Going Deeper with the Weekend Message

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Two items for going deeper. The second one is POWERFUL!!!

#1 - I did a bit of research on what Mary's song would have sounded like and I had to let it go for the sake of time before coming to any conclusions or really getting much understanding. I went with New Testament scholar N.T. Wright's description. But here are a couple of sites that you can explore. One includes what might be the earliest document of a Christian song that includes notes. You can even hear a rendition at one of these sites.

  • Go here for a quick introduction
  • Go here for the song performed. 
  • Go here for a quick introduction to one scholar's work on ancient Jewish and Christian music.

#2 - One of the themes I did not address in Luke 1:39-80 this weekend is the value of life in the womb. John the Baptist is filled with the Holy Spirit from conception and leaps for joy in Elizabeth's womb. The word describing John in the womb and the word for the baby Jesus are identical. Mark Driscoll deals with this topic in a powerful way in a message he did on Luke 1:39-45. Start at 10:22 into the message and it finishes at 37:19 into the message. You have to stick with him. There's a emotionally powerful twist well into his "diatribe" on abortion. You might be tempted to quit before you get there. Don't! In fact, please don't start listening unless you are willing to finish it no matter what. I wish all the parents at Five Oaks would play this for their pre-teen and teenage children.

Illiterate and Misguided

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I use prayer cards in my personal devotions. It's an idea I got from one of the best books I've ever read on prayer, A Praying Life by Paul Miller. One of those cards is focused on Five Oaks. I don't list immediate needs on it. I don't need to write those down. I have four big prayers. One is for the people who walk through our doors and stay. I pray that they develop a biblical worldview and biblical literacy within three years of joining our church family. I pray this almost every day.

I don't need to review the statistics. Most people today lack a strong, spiritual foundation, including those sitting in churches who are simply hoping for a shot of spiritual adrenaline to keep them going for the next week. They are mostly biblically illiterate and misguided for lack of a biblical worldview. It's why I developed the Story of God series and now the Story of God small group for people who missed the series or were unable to fully engage at that time. And it's why we're offering Five Oaks U courses that help us take the message deep into our hearts and into our lives.

Will you pray with me for this? Will you encourage others to engage in their own spiritual growth? Are you modeling it for others?