Extreme Theology

Have a Cross Centered Christmas

When you went to church this last weekend for Christmas worship, did sin and the cross play a central part of the message?  We have heard about a "Purpose Driven Christmas" but I believe that the true meaning of Christmas is the cross.  St. Paul stated this best in Phil 2:5-8

    "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,who, although He existed in the
    form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied Himself, taking     the form of a bond-servant, and  being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance         as a man,  He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
    cross."

If your pastor didn't place our sin as the cause of Christ's birth, then Christmas means nothing.  We cannot celebrate Christmas without including Good Friday or Easter. 

Please share how your Christmas worship was both Christ centered and cross focused.

How's Your Advent Season?

In this season of Advent, I would like to know how your church is preparing for the Nativity of our Lord?  In the Lutheran tradition, we observe the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day as a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord, both his first and his second coming.  Like the season of Lent, we become even more aware that it is our sinfulness that is the reason why Christ had to leave his Father so that he could come and be our Savior. The classic Advent hymn of O Come, O Come Emmanuel from the 12th Century says it all.

O come, O come Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Chorus:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

2. Oh, come, oh, come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In Ancient times once gave the law
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Chorus:

3. Oh, come, strong branch of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satans tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.
Chorus:

4. Oh, 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.
Chorus:

5. O Come Thou Dayspring, from on high
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Chorus:

6. O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
Chorus:

7. O come desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.
Chorus:

May the Lord bless your preparation.

Me Worship. It's All about ME.

This video hits it on the head regarding the current focus of so much of so-called "Christian" Worship.

He can be taught!

I want everyone to know that I changed the title of the 'Bimbo' Post because Erica and Brandon CHANGED MY MIND.

I know that there are a few people who comment on this site who believe that people's minds can't be changed. Well, mine can.

Both Erica and Brandon had FAR BETTER reasons for me changing the title of the post than I had for keeping the title.

I respect people who take the time to present their case in a clear, passionate and compelling way.

I therefore am bowing to their superior reasoning on this issue and have changed the name of the post.

P.S. If anyone sends me email telling me I'm weak for doing that, then I'll forward their well written emails to you and let you cope with their superior reasoning.

Erica and Brandon, thank you for your well reasoned comments and emails.

Lord Bless!

Did Rick Warren Teach A Different Gospel at TED?

Earlier this year Pastor Rick Warren participated in a TED Talk. The audience was NOT a Christian audience and Pastor Warren used this opportunity to tell these unbelievers a message of good news about what makes God happy. But, was Pastor Warren’s message the Good News of the Holy Scriptures or was it something else?

Before you listen to what Pastor Rick Warren said at TED, let me remind everyone what Scripture teaches on this subject.

The Apostle Paul spoke very harshly to the to the Galatian churches in his letter to them. Why? Because they had abandoned the gospel that Paul preached and were following a ‘different’ gospel. The gospel the Galatians had been deceived into following was one that mixed the grace and mercy of God with the Mosaic law. In his letter, Paul rained down stern warnings and threats of eternal punishment upon the Galatian churches. Here is what he wrote…

Galatians. 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

This passage is very a very clear warning against teaching a false gospel. But, what exactly was the Gospel Message that the Apostle Paul taught? We need to keep that as a reference point in our minds so that we are able to spot 'other' gospels and reject them. Here is an outline of the Gospel that Paul taught.

• God Made Mankind

• Man Disobeyed God and Fell Into Sin.

• Therefore, all of mankind is under the curse of sin and has earned God’s just judgment of eternal condemnation and punishment.

• God gave us his law to show us just how sinful we are and to show us our need for a savior.

• But, God so loved the world that He sent his son, Jesus, God in human flesh, to meet the righteous requirements for us and suffer our punishment for us, die on the cross for all of our sins, and therefore satisfy God’s justice.

• Salvation is now offered as a free gift to sinners by faith alone to everyone who believes.

Scripture also makes it perfectly clear that God is ONLY pleased with those who trust in Christ. Those who do not trust in Christ already stand condemned before God. No matter how good people are or think that they are it is impossible for them to please God without first having faith in Christ.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God

John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Now back to Pastor Rick Warren’s TED Talk.

The audience at Pastor Rick’s TED Talk was literally comprised of some of America’s most talented and brightest people. Think of this as Pastor Rick Warren’s Mars Hill moment. Just, like the Apostle Paul when he was in Athens was invited to speak to some of the greatest thinkers of his time, Pastor Warren was invited to speak to some of the greatest thinkers of our time.

This was a crucial moment in history. It was a rare opportunity for a Christian Pastor to be invited to speak at such an event. Would Pastor Warren tell his audience about their sinful state before God and their need for a savior in Jesus Christ? Would Pastor Warren, like the Apostle Paul expose his audience’s idolatry and false ideas about God and then replace those ideas with the truth of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for their sins?

Well…ummmm…I think you need to hear it for yourself.

Click Here to Listen.

What was the gospel message that Pastor Rick Warren brought with him to share with the unbelievers at TED?

Here are the exact words that Pastor Warren spoke, this was the message of good news that he brought to these unbelievers…

“Did you know that God smiles when you be you. Some people have the misguided idea that God only gets excited when you're doing “spiritual things” like going to church or helping the poor or confessing or doing something like that.

The bottom line is that God gets pleasure watching you be you. Why? He made you. And when you do what you were made to do He says ‘That’s my boy!’, ‘That’s my girl!’

You're using the talent and ability that I gave you... So my advice to you is look at what is in your hand, your identity, your influence, your income, and say its not about me, its about making the world a better place.”

If I were a non-believer and I heard this message I would think, “Wow, God is happy with me when I be myself. That’s a religion that I can agree with! I don’t have to worry about that sin stuff and have to be like those religious fanatics who believe in Jesus. This is a liberating piece of good news. This is a gospel I can believe in.”

But, is this the Gospel message of the holy scriptures?

I don’t think so. I don’t even think it comes close!

Imagine yourself as one of the unbelievers who heard Rick’s ‘gospel’ that night and believed what Pastor Rick said.

Now imagine that your life has ended and you are standing before the judgment seat of Christ and Jesus says, “To hell with you!”

You blink in terrified amazement and say, “But, I believed what Pastor Warren told me at his TED Talk. I lived my life being what you made me to be. I made the world a better place. This whole time I was under the impression that you were smiling from heaven saying, ‘That’s my boy’. How could you send me to hell?”

Jesus’ response will be, “depart from me. I never knew you.”

The thought of this VERY REAL SCENARIO breaks my heart!

How could a man who is a Christian Pastor comfort unbelievers with such a message?

Rudolf Goes 'Purpose-Driven'

This just in from the Sacred Sandwich... Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer, after reading Rick Warren's 'Purpose Driven Life" has resigned his position on Santa's team and is pursuing his 'true purpose'.

Click Here To Get More Details

The Message is the Mission

What is the mission of the church? Is it the message of the gospel and holy scripture or is it behavior as Rick Warren suggest? These questions are answered in this edition of the Extreme Theology Podcast.

Click Here to Download the MP3 Audio File

The notes for this class are available by clicking here.

If you are learning and growing in God’s Word as a result of this teaching, please support this podcast by sharing it with your friends and fellow Christians.

Originally taught at Capo Valley Church, San Juan Capistrano, California on Sunday, November 19, 2005.

Rick Warren Beats Chris Rosebrough!!

On Issues Etc.,  Rev. Todd Wilken plays a game called "Soundbite of the Week".  In this game, he plays four or five soundbites and the callers are asked to pick their favorite and state why.  The caller doesn't have to have to agree with the soundbite that is voted on. 

This week, Todd played a bite from Rev. Bill Cwirla, Rev. Rick Warren, our own Chris Rosebrough and one from Greg Koukl (Stand to Reason). In my case, I voted for Rick Warren.  Listen and you'll find out why.  Rev. Cwilra won with 5 votes, Rick Warren had 4 votes and Chris came in third with only 3 votes.

Listen and let us know which one you would vote for and why IE Soundbite the week.

Gospel Centered Preaching

After Rev. Todd Wilken's sermon review of a Rick Warren sermon, he gave us a review of a great Christ centered sermon by Rev. Bill Cwirla.  This is a great sermon!  Listen to both sermons and you'll see the difference in what a Christ centered sermon is. 

Rev. Cwirla's sermon is the second half hour of the first link and the complete time of the second link.

Cwirla Sermon Review Part 1

Cwirla Sermon Review Part 2

Farmers, Seeds, light and truly good deeds

Farmers, Seeds, light and truly good deeds; the type that make you worthy of beatings and persecution.

Click Here to Download the MP3 Audio File

The notes for this class are available by clicking here.

If you are learning and growing in God’s Word as a result of this teaching, please support this podcast by sharing it with your friends and fellow Christians.

Originally taught at Capo Valley Church, San Juan Capistrano, California on Sunday, November 12, 2005.