Gospel Amnesia

Posted on June 13, 2012 by blund

Dear Zion,

Quick – pop quiz: what is the Gospel? It seems a simple enough question, right? We hear about the Gospel in every Sunday sermon. We learned about Jesus’ virgin birth, perfect life, substitutionary death, and resurrection to save us through faith and repentance since we were little. Ok then, next question: do you know how the Gospel relates to whatever you’re going through right now? Or, have we become like many people today who are suffering from “gospel amnesia” – we’ve got the facts, but we’ve forgotten its immediate relevancy?

One of my former professors, Dr. David Powlison (CCEF), is a licensed and practicing counselor. He had undergone heart surgery in his fifties, and though the surgery was successful, it took over five years for him to return to full strength. There were numerous losses to his personal, social and professional life due to his recovery. He found that he would go to important counseling meetings and mediation sessions, and was horrified to find that there would be times when he could not complete his thoughts. He was paralyzed by the thought that his life as professor and counselor might be at an end – who would ever go to a counselor that couldn’t complete his own thoughts, much less help the patient? Who would hire him as a professor to teach young minds, when his own mind was clouded? Continue reading →

It Is Not Death to Die

Posted on June 12, 2012 by blund

This title comes from an 1832 hymn written by H. A. César Malan. (Alternate title: Memento mori)

Jeff Vanderstelt makes the (correct!, imho) observation that whatever else churches have been doing, we have not been helping Christians deal with one of the most fundamental realities of their existence: their impending death.

And a few quotes from giants in church history to solidify the point:

Athanasius, Calvin, Owen, & Eliot on Death

Continue reading →

Get Out the Conservative Christian Vote?

Posted on June 9, 2012 by blund

We had an election on Tuesday last week. I paid my dues.

I rendered unto Caesar my vote today. Thankful for the democratic process and so many other freedoms. #voted

— Brian J. Lund (@brianjlund) June 6, 2012

What was interesting for me were some the mailers and adverts being sent out to local pastors in an attempt to encourage the vote. (Side rant: Just after taking a full time call in the Midwest, I was shocked and awed at the amount of mail that comes through a pastor’s inbox, assuming that the pastor and/or church will serve as a bully pulpit or free advertising for nearly any cause under the sun. /rant) What was surprising was the ideological content of the mailers versus the support and foundation they were built on.

I received one such advertisement urging conservative Christians to vote (presumably for neo-conservative policies in the Republican platform), and to spur them on five historic heroes were pictured with accompanying quotes. Continue reading →

Funeral Sermon for Dr. R.A. Lund

Posted on May 25, 2012 by blund

Last December my grandfather died, and I had the privilege of explaining the Scriptures for the service. The funeral was held at Bethel Ev. Free Church in Fairmont, MN. My sermon text was Psalm 37:23 – 24:

The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.

You can find the video on the sermon page at the bottom.

New Letter from Youcef Nadarkhani

Posted on May 21, 2012 by blund

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12

Youcef Nadarkhani – Christian pastor imprisoned in Iran – has now been in jail over . You can read the original letter in Farsi here (PDF).

Greetings from your servant and younger brother in Christ, Youcef Nadarkhani.

To: All those who are concerned and worried about my current situation.

First, I would like to inform all of my beloved brothers and sisters that I am in perfect health in the flesh and spirit. And I try to have a little different approach from others to these days, and consider it as the day of exam and trial of my faith. And in these days which are hard in order to prove your loyalty and sincerity to God, I am trying to do the best in my power to stay right with what I have learned from God’s commandments. Continue reading →

Cowper: Whom the Truth Makes Free

Posted on May 15, 2012 by blund

He is the freeman whom the truth makes free,
And all are slaves beside. There’s not a chain
That hellish foes, confederate for his harm,
Can wind around him, but he casts it off
With as much ease as Samson his green withes.
He looks abroad into the varied field
Of nature, and, though poor perhaps, compared
With those whose mansions glitter in his sight,
Calls the delightful scenery all his own.
His are the mountains, and the valleys his.
And all the resplendent rivers. His to enjoy
With a propriety that none can feel,
But who, with filial confidence inspired,
Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye,
And smiling say—”My Father made them all!”

– William Cowper, The Winter Morning Walk
(HT: JB)

How Does Sarah, Submissive Obedience, and Fear Fit?

Posted on May 2, 2012 by blund

Have you ever done this? A wife wants counseling on dealing with a frustration she has with her husband. I Peter 3 brings God’s truth to godly wives (dealing with unbelieving husbands), encouraging them to trust God by submitting, adorning their hearts with righteous beauty, and to act as Sarah’s spiritual daughters. I’ve often thought of Sarah as a fantastic example of this, what with Abraham’s penchant for dropping her off in various royal harems (cf. Genesis 12 and 20). It turns out, most commentators see it this way too: Sarah shows remarkable faith and fearlessness in the face of Abraham’s abdicating husbandry.

But as we’re preaching through the Abraham toledot in our Lord’s Day sermons, I was struck by the fact that Genesis 18 is the only place Sarah refers to Abraham as her “lord” (Hebrew: adon, Greek: kurios). What is more, Peter exhorts godly wives to “not fear anything that is frightening” (I Peter 3:6). Sure enough, the only time we’re ever told Sarah feared something is also in Genesis 18. The links are striking, and even Proverbs 3 comes into play. The following chart helps to lay it out (ESV and LXX below):

Genesis 18:12, 15	I Peter 3:6	Proverbs 3:25
So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord (κύρίος μου) is old, shall I have pleasure?”	as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord (κύριον).
But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid (ἐφοβἡθη).	do good and do not fear anything that is frightening (μὴ φοβούμεναι μηδεμίαν πτόησιν).	Do not be afraid of sudden terror (οὐ φοβἡθησῃ πτόησιν) or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes

Continue reading →

Like Abraham, Drive Away the Buzzards

Posted on April 12, 2012 by blund

Abraham Dear Zion,

In our sermon series on “The Gospel According to Abraham,” we’ve been introduced to the Covenant of Grace. We saw how God furthered His Covenant of Grace with Abraham in Genesis 15, cutting the animals in half and passing through that valley of death to ratify His promise to Abraham and his offspring. But did you notice the seemingly insignificant detail in Genesis 15:11? “And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.” Now why would God include this little tidbit of Abram trying to scare off some buzzards? Is it just to fill in some of the details of the story? Or, is God’s Word so rich and intricate, that even this easily overlooked verse can teach us more of God’s ways? Continue reading →

Milton Friedman on Legislating Morality

Posted on April 9, 2012 by blund

I don’t agree with everything from the Milton Friedman-U of C school of thought. In fact, there are parts even in this brief segment that I have strong reservations about.

But is anyone strong enough to disagree with his opening assertion?

There is a fundamental economic law – which has never been contradicted to the best of my knowledge – and that is that if you pay more for something, there will tend to be more of that something available. If the amount you are willing to pay for anything goes up, somehow or other, somebody will supply more of that thing.

We have made immoral behavior far more profitable. We have, in the course of the changes in our society, been establishing greater and greater incentives on people to behave in ways that most of us regard as immoral.

If this is correct, how may this insight be applied to current moral challenges?

The Benefits of A Deep Sleep

Posted on April 7, 2012 by blund

I’m working through the Abraham toledot in our Lord’s Day morning sermon series “The Gospel According to Abraham,” and recently was looking at Genesis 15:12, “As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram…”

The word tardemah translates the “deep sleep” that Abram experienced, and nearly every time it is used it takes some special significance.

Genesis 2:21
So the LORD God caused a deep sleep (tardemah) to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

1 Samuel 26:12
So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep (tardemah) from the LORD had fallen upon them. Continue reading →