im4GMG's Xanga

Timing

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:40:31 GMT

Sometimes things happen at just the wrong time. Like the way that schools I have attended--high school, college, and graduate school--seem to renovate their buildings the year after I leave or would have qualified to use/stay in them. But sometimes things happen at just the right time, too...

The year before I started taking Greek, Zondervan published a neat little volume called A Reader's Greek New Testament. In it is the Greek text underlying the NIV along with a gloss of every word that occurs fewer than 30 times in the New Testament in footnotes. This is a great tool for keeping up with your Greek. Since then, they've released a 2nd edition that is said to have clearer font, a glossary at the back defining those words occurring 30x or more, a few color maps, and a ribbon/bookmark. (The link is for the 2nd edition.)

Now I'm done with Greek and have just moved on to Hebrew. Just this last Spring, Zondervan published a sort of companion volume for the Old Testament called A Reader's Hebrew Bible. Similarly to the NT version, this contains the Hebrew text along with a gloss of every word that occurs fewer than 100x in the footnotes. The appendices also include a glossary of words occurring 100x or more. I haven't had a chance to examine one in real life yet, but I have a feeling I may be getting one after the summer. If you have seen or used this text, I'd appreciate your comments.

Google Mars

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:55:13 GMT

It's been a while since I last posted here, so I thought I would share this bit of news. Apparently not content with Google Earth, the good folks in Mountain View, in partnership with Virgin Group, have decided to expand their horizons to the final frontier.

Virgle: The Adventure of Many Lifetimes
Google Press Release

Mac Tutorials

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:20:05 GMT

Apple launched a new sub-site on the Mac section of their website called Find Out How.

It is composed of mostly video tutorials in six different areas—Mac OS X, Photos, Movies, Web, Music, and Documents. Each area has both text and video on how to make use of some of the features in Apple software. If you use a Mac and are curious how to do something in any of the iApps or Mac OS, check out the Find Out How site.

Why Expository Preaching Is Better

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:00:25 GMT

Some people have accused me of favoring expository preaching because I am gifted in that way—that I prefer it because I can do it well. I had to stop and think about that because I do believe that one area in which I need to grow as a person is finding that balance of strongly affirming what I believe is true while openly accepting those who differ. I don't want to demean, devalue, or discourage people in their search for truth, even if I presently disagree with them. This is especially so because I have not "arrived"—no one does this side of eternity—and so have often been proven wrong.

So I had to seriously consider whether I prefer expository preaching because I am gifted in that way. But after much thought, I have concluded that I do not prefer it because it is in line with my gifting, but rather because it is better than what else passes for preaching in too many of today's pulpits. There are two main reasons for this: (1) the nature of my gifting is more narrow than the category of expository preaching, and (2) the nature of the Bible is most conducive to a form of proclamation that explains its contents and then steps back to allow the content of the Word to do the work—namely, exposition.

First, the nature of my gifting is not primarily in expository preaching. My gifting is broadly in teaching and preaching, but more specifically in exegetical preaching and teaching. Now there is risk here of driving too much of a distinction between exegetical and expositional. At their core, they mean roughly the same thing: to explain the text. In my view, however, the slight nuance to exegetical preaching is that it follows the form of the text in the way that careful and critical students follow the text as the are studying it—"doing exegesis"—perhaps for papers or personal edification, not just preaching. Some preachers are able to do expository preaching—that is, they explain and proclaim the meaning of the biblical text—while having great freedom to vary from the form of the text itself. I was greatly impressed by the speaker who came with Soul Survivor from the UK to speak at Flood years ago. At the end of his sermon, he pulled together various parts of the text in a very compelling way. I think of my friend, Dr. Glen Scorgie, who just this week preached on a single verse! Men like him can preach on two lines of poetry or wisdom literature with ease. Some preachers tell stories as part of the explanation of the text, or pull multiple key texts together to treat a topic. All of that requires a breadth of creativity and a knowledge of the whole Bible that I struggle to find. I do best with texts that are narrative or didactic, because I like to follow the form of the text when I preach. But that is not to say I do not appreciate good expository preaching that varies from the style in which I am most comfortable. In fact, I love it. I love to hear preachers accurately and passionately explain the text of Scripture in new and fresh ways. As I learn more and develop my own gifts, I am beginning to recognize that I am drawn not to a particular preaching style, but to a particular preaching substance. Am I compelled by the preachers accurate and passionate explanation of the Scripture? When I reflect on that, I cannot conclude that I prefer expository preaching primarily because of the nature of my gifting.

Second, the nature of the Bible is most conducive to expository preaching. Expository preaching is the impassioned proclaiming of the text of Scripture for the sake of glorifying God through the saving of souls and the sanctifying of saints. By its very nature, the Word demands nothing less this kind of proclamation: it is God's self-revelation, it is God-breathed, and it is the vocabulary of the Holy Spirit by whom God works in the world and in the lives of men. Any preaching that falls short of or attempts to augment the accurate and passionate explaining of the very words that God has used gets in the way of God's will. Perhaps worse yet are the implications: preaching that falls short of explaining the words of the Bible imply that God's self-revelation is unnecessary for understanding God and for life change; while preaching that attempts to augment the explaining of the words of the Bible imply that God's self-revelation is insufficient. Ultimately, the issue of how to use the Word of God preaching comes down to one of ministry philosophy: Do we believe that the goal is to convict the sinner, comfort the afflicted, and change the world? Then we will preach from the Bible the Christian principles we think will achieve those ends. Or do if we believe the goal is to know God, and that the Bible was given firstly to reveal God? Then we will make every effort to accurately explain the whole counsel of God and get out of the way. John Piper does a better job of explaining this part than I probably will, so let me end my commending to you a few messages (with some fairly provocative titles) that he has given on the topic.

The Place of Preaching in Worship - audio | transcript
The Guilt of Giving Part of God's Counsel - audio | transcript
Why Expository Preaching is Particularly Glorifying to God - audio | transcript

If you can only listen to or read one, choose the last one. And if you take the time to listen to or read those messages, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts and discussing with you. Please leave me a comment.

Sweet Tomatoes!

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:57:32 GMT

One of the several stores I miss in Dallas is Souplantation. Natalie and I both love this place for their fresh soups and salads... and soft serve ice cream with miniature cones. Sadly, the closest one was in Houston, a good 4 hours away.

Today, however, I received this e-mail in my inbox. Sweet Tomatoes—Souplantation as it is known in some areas—has opened in Addison, TX! It's only about 20 minutes from church, too! Wahoo! We like to think of it as a wedding gift from Souplantation.

DTS Spring 08 Class Schedule

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 22:18:09 GMT

Here's my tentative Spring 2008 class schedule, as registered. There may be some changes, but more likely than not this is what my schedule will look like. Let me know if you have insights into the professors, or if we'll be having class together.

CE210 A - Designing Biblical Instruction
BE530 A - Transitional Problems in Acts
PM102 A - Evangelism
ST104 A - Soteriology
WM101 C - Intro. to World Missions

Leading Through Reading

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:55:13 GMT

One of the things Dr. Howard Hendricks said in my first class at Dallas Theological Seminary was, "Leaders are readers, and readers are leaders."

Despite taking a semester off from school this Fall, I have found myself not reading nearly as much as I would have liked. Over the last few weeks I've repeated found myself thinking, "Man, if I only had a good book right now..." Today I decided it was time to remedy that problem, take advantage of my soon-to-expire $5 Google Checkout credit, and buy some books I've been meaning to read. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. I tried to order the books and have them shipped to my San Diego address, but Google Checkout refused the new address and shipped the order to my Dallas address. I had to cancel the order. I'm waiting to receive cancel confirmation so I can re-order the books. Hopefully my $5 credit will still be valid when I try to re-order.

In the meantime, here are the books I want to read before starting school again.

The Valley of Vision (Aurthur G. Bennet, editor)
Exegetical Fallacies (Donald Arthur Carson)
Future Grace (John Piper)
E.M. Bounds on Prayer (Edward McKendree Bounds)
With Christ in the School of Prayer (Andrew Murray)

edit 9/30/07 7:00 PM I re-ordered the books—the first three on the list—and thankfully the Google Checkout rebate was still usable. By mid-week I should be happily reading again.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 04:35:52 GMT

Teaching the Bible vs. Teaching from the Bible

There's really not that great a difference. They both look similar and use similar words. Some would argue that the distinction is one of semantics. Yet they are so incredibly different. Here is one of the things I wish I had time to say in class last Sunday. This is excerpted from my notes on the Fall 2006 series on The Lord's Prayer at Plano Chinese Alliance Church.

Here are the words I spoke, more or less verbatim, to my class last year. Note that this excerpted manuscript and is in the context of teaching a group of middle and high school students. What do you think—is it clear?

But I believe there is one over-arching theme and purpose which surfaces in every genre of the biblical text. [What do you think it is?] The Reality of God.

This is because I believe the theme of the Reality of God reflects the purpose for the biblical text. It is firstly a book of religion—meant to do what?
(a) ... to comfort the afflicted—no!
(b) ... to convict the sinner—no!
(c) ... to change the world—no!

I believe the Bible is meant to reveal God. (Ok, preacher. So what?) The purpose of the text should determine for us the manner of its use—that’s what! If the Bible is meant to reveal God, why do we read it as though it were meant to teach us morality, or to make us successful, or to make us spiritual (some treat those as one and the same), or to comfort us in times of peril or loss? Why do we teach the Bible as though it were a textbook, use it as though it were an apologetics or evangelistic tool, and treat it like a good luck charm? If the Bible is meant to reveal God, why don’t we use it to get to know him!

Now does it comfort the afflicted, convict the sinner, and can its message change the world? YES! But those are side-effects, by-products, NOT THE MAIN POINT! Those things happen when people encounter a holy, majestic, awesome, almighty, fearful, loving, merciful, gracious, and personal GOD. And the Bible’s main point is to reveal this God to us in his own words.

Knowing that, even if you don’t know what portion of Scripture we are going to be studying, what do you think will be one of the Major Themes of our next series? The Reality of God! Why? Because that’s the Main Point of the Bible—to reveal God. (When we teach you in this ministry, we aim to teach you the Bible, not just to teach from it. Because the purpose of a text should determine the manner of its use.)

If you're interested in reading more from that series, the notes are available online at this website. There you will also find notes for the current CBC series on The Lord's Prayer.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:20:29 GMT

Be Thou My Vision

"Most preachers not only don't preach Christ from the Old Testament, but they don't preach him from the New Testament. The preacher has looked into the text principally to find himself and his congregation, not to find Christ. The sermon therefore is consequently about the people in the gospels instead of about the Christ who is that gospel." – Sinclair Ferguson

One of the things I've learned at seminary and I have begun teaching in the last couple years is that the Bible is for you, but it is not about you. It's about God. The Bible is written, not to tell you how to live and relate to self and others—though it certainly impacts those things. Rather, the Bible is written to reveal God! The Bible is focused on Jesus Christ. So must be our preaching, our teaching, our living as biblical Christians. It is the lack of this vision that ails the Western Church. Be Thou my vision. Naught be all else to me save that Thou art.

Today a friend of mine shared with me a message by Dr. Tim Keller titled, "Gospel Centered Ministry." I strongly recommend listening to it. It's a much needed reminder of the centrality of the Gospel—of Jesus Christ who is that Gospel—to the Christian faith. You can listen to, watch, or download the message, and several other messages from the Gospel Coalition.

"Be Thou My Vision," by Dallan Forgaill (ca. AD 530-598)
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me save that thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word
I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battle-shield, sword for the fight
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower
Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

You Need to Watch This

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 16:25:54 GMT

Set aside some time to watch this documentary on the Tienanmen Square Massacre.

Vincent and I watched this last night. This is a needed reminder of the price and the value of freedom. It is a needed reminder of the cost--in freedoms, in knowledge of the truth--that people pay when we turn a blind eye in the interest of low-priced consumer goods. This video reminded me to be thankful for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. I am thankful to be living in America. Are you?