A Reasonable Faith

Recently, I have been facilitating a crash course on Apologetics. In this age, I am convinced that is no longer enough for Christians to know that they believe, but to know why they believe. The two common errors Christians can make in this arena are really two extremes. the first, is the non, or anti intellectual approach. This means that our faith is something spiritual, invisible, and cannot, and should not have to be explained, or examined in a reasonable, or rational way. The second error, is at the other end of the spectrum. These people will generally make the mistake of ruling out the “mysterious” elements of our faith, and rely completely on reason, hard science, doctrinal logic and even the senses, thus leaving no room for the trancsendancy of the Holy Spirit. My attempt, in bringing this course, is to give these new believers some real, tangible, and exciting facts, that can bolster their faith, and equip them to share the gospel in such a way as to entice people to not just make and emotional decision for Christ, but also an informed one.

In the course, I walk the students through a series of lectures and we cover many topics in our Q and A such as:

How can I know that jesus actually lived in History?

Is there evidence for the resurrection?

What about evolution?

What about all the other religions in the world?

How can I know the Bible is trustworthy?

etc. etc. etc.

If you are interested in hosting a seminar at your church please contact me: darrelllahay@gmail.com

I am available to conduct seminars ranging in length from 3 hours to two days. new beleivers, youth, seniors and students would all benefit from this fast paced and exciting course!

Your Christianity is boring

When God exposes himself to us, we become, at that very moment, responsible.. When God reveals himself to us, we are obliged to respond to what has been revealed. Be careful when you pray; “Lord show me your glory!” What if He does? Do you really think you want the responsibility? The Christian life that is devoid of spiritual revelation is also conveniently devoid of spiritual responsibility isn’t it? What life do you want to live? One of ease, comfort and predictability?  Or one of danger, risk and revelation? The choice is yours pilgrim. You can be radically changed by the doctrines of the church, or you can become embalmed by them.

dl

a handy little church history chart

 

Here is an interesting chart I came across in Wikipedia..Take a glance at it, and feel free to let me know if you have any questions..After looking at this chart, I’m sure Jesus Himself might have some questions for us!

December 31st | The feast of St. Sylvester

 

Today is Decemebr 31st. New year’s Eve. the beginning of a new year, and a chance to celebrate for many. Around the world, to many who acknowledge various liturgical calendars, today is the feast day of someone a little less popular than Father Time..

Sylvester was ordained bishop over the church in Rome in the year 314.  This Christian brother served the church at a time when the Arian heresy and the Donatist schism had provoked great discord. After the peace of Constantine, he contributed greatly to the expansion of the faith throughout the Roman world.. Below is a reading I borrowed from a Catholic Missal:

Collect:
Lord,
help and sustain Your people
as in the days of Bishop Sylvester.
Guide us always in this present life
and bring us to the joy that never ends.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16
“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 16:13-19
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

December 18th | Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Below, I’ve pasted a selection from the Catholic Mass reading from the USCCB website (United States Conference Of Catholic Bishops)..It is such a good devotional read…Check it out Pilgrim as we approach the time we’ve set aside to celebrate Christ’s first coming!

December 18, 2010
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Reading 1

Jer 23:5-8

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”

Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.

Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19

Responsorial Psalm

RR. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Mt 1:18-25Gospel

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.

The Church Of The Future…..

Dr. Ted Roberts is an american pastor, and also the founder of Pure Desire Ministries. I have been reading his book and came across this great, straight forward statement on the church…If you are a Pilgrim, well, c’mon and check it out…

“Therefore, the Church of the future, if it is to be effective, must become a place of practical grace. It must be a place where hope is the dominant theme, and denial, especially religious pretending, is nowhere in sight. That’s a challenge for those in leadership, because personal vulnerability is the key issue. Leadership must be characterized by personal honesty that is open and forthright about their own struggles, yet at the same time able to speak from personal experience of the overwhelming victory available in Christ. In other words, servant-leadership will need to be New Testament to the core.”

What do you think the Church of the future should look be like? Leave a comment.

Words from Irenaeus

Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons in the ancient Roman province of Gaul, is one of the early church fathers from the second century who’s writings still survive and hold relevance..

Here are some of his thoughts on “a life well spent”:

 ”The God, therefore, who does benevolently cause His sun to rise upon all, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust, shall judge those who, enjoying his equally distributed kindness, have led lives not corresponding to the dignity of His bounty, but who have spent their days in wantonness and luxury.”

Tithing vs. Giving

Recently I was asked if I could write a controversial post on tithing. Realizing that this is something that could get me in trouble, I’ve decided to take up the challenge.

There are many different perspectives on the Christian responsibility of tithing. Some say it is indeed a New Testament discipline and a command to all believers.  Others affirm that it is strictly an Old Testament ordinance, but must be observed as an essential principle for new covenant believers.  Some Christians  teach, that tithing is strictly an Old testament law and there is NO obligation to observe it in light of the new covenant, and that tithing is actually a form of religious bondage.

Before we look at this matter, let’s get a working definition. What is tithing? Simply, a tithe means: a tenth . A 10% portion of an income, possessions or lands.  Tithing is certainly not only a Judean-Christian practice. The Babylonians, Islamic, as well as Sikhs have tithed since ancient times.

Biblically, the first mention of the concept of tithing is found in Genesis 14:18-19.  Here Abraham meets the mysterious figure: Melchezedek, who is a king of Salem, and a priest of the Most High God. He is also described as having no natural birth. Some scholars propose that this was an angel of God, some say it was Noah’s son Shem. I suspect that it was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Nonetheless. We see Abram offering this priest, a tenth of all of his spoils.

There are also several places in the Pentateuch where tithing is mentioned.

Deuteronomy 14;22-27, Deuteronomy  26:12-14, Numbers 18:13-14

In the context of the Mosaic Law, tithes and offerings were a combination of ceremonial offerings, but a specific percentage essentially served as a type of tax. This tax served two chief purposes. To finance and support the temple and Priesthood, and to provide for the poor among the people.

Later, the early Catholic writer Francis Plowden wrote about tithing as “A divine ordinance and an obligation of conscience.”

Although most modern Biblical scholars agree that tithing IS NOT a direct command given in the New Testament many Catholics church leaders have cited Matthew 23:23, arguing that Jesus in fact instructed that tithing was essential.

Lastly, the common scripture used to define the act of tithing in most protestant churches today comes from Malachi 3:8-10.

This scripture eloquently describes the heart and principle of giving to God. It portrays that the failure of the Jewish people to observe it in the past was a clear sign of their lack of faith, and would now incur a curse upon them. It also showed that those who are faithful in giving to God in tithes and offerings, would be rewarded with divine provision and blessing. This scripture in Malachi is often referred to as command. Although the passage does show a great truth, it is erroneously taught as an Old Testament  command that must be observed. This proposes a doctrinal problem. Why should a New Testament believer, who is supposedly not under the “old law’, observe an obscure principle mentioned in the Prophets, but, be shunned and labeled as a Judaizer or Legalist if they decide to observe the Feasts or Festivals of Yawheh, or observe the levitical dietary laws, let alone the entire Mosaic law. In short, my tough question is: Why do we insist that our congregations obey this single Old Testament law, but encourage them that they are free from all of the other 313 laws? I think we all know the answer to that. Because the church’s need money.

Do I think it is wrong to tithe? Absolutely not! I encourage it, and practice it myself. Do I think it is a direct command that all Christians have to give ten percent of their income to the local church? No. Hermeneutically, that would be a convenient assumption. I will share my favorite verse that I use to teach my children about Christian giving and provision:

2 Corinthians 9:7 “So let each one give as they purpose in their heart to give. Not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Notice God didn’t say He loves a religious giver, or a punctual giver, or a consistent giver. He said He loves a cheerful giver.

 

Here are my conclusions on tithing, they may sound controversial, and even a little contradictive, but, here they are:

• Why tithe when you can give? When you give 8%, you may feel guilty…. when you give 10%, you may feel satisfied…….. when you give 12%,  You feel “spiritual”.    This is not a good perspective on charity. The law was designed to show sin and act as yoke,(obligation)  leading us to Christ (joy).
• Tithing is good. It is never a sin.
• Give money, give lots, give regularly
• Give to the local Church and give to pastors who bless you
• Finances can be given to increase our faith. Every financial offering is a seed sown.
• If money, and fear of lack has a grip on you, the best way to break that spirit, is to give hilariously.
• Give because you want to
• Give because God has blessed you
• Give because you trust God
• Don’t limit yourself to ten percent. Give in proportion to your faith, and joy.
• Generosity releases revival

I hope you all enjoyed this post. Please let me know if you have any questions..

 

Shalom

Pastor Darrell

time|part one

 

Time. I’ve been thinking about the whole concept of time lately. What is time? Is it absolute? Is it relative? How does this invisible, unprejudiced force work upon us. As believers of an eternal essence, in what ways are we subject to time?

Some of the deepest theological conversations I have ever had have been with my seven-year old son, Ezra. I was explaining to him how God is ‘outside’ of time, and not bound in any fashion to its limitations, yet we humans, are bound by time. I tried my best to convey to him this concept to him by paraphrasing something I read in C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity years ago.

God created time, and humans are bound to it. We are stuck in a linear progression through history. God, does not move along the timeline of history with us. He is without time, and is ever-present in the past, as well as in the future.

The scriptures clearly portray this concept: Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever”

So I explained to Ez that because of this truth, we are able to pray to God about future events. Although God in His wisdom knows everything that will happen, He still, in His goodness, answers our prayers about things to come. This is the essence of faith. One may say “If God knows everything that is going to happen, why do we need to pray?’ My simplest response to that question is; “Because He commands us to.”

Ezra asked me an interesting question next: “If we can pray about tomorrow, and we can pray for things to happen today, can we pray for things to happen yesterday?”

This is an interesting question from the curious mind of a child…I will explore this more tomorrow..

keep posted at www.darrelllahay.wordpress.com

Shalom|pd

prize/price

 

There is a prize for being a Christian you know. It’s called the abundant life. In John 10:10, Jesus said:

 ”I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

You know this already. It cannot be denied that coming to Christ, is in one’s best interest. After all, it is a source of blessing, purpose, forgiveness, healing, knowledge, excitement, joy, and not to mention, eternal life! But to be Christian, there is also self-denial. Consecration, persecution, sacrifice, obedience, etc.

A friend of mine recently reminded me that Jesus, was acutely aware of this. I think of the passion week. I think of Gethsemane. Jesus had come to the end of three-year rabbinic career. He preached the gospel to crowds all over the country side, he saw people’s lives change. He performed miracles, and opened minds and hearts with his heavenly teaching. He made friends. He enjoyed hospitality and travel. But, now, he was experiencing such agony, and suffering, that His very body reeled under the weight of it. Darkness was closing in, and Jesus became graphically intent on what his whole mission was about. Jesus was aware of the “prize” of His mission: Encouraging heavy hearts, bringing healing to the sick, feeding the hungry, giving sight to the blind, casting out demons, preaching the gospel message. He had attracted quite a crowd. But, there was also a “price” to His mission. While He was living, many of His disciples were not aware of this price. The price, in Jesus case, was His very life. Hebrews 12:2 lets us in on this:

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of  our faith, who for the JOY set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

As ministers of the gospel, let us not be deceived into ignorant optimism. A friend of mine once said ‘salvation is a free gift that will cost you the rest of your life’.

Let us also not make the mistake of mis informing people to whom we minister that a life sold out for Jesus is strictly filled with candy and hugs and rainbows. Yes, there is a prize..life beyond your wildest dreams. But there is also, a price…..this price may differ for all of us. For only God in His wisdom knows what we can handle, and what He wants us to surrender to Him.

What has God-given you as a “prize” since you came to Him?

What is “price” he has asked you to pay?

shalom | pastor darrell