Coram Deo Blog
Archive for December 2006
31 December 2006 at 4:05 pm by Bob Thune · ecclesiology
This morning we took a break from Romans to look at the nature of the Church. We saw from 1 Peter 2:9 that the church is a people, not a place. The church is “a people belonging to God,” those he has called to himself from among both the religious and the irreligious (Romans 9:24). In this new people, there are no racial, clerical, or national boundaries. These human divisions are superceded as we find our common identity in being Christ’s Church, the people who belong to him.
If you would rather read than listen, the essence of the sermon in essay form can be found here: The Nature of the Church
When we engage this conversation, the question often arises: what is the interaction of people and place? Granted, the church is a people and not a place. But people congregate at places. And people live in places. And places shape people. Evan asked this morning: should I be inviting people to come to church (the place) with me, or is that the wrong approach?
My answer is that this is essentially a means-and-ends question. Church (the place) is a means toward the end of shaping the church (the people) in obedience to God. We gather each week to renew our covenant with God and with each other – to be reminded of who we are and whose we are. If inviting people to church (better: the church gathering) on Sunday is an end in itself, that’s bad. But if it’s a means toward the greater end of seeing them embrace the gospel and join the people of God, great! That’s exactly what we’re trusting Jesus to do: to use our feeble, sinful, humble efforts to glorify his name and build his kingdom and gather his people. For, in Omaha as in Corinth, God has “many people [yet to be converted] in this city” (Acts 18:10).
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28 December 2006 at 1:16 pm by Bob Thune · conversion
Advent was sweeter as I enjoyed a weeklong Sabbath from the Internet and from e-mail. Welcome back to the blogosphere.
Some of you may have watched Anderson Cooper’s feature “What is a Christian?” aired on CNN on December 14. But if you didn’t, the transcript is worth a read. The stats alone are worth knowing, and the breadth of what qualifies for the moniker “Christian” may both awe you and discourage you at the same time.
Thanks to Dan, a long-distance “friend of Coram Deo,” for the link.
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22 December 2006 at 8:35 am by Will Walker · advent
THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
FOCUS OF PREPARATION: JOY
I have been contemplating “the coming” for three weeks now, looking for Jesus among the hustle and bustle of life. One thing that strikes me is how many people in his day did not receive him, much less even stop to listen. “The coming” simply passed them by.
And that is the thing about Jesus. He comes in the least expected ways and to the least expected places – as a baby in a manger, as a young boy in the synagogue, as a teacher in the homes of sinners, as a King on the cross of thieves. And he will come again like a thief in the night.
This, too, was foretold by Isaiah:
Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others; a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God (Isaiah 53:1-4).
How tragic, and how true still in our day. “The coming” passes so many by, not just at Christmas, but if at Christmas, then how much more the rest of the year! I stopped to listen during this Advent season – to look around the manger and the synagogue, the back alleys and the company of thieves. I prayed, “Come, Lord Jesus, come,” and come he did. Not clandestinely, but plainly in the most obvious of places.
But I can’t tell you where because that would give away my sermon this week. See you Sunday.
SCRIPTURE READING: John 1:1-18
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21 December 2006 at 7:42 am by Will Walker · advent
THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
FOCUS OF PREPARATION: JOY
We have also been singing this hymn, which has become richer to me because of Advent.
The lyrics echo a number of prophetic themes relate to the coming of Jesus. The title comes from Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.” The “Rod of Jesse” refers to Isaiah 11:1: “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse”; Jesse was the father of David, second king of Israel. “Day-Spring” comes from Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:78: “The dayspring from on high has visited us.” “Thou Key of David” is in Isaiah 22:22: “The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,” which in turn refers to Isaiah 9:6 “The government shall be upon His shoulder.“
O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 2
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20 December 2006 at 10:52 am by Will Walker · advent
We have been singing this hymn by Charles Wesley at church the last two weeks. I wanted to post the lyrics here because these words will make for meaningful advent refleciton and preparation.
COME THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS
Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
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20 December 2006 at 8:34 am by Bob Thune · music
My favorite thing to do with new albums is to predict which song has the greatest likelihood of being a radio hit. Which song, if picked up by a local DJ, has the potential to put this album on the map?
So I’m inviting you into a little blog debate. If you had to pick a song from Strock’s album, which one would it be? What’s his best chance of getting noticed?
My vote: “I’d Rather Have You.” I think it’s the sleeper song of the album. A foot-tapper, tinged with blues-organ, showcasing some artistic vocal work… plus it could play equally well on pop-rock love-song stations and on college indie-rock radio.
What’s your vote?
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19 December 2006 at 11:56 am by Will Walker · advent
THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
FOCUS OF PREPARATION: JOY
What is the joy of waiting?
We have all experienced how waiting and anticipation heightens the joy of consummation. Two examples of this come to mind this morning: birth and Eve.
If babies came right after conception, I’m not sure “joy” is what we would feel in that moment. We want time … time to tell everyone our good news, time to paint a room and buy things, time to prepare ourselves for this new life. Instantaneous birth would rob us of the joy of waiting, but with nine months to prepare and imagine, the birthday comes as a glorious celebration!
Donald Miller surmises that Adam lived alone for a long time, maybe hundreds of years, naming the animals and such. There was “no suitable helper” to be found for him among the animals. Day after day and year after year Adam was faced with the reality that he was alone. Not without company, but without companionship.
When Adam first laid eyes on Eve, he broke out into song:
This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called woman,
For she was taken out of man.
Adam, I’m sure, would have been glad to have Eve from day one. But the waiting, the unnamed longing for someone with flesh and bone like his, brought about a joy he could not have known otherwise.
There is in all of us a deep sense of longing that has to do with incompleteness … embryonic aspirations, parts of us that remain unknown, an ever-increasing awareness of our broken world. We may be redeemed and joyful in Christ, but we know there is more, that we were made for another world. Lingering in our souls is the eerie memory of Eden and the mystery of kingdom come.
Pregnancy strikes me as one of the few things that we are required to wait for anymore. In fact, almost every occasion of waiting is now largely seen as imposition. It’s not that life stops during pregnancy. We still have all the usual things to do. But the growing belly is a constant reminder of what is to come. There is nothing we can do to hasten it or prolong it. We can only prepare and wait.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently (Romans 8:22-25).
Advent makes us wait and take note that this is how God chose to come into our world. Not in a flash from the sky, but as a seed in the womb of a woman. After thousands of years, the Messiah finally comes, and then there is waiting. For Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, it was a blessed time … time to take it all in, time to prepare and dream wild dreams, time to break out in song! (see today’s reading).
Come, Lord Jesus Come.
Come when you will.
We await your return.
Come when time is full,
Our pregnant hope due.
New life in our old world,
New bodies in full view.
Come in the morning,
Our long-awaited light.
The day breaks death,
The darkness now in flight.
Come with trumpet sound,
Our consummate song.
Resounding joy for all
Who have waited so long.
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 2:46-80
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18 December 2006 at 10:42 am by Will Walker · advent
THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
FOCUS OF PREPARATION: JOY
Advent is a season of hope, remembering the longing of God’s people for Messiah and rekindling our own desire for Christ’s return. It is a time of reflection and preparation, both of which require us to enter in, forsaking the usual hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
The last two weeks have invited our reflection … considering the question, “What do I long for now?” My weak desires have been exposed by the powerful images and stories of God’s mighty deeds throughout history. I have been confronted with my day-to-day cravings, which often have little to do with the redemptive work of Christ or his coming reign of peace and justice. My only recourse in these times of searching for hope has been to plead the cry of Advent: “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” Come and revive my spirit, lift my eyes to the God of hope, and to Christ, my hope of glory.Now in the last two weeks of Advent we shift from reflection to preparation, from longing to anticipation. The clouds are breaking. Morning is coming. We are entering into the long-awaited joy of annunciation:
The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”
The stories of Jesus’ birth are filled with hints of what his life will mean for us. Faith and generosity overcome impossibility. Poverty and persecution reveal glory.
During this Christmas season, a time when we anticipate and receive gifts, let us be renewed in our sense of wonder and joy as we fix our hope on the gift of God: foretold by the prophets and the angel Gabriel, conceived in the virgin Mary, and celebrated by John the Baptist in his womb. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 1: 26-45
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16 December 2006 at 5:55 pm by Bob Thune · A29, music
It’s a big week in the life of Coram Deo!
First, Jared Strock finally released his first CD of original music, Searching for Julie. Mick’s Music Bar was jammed to capacity last night (with people waiting on the sidewalk to get in) for Jared’s CD release show. The disc has been spinning in our home stereo all day, and we thoroughly agree with the Omaha World-Herald in classifying Jared’s songs as “mature pop-rock.” This isn’t sophomoric three-chords-and-a-microphone stuff; the kid can write music. Go to www.jaredstrock.com and listen to “Backup Plan” and “Disaster,” and after you’re sufficiently impressed, go ahead and spend 10 bucks to buy the album. Or pick up a copy at Coram Deo this weekend.
Second, Coram Deo has officially been accepted as a full member in the Acts 29 church planting network. A29 is a great “band of brothers” – a network of like-minded church planters who are working together to plant culturally relevant, biblically faithful churches. Go to www.acts29network.org to learn more about our extended family.
Third, Coram Deo is now podcasting our weekly sermons on iTunes (and other podcast clients)! In iTunes, go to the Podcast Directory, click “Power Search,” and type “Coram Deo.” You can follow the icons to subscribe to our podcast, bringing fresh teaching from Coram Deo directly to your iPod every week!
May God be honored as we leverage these opportunities for His glory.
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14 December 2006 at 1:34 pm by Bob Thune · music
Check out page 7 of the “Go” section in today’s Omaha World-Herald (Thursday 12/14/06) for a feature on Coram Deo’s own Jared Strock. I’d link to the story, but the communist editors at the OWH say that this story is available online to “subscribers only.” So go spend 50 cents and get a paper copy.
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