7 Miles

Sermon jam from Matt Chandler that touches on what Ryan Kelly spoke on this past Easter Sunday regarding the reality of the resurrection.

Enjoy.


Props: Z

Christmas Means Nothing Without Easter

"...if the death of Christ on the cross is the true meaning of the Incarnation, then there is no gospel without the cross. Christmas by itself is no gospel. The life of Christ is no gospel. Even the resurrection, important as it is in the total scheme of things, is no gospel by itself. For the good news is not just that God became man, nor that God has spoken to reveal a proper way of life for us, or even that death, the great enemy, is conquered. Rather, the good news is that sin has been dealt with (of which the resurrection is a proof); that Jesus has suffered its penalty for us as our representative, so that we might never have to suffer it; and that therefore all who believe in him can look forward to heaven. ...Emulation of Christ's life and teaching is possible only to those who enter into a new relationship with God through faith in Jesus as their substitute. The resurrection is not merely a victory over death (though it is that) but a proof that the atonement was a satisfactory atonement in the sight of the Father (Rom 4:25); and that death, the result of sin, is abolished on that basis.

Any gospel that talks merely of the Christ-event, meaning the Incarnation without the atonement, is a false gospel. Any gospel that talks about the love of God without pointing out that his love led him to pay the ultimate price for sin in the person of his Son on the cross is a false gospel. The only true gospel is of the 'one mediator' (1 Tim. 2:5-6), who gave himself for us."

-James Montgomery Boice

Ponder and Mediatate on Him Who Hung on a Cross

"Take this to heart and doubt not that you are the one who killed Christ. Your sins certainly did, and when you see the nails driven through his hands, be sure that you are pounding, and when the thorns pierce his brow, know that they are your evil thoughts. Consider that if one thorn pierced Christ you deserve one hundred thousand.

The whole value of the meditation of the suffering of Christ lies in this, that man should come to the knowledge of himself and sink and tremble. If you are so hardened that you do not tremble, then you have reason to tremble. Pray to God that he may soften your heart and make fruitful your meditation upon the suffering of Christ, for we of ourselves are incapable of proper reflection unless God instills it.

But if one does meditate rightly on the suffering of Christ for a day, an hour, or even a quarter of an hour, this we may confidently say is better than a whole year of fasting, days of psalm singing, yes, than even one hundred masses, because this reflection changes the whole man and makes him new, as once he was in baptism."

-Martin Luther

Updates From Matt Chandler

Below are a couple updates from last week and this week from pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church in Texas. Matt suffered a seizure on Thanksgiving day, after tests the doctors found a large tumor in Matt's brain. He had surgery and the tumor turned out to be cancer, he is currently going through radiation and chemotherapy.

Through it all his outlook and exhortation to keep our eyes on Christ has been amazing and encouraging.

Cancer is a vicious thing, and something that has deeply affected me and my family.

Know this as you read, Jesus has defeated death, and sin and cancer may take root here and now in our lives, but for those who trust we know a day is coming when those things are no more. So we battle cancer with chemo and medicines, but our hope is in a future time, when Christ fully reigns, and sin, cancer and death are no more.

All because Jesus came down, God in Flesh, came and died for us, came and died on the cross, a horrific death that was punishment for our sins, our rebellion. Then 3 days later He rose from the dead, a real rising, in a resurrected body, a real physical body, to show that He was who He said He was and thus can do what He promised He would do.

So we wait in hope and expectation for the day cancer is no more, and death is dead!

Mark Driscoll Sermon on Temptation

Last Sunday night I went to Mars Hill Albuquerque and was very blessed a few different things. First I was blessed by the diverse crowd that sang out to our Lord, mostly young adults but they were young adults from all walks of life and that was awesome to see. Second there seemed to be a sense of brokenness and hope that covered the whole night, it honestly felt like the Holy Spirit was there empowering all of the night. Finally the night was centered around God's Word, Pastor Mark Driscoll spoke (via video although after 2 minutes you didn't notice that) on temptation. The temptations of Jesus in the desert and our own temptations here in this life.

The message was convicting, encouraging and Gospel centered. I was hit in the gut several times as I sat there listening to Pastor Mark, and I also was over and over again brought to the feet of Jesus as our hope, esteem and great Victor.

If you have some time, watch this sermon, take notes, talk about it with others, it is something we need to be thinking through in a fallen world.

Facebook People Click Here to See Video

He Was Born In a Manger...Died on a Cross...Upholds and Rules This

Joy To The World, To the Universe, to All Creation!



Props: Z

A Filthy Sponge

What a picture of the love of Jesus on the Cross and new look at an overlooked moment during Jesus' crucifixtion.

From The Resurgence:

Here’s a video clip of Pastor Mark from the first sermon of Mars Hill’s new series, Luke's Gospel: Investigating the Man Who Is God:

Drawn Into The Gospel Includes Suffering

Zach posted this quote, and the more I hear about A Praying Life, the more I desire to read it.

Doug Wolter:

Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life, has affected me deeply. I cannot recommend it to you highly enough. Here’s one section that grabbed a hold of me and hasn’t let go for days. Next to this quote in the side margin of my book I wrote, “need to meditate on this.”

Whenever you love, you reenact Jesus’ death. Consequently, gospel stories always have suffering in them. American Christianity has an allergic reaction to this part of the gospel. We’d love to hear about God’s love for us, but suffering doesn’t mesh with our right to “the pursuit of happiness.” So we pray to escape a gospel story, when that is the best gift the Father can give us.

The Father wants to draw us into the story of his Son. He doesn’t have a better story to tell, so he keeps retelling it in our lives. As we reenact the gospel, we are drawn into a strange kind of fellowship. The taste of Christ is so good that the apostle Paul told the Philippians that he wanted to know “the fellowship of sharing in [Jesus'] sufferings” (Phil. 3:10).

Truth On Campus

From Think Christianly:

“There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.”—Allan Bloom

“To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what it is not that it is not, is true.”—Aristotle

“…You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”—Jesus

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair”—C.S. Lewis

The Restoration of So Much More

This quote goes well with yesterday's post:

“The object of the work of redemption is not limited to the salvation of individual sinners, but extends itself to the redemption of the world, and to the organic reunion of all things in heaven and on earth under Christ as their original head.

The final outcome of the future, foreshadowed in the Holy Scriptures, is not the merely spiritual existence of saved souls, but the restoration of the entire cosmos, when God will be all in all under the renewed heaven on the renewed earth.”

—Abraham Kuyper, Lectures on Calvinism (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson 2008), 105-106

Props: Of First Importance

Something Really Worth Getting Excited About

Wolverine, Star Trek, Up!, Transformers 2 and Harry Potter are all this summer’s “blockbusters”. The question is now that all of these have come out is, how has life changed?

I remember a few years ago “Superman Returns” came out, and I was counting down the days before its release. I would watch the previews over and over again just getting more and more stoked. The movie was good, I enjoyed it, but honestly I can say even though I have it on DVD I have not watched it in a quite a few months.

I think the same can and will be said of these past summer’s movies. We don’t think about that though when they come out, do we? We are stoked, we will count the days down, we will re-watch the other movies in the series if it is a sequel, we may even read the books the movies are based on. Fast food stores will load us down with toys and commemorative glasses in high anticipation of the upcoming flick. On opening day we may even stand in line or save seats for hours on end, we will wait 12 hours to see a 2 hour movie.

I think if we are honest with ourselves we end with a bit of disappointment. Nothing is truly gained by all this anticipation and waiting, we are just left being amused for a couple hours by robots, wizards, aliens or mutants. Soon enough in fact we are thirsting and counting down for the next big movie.

We are addicts. We are in constant search for our next entertainment high. We act if not flat out think that this movie will be “awesome”, “life changing”, or at least by our actions worth spending a huge amount of time waiting for or thinking about.

In the end we are left wanting and wandering...

There is a bigger story though, that does give us reason to wait with excitement. Although this coming, does not have a countdown on it, or at least a countdown that we know. This coming will be unlike any movie, for when it comes everyone will notice and everyone will be eternally changed.

I am referring to the second coming of Jesus Christ, our great King. When He comes all of life will be transformed, wrongs will be made right. Pain will be wiped off the earth. Tears will be no more. Disease? Gone. Sin, banished. Satan, fully defeated.

The sad reality is, is that for one group, those who have put their hope in Jesus and his atoning work on the cross that day will be joyful. For the group that hasn’t it will be the day of judgment where they will be declared guilty, and because they do not have Jesus as their wrath-bearing savior, they will take on God’s full wrath for their sin.

So for those who have trusted in Jesus, movies are good to watch, but we wait for something better. For those who don’t movies really are in some ways as good as it gets.

There is still time for all who are reading this to turn and trust in Jesus. To see their sin and rebellion before a Holy God and see that Jesus took on that punishment if we would just believe and trust. To see, love and follow King Jesus!

Click Here for a Big Picture of what Awaits...truly worth waiting and anticipating!!!

Jesus Jr.

From Ray Ortlund Jr.:

Our local deity is not Jesus. He goes by the name Jesus. But in reality, our local deity is Jesus Jr.

Our little Jesus is popular because he is useful. He makes us feel better while conveniently fitting into the margins of our busy lives. But he is not terrifying or compelling or thrilling. When we hear the gospel of Jesus Jr., our casual response is “Yeah, that’s what I believe.” Jesus Jr. does not confront us, surprise us, stun us. He looks down on us with a benign, all-approving grin. He tells us how wonderful we really are, how entitled we really are, how wounded we really are, and it feels good.

Jesus Jr. appeals to the flesh. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them, much less impart them, because Jesus Jr. is the magnification of Self, the idealization of Self, the absolutization of Self turning around and validating Self, flattering Self, reinforcing Self. Jesus Jr. does not change us, because he is a projection of us.

It is time to tear down Jesus Jr. It is time to rediscover the real Jesus. Still today, even to us, his invitation stands: “Come to me” (Matthew 11:28).

Mark Driscoll on The Facets of The Gospel

Mark Driscoll on the complexities and scope of the Gospel, from his phenomenal book “Death By Love”:

“Perhaps the most succinct summary of the gospel is found in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4:

'Now I would remind you, brothers of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the world I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.'

Here we see that the gospel is continual, in that we must continually be reminded of it; proclamational, in that it must be preached to us often, including preaching it to ourselves; personal, in that we must personally receive it in faith; essential, in that we must continually cling to it alone for the assurance of our salvation; central, in that it is the most important truth in all the world; eternal, in that it is passed on from one generation to the next without modification by religion; Christological, in that it is about the person and work of Jesus Christ alone; penal, in that the wage for sin-death-was paid; substitutional, in that Jesus’ death on the cross was literally in our place for our sins; biblical, in that it is in agreement with and the fulfillment of all Scripture; and eschatological, in that the resurrection of Jesus reveals to us our future hope of resurrected eternal life with him.” (Mark Driscoll, “Death by Love”, pg. 91-92)

Death is Not Dying

Cancer has been on the radar in my family for over a decade as my mother has had many rounds with the disease. I can tell you from personal experience how amazing the Truth and Love of Jesus gives hope and comfort in the face of illness and even when thinking of death.

Rachel Barkey is another whose testimony is amazing and so God glorifying. If you are dealing with cancer or any type of terminal sickness (which we all are in some way or another when it comes to death) I encourage you to read this link from "Girl Talk" and then check out the site Death is Not Dying, and listen to Rachel's story.

From Girl Talk:

A friend of the family let us know that Rachel Barkey passed away yesterday morning. Please pray for her husband, Neil, and their two children and their extended families. If you have not yet watched Rachel’s video testimony of her battle with terminal cancer, we would strongly urge you to do so today.

We rejoice that Rachel is now in glory, free from pain and worshipping our Savior. For us here at girltalk, and we know, for many of you as well, she will always be a profound example of steadfast faith in Jesus Christ.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

Click Here for Video Testimony

Jesus will Provide

In times of economic worries it is so easy to want to cling to our money. Often we come to see how idolatrous and trusting in money we are in these moments. Take this reflection from John Piper on how we are so like the disciples and lose focus on how Jesus will meet our needs (actual needs, not wants).

From The Desiring God Blog:

After Jesus had fed both the 5,000 and the 4,000 with only a few loaves and fish, the disciples got in a boat without enough bread for themselves.

When they began to discuss their plight, Jesus said, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand?" (Mark 8:17). What didn't they understand?

They did not understand the meaning of the leftovers, namely, that Jesus will take care of them when they take care of others. Jesus said:

"When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"

Understand what? The leftovers.

The leftovers were for the servers. In fact the first time there were twelve servers and twelve basketfuls left over (Mark 6:43). The second time there seven basketfuls left over—the number of abundant completeness.

What didn't they understand? That Jesus would take care of them. You can't outgive Jesus. When you spend your life for others, your needs will be met.

Death By Love: Jesus our Warrior King

I cannot recommend Mark Driscoll’s book “Death By Love” enough. In it Driscoll shares various ways that the atonement of Christ on the cross speaks into various situations. Below is a couple of quotes from Chapter 1 dealing with Christ’s victory over Satan and Demonic influences.

This quote reminds me so much of Ephesians 2 and how our allegiance has now changed:

“Ashamed of your many years at the Dragon’s side, you stood off to the side alone, gazing at the ground until Jesus came to you. Taking your chin in his hand, Jesus lifted your face, looked you in the eye, and told you that your sins were forgiven, your Enemy conquered, and your life liberated from captivity, and that God is now your Father, new life is your gift, and heaven is your home. As tears streamed down your face, Jesus asked you always to remember to see yourself as he does, not in light of what you have done or what has been done to you, but rather solely by what he has done for you as your victorious Warrior King.” (pg. 46)

Conviction or Condemnation, there is a difference:

“God convicts you of specific sins so that, with his compassionate help, you can repent and move on to freedom and joy. Satan, however, will seek to defeat and discourage you through guilt that is so general that you never know exactly what to repent of and are thereby left in paralyzing bondage and despair.” (pg. 50)

Click Here to order “Death By Love”

Jesus Did Not Arrive Unannounced

This past Sunday, Ryan Kelly our teaching elder at DSC, gave a great message about how the whole of Scripture is about Jesus. This quote is a great summary to his message:

“The prophets searched. Angels longed to see. And the disciples didn’t understand. But Moses, the prophets, and all the Old Testament Scriptures had spoken about it — that Jesus would come, suffer, and then be glorified. God began to tell a story in the Old Testament, the ending of which the audience eagerly anticipated. But the Old Testament audience was left hanging. The plot was laid out but the climax was delayed. The unfinished story begged an ending. In Christ, God has provided the climax to the Old Testament story. Jesus did not arrive unannounced; his coming was declared in advance in the Old Testament, not just in explicit prophecies of the Messiah but by means of the stories of all of the events, characters, and circumstances in the Old Testament. God was telling a larger, overarching, unified story. From the account of creation in Genesis to the final stories of the return from exile, God progressively unfolded his plan of salvation. And the Old Testament account of that plan always pointed in some way to Christ.”

~ Tremper Longman III & J. Alan Groves (foreword) in George M. Schwab, Hope in the Midst of a Hostile World (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2006), x

Props: The Big Picture

Reading Revelation

Michael Gorman author of "Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters" tells us a few points that a study of the book of Revelation should leave us with. His list alone stirs feelings of worship and admiration of our victorious Lamb, Jesus!

This will likely be my last post for a while on Revelation, but it is an important one, from my perspective. If we read Revelation as a theopoetic and theopolitical writing focused on the reign of God and of the slaughtered Lamb, rather than as a script about the end of history (see previous posts), what kind of spirituality emerges from that reading? I suggest the following:

1. Worship

2. Realism

3. Faithfulness and Prophetic Resistance

4. Discernment and Vision

5. Courageous Nonviolent Warfare

6. Embodied Communal Witness and Mission

7. Hope

1. A spirituality of worship. Revelation summons us to worship God the creator and redeemer, the Alpha and Omega, who reigns! It summons us to worship Jesus the redeemer, the slaughtered Lamb, the Alpha and Omega, who is Lord! The reign of God is not merely future or past but present. The summons to worship is therefore inseparable from allegiance. God in Christ both demands all and offers all
2. A spirituality of realism. Revelation summons us to live cognizant of the realities of evil and empire. Evil is real. Empire is now—not merely future or past but present. Empire, by nature, makes seductive blasphemous and immoral claims and engages in corollary practices that bring disorder to both vertical (people-God) and horizontal (people-people) human relations, promising life but delivering death—both physical and spiritual.
3. A spirituality of faithfulness and prophetic resistance. The Christian church is easily seduced by Empire’s idolatry and immorality because these claims and practices are often invested with religious meaning and authority. In the context of “civil religion,” the church is called to “come out.” In the midst of Empire, the church is called to resistance in word and deed as the inevitable corollary of faithfulness to God, a call that requires prophetic spiritual discernment provided by God’s Spirit, and a vocation that may result in various kinds of suffering.
4. A spirituality of discernment and vision. The spiritual discernment required of the church, in turn, requires an alternative vision of God and of reality that unveils and challenges Empire, a vision in need of the Spirit’s wisdom to see and apply. This takes us back to the need for worship.
5. A spirituality of courageous nonviolent warfare. The resistance required of Christians can be likened to warfare in search of victory. But because this victory is only the victory of the victorious slaughtered lamb, Christian resistance to Empire conforms to the pattern of Jesus Christ and of his apostles and saints: faithful, true, courageous, just, and nonviolent.
6. A spirituality of embodied communal witness and mission. Christian resistance, like warfare, is not passive but active. It consists of the formation of communities and individuals who pledge allegiance to God alone; live in nonviolent love toward friends and enemies alike; leave vengeance to God but bear witness to God’s coming judgment and salvation; create, by God’s Spirit, mini-cultures of life as alternatives to Empire’s culture of death; and invite all who desire life with God to repent and worship God and the Lamb. The will of God is for all to follow the Lamb and participate in the present and coming life of God-with-us forever.
7. A spirituality of hope. God the creator and Christ the redeemer take evil and injustice seriously and are about both to judge humanity and to renew the cosmos. We hope and long for the healing of the nations

The last word would simply be Follow. Follow the Lamb. Follow him out of empire but also, paradoxically, into empire: into the dark corners of empire, into those places where the vision of God and the Lamb is most needed, where death needs to be replaced with life, where we can bear witness in word and life to the coming new creation, where there will be life-giving water for all, healing for the nations, a new heavens and new earth liberated from the effects of our sin, and the perpetual presence of the living God, in whom we can be both lost and found in eternal wonder, awe, and praise. Giving flesh to such a vision is no small challenge.

Perhaps it would not be too bold to suggest that if we are to be a faithful church in the 21st century, the book of Revelation, and especially its vision of the slaughtered, victorious, and coming Lamb, needs to become more central to our worship, our spirituality, our practices. Perhaps, in a profound way, the last book of the Bible needs to become the church’s first book.

Check out Gorman's blog "Cross Talk"

Resurrection Sermons

Over at Next they have posted some sermons dealing with the resurrection. Fitting since it is just after Easter. Also fitting because last night I preached about the resurrection to The Well.

So if you went to The Well and want more insight from dudes light-years ahead of me on the smart scale and gifted scale, check these sermons out!

Joshua Harris
The Resurrection and the Life
John 11:1-44

Sinclair Ferguson
Does the Resurrection Really Matter
1 Corinthians 15:1-20

D.A. Carson
Why Doubt the Resurrection - VIDEO
Why Doubt the Resurrection - AUDIO
John 20:24-31

Kevin DeYoung
Worthy Is The Scapegoat
Lev 16

C.J. Mahaney
Death Swallowed Up In Victory
1 Corinthians 15:17

Last, in the April Webzine we featured Rick Gamache’s crucifixion narrative. He read it at his church on Good Friday and, after listening to it, I can tell you that even if you’ve read it before it’s a different experience to hear him read it out loud. You can get the audio here.

Sunday is Coming!!!

Props: Christians in Context