Midweek Meditation: "On Religion" (Billy Graham)

Billy Graham passed away on Feb 21st, 2018. He has seen many decades of cultural change. One of the most difficult is the postmodern period of skepticism and doubt. Hear what Graham has to say about religion.

• "Something distinguishes Christianity from all the religions of the world. Not only does it carry the truth of the redemption, by the death of our Savior for our sins on the cross, but it carries the fact that Christ rose again."
• "We see that humanism has become for many a polite name for a vocal, aggressive, influential crusade against religion in the name of social and moral advance. There is nothing new about humanism. It is the yielding to Satan's first temptation of Adam and Eve: 'Ye shall be as gods.' Genesis 3:5"
• "There are many bibles of different religions; there is the Mohammedan Koran, the Buddhist Canon of Sacred Scripture, the Zoroastrian ZendAvesta, and the Brahman Veda . . . they all began with some flashes of true light, and end in utter darkness. Even the most casual observer soon discovers that the Bible is radically different. It is the only Book that offers redemption to us and points the way out of our dilemma."
• "Nothing seems to satisfy. Not politics, not education, not material goods. Some who refuse to turn their hearts toward God have created the New Age movement, with all of its aberrations. This is actually not new but only the latest attempt by man to place something other than Christ inside himself in a futile attempt to satisfy spiritual longings."
• "Some Christian leaders . . are willing to give up some of the teachings of the Bible in order to harmonize Christianity with the other religions."

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BookPastor >> "The Way of the Dragon OR The Way of the Lamb" (Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on May 23rd, 2017.

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TITLE: The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus' Path of Power in a Church that Has Abandoned It
AUTHOR: Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: Thomas-Nelson, 2017, (250 pages).

Is the culture influencing the Church or vice versa? Is the Church trying to take things into her own hands by trying the clothe herself with relevance, programs, activities, and worldly attractions in order to bring people into the Church? Are humans replacing God's way with their own plans? In this book, authors Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel examine the seductions happening in the Church at large. The title of the book was inspired by Eugene Peterson's perceptive observation about the temptations facing the Church. Are we adopting the way of Jesus or are we preferring the seductions of the dragon? What does it mean to employ the way of Jesus in a Church surrounded by cultural expectations and fleshly temptations? How do we discern and choose? What are the powers we need to recognize, keep in check, or adopt? For the authors, there are only two ways: God's way or the ways of the dragon. Key to the detection of which way lies in the way we receive and handle power.

What is the Way of the Dragon? It is simply about the exercise of power with greed, strength, and an attitude of world domination. It matches an eye for an eye and retaliates with an even stronger show of force. It despises weakness and attempts to hide any vulnerabilities. It takes the road most people traveled and refuses to accept failure at any level. Churches that practice these ways tend to avoid weakness and foolishness like a plague. They showcase their special leader. They boast in the size of their buildings and budgets. They grow at all costs even if it means minimizing the gospel. Between large and small, they always choose the former. In the process, they dine with the devil of prosperity and power.

Midweek Meditation: "On Prayer" (Billy Graham)

Billy Graham passed away on Feb 21st, 2018. At the heart of preaching the gospel is a heart of prayer. Learn from Graham about prayer.

• "Many times I have been driven to prayer. When I was in Bible school I didn't know what to do with my life. I used to walk the streets . . . and pray, sometimes for hours at a time. In His timing, God answered those prayers, and since then prayer has been an essential part of my life."
• "If there are any tears shed in heaven, they will be over the fact that we prayed so little."
• "Prayer is crucial in evangelism: Only God can change the heart of someone who is in rebellion against Him. No matter how logical our arguments or how fervent our appeals, our words will accomplish nothing unless God's Spirit prepares the way."
• "We should not pray for God to be on our side, but pray that we may be on God's side."
• "I believe we should pray that God will take possession of our lives totally and completely. We should pray that we will be emptied of self - self-love, self-will, self-ambition - and be placed completely at his disposal."

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BookPastor >> "Power in the Pulpit" (Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on May 8th, 2017.

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TITLE: Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons
AUTHOR: Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2017, (448 pages).

Preaching is hard. Good preaching is rare. Being able to sit through a well-prepared, well-delivered, and well-researched sermon is a tremendous blessing for any Christian community. Many preaching books nowadays try to address the great need for biblical preaching and an appropriate level of delivery that balances theological orthodoxy, biblical faithfulness, cultural awareness, and the cry for help and the hunger for hope. Not many can achieve this. This book hits close to this target. One clue about the effectiveness of this book is the need for a new edition to keep up with changing needs and changing times. First published in 1999, author Jerry Vines had been preaching for over 40 years. Half of that time was when he was pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville. At that time, he had a passion for sharing his knowledge and experience with fellow preachers. Knowing the tough demands on the pastoral vocation, he senses a great need to equip fellow preachers with some basic pulpit skills. Basically, it needs to address two things: Faithfulness to the Word; and fruitfulness as the Word takes root in the hearers. During the past decade, many things have changed, most importantly, the cultural shifts that have been occurring in the world we live. Most of the material from the first edition have been preserved. This new edition not only updates the material, it strengthens the expository preaching preparation part and simplifies the delivery. It is also more conversational when compared with the original.

Calvary - Harvest

This is one of my favourite songs many years ago. It's from the Harvest group.

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CALVARY


 



Calvary, that's the place where Jesus bled and died.
And it's there that sin has lost its power,
At Calvary.
Calvary, there my Jesus won the victory.
There He gave Himself for you and me.
On Calvary.

Brother, give no thought 

For what tomorrow, it may bring. 

Your Father, He knows your heart, 

He knows your every need. 

Just seek Him in His truth, 

and rest upon His Word. 

Share His love to everyone. 

Let's all just praise the Lord. 

Let the stars fall from the skies, 

Let the sun refuse to shine. 

In darkness I know there will be

A light for all mankind.

It doesn't matter who you are, 

Or whatever things you've done. 

 'Cause Jesus, He still loves you, 

and calls for you to come, 

To Calvary . . . 

That's the place where Jesus bled and died. 

And it's there that sin has lost it's power, 

At Calvary. 

Calvary, that's the place where Jesus bled and died. 

And it's there that sin has lost it's power, 

At Calvary. 

Calvary, there my Jesus won the victory. 

There He gave Himself for you and me. 

On Calvary. Calvary. Calvary.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uu__ttXRts&index=7&list=PLAA683E5FF624A60D

Midweek Meditation: "On Faith" (Billy Graham)

Billy Graham passed away on Feb 21st, 2018. Preaching the gospel has been his conviction. Many came to faith. Reflect on Graham's words about the meaning of faith.

• "Your faith may be just a little thread. It may be small and weak, but act on that faith. It does not matter how big your faith is, but rather, where your faith is."
• "The Bible teaches that faith will manifest itself in three ways.
  It will manifest itself in doctrine - in what you believe.
  It will manifest itself in worship - your communion with God.
  It will manifest itself in morality - in the way you live and behave."
• "Our faith can stand up to any question, but sometimes people ask questions - and keep asking questions - just to avoid facing their own spiritual needs and acknowledging who Jesus really is."
• "Faith isn't pretending our problems don't exist, nor is it simply blind optimism. Faith points us beyond our problems to the hope we have in Christ."
• "Faith implies four things: self-renunciation, reliance with utter confidence on Christ, obedience, and a changed life."

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BookPastor >> "Rebuilding the Foundations" (John Brueggemann and Walter Brueggemann)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on May 3rd, 2017.

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TITLE: Rebuilding the Foundations: Social Relationships in Ancient Scripture and Contemporary Culture
AUTHOR: John Brueggemann and Walter Brueggemann
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017, (202 pages).

What do we do when the society we live in seems to be crumbling? It does not take much effort to find out about the growing rich-poor divide; the racial discrimination; the ethnic tensions; the financial scandals; the cry for justice in the midst of injustice; and so on. Many governments are corrupt or incompetent. People insist on their free choice without being equipped with how to choose. How did we ever get to this point? In the midst of choices and multiple options, what are the primary matters we should be focused on? What does it take to address the moral decays happening all around us? As the social structures of the world appear to go from bad to worse, people are in need of a return to the foundations that once make societies great. Instead of looking at the external solutions, the authors probe their own assumptions and human complacencies. Specifically, they use Jonathan Haidt's moral foundation theory that uncovers six moral foundations:

• Care vs Harm;
• Fairness vs Cheating;
• Liberty vs Oppression;
• Loyalty vs Betrayal;
• Authority vs Subversion;
• Sanctity vs Degradation.