Two videos from this Sunday

Below are two videos from this Sunday:

1) Two missions presentations.

2) A mini-sermon on Acts 1:1 - 9.

Today is the Day

As many of you know, I write children's fiction in my spare time (well... what ever spare time I find hiding in the corner).  Today I am formatting several query letters to potential literary agents.  For those who have no idea what a query letter is CLICK ON THESE WORDS.

At any rate, it sure has been a fun ride and I am looking forward to seeing how it all pans out.

Before the questions come, here is a run down of the work I have been working on:
Picture Books (2) - Manuscripts... not art.
Middle School Aged Fiction (2)
Historical Fiction (2)
General Fiction (1)

The one headed to the agents is a picture book manuscript.

And for those wondering how you beat writer's block... well... there are really only two ways:
1.  Write around it.
2. Follow the visual instruction below.

 

Have a great day...!

WHO IS THIS JESUS?

A survey of Christology from Genesis to Revelation

With a little practice...

 
There are, of course, some things you can never, EVER do.   

Take flying without the aid of a plane as a for instance.  

But, as we learn from the NT, there are certain things you can do to grow as a Christian.

1.  Read the Word. 

2.  Tell others about Jesus.

3.  Fellowship with godly influences.


That is simply a sample of what you can do.  And as cool as it is to do insane tricks on a bike... godliness is far more profitable.

Friday Funnies (Saturday edition)

Sermon 09 - 12 - 10

sermon 09-12-10 from Chris Johnson on Vimeo.

Be blessed y'all... be a blessing!

Random-ish Thought

After reading through the Bible, one conclusion is that the Father has
a very high opinion of His Son. I wonder if we share that opinion?

A Teachable Moment

Last week the FAB 5 and I went apple picking. (I'm glad they don't weigh you when you get there...!)

At some point, Dannia (the oldest of the bunch) said, "Daddy, this is a good tree." I thought to myself, "Thank you Lord. I can think of no better situation to tell them about you." For the next several minutes we talked about good fruit and bad fruit, and what Jesus said about false teachers in Matthew 7.

Granted, this teachable moment was rather obvious, but I wonder how many teachable moments are surrounding us? Are we looking for them?

Be blessed... be a blessing!

(sent from a mobile device)

Notice how she has a fork in one hand, yet licks the other...!

Friday Funnies

My Kingdom for... some clarity?

I have been engaged in a dialog with some brothers in Christ over the phrase "the kingdom". What does it mean? Does it matter? Please alow me a few minutes to prime the pump, as asking "what is the kingdom?" is tantamount to asking why America has so much debt... it needs a back-drop.

As we examine Scripture, one of the things that become clearer and clearer is God's sovereignty. But this is not presented in some abstract sense at all. "God is in control" has, unfortunately, become somewhat of a mantra... the thing one says when they feel helpless. The truth is, however, that Jesus really is in control. A simple reading of the Bible makes the case that God is very much interested in the affairs of His creation.

George N. H. Peters (a Lutheran minister in the 1800's) coined the term THE THEOCRATIC KINGDOM. That is probably the most succinct, albeit somewhat ambiguous, phraseology to date. Basically God created all things and, by virtue of His continued interaction with creation, rules over it. God then delegated certain areas of management (stewardship if you will) to man.

(Note: this is the crux of the dispensational framework we operate under.)

Because of man's failure to comply with the over-arching THEOCRATIC KINGDOM (rule), The Lord has changed the status of the servant as well as the scope of his/her/their domain. Life, for the managers, got more and more complicated and dangerous, but to be fair... it was a self-inflicted wound.

Flash forward a millennium or two: God called Abram out of Ur to form (what would become) a counter culture. This nation would demonstrate the THEOCRATIC KINGDOM to the other nations. As you may know by now... they failed. Israel went into captivity. God, knowing full well that they would fail, provided hope through the promise of a Savior (The Messiah) many years prior to the aforementioned failure. As the managers continued to fail (again, the crux of the dispensational framework), the identity of the Messiah came into greater and greater focus.

Now... here is the tricky part... when the Messiah (Jesus) was revealed, He started talking about the Kingdoms. Kingdoms... you mean, plural? Yes.

Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. What exactly did Jesus mean in John 18 = "My kingdom is not of this world"? Certainly this Jesus is the same Son of David that will rule and reign on the throne in Israel... right? Yep... one in the same. Jesus taught two different groups about two different Kingdoms and that is where most of the confusion (as far as I can tell) comes from.

To Israel, Jesus made an offer of the Messianic Reign of the Son of David. That Kingdom is one of righteousness and justice (hence the content of the "Sermon on the Mount"). After His rejection by the religious elite of His day, Jesus, knowing full well about the coming of the crucifixion, turns His teaching to the more immediate... the church. The organism that is to function as the ultimate in creation-management... the one with Messiah operating as the head (thus explaining all this business about Peter being a fisher of men and why the "kingdom is like a mustard seed").

There it is, in a nut-shell... If it seems rant-ish, I apologize.

So there you have it... we have discussed the "what?" of the Kingdom.

The question now is... "what am I supposed to do now"? And that has an easy answer: Follow Jesus

Sermon Video 09-05-10

09 - 05 - 10 from Chris Johnson on Vimeo.

To y'all, with love

It sure has been a while.
(evidenced by the lack of blog-posts and my silly poke at the title of Sidney Poitier's 1967 classic)


Anyway...


Here is the introduction to an article I am reading called

A collision of two empires part 1

Jesus Christ has never been a social activist or a moral philosopher. To pitch Him that way is to drain His glory and dilute His excellence. While justice is important, justice apart from Christ is a dead thing. The only battering ram that can storm the gates of hell is not the cry of justice, but the name of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of justice, peace, holiness, righteousness, and every other virtue.
Christ is the sum of all spiritual things, the “strange attractor” of the cosmos. When Jesus becomes an abstraction, faith loses its reproductive power. “Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live.”

Now... while you may not agree with the author's drive through the rest of the article, what he pointedly states in this openning is nothing less that poetic genious. 

Are we in the wrong to desire righteousness?  I think not.

Friday Funnies

Spiritual Narcolepsy

This Sunday we will be examining the reaffirmation of the Covenant (2 Kings 23).  

Many of us have battles of what I call "spiritual narcolepsy"... it's most common feature is the victim's inability to REST IN JESUS.  

We love rules...

We love making rules....

Some of us actually love making rules about rules and the rules that govern the ruler's rule. (Seriously!)

Every believe needs, from time to time, to rest in the knowledge that no amount of rule making (or enforcement) will change the heart of a single individual.  They may comply... but they will not joyfully follow.  No, instead we must come to terms with what the Savior has published:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

It may take some time, but learning to rest in Christ will be well worth the exercise (pun intended).

Be blessed brethren... be a blessing.

Sermon Video 08-29-10

Sorry about the abrupt ending... there was a problem with the video file. 


.

7 Ways to Stop Gossip

PLEASE NOTE THAT WHAT FOLLOWS IS NOT A CHRIS JOHNSON ORIGINAL.


This article grabbed my attention, coming across my RSS reader a few minutes ago. 

HERE is a link to the original.

May you find this edifying and... if need be... challenging.

-----

...here are 7 suggestions for how to stop, or at least slow, the spread of gossip. Will you consider each and take them personal? If the shoe fits will you wear it? Together, perhaps we can help stop the deadly spread of this harmful virus!

1. Don’t repeat something you don’t know is true firsthand…secondhand knowledge is not enough to justify repeating. You will get something wrong and it will hurt others.
2. Don’t repeat unless its helpful to do so and you have a vested interest in the situation, the people involved, and permission to share…doing so in the name of a prayer request is not a good excuse…
3. Don’t “confess” other people’s sins. Even if the wrong included you and you feel the need to confess, share your story, but not someone else’s.
4. If you must tell, and have passed the test on the first three suggestions, tell only what happened and not your commentary or “I think this is probably what happened” or why you think it happened…
5. Choose to pray for others every time you are tempted to tell their story…instead of telling their story…
6. When someone tells you something you don’t need to know, don’t allow curiosity to be your guide…follow your heart. Stop the person and tell them you don’t want to know! Remember, if they will spread gossip about others they will spread it about you!
7. Keep the circle of confession limited to the people involved or to no more than needed for accountability purposes. The wider the circle and the more the story is repeated the more likely things will turn into gossip.

If my tone seems intent it’s because I am…I have little patience for gossips. My desire is to see people who live in holy and healthy community together. Gossip is a betrayer of this becoming reality.

5 MINISTRY KILLERS AND HOW TO DEFEAT THEM

I just finished Charles Stone's most recent work 5 MINISTRY KILLERS AND HOW TO DEFEAT THEM. What struck me as particularly refreshing was the fact that Stone did not use this work as a medium to vent his frustrations. No, instead the author seeks to be a blessing (go figure) and help move disgruntled or struggling co-shepherds to a place where they can be effective.

He covers everything from passive-aggressive behavior from shepherds who are hurting, to bullies who try to run the church from the pews.  It seems that the struggles and trials pastors go through are pretty similar across the board, albeit the intensity of the struggles vary. So... what are the FIVE MINISTRY KILLERS?

1. Head-in-the-sand mentality. (ignoring the struggle you face)

2. Misdirected emotional investment. (focusing our energy and investing emotional capital on issues that the Bible does not place high value on)

3. Unhealthy responses to ministry killers. (we must learn to respond to struggles in a healthy way)

4. An attitude that "God and I can handle this." (not relying on the Word of God or the God of the Word)

5. Lonely, hurting wives. (your marriage is not something the Lord delights in you sacrificing for ministry)

Stone offers some sage advice... which, of course, you will have to read for yourself.

I recommend this book to ALL pastors and those members/attenders of churches that want their pastor to thrive in ministry.

Be blessed y'all... be a blessing.

VOICE OF THE MARTYRS IN PDX...!

2 Kings 19

08 - 29 - 10 from Chris Johnson on Vimeo.