Archive for December, 2008

2008 – You don’t always get what you want!

by Hugh on December 31, 2008 in Life with No comments

Andy Shudall works with students in New Zealand, for TSCF – I don’t know him, never met him, but I know he’s a friend of lots of friends (11 according to Facebook). Anyway he’s just written a great post summing up 2008 for him… sounds like he’s had a pretty rough year… I’d echo much of what he says…

1. God is good, sovereign and true no matter our experience.

3. Sinfulness is so ingrained in the human heart, soul and mind that weakness strengthens it and strength is laid low before it.

4. Seasons change and there is glory in every season.

5. Of all the things to treasure here friendship is of great value.

“Goodbye 2008 – you weren’t what I asked for, but I’m confident that you are what I needed.”

Why I like the Prodigal God

by Hugh on December 31, 2008 in Books, Faith with No comments

I finally got round to finishing Tim Keller’s ‘The Prodigal God’, it’s not a long book, I’m just a slow reader and easily distracted! If you want a summary of the book, I would say… Tim Keller through the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15) exposes how we look for hope in the world – through the emptiness of sensual living (like the younger son) or through the folly of moral obedience (like the elder son), he shows us how living in these ways cause us to be lost. But he shows us the hope of a third way, the hope of the gospel, the hope that comes only from God’s lavish grace given in Jesus.

Here’s some reasons why I like the book, other than the previous sentence:

  1. It helps you to see things differently – particularly in exposes the true cost of bringing the younger son back and the true heart of the elder brother
  2. There are loads of little mini Bible overviews of themes running throughout; the Father, the true elder brother, Sin, forgiveness, repentance, exile, lostness, Hope, Home, feasts
  3. Keller does faithful exposition, practical, relevant application and Biblical overview all in the same chapter
  4. I don’t really read novels, but it’s great for people who do… Keller seamlessly interweaves the narrative of secular novels by way of illustration into his writing
  5. Keller’s assertions are backed up through the writings of philosophers, it’s intellectually robust

Finally I loved Keller’s concluding acknowledgement to the influence of Edmund Clowney in his ministry:

“He also taught me that it was possible to be theologically sound and completely orthodox and yet unfailing gracious – a rare and precious combination.”

This is a definite must-read, go and get it – £10 from the Good Book Company.

Preaching 2009

by Hugh on December 30, 2008 in Life, Talks with No comments

Here’s some passages that I’ll be preaching on in the coming months of 2009:

11th January  -  Matthew 18:1-11

1st February  -  Matthew 18:21-35

22nd March  -  1 Corinthians 9:19-27

10th May  -  Psalm 122

14th June  -  Matthew 21:18-22

These are all Sunday services at church, I’m guessing there’ll be more in the second half of the year not to mention the inevitable stuff that will come from Midweek services, Global Cafe talks, kids talks, leading Explorers, midweek youth groups, student groups, devotions at international college… CU’s – waiting for an invitation from the Carve! So that should keep me pretty busy.

Dot Cotton on Forgiveness

by Hugh on December 29, 2008 in Faith with 3 Comments

Dot Cotton“It aint about forgiveness, I’ve done that lots of times over the years, forgiveness is just a switch in the heart. But forgetting is different, and trust is different, there aint no short cut to them.” – Dot Cotton, Boxing Day Eastenders

I think I actually agree with her… forgiveness is a decision you make in your heart, in your mind. But, forgetting (the point where it doesn’t hurt?), and trust of people who’ve hurt you and just trust of other people generally… she’s right, that’s not a switch, something easy, it’s not a decision that can be made, surely that just takes time, and God’s grace to heal…?

Usually I cringe at the Dot Cotton ‘spiritual input’ into Eastenders, but I think she was fairly on the mark with this one.

Forgiveness Prayer

by Hugh on December 28, 2008 in Faith, Life with 2 Comments

I’m currently sitting in an executive pad in Bristol, it’s got a nice plasma TV and a comfy leather sofa with a bit you can recline on, it’s very nice. Anyway, this morning we visited a local church and was intrigued by the ‘Confession Prayer’, intrigued for two reasons…

First, it was all about Forgiveness, something which I’ve had to think a lot about recently and have consequently blogged on. Here’s the prayer:

Dear Jesus, it is hard to forgive people when they hurt us and our friends. We want to hit back – and sometimes we do. But You teach us to love our enemies no matter what they do. Forgive us Lord Jesus, when we do not forgive others. Help us to understand why people hurt others, and let our hearts be filled with love for them. Amen

I like the prayer because it’s simple, kids can understand it, but it’s also brutally honest about the reality of life and how hard forgiveness is, not just that but the sinfulness of not forgiving people.

Secondly, I was intrigued because it’s a really weird “Confession”… usually when we do corporate confession in church it’s a bit more general, we acknowledge a complete depravity in all areas of life and bring that to God… although in this the only act of confession is to confess our refusal to forgive others. So, great prayer about forgiveness… slightly strange as an act of corporate confession!

On a related thought… every so often for one reason or another I get the opportunity to visit other churches, and I’ve always thought it would be fun to do a bit of a ‘Mystery Worshipper’ thing, essentially to blog a review of the church service – how good was the service, coffee, how comfy the seat, how warm the welcome? This isn’t a new concept (see Ship of Fools), but that site tends to be a little disappointing in terms of the quantity and quality of the reviews there. Anyone interested in joining me in this??

What is Federal Vision?

by Hugh on December 27, 2008 in Faith with 3 Comments

Well I know it’s something that theology geeks talk about, it’s a buzz word at the moment, and it’s got some similarities with the New Perspective… I think the main similarity being that it’s important, but few people really know why or what its implications are. I was trying to find out more., if you are then…

You could read the Wikipedia entry, although I couldn’t make much sense of that.

Look up Doug Wilson who is a leading proponent of it, whatever it is.

Probably the best thing to do to find out more is to listen to a lecture and Q&A session by a guy called Guy Prentiss Waters who unlike me seems to know what it’s all about.

So in fact the answer to the question is… I don’t know. Do you know?

Forgiveness Reloaded

by Hugh on December 26, 2008 in Faith with 1 Comment

Paul WoodbridgeBeen thinking more about forgiveness and came across a great talk online…

When we strive against all thoughts of revenge; when we will not do our enemies mischief, but wish well to them, grieve at their calamities, pray for them, seek reconciliation with them, and show ourselves ready on all occasions to relieve them. (Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity, p. 581)

  1. Resist thoughts of revenge (Romans 12:19)
  2. Don’t seek to do them mischief (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
  3. Wish well to them (Luke 6:28)
  4. Grieve at their calamities (Proverbs 24:17)
  5. Pray for them (Matthew 5:44)
  6. Seek reconciliation with them (Romans 12:18)
  7. Be always willing to come to their relief (Exodus 23:4)

These are the thoughts of Thomas Watson commenting on the Lord’s Prayer – they were drawn to my attention by a talk by Paul Woodbridge at Oak Hill College. He’s speaking about stuff which I’ve been blogging about, obviously it’s a lot more coherent than me. The above is what forgiveness is, he goes on to speak about what forgiveness isn’t… if the issues surrounding forgiveness and repentence are real for you, then go and listen to this talk.

Interesting point about trust – 24 min.

Reconciling God’s Sovereignty with Real Life

by Hugh on December 23, 2008 in Faith, Life with 1 Comment

Something that really annoys me is theology-geeks, you get a lot in Christian blogging circles… theology-geeks do annoy me, but not simply because of that, I get annoyed when people have their theology all sorted in nice little boxes, they’ve read Grudem, Milne, Berkhoff etc. and all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. I used to be like that, I probably still am.

Anyway, it’s not just that they’re geeks, it’s that so many live their lives with their nice theological position but it’s disconnected from reality, it’s not qualified by any life experience that tests whether your beliefs are modelled in the way you live in response to real life events.

I’ve had a pretty crap year… it’s not as bad as most, not as bad as being a Christian in Orissa, not as bad as running a AIDS orphanage in the midst of cholera in Zimbabwe… but it’s not been great! Part of me has to rejoice though; a few months ago I had to preach on James 1 – “consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” – God has been teaching me what it means to suffer in the knowledge that He’s in control, He’s brought me through trials of many kinds and teaches me lots in those times.

What will you do when you face death, when you face illness, rejection, pain, heartache, poverty, depression, despair, anger, bitterness, doubt, loneliness, unbelief, relationship breakdown, shattered dreams, crushed hopes…?

Will you cry out to God, your Rock and refuge? (Psalm 62)

Will you trust that God works all things for your good (Rom 8:28) and that through trials He brings about maturity (James 1) in the believer?

Does your theology of God’s sovereignty provide answers and comfort in the midst of trials?

Has your theology of God’s sovereignty been tested through trials? (If not, it will be – are you prepared?)

Have you had the opportunity to reconcile what you believe about God with how you live your life in the midst of trials?

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

I say these things not as someone who did all the right things, who responded rightly in all of life’s situations, not as someone who has the right answers… but just as someone who knows that having a big view of God is a comfort in hard times, and knowing that coming to Him, seeking His refuge has gotta be better than not doing that!

Hopes and Dreams

by Hugh on December 22, 2008 in Faith, Life with 1 Comment

There seems to be a sense, then, in which we are all like the younger brother. We are all exiles, always longing for home. We are all travelling, never arriving. The houses and families we acually inhabit are only inns along the way, but they aren’t home. Home continues to evade us…

…The Bible says that we have been wandering as spiritual exiles ever since. That is, we have been living in a world that no longer fits our deepest longings. Though we long for bodies that “run and are not weary,” we have become subject to disease, aging, and death. Though we need love that lasts, all our relationships are subject to the inevitable entropy of time, and they crumble in our hands. Even people who stay true to us die and leave us, or we die and leave them. Though we long to make a difference in the world through our work, we experience endless frustration. We never fully realise our hopes and dreams. We may work hard to re-create the home that we have lost, but, says the Bible, it only exists in the presence of the heavenly father from which we have fled.

Tim Keller, The Prodigal God [pg 95-96]

Forgive and Forget

by Hugh on December 20, 2008 in Faith with No comments

It’s often said when talking about forgiveness, “forgive and forget”… and then if you’re in a Christian context you get a verse given to back up that sentiment, like…

Isaiah 43:25  -  “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

This verse is the classic one that’s brought out to say part of forgiveness is forgetfulness… a few things to say in light of that:

  1. Forgiving is not forgetting. These are two different things; first God ‘blots out your transgressions’, he deals with your Sin through the blood of his Son – this is forgiveness. Second, the ‘forgetting’ is to say that forgiveness is a finished work, your Sin has been dealt with completely and no longer stands against you, God sees you as though you had never sinned.
  2. God is not forgetful. God knows everything that has ever and will ever happen in history, he knows us better than we know ourselves, he is more conscious and offended by Sin than we ever would want to be. Yet he ‘remembers your sins no more’! He knows your sins, but because he has dealt with our sins he is able to remember them no more.

That’s God. What does that mean for us as we try to be like him…?

  1. True forgiveness is accompanied by ‘forgetfulness’ – by that I mean we will no longer maintain our anger towards sin, we’ll drop the grudge and cool the bitterness. I said in the last post that often there is a right to be angry, but we sacrifice that right and give it to Jesus. You cannot forgive somebody on the one hand, but continually condemn or rebuke somebody for their sin against you – Jesus is the one who sorts out Sin, it’s best to let him deal with it, and at the cross he says “It’s Finished!”
  2. The mature Christian will not simply forget. Sometimes ‘forgetting’ can be a way to avoid facing up to forgiving someone. Sometimes it can be a way to hide to pain, without dealing with it. Sometimes it can be stupid, we simply forget that sin is real, that it’s personal and it hurts – if we forget that the lives we lead impact other people and that Sin is really messy, then we’re destined to go through life repeating the same mistakes over and over again!
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