What are you doing in work on St Patrick's day?

My boss joked to me this morning, 'What are you doing in work on St Patrick's Day?' I couldn't think of a more appropriate thing to do on St Patrick's day: I replied, 'Continuing what he started!'

I may dare to undertake so devout and so wonderful a work; so that I might imitate one of those whom long ago the Lord already pre-ordained to be heralds of his Gospel to witness to all peoples to the ends of the earth. So are we seeing, and so it is fulfilled; behold, we are witnesses because the Gospel has been preached as far as the places beyond which no man lives.

I wish to wait then for his promise which is never unfulfilled, just as it is promised in the Gospel: 'Many shall come from east and west and shall sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.' Just as we believe that believers will come from all the world.

So for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently, just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,'...

According, therefore, to the measure of one's faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, to spread God's name everywhere with confidence and without fear, in order to leave behind, after my death, foundations for my brethren and sons whom I baptized in the Lord in so many thousands.

Read Patrick's Declaration (Confessio) here. Dating c.450AD - contemporary with Augustine, Chrysostom and the Council of Chalcedon. A rivetting personal testimony and defence of 'throwing his life away among the pagans' - because of God's grace, and the promises of his word.

Celebrate God's work through Patrick by taking part in that same mission - worldwide evangelization. Join in the Lausanne Global Conversation on our brand new interactive world wide website - and engage with brothers and sisters around the world, on key topics 'to spread God's name everywhere'.

Read last year's reflection - Missing the Point on St Patrick's Day

Heart-to-heart

In the latest TableTalk from theologynetwork.org, Mike Reeves chats with Peter Mead about preaching, and more broadly, communicating God's word. A heart-to-heart well-worth listening to: teaching the Bible.

Awe-inspiring irony

Tonight I had the privilege of hearing the CBSO, CBSO Chorus and soloists, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, perform Bach's St Matthew Passion. I'd been reading Carson's Scandalous on the way - here follow a few selections from the libretto, and then some verse by Carson.

The Saviour falls prostrate before his Father,
And so he raises me and all men from our fall
Up again to God's grace
He is ready
To drink the cup of bitter death
In which the sins of the world were infused, stinking;
Because it pleased God.

How awe-inspiring is this sentence:
The good shepherd suffers for the sheep.
The debt he pays: the Master;
he the righteous, for his servants.

Why, what evil has this man done?

He has so richly blessed us all:
To the blind he has given sight,
The lame he made to walk,
He told us his Father's word,
He drives the devil forth,
The humble he has lifted up,
He took the sinners to himself.
Else, my Jesus has done nothing.

Out of love,
For love now will my Saviour die:
He does not know a single sin.
That eternal condemnation
And the sentence of the court
Will not fall upon my soul.

Ah Golgotha, unhappy Golgotha!
The Lord of majesty must perish here, scorned,
The saving blessing of the world
Is placed as a curse upon the cross.
Creator of both earth and heaven
From earth and air must now be taken.
The guiltless must die guilty here.

See - Jesus has outstretched his hand
To capture us
Come! Where to? To Jesus' arms.
Seek redemption: take his mercy.
Where? In Jesus' arms.
Living, dying: rest here,
You forsaken little chicks:
Stay. Where? In Jesus' arms.

And, behold: the curtain of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. And the earth was filled with quaking, and the cliffs split asunder, and the graves themselves opened up, and there rose up the bodies of many saints who were sleeping, and they came out of the graves after his resurrection and came into the holy city and appeared to many. But the centurion and those who were with him and were watching over Jesus, when they witnessed the earthquake and all that there occurred, were terrified and said: Truly, this was the Son of God.

And Carson's verse, from Scandalous

On that wretched day the soldiers mocked him,
Raucous laughter in a barracks room,
'Hail the king!' they sneered, while spitting on him,
Brutal beatings on this day of gloom.
Though his crown was thorn, he was born a king -
Holy brilliance bathed in bleeding loss -
All the soldeiers blind to this stunning theme:
Jesus reigning from a cursed cross.

Awful weakness mars the battered God-man,
Far too broken now to hoist the beam.
Soldiers strip him bare and pound the nails in,
Watch him hanging on the cruel tree.
God's own temple's down! He has been destroyed!
Death's remains are laid in rock and sod.
But the temple rises in God's wise ploy:
Our great temple is the Son of God.

'Here's the One who says he cares for others.
One who says he came to save the lost.
How can we believe that he saves others
When he can't get off that bloody cross?
Let him save himself! Let him come down now!' -
Savage jeering at the King's disgrace.
But by hanging there is precisely how
Christ saves others as the King of grace.

Draped in darkness, utterly rejected,
Crying, 'Why have you forsake me?'
Jesus bears God's wrath alone, dejected -
Weeps the bitt'rest tears instead of me.
All the mockers cry, 'He has lost his trust!
Here's defeated by hypocrisy!'
But with faith's resolve, Jesus knows he must
Do God's will and swallow death for me.

Dreams of theology and world evangelization - Piper questions

How do we listen to Christians around the world, to better spread the good news of Jesus Christ in our situation and worldwide? DesiringGod has posted a video of John Piper chairing a discussion with Doug Birdsall, Chris Wright and Lindsay Brown (3 leaders in the Lausanne movement) on that topic, and the Cape Town 2010 congress. Dr Piper confesses that if he went to plan such a congress, it'd flop - so watch the interviewees discuss how we hope, by the grace of God, it will be effective - and catch many pearls of wisdom from these four servants of God in the course of discussion.

Some of the questions asked and topics shared were these:

• What are the issues facing the global church today, for world evangelization?
• How does the cross of Christ address those issues?
• Why are we evangelicals those who need reformation as in the 16th century?
• How an evangelical 'swagger' should be replaced with humility and hope?
• What is the Lausanne Movement anyway?
• What's wrong with prosperity theology? How it leads to desolation, discouragement and dissertion.
• Sharing as a part of the body of Christ in the world - how should we partner in the new equilibrium? What have we to learn in the West?
• How can we be different as the people of God?
• What's new in each of the areas identified as key for world evangelization? What are the implications of globalization for world evangelization?

And to wrap up, Dr Piper asked the others for 30 seconds each on: 'Cape Town 2010, 16-25 October, 4000 people, 200 countries, coming together with these issues in mind, all informed by the gospel, to advance world evangelization: what are your dreams?'

Well worth watching.

Symphonic Theology

Poythress' Symphonic Theology is a good little book - short chapters making an easy introduction to using various perspectives when reading the Bible: the validity, value and exemplification of the same. (That I enjoy reading Poythress is not entirely surprising, as he's a Presbyterian mathematician-theologian with an interest in linguistics and translation, and writes well.) I didn't so much find the book's ideas novel, as clarifying my thoughts. But I keep finding that if I think I've had a good idea, Poythress has already written a (much) better book on it. Next one I'm eager to get hold of is his new 'In the beginning was the Word: Language - A God-centred approach' from Crossway.

Global participation in Cape Town 2010

It's exciting to be a part of the upcoming Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, working towards it in Cape Town (16th - 25th October). I'll be going to Cape Town, Lord-willing, but as only 4,000 can participate there, take a look at an option to take part near you: [News release from www.capetown2010.com]

October 16-25 will see 4,500 carefully-selected evangelical leaders and thinkers from 200 nations gather in Cape Town, South Africa, for The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. But participation will extend far beyond this.

Already some 200 seminaries, universities, churches and missions in over 50 countries have registered to host their own remote GlobaLink site for this unique event. The Lausanne Movement will supply tools for sites to interact with the Congress in Cape Town and with other GlobaLink gatherings. Sites will choose when to convene during the Congress week, as is most suitable for their situation.

Guests of each site will actively participate prior to the Congress as well as during the Congress, and, if they desire, beyond the Congress. Each site will receive printed resources, video and audio streaming, and news feeds from Cape Town. They will hear the presenters - some of the best minds and most courageous practitioners the Church has to offer - then take part themselves in the global discussion. ‘They will not just be observers,’ said Larry Russell, Director of Cape Town GlobaLink. ‘We intend that they genuinely participate. This is a global congress, and we are working to engage the whole evangelical church in as many nations as we can.’

Dr Victor Nakah, President of the Theological College of Zimbabwe and Chairman of Cape Town GlobaLink said, 'Each GlobaLink site could effectively host anywhere between eight and 2000 participants. This will be a great expression of joining together as the body of Christ to consider key issues. I would strongly encourage you to register your school, church, or mission agency as a GlobaLink site.'

The Third Lausanne Congress is to be held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance. GlobaLink registration is available at www.lausanne.org/GlobaLink until May.

Some things just haven't been bettered

I was brought up on hymns and metrical psalms, in equal measure (no pun intended). I love many modern worship songs, and seem to be gradually working my way through teaching the Getty & Townend canon to my church. But as I prepare to delight in Jesus with Wolverhampton Uni CU through this passage on Monday evening, I can't think of anything but the hymn below to follow it. And reading it to them just won't be the same as having everyone stand and declare it in song to God and to each other with joy and music. I'd welcome suggestions of worship songs which fulfil the same function as this 1749 hymn of Wesley - bearing in mind that a former Wolverhampton CU leader expressed surprise that I expected him to know a popular worship song written "when he was 12". But unless someone comes up with something really good, I'm very tempted to take to the piano and teach this to them!

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptised?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptised with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practised magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Jesus! the Name high over all,
In hell or earth or sky;
Angels and men before it fall,
And devils fear and fly.

Jesus! the Name to sinners dear,
The Name to sinners giv’n;
It scatters all their guilty fear,
It turns their hell to Heav’n.

Jesus! the prisoner’s fetters breaks,
And bruises Satan’s head;
Power into strengthless souls he speaks,
And life into the dead.

O that the world might taste and see
The riches of His grace!
The arms of love that welcome me
Would all mankind embrace.

Him I shall constantly proclaim,
Though earth and hell oppose;
Bold to confess His glorious Name
Before a world of foes.

His righteousness alone I show,
His saving truth proclaim;
This is my work on earth below,
To cry 'Behold the Lamb!'

Happy, if with my final breath
I may but gasp His Name,
Preach Him to all and cry in death,
'Behold, behold the Lamb!'

- Charles Wesley, 1707-88