Finding God’s Call V: God’s Process and Timing
Fifth in the series, this is the last sermon in the series. It covers
- The Revealing of God’s Call
- The Re-education of God’s Call
- The Renewal of God’s Call
It helps us see why God’s process involves development of character through failure, difficulty, and outward success that often shows up only at the end of the path, but not in the beginning.
It also discusses why it is never too late to pursue God’s plan.
To download Finding God’s Call V, please subscribe to our podcast feed.
My Two Cents #107 – Entertainment
Cruel Logic – A short film and soon to come feature film based on this idea – a serial killer takes the argument for subjective morality to the test – kidnapping liberal subjectivist moralist professors, he asks each one to give him a good reason why he should not dismember and kill them.Since a subjective moralist can’t really argue for any sure morality, each is killed. It’s a little simplistic, but a nice idea, and certainly something that sends home the message that ideas have consequences, and those passing around dangerous ideas should face the consequences themselves, rather than pushing them out onto society and victimizing it.
Fundamentalists reconsidering their ire at Rick Warren
In What I Like About Rick Warren, New City Press has really done a nice job of reconsidering the overly negative, critical approach that many reformed and fundamentalist sites take to Rick Warren, author of the heinously successful Purpose Driven Life.
Of course, I entered the fray, and I decided to post my last comment here as content, since I put some effort into it.
All the stories, none of the fluff
Well not much fluff, but maybe just a little.
I have about a dozen or so articles on my blog feed that are interesting to me and I want to blog about them and point them out, but I don’t have the time to develop too much around them. With that being said, here is a lovely link dump on various topics.
Atheism’s Trump Card – Farts Prove there is No God
One of the main biblical arguments for the existence of God is the amazing beauty, complexity, and integration of the created, living world. As the scriptures report:
Romans 1:19-20
what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse
But this "argument from design" proves nothing, according to the atheist. In fact, we see so many flaws in the design, that this argument seems riddled with just as many contraindications in nature. Chief of which is the lowly FART.
Dictators say the darnedest things
From Ahmadinejad saying that women in Iran were “the freest women in the world” to Chavez decrying the “schemes of hourly divisions” of time as “dictated by the imperial United States” – these dictators would be hilarious if it were not for the fact that they have power over their citizens and that so many people actually follow and listen to what these idiots say.
My Two Cents #105 – Science and Environment
Ive been down with the flu for the last five days, so haven’t posted, and still too tired to think much. So here’s a link dump on some recent science and tech stuff.
- Why MOST modern published scientific studies are wrong – Robert Hotz of the Wall Street Journal’s Science Journal discusses why most scientific studies are tainted by sloppy analysis and wrong conclusions (now you can see why Why I Trust Science in Principle, but not in Practice)
These flawed findings, for the most part, stem not from fraud or formal
misconduct, but from more mundane misbehavior: miscalculation, poor
study design or self-serving data analysis. "There is an increasing
concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or
even the vast majority of published research claims," Dr. Ioannidis
said. "A new claim about a research finding is more likely to be false
than true."The hotter the field of research the more likely its published findings should be viewed skeptically, he determined. [good advice].
A Non-sectarian Christian prayer?
Tom Pryde has written a tragically humorous article critical of "non-sectarian" prayers – and while I am liberal egalitarian enough to actually perhaps agree with the removal of sectarian prayer from public events, I do enjoy Tom’s humor.
“Dear heavenly one that has a son who was murdered so that we could
have freedom, we ask that you would forgive us for our generic ideals
that seek the glorification of our institutions and dreams rather than
the reconciliation that you desire between yourself and those who have
suppressed the idea that you exist. We know that it was once acceptable
to actually speak of you, but we no longer want to offend anyone who
might think that you are something or someone other than you are, and
our government only endorses its idea of religious
expression. So if you don’t mind, we won’t actually mention who you
are, but we really want to ask you to help us while we try to have this
meeting on the behalf of a bunch of people who might (or might not)
actually believe in you for real.”
Faith and Reason – Link Dump
I have discussed this topic at length in many other posts, but have never gathered the material into one place. Here are some worthy links, plus my thoughts.
Who’s hearing the call?
The lack of young pastors is a growing problem among Baptist and evangelicals in general. One part of the issue is that many young adults have been turned off by the negative aspects of the head pastor’s job, along with denominational conflicts. As churches have recognized the issue, many have stepped up to actually do something about it. Many are working to create a “call-friendly culture,” where young people are encouraged to seek out the plans that God has for them – including the possibility of full-time ministry.
ALERT to California Residents – Tell Arnold to Veto Anti-family Legislation
The Campaign for Children and Families, a national organization that monitors national and state legislation, and notifies people on how they can take action to support pro-family legislation (or oppose anti-family measures) has put us Californians on alert to "anti-family" legislation (i.e. pro-gay, pro-abortion, anti-parents’ rights, etc.). Previously defeated bills include the ridiculous anti-spanking bill, assisted suicide, and HPV inoculation bills.
Currently there are five bills on Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desk that CCF believes should be vetoed. If you would like to be part of opposing these bills, and are a Californian, you can go to the CCF Action page to choose your action (phone call, email, etc.). They have a very easy to use email generator which only requires you to enter your name and address and click SEND.
Christian books throwing a few back
Well not exactly, but Christian books do seem to be more open to a somewhat positive portrayal of moderate use of alcohol.
Does the shift in writing reflect a shift in evangelical culture toward a more tolerant view of alcohol use? It will be interesting to see if this becomes more wide spread.
My Two Cents #104 – Atheism
Here are some recent headlines regarding atheism:
- The Unenlightened Atheist
- EO takes issue with the atheist claim that atheism is linked with the
Enlightenment, when it is clear that Enlightenment thinkers were
absolutely NOT anti-faith.
Many atheists who make this mistake are simply unaware of Western
intellectual history. For the rationalists of the Enlightenment era
were able to trust in reason precisely because they were
theists or deists and believed in a transcendent, rational God. To
think otherwise was considered, as the philosophers often noted, the
height of absurdity.
Perspicuity and single meaning of scripture
From my hermeneutics class:
Q: How is the doctrine of the perspicuity of Scripture related to the Hermeneutic principle of single meaning?
My Answer: The principle of
single meaning simplifies the task of the biblical interpreter by narrowing possible interpretations to one, and in
so doing, lends itself towards agreement on the public understanding of
the objective meaning of scripture. This, in turn, means that we can more
clearly proclaim with assurance the perspicuity of scripture. However,
single meaning is not a prerequisite for perspicuity, and perspicuity
can be declared, though perhaps with less assurance, even if we do not
hold to single meaning.
Some reflections on seeker-sensitive churches
In the 1980′s, Bill Hybels and some other young Christian leaders decided that traditional church was too stiff, too foreign to modern unchurched people, and ignorant of the ways that contemporary people take in information. They tried an experiment they called "seeker-sensitive" churches, in which the Sunday sermons were shorter, missing traditional religious jargon (Christianese), and included such things as drama, videos, other multimedia stuff.
Right away, traditionalists attacked them for diluting the gospel, catering to our modern short-attention span and desire to be entertained rather than instructed and challenged, and pretty much selling out to modernity. But, despite mistakes common to learning and trying new things, Bill Hybels has succeeded in reaching hundreds with the gospel, and birthing healthy, godly churches around the world, not to mention growing his Willow Creek church into a mega-church (almost 20K members).
Here are some of my reflections on the seeker-sensitive movement.
At least she was honest
Kathy Griffin’s Bravo show “My life on the D-List” won some type of D-list Emmy this past Sunday. In her acceptance speech, the self-described “complete militant atheist” decided to take a few shots at an award’s show tradition. “A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus,” said Griffin. She then concluded by saying “Suck it Jesus! This is my god now!“
How long should deceased preachers be on the radio?
On the way home from work today, I put on my local xian radio station, and heard D. James Kennedy talking, and I wondered, "how long will his show be on the air now that he is gone?"
Author Madeleine L’Engle Has Died
Author Madeleine L’Engle, whose best known book A Wrinkle In Time was rejected several times before finally being published (and went on to win a Newberry Medal for best children’s book in 1963) has died at age 88. From the Associated Press:
Author Madeleine L’Engle, whose novel “A Wrinkle in Time” has captivated generations of schoolchildren and adults since the 1960s, has died, her publicist said Friday. She was 88. L’Engle died Thursday at a nursing home in Litchfield, said Jennifer Doerr, publicity manager for publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
The Newbery Medal winner wrote more than 60 books, including fantasies, poetry and memoirs, often highlighting spiritual themes and her Christian faith.
For many years, she was the writer in residence and librarian at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.
Although L’Engle was often labeled a children’s author, she disliked that classification. In a 1993 Associated Press interview, she said she did not write down to children.
“In my dreams, I never have an age,” she said. “I never write for any age group in mind. … When you underestimate your audience, you’re cutting yourself off from your best work.”
She will be truly missed.
Why hermeneutics matters
The following is an essay response I did for my hermeneutics class at Veritas Theological Seminary.
“A person’s view of the Bible and how they seek to understand it will ultimately and inevitably determine their doctrine and their practice.”
Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer…
