I read this last week by Pastor Rick Sams and thought it worth posting:

SPORTS PROS AND CONS by Pastor Rick Sams
It’s been called the biggest upset of the Olympic games so far, compared to Tyson Gay outrunning Usain Bolt in the 100 meters (That did NOT happen). But US pole vaulter, Jenn Suhr, did soar to beat the perennial favorite, Russia’s two-time gold medalist Elena Isinbaeva.
I was disappointed former gold medal decathlete, Dan O’Brien, now a commentator, only gave a lite analysis of her win. When I complained to my wife how much more detailed he could have been, O’Brien being a former vaulter, she shot back: “But only old pole vaulters (me) would be interested in that. “ I just wish she wouldn’t have emphasized the “OLD.”
I have also been disappointed NBC hasn’t shown any Olympic basketball yet on regular TV (I don’t have cable). So I missed the famous cheap shot Argentinean player, Facundo Campazzo, gave Carmello Anthony. This nonsense only reinforces the negative stereotypes athletes often get (deserve?). The constant applause given to double amputee Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, and his endurance through hardship, shows some of the great values sports teaches.
Pastors are in a delicate spot when it comes to sports. Many of us have played them, love them, and watch them regularly (I’ve heard stats 90% of America does one of those each day). We see the good things they accomplish; teamwork, character from learning how to lose, hard work, sharing, and thinking of others instead of just yourself.
But we also see the negatives—SO many absences from church, even for the youngest athletes, because parents are sure sports are doing more for their kids than church (or Christ?). SURELY all these kids will land lucrative scholarships (the stats on this are bleak). Then there are the cheap shots, the selfish “me first, me only, and it’s all about me” attitudes that permeate the sporting world from the pros down to the littlest Little League.
So what are we to do?
First we all need to admit sports are neutral, like many other things (money, guns). It’s what we DO with them that makes them good or bad; able to redeem or wreck a life.
So how do we redeem them since they are here to stay?
Second, we should constantly teach the real-life stories of grace, selflessness and true sportsmanship to our young athletes as coaches AND parents. When gold-medalist Kirani James, of tiny Grenada, met South African amputee, Oscar Pistorius, on the track after Pistorius didn’t even place to trade numbers and hugs that was huge. When hurdlers from other countries helped 2004 gold medalist, Liu Xiang, off the track, consoling and hugging him after his Achille’s tore in a nearly identical scene as the 2008 Beijing games, that is more than a Kodak moment. It’s teaching time. When US Olypmian and gold medalist, Kerri Strug, sticks her vault in the ’96 Olympics to claim the team gold on a bad ankle, forgetting the fact it could (and did) cost her her entire athletic career…priceless!
We also need to highlight what happens on lower levels, like when the 2011 Ohio High School State 1600 meter winner, Meghan Vogel, running her second race of the day, ran out of gas. The junior from West Liberty-Salem High School stooped to help Arden McGrath who was clearly going to finish last. Instead of running past her to avoid that embarrassment herself, Vogel nearly dragged McGrath to the finish line, pushing her across ahead of her so McGrath would not finish last. Awe-inspiring, breath-taking and tear inducing, even from our youth.*
Why can’t we, as parents or coaches, “redeem the time for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16) by using the incredible amounts of time we spend with kids in the car traveling to sporting events to do Bible stories or other character lessons like these? If you truly care what they are missing at church you will. How about using the time on the sidelines with other parents to teach positive things to them about sportsmanship instead of reinforcing all the bad stereotypes yourself?

(*”True Value Of High School Athletics,” Alliance Review, 6/18/12)

I read the blog below about “mommy porn.” This was on Josh Harris’ blog. Below you will also find an interesting article in the replies to my previous blog. I have pasted this below but it can be found here:

http://www.joshharris.com/2012/07/mommy_porn_is_no_better_than_d.php

I appreciate Christian blogger Melissa Jenna’s strong challenge to fellow sisters-in-Christ about the the acceptance of so called “Mommy Porn”–specifically, the best-selling erotic novel “50 Shades of Grey” and the male-stripper themed movie “Magic Mike.” Melissa shares her surprise at how “completely accepting” Christian culture is to both of these works. “I’ve read a few dozen different updates from Christian women regarding 50 Shades and Magic Mike, and the verdict? They love them. I mean they really looooove them. They can’t stop talking about them.”

She makes the point that women/moms lusting is no better or acceptable to God than men/dads lusting. “To gain another perspective,” she writes, “imagine your husband (or father/brother/church leader) going around bragging about how much he loved reading last month’s Playboy magazine, or rallying all of his guy friends to go see “Magic Meghan” for the third time. If our husbands were drooling over a movie about female strippers, we would be livid. It wouldn’t be tolerated. Church leaders would be publicly denouncing men’s sudden acceptance of pornography and erotic films. (Why aren’t church leaders publicly denouncing 50 Shades or Magic Mike, by the way?)”

Melissa goes on to state, “Christian women need to reject both of these works, and instead, use our voices in support of what is good, right and true. It is our responsibility, as daughters of the Heavenly King, to remain set-apart from the poisons of our culture, to rebuke temptation, and to celebrate and honor righteousness.”

Melissa, thanks for speaking up on this. You’re not uncool, you’re “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6). Don’t be surprised if you’re persecuted and ridiculed as a result. I know the Lord is pleased.

Here is an interesting post by Dr. Witherinton about Inspiration and the NT canon:

Inspiration and Canon from a Historical Viewpoint

This section is titles “A Closer Look at Truth.” I have inserted some of his thoughts below:

• “Flew across the country to not preach at a church that invited me to preach. After leaving my hotel I rode with a prominent Christian leader to the church. I knew this man had been accused by the media of misrepresenting certain key details on his resume, so I asked him about the charges. He admitted saying and writing some things that weren’t true—but it didn’t seem to bother him. I told him, calmly, that I thought he should repent and publicly ask for forgiveness for his dishonesty. He said nothing and we rode to the church in silence. A few minutes after we arrived, I was escorted to the office of the senior pastor, where we were scheduled to pray before I preached in the service. When I stepped in, the pastor slammed the door behind me. I was surprised to see his face turning scarlet, his veins bulging. He poked his finger at me. ‘No way will I let you preach from my pulpit!’ he thundered. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man I had just confronted. The pastor told me I had no right to question our brother’s integrity. The pastor was fully aware of the man’s reputation but thought it none of my business. We left the office the pastor still seething.” (page 51-52)
• 64% of Americans say, “I will lie when it suits me as long as it doesn’t cause any real damage.” 53% say, “I will cheat on my spouse—after all, given the chance, he or she will do the same.” Only 31% of Americans agree that “honesty is the best policy.” When asked what they would do for ten million dollars, 25 percent said they would abandon their family, 23 percent would become prostitutes fir a week or more, and 7 percent would murder a stranger. (page 53)
Lies pile up like ocean waves. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said in his Nobel Prize acceptance address, “One word of truth outweighs the entire world.” (page 55)
• “University students, once known as truth-seekers, now have minds so ‘open’ they don’t critically evaluate truth-claims. They sit passively while professors affirm the random evolution of complex life forms. No mention is made of the biochemical discoveries of irreducible complexity at the cellular level, which refute Darwinism and constitute overwhelming scientific evidence for intelligent design. Many professors are not truth-seekers, but status quo gatekeepers, highly selective about which ‘truths’ they allow in their classroom door.” (Page 56)
Any thoughts of response?
God bless,
Steve

This chapter us titled: “A Closer Look at Grace”
He begins with a story:
Wesley Allan Dodd tortured, molested, and murdered three boys in Vancouver, Washington, fifteen miles from our home. Dodd was scheduled to be hanged— the first U.S. hanging in three decades— shortly after midnight, January 4, 1993. At dinner that evening, both our daughters, then eleven and thirteen, prayed earnestly that Dodd would repent and place his faith in Christ before he died. I agreed with their prayer… but only because I knew I should. I stayed up and watched. Reporters from all over the country crowded around the prison. Twelve media representatives were firsthand witnesses to the execution. When they emerged thirty minutes after Dodd died, they recounted the experience. One of them read Dodd’s last words: “I had thought there was no hope and no peace. I was wrong. I have found hope and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gasps and groans erupted from the gallery. The anger was palpable. “How dare someone who has done anything so terrible say he has found hope and peace in Jesus?” Did he really think God would let him into Heaven after what he’d done? “Shut up and go to hell, child killer— you won’t get off so easy!” The idea of God’s offering grace to Dodd was utterly offensive. And yet… didn’t Jesus die for Dodd’s sins just as He did for mine?
Interesting quote: (page 44) “No sin is bigger than the savior. Grace is, literally, not of this world.
End of opening illustration
Any thoughts about that or the rest of the chapter or book?
We are saved by grace for good works (Eph 2:10).
Read Matthew 20:1-16 and compare. In this illustration Jesus talks about the person who is hired last getting paid the same as the others. Read it, it is interesting. Our salvation is all about God and not us, though we are saved unto good works.
Here are some notes from the ESV Study Bible on Matthew 20:1-16:
Matt. 20:1 the kingdom of heaven is like. See note on 13:24. vineyard. Grapes were one of ancient Israel’s most important crops, and thus Israel was often referred to as the “vine” or “vineyard” of God (e.g., Isa. 5:1–7; Jer. 2:21; Hos. 10:1; cf. Matt. 21:28–46). “Vineyard” represents the activity of the kingdom in this world (cf. Matt. 21:28–46).

Matt. 20:2–15 denarius. A typical day’s wage for a laborer. third hour. 9:00 a.m. The workday was typically divided into four three-hour increments, running from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eleventh hour. 5:00 p.m., near the end of the workday. These workers are desperate enough to continue waiting for work. each of them received a denarius. Surprisingly, the last laborers to be hired are paid a complete denarius, the same as those who had worked all day. Friend, I am doing you no wrong. The landowner addresses the worker gently, explaining the fairness of his actions. do you begrudge. Literally, “Is your eye evil?” The laborer failed to be thankful for his own wage because he was blinded by his self-interested lack of compassion for his fellow worker.

Matt. 20:16 So the last will be first, and the first last. A disciple of Jesus should not measure his or her worth by comparing it with the accomplishments and sacrifices of others, but should focus on serving from a heart of gratitude in response to God’s grace. Jesus is not denying degrees of reward in heaven (see note on 1 Cor. 3:14–15) but is affirming that God’s generosity is more abundant than anyone would expect: all the laborers except the very first got more than they deserved. It is probably correct also to see here a warning that Jesus’ early followers (such as the Twelve) should not despise those who would come later.

Anyways, I have written enough for today. Have a blessed week in the Lord!

Here are some short thoughts on “the Da Vinci Code.”
I intend to write more about “the Da Vinci Code” in the future. Someone asked me about this book last week. I can tell you that I read the book and I watched the movie. The book was a real page turner. I didn’t like the movie as much. The book was fiction for sure. But the book did make certain erroneous claims and this showed how much people do not know about how we received the Bible. If you have not read it or seen the movie, please do. But also read a book about the Da Vinci Code from a church history perspective. Several short books came out in response. These are written quite well and show the truth behind the fiction. For example:
The book says:
“The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan emperor Constantine the Great” (p. 231)
“Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ’s human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike”(p. 234)
What one needs to know is: More than 32,000 citations of the NT in the Church fathers prior to 300 AD. So prior to Constantine we can research several citations of our NT by the Church Fathers.

Another claim is that Jesus was secretly married. However, there would be nothing wrong with Jesus being married. There would be no reason to keep it secret. In fact in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 Paul says:
1 Cor 9:5
Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
If Jesus was married Paul could have stated that right there.
Anyways, those are some short thoughts on that book and movie.

What is the purpose of the church? With today’s digital communication age people may want to and actually there are some churches that meet online. People might just want to watch a service on television or listen to a sermon on the radio. 

Joel Osteen always tells people to attend a Bible believing church and David Jeremiah also says the same. 

Here is something I wrote up several years ago on the purpose of the church: 

I believe that there are five major purposes of the local church. These are fellowship, evangelism, worship, ministry, and discipleship. The local church must have fellowship with one another. This could be in dinners, games, concerts, etc. (1John 1:2, 7; Acts 2:42) The local church must be continuing the great commission in evangelism. (Matt 28:19) The local church must Disciple their members. (Matt 28:19) The local church must give the opportunity for worship as well as ministry in the Body of believers. (Rev 4:8; John 4:23-24) (Acts 6:1-7; Eph 4:11-12; Gal 6:10; Heb 10:24) We must give people the opportunity to use their spiritual gifts and serve people as Christ served us. All those purposes are equally important. 

Rick Warren’s book Purpose Driven Church is written about those purposes. Certainly they are all important, but discipleship should lead people to evangelism, ministry, worship and fellowship. You also cannot have true fellowship, discipleship, or worship without evangelism. People have to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior before being discipled or truly worshipping or true fellowship. 

So, the resources online, on the radio and on television are great, but with only those we are missing community. God surrounds Christians with a network of other Christians to help carryout the great commission, to help disciple, to help worship and to help minister to those in need. True fellowship is not simply hanging out but surrounded by God’s Word. I would ask any who say that their church is listening to television ministries, or radio, or something online what their motivation is. If it is because they have had problems at one certain church, it is likely that their motivation is actually pride. Though there might have been actual problems at the church, we all must sacrifice for community. Now certainly for shut ins, etc those ministries on the radio, television and online are great. 

Praise God for the church. One youth wrote this: [the purpose of the church is] to gather in the house of God to remember reflect and think about the week behind you and week before you. It is to draw you closer to God within a group to be with your church family and those who support you. its an amazing place really. Thanks for that comment. 

Feel free to comment.

Interesting note on Matthew 5:13-16 that Jesus talks about salt and light. In “The Cost of Discipleship” pages 116-117 Bonhoeffer points out that Jesus says, “you are the salt” and later “you are the light.” This is as opposed to “You must be the salt” or “You must be the light.” That is a subtle but major difference. It is not for the disciple to decide to be salt and light. A Christian is to be salt and light. Now, Jesus does talk about salt losing its savor and that is an interesting thought about Christians. If Christians are salt and we aren’t, then where is our Christianity? Just some thoughts…

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the Cost of Discipleship talks about the Meek inheriting the earth from Matthew 5:5. on page 109 he writes: “They will not go to law to defend their rights, or make a scene when they suffer injustice, nor do they insist on their legal rights. They are determined to leave their rights to God alone. — non cupidi vindictae, as the ancient church paraphrased it. Their right is in the will of their Lord– that and no more. They show by every word and gesture that they do not belong to this earth. Leave heaven to them, says the world in its pity, that is where they belong.” there is a footnote that says, “Emperor Julian wrote mockingly in a letter (No. 43) that he only confiscated the property of Christians so as to make them poor enough to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What is the proper response for Christians when we do have a voice in the government and our Christian rights are violated?