Join Me for an In-Depth Study of Acts

This one's for my King Street pals. I am very excited to invite you to join me for a new class at King Street on Wednesday nights, 7:00pm, in M21/23. Starting Jan. 6 (a week from tomorrow) I will be leading a group on an expedition through the first 12 chapters of the book of Acts, a book known in antiquity as the Acts of the Apostles. The class is open to anyone who wants to attend.

Why Acts? Well, apart from my general desire to study the book myself, I believe there are central doctrines (teachings) in the book of Acts that need to be highlighted and cherished by the Church today. Some have been ignored (e.g. ecclesiology, the study of the church.) Some have been misunderstood (pneumatology, the study of the Holy Spirit.) Some cause great fear (e.g. missiology, the study of evangelism.) And some simply do not receive the kind of attention and care they should (e.g. soteriology, the study of salvation.) Acts takes us on a wild thrill ride through all of these doctrines!

But wait, there's more! By carefully considering these chapters verse by verse, the class will equip students with valuable Bible reading and study skills, which will strengthen their reading comprehension and their ability to handle any text of the Bible. Imagine a church filled with people who could be described like the Jewish Bereans in Acts 17 who diligently searched the Scriptures for themselves to see if Paul was telling the truth. What if all of King Street could handle the text with this sort of eagerness and skill?

So please do me two favors, King Streeters. First, join my class if you're able. Second, could you get the word out by sending people you know in the church links to this post? I'm so new I don't have the connections to get the word out, and it would be sweet to have a great turn-out. Thanks everyone.

"Kyle, why do you keep messing with your blog layout?"

Thank you, my dear reader, for noticing. The truth is, I'm trying to find a template that does all the stuff I want it to do. The last one I had was almost perfect, but it wasn't displaying recent comments for some odd reason. This one displays comments, but doesn't fill the page, which I find annoying. So I'll keep dinking with it. Does anyone have a suggestion on where I can find more templates?

A Quiet Week of Preparation

Perhaps you didn't know this, but this is the slowest week of the year in a pastor's schedule. Christmas is over, so there is no more special service prep. The congregation is in holiday mode, so no one is scheduling appointments. And most of the staff is using up they're use-it-or-lose-it vacation time, so collaboration is at a minimum. So, in an effort to redeem the time well, I am in full preperation mode. Now is the time to read good books, outline upcoming meetings, write classroom curriculum, and pray for vision.

What is the week between Christmas and New Years Day like for you. Do things slow down? How do you redeem the time?

My Mobile Little Friend

My boy is on the move, with greater proficiency than ever. He has gone from rolling, to scooting, to crawling, to standing up on anything and everything he can wrap his fist around. As I write, he's pulling himself up to the couch to add his own special brand of keyboard-banging rhetoric to this blog post.

What's unfortunate is that this new found mobility has not come standard with a dose of new found caution. He'll pull himself up on anything, even if that thing has no way of supporting his efforts. Such items include the Christmas tree, lightweight stools, the drink cart in our dining room, and various plastic toys. He will pull until these items topple on him as he careens to the floor.

Just because you can treat something as sound and foundational doesn't mean it is. The careless abandon of Samuel somehow reminds me to read the Bible with care and make sure my thoughts of God are founded upon it.

A Christmas Message for our Culture

Bewildered by the cornucopia of disparate Christmas messages, icons, themes, and traditions? Here's a message that points us to the very thing Christmas is all about.

That's Christmas (Short Film) HD from St Helen’s Church on Vimeo.

HT: Justin Taylor

Holy to the Lord

Having now completed my Worthy: A Celebration of Jesus sermon series, I've been reflecting on the gift that Jesus is to me and to all of those who know and follow Jesus. My devotional reading is in Exodus right now, and this morning I read a passage in Exodus 28 that stood out to me more profoundly than ever.

"You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

Exodus 28:36-38

Aaron wore a sign that declared he was holy to the Lord, and represented all of the people by bearing the guilt from the holy things that the people brought as gifts (read: sacrifices).

Aaron bears the guilt, so that the people are declared holy and able to stand in right relationship with God. We, too, have a great high priest who bears the guilt of the people he represents that we might be accepted before the Lord. Merry Christmas.

Life Preaches the Gospel

Yesterday was a day that requires some reflection. It was one of those days that will probably become more profound in my mind as time passes.

It was the 9th anniversary for my wife and me. We were married Dec.16, 2000 in the aftermath of an ice storm. Our marriage is strong, based on our commitment to loving Jesus and letting that priority shape our love for each other. We had a great time yesterday. For dinner, Rachel made my favorite dish, lasagne. She ran out of lasagne noodles and had to use a layer of spaghetti to make it work. It did work. She's a genius.

But to really celebrate nine years of marriage, we had a son. It just so happens that our day in court to officially finalize our adoption of Samuel David fell yesterday at 11:30am. We bundled up the family and made the journey to the courthouse in Carlisle, where our lawyer said these words. I'll paraphrase:

Do you understand that with this adoption, Samuel will be your son with all the rights and privileges of a natural born child? And do you understand that you will be charged with taking care of him, providing for his needs and caring for him as his parents?

Do we understand this? Yes. We understand because we love Samuel; we chose him, traveled to get him, picked him up out of his dire situation, made room for him in our family, and we now give him everything he needs, including the promise of a share in this family forever. Does Samuel understand the ramifications of all that has happened. No. He just knows he's loved. And as he grows, he'll come to understand all of the parts of that love.

It was a very good day.


Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The Bad News Part 5: Sharing the Whole Gospel with Humility and Love

Here's the last thing I want to share on the topic of the role of sin in evangelism, at least for this little series: If you can't share the consequences of sin and the life-changing news of the Savior with humility and love, please don't share them at all. At least, don't share them until you fully understand and embrace the love and humility of Jesus.

I can't think of a more humbling doctrine than the truth of pervasive, human-shattering sin. Can it really be that all the evil of the war in Afghanistan, the horrible human trafficking in South East Asia, the genocide in Africa, the drug-related gangland killings of South and Central America, and the continuing violence in North American cities is a product of the same evil that makes me struggle to keep my eyes pure, my pride checked, and my money from becoming my idol?

I don't live the life of a drug addict, but I've worked with them. Recovering addicts have been my friends in the past. And perhaps one of the most profound lessons I have learned from those relationships is that those men and I are the same. I could share Jesus with them because they knew I was just as sinful and in need of a Savior as they were.

When you share the problem of sin and the solution of Jesus, please do so as one of the sinners. We weren't saved because we're better than anyone else. We were saved by grace through faith in Jesus. That faith is a gift we did not earn and do not deserve. There is no reason for any sense of pride on our part. The only thing we can boast about is the greatness of Jesus, and when that's our perspective we are sure to share in humility and love.

The Bad News Part 4: The Consequences of a Sinless Gospel--My Thoughts

Ok, I get it. My fault. I posed a question, hoping for some comments, but stated your answer would reflect your knowledge of the Gospel. Who's going to answer that one! Sorry about that. Let me rephrase. How you answer the question will tell you something about how you see the Gospel.

Here's what I'm getting at. Many people would read the accounts of Bob and Don and immediately see Don as very in need of help. Bob, to most of his friends and family, is doing fine. So, if faith in Jesus is designed to bring help in this life, obviously Don needs Jesus far more than Bob.

But that is wrong. Bob and Don both need Jesus desperately. The error is in thinking the Gospel is designed to cure life's difficulties. Jesus does not make your life better; he takes your life, throws it out, and gives you a new one. Sin corrupts our lives to the point of death, but Jesus' death in our place gives us life free from the bondage of sin; freedom to love and glorify God.

If you take sin out of the story of Jesus, then Jesus died for no reason. Many in the church today want to share Jesus, but don't want to tell anyone they are sinners deserving death. So instead, they lead with Jesus as the solver of problems and the healer of wounds. Who wouldn't want that? I'll tell you: Bob. And Don will end up hearing about a God who can solve his problems without hearing about his ultimate problem. We end up with therapeutic deism, a God-solution for those whose lives don't seem very happy.

Can you start sharing Jesus by addressing the felt needs of a person? Of course! Jesus did this all the time: the woman at the well, the blind man, the lame man who came through the roof, just to name a few. But as it was for Jesus, felt needs must be an in-road to contemplating the real issue of sin if your friend is ever to realize his need for new life, not just a happier old life.

I'm Loco for Logos

Hey Everyone,

Nothing will spark your study of the Bible better than getting the right tools around you. If you're looking for some premium Bible software, check out Logos. It's what I use. They have various levels of software for beginners and scholars alike. They're also running this cool Bible giveaway promotion, and by telling you about their product (which I'm glad to do) I'm entering the contest. So check out the links below.

______________________________________

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.