by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Spiritual Life
A Study of Ephesians 4:30.
One church named itself, “Happy Church.” All of us, I think we can confess, desire to be happy–to experience feelings of contentment, delight, enjoyment, and satisfaction. I would venture to say that if I asked you, “How many of you desire to be happy?” all of you would nod your head, “Yes!” The opposite being happy is the experience of grief–of being unhappy, of feeling sorrowful, agitated, oppressed, depressed, or sad. In the very depths of our souls, these two emotions, happiness and sorrow, seem to be in constant competition with each other. Most of the time, we are either glad or sad. We feel either up or down.
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Contemporary Church
On Faith, Facts, and Feelings in the Christian Life.
Our society is passionate. We feel strongly about politics, religion and other issues. Frequently, I hear people state they are really “passionate” about this or that. For decades now, the sensate has come to dominate how in our culture people view life. People determine the validity of things not by whether they are right or wrong, but rather by whether it makes them feel good or bad about themselves. Joel Osteen makes people feel good about themselves. With his message of “hope and change,” Barack Obama did the same during his election campaign, and became President of the United States. This is the manner of contemporary culture, and I am concerned that it has also become the way of culturally driven Christians who have immersed themselves in the contemporary way of doing church.
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Emergent Church
Some thoughts on “Pub Theology 000.”
As he begins to rip into “a screaming guitar solo,” a band member sarcastically yells out at the audience, “Let’s go to church boys!” [1] Welcome to Pub Theology. As the reporter describes it, Pub Theology is “a Sunday night show that’s one part church and one part party.” Among other posters on the barroom walls, one alludes and adds to the final verse of the biblical chapter on love. It reads, “Faith, Hope, Love and Beer.” WARNING: The biblical text reads, “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 13:13, NASB). [2]
Regarding this new outreach–the mega-church’s ministerial staff approve of doing Pub Theology–one of the band’s members says: “We want to be sincere and authentic and be who we really are, whether that is wearing jeans and a T-shirt or having a beer. I think that is real” he continues, “and I don’t think it is wrong or that God is unhappy about that.” Sure . . . in contrast to “drunkenness, carousing”, one fruit of the Spirit is “self-control” (Galatians 5:21, 23). Relates another band member: “I can drink a beer and smoke a cigarette and play some of my favorite songs and hang out with my friends and maybe meet someone and tell them about Jesus.”
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Spiritual Discernment
Marked for Life: Discernment Ministry in Light of Ezekiel 9:1-11.
Someone once said that sin is as much a breaking of God’s heart as it is the breaking of His Law. When God looked down on the perversity of the people on earth before the Deluge, it was recorded that He "was grieved in His heart" (Genesis 6:6b). When confronted by resident wickedness both without and within the professing church, Christians can manifest one of three reactions: approval (1 Corinthians 5:2), indifference (Zephaniah 1:12), or disapproval as indicated by the presence of either anger (Psalm 119:53) or grief (Psalm 119:136). So the question becomes, as we see the worldliness-wickedness invading the church, how do we feel about it? Are you agitated by, indifferent to, or accommodating of it?
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Encouragement
Faith that Finishes: On the Meaning of Faith in Hebrews 11.
"The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). Thus Martin Luther understood the Bible’s teaching about how people can overcome their sin and become right with God. Justification as we understand it does not come to us by any merit that we earn or possess, but rather "through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 2:16). Salvation comes to us by faith . . . by faith and by faith.
Therefore when reading Hebrews 11, the greatest chapter on faith in the Bible, we see the recurrent phrase "by faith" (it occurs at least twenty times in the chapter and its context) and tend to assign the justification meaning of the Apostle Paul to it. We assume that "by faith" the Preacher (that is who we shall call the author of Hebrews) has in mind how Enoch, Abel, Moses, Abraham, Sarah and others were declared right with God. That however, may not be the meaning of the phrase.
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Encouragement
Learning to Obey when God Feels Far Away.
The fall harvest revival had come. The preacher prayed. The choir sang: "God is still moving. I can feel Him in my soul." One choir member raised her hands and shouted, "Hallelujah, God have mercy," to which the congregation responded, "Praise the Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus!"[1]
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Dominionism
The Depravity of Humanity
Having laid claim to possessing political clout in America over the last few decades, religious conservatives might be wondering whether or not, in light of losses in the recent federal elections (excepting the last 2014 mid-term election), they are watching their cause crash and burn. In the April 12, 2009, edition, the cover story on Newsweek magazine boldly read, “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” [1] The Christian Science Monitor too speculated about, “The Coming Evangelical Collapse.” [2] The drift toward socialism in Washington, D.C., has no doubt fueled concerns about whether or not America has sold its birthright for a mess of soup (See Genesis 25:32-34.).
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Emergent Church
The God of Sex versus Sex God.
Believing in the wholeness and sacredness of matter and energy (i.e., monism/pantheism, the theory that God is all, and all is God), New Age/New Spirituality views that sexuality complements spirituality. [1] Sexual people are spiritual people, and sexual experiences are spiritual experiences. Sex facilitates persons getting in touch with the mystical dynamic and rhythm of life. Being one of the most vibrant experiences life offers, it is not therefore surprising that the new religionists should incorporate sex into their spirituality. As one author puts it, “Sexual ecstasy can transport us into union with the sacred Other, whether soul, God, human beloved, or nature. Uninhibited sexual opening powerfully alters consciousness . . .” [2] In a similar vein, the stunning statement of a radical Anglican priest has been noted: “Sex is the spirituality that reveals the sacramental richness of matter.” [3]
Having introduced ourselves to the thinking of the New Age/New Spiritualists, we proceed to set forth their theory that sexuality-equals-spirituality, after which, we will see how this theory seems to be influencing avant-garde evangelical authors, teachers, and leaders, and then submit sex-spirituality to the scrutiny of Holy Scripture.
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by Pastor Larry DeBruyn for Contemporary Church,
Mysticism
The Sights, Sounds, and Spectacles of Spurious Spirituality.
We reject all shameful and underhanded methods. We do not try to trick anyone, and we do not distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know that. The Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:2, NLT
Along with other Americans, I am a sports fan, especially of football and basketball. I grew up loving, playing, and watching both sports, especially basketball. After shoveling the snow off his driveway in the dead of winter, for hours at a time I used to shoot the round ball at a goal attached to my neighbor’s garage. During cold and snowy winter months, my father would drive me to Godwin Field House to watch our local semi-pro team, the Grand Rapids (Michigan) “Tackers,” play on Saturday evenings. (In that day, my hometown was known as the furniture capital of the world; hence the name “Tackers.”). Although the players were not nationally known, watching big and skilled men play a finesse game was an awesome experience for a young boy. In my late teens, I regularly played pick-up games on public courts around the city. Because I was more force than finesse, I earned the nickname “junk man.” Today, as a half-season ticket holder of the Indiana Pacers, I still enjoy watching the biggest-best athletes in the world compete in the NBA.
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