Is Jesus the only way?

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Writing in the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, Brett Kunkle writes:

That Jesus is the only way to God may be the most controversial claim of Christianity, so we had better have good reason for making it. I think we do.

What does Jesus say? We don’t want to claim something about Jesus that he wouldn’t claim of himself. If the Gospels are historically reliable (we have overwhelming evidence they are), then we have Jesus’s own words and by examining them we discover that he claims to be the only way to God.…

Preachers and their preaching – Henry Ward Beecher

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Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was one of the most popular and influential preachers of his day.

He was son of Lyman Beecher, popularizer of the ‘New School’ theology which sought to soften the Calvinism of New England.  Henry went still further in this rebellion, emphasising an emotional and ethical faith.

Duduit notes:

‘Where the father stressed God’s power and justice, the son came to emphasize God’s love and mercy.’

Beecher:

‘advocated women’s rights, opposed slavery, championed social reform, defended evotion, supported higher biblical criticism, and popularized romantic Christianity.’

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Charles Simeon: ‘no friend to systematizers in theology’

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In the preface to his multi-volume collecton of sermon ‘skeletons’, Charles Simeon declares himself to be ‘no friend to systematizers in theology’.  And he expends a considerable amount of energy developing and enforcing this thought.

By theological systems, he means, principally, Calvinism and Arminianism.  He declares that, unlike the proponents of such systems,

‘he takes his religion from the Bible; and endeavours, as much as possible, to speak as that speaks.’

If he finds that two or more biblical texts appear to contradict one another, he endeavours to be faithful to the true sense of each of them, not favouring one over the other, as ‘systematizers’ tend to do.…

Josh 2:1-7 – Was Rahab right to lie?

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2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. 2:2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! Israelite men have come here tonight to spy on the land.” 2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: “Turn over the men who came to you—the ones who came to your house—for they have come to spy on the whole land!”…

Seven types of atheism

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“But I’m not that kind of atheist!”

I myself have had discussions with atheists who would disavoy the strident tone and intolerant rhetoric of the so-called ‘new atheists’.

Truth is, atheists comes in various shapes, sizes and flavours.

Andrew Wilson has reviewed a book by John Gray entitled ‘Seven Types of Atheism’.

Here are Gray’s seven types:

1. ‘New Atheism’

Dating back to 19th-century thinks such as Henri de Saint-Simon, August Comte, J. G. Frazer, the new atheism atheism lives on in the work of Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennett, and others.’ …

1 Cor 6:9 – ‘malakoi’ and ‘arsenokoitai’

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Disclaimer: I am not a linguist.  But I know (mainly through their writings) a number of people who are.  So, obviously, I am relying heavily upon their expertise in what follows.

1 Cor 6:9-11 ‘Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. …

Internal causes of discouragement

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Richard Sibbes, in The Soul’s Conflict, examines the causes of spiritual discouragement that are internal to ourselves (i.e. those that are not directly attributable to some external cause, such as God or Satan).

1. Lack of knowedge and understanding.  ‘Ignorance, being darkness, is full of false fears. In the night time men think every bush a thief.’

2. Forgetfulness.  See Heb 12:5.  ‘We have no more present actual comfort than we have remembrance…He that hath formerly known things, takes ready acquaintance of them again, as old friends; things are not strange to him.’…

Mark 1:12 – Did the temptations immediately follow the baptism?

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Mark 1:12 ‘The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness.’

This verse indicates that Jesus’ temptation happened ‘immediately’ after his baptism.

For Ehrman (Jesus, Interrupted) this is a problem:

In John there is no account of Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness. The day after John the Baptist has borne witness to the Spirit descending on Jesus as a dove at baptism (John 1:29–34), he sees Jesus again and declares him to be the Lamb of God (John is explicit, stating that this occurred “the next day”).

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Narrative preaching – strengths and weaknesses

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The narrative sermon is a sermon in the form of a story.

Calvin Miller writes:

‘The narrative sermon, rather than containing stories, is a story which, from outset to conclusion, binds the entire sermon to a single plot as theme. Here and there sub-plots, separate illustrations or precepts may punctuate or ornament the narrative, but the theme narrative stays in force all the way through—from the sermon’s “once-upon-a-time” until its “happy ever after.”’

A. Strengths

1.…

Psa 28 – From fear to faith – sermon notes

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Text: Psalm 28

Wouldn’t it be great if

  • the Christian life was easy and simple?
  • bad things only happened to bad people, and good things only to good people?
  • when in trouble, we could ask God, and he would sort it out, there and then?

We don’t know what David’s problem was, exactly.  But it was serious and persistent.

Just like some of the problems faced by Christians today:

  • Teenager struggling with depression or anxiety
  • Student surrounded by those who are indifferent or hostile to Christian faith
  • A young Christian with a heart for youth work encounters nothing but setback and disappointment
  • Adult who has had to flee their home country because of bitter persecution
  • Husband, wife, parent, child, who has been praying long and hard for a close family member
  • Middle-aged person with longstanding bad habit or addiction.
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