Yo-Yos

Sermon texts for April 2010 (updated)

April 4 God speaks to us in worship, part 1: God Calls Us to Worship (Psalm 100)
April 11 Philippians 1:27-2:11 -- The Makings of a Worthy Life (Guest Preacher Doug Kothe)
April 18 God speaks to us in worship, part 2: God Displays His Glory (Psalm 24)
April 25 God speaks to us in worship, part 3: God Reveals Our Sin to Us (Psalm 32)

R.I.P.

Rest in peace, iMonk.

I'll miss you, Michael; thanks for the brief fellowship that we had. See you in glory!

Rest in peace also:
Omie Bruce, Maie Bedford, "Chick" O'Guin, and the several others who have died recently in Hickory Withe and the surrounding area. Easter is all that much more meaningful by their losses.

Books for March 2010

Here are the books I finished in March (plus a couple of Patrick O'Brian titles I finished in February but didn't make the list):

• HMS Surprise by Patrick O'Brian (re-read): as I mentioned in February's list, these are some of my favorite books, and I'm reading through them again. This particular title is one of my favorites in the series. (10)
• The Mauritius Command by Patrick O'Brian (re-read) (10)
• Desolation Island by Patrick O'Brian (re-read) (10)
• The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian (re-read) (10)
• The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian (re-read) (10)
• Born Standing Up by Steve Martin: I've always liked Steve Martin's comedy and acting, and lately have been increasingly impressed with his versatility as an actor, screenwriter, art collector, playwright, novelist, musician, producer, and memoirist. This memoir/autobiography was a fun and quick read, and left me wanting more at the end. I guess I'll have to pick up another of his autobiographical works in the future. (8)
• Beekeeping for Dummies by Howland Blackiston: I've always been curious about beekeeping, and was surprised and grateful for this random gift from some cousins (thanks, Rob and Tamsey!!). Very interesting, and well-done, this one gave me a very good overview of the the work/resources involved in beekeeping and many of the concerns, dangers (so to speak), and benefits. Plus, now I have a title from the "animal husbandry" category... always diversifying my library. (8)
• The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian (re-read) (10)
• The Lord's Service by Jeffrey Meyers: one of several books that I'm giving attention to, since this year's Ministry Focus is worship; Jeff's book gives a thorough and helpful discussion on the biblical and theological foundations for so much of the way we worship, both in the church in general and at HWPC. There's a lot of good meat here, and it's a valuable book; however, it's both thick and at times dense in content, and maybe wouldn't be the kind of thing I would give to just any church member. (8+)

Worship 6: What is Maundy Thursday?

Today, as many of you (hopefully all who attend Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church!) is "Maundy Thursday"-- about which, some might ask, "What is that?"

"Maundy" Thursday gets its name from the latin phrase mandatum novum, which means "new command." On Maundy Thursday, we commemorate the day of Holy Week when Jesus gave his disciples "a new command"-- that we love one another (John 13:34). On that day, a number of significant events took place:

• The disciples gathered with Jesus in the upper room for the "last supper" (which would become the first "Lord's Supper)
• Jesus washed the disciples' feet, giving them a model of serving one another
• Christ told them that one of them would betray Him (and Judas left them)
• The remaining 11 disciples left the upper room with Jesus, during which time He taught them in what is called the "farewell discourse"
• Jesus and the disciples went to the garden at Gethsemane, where He prayed for the events to come in the next day, and for the church
• Judas led the Jewish leaders to Jesus and betrayed Him into their hands
• After a brief scuffle and discussion, all of the disciples fled while Jesus was taken to his mock-trial

All of these events are vital in both the events of Holy Week and the work of the cross, and in the formation of our understanding of our own discipleship. Because of this, Christians have historically gathered on Maundy Thursday for worship and fellowship.

Maunday Thursday services vary from congregation to congregation; some have long-standing traditions about how this commemorative service may be celebrated. Some congregations include a foot-washing service to serve one another in a humble way. Some will have an extended service of prayer for the church, incorporating elements of Christ's prayer for the church (in John 17) as a model. Some will have a simple worship service. Many will include a celebration of the Lord's Supper into one of the above observations.

Maundy Thursday is a great time for the church to worship and celebrate together. Is your congregation having a Maundy Thursday service? If not, is there a nearby congregation that you could visit for this event?

Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church will gather with two sister congregations-- Christ Presbyterian Church of Oakland, and St. Andrews Presbyterian Church of Cordova-- to celebrate and worship together for Maundy Thursday. Our service is tonight at 7pm, at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Cordova.

Bits & Tidbits, March 2010

• The Pope and sexual abuse: What an insightful piece from Hans Küng. (HT: Ref21)
• Glen Beck vs. the teachings of Jesus: What's sad about this is that, for many "evangelicals", Beck will win.
• Jim Wallis's response to Beck: Is it surprising anymore that one of the more liberal/progressive voices in religious media is far more measured and gracious than a conservative one?
• "Walk and Work": I'm definitely building me one of these...
• The heresy of TBN (and other networks): John McArthur says we should take more of an open stand against them. I agree.
• Mobile phone and texting etiquette: The best "rule of thumb" for public mobile phone and texting that I've encountered.
• Thoughts on the Healthcare Bill: I'm with Ken on this one, 100%.
• Parenting and behavior rewards: a good and interesting piece on how to create effective "rewards" systems for your kids.

Video tidbits, March 2010

• Curious about Asperger's Syndrome? Arthur's friend Brain explains:
• Very cool technology:
• Effective (but a little scary) Super Bowl commercial:
• Sir Ian McKellen, on acting (somewhat tongue-in-cheek, though frankly pretty spot-on):

For All the Saints

Some of my tens of readers already know that I have just had a new book published. For All the Saints: Praying for the Church was just released by Doulos Resources earlier this week.

I started working on this book a little over a year ago, when the president of our Women in the Church ministry, Jane Mitchell, asked me if I could help her find a resource for the women on learning to pray for the church. (This fit well into our Ministry Focus for last year, which was prayer.) She had already looked and found nothing. I looked myself, and I couldn't find anything either. I was astonished; surely there was something out there on how to pray for the church?

If there was, I couldn't find it. So I told her I would write up a guide for them. I set out to fill a page with ideas, and that quickly became a few pages front-and-back. This evolved into a pamphlet, then a booklet, and eventually a small book.

My colleagues at Doulos Resources liked my small book, and after a few changes and improvements to the original, it became what it is today. I'm grateful to see it in published form, and I hope that it will serve the church as a useful resource.

One of the things I really like about how Doulos Resources offers books is that they want to make them easily affordable for churches. If a church wants to buy more than one copy for distribution or re-sale (like on a book table, etc.), Doulos Resources will discount the price to just $5 per copy.

Meanwhile, anyone can get a 10% discount through the Doulos Resources E-Store by entering this discount code: JF8PT64K (that discount applies to ALL Doulos Resources titles!).

Calvinist or "Hyper-Calvinist"? Or, the more careful use of labels...

Not long ago, someone dropped by my study who was dropping something off for an event. While there, she said, "I have a question for you: are you a Calvinist or a Hyper-Calvinist?"

I realized this was a loaded question; usually people don't speak with that sort of language of comparison unless they have a particular pre-disposition about both. It's sort of like the label "TR" which can be used pejoratively, meaning "more 'Reformed' than me;" or it can be used haughtily, meaning, "more 'Reformed' than YOU." Either way, it's always done relative to the speaker.

So it turned out to be with my curious visitor. I answered, "I would call myself a Calvinist" at which point she relaxed with relief. But I came to find out that by "Calvinist" she meant, essentially, that God's election of the saints was conditioned on His foreknowledge that they would respond to His offer of grace with faith.

I recognize that position, and I don't begrudge someone their right to conclude that from Scripture if their study so leads them (though I confess I don't see how it does; I've tried to examine the Bible through the "lens" of the Arminian position and it simply isn't my prescription). But what she articulated was not Calvinism.

It reminded me of how carefully we must use such labels. By this lady's estimation, she would conclude that I am, in fact, a "Hyper-Calvinist" (though I would deny it with some enthusiasm). In fact, she probably doesn't really know what either term meant.

I just read last night that, when David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was asked why, in his preaching through the first two chapters of Ephesians, he never once mentioned Calvinism. "The Apostle Paul didn't choose to use that term," said he.

Perhaps we might follow Dr. Lloyd-Jones's model more frequently.

Books for February 2010

• Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian (re-read). This series of 20 novels is my favorite collection of fiction, and I decided during the recent snow days to begin reading them again. Though I've read them through twice before, I still find the stories fresh, engaging, and excellently written. (10)
• Post-Captain by Patrick O'Brian (re-read). (10)