God’s Design for the Family

24 Aug , 2011 1 Comment

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (read 6:6-9)

God’s Design for the Family (4 Snap Shots)
1. A haven of worship
In the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) God teaches us that we are to worship Him comprehensively- with all of life. He immediately follows these verses with clear instruction of how, when, and where this command is to be lived out, taught, and passed on from generation to generation. Clearly the weight of responsibility falls upon parents and it is within the context of the family that the Shema is lived out. Parents, you are the cultural architect of your home. You are to create an environment within the context of the home in order to worship God. Through the Shema God is teaching His people that worship is a 24-7 experience. We have so compartmentalized our lives that we somehow think worship is something that takes place on Sunday mornings and no other time. You never see that in the Bible! Teach your children about private worship- personal worship- worship as life. From a very early age teach your children to pray. Pray with your children. Ask, “What are you worried about? What are you really glad about? Let’s talk to God about that.” The home is to be a haven of worship.

2. A refuge of relationships
Notice, all of this is done together, in the context of life-giving relationships. I call it a “refuge” because the home should be the place where we’re loved for free. Moms, dads, and children are facing relational challenges all day long, often in a harsh and hostile world. We need to find a refuge of understanding and love in the home. Every spouse would do well to ask the question: “What’s it like being married to me?” Every parent should ask the question: “What is it like being my child?” What does my child hear from me? What do they see in me? My life is setting the pace for the kind of environment that is found in my home. By watching me what are my children learning about core values- such as honesty, generosity, perseverance, consistency, responsibility, forgiveness, prayer, and discipline? The home is a refuge for life-giving relationships.

3. A school of instruction
Notice in Deuteronomy 6 the training and teaching taking place is done in the home. This is God’s design. The home is a seminary, a “seed bed” for theological instruction. When we transfer the responsibility of the spiritual nurturing of our children to the church, our kids become “spiritual orphans”. Our kids become spiritual schizophrenics, taught the Word of God at church but at home it’s rarely mentioned. Partner with the church. Be consistent in church attendance, but never abdicate the spiritual formation of your children off to someone else.

4. A place of grace
The home is to be a place where each member is loved with the unconditional and lavish love of God. The home is the place where forgiveness always prevails! You can let your guard down and be loved for free in the home. In the end, we see God’s dream to form a community of people, centered on His love. His dream to have a family that would love freely and be so radically inclusive that every person would be drawn in like a magnet to Him. He dreams of a place where people are embraced with all of their sin and failure and loved into a relationship with God through Christ and then set free into their God-given mission in the world. The home is to be like God’s Church. The Church is a family, filled brothers and sisters- of all nationalities, races, places in life- and God is our Father. Indeed the Church is the very family of God.

The law kills. Grace brings freedom.

19 Aug , 2011 No Comments

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6

http://youtu.be/ztDndBqJAZw

What’s the Gospel?

13 Aug , 2011 1 Comment

At the core of our Message, our ministries, our lives, our hope, and life is the Gospel.  The longer I preach the more convinced I am that I (we) have but one message: the Gospel of Grace found only in Christ. Surely all of Scripture is inspired by God and all of the Bible is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness- but it is the Gospel that is central. I’ve heard Christians through the years express a desire to go “deeper” in the Word. Sometimes this is a true desire to get beyond the surface preaching that seems to come from many of our pulpits. But most of the time this is a desire for more knowledge (and not a desire nor evidence of obedience to what is already known- i.e. kindness, compassion, care for the poor, the marginalized, a lack of grace and purity, etc..).

I ask, “What’s deeper than the Gospel?” How can we ever tire of studying, scrutinizing, exploring, and- indeed- applying the Gospel to every aspect of life. The Gospel is the well that never runs dry. Jesus is eternal and the exploration of His majesty is never-ending. Let’s preach, teach, and apply the Gospel. It is (HE is) the Only hope of salvation for those who believe.

Here Tim Keller (who is always Gospel-centered) answers the question: “What is the Gospel?”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0g-s4Qhtyk&feature=youtu.be]

Thy Kingdom Come.

04 Aug , 2011 No Comments

A Thousand Questions

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiNBmNl88Pk]

“Is there a God?”

05 Jul , 2011 No Comments

Most people claim to believe in “God” but how can we even know He exists?  According to a survey last month (June 8, 2011) 92% of Americans believe in God- a number that has not changed much at all since 1940- when Gallop Polls started tracking this. As you look over “8 evidences” for God’s existence, I challenge you to pick your top three (in order) and be able to explain why you think those arguments are the strongest.

The definitive word in the Bible regarding atheism is this: “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1.  In Romans 1 we see that God has revealed Himself clearly to us through creation and has made Himself “evident” to us so that we are “without excuse” (1:20).  In fact, He’s made His presence known “within” us (1:19).   

This is why I believe that every atheist is constantly trying to push the thought of God out of his mind.  I liken him to the man who went out and bought himself a new boomerang and he almost killed himself trying to throw away his old one.  Rick Warren recently tweeted, “I don’t believe in atheists. Therefore, there is zero possibility they exist.”

Before we begin our study of theism you must remember that you can’t prove God scientifically- science says that in order for something to be proven it must be repeatable.  Even history, by its nature can’t be repeatable. You can’t prove a lot of things by science.  BUT there is a lot of evidence that points to the clear existence of God.

8 Evidences for the Existence of God

1. The search for something more  There is something within all of us that sense there is something or Someone beyond us.“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” – Blaise Pascal

2. Cause and effect  There can be no effect without a cause. Every effect must have a cause.  All of us (and all of the Universe) are effects and God is the Cause.  Eventually you come to an “Uncaused Cause”- GOD.  Think about it: Can a computer suddenly come out of nowhere? Can matter suddenly exist from non-matter? Can life appear from non-life?  Can something come from nothing?  It is scientifically impossible.

3. Order and design  We see order and intelligent design throughout our world and the Universe.  I could choose a million examples but I’ll offer one.  Did you know that because water has a high specific heat your body is able to remain at a constant temperature?  As a result you r body can better absorb heat.  If water had a low specific heat you would “boil over” with the least amount of activity. 71% of the earth’s surface is covered with water.  The oceans serve as the earth’s thermostat and keeps the planet cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.  The distance of the earth from the sun, the tilt of it’s axis, the speed of it’s orbit, all make life possible on our planet.  The slightest degree of change in any aspect of the position in space would kill us all in no time.

4. Meaning and purpose  All of us are seeking meaning and purpose in life.  Where does this come from?  Consider a few famous people who wrestled with the meaning of life:

“What is life for? To die? To kill myself? To wait till death comes? I fear that even more. Then I must live. But what for? To die? And I could not escape that circle.” Leo Tolstoy

“Life is a dirty trick, a short journey from nothingness to nothingness.” Ernest Hemingway

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” –Solomon, Ecclesiastes 1:2

It was C. S. Lewis who said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”  It seems that God Himself has created us with a kind of “homing devise” and our hearts will not rest until we find our rest in Him.

5. The moral argument  If there is no God, where does our sense of right and wrong from?  Is that just an evolved state of consciousness?  Without an ultimate source of morality how do you explain a basic universal sense of right and wrong?

6. Love and emotion  If God does not exist how do explain love?  If it is not from God (the Author of love) then what are your options?  Is love an animal instinct?  Is it an evolved emotion or a chemical reaction?  How can you explain great acts of love, mercy, and compassion apart from a love God?

7. Jesus Christ  Of course the greatest proof of God’s existence is the fact that He actually came here and told us that He exists.  Jesus said that if we have seen Him, we’ve seen God. He said that He and God are One.  To see Him was to see God. To believe in Him was to believe in God and to reject Him was to reject God. Jesus revealed, not only that God exists, but He also showed us Who God is and what He is like.  Read these verses:

  • Hebrews 1:1-3
  • John 1:1-4, 14

8. Changed lives  Billions of lives have been changed by the power of God (including mine).  God has proven His existence by revealing Himself.  He desires to prove His existence and His love for you as well if only you will come to Him by faith.  Believe and then you will receive greater and greater understanding.  Which of the three evidences do you think are the most powerful?  Which one would you choose above the others?  If “changed lives” were used as proof of God’s existence and if you were brought to trial as evidence, would you be found guilty?