Soup Night

Earlier this year with the soup club, I made a breaded broccoli soup with cheese that registered a 19 on the whisk system (out of 25).  It didn’t become a classic (it has to mark 20.5 or higher), but it was a tasty treat. 

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

• 11/2 c. thinly sliced yellow onions

• 1 tbsp. sliced garlic

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 5 c. chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

• 4 c. broccoli florets

• 11/2 c. (6 oz.) shredded medium-sharp Cheddar cheese

• Croutons, if desired

Directions

Heat olive oil in a 6-quart stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add the onions, garlic, salt and cayenne. Sauté until onions are soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once stock is boiling, add the broccoli and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes.

Remove soup from heat and let cool slightly. Then purée soup, in batches, in a blender, adding the cheese in three additions while blending. Adjust seasoning if necessary, garnish with croutons, if desired, and serve hot

HERE’S HOPING HE HAS A PARACHUTE IN THAT BACKPACK

JONATHAN EDWARDS ON EXPERIENCE

The issue of Christian spirituality and the role that personal experience plays is the hot topic these days.  I find myself in the midst of this, as I pastor various members of a flock.  Some have come out of bad theological practices that make them very sensitive to anything experimental (and for good reason).  Others have friends and/or family members immersed in this contemplative spirituality.  And I find myself apart of a denomination that has various perspectives on this issue (some quite troubling).  But the bottom line is that we all desire whether we admit it or not personal experience with our Lord.  In fact, I would argue we are designed for this.  Try avoiding personal experiences in your marriage and see how that works.  Which is why I am thankful for Jonathan Edwards who addressed both the necessity and the pitfalls of experience in a masterful way. 

Edwards wrote: “what they are principally taken and elevated with, is not the glory of God, or beauty of Christ, but the beauty of their experiences.  They keep thinking of themselves, what a good experience is this!...and so they put their experiences in place of Christ, and his beauty and fullness; and instead of rejoicing in Christ Jesus, they rejoice in their admirable experiences.” (Y2, p. 251)

Don Fransico's He's Alive

As we continue with the Easter celebration, I go back to the vault that I grew up with.  I remember getting Don Fransisco’s “Forgiven” album and lyrically it is a classic.  “He’s Alive” is by far Fransisco’s musically claim to fame.

Good Friday or Black Friday?

Christianity is the most paradoxical life one can live, and our life and faith are anchored in the centrality of the cross.  The crucifixion bombards us with many juxtapositions one of which we are confronted to witness the grossest and blackest depth of human sin, and the grandest display of love and affection.  So is it Good or Black Friday?  For those of you who worship at Calvary Baptist Church regularly or are close join us for a brief Tenebrae service tonight at 6 p.m.

Passion Week

Matthew 26:26 ¶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." ²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." ³⁰ ¶ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

So the disciples are told to drink the cup.  Why are we to drink the cup?

1.      It is Jesus blood.

Repungnant for Jews to drink blood as it would be for most of us, even Islam forbids this.  Blood contained the life of the victim.  If you don’t have blood in you, you’re dead.  We give blood so others may live healthy.  And this is not just animal’s blood, but Jesus blood.  He gives His life away, and we are taking it.  Isn’t this what Passover was?  Isn’t this what the gospel is?  The only way we can live is to take the life of Jesus. 

2.      It is Jesus blood of the new covenant.

A promise, a commitment.  Matthew is the only gospel to use the term “covenant”.  It is important and almost certainly a reference to Exodus 24:8 where Moses says, This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you.  Hundreds of years passed, in which the people forsook God, broke his covenant and provoked his judgment, until one day in the seventh century BC the word of the Lord came Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 31:31-34).

More than six centuries passed, years of patient waiting and growing expectancy, until one evening in an upper room in Jerusalem a Galilean peasant, carpenter by trade and preacher by vocation, dared to say in effect, this is the new covenant…distinct blessings will be made available, and the sacrifice to seal this covenant and procure this forgiveness will be shedding of my blood in death.  This is Jesus view of his death.  It is the divinely appointed sacrifice by which the new covenant with its promise of forgiveness will be ratified.  He is going to die in order to bring his people into a new covenant relationship with God. 

Paul will write, this cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in rememberance of me.  Jesus death was the fulfillment and the end of millions of blood sacrifices that had been to seal and maintain the old covenant.  (see Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34)

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

Passion Week

The Lord Jesus stands in the temple precinct.  He has, in no uncertain terms, just condemned the religious leaders of His people.  The most highly respected religious leaders of the land, He has denounced as hypocrites, and with those denunciations still ringing in the ears of the crowd, He begins to openly express His heart, His broken heart, for the very people He has just condemned.  His heart is breaking for those hypocrites and for the crowds around him who in a matter of hours will be crying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”  His heart is breaking for those whom He has labeled hypocrites and those who will soon put Him to death. 
We see here a picture of the heart of God.  He does not delight in the destruction of sinners.  But He delights when they turn from their sin and flee to Him for grace. 
Truth #1-God desires men to desire Him.  Truth #2-Men do not desire God.  Truth #3-There are consequences for not desiring God.   

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

Passion Week

Matthew 21:23 ¶ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" ²⁴ Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' ²⁶ But if we say, 'From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet." ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Here we learn three lessons about the authority of Jesus:

1. Jesus authority is God’s authority.  This is the only thing “all authority in heaven” can mean.  When Jesus speaks, he speaks with God’s authority.  The religious leaders thought that he was blaspheming on the grounds that only God could forgive sins. 
2. Jesus authority validates his teaching.  This is what first impressed so many to Him, for he did not speak on the authority of those religious teachers of His day.  They all knew that what He said was true and could be trusted.  Have you learned that about Jesus?  No one else is trustworthy.  The polls tell us that Americans lie all the time and for no apparent reason.  Politicians lie.  Only Jesus can be trusted to tell you the truth at all times. 
3. Jesus authority to forgive sin.  This is the most important point of all, for sin is our greatest problem.  Sin keeps us from God.  In fact, sin keeps us from the truth, for sin causes us to hide from the truth and cling to our sinful ways at all costs.  We need a forgiveness based on the punishment of our sins in another who is able to bear that judgment for us, which is exactly what Jesus did.  Jesus died in our place so that he can justly forgive the sin of all who will come to him asking for salvation. The leaders of Israel would not acknowledge Jesus authority.  They wanted to be the authorities themselves, and the result is that they perished in their sins.  Many will perish for exactly the same reason.  They cling to their own supposed authority and will not come to Jesus.  Why should that be true of you?  It need not be.  Acknowledge Jesus’ authority and ask him to save you from your sins.

PASSION WEEK DEVOTIONAL #1-JESUS CLEANSES THE TEMPLE

Clearly when we scan the Bible, there are many areas we can go to demonstrate God has passions.  Scripture never presents a God who has a careless attitude; Who yawns a lot; Who is uninterested in the daily events of our lives; who just winds the clock of time and takes a cosmic nap only to be woke up when it all ends.  That is not the God of Scripture.  Scripture tells us in Psalm 11:7 tells us that the Lord is righteous and He loves those who do righteous deeds.  Hebrews tells us that without faith you cannot please the Lord.  The Lord is pleased with faith.  Equally we are told what the Lord hates.  We are told that the Lord hates worship to pagan gods.  Proverbs 6 catalogs items that the Lord hates.  So there is enough in the Bible to tell us what will warm God’s heart and stir His affections.
One often and repeated theme about God’s passions are His passion for worship, specifically worshipping Him.  If there is a matter that the church is neglecting and has neglected it is not a matter that God ever neglects.  From the very beginning to the end of the Bible the issue is the glory of God.  Genesis 1 and notice how the glory of God ends with eternity in Revelation.  The first half of the Ten Commandments is very much passionate pleas for worship.  The first Commandment is a passionate plea for worship.
During Passion Week Jesus desire for worship is at a fever pitch.  In a way we could say that Jesus is picking a fight.  He knows the time of His death is near, so now He goes public with things He knows will provoke a response-namely worship.  
We are taught in John’s gospel that after Jesus cleanses the temple, His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."  When it comes to worship in God’s house, Jesus is passionate.  His passion devours Him.  It is safe to say Jesus has a strong opinion when it comes to worship in His house.  If Jesus does so we should.
“And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers." 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, "'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?" 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.” (Matthew 21:12-17)

Nuts and Bolts

We say farewell to March Madness one of my favorite times of the sports year.  The Butler Bulldogs are my kind of team-gritty, fundamental, never say die, a true team.  Too bad they were none of the above in the championship game.  Last year’s game was one of the greatest I have ever witnessed.  This year’s game had to be the worst I have ever watched.  That is sports for you.  Coach Calhoun after winning his third championship talked about how at halftime he gave his team a fiery motivational speech and they shut down Butler.  No offense to Calhoun, but Connecticut didn’t really shut down Butler, the Bulldogs killed themselves.  With a 18.5 field goal percentage (the worst in history) my kids could have beaten Butler, and they don’t know how to dribble.  Again, that is how sports go.
Speaking of great games, here is my all time favorite shots (it wasn’t a national title game like Mario Chalmers Jayhawks).  It was Christian Laettner’s shot with the Duke Blue Devils in the semi final round against Kentucky.  Duke went on to win the national championship that year.  The pass by Grant Hill and the shot by Laettner is still classic.  Of course, Wildcat fans will lament the “stomp” that occurred earlier in the game, and the fact that no Wildcat was guarding either Hill or fronting Laettner, but it is still a classic.

Speaking of classic, here is “Boom Goes the Dynamite” which has become a cult classic, proving once again that sometimes the best things in life are unplanned.

Congratulations to India for winning cricket.

And finally you know that you are passionate about sports when you bring a dead guy to a soccer game.  

Benny Hinn Sith Lord

Sith Lord Benny Hinn

What I am Reading

Norman Etherington has edited a collection of wonderful essays on the Victorian perspective of missions in a book called “Missions and Empire”.  As a Spurgeon enthusiast this is good set up material for the culture and time Spurgeon was born into.  If you are a mission’s guru, this is an impressive book of the major contributions and critiques of missions during the imperialistic age of Victorian.  One can also observe how the era of 19th century Britain set up the twentieth century response to world missions

FAREWELL ROB BELL (PART 3)

I posted a few weeks ago some noteworthy responses from Rob Bell.  It seems Rob Bell has heard of these statements and considers it slander.

A clever little parody has been made to try to bring some humor to a serious situation about Bell.

LORD’S SUPPER MEDITATION-FORWARD

One final Lord’s Supper meditation is the forward element.  Paul taught us that “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”  This teaches us that we will take this Supper so as to never take it again in the next age.  So the Lord’s Supper does have an eschatological element to it.

Origen on Confirmation of the Word

Origen wrote of the early church, rightly that “if she had not been truth-loving she would never have written down that Peter denied and that the disciples fell”.  In other words, one of the proofs of the validity of the gospels is that the very authors of Scripture write of their own humiliation.  This goes against human nature, which should at least consider that the Bible is not natura

Update on Southern

A few weeks ago I made a jaunt to Southern for a few days of a seminar on Medieval Spirituality.  It was a rich for days with Dr. Haykin and the boys.  We even had a seminar on St. Bernard of Clairvaux from Dr. Johnson the counseling professor at Southern.  I listened to a compelling seminar paper from a colleague friend of mine (Jason Dees) about Bernard’s impact on Spurgeon.  I think this ought to be published.  I am really humbled to make new and tight friendships with so many guys that are well suited for ministry and wonderful hearts for the Lord.  Again, this would not be possible if not for my family (dear wife and happy kids) and my precious church family.

MARTIN LLOYD JONES ON GEORGE WHITEFIELD

A few weeks ago, I highlighted a brief interview on the life of D.M. Lloyd Jones.  It seems that Banner of Truth has released a documentary of the “good doctor” talking about the life of George Whitefield. 

EASTER MEDITATION/OUTWARD

Paul writes that “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”  Evidently there is something evangelistic about the proper use of the Lord’s Supper.  Interestingly this is the same epistle where Paul talks about unbelievers coming in and fall on their face because of the presence of God.  Imagine that instead of canvassing neighborhoods armed with tracts (I am not opposed to that) which is not mentioned in Scripture, simply being faithful to the Lord’s supper that advances the gospel whenever we rightly administer and embrace it.

Soup Night

Cream of Cauliflower/Fennel Soup

This soup received 12.5 which again is pretty par for the whisk system.  The puree of cauliflower tasted like potatoes, and the fennel was a good addition.  The look was horrible.  It looked like four day old bean dip.  Some tasters believed if I added chunks of bacon, it would have given it at least a point.  I did add chunks of chicken.

Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 onion chopped

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1 cauliflower, cut into small flowerets

2 x 14 ounce cans flageolet beans, drained and rinsed

1.25 quarts of vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Toasted slices of French bread to serve

Step 1-Heat the olive oil.  Add the garlic, onion, and fennel seeds and cook slowly for 5 minutes, or until soft.

Step 2-Add the cauliflower flowerets, half the beans, and all the vegetable stock.

Step 3-Bring the soup to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.  Pour the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Step 4-Stir in the remaining beans and season to taste.  Reheat and pour into bowls.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with toasted slices of French bread.