Archive for April, 2009
Gentleness and Respect
Posted by: | CommentsLately I’ve been thinking about what it means to share and defend the Gospel with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). Or with the same love, compassion and directness of Jesus when He spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well. Or the way Paul speaks to people in the Book of Acts. To talk with people in such a way, even when defending the faith, that the love of Christ shines through. Genuine love for people that colors my words, my tone, my attitude, my actions as I tell people of the reality of sin and the supremacy of Christ. The ability to conduct myself in this manner comes only by the power of the Holy Spirit. Left to myself, I am simply not capable. The Lord by His grace exposes our inability to truly love, or truly obey, apart from Him. He empowers us to love others and show gentleness and respect.
Some Scripture that come to mind:
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
With a proper perspective I now have a foundation (the Gospel!) with which to understand and obey 1 Peter 3:15 (in context):
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
1 Peter 3:13-17
Out of obedience and because of the grace that God has shown us personally, will we commit to communicate the Gospel with gentleness and respect as we tell others about Jesus?
Culvitating Expositional Listening – #6: Cultivate Humility
Posted by: | CommentsThis is the final posts in the series where we’re reviewing the six practical ways Thabiti Anyabwile suggests for developing “expositional listening” in his book What is a Healthy Church Member? Click here to bring up all the posts in the series. Also, by way of review, here are the first five ways to develop expositional listening according to Anyabwile:
1. Meditate on the Sermon Passage During Your Quiet Time
2. Invest in a Good Set of Commentaries
3. Talk and Pray with Friends After Church
4. Listen to and Act on the Sermon Throughout the Week
5. Develop the Habit of Addressing Any Questions About the Text Itself
The 6th and final suggestion for developing a habit of expositional listening is to cultivate humility. As we hear the Word preached, read the Word and take in the truth of God, we will by God’s grace grow spiritually. Anyabwile cautions us though against becoming “professional sermon listeners” as we move along in our spiritual maturity, becoming one who is always hearing but never learning. Beware of false knowledge that puffs up:
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind
Colossians 2:18
Furthermore, pride, the condemnation of others and “critical nit-picking” are sins that should be dealt with, mortified, as soon as we see them.
We should instead look to meet Jesus each time we come to Scripture, discovering and applying the truth to all of life. Instead of exalting ourselves we should humble ourselves according to Peter’s admonition: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:6).
Thoughts
As someone who takes in a lot of “content” I appreciated this point. I can easily veer into “professional sermon listener” territory and have had to check myself, evaluate my motives and ask myself what the goal is of listening/reading to all the preaching and teaching. Knowledge puffs me up easily. “Good knowledge”, never mind false knowledge (although of course we should all be on guard for this constantly).
May we humbly come before God, seeking His grace and power by the Holy Spirit, to kill the sin of pride whenever it rears its ugly head.
Men of High Pointe, by God’s grace we have the priviledge of sitting under faithful, Christ-exalting preaching that holds up God’s Word as sufficient for all of life and Jesus as the Greatest Treasure. Let us humbly receive the Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit apply what we hear for the Glory of God and for our joy!
I’m reminded of Isaiah 66:2
But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
So, this wraps up this series on Expositional Listening. Although it took quite a bit longer than I had anticipated I hope that you found it helpful. I would highly recommend reading the whole book. It might still be available for free at the information desk.
Men’s Retreat 2009 Video – Session #1
Posted by: | CommentsVocation.
Pastor Juan speaks on the biblical concept of vocation.
http://highpointeaustin.org/media/MensMinistry/Session1.flvPrayer: a Duty?
Posted by: | CommentsJohn Piper answers:
“You can call it that. It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater. It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers. It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns. It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food. It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water. It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid. It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin. It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey. It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.”
From his sermon from 12/28/08.
Video: Men’s Breakfast 3/28/09
Posted by: | CommentsMy apologies for taking so long to get this video up!
Steve Whitlock speaks on prayer, from Chapter 2 of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney.
http://highpointeaustin.org/media/MensMinistry/mens_breakfast032809.flvThe Problem of Evil and Suffering
Posted by: | CommentsHow could a good and loving God allow the evil and suffering we see in the world? Has anyone ever asked you this question? Have YOU ever asked this question?
Here are two resources that have been helpful to me recently.
The Bible on the Problem of Evil – John Frame
Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? (MP3) – Tim Keller
Study Guide (PDF)
…and we’re back..
Posted by: | CommentsSorry for the long gap in posting (for those of you who noticed!). I hope to post more consistently, Lord willing, as we move forward. Additionally, we are hoping to add a couple more men to the blogging team.
I will be wrapping up the series on expositional listening in the next day or two, after one or two quick posts.
Behold the Man Upon a Cross
Posted by: | CommentsTim Challies pens some very encouraging and helpful thoughts on the cross.
May we think deeply on the cross this Easter weekend, and always: the love, the grace, the justice, the holiness, of our Lord. Because Jesus has risen, those who believe in Him will also rise! To our Wonderful Savior belongs all praise and honor and glory!
Monergism Interview with Tim Keller
Posted by: Site Admin | Comments (0)There are several more recent interviews of Tim Keller available but I thought I would pass along this one that Monergism did with him last year. At the time, his book The Reason for God was out and the interview was conducted in light of that book which is a winsome, reasoned defense of the Christian faith. I actually have only read a small portion of the book (need to bump it up to the top of my reading list!) but am nearly done listening to the sermons he preached that gave form to the book. I highly recommend the audio and a ton of people recommend the book. I’ve benefited from his ministry and would encourage others to check him out.
Go to the interview
Several things stood out to me in the interview.
1) Keller’s answer to question #4:
When you field questions from skeptics what is the first thing you are looking for in their question?
I want to be able to understand it well enough that, when I articulate it back to them, they feel I have said it better and more persuasively than they could have.
I think we show much respect and care for the other person (1 Peter 3:15, see my previous post) when we are able to understand and effectively restate the question (insert “statement”, “argument” or “conviction” as well). Most people want to know that they are being heard and understood, especially when it comes to religi0us convictions. He actually sets the bar pretty high in desiring to say it “better and more persuasively than they could have”.
2) The tone and overall nature of his answers. The way he answers objections here (and in the book and audio) is one based on addressing the other person’s presuppositions. This is an approach that is not often enough employed in my estimation when defending and sharing the gospel.
3) His answer to question #10. Reminded me that I’ve been wanting to renew my subscription to Time and Newsweek!
4) He recommends John Frame’s books. I haven’t read any of Frame’s books yet but his free seminary courses on audio and papers have been very helpful. I’m very much an audio freak in case anyone was wondering.