http://www.stjohnsvancouver.org/online-sermons/learners-exchange.php
Haiti: Christianity, Voodoo, and Children with Disabilities
Dr. David Carter - Mar 15, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
80's gone crazy
recently "purchased" bunch of 80's music:
Wanted Man, by Ratt Classic big hair rock, this song was the "theme" of my college fraternity
Boston
Journey
Queen
that was some seriously good music
Wanted Man, by Ratt Classic big hair rock, this song was the "theme" of my college fraternity
Boston
Journey
Queen
that was some seriously good music
Thursday, May 14, 2009
May 14
Numbers 23; Psalms 64 — 65; Isaiah 13; 1 Peter 1
THE SECOND MAJOR SECTION OF Isaiah, chapters 13 — 27, focuses on the nations. This word of the Lord through Isaiah is not actually delivered to the nations; it is pronounced against the nations but in the ears of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. In a general sense the message is similar to that in the first part of Isaiah (chaps. 1 — 12): salvation belongs only to the Lord, so he alone is the One to be trusted. The denunciation of the nations therefore includes comforting asides to Judah (e.g., 14:1 - 2) and ends with the deliverance of the people of God (chaps. 26 — 27).
Isaiah 13 is an oracle against Babylon. Because in Isaiah’s time the primary military threat was Assyria and not Babylon, many critics think that this chapter is a later interpolation, written a century and a half later (about 550 B. C.) when Babylon had not only risen to supremacy but was already in decline, threatened by the rising Medo - Persian Empire (see 13:17). But that view is too skeptical.
The introduction to the oracle unambiguously affirms that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw this vision (13:1). Moreover, Isaiah 39 shows that even in Isaiah’s day, though Babylon was not an immediate threat like Assyria, it was already a rising power. Perhaps more important yet, Babylon’s history went back all the way to the Tower of Babel (Gen. 10:9 - 10; 11:1 - 9) and thus could serve as a symbol of all nations that defy the God of Israel — a symbolism that persists even in the New Testament (e.g., Rev. 17 — 18), long after historic Babylon is in eclipse. The ultimate collapse of “Babylon” takes place when “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth,” who is “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus” (Rev. 17:5 - 6), is obliterated in the triumphant dawning of the reign of the Lord God Almighty (Rev. 19:6), the rule of him who is called &ldquo ;Faithful and True” and whose name is “the Word of God” (Rev. 19:11, 13).
Note three features of this oracle. (a) Once again the “day of the LORD” (Isa. 13:6) is bound up not only with the Lord’s coming, but with his coming in judgment. For those opposed to the living God, it is “a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger” (13:9). (b) Typical of Hebrew poetry, this day is associated with celestial signs; it is as if all nature has to join in with these events, for their significance is no less than cosmic (13:10; cf. Acts 2:20). (c) The heart of the sin that must be overthrown is arrogance (13:11, 19).
Copyright 2008 D.A. Carson
Numbers 23; Psalms 64 — 65; Isaiah 13; 1 Peter 1
THE SECOND MAJOR SECTION OF Isaiah, chapters 13 — 27, focuses on the nations. This word of the Lord through Isaiah is not actually delivered to the nations; it is pronounced against the nations but in the ears of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. In a general sense the message is similar to that in the first part of Isaiah (chaps. 1 — 12): salvation belongs only to the Lord, so he alone is the One to be trusted. The denunciation of the nations therefore includes comforting asides to Judah (e.g., 14:1 - 2) and ends with the deliverance of the people of God (chaps. 26 — 27).
Isaiah 13 is an oracle against Babylon. Because in Isaiah’s time the primary military threat was Assyria and not Babylon, many critics think that this chapter is a later interpolation, written a century and a half later (about 550 B. C.) when Babylon had not only risen to supremacy but was already in decline, threatened by the rising Medo - Persian Empire (see 13:17). But that view is too skeptical.
The introduction to the oracle unambiguously affirms that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw this vision (13:1). Moreover, Isaiah 39 shows that even in Isaiah’s day, though Babylon was not an immediate threat like Assyria, it was already a rising power. Perhaps more important yet, Babylon’s history went back all the way to the Tower of Babel (Gen. 10:9 - 10; 11:1 - 9) and thus could serve as a symbol of all nations that defy the God of Israel — a symbolism that persists even in the New Testament (e.g., Rev. 17 — 18), long after historic Babylon is in eclipse. The ultimate collapse of “Babylon” takes place when “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth,” who is “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus” (Rev. 17:5 - 6), is obliterated in the triumphant dawning of the reign of the Lord God Almighty (Rev. 19:6), the rule of him who is called &ldquo ;Faithful and True” and whose name is “the Word of God” (Rev. 19:11, 13).
Note three features of this oracle. (a) Once again the “day of the LORD” (Isa. 13:6) is bound up not only with the Lord’s coming, but with his coming in judgment. For those opposed to the living God, it is “a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger” (13:9). (b) Typical of Hebrew poetry, this day is associated with celestial signs; it is as if all nature has to join in with these events, for their significance is no less than cosmic (13:10; cf. Acts 2:20). (c) The heart of the sin that must be overthrown is arrogance (13:11, 19).
Copyright 2008 D.A. Carson
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
2010 at Christ Community?
from my friends at srpc who say this is one of their best times of the year:
You're invited to join us for an Ash Wednesday Service
- February 25
- 6:30 p.m.
- Seven Rivers Sanctuary
- Nursery for children ages 0-4
- Program for children grades K-2
Ash Wednesday begins the season of the Church Year known as Lent, which begins forty days prior to Easter and is characterized by a focus on repentance, fasting, prayer, and the needs of others. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ—His suffering and His sacrifice, His life, death, burial and resurrection. This first day of Lent reminds Christians of the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:24, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." The way to Easter is the way of the cross. As the first step in the Lenten journey the Ash Wednesday service invites us to acknowledge our mortality, our sinfulness and our dependence upon the grace of God.
We encourage all that are able to fast on Ash Wednesday leading up to the Ash Wednesday service as the Lord's Supper is served.
A unique feature of this service is the marking of the forehead with ashes in the sign of the cross (imposition of ashes). Since the 10th century this practice has been used to symbolize the frailty of our human existence and the 'dust and debris' in our lives (thus the name Ash Wednesday).
We hope you'll join us as we begin the Lenten season looking forward to its culmination on Easter Sunday morning as we worship our risen Savior.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
NLOTH
tons of thoughts after listening to No Line stream almost all the way thru at myspace... while returning email
so many good ones....
loved this line from "Gotta go crazy" or somehting like that:
Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit
(LOVE the way bono gets this next part out)
Every sweet tooth needs just a little hit
Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot
How can you stand next to the truth and not see it
Oh, a change of heart comes slow
so many good ones....
loved this line from "Gotta go crazy" or somehting like that:
Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit
(LOVE the way bono gets this next part out)
Every sweet tooth needs just a little hit
Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot
How can you stand next to the truth and not see it
Oh, a change of heart comes slow
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
just started writing... more to do before posting
There are some bandwagons in our culture that border on being overcrowded... and I jump on some of them. I'm not ashamed to admit that I love U2 and The Office, to name two.
But sometimes I dig my heels in and refuse to participate in the "herd mentality". That's what I call it when I'm not in it. I have never seen that Christmas movie called, "A Christmas Story". The one with a Macauley Culkin look-a-like... the one that TBS shows for 24 hours on Dec 25. That's one I've tenaciously avoided.
I had also extended some vigor saying no to being the 4,000,001st person to read "The Shack". Dozens has asked me about it. Finally the kicker came and I had to read it: My mother, the woman who brought me into this world, gave it to me for Christmas. There you go.
What did I think of it?
Random thoughts:
1.) The writing was not engaging... to me. So that was a struggle. But it could be that I've been reading alot of Flannery O'Connor and EVERYBODY's writing pales to her.
2.) The main character entered the book struggling with what many people struggle with... a view of an unhappy God who is an angry taskmaster. I, like the author, grieve when I see this... in my heart or in others.
3.) The whole embodied God the Father and God the Holy Spirit simply seemed unbiblical to me, not to mention cheesy. Some might say I just didn't like that they were both female. Maybe. But I didn't like God the Father any more when He morphed from Big African American Lady to Cool White Guy with Ponytail. Some may say I'm just simple-minded and the Scriptures say that only one member of the Trinity is embodied, yet the Father and Spirit are knowable... and I know them and have experienced them.
If you have not read
Desiring God
The Pleasures of God
Knowing God
The Holiness of God
read those first... they show you a happy and holy Triune God who reveals Himself to us with a depth & strength that leads to intimacy that--forgive me--cheesy stuff cannot.
More on The Shack some pro some con:
1. abbreviated Review by
2. LONG review
3. Reading the Shack in Good Faith
seems like helpful balance..
But sometimes I dig my heels in and refuse to participate in the "herd mentality". That's what I call it when I'm not in it. I have never seen that Christmas movie called, "A Christmas Story". The one with a Macauley Culkin look-a-like... the one that TBS shows for 24 hours on Dec 25. That's one I've tenaciously avoided.
I had also extended some vigor saying no to being the 4,000,001st person to read "The Shack". Dozens has asked me about it. Finally the kicker came and I had to read it: My mother, the woman who brought me into this world, gave it to me for Christmas. There you go.
What did I think of it?
Random thoughts:
1.) The writing was not engaging... to me. So that was a struggle. But it could be that I've been reading alot of Flannery O'Connor and EVERYBODY's writing pales to her.
2.) The main character entered the book struggling with what many people struggle with... a view of an unhappy God who is an angry taskmaster. I, like the author, grieve when I see this... in my heart or in others.
3.) The whole embodied God the Father and God the Holy Spirit simply seemed unbiblical to me, not to mention cheesy. Some might say I just didn't like that they were both female. Maybe. But I didn't like God the Father any more when He morphed from Big African American Lady to Cool White Guy with Ponytail. Some may say I'm just simple-minded and the Scriptures say that only one member of the Trinity is embodied, yet the Father and Spirit are knowable... and I know them and have experienced them.
If you have not read
Desiring God
The Pleasures of God
Knowing God
The Holiness of God
read those first... they show you a happy and holy Triune God who reveals Himself to us with a depth & strength that leads to intimacy that--forgive me--cheesy stuff cannot.
More on The Shack some pro some con:
1. abbreviated Review by
2. LONG review
3. Reading the Shack in Good Faith
seems like helpful balance..
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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