Here are a couple of quotes I found interesting:

From Matt Chandler:

“9/11 created some legitimate seriousness in what I perceived in 2001 to be a general silliness among a bulk of younger evangelicals, a comfort with the shallow end of the pool.  This manifested itself in a concentration on what we should or shouldn’t be doing that was driven by moralism and wasn’t flowing from  transformed hearts.”

Thabiti Anyabwile:

“I was the lone evangelical Christian in a group of committed political and social progressives.  I wasn’t in the room 3 minutes before everyone was looking to me for an answer and for prayer. That scene reminds me that everyone needs to answer some basic, deep questions about life.  Is God involved in my life?  Who is in control?  How do I explain this pain?  It also taught me that, at bottom, we all need to encounter the majestic, glorious, merciful, and awesome God of the Scripture.”

JD Greear:

“Since 9-11, I have found that the distinction between preaching relevantly and preaching deeply has vanished. Deep is the new relevant.”

You can read the rest here.

I have in mind at least five things—five ways to make God known through your secular job and all of them are important. When one of them is missing, the witness to the truth of Christ suffers.

1. The excellence of the products or services you render in your job shows the excellence and greatness of God.

5. The verbal testimony you give to the reality of Christ shows the doorway to all these things in your life and their possibility in the lives of others.

(HT: Desiring God)

At noon on a Thursday in mid-May 2010, we received a phone call that our foster care license was active. With significant limitations placed on the agency with regard to the kinds of kids we could take, I was extremely skeptical that we would ever receive a placement.

At 3:30 that same afternoon, we received another phone call asking us to pick up two African-American/Hispanic sisters, ages 2 and 3.

They are leaving as quickly as they came. They were here, but now they are back again. It’s a new reality worthy of a few reflections:

Read the rest of his thoughts here.

John Calvin:

It is an error to think that those who flee worldly affairs and engage in contemplation are leading an angelic life… We know that men were created to busy themselves with labor and that no sacrifice is more pleasing to God than when each one attends to his calling and studies well to live for the common good. (Calvin’s Commentaries,Luke 10:38)

Martin Luther:

A cobbler, a smith, a farmer, each has the work and office of his trade, and yet they are all alike consecrated priests and bishops, and every one by means of his own work or office must benefit and serve every other, that in this way many kinds of work may be done for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community, even as all the members of the body serve one another… (An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility)

The Apostle Paul:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

(HT: Desiring God)

(HT: JT)

In particular for the doctrine, David acknowledged the difficulty of the doctrine which is heightened by the North American context that is bent on freedom. It’s interesting to note his comments that not all areas of the world, particularly those more familiar with a sovereign ruler, find the doctrine so offensive. I appreciated very much the great care and detail David went into when talking through this doctrine. He did so respectfully and in a pastoral way. Perhaps most importantly, he moved the doctrine of election out of the realm of theological debate and showed us how it is rightly applied.

Not only would this particular section be instructive for our understanding of salvation, but also in the broader context of the presence of evil in the world. And at the center of it all, there is again the centrality of God in all things. The great example is the death of Jesus, again so appropriate for Good Friday.

Was it God’s will for Jesus Christ to be murdered? Yes and no.

Does God will for all people to be saved? Yes and no.

The yes acknowledges God’s sovereign will, apart from which nothing will happen. The no refers to His revealed will in Scripture. This was well put and articulated from stage.

Other statements from this teaching segment:

In this, we transition from point to process of salvation – we have been saved, and now we are being saved.

- From our standing overflows our life.

- Death to the flesh, life to the spirit.

- A Christian would never say, “I don’t want to grow in Christ.”

- If you’re working for God, what do you need Christ for? Evidently you can do it on your own.

- Gospel truth is never intended to be only believed; gospel truth is always intended to be obeyed. Never only accepted in our heads; always intended to be applied in our lives.

- 15 times in James the word “work” is used, and it’s always positive. Fueled by faith.

- Work fueled by faith brings great glory to God.

- Our work is ultimately fueled by God’s work. Ultimately, we’re not working for God; He’s working for us.

- We aren’t free to flout God’s commands – we’re free to follow God’s commands.

- Christians WILL persevere to the end… AND… Christians MUST persevere to the end. Christianity is a fight to be fought and a race to be won.

- The two questions, “How do I become a Christian?” and “How do I know I am a Christian?” have very different answers. The book of 1 John answers the second.

- If you’re a child of God, you live like God. If you’re a child of the devil, you live like the devil.

- The warnings to Christians about falling away are the means by which God accomplishes the promise.

- You’ve got a passport with your name on it and the home country is heaven.

- Most believers will die, but all believers will be resurrected.

- The doctrine of election is an affront to human freedom.

- We don’t just resort to mystery when we are lazy.

- It’s tragic that this doctrine has proved so divisive when it’s given to encourage unity in the church.

- Election is a family secret; it makes no sense to the unregenerate mind.

- If a study looking at election does not drive us to more passion in evangelism, we miss the whole point. We should not end baffled by theological debate, but passionate in making the gospel known.

- Every Christian who believes in the Bible believes in election.

- No Christian congratulates himself on his own conversion. Neither do we claim to be able to convert anyone else. That’s why we pray for people.

- God loves everyone in the world. At the same time, those who believe on the name of Jesus will experience His love in a radically different way.

- God finishes what He starts.

- The ground of your salvation is not your commitment to God but ultimately God’s commitment to you.

- No matter how much they resist, no one whom God calls can outrun His grace. And that’s very hopeful.

- If we deem election to be unfair, we reveal that we think everyone is entitled to salvation when the whole point of the gospel is that no one is entitled to salvation.

- It’s not easy to process, but if we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves sitting in judgment on God.

- The mystery is how God can be sovereign and man be responsible at the same time.

- God has ordained that the means by which election is accomplished be our preaching of the gospel.

There are still over 6,000 ethnic people groups who haven’t heard the gospel. This is not acceptable – not with all we have. The message is clear. The excuses are non-existent.

Let’s get busy.

The progression in Scripture here is astounding. We stand condemned and He says not guilty. That’s not all. Then we are imputed with Christ’s righteousness. Amazing. Then the judge in the courtroom gets up from the bench, comes down to us, and welcomes us into His family.

What made this section especially impacting was David’s personal stories of the adoption of their son, Caleb. So many here, but just to pick one  – the mental image of sitting in a courtroom and seeing person after person testify about a child, “We don’t want him.” All the while, David and Heather sitting in the audience barely able to constrain themselves from jumping up and shouting, “That’s why we came! We want him!”

So has it been done for us.

Some other memorable statements to dwell on:

- We do not justify ourselves; we are passive in this act. God justifies us.

- God’s law says over every single one of us: “Guilty.”

- “Justification is the hinge upon which everything turns.” John Calvin

- As God gives faith, God grants justification.

- Justified is once for all. You’re not justified more tomorrow than you are today.

- Put these things together in the courtroom: A just judge, a clear law, and a lawbreaker – it doesn’t look good.

- If we are simply declared not guilty, that would make us morally neutral. God goes beyond that.

- In order for you and I to be righteous before God, we need someone else’s righteousness.

- How do you know you are right before God? Because Christ… not “Because I…”

- Why is faith God’s chosen means for righteousness? It’s because faith is the anti-work – the desperate acknowledgment that there is nothing I can do.

- When you come to God in faith, you are saying, “I give up.”

- When you unite your life with Christ, everything He has belongs to you. That’s imputation.

- You don’t adopt accidentally. You adopt purposefully.

- The title “Father” of God is only used 15 times in the Old Testament. In the gospels alone, it’s used over 150.

- The reason we adopt children is not out of altruism; not because we want a cute Christmas card. We are driven by the fact that we were once a child of wrath and are now adopted by a loving Father.

- Most of us believe Christ died for the forgiveness of our sins, but we stop there. We live defeated lives because we have not grasped the mammoth reality that Jesus died for us to live in us.

- Christ in you now means Christ in you forever.

As 1 Thessalonians 4:18 says, encourage one another with these words.

God is at the center of all things. God is the starting point. God is the ending point. Anything – even our response to Him – is evidence of grace. Some quotations below:

- The Father satisfied, the Son sacrificed and the Spirit sent. All these must happen for someone to be saved.

- No one swimming in a lake cries out “Save me!” Only the person drowning cries out. Until you realize you’re drowning, you don’t think you need saving.

- Our problem is not that our lives are not going right. It’s that we are alienated from God.

- In Ephesians 2:1, the original language says “dead.”

- If the fire and sulphur are just symbols, then what are they symbols for? If they mean anything, they mean hell is the most dreadful appauling reality we can imagine.

- Throughout history people have tried to cover up their sin with religion.

- How can people who are morally evil at the core, choose good? How can those who are dead choose to come to life?

- Salvation is not about being a bad person to a good person; it’s about going from being dead to alive.

- Just as someone is born at a certain time, being born again happens at a certain time. Nobody oozes into the kingdom.

- Scripture never says, “Be born again.” It’s something that happens to us.

- We try to make the gospel more palatable to sinful people, and when we do, we miss the whole point.

- Because the Spirit of God does this, I don’t have to manufacture anything. I need to give them the gospel and trust the Spirit of God.

- 17 times in Ezekiel 26:22-32 God says “I.” He gives spiritual birth, and He does it alone.

- God is not improving our old nature; that’s the recipe every other religion offers.

- The deepest desires of your soul are met in Christ. It’s as if you’ve been wandering in a desert looking for water; regeneration is when we realize the water is found in Christ.

- Salvation is not getting out of the line of hell and getting into the line for heaven. Salvation is a revolutionary new taste capacity.

- Christ breaks the power of desire for sin.

- Have you experienced new life? Not have you gone to church. Or are you a deacon or a pastor. Do you have a new heart?

- New birth is spiritual, but it triggers someting practical.

- The two main words you see in the New Testament regarding salvation is repentance and belief.

- Even what we do – repent and believe – is a gift from God.

- Every intoxicated guy I’ve ever met in the street believes in Jesus. Big deal. Faith involves assent to Jesus.

- Biblical belief involves a personal trust in Christ.

- Our faith is only so good as the object of our faith.

- Jesus is called Lord 92 times in Acts. He’s called Savior twice. He is not a poor puny Savior begging you to accept Him. He’s the ruling Lord.

I found the story of Spurgeon’s conversion particularly compelling. Look. Look and live. Also, there was a call to individuals here. The call is not about reciting a prayer, nor walking an aisle, nor leading in the church. The question was simply: “Have you been born again?”

The beginning point in this session, and for that question, is recognizing our great need – the need from which only God can save us.

If you’re following along, you’ll have plenty to digest through the listening guide and the wealth of Scripture there. Before coming to the specific points of the crucifixion, we were confronted with the very real and very frightening truth that there are many people who will find one day that though they were thought were safe before God, they were not (Matthew 7:21-23).

It’s a very sobering thought – that many of the phrases we use to describe the means of salvation are found nowhere in the Bible. A few notable quotes from David during this period:

- We don’t want to complicate salvation; but we want to be clear about it.

- The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7) was directed at religious people.

- It is possible for us to fool ourselves about the world’s most important question.

- In our contemporary efforts to reach as many as possible, we have pared down salvation to a shrink wrapped presentation.

- We can take the life blood out of Christianity and put Kool-Aid in its place. And then sell if all over the place.

- People’s introduction to Jesus in the first century involved laying down your entire life, not a cheap and easy way to heaven.

- You can be dangerously close to spiritual reality and yet clouded by superficial religiousity.

- “Invite Christ into your heart” and “Accept Christ into your heart” are two phrases never mentioned in the Bible.

In the section of teaching regarding the crucifixion, we heard a firm and scriptural argument that cuts to the core – namely, that we misunderstand the cross when we start with man rather than God. A few notable quotes that establish this point, along with the wealth of Scripture in the listening guide:

- God’s integrity is unquestionable. God always does what is right. He is unable to do what is wrong.

- Because of His nature, a wrathful response to evil is inevitable.

- God will judge you. And He will be just.

- All throughout Scripture we see God’s wrath toward sin and sinners.

- We think God’s reaction to sin is severe because we have a man-centered view of sin. The issue is not the severity of the sin; it’s who the sin is committed against.

- We do not wonder how God could be so kind to sinners; we point the finger at him and wonder how He could rightly judge.

- Before the cross is for anyone else’s sake, it is for God’s sake.

- Ultimately, Christ died for God.

- Before the cross is good news for man, it’s good news for God.

This is a Good Friday indeed. Pressing onto the second teaching segment…

But before we begin, perhaps we can remind ourselves of just why we are gathering together literally across the world. I would suggest there are at least 3 reasons:

1. Because of our belief in the timeless and life-changing power of God’s word. If you’ve looked through your Secret Church listening guide, it probably hasn’t escaped you that the vast (and I mean vast) majority of what you’ll find there are quotations from the Bible. Verse upon verse upon verse from Old Testament to New. We are gathering together not under opinion, but under the revealed truth of God. We believe in the Bible. We believe it is the standard of truth and God’s revelation. And we believe that in its pages, we find all we need for life and godliness. We pray together that sitting under Scripture like this will spur us on to greater study, love, and commitment to knowing and living the truth of the Bible.

2. To unite ourselves with the persecuted church around the world. What we are doing together tonight is pretty unusual – sitting for 6 hours to sing, pray, and learn. But it’s not unusual everywhere. This is a common experience in parts of the world where there are no church buildings and believers meet together in secret because they have to. In those meetings, they wil pack everything they can because they don’t know when they’ll have the chance to meet together again. It’s a small way that we can get a brief glimpse into their world, but hopefully it’s a beginning point for most of us. It’s a launching pad for greater prayer and care for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.

3. Because Good Friday is a good time to reflect, sing, think, and pray. Jesus did all those things on the night before His death. We are following His example, remembering His sacrifice and the great good and glory He bought.

Buckle up. It’s almost time to start…