Grace Fellowship of South Forsyth » Dan Miller

The Long Night: When Life Seems Hopeless, Part I

Dan Miller — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:30:20 +0000

While it is true that a simple trusting of God will provide for us hope for a new day, it is no magic potion. The reality is that many of us will have a very difficult journey… and it should be. After all, it was for the people in the Bible.

The problem of despair is not one you can neatly solve then file away. It roars to life every time someone in your family hears the ugly diagnosis of cancer, every time we feel rejected by a friend, every time we face a situation we know will expose our inability to act in such a way as to receive the approval we crave from those around us. You would think that “spiritual people” would levitate above and live beyond the cold-grip of despair. But the Bible gives us no such hope. MP3 download.

GraceTALK: What is the Role of Psychology in the Church Today?

Dan Miller — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:11:59 +0000

The role of psychology in the church is a challenging subject since there are things within the discipline of psychology that have proven very helpful to some people. With this being said, I lean on people who have made counseling their life’s work in order to gain my footing on the subject. Some of these people would be counselors such as David Powlison and Ed Welch from CCEF. I particularly love the vision they have for restoring Christ-centered counseling to the church. However, that is another subject for another time…

Psychology has no ability or inclination to deal with the spiritual motivations of the heart. Even many contemporary Christian psychology models (hence the use of the phrase: “Counseling that is Christian”), do not address the root issue that all humanity faces – we are sinners. The heart’s problem is not that it is a leaky love tank longing to be filled. The Bible depicts the heart as the problem. Our motivations are polluted and need to be cleaned up. According to Scripture, the heart is fixated on expressing sin, a willful disobedience to what God demands. It is an idol-making factory making false gods out of people’s approval and ultimately putting ourselves on the throne.

Counseling that is Christian will help people see how to truth collides with the desires of our heart. Counseling that is Christian will show how to stop the leak that has been created and then fill the tank with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Psychology on the other hand can only speak to personal wounding that has either been thrust on the individual by another or resulting from some “dysfunction” that, with the right insight or drugs, can be resolved without God ever being brought onto the scene. I see in this one distinction as the Achilles-heal of the psychological model. Psychology can only deal with what is produced from the heart and not the heart itself.

The psychologist (non-Christian), deals with personal issues like a interior decorator working with a resident unable to clean up a home that is hopelessly cluttered with old furniture and garbage. Working with the resident the psychologist determines the right dimensions of the room, the value of the furniture and related memorabilia, then applies a color scheme that “works” with the newly-chosen contents of the room. When the job is done the room has been skillfully arranged and deemed livable again by the owner with the aid of the psychologist. Counseling that is Christian has a different goal altogether. This counselor works with the resident examining the clutter to see why it is there in the first place. Over the course of time, the counselor will guide the resident to identify items that should stay and things that need to be thrown-away based upon the desires of the true owner of the house, Jesus Christ.

Both examples feature people with issues that need to be dealt with. Both examples center on a counselor providing help in making the residence livable. However, only a counselor who is a Christian can and will evaluate a course of action in light of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Psychology holds no such authority structure nor does it have binding truth-claims that must be brought to bear on the individual seeking help. At best psychology helps a person’s life be livable. Counseling that is Christian helps a person live life for the glorify God. This one distinction will lead the individual in need to live life to its fullest.

Can You Tell The Difference?

Dan Miller — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:09:18 +0000

The Power – The Power is the next book from Rhonda Byrne whose book The Secret was massively popular.

Multiple-Choice Question
This video teaches that:
A. All of us can change the world by tapping into the power that is within us.
B. Disbelief of the power you have inside you will hold you back from fulfilling your purpose.
C. Everything you need can be found inside of you and this is true for all living things in the world.

Answer given after video.

Answer: All of the above.

This is one slick ad and we must be prepared to help people process the truth-claims that this book will push on co-workers, friends, and family.

Question: How would you engage with someone who is contemplating or has bought-into this type of belief system?

What is Marriage Now?

Dan Miller — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:44:56 +0000

A caller to the Stand To Reason radio program Sunday, who ran out of time before he got on the air, asked a very good question. Since Prop. 8 sought to clarify the definition of marriage and the judge struck it down, did he replace it with a new definition? What is the definition of marriage now in California? Is there one?

While the ruling declared that the definition California has used since the beginning of statehood was unconstitutional, did it put a new definition in place? A definition is merely a description or limitation of what a marriage is. Is there any limitation, albeit a newly expanded?

Certainly, the judge’s ruling made definition of marriage a moving target, open to cultural redefinition according to evolving social norms. He struck down the definition in the law because we have new social sensitivities that dictate more inclusion. That means the definition of marriage changes as society changes. Even if we do have a new definition of marriage the very same judge could rule that definition unconstitutional in ten years if our social standards have changed.

In other words, marriage is anything we say it is. After all, who’s to say? Who’s to impose their limitations on anyone else who wants to claim a right to marriage? No one, that’s who. That’s the practical result of the ruling.

Questions About Heaven, Part II

Dan Miller — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:30:23 +0000

Today we will consider some common questions that people have regarding heaven in an effort to distinguish tradition & truth. The questions are:

1. Will we have bodies in heaven?
2. Can we fall away once we are in heaven?
3. Will we have homes in heaven?

MP3 download.

Questions About Heaven, Part I

Dan Miller — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:30:16 +0000

We have been considering the connection between how we view the future and our ability to live a focused, Kingdom-centered life. Jesus applied this dynamic to how we view the coming end of days and how our outlook should be filled with a reverent expectation and vigilance (see Luke 17:20-27). Jesus makes the powerful connection that what we anticipate in the future will mold the way we live now. From the earliest prophetic teachings to end-of-time prophecies we can be sure that both were given to change the way we live our lives today.

Today we will consider some common questions that people have regarding heaven in an effort to distinguish tradition & truth. Today’s question are:

1. Will we have bodies in heaven?
2. What will I do in heaven?
3. Will I recognize people in heaven that I have known during my life on earth?

MP3 download.

Limit the Size of Famlies? One Church Denomination says, “Yes.”

Dan Miller — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:17:09 +0000

A church committee has asked the General Synod of Australia’s Anglican Church to adopt a statement calling for citizens to have fewer children, recommending that the government cut childbirth incentives to new parents and instead offer incentives for parents to have fewer children. The country is on track for overpopulation, the church warned, which could break the eighth commandment by stealing resources from future generations. Do Christians have a special responsibility to have children?

Read the entire article from Christianity Today.

How might you answer these types of social issues in light of the command for the followers of God to “multiple and fill the earth.”

The Purpose of Heaven

Dan Miller — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:30:25 +0000

Last week we began to consider the connection between how we view the future and our ability to live a focused, Kingdom-centered life. Jesus applied this dynamic to how we view material possessions when he says: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Jesus makes the powerful connection between how we view our future will mold the way we live here and now. What is it about the future that has the power to shape the way we live our lives? What is it that we will see in the future that will propel us to live distinct lives here and now?

Today we will continue the answer these questions in week two of the series: “Heaven, Tradition or Truth.” Together we will consider how our hope in the future will provide strength for us to stand strong in the moment. MP3 download.

Fathers Being Fathers from Prison (Video)

Dan Miller — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:01:44 +0000

Angola State Penitentiary in Louisianan was know as the bloodiest prison in the United States. The prison is the largest maximum security prison in the United States with 5,000 inmates and 1,800 staff members. It sits on 18,000 acres and surrounded on three sides by the Mississippi River. Now, with the visionary leadership of Burl Cain things are different. There is now a Bible College and multiple ministries in which men are becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. One expression of God’s grace at Angola is a program called Malachi 4:6 Dads. The video tells the story.

Join me in asking God to develop other men like Warden Cain who see how the State needs what the Church offers so that the fame of God will spread.

Psalm 119 Applied

Dan Miller — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:10:31 +0000

LONDON — A huge ball of brightly burning gas drifting through a neighboring galaxy may be the heaviest star ever discovered — hundreds of times more massive than the sun, scientists said Wednesday after working out its weight for the first time.

Those behind the find say the star, called R136a1, may once have weighed as much as 320 solar masses. Astrophysicist Paul Crowther said the obese star — twice as heavy as any previously discovered — has already slimmed down considerably over its lifetime. In fact, it’s burning itself off with such intensity that it shines at nearly 10 million times the luminosity of the sun.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1

Read the whole story.

The Heart of Heaven

Dan Miller — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:30:19 +0000

Have you ever considered the connection between living with a focused, Kingdom-centered life and a robust understanding of the future? The Apostle John makes this connection when he writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. I John 3:2-3

John makes a striking connection between how we view the future with how we seek purpose and purity in our lives here and now. My question for you to consider is why does John do this? Why make this connection? What is it that we will see in the future that will insulate us to live distinct lives here and now?

Today we will begin a 4 week teaching called: “Heaven, Tradition or Truth” in order to piece together how our hope in the future provides strength for us to stand strong in the moment. MP3 download.

“Go Green” – Taking Responsibility for Your Own Spiritual Development

Dan Miller — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:07:30 +0000

On Sunday, in the first part I taught on the responsibilities (see the teaching guide) that Christians have in contributing to God’s ecosystem, the Church. I made the following points:

People “Go Green” when they take personal responsibility to:

A. Actively listening and applying God’s Word to your life.

B. Commit to being personally accountable to someone for their spiritual development.

C. Have an active ministry among those in our Fellowship.

D. Express accountability in church membership.

E. Regularly communicate the Gospel to yourself and to others in our Fellowship.

In speaking to these responsibilities, I mentioned certain ideas on how to begin to implement them.

In reference to point “A” I commended to you the Word of Life Quiet Time. You will notice that you can purchase previous year quiet times at the very inexpensive price (.58 as of 7.14.10).

In reference to “C” I mentioned that you should explore how God has gifted you. To explore this more fully, please take our online spiritual gift test.

In reference to “E” I encourage you to purchase and read the book: God is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love as a Gift of Himself.

If you would like to join Grace Fellowship in becoming a member, please email Greg Glaze, our Director of Involvement at greg.glaze@forGodsfame.org.

Go Green, Every Christian’s Part in God’s Ecosystem

Dan Miller — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:30:45 +0000

A.W.Tozer once said, “God always works where His people meet His conditions, but only when and as they do. Any spiritual visitation will be limited or extensive depending how well and how widely conditions are met.”

If this statement is true, then it is important for us to consider what some of these conditions are. So, what does make a church ripe for a “spiritual visitation?” In other words, what are the responsibilities of the people who attend our Church? That is what we will think about today. Thanks for being with us and we hope our time together will help you in your spiritual journey. MP3 download.

The Gospel: Essential to the Life of the Church

Dan Miller — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:30:41 +0000

What is the fundamental, common DNA of every person who says they are a Christian? Today we look at that very issue in 2 Corinthians 5 and see that the answer is “the Gospel”. It is fundamental to an individual being a Christian and essential to the life of a church. MP3 download.

Gandalf Goes to the World Cup (Video)

Dan Miller — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:59:28 +0000