Pastor’s Notes Posts
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Easter Week
Posted by danny on April 2nd, 2012This week we celebrate Passion Week. For Christians, this is a significant week for commemorating the significant events at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It is also an opportunity for us to worship the Lord Jesus. Instead of thinking of ourselves first this week, we can turn our attention to celebrating the ministry of our Risen Lord.
Yesterday we began the week by celebrating Palm Sunday together. We looked at key passages from Jesus’ ministry from the gospel of Luke: 4:14-21 (Jesus’ proclamation that he came to end Israel’s exile and to bring the kingdom of God); 19:28-48 (Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and his showdown with the Jewish religious leader about the temple); and 22:7-20 (the last Supper, the Jewish Passover meal where Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant).
I would encourage you to not only review those significant passages in Luke, but to read the entire Gospel of Luke this week. At a good pace, you can read through Luke in about 90 minutes. Reading this book of the Bible will allow you spend some intentional time in worship this week. Then join us in Venture on Sunday as we sing songs of praise and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection (and reflect on how we have the hope of resurrection in Christ). Make this a week of reflection and celebration of our Risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Psalm 3, the Gospel, and our Fears
Posted by stephen on January 28th, 2011
In the January 30 Venture sermon on Psalm 3, I make the point that we find ultimate protection, deliverance, and victory in Jesus. The gospel addresses all of our deep fears, and the Spirit can overcome those fears in us as we live in the victory that we have in Christ. Here are some common examples of deep fears that we all have, at one level or another, and how victory in Christ has overcome those fears:
Fear of Death- Read Mark 16 and meditate on how Jesus overcame death.
Read Col 3:3 and1 Cor 15:55-57 and meditate on how our lives are hidden in Christ, and how we have victory over death in him.
Failure- Read John 6:38ff. about how Jesus came to do what his Father sent him to do.
Read John 1:12 about how we are children of God, something greater than any accomplishment that we could achieve. In Christ we are never failures.
Read Philippians 3:7-14 about how everything that we accomplish in nothing compared to knowing Christ.
Pain/Suffering -Read Mark 15 and see how Jesus suffered great pain.
Read 1 Peter 2:20-24 about how we have an opportunity to suffer with him.
Read 1 Peter 5:10 about how he is our comfort.
Rejection – Read Mark 3:1-6 about how Jesus was rejected by his own people; and then read Philippians 2:9-11 about how Jesus is highly exalted by the Father.
Read Eph 1:4-5 and Romans 8:31-38 about how we are completely accepted by God and how nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ.
Powerless- Eph 1:18-22; 2 Cor 12:9-10 (Idol of Power)
Christ became weak in his death, but read how in his resurrection hewas given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18) and how in Ephesians 1:18-23 he has supreme power.
Read in 2 Cor 12:9-10 about how in our weakness, we are strong in the power of Christ.
Reflect prayerfully and thankfully on these things that God has done for us in the gospel of his Son Jesus.
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Q+A: Galations Wrap-up.
Posted by stephen on December 7th, 2010Questions from Galatians Blog Post
Here are your questions from the series on Galatians, and my attempts at some answers. Thanks so much for sending them in! – Danny
(1a) When Paul says that Christians are free from the Law, is he referring just to the festivals and rites (circumcision, various offerings, etc), or to all of the mitzvoth (commandments)? What about the practices which God called “detestable” (there are quite a few in Lev. 18, for instance)? Surely he didn’t just change his mind about them after Jesus came, so sins are still sins and God would prefer that we not do them even if he isn’t holding us to the Law. Paul says the deeds of the flesh are “obvious”. Does that mean that we’re just supposed to ignore those of the 613 which aren’t obviously inherently bad, like #200 (do not eat fruit from a tree less than 3 years old) or #69 (no shaving), but still obey the ones which fit with Paul’s list of acts of the flesh?
(1b) I had a question about the OT law and how it applies to Christians. We were actually talking in our small group last night about 3 catagories of the Law; judicial, ceremonial and moral and that God’s moral law is still what applies to us. How do you determine what God’s moral law that we are still to obey and what parts of the law were only meant for Israel under the old covenant?
There are different views on this. Some divide up the law between ritual (offerings), ceremonial (festivals), and moral. They say the ritual and ceremonial aspects are done away with, but the moral law we still need to keep. The argument is that Paul talks about rituals and ceremonies that are obsolete, but not the moral laws being obselete. Here’s the problem I have with that- I’m not a big fan of dividing up the law. I don’t see Paul doing that. He just says “law” in Galatians and I think it’s best to take that to mean the whole law.
So do we still have to follow the law? Paul says “No.” Remember how Paul had a DTR (Define the Relationship) moment with the Galatians about their relationship to the law in Galatians 3-4. He said, “There’s been a break-up.” The law is an inferior and outdated system. It cannot save you and it cannot bring you into Christian maturity. Instead, walk by the Spirit, love others. That’s what he tells us to do.
So are sins against the law still sins? In a sense yes, and in a sense no. In the “yes” sense, we do still sin, and sometimes the sins we commit look like the things that are prohibited in the law. But sin is no longer accounted against a moral law code. To use Paul’s language, it’s living according to the flesh- we defined that as “me living for me” (and not living “in Christ”). And yes, some of the manifestations of living according to the flesh sure do look like some of the laws, but the issue is not performance against a law code. The issue is unbelief, a lack of faith and trust in the Spirit.
And when he says the deeds of the flesh are obvious, there is a sense in which we do know what they are. We don’t need a law to tell us what is of the Spirit and what is of the flesh. He lists those examples to the Galatians in 5:19ff. And those are all examples of me living for me, living by the flesh. But there are certainly other examples, and to those of us who have the Spirit, those things are obvious. If we are confused, we can ask the Spirit, or we can go to another Christian for wisdom, or think about who God is. But there’s no law code by which if we do certain things we are acceptable to God.
(2) In Galatians, Paul singles out the act of circumcision as not just unnecessary but spiritually erroneous behavior, evidence of trying to please (Jewish) people and not God. And yet, in Acts 16, Paul himself circumcises Timothy “because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek”. How do we reconcile Paul’s own actions with his strong words to Galatia?
Paul says that it is spiritually erroneous for the Gentiles in Galatia, because they were trying to please God and be connected to the promises of Abraham through that ritual of circumcision, when they are already connected through Christ. Look at what two commentators have said about this incident:
Martin Luther from The Freedom of a Christian:
St. Paul circumcised his disciple Timothy, not because he needed circumcision for his justification, but that he might not offend or contemn those Jews, weak in the faith, who had not yet been able to comprehend the liberty of faith. On the other hand, when they contemned liberty and urged that circumcision was necessary for justification, he resisted them, and would not allow Titus to be circumcised. For, as he would not offend or contemn any one’s weakness in faith, but yielded for the time to their will, so, again, he would not have the liberty of faith offended or contemned by hardened self-justifiers, but walked in a middle path, sparing the weak for the time, and always resisting the hardened, that he might convert all to the liberty of faith. On the same principle we ought to act, receiving those that are weak in the faith, but boldly resisting these hardened teachers of works, of whom we shall hereafter speak at more length.
Richard Longenecker from his commentary on Galatians:
“While Paul saw it as perfectly legitimate for JW Christians to express their faith in Jesus through the traditional Jewish practices, he strenuously opposed the imposition of these practices on Gentile Christians either for full acceptance by God or as a normative way of life.”
(3) Matthew 5: 17-19 says: “Jesus said: ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place. So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’” As far as I can tell, heaven and earth have not passed away, so is Paul called least in the kingdom of heaven?
It might appear that way, but continue reading the passage in Matt 5:20 “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
In the rest of Matthew 5, Jesus will then go on to set up an impossible standard of righteousness- lustful thoughts equal adultery, anger equals murder, etc. Only Jesus can accomplish this standard of righteousness. Therefore he is the one who will fulfill the law. In him all of these things are accomplished or “everything takes place” (5:18- I see that happening in the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the inauguration of God’s kingdom in his earthly ministry. Note Galatians 4:4.) And by union with Christ, and by walking by the Spirit and loving our neighbor, we fulfill the law as Christ did. (Galatians 5:13-14 and context). So no, Paul is not least in the kingdom of heaven. He is encouraging followers of Christ to fulfill the law by living in Christ, living by the Spirit, and loving neighbor.
(4) In Acts 15, James says to the council at Jerusalem that they “should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles who are turning to God” and proposes a short list of prohibitions (essentially the Noachide laws) in place of the full Mosaic Law. Then they send a letter to the “Gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia” informing them of their decision (the Apostolic Decree). That only seems to let Gentiles off the hook, though. What about Christians with Jewish ancestry?
I think the Jews were content to continue a lot of their traditional practices, and that was OK with the apostles, as long as they 1) didn’t think that it made them acceptable to God and 2) didn’t force Gentiles into doing it. (see Longenecker quote above in the answer to question 2.) I assume that a Jewish believer had the freedom to do or not to do those things. It was just that some young Jewish believers might not understand their freedom and it might cause them to stumble if some Jews did not do those traditional Jewish practices. Hence Paul had Timothy circumcised. (But Titus he did not circumcise, because he was dealing with the issue of changing the gospel in that case- see Gal 2:3)
(5) If we are free from the law, how then should we, believers, regard the 10 commandments? As guidelines? Rules that our heart should want to follow out of a deep love for our God who commanded them in OT? Does it bring glory to God by our desire to follow those laws? I want to have the correct mindset.
The 10 commandments, like all of the law, are holy and righteous and good (Rom 7:12). But we can’t keep them. In fact, they are a mirror for us to see our sinfulness. But Jesus fulfilled the law and did what we could not do (See Matt 5:17ff.). Therefore as we abide in Christ, and as we live by the Spirit and love our neighbors, we, in Christ, are fulfilling the law.
As for giving God glory, it is Jesus that gives glory to God, and as we abide in Christ and walk in God’s Spirit, God is glorified in our lives.
(6) I have a question in general regarding the concept of freedom in Christ. You had mentioned something about how you did *not* consider smoking a cigar, watching a R movie(?) can’t remember if this was specifically used in the example, drinking a beer etc., as examples of freedom in Christ. If I understood correctly! Then you went into an example of service and the freedom to serve the Lord and each other in unique ways as what freedom in Christ was about. I appreciate that and it made me think, but would like to get your thoughts more specifically on those gray issues.
My question relates to what you think we as believers need to restrict in our lives? I know that’s a tough question, and probably needs to be an individual response, but frankly there are zillions of media that bombard us from every corner these days. I think that not knowing or understanding certain things will make us culturally isolated and prevent us from being able to discuss some topics that help us connect to non-Christians. On the other hand we are called not to be of the world. But there is also a part of our souls that connects to art, music, and literature in many forms which I think is a natural creative drive. At other times, we may justify doing whatever we feel like by giving this standard response that we need to understand our culture better. I often hear friends say they are afraid they will be “judged” (by other believers mostly) for watching a certain movie, listening to a secular band, etc., I feel that way too. So – what kinds of aids can you give us in learning how to sift out this crazy maze of allowing ourselves to understand the culture and engage our minds and souls, without dishonoring Christ or causing other believers to stumble? It is something I am burdened about spiritually.
This is a wonderful series of questions. And in forming the questions, you have said much of what needs to be said. First of all, one clarification: I do see drinking and watching movies as expressions of freedom, just not the fullest expressions of Christian freedom. Paul talks about serving others in love as the quintessential expression of Christian freedom in Gal 5:13. But back to the series of questions at hand: there isn’t one particular answer to these questions, but here are some of the basic principles to remember as you think through this struggle (many of which are in your question already!):
1) We have freedom as Christians to interact with art, media, etc. Often we approach these things as Christians with fear, thinking that we might be contaminated by them. And while there are certainly appropriate levels of exposure that have to be considered by Christians (I’m thinking specifically of parenting children here), an adult Christian has the freedom to interact with art and media. And we can learn a lot from media, music, etc. I personally find that listening to certain music is a wonderful way for me to express joy, melancholy, etc., in a way that I would not be able to without it. These are wonderful gifts from the Lord!
Two things to consider here: first, we have to think about what we read, watch, listen to. What is this book/movie/music saying or arguing? Do I agree? What parts to I accept and what parts do I reject? What can I learn from here? A second thing to consider is that we do have to be careful not to expose ourselves intentionally to things that we know will make us stumble in the name of freedom. (You hinted at this abuse in your question above.)
2) We have to be sensitive to others. While some people may embrace freedom, others who do not understand freedom or who may stumble from our free actions have to be considered. So sometimes we might choose to forego our freedom for the sake of those who are weak in freedom or who might stumble because of our free choices.
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GALATIONS REVIEW
Posted by stephen on November 29th, 2010This Sunday will be our review of the book of Galatians. We have spent a lot of time walking through what it means to live in the freedom of the Spirit. Please post questions here or email Danny at danny@venture-online.org
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Venture Worship Services on Dec 20 & 27
Posted by danny on December 15th, 2009Please join us this Sunday for a liturgical Christmas worship service titled, “You Shall Call His Name Jesus.” We will be doing guided responsive readings from the gospels, singing Christmas worship songs, and taking communion together. The service is a chance for us to worship Jesus, our savior and king, at this special time of year.
On December 27 in the Venture worship service I will be preaching a sermon titled, “How Can We Trust the Bible?” There has been some interest in this question by people in the Venture community lately, so I’d like to address the topic.
Here’s the problem, though: it’s a huge topic. There are many different specific questions that could be addressed in the short time that we have. So, I’d like your help. If you have any specific questions about the trustworthiness of the Bible, please either post a reply here or send me an email at danny@venture-online.org with your question. With Christmas coming up, the earlier you send me the question, the better. I hope to be able to get to all of your questions.
To give you an idea, here are some of the questions that I have now:
-How do we know that the Bible is the infallible word of God?
-Didn’t men write the Bible?
-Why are some books included and others not?
-How much of the Bible is taken from other belief systems?
Thanks for the help. I look forward to our time together on the 20th and the 27th.
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Some Books that I Read in 2009
Posted by danny on December 14th, 2009In case you are looking for some reading, here are some books you might consider. Make sure to read my brief descriptions (and warnings in some cases). In general, I like to read books that challenge me. I’m not looking for the safest books, but the ones that make me think. I’ve listed them in categories. And, please, take my warnings seriously. If the things that I list in the warnings might offend you, please do not read those books.
Spiritual Formation/Psychology:
I’ve done a lot of reading this year on psychology and the spiritual life. I read about psychology this year because I realized that I am mentally unhealthy in many ways. The main thing that I have learned from my reading is that I have everything I need in Jesus. These three books brought this wonderful truth to my life in their own brilliant ways.1. Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp’s How People Change. This book is a fantastic look at how the gospel impacts your life. Right now. It gave me hope and insight this year as I struggled through different things.
2. S. Bruce Narramore’s No Condemnation: Rethinking Guilt Motivation in Counseling. Preaching, and Parenting. Is guilt from God? Or is it an expression of our moralistic pride? How do we deal with guilt and shame? This book is a careful treatment of these and other related questions.
3. Ed Welch’s Addictions- Banquet in the Grave: Finding Hope in the Power of the Gospel. Whether you are an addict of some kind (alcohol, drug, sex, food, etc.) or not, this book is a great analysis of how the gospel can bring hope and change to us in our sin. It shows how all of our addictions and sins are idolatry. Welch talks about how we have a worship problem: we want to worship ourselves rather than God. His book gives insight on how we can worship Jesus and ask God’s Spirit to turn us from our idols.
Theology and Bible:
4. N.T. Wright’s Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision. This book will put you right into the middle of the discussion on “The New Perspective” of Paul’s theology. Wright questions our traditional Reformation understanding of Paul’s letters in this book, which is written as a response to books and lectures by John Piper. I love this book because it is forcing me to go back to Galatians, Ephesians, Romans, and 1-2 Corinthians to see what I really believe about the gospel. (A word of warning: Wright does not hold to a traditional understanding of things such as justification and righteousness. If you want to balance his view, you might go to John Piper’s The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright. I plan on reading this book by Piper next year.)Parenting:
5. Tim Kimmel’s Grace-Based Parenting. I found this book to be incredibly refreshing. I loved how he challenged me to raise my kids to be strong, not safe. I even learned a lot about God’s grace and love towards me when I read this book. It is beautiful.Novels:
6. C.J. Sansom’s Dissolution. This mystery novel (first in a series of four) is set in the 1500s during the Reformation in England. A hunchback lawyer is sent to a monastery to solve a murder. I loved the setting of the novel, and the mystery was compelling. Also, the book forced me to think a little differently about the Reformation. (Warning: There is some bad language in the book. Also, you may not like the author’s take on the Reformation very much. I get the impression that Sansom is not exactly a big fan of the church.)7. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. This is a post-apocalyptic novel that features a beautiful relationship between a father and son. It’s probably one of the best pictures of love that I have read or seen in a long time. In the midst of all of its dreariness, the story brings great hope to me. (Warning: the book contains language, violence, and allusions to cannibalism.)
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Moral vs Spiritual Formation
Posted by danny on August 27th, 2009Often one of the biggest barriers to our spiritual growth can be our desire to be moral. This sounds like the opposite of what you might think: isn’t it good for our spiritual growth for us to be good people? This desire to be good, however, can be very dangerous to our spiritual growth and to the gospel. In a recent article, Dr. John Coe of Talbot Seminary talked about this danger and called it “the temptation of moral formation.” He defined it as “attempting to deal with our spiritual failure, guilt and shame by means of spiritual efforts, by attempting to perfect oneself in the power of the self.” In a recent two-week Venture sermon series, we discussed Coe’s article and the temptation of moral formation. If you did not hear these sermons, I would encourage you to listen to them. Direct links to the sermons are here:
August 2 The Temptation to be Moral
August 9 Spiritual Formation and the CrossThe gist of the message of the sermons is this: we are to give up the quest to be moral, the drive to improve ourselves and assuage our guilt and shame through our own self-improvement efforts, and we are to rest in the perfect love, perfect forgiveness, and perfect acceptance that we have in Jesus.
I encourage you to listen to the sermons because this discussion is going to be very important to much of what we will be discussing as a community moving forward in sermons, retreats, etc. Also, practically, the sermons will help:-to define what moral formation is, and how to identify it in our lives
-to understand why we try to improve ourselves
-to be honest about our weaknesses and failures, and to run to the cross
-to experience the perfect love, forgiveness, and acceptance in Jesus
-to trust Jesus to transform us and his Spirit to strengthen us to follow himSo listen to the sermons if you haven’t, and feel free to post any discussion here as a comment.
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Questions about Isaiah?
Posted by admin on February 4th, 2009We have been preaching through Isaiah for the past 4 months and are nearing the end of the first major section, chapters 1-39. Before we move into chapters 40-66, we are going to take one Sunday, Feb 15, to summarize what we have covered and answer any questions you may have. So please, go ahead and submit your questions. They can be questions about the passages themselves, about applications that we have discussed, about the history and culture behind Isaiah…pretty much anything that has something to do with Isaiah 1-39. You can submit your questions as comments below, or you can send them by email to danny@venture-online.org, or you can simply ask them live on Sunday morning Feb. 15.
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Giving to the church
Posted by admin on January 10th, 2009In the Venture worship service every Sunday there is a point where an offering basket will go by you. The “passing of the basket” can generate a lot of thoughts and emotions in people, including frustration (“Churches…always wanting money.”) or apathy (“I wonder where everyone is going for lunch.”) or guilt (“I think I should be putting something in here, but I’m not.”) or confusion (“Why do we do this every week?”).
In this post, I’d like to address three questions about giving to the church, specifically as they relate to Venture people giving to IBC. The questions are: Why should I give to the church? How do I give to the church? Why the urgency now? The answers to these questions will be personal, honest, and challenging to all of us in Venture. Read More…
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The Difference Between Us and God
Posted by admin on December 10th, 2008In the sermon on Isaiah 6 this past Sunday, we were challenged to consider the differences between us and God. This is so that we can really understand why we are called to serve others, namely, for the glory of God and Christ. Three of the main differences between us and God are: Read More…