Denny Burk on Lady Gaga's "Born This Way"

Denny Burk has an article on the Grammy's ("Grammy Malaise").  The whole thing is worth reading.  Below is an excerpt that I think is very helpful in thinking about Lady Gaga's new song "Born This Way."  The song attempts to put the arguments being put forward for homosexuality into pop form.  In other words, these are common beliefs in our culture, and you will probably hear them more often as they are spread via pop music.  We would do well to pay attention and be ready with responses that are biblical and full of mercy.  Perhaps a good response is to pray for Lady Gaga.  

Ironically, this song and Lady Gaga’s performance was perhaps the program’s best attempt at profundity. “Born This Way” is making a theological point. It contends that sexual orientation is an innate and immutable quality of the human condition—a trait that we are “born” with. Whether you are gay, straight, or whatever, God made you this way, and for that reason you should embrace it. Or as Gaga herself puts it, “I’m beautiful in my way ’cause God makes no mistakes. I’m on the right track baby. I was born this way.”

The message of the song drinks deeply of the “is-ought” fallacy—the idea that we can determine what ought to be by observing what is. The song’s message also flies in the face of the Bible’s depiction of a fallen creation. It is true that God created human beings in His own image and that as a result every single human has intrinsic value and worth (Genesis 1:26-27). It is not true, however, that God endorses every thought and intention of the human heart. We live in a Genesis 3 world in which humanity and the cosmos are fallen and compromised by sin. That means that some of our desires are misdirected—even some of the ones that we are born with. That we desire sin from birth is not a cause for celebratory anthems but an indication of just how desperate the human condition really is (Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Jeremiah 17:9).

"Honk If You Love Anti-Christian Bumper Stickers"

Here is a link to an article I just read by Russel Moore (Dean of the school of theology at Southern Seminary).  I think it relates to what I preached on from Jonah 4 last Sunday.  It is a good reminder of how mercy should come out in our everyday lives...so I'll let this serve as a "reflecting on the sermon" post this week. 

A Sermon to Complement Our Study on Male Headship

I encourage all in our group (especially the men) to check out this sermon by John Piper entitled "Lionhearted and Lamblike: The Christian Husband as Head Part 2."  It gives good practical application of the truths we learned tonight about male headship in marriage and fleshes out how a husband (which most of you will be one day) is to lovingly lead by providing for and protecting his wife.

Reflecting on the Sermon: 2/6/11

The text was Romans 8:31-34.  The whole sermon was about the comfort and security of the believer's salvation.  The part I found encouraging was when we looked at verses 32-33:

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 

God will never let me go or get tired of me.  If he did the hard thing (not sparing his Son) then he will surely keep me until glory.  There is no sin that God did not know about when he chose to save me.  He nailed every sin to the cross and justified me. What an encouragement when I fail and mess up to know that God is the one who keeps me securely.  

A Challenge for Men from John Piper

15 Things that John Piper prays for men to know and seek:

1. That all of your life-in whatever calling-be devoted to the glory of God.

2. That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.

3. That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see
your good deeds and give glory to your Father in Heaven.

4. That you be men of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area
of its teaching; that meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith; that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.

5. That you be men of prayer, so that the Word of God will be opened to you, so the
power of faith and holiness will descend upon you; that your spiritual influence may
increase at home and at church and in the world.

6. That you be men who have a deep grasp of the sovereign grace of God which
undergirds all these spiritual processes; and that you be deep thinkers about the doctrines of grace, and even deeper lovers of these things.

7. That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific calling; that you not fritter away your time on excessive sports and recreation or unimportant hobbies or aimless diddling in the garage; but that you redeem the time for Christ and his Kingdom.

8. That, if you are single, you exploit your singleness to the full in devotion to God(the way Jesus and Paul and Mary Slessor and Amy Carmichael did) and not be
paralyzed by the desire to be married.

9. That, if you are married, you love your wife the way Christ loved the church and
gave himself for her; that you be a humble, self-denying, upbuilding, happy spiritual leader; that you consistently grow in grace and knowledge so as never to quench the aspirations of your wife for spiritual advancement; that you cultivate tenderness and strength, a pattern of initiative and a listening ear; and that you accept the responsibility of provision and protection in the family, however you and your wife share the labor.

10. That, if you have children, you accept primary responsibility, in partnership with your wife (or as a single parent), to raise up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord-children who hope in the triumph of God; that you establish a pattern of teaching and discipline that is not solely dependent on the church or school to impart Bible knowledge and spiritual values to the children; and that you give your children the time and attention and affection that communicates the true nature of our Father in Heaven.

11. That you not assume advancement and peer approval in your gainful employment
are the highest values in life; but that you ponder the eternal significance of faithful fatherhood and time spent with your wife; that you repeatedly consider the new possibilities at each stage of your life for maximizing your energies for the glory of God in ministry; that you pose the question often: Is our family molded by the culture, or do we embody the values of the Kingdom of God? That you lead the family in making choices not on the basis of secular trends or upward lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the faith of the family and advance the cause of Christ.

12. That you step back and (with your wife, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life’s ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things-age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of tradeoffs. Finding God’s will and living for the glory of Christ to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else’s chapter or whether it has in it what only another chapter will bring.

13. That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might and maximizing your joy in ministry to people’s needs.

14. That in all your relationships with women (not just in marriage) you seek the
guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying the Biblical vision of manhood and womanhood; that you develop a style and demeanor that expresses your God-given responsibility for humble strength and leadership, and for self-sacrificing provision and protection; that you think creatively and with cultural sensitivity (just as she must do) in shaping the style and setting the tone of your interaction with women.

15. That you see the Biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women not as license for domination or bossy passivity, but as a call to servant leadership that thinks in terms of responsibilities not rights; that you see these principles as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God’s ideal of complementarity; that you encourage the fruitful engagement of women in the countless ministry roles that are Biblically appropriate and deeply needed.

Taken from A VISION OF BIBLICAL COMPLEMENTARITY, Chapter 1, pp. 46-47

Reflecting on the Sermon: 1/30/11

We were still in Romans 8:28-30 this week, and I am glad.  What an encouraging set of verses.  I found the whole sermon very encouraging, but the part that stuck out to me was at the end when Rod addressed the question, "How do I know if I'm elect?".  He said the answer is to ask yourself: 1. Do I hate my sin, 2. Do I love God.  Only the Spirit of God can produce a genuine hatred of my sin (as I see how horrible it is) and a genuine love for God (as I see how wonderful he is).  There were many other helpful things from this sermon.  If you missed it, I encourage you to check it out (it will hopefully be on the website soon).

Reflecting on the Sermon 1/23/11

Dr. Haykin was our speaker all weekend at the "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" conference on church history and theology.  The audio is available at the church website.

The Sunday sermon was based on the Hebrews 11:8-27 and discussed Moses and then Augustine (obviously from church history, not Hebrews).  Just like Moses, and Augustine, we are called to let go of lesser things (that seem so valuable and important) and take hold of Christ who is the only one that stirs the affections of our heart.  We will only cling to Christ tightly if we see him as more beautiful and glorious than all the fleeting pleasures of sin.  At several points, Dr. Haykin quoted the famous missionary Jim Elliot, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."  If you missed this sermon, I strongly encourage you to listen to it.