Category: Discipleship

Why The Silence On The Empty Tomb?

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 8, 2014

Philip Jenkins, who is the distinguished professor of history at Baylor University, posted a couple of intriguing questio ns yesterday.

He writes…

Beyond debate, the Christian church was founded on Christ’s Resurrection. What can surprise though is how interpretations of that event differ even within the New Testament itself. As I think over these ideas, I’d like to state an issue, and ask for a response. And I really am asking: this is not a rhetorical question.

Here’s the question. Outside the four gospels, does any part of the New Testament refer to the idea of Christ’s empty tomb?

All the New Testament writings believe in Christ’s survival beyond death, in some kind of Resurrection. To the best of my knowledge, though, other than the gospels, none refers to that empty tomb story. That does not necessarily mean that they do not know the story, or do not believe it, but they do not use it anything like a modern apologist would. Why not?

Many scholars of Acts believe that these sermons faithfully reflect the content of early Christian preaching as it would have existed in the later first century. But if that’s true, it’s curious that Peter or Paul never ask their audiences how they explain the mysterious empty tomb. Even if they were embarrassed about using the evidence of women, why do those early preachers not cite the male apostles who entered the tomb?

Why the silence?

What do you think? Why do the early New Testament writers not refer to the empty tomb? Wouldn’t it be important to mention it in regards to Jesus’ resurrection?

Jenkins asks these questions seeking some honest answers. And since Easter is in less than two weeks, I thought it would be good to share his questions in search of some answers as well.

I’ll post some thoughts on these questions later in the week, but for now, how would you respond?

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15 Ways To Pray

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 7, 2014

1. Pray for God to be exalted in your family, community, and church.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” -Matthew 6:9

2. Pray to comprehend the love of Christ.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14, 18-20)

3. Pray that God will open your eyes to see wonderful things in His Word.

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Psalm 119:18)

4. Pray for yourself and other believers to know God more fully.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)

5. Pray for endurance and patience as you faithfully follow the will of God.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:11).

6. Pray to not fall into temptation.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

7. Pray for greater faith for yourself and other believers.

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

8. Pray for an overflow of love among believers.

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

9. Pray for unity among believers.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)

10. Pray for the desire to share the gospel with those who have never heard and for those who need to hear.

I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation. (Romans 15:20)

11. Pray for the salvation of others.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

12. Pray for activeness in sharing your faith.

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. (Philemon 7)

13. Pray for open doors to share the gospel.

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison. (Colossians 4:3)

14. Pray for boldness to share the gospel.

And pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19)

15. Pray for the rapid spread of the gospel in your community, state, nation and world.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you. (2 Thessalonians 3:1)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

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Our Insufficiency Invites the Sufficiency of God

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 6, 2014

Insightful words from Kent Hughes…

Those whom God uses have always been aware of their insufficiency and weakness, be it Moses or Gideon or Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel or Paul or Peter or John. And it was their insufficiency that invited the sufficiency of God.

God is not looking for gifted people or people who are self-sufficient. He is looking for inadequate people who will give their weakness to him and open themselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the transforming grace of the new covenant as it is ministered by Christ himself.

If God is calling you, do not hide behind your weakness. I don’t know what he might be calling you to do–it might be a worldwide mission, it may be teaching a Sunday School class, it may be ministering to children, it may be reaching out in your neighborhood, it may be stepping up at work. But if he’s calling you, don’t hid behind your weakness–your weakness is the ground for his calling. Follow God, and he will use your weakness as an occasion for his power.

And if you are felling terrifying stirrings within your soul as he nudges you outside your comfort zone, where you will be out of your depth, give your weakness to him and accept his sufficiency.

God uses people who are weak because of their unique ability to depend upon him.

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Mission is NOT for the Professionals

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 4, 2014

We too readily think of mission as extraordinary. Perhaps it’s because we think God moves through the spectacular rather than the witness of people like us. Perhaps it’s because we want to outsource mission to the professionals, so we invite people to guest services where an ‘expert’ can do mission for us. But most people live in the ordinary, and most people will be reached by ordinary people.

-Tim Chester in A Meal With Jesus

The more I read this quote from Tim Chester, the more I like it. The reason is because I think we forget that making disciples begins with our everyday ordinary lives doing everyday ordinary activities alongside those God has placed in our path.

Paul wrote that we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us (2 Corinthians 4:7). You can’t get any more ordinary than a “jar of clay.” There is nothing special about it. When it breaks, you trash it and get a new one.

The treasure inside however, is priceless. It’s the gospel. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

How crazy to think that this glorious gospel is contained in an ordinary everyday vessel. But it is. And the reason, according to Paul, is so that God will get the glory. It’s not in our power to save anyone. It all belongs to God. And that’s quite obvious as God uses ordinary people.

John Piper gives some interesting insights into 2 Corinthians 4:7. He writes…

If you feel average or less than average in your sense of fitness to tell the gospel, you are the person God is looking for–a clay pot, who simply shares the treasure of the gospel, not the glitzy intellect, not the glitzy eloquence, not the glitzy beauty or strength or cultural cleverness. God will do his work through the gospel, the surpassing power will belong to him and not to us.

All this is not to say that we should not be trained and equipped in the mission of making disciples. In fact, I think what has been written above argues the opposite. If we understand how powerful and glorious this gospel treasure is, should we not want to become better at making it known to those around us? Should we not desire to learn how to “simply” communicate this treasure as we go about our normal ordinary days?

What I believe Tim Chester has challenged me to think about is how the power of God can be manifested in the gospel as you sit and talk about it with a friend over a cup of coffee. Or how your kindness to a neighbor leads to a conversation about the gospel while pulling weeds in your front yard.

It’s just normal everyday ordinary conversations by normal ordinary folk that God uses to show the greatness of who He is and what He has done. So if you are thinking that you might just be too average to be used by God, think again. You are just the person God is looking for to show the treasure of the gospel.

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The Gospel & 5 Universal Fears

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 1, 2014

5 universal fears and needs have been grouped together by Marcus Buckingham in his book The One Thing You Need to Know. They are…

1. Fear of Death — The Need for Security
2. Fear of the Outsider — The Need for Community
3. Fear of the Future — The Need for Clarity
4. Fear of Chaos — The Need for Authority
5. Fear of Insignificance — The Need for Respect

The question we must ask in regards to these universal fears and needs is what do we do about them? How does everyone overcome their fears? How does each culture meet their need for security, community, clarity, authority, and respect?

Notice the question regarding our fears and needs is not “Are we going to do something?” but “What are we going to do?” Everyone has a plan. “Everyone is trying to find salvation,” writes Tim Chester. “They might not ask, What must I do to be saved? But everyone has some sense of what it is that would make them fulfilled, satisfied, and accepted.”

If one believes that to gain respect he or she must make millions of dollars or hold a high position of leadership, then he or she will do anything necessary to make money or attain power. If one holds that to achieve security he or she must obtain a certain college degree, then he or she will work towards his or her degree of choice.

Though everyone has a “salvation story” they trust in to be saved from their fears, we must inquire as to the validity of each story? In other words, do they work? Does the one seeking security receive it by developing a great retirement plan? Does the one seeking significance find it by having a “prestigious” job?

I am not going to delve into and expose the inadequacies of the variety of ways that fall short of eradicating our fears. Instead, using verses from the first couple of chapters of Ephesians, I want to show how the glorious power of the gospel is THE SOLUTION. These verses should speak for themselves!

Fear of Death — Need for Security

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world (1:4).

In him we have obtained an inheritance (1:11).

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (1:13-14).

Fear of the Outsider — The Need for Community

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone (2:19-20).

Fear of the Future – The Need for Clarity

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (2:4-6).

Fear of Chaos — The Need for Authority

And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all (1:19-23).

Fear of Insignificance — The Need for Respect

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (2:10).

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5 Universal Fears

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 31, 2014

Marcus Buckingham, in his book The One Thing You Need to Know, writes about Donald Brown and his work on understanding universal needs and fears. Brown discovered that all societies, though they each have their uniqueness in regards to language and culture, have a shared nature.

Though Brown counts up to 372 human universals, Buckingham distills them down to 5. These 5 are paired into what we fear and what we need. Here are the 5…

1. Fear of Death — The Need of Security. All societies have a fear of death and have laws against murder and suicide.

2. Fear of the Outsider — The Need for Community. In all cultures, children fear strangers. All societies also make distinctions between those who are a part of the group and those who are not.

3. Fear of the Future — The Need for Clarity. Societies are anxious about the future. Many cultures give prestige to those who can predict the future.

4. Fear of Chaos — The Need for Authority. All cultures have a story of how the world came to be. All also have a desire for authority and to have someone in charge.

5. Fear of Insignificance — The Need for Respect. In every society there is a craving for prestige and the respect that comes with it. There is also a concept of acquiring a positive self-esteem.

What needs to be emphasized regarding these fears and needs is that they are, in fact, universal. Regardless of nation, people, or race, all societies have some sort of fear of death, outsiders, the future, chaos, and insignificance. Buckingham writes,

The fact that these universals exist imply that all humans share a common experience, we share common virtues and vices, and therefor that, if we are inquisitive enough, if we listen closely enough, we should be able to emphasize with and understand one another (p. 136).

For believers in Christ, we trust that the answer to these fears is the gospel. But before we dive into how the gospel works at dissolving these fears, I think it’s important to realize how, according to Tim Chester, they “offer a point of connection with people, a hook, an opportunity to engage.” He writes that “we need to connect the gospel with the specifics of people’s lives rather than, or as well as, starting with big metaphysical questions.”

We understand the fears of others because we have those same fears ourselves. We understand the need for security, community, clarity, authority, and respect as they are the same needs as those we work beside. The only difference in us, as Christ followers, is that we have begun to trust in the gospel as the salvation from our fears and the fulfillment of our needs.

But though we place our faith in Christ, we still struggle. We are not immune to fear or doubt. After all, we are not super saints, but normal ordinary people in need of saving. And as a result, we are able to identify with those around us and to offer the gospel to others at their point of need.

(Specifics on how the gospel speaks to these 5 fears will be found in tomorrow’s post.)

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A Prayer For Worship

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 30, 2014

Glorious God,
It is the flame of my life to worship thee,
the crown and glory of my soul to adore thee,
heavenly pleasure to approach thee.

Give me power by thy Spirit to help me worship now,
that I may forget the world,
be brought into fullness of life,
be refreshed, comforted, blessed.

Give me knowledge of thy goodness
that I might not be over-awed by thy greatness;
Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
that I might not be terrified,
but be drawn near with filial love,
with holy boldness;
He is my Mediator, Brother, Interpreter,
Branch Daysman, Lamb;
him I glorify,
in him I am set on high.

Crowns to give I have none,
but what thou hast given I return,
content to feel that everything is mine when it is thine,
and the more fully mine when I have yielded it to thee.

Let me love wholly to my Saviour,
free from distractions,
from carking care,
from hindrances to the pursuit of the narrow way.

I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus –
give me a new sense of it,
continue to pardon me by it,
may I come every day to the fountain,
and every day be washed anew,
that I may worship thee always in spirit and truth.

-taken from Valley of Vision

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The Power of 3 Words

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 28, 2014

What 3 words are needed when we make a mistake?

I was wrong!

What 3 words can restore a friendship?

I was wrong!

What 3 words are necessary to build a strong marriage?

I was wrong!

What 3 words do our children need to hear?

I was wrong!

What 3 words show true humility?

I was wrong!

What 3 words help create unity in the church?

I was wrong!

What 3 words lead you to acknowledge that you are a sinner?

I was wrong!

What 3 words combat pride?

I was wrong!

What 3 words lead to forgiveness?

I was wrong!

What 3 words are a sign of a repentant heart?

I was wrong!

What 3 words end a heated argument?

I was wrong!

What 3 words show the world our need for Christ?

I was wrong!

What 3 words show love to others?

I was wrong!

What 3 words are needed to be a great leader?

I was wrong!

What 3 words show our need for the cross?

I was wrong!

What 3 words cause us to rely on the grace and mercy of another?

I was wrong!

What 3 words cause us to take full responsibility for a sin?

I was wrong!

What 3 words must we speak from the heart?

I was wrong!

What 3 words spoken must never be followed by “but” or “however?”

I was wrong!

What 3 words are the most difficult for us to say?

I was wrong!

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