Tornado

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Tuscaloosa, my hometown, was hit by an F4 or 5 tornado, but I’m ok and know no one who’s been hurt.

There are several other tornadoes in the state, but they seem to be finished with Tuscaloosa.

Please be in prayer for the state.

I’m without power, posting from my phone.

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1 John 4:1-6 (Testing spirits; overlapping circles; listening to the apostles)

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Fear

(1Jo 4:1-3 ESV) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Now, this is simple enough, but seems entirely mistaken. How can it be true that everyone who “confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the fleah” is from God? Don’t even the demons believe and tremble?

And isn’t it possible to have faith and yet live a reprobate life?

The question arises from the bigger question, which has to do with the way John approaches Christianity. You see, as he sees the world, you either love (and are saved) or you don’t (and aren’t). The same goes for being righteous and having faith. Continue reading →

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1 John 3:16-23 (laying down our lives; the Spirit; prayer)

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Fear

(1Jo 3:16 ESV) 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

John has just simply and powerfully defined “love” in the Christian context. Of course, in today’s world, few of us will be asked to literally die for our brothers, and so we sigh in relief and figure “love” means go to church each Sunday, be nice, and be decently moral. But John will have none of that.

(1Jo 3:17-18 ESV)  17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?  18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The love that Christianity demands is self-sacrificing. It’s not enough to do no harm. We must “do unto others.” Love is shown by actions — actions that are costly. Remember: our example is Jesus. Continue reading →

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Real Restoration: Isaiah: Return, The Messiah, The Spirit

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Jay F Guin
Return from Exile

(Isa 40:1-2 ESV) Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

The prophet promises comfort and an end to warfare once Jerusalem has suffered for her sins.

(Isa 40:9-11 ESV)  9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”  10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.  11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

(Isa 52:7-10 ESV)  7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  8 The voice of your watchmen–they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.  9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.  10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
The end of the Exile is “good news” to be heralded. It’s important to realize that the Gospels don’t define “good news” or the “kingdom of God” because these concepts weren’t new to the Jews. They were anxiously anticipating the good news of the Kingdom promised by Isaiah ever since they returned from Babylon.
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Thought Question: Making Your Kids Hate Church

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Jay F Guin

How to make your kids hate church, as suggested by the Resurgence —

1. Make sure your faith is only something you live out in public

2. Pray only in front of people

3. Focus on your morals

4. Give financially as long as it doesn’t impede your needs

5. Make church community a priority… as long as there is nothing else you want to do

Read the very brief article and come back here to discuss what you think of it.

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Real Worship: Part 11: Contextualization; Surrender

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Thanks to the Sacred Sandwich

(1Co 9:19-23 ESV) 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Paul explains his missionary strategy: He meets the lost where he finds them. He speaks to them in terms they can understand. He couches the gospel in the cultural context. For example, Continue reading →

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Restoration Voices

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Jay F Guin

I was musing on how valuable free ebooks are. It’s just immensely helpful to have the online resources we have today.

Years ago, I tried to learn about the history of the Restoration Movement — since neither my home church nor David Lipscomb College taught me any of it. And it was nearly impossible to get solid material.

Nowadays, you can read primary-source documents for no charge at several online locations. By far, the most valuable is Hans Rollman’s “Restoration Movement Pages.” And there are many other valuable websites.

So I thought I’d compile a list of the most useful materials from Barton W. Stone up until today, which is now available here as Restoration Voices. This page can be  easily found via the tab at the top of the page and under the “Pages” links to the left. Continue reading →

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Paul Simon: The Afterlife

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Jay F Guin

After I died, and the make up had dried, I went back to my place.
No moon that night, but a heavenly light shone on my face.

Still I thought it was odd, there was no sign of God just to usher me in.
Then a voice from above,
sugar coated with Love,
said, “Let us begin”.

You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.

OK, a new kid in school, got to follow the rule, you got to learn the routine.
Woah, there’s a girl over there, with the sunshiny hair, like a homecomin’ queen.
I said, “Hey, what you say? It’s a glorious day, by the way how long you been dead?”
Maybe you, maybe me, maybe baby makes three, but she just shook her head…

You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.

Buddah and Moses and all the noses from narrow to flat,
Had to stand in the line, just to glimpse the divine, what you think about that?
Well it seems like our fate to suffer and wait for the knowledge we seek.
It’s all his design, no one cuts in the line, no one here likes a sneak

You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.
You got to fill out a form first, and then you wait in the line.

After you climb, up the ladder of time, the Lord God is here.
Face to face, in the vastness of space, your words disappear.
And you feel like swimming in an ocean of love, and the current is strong.
But all that remains when you try to explain is a fragment of song…

Lord is it,
Be Bop A Lu La or Ooh Poppa Do
Lord, Be Bop A Lu La or Ooh Poppa Do Be Bop A Lu La

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Thought Question: Church Mergers

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Jay F Guin

merge aheadThis is from Leadership Network:

According to Warren’s research at Leadership Network, 2% of U.S. Protestant churches have been part of a merger in the last two years. Another 8% say they will probably merge in the next two years. Those two groups represent 30,000 churches. Conversations and tracking confirms similar trends among churches in Canada, Europe, Australia and other places where churches have been long established.

That’s surprising to me. 10% is a huge number!

My own congregation results from a merger of two Churches of Christ in town. It was extremely helpful to us. It made us more demographically diverse. And that made us more like our community in terms of blue collar and white collar membership. And the merger helped us afford to relocate to a new place with a better facility, which has been a great blessing. I’m big on mergers.

So here are some questions:

* Would the kingdom be better off if more churches were to merge?

* Is your church actively pursuing a merger?

* Do you wish the churches in your town would pursue mergers?

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From Paul Simon’s New Album

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Jay F Guin

Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind

How’d it all begin? Started with a bang
Couple of light years later, stars and planets sang
Fire warmed the cold, waves of colors flew
Moonlight into gold, earth to green and blue

Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind

Earth becomes a farm
Farmer takes a wife
Wife becomes a river and the giver of life
Man becomes machine
Oil runs down his face
Machine becomes a man with a bomb in the marketplace
Bomb in the marketplace, bomb in the marketplace

Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind
Big Bang
That’s a joke that I made up
Once when I had eons to kill
You know, most folks
They don’t get when I’m joking
Well, maybe someday they will

Love me
Love me
That’s the main request I receive
Well you know I love all my children
And it tears me up when I leave

But sometimes you gotta fly down that highway
Free as a bird, knock on wood, thank the Lord
I am driving along in my automobile
It’s a brand new pre-owned ’96 Ford
Gonna cover the roads of the icy Midwest

Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds all the mind

Love is eternal sacred light
Love is eternal sacred light
Love is eternal sacred light

Check out the radio, pop music station
That don’t sound like my music to me
Talk show host, what’s that boy’s name?
Politics is ugly

At the end of the dial there’s the gospel show
Maybe now I can exit and rest
There’s a blizzard rolling down off the banks of Lake Michigan

 

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