Conrad Mbewe was the guest speaker, visiting from Kabwata Reformed Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia, Africa (more about him at his blog here).

Pastor Mbewe spoke on the topic of authority and submission. Opening with I Peter 3:13-17, the Apostle Peter is writing to the dispersia of Pontious, Galatia, and believers scattered all over various countries. Peter teaches with a focus on salvation, which is the organizing principle of their lives. As obedient children, so we should be holy, living lives consecrated to God - lives distinct from the Gentiles (the unbelieving world.)

In Ephesians 5, we are instructed to submit to one another out of reverence to Christ. Col. 3:18 also emphasizes submission, that God has established an order to his people. We honor and respect God by respecting an honoring those in authority over us. We are to be subject, not for America's sake, but for the Lord's sake. We are keeping the vertical plane in the right place.

The question becomes, what if the leader is a despot? This was not a new issue at the time, and Peter addresses the subject of suffering at the hands of the unjust. In doing what is right we might be called upon to suffer for it.

In I Pet. 2:17, we read about being subject to every institution. Submission and authority is a not a side-issue, but rather is at the center of godliness and holiness. Our individual holiness pours into other areas of life.

Peter avoids splitting the hairs of obeying issues such as national vs. state, but rather gives blanket instruction to honor all authority. When Paul speaks of submitting to leaders, we are indirectly submitting to God, and in Paul's situation, he wasn't talking about a Christian leader but rather a despot and a tyrant. National and state leaders that rule are servants of God (I Pet. 2). These governors ensure the way that we live with one another, and uphold laws against those who break them, punishing those who do evil and praising those who do good. Rom. 13 - rulers are ultimately servants for our good. Pay taxes, respect and honor those in authority, as submission to authorities pleases God.

My notes were a little scattered, as we had some kid issues, but there were also a few notes on marriage, and that the one who brings up together in marriage is God. Our vows are made to Him, and we do not need a civil magistrate. We register to satisfy the laws of the land. We should be careful not to use the freedom that we have in Christ to breach the laws of the land.

Matthew 15:29-31; Mark 7:31-37

2011-07-18T12:35:00.001-06:00

Notes from a Pastor Jess sermon from a few months back that addresses questions as to why Jesus healed in different ways and means. In the gospel accounts, the healings of Christ would sometimes be accomplished by a command from a distance, sometimes just by touch, sometimes by being touched (his garment), or even by saying nothing (the Syrophoenician woman). In this passage in Matt. 15 and Mark 7, the healing is accomplished by the seemingly-stange manner of fingers in the ear, saliva, and a sigh to heaven. And while this seems strange to us, there was a purpose to everything that Jesus did. Though this means, he communicates his compassion and love, doing the best possible thing in the best possible way. Jesus showed his tenderness in that the first words the man heard were "be opened."
To some this could appear gross, with spit, and fingers in ear, but what's notable is that Jesus is incorporating sight, touch and taste in the healing of this man. He gestures to heaven (sight), groans (sound vibrations the man would experience), touching of the ears (physical touch) and taste (saliva.) The means and the manner matter, and Christ here was using a very awesome manner of communicating with this man who did not have the full means to communicate. Without Christ's power, this would have all been empty ritual, but it is only by God's awesome power that healing is given.

A noteworthy addition about this message is that since it speaks to individuals of sensory impairment, this message is also available on sermonaudio as a PDF transcript for the hearing impared.

General notes on Greek Orthodoxy

2011-07-07T09:04:00.001-06:00

Some notes I jotted down listening to a Carl Trueman lecture on the Medieval Church:

Greek Orthodox/Eastern Orthodox:
- High view of the Trinity.
- Highly-elaborate ritual and liturgy.
- Importance placed on icons, with theological arguments made for why dieficiation is given to these (vs. perceiving them as graven images)
- To Eastern Orthodox, icons are an idealized, divinized portrait of what they represent, with a theosis present, or a taking of God's power. With relics, there is something ontalogically transforming the item (similar to the human body of saints, hence why relics are important.)

Of course I disagree with their view of relics, but I did find it interesting to understand a little bit more of the background as to why they believe this. I visited a Greek Orthodox church ages ago, and noticed the elaborate ritual. I was impressed by the importance placed on head coverings, as this was something mandated for all women visiting, as the church adhered to a very high-view of I Cor. 11 (in many ways this was important for me in researching deeper into the head covering issue - that, and Sproul's comments on the topic.)