Cheap Grace

Talk about a powerful opener to a sermon...

go Rico!

http://www.allsouls.org/ascm/allsouls/static/sermons/showsermon.flow?id=12621

Here's a one-liner:

"Do you see yourself as a laid back person.... it's unbiblical"

Learning the languages

The joys of Hebrew:

note the same meanings of the words

the word for servant also means worship

the word for uncover(i.e. to shame) means to exile

the noun for tribe comes from the word to extend

the word for 'to trespass' means to cross over

the word for 'to hear' also means 'to obey'

interestingly the word for wilderness posibly comes from the word 'Word/thing/matter'

God Vs the World

A talk on James 4
with a few book by book audio clips included =)

http://www.mediafire.com/?yy1mewzkzyj

Humility

Here's a question:

Usually we talk about humility that comes from brokenness - i.e. from sinfulness

Yet it is Jesus who is most humble - is that because of sin?

I'm sure humility is an 'eternal attribute' of the Living God
how then should we become humble - that is not because of sin, but because of Who our Father is?

Any takers?

Amazing Grace

Here is my lame attempt at a talk on this topic..

it's a raw recording
i have no idea how to edit it

or any desire to do so =)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/mydtzz5ho5g/45min - Amazing Grace.WMA

me ripping off Venning, Edwards, Scrivener, Reeves, Virgo, Newton, etc...

Falling Short

2nd catechism class on Man

http://www.mediafire.com/?uzkz1zjnvti

no points for original material here! =)

might do one more in a month or so... we'll see

Jesus as saviour first, judge later

Do not judge others, lest you be judged..

Christ proclaims to us that we are not to come as the judges of the world
for Christ Himself did not come into the world to judge, but to save

Therefore when we cast judgement as the judge, we proclaim ourselves greater than Christ

So we are prevented from making any judgement
Jesus (Matt 7, 18), James (james 3-4) & Paul (1 cor 5) tell us that if we judge as judges
the reason is because we 'want to be the greatest'
we put others down

therefore we are 'blind guides'
we presume we can see what is wrong with that person
even though the fact that we are judges means there's a huge lot wrong with us!
we are of no help to anyone else
and we will only cause others to fall into the same pit of destruction
the minute we try to get close to help
we stab them with the huge spear that we are carrying out of our eye

however, when Christ pulls the log out of our eye and nails Himself to it for us
then we can see clearly..
we now have correct vision - the log where it should be - cross-vision
we can now pull that log out of the eye of others
by sacrificing ourselves for their sake

i.e. we come as discerning judges - saviors
we 'judge' who is lost and how we can bring them to the cross
we are useful and we confront others, even discipline them
only to build them up and not to put them down

we do that by giving up our lives for them
facing rebuke by them
facing abuse by them
being rejected by them
cursed by them
time and time again...
finally..
being put to death by them
this is the only way to show love - Jesus style

so that they may be saved...

and this.. stunningly enough
within the church alone (we never judge the world!)
that others outside may see
and enter.. because they see our love one for another
that is the insanity of biblical evangelism.... (john 13)

in this we see the mystery:
Christ died 'for the church' - indeed by this - Christ died 'for the whole world'

in the end.. if they still refuse
we will be their Judges
we will deliver the sentence of condemnation
together with Christ

Glen going visual

Here's a fantastic Youtube video made by Glen!