Question: Why do you think it is unusual to be a strong or maturing believer in today’s church?

via Mark Dever, Pastor at Capitol Baptist Church in Washington D.C.

As I’m sure some of you have noticed…

The theological papers have come to a temporary halt. I explained why to a reader a few days ago. I have been meaning to explain my absence to the rest of you, and apologize for not doing so sooner.

Due to my schedule of work, school, and personal life, I am not able to produce unique content for this website outside of what I write for my school assignments. My fall semester ended in the middle of December 2011, we closed the year with a closer look at the Significance of Christmas, and then things seemed to come to an abrupt halt. This was due to a large work project (thankful for this!) that came my way, and then school starting up again just last Monday. So, that should explain to you my absence and why you have not had any juicy theological topics to chew on.

What does this mean for this Winter/Spring?

Good question. Glad you asked

In the next seven weeks (Winter) there are at least three papers that I will publish here:

• Paul’s Journey to Rome - I will be working on this paper for the next seven week’s. Details will come as I develop my research on the topic.
• The Christology Debate: What does it mean that Christ “emptied himself” in the incarnation?  Did he lay aside certain attributes of deity in order to become human, or did he retain all attributes of deity while in human flesh?
• The Providence Debate: In the realm of God’s providence, there are numerous variables and nuanced positions.  Consider the two broader views—the Arminian and the Calvinist views—and evaluate the merits of each as to whether or not there might be alternatives views that incorporate both perspectives.  Remember that this debate has less to do with the soteriological issues and more to do with God’s control over the happenings that occur in the world in which humans live and make daily choices.

That covers the my Winter classes (a study on Acts and Theology 350). Spring brings with it two new classes, Theology of Missions, and History of Life. I expect to have a few projects from the Missions class that will be published here and am not sure what to expect from the latter class.

A Super Secret Project not so Secret Any Longer!

On Friday I published a post with a few pictures hinting at something I am working on. I am here to tell you that I am going to take the theological papers that I published last year and put them into one binding, electronic, of course, and maybe print depending on the response I receive this year. With the Apple event last week came the software to create and publish interactive books in the iBook store. That announcement gave me a solid kick prompted me to start the project of publishing my articles in a more “official” manner this year.

The working title is: Theological Topics for Every Christian to Think About: A Collection of Essays.

As of now it will contain all of the theological articles published here last year. The iBook edition will contain much more than the text. You will find images (of important figures behind the theological issues), videos (of men wiser than myself expanding the theological topic at hand), quizzes (to help you review the theological topic), and a complete glossary containing terms and definitions (obviously). I will also be editing and updating each essay as well as providing in-text access to the numerous scriptural references within the essays. My hope would also be to include several other authors in the project.

I will also work on publishing a Kindle edition and a generic epub edition for those of you who do not yet own an iPad or iPhone.

Those are all of the details I have now, or at least have thought through enough to share with you. As I continue working on this I will update you with screenshots and maybe videos so that you can see what to expect (with the iBook version). I hope that this will prompt you to buy an iPad and also excite you all over again about studying these and other theological and biblical topics. 

Your help is requested but not required

There are a few ways you can help. 1) I do not have anything lined up just yet, but in a few weeks I may have a place setup for you to donate to this project (this might be at Kickstarter, but it may be my own creation as-well). 2) If you would like to be kept in the loop in a more direct way about this project please take a moment to complete the short form below. 3) Finally, if you have a network of friends and family that would like to be kept in the loop of this project, please share it with them!! [contact-form]
Filed under: Announcement Tagged: authors, ibook, interactive, Kindle, media, paul, publish, theology ]]> http://aaronaiken.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/planned-articles-and-a-book-announcement/feed/ 6 aaronaiken http://aaronaiken.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/testing-of-your-faith/ http://aaronaiken.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/testing-of-your-faith/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:08:00 +0000 Aaron http://aaronaiken.wordpress.com/?p=3722 Continue reading →]]> Good morning readers. Below you will find this week’s memory verse. This passage has always been a challenge for me, as I suspect it is for you as well. That said, study this passage in context and you will learn how to “count it all joy…when you meet trials of various kinds.”

James 1:2-4

2 Count it all joy, my brothers,   when you meet trials   of various kinds,  3 for you know that   the testing of your faith   produces steadfastness.  4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be   perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Stay tuned later today for a big announcement. This is exciting for me to share with you and is something that I hope you can be involved in!

Genesis 1:26, 27 (ESV)

26 Then God said,  ”Let us make man  in our image,  after our likeness. And  let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 

 For more details on this read the context and study it! Enjoy!

This week I want us to look at a verse that is short, simple, sweet, and extremely challenging:

James 1:22 (ESV)

But be  doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Notice the first word. That should cause you to do something: study the context. Meditate and memorize, but understand this verse in the context. Seek to understand how the original audience would have understood these words, then work to uncover what the text means (not what it means to you).

Have a great week! And be sure to stop by with your thoughts

John 1:1, 14 (ESV)

1 In the beginning was  the Word, and  the Word was with God, and  the Word was God…14 And  the Word  became flesh and  dwelt among us,  and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of  grace and  truth.  

The past two weeks we have studied the Christmas story as recorded for us by Luke in the second chapter of his gospel. The first week we looked thoroughly at 2:1-3 so that we could understand exactly when in time this event took place, and in doing so we also learned what took Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. Last week we examined vv. 4,5 which gave us a key bit of information about the child to be born: both of his parents were of the house and lineage of King David. After learning this we explored why this is so important. To keep up before reading this article, which will delve into the last two verses of our selected passage, I encourage you to read the first article here, and the second one here.

Today we close our brief study of Christmas, Luke 2:1-7, by taking a closer look at vv. 6 & 7 of our passage.

Luke 2:6,7 (ESV)

“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

I hope that you see how careful examination and study (1:3) has allowed Luke to write about one of the most important historical and spiritual events with such simplicity.  He did not get into the theology behind this birth, or even recount all of the prophesies that were just fulfilled. He simply stated, “And she gave birth” (v. 7). Who did she give birth to?

Later, in verse eight, a group of shepherds were “out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’” (vv. 8-11)

She gave birth to a Savior. This was the mission of Jesus, right? While Jesus was in the house of Zacchaeus, he says to him, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost” (19:10). This was the mission and purpose of the little child Mary wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in that cold manger.

She gave birth to the Son of God. Back in Nazareth before traveling to Bethlehem Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel. He told her, “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end…the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God” (1:32-33, 35).

The Son of God, a Savior, came to seek and save the lost. More than that, she gave birth to God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:1, 14).

In his gospel, Matthew states, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Is. 7:14]: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means God with us)” (Matt. 1:22, 23).

God came to the earth, in human form, “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10), “that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is why we celebrate Christmas. Our Lord God, Jesus Christ, Immanuel, our Savior, came into this world, the world he created (Gen. 1:1; John 1:3), to save those who would believe in him from eternal separation from him (John 3:16; Romans 3:23, 6:23).

I would like to close this article with another passage of scripture that speaks simply to what Luke recorded for us. This passage is found in Philippians chapter two and was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi. In 2:6-8 Paul says this: “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

This is who was born in the town of Bethlehem, the place of ancestry for his earthly parents and King David, as a result of a decree given by Julius Caesar (Octavian).

Merry Christmas!

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This week I am not going to give much of an explanation to these two verses. Two questions I do have, and answer below if you’d like, is if you understand why I chose these two verses? Also, what is so important about verse one in light of verse fourteen?

Enjoy this opportunity to study and meditate on two powerful verses. I look forward to hearing what you learn throughout the week.