Suggested Reading for Current Sermon Series

The following books are ones that I have found very valuable in preparing the sermon series "The Alpha and the Omega: The Story of God from Genesis to Revelation," on the overarching story of the Bible:

Short and accessible:

The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, Scot McKnight
Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us, Scot McKnight
A Walk Through the Bible, Lesslie Newbigin
The Unfolding Drama of the Bible, Bernard Anderson
The Story We Find Ourselves In, Brian McLaren
God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible, Vaughan Roberts
Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell and Don Golden

The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story, Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen

Big and scholarly:

The New Testament and the People of God, N.T. Wright
The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative, Christopher Wright
The Story of God: Wesleyan Theology and Biblical Narrative, Michael Lodahl

Sermon Audio Now Available

You can now listen to my sermons online, which I will be recording at the Presley Chapel UMC service, thanks to the new sound system we recently put in out there.

I hope that in coming weeks as I experiment more with the audio editing software I can make the audio sound clearer.

The sermons will be posted on the new Huntsville UMC website that Pam has put together:

http://www.huntsvillearumc.org/

Click on "Pastor's Page" and knock yourself out.

Fall Sermon Series

The Alpha and the Omega:

The Story of God from Genesis to Revelation

What is the Bible all about? This is the question that we will seek to answer in this new sermon series that will follow the epic storyline of the Bible from the creation of the world in Genesis to the ultimate restoration of the world in Revelation.

You may have grown up hearing about stories from the Bible. You may have heard the stories of characters like Abraham, Noah, Moses, Ruth, David, Daniel, Mary, Jesus, Paul, etc. But how does it all hang together? How do all the stories fit within the Story that the Bible tells?

The Bible is more than a collection of inspiring stories, moral rules, and religious prescriptions. It is the unfolding redemptive drama and adventurous narrative of a God who creates a world that he loves too much to give up on. It is the story of God's purpose to bring all people, indeed, even all of creation, into fulfillment under the gracious kingdom of God.

The story of the Bible is one that God has inspired to draw us into it so that we may have the privilege of playing a role in moving the plot forward so that God's vision for how God wants the world to be- you included - may come true.

Shakespeare's Macbeth articulates how many people experience their life, as "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." How can the story of our lives find deep meaning and eternal purpose? I think the answer is by letting our stories become a part of God's story of love and redemption; by seeing the story of our lives as a small but significant part in an epic story much larger and greater than we can comprehend.

In this sermon series we will be breaking down the narrative flow of the Bible into eight sections or "chapters," and devoting a message to each. Here is the schedule of the upcoming sermons:

Preface: What is the Bible? (Aug. 30th)
Chapter 1: Creation: The Pattern of the Kingdom (Sept 6th)
Chapter 2: Crisis: The Perished Kingdom (Sept 13th)
Chapter 3: Calling: The Promised Kingdom (Sept 20th)
Chapter 4: Conversations: The Partial Kingdom (Sept 27th)
Chapter 5: Christ: The Present Kingdom (Oct 4th)
Chapter 6: Church: The Proclaimed Kingdom (Oct 11th)
Chapter 7: Consummation: The Perfected Kingdom (Oct 18th)

New Two-Part Sermon Series

In the last two decades our culture has seen a remarkable rise in interest in spiritual beings. Songs, movies, and books on the subject witness to our fascination with the spiritual realm and the beings that live in it. This is as good a time as any to explore what the Bible and the Christian tradition has said about the existence of such beings, and why we should believe that such beings exist. In our first sermon we will explore a variety of questions about the existence of angels, and what purpose they serve. In the next sermon, we will take a closer look at the belief in the existence of "fallen angels," chief among them being one referred to as "Satan."

(By the way, Andrea made this promotional graphic with the skills she learned in her digital arts class. Isn't it cool?)

Fall Group Study: The Secret Message of Jesus

Our Fall Group Study will center on a book written by Brian McLaren, called "The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything." This 12-week study will go from August 23rd-November 8th, and will meet at the parsonage. We will kick off this study with a hamburger cookout on Sunday, August 23rd, at 6:30. At this initial get-together you can get a copy of the book (cost is $5), and we will discuss what time for our meetings would be best for everyone.

There is a sign-up sheet at the back table in the church for those who are interested.

Participating in this study will require reading about 20 pages a week, and coming prepared to discuss insights and questions you have about the material.

The book we are reading is, I think, one of the most helpful books around for helping us see more clearly who Jesus was (and is) and what his message was (and still is) about. This book begins by exploring the historical, social, political, and religious context in which Jesus lived, and then goes on to investigate his message in that light. The last part of the book takes things forward to spur us to reflect on what Jesus' message means for us today.

Here is how one reviewer describes this book:

"Pastor and bestselling author McLaren (A New Kind of Christian) explores Jesus's teaching in this book, placing it in its Jewish context, analyzing its tenets and expression, and trying to work out how it should be lived today. McLaren starts with the assumption that the church may not have accurately understood Jesus's "secret message" (hidden "as a treasure one must seek in order to find"). He revisits the gospel material from a fresh—and at times radical—perspective. The church has focused on salvation as a means to "heaven after you die" for too long, according to McLaren; we should take Jesus at his word when he says "the kingdom of God is here now," and work to assist that kingdom by being peacemakers and loving others. McLaren admits to not exploring every topic here in depth, in an effort to keep the book brief, but he does an excellent job of capturing Jesus's quiet, revolutionary style—the prophet who spoke in parables, who didn't want people to talk about his miracles, who challenged established Jewish thought, and paradoxically found ultimate fulfillment and victory through death."

"you have received a spirit of adoption" (Rom 8:15)

This past Sunday we announced that we have begun the process to adopt some children. Andrea wrote a post on our family blog that I wanted to share with you:

thebetterbradleyblog.blogspot.com

She also put together a new family photo:

Specks and Logs

This coming Sunday we will be exploring Jesus' teachings about judging others (spoiler alert: Jesus is against it!)

Last year I read a very eye-opening book called "Unchristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters." This book is based on surveys and research among 18-35 year old people who are outside the church. One of the most popular and pervasive impressions that young people outside the church have of Christians is "judgmental." This is a problem. A big problem. You can see some video interviews with the authors at:

http://www.youtube.com/unchristianbook

You can also look at a summary of their research at:

http://www.unchristian.com/