1 Samuel

I'm doing some early background prep for next term when at LightHouse we will be looking at 1 Samuel 1-7.  Its always interesting to pop the chapters into wordle and see what comes out.  The bigger the word the more prominent in the text selected.

ESV for free on Kindle

If you have a Kindle reader on your phone, computer, tablet, or a reader you can download the ESV bible for free from Amazon at the moment.  Here's the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bible-English-Standard-Version-ebook/dp/B001EOCFU4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314954144&sr=8-1

Free bible for Kindle users

I often find it helpful to read the bible in a fresh translation alongside my ESV and TNIV which I use for study and preaching.  At the moment on Amazon kindle you can download the HCSB version (digital edition) for free.  It lies somewhere between the two I've mentioned above in terms of literal translation and dynamic translation.

What is the role of the Church in Counselling

If you click the link below it will take you to a short video clip from Paul Tripp exploring how Biblical counselling is different from other forms of counselling.

What is the Role of the Church in Counseling?

One of the most difficult jobs of the year

I've been convicted our my and our (as a church) need to learn God's word. So next year we are aiming to learn a verse a week - it will be part of our service somewhere - whether in sung form or as the children's slot or just on the notice sheet. So it was this morning that I sat down to come up with 52 verses that would be beneficial for us to memorise and helpful to our understanding of God and his plan of salvation. It is probably one of the hardest jobs I've had to do, but at last its done.

I'll post it them week at a time.

The loudest voice

Its very rare that we enjoy quiet. We live a world of noise, where background music is the norm, where silence is a rarity.

Amidst all that noise there are lots of voices competing for our time, attention, love, desire and money. Advertising is only the most obvious form of this, but there is also the subtle pressure exerted by TV programmes, films, newspapers to live up to their ideals and share their values. It is then refreshing and challenging to come to Psalm 1

Which exclaims 'O blessedness of him who...' does not live as those opposed to God but who treasures and lives by God's word. In thinking about the central truth of this introductory Psalm it is striking how real and hard the battle is to treasure God's word, to meditate on it day and night as the Psalm calls us to.

And yet we live in an age when we probably have more tools available to us to help us with the Bible than preceding generations. So why do we find it so hard? I think one of the problems is that we fear what society will think of us if they see how highly we view scripture, how it sets the tone of our living, how it excites and captivates us. The result of that fear is that we don't allow it to do those things, but Psalm 1 calls us to recognise the danger in that and repent. To make the Bible our delight and central to our living, thinking and decision making.

Part of doing that is spending time reading it then taking time to work out what it means and finally viewing life in the light of it and changing what needs to be changed in the light of grace.

Questions for Father's Day

I've used these here before but with Father's Day on Sunday they are good things to be thinking about. In our churches we need to ask men great questions, not just give them easy answers, we need to address the questions that men are asking in our preaching, here are some suggested questions:

1. What does becoming a Christian mean for my masculinity?
2. What is Biblical manliness?
3. What does biblical holiness look like for men today?
4. What is success?
5. How do I deal with guilt feelings?
6. What is male sexuality? Is purity possible for the modern man?
7. How can we nurture family life?
8. What is Christian leadership? How is it developed?
9. What are the basic disciplines of the Christian man?
10. What ministry skills need to be developed? How? Will the church do it?
11. What is biblical business conduct?
12. What is integrity? How is it developed?
13. What does it mean to be married for God?

Men follow men. Its fascinating working through Luke 9 and 10 as Jesus teaches his disciples how many of these issues come up and are addressed again and again.

Is the Bible wrong?

Where if anywhere do you think the bible is Wrong?

The Bible is not wrong anywhere, it is infallible (2 Tim 3:16).

There are, however, places where we interpret it wrongly and that’s why it matters that we wrestle with it not just read it assuming we know what it says. Too often we approach a passage assuming we know what it says, or pour it into our predetermined framework of ideas, traditions and theology. What we need to do is allow the Bible to determine the framework, to challenge our thinking, our preconceptions and our living.

Helpful Tool

My copy of the ESV Study Bible arrived today and I have to say I really like it. The maps, diagrams and the likes are fantastic, I like the fact the text is all laid out in one column. I do have lots of other bibles however, so why add one more?

The main reason was the access you get to the ESV study bible online, where you can see all the material on line, add your own notes, search and follow notes by clicking on the hyperlinks, and even listen to it read. It has already been useful and I look forward to it proving even more so.

Real Spirituality

This is a comment from Tim Chester over at the resurgence blog:
"Biblical spirituality is about:

• Bible meditation, not mystical silence
• Passionate engagement, not rural retreat
• Growing together, not individual solitude

In other words, biblical spirituality, at its core, is about the word of God, the mission of God, and the community of God."

It reminds us that spirituality is not found in the intense retreat but in reading God's word, in engaging with the mission that we are given as Jesus disciples and in loving and serving one another in God's new community.

Money and the Gospel

If you click on this link there ia a sermon on The Gospel and Money by Tim Keller: http://download.redeemer.com/rpcsermons/vision2005/Gospel_and_Your_Wealth_-_11-06-05.mp3

It is helpful reminding us that everything we have is given by God, but that it also remains God's given to us for us to invest for him.

Listening to our culture

Given all that I have written about it so far the biggest question is: Why has The Shack been so popular among Christians?

If the book has so many things that concern me why are so many Christians reading it and raving about it? I think it shows fundamentally that we desire to have a close, intimate personal relationship with God. We would love to be able to engage with God as Mack does. I think many people will be prepared to put up with the errors they see in the book because the picture of God relating to and with Mack is so heartwarming.

I wonder if this has something to say to us about the formalism of church. I don't want to join in the church bashing the book does - the Bible has a high view of church, it is Christ's bride, it is God's means of declaring his wisdom to the powers and authorities, it is glorious and it will be built by Christ. And yet so many people in churches seem to be saying that The Shack is giving them something new.

It makes me wonder if in stressing the need for good Bible teaching we have missed something, if in all our training Bible teachers with techniques of exposition and composition and delivery if we have taken something out of preaching God's word. Do I love God? As I look at a passage what does it teach me that I can simply glorify and marvel at God for? What new facet of God's character and actions does it reveal to me that should cause me to love him more and naturally to want to praise him for? Is much of our preaching too dry?

I am not arguing for the dumbing down of preaching but I am asking the question about our methodology. The Bible is God's inspired word to make me love him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Does the teaching leave me gasping for relationship with God, breathless at the wonder of what God gifts me in Christ that I can everyday and for eternity call God 'Dad'?

In our concern to teach theologically have we missed out peoples hearts and emotions? As I stand up to preach is it with concerns about my structure or is it about making the God I know personally known to others as he has revealed himself?

I have heard people say that the Bible is hard to understand, sometimes I think it is because we make it hard to understand. When you read books that tell you you should be spending 12 hours a week preparing your talk, 6 hours simply on understanding the text what does that say to us about the Bible. To the person in the pew that says the Bible is too complex - it makes it nearly as hard to understand as when it was written in Latin. I am not saying we should not labour to understand the Bible, we should, as those who preach we must. But I am saying we should not lay that burden on people, the Bible is a book to be read that reveals God to us, it is God's revelation - you do not need 4 technical commentaries and a degree in Greek, Hebrew, systematic and Biblical Theology, as well as Hermeneutics in order to understand it. Certainly never does Paul recommend that to the church, in fact in his letter to the Colossians he continually calls them to one thing to know Christ.

I think part of the attraction of The Shack is that it makes God accessible and people have not found him in the Bible in part I think because they think it is a hard book to read. We need to counter act that. We need to be showing people how they can know the real God who reveals himself to us not in a novel but in his word gifted to us. We need to be calling people to know God through his word, to experience God living in and through them by the power of his Spirit.

"I want to know Christ," Paul wrote "to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." It is a great longing to want to know God.

Contemporary idols

When we come to examine idolatry in both Old and New Testament it is easy to spot the carved images and statues but we live in a society that is rife with idols.

Family, relationships, fashion, home, career, sport, fitness, hobbies are all things which are good but which we are constantly being subtly pressured into making the ultimate thing. I think probably the one we struggle with most is family, that is partly why we find statements such as Luke 8:21 so hard: "My Mother and Brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into action."

It is not that Jesus attacks family it is that he prioritises God's word and his response to it. We live in a world that encourages us to do the opposite, to put our families first. But the challenge is to be those who have ears to hear and put God's word into practice.

Sermon centred v Word centred

Are the two above opposed to each other? Does being word centred mean being sermon centred? Is that all there is to it or is there more? Is it the only way to teach someone? Is it Biblical?

Its interesting when you study Jesus teaching that actually he seems to use a variety of styles. He teaches as he walks, using the visual and physical aids that are around him to make his point. He teaches in dialogue answering and asking questions, even unasked ones. Even the Sermon on the Mount is a summary of his extended teaching the delivery of which we don't know about.

In Acts the 'Sermons' are not prepared and delivered to the church, but often given in response to the reactions of the crowd or others (Acts 2). When Paul does teach the church in Acts 20:7 the word used is 'dialogue'.

Its not that sermons, as we think of them, are not word centred they most definitely are, but they are not the only means, or even the primary means of teaching God's word in the New Testament. How should this affect the way we structure our churches and corporate services to reflect that we are word centred?

The battle with the pragmatist within

Its one of the first questions people ask about anything isn't it; does it work? We are always looking for the quick fix, or if not the quick fix for something that definitely yields results and behind the question is the unspoken mantra that if it works it must be right.

But how do we take apply that to the church? Is it fair to ask if it works? And if it does, is it fair to then assume that if it works it is right?

I think it is always worth asking if it works. In fact I think its a necessary of church ministry. When the Apostles can't heal the boy in Matt 17, they want to know why. When in Acts 6 the churches ministry is off balance they ask whether it works and take the step of appointing the 7 to ensure that it does what it should do and they can do what they should be doing - praying and being witnesses. So asking if something works, evaluating it is always worth doing.

But we also need to always evaluate on the basis of what the Bible says. Are our evangelistic events being attended by peoples friends and family? What changes can we make, well we can change venue, we can change activity, we can adjust our overall strategy and look to build bridges and show the relevance of the gospel. But what we cannot do is change the gospel!!! And it can seem subtly attractive to do so, to leave out judgement, to soft soap sin, to talk of forgiveness and love, not why you need forgiveness and the danger of opposing God.

When we evaluate what we do we must not given in to the inner pragmatist who wants numbers at any cost. And its not just in evangelism. What about what we teach about divorce or any other moral issue, the Bibles teaching is not populist. Evaluation is good, in fact it is right but only as we sit under the authority of God's word as it evaluates us and our actions.

A growing concern

According to a study undertaken in Britain and published in the last 12 months 65% of free church pastors/ministers are 55 years old or over. Now that is quite a worrying statistic, even if most of those pastors delayed retiring until they were 68 or 70 that would mean that in 12-15 years time 65% of free churches would be pastor less. Now I know that there are those at the moment who are off and being trained to take on those roles, but that statistic is only for current pastors, not total number of churches. And there are a significant number of churches who are pastor-less at the moment and looking for a godly gifted man. The number being trained will not fill both gaps.

In short there is something of a leadership crisis looming in evangelical Britain. Now I am not saying that churches have to have a pastor - pastors are after all only servant leaders. Others can preach and teach better, often those within our own congregations. But I still think there are benefits of having a pastor who is set aside and provided for by the congregation so that he can devote himself to teaching God's word, pastor the people and leading the church. I know for myself I have benefited immensely from that privilege and I hope in turn my preaching of God's word has improved and been used by God for his glory in the lives of those who listen.

But the looming leadership crisis may not be just in terms of pastors. I wonder if a study on elders would yield similar results? Certainly from the churches I can think of with whom I have close contact there are not many elders under 50, and most are 60 or over. Now I am not saying we need young men instead and should oust the older leaders, we benefit greatly from the wisdom and godliness that these leaders have acquired over the course of their lives. But how do we train up young men to take their place of leadership?

Are these young men not present in our churches or is it that we do not give them enough opportunities to grow and develop? The Bible seems to teach that you will be able to recognise men already qualified and doing the work of an elder in your congregation (1 Tim 3:1-7, 5:24-25). Lifestyle and character are the key, passion, commitment and love for others and Christ are identifying marks.

Is the question where have all the young men gone? Or is it have we given young men godly examples to follow, have we sought to mould them by praying with them and studying the Bible with them?

God's word develops character as we see what the calling of discipleship truly is, as we see what the love Christ has done for us and as that knowledge compels us to live lives that glorify him and the God we serve. As we teach and preach the gospel to people and pray for their transformation through the spirit applying that word we will see evidence of those characteristics God says denotes a leader.

The statistics that worry us should cause us to fall back on our only recourse - God, his word and prayer.

Fear

I've been looking at Luke 5:1-11 for Sunday morning, its the calling of the disciples. What has struck me as I have done so is that Simon's response to Jesus revealing himself via the miraculous catch of fish is fear. We are told that they were "astonished" and Jesus first words to them are "Do not be afraid". Why were they so terrified?

Because of what the miracle revealed about who Jesus was and what they feared it meant for them. They knew they were not right with God and Jesus found them out! The natural response is to be afraid, judgement should follow.

But we don't really do fear, even when it comes to God. So somewhere there is a fundamental difference in our thinking about God and the disciples. I think there are two areas where we fail to appreciate reality here: we have a wrong image of God and a wrong view of sin.

The Bible reveals a God who hates sin, who can't even look on it, who finds it utterly abhorrent. Sadly that is not how we think. The challenge is to bring my thinking in line with the Bibles especially on these two issues and to tell others the truth.

To follow

I have been thinking about what it means to try and build a church around discipleship. What would it look like? How do you go about facilitating it? What about those people who would find it uncomfortable? Is it something that, like an iceberg, is glimpsed but largely goes on under the surface? Or should it be integral to everything we do?

I know that one of the most valuable influences on my Christian growth has been firstly as a 14 year old being in a bible study group of young 20s, I may not always have understood everything but it was fascinating to see debate and passion about what the bible said. It also led to relationships where people could challenge me about my Christian living, just what I needed in my later teen years.

Then at uni I met for a reading group with the UCCF staff worker and some other students, then later on 1-2-1 with another Christian, both significant influences. I needed people to debate and discuss with, to bounce ideas off, to work out my theology and Christian living with.

I guess that's partly why I think discipleship is so important, it has played a huge part in my growth as a Christian. Its why I have met with 4 young men over the last 4 years for 35-60 mins a week to study the Bible, encourage one another and pray for each other. I get as much out of it as they do, if not more.

But would it be possible to get everyone in a church involved in just such a relationship? I guess one fear we all have is what do we do. In my experience it needs to be kept fairly simple - read a passage of the Bible together and chat about what surprises you, what makes you say wow, what does it teach us about God, what about Christ and what about yourself? What does it mean to put it into action? Spend time together chatting about your week, pray for each others needs, families, and spiritual health (prayer, leading family, bible reading, evangelism). Or alternatively use the same bible reading notes and then discuss what you have read in the last seven days.

You don't have to challenge the socks off each other every week, but be ready to issue a challenge when it comes. Above all such things must be built on relationship - give it time, do things together, and keep the things you pray about between the two of you unless you agree otherwise.

Is it possible to see a whole church built around relationships like this? Yes. How do you make it happen? You find someone and ask them if they want to meet up and then you commit to it.

Answering questions

How do we help people engage with the Bible? How do people learn best? When in Acts 2 it describes them as being devoted to the apostles teaching what did that look like?

How do we engage with the Bible today? Surely it is about asking questions of it every time we come to it. Questions like what surprises me? What don't I understand? What does it teach me about God? What does it teach me about man and/or myself? How does this fit into the teaching of the whole Bible? How should this effect me?

If that's how we approach the Bible surely we need to build in some way to do this in our Bible teaching. Its how home groups work, but how about on a Sunday? God's word needs to be taught but should we allow/encourage such questions as part of our meeting together to encourage and build one another up in our faith? Could we break into groups over coffee and a biscuit or donut or fruit (for the health conscious) to talk about what the Bible says and how it applies to us?

Certainly the emphasis in the New Testament is not just on listening to God's word but on working it through, on putting it into practice in our lives outside the doors. How best should we wrestle with this and how can the church best help those with questions about the Bible do exactly that?

Relationships for the rebellious

Mother Theresa said that loneliness was the world's greatest disease, coming from a lady who spent her time caring for the underprivileged, sick and deprived in our world that is some statement. There greatest need was not money or the removal of poverty oe better medical care but relationship.

We were made for relationship, for friendship, for companionship to love and to be loved, we instinctively feel those needs. However, we also take them and twist them so that being loved can become the be all and end all. So the pressure is on all of us to find the group we fit in to be it the goths, the sporty jocks, or the emo set, or whatever. Find somewhere you belong, where people will accept you, where they will love you at all costs.

Or it is seen in the obsession with beauty as the staggering figures today on those who'd have cosmetic surgery to improve their looks or body image shows. The way to be loved is to be beautiful.

The Bible provides the antidote to just such misconceptions about relationship. We were made for relationship with one another, that's why in Genesis the only thing wrong in the garden is Adam's loneliness and so God makes Eve to be with him. But the other relationship in the garden we see go the other way - we see our relationship with God broken by actions that show God exactly what we think of him.

The story of the Bible is the story of God's plan to enable that relationship to be restored but not to impose it upon us. He sends his Son to tell us of the problem and then take our punishment so we are credited with his perfect record and justice is still done.

The result is a restored relationship with God, that brings with it restored relationships with those around us. It changes our view of beauty, it repairs our shortsighted view of love and relationship.