Not of human origin

It says in Galatians 1.11-12 says: "For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." Here, Paul is saying that the good news (gospel) that he shared with the Galatians was not something that was of human origin. Paul did not receive it from a human source ----- therefore, he proclaimed the gospel as not being from a human source. Instead he received it by divine revelation and this revelation was of Jesus Christ. How does that change things when Paul says this was not from a human source? This is a good question, especially when we look toward scripture. Is scripture of human origin or is it of divine origin? If it is of human origin, what kind of impact does scripture have on our lives? If it is of divine origin, what kind of impact does scripture have on our lives?

Galatians 1.1-12

This coming Sunday I will be preaching from Galatians 1.1-12. In Galatians 1.6-7 it says: "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel---not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." Colin Knapp and I were talking about this yesterday and we were talking about false gospels. We thought up two of them. One is that we can come to church and occupy a pew without ever living out our faith in real and tangible ways. Kind of like, living any way we want 6 days a week, but then on Sunday you get your "golden ticket" stamped so that you are good for another week. The second one we thought of was the buffet view of Christianity. That we can just go through the line and pick and choose what we want and what we do not want. Can you all think of any other false gospels?

Ice Cream Social

On Sunday, May 23rd at 7pm the United Methodist Men will be sponsoring an Ice Cream Social. At this event we will be welcoming out new Student Associate Minister Colin Knapp. Bring friends and family out for a wonderful time of fellowship and fun. If you would like to make any homemade ice cream please see David Schreffler.

The Day of Pentecost

This Sunday I will be preaching from Acts 2.1-21. This is the story of the Holy Spirit coming on the disciples and they speak in tongues of other languages. When the people of Jerusalem see and hear this they respond by asking: "What does this mean?" There has to be an interpretation of this event. So then Peter stands and tells everyone that they are not drunk [because it is too early to be drunk (verse 15)]. He then quotes from the book of Joel and then goes into a sermon telling about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. I love the question: "What does this mean?" Many of us want to ask that same question. What do you think it means?

Graduation 2010

I thought I would put a few pictures of graduation on for you all. Please enjoy. Thank you for all of your encouragement and support for the last four years. You all have been a true blessing to my family and we could not have done it without you.This is my friend Stephanie that works at the Divinity School.This is Dr. Richard Hays. I took his class on the Exegesis of Romans. He is the new Dean of the Divinity School.This is Bishop Ken Carder. I took a class called the Local Church in Mission with him. He is now a retired United Methodist Bishop who is a professor at the Divinity School.This is Luba Zakcharov. She is one of the librarians at the Divinity School library. She has given me great advice and insight over the years. I oftentimes say that she has been a pastor to me for a good long while.This is Dr. Stephen Gunter. I took Evangelism with him. In that class I wrote the WikiWorship project. Also, I took a directed independent study with him. In that class I wrote on Effective Church Planting.This is Dr. Portier-Young. I took her my first year at the Divinity School for Old Testament. She is one of only two professors that I took two classes with. In this picture is also my good friend Park Hunter.This is Dr. Kavin Rowe. I have taken him for Exegesis of Luke and Jesus in the Gospels. He is the other professor that I have taken two classes with. His class on Luke changed my life. That was my favorite class at Duke.
This is Jim & Jenny Scott. Jim used to be my boss man at S&D Coffee Inc., where I was a sales rep for 6 years.These are my parents ----- Bob & Barb Chryst and my oldest son Peter.The family ----- DeAnne is on the left ----- my nephew Caleb is in the picture ----- and also a friend of the family Bobbie Edmonds is to the right.This is my good friend Park Hunter. Park and I went through License to Preach school together and have been together for 4 years. He is going to Wisconsin and serving a church. He will be missed.These are my in-laws ----- Jim & Gail Ace.These are my Aunt Cherry, Uncle Den and Cousin Noelle.This is Dr. Bill Ritter. He taught the very first preaching class I took. He also came and preached at Warren's Grove for a revival we did. He will not be coming back to Duke in the fall. He has taken a job in the Detroit area.This is a picture with Peter, Emma and Ryan. Nathan did not make the trip down. He was probably in bed by the time we took this picture. These three look like they are ready also.
In this picture you will see my sisters ------ Mindy Chryst & Emily Phillips.Mom and I.DeAnne was the picture taker the whole time so she didn't really get in the pictures. So I do want to give a shout out for her. I could not have made it through without her. DeAnne, you are a blessing and I so much appreciate you.

Acts 16.30

In Acts 16.30 it says: "Then he brought them outside and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'" Imagine with me that someone asks you that question. What would you say?

As I have been studying

As I have been studying I have read many commentators that come down really hard on the Apostle Paul in this passage from Acts 16.16-18. Here, Paul casts a tormenting demon out of a "slave-girl". She then becomes unprofitable for the business men that were making money off of her. Essentially they were her pimps. The criticism comes in when the commentators do not think it is right that Paul did not set her free from slavery. I am not sure if I want to be that critical of Paul ----- while at the same time I can understand why it is frustrating to see the Apostle not take the next step. I was going to see what you all think. In this situation, is casting out the demon enough?

Acts 16.16-34

This Sunday I will be preaching from Acts 16.16-34. This is an awesome exchange of events. There was a young slave-girl who was a fortune teller. When Paul cast the demon out of her (v 18), her owners became infuriated. She was not profitable any longer. So they had Paul and Silas thrown into prison and beaten. During the night there was a huge earthquake and all of the prison doors were opened and the shackles fell off. Just when the warden was going to kill himself Paul cried out and said: "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." (v 28) The warden then brought Paul and Silas outside and said: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (v 30) They then went on to tell him the story of Jesus Christ and baptized him and his entire household.
We have been going through the book of Acts since Easter and over and over again we see where the early church told the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now we come to a place where that story is told by criminals. Paul and Silas are put in jail because they have set a slave-girl free from the oppression of a demon ----- and from the oppression of business men that had taken advantage of her. They are thrown into jail because of this action. While in prison they are confronted with a man that truly wants to know how he can be saved. He was just about to slit his throat because of the prison break ----- and now he wants to be saved. I am assuming he wants to be saved from the Roman authorities that are going to have his head because of the prison break. I am not exactly sure what I would say if I was in Paul's shoes. After getting into the story, I think I would say something like: "Come with us and let us run from the authorities." But that is not what Paul does. What would you all do in the same situation?

Peanut Butter Jelly

If you are having a hard time seeing this video because of facebook ----- check it out on my blog: www.wikiworship.blogspot.com

End of the semester

I have a great end of the semester. I was able to write papers and did not have to take any exams. I wrote one paper that developed a sermon series on Paul's letter to the Galatians. I wrote another paper on Jesus. This covered Joseph Ratzinger and Stephen Prothero's understanding of who Jesus is. And lastly I wrote a monster of a paper on Church planting. All the papers were interesting and fun to write. Probably the funnest was on Church planting. I feel like I learned a lot by writing that paper. Thank you to all of you for praying for me on the end of the semester. If you would like to come to a party that we are having to say thank you to all of you, you are invited. It will be on Sunday, May 16th at 2pm over at the house. Give me a call or a message if you would like to come. Please no gifts.

They were silenced

We have been talking about what it means to be an Easter people and we have been doing that by looking at the Book of Acts. The early church lived out being that resurrection people in a particular way. A way that I have said is a product of the miracle of the resurrection. The early church was a new people. In Acts 11 we see that the Apostle Peter went to Jerusalem and had to explain himself. When he recounted what had transpired a miracle happened. A miracle that reflects this Easter people of the early church. It says in Acts 11.18: "When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, 'Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.'" We can see that the Holy Spirit had changed the early church so that they could see God doing a new thing. And when they saw God doing a new thing they were open to that new thing. This is the miracle ----- the gumption to acknowledge we serve the living Lord. The Lord that can even take Gentiles and give them the repentance that leads to life.