Worship Minimovie: What If

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday morning:

September 25, 2016 | John 1:1-5, 14-15: Why the Deity of Christ Matters

Here is the sermon from Sunday evening taken from John 1:1-2, 14-15 looking at the doctrine of Christ's deity.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . . 


¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”

Audio
Notes


For more:
September 4, 2016 | Ephesians 1:3-14: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 1
September 4, 2016 | 2 Corinthians 12:4-31: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 2
September 11, 2016 | Psalm 33:6-17: Why Creation Matters  
September 18, 2016 | Romans 7:14-25: Why the Fall Matters
September 25, 2016 | 1 John 4:2-3: Why the Humanity of Jesus Matters

September 25, 2016 | John 1:1-5, 14-15: Why the Deity of Christ Matters
If Yahweh, then Christ
12 Proofs of Jesus' Deity From the Synoptic Gospels

September 25, 2016 | 1 John 4:2-3: Why the Humanity of Jesus Matters

Here is the sermon from Sunday morning taken from 1 John 4:2-3 on the doctrine of Jesus's humanity.

² By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Audio
Notes


For more:
September 4, 2016 |Ephesians 1:3-14: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 1
September 4, 2016 | 2 Corinthians 12:4-31: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 2
September 11, 2016 | Psalm 33:6-17: Why Creation Matters  
September 18, 2016 | Romans 7:14-25: Why the Fall Matters
If Yahweh, then Christ
12 Proofs of Jesus' Deity From the Synoptic Gospels
 

12 Proofs of Jesus' Deity From the Synoptic Gospels

One of the leaders of the once former Emergent Church, Tony Jones, wrote a series of blog posts "Questions that Haunt Christianity." In one such post, the following question was asked:

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes many confident self-proclamations (conservative Evangelical’s favorite verses which seemingly demonstrates the exclusivity of Jesus). Now, I’m sure that claiming to be God in 1st century Judiasm is a really big deal; however, how is it that none of these self-proclamations make it into any of the synoptic gospels? Is it possible that Jesus never made these self-proclamations? If not, how does this effect our understanding of Trinitarian theology in the gospel accounts?

It should be briefly mentioned that Jones does not answer this question directly. He deals primarily, and almost exclusively, with the Gospel of John. However, as the title of his article (It's Probably True, Even If Jesus Didn't Say It) suggests Jesus never clearly claimed to be divine. Instead what we have, as (post)modern liberals have argued, the doctrine of Jesus' deity was later created by the church (blame Constantine, Athanasius, and Nicea). The Synoptics, the argument oftentimes goes, did not present a divine Jesus and the Man Himself never claimed deity for Himself. It is John that makes that explicit claim and being that John was written at the end of the first century, it is less reliable as a reflection of the earliest form of Christianity.

Is this true? No. I have put together 12 reasons proofs of Jesus' deity from the Synoptic Gospels (in no particular order).*


1. Jesus claimed to have the authority to forgive sins

Mark 2:1-12 (parallels in Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26) records the famous story of the paralytic lowered from the roof and eventually healed by Jesus. Before Jesus healed Him, the Nazarene claimed rather boldly and shockingly to have forgiven His sins (vs. 5). The religious elite rightly, from their perspective, protest. They ask “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” (vs. 7) Jesus responds, not by just proclaiming his deity but by proving his deity. When Jesus heals the paralytic, the crowd got the message; this is no mere miracle worker (see vs. 12).


2. The Demons proclaimed He was God

In both Mark 1:24 and Luke 4:33-34 demons confess that Jesus is "the Holy One of God." Similarly in Luke 4:40-41, demons refer to Jesus as "the Son of God." If your enemies proclaim you divine, then you are divine.  


3. Jesus Possesses the Attributes and Names of God

Consider, first, the attributes of God present in the ministry of Jesus the following:

• Omnipotence (Matthew 8:26-27, 14:19, 28:18)
• Omnipresence (Matthew 28:20)
• Omniscience (Matthew 11:27)
• Sovereign over the Future (Matthew 16:21, 17:22, 20:18-19, 26:1-2)
• Without Sin - (Matthew 27:3-4; Luke 23:22, 41, 47; Acts 3:14) 
• Suggestion of pre-existence - Mark 1:38; 10:45;

Consider also the titles of God attributed to Jesus throughout His ministry:

•  Immanuel - Matthew 1:21-23
•  Son of God (Matthew 4:3, 6; 8:29; 16:16; 26:63; 27:40; 27:43, 54; Mark 1:1; 3:11; 5:7; 15:39; Luke 1:32, 35; 4:3, 9, 41 8:28; 22:70)
• Son of Man (Matthew 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40; 13:37, 41; 16:13, 27-28; 17:9, 12, 22, 19:28; 20:18, 28; 24:27, 30, 37, 39; 24:44; 25:31; 26:2; 26:24, 45, 64 - I'll stop there)

4. He Accepted Worship

Only God is to be worshiped, but in Matthew 15:25, the Canaanite woman "knelt before him" and said, "Lord, heal me." More explicitly, in Matthew 28:8-9 reads, "And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him." Consider also Acts 7:59-60 where Stephen prays to Jesus.



5. Jesus claims to be the final judge of the world - Matthew 25:31-46


6. He bestowed Eternal Life (Matthew 19:16-21; Mark 10:17-21; Luke 18:18-22)


7. Jesus applied a number of Old Testament texts about God to himself (cf. Matthew 21:16 with Psalm 8:2)


8. He is Lord of the Sabbath

Jesus makes the claim of being Lord of the Sabbath in Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5; 13:15. Millard Erickson says here that Jesus "was clearly claiming the right to redefine the status of the Sabbath, a right that belongs only to someone virtually equal with God" (Christian Theology, 702).


9. He juxtaposes His words with that of the Old Testament - Matthew 5:21-22 and 27-28.


10. If He was not divine then His condemnation and punishment were just.


11. Similarly, if Jesus is not divine then his enemies were sorely mistaken.


12. He is the risen and ascended Lord!


More could be added and said, but these 12 points should be clear enough. Jesus did not merely claim to be God He proved it.


* It should be noted that I include references to the book of Acts since its author is the same as one of the Synoptic Gospel writers, Luke.


Tony Jones - It’s Probably True, Even If Jesus Didn’t Say It [Questions That Haunt]


For more:
"Christian Theology": Blogging Through Erickson - Christology 2
John Knox on the Threefold Office of Christ
John Knox on the Importance of the Ascension
John Knox on the Importance of the Ascension

If Yahweh, then Christ

From David Wells' book The Person of Christ:

If Yahweh is our sanctifier (Exod. 31:13), is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-10), is our peace (Judg. 6:24), is our righteousness (Jer. 23:6), is our victory (Exod. 17:8-16), and is our healer (Exod. 15:26), then so is Christ all of these things (1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 1:27; Eph. 2:14). If the gospel is God’s (1 Thess. 2:2, 6-9; Gal. 3:8), then that same gospel is also Christ’s (1 Thess. 3:2; Gal. 1:7). If the church is God’s (Gal. 1:13; 1 Cor. 15:9), then that same church is also Christ’s (Rom. 16:16). God’s Kingdom (1 Thess. 2:12) is Christ’s (Eph. 5:5); God’s love (Eph. 1:3-5) is Christ’s (Rom. 8:35); God’s Word (Col. 1:25; 1 Thess. 2:13) is Christ’s (1 Thess. 1:8; 4:15); God’s Spirit (1 Thess. 4:8) is Christ’s (Phil. 1:19); God’s peace (Gal. 5:22; Phil. 4:9) is Christ’s (Col. 3:15; cf. Col. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; 4:7); God’s “Day” of judgment (Isa. 13:6) is Christ’s “Day” of judgment (Phil. 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Cor. 1:8); God’s grace (Eph. 2:8, 9; Col. 1:6; Gal. 1:15) is Christ’s grace (1 Thess. 5:28; Gal. 1:6; 6:18); God’s salvation (Col. 1:13) is Christ’s salvation (1 Thess. 1:10); and God’s will (Eph. 1:11; 1 Thess. 4:3; Gal. 1:4) is Christ’s will (Eph. 5:17; cf. 1 Thess. 5:18). So it is no surprise to hear Paul say that he is both God’s slave (Rom. 1:9) and Christ’s (Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:10), that he lives for that glory which is both God’s (Rom. 5:2; Gal. 1:24) and Christ’s (2 Cor. 8: 19,23; cf. 2 Cor. 4:6), that his faith is in God (1 Thess. 1:8, 9; Rom. 4:1-5) and in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:22), and that to know God, which is salvation (Gal. 4:8; 1 Thess. 4:5), is to know Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).

Worship Minimovie: Bettie Goes to Jail

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday morning:

September 18, 2016 | Romans 7:14-25: Why the Fall Matters

Here is the sermon from Sunday morning taken from Romans 7:14-25 looking at the sin and the doctrine of the Fall.

¹⁴ For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. ¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. ¹⁷ So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. ¹⁹ For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, ²³ but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Audio
Notes


For more:
September 4, 2016 |Ephesians 1:3-14: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 1
September 4, 2016 | 2 Corinthians 12:4-31: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 2
September 11, 2016 | Psalm 33:6-17: Why Creation Matters  
September 18, 2016 | Romans 7:14-25: Why the Fall Matters 

Worship Minimovie: 9/11

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday morning.

Dwight Cole: Pilot on 9/11/01 from Cross Church on Vimeo.

Panspermia in the News

Sunday evening we discussed naturalism and argued that creationism is a better model. I made the point that many have suggested that life began on earth by alien lifeforms depositing life on earth. This theory, taken seriously among many scientists, is called Panspermia. Many point to Francis Crick as being one of the first major scientists to popularize it.

Strikingly, this bizarre and philosophically motivated theory is in the news again, this time in the Boston Globe in an article entitled "A better theory of intelligent design." After dismissing the Creation Museum in northern Kentucky, the author, Jacob Haqq-Misra, writes:

But there are other alternative ideas that can explain the origin of life on Earth. One needn’t be actively religious, or even reject evolution, to consider the possibility of intelligent design. That intelligence could have originated not on some spiritual plane whose existence can never be proven but simply elsewhere in the cosmos.

He later clarifies this theory to be, well, ancient aliens:

Modern science does offer a tenable theory of intelligent design, one that does not resort to religion or pseudoscience. When considering that humans were not far off from the technological ability to transport Earth-based life to other planets, astronomer Carl Sagan and his contemporaries hypothesized that extraterrestrial intelligent beings, if they exist, might try to do the same thing. From this speculation was born the concept that extraterrestrial intelligent designers are responsible for life on Earth.

(Pseudoscience is an interesting word choice)

He then goes on to seek to provide a scientific defense of Panspermia - the idea that life can transfer from one planet to another either directly or indirectly. To his credit, Haqq-Misra admits the unlikelihood of Panspermia taking place. Nevertheless, having conceded that life must have began by intelligent design - just not by Intelligent Design - rather than by unguided chance, he is left placing his faith in aliens.

He concludes:

Directed panspermia is not the best explanation of the data available today, but it remains a scientifically grounded idea that implicates an intelligent designer as responsible for life on Earth. It makes no claims that attach it to any particular religion or creed. There’s no reason it couldn’t be taught in schools.

We have nothing to fear from teaching a genuinely scientific theory of intelligent design in public schools. In fact, directed panspermia provides an excellent vehicle for students to understand the themes of astrobiology and the complexities of evolution. Let the students examine the evidence and decide for themselves which is more likely: origin of life on Earth, or origin from afar by extraterrestrial beings. Such an imaginative exercise will push students toward the frontiers of inquiry and inspire novel solutions toward a new, scientific theory of our origins.

There is a major problem to this theory. If life is transferred from one planet to ours, how did life on that planet begin? Panspermia does not explain the "origin of species" it only moves the problem back another million to billion years. God remains the most obvious explanation for life. Rocks and dirt do not create life - even simple, single cells whether on our planet or one's on other galaxies.

In the end, Haqq-Misra reveals the worldview behind much of popular science. Having rejected God as a hypothesis, they are in search for aliens. So instead of allowing science to shape their worldview, which is what they want us to believe, much of the scientific community allow their worldview to shape their science. Panspermia is just one example of that.

I will let Albert Mohler have the last word:

Talk about magical thinking. For Christians, this simply reminds us that it’s the Christian biblical worldview when it comes to creation or it’s some other form of an understanding of how intelligent life in the entire cosmos came to be. And in this case, published in the Sunday edition of the Boston Globe is an argument that dismisses the Christian understanding of Intelligent Design, indeed, the biblical account of creation, and simply replaces it with the hypothesis of interplanetary panspermia. Now that is a form of truly magical thinking. It’s also a sign of intellectual desperation.

September 11, 2016 | Psalm 33:6-17: Why Creation Matters

Here is the sermon from Sunday morning taken from Psalm 33:6-17

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
⁹ For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
¹⁰ The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

¹³ The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men;
¹⁴ From His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵ He who fashions the hearts of them all,
He who understands all their works.
¹⁶ The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

Audio
Notes



For more:
September 11, 2016 | Psalm 33:6-17: Why Creation Matters 
September 4, 2016 |Ephesians 1:3-14: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 1
September 4, 2016 | 2 Corinthians 12:4-31: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 2

A Brief Word on Sermon Prayers

As many of you know, we begin each sermon following the reading of the biblical text with a prayer that requests God to open our hearts that we might receive his Word, our minds that we might understand his clear ("perspicuous" to use the theologically correct term) Word, our eyes that we might see the gospel in the text of Scripture, our ears that we might hear the gospel, our mouths that we might speak the truth of the gospel to ourselves and to each other, and our hands and feet that we might go in obedience to the gospel.

I have prayed this prayer before every sermon for several years and it is a personal prayer. I have no doubt there are other prayers throughout church history similar to it, but it is, as best as I can, summarizes what I hope to communicate and accomplish in the sermon.

Recently, I was listening to a sermon by Alistair Begg, one of my favorite preachers, and he offered a brief prayer at the beginning of his sermon he confesses is not original that I enjoyed. I want to pass it along here.

Lord, what we know not, teach us; what we have not, give us; and what we are not, make us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The origin of this prayer remains a mystery. Its presence in some prayer books (like the Barclay prayer book) and lectionaries suggest it is not new. Nevertheless, I love this prayer and it is one I encourage you to pray it each morning as we open the Word of God and seek to uncover its truth and what it has to say about the Son of God, our Savior.

Worship Minimovie: Bad Trinity Analogies

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday evening:

Worship Minimovie: Theology Matters

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday morning:

September 4, 2016 | 2 Corinthians 12:4-31: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 2

Here is the sermon from Sunday evening taken from 1 Corinthians 12:4-31 which concludes our study of the Trinity introduced Sunday morning.

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. ⁶ There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. ⁷ But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

¹² For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. ¹³ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. ¹⁹ If they were all one member, where would the body be? ²⁰ But now there are many members, but one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; ²³ and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, ²⁴ whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, ²⁵ so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

²⁷ Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? ³⁰ All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? ³¹ But earnestly desire the greater gifts.

And I show you a still more excellent way.

Audio
Notes


For more:
September 4, 2016 |Ephesians 1:3-14: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 1

September 4, 2016 |Ephesians 1:3-14: On Why the Trinity Matter, Part 1

Sunday morning we began a new series I've entitled "What Does Theology Have to do With the Price of Bread in China?" Our goal is to explore key aspects of Christian theology and explore why each matters and apply to our lives. First up is the doctrine of the Trinity.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love ⁵ He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him ¹⁰ with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him ¹¹ also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, ¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

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Notes

Pray for Louisiana

As many already know, Louisiana has been rocked by severe flooding. I have personal friends who have been affected by these floods and their houses have been ruined. The North American Mission Board has been actively involved in helping the people affected rebuilt. Here is a helpful video showing some of that work.

Worship Minimovie: Self-Expression

Here is the worship minimovie from Sunday evening: