Marcus Lynn’s adventures in life and ministry
One of my pet peeves is when people sing in worship without really thinking or understanding what they are singing. Sometimes that can even be the song leader or song selector’s fault. One of my favorite hymns is Come Thou Fount, but I know most people don’t know what “Raise my ebenezer” means. So worship leaders should explain songs and people singing them from the pews should also seek to “praise with understanding.”
Do you have any worship pet peeves?
There’s a great difference between learning Bible facts and gaining insight. It’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
First of all, what is fellowship? It’s not just about “fellowship” dinners in a “Fellowship” hall. Fellowship is spending time together in a caring atmosphere. So we “fellowship” on Sunday morning when we shake hands, look our brother or sister in Christ in the eye, and earnestly say, “How are you?” We “fellowship” when we notice “Mr. So and So” is missing and we call him up after services to see if he is OK. We “fellowship” when we send a card, make a call, or visit someone on their birthday, because their sick, or just to say hi. Fellowship is how we prove to the world that we are one, united.
Ardant du Picq, a 19th century French colonel and military theorist, once said, “Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare to attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely.” We cannot fight off the difficulties of this world without the aid of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
How are you “aiding” your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? How many brothers and sisters in Christ can you say you know well enough to care for? Are you making yourself known to them? How’s your “fellowship?”
We’re much more susceptible to attack when we’re intoxicated with success and our spiritual reflexes are limp. See David/Bathsheba, Joseph, Jonah’s self-pity).
Timothy George wrote the book of that title in 2002 on the heels of 9/11 and an outlash against Muslims. I think we all know that not every Muslim is an extremist bent on destroying the United States. Having said that, what do Muslims believe and how should we relate to them as Christians? Do Christians and Muslim worship the “same God?”
While I am not a huge fan of George’s style, I did agree with his conclusions. And his answer is complex. Here’s what George says:
Patience and perseverance will help us avoid two approaches to Islam–neither of which is likely to advance the Christian gospel. The first approach majors on truth but lacks love; the second seeks to be loving but hedges on the truth. The vilification of Islam and the denigration of Muhammad are well-established traditions in the literature of Christian polemics, going back to the Middle Ages. But it is possible to win the argument and lose a soul.
A second–and equally inadequate–approach to Islam assumes that all religions are essentially the same. Why worry about any particular differences? The cavalier attitude toward truth adopted by this position does justice neither to Islamic theology nor to the Christian faith (128-29).
And more specifically to the question of this post, he answers:
The Father of Jesus is the only God there is, and in that sense he is the God of every person who has ever lived, including Muhammad. [And George goes on to talk about the contributions made by Islam to the world.] But in another–and decisive–sense, the Father of Jesus is not the God of Muhammad, for Christians and Muslims have radically different understandings of the character and nature of God. [And George makes a great case that the idea of God being a "father figure" would be totally anathema to their way of thought.] (130-31).
There are costs to leadership. One is criticism. You can’t have a thin skin and hope to move people through thick plans. No leader is exempt from criticism, and his humility will no where be seen more clearly than in the manner in which he accepts and reacts to it. Opposition is inevitable.
From Nehemiah 4:
Mark 3:13-15. Please read it.
Jesus had already done miracles and taught. He had already called Matthew and collected disciples or followers. But now He’s ready to give authority. Symbolizing that journey of responsibility and accountability Jesus goes up a hill or mountain. There will always be a lot of people willing to follow Jesus in the easy areas of life but who’s going up the mountain?
People are at different levels of their journey or discipleship with Christ. Some being ministered to…and then others who share in the ministry, who have real authority, who are using their gifts and potential that God gave and recognizes in them.
Apostles=”power of attorney”
There will always be people willing to listen and who need the healing Word of God…but they may never “do” anything. They may never go up the mountain or reach their potential or become apostles. But then there will be others who we will have to help them understand that they have been “called out.” We must train them, spend most of our time with them in order to give them real ministry and authority.
This video is 9 minutes long…but worth every second of it! I was 9 and remember it fondly. This is what made me an avid hockey fan.
Luke 16:1-9 is a strange parable (known as the parable of the shrewd manager). Is Jesus condoning dishonesty, or shrewdness? Why was this told?
This is the concluding parable in a set of 4 that seem to be a response to the Pharisees’ attack on Jesus for eating with sinners.
Ideas?
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