Deus Misereatur

{You can listen to the audio file while following the manuscript. Mike} --- Heaven Pt. 3: “This Hope” 1 John 2.28-3.3 Mighty Conqueror, who has triumphed over death and the devil, who reigns magnificently, and will come again one day to save those who are eagerly waiting for you: As we hear this evening, prosper our hearing. As we learn tonight, enrich our learning. And may hope blossom into full flower, and be blown into full flame by your Spirit. Amen. In 165 A.D., a terrible plague slashed through the Roman world. It was so bad that somewhere between 1/4 th to 1/3 rd of the Roman world died. Think of Oklahoma City suddenly missing 1/3 rd of the population (roughly 200,000 inside the city alone); so what would the economy look like, the housing, the businesses? But this was disease. Everyone who had money, power and position fled. Who stayed behind? The poor, those too sick to leave – and the Christians. From this incident, both William McNeill, Plagues and Peoples...

Thank you, Lord God, that you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Therefore, O LORD, help us in all of our erratic perplexities, faithless fears, worldly anxieties, stormy struggles, and headstrong certainties to trust in you forever, for you, LORD GOD, are an everlasting rock (Isaiah 26.3-4). O Lord, hear our prayer. Father, we supplicate your mercies on behalf of those whose lives are a mess…; whose bodies are damaged…; whose minds feel like they are crumbling…; whose hopes are shattered…; whose families are in unrest…; whose vocational circumstances are risky…; and others in serious need of help…; bring them to sing of your strength; to sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. Be their fortress and refuge in the day of their distress (Psalm 59.16). O Lord, hear our prayer. Lord God, we pray for your church in all places – including Rhema Bible Church; River of Life Church; Rosh Pinah Messianic Congregation; Christ PCA-Clarem...

[ The audio file is here . You might find it helpful to listen as you meander through the manuscript below. Mike] --- Heaven Pt. 2: Home! John 14:1-6 ( 1 John 3.1-3 ) Lord God, you made us to walk with you forever, but our sin has shattered that companionship! And our rebellious hearts keep us looking for love in all the wrong places. Help us this day, as we hear your Scriptures, to have our hope for home restored and recovered; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen . Many years ago Anna and I lived in Turkey. We knew it was a short stay (2 years), but we knew we didn’t fully belong. We kept calling back to the United States (Morale calls), writing letters, thinking about being back “home.” We made the best of where we were, adapted to the culture, much of the food, etc., but we knew that we were Americans. It helped us keep our perspective, kept us oriented so we didn’t become something else, or breakdown in despair. The Bible, and our Lord Jesus, say the same kinds of thin...

Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now Walter Brueggemann Westminster John Knox Press 100 Witherspoon Street Louisville, KY 40202-1396 http://www.wjkbooks.com/ ISBN: 9780664239282; $14.00; 2014 Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber for Deus Misereatur . Stimulating Study - 4 stars out of 5 Almost no one talks about it anymore. Once it used to be a significant issue, especially in the Christian Church in England, Scotland and North America. But the whole subject of Sabbath has fallen to the wayside in all the rush for prominence, peace and prosperity. Nevertheless the matter of the Sabbath has significant implications for Church and society. Walter Brueggemann has taken up the topic in his newest 108 page paperback, “Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now” and takes the reader in an unexpected, but substantive, direction. “Sabbath as Resistance” is written to be grasped, comprehended and reflected on by both clergy and laity. ...

God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our World David F. Wells Crossway 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, IL 60187  www.crossway.org ISBN: 978-1-4335-3131-6; $24.99; 2014 Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber for Deus Misereatur . Diagnostic Delivery - 5 stars out of 5 Something is ailing the Christian Church in North America, especially among Evangelicals. One can sense it, feel the “wrongness” vibrating in the chord progressions, and smell it in the faux happiness oozing through the pores of smiling audiences. Since the early 1990s David Wells, Distinguished Senior Research Professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, has been tackling the trouble in book after book. But now he has decidedly brought forth a prescription that is remedial and refreshing in his new 272 page hardback, “God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our World.” If the reader has delved into Wells’ previous writings, some of the material w...

{ You can click here to listen to the audio file } --- Heaven Pt 1: Where and What is Heaven? 2 Chronicles 6:12-21 ( 2 Timothy 4:6-18 ) O God, high and lifted up, whose dwelling is in unapproachable light, heaven is your throne and earth is your footstool: raise our sights and give us durable glimpses of heaven beginning with this sermon and throughout this series, that we might become so heavenly minded we finally become some earthly good; through your Son Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. Just about everyone under the sun assumes that they’re going to go to heaven. But what does “heaven” mean to them? If you ask folks, some will only say it’s just a better place ; others, the great golf course or hunting camp in the sky. That most folks believe in heaven shouldn’t surprise us, for God, we are told, has “put eternity into man's heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Almost every culture and society, throughout the millennia, has believed in a Life after Death . What’s sadly humorou...

Deficiencies in the Justification of the Ungodly: A Look at N. T. Wright’s View of the Doctrine of Imputed Righteousness Manny Alaniz Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 West 8th Avenue, Suite 3 Eugene, OR 97401-2960 www.wipfandstock.com Copyright: 2013 ISBN:  978-1-62032-888-0; $15.00 Reviewed for Deus Misereatur by: Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber Deficient Discussions – 1 ½ of 5 stars In Evangelical Circles, especially among the Reformed rivulet, New Testament scholar N.T. Wright is either adored or abhorred. Manny Alaniz has entered the fray with his recent 106 page paperback, “Deficiencies in the Justification of the Ungodly: A Look at N. T. Wright’s View of the Doctrine of Imputed Righteousness.” This lengthy booklet promises to unpack Wright’s teaching on the doctrine of justification, and persuade the reader to hold to the Classic Protestant position. “Deficiencies in the Justification of the Ungodly” breaks down into four basic chapters, surrounded by...