#5- The Invisibility of God: Fishing for God.

My old old friend, Mike the Oxford Genius, says that he is a terrible fisherman, even though the romance of fishing really appeals to him. He once mused (in a sermon) that God is like a fish.

The thing that is so frustrating and yet at the same time so challenging about fishing, Mike says, is that it is a blind activity: On the whole you can't see the fish you are trying to catch. All you have is the suspicion of fish, or the rumor of fish. Fishing is an activity carried out in hope.

This lack of sight is why we go 'fishing', and not 'cowing', Mike says. You wouldn't put a piece of grass on a hook in a paddock and hope that a cow eats it.

I'm with Mike. When I go fishing, I get the right bait, I get the right sinker etc; I check the tides, and go with the right people. But I always see others catching lots of fish. And never me.

Mike thinks that God is like a fish in this: It appears impossible to get him to come out into the open. You can't see him, and so it is really hard to know what he is like.

"What bait will entice him?" Mike muses. We suspect that he is there. Most people, some surveys say up to 90%, believe in God in some way or another. We hear rumors of people having wonderful encounters with God, and yet it doesn't seem to happen to me.

The Apostle John says, "no-one has ever seen God." But John goes on: "It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known."

When Jesus came, God came out of the shade and into the sun. When Jesus came, God took out the guesswork, (while maintaining the mystery of the greatest of God).

More to come...

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Pic on Flickr by Altus.

#4- The Invisibility of God: The Answer.

The message of the New Testament (and of John’s Gospel in a special way) is this. V18, again:

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

The old translations say that Jesus is "in the bosom of the Father".

Jesus is the one has made the unknown known. This God – and he is talking about Jesus – has made the unseen seen. He has literally exegeted the Father – opened God up for us. He has made him known. If you want to know God, the Apostle is saying here and elsewhere, he is known in Jesus.

I know that this is not satisfying to many, but that is the answer the Scriptures has for us: JESUS is the answer to the question of the Invisibility of God.

So let's explore this then...

More to come...

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Pic on Flickr by Claude...

#3- The Invisibility of God: Scripturally Speaking.

The Bible does not avoid the issue of invisibility – it is entirely upfront about it. And I want to be as upfront as the Scriptures are.

Take a look at John 1, and verse 18 in particular.

No one has ever seen God.

That is the 'Invisibility of God' in a nutshell.

People had only seen that which God allowed them to see, and that frustrated many. The Psalmists, Job, King David, Israel, many of the Prophets and Kings. They had a problem with the Invisibility of God. And they all cried something along the lines of: "Hide not your face from me."

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Pic on Flickr by P.A.V, Photography

#2- The Invisibility of God: Personally Speaking.

This is a Sermon on the Invisibility of God. Read the text: JOHN 1:1-18. And read from the bottom up. It was preached at preached at Christ Church NYC on December 30, 2007. Comments welcome.
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Do you struggle to love an invisible God?

I do.

A personal note: Sometimes when things are really hard, I'll be lying in bed at night raising my arms up, and I'll be saying to God (and to myself!) in a half-prayer – "God, show me your face; make yourself plain. God, make it more obvious for me; give me a clue here."

And I know many who feel the same.

Even my 3 year old son has the problem. My wife said to The Little Man: "Jesus is in the room with us now". And he shrugged his shoulders and said: "No, he isn’t. I can't see him. Where is he?"

Hmmm.

My wife had a great answer to that question (she's a smart woman). My wife is pregnant with (God willing) #3. She asked The Little Man if he could see the baby. He replied "No".

Then she asked him: "Is the baby in the room with us?" He said: "Yes". "Well", said Wife, "seeing isn't the only way to decide if someone is present."

He seemed satisfied (or was it that lunch was over?)

But still a real issue isn't it?

More to come...

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Pic on Flickr by Code Poet.

#1- The Invisibility of God: INTRO

This is a Sermon on the Invisibility of God. Read the text: JOHN 1:1-18. And read from the bottom up. It was preached at preached at Christ Church NYC on December 30, 2007. Comments welcome.
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The Invisibility of God is perhaps one of the greatest stumbling blocks to faith in God. It is right up there (and related to) the Problem of Evil.

It goes something like this:

I can’t see God. I can barely see his hand in the world. I’m told that I have to give my whole life to him. That I have to take up my Cross and follow him.

But how can I do that without something more tangible? How can I do that without an actual meeting? Or something...

And I understand that -- If someone rang me sight unseen, and insisted that I give my whole life to them - my money, my family, the keys to the apartment - I’d be calling 311 and lodge a complaint. Or maybe 911 and call for the cops.

The Invisibility of God is a huge difficulty for many Christians. It’s such a big problem for many believers that Philip Yancey wrote a book about it called "Reaching for the Invisible God". It’s largely written from the point of view of his personal struggles.

The Invisibility of God is so big for inquirers that for many it’s a deal breaker. "If I can’t see God, I won’t listen to any other arguments or suggestions or reasons for God."

Do you struggle to love an invisible God?

More to come...

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Pic on Flickr by Paco CT

January 4, 1998.

10 years ago tomorrow I met my wife.

People sometimes ask me how we met. Here is our story: we met at the wedding of her sister to my friend.

I had not dated anyone in 8 years for a number of reasons: mostly fear. Although I had never thought of myself as remaining permanently single, I did think of singleness as a genuine option for me. Until January 4, 1998.

I had been at Theological College (seminary) at Moore in Sydney from '95-97 with two Americans: Dave (sent from Atlanta, GA) and Carey (from Wheaton, IL). We had all become very good friends. During my last year at College, Dave announced his engagement to his American girlfriend Robin. Robin and Dave were looking to get married in Georgia on January 17, 1998. I couldn't make it on that day (I had just begun full-time Youth Ministry at Christ Church St Ives and needed to be in Sydney on that day). But I could make it on January 10. But not January 17.

They couldn't get a reception venue for January 17, so they changed the date to January 10. I went out that afternoon and bought me a ticket to the United States. Crazy, isn't it, how one decision (that you may not have even made) can change your whole life?

At Carey's invitation, I flew into Green Bay, Wisconsin for Christmas at the vacation home of his parent's Kent and Barbara Hughes'. Door County; log cabin; Christmas in winter; wonderful hospitality; skeet shooting. Loved every minute of it.

I met up with my friend Ed Springer in Wheaton, Chicago, and we traveled to New York City and then to Washington DC. Ed and I were at Times Square on New Year's Eve in 1997. (So this week is also 10 years since I visited NYC for the first time).

We flew into Atlanta on the morning of January 4, 1998 for the wedding preparation.

That morning, I met the bride's sister. Her name was Laurel. Laurel came in from DC where she was a post-graduate student. Like us, she came in a week before the wedding to support the bride and groom. Ed and I stayed in the Reames' basement. Because there was not much to do, Laurel become our Atlanta tour guide.

So we got to talking...

Ed asked me that week what I thought of Laurel. I told him at the time that I thought I could marry her. It took over two years, but we got there.

Met Atlanta, January 4, 1998. Married Atlanta, May 14, 2000. Nice.

Thank God.

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C-Span and the Iowa Caucuses

I wrote a post a year ago about loving C-Span.

Tonight, I reiterate my appreciation for The Span.

Love The Span.

Right now, the Iowa Caucuses are taking place to begin the process of determining the candidates for the US Presidential race for 2008. Instead of watching the Spin on the network TVs, I'm watching The Span of Precinct 53 in Des Moines, IA.

It's hand counts and winter coats. It is bumbling, honest, reasonable, and technically incompetent.

I love it.

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May Your Will Be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven...

Laurel and I are looking forward to the new year by taking joy in the hope and peace that come from Jesus. Personally, I'm thankful to God for the Bible - because the Scriptures *alone* inform me that this hope and peace is a real option.

Why do I say that?

Just now, I clicked onto a particular Newspaper and saw the following six headlines (There were no others. These were the only headlines on the page!)

Father Murders Daughter.
61 Year Old hacked to death.
Punched and robbed for his mobile.
Pilot fears runway falls short.
Israeli embassy evacuated.
Victim's family grieve over hit and run.

Hooley Dooley.

'Happy New Year' seems pretty glib in the face of that news.

Maranatha seems far more appropriate, don't you think?

(At least the cricket is going well... unless you are from India.)

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Pic on Flickr by ie-fotografie.

LOL

Click for Facebook for Seniors.

H/T Hamish M

...read, mark, learn and inwardly digest...

A Prayer for the Second Sunday in Advent:

Blessed Lord, you have caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning, grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, so that, encouraged and supported by your holy Word, we may embrace and always hold fast the joyful hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

(BCP, Advent 2)

We'll be praying that prayer tomorrow at Church. But, secretly, I'm hoping, as a prayer, that it carries through for a lifetime.

Do you have any set prayers that you hold close to your heart? Perhaps from the Bible, or from a book of common prayer.

Justin.


PS I asked The Little Man tonight: "Why did Jesus die?" And he answered: "Um. Because the leaders didn't want Lazarus to be King."

Close, Boy, but no donut.

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Pic on Flickr by YanivG

The phone rings. It’s the cops.

UPDATE:

I have taken down this post. People keep doing Google and other searches for 'Bruce and Ida Albert' and keep finding this Blog. I don't want this to be of concern to anyone.

Please email me and let me know if there is any problem here. jmoff/hotmail/com

Regards, Justin.

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Pic on Flickr by Rob Mutch

On Careerism (Link to David Lapp)

David Lapp is a student and a member of our church. He has become a friend of ours, along with many of the students at Christ Church NYC. David is a gentleman and a scholar, as they say. But more important, he is a servant of Jesus.

I encourage you to click HERE to his latest post about Careerism. The post is called: "Career is overrated", in which I quote:

Career is not so important as attention to the really human things of life: loving, creating, caring, giving. Attention to the Good, the True, and the Beautiful is infinitely more important than scoring that great job. Jobs are good; but being human is even more important. So here’s a wild idea: perhaps loving your roommate, next-door neighbor, coworker, boss, sibling, parent, friend, spouse is more important than getting a great job.

And he concludes:

Career is overrated. Faithfulness is what matters. Love God, love people. In all your typing, reading, writing, teaching, playing, eating, talking, producing, serving--in all these things, pay attention to the important things of life.

The writer of Ecclesiastes, should he be alive today, would be making comments on David's Blog about some similar thoughts that he gained in his grand project to find something of substance in a world that feels so transient and unpredictable and uncontrollable. 'Find satisfaction in your job' (if you can), he'd say, and 'enjoy life with your wife' (if you have one). This is good, he'd comment, but when all is said and done, he has got one simple refection: 'Fear God, and keep his commands.' For, he would say, 'this is the whole duty of man'.

Head on over to his Blog and make a comment (he'd like that).

And also - can you pray for our students at Christ Church? There are about 50 students connected or committed to our ministry. And most are doing Finals right now...

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Pic on Flickr by prettyscary.

1967 looking into the future...

This is the first time I've seen this. Snopes tells me that this video is true, not fake. It was filmed in 1967. It anticipates shopping from a home computer, online bill paying and e-mail. Snopes points out something else obvious, but worth saying:

The video exemplifies the common flaw of anticipating technological changes but not societal changes -- the daily life it depicts is firmly rooted in the mid-20th century American model of women as stay-at-home child rearers and shoppers, and men as breadwinners and heads of household. Apparently women in 1999 still wouldn't be up to handling tasks such as banking, bill-paying and tax preparation, even with the help of electronic devices.

Thoughts?

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On Hillsong, Discernment and Bribery in the Police Force

Here's a thought.

Everyone who has heard of Hillsong Church in Sydney has an opinion of them. Even Americans do. Maybe that will always be the case. They have grand plans, and anyone with grand plans must allow for rigorous and public scrutiny. The Sydney Anglican Diocese certainly cops it. And perhaps this is a good thing.

Let me say upfront: I certainly have problems with the Hillsong movement. I always have. This is not new or a surprise to those who have known me. I used to be militant in my critique of them. I have mellowed a little over the years, thinking soberly of Paul's comment in 1 Corinthians 3 that 'God judges each person's work', and 'the day bringing it to light.' I also found helpful Jeremiah 23:28-29:

Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

But at the same time, I've been realizing that many people I know have recently been giving Hillsong a free pass . And that's partly because they simply love the music. And they are tired of the critique. And they are willing to forgive a whole lot for the wonder of the 'worship experience'.

So what is my problem with Hillsong?

It isn't that they are always doctrinally incorrect (They aren't, and I have heard a sermon from the youth team that was a good and valid exegesis of Romans 7). It isn't just the money and prosperity stuff (although there are major major issues here.) It isn't that they aren't passionate and it isn't that there aren't great people there (there are many many wonderful people serving there). And it certainly isn't that 'they' don't believe in the Gospel (the ones I know who go there do.)

Here is my biggest problem:

Lack of discernment.

I've been a few times. I've got great friends who are or who have been there. I've read lots, and listened to their messages. I may be wrong, and am happy to be corrected, but one week you'll receive something good; the next, something weird. At one conference, you'll get a good speaker; then next up someone odd. One week, you'll get the promises about prosperity, with verses (used spuriously) to introduce a giving time; the next nothing on the topic. One week will be about Jesus' death, then next will be all about You.

I think that this accounts for some of the confusion we have. It is also a reason many are giving them a free pass. You'll hear people say that it was good when they visited Hillsong, and that they heard nothing inappropriate. And then someone else will go another week, and they will recount some theological and pastoral horror story. You'll go to the conference and hear relatively orthodox speakers like Bill Hybels, and then you'll get TD Jakes! You'll get some music that has little substance, and then some that elevates Christ and his blood shed on the Cross. You'll get great work with the poor, and then news of an investment scandal.

I had some correspondence recently with a friend who is very sympathetic to Hillsong who said that they have heard 4 Hillsong sermons, of which 3 were good, and one dismal. (And by dismal, I don't mean boring).

Now, I don't think that our meetings are always theological and pastorally good. Not at all. I know profoundly how much we get it wrong, and it pains me when we do. But if discernment goes out the door -- in favor of passion and music and the elation -- then the game is over.

Here is the thing: To me, lack of discernment in a church is like bribery in the police force. If you tolerate it at any level, the whole organization becomes tainted. Even the good parts. And that makes me more sad than it does mad.

Hopefully every movement's excesses will be curbed by increasing accountability.

Happy to be challenged on this. (But no anonymous comments allowed on this one)

In line...

Hmmm. There is an election on today in Australia. Personally, I like how the Prime Minister has to get in line to vote like everyone else (He's the dude the the tie on, with the Liberal Party How-to-Vote Card in his hand).

My wife and I voted on Monday on 42nd St in Manhattan with our friend Rhys Bezzant. This was Laurel's first vote as a dual citizen of the USA and Australia. We had a meal afterwards at Pershing Square at Grand Central. Seriously good burgers.

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Great Quote

I ended ENGAGE '07 with this quote. It's a beauty:

"God give me a deep humility, a well-guided zeal, a burning love and single eye, and then let men or devils do their worst."

George Whitfield

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How do you answer this?

I'm changing The Boy's name on the Blog. From now on, he shall be called "The Little Man". And the Girl shall be called: "The Little Lady".

Quote The Little Man:

“I don’t know how to be angry (Shrugs Shoulders, arms out). Daddy could you teach me how to be angry?"

How do you answer a question like this?

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Movies about Grace? I count three.

I do not think that it is an overstatement for me to type that most movies are, in the end, really just about Christianity: They usually trace the main motifs that belong to the God and Father of Jesus Christ: love, justice, redemption, hope, fidelity. Even if these sweet intangibles are portrayed negatively, I find that the plot and themes of most movies are still, as they say during election times, 'on message'.

However, there are only three movies that I can recall where the dominant motif is 'Grace':

1. Babette's Feast. (A Danish film)
2. The Widow of Saint Pierre. (A French Canadian Film)
3. The Lives of Others. (A German Film)

The Lives of Others is a subtitled film set in East Germany in 1984. I just finished it now, and I am in tears. Maybe it's the Jet-Lag. Maybe it's because Grace is life to the body and soul.

The Apostle John says: (John 1)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

Incidentally, on Rotten Tomatoes, these three films are reviewed as 100%, 90% and 93% repectively. I wonder if Grace is what our universe needs most. And in particular, the Grace of God.

Have I missed another 'Grace' film?
Is my observation correct?

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Cures for Jet Lag??

What are the cures for Jet-Lag?

We've had a great time in Sydney. I came out for the Engage conference, and then had a great time with family and friends. We are flying out and, God willing, will be in NYC on Saturday. We are itching to see everyone at church on Sunday.

But, how to get over Jet-Lag?

I have the ONLY cure.

See the comments.

In the meantime, a pictorial memoir...

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"Jesus made me into a Puzzle"

OK. Get this:

Mom:
Who made you?
The Boy:
Jesus made me. Yes. Jesus made me into a puzzle and broke me into pieces and then put me back together in pieces that belong to Jesus.

Hmmm.

People say that kids only parrot what their parents say. But I can tell you right now, we have never said that to him. But the Bible says something like it:

Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17

I'm glad he was baptized.

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