Sharing the gospel

Is the burden on their ears or my lips?

More Keller

Reason for God

It takes as much faith to believe in God that it does to not believe in God

Arguments do not stand that say "there is no God."

Argument 1:Evil and suffering. Look at all the senseless evil in the world.

In light of that, there are options. 1. God is good, not able or powerful to stop it. 2. God is powerful able to stop it, but not good because He doesn't stop it.

How do you know it is senseless evil? How do you know there's no good reason?

If you have a God who is big and powerful enough to be mad at to allow it, then you have a God who is big and powerful enough to reasons that we can't think of for allowing it. 

Argument 2: If there is a God, how can his believers done so much evil in His name?

"The discreet charms of Nihilism."

If you have the claims of God, you have turn to violence. "I have the truth, you don't."

If you don't have the claims of God you can also turn to violence. "If I can get away with it, then I'll do it."

Argument 3:You can't know there is a God. Elephant example. 

He's not a being inside this universe. Why assume that God is something inside the world that is provable. You're assuming something about the nature of God. 

It isn't as if God is able to be related to as someone on the first floor relates to someone on the 2nd floor. 

C.S.  Lewis said that it is like Shakespeare relating to Hamlet. The only way Hamlet is going to know anything about Shakespeare is if Shakespeare writes himself into the play. If there is a Creator God there should be evidence. But to say that there is no God because you can't prove it assumes something about the nature of God. If you can't prove there is no God, you're taking a leap of faith. 

Fine tuning of the universe:

Human rights:  belief that humans are so worthwhile, regardless of age, gender, social status... every human being is valuable and worthy of rights. Image of God. 

"Peter Wimsey stories" are detective novels written by Dororthy Sayers 

Sayers writes herself into the story as the character Harriet Vane who also is a detective novel writer. She falls in love with the main character and marries him and they live happily ever after. She created him. His world. Saw that he was lonely, wanted to get into that world and save him. So she wrote herself in. 

Every other religion says that God is up here and you have to get to Him. Only in Christianity do we find that God wrote himself into the play. 

 

Gospel

Tim Keller lecture notes. 

1. Gospel Theologizing. 

The gospel is more than just a kingdom program that we need to get involved in. It is more than just a community that is socially active and conscious. When churches go this route, they become involved in liberal legalism. 

2. Gospel Realizing

Is my justification my ministry? When attendance is up, I'm up... when it's down I am down?? 

"Is there nothing [God] can't ask of me?" 

3. Gospel Urbanization

Go to the city

The city has more people than plants and the country has more plants than people and since God loves people more than plants He must love the city more..  <--haha

City: Culture, Poor, Immigrants, jobs, Students, Professionals

David Brooks "Bobos in paradise"

Battle between Bourgeois and Bohemians. 

Bohemians- Avant-garde with their new experimental, artsy practices

Bourgeois- were upper middle-class, white picket fences. 

Modern day sees a merging of the worst parts of both groups. Upper middleclass suburbs have moral relativism of Bohemians combined with the materialism of the Bourgeois. 

Christians should be the opposite. They should have the moral conservative practices of the Bourgeois combined with the innovation and artistry of the Bohemian culture. 

Does the truth stop being true? The gospel must impact at the worldview level

The gospel must penetrate to the core of who we are. It cannot just be a temporary fix. 

Progressive Communication

Jonah 3

Intelligibility- DA Carson. World view evangelism. Acts 17, Paul lays about a Biblical view of God and history and interacts with dualism all while creating a Christian world view. 

Credibility- also known as apologetics. If belief A is true, belief B isn't true and not even worth pursuing. 

Plausibility-(contemporary relevance) their longings, their hopes, how the lines of their own lives, struggles can be resolved in Jesus

Contextualization- not just the practical application of Biblical doctrine but the translation  of doctrine into conceptuality that meshes with the reality of social structures dominant in contemporary life. 

Exclusive beliefs: Everyone is exclusive. Boils down to who's exclusive beliefs lead us to love? Which set of exclusive beliefs will lead to peace on earth? At the heart of my exclusive beliefs is a man dying for his enemies -a man loving people who didn't love him. That I'm a sinner saved by grace... that nonbelievers and those who don't know Christ are my moral superiors because I'm not saved by my morals but by grace alone. I look at those with a different set of beliefs and I want to serve them because Christ died for his enemies. 

4. Gospel formation:

Sinclair Furgeson 

5. Gospel Incarnation

The world comes to Jonah. You don't love us. You have some kind of relationship with God. DO something! 

Jesus also sleeping in the storm. Don't you care? Jesus thrown into the largest storm

"Thou are coming to a King large petitions with thee bring

For His grace and power are such, none can ever ask too much."

-John Newton.

Day#16

Empty Tomb

Today we went to the garden tomb site. I loved what the guide had to say about the tomb and about the mysticism that is so prevalent in this land. There are those who come to the tombs and leave prayers wedged into the walls similar to the Western wall. They also leave flowers and articles of clothing. The guide simply said that they clean them out. He said Jesus isn't in the tomb anymore. He's risen. He said you can take Jesus into the cave and out of the cave because he's no longer there. It was really refreshing to hear a messianic message finally. My defenses have been up due to all the different religions being pushed upon me. 

"Dave, I wonder if you can let me know by next week  on [such and such project] so that I can move forward."

Give me direction in this area so that I can move forward. 

Can we sit down together and work on a timeline. 

Is it okay if I follow up on that next week?

These are questions to ask my senior Pastor when I return so that I'm able to have more direction.

Day #15

Humble Beginnings.

Born in a cave... not even a nice cave. A dirty cave. It was dark. Probably lit with torches. 

Surely a King deserves better. 

You came as a baby... 

Raised as a servant. The lowest of low

Surely better provisions could have been made for my Savior. 

This was the place. (Or at least near it). Salvation has come. 

My God doesn't stay far away. He came near to me!

He could've though. He could have stayed in heaven. All the glories...all the beauty...forsaken. Left behind so that He could be near me...so that He could live as one of us. Oh what love the Savior has for us! 

I think of the riches I have. I've grown up far richer than my Savior. I've lived a opulent, lavish, affluent lifestyle. Did He come to give me that? 

He could have come and stayed in a luxurious Palace like Herod built for himself all over the land. But he came and was the poorest of the poor... 

Then He went through everything we went through... relating to me in the ultimate way...He came near to me...

Immanuel. God with us. And He'll never leave us. He promised He'll be with us forever. 

 

Being at the Church of the Nativity... I can't help but think that this is not the way Jesus would have wanted it. It was way too plush for Jesus. Our Savior isn't flashy. He's got the substance and the style. It's kinda the way it's always been. David wanted to build the Lord a temple... but God had him keep the ark in a tent. 

Phil 2:7 says that "He made himself nothing."

Nothing... He emptied himself. 

I'm listening to the song "Amazed." The line that is exactly how I'm feeling almost this entire trip.. "Lord I'm amazed by You... how You love me."

Day #14

Back from En Gev and Galilee. 

The resort was super nice... It was really interesting being out in the places where Jesus ministered. Why did he choose these areas? Doesn't he know that all the people are in the city? Tim Keller would be disappointed. I guess Jesus' ministry is a little different than Paul's or even mine. For some reason I felt more of a connection in Jerusalem than in Capernaum or even in Galilee. During our stay there, it felt so much more like a vacation than a spiritual experience. Hearing all the undergrad students screaming and messing around during our communion service was a bit annoying. The resort could have been mistaken for spring break Daytona Beach. 

Even sitting around the noise and the laughing... trying to catch a moment to reflect is difficult. (More Reflections written in notebook)