Tidbits of the week 1

Here are some 'tidbits' from Sermons I have been listening to.

"Devious people don't lie, it's too risky. They deceive with the truth.."

"..In the atmosphere in which we live, this is incredibly prevalent in our day. Some people know they are doing it and others are so conformed to the spirit of the age, they don't even know they are doing it. They don't even know there is such a thing as use of language that has integrity. That's the age we live in.."

"..Language is a game by which we conceal what we don't want known, and reveal what we want known, even if it's false. And we are good at it."

This is from his sermon The Tragic cost of her Cavernous Thirst preached by John Piper this past weekend, and it was once again an illustration founded in the story of the woman at the well. He raises the issue of truth by reflecting on the woman's response to Jesus telling her to get her husband. and the above comments were the crux of his reflections.

Secondly..

"We pray and pray and pray for our city, and we believe that as we pray, though God may not answer quickly, he does answer. That's why I think prayer is so hard, because.. so many times it's hard to see a tangible result is it not, and so it's easier to just go do it yourself, 'cause then you can go 'look what I did'. But if it's based on you, I have to wonder how long it'll really last."

This is from The Village Church, for those who know Matt Chandler, his church. This sermon was by Beau Hughes, entitled Loving Our Neighbours. It convicted me of my attitude toward prayer, and my person struggle of faith for God to provide and to act. And in the greater context of the sermon, convicted me of my lack of prayer in my personal evangelism and 'loving of my neighbour'.

Just some awesome stuff.

Desiring God part 1

well really it is part two. but whatever.

So, reading Desiring God. So far, so good.

The book really lays itself out in a way I'd describe as a Systematic Theology of Worship. It begins, rightly I believe, making the premise that God is the object of our worship, and glorification of Him is our chief end. It then sets about showing the implications of this in our lives, moving from topic to topic, from Worship through Love and Scripture and Prayer, to chapters on Money, Marriage and Suffering. I'm into chapter 3 at the moment.

Out of the preface and introductions and the 3 chapters I've read so far, two chapters have really struck me. The one I previously posted about which was chapter 1 - The Happiness of God, and chapter 3, that is the chapter on Worship. Piper takes the passage of the woman at the well in John 4 to describe worship in spirit and in truth, worship of the heart and of the head. I won't summarise him here.

So far, I'm enjoying reading. It's liberating in a way, being given permission to enjoy God.

I'll keep you posted. The next chapter is entitled: Love - The Labor of Christian Hedonism.

I must say, I really don't dig that term.

The Sola Panel reviews "Why Johnny can't preach" here, and as an introduction they summarise the first chapter of the book. All in all, sounds an interesting read, but a particular part stuck out at me. I quote Sola Panel:

"So what's wrong with the culture? In a word, society has become ‘aliterate’. That is, people are able to read, but choose not to.

The result of this is that people are not in the habit of reading texts, constructing written arguments, or composing prose with clarity and artfulness. So when a culturally shaped aliterate candidate arrives at seminary to be taught theology, Greek and Biblical studies, he needs to be taught how to read and write as well, for being able to preach in a careful and nourishing way requires an appreciation of literature, argument, style, composition and delivery—all characteristics that fall by the wayside in an aliterate society."

Incidentally, that whole second paragraph is a single sentence - but I digress.

'Aliterate'; I'd heard the word before, but hadn't done enough reading to know what it meant, until now.

And I recognise in myself, and dislike the fact that I have a reduced capacity to be able to engage with literary styles and writing. So I ask the blogsphere - what are some ways to avoid becoming 'aliterate'?

A low view of God's sovereignty

My view of God's sovereignty, all in all has been low - and I've questioned his sovereignty along with something that Piper raises in Desiring God, that is, the eternal happiness of God, and I've feared for my own existance. Will at some point God get bored and destroy all he has created to start over again?

My fears are completely unfounded - the Bible paints God so differently. My fear is not stemming from any real notion of the instability of God - but rather my ignorance and distrust of scripture.

I wonder how often this happens to other people?

Reading

I've been doing some reading lately - a bit intermittent, but I'm getting better at it.

I finished the first book a few weeks back, Don Carson's The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God - I'll post some reflections on that eventually, I've lent it out to nearly everyone I know along with my notes in it! I've just started reading Desiring God by John Piper, and will be posting about that the next few weeks and next I'm getting into The Sovereignty of God by A. W. Pink. So I'll try and keep you posted.. at least as intermittently as my reading is.

Back in the blog seat..

I'm back.