Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
What's the Gospel?
Here's a creative way of explaining the Gospel by Lampmode artist Shai Linne.....
http://
http://
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Make Disciples
This is an exerpt from John Piper and Desiring God Ministries
Discipleship and Death to Self
....The most important word I think that Jesus ever said about becoming a disciple was Luke 14:27, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Bearing a cross does not mean primarily having hard times. It means going to Golgotha. It means dying with Christ- dying to the old attitudes of envy and strife and jealousy and anger and selfisheness and pride; and turning to follow Jesus in newness of life. When we make disciples, we bid them to come and die to their old and destructive ways and to live for Jesus, who loved them and gave himself for them.
Discipleship and Death to Self
....The most important word I think that Jesus ever said about becoming a disciple was Luke 14:27, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Bearing a cross does not mean primarily having hard times. It means going to Golgotha. It means dying with Christ- dying to the old attitudes of envy and strife and jealousy and anger and selfisheness and pride; and turning to follow Jesus in newness of life. When we make disciples, we bid them to come and die to their old and destructive ways and to live for Jesus, who loved them and gave himself for them.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Grace Before Judgement
Matthew 28:18-20
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
God is so amazing! His grace is beyond our imaginations! Matthew 24:14 states: "14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." God's grace and mercy will allow all nations, tribes, and tongues the opportunity to hear the gospel! How fair of a God is he to hold his final judgement so that all nations get the chance to hear the gospel! This includes remote villages on remote islands, monks on top of Mount Everest, or countries being ravaged by wars! The gospel will be spread!
This is pleasing to hear because this implies that the saints of God will preach the gospel and go through amazing trials and tribulations in order to get the good news out. Maybe the greatest implication is that God trusts his saints to do so, because this will be all done through his sheep! What an honor! I see why we are to love the Lord with all of our minds and strength. We will miss the honor of partaking in this grand plan because we will still be caught up with the ways of this world. Salvation is a spiritual manifestation of the gospel: grace before judgement. What an awesome God!
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
God is so amazing! His grace is beyond our imaginations! Matthew 24:14 states: "14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." God's grace and mercy will allow all nations, tribes, and tongues the opportunity to hear the gospel! How fair of a God is he to hold his final judgement so that all nations get the chance to hear the gospel! This includes remote villages on remote islands, monks on top of Mount Everest, or countries being ravaged by wars! The gospel will be spread!
This is pleasing to hear because this implies that the saints of God will preach the gospel and go through amazing trials and tribulations in order to get the good news out. Maybe the greatest implication is that God trusts his saints to do so, because this will be all done through his sheep! What an honor! I see why we are to love the Lord with all of our minds and strength. We will miss the honor of partaking in this grand plan because we will still be caught up with the ways of this world. Salvation is a spiritual manifestation of the gospel: grace before judgement. What an awesome God!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Missio Dei
Missio dei
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFGuTClBuZs
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Missio Dei is a Latin Christian theological term that can be translated as the "sending of God." Mission is understood as being derived from the very nature of God. The missionary initiative comes from God alone.
In 1934, Karl Hartenstein, a German missiologist, coined the phrase in response to Karl Barth and his emphasis on actio Dei (Latin for “the action of God”).
When kept in the context of the Scriptures, missio Dei correctly emphasizes that God is the initiator of His mission to redeem through the Church a special people for Himself from all of the peoples (τα εθνη) of the world. He sent His Son for this purpose and He sends the Church into the world with the message of the gospel for the same purpose.[1]
Mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God. "It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church."[2] There is church because there is mission, not vice versa. The Church must not think its role is identical to the missio Dei; the Church is participating in the mission of God. The church's mission is a subset of a larger whole mission. That is, it is part of God's mission to the world and not the entirety of God's work in the world.
During the past half a century or so there has been a subtle but nevertheless decisive shift toward understanding mission as God’s mission. During preceding centuries mission was understood in a variety of ways. Sometimes it was interpreted primarily in soteriological terms: as saving individuals from eternal damnation. Or it was understood in cultural terms: as introducing people from East and the South to the blessings and privileges of the Christian West. Often it was perceived in ecclesiastical categories: as the expansion of the church (or of a specific denomination). Sometimes it was defined salvation-historically: as the process by which the world—evolutionary or by means of a cataclysmic event—would be transformed into the kingdom of God. In all these instances, and in various, frequently conflicting ways, the intrinsic interrelationship between christology, soteriology, and the doctrine of the Trinity, so important for the early church, was gradually displaced by one of several versions of the doctrine of grace …Mission was understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It was thus put in the context of the doctrine of the Trinity, not of ecclesiology or soteriology. The classical doctrine on the missio Dei as God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit was expanded to include yet another “movement”: The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. As far as missionary thinking was concerned, this linking with the doctrine of the Trinity constituted an important innovation …Our mission has not life of its own: only in the hands of the sending God can it truly be called mission. Not least since the missionary initiative comes from God alone … Mission is thereby seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is church because there is mission, not vice versa. To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward people, since God is a fountain of sending love.[3]
Peters states that the Bible claims “the end result of such missio Dei is the glorification of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”[4]
Missio Dei as a term and concept became increasingly popular in the church from the second half of the 20th century and is a key concept in missiology being used by theologians such as David Bosch, Lesslie Newbigin, Alan Roxburgh, David Dunbar, Martin Robinson and William Storrar as well as missional networks such as the Gospel and Culture Network, Forge Mission Training Network Australia, Together in Mission UK, and the Allelon Foundation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFGuTClBuZs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Missio Dei is a Latin Christian theological term that can be translated as the "sending of God." Mission is understood as being derived from the very nature of God. The missionary initiative comes from God alone.
In 1934, Karl Hartenstein, a German missiologist, coined the phrase in response to Karl Barth and his emphasis on actio Dei (Latin for “the action of God”).
When kept in the context of the Scriptures, missio Dei correctly emphasizes that God is the initiator of His mission to redeem through the Church a special people for Himself from all of the peoples (τα εθνη) of the world. He sent His Son for this purpose and He sends the Church into the world with the message of the gospel for the same purpose.[1]
Mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God. "It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church."[2] There is church because there is mission, not vice versa. The Church must not think its role is identical to the missio Dei; the Church is participating in the mission of God. The church's mission is a subset of a larger whole mission. That is, it is part of God's mission to the world and not the entirety of God's work in the world.
During the past half a century or so there has been a subtle but nevertheless decisive shift toward understanding mission as God’s mission. During preceding centuries mission was understood in a variety of ways. Sometimes it was interpreted primarily in soteriological terms: as saving individuals from eternal damnation. Or it was understood in cultural terms: as introducing people from East and the South to the blessings and privileges of the Christian West. Often it was perceived in ecclesiastical categories: as the expansion of the church (or of a specific denomination). Sometimes it was defined salvation-historically: as the process by which the world—evolutionary or by means of a cataclysmic event—would be transformed into the kingdom of God. In all these instances, and in various, frequently conflicting ways, the intrinsic interrelationship between christology, soteriology, and the doctrine of the Trinity, so important for the early church, was gradually displaced by one of several versions of the doctrine of grace …Mission was understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It was thus put in the context of the doctrine of the Trinity, not of ecclesiology or soteriology. The classical doctrine on the missio Dei as God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit was expanded to include yet another “movement”: The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. As far as missionary thinking was concerned, this linking with the doctrine of the Trinity constituted an important innovation …Our mission has not life of its own: only in the hands of the sending God can it truly be called mission. Not least since the missionary initiative comes from God alone … Mission is thereby seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is church because there is mission, not vice versa. To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward people, since God is a fountain of sending love.[3]
Peters states that the Bible claims “the end result of such missio Dei is the glorification of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”[4]
Missio Dei as a term and concept became increasingly popular in the church from the second half of the 20th century and is a key concept in missiology being used by theologians such as David Bosch, Lesslie Newbigin, Alan Roxburgh, David Dunbar, Martin Robinson and William Storrar as well as missional networks such as the Gospel and Culture Network, Forge Mission Training Network Australia, Together in Mission UK, and the Allelon Foundation.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Before Diving into The Great Commission.....
The Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Pride
You will never fully grasp the heart and scope of Jesus Christ’s charge until you allow Christ to expose the hidden and visible pride in your life. The most honorable thing a believer can do, besides experience martyrdom, is sharing the gospel. We should rejoice in the fact that God, being sovereign, invites us to bring back the lost sheep of the world. If you look at the scope of verse 19, Christ clearly stated “all nations.” In the book of Mark 16:15, Jesus said to preach the gospel to every creature. How does this relate to pride you may ask? There are no barriers, exemptions, or exclusions in His charge. Therefore, gender, class, race, sex, or handicaps of all types are of no importance to the savior. Thus, it should behoove any believer that harboring any sort of hidden dislike for any group is abominable to God. This is where some Christians get half of the heart of God wrong. For example, you see believers protesting abortion clinics while tripping over the homeless. We give to the poor in other countries, but won’t help a single mother on food stamps. We rejoice when an alcoholic or drug addict is redeemed. However when a murderer professes his repentance and salvation, we scoff and doubt his sincerity. For that reason, pride has no place in the process of salvation. You will end up sharing the gospel out of requirement, and not out of worship. It will become a burdensome task, and not a joyful honor. Take this time to reflect. Ask God to expose your heart. Is there any hidden resentment towards people? Does your heart cringe at the fact that someone is on welfare, or does your heart ache at the hopelessness of their situation? Do you get angry when you see homeless men walk into a liquor store, or do yearn to hear the angels rejoice when they accept the Father? Do you share the gospel to drug lords and gangs but refuse to share it with your own family because of some past hurt? These things are seen by the Lord. Ask Him to expose the danger of pride before you enlist in his army of redemption.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Pride
You will never fully grasp the heart and scope of Jesus Christ’s charge until you allow Christ to expose the hidden and visible pride in your life. The most honorable thing a believer can do, besides experience martyrdom, is sharing the gospel. We should rejoice in the fact that God, being sovereign, invites us to bring back the lost sheep of the world. If you look at the scope of verse 19, Christ clearly stated “all nations.” In the book of Mark 16:15, Jesus said to preach the gospel to every creature. How does this relate to pride you may ask? There are no barriers, exemptions, or exclusions in His charge. Therefore, gender, class, race, sex, or handicaps of all types are of no importance to the savior. Thus, it should behoove any believer that harboring any sort of hidden dislike for any group is abominable to God. This is where some Christians get half of the heart of God wrong. For example, you see believers protesting abortion clinics while tripping over the homeless. We give to the poor in other countries, but won’t help a single mother on food stamps. We rejoice when an alcoholic or drug addict is redeemed. However when a murderer professes his repentance and salvation, we scoff and doubt his sincerity. For that reason, pride has no place in the process of salvation. You will end up sharing the gospel out of requirement, and not out of worship. It will become a burdensome task, and not a joyful honor. Take this time to reflect. Ask God to expose your heart. Is there any hidden resentment towards people? Does your heart cringe at the fact that someone is on welfare, or does your heart ache at the hopelessness of their situation? Do you get angry when you see homeless men walk into a liquor store, or do yearn to hear the angels rejoice when they accept the Father? Do you share the gospel to drug lords and gangs but refuse to share it with your own family because of some past hurt? These things are seen by the Lord. Ask Him to expose the danger of pride before you enlist in his army of redemption.
Monday, February 1, 2010
For Starters
Welcome! My burning passion is to help God's elect remember and be mindful of the fact that we are: Saved by grace alone, through faith alone, through the finished work of Christ alone, all for the glory of God alone. I want to promote any man or woman of God who is all about God alone getting all of the glory. To start things off, here is a wonderful sermon by Pastor Matthew Chandler. It's called the Trilogy. In the first Bible Study for the year, we will be tackling The Great Commission. Before we can serve out the mission of God, we must know the heart of His son, Jesus Christ. This sermon nails it on the head. Click on the MP3 file and download it. Grace and peace!
http://northway.thevillagechurch.net/sermons?kw=trilogy&type=sermons&match=anyllagechurch.net/sermons?kw=trilogy&type=sermons&match=any
http://northway.thevillagechurch.net/sermons?kw=trilogy&type=sermons&match=anyllagechurch.net/sermons?kw=trilogy&type=sermons&match=any
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