Does this picture say 1,000 words?

Thomas Lofton writes:

Sergeant Crowley, the sole class act in this trio, helps the handicapped Professor Gates down the stairs, while Barack Obama, heedless of the infirmities of his friend and fellow victim of self-defined racial profiling, strides ahead on his own. So who is compassionate? And who is so self-involved and arrogant that he is oblivious?

That may be an uncharitable conclusion to draw from a single photograph. I'm sure if Lofton or I was photographed as much as President Obama, we'd come off looking pretty unflattering more than a few times too.

But what really amazes me about this photo is that it originates not from some conservative, Republican blogger trying to make Obama look like a jerk, but from the White House blog! Seems like some PR guy at the White House fumbled the ball on posting this pic, no?

(Here's a writeup of the meeting between these three, for those who are unfamiliar with the story.)

Improbable Joy

Yesterday I preached on Acts 16:16-40, specifically focusing on Paul and Silas' encounter with the Philippian jailer (you can download the sermon, titled Compelling Christianity, here). I made the point that one of the key ways in which the jailer was compelled to ask the men about how to be saved (verse 30) was the improbable joy they had in the midst of the suffering they had experienced (verse 25).

This was incredibly humbling, and gratifying, to preach about to our congregation. It was humbling because sitting in front of me yesterday were people who have experienced pain and hardship far greater than anything I have experienced. As I preached God's Word, I looked out on people who have buried children, spouses and siblings, people who are currently undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer, people who are facing foreclosures on their homes, people who have been laid off from jobs or are facing the prospect of being laid off, people going through the pain of divorce. And that is just some of the pain that I was aware of; who knows what else people were experiencing as I preached my sermon yesterday?

Yet at the same time, it was incredibly gratifying, because as I have watched our congregation walk through these painful times, I have witnessed so many of them do so with a song of joyful hope in their hearts. These folks have showed me that their joy is not grounded in their ever-changing circumstances, but in the unchanging love and grace of Jesus Christ. They have not only sang, but lived out the truth expressed so well in the song we sang yesterday morning:

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Words fail to express the pleasure I have in serving people who strive so diligently to live out a passion for Jesus Christ both in times of comfort and in times of pain.

To those of you at JCF who read this blog: thanks so much for your faithful testimony. You are a great encouragement to me!

Enjoying God in His Creation

Here's a great post from Tim Challies on what he learned about God through watching the video series Planet Earth. Definitely makes me want to check this series out! Has anyone seen it?

One reason it's good not to be an idolater

You don't have to deal with things like this happening in your worship service:

Don't Forget to Groan, 8/1

Mabula, 76, crouches beside his bed January 25, 2009 in his mud-thatched bedroom in a village near Mwanza near the grave of his granddaughter, five-year-old Mariam Emmanuel, an Albino who was murdered and mutilated in an adjacent room in February of 2008 and who was buried inside the mud hut to discourage grave robbers who commonly dig up albino bones. In Tanzania, albinos live in fear of being murdered for their body parts, which will be used for talismans and luck potions.

(Why should we groan?)

Healing power for prejudice

At the beginning of the day's morning prayers, traditional Jewish men pray:

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has not created me a woman, a Gentile, or a slave.

Saul of Tarsus probably would have learned this prayer as a boy, and prayed it regularly. Yet in Acts 16 we see him ministering to a woman (Lydia), a slave (the servant girl whose owners used her fortune-telling to gain great wealth for themselves), and a Gentile (the Philippians jailer).

The Gospel had broken his prejudice; he later wrote in Galatians 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

That's a mighty Gospel!

Great Expectations

I'm not a sports historian, and I am a pretty young guy, but I think this has to be an unprecedented time to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan. Has there ever been this much excitement about the Phils' chances, with yesterday's addition of Cleveland's ace, Cliff Lee?

It will be interesting to see how the Phillies handle this kind of pressure. Last year they had a nice team, but no one really expected them to win the World Series. Most 'experts' saw last year's run as a fluke, and gave the Phillies little/no chance of repeating as champs.

That's changed with the addition of Lee. A lot of people are saying they're the cream of the crop in the NL, with a good chance to win the whole thing again. But the pressure of high expectations can undo a team who isn't accustomed to that kind of pressure. At least so says the only professional athlete who I know personally. I tend to think he's right.

So I will be interested to see how the Phillies handle their great expectations. I sure hope they can pull off a second straight championship, which hasn't been done by a National League team since before I was born.

Who's got predictions?

Embracing Accusation

I love these lyrics from Shane & Shane:

Oh the devil’s singing over me
An age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He’s forgotten the refrain
JESUS SAVES!

Insanity

"What could be more ludicrous in a vast and glorious universe like this than a human being, on the speck called earth, standing in front of a mirror trying to find significance in his own self-image? It is a great sadness that this is the gospel of the modern world."

John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, page 15.

Common Grace at Chick-fil-A

Fans of Chick-fil-A will enjoy this post from Kevin DeYoung. I'm always encouraged when people find echoes of God's grace in the simple things of life (like Waffle fries). DeYoung reminds me that you don't have to be a missionary or pastor to be an instrument of God's kindness:

"No one from Chick-fil-A put me up to this little commercial. I just thought it worth pointing out how a little kindness can go a long way, not to mention the kindness of God's common grace. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. And everyone can eat at Chick-fil-A."

A wooden Cross without the bloody body of Jesus wouldn't have saved anyone

In the song Let Your Kingdom Come, Bob Kauflin writes:

Your glorious cause, O God, engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray
Your kingdom come

A friend of mine made an interesting observation about the last part of this verse. Kauflin writes that the cross has saved us, but that isn't exactly the case, is it? It was the broken, bloody, body of Jesus Christ, slain as a substitute for sinners, that saves us. I know the folks at Sovereign Grace believe and cherish this wholeheartedly. So I wonder why they decided to write this song as they did.

Any thoughts?

Why small groups?

Tonight in our church small group we are beginning a study of the book Why Small Groups?, put out by Sovereign Grace Ministries. In the beginning of the book, C.J. Mahaney shares an insightful illustration of why small groups often fail:

Using the relationship of Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson, Mahaney quotes Holmes' famous line, 'You see, but you do not observe.' Watson had seen the steps that led up from the hall to the room they were standing in. He had seen the steps several hundred times. But when Holmes asked the simple question, 'How many steps are there?', Watson didn't have a clue.

Mahaney concludes:

Sherlock Holmes cared. Observation was a critical tool of his trade. It's critical for us as well as we examine the subject of small groups. You see, too many of us view small groups the way Watson viewed the staircase. We see but we don't observe. We attend a group without understanding its real purpose. We fail to understand why our small group exists.

I think this is a wise, accurate, and sad assessment. Too many people join small groups because they are told it's an important thing to do. But they aren't told why it's important, and they have never thought about it themselves. I know I've been guilty of that myself. As a result, attitudes toward the small group often become indifferent once the initial excitement of a new endeavor wears off. The group stagnates, and eventually dies a slow and painful death.

Having studied Scripture, I am convinced that small groups are in invaluable component of life in the Church. So I am eager to go through the study to see what fruit it bears in my own life and the life of our group.

So I may be a TINY bit emergent....is that necessarily a bad thing?

Yesterday Challies posted a 'tortuously long sentence' from Kevin DeYoung describing the Emergent Church Movement. It is so tortuous that I won't bother to post it here; you can check out Challies' site if you want to read the whole thing.

As I read it, though, I noticed that a few of the characteristics of the Emergent Church also characterize me to some extent. For instance:

I do like and listen to some Of U2's music (though not in church)

I have read and enjoyed a book by N.T. Wright (though I didn't agree with the whole thing)

I think poverty, oppression and racism and AIDS are more pressing political issues than gay-marriage.

There have been a few services in our church where candles have been used.

I think that being the Church is more important than going to church (and I'm not discouraging anyone from going to church!)

It does bug me a bit when people talk about going to heaven instead of heaven coming to us (at least as our final, ultimate state)

So according to Kevin DeYoung, I'm a tiny bit emergent (though most of the stuff in his tortuously long sentence does not describe me).

My question is: is it a bad thing to be a little bit emergent? Is there any redeeming value to the emergent movement, or should the whole thing be dismissed without further thought?

A firm foundation

Yesterday at church we sang a great hymn that we don't often sing, How Firm a Foundation. I was delighted, because it's one of my favorites.

I'm especially fond of the last verse:

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Three simple questions to bless your wife

Yesterday I read through a short booklet written by David Powlison called Renewing Marital Intimacy. I bet the first words would resonate immediately with a lot of couples:

You started off telling each other everything. Time flew by when you were together...But now you have nothing to say to each other. The intimacy and trust you once enjoyed are gone -- replaced by bickering, long silences, and hurried conversations about your schedules.

Powlison suggests that three simple questions can be used to connect with your spouse regularly and deepen your relationship:

1. What are your present burdens?

The Bible tells us that we are born for trouble (Job 5:7). So what is the trouble? A sin? A responsibility? An issue at work? A particular conflict? What weighs you down? What was your lowlight of this day? These burdens are the “heat of life.”

2. What are your present joys?

What were your highlights from the day? Was there a moment that brought you pleasure? What are you grateful for?

3. What is your purpose?

This could include the mundane tasks, or broader life-purpose questions. What are your duties for this day? What's on your mind? What do you need to do? What are your goals for this day, week, or year?

If you're struggling to connect with your spouse, give these questions a try and let me know how it goes.