Navigator Resources
Posted By stevebag on March 11, 2010
Navigators are a great group, here is a link to some resources they offer:
And two of my favorites from that page:
Welcome To The Temple...
The Temple is a prominent Biblical image, which has both literal physical properties and metaphoric and spiritual properties. The New Testament Temple is not a building in Jerusalem, but rather the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, the people of God. Coming to the Temple is gathering in fellowship with His people and His Spirit.
.: Favorite Quotes :.
Some women are not beautiful, they only look as though they are.
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Perspectives on World Missions
Posted By stevebag on March 10, 2010
Here is a worthy organization to be a part of, and a training course for serious Great Commission Christians…
Men’s Weekly Update
Posted By stevebag on March 10, 2010
Men’s Newsletter is now available….
If you are not on the list, subscribe here.
To see the full newsletter, click here.
Prayer for True Knowledge
Posted By stevebag on March 8, 2010
Here is a prayer written by Thomas a Kempis:
and a corresponding prayer for knowledge by the apostle Paul:
For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. (Ephesians 1:15-19 )After Paul gives thanks he prays that God may give to the Ephesians a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ and that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened. All of those phrases are knowledge phrases. He asks that they will be enlightened in three ways: hope, riches, greatness. Paul is assuming here that their is a tendency in believers to have misconceptions about appropriate hope, true riches, and the nature of greatness. Listen to my sermon from this week (will post the link when the sermon is up) for a perspective on true hope, riches and greatness.
A major thrust of the believers prayers should be in the arena of the mind and to renew our mind so that it conforms to the mind of Christ. Prayer can be defined as mind work. It is the place where I examine my mind, my thinking, my values, my hopes, my philosophy, my understanding of truth, my wisdom. Hence Paul prays that we have wisdom and that the veil over our minds be pulled back and that our hearts may be brought into the light, that is out of the darkness.
Paul had a practice of sharing his prayers with his readers. As a result we have a treasure of examples of how to pray for one another. I have made it a practice to use the prayers of Paul as a template for how to pray for others. Here are some good ones: Ephesians 1:15-23; Ephesians 3:14-20; Colossians 1:9-12; Colossians 4:2-4; Philippians 1:9-11; Philemon 1:4-6. Pray for one another.
Win a Kindle!!
Posted By stevebag on March 7, 2010
Check out “Kathy Carlton Willis Communication”, watch a few book trailers and enter to win a new Kindle…
Saturday Morning Cartoon
Posted By stevebag on March 6, 2010
The Right Terms: Immutability & Truth
Posted By stevebag on March 4, 2010
I am currently walking through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology with our Hispanic Pastor. We meet every week to tackle a chapter. I picked Grudem because he is a little easier to consume than say Shedd or even Berkhof, but covers the bases. I generally like Grudem but have this critique after today’s reading.
We are currently reading about the Incommunicable Attributes of God. Grudem lists the following attributes as incommunicable: Independence, Unchangeableness, Omnipresence, Eternity, Unity. The traditional terms used for Independence and Unchangeable are Aseity and Immutability. Grudem changes them (although to his credit he at least references them) to more modern, understandable and common terms. Who says “aseity” or “immutable”?
I don’t have a problem with the change from aseity to independence. I have some trouble with the term “unchangeableness”.
First, it is a weird word. It is a word, it is just an odd word. Unchangeable, unchanging are normal words, adding “ness” to it seems like we just didn’t want to come up with the right word so just add something.
Second and more importantly, it is a negative term. I find that using negative terms to describe God’s attributes is distracting to (more…)
How Not to Worship…
Posted By stevebag on March 4, 2010
“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.”
William Temple
Here is an incredible contrast to this great quote:
Really?? the Hokey Pokey?
“In the Sunday worship service we rehearse the use of body, of emotions, of intellect and will in order that our bodies may truly be the temple of God, that our spirit may be moved by His Spirit, that our minds may be as the mind of Christ, and that our wills may be one with God’s. The worship service is a rehearsal for life. It outlines the dialogue which goes on constantly between God and believers. In the worship service we give Him our praise and adoration. We give Him our offerings of money and also of our service in ministry.”
Donald P. Hustad
Don’t watch this unless you want to be horrified:
I Love Mexicans
Posted By stevebag on March 3, 2010
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
This marvelous prayer is from Ephesians 3:13-21.
I never understood how enlightened Christians could entertain racism, latently or blatantly. In Southern California, racism is often directed towards Mexicans. I love Mexicans. I abhor racism. It is completely un-Christian. Here is what the passage from Ephesians tells us:
Every family in heaven and earth derives its name from the Father
Is there a preferred nation to God? The answer to that question is no. This may anger dispensationalists, but there is no longer an elect nation. This may anger patriots, but God loves Mexico as much as He loves the USA. Much of the emphasis on the word “all” in the New Testament is not an emphasis on individual “all”, but corporate “all”; all with reference to all the nations as opposed to one elect nation.
And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.By Your Blood you ransomed people from every….
TRIBE, LANGUAGE, PEOPLE AND NATION
What a great portrait of the fullness of the church. The picture in heaven includes Mexicans. Some of them are illegals. Jesus died for the nations, our heart must love the nations because Jesus had a focus and purpose in his death and life and kingdom which CENTERED on the nations.
I love Mexicans, maybe more than Canadians. They are our neighbors, we view them as the modern American equivalent of the Samaritans. Many of you need to repent.
Here is a great interview with President Vicente Fox at Westmont College.
John Piper at Westmont Chapel
Posted By stevebag on March 3, 2010