Wasted Evangelism
  • Wasted Blog
  • Wasted Engaged
    • Wasted Evangelism in Action
    • Wasted Evangelism Training
    • Wasted Evangelism Speaking
  • Wasted Evangelism, the Book & more
    • Wasted Evangelism, the Book
    • Lay Commentary on Philippians >
      • Destroying Private Cities Sample Chapter
    • Wasted Evangelism Resources & Links
    • Samples from Wasted Evangelism
  • Learning Wasted Local
    • Wasted Hill Blog
    • CPC in The Hill NewsLetter Updates >
      • Past Newsletter Links
    • FY22 Church Bulletins & Order of Service
    • Hill Sermons & Teaching >
      • Gospel of Luke Sermon Series
      • Mostly Romans & FYs 20-21 Bulletins
      • 2018 Summer: In the Father's House
      • At the Table Series
      • Church and Liturgy
      • Book of Judges
      • Gospel of Matthew Series
      • 1 Peter Series
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • New Page

Sermon streams of consciousness: an opportunity for martyrdom (Luke 21:13)

2/22/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Luke 21:13: “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

Luke 21:10-38 is my text for the Saturday sidewalk and Sunday sermons. Usually—at least when I have been in the pew listening—this text is a “let’s get the timing of the second coming right” (i.e., when is Jesus coming back and let’s prepare for it) text. Luke isn’t asking (or telling) the timing on the second coming, but that soon all hell is going to break loose and you need to stay faithful to Me through it all.

Luke 21:13 stands out—and it’s not usually a verse covered too much when Luke 21 is viewed as a “timing of the second coming” passage. Here it is: “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.” More straight forward, this verse, after all the disaster that is described to take place, this verse is actually, like a pause . . . like this:

“There will be wars and natural disasters and before all this you will be jailed, persecuted, and brought before authorities on account of Me . . . an opportunity for martyrdom.”
​
This takes all the power from us. Something even as Christians we shun and do whatever we can to retain our power. Still . . .

Yep, that’s the word here: μαρτύριον, martyrdom. Makes sense this word can be martyrdom or testimony, witness (which is how the ESV and most Bible translations render it). But we can’t loose sight over the fact this word conveys being a martyr.

When all hell breaks loose and you are persecuted and jailed and killed for being my followers, all this will present an opportunity for you to be a martyr, an opportunity for a witness.

When Jesus goes on afterward, saying don’t plan on what you’re going to say at your defense, I will give you the words (v. 14-15). Many use this to take back the power, to retain our power. Many take this as God will supernaturally give you words to say. We all like to be able to claim that—makes us out to be powerful, special to God, a force to be reckoned with; heck, God is speaking through me! Yea. No. It points in another direction: “Don’t try to defend yourself when brought before the court because you’re a follower of Me. Testify—witness, be a martyr—of Me. This will be your opportunity to be my witness, my martyr.”

This speaks. We are too prone to defend ourselves. To claim power. Rather we are called to testify (to loose all power) of Jesus, even when all hell breaks loose. Perhaps we can fathom this type of bearing witness in places like Afghanistan, Syria, China, Iran, Venezuela. Maybe, someday we’ll be in a place like that. But what about now? We can’t even take the tough times here and now and see the opportunity to be a witness, let alone when all hell breaks loose.

This is an opportunity for you to be a witness, a testimony, a martyr.

If these posts have been helpful or edifying to you, please consider contributing to our church planting and ministry in the Hill community of New Haven, CT. You may donate online through our website or send a donation to our anchor church marked for "CPC in The Hill" @ 135 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510 (checks are to be made out to Christ Presbyterian Church or simply CPC; and in the memo please indicate Hill/CA). For more information or to receive our Hill News Updates (see site tab "Learning Wasted Local" above), please contact me, Pastor Chip, through this email address: ChipCPCtheHill@gmail.com.
0 Comments

Acts revival Spirit directed prayers: what our Acts revival prayers should sound like

2/19/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
As people are gathering in Asbury and now other campuses, whether this is truly a revival or not, people are still praying and confessing confessing sin and committing themselves more deeply to God.

Many people appeal to the “Spirit” texts in Acts as both rationale (proof) that what is happening in Kentucky and other campuses is a “revival” and, also, among the sincere prayers that truly want God to do it again (like in Acts).

I'd like to give you, however, some prayers based on the contexts of thees 
“Spirit” texts in Acts, which have the marks of these Acts chapters (2, 4, 8, 10, 13, and 19), that are faithful to the text, and underscore the theological intent Luke wanted to pass on to the church long afterward . . . so, let us pray . . .

Acts 2: The promised Spirit falls and gives birth to the church in the presence of witnesses from all the known nations, i.e., all the corners of the earth.  Yes. Do this again: may the church rediscover the falling of the Spirit so that it in its local expressions it will bear witness to the nations. And, may the Spirit renew the church’s desire for apostolic teaching, fellowship, and concern for the poor—and for what it means to be gathered together as church.

Acts 4: May the Spirit fall to shake us, the church, that we might learn to bear witness and boldly proclaim the gospel despite the nations raging. And may we, again, develop a concern for the poor, and as well hold all things in common as a witness to those that rage against us.

Acts 8: May the Spirit fall on us in such away that we accept the Samaritans among us, those who are different, unclean, born of the “wrong” ethnicity, may the Spirit throw us out of our temples and into new hinterlands to proclaim and live out the gospel.

Acts 10: May the Spirit fall on those whom we hate, our enemies, those who are among the “raging Gentiles,” so that we, the church, may rediscover the gospel is also for the “raging Gentiles.”

Acts 13: Although very rarely it is included in the revival proof chapter lists, it should be: May the Spirit might fall on us so that missionaries would be called and set apart and sent to the unreached around the globe and to those who are among us even now, the unclean, dirty rotten Gentiles so that they may hear and have opportunities to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ; may the Spirit drive us out toward the hinterlands and the ends of the earth.

Acts 19: Though not a falling of the Spirit part of the narrative, still may the Spirit move us toward unknown and unreached places and fill us in such a way to confront idolatry (even our own idolatries and the idolatries we kind of like having around so our identities as church can be maintained in this land).

Hear our prayers. Amen!

0 Comments

My thoughts on this “Asbury Revival” moment from afar--but on the ground here in the Hill

2/16/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
At the end of my summer Bible college internship at my church, I had the privilege of giving a sermon at our evening Sunday service. Back then, most folks showed up, so it was a nice sized crowd who’d come to hear this rookie preacher-in-training. My text was 2 Chronicles 7:1-3, when the fire came down and filled the temple after King Solomon’s prayer.

“As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD'S house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.’”
Now I certainly would preach this a little different now. Then I took a look at all the places God filled his temple. I think I did alright. But what happened at the end surprised me and I’ll remember it until heaven.
 
I had asked for no closing hymn after sermon and my closing prayer, just a thank you and good night . . . I remember Olive simply played a song as I moved from the pulpit to the steps down from the platform . . . when I had gotten down the steps, I saw a long line of people streaming up front to the altar. More than half the congregation (about 100 folks) was down on their knees at or near the altar, with the rest simply not moving from where they sat. No one left the sanctuary. I had gathered with the elders in the back and we all were kind of stunned.
 
My preaching was good, but not that good!
 
Now if only all my church work and special guest preaching times throughout my years had similar effect. Hasn’t happened since.
 
I have been in a number of church service settings with similar reactions to the sermon and/or simply the whole service. There were a few times at chapel or a “deeper life” with varying lengths of duration when I was a professor at Prairie Bible College in Three Hills, Alberta.
 
I do believe in moments like these, when it seems God is doing something far beyond the normal come and go of a church (or a chapel) service. I have read and studied the big, historical movements and moments in our American church history. From Jonathan Edwards to Charlies Finney to Timothy Dwight, as well as such moments on Christian college and seminary campuses.
 
So, I know that God is able to do beyond the normal at or after a service—sometimes we can explain why, most of the time it just happens and we can’t explain it. It just happens with varying after effects. So, I do not want to play down or diminish what God could be doing at Asbury right now; but, I do want to give some perspective that I am not hearing from our various Christians folks in-the-know about “revivals.”
1. First, I am not there—nor are most of you—so, I don’t know what to think. Just praying God raises up some of these students to deeply follow the Lord; maybe even some of them doing hard things for Jesus here and abroad.
 
2. Second, this event is not comparable to previous movements or moments when God seems to break into a place—this is the first that I know of that is in the era of internet and Facebook and Instagram. Without such social media platforms, we might not even have known about it. And I am pretty sure, convinced, the extra-ordinary here is being built up because of the images and now prolific internet posts and articles and blogs.
 
3. Third, while I am also convinced most of the more well-known folks discussing or posting on this Asbury “revival” are sincere, most are also posting their creds and books at the same time to appear as an expert on “revivals.” This is more than a little bothersome and seems to be using the moment to posture, promote, or advertise—and get a word in at the same time. Most seem to call it an authentic “revival.” I am not sure if we—if anyone—knows that yet; especially since the moment is an internet sensation—“the revival is blowing up the internet” isn’t a qualifier for an authentic revival as far as I can tell (biblically, anyway).
 
4. Fourth, I am concerned that both non-Christians and Christians alike are being given the impression that it takes a moment like an Asbury revival to see God move. This is also not true. God is at work in the everyday, the quiet, the mundane of life just as He is in this “appearance” of a revival—more so, probably. To give the impression otherwise, might very well be a poor witness. And if it was, then we really don’t have a story to be believe any more than a good athletic game.
 
5. Fifth, I have read in recent blog posts that this Asbury revival is like the Acts 2, 4, 8, 10, and 19 (and why they don’t include Acts 13 also is striking to me) movements of the Spirit. No. No it is not—nor are most of the “revivals” in our American Church History. While this needs more fleshing out, I will suffice to say, there were theological reasons behind and in the Acts 2, 4, 8, 10, and 19 accounts—theology to be learn by the events and by Luke writing about them that this and other “revivals” do not have. There are historical redemptive fulfillment afoot in the Acts accounts—this and other “revivals” do not have such explanation or reason.
 
6. Sixth, this event, unlike the revivals of old with Edwards and Finney, are more akin to events and moments at other Christian college or seminary venues. These are apt to happen in such venues. These students are getting a Christian voice 24/7 all school year long—they are being bombarded every day from chapels to conversations to classroom content with a call to more faithfulness and receive over and over calls to forsake sin, more so than the average Christian. They are literally swimming in a culture of “repent and believe.” Of course, there will be an effect on them. And, as I have already said above, the internet has heightened this effect.
​
These are what I am thinking right now.
 
I do hope new commitments are being made by these students and faculty. I do pray new missionary movements will be born. I do pray they will never ever be the same. And, I do hope many unsaved will be saved as a result.
 
Yet in the age of the internet, I am also concerned that we’re making more of this “Asbury revival” than ought to be made of it, that somehow God is not at work where we are at, moving in mysterious ways, unnoticed by social media . . . yet He is still working.
0 Comments

The problem with church porn (part 1)

2/14/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
It’s not what you think. 
 
I am not speaking about church folk being addicted to porn or anything like that. In fact, I am not writing here about sexually explicit porn. Nonetheless, to be frank, I am concerned about something less obvious, as harmful, maybe even more dangerous. Especially to the church.
 
We seem to know the common definitions of the words “porn” or “pornography” as images of sensuousness, sexuality, and sex. Interestingly, there is a definition that puts porn/pornography on a whole deferent level beyond the easy to identify “sexual porn.” Merriam-Webster also defines “porn” as the “depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.” Most immediately pivot to the sexual implications. However, while that can—as it should—definitely be understood to be the sexual nature most associated with porn/pornography, this definition makes it possible that more than sex can be in the arena of porn. In fact anything “emphasizing the sensuous or sensational aspects of even a nonsexual subject and stimulating a compulsive interest from their audience” is, well, porn.
 
Here I’d like to focus our attention on what I will call “church porn.”
 
I am borrowing from the so-called image-based sexual revolution that has been afoot since 1916, when ladies began displaying knee-high bathing suits above the ankles and men showed off their muscle-building on the beach to display their fit bodies for public consumption. (And you thought it was a sixties thing.) It’s taken decades, but the sexual revolution has created everyday habits and associations that form the way you and I think, literally about everything. 
 
As teenage boys (and sadly, girls, as well), by the time they are young adults, are exposed to thousands of hours of sexual imagery (explicit and soft and suggestive), mostly depicting that women are there to meet their needs and pleasure, the same is also true of those entering ministry. Here I am not just focused on sexual porn, but the porn of success, images of desire and expectations that have formed a whole narrative about the world and how it works. This has created sensational and, yes, sensuous feelings, expectations, and imaginations in those training for ministry, who will be praying and seeking for “a call,” and, as well, those simply picking a church and looking to meet his/her (or family) needs—informed and shaped needs created by those thousands of hours of exposure. As individuals seek “God’s will,” they have been, already, exposed to hours of imagery of what will meet one’s needs, bring success, and be affirmed by one’s felt peer group. These thousands of images have shaped the imagination of what that “call” or church should look like.
 
This is the porn that is molding the expectations of both their choice of a church and “the call” one feels when looking for a pastoral call, a potential place of ministry (lay or pastoral), or simply “being led” to a choice of church to attend. This is a problem. A problem for the church. A problem for churches that don’t stimulate that compulsive interest that has been embedded into us, culturally, socially, or personally.
 
This type of porn is not obvious, but it is ubiquitous. This type of porn is everywhere, in advertisement, in TV shows, movies, social media . . . heck, it is even used in advertising one’s church or church event. 
 
We are at a place where we should, as Supreme Court Potter Stewart said of obscenity itself in 1964, “I know it when I see it.” We know this cultural and social image-based porn is bombarding us. We should. But do we? Perhaps, somehow, we feel, as Christians, as mature Christians, we are above this ubiquitous sensual bombardment of cultural and social images and free to let God be God in our thinking, especially as it relates to church or a call to ministry. We are not. And, that
’s a problem.
 
This cultural and social porn is not even considered as a factor that plays a role in our decision-making process as we consider a call to ministry or what church to choose. Mostly, that call or that church has been chosen for us—we just don’t know it—of course, we’ll affirm we’ve been led by God in that choice. Yet, there is a good chance that God has not. Church porn has.


In part 2, I will address how such church porn, the amassed thousands of embedded cultural and social images we are inundated with, molds what we think is God’s leading when it comes to “the call to ministry” or simply choosing a church to attend. In part 3, I will offer a counterstory as a path of recovery from addiction to church porn. ​
0 Comments

No other name: Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Acts 4)--have we replaced the name?

1/9/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
While working on sermon prep on my text (Acts 4:1-31) for the weekend sermons (at the Saturday Sidewalk Church & Sunday service) a small part of the text hit me: “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (Acts 4:10b).
 
Back in my early years as a Christian, I spent hours memorizing Bible verses (and sometime paragraphs and even whole chapters). One of the first verses committed to memory was Acts 4:12:
 
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
 
Although I have studied the passage and preached on Acts 4 many times, it never occurred to me that the “no other name” is not simply “Jesus” but “Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” For, basically in one breath (short 2 verses), we learn that the man in the story was healed “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” and this is the name “given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
 
Of course, “Christ” means Messiah, the anointed One, the long awaited promised One of Israel. The little preposition “of” (before Nazareth) has to be explained, defined. Probably because the following noun is a small village, it is fair to render Acts 4:10b, “by the name Jesus, the Messiah, from Nazareth.”
 
“Jesus of . . . Nazareth” is more common than one realizes in the New Testament. Obviously, not the most common title, but still 17 or so times. In Acts, Luke uses it seven (7) times in relationship to Jesus (Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 10:3, 8; 22:8; 26:9); and, once Jesus’ followers are referred to as “Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).
 
Identifying Jesus as being from Nazareth would not have been good PR, nor would it ingratiate the accusing crowd toward Peter and John. In other words, it didn’t help the situation at all. There would have been shame not honor in being from Nazareth.
 
The significance of attaching “Nazareth” to Jesus’ name is further affirmed in the gathering of the Jerusalem aristocracy in the Acts 4 scene—“Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family” (4:6) verses Peter and John who “were uneducated, common men” (4:13b). Furthermore, let us not overlook this whole incident is the consequence of Peter and John healing a lame beggar (Acts 3:1-10). Note that this healing—the actual occasion in chapter 3—was “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (3:6b), the very name under heaven by which we must be saved (4:12).
 
The reference here to Jesus being from Nazareth and the power to heal and the gospel preached in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is not incidental. It is central to the story—and to the word being spoken here.
 
We should stop to consider what it meant to refer to Jesus as the Nazarene or from the village of Nazareth. Remember (we all remember) Nathanael’s words to Philip after he was told they had found the Messiah: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46). This alone gives the impression that Nazareth was not a big deal, more likely an inferior place, low socially. The bad side of town. Nazareth was a very small, insignificant Galilean village. So much so that one, more recent, writer put it, “God grew up in a forgotten town.” The fact that we know very little about Nazareth from ancient writers is telling, in that it was an uncelebrated, forgotten little village, “off the beaten path, even for Galilee.” Being called a “Nazarene” would have been a stigma that Jesus would carry his whole life and, literally, beyond.
 
Yet, this is the only name under heaven—the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—by which anyone can be saved.
 
The gospel early on was attached to the two worst social aspects imaginable: the cross and where Jesus was from, namely an insignificant, small, lowly village in the dark Gentile land of Galilee, Nazareth. Naming Jesus from Nazareth would have been, not only geographically a faux pas, but a social blunder, something that would have discredited “the name.” And, thus the messengers.
 
But it is the name we must be saved. No power in palace, privileged place, nor powerful earthly names. The gospel—right away—in the story is associated with a lack-luster, shameful, insignificant name. Luke’s story tells us immediately that the gospel was associated with the poor and insignificant. It was essential to the story. Luke made it so in the name.
 
In the church world, this seems to be the opposite now.
 
We announce there is another name by which we can be saved, one not necessarily associated or from Nazareth. But we must for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, and that is the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
 
This spoke powerfully to those at the Saturday Sidewalk Breakfast & church and reminded our Sunday congregation of our mission and purpose in the Hill.


If these posts have been helpful or edifying to you, please consider contributing to our church planting and ministry in the Hill community of New Haven, CT. You may donate online through our website or send a donation to our anchor church marked for "CPC in The Hill" @ 135 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510 (checks are to be made out to Christ Presbyterian Church or simply CPC; and in the memo please indicate Hill/CA). For more information or to receive our Hill News Updates (see site tab "Learning Wasted Local" above), please contact me, Pastor Chip, through this email address: ChipCPCtheHill@gmail.com.
0 Comments

Some musings on Paul's Christmas text (Gal 4:4) and why it isn't "Sons & Daughters of God" but all are "Sons of God"

12/16/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Some sermon prep thoughts . . . the fuller text is Galatians 3:23-4:7 . . . and yes, this is a Christmas Season Sermon text . . . See Galatians 4:4. The part I am reflecting on is the well known Galatians 3:27-39:

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:27-29).

I am not sure that we fathom how radically deconstructing these words would have been for the Greek, Roman, and Jewish man, especially male head of households, who were also masters of household slaves . . . nor can we (but we should) grasp the radical reconstruction and liberation these same exact words would have been to the Greek, Roman, and Jewish women and slaves and free (emancipated) slaves, who had no home or legal status whatsoever . . . interestingly we forget that Paul just mentioned sonship (“you are all sons of God, through faith,” v. 26) and will talk soon again about sonship and heirs (Gal 4:1-7), that is, being sons of God. 

I know we like to be modern and relevant and say “sons and daughters of God,” attempting to get past the so-called ancient gender-bias; but this is both unwarranted and does injustice to the text in its culture—depriving the Christian, especially the female Christian, of its impact. “Sons” were everything in the Greek, Roman, and Jewish world. They got everything. They had far more respect. They got citizenship. And if you were the first born male, an heir to family wealth, possessions, land, and legacy. The goal of marriage to the Greek and Roman was to produce a legitimate male heir citizen for the Empire. So, to deprive the female Christian direct title “son” with all of its rights and privileges (as it would have meant to the ancient world reader) would be simply not right, unfair, unbiblical . . . it is not Christian.

The impact of such sonship on the Jew, the Greek, slave or emancipated slave is left with no contemporary translative spin—as it should be. Yet, our cultural sensitivity (although sincere and well-meaning at times) toward the gender-bias we have robs the sister in Christ of the applicable impact on her status as a “son of God.” And, for sure, this simple slight of hand turning “sons” into “sons and daughters” makes us (you know I mean, us brothers) feel as if we’ve (they’ve) solved all the gender-bias (male-dominating, male-centrism) within Christianity and its religious systems, habits, and attitudes with one easy “translation” fix. In some since, this translative adaption helps to lessen the power of this text to deconstruct our male-centeredness and robs the church from allowing the place of the female to be reconstructed into the place of a “son of God.”

It is no wonder the early church grew as it did . . . and it is no wonder why women were especially attracted to the fulness of time when God sent his son, “born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4).


​If these posts have been helpful or edifying to you, please consider contributing to our church planting and ministry in the Hill community of New Haven, CT. You may donate online through our website or send a donation to our anchor church marked for "CPC in The Hill" @ 135 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510 (checks are to be made out to Christ Presbyterian Church or simply CPC; and in the memo please indicate Hill/CA). For more information or to receive our Hill News Updates (see site tab "Learning Wasted Local" above), please contact me, Pastor Chip, through this email address: ChipCPCtheHill@gmail.com.
0 Comments

More thoughts on Luke 18:15-30: Infants, a Rich Young Ruler, and the Kingdom of God--and you and me and some more blunt (maybe dangerous) application

11/27/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
“Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as one receives a homeless person will never enter it.”

Here are some streams of thought that sprung from my sermon prep on Luke 18:15-30 (which is posted fully at the end). For now, this passage is two stories that are most definitely linked together: Infants and children being brought to Jesus for a blessing, being told that the kingdom of God belongs to them, and a rich young ruler who asks how he may obtain eternal life.

Additionally, the previous Wasted Blog post is a part of this stream of sermon prep thought: A blunt text, rationalizing, and a confession: a brief reflection on Luke 18:22.

There is little doubt that this is about the gospel and the poor: who are we?

The wider section of Luke 14-18 that we have been journeying through during the Saturday Sidewalk Sermons and Sunday morning sermons reveals whom we are to seek and welcome to the Table of God‘s Kingdom--that is, whom are to be invited to salvation in Christ, that is eternal life.

There is little doubt, the invitation is for the least among us . . . don
’t get me wrong, of course, the wealthy and well-off and those who have the privilege and blessings of this age’s systems and structures are invited to come sit with them (it seems this is the Gospel process).

In our current passage 
(Luke 18:15-30), the young rich ruler is instructed to give his wealth to the poor . . . two things to be noted here: 1) for those that didn’t catch this earlier on my facebook feed, this principle was understood by both Jesus and his disciples as a principle to be followed broadly by the rich if they were to be followers of Jesus; and 2) this was what Jesus was modeling--something this young rich ruler could not, in the end, imagine doing, for he walked, sadly, away from Jesus’ gracious invitation to enter the kingdom of God.

Perhaps on this Day of giving thanks, we can find a way to give away what we have to the least among us. Most of us will give thanks around a Thanksgiving table for the bounty God has given to us--often accompanied by a comparison to those who have little or nothing (
“Lord, we thank you for what we have, for we know that so many are not as fortunate,” et al.)  . . . this is more in line with the Pharisee in the preceding parable, who compared himself to others.

The parallel in the Luke 6 Beatitude: The kingdom of God belongs to the poor

A thought from my sermon text, Luke 18:15-30: the reference to the kingdom of God belonging to the children means these two stories are  a poor vs. the rich contrast and we should suspect that deconstruction, a reversal, is afoot:

V. 16: But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ).

Note the parallel: Luke has already told us back in chapter 6 that “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. 6:20).

And surprise, surprise, the very next thing is a scene of a rich young ruler wanting eternal life (i.e., entering the kingdom of God), who is then  told to give to the poor, and walks away from (eternal life!)
“because he was wealthy.” Recall how Luke presents the Kingdom Beatitudes back in chapter 6 . . . he parallels the poor/kingdom (6:20) with “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation” (6:24). 

I’ll leave it right here . . . 

Love God, Love Your Neighbor

Luke 18:16 (just a verse from my whole text, Luke 18:15-30): “But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.’”

When the rich young ruler had heard Jesus say that the kingdom of God belonged to incomplete adults, those not fully human, that is children, this begged a question pertinent to his station and social status (which was good because he was wealthy, which meant he had a name that counts and a status that allowed all the privileges and, of course, he was a grown male which made him fully human). That question was, “Good Teacher, then how do I inherit eternal life*?”

He obviously knows how to inherit riches: be born in a legacy family and be a grown male—this is the Rome-way. It is not Jesus’ way . . . this is what concerns that rich young ruler. As it should. As it should also concern us.

While Jesus is far more than a mere Teacher as the rich young ruler had addressed him, he picks up on the word “Good” to help the young rich ruler grasp he is asking a first-commandment question—God is the only good, so remember, Love the Lord Your God first—but in the next breath Jesus directs the wealthy ruler to the second--which is like the first (cf. Matthew 22:39)—command, namely to Love Your Neighbor.

Thus, give-God-all-you-got is to be met with selling-all-you-got-and-giving-it-to-the-poor, these are the twin sides of inheriting—not earthy riches, that’s easy, just be born with a name and have the right address—of inheriting eternal life.

Not sure we’ve actually come to grips with this side of the gospel . . . it’s there, right in our text for Sunday morning (Luke 18:15-30).

*The kingdom of God, eternal life, and being saved are all interchanging terms and concepts in Luke.

​An ellipsis: whoever models Jesus gets to enter into the kingdom of God

I grant the last of this thread is far more application than exegesis (but it’s that, too), yet it is an application that is a faithful reading and dynamic equivalent [you’ll see I do some translating here] to Luke’s and Jesus’ narrative intent (and of the Greek) found in Luke 18:15-30, specifically, verses 16-17: “But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ​Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it’” (ESV).

There are a number of things that are before us in the text, for they would have been before both the original audience of disciples and Pharisees, and, as well, those to whom the Gospel was written, namely Theophilus’ church community:

1) As already mentioned, infants and children would have been considered not fully human, incomplete adults, one the lower tiers of human hierarchy, both in the Jewish and the Greco-Roman world;

2) Children/infants simply would not have been presented, especially in public, to any Rabbi (and I note that Jesus is referred to by the rich young ruler as Teacher, aka a rabbi);

3) There would be ritual impurity amid the 
presentation of the infants that would have been improper for Jewish Rabbis, but obviously Jesus is impervious; and

4) Finally, there is an ellipsis in verse 17 that needs to be understood.

Allow for an explanation of the ellipsis before moving on to my application (which reveals the intent of Jesus and Luke here): a grammatical ellipsis, whether written or spoken, is when some words are missing yet assumed, 
offering some balance to the thought or sentence that is implied by the author and supplied by the hearer/reader.

Examples: 
“John saw two hawks in the sky, and Bill saw three” and “Amanda is managing the restaurant Thursday, and Joseph is Friday.” The second example is like our Luke 18:17 ellipsis, in that the verb “manage” is left out but is clearly intended. The ellipsis in Luke 18:17 is the verb “receive.” The ellipsis is masked by the English word
“like” (i.e., “like a child”).  The word “like” implies to the English reader that it is the children we should be like. However, the ellipsis being crafted here is to imply that it is the “receiving” that we are to be like. Here’s my translation so you can here and see how the ellipsis works:

“But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ​Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as one receives a little child will never enter it.’”
​

The “infants” and “children” are not coming or receiving Jesus in this story. They are not coming to Jesus because of something about them--we infer this, but it is not there in the text and the social/cultural location suggests otherwise. And, it is the parents who are bringing them to Jesus and Jesus is receiving them. Thus, the set up for the intended ellipsis. We should make a narrative link to what Jesus is doing. This is exactly what Jesus is modeling, “receiving children.” He is not receiving children as a child or like a child would--that’s our hallmark-card spin on it--but Jesus is doing the receiving, the welcoming of the children.

This reading of the text, and hearing the cultural view of humans that is at play, allows us to apply this warning concerning the unavailability of the kingdom to those who do not welcome/receive children because Jesus has reversed the poles in His kingdom.  Now, if we read--as we should--the other aspects before us in this text, namely infants/children would have disturbed the piety of a rabbi (i.e., the clean vs unclean) and the view that receiving them counters the tiered humanity prevalent at that time . . . it would be fair to render this verse:

​
“Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as one receives a homeless person will never enter it.”

Of course, you can change 
“homeless” to be anyone whom you believe is less than human or unclean . . . and not only believe, but live in such a way that your modeling is nothing like Jesus’ model . . . and the danger? You will not enter the kingdom of heaven. This is affirmed by the next story of the rich young ruler choosing not to model Jesus and turns away from the kingdom.​

Luke 18:15-30 (ESV)
Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

​If these posts have been helpful or edifying to you, please consider contributing to our church planting and ministry in the Hill community of New Haven, CT. You may donate online through our website or send a donation to our anchor church marked for "CPC in The Hill" @ 135 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510 (checks are to be made out to Christ Presbyterian Church or simply CPC; and in the memo please indicate Hill/CA). For more information or to receive our Hill News Updates (see site tab "Learning Wasted Local" above), please contact me, Pastor Chip, through this email address: ChipCPCtheHill@gmail.com.
0 Comments

A blunt text, rationalizing, and a confession: a brief reflection on Luke 18:22

11/23/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
​This is both blunt and transparent . . . Luke 18:22, a verse in this Sunday's Sermon text . . . “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’”

In a few seconds, after the rich ruler walks away
“sadly,” Jesus then says: “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 

There is no doubt this is to be applied rather broadly and not to be rationalize,
“Well, this was to one person and God doesn't call every rich person to do this,” for the disciples understood it to apply to all rich people, “then who can be saved then?”

Those who typically have the authority to interpret texts like this one are from among those with elevated status in the social structures, i.e., those who rule and have wealth—you can see the conflict of interest here. I do. I feel that conflict myself. I am not exempt from “spiritualizing” or looking for exemptions for this text.

We all scramble to exempt ourselves, somehow, from this--no matter the size of our paycheck and bank accounts. Me, too. I have always been rather plagued by this text. But after 40+ years of following Jesus (and this is a
“follow Me” text, cf. 18:22d), I wonder if we are so attached to this world—as the Rich Mullins song says, the stuff of earth competes for our allegiance—that we are not free to actually follow Jesus in the way the Gospels teach us?

I confess, this week’s sermon text rattles me. And more so because it’s a feast week! Thanksgiving. And it’s cold out. There are homeless surrounding me. And I live amid scarcity.

0 Comments

A dangerous (but better) reading of and response to the parable of the one lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7): lost, seek, find, rejoice.

9/25/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
While the Pharisees and scribes grumbled that Jesus was receiving tax collectors and the marginal, the uneducated, outcasts living in “the streets and lanes of the city,” and “the poor and crippled and blind and lame” (14:21), and eating with them, Jesus asked them a question:

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it (15:4)?”
The question sets up an expected answer: “No, no-one would do that!” Such a decision puts the 99 at risk (stop thinking Jesus means for us to assume the shepherd left the 99 well attended—that would spoil the story all together—no sure we are to assume nor fill in the blanks). Simply we have, you see,“Lost sheep happen.”

Still, the angle Jesus shoots for is dangerously shocking: this rather well-off Shepherd (having 100 sheep would have indicated he leaned toward being a more wealthy Shepherd) goes and seeks his lost sheep, carries it home, and everyone rejoices. This is the counter to the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes that Jesus was welcoming and eating with the likes of those strays from Galilee and the marginal he has been picking up while on his way to Jerusalem.

While it is good to see the Shepherd as a picture of Jesus, this leaves the listener/reader with nothing to do but contemplate how much Jesus loves him. A good thing and important (sure), but that’s not Luke’s point. This is a counter to the Pharisees and scribes, which should indicate what we have here is a counter-intuitive correction to the church’s proclivity toward doing exactly what the Pharisees and scribes were doing: neglecting the poor and marginal, whether it be to affirm the cultural and social tiered-hierarchies (both church and outside the church) and/or to not be so unwelcoming of such among them as a church and/or creating and maintaining institutional systems that affirms and sustains the haves/have-nots at church (cf. the problem in James). This is exactly what the previous Banquet parable was about in Luke 14. Additionally, the interlude on discipleship just prior (14:25-33) instructs us that discipleship is following Jesus, and thus we have our marching orders here in this (and the next two) parables of Luke 15.

If these posts have been helpful or edifying to you, please consider contributing to our church planting and ministry in the Hill community of New Haven, CT. You may donate online through our website or send a donation to our anchor church marked for "CPC in The Hill" @ 135 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510 (checks are to be made out to Christ Presbyterian Church or simply CPC; and in the memo please indicate Hill/CA). For more information or to receive our Hill News Updates (see site tab "Learning Wasted Local" above), please contact me, Pastor Chip, through this email address: ChipCPCtheHill@gmail.com.
0 Comments

A dangerous devotion: A Sabbath healing at the table that changes church

9/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
“One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away” (Luke 14:1-4).
 
I take it that Jesus could have engaged from a range of folks who surrounded this supper meal with a few different types of maladies needing to be healed. This man with “dropsy” was not a part of the table fellowship, that is one of the invited guests at the Pharisee’s supper party. This man with “dropsy” most likely was from the crowd of folks who would have been outside watching the supper party, for Jesus “took him and healed him,” then “sent him away.” Remember such meals would have been semi-public in that people would have shown up, outside, to see who was there, who sat where and next to whom. This was common in those days.
 
Again, these meals functioned in Jesus’ world to establish the “in-group” and to set boundaries, and as well, in the Jewish world to inform and embody (and enforce) the religious values of ceremonial purity. This man with “dropsy,” whom Jesus most likely pulled in from the surrounding on-lookers (cf. Luke, after all, does tell us Jesus “took him”). This would have violated the purity laws for sure, especially in a ruling Pharisee’s home!  Additionally, the table-etiquette would have also been to demonstrate and enforce who the ”wrong people” were. This man was "wrong people"! Gentile and Jewish meals were occasions to to “advertise and reinforce social hierarchy.”
 
The choice to heal a man with “dropsy” was a surgical strike. I am sure the man had the sickness known as dropsy and was healed, but there was an ulterior lesson to happen among the invited guests and host in the instruction to be given by Jesus to those reclined at that table. 
 
The disease of dropsy causes someone to thirst, actually to have an unquenchable thirst, even to the point of dying because of drinking too much water. Thus, there was an association with the “thirst” for money or status, often referred to as “dropsy.” In the ancient Greco-Roman world writers would refer to the insatiable nature of greed as “dropsy,” for as with other desires that could be satisfied, no matter how much a greedy person acquires, it would never be enough--in terms of wealth and social status. So, the healing of the man with dropsy was parabolic of the host, the honored guest (or guests), and others seated around that table. This healing on the Sabbath of a man with dropsy exposed that those who reclined at that table also had a disorder, a malady, that was no less self-detrimental.

Jesus’ two parables at this supper table affirm this: First, the parable of the wedding feast is about seeking honor and establishing one’s status and place among others (14:7-11). The second parable was about a great banquet feast (vv. 12-24) that would have exposed the motives for invitations to such a table, namely there would be a good return, a payback, an invite to their own parties, a status affirmed. However, they were to invite the poor and powerless that cannot repay them or give them some advantage of association.
 
Interestingly, immediately following this event at the ruling Pharisee’s supper party, there is an interlude concerning the cost of discipleship (14:25-33), namely that following Jesus puts one at odds with the established honor system of friends and family and work associates.
 
Not only do these parables at the Pharisee’s supper table expose hearts of greed (aka, hearts of dropsy), they also instruct us—the reader/listener—that we, as follower of this Jesus, are not to seek our own honor or bid attention for leverage in our social groups, and that; thus, with such platforms we are to invite and associate with those who cannot pay us back or build up any honor or social leverage. 
 
The Pharisees reclined at that table exploited hospitality for their self-serving agenda and used this acceptable form of hospitality
“to secure their positions of dominance in their communities and insulate them from the needy.” Yet, Jesus was acting in such a way to indicate that the transformation of the world had already begun. This would speak to the church community, the listeners and readers of Luke’s Gospel of the importance of the new age re-socialization (i.e., the deconstruction of current social norms and the reconstruction) of God’s new community.
 
Which does your church and Christian life depict? The table of those with social-cultural dropsy, where the patterns, platforms, and powers play out for higher honor, advantage and leverage, and social affirmation; or, the table, the new community of God, that deconstructs social and cultural associations designed to lift your esteem and status and demonstrates that the kingdom of God, the redeemed transformation, has begun?

Church should demonstrate the new age of God
’s kingdom has begun. But perhaps our hearts need to be healed of dropsy. Whom do you associate with? Whom does your church intentionally associate with? Whom do you invite to your tables? 


If these posts have been helpful or edifying to you, please consider contributing to our church planting and ministry in the Hill community of New Haven, CT. You may donate online through our website or send a donation to our anchor church marked for "CPC in The Hill" @ 135 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510 (checks are to be made out to Christ Presbyterian Church or simply CPC; and in the memo please indicate Hill/CA). For more information or to receive our Hill News Updates (see site tab "Learning Wasted Local" above), please contact me, Pastor Chip, through this email address: ChipCPCtheHill@gmail.com.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    Chip M. Anderson, advocate for biblical social action; pastor of an urban church plant in the Hill neighborhood of New Haven, CT; husband, father, author, former Greek & NT professor; and, 19 years involved with social action.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    13th Amendment
    1 Corinthians 11
    1 Corinthians 12
    1 Corinthians 13
    1 Peter
    1 Peter 1
    1 Peter 2
    1 Peter 3
    1 Peter 4
    2 Chronicles
    2 Chronicles 18
    Abundance
    Acts 10
    Acts 2
    Acts 28
    Acts 6
    Acts 7
    Acts 8
    Affluence
    Affluent People
    Ahab
    Alan Hirsch
    Alan Kreider
    Alan Roxburgh
    Alien
    All Lives Matter
    Alongsiders
    Amos 4
    And Economics
    Andrew Davey
    Apologetics
    Application
    Asbury
    Baptism
    Beatitudes
    Beggars
    Bible Application
    Bible Interpretation
    Biblical Apologetics
    Biblical Social Action
    Black Lives Matter
    Black Missionary
    Blasphemy Of The Holy Spirit
    Bob Ekblad
    Book Of Judges
    Book Review
    Bottom-Demographics
    Brad Brisco
    Brenda Salter McNeil
    Brueggemann
    Building Centered Church
    Building-centered Church
    Call To Ministry
    CCDA
    Celebrity
    Charity
    Child Poverty
    Chinese Church
    Chip M Anderson
    Choosing A Church
    Christendom
    Christian And Missionary Alliance
    Christian Community Development Association
    Christian Faith
    Christianity
    Christian Leadership
    Christians And Politics
    Christine Pohl
    Christmas
    Church
    Church And Culture
    Church And State
    Church Crisis
    Church Growth
    Church Habits
    Church Human Capital
    Church In Uncool Places
    Church Leadership
    Church Life
    Church (local)
    #churchmatters
    Church Matters
    Church Planting
    Church Porn
    Church Shopping
    Church's Public Voice
    City On A Hill
    Col 3
    Colossians 3
    Come Unto Me
    Communion
    Conditions Of Poverty
    Confession
    Connecting To Poverty Fridays
    Connect To Poverty Fridays
    Constantine
    Cosmic Restoration
    Cost Of Doing Church Business
    COVID-19
    Craig Greenfield
    Craig Luekens
    Crown College
    Cruciformed Life
    Dangerous Devotions
    Daniel 7
    Danny Meyer
    David Fitch
    Deacon
    Death
    Declaration Of Independence
    Destroying Our Private Cities
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer
    Discipleship
    Domesticating Church Growth
    Dorothy Sayers
    Dualistic Faith
    Early Church
    Easter
    Ecclesiology
    Effects Of Poverty
    Ekklesia
    Elements Of Worship
    E. M. Bounds
    Empire
    Ephesians 2
    Ephesians 3
    Ephesians 4
    Ephesians 5
    Ephesians 6
    Epiphany
    Evangelism
    Evangelistic Social Action
    Exegetical Process
    Exile
    Exodus
    Exurban
    Ezekiel 34
    Ezekiel 47
    Ezekiel Temple
    Faith
    Fasting
    Faulty Interpretation
    Feeding The 5000
    Fighting Poverty
    Filling Of The Spirit
    First American Missionary
    Fishers Of Men
    Flesh And Spirit
    Following Jesus
    Food
    Food Scarcity
    Foot Washing
    For The Least Of These
    Friday's Connecting To Issues Of Poverty
    Fundraising
    Gal 2
    Gal 3
    Galatians 2:20
    Galatians 3
    Game Of Thrones
    Gary Haugen
    Gathered Church
    Gathered-church
    Gender Equality
    Generation Z
    George Liele
    George Whitefield
    G. K. Chesterton
    Global Poor
    God And The Poor
    God's Call
    God's Purpose
    God's Rest
    Good News
    Gordon-Connell Theological Seminary
    Gospel
    Gospel And The Poor
    Gospel Of Mark
    Gospel Of The Kingdom
    Gospels
    Greatest Command
    Habits Of The Heart
    Hauerwas
    Haustafel
    Haystack Prayer Meeting
    Health Of The Church
    Heavenly Places
    Hermeneutics
    Hinterlands
    Holy Kiss
    Homeless
    Homelessness
    Honor
    Horizontalization
    Hospitality
    House Church
    Household
    Household Baptisms
    Household Conversions
    Household-table
    Huffpost Religion
    Hunger
    Ibram X. Kendi
    Idolatry
    Idolatry And Poverty
    Idolatry Of Power
    Incarnational
    In His Midst
    Institute For Faith
    International Justice Mission
    Isaiah 56
    Isaiah 58
    Isaiah 61
    ISIS
    Issues Of Poverty
    Jacques Ellul
    James 5
    James K. A. Smith
    Jehoshaphat
    Jeremiah 7
    Jesus
    Jesus And Pilate
    Jesus Christ Of Nazareth
    Jesus' Table
    John 13
    John 18
    John 19
    John 3:16
    John Chrysostom
    John Wesley
    Jonathan Brooks
    Jonathan Edwards
    Joseph's Storehouse
    Journey Of The Magi
    Jr.
    Judas
    Judge
    Justice
    Justo Gonzalez
    Just Spirituality
    Keeping Covenant
    Kelly Johnson
    King
    Kingdom Ethics
    Kingdom Of God
    Lament
    Last Supper
    Leadership
    Lepers
    Lesslie Newbigin
    Letters From Birmingham Jail
    Leveling
    Life Together
    Light Of The World
    Liminal Space
    Lisa Sharon Harper
    Living Bread Ministries
    Lord's Supper
    Lost Sheep
    Lucy Shaw
    Luke 1
    Luke 14
    Luke 15
    Luke 16
    Luke 18
    Luke 2
    Luke 3
    Luke 4
    Luke 5
    Luke 6
    Luke 7
    Luke 8
    Luke-Acts
    Machiavelli
    Mae Elise Cannon
    Making Room
    Manna
    Man On The Street
    Marginal People
    Mark 1
    Mark 11
    Mark 1:1-3
    Mark 12
    Mark 13
    Mark 3
    Mark 3 Commission
    Mark 4
    Mark 6
    Mark Strom
    Mark T. Mulder
    Marriage
    Martin Luther King
    Martin-luther-king-jr
    Martin-luther-king-jr
    Mary's Song
    Matthew 10
    Matthew 11
    Matthew 12
    Matthew 14
    Matthew 2
    Matthew 21
    Matthew 24
    Matthew 25
    Matthew 3
    Matthew 4
    Matthew 4-11
    Matthew 5
    Matthew 6
    Matthew 8
    Matthew 9
    Means Of Grace
    Merciful
    Messy Crowds
    Micah 6:8
    Michael Card
    Michael W. Goheen
    Millennial
    Missiology
    Missional
    Missional Church
    Missional Ecclesiology
    Missions
    MLK
    Modern Missionary Movement
    Mother Teresa
    Movement Day
    Movements Of The Spirit
    Neighbohoods
    Noel Castellanos
    Non Ordinary Church
    Non-ordinary Church
    Not By The Numbers
    Old Testament Prophet
    Onesimus
    Open Air Preaching
    Oppression
    Orphan
    Outcasts
    Outcomes
    Outreach
    Outside Church
    Outsiders
    Over-abundance
    Parable Of The Sower
    Park BBQ
    Passion Week Wasted Thoughts
    Pastoral Call
    Patience
    Patient Ferment Of The Early Church
    Paul Johnson
    Paul Sparks
    PCA
    Pentecost
    People On The Margins
    Persecution
    Personal
    Personhood
    Peter Greer
    Peter Leithard
    Peter Maurin
    Philemon
    Philippians
    Philippians 2
    Philippians 3
    Philippians 4
    Picture Worth Words Enough
    Politics And Christianity
    Poor
    Poor In Spirit
    Poor Rich Readers
    Poor Vs Non-poor
    Poor Widow
    Poverty
    Poverty Industry
    Poverty Statistics
    Power
    Power (the Powers)
    Prayer
    Preaching
    Presbyterian Church In America
    Privilege
    Prodigal Son
    Prophetic Lament
    Proverbs 31:8-9
    Proverbs 31:8–9
    Public Square
    Public Voice
    Racism
    Randy Nabors
    Reading The Bible
    Reconciliation
    Refugee
    Refugee Services
    Reimagine Church
    Reimaging Church Growth
    Religion And Politics
    Religious Bureaucracies
    Repentance
    Resisting And Rethinking Church
    Rethinking Church
    Revival
    Richard Beck
    Richard John Neuhaus
    Richard Rohr
    Richard Rothstein
    Robert Jaffrey
    Robert Lupton
    Role Of The Local Congregation
    Romans 10
    Romans 12
    Romans 14
    Romans 15
    R T France
    Sabbath
    Sacred Space
    Salt Of The World
    Sanctification
    Satan
    Saturday Sidewalk Church
    Scarcity
    Scattered Church
    Scot McKnight
    Scott Boren
    Sean Benesh
    Second Coming
    Secular
    Seditious Households
    Self-righteousness
    Sermon: No King But Jesus
    Sermon On The Mount
    Sermon On The Plain
    Sexual Sins
    Shake Shack
    Shame
    Shepherds
    Sidewalk Church
    Significance Before Application
    Slavery
    Slaves
    Social Action
    Social Action Outcomes
    Social And Cultural Change
    Social Construction Of Reality
    Social Gospel
    Social Justice
    Social Justice Handbook
    Socio-rhetorical (interpretation)
    Solomon Temple Prayer
    Sons Of God
    Soon-Chan Rah
    Soong Chan Rah
    Soong-Chan Rah
    Søren Kierkegaard
    South Florida
    Spirituality
    Spiritual Journey
    Stangers
    Status Quo
    Strangers
    Suburban
    Suburbanization
    Suburbs
    Subversive-jesus
    Symposium
    Synoptic Gospels
    Syria
    Table Etiquette
    Table Fellowship
    Taking Up One's Cross
    Tax Collectors And Sinners
    Teaching Ministry
    TED Talk
    Temple
    Temple Church
    Temple-church
    Thanksgiving
    The Color Of Law
    The Cross
    The Forgotten Ways
    The Gospel
    The Inner Man
    The Margins
    The New Parish
    The Poor And Their Neighborhood
    The Public Good
    Think Deep About Christmas
    Thomas Merton
    Tiers Of Human Hierarchy
    Toxic Charity
    Tyranny
    Tyrion Lannister
    Unclean
    Uncool Places
    Upward Mobility
    Urban
    Urban Christianity
    Urban Reload
    Urban Youth
    US Constitution
    Views On Marriage
    Violence
    Voting
    Walter Brueggemann
    Wasted Book Reviews
    Wasted Books
    Wasted Church
    Wasted Evangelism
    Wasted Evangelism In Action
    Wasted Evangelism Mind
    Wasted Evangelism Organization
    Wasted Evangelism Quote
    Wasted Exegesis
    Wasted Narrative Exegesis
    Wasted Poem
    Wasted Quote
    Wasted Rough Cut
    Wasted Rough Cuts
    Wasted Sermon
    Wasted Sermon Prep
    Wasted Sermon Thoughts
    Wasted Thought
    Ways Of Doing Church
    Weak And Strong
    Wealthy
    Wealthy Christian
    Welcoming Church
    Welcoming The Stranger
    Widow
    Widows
    Widows In Our Courts
    William Booth
    Woke
    Women
    Word From God
    Work
    Worship
    Young People
    Youth
    Z-Gens

    RSS Feed

Pages

Wasted Blog
Engagement
Books & Resources

More Pages

About
The Book
CZ

Even More Pages

Contact
Learning Local in The Hill
Terms of Use
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Wasted Blog
  • Wasted Engaged
    • Wasted Evangelism in Action
    • Wasted Evangelism Training
    • Wasted Evangelism Speaking
  • Wasted Evangelism, the Book & more
    • Wasted Evangelism, the Book
    • Lay Commentary on Philippians >
      • Destroying Private Cities Sample Chapter
    • Wasted Evangelism Resources & Links
    • Samples from Wasted Evangelism
  • Learning Wasted Local
    • Wasted Hill Blog
    • CPC in The Hill NewsLetter Updates >
      • Past Newsletter Links
    • FY22 Church Bulletins & Order of Service
    • Hill Sermons & Teaching >
      • Gospel of Luke Sermon Series
      • Mostly Romans & FYs 20-21 Bulletins
      • 2018 Summer: In the Father's House
      • At the Table Series
      • Church and Liturgy
      • Book of Judges
      • Gospel of Matthew Series
      • 1 Peter Series
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
  • New Page