24 “If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.” Deuteronomy … Continue reading Bible Note #37 — Deuteronomy 23:24-25: Provision for Neighbors in Need
Quote of Note #69 — Our Allegiance to our King not some Party
"The gospel that Paul preached was not a message about some private, interior transformation of the heart. It is a message about a new allegiance to a King-in-waiting. As such, there was something radically political about the gospel--which didn't mean, of course, that Christians sided with a particular political party. In fact, there was a … Continue reading Quote of Note #69 — Our Allegiance to our King not some Party
Quote of Note #68 — “The World as an end, faith as a means”
{Advice from a senior devil to his apprentice tempter on the use of politics to ruin the faith of a Christian} "Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. … Continue reading Quote of Note #68 — “The World as an end, faith as a means”
Quote of Note #67 — “Prefer Others to Ourselves”
"When Scripture commands us to conduct ourselves in such a manner toward men, as 'in honor to prefer others to ourselves,' and faithfully to devote our whole attention to the promotion of their advantage, it gives such commands as heart can by no means receive without being first cured of our sinful nature." John Calvin, … Continue reading Quote of Note #67 — “Prefer Others to Ourselves”
Quote of Note #66 — A Pastor’s Vision
"I’m one hundred times more passionate about creating Christians and churches that will be faithful, biblical, countercultural, and spiritually minded in a socialist America, in a Muslim America, in a communist America, than I am in preventing a Muslim America or a communist America. That puts me in a very different ballpark than many public … Continue reading Quote of Note #66 — A Pastor’s Vision
Quote of Note #65 — Integrity in Political Life
"We need to believe that both the dignity of our opponents, and the character we aim to model for our kids, require some basic rules for public debate. We should stop holding the candidates on 'our side' to lower standards than we expect from our opponents. This shouldn't be hard. Lying matters, and truth matters. … Continue reading Quote of Note #65 — Integrity in Political Life
Quote of Note #64 — Christ’s Holy Nation: His Church
"Whatever our calling, we know this: We are not serving wicked kings, but the King of kings who fulfills all types and shadows of the Old Covenant Israel. His coronation did not come by earthly decree, but through his resurrection and ascension. Therefore, his way of conquering the world's kingdoms is also revolutionary. He doesn't … Continue reading Quote of Note #64 — Christ’s Holy Nation: His Church
Pastor Note #84 — Surrender to an “Interfering God”
In his spiritual memoir, Surprised by Joy, the great Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, admits that from the days of his youth one of the things he disliked most in adults was their tendency to interfere with his life. “No word in my vocabulary expressed deeper hatred than the word Interference.” He notes that it … Continue reading Pastor Note #84 — Surrender to an “Interfering God”
Quote of Note #63 — Political Tribalism and National Suicide
"What is needed is for people from both sides to agree that the political and policy divides are not our primary identities or our primary divides. As Americans, we need to agree first on the universal dignity of all people, before we descend to the more divisive but less important debates about the prudential use … Continue reading Quote of Note #63 — Political Tribalism and National Suicide
Quote of Note #62 — Unalienable Rights
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence, Second Continental Congress, 1776
Gary Chorpenning's Notebooks 