Thoughts On Gospel Truth

February 5th, 2010

The Gospel is bad news before it is good news.
It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart, that when he looks in the mirror all in a lather what he sees is at least eight parts chicken, phony, slob.

That is the tragedy.

But it is also the news that he is loved anyway, cherished, forgiven, bleeding to be sure, but also bled for.

That is the comedy.

And yet, so what? So what if even in his sin the slob is loved and forgiven when the very mark and TellingTruthsubstance of his sin and of his slobbery is that he keeps turning down the love and forgiveness because he either doesn’t believe them or doesn’t want them or just doesn’t give a damn?

In answer, the news of the Gospel is that extraordinary things happen to him just as in fairy tales extraordinary things happen.

Henry Ward Beecher cheats on his wife, his God, himself, but manages to keep on bringing the Gospel to life for people anyway, maybe even for himself. Lear goes berserk on a heath but comes out of it for a few brief hours every inch a king.

Zaccheus climbs up a sycamore tree a crook and climbs down a saint.
Paul sets out a hatchet man for the Pharisees and comes back a fool for Christ.

It is impossible for anybody to leave behind the darkness of the world he carries on his back like a snail, but for God all things are possible.

That is the fairy tale.

All together they are the truth.

(taken from Frederick Beuchner’s Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale…find it for FREE here)

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Chaos or Kingdom?

January 31st, 2010

This weekend the prancing city of Nashville has been crippled by our largest snowstorm in 7 years. Ambulances overturned, salt trucks lost control and slid off the roads, of course the multiple car crashes, and 3 mph commuters all played a part in our stories. Perhaps this all happened to allow us to see a little bit of the coming Kingdom—the Kingdom we are seeking to establish at The Axis Church. “Is Jeremy saying that Heaven will be full of chaos?”—hardly! I am speaking of the results of such a storm.

hillsledAs everything slowed down we were forced to relax—and have fun! We went to Sevier Park (12 Ave S) to go sledding. Of course we walked there—the four-wheel drive went out on my Suburban on Friday. Bummer! I had no idea what I would find when we crested the hill there at the park.

We saw people playing tackle football (hard for me to resist!), sledding, taking pictures, laughing, crashing into one another, wiping out, sharing equipment—it was so exciting! It was wonderful.

I loaded the kids on my snowboard (sitting, like on a sled) and down the hill they went—and fast! As I sent them on their way I wouldn’t simply watch them cruise into the creek and stonewall at the bottom of the hill; I ran as fast as I could along side of them. I ran to make sure they dodged trees, people, and of course the wall and creek! At just the right moment I would dive—arms outstretched—reaching for the bindings on my snowboard to pull them back towards safety. AHHHHHH! It was killer! I had so much fun—I can’t imagine that they had any more fun than I did. I loved it! We would roll in the snow together, the board would eventually stop and we would make our way back to the top of the hill.

Here is where the Divine Kingdom comes into play…

First, as I would take a break, I’d stand and look at the hundred or so people gathered together to slide down a hill. meboyssledThey used cardboard, large woks, poster frames, kid pools, wakeboards, surfboards, actual sleds (imagine that!), and even casket lids—that was very strange but highly effective and creative! They were all so very happy. No one was without a smile. Why?—the absence of work related stress and the presence of sheer, childlike pleasure. The people of Nashville had fun together, in community.
When I stood back I couldn’t help but think that Jesus was looking down upon us and grinning, ear to ear—watching us all get a small glimpse of the New World that He has prepared for us. I cannot wait!
Pray for this type of life to come quickly. Pray for us to allow Nashville to see just how wonderful Jesus is and just how much He loves and cares for them.
Thy Kingdom come!

Second, when I would help the kids have a wonderful but safe adventure on the snowboard, I was reminded of God’s providence and sovereignty. God is so magnificent that He allows us to have great adventures all within the control of His will. He loves us. He will never allow us to go so far that He is still not there in absolute control. He so desperately desires our happiness.
Oh that we would find our ultimate happiness in Him!

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Haiti’s Churches

January 16th, 2010

Many of you have been watching the horrendous images and videos that have been placed online from Haiti. Myhaiti heart has been wrecked for that struggling country. There have been several times this week that I talked with Jill about trying to fly or take a boat into the shredded, discouraged country simply to move large rock and stone off of bodies for a week or two. I pray that things get in order soon so that many can make their way to Haiti to offer them aid.

So this begs the question, what can we do here in America?

I know that there are hundreds of mediums that are seeking your financial help for the sake of Haiti. I would like to encourage you to give to Churches Helping Churches This is an organization created by Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald that will help serve pastors and their churches during this crucial time in the life of this country.

Please pray about helping.

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My New Year’s Resolutions

December 31st, 2009

This year I am committing to a few things that I hope and pray will make me a better and more faithful Christ-Follower, husband, father, church planter and friend.

With new year’s resolutions, I try not to set myself up for failure. I aspire to things that are achievable with diligence, beneficial to my soul and those around me and practical in nature. So, here are my resolutions:

Resolution #1

Read the Bible in it’s entirety–the New Testament and Psalms both twice.Bible
As I do this (here is the unique part of this resolution) I will journal my thoughts, questions and commentary in the margins of the ESV Journaling Bible and then keep this for my oldest son, J.J.
I will save this for a special occasion (e.g., graduation, wedding, etc.) and then give it to him. It will be something that only I can do and no money can purchase this anywhere. I hope to do this for each of my three children. Ideally, I will do this in a new Bible each year.
Also I plan to do the same with Banner of Truth’s “The Valley of Vision.”

Resolution #2

Spend more time in extended sessions of prayer–listening more to the still, quite voice of the Spirit.
My soul longs for this but my schedule tries to kill this. I must do this.
As a part of this I want to learn more of the Holy Spirit and His work in my life.

Resolution #3

Be more intentional with my family time. I have grown so much in this area of my life. I cherish being a husband and a father. It is the coolest hobby in the world. Who knew that fatherhood could be (and must be) more fun than snowboarding, hunting, basketball or football?!?! I love it!
Well, here is detail for this resolution. I want to spend more quality time with my extended family this year. After seeing two grandparents admitted to nursing homes last week, Jill and I are experiencing the brevity of life. Our loved ones will not be here with us forever. So, I plan to capitalize on my family moments more this year than ever before.

Thanks for reading.
Grace and Peace.

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Great Prayer to a Great God

December 29th, 2009

I try to read from Banner of Truth’s “The Valley of Vision” every day. It is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions from several centuries ago. I came across this one today and just had to pass it along to you. Wow! This really blessed me.

THE GREAT GOD
O Fountain of all good,

Destroy in me every lofty thought,

Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds.
Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,
Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,
Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,
Open in me a fount of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up;
Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;

Then can the Father take up his abode in me,
Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in his touch,
Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;
O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,

inhabit me, a temple consecrated to your glory.
When you are present, evil cannot abide;
In your fellowship is fullness of joy,
Beneath thy smile is peace of conscience,
By thy side no fears disturb,
no apprehensions banish rest of mind,

With thee my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me meet, though repentance, for thine indwelling.
Nothing exceeds thy power,
Nothing is too great for thee to do,
Nothing too good for thee to give.
Infinite is thy might, boundless thy love,
limitless thy grace, glorious thy saving name.

Let angels sing for sinners repenting, prodigals restored,
backsliders reclaimed, Satan’s captives released,
blind eyes opened, broken hearts bound up,
the despondent cheered, the self-righteous striped,
the formalist drive from a refuge of lies,
the ignorant enlightened,
and saints built up in their holy faith.

I ask great things of a great God.

I pray that this encourages you as well.
Grace and Peace.

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What a wasted…

December 29th, 2009

What do you think if we substitute the word ‘life‘ for ‘cancer‘ (from Justin Taylor)…

  1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
  2. You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
  3. You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
  4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
  5. You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
  6. You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
  7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
  8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.
  9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.
  10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

admin All things for good, Christian Life

Spontaneous Worship

December 24th, 2009

I was blown away when I viewed this clip. I caught this on www.theResurgence.com

From Mike Anderson:
Above is a video that made me tear up a bit to see two strangers get to worship Jesus in such a sincere way—the action starts at 0:30.

Apparently they were shooting a music video for a Sunday service and a homeless man came into the frame and started singing to Jesus out of the blue—wow.

It’s been a long time since I posted without having someone edit it first, but I thought this was too good to wait. Please share this with friends on Facebook and Twitter if you think they’ll benefit.

This video is from @loswhit and the guys at Buckhead in Atlanta.

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We have a trailer!

December 16th, 2009

The Axis Church now owns a trailer! This is great news. We have been storing items at other locations for a while now. Each week we have been unloading/loading 3-4 different vehicles that have been acting as our church trailerstorage and trailer! A big THANK YOU is in order for those faithful friends who have sacrificed their trunks, back seats and rear view mirrors!

We are now planning to build large crates on wheels so we only have to roll each designated cart to its location. THEN, a fly paint job. THAT will be exciting!

Continue to pray for us at The Axis Church. Thanks!
PS…If you would like to give to our ministry in downtown Nashville, check out www.TheAxisChurch.org and look under “GET INVOLVED”

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It’s Official!

December 16th, 2009

I was elated when I read this on the Acts 29 Network’s news wire!

Please welcome Jeremy and Jill Rose, & The Axis Church in Nashville, TN into full membership.acts29logo
The Axis’s heart is to become a Christ-centered community which exists for the glory of God and the good of the city by extending hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ

Jeremy’s prayer is:
I need wisdom and grace to persevere. I must continue to preach the gospel to myself—pray this for me. Pray for my time with the Lord, my kids and my wife. We need more funding—pray for this. Pray also for the future elders of The Axis.

This is such a clear example of God’s grace. We are so privileged to be a part of this wonderful group of like-minded churches. Please pray for us as we make disciples of Christ.

Grace and Shalom,
Jeremy

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>>SAVED!<<

December 7th, 2009

My heart is full this morning.
I just had to write to share with you all a tremendous victory that our young church experienced this week.

axis-Dec6Two weeks ago as we were setting up for our gathering, I noticed a man sitting on the park picnic tables. Let me be very honest here and say that we are very white so far at The Axis (this is humbling to confess). We pray each week during our core training for other races to be drawn to The Axis and that they partner with us. In our urban context, we must have other races…MUST. This man was from west Africa. He has his undergrad degree and seemed to be very genuine. He wasn’t interested in showing up that night.

I prayed for him at least 5 times over these last 2weeks. I even shared with him our prayer and need for “other cultures” to gather with us to worship. He thought it was funny but he understood and appreciated my desire for that.

Last night this man showed up. His name is Gilbert. He took a Bible as his own and used it during our gathering. After our time together I was tracing the room for Gilbert. I wanted to connect with him before he left. After 15minutes, I assumed he had IMMEDIATELY slipped out—that wasn’t a good sign.

One of our Interim Leadership Team members (Jacob) asked me if I heard about Gilbert. I had not. He said, “Bro, Gilbert just got saved!” I was elated! Not only did God give us an African brother, He allowed our very first convert to be GILBERT! Gilbert told Jacob, “I want to be adopted by Christ.” DANG! I love it!!!

I hugged Gilbert like a bear (I know that is perhaps weird, but Gilbertunder the circumstances and my manly example of a bear, I consider it OK). I said, “What happened bro? I heard something about you.” He said, “I am owned by Jesus.” I said, “Yes you are my friend.” He said, “I want to be apart of your family here.” I said, “Gilbert, you are already apart of our family. We are going to eat together, drink together, watch UFC together, sing together—all sorts of things that families do, we will do together.” Tonight Jacob is picking him up and taking him to supper then on to our men’s Bible study at 8pm.

This is huge for us. We have been gathering for only 4 months but that is quite some time to go with no convert. I just knew it was going to happen soon…BUT GILBERT?!?! Last night?! Wow. I am so blessed.

That’s it. Thanks for your time.
Grace. Peace. Jeremy

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