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The breathless coverage of The Gospel of Judas would make one think that a truly remarkable discovery had taken place. Actually, the document -- though certainly an ancient artifact of interest for its historical value -- has no impact at all on our view of the church or Christian theology. It is one more old Gnostic document (there are several others), written a century or more after the New Testament documents, aimed at trying to attract converts away from orthodox Christianity and toward the Gnostic cult groups that the church had already rejected as heretical. But the way the media has played this up suggests there may be a market for future such "discoveries" that can be arranged. What about these: The Lost Paul Revere Document, a letter in which Paul Revere reveals that he wasn't really crying out "The British are coming" as he rode through Lexington and Concord. He was actually crying out "The skittish are coming!" in order to announce the arrival of some nervous Bostonians on an outing. The confusion contributed to the beginning of the American Revolution. The Lost Book of Luther, in which we learn that the German monk never intended to post "95 Theses" on the church door. It was supposed to be a list of "95 Recipes" for use in next Sunday's Dinner on the Grounds. The confusion contributed to the Protestant Reformation. The Lost Rick Warren letter, in which we learn that he never intended to wear a Hawaiian shirt to worship, but the dry cleaner failed to make his normal Saturday delivery. The confusion contributed to a dramatic decline in men's suit sales. (Feel
free to pass along any additional discoveries of lost documents
to feedback@preaching.com) Michael
Duduit, Editor
Why the resurrection matters Near the end of his monumental work The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress), N.T. Wright says, "History matters because human beings matter; human beings matter because creation matters; creation matters because the creator matters. And the creator, according to some of the most ancient Jewish beliefs, grieved so much over creation gone wrong, over humankind in rebellion, over thorns and thistles and dust and death, that he planned from the beginning the way by which he would rescue his world, his creation, his history, from its tragic corruption and decay; the way, therefore, by which he would rescue his image-bearing creatures, the muddled and rebellious human beings, from their doubly tragic fate . . . "The story of Jesus of Nazareth which we find in the New Testament offers itself, as Jesus himself had offered his public work and words, his body and blood, as the answer to this multiple problem: the arrival of God's kingdom precisely in the world of space, time and matter, the world of injustice and tyranny, of empire and crucifixions. This world is where the kingdom must come, on earth as it is in heaven. What view of creation, what view of justice, would be served by the offer merely of a new spirituality and a one-way ticket out of trouble, an escape from the real world? "No wonder the Herods, the Caesars and the Sadducees of this world, ancient and modern, were and are eager to rule out all possibility of actual resurrection. They are, after all, staking a counter-claim on the real world. It is the real world that the tyrants and bullies (including intellectual and cultural tyrants and bullies) try to rule by force, only to discover that in order to do so they have to quash all rumors of resurrection, rumors that would imply that their greatest weapons, death and deconstruction, are not after all omnipotent." (Click here to learn more about Wright's book The Resurrection of the Son of God)
Biblical legacy shouldn't be ignored If Christians today could grasp an appreciation for the battles fought by Bible translators who were persecuted and even gave their lives to print the Bible in common languages, they might become more biblically literate, said Charles Ryrie, editor of The Ryrie Study Bible. "We have a great heritage," Ryrie said. "Don't refuse to spend it." Ryrie recently spoke on the "History and Heritage of the English Bible" during a colloquium at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. The influences of the Tyndale Bible published in the 15th century and the King James Version published in the 17th century were the primary focus of his remarks, according to an April 4 Baptist Press article. "The only way to spend [our heritage] is to read, study, live, love, learn the Scriptures," Ryrie said. "That is not bibliolatry, because it's the only sure way you have of knowing Christ, and the one who lives and learns and loves it -- the Word -- will also learn, love and live Christ." Ryrie said evidence abounds that Christians have strayed from their heritage. He pointed to a lack of knowledge of the Bible and the lack of opportunities to hear the Word of God read directly from the Bible as just two examples. "In our public services, the way we read one verse or two or four or five at the most, and we take a text and depart from there . . . is an absolute crime," Ryrie said. (Click here to read the full article.) http://www.baptistpress.com/bpnews.asp?ID=22977
Most don't believe in bodily resurrection for themselves In a surprising result, a recent Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll shows that most Americans don't believe they will experience a resurrection of their bodies when they die, putting them at odds with a core teaching of Christianity. An April 5 story from Scripps Howard News Service points out that this "seems to put Americans in conflict with both the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed, ancient statements of faith meant to unify Christian belief. The Nicene Creed, adopted in 325 at the First Council of Nicea under Roman Emperor Constantine, concludes with the famous words: 'We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.' Similarly, the Apostles' Creed professes a belief in 'the resurrection of the body.' "Only 36 percent of the 1,007 adults interviewed a month ago by the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University said 'yes' to the question: 'Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected someday?' Fifty-four percent said they do not believe and 10 percent were undecided." Apart from a physical resurrection of the body, the poll found that most Americans "embrace other major elements of traditional Christian dogma. Ninety percent said they believe in a God or a Supreme Being, with 65 percent saying they are 'absolutely certain' that God exists. Seventy-two percent said they believe in an afterlife in which they will have 'some sort of consciousness,' although slightly less than half (47 percent) said they are "absolutely certain" of this. "Previous Scripps Howard polls have found evidence that Americans embrace other key elements of the creeds. A survey in 2003 found that 63 percent were 'absolutely certain' Jesus died and physically rose from the dead. That poll also found 60 percent 'absolutely believe' that Jesus was born of a virgin mother. The poll found that half of all people who have attended church recently said they believe they will experience a physical resurrection someday, while only a quarter of those who have not publicly worshipped recently said the same. "Fifty-nine percent of people who profess a 'born again' faith, one of the hallmarks of evangelical Protestantism, said they believe in personal resurrection, the highest level of belief among any group in the poll." (Click here to read the entire news story.) http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=RESURRECTION-04-05-06
Time
is running short! "Preaching Creatively" is the theme of the 2006 National Conference on Preaching, scheduled for April 24-26 at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX (suburban Dallas). (Visit the new and expanded conference website at www.preaching.com/ncp.) Learn about creative preaching in a postmodern age, how to do creative exposition, ways to use story, and much more. A remarkable team of speakers will be on hand for NCP 2006, including: Ed Young, Jr., Haddon Robinson, Calvin Miller, Dieter Zander, Jack Graham, Doug Pagitt, Steve Wende, Bryan L. Carter, Mike Glenn, Leroy Armstrong, Jr., Rick White, Timothy Warren, David Allen, Reg Grant, Oscar Lopez, Calvin Pearson, Steven Smith and many more. You'll draw insights and encouragement from the theme-related addresses on preaching creatively, plus great sermons and many practical workshops. Mark your calendar now to be part of the conference. Click here for additional information or to register (or call 800-288-9673). Don't wait -- hotel rooms are filling up fast!
ILLUSTRATION: Easter Joel Pankow says, "I have heard that possums are smart animals. You wouldn't think so because you hardly ever see one except when it's dead on the road. There's a joke that goes, 'Why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done!' "But possums, it turns out, are smart. They won't enter a hole if there's just one set of tracks going into it. They know there's something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks, the possum will enter and not be afraid. "The message of Easter is that we can enter the grave -- we don't have to fear death because there are tracks leading out of the tomb. Paul preached the proclamation of Easter -- 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the message that we need to hear this Easter! Jesus is risen!" (www.sermoncentral.com)
ILLUSTRATION: Rescue, Recognizing Danger In 1981, a Minnesota radio station reported a story about a stolen car in California. Police were staging an intense search for the vehicle and the driver, even to the point of placing announcements on local radio stations to contact the thief. On the front seat of the stolen car sat a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait. The police and the owner of the VW Bug were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car. So often when we run from God, we feel it is to escape his punishment. But what we are actually doing is eluding his rescue. (from Cybersalt Digest)
ILLUSTRATION: Church, Evangelism Robert R. Kopp writes, "I'll never forget the business manager who dragged me into the narthex on a late Friday afternoon to show off the brightly polished tile floor and then lamented, 'It's too bad it will be all scuffed up after Sunday.' "Then there was a group of needlepointers who crafted beautiful cushions of Biblical scenes for the front pews. After installing and dedicating them, they roped them off so nobody could sit on them lest they be soiled. "Another recollection of disobedience to our Lord's commandment and commission concerns a young woman who stopped coming to worship services because the church was growing. 'The church just isn't the same anymore,' she complained, 'and I used to have the whole pew to myself. There are too many people now. I want it to be like it used to be -- just me and Jesus.' "It remains the saddest and most selfish thing that I've ever heard. She wanted Jesus just for herself. How could anyone in His right mind ever forget or fail to invite and welcome everyone into the family of faith?"
ILLUSTRATION: Children, Heaven A woman brought her 6-month-old baby to visit her neighbor. The baby began to fuss and cry soon after they arrived. The neighbor had a five-year-old son, who asked, "Where did you get him?" "He was sent from Heaven," the mother replied. As the infant continued to cry and yell, the little boy said, "I bet I know why he was sent from Heaven. God wanted some peace and quiet up there!"
"The Gospels do not explain the Resurrection; the Resurrection explains the Gospels." (John S. Whale)
'Preaching Truth' conferences resume in May A new series of Preaching Truth in a Whatever World events are planned for May 2006. These one-day preaching conferences explore strategies for effective biblical preaching in a postmodern world. Led by Preaching editor Michael Duduit and a variety of guest speakers, these conferences offer a valuable time of insight and refreshment for those who proclaim the Word. Preaching Truth conferences will be held in the following cities: Ontario,
CA -- May 2 For more information or to register, call (800) 288-9673, or visit the website at www.preaching.com/truth
Q: What do you get when you lock three Scots in a room for an hour? A: Four new Presbyterian denominations.
Journey through Holy Week Noel Piper (wife of pastor John Piper) offers some suggestions for families in teaching their children about Holy Week and preparation for Easter. You'll find some of those ideas at http://www.crosswalk.com/family/1317997.html
Bumper Sticker Wisdom I used to have a handle on life, but it broke. I'm not a complete idiot; some parts are missing. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes. As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. I took an IQ test and the results were negative. It's lonely at the top, but you eat better. Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math. Consciousness: that annoying time between naps. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
And finally . . . You may have heard it said that someone "called out from the grave," but until now you never realized they were on the phone. A Malaysian man disconnected his father's phone line after his death in January, according to an April 10 Associated Press story. At that time he paid the bill of 84 ringgit (about $23). Now, however, he has received a second bill from Telekom Malaysia in the amount of 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit, or $218 trillion. He was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution. Yahaya Wahab said he nearly fainted when he got the new bill. "If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said. A company official said Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. She did not provide further details.
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