The Bible's Music Catalogue

Last week I turned on my computer, jumped on the Internet, and the first thing I see are four men. These four men were famous, but there is always something odd to me about seeing these four particular men together. First of all, two of them are dead. Second, the last time they were "together" was 40 years ago. But even today, when these four men come together, magic happens.

So who are they? John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The Beatles! If you aren't in tune with i-Tunes, then you may not know that the Beatles catalogue has just been released on i-Tunes. Last week there was a major advertising push online, and my Apple homepage was pushing it it daily. It worked! Even after 40 years, the Beatles were last week's #1 seller in digital downloads. Their music has endured for two generations. Very impressive.

When it comes to writing music, King David was the Beatles and Elvis all wrapped into one! He was a prolific songwriter. In total, we believe he wrote at least 73 Psalms. Who knows how much more music he wrote never made it into the Bible. Some of you reading may be wondering about the Psalms...aren't the Psalms only poetry? Yes, but they are so much more! The book of Psalms are a collection of music. Israel's music. Worship music. David was a great warrior. He was also a skilled leader and shepherd. And yes, he was chosen by God to be king over Israel. But to me, his most interesting and enlightening gift was his songwriting. When David's heart spoke, it came out as music. If he lived today, his best friends might be Clapton or Taylor Swift. He would hang out with Springsteen or U2. He might collaborate with Usher or Coldplay. At his deepest core, I think David would call himself a musician before anything else.

So, during Advent, we are studying a few of David's musical works. And we will continue to look at them as we continue studying David's life after Christmas. I want to share a few points about the Psalms to help you navigate as we proceed. Maybe the first thing to say is that the Psalms were written in Hebrew. They are beautiful and poetic in our English translations, but they are masterpieces of literature in the Hebrew. The writers use complex patterns and rhymes. They create acrostics and parallelism and word plays. Many of these are virtually impossible to see in our English translations.

There are several categories of Psalms...anywhere from 3 to 10 or more "types" of Psalms. To me, it is best to see 3 main categories and a lot of sub-categories. Understanding the "type" of Psalm you are reading helps you understand it better. One type is simply a PRAISE or THANKSGIVING Psalm. "Shout for joy to the Lord" - Psalm 1oo. "Praise the Lord, O my soul..." - Psalm 103. Psalms that START with praise are usually in this category. Another type is a Psalm of INSTRUCTION. These can also be labeled as Psalms of wisdom. Psalm 1 is an example. Finally, the most common type...LAMENTS. Or, as I have labeled them in our sermons so far: BLUES. "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" - Psalm 22. Anytime a Psalm starts with help me, forgive me, preserve me, HEAR me, O GOD, etc., those are Laments or Blues.

There are many sub-categories of Psalms. You may hear of the Songs of Ascent (120-134) or Historical Psalms (78). Penitential Psalms are a sub-category of Laments (15, 32, 51). There are Liturgical and Royal and Messianic. They key thing to know is that most Psalms overlap categories and types. Most Laments end with Praise and many Psalms of Instruction deal with issues found in other categories. Maybe the best way to tell is to pay attention to where the Psalm STARTS. What is the context? Why is the author writing this? What was going on to inspire this song? The blessing God gives us in the fact that David wrote so many is that we can answer many of these questions by studying his life. God gives us a great gift with David! We know his heart better than any other person in Scripture, because he poured it out in his songwriting. David's heart is an open book!

It is no coincidence that the Psalms are the most quoted Old Testament source in the New Testament. God LOVES music and poetry and art! Being a Christian involves understanding the TRUTH about this world and about God Himself. But, we must never forget that there is much more to this life than knowledge and truth. The Psalms point us to experience in light of the truth. The Psalms are devotional. They are sad and mad. They are reactions to life. They are emotional. And God ordained it all! I said this Sunday and it bears repeating. It tells us a lot about God in that He not only allows His people to question and criticize Him, but makes sure those find a place in His Scripture. God wants us to be honest with Him...and the Psalms are our guide in how to do that.

We don't have the original music that David wrote. But it probably doesn't fit into our culture today anyway (although I would love to go to a concert with David performing! Imagine him stopping and telling the story behind the song...that would be amazing!). Even though we don't have the music, we should still sing the songs! And we should write new songs! The Psalms shouldn't limit us in our expression...they encourage more! Two weeks ago, I encouraged you to hear the song "40"...based on Psalm 40. It is still on our Facebook page, in two versions:

I waited patiently for the Lord;

He inclined and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit, out of the miry clay.

He set my feet upon a rock, and He made my footsteps firm...

He put a NEW song in my mouth...a hymn of praise to our God.

May it never be that only old songs come out of our mouths!

An Introduction of the Psalms

Starting this Sunday, as we prepare for Advent, we are turning our sermon series towards the Psalms. David wrote a great number of the Psalms, and during Advent, we are going to study "The Gospel According to David"...below, in preparation, is a primer for how to read David's writings.

An Introduction to the Psalms for Canon Press - written by Bono of U2

Explaining belief has always been difficult. How do you explain a love and logic at the heart of the universe when the world is so out of kilter with this? Has free will got us crucified? And what about the dodgy characters who inhabit the tome known as the Bible, who hear the voice of God? Explaining faith is impossible: vision over visibility; instinct over intellect. A songwriter plays a chord with the faith that he will hear the next one in his head.

One of the writers of the psalms was a musician, a harp-player whose talents were required at "the palace" as the only medicine that would still the demons of the moody and insecure King Saul of Israel. It is a thought that still inspires: Marilyn sang for Kennedy, the Spice Girls for Prince Charles.

At the age of 12, I was a fan of David. He felt familiar, like a pop star could feel familiar. The words of the psalms were as poetic as they were religious, and he was a star. Before David could fulfil the prophecy and become the king of Israel, he had to take quite a beating. He was forced into exile and ended up in a cave in some no-name border town facing the collapse of his ego and abandonment by God. But this is where the soap opera got interesting. This is where David was said to have composed his first psalm -- a blues. That's what a lot of the psalms feel like to me, the blues. Man shouting at God -- "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me?" (Psalm 22).

I hear echoes of this holy row when un-holy bluesman Robert Johnson howls, "There's a hellhound on my trail" or Van Morrison sings, "Sometimes, I feel like a motherless child." Texas Alexander mimics the psalms in "Justice Blues": "I cried Lord my father, Lord kingdom come. Send me back my woman, then thy will be done." Humorous, sometimes blasphemous, the blues was backslidin' music but, by its very opposition, it flattered the subject of its perfect cousin, gospel.

Abandonment and displacement are the stuff of my favourite psalms. The Psalter may be a font of gospel music, but for me it's despair that the psalmist really reveals and the nature of his special relationship with God. Honesty, even to the point of anger. "How long, Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself forever?" (Psalm 89), or "Answer me when I call" (Psalm 5).

Psalms and hymns were my first taste of inspirational music. I liked the words, but I wasn't sure about the tunes -- with the exception of Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd." I remember them as droned and chanted rather than sung. But they prepared me for the honesty of John Lennon, the baroque language of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, the open throat of Al Green and Stevie Wonder. When I hear these singers, I am reconnected to a part of me I have no explanation for -- my "soul" I guess.

Words and music did for me what solid, even rigorous, religious argument could never do -- they introduced me to God, not belief in God, more an experiential sense of GOD. Over art, literature, girls, my mates, the way in to my spirit was a combination of words and music. As a result, the Book of Psalms always felt open to me and led me to the poetry of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the book of John...My religion could not be fiction, but it had to transcend facts. It could be mystical, but not mythical.

My mother was Protestant, my father Catholic. Anywhere other than Ireland that would be unremarkable. The "Prods" at that time had the better tunes and the Catholics had the better stage-gear. My mate Gavin Friday used to say: "Roman Catholicism is the Glamrock of religion" with its candles and psychedelic colours -- cardinal blues, scarlets and purples -- smoke bombs of incense and the ring of the little bell. The Prods were better at the bigger bells, they could afford them. In Ireland, wealth and Protestantism went together. To have either was to have collaborated with the enemy -- that is, Britain. This did not fly in our house.

After going to Mass at the top of the hill, in Finglas on the north side of Dublin, my father waited outside the little Church of Ireland chapel at the bottom of the hill, where my mother had brought her two sons.

I kept myself awake thinking of the clergyman's daughter and let my eyes dive into the cinema of the stained glass. These Christian artists had invented the movies. Light projected through colour to tell their story. In the Seventies the story was "the Troubles," and the Troubles came through the stained glass, with rocks thrown more in mischief than in anger. But the message was the same: the country was to be divided along sectarian lines. I had a foot in both camps, so my Goliath became religion itself: I began to see religion as the perversion of faith. I began to see God everywhere else. In girls, fun, music, justice and still -- despite the lofty King James translation -- the Scriptures.

I loved these stories for the basest reasons. These were action movies, with some hardcore men and women, the car chases, the casualties, the blood and guts. There was very little kissing.

David was a star, the Elvis of the Bible, if we can believe the chiselling of Michelangelo. And unusually for such a "rock star," with his lust for power, lust for women, lust for life, he had the humility of one who knew his gift worked harder than he ever would. He even danced naked in front of his troops -- the biblical equivalent of the royal walkabout. David was definitely more performance artist than politician.

Anyway, I stopped going to churches and got into a different kind of religion. Don't laugh. That's what being in a rock 'n' roll band is. Showbiz is shamanism, music is worship. Whether it's worship of women or their designer, the world or its destroyer, whether it comes from that ancient place we call soul or simply the spinal cortex, whether the prayers are on fire with a dumb rage or dove-like desire, the smoke goes upwards, to God or something you replace God with -- usually yourself.

Years ago, lost for words and with 40 minutes of recording time left before the end of our studio time, we were still looking for a song to close our third album, War. We wanted to put something explicitly spiritual on the record to balance the politics and romance of it; like Bob Marley or Marvin Gaye would. We thought about the psalms -- Psalm 40. There was some squirming. We were a very "white" rock group, and such plundering of the scriptures was taboo for a white rock group unless it was in the "service of Satan." Psalm 40 is interesting in that it suggests a time in which grace will replace karma, and love will replace the very strict laws of Moses (in other words, fulfil them). I love that thought. David, who committed some of the most selfish as well as selfless acts, was depending on it. That the scriptures are brim full of hustlers, murderers, cowards, adulterers and mercenaries used to shock me. Now it is a source of great comfort.

"40" became the closing song at U2 shows, and on hundreds of occasions, literally hundreds of thousands of people of every size and shape of T-shirt have shouted back the refrain, pinched from Psalm 6: "How long (to sing this song)." I had thought of it as a nagging question, pulling at the hem of an invisible deity whose presence we glimpse only when we act in love. How long hunger? How long hatred? How long until creation grows up and the chaos of its precocious, hell-bent adolescence has been discarded? I thought it odd that the vocalising of such questions could bring such comfort -- to me, too.

But to get back to David, it is not clear how many of these psalms David or his son Solomon really wrote. Some scholars suggest that the royals never dampened their nibs and that there was a host of Holy Ghost writers. Who cares? I didn't buy Leiber and Stoller -- they were just his songwriters. I bought Elvis.


The Book of Psalms, with this introduction by Bono is published by
Canongate as part of a new series of pocket canons.

Halloween: A CHRISTIAN Holiday?

Want to discuss a controversial subject? How about Halloween! How should Christians approach a pagan holiday? Should we view it as neutral...as something to avoid...something harmless...something to stand up against? Modern Christians have taken each and everyone of these positions...but which one is right? Is there a "right" view on Halloween? Before I dig into the subject, let me give you my personal experience...

I grew up going "trick or treating". I loved it! The candy...the ghosts and goblins...getting scared...and so on. The more I got educated in a typical 1980s fundamentalist faith, I was exposed to the satanic cultish underpinnings of the holiday. I was, frankly, confused. My gut told me it was wrong, but my childhood memories were so positive. This became especially important when our children were born and Lauren and I tried to determine their participation. Fall festivals were options. Does "trick or treating" mean you have gone to the dark side?? We weren't sure.

One unexpected bonus to fleshing out the proper view on Halloween came in seminary. As the leaves turned in St. Louis in the fall of 2001, I sat back and waited to see what the seminary offered in place of the devil's night. Much to my surprise, the seminary encouraged on-campus trick or treating for the children!! In fact, our president's children participated! That was actually the last thing I thought would happen...and it caused me to ask a few questions. I was led to some interesting answers. I will never try to push a view on this controversy on anyone. What you decide for your children is your call. So, what I want to do is give you the background to make a good decision...and open the lines of discussion!

So...how did this holiday start? There are multiple streams of traditions that emerged over the centuries. There are hints of a Roman festival centuries ago. Probably the most prominent is a Celtic festival marking the transition of daylight and night (transition of summer to winter in terms of the sun's rotation). They believed that time allowed spirits to also emerge as the "darker half" of the year started. This Celtic festival started the tradition of carving turnips into funny or scary faces to scare off the spirits...yes, turnips! It was in America in the 1900s that pumpkins were used. They were easier to carve, obviously...but also a symbol of a good harvest.

The most prominent festival and celebration, though, is CHRISTIAN. The idea of trick or treating goes back to the 1500s practice of "souling" in Ireland and England (although there is evidence around that time in other areas of Europe), where the poor would door to door in advance of the CHRISTIAN holiday "All Saints Day." Dressing up in costumes were to impress or amuse the people they met going door to door...and to mock or fight off any evil spirits. This tradition came over to America and evolved into children becoming the focus only in the early to mid 1900s. Trick or treating, as we know it, is less than 100 years old!

The word "Halloween" is not an evil word. In fact, it is simply a contraction for "All Hallow's Eve". The word "hallow" means saint or holy. "All Saints Day" is still celebrated today every November 1. It is the celebration of the victory of the saints by their union with Christ! All Saints Day is a holiday that goes back over 1,000 years! It celebrates Scriptures like Ephesians 6 and Romans 16:20, where we are assured of our victory over Satan and evil spirits...as well as our own sin, by our union in Christ. All Saints Day works off the premise that although Jesus has finished HIS work, we are involved in the mop-up operations...battles are still ongoing.

Just as we truly begin celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve, the celebration for All Saints Day began on October 31 - All Hallow's Eve. Here was the concept - on October 31, the evil forces try one last time to achieve victory, but is defeated by the people of God. How do we win that victory? MOCKERY!! Satan's (and ours) greatest sin is pride. So, their method of attack was to ridicule him! Satan was portrayed as dressed up in a red suit with horns and a tail to MOCK HIM! They made evil look ridiculous. This is the ancient way of taunting. We have Jesus, yes we do, we have Jesus...how about you?

Ever wonder why Martin Luther picked October 31 to post his 95 theses to start the Reformation? It wasn't a coincidence! Halloween IS all about evil and demons...it is all about their DEFEAT! Centuries ago, children would dress up like ghosts and goblins and vampires to MOCK the spirits that might think they can defeat the forces of Christ. Halloween is about having NO FEAR of things that are scary. Psalm 2 says that the One enthroned in heaven laughs (at His enemies)...He mocks them.

We as believers often lament how Christmas and Easter have been taken from us and commercialized. We fight to redeem those holidays...but no one fights for Halloween! No holiday has been ripped from our calendar like Halloween. We as Christians avoid it. We call October 31 "Reformation Day" to honor Luther. What would Martin Luther think about that??I think he might start another Reformation! His note might say "what happened to Halloween?"

Problems with Scripture

Ever forced into doing something? Ever say, "I'll do it, but I don't like it!" Ever have a problem with the truth? Well, if you ever wanted to know which chapter of the Bible might make you feel this way, then look no further than 1 Samuel 15. This is a long chapter. It is a critical chapter in terms of the narrative leading to Saul's ultimate demise and David's ultimate rise. But, quite possibly, the thing that makes this chapter most significant is the controversial moral and theological texts that show up throughout the chapter.

In this blog, I will attempt to help with one of these. In our sermon on Sunday, I will attempt to deal with some of the others. The issue I want to tackle in this chapter is one I might regret by the time I finish. The first 10 verses detail another situation where Saul does not fully obey God's commandment. And, in verse 11, God says to Samuel that He regrets making Saul king...it could be translated another way...God is sorry...or another...God is repenting. This statement is one that pastors often like skirting past. Can God make a mistake? Can God really regret a decision He made? Tough questions to think about.

Samuel doesn't accept God's thoughts. The Scripture says that he was angry and cried out to God all night long. As the story goes along, we run into another nugget in verse 29. It says that "the Glory of Israel will not lie or repent; for He is not a man, that He should repent. Ok...so God repented, regretted, was sorry...and now He can't be any of those things. I am pretty sure that I regret tackling this subject, but what about God? Just to make things more complicated, when the story is over, at the end of the chapter, we see AGAIN that God regrets making Saul king. Maybe the narrator of the story is regretting that he mentioned God WASN'T sorry and repented on his earlier statement? Not likely.

This chapter is really tough for Presbyterians! We believe in a sovereign God who has predestined everything that happens. This kind of hurts our assertions. The Hebrew word is naham. It actually occurs nearly 30 times in the Old Testament. Dale Ralph Davis, a great OT theologian, points out that when used, naham never loses its emotional element. You can see it in its first use:

"The LORD was grieved (naham) that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain." - Genesis 6:6.

Davis also makes a very interesting point. Often times we try to dismiss these kind of verses by either minimizing its impact (skimming past it with nary a mention) or just claim it as an anthropomorphic reference. That is when the Bible describes God using human characteristics (i.e. the "hand" of God or God "saw" something). Obviously, God is a Spirit and has no body, but Biblical writers will reference God's hand or back or whatever to describe what was going on. Man regrets...God regrets...unfortunately, that explanation just doesn't happen here.

So, how should we approach this issue? The Genesis 6 verse actually sheds some light. Let's, for a moment, focus on the reason for the regret rather than the regret. Why does God regret/feel sorry? The previous verse (Genesis 6:5) says that man intention was on evil continually. Man's sin causes God's regret and pain. Here, in 1 Samuel, the full verse says: "I am sorry that I made Saul king, because he has turned back from following Me." Interesting...before, it was all of man's sin. Here, it is one man's sin. But, in both cases, sin is the catalyst. The Westminster Confession states (2.1) that God is without passions. Davis, who supports the Confession, says that might be true, but it doesn't mean God is devoid of feelings. In other words, God is surprised by the sin of many or the failure of one...but it doesn't mean that our sin has no impact on Him. The story tells us that Samuel mourned and God repented. It is possible that the best explanation of God's repenting is the expression of God's attitude towards sin against Him.

When Samuel tells Saul that God DOESN'T repent, this apparent contradiction isn't really one at all. What Samuel is saying is that God made a decision to take the kingdom away from Saul, and on that, He will NOT change His mind. So, at this point, God regrets making Saul king, and He won't repent from the decision to remove him. This isn't a threat. It is real. So, we are left with a plausible, but maybe not satisfying explanation. But we can rest in this. Our God has serious reactions to our sin. It pains Him. He is not indifferent to our rebellion. Davis says: He has both feelings and firmness. In the end, this chapter reveals God's consistency towards Saul...and therefore, towards us. The sermon will try to tackle some of the other issues of this amazing chapter.

Repeat after me...

Something jumps out at you when you read from our sermon passage last week (1 Samuel 10) to our sermon passage for this week (1 Samuel 13)...and even into our passage for next week (1 Samuel 15). Reminders! Yes, we pointed out several reminders in our sermon last Sunday. God reminding His people of what He has done for them. God reminding His people how they have treated Him. And, God warning His people what will happen when they repeat their past sins again.

Part of this reminder process is actually a result of the Hebrew language. It was quite repetitive. You might notice this when you read through most any Old Testament narrative. You will see texts like this:

So, the Lord spoke through His servant Moses to the people: "Thus says the Lord..."

The writer says the Lord is speaking...and then Moses says the Lord is speaking. Twice, you are REMINDED that the Lord is speaking! In other places, you will see someone says something is going to happen (like Samuel in 1 Samuel 10)...then you will get the story on what actually happened. You could have 2 chapters cover something that, if you were trying to be brief, might only take 10-15 verses. This is just how the Hebrews spoke and wrote. Remember that most couldn't read, so stories were memorized and shared. Repeating things were good memory tools.

So, what does this have to do with our series on David? Well, we should expect things to be repeated just by the nature of the language we are translating from. But, when things get repeated over and over and over again...then maybe the writer, and the inspirer behind the writing (GOD!), is trying to get a message into our thick skulls.

These repeat messages show up a lot in the context of our passage this Sunday (1 Samuel 13). If you start back at 1 Samuel 8 and go up through chapter 14. This Sunday we are going to attempt to summarize what goes on in these 5-6 chapters. In order to give you a window into what I am talking about, I want to take one chapter and see the reminders. Let's look at 1 Samuel 12:

This chapter is basically a farewell speech or address from Samuel to Israel. Saul has been identified and accepted as King and Samuel, it appears, is attempting to retire from public life. Remember last Sunday I mentioned how God had spoken several times about He had redeemed Israel from Egypt and protected them and given them the Promised Land? Samuel, after a few opening remarks, says that AGAIN in verses 7-9. He then recounts the many rejections of Israel of God and many redemptions of God for Israel, again...things God has already said before. In verse 12-13, God reminds (again!!) the people about how their decision to ask for a king was a rejection of God as their king.

Then, after all the reminders of things God has already reminded them of...we move on to something different. This is verse 14:

"If you will fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will FOLLOW the Lord your God, it will be well."

Israel kind of gets a clean slate! After all the reminders, they have received a slap of grace right across the face. In the next verse, God issues a warning that if they DON'T serve/obey/follow, then the Lord's hand will be against them. So, new king, new season, new opportunity. Of course, I like the concept of FOLLOWING!

Then something interesting happens. First, God gets their attention over their sin with a thunder and lightning show. Next, the people REPENT! Grace first, then the people respond. Finally, after all that...the really interesting part: REMINDERS!!! It is really crazy, but God, does it again! Verse 20: "Yet do not turn aside from FOLLOWING THE LORD, but serve the Lord with all your HEART." He then reminds us of God's great love for His people. Then...AGAIN...another REMINDER!! Verse 24: "Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart...consider what great things He has done for you...but if you do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

So, what do we do with this? There are many applications here. One obvious one is that if God says it once, then pay attention...if He says it 5 times, REALLY PAY ATTENTION! We can do better than that, though, can't we? Here is what I want you to get from this:

The life of a believer is simple (not saying its easy, just simple). Love God. Serve Him. Follow Him. We see so much pain and suffering in the Scriptures...and God always brings it back to the simple truth: you chased after other gods and other things and rejected Me. Just love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, mind, etc. That is the summary of the 10 commandments, right? Love God and love others. That is the message of Christ, right? Love God, love others, follow Me. It shows up everywhere in the Scriptures...several times right here hidden in the middle of Samuel: fear God, serve Him, obey...follow Him.

When your life is packed with clutter (we all have it!)...simplify. Our lives as believers is simply about following Jesus. Focusing on that one thing will enlighten us to handle the 1,000 other things thrown our way. Think about it: Israel had a new king, many enemies, a valuable piece of land, a weapon shortage, hundreds of thousands of people, and a history of sin and suffering. Lots on their plate. God's advice? Samuel's advice? Just love God, obey, and follow. Simple.

When Saul meets Samuel

Last time we were in 1 Samuel in church, the people of Israel demanded a king. Samuel was too old and his sons were too dishonest. God wasn't happy with their desire to be "like the nations" but He commanded Samuel to grant their wish. In 1 Samuel 8, Samuel warns Israel what life will be like having a king. But, as the chapter ends, they demand a king...and they will get one. But who? The next story introduces us to a man named Saul, the son of Kish...a Benjamite.

Chapter 9 has Saul embark on what appears to be an uneventful journey. Kish has lost his donkeys and sends Saul out to find them. They look everywhere! They looked in the hill country, the land of Shalishah and Shaalim and Benjamin and Zuph. Eventually, Saul wonders if they should return before Kish starts worrying about them being lost even more than the donkeys. But Saul's servant encourages him to go see the prophet in Zuph...who just so happens to be Samuel.

Before Saul arrives, the Scripture tells us that God told Samuel to look for a man from Benjamin and to anoint him as king over Israel. Lost donkeys leads to a found prince! Samuel tells Saul to stay with him overnight, and eases his mind, saying, "as for your donkeys...do not set your mind on them, for they have been found."

Now, we must backtrack to the very beginning of chapter 9...Saul was an impressive figure. He was more handsome than any man in Israel...and he was a head taller than anyone. But here, as Samuel heaps praise on Saul and treats him like royalty, we see Saul's internal view of himself. To Saul, he isn't handsome (probably doesn't have a mirror!)...To Saul, he isn't a giant. He says to Samuel, "aren't I from the smallest/weakest tribe of Israel? And my clan of Benjamin, aren't we the weakest clan from the weakest tribe?"

After a meal and special treatment after special treatment...Samuel gets some "alone time" with Saul. He anoints him as king, and gives him a sign that this is true and from God. He tells Saul all that will happen next. And everything that Samuel tells him comes to pass. Saul eventually meets up with his uncle and his uncle asks him what Samuel told him. Saul says that Samuel said the donkeys were found, but doesn't say anything about being king.

At one point, the Scriptures tells us that when Saul left Samuel, God gave him another heart...Samuel also told Saul that "the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you" - and that takes us straight to the theme of our series: "After the heart of God" - the BIG QUESTION we need to think about is the heart of Saul. What does the heart of Saul look like? Is it a heart after the heart of God? This Sunday, we will pick up the story in 1 Samuel 10. At this point, Saul's heart has been changed, but the kingdom is not his yet. The story gets quite complicated from this point on...

A Reason for a King

On Sunday we started our series on David by covering the passage where we first meet David, 1 Samuel 16. But that is not the beginning of the story. This week we are going to retreat to 1 Samuel 8 and discuss how and why Israel became a kingdom in the first place. In this blog entry, we are going to go even further back, all the way to Deuteronomy.

This coming Sunday, we are going to discuss why Israel's decision to have a king is a bad idea. But, if Israel's heart was in the right place, having a king was permissible. In Deuteronomy 17:14, it says, "When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it, and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,' you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose." With that, God lays out some regulations on how the king needs to operate. Some things that seem trivial (not returning to Egypt to acquire horses) and some things very telling (the king should not have many wives and should read and follow the law).

A good question as we approach 1 Samuel 8 is this: why would God be upset at Israel's desire to have a king when He has given them that provision already in the Scriptures? The answer isn't easy, but, as with everything we will look at in the David storyline, it starts with the heart. God is looking at the hearts of His people. He is looking at their motivations. Even though something is permissible, it doesn't always mean it is good (see 1 Corinthians 8-10 to see how we should view things in our lives that God has given us to enjoy, yet with discernment).

Insight to figuring out what was going on in the hearts of Israel comes in reading Joshua and Judges. I will highlight some of it this coming Sunday, but it is fair to say that God would allow a king under certain conditions. If you read through Joshua and Judges, those conditions were never met. Think of a child turning 16 and as a parent, you are considering whether to purchase them a car. You start laying out a plan when they turn 14...save "x" amount of money, practice driving in the parking lot twice a week, make good grades, find a summer job, etc. If your child turns 16 and hasn't met even one condition, should they receive a car?

The answer is no. But Israel wasn't 16 anymore. They had grown up. Under God's provision, a king was an option. Instead of being a blessing, God sees a king as potentially being judgment on them. Again, it goes back to their hearts. The only chance for the hearts of Israel is the heart of God. As a loving parent, God is patient and protective. But God also allows Israel to live in their sin and rebellion...and face the consequences. Joshua and Judges are a downward spiral that reaches ugly depths. But the heart of God uses even the sins of His people to accomplish His redemptive purposes. A king is in His ultimate plan for Israel and for us. No matter how it happens, God will use it for His glory.

Back in the Saddle??

Well...it has been a little while since I last posted. I wrote about going on vacation in my last post. From the looks of it, I was gone for 3 months! Sorry about that. I am not a writer by nature and I have found it hard to build "blogging" into my weekly schedule. So, I need your help to keep me accountable to write.

Why come back? Well, we are about to start a sermon series on David. It is something I am very excited about. There is so much we can learn from the life of David. This Sunday, I will begin the process of WHY we should study David and what lessons we should be looking for as we go through this series. Each week I will try and fill in the gaps of the story that I don't focus on in my sermons, as well as reflect on any questions or comments you might bring to me.

So...you ready? See you Sunday!

Remember the Sabbath...

Oh man...my vacation is upon me! In fact, in preparing for my "vacation" - I am taking a couple of days off this week. Believe me when I say that I will need a vacation to recover from my vacation when I get back! On Friday I will leave with my family of 5, plus my in-laws (2 families of 4 plus grandparents) for a week at Disney. It is my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary celebration!! Yes, 50 years! So, now you may understand the need for a vacation after our vacation. Disney is NOT the place to rest and refresh and recover. But it is a great place for fun and memories.

That is not what I want to "blog" about. I want to talk about the spiritual aspect of taking time off, an extension of the concept God commands us when He says to "remember the Sabbath..." Now, there are several views and interpretations not only on what the Sabbath is but also on how we "remember" it (and keep it holy, etc.). I don't want to get into all of them here. I want to talk about the benefits of observing the Sabbath, and by extension, the benefits of taking extended breaks throughout the year.

I have always struggled with the Sabbath. I think I have just enough Type A personality or workaholic in me. Over the years, I have "cheated" the Sabbath. I have done things that I would definitely define as work. When I got into ministry, I was so driven that I didn't really take a day off for my first 6 months. Now, I could argue that, but I finally admitted it when I hit BURNOUT in a big way. I could tell you all about the Sabbath but never grasped the benefits and spiritual aspects.

The first think I learned is that the Sabbath is a gift. REST is a gift! It is OK to rest! Talk about a struggle for me! I would feel so guilty. I couldn't take my mind off the things that needed to be done. My only recourse from burnout was getting my mind off work, and I had to find creative ways to do it. But getting over the guilt was significant. That leads to the next point...

Trust. The Sabbath is all about TRUST! This especially holds true for people whose income is directly tied to performance. I was in sales for nearly 10 years. You don't earn commissions when you are taking a day off. Truiett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-a TRUSTS God that He will provide all his company needs by honoring the Sabbath and keeping his stores closed one day a week. I had to learn to trust God with all the things that needed to be done. A Sabbath isn't a Sabbath if you spend the whole time thinking about what you aren't getting done!

Finally, I learned a life rhythm. Now, I haven't perfected it at all yet. But I need one day a week for rest and refreshment. About every two months, I need 1-2 weeks away from the pulpit. About every 3-4 months, I need a few days off. Twice a year, I need to get away with just my wife and I. About twice a year, my family needs a vacation! Some of these things coincide, but you get the idea. For me to perform best in my work, I need scheduled time away from it. That isn't being lazy (once hard for me to admit!)...it is something God programmed in us!

So, I am really looking forward to being OFF, and off in every aspect. Anything I read (if I even get a chance while riding rides and eating and swimming), will be leisure reading. My goal is to totally leave my work behind. Sure, an email or text or call might be sent, but it won't be initiated by me!

So, as you hit the roads this summer, know that it is part of how God designed us, and enjoy time away from the grind. It is a spiritual exercise!

Our Daily Reminders

Probably the most important thing I mentioned in Sunday's sermon was the concept of preaching the gospel to yourself everyday. To some of you that may be a new idea or concept. Many preachers and theologians have talked about this before. In fact, Jerry Bridges, in his book, The Discipline of Grace, had a chapter on this subject. So, why is this so important? What does "preaching the gospel to yourself" really mean?

I believe we need daily reminders of four key aspects of the gospel:

1 - Daily recognition of our sin.
We need to remind ourselves that God demands a perfect righteousness and that we cannot acheive it.

2 - Remember the cross.
The cross reminds us of the severity of our condition. It should also remind us of our value in the eyes of our Savior, who was willing to suffer because of the love He has for us.

3 - Grace!
Our salvation is a gift...we do nothing to earn it. We can do nothing to make God love us more than He does now. Grace is really hard to accept...but think of the freedom it unleashes in our lives? We must preach grace to ourselves every day.

4 - We have been adopted.
I think this truth is often overlooked. Many like to point to justification. Of course, we should love the doctrine of justification, but it is a judicial concept. Adoption is about love and acceptance and security and family. I like that more! Adoption also guides our behavior. We are children of God. We are siblings of the KING! We are royalty. With that reality, we are compelled to live as it becomes royalty. Our behavior is not guided by reward or fear. We are secure in our position and what else could we really earn as royalty? Our behavior is guided by love and loyalty.

So, as you wake up tomorrow morning, think about your sin. Confess it. Recognize it...but don't dwell on it. Move on to the cross and grace and adoption. In fact, don't just think about it...preach it! Preach it to yourself so that you may live it for others.

The Fallout!

Every Sunday after preaching, there is a slight worry in every pastor's heart on how the sermon will be received. You pray for the Holy Spirit to be working in everyone's heart and mind...but you just never know what that looks like. You never know what each person needed to hear and whether the sermon you just preached helped or hurt the process!

Anyway, I set forth a vision and plan for our church on Sunday. I called for more intentional and strategic outreach into our community. There is much more to say on that subject, and I will be addressing it some in future sermons, but Sunday I made a specific call. I asked for 4 people to step up and lead the charge. Of course, I want the whole church engaged in outreach, but we need a team of people to help plan, organize, and execute the things we dream up to do.

So...you want to see how God answers prayers? After church, 4 people came up to me (not 3, not 6...but 4...I should have asked for 6!!) and volunteered to help lead the charge. Pretty cool! I am so thankful for the spiritual maturity in our body. I am so thankful for the commitment in our body to reach out, sacrifice, and seek to meet challenges head on.

There will be more details on our plans forthcoming. Our staff and our new team will be working on them. The goal is to meet people in our community, serve them and build intentional relationships...and we get to have a lot of fun together along the way!

I have overcome the world

Today's blog is short and sweet. There is much to be written about the political maneuverings in John 18-19 but the end result is the same: The one who knew no sin became sin so that we might receive the righteousness of God. The cross is the central moment in history. All things hinge on it. We all must ask ourselves: what about Jesus? Who was He? Why did He die?

Pilate ushered Jesus out in front of the crowd and said, "Behold your King!" The chief priests had already dealt with these questions in their heart when the responded soon afterward, "We have no king but Caesar!" How do you respond? Does this day hold significance for you? Behold your King...on a cross, dying for you. That is a good Friday.

Framing the Cross

There are two passages that frame the whole Passion storyline in John. In chapter 12, Jesus makes an interesting comment. He is talking about death and life...basically who or what are you living for. Anyway, He says in verse 26: "If anyone serves Me, He must follow Me, and where I am, there will my servant be also."

Now, fast forward through the Last Supper, the High Priestly Prayer (we will discuss that in a minute), the betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection...go to the end of John. In chapter 21, Jesus and Peter are walking on a beach. John is walking behind them and Peter asks Jesus about John, kind of "so, what about him...what is his role in this thing?" Jesus says in verse 22: "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? YOU FOLLOW ME!"

The vision of our church is that we are "following Christ together." Here, at two critical points in John, that theme arises. In other words, you may be asking yourself, "so, what now?" You may be wondering about how to APPLY the resurrection to your life. You believe, but don't know what that means in terms of a response. I love Jesus' words in chapter 12, "where I am, there will my servant be also." That is what life as a believer is all about: Follow Him. The harder part is figuring out where He is.

If you are reading along this week with me as I read John 11-21 - the passion week, you might have hit a section we know as the Graduation Address. It stretches from the end of John 13 through John 17 (the High Priestly Prayer). If you have a red letter Bible, then nearly every bit is red. It is Jesus giving His disciples a final reality check, pep talk, and brotherly advice. There is a lot in there, but it becomes more understandable when you see the frames of John 12 and 21. Jesus is laying out what following Him will look like. It gives clues as to where He will be and how to "find" Him.

I always like to define eternity as starting NOW. Why? Jesus does the same thing. In John 17 He defines eternity as knowing God and Jesus Christ. We don't have to wait until heaven to be in Christ's presence. Eternity starts NOW! Follow Him!

Going Beyond the Call

John 13 is just tough to deal with! Think about it...as Christ sat down with His disciples, He had fulfilled everything outside of going to the cross. Eat the bread. Drink the wine...everybody having a good time (sorry, another U2 quote). But Jesus is not about to relax. He is not about to take it easy and wait for Judas to do his thing.

Jesus decides to go beyond the call and give us an example to follow. He gets up and washes the feet of the disciples. Have you ever washed someone's feet? Not your kid's feet, but a non-relative. I did it once...it is a very humbling experience. Not only humbling for the foot washer but also the recipient. It is just uncomfortable altogether.

Now think of God Himself washing the feet of His disciples. Think about waiting your turn. Think about the fact that Jesus stopped and took the time to wash each foot...including Judas. He didn't "have" to. This wasn't prophesied about. This was a choice made by God Himself...true to His character, He went beyond the call.

How should we respond? Read Peter's words in John 13...

A Living Witness

It is Passion Week! On Sunday I asked everyone to read John 11-21 to prepare for Easter. This week I will blog on my reflections as I read through the chapters. Today, it is John 11-12...

I have preached on John 11 several times. It is one of my favorite chapters (John is my favorite book in the Bible...chapter 13 is pretty good too!) in Scripture. What sticks out to me reading through it this time is not chapter 11, but chapter 12!

In John 11, we see so many crucial and important things...Jesus waiting for Lazarus to die before going to see him. Christ's interactions with Martha and Mary. Jesus breaking down in a painful, sorrowful sobbing as He confronts death. Of course, the resurrection of Lazarus. What about the fallout?

We see the leaders determine then, because of what happened, that they have to rid themselves of Jesus. The witness of Lazarus' LIFE is the catalyst of Christ's DEATH. I want to you to think about Lazarus. Lazarus is a threat. He is a WITNESS of Christ's power and deity. His very life is a witness. Wherever he goes, he is a reminder to everyone of Christ and what happened.

A physical resurrection will do that. Watching Lazarus eat, sleep, walk, and talk...his breathing points everyone to Jesus. That resurrection wasn't about the physical as much as it was an illustration of the spiritual. If you know Jesus. If you believe in Him, then you are just like Lazarus. You have been spiritually resurrected!! Pretty cool!

Now, in chapter 12 we see the fallout of that. At the end of chapter 11 and in chapter 12, it says that the crowds came to see Jesus and Lazarus! It says they were talking about it. The challenge is that we also are all living witnesses. We were all dead in our trespasses and sins. We have all been resurrected. What do people see in you? Do they see a transformation? Does your presence point people to Christ? A challenging thought...with more to come!

Making enemies on both sides of the aisle

Earlier this week, our "beloved" U.S. Representative Parker Griffith brought in a Democrat to help him raise money for his REPUBLICAN campaign. Needless to say, Griffith has made more new enemies since his party change than friends. This post is not to be critical or make a political stand, so to speak, against my former neighbor (Griffith lived next door to me for the first 16 years of my life). My point is that it is tough to make EVERYONE hate you!! Most public figures have supporters, no matter what you do.

Anyway, to tie this back to Following Christ, we as Christians sometimes need to be reminded at how offensive Christ was to the people around Him. In fact, we need to expect, if we are following Him closely, to sometimes get caught in His wake. The Gospel message is difficult to fully accept. As I said last Sunday, unconditional love is hard to believe in. So, with that, I wanted to share with you a blog by my good friend and PCA pastor Josh Reitano, who crystalizes these thoughts below by fleshing out Mark 3:6, which says...

The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Josh writes...
Nothing unites like a common enemy. The Herodians and the Pharisees would have nothing to do with one another, and yet, they both were deeply offended by the gospel (though in very different ways).

The Herodians were thoroughly secular - the party of Herod (who was notoriously immoral and irreligious - see Mark 6). They couldn't stand the bad news of the gospel - the call to repentance because of brokenness and sin. This is what John the Baptist proclaimed to Herod, and it got John killed. Here the Herodians are plotting to do the same to Jesus.

The Pharisees would have applauded Jesus (and John) calling the Herodians to repentance. They were quite good at calling people immoral. But their prescription for sin was different. The Pharisees could never get over Jesus' notion of grace. Not only did Jesus hang out with sinners, but He actually told them they could be right with God. And not by following the law with Pharisaical precision (that was a lost cause) - but by receiving Jesus by faith.

The bad news of the gospel offended the Herodians. The good news of the gospel offended the Pharisees. Then, as today, Jesus makes enemies on both sides of the aisle.

Some of us grew up as Pharisees and now want to get as far away from that as possible - and so we run from rules and religion and believe our concept of "open-mindedness" will save us. Others of us had wild patches and so we run toward religion, believing that a moral life will ultimately give us value and save us.

And in strides Jesus and says we're both wrong. Rather than running to and from religion (and rules), we must run instead toward Jesus. Or perhaps better, we need to stop running altogether, and rest in the work Jesus has done on the cross.

Thanks to Josh for these words!

A Good Tired

I must admit, I feel like a worn out puppy! On Saturday, we spent about 5 hours out in the cold at a baseball game. The Sunday morning service is always a physical drain. Of course, we had an Inquirers' class Sunday afternoon. Sunday night, I was ready for my usual day off on Monday.

BUT...a quirk in my normal schedule didn't allow a restful day on Monday. Early in the morning I headed to physical therapy on my back, then to Birmingham for a church planters gathering, and finally to Athens for another 5 hours out in the cold for Hunter's baseball double header. Worn out? Yes. Sleepy? Absolutely! But it is a "good tired" and let me share why...

On Monday I arrived in Birmingham around 9:45 in the morning. Normally, I might be laying in bed with ESPN on and reading a newspaper...relaxing and resting. But yesterday, I was able to be reminded of some great Gospel truths as I listened to my former Homiletics (preaching) professor, Bryan Chapell, speak to our group of Church planters in Alabama.

His topic was Christ-centered preaching. That is Dr. Chapell's area of expertise. He literally wrote the "textbook" on preaching. I had heard it all before, so to speak, in class at Covenant Serminary. In a lot of ways, it was nothing new. But, with six years of preaching behind me, what Dr. Chapell said yesterday didn't just resonate "behind the pulpit". It was reminders on how to live as a believer.

Providentially, his words will have direct impact on our upcoming texts in Ephesians. Let me give you a brief preview...

If you are a follower of Christ, your nature has changed. You are fundamentally different. You have a new freedom in your ABILITY to please and honor God...to love Christ. It is something you didn't have before. With that begins a true battle all believers must wrestle with. We all have different reasons to behave a certain way. We are all motivated by different things. Fear is a motivator. Guilt is a motivator. Gain is a motivator. So, as a believer, what motivates YOU to follow Christ? Why do you NOT sin? What compels you to seek to please God?

We are going to dig into this question as we continue digging into God-honoring relationships in Ephesians. Now, if I could only squeeze in a nap while I try to work!

"On the Cutting Room Floor"

Every so often, when I preach, I leave a lot of things I want to say "on the cutting room floor." So, when that happens, I want to give you a little extra on the topic.

Last Sunday we discussed "just the two of us?" - covering Ephesians 5:31-32. Not only did I cut a section out of the sermon, I also got behind in delivering it on Sunday and cut another chunk out of my text!! Sorry! Sometimes, it just happens.

The point I wanted to make was in regard to what it means to be the Bride of Christ. The idea that we are Christ's spouse. So, everything Paul writes in this section of Ephesians should not be first applied to marriage but first applied to our relationship with Christ. So, the subpoint of my sermon that was cut short was entitled "Christ's Bride"...here are some highlights...

First...as believers, we must apply the concept "leave and cleave" to our relationship with Christ. He has called us to be His BRIDE. He is going to love us with the covenant love that Paul describes in detail in Ephesians 5:25ff. So, how do we respond? We are to submit, respect, love, honor, and cherish Him in return. We must "leave" our love of other idols we may have and "cleave" only to Him.

What enables us to do this? Well, only the grace of God...and we must recognize that this grace is special. It is only given to His bride. Jesus is in love with His Church. He loves us in a way that we don't pay attention to enough. He loves us, like, well, how a husband should love his wife!

From John Piper: One of the great theological and experiential tragedies in the church today—and one of the great sources of weakness in the church—is that Christians have learned to enjoy a love from God that is no more peculiar and precious and securing and endearing and distinguishing than the general love that God has for all the world, even those who perish in unbelief. For 200 years the church in America has slipped farther and farther away from the glorious truth that the wife of the Son of God is loved with an electing, regenerating, distinguishing, covenant love that is different from God's love for the world that is not his wife.

In other words, just like my own love for my wife is superior to any love I have for anyone or anything else in this world...our Groom loves us in the same way.

"And the two shall become one flesh..."

Love, Marriage, and Relationships

So, we talked on Sunday about the definition of love. I asked everyone to think for 10 seconds about their understanding of love. Let's start a discussion on what you thought during those 10 seconds.

Also, I would love to interact on the idea of Christ both defining love and being its best expression.

The Lord's "prayer" is just the beginning

For what purpose were we put here on earth? Why does mankind exist? Well, if you are a Christ follower, then the answers to these questions must be specific and pointed. We are here to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. How then, does the Lord's Prayer help us fulfill this grand purpose? First, we need to consider that the Lord's "prayer" is much more than just a guide on how to pray. The Lord's "prayer" is a guide on how to live.

Last week I was able to get away from day to day life and here a presentation by Dr. Steve Childers on the Lord's Prayer. Actually, it was my second time to hear this presentation. I am convinced that Childers is on to something. The prayer begins... "Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."

The way Jesus starts this prayer obviously should orient our prayer life. We worship/hallow God's name. We pray for the coming of the kingdom and that God's will would be done here on earth. It is a prayer for redemption! This is a great way to pray. It is a worthy endeavor to center your prayer life around the Lord's Prayer.

But, we shouldn't limit this to only our prayer life. That is only the beginning. Think of it this way: what good is prayer unless it transforms your life? Thy WILL goes much further than prayer. If the mission of life is to glorify and enjoy God, then my LIFE needs to be in concert with God's will. We pray that we would be delivered from temptation. We pray for forgiveness to to reign among us. We pray for our daily bread. All of these things are prayers that support a LIFE that is built on glorifying God. "Lord, keep evil away so that Your name will be hallowed in my life." "Lord, I trust You to provide for my needs while I seek first your kingdom." "Father, give me the strength to forgive and restore broken relationships, knowing that is Your will."

I ask you to consider two things...first, use the Lord's Prayer as a devotional guide for a month. Elaborate on each statement for worship, against temptation, for forgiveness, for confession, and to cast your daily needs upon God. Second, LIVE the prayer. Watch God transform your life through prayer.

What does following Christ mean to you?

After we finish Ephesians in our sermon series, we will dig into certain Gospel accounts that will help us answer this question...but before then, I would love to hear from you...what does following Christ mean to you?

How do you know you are in His steps? Does it mean your life is in tune with His? I look forward to interacting over this very important concept.

Welcome!

Greetings all...i look forward to having conversations about our journey we are all on with Christ together.