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In this episode, we cover some basic principles of preaching and teaching. Should there be a distinction between Bible Teaching and Catechetical instruction? If so, are there ways to communicate differently in certain scenarios?
This is an instructive episode for those who teach and preach in the Church.
Guest post by Rev. Jeff Meyers
This is the second installment of a condensed version of the “Final Reflections & Summary” from my book Wisdom for Dissidents (full title: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s Christian Dissidents).
The third temptation is to cozy up to our enemies, thinking that we can win their favor. If we can get them to like us, maybe they will leave us alone. This is the “partiality” problem James criticizes in 2:1-13. It is not simply that they are favoring the rich over the poor. That would be bad enough. But the man who is being catered to in their assembly is the one who wears the ring of authority and the robe of office (2:20). He is explicitly identified as an oppressor, someone who drags them into court, and a blasphemer against the name of Jesus (2:6-7). To “judge” the rich oppressor as someone more deserving of special care than the poor believer is “to become judges engaging in an evil conspiracy” (2:4). That evaluation from James is not just about individual “evil thoughts” but about how the brothers have conspired together to appease their rich enemies. They have thereby dishonored those poorer disciples whom “God has chosen . . . to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (2:5).
The appeasement option ought not to be on the table for conscientious Christian leaders. To turn a blind eye to immorality and abuse with the hope of getting a hearing from some powerful government or academic figure would be to betray our allegiance to the Lord. Not only is such schmoozing mostly ineffective—the more you give, the more they will take—but such behavior runs counter to the examples of the prophets and of Jesus himself. The prophets denounced the rich and powerful, even, maybe especially, when they were in positions of authority in Israel. Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others did not cozy up to corrupt, immoral leaders. Neither did Jesus.
Fourth, the most insidious temptation, according to James, is to use the power of our words to guide the church toward aggressive and violent action thinking we are acting thereby as agents of God’s justice. As we have argued, James 3:1-12 is at the heart of the letter. And the key passage that unlocks the entire letter is James 1:19-20, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Anger against their oppressors has fueled impetuous speeches with the intent to rally the disciples to make things right by means of aggressive, retributive action (3:13-16; 4:1-12). This kind of Christian “zealotry” will not make things right. Instead, such speech and behavior are not of the Spirit but demonic (3:15). These angry and violent responses have been fueled by the immature rhetoric of their teachers, the brothers responsible for leading their communities. They want freedom, but they are going about achieving liberty in the wrong ways.
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A few weeks ago I began volunteering at a local food bank. In between conversing with clients and manning a literature table for the chaplain, I discovered there is time for other things. As I had neglected to bring anything to read, I decided to undertake a literary analysis of the ancient Te Deum, a 4th-century Latin hymn traditionally sung on great occasions of thanksgiving. As I typically pray this during my daily prayer regimen, I mostly know it by heart. Variously ascribed to Sts. Ambrose and Augustine and to Nicetas of Remesiana, its authorship is otherwise unknown.
Now I freely admit that, as an academic political scientist, I am by no means an expert in literary analysis beyond the basics. However, I have noticed a few things about the Te Deum that I thought worth passing along.
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Guest post by Rev Sam Murrell
The liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for forty days (not counting Sundays) up until Easter. It has traditionally been regarded as a time of reflection, introspection and personal renewal culminating in the celebration of the resurrection at Easter. By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians (in some sense) replicate Jesus’ time in the desert for forty days before He began His ministry. The Lenten season is a time to open our hearts to God’s sanctifying grace through the use of prayer, confession of sin, fasting, and alms-giving (Matthew 6:1-10).
Lent is one of my favorite times of the year because it forces me to take a close look at myself and my relationship with Jesus Christ. Lent reminds me of my need to rely on Christ’s grace and that I shouldn’t think too highly of myself.
When I first began to follow the Church calendar I simply mimicked what was modeled for me by my church. Over the years, however, I have come to realize that the Lenten season has the potential to be a season of great spiritual impact in my life and in the life of a congregation. Unfortunately, we have trivialized Lent by the way we choose to celebrate it.
In preparation for Lent, worshipers are exhorted to fast and abstain from things that hinder their walk with the Lord. It should be a season in which we attempt to lay aside every weight and the sin that too easily captivates our hearts and distracts us from running the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1). Hence, we are encouraged to die to self and symbolically ‘give up something for Lent’. Most Christians who acknowledge the season of Lent make vows that ultimately have little to no impact on their spiritual growth. They vow to give up such trivial things as chocolate, caffeine, a favorite show or some other soft habit. All the while, looking forward to the next Sunday when they will be able to suspend or take a sabbatical from their vow for the day (Sundays are feast days, therefore one should not fast or abstain from God’s good gifts on the Lord’s Day). This approach to Lent is not spiritually healthy, nor is it beneficial. It is my contention that we should reevaluate the way we celebrate Lent in order to better align our focus with Scripture. And how do I propose we do that?
I propose that instead of subtracting something trivial from your life like caffeine or candy, consider subtraction by addition. What do I mean? Consider temporarily adding something to life that requires you to give up some of your time in order to pursue it. For example, this year try to do something that will bring glory to Christ for the full forty days. Something with a kingdom focus. Specifically, I recommend you consider adding a daily, structured time of prayer to your schedule for Lent. I have decided that I will pray the office of Evening Prayer with my family as much as possible with my family this Lenten season.
I suspect I will miss a few nights, but I suspect I will pray more consistently with my wife during these days, as well. Lent allows us to start simple. We all can make one adjustment for forty days. You too may want to try to pray one portion of the Daily Office (found in the Book of Common Prayer) every day (Morning Prayer, Noon Prayer, Evening Prayer or Compline), except Sunday for the duration of Lent. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Noon Prayer can be done in as little as five to ten minutes. While that may not sound like much, the discipline of regularly praying the office will function as a daily “re-set” or reminder that God is an ever-present help throughout the day.
Lent is a great time to intentionally draw near to the Lord, using the ordinary means of grace (prayer, sacraments and the Word). Think about how you can add a more biblical focus to your life during Lent this year. Commit to reading the Gospels during Lent; if the Lord’s Day attendance has been an issue, commit to attending corporate worship all during Lent. If your church has an evening service that you rarely attend decide to attend every evening service during Lent. Make choices that will have a lasting effect on your life. Stop making trivial vows to the Lord. Eat your candy bar, after all, you’re going to go back to eating it on Easter.
Guest post from Brian G Daigle, Headmaster of Sequitur Classical Academy
I live in an area where Mardi Gras is in full swing, and I can remember from my upbringing that Fat Tuesday was a last-ditch effort at debauchery before the pseudo-spiritual practice of “giving something up for Lent” really began. In my youth, I would give up some kind of chocolate or candy, something that appeared to be a fast, and I would join others around me in sharing with friends and family what I’ve given up and why. Around day thirty it would turn into some kind of joke about how long I’ve been able to go without this first-world luxury. My aristocratic sacrifice was hardly creating in me a clean heart. Those imaginings still haunt me and each year I must consider anew why this kind of extended fast ought to be recognized. (more…)
Guest post by Rev Sam Murrell of Oak Harbor, Washington
Sam is the pastor of Grace by the Sea Anglican Church. He holds a Bachelors in Music from Covenant College and an MDiv from Covenant Seminary. He is currently a Biblical Worldview Teacher at Little Rock Christian Academy. He and his wife Susan have eleven children and twenty-one grandchildren.
Cory Asbury’s hot new Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) anthem Reckless Love, co-written with Caleb Culver and Ran Jackson, has taken the evangelical church by storm since its release in October of 2017. It may well join the ranks of the most popular CCM songs of all time along such titles as MercyMe‘s I can Only Image (1999), Oceans (Where My Feet May Fail), which appeared from the Australian worship group Hillsong United in 2013, and more recently Chris Tomlin‘s cloying Good Good Father(2013). Both young and old professors of Christ are raising their hands in ecstasy as they sing of the “reckless love” their God has for them. But should the response to this song be one of jubilant enthusiasm? Is this song worthy appropriate of corporate worship?
Every year around this time the internet is flooded with essays and interviews concerning Lent: Should we observe it? If we observe it, how should we observe it? And so on. Good folks disagree about these issues. But it is a good discussion to be having. I thought I’d chime in on the issue. Hopefully, I can help keep people thinking through the issue.
First, let me clear some ground here. I agree with many of my brothers who despise some of the Lenten practices. There are people who have superstitious views of the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday, for instance. Here in Louisville, KY, we even had one church who set up shop in a local business so that you can get your ashes to go. This was a one-stop shop for groceries and a dose of humility and repentance. People who do this sort of thing are, in most cases, viewing the imposition of ashes as some type of talisman that is going to keep God off their backs for a little while longer. I have witnessed people through the years from many branches of the Christian church act as if the religious ritual itself (whether it is the imposition of ashes, fasting, attending worship, going to revival services, or whatever) was an end in itself. After you do the deed, then you are free to live any way you want outside of the time of that special rite. According to what God said through the prophet Isaiah in his opening salvo, he has never taken kindly to superstitious views of religious rituals (cf. Isa 1.10-20. Mind you, the rituals that God is condemning in Isaiah are the ones that he himself set up. These were not manmade rituals. These were God’s own rituals that were being abused by superstitious views.) Superstitious views of the imposition of ashes or even fasting have no place in the Christian Faith. (more…)
God’s people are a missionary people, and this is not true only of the New Testament church. God called Abraham to bless the Gentiles through him, and one of Israel’s recurring sins was her failure to carry out this mission. Israel was supposed to evoke praise from the Gentiles, but instead , er idolatries and sins caused the Lord’s name to be blasphemed. (more…)
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In this episode of the Kuyperian Commentary Podcast Jarrod Richey and Derek Hale discuss music making in our culture.
Jarrod begins with the observation, “Everybody in the world has music around them all the time, and yet, no one can make it. Everybody has a device, everybody has access to the world’s greatest music (and the world’s worst music) at the touch of a button or the click of an app. And yet, very few people have formal music training, have the ability to make music, or to be what we would call literate in music.” (more…)
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Originally recorded in 2015, this interview is focused on the nature of Biblical interpretation espoused by the Biblical Horizons and the Theopolis groups led by James B. Jordan and Peter Leithart.
The lectures offered at the 24th Biblical Horizons Conference, 2015, can be found and purchased at wordmp3.com. The 2015 Conference featured talks from Peter J. Leithart on Revelation, James B. Jordan (4 talks) on Joshua, Jeff Meyers (3 talks) on Wealth in Luke and Acts, Rich Bledsoe (2 talks) on Psychotherapy and Drugs, and Uri Brito (1 talk) on Christian Counseling from Jay Adams to David Powlison, and some psalmody/services and interviews.
Kuyperian Commentary Podcast
