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Here is one more quote from Sunday’s message:

Sometimes people worry that they may have committed the unforgivable sin. But I would say if you are worried about it, then you haven’t done it. If you had truly blasphemed the Holy Spirit, your heart would be so completely hardened against God that you wouldn’t be worrying about whether God could forgive you.

What I would be more concerned about are forgivable sins. You know what’s worse than committing the unforgivable sin? Committing forgivable sins but never turning to Jesus Christ for forgiveness. That’s really sad.

Related posts:
    • What Is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
    • Can an Atheist Blaspheme the Holy Spirit?

Pete Docter is the director of the new Pixar film, Up, which releases Friday this week. Pete also directed Monsters, Inc. and was a writer and supervising animator for the original Pixar film, Toy Story. Pete is a Christian, and Radix Magazine interviewed him back in 1998 about his work and faith. Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Radix: How has having a child changed who you are as an artist?

Docter: Work-wise, I definitely see things differently. There are things I would find kind of quirky or weird, that might have a tinge of violence to it, but as a single guy, or even as a married guy, I’d think, “It’s funny.” But then when you have a kid, you think, “Oh, he’ll be watching this. I don’t know how I’d feel about that.” As a Christian, having my son has made me even more amazed by the whole Creation, when I watch him grow and start to connect things in his brain. I say, “That’s amazing.” It leaves me speechless.

Radix: How would you say that being a Christian affects how you do your work?

Docter: Years ago when I first spoke at church, I was kind of nervous about talking about Christianity and my work. It didn’t really connect. But more and more it seems to be connecting for me. I ask for God’s help, and it’s definitely affected what I’m doing. It’s helped me to calm down and focus. There were times when I got too stressed out with what I was doing, and now I just step back and say, “God, help me through this.” It really helps you keep a perspective on things, not only in work, but in relationships.

At first you hire people based purely on their talent, but what it ends up is that people who really go far are good people. They’re good people to work with, and I think God really helps in those relationships.

Radix: I know you do a lot of praying, and that’s a big part of the artistic part of what you guys do.

Docter: Yes. You could probably work on a live-action movie that takes maybe six months hating everybody else and you’d still have a film. But these animation projects take three or four years, and it’s really difficult to do without having a good relationship with the people you’re working with.

Radix: Do you ever see yourself making a more explicitly Christian movie?

Docter: Not at this point. I don’t know that that’s really me. I don’t feel so comfortable with that. Even if you have a moral to a story, if you actually come out and say it, it loses its power. Not that we’re trying to be sneaky or anything, but you have more ability to affect people if you’re not quite so blatant about it. Does that make sense?

Radix: That seems right in line with what Jesus’ parables were too. He tended not to come right out and explain, “This is what I was trying to say.”

Docter: To me art is about expressing something that can’t be said in literal terms. You can say it in words, but it’s always just beyond the reach of actual words, and you’re doing whatever you can to communicate a sense of something that is beyond you.

HT: CT Movies Blog

Click here to view the Up trailer.

We explored this question in church on Sunday. Here is an excerpt from Sunday’s sermon on Choosing Sides:

A couple years ago a certain atheist web site presented what they called “The Blasphemy Challenge,” where they challenged people to upload YouTube videos of themselves denying the Holy Spirit. A whole lot of atheists responded to the challenge and uploaded their videos, saying “I deny the Holy Spirit.” It was very sad to see and meant to be shocking, but ironically enough, I am not sure they were actually blaspheming the Holy Spirit as Jesus defined it. They were certainly committing serious sin, but they were not attributing the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life to Satan.

In fact, I’m not sure if an atheist is even capable of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. If blasphemy of the Holy Spirit means believing that Jesus was doing supernatural works by the power of Satan rather than God, how can you do that when you don’t believe in the Holy Spirit, Satan or God?

What these atheists did is sad, it is wrong, and if they never come to Christ for forgiveness, they will be judged for their sin, but I do not believe they have actually put themselves beyond God’s forgiveness. By definition it would seem that an atheist cannot commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. (However, I would still recommend that you stay as far away from this sin as possible!)

Related posts:
    • What Is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
    • What’s Worse Than Committing the Unforgivable Sin?

MaryBeth Chapman shares her feelings on the anniversary of her daughter Maria’s accidental death one year ago.

Here is what I FEEL as this day starts out. Sad beyond sad that she isn’t here, angry and mad that this had to happen, confused and bewildered that it had to involve Maria’s big brother that absolutely adored her, paralyzing fear that I won’t be able to pull through the pain and be able to completely let her go…because she wasn’t mine to begin with, and speechless to know how to grieve my baby girl who gave me soooo much laughter and joy and then turn around and hold tightly to the young man who is walking through this tragedy at 18 years old…Maria’s buddy, Will, (the bravest young man I know!), and at my darkest place, I wonder…God, where are you and why in the world would you choose us to walk this out…It isn’t fair!

And then, all of a sudden, I hear this other voice in my head that reminds me over and over again of not what I FEEL, but what I KNOW…It might on certain days be buried deep down in my heart and have a hard time computing to my brain, but here is what I know and what I choose to believe, over and over again…even when it is really just a bad day! I know God loves me and my family, I know God is sovereign and He knows what is best for us, I know He has our days numbered and makes NO mistakes, I know that He will bring beauty from ashes…He has too…that is what I cling to in order to make it through another 24 hours.

HT: Tim Challies

Related posts:
    • Steven Curtis Chapman’s Daughter Killed
    • Steven Curtis Chapman on Good Morning America

We talked about this in Sunday’s sermon from the gospel of Mark. Here is an excerpt from the message:

Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:29) Here we come to the unforgivable sin – blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. If all other blasphemies can be forgiven, this must be exceptionally bad to be singled out as an eternal sin that is beyond forgiveness.

What exactly is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? It is only mentioned here and in the parallel accounts of the gospels, so we need to get the context from this particular event. Mark tells us that Jesus said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.” (Mark 3:30)

And so it would appear that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is attributing the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life to Satan. It is the blasphemous belief that Jesus was not empowered by God through the Holy Spirit, but that he was in fact a servant of darkness and received his power from Satan. Such a hardening of the heart towards God’s work in Christ through the Holy Spirit that you would call it the work of Satan is a blasphemy that will not be forgiven. The person who does so is guilty of an eternal sin.

Sometimes people worry that they may have committed the unforgivable sin. But I would say if you are worried about it, then you haven’t done it. If you had truly blasphemed the Holy Spirit, your heart would be so completely hardened against God that you wouldn’t be worrying about whether God could forgive you.

What I would be more concerned about are forgivable sins. You know what’s worse than committing the unforgivable sin? Committing forgivable sins but never turning to Jesus Christ for forgiveness. That’s really sad.

Related posts:
    • Can an Atheist Blaspheme the Holy Spirit?
    • What’s Worse Than Committing the Unforgivable Sin?

Yesterday’s message in the Gospel of Mark series was called Choosing Sides, taken from Mark 3:20-35. The main idea of the message was that you must choose to stand with or against Jesus Christ. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. Jesus’ family comes to take him away (verses 20-21)
    A. They say he is out of his mind.
    B. They come to take charge of him.

II. Jesus confronts the teachers of the law (verses 22-30)
    A. The teachers of the law accuse Jesus (22)
        1) of being possessed by Beelzebub.
        2) of driving out demons by the prince of demons.

    B. Jesus responds in parables (23-27)
        1) A house divided against itself cannot stand.
        2) You must tie up the strong man before you can rob him.

    C. Jesus warns about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (28-30)
        1) All types of sins and blasphemies can be forgiven.
        2) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.

III. Jesus identifies his true family (verses 31-35)
    A. Jesus’ mother and brothers try to call him outside.
    B. Jesus says those who do God’s will are his true family.

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

William Fay encourages you to get out of your comfort zone. “If you are living in isolation from the world and the only friends you have are in your comfortable Bible study, Wednesday night church get-togethers, Sunday school, church picnics, retreats, homeschool events, and concerts, you will never experience the joy of sharing your faith.”

John Ensor reflects on God’s providence in sparing his grandson’s life. “Why was Jack spared? At least part of the answer … is found in Psalm 57:2: ‘I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.’ Jack was saved because the Lord has not yet fulfilled his purpose for him. If he had been crushed, though our hearts would be crushed as well, we would take a measure of comfort in knowing that evidently all God’s purposes for Jack’s life here on earth were fulfilled in three months.”

Colin Peckham reminds us of the cost of prayer. “It is not an easy thing to pray. There is a price to be paid, a price of curbed freedom, of resolute concentration, of agonizing supplication. Prayer is the acid test of devotion. To stay in the presence of God and to wait upon him, bearing your soul to His searching gaze, costs everything. The one who prays must be transformed. Prayer must make him holier, purer, more Christ-like. Prayer is a purifying medium.” (Sounds from Heaven, The Revival on the Isle of Lewis 1949-1952.)

Jessica Snell shares about celebrating the church year at home. “As a new parent, I was flummoxed by how to explain Jesus to a two-year-old. The church year answered my question. You start by letting her participate in the story: By letting her see the crèche at the front of the church during Advent and the Wise Men moving toward it during Epiphany. By standing with her in a candle-lit church on Christmas Eve. By having her forehead crossed with ashes at the beginning of Lent. By giving her a palm frond to wave on Palm Sunday. By giving her a bell to ring on Easter Sunday. By wearing red on Pentecost. The church year was made for people like her.”

Missiologist Dr. Ralph Winter has died at age 84 after a long battle with cancer. Winter founded the U.S. Center for World Mission and revolutionized world missions in the late twentieth century with the concept of unreached people groups. Winter leaves behind his wife Barbara, four daughters, and fourteen grandchildren. Click here to read John Piper’s personal tribute to Winter.

You do not evaluate a risk by the probability of success but by the worthiness of the goal. – Dr. Ralph D. Winter

• Chris Beard explains why the Ida fossil is not the “missing link.”
• The Happiness Project offers seven tips for making good conversation with a stranger.
• Westminster Theological Seminary has put together a helpful website responding to questions raised by the new movie Angels and Demons.
• ESPN reports on Tony Dungy’s visit with Michael Vick in prison. “I am going out there to really talk about life. To talk about the Lord,” Dungy said. “I know he has made a profession that he has accepted the Lord into his life. Talk to him about what he’s going to face. Most people are going to be against him. He’s got to understand that.”

Pastor Mark Driscoll responds to the Newsweek article on Christianity declining in America by distinguishing between Christian America and Christendom America. (And he does it on the Fox News website?!)

Christian America is comprised of those people who have had a truly transforming experience with Jesus Christ and are living new lives as practicing Christians. Experts such as sociologist Bradford Wilcox at the University of Virginia have well documented the fact that those who practice Christian faith by reading their Bibles regularly, attending church, praying, and so forth are far less likely to engage in acts such as adultery, divorce, substance abuse, and the like.

Christendom America is comprised of those people who have not had a truly transforming experience with Jesus Christ and are living lives virtually indistinguishable from those who are non-Christians. The confusion is that it was common in Christendom for people who did not practice Christianity to profess Christianity. This was often done for social reasons, such as living in a culture that expected church affiliation, being born into a religious tradition and assuming it was simply part of one’s identity (like a cultural or racial connection), or personally, socially, and vocationally benefitting from being connected, even loosely, to a church or denomination. Researchers such as George Barna have documented the fact that, as Jesus himself said, not everyone who says he or she is a Christian is in fact one.

Subsequently, the Newsweek report simply confirms the fact that, just as Christendom has died in Europe and the major American cities, it is now dying in the suburban and rural areas of America as well. With the social benefits of professing to be a Christian no longer in place and the social stigma of not professing to be a Christian now lifted, those who were part of Christendom America are simply no longer pretending to be part of Christian America.

Since those who professed faith but did not practice faith were confusing to account for, this is actually a good thing. Now, it is more likely that if someone is a Christian or non-Christian, he or she will state so plainly. Therefore, the number of Christians has likely not diminished as much as has been reported, but rather we are seeing an increasingly accurate accounting of actual Christian America.

Jon Meacham wrote the original Newsweek article on The End of Christian America. He defines his terms a little differently, and you can read his follow-up on the difference between Christian America and Christianity here.

HT: Between Two Worlds

I found this news story out of New Hampshire disturbing. I do not believe the definition of marriage should be changed to include same-sex couples, so I should be glad that the New Hampshire House of Representatives did not pass this bill. However, I am disturbed because of the reason why it did not pass.

Reuters:

A bill that would have made New Hampshire the sixth state in the United States to authorize gay marriage stalled unexpectedly Wednesday over concessions to religious groups opposed to such unions.

The state’s House of Representatives objected to language in the bill that would have allowed religious groups to decline to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies or to offer gay couples other services …

A version of the bill with more limited religious protections passed the state’s House of Representatives on March 26.

So as I understand it, the New Hampshire House of Representatives would have voted to pass the bill if it did not contain language protecting the right of conscience for religious groups. This would imply that they want to use the bill in the future to require religious groups to participate in same-sex ceremonies — even if such participation were to violate their conscience and religious beliefs. That would be a dangerous precedent as well as a violation of First Amendment rights. (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”)

HT: Stand to Reason

In this video Pastor Matt Carter from Austin Stone Community Church in Texas shares what they learned as a church about how to form authentic, Biblical, missional small groups. Matt planted Austin Stone Community several years back along with Christian artist Chris Tomlin, and he talks frankly about some of the mistakes they made in their first years as a church. Here is the money quote on small groups:

What we found is when we aimed simply for community, we got neither community nor mission. But when we aimed for mission, we got mission and community almost every single time.

(Video length: 16:09)

HT: MMI