Lost Theories

Check out this site attempting to explain the coherence of Lost! Intriguing to say the least. (click the title of this post)

So many people are trying to explain what's going on in this crazy show. I would like to just sit back and let it all unfold, but the more you watch the less you know! There are many potential philosophical applications, as well, primarily involving theories of time and space.

You have to appreciate the brilliant writing, though.

Age of the Earth Controversy

I have recently gone "back on the fence" over the "age of the earth controversy" among evangelical creationists. I found several good skeptical articles that are worth reading on a topic that is primarily dominated by the young earth camp among evangelical circles.

http://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/20_4_PDFs/121_Cabal.pdf

http://reclaimingthemind.org/papers/ets/2001/Cabal/Cabal.html

http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/85

Essential Element: Scripture

On Sunday, March 1, we read the following together during our worship service as an affirmation of faith in one of our most important doctrines:

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

This statement, taken directly from the Baptist Faith and Message (2000), is an important declaration of our confidence in Scripture as the definitive revelation of God to man. As Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. explains, “The Bible is not merely a record of revelation. It is revelation itself. The Bible is not a fallible witness to the revelation of God. It is God’s perfectly inspired Word.”
Scripture is a crucial element of Christian worship, and we make Scripture a central focus in three distinct ways. First, we must read aloud the words of Scripture. Sometimes one person reads a passage, sometimes we read a passage in unison, and other times we read responsively. All of these help us to ensure we are constantly focused on the Word as guide to our worship.

Further, Scripture is kept central through its exposition. Expository preaching is the intentional proclamation of the Word in a way that unpacks its truth for the people of God to clearly understand. David Platt, senior pastor of the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, says, “If preaching is not expository, then it’s not preaching.” He goes on to clarify that “the purpose of preaching is to glorify God, and we magnify the glory of God by magnifying His voice, by magnifying what He has said.”

Finally, everything else that happens in our worship must be tried by the standard of Scripture, and be done for the purpose of the propagation of its message. The words of the songs we sing should be vetted and scrutinized against the truth of Scripture, regardless of how catchy, fun, or emotionally moving the music may be. A beautiful-sounding song, performed with great musicality, but with a text that contradicts or misconstrues the message of Scripture, is nonetheless dishonoring to God.

If we desire to worship God “in spirit and in truth,” we are dependent on the truth of Scripture to direct us in what we teach, preach, and sing. If we desire to honor Jesus Christ, the “Word made flesh,” in our worship, we must honor the written Word, which Christ himself exalted even as high as his own name. If we desire to “draw near to God,” we must seek to experience Him through his revealed Word, over any spiritual experience, intuition, or emotion. Praise be to God for the gift of his eternal Word. In the words of the hymn writer:

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Essential Element: Praise

The fist Essential Element of Worship is praise. Perhaps this causes some confusion: the terminology is very important here. The “Praise and Worship” movement of recent years is simply a musical style trend, using the familiar words to label the movement and add ecclesiastical credibility to its music. The biblical concepts of “praise” and “worship” should not become separated as mutually exclusive in our minds. Scripture is clear that this is not the case. Worship is a broad concept that still has theologians and scholars trying to develop a full, comprehensive definition of it. And indeed, many have in very different yet applicable ways. For example, look up the definitions of worship by Gary Furr, John Piper, William Temple, David Peterson, D.A. Carson, John Frame, or Donald Hustad (just to name a few!)

Praise, however, is much more clearly defined. Praise is our act of expressing the greatness, holiness, and worthiness (among other attributes) of God. First, we are to seek a true vision of who God is and what God is like. Our pastor made a very insightful observation in his sermon on February 8. He said that you can often differentiate young or immature believers from mature disciples by the nature of their prayers. Less mature believers, he said, will continually thank God for what he has done, but the more mature Christians seek to first acknowledge God for his unique attributes and thank him not only for what He has done but for who He is.

In Isaiah 6, we see that the presence of God is continually accompanied by praise. The angels proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” This description first acknowledges for us that indeed Isaiah had approached the throne of the one true and living God; but it also gives us, even in its brevity, several of His attributes. From this short ascription we can derive that God is holy, set apart, and righteous; we see he is omnipotent, omnipresent, and that he is the Creator; and, we see that he is worthy to receive honor, glory, and praise.

We cannot fully worship God without praising Him. May our lips and hearts be filled with the praises of God for who He is.

Essential Elements of Worship

What guides us as we determine what we do in our worship services? Is there a place in Scripture that gives us the ideal service outline, telling us where to put the announcements, how many songs to sing, or what instruments to use? Despite the inclusion of a 150-chapter hymnal in the center of the Bible (Psalms), any reference to corporate worship leaves us without specific details regarding the look, feel, order, structure, or sound of our worship gatherings.

However, the Bible does give us very clear principles that we can and should use as guidelines for corporate worship. These guidelines are what I would like to refer to as the “Essential Elements of Worship.” Through a careful examination of several key passages, and the context of these within the full counsel of Scripture, five distinct “non-negotiables” that we must prioritize in our acts of corporate worship emerge.

The primary reference for many of these concepts is Isaiah 6:1-8. In this passage, Isaiah describes his encounter with the Lord. Isaiah’s encounter with God tells us much about God himself and how he desires us to communicate with him. First, Isaiah sees the Lord, and his vision is accompanied by the praise of the angels (vv.1-3), which is itself quotation of Scripture. Then, Isaiah’s immediate reaction is to recognize his lowliness in comparison to God, and confess his sin and unworthiness (vv.4-5). The Lord’s response is grace, as the angel offers to Isaiah redemption through the sacrifice of the altar (vv.6-7), an image that is clearly reminiscent of our salvation through Jesus Christ.

Throughout the Psalms, expressions of praise are abundant, but also expressions of thanksgiving for God’s providence and redemption of His people. As New Testament believers, heirs in the new covenant, what greater act of providence can we attest to than the provision of a savior? Indeed, we celebrate the ultimate act of God’s redemption as we recall and proclaim the Gospel Story.

Finally, Isaiah hears God’s call to service, and in light of the grace he has received, unquestioningly responds in enthusiastic commitment (v. 8).The essential elements of Isaiah’s encounter with God, as well as other instances in Scripture, include praise, Scripture, confession, celebration, and commitment. In the coming months, we will explore each of these elements more closely, discovering what each of them means in terms of what and how in our corporate worship gatherings together.

Anything Genuine

Smalltown Poets
Anything Genuine

To test this gold for its worth is the same as testing me
And the fire burns easily today
The net is the good that's left after the metal is refined
As I melt, look at what I've got and
Separate it all from what I need

I'll take anything, anything genuine.
Looking up from where I went I could take whatever I get
I'll take anything, anything genuine


More interesting is my faith than the fear of what I'll miss
And those things are temporary anyway
Still on this side getting fit for a faith that's been tried
And I smile more believably while getting just enough to know I need

I'll take anything, anything genuine
Looking up from where I went, I could take whatever I get
Falling from Your hands or falling from Your lips
As long as it's from You, I know that I can take it, I can take it
And I'll rejoice.