Wisdom from Havner

Dave Bowen delighted us with this quotation from twentieth century preacher Vance Havner: "Anyone who doubts that the dead can be raised to life again have not seen a congregation at the end of a typical church service."

In reading about this great preacher, I found a few more jewels.

This one is often quoted, but I never knew it was from Havner:
The preacher’s job is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

On the necessity of right fellowship:
People get so used to the dark that they think it is growing brighter. It is possible to fraternize with unbelievers until false doctrine becomes less and less objectionable.

On Christian obedience:
I have read of a Coast Guard crew summoned on a stormy night to rescue survivors from a sinking vessel. One member of the crew was fearful: “Captain,” he moaned, “we’ll never get back.” “We don’t have to come back,” was the reply, “we only have to go.”

And my favorite, a clear challenge to Dove Mountaineers:
Somebody asked a prominent figure of that day, “What do you think of civilization?” He replied, “I think it’s a good idea. Why doesn’t someone start it?”

The Christian Mind

Long before the term "Christian Worldview" was in common parlance, my friend Dave Rhodes recommended Harry Blamires' The Christian Mind to me and other Christian school teachers. It sealed once and for all my determination never to teach again in a secular setting. Blamires helped birth in me the realization that there are not two kinds of truth: stuff that's true for Christians,and can only be talked about on Sundays, geared primarily toward getting us all to heaven, eventually; and stuff that was taught in universities that would help us succeed here one earth. In gradute school I learned that this second kind of truth is generally determined by peer review committees, who look at the research of their colleagues and then vote it into or out of popular favor. I have come to refer to that as "consensual truth."

Continuing the search that Blamires started me on (concurrently fed by my reading of Francis Schaeffer), I came to see that the eternal wisdom of God in Scripture holds up under the toughest of scrutiny, and is applicable to every field of human endeavor: the humanities, the social sciences, and even the hard sciences. Although many great voices have added to this conversation along the way (some day I'll list them all here), I am always grateful to Blamires for building this category of thinking in my mind.

On the resource table in the back of Room 3, I will have copies of a thorough review (with lots of quotations) that I once wrote of the Blamires book at the next WorldMovers class. As I scoured my library schelves this morning, I could not locate either of the copies I once owned, so I ordered a new one, which I will also make available for loan to Dove Mountaineers when it arrives.

Thanks to Dave Bowen for mentioning it in his sermon Sunday, to Dave Dalton for reminding me that there are people who may still want to read this book, and Dave Rhodes, for first introducing it to me. And congratulations to Dave Rhodes on his retirement this week as regional director of the Rocky Mountain Region of Assocation of Christian Schools, International.

Seeds watered with blood...

"We are not jihadists; the early church grew through martyrs, not murderers." Pastor Allen

See you at the table today

"The first thing that we learn about the Spirit of God in the Bible is that He hovered over matter. God the Father had spoken that matter into existence, and the Word which was powerfully spoken that way was God the Son, God the Word. And then the Spirit came, and He hovered over the spoken text, interpreting it.

God the Father was also the one who uttered the decree that the Son of God would go to the cross and die. When the Lord wrestled with this terrible will in the Garden, the will of His Father, He was wrestling with the Word that had been spoken. But, as was made evident by His glorious submission to it, He also was the Word that was spoken. And even here, no Word is without a Reader, without an interpreter. And it is the Spirit who interprets, and He reads in such a way as to accomplish what He is interpreting.

Jesus died and rose so that we might all be knit together in love. He died so that the disparate and warring factions of a fragmented humanity might be brought together in one new man. And thus it is that the Spirit is active and working in our lives, accomplishing this very thing. We are told in Colossians that our increase in grace is an increase that results from being progressively knit together into the Head, which is of course the Spirit’s work. But He does not unite us in some other ethereal region; He does not unite us in the airy fairy upper reaches of the heavenlies. He hovers over matter—over us, over bread and wine, over you and your irritating neighbor. And so come, and welcome."

"
---from Pastor Douglas Wilson

Two messages for WorldMovers...

1. As a follow up to last Sunday's discussion on the thirty year implementation of the "One Child" policy in China, here are links to the two organizations we prayed for: All Girls Allowed and ChinaAid.

2. I was neglectful in failing to provide notes for the "Biblical principles" section of our white board. Here are some important points:

A. When we hear of atrocious govenment policies in other countries which imperil the lives of faithful Christians there, we should soberly reflect on the direction our country is taking and pray for its redemption (Luke 13:1-5; I Timothy 2:1-2)

B. Although we may not be able to physically stop the destruction of children in China, we can intercede (Ezekiel 22:30-31; Psalms 14:2, Acts 12:5-12).

C. It may be that God will prompt some of us to be more involved in this situation through one of the organizations listed above (Matthew 25:25-40, James 2:14-16).

D. As informed believers, we can point out the lessons learned from this failed experiment in social engineering as a warning to the naive (Psalm 119:130,Proverbs 8:5, Proverbs 9:8).

The Power of Knowing

Inigo Montoya: You are wonderful.
Man in Black: Thank you; I've worked hard to become so.
Inigo Montoya: I admit it, you are better than I am.
Man in Black: Then why are you smiling?
Inigo Montoya: Because I know something you don't know.
Man in Black: And what is that?
Inigo Montoya: I... am not left-handed.
[Moves his sword to his right hand and gains an advantage]
Man in Black: You are amazing.
Inigo Montoya: I ought to be, after 20 years.
Man in Black: Oh, there's something I ought to tell you.
Inigo Montoya: Tell me.
Man in Black: I'm not left-handed either.
[Moves his sword to his right hand and regains his advantage]

The point that Pastor Allen was making at this point in his message last Sunday was that: because we get to benefit from the hindsight and foresight of prophets like Micah, we gain an amazing advantage over the "Babylonians" around us. Even when it looks as though they are winnng, God wins. Even when it looks as though we are losing, God wins.

This knowledge should fill us with joy, confidence, and holy boldness to do the works on Christ on earth.

Applying the S.L.E.D test

In both the Manhattan Declaration class and the nascent WorldMovers class, issues of sanctity of life often come up. Dove Mountaineer Kay Long has supplied a link here to an article which advocates countering the arguments of pro-choicers with the charge that their position is idscriminatory on the basis of (here's where the S.L.E.D. comes in):

S = Size (You think the baby should be aborted because it's tiny?)
L = Level of dependency (You think it should be killed because it's less developed than a toddler, who is less developed than an adult?)
E = Environment (You think the baby is less valuable because of where it lives?)
D = Degree of Dependency (You think that anyone who is only dependent on one other person is worhty of death?)

With thanksgiving...

I'm not going to be coy about it...today is my birthday. Like the Roosevelt dime, I've been around 64 years and am still in circulation (albeit not in mint condition).

I can say nothing about my life without being extraordinarily grateful to Almighty God for his mercy and Providence.

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. Psalm 26:7

Calvin on Micah

Micah 4:11-13 (NASB)

11"And now many nations have been assembled against you
Who say, 'Let her be polluted,
And let our eyes gloat over Zion.'
12"But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD,
And they do not understand His purpose;
For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
13"Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion,
For your horn I will make iron
And your hoofs I will make bronze,
That you may pulverize many peoples,
That you may devote to the LORD their unjust gain
And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Here is a portion of John Calvin's commentary on the passage from which Pastor Allen preached this past Sunday:

As soon as any one of the wicked derides us, and laughs at
our simplicity, threatens ferociously, and spreads forth his
terrors, his words, as I have said, are like a cloud intervening
between us and God. This is the reason why the Prophet says here,
that the thoughts of Jehovah are different, and that his counsel is
different: in short, the Prophet's object is to show, that whenever
the ungodly thus proudly despise us, and also reproachfully threaten
and terrify us, we ought to raise our thoughts to heaven. - Why so?
Because the design of God is another. Their boastings then will
vanish, for they arise from nothing, and they shall come to nothing,
but the purpose of God shall stand.

Best Quote from Yesterday's Sermon

It's Refugee Sunday!

Exodus 23:9

Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Grace, as in baseball

Pastor Allen gave a wonderful illustration of grace in his sermon by alluding to Armando Galarraga's response to the umpire's bad call which robbed him of a perfect game. Here is columnist Andrea Reiher's commentary:

"Wednesday, June 2 will forever be in baseball fans' minds as the night we saw Detroit Tigers' pitcher Armando Galarraga throw the third perfect game inside of a month. It would have been only the 21st perfecto thrown in 135 years of baseball. It's considered one of the rarest feats in all of sports. To have two perfect games thrown in the same season is remarkable, let alone three thrown in the span of 25 days.

And after first base umpire Jim Joyce blew the call on what would have been the 27th out, as fans booed and the announcers went crazy, what did pitcher Armando Galarraga do? He smiled, readjusted his cap and headed back to the mound to finish the game. It brings tears to our eyes just thinking about it.

Other people yelled and screamed. Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland (and several players) gave the umpire the business. But not Galarraga. He showed some disbelief at the call and then went right back to doing his job, earning himself a 28-out perfect game. Even after the game Galarraga didn't display any hard feelings. "I feel sad" is what he said. About Joyce, he said, 'He feels so bad -- really bad ... I told him, "Nobody's perfect."'

What a display of grace by Galarraga.

'I just cost that kid a perfect game,' Joyce said afterward. 'I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.'

'I don't blame them a bit or anything that was said. I would've said it myself if I had been Galarraga. I would've been the first person in my face, and he never said a word to me,' said Joyce.

Such graciousness, but not only by Galarraga but by the umpire. In admitting he was wrong."

Prayer of St. Francis

Pastor Allen alluded to the prayer of St. Francis in Sunday's sermon, and it ocurred to me that some Dove Mountaineers may not know the words:


Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith ;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Pray for those who serve

As we reminded ourselves in Sunday's WorldMovers class, our prayers of repentance and intercession need not to become finger-pointing sessions. Like Daniel interceding for backslidden Israel, we need to say "Lord, we have sinned against you..." (Daniel 9:8).

Nevertheless, we would be remiss if we did not ask ourselves, "Why have these sins happened?" as we look to further sanctification in ourselves collectively as the body of Christ. In that context, I discovered a fact about Souder that was not covered in the World article. Although many others in his freshman class, the newly elected Congressman made a pledge to serve no more than two additional terms beyond his original election (a total of six years). Had he kept that pledge, he would no longer have been in Washington when the affair that ended his career there began. And speaking of that Republican freshman class of 94, four other congressman, in addition to Souder, broke their pledges on term limits and stayed longer than the six years they promised.

Repenting of our individual and corporate unfaithfulnes in many areas, let us WorldMovers humbly continue to pray for

+the Souder family,
+our particular congressmen and women (notably Grijalva and Giffords),
+for upcoming elections
+for others who are geographically separated from their families (soldiers on deployment, for example)
+and for restoration of the sanctity of marriage within the body of Christ.

WorldMovers update

A few people who were not able to be present Sunday for our inaugural session of the new WorldMovers Sunday School class have asked about subscription information. The single subscription price for our church's bulk order is $32.95, (compare to retail $49.95), and must be paid directly to Dove Mountain Church. I will be collecting subscription monies at each class session or you could mail your check directly to the church office (12475 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd., Suite 101). Copies will be on the information table as you enter for worship on Sundays, with a post-it note identifying each subscriber's copy.

World is published bi-weekly. When each new issue arrives, we will discuss the cover article the next Sunday following the magazine's arrival, and then choose one additional article for the following Sunday. I will, from time to time, publish comments here in the blog relevant to our class discussions. For example, tomorrow.

Black doll, white doll...

In his sermon Sunday, Pastor Allen referred to a famous experiment by Dr. Kenneth Clark in which black children consistently chose a white doll over a black doll as the one that was "pretty," "good," or "intelligent." Later his findings were cited in the Brown v. Board of Education hearings, which brought about school integration in the U.S.

Interestingly, the experiment was recapitulated in 2006 by a young African American teenager in New York City, Kiri Davis. Her results showed that attitudes among children of color are not much different now than they were then. You can see a synopsis of her experiment here.

"Tell me about the Rabbits, George"

Micah's Mountain and Lennie's farm:

We all need dreams, but Micah was a true prophet. Those who put their faith in God's word (unlike George's word) will not be disappointed.


Micah 4

The Mountain of the LORD

1 In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

4 Every man will sit under his own vine
and under his own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.

5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.

Join "WorldMovers" today!

Starting today at 11:15 in Room 3, WorldMovers will examine current world and national issues in light of God's revelation in Holy Scripture and conclude each class session with knowledgeable prayer based on these discussions.

Lewis on sin

The book from which Pastor Allen was quoting when he referenced C.S. Lewis on sin in Sunday's message was The Problem of Pain. Here is one reviewer's comment on the passage Allen cited:

[Lewis]...says modern people need “a recovery of the old sense of sin”. Sin must be reclaimed from the way in which it has been sentimentalised, psychologised, and statistically relativised in favour of what is allegedly “normal”. At the root of this sense of sin is the abuse of our free will by disobeying God—what we describe as the Fall, which for Lewis was an historical event passed on by heredity.

"It will pass."

[They are discussing the fact that Wickham has, in essence, extorted from them a fortune for the misery he is likely to face in marrying Lydia]

Mr. Bennet: I should have taken better care of you all.

[bitterly]
Mr. Bennet: The satisfaction of prevailing upon one of the most worthless young men in Britain might then have rested in its proper place. As it is, the thing is done - with extraordinarily little inconvenience to myself. When you take into account what I shall save on Lydia's board and pocket allowance, I am scarcely ten pounds a year worse off.

[Elizabeth gives him a Look that says she recognizes the irony of his self-congratulation. He looks down]

Mr. Bennet: I am heartily ashamed of myself, Lizzy. But don't despair; it'll pass, and no doubt more quickly than it should.

Friends of Aslan are gathering tonight...

...to discuss The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. 6:30 at the Cooney's. Look for the lamppost.

Bridges on sin

...we need to be watchful in the little things of everyday life, the little issues that seem so unimportant—the little lie, the little bit of pride, the little lustful glance, or the little bit of gossip...the truth is, it is in the minutiae of life where most of us live day after day. We seldom have to say no to an outright temptation to adultery. We often have to say no to the temptation to the lustful look or thought. And as some unknown person has said, "He that despises little things shall fall little by little." Jerry Bridges, The Disciplines of Grace

Menninger on sin

In his 1973 book Whatever Became of Sin?, psychiatrist Karl Menninger wrote:

"The very word, 'sin,' which seems to have disappeared, was once a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word.... But the word went away. It has almost disappeared, along with the notion.

Why?

Doesn't anyone sin anymore? Doesn't anyone believe in sin?"

To reinforce his observations, Dr. Menninger noted that in the presidential proclamation for the annual National Day of Prayer, the last time the word sin was mentioned was in President Eisenhower's proclamation in 1953 - and those
words were borrowed from a call to national prayer by Abraham Lincoln in 1863!

So, as Dr. Menninger observed, "As a nation, we officially ceased 'sinning' some 50 years ago."

Plantinga on Sin (from yesterday's message)

“Sin hurts other people and grieves God, but it also corrodes us. Sin is a form of self-abuse.”

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Eerdmans, 1995), p. 124.

What will it take to get this culture's attention?

[Buttercup kisses the senile King]

The King: What was that for?

Buttercup: Because you have always been so kind to me, and I won't be seeing you again since I'm killing myself once we reach the honeymoon suite.

The King: Won't that be nice. She kissed me.

The Story of King Canute

Hearing Pastor Allen retell the story of King Canute in his message Sunday brought back the memory of one of my favorite childhood stories. If you would like to retell it to someone, here is the James Baldwin version, from The Book of Virtues:

Long ago, England was ruled by a king named Canute. Like many leaders and men of power, Canute was surrounded by people who were always praising him. Every time he walked into a room, the flattery began.

"You are the greatest man that ever lived," one would say.

"O king, there can never be another as mighty as you," another would insist.

"Your highness, there is nothing you cannot do," someone would smile.

"Great Canute, you are the monarch of all," another would sing. "Nothing in this world dares to disobey you."

The king was a man of sense, and he grew tired of hearing such foolish speeches.

One day he was walking by the seashore, and his officers and courtiers were with him, praising him as usual. Canute decided to teach them a lesson.

"So you say I am the greatest man in the world?" he asked them.

"O king," they cried, "there never has been anyone as mighty as you, and there never be anyone so great, ever again!"

"And you say all things obey me?" Canute asked.

"Absolutely!" they said. "The world bows before you, and gives you honor."

"I see," the king answered. "In that case, bring me my chair, and we will go down to the water."

"At once, your majesty!" They scrambled to carry his royal chair over the sands.

"Bring it closer to the sea," Canute called. "Put it right here, right at the water's edge." He sat down and surveyed the ocean before him. "I notice the tide is coming in. Do you think it will stop if I give the command?"

His officers were puzzled, but they did not dare say no. "Give the order, O great king, and it will obey," one of then assured him.

"Very well. Sea," cried Canute, "I command you to come no further! Waves, stop your rolling!. Surf, stop your pounding! Do not dare touch my feet!"

He waited a moment, quietly, and a tiny wave rushed up the sand and lapped at his feet.

"How dare you!" Canute shouted. "Ocean, turn back now! I have ordered you to retreat before me, and now you must obey! Go back!"

And in answer another wave swept forward and curled around the king's feet. The tide came in, just as it always did. The water rose higher and higher. It came up around the king's chair, and wet not only his feet, but also his robe. His officers stood before him, alarmed, and wondering whether he was not mad.

"Well, my friends," Canute said, "it seems I do not have quite so much power as you would have me believe. Perhaps you have learned something today. Perhaps now you will remember there is only one King who is all-powerful, and it is he who rules the sea, and holds the ocean in the hollow of his hand. I suggest you reserve your praises for him."

The royal officers and courtiers hung their heads and looked foolish. And some say Canute took off his crown soon afterward, and never wore it again.

And this was back in 1988!

"Today's students are nice, but passionless; unswervingly committed to relativism. They live as though fundamental questions are irrelevant." Pastor Allen's summary of the thought of Allen Bloom

Therapeutic Boondoggle

Pastor Allen pointed out in his message Sunday that our language has been taken hostage by the therapeutic movement. Instead of "right" and "wrong" we get:

"appropriate" or "inappropriate"

"acceptable" or "unacceptable"

"helpful" or "unhelpful"

"healthy" or "unhealthy"

Gone are:

sin
disrepute
shame
guilt
disloyalty
failure,

and so on.

As Pastor Allen says, "Micah knows the difference."

The Story of Nien Cheng

The story of the longsuffering Nien Cheng, which Pastor Allen used to illustrate justice and injustice in his message Sunday, can be found in Chuck Colson's The Good Life.

More on justice and injustice

This week's sermon text:

Micah 3

Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

1 Then I said,
"Listen, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of the house of Israel.
Should you not know justice,

2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;

3 who eat my people's flesh,
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;
who chop them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?"

4 Then they will cry out to the LORD,
but he will not answer them.
At that time he will hide his face from them
because of the evil they have done.

5 This is what the LORD says:
"As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,
if one feeds them,
they proclaim 'peace';
if he does not,
they prepare to wage war against him.

6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.
The sun will set for the prophets,
and the day will go dark for them.

7 The seers will be ashamed
and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces
because there is no answer from God."

8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the LORD,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.

Pastor Allen's definition of justice: "Moral rightness; the receipt of that which is due,r eflecting the character of God Himself."