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On Nativity Scenes, Christian Liberty, Etc.

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I love reading Mark Lauterbach’s Gospel Driven Life site. Today, he had a post entitled Liberty, legalism and Christmas which answered the question offered by some religious zealots that having a nativity scene is a violation of the 2nd commandment (to not make any “graven image”). Here’s a section I especially enjoyed:

So, hear me clearly — to walk with God we must make those choices and do it knowing that we are pleasing to God. But Romans 14 says we dare not step into the role of law-giver and judge — despising or judging. I am personally tempted to despise men who add to the Word of God. That is sin in my heart.

Read Romans 14 carefully — stew in it, soak in it — it is remarkable. In it, God answers ten thousand secondary questions that would rise in all the cultures of the world where the Gospel is believed. Paul was wise — he knew that when we start into the answering of all those questions and application and start developing a list of appendices to the Law, we are on a path of diversion from the purposes of God and the freedom of the Gospel.

Why don’t you check out the post for yourself.

How To Make Your Kids Spirtually Apathetic:

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Apathy is defined as a “complete lack of emotion or motivation about a person, activity, or object; depression; lack of interest or enthusiasm; disinterest.” This weekend, we will be looking at Colossians 3:21 and how we are called to parent our children under the Lordship of Christ. I found this post by the Life Together blog on how to breed spiritual apathy in your kids so helpful.

Here are Scott Linscott’s 5 Keys to Making Your Kids Apathetic About Faith:

1. Put academic pursuits above faith-building activities.
2. Chase the gold ball first and foremost.
3. Teach your kid that the dollar is almighty.
4. Refuse to acknowledge that the primary motivating force in kids’ lives is relationship.
5. Model apathy in your own life.

You might check out the full article for more info on how each of these can be pursued. The upshot of all this is that God has greater desires for our children than mere worldly achievements. They were made in by Him and for Him. Let’s allow this vision to compel us to parent in a way that pleases the Lord.

Is Christ All?

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Here’s my article for the upcoming newsletter our church produces…

As a church, we continue to walk through the book of Colossians on Sunday mornings this year. It has been a joy to walk through the amazing language of Colossians 3 in recent weeks. We’ve seen a compelling call to seek the things that are above—where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (3:1). Clearly, we’ve been called in a compelling way to seek Him above all. Even our verse from the sermon on 8/29 says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (3:17). Chapter 3, then, has sought to draw our attention off of our finite, little lives in this world to the all-encompassing, Christ-exalting future we have with Him.

In Colossians 3:11, we were given an amazing truth about our lives together as the visible church in the current age when we were told, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” Many times, sad to say, our corporate life together is based more on differences that the unity found in Christ. We pit the young married against the older married. Singles vs. married. Children and students vs. adults. Our lives are wrapped up in difference. We divide up based on who likes K-State and who likes KU (we especially don’t hang out with others that differ from us on game day). But, the reality that is to define us as the people of God is Christ. He is all and He is in all. He is everything.

In the verses that follow v.11, we see how Christ is everything. In Christ, we have characteristics that embody the Gospel (compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience). In Christ, we can put up with one another and forgive one another. In Christ, we have a clear idea of what love is. In Christ, His peace governs our lives. In Christ, the message of the Bible (which magnifies Him from Genesis to maps) indwells us richly and emerges out of our lives. And, really, this vision includes all the we do and say, doing it all in the name of our Lord Jesus, even giving thanks to God the Father because of Him.

Is Christ all for you? Or is your involvement and life in the local church about other things? What keeps you united others? Christ? Or the way they treat you? Christ is all, but Christ is also in the ones who trust Him.

The text gives clear remedies for discerning our hearts…

Are you grateful? Over and over again in this text, we are called to be thankful. Are you grateful for what God has done for you in the Gospel? If you are, then this grateful spirit will translate into healthy body life.

Are you united with others? If Christ is all and in all, then really, you have great reason to stand united with others who hold those same truths. Don’t major on minors. Major on the only thing that matters: Christ.

Are you relating well with others? In the coming weeks in Colossians, Paul will take this central Gospel message and expand its influence to include husbands, wives, children, parents, slaves, masters and outsiders. Is Christ seen as your all in this relationships?

Let’s glorify and enjoy God forever by being a people formed by Jesus so that it may be said of us, “Christ is all and in all.”

Why Teenagers Are Not Excited About the Gospel

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…from Z, quoting Tripp & Lane, How People Change, p.5…

My work with teenagers has convinced me that one of the main reasons teenagers are not excited by the gospel is that they do not think they need it. Many parents have successfully raised self-righteous little Pharisees. When they look at themselves, they do not see a sinner in desperate need, so they are not grateful for a Savior. Sadly, the same is true of many of their parents.

Related to this, I’m excited to be heading out with some of our students this weekend to Student Life Camp. Watch the blog for more info…

Gospel Centered Families

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Timmy Brister reflects on how the Gospel should influence our families:
1. Discipline in the home facilitates gospel mission.
2. Godliness in the home facilitates leadership development.
3. Humility in the home facilitates transparent community.
4. Simplicity in the home facilitates personal sacrifice.
5. Training in the home facilitates disciple-making.
6. Hospitality in the home facilitates ministry to others.

His conclusion:

When you think about the church, wouldn’t we want to see more people engaged in gospel mission, more leaders being developed and empowered, more transparent and authentic community, more personal sacrifice for the advance of the kingdom, more disciples being made, and more people ministering to others? That’s a tall order, right? What kind of program, technique, or best practice can facilitate this? My answer is gospel-centered families. If you do not take the gospel seriously in marriages, parenting, and overall home life, then all kinds of substitutes will attempt to promise what they cannot deliver. May God give us grace to embrace the gospel daily in our lives, in our families, and in our churches!