"Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer,
the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they
laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask
alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into
the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him,
as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them,
expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and
gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:1-6)

I think I lost 75 bucks. Saturday night my wife and I decided to go to a neighboring town to buy some things for my son's room. Before we went I had hoped to go to the bank to cash two checks totalling $75. The banks was closed, I stuck the checks in my pocket, that's the last time I saw them. No clue where they are now, probably in a parking lot somewhere or in another guys bank account.

Needless to say I have been a tad bummed about "throwing away" 75 dollars like that. And to be honest a tad stressed about financial things. Then I read this, "When covetousness seeks to chain the heart to things passing away, grace empowers us to enjoy the One who is not only necessary, but enough. And not just barely enough but overwhelming joy and satisfaction." (Dave Harvey in Worldliness, page 115-116).

After reading this it hit me in a tangible way how fleeting money and "stuff" is. I can drop $75 out of my pocket and it is gone forever. I can't drop Jesus out of my pocket and He is gone forever. Jesus is eternal and because of this He is also sufficient for all things. Yeah, maybe I could use the $75, but in 150 years I doubt it will even be a passing thought.

Rewind some 2,000 years. A man that is crippled and confined to begging asks Peter and John for that which fades--money. He does not ask for healing. He does not ask for a changed life. He certainly does not ask for Jesus and being swept up in the grand purpose of praising God. His "felt need" is a few coins (who knows what he intended to spend it on) to get him through the day. He will be back at the gate tomorrow asking for more of that which fades and it seems he is content with that.

Notice what Peter and John do. Instead of answering his fading desire they answer the depths of his soul--the desires he never even thought about desiring. Two very different thoughts were happening as the apostles gazed at him. The beggar thought he was getting alms. The apostles wanted to give him something deeper. And here is essentially what they say to him, "We do not have the temporary, but we do have the eternal, and just so you know that get up and walk".

Perhaps you are wondering what "rise up and walk" has to do with the eternal. Look at the result of this...it shows us that "rise up and walk" is not the end. Here is the aim:

"And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his
feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him." (Acts 3:7-10)

The aim was worship in the temple. The aim was proclaiming the excellencies of the God that causes a lame man to walk and a dead man to live. This is the eternal which the "rise up and walk" leads to. Money would have faded. Even walking fades. But worship endures forever.

Here is the lesson for our mission: follow the example of Peter and John and give what endures forever. The people that we minister to have a ton of felt needs; some legit and some immature and silly. Yes, we minister in love. Yes, we love people and do what is best for them. And sometimes what is best for them is losing 75.00 to see the beauty and eternal worth of Jesus.

I close with this quote from John Piper:

"People are starving for the greatness of God. But most of them would not give this diagnosis of their troubled lives. The majest of God is an unknown cure. There are far more popular prescriptions on the market, but the benefit of any other remedy is brief and shallow. Preaching that does not have the aroma of God's greatness may entertain for a season, but it will not touch the hidden cry of the soul: 'Show me thy glory!'" (Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, page 13)

For those of you that clicked a link from somewhere thinking this would be a really deep spiritual post....sorry...it's not. It's about football and my need to vent. As soon as Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage got the axe (which I was sad about in both cases) and as soon as I found out Eric Mangini was fired by the Jets I had hoped the Brownies would hire him.

Now in the midst of free agency with the Browns having George Kokonut (can't remember how to spell his last name) as the GM I am wondering why in the world I had hoped for this. Through a very busy weekend as many of the top free agents are gone the Browns made one move: Trading Kellen Winslow (amazing TE) for a second round draft pick and a 5th rounder next year. That's it. They've lost one player and gained--well, that's yet to be determined.

At least pursue Derrick Ward. Another year with Jamal Lewis as the primary back will be another season under .500. At least get another wide receiver (especially since they traded K3). Why rebuild a team that was 10-6 two years ago and 4-12 with the hardest schedule? I trust they are smarter than me, and it works out. Only time will tell.

Venting done.

CJ Mahaney wants us to meet Ligon Duncan. Read part 1, 2, and 3.

Excellent article by Timmy Brister: The Gospel Our Greatest Common Denominator. Be sure to read this one.

Along those same lines here are some great thoughts by Nathan Finn: The Conservative Resurgence and Great Commission Resurgence.

Be sure to read this excellent quote by McCheyne.

Russell Moore has written another thoughtful piece on adoption: Adoption as Cosmic and Missional.

It is officially free agency in the NFL. To track the activity go to nfl.com. To watch a team doing nothing go to Cleveland Browns.com

I have seen a few more links to Shane and Shane recently. I really hope more people begin listening to them--you'll be blessed by this:


(HT: Jared)

Author: Steven J. Lawson

Pages: 134 pages

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Price: 12.74

Genre: Church Ministry/Pastoral


Quick Summary:

This book is an expansion of a four-part series originally published in Bibliotheca Sacra in 2001-2002. Lawson’s plea in this book is to get back to the expository preaching of the world. In his own word Lawson sees this book to directly address, what is “the crying need of the hour, specifically that the modern-day pulpit be restored to her former glory of generations past, days when God’s truth was fearlessly proclaimed –days when doctrinal clarity, theological precision, and heart-searching application once poured forth from pulpits.”

Lawson hopes in this passionate call for expository preaching to show us the priority of biblical preaching, the power of biblical preaching, the pattern of biblical preaching, and the passion of biblical preaching. The author attempts to define the problem and offer the only biblical solution—expository preaching.

What I Liked:

Lawson draws from some great expositors in the past and as such there are very good quotes strung throughout this book. The author’s passion is present on every page of this book. You know that Lawson avidly practices what he is proclaiming in this book. Furthermore, he is right. I agree with about everything in this book. However…

What I Disliked:

This book might be unnecessary. I hope I am wrong because it is a quality book and it is very beneficial. Yet, Lawson writes in the MacArthur style that does not attempt to prove his statements but merely states them as true. If you are already convinced of expository preaching then this book will simply add a few more bullets to your gun. As one that is fully convinced of the need for expository preaching and as one that agrees with everything Lawson says—I found the book unchallenging. If you are not convinced of the need for expository preaching then I am not certain that this book will convince you. Therefore, it is my opinion that this book might be unnecessary; it reaches neither audience.

And this is a shame because Steven Lawson has a lot of good things to say. He is a man worth listening to and following. I wish that he would have either attempted to prove the need for expository preaching and therefore wrote in a more polemical style or attempted to strengthen those that already believe in the need for expository preaching.

Should You Buy It?

You can get it for relatively cheap on Amazon or Ebay. And even though I say that the book might be unnecessary it certainly is worth 5 bucks. After all I could be wrong. You might benefit greatly from this book. If it is only recently that you have been convinced of the need for expository preaching then perhaps you will benefit. I would however suggest that you buy instead Feed My Sheep, Christ-Centered Preaching, or The Supremacy of God in Preaching, these, in my opinion will serve you better.

Rating: 3 out of 5

UPDATE: I am selling this book for very cheap on EBAY (If you live close to me I'll cut the shipping or just end up giving you the book)...buy it here