Some books on the Bible

I mentioned this past Sunday at Hub City that there are hundreds of books that contain evidence about the reliability and trustworthiness of the Bible. I want to recommend a few.

The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict - by Josh McDowell. This is a fantastic resource that not only discusses the reliability of the Bible, but Jesus, the resurrection and much much more. You should get this book.

Is the Bible Really True - by Josh McDowell. This is in the form of a story. Not the best fiction writing in the history of humanity, but it does have some great evidence.

The Case for Christ - by Lee Strobel. This book is one of those "must read" books. It is all about Jesus, but there's a section on the reliability of the gospels. 

The Book that Made Your World - by Vishal Mangalwadi. This book is fascinating. It looks at how the world we live in has been shaped by the Bible. In terms of how it relates to the reliability of the Bible I'd say it has to do with, "the proof is in the pudding." I'll warn you. It is a long book and a bit difficult to read, but if you can plow through you won't regret it.

Jesus: A Theography - by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. The entire Bible is about Jesus. This book is a graduate level course on that truth. It is also hard to read at times, but is fascinating.

I could recommend more, but those will keep you busy for a while. My encouragement to those of us who call ourselves disciples of Jesus is that we do some work to figure out why we believe what we believe. As we do I believe that God will grow our faith and use us to introduce others to Jesus so that they have the opportunity to be his disciple.

The Bible and science

The Bible Is Scientifically Accurate by Rick Warren

“Praise him, you highest heaven and the water above the sky. Let them praise the name of the Lord because they were created by his command. He set them in their places forever and ever. He made it a law that no one can break.” (Psalm 148:4-6 GW) Someone may have told you at one time that the Bible isn’t scientifically accurate. That person is wrong. They’ve either never studied the Bible or never studied science. God sets up the laws of science; he made sure that his Word doesn’t contradict those laws. Johannes Kepler, the famous mathematician and astronomer, once said, “Science is simply thinking God’s thoughts after him.” In other words, God established the laws of physics, and then we discover them. The Bible wasn’t meant to be a scientific textbook. You don’t study the Bible to build a rocket. And the Bible doesn’t use scientific language. But the Bible never gives bad science! Not once during the 1,600 years in which the Bible was written does it give bad science. In fact, it’s always ahead of science. For example: - For thousands of years, people believed that Earth was flat. But God said 2,600 years ago in Isaiah 40:22 that God is enthroned above the sphere of Earth. - For thousands of years, people believed something held Earth up. Hindus believed huge elephants did it. The Greeks believed Atlas did it. The Egyptians believed five columns held the earth up. The Bible never says that anything is holding the planet up. - For thousands of years, people believed that the number of stars were finite. But Jeremiah 33:22 says the number of stars can’t be counted. In 1861 a very famous book came out called “Fifty-one Incontrovertible Proofs that the Bible is Scientifically Inaccurate.” Today, you can’t find a single scientist on the planet that would agree with any one of those incontrovertible facts. They’ve all been disproved by science. The Bible says, “Praise him, you highest heaven and the water above the sky. Let them praise the name of the Lord because they were created by his command. He set them in their places forever and ever. He made it a law that no one can break” (Psalm 146:4-6 GW). The second law of thermodynamics doesn’t work today and not work tomorrow. It always works because it was true and made by God. Truth doesn’t change.

What are the odds?

Biblical Prophesies: What Are the Odds? by Rick Warren

“No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God's direction.” (2 Peter 1:21 GW) The Bible is the most read book in history. It’s also the bestselling book in history and the most translated book in history. Yet it’s more than that. It’s also God’s Word — God’s very breath. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (NIV). That means the Bible isn’t just a good idea. It is God’s Word to us. One of the reasons I can know that the Bible is true and trustworthy is that it has thousands and thousands of prophecies that have come true and will come true in history. Every one of the Bible’s prophecies have either come true exactly as God predicted or will come true sometime in the future. The Bible contains more than 300 prophecies about Jesus alone — all written a thousand years before he was born. The Bible prophesized about when he’d be born, where he’d be born, and how he’d be born. He couldn’t have manipulated his birth to fulfill those prophecies. It also predicted how he would die. A thousand years before Jesus died, David described Jesus’ death on the cross in one of the psalms. He didn’t use the word “crucifixion” because no one knew that word then. Long before the Romans were even thinking about crucifying people, David described it. Only God could have known that. What are the odds that I could make 300 predictions about you and every one of them would come true? It’s so astronomical, you couldn’t write the number down. It takes more faith to believe that the Bible’s prophecies were a coincidence than to believe that God planned them. The Bible says, “No prophecy ever originated from humans. Instead, it was given by the Holy Spirit as humans spoke under God's direction” (2 Peter 1:21 GW). During Bible times, nobody wanted to be a prophet. The law in Israel was that a prophet of God had to be correct 100 percent of the time. If you were wrong just once, then you were considered a false prophet and would have been put to death. A prophet better be right! And the Bible prophecies were right — every one of them. You can trust the Bible because what the Bible predicts comes true.

Is the Bible Reliable?

Don't forget

I'd hate for all you Hub City Slickers to miss our first Sunday in the new theater.

Skeptics Welcome

We hear a lot from Christians about what they believe. It's as if "right belief" is the most important thing to them.

But what if "right belief" isn't the most important thing? What if there's something that's more important? 

We think there is.

Find out Sunday at Hub City Church. 

Skeptics, questioners, sinners, atheists, agnostics, and imperfect people welcome.

Don't let your past define you

Something I've said the past two weeks at Hub City has been this statement: Even though our past shapes us we don't have to let it define us.

The reason this is such an important truth for me is that I see so many people who live lives that are defined by their pasts. It doesn't have to be that way. God doesn't want your life to be that way.

Think about Peter. Here was a guy that was one of Jesus' best friends. He, along with James and John, spent the most time with Jesus. But on the night before Jesus was crucified Peter did the unthinkable. He denied he ever knew Jesus.

Now, if you were Jesus, and you were God, and you came back to life after the crucifixion, what would you say to Peter?

I'm pretty sure I'd want to have "the talk" with Peter. But Jesus does something different.

Even after Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus never mentioned what Peter had done. He never brought it up. 

That's some serious grace.

Now why didn't Jesus bring it up? I think it's because Jesus didn't want Peter's past to define his future.  

And he doesn't want your past to define your future either. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Three book recommendations for married couples

We finished up our series A Fairy Tale Ending today. Remember, God wants more for you than a fairy tale ending. He wants for you to experience oneness and intimacy with your spouse.

I have three great books that every married person needs to read. I'd recommend them for engaged couples as well.

• Love and War by John and Stasi Eldredge
• Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll
• Kiss me again by Barbara Wilson (this book is actually for females)

May God bless you and your spouse with oneness and intimacy.

Set your DVR yet?

Movin' on up

We received some exciting news last week. We're moving on up... or maybe, moving on over.

We have been given permission to move into the largest theater in the Spartan 16 Theater complex. On March 10 we're moving across the hall to theater 16.

I'm pretty pumped. It's been a tad crowded in theater 8. We'll have a few more seats in theater 16.

And for some reason "Theater 16" sound cool to me, like a movie. I know I have a problem.

Now's the time to invite some of your friends who've given up on church or don't see the point. Let's partner together to introduce them to Jesus. 

There's room for everyone.

Speaking of Jesus

Every once in a while I'll read a book that I want everyone I know to read. I just finished one of those books. 

The book is Speaking of Jesus by Carl Medaeris. It was unbelievably incredible. 

You should click this link and purchase a copy for yourself right now. Currently the kindle version is only $2.51. It's well worth the price of a latte.

If you're still reading this blog you're wasting time. You should be downloading the above-mentioned book and reading it.

Want to go to Haiti with us?

Our first trip to Haiti for 2013 to work with Alex's House Orphanage is coming up soon. We still have a few spots. The team's not exactly sure what they'll be doing, but look at the email below and see if this sounds fun to you: 

Teams will need to coordinate together to decide what your community outreach project will be in the afternoons based on the talents and gifts the Lord as brought to your team, as you all be serving together due to the size of the team.  

There is the possibility that your team will be serving some of the time in Port-au-Prince preparing our nursery facility for the arrivals of our little ones. So, you will most likely be doing renovations,/painting/construction in the mornings, then community outreach projects in the afternoons. 

Some examples of community outreach projects are bible clubs for children and/or adults (skits, crafts, passionate teaching of God's word, games, music/songs); sewing ministry (where you teach sewing lessons and offer free "hemming" to community while sharing Christ); life skills class (woodworking, welding, sewing, basic English classes, sign language classes, etc); rice/bean distribution and/or feeding ministry. 

In any type of community outreach, it is hard to predict how many the Lord will draw in, but we usually find that 100 or so usually come. So, simple usually works best. You can also divide your time and mix it up every afternoon if you have several different skills/gifts.  

Here is another thought -- you may also consider a "good manners" class for our Alex's House kiddos for the days (2 afternoons or so) you will be with them - general social etiquette, table manners, etc. -- this could be a lot of fun and definitely needed:)

Does that sound fun? Then why not go with us? The dates are March 16-23. Email me if interested and I'll get you some more info.

Pass this along

I thought Ron's tips on how to support your Pastor on Sunday are really good. Feel free to pass them along, share on facebook and twitter, email to your mother-in-law...etc.

Equal opportunity offender

I've decided that during our next series you're probably going to be offended. I'm a little bit offended myself. So I guess that makes me an equal opportunity offender. 

And that's exactly why you don't need to miss one week of A Fairy Tale Ending.

Offending begins Sunday at 10.

Join a group or die

I'm reading a great book that you need to read titled The Me I Want To Be by John Ortberg. It's a fantastic book. 

In my reading today John quotes Robert Putnam who says:

As a rough rule of thumb, if you belong to no groups but you decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half.

John follows up that quote by saying:

It is difficult to imagine anyone not interested in cutting their risk of dying in half. That is why the new motto for small groups at the church where I serve is, "Join a group or die."

I'm thinking we should adopt the same motto. :)

Can't wait to begin this on Sunday

A teaching series on marriage for singles, marrieds and single-agains.

Join us on Sunday at 10 AM at Spartan 16 Movie Theater.

Praying Scripture for your kids

One thing Mark Batterson suggests in his book, Praying Circles Around your Children, is to pray Scripture for your kids.

He tells the story of one man who, as he read through the entire Bible, prayed it for each of his kids. That really spoke to me.

But I know that even the phrase, "The Whole Bible," is overwhelming to so many of us. So let me give you another place to start.

Start with the longest chapter in the Bible: Psalm 119. 

I read it as part of my time with God this morning, but instead of reading it, I turned it into a prayer for Nathan, Matthew and Levi. 

It's a great chapter to use in praying Scripture for your kids.

Do you like God?

That's a weird question, isn't it?

But answer it: Do you like God?

The way you answer this question makes all the difference in the world with how you relate to God. In fact, I think that the reason why most of us don't spend time with God is that we don't really like him. 

I love what John Ortberg says, If I do not like being with God, I simply will not be with him much. It is good to be honest about this because if you don't like God, there's no use trying to fake him out.

God knows if you don't like him, but God wants us to like him. That's why the Psalmist invites us to Taste and see that the Lord is good.

The Lord is good.

That truth makes all the difference. That truth is the foundation of actually liking God. He is good. He's not out to get you. He is a good God.

Maybe if we start to focus on God's goodness we'll start liking him more, and in turn, instead of spending time with him out of duty, we'll start to spend time with him out of desire. 

We want to spend time with people we like. May the same thing be true for us about spending time with God.

For Parents

I came across this verse from Psalm 78 the other day and knew as soon as I saw it that I need to be praying it for my kids daily. I thought you might want to be praying it too.

Psalm 78:7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

I also like the HCSB translation: So that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep His commands.

I want more than anything for my boys to trust in God, to put their confidence in Jesus, to never forget what He has done and to walk in obedience to His commands all the days of their lives. 

I also want to recommend and incredible resource that will help you in praying for your kids. It's Mark Batterson's booklet, Praying Circles around Your Children. It is super short and really cheap. You can read it in less that an hour, but I will forever change how you pray for your kids.

If you're like me then you need all the help you can get. Order this book today.

Don't let fear get in the way

Sometimes God asks his people to do strange things. One example of this is when he commands the Israelites to walk around the city of Jericho for 7 days. You need to read the story. It really is one of the strangest requests of God in the Bible.

Mark Batterson, in his 40 day prayer challenge, Draw the Circle, is speaking of this story when he says:

When the Israelites circled Jericho, they had no idea how God would give them the city. But they didn't let what they didn't know keep them from obeying the command they had been given.

I wonder how often we let what we don't know keep us from obeying God? In all probability, all the time.

But imagine what God might do if we just do what he tells us to do? God delivered Jericho into the hands of the Israelites all because the walked in circles for seven days, just like he told them to do.

What is God telling you to do? Is fear getting in the way of your obedience?

Trust him.