Christian Carnival - November 3, 2010

Basically, due to time constraints, doing this as minimalistic as possible. Doing this in reverse order received.

NIV 2011

The NIV 2011 is now online. My general sense after looking over their preface is that it's an improvement over the TNIV, and most of the changes in the TNIV were improvements over the NIV. Here are a few observations:

Five Sacred Crossings by Craig J. Hazen

Book Review
I have to admit that when I picked up Craig J. Hazen’s book, Five Sacred Crossings: A Novel Approach to a Reasonable Faith, I was asking myself, is this going to be more “novel” or more “reason”? He wrote it as fiction, but really now, how many novels have subtitles? Would he let the story be a story?

A Nation of Blue Tangs

Well, we’re becoming a nation of Dories. Now I’ll admit I don’t have the best short term memory in the world —I often say my mind is like a steel sieve, only the big chunks stick— but there is something distressing about the move to 15 second commercials, just like there was something distressing about the move to 30 second commercials.

Veritas pro Christo et Ecclesia?

Michael Coogan, an OT lecturer at Harvard Divinity School, has recently written an opinion article ostensibly exposing some “shocking” values espoused by the Bible. While Coogan makes some valid points in this short essay, for the most part, I found his analysis to be a mixed bag at best.

Reformation Day Was On Halloween
Can't pull a clip from this one. :)

Cholera Outbreak

Life can be pretty surreal sometimes. I got word of the cholera outbreak through facebook Thursday night from a friend. Friday morning SP assembled a team to travel to the affected area to assess the situation.

The Power of Forgiveness

But something we learned about was very recent history. RobAnne and I were lying in bed watching the news in the early morning, and they had a ten-minute piece on the power of forgiveness. It’s the story of two families who forgave people who did horrible things to them:

Order of worship from the Letters to the Corinthians

Last summer I mentioned a long-term project of mine: orders of worship in which every word closely tracks Scripture. The goal goes beyond quoting Scripture throughout the service; the goal is to let each portion of Scripture shape how we worship. Because this order of worship is from the letters to the Corinthians, it has several open calls for participation from the congregation as Paul described in his writings to them.

What is Surety?

I first learned about surety when I took the Crown Financial Ministries small group study class. Not many people have heard of the term before, but it’s definitely a Biblical financial principle that’s important to understand. One of the Crown daily devotions this week explains this principle.

Let’s Talk About Love

There’s been a lot of discussion around here (perhaps mostly one-way!) about Love. Love Guitar this and Love Guitar that.

Just what is this Love thing I keep yammering on about, anyway?

Expounding the text, or *EXPLODING* it

So you can imagine how much I like to “hear” him preach, figuratively speaking, as I read transcripts of his sermons. In this sermon, he accuses a commentator (some say John Gill) of exploding 1 Timothy 2:4 in the process of attempting to expound it. Spurgeon also makes a great point in this paragraph about the danger of an excessive concern with intellectual inconsistency.

Are Your Acquaintances Helping or Hurting Your Finances?

Here's an interesting verse from Proverbs 13:20:

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

Let me put a personal finance spin on this:

He who associates with and listens to those who are doing well financially becomes wealthy. But someone who follows the advice of those who can't handle their money is destined for the poor house.

Are You An Opportunity Seizer or an Excuse Maker?

I recently read of a man who turned down a dinner invitation from the president of an international organization. His excuse? “I just don’t have time…I recently purchased some investment property and I need to go look it over.” Lame? You bet. Especially when he later realized the opportunities that he passed up:

Christians: Artistic and Entertaining

The 7th Annual Evening of Arts & Entertainment certainly offered a unique experience. I first heard about Arts & Entertainment Ministries back in the summer of 2006 when Joel Pelsue spoke at one of David Bahnsen’s Southern California Center for Christian Studies conferences here in Orange County. But as schedules go, I didn’t have a chance to attend the organization’s annual event until this year, meaning earlier this month. It was definitely a lot smaller and more intimate than I expected. But it was nice to have the opportunity to leisurely browse the gallery art and actually have conversations with many of the featured artists.

Bring it to Him

The Book of Hebrews explains Christs’ role so eloquently!

Are you Free to Believe?

Open Doors is currently active in lobbying the United Nations in Geneva over the Defamation of Religions resolution. You can find out more about their campaign by heading to the website Free to Believe.