Thursday, September 09, 2010

a purpose for worship

the second week of the wonderful class that i am taking had more intriguing articles. yay! and here are a few quotes that i have been pondering the past couple of days.

"God is not threatened; rather He is immeasurably saddened by false worship. When people worship anyone or anything besides Him, they become like it. God has better intentions for people." -- Steven C. Hawthorne

and the well-known quote from John Piper: "Missions exists because worship doesn't."

"We will not bring the kingdom or build the kingdom, but our privilege is to live out previews of 'coming attractions,' revealing what this kingdom will look like." -- Tim Dearborn

one idea which i have been pondering is motivation for mission. motivation for how we live and what we focus on, not just mission. if our motivation has to do with people, we will be disappointed. because people are sinful and selfish and make mistakes. (everyone -- including ourselves!) if our motivation has to do with our own selfish desires, we will probably not last very long. but .. if our motivation comes from a deeper, wider, bigger purpose .. then it just might be possible for us to stay involved exactly where we are. if our internal motivation is based on the One who is stable, we will have the capacity to face external challenges. and being invited to participate in the plan of God is much more exciting than making my own plan anyway! :)

Saturday, September 04, 2010

a new book!

on the way to hang out with a couple friends, i stopped to get my mail. and i found a book that i've been eagerly waiting for! once i arrived, i pulled out the package and opened it, and had this silly grin on my face as i saw the book and started looking through it. my friends looked at me like i was crazy. (this happens more than you might think.. :P ) on this particular occasion, the look was well-merited. because, you see, the book has 782 pages, and it is a textbook. all about the world Christian movement!

i am taking an online class called "perspectives" and am really grateful for the opportunity to read a large variety of authors and subjects, to be challenged in my view of God and mission, and to do so with a cohort of fellow believers from various places around the globe. here are a few quotes from this week's reading that stood out.

"Holiness is wholeness. To be holy is to be wholly the Lord's." -- Walter C. Kaiser

"None of God's gifts were meant for our own consumption. They were not meant to be mere badges or titles. They were for the purpose of declaring His wonderful deeds and calling people to His marvelous light." -- Walter C. Kaiser

"Blessing is God's provision for human flourishing. But it is also relational: to be blessed by God is not only to know God's god gifts but to know God himself in his generous giving." -- Richard Bauckham

I hope to continue to share quotes and ideas throughout this four month class. Some ideas are just better when they are shared!