One Thing

Devotional Books Not Doing It For You?

2012-01-28T04:00:00.000-08:00

For my own part, I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await others.

I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.

HT: Justin Taylor

The Stewardship of Giving

2012-01-26T07:16:00.000-08:00

Video of our Sunday messages is back. Here is last week's message on Giving.

The Stewardship of Giving from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

What To Do With God's Money?

2012-01-24T10:03:00.001-08:00

On Sunday I spoke from 2 Corinthians 9 on the Stewardship of Giving. You can listen to the message here. In addition here are some other things from the message to provoke your thinking.

Global Rich List
A great site to help you see how rich you are in comparison with the rest of the world.

Quotes
C.S. Lewis
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc. is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.

Hudson Taylor
The less I spent on myself and the more I gave to others, the fuller of happiness and blessing did my soul become.

Principles for Christian Giving (2 Cor. 9)

Giving is all about investing in what really matters (v. 6)
Giving should be planned with joy (v. 7)
Givers rest in God's provision (v. 8-9)
Givers are made rich in order to be generous (v. 10-11)
Givers receive back much more than they give (v. 11-15)

The Difference Between Religion and the Gospel

2012-01-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

This resource from Tim Keller, put together by The Resurgence, is a helpful exercise in renewing your mind with the truth of the Gospel. Kevin DeYoung's insights in the previous post are still helpful (in regard to religion), but if we understand religion to be "my good works earning God's favor," then this resource is dead-on and extremely helpful.

Download the Resource Here
(The PDF may take a minute
to open after you click)

Jesus & Religion (A Dialogue)

2012-01-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

If you aren't among the 14 million+ people who have viewed Jefferson Bethke's You Tube video, check it out here:

Then, check out a helpful critique of the video by Kevin DeYoung here. There is much to commend in the video, and I think the overall intent is right on. However, there are some things that could be clarified better (as Bethke admits).

What I appreciate about the dialogue between DeYoung and Bethke is their mutual love for Christ, the church, and the Gospel and their desire to sharpen each other. We should all be open to helpful critique from other brothers and sisters in Christ, and if we happen to be the one offering critique, we must remember to "speak the truth in love." Our goal should never be to rip someone apart or win an argument, but to advance the Gospel and love others through the process.

This reminder from John Stott is helpful:

The proper activity of professing Christians who disagree with one another is neither to ignore, nor to conceal, nor even to minimize their differences, but to debate them.

We are “to maintain the truth in love,” being neither truthless in our love, nor loveless in our truth, but holding the two in balance.

—From John Stott, Christ the Controversialist (Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press, 1970), pp. 22, 19. HT: Justin Taylor

Talking with Your Neighbors about Jesus

2012-01-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

The Resurgence website offers up a short post on 7 Tips for Talking with Your Neighbors about Jesus. The author's opening story is a great example of how some simple conversation can lead to an opportunity for the Gospel, but don't get discouraged if some of your efforts don't seem as easy. Love, engage, and speak the truth. The Spirit will handle the rest in His time.

Here are the 7 Tips:

1. Find a road that leads to Jesus.

In the course of conversation, be thinking of how Jesus intersects with the discussion, because Jesus intersects and touches everything in our culture: sports, music, art, politics. Look for bridges to introduce Jesus into the conversation. It should be just as casually or passionately as you talk about everything else.

2. Donʼt be weird and awkward.

“So...now, Iʼd like to talk with you about Jesus.” If all of a sudden you put on your "Jesus" hat and you are talking to them like a project and not a friend, then you're entering awkward territory. Now, there will be times it becomes awkward because talking about Jesus and sin can be that way, but don't let it be because you are socially weird.

3. Be winsome.

Included in that word is the word “win.” Be “winning” friends and the conversation by being engaging, friendly, and kind. For more on being winsome, check out Soul Winner by Charles Spurgeon.

4. Counter stereotypes and caricatures of Christians.

Many urban, secular folks have a particular caricature of a Christian, which is not very flattering (judgmental, harsh, the “morality police”), although many don’t personally have any Christian friends. Be gracious and talk with them, serve them, and love them.

5. Host an open house.

When my wife and I moved into a new apartment building we hosted an open house for the whole building and went over the top with really good food and wine. Dozens of our neighbors came out and it was the foundation for future gospel-centered conversations.

6. Be honest about your struggles and failings.

We all fall short. We all struggle and fail. The credit has to be given to Jesus in your life. Many non-Christians donʼt want to talk with Christians as they will feel guilty regarding their own problems.

7. Actions also communicate.

Serve your neighbors. Serve your neighborhood. Look for opportunities without being an attention-getter. Your neighbors are watching you and just as James said, faith without works is dead.

Read the beginning of the post here.

Some Post-Holiday Stuff To Check Out

2012-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

I've taken a little break from the blog over the holidays, but thought I'd get back to it by posting some things I've enjoyed reading. Here you go:

Kevin DeYoung offers some great biblical reminders during election season.
A helpful excerpt from Tim Keller's book on marriage called "You Never Marry the Right Person."
Ed Stetzer's church signs postings always make me laugh/angry/sorry.
I haven't listened to these yet, but look forward to hearing these messages recently preached by Matt Chandler at Lead 2011.

The Incarnation

2011-12-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

Another good Christmas video here:

Behold the Lamb of God

2011-12-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

In the Past (Preparation)
Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.”
He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”
(Genesis 22:7-8, ESV)

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.
(Isaiah 53:7, ESV)

In the Present (Fulfillment)
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29, ESV)

In the Future (Completion)
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
(Revelation 5:6-10, ESV)

Advent: God With Us

2011-12-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

Advent: God With Us from The Village Church on Vimeo.

Advent: Labor of Love

2011-12-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

I've been loving the honesty, rawness and reality of this Christmas song from Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb sung by Jill Phillips:

From Conception to Birth: A Visualization

2011-12-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

Justin Taylor reposts this amazing video:

Alexander Tsiaras, chief of scientific visualization in the department of medicine at Yale University, uses micro-magnetic resonance imaging to visualize the development of the human body in the womb, from conception to birth.
In this 10-minute presentation to TED, he shows some samples:

HT: LifeSiteNews (via Dallas Richards)

Do You Know How to Grieve?

2011-12-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

Recently we held a special service at OBF with a focus on Lament. Lament is the idea of processing your grief and the pain of loss through various means. It may entail crying, journaling, singing, verbalizing with others, remembering, fasting, etc. And it may hit you because of the death of a loved one, a failed relationship, your parent's divorce, personal sin, unfulfilled expectations, etc.

Outside of Good Friday and funerals services, I don't think I have ever experienced an opportunity like this. We were working off the observation that American culture does not do a good job of helping people to express grief and sorrow, and that American Christianity doesn't do much better. We tend to have a "get over it" mentality, or we think that if we grieve over something too long then it must mean we are not very spiritual. Our culture tends to be inward, so many people struggle deeply with hurt and bitterness because they have never learned to grieve over their loss. Instead we suck it up or bury it. Eventually this leads to coldness, bitterness, loss of intimacy with God & others, and even a loss of feeling.

Instead, we need to process our losses. Scripture affirms this: David laments deeply, openly, verbally over the death of people in his life. He writes songs about them. He mourns in community. Check out 2 Samuel 1:17-27, 3:31-39; 12:15-23, along with numerous Psalms (3, 6, 13, 32, etc.). Even Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died (John 11:35).

But death isn't the only thing we need to lament over. As I mentioned above, there are many other things that give cause for grieving. We are broken people living in a fallen world. Relationships fail. Life doesn't turn out the way we want. People disappoint us. Changes shake us. We cannot ignore how much life affects us without serious consequences. We can't just suck it up all the time. Sometimes we need to lament this brokenness, this loss. Of course, we don't stay grieving forever, but we must be willing to walk through a process of grieving and this takes time.

Looking at how David handled his sorrow, we first see that he embraced it. Then, he processed it in three realms:

In Himself - personally through prayer, confession, crying, writing, remembering, fasting.
In Community - in relationship with others through song and public mourning.
In God - ultimately he looked to and hoped in his sovereign and loving God.

Everyone will processes grief in a slightly different way, but the important point is that we are willing to embrace it and process it personally, in community, and most of all in our God.

For more, here is the full message Embracing Lament.

And here is a Puritan Prayer that we adapted and used during the service (from The Valley of Vision: Confession & Petition):

HOLY LORD,

We have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find our mind in your word, of neglect to seek you in our daily life. We often fail to grieve over our sin and brokenness. We have acted as if all is well.
Help us to see the terribleness of our sin and the futility of our attempts to live life without you. Let the loss of relationship with You burn in our souls and draw us back to your side. Let not the passions of the flesh nor lusting of the mind bring our spirit into subjection, but rule over us in liberty and power.
Grant us a godly sorrow, a humble heart, a repentant spirit. Let us not refuse grief, but use it to draw us back into communion with You.
Our transgressions and short-comings present us with a list of accusations,but we bless You that they will not stand against us, for all have been laid on Christ; Go on to subdue our corruptions, and grant us grace to overcome them.
We thank you for your wisdom and your love, for all the acts of discipline to which we are subject, for sometimes putting us into the furnace to refine our gold and remove our dross. Only use these things to make us more like You.
Father, hear us as we grieve and remove our guilt. Fill our longings. Give us rest in You.
Amen.

Should I Get Married Young?

2011-12-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

Trip Lee and his wife, Jessica, were 21 and 22 when they got married. Below, they offer their reasoning for getting married at a young age. While they say that marrying young is not for everyone, their reasoning is sound and a needed corrective to the "enjoy your youth" or "get established first" mentality. Click the links to read their full response.

Trip's Response

I met a godly woman
I was ready
Marriage is a blessing

Jessica's Response

I found a godly man
We were encouraged by the people in our lives
The Lord showed me the beauty of marriage

Best quote from Trip:

So when people say, “What possessed you to get married so young?” my new response is, “You’re asking the wrong question.” I think at the root of that question is the assumption that marriage steals something away from me, as if my youth is being wasted in committed sacrificial love when it could be used for casual pleasure and flakiness.

As a pastor, I encourage young adults to get married sooner rather than later as long as they can positively answer a few questions.

Are you spiritually and emotionally mature enough to commit your life to someone? The next two questions will help you answer this one.
Are you in community with other believers and counselors? Are they affirming your decision to get married?
Are you willing to participate in pre-marital counseling?
Can you survive financially? You don't have to eat steak, but you have to at least be able to afford Ramen. And as a man, you better be willing to work hard and provide.

One final point for men: Man Up! Pursue a godly woman, get to know her, love her, sacrifice for her, lead her. Stop playing video games and pursue. And just maybe, she will say yes.

For more on this topic see:

More Artistic Brilliance

2011-12-05T04:00:00.000-08:00

Yet another way that someone made in the image of the Creator is using his creative ability. I'm not sure this artist (Liu Bolin) sees it that way, but God's Word reveals to us that is exactly what is happening when we as humans create anything of beauty. Enjoy!

From Yahoo! Games:
No, you're not looking at a Predator. This is Liu Bolin, also known as 'China's Invisible Man,'
who specializes in camouflage body-paintings. The seamless blending-in with
his environment is the result of hours of painstaking work.

See more here.

An Advent Animation

2011-12-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is so good we plan to use it during our Christmas Day celebration:

HT: Justin Taylor

Tim Hawkins on Christmas Songs

2011-12-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not even going to mention all the Christmas songs that talk about angels singing...

HT: Chris Brauns

Star of the Day

2011-11-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

You've probably seen this passage before in 1 Peter 1:10-12:

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (ESV)

This is pretty incredible. To think that the prophets longed to know more about salvation and the angels are still longing to understand salvation. But we get to see and experience it fully. Amazing.

My daughter Sydney is in preschool and they have something called "Star of the Day." So every month or so Sydney gets to be the "Star," which means it's her day. She gets to bring a mystery bag item (think show and tell, but with some intense 5 year-old mystery). She gets to be first in line. She gets to bring snacks. She gets to sit in a special spot on the carpet. On this day, it's all about her. She gets to experience full attention.

Living on this side of the cross, it's like we're the Star of the Day everyday. Not that there is anything in us that inherently deserves this treatment, but because of Jesus' coming, dying, and resurrecting God treats us with unmerited favor. Unmerited favor in its fullness, things into which angels long to look.

Just One Thought Away From Heading Down a Path of Destruction

2011-11-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

A great challenge here from Mark Brown:

Only time will reveal what really happened with Jerry Sandusky at Penn State. To say that it is a very tragic and difficult situation is an understatement. While I had a range of emotions when I first heard about the scandal from shock to anger to empathy to sadness, I also had fear. Now this fear was related to my own potential to fail. You see, I sin just like Jerry. My sin may not be dressed up the same way as Jerry's, but I sin. In fact, I have thoughts that are not always pure and holy. I have moments in my mind that I would never want shared on this blog. So the challenge for me is this: what do I do with my sinful thoughts? The Apostle Paul urges us to "...take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." (2 Cor. 10:5) But he says this in the first person plural. He says "We are destroying speculations..." (NASB) Paul is putting himself in the same category as the listener. 1 John 1:9 says that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Tempted!

2011-11-18T06:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting my Sunday messages on a regular basis, but the most recent one on Temptation from the story of David and Bathsheba has produced a lot of response from our people. I thought it might challenge you as well.

You can VIEW it here or LISTEN here.

The gist:
Be killing sin or it will be killing you.
- John Owen

The Elephant Room Conference

2011-11-17T04:00:00.000-08:00

The Elephant Room is a great one day conference hosted live in Chicago and simulcasted to locations around the country. If you live around Oxford, a number of our church leaders will be attending on January 25, 2012 in Hamilton, OH. Join us and we'll travel to the conference together. The conference runs from 9AM-4PM with lunch included.

The early bird rate of $79 ends November 30. If you are a student at Miami, there is a special rate of only $29. This is a great opportunity to hear some gifted leaders discuss all sorts of theological and ministry topics in a unique format. Participants include Mark Driscoll, James McDonald, Crawford Loritts, Wayne Cordeiro, Steven Furtick, and more.

Check out the Elephant Room website for more info. And here's a trailer for the event:

The Elephant Room: Round 2 from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.

Sonseed's "Jesus is A Friend of Mine"

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

This just never gets old:

How to Stop Trailing Off When You Pray

2011-11-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

Fairly often when I'm trying to pray I end up down a rabbit trail of thoughts. It will sometimes take me 10 minutes or so before I realize I'm thinking about how bad the paint looks in my room or why my daughter's hermit crab never shows his face or what I'm going to eat for lunch. Or I just fall asleep. Suddenly I'll snap out of it, and think, "Wait a minute, come back...you're supposed to be praying!"

You have this problem? D.A. Carson calls this mental drift, and I've found his comments on this issue very helpful. I thought you might benefit from them as well. They come from his book A Call to Spiritual Reformation (i.e. best book on prayer I've read).

Hope this helps:

Anyone who has been on the Christian way for a while knows there are times when our private prayers run something like this: “Dear Lord, I thank you for the opportunity of coming into your presence by the merits of Jesus. It is a wonderful blessing to call you Father….I wonder where I left my car keys? [No, no! Back to business.] Heavenly Father, I began by asking that you will watch over my family-not just in the physical sphere, but in the moral and spiritual dimensions of our lives….Boy, last Sunday’s sermon was sure bad. I wonder if I’ll get that report written on time? [No, no!] Father, give real fruitfulness to that missionary couple we support, whatever their name is….Oh, my! I had almost forgotten I promised to fix my son’s bike today….” Or am I the only Christian who has ever had problems with mental drift? But you can do many things to stamp out daydreaming, to stifle reveries. One of the most useful things is to vocalize your prayers. This does not mean they have to be so loud that they become a distraction to others, or worse, a kind of pious showing off. It simply means you articulate your prayers, moving your lips perhaps; the energy devoted to expressing your thoughts in words and sentences will order and discipline your mind, and help deter meandering. Another thing you can do is pray over the Scriptures. Christians just setting out on the path of prayer sometimes pray for everything they can think of, glance at their watches, and discover they have been at if for all of three or four minutes. This experience sometimes generates feelings of defeat, discouragement, even despair. A great way to begin to overcome this problem is to pray through various biblical passages. In other words, it is entirely appropriate to tie your praying to your Bible reading. The reading schemes you may adopt are legion. Some Christians read a chapter a day. Others advocate three chapters a day, with five on Sunday: this will get you through the Bible in a year. I am currently following a pattern set out by Robert Murray M’Cheyne in the last century: it will take me through the Psalms and the New Testament twice during this calendar year, and the rest of the Old Testament once. Whatever the reading scheme, it is essential to read the passage slowly and thoughtfully so as to retrieve at least some of its meaning and bearing on your life. Those truths and entailments can be the basis of a great deal of reflective praying. A slight variation of this plan is to adopt as models several biblical prayers. Read them carefully, think through what they are saying, and pray analogous prayers for yourself, your family, your church, and for many others beyond your immediate circle. Similarly, praying through the worship sections of the better hymnals can prove immensely edifying and will certainly help you to focus your mind and heart in one direction for a while. Some pastors pace as they pray. One senior saint I know has long made it his practice to pray through the Lord’s Prayer, thinking through the implications of each petition as he goes, and organizing his prayers around those implications. Many others make prayer lists of various sorts, a practice that will be discussed in more detail later. This may be part of the discipline of what has come to be called “journaling.” At many periods in the history of the church, spiritually mature and disciplined Christians have kept what might be called spiritual journals. What such journals contain varies enormously. The Puritans often used them to record their experiences with God, their thoughts and prayers, Their triumphs and failures. Bill Hybels, the senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, takes a page to record what he did and thought the day before, and then to write out some prayers for the day ahead of him. At least one seminary now requires that their students keep such a journal throughout their years of study.

The real value of journaling, I think, is several-fold: (a) It enforces a change of pace, a slowing down. It ensures time for prayer. If you are writing your prayers, you are not daydreaming. (b) It fosters self-examination. It is an old truism that only the examined life is worth living. If you do not take time to examine your own heart, mind, and conscience from time to time, in the light of God’s Word, and deal with what you find, you will become encrusted with the barnacles of destructive self-righteousness. (c) It ensures quiet articulation both of your spiritual direction and of your prayers, and this in turn fosters self-examination and therefore growth. Thus, journaling impedes mental drift. But this is only one of many spiritual disciplines. The danger in this one, as in all of them, is that the person who is formally conforming to such a regime may delude himself or herself into thinking that the discipline is an end in itself, or ensures one of an exalted place in the heavenlies. That is why I rather oppose the imposition of such a discipline on a body of seminary students (however much I might encourage journaling): true spirituality can never be coerced.

D.A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Grand Rapids, Baker Book House, 1992, p. 20-22.

A Good Challenge on Prayer

2011-11-12T04:00:00.002-08:00

A good challenge on prayer from Kevin DeYoung.

Prayer is essential for the Christian, as much for what it says about us as for what it can do through God. The simple act of getting on our knees (or faces or feet or whatever) for 5 or 50 minutes every day is the surest sign of our humility and dependence on our Father in heaven. There may be many reasons for our prayerlessness—time management, busyness, lack of concentration—but most fundamentally, we ask not because we think we need not. or we think God can give not. Deep down we feel secure when we have money in the bank, a healthy report from the doctor, and powerful people on our side. We do not trust in God alone. Prayerlessness is an expression of our meager confidence in God’s ability to provide and of our strong confidence in our ability to take care of ourselves without God’s help.

Read the rest.

Some Posts on Prayer. First, from Piper.

2011-11-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

In light of our Week of Prayer at OBF, I thought I'd repost some things on prayer. Here's the first, with a couple more to follow.

John Piper:

You will not know what prayer is for until you know that life is war. One of the great obstacles to praying is that life is just too routinely smooth for many of us. The battlefront is way out there, but here in my tiny bubble of peace and contentment all is well. O may God open our eyes to see and feel the needs around us and the great potential of prayer.

This is from Piper's message Be Devoted to Prayer. In the message, he also gives three reasons why we should pray:

The Bible tells us to pray and we should do what God says.
The needs in your own life, and in your family, and in this church and other churches, and in the cause of world missions, and in our culture at large are huge and desperate. In many cases heaven and hell hang in the balance, faith or unbelief, life and death.
God acts when we pray. And God can do more in five seconds than we can do in five years.

Small Town Politics

2011-11-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

You gotta love small town politics, wonderfully illustrated in this ad from our very own Oxford Press:

The Reliability of the New Testament

2011-11-08T08:24:00.001-08:00

For Miami students and others with questions on the reliability of the Scriptures, I'd encourage you to check out this debate between Bart Ehrman (agnostic New Testament scholar ) and Daniel Wallace (Christian New Testament scholar).

You can read about the debate here.

Here are a number of other articles on the reliability of the NT.

You can purchase the DVD here, and here's the trailer for the debate:

In addition, I recommend these books on the reliability of the Scriptures:

The Historical Reliability of the Gospels by Craig Blomberg.
Can We Trust the Gospels? by Mark D. Roberts
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by F.F. Bruce

Week of Prayer

2011-11-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

Today begins OBF's Week of Prayer, an annual focus of connecting with God and growing in our communication with Him. If you are a part of the OBF community, I encourage you to take advantage of the Prayer Guide for this week and set aside at least 30 minutes a day to pray. Don't forget to register for the Prayer Celebration on Wednesday, November 9 at 6PM where we will eat dinner, sing, and pray. Kids are welcome. There are a number of resources on prayer available at OBF's website. Check them out and join us in seeking Christ this week.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

Courageous

2011-11-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

While we're on the manhood theme, I thought I'd post the trailer for the movie Courageous. I've been fairly skeptical of "Christian" movies since they are usually poorly shot and tend towards sappy Christianity. But this movie has received good reviews and endorsements from people like John Piper and Randy Alcorn. I haven't seen it yet, but I plan to watch it when it releases on DVD. We may even show it at church if it will help men to "man up."

You can visit the website here.

Man Up

2011-11-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

A great article here from Kevin DeYoung on the need for men to man up and the women waiting to see it happen:

As I speak at different venues across the country, one of the recurring questions I get comes from women, young women in particular. Their question usually goes something like this: “What is up with men?”
These aren’t angry women. Their question is more plaintive than petulant. I’m not quite sure why they ask me. Maybe because they’ve read Just Do Something and figure I’ll be a sympathetic ear. Or maybe they think I can help. They often follow up their initial question by exhorting me, “Please speak to the men in our generation and tell them to be men.”

They’re talking about marriage. I have met scores of godly young women nearby and far away who wonder “Where have all the marriageable men gone?” More and more commentators–Christian or otherwise–are noticing a trend in young men; namely, that they don’t seem to be growing up. Recently, William Bennett’s CNN article “Why Men Are in Trouble” has garnered widespread attention. The point of the post is summarized in the final line: “It’s time for men to man up.” Sounds almost biblical (1 Corinthians 16:13).
Virtually every single single person I know wants to be married. And yet, it is taking couples longer and longer to get around to marriage. Education patterns have something to do with it. A bad economy doesn’t help either. But there is something even more befuddling going on. Go to almost any church and you’ll meet mature, intelligent, attractive Christian women who want to get married and virtually no men to pursue them. These women are often in graduate programs and may have started a career already. But they aren’t feminists. They are eager to embrace the roles of wife and mother. Most of the women I’ve met don’t object to the being a helpmate. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of mates to go around.

What’s going on here? Why are there so many unmarried, college graduated, serious-about-Christ, committed-to-the-church, put-together young women who haven’t found a groom, and don’t see any possibilities on the horizon? READ MORE..

While you're at it, check out this music video from Lecrae called "Just Like You." Great lyrics. Great truth.

A Biblical Response to Extremism & Homosexuality

2011-10-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here's the message from last Sunday on Extremism & Homosexuality, in response to the visit from Westboro Baptist Church to Miami University. Most of the message is focused on the religious extremism of Westboro and how Christians should respond. At the 25:00 mark I begin to address a biblical response to homosexuality.

Westboro Comes to Oxford

2011-10-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, October 25 the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) plans to visit Miami's campus in Oxford to picket. If you don't know much about WBC, you can find all you need to know from their website godhatesfags.com. Their coming to Oxford has been a developing story, which you can read more about from these links:

While it is always a discernment call to determine whether or not to give a group such as this any more media attention, I decided that it would be helpful to directly address their approach since they are coming to our back yard. So, on Sunday, October 23 in the services at OBF we will look at a biblical approach to homosexuality and the WBC. My goal is to help us think biblically about homosexuality and to engage our culture with the overwhelming grace of Jesus. Please pray that God would work in that way.

As you think about these issues, here are some helpful resources:

A brief post from me with a book suggestion on Christians Struggling with Same-Sex Attraction.
Bill Hybels Response to the Homosexual Lobby.
Trevin Wax offers great insight on how Christians should approach the homosexual debate in "How I Wish the Homosexuality Debate Would Go."
Al Mohler's piece in the Wall Street Journal on "Evangelicals and the Gay Moral Revolution."

Impressive Impressions

2011-10-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

You gotta love good impressions, and this guy is gold.

Puritan Prayers 02

2011-10-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the other Puritan Prayer that we used on Sunday:

REGENERATION

O God of the highest heaven, occupy the throne of our hearts.
Take full possession and reign supreme,
lay low every rebellious lust,
let no vile passion take us;
manifest thy mighty power,
and make us yours forever.

You are worthy to be praised with our every breath,
Loved with our very soul,
served with every act of our lives.

You have loved us, adopted us, received us, purchased, washed,
favored, clothed, adorned us,
when we were worthless, vile, soiled, and polluted.

We were dead in iniquities,
having no eye to see you,
no ear to hear you,
no taste to relish your joys,
no intelligence to know you;
But your spirit has quickened us,
has brought us into a new world as a new creature,
has given us spiritual perception,
has opened to us your word as light, guide, solace, joy.

Your presence is to us a treasure of unending peace;
No provocation can part us from your sympathy,
For you have drawn us with cords of love, and have forgiven us daily, hourly.

O help us then to walk worthy of your love, of our hopes, and our vocation.

Keep us, for we cannot keep ourselves;
protect us that no evil comes upon us;
Let us lay aside every sin admired of many;
help us to walk by your side, lean on your arm, hold conversation with you alone.
That we may be salt of the earth and a blessing to all.

Adapted from The Valley of Vision.

Puritan Prayers 01

2011-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we adapted a couple of puritan prayers from The Valley of Vision to use during our services. You may want to check out the book as a means of enhancing your prayers toward God. They are very deep, thoughtful meditations on the unworthiness of humans and the greatness of God and His grace. Below is one we used on Sunday, and I'll post the other one soon.

THE VALLEY OF VISION

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
You have brought us to the valley of vision,
where we live in the depths but see You in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin we behold your glory.

Let us learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter your stars shine;
let us find your light in our darkness,
your life in our death,
your joy in our sorrow,
your grace in our sin,
your riches in our poverty,
your glory in our valley.

God of all grace, our eyes are fixed on you.
Lift us up through your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Why Me?

2011-10-11T08:21:00.001-07:00

A good reminder here from Justin Taylor, reflecting on the question "Why me?"

Arthur Ashe, winner of three Grand Slam titles in tennis, contracted HIV during a blood transfusion for his second heart surgery. He died in 1993 at the age of 49 from AIDS-related pneumonia. In his memoirs he wrote the following insightful words:

Quite often, people who mean well inquire of me whether I ever ask myself, in the face of my diseases, “Why me?”

I never do.

If I ask “Why me?” as I am assaulted by heart disease and AIDS, I must ask “Why me?” about my blessings, and question my right to enjoy them.

The morning after I won Wimbledon in 1975, I should have asked ‘Why me?’ and doubted that I deserved the victory. If I don’t ask ‘Why me?’ after my victories, I cannot ask ‘Why me?’ after my setbacks and disasters. (p. 326)

The Grill Saga

2011-10-06T06:28:00.001-07:00

In last Sunday's message on Jonathan & David, I used an illustration about my grill - that you don't go over to another man's house and cook on their grill or offer another man suggestions on how to cook on his grill, etc. I talked about how important my grill is, and how it would be a big deal to give it to someone else...which lead to the following.

Sunday, October 2
Arriving home from church and looking forward to cooking smoked pork steaks on my grill, I found it missing but replaced with this beauty:

I started texting my good friend Jason Reynolds to see if he was the culprit. He played dumb.

Monday, October 3
I received over 20 text messages from various people that said, "I did it." I replied to all of them that I was glad the Oxford Police Department would have some suspects. At the same time my grill was making its way around Oxford on the back of a trailer, visiting various people in Oxford as the photos below indicate:

On Monday night I happened to look out my front window at 10pm to see a certain blue Jeep Wrangler equipped with trailer driving down my street. I texted the driver (the aforementioned Jason Reynolds) to see what he was doing, and he replied that he was going to stop by but remembered we had company.

Tuesday, October 4
As I got in my vehicle to head to work in the morning, two envelopes sat perched on my windshield. They contained the pictures above and a puzzle map to the location of my grill. However, without a truck to put the grill on, 4 young children to take care of, a church to lead, and needing to watch the new iPhone 4s video, I was unable to retrieve the grill. Since I delayed, the grill ended up on Craigslist (see here). Hey, I'd take $5000 for it.

Wednesday, October 5
The grill was still missing. I was still waiting to cook the steaks from Sunday. And then this happened:

Of course, that wasn't really my grill, and it somehow returned home later that day. That night we finally enjoyed Sunday's dinner.

So there it is. Just one more thing left: payback.

Missions There AND Here

2011-10-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

A good word here from Doug Wilson for would-be overseas missionaries, short-termers, and every Christian:

The principle is this: you export whatever it is you are manufacturing.
What you practice at home is the show you take on the road. What you grow in your fields is what you load on the trucks. Compassing sea and land doesn't generate a new message. The way you live when you get on the plane is going to be the single best indicator of how you live when you get off the plane. In short, don't expect geographical location to fix anything...
If the motive force for a church's evangelism is excitement over the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, then that evangelism will be in evidence both locally and in foreign missions. But if 98% of the evangelism done by a church is overseas, they are trying to export something they do not have.

The point here is that missions is not something we do "over there," but something we are all called to do wherever God has placed us. Churches must be on mission in their community. Businesspeople must be on mission in their business. Families must be on mission in their neighborhood. Then, if God calls you overseas, you will simply do there what you have already been doing here.

You can read the whole post here.

RT: Justin Taylor

Another Set of Cool Pics

2011-10-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

There is theology behind the beauty we see, which is why I like to post photos and pictures that float around the web. Viewing beautiful works of art, like the photos referenced here, remind us that all people are created in the image of God and therefore have the capacity for creating beauty (Gen 1:26-27). We also recognize that these works of art ultimately glorify the Creator of all things from whose image our creativity flows. So, take a minute to remind yourself of these truths as you worship the Creator by checking out these pics.

For his series “Pencil vs. Camera”, Belgian artist Ben Heine created these unique works
of art by combining colorful photos with detailed pencil drawings. See them all here.

Who New Taxidermy Could Be So Much Fun?

2011-09-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

I think the more you watch this the funnier it gets.

HT: Kevin DeYoung

Help for Busy Moms on Balancing Life

2011-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Grace Driscoll, the wife of Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll, has begun to blog at their new site pastormark.tv. While I'm not a mother, I know this pos t by her will be very encouraging to busy moms. She begins:

While I'm responding to these questions about “balance” in the home, I have stacks of paperwork on my desk, a “to-do” list a mile long, kids coming home from school soon, have realized I forgot to eat breakfast, and I’m wrapped up in a Wonder Woman blanket of all things.
A scenario like this is all too common for busy moms with any number of young kids. One of the hardest things for me is to keep perspective of who I am serving, instead of all the tasks that are flooding over me. Husbands need encouragement and affection, newborns take every moment to care for since they can’t do anything alone (even sleep sometimes), toddlers are constantly moving and asking questions, young kids need help with school homework and projects, and teens need emotional time and a listening ear. These are all a natural part of kids growing up and being in relationship with people we love.

If I list all the things and people I'm called to care for, it seems impossible, and it is…at least to do so perfectly, every moment. I wish I could give you a 10-step process to the smoothest running home, but I can’t. We're all different women, with different husbands and children. But thankfully, we all have the same God to help us.

You can read the rest of the post here.

I also found this quote encouraging (you know, for moms and dads):

“The kids can be running like a bunch of hooligans through a house that appears to be at the bottom of a toaster, and yet, if organization and order can still be found in my attitude, we are doing well. But if my attitude falters, even in the midst of external order, so does everything else” (Loving the Little Years, Rachel Jankovic).

Fix Your Eyes

2011-09-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a favorite saying or collection of quotes they love to repeat. Here is my favorite quote of all time. It's from missionary martyr Jim Elliot in a letter to his sister:

Fix your eyes on the rising morning Star. Don't be disappointed at anything or over-elated either. Live every day as if the Son of Man were at the door and gear your thinking to the fleeting moment. Just how can it be redeemed? Walk as if the next step would carry you across the threshold of heaven. Pray. That saint who advances on his knees never retreats.

Excerpt from Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot.

Finishing... A New Blog

2011-09-23T04:00:00.001-07:00

I'm happy to see that Mark Brown, co-director of Cru at Miami University has started blogging. God has given Mark a lot of wisdom in the areas of discipleship, mentoring, evangelism, and leadership, so I'm excited to see him use this platform to share some insight with the rest of us. His heart in this blog is to help others finish well. Check out his first post here:

So, I am very new to the entire blogging deal. But I thought I would post some introductory comments of what I want to accomplish through this blog. First, I never really thought I had much to say that anyone would ever want to read. (This still could very well be true.) But as I have reflected on this, I am convinced that I ma not be the most profound thinker, but I have some thoughts that could help anyone who desires to finish life well. Secondly, this blog will help me process my own journey in finishing well. Ever since I can remember, I have desired to finish well. Yet, so many people I have known never make it. Ultimately, I believe it is the grace of God that will sustain me and allow me to finish well. I hope to point you to resources that will help you on this journey. Lastly, the statistics are startling. Steve Farrar in his book, Finishing Strong says that " One out of ten men finish strong." It doesn't take long to look around and see this reality for yourself.

Parenting and Second-Hand Stress

2011-09-21T04:00:00.001-07:00

Here are some helpful thoughts on parenting from Kevin DeYoung that I found both encouraging (because I was reminded I'm not the only one who gets impatient with my children) and challenging (because I need Christ's help to become less impatient with my children). DeYoung writes:

If I had to name a besetting sin right now it would be impatience, especially with my kids. I don’t think this is a constant problem, but it is recurring. I love my kids dearly and play with them and do special things with them and try to teach them the Bible and discipline them when they disobey. But I can also be impatient. And that’s a sin. I needlessly exasperate them at times. And that’s a sin too.
So I took note of these paragraphs from Bryan Caplan who has written a sometimes-right-on, sometimes-head-scratching, non-Christian, pro-big family book on parenting:

Most parents worry about the dangers of secondhand smoke. But few consider the dangers of secondhand stress. If you make yourself miserable to do a special favor for your child, he might enjoy it. But if he senses your negative feelings, he might come to share them.

Read the rest here.

Photos From Two Perspectives

2011-09-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

An impressive day-night photo here. For more click here.

(Photo: Navinder Singh Dhaliwal / Gizmodo.com)

David & Goliath: The True Story

2011-09-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

My brother linked to this image on his blog a while back, but I just had to wait until I spoke on David & Goliath at OBF to post it.

Image: Ben Chen

From the Inside Out

2011-09-17T04:00:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday I spoke from 1 Samuel 16 on the anointing of David. The key verse, and a very familiar one, is verse 7 where God says to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

Man, how we need this! God looks at us from the inside out. How freeing this is! At best externals are neutral to God. Our body shape, hair color, grades, athletic ability, accent, and job simply do not matter in God's analysis of us. They're not right or wrong, good or bad, they are simply neutral. I don't know about you, but I need this freedom. There are so many externals I can't control and really get tired of trying to perfect. God says, "No problem. Stop worrying about stuff I care little about."

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 is so helpful for this:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (ESV)

Jesus becomes to us everything we need in order to have a relationship with God and to be found beautiful and worthy by him. David understood this. Sure, Jesus had not yet been revealed to him, but David understood that the one thing that mattered most was developing himself from the inside out. This is why he was chosen by God to be the future king of Israel. Above all else, David was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

A Simple Explanation of Titus 2:11-14

2011-09-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Understanding what God has done for us in the past and will do for us in the future enables us to live rightly in the present.

Titus 2:11-14 (ESV)
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people (PAST),

training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the present age (PRESENT),

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God
and Savior Jesus Christ (FUTURE),

who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify
for himself a people (PAST)

for his own possession (FUTURE)

who are zealous for good works (PRESENT).

Directionally Challenged?

2011-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

"We’ll always be directionally challenged when we’re not looking directly at Christ."

- Ronnie Martin (from this article on worship leaders)

A Song for Abiding in Christ

2011-09-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

As a follow-up to the last three posts, here is a great song for moving our hearts toward abiding in Christ. It's from Jeremy Riddle's album Prepare the Way.

Thoughts on Abiding in Christ, Part 3

2011-09-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

As a final post on abiding in Christ, consider this thought (I'm not sure if Mark said something like this last Sunday or if his teaching just made me think of this, but we'll give him the credit anyway):

Our joy is way to circumstantial. We're either looking to get done with something (a test, a class, an event, a meeting, a mood, a health issue) so that we can be happy. Or we're looking forward to something (a vacation, a meal, a night out, a quiet hour, a relief from pain) to make us happy. But few of us are actually filled with joy in our present circumstances. We're always looking to get past this or get onto that, instead of realizing and living in the joy of Christ right now. Could this be due to the fact that we are not abiding in Christ moment by moment?

Oh, how we need to abide in Christ so that we will have his joy fill our hearts in all circumstances! There is no other way we can follow the commands to "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. "(1 Thess 5:16-18, ESV).

Thoughts on Abiding in Christ, Part 2

2011-09-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

As a second installment in this short series of posts, consider this thought from Mark Brown's message last Sunday:

There is a monologue (one person speaking). And there is a dialogue (two people conversing). What if we started thinking in terms on a trialogue? That as I talk with someone, I am also praying that God would give me wisdom, patience, grace, whatever is needed in the moment. So instead of our conversations simply being horizontal, they are also vertical as we ask God to guide us. This is a great way to abide in Christ.

Of course, we don't want to space out for a couple minutes staring blankly into space, but this is a great way to abide in Christ and seek his help so that we can speak what is "good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." (Eph. 4:29, ESV)

Thoughts on Abiding in Christ, Part 1

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, OBF was privileged to have Mark Brown speak during our morning services. Mark co-directs Cru here at Miami University. Unfortunately we had some sound difficulties and did not get a good recording to post on our website. But Mark had some great thoughts from John 15 that are worth reflecting on. In the next three posts, I'll share some of these thoughts along with additional commentary.

We should focus more on God than on godliness.
We should focus more on abiding in God than on producing fruit.
Fruit doesn't come by focusing on producing fruit, but by abiding in the vine.

These three statements are helpful for us to remember in a performance culture where our self-worth is so often determined by what we do and produce. While we should be very interested in producing fruit as Christians, we can be so focused on production that we forget to simply abide in Christ. After all, only He can produce fruit. Whether this fruit is ""the fruit of the Spirit" ala Galatians 5 or people being saved, the Spirit is the one who brings it about. It does not come about by our effort alone, but by abiding in Christ. We need relationship over results.

Consider 4 results of living this way. First, I stop judging my value based on the production of "fruit." Second, God gets the glory for the fruit that is produced. Third, true holiness and joy comes into my life; true fruit is produced (whereas apart from Christ, are we producing true fruit anyway?). Fourth, I can stop worrying about results as I rest in God's relationship with me.

In actuality, the best way to produce fruit is to focus on a daily, abiding relationship with Christ. In this relationship, He will empower us to share the Gospel and grow in patience, love, joy, peace...and more. So let's abide.

Advice on Writing (and Speaking) from C.S. Lewis

2011-09-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

For some great advice on writing, check out these thoughts from C.S. Lewis. From a letter to an American girl named Joan with advice on writing:

Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.
Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.
Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”
In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please, will you do my job for me.”
Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

00000(C.S. Lewis, Letters to Children, p. 64.)

Each of these points are also great advice for preaching and teaching (or even speech class). I especially appreciate points 4 & 5. Help people feel instead of telling them what to feel. And reserve big words for big truths and big occasions. Not everything is "awesome." I'd even suggest that we reserve some big words for God alone - I mean, is there is anything truly awesome in comparison to God?

For more on writing, check out these two posts from Justin Taylor & Kevin DeYoung.

HT: Justin Taylor

Some Pretty Cool Photos

2011-09-04T01:46:00.000-07:00

I enjoy checking out the weekly images posted by Yahoo! It's a good dose of "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:1). Here are some of my favorites from the past couple weeks. You can view them all at Yahoo !

(Photo: Caters News)

(Photo: REUTERS/Enrique Calvo)

(Photo: Esther Havens)

Meet Piper Grace

2011-09-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun and exciting 5 months knowing what our fourth child would be while the rest of the family didn't know. It's also been a little hard not being able to tell anyone. But yesterday at 4:58pm Piper Grace entered the world and ended the silence. She's our fourth child and fourth girl. Bring on the jokes about weddings and hormones...

These girls are precious, and we're so thankful to be able to raise them. We pray that they will live for Jesus and love others.

Pride Comes Before a Fall

2011-09-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

A brief, funny reminder:

HT: Justin Taylor

Lead Me

2011-08-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

Love this song and video from Sanctus Real. It's great truth that men need to hear. It's from the album Pieces of a Real Heart.

HT: Justin Taylor

The Freshman 15

2011-08-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is good advice for first year students and upperclassman. It comes from Pastor Jeff Brewer,

Dining hall food gets a bad rap, but incoming college freshmen don’t seem to have a problem packing on the infamous “freshman 15.” Honoring that tradition, here are 15 ways incoming freshmen (or upperclassmen for that matter) can seek to glorify God as they head off to college this month.

1. There is no greater way you can spend your time, energy, and effort than pursuing Christ with all your heart. Education matters. That’s why you’re going to college. But pursuing Christ matters more. Remember, you can make only one thing your central aim in life. Make it the right thing. Ask God for much grace to keep him at the center.

2. Join a church. Find one that preaches the Word, loves worshiping God as a body, and seeks to make Christ known. Once you find it, join it and start building relationships.

3. Make a plan for your first semester about how you are going to be in the Word. If you use a Bible reading plan, put it in your schedule now. If you don’t currently have a plan for reading the Word, make one before you leave.

4. As now so then. Don’t spend your college career talking about how you will follow Christ in the future. Follow him now the way you want to follow him then.

5. Take advantage of the unique opportunity to get to know a wide variety of people from different backgrounds who have all been sovereignly put in the same dorm. Ask people to tell you their story. Sit, listen, and ask follow-up questions. Tell them you like to pray for people you’ve met and ask how you can pray for them.

6. Seek to radically love others as Christ did. Avoid gossips and gossiping. It’s gross. Loving like Christ isn’t.

7. Remember, following passionately after Christ is not going to be the norm (yes, sadly even at Christian colleges this can be true). Look to God’s Word for the standard of what an authentic follower of Christ looks like and seek others who seek him in the same way.

8. Look for opportunities to serve. Serve broadly, serve lovingly, serve faithfully, and serve diligently. Look for where there is a need and dive in.

9. Remember that others are going through the same changes and new experiences. Look for opportunities to speak truth about the gospel to people who want a fresh start in college. Show them the hope in the gospel and forgiveness available to them.

10. Attend every opportunity for biblical teaching that you can. Go to a campus ministry’s weekly meeting and invite someone from your dorm to go with you.

11. Work hard. Remember the privilege that you are afforded and respond appropriately. Fight against laziness by remembering you are seeking to please Christ, not your professor (or mom or dad).

12. When you find someone you are interested in dating, make sure that their one aim in life is the same as yours (see #1 above.)

13. Take advantage of the variety of classes and opportunities that will be available to you only in college. Look for at least one class to take for the sheer love of learning about a subject you have never studied before (or may never have the time to study again).

14. Make a prayer list and pray for the people on it. Start with your roommate and the guys down the hall who don’t give a rip about Christ.

15. Pursue God joyfully. Is there anything greater than knowing Christ? Make the joy of pursuing Christ a hallmark of your life.

Posted on The Gospel Coalition.

Unless the Lord Builds the House...

2011-08-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

Details. While I enjoy working on some details and seeing a plan come together, details can make me forget the most important thing: that I need God. Organization and planning can do this to you. They get you so into the moment and often distract us from the real focus of what we're doing.

Over the past couple weeks as our church staff has been working at a frantic pace getting ready for the Fall and launching a new service, and my wife has been organizing everything in site getting ready for a new baby, it's been easy for me to get lost in details. But the Lord keeps bringing one important verse to mind, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain" (Ps. 127:1, ESV).

The same thing that's true for houses is true for churches and families and individuals. We need the Lord to guide and empower everything we do. Or better, we need to be doing everything the Lord has for us to do, depending completely on him.

I'm not sure of a better way to make sure the Lord is the one building things in my life other than to read His Word and pray. Actually, I don't think it's possible apart from prayer. Not that it has to be elaborate or as consistent as we want, but there must be a regular looking to God and asking for His help.

When I get busy with details I tend to just go. And then I look back thinking, "Is that what God wanted me to do?" Or, "Uh-oh, I didn't even ask God for direction." That's not a good place to be! Of course, He is gracious, but I know the right way to do things is to let Him lead and to look to Him all the time for help.

Have you been looking to Him for help? Seeking His guidance? Are the things you are so busy doing really what He wants you to do? Is He building your "house"?

Back to School

2011-08-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

I've taken a while off from the blog while getting ready for the Fall. This is the busiest time of year for me and our church, and this year we decided to have a baby. Yes, both my wife & I and the church decided to have a baby...of sorts.

Michelle (my wife) is due next week with our fourth child. Our church is "due" next Sunday as we launch a new campus. These are both extremely exciting opportunities. All at the same time. And I have no idea how it's all going to work out. What I do know is that God is in control, and we're seeking to trust him.

As you think about the next couple weeks would you pray for God to do "far more abundantly than all that we ask or think"? I know this is a busy time for everyone, so we need God's guidance and grace to keep our eyes fixed on him and to take advantage of the opportunities he has given.

If you're in Oxford, come be a part of what God is doing with Oxford Bible Fellowship. We gather together on Sundays this Fall, and in homes through our Community Groups. If you are a student at Miami check out the campus ministries. For the Sunday schedule see here. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks for praying, and I hope to see you soon.

The Big Story: Jonah

2011-07-25T15:53:00.001-07:00

Our final message in The Big Story series. Pastor Chris Carr, my brother, leads us through the story of Jonah and the people of Ninevah to show God's amazing grace.

Characters and Christ, Jonah from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

The Big Story: Jonathan

2011-07-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

The third message in our teaching series The Big Story: Characters & Christ. This message is given by Pastor Chad Moore. Chad is a friend and colleague in Oxford, leading The Bridge Church. In this message, Chad looks at Jonathan and his faith in God which caused him to step up to the battle against terrible odds.

Characters and Christ, Jonathan from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

A Few Songs I've Been Enjoying

2011-07-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

Got a variety of styles here. The first one we sang on Sunday at OBF during corporate worship, the second is an updated version of a great hymn, and we have to have a little Christian Hip Hop in there for the third. You may not be a big Hip Hop fan, but just listen to the lyrics... "You said you came for the lame / I'm the lamest / I broke my life but you said you'll replace it / I'll take it."

The Big Story: Characters & Christ

2011-07-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of messages from our current teaching series on lesser known Old Testament characters. Pastor Derek Whalen looks at Boaz, while one of our elders, Dick Pettitt, discusses Rahab.

Characters and Christ, Boaz from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

Characters and Christ, Rahab from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

My Top 10 Websites

2011-07-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be fun to think about the top websites I visit and see where you surf too. Here are my top 10 (no order intended here).

My Yahoo! (Yahoo personalized with news, sports, email, local weather, and more. This is my homepage. )
Amazon (There almost every day and usually multiple times a day)
Justin Talyor's Blog (My favorite Christian blog)
Facebook (Using this less and less, but still helpful for connecting with people)
Twitter (#nocomment)
CBS Sports (Usually there a couple times a day at least, and I have to check the White Sox and Bulls there since I don't get them on TV)
Biblegateway (Lots of time here on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays as I study)
The Resurgence (Another great blog for life and ministry)
CNN & Time (I don't go to Fox News much because of the racy photos they always have at the bottom, and I'm tired of the supposed "Conservative News Network")
Blogger, Vimeo, Oxford Bible Fellowship (I put these three together because they all have to do with updating this blog)

That's my top ten. What are your top websites?

Matt Chandler on "Youth"

2011-07-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

I've recommended this message before, but I want to highlight a gripping, Spirit-led teacher in Matt Chandler. One of the great advantages of our technological age is the opportunity to listen to incredible teaching from godly men ministering anywhere in the world. I encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity, and here is one chance to do that:

Youth - Matt Chandler - TGC 2011 from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

For more teaching from Matt Chandler see Monergism's Website.

Speak With Conviction?

2011-07-07T05:00:00.001-07:00

Funny (and pointed) stuff:

HT: The Resurgence via Timmy Brister

The Big Story, Part 3 & 4

2011-07-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

Here are the final two messages in The Big Story series. After preaching the series, I felt like Part 3 was the best of the bunch. In Part 3 we looked at the role of "covenant" in the Big Story, and in Part 4 we studied Abraham to show how one part of the OT story reveals the character of God, his plan of salvation, and points to Christ.

The Big Story, Part 3 from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

The Big Story, Part 4 from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

Evangelicals and the Gay Moral Revolution

2011-07-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

Al Mohler recently wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal on homosexuality that I found helpfully balanced. While Mohler affirms the Scriptural teaching on homosexuality, he also offers a challenge to the evangelical church in how we deal with this issue:

In this most awkward cultural predicament, evangelicals must be excruciatingly clear that we do not speak about the sinfulness of homosexuality as if we have no sin. As a matter of fact, it is precisely because we have come to know ourselves as sinners and of our need for a savior that we have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Our greatest fear is not that homosexuality will be normalized and accepted, but that homosexuals will not come to know of their own need for Christ and the forgiveness of their sins.

This is not a concern that is easily expressed in sound bites. But it is what we truly believe.

It is now abundantly clear that evangelicals have failed in so many ways to meet this challenge. We have often spoken about homosexuality in ways that are crude and simplistic. We have failed to take account of how tenaciously sexuality comes to define us as human beings. We have failed to see the challenge of homosexuality as a Gospel issue. We are the ones, after all, who are supposed to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only remedy for sin, starting with our own.

We have demonstrated our own form of homophobia—not in the way that activists have used that word, but in the sense that we have been afraid to face this issue where it is most difficult . . . face to face.

My hope is that evangelicals are ready now to take on this challenge in a new and more faithful way. We really have no choice, for we are talking about our own brothers and sisters, our own friends and neighbors, or maybe the young person in the next pew.

There is no escaping the fact that we are living in the midst of a moral revolution. And yet, it is not the world around us that is being tested, so much as the believing church. We are about to find out just how much we believe the Gospel we so eagerly preach.

You can read the whole piece here.

HT: Justin Taylor

For a post on Christians struggling with same-sex attraction see here.

Porn Addiction in America

2011-07-02T05:00:00.001-07:00

This post is a bit more sensitive, so please use caution as you look at this information. It comes from Online Psychology Degree, and is one more wake-up call for us in regard to the incredible damage of pornography.

For help in dealing with sexual purity, I recommend Josh Harris' book Sex is Not the Problem, Lust Is. For help with sexual addiction see At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry. Or visit XXXChurch.com.

Via: Online Psychology Degree
HT: Ed Stetzer

The Big Story, Part 2

2011-06-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

The second part of our 4 week series on The Big Story. In this message we overview the entire Scriptures. Check out this handout that lays it all out.

The Big Story, Part 2 from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

The Enemy Is On The Attack

2011-06-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Spiritual warfare comes in many forms: false teaching, divisive spirits, deception, roadblocks to the Gospel, and yes even physical attack. I'm not prone to seeing every physical discomfort as a direct attack from the enemy, but there are times when it seems like the forces of evil are pouring it on. The last couple months have been like this in our family, our church staff, and our church. I can't remember another time when this many physical issues were taking place in the people around me.

We've had two different people from our church told they are "one in a million" for being so young and having serious health issues. Both are married. One was diagnosed with heart disease resulting in triple bypass surgery. One, in his 20's, was diagnosed with MS. Our church staff and their families have experienced thyroid problems, carpal tunnel, eye problems, spine issues needing surgery, viral infections, pregnancy difficulties, and cancer scares. Then others in the church are dealing with congestive heart failure, chemical imbalances, cancer, family deaths, polio, and all sorts of other surgeries and conditions.

I know many of these conditions are common, but in the past couple months most of our people have seen the onset or worsening of these conditions. We can also account for some of the more odd medical conditions from Huntington's disease to trigeminal neuralgia. Add to this a number of marriages on the brink of disaster, financial struggles, and the regular difficulties of life in a fallen world and you have an all out onslaught by the enemy.

Whether or not you are from our church, you've experienced times like this where life is pressing in upon you. Where "when it rains, it pours" seems more like "when it rains, it pours and floods and causes lighting damage and sweeps us away in a tornado."

So how should we process these things? One approach would be to simply see these circumstances from an earthly perspective. You know, these kind of things just happen. And then trudge along until things get better, if they ever do. Another approach is to recognize that there is whole lot more going on in this world than what we see with our eyes. This is why Paul says "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12, ESV).

Of course not every illness is from the Devil, but some are. And when illness and disease comes like a downpour to multiple Christians at the same time in the same place, I suspect that the Enemy is at work. We don't normally think this way, but we must. We must recognize that Satan prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Physical trials can weaken us, cause us to doubt God, cause laziness, distract us from prayer, or they can drive us to the only One who can deliver and strengthen us.

So what do we do? We go to the Word of God, which gives us clear direction for dealing with spiritual warfare. Maybe you could take some time to meditate and pray over these texts. Pray for wisdom in discerning where the enemy is attacking you. Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ that are under attack. Pray that we would all "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might" (Eph. 6:10, ESV).

Here's what God has to say about Spiritual Warfare:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (ESV)
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Ephesians 6:10-20 (ESV)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For two messages on Ephesians 6 see here and here . Some other posts on spiritual warfare see here and here.

Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing

2011-06-23T06:54:00.001-07:00

Kevin DeYoung on primary and secondary issues:

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the average reader of this blog is a fan of theology. Most of you are thoughtful, doctrinally attuned Christians. I also imagine a few of you might be a wee bit opinionated. It takes one to know one.
I don’t use “opinionated” as a bad word. We should be immovable on some matters, absolutely convinced of others, and it’s not bad to have strong informed opinions on all the rest. But let’s be honest: sometimes in conservative evangelical circles the intensity with which we hold to our convictions (let alone our opinions) is all out of whack.

See What I Mean

The Lord has been gracious over many years to preserve the unity at our church. So I’m not writing about the members of University Reformed Church. But I’ve seen and heard enough—from other church leaders and from church visitors who end up not staying with us—to know that some conservative Christians can make things that are secondary (or tertiary or whatever words come next for four and five) into things that are primary.

There are Christians who want homeschooling to be the top agenda for the church. Others insist that every church leader must embrace private Christian schools. I’ve met Christians whose number one passion seems to be age-integration in church ministries. Others are adamant that kids should be in all church services and aren’t allowed to draw pictures or look at books. For others, paedocommunion is a must. For some the issue is the Ten Commandments every Sunday or the presence of two services (morning and evening good; two in the morning bad). I’ve heard of other Christians getting up in arms about Christmas trees, the use or non-use of wine during communion, and whether infants should wear white garments or black when they are baptized. And too many have taken the regulative principle, which as a general principle is helpful and scriptural, and made the detailed application of this principle the end all and be all of church life.

Please hear me out. I like Christians who know what they believe and why they believe it (I’ve never been criticized for having too few convictions and opinions). So, I’m not saying the items above are unimportant issues (okay, a couple might be). The problem is not that we care about all sorts of issues or that we want to think carefully about every aspect of church ministry. The problem is we haven’t always thought carefully about how we express and hold to our careful thoughts.

And Here’s Why

First, we are not always gracious in the way we talk about secondary issues. Most Christians speak kindly and calmly about their convictions. But sadly it often feels like the less important the issue the more intensely someone will hold to it. We make up for the lack of gravity surrounding the issue by promoting that issue in the gravest possible terms. And even if we are right and someone else is dead wrong we should still correct our opponents with gentleness and grace (2 Tim. 2:25), not with hand grenades.

Second, some of us have never considered that certain issues in the Christian life belong in a Romans 14 category. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in polemics. I believe in dying on some hills. I believe in standing fast on doctrine, even on “non-salvation issues.” But on some matters we should say with Paul, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5). And sometimes we must ask, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother?” After all, “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (14:10-11). It’s okay on some matters (not all!) for Christians to agree to disagree (even if you know you’re right like Paul did!). It’s not a failure of theological nerve to recognize that some good believers we’ll make different decisions than other good believers. The mature Christian can hold strongly to his opinions without insisting strongly that all other Christians do the same.

A third problem is that some Christians inquire too early and too often about their particular hot-button issues. When a brother visiting the church for the first time asks where I stand on Rushdoony, I’m a little freaked out. It’s like taking a girl out on a first date and asking if her parents have digital cable. What?! Don’t you want to know a few other things first? In checking a church I hope you’d be interested to hear about the role of prayer, the importance of missions, the understanding of the gospel, the integrity of the leaders, their view of Scripture, and a dozen other things before launching into the rareified air of Rushdoony. Besides, I would also hope visitors, as a matter of courtesy, would not land at a church ready to insist on items 16-25 on their theological checklist.

Finally, we must be careful our passions are not out of proportion. There is no problem with Christians who feel strongly about schooling, the placement of the congregational prayer, or the frequency of communion. The problem is when our passion for these issues exceeds our passion for the gospel, for the cross, for the lost, for the afflicted. Not every issue matters as much as every other issue. Not every position deserves out fieriest passion. Save the big guns for the big ones. Get the heart pounding for the doctrine of the Trinity or penal substitution or God’s sovereignty. If your “thing” is Christmas trees or the kind of beverage in the communion cup, it’s time to get a better “thing.” The Christian life allows for lots of passion, discourse, and detailed application—as long as we don’t get everything out of whack.

This article first appeared in the June issue of Tabletalk.

HT: Justin Taylor

The Dalai Lama & Pizza

2011-06-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Fortunately no one tried this on the Dalai Lama when he came to Miami. Funny stuff.

HT: Denny Burk via Justin Taylor

I Am Second

2011-06-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

A while back someone let me know about this great website called I Am Second. It's filled with testimonies of all different types of people that have come to faith in Christ. The ministry describes itself as:

A movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others. Actors. Athletes. Musicians. Business leaders. Drug addicts. Your next-door neighbor. People like you. The authentic stories on iamsecond.com provide insight into dealing with typical struggles of everyday living. These are stories that give hope to the lonely and the hurting, help from destructive lifestyles, and inspiration to the unfulfilled. You’ll discover people who’ve tried to go it alone and have failed. Find the hope, peace, and fulfillment they found. Be Second.

You can check out the many video testimonies here. Below is the story of professional baseball player Josh Hamilton.

Transformational Church & Thoughts on Worship

2011-06-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

Early this year I enjoyed reading Transformational Church by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. It's a great book for assessing your church and moving to a missional mode of ministry. I may post some comments from other chapters, but here some helpful thoughts from their chapter on worship:

When people attend worship, are they simply observing a show or being transformed by God? (p. 154)
Reducing worship to a focus on style removes God as the reason for gathering. (p. 157)
Every generation dislikes the previous generation's music. And many in each generation also dislike the next generation's music. So there is a constant tension between three generations about their preferences between at least three kinds of music. We fight about musical style, yet God uses all kinds of music for His glory and honor. We are fighting over cultural forms when we should engage in biblical meanings. Can God use different forms of music? Yes. Remember, worship is an issue of the heart. And from the biblical record, we find no such thing as Christian music, only Christian lyrics. (p. 159)
No style of music is relevant to every culture in the world. Your current style may match your community, but that could change in five years. Will you be willing to change, or will you insist on imposing your style of music on the people in the community you seem committed to reach? (p. 161)

The last quote really has me thinking about whether or not the music we use at OBF is relevant to our culture. I think it is fairly relevant to our Mid-west, Christian culture, but is it relevant to our non-churched community? Of course relevance must be subservient to glorifying God with appropriate lyrics in worship, but there is still so much to be determined in terms of musical style. So, I'm just pondering, are we being relevant to our community with our music?

Vocation: Discerning Your Calling

2011-06-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

A helpful article here from Tim Keller, posted by the Resurgence, on the topic of vocation. There are many truths with which we need to have our minds continually renewed, and this is one of them: that vocation is holy calling from God whether I work full-time in the church or in the "secular world."

This post appeared on the Resurgence with permission from Redeemer City to City.

Stewardship is the cultivation of resources for God. The Bible tells us that one of the most important resources God has given us is our gifts, aptitudes, talents, and abilities. One of the sacraments of the medieval church was the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which divided the world into the “religious” and the “secular.” Those who went into full-time church ministry as priests, monks, or nuns were on a completely different spiritual footing from those who did not. One of the Protestant Reformation’s main planks was to overturn this view with the biblical teaching of the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9). Martin Luther insisted that all forms of work are God-honoring callings. To be a farmer, a craftsman, or an artist was just as much a vocation, a calling from God, as to be a preacher. Why?

All Forms of Work Are Participation in God's Work

God made the created world by his Spirit (Gen. 1:1-3) and continues to care for and sustain it by his Spirit (Ps. 104:30), watering and enriching it (Ps. 65:9–13) and feeding and meeting the needs of every living thing (Pss. 145:15–16 and 147:15–20). Indeed, the very purpose of redemption is to massively and finally restore the material creation (Rev. 21–22). God loves this created world so much that he sent his Son to redeem it. This world is a good in and of itself; it is not just a temporary theater for individual salvation.

If the Holy Spirit is not only a preacher that convicts people of sin and grace (John 16:8–11; 1 Thess. 1:5) but also a gardener, an artist, and an investor in creation who renews the material world, it cannot be more spiritual and God-honoring to be a preacher than to be a farmer, artist, or banker. To give just one example, evangelism is temporary work, while musicianship is permanent work. In the new heavens and new earth, preachers will be out of a job! Ultimately the purpose of evangelism is to bring about a world in which musicians will be able to do their work perfectly.

All Forms of Work Are Ways of Serving Others

Imagine how much time it would take to make a chair by yourself. You would not only have to cut and shape the wood yourself, but you’d also have to make the tools. To make the tools, you’d have to mine the ore to make metal. It would take months, perhaps years, to do all the things necessary to create the chair. When you share in the work of others, however, you can buy a chair with money equivalent to some number of hours’ worth of your time, not months or years of effort. Even if you want to make the chair yourself, you can buy tools made by someone else.

"In the new heavens and new earth, preachers will be out of a job!"

All work, according to God’s design, is service. Through work we enrich one another and become more and more interwoven. When Christians do “secular” work, they function as salt and light in the world (Matt. 5:13–16). Farming and business, childcare and law, medicine and music—all these forms of work cultivate, care for, and sustain the created world that God made and loves. We are all ministers (priests) to the human community on God’s behalf.

Work is taking the raw material of creation and developing it for the sake of others. Musicians take the raw material of sound and bring the meaning of art into our lives. Farmers take the raw material of soil and seed and bring food into our lives. This means we are God’s ministers in our work not only when we are witnessing or talking directly about Jesus, but when we are simply doing our work. A musician is serving God when she makes great music, not solely when she is singing about coming to Jesus.

Visit the Resurgence to download the full article.

RT: The Resurgence

Volcano!

2011-06-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

Some incredible pictures here from Chile's Puyehue Volcano thanks to Time Magazine:

Claudio Santana—AFP/Getty Images

Oh, What One Can Do With A Whiteboard & A Red Marker

2011-06-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

As a part of our current teaching series, The Big Story, I asked someone at the church to sketch the title on a whiteboard. This is what he came up with. Pretty amazing. So a special thanks to Jason Walters for many hours putting this together. I hope it helps us to stand in awe of our brilliant Creator and the gifts he has passed onto his people.

Click on the image for a better view.

The Big Story: Through the Bible in 4 Weeks

2011-06-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the first of a 4-part series overviewing the Scriptures, with special emphasis on the Old Testament. We decided to mix things up a bit since it's the summer and more of a teaching series. Check it out.

The Big Story from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

How to Honor Your Wife

2011-06-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

I hesitated to post this for a couple of reasons, which I will mention in a minute. But I decided to do it because of the insight and challenge it provides for men. There are a lot of helpful thoughts in this post from Mark Driscoll on how men need to honor their wives.

Two two reasons I hesitated are 1) because I'm not sure men really need to be called idiots and imbeciles repeatedly in order to be motivated to change, and 2) grace changes men, just like it changes everyone else. This piece is not infused with much grace and forgiveness which provide the power and motivation to change (in this case, changing to better honor your wife). The post will make you feel terrible about yourself, and sometimes that is needed, but we must always be directed to Jesus for forgiveness and help even as we repent.

So don't read this post as "I'm a terrible husband, and I just need to try harder." Don't make a mental check-list of all the things you are going to change about yourself by just gutting it out. Look to Christ first for help. Pray for his strength. Confess your failure to him. And rely upon him daily for grace to be a better husband.

With that focus, there is a lot to take away from Driscoll's challenge on honoring your wife:

Show Honor to Your Wife

Here’s what Peter has to say In 1 Peter 3:7:

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayer may not be hindered.

In the previous verse, 1 Peter 3:6, he said that women, when it comes to marriage are prone toward, what? Fear. Fear. And you know what? Those fears that the women have about marriage are legitimate.

Your Wife Trusts You with the Rest of Her Life

If a woman marries a man, she’s trusting him with the rest of her life that he won’t hit her, cheat on her, that he’ll work hard, that he’ll pay the bills, that he’ll love their children, that he’ll finish the race well, that he’ll walk with Jesus until the end, that if she gets sick, he’ll look after her, that if she is dying, he will be faithful to her. Gentlemen, it is a terrifying thing for a woman to trust a sinful man.

As a man, I don’t think I fully understood this until I had daughters, and now I have some understanding of that fear. The thought of taking one of my daughters and walking them down the aisle and handing them to a man and trusting that he will love them and protect them and serve them and care for them and look after them, it causes me fear and grave concern.

Don't Give Women a Reason to Fear

Women have legitimate fears, and what Peter is saying is that men need to be a particular way so those fears are alleviated. And I love his words, “in an understanding way, showing honor.” That’s a man.

Now as I say this, many of you guys will nod your head and say, “Yeah, that’s me.”

No, you’re not. So let me practically unpack this for you. Every man who reads this, even the best men among us, has areas of repentance and growth that are required. And so I want to talk to you men about some things that your woman will fear.

1. Honor Your Wife Maritally

What this means is, gentlemen, you’re not looking for a girlfriend if you are single. You’re not looking for a roommate. You’re not looking for a cohabitation partner. You’re looking for a wife. You must honor her while dating, that is when you're on your best behavior. I don’t care if you apologize, do you repent and lead? Being sorry is not enough; being Christ-like is what is necessary.

Read The Rest Here.

Spiritual Warfare

2011-06-02T08:16:00.001-07:00

Check out this message from last Sunday on Spiritual Warfare from Jared Pierson.

Spiritual Warfare from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

Quality Time or Quantity Time?

2011-05-27T09:46:00.001-07:00

A good word for parents and parents-to-be from Mark Driscoll.

HT: Justin Taylor via Z.

Grace!

2011-05-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

I've been a little slow on updating the blog lately, perhaps because the Bulls have been making my last post look a little premature. So how about a big dose of grace to get things going again. This is last Sunday's message from Titus 2:11-14. We had some technical difficulties which caused us to lose part of the end of the message, but as you can see it was already 40+ minutes at this point, and I made it through most of the text. I hope this message will encourage you greatly. I'm not sure why the Vimeo screen looks like a rainbow, but it's better than me in some weird pose.

Grace! from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

The Bulls Are For Real

2011-05-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

As a big Chicago sports fan, I just couldn't resist posting this after the Bulls dismantled Lebron, D-Wade, and the Heat on Sunday night. It just makes it all the more enjoyable that this happened to Wade.

This was was pretty good too.

Missional: Not The End

2011-05-13T09:42:00.001-07:00

Here is our final message from the Missional teaching series at OBF. This took place Sunday, May 1 which was also our last Sunday before Miami students headed out for the summer. It was so cool to acknowledge and pray for 89 graduates, a number of whom were with us for four years. May God use each of you to spread his glory among the nations!

Missional: Not the End from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

The Fear of the Lord

2011-05-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I was away celebrating ten years of marriage to my wonderful wife Michelle. I hope to put some pictures up of the sunset at sea, dolphins jumping, and our swimming with sting rays. It was a great time to get away, worship God in creation, and celebrate his faithfulness to us for the past 10 years. Since we were away, I asked Mark Brown, Director of Campus Crusade at Miami University, to speak on Sunday. Check out his message below:

The Fear of the Lord from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

Some Encouragment for Parents

2011-05-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Parents can use all the encouragement they can get. I found the following post by Kevin DeYoung especially helpful since I am a parent that never quite seems to have it all down. Some days as a parent seem great, but most days feel like I have so much more to learn.

Kevin's post reminds me of something Matt Chandler said at The Gospel Coalition Conference this year. This isn't word for word, but it went something like this, It's an amazing thing if we can finish our family devotions with our young children without a lesson on the wrath of God. Michelle and I laughed a knowing and encouraging laugh at that.

Here's what Kevin has to say:

Does it seem like parenting has gotten more complicated? I mean, as far as I can tell, back in the day parents basically tried to feed their kids, clothe them, and keep them away from explosives. Now our kids have to sleep on their backs (no wait, their tummies; no never mind, their backs), while listening to Baby Mozart surrounded by scenes of Starry, Starry Night. They have to be in piano lessons before they are five and can’t leave the car seat until their about five foot six.

It’s all so involved. There are so many rules and expectations. Kids can’t even eat sugar anymore. My parents were a solid as rock but we still had a cupboard populated with cereal royalty like Captain Crunch and Count Chocula. In our house the pebbles were fruity and the charms were lucky. The breakfast bowl was a place for marshmallows, not dried camping fruit. Our milk was 2%. And sometimes, if we needed to take the edge off a rough morning, we’d tempt fate and chug a little Vitamin D.

Trial by Error

I don’t consider myself a particularly good parent. I was asked to speak a few years ago at some church’s conference. They wanted me to talk about parenting. I said I didn’t have much to say so they should ask someone else (which they did). My kids are probably not as crazy as they seem to me (at least that’s what I keep telling myself anyway), but if I ever write a book on parenting I’m going to call it The Inmates Are Running the Asylum.
There are already scores of books on parenting, many of them quite good. I’ve read several of them and have learned much. I really do believe in gospel-powered parenting and shepherding my child’s heart. I want conversations like this:

How to Find a Good Church

2011-04-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

Living in a university town means living in a transient community. One of the bitter-sweet realities we face each year comes at the end of the school year as many students and university people head on to a new community and new opportunities. My hope is that Oxford Bible Fellowship has helped these individuals love the church as Christ loves the church, and prepared them to find a good church as they move on.

For some biblical help on finding the right church, check out my message What the Church Should Be. The gist of the message is to look for a church that is a teaching church, a relational church, and a missional church.

In addition, here are some practical suggestions:

Visit the church website before attending. Spend some time googling for churches and use the church-finder sites listed below. You can find out a lot about what a church values and emphasizes. If they don't have a website they may not be very relevant, and if they don't talk about Jesus and the Word they probably aren't worth your time.
Contact a staff member to ask some questions. You can do this through e-mail, phone, or by setting up a meeting. A few simple questions will give you a good sense of where the church is at.
Be patient as you look for a church. If you have been a part of a great church community with great teaching realize your expectations are high, and they should be. But you may not find the exact same fit. Don't compromise on your church choice, but recognize that everything may not be perfect. Focus on the most important things - the teaching, relationships, and being on mission with Jesus.
Pray. If you're seeking to walk with Christ, He has a place for you to be engaged. Or maybe He wants you to help plant a new work in your new community. Either way, seeking him in prayer will make things clear.

Here are some great websites for finding a solid church. I don't personally know all of these churches, but they're a great place to start.

Why the Resurrection Matters

2011-04-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend remembering the death of our Savior and His glorious resurrection. Here is Sunday's message where we focus on 4 reasons why the resurrection matters (and 4 reasons for joy!).

Resurrection Sunday from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

Gospeltality

2011-04-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

My brother, Chris, relates a great story and truth from his son, Ty:

Sometimes my kids amaze me. This seems to particularly occur with my youngest, seven year-old Ty. Most of his time is spent messing around and trying (often successfully) to make us laugh. However, every once in a while he also shows an uncanny intelligence and even spiritual insight. This afternoon we had one of those moments.

As his mother related how Ty was friendly with a new child in his class at church this morning, and that this was a great example of hospitality, he simply replied that it was 'gospeltality.'

Now, I have to admit that I don't think he really knows what he is talking about, but even if he does just a little bit, I am amazed at his insight. Whether he realizes it or not, he's right: when we show hospitality to others, we are simply reflecting how God has been hospitable to us.

Hospitality is being friendly and generous to strangers. Through the cross, God has generously offered us his friendship (John 15:14; James 2:23). Even when we hated and reviled Him, he showed his love by sending his Son to die for us (Romans 5:8).

Therefore, as those who have received the ultimate act of hospitality, we are called to show hospitality to others (Romans 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9). When we do, we practice 'gospeltality' - giving a little picture of God's hospitality towards us.

Check out Chris' Blog.

The Power of the Cross

2011-04-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of Keith and Kristyn Getty, you have to check out their music. The Gettys are modern day hymn writers, and you've probably sung their most famous song In Christ Alone. But this is just one of their many truth-filled, Christ-centered lyrics.

My favorite song from the Gettys is perfect for this weekend in which we remember the death of our Savior. It's called The Power of the Cross.

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Visit the Getty's website here.

It's Friday, But...

2011-04-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

You've heard it before, but it's just so good. S.M. Lockridge's sermon combined with footage from The Passion of the Christ.

HT: Justin Taylor

The Gospel & Social Justice

2011-04-20T13:45:00.001-07:00

Sunday's message from Dr. Mike Wittmer on the Gospel and Social Justice:

The Gospel and Social Justice from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

About Dr. Wittmer
Mike is Professor of Systematic Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is the author of Heaven is a Place on Earth, Don't Stop Believing, and the soon to be released, Christ Alone: An Evangelical Response to Rob Bell's Love Wins. Mike lives in Grand Rapids with his wife and three children. You can find Mike's blog at mikewittmer.wordpress.com.

God: Abounding in Love, Punishing the Guilty

2011-04-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Here's another session from The Gospel Coalition Conference on a response to Rob Bell's new book Love Wins. From TGC's blog:

Prompted by recent events that have cast doubt on evangelical teaching about the love of God, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, and judgment for sin, Don Carson delivered a special address, "God: Abounding in Love: Punishing the Guilty," at The Gospel Coalition's 2011 national conference in Chicago. You can now download audio from this talk.

After Carson finished, he was joined for a panel discussion moderated by Kevin DeYoung that also included Tim Keller, Stephen Um, and Crawford Loritts.

You can also read Jonathan Parnell's recap at the Desiring God blog.

The Gospel Coalition

2011-04-14T06:09:00.001-07:00

This week I'm at The Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago along with 6,000 other pastors and leaders that are seeking to be energized by the Gospel and Jesus Christ. The theme is "Preaching Christ from the Old Testament."

You can listen to all the messages here. I recommend the talks from Tim Keller and Matt Chandler.

If you haven't been on the website for TGC, check it out here. There are tons of free print, audio, and video resources along with a number of helpful blogs from people like Justin Taylor and Kevin DeYoung.

Jesus' Heart for the Needy

2011-04-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday's message from OBF.

Jesus' Heart for the Needy from Oxford Bible Fellowship on Vimeo.

G.O.S.P.E.L.

2011-04-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Gospel in 5 minutes. We need this.

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

HT: Matthew Robbins