Author Archives: Jim
A 300 Year Old Prayer for The Difficult Seasons of Life
The following prayer was first offered back in the 1700′s. It is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These people knew God and they knew how to pray. We can learn a lot from them. They are written in old english. I have updated a few outdated words and changed the Thee’s and Thou’s to make it more 2011. However, they still have the feel of that era. This prayer, titled ’The Valley of Vision’, along with many others, can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennett. Read the rest of this entry
The Bottom 5: Our LEAST Read Posts from 2011
Yes, it is that time again. The “Best of” posts are all coming out. Tomorrow we will have our top 5 posts of the year. Today, as an act of humility, we present our Bottom 5. They are our least read posts of 2011. Go ahead and read one. They can’t be all bad!
Merry Christmas Everyone! Read the rest of this entry
Monday Mornings with The Early Church Fathers: What Authentic Christianity Looked Like- Justin Martyr
Do you ever grow weary of all the new fads and techniques the modern church creates? I do! What is important to us, may not have been important to those who were personally discipled by Jesus Christ and those whom they disicpled.
I am continually challenged when I read the history and the writings of the early church. I am drawn to them over and over again because of how close they were in time to the Apostles. Their writings are not scripture, but neither are the writings of Luther, Calvin or John Stott. These writings shed tremendous light on how the Apostles and the early church viewed the Christ event and the implications of it. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus Christ faithfully owes it to themselves to read the writings of these Godly men.
Today, I have posted a quote from Justin Martyr as well as the quote in context. It deals with identifying real Christians and is from his First Apology, chapter 16. Justin lived from 100 AD to 165 AD. He was a philosopher who was converted to Christianity and became a tireless evangelist and apologist. He was executed for his faith sometime Read the rest of this entry
The Most Meaningful Christmas Gift Ever Given to Me
I received it 26 years ago. I know that because the inscription from my non-Christian sister who gave it to me is dated “Christmas 1985.” Though I have over 20 other bibles of various versions sitting in my study, this Bible is my most cherished friend. It has spoken into every area of my life, through every season of that life: being single, getting married, raising a family, pastoring, sermon preparation, tragedy and heartache; victories and failures. It was the Bible I read from at the high school graduation of both my kids. Every morning it sits on my desk, waiting for me. Someday, when my days on earth wind to a close, it will be the Bible used at my funeral.
We’ve been through a lot together. I went to Bible College with it. Professor Middlebrook’s notes from I Peter and I John are still Read the rest of this entry
A Wise Word of Encouragement from the Early Church to Today’s Generation
Saint Cyprian penned the following wise words in AD 256. Brothers and sister, we would be do well to take them to heart. They remind us that what God requires of us is not a deeper understanding of his ways, but a life that is lived following them. It is easy to get the two confused. Learning facts is one thing. Living them out on a daily basis is something entirely different. When we have more facts than fruit in our lives, our lives are out of balance. Of course, theology was important to the early church. It just took a back seat to living the Christian life. Cyprians words reminded me that Read the rest of this entry
Could the Doctrine of Total Depravity be Totally Depraved?
Over here at Not For Itching Ears we like to discuss issues that challenge our view of Christianity and the Church. It is healthy to consider what one believes about the Christian faith and how we express that faith in our corporate church life. If all we ever do is listen to ourselves, we can inadvertently become the kind of people Paul warned Timothy about: People who surround themselves with “teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear.” Today’s post is an attempt to counter that tendency among us as we discuss the Doctrine of Total Depravity. To do this, we turn to a passage from “Reconsidering Tulip” by Alexander J. Renault. It is written from an Orthodox perspective.
Like many of you, I have always assumed that Total Depravity was a doctrine universally accepted by the church of all ages. But I was wrong. It is a rather new concept. In fact the early church fathers, categorically rejected the idea. That troubles me a lot. If Paul understood humanity to be totally depraved or to have a total inability, why did his disciples and the disciples after him flat-out deny it? Calvinism doesn’t work without this idea, so I can see why we would hesitate to even discuss it. It wasn’t until Calvin that this idea became the unquestionable doctrine it has become.
I don’t think this article settles the question, but the author does bring out some interesting things that most of probably have not considered.
So, let the Discussion begin…
A Strong Argument Against Calvinisim? Part 3 You Decide….
Over here at Not For Itching Ears we like to discuss issues that challenge our view of Christianity and the Church. It is healthy to consider what one believes about the Christian faith and how we express that faith in our corporate church life. If all we ever do is listen to ourselves, we can inadvertently become the kind of people Paul warned Timothy about: People who surround themselves with “teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear.” Today’s post is an attempt to counter that tendency among us as we discuss Free-Will and Determinism. To do this, we turn to an extremely interesting email exchange between Father John Whiteford (an Eastern Orthodox priest) and some proponents of Calvinism.
This isn’t your typical argument! Father Whiteford brings another line of argumentation to his view that is almost entirely absent from the typical back and forth between Calvinists and Arminians: What did the early church fathers teach about this?
I recognize that there are three groups of people who will read a post like this: 1) Strong Calvinists who will want to defend their view. 2)Strong Arminians who will want to find ammo for their view and 3) those who don’t have their minds made up but may lean to one understanding of things. My hope, is that all three groups of people will be challenged and encouraged. It’s a long discussion so I will be breaking it up into three posts. Read Part 1 Here, and part two here. The third and final post …… Read the rest of this entry
A Strong Argument Against Calvinisim? Part 2 You Decide….
Over here at Not For Itching Ears we like to discuss issues that challenge our view of Christianity and the Church. It is healthy to consider what one believes about the Christian faith and how we express that faith in our corporate church life. If all we ever do is listen to ourselves, we can inadvertently become the kind of people Paul warned Timothy about: People who surround themselves with “teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear.” Today’s post is an attempt to counter that tendency among us as we discuss Free-Will and Determinism. To do this, we turn to an extremely interesting email exchange between Father John Whiteford (an Eastern Orthodox priest) and some proponents of Calvinism.
This isn’t your typical argument! Father Whiteford brings another line of argumentation to his view that is almost entirely absent from the typical back and forth between Calvinists and Arminians: What did the early church fathers teach about this?
I recognize that there are three groups of people who will read a post like this: 1) Strong Calvinists who will want to defend their view. 2)Strong Arminians who will want to find ammo for their view and 3) those who don’t have their minds made up but may lean to one understanding of things. My hope, is that all three groups of people will be challenged and encouraged. It’s a long discussion so I will be breaking it up into three posts. Read Part 1 Here; here’s part 2: Read the rest of this entry
A Strong Argument Against Calvinisim? Part 1 You Decide….
Over here at Not For Itching Ears we like to discuss issues that challenge our view of Christianity and the Church. It is healthy to consider what one believes about the Christian faith and how we express that faith in our corporate church life. If all we ever do is listen to ourselves, we can inadvertently become the kind of people Paul warned Timothy about: People who surround themselves with “teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear.” Today’s post is an attempt to counter that tendency among us as we discuss Free-Will and Determinism. To do this, we turn to an extremely interesting email exchange between Father John Whiteford (an Eastern Orthodox priest) and some proponents of Calvinism.
This isn’t your typical argument! Father Whiteford brings another line of argumentation to his view that is almost entirely absent from the typical back and forth between Calvinists and Arminians: What did the early church fathers teach about this?
I recognize that there are three groups of people who will read a post like this: 1) Strong Calvinists who will want to defend their view. 2)Strong Arminians who will want to find ammo for their view and 3) those who don’t have their minds made up but may lean to one understanding of things. My hope, is that all three groups of people will be challenged and encouraged. It’s a long discussion so I will be breaking it up into three posts. Now, let the Discussion begin… Read the rest of this entry
A Compelling Argument AGAINST Sola Scriptura? (The Scriptures Alone) Part 4
I just couldn’t resist reposting this article by Father John Whiteford, who happens to be an Eastern Orthodox priest. If you are a Protestant like me, then you may have never even heard of the Orthodox church, I know I had not. I am very grateful that I have discovered them. The following is a very well thought out rejection of one of the cornerstones of the Protestant Reformation: Scripture Alone. Read it with an open mind and then share your thoughts with the rest of us. I think he makes some good points. It is a very long article, so I broke it up into 4 parts. Here’s the fourth and final part:
Read part 1 HERE,
Read Part 2 here,
Read part 3 here:
THE ORTHODOX APPROACH TO TRUTH
“When, by God’s mercy, I found the Orthodox Faith, I had no desire to give Protestantism and its “methods” of Bible study a second look. Unfortunately, I have found that Protestant methods and assumptions have managed to infect even some circles within the Orthodox Church. The reason for this is, as stated above, that the Protestant approach to Scripture has been portrayed as “science.” Some in the Orthodox Church feel they do the Church a great favor by introducing this error into our seminaries and parishes. But this is nothing new; this is how heresy has always sought to deceive the faithful. As Saint Irenaeus said, 
as he began his attack on the heresies current in his day:
By means of specious and plausible words, they cunningly allure the simple-minded to inquire into their system; but they nevertheless clumsily destroy them, while they initiate them into their blasphemous opinions….
Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced (ridiculous as the expression may seem) more true than truth itself.18
Lest any be mistaken or confused, let me be clear: the Orthodox approach to the Scriptures is not based upon “scientific” research into the Holy Scriptures. Its claim to understand the Scriptures does not reside in its claiming superior archaeological data, but rather in its unique relationship with the Author of the Scriptures. The Orthodox Church is the body of Christ, the pillar and ground of the Truth, and it is both the means by which God wrote the Scriptures (through its members) and the means by which God has preserved the Scriptures. The Orthodox Church understands the Bible because it is the inheritor of one living tradition that begins with Adam and stretches through time to all its members today. That this is true cannot be “proven” in a lab. One must be convinced by the Holy Spirit and experience the life of God in the Church.
The question Protestants will ask at this point is who is to say that the Orthodox Tradition is the correct tradition, or that there even Read the rest of this entry
A Compelling Argument AGAINST Sola Scriptura? (The Scriptures Alone) Part 3
I just couldn’t resist reposting this article by Father John Whiteford, who happens to be an Eastern Orthodox priest. If you are a Protestant like me, then you may have never even heard of the Orthodox church, I know I had not. I am very grateful that I have discovered them. The following is a very well thought out rejection of one of the cornerstones of the Protestant Reformation: Scripture Alone. Read it with an open mind and then share your thoughts with the rest of us. I think he makes some good points. It is a very long article, so I will break it up into 4 parts. Here’s Part 3: Read part 1 HERE Read part 2 here
C. PROTESTANT INTERPRETIVE APPROACHES THAT DONT WORK
Even from the very earliest days of the Reformation, Protestants have been forced to deal with the fact that, given the Bible and the reason of the individual alone, people could not agree upon the meaning of many of the most basic questions of doctrine. Within Martin Luthers own life dozens of competing groups had arisen, all claiming to “just believe the Bible,” but none agreeing on what Read the rest of this entry
A Compelling Argument AGAINST Sola Scriptura? (The Scriptures Alone) Part 2
I just couldn’t resist reposting this article by Father John Whiteford, who happens to be an Eastern Orthodox priest. If you are a Protestant like me, then you may have never even heard of the Orthodox church, I know I had not. I am very grateful that I have discovered them. The following is a very well thought out rejection of one of the cornerstones of the Protestant Reformation: Scripture Alone. Read it with an open mind and then share your thoughts with the rest of us. I think he makes some good points. It is a very long article, so I will break it up into 3 parts. Here’s Part 2: Read part 1 HERE
FALSE ASSUMPTION # 2:
The Scriptures were the basis of the early Church, whereas Tradition is simply a “human corruption” that came much later.
“Especially among Evangelicals and so-called Charismatics you will find that the word “tradition” is a derogatory term, and to label something as a “tradition” is roughly equivalent to saying that it is Read the rest of this entry
A Compelling Argument AGAINST Sola Scriptura? (Scripture Alone) Part 1
I just couldn’t resist reposting this article by Father John Whiteford, who happens to be an Eastern Orthodox priest. If you are a Protestant like me, then you may have never even heard of the Orthodox church, I know I had not. I am very grateful that I have discovered them. The following is a very well thought out rejection of one of the cornerstones of the Protestant Reformation: Scripture Alone. Read it with an open mind and then share your thoughts with the rest of us. I think he makes some good points. It is a very long article, so I will break it up into 4 parts. Here’s Part 1:
“If we are to understand what Protestants think, we will have to first know why they believe what they believe. In fact if we try to put ourselves in the place of those early reformers, such as Martin Luther, we must certainly have some appreciation for their reasons for championing the Doctrine of Sola Scriptura (or “Scripture alone”). When one considers the corruption in the Roman Church at that time, the degenerate teachings that it promoted, and the distorted understanding of tradition that it used to defend itself -along with the fact that the West was several centuries removed from Read the rest of this entry
Looking for Cross-Centered Christmas Song ideas for Worship? Check this out
Break out the peppermint lattes and your Bing Crosby CD’s. It is that time of year again: Christmas! As a worship leader, you know what I am talking about. While everyone else was busy getting ready for Halloween (or whatever you call it) you were thinking about worship music for the upcoming Christmas season. Or at least you should have been. Waiting till Thanksgiving to start planning, is a little too late!
As one who has been responsible for leading corporate singing for years, I can attest to how hard it can be to plan for Christmas worship. Four weeks of December singing! At Christmas time, I always want to have a song that wraps the message of the Cross around the Christmas message. I like to have one new song that people aren’t familiar with so they have to think about the words as they sing. I think this is helpful for believers as well as all those people who only come on Christmas and Easter. Here’s a song that I have liked. It is called “The Son of God Came Down.” It is a slow, meditative song that mixes the Christmas story with Easter. Listen to it below. You will find it and many other “Christmas songs” on the album Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man
Words and music by Doug Plank
As recorded on Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man
THE SON OF GOD CAME DOWN
The Son of God came down and laid aside His crown
Born without great renown, this Sovereign One
All holiness and might, all glory shining bright
Have come to earth this night in Mary’s son
O come, let us adore
O Christ the Lord, our hope and Savior
Son of God yet made like us
O Christ the Lord, our King adored
Born a child, our Lord Jesus
Messiah born so small, asleep in cattle stall
Come to redeem our fall, nailed to a tree
This tiny, helpless child through death would reconcile
The holy God and vile, His grace so free
O come, let us adore
© 2004 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).
Follow this link for the official free Guitar Chart: The Son of God Came Down Chord Chart
Follow this link for the official free LEAD CHART: The Son of God Came Down Lead Chart
Looking for Cross-Centered Christmas Song ideas for Worship? Check this out
As one who has been responsible for leading corporate singing for years, I can attest to how frustrating it has become to find songs that are worth singing! At Christmas time, I always want to have a song that wraps the message of the Cross around the Christmas message. I like to have one new song that people aren’t familiar with so they have to think about the words as they sing. I think this is helpful for believers as well as all those people who only come on Christmas and Easter. It is harder to find these types of songs, and if you are thinking ahead, the Christmas season is upon you and you are unprepared! Here’s a song that I have liked. It is called “Christ the Lord Is Born Today.” It is an exuberant song, calling us to celebrate the incarnation and pointing us towards the cross. Listen to it below. You will find it and many other “Christmas songs” on the album Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man
Words and music by Mark Altrogge
As recorded on Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man
Christ the Lord is Born Today
How my happy heart rejoices
I can hear the angel voices
“Christ is born” they all are singing
From the sky this good news bringing
Let the earth rejoice
O come and lift your voices
Christ the Lord is born today
He came from heaven’s throne
God is born a man today
To bring His children home
To bring His children home
Death and darkness surely tremble
Light has come to all the people
The Lion comes to crush the serpent
He comes a Lamb, a lowly servant
Let the earth rejoice
O come and lift your voices
God has sent His greatest treasure
Shown His love in greatest measure
Sending Christ to bleed and suffer
Purchasing our joy forever
Let the earth rejoice
O come and lift your voices
© 2006 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI).
Follow this link for the official free Guitar Chart: Christ the Lord is Born Today
Follow this link for the official free LEAD CHART: Christ the Lord is Born Todaleadsheet
Monday Mornings with The Early Church Fathers: How to “do” Church, How to choose pastors, and What the last Days will be like
Do you ever grow weary of all the new fads and techniques the modern church creates? I do! What is important to us, may not have been important to those who were personally discipled by Jesus Christ and those whom they disicpled.
I am continually challenged when I read the history and the writings of the early church. I am drawn to them over and over again because of how close they were in time to the Apostles. Their writings are not scripture, but neither are the writings of Luther, Calvin or John Stott. These writings shed tremendous light on how the Apostles and the early church viewed the Christ event and the implications of it. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus Christ faithfully owes it to themselves to read the writings of these Godly men.
Today, I am posting chapters 9 and 10 of the “Didache”, also known as “The Teaching of The Twelve Apostles.” It is one of the most fascinating documents to emerge from the early church. It was probably in circulation somewhere close to the end of the first century Read the rest of this entry
What is The Most Important Part of Corporate Worship for YOU personally
Let’s face it, every church-goer has an opinion about this topic: What they like the most about attending a corporate church service. Over here at NotForItchingEars.com we are VERY interested in what you think. It is part of our ongoing study of worship and Christianity. We need your help here, so please take 45 seconds or less and answer the poll.
Now, about the poll: We understand that we are asking you to make a choice that Read the rest of this entry
“Evangelical Christianity Can BEST be described as…………” Take our Poll and tell the World
How would you best describe Evangelical Christianity? We have assembled some of the most common descriptions of EC in our poll. Taking the poll is easy. You can choose more than one answer, so feel free to combine answers. You can not add your own description to the poll, but you can leave comments. We intend to Read the rest of this entry
Mondays with The Early Church Fathers: Their Criteria for Identifying False Teachers and False Prophets
Do you ever grow weary of all the new fads and techniques the modern church creates? I do! What is important to us, may not have been important to those who were personally discipled by Jesus Christ and those whom they disicpled.
I am continually challenged when I read the history and the writings of the early church. I am drawn to them over and over again because of how close they were in time to the Apostles. There writings are not scripture, but neither are the writings of Luther, Calvin or John Stott. These writings shed tremendous light on how the Apostles and the early church viewed the Christ event and the implications of it. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus Christ faithfully owes it to themselves to read the writings of these Godly men.
Today, I am posting chapters 11-13 of the “Didache”, also known as “The Teaching of The Twelve Apostles.” It is one of the most fascinating documents to emerge from the early church. It was probably in circulation somewhere close to the end of the first century Read the rest of this entry
Not For Itching Ears 