This One Cracked Me Up!

Three pastors were having lunch in a diner.

One said, "You know, since summer started I've been having trouble with bats in my loft and attic at church. I’ve tried everything--noise, spray, cats--nothing seems to scare them away."Another said, "Me too. I've got hundreds living in my belfry and in the attic. I've even had the place fumigated, and they won't go away."

The third said, "I baptized all mine, and made them members of the church. Haven't seen one back since!"

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

As for me and my house, we will celebrate Thanksgiving this year by attending Christ Reformed's Thanksgiving Service (led by Rev. Marcelo Souza--some of you may know him as Guy de Brasil) and then we are off to my mother-in-law's house nearby for traditional Thanksgiving fare.

Lord willing, I'll be home in time for a nap in my favorite recliner when the tryptophan coma hits.  Hopefully, I'll be conscious enough later to finish up a couple of books I've been reading (Eric Clapton's Autobiography and some background reading for my current sermon series on Judges) and then, if I have room, gobble up some leftovers.

So, I'll be around this weekend and if I feel like it, I'll post.  If not, I'll be back on Monday.

Meanwhile, I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving!  As the Psalmist says (Psalm 107:1-9), 

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble

3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;

5 hungry and thirsty,their soul fainted within them.

6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.

8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 

 

When the LORD Gives Us the Land -- Joshua 2:1-14

The Third in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Joshua

Redemptive history is a term we use often at Christ Reformed. It simply refers to the fact that the Bible is the historical account of Jesus Christ saving his people from their sins. Throughout this history of redemption, we encounter some very interesting people. In our text this time–Joshua, chapter 2–we have the account of a woman who is a notorious sinner, yet who appears in the genealogy of Jesus, someone who is commended in the New Testament as a model of both great faith and godly deeds. Her story begins in Joshua 2 with the account of two spies sent by Joshua, who enter a tavern in Jericho to gather information on their enemies. The tavern’s owner (who happens to be a prostitute) helps the spies at the risk of her own life, even lying to the authorities to protect the spies whom she is hiding in her house. The woman then helps the spies leave and enter the city, even leaving a secret signal–the famous scarlet cord–in her window. Remarkably, this Canaanite prostitute happens to be the first convert in Canaan to Israel’s God. Her name is Rahab and she is both a prostitute and an ancestor of Jesus.

As we continue our series on the Book of Joshua, we now come to the fascinating story of Rahab, a Canaanite woman who has heard about YHWH and believes that Israel’s God will give to Israel that land he has promised to his people. In this chapter, the focus shifts away from Joshua and the Israelites–who were still on the plains of Moab and who were preparing to cross over the River Jordan to possess the land–to the Canaanites and what was going on in the city of Jericho, before the Israelites take the city. This chapter serves as an important bridge to chapter 6, where we find the account of Jericho’s capture.

There are other interesting comparisons in this chapter. We have the favorable comparison between Joshua as the strong and courageous leader of Israel and Rahab, who is likewise very courageous and who will be the first of her people to come to faith in YHWH. Then there is the contrast between Rahab’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness as seen in Achan’s sin, the theme of chapter 7. All and all, this is an interesting and important section of Joshua and many of themes found here will reappear throughout the literature of western civilization–a lady with a past who becomes a heroine. This is an important episode in Israel’s history, and a dramatic and compelling story in its own right.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here 

Samples on KFUO This Week!

Ken Samples is on KFUO this week, talking about his new book A World of Difference (Baker).  Ken is a research scholar at Reasons to Believe and teaches our adult Bible class at Christ Reformed Church.  For more information, Click here: KFUO Home

More Interesting Links

The local Baptist zealot (Rev. Wiley Drake--who lives in my hometown of Buena Park) calls for a boycott of Pat Robertson's 700 Club, because Robertson had the nerve to endorse Rudy Guilaini for president. Click here: Former So. Baptist official calls for 'boycott' of Pat Robertson (OneNewsNow.com)

Isn't it better to boycott the 700 Club because Pat Robertson is a semi-Pelagian (at best) who claims that God speaks to him?

Here's a great essay on two kingdom theology and the doctrine of vocation.  Click here: Work Is Our Mission | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

You just knew this was coming.  Why go to church at all?  Now you can just get up on Sunday morning, turn on your computer and catch the live streaming worship service!  Best of all, the Lutherans came up with this one before we did!  Click here: E-Commerce News: E-Marketing: Shopping for a Church Online

Someone finally nails it--the best description yet for Werner Sallman's "Head of Christ," painting.  Click here: A Little Leaven: Jesus' "Graduation Picture" on a Mouse Pad

Pastors, be careful about dumping the wife--she might get half your church as "community property."   

Click here:  FOXNews.com - Church Could be Asset in New York Pastor's Divorce - Local News | News Articles | National News | US

 

Finally, here's the true story as to how A-Rod ended up back in the good graces of the Evil Empire.  Click here: Alex Rodriguez Gets A Surprise Assist From Fan in Omaha - WSJ.com

 

A huge victory for Cashman and little Stein, and a giant defeat for Scott Boras.  To Yankee fans everywhere . . . "carry on!" 

 

Who Said That?

Who Said That?

"There's always pressure when you go into the family business."

You guys know the drill!  Please, no google searches or cheating.  Leave your guess in the comments section below. 

Update on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 05:44PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This quote comes from Will Graham, the 31-year-old grandson of Billy Graham and oldest son of Franklin Graham.  He made this comment before preaching at his first evangelistic crusade.  Isn’t preaching a calling and not a family business?  I hope that he was just being facetious . . .

This Week's Academy Lecture . . .

Ken Samples continues his Academy series tonight (November 16) @ Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim (7:30 p.m.).  

The series is entitled "Testing the Christian Theistic Worldview" and is based upon Ken's outstanding new book, A World of Difference (Baker).

Ken's third lecture in this five part series is entitled, "Christian Theism’s Explanatory Power and Cumulative Support." 

For more information, Click here: Christ Reformed Info - Schedule of Academy Classes and Author's Forums.

Academy lectures are free of charge, there are refreshments, and time for discussion following.

Come on out and join us! 

On Subscription Sermon Series (Part 4)

OK, I thought I was done with this topic--I've written three previous posts on this.  But then I received another email from our friends at ________ advertising their subscription sermon series.  Just when I think they've hit bottom, well, they prove me wrong.  Now they are selling "award winning" sermons preached at some of the largest churches in America.  Is that a fact?

Rather than tackle the question of plagiarism and sloth (I've already covered that ground), this time I will focus upon the sermon topics they are pitching.  Pretty bad . . .

The latest email begins with the prompt "this Sunday will be a time when pastors will be preparing people's hearts for THANKSGIVING."  Oh, is that so?  As a minister of word and sacrament, my job is to preach Christ crucified, not get people ready to celebrate a national holiday--although, at Christ Reformed we do hold a worship service on Thanksgiving in which we devote the bulk of our time to actually giving thanks.

Next comes the sales pitch.  "If you would like to subscribe today we would like to send you the thanksgiving sermon, `WHERE ARE THE NINE' free."  In light of the earlier sermon we discussed (Click here: Riddleblog - The Latest Post - On Subscription Sermon Series (Part 1), I'll bet this one is a doozy!

Here's the "set" of sermons they are selling.  It includes the following titles:

(1) Two Great Women  (Mother's Day)
(2) Bogus Resolutions  (New Years)
(3) How God's Plans Interfere With Our Plans (Christmas)
(4) Where Do We Find Comfort?  (Friend's Day)
(5) The Proofs of The Resurrection (Easter)
(6) The Excitement of Easter  (Easter)
(7) Funeral Service #1
(8) Funeral Service #2
(9) Grandparent's Day
(10) Heaven  (Funeral)
(11) Mother's Day 2001
(12) Excellent Role Models  (Youth or Father's Day)
(13) Kodak Moments In The Life Of Christ  (Christmas)
(14) What We Should Be Thankful For  (Thanksgiving)
(15) Where Are The Nine?  (Thanksgiving)
(16) What We Can Learn From The Past  (New Years)

Since I've never preached a sermon on Grandparent's Day--sorry, but I don't follow the Hallmark calendar--I have no idea what this would entail.  I am curious, "will the Mother's Day sermon from 2001 work in 2008?"  I'll bet the sermon on comfort (Friend's Day) has nothing to do with guilt-grace-gratitude, and while evidence for the resurrection sounds good, I'm not sure "excitement" is a term I'd use for Easter.  Kodak Moments for Christmas?  Role models for Father's Day? 

As an expository preacher who works from a biblical text, I'm not a fan of topical sermons--especially when they are based on the Hallmark calendar.

Here's the final pitch: "All sixteen of these sermons are award winning sermons that have been preached in many of the largest churches in the United States." 

I'm a bit of a cynic.  So, my question is, "who determines whether a sermon receives an award?"  Furthermore, given the claim that these sermons are supposedly used in many of the largest churches in America, this begs the question as to whether the pastors of these churches are using this subscription sermon series and passing someone else's material off as their own.  But could it be that this particular subscription series is based upon sermons taken from these large churches and then sold as part of their package deal?

Either way, this is real trouble.  Preachers are preaching sermons they did not write, and these topical sermons (if they are like our previous example) fall far short of  the public placarding of Christ, called for by the apostle Paul (Galatians 3:1).

New Commentary on the Belgic Confession

The Rev. Danny Hyde (pastor of the Oceanside URC) has completed his commentary on the Belgic Confession.

Here are several endorsements for this important work:

The Belgic Confession is not a systematic theology but the historic and systematic confession of faith by the Reformed Churches. With this commentary Danny Hyde has done the Reformed Churches a great service by placing our confession in its historical, theological, and ecclesiastical contexts again. By reading it in the light of those contexts, he brings it to life for us in our time. Anyone wishing to understand better the Belgic Confession on its own terms and as it has been received by the Reformed Churches must consult this intelligent work.

R. Scott Clark, Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Westminster Seminary California

It has been a long time since a Belgic Confession commentary of this caliber was last published in English. Biblical, historical and erudite, Rev. Hyde helps the Confession speak freshly to our day. Not only will With Heart and Mouth prove to be a helpful resource for Reformed confessors, it will also no doubt be warmly welcomed by pastors called to teach and preach the Belgic Confession.

Wes Bredenhof, Pastor, Langley Canadian Reformed Church

For more information, Click here: http://www.oceansideurc.org/ - Pilgrims & Parish (Danny Hyde) - - Update on the Belgic Book

Charts on Revelation

Mark Wilson's Charts on the Book of Revelation (Kregel) is an outstanding resource and a "must have" for anyone interested in the Book of Revelation.

Wilson does not advocate one school of interpretation over another, yet his helpful charts (covering virtually every aspect of John's vision) provide great support for the eclectic/idealist interpretation.

The charts on the use of numbers, the theme of victory, the comparison of apocalyptic themes in Revelation and the rest of the New Testament, as well as an extensive chart dealing with allusions to the Old Testament, are simply outstanding.

This one is highly recommended.  For more information: Click here: Amazon.com: Charts on the Book of Revelation: Literary, Historical, and Theological Perspectives (Kregel Charts of