Lottery / Mark 10-11 / N.T. Wright July 30, 2007
Posted by joejames in Lottery, Mark, N.T. Wright, Preaching.1 comment so far
I played the Powerball Lottery with Josh this last week. We won $20! I really felt like we were gonna hit it big this time! Guess I donated a few extra dollars to Satan huh? (Actually the Powerball lottery gives millions of dollars to political activists groups that promote the strengthening of our educational system in America. I guess the rest goes to Satan.
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I am preaching on Mark 10 – 11 in two weeks. I am excited about it. I will also be telling about Moses beating the crap out of an Egyptian and how David got ticked and killed a giant. In case you were wondering – Jesus gets ticked off 3 times in Mark 10 – 11. So I am preaching about anger management for Moses, David, and Jesus. – dangerous I know!
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Is N.T. Wright a living & breathing, walking among us, in our very presence, reicarnation of C.S. Lewis? I am reading the Challenge of Jesus. Just read Simply Christian. This guy is a genious.
Pick up anything with N.T. Wright on it, I am sure you will be blessed.
Free Book for 1000th Blogger July 20, 2007
Posted by joejames in Uncategorized.3 comments
I totally stole this idea from Mike Cope’s blog.
To whomever is the 1000th person to visit this site, I will give you a free book of your choice from Amazon.com. Just look at the “hits” on the right column of my main page and if it says “1,000″ then you win! Simply post a comment saying you’re blogger one-thousand and give me an email address to reach you at.
I know that 1,000 site hits isn’t anything to write home about, but I wan’t to start this tradition early on – you know, in case one day I actually have a popular site.
I will do this again at 5,000 / 10,000 / 20,000 / 50,000 / 100,000 / 500,000 – you get the drift.
Be honest… I can’t do anything to you, but Jesus is watching.
Physical Labor – Vacation – Theft – Feelings – Hosea July 19, 2007
Posted by joejames in Random Thoughts.1 comment so far
I did physical labor all day today. I will do it all day tomorrow as well. I realized two things today. #1 – I hate physical labor. #2 – I feel a lot more like Jesus when I do physical labor.
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I am going on vacation next week. I think my blog posts will be better on those days, because I will actually have time to think before I write. Does anyone have a good read to suggest for my time away?
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Someone keeps stealing stuff from our church. Like in the tens of thousands of dollars. Our people’s reactions to it, says a lot about what they believe about Jesus’ teachings. How is that for blunt?
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I feel better today than I did yesterday about ministry. Thanks to my big brother, Lance, and my accountability partner, Josh.
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Everyone should read Hosea. Hosea’s stock is way up right now in my mind. I think it’s creeping into my top 5. BTW> My top 5 are:
5> Revelation
4> Ecclesiastes
3> Colossians
2> Romans
1> Psalms
Look out Johnny boy, there’s a minor prophet breathing down your neck!
Misunderstandings July 18, 2007
Posted by joejames in Ministry, Misunderstandings.1 comment so far
I hate misunderstandings. To quote my cousin Michael – “I know you’re not suppose to hate, but I hate misunderstandings. I just do. And I don’t feel bad about it.”
I found out today that I offended someone very badly about 3 or 4 weeks ago. I try so hard to say the right things to people I minister to. This time I said something that I thought was kind and caring, but they took it another way – and now they hate me.
And days like today, I hate ministry – not children’s ministry, just ministry in general – you know, the kind of ministry every Christian does. I hate it today! I am serious… I hate it.
On days like today I can identify with Derek Webb’s lyric:
“So I’m walking away from this, before I hurt someone. Cuz I’m facing enemies on both sides of the gun.”
I want to go home. My home doesn’t misunderstand me.
God Has Trust Issues July 17, 2007
Posted by joejames in American Christianity, Church, Hosea, Idol Worship, Politics, Prophets.1 comment so far
I was reading through the last few chapters in Hosea this morning. I don’t really know a lot about the prophets, but I figured Hosea was a good place to start learning. I read chapters 12,13,& 14 today.
My understanding of the book is basically this – God has trust issues. He longs for us to trust only in him.
I think it is easy for us to sidestep some key passages as if they don’t apply to us. For example, Hosea 14:3 says, “Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made…” Now wouldn’t it be easy to make an assumption of the text here, that “we don’t make idols with our hands and call them ‘Our gods’ But is Hosea being literal here? Look at what precedes this sentence, “Assyria cannot save us, we will not mount war-horses.”
Could it be that Hosea is referring – NOT to a literal idol made with hands, like a shrine or golden calf – but to a nation-state, built on human ideals, causes, and reasons? I say this because of the bold appeal by Hosea for God’s people to repent of their sins and proclaim “Assyria cannot save us!”
Lee Camp has a chapter in his book Mere Discipleship called “Why Disciples don’t make Good Americans, or Germans, or Frenchmen.” I think there is some truth in this – While God has established authorities, principalities, and powers for this world, He has also given them a sphere in which to operate. Jesus makes this clear in his conversation with Potius Pilate in John 18:10-11.
Pilate says, “Don’t you realize that I have power over you to either crucify you or set you free?”
Jesus replies, “You would have no power… were it not given you from above.”
Talk about getting put in your place! And I say that to reinforce my belief that we respect and honor the authority given the government from above, but we put no trust in it to rescue us or this world from ANYTHING.
People are looking to politics, and always have, to save the world. They look to the nation-state for help. “If we just bombed this country or kill all the terrorists…” or, “If we’d just enforce this policy or that one…”
Then what? The terrorists children will remember who killed their fathers? The policies of a state bring salvation and hope to the lost? NO! Our only hope is in God.
So I offer this prophetic voice to American Christians who look to and trust the political powers of this world to bring about real change – “Turn away from your sins and look to God. Trust in Him alone! America cannot save us! We will not mount war-horses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made.”
God has trust issues. He takes issue with every worshiper of His who serves another master – with every believer who trusts ‘Our gods’
Political Discussions July 16, 2007
Posted by joejames in Culture, Evangelsim, Gospel, Politics, Randy Harris, Theology.3 comments
I went back and listened to Randy Harris’ CD’s from Pepperdine 2006. His topic was politics and the Christian’s role in the political process. I did this because I am gearing up to discuss politics in our life group this Sunday. (We are doing a series called “The Secret Message of Jesus” where we are finding places in our culture where Jesus is taking “center-stage” in debate and conversation. This week we talked about the End Times. The goal each week is to find healthy ways of engaging people in discussions that will reveal to them a more thoughtful and loving Jesus.)
I also will be, as I did with the End Times stuff, asking people what they think about politics this week. I figure this is a good place to do that. So, let me ask you some questions – you don’t have to answer all of them, just put the number of the question beside your answer in the comments section.
1> What level of political involvement is “okay” for the Christian?
2> What political issues are most important to you? Social-responsibility/Social Justice? The War on Terror? Healthcare? Homosexual Marriage? Abortion? Insurance Provision?
3> How would you describe your political affiliation?
4> How intimately connected is your politics to your faith?
5> What kind of impact is the Christian community having on the political process right now?
6> Do you feel (if you are a Christian) that your feelings & stances are represented well, by this Christian “voice” that is so involved in the political process.
7> What kind of impact is this Christian voice making on the lost as they engage in politics?
8> How do you think the homosexual community views Christian community as a result of their involvement in the political process? Is this good/bad/either? Explain?
9> Is it the duty of the Christian to see to it that this nation/state is a moral entity? If so, then how well are Christians doing? And what means are Christians using to do this?
10> What do you believe the bible teaches about politics? Can you site some key passages for you?
(Again I’d like to reinforce the goal of this discussion we will have in our life-group. That is to help people find healthy ways to engage in discussions where Jesus seems to be “center-stage” is our society – and in-so-doing to reveal to people the true Christ “full of grace and truth”)
Please, ALL and EVERYONE feel free to answer the questions of your choosing! by clicking on comments!
Discussions with Randy July 12, 2007
Posted by joejames in Culture, Evangelsim, Post-Chrsitian Society, Preaching, Randy Harris.add a comment
Yesterday our staff had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Randy Harris and talk about ministry. We talked a lot about being a missional church, being relevant to our culture, what the future holds for Northeast Arkansas and Jonesboro, etc….
It was great, but there was one discussion in particular that I found interesting. Randy said that he has a project for ministers everywhere. To come up with a list of “ways” (for lack of a better word) that are unique to the Christian faith. And by unique, he meant “ways” that go beyond just being a good citizen.
For example, not being an alcoholic and not beating your wife are “ways” of a good citizen. But giving sacrificially to the poor and allowing not even a hint of sexual immorality into your heart, these are “ways” of a Christian.
After you compile this list, think of ways to communicate these “ways” to the increasingly postmodern, post-conservative, post-churched society in which we find ourselves. An example of this, Randy says, is to say “Christians don’t make much of themselves.” instead of saying, “Be humble.”
It is just an exercise to help us communicate the gospel more effectively in this changing culture.
Lately I’ve been thinking about holiness and what it means for me. It takes some study to answer this, but my question is this. How do we communicate I Peter 1:16 to this post-Christian America? By the way, I Peter 1:16 says, “Be holy, because I am holy.” If you have any ideas about this, please, share them in the comments section.
Also, share ideas about how to communicate other Christian practices like:
> Pray without ceasing.
> Live quiet and peaceful lives.
> Be merciful.
> Rejoice when you face trials of many kinds.
> Love one another.
> Pray for each other.
> Bear each others burdens.
> Do not lust.
> Do not judge.
> You are a Royal Preisthood.
> Sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Care to share your ideas?
Letter to the Editor??? July 11, 2007
Posted by joejames in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
In today’s issue of the Jonesboro Sun, in the Opinion section, the Sun editor placed there an article by Cal Thomas with regards to Senator Hillary Clinton’s faith. In this article, Mr. Thomas, makes the statement, “The quality and depth of one’s relationship with God should be personal and beyond the judgment of others, unless one is running for president and chooses to talk about it as a part of a campaign plan to win the election.”
I have two problems with this statement.
Problem #1 – Mr. Thomas claims that no one should be subject to judgment, as it pertains to the depth and quality of their relationship to God. However, for Mr. Thomas, you are in fact subject to judgment if you are running for president. That’s odd! Presidential Candidates supercede God’s laws? Better yet, Mr. Thomas claims that HE supercedes God’s laws when he is choosing a candidate for public office.
Problem #2 – He insinuates (and later in the article comes right out and says) that Mrs. Clinton is just doing this to win an election. Perhaps?!? But I find it odd that Mr. Thomas doesn’t have a problem with George Bush doing the same thing – only ten times more blatant!
Now, my question is this. Should I write a letter to the editor? What would Jesus do? (silly question, I know!)
The Journey is the Destination July 10, 2007
Posted by joejames in Journey Theology, Tattoo, Theology.2 comments
This week, my best friend and I got tattoos! I know, right, a minister got a tattoo. Satan must be making my bed right now (just kidding – even though I know we shouldn’t kid about hell).
But we really did – we got tattoos. My tat is on my foot and is the Chinese symbol for holiness (an important sidenote is that my wife has a tattoo on her foot that is the Chinese symbol for heaven – I’ve been thinking about getting a matching one for some time now), and Josh’s tat is the chinese phrase “The Journey is the Destination”.
I think Josh is really going to be happy with what he chose, because there is an eternal truth to the phrase he picked out. The journey really is the destination.
I read this from one of Henri Nouwen’s books this morning in my devotional time:
“The first task of seeking guidance then is to touch your own struggles, doubts, and insecurities – in short, to affirm your life as a quest. Your life, my life, is given graciously by God. Our lives are not problems to be solved but journeys to be taken with Jesus as our friend and finest guide.”
It is so important for us to remember this as truth. We get so caught up in right answers that we forget that God is equally as concerned with how we arive at those answers. If you have to hurt people to arrive at a truth faster, then is it really the truth? If you have to forsake yourself and your walk with God to come up with a theology of providence, then wouldn’t you be forsaking God’s providential guidance?
Yes, the journey is the destination – for God is our destination and He is with us every step of the journey! To look past the journey is to miss God along the Way. And to miss God along the Way is to miss the destination.
I want to conclude this thought by encouraging you to look at Luke chapter 10:25-37.
In this short story a man is concerned solely with the destination. But Jesus keeps trying to nudge him to live in the here and now, and to not miss what Dallas Willard calls “The Eternal Kind of Life Now!”.
The “expert in the law” asks a burning question that is in the heart of every one of us. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replies by telling him to obey the law. You know, love God… now. Love your neighbor…. now. But this isn’t enough for the expert. He needs more assurance. So Jesus tells him a story. A story about a hurting man and his Samaritan neighbor who helped him in his dark hour of need. What is so compelling to me about this story, is the fact that Jesus doesn’t end it with a focus on eternal life – I mean that He doesn’t say to the guy, “Do likewise and you will recieve eternal life!” He simply says, “Go and do likewise.”
His message was always an eternal message, but for Jesus eternity had broken into the here and now. Eternity was in the hearts of men and women. Eternity was now. The Journey is the Destination.
“I tell you, do not worry about your life… Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble on it’s own.”
– Jesus Christ – Mt. 6
A Gospel of Scandal July 9, 2007
Posted by joejames in Gospel.add a comment
Randy Harris is here this week and is preaching to our adults at WOW 2007 “VBS Southwest Style”
Yesterday morning at our Sunday morning service he preached an introductory sermon to his 4 part series on “The Surprising Jesus.” He started with the Christmas story and showed how totally different it actually was, than what we picture in our minds – than what mainstream Christianity has made it.
He started by showing that Jesus came into the world by a virgin. Joseph was going to put her away quietly, but God stopped him. This is how God chose to come. Through scandal.
Then he showed the social status through which Christ born. From what we know Jesus was born into a lower-middle class family. Such a family would be fortunate to be taken into a hospital, most likely an inn. But there was no room in the inn, for the King of the universe to be born. They had to find the nearest barn. Peasants had it better!
Finally he pointed out that the Christmas story is one of horrifying bloodshed – and the worst kind too! Every male child, under a certain age was slaughtered.
Randy’s point? To show that the Nativity or Christmas story is not a cute one. It is not fun. It is not sweet. It is scandalous. It is sad.
But, it is necessary and it is all important. Why? Because such are the circumstances through which the Savior of the world chose to come to us. The gospel is for everyone. No matter what you’ve done or what scandal you’ve been a part of. No matter how much your “worth”. No matter how much violence is around you. The gospel is for you.
And I want to add this one. Jesus’ birth caused great political upheaval. From the time he was one day old, he was causing great discomfort with the principalities and powers of the world. They are power hungry and manipulitive. They are starving for attention. And Jesus was a threat to take all this away – surely he did!
The forth point I’d add would be that the gospel is for you, no matter what political regime you affiliate yourself with. There is something bigger and better and altogether more important than mere politics and worldly power. Don’t trust politicians to save you or your world. We’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hill. Your interested in the scandal of political issues? Jesus is far more scandalous than any of that. His mere birth caused his president to kill babies!
Bottom line: The gospel is for all. The upright and the wicked, the rich and the poor, those who live peacefully and those afflicted with violence and abuse, republicans and democrats – all!
