Resources:
Why I am a better pastor than John Piper
Getty says contemporary music is dangerous
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A tale of when a false prophet tickles the ears
There was once a prophet who came to Pensacola and proclaimed, “Continue to be who you are, for your kingdom is at hand.” This prophet didn’t wear camel’s hair, nor did he eat wild honey; he consumed large amounts of energy drinks and spoke about love and acceptance. The prophet started an Instagram account and became an immediate sensation. “Look at him,” they said. “He is one of us; he speaks ill of no one, and he doesn’t turn our tables upside down like the previous prophets.”
This prophet wanted the ears of the church also, so he found a platform to communicate his ideas. The local pastor seeing his rhetorical gifts quickly gave him a Sunday to preach. The crowd gathered to hear him from near and far.
After the prophet was introduced, the people stood up and gave him a standing ovation. He stepped up into the pulpit, and slowly he pulled his mask away, revealing himself to be an ugly, devious figure. In fact, he looked like a demon. The people were shocked by this revelation at first, but when he began to speak, he spoke as he always did about being who you are, approving of sins, disregarding the Word of God, etc. The people were so enamored by his message of inclusiveness and acceptance and a new Christianity that they forgot that the prophet was the devil himself.
This morning we affirm dogmatically: Jesus is Lord of the Church. Repent, for the kingdom of God is here! Repent and conform to Jesus. Repent and believe. The man of God does not concern himself with the praises of men for he knows there is only one faith, one Lord, and one baptism.
A Call to worship when we fear men
We spend so much time wondering what someone thinks of us that we fail to proclaim Jesus when we should. People’s perception controls our every step. We wake up allowing others to control our morning. Our sleep is not as it should be because the opinion of others keeps us up at night. As Ed Welch notes:
“We are more concerned about looking stupid (a fear of people) than we are about acting sinfully (fear of the Lord).”
The reason we need corporate worship is that it offers us an opportunity to confess our fear and dependence on men’s opinions in the presence of the very people we fear. Prepare for worship tomorrow and come into his presence with awe.
Podcast, #3, Topics: Is Christianity Collapsing? John Crist and Sexual Sins (When it’s no longer funny), and Albert Mohler as the new SBC president
The Ease of False gods
Dear friend,
The epidemic is too great not to talk about it. We, men, cannot act as if we don’t struggle. We cannot hide behind the mask of normalcy. Sex, drugs, gambling are only the symptoms of our deeper disease. We are idolaters. We love false gods because they entice us with goodies: quick pleasure and quick fixes. We take them and don’t even ask for the dealer’s name. In fact, we are too scared to ask because their names would condemn us.
Obstinate.
Apollyon.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman.
Mr. Legality.
“No, please don’t tell me your name,” we say.
We find refuge in the embrace of addiction because those habits demand very little of us. We binge watch shows night after night because it requires little of us. We spend all our time at work because it is more pleasurable than the noises of children. We truly choose the easy route as often as possible.
We love non-demanding gods. The God of Israel is too hard.
So, where do we go, men? Do we want to do the harder things? Do we want to produce the long-term blessings or will we settle for the quick fixes? To whom shall we go? To whom will we seek when the promises of false gods fail again and again? When our lives begin to crumble before us? Where shall we go? Where can we flee from the Spirit?
I beg you to talk. Life is too short to be lived in secret.
Yours truly,
Pastor Uriesou Brito
Podcast, 2, Kamala Harris, Doug Wilson taking over Moscow and Liberals attack Attorney Barr’s Speech
UB Podcast, Inaugural Show: Kanye West/ James McDonald/ Josh Harris/ Why more Republicans go to church than Democrats
Resources:
Church graph showing church attendance between Republicans and Democrats
Justin Taylor interacts with Joshua Harris’ interview on Trump and sexuality
Josh Harris says he excommunicated himself
Tyler Burns on Kanye West’s conversion
Kim Kardashian talks about Kanye West’s new approach to parenting
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Church Grammarian
Dear friend,
I am a church grammarian. That’s a short way of saying I shepherd people into good words, good thinking, and good actions. I am also quite aware that people don’t want to learn, and that some people learn slowly. Church life will always be filled with good, average, and poor students, but the ones who do excel are always the ones eager to hear the Word of the Lord gladly. For this reason, I teach and re-teach the alphabet of the Christian faith for Christians need to know their language.
Within my grammatical education, I try to convey the idea that we need to be around other grammar students. We learn best together which is generally why the least educated about church grammar are those who choose to study church grammar on their own. This didactic approach fails too many tests, including the verbs, nouns, and adjectives of church life. You can’t grow in church life without knowing what to do, who the people are, and the attributes that make up such people. In sum, self-learning is self-defeating.
The grammar of the Gospel is quite clear: Jesus died, he rose and ascended for us. Yet, our grammar tends to reflect the “I” without the “they.” The secret of church grammar is that everything Jesus did was for us. Without the “us” there is no “I”. You are placed in a setting of “us” and “they” for a reason. It’s God’s approach to education. When you flee this basic classroom principle you begin to forget the basics. In the church, “We believe,” “We confess,” and “We affirm,” are the fundamental elements of who we are.
Yours truly,
Pastor Brito, Ecclesiastical Grammarian
Some notes on Theology for a future introduction to Theology for the Laity
I am currently working on an introduction to theology for the laity. I hope it will prove beneficial for new Christians and young folks wanting to deepen their faith.
If we have ever come across the word “theology,” our first impression, unless we are predisposed to pursue these subjects, is to view theology as a very impersonal enterprise. But the type of theology we are after is “a theology that reflects upon the God whom Christians worship and adore.”[1] Doing theology is an act of charity to the world. What theology ought to do is change us, so that we are better prepared to change others.
The work of theology ought to make us better students, better husbands and wives, better children, and better laborers in the kingdom of God. Theology is the Christian’s daily workout. When you stop doing it, you become frail and open to sickness and disease.
Theologizing is what we are after, not so much as an exercise to strengthen our intellectual prowess, but as an exercise to serve our fellow church-men. We love best when we know God most.
[1] Alister McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction (Oxford, Blackwell, 2001) 137.
The Need for All Saint’s Day
Dear friend,
what I decry in our evangelical culture is the distaste for anything that is old. I have often said that most evangelicals believe church history began when Billy Graham was born. I exaggerate to make the point that we are untrained in the ancient. We don’t read our forefathers. We don’t relish their words. Therefore, we keep innovating worship, adding our human ingenuity to church methodologies, always trying to outdo the next local assembly in gadgets and lights. And the church keeps losing; losing the youth, losing our identity, losing our history, and losing our Gospel.
For this reason, we need All Saints’ Day! We need it to remind us that we come from a long line of faithful travelers “tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.” Our history is not a beginning history, but one that has begun long ago. We follow in their train; a noble army of men and boys, the matron and the maid. We continue their journey to that eternal city.
Happy All Saints’ Day!