I have only been this excited to debut a song at church one another time.
The last time I was this hyped about a new song was when I first led Andrew Peterson’s masterpiece (and still my all-time favorite song) called “Is He Worthy?“. (I wrote about that song back in 2018).
As a church, we have been studying through John’s Gospel. And we have now come to the most painful part of the book: the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
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As a Christian and a father to a biracial boy, what happened to Ahmaud Arbery is quite literally my worst nightmare.
I do not have all the facts. I do not know the whole story. But I do know that a man made in the image of God was outnumbered, ambushed, attacked, and murdered in a quiet neighborhood in broad daylight. To apply the title of ‘vigilante’ to his killers assumes guilt on Arbery’s behalf and circumvents the American right of due process. If the men truly believed Arbery was responsible for burglaries, the only right action would be to call the authorities, not exact a perverted (and incongruent) idea of ‘justice’ against the man. I pray that, going forward, the justice system will not continue to fail the Arbery family.
My dad likes to say that “Christians leak.” That’s why, he argues, we attend worship services weekly. We need to be reminded, time and again, of the truths of Scripture. We tend to forget God’s power and goodness as the stresses and pains of the world assail us between Monday and Saturday.
As we are unable to gather to be reminded in person of God’s glory, and as we face uncertain days ahead, allow me to offer a quick reminder of several foundational truths.
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I normally like feeling conflicted at the end of a movie.
I love it when the movie ends differently than I expect. I enjoy not knowing who to pull for. I appreciate films that stick in my head for days. I like a good twist.
But last night I watched Harriet with my wife. (It’s a biopic about Harriet Tubman. I highly recommend it. You can find it at Redbox). I absolutely knew who to pull for in this film! But I certainly did feel conflicted and, this time, I hated the feeling.
My pastor is currently preaching through John’s Gospel, which deals often with the doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine is supernatural, mysterious, and difficult to comprehend. It is difficult because there is nothing in all the natural, created world that perfectly illustrates or explains the Triune nature of God. All our analogies, similes, metaphors, and illustrations fail because God is distinct, unique, and altogether holy.
Since the subject is so difficult, I thought it would be helpful to give you a handful of simple, easy-to-grasp tools to help you understand the doctrine of the Trinity a bit better.
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It was sometime around 1998 or 1999 when I was introduced to the cinematic masterpiece entitled Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. (I’ll spare you a boring synopsis, because you really should watch the film in all its mid-90s glory). It was the music in the movie that gripped me. I remember being captivated by Ahmal’s voice (played by Ryan Toby) as he belted out the high notes of the old spiritual “Oh Happy Day.” I remember being enthralled by the hip-hop rendition of “Joyful, Joyful, Lord We Adore Thee” in the finale. And, most impactfully, I remember being totally enraptured by the duet between Tanya and Rita. When Rita (played by the legendary Lauryn Hill) sat down at the piano and belted out the lyrics to “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” goose bumps covered my arms and I immediately developed a full-fledged musical crush. My pre-teen world had changed completely.
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We are a busy and distracted people.
We are a busy people. We take our families to worship with our church, parent, work a job, take care of the house, chauffeur our kids to their practices and recitals, and try to squeeze in time for fellowship.
We are a distracted people. Between our daily responsibilities and our massive to-do lists, we barely have time to squeeze in a Stranger Things binge-watch on Netflix. In our precious few moments of unscheduled time, we catch up on social media, reading, or video gaming.
If you’re like most busy families I know, the highest priorities for your week go on a calendar. Sometimes they are bolded or starred or underlined. But if that important event doesn’t make it on the family calendar, it probably won’t happen.
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“I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”
C.S. Lewis, quoted in R. L. Green and W. Hooper, C. S. Lewis: A Biography (New York, 1974), page 115.
One of the most prolific authors and theologians of the 21st century, C. S. Lewis once wrote that we ought to study with pipe in teeth and pencil in hand. Now, I think pipes are gross, so if you’ll allow, I’ll modify the quote a bit.
“The best way to study is with coffee in one hand and a pen in the other” – Dr. Andrew White. There you go!
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Andrew White 