word360.ca

Construction Delay

Tue, 10 May 2011 03:25:34 +0000

Unfortunately, I’m experiencing some growing pains in moving the audio portion of this podcast forward. (And, last I checked, getting the audio done well on a podcast is rather significant). Sorry everyone, I’m a newbie!

I’ve decided, regrettably, to delay production of word360 one full week, to make sure we are ready to go, in the future, without delay.

My mission is to provide a useful, dependable tool for years to come, for you, your family and community group.

Thanks again for your patience on the startup.

You can count on listening to 360 seconds of audio response on Philippians 1:1-2 this coming Sunday morning, May 15, bright and early.

And we’ll begin a new rotation for Philippians 1:3-4 on Monday morning, May 16, whenever you wake up.

Blessings, friend.

REFLECT, RESPOND, RELATE for life.

Day 6: Response: Philippians 1:1-2

Sat, 07 May 2011 21:40:24 +0000

[1:1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

[2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Saturday is response day.

There are two ways that I want you to think about response to the word of God. One is in terms of your voice, and the other is in terms of your feet. Your voice, symbolically, is a aspect of your response that makes a difference to someone else who gets the opportunity to hear what you heard that brought you life. Your feet represent the overall aspect of your response that makes a difference to someone else who gets to experience what you experienced in light of the truth of God’s word being spoken.

The significance of your voice being heard in response to the gospel is highlighted by Paul in Romans 10.

Romans 10[14] How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? [15] And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

The important impact of your feet moving (hands helping, legs lifting, and elbows greasing) in response to the good news is exemplified in the response of the listeners to Peter’s first great vocal response recorded in Acts 2.

Acts 2[36] Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

[37] Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” [38] And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

You and I have the opportunity and responsibility to say something different, and to do something different with our lives, for others, as a result of Christ has already said and done for us. So say it, bro! Do it, sister! Get it done.

In order to wholeheartedly respond, here’s a few great questions to help you:

Voice: Say it in faith!
- What will you say about this text?
- Who are you saying it to?
- How will they best hear it?
Feet: Do it in obedience!
- What are you doing about this text?
- Who are you doing it with/for/to?
- When are you doing it?

See you tomorrow for my first podcast response to Philippians 1:1-2! Thanks for experiencing the Word of God along with me this week.

Day 5: Reflection: Philippians 1:1-2

Fri, 06 May 2011 17:35:44 +0000

[1:1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

[2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Friday is THE day of reflection.

There are 2 priorities on reflection day. They both flow from the word that James pens in James 1:19-20, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” This essentially what you’ve been training in yourself all week. You have been quietly engaging in a long reflection of: considering the context, making accurate observations about the text, examining the meanings of the words and structures within the text, and then thoughtfully applying the text personally. You have been very slow to speak thus far, and today is the culmination of your practice.

Here are some great questions to ask in relation to the 2 priorities for reflection:

Quick to hear
- Well, what have we learned today?
- What has God given you through His Word this week?
- How has God called you to repentance & faith?
Slow to speak
- What do you want to say about this text?
- Who do you want to say it to?
- How is God calling your community to repentance & faith?

Rest here and give yourself a pat on the back. You have really kept your mouth shut well. Your posture towards the Bible has already begun to change for life. You can tell your wife that you’re becoming a ~~good~~ um, a better listener.

You ARE changing. We’ll see you tomorrow.

Reflect, Respond, Relate.

Day 4: Application: Philippians 1:1-2

Fri, 06 May 2011 05:24:25 +0000

[1:1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

[2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thursday is a tough day. Yup, it’s application day.

Notice how I barely got this blog post up today. Yes, it’s always a fight to move on to application. It’s a long week. You lose sleep. There’s so much to do before the week is over. There’s a million reasons to skip over the most important thing because of the urgent things.

The application of the gospel to ourselves is the most important AND the most urgent thing. In it’s simplest form it goes like this: Jesus gave his life on the cross in our place for our sins. It is lost on us if we don’t believe it, trust him, and receive and use the life that he bought for us.

But lots of religious people do that all the time. Don’t be one of them.

Never skip Thursday. Even if it’s late, don’t skip application. It’s truly a life of death issue. Merely learning/memorizing/being able to explain scripture without repentance/confession/forgiveness/obedience/joy/freedom is a half-life which is getting closer to death every day. Don’t do it.

Here’s 4 questions we’ll ask every Thursday (or every time we reflect on a text):

How does this text challenge me?
What change does God’s Word require of me?
What calling of God must I receive and engage in?
What does this mean for me in light of the cross?

Happy Thursday. Just shut up and do the work.

Reflect, RESPOND. See you tomorrow.

Day 3: Meaning: Philippians 1:1-2

Wed, 04 May 2011 21:39:29 +0000

[1:1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

[2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wednesday is meaning day.

After all, isn’t that what we’re really here for. Didn’t you want to know what the text meant on Monday. Of course you did, but in order to get out of your own head a little we put off asking these questions until Wednesday. We’re trying to learn to patiently and submissively allow the Scriptures to do the talking so we take a couple days to get to know our verses, listen to them… and then come right out and ask them, “Ya, but what do you mean?”

Here are the 4 priorities at this stage:

1) Review in your own words

Based on the obvious context and everything you’ve observed from these verses, write out what they say in your own words.

2) Relate it to book

Could you tell someone, in a few sentences, how this text relates to the whole book?

3) Relate it to Jesus

What does this text have to do with Jesus? Is it obvious? Or Does it require some work?

4) Reveal something about God

All of Scripture is a revelation of God. That is, ultimately, where it’s great value lies. What can you say about God based on what you know about these verses?

Heh, you’re doing great! I hope you don’t over-complicate this process or be too tempted to jump ahead. Just relax and enjoy letting the Word of God do His work on you.

See you tomorrow.

Day 2: Observation: Philippians 1:1-2

Tue, 03 May 2011 14:52:38 +0000

[1:1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

[2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have been introduced to Paul and Timothy and the local church in the city of Philippi. And, if nothing else, we’ve received the warm glow of affection shared between author and recipient at the opening of this letter. We’ve received it just by listening in and hearing words like grace and peace.

Tuesday is always going to be observation day. We’re going to just shut up and really try and listen. It’s a time to pay attention to words and structure and even try and pick up the tone of what is said.

Before running through a list of great questions to ask to help observation along, I have to point out two things that we have to do on Tuesday to really observe well. One is, we’ve got to set our opinions aside. Don’t get rid of them. Just set them aside. They are important, but they’re not more important than God’s opinions, that’s all. They simply have yet to be informed by the text. So hold your opinions, but hold them on a shelf, within eyesight if need be, to be picked up later and educated.

The Second is, we’ve got to hold back our emotions. I learned last night, on election night, that Wilfred Laurier said of Quebecers, “Quebecers don’t have opinions. All they have are emotions.” I think that is true of Canadians, of humans. Ultimately, even our most strongly held opinions are subject to our inherently powerful emotions. The best way to hold them back (from ruling the day), is not to stuff them away or deny them. The best way to put them in their place is actually to give them their place. Acknowledge them and think about how they may shape the way you observe life and truth today.

Now the positives of observation: Words, the structure of words, and the surprises within them, are the three aspects of observation that we’ll focus on Tuesdays. Simply spend time noting:

Words
- Key/Repeated
  - Are there any words that stand out as pivotal to the meaning of these verses?
  - Are any words repeated in this text or repeated within this book?
- Meanings
  - What meanings have these words had elsewhere in this book or in the Bible?
  - Later we’ll look at some tools to help us think about the original language meanings of the words that you read in English.
- Connectors
  - How are the key words connected in this text? What connecting words help you to understand the structure of the text?
Structure
- Breaks
  - Are there any obvious breaks in the argument within your text?
- Order
  - How is the order of the words leading the listener?
- Main point
  - Can you identify a main point of this text or the larger argument of the surrounding texts?
- Supporting points
  - Can you identify all of the supporting statements/arguments that are led by the main point?
Surprises
- - My favourite: What surprised you in these verses?

I love ending with that question, because it gets personal here. You can feel free to get personal in your observations (keeping in mind what we agreed on about the appropriate place for our opinions and emotions) .

Remember, that the key to observing text is having an attitude of submission to the text. Observation is not meant to be cold and calculated. Our questions maybe start us off that way, but the Bible was never intended to leave us that way. Start to observe it in such a way as to be changed by it.

Enjoy, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Day 1: Context: Philippians 1:1-2

Mon, 02 May 2011 16:01:24 +0000

[1:1] Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: [2] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We begin with a beginning.

For you and me at word360, it’s 3 beginnings, really, with the potential for more.

First, it’s the true beginning of this project. We really don’t start anything of lasting value until God’s voice has been heard. When God speaks real things are created, real life rises from his power, and reality is transformed. That’s what we’re after in this project.

Second, it’s the beginning of a year-long reflection on this biblical book, Philippians. It’s a short book, but we’re going to take a long time, one full year, to reflect on it, maybe memorize it, and work very hard each week to apply it to our lives.

Third, it’s the beginning of the week. In fact, it’s the beginning of our first week together at word360. It’s the beginning of a weekly pattern that we will repeat many times. The repetition won’t be boring. It’s just the pattern that we’re going to repeat. The Scripture will never stop hitting us from new angles, speaking to us at different volume levels, and revealing new facets of God’s character. You won’t get bored through repetition. But you might become competent at handling God’s word for yourself.

It’s on this third beginning that we’ll really start our work:

Monday is Context day. Every week. So let me introduce you to the basic information that we’re concerned with identifying on Monday. I’ll do my introduction in the form of questions rather than answers. See if you can answer briefly the following questions to get you started in understanding the context for Philippians.

People
- Author
  - Is the author of the book identified in these verses?
- Audience
  - Is the audience of the book identified in these verses?
Circumstances
- Setting
  - Can you learn anything about the surroundings or environment of either the author or the audience?
- Situation
  - Do the opening comments give any clues to the circumstances that either the author or the audience find themselves in?
Themes
- Previous Text
  - Spend time today reading a few paragraphs that precede your text. (Or in this case, why not begin reading through the book of Acts which is an historical account of the movement of the gospel through the acts of obedience of the early church leaders.)
- Following Text
  - Go ahead and cheat. Read ahead. Read the whole book. It’s short.
- Connections
  - Note any first observations about how you see this week’s verses connecting with either previous or following texts.

That’s it for today. That’s plenty! Relax, we’ve got lot’s of time to reflect on this text, and on the great little book of Philippians. Enjoy and see you tomorrow!

IGNITE: How Seven Resources Fuel Wildfire Gospel Movements

Sun, 01 May 2011 03:46:17 +0000

Paul and his son in the faith, Timothy, shared a deep and revolutionary connection.

The gospel of Jesus Christ was their common bond. It was the treasure that they shared. Entrusted to them by the Lord Jesus himself not to hide and keep, but to guard and give for generations to come. They had already witnessed what this good news does. It had already begun to turn the world upside down. First the man. Paul’s entire world was transformed: his heart, his mind, his career, his peers, his status, his safety. Then the cities. Every city that Paul carried this eternal wealth to was changed: from Jerusalem to Antioch, to Cyprus, to Antioch of Pisidia, to Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Cilicia, Lycaonia, Galatia, Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, to Corinth, and to Ephesus, and from Ephesus… just everywhere! Every city itself was changed. Economic systems were leveled. Social statuses were flattened. Hordes without hope were suddenly moving up with courage and vision. Men and cities were renewed. All because of Jesus, and the gospel of his resurrection.

Paul and Timothy lived entrusted with this gospel of Jesus that was spreading like wildfire.

And now arrives a moment of crisis in the rapid growth of the gospel. The pivotal mentor figure in the movement is imprisoned and nearing execution. The crucial young protégé is on the verge of emotional collapse, beleaguered by critics and heretics. Timothy’s vision of the kingship of Jesus has diminished as personal contact with his dear guide, Paul, has been cut off. The new leader and servant of this gospel movement is stalled. His poetential in doubt. The question that chills Christ followers in this moment is, “Will the fire go out?” Was this Jesus thing a fad? Will the revolution progress further? Is it over? Has Timothy burned out? Will the fire of this gospel advance?

In 2 Timothy, Paul writes one final life-or-death plea to Timothy to further courageously ignite this prevailing movement of the gospel. He does not pen an empty plea, however. Paul puts forth an emotional appeal that is absolutely loaded with the resources required to accomplish what is asked. “Timothy, fuel the ignition! Take this and let the fire burn bright. Take this and pour it on, Timothy! You’ve got what you need to keep the wildfire spreading!”

How about you, young Christian man? How about you, woman of faith? How about you, shepherd, evangelist, servant…? Are you on the verge of quit? Are you overwhelmed by the apathy that surrounds you? Are you cut off from your early spiritual inspiration? Has your view of Jesus’ ultimate kingship diminished?

Then join me these next months in 2 Timothy and hear your Father’s voice say to you, “Ignite the fire!”

Seven Resources That Fuel Wildfire Gospel Movements:

1) Power: Ignite spiritual desire. Sunday, May 1

2 Timothy 1:1-12

6] For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, [7] for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

2) Patterns: Ignite sound teaching. Sunday, May 8

2 Timothy 1:13 – 2:13

[13] Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. [14] By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

3) Preparation: Ignite gospel training. Sunday, May 22

2 Timothy 2:14-26

[15] Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

4) Pitfalls: Ignite humble tenacity. Sunday, May 29

2 Timothy 3:1-9

[3:1] But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

5) Priorities: Ignite authentic productivity. Sunday, June 5

2 Timothy 3:10-17

[14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

6) Preaching: Ignite situational readiness. Sunday, June 19

2 Timothy 4:1-5

[4:1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

7) Perseverance: Ignite missional endurance. Sunday, June 26

2 Timothy 4:6-22

[16] At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! [17] But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

What is word360?

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:52:06 +0000

What is word360.ca?

It’s a blogcast.

Word360.ca is a blogcast created to experience the powerful truth of the Bible through reflection, response, and relating it to others.

The idea came from a simple, personal weekly equation:

360 minutes/week of reflection and study on one segment of the ancient text

+ 360 seconds/week of response (my favourite response, talking about it)

= 360 days of blogging/& weekly podcasting that relates my experience to others who relate their experience to others who relate their experience to others

I want you to see for yourself how true and powerful the Word of God, the Bible really is. In just 6-7 hours personally per week, you really can learn the Bible for yourself, figure out what it means for life, and be able to explain it someone else. Not bad.

It’s a relationship.

It’s in an invitation to join a team of men and women who want to learn and experience truth for themselves. It’s a wide open door to listen, read, ask questions, and contribute to an en vironment of real, humble, positive personal movement.

You and I are relationship building here. Yes, we’ll experience a relationship with each other, and with other site participants, of course. But the priority of this blogcast is on you taking what you experience here, and sharing it with the real people in your life. The people in your family, circles of trust, friendships, and community life are the ones that count. Real people that you know that have real contributions to make are the reason I’m doing this.

So take what you can from this and share it with your spouse, your buddies, your kids, whoever, just relate it! Word360 is a relationship.

It’s a response.

For me this little venture is a simply a response to my own desire to figure life out listening to God’s voice. I just decided to put it on the internet.

I love learning. I love people. I love the Bible. I love the social network and all that it has to offer to the experience of growing in competence, enjoyment of life, and connectedness. So that’s how this began.

I’m going to respond to the truth I’m learning, essentially, in public. You get to observe how I respond to the Scriptures. When you respond through comment on the blog, I get to observe you, too. When you respond by passing on your experience to someone you care about, they get to observe it too. This is what the Bible is really all about. It’s not just about getting it, knowing it, reciting it. It’s about living it experiencing it, and observing it. The Word of God demands response. So this abbreviated demonstration called word360, limited within the confines of 360 seconds, 360 minutes, and 360 days of blogging, podcasting, and interaction, this demonstration is symbolic of the point of Scripture. Respond! Do something! Obey! Move! Mobilize! Get on with it! And Get it across to the people you care about! Word 360 is a response.

It’s a reflection.

And this is where we’ll begin every Monday.

Before we have anything valuable to relate. Before we have anything trustworthy to respond to.

We must reflect. We’ve got to be quiet, listen, read, contemplate, think about it. Just shut up. Stop moving. Stop talking and listen.

Life demands it.

The Bible demands it.

We’ve got to respect life enough to reflect on it. We’ve got to show the Bible enough consideration to contemplate it. We too often form quick opinions about both through our immediate circumstances. And we too often just don’t get it, because we too speedily prejudge without all the information, without due consideration.

So, at Word360 we’re going to build a pattern into our experience with the Bible that will build a deeper, more meaningful life experience. No matter where you’re coming from. If you engage with this blogcast you’re going to benefit from a more peaceful existence, a more joyful depth of being, and, quite simply, a more reflective, insightful, wise outlook on life. Word360 is a reflection.

Word360. Reflect, Respond, Relate.