The Village Church
Posted by Ken Carlisle in Gospel, Matt Chandler, Worship on April 12, 2012
Heading back from a really great visit in the big ‘D’. Awesome quality time with Leslie and Kara, and Sunday really made my year! Was blessed beyond measure to sit under the teaching of Matt Chandler on Galatians 3 (#winning) on Easter no less, and Michael Bleeker brought us to the Thrown in worship. I was like a little kid as we pulled up to the renovated albertsons that is now the Flower Mound campus of The Village Church. Yep, pretty much elated right now!! Bucket list item…CHECK!
Faith Factory, Week 3 on Vimeo
Posted by Ken Carlisle in Gospel, Prayer, Video on February 23, 2012
The Nobility of Business—Wayne Grudem (1948 – )
Posted by Ken Carlisle in Celebrating Life, Journal on February 23, 2012
The Nobility of Business—Wayne Grudem (1948 – )
Wayne Grudem is the widely-published author of Systematic Theology and co-editor of Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. When he turns his attention to economics, he finds that commerce is to be commended as the source of great good. His book on the subject, Business for the Glory of God,1 argues that work in manufacturing and trade is a high calling. For one thing, it serves to alleviate poverty:
I believe the only long-term solution to world poverty is business. That is because businesses produce goods, and businesses produce jobs. And businesses continue producing goods year after year, and continue providing jobs and paying wages year after year. Therefore if we are ever going to see long-term solutions to world poverty, I believe it will come through starting and maintaining productive, profitable businesses.
In this next passage, Grudem captures an anti-business (and, ironically, pro-poverty) mindset perfectly. Of course, some businessmen abuse their trust, but it takes cruel caricature to disparage business per se. Grudem shows how this caricature might go.
If people think business is evil, they will hesitate to start businesses, and they will never feel real freedom to enjoy working in business, because it will always be tainted with the faint cloud of false guilt. Who can enjoy being an evil materialist who works with evil money to earn evilprofits by exploiting laborers and producing material goods that feed people’s evil greed and enhance their evil pride and sustain their evil inequality of possessions and feed their evilcompetitiveness? Who wants to devote his life to such an evil pursuit as business? What government would ever want to establish laws and policies that would encourage such an evil thing as business? If business is evil, why not tax it and regulate it until it can barely survive? And so with the attitude that business is fundamentally evil in all its parts, business activity is hindered at every point, and poverty remains.
Grudem goes on to argue that against this negative perspective Christians should lift up business as a noble venture, full of promise for those in financial distress.
If attitudes toward business change . . . then who could resist being a God-pleasing subduer of the earth who uses materials from God’s good creation and works with the God-given gift of money to earn morally good profits, and shows love to his neighbors by giving them jobs and by producing material goods that overcome world poverty, goods that enable people to glorify God for his goodness, that sustain just and fair differences in possessions, and that encourage morally good and beneficial competition? What a great career that would be! What a great activity for governments to favor and encourage! What a solution to world poverty! What a great way to give glory to God!2
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| 1 | Wayne Grudem, Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business(Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2003). |
| 2 | Ibid., 80-83. |
–Wayne Grudem, “Wayne Grudem, Business for the Glory of God: The Bible’s Teaching on the Moral Goodness of Business (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2003),” as cited on http://www.kairosjournal.org/document.aspx?DocumentID=5991&QuadrantID=3&CategoryID=5&TopicID=15&L=1 (accessed February 23, 2012).
Mixed Couples
Posted by Ken Carlisle in Life, Marriage, Relationships on January 16, 2012
Lets get the obvious out of the way. Yes, interracial couples will have a long haul and a hard road. If you are living at home under your parents or guardians, you MUST obey their rules and wishes…PERIOD! THERE IS NO WIGGLE ROOM HERE! Also, before I go any further I want to say I am not THE expert end all answer man on this. This is what God has revealed to me about this subject. Personally, I know all to well the effects of racism, against me. I grew up around Washington DC and know all to well how it feels to spend years being the one having knives pulled on them or being jumped by a group or forced out of a certain block because of my race. So if anyone has a reason to be prejudice, I qualify. So I have had to deal with some very hard feelings and my own hatred. God has won that victory in me but it wasn’t easy. Now with that said, here we go.
Some background:
Gen 10:6-20 The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. (7) The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. (8) Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. (9) He was a mighty hunter before the LORD. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” (10) The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (11) From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and (12) Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. (13) Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, (14) Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim. (15) Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, (16) and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, (17) the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, (18) the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed. (19) And the territory of the Canaanites extended from Sidon in the direction of Gerar as far as Gaza, and in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. (20) These are the sons of Ham, by their clans, their languages, their lands, and their nations. ESV
Num 12:1 Miryam and Aharon began criticizing Moshe on account of the Ethiopian woman he had married, for he had in fact married an Ethiopian woman. CJB
Num 12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. ESV
But Miryam and Aaron were jealous of Moses influence, that was the issue, right? Yes pride and jealousy were the root, but why did they criticize Moses?
H3571 strongs כּוּשׁית
kûshı̂yth
koo-sheeth’
Feminine of H3569; a Cushite woman: – Ethiopian.
LOGOS
3933 II. כּוּשׁ (kûš): n.pr.; ≡ Str 3568; TWOT 969—LN 93-pers. (male) Cush: of Benjamin (Ps 7:1[EB title]+)
3934 I. כּוּשִׁי (kû∙šî): n.pr.; ≡ Str 3569, 3571;—LN 93-pers. (gent.) Cushite: pertaining to Cush (Nu 12:1), see 3932(2 or 3)
3935 II. כּוּשִׁי (kû∙šî): n.pr.; ≡ Str 3570;—LN 93-pers. (male) Cushi: 1. father of Zephaniah (2.) (Zep 1:1+) 2. ancestor of one in Jehoiakim’s court (Jer 36:14+)
3936 כּוּשָׁן (kû∙šān): n.pr.; ≡ Str 3572;—LN 93-pers. (gent.) Cushan: people living in a land, mentioned with Midian (Hab 3:7+); also, a part of a compound name, Cushan-Rishathaim, see 3937; note: some parse as a n.pr.terr, but context favors gentile.
כּוּשִׁי m.—(1) Gent. n. from כּוּשׁ No. 1, an Æthiopian, Jer. 13:23; 38:7, 10, 12; 2 Chr. 14:8, pl. כּוּשִׁים 2 Chr. 21:16; Dan. 11:43; and כּוּשִׁיִּים, Am. 9:7, fem. כּוּשִׁית Num. 12:1.
(2) [Cushi], pr.n. of the father of Zephaniah the prophet, Zeph. 1:1.
כּוּשָׁן [Cushan], f. Hah. 3:7, i.q. כּוּשׁ, No. 1.
כּוּשַׁן רִשְׁעָתַיִם (“most malicious,” (or wicked) “Æthiopian?”) [Cushan-rishathaim], pr.n. of a king of Mesopotamia, Jud. 3:8, 10.
But isnt it probable that this woman from cush (Ethiopia) was an Israelite & Is there really any difference? Let the bible interpret itself:
Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.
I think the bible is very clear here. Moses married a woman of a different race. Okay, so it seems he did, but what does God think about it? Time for a ‘come to Jesus meeting’ or what I refer to as ‘wall-to-wall counseling’…
Num 12:4-15 And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. (5) And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. (6) And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. (7) Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. (8) With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (9) And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed. (10) When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. (11) And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. (12) Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” (13) And Moses cried to the LORD, “O God, please heal her–please.” (14) But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” (15) So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.
Here’s my take…God HATES sin! Sin is rebellion against God. Its lawlessness. Different races are STILL PEOPLE! We are all human made in the image of God. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian are not different species as I have been told. Please do not compare a robin and a blue-jay not mating to Whites and Blacks as a reason to back up a deep seated sin you are not willing to let God deal with. If you are a teacher of the bible, a preacher, or a Christian feeding on milk when your supposed to be on meat, then shame on you. You need to repent bottom line and let The Holy Spirit deal with that in you. I beg you to stop living by your own religious laws and be obedient to The Gospel.
Terrell Suggs…Bashing Tebow and mocking God
Posted by Ken Carlisle in Football on January 13, 2012
I’m a Baltimore Ravens fan, but SERIOUSLY??!! Check out Terrell Suggs remarks in an article in the Washington Post referring totim tebow…
“With all due respect, we don’t pray on the sideline,” Suggs said. “I mean we do — we give it up to God [just for] safety and health, but we’re gonna go out there and win that game. We don’t need our kicker to make a 62-yarder [like Denver’s Matt Prater]. I’m just saying. We don’t need guys to fall out of bounds and then we get to punt it back … we don’t need stuff like that to happen for us.”
Suggs says his quarterback, Joe Flacco, and the Ravens aren’t asking for anything in prayer.
“Our quarterback knows how to go out and win games,” he said. “When our quarterback prays, he be like, ‘You know what, God? You know what? You sit on your couch and enjoy this. Thank you for blessing me and letting me wake up to play this game. I’m gonna impress you.’ ”
WOW! Really??!! Reminds me of the Molly Hatchet song ‘Flirtin with Disaster’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4xEa57DSlA&feature=related …in particular the “it looks like self destruction” part. I mean seriously! Suggs is gonna speak for the whole team especially Flacco and tell God to sit back and be impressed…with him?! Everything you have is His and from Him…why test Him? Thats just crazy!! Hmmm I feel a possible career ending injury happening!! Not that it will or that I want it to but Suggs…your flirtin with disaster buddy!!
He also contradicts himself…he says we don’t pray and then he says they do. he says they dont ask for anything in prayer on the sidelines then he says they only ask for safety. he’s just playing word games and trying to deflect and mask his true stance trying to sound more wise than what he is. in their first post season bye since 2006 (how long has suggs been there??) he hardly has room to boast and mock God as he did in the video interview http://www.youtube.com/
Church Preferences and Idols
Posted by Ken Carlisle in Church Conflict, Worship Style on July 21, 2011
I was just talking with a friend of mine, and I need to talk about this. I mean, maybe it’s just me, and it seriously could be, but I can’t see it being just me, and this could be a blind spot for me. Granted, it is probably a mixture of both but I am convinced in my own mind its less of a mixture on my side, but I also want to make sure I remain humble here.
This is where I’m at…I have, what I would consider to be a lot of experience on the issue of conflict relating to church style/worship style/preferences. This is where my thought process is at right at this moment; I like classic rock music…it’s what I was raised on and what I have a taste for. Now I’m just thinking here, if I refused to see or admit or experience the music that’s created today by saying, “If it’s not classic rock, I’m not listening to it because it’s junk and isn’t music!” what would you say about me? I would say about me that I am stuck in the past and stubborn and missing out. But what would you say about me? You could and probably would say you know what, that is your prerogative, you can have that view if you want, and not think anymore about it. But, let’s say you then find out I am a music major in the masters program of a prominent college…what is your view of me now? Probably a very narrow view and rightly so.
Now, in my experience, the most heated arguments and disagreements in the body of a local church are over worship/church/Bible version style and preference. Everything from Sunday school, announcements, music to the invitation. When someone even hints at some changes in these areas, venom comes out of the mouths of the children of God. Now, in my humble opinion…okay, I will admit, sometimes I don’t come across as a humble man but I do strive to be that man, I really do sense that the arguments and venom come from placing preferences and traditions as idols in the place of Christ. I seriously have to ask everyone reading this; how can anyone be a regenerate creature with The Holy Spirit in them and be satisfied with a church that operates in the style of the 1800’s? please don’t take that as an attack, it’s just an example, but I seriously just don’t understand. I’m not trying to be mean or insensitive, I truly don’t understand, like it doesn’t resolve. We don’t live in the culture of the 1800’s. We live in today’s culture. We don’t speak the King James English, we speak today’s English. How can we, who are called to make an impact on the culture through the power of Christ, do so if we don’t get it? How can we get it if we refuse to try to understand it? I mean let’s be honest, God doesn’t need us, and it’s His choice to use us, to let us participate in this great plan of His. Inside of every regenerate person is The Holy Spirit of a God who is creative, beautiful, emotional, deep, jealous, and words fail me now to fully describe Him because I can’t, but The Spirit desires to have you and I all to Himself, to not be the same person spiritually today that you were yesterday. We have to represent because The Holy Spirit demands it.
Well, you could say I am doing the same thing I’m speaking against! Again, this could be a blind spot of mine, but maybe we all have blind spots. I mean, we all know that our biggest reactions come from change or a perceived threat in the areas of power and control, right? Example, what could possibly be the reasoning for a leader of a church to have a problem with the congregation clapping when a believer gets baptized? I can tell you what; it’s the fear that while applauding, we are applauding the person and not Christ. It’s a fundamental misunderstanding…it’s not applauding the person, its celebrating victory! Does anyone really not see this? We are made holy because Jesus is holy. Our lives are made holy because Jesus was perfect. When it becomes me or you showing up on God’s radar because we go to church or keep our promises or pay our bills on time, or don’t clap or show emotion when we “aren’t supposed to” we have corrupted the Gospel of Jesus.
So, where are we at? Have you and I been holding on to things so tight that when our grip is threatened we retaliate? I will answer a big YES for me. In our anger do we sin? That’s a big YES again for me. What would it look like to have our love for Christ to be preeminent, to be above our love for control and preferences? What would it look like? God help us.
Layla Grace
Posted by Ken Carlisle in Celebrating Life on July 1, 2010
