The Pulpiteer

This is the first sermon in our new series “The Deliverer,” a sermon series that will take us through a large part of Exodus.

In this sermon we are challenged to think in terms of slavery and freedom.  What things enslave you?  How does sin enslave you?  What is the freedom that God offers you?

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I’m going to interrupt my series on Leviticus for just a moment.  I was reading over at April’s blog today and this quote caught my eye:

Who is Jesus? Im in a quandry of complexity and yet he should be so simple to us. He spoke boldy, walked boldy, yet looked at Children and had so much compassion for them. I grew up with Blue faced blonde hair Jesus. Some of it may even be tainted with the “jesus video’s” I used to watch. Who we know Jesus to be will eventually paint a picture of Who God is.

You would think that a pastor would help someone with this good and valid of a question. All I could think of was a series of videos that my brother in law showed me several years ago. They’re really funny and they were put out by a church that I’ll link here. I found the videos on youtube, so here is one of my favorites: Continue Reading »

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First off, I’m thrilled that Sam read the suggested verses last time. As a reward he received a little lesson on fair play. And, in case you are wondering how that fits in to the categories I gave last time – ceremonial, moral, and civil – I think dirty fighting as described in Deuteronomy 25:11-12 is in the moral category. Therefore this law should still apply (in my opinion).

You may be a law, but I'm free by grace!

However, while the three ways to categorize is helpful in some ways, as I said in the last post there are some problems with it, so how do we understand the Old Testament laws? In this post I’m going to look at some passages in the New Testament that deal with understanding the law.

For dinner this evening we are having ham. There are many tasty things that one can do with a pig. However, as you probably know, eating a pig is forbidden in Jewish law (Leviticus 11:7). Simon Peter was not only a disciple of Jesus, but also a devout Jew, so when we read the account given in Acts 10 of Peter’s vision, it is of no surprise that Peter is shocked. He is informed by God that the dietary restrictions have been lifted. In fact it takes three times of the same vision and voice of God to get Peter to consider this, and then that’s even followed by a divine appointment with a Gentile.
Notice something interesting and important here. The story of the dietary restrictions being lifted is interwoven with the story of Peter accepting the Gentile believers. The lesson that Peter takes from all of this is that God shows no partiality in regards to which culture someone comes from if they are following him (Acts 10:34). There are a few things to note here. First, the law, at least in some cases is now understood in a radically different way. My ham dinner in and of itself is not sinful. Second, it seems that the implications of the law can be more complex than one might first expect. In this example, dietary laws are connected with table fellowship, which dictates who you can hang out with and who is acceptable in the sight of God. Finally, the turning point in history as to the interpretation of the Law as far as Christians are concerned is found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is to Jesus we will now turn. Continue Reading »

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I received an email the other day that had a Bible application question in it, and since I like thinking about those types of things I asked this person if I could share the main thrust of the question and my answer on the blog.

Are Tattoos Christian?

The question was basically – “What do Christians do with the Old Testament law?” And it was specifically in regards to tattoos. If I have a tattoo is that a sin, or what do I do with Leviticus 19:28?

I love this question for a couple of reasons. To begin with it shows that we need to have some sort of stance on how the Bible applies to our lives. It is not an option. How we apply it to our lives is an option. For example, we can say that the Old Testament stuff is antiquated or I don’t do Leviticus or something that amounts to just writing it off a priori. Or, we could go just a tad deeper and decide something like, “the Old Testament doesn’t really matter to Christians, we are New Testament people.” Another option is to read the laws and feel a bit uncomfortable about them. Why are they there? Why aren’t church people concerned about all of them? Why doesn’t Deuteronomy 22:11 keep people up at night (the prohibition of wearing clothing that is wool and linen woven together)? We have to decide, and I like that. The Bible messes with your head if you read it right and take it seriously. If you read the Bible and come away from it realizing how awesome you are and how awful your neighbor is than you are missing the whole thing.

What we do in our life matters to God. That’s why this type of question is exciting. How we live matters to God. What we wear and eat and do with our bodies matters to God. So, what do we do with this question? Continue Reading »

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I actually got some comments last time, which was cool (thanks Sam and April). As I continue my thoughts on tragedy and God I want to build off of one of the comments left by April. She writes,

Anyway…suffering, as far as I know isnt a part of Gods plan…although all things, IN the END, I believe will bring glory to God.

I think this is an important point. It is essential to add that God knew how to handle sin, suffering and death when it came, and that God allowed it to happen when he granted true freedom to humanity. I would also add that God knew that evil would occur. This is different than suggesting that evil and suffering were an essential part of God’s design or intent for creation. There are good Christian people who think things along those lines, such as John Piper (here’s a recent article where he writes just that). I happen to disagree with them. As I read scripture, such as the Genesis creation accounts, I see glimpses of God’s original intent for creation. I hear God proclaim, “It is good!” and he doesn’t follow that up with, “and it would be even better if there were evil and death!”

With these things in mind I want to examine a verse that seems to be misused at times. Romans 8:28 states,

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Continue Reading »

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