Exegesis prevents murders

London is facing an epidemic of youth murder at the moment. There have been many murders since last December.
In the last week the following young people have been tragically cut down in their prime:

19 June - Sian Simpson, 18, stabbed in Croydon
22 June - Carlos Eduardo Segove, 23, shot in Acton
23 June - Mikey Brown, 23, stabbed in Kingston (he lived in the same block of flats I used to live in)
23 June - Annaka Keniesha Pinto, 17, shot in Tottenham
23 June - Ben Hitchcock, 16, stabbed in Beckenham
26 June - Martin Dinnegan, 14, stabbed in Islington
27 June - unidentified 18-year-old, stabbed in Ilford

So what has this got to do with exegesis?
Well I believe that the gospel can save the youth of London.
Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes," ESV

The problem today is that many Churches do not know what the gospel is, and do not preach the gospel because of a lack of exegesis.
Churches are teaching a prosperity gospel, a social gospel, a self-help gospel, and even yoga! - instead of the true gospel.

These false gospels are often justified through eisegesis, which is very different to exegesis. Exegesis draws out what is meant by the text. Eisegesis on the other hand, puts in what someone wants to be in the text.
Some church leaders are performing eiesgesis to justify their false gospels, and because exegesis is not taught to the congregations, they are unaware that they are being taught a false gospel. They then tell this false gospel to their friends, and no-one's life is affected, no-one is born again, no-one is regenerated.

When Calvin who was a master of exegesis preached in Geneva, it changed the morality of the whole town. The same could be said for Jonathan Edwards, and for George Whitfield.

Today, if we Christians make an effort to study the scriptures, and to understand the true gospel, and to proclaim it to others - we might see people born again, and less people destroyed by Satan.

Peace
D

Rob Bell teaches Yoga

Last Christmas I remember talking to family in the States and saying that there was a danger that American Christians will end up doing yoga in their church services.
I'm sure I sounded crazy for saying that, but today I heard an mp3 of Rob Bell teaching yoga in his church in America.


25 minutes into the teaching, whilst everyone is breathing deeply (as per Rob's instructions) Rob says,
"In yoga, one of the central tenants of yoga is your breath needs to remain the same, regardless of the pose...in yoga one of the things you learn right away.. its can you keep your breath consistent through whatever you're doing. And the yoga masters say this is how it is when you follow Jesus and surrender to God..."

If you want to hear the mp3 then it can be found here:
http://blogs.echurchnetwork.net/Assets/UserBlog/314/052905.mp3


Peace
D

What's God been saying to you lately?

These are words that hit me hard when I was a teenager and I heard a Christian ask someone else this whilst I was in the same room.
Like most teenagers, I was not living my life to glorify God, and if they had asked me what God had been saying to me, I would have had nothing to answer.
The question convicted me and made me realise what a sinner I was and how far i had strayed from God. It was a moment I will never forget.

Strangely, I have hardly ever been asked this question since, and over the last decade I have had people ask me more about how "the ministry" is going.
It seems that in people's minds "the ministry" is more important than the relationship we have with God.

I resolved a while ago to prioritise on asking people what God has been saying to them, before I ask how their ministry is going.

Obviously it is important to see how brothers and sisters are doing in the works of service God has prepared for them, but I think it is more important to discuss our relationship with God.

Let's talk about our Saviour, more than we talk about our work for the Saviour.
Peace
D

D.A Carson mp3s

Don Carson is one of my heroes.
He is probably one of the best Bible scholars in the world.
I have benefited greatly from his books, and recently discovered these 3 sites that contain mp3s of his teaching:

http://anaselli.blogspot.com/2006/12/mp3s-of-d-carson.html

http://www.shallwesingasongforyou.co.uk/?p=168

http://pjtibayan.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/d-a-carson-audio-sermonslectures/

D.A Caron's own website is found here:
http://www.christwaymedia.com/

Enjoy
D

John Piper talks about Prosperity Gospel