Park Church Denver Blog

Thoughts by Rebecca Aguilar

For the past couple of weeks, God has been using a thought, a word, a truth like a chisel on my heart or mind.  He is changing and molding me with it in a way I haven't experienced for a long time.  A discussion we had in our Community Group sparked it.  The converstaion has popped back into my head so many times that I felt it was time to give it some public air time instead of just keeping it quiet in the corners of my own mind.  
 
Sitting in our basement, gathered around the Word, our group was having a great discussion on how our works earn nothing before God - how we can do NOTHING to show Him how great we are.  Someone then asked the question that I think was on many of our minds: "Why then should we go through the trouble to be obedient?"  What is the point of "being good" or, to say it more correctly, "doing good things" if God doesn't stand up, pat us on the back and give us a just reward? 
 
To a life-long goodie-goodie who has spent years wrestling with the ideas of resting in grace while living a holy life, I can't tell you how many times this question has knocked me off my feet, spiralling me either toward an attitude of frustration or utter complacency.
 
Then, a voice of truth, from right there in the middle of our group, spoke up and shed light on it for us all (mostly me though I think): "It all depends on how much you trust God.  Do I believe that the 'good things' God tells me to do are for my good, or are they for my harm?"  She went on to argue that God doesn't just give us arbitrary laws to keep, or expectations that are lofty yet unbeneficial.  No, He instructs us to a way of life that is best for us.  "God loves us!" she reminded us.  "All of His ways are for our good."
 
How could I have missed such an obvious answer?  God loves me.  I forget that way too often.  I am quick to believe that God has a list of do's and don'ts that bring Him glory, but then I stop in my belief.  Quite honestly, being obedient for the sheer satisfaction of glorifying God is seldom motivation enough for me to choose His ways over my own.  I know I am supposed to be SO grateful for all He has done for me that I am propelled into a life of service, self-denial and cross-bearing, but my flesh is still super weak.  It still lulls me into believing that that which kills me (sin) will actually brings me satisfaction.  It deceives me into believing that God's ways are not life, but that His commands will actually steal my life. 

 

Imagine that...a church girl all my life actually believing that God's ways are harmful to me.  I guess they are detrimental in a way - detrimental to my self-constructed, worldly-swayed, comfortable way of life.  But then I think, when has chasing after my own way ever led me to satisfaction or joy?  In my desperate attempt to "love myself," I chase after things that I think are good, but are actually bad for me.  Maybe I'm not as good at loving myself as I thought...
 
But God loves me.  And He loves me perfectly.  He sees the beginning and the end.  He sees the mind and the heart.  Shoot, He created my mind and heart.  He wired them.  He knows best what they need, what they crave.  Life revived, life centered on and consumed with Him - that is real life.  In His overwhelming goodness, He has given me His Word and His Spirit to show me the way to LIFE.  Even when my flesh tells me that it is not worth following His path because God won't give me credit for it, the truth is, I don't need credit (I have Jesus as my credit), I need LIFE.  I need hope.  I need the soul satisfaction that only my Creator can provide.
 
So, yes, God's ways are higher.  They display His wisdom and power and providence.  When I follow them, I preach to the world that I believe He is God and His ways are best.  But at the end of the day, actually at the beginning, middle and end of the day, it is the knowledge that His ways are also good for me that will keep me centered on obedience.  I can fully trust His promises to bless those who follow His ways - not because "doing good" makes me a good person - but only His life path is designed to lead me to the truly good life.  

Why Americans Love Dan Brown

Great OpEd Article from Ross Douthat

Dan Brown's America

Tim Keller on Gospel, City, & Cultural Transformation

Ran across these a couple of months ago and they were brought back to my attention by a friend of mine. Here are 3 messages Tim Keller presented with New Frontiers:

- The Gospel

- The City

- Cultural Transformation

Simplified Missional Living

Great post from a great pastor in Austin, TX. Read it. Talk about it. Do it.

Simplified Missional Living by Jonathan Dodson

Meet David Powlison

I'm in the middle of a distance counseling course through CCEF. David Powlison is the instructor. C.J Mahaney recently interviewed him for Sovereign Grace Ministries. It is great. I strongly recommend Powlison's book: "Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture

Here is a link to the interview: MEET DAVID POWLISON

Piper on Prayer

John Piper:

  But the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

   And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? . . . Is it a discipline?

   You can call it that.

   * It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater.

   * It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers.

   * It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns.

   * It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food.

   * It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water.

   * It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid.

   * It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin.

   * It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey.

   * It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

   I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

   God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there spiritual are means of grace. Resist the lies of the devil in 2009, and get a bigger breakthrough in prayer than you’ve ever had.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Mark Resources

We started the Gospel according to Mark a couple of weeks back. Have gotten some questions about useful resources for studying this gospel. The interesting thing about Mark- particularly in comparison to the other gospels- is that because the gospel is driven overwhelmingly by action, it means that the details of each scene- and in a lot of places the background to each scene is extremely important. Here is a short annotated list I've found helpful:

Traditional Commentaries

The Gospel of Mark, R.T. France - This is simply the best commentary on the gospel. It is technical, thick, heavy, whatever... it is excellent and opens ones' eyes to things in the text which have helped me get behind the action again and again.

The Gospel According to Mark, James Edwards - Edwards' commentary is in the Pillar series and has proven quite helpful the last two weeks.

Mark, Robert H. Stein - This commentary has provided some helpful insights not contained in France's or Edwards. It is a sound and thorough exposition of the greek text of Mark.

The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, Ben Witherington - Witherington does a great job of keeping the whole forest in view and helping you to not lose it for the individual trees. He fills in some nice gaps and is a great supplement to France.

The Victory According to Mark, Mark Horne - This is a small commentary which carries a fairly large whack. I find his willingness to mine the depths of metaphor and analogy with the Old Testament wonderful- if perhaps overextended in places. This little commentary has been a huge delight so far and helps, sometimes more so than Witherington, to see the broad direction of the Gospel.

Other:

The Gospel of Mark Study, Timothy Keller - This can be purchased from Redeemer Presbyterian Church's website (www.redeemer.com). Fantastic for personal study and small groups. Keller draws some excellent things from the text and I find him pulling together the above resources in mostly helpful ways.

Mark for Everyone, Tom Wright - Wright has written a series of commentaries on each of the New Testament books. His volumes on each of the gospels are extremely helpful, if at times pedantic. He is writing for everyone, though. At times the commentary jumps significant themes to not distract from something else he is trying to draw out. But I would recommend this volume to anyone wanting to help them as they read along the gospel.

or The Challenge of Jesus or Jesus and the Victory of God, N.T. Wright - Though not specifically dealing with Mark's gospel, these two volumes were among the most helpful things I read for understanding Jesus ministry historically and theologically. JVOG is massive, The Challenge of Jesus is a little more bite size. Both efforts are well rewarded. Where I find Wright's rhetoric on justification can be unnecessarily confusing or unhelpful at times, his work on Jesus and the gospels is extremely clarifying and helpful.

Divine Government, R.T. France - Excellent little volume on the Kingdom of God as it is specifically addressed in the Gospel of Mark. I got tired of France referencing this volume in his commentary and being unable to look up what he was talking about so I ordered it off Amazon. Small book, but very helpful.

There are some other volumes I've referenced so far, many of which are very helpful- but these should be great for getting anyone started.

Calling All Perfectionists by Armando & Rebecca Aguilar

Calling All Perfectionists by Armando & Rebecca Aguilar

You know who you are: the frantic and determined, the methodical and uncompromising. You run at life full force, never letting up, resolved to get it right, but not just right, perfect. Leaving no stone unturned, no detail unattended, no person off the hook, you are convinced that if managed perfectly, life can turn out just as you planned.

Most of us are not extreme perfectionists, demanding an ultimate utopian existence. It takes a special kind of obsession, perhaps one on speed, to supply the excessive amounts of energy required to attend to every detail of life. Yes, most of us settle for tamer diligence, tempering our control tendencies to a few very specific areas of life: work, relationships, hobbies, religion, etc.

The perfectionist disposition believes: By my own power, intelligence, skills or manipulation, I can perfect all that is under my control.

Whether you are a mild manipulator or a severe compulsionist there is something you need to know: perfection is out of your reach. It is unachievable, not possible, not even feasible. You are ordering an entrée that is not even on the menu!

Only Jesus is perfect. Everything He sets His mind to do, He does with the utmost excellence and satisfaction. From creating this complex universe to living a sinless life to conquering death, He did it all well. He did it all perfectly.

As His followers, having placed our complete faith and trust in his work for us on the cross, we are promised to be like Him someday. One day our transformation will be complete and we will be wholly remade in His image (Romans 8:29). Then, and only then, will we be perfect.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that, (God) has put eternity into mans heart We know that we were made for more than this life. Civilizations throughout history have built traditions and religions on the fear that there is something, someone waiting to meet their spirits after this physical life is over. Unfortunately, perfectionists have lived and died by codes they believed would win them eternity, but really only earned damnation.

Paul poignantly comments, Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect (Philippians 3:12). In humility, Paul admitted that he is a work in progress, pressing toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). He knew his dismal condition on this earth fell far short of perfection, but he was not defeated by his state.

God has given mankind an eternal perspective so that we would seek for truth and seek Him. As long as we live according to our fleshly nature in a fallen world, in the midst of a depraved mankind, perfection is impossible. It is only through Christ that we have hope beyond this desperately flawed existence. Death, by God's grace, puts an end to our futile struggle for perfection and finally places utopia within our reach. Instead of attempting to make heaven a place on earth, we should look forward to being released from this confining existence!

Eternity is our only hope. And more than eternity, glorification is our only hope. When Jesus returns for His church, He will make all things right. He will make all things perfect. Gloriously, He will transform the fallen, substandard, and evil into the beautiful, outstanding, and righteous. Heaven will be a place of no tears, no suffering, no dying and no mistakes...but life before heaven will never achieve this heavenly potential. Until we are set free, we must learn to live with less than perfection.

Dear perfectionist, embrace reality. You are not perfect and neither is anyone around you. Let yourself off the hook, and let everyone else off too. Remember Paul's words: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God (II Corinthians 3:5). Transfer your expectation from that which cannot deliver to the only One who can. Know that perfection is waiting for you one day...someday...but not today.

Jan 7, 2009

Just a reminder that Men's morning prayer resumes tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 6:30am. See you smiling and early.

Book of the week.

"Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling" (Andy Crouch)

Culture Making has gotten lots of attention this past year. Andy Crouch is the editorial director for the Christian Vision Project at Christianity Today. The book presents several models for cultural engagement from Christians and argues compellingly that culture is not changed except by the actual creation of cultural artifacts. Culture is changed as people make stuff- as people do stuff with the resources which are out there. Culture isn't profoundly impacted through critique, consumption or subversion. It is most effectively changed by the making of things and cultural practices. He admits that faithful witness sometimes requires critique, consumption and subversion- But the heart of Cultural engagement is making culture- not looking at it. The book is an excellent call for Christians to actually make culture. I found it extremely refreshing. There has been much talk in recent years about "engaging culture." What's been meant by that phrase in most Christian quarters was simply proven to be, well, word games. This book is a clear call to vocation, life and culture making.

This Week's Book Recommendation

We get asked about good books regularly. I love good books. So we'll feature a different book recommendation each week here with a short blurb...

"In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life" (Sinclair Ferguson)

Sinclair Ferguson is a Scottish Presbyterian Minister trapped in South Carolina. He pastors First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. In Christ Alone is a collection of relatively short essays in which Dr. Ferguson focuses our attention on the gospel itself. The first section focuses on the Incarnation and several of those readings would be wonderful Advent meditations (I particularly recommend "Santa Christ"). Ferguson is an expert on the old Puritan John Owen and as such he spends a great deal of time explaining and celebrating our union and communion with Christ (this was a favorite theme of Owen's). The essays in this volume are short enough to be used during times of private worship in the morning, but are profound enough to deeply stir your soul.

resources, Reading

Some Advent Reminders

Just a few reminders about some events coming up over the next couple of weeks:

December 19th - Large Party at the Bruners (2794 West Denver Pl)

December 24th - We'll be gathering for worship and communion starting at 10 pm at Highlands Lutheran (40th & Irving). 

December 28th - We'll start a short series of sermons walking through our core values. 

A Few Upcoming Events

Monday, October 27th at 7pm.

MAN. We'll start a monthly get together to discuss and wrestle with Biblical Manhood. What does it mean to bear the image of God as a man? We'll look at the Scriptures, talk about specific issues, and ways live out the implications of God's call on our lives as men. We'll meet this month at 3601 Federal Blvd (in the basement)

Friday, October 31st at 6 pm.

We'll be hosting a Fall/October-festival/Reformation Day party at 3601 Federal Blvd. We'll have various activities including pumpkin carving and eating. We'll provide the dark German ales as well as the German sausage and meats. You bring a side dish of sorts. Contact Elizabeth Jones for more specifics (303.217.3457)

Monday, November 3 at 6pm

We'll be hosting a family meeting of sorts. Location TBA. If you consider Park Church your "church," (even if you're new and feel like a distant cousin) we invite you to come, spend some time together and learn about our hopes and prayers for the rest of the fall and where we'll be going in the Spring. Dinner will be provided.

announcements

Bible Reading

Who's working through the Bible Reading plan?

I am finding Jeremiah interesting this month. He keeps drawing connections between infidelity to God and the resulting sexual infidelity. It seems that as we begin to worship idols, finding our identity in anything other than God, the result is sexual sin. This is interesting because I would think it works the other way- sexual sin leads to idol issues- but Jeremiah says that idolatry produces sexual sin- not vice-versa. Sexual sin is an indicator that our hearts are already deeply committed to something besides the God who has made us and saved us.

What are you finding compelling in our October readings?

ESV Study Bible

Releasing this week is the ESV Study Bible. It has been recommended by basically everyone. It's contributors are a whose-who of Bible scholars and pastors. It is shipping this week and I strongly recommend it. Westminster Books has a great discount right now on hard back versions as well as on the leather versions.