Sermon: Philippians 3:7-11

I recently had the privilege of preaching from Philippians 3:7-11. Below is the sermon. If the audio player is working, just follow this link.

Why Did God Kill The Canaanites?

It's been a while since I've posted. I've put some serious time and thought into a question I've had for a long time. I was always taught that God loves everyone. But I've had a growing discomfort with God's treatment of the Canaanites in the Old Testament. It was time to hit this issue head on. I ended up writing an essay on the subject. I've posted the essay online in hopes that it may help any others struggling with this issue. Below are the introductory paragraphs:

"In Deuteronomy 7, God commands his people Israel to annihilate the inhabitants of Canaan. After they enter the land, he says they “must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.” (Deuteronomy 7:2). This appears to contradict the loving merciful God who, as John says, is love (see 1 John 4:8, 16). How could this God command the killing of all these people? This portion of Scripture receives little or no voluntary attention because of its difficulty. For many of us, this is one of those quiet questions that festers in the back of our minds – conveniently forgotten until it’s forced upon us by our Bible-in-a-year reading plan.

This essay will attempt to answer the question of why a good God would command the killing of the Canaanites. Theologically, this is referred to as herem warfare; when God’s people totally destroy all living things – men, women, children, and animals – offering them as a sacrifice to God. The problem could be stated like this: If God is merciful and loving, how could he commission the killing of an entire people? To the modern reader, the command seems unfair, bigoted, and racist. Only a serious and thorough examination of the Scriptures can address this issue."

If you would like to read the full essay, click here.

What are your thoughts?

Sermon - Guard Your Heart

I recently had the privilege of preaching from God's word at my church, First Baptist Church of La Grande. The text is Proverbs 4:20-27. The sermon is titled, "Guard Your Heart" and is 43 minutes long. Constructive feedback is always appreciated.




(If the audio player above does not work, then follow this link)            

              My son, pay attention to what I say;
         listen closely to my words.
               Do not let them out of your sight,
         keep them within your heart;
               for they are life to those who find them
         and health to a man’s whole body.
               Above all else, guard your heart,
         for it is the wellspring of life.
               Put away perversity from your mouth;
         keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
               Let your eyes look straight ahead,
         fix your gaze directly before you.
               Make levelb paths for your feet
         and take only ways that are firm.
               Do not swerve to the right or the left;
         keep your foot from evil.

Have A Drink of Water

The Bible is a great book! One of the many reasons I love the Bible is that there is always something to learn. I just recently finished reading through the Bible and one of the things I did as I read through it was underlined areas where water is mentioned in the Bible. I used a blue colored pencil and my underline was in the shape of waves. This post is about what I've learned about how water is used in the Bible. Generally speaking, I think most uses can be placed into one of five broad categories. There are certainly more, but these are five big ones I found.

1.       As a setting for or means of a miracle

This category included times when God actually uses water to do something amazing. It can be that water is actually used in the miracle itself (i.e. splitting the Red Sea) or it’s in the setting (i.e. Jesus’ Baptism). There are a plethora of verses and sections of Scripture that would fit here. Probably the most obvious example is the parting of the Red Sea as the Israelites were running away from Pharaoh’s army in Exodus 14. Also included would be water flowing from the rock (Exo 17), Jesus walking on water (Matt 14:25), Jesus calming the storm (Matt 8:23ff), Jesus turning water into wine (John 2), the healing of Namaan (2 Kings 5), the crossing of the Jordan  river (Joshua 3), and many others.

2.       As a positive description of God

There are many times in the Bible where God describes himself using water. One of my favorites is Jeremiah 2:13, “My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Certainly Jesus is drawing upon this passage and others when he is talking with the Samaritan women in John 4, and again at the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7:37-39. Other verses that fit here are Zech 14:8, 1 Cor 10:4,all throughout Isaiah, Hosea 6:3, and many others.

3.       As a form of judgment and wrath

God also uses water to judge. One clear instance is the flood in Genesis 6. You also have the storm that came upon Jonah’s boat when he attempted to flee. Hosea 5:10 says, “I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.” This may be one reason that John says in Revelation 21:1 that there was no more sea.

4.       To establish God’s power or faithfulness

God’s control over water is often used as evidence for his power and might. Psalm 104 describes God’s incredible strength and greatness. One phrase sticks out, “at your rebuke the waters fled,”. Additionally, throughout the Scriptures, we find authors referring to past events of how God used water as a reason for trust God in the future. Repeatedly the splitting of the Red Sea and the water coming from the rock are used as means to encourage people to trust in God for provision. Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 9.

5.       Simply to mean water

Occasionally, the Bible uses water just to mean water. When describing the rebuilding of the temple in Ezra 3, it says that cedar logs were brought by the sea. There are a couple of times when it simply means water and is not being used as judgment, as a setting or means of a miracle.

By the time you get to this paragraph, you've probably already realized that a fair amount of times water is used in the Bible, it’s used in more than one way. For example, the splitting of the Red Sea is a miracle of God, a form of judgment, and is used to establish God’s power. Jesus calming the storm is a miracle, and also a method by which he establishes his own identity as God. We can’t squish the Bible into categories. What I've done here is simple show 5 ways that water can be used in the Bible.

Finally, before I end this post, I’d like to say something about baptism. I think one of the reasons baptism is so significant for believers is that is shows that God has worked in our life. When God cleansed the earth of evil, he did it by the flood – thereby establishing Noah and his family as the new race on earth, when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt and established them as a nation, he did it through the Red Sea. When he brought the Israelites into the promised land, he did and  it through the Jordan River. The point is this: God’s people pass through water to be cleansed, washed, or even “reborn” if you will. In fact, Paul says that the Red Sea was a baptism for the Israelites (1 Cor 10:1) and Peter says that the flood symbolizes our baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21). In baptism, we identify ourselves among God’s people who have reborn by passing through water. He washes and cleanses us and we declare his work in our hearts. 

On The Brink

Bungee jumping is an amazing sport. After getting harnessed up and tied into the rope, the jump master will tell you to get on “the platform.” The platform is about 4 square feet (2ft by 2ft). It’s tiny. There’s only two things you can do from the platform (three things if you count peeing your pants): stand there, and jump. Once you’re on the platform you look straight ahead the jump master counts down “3, 2, 1, JUMP!” And then you bend your knees and fly! In my experience, it’s best to just jump when you’re told to jump. Don’t psych yourself out and don’t second guess it, just go.

As I write this, I am sitting on the brink of a major change in my life. It’s 1am on Dec 30^th, 2012 and later today, there will be a commissioning service in which my wife and I will be sent off by our church. Monday morning, we leave for La Grande, Oregon where everything I know is about to change. I won’t be near my family or friends, I’m switching churches, and I’ll be starting an entirely new job. Life is about to become very different for me. Inside my heart, anxious dread mingles with nervous excitement. I kind of feel like I’m on the platform and it’s about time to jump. I’m looking forward to everything that this change will bring. Olivia and I will make many new friends, discover new interests, and have more time as a family. On the other hand, I’m starting to finally appreciate the closeness and security my life in Portland has brought me. I’m going to miss my family, I’m going to miss my church, and I’m going to miss my friends. There’s so much ahead, but there’s also so much behind. I’m excited, but I’m also scared. I think we all feel this way, at least a little, when we’re on the edge of change.  

When the Israelites were on the brink, they were scared too. They didn’t trust God to lead them out of Egypt (Exodus 5:20-21). When he did, he led them straight to the edge of the Red Sea, where they didn’t trust him again (Exodus 14:10-12). Over and over God brings the Israelites to the brink, where their only job is to trust him, and they don’t. When it was time for the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, 12 spies were sent in. When they returned, only 2 were brave enough to believe God’s promise. The other 10 spread chaos and created havoc. They were scared.

When God brings us to the brink, we get scared. It’s not just the Israelites, it’s all of us. It seems that we always prefer where we’ve been to where he’s taking us (even if where we’ve been is bad). For Olivia and me, it’d be safe to stay in Portland. It’d be comfortable to stay with friends, family, and our church. The struggle for us is that we want to stay with what we know; it’s safe. But God has seen it fit to bring us to the brink. He’s decided that it’s time for us to move. It’s time for some change. He’s put us on the platform and started counting. We’ve decided to jump because where God is taking us is where we want to be, even if it’s scary. This is how God grows people; on the brink.

Why I Believe in the Bible

For one of my classes, I was asked to write a paper discussing why I believe in the Bible. I was challenged to think regarding what exactly I believed about it and more specifically why I believed that. It was difficult to fit it all into one page and articulate my reasons in a clear and concise way. Anyways, here it is:

I believe that the modern translations of the Bible are authoritative for all matters of faith and practice. It is the final authority for Christians. I believe that the words of Scripture originated from God, not man and thus I believe it to be accurate in everything it records. It is historically reliable, internally consistent, it answers many of life’s deepest questions, and finally it provides the most reasonable (albeit miraculous) explanation for the empty tomb of Jesus.

I believe the Bible because it is the inspired word of God. It is reliable and truthful because it did not come from man, but from God; and God does not lie. The words of Scripture come from the mind of God through the hand of man. This means that while the human authors were writing in their individual styles and vernacular, they were writing exactly what God by his Spirit was intending. Because I believed God inspired and oversaw the writing of the biblical autographs, I believe the modern translations to be authoritative and accurate for my life.

I also trust the Bible because it accurately tells me what the original authors wrote. The 39 books of Old Testament (and what was written in them) were agreed upon by many different people and groups; radically conservative Jewish cults, ancient Hebrew commentaries, early Christian converts (and their opponents), later Jewish historians and rabbis, and even Jesus himself all agreed on what books belong in the Old Testament and the very words that were in those books. I doubt that there can be such widespread agreement by such a diverse crowd across hundreds of years without the Old Testament being true. Furthermore, the New Testament was being copied for hundreds of years across 5 different cities in the Mediterranean. The copies produced were abundant and widespread. The Bible was being spread like wildfire. There is a high amount of doubt in my mind that one man or people would have been able to quench this fire. The sources for the New Testament are (and were) too diverse in both time and location for any one person for people group to realistically manipulate ALL the sources available to us. The Biblical canon could not have been altered; too many people from too many religious traditions across too many miles and over too many years knew too much. So I believe it too.

The Bible is internally consistent. This strengthens my belief because it was written over thousands of years by over 40 authors in three different languages. The 40+ people who wrote the Bible came from all sorts of different trades; prophets, kings, fisherman, businessmen, doctors, etc. Additionally, the Bible is written in many different literary genres styles; it contains narrative, poetry, discourse, prophecies, parables, travel plans, letters, etc. Despite all of these differences and nuances within the Bible, it remains consistent in teaching us about a Holy God who fervently and passionately rescues people from sin and death. The story of salvation is simply too complex to come together by mere coincidence.

Another reason I believe in the Bible is because it provides reason for the world around me. It answers some of life’s biggest questions: is there a God? What is this God like? Where do people come from? Where are we going? What happens after we die, if anything? Why are we here? Why is there hurt and pain in the world? What can we do to fix the hurt and pain? The Bible gives reasonable answers to each of these questions and helps me make sense of the world around me. In my experience it has been truthful in answering these deeper questions. If I were to reject the Bible, I would have to account for the world around me by some other means, and I cannot think of any other reasonable explanations.

Last, but certainly not least, I am not convinced by any other hypothesis for the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. While it may sound fantastic (as in – it sounds like a fantasy), the biblical account of the resurrection is the most likely explanation for the absence of Jesus’ body. It was not stolen, hidden or burned. Archaeology cannot find his body and science cannot explain his resurrection. Jesus did die, was buried, and was raised again. I can think of no other explanation that would account for such things as the large stone being rolled away from the entrance of the tomb, the complete oversight of the Roman guards, the unprecedented courage of the disciples, and the conversion of Saul the Pharisee to Paul the Apostle. If the biblical account of the resurrection is valid (and I believe it is), I am forced to ask why it happened. I believe it is because Jesus Christ is, as the Bible teaches, the Son of God, the promised Christ-Messiah, and the atonement for my sin. Therefore, since the Bible, more than any account, adequately explains the resurrection along with its reason and effects, I hold it to be trustworthy. If the Bible can explain the most significant event in history, I accept its teaching in everything else.

Intro Excerpt from "The Jesus Storybook Bible"

This is from the introduction of "The Jesus Storybook Bible." I like it a lot:

Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.

Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you’ll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times, they’re downright mean.

No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne – everything – to rescue the ones he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

It takes the whole Bible to tell this story. And at the center of the story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in the puzzle – the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.