Bible Reading Plans for the New Year

While Christians know that we can make a fresh start with God anytime, the start of a new year can be a good opportunity to change some of the patterns of life and make the changes that we haven’t felt able to make in the busy-ness of the year. I suggested in a recent sermon that two of the habits and patterns we might seek to establish or re-establish for the new year might be our quiet times and our Bible reading programme. Often these two can (and should) be linked.

One of the challenges of establishing a regular Bible reading plan is working out the plan. I find that it helps to use a plan that someone else has put some time and effort into devising. I recently came across a collection of these gathered by Justin Taylor here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2009/12/30/bible-reading-plans-2/

Another recent article with a revised Bible reading plan is found here:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/12/29/two-year-bible-reading-plan/

I especially recommend the Bible reading plan originally devised by Robert Murray M’Cheyne in 1842. If you read all four readings for each day you read the whole Bible in a year. It can easily be modified so that you read the whole Bible in two years (just read two readings each day). The plan is reprinted in a book by Don Carson, For the Love of God (Vols 1 and 2) which gives a short reflection for each day on one of the readings. Carson’s introduction, which includes a copy of the plan, can be found here: Carson’s Introduction - For the Love of God

It can be helpful to make some notes as you read - especially to write down reflections, response and action points that come from your reading. You can use your own notebook, or you might like to look at the Youthworks REAP journals (for children, youth and adults). (REAP stands for Read, Explore, Apply, Pray).

For those who would like to have access to a Bible reading plan for their mobile device, I recommend Olive Tree Bible Software, which has the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan free - as well as a few free Bibles (eg. the HCSB is free). The free software is available for iPod / iPhone, Android etc.  (You can also get the ESV free for your device - look for it on iTunes or in the Android market).

Take the plunge and get into a Bible reading plan this year. I pray that God will bless you richly as you listen to his word.

PS. For a nice online version of the M'Cheyne plan, with links to Biblegateway, check out this page created by Karen & Ben Beilharz. http://hippocampusextensions.com/mcheyneplan/
 
(This is a revised version of a previous post.)

Archbishop of Sydney's Christmas Message

The christmas message of Archbishop Peter Jensen - touches on the centrality of Jesus in history, the challenging times we face and the need for generosity - remembering God's generosity towards us in the Lord Jesus.


Christmas message from Sydneyanglicans.net on Vimeo.

Here’s the full text:


Christmas is our big annual reminder of the generous love of God. When Jesus was born, it was God himself entering our story to rescue us from sin.

Some people just can’t stand the fact that he is the most important person in history and our whole dating system revolves around his birth. They even want to change the language to write him out.

It’s sad really. It shows that people are frightened of his influence and will do anything to stop us talking about him.

Sad, because Jesus Christ is the world’s greatest inspiration. We need him in our lives and in our history and in our community.

The signs are that the world is in for a difficult time economically. For some countries it is not just a downturn, they will need to grapple with a breakdown in their economic systems. Already, many people go hungry each day. If times get worse, it will be the poor and disadvantaged who suffer most. We are going to need to be generous, and the greatest inspiration to generosity that the world has ever known is Jesus.

When we celebrate Christmas we are celebrating the generosity of Jesus, who left his heavenly home to live amongst us and to die for us on a Roman cross to reconcile us to God.

When we are reconciled to God, it affects the whole way we think of others. We reach out in care and forgiveness.

It’s a glad and generous season of the year because our God makes us glad with his generosity.

Dr Peter F Jensen,
Archbishop of Sydney,
Christmas, 2011 AD.


May you enjoy the blessing of God's generosity this Christmas.

The King of Assyria, God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility



Detail of wall relief from the palace of
King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria at Nimrud
c. 875 BC. 

 We have been looking at the early chapters of Isaiah this term at church and recently came across a passage in Isaiah 10 which highlights the relationship between God's sovereignty and human responsibility.

The big questions many people ask are: 'How can I be responsible if God really determines what happens?' or 'If I have free will how can God be completely sovereign?' These are great questions and worth considering at length, but the Biblical attitude is summed up quite well in Isaiah 10.

In the early chapters of Isaiah the nation of Judah (under King Ahaz) faces firstly the threat of invasion by their northern cousins in Israel and the nation of Syria who have made an alliance and decide to invade Judah to remove Ahaz and place a puppet king on the throne (see especially Isaiah 7). This alliance is all about standing as a united front against Assyria – the great superpower of their day.

Under the reign of Tiglath Pileser III (744-727 BC), the Assyrian empire expanded significantly. From their capital in Nineveh on the Tigris River, they came to rule over Babylon to the south, around the fertile crescent and pushed down toward Palestine and Egypt. By 734 BC the consequences of this expansion led Syria and Israel to attack Judah and forced Ahaz to decide where he would turn for security.
In Isaiah 7 the prophet confronts Ahaz and challenges him not to lose heart because of the invasion of Israel and Syria but to trust the LORD. Isaiah tells Ahaz to ask for a sign and when Ahaz refuses Isaiah tells him that the Lord will give a sign anyway – the sign of Immanuel. The Lord promises that within a few years at most he will "whistle up" invaders from Assyria as if they were insects that will lay waste to the nations of Syria and Israel. He goes on to say that 'In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the River – the king of Assyria – to shave your head and the hair of your legs and to take off your beards also.' (7:20) Again in chapter 8 there is the prophecy of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (meaning 'quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil'), that before the child knows how to say mother or father the nations of Syria and Israel will be carried off by the King of Assyria – a prophecy which was fulfilled in 732 BC and 722 BC respectively. The records suggest that the Assyrians overran Judah and surrounded Jerusalem, but withdrew before conquering the city.

The point Isaiah makes is that in all this Assyria is an instrument in the hands of the Lord – fulfilling God's will of punishing Syria and Israel and even Judah. But does that mean they are not responsible for their actions? The answer in Isaiah 10:5-19 is clear:

⁵ ''Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!

⁶ I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me,

to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.

⁷ But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind;

his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations. . .

 ¹² When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, ''I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. ¹³ For he says: '''By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. . .

 ¹⁵ Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it?

As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood!

¹⁶ Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; . . .

 The Bible here makes a claim for God's sovereignty – Assyria is an instrument in his hands – and yet the King of Assyria will be punished for 'the wilful pride of his heart'. He is still responsible. Somehow God's sovereignty does not contradict human responsibility – but it over-arches all.

While we may find it difficult to reconcile these two ideas, this is the consistent view of the Bible – we are responsible moral agents who will one day be accountable to God for all we do. Yet at the same time it is God who 'fore-ordains' or 'pre-destines' the rise and fall of nations and kings and all the detail of every human life. Yet we do not become fatalists, because God does not (usually) tell us the details of his plans beforehand – we are left to live trusting his word to us and seeking to respond in the obedience that comes from faith. We also rejoice that when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus we receive forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life.


For an interesting account of the building of Sennacherib's palace in Nineveh early in the 8^th Century BC see this site: http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/palaces/story/sto_set.html

Memorising Scripture - 2 Timothy

One of the great ways to allow God's word to dwell in us (Colossians 3:16) is to memorise parts of scripture. This video shows two guys from a student Christian group at Harvard University reciting 2nd Timothy (such an awesome book to memorise too!).




You may not be ready for such a big challenge, but why not start with key verses from your regular Bible reading??

(Hat tip to Ray Van Neste at http://www.pastoralepistles.com/)

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Paul and the Law - The 2011 Moore College Lectures

In August of 2011 Dr Brian Rosner gave the Annual Moore College Lectures on the Topic of "Paul and the Law: Keeping the Commandments of God." (Brian Rosner is a Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Ethics at Moore College.) I only got to one of the lectures, but I have enjoyed listening since they have been available on the Moore College website.

The lectures are a great resource for reflecting on how to understand the role of the law in the New Testament in general and in Paul's letter's in particular. They tie in nicely with previous posts on the role of the law according to the letter to the Hebrews.

Since the files on the Moore College Library site are a little hard to access, I thought I would post the links here (in order). The first lecture was a public overview (which I will call Lecture 0). Each lecture had an accompanying handout which is available as a PDF. The lectures were:

Lecture 0: Paul and the Law: Keeping the Commandments of God.   PDF Here.

Lecture 1: Circumcision is Nothing: Paul and the Puzzle of the Law.   PDF Here.

Lecture 2: "Not Under the Law": Paul's Repudiation of the Law as Legal Code.  PDF Here.

Lecture 3: "Under the Law of Christ": Paul's Replacement of the Law.  PDF Here.

Lecture 4: "Witness to the Gospel": Paul's Reappropriation of the Law as Prophecy.  PDF Here.

Lecture 5: "Written for Our Instruction":  Paul's Reappropriation of the Law as Wisdom.  PDF Here.


The Moore College Library online resource page is here.


Please let me know if there are any problems with the links.  Enjoy ...

The Case For God

I've recently been doing some preparation for some outreach meetings on campus where we have asked people what questions they have for God. In doing this thinking I find the CPX website invaluable.
I came across a series by Greg Clarke written in response to the Atheist convention held in Australia early in 2010. His article on 'The Case for God' is very helpful (and a good length!)
Here are two (brief) arguments for God:

1. An originating capital-M Mind is the best explanation of why there is something rather than nothing, of why the universe is here at all. A more complicated statement that might also hold true is that our observance of the natural world leads us to conclude that it looks like a capital-M Mind was involved in its structuring, and furthermore, rationally, a capital-M Mind explains very well why the conditions of the universe are so finely tuned for life.

2. It is very hard to convince a human being, whether religious or an atheist, that the universe is without meaning, without values and without purpose. We are all pretty much agreed that it is full of these things: meaning (our lives matter), values (we can recognise with some finesse the difference between good and bad), and purpose (history is going somewhere). The hypothesis that there is a God does a better job of explaining these things than its alternative, the naturalist hypothesis, simply because with God these things are then real rather than illusory, as they are in the naturalist worldview. Real meaning, genuine values, lasting purpose. God is the best explanation of these elements of existence.

Greg also makes the important point that very few people are ever argued into the kingdom of God. Much more helpful is an encounter with the Lord Jesus through the scriptures, however this kind of article can be helpful in laying down the philosphical background and framework that helps Christians (and not-yet-Christians) understand the philosophical underpinnings of faith.
It is certainly worth reading the rest of Greg's article, here: http://publicchristianity.org/library/response-to-global-atheism-conference-a-short-case-for-god.

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John Lennox on Science, the Bible and Belief in the 21st Century

John Lennox is currently in Australia. He is Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Oxford University. I went to hear him this week speak to a packed auditorium at a school in Southern Sydney. He particularly spoke about the arguments of the 'New Atheists' (who include Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Peter Singer - all of whom he has debated) and some of the flaws in their arguments.

It was a helpful talk that also presented clearly some of the arguments for Christianity and the basis of Lennox's own belief.  Unfortunately it was all-too-brief and has motivated me to continue reading his book (which I have just started): God's undertaker: Has Science Buried God (2009).

This interview from CPX was recorded on a previous visit to Australia, and discusses some of the issues in a helpful way:


Science, the Bible and belief in the 21st Century from CPX on Vimeo.


You can find more Lennox videos at:  http://www.publicchristianity.com/lennoxvids.html

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Being Truly Human - Part 3 - Living as True Humans

The Conclusion of my talk from MYC 2011.

In my last post I argued that we can only become truly human if we come into relationship with God through the True Human - Jesus Christ.

6. Living as a True Humans


So how do we live as True humans?

What we don’t do is live for ourselves. We are brought out of Adam’s humanity and out of slavery to sin and death, but we are not give freedom to do what we like or live for ourselves. We are set free to serve. We are set free to become slaves to righteousness.  As we saw in Colossians 3:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

We are to put to death what belongs to our sinful earthly nature (3:5), ‘because of these the wrath of God is coming’; and we are to ‘clothe ourselves’ with godliness (3:12); we are to let the Word of Christ dwell among us richly (3:16); and, according to Colossians 3:10 we are to: "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."

In our sinful natures we are cut off from relationship with God, but God is at work by his Holy Spirit transforming us to be like Christ, to be more like the image of God that we were intended to be. Of course we will never be perfect this side of heaven – we live in the overlap of the ages. But if we are in Christ we can know that we will finally be perfected in heaven.

But how do we live?  => We put off ungodliness, and we put on righteousness and we participate in the Rule of Christ. In other words we work.

7. True Humanism

This is where we see that Christians, as true humans (in relationship with God) are the true humanists.

Humanism is seeking the full potential of humanity. The secular humanists are on the quest to advance humanity while rejecting God, but Christians seek the best for humanity in the name of Christ and for his glory. So our work ought to be for that purpose – exercising the rule of Christ by caring for the creation and seeking the good of humanity.

Can you see how being truly human can give you a different perspective on your work? A different purpose? And so any and all work can be done with this motivation:

- Manual labour.

- Providing for the material needs of others in the name of Christ.

- Doing the good works God has prepared in advance for us to do.

- Raising godly offspring has to be part of the work of ‘being fruitful and multiplying’.

- But there is a kind of work that most directly advances the good of humanity, and that is work of the gospel, because that is the work that helps people become truly human as they come into relationship with Christ.

So friends, I hope that you will leave from MYC this year knowing more about what it means to be human. Even more than that, I hope you will leave here as a true human, because you know THE true human – and your identity is found in him.

I hope you will leave here committed to living out your true humanity in relationship with Christ; and I hope you will leave here committed to being a true humanist – using every ounce of your humanity to serve Christ and to making him known – on your campus, throughout Australia and around the world.
. . .

Being Truly Human - Part 2 - Following the True Human

The continuation of my talk at Mid Year Conference 2011.

I concluded previously by saying that: "To be human means to be a sinner. And like our father Adam we deserve the death that we all face and the judgement that goes with that." 

4. The True Human


That is a pretty sad analysis of what it means to be human, but God doesn’t leave us without hope. God sends the True Human into the world. The true human is, of course, Jesus Christ – as the writer to the Hebrews makes clear (Heb 2:6-9), beginning with a quote from Psalm 8:

But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

We see Jesus, who according to Hebrews 1:3 is truly God, “The radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being”. God the Son becomes ‘a little lower than the angels’ - he becomes truly human - like us in every way except sin (according to Hebrews 4:15).

According to the logic of Hebrews the Son had to become fully human so that he could be our perfect High priest who offered the perfect sacrifice of himself on the cross, in order that he might ‘taste death for everyone’ cf 2:14-17:

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Only the True Human could do that for us.

Because we are sinners, we are cut off from God, yet through the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross of Calvary we can have our access to the Father restored – we can be truly human again.

5. Being Truly Human
In our natural state we are not truly human. When we belong to the humanity led by Adam we are cut off from God, we are not able to be in the relationship we are made for.

Yet Christ - through his death – makes it possible for us to be forgiven, to be restored, to have access into the relationship with the Father that we are cut off from by our sin.

True Humanity comes from being united with the True Human. So how can we be united to Christ?

Carl showed us that this happens by Spiritual Baptism through faith (Romans 6; cf. Mark 1-10 and Acts 2). When we put our trust in Christ the Spirit brings us into that relationship with Christ that changes everything.  We move from being “in Adam” to being “in Christ”.

I loved that illustration he quoted (from The Briefing #393, June 2011, p11 "Union With Christ" by Rory Shiner).

"The key relationship you need with the plane is not to be under it, behind it or inspired by it, You need to be in it. . .  Because by being in the plane, what happens to the plane will also happen to you." 

Then our destiny will be intimately united with the destiny of the plane.

And if we are united with Christ like this by God’s grace through faith, then His status is our status. If God sees Christ as Holy, he sees us as holy. If God sees Christ as righteous, he sees us as righteous. You can’t get a much closer relationship with God than that – except that now we only experience it in part, we only see as a reflection in a cracked mirror (because we live in the overlap of the ages) – but then we will see him face to face.

And so we are not defined as humans by our looks (whether or not the people at beautifulpeople.com accept us). We are not defined by our wealth or how nice our house is or what suburb we live in. We are not defined by how sporty we are or how sexy we are or what job we are doing or our course or our grades or . . . by anything that is just part of this fallen world.

If we are in Christ then we are defined by being in him. We are defined as being right with God and being seated at God’s right hand. We are defined as being in Christ.

In the same way, being “in Christ” means that we are now seated with him in the heavenly realms, we are now seated at the right hand of God with Christ. We have access to the father because Christ is in the Father’s presence. Our destiny is united with him.The Son becomes truly human in order to defeat the devil and rescue us from our slavery to sin and death. He offers himself as the sacrifice of atonement (the ‘propitiation’) that turns aside God’s anger and makes it possible for us to have the relationship with God that we were made to have.

Being Truly Human - Part 1 - Created in God's Image

Being notes from a talk which attempted to summarise the main themes of Mid Year Conference.

1. Understanding Humanity


I hope you have found it encouraging to look at ‘Humanity’, because we are getting to know and understand ourselves.

As we study this topic we are not content to understand ourselves as the sum of our parts – 206 bones, 9 metres of intestines, etc.  We are not content to understand our physiology or our psychology. We are not going to understand who we are the way the Secular Humanists want us to – rejecting any idea of God. Rather we want to understand ourselves the way that God sees us – the way he unveils humanity in his Word. So we study God’s word to understand what it means to be truly human in relation to God

And what do we see?

2. Created in God’s image

We see that human beings are made by God – we are his creatures and not independent. But we humans are special creatures – the last created – the ‘pinnacle of creation’ - and the only creatures made “in the image of God”.

We have spent some time this week pondering what it means to be made in God’s image. => Remember Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

Not just telling us that God has one head, two legs, two arms, eyebrows, kneecaps and so on – not particularly about resemblance.

But it is especially about two attributes: relationship and rule.

Just A Closer Bop with Thee

This week I enjoyed a night out with my wife at Venue 505 to listen to some Jazz. The band was 'Transit' -  'an exciting collaboration of Sydney and Melbourne Jazz musicians' featuring Sydney musicians Con Campbell (tenor sax), Peter Kohlhoff (bass), John Morrison (drums) alongside Melbournians Greg Ambroisine (trumpet) and Andy Vance (piano)'.  We have heard Con Campbell a number of times at a variety of events - often outreach events put on by Christian groups - but this is the first time we have heard Transit. 

Venue 505 in Surry Hills was the 'atmospheric' (read dingy) venue - much of the seating is on ancient lounges. The attendance was reasonable, but nowhere near as crowded as might have been expected from the standard of the music - which was quite brilliant. Even more exciting was the commitedly Christian foundation of the band.

The music was not the usual 1930's and 40's fare often played by Jazz bands, but included adaptations of a number of hymns, including 'All People that on Earth Do Dwell' (1551), 'Crown Him with Many Crowns', 'Be Still My Soul' and 'Just a Closer Walk (Bop?) with Thee'. There were also a number of brilliant Andy Vance originals including 'Baker Man', 'Full House' and 'New Hope'.

We were so impressed we bought the CD, but of course there is something special about a live Jazz concert. The sad news is that Greg is headed to Germany shortly, so live concerts may be in short supply!

You can check out some more music on the website at: http://www.transitjazz.com/en/listen

Or listen to "Just a Closer Walk" here:

Jesus, a Prophet of Islam??

Diaa Mohamed is the founder of Mypeace, an Islamic organisation seeking to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims and is behind the recent posters around Sydney proclaiming Jesus as a prophet of Islam. He recently spoke with John Dickson in the CPX studio for a conversation about the differences in how Muslims and Christians view Jesus. Helpful in understanding how Muslims view Jesus and all the other Prophets they claim to hold in common with Jews and Christians.



Jesus a prophet of Islam? from CPX on Vimeo.


The video can be found on the CPX website here: http://publicchristianity.org/Videos/jesus_a_prophet_of_islam.html

Receiving the Benefits of Easter and Anzac Day

The close proximity of Easter (April 22-24) and ANZAC Day (April 25th) this year led many to reflect on the relationship between the two commemorations.

Anzac day commemorates the sacrifice of those soldiers, sailors and airmen (and women) who fought and served during all conflicts to protect and preserve the freedom we enjoy in Australia. We especially remember those who paid the ultimate price and laid down their lives in service of our country.

At Easter we remember the sacrifice of the one man - Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom John called "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus gave his innocent life when he died on a Roman cross and suffered the agony of God's wrath for us. He took upon himself the punishment we deserved and died on a cross so that we might be forgiven and set free from our slavery to sin and death.

You can see how the comparison between the deaths of our military personnel and the death of Jesus can be made. When speaking of our war dead, Jesus words are often spoken: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)  While Jesus was undoubtedly looking forward prophetically to his own death 'for his friends', no doubt the general principle still applies.

There is however, a significant difference in how we receive the benefits of these deaths.

If we are enjoying the prosperity and freedom of living in 21st century Australia then we are beneficiaries of the sacrifices of all those who gaves their lives in military conflicts to defend us. We are beneficiaries of this freedom whether or not we appreciate what they gave for us. We are beneficiaries whether or not we honour their sacrifice and commemorate their memory. We are beneficiaries of their sacrifices if we curse their memory and desecrate the war memorials.

However, we cannot be beneficiaries of Jesus' sacrifice for us simply by virtue of our nationality or family heritage. The benefits of Jesus' death are received by God's grace when we turn from our rebellion against God and turn to him in faith. We receive the benefits of his death when we accept them as OURS by faith.

In some ways it is easier that recognising the sacrifice of our military heroes. We don't have to march in a parade or even go to a dawn service. But just as someone who recognises the sacrifices made to keep our nation free lives in a way that honours those sacrifices, so the person who has received the benefits of Jesus' sacrifice will live in a way that honours him.

So while we remember the similarities between Easter and Anzac day, let's also remember that there is a very signifiacnt difference in how wer receive the benefits of these different sacrifices.

Video: Follow - The Easter Story on Social Media

I love this video that higlights the drama of the Easter story as it might have appeared on Social Media.


Follow from Igniter Media on Vimeo.


Throughout the course of his public ministry, Jesus knew both the adoration and desertion of the crowds. Today, just as 2,000 years ago, the gospel asks a question that demands an answer: Will we follow?


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Why is "Good Friday" good?

Every year people ask why the first day of the Easter Holidays is called "Good Friday". In this video Phillip Jensen explains why:


Phillip Jensen & Kel Richards - 'What's so good about Good Friday?' from Audio Advice on Vimeo.

Does God Care about the Suffering in Japan, New Zealand or Australia?

The recent earthquake and Tsunami disaster in Japan was one in a string of disasters that have come quite close to home for the people of Australia (even though most Australians have been untouched). Earlier in the year we had the floods in Queensland, Northern NSW and Victoria followed by Cyclone Yasi (a category 5 cyclone) in far north Queensland. These were followed by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand where hundreds of lives were lost, and then the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami where up to 20,000 lives have been lost.

It is entirely reasonable that this string of disasters should lead to people asking questions: What does this mean? What does this say about God? Why does God let this happen?

There have been many different answers. Some end-times watchers have said this shows that the end is getting closer. I haven't heard of anyone claiming these disasters were judgements for specific sins - although this has been claimed in the past (eg. the Victorian bushfires). One answer I read from a non-Christian perspective suggested that the earthquakes happened in response to our damaging of the environment through mining, oil drilling and pollution - in other words it was the earth showing its annoyance!

Can I say up-front that I do not claim to be an expert on suffering. I have had some suffering in my life, but it wouldn't be hard to find someone who has suffered more. What I do want to do - as sensitively as possible - is to set a framework for responding to the question of suffering.

I was listening to some interviews of Pastor Rob Bell on US TV. The interviews were about his new book, but two interviewers asked similar questions about the suffering in Japan. This is the question asked by Martin Bashir on MSNBC, and Bell's response:

Martin Bashir: . . . Just help us with this tragedy in Japan. Which of these is true. Either God is all powerful but he doesn’t care about the people of Japan and therefore their suffering, or he does care about the people of Japan but he is not all powerful, which one is it?

Rob Bell: I begin with the belief that, when we shed a tear, God sheds a tear, so I begin with a divine being who is profoundly empathetic, compassionate and stands in solidarity with us. Secondly, the dominant story of the scriptures is about restoration, it’s about renewal, it’s about rebirth, it’s about a God who insists – in the midst of this chaos the last word hasn’t been spoken. So people of faith have clung to this promise, and this hope that God will essentially fix this place. It’s a beautiful hope and we I think we ought to keep it front and centre – especially right now.

Martin Bashir: So which of those is true: He is all powerful and he [doesn’t] cares or he cares and is not all powerful?

Rob Bell: I think that this is a paradox at the heart of the divine, and some paradoxes are best left exactly as they are.

In both his interviews Bell began his answer with the assertion that "when we shed a tear, God sheds a tear".  I can understand his desire to emphasise God's understanding and empathy with our situation up-front, but I have two main concerns with his (partial) answer: (1) he doesn't acknowledge that suffering might be part of God's sovereign plan, and (2) he asserts a  paradox which the Bible does not really allow, and in so doing misrepresents God.

Let me offer some thoughts on each of these points:

(1)  Rather than starting with the assertion of God's empathy with the human situation, the Bible starts with God's sovereignty and his goodness.  Genesis 1 tells us that God is the creator (and sustainer) of the world. We also see that God is intimately involved in his world - he knows every hair on our head and no sparrow falls to the ground apart from his will. Without God's ongoing intimate involvement the world would cease to exist in an instant. Nothing happens outside his knowledge and will. This is what we mean by God's sovereignty.

The Bible also tells us that God made the world good - in fact "very good" according to Genesis 1:31. The goodness of the world reflects God's achievement in creating a world that was just as he intended and perfectly good and enjoyable for the people he placed there. Of course the goodness of the world also reflects God's character.

There are many other aspects of God's character we could mention that are important - God is Love, God is Holy, God is Just, God is Merciful . . . None of these should be 'played off' against each other. Rather we seek to find how they are worked out in relation to each other.

The Bible tells us that God expressed his Love and Goodness towards humans by giving them freedom to choose. Sadly their freedom was expressed by rebelling against God when they chose to do what they were told not to do - and in so doing received judgement on themselves and the earth. The judgement on themselves included pain, suffering and ultimately death. The ongoing effect of this rebellion is seen in the evil that is done by humans in their continuing rebellion against God - all too often leading to suffering for others and wilful damage to the creation.  The consequence for the earth was the kind of events that lead to 'natural disasters'. In other words, natural disasters are a consequence (sometimes directly, but mostly indirectly) of human sin.

So what does God do about this?  He has decided to show mercy!

What we deserve for our sin is death - not only physical, but eternal spiritual death. Yet God makes it possible for us to escape this judgement for our sin through the gift of his Son. As John 3:16 tells us:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should receive eternal life."

God's gift of Love to us was to come into the world in the person of the Son to identify with us, to suffer the judgement we deserve and to offer us forgiveness and eternal life. This can only be received by putting our faith in God.

So what about suffering? Can suffering be a part of God's plan?  We see first of all that suffering is central to God's plan - the Son suffered the worst possible suffering so we could receive eternal life. And just as it was the Father's will that the Son should suffer, so also our suffering will have a purpose. Sometimes suffering is to refine our faith. Sometimes suffering comes as judgement (although we ought to be careful to label any instance of suffering as this, according to Jesus in Luke 13:1-5). Sometimes suffering is a warning to us. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis: sometimes God uses suffering as a megaphone to get our attention.

Our problem is that we forget that this world is not the end. God has promised a new and 'restored' creation, where there will be "no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:4). Christians have the hope of 'heaven' - of enjoying the new creation in relationship with God.

(2)  Is there really a paradox between God's goodness and the reality of suffering? The short answer is No.  God is really sovereign - he has not lost control to some other force that brings about these evil deeds. But God has given us freedom, and our rebellion has brought evil and suffering into the world. Suffering must somehow be a part of his plan.

So is God really good? Doesn't God care?  Of course he cares! But God has reasons for suffering that we will never know. All that we do know is that his plans are for the good of those who do and will put their trust in him and in his Son (Romans 8:28) - whose suffering (in God's plan) brings us eternal life and joy.

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Al Mohler - Refuting those who Oppose the Truth.

I have recently been reading Titus 1, and as I read a recent article by Albert Mohler a verse sprang to mind:

[An overseer] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Titus 1:9)

Al Mohler is president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In his blog (AlbertMohler.com) he regularly reviews theological writings. He has recently reviewed books by Rob Bell (Love Wins) and Brian McLaren (A New Kind of Christianity). McLaren and Bell are leaders in the 'Emergent Church' movement - younger leaders who are seeking to refresh and renew the church for the new generation. Sadly, some of the things they teach need to be harshly critiqued.

Brian McLaren also recently wrote a response to a review Mohler did of Bell's book. That response in itself demanded a response, which Mohler wrote here on his blog. I thought Mohler's response was in the finest tradition of Titus 1:9. Basically he points out that McLaren and Bell represent the (re)emergence of the old Theological Liberalism - albeit with a postmoderm slant.

It is worth understanding this conversation to understand why these books are causing so much stir.

I will reprint part of Mohler's article below.

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A THEOLOGICAL CONVERSATION WORTH HAVING: A RESPONSE TO BRIAN McLAREN

Some theological disputes amount to very little and serve mostly as exercises in missing the point, if indeed there is a point. Other doctrinal exchanges are quite different and deal with matters of central and essential concern to the Christian faith. The first sort of dispute is a waste of precious time and energy and should be avoided at all costs. The second sort of debate is a matter of both urgency and importance. The church cannot avoid and should not seek to evade this kind of theological conversation.


That is why a recent essay by Brian McLaren helps us all to understand what is at stake in the controversy over Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins. Beyond this, his argument reveals a great deal about the actual beliefs and trajectories of what has become known as the emerging church. As such, his essay is a welcome addition to this important conversation.

McLaren, perhaps the best known of the leaders in the emerging church, seeks to defend Rob Bell and to act as his friend. He says that he had been waiting for an opportunity to speak in Bell’s defense, and, evidently my essay, “We Have Seen All This Before: Rob Bell and the (Re)Emergence of Liberal Theology,” afforded McLaren the opportunity he was seeking.

In his own essay, “Will Love Wins Win? We’re Early in the First Inning,” McLaren uses a baseball metaphor to reject my critique of Rob Bell’s arguments. He asserts that I “rounded first base” by affirming a clear understanding of the Gospel as found in the Scriptures and then suggesting that Rob Bell’s proposals fall short of the Gospel. My problem, according to McLaren, is that I assume that a clear understanding of the Gospel is even possible. According to McLaren, the complexities of interpretation render this claim implausible.


In his words:

Now communication is nearly always tricky, as any of us who are married or are parents know. The speaker has a meaning which is encoded in symbols (words) which then must be decoded by the receiver. That decoding process is subject to all kinds of static - for example, interference from the biases, fears, hopes, politics, vocabulary, and other characteristics of the receiver or the receiver’s community. If the receiver then tries to pass the meaning - as he has decoded it - on to others, there is more encoding and decoding, and more static. That’s why, with so much encoding and decoding and re-encoding going on, the challenge of communication across many cultural time zones is downright monumental.

Communication is indeed “nearly always tricky,” but McLaren’s argument leads to interpretive nihilism. Can we really not know what the Gospel is? If this is true, the church is left with no coherent message at all. All of our attempts to define the right form of the Gospel are just human interpretations, he insists, and we must avoid “excessive confidence” in any telling of the Gospel story. McLaren warns that we must avoid “a naive and excessive confidence,” but that we can retain a “humble confidence.” But his argument leaves us with very little idea of how this “humble confidence” is to be found, since “no articulation of the gospel today can presume to be exactly identical to the original meaning Christ and the apostles proclaimed.”

That statement leaves us with only approximations of the Gospel — some presumably better, some worse. And we would in fact be left with nothing more precise or authoritative than that but for one thing — we have the Bible. We are absolutely dependent upon the New Testament way of telling the Gospel of Christ, and the apostles were determined to pass along the Gospel as a clear and understandable message to others. This is why Paul instructed Timothy to “follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” and to “guard the good deposit entrusted to you.” [2 Timothy 1:13-14]

If we cannot know what the Gospel is, then there is no such thing as the faith “once for all delivered to the saints.” [Jude 3] If so, we have nothing definitive to say.


The issues of communication are real, and we should never seek to minimize the challenge of interpretation. But the clarity, authority, and sufficiency of Scripture are precisely the means whereby the Lord preserves his church in the Spirit and in truth. It is one thing to cite the challenge of interpretation. It is another thing altogether to suggest that we are left with an insurmountable problem and an indefinite message. This flies directly in the face of biblical claims and commands.

....

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You can read the rest of the article here. - and there is plenty more good stuff to be found there.
(Includes links to articles previously referred to)


(Hat Tip to the ACL website.)







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Revitalising Struggling Churches

Michael Kellahan recently posted an article on the Sydney Anglicans website about the value and necessity of revitalising churches. He called it "Fixing our Broken Bikes".

I have done some reflecting on the issue myself, and after posting a comment in response to Michael's article, I thought I would put the reflections on here too. Here is what I said:

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Hi Michael, lots of good ideas here! In particular I concur with your point that in many churches that need revitalisation there are “people of good-will” who would be happy for change if it will mean growth.

I have been reflecting on this issue and, in trying to detect patterns, I have noticed that some of the stronger churches in the St George area have been 'revitalisations' - I think particularly of Beverly Hills (now with Kingsgrove) and St George North (formerly Carlton + Bexley + Bexley North).

In both cases the transformation included dynamic new leadership (Tony Galea and Zac Veron respectively), significant diocesan support (including probably hundreds of thousands of dollars of grants for assistant ministers at each place), mergers with neighbouring parishes and (at least initially), some transfer growth of key people. No doubt there were other things needed for growing churches (check Zac's book: "Leadership on the Front Foot" for details), but I believe these things were key.

I'm not suggesting these are the only 'revitalised' churches in the area - but others have generally involved new Asian (Chinese) ministries. Perhaps others have more stories? I know some revitalisations are also happening in the Inner West.

It is interesting to note that a reasonably successful church plant in the same area (Christ Church, St George) is likely to join with St George North this year after about 10 years holding meetings in a local High School.

Some implications of my previous post:
(1) Leadership and faithfulness are important and necessary.

(2) Transfers of key lay people may be vital in the early years.

(3) Money for additional ministry can make a huge difference. (But we are talking about significant amounts of money over perhaps a 10 year period. Given our financial crisis we could give up - or we could look for new ways to find the money.)

(4) Mergers can provide additional resources.

(5) We have people who are experienced in doing this (but are our diocesan leaders listening to them?).

__

Rob Bell's New Book on Heaven and Hell Causing Controversy

Rob Bell is the founding Pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church and author of a new book called "Love Wins".  Watch this interview on America's MSNBC to get an idea of the controversy.



I think I'll have to read the book and make a more detailed response.

For a lengthy but detailed early review see this one by Kevin DeYoung on the Gospel Coalition Website.

BTW - I wish he had answered the initial question about Japan better!

  ***

Middle Eastern Christians in Australia looking for support as the Left fail to stand up to Muslim Aggression

This article in the Sydney Morning Herald (by Paul Sheehan, a secular writer) gives some interesting background and analysis of this important issue.

The number of Middle-Eastern Christians in Australia is less than the number of Muslims, but is comparable. This could become a significant voting block if Labour continues in the direction it is going.

The question to ponder is whether other Christians in Australia will see this as an important political issue - and add their voice to that of their Coptic, Macedonian and Assyrian brothers and sisters - I hope they do.

Certainly it seems odd to me that we are accepting significant numbers of Muslim 'refugees' from the Middle-East, when the Christian minorities are the ones being persecuted and are fleeing their countries by the hundreds of thousands.

Expositions For Expositors by John Woodhouse

Refreshment for preachers. A challenge to would-be preachers and encouragement for all who seek to know God better.  This video is the first in a series by John Woodhouse, Principal of Moore College, on the first letter to Timothy. Worth listening to the whole series!






EPE #1 - 1 Timothy 1:1-2 from Audio Advice on Vimeo.



Thanks to the folk at Audio advice. (Check out the Vimeo page here).