Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

PS – hot tip: if you give a talk at church, don’t watch an incredibly sped up version. It highlights your, ahem, repertoire of gestures.

Click here to view the embedded video.

That is, not feel like we need to quote verbatim every time we say something from the Bible.

A case in point is when, either in a prayer or a prepared talk, when someone uses part of one of Paul’s letters as an example. It often goes something like this:

Dear Lord, please continue to work in us by your Spirit, just as Paul prayed: ‘that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can determine what really matters and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that |comes| through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.’

(cf. Philippians 1:9-11, HCSB)

That’s really very clunky. The pronouns are all mixed up, and it doesn’t sound right. What I hear is you transitioning very awkwardly from praying to reading the Bible out loud, and trying to pass the latter off as the former. Try something like this instead:

Dear Lord, please continue to work in us by your Spirit, so that our love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that we can determine what really matters…

Basically, relax about the exact words of Scripture. I’m not saying that we should be OK with quoting out of context, or able to twist the words to suit our situation. Rather, I say this because the New Testament writers were pretty similarly relaxed. They quote the Old Testament scriptures all the time, but they weren’t so worried about getting the exact words that they created ungrammatical sentences. They took the quote, understood its meaning and intent, and (sometimes) changed things around so that it worked in the sentence. An example:

But the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.”

Gen 12:7, HCSB.

… but He promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him…

Acts 7:5, HCSB

Or, for the nerds:

Τῷ σπέρματί σου δώσω τὴν γῆν ταύτην.

Gen 12:7, LXX (Rahlfs)

καὶ ἐπηγγείλατο δοῦναι αὐτῷ εἰς κατάσχεσιν αὐτὴν καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ μετ᾿ αὐτόν

Acts 7:5, GNT (NA-27)

The original verb form didn’t fit in the context of the sentence in Acts, so Luke changed it. The original meaning is clearly there, the intent is the same, but it works in its new context.

This might be something that we can learn from our charismatic brothers & sisters: learn to speak Scripture. My experience of those from a Charismatic/Pentecostal Christian background is that their language is drenched in Scripture, all the time. They clearly love the Bible, love God’s word, read it, and it’s gone and changed the way they express themselves (for the better!).

Get familiar with the language of the Bible, and use it to encourage, strengthen, and call people out on what’s going on in their lives.

But relax about it.

Elissa’s getting baptised.

(Finally.)

July 26th,^[1] 10am sharp. Baptisms usually happen at the start of the service, so if you’re late you might miss it.

Minchinbury Anglican Church – 86 Rupertswood Rd, Rooty Hill.

We’d love to have you along (assuming you don’t have church commitments, although I’m sure many of you do). If you are able, please bring along something to share for morning tea after church.

Oh, and if you’re tempted to bring along a present, please don’t. Really. And truly.

Drop me a line if you’d like more info (e.g. to ask what on earth we’re doing and why, to say you’re coming, etc.).

One of the sites in this compilation I came across has to do with the perennial problem of church music – what is it for, how do you do it well, and what are the really sucky things that should never be done anywhere? What are The Rules?

A taste:

If you are a double clapper, just cut it out. Clap on the beat if you want, but if you think it’s a good idea to bust out a double clap at the end of the line, or the double-time clap in the bridge (who does that!?), then your hands should be gaffa-taped to your sides until you learn your lesson.

I don’t know who it’s by, but it’s a cracker.

At church recently we’ve been hearing from Jesus (from his Sermon on the Mount) about all manner of human behaviour. In relation to lust, he says this:

You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

So what do we do with this? In regard to internet pornography (which as I’m sure you’re aware, is everywhere), how can we ensure we are pure in what we look at? Should I cut off my internet connection (or my eye/hand)?

I want to suggest 2 things that can help out with those who have problems with pornography, even addictions.

The first is an online book written by Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church. It’s called Porn-Again Christian, and is currently a work in progress – most of the chapters are posted at this point in time, but the rest will be up soon. When it’s complete, you’ll be able to download the whole thing as a pdf document.

This is written for the blokes. Girls, by all means read it, but it’s a (very) frank discussion, and may be something that isn’t all that helpful for you. You can make that assessment though. Guys, go read it. Seriously.

He deals with all the relevant things relating to pornography, masturbation, marriage, and prostitution. Go read.

The other thing is software called Covenant Eyes. The name comes from Job 31:1,

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.“

The way it works is that you sign up for an account (it costs money, but it’s worth it), and get the software. Once installed on your system it tracks all your internet activity. I mean all – web searches, downloads, ftp, everything.

You nominate one or more ‘accountability partners’, who once a week will get an email listing your internet activity, highlighting anything that it thinks might be a bit suspect. The idea is that these people will then sit down and talk through with you what you’ve been doing online. It essentially makes your private browsing activity (somewhat) public, creating some sort of barrier when you’re feeling weak.

It helps. I’ve got it on my machine. It works for both PC and Mac.

We need to get serious with sin. Internet pornography is a serious thing, a real addiction for many people. Let’s get it out in the open, talk about it, and deal with it properly, so we can be free.

Accusations of Heresy

Perhaps the fact that I’ve finished my essay, and he’s procrastinating from his, had something to do with it. Regardless, he said pretty much what I’ve been thinking, and said it well. Have a read.

• Defend the right to protest
• Say “No!” to homophobia
• “No!” to anti-condom policies
• Defend reproductive rights

The last one is a little curious. I assume that what they mean by that is ‘the right to choose not to reproduce’, but it’s certainly a strange way of putting it. I’ve never before heard of anyone charging the Roman Catholic Church with denying their reproductive freedom. There’s a reason, after all, for all those large Catholic families.

Despite sounding like a sub-division of NASA, the Global Anglican Futures Conference has released their closing statement [pdf link].

In terms of world-wide Anglicanism, it’s got some strong words to say. Those words are, however, excellent. There’s a real focus on proclaiming the gospel to the world, staying faithful to our Lord Jesus, and defending the truth from heterodoxy (i.e. divergent beliefs). Awesome stuff.

In terms of the ‘Anglican communion’ that formally exists around the world… well, it now seems as there might be a communion within the communion, a fellowship of confessing Anglicans.

Perhaps the acknowledged, already-present split will become more formal.

It will be fascinating to see what kind of fallout there is after this.

[UPDATE: Insightful commentary by Tony Payne on what this statement means for Anglicans both here and abroad.]