Year: 2010

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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

In Mark 15, as Jesus dies upon the cross, he cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It’s a quote from Psalm 22. What’s going on? John Dickson reckons:

“This is not a cry of self-doubt from Christ’s lips, as if he is here questioning his identity and mission. It is his deliberate and agonising identification with the suffering poet of Psalm 22 and therefore, with all those who have cried out to God ‘Why?’. There on the cross, so the Bible insists, God intentionally enters our pain and misery, getting his hands dirty and even bloody. This is God at his most vulnerable and yet at his most glorious.”

(If I were God, I’d end all the pain p.66)

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KYCK 2010 – Promo Vid

KYCK 2010. It’s coming soon. KYCK 1997 changed my life. I’m praying that many young lives would be changed this year. There are 3 big weekends (9-11 April; 16-18 April; 23-25 April). Insiders reckon this will be the biggest one yet… maybe 6000 teenagers? Ed Springer, Matt Rowson, Dave Miers (that’s me) and George Statheos will be speaking on Life Under the Sun from Ecclesiastes. I can’t wait to be part of the action!

SEE BELOW TO WATCH THE PROMO VID:

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15 hour, 4-Part Sermon Prep Outline – Justin Buzzard

Justin Buzzard has just posted a really useful booklet outlining his sermon prep process. John Chapman, Australian evangelist, has a really simple method for sermon prep. Justin’s process is very similar to Chappo’s. That’s a good thing! If you’re new(ish) to preaching, or always looking to learn from others, DOWNLOAD the booklet now. You might also be interested in seeing the preaching notes of some well known preachers.

Here’s a snippet about Justin’s process:

This process is what works well for me. I’ve found that I work best approaching sermon prep in 4 “Parts” which I refer to as Till, Seed, Germinate, Reap (the gardening metaphor helps me approach sermon prep as a creation process where God is the primary Creator/Preacher).  I’ve also found that, for me, 15 hours is a sufficient and sustainable amount of time for weekly message prep.

Read the rest of the post | Download PDF

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Don’t Want to be a Corinthian Idiot + 4 Tips on Youth Podcasting

Scott Petty and Nicky Baker are my favourite Youth Pastors. They’re doing great work with Christ Church Youth in St Ives, Sydney. The current series they are teaching is from 1 Corinthians, Don’t Want to be a Corinthian Idiot. Check out the intro video below:

Check out the podcast. Subscribe in iTunes. Check out their archives. These are some of the best youth sermons that you will find online.

Interested in podcasting your own youth group sermons? 4 tips:

  1. Record them. Use an mp3 player or an iPhone or a laptop or a sound desk.
  2. Set up a free podcasting account at podomatic.com – it’s simple to use.
  3. Tell your youth group to check out the website and subscribe to new talks.
  4. Be consistent. Put a new talk up every week.
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4 Vignettes of Tears in the Bible

Two random things about teardrops: 1) I’ve noticed teardrop tattoos underneath the eyes of some rough nuts while doing street work. They signify the loss of a friend or a loved one. Check out wikipedia for more specific info. Interesting. 2) One of my favourite songs from 1998 is Teardrop by Massive Attack. Watch the vid. Newtown Faulkner has a very cool cover of Teardrop. Watch it below. Here are 4 vignettes of ‘tears’ in the Bible:

  1. Tears of the Oppressed – in Ecclesiastes 4, the Teacher looks and sees the “tears of the oppressed – and they have no comforter”. There are a number of examples in the Old Testament of tears. Often they are in the context of sin, despair and brokenness. (Revive have a song from this passage)
  2. Jesus anointed by the tears of a sinful woman – from Luke 7. We don’t know her name, but this ‘sinful woman’ breaks down in front of Jesus, anointing his feet with her tears. Jesus declares her sins forgiven.
  3. Jesus’ soul is overwhelmed with sorrow – in Mark 14 Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane. It doesn’t use the word ‘tears’ but I presume that Jesus shed many tears as he was ‘overwhelmed with sorrow’. Jesus knows the real pain of the cross he is about to endure. His body was broken, so that broken people – like the ‘sinful woman’ above and like me – can have their sin dealt with.
  4. Jesus wipes every tear from their eyes – the final vignette in this ensemble is breathtaking. In Revelation 21, Jesus wipes away every tear from the eyes of his people. No more death. No more crying. No more pain. With God. Brilliant.

Are you one of his people? Do you long for that day?

——–

Newton Faulkner Teardrop vid below:

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40 Days of Water

I just drank my first cup of coffee in 40 days. Yum. I’ve been part of a group of people involved in 40 Days of Water. How did it work? You only drink tap-water for the 40 days. You keep a tally of how much money you saved by eliminating other drinks. You give that money toward providing clean drinking water in Africa.

It’s been a hard time to do it. It’s the middle of summer. I’ve hung out for a week in Clovelly with all its trendy cafes, no coffee allowed. I’ve hung out for a week in Bellingen with all its hippie cafes, no coffee allowed. I’ve been down to Terrigal a stack of times, no coffee allowed. And I’ve been offered countless coffees from friends and family, no coffee allowed.

It was a very useful exercise. I don’t really need coffee, but I did miss drinking it. Three things happened regularly for me when saying no to non-water drinks:

  1. I realised how rich I am. I have access to whatever I want to drink, whenever I want to drink it. I have so much money that I can spend $4 on a coffee without it making too much of a financial impact!
  2. I am so rich, such that, even when I don’t buy drinks, I have beautiful, clean, tasty water flowing like a teeming river form 6 taps in my house. What privilege.
  3. It’s not that hard to be generous with even a few dollars to make a big difference in the lives of those in need.
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As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you

John Woodhouse kicked off the Moore College (make sure you check out the sexy new resource rich website) academic year with a solid exposition of John 15:1-17 on Monday afternoon chapel. I’ve recently reflected on this passage about Jesus as the True Vine.

On Monday I was particularly struck by verse 9, it’s breathtaking:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”

Woodhouse skilfully brought our attention to the wonder of God the Son loving us with the same love that God the Father has loved Him. Jesus is the one who is “Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father” (Nicene Creed). This Jesus, who for all eternity has been loved by the Father, is the one who demonstrates his love for us in his death on the cross. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (verse 13).

What a friend we have in Jesus.