Church of the powerless

I was reading in 1 Corinthians this morning and came across the
verse:

"For Christ did not send me [Paul] to baptize, but to preach the gospel
not with words of human wisdom, less the cross of Christ be emptied"
(1 Cor. 1:17)

What stuck out at me in this verse was the fact of how often in a Church the gospel seems to take a backstage to the technique of delivering the message. A sermon on "Ten ways to stay happy" replaces "Why we still need the Ten Commandments." Not to say that we don't need 21st application of biblical principles, rather we always need to remember that if Scripture does not change how we live today it is powerless.

This verse stuck out from a lecture I heard yesterday during Chapel at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary I have included a link if you would like to listen to it. I love creative worship, being engaged in the service. However through reflection, have begun to see that the gospel is taking a back seat to techniques in many of my favorite places of worship.

My study Bible says the following about this verse:

"Paul's mission was not to couch the gospel in the language of the trained orator, who had studied the techniques of influencing the people by persuasive
arguments."

I have been guilty of placing technique over the power of the cross when preaching. I am today calling all preachers to first acknowledge the emptiness that they have experienced as a result of using human wisdom in their preaching, instead of relying on the power of Christ to deliver their messages. Second, to make a change in how they prepare for messages, and even how they preach messages by relying more on the power of the cross and less on their own wisdom or techniques.

Let's talk about it.. Post a comment about how you see this issue in the local church. I will be the first to admit that I don't know everything, so let's help each other grow in our walk with Christ and expand our influences and preach the Gospel.

I pray it will richly enhance your life and messages.

Rodney

02.05.09
Dr. Richard Turnbull -- Mapping the Evangelical Landscape: Issues and Prospects

Click here to listen to lecture:

http://www.swbts.edu/dashboard.cfm?audioToPlay=chapel/chapel020509_fd1.mp3&fdi=_fd1

Pizza Time

Joshua getting ready to eat his pizza. He bet me $20.00 he could eat the whole pizza and finish off a pitcher of Soda. This is a 20" wide pizza quite possibly the biggest pizza I have ever seen. Joshua put down three slices. While it looks big it has a very thin crust.

Last night Josh and I went to Wedgwood for the Trunk-N-Treat Fall Festival event. He decided to wear his Jeff Gordan costume. He had a great time, going from car to car getting candy. He even ate 2 hotdogs, two cups of tea, a bag of popcorn, and lots of candy.

Is this video?

1) Joshua demostrating Stop, Drop, and Roll

2) Joshua realizing he has ants in his pants.

3) Joshua with a massive sugar over dose.

If you chose #3 you are correct.

Is this video?

1) Joshua sleeping.

2) Joshua begging to go home.

3) Joshua rolling on the floor again.

4) Joshua still on a sugar rush.

If you chose 3 or 4 you are correct!!!!

I need more sugar!!!!

What is Asafoetida?

It is a gum that is from the sap of the roots and stem of the ferula species, a giant fennel that exudes a vile odour. Use primarly now in cooking Indian dishes if eaten raw it tastes like rotten garlic. When cooked it adds an onion like flavor. Has a sulfurous odour. It is an antidote for flatulence and is also precribed for respitory conditions like asthma, and whooping cough. It is also called Devil's Dung, Devil's Durt, and Stinking Gum.

So by now your wondering why this word on my blog? I am trying to educate my readers and now you know a new word. Oh Happy Day!!!

Rodney

On Strike!!!

The writer of this blog regrets to inform you that he is on strike until he receives at least 3 comments to this blog......

Thanks to all my loyal readers for ending what seemed like a never ending strike. The writers went back to the tables and decided that 2 comments were enough to start writing again. Thanks for your comments....

It Can Happen To Anyone....

People are often supried when they see Christians make mistakes. Especially Christian leaders, and Pastors. Having been in youth ministry for over six years I have made my share of coments that I wish I could have taken back. The one that comes to mind was on a Wednesday night we were talking about Psalm 53:1 and why students need to know what Scripture says and what it does not say. I switched this verse around and made two parts. The first part of the message I talked about that there was no God, and told the students who never brought their Bibles that I was quoting Scripture from Psalm 53:1 and asked for their opinions. Most did not question that the Bible would say that, and a few spoke up and disagreed. I asked them to share a verse that opposed this idea and they of course were silent which was the point I was trying to make. THe second part of the message we looked at "The fool" which opened into a discussion of developing Spiritual habbits for studying and learning to interpret Scripture.

The problem did not show up for a few weeks until I was visiting a youth who had not shown up for a few Wednesday nights. She left early that night and only got half the message. She quit coming to church because she heard me say "There is no God" and figured that attending Church was pointless then.

Why did I write about this? If we take ourselves to serious, then when we make mistakes we fail to see them as learning oppurtunities. Instead we allow the failures to tear us down and rob us of our joy.

James 1:2 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Pure joy is not happiness. "Happiness" comes from the word "happen." Happiness, therefore, is based on what is happening. If something good is happening, then you are happy. However, God says that pure joy occurs even in the midst of trials--even when the car breaks down, or when the kids get sick, or when the boss cuts your hours, or when your spouse is in a bad mood, etc.

Why is James telling us to count it pure joy whenever we face trials? Because joy gives you strength to fight your trials, and if you'll fight the trials, you will overcome. James continues, "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (v. 4). You see, James has in mind "victory over trials", not "acceptance of his trials." So by rejoicing, you overcome your trials.

Nehemiah 8:10: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Strength means "place of safety, protection, refuge". It is from the primary root which means "to be strong."

So the next time you face an embarsing moment realize that God is not finished with you yet, and is still trying to restore you to be all that He created you to be.

Sad Movies....

I think the saddest movie of all times has to be hands down my dog skip. It is the story of a boy who grows up with a jack russell terrior. Eventually as with all things skip passes away. I think what draws you in is not the death of the dog, rather it is the life this dog lived. You see him grow from being a puppy to being a mature adult dog.

I love movies that draw me in quickly and are able to hold my attention until the very end. Growing up I loved solve your own adventure books. They start with a story and after several pages you had to make a choice, but you had to be careful because your choice could end your story within a paragraph. If you made the right choices you would end up reading 90% of the book, if you made a wrong choice you could read only 1 to 2 pages of a book.

The point of this random rambling is this. Life is precious, and we need to make sure that everyday we make the most of every opportunity we have. That way when we look back at our lifetime we won't have any regrets.