Was Jesus Divine?
Did Jesus Have to Die?
John Calvin's Heresy: Jesus Suffered in Hell
C.S. Lewis on God Begetting (Yea! Google book preview...it's in the first part of the hopefully-directly-linked-to "Good Infection")
I would also recommend C.S. Lewis's book The Great Divorce to anyone who hasn't read it. The reason being that portrays a very different-and to me, agreeable-portrait of Hell; the Valley of Death, and the ways in which we separate ourselves from God/God's Love.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Questions Stemming from Romans Ch. 7
I feel like we had some really good discussion last week and I'm going to try to reiterate those that I can remember here in the blog so that it will be available to us later on in times of distress, confusion, or curiosity. I'm pretty late in the week, though, please hop in with some comments to fill in the inevitable gaps I will create.
Romans Ch. 7 - Reflection & Intentions
A great breakdown and explanation of the chapter is found >> HERE <<. They do a great job of going over everything so I won't bother with what would be a poor job. PLEASE READ IT if you're still going in circles in your head. Instead I'll move on to one of the questions that is hinted at.
Why did God send the law if He would ultimately have to come down and die for us? That seems to be one of the big questions that hangs over this discussion. The most apparent theme throughout the chapter seems to be this constant dismissal of the Law of the Old Testament as junk.
Of course you could go back all the way and get back to the question of "Why create humanity if He saw it was destined to separate itself from Him?" but I won't because that's a fairly basic, albeit fundamental question, the short-answer to which I understand as being that God created us that we might grow into being with whom He can share eternity.
Now--minus the paragraph above--while I seem to have digressed I don't really think I have. They are connected questions that all lead in to or out of one another and there isn't really a way to properly answer one and still have confusion on another. Some of it I'm going to try to touch on tomorrow (Oct. 25th) since it's my day to lead and I'm talking about Jesus, and since I still have some preparing to do I'm not going to be nearly as in-depth as I would like to be or as insightful as I need to be (though I doubt all the time in the world would change my level of insightfulness).
So, why did God bother with the Law first? The main imagery, and the actual theme behind Romans Ch. 7 is that the Law is the mirror that shows us how unclean we are; how dirty, retched, and filthy we are in the eyes of God. We have removed ourselves and our race from God's presence and as much as we might try we can't clean ourselves of the sin that resides in us. So God came down and became flesh and blood so that he might conquer sin within Time and therefore affect (effect?) sin's hold on humanity thoughout Time. Not just from 33 B.C. forward. And the Law came first so that we might know how unsightly we are before God's eyes because until we realize how truely hopelessly apart from God we are won't fully realize the grace and beauty of the salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ. And until we fully realize the grace offered we won't fully comprehend the need to go through the "over-demanding ordeal" of painfully putting our human nature to death and coming into true-life through Christ. And until we comprehend the actual need there's no chance of us actually doing it. We will, instead, simply "keep the faith" in a moralist way with academic discussions interspersed on Sundays.
Please comment, specifically if you disagree. This is me saying what I think, albeit strongly. But certainly not what I know for certain. I haven't done nearly enough reading and my conclusions are laid on unknown foundations.
Romans Ch. 7 - Reflection & Intentions
A great breakdown and explanation of the chapter is found >> HERE <<. They do a great job of going over everything so I won't bother with what would be a poor job. PLEASE READ IT if you're still going in circles in your head. Instead I'll move on to one of the questions that is hinted at.
Why did God send the law if He would ultimately have to come down and die for us? That seems to be one of the big questions that hangs over this discussion. The most apparent theme throughout the chapter seems to be this constant dismissal of the Law of the Old Testament as junk.
- v.4 "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another-"
- v.10 "And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death."
- v.14 "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin."
Of course you could go back all the way and get back to the question of "Why create humanity if He saw it was destined to separate itself from Him?" but I won't because that's a fairly basic, albeit fundamental question, the short-answer to which I understand as being that God created us that we might grow into being with whom He can share eternity.
Now--minus the paragraph above--while I seem to have digressed I don't really think I have. They are connected questions that all lead in to or out of one another and there isn't really a way to properly answer one and still have confusion on another. Some of it I'm going to try to touch on tomorrow (Oct. 25th) since it's my day to lead and I'm talking about Jesus, and since I still have some preparing to do I'm not going to be nearly as in-depth as I would like to be or as insightful as I need to be (though I doubt all the time in the world would change my level of insightfulness).
So, why did God bother with the Law first? The main imagery, and the actual theme behind Romans Ch. 7 is that the Law is the mirror that shows us how unclean we are; how dirty, retched, and filthy we are in the eyes of God. We have removed ourselves and our race from God's presence and as much as we might try we can't clean ourselves of the sin that resides in us. So God came down and became flesh and blood so that he might conquer sin within Time and therefore affect (effect?) sin's hold on humanity thoughout Time. Not just from 33 B.C. forward. And the Law came first so that we might know how unsightly we are before God's eyes because until we realize how truely hopelessly apart from God we are won't fully realize the grace and beauty of the salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ. And until we fully realize the grace offered we won't fully comprehend the need to go through the "over-demanding ordeal" of painfully putting our human nature to death and coming into true-life through Christ. And until we comprehend the actual need there's no chance of us actually doing it. We will, instead, simply "keep the faith" in a moralist way with academic discussions interspersed on Sundays.
Please comment, specifically if you disagree. This is me saying what I think, albeit strongly. But certainly not what I know for certain. I haven't done nearly enough reading and my conclusions are laid on unknown foundations.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A Holy Discontent
Several weeks ago Epic made an epic decision - we want to do more and better things. We are a group of energetic, active and upbeat young adults that are passionate about God and his people. Now comes the big question - what do we do with all this energy and passion?
Mark and I recently travelled home for a quick weekend visit to Wichita and attended my parents' church on Sunday morning. My dad has been the minister at Central Church of Christ (now RiverWalk Church of Christ) for 30 years. I have heard thousands of his sermons and the message he spoke that morning is still with me today. RiverWalk is undergoing a revival. This year, the church changed its name, started a capital campaign and is beginning to redefine what it means to be a body of Christ. RiverWalk is committing to weekly and monthly all-church service projects, adopting local schools, giving up Saturday mornings to help serve breakfast to the homeless and is praying for God's guidance and intercession in their lives and in the life of the church. RiverWalk is finding out what it really means to be God's hands and feet - treating people the way Jesus did and serving without hesitation.
Dad's sermon that morning was about having a Holy Discontent - a state of being that occurs when frustration over what is happening in the world connects to the promise of what God wants to do through us. God wants to use his children (that's us!) to restore what is broken in this world. What are you discontent about? What issues or injustices make you frustrated and angry? How can God use you (and us) to restore that brokenness?
For me, I am angry about how many people in our world go to bed hungry every night. In the land of fast food restaurants and skyrocketing obesity rates why are people in the US and other countries literally starving to death? Obviously I personally don't have the resources or ability to feed every hungry person on earth. But, I can do something here in KC to help change one person or one family's situation whether that be donating food, helping raise money or working alongside an organization dedicated to that cause. If Jesus can turn five loaves of bread and two fish into a feast for thousands then surely he can use my time and resources to take care of people's needs in KC.
2 Cor 5:14-15 says "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."
Do you have a Holy Discontent? Is there a brokenness that you see in this world that makes you angry and frustrated? I would love to hear your thoughts - feel free to leave comments!
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