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June 27, 2013  David Murray   0 comments

Why most Americans hate their jobs
I can’t imagine what it must be like to do a job you hate EVERY DAY! So thankful to do a job I love.

If you are hesitant to come to Christ…
Jonathan Edwards would like to ask you some questions. And here are some Life Lessons from Jonathan Edwards.

Why Biblical Languages Matter…
Even if you forget them.

Let the tone of your sermon match the tone of your text
“A brief word about genre: it exists; honor it. Paul’s letters are different from the Psalms, from the minor prophets, from the Pentateuch. Preachers should not handle the Bible as though there is no difference between the various kinds and styles of biblical writing.”

Introverted Pastors
Tony Reinke interviews self-confessed introvert pastor, Jared Wilson.

Coffee and Creativity
“The strange scientific connection between coffee and creativity.” Not sure if this is sponsored by Starbucks, but I’m still not giving up my noise-canceling Bose headphones.

The Popularity, Pitfalls, and Practice of Christ-Centered Interpretation

June 26, 2013  David Murray   0 comments

I’m greatly encouraged and deeply grateful for the increasing popularity of Christ-centered preaching from the Old Testament. Which Christian doesn’t rejoice in more people hearing more of Christ? But why the recent upsurge of interest? Some contributory factors are:

  • An increased understanding of the sovereignty of God. If God is supremely and perfectly sovereign, the Old Testament era was not a mistake (Plan A) that God put right with the coming of Jesus (Plan B). No, it was part of His one perfect plan of salvation (Plan Grace) that He began publicly unfolding in Genesis 3.
  • The desire to honor the whole of God’s Word. There’s no point in defending the inspiration and inerrancy of the whole Bible in principle if in practice we only use a small percentage of it. We want to avoid what may look like a practical denial of the divine inspiration of the Bible.
  • The powerlessness of mere moralism. Preachers and hearers have realized that the “Be David” and “Don’t be Saul” sermons from the Old Testament leave people without hope or help. Without Christ, no matter how hard we try, we will never be David and we’ll default to Saul.
  • The popularity of biblical theology. Many gifted theologians have demonstrated the way multiple biblical themes can be traced all the way through Genesis to Revelation, proving the unity of God’s saving plan in both Testaments.
  • Willingness to use the New Testament to interpret the Old. Preachers have taken more seriously Jesus’ and the Apostles’ view of the Old Testament, especially their presentation of it as Christ-promising, Christ-revealing, and Christ-testifying Scripture.
  • Christian hunger. God’s people have recognized that they can’t understand many parts of the New Testament without knowing the Old Testament better. But they also long for Old Testament instruction that will increase their knowledge of Christ.

All these factors have given preachers increasing desire, confidence, and enjoyment in preaching Christ from the Old Testament. There are, however, inevitable weaknesses in any new movement, and one of them is the tendency to use the same interpretative method in every Old Testament sermon.

For the rest of this post, click on over to Ed Stetzer’s blog where I’m contributing to an ongoing discussion about Christ-centered interpretation of the Old Testament. Previous posts by Dr Daniel Block (Part 1 and Part 2). Future posts by Dr. Walter Kaiser and Dr. Bryan Chapell.

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June 26, 2013  David Murray   3 comments

Short films and cartoons on Economics
Might make your finances look less like a comic strip.

White House tells churches how to run, hide, or fight when a gunman attacks
Grim stat: Church shootings surged 36% last year.

Pastoral Care with Mental Health in Mind
Adrian Warnock with five ways how not to do it and one perfect model. And here’s Heath Lambert with his take on the recent Southern Baptist Convention resolution on mental health.

Unknowing racist
“I call this an unknowing racism, because I really didn’t know that racism was an issue for me.”

5 Reasons Bloggers use Numbered Lists
And here’s 10 Ways to Spice up your Writing Game by a former editor.

8 Resolutions for the Christian Husband

Allan’s Junk Removal

June 24, 2013  David Murray   23 comments

My son, Allan, is about to enter his senior year at High School. He’s been desperately trying to find summer work for the past few months in order to get gas money and hopefully save up for college. However, the recession hit Michigan hard and the effects are still being felt with limited job opportunities and lots of applicants for the few that are made public.

He did get a few weeks of part-time work mulching for Superior Groundcover in the late spring and enjoyed the physicality of that work after many weeks and months at the school desk. However that had a very limited season, and since then he’s been knocking on lots of doors looking for work without success. He almost got a job with a car dealership, until they realized that he was still only 17 and their insurance wouldn’t cover him driving cars on their lot.

Anyway, last week, out of the blue, he announces that he’s starting a Junk Removal Business, sets up a Facebook page, prints 100 flyers, and off he goes to push them into mailboxes. And waited.

And then, to his huge delight, the phone rang. Someone wanted to get rid of an old shed that had been destroyed by the spring flood here in Grand Rapids. He went straight to the property, quoted, and got his first business deal! A morning’s work, two trips to the local landfill, and $100 in the bank!! With another three jobs this week, the young entrepreneur is up and running. His American dream begins at the very bottom, but he loves the hard work and is really excited about being his own boss (that started when he was about 3 months old!).

So, if you live within 40-50 miles of Grand Rapids, and you’ve got some old junk lying in your attic, your garage, or your yard, why not give the budding tycoon a call. He charges $50 for a trailer load (4×8 trailer), he’ll gather all your stuff for you, and he’ll leave you with a nice clean yard, garage, etc.  You can read more about his work here and also get his cell number. Or visit his Facebook page.

PS. The truck and trailer in the picture are, shall we say, an “artist’s impression.” The reality is slightly different.

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June 24, 2013  David Murray   0 comments

We are losing our consciousness of the Bible
Joel Miller addresses elementary errors in biblical knowledge at the New York Times: “The basic facts of the Bible, the font from which so much of our culture flows, are increasingly unknown. We capped the well and find ourselves parched.”

How much time do pastors spend preparing sermons?
“70% of pastors’ sermon preparation time is the narrow range of 10 to 18 hours per sermon…The median time for sermon preparation in this study is 13 hours”

How much of a pastor’s vacation time should he use?
Brain Croft says “All of it” and gives three reasons.

Why are you doing this?
James Faris gives five reasons for organizing a ministry of teaching English as a second language (ESL).

7 Possible Solutions to the Troubled Souls of Pastors
Scott also lists six indicators of a troubled soul.

Exodus International
I haven’t followed terribly closely the controversy about the ministry of Exodus International to homosexuals, but this article by Jeremy Lelek certainly shed some light on it for me.

Do you really need antidepressants?

June 24, 2013  David Murray   0 comments

Researchers at Emory University have discovered a brain scan that can predict whether medication or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is the best for each person’s depression. At present the treatment plan is often based on the doctor’s or patient’s preference, but only 35-40% of people see any improvement with their first choice of treatment. It’s basically been trial and error.

But Dr. Helen Mayberg and her team of researchers used PET scans to measure brain glucose metabolism in the interior insula region of the brain, and found that scan patterns prior to treatment can provide important clues as to which treatment will be best. Patients with low activity in the anterior insula showed remission with CBT, but poor response to medication, while patients with high activity in the insula did well with medication and poorly with CBT.

Until now brain-imaging has been primarily a research tool, but the National Institute of Mental Health director Dr. Thomas Insel believes that “these results demonstrate how it may be on the cusp of aiding in clinical decision-making.”

Speaking personally, I’ve never seen a medication-only approach work in the long-term. I have seen medication work well in treating moderate to severe depression, but only when combined with counseling and lifestyle changes (e.g. diet, sleep, exercise, relaxation, Christian fellowship, etc.). However, this research might help explain why antidepressants just don’t seem to work at all for a large number of people.

If the success or otherwise of anti-depressants can be predicted, then that should build confidence in some cases and avoid weeks of frustrating and futile experimentation in others.

Full Story: Biomarker Could Point the Way Past Trial-and-error Inefficiencies