What is the Gospel? from Southern Seminary on Vimeo.
Showing posts with label Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christ. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The Group at Westboro by Thomas White
I came across this a few days ago and thought it was worth sharing. It irks me that "The Group at Westboro" identifies themselves as (1). Christians; (2); a Church; and (3) Baptist. Although it is not up to me to judge the validity of their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, I can without question say that what they proclaim is not of God, the Bible, the Gospel, or the words, message, example, or truth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Here is what Thomas White had to say about the group on his blog:
The Group at Westboro
If I told you that I was a bird, you might have your doubts. After all, I don’t look anything like a bird. I can’t fly. I don’t have wings. In fact, I have very little resemblance to a bird unless you want to count my bird legs as evidence.
Well, as a third generation Southern Baptist preacher and a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where I teach about the church, I think know what makes a Baptist church. According to the Bible, a church is a gathering, but a gathering with a purpose…an ecclesia. This Greek word is a compound word from ek and kaleo meaning the “called” “out” ones. The church is made up of those called out for God’s purposes. There are other assemblies in the New Testament. People called out and gathered for political reasons which may form assemblies but not churches. You see, a church has a special mission, which is the mission of Christ. Christ came to offer love and hope, and saving grace to those who were hopeless, unloved, and sinners.
So it really upsets me when a group calls themselves a Baptist church and then conducts themselves disgracefully. As a member of a Baptist church, I want to go on record as saying that the group calling themselves “Westboro” is neither Baptist nor a church. They do not follow the New Testament or the commands of Christ. They act nothing like a church should and do not demonstrate the characteristics of a true church. They should do everyone a favor and change their name to reflect reality. They appear to me as nothing more than a hate group with a extreme agenda. God will set things right on judgment day, and I would not want to be in their shoes.
So why do they call themselves a Baptist church? Well, of course I cannot know for sure, but I suspect that it is because the Devil would love for the public to think all Baptist churches act like Westboro. In reality, nothing could be farther from truth. So when you hear about the group at Westboro that spews hatred across the land, recognize them for what they are–not what they call themselves. And please don’t mistake them for a Baptist church no matter what the sign may say.
The Group at Westboro
If I told you that I was a bird, you might have your doubts. After all, I don’t look anything like a bird. I can’t fly. I don’t have wings. In fact, I have very little resemblance to a bird unless you want to count my bird legs as evidence.
Well, as a third generation Southern Baptist preacher and a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where I teach about the church, I think know what makes a Baptist church. According to the Bible, a church is a gathering, but a gathering with a purpose…an ecclesia. This Greek word is a compound word from ek and kaleo meaning the “called” “out” ones. The church is made up of those called out for God’s purposes. There are other assemblies in the New Testament. People called out and gathered for political reasons which may form assemblies but not churches. You see, a church has a special mission, which is the mission of Christ. Christ came to offer love and hope, and saving grace to those who were hopeless, unloved, and sinners.
So it really upsets me when a group calls themselves a Baptist church and then conducts themselves disgracefully. As a member of a Baptist church, I want to go on record as saying that the group calling themselves “Westboro” is neither Baptist nor a church. They do not follow the New Testament or the commands of Christ. They act nothing like a church should and do not demonstrate the characteristics of a true church. They should do everyone a favor and change their name to reflect reality. They appear to me as nothing more than a hate group with a extreme agenda. God will set things right on judgment day, and I would not want to be in their shoes.
So why do they call themselves a Baptist church? Well, of course I cannot know for sure, but I suspect that it is because the Devil would love for the public to think all Baptist churches act like Westboro. In reality, nothing could be farther from truth. So when you hear about the group at Westboro that spews hatred across the land, recognize them for what they are–not what they call themselves. And please don’t mistake them for a Baptist church no matter what the sign may say.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Discover Hope Sermon Series
This Christmas we had a series called, "Discover Hope." The first sermon contrasted the difference between Jesus' home in heaven, on earth, and in our hearts. The second message dealt with Hope in Hardships and how we as believers can rejoice in sufferings... as backwards as that may sound. Last Sunday, we took at look at Revelation 5 and how we need to Stop, Drop, & Roll more often than we might think! It was fun to have the opportunity to preach this series.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Matt Chandler - Enduring faith
Enduring faith
The Associated Press
DALLAS -- Matt Chandler doesn't feel anything when the radiation penetrates his brain. It could start to burn later in treatment. But it hasn't been bad, this time lying on the slab. Not yet, anyway.
Chandler's lanky 6-foot-5-inch frame rests on a table at Baylor University Medical Center. He wears the same kind of jeans he wears preaching to 6,000 people at The Village Church in suburban Flower Mound, where the 35-year-old pastor is a rising star of evangelical Christianity.
Another cancer patient Chandler has gotten to know spends his time in radiation imagining that he's playing a round of golf at his favorite course. Chandler on this first Monday in January is reflecting on Colossians 1:15-23, about the pre-eminence of Christ and making peace through the blood of his cross.
Chandler's hands are crossed over his chest. He wears a mask with white webbing that keeps his head still when metal fingers slide into place on the radiation machine, delivering the highest possible dose to what is considered to be fatal and incurable brain cancer.
This is Matt Chandler's new normal. Each weekday, he spends two hours in the car -- driven from his suburban home to downtown Dallas -- for eight minutes of radiation and Scripture.
At the hospital, Chandler sees other patients in gowns who get chemotherapy through catheters in their chests and is thankful he gets his in pills before going to sleep at home next to his wife.
Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter.
Since all this began on Thanksgiving morning, Chandler says he has asked "why me?" just once, in a moment of weakness.
He is praying that God will heal him. He wants to grow old, to walk his two daughters down the aisle and see his son become a better athlete than he ever was.
Whatever happens, he says, is God's will, and God has his reasons. For Chandler, that does not mean waiting for his fate. It means fighting for his life.
The beginning
Thanksgiving morning, a normal morning at the Chandler home.
The coffee brews itself. Matt wakes up, pours himself a cup, black and strong like always, and sits on the couch. He feeds 6-month-old Norah from a bottle. Burps her. Puts her in her bouncy seat.
The next thing Chandler knows, he is lying in a hospital bed.
What Chandler does not remember is that he suffered a seizure and collapsed in front of the fireplace, rattling the pokers. He does not remember biting through his tongue.
He does not remember his wife, Lauren, shielding the kids as he shook on the floor. Or, later, ripping the IV out of his arm and punching a medic in the face.
During the ambulance ride, Lauren, 29, looks back from the passenger seat at her husband in restraints.
He is looking at her but through her.
She texts the women in her Bible study and asks them to pray.
At the hospital, Matt comes to.
"Honey, what happened?"
"You had a seizure."
He realizes that their two older children -- Audrey, 7, and Reid, 4 -- had seen it.
"Are the kids OK?"
Tears well up in his eyes.
"They're fine. They're fine."
He dozes off, wakes up and asks about the kids again. The same exchange repeats itself five times, always ending the same way, with Matt tearing up.
In short order, Chandler is wheeled back for a CT scan, followed by an MRI.
Not long afterward, the ER doctor walks in and sits next to him.
"You have a small mass on your frontal lobe. You need to see a specialist."
It was Thanksgiving. Chandler had not seen his kids for hours. He had collapsed in front of them. For whatever reason, those grim words from a doctor he'd never met did not cause his heart to drop. What Chandler thought was, "OK, we'll deal with that." Getting the news meant he could go home.
The man
Chandler can be sober and silly, charming and tough. He'll call men "bro" and women "mama." He drives a 2001 Chevy Impala with 144,000 miles and a broken radio. He calls it the "Gimpala"
One of Chandler's sayings is, "It's OK to not be OK -- just don't stay there." In other words, your doubts and questions are welcome at The Village Church, but eventually you need to pull it together.
He's also been known to begin sermons with the warning, "I'm going to yell at you from the Bible."
Chandler's long, meaty messages untangle large chunks of Scripture, a stark contrast to the "Eight Ways to Overcome Fear" sermons common to evangelical megachurches that took off in the 1980s. His approach appeals, he believes, to a generation looking for transcendence and power.
His theology teaches that all men are wicked, that human beings have offended a loving and sovereign God, and that God saves through Jesus' death, burial and resurrection -- not because people do good deeds. In short, Chandler is a Calvinist, holding to a belief system growing more popular with young evangelicals.
"Matt goes right at Bible Belt Christianity and exposes the problems with it," says Collin Hansen, author of "Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists." "He says, 'Enough of this playing around and trying to be relevant and using cultural touch points. Let's talk God's words.'"
Chandler's background does not suggest someone suited to the role. He grew up a military kid, drifting from Olympia, Wash., to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Alameda, Calif., and Galveston, Texas.
Chandler was taught that Christianity meant not listening to secular music or seeing R-rated movies. He developed what he calls a small and "man-centered" view of God -- that God will bless people who are good. That began to change when a high school football teammate started talking about the Gospel.
After graduating from a small Baptist college, Chandler became a fiery evangelist who led a popular college Bible study and traveled the Christian speaking circuit.
He was hired from another church in 2002 at age 28 to lead what is now The Village Church, a Southern Baptist congregation that claimed 160 members at the time.
The church now meets in a newly renovated former Albertson's grocery store with a 1,430-seat auditorium; two satellite campuses are flourishing in Denton and Dallas. Chandler has a podcast following in the thousands and speaks at large conferences.
"What Matt does works because it resonates with the deep longing of the soul the average person can't even identify," said Anne Lincoln Holibaugh, the church's children's ministry director.
The surgery
Tuesday after Thanksgiving. The Chandlers meet with Dr. David Barnett, chief of neurosurgery at Baylor University Medical Center.
The weekend had brought hope: A well-meaning church member who is a radiologist looked at Matt's MRI and concluded the mass was encapsulated, or contained to a specific area.
But Barnett delivers very different news. He saw what appeared to be a primary brain tumor -- meaning a tumor that had formed in the brain -- that was not contained. It had branches.
"Matt, I think you're dealing with something serious," Barnett says. "We need to do something about it quickly. Go home. Talk it over with your wife. Pray about it."
Chandler is facing brain surgery. He schedules it for that Friday, Dec. 4.
He is scared.
Questions start to haunt him. Am I going to wake up and be me? Am I going to wake up and remember Lauren?
The surgery begins around 2 p.m. A biopsy determines that it is, indeed, a primary brain tumor.
Additional Facts
On the Net:
Matt Chandler's blog
Lauren Chandler's blog
This was taken directly from here.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The New Testament “Gamble” by John Lynch
The New Testament “Gamble” by John Lynch
“What if I tell them who they are?” What if I take away any element of fear in condemnation, judgment or rejection”?
“What if I tell them I love them, will always love them? That I love them right now, no matter what they’ve done, as much as I love my only Son? That there’s nothing they can do to make my love go away”?
“What if I tell them there are no lists? What if I tell them I don’t keep a log of past offenses, of how little they pray, how often they’ve let me down, made promises that they don’t keep?”
“What if I tell them they are righteous, with my righteousness, right now”?
“What if I tell them they can stop beating themselves up? That they can stop being so formal, stiff and jumpy around me?”
“What if I tell them I’m crazy about them? What if I tell them, even if they run to the ends of the earth and do the most horrible, unthinkable things, that when they come back, I’d receive them with tears and a party”?
“What if I tell them that I am their Savior, they’re going to heaven no matter what--it’s a done deal?
“What if I tell them they have a new nature--saints, not saved sinners who should now ‘buck up and be better’ if they were any kind of Christians, after all He’s done for you!”
“What if I tell them that I actually live in them now? That I’ve put my love, power, and nature inside of them, at their disposal?”
“What if I tell them that they don’t have to put on a mask? That it is OK to be who they are at this moment, with all their junk. That they don’t need to Pretend about how close we are, how much they pray or don’t, how much Bible they read or don’t?”
“What if they knew they don’t have to look over their shoulder for fear if things get to good, the other shoe’s gonna drop?”
“What if they knew I will never, ever use the word “punish” in relation to them?”
“What if they knew that when they mess up, I will never 'get back at them'?”
“What if they were convinced that bad circumstances aren’t my way of evening the score for taking advantage of me?”
“What if they knew the basis of our friendship isn’t how little they sin, but how much they let me love them?”
“What if I tell them they can hurt my heart, but that I never hurt theirs?”
“What if I tell them I like U2’s music too?”
“What if I tell them I never really liked the Christmas hand bell deal with the white gloves?”
“What if I tell them they can open their eyes when they pray and still go to heaven?”
“What if I tell them there is no secret agenda, no trapdoor?”
“What if I tell them it isn’t about their self-effort, but about allowing me to live my life through them?”
“What if I tell them who they are?” What if I take away any element of fear in condemnation, judgment or rejection”?
“What if I tell them I love them, will always love them? That I love them right now, no matter what they’ve done, as much as I love my only Son? That there’s nothing they can do to make my love go away”?
“What if I tell them there are no lists? What if I tell them I don’t keep a log of past offenses, of how little they pray, how often they’ve let me down, made promises that they don’t keep?”
“What if I tell them they are righteous, with my righteousness, right now”?
“What if I tell them they can stop beating themselves up? That they can stop being so formal, stiff and jumpy around me?”
“What if I tell them I’m crazy about them? What if I tell them, even if they run to the ends of the earth and do the most horrible, unthinkable things, that when they come back, I’d receive them with tears and a party”?
“What if I tell them that I am their Savior, they’re going to heaven no matter what--it’s a done deal?
“What if I tell them they have a new nature--saints, not saved sinners who should now ‘buck up and be better’ if they were any kind of Christians, after all He’s done for you!”
“What if I tell them that I actually live in them now? That I’ve put my love, power, and nature inside of them, at their disposal?”
“What if I tell them that they don’t have to put on a mask? That it is OK to be who they are at this moment, with all their junk. That they don’t need to Pretend about how close we are, how much they pray or don’t, how much Bible they read or don’t?”
“What if they knew they don’t have to look over their shoulder for fear if things get to good, the other shoe’s gonna drop?”
“What if they knew I will never, ever use the word “punish” in relation to them?”
“What if they knew that when they mess up, I will never 'get back at them'?”
“What if they were convinced that bad circumstances aren’t my way of evening the score for taking advantage of me?”
“What if they knew the basis of our friendship isn’t how little they sin, but how much they let me love them?”
“What if I tell them they can hurt my heart, but that I never hurt theirs?”
“What if I tell them I like U2’s music too?”
“What if I tell them I never really liked the Christmas hand bell deal with the white gloves?”
“What if I tell them they can open their eyes when they pray and still go to heaven?”
“What if I tell them there is no secret agenda, no trapdoor?”
“What if I tell them it isn’t about their self-effort, but about allowing me to live my life through them?”
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Who We Are In Christ
A friend of mine wrote this yesterday and I wanted to share it as it was written. Knowing who we are in Christ establishes the foundation to be what He wants us to be in and through Him. Here are my friend’s thoughts:
Anytime I read a passage where I'm able to witness Jesus' power over the world I'm reminded of the authority God gave each one of us that we rarely if ever walk in. 1 John 4:4 "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world". The same God that empowered his son over darkness has given us the authority over the enemy.
Too many times I forget who I am in Christ and I fail to understand what my struggle is against but in the few times where I have walked in my God given authority I have seen my creator move in ways I never thought possible. It is by our choice not God's that we allow Satan to have control over areas of our lives and we must remember that we have the right and authority to take back ground that we have given over to Satan. To walk in the same Grace and Authority that Jesus walked in we must first be reminded of who we are in Christ:
John 1:12 "I am God's Child", John 15:15 "I am Christ's friend", 1Cor. 6:20 "I have been bought with a price, I belong to God", Eph.2:18 "I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit", Col. 1:14 "I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins", Col. 2:10 "I am complete in Christ", Rom. 8:12 "I am free forever from condemnation", Rom 8:28 "I am assured that all things work together for good", Rom. 8:35 "I cannot be separated from God", Phil. 3:20 "I am a citizen of Heaven", 2Tim 1:7 " I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind", Heb. 4:16 " I can find grace and mercy in time of need", 1John 5:18 "I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me", Matt. 5:13,14 " I am the salt and light of the earth", Eph. 2:6 "I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm, Eph. 3:12 "I may approach God with freedom and confidence", Phil. 4:13 " I can do All thing through Christ who strengthens me".
These are basic truths about who God created when he made us in his image and if we can grasp all that he created us to be we can walk, live, teach, love, rebuke, and share in the same authority that Christ did we he stood before Pilate and an angry mob!
Anytime I read a passage where I'm able to witness Jesus' power over the world I'm reminded of the authority God gave each one of us that we rarely if ever walk in. 1 John 4:4 "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world". The same God that empowered his son over darkness has given us the authority over the enemy.
Too many times I forget who I am in Christ and I fail to understand what my struggle is against but in the few times where I have walked in my God given authority I have seen my creator move in ways I never thought possible. It is by our choice not God's that we allow Satan to have control over areas of our lives and we must remember that we have the right and authority to take back ground that we have given over to Satan. To walk in the same Grace and Authority that Jesus walked in we must first be reminded of who we are in Christ:
John 1:12 "I am God's Child", John 15:15 "I am Christ's friend", 1Cor. 6:20 "I have been bought with a price, I belong to God", Eph.2:18 "I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit", Col. 1:14 "I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins", Col. 2:10 "I am complete in Christ", Rom. 8:12 "I am free forever from condemnation", Rom 8:28 "I am assured that all things work together for good", Rom. 8:35 "I cannot be separated from God", Phil. 3:20 "I am a citizen of Heaven", 2Tim 1:7 " I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind", Heb. 4:16 " I can find grace and mercy in time of need", 1John 5:18 "I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me", Matt. 5:13,14 " I am the salt and light of the earth", Eph. 2:6 "I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm, Eph. 3:12 "I may approach God with freedom and confidence", Phil. 4:13 " I can do All thing through Christ who strengthens me".
These are basic truths about who God created when he made us in his image and if we can grasp all that he created us to be we can walk, live, teach, love, rebuke, and share in the same authority that Christ did we he stood before Pilate and an angry mob!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Don't Impose Your Faith, Propose A Relationship
Mark Driscoll provides a great example about how we can share our faith and have the mind/action/mission of Christ in a practical way. This is helpful and beneficial for anyone who cares to make a difference for Jesus. "Not imposing anything, proposing relationship."
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