Blogging Mere Christianity - Part 2

In my opinion Book I. of Lewis' Mere Christianity is worth the price of the book by itself. What a gift it is to be able to explain somewhat complex ideas in such conversational ways as Lewis does in this book. It has been a treat to read this work once again and I look forward to hearing what others think about it as well, especially some of you first time readers.

Here are a few lines from Book I. that I have underlined. What has stood out to you.

"If we do not believe in decent behaviour, why should we be so anxious to make excuses for not having behaved decently?" (Book I., ch. 1, p. 6)

"The moment you say that one set of moral ideas can be better than another, you are, in fact measuring them both by a standard, saying that one of them conforms to that standard more nearly than the other." (Book I., ch. 2, p. 11)

"You find out more about God from the Moral Law than from the universe in general just as you find out more about a man by listening to his conversation than by looking at a house he has built." (Book I., ch. 5. p. 23)

Happy reading!

Blogging Mere Christianity - Part 1

In recent months I've had a number of people express to me that they always wanted to read the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. This book has been one of my favorite reads and deserves another read through.

I proposed to some to read this book together and discuss over winter break. Now I know that some (like myself) haven't had a winter break in years. According to my calendar tomorrow is Christmas Eve and the kids are out of school.

So let's begin. Here's something that caught my eye only a couple pages into the preface:

"One of the things Christians are disagreed about is the importance of their disagreements. When two Christians of different denominations start arguing, it its usually not long before one asks whether such-and-such a point "really matters" and the other replies: "Matter? Why, it's absolutely essential." (p. vii.)

What things do you consider "absolutely essential" to what you believe? How do you determine what is "absolutely essential" and what might not "really matter"? What do you do when you find yourself at odds with another Christian on "such-and-such" a point?

Looking forward to reading this (again) with you and reading your thoughts.

Snow day?

It would be nice to have church tomorrow. The snow hit hard today and now it's blowing around like crazy. We've got a big day planned. Children's Christmas program during the first hour. Then great Christmas music and hopefully a good sermon the next. Tomorrow night is our Christmas service. We decided to have it early to accommodate those traveling and making family plans.

So here's the thing. Will I be upset if we cancel church due to the weather because it interrupts all of my plans? Or will I be upset because we miss out on meeting together as the body? Would I have been as upset if it had been last week? What about next Sunday?

To be continued...

Speaking of parables...

Check out the Modern Parables site. I just watched The Sower.

It's a dirty job...

Lately the "parable of the sower" has been on my mind. In truth it's because it is likely on the horizon for preaching soon. Even more it seems to fit will with the model of ministry that we are currently developing at our church (I'm sure I'll have more to say about that later).

Right now I'm simply making observations. Here's one to chew on: "And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them." (Mark 4:15, ESV)

I don't want to over analyze and miss the forest for the trees, but first off, what is it that Satan is doing in this verse? Here are a few initial thoughts:

• This passage isn't really about four soils, it's about two; good vs. bad or receptive vs. unreceptive.
• From early on in his ministry Jesus was dealing with Satan/demons who were attempting to restrict (or twist) what he was trying to do.
• Satan is coming to take away the word (the gospel), something he's been trying to do from the very beginning (see Genesis 3, "Did God really say...?"
• Hearing happens but because truth is being devoured all that's left to hear is lies.

So here's the question I'm working on: What is the Church's role in leading people to healthier soil?

Maybe the Parable Queen will weigh in on this one, but I'd like to hear from others. Like I said, this is a work in progress.

Big Book Giveaway

Here's hoping one of us wins...

http://trevinwax.com/2008/12/15/kingdom-people-christmas-giveaway/

The Prison of Pride

Chuck Colson's commentary on the Blagojevich story is worth reading. I happened to catch a brief interview with Colson on CNN this afternoon. This piece is posted on CNN.com.

Commentary: I know what Illinois governor feels like now - CNN.com

Laurinaitis wins Lott Trophy - College Football - Rivals.com

Laurinaitis wins Lott Trophy - College Football - Rivals.com "The award...recognizes on-field performance and personal character among defensive players." What more can you say. It's good that the hardware that is handed out this time of year isn't just about what happens on the field but off the field as well.

Busy Bee

I'm embarrassed that it has been so long between entries. The busyness of life has been--well, busy. Now it's time to whittle down the pile and start busting through the to do list. The stack of books to read is growing. The "Saturday projects" are on hold until I get a free Saturday. Not to mention typical week's expected unexpecteds that are on the horizon. Anyone have suggestions on how to get it all done?