This might not interest many of you, but it's free. I began preaching through Galatians at the beginning of the year and finished yesterday. I generally followed the conventional interpretation of the letter, with a few interesting (to me at least) deviations. Here are some of my interpretations that I did not hold before I began:
1. Galatians 1 is Paul's defense of his unique gospel presentation for the Gentiles. When he says he received it by revelation, not from man, he is not contradicting his words in 1 Corinthians 15:3, when he said he received the gospel as tradition passed down to him. He had certainly heard the facts about Jesus while he was persecuting Christians; that's why he could immediately start preaching that Jesus was the Son of God after he was baptized in Damascus (Acts 9).
2. Galatians 2:1 is not meant to be the continuation of Paul's personal narrative. I think it is Paul's account of the "Jerusalem Council" that Luke described in Acts 15 (scholars debate this point). Paul jumps to that occasion because it was the first major time when Paul's understanding of what the gospel implied for Gentiles (which was his distinct personal calling from Christ, his unique contribution among the apostles) was in jeopardy of being contradicted by Jewish Christians with the support of the other apostles. Paul says, in essence, I made the convincing case that faith in Jesus was the exclusive way to be right with God, and that meant that Gentiles did not need to become like the Jews in order to be God's people. Since the Jerusalem Council affirmed that Paul accurately represented what the gospel implied for Gentiles, he was absolutely right to call Peter out when the leader of the original Twelve was undermining gospel implications by his behavior. Paul didn't write about who won the showdown because Peter obviously had not thought through all the implications of the gospel for the Gentiles.
3. I was surprised how many brilliant scholars hold that believers are justified by "the faith/faithfulness of Christ." (See Gal. 2:16-21) I don't buy it at all, but I'll save you the reasons. The traditional view seems right: we are justified by "faith in Christ."
4. That Gentiles and Jews alike are sons of Abraham and heirs of the promise by faith is what renders circumcision ineffective. Thus, when Paul talks about "the Israel of God" in 6:16, he is talking about the same group of people "who walk according to this rule." It would make no sense to argue for the whole letter that Gentiles and Jews are "one in Christ," only to draw a distinction between "God's Israel" and those others, the Gentile Christians. The Israel of God (in this context) = the Church.
5. Galatians 4:21-31 is tough, but I think it is a vivid illustration of living by the flesh.
6. Paul says walking by the Spirit is the superior replacement to living under the Law; if believers are free from the Law, how are they supposed to live? "Walking by the Spirit" is radically others-focused, developing Christ's character in us and creating a community that fulfills the second Great Commandment. When Paul says "Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh," he's not describing the internal struggle we face to do the right thing. He's saying that the Spirit is the most effective strategy to keep us from everyone doing what is right in his own eyes. Walking by the Spirit is not first about moment-by-moment communication from God (other texts must be used to make that case) - it's first about using your freedom to love and serve our fellow believers and others as opportunity arises.
Too wordy already, so I'll say this: Galatians presents the Christian basics and challenges us deeply to make our boast "in the cross of Christ" and to use our freedom to serve others.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Finished the mini-Marathon
Saturday, April 26th, I ran the Kentucky Derby mini-Marathon. Thankfully, I was not injured during or after the race; I have heard about a few people who were hurt during the race. To my knowledge, PETA has not threatened organizers about how the injured from this race were handled.
I did not purchase the photos that were taken during the race of me, but I'll link them. I showed this one to my 8th grader friend, Brian, who said it looked like I was walking. The other shot isn't great either. And truly, the race T-shirt and the medal are both things I would hesitate to wear in public. So, you must trust me that I did run the entire race. My official time was 1:43:24, putting me comfortably behind 735 other runners, many of whom were much older, one of whom was a 13-year-old boy, and a few hundred of whom were women. That might be enough for me to retire from racing.
What caught the attention of this first-time racer? Four Elvis impersonators, one Spiderman, one princess, my first time in Churchill Downs, the gigantic litter volume created by racers, all the free stuff at the Finish line, the energizing effect of crowds cheering along the road, and the value of keeping pace with a seasoned runner for the last five miles.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Gone Swimmin'
Today we took Wesley for his first dip in a pool. He loved it! We went up to the seminary and swam for about 45 minutes. Wesley was a big fan of chewing on his bath toy while kicking his little legs all around behind him. He checked everyone out and let out quite a few giggles. When his face went in the water, he was pretty shocked, but handled it well. We had a really fun time. Wesley promptly conked out after getting all dried off and changed and getting strapped into his car seat.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Small Adventures
Looks like it’s time for another picture blog to spice things up a bit around here. We haven’t been doing much out of the ordinary lately, but here are some pictures of what we enjoy most.
This is one of Wesley’s favorite floor activities. Our friend, Jane, got him this little toy at a garage sale, and it has been a hit! Wesley is good at punching the buttons and knocking over/picking up the little characters all of which cause the toy to burst forth in joyful tune. He has this contemplative face during the whole process.
Bath time continues to be one of Wesley's favorite things. He's quite the splasher and loves to kick his little ducky all around while getting the whole kitchen counter wet. He seems to understand what you do with cups now. When we try to use this cup to pour water over his head, he grabs it and tries to "drink" from it.
Now that the weather is finally getting warmer, we are LOVING our BOB stroller! Wesley seems to love getting strapped in and going for a walk with the puppy at the park or the neighborhood near our house. Wesley and I have been having some good walks together while John Mark runs. (His mini-marathon is next Saturday!)
Last weekend, I didn't have to work on Friday, so we decided to have a little "getaway" weekend. We went to Cumberland River and stayed in a little cabin. We really didn't do much except eat and walk around the river, but we had a really good time.
Our deck overlooked the water. I didn't get a picture of our view for some reason, but it was nice. It actually rained pretty much all Friday. We even had to go to the main house for awhile to wait until a tornado warning expired for the area where we were.
These were taken Thursday night while the weather was still nice.
As my mom says, you could land a helicopter on that bottom lip. :)
In other news, Wesley has not one, not two, but THREE teeth! We were wondering why he was a lot fussier than usual for a couple of days, then last Wednesday, I noticed one little tooth emerging on the bottom left. Now almost a week and a half later, he's the proud owner of all of these! Needless to say, the fussiness has lingered. We're amazed at how little he drools, though! 
This is one of Wesley’s favorite floor activities. Our friend, Jane, got him this little toy at a garage sale, and it has been a hit! Wesley is good at punching the buttons and knocking over/picking up the little characters all of which cause the toy to burst forth in joyful tune. He has this contemplative face during the whole process.
Bath time continues to be one of Wesley's favorite things. He's quite the splasher and loves to kick his little ducky all around while getting the whole kitchen counter wet. He seems to understand what you do with cups now. When we try to use this cup to pour water over his head, he grabs it and tries to "drink" from it. 
Now that the weather is finally getting warmer, we are LOVING our BOB stroller! Wesley seems to love getting strapped in and going for a walk with the puppy at the park or the neighborhood near our house. Wesley and I have been having some good walks together while John Mark runs. (His mini-marathon is next Saturday!)
Last weekend, I didn't have to work on Friday, so we decided to have a little "getaway" weekend. We went to Cumberland River and stayed in a little cabin. We really didn't do much except eat and walk around the river, but we had a really good time.
Our deck overlooked the water. I didn't get a picture of our view for some reason, but it was nice. It actually rained pretty much all Friday. We even had to go to the main house for awhile to wait until a tornado warning expired for the area where we were.
These were taken Thursday night while the weather was still nice.As my mom says, you could land a helicopter on that bottom lip. :) In other news, Wesley has not one, not two, but THREE teeth! We were wondering why he was a lot fussier than usual for a couple of days, then last Wednesday, I noticed one little tooth emerging on the bottom left. Now almost a week and a half later, he's the proud owner of all of these! Needless to say, the fussiness has lingered. We're amazed at how little he drools, though! Other than that, we're just sittin' around being silly. (Thanks to Lela!)
Friday, April 18, 2008
Christian Community and Sunday School
I need some help. I began a "young adult" Sunday school class 18 months ago (or more), and I am hitting some walls. Less than two years after we started, only one of the original members of the class still attends. We have gone through Wayne Grudem's paper back summary of Christian beliefs (=theology). We have watched a video series by Rick Warren and Chuck Colson about worldview, reading a book by George Barna in conjunction (Beltway Park graciously sent me the materials). Interspersed among these we have had stand-alone studies on faith, Christian growth and maturity, surveys of parts of the Old Testament, how to share the gospel, etc.
A few times we have planned movie nights at our house or another's, but these have not been as popular as I would have hoped.
Our young adults (say, high school graduates through 40 years) are generally the least consistent bunch in our little church. I know a few of them want to know God more and to enjoy refreshing friendships with other believers. I want to facilitate that. Sunday school is not getting the job done. I'm not getting the job done. One guy who had not come (except to Sunday morning worship service) in about a year came at the beginning of the worldview series, got his book, and has not come back to Sunday school. I don't think this guy or the others who don't come are to blame. Why would anyone want to put effort into a group that does not catch their interest or facilitate the connections that add joy to the week?
I started looking around online for good resources for Sunday school. I'm reading books and hoping to get some fresh ideas from you about strategies that might work better than Sunday school.
A few times we have planned movie nights at our house or another's, but these have not been as popular as I would have hoped.
Our young adults (say, high school graduates through 40 years) are generally the least consistent bunch in our little church. I know a few of them want to know God more and to enjoy refreshing friendships with other believers. I want to facilitate that. Sunday school is not getting the job done. I'm not getting the job done. One guy who had not come (except to Sunday morning worship service) in about a year came at the beginning of the worldview series, got his book, and has not come back to Sunday school. I don't think this guy or the others who don't come are to blame. Why would anyone want to put effort into a group that does not catch their interest or facilitate the connections that add joy to the week?
I started looking around online for good resources for Sunday school. I'm reading books and hoping to get some fresh ideas from you about strategies that might work better than Sunday school.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Sexual Ethics and NT Marriage strategy
Sorry for taking so long to post my notes from the sermon on the 7th commandment! I decided to simply copy and paste my notes exactly with minimal changes. My notes were just over a page printed, but the sermon took 30-35 minutes. I did much explaining, and these brief points might not be clear.
Introduction: “You shall not commit adultery.” Why did this make the Ten Words?
Background: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10
“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. Deut. 22:22
John 8 - Jesus and the woman caught in adultery – Where is the guy?
Numbers 5:11-31 - when evidence is lacking but there is suspicion
Single-Sentence Application: Since marriage is the most important “Creation” relationship, we must protect it strenuously.
A. The holiness of every marriage is a public trust.
1. The sexual union between husband and wife had to be protected from violators.
a. Leviticus 18:6-18 lists all sorts of family members who were potential violators of other marriages because of the multi-generational homesteads.
b. Deuteronomy 22:23-29 addresses cases of premarital sex.
c. Proverbs 2:16-19; 5-7 Fathers were to warn their sons about adulterous women
2. Adultery was a capital offense, but the OT tells of many odd sexual practices.
a. Married women were the only ones who could be violated in a way that was a capital offense.
b. Multiple wives, prostitutes (Lev. 21:7, 9, 14-15) and unwed women were all, in varying degrees, “available.” Even so, there were sacrifices (therefore, sin) for sleeping with a virgin (e.g., Lev. 19:20-22) and an expected marriage.
c. Some have suggested that the Law was only concerned about certain paternity, but this misses the ideal function of Genesis 2 – one man & one woman for life.
d. The sexual sin of Abraham, Jacob, Judah, Gideon, David, Solomon and many others was not excusable. Hosea 4:12-14 speaks against the “double standard” that men enjoyed under the OT Law.
3. The sanctity of marriage must matter to the Church and society.
a. For Christians, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4
b. Adultery without genuine repentance is punishable in hell. Rev. 21:7-8; 1Cor. 6:9-11
c. In society, the consequences of sex outside of marriage hits females much harder than males. (the study by CDC – 1 in 4 girls ages 14-19 have an STD, when only 4 diseases were tested), pregnancies, abortions, childcare, absent fathers, no-fault divorce, etc.
d. Positively, we can evangelize, teach morality, mentor boys, connect the desire for sex with the responsibility of marriage and parenting. Negatively, we can restore the social shame that people used to heap on sexually immoral men.
B. Conclusion: The Bible gives us a strategy for preventing adultery.
1. It starts with a commitment to God’s design for marriage – including the “crazy” idea that marriage partners actually have the potential to bring satisfaction to the other (with God’s blessing).
That means falling in love and falling out of love need to be put in their place. Most of the biblical examples were arranged marriages (as well as better than half the world’s population), and joy and pleasure are not sustained merely by the first feelings. That also means pornography, masturbation, flirting with others to make yourself feel good, escaping into romantic or sexual fantasies – these are off the table.
2. Make it your job to satisfy the emotional and sexual desires of your mate. Negatively, 1Cor. 7:1-5 says it’s your duty even if you don’t feel like it. Particularly, sexual (or emotional) dissatisfaction is an open door to the devil. Positively, Proverbs 5:15-23 says enjoying one another (not to mention Song of Songs) is a blessing from God.
3. Know your weaknesses and fight them with Scripture principles. Matthew 5:27-30
Introduction: “You shall not commit adultery.” Why did this make the Ten Words?
Background: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10
“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. Deut. 22:22
John 8 - Jesus and the woman caught in adultery – Where is the guy?
Numbers 5:11-31 - when evidence is lacking but there is suspicion
Single-Sentence Application: Since marriage is the most important “Creation” relationship, we must protect it strenuously.
A. The holiness of every marriage is a public trust.
1. The sexual union between husband and wife had to be protected from violators.
a. Leviticus 18:6-18 lists all sorts of family members who were potential violators of other marriages because of the multi-generational homesteads.
b. Deuteronomy 22:23-29 addresses cases of premarital sex.
c. Proverbs 2:16-19; 5-7 Fathers were to warn their sons about adulterous women
2. Adultery was a capital offense, but the OT tells of many odd sexual practices.
a. Married women were the only ones who could be violated in a way that was a capital offense.
b. Multiple wives, prostitutes (Lev. 21:7, 9, 14-15) and unwed women were all, in varying degrees, “available.” Even so, there were sacrifices (therefore, sin) for sleeping with a virgin (e.g., Lev. 19:20-22) and an expected marriage.
c. Some have suggested that the Law was only concerned about certain paternity, but this misses the ideal function of Genesis 2 – one man & one woman for life.
d. The sexual sin of Abraham, Jacob, Judah, Gideon, David, Solomon and many others was not excusable. Hosea 4:12-14 speaks against the “double standard” that men enjoyed under the OT Law.
3. The sanctity of marriage must matter to the Church and society.
a. For Christians, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4
b. Adultery without genuine repentance is punishable in hell. Rev. 21:7-8; 1Cor. 6:9-11
c. In society, the consequences of sex outside of marriage hits females much harder than males. (the study by CDC – 1 in 4 girls ages 14-19 have an STD, when only 4 diseases were tested), pregnancies, abortions, childcare, absent fathers, no-fault divorce, etc.
d. Positively, we can evangelize, teach morality, mentor boys, connect the desire for sex with the responsibility of marriage and parenting. Negatively, we can restore the social shame that people used to heap on sexually immoral men.
B. Conclusion: The Bible gives us a strategy for preventing adultery.
1. It starts with a commitment to God’s design for marriage – including the “crazy” idea that marriage partners actually have the potential to bring satisfaction to the other (with God’s blessing).
That means falling in love and falling out of love need to be put in their place. Most of the biblical examples were arranged marriages (as well as better than half the world’s population), and joy and pleasure are not sustained merely by the first feelings. That also means pornography, masturbation, flirting with others to make yourself feel good, escaping into romantic or sexual fantasies – these are off the table.
2. Make it your job to satisfy the emotional and sexual desires of your mate. Negatively, 1Cor. 7:1-5 says it’s your duty even if you don’t feel like it. Particularly, sexual (or emotional) dissatisfaction is an open door to the devil. Positively, Proverbs 5:15-23 says enjoying one another (not to mention Song of Songs) is a blessing from God.
3. Know your weaknesses and fight them with Scripture principles. Matthew 5:27-30
Augustine vs. Augustine
Here is the towering saint of the 4th-5th centuries AD. You might not know who he was, but he has influenced your life indirectly by the way the western world has seen the teasing out of his theology and philosophical musings in Church and state. An obvious example is the time of the Protestant Reformation. The better-known Reformers held strongly to Augustine's view of God's sovereign grace in saving man, seeing it as inconsistent with Roman Church's system of conferring grace through the sacraments. The Roman Church held strongly to Augustine's view that there is only one Church and salvation could only be found inside that Church, so that the Reformers were violating the unity and integrity of the Church.
Even though Augustine had some crazy ideas, he also had some brilliant meditations and explanations of sound doctrine. If you have not, you should at least read his partial autobiography, The Confessions.
I bring all this up because I am reading a few books by outstanding Reformed scholars ("Reformed" in relation to Protestants usually is a way to say that one is related to core theological views that can be traced back to John Calvin). I have learned a tremendous amount about God from Reformed scholars and preachers. In many ways, I consider myself Reformed. But there is a frustrating view common among Reformed scholars [and, I am admitting that they are smarter than I] that I ran across again today - what they make of Jesus' teaching about "the kingdom of heaven/God." And, to be fair, I find serious problems with the way standard Dispensationalists [not going to explain this term!] treat Jesus' teaching on the kingdom as well.
Personal anecdote: when I was an intern at Beltway Park Baptist Church in Abilene, Jesus' teaching about the kingdom captured my attention. It was everywhere in Matthew, Mark and Luke! But Christians don't talk about what the kingdom is. At least I hadn't heard about it. Plus, (as Matt Chandler encouraged me to grapple with it,) the Apostle Paul speaks very little about the kingdom in his letters. How does the kingdom relate to Jesus' cross? Where does the Church fit with those two?
Augustine said (and many Reformed scholars today say) the kingdom is the Church. The parables in Matthew 13 are made to say strange things if the kingdom is the Church. I'm curious how you folks make sense of Jesus' teaching on the kingdom.
Even though Augustine had some crazy ideas, he also had some brilliant meditations and explanations of sound doctrine. If you have not, you should at least read his partial autobiography, The Confessions.
I bring all this up because I am reading a few books by outstanding Reformed scholars ("Reformed" in relation to Protestants usually is a way to say that one is related to core theological views that can be traced back to John Calvin). I have learned a tremendous amount about God from Reformed scholars and preachers. In many ways, I consider myself Reformed. But there is a frustrating view common among Reformed scholars [and, I am admitting that they are smarter than I] that I ran across again today - what they make of Jesus' teaching about "the kingdom of heaven/God." And, to be fair, I find serious problems with the way standard Dispensationalists [not going to explain this term!] treat Jesus' teaching on the kingdom as well.
Personal anecdote: when I was an intern at Beltway Park Baptist Church in Abilene, Jesus' teaching about the kingdom captured my attention. It was everywhere in Matthew, Mark and Luke! But Christians don't talk about what the kingdom is. At least I hadn't heard about it. Plus, (as Matt Chandler encouraged me to grapple with it,) the Apostle Paul speaks very little about the kingdom in his letters. How does the kingdom relate to Jesus' cross? Where does the Church fit with those two?
Augustine said (and many Reformed scholars today say) the kingdom is the Church. The parables in Matthew 13 are made to say strange things if the kingdom is the Church. I'm curious how you folks make sense of Jesus' teaching on the kingdom.
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