Prayer Resources

On Sunday, January 1, we will be looking at 1 Timothy 4:7. A major command of the verse is that we need to train ourselves for godliness. One of the ways to do that is to follow the example of Jesus in Luke 5:16, and develop the habit of prayer. To help encourage you in prayer, here are some links to some prayer resources.Please check them out, use them, and share them with friends.

Operation World
If you would like to pray for different countries around the world, this site will provide you with information to guide your prayers.

Help Articles from Operation World on Prayer

Central's Missionaries
If you would like to pray for Central's Missionaries, here is a listing of our Missionaries.

Article on Prayer Walking by Donald Whitney

Bible Reading Plans

On Sunday, January 1, we will be looking at 1 Timothy 4:7. A major command of the verse is that we need to train ourselves for godliness. One of the ways to do that is to invest yourself in the Bible. To help encourage you to get into the Bible, here are links to a number of Bible reading plans. Please check them out, use them, and share them with friends.

Bible Reading Plan for Shirkers and Slackers

Donald Whitney's Bible Record Reading Plan

One Year Chronological Reading Plan

Ten Reading Plans from the ESV
The ten plans from the ESV provide you with RSS, iCal, Mobile, Print, and Email options.

Two Year Bible Reading Plan

Children Deserve Better

My doctoral supervisor, Dr. J. D. Payne had a post on Facebook today that is bothering me greatly. He shared  a statistic that I wish was not true, but it is true. Every 5 hours a child dies in the US from abuse or neglect. I can not read those words and not think how horrible, evil, and wrong that is. In Mark 10:14, it reads, "But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'"

Psalm 127:3 states, "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." Children a gift from God. Abuse and neglect should not be words that are ever used in the same sentence with a child's name. Our society is in desperate need of a revival. Below is a link to a video clip from BBC concerning this issue.

Children Deserve Better

Sad, Sorry and Sick

I was born in Canada. To be more exact, and in a sense to be more Canadian, I grew up seeing myself as an Albertan. For those of you not familiar with Canada, that means I was born in the Canadian province of Alberta. I suppose like most people, I hold a measure of pride toward my birth place. Today though, I am feeling sad, sorry and even more so, sick about the province of my birth. Attached below is a link to an article that describes how a Court of Queen's Bench judge in Alberta gave a woman in Alberta a three year suspended sentence for killing her own child. The woman will not face any jail time for taking the life of her child, though the article points out, she might have to serve 16 days for through the child's body over the fence into the neighbor's yard. Writing those words makes me sick to my stomach. The legal system in the place of my birth is seemingly displaying a higher level of concern over littering than over life. As the article displays, the judge's logic is that since abortion is okay, then we need to be understanding of an unsupported mother after the baby is born.

I have some many struggles and issues with that logic. First, I still do not see how abortion is right or good. Second, why is a province that is so progressive and affluent, is there reason for a mother to be unsupported. Why do we need to be understanding of an unsupported mother? Why are we not supporting the mother? Why  are we not heart broken over the life of a baby being taken? I am sad, sorry and sick today.

Baby Thrown over the Fence

9-11

September 11, 2001 is a day that probably any born in 1994 or earlier can not and will not forget. Living on the West Coast on that day meant that many of the events of that day were already happening before we were awake. My first memory of that day was the clock radio alarm going off and the voice of the morning radio host saying, "The FAA has just closed all American airs space." Trying to wake up, I was confused. It was not April Fool's day, so the host was not making some kind of odd joke. I quickly ran down stairs and turned on the television and began to have some sense of the horror of the day.

A bit later in the morning I received two phone calls that underlined for me the seriousness and impact the hijacking of those four planes would have. The first call came from a friend who worked for Morgan Stanley. On a normal day, Morgan Stanley had 2700 employees working in one of the towers of the World Trade Center complex. My friend quickly told me that she had been sent home from a local Morgan Stanley office. She then told me words that felt like a baseball to the stomach. She said, "Lloyd, I talk to those people every day." Though I lived thousands of miles from New York, the terrorist attacks felt very close.

Not much later I received another phone call. A male voice asked me, a pastor, to give him at least one good reason why he should take out every Muslim he saw that day. His anger was real and intense. The events of 9-11 were creating reactions of fear, sorrow, and anger. That night a mosque 20 miles from our home was vandalized.

Ten years later, I still find myself feeling emotions when I see video clips or read accounts of the events. 9-11 is what historian call a generational marker. It is an event that leaves an imprint in the lives of many. Yesterday I was directed to a video clip of a man whose was to have been the pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 that day. Flight 11 was the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. Though the clip is 15 minutes long, I think it is worth the investment of your time.


In My Seat

What is the Source of Your Ethics?

I believe life is a precious gift from God. As a college student I watched a film loop that showed the fertilization of an animal’s egg by a sperm. It was amazing to me to watch everything that happened as a new life began.  That same class also informed me about significant improvements in reproductive technologies and the ethical challenges that were being raised by those technologies.

I am neither a reproductive scientist nor an ethicist. I am certain that I have much to learn in both areas.  Yet, after reading the article linked below from the New York Times magazine and the link critique I believe many reproductive doctors and ethicists may also have much to learn. The article discussed the subject of reducing a double pregnancy to a singleton. Typing those words bothers me a great deal. The process is a kind of selective abortion, in which a woman chooses to end the life of one of her two babies. The article offers a type of emotional rationale for such a procedure, yet at the same time, the second paragraph quotes one of these women as viewing the procedure as allowing the couple to exercise control. I find that incredibly arrogant and demeaning to the life of the child.

There was more to the article that bothered me. A physician, who previously published an article against this procedure on ethical principles, is now doing the procedure. In explaining why, he is quoted as saying, “Ethics evolve with technology.” Those words make my stomach churn. Do right and wrong change because I have a better developed tool? Does technology really inform our ethics?

I do understand that technological developments challenge our ethics and force us to think about issues that we have never considered. But that is very different from suggesting that ethics change simply because technology allows us to do something we previously could not.

I am concerned and even convicted that our desire for control and our dream to have certain and comfortable futures can lead us to change our ethics. Instead of life being precious, it is something to be manipulated. Instead of a child being treated with dignity, a child is manipulated according to our selfish whims.

Sadly the article reminds us that we live in a culture that is eager and open to wander away from God and God’s values.  We need to repent and return to ethics informed by God’s truth and not our technology or our transitory desires.

New York Times Magazine Article - The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy

Albert Mohler's Commentary on The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy Article

Here is an article from Slate magazine that raises issues about the ethics of these, in Slate's words, half abortions. I would not say that I regularly agree with Slate, but I think this article is helpful.

Half Aborted article from Slate

Video to Watch

Sadly, though God has displayed His invisible attributes and eternal power through creation, not everyone will accept that God exists. The following video can help equip you to give noted reasons why someone who does not believe there is a God should reconsider that conclusion. Please take a few moments to watch it.

What About Those Who Don't Believe in God?

A Video to Watch

A member of Central sent me a link to this video. Please take 11 minutes and watch it and then ponder deeply the complete message. We need the completeness that Jesus has given us.

The Gospel

Thinking About Giving

A week or two ago, one of the other pastors at Central shared with me the video linked below. It is a short two minute clip that talks about giving and I think challenges us to think about the why God and the Bible call us to give. Money and issues related to giving are always a little bit tricky for most of us. As a pastor, I am well aware that churches are often viewed as just being after people's money. I also know that verses like 2 Corinthians 8:7 call us to grow in the grace of giving and in 2 Corinthians 8:24, Paul connected of giving as proof of our love. Six years ago I had the privilege of speaking with a respected Christian leader. He had served as a missionary, a pastor, and a seminary professor. He had and has a heart to see people come to Christ and grow to maturity in Christ. He said a number of things to me that day, but one thing has stuck out to me, both as a person and as a pastor. He said, "Money is the final frontier of the Lordship of Jesus Christ."

Money and giving are issues that we wrestle with as people. I believe finances is an area where we desperately need God's help. Please take two minutes and watch the video link, and then think about what God is asking you to with your money and your giving. If you have questions or comments on this subject, I would love to hear them.

Why does God want your money?

Do we need to talk about sin?

One of the other pastors at Central drew my attention to the article linked below. Sin is not something that we like to talk about. We seem to really like forgiveness and grace, but who wants to have to face up to sin? Back in the early 70s, a psychiatrist Karl  Menninger wrote a book titled, Whatever Became of Sin? He wrote out a concern that by labeling sin as a cultural taboo or a social blunder was doing noted damage to people. Dr. Menninger was not, at that point at least, a follower of the Lord Jesus, but he saw the need for people to take sin seriously.

I believe God's grace and forgiveness are incredible. We should talk about them much, but we also need to talk about sin. Sin is a reality. Please read the article and share with me any of your thoughts.

Why Doesn't Anybody Talk about Sin Anymore?

Is Jesus Coming Back on May 21?

Harold Camping has been declaring on radio, billboards, newspapers and the internet that the Lord Jesus is going to return to earth on May 21, 2011 at 6:00 pm Pacific time. To be precise, I believe Mr. Camping would call this prediction the rapture. Though I appreciate Mr. Camping's eagerness for the return of the Lord Jesus, I believe it is highly doubtful that he is right in his prediction. Why?

Well, for starters, Mr. Camping's track record on the issue is not good. He predicted the same thing back in 1994, and well, it did not happen. Though some might take offense, I think you could make a case for Mr. Camping being a false prophet. The Bible does not think very highly of false prophets.

A second reason why I do not think Mr. Camping is correct is because the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:42-44 and Matthew 25:13 seems to suggest an unexpectedness to the return of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 24:42 says, "Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." (ESV). I find it very hard to believe that Mr. Camping has found a hidden code that has allowed him to do some elaborate mathematical analysis to discover something the Lord Jesus stated we do not know. Even more strongly, in Matthew 24:36 the Lord Jesus said, "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." It strikes me as the ultimate of arrogance to claim to know something that the Lord Jesus says He does not know.

I do believe the Lord Jesus is coming back, but I do not know when. Because of that I want to be faithfully serving the Lord Jesus. I am preparing for Sunday morning now, I am not going to wait until 6:01 PM Pacific time (8:01 PM Central time) to start preparing. The Lord Jesus is coming back, but not at a time I can figure out. My responsibility right now is to serve Him and seek to point others to Him. That is the only and best way to prepare for His coming.

All I Have Is Christ

Earlier today I saw the video linked below. I am not sure that I was wowed by the stuff I saw on the screen. I am not exactly what you would call artsy or knowledgeable about producing images. But what struck me was both the title of the video and the music. I live in a part of the world in which we often make much of things that really do not matter that much.

Let me give you an example. We make much of sports. Right now we are in the middle of the NHL playoffs. I grew up playing hockey and to a degree I miss not being able to still play it. We are also in the middle of the NBA playoffs. One of my sons really enjoys playing basketball. We are also in the middle of the NFL labor dispute. Those things are happening and many people invest considerable time, energy and money to watch, discuss and debate the various issues involved.

But I feel compelled to ask myself the question: Does that invest matter? In high school I was exposed to the game Trivial Pursuit. Sometimes, when it was played, I actually did okay. But what did that prove or suggest? Maybe only that I had invested my life in stuff that was trivial, stuff that has limited value. The video challenged me to think about verses like Colossians 3:1-4 that reminds me that my life is hidden with Christ in God. The glory of my life is not tied to who wins a championship this spring or whether or not we have NFL games to distracts us in the fall. The glory of my life is tied to Christ and His being revealed.

The video also took me to 2 Corinthians 5:15. This verse grabs me and I pray re-orients me to the ultimate reality. The Lord Jesus died for me. Paul suggests that Jesus did that so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. My life is not really about me. It is about the Lord Jesus and His death and resurrection. The truth of that is rocking me this morning. I should approach my marriage differently because of Jesus. Marriage is not about my wife making me happy. Marriage is about me living out Christ's life so that my wife is reconciled to God and is being transformed into the likeness of Christ. The same can be said of being a parent, a worker, a neighbor.

It is really easy to make life about all kinds of stuff. That is wrong and dangerous. Colossians 1:16 and Romans 11:36 both affirm that the Lord Jesus is the point of life. That means if you and I want to truly live, we need to know that all we have is Christ. The other stuff can be enjoyed, but they are not the source nor the point of life. Thanks for reading. Please watch the video and follow Christ above everything. He is all I have.

All I Have is Christ

What about People Who Have Not Heard?

In the blogs I read and even in the more popular media, like Time magazine, there has been considerable discussion in the last few months about God, His characteristics and people who have not heard about the Lord Jesus. These topics have been something I have wrestled with at different times over the 29 years that I have been a follower of the Lord Jesus. Between college and seminary I worked for an oil company. As I tried to be a witness to people I worked with, or in missional terms of today, a missionary, I can remember conversations in which these issues were a stated issue for people I worked with and for. In seminary I had to wrestle with them in an academic manner. As a pastor these issues have shown up in different ways as well. Over the last 5 years I have been working full time and trying to complete a doctoral degree on the side. These issues have often come up for me as a part of my school reading, assignments or discussions. I recognize it is an emotionally charged issue: we are talking about God and the eternal destinies of people. Both of those should engage us deeply.

Belong is a link to an academic article that I think is helpful for those who are wrestling with in some ways the issues mentioned above. It probably will not bring complete satisfaction to every reader, but maybe it will help you understand more clearly what the Bible teaches on a challenging issue. If you have any thoughts after reading it, please let me know. I would enjoy interacting with you.

The Hopelessness of the Unevangelized

Processing Osama bin Laden

I was surprised early this morning to learn that a group of US Navy Seal had engage Osama bin Laden in a quick battle that ended with bin Laden dying. I was not sure how to feel. Part of me was thankful that a man who  seemed content to kill innocent lives would no longer be able to reign terror. Yet, it was not something that seemed right to celebrate. The ending of human life is not something that should be celebrated. I am still trying to process through my thoughts and feelings on the subject. I found the article linked to below helpful. Hopefully it is helpful to you as well.

Albert Mohler on the Death of Osama bin Laden

Help with a Real Issue

I wish it was not the case, but a major issue in the life of a growing number of men, and also a smaller, but also a growing number of women, is pornography. In my role as a pastor I have seen the devastating effects of pornography in the lives of too many lives. The power of sin is real and I do not believe that we can on our own overcome pornography. This morning I saw two articles related to dealing with pornography. I think they offer helpful insights. Please consider their messages and in the words of Proverbs 4:23, guard your heart from it. Your heart is the wellspring of your life. If you pollute the wellspring, the damage to the life will be huge.

40 Positive Reasons to Avoid Pornography

Arousing Ourselves to Death

Communicating the Gospel

Here is a a great presentation of the good news of the Lord Jesus. Please take a look.

The Gospel

Are You a Trader?

Philippians 2 is one of the passages in the Bible that grips whenever I read it. I am struck by the directives of verses 1 to 4 about how should experience unity as follower of Jesus. I am humbled by the words of verses 6 to 11, which describe what the Lord Jesus did and that some day we will all bow before Him. The words of verses 1 to 4 reminder me that it is incredibly easy for me to be selfish. Verses 6 to 11 tell me that the impact Jesus had and will ultimately have in the eyes of all humanity is tied to His being anything but selfish. Touching the world requires being like Jesus, not like the selfish guy I can easily be and often am.

So far I have not mentioned verse 5. It is a challenging verse. It calls us to have the same attitude of Jesus. On this Easter Monday, I am profoundly grateful for what the Lord Jesus did for me on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.  That makes me think I need to choose verse 5. I need to live out verse 5. Please watch the link to the video below. The clip got me thinking that verse 5 living is a much better way to live on Easter Monday.

Are You a Trader?

Did the Resurrection Happen?

We are in the middle of the Holy Week, the time when we remember important events recorded in the four gospels in the New Testament. Th events of the week are given a considerable amount of attention in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There is probably one reason we remember the Holy Week: the Resurrection. The Claim that the Lord Jesus came back to life impacts everything else He did that week, every thing else He did while He was on earth, and according to verses like 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, His resurrection changes everything. The Bible makes some pretty bold claims related to the Resurrection. One of those claims is that we need to repent of our sins and trust the Lord Jesus. It is easy to make bold claims. It is another thing to be able to back up those claims and fulfill them. The resurrection is a big claim.But did it happen? I would encourage you to watch these two clips. I think they underline that the resurrection did happen. The bold claims of the Bible are true and the call to repent and trust Christ is a claim that we should heed.

The Case for the Resurrection

Did People See Jesus After the Resurrection?

Thoughts to Start the Week

Tomorrow, Sunday, April 17th is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week. Undoubtedly, the historic events are critical to Christianity and to history. I found this video on a blog that I read and I thought it might be helpful to help us think through more of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. It is easy for us to be caught up in all kinds of things. This video helps jar us back to having a clearly view of life. Please take four minutes, thirty seconds to watch it.

Truth Video from Ravi Zacharias

Fear or Rejoicing?

I spent three days this week in Chicago at the national conference for an organization called the Gospel Coalition (If you would like to hear the content of the conference please go to their website - The Gospel Coalition National Conference Media). I am grateful to God for the opportunity to be at the conference. I was challenged and blessed and I was reminded of how incredible God is and how wonderful salvation is.

To get to Chicago, I drove to Omaha and flew from there. Early Tuesday morning I arrived at the airport. The mood around the gate was warm and upbeat. It was a sunny, warm morning, people were enjoying their coffee and many appeared to be beginning traveling adventures. One group of about eight people was talking about Beijing. The boarding process began right on time, which helped keep the atmosphere light and positive. But as we moved into the jetway, things seemed to change. As we walked down the slope and made the left turn to the plane, the tones of conversation changed, people feel quiet. If words were spoken it, they were few and expressed with noted hesitation. Why the change?

Well, as you made the left turn, you could see the plane and its roof. A considerable amount of the paint had chipped or peeled off the roof of the plane. A few of the words spoken mentioned the Southwest Airlines plane that lost a part of its roof back on April 1^st (here is a follow up story – Southwest Airlines Planes Still Grounded). What had been a sunny morning of excitement and anticipation of adventure, suddenly had become engulfed by a cloud of fear.

Fear is incredibly powerful. Fear can alter a life. If you don’t believe me, just ask Adam. Genesis 3:10 is the first expression of fear in human history. Because of fear, Adam hid from the Lord, his Creator, the One who had come to walk with him, the One who Adam was created to be in relationship with. I am well aware that I need to learn a great deal more about all the Bible says about fear, but I also know that God does not want us to live in the fear that Adam was living in. That is fear that marks are lives too.

Interesting thing, I was to fly home Thursday afternoon. In one of the three sessions on Thursday morning, Dr. Mike Bullmore spoke from the book of Zephaniah (Dr. Bullmore's Message). Near the end of his message he drew our attention to Zephaniah 3:15-17. Because of God’s incredible mercy and grace, though we sin and are separated from God, God, through the death and resurrection of His Son offers us the incredible gifts of forgiveness and a reconciled relationship with Him. Verses 15 to 17 read:

The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. ¹⁶ On that day they will say to Jerusalem, "Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. ¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

When we are reconciled with God, fear becomes a non-issue. I do not need to fear evil. God is present and mighty to save. I do not need to dread evil. Dr. Bullmore noted how verse 17 ends: God’s joy of us. Sin brought us fear. With salvation through the Lord Jesus, God brings us His joy. God rejoices over us with singing. Right now, His voice might seem quiet, but it will get louder and as we draw near to Him, I think even now we will hear the volume increase.

I cannot say that I was immune from a sense of fear on Tuesday, but instead of touching the chipping paint and looking concerned, as I saw others do, I prayed. It was short, nothing profound, but in light of what I learned on Thursday morning, I guess the prayer was really a chance for me to hear God sing. Before long, I closed my eyes again, prayed some more and had a short peaceful nap. I did not need to be overwhelmed with fear. God was with me and He was starting to sing.

Fear is real, but so is God. Please, do not live in fear. God is present to reconcile you to Himself and purge your fear and replace it with His rejoicing presence in your life.

Risk It All

Here is a video clip from Dr. David Platt which provides a challenge to those of us in North America, and maybe followers of Jesus in many parts of the world. For me it raises the question what am I going to live for? Am I going to live seeking to know and enjoy comfort? Or am I going to live for God's kingdom? I do not believe that God is against us having joy in life. The story of Isaac in Genesis 21 reminds us that God laughs. We should laugh too, but that is not the ultimate thing in life. This clip reminds me of how easy it is for us to be self-centered. As I start a new day, as I start each day, I see the need to ask: what am I going to live for? This clip challenges me to take that question very seriously. The investment of a life,your life matters and will leave an impact. What kind of impact and legacy do you want to leave?

Let's Risk It All

Update on Japan

The video below is from some missionaries in Japan who are trying to provide help to people in the country they love. Please watch the video and be moved to pray for the people of Japan.

Mission: Ishinomakie

Middle Road?

Tomorrow in the worship service, we will be looking at Matthew 7:13-20. The first two verses talk about the narrow road and the wide road. Jesus seems pretty clear that there are two roads. In this video clip Francis Chan talks about a third road that we seem to want to add: the middle road. It is kind of "nice" combination of the other two. The problem is Jesus did not say that there was a middle road. I kind of wonder if our interest in a middle road is really a desire for us to re-name the wide road. Take a look at the video and let me know what you think.

Francis Chan on the Middle Road

What Kind of Legacy am I Leaving?

Recently one of the other pastors at Central, Don Craig, led our staff through a values exercise. He gave us a bunch of cards that had values listed on them. First we had to group the values in "A" values and "B" values. Then we had to take or "A" values and pick our top six. Honestly, I do not really like these kinds of exercises. They are hard and challenging. But that challenge can be very good for us. One of the top six values I picked was legacy. As a pastor I am mindful that a number of places in the New Testament there is mention of church leaders being people who lives are to be imitated (see 1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 2 Thessalonians 3:7, Hebrews 13:7 and 1 Peter 5:3). But even more than being a pastor, I am also a parent. My life is impacting four precious gifts from God. God ha entrusted Kerri and I with the responsibility of raising these gifts. As we do that, we want them to know and love God and value the things of God. I suppose that is why this blog linked below grabbed me so tightly this morning.

5 Ways to Make Your Kids Hate Church

(Please note, the linked web site was having some issues this morning, it should be back working normally soon in case you try to go there and you do not go there.)

I believe that God values church. He calls it by names like the body of Christ, the bride of Christ and the family of God. Years ago, Kerri and I had the challenging privilege of starting a new church. To start the church, we were trying to find people in the are who might be interested in being part of a new church. We tried different things to make contacts and connections. The first sort of public meeting/event we had there were just ten people, that included the four of us (we only had two children at that point). Our oldest son Zach had just turned 3. As we started the service, he ran off. I went after him and I heard words from his mouth that broke my heart. He said "Daddy, I hate church." I know he was only 3 and I know he hated it because he wanted kids to play with and his brother Josh was only 7 months olds, and there were no other kids. But I also knew then and I still know today that God values church and I do not want my kids to hate something that God loves.

I want to leave a legacy that encourages my kids to love what God loves. Please click on the link above and think about the legacy of your life. It is not a small matter.

Video to Consider

In follow up to the post I made on Monday I thought this video might be worth 4 minutes of your time. I found it challenging and reminded me that the issues of theology are not simply matters of intellectual debate. They are truths that should impact how I live and invest my life. Please watch it.

David Platt on Universalisim

Different Views of Eternal Destinies

In the last 3 or 4 weeks, there has been a noted discussion in the blog world and even in the popular media about the eternal destinies of people. In the process of that, different views have been discussed. Below is my attempt to provide an overview and analysis of four schools of thoughts related to the eternal destinies of people. Please note, my overview and analysis was originally created to prepare me for an exam question, so some of the statements may seem odd or without reference. If you have any questions about the material or would like to discuss any of it, please comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Also, to make it clear, I hold to fourth view listed, exclusivism. I do believe that salvation is only possible because of Jesus' death and resurrection, and that to receive salvation, a person must exercise faith in Christ before death to be saved. Thank you for reading this posting.

1)      Universalism

a)     Definition

i)       Beougher article in Southern Seminary Journal -  the teaching that though hell may exist it will eventually empty as God’s will to save all persons will finally triumph

b)     Key Features

i)       James Chancellor article in Review and Expositor – God’s desire of salvation is an overpowering force that nothing can stop

ii)    Hell is temporary

iii)  It becomes a means of grace in which dead unbelievers are brought to their senses – Emil Brunner calls hell “a pedagogic cleansing process

iv)   God’s essential attribute is love – Beougher

v)     Packer notes this love attribute does not mean that people are not bad, but God’s love overpower that

c)      Motives For

i)       Prevents God from being a failure

ii)    It appeases our feeling about people being lost

iii)  Helps us emotionally deal with struggles of missionary task

d)     Analysis of

i)       Biblical record related to eternal judgment

(1)   Daniel 12:2

(2)  Matthew 25:41-46

(3)  Revelation 20:11-15

(4)  Universalist response according to Packer – universalism represents an irresistible influence from main thrust of New Testament

ii)    Beougher – raises the question: is it Legitimate to elevate one attribute?

(1)   Even if yes, would not holiness be better choice – Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4

(2)  Drummond’s affirmation of A. W. Pink’s observation – concordance search – more on God’s wrath than love in the Bible

(3)  Drummond suggests in The Word of the Cross that out of God’s holiness comes His benevolence, His love

iii)  Historical rejection

(1)   Present in Origen (185-254)

(2)  Condemned by Synod of Constantinople in 543

2)     Pluralism

a)     Definition

i)        Jesus is just one of many paths to salvation – Ron Nash in Is Jesus the Only Savior?

b)     Key Features

i)       Requires a understanding that holds that truth is relative

(1)   Implications from that

(a)  W. C. Smith in Nash’s book -  something is only true in a subjective, internal personalized sense

(b)  Re-statement – something is true if it is of help to you

(c)   Smith holds that Jesus’ resurrection only true if it transforms a person

(d)  No religion is objectively true

ii)    From that understanding the conclusion can be reached that all belief systems point in the same direction and to the same God, even if those systems appear contradictory

iii)  Key to note: Jesus is not the Savior, by implication Jesus was not necessary

c)      Motives for

i)       John Hicks – met “saintly non-Christians”

ii)    Seemingly values all religious systems – they are all valid ways to related to ultimate reality

d)     Analysis of

i)       Biblical record would need to be dismiss

(1)   Acts 4:13

(2)  John 3:16-18

(3)  John 14:6

(4)  Isaiah 45:4-6

(5)  1 Timothy 2:5

ii)    Worth noting - John Hick did in fact lose his orthodox view of the bible

iii)  According to Nash, with the de-valuing of Jesus, pluralists must deny the deity of Christ, the incarnation, the atonement and the resurrection

iv)   Chancellor’s article “Christ and Religious Pluralism – most thoughtful Buddhists have reached the conclusion that what Christians mean by “God” and Buddhists mean by “Nirvana” or “Emptiness” are simply not the same

v)     Pluralism claims that truth is personal and private, and objective, propositional truth is a derivative. But that statement is a proposition

vi)   Removes motives that have driven church from the Bible

3)     Inclusivism

a)     Definition

i)       God saves people only because of the work of Christ, but people may be saved even if they don’t know about Christ – John Sanders in What About Those Who Have Never Heard?

ii)    Karl Rahner – Anonymous Christian – non-Christian gains salvation through, hope, and love by grace of Christ, mediated imperfectly through that person’s own religion

b)     Key Features

i)       Two Axioms

(1)   Particularity – Jesus is the only mediator of salvation – in agreement with 1 Timothy 2:5

(2)  Universality – God intends His salvation to be available to all humans

ii)    God is Amazing – Sanders’ understanding of that statement

(1)   God includes all in His grace and excludes in judgment only those who spurn that grace

(2)  God has already accepted all people prior to any response, but not all accept God’s acceptance

iii)  Inclusivism holds general revelation is sufficient to lead someone to exercise faith – salvation

(1)   Sanders – faith means a person responds in trust to giver of truth

iv)   Article by Gary Phillips – affirms Jesus Christ is ontological basis of salvation, but Jesus need not be the epistemological basis

v)     Pinnock – key part of view to make it work – Son’s work is in context of universal work of Holy Spirit

(1)   Wellum – Southern and Miles – Western – total change of 2000 years of understanding of Holy Spirit

(2)  In John 14:26, 15:26, 16:8-11, Holy Spirit points to the Son

c)      Motives for

i)       Pinnock – if God loves the world and desires everyone to be saved it logically follows that everyone must have access to salvation

ii)    Sanders – solution to the issue of evil related to salvation

d)     Analysis of

i)       Drummond – New Testament reveals nothing of salvation apart from hearing Good news of Christ

ii)    Romans 1:18ff suggests the insufficiency of General Revelation

e)     Inclusivists suggest an idea that is emotionally “nice” but does not take as of first importance what Paul did in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

i)       Messages in Acts major on Jesus’ death and resurrection

f)       In taking this position, it would seem to soften our need to really strive in the spirit of Colossians 1:29, which would led to less evangelism and less growth possible

4)     Exclusivism

a)     Definition

i)       Sanders – God provides salvation only in Christ and it is necessary to know about the person and work of Christ and exercise faith before death to be saved.

b)     Key Features

i)       Gospel message is necessary condition for salvation – Romans 10:17

ii)    Up holds the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus in His deity, incarnation, death and resurrection

c)      Motive for

i)       Agreement with Biblical text

ii)    Explains actions of Apostles and throughout church history

d)     Analysis of

i)       People go to hell because they are sinners

(1)   Willful rejection – John 5:39-40 – for those who have heard about Jesus

(2)  Willful in subordination – Romans 1:18-21 – for all people

ii)    Challenge of

(1)   OT believers

(a)  Sanders suggests – exclusivism interpretation logically consigns to damnation all those living before Jesus

(b)  Walter Kaiser – Belief in God’s promise and His Promised One in Toward Rediscovering the Old Testament

(c)   Progress and development of Promise – Galatians 3

(2)  Infants and Mentally Unable

(a)  Significant silence in Bible

(b)  2 Samuel 12:23

Prayer Thoughts

I really wish I could say that I find it easy to pray and that I am some kind of prayer giant. Like I said, I wish I could say that. I do not always find prayer an easy thing to do. I am not certain I fully understand all the reasons why prayer is not always easy for me. One of the reasons I think I struggle is simply that I do not all that prayer means or all that prayer does in my life. To help me address that, I greatly appreciate it when I hear or read the insights of other people on prayer. Below is a quote from a new book by Russell Moore of Southern Seminary.


Russell Moore:

One of the first ways you can tell that you are moving beyond temptation into a pattern of sin is if you find yourself in a time of prayerlessness.

That isn’t just a “spiritual maturity issue”—it’s a gospel issue.

You are recreated through the gospel with a nature that longs for communion with God. The Spirit within you cries out, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Prayer is exactly how you experience the sympathy of your high priest who has triumphed over your temptation. After all, you are not the only one praying when you pray. The Spirit himself prays through you, and as he does so, he works to align your will and desires with those of Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:26–27).

If you are reluctant to pray, it just might be that you, like Adam and Israel before you, are hiding in the vegetation, ashamed to hear the rustling of the leaves that signals he is here.

—Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ, p. 171.


These words struck me for a couple of reasons. First, part of my struggle in prayer might be a indicator to me that I am moving from temptation to a pattern of sin. When I neglect to prayer, instead of recognizing that when I turned from sin to God and trusted or put my faith in the Lord Jesus that I was reconciled to God and now can live in connection or communion with God, I live as if none of that matters. And yet, I still know that I need the mercy and help of my high priest. And because of who my high priest is, the Lord Jesus, I can receive that help as I turn to Him. As Dr. Moore pointed out in the quote above, it is through prayer that we can experience that sympathy and help to exit the temptation expressway to sin and get on God's freeway to triumph in Jesus.

A second thought was when I pray, Dr. Moore also reminds us of the truth of Romans 8:26-27. The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us. When I pray, I have the incredible joy of participating withe Holy Spirit in a time of intimate communication with the Father. Romans 8 goes on, in verse 34 to be exact to say the Lord Jesus is also interceding for us. When we pray, we are joining in the conversation of the Trinity. When I am hesitant to pray, I am like Adam, hiding in the bushes, missing out on the relationship I was created to have, missing out on the relationships the Lord Jesus died and rose again to reconcile and the relationship the Holy Spirit is transforming me to enjoy. I do not want to live in the bushes. I want to live in relationship. Praying helps me make that change.