Mark Moore's Blog

Day 4

The story of Joseph never ceases to amaze me. No matter how many times I read it. As we have already seen, revenge was just as prominent in the setting of Genesis as it is in our own setting today. Talk about someone having the right, and the power, to revenge--Joseph was the guy. I wonder if I were Joseph, how many nights would I have sat on the cold prison floor of Egypt thinking about my brothers who had gotten me into this predicament. Bitter is probably the word that could best be used to describe the way I, and most others, would probably feel towards the world. But not Joseph.

If you had to use words to describe Joseph, what would they be? I find that Joseph is characterized by a series of words, rather a series of sayings, spoken thousands of years later by the incarnate mouth of the One who had delivered him from all his many trials.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Technorati Tags: bible

Day 3

Day 3 of the 90 day challenge takes us through Genesis 40.

No matter how many times I read Genesis, it never ceases to amaze me with its story of "trickery" in the life of Jacob. Jacob plays tricks, his mom plays tricks, his uncle plays tricks, his sons play tricks -- or maybe a better word than trick would be lie.

Isn't it amazing that if you wanted to choose a word to characterize the Patriarchs, you wouldn't be mistaken if you chose the word liars. Sure, you could choose other words that would be equally as true, but you could not be accused of blasphemy by calling these men liars. All of them--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--were liars.

So what is that makes these men so special? Why do we speak of them thousands of years later? Why do our children learn of them, color pictures of them, and sing songs about them?

The answer is found in Jacob's prayer for deliverance from his brother Esau, whom he tricked/lied to. He concludes his prayer for deliverance with these words, "But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"

What makes these men so special is their God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose name was YHWH, was faithful. They were unfaithful, inconsistent, liars and YHWH was faithful, consistent, and trustworthy. God was faithful to his covenant and that is it. That is the whole glory of their story. The glory of a faithful God.

So that I'm not misunderstood, I do think that these men were great men. Abraham standing over his son, his only son, Isaac with a dagger is not the story of a not-so-great man. However, it is a story of a man who stood over his son having placed his faith in the faithfulness of his God.

Genesis is much more than a story about the Patriarchs. It is the story of the faithfulness of their God. This story of faithfulness is not only the story of Genesis; it is the story of the Bible. It is the story of God's faithfulness to the covenant.

It is the story of Jesus.

Technorati Tags: bible

Day 2

Thoughts on day two of the 90 day challenge...

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. At times, three of the most unfaithful people you ever hear of. Other times, pretty faithful.

God. All the time, the most faithful. Consistent.

Me. A lot like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Jesus. The faithful servant of his often unfaithful people.

Technorati Tags: bible

Day 1

Today is day number one of our 90 day Bible reading challenge. I cannot promise that I will post something every day over the next 90 days, but I will try and be semi-consistent.

We had a great response in our church from people who wanted to take the 90 day challenge. We will meet for the first time next Tuesday evening to discuss the reading for the first week. Basically in the first week we will read Genesis and Exodus. For those of you who are not a part of our church, who are interested in doing the reading, here is a link to the Bible reading schedule that we are using. Feel free to post comments on the blog as to your progress. I hope that some of you who are pastors might even be challenged to create similar challenges in your own communities. I can't promise how it will end, but I can tell you that it has begun with a lot of excitement from our people.

Today's reading was Genesis 1-16. In a matter of 30 minutes I had been from creation to fall to flood to call of Abram to covenant with Abram to birth of Ishmael. Just like that we're underway.

Happy reading.

Technorati Tags: bible

90 Day Challenge

Late last year, I decided that I was going to do something about my physical health. Having grown up playing sports and spending four years in the Marine Corps, I was always in very good shape. After the Marine Corps I started school and full-time ministry (two phrases that are not synonymous with being in good shape). It didn’t take long for me to enjoy the leisurely life of coffee, books, deserts, eating with people, eating with people again, eating with people some more -- mainly late in the evening. Before I knew it I was no longer in good shape. The funny thing is that I didn’t believe it. When you’ve always been in good shape, you don’t want to believe that you are no longer in good shape. The prospect of a diet made me hungry. The thought of exercise made me tired. This is how the rut begins. It is a terrible cycle. The cycle of “maybe tomorrow.” I had a standard line, “I think I’m going to start running on Monday.” Monday always seemed like a good day to me. Unless it was Monday. The good thing about Monday was that it came and went fast. When I missed the window of opportunity I was left with my excuses and my ability to repeat my favorite phrase, “Next Monday. Nothing is going to stop me this time.” After a while, you find yourself shifting from days to seasons. “When summer is over, I’ve got to get in shape.” Then comes whatever comes next in your life and suddenly it’s, “After the first of the year...” The point is that it never happens. I have a four year old son who always asks, “What are we doing tomorrow?” Then, when he wakes up the next day, he asks, “Is it tomorrow yet?” Isn’t it funny how tomorrow never comes?!

Tomorrow, which happened to be a Monday, came on February 4th of this year. I woke up early ready to tackle P90X, an extreme 90 day fitness program. The week before I took the physical fitness test that you are supposed to take before you begin the program. The test exists because the program is, as the X in the title indicates, extreme. Passing the test ensures that you do not die during the program. I nearly died during the fitness test, literally throwing up when I was done. I felt this was a good sign that I should begin the program (although the guidelines for the program said otherwise).

It’s now nearing the end of June and I am not in good shape -- I’m in great shape. Other than while I was in boot camp, this may be the best shape I’ve ever been in. Now, let me get to the point. I went from bad shape, very bad shape, to best shape in next to no time at all. It truly is amazing to consider the human body’s ability to respond to proper diet and exercise. That phrase, “proper diet and exercise,” is such a familiar and often repeated phrase that it almost loses its meaning on us. Can something that sounds so simple and so basic really make that big of a difference? Yes, absolutely, because it is the way God has designed us.

I’m convinced that our spiritual lives are no different.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

To the same degree that we hear diet and exercise are the key to physical fitness, we also hear that prayer and Bible reading are the key to spiritual fitness. It’s pretty simple -- talk to God and listen to God. Could it really be that it’s that easy? I believe so. I also believe that just as a 90 day diet and exercise program can make drastic changes in your physical life that the same can be said for a 90 day “spiritual” diet and exercise program.

P90X stands for Power 90 Extreme. In other words, 90 days of extreme training. I’m proposing B90X -- yes, I freely admit how cheesy that is (I’m not really calling it that either). This is 90 days of extreme commitment to the Bible. My desire to change my physical condition meant about one hour a day of exercise. The desire to change your spiritual condition is going to require about one hour a day as well.

Here’s how it works (this applies to those in my church, however you could formulate a similar plan in your own community that you are a part of)...

Beginning July 1st, those who commit to the program will begin reading the Bible. We will provide you with a chart that tells you exactly what to read on what day. Each week, those who are committed to the program will meet one evening for coffee to discuss their reading for the week (imagine that, Christians sitting around talking about God’s Word--seems so simple, could it really make that big of a difference?). This will last for 90 days, or 13 weeks. This means that over the course of 13 weeks you will meet 13 times with other believers to discuss the Bible reading that you are all doing together. The reading should take you about 45-60 minutes a day depending on how fast you read. By the end of September you will have read the entire Bible cover to cover. Imagine that!

How many of you set out each year with a goal to read the Bible during the year and quit by the third week of January (or in the middle of Leviticus)? You’re like I was, “Next Monday...after the summer...next year...” Tomorrow never comes. Years go by and you haven’t read the Bible, you’re not growing as a Christian, your prayer life is terrible, and you stay in that rut.

Here’s your challenge. Commit with me. Commit to 90 days of reading the whole Bible. Carve out an hour of your day. You’ll even be done with the whole program by the time your favorite shows are returning to TV this fall. It won’t be easy, but it will be good. There won’t be any before and after photos, but I can promise you that you will shave inches of spiritually complacent fat off your waist and gain spiritual strength in the context of a gospel believing community striving for the same goal.

Up for the challenge?

If you are in our church, you will get all the details you need through your missional community. If you are not in our church, but would like to commit to the challenge, feel free to begin with us on July 1 and leave comments on the blog letting others know what you’re doing, how your doing, etc. One thing I do recommend is finding someone else to do it with you. It will provide you accountability and help you to grow a lot more by discussing what you’re reading with other Christians.

Technorati Tags: bible

Keller for Kids

I'm sure that many of you, like me, have benefited in ways that are indescribable from the ministry of Tim Keller. When I study a text, I do not typically see Jesus and the gospel in the same way that he does. This is mainly due to two reasons. First, the way that I learned to read the Bible growing up. Ask 99% of the kids coming out of 99% of the Sunday School classes in America what they learned and they will readily tell you the story they learned for that day. That's fine. The Bible is the greatest story in the world. However, it's just that--the greatest STORY ever told. Most kids tend to see the Bible as a set of stories about a set of characters. The result is that on any given Sunday our kids learn about Abraham, Moses, or David, but with very little that connects these men or their stories to the Man and the Story. Try asking a kid one week what he or she learned in church. They may say, "We learned about Moses." Then ask, "Well, what did the story tell you about Jesus?" You may or may not be surprised to find their reply to be, "Silly, I just told you we learned about Moses. The story was not about Jesus." Sadly they do not know that in Luke 24 Jesus explained that all the Scriptures "beginning with Moses" were about him.

The second reason that I have to work to see Jesus and the gospel in every page of the Bible is because of how I was trained. I was taught to look for the meaning of the text in a way that considered only the historical and the grammatical implications of the text. I hate to say it this way, but more emphasis was placed on finding the verb in each paragraph than finding Jesus in each paragraph. Not please do not get me wrong. I believe without any equivocation that solid exegesis is based on a good historical and grammatical reading of the text. I am equally convinced that a historical and grammatical reading of the text that does not lead me to Jesus and the gospel is in no way a good reading of the text. What makes the Scriptures Christian? Jesus. Therefore we must read with an eye towards him.

All that to say that I am utterly thrilled to have found a new resource for children, which I believe is most beneficial for adults as well. Sally Lloyd-Jones has written a new storybook Bible for kids that is called The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. At first glance, this storybook Bible appears like any other; it is full of colorful pictures and classic Bible stories. Once you start turning the pages and reading the stories you quickly realize that this one is different. To be honest with you I didn't even have to start reading the actual stories to know that this was going to be different. Here are the first words of acknowledgments:

I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those without whom I could not have done this book. To Dr. Timothy Keller, whose teaching informs every story and from whom I have liberally borrowed; for his wisdom; for giving me a vocabulary of faith; for opening my eyes to the wonder of Grace.

Wow! Keller for kids. Furthermore, listen to Keller's own words as he describes this storybook Bible:

"I would urge not just families with young children to get this book, but every Christian--from pew warmer, to ministry leaders, seminarians and even theologians! Sally Lloyd-Jones has captured the heart of what it means to find Christ in all the scriptures, and has made clear even to little children that all God's revelation has been about Jesus from the beginning--a truth not all that commonly recognized even among the very learned."

Tim's wife, Kathy, has written a review of The Jesus Storybook Bible and I recommend that you read it as well. However, read the review after you have ordered the book and while you are waiting on it to arrive. Don't hesitate. Spare your children years of having to discover the Story that all the stories are a part of. I'll be reading this to my own children and praying that they will grow to see the beauty of Christ on every page of Scripture.

Technorati Tags: bible, books, gospel, children's bible, sally lloyd-jones, tim keller

A Special Thanks to Crossway & ESV

I would like to express a special word of thanks to Justin Taylor and the kind folks at Crossway, the publishers of the ESV Bible.

Crossway was kind enough to send me, along with other Acts 29 pastors, a beautiful calfskin leather copy of the ESV Bible. I have been preaching from the ESV Bible for three years now and the majority of people in my church use it for their own personal reading and studying. I highly recommend this translation to you as one that is both accurate and readable.

If you are interested in discovering more about the ESV Bible, my friend Mark Driscoll has written an excellent article on the ESV translation. I think you will find this article very helpful and hope that you will take the time to read it.

Again, thank you to Crossway, everyone involved in the ESV project, and Justin Taylor, for your wonderful gift.

Technorati Tags: acts 29, mark driscoll, esv bible

Formative Reading...Again

I am reposting something that I wrote in July 2006. In light of my sermon yesterday on gospel-centered devotions, I thought this post may now make more sense to some.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I don”t know why he ran off and left her?  I mean he read the Bible all the time?”

I have heard this one too many times. Or, as a pastor, I have counseled with people who “know a lot” about the Bible while at the same time show very little Christian spirituality. Recently I read a statistic that 70% of pastors said the only time they spend studying the Bible is when they are preparing their sermons. And we wonder why 50% of the guys who “know a lot” about the Bible, pastors, will have their marriages end in divorce.

One of the biggest problems in the Church today is not that we don’t read the Bible, but that we don’t know how to read the Bible in such a way that the Bible reads us. I am referring to the difference in formative reading vs. informative reading.  Informative reading is the way that most people read the Scriptures today. Including, and probably even more so, most pastors. They read the Bible in the way that they read the newspaper or a copy of Time magazine, in order to get information. Please do not misunderstand me. Informative reading is very important and even furthermore, it should lead to formative reading. But for most, informative reading becomes an end in itself. We read the text, fill our heads with information, and then move on to the day’s events, happy that we know more about the Bible.

Formative reading is reading the Scriptures in such a way that rather than informing us, giving us information, the Scriptures are actually forming us, or shaping and changing us. This is a practice that is not taught in most seminaries. This means that it is probably not practiced in most pastors’ lives and therefore not taught in most churches. Pastors attend seminary and they learn how to rightly interpret the text utilizing the historical-critical method so that they can preach in such a way that tells there people “what the text means.” As an expository preacher, I am a firm believer in telling our people “what the text means,” but yet at the same time I don’t want them to go home simply having been informed. I want them to go home having been formed by the preaching of the text by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In order to read formatively, we must set out with a different purpose in mind. We are not reading to see what happened when Jesus was baptized, but why Jesus was baptized and how his baptism changes me. This means that we must read much slower and in a much more meditative fashion. One of the best practices for doing so is lectio divina, an ancient practice used throughout church history in order to read the Scriptures in a much more contemplative and prayerful way. Traditional lectio divina is structured around four stages. Lectio–a reverential reading of the text in order to listen to the voice of God.  Meditatio–meditating on the word in such a way that God’s word begins to impact and change us.  Oratio–prayer that we would be changed by the word that we have meditated on.  Contemplatio–a wordless, resting in the presence of God.

It is impossible in this space to go into detail about lectio divina as a practice of formative reading. However, there have been many great books written on the subject througout the history of the church. I recommend two books by Peter Toon and I recommend that you read them in the following order: Meditating as a Christian and The Art of Meditating on Scripture. Both of these books are excellent introductions and will introduce you to the great works written throughout the history of the church. I pray that througout the halls of church history you will discover another way of reading the text. One that not only informs you, but forms you.

Bible Reading Plan

There is an old saying that says, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.”  I think for most people this statement can be applied to reading the Bible.  I find that as a pastor people usually say that the have a hard time reading the Bible for one of two reasons, either they don’t understand or they don’t know where to start.  As a church that is committed to the Scriptures, we are going to provide a plan to help with both of these reasons that keep us from the Bible.

Beginning on January 1, 2007, we as a church will begin reading through the Bible using an old plan from a Scottish pastor named Robert Murray M’Cheyne.  This plan will allow you to completely read the Old Testament once in 2007 as well as completely reading the Psalms and the New Testament twice in the year.  It is designed for you to read four chapters a day from four different places in the Bible.  Two of these chapters were originally designed for family devotions and the other two for private devotions.  C.H. Spurgeon, Martin Lloyd-Jones, John Sott, and a bunch of others consider M’Cheyne’s plan the best for consistent daily Bible reading.  The plan begins on January 1 by reading Genesis 1 (birth of creation), Ezra 1 (re-birth of the nation), Matthew 1 (birth of Christ), and Acts 1 (birth of the church).  This approach allows you to see the big picture of the Bible without getting bogged down in Leviticus so that you give up on your plan before the end of February.

Not only does this provide you with a plan to read through the Bible as an individual, but the community as a whole will be following the same plan.  This means that each week in your community group you can ask questions of your community group leaders about those parts that you may not understand or that have really convicted or encouraged you.  In your relationships with one another you will find that you are reading the text and it is impacting you in ways that are beneficial for the community as well as finding out that others are reading the text and being shaped in ways that you are not.  In this way spiritual renewal will be more likely within the community as a whole.

The Bible reading calendar for each month can be accessed from our home page or you can pick up a copy on Sundays or from your community group.  For more information on the M’Cheyne reading plan please read his booklet that he wrote for his church, which we have provided on our home page for you.  It will provide you with a good explanation of the plan and how to read it.

Blessings to you as you read the Word.

Formative Reading

Have you ever heard someone say, "I don''t know why he ran off and left her?  I mean he read the Bible all the time?"

I have heard this one too many times.  Or, as a pastor, I have counseled with people who "know a lot" about the Bible while at the same time show very little Christian spirituality.  Recently I read a statistic that 70% of pastors said the only time they spend studying the Bible is when they are preparing their sermons.  And we wonder why 50% of the guys who "know a lot" about the Bible, pastors, will have their marriages end in divorce.

One of the biggest problems in the Church today is not that we don't read the Bible, but that we don't know how to read the Bible in such a way that the Bible reads us.  I am referring to the difference in formative reading vs. informative reading.  Informative reading is the way that most people read the Scriptures today.  Including, and probably even more so, most pastors.  They read the Bible in the way that they read the newspaper or a copy of Time magazine, in order to get information.  Please do not misunderstand me.  Informative reading is very important and even furthermore, it should lead to formative reading.  But for most, informative reading becomes an end in itself.  We read the text, fill our heads with information, and then move on to the day's events, happy that we know more about the Bible.

Formative reading is reading the Scriptures in such a way that rather than informing us, giving us information, the Scriptures are actually forming us, or shaping and changing us.  This is a practice that is not taught in most seminaries.  This means that it is probably not practiced in most pastors' lives and therefore not taught in most churches.  Pastors attend seminary and they learn how to rightly interpret the text utilizing the historical-critical method so that they can preach in such a way that tells there people "what the text means."  As an expository preacher, I am a firm believer in telling our people "what the text means," but yet at the same time I don't want them to go home simply having been informed.  I want them to go home having been formed by the preaching of the text by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In order to read formatively, we must set out with a different purpose in mind.  We are not reading to see what happened when Jesus was baptized, but why Jesus was baptized and how his baptism changes me.  This means that we must read much slower and in a much more meditative fashion.  One of the best practices for doing so is lectio divina, an ancient practice used throughout church history in order to read the Scriptures in a much more contemplative and prayerful way.  Traditional lectio divina is structured around four stages.  Lectio--a reverential reading of the text in order to listen to the voice of God.  Meditatio--meditating on the word in such a way that God's word begins to impact and change us.  Oratio--prayer that we would be changed by the word that we have meditated on.  Contemplatio--a wordless, resting in the presence of God.

It is impossible in this space to go into detail about lectio divina as a practice of formative reading.  However, there have been many great books written on the subject througout the history of the church.   I recommend two books by Peter Toon and I recommend that you read them in the following order: Meditating as a Christian and The Art of Meditating on Scripture.  Both of these books are excellent introductions and will introduce you to the great works written throughout the history of the church.  I pray that througout the halls of church history you will discover another way of reading the text.  One that not only informs you, but forms you.