The Gospel for OC » Click On These

Jesus: “Who do you say that I am?”

Chris Poblete — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 02:20:50 +0000

According to Kevin DeYoung, there is one foundational question that we must all answer. It was asked by Jesus: “Who do you say that I am?”

He explains:

…By “foundational” I don’t mean it is the only question we must answer. What I mean is that this question is so important that if you get this one wrong you are going to get most everything else that really matters wrong. The foundational question is found in all three synoptic gospels. It is the famous query Jesus posed to the disciples at Caesarea Philippi: “Who do you say that I am?”

It may be surprising to some that Jesus even asked this question. The foundation question for Jesus is not “who are your parents?” or “are you openminded?” or “what will you do for me?” The foundational question concerns what you believe. Jesus is interested in faith. He begins with doctrine.

Not too long ago while walking across a bridge near our church I spotted some graffiti underneath the overpass: “I don’t need religion. I have a conscience.” I can only guess what this spray painter was trying to say, but my guess is he (or she) assumes religion is just a trick for getting people to line up and behave. Religion for him is nothing but a moral code for doing good. And who needs a religious code with all its ritual and institutional trappings if you have a conscience? But the graffiti sloganeer has grossly misunderstood Christianity. The foundational question for Jesus is not “what do I want you to do?” but “who do you say that I am?” Everything flows from a right understanding of Jesus. Not just what he taught or what he did, but who he is.

Read the rest…

Announcement: “Click on These” discontinued… well, kinda.

The Gospel for OC — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:05:47 +0000

So, we’ve decided to discontinue our beloved “Click on These” blog series.

But fear not! We’ll still be sharing a number of links and articles related to gospel-centered life and thought throughout the week. However, instead of bombarding you with an assortment of links all at once, we’ll scatter them out individually, each with its own post.

Why the change? 1) It will be easier for you to browse and read through each one; 2) It gives our contributing authors the opportunity to share links that are personally helpful to them; and 3) It makes for smoother page-saving for all you bookmarking fiends out there (only needing to bookmarking a single article snippet or link from our blog instead of a group of them).

Thoughts? Concerns? Leave it in the comments!

Click on These [3/21]

The Gospel for OC — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:18:06 +0000

You’ll want to click on these:

Loving the Pastor’s Wife
Driscoll: “One of the most important and most overlooked people in a church is the pastor’s wife. She is usually not on the organizational chart, does not have a formal job title or job description, and is an unpaid volunteer. But her ministry can make or break her family and church.”

Read through Desiring God with John Piper
Plus, a chance to receive a FREE copy of the book. Desiring God Ministries: “Beginning Thursday, March 31, 2011 from 12:00-1:00 PM (EST) John Piper will be hosting a series of five interactive roundtable discussions with the guys at Bethlehem College and Seminary based on his book Desiring God. And we’re live-streaming it on the web.”

Praying for More of the Ordinary
Joe Thorn: “When you pray for the church, what do you seek? In all of our praying for the church I believe we should be praying for more of the ordinary operations of God’s Holy Spirit. We do not need God to do something strange…”

The Gospel Everyday
Tullian Tchividjian: “I once assumed the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that ‘the gospel isn’t the first step in a stairway of truths, but more like the hub in a wheel of truth.’”

5 Reasons You Need to Join a Church
Tim Challies offers a list from The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment.

A Chronology of Rob Bell on Hell
The Resurgence has “outlined a chronology of the debate that’s been going on with Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Has Ever Lived.“

Quote of the day:

The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.
—Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears

Click on These [3/14]

The Gospel for OC — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:33:33 +0000

We liked these. You might too.

A Prayer for Japan
The power of moving water is greater than most of us can imagine. Nothing stands before it. We are driven to our knees…”

Quietness before God
Francis Shaeffer: “People today are afraid to be alone. This fear is a dominant mark of our society. Many now ceaselessly sit in the cinema or read novels about other people’s lives or watch dramas. Why? Simply to avoid having to face their own existence…”

Contend to the End
Tullian Tchividjian: “Christian, believe the gospel…and then preach the gospel! You may lose life and limb, sacrifice reputation and ‘relevance’, but the gospel remains God’s power to set the captives free. Don’t forget it. Don’t ignore it. It’s worth dying for.”

The Fiction of Facebook and the Reality of the Local Church
Tim Challies: “Facebook makes me believe, even stronger, in the value of the local church, in the value of true, deep fellowship, or genuine community. This is just one more reason that we need to live in community—in real community with real people.”

The Holiness of God
Each month, ChristianAudio.com offers a free audiobook. For the month of March, they are making available R.C. Sproul’s classic best-seller The Holiness of God.

Quote of the day:

If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.
—Augustine

Click on These [3/7]

The Gospel for OC — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:19:27 +0000

Click on these links. Do it.

Affirmation Is Not Optional in Marriage
“I can’t think of a divorce in which the pair kept up a steady stream of affirming and up-building speech toward each other. Rather, they slid into silence and faultfinding.”

How Do God’s Love and God’s Wrath Relate?
“God in His perfections must be wrathful against His rebel image-bearers, for they have offended Him; God in His perfections must be loving toward His rebel image-bearers, for He is that kind of God. . . .”

Tim Keller on NBC’s Morning Joe
Tim Keller was interviewed about his new book, King’s Cross. We got an early copy of the book, and it was added to my “must read” list. This short clip is worth watching.

6 Biblical Principles for Corporate Worship
When you gather with God’s people each Sunday, do you participate in these?

PRAYERLIFE Seminar – This Saturday
Don’t forget to join us THIS SATURDAY at the PRAYERLIFE Seminar in Irvine.

Quote of the day:

“I bless my Lord and Master he has given me a gospel which I can take to dead sinners, a gospel which is available for the vilest of the vile.”
—C.H. Spurgeon

Click on These [2/25]

The Gospel for OC — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:43:14 +0000

Click on these links… You won’t regret it.

How Do You Respond When Your 12-year-old Dies?
Read the answer from Rob and Terri Stellrecht, whose 12-year-old son Trent was killed in a youth group skiing accident.

Christian, You Are a Saint
Joe Thorn writes: “Christian, by the grace of God you are a saint. So, by the grace of God you should be living like one! No, this is not a call to moralism, but a call to growth in godliness, and an encouragement to stop all the pessimisstic nay-saying about your progress, or lack thereof, in sanctification. You can stop whining about your failure. The gospel is your hope, let it also be your confidence!”

Churches that Hate Revivals
We pray for revival in Orange County. But there’s a difference between genuine revival and the fake variety. Kevin Deyoung provides a helpful caution and encouragement: “Revivals are far from perfect. They can introduce confusion. The phony sort can be manufactured. Many harmful practices have been passed down and unbiblical patterns have been set in the name of revival. But let us still yearn for a true outpouring of God’s Spirit. Let us pray for true religious fervor, for increased prayer, for conversions to Christ, for a greater hunger for God’s word.”

God’s Love Is the Cause and Result of Ours
John Piper:

Do you believe both of these statements?

1. God loved us before we loved him, and not because we loved him.
2. God loves us in response to our love for him—because we love him.

They are both true.

Distinguishing Marks of a Quarrelsome Person
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (James 4:1) Are you a quarrelsome person?

Quote of the day:

“You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning.
You can tell how popular the pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night.
But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.”
—Jim Cymbala

Click on These [2/22]

The Gospel for OC — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:13:13 +0000

The Bible Is About to Threaten Your Smartphone Focus
John Piper:

Why should we think of the Facebook app threatening the Bible app? Why not the Bible app threatening the Facebook app, and the email app, and the RSS feeder, and the news?

Resolve that today you will press the Bible app three times during the day. No five times. Ten times! Maybe you will lose control and become addicted to Bible! Again and again get a two-minute dose of life-giving Food. Man shall not live by Facebook alone.

In Christ…In Christ…In Christ…
This is rad. Many know that Ephesians 1:3-14 is one longggg sentence in the original Greek language. In this fascinating blog post, Justin Taylor illustrates a helpful exercise on this passage to show us how much of the Christian life is all about union with Christ.

Knowledge vs. Maturity… Knowledge and Maturity
“A Tale of Two Corners.” Another must-read article from Kevin DeYoung: “A mature Christian with little theological knowledge is not living up to his potential. A knowledgeable Christian without maturity has potential he doesn’t know how to use.”

Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Petersen
If you intently listen to pop radio love songs (you know, like, of the KOST 103.5FM variety), you’ll notice that most of these tunes are borderline—oftentimes, outright—idolatrous. It’s hard to find a legit love song these days that doesn’t fall into this category. Well, here’s one little gem that doesn’t. It’s called Dancing in the Minefields. Andrew Petersen knows what this love thing is all about. (HT: KD)

Ripping off this idea from Challies… a quote-of-the-day with each ‘Click on These’ series of web links.

Quote of the day:

Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.
—William Cowper

Click on These [2/16]

The Gospel for OC — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:57:15 +0000

Finding hope in Christ alone
Bob Kauflin writes:

About a year into the process I talked to a good friend, Gary Ricucci, whom I am now in a small group with at Covenant Life Church. I said, “Gary, I feel hopeless all the time.”

He said, “You know, Bob? I think your problem is that you don’t feel hopeless enough.”

Prayer Request for Egypt
Michael Horton shares from a conference call with Christians in Egypt.

Exegetical malpractice in—of all places—Newsweek
Newsweek recently published a piece titled “What the Bible Really Says About Sex.” It is all the rage lately. A journalist at getreligion.org exposes Newsweek’s exegetical fallacies and puts a few comments to rest. (HT: TC)

Jesus’ Death Killed the Consumer
The attitudes of a consumer vs. intimacy through Christ.

Valentine’s Day

The Gospel for OC — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:41:17 +0000

Articles from around the web relevant to the famous Hallmark holiday:

Who Is St. Valentine? And How Did He Turn Into a Holiday?

Reaching Out on Valentine’s Day
A call for singles to change focus. “Let’s be honest: one great temptation of singleness is an unrelenting self-focus… If Valentine’s Day is hard because we think everyone else is out celebrating their romances (which isn’t as common among married couples as we’d like to speculate), then we can turn our gaze inward and start pondering that gray blob of self-pity. We translate singleness into loneliness.”

Building a Foundation of Worship in Marriage
Crossway: “In lieu of Valentine’s Day, we thought it timely to consider how relationships, and marriage in particular, must be rooted in something other than romance.”

The Church Planter’s Marriage
Helpful, practical, and biblical exhortations for married men who are serving in ministry.

Lovers and Their Loving God
Taken from the marriage book Mark and Grace Driscoll are currently working on, slated for release 2012: “Sadly, it is common to hear married people speak of ‘falling out of love’ with their spouse and ‘falling in love’ with someone else in adultery. By using the language of ‘falling,’ people are cleverly avoiding any responsibility, as if they are simply required to follow their heart. However, the Bible tells us not to follow our heart, but rather ‘guard’ it because it is prone toward selfishness and sin (Prov. 4:23; Jer. 17:9).”

A Question of Romance
Carolyn Mahaney writes: “I find it helpful to see more clearly how I can improve in the wife department, and yet discouraging to recognize how far short I come from where I should be. Yet, seeing my deficiencies propels me to Christ. I am freshly reminded of my need for grace and mercy.”

Valentines from Jonathan Edwards and Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Valentine notes from two great preachers of old.

Grace-driven Sex
This one is for the married folks. A little too spicy for unmarried readers! Jared Wilson expounds on 1 Corinthians 7: “Within the marital covenant, sexual intimacy can be a joyous, mutually satisfying, and mutually encouraging gift. But many husbands and wives don’t know how to ‘get there.’ In 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, Paul is telling Christian married couples to not think of their bodies as their own, but as existing for the service of their partner in one-fleshedness. In his excellent book Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas writes, ‘Sex is serving each other with our bodies.’”

Click on These [2/4]

The Gospel for OC — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:47:35 +0000

How to Pray for Egypt
“Ramez Atallah serves as general secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt. Asking for ongoing prayers, he sent this report today when internet access was restored to the nation in turmoil.”

The Power of God’s Word
“What is the most effective way to grow a church? It’s not a new methodology or cultural outreach strategy, it’s…the Word of God. In this book, Jonathan Leeman wants you to realize that the Word, working through God’s Spirit, is responsible for the growth of God’s church and we need to trust it!”

How Good Things Can Rob Us of Loving God
A quote on how good things can rob us of loving God.

The Drunk and the Hypocrite
San Diego musician, Jon Foreman writes:

I’ve played music in churches and bars all my life. In many ways, these two gatherings are very similar. Both sets of “regulars” are looking for meaning, carrying out a ritual of sorts—hoping to find purpose, something that makes sense of the pain.

At first glance, it might seem the Church is a better place to look for hope than the bottom of a bottle. Every day, alcoholism and drug abuse destroy families, ruin careers and wreck communities. On the other hand, theological beliefs and misunderstandings have been blamed for divisions, divorces and wars around the world. The trouble with each institution lies within us. True, alcohol feeds a different fire than pietism, but neither a drunk nor a hypocrite look very good in the daylight.

We carry our problems into the church the same way we carry them into a bar—they just react differently in each location. Unfortunately, the sins that exist within the walls of the Church are harder to spot. (Read the rest…)