Praying Through Scripture Resource

Tonight we talked about some theology for prayer. If you were hoping for some practical help on growing in this discipline, check out Don Whitney's article on "Praying Through Scripture" located at his website.

The Cosmological Argument

Dr. Ware shared with us about three evidences for the existence of God last Friday night.

• The Cosmological Argument
• The Teleological Argument
• The Moral Argument

In case you missed it, or just want a review, below is a video about the cosmological argument (note: this is not from Dr. Ware but William Lane Craig).
(HT: Challies)

Are You Living The Radical Christian Life?

There has been a lot of talk about doing big things for God or being a radical Christian. In many ways this a good thing. We need to "stir one another up to love and good deeds." We need to challenge the cultural Christianity that promotes a dead faith.

That being said, we do need to be careful not to assume that radical Christianity is the equivalent of selling everything you own and going on the mission field.1 There is nothing wrong with that (and there is a lot that can be right about that). But, it is not the definition of living for Christ (though it may be a good application of that command). If it is, then what are we saying about the faithful Christian mother who devotes her energy not to reaching an unreached tribe in Africa but to reaching the unreached people group living in her home. And what are we saying about the Christian man who lives a life of faithful, steady plodding at his job and in his home for the sake of God's kingdom. If done to the glory of God, such living is radical, for it necessarily involves dying to self and living for Christ. What's more,

So, in that sense, radical Christianity is simply biblical, faithful Christianity. It is loving Jesus more than anything else. It is trusting in him when life is difficult and confusing. It is obeying his commands instead of living by my varying emotions.

Clearly, when we live this way it will look radical to the world around us. We will give and serve and pray with fervency. We will kill sin in our lives and put on righteousness. We will make no provision for the flesh to indulge its desires. We will carry out the "one another" commands of the New Testament. In short, we will have a true, living faith.

This does not mean we will be doing all those things perfectly. But, we will, by faith, cling to Jesus when we see that we fail, and we will cling to him for strength to obey.

To summarize, here is a helpful excerpt from a blog post by Barnabas Piper on being a radical Christian.

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. ...

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

So, if you are struggling just to trust and obey, keep up the fight of faith. It isn't a waste, and you are not a lame.


1. Note: I am not saying any specific author is saying this. I have not read the books that are promoting radical Christian living. I am just saying I have seen some think this way whether it is a result of something they actually read or something they merely misunderstood.

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

Sinners and Sociopaths - Thinking about The Ariel Castro Case

At his sentencing hearing, Ariel Castro, the man who kidnapped and kept three girls as sex slaves for 11 years, said, "I am not a monster. I am a normal person. I am just sick." Dr. Al Mohler has some very helpful thoughts on how we should think, as Christians, about Ariel Castro and people like him. Is he just sick? Is he a monster? Why are we so repulsed by his particular crimes? I encourage you to read Dr. Mohler's article.