Terry Pruitt's Blog

Text : Song of Solomon 1 Main Idea : Romantic love is ideally an enchanting relationship. Introduction The Ten Commandments gives us the basics for morality. There is a temptation to see all of life through the Ten Commandments in a way that only emphasizes the negative. This negative starting point has made some people believe that the negative aspect of ethics is all that is required. Our Lord and Savior however taught two things regarding the Commandments, that they are to be interpreted beyond the surface level and that they are summed up in positive acts. He shows the Ten Commandments are to be interpreted beyond the surface level when he says thing like that a man is guilty of murder by simply calling someone else names. (Matthew 5:21-26) He shows they are better summed up by a positive act when he says that the sum of the Law is to love God with all our heart, soul and might and to love our neighbor as ourself. (Matthew 22:34-40) Despite these interpretations, some thr...

Text : Ecclesiastes 12 Main Idea : We are to use all that is within us to serve and worship God. Outline of Ecclesiastes 12 1. Use Your Capacity to Enjoy by Worshiping God (Ecc. 12:1-8) a. Worship the Creator Before Pleasure Fades (Ecc. 12:1) b. Pleasure Fades In Old Age (Ecc. 12:2-5) c. Pleasure Fades Completely at Death (Ecc. 12:6-8) 2. Use Your Capacity for Wisdom by Being Discerning (Ecc. 12:9-12) 3. Use All Your Capacities to Live a Self-Examined Life Before God (Ecc. 12:13-14) Introduction As Christians we are often not that different from the world in understanding the meaning of life. The world sees the meaning of life is enjoying relationships, wealth or simply a good day on vacation Christians want to find meaning in life by enjoying Christian pleasure; Christian family life, Christian financial freedom, or an adventure on a missions trip. Sometimes these pleasures are more distinguished by demographic association rather than by something spiritually...

Text: Job 38 - 39 Main Idea: To understand suffering one must understand the wonder of understanding. Introduction Beauty is best described rather than defined. When we see a morning sunrise, we can predict with mathematical precision when the sunrise will occur. But a sun rise that is beautiful is better described as awesome, radiant or spectacular. Beauty is not limited to a sunrise; it is in all sorts of things, fish, a family picnicking at the park, rock formations, birds, cattle, volcanoes, clouds, and a host of other things have beauty. The beauty is not simply in the lines and form, but in the associated phenomena. The movement of clouds can have its own way of fascinating the mind and eye. Those things that are not beautiful are in someway not good, they cause pain, they are ugly. Suffering in this world come through the fall, that is the sin of the first pair of humans. When they sinned, they affected not only the human race. Suffering was multiplied on the human...

I just finished reading an article by Os Guinness reviewing the book by Frank Schaeffer "Crazy for God". Os goes toe to toe with Frank over the book and basically calls him a spoiled brat who never got it. Both are strong personalities. For this one, I am taking Os as the one I'm believing, Francis Schaeffer was a strong personality who loved God and people but was a flesh and blood human with many and asundry flaws. I do not beleive that he was a con man who conned himself.

My commute is okay. It means I do not work at home. That is okay. But I sometimes miss the farm life. Work and home are intermingled. I miss the connection with nature. I miss how life on the farm is integrated. It has its ups and downs. I think I miss both. However, on my commute to work I listen to Mars Hill Audio . Ken Myers loves Wendell Berry's writings. Before Ken Myers mentioned his writings, I had never heard of them. So I started searching to see what the constant references to Wendell Berry are all about. I found this poem today called The Mad Farmer Liberation Front . One of the lines in the poem says "Work for nothing". Believe it or not, I did a lot of work for nothing on the farm, but I still enjoyed it. I think I may have worked harder for nothing than I did for something at times. Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. Click here to read th...

Text: Job 2 Main Idea: You and I need to receive both good and evil from the Lord. Introduction Probably one of the most prayed for requests in the American church is the request for healing. Some churches are looking for dramatic healing each week. Other feel it is a good thing to do just so one show he is concerned for the other party. It is good because it shows symbolically that one cares. Whether a prayer for healing is offered with skepticism or faith does not negate the fact that some of the most common forms of suffering in America are health related. This sort of suffering shakes us to our core. Unless the Lord returns, chances are most of us we die from an accident or a disease that causes our health to fail. Some people suffer life long illness while others suffer just a little at the end of a long life. Our health will be an issue. Will it cause us to be bitter or will we be someone who flourishes spiritually as the physical man is passing away. I have a great-...

Three things are stately in their tread; four are stately in their stride: the lion, which is mightiest among beasts and does not turn back before any; the strutting rooster, the he-goat, and a king whose army is with him. ---Proverbs 30:29-31 (ESV) Different creatures in nature have different glories. A rooster is a glorious thing to see. He is proud of his feathers and his position. A lion knows he is a beast to be feared. A rooster would be no challenge for a lion though. A he-goat is no challenge for a lion, though he also is proud of his position and strength. When we think of a lion we think of an animal dangerous and to be feared. But in a sense, a general (king) with his troops who are equipped for battle find no match in a lion. This is especially true if we are talking about a modern general with attack helicopters, snipers, artillery, tanks and well trained troops. We all have our own gifting and glory. The glory may be small or large. One may be a...

How to Reduce Your Risks: A Lesson on Proverbs 6 By Terry Pruitt If you use this lesson in a small group or Sunday School class please let me know. Texts: Proverbs 6; Rom 13:8; 2Th 3:10; Mat 12:36; Heb 5:14; Heb 9:1 Main Idea: There is a difference between someone who takes naive risk and someone who simply enjoys being evil; both will suffer consequences. Many people look at morality as simply rules to mitigate risk in our lives. Often these people would see the function of laws and etiquette is to bring order, happiness and prosperity. With this sort of thinking, rules of morality are functional in nature, they are to bring the most good. The authority of “Thou shalt not” becomes the suggestion stating “be careful if you do”. Morality becomes a way of expressing risk management. In this thinking, the exact cause and effect sequence of why are not always known, but the speaker knows that something might happen bad if one breaks the rule. Of course many Christians see...

God declares a new covenant thus making the old covenant with Israel obsolete. 8:7-13 The old covenant had many regulations but did not perfect the conscience of those under it. 9:1-10 Christ truly cleansed those under the new covenant with his own blood. 9:11-14 Christ established the new covenant through his death. 9:15-22 The new, heavenly covenant is superior to the earthly shadows in the first covenant. 9:23--28

I really like the story of King Saul and King David in the Bible. Saul was a "head and shoulder" kind of leader. He depended on his own smarts and his own strength. He made sacrifices that only the priest should have made. He makes a rash vow. He disobeys the Lord in destroying the enemies of Israel. In the end, he disqualified himself from leadership. A haunting thought that has been my adversary for years is the thought that somehow I have, like Saul, disqualified myself from service to God. I have wanted to do the Christian life the right way. I hoped I was doing it well enough to get God's blessing. This would not have been my official theological position, but it was the hope of my heart to earn God's blessing. My attempts to earn God's blessing though brought more doubts because my many sinful thoughts, sinful motives, and sinful actions. Then the events in my life started pointing to the fact that I was not going to be achieve certain goals. This m...

I just finished reading the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. It took me over a year since I was obligated to read other versions and reading certain sections for classes I have been taking. I read all of 1 Samuel through Ecclesiastes twice. I have been reading a chapter in Hebrews one at a time as I go through translating it. One of my first observations is that it is not as smooth in style as the NIV. This is probably because the ESV is much more closely a word for word translation instead of a thought by thought translation. I have used the NIV as my primary translation for over 20 years so the switch my be rough based simply on what I am used to. While I feel the ESV is a reliable translation, there are passages, I'm not sure they got it right. I feel the same about the NIV, but neither are a bad translation. This issue is much more an observation from a student of the Bible rather than a criticism from a foe of either translation. One of the biggest benefi...

Yesterday after church I just hung out. I did nothing but watch TV. Funny thing, I had some weird dreams on issues that had been on my mind quite a bit. I'm guessing that I have been so busy that I just had not been able to process everything going on in my head and heart. God instituted the Sabbath to give us rest. I don't think I have the rest thing down yet, but I want to.

Worship, is it a drama? Is it singing a few songs and a lesson we call a sermon? Is worship about connecting with our emotions or with our intellect? Should the service be full of spontaneity or order? Should it be simple or ornate? What is the place of tradition? As I think through these issues I find myself drawn to diverse parts of traditions and innovations. I love to see the Word of God respected by having an Old Testament lesson, an New Testament lesson and a Psalm. If we read it responsively, that sounds good. But I enjoy innovation of bringing in drama teams and slide projection too. The article in Leadership Journal called Richer Blend written by Bob Kauflin tells a similar urge by the author to combine tradition and innovation. He comes from a charismatic church and so his challenge is to take a spontaneous style of worship and put some structure to it. I am not sure I am in the same place but I have gone to those sorts of churches. I believe my current challenge...

I am studying the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. One of the things that strikes me is the difference between the Wisdom Literature and the rest of the Old Testament. The Books of Moses tell us how God established his covenant with Abraham and then the children of Israel under Moses. The History Books tell use how the Children of Israel did at keeping the covenant. Largely that is a story of God's patience and Israel's seeking to become like the nations they were meant to displace. The Prophets were written to tell the children of Israel how God was going to respond. He sent the northern tribes off to Assyria in exile and the southern tribes to Babylon. The Wisdom Literature has less to do with covenants of God than the other sections. One can think of God establishing and responding to his covenant with his people as a the vertical relationship, with man below and God above. The Wisdom Literature has much more focus on the horizontal, earthly relationships. Th...

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, [1] you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's [2] house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. [3] A Rest for the People of God 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. 10 Therefo...

The Idea of Hebrew Poetry By Terry L. Pruitt Introduction Americans dislike poetry, or at least claim that it is inaccessible. However, most parents do recite nursery rhymes to their children. Most children and parents seem to enjoy this ritual. While some of the words are crazy, like a cow jumping over the moon, few people find them inaccessible. Poets are not generally known to make a lot of money, however, when poetry is set to music it becomes a multi-billion dollar industry. Poetry is involved in the stables of these sections of the music industry: sheet music, radio stations, music recording CDs, DVDs of music videos, digital music such as iTunes and live concerts. The American culture does not care much about poetry for poetry sake but embraces poetry with outstretched arms and open wallets when presented with the right social context. In discussing poetry in the Bible, we may find ourselves lacking the right context to use as an excuse for embracing the literary form. ...

Reconciling two concepts or two facts that seem incompatible is common in most academic fields. The classic example in physics is reconciling the fact that light acts like a wave with the contrary fact that light also acts like a particle. Some scholars who study Old Testament (OT) literature however take the approach that ancient writers of the Scriptures used diverse sources and did not reconcile the sources even if they disagree significantly. With this approach, rather than attempting to see how or why two different accounts can be reasonably reconciled, the scholar assumes that one or both of the stories are not entirely true. The stories of Saul's death in 1 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1 are two accounts that may be seen as either contradictory or as part of a cohesive single story. The most reasonable way to take the two stories of Saul's death is that the original author intended the audience to understand that the Amalekite was lying about having killed Saul. Some sc...

My wife turned me onto this site. They have MP3 down loads of Psalms chanted. I have only used the site today but I can already recommend it. The site belongs to the Lutheran Liturgical Brotherhood Page, but it is somewhat confusing what the page is called since the name on the title bar of the browswer does not match what is written on the page. So you may called it either "Old Testament Canticles and the Entire Psalter with Antiphons" or "Psalm Tones" . Anther site that gives resources to learn to sing the Psalms from a different approach is called "Psalm Singing - Metrical Psalters and Tunes to Sing Psalms" or again double titled "Psalters" . The first website approaches the Psalms as sung by chanting while the second approaches it by putting the Psalm in the form of a hymn tune. My first exposure to singing Scripture was to sing it as a praise and worship song. So guitars and youth leaders singing Psalm 100 was my first exposure to sing...

Ever notice that a lot of what we read in the Christian media is really about Christian subculture. We do need to know about the rift in the Episcopal church and how churches are using technology. On the other hand, these sorts of topics have replaced real thinking on how we apply the principles taught in the Scripture with dialog about religious trends. Have you noticed that some in the church are really talking about using software marketing style communication. While we should not be against things based on the style, it is often more about style and less about substance. We can be assured there are many blessed exceptions to this rule, but we should be wary of those who seek to tickle our ears for either to benefit their ego or their pocket book. Of course, anything truth discussed with actual substance should transcend style. Use any style of communication that does not alter the message or distract from the message. Where are all our blogs discussing the application of Ro...