Hello friends,
I know it’s been a few months since I’ve posted to my blog, but it’s been very busy. I promise I’ll start writing on a regular basis as soon as I can. In the meantime, I’m very happy to announce some upcoming speaking engagements. I’ve been invited to guest preach at three churches in the next few months and I thought you’d like to know about it.
Grace Church, Northfield VT: 02.28.10
North Ave. Alliance, Burlington VT: 03.28.10
Cornerstone Alliance, Ticonderoga NY: 05.16.10
I hope some of you will be able to come see me.
Tags: alliance, cornerstone, grace, preaching, sermons, speaking
A Discussion of ROMANS: Part IX
Romans 7:7-25
As Paul continues to develop his argument for inherited righteousness through faith, this passage is designed to refute anyone who might still believe they can attain righteousness by their own merit. The Jewish religion had become a legalistic culture in which the adherence to rules superseded the heart of the law. It was easy for them to believe that a righteous life could come through the adherence of God’s law and the rules of the church, but Paul makes it clear that this is impossible.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: christ, christian, confession, jewish, Paul, righteousness, rockstar, romans, sin
A Discussion of ROMANS: Part VIII
Romans 6:1-7:6
The concept of being released from the law, yet being expected to follow the same moral code is a difficult one to grasp. At first glance, it seems to contradict itself and that’s exactly what Paul is trying to address is this portion of scripture.
At the end of Chapter 5, Paul explains how the sacrifice of Christ made it possible for us to be made righteous in the eyes of God. Just as the world was condemned by the acts of one man, so could the world be saved by the acts of one man. Paul continues this thought process into chapter 6. Paul’s argument for believers being released from the law is contingent on them becoming a new creation in Christ. Verses 1-10 details how this new creation is possible, and how the old self dies on the cross with Christ and is resurrected with him as something completely new.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: marriage, Paul, righteousness, romans, slavery
The 1965 Junior Grange Members
I recently wrote a post about Nana’s diary. Within its pages I find a portal to a world I once knew. So many of her memories (and the memories penned in her mother’s diary) reflect a familiar place I once played… a familiar place, but not a familiar time. My childhood on the family farm seems like a shadow of their youth. Our early lives, though separated by time, evolved in the same house, on the same property near the same fields. They remember a new barn while my memory finds it in disrepair. They recall the planting of trees while I remember climbing in them. It is my greatest regret that any children I may have will never fall under that same shadow of family familiarity. They will never play on the roof of the chicken coop my great-great-grandfather built (The one the woodchuck lived under) and they will never relate to the farm discussed in these pages with the same echoed memories I have.
The diaries have a mild musty smell now and the penciled scrawling have begun to ware, but I sometimes enjoy opening the yellowed pages and reading what Nana (my great-grandmother) and her mother recorded on that day decades ago. Today I reflect on an entry by my great-great-grandmother, Mary Etta Stiles written on this day in 1940: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: diary, family, grange, history, mary etta, nana
A Discussion of ROMANS: Part VII
Romans 5:12-21
I know this entry is a few days late and I aplogize for that. I know there’s at least four people chomping at their bits to read the next installment of this commentary, but we got a new puppy last week. Franklin doesn’t care much for theology but he loves Peanut-butter.
Since I’m already off subject… I might as well address something else. I’ve been told by some people they love the ongoing Romans discussions, but it has given other people pause. Some have noted that the entries about Romans are not as funny as my sermons, as colorful as my creative writing, or as personal as my family heritage entries. Well… your probably right, but Romans is a pretty heavy book. I’ll try to be funnier in the future… or perhaps when we’re done with Romans I can choose a more amusing book like Habakkuk. In the meantime, Romans will just get heavier… so you may want to check out some of my other entries. :) Ah well, back to Romans…
Romans 5:12-21:
The comparison Paul makes between Adam and Christ can be made very complicated when we allow theology or doctrine to enter the discussion. While these theological issues are important, the basic truth of this comparison is simple. Christ is the answer to the problem created by Adam.
Critics of the Bible often use the concept of “original sin” to discredit God, accusing Him of being unfair. They say, “Why should I be held accountable for something that someone else did?” It’s a fair question but a weak argument. Romans 5:18-19 eliminate the validity of that stance.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 5, brownies, original sin, Paul, romans
News broke today that the world lost one of America’s classic comedians. Dom DeLuise passed away quietly in his sleep at a Los Angeles hospital last night at the age of 75.
From his role as a film agent in “The Muppet Movie” to his multiple collaborations with Mel Brooks, Dom was an incurable goofball. There’s bound to be a number of filmographies listed for Dom on various websites and blogs today, but I doubt any of them will mention “My X-Girlfriend’s Wedding Reception.”
In a moment I felt would most certainly launch my young career into cinematic fame, I met Dom in the lobby of a South Burlington hotel where we were about to start shooting a film together. It was the first… and worst movie I ever worked on. (Yes… a thousand times worse than the film I did with Billy Ray Cyrus called “Radical Jack.”) Dom played a priest in the movie (no I’m not kidding you… and if you think that’s weird, Senator Bernie Sanders had a cameo in the film as a rabbi.) I was a set decorator which is pretty much the worst job you can have in a movie that takes place at a wedding reception. You carry around Polaroid’s (that’s kind of like a digital camera with a built in printer for all the kids out there) and make sure everyone’s Champaign glass has the same level of sparkling apple juice at the beginning of each take it had the last time you did it. After all, with such a fine film you wouldn’t want any continuity issues showing up in post production. “X-Girlfriend” also represented my first on-camera appearance. Want to guess what my one line was? Go ahead… guess. That’s right, I stumbled up to the wedding band and yelled, “Play Freebird! Play it now!”
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bernie Sanders, Debbie Gibson, Dom DeLuise, Eulogy, film, Hannah Montana, movie, Vermont
A Discussion of ROMANS: Part VI
Romans 5:1-11
This small portion of scripture is packed with truth, but they are truths we often take for granted in the Christian community. I don’t think we spend enough time really taking in what is being said here; we do not deserve justification, but God offers it to us through His grace and love. He doesn’t just offer it, but he offers it completely and unconditionally to those who believe.
These eleven verses can be broken down into three distinct statements:
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: romans, sacrifice
A Discussion of ROMANS: Part V
Romans 4:1-25
One could too easily become bogged down by the language of this text and miss the very important truth Paul is explaining. It is a vital truth that’s as applicable to the church today as it was to the Jewish believers he was writing to. It might be summed up like this, “Faith is enough. There’s no task you can perform that makes you worthy of righteousness. It is a gift from God to those who believe, and to try to validate your righteousness through works is an offense to that faith.”
We must remember that Paul is writing to a group of Jewish believers who may very well reject these ideas. We should not judge them too harshly, though. It should be remembered that these Jews had no Christian texts. Their only access to scripture was the Old Testament. The desire to cling to their traditions must have been overwhelming, and that’s why it was so important for Paul to explain justification through faith within the context of their own writings. These Jews would never accept ideas that contradicted the Torah (nor should they have), so the burden fell on Paul to prove his case using the texts they were familiar with.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: baptism, christian texts, commentary. circumcision, faith, jews, justification, romans
A Discussion of ROMANS: Part IV
Romans 3:21-31
If the last unit of scripture represented “the bad news,” Romans 3:21-31 represents “the good news.” That is, I suppose, why it’s actually called The Good News by those presenting it in the Bible. If there’s a small portion of scripture that can summarize the whole, it would be this passage. That’s not to insinuate that the rest of the Bible isn’t essential. It clearly is, but the core message of Christ’s gospel is contained in these few verses.
From an inductive standpoint it’s important to consider this passage in the context of the letter thus far. Paul has laid out a case for the hopelessness of the human condition. He has shown us that man actively suppresses the truth of God’s word and consistently yields to the power of sin. This creates a condition which renders man completely ungodly and unholy. It is clear that we are incapable of achieving righteousness on our own. This would seemingly leave God with an irreconcilable problem; He desires to have a relationship with us but can not be apart of something unjust, unholy or ungodly.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: commentary, gentiles, God, justice, problem, righteousness, romans, sacrifice, solution
Please note: While the promised post for Part IV of our Roman’s discussion was posted for several hours this morning, I’ve decided to remove it until Monday so we can focus on the discussion about Christ’s sacrifice below. The Roman’s Part IV discussion will be re-posted Monday morning at 8am. EST. Thanks, and Happy Easter!
