Friday Sermon | Mormonism is not Christian Theology

AOMToday’s “Friday Sermon” is not so much a sermon per se; rather, it is an introduction or overview of Mormonism geared at exposing how vastly different it is from Christianity despite its use of Christian terminology. This clip is a short (21 min) overview of Mormon theology. I’ll be linking to a longer class he taught on this subject at the end of the post. In a recent shared post on my personal Facebook page, I had an acquaintance jump into a discussion on my timeline who is a member of LDS assert that he considered himself Christian. While I have read through a large portion of the LDS.org website, I’ve avoided making stark distinctions before opting instead to simply focus on what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is without calling out other false gospels specifically. Thankfully, I’ve been introduced to the Ministry of Dr. James White via his response to the Newsweek article hit-piece on the Bible. With the popularity/prevalence of Glenn Beck (theBlaze) and the rumors of Mitt Romney possibly taking another run at Presidency, the false notion that Mormonism is a Christian denomination may come up again.

Dr. James White is the director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the author of more than twenty books, a professor, an accomplished debater, and an elder of the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church.

[youtube http://youtu.be/a1BLR4rufYA]

For an extended (2 hours 18min) seminar  on witnessing to Mormons by Dr James White, click here.

Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ

Colossians 1:11-23 (ESV)

11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, forall endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning,the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV)

By Grace Through Faith

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

OT | The Lord is My Banner (Exodus 17)

Moses fountain in Washington Park, Albany, NY.

Moses fountain in Washington Park, Albany, NY.

In our last Old Testament Study, we looked at how after God had provided the Children of Israel with mana in the wilderness (Jesus is the Bread from Heaven) He also provided them with water (Jesus called Himself the fountain of living water in the wilderness). Today’s post will be extra short so that (hopefully) you can take some time to review the OT studies leading up to Exodus 17.

Let’s jump into the text.

Exodus 17:8-16 (ESV)

Israel Defeats Amalek

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Several interesting things here. The first thing I’d like to mention is that we shouldn’t read this portion as an isolated event, separated from all previous events. Such is the current, post-modern paradigm of viewing everything that happens as “new” and completely disconnected from everything that has happened before.

Who is Amalek?

They are descended of Esau (Genesis 36). Though himself a son of Isaac, God rejected him in favor of Jacob, whom he would rename Israel. Esau took wives from the daughters of Heth (Canaan) further separating himself from the Promise to Abraham. Now, after so many generations, Amalek is waging war with the People of God, the Children of Promise.

Whose Victory of Battle?

Moses sends Joshua to choose men for battle, but to whom is the victory attributed? The Lord. Moses goes up on a hill and holds, not his staff, but the Staff of God. While in some cases it might be referred to as Moses’s staff, in this case Moses is clear to Joshua what is going to take place. The very staff that God instructed Moses and Aaron to use for each the plagues against Pharaoh, the staff with which God parted the Red Sea and the same staff God commanded Moses to strike the rock with at Horeb. Moses wasn’t saying “I’ll make sure you win”, he was saying “the Lord God is your Banner in battle”.

Banner?

While researching this passage, there was an entry in the Reformation Study Bible I thought was very informative, demonstrating something that might be lost in translation for us.

17:15 The Lord is my banner. The Hebrew word translated “banner” underlies “staff” in v. 9 and is used for the “pole” on which the bronze serpent was later placed (Num. 21:8). Since “banner” suggests cloth to us, this connection is lost. A spear could serve as a standard in battle, with or without bits of cloth tied to it. Later, a staff might have a device on it to mark the rallying point for troops. In the ancient world, these were sometimes images or signs of the gods. Moses’ staff is the ensign to which Joshua’s army could look and that symbolized God’s saving power. Moses declares that God Himself is the Standard, the Ensign of His people.

Very cool. Once again, what we are seeing here is not the greatness of Joshua’s leadership, but the Mighty Hand of God at work, showing His favor upon Israel, Moses, and Joshua. Remember the Song of Moses as recorded in Exodus 15.

Exodus 15 (ESV)

The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
    the Lord is his name.

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
    your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.

13 “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
14 The peoples have heard; they tremble;
    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
    trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
16 Terror and dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
    the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

In Hebrews 11, we are taught that all of the mighty deeds accomplished in Scripture were by faith. Faith in whom? In the Only Living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Creator of all things. The Lord is my Banner… while there was a physical symbol of the favor of the Lord, neither Joshua, Aaron, Moses, nor Hur were under any misgivings that there was something in the staff itself, nor in the efforts of Moses. This was God’s work and God’s victory over Amalek.

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV)

Benediction

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

May the Grace of God be with you today and forever,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Gospel Wednesday | Matthew 3:1-12

bibleIt has been quite the time away from posting. We were greatly blessed with extended family time. It was a time of fellowship and adventure for our little ones.

Regarding Faithful Stewardship, some of the feedback we’ve received was that there was simply too much volume on a daily basis, that the posts were just so long that folks felt they didn’t have enough time to get into a serious read. I can definitely understand that sentiment. We discussed possibly moving the Biblical text to end-note references or hyperlinks, but I don’t want to highlight my own words so much as God’s Word. Therefore, we will simply try break up how much text we are covering in a single post. Picking up where we left off in our Gospel Wednesday posts, we will return to the Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 3.

Matthew 3 (ESV)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Those of you who attend liturgical churches probably already dug into this text during Advent (the season before Christmas). We looked at the prophesy regarding John in our examination of just what Mary might have known. There are some curious descriptions of John that bear mentioning, particularly given that Matthew’s primary audience was the Jewish believer. Mathew’s account begins with Joseph and his dreams (reminiscent of Joseph, the son of Isaac/Israel), and here we see John the Baptist described in verse 4, “Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” Interesting what God the Holy Spirit prompted Matthew to write here. Remember in Luke 1:17, the angel Gabriel told Zechariah regarding John “and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared“. Could Matthew’s description of John the Baptist be a sign or a reminder to the people of Elijah?

2 Kings 1:1-8 (ESV)

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.

Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the Lordsaid to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Very interesting. Yes, God’s word is revealing that John the Baptist had indeed come onto the scene in the spirit and power of Elijah. I find it interesting, too, that in the 2 Kings account above, Elijah shows up unannounced, declaring a word of rebuke for the sin of idolatry. Ahaziah didn’t send for a Prophet of the Lord God; rather, he sent for a word from a mute idol. Judgement was coming, and the Lord God sent His servant, Elijah. But the occasion for John the Baptist was different… he was preaching repentance and preparing the way for the Messiah, the Christ. John baptized with water, but the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with Fire.

Another interesting note from Matthew’s description of John the Baptist is that his food was locusts and wild honey. As odd as such a diet might seem, it met the Levitical standard for clean food.

Leviticus 11:20-23 (ESV)

20 “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. 21 Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground.22 Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.23 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Now that Christ declared all foods clean, we needn’t worry too much about the culinary restrictions of the Mosaic covenant, but understand that this took place before Christ had done so, and any uncleanness on the part of John the Baptist would have disqualified him as a Prophet of God, especially in his baptism.

When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John, his words are very direct and ominous. Judgement was being spoken against the leaders. Elijah rebuked the kings of Israel, and John the Baptist rebuked the spiritual leaders of Jerusalem. Elijah pointed Israel back to the Word of God, and John the Baptist prepared the way for the people to see the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ.

We will continue working our way through the Gospel according to Matthew next week. Until then, may the Lord Bless you and keep you always.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Silent Night (Emmanuel)” by Matt Maher

Presentation1Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)).

For the next few weeks, we will take a break from the top-20 lists and focus on Holiday music. As it turns out, there are a lot of bad “Christmas” songs out there, the world cranks out its versions a lot faster and with a lot better production. There are some good ones and I want to focus on those. What makes a good Christmas song? The focus of the song must be Jesus Christ. In fact, a good Christmas song hold meaning and significance all year. A Christmas song becomes a holiday song when singing it outside of the “Christmas season” rings hallow, like “O Christmas Tree” or “Jingle Bells”… those songs are about the holiday, not the Holy One. Today’s song is “Oh What a Glorious Night” by Sidewalk Prophets. This song popped up as I was looking for the Linus clip for yesterday’s post, and I was so excited to hear a good Christmas song that I knew we should share it today.

Music Videos

Lyrics (via K-Love)

Silent Night

Silent night holy night
All is calm all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace X2

Silent night holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing alleluia
Christ the Savior is born X2

O come O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive hearts that fell
Bring peace on Earth and love’s goodwill
For everyone

For You so loved the world You gave
Your life for us to heal and save
We see the echoes of Your grace
For everyone

Silent night holy night
Son of God love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord at Thy birth X3

The song “Silent Night” has always felt a bit weak to me because it seemed to make the night of Christ’s birth the night of our Salvation. While the birth of Jesus Christ is indeed important and does fulfill prophecy, there was more to His plan and work than simply being born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, the City of David. He came to give His life as payment to ransom us from sin and death. The insertion of the third and fourth stanzas goes a long way to completing the thought of this song, and I absolutely love it. This Silent Night was the dawn of redeeming Grace, for He walked, talked, fulfilled the Law, and then laid down His life for us. He was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and will return again. The day of His return, however, will be anything but silent.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (ESV)

The Coming of the Lord

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

To God be the glory, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Oh What a Glorious Night” by Sidewalk Prophets

Today is “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)).

For the next few weeks, we will take a break from the top-20 lists and focus on Holiday music. As it turns out, there are a lot of bad “Christmas” songs out there, the world cranks out its versions a lot faster and with a lot better production. There are some good ones and I want to focus on those. What makes a good Christmas song? The focus of the song must be Jesus Christ. In fact, a good Christmas song hold meaning and significance all year. A Christmas song becomes a holiday song when singing it outside of the “Christmas season” rings hallow, like “O Christmas Tree” or “Jingle Bells”… those songs are about the holiday, not the Holy One. Today’s song is “Oh What a Glorious Night” by Sidewalk Prophets. This song popped up as I was looking for the Linus clip for yesterday’s post, and I was so excited to hear a good Christmas song that I knew we should share it today.

Music Videos

I couldn’t find an “Official” video for the song, but I liked this fan lyric video because they included stills from the Linus monologue. What I did find from the band was a “behind the song” video that I thought was a good way to hear what the artist (Sidewalk Prophets) was meaning to convey in this song. We’ll look at the Scriptural account after the lyrics.

Lyrics (via MetroLyrics)

What A Glorious Night

“What A Glorious Night” was written by Brown, Casey / Smith, Jonathan Lindley / Mcdonald, Ben / Frey, David.

The shepherds came to
See the baby
Stood by his mother’s side
Here laid the Savior
Inside a manger
Oh what a glorious night
Oh what a glorious night

I hear the angels singing halleluiah
Let the earth receive her king
I know that love has come
Singing it out
Jesus Christ is born
Jesus Christ is born
Yeah

The shepherds wondered
They couldn’t hide it
Told everyone in sight
All were amazed
When they heard how
God came down on the glorious night
God came down on this glorious night

I hear the angels singing halleluiah
Let the earth receive her king
I know that love has come
Singing it out
Jesus Christ is born
Jesus Christ is born
Yeah

Glorious
Glorious
What a Glorious night

Glorious
Glorious
What a Glorious night

I hear the angels singing halleluiah
Let the earth receive her king
I know that love has come
Singing it out
Jesus Christ is born

I hear the angels singing halleluiah
Let the earth receive her king
I know that love has come
Singing it out
Jesus Christ is born
I heard that Jesus Christ is born
Yeah Yeah Yeah

All is calm now
All is quiet
A Star shining in the sky
Below in Bethlehem
The king is sleeping
Oh What a Glorious Night
Oh What a Glorious Night

Songwriters
BROWN, CASEY / SMITH, JONATHAN LINDLEY / MCDONALD, BEN / FREY, DAVID

Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Positive Elements

This song is about a specific event in Scripture… what’s not to like about that? Great job. Let’s read about the event.

Luke 2:8-21 (ESV)

The Shepherds and the Angels

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

The song progresses to a lead-in for the visit of the wise men from the east with its mention of the star. Let’s look in Matthew 2 for that reference.

Matthew 2:1-11 (ESV)

The Visit of the Wise Men

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

The star led the wise men from the east to the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us.

Conclusion

It’s a solid song, I really have no concerns with it whatsoever. I’d like to hear this song played more often, throughout the year. If you’re planning a Christmas Cantata, do consider this song.

To God be the glory, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge