Sharing the Gospel In The Everyday – A Narrative Exemplar

Over the next several days I'm going to be posting parts of a Group Project that was assigned as part of an Access Residency Class attended by the below classmates.
The residency was titled: Communicating the Gospel.
The professor is Zack Eswine of Covenant Theological Seminary.
Each student provided part of this Narrative and colaborated via email to produce the final project. We used 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 to be our text to be the foundation for communicating the Gospel, and we tried to incorporate the idea of being an Ambassador for Christ throughout the story. The main Charachter is named Nigel and throughout his day he encounters opportunities of being an Ambassador for Christ. He is involved in imploring people to be "reconciled" to God as "God is making His appeal through us".
I hope you enjoy it.

Grace and Peace,
Chris Allen
Coram Deo!!!

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Covenant Theological Seminary
Access Residency - January 2007

<>Group Paper By:
Heidi Stevens, Matt Eastman, Bill Barrow, Chris Allen, Jed Jedlicka

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." II Corinthians 5:16-21

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Nigel closed his Bible as he heard the sound of Katy's footsteps coming down the carpeted stairs. He always held his breath as she descended, and wondered whose idea it was to make the feet of those fuzzy, footed, zip-up pajamas out of slippery plastic. She'd fallen more than once. This time though, she arrived at the bottom step safely, and toddled over to his chair, thumb in mouth, dragging her beloved blankie and the tattered, stuffed lama that accompanied her everywhere. Nigel hoisted her onto his lap, burrowing his nose down into her tangled hair so he could smell the sweetness there.

"Morning', papa," she said, snuggling into the position where she fit so perfectly, between his lap and chin. As she reached up and patted his cheek, he felt the warm, moist, smallness of her fingers against his face, and smiled as butterflies of pleasure danced in his chest. Sitting there quietly with his three-year-old daughter, Nigel listened to the sound of his house waking up. Mary was starting the coffee in the kitchen, and he could hear the muffled sounds of arguing coming from upstairs as Jason and Andrew drew their morning battle lines. Nigel sighed in frustration as the sounds of bickering steadily escalated, knowing that in a moment he'd need to stand up and go referee. Procrastinating, he smiled wryly as he thought about how God painted pictures for him with his children: all that was beautiful and all that was broken about a father's relationship with his children played out each day in Nigel's life. He had to admit that his attitude toward God was more like the grumbling and whining that seemed to be constantly at his sons' lips than like the still, sweet contentment of Katy on his lap. And if he was honest, it was much easier to picture God sighing in frustration over him, than feeling butterflies of love and joy.

He thought about what he'd just been reading in II Corinthians: "We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us." He'd been trying to read slowly, and understand the background of familiar texts like this one rather than just passing over them without much thought. Nigel knew that Paul was painting a picture for the Corinthian church with his word choice... so what did he know about ambassadors? Nigel had to get past the unhelpful pictures he had in his head of fancy clothes and state dinners... Ambassadors were sent out, and they lived as minorities in alien cultures, representing the one who'd sent them. He knew that Paul had to deal with members of the Corinthian church who were challenging his authority, so it made sense that the apostle had chosen to use that word picture: he was an ambassador for Christ and it was God who was ultimately making the appeal to the Corinthian church to stop their conflict and be reconciled to Himself.

Nigel sighed as he heard his sons' arguing escalating. He kissed Katy's head again and swung her off his lap, heading for the stairs and trying to control his own inward grumbling at being jostled out of his comfortable musings. Couldn't there be just one morning of peace from those boys? Why did things like misplaced soccer cleats and broken zippers on book bags always have to be someone's "fault"? Nigel never felt like he knew what to say in the face of the constant conflict, and he prayed desperately that he would have something a bit more sage than "Cut it out!" to impart to Jason and Andrew when he reached the top step. Was this what an ambassador to a hostile nation felt like?

He rounded the corner of the landing and met his eight-year-old son's rage.

"Dad, he's so unfair! He's such a liar! He promised I got to take Super Mario Advance today, because he got it all weekend. He promised! He's so stupid! Daaa..aad, he PROMISED!"

Nigel started counting quietly to himself as he struggled to figure out what his face should communicate. Why did a Gameboy have the power to create such unrest? Had he completely failed to teach his children about more eternal things like brotherly love and dieing to oneself? He stepped to the door of Jason's room, and saw that the boy was packing up his soccer bag, getting ready for school, as if nothing at all were wrong. Taking a deep breath, he addressed the thirteen-year-old.

"Jason, are you breaking a promise to your brother?"

"Yes, but, I need..."

Nigel interrupted him. "Jason, are you breaking a promise to your brother?"

"Yes, but, he said..."

Nigel stopped him again. "Jason, are you..."

He stopped and thought. We implore you on behalf of Christ..." But how do I make this about Christ, not about me?” he thought desperately. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

"Jason, are you remembering who you... who we, belong to? Are you remembering that you have the righteousness of Christ? Are you remembering that He has set you free so that you can love your brother?"

Nigel watched his son's face, hoping that his words didn't sound manipulative. He wanted Jason to melt; he wanted to see his heart really "get it." He longed for a moment of communion with him: Dad and son, fellow sinners saved by grace. He wanted his words to be wise and winsome and not come off like a smug sledgehammer of spiritual guilt...

But things rarely quite looked like Nigel wanted. Jason slumped his shoulders, then huffed and shrugged and threw the game cartridge at Andrew, before going back to packing his duffle bag. Nigel noticed that both cleats seemed to be there, and that for the moment, the tension seemed to have left the air, and he thanked God sincerely for those small mercies. Not knowing what else to say, but glad for the peace, he ruffled Jason's hair and headed downstairs to grab some coffee and a kiss from Mary on his way out the door. "...God making his appeal through us" What did that look like? "God, help me to understand this," Nigel prayed. He thought of the day ahead and what he'd face at the office, and he prayed that he'd miraculously become better at this "ambassador" stuff on the way to work, before he had to face part two of the conversation that had started yesterday in the office.

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To be continued...>>>

Jesus Calms the Storm

Matthew 8:23-27

Jesus Calms a Storm

23And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." 26And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

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This story always makes me smile about how Jesus handles those disciples. I like to imagine that Jesus was in the boat asleep, but at the same time causing the waves to toss the boat about. And he does it just enough to really freak them out and all the while it was in His control. The other funny thing is that Jesus may have calmed the storm but he most certainly didn't calm the disciples fears. In fact it seems that although they were extremely afraid of the storm, they were even more freaked out by the power of the one in their midst who could stop it instantly. So, I guess sometimes we need storms in our lives so that we'll marvel at how much power God has. Therfore, we ought to be even more afraid of His power than any kind of storm that can come in our lives. We should be very greatful that He has given us Grace and He is our Father. If God is for us, who can be against us??

Romans 8:31

God's Everlasting Love

31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be^[h] against us?

Grace and Peace,
Chris

A LIVING HOPE IN A HOPELESS WORLD:

I would like to direct you to the link above which will take you to the website Echoes of Grace. My dear friend Dr. George Bloomquist writes a monthly newsletter. Please check it out. I've inserted an sample of the article below>>>

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A Bible Teaching Newsletter of Dr. George E. Bloomquist ….

A LIVING HOPE IN A HOPELESS WORLD:
A Study of I & II Peter, Part XXIV, II Peter 2:1-3 February 2007 Issue

If you notice from the title of this issue, this is the twenty-fourth month that we have been walking through Peter’s epistles to the church. We have had a few months when we focused on Christ’s coming into the world and His resurrection. However, in keeping with the purpose and focus of this monthly epistle, we return to II Peter and three verses that focus on the danger of false teachers.
In these two epistles, Peter has emphasized true heart-knowledge, the need to be serious about our Christian life, the certainty of the prophetic Word of Scripture, and the Second Coming of the Lord. He now warns us of one of the most insidious dangers to the church, false teachers.
In an age in which doctrine is becoming less important and methods and schemes for “church development” engulf our discussions and practices, this passage must be understood. To assume that every successful-appearing work with the name church on it is kosher is to be blind to what the apostle predicts and we see unfolding before our eyes. Thus, Peter’s words are a clear guide concerning true and false teaching.

Click here to read the rest of the article: http://www.echoesofgrace.com/feb2007.pdf

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More and more, in our churches in America today, we have been receiving a message that doesn't at all sound like anything that Peter or Paul had communicated to any of the churches in their Epistles. It has become an internal, self-centered, ME-ism, that has infiltrated our churches with a consumerism mentality, that sells ideas and techniques that are new, innovative, and pragmatic. Whatever shows results, and is meeting the "felt needs" and is "touching the heart" of the people, that's what we have become as a church. We will do "Whatever it Takes" to bring people into the church. Sadly this means we think that doctrine is antithetical and un practical or irrelevant. And, we have also pushed aside an encounter with God and his attributes. That makes people uncomfortable. People will say "We need something that is relevant." Since when is God not relevant? That is like saying that "Jesus at times didn't behave as a very good Christian."

What if we were to revisit the concept of God's Holiness? I totally believe that everything in the church centers on this attribute of God. This informs how the church is to do everything. It impacts evangelism, discipleship, and leaving a legacy to the family. If we would remind ourselves that God is Holy, and try to understand what that means, I think we just might see less of an embrace of a "ME-ism" and a greater embrace of God, His Holiness and an appreciation of His Sovereign Grace.
If I want to leave a legacy to my family I need to show them this about God. They need to know why I am SO consumed with his Holiness and His Sovereign Grace, that it compels me to dig into His word more and more. These are things that they will see and observe day-in and day-out and can not be burned up (like a letter) in a fire or eaten by the dog.

Dads!!! If you were to write a letter or even BE a letter to your family to pass along... Write something like this:

2 Timothy 3:10-17 (English Standard Version)

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

10You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra--which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom^[a] you learned it 15and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God^[b] may be competent, equipped for every good work.

1 Peter 4:10-12 (English Standard Version)

10As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

2 Peter 1:15-17 (English Standard Version)

15And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word

16For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son,^[a] with whom I am well pleased,"

This month's edition of the Echoes of Grace Newsletter by Dr. George Bloomquist does a really good job of bringing these things to light. As well does this weeks topic on the White Horse Inn called Narcissism Gone Wild.

Grace and Peace,
Chris Allen
Coram Deo!!!

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Setting the Stage By Mike Horton

This is an article posted by Issues etc. Click on the link above to read the entire article.
I sometimes think that today's church will toss the Abrahamic Covenant aside because "that is in the Old Testament". But, this is the promise of God. We ALL need to understand and appreciate what God has done throughout all of redemptive history and how He has been faithful to complete it. God said to Abraham... "This I will Do..." So it was a covenant that would come to pass no matter what man does. Un-conditionally, God's covenant to Abraham will come to pass, and can ONLY come to pass no matter how well we mess things up.
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Setting the Stage

Imagine the worship service as a magnificent theater of divine action. There is the pulpit, lofty and grand - this is God's balcony from which He conducts the drama. Beneath it is the baptismal font, where the announcement, "the promise is for you and for your children" is ful-filled. Also prominent is the communion table, where weak and dis-turbed consciences "taste and see that the Lord is good." That which God has done to, for, and within his people in the past eras of biblical history he is doing here, now, for us, sweeping us into the tide of his gracious plan.

This chapter briefly sketches the backdrop or stage for this divine production, taking the covenant renewal theme in Scripture as the start-ing point. What are we doing on the Lord's Day, especially when we are gathered as God's people in church? How do we understand Christian growth and discipleship - as chiefly corporate or individual, as nour-ished by the preached Word and the divinely instituted sacraments or by self-approved "means of grace"? Would an outsider coming into our worship services be immediately impressed with the centrality of preach-ing, baptism, and the Supper, or would he or she be more likely to notice the importance given to other performances, whatever the style?

The Covenant Renewal Ceremony

Central to a biblical understanding of worship is the notion of covenant. As biblical scholarship has shown in recent decades, the Old Testament is largely in the form of a treaty, with the great king or emperor promising to protect smaller nations that could not generate their own standing army. In exchange, the great king would receive loyalty from his vassals. They would not turn to other kings for security but would uphold the treaty. A covenant always involved three things: a historical prologue that gave the narrative rationale for the covenant, a list of commands and prohibitions, and a list of sanctions - the bene-fits for those who fulfill the treaty's terms, the penalty for violating them. To understand the context of worship, we need to do a bit of spadework with respect to this covenant motif.

In Eden, Adam was created by God to be the federal head of the human race. In him, humanity would either be confirmed in righ-teousness if Adam fully obeyed and endured the time of testing, or humanity would be judged in Adam, should he violate the terms of the covenant of works, also called the covenant of creation. "Do this and you shall live" was (and remains) the principle of this covenant. But this is, happily, not the only covenant in Scripture. There is the covenant of grace. We can trace the steps of this covenant of grace in the following brief summary.

Even after the fall, God promised Eve a son who would crush the ser-pent's head, and although Cain murdered Abel, God provided another son, Seth. While Cain's descendants were building their own proud city of rebellion (Gen. 4:15 - 24), "Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD" (v. 26). Thus, the two cities (God's kingdom and the world's cultures), fully inte-grated in creation, were now divided, and they pursued two separate ends through distinct means. Jesus' warning that the world will hate his disciples and Paul's contrast between the wisdom of this world (works-righteousness) and the wisdom of God (the righteousness that comes by faith) are not born out of any hostility toward the world per se. Rather, it is the world in its sinful rebellion that the biblical writers have in mind.

After calling Abram out of Ur, God commanded a ritual sacrifice as a way of making the covenant. In fact, the Hebrew phrase is to cut a covenant. In ancient Near Eastern politics and law, a suzerain (i.e., great king or emperor) would enter into a treaty with a vassal (i.e., the king or ruler of a smaller territory) by cutting various animals in half. Then, walking together between the halves, both partners agreed to perform all the conditions of the treaty with the following sanction: If I should be unfaithful for my part, may the same end befall me as has befallen these animals.

In Genesis 15, when God makes his covenant with Abraham and his descendants, this ancient Near Eastern treaty is the pattern:

But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain pos-session of it?" So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves oppo-site each other. As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a coun-try not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.". . . When the sun had set and dark-ness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram. verses 8 - 10, 12 - 14, 17 - 18

Two sorts of things are promised by God in this covenant: a holy land (Canaan, the earthly Jerusalem) and everlasting life (the heavenly Jeru-salem). What especially distinguishes this treaty is the fact that although God and Abram are covenant partners, the Lord (appearing as a smok-ing firepot with a blazing torch) walks alone through this path, placing on his own head all the sanctions and assuming on his own shoulders the curses that he himself has imposed should the treaty be violated. Then in chapter 17 there is another cutting ceremony:

Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for me, this is my covenant with you. . . I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.... This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you."verses 3 - 4, 7, 10 - 11

Signifying the cutting away of uncleanness, especially of original sin, which is passed on from Adam through every subsequent father, circumcision was a bloody rite of consecration. But here, instead of the knife being plunged into the body to bring down the curses of the transgressors, it is used to cut away the sin so that the recipient may live.

Taken from A Better Way by Dr. Mike Horton. Used by permission of Baker Books, a division of Baker Book House Company, copyright 2002. All rights to this material are reserved. Materials are not to be distributed to other web locations for retrieval, published in other media, or mirrored at other sites without written permission from Baker Book House Company. You can purchase A Better Way for a total of $20 by calling the Issues, Etc. resource line at 1-800-737-0172.
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A week at Covenant Theological Seminary

I'm BAAAACK!!!!

Well it was a challenging week and a great time of learning and sharing with some brothers and sisters in Christ from different parts of the country. The class I attended during this week long residency was called "Communicating the Gospel". The friendship and the encouragment of my new friends in the class was truly humbling.
I was also able to stop and visit with the Sutherlands in Columbia, Missouri on the way home and attend worship where Scott is the Senior Pastor at Forum Blvd Christian Church.
I'm very thankful to the Lord for this gift of friendship. Both old and new.

Grace and Peace,
Chris
Coram Deo!!!





Below is a link to Covenant Theological Seminary's website:


http://www.covenantseminary.edu/


Below is some links to Ministry Resources:
containing over 1000 print and MP3 audio messages from Covenant Seminary's faculty, guest speakers, publications, and more. Each message can be downloaded free for your personal use or use with a small group or Bible study, or they may be shared with a friend.


http://www.covenantseminary.edu/resource/default.asp

Election - The Heart of the Gospel

Ponder this....

Have you ever considered how you could use the doctrine of election as a means to share the Gospel. As a way to evangelize? Just imagine if you were to ask someone if they were "Chosen by God?" What do you think their reaction would be to that? I think they would start to ask questions, like... "Why wouldn't I be chosen by God? Or if they thought that they were too bad or had too much sin in their life, show them to Paul. A man who sought to have Christians killed.

Click on the link below (cute huh?)
Listen to the following clip by John Piper. I hope you will like it.

Chris
Coram Deo!!!

1793_does_god_choo...

The Lostness of Man by Ravi Zacharias

Click on the above link to download the audio file approx. 14 min.
Today I want to share with you a wonderful conclusion on a four part series by by Ravi Zacharias. I love hearing Ravi tell his stories and the passion he has for sharing the truth all around the world.

Condemnation is the subject of this audio clip.

Scripture verses that Ravi mentioned are as follows:
Matt 18:8
Matt 25:41-46
Mark 3:29
2 Thess 1:9
Hebrews 6:2
Jude 7

Here is one of my most favorite parts and I can't remember a time in my church where I have heard it said this way from the pulpit. Lately, it seems we have been getting the "moral" teaching and a little less of the Gospel. Below is a quote by Ravi.

"The biggest difference between Jesus Christ and ethical and moral teachers who have been deified by man (I'm thinking of Buddah and Mohammed and others). These moralists came to make these bad people good. But, Jesus came to make dead people LIVE!!!"

Now go listen to the words to Amazing Grace by John Newton.

How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news and who publish peace, and proclaim salvation. Isaiah 52:7

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The Lostness of Man (part 4 of 4)
by Ravi Zacharias