Last Sunday at my church, Grace Bible Church in Moore, SC, Ben Ebner, who leads our music and corporate worship taught on a biblical approach to music within the church. Although the applications of the talk were specifically to our church body, the goals and principles that he presented were from scripture. This is perhaps the the best presentation of music from a Biblical approach that I have heard. I would encourage anyone who reads this post to take the time to listen to this talk. It will be worth it. Again, this is addressed specifically to our church body. Please keep this in mind. Enjoy and be edified.

Ben’s Talk on Music in the Church

this is “grace at work”

Around this time of the year I enjoy remembering the Reformation and how God’s sovereign hand worked in the lives of the individual reformers. Of course, it is at this time of the year because October 31 is the anniversary date of Luther’s posting of his 95 theses on the castle door in Wittenburg, Germany.

This year I have been fascinated with William Tyndale. For those who are a bit unfamiliar, Tyndale was the first to translate the NT into English from the Greek. He, too, was the first to print his Testament on a printing press. When Tyndale’s Bible hit the streets it turned England upside down. The light of the Word of God pierced through the darkness of even the most blinded hearts.

I may write more later, but for now I will create some links to other resources for anyone who would wish to learn more about Tyndale and the way that God worked in and through his life.

Biographical Sermon by John Piper

Print version

Audio Version

Order the DVD

Biography by David Daniell

Buy the book

These are just a couple resources to get started learning about William Tyndale.

this is “grace at work”

Ok, so Favre played the best throwing half since the game after his father died. I was almost tempted to turn off the TV after the first half because I thought that this game was in the bag. What happened??

After Favre threw one of the most incredible passing halves of the season, why would the Packers try to run the ball in the second half. The passing game was virtually non-existent in the second half. But most of all, the Packers handed the game to the Bears with turnovers and penalties. Unbelievable! Interceptions, fumbles, penalties – Come on, Guys!!

Hey!! these are my boys! I am proud to be a cheesehead! I will learn, however, not to trash talk opposing teams to friends too much. I sent my friend, Mat, who is from Chicago and a faithful Bear’s fan, a number of text messages taunting him the week before the game. As the clock was ticking down at the end of the game and the score was 27-20, all those taunts were running through my head returning the favor. I humbled myself immediately and made it right after the game. He didn’t abuse me too bad.

This is not the end of the road. Favre is still the greatest QB – ever!!! (not up for controversy) . He is still breaking records – even if the records may be the most interceptions thrown. He alone holds the record for the most touchdown passes thrown in a career. The Packers are still a top rated team.

Go Packers!!!!

After long time of deciding whether or not Brett Favre would retire or return to the Packers to play another season, the decision was finally made. Brett Favre is back.

The Green Bay Packers are three games into there season now and they still remain undefeated. Although Brett Favre was criticized by the commentators last season for being to too old to continue to play to the game, it seems that their tone has changed. They are now saying that he is now playing better than he has in the last four or five years and that he still has the best throwing arm in the league. Today, in the Packers third win of the season against San Diego, Favre threw his 420th touch down pass to tie the all-time NFL record held by Dan Marino.

I found it quite amusing to watch Dan Marino comment on Brett’s tying pass from the studio. I would have loved to know what was really going through his head.

Although the Packers gave up their lead to San Diego right before halftime, they fought back to a 31-24 point win over the Chargers. Every sports commentator that I heard prior to the game predicted a Charger win over the Packers. That just goes to show you that you that Green Bay is more than a team that can be predicted – they are the Packers!!!!

This last week has been a wonderful week for me in the sense that I know that God has not given up on me. This is a good thing seeing that I attempted to be God this last week. In His grace, God has given me a neat opportunity for ministry in a certain person’s life. At times in this relationship, I have really been impressed with myself in the way that I handled a particular situation. Or, at other times, I have admired my “selfless love and care.” Although I have given God credit for the increase, I now realize now that I was seeing the situation as a work that I was doing, not God.

Well, God, through some unusual and specific circumstances, chose to remove this particular opportunity of ministry from me. The removal happened because of the consequences of an action of a third party. In my pride I began to exalt myself and criticize the third party for what they had done. I thought that they didn’t understand ministry like I did, or else they would not have done such a thing. Anger was pouring out in my hearts toward them, only, it was not righteous.

After thinking about it and be counseled about it, I realized that I was thinking that God needed me to do His work in this person’s life. No one else could do what I could do. I was the chosen vessel to minister to their life. However, – ding, ding, ding – there are no vacancies in the Trinity. God is still God, and I am finite man. He is the Master Potter and I am the clay. He is Sovereign; I am subservient. I am in every case the lowest of the low. God reigns above all. He alone is God. If He chooses to remove someone to whom I have been ministering from my influence, He has every right to do that. God is more jealous for His glory than I could fathom. He arrests men’s hearts so that they might be amazed at the God of the universe. He alone does this.

God in His mercy has shown me His grace and love both in my life and in the life of this one to whom I had been ministering. What a kind and faithful God! It is times like this when I feel that I understand the truth of the Gospel of Christ, but then He places me on the testing ground to see what God’s great Gospel looks like through my life. Many times His mercy looks like misery, His grace looks earned, and His lovingkindness looks temporary. But God still uses me to do His work, to carry His Good News. And then I am reminded that it is not my acts of faithfulness and righteousness that God depends on, it is the Gospel at work in my life. He chooses me and uses me because of the imputation of Christ’s completed work on my behalf. The same Gospel that God gave me to minister in another life is at work in my life too. The Wisdom of the Lord is wonderful.

So here I am, not God, but an heir of the riches of God because of the work of Christ imputed on my behalf.

this is “grace at work”

I want to be careful as I write and with what I have already written. I do not want to give the impression that I care nothing for morality, or that I am encouraging immorality. However, I do want to make sure that it is clear that the motive of a Christian is to bring glory to God because of the transformation through the Gospel of Christ, not because I am a self-determined moralist. What we many times refer to as morality, in the Christian sense, is a product, or in Bibline language, a fruit. It is something that is produced by a transformed heart and life. Morality itself is not the transformation.

In a line from the song that I quoted in my previous post, it states that “God’s gotta change her heart before He changes her shirt.” This is so true. Christ didn’t demand that the publicans and sinners clean up their act before He ministered to them. The good news that He had for them was that through Him God changes hearts. The product of that is that the outside will change if that is what the Spirit of God chooses to do. Ultimately, God’s work is His, not ours. It is something that He will do. He doesn’t need us. He will use us if it is His will.

And an additional thought: If morality is the issue, who determines it? Who makes the calls? Unfortunately, usually it is the one who yells the loudest. Unfortunately because Christ says that the meek will inherit the earth. Normally it is not the meek who are yelling the loudest, if they care at all.

this is “grace at work”

“What this world needs is not another hit wonder with an axe to grind – Another two bit politician peddling lies – Another three ring circus society – What this world needs is not another sign waving super saint that’s better than you – Another ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth – Another prophet in an Armani suit.

What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue – A spirit who will lead – A Father who will love them in their time of need – A Savior who will rescue – A Spirit who will lead – A Father who will love.

What this world needs is for us to care more about the inside than the outside – Have we become so blind that we can’t see – God’s gotta change her heart before He changes her shirt – What this world needs is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance – Blending in so well that people can’t see the difference – And it’s the difference that sets the world free – Jesus is our Savior, that’s what this world needs – Father’s arms around you, that’s what this world needs – That’s what this world needs.

Mark Hall, Hector Cervantes -

Copyright 2007 My Refuge Music/Zoo Music/ SWECS Music (BMI) (admin by EMI CMG Publishing)

Finally, after an long summer of very little rain and much sunshine and heat, God called out to me with thunder and rain to praise Him as the Sovereign Creator.

For the last couple months I have been working out in this record breaking heat. I have been waiting – longing for the day, as so many others were as well, when the cloud would once again shade the sun and pour out cool refreshing rain. Last week, while I was working I noticed the clouds rolling in from the northwest. Could it be? I continued working with anticipation, but also ready to watch the clouds to roll on pass as they had times before. As they came nearer I heard the distant thunder and saw flashes of lightning. What an amazing display God had for his creation. In moments, the temperature dropped at least ten degrees, and large drops of rain began to pour down from the sky. It was magnificent!

My heart resounded in praise to the Creator and sustainer of life. The rain never seemed more fresh and cool. The thunder never roared louder. I wanted to shout in response to the mighty rolls, but my shouts I knew would be lost in the celestial praise. In my heart that day, I was called to worship by the heavens. I watched in awe as the earth received the rain and drank it in as though it had ocean size caverns to fill. It was much like my heart longing for the Him who alone can fill my heart. Let the rain pour! Let the thunder roll! Let my heart resound in praise to the God of the Creation.

this is “grace at work”

This is a quote that I heard some years ago, but it has stuck in my mind. Recently, through various interactions, I have been faced with the idea of morality versus Christ. Unfortunately, many people carelessly link morality with Christianity – to be moral is to be Christian. This is not to say that morality does not play any part at all in the life of a Christian. However, morality is not the means of spiritual living nor the goal to which people are won.

Christ said that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This not to say that righteous people do not need Christ’s call. On the contrary, the Pharisees considered themselves to be righteous, yet they were only righteous in their own eyes. Before God, they were condemned. As a matter of fact, it was the view of their own righteousness that condemned them. They were self-righteous, not Christ-righteous.

This may seem obvious to most (or maybe not), but it is one thing to agree with the bare facts; it is another thing to live this way. People who promote morality rather than (and/or) without Christ, run a high risk of winning others to self-righteousness rather than to Christ. Christ came to deliver us from our self-righteousness. “HE became sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God IN HIM.” I fear that there are many people who view there own lives as good and moral, and may even have had at one point an experience of prayer and confession, but they have never heartily repented of their trust in themselves and turned their trust to Christ’s perfect and complete work on the cross. I am saying all this so that it is clear that a striving for morality may, in fact, turn others from freedom in Christ rather than to Him. A complete trust in Christ is necessary before anyone begins to address godly living.

Christ addressed immorality on many different occasions, but every time it was with the intention of turning people to trust in Him, not to make them moral. Good works, godliness, morality come because of a complete dependence on the righteousness of Christ.

Gal 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. (2) Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? (3) Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (ESV)

The work of Christ is what we need to begin and to continue. Without complete dependence on Him, we are striving for a righteousness of our own. However, a dependence on our moral living will only damn us.

In conclusion, we are urged to call people to dependence in Christ, not to morality. Morality will damn. So, I whole heartily agree, that “that America does not need morality, they need Christ!”

this is “grace at work”

I have been meditating on the idea of faith recently. One particular story in the life of Christ has specifically caught my attention. The story is recorded in three of the gospels, but I have been reading from Mark’s account.

Mark 5 tells the story of Christ’s interaction with a woman who has had a major problem with internal bleeding. She had suffered from it for twelve years. She had been to see many doctors but her problem had only gotten worse. Having spent all her money on doctors her situation seemed hopeless. (Sounds very similar to the ones to whom Isaiah is calling in Isaiah 55)

This particular day she recognized Jesus; one who could heal her from her infirmity. However, because of the nature of her sickness, according to the Mosaic law she was considered to be unclean. And any whom she touched also would be considered unclean. Yet, in spite of the looming circumstances she continually told herself that if only she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, she would be healed.

Fighting through the crowd, the woman managed to come close enough to Him to touch His hem. Immediately, she sensed that she had been healed. Rather than the unclean defiling the clean, the pure one had cleansed the impure. (Matthew’s account of this story is told in Matthew 9:20. Surprisingly enough, at the beginning of the chapter Christ is eating with Matthew, the publicans and sinners. Christ tells the critical Pharisees that those who are healthy do not need a physician, but those who are sick. Then He told them to learn what he was saying. Immediately He gives them a lesson of faith and an incredible demonstration of God’s power.)

Christ sensed in Himself that power from Him had gone out. He immediately turned around and asked who had touched Him. Walking in the middle of a crowd of people, Christ’s disciples thought that it was ridiculous for Him to ask who had touched Him. (This has been the difficult yet wonderful part for me.) Many people had been pressing on Him. Many bodies and hand brushed up against Him, and many people made contact with Him. The crowd pressed on him. (It would be similar to the few experiences I have had in NYC where I had to keep my hands continually on my wallet and other valuables because of the many people that were crowded around me during rush hour.) But among the Many who had made contact with Him, only one had truly touched Him.

How often people claim to have had an encounter with Jesus. On September 11, the whole United States was praying (or so they thought.) But how many were just brushing Him rather than touching Him. Every weekend many go to church and pray, but they are just moving past Him or crowding Him but never truly touching Him in faith. Augustine said, “multitudes still come similarly close to Christ in the means of grace, but all to no purpose, being only sucked into the crowd.”

So, when I pray, as I live, I must remember my desperate need. I must recognize that I am bankrupt. I have no resources of my own. I am completely dependent on Him. And just as the woman, I must fall down and confess to Him the truth of my situation and the truth that He is God. My helpless, hopeless, resourceless state is the theater of His glory (borrowed slightly from Calvin.)

this is “grace at work”