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This is an excerpt from Pastor Mark’s class this last Sunday.
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Good stuff. To any newcomers…hang onto your hat!
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(it’s only 16 minutes long)
Or…
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Thanks, Pastor Mark.
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Thanks to flickr and Jon Wu, for the photo.
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Filed under: Pastor Mark Anderson, Pastor's class, Reformation radicality | 1 Comment »
We simply cannot deal in many of our churches today with the manner of ‘Lordship’ evidenced in Christ Himself in the upper room at the last supper – removing His clothing and girding Himself in a towel (dressing Himself as a slave, as the Living Bible so succinctly puts it) to wash the feet of those who were His friends – those who, in spite of all the failings and denials, He loved totally, and would give His life to save just a few short hours later.
This gospel means we totally and entirely saved “not by our successes but in and through our failures… Our so-called ‘successes’ cannot be saved – they are nothing but suits of obsolete armor, ineffective moral and spiritual contraptions we have climbed into to avoid facing the thing which can save us – our totally naked vulnerability before Jesus, for it is the person He lives and dies for, not the suit we contrive to wear” (Farrar – Parables of Judgement).
Is this the God with whom we have to do in our Sunday services, our bible studies, our daily lives, because if we are not focused upon this God, seen in the incarnation and life of His only begotten Son, then we really have nothing to say – THAT is the reality.
The pain of the emergent church is great, but that is primarily because it shouts so loudly regarding the failure of mainline Christianity to ‘speak’ the truth in love, evidenced in God’s reconciling work in Jesus Christ. Because of that failing, many of us who, miraculously still attend a church, know only too well of such wounding, and can only hope and pray that even as such bruised reeds and smoldering flaxes, we can seek to point to true grace in these days of such great need.
Filed under: Howard Nowlan | 7 Comments »
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From Pastor Mark Anderson’s Daily Devotional blog site
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“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
– 1 Corinthians 2:2
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November 26, 2012
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Johann Sebastian Bach is known for his mastery of the ‘fugue’, a musical form built around one, recurring theme. Bach’s ‘Art of the Fugue’ is a collection of brilliantly constructed fugues that exemplify the form. So much so that they can be played by virtually any instrumental combination with satisfying effect. These fugues can be quite complex. At the same time they never lose sight of that one, central theme.
Bach offers an insight into the nature and purpose of theology, of the Christian witness. Like the winding counterpoint of the fugue, the great theme of the Cross may be amplified in any number of voices. Indeed, it should be. But if that theme is broken or lost, the composition wanders aimlessly. The composition is disharmonious and ultimately pointless.
One can sense today the widespread confusion regarding the Christian faith. There are many voices but the counterpoint often lacks harmony and focus. When the message of the Cross falls out of the center of the Christian witness disharmony results. St. Paul was among the first Christians that we know of to tap the podium in an effort to get the attention of the members of the orchestra who were wandering off into themes of their own making. He heard, as we can today, elements of the church that were losing their voice for the Cross.
This is not to say that the Cross is not widely talked about today. But much of that talk “spins” the Cross to be a moment of divine identification with us poor victims of whatever injustice we feel has come upon us. Poor Jesus was a victim, too. So He can relate. He can identify with us and we with Him. But this is not the message of the cross. This is not the theme The fact is that the Cross reveals that no one was interested in identifying with the gracious God in Jesus. He died alone and despised. “Weep not for me”, Jesus said,. “but for yourselves and your children.”
This, then, is the great fugal theme of the faith. On the Cross God seals the exits so that there is only one way out. That way is the crucified and Risen Lord Himself. The Cross does not identify with us. It indicts us. At the same time, the great theme of the Cross rings with the sound of pure grace. “Father, forgive them”, he said. If the cross indicts us in our godlessness, even more does it reveal God precisely where He means to be found, in the suffering and dying Jesus where God moves against us and for us.
The Cross is where the Truth is told, revealed, where God is known, where godless ones like you and me are brought to an end and invited, commanded to resin up our bows, break out the trumpets, xylophones, clarinets, electric guitars, kazoos or whatever voice we have and join the theme! Plumb it to the depths, soar to its’ heights with the madness and reckless abandon that can only come from those who know they are as good as dead, and yet so very much alive through our Crucified and Risen Lord!
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“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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Thank you, Pastor Mark Anderson.
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Filed under: Pastor Mark Anderson's blog, The central theme of the Cross | Leave a comment »
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Many do.
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If you do, there’s probably not a lot to sway you from that course. At least for the time being.
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But if you see yourself starting to despair a bit because you just can’t quite cut the mustard in keeping up with all that you should be doing, and or you are still doing those things that you know you shouldn’t be doing…or you are starting to notice (in your most honest moments and reflections) that you might be becoming a bit prideful, because you delude yourself into believing that you really aren’t doing so badly at all this ‘Christian progression/self-sanctification’ stuff….then maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
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If you’re in the latter category (see world’s 2nd longest sentence above) then this might mean something to you:
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Thanks, Pastor Mark.
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And thanks to flickr and chawayipiran, for the photo.
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Filed under: Free will, Freedom, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sacraments, Sermon | 3 Comments »
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Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices;
who from our mother’s arms hath blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
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O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
with ever-joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
and keep us in his grace, and guide us when perplexed,
and free us from all ills in this world and the next.
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All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
the Son, and Holy Ghost, supreme in highest heaven,
the one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore;
for thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
– Martin Rinckart
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Thanksgiving Eve sermon by Pastor Mark:
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Filed under: Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon, Thanksgiving | 10 Comments »
Impressed with all the great things that man can do?
Some of it is pretty impressive. But none of it will last.
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Thanks, Pastor Mark.
And thanks to flicker and isawnyu, for the photo.
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Filed under: Destroy this Temple and I will raise it again in three days., Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | 2 Comments »
Here’s a clue:
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“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,…”
Colossians 2:13
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I can just see Jesus standing at the tomb of Lazarus hands folded and silent, surrounded by the weeping entourage as one of the exasperated, grieving sisters tugs at His sleeve;
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‘Jesus why don’t you do something?’
“I’m waiting’, He replies.
‘Waiting for what?’
‘I’m waiting for Lazarus to make a decision.’
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The trouble with Jesus was that He refused to play by the rules of conventional, religious wisdom. That wisdom stated that God rewards the good and punishes the sinner. But Jesus unsettled the conventional wisdom. He forgave people who by their obvious misconduct revealed themselves to be truly wicked. And, to add insult to injury, He blasted the good religious folks who by their obvious outward conduct appeared to be godly. With Jesus on the loose nobody knew what would happen next. Sort of like grace. Jesus spoke and acted as if He were actually in charge, as if He had the final authority over life and death.
That, of course, is our problem with God.
We too have a conventional religious wisdom. And that wisdom tells us that we have a free will that must choose God. God may be the Creator of the universe, the One who is beyond time and space, eternal and almighty, but where we are concerned, God stands with His hat in His hand waiting for us to decide.
We like this conventional, free-will view of God because it keeps us in the center of the action, where we can work on our variously defined programs of godliness and success, showing God how serious we. This is precisely what Jesus ran into among the religious of his own time. Claiming to be all about God, they were actually all about themselves, even if their intentions were good. That, in the final analysis, is what free will religion comes down to. It’s not about God, it’s about me. And the insistence on hanging on to even a little bit of freedom where God is concerned, reveals that the will has already made its decision. It has decided for the self, and that leads not to life, but death.
Jesus came to the grave of Lazarus to say something and to do something full of grace – free, unmerited grace. He came in His own time and on His own terms. And when He arrived He took control of the funeral. He commanded the grave to be opened and he called Lazarus out of the cold grip of death by a word.
Hanging on to the illusion of free will is about as useful as the dead hand of Lazarus clutching his burial shroud. So,that same Word of death-defeating grace and power must be spoken to you. God saves you by His grace. God chooses you.
In the absolution and your baptism, this same Jesus who was plunged into death, wades into death’s deep waters to find you – and does some free-will choosing of His own.
“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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From Pastor Mark Anderson’s Daily Devotional blog site.
Thank you, Pastor Mark.
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Filed under: Free will, Pastor Mark Anderson | 8 Comments »
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I know some really nice folks, many of whom are Christians. But some of them tell me that they are working on some project, such as not eating or drinking certain things. Or not doing certain activities, which will then bring them “closer to God”.
There is a great focus in their places of worship on ‘what we do’, or ‘what we ought not do’. No matter how much gospel they receive, the message always seems to get back to them, and what they should, ought, or must be doing to achieve a closer relationship with God.
How come?
They lack an understanding of the true nature of the human being. They lack the understanding that we are ‘bound to sin’. They have the opposite and false assumption that we have “free-will” when it comes to matters of faith. And they lack an understanding about God’s real presence in the external Word and sacraments. No real presence of Christ in Baptism and Holy Communion, then it will inevitably all turn back onto you, and what ‘you do’, or ‘don’t do’. There is no relying on Christ’s finished work. There is no assurance. There is no freedom.
In essence these folks, God bless them, may as well be Roman Catholics (some are). For in the end, Christ’s work on the Cross is good, and nice, and a great example, but there still remains some things that I ”need to do’, as well.
We say, NO!
NO to the proposition that we need to add something to His Cross. NO to the chorus of well-meaning Christians who would put us on the ladder up to God, also. NO to those folks who believe that we carry within ourselves some spark of goodness that just needs to be set in motion to get us onto the proper path of sanctification. NO to the belief that Christ is waiting for us to do our part.
But we do say, ‘YES’!
Yes that Christ is our All in all. Yes that Jesus loves the ungodly, the kind of ungodly that we know we are. Yes that everything needful for our justification and sanctification has been done, is being done, and will yet be done…by our Lord, Jesus.
And YES, that this free gift is given without any strings attached for ALL people. That they might hear, and by God’s grace believe that this is true.
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God’s Word to us, is YES! Lord have mercy on me a sinner. And the Lord says,” YES…I will.”
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Thanks to flickr and Thomas Hawk and erix!, for the photos.
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Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Chaplain Charlie Mallie wrote this about the Baptism of his son Nikolas:
The Case for Infant Baptism by Chaplain Charlie Mallie
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Thank you, Chaplain Mallie.
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And thanks to Patrick Kyle and New Reformation Press.
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Our prayers go out for the Mallie family and little Nikolas Evangelos Mallie.
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Filed under: Infant Baptism, New Reformation Press | Leave a comment »
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“23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did; 24 but Jesus did not trust himself to them, 25 because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man.”
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November 7, 2012
It was every politicians dream come true. The groundswell of support was rising. People were abuzz with admiration for Him. The benefits He provided suggested a bright future. If only he were king. He would distribute prosperity to all. They were ripe for the picking.
Sound familiar? Some things never change. Later, John’s gospel reports the incident of the feeding of several thousand people. They came back the next day for more of what they saw as a free lunch program. Jesus was not impressed. “You are only here”, he said, “because you ate your fill.” There is no deeper biblical insight into human nature.
At one point during His earthly ministry the people actually wanted to take Him by force and make Him king. They saw in Him the one who would really deliver the goods. Jesus, sensing the threat to His mission, eluded them.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus consistently refused the adulation of the crowd? After all, wasn’t that what He was after? All he had to do was keep giving away the goodies and they would follow Him anywhere.
If Jesus had given in to the appetites of the herd everything would have been lost. But Jesus knew what is in us. That’s what John observed. Jesus knew that we will seek to make anyone king who promises to keep the free lunch programs going. For what is in us, Jesus knew, is the insatiable appetite of the self – sin. And the sinful self will happily, willingly enslave itself to the highest bidder.
So Jesus rejected the chronically restless masses and the invitation to fulfill their utopian dreams. Instead He went to the Cross.That is why He alone is worthy of our love and faith. For knowing the sin that is in us, knowing our deepest need, our sickness unto death – He did not pander to our grievances and grudges like some scheming power seeker. He did not give us want we want. He gave us what we need. He gave His life for us.
So to all those who think the latest version of the messiah will bring heaven on earth and the flowering of peace and justice, here is the hard truth; the dreams of the politician will not save you. They may, in fact, impose a nightmare of utopian tyranny. And when they die all we are left with is the burdensome residue of their plans and schemes. The ancient psalmist recognized this truth ages ago when he wrote,
“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.”
The authentic work of peace and justice that Jesus and His Father accomplished happened on a bloody Cross two thousand years ago. That peace comes even now through a living faith in the Crucified One; and the justice of God is fulfilled when sinners are reconciled to God, declared righteous, forgiven and free, by grace through faith, in a life of trust that begins now but will only be perfected in the life to come.
“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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( from Pastor Mark Anderson’s Daily Devotional blog site )
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Thank you, Pastor Mark.
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And thanks to flickr and jambox998, for the photo.
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Filed under: Earthly messiahs, Pastor Mark Anderson's blog | 3 Comments »
The Old Adam Lives! 
