Amazing Grace: On the “Sin Unto Death,” Jeremiah, and Intercessory Prayer; Part 2

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Jay F Guin

The sins of Jerusalem

There are several parallels between Jeremiah 7 – 9 and 1 John. Both teach against murder —

(Jer 7:9-11 ESV) 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,  10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’–only to go on doing all these abominations?  11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.

(1Jo 3:15 ESV)  15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Indeed, the penalty for hatred ( = murder) is death — the loss of eternal life. Continue reading →

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Amazing Grace: On the “Sin Unto Death,” Jeremiah, and Intercessory Prayer; Part 1

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Long before I started this blog, I wrote The Holy Spirit and Revolutionary Grace, which was published and is now available as a free download here. There I lay out my understanding of how a Christian might fall from grace.

At the time of publication in 1995, there were details I’d not yet worked through. For example, I came to understand Galatians and the falling away described there in much greater detail later. And every once in a while, a reader asks a question that prompts me to rethink some of my earlier work. Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 5

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Jay F Guin

God is a creative being. Indeed, he first introduces himself to readers of the Bible as the Creator.

One of God’s redemptive purposes is to restore mankind to the image of God — a creative image.

And yet the modern church is often about as uncreative as you can imagine. Even instrumental churches are bad to fill out the order of worship by rote — pick a couple of songs, fill in a topical sermon, go with it.

Continue reading →

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On Judging People

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Thanks to Jesus Creed.

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Cells Phones in the Assembly

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Jay F Guin
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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 4

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Jay F Guin

I need to, at last, turn to Robert E. Webber’s Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative, in which he proposes a fresh direction for the Christian assembly. He writes (p. 40),

Worship–daily, weekly, yearly–is rooted in the gospel. And when worship fails to proclaim, sing, and enact at the Table the Good News that God not only saves sinners but also narrates the whole world, it is not only worship that becomes corrupted by the culture, it is also the gospel. Not only has worship lost its way, but the fullness of the gospel, the story which worship does, has been lost.

Amen. We are to worship in Spirit and in truth, and “truth” refers to the gospel, the truth that Jesus  lived, taught, and is. Worship is all about the gospel. Continue reading →

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Tulsa Lectures: Resources (Revised)

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Here are links to the materials I referenced in my Friday lectures:

Order CDs of the three classes

Ray Vander Laan audio lectures (free download)

Faith Lessons (7 DVD Set) Ray Vander Laan

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

In Visible Fellowship: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s Classic Work <i>Life Together</i>, by Jon Walker

Why They Left: Listening to Those Who Have Left Churches of Christ by Flavil Yeakley

The Holy Spirit and Revolutionary Grace, by Jay Guin

Lecture on Multigenerational Ministry, by Jay Guin (This is the source of much of material for the second class, supplemented with information from Why They Left)

I intend to post the first and third classes in a series of posts as I have time to type them up.

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Tulsa Lectures: Introduction

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Jay F Guin

I’m on the way back to Tuscaloosa from Tulsa. I spoke for nearly three hours yesterday to a room filled with elders. It was a delightful experience to spend so much time with men filled with such passion for the things of God.

I shared some thoughts, which I’ll be posting, and we discussed many of the challenges of pastoring our congregations. Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 3

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Story

What is the message that the assembly should communicate to the members and to visitors? There are, of course, countless good things that one might teach, but what is the over-arching goal?

Sometimes we approach the assembly microscopically, that is, focusing on today’s lesson without thought to the lesson taught over the course of the years. Continue reading →

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The Future of the Churches of Christ: Ancient-Future Assembly, Part 2

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Jay F Guin

Encouragement

Continuing in the instruction of the author of the Hebrews, we read —

(Heb 10:24-25 ESV)  24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,  25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The author turns his attention much more directly toward the assembly. It’s not merely entry into the mystical presence of the Trinity, but it’s also the church being together as a body that loves each other. Continue reading →

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