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Archives for February 2008

by on 2.19.08

the ministry – obligated and ready

We had a good crowd Sunday, 47. A few regulars are becoming not so regular, so this week will mean a little looking out after wandering sheep. Sometimes this means compassion on the sick, but other times it means something more. Some wander so far, they never come back, no matter how well you work to be a good shepherd.

Here are the sermon summaries, in a brief form similar to what we will be putting up as podcasts in the near future. Note that we are now formatting the messages in the smaller 16kbps size.

The Obligation of Christian Ministry (Rm 1.14) || Audio
The obligation of Christian ministry is to all – Greeks and barbarians, wise and unwise … the good, the bad, and the ugly. All Christians share this obligation.

Read the notes while you listen.

The Canon (2) || Audio

In which we discuss the evidence for the canon of the Old Testament.

Read the notes as you listen.

The Readiness for Christian Ministry (Rm 1.15) || Audio
What is necessary for readiness? A heart for others, a will submissive to the Lord’s direction, and a mind filled with the gospel.

Read the notes while you listen.

~~~

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Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
by on 2.16.08

Ezra and the world

The Jews were exiled to Babylon between 605 and 586 BC. The first deportation should have served as a warning to the nation, but their continued rebellion to God resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and final exile of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar in 586.

Seventy years after the first deportation, in keeping with Jeremiah’s prophecy, the Jews began to return. This return and the subsequent rebuilding of the temple occupy Ezra 1-6. In rebuilding the temple, the Jews were enticed to cooperate with the Samaritans, descendants of the remnants of Israel and intermixed with other nations who worshipped the true God and many false gods as well. The leaders of the Jews in the first return strongly rejected this entanglement, though it cost them years in rebuilding the temple:

Ezra 4:3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”

After 20 years, the temple finally was rebuilt. Another fifty-seven years passed. Now Ezra led a second return to the land. Did he find a holy people, separate from the world?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Culture, Separation, Worldliness
by on 2.16.08

more on the anglicans in Canada

While encouraged by the decisions of some Anglicans’ willingness to separate themselves from direct association with their compromised Canadian diocese, still their efforts likely don’t yet take them far enough. In an article in today’s Globe & Mail, more news about other congregations considering a split is offered. But there is this:

Conservative Anglicans want to separate without cutting their ties with the majority of the Anglican Church that share their traditional views, Bishop Donald Harvey, moderator of the recently formed Anglican Network in Canada, said yesterday in an interview from Newfoundland.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anglicans, Canada, Church, Separation
by on 2.15.08

anglican turmoil – deeper than same-sex?

The largest Anglican congregation in Canada, St. John’s, in the exclusive Shaughnessy district of Vancouver, BC, voted last Wednesday to break ties with its diocese and to join with a ‘competing’ diocese, that of the Southern Cone, basically a South American parallel to the Canadian branch of the church. [I don’t pretend to understand how dioceses work or how they are organized.] This decision is full of risk for the congregation as it looks like the liberal Canadian diocese will mount a fight for the buildings and property of the congregation.

As a fundamentalist, I certainly applaud any resistance to the anti-orthodox establishment of mainline churches. The issue precipitating the split is the same-sex marriage debate, but it appears that more is at stake.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Anglicans, Canada, Church, Separation
by on 2.13.08

two posts on culture you should read

My friend, Kent Brandenburg, has two posts on culture you should read. A few days ago, I put out a call for a theology of culture. The topic is a daunting one, but I’d like to commend these two posts to you. Unbeknownst to me, Kent was planning to write on this as I was writing my own piece. I think that was providential, whatever else some might call it.

I hope you will take a look at these. The Bible has a lot to say about culture and our relationship to it.

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Filed Under: Fundamentalism, Separation
by on 2.13.08

I know it’s true, I saw it on TV

A science script consultant tells all in “My life as an advisor to  TV and film“…

In general, I’ve found that producers of comedy have less interest in adhering to the facts than those involved in dramas.

but…

Even on the dramas, however, a cherished scientific truth will sometimes have to be discarded in order to enable an essential story development, such as a normally three-week-long forensic DNA analysis that’s fictionally done in one hour for the sake of plot pacing. In truth, few will ever notice these gaffs. As one TV producer told me, the number of Ph.D. scientists watching his show accounts for no more than 0.00001% of the Nielsen rating audience.

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Filed Under: Fun and games, Science
by on 2.13.08

speaking of outrage

Here is an interesting post critiquing Christianity Today’s reporting of the recent ‘dis-invitation’ of an emerging church speaker at Cedarville.

The critique comes from a blog called “From the Lighthouse“. From the Lighthouse is the blog of Lighthouse Trails Publishing. The publishing company appears to be the work primarily of a couple named Dave and Deborah Dombroski. I don’t know a lot more about these individuals than appears on their web site, but their articles seem credible and dispassionate.

Does anyone know more about this organization?

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Filed Under: Blogosphere, Church, Fundamentalism
by on 2.10.08

ministry objectives || the canon

Our Sunday included our Annual Business Meeting. Last year was a good year from the offering perspective. We are trusting the Lord for about the same this year, which would put us about 70% of the way to being fully self-supporting. For that we are very thankful.

We are also faced with some challenges this year. Our building has settled significantly on one end, the result, we think, of some construction in behind us. The problem is going to cost us some cash to resolve, but we think we have a reasonable handle on it.

Our biggest challenge is evangelism. Our people are committed to new outreach endeavours and to increasing our support for missions. We are delighted in their spirit.

Now for our sermon summaries…

The Objective of Christian Ministry (Rm 1.13) || Audio || Notes

Paul’s objective in his ministry plans is to ‘have some fruit among you’. Paul is after spiritual fruit. That is the point of preaching. It is the result of any ministry of the word. It should be the expectation of all ministration of the word — including that of any faithful Christian in their ministry in church and home.

The Canon (1) || Audio || Notes

During our Bible study time we began a discussion of the Canon and how it came to be recognized. In this session, we consider some preliminary notions including these questions: if one of Paul’s lost letters were to be found, would we consider it inspired? what about the Lord’s writing in the dust – was it inspired?

~~~

BTW, we now have new software for manipulating our sermon files. Now our sermon files are smaller. Hopefully the quality is not so degraded as to be unbearable. Let us know if you notice a difference.

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Filed Under: Sermon Summaries
by on 2.9.08

a little quote in favour of the glacial approach to exposition…

From D. M. Lloyd-Jones:

“A friend of mine who used to attend here regularly and who has now gone to glory — a very good man — once said to me, rather jocularly but very kindly — ‘You know, I sometimes think that the Apostle Paul must be amazed when he sees what you get out of his epistles!’ Poor man! By now my friend has discovered that the Apostle Paul is amazed at how little that most people, and I with them, get out of his great epistles. He cannot be in Rome. If only he could be to preach to them day after day. You remember we are told that for eighteen months, in Ephesus, day by day he spoke in the school of Tyrannus; he spoke for hours, and went on day after day. What do you think he was talking about? According to some people’s ideas of exposition he could have spoken on all these epistles of his in one afternoon!”[1]

A man after my own heart!

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[1] D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Romans: The Gospel of God, p. 227.

Filed Under: Quotables
by on 2.9.08

Christians the cause of religious decline

In an article today in the National Post, a university professor lays the blame for religious decline squarely at the feet of Christians:

He said most people assume religious ignorance came about from the secularization of U.S. schools, particularly after the U.S. Supreme Court banned devotional Bible readings and prayer in the 1960s.

But he believes the problem can be traced back 100 years ago to changes in Christianity itself.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Church, Quotables
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