The audio of the thirtieth message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “The Shattered Portrait” (1 Cor. 7:10-11) and Q&A are now online.

A key definition and seven applications:

PB’s Definition of Divorce: “Divorce is the catastrophic shattering of the covenant of marriage and of the portrait of the love between Christ and his church that marriage is designed to display.”

Seven Applications:

1. Recognize that divorce is a tragedy, no matter what the grounds or cause.

2. Love divorced people well and do not treat this as the “deal-breaker sin.”

3. Single people: Feel the gravity of the marriage commitment.

4. Happy married couples: Do not “assume” happiness. Invest deeply in your marriage and do the small things that make marriage great.

5. Unhappy married couples: Don’t view divorce as an option. Save your marriage, just as Christ went to the extent of death to save you.

6. Divorced people: Seriously consider reconciliation. Not because it will be easy or because it will make you happy in the short run, but because of the portrait it will paint.

7. Everyone: Decide to be the sort of person who says, “It’s tough, but it’s right,” rather than, “It’s tough, so it can’t be right for me.”

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: What would you say is the most painful thing you’ve ever experienced?

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 7.10-11 out loud.

1. What in the sermon or Q&A time was encouraging, convicting, or eye-opening?

2. What did PB say about why divorce is so catastrophic? (Hint: Think “horizontal” and “vertical” consequences.)

3. PB talked about the difference between saying “It’s tough, but it’s right” and “It’s tough, so it can’t be right.”  In what areas of your life are you saying, “It’s tough, but it’s right”?  Are there areas where you’re saying, “It’s tough, so it can’t be right”?

4. At the end of the message PB gave seven applications.  Which one or two were most important for you to hear, and what do you need to do in response to it/them?

Prayer: Be sure to pray for divorced people and troubled married couples in the Fusion Community.

Next Week: “The Shattered Portrait” (Part 2) : 1 Corinthians 7:12-16

Sorry for the delay, everyone! In case you weren’t aware, we have been doing live text-in Q&A after each message for the past two weeks, and will continue to do it until people stop asking questions about 1 Corinthians 7.  The Q&A is podcasted as well.  And this one got interesting. Enjoy.

The audio of the twenty-eighth message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “Married People Should Get It On. A Lot.” (1 Cor. 7:3-5) is now online.

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: What living person inspires you and how are you a bit like them?

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 7.3-5 out loud.

1. What in the sermon or Q&A time was helpful, surprising, or that you disagreed with?  Are there questions your small group wants to make sure get asked next week?

2. The Bible talks about sex freely, frankly, and frequently.  In your experience, how does this match up with how people in church talk about sex?  Why do you think this is?

3. How would you respond to someone who insists that the main or even the only thing sex is meant for is procreation?

4. When Paul explains, in verse 4, that the husband’s sexuality is under the wife’s authority and that the wife’s sexuality is under the husband’s authority, what two things is he trying to do in marriages?

5. What was the “take away” from this message for you (whether you’re single or married)?  How did it shape your understanding of sex?

Next Week: “Singleness Revisited” : 1 Corinthians 7:6-9

This was a really fun one.

The audio of the twenty-seventh message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “Want Sex? Get Hitched.” (1 Cor. 7:1-2) is now online.

Here is a key quote, as well as the “Guidance for Getting Hitched” list.

“Paul is not saying that the main reason you should get married is because you want to have sex.  He’s not even really saying that if you struggle with sexual temptation you should get married soon.  What he’s saying (and this is a subtle but very important difference) is this: The fact that you want to have sex—that you have sexual impulses—is God-given evidence that God wants you to get married.”

Guidance for Getting Hitched:

1. Be willing.
2. Be marriageable.
3. Be pure.
4. Be intentional.
5. Be involved.
6. Be attracted.
7. Be into the right things.
8. Be inquisitive.
9. Be not stupid.
10. Be bold.
11. Be honest and transparent.
12. Be realistic.
13. Be committed.

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: What do you love about the Fusion Community, whether you’ve been a part of it for two weeks or two years?

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 7.1-2 out loud.

1. What do you think God wanted to say to you through this message and/or the Q&A?  What was important for you to hear?  What did you struggle with?

2. What did PB say about what Paul does and does not mean in verses 1-2? (Hint: Should you get married soon just because you struggle with temptation?)

3. Which items in PB’s “Guidance for Getting Hitched” (there were 13 of them) do people in Fusion need to hear the most?  What did PB miss or leave out, in your opinion?

4. Were there any questions or answers during the Q&A time that were helpful, surprising, or that you disagreed with?  Are there questions your small group wants to make sure get asked next week?

Next Week: “Married People Should Get It On. A Lot.” : 1 Corinthians 7:3-5

NB: I apologize for the delay on this one, folks.  It kind of got lost in the shuffle as I prepare to leave for Azerbaijan.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed preaching this message.  Not because it was necessarily a good message, but because it was a marvelous text to soak in for a week and then preach to myself on Sunday.  Hope it’s helpful.

The audio of the twenty-fourth message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “Clean” (1 Cor. 6:9-11) is now online.

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: Describe one of the kindest acts you have ever seen done (either to/by you or another)?

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 6.9-11 out loud.

1. What do you think God wanted to say to you through this message?  What was important for you to hear?  What did you struggle with?

2. What did PB say about why we are ultimately incapable of deciding what should and shouldn’t be considered right or wrong?  Do you agree or disagree?  Are there ways in which you find yourself sometimes trying to be the one who makes rulings on what is right or wrong when you know that God has already set the standard?

3. What do the three key terms in v. 11 (“washed,” “sanctified,” “justified”) mean?

4. Is there one of these three terms (in v. 11) that you have the most difficulty believing and accepting for yourself?  What can you do about that?

Next Week: Schoolie rocking 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 while PB is in Azerbaijan

The audio of the twenty-third message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “Just Let It Go” (1 Cor. 6:1-8) is now online.

A key quote: “We need to be people who live out the fact that we serve the God who died for his enemies.  We need to be people who truly believe that everything wrong that is done to us was either paid for on the Cross or it will be paid for in Hell, which leaves no retribution left to be handled by us..”

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: What goals do you have for your life?  Share as many as you’d like.

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 6.1-8 out loud.

1. What do you think God wanted to say to you through this message?  What was important for you to hear?  What do you hope will change in your because of it?

2. Why did Paul care that these two brothers had their case tried in front of unbelievers in the marketplace (verse 6)?

3. Why did Paul see it as such a ‘defeat’ for the church to have these lawsuits among themselves (verse 7)?

4. Are there particular ways that you have accepted the world way of doing things rather than trying to be a part of a “counter-culture’?  Have there been wrongs done to you that you just need to let go?

Next Week: “Good News for Really Bad People” : 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

The audio of the twenty-second message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “To Hang Or Not To Hang” (1 Cor. 5:9-13) is now online.

A key quote: “We are not defined by what we have done.  We are not defined by the ways in which we’ve fallen.  We are not defined by our sin.  We are defined by the fact that we have been bought by the blood of Christ and are God’s adopted sons and daughters, declared righteous, possessed by the Holy Spirit, united to Christ, and loved by the Father.”

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: What’s the worst thing you did as a little kid? (smeared cheese on the wall, accidentally called Japan, called one of your mom’s friends fat, inadvertently downloaded Pentagon files to your dad’s computer, etc.)

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 5.9-13 out loud.

1. What do you think God wanted to say to you through this message?  What was important for you to hear? What was confusing or difficult?

2. How did PB describe the difference between sinning and being identified by a sin?  In other words: What’s the difference between being guilty of sexual immorality and being a “sexual immoraler” (see v. 11)?

3. What does it mean to “judge” someone, and why does Paul say that we shouldn’t be judging people who are outside the church (see vv. 12-13)?

4. What does it mean to “judge” someone who is in the church?  What might that look like, practically speaking?  How is your group doing at this?

Next Week: “Worshiping Lord Wapner” : 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

The audio of the twenty-first message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “We’re Gonna Party Like It’s Passover” (1 Cor. 5:6-8) is now online.

A key quote: “The Passover is still about rescue from the wrath of God.  But God’s wrath is no longer directed toward the Egyptians, it’s directed toward everyone who sins against him, and Christ is the one who has been sacrificed to save us from that wrath.  And the Passover is still about rescue from slavery.  Slavery not to foreign captors, but slavery to our own sin.”

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: What is one item that you really should throw away but probably never will?

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 5.6-8 out loud.

1. What do you think God wanted to say to you through this message?  What was important for you to hear?

2. How did PB describe the significance of the Passover in Exodus 12?  What does Paul mean when he describes Christ as our “Passover Lamb” (v. 7)?

3. How is Christ’s sacrifice supposed to help us in our pursuit of holiness?  In other words, what is the connection between verse 7 and verse 8 (Verse 8 begins with “Let us therefore…”)?

4. How can our community move toward a deeper holiness?  What would that look like? What would need to change? What can you do personally to help foster this?

Next Week: “To Hang Or Not to Hang” : 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

This morning John Piper wrote a blog post over at the Desiring God Blog that created a bit of a stir.

No stranger to bold public statements and not one to shy away from comments that may stir controversy, or even, for that matter, public statements of his interpretation of providence, Piper offered his take on what God may have been up to yesterday afternoon when a tornado hit south Minneapolis.

This morning I posted a link to his post on my Facebook page with the comment, “This is chilling,” but then removed it after having some reservations about Piper’s thoughts.  In the meantime, my inbox started to fill with emails from people (mostly NHC folks) wanting to know what I thought of what Piper said.  Well, that was enough to bring me out of blog hiding and write again.  So, here goes (I should hasten to say that my thoughts do not necessarily represent the position of NHC or its pastoral staff or elders):

I don’t think it’s best to pass judgment on Piper’s post as a whole.  As I see it, there are at least three separate issues involved in evaluating what Piper wrote.

1. The statement of biblical truth

Piper is absolutely correct in his stance on homosexuality as being contrary to God’s design for human sexuality, as well as his stance on the grave danger of condoning sin in the name of God.  He writes, “Official church pronouncements that condone the very sins that keep people out of the kingdom of God are evil. They dishonor God, contradict Scripture, and implicitly promote damnation where salvation is freely offered.”  Without a doubt, he is correct here.  What the ELCA is doing is deeply evil because they are condoning something God condemns while claiming that the love of God justifies their actions, as though ‘love’ entails the unquestioning approval of any lifestyle a person happens to find appealing.  Here I cannot fault Piper’s strong words.

2. The wisdom of publicly interpreting providence

This is where I thought Piper began to go off the tracks.  It is one thing to affirm that God hates sin and to affirm that God governs everything in his creation, including weather and the tornado in south Minneapolis in particular.  It is quite another thing to suggest that God sent a tornado into downtown Minneapolis to warn the ELCA against their initiatives.  To be fair, Piper exhibits some caution when he writes, “Let me venture an interpretation of this Providence with some biblical warrant.”  In other words, he’s not claiming that this is what God is surely doing (a la Pat Robertson post-9/11).  Rather he seems to be offering a suggestion as a means to spark reflection.  Moreover, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad idea to offer tentative interpretations of providence.  We all do it all the time, don’t we?  Think: “I think God was probably showing me through this…,” or “Clearly, God was letting me know through this that…,” or “I know that God was trying to tell me through this that….”

Nevertheless, conclusions about what God is doing in his direction of the natural world when He himself has not given an explanation for the events (as he often has done in the history of redemption) must always remain very, very tentative and represent a very dangerous undertaking because one might publicly ascribe to God thoughts and motives that are not necessarily accurate.  That’s a big wager.  Even if I had made the connection Piper made between the tornado and the ELCA, I think the extent to which I would have made it public would have been saying to my wife, “I wonder if God was….”

3. Awareness of public perception

Should believers tremble to make statements that they know will be unpopular among the general public?  Absolutely not.  We must obey God rather than men.  Should believers soft-peddle to seekers and people who are interested in Jesus but not interested in the hate-mongering that too often has characterized evangelical social and political dialogue?  Not at all.  We should expect our beliefs to cause consternation and stumbling.  Nevertheless, I think there is a place to recognize that we, as evangelicals, have done ourselves no favors in terms of making it clear that we believe homosexuality to be contrary to God’s design for human sexuality and therefore sin and yet we believe far more ardently that those who have chosen homosexual lifestyles bear the Imago Dei, are no worse sinners than we, are not more deeply in need of saving, reconciling grace than we, and ought to receive our love and care just as fervently as any other person we encounter even as we call them to repent and trust in Christ.

Piper should have been more aware, in my opinion, that to the watching world his comments will sound identical (though they are surely not) to Pat Robertson’s unbelievably self-righteous and irresponsible remarks after 9/11.  It’s not Piper’s fault that his remarks will be received that way.  But it’s where we live, and I believe Piper’s remarks will make it even more difficult to win homosexuals to Christ because he has planted unnecessary stumbling blocks that have nothing to do with the gospel of Christ crucified for sinners.

To put it another way: Why this sin?  If the ELCA was considering passing a resolution that allowed ordination for pastors who live in lavish houses and desire to live in comfortable affluence I highly doubt anyone would have made the tornado/ELCA connection even though the Bible speaks far more fiercely and frequently against those who desire to be rich than it does those who choose homosexuality.

That’s my two pennies.

The audio of the twentieth message from the SCREWED-UP SAINTS series, “Satan Saves?” (1 Cor. 5:1-5) is now online.

A key quote from the introduction: Love is acting toward someone in the way that God would have us act toward them.”

Here are the small-group discussion/personal application questions:

Getting to know you: What makes a good friend?  Who would be your best man/maid of honor if you were to get married next month?

Have someone in the group read 1 Corinthians 5.1-5 out loud.

1. What do you think God wanted to say to you through this message?  What was important for you to hear?

2. What was PB’s definition of love?  Does it work?  How does it differ from how you (and our culture) tends to think about what love is?

3. What is the ‘bigger’ problem in Corinth that PB talked about?  Why is it so potentially destructive to the church?  Do you see this happening at NHC/Fusion?

4. What does Paul mean when he says (verse 5): “…You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord”?  Do you feel warned or awakened by this statement?  How?

Next Week: “We’re Gonna Party Like It’s Passover” : 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

We’re taking a short break from the “SCREWED-UP SAINTS” series, in case you were wondering what has happened to these posts.

I took two Sundays away to spend time with my new little girl, and last Sunday I took the evening to talk about what baptism is (and what it isn’t) because we are baptizing, as it turns out, 20 young adults this coming Sunday during our outdoor worship gathering at Parker’s Lake.

In this message I mainly tried to define baptism from Colossians 2:9-15 and related texts, and to demonstrate why “circumcision without hands” (v. 11)—the “cutting away of the old life by Christ”—not baptism is the New Covenant equivalent of physical circumcision under the Old Covenant. You can get the podcast here.

Fusion Community Small Groups : Discussion Questions
“A Portrait of Death and Life” : Colossians 2.9-15

Getting to know you: What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

Have someone in the group read Colossians 2.9-15 out loud.

1. What in this message was useful, clarifying, or helpful to you?

2. What is the meaning of baptism? Or, what does it signify according to Colossians 2:9-15. What did PB say about the “portait” it paints?

3. Did you grow up in a tradition where baptism was done for children? Are you convinced that baptism is only for believers? Why or why not? Give specific reasons.

4. When were you baptized? Share the story. If you haven’t been, what’s stopping you from being baptized on Sunday or on August 23rd?

Next Week: Grilled meat, worship, and baptisms at Parker’s Lake!