Check This Out

A video of discussion between pastors Josh Harris, Francis Chan, and Mark Driscoll talking about What is next for Francis Chan and their hearts for pastoring. A great video!

What's Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

Letters to Corinth: 1-Boast in the Lord

Passage- 1 Corinthians 1:18-30

(I will quote specific verses, but I ask and encourage you read, or have on hand, the passage.)

You may notice that I have skipped a small section of 1 Corinthians. This is deliberate in that we will return to it soon. Paul is addressing a specific issue of division in the church, but there are sections to the way he addresses it. Therefore in these next few posts we will dissect some of the specifics, and then take a look at it in the grand scheme of what Paul is saying to the church in Corinth. At that point we will come back to the section I am skipping for now.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'" -1 Corinthians 1:18-19 ESV

In this passage, Paul addresses the wisdom and the power of God. For the next few verses, he talks about how in the world's eyes, how the gentiles think of what wisdom is, the truth of the gospel is foolish, or "folly", as Paul states. But he addresses the world's wisdom, compared to God's wisdom in verse 25, saying, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Specifically, Paul talks about how to the non-believing Jew, a crucified Christ is offensive and a stumbling block. And that to the "wise" Greek, or gentile, it is foolish. They don't understand it. In their way of thinking, whether it is offensive or foolish, Christ crucified makes no sense to them. The point that Paul is quick to make is that the wisdom of God surpasses that of man by leaps and bounds. What is wise to man is made foolish by the surpassing wisdom of God. In verse 21 he says how God is pleased in us preaching foolishness for the glory of God, because in reality, in preaching the gospel of Christ crucified we are sharing the true wisdom of God.

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;" -1 Corinthians 1:26-27 ESV

In that time, people were considered above others because of ancestry, how "wise" they were, or how much power they had. In verses 26-31, Paul points out that many of the church are not of these attributes. Explaining that Christ chose them by nothing of what they had done, but that God makes the standards of wisdom and power in the world low because of his surpassing wisdom. In the world people are chosen because of what they have done, but in Christ we are not chosen by foreseen merit, but because of the grace of God. In this we boast not in ourselves, but in the wisdom and power of God.

"And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.' " -1 Corinthians 1:30-31 ESV

We live in such a similar state to that of Corinth. So many similarities in our culture, specifically the focus on wisdom. People of our day boast in what they know, filling our nation and world with prideful arrogance. Like to the people of Corinth, the gospel is foolishness to the "wise" of today. We live in a time where we boast in our success, fame, and fortune. We must be weary and heed the word that God brought through Paul. Not to boast in ourselves, but boast in the fact that we are saved through Christ, by nothing that we have done, but what God has done in us. Seek the true wisdom of God, not the self-righteous "wisdom" of our day.

Letters to Corinth: Intro

In the coming weeks I will be posting a series of blog posts titled, "Letters to Corinth". This is not anything I'm trying to peddle as some new or cool idea. There have probably been, in fact, I am quite certain that I've read blogs and listened to sermons on this same subject, possibly even titled exactly the same. This is a study of how God's words, through Paul, hold just as much weight as they did in the days of the early church.

The idea to do this really stems from hearing and reading so many passages from 1st & 2nd Corinthians over this summer and last year. I have felt a strong desire to study this and the idea came across to put this up on my blog and open to a bit of discussion. So over the coming weeks, intermingled with my other posts, there will be these, studying through 1st & 2nd Corinthians, dissecting how these two letters to the 1st century church in Corinth apply to the church today.

I will end this short introduction with a quote, specifically what Paul says in opening to the church in Corinth,

"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." -1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (ESV)

Follow Up

A few months ago I posted a link to an article on The Resurgence titled "A Religious Boneyard: Examining the South" by Tyler Jones, a pastor in North Carolina. If you haven't read it check it out here, http://theresurgence.com/religious-boneyard-examining-the-south

This is a follow up article describing the problem in the "church" of the South. Here's a quick quote from the article.

"Our churches are full of good-looking, upright, moral people. The tragic irony is that our goodness is our poision. A great many Southerners claim Christianity as their religion, mimicking righteousness on the surface while their hearts remain unchanged by the gospel of Jesus."

Get the full article here, http://theresurgence.com/quaint_moralism

Check This Out - Divisions in the Church

A satirical look at how the church becomes divided. If you you really listen to this, it makes many things that divide us as a church seem petty and childish.

Satan Talks Church Strategy with Craig Groeschel from LifeChurch.tv on Vimeo.

Check This Out

"In ancient times, Satan deceived God's people to prize their knowledge of the Scriptures more than the One behind them. Today, he lures God's people to fall more in love with their theological system than their Savior—a particular danger for our tribe."

A great article, take a minute to read it. Click and check it out!

http://theresurgence.com/justification_by_theology

Summer, Alaska, and Ending the Hiatus

Man, it's been a while... I haven't hardly posted since I went back to Texas for the summer. A lot has happened since then, so many fun times and events, but I want to share just a little bit. Aside from seeing my friends and family back home, I had some great opportunities for ministry. I was given the chance to lead worship for my old youth group, which is always a blessing, as well as being a lifeguard and counselor for a kids camp for some under-privileged kids from the Midlothian and South Dallas area. A wealth of good times and serving Christ back at Oak Crest Baptist, but the main thing I want to touch on is the mission trip to Alaska that I took with the OC (Oak Crest, for those not paying attention).

After a lot of hard times trying to fund myself for the trip, the time finally came to head out on a plane to Anchorage, Alaska. The plane ride itself was quite uneventful, except for a strange, elderly LDS couple that sat behind us after the layover in Salt Lake, but also the trip was as tiring as ever. After we land and wait forever trying to find the van we were using for the week, we begin our four hour car ride to the other side of the Kenai Peninsula. (Oh, side note! One thing I found in Alaska is that there are no short 20 minute rides to another town. It was like a two and a half hour minimum to go anywhere!)

When we finally arrive in Kenai, Alaska it is almost 10:00 PM, but it looks and feels like 3:00 in the afternoon. After we get there and have a day of training and setting up, we go out to the beach. (Now would probably be a good time to explain what we were doing there.) Every year, for about a two week period, Alaskan residents are given the chance to dip net for salmon as they swim from the ocean up river. Almost like a hunting season. We were set up at the mouth of

the Kenai River where the people just lined up on either shore by the hundreds to dip net for salmon. Many people were sportsman catching fish, but in direct contrast, many were also very poor and the salmon they caught would feed their family for the year. Because of state law, we were not allowed to touch anything that had to do with the fish, so we served the people free hot dogs, hot chocolate and coffee. We also had a bounce house and kids area where we could minister to the children while parents were busy fishing, along with a fire that people could come get warm by and they would come just sit and talk with us. Our group was set up on a beach only accessible by 4x4 or ATV, but there were still tons of people.

The last day we had a beach chapel service where we sang some songs, Nathan Clardy (student minister at Oak Crest) spoke, and we had some locals join in with us.

We had some great times and got to see some of Alaska and go sight seeing, but apart from that my eyes were really opened to the need in our own country. The state of Alaska is so full of wilderness and beauty, but it also seems like the place the rest of America has forgotten about, aside from cruise stops, and the people there have very much learned to be self sufficient. It was strange to go to some place where many people there have never even heard of Jesus, much less go to church. There are so many thing about Alaska I could talk about, so just ask if you want to know. I hope that God continues to bless the ministry there, and that one day I might again have the opportunity to go back.