Sermon on Isaiah 9:10-17--Immanuel, God with Us

GOD WITH US

Scripture

10 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!”

13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.[b] 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. 17 The LORD will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.”

Sermon

In the land of Israel, long before Jesus, there was this man of God who spoke God’s word with courage. His name was Isaiah. He was what the Hebrew people called a prophet. The word prophet is a word that we hear a lot, but the idea of a prophet in Israel had a larger role and a more expansive meaning that we have in twentieth century America.

People like Isaiah, who were God’s prophets were both foretellers and forth-tellers. Let me explain that. Did prophets foretell things in the future that were going to happen in generations or even decades to come? Yes they did.

More often than not though the prophet spoke God’s truth about what was going to happen in the future in order to bring God’s insight into contemporary situations. Then, there was a smidgen of hope that if people heard God’s Word, and responded to it with repentance and faithfulness, that the people would experience God’s power and presence in a deeper and more profound way.

The chapter before this one in Isaiah is an often quoted passage, especially for persons who are seeking to understand what the call of God is like. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah goes to the temple, and into the sanctuary, and he encounters God there. He is overwhelmed.  Isaiah tells God that he is an unclean man with unclean lips. God purifies Isaiah. Then the heavenly hosts began to ask who will go out on God’s behalf. Isaiah commits to do just that.

God tells Isaiah that he will go out and preach God’s word to people. And he will be persecuted, rejected, and ignored because of it. Do you still want to go, Isaiah? Are you still willing to say, “Here am I, send me!?”

Isaiah was willing to be God’s spokesperson, and at some points God’s laughing stock, and went out to God’s people with words of caution and warning, blessing and encouragement. One of the first prophetic duties Isaiah was called to perform was to speak God’s Word to Israel’s king.

Now it so happens that Isaiah was alive during when promised land was a divided kingdom. The northern kingdom was called Israel or Ephraim. It was less godly than the southern kingdom. The southern kingdom was called Judah. Judah’s king was, at this point, in a little bit of a crisis. Israel and Judah were combining to attack Israel. The king was pondering whether he should join up with Assyria against Syria and Israel or Ephraim. This was not a wise idea, nor an idea that God would honor.

Ahaz begins a dialogue with Isaiah, or was it vise-versa. Anyway. God offers to give Ahaz a sign that is amazing and fantastic. Ahaz says that he is not going to test God by asking for a sign.

To that God says this, that in the next few years this young woman, who apparently was in their presence, was going to conceive. She was going to have a child. And that they should call that child, “God with us”, because the child was a promise that God would see Israel through the difficult time. The child would have it rough, and there would be some difficult financial times ahead, but they would be able to avoid complete disaster. At least temporarily.

And that is exactly what happened. And many people believe this child to be the king Hezekiah, who was one of the righteous kings of Israel, at least until the end of his life. Isaiah brought prophetic messages to him as well.

And this promise during this crisis, GOD WITH US, demonstrated by the conception of a yet to be born child, became a part of God’s people’s collective memory. And came to be understood not only as a prophecy for that time, but also as a promise for what was going to happen when the Messiah came. So when people were drug off to Israel, they believed that at one point God was going to raise up a leader, born of a virgin, that would be a life that was lived as GOD WITH THEM.

Immanuel. God with Us. Immanuel. God with Us. These words filled people’s hearts. When they wondered if their children were going to have a future, they clung to the promise of the coming Messiah. When the persecution from invading powers, they remembered that salvation may be just around the corner, being formed in a woman’s womb, a miracle of God, and a sign that God would never abandon them, would never leave them or forsake them.

God could have given bigger signs. Hurricanes. Food falling from the skies. Mountains of gold appearing out of nowhere. In fact, to Ahaz, he offered anything. But, when God chooses to show us that he hears our prayers, when he wants to show us that he has not left us alone or forgotten about us, he gives us something more amazing and more precious. When God wants to show us that he is with us, he sends his message of his presence and faithfulness through the gift of a child.

I have always thought this very appropriate and very wise on God’s part. There is just something about a child, and children, that even if they are not a sign of deliverance or a promised Messiah, that helps us trust in the presence of God and have hope for the future.

This is why we respond so favorably to children. This is why our worlds seem to get bigger and our hearts seem to become more tender when we are awaiting the arrival of a newborn child, and as they wiggle their way into our lives and we begin to care for them and treasure them. This is why grandparents and great-grandparents long to be close to their grandchildren. This is why churches hope to hear the cries of babies and the pitter-patter of little footsteps in the sanctuary on Sunday morning. Children embody hope for nearly all of us. The miracle that they are teaches us about God’s presence and his goodness.

But by the time we read the New Testament, and we hear this passage quoted in the gospel of Matthew, we begin to understand that this child that we hear about, this Immanuel, this Jesus is a more special gift than we ever expected.

As the angels said to Joseph in Matthew 1,

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[d] which is translated, “God with us.”

You see, God’s promise through Jesus is always better and always more amazing than what we expect. The people were looking for some person whose leadership would make them feel like God was on their side. But when God sent Jesus, he did even better. He sent his Son Jesus as God in human form.

That little child growing inside Mary was not just a great teacher that was going to show people right from wrong, although he was that. That little guy in that young woman’s womb was not just going to grow into a great leader, although he was going to do that as well. That child that Mary and Joseph would raise was going to be God in a bod, he was going to a living, breathing man that was also God.

When we see that little Jesus in a manger, we see the lengths that God will go to in order to reach out to us, love us, be with us, and make a way for us to be with him for eternity. Jesus left the comfort of heaven for a feed trough. He left the choirs of angels for the jeers of ugly crowds. He left the beauty of heaven for arid dirt, sand, and stone of ancient Israel. And Jesus did all of that because he loves us with all of his heart, and he cannot bear to see us hopeless and helpless, and lost without him.

So Jesus came from heaven to earth. He was tempted just like we are, yet without sin. He was hungry and sick. He was tired and lonely. He cried. He teased his friends. He worked a job where he got sore and he had blisters. He went fishing. He experienced rejection from family and friends. In the end he was beaten and bruised to take our sins upon himself. And he did all of that out of love for you. To save you. To show you the way. To show me the way.

And when he died, he rose again. And he appeared to his disciples. And it came to the point where Jesus was going to ascend to heaven, he began to speak about the promise of the Holy Spirit coming to indwell and guide his disciples. And they were told to go into all the world and tell other people about the love of Christ. And Jesus told them as they went out into the world as his friends and representatives that “lo, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So this promise that we hear in Isaiah, that we see fulfilled with Jesus, this promise that God is with us, is not just a promise for days of old. It is a promise of Jesus for disciples today as well. We may feel abandoned, but we are not abandoned by our Heavenly Father. God is with us. We may feel alone, but we are never alone. God is with us. We may feel that nobody cares about us, or what we are going through. But that is simply untrue. We know this because God is with us.

The question is, will we believe and trust that truth, or will we ignore it. Because if we live our life with this trust and this confidence in the truth that God’s love surrounds us, and is always near to us, and always accessible to us, we can live a totally different kind of life. We will not have to be filled with anxiety. We won’t have to be riddled with doubt. And we won’t feel comfortable just being apathetic either. Instead we will be able to live in faith. And when we truly trust that God is with us we will be able to claim the truth that the Apostle Paul proclaimed in Romans 8

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tebowing and Christian Culture 2

One of the things I find most interesting about the Tim Tebow phenomenon is how it is many ways a narrative about how Christ can be shown as strong in our weakness.

For anyone who watches the first three quarters of most Broncos games, it is fairly obvious that Tim Tebow does not demostrate the skill set of an effective professional quarterback. His timing is pathetic. His footwork is awful. He has a slow passing delivery. He is painfully inaccurate on some of his passes. It just looks pathetic.

Somehow, though, when the fourth quarter comes around he leads his teams on miraculous comebacks. Strange things begin to happen. And Tim Tebow leads the Broncos to victory.

Generally, I am not a big fan of believing that God cares who wins football games. I pray when my Ducks and Seahawks play anyway, but I am not sure God roots for certain teams, and against others.
But, when I see Tim Tebow's transformation between the third and fourth quarters, I begin to believe that something supernatural is taking place. Which pains me to say, because I would prefer that God hate the Broncos as much as I do.

This appearance of a supernatural transformation in the fourth quarter speaks poorly for Tim Tebow's skill set, and more loudly for God working most powerfully through his servants when they are weakest. It is hard to believe that Tim is doing what he is doing when you watch him at the end of games. Sometimes it is easier just to believe that something is being done through him.

This narrative is a little different than most Christian athletes. Most Christian athletes enter the field of professional athletic battle as Goliaths. Tebow comes into the arena with five smooth stones and a slingshot. Then he has faith that somehow, someway God will do the rest.

I find the change in the Christian athlete narrative fascinating and intriguing. And, I am anxious to see what happens next.

Tebowing and Cultural Christianity I

The other day I came home from work, and opened my Facebook page. One of my parishoners had a picture of their child "Tebowing". For those of you who are unfamiliar with the practice, "Tebowing" is a certain position of bowing in prayer that mimics Tim Tebow's prayer pose on the football field. Underneath the picture my friend had commented, "Thank you Tim Tebow for showing my son that God is cool".


Now I certainly appreciate my friend's heart on this matter. She wants her children to love Jesus, and she is working hard to raise them right. She is looking for all the role models she can get in support of her Christian faith. And, in a day where there are so many awful role models in our popular culture, it is helpful to have one or two that reinforce good, healthy, Christian values. Yet, I had some measure of discomfort when I read this proclamation. This discomfort had less to do with my friend and family, which I have a lot of respect for, and more to do with how Christians and Americans deal with expressions of faith in the public square.


A number of questions raced through my mind. Is God best described as cool? Do I want my child thinking of God as "cool"? In what ways does longing for and expecting God to be "cool"effect the faith development of persons in our culture?


As I pondered these questions I came to a conclusion. I don't think the Lord cares if he is all that cool. Furthermore, I think that more often than not, the way of "cool" and the way of Jesus run in opposite directions.


Over and over again throughout Scripture God's people are called to be "set-apart", holy, peculiar. Instead of being cool, they were often viewed with suspicion. They were beat up, they were persecuted, and they were murdered for what they believed. The early Christians were believed to be unpatriotic to Rome, and irrationally loyal to their God in a land of polytheism. 


Jesus often had crowds gather around him. As soon as the crowds became large, Jesus would challenge people in harsh manner. He would encourage them to count the cost of following Jesus. He would say things that would so shock people that the crowds would nearly disappear. Jesus was so uncool to his peers that they murdered him.


More often than not, American Christians act like an insecure sophomore in high school. You know what I am talking about. Christian culture acts like that kid that gets picked on everyday, but is desperate for everyone to like and admire him. He has yet to learn to be comfortable in his own skin, so he mimics every trend that comes along, and does everything he can to gain positive attention.


This summer, I listened to a Christian leader speak about his evangelistic efforts. He could have shared about many opportunities he had to share his faith. He chose to share about how he led a celebrity journalist to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The way he described it, it was almost like a romantic conquest. He began to speak to her over dinner before. He closed the deal the next morning for coffee. 


I wondered, as I often do in moments like this, why it is so important that he reached a celebrity  with name recognition? If Christians are true to their message, shouldn't a homeless drunk or a prostitute finding hope in Christ matter as much to them as a famous journalist or great pro football player?


You see, what happens with "cool" Christianity is that we try to push God into our mold so that we can brag about Him, sell Him, and use Him for our benefit, and to serve our agenda. When we try to place the label "cool" on Jesus, we try and fit life of work of Christ into something that is easy, palatable, and marketable. We try and make our image of Jesus conform to society's standards. And by doing so, we compromise and ignore basic biblical truths that seem inconvenient.

Book Review of Distinctly Baptist ed. by Brian C. Brewer

Distinctly Baptist
ed. by Brian C. Brewer
ISBN 9780817016982
Judson Press
Review by Clint Walker


In the Baptist circles that I run in, discussions of historic baptist principles are commonplace among pastors and denominational leaders. This is especially true from people with a more progressive, activist theology. These discussions take place for two reasons. One reason is that many people have ties with Southern Baptist life, and believe that conservative drift of the SBC in the last 20-30 years does not reflect Baptist principles. Specifically, the effort to force pastors and people in the academy to sign on to a rather narrow theological statement has been resented by many, and many of those people have drifted into American Baptist Life.


The other reason that many people argue for Baptist distinctive beliefs is that they believe that the Baptist history of soul freedom and religious freedom should absolve congregations from ethical accountability and theological orthodoxy as they associate with other Baptist churches. This particularly relates to, but is not limited to, sexual ethics in Baptist life, and the refusal of some congregations to embrace the historic Christian teaching that homosexuality is incompatible with biblical teaching.


Into this mix of defining Baptist identity steps the faculty of Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University, and the book Distinctly Baptist: Proclaiming  Identity in a New Generation. This text is unique in that it is really a collection of sermon manuscripts. In 2010, on the 400th anniversary of the Baptist movement, the faculty of Truett preached a sermon series in their chapel that reviewed 14 Baptist principles that have guided Baptist life and mission. Some of these principles are shared across the Christian movement, some are more uniquely Baptist.


I truly enjoyed this book. I found myself agreeing with some the Baylor faculty, and I found myself less comfortable with other messages. Some of the messages were engaging and easy to understand. Some of the sermons were more heady and esoteric than I really cared to read in regard to Baptist identity. As a whole though, these messages hang together. The Truett faculty accomplish the task of describing what Baptists are like without defining Baptist belief, and by doing so creating an alternative Baptist orthodoxy based on Baptist principles.


What is neat about the book as well is the introductions to each section of the book. In these introductions, there is a summary of what is going to be discussed. There are also suggested Scripture texts for preaching on each of these Baptist principles, as well as ideas for introducing these concepts for worship and ways of creating opportunities for service relating to these principles. In addition to this, there are suggestions for further reading. 

A few more Hot Springs Pics: From the Walking Trail

These pics obviously need some editing as they have a lot of shadows, including shadows of me. They are of the path that runs through town, especially between the hotel and the United Churches building

Book Review of Night of the Living Dead by Matt Mikalatos

 

Night of the Living Dead Christian
by Matt Mikalatos
ISBN 978-1-4143-3880-4
Published by Tyndale House Publishers
SaltRiver Imprint
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Much of Christian fiction is dull and schmaltzy. That is why I often avoid it like the plague. Every once in a while, though, a writer comes along in the Christian writer's market that breaks that mold, and is truly creative. Matt Mikalatos has truly found his own creative, unique voice. And the Christian fiction world is truly better for it.

Mikalatos' most recently released book is entitled Night of The Living Dead Christian. It is a smart, intelligent allegory of the Christian life.

The focus on the book is the wild, crazy supernatural battle of the author and some friends he meets along the way. Mike begins the story as someone who is leading a neighborhood watch. As he seeks to fulfill his responsibilities, he finds himself enmeshed in battles with werewolves, zombies, and more. All right in his neighborhood. The result is a theological conversation on the nature of spiritual growth and transformation via a "horror-movie" kind of theology.

What intrigued me as I read is the ability of Mikalatos was his ability to build a connection between his novel and the literature of monsters in general. Historically, monster novels and stories were prophetic about the human condition. For instance, Frankenstein is a warning to our culture about becoming overly dependent on technology to solve our problems and provide for our comfort.

Night of the Living Dead Christian is more overtly Christian in its use of the monster archetypes to communicate ideas of theology and faith. It challenges our propensity to live parallel lives through the metaphor of the werewolf. It uses zombies to communicate the idea of being dead inside, but still looking alive on the outside. The examples go on and on.

So if you are looking for something to read that is fun and little quirky, but theologically sound, I would recommend grabbing the book and giving it a read.

I currently have one copy of this book to share with others. So, join in the conversation. I will chose one person who comments on this blog expressing interest in the book. The winner will be chosen on Monday the 19th.

(this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review)

watch on tyndale.com

Book Review of Matthew by Craig S. Keener

Matthew
by Craig Keener
The IVP New Testament Commentary series
ISBN
Intervarsity Press
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Craig Keener is a brilliant man. He is also passionate about Jesus and about ministry. The professor at Asbury Seminary has written a two-volume commentary on John that has become a standard of quality biblical scholarship. Several years ago Keener also wrote a great little commentary on Matthew, which I was recently given the opportunity to review. It was recently re-released in paperback.

What is great about Matthew by Craig S. Keener is that is really sharp and on point with the academic work, and yet at the same time it is really very conversational and accessible. It is even, at some points, surprisingly humorous,such as when it warns against preacher puns with the parable of the wheat and the tares (p. 242).

Keener keeps to the basics in this commentary. He organizes his understanding of Matthew around the themes of the Kingdom of Heaven and discipleship, which are perfectly appropriate. Very few passages are written about for more than two-four pages.

The strength of this commentary is that it really says in plain language what each passage in the gospel of Matthew in its social and literary context. When you read the words that Keener has to say about each specific passage, you can clearly relate to the time it was written, and see what was happening through the gospel by the way Keener opens up his readers' mind to understanding.

The one weakness about this commentary is that it is really does not communicate much in most passages about what the specific text means in everyday life. In other words, Matthew helps its readers observe and understand the text, but the author leaves it to his readers to figure out how to apply what they have learned.

All in all, this is a good commentary. It would be especially good if someone was teaching from a curriculum about something in Matthew, and wanted to use this commentary to add in insightful background information.

(This book was reviewed after the publisher provided me with a complimentary review copy. Thanks IVP!)

Advent 3 Sermon on Isaiah 35

1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,

      And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;

       2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,

      Even with joy and singing.

      The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

      The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

      They shall see the glory of the LORD,

      The excellency of our God.

       3 Strengthen the weak hands,

      And make firm the feeble knees.

       4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

      “ Be strong, do not fear!

      Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

      With the recompense of God;

      He will come and save you.”

       5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

      And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

       6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,

      And the tongue of the dumb sing.

      For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,

      And streams in the desert.

       7 The parched ground shall become a pool,

      And the thirsty land springs of water;

      In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,

      There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

       8 A highway shall be there, and a road,

      And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.

      The unclean shall not pass over it,

      But it shall be for others.

      Whoever walks the road, although a fool,

      Shall not go astray.

       9 No lion shall be there,

      Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;

      It shall not be found there.

      But the redeemed shall walk there,

       10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

      And come to Zion with singing,

      With everlasting joy on their heads.

      They shall obtain joy and gladness,

      And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

As most of you know, I was born in Oregon. I grew up in Roseburg, Oregon as a matter of fact. Right after we moved here, Jennifer and I had the opportunity to travel to my boyhood home while I officiated the wedding of a youth group member from Colorado Springs.

As I headed toward where I grew up after I officiated the wedding in Portland, it was obvious that my joy and anticipation was starting to grow. With each mile, my heart filled with anticipation. Memories came flooding back. As Jennifer drove, I was able to remember familiar places and sign posts from the past. All the small towns on the Old 99 Highway. The paper mill in Albany, Oregon that smells really bad. Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The ice cream shop in Rice Hill. The Winchester Dam that we used to stop at and look for fish on the fish ladder. The lumber mill that my mom’s boyfriend worked at. The beautiful, green Umpqua River. Each mile forward got me closer to home. Closer to the place that I love. Closer to my roots. Closer to that place that I always dreamed of getting back to since I left it in junior high.

To a lesser extent, I feel that anticipation when driving back to Fowler from Pueblo. I check off the streets as I go in my head. I look forward to seeing that bend in the river a little ways on this side of Nepasta where the Arkansas comes close to Highway 50. I know that when I hit that Travel Inn sign that used to be a KFC sign I am less than five minutes from my front door. I look for the signs. I get eager to open the front door and be home.

I know you feel much the same way. Most of us enjoy seeing signs along the road that point us toward home.

This is, in some ways, a similar idea to what God is trying to communicate to Isaiah through Isaiah 35. The image of Isaiah’s journey; however, has greater import than our journeys to our front doors.

The picture is bleak as the story begins. God’s people are in a hard place. The ground is dry and cracked due to the lack of moisture. The people’s bodies are feeble. Their hearts are filled with fear. Some are blind. Some are deaf. Some are crippled.

God’s people, as this is being written, are a discouraged people. They are wondering, have we been abandoned by God? Why then is life THIS hard right now? Why then do I hurt so much? Why am I struggling, God? Why don’t I feel like you are close? Why don’t I feel you at work? What is going on, Lord? Their enemies have beat them up, put them down, and rubbed their nose in the dirt. And they wonder…does God notice? Does God care? Do they matter to him?

And, in the midst of that heartache, in the midst of those doubts, God sends his people good news. He is present. He is listening. They need to look up. They need to rejoice. There salvation is nearer now than they ever anticipated. Because God is about to lead them on a wonderful, beautiful journey home—and provide for them amazing signposts along the way.

So, the prophet, in the midst of heartache, in the midst of physical and emotional pain, and in the midst of difficult circumstances tells the people to have joy. He tells them to rejoice, have joy, or be glad. These words are mentioned 5 times in ten verses. He commands them to do this because he sees what God is doing, and that in the words of soul singer Sam Cooke in the midst of the civil rights movement, he tells them to look up because “change, change is gonna come.” As a matter of fact it is here.

God is on the move. He will not leave us alone in our misery and suffering. He will not leave us alone in our heartbreak. He will not abandon us in a dry and weary land where there is no water. No the message of Advent is that our king, King Jesus, has come and is coming. He is true and he is faithful. King Jesus is making a way out of no way. He’s building a highway to us, with lots of rest and refreshment along the way, and then he is leading us in a victory march to Zion, to the city of God, to the foot of his throne as his own.

So open up your ears, and hear the good news. Open up your eyes, and see his kingdom on the move all around us. Know that your prayers have been heard. You deliverer is coming. And rejoice. And get ready. Prepare your hearts and your lives for the coming king.

To see this hope most clearly, you need to see the passage in its literary context. This chapter has a chiastic structure. This is a type of poetic structure in Hebrew that places the key point of a passage in the middle of the passage, with themes and words matching one another before and after the key point. In this passage they key point is in verse 4. Verse 4 says in the Message, “Tell fearful souls,  "Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on his way to put things right and redress all wrongs. He's on his way! He'll save you!"

When things seem like they are out of control, God is listening. When things seem completely hopeless, the one we place our hope in is not far from us. And if we are wise, we will look up, we will look around, and see that he is at work, and see that whether we sense his nearness or he seems far away, he is at work loving us, delivering us, rescuing us, giving us new life and new hope.

So today, no matter our circumstances, if we see the world through the eyes of faith, can have joy. We can have joy because we know the story. We know that it starts with a loving creator speaking the world into being, and it ends in our eternal home with our Precious Savior.

The Scripture urges us to notice all the things that God has done to reach us.  First, it says that he has provided water in the desert. And not just a little water. The Scripture says that streams will burst forth from out of nowhere. That where there was once a parched ground, now there is this spring of fresh water for people to drink out of. And the place that was a scary, parched, windswept wild place will become an oasis.

Several years ago, I was leading a youth group through the desert to San Diego for an urban missions experience. We made our way through Phoenix, cut our way down through this two lane that took us to the interstate that runs right along the border, and we stopped in Yuma. Now, I don’t know how many of you have been to Yuma, but I have to tell you Yuma is not a desirable place to be. It is ugly. It is hot. And the people are not friendly. Anyway…we leave Yuma and we start through this ruggedly beautiful set of jagged mountains that we have to get over to get to San Diego. Those mountains have little pullouts on them about every 2-5 miles. And in these pullouts are little fountains of water that you can stop at when your car overheats driving in 110+ degree weather at steep grades. I began to think what it might be like to have the van we were driving full of kids overheat and have to stop in this spot in the middle of nowhere.  It was a frightening experience.

Life in desert is always a life lived on the margins. Life in that kind of wilderness is not really about living, it is about surviving. It is about getting your family from one day to the next.

And what does God bring to that barely surviving life? Abundance. More water than they needed or could have hoped for. Enough so that they did not have to live their lives just surviving. Instead, through Jesus, God made a way where we could truly live life, and not just survive it. That is why he said, “I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly”. (John 10:10).

Then, Isaiah also says that God heals those who are disabled, and strengthens those who are weak. The crippled walk. The blind see. The deaf hear. The mute do not simply speak, they sing.

Certainly we see Jesus fulfill this promise in the Gospels. When John the Baptist sends representatives to Jesus to ask if he is the one that is promised, Jesus says, “Tell him the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the good news is preached to the poor”. A brief summary of Isaiah 35 and 61—understood as prophecies of the Messiah.

But even today, Jesus offers us his healing. And he offers to make us stronger and more whole. He takes our feeble souls, and gives them strength. He gives us the ability to be who we never thought we could be, and through his Spirit do what we never thought we could do. He changes our lives. He gives us new lives. By his grace.

We also see that Jesus makes a way out of no way. A way for us to walk with God and his people. And then, at the end of our journey, to reside in Zion, eternally in the presence of God.  The Bible says the Messiah makes a Highway of Holiness.

The idea is, as the Messiah seeks to save those in the wilderness, he builds the original road to nowhere. Where there was no way to God, Jesus makes a way to Zion to be in his presence.

The final verses use two other very important words. Redeem and ransom. Both are words used for captives. To ransom is to pay a price to set someone free who has been held captive by someone else. To redeem, in biblical language, is to buy a slaves freedom and restore them to good standing. This passage promises that when Jesus will come he will do both. He will pay the price to set us free, and he will restore us to what he created us to be.

The question is, will we go with Him? He has set us free from slavery to sin. Will we go with Him?

He has offered us life, true life, instead of an existence just trying to survive. Will we trust Him? Will we walk with Him?

He has offered healing to our weak and feeble lives and souls. Will we trust him to heal and strengthen us? Will we walk with this Jesus?

He had made a way where there is no way for us. He has become the way, the truth and the life. He has built a path to us, and now he invites us to get on the road to Zion with Him.

Will you get on that journey home with Jesus? A journey filled with blessing and provision, hope and joy.

I hope you will. Because as you get on the path with Jesus, you will begin to notice things on the journey. You will notice signs along the way. Bends in the road. You will experience a sense of peace and confort as you walk with Jesus. And then, somewhere along the road, you will realize that the journey from the parched wilderness to Zion is not just any simple journey. You will notice that that as you walk with Jesus and you look toward eternity with God, you are not heading to a strange and scary place. You will find as you walk with Jesus, and you see the signs along the road, you will realize that everywhere you have been before you were a stranger and foreigner. As you go with Jesus, and you follow his lead, you will notice he is simply leading you home.

Book Review of the NIV Study Bible

A little over 15 years ago, I was licenced as a minister at Armourdale Baptist Church. When I received this honor, the deacon board at the church gave me an NIV Study Bible. It has been well used since then.

About one year ago, the people at Zondervan updated their NIV translation. Recently, they have published a revision of my beloved NIV Study Bible. So, I picked up the newer version, and have been looking through it off and on ever since.

I am truly impressed with what the new NIV Study Bible has to offer. Changes from previous versions of this bible include:

• stronger introductions to sections of Scripture, instead of simply introductions to books
• A layout that has a much more readable font and much clearer delineation between the "notes" section and the actual Scriptural text.
• More visual aids.
• Most of the visual aids in the new NIV Study Bible are now in full color. This makes the maps and the charts much easier to look at, and adds to greater ease in understanding these study tools.

Each of the changes in the NIV Study Bible adds to its quality instead of detracting from it. This product still keeps its most helpful features including:

• excellent notes about verses and passages at the bottom of each page
• helpful maps, drawings, charts, and other visual aids to help the reader to understand the context of each passage a little bit better
• a helpful topical index AND
• a decent but not exhaustive concordance

For evangelicals this study bible is the standard bearer for all study bibles. It maintains that standing with this new edition. In the process of transitioning to the 2010 NIV text, the folks at Zondervan have show that they are not afraid to step up their game to make an even better product. For that they should be commended.

(This bible was provided in exchange for an honest review)

Pictures of Me and Of the Fam and I

These are the directory pictures for the Olan Mills Directory they are putting together at United Hot Springs, SD. It is sure a good family picture. Not sure I like the picture of me, but trying not to be picky. I always get squinty when I smile. Grr.

Book Review of The Gospel of Matthew by Matt Woodley

The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us
Resonate Series
by Matt Woodley
ISBN 978-0-8308-3642-0
Published by Intervarsity Press
Likewise Imprint
Reviewed By Clint Walker

I am a pastor. One of the reasons I am a pastor is that I love studying and teaching the Bible. In my teaching and preaching I often use Bible commentaries to help me go deeper into the word and understand it better. Most commentaries are helpful in one way or another. Some are more technical, and can be so esoteric that it is really hard to pass on anything that I learned from them. Other commentaries, in an attempt to be down to earth, have dumbed things down so much that I find them hard to use as well. The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us falls to neither of these pitfalls. As a matter of fact, this commentary for the common person is supurb. Matt Woodley has achieved a noble mission. He has written a commentary that  will be helpful for both the lay person seeking to know more about the Bible, and the pastor preparing a sermon or Bible study for their congregation.

The Gospel of Matthew: God with Us is, as far as I can tell, written in the tradition of a lay person's commentary. In the tradition of William Barclay and N.T. Wright, Matt Woodley spends just a few pages sharing about each section of the Scripture. He does not get bogged down in details that are unimportant. Woodley clearly explains what was going on at the time the Bible was written, and with a deft eagerness makes a quick transition to why that matters to people like you and I today.

Woodley makes his interpretive framework clear from the beginning when he says, "Jesus has come to fulfill the story of God's chosen people" (p. 24). What he means by this is not that Jesus has come exclusively for Hebrews, but rather that the gospel for everyone is rooted in and the fulfillment of what God has been doing through the Hebrew people in the Old Testament. It also means that Woodley sees the gospel as expressing and rooted in a narrative process. Thus, both the commentary as a whole, and each section of the commentary have a "story-formed" feel, which I agree with and greatly appreciate.

Throughout The Gospel of Matthew, Matt Woodley shows he has a gift for being able to turn a phrase. Early in the book he says that Jesus was the "one that saves us from our sins" but that "they (many of Jesus' Jewish hearers) wanted a Messiah that would save them from the sins of others" (p. 29).

When talking about the parable of the sheep and goats, one of my favorite passages, Woodley makes some more deft observations. First he notices where the parable is located in the context of the story when he makes a point of reminding his readers that "this passage contains Jesus' last official teaching in Matthew's teaching-filled gospel" (p. 233). He goes on to share this helpful observation about the meaning of the text, "Here's the crux of the matter: mercy requires personal presence: (p. 234).

Each section of this book is written like what I shared about these two sections. This is a commentary that is actually fun to read. In the books promotional materials, I noticed that others agree with me. I could not agree more with Mark Galli, the senior managing editor of Christianity Today when he says,

"This commentary by Matt Woodley is one you don't simply want to reference but read. Woodley rightly manages to find the note of grace and promise in every passage. This is a book about the gospel--good news--of Matthew. I can't imagine studying the first Gospel without this book within easy reach."

Heck, this book is even endorsed by F. Dale Bruner, who in my opinion who has written the best commentary I have ever read or used when he wrote his two volume commentary on the book of Matthew.

If you are a pastor that is leading a study or preaching on Matthew, or if you plan to do so at any time in the near future, you need to have this commentary in your library. It is that good.

(I was given this book in exchange for an HONEST review by the publisher)

Review of Baby's First Bible Retold by Sarah Toulmin

Baby's Little Bible
Sarah Toulmin
ISBN 987-0-7459-6271-9
Published by Lion Hudson
Reviewed by Clint Walker

As most readers of this blog know, I am a father of an 18 month old, and we have another little baby on the way. So when the opportunity came to pick up this Baby's Little Bible for my little ones, I jumped at the opportunity.

Baby's Little Bible is a collection of bible stories for small children. There are a total of 20 stories. Nine of the Bible Stories are from the Old Testament. Eleven of the Bible stories are from the Gospels. There are no bible stories from the rest of the New Testament.

There is much to commend about this book. The pictures are colorfully illustrated. The stories are written in a straight-forward fashion. The author ends the story of Jesus following the resurrection well. The cover is appealing.

I do, however, have some concerns about the book as well. First, if it is truly a baby book, than it should really be a board book. I would not give this book to my toddler because she would tear the pages apart. Also, some of the vocabulary of the book is a little advanced for babies and preschoolers. Especially preschoolers who are trying to learn to read.

All in all, I think this book will be helpful during story time with my little ones as they grow. Baby's Little Bible is a good resource for parents to read the Bible stories to their children.

    * This book was provided in exchange for an honest review

Thoughts on Rom. 8:1-11 in the CEB

¹ So now there isn’t any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ God has done what was impossible for the Law, since it was weak because of selfishness. God condemned sin in the body by sending his own Son to deal with sin in the same body as humans, who are controlled by sin. ⁴ He did this so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Now the way we live is based on the Spirit, not based on selfishness. ⁵ People whose lives are based on selfishness think about selfish things, but people whose lives are based on the Spirit think about things that are related to the Spirit. ⁶ The attitude that comes from selfishness leads to death, but the attitude that comes from the Spirit leads to life and peace. ⁷ So the attitude that comes from selfishness is hostile to God. It doesn’t submit to God’s Law, because it can’t. ⁸ People who are self-centered aren’t able to please God.
⁹ But you aren’t self-centered. Instead you are in the Spirit, if in fact God’s Spirit lives in you. If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, they don’t belong to him. ¹⁰ If Christ is in you, the Spirit is your life because of God’s righteousness, but the body is dead because of sin. ¹¹ If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your human bodies also, through his Spirit that lives in you.



For my last month, we are discussing Romans 8 in our midweek bible study. As I close my ministry here, I want to close it with an emphasis on the love and grace of Jesus, which has really been my focus wherever I have been in ministry from the start.

Last week we discussed section of this passage that says "there isn't any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." We visited a lot about the ways we seek to condemn ourselves and earn God's love instead of accepting it, and allowing it to work through us to transform us. It was a very helpful and fruitful Bible study. At least...I thought it was.

What is difficult about this passage is the discussion of what other versions translate "the flesh". The repeating of the word "flesh" over and over again, in contrast and relation to Spirit in Paul's midrashic logic is not always easy to explain. You have to untangle what the word "flesh" means and then begin to unpack the steps of Paul's reasoning.

So, as I reread this passage in the CEB, it stood out to me that this translation used the word "selfishness" for the "flesh". I think this is very helpful for many people in the pews. So often it is easy to confuse flesh with the body, and then body with materialism. This leads to a logic that says everything in the material world is bad, and we need to strive to be completely unembodied to be spiritual. This really is a form of gnosticism. And a lot of people have become Christian gnostics from a misinterpretation of this passage and others like it.

By the CEB using the term selfishness, I think we have a pretty good summary for "the flesh". It is not a perfect summary of the concept, but it makes the point of "the flesh" while steering us clear of a disembodied spirituality that labels our bodies as inherently bad. I like it.

Book Review of Deeper into the Word: OLD TESTAMENT

Deeper in the Word: Old Testament
by Kerri Wyatt Kent
ISBN 978-0-7642-0843-0
Bethany House Publishers
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Over the last year or two, I have come to respect and enjoy the writing and thinking of Kerri Wyatt Kent. She is intelligent. She communicates clearly. Kerri also has a way of thinking through and studying things that most people wouldn't take the time to study. Then she shares what she has learned on her journey in a way that people want hear more of what she has to say.

Kent's latest book is a sequel of sorts. I reviewed her first book on the New Testament in July.  This book is a collection of word studies on the Old Testament. It is just as good, if not better, than the book I read last summer.

Deeper into the Word: Old Testament takes on 100 words that are important in the Old Testament Scriptures, and explains that word's meaning and significance more in depth. Each entry is two to four pages long. The words are listed in alphabetical order, which makes it really to get to the word you are looking to study.

I think the Old Testament is a lot more interesting to look at with word studies. Much of Hebrew is driven by word pictures, and so many of the words merit further description once you understand them. Kent's work on this set of word studies reflects this truth. I particulary liked the studies on "glory" and on "harvest".

Another thing that makes the book interesting is the specific words Kent picks to study. Some of the words you would expect in an Old Testament word study, such as "covenant". I was also overjoyed when she picked words like "wander", that are unique enough to grab my attention but also do a good job of shedding light on God's Old Testament story.

I would recommend this book to those seeking a meaningful devotional, or for those wanting a helpful word study resource. As a meaningful devotional, it would be really easy to chose to read a word a month for the next couple of months. As a word study resource, it would be helpful in preparing for some Bible studies and sermons.

Colbert on Christmas

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Colbert Report: Denver Airport and the Apocolypse

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Reflections on Romans 8: 12-17--CEB Blog Tour

¹² So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it isn’t an obligation to ourselves to live our lives on the basis of selfishness. ¹³ If you live on the basis of selfishness, you are going to die. But if you put to death the actions of the body with the Spirit, you will live. ¹⁴ All who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. ¹⁵ You didn’t receive a spirit of slavery to lead you back again into fear, but you received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ But if we are children, we are also heirs. We are God’s heirs and fellow heirs with Christ, if we really suffer with him so that we can also be glorified with him.

The Bible Study this Wednesday is on Romans 8:12-17. The topic in the curriculum is confident Christians. The idea being that the evidences of God's presence mentioned in these few verses, when taken to heart, creates confident Christians.

When I look at this passage, the language that stands out to me is "child of God". This concept is repeated 3 times in five verses. Simply put, this is where our confidence, if you want to put it that way, comes from.

Specifically, our confidence is exercised in relationship with God in this passage. Self-judgment leads to fear. Fear leads us to try harder. Trying harder leads us to live in self-centeredness and selfishness. Selfishness leads to death.

On the other hand, life in the Spirit leads to us being adopted as God's children. Seeing ourselves as treasured and loved by God as chosen children means that we do not see him as a slave master, but rather as a father that loves us that we want to please. When we understand that we are truly God's child, we realize that everything in his hands is also ours, either now or in the future. Also, everything in the universe is accessible to us.

Also, it becomes clear then that when we are God's heirs, we inherit his treatment. Therefore, rejection and suffering is part of being a disciple. It is not due to failure or a strained relationship. Thus, we need not fear we are being condemned when circumstances go wrong. It is part of what it means to be part of the family of God to experience suffering..

Parenting Posts: General Updates and Thoughts

Our little KK is growing like a weed, and she is so fun. She comes up with something new nearly every day. It is crazy to think last year at this time she was six months old and not even walking yet. Now she running everywhere, and encouraging us to join her.

One of the things she has taken to lately is patting a place on one of the couches and telling us to "sit". Only sit ends up being mispronounced with an additional h between the s and the i. We can't help but laughing.

Karis loves music. She has taken to creating a little band within our home. She hands out instruments, and then she says, "Two, three" and then insists that everyone begins playing. We do this over and over again. She also loves to sing "itsy-bitsy" spider, as well as "wheels on the bus". At church, she likes to get up on the piano bench and play the piano whenever the bench is empty. Yesterday, at our Christmas pictures, she found a little baby grand piano for children. She loved it, and it made for some good pictures.

She also enjoys coloring, and does it quite often. She talks to us and herself about what she is drawing, but we cannot make out what she was saying.

Her behavior gets a little obscessional at this age, which at times worries me that there may be something wrong. Her mother says a little OCD is normal for an 18 month old.

Church is a little challenging to deal with as far as Karis goes. She is so energetic, especially in church. There are people that delight in her little escapades at FBC Fowler on Sundays, and there are others that Jennifer believes communicate some disgust and frustration that she does not have the ability to be quiet and not say anything throughout worship yet. Last Sunday, Jen and Karis sat with "Nette" (her babysitter), and she did much better. Except when she started grunting loudly during a bowel movement in the middle of the sermon.

As far as I go, I think negotiating behavior of toddlers in worship is always difficult, but as a clergy person it becomes more complicated. Why? Because as a PK, a parent/child relationship in church always has more theological import. If a pastor is a workaholic, the kids tend to blame God for taking their Dad away too much. If the pastor's reputation is sullied by a child's behavior, the child of a pastor that sins feels the judgement of the church more acutely. And, when Karis runs toward me in the pulpit, all I can think of is "let the little children come unto me, for such is the kingdom of God". I want her to be behaved, but I think being too stern with her and too frustrated with her at church ends up making the church this place of anger and judgment instead of grace and love. I don't know how to explain this all, but I want to try and have appropriate expectations of her, but I don't want to squelch her spirit or place undue scrutiny on her behavior because she is a pastor's kid. Besides, it is a different experience for a child when they are asked to be non-responsive when there dad's voice is being amplified for an hour. Obviously, something I am still working through. However, moving to a church where we can have nursery care in worship on a consistent basis without feeling like we have to fight for it all the way will be nice.

Also, we are pondering whether Karis ready for potty training. She seems to announce when she has to go to the bathroom quite a bit, or when she just urinated. Jennifer has said she has pointed to the toilet and said "pee" a few times. I am eager for her to be potty trained on one hand, but nervous because it brings with it yet one more set of parenting skills that I feel woefully ill-equipped to exercise.

I am also becoming more and more curious about how Karis will handle a new child coming. She seems to enjoy babies, but an inquisitive toddler around a newborn worries me a little bit.

We are also worried about the unborn child a little bit. The doctor said she had a two-percent chance of having some sort of birth defect after a recent set of tests. That means that there is a 98 percent chance that our new child will be a happy, healthy little one, however we both spend a lot of time stressing about the 2 percent. We figure that will Jen's advanced maternal age, and some of her health concerns, that this all just gets put into the complicated logorhythm that determines risk level. We hope the month or two goes fast before we can get further tests and know what we are possibly dealing with. So, keep us in prayer with that one.

What Bill Maher has to teach Christians about Christmas

My friend Steve Buie posted this on facebook. I thought it was especially appropriate in the season of Advent, even though I don't recommend the video for folks who have a problem with crude language

Money quotes:

"This is our real religion, greed. People pretend to go nuts for Jesus...but I don't know"

"As for me I don't really know what spirituality means, but I know if you are weeping over a sweater, you don't either"
"

KJV Spoken Word Poetry--Fun Stuff

Book Review of Why God Won't Go Away by Alister McGrath

Why God Won’t Go Away

By Alister McGrath

ISBN 978-0-8499-4645-5

Thomas Nelson Publishers

Reviewed by Clint Walker

I have often heard about what both people inside and outside of the church have referred to as the “New Atheism”, and each time it has been mentioned, I have been foggy about what the term meant. For this reason I picked up Why God Won’t Go Away by Alister McGrath. What I discovered was a cogent, clearly written summary of the New Atheism, as well as some simple to understand criticisms and objections to the philosophy that informs the New Atheists.

McGrath begins this book by identifying the key leaders in the New Atheist movement. Then he distinguishes the unique characteristics of the movement, especially in relationship to more traditional forms of atheism. Then McGrath goes in depth about the identifying arguments and attitudes of the New Atheists. He ends the book by questioning the future of New Atheists, and plotting the future of thinking Christianity in light of living in a world where the “New Atheism” has a strong influence.

What I found unique about the New Atheism is the fervor of its leaders. One of the arguments of many of these men is that religion is not just wrong, but in fact religion is destructive and evil. Much of this line of argument, although being around among average people for a long time, gains new steam after the violence of 9-11 by religious Islamic fundamentalists. A traditional atheist believes that Christianity is illogical, and focuses on reason. The “New Atheist” aggressively seeks to evangelize people to be atheists because they believe that religious faith must be destroyed. They believe that religious faith is dangerous. The “New Atheists” tend to attempt to be logical, but in fact much of the “new atheism” is polemical, and calls their disciples to aggressively fight against the wretched religious folks.

This book is kind-hearted and grace-filled. It is also a book full of strong Christian conviction regarding the truth about God’s existence and the gospel of Jesus. I would recommend it to anyone struggling with issues about whether there is a God. I would also especially commend this book to believers who are struggling with doubt.

(this book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

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What she says, what we hear