Carl's Random Thoughts

Here is the class video from Sunday’s session on John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion.”

The new microphone arrangment worked out well. Class member comments sound loud and clear, and there is a minimum of extraneous noise.

The title editing is rather quick and dirty since I am using a new movie-editing program, uploaded on Tuesday, and have not yet mastered all of its features. As I progress along the learning curve it should improve.

Sunday’s Message continued our series on The Sermon on the Mount, and was about Jesus’ teaching on divorce in Matthew 5:31, 32, and 19: 3-12.

“In the church, the subject of divorce is one of the most sensitive, potentially hurtful and even offensive, topics that a minister can touch. Just as Social Security reform is the third rail of politics which lawmakers avoid for all they are worth lest they get burned, divorce is the topic that most preachers secretly dread to bring up because they know that in some respects it places them in a no-win situation.

“Despite the preacher’s best efforts to remain sensitive to people’s feelings, if he wishes to be faithful to the truth of God’s Word the topic of divorce never fails to stir up deep emotions such as sorrow or guilt or shame, or feelings of failure, or anger, or bitterness, or worse. If that were not bad enough, it is all too easy for preachers to fall into one of two serious errors when dealing with this subject: legalism and compromise.”

To Read or Print Out a copy of the meditation, click here.

To Download an audio file of the message, right-click here: Message 012212, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the video of the message (you may need to turn up the volume on your computer):

My Sunday Morning Class began reading Anthony Lane’s much abridged and modernized edition of John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion.”

This was the first class using the new camera and microphones which were added so that class members’ comments could be heard online.

Many thanks to everyone who donated to this project. We were able to buy a good quality camera and mikes and still come in about $20 under the amount raised. Special thanks for the donation of the mixer!

As it happens, the new camera records in a format which is not supported by the movie-editing program that I use. After reading about this issue online I decided not to download one of the free file-converter programs (too risky) or pay money for one which would only add another level of complexity to the operation. Instead, I bought a new movie-editor program. As soon as it arrives I will upload the class video.

To Download an audio file of the class, right-click here: Calvin 012212, select “Save Target As…” then save t0 your computer or MP3 device.

The Class Video will posted later this week.

The Sunday Morning Class which was supposed to resume yesterday beginning a study of Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion” was postponed to next Sunday, the 22nd, due to me having a bad sore throat and fever.

The Message on Sunday continued a series on The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. This week we considered Jesus’ teaching on Lust.

“Jesus had a knack for saying things that make us feel exceedingly uncomfortable. If you think that Jesus was all about sweetness and light and warm feelings, all you have to do is read the Gospels and you will discover how quickly he can make you squirm. This passage today, and Jesus’ follow-up comment on divorce which we will look at next time, are good examples of that.” To Read More or to Print a Copy of the meditation, click here.

To Download an audio file of the message, right-click here: Message 011512, select “Save Target As…”, then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the video of the message:

Sunday’s Message was from Matthew 5:1, 2, 21-26: Jesus on Anger.

“Beginning with today’s passage, and continuing all the way through verse 14 of chapter 7, Jesus provides a number of concrete examples of how true Christians are to respond to some of the most common, and difficult, situations that we may face from time to time on our journey through this life. What he says here may make some of us feel uncomfortable and even offend us. But we need to attend to Jesus’ words, because he means what he says. This is what men and women who have the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit can look like as their character and behavior become more and more conformed to his.

“In our verses this morning, Jesus teaches us the Christ-like response to a very serious sickness of the heart: anger.” To Read More or Print a Copy of the message, click here.

To Download an audio file of the message, right-click here: Message 010812, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is the video of the message:

My Sunday Morning Class resumes on the 15th. We will begin reading together the Anthony Lane abridgement/modernization of John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion”. The upgrade to the camera and sound system is complete, so online viewers will be able to hear class members’ comments as clearly as my own. Many thanks to all of you whose donations made this upgrade possible!

The Sunday Morning Class will resume on January 15th.

The Message on New Year’s Day resumed the series on The Sermon on the Mount. I spoke about Jesus’ relationship to Law and lawlessness from Matthew 5:17-20.

“Jesus knew that some of his disciples would react to his sermon by becoming discouraged, so before he begins listing concrete examples of lived faith he takes a moment to clarify what he is about to say. In our verses today he makes it as clear as he can that he has no intention of teaching his disciples either of the two great errors of religion: legalism or lawlessness.” To Read More or to print a copy of the message, click here.

To Listen to the message, click here:

To Download the message, right-click here: Message 010112, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Here is a video of the Message. This is an experiment which I may or may not repeat. You may need to adjust the volume of the video at the YouTube site, or on your computer.

My Sunday morning class will resume at 10 AM on Sunday, January 15 (NOTE: not the 8th). We will read together Tony Lane’s much abridged and modern reader-friendly: The Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Calvin wrote the “Institutes” for unschooled men and women, to help them love the Lord as much as he did himself. From the back cover: This “is ‘a selection from the Institutes which is manageable for the average modern reader, in terms of length and intelligibility.’ [. . .] Calvin designed the Institutes ‘above all to be a practical book, to be a book about the Christian life. . . . [Calvin] requires of all doctrine that it be scriptural and that it be useful for Christian living.”

I have previewed this book and assure you that it is understandable, and will be a benefit to you when read as part of this class. As always, I plan to video record the class and post it here. So far, generous class members have donated $600 for the new camera and external mike which will enable us to record the class conversation as well as my comments. I am still shopping for a camera/mike, so there is time to make a donation if you wish.

On January 15th we will begin with pages 11-35 (the Introduction and Part 1: “Knowing God and Ourselves”).

You can order the book from Amazon.com by clicking here: The Institutes of the  Christian Religion.

If you prefer the definitive English translation (2 hard cover volumes), click here: Calvin, Two Volume Edition.

Here is a link to a helpful book: A Reader’s Guide to Calvin’s Institutes.

If you decide not to buy the book and read along, I do encourage you to attend the class anyway, as you will certainly benefit from the class discussion as we allow John Calvin to lead us deeper in the knowledge and fear (and love!) of the Lord.

The Christmas Day Message looked at Jesus from the perspective of the first verses of Hebrews.

“If you want to get to the heart of the real Jesus and learn why he is worthy of humanity’s praise and obedience, you must turn to the Word of God which reveals him in all of his greatness and glory. Nowhere in the Word is the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ expressed as beautifully or in as few words as in these first four verses of the book of Hebrews that I read a moment ago. These verses tell us everything that we need to know about Jesus, who he is and what he has done, so that we may confidently entrust ourselves to him in faith, and then follow him in faith through a lifetime of love, loyalty and obedience.” To read more or to print a copy of the message, click here.

The listen to the message, click here:

To Download an audio file of the message, right-click here: Message 122511 , select “Save Target As…”, then save to your computer or MP3 device.

The Sunday Morning Bible study wrapped up “The Gospel According to Moses.” We will take off Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and resume in January.

Here is the class video:

To download an audio file of the class, right-click here: Moses 121811, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP 3 device.

The Sunday Morning Bible Study did not meet yesterday. The Mission Committee sponsored a visiting Iraqi Christian who gave a presentation about life as a Christian in a non-Christian country.

The class will meet on Sunday the 18th to wrap up our study of “The Gospel According to Moses, Part 2.” We will then take off two Sundays before resuming in January and beginning another topic (I have not yet decided what it will be).

Sunday’s Message was on Matthew 5:1, 2, 13-16 where Jesus called his disciples “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”

“Our passage today is the second part of Jesus’ introduction to the Sermon. In these verses Jesus begins to shift his focus from the inner, renewed character of a true Christian to the behavior which grows out of that character. He does not yet give specific advice about how Christians are to respond to various life situations. That’s what the rest of the sermon is all about.

“Instead, Jesus describes, in broad, general terms, the effect that his disciples will have on their small corner of the world when they live as the kind of people he described in the Beatitudes. In other words, to the extent that your character and your behavior are being conformed to his: “You are the salt of the earth [and]you are the light of the world.”

Click here to read more or print out the message.

To listen to the message, click here:

To Download the message, right-click here: Message 121111, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

Sunday’s Message looked at the topic of persecution for Jesus’ sake, found in Matthew 5:1, 2, 10-12.

“In this eighth and last Beatitude Jesus tells us that when we are actively involved in the process of becoming conformed to his image we should not be surprised or distressed if we find ourselves at cross purposes to a world which does not know him and does not want him. Nor should we be surprised or distressed when our faith and obedience to Christ provoke opposition from others: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.’ These words are like a cold splash of reality tossed right in our faces.” To read more or print our a copy of the message, click here.

To Listen to the message, click here:

To Download an audio file of the message, right-click here: Message 120411, select “Save Target As…” then save to your computer or MP3 device.

The Sunday Morning Bible Study discussed two groups of people in Israel who were holy unto the Lord, not because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit, but because of their particular role within the nation.

Again this week, due to my error there is no audio file of the class for download.

Here is the class video: