My Grace is Sufficient

As another New Year now draws close, with all the many possibilities for clear and encouraging blessings and for the faith-stretching challenges that will inevitably come, in what or in whom shall we trust for our wisdom, our strength, our comfort, our security, our solace, our encouragement, our peace, our hope throughout 2013?  Ray Ortlund points in the right direction with this timely quotation from Scottish Victorian scholar, Marcus Dods.

“I am the Almighty God, able to fulfill your highest hopes and accomplish for you the brightest ideal that ever my words set before you.  There is no need of paring down the promise until it squares with human probabilities, no need of relinquishing one hope it has begotten, no need of adopting some interpretation of it which may make it seem easier to fulfill, and no need of striving to fulfill it in any second-rate way.  All possibility lies in this: I am the Almighty God.”

Marcus Dods, The Book of Genesis (New York, 1902), page 161.

The Gettys: Joy to the world!

Sunday sermon: 'The road to Bethlehem'

This morning the children and young people led the service with the theme, "The Road to Bethlehem" - highlighting some of the OT prophecies and promises about the coming Messiah.
I showed this clip...

Most of my comments afterwards were culled from Tim Keller's famous piece:  'Jesus, the true and better...' (text available here).

All hail, Sam Kass!

Priceless!

The filthy rags of self-serving righteousness...

...but it is funny!       

HT:  Bill Watterson

Sunday's sermon: Great Expectations (Matthew 24)

You can listen to the sermon here.

A Social Network Christmas

This is doing the cybernetic rounds.  I think it's quite good ...

Why the sad things are said

A year ago John Piper was preaching from John 12:37-50, containing what Piper contends are some of the saddest, most painful parts of the Gospel of John.  And after listening to his exposition, it's hard to disagree with his analysis.
However, in his introductory comments, Dr Piper gives a most helpful and illuminating insight as to why the sad things are said.

"The last thing the aged Simeon said to Mary when he blessed Jesus was this:
Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:34–35)
"In other words, it will not all be happy. The truth in many hearts will be revealed. Jesus will be opposed. Many will rise because of him. And many will fall. And a sword will go through Mary’s heart. Many will fall because of Jesus. 
"But make sure that you know and embrace this truth: Jesus and John don’t tell us sad things to leave us in sadness. Make sure you embrace that. They tell us sad things, in the end to make us glad.

• The dark things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of light.
• The ugly things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of beauty.
• The painful things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of comfort.
• The sorrowful things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of joy.
• And conflict in the Bible is pictured for the sake of peace.

"We know this, because Jesus said in John 15:11 that he speaks his words so that our joy might be full, and many of those words were painful. And John says in John 20:31 that the reason he wrote his Gospel was that we might have eternal life;  and many of those words that are painful are aimed at life. So we know those words of Jesus and the stories of John have dark and sad things in them. But we know those dark, sad things are for our joy and for our life."

Sunday morning's sermon outline

With thanks to Geoff Bradford, Daniel Wallace, David Jackman and Derek Tidball (to name a few) for their insightful assistance.
When uploaded, the talk may be heard here.

'Tis the season to be jolly!

Thanks to TW for this!

The "gods" that will never forgive...

'When people say, “I know God forgives me, but I can’t forgive myself,” they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important to them than God’s. Idols function like gods in our lives, and so if we make career or parental approval our god and we fail it, then the idol curses us in our hearts for the rest of our lives. We can’t shake the sense of failure.'

Tim Keller: Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

The hubris of leadership ...

16 signs a leader has lost his mind ...

1. He refuses to admit his mistakes.
2. He begins to blame the problems on people or circumstances rather than actually seeking out what the problem might be.
3. He refuses to listen to the team assembled around him.
4. He fights every idea that isn’t his own, thinking his originality is what must keep the church afloat.
5. He refuses to face reality.
6. He is unwilling to make the necessary changes because it would be highly unpopular.
7. He tries to listen to what everyone has to say about every situation.
8. He begins to believe that God’s favour on his life is because of how good he is rather than because of how good God is!
9. He believes that he can’t learn anything from churches that are smaller than his. (This would be arrogance!)
10. He abuses his staff (or volunteer s) to accomplish his agenda rather than leading them to accomplish God’s.
11. He fears asking for commitments from people because of how he thinks they perceive him.
12. He becomes obsessed with the way things are rather than how they should be.
13. He views himself as an expert.
14. He tries to motivate with fear rather than vision.
15. He doesn’t seek fresh inspiration from God and often goes back to what has been done instead of seeking direction for what has never been done.
16. He stops taking risks and becomes obsessed with playing it safe.

Good Lord, deliver us!
HT:  The Resurgence 

Justice, mercy, grace - and the Gospel

Justice:  duly receiving what I rightly deserve
Mercy:  never receiving what I justly deserve
Grace:  unduly receiving what I could never deserve

Thanks, as ever, to BW

Update: see also here

Glen Scrivener's 'Anti Santy Ranty'

Some seasonally provocative thinking by one darned good Aussie ...

More food for thought here.

Sunday sermon: When God shares His heart

This morning's sermon outline.

You listen to the sermon here.