Forgiveness: What It Ain't and What It Is

Be kind to one another,

tenderhearted,

forgiving one another

as God in Christ 

forgave you. 

Ephesians 4:32

Contrary to the Myths:
1 - Forgiving is not forgetting.
2 - Forgiving does not mean you no longer feel the pain of their offense.

3 - Forgiving does not mean you cease longing for justice.

4 - Forgiving does not mean you make it easy for the offender to hurt you again. 

5 - Forgiving an offense happens once but may occur more than once. 

Truth:

1 - Forgiveness was granted to us by God, when Christ forgave us by absorbing in himself the destructive and painful consequences of our sin against him. In forgiving others to some degree there is going to be consequences that you have to absorb.

2 - Forgiveness cancels the debt we owe God, when it is forgiven in Christ. We no longer have to pay for our sins, we are accountable but no longer liable. When you forgive you don't bring it back up to increase guilt or shame. Drop the grudge, bitterness, and anger. The love which brought your forgiveness should stay in bloom. 

3 - Forgiveness from God means we resolve to revoke our revenge. That inclination to revenge you cast it off and act out of love. You won't use your past suffering to justify your present sin. 

4 - Forgiveness from God means we determine to do good to others
rather than evil.

5 - Forgiveness from God in Christ has reconciled us back to God. He restores the relationship that our sin shattered. We seek to be reconciled with others and so emulate God's forgiveness.


*This is taken from a larger article:

Click here for the full article posted By Sam Storms.

Merry Mallonee Christmas

Rock through our Messiah's Advent with Bill Mallonee.
He just released Wonderland, an 8-Song Christmas EP (extended play) about two weeks ago. This is his second Christmas album - his earlier one is Yonder Shines the Infant Light.

*****************************

Stauffer this is the guy I was telling you about. 

Reading Categories

This is a list that my Professor and Principal Kirk Wellum gave us a few weeks ago. These are primarily categories for pastors but make good for anyone wanting some selection and direction when looking at all the literary material out there.

1 BIBLE - first and foremost
2 Commentaries & Introductions
3 Read Systematic & Biblical Theological Books
4 Biographies and Autobiographies
5 History (Secular & Christian)

> Biblical Backgrounds, Civilizations, Countries
6 Apologetic Books
7 Contemporary Issue
8 Read Hymn Books & Materials on Hymns 

> these are poems set to music
9 On the Church & Leadership 

> good to read about trends within the church
10 Read Journals & Periodicals
11 Blogs (careful though - there are so many - start with GospelCoalition)

12 Newspaper & Magazines 

What other categories should there be?

God Wraps Himself up in Human Skin

God wraps Himself up in human skin 

for those who want to touch 

and God let them drive the nails in 

for those of us who know way too much

- Bill Mallonee from On to Bethlehem 

TBS Guys Night - Round Two

The Guys

(Adam,

Caleb, Ian, Stauff, Cosner,

Nathan, Benoit, Isaac,

Your's Truly)

Monday night us guys were all pretty stoked to have tuesday as a study day, so we put the bacon on the stove, vegged out, and put a sermon on. We spent some time listening to the Dr. M. L. Jones on what it means to love and obey Jesus.
He preached out of 1 Peter 1:8
"Though you have not seen him, you love him."
We all really enjoyed the refocus and challenge.
You can download the sermon here.
Pretty sweet times -

Everybody touch the lucky-STAUFF!

Theology Courses in Toronto

For more info visit the school's site.

I'd recommend Christian Foundations to those who are new to seminary study. 

I've been anticipating the Evangelical Spirituality class with Dr. Haykin for the undergraduate. 

Here's a snippet from the course syllabi:

"A study of and reflection on various aspects of Puritan and Evangelical spirituality, including both foundational elements, such as knowing God, justification by faith, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, sanctification, and the cross, and those secondary elements sometimes described as means of grace, such as friendship, prayer and meditation, and the Lord’s Supper. The means employed in this study and reflection are texts from two classical eras of biblical spirituality, namely, 16th and 17th century Puritanism and 18th and 19th century Evangelicalism."

Audit is also available for half the price.

If you can afford it, you'll be glad you did.  

Must Be Christmas Tonight

Come down to the manger, see the little stranger 

Wrapped in swaddling clothes, the Prince of Peace 

The wheels start turning, torches start burning 

Behold the wise men journey from the East 

How a little baby boy brings the people so much joy 

Son of a carpenter, Mary carried the light 

This must be Christmas, must be tonight 

A shepherd on a hillside, while over my flock I bide 

Oh a cold winter night a band of angels sing 

In a dream I heard a voice said "fear not come rejoice, 

It's the end of the beginning, praise the newborn king." 

How a little baby boy brings the people so much joy 

Son of a carpenter, Mary carried the light 

This must be Christmas, must be tonight 

I saw it with my own eyes, written up in the skies 

But why a simple herdsmen such as I 

And then it came to pass, he was born at last 

Right below the star that shines on high 

How a little baby boy brings the people so much joy 

Son of a carpenter, Mary carried the light 

This must be Christmas, must be tonight

*This post goes out to my Dad - 

who introduced me to the Band

and to the Prince of Peace. 

Qal Imperfect Weak Verb Hebrew Song

Sing the Qal Imperfect Weak Verb paradigm with your non-angelic host Scott.

This paradigm for the III-(He) can be found in Pratico and Van Pelt's p178 in Basics of Biblical Hebrew: Grammar.

Now to remember the additions that are made to your verb refer to the strong verb paradigm on p167; to learn one of the best songs I know on the Qal Imperfect Strong Verb paradigm go here.

Here is the pronunciation of the Verbs for III-(He) in the song: they use the verb "to build"

3ms: yiv-neh

3fs: tiv-neh

2ms: tiv-neh

2fs: tiv-knee

1cs: ev-neh

3mp: yiv-nu

3fp: tiv-neh-nah

2mp: tiv-nu

2fp: tiv-neh-nah

1cp: niv-neh

(Qal Im-per-fect

We-eak Verbs!)

*Vowel & Shwa Help! 

Looking at the paradigm there are only two vowels and a shwa (Qamets is on the 3fp/2fp but you should already have that memorized as your endings from the Strong Verbs!). 

The two vowels are: Hireq (one dot) Seghol (three dots) - and the shwa has two dots!

Now look back at the paradigm. 

If you consider the dots as being numbers the vowels are as follows (read right to left ofcourse)

3ms: 1, 2, 3

3fs: 1, 2, 3

2ms: 1, 2, 3

2fs: 1, 2, 1

1cs: 3, 2, 3

3mp: 1, 2, - 

3fp: 1, 2, 3, (Q)

2mp: 1, 2, -

2fp: 1, 2, 3, (Q)

1cp: 1, 2, 3

Now if you break that down you have:

6 sets of 1, 2, 3. 

Deal with the four that are different. 

1 set of 1, 2, 1 (2fs)

1 set of 3, 2, 3 (1cp)

2 sets of 1, 2, - (3fp/2fp)

For 2fs and 1cs you can think of 1cp as being greedy and taking two dots for his first consonant from 2fs's 3rd consonant above it. I'm not assuming you're considering the disappearing He; this tip is just for the paradigm as it appears ofcourse. 

That's enough craziness now.
*Note - on the recording the Tiv-Neh at the end of the video SHOULD BE Niv-Neh (sorry for this).
It's recorded wrong but spelt out correctly for your own singing along and in the paradigm chart.

Playing Bass

Being a Christian is a lot like playing bass: 

make a mistake and people ridicule you, 

do everything right and no one notices. 

Unknown

*This post goes out to the boys from the Exceptions -

the best grunge-funk-pop-core band Claremont ever had.*

Am I A Christian?

I've been wondering how often we examine and evaluate our own faith in God. It's very easy within the church or in Christian communities to look like a Christian. God provides us with what we need to be sure of in our faith in the Bible, this is where he tells us what a follower of Jesus Christ is. These three evaluation lists should help us professing Christians evaluate ourselves.

1 - Evidences That Neither Prove Nor Disprove Our Faith 
A. Visible Morality (Matthew 19:16-21; 23:27)
B. Intellectual Knowledge (Romans 1:21; 2:17-28)
C. Religious Involvement (Matthew 25:1-13)
D. Active Ministry (Matthew 7:21-24)
E. Conviction of Sin (Acts 24:25)
F. Assurance that you'll be Saved (Matthew 23)
G. Time of Decision to Follow Christ (Luke 8:13-14)

2 - Evidences (Fruit/Proof) of True Christianity 
A. Love For God (Ps 42:1-; 73:25; Luke 10;27; cf.Rom 8:7)
B. Repentance from Sin (Ps 32:5; Prov 28:13; Rom 7:14; 2 Cor 7:10-12; 1 John 1:8-10)
C. Genuine Humility (Ps 51:17; Matt 5:1-12; James 4:6-10)
D. Devotion to God's Glory (Ps 105:3; 115:1; Isaiah 48:9-11; Jer 9:23-24; 1 Cor 10:31)
E. Selfless Love (1 John 3:14; 4:7-21)
F. Separation from the World (1 John 2:15-17;1 Cor 2:12; James 4:4-6)
G. Continual Prayer (Luke 18:1; Eph 6:18; Phil 4:6-7; 1 Tim 2:1-5; James 5:16-18)
H. Spiritual Growth (John 15:1-6; Eph 4:12-16; Luke 8:15; Rom 8:28-29)
I. Obedient Living (Matt 7:21; John 15:14; 1 Peter 1:2,22-23; 1 John 2:3-6; Rom 16:25-27)
J. Hunger for God's Word (1 Peter 2:1-8)
K. Transformation of Life (2 Cor 5:16-21)

If List 1 is true of a person and List 2 is false, 

there is cause to question the truth of their profession of faith. 

If List 2 is true then List 1 will be true as well. 

The gospel should lead us to put into action List 3. 

3 - Conduct of the Gospel 

A. Proclaim it (Matt 28:18-20)
B. Share it (Phil 1:3-5; 1 Peter 3:14-17)
C. Defend it (Jude 3-4)
D. Demonstrate it (Phil 1:27-30)
E. Suffer for it (2 Tim 1:8-11)
F. Don't hinder it (1 Cor 9:12)
G. Be not ashamed (Rom 1:16)
H. Preach it (1 Cor 9:16)
I. Be empowered (1 Thess 1:5)
J. Guard it (Gal 1:6-8)

Questions to ask:

From these texts, what makes a true Christian?

Am I a true Christian?

What do I need to stop?

What do I need to change?

What needs to be deepened in my life?

What needs to be started in my life?

*This article is adapted from the originally entitled article "Genuine Saving Faith" from the MacArthur Study Bible. 

Toronto Christmas Tunes

Click here to listen to 98.1 CHFI for some Christmas tunes from Toronto.
Click here for some Christian Christmas Tunes from CBN Radio.
Great for some background exam studying music
19 days till Christmas!

Greek Idiom Chart

This is great! An anonymous TBS friend gave these to me. It's his growing chart of Koine Greek idioms; words that occur together to form common phrases and expressions in the Greek NT. Exciting! Knowing these really helps in not getting frustrated when translating. If only I had this earlier this semester. Right-click and save this image for your Greek studies or email me if you want me to forward it to you. 

Scott's Top 7s: Echoes from Far Far Away #1

That's not true... 

that's impossible!

Qal Imperfect Strong Verb Paradigm Hebrew Song

Getting ready for tomorrow.

Have a laugh before you cry.

Sing along to the Qal Imperfect Strong Verb Paradigm Song!
Paired into two sets of seven syllables starting with Ye
(that makes 15 syllables - "that's all I have to learn?" - "basically!"*)

Ye

T, T, T, I, E, Ye, U

T, Na, T, U, T, Na, Ni

In Basics of Biblical Hebrew by Pratico and Van Pelt you can find the Qal Imperfect Paradigm on p167. 

For the song I am stating the preformative and sufformatives of each verb as they appear in order. 

I didn't add in a (mmm) for the blank sufformatives (3ms,3fs, 1cs, 1cp) - you should just know these - come on now. 

Notice the root is (left to right) Qof, Tet, Lamed > these appear in each verb occurrence for "to kill". 

Whatever the verb remember your sufformative is at the ending "suffix" (left side of the word), and the preformative is at the beginning "prefix" (right side of the word). Ten forms - 15 syllables - you can do it!

3ms:Ye

3fs:T

2ms:T

2fs:T, I

1cs:E, 

3mp:Ye, U

3fp:T, Na

2mp:T, U

2fp:T, Na

1cp:Ni

Remember to talk with our Lord for strength 

throughout your times of study. 

*By basically I mean - "not really"

> you need to know how to write them and moreso recognize them. 

But this will at least get it into your head.

Scott's Top 7s: Echoes from Far Far Away #2

Mud-hole? Slimy? My home this is!





(I really could have included the whole meeting of Luke and Yoda
but this is my favourite from the scene)

((this one goes out to my brother Andrew))

Scott's Top 7s: Echoes from Far Far Away #3

It's over Anakin...

I have the high ground.

The Church by E. P. Clowney: A Review

“If [the church] is to stand against the gates of hell, it must know its own divine charter, its bond to Jesus Christ, and the ‘Holy Spiritual’ power of its calling”. In 1942, twenty-five year-old Edmund Prosper Clowney was ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Ten years later, he came to serve on staff at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for the next thirty-two years; eighteen of them as its president. In 1995, for the series Contours of Christian Theology, Clowney contributed this work, entitled The Church. Going with the series’ theme to introduce foundational Christian doctrine, he supplies his own take on the doctrine of the Christian church. He writes to a culture that considers the God of the Bible to have “died long ago with orthodox theology” and sees the local church as God’s tomb. This work seeks to restore the doctrine of the church as represented from the Bible.

Clowney was a life-long affiliate of Westminster Theological Seminary. Each of the major points throughout the book - whether male eldership, Christian nurture, or witnessing to the world - are driven heavily from the Scriptures. Clowney is clear as he walks the reader through his convictions and how they bear upon the Christian. His covenantal theology and praise of the Westminster Catechism are present in the text, and subsequently his disposition to paedobaptism. Yet his positions do not curtail his overall evangelical position of the church. He could have extended his position on women in the church and gone deeper into the corporate service structure; dedicating only one page to preaching. As well, his view on prophecy for today is not adequately presented, rather he only points out Grudem’s misappropriation of 1 Thess 5:19-21. The wisdom from chapter ten on the nurture of the church should be prized the highest out of all eighteen chapters. The Church, is an excellent twentieth-century take on the doctrine of the church. His dependence on the apostolic accounts of the Scriptures in formulating his doctrine of the people of God is comforting. The work gives a deeper understanding of the form and function that Evangelical Churches must retain in their life and practice.

Scott's Top 7s: Echoes from Far Far Away #4

I don't like sand. 

It's coarse and rough and irritating. 

And it gets everywhere...


(thanks for the correction on this one 
goes out to my California-surfing seminary-attending bible-thumping best-buddy Ty!)

Scott's Top 7s: Echoes from Far Far Away #5

Laugh it up fuzzball

(BONUS: for the die-hards)

Yes, I bet you have...