Free to Serve

Biblical Conviction

I'm enjoying Paul Tripp's book, Age of Opportunity about parenting teens. It's a companion to Ted Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart. The message of the book is really captured in the title. Every conflict or confrontation with your teenager is an opportunity to minister the gospel to his or her life. I am soon going to have a teen, so I'm preparing now for these "opportunities."

One of the most interesting and helpful sections in the book is about helping someone distinguish between what Tripp calls Clear-Boundary Issues or Wisdom Issues. Clear-Boundary Issues have to do with commands that are obvious from Scripture. "The call to speak the truth, to honor father and mother, to not steal or commit adultery or fornication are all examples." Most of the time, Tripp argues, believers wretle with wisdom issue. Areas where Scripture does not give a clear cut answer. He points this out because one of the jobs of parents is to help teenagers wrestle with wisdom.

But I want to go back to the Clear-Boundary Issues section for a moment. I think that Tripp's words are very helpful for those who fall repeatedly into sin. Is there an area of life where you are suffering from a pattern of sinful behavior and your are struggling to stop, but you seem to be failing? Could it be that you know what your are doing is wrong, but your knowledge is weak? Could it be that you have failed to develop a true biblical conviction. The concrete of your morality has been so-watered down whenever you are faced with temptation you just sink.

Tripp lays out six characteristics of biblical conviction. These are worth thinking about as you go to war against your sin.

1. A biblical conviction is always based on a study of, submission to, and application of Scripture.

2. A biblical conviction is always predetermined. In other words, you don't develop convictions on the fly. As you study the Word and find what God has determined is God's will for your life in an ethical area (e.g., cheating is never an option) even before you are faced with a particular temptation (e.g., the teacher leaves the answerbook open on the counter and leaves the room).

3. A biblical conviction will not change with circumstances.

4. Biblical convictions are inflexible.

5. True biblical conviction is bold.

6. True biblical conviction is always lived out. I like this. If you real do hold something to be a biblical conviction, time will prove it!

May the Lord help us develop and apply biblical convictions to our lives each and every day.

Robertson McQuilkin, Alzheimer's, and Love

On Sunday morning I had the privilege of preaching from 1 Timothy 5:1-6:2a. The sermon is entitled "Will You Care for the Body?" because, as I see it, Paul steps back to give Timothy some practical instruction on how to go about caring for the Christians who comprise the church in Ephesus. First, those in special need: the widows. Second, those who lead: the elders. Third, those who serve: the bondservants or slaves.

Christians have the profound responsibility of caring for the body of Christ. This is, after all, the church of the living God (1 Tim 3:15). God loved the church enough to send his Son to die for it, we can certainly give of ourselves to care for the body. As I considered how to begin the sermon, the story of Robertson McQuilkin came to mind. I first heard it in 1994. In 1990, Robertson resigned his post as the president of Columbia Bible College and Seminary (now Columbia International University). He resigned so that he could attend, full-time, to the needs of his wife, Muriel, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's although she was just 55 years old. He cared for her until her death in 2004. 

Robertson announced his resignation before the student body in 1990.

 

 

Evangelism Along the Silk Road

The Silk Road is a term used to represent numerous trading routes that once connected East Asia with Europe. These roads stretched through the beautiful and dangerous terrain of Central Asia. Today, these ancient routes have largely been replaced by sea and air transporation and yet, as one author noted, "It is still possible to find old men and women in the Pamir mountains who remember when camel caravans laden with goods from East Asia wound their way through precarious mountain passes between Western China and Afghanistan." These routes are called the Silk Road because many of them were once lined with trees covered with silk worms.

The Pamiri people, just one of the people groups that still live along the Silk Road, are nominal Muslims. Folk religion might be a better way to understand their "faith." They believe there is a God, but don't know how to be near him. They think it is through prayer and cleanliness--but they don't know the living God and the grace poured out on all who repent and believe in Christ. 

For a few more days, an exhibit about The Silk Road will be on display at Mount Vernon. The picture above is from the exhibit. This replicates a Christian house church, where believers meet for a simple meal and tea and, most importantly, to study God's Word. They meet underground, they are not free to discuss their faith openly, there are very few believers, making these times of Christian fellowship especially important.

Learn more about life along the Silk Road today. Pray that our churches, and many, many more would make an effort to see the gospel reach Central Asia.

Sunday Morning Reflections

1. I am Mephibosheth.

The day began for me with a great study from 2 Samuel 9. Dustin Butts taught on David who elevated the crippled son of his friend, Jonathan, to the table of the king. Mephibosheth was the outcast. He was lame. His family had lost the dynasty. Most kings would have cut off his head. But, instead, King David gave him a seat of honor at the table. As Dustin pointed out, what a tremendous picture this is of the gospel. I am undeserving and lame--yet God gave me a seat at his table. Amazing! 

2. Love is supreme.

Tony Carter preached from 1 Corinthians 13:8-13. Love is eternal--great things last. Love is universal--it never fails. Love is incomparable--faith and hope ride in the backseat, love drives! The message challenged me to love God and the congregation I serve more than the exercising of my own gifts. If we are really going to love one another, we need to know the love of Christ crucified and resurrected first. Many listening to the sermon may have appreciated Tony's reference to John Coltrane's 1964 album, "A Love Supreme." One of the greatest Jazz albums of all time.

 

Anthony J. Carter @ MVBC

Anthony Carter is preaching at MVBC this Sunday Morning. He is the pastor of East Point Church right here in Atlanta. He visited MVBC a couple of years ago, and I'm very glad that he's coming back to preach from 1 Corinthians 13. He sermon is entitled, "The Supremacy of Love."

Tony has produced a number of books including Experiencing the Turth: Bringing the Reformation to the African-American Church. He has thought a great deal about preaching. Here he encourages all churches to reclaim biblical truth in the Christian pulpit:

During the Reformation, the Protestant church developed five key phrases that defined the biblical faith. These five phrases have since served as a rallying cry for biblical Christianity. They are sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone). These five phrases are not the sum total of the Christian faith, but they can serve as a worthy reminder and adequate guideline for the content of our preaching. One of the glorious ways in which the light of biblical truth could shine upon the Christian pulpit in general and teh African-American pulpit in particular would be for the light of the Reformation to be recovered in our pulpits. This could principally be done through a conscious consideration of the five solas in our preaching. Biblical, Reformed, experiential preaching will take them all into account. To do so faithfuly can do nothing but enhance and strengthen the preacher and the congregation.

 

Kimyal Bible

This went around the blogosphere a couple of years ago. It has come up again. I just saw it for the first time. Seeing the Kimyal people delighting in the reception of the New Testament in their own langauage brings Psalm 119 to life, "Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight" (v. 77).

HT: Eden Hutchins, Paul Wood!!

 

Sports, Sin, and Sanctification

Is it possible that, in some small way, our passion for sports is also a means of our sanctification? This must be the case. Enjoy March Madness. Root. Spend time with family and friends. Talk during the games, build relationships. Use the whole "event" as an opportunity to share life together--much the way friends build bonds while shooting a round of golf. 

Just don't let sports be your first love. Make sure your kids know you love Jesus more than your team. Make sure they know you love the body of Christ, the church, more than you love those players. And think twice before becoming a Portland Trailblazers fan. Seriously.

Guest-Centered or Family-Centered Hospitality?

My wife and I have been thinking about hospitality a lot lately. Is there a "biblical" way to do it? How much of how we do hospitality is affected by how we've seen it done? How much of the way we do hospitality is a reflection of our own personal makeup? And so on . . . 

One of the other more specific questions we've batted around has to do with our attitude toward guests. Should our hospitality be guest-centered or family-centered? Guest-centered hospitality says you stop what you are doing to make sure that your guest feels welcome, you do all you can to serve them, you treat them like visiting angels! A more family-centered approach says you let them come in and participate in what your family is doing. They are welcome to stay, or not stay, they are welcome to be a part of the "family" at least as long as you are in your home.

There are advantages to both approaches. There are times, I believe, for both approaches. 

But I was really pleased to be forwarded a link to this post by Thomas Brown. He notes that our approach to evangelism is hugely dictated by our culture. If I'm understanding him rightly, he'd say that most Westerners lean towards what I'm calling a family-centered approach while most Easterners (Middle East) would lean toward being guest-centered.

You can read his post here. 

I'd love your thoughts!

Welch on Fighting Sin

Perhaps the only thing worse than someone wronging you is when you can't seem to stop wronging God. Fighting sin is really, really hard and really, really important. The difficulty to fight and the need to fight both explain the self-mutilation imagery of Mark 9:42-50.

For a little help with the fight, read Ed Welch's post, "Fighting Sin is Tiring." It's a good word.

Hell

I just finished What is the Mission of the Church? It is one of the best books I've read recently. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert work through Scripture explaining what the church should be about and how to think through some sticky issues like social action and even economics. One of the most sobering statements comes at the very end in the chapter, "What It Means and Why It Matters." In short, keeping focused on evanglism and discipling matters because hell is real:

Since hell is real, we must help each other die well even more than we strive to help our neighbors live comfortably. Since hell is real, we must never think alleviating earthly suffering is the most loving thing we can do. Since hell is real, evangelism and discipleship are not simply good options or commendable ministeries, but are literally a matter of life and death.

Amen.