Charles Simeon

A quick look on My Library Thing suggests that I don't own a single thing by or about Charles Simeon, the great Anglican clergyman, preacher and encourager of preachers. Where would you start? Can you recommend a light, colourful biography?

Camp Culture

One of the drums we want to beat on camp is the importance of training to what we're about and our desire to explore our gifts and become more effective in ministry.

As a result, everyone admits that they are a work in progress, not the finished article. We all minister as weak sinners. We always want to celebrate and encourage the good, wherever we find it. Constructive criticism is welcomed. We want to do it better next time. We know that we love and care for each other and are on the same side, rooting for one another, and that Jesus loves and cares for us, is on our side and intends even the tough things for our good. Therefore, we are not crushed by hearing, say, that we need to speak up a bit, try to get more eye contact, stop shuffling about or show how our points come from the text more clearly, or whatever.

It is fine for us to conclude that we've tried such and such a ministry a couple of times and given it our best shot, and perhaps its not us. We don't all have every gift. We are a body. We work together in mutual dependance. It's not a competition. No one is trying to beat anyone else so as to make themselves look or feel better. We all say "he must become greater, I must become less". When one is honoured, all are honured. We carry one anothers' burdens and mourn together.

That's something of the theory, anyway. Of course, being sinners, we mess up even this all the time. But we know something of what we're aiming for.

Grove Chapel

I had the pleasure of meeting someone from Grove Chapel today and I was very impressed. Their website is well worth checking out. Read their article on public worship. Apparently, if I have understood correctly, the vast majority of the children of the church from about 3 upwards remain in church the whole time, and attend to the sermon in varying degrees, completing specially prepared activity sheets.

Off to check out Revd Mark Johnston's books on Amazon.

How should we eat this Living Bread?

From John 6:

Last time: Who or what is this living bread, in what sense and what does that imply?

This time: How do we eat this living bread?

Spiritually, by faith, with thanksgiving and without grumbling

The sermon which will appear at www.holytrinityeastbourne.org.uk soon d.v., also tries to consider why Jesus might stress the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood, how we receive life from Jesus' human nature.

Next time: Who may eat this living bread?

Buy a new belt!

I was encouraged that the main crit. from my talk on camp seemed to be that I ought to buy a new belt!

Apparently I strode onto the stage, positioned my letcern, and pulled my trousers up.

I've been doing Weightwatchers Online since the end of May now in a pact with my mother that if I lose lots of weight she'll give up smoking. I've lost 1 st 5 lbs so far, though not without the odd blip and blow out. I don't know how my mother's nicotine consumption rate is. Today I feel moderately determined.

Bread of Life Recap

We saw from (or maybe sometimes "using" John 6) that Jesus is bread from heaven – eternal God made man.

Jesus is bread – the essential, fundamental, staple diet stuff of life.

Jesus is the bread of life – he gives real life, life to the full, eternal life.

Jesus is bread that uniquely does not spoil.

Only Jesus can satisfy.

This bread is always fresh, never runs out and is always freely available.

Jesus will keep us going to the Promised Land.

To all Danehill leaders

Today, the following was pushed under the door of the leaders' room at Camp:

To all Danehill leaders,

you are all amazing, and you have changed my life! Thanks for a
lifechanging & amazing, super fab brill week!

love __________ x

(from Buckland with love)

God the Supreme "Judicial System"

The true and living God is not only the perfect and supreme judge, we may also say he is the supreme judicial system:

(1) politician / legislator - he makes and defines the laws

(2) police - he controls the word, restraining wrong and promoting good

(3) jurry - he gives his true and just verdicts

(4) judge - his sentances are true and just

(5) prison guard / governer / executionor - he exectues the sentance

Of course, Jesus is also the perfect loving and merciful judge who pays for the crimes of others by his atoning death, he takes our sentance on himself, satisfying out debt.

HT: DR on Danehill 1 Camp

Regeneration / Ressurection Illustration

Another idea from camp, this time stolen from DJ:

In the film Shrek, Princess Fiona kisses Shrek on their wedding day and is transformed into a troll, just like him. She is given a new life and a new relationship - and made like Shrek.

Similarly, the Christian believer is given new life and a new relationship at his regeneration and resurrection and is made like the Lord Jesus.

Not bad, eh?

What I missed on camp

I was too slow on the uptake to notice that this was an acronim:

Shove off
I'm in charge
No to your ways

What I learnt at camp

Despite 3 years of supposed study, my NT Greek is far from what it should be, but yesterday, Dave Mackie pointed out that in Romans 3, the words for sin (hamartia) and righteousness (dik-) - e.g. in vv22-23 could be used in connection with javlin throwing, according to the Liddel-Scott-Jones lexicon. A javlin that had fallen short (cf. v23) could be described as "sin" (falling short) and a javlin that had reached its target could be described as "righteous".

Off to camp

We're off to Danehill 1 Pathfinder Venture camp today and would value your prayers.

For great fun, health, strength, safety, and for the making of disciples of the Lord Jesus, for great love and unity in the truth for the team, for leaders to grow and serve and go back to their home churches more equipped for ministry, for members to grow in their faith and for some to receive Christ Jesus as Lord for the first time - and lots of other things you can no doubt think of. Oh, and sunshine for our trip to Eastbourne beach on Monday.

Ventures in Times Online

As we prepare to head off to camp for The Best Week of the Year at Danehill 1, thanks to the mother in law and Mrs Lloyd for pointing out this report on Ventures in Times Online. I guess Atheist Camp (which sounds much less fun) may have promoted this good publicity.

Eucharist

Why don't English speaking Protestants and Reformed types use the word "Eucharist" more? I know some baddies use it, but why not reclaim it?

"Eucharist" means thanksgiving and therefore it wonderfully stresses that we eat the Holy Communion with thanksgiving and gratitude. It is therefore fitting to a Reformed understanding that the Supper is primarily about what God has done from us not what we have done, are doing or might do for him. God feeds us and we receive his undeserved gift with the empty hand of faith in thankfulness. Eucharist.

Looking for a bed

I'm seeking a bed in Cambridge from Mon 19th Oct - Thurs 22nd Oct inc. when d.v. I'll be working on the Magnum Opus at Tyndale House and maybe the UL. All offers gratefully received.

And under rated virtue

Letting your yes be yes and your no no, keeping your word, doing what you have said you will do even when it is to your own hurt. A subset of reliability, consistency, honesty, truth-telling, faithfulness.

Abortion & Euthanasia etc. resources

On Sunday I made some comments about abortion and euthanasia (amongst other things) from the 6th Commandment, "You Shall Not Murder". You may find some interesting stuff on these subjects on The Christian Institute website (link on the right). The Institute is a kind of public policy lobbying think tank resource type thing. I also linked to The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child yesterday.

I would also highly recommend Rev'd Dr David Field's ethics notes which cover subjects such as abortion, euthanasia, just war and a whole lot more, as well as quite a bit of stuff on how to think (ethically), meta-ethics.

On our church website sermons page, you can find (evangelistic) talks by my predecessor as curate, Rev'd Jeremy Hobson (who is a medical doctor) on abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research and other topics besides.

As ever, John Frame's The Christian Life (P&R Lordship Series) would be a great place to go to think more about the Commandment and the issues it raises, though arising out of and more oriented towards a US context than a UK one. Get that book - its impressively fat but pretty readable!

A ball of cells?

Images of unborn children from The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC).

No apology

After a couple of drafts and one or two challenges and suggestions from friends, here's how I began my sermon on "You shall not murder" today:

(The real thing may have differed a bit from these notes. The whole sermon should appear on our church website this week d.v.)

I'm going to say some difficult and controversial things today.

I know that.

I don't mean to be nasty or to over simplify or generalise or exaggerate.

You might not agree with everything I say.

You may not always understand quite where I’m coming from or what I'm getting at sometimes.

That's okay.

I'm just trying to say what I reckon the Bible says or implies about some very important and very topical subjects.

Please do feel free to come and put me right at the end.

Or ask me any question.

And if you're a guest or a visitor, it’s not quite like this every week.

Why not come back another time and give us another go?!

So, my text today is this:

The 6^th of the 10 Commandments:

God said: "You shall not murder."

This is a very short command: “No murder” with very deep and wide ranging implications.

If there’s were time, I'd deal with war, capital punishment, abortion, suicide, euthanasia, assisted-suicide, self-harm, character assassinations, keep-fit, food, drink, drugs, health and safety and the environment and a few other things beside.

Many of us will have been personally affected by these things.

Perhaps you’re struggling with one of them at the moment.

I’m not trying to make your grief or trauma worse but to bring God’s loving, holy word to bare on some of the darkest places of life today.

If you’d like to talk or pray with someone about any of the issues raised today, we can arrange that: come and have a word with me, or the vicar, or our pastoral worker.

Brave Sermon Feedback

Apart from the usual "excellent"s, "thank you"s and "lovely sermon"s (no one said this latter one today), many people told me today that my sermon was "brave". I wasn't sure how to take that! I had a couple of relevant intelligent questions. One person said it was 10 mins too long and one person said it would have been better as two sermons; these people may well be right.

(The whole sermon on "You Shall Not Murder" with an emphasis on abortion will appear on our church website in due course this week d.v.)

Green Belt

Apparently "Bishop" Gene Robinson and the Lesbian and Gay "Christian" Movement (LGCM) will be pushing practicing homosexuality as a legitimate Christian lifestyle at Green Belt. Anglican Mainstream are protesting. The Church Mission Society (CMS) who are "associates" of the festival say they are unhappy and support Lambeth 1.10, which I found heartening. The ABC who is a Patron of Green Belt has not commented to my knowledge. (CEN, p3)

York church celebrates medieval mass

The Church of England Newspaper (CEN) reports in brief on p3 that All Saints North Street, York was packed out for The Mass of Our Lady which has not been celebrated since 1558. They fail to mention that it is presumably completely illegal?

Analogies

I've commented before on the importance of analogies and their relation to arguments. In the end everything is an analogy.

This too from Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers (p254)

We formulate new ideas by analogy, working from what we know towards what we don't know....

David Mitchell on Desert Island Discs

I very much enjoyed what I caught of comedian David Mitchell on Desert Island Discs this morning. Charming, amusing, interesting, honest, insightful. Excellent. Highly reccomended. I imagine you can get it on i player?

I have sometimes been likened to David Mitchell (and indeed to the chap who used to host Countdown) and I do not think it was intended as a compliment, but now I shall take it as such. Mitchell was intelligent and good on the lesson of being yourself. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be 50 and wear tweed (at least on the inside) and watch Star Trek. It is possible to have fun without discotech dancing.

Do you think Desert Island Discs should be Desert Island Media? I could live without some of the songs but it would be good to have more books, poems, plays and films and so on. People could talk about the media that most matters to them that they'd most like to take. I can imagine that there could me many people who would make most interesting castaways for whom music is simply not that important, or at least less significant than the other media in their life.

Success

I am very much enjoying Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success (UK editionL London, Penguin, 2009). Interesting, stimulating, unusual.

Gladwell argues that success is of course due to talent, but we often underestimate the importance of hard work and opportunity. More important still are culture and community. This isn't great news for us, but its fantastic news for our great grandchildren if we can manage to stay put and keep in touch.

Pig Cold & Church

See the C of E website and the Archbishops letter today regarding Holy Communion when people are a bit sniffly.

Why I am a legalist!

I said, "Pah! Lutherans! "Oh, how I hate your law", eh? Antinomians!"

Revd Glen Scrivner said (oh, I paraphrase a little bit, maybe): "Huh! If they are antinomian law-haters, are you willing to be called a legalist who thinks the law is the end of Christ?!"

I said (smiling): "Okay then, you bet! Why not?! Yeah. Bring it on. As long as I'm allowed to distinguish and ask "in what sense?""

So why I am a legalist:

Of course we are not saved by good works of the law. What a stupid blasphemous idea. How impossible.

The law is holy, righteous and good.

Some rules are good and happy: e.g. do not get drunk on much wine, do not have sex with people you are not married to.

Laws are not antithetical to relationship. They can express and shape and grow out of relationship.

Lots of the Bible is law.

Law is one of the main ways God relates to us.

Law (torah) is best understood as God's loving fatherly wisdom to his redeemed, saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone etc., children. We imagine ourselves sat on Daddy's knee as we read Ex 20.

And the law is the end of Christ. Yes. He did not come to abolish it: he fulfills it, he brings us a renewed, glorified law. The law leads us to Christ and Christ leads us back to the crucified and risen law. We keep the royal law of Christ, the law of love. We are saved for good works of the law-keeping. Sin is lawlessness.

Apology

It has been pointed out to me in personal correspondence that it might be wrong to apologise or seem to apologise (in the sense of say sorry) for the Word of God. We should not apologise for our sermons since (in so far as it is faithful) the preached Word is the Word of God. So I'm sorry about that.

If my sermon is rubbish or wrong, I'm sorry about that, but that's not my intention. I wouldn't preach it if I thought it was a waste of my time and yours.

And I'm not sorry for going on as long as I need too. Preaching and listening is the most important thing (amongst other things) that we could be doing for 20 or 30 mins on a Sunday morning. Sorry!

Apology

I'm going to say some difficult and controversial things today. I know that. I don't mean to be nasty or to over simplify or generalise or exaggerate. You probably wont agree with everything I say. You may not understand quite what I'm getting at sometimes. That's okay. I'm just trying to say what I reckon the Bible says or implies.

Please do feel free to come and put me right at the end. Or ask me any question.

And if you're a guest or a visitor, sorry you have to put up with this. I'm only going to speak until just after 11:30am at the very latest, so you can escape soon. If it gets to 11:45 I'll stop in the middle of a sentence if I...

And please don't write off Jesus or this church because of what I say today. I don't preach very often. It's normally the Vicar and he's a lovely man and an excellent preacher, so if you can, come back and hear him before you decide you don't want anything to do with those mad fascist bigot fundamentalists at Holy Trinity, Eastbourne.

Does that make sense? Okay?

So, my text today is this:

God said: "You shall not murder."

I'm going to deal with capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicude, self-harm, character assassinations and a few other things beside. So fasten your seatbelts, here we go.

Individual Salvation a heresy?

US presiding "Bishop" Katherine Jefferts has lost the plot big time. What's new?

If the Church of England Newspaper is to be believed, the so-called Bishop has said that "personal salvation is a heresy." This is stupid madness.

Now, I'm all for emphasising the corporate and cosmic aspects of salvation. Glorious.

But the thing is, an "us" or a "we" always includes "I"s and "we"s. There is no corporate salvation without individual salvation and no individual salvation without corporate salvation (assuming more than one person be saved!). It is the One and the Many, again, or the Holy Trinity, as some traditionalists like to call it.

If all Ms Jefferts meant is that salvation is never merely private and personal then I think we could all agree. Salvation is individual but not individualistic, personal but not personalised or private.

As Rev'd Dr Mark Thompson said: the Presiding Bishop's "ignorance of the Bible and Christian theology is nothing short of breathtaking." Perhaps she is deliberately distorting.

What a silly mess.

Luther on the 4 uses of the law

"Out of each commandment I make a garland of four twisted strands. That is, I take each commandment first as a teaching, which is what it actually is, and I reflect upon what our Lord God so earnest requires of me here. Secondly, I make out of it a reason for thanksgiving. Thirdly, a confession and fourthly, a prayer petition.”

HT: Dan Green @ Blog of Dan on Martin Luther's Quiet Time.

Gresham Machen on Roman Catholicism

I think I agree with this from Gresham Machen (an arch Reformed Conservative Evangelical bastion of orthodoxy if ever there was one) about Romanism and Christianity:

Far more serious still is the division between the Church of Rome and evangelical Protestantism in all its forms. Yet how great is the common heritage which unites the Roman Catholic Church, with its maintenance of the authority of Holy Scripture and with its acceptance of the great early creeds, to devout Protestants today! We would not indeed obscure the difference which divides us from Rome. The gulf is indeed profound. But profound as it is, it seems almost trifling compared to the abyss which stands between us and many ministers of our own Church. The Church of Rome may represent a perversion of the Christian religion; but naturalistic liberalism is not Christianity at all.

(from Christianity and Liberalism, available free on line, towards the end of ch 2 on doctrine, HT: WB, JC, LG).

Whether or not the Roman Catholic church is a Church / teaches Christianity is of course debatable. I am inclined to think it might be a perverted church since while it has seriously corrupted the Gospel it does confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour etc.

What's in a name?

I'm told that a certain church that used to be called something like High Street Strict and Peculiar Evangelical Free (Full Gospel) Church (Continuing) changed its name to something like Christ Church and found that numbers went up very significantly. It seems that many people who might go to a church like it to be called something fairly traditional and C of E sounding, not crazy cultlike. You live and learn, eh?

When is a "church" not a church?

I think we can say that The Episcopal "Church" (TEC, American anglicans) - or rather, denomination, as a denomination - is no longer a church. There may be churches among them, and Christians in those churches, but it seems to me that when a denomination deliberately, repeatedly and publicly declared its intention to blesses gross sin, disregarding the Word of God and the gospel it is no longer a church.

Rt Revd Tom Wright argues in the Times Online that the TEC has deliberately formalised schism, torn the Communion and walked apart. To my mind they can no longer be seen as authentically Anglican. Wright talks a lot of sense in that article, though I think he is wrong about the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. Even if Anglicanism is already a confessional fellowship, it is no bad thing in such circumstances to have another confessing fellowship that fellowships more closely and confesses more loudly and soundly on the matters in dispute.

www.clayton.tv

The good folk of Jesmond Parish Church seem to have made some useful and interesting videos available on www.clayton.tv, including edited versions of Sunday services.

FCA UK launch

Some jottings on the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) UK launch, which has grown out of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON):

As I was going to the loo and grabbing a coffee, I missed most of the excerpts from a letter from Her Majesty the Queen.

There was a great deal of purple around so I may get some of this wrong, but the Archbishops of the Southern Cone and of Sydney were present. The Archbishops of Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda and the former Archbishop of Kenya sent greetings. The Bishops of Rochester, Chichester, Exeter (?), Birmigham (?), Lewes and Fulham were present and the Bishops of Chester and Winchester and the Bishop-elect of Southwell sent greetings.

It was great to have our own Bishops, John Hind and Wallace Benn there. John Hind argued for the unity of faith, morals and order and it would be worth tracking down the quotation he used about tripe and onion soup which first may perhaps have corriander added to it, with few people noticing or caring, but which can soon become beans and bacon soup and not tripe and onion at all. Wallace Benn showed what partnership (koinonia) means in the letter to the Phippians. He said he was unimpressed by some in the UK who claim the name of evangelical but are sniffy and iffy about ACNA in its stand against secularism.

Bishop Keith Ackerman of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) said that "Affirming Catholics are neither Affirming nor Catholics!". He warned against a canonical fundamentalism that puts the rules of an institution above the Bible. He criticised the trend to eliminate the fundamental "metaphors" of Scripture, such as all language of Father and Son. He argued that calling the Father alone Creator is like calling your mother on the phone and saying, "Hello, Life-giver, please may I speak with my sperm-donor". He argued that definitive, permanent, complete revelation cannot be replaced with evolution.

Bishop John Broadhurst said: "When I was ordained I didn't believe in the devil. I now believe Satan is alive and well and lives in Church House!". He claimed that too many people believe in the system and the C of E and not the gospel. What is authentically Christian is more important than what is authentically Anglican.

In a videoed interview, Canon Dr Jim Packer argued that the Prayer Book and the Articles define Anglicanism.

Archbishop Jensen stressed that the Jerusalem Declaration of GAFCON repudiates any gospel in which human merit is invoked. We take our stand on the Biblical gospel and the authority of Scripture, loyal to the Prayer Book and the articles and combating the cultural captivity of the church.

Rev'd Vaughan Roberts called for united action on the basis of the truth. He said we must resist the salami tactics of the revisionists, slice by slice creating realities on the ground.

Rev'd William Taylor spelt out an agenda of ministry (inc. church planting), ministry (selecting and training suitable candidates), and some "yes"es and "no"s in relation to money, oversight and fellowship.

A student on Cornhill Scotland who had been involved in relief work amongst the homeless said he took the course beacuse he realised "people needed more than soup and soup - the needed salvation."

Someone from the Church in Wales refered to a textbook in which the index contained the following entry: "for Wales, see England".

Dangerous

Just as it is weak to call something wacky or criticise its emphasis, to call something dangerous is dangerous. Everything is dangerous. A knife can be an excellent tool or a horrible murder weapon. We can't allow the danger of murder to rule out the dinner of steak. All sin is a privation, a falling away from good, and hence all of creation is dangerous: good but with potential for evil. Criticising the tendency of something is tendentious. Does it necessarily and inevitably tend to the bad or could it be put to a good use?

Wacky

Just as it is weak and difficult to criticise something as having the wrong emphasis, so calling something "wacky" can be more abuse than argument. It assumes that we all know what "normal" is, in contrast to "wacky" and that normal is good, true and beautiful.

Off to Wales

We're off for another long hot journey with the boy, but minus Caleb the dog, who is sadly in kennels. We drive to my parents' home in Cardiff tonight (where the interweb and mobile phones continue to work).

Tomorrow Mrs Lloyd is having her first day off from looking after the boy and we are off to the beech, then out for supper in Whitchurch.

D.v. I will marry my sister on Friday at 1pm at the Parish Church of St Mary's a few minutes walk from my parents'.

Post contains spoilers!

We are singing Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah and I will preach on love from 1 Cor 13, Jn 15 and 1 Jn.

Real love is unconditional and permenant and does not depend on loveliness.

Real love is impossible to us. We need God's forgiveness and help.

Jesus loves us, as unlovely as we are, died for us to forgive us and be our example and help.

Copies of 2 Ways to Live available!

I am thinking of quoting the Beatles ("When I'm 64...") and Shakespeare ("Love is an ever fixed mark...").

As its my first wedding with 100s of non-Christians, I'd value your prayers, please.

Full audio available afterwards d.v..

Back to Eastbourne on Sunday to go to Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in London on Monday!

True, Good, Beautiful

The Christian faith is true, of course. Right. Good. But how wonderful too that it is good and beautiful. It works.

Edwards on Preaching

Some quotes from Revd Jonathan Edwards culled from Revd Dr Steve Jeffery:

If it be so, that true religion lies much in the affections, hence we may infer, that such means are to be desired, as have much of a tendency to move the affections. Such books, and such a way of preaching the Word, and administration of ordinances, and such a way of worshiping God in prayer, and singing praises, is much to be desired, as has a tendency deeply to affect the hearts of those who attend these means.

The affections are no other than the more vigorous and sensible exercised of the inclination
and will of the soul.

Holy affections are not heat without light; but evermore arise from some information of the
understanding, some spiritual instruction that the mind receives, some light or actual
knowledge.

God, in his Word, greatly insists upon it, that we be in good earnest, fervent in spirit, and our
hearts vigorously engaged in religion.

I am bold to assert, that there never was any considerable change wrought in the mind or
conversation of any one person, by anything of a religious nature, that ever he read, heard or
saw, that had not his affections moved.

The Holy Scriptures do everywhere place religion very much in the affections; such as fear,
hope, love, hatred, desire, joy, sorrow, gratitude, compassion and zeal.

He whom God send into the world, to be … the perfect example of true religion and virtue, for
the imitation of all … was a person who was remarkably of a tender and affectionate heart;
and his virtue was expressed very much in the exercise of holy affections.

‘The religion of heaven,’ where there is doubtless true religion, ‘consists very much in
affection; and therefore undoubtedly, true religion consists very much in affection.’

‘The nature and design of the ordinances and duties, which God hath appointed, as means and
expressions of true religion’ appear to be designed to stimulate the affections.

‘Tis an evidence that true religion, or holiness of heart, lies very much in the affection of the
heart, that the Scriptures place the sin of the heart very much in hardness of heart.
By a hard heart, is plainly meant an unaffected heart, or a heart not easy to be moved with
virtuous affections.

The OT retired?

"The Old Testament is not the Word of God Emeritus!"

Douglas Wilson, The Blenheim Lectures, 'The Gospel and Your Government'

The GREAT commission

When we consider the greatness of the great commission we need not worry about overdoing the depth and extent of gospel mission.

The truth, the whole truth and...

A partial truth represented as the whole truth is untrue.

Wedding & Marriage

Your marriage is infinitely more important than your wedding.

Your wedding day lasts 24 hours, your marriage might last 24 years, 48 years, longer.

Your wedding is only for the sake of your marriage.

Think of the thought, time, effort, money, energy, talk and work you have put into your wedding day. Will you put even more effort into your on-going marriage? If you don't it will be a tragedy and your marriage will fail to be all that it could be.

I hope your wedding day is fantastic, brilliant, "perfect". But I don't hope its "the best day of your life". What about the next day? I hope married life just gets better and better, though there will be difficulties and struggles all the way.

Marriage is for better or for worse, but try to make it better.

Do it today

You are only likely to die well if you live well.

A man cannot be a selfish slob every day in the trivial tiny things and then expect to play the hero and through himself under a train on the great day of crisis. Humble self sacrificial responsibility authority and initiative must begin today.

Application

"All this may sound grand and theological. Let us proceed to particulars. Let us leave off preaching and proceed to meddelling!"

:)

Revd Douglas Wilson, Blenheim Lectures, 'The Gospel and Your Family'

Eggs and omelets

You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. But you can break many eggs without making an omelet!

Jesus my little helper

Jesus is not a pill or a 12 step programme or an invisible therapist. But take him as your King and he will begin to put your life back together and use it for his kingdom.

Don't make her no 1

If you put your wife first, you rip her off. Put Jesus no 1 and then you will be more able to love your wife as you should. Wives make terrible idols but great lovers. Serve your wife, but above all, serve Jesus. He will help you to serve her.

Murderous judgements

Abortion is a suicidal frenzy. The wrath of God is coming against it. But abortion itself is also a judgement of God. Is that not obvious? How could it be otherwise? These people are so mad that they will murder their own babies and God will let them do it. He will give them over to it. They must be under the judgement of God. (See Romans 1).

On the first day

It really matters that Sunday is the first day of the week. Sabbath rest and the resurrection of Jesus the Christ sets the agenda for the week. Going to work on Monday morning is not the heartbeat of life. Sunday morning is the first thing. We must keep it primary. Church is not a weekend club activity. Day One!

BCE / CE

BCE - Before the Common Era? Heaven forbid! Before Christ's Empire. Amen.

CE - The Common Era. No. Christ's Empire. Praise Him!

The Blenheim Manifesto

In the Blenheim Lectures, Rev'd Douglas Wilson sets out what the Federal Vision (FV) should mean for the UK. He addresses the gospel and your church, family and nation and then gives 2 autobiographical sketches about his ministry. The 5 talks are available for free MP3 download or can be purchased on CD.

Emphasis

Revd Prof John Frame has pointed out the danger and weakness for criticising someone or something for their emphasis.

To do so assumes that the author has claimed to be comprehensive or definitive, or that we know the whole.

There can be many reasons for an emphasis arising from speakers or hearers (needs, interests, aptitudes, temperament, times).

For example, an Old Testament scholar who rights three 800 page books on Obadiah may not be overemphasising it. A preacher who only ever preached from Obadiah to his regular congregation would be.

Far better to take each point on its own and say why it is wrong if we want to criticise something.

The New Perspective on Paul

Some of the comments I made below regarding the so-called Federal Vision (FV) could equally be made about the so-called New Perspective on Paul (NPP) with which FV has sometimes been associated.

We must distinguish between E. P. Sanders, Jimmy Dunn, Tom Wright and others, and them and FVers.

I hold firmly to, preach and regularly defend the Reformation and post-Reformation "sola"s of salvation in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, to the glory of God alone and to sola Scriptura, but I think there are things to learn from NPP, not least a more corporate understanding of salvation.

Go for the corporate and you get the individual thrown in. Stick with the individual and you may never get the corporate.

We may also distinguish:

(1) What Paul meant

(2) What Luther said

And debate whether or not (2) necessarily follows from (1). I think it does! But Luther was not Paul.

There is some value in trying the read Paul as a Jew against the background of Second Temple Judaism with reference to Inter-testamental and 1st Century literarture. But in so doing, no one need sell out on the Reformation, go over to Rome or give up on the gospel.

Learning from New Frontiers

I have some issues with New Frontiers. I am more or less a cessationist.

But I must say I was blessed to attend The Gate Way Church in Leeds on Sunday morning. They are Reformed Bible-believers. The worship was lively and encouraging. The youth band did a very good job, I thought, with the A-team away. The welcome was excellent. The coffee and biscuits good. The meeting was well "ancoured" (that means "led"). The sermon was long. I didn't hear it as I was in creche. It contained an excellent introduction to John 7 and the significance of the Feast, according to Mrs Lloyd, and can be heard online. The children's talk, on Saul going into a cave for a wee was fantastic and I plan to copy it. Delivery amazing.

I was impressed by 3 different coloured T-shirts: "Steward"; "Welocme. New? Speak to me"; "Children's Worker". The registration system for kids and their Guardians was great.

I don't agree with them but they are brothers with lots to teach us. They do their thing brilliantly. We need to work together and respect one another as fellow-labourers in our Master's Vineyard.

The Federal Visions

One of the many things that one could say about the so-called Federal Vision (FV) is that there is some disagreement amongst proponents on the Federal Vision. There is not one set FV dogma or detailed blueprint but a conversation, a group of concerns, questions and suggestions.

As far as I know, no FVer has ever said that the FV is the be all and end all.

No doubt there are dangers in the FVs as there are in all things but under God I think there are some things that might be learnt from some FVers. Even if you don't like all their answers, you might find some of their questions stimulating. I would say, "don't panic". FV does not equal RC and need not lead in that direction. Just as FV is not the gospel neither is it Another Gospel!

I'd suggest this Joint Statement is an excellent place to start in getting a grip on some of the things that FVers have said in the US and which we may see more of in the UK.

Our Father

Recently I preached 4 sermons on The Lord's Prayer. I haven't opened it, but if I had had it at the time, I certainly would have read Rev'd Richard Coekin's new book, Our Father:Enjoying God in prayer (IVP, 2009), which is due out on 17th July and was handed out free to the lucky customers at EMA.

Get some tissues

Sit down and go and watch this video - it takes less that 7 mins.

Wipe your eyes.

Now tell me that you believe in abortion?!

Pray:

Sorry that we are not grateful for our children as we should be and that we fail to care for them and love them as we might. Sorry that we tolerate their murder.

Thank you for Eliot and for the Lord Jesus, that he said, "let the little children come to me and do not hinder them because to such as these belongs the Kingdom of Heaven."

Please bless and help Eliot's family and frieds and all who mourn. Be with those who know the pain of loss or who have never received the gift of children for which they long.

Loving heavenly Father, God of life and death, have mercy upon us.

Murder

In addition to being a murder, a murder is always:

(1) A suicide - since we kill our humanity in killing others

(2) Regicide - since human beings are to be Rulers of creation

(3) Deicide - since human beings are made in the image of God

Murder is very bad and very silly.

I'm back for a moment

Tommorow I'm off to Wales to marry my sister.

But that's nothing. My Father in law married 2 of his sisters. His brother married his mother. And yet his father and mother married after he was born.

He is married to Janet Claydon but he also married another Janet Claydon (who is unrelated) to his cousin.

Or something like that.

AWOL

I am off to a wedding in the grim North, where I don't believe they have the interweb. Back on Mon.

Piper

I don't agree with him on a number of things, but Rev'd Dr John Piper is undoubtedly a great great godly able wise winsome man and pastor-theologian, is he not?

No murder

Murder is unlawful killing - killing that is not authorised by God, that is contrary to his law.

Some forms of killing are good - the execution of some criminals by the state, for example.

The murder of the unborn child. Life begins at conception. The Bible proves that in the womb a child can be a believer in covenant relationship with God. We should work on the assumption that the children of believers are believers.

Some facts and statistics. You can see their heartbeat and little fingers. Many women have abortions, some have multiple abortions. Many babies are murdered in this way. God will not hold us guiltless.

Abortion has been introduced by stealth. We have a system of abortion on demand.

My wife was more or less offered an abortion when she went to the GP to say she was pregnant with our son: "what do you want to do now / do you want to have the baby?"

Viable babies are aborted.

Disabled people are not worthless and better off dead.

Rape is awful but two wrongs don't make a right.

Abortion is not the woman's right to choose. What about the Father? What about the child? What about God? Society? etc.

Some so called feminist Christians celebrate abortion as the liberation of women. Better for them to have a mill-stone strapped to them and to be thrown into the depths of the sea.

Abortion is a gross sin and a terrible crime which should be illegal.

Abortion is not some kind of unforgivable sin. God is rich rich rich in mercy.

Christians must stand against abortion, loving mothers and babies. They should provide information and help including adoption e.g. for children born as a result of fathers raping their daughters.

The only circumstance in which an abortion is acceptable is if the mother's life is at risk. Even then it is not required.

No suicide. God is the Lord of Life. He gives and he takes away. Blessed be his name.

No character assasinations.

We often murder people in our hearts.

Repentance is a kind of lawful death to self. For the murdered and the murderer there is the hope or terror of resurrection.

Jesus was murdered but he rose again and is the Lord of Life and death.

Williams on Ridley on Supper

The Theologian has done us an excellent service by making Dr Garry Williams' Protestant Truth Society Lecture on Nicholas Ridley's death and doctrine of the Lord's Supper available.

Learned, funny, careful, pointed, applied, interesting.

The talk warms the heart and educates.

Since Ridley's doctrine of the Supper is virtually indistinguishable from Calvin's the lecture serves as a good guide to Calvin's doctrine, which I would claim is Biblical.

When some evangelicals seem to have no idea what the Supper is for nor much desire for it, I think there is much to learn here.

No ping-pong on the Lord's Table, for Ridley or Williams.

Spiritual eating

Medieval Roman Catholic theology claimed that one can "eat" the Mass spiritually by desiring it without actually consuming the elements. This is not so far away from some Evangelicals who think that the whole point of the Supper is thinking about Jesus such that one almost might as well just think about Jesus and not bother too much with this bread and wine business. We must not forget the importance of eating if we would not be Gnostics or Papists.

What is the gospel? (updated)

That old chestnut!

But what question is more important?

I want to always stay interested and excited above all by God and the gospel so its worth thinking about again.

The gospel is best summarised in one word as JESUS.

In 4 words, the gospel is JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.

JESUS is the second person of the Triune Godhead, the living and true God who is and was and is to come. He is eternally begotten of the Father and was incarnate, made man in Palestine 2000 years ago. He lives for ever as the God-Man. Jesus is uniquely and infinitely worthy and wonderful. He is the Saviour from sin. He offers you rescue from the penalty, power and ultimately even the presence of all sin, rebellion and wrong. He rescues us from the holy anger of God, the wrath which is to come.

He is the CHRIST, the Messiah, God's annointed Son in whom he is well pleased, the chosen, marked out, long expected, special rescuer king who fulfills all God's plans and purposes. He is the crucifed and risen one. He puts our sin to death and raises us to wonderful new life. He is our prophet (who tells us truth about God), priest (who makes us right with God) and king (who rules us for and as God). He is the Proper Man, the Second and Last Adam. He is the fulfillment of all we are and long to be in our better moments. He is right where we are wrong. He is able to rule and subdue and fill and glorify, beautify and mature us and our world, which is his world.

He is the LORD, the creator, master, ruler, king, judge, decider. He chooses rightly, rules wisely, governs kindly. He is the kind of king we want and need. He is Yahweh, the covenantal God of Israel, personal and faithful.

The Gospel can be understood by considering the eternal nature and relations, incarnation, life, teaching, death, resurrection, exaltation, reign and return of Jesus the Messiah.

The GOSPEL is good news, an announcement, proclamation. It is God's offer of peace to rebels. It is our comission in his army. It is his installation of a new king. It launches a wonderful new epoch and age. It is a reality demanding a response, a command, a promise, a call. We must get on board with what God has done, is doing and will do or we will be left behind.

Penal substitutionary atonement is at the heart of the gospel since without it I face condemnation. Justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, on the basis supremely of Scripture is the delicious abundant fruit of the gospel.

The gospel includes personal salvation, but it is also much more. The Gospel includes the glory of God and the transformation of the world by the Word of God in the power of the Spirit. Jesus is Lord of my heart and church and home and government and the whole universe.

Can you do better? Any changes?

Is Doug Wilson a heretic?

I liked this comment I saw on You-Tube:

bobbiespants

So the OPC, PCA, and RPCUS declared Doug Wilson a heretic (even if it's not true on all fronts, bear with me). This means that 3 denominations comprising a total of  roughly 385,000 members think Doug Wilson's views are heretical. In a world with 2,100,000,000 Christians, this means that effectively .018 % of the Church has excommunicated Wilson. A Great Ecumenical Council to be sure, but I'll wait to hear from the other 99.982% of of the Church. I'll post when they give me a call.

Good point even if you don't buy the numbers!

John Piper on Doug Wilson

Thanks to Ros for this. A very well spent 4 mins. Do watch Piper on Wilson.

Piper will tell you that what Wilson says is true, risky and compelling. Wilson gets the gospel right, believes the Bible and is a proper Reformed fella with a way with words. Piper wants to give Wilson a platform and hear what he has to say. Amen?

Perhaps Wilson might like to speak at EMA sometime soon, as Piper has, since people there are apparently interested in The Federal Vision? :)

About this blog

This is my personal weblog. Thanks for stopping by. There's no real reason why you should be interested in it, but if you are:

I wouldn't want you to assume that this blog represents what is most important to me or what my ministry is like. Here is some stuff that for whatever reason I have seen, heard or written and thought might as well live here.

Nothing on this blog has been endorsed by my church, employers, bosses, Bishops, wife, kid, cat, dog or anyone else unless otherwise stated!

I sometimes use this blog to think out loud or ask questions. Sometimes my tongue may be in or near my cheek. I may not be sure of some things. Thinking is allowed. I reserve the right to change my mind. Writing helps me to think.

I hope something here may be of some help to someone sometime.

If you think I've gone very wrong, I'd be grateful for a comment or email - marc underscore lloyd at hotmail dot com should reach me.

I'm not mad on annonymous comments.

Let's be nice! Let's not assume we can see into other people's hearts or minds.

I read every comment on this blog, but I can't promise a full response because of the pressures of work, time and energy.

Regarding the MyLibraryThing tool, most of the books I own with ISBN numbers that appear on Library Thing are listed. Of course, just 'cos I own a book doesn't mean I've read it or agree with any or all of it or would buy it again or think you ought to read it or any such thing.

But then you would have assumed all this anyway, wouldn't you?

My theological commitments

I could probably write quite a few words about my theological commitments, those which I hold most dear, and various opinions to which I'm sympathetic to varrying degrees. Best, perhapsm to keep it brief here and give a few headlines.

If I had to summarise the gospel and what is most important to me in 4 words I would certainly say:

JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.

I try to be committed to the Triune God, the Lord Jesus, his gospel and word and people and world and work and so on. I want to be nice and thought-through and kind.

Two Ways to Live gives a good summary of the basic message of the Bible for the individual, in my view.

I am a Reformed Evangelical Anglican Catholic Protestant Christian. Again, I could go on about what I mean by those things.

At my ordinations I made the Declaration of Assent included in Common Worship (p.xi) and meant it.

I believe the Bible and the ecumenical creeds, since they say what the Bible says and are supported by the ancient and overwhelming witness of the church.

I want to try to understand the Bible more and more richly and deeply in all its fullness and range.

I would happily sign-up to the UCCF, Evangelical Alliance, CPAS doctrinal statements etc.

I believe in reason and doctrine and think the tools of Scholasticism are often useful. We must distinguish!

I like the 39 Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer.

I am in favour of the Old Testament and the sacraments. I approve of the church and I like creation. I think the gospel will win. Children are a blessing. Liturgy is good. I would like to know the Psalms off by heart.

I want to have fellowship with all that those people Jesus has fellowship with and be willing to learn from others, including those with whom I might disagree.

I hope that helps you to understand a little of where I am coming from, if for some reason you are interested.

Every blessing!

John Dickson on promoting the gospel at EMA

Every Christian should promote the gospel by living, giving, praying and speaking.

How and when does the Lord expect us to speak up for him?

A) Some to be evangelists - specially gifted gospelers in localities and districts to be identified

B) All to declare his praises - praise as proclamation in church

C) Each to give an answer - on the basis of allegiance to Jesus and in the right manner

Practical tips and insights included.

David Jackman on Ps 86 at EMA

A prayer under pressure.

How to lay hold of God at times of personal need.

Key verse: v11 - pivot, chief request: "unite my heart" - a single focus / direction / control-centre / goal / concentration, God is one, the unique authority, only God can engage all our powers and capacities

Distinguish petulance and perplexity. Take both to God.

Word affects walk (way) and worship

vv1-7: A cry for help

We are needy but not unworthy since depending on God's faithfulness and character not our merit we live with faithful covenant loyalty.

Some Christians have a joy so deep they have difficulty ever allowing it to surface!

vv8-13: A celebration of faith

vv14-17: An application of the remedy

Not just grit your teeth and get on with it but grit your teeth and go to the Lord with it.

With our self-confidence we are like a mad-man with a knife. The more we grasp it the more it hurts us. We need to drop it and look to the Lord (Spurgeon).

Carson on Prayer at EMA

We must attend to "our familial and ecclesiastical priestly tasks".

5 Biblical polarities:

(1) Brief & lengthy prayers

Bullet prayers [= Arrow prayers, I think. Trust the Americans!]

(2) Desperate & steady prayers

(3) Private & public prayer

(4) Corporate Covenant renewal [esp. Lord's Table where beg for the presence of God in blessing OR judgement] & special requests

(5) Acceptable & unacceptable prayers (antithesis)

cf. Nursery rhyme memorization & Bible memorization of Carson's 1 year old daughter. 1 Cor 13 - "when I was a child..."!; Ps 8 etc.

Carson almost chanted Ex 34:6ff.

"Do you see?!"

Good stuff.

EMA today

Had an excellent time at EMA today. So glad I went at the last min. Caught up with many lovely friends. Smiled across the room at people. Good singing. Encouraged and helped.

Excellent dense exposition, exegesis and application from the Psalms by Revd David Jackman. I may steal that sermon myself!

Revd Prof Don Carson very good on 5 Biblical polarities about prayer. Illuminating interview. Many personal applications from Prof Don's life. Witty. Good old Don's dad The Ordinary Pastor.

Revd Dr John Dickson a revelation: learned and right about evangelism: how and when to speak about Jesus. Not just an author of great books for teenagers! A bit mixed up on prophecy in the NT church.

Hopefully I'll post some headings in due course. I think you'll be able to listen online and order talks in time.

No time to look at the bookstall. New ed. of Valley of Vision Puritan Prayers is a must buy. New Word Alive sounds great. Some info on Passion for Life I missed while having soup and soggy bread roll for lunch.

Good journey back with the Vicar. Needed drugs when I got in - face very swollen and painful. Sadly couldn't eat the very promising Millionaire Shortbread!

Don Carson on The Federal Vision (updated)

Rev'd Professor Don A. Carson commented carefully and very helpfully on The Federal Vision (FV) or High Church Presbyterianism at the Evangelical Ministry Assembly (EMA) at St Helen's, Bishopgate today. The FV was also discussed in questions with Carson at New Word Alive this year, I believe.

I suggest you listen to it in full when the recording becomes available (online or to buy, I think).

I paraphrase from memory.

In the "On the Record off the Cuff slot", Rev'd Richard Cunningham asked Carson if engagement with the FV is a "99" moment analogous to the times when the captain of the British Lions called on his team to all run up and punch their opposite numbers amongst the Springbox!

Carson seemed to think not. He said that he thought such moments came rarely if ever and that such things should only be done in a spirit of brokenness, if they must be done.

A fair ammount of the hour long interview was given over to the topic and to my mind it felt like the main issue of substance tackled. Unity with Charismatics and the emerging church were also discussed. I imagine most of those present had not heard of the Federal Vision which is quite a small movement in the States and a little elsewhere. Tiny to non-existent in the UK.

Carson identified 2 main points about the FV:

(1) The issues themselves where the questions are nuanced and the answers complex.

We must be careful in our treatment of the movement which has strengths and powerful things things to teach us.

Rev'd Douglas Wilson is the most able / best advocate of things FV. He has written lots of fine stuff and is tremendously gifted. [You can find largely positive reviews of a couple of Wilson's books in The Briefing from this last year or so. I believe Wilson is due to speak at a John Piper / Desiring God conference on Calvin and the glory of God in Sept '09].

Carson didn't really go into the issues beyond what is mentioned here.

(2) The way the issues have been presented and advocated.

We must not assume we know the motives of others.

Young people tend to like the kind of tough minded clarity that some of the FV offers. It may be especially attractive to Evangelical Anglicans.

The best established teachers may not make the FV the be all and end all but students often pick up on their teachers' interests and enthusiasms even if they are not that important in themselves or to their teachers. Carson commented that the main thing he had learnt as a teacher is that students don't learn what he teaches them!

Some FVers may be like one string violins taken up with one or two issues.

Some of the younger FVers especially may have gone a bit OTT or expressed things badly etc.

Some young FVers may be going through a growing up experimental phase.

It may be that some FVers have noticed weaknesses in some contemporary evangelicalism (e.g. about baptism) and over reacted. Such movements can be the unpaid debts of the church.

We must keep the main things the main things and keep the (richly understood) gospel and evangelism central and controlling to everything, rather than, say, Christian education and baptism, though of course the issues are all related.

The gospel must not be simply assumed. We need to continue to be interested and excited about that above all. Neglecting evangelism is a danger.

We want to stick to historical Reformed orthodoxy in so far as it is Biblical and so on.

Like e.g. Young Earth Creationism we must not make the FV a touchstone of soundness, unity or fellowship.

I agree with all that and think we all need to hear it, FVers, sympathisers and opponents alike.

I might also have mentioned Rev'd Dr Peter Leithart PhD(Cantab) as a brilliant FVer. Rev'd James Jordan of Biblical Horizons has been a major influence. I think their writings repay very careful and thoughtful reading.

Obviously, as a Baptist, Carson disagrees with some of the FV stuff on baptism and I guess he thinks that baptism should always be tied to personal conversion from a life of sin and a more or less articulate declaration of individual faith. He thinks there are dangers in speaking too highly of baptismal efficacy and of kinds of presumptive regeneration which he sees as problematic historically e.g. in Holland. These latter point, of course, FVers would grant, but Carson did not address the possibility of infant faith in his brief comments nor the other arguments for infant baptism that are well known for example to the readers of the Westminster Confession or the Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Food for thought and on-going healthy discussion, I think. No punch-ups called for, then?

Ironically, I think opponents of the FV sometimes make FV a primary dividing issue by saying it is a heretical other gospel to be hated and stamped out whereas it seems Carson would prefer to say just that it is wrong and dangerous in certain respects, whatever might be going for it. I think this is a vital distinction and I imagine most FVers would grant that in many ways it is a 2nd or 23rd order issue.

Value for Money Conference?

Christians sometimes complain about Christian events being expensive.

Compare The Spectator Inaugural Day Conference 'Paths Back to Prosperity' Tues 15th Sept, Church House, Westminster. Eminent line-up. Refreshments, lunch and day documents included.

Early bird booking price: £343.85

If the event were put on by Christians, that would be more likely to be the cost of the whole event than of one ticket! It better be an amazing lunch!

Preaching Ecclesiastes (plans)

I'm wondering about perhaps preaching Ecclesiastes on Sunday mornings when I finish my current series on the 10 Commandments. We learnt about honouring our parents on Father's day, by the providence of God or the contrivance of the Vicar, or both, but certainly not the careful planning of the curate.

Any thoughts? Tips? Resources? Esp. free online stuff?

I'm wondering how many sermons to go for. 3 might be good for the main thrust. But I'd like to get into some of the detail so I reckon maybe 6? Would 12 be too much for people / a bit samey / not a healthy balanced diet? (I'm preaching a long sermon series on John in the evenings. The Vicar is doing Philippians in the mornings and Amos in the evenings at the mo.)

At the moment I have Derek Kidner (IVP BST), Jeffrey Meyers and Barry Webb, Five Festal Garments on my shelf. I'm thinking of getting a couple more. I need one big technical commentary for help on details. I'm wondering about maybe Tremper Longman, Charles Bridges, Michael Eaton, James Limburg and or Craig Bartholomew. Any others?

The person to ask about all this is Dr Thomas Renz, of course, but it seems a bit cheeky to email him about it. He can't be expecting to bother with every former student who wants to know anything about the OT after all. He might have better things to do. Like write books about Old Testament Wisdom literature, for example....

Notes on the Apostles' Creed

Please feel free to comment or email me if you might be able to use some notes (introduction, Q&As, tips etc.) on the Apostles' Creed which I originally prepared for our homegroup leaders. I could send you a Word document with a couple of pages each of 10 studies.

I might one day get round to editing them and putting them up on line but it doesn't seem the most pressing or important thing to do right now.

Camp Themes

I run a Christian summer camp for 11-14 year olds. Each year we have a theme which is intended to add a bit of fun and creativity into the proceedings.

This year its spies.

Some previous years / other ideas include:

The Wild Wild West

Under the Sea

In the jungle / animals

Olympics / sports

Around the world in 8 days

Music

Musicals

Movies

Fairy tales

Superheros

Any other suggestions?

If we were really organised, we might have a 4 year plan that was repeated and honed, but it might get a bit dull for some of the old-hand leaders who love a new challenge!

Where to look when...

Perhaps the Gideons should consider adding the following entry to the "Where to look when..." section they have at the beginning of their Bibles:

... facing dental surgery Psalm 81:10

Purposes of Marriage

According to The Prayer Book, those getting married should duly consider the causes for which Matrimony was ordained:

(1) Children / Procreation - parents - "First, It was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord, and to the praise of his holy name."

(2) Chastity / Purity - lovers - "Secondly, It was ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication; that such persons as have not the gift of continency might marry, and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ's body."

(3) Companionship / Partnership - friends - "Thirdly, It was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity."

Live Long and Prosper

John Frame notes that Dt 5:16 contains the Star Trek benediction. (Doctrine of the Christian Life, p575, footnote 1)

Leithart also quotes this provenance:

"Live long and prosper” predates Star Trek by decades - it was the greeting of Rip Van Winkle in a play that ran for nearly a century;

Lord of Creation

The details of John 6:16-21 might remind us of Genesis 1:2: darkness, disorderly waters and wind (/Spirit).

Jesus is the Lord of Creation.

Sharnford Farm

The Lloyd family highly recommend a trip to Sharnford farm in Eastbourne.

It's free to wander round and we saw chickens, ducks, cows, donkeys, goats, pigs, ponies, lambs and a dog and a rabbit. There's a little kiddies play area. Jono very much enjoyed "driving" the tractor and there are a couple of lakes in which one can fish for a small fee.

The place is mainly a fruit farm where you can pick your own, but that sounds a bit like hard work to me.

Service in the coffee shop was friendly and helpful and the prices were reasonable. I very much enjoyed my tea and warm cheese scone, although I can't imagine Weight Watchers would approve (11/29 points for the day blown, I reckon). I chose that as the healthy option against sponge cake with cream and fruit.

In the shop we grabbed some salt beef for lunch, some frozen breaded mushrooms, curried fruit relish and fig relish. There was an interesting selection of frozen fruit and veg as well as a butchers and some baked stuff.

Shame dogs are only allowed in the car park!

There must be worse ways to spend an hour or two.

Moore College Course in Eastbourne

Please get in touch if you're interested in starting the Moore College Correspondence Course through the Open Bible Institute based in Eastbourne. We are just starting Module 1: Introduction to the Bible and can provide tutorials / seminars and invigilation for exams, though the quiz is optional.

Just getting wet?

Some evangelicals sometimes speak of baptism as if it were just getting wet.

Calvin would not have agreed.

In the Catechism of the Church of Geneva (1545) we read:

Minister: But do you attribute nothing more to the water than to a mere symbol of ablution?

Child: I think it to be such a symbol that reality is attached to it. For God does not disappoint us when he promises us his gifts. Hence both pardon and newness of life are certainly offered to us and received by us in Baptism.

Strong stuff! I imagine Calvin would not be allowed to explain baptism in many of our churches!

All symbolic, not all instrumental

Calvin gives us an important principle that we can use when considering the oft-made claim that everything is somehow 'sacramental'.

Calvin distinguishes a broader category of things or actions that are symbolic (e.g. some annointings with oil, such as of the sick) from a narrower subset which are also instrumental. Sacraments proper belong in the instrumental category.

For example, everything is symbolic: it carries the marks of its creator. Everything speaks to us of God. But the Bible is the instrument in or by which God has promised to speak in a special sense.

All bread is symbolic of daily nourishment, of human work blessed and so on. But it is the sacramental bread of the Lord's Supper that speaks to us of the death of Christ and much more, spiritually communicates Christ to us as an instrument to which God has attached his promise of the work of the Spirit when we receive it by faith.

See further Institutio 1536 V.46, CO 1:178B; Inst 1536:159 cited in Zachman Image and Word p319

Free use of symbols and ceremonies

According to Zachman:

According to Calvin, both the apostles and Jesus were rather free in their use of such symbols and ceremonies, as when Jesus at times uses dust and spittle, at other times just a touch, or the apostles heal by word or touch, as well as by oil. (Image and Word etc. p319)

Granted that Jesus and the Apostles had the authority to institute ceremonies and symbols which we do not have, and wisdom which we cannot fully achieve, is it not still reasonable to take their actions as a model for our own? At least their actions show the lawfulness of symbols and ceremonies, even ones for which there is little explicit commandment in the Word of God, and not just in an entirely Old Testament context since Jesus is bringing in the Kingdom.

[State] schooling 'does not work for us'

Some home education stories from the BCC.

The Today Programme also reported that 20 000 children are registered with their local authority as home educated whereas it is thought that over 40 000 are taught at home.

Presently parents have a duty to educate their children and local authorities can intervene if it is thought a child is at risk. This seems to me to be an adequate system.

There have been calls to require parents to register as homeschoolers and to be subeject to inspections at home.

Education is essentially the responsibility of parents, not the state. Parents may choose to band together with other parents, even to form a school, or to make use of a pre-existing school but their responsibility is inalienable.

I would question both the right and the competence of the state to intervene. State education, the health service, in fact, all public services, MPs expenses and the nation's finances hardly suggest that one should trust Gordon with the most precious thing we have: our children.

"I have an omnipotent comb"

In a sermon on John 6 from 1992, Tim Keller argues that Jesus has a divine, omnipotent comb! Life is never so tangled and messy that Jesus can't sort it out and beautify it. He can straighten us out.

The kind of thing we wouldn't dare to write

Psalm 78:65

New Moses, Better Jonah

Tom Wright points out that John 6 is all about the Exodus. Jesus provides manna in the desert. He is the New Moses (v14; cf. Dt 18:15) leading his people across the river to the promised land in vv16-25 (John For Everyone).

The incident of Jesus walking on the water is also something of the opposite of Jonah story. They throw Jonah overboard and the storm ends; they take Jesus into the boat and the storm ends. Jesus is the Greater Jonah, God’s obedient messenger.

We need the rain

J. C. Ryle says:

“Winter as well as summer, cold as well as heat, clouds as well as sunshine; are all necessary to bring the fruit of the Spirit to ripeness and maturity. We do not naturally like this. We would rather cross the lake with calm weather and favourable winds, with Christ always by our side, and the sun shining down on our faces. But it cannot be like this. This is not the way that God’s children are made ‘partakers of his holiness’ (Heb. 12.10). Abraham, and Jacob, and Moses, and David, and Job were all men of many trials. Let us ne content to walk in their footsteps, and to drink of their cup. In our darkest hours we may seem to be abandoned, but we are never really alone....

"Let all true Christians take comfort in the thought that their Saviour is Lord of waves and winds, of storms and tempests, and can come to them in the darkest hour, 'walking upon the sea'. There are waves of trouble far heavier than any on the Lake of Galilee. There are days of darkness which try the faith of the holiest Christian. But let us never despair if Christ is our friend. He can come to our aid, at a time we thought impossible, and in ways that we did not expect. And when he comes, all will be calm."

(Expository Thoughts on John 6:15-21, The Classic NT Comm., p99f)

Friends of St Ebbe's on Monday

I'm toying with going to the Friends of St Ebbe's meeting on Monday at 7pm in St Andrew's Undershaft, although its rather a long way to go for the evening.

Is anyone else going?

Do you fancy meeting up for a drink before hand? Say 5:30pm in the City somewhere?

On creeds

Creeds do not, of course, have the unique authority of the Scriptures, which are God’s words written. Creeds are more or less helpful human summaries of Bible-truth and as such they are fallible and always subject to correction from the Word of God. We believe the Apostles’ Creed not just because it is old or approved of by the Church but because it faithfully summarises some of the key teaching of the Bible.

Good creeds can be a useful teaching aid. They can promote Christian unity on the basis of the truth and help to pick out what the most essential core beliefs are, whilst on other things we may agree to differ. Using a creed like this reminds us of our fellowship with Christians down the centuries and around the world who have professed the same faith, often using these very words (or translations of them). Creeds also help to combat false teaching since heretics will often claim to believe the Bible but then deny what it teaches. Creeds can crystallise and clarify the issues at stake. Heretics will often reject creeds that teach what the Bible teaches while continuing to insist that they believe the Bible.

How to be happy

Or The Secret of Happiness.

D.v. I'm going to be giving an evangelistic talk with some such title in Oct / Nov. Any tips (including the best title) gratefully recieved.

I might end up with one of the Bible's "blessed"s.

Preaching Proverbs

If you are or are thinking of preaching or teaching the book of Proverbs, I suggest you get over to the Sussex Evangelical Ministry Seminars website and listen to Revd John Woods' excellent seminar on said subject, which he delivered this morning. If you go to the Lancing Tabernacle website you can apparently find 27 sermons on Proverbs that John preached in 2006. John also commended some thematic sermons by Revd Dr Tim Keller. He mentioned that Revd Vaughan Roberts is also due to do some preaching on Proverbs soon I believe.

Maybe some more nuggets sometime if I get round to blogging some of my notes.

Calvin Conference

I've just filled out the booking form for The John Owen Centre's Calvin Conference Examining Calvin's life and theology and its relevance for Christian living today (Mon 14th - Tues 15th Sept).

It only costs £50 including meals, with discounted day bookings available.

I'm especially interested in it as I'm about to write a chapter for the PhD on Calvin's doctrine of the Lord's Supper.

Anyone else going?

Anyone want to offer me a bed in London - the more accessible it is to London Theological Seminary in Finchley the better!