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 - Endorsed - Indifferent - Contested
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| The Nashville Statement
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Name:Daniel
Home: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
About Me: I used to believe that evolution was reasonable, that homosexuality was genetic, and that people became Christians because they couldn't deal with the 'reality' that this life was all there was. I used to believe, that if there was a heaven - I could get there by being good - and I used to think I was more or less a good person. I was wrong on all counts. One day I finally had my eyes opened and I saw that I was not going to go to heaven, but that I was certainly going to suffer the wrath of God for all my sin. I saw myself as a treasonous rebel at heart - I hated God for creating me just to send me to Hell - and I was wretched beyond my own comprehension. Into this spiritual vacuum Jesus Christ came and he opened my understanding - delivering me from God's wrath into God's grace. I was "saved" as an adult, and now my life is hid in Christ. I am by no means sinless, but by God's grace I am a repenting believer - a born again Christian.
My complete profile...
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Daniel's posts are almost always pastoral and God centered. I appreciate and am challenged by them frequently. He has a great sense of humor as well.
- Marc Heinrich
His posts are either funny or challenging. He is very friendly and nice.
- Rose Cole
[He has] good posts, both the serious like this one, and the humorous like yesterday. [He is] the reason that I have restrained myself from making Canadian jokes in my posts.
- C-Train
This post contains nothing that is of any use to me. What were you thinking? Anyway, it's probably the best I've read all day.
- David Kjos
Daniel, nicely done and much more original than Frank the Turk.
- Jonathan Moorhead
There are some people who are smart, deep, or funny. There are not very many people that are all 3. Daniel is one of those people. His opinion, insight and humor have kept me coming back to his blog since I first visited earlier this year.
- Carla Rolfe
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| 987: Awesomeness. |
I set aside, each morning, time to read the bible.
I have done so each morning (but not without fail) ever since I turned away from living for myself, and determined, in as much as in me is, to follow in obedience, the teachings of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I don't think that makes me better than people who don't read the bible, but it does make me more joyful, more certain, and more assured. I suppose it also delivers me from all sorts of folly and confusion that I would otherwise be far more susceptible to falling into.
This morning was no different, except that when I had finished reading the scriptures (I am in the psalms right now), I listened to the entire book of Romans on my iPhone. I downloaded it yesterday in the ESV version. I purchased the whole bible in audio format for less than eight bucks, and not that annoying version with the (supposed to be) dramatic, but ultimately and cumulatively distracting ochestral music droning on in the background. No this version is read by David Cochran Heath and published by Crossway. I am not an audio bible affionado, so I don't know if this is the best of the best of the best - what I like about it is that it is a no nonsense read, in a tone and at a pace that I find does not distract from the word. You can go here if you want to get yourself a copy before the sale ends.
I found out about it over at the thirsty theologian, David Kjos' blog and aggregate website. You should bookmark his site and visit it daily.
I mention that I read the bible this morning because I did not want to give the impression that listening to the book of Romans was an act of disciplined study; that is I wanted to be careful not to suggest that iPod bible listening is on par with studying the written word. You (typically) cannot stop to ponder, or take notes, or flip to supporting texts, or fortify what you have just read/heard with other passages in scripture when you are listening to a recording of scripture. All you can (normally) do is "listen". So I put that, not under "study" but under "Joy in the Lord" - not as part of a disciplined regiment, but rather as something more productive than listening to, say, Christian pop radio, or worse. Dare I say this, lest someone misunderstand - but I listen to the bible as a means of entertaining my soul with that which pleases it.
I know that not everyone feels that way about recordings, many I imagine, think that listening to scripture and reading it are pretty much all the same.
Don't get me wrong, I think it is good to read the word, and good to have it read to you - both are edifying. I, likewise, would not hesitate to acknowledge that there were periods in church history where people couldn't read the bible for themselves, either because they themselves did not know the languages of scripture, or because there were no ready and available bibles for them to read. These, by necessity had to hear a person read (and translate) the scripture, and then at some appointed time in an appointed place. This was the best they could manage at the time, so it is fitting therefore that we refer to those days as the "dark" ages. For the comman person lived in spiritual darkness by virtue of the starvation diet he was compelled to live under.
I encourage you, therefore, to take advantage of this offer before time runs out. If you are not a bible reader, well, become a bible listener. If you read your bible, then buy this and start listening - only don't supplant the one for the other to "save yourself time" - rather add it to your day on top of whatever else you do. I find the morning ride to work is good for about ten chapters, and the ride home, another ten.Labels: audio, bible reading |
posted by Daniel @
7:13 AM
1 comment(s)
 
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| Off My Notes... |
 For those of you who don't read my blog all that much, I am a "teaching" deacon in my church - I am the chairperson of the Christian Education Committee, and I get to (informally) preach every Sunday to a small (but faithful) group of adults who attend our Adult Bible Study.
Our former pastor began the Adult bible study a few years ago, and set the format - it ended up being a 45 minute topical sermon, wherein you could put up your hand and ask a question, though such a thing rarely happened. Even after he retired from being our Senior pastor, he continued to teach our Adult Bible Study, but being in his late eighties, and living a considerable distance from our church building - and being on a fixed income, and having our winters six months long, cold, and treacherous for driving - he found himself unable to make it to the services consistently, and having found himself often having to cancel at the last minute, he retired from the Adult Bible Study as well. That was when I stepped in, and I have continued the format - a 45 minute informal sermon, though while I still bring the occasional topical message, I have opted to exposit whole NT books verse by verse.
In that capacity I have had the opportunity to preach a lot over the past two years or so, and notwithstanding, I have had the opportunity on occasion to preach elsewhere - in other churches, and in my own church.
 Martyn Lloyd Jones once remarked that he wouldn't cross the street to listen to himself speak. Now, anyone who has heard a recording of MLJ would be amazed at such a statement. MLJ was a brilliant communicator, articulate, intelligent, humble, thoughtful - a craftsman who glorified the Lord from the pulpit weekly - and even beautifully; I mention this by way of introduction.
When my church began to put audio recordings of the weekly sermon and Adult Sunday School stuff online, I began to have convenient opportunity to (occasionally) download one of my messages and give it a listen; and frankly, whenever I do that I give serious thought as to whether I should be speaking in public at all!
As I listen to myself I think - Doh! I should have said this, or maybe I should have said this thing another way. Arn't I talking way too fast? Why is my voice so annoying? Speaking of annoying, why do I keep saying "okay?" and "right?" every five minutes? No matter how much effort I put into preparing a sermon, I never seem to glance down at my notes once I start speaking - I almost always start winging it as soon as I get in the pulpit.
Now that is not to say that I am just improvising, I am not - I know what I want to say and I try to stick to it, but as I preach I am often looking at, and taking my cues from the congregation. If they seem to understand what I am saying, I move on, but if they look perplexed I explain myself in another way, often requiring some tangential information be brought to bear - information that isn't in my notes - and once I get off my notes, getting back on them with any sense of congruency is sometimes difficult. ;-)
 I am still pretty new at this, and I trust the Lord to grow me in this too, that is, if it really is His will that I continue teaching in this way - yet I find when I listen to myself preach I am so critical of myself I find it discouraging. I almost want to adopt a feigned histrionic - to craft my presentation like an actor - you now, to write out a script, stick to it, and carefully determine before hand the metre and volume, where to make that voice-cracking passionate plea, where to thunder, where to adopt that quiet, conversational tone - to prepare the sermon before hand, and thereafter polish my oratory skills so that the message has the "greatest effect."
I say, I almost want to do that, or perhaps more accurately, I know that deep down I really want to do that; but for all the wrong reasons. First there is personal glory - the desire to be admired not only for the rich content, but also for the excellence of the presentation - which is vanity and pride. Mixed in is the deceptive lie that really I just want to make the biggest impact for Christ - but that is a lie from hell - founded as it is upon the erroneous thought that God's word is made more effective by a skillful preacher. God's word is effective because it is God's word. The gospel will save people even if Satan preaches it. God's word goes out and does not return to him fruitless - it bears the fruit that God sent it out to bear.
So instead of improving my histrionics, I entrust myself to God, if He is glorified by making me a better speaker, then let him be glorified in that, and if He is glorified by allowing a donkey to speak - then I am pleased to speak as a donkey. Woe to me if, given the chance, I would allow my vanity to rob God of His glory just to admire myself!
On that note I submit to you my sermon from Sunday. My pastor was preaching at another church, so I got to give the sermon. I preached on walking in the Spirit, and in particular the greatest hindrance to walking in the Spirit - walking in the flesh.
If you are inclined to listen to me say "right?" and "okay?" more often than is tolerable, and to flip around in my bible looking for verses I can't seem to find, and to wander off my notes so that the point I am making seems disjointed and hard to follow - and if you like to listen to a sermon preached in a voice that has no pleasant timbre, accent, or even mannerism, at a pace that seems at times too fast and at times jarringly halting - then I invite you to listen to this past Sunday's sermon here, and if there is anything praiseworthy in it, I can at least be certain it is not because of my oratory skill, but because we serve a God who is glorious.Labels: audio, church, encouragement, sanctification |
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posted by Daniel @
3:02 PM
6 comment(s)
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| Spiritual Ineptitude In 3D. |
 I apologize for my poor showing over the last couple of weeks. I have been busy with real world ministry and my family and my job.
I noticed that my previous post brought in a wealth of comments, so why break up a winning formula?
On Sunday I preached on the spiritually dead, the spiritually deceived (a subclass of the spiritually dead), and the spiritually dry. It was a regular sermon as opposed to the Sunday Schools stuff so it is a little more formal, and a couple from our church lead us in a song afterwards - which I thought went well with the sermon.
Here it is. I hope to get back to some regular posting soon.
DanLabels: audio, sermon |
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posted by Daniel @
8:25 PM
3 comment(s)
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| Galatians 2 something. |
 It is a very busy week, and I am training myself to post only when I really do have the time. But here is a quick audio snap of what I taught on this Sunday. There it is in all its unpolished ignobility. Comments welcome, and sorry I don't have much time this week for commenting myself.Labels: audio, galatians, Theology |
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posted by Daniel @
5:09 PM
9 comment(s)
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