Message Audio: Real Freedom

Here's the audio from my message at Middletown Springs Community Church in Vermont this past Sunday.
The message was called "Real Freedom" and covered John 8:31-36, Galatians 5:1-5, and 2 Corinthians 3:12-18. The main topic is that the message of the gospel is not "Behave!", which is the main message of the church in the culture war, and that freedom in Christ actually includes freedom from the curse of good behavior.

Audio has some rough patches in first 5 minutes but then is fine thereafter.

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Who You Are When No One's Looking is Who You Are

"We should all live our lives as though there is no such thing as a secret." -- Ted Haggard, who knows something about living a double life

Bart Barber alerts us to a new Microsoft campaign that appears to solve the problem of wives discovering their husband's once secret p()rnographic Internet browsing history not by encouraging husbands to stop surfing p()rn but by creating software to help them hide it better. (Microsoft has since pulled the ad, but only because the video includes simulated vomiting, not because they thought it stupid to promote a feature that allows people to safely cyber-cheat on their spouses. (The video has other offensive content also, btw. Be warned.))

Barber writes:

What is Microsoft's solution to a depraved and perverted husband and a sickened wife? Will the folks at Redmond suggest that pornographic sites like the bleeped out URL given in the advertisement are inappropriate? Of course not. Their proposed solution is "InPrivate Browsing." Indulge the darker recesses of your heart, just learn to keep secrets better. Now THERE'S an approach that will strengthen the fabric of our society (not)!

Microsoft's slogan for Internet Explorer 8 is "Browse Better." How Orwellian that this slogan is actually an encouragement for people to browse worse!

This is not the first innovation in helping us maintain our private lives, which by the way, are our real lives.

This week retired NFL quarterback Steve McNair, one of my family's favorite athletes, was found shot to death from an apparent murder-suicide with his twenty year-old drug addict girlfriend, whom he was cheating on his wife of 12 years with. Most everyone was shocked, including people like my wife who thought he was sweet and nice, especially after she ran into him at a local eatery once and he gave her a hug and spent a minute chatting with her.

His friends and teammates have been saying things like, "This wasn't Steve." They're talking about the "real" Steve, the Steve who did charity work and gave the fabled 110% on the football field, as if this Steve, the Steve who maintained an adulterous, drug-addled relationship, was not real, or at least, not really him, but just a mistake he made, as if adultery is something you trip into or catch like a cold.

But the Steve McNair we didn't see was the real Steve McNair. The one he showed us was not. Or at least, it wasn't the fullness of him.

And who I am in the moments when I know I don't have to perform for anybody, the who I am in my heart and mind, what I'm thinking and feeling and wanting to do and what I'm doing when I don't think anybody will find out -- that is me. The real me.

We are not good people who make mistakes, none of us. We are sinners, always. We are sinners who need to repent.
So long as we think of the grossest parts of ourselves as "not really us," we will fail to respond to and wonder in the gospel. Because if the real us is already okay, we need no rescue.

This is why Jesus said lust is the same as physical adultery. This is why he said it's not what goes into us that defiles us but what comes out. This is why the Bible says man looks at the outside but God sees the heart. Because the self we present is not always our real self. But our character is, the quality of our heart is.

The gospel does not provide insurance for our mess-ups. It provides total transformation of our whole selves to the righteousness of God.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:21

Stay Faithful

I have found as a teacher that clinging to a passion for the message, a burden to share the gospel, and a joy to proclaim Christ is an amazing antidote to the temptation to make feelings contingent upon the quality of the music, the smoothness of the transitions, the size of the crowd, the whatever. When I draw my excitement from Scripture and ground my motivation in an unbearable need to talk about the gospel, I cut off the emotional roller coaster of all the other who/what/when/where.

I'm guessing you can reach burnout rather quickly when ministry fulfillment is found in anything other than faithfulness to God's calling.

There are highs and lows to ministry and preaching and leading a worship service, but consciously placing myself in the contours of Scripture does wonders for my ability to be content (and excited) no matter what.

Speaking Updates

Blogging may be sporadic in the next couple of weeks due to travel.

I will be preaching at Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, VT this Sunday, July 5. Service is at 10:00 a.m.

Saturday, July 11, I will be at The LifeWay store in The Woodlands, TX (outside Houston) to chat and, provided anyone would like, to sign books.

Next Sunday, July 12, I will be preaching at Kaleo Church in Houston. Service is at 10:00 a.m.

And I've just confirmed that I will be at the Acts 29 Regional in St. Louis on August 18, talking about the main themes of the book (Jesus, the gospel, the gospel of Jesus). Bob Thune will also be there to present material from his The Gospel-Centered Life curriculum. Should be a neat event.

If you're around any of these places at these times, would be great to meet you.

If you're interested, you can stay up to date on the news page of my website, and if you're interested in having me speak to your church, group, or event, you can check out the inquiry here.

Matt Chandler on Gospel Ministry in the Bible Belt

I have a manifesto-type piece brewing on what it's like to be gospel-driven in the Bible Belt and, God willing, I hope to compose and post it soon. But in the meantime, check out this video of Matt Chandler (with a little help from John Piper) surveying the problem(s) briefly and brilliantly.



He talks about the girl who wanted to be baptized because her mom was sick. This reminds me of the local guy who blogged about his (I think it was) seventh baptism; this latest one was "for hope." (I counseled a guy out of a baptism last year because his reasoning sort of revolved around having been listening to a lot of worship music lately.)

Chandler, who pastors in Dallas, also talks about Bible Belt religion being inoculated against Jesus. This reminds me of something Ed Stetzer, who hails from the Northeast, once told me, which is that preaching the gospel in the church down here is like trying to give somebody something they've already been inoculated against with a synthetic version.

But the gospel is for the older brother, as well. It is the cure for all, the power of salvation for all who believe.

Jesus' Missional Prayer for the Church

A long time ago on a website far, far away, I wrote a piece on What a Missional Church Does in which I boiled down good missional distinctives to:

1. Treasuring the gospel
2. Living the kingdom
3. Embodying reconciliation

These are, I think, the main directives of the Church. We are to consider the announcement of the good news of Christ's finished work for the salvation of the world as "of first importance," letting it stir us to awe and gratitude and worshipful discipleship. It is the A-Z of our lives. Secondly, in our worshipful discipleship we live out in community the reality of God's kingdom being "at hand," with all that entails (the Sermon on the Mount is a great blueprint of kingdom life). And thirdly, we are missionaries -- ambassadors, "sent ones" -- carrying this gospel and living this kingdom for the benefit of a lost world and the lost people in it.

The way these things are carried out may vary in cultures and contexts, but these are, I think, non-negotiables for missional Christianity.
I see these three marks of the missional church in Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17. Jesus prays:

"But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

"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."

(vv.13-21)

Where are the three marks?

1. Treasuring the gospel

Jesus begins by praying for his followers' joy -- actually, the joy of himself transferred into his followers, fulfilling their longing for lasting joy. Jesus connects this to the word of God given to them -- which is joyous in one important sense because Jesus the Messiah arrived after 500 years of prophetic silence and joyous in another because, as David says in the very first Psalm, the authoritative word of God is a delight to worshipers. And Jesus himself IS the authoritative Word of God.

Jesus also prays that the Church would be sanctified by this word, the word of truth. Cleansed by the proclamation of God based on Christ's self-consecration and atoning work -- Christ being the Word himself (John 1:1) and the Truth himself (John 14:6) -- we are to be joyful worshipers of he who is the Truth who rejoice in the word and living reality of the gospel.

2. Living the kingdom.

Jesus refers to kingdom living when he prays about his followers being hated by the world because they are not of the world (just as he is not) and when he prays that we will be protected from the devil. He also prays specifically that we won't be taken out of the world (at least, not yet), but that we would be sanctified while within the world.

This tells us two things, albeit implicitly: The Church is to live right in the midst of the world while not looking exactly like the world, and the Church's mission and consecration to God are (necessarily?) characterized by the evil one's attacks and the world's hatred. In other words, living as if Jesus is King and his kingdom is real and present will provoke the evil one's schemes and the world's persecutions. But this is direct Sermon on the Mount-type stuff.

3. Embodying reconciliation.

Jesus prays a beautiful, stunning prayer: "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."

Jesus isn't just praying for himself and the Church, he is praying for the "future church," for the world of prodigals waiting for the Church on mission to bring the good news to them, to be "ministers of reconciliation" (as Paul says) in both word and deed. Jesus speaks to the heart of the gospel here: reconciliation. Because broken relationship is the worst of the fallout of the Fall, because being restored eikons means being restored into reflection of the perfect unity of community in the Trinity ("Just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you..."), Jesus prays for the Great Commissioning of the Church to rep the gospel near and far in the hopes of reconciling people to God and thereby creating the reconciling people of the Church.

All for what reason? "So that the world may believe that [God] has sent [Jesus]."
John 17:1-5 sets that up more explicitly.
The good of the world is the glory of God and Jesus' prayer for the Church, present and future, is that we would undertake all aspects of our mission for that purpose.

Giving Away Godology

I've got 3 copies of Christian George's new book Godology to give away. Just contribute a comment to the "fun theology" storytelling contest at The Thinklings.

Top story will also get a copy of my book Your Jesus is Too Safe.

Pray for Honduras

Pray over what all is going on in Honduras right now.

They are particularly pressing on my heart right now because my dad is scheduled to lead a mission trip there in a few weeks (as he does every year).

Lucky 13

Thirteen years ago today I married the love of my life. What a blessing and a medium of God's grace Becky has been to me.

I can't imagine doing life with anyone else. Becky is so great, so incredible, so beautiful, she's in a class of her own. She always has been, still is, and always will be all that I could ever want or need. Every day I am only awed by her more.

Happy thirteenth wedding (and 16th dating) anniversary, baby!

"Your Jesus is Too Safe" Giveaways are Here!

Books are here and man, I'm itching to give some away.

I will be doing random drawings from the Facebook fan page list and my Twitter followers beginning tomorrow, but I will also try to think of some creative giveaway ideas for blog readers who neither Facebook nor Twitter.

Here's some fine print:

1. I'll use this site to select random Twitter followers.
2. I'll use a random number generator online to select Facebook fans.
3. If you're a blood relative of mine, you can't win.
4. If you're someone I've already given a book to or am going to give a book to, you can't win.
5. If you're not a real person -- this is applicable for Twitter followers -- you can't win. Persons who use their business name as their Twitter user ID are fine; I just have to be able to tell there's a person attached to the account. So "Ford Ranger" cannot win. But John Smith who Twitters as "Coffee Shop Dude" or what-not can.
6. If any of the drawings results in a winner who is not eligible as stated above, I'll just re-run the drawing until I get a valid winner.
7. If you're picked, I'll DM, Facebook message, or email you. Respond in a timely fashion with your preferred shipping address, and the book is yours.

Hope you get a free book!

Supported from Utter Despair

Working on a project for a client today which involved spending some time in the Westminster Confession of Faith. The 18th Chapter really ministered to me. This part especially stirs my heart and shakes me up like nothing but the gospel can:

True believers may have the assurance of their salvation shaken, diminished, or temporarily lost in various ways: as by negligence in preserving it, by falling into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit, by some sudden or violent temptation, or by God's withdrawing the light of his countenance and allowing even those who reverence him to walk in darkness and have no light. Yet, true believers are never completely deprived of that seed of God and life of faith, that love for Christ and fellow believers, that sincerity of heart and conscience concerning duty, out of which—by the operation of the Spirit—this assurance may in due time be revived; and by which, in the meantime, they are supported from utter despair.

But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. -- Hebrews 7:24-25

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Good Reminder

The video's a little amateurish (it's by a fan) but I love this song.



Of course it took some Calvinists (Lecrae and Shai Linne) to finally make some good Christian rap.

Kidding, kidding :-)

God Delights in Your Cruddy Prayers

As a writer and a prideful person, I am always trying to impress people with words. It is a relief, though, that I cannot impress God and that he approves of me in Christ anyway.

“The gospel, God’s free gift of grace in Jesus, only works when we realize we don’t have it all together. The same is true for prayer. The very thing we are allergic to—our helplessness—is what makes prayer work. It works because we are helpless. We can’t do life on our own.

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer, the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help. We look at the inadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong with us. God looks as the adequacy of his Son and delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers.”

—Paul Miller, A Praying Life

HT: Of First Importance

On Jesuslessness

There is a pastor whose Twitter feed I occasionally read, but I shouldn't, because it absolutely drives me nuts. A large portion of my reaction is tied to my own issues, I'm sure, but I see in his broadcasts an almost pathological intention not to mention Jesus. And as I thirst for Jesus, I notice this withholding lots and lots of places in the Bible Belt.
I have been and always will be doggedly suspicious of pastors who rarely (or never) mention Jesus.

John Piper says, "What we desperately need is help to enlarge our capacities to be moved by the immeasurable glories of Christ."

We ministers of the gospel -- and Christians at large -- can fumble this commission in three main ways:

1. We speak in vague spiritual generalities. Love. Hope. Peace. Joy. Harmony. Blessings. All disembodied from the specific atoning work of the incarnate Jesus and exalted Lord. It all sounds nice. It's all very inspirational. And it's rubbish. He himself is our peace. He himself is love. He himself is life. He does not make life better. He is life. Any pastor who talks about the virtues of faith, hope, and love, with Jesus as some implied tangential source, is not feeding his flock well.

2. We speak Christ as moral exemplar. We tell people to be nice because Jesus was nice. We tell them to be sweet because Jesus was sweet, good because Jesus was good, hard-working because Jesus was hard-working, loving because Jesus was loving. This is all well and good, but you could substitute "Mother Theresa" or even "Oprah" for "Jesus" and essentially have the same message.

3. We avoid the real problem -- sin -- and therefore either ignore the real solution -- the cross -- or confuse its meaning. In many churches, not only is sin never mentioned -- Joel Osteen, for instance, flat out says he doesn't like to talk about it basically because it hurts people's feelings -- the cross is rarely mentioned. And when the cross is mentioned, because we don't want to talk about sin, it becomes instead the great affirmation of our special-ness, rather than the great punishment for our unholiness. The cross becomes not the intersection of God's justice and mercy but the symbol of God's positive feelings about our undeniable lovability.

In all of these instances, and others, people are inspired and enthused, but they are moved about God's recognition of their own awesomeness, not about the glories of Christ. The capacity is enlarged with our growing self-esteem.

Even angels long to gaze into the life-giving riches of the gospel of grace. We prefer to drink deeply from the well into which we're gazing -- our navels.

Pastors, inspiration sells. But only Jesus transforms.

Everything in the Shadow of the Gospel

My favorite mega-pastor Matt Chandler recently tweeted, "The Gospel must not be assumed. It's to be articulated clearly and constantly...if not you get moralistic pragmatism."

Yes.
This is what I get at when I write things like Pharisees with Fauxhawks or The Gospel is Not Advice or The Weird Modern Desire for Legalism (and How Some People Don't Even Know they Have It).

I got an interesting email from a reader this week asking why he doesn't hear more in churches about "the power of obedience" (his words). I wasn't sure exactly what he meant, but in my view, the majority of evangelical preaching is about the power of obedience. It just isn't put in those terms.

Michael Horton re-introduces the concept of "moral therapeutic deism" as the operating worldview of most evangelical messaging, and I agree. What we have going on is repackaged legalism. I know, I know -- it doesn't look like legalism, but that's what it is.

We have been trained to think of legalism as being stuffy, outwardly religious, judgmental, traditional, etc. But any time the thrust of our message is --
"do better"
"try harder"
"reach your potential"
"do good works"
"help God help you"
"follow these steps"
"improve your life"
"succeed at life"
"achieve victory"
-- or anything of that sort, we've made works the center, which is antithetical to the gospel and therefore is legalistic. Even if it's not judgmental, even if it sounds inspirational, even if it's kicked off with a killer video and capped by a rockin' band. Just because it feels good doesn't mean it's good news.

The gospel must be the center. Always. The star player. The feature piece. The answer and the antidote.
The proclamation of the gospel must take precedence over exhortations to "do good;" otherwise, we will find ourselves beating upon people's wills. The gospel is the power of salvation. The gospel is of first importance.

The gospel of Christ's finished work is the towering pinnacle of God's practical glory shared with us, and all else must take a subservient place in its universe-spanning shadow.

Unauthorized Link of Information

Between home improvement stuff, book stuff, and my other writing obligations, I've been swamped lately and unable to keep up blog-wise. But I can at least direct you to some good posts I've enjoyed and/or been edified by lately.

Len Sweet and Frank Viola's "Jesus Manifesto" is stellar. Its impact is unclear at this point, but it's a clarion call to those with ears to hear. (I may interact with it a bit in a future post here.)

Michael Spencer's thoughts on Day 1 of the SBC. A quotable:

The younger generation SIMPLY ISN’T GOING TO BUY THE OLD SBC MYTHOLOGY. The sooner leaders come to grips with that, the better things will be. It is ridiculous to lecture the audience about Calvinism or throw fits about teetotalism or books in the bookstore. The number of people who care, who are being told by ANY pastor or leader they respect that these things matter, is small and growing smaller.

It is GLBT Pride Week in Toronto. Three posts definitely worth reading:
Challies interviews John Bell, pastor of New City Baptist Church, on his missional evangelism among the GLBT community.
My favorite Canadian-type persons, Darryl Dash and Bill Kinnon, offer some thoughtful entries in the "Bridging the Gap" synchro-blog effort.

Glenn Lucke asks, How does the love of Christ work in and through you in everyday life? What does it look like in your life as the love of Christ compels you?

My new friend Jeremy Rose has come to Nashville to plant an Acts 29 church called The Axis. These two posts reflecting on his first "missional walks" around the Germantown neighborhood (The Axis Church's target community) are inspiring.

Ray Ortlund on boldness.

Trevin Wax is one of the best writers in the Christian blogosphere. (And soon to be in the "real" world, as well, as his first book releases from Crossway next year.) This post on Gospel Confrontation and Gospel Comfort is a good example. Simple, true, incisive.

Justin Taylor helpfully indexes the links to all the message video from the recent Advance Conference. I've heard them all, and I highly recommend the entries from Matt Chandler, Eric Mason, and Ed Stetzer, as well as Mark Driscoll's 2nd message, the one on "Ministry Idolatry."

Happy surfing.

Your Jesus is Too Safe in (Some) Stores

Sorry to load you up with two book posts in a row, but I got word today that my book has already hit the shelves of some stores earlier than I expected. If you've got a LifeWay close to you, may wanna check there. Not sure about other retailers yet.

This also means that my copies to give away should be arriving soon. If you'd like a shot at winning a free book, you can still join the fan page on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Blog tour folks, I will be emailing you in the next day or so. Thanks for your patience!

Blog Tour Update

Just wanted to update those of you who indicated interest in participating in the blog tour for Your Jesus is Too Safe. The response was great, but about 3x the number of available slots.
So I will be sorting through your blogs and such soon. I will be using a system of qualification based on your blog's traffic/profile and if I happen to kind of know you. Very scientific, I assure you. :-)

But!, there is the possibility that a few of the original folks I had contacted about participating may not be able, so more spots could open up.

I'll be in touch soon.
Thanks for your interest!

Jesus Never Slips Up or Sleeps

“We are always looking inwards and pitying ourselves and being sorry for ourselves, and looking for something to help us. Get rid of that outlook, forget yourself for a moment; the battle is the Lord’s! Salvation is His. It is for the honor of His great and holy Name. But go further and realize that because it is God’s battle this almighty power is being exercised on our behalf even when we do not realize it. Things are being done in this great campaign of which we are not aware. We may perhaps be half-asleep at our post, and we do not realize that the great Captain is planning something with respect to us. We are unconscious of it. We would all be lost were it not for that. He, I say, is exercising this power on our behalf.”

- Martin Lloyd-Jones, The Christian Soldier

Jesus is your advocate always. He always lives to intercede for you.

If the exalted Lord of the universe is for you, who can be against you?

(HT for the Lloyd-Jones quote: OFI)

Called into the All-Surpassing Awesomeness of Christ

John 1:35-51:

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?"
And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
He said to them, "Come and you will see."
So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"
Philip said to him, "Come and see."

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"
Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

This is John's account of Jesus' calling some of his first disciples. The thing that strikes me as I look at this passage is the array of titles ascribed to Jesus. There are at least 7 titles/descriptors given to Jesus here:

1. The Lamb of God, ultimately referring to his atoning sacrifice
2. Rabbi, ascribing to him the place of teaching and wisdom
3. Messiah (the Christ), acknowledging him as the answer to Israel's expectation
4. Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph, which reminds us of his incarnate humanity
5. Son of God, referring to his deity
6. King, which is pretty self-explanatory
7. Son of Man, an earthy title which actually belies its prophetic and apocalyptic meaning, in v.51 connected to his exaltation

Seven titles, seven facets of Jesus' identity. Seven angles at his all-surpassing awesomeness.
In just 17 short verses, in just one short narrative recounting Jesus calling men into the radical life of following him, we see a big picture of all that Jesus is.

And it occurs to me that this is not just a great picture of this call to discipleship, but that it's a wonderful picture of our call to discipleship. We tag along and Jesus asks, "What do you want?" and so many of us answer with a piddlin' amount of expectation compared to the all-satisfying goodness he is actually drawing us into.

Think about the mentors you've had throughout your life. What would you say if they were to ask you, "What do you want out of this relationship?" The expectations we have vary: guidance, information, affirmation of gifts, encouragement.

We go to Jesus asking for these slices of wholeness, as well.
The titles in John 1 speak to these needs -- he is the Rabbi for those needing wisdom, he is the Messiah for those needing fulfillment, he is the Lamb for those needing forgiveness -- but the truth is that we need all that Christ is, and the truth is that in becoming his disciples we actually receive all that Christ is!

We settle too easily. As C.S. Lewis says, "We are far too easily pleased." We want and expect Jesus the information desk, Jesus the ATM, Jesus the boyfriend, Jesus the socially conscious vegetarian, Jesus the culture warrior, Jesus the chest-thumping ultimate fighter, Jesus the tea drinking beatnik, and he is none of those things (but perhaps all of those things). He is all of God, and he is all of life.

There are two instances of "evangelism" in this account, also. The Baptizer's disciples ask Jesus where he's staying and Jesus responds, "Come along and see what's happening." Philip doesn't just tell Nathanael about Jesus; he says to him, "Come and see."

Clearly it is one thing to impart information about the goodness of Jesus, but the real affect, the real impact upon those desperate for life, occurs when someone "sees" the fullness of Christ in action. If discipleship means embracing the fullness of Christ, the community of disciples should radiate the wonder and worship life in the fullness of Christ really evokes.

We worship an amazing God who supplies all our needs according to his riches in King Jesus.