Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Feb 19, 2010
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Here are 10 reasons to learn Greek. I threw them together and haven't spent a long time crafting them, but here they are nonetheless.
1. God, in his grace and wisdom, has chosen to reveal himself to us in space/time history. This means that he gave us his Word in specific times and places to specific people with specific languages. As we study Greek, we are able to pull back the veil, as it were, and grapple with the New Testament specifically, as God gave it.
2. Learning another language opens us up to cultures and worlds we knew nothing about.
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Feb 18, 2010
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At the end of the day, what are you most excited about?
There are groups of Christians with whom I've conversed (and perhaps some have seen me this way in my immaturity over the years) who have all sorts of things that they're most excited about, but it isn't the gospel of Christ.
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So, what makes you tick most? What do you talk about most?
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Is it social justice for the sex slave?
Is it the Greek language for the language's sake?
Is it providing aid for the earthquake affected Haitians?
Is it evangelism for number's sake?
Is it church programs?
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Without denying the importance of any one of these, none are centre. There is one thing that should never be assumed in our lives. And that's the gospel: the good news that though we were sinners, Christ died for us, the ungodly, the rebels, so that we might be reconciled to God.
Out of that framework, let's help the Haitians, and let's save the sex slaves, and let's study Greek, and let's share that same good news with all the world.
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Does that excite you? Or does it not? Let's test ourselves and seek the face of our Lord.
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Feb 12, 2010
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In Deuteronomy 17, as Moses is speaking to the people, he relays God's command for the future kings in Israel (which is fascinating in its own right) to do the following:
"When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart many not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel." (Deut 17:18-20, ESV)
As I've heard it said, how different would Israel's history had been if all the kings had actually obeyed this command to sit down upon ascending to the throne and write out in their own hand, a copy of the Scriptures, and then read it daily.
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Feb 09, 2010
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The thing I am continually struck by in reading through the Torah (or the Pentateuch, or the first 5 books of the Bible), is how God's grace is magnified and how it points toward the coming Messiah.
Here's a small look at Jesus picking up on the issue of the manna (the bread given by God to the Israelites) and showing its fulfillment:
http://alivingsacrificetogod.blogspot.com/2010/02/purpose-in-manna-and-fulfillment.html
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Feb 05, 2010
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If you've ever wanted to study the New Testament in its original language but were scared or didn't know how to start, you may be interested in this:
Starting Tuesday, March 2nd at 7pm at Calvary, I will be teaching an introductory Greek language course.
This course is for young and old alike.
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in General on Jan 30, 2010
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Congratulations to the Reverend Pastor Paul Graham on getting "reved up" and being ordained yesterday!
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Jan 16, 2010
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Ah, application. We're always asking how something, especially the biblical text, is relevant and applies directly to our lives. The tacit assumption in such an approach is usually that, in the words of Peter Enns, application is something "demonstrable and concrete. Specifically, it pushes us to do something; that is, it has to be "practical."" (italics his)
But, consider this:
"The ultimate goal of application may not always be to tell us how we should act. It may also be to change how we think, how we look at the world around us, and how we understand what it means to be a child of God. "Application" may mean that we grow in our understanding of how great God is and how full of love he is. Proper application may be no more than coming to the truly heartfelt conclusion that our God is indeed great. Application is worship." (Peter Enns, Exodus, NIVAC, 31-32).
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Jan 15, 2010
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I remember when I was in school during the 2004 tsunami. The hot topic was 'where was God in all of this?' It appears as though every time a massive natural disaster occurs with massive loss of life, the atheists and skeptics are quick to jump up and show how unjust God is. Well, as Ravi Zacharias has said (in my paraphrase), "Didn't they realize they gave up their right to ask 'where is God in this?' when they claimed he didn't exist?"
Shouldn't an atheist or skeptic who has denied God in the first place give an answer for evil occuring from their worldview?
But, nevertheless, we need to answer certain questions given that God does exist. So, how do we respond when faced with these sorts of questions? Does God hate Haiti?
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Jan 15, 2010
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Here is a good summary of some of the organizations helping in Haiti that you can donate to.
Posted by: Andrew Rozalowsky
in A Living Sacrifice on Jan 11, 2010
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I mentioned in my sermon on Sunday C.S. Lewis and his masterful dealing of the reality of heaven. The book is The Great Divorce and I thought I would share an excerpt.
You'll recall I was saying that when you think of heaven, don't think ethereal and floaty; think concrete and greater.
So, the context is that a group from hell has taken a bus to heaven and they are experiencing this different place and they interact with the solid people of heaven. The narrator is one of the men who has come from below to experience heaven, not yet knowing the difference between the two places.
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