Year: 2010

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Embarrassed by Jesus?

It’s easy to be embarrassed about being a follower of Jesus. Maybe your parents put up one of those Jesus. All about life banners outside your house, and now you don’t want your friends to see it? Or maybe you have a Christian group at school and you’re a little bit embarrassed so don’t turn up? Or maybe you’ve never filled out the ‘Religious Views’ bit on facebook? It’s easy to understand that we are sometimes embarrassed, or even ashamed to follow Jesus: Jesus himself says that his followers will be hated on his account. What will help you to be unashamed to follow Jesus?

At the centre of Christianity is the death of Jesus upon a cross. 2000 years ago, the cross was considered a pretty horrific symbol and so to say that you worship a Jewish guy who was crucified was considered foolish. There’s an ancient graffiti sketch in Rome of an early Christian, Alexamenos, worshipping Jesus. The picture (see it here) mockingly shows Jesus as half man/half donkey hanging on a cross. The ancient world looked on in ridicule at the death of Jesus upon a dirty piece of wood.

It’s into this type of context that Paul writes in Romans 1:15-16 that he is eager and unashamed to preach Jesus. What made it possible for Paul to have that type of attitude? Why was he unashamed when it was so easy to be ashamed?

Continue reading “Embarrassed by Jesus?”

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Martin Luther on Romans

Lots of Romans coming up. Sweeeeeet. Here’s what an old school monk said about it:

“This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian’s while not only to memorise it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.” (From Martin Luther’s Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans)

Get it in ya belly!

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Never Be Destroyed – Summary of Daniel Series

I’ve enjoyed spending lots of time in Daniel during the past couple of months: I wrote 6 blogs posts; gave a 5 talk series on 2 camps; wrote an exam answer on Political Philosophy from Daniel 4 and 5; suffered an academic injury writing an essay on History and Providence in Daniel; and been encouraged to keep trusting the “one like a son of man” – Jesus.  Here’s a key verse about Jesus from Daniel 7:14 “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Here is the whole series:

(The talks from CMS Camp MMM were probably the better ones.)

Shout out to John Woodhouse and his 1984 sermon series, Daniel for Today.

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What is the Gospel? By Greg Gilbert

The word ‘gospel’ simply means ‘good news’. Of all the gospels in the world, there is no gospel that is more momentous or more important than the gospel of Jesus. My life was changed when I came to understand this gospel. But what is ‘the gospel’?

Greg Gilbert from 9 Marks ministries has recently written a book that answers this question with great clarity in a small and very readable book.

Here’s the description from Crossway books:

What is the gospel? It seems like a simple question, yet it has been known to incite some heated responses, even in the church. How are we to formulate a clear, biblical understanding of the gospel? Tradition, reason, and experience all leave us ultimately disappointed. If we want answers, we must turn to the Word of God.

Greg Gilbert does so in What Is the Gospel? Beginning with Paul’s systematic presentation of the gospel in Romans and moving through the sermons in Acts, Gilbert argues that the central structure of the gospel consists of four main subjects: God, man, Christ, and a response. The book carefully examines each and then explores the effects the gospel can have in individuals, churches, and the world. Both Christian and non-Christian readers will gain a clearer understanding of the gospel in this valuable resource.

The God, man, Christ, response formula is nothing new. So the book isn’t offering a new or fresh understanding of the gospel, but rather restating the gospel as it is revealed in the Bible. I really love the way that Gilbert writes. This book is only 100 (small-sized) pages, but in those pages he packs in a lot of quality content without some of the technical clutter you might find in a more academic work. That doesn’t mean that this book lacks academic integrity, rather it’s written at a level that is accessible to a general readership.

Here’s a video of Gilbert explaining why he wrote the book:

Continue reading “What is the Gospel? By Greg Gilbert”

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Cherrybrook + Dural Combined Youth Camp

Cherrybrook Anglican and Dural Anglican are doing great work in their respective youth ministries. Last weekend I was able to join them both on their annual combined youth camp. This is a brilliant idea!! Rather than having 2 camps of 25 young punks each, they join forces to have a camp for 50 young punks.

Here are 3 benefits of two local youth groups joining up for a camp/special events: 1) Once a room has 50 peeps in it, there is enough of a critical mass to start creating a pretty sweet vibe; 2) 50+ people makes organisational sense, good for booking a camp site, good for sharing the leadership responsibility with both churches; 3) While it doesn’t make you any more or less the people of God, it’s a good thing to unite with brothers and sisters from your broader family.

If you help run a smaller group, why not share some of the love with another smaller and like-minded group of believers? Do it.

Here are the talks from the CH-URAL camp:

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FIFA World Cup Review Show with Jeff Vuvuzela

I said here that I’d do a FIFA World Cup 2010 wrap. Here it is. Will Ferrell plays the role of Jeff Vuvuzela, the inventor of the Vuvuzela. No violence. No language. No nudity. But part of it is slightly crude. If you’re under 15, check with your parents.

When we went to the Sydney FC vs Everton match the other night they were confiscating Vuvuzelas from people on their way in. I’ve also heard they are being banned at lots of English Premier League clubs. Good decision!

See you in four years time World Cup!!