Mark

Here is my attempt to start and finish another series that will likely take me all year and I won't always feel like updating.

But just the same, another year is starting up where I do music for CCS's after school.  In the past year, I have let a theme guide my song choices, but I never talked about it for fear I would not keep it up.  But I did, so I shall attempt to talk about it.

Tabletalk  magazine has been following the Gospel of Mark in its devotionals this year.  I have been wanting to teach straight through a Bible book but have not been able to do so.  I think after school music can be my one chance to do that, and I think I will base my Christian music selections on each week of devotions from the magazine.  I will also do fun stuff that hopefully teach the kids.

Anyway, going through a Gospel goes well with Ligonier presenting their Christological statement this year.  It has sparked no mere controversy as we can see in the debate over whether Christ has always submitted to the Father or if he did so just so that he could save people from their sins when he came to earth as a man.  I can see both sides of the debate and will not mention it today and really have no desire to do so later.

But knowing Christ is so important.  We will never do so fully or most properly here before Christ returns, but we must attempt to do so as long as we can and God has given us all we need in the Bible and in Church to help us.  I think the main thing to get right regarding Christ and all the trinity is to make sure we protect the both the Trinity's oneness and its threeness.

On the one hand, we must always acknowledge that Christ is God, equal with God the Father and the Spirit and equally to be worshiped.  Mormons do not hold Christ as equal to God and neither to Jehovah's Witnesses.  I cannot consider them true Christians.  They are actually polytheists.  While they are good people who I love, I cannot consider them Christians and will not listen to their music on Pandora.

On the other hand, we must acknowledge that Christ is also fully a man and is a separate person than the Father and the Spirit.  While we do not believe in three gods, and while Christ is completely God, he is still neither the Father, nor the Spirit.  God the Father did not die for my sins.  God the Spirit did not become a man with skin and bones.  Christ became a man and took on all the limitations that humans had.  Do deny Christ's separateness from the other two members of the trinity makes him less than a person and more of a puppet on God's hand.  But no, he is a full man and fully separate from the Father and Spirit but still completely God and not a separate god.  People who officially deny this are Unitarians and will be found in the United Church of Christ and the Oneness Pentecostal group.  I also cannot call people of these groups Christian though I cannot judge their hearts either.  I will also not go and see them speak if they should come to my church, but I have sung their songs.  Phillips, Craig, and Dean have some good songs.

I want to actually go into my first week re-reading through the devos in Tabletalk, but I feel like this blog is getting long.  Next post, I will talk about Mark 1:1-13 and conclusions I've drawn from it at least songwise.