Michael Card in England

Singer, songwriter, author, scholar and very nice man Michael Card has just played two concerts in England and I was fortunate enough to get to one of them in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Every song was rooted in Scripture, skillfully played and humbly performed in a lovely intimate venue. Afterwards he spent time chatting with us and was, well, wonderfully ordinary. It was a great evening.

I’ve learned so much from Michael’s music & writings over the past 20 years or more and regularly listen to his radio show via podcast. If you’re looking for solid, thought-provoking teaching – particularly on subjects related to Creativity and Community – Michael’s your man.

Thanks to Michael and to Jeff Taylor for coming to the UK, and to Louise who organised the Hinckley concert. Michael claims Welsh roots (Card from Cardiff), so perhaps one day he’ll come back to sing in the Land of Song!

If you want a quick introduction to Michael’s work, here are my recommendations:

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Book – “Scribbling in the Sand – Christ & Creativity”
Buy – michaelcard.com
Buy – amazon.co.uk

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CD – “The Ultimate Collection”
Buy – michaelcard.com
Download – iTunes

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Radio – “In the Studio with Michael Card” – Prog 262 – Easter 2007. All the radio programmes are good. This one’s brilliant.
Download FREE at michaelcard.com

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DVD – “Scribbling in the Sand: Best of Michael Card – Live” is only available in NTSC format, but someone’s helpfully uploaded it to YouTube so everyone can watch.

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40

I hit a milestone birthday yesterday. The age at which life is supposed to begin.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but there was certainly no moment of sudden enlightenment, hitting my squarely from out of the blue.

But there was cake. Which is the main thing, after all.

Sunday’s Comin’

He is Risen ! Happy Easter.

How to Pray – Today’s Special Offer

I thought you might like to know that you can pick up a Soaking Prayer Kit for $60. Obviously without this you’re missing out on something vital and you won’t get what you deserve^TM - see earlier post. And you get some sort of gold seal too.

Alternatively just pick up a Bible.

“…when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:5-13

Is it me, or does this look a bit too much like this for comfort?

Yet another ‘Ministry’ that wants your cash.

Here’s a message for TACF. If you have some information that you REALLY believe is so vital for Christian living, why not give it for free? Surely you believe that God will cover your costs. You do believe that, don’t you?

It made God sound like a psychopath

I still can’t quite believe what I’ve just read here. Dr Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, speaking on the BBC…

“Well, I don’t know about you, but even at the age of ten I thought this explanation was pretty repulsive as well as nonsensical. What sort of God was this, getting so angry with the world and the people he created, and then, to calm himself down, demanding the blood of his own Son? And anyway, why should God forgive us through punishing somebody else? It was worse than illogical, it was insane. It made God sound like a psychopath. If any human being behaved like this we’d say they were a monster.

Well, I haven’t changed my mind since. That explanation of the cross just doesn’t work, though sadly it’s one that’s still all too often preached. It just doesn’t make sense to talk about a nice Jesus down here, placating the wrath of a nasty, angry Father God in heaven. Christians believe Jesus is God incarnate. As he said, ‘Whoever sees me has seen the Father’. Jesus is what God is: he is the one who shows us God’s nature. And the most basic truth about God’s nature is that He is Love, not wrath and punishment.”

So the mystery of the Cross sounds insane, does it? I think Scripture tells us that’s what it’s supposed to do.

“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:22-24

When will those who are supposed to be leading Christ’s church return to His Word? And preach the message of Christ crucified with all the unpalatable truths that come with it.

This week I heard a story of someone who told a friend, “Why shouldn’t we have a nice home. We’re doing the Lord’s work. We deserve it”. Oh the danger of attempting to claim from God what we ‘deserve’ when the Bible makes it clear that we really don’t want that. What we need is categorically what we do NOT deserve, and we can only have that because of the Cross and because of Christ’s sacrifice.

Does it make sense? Not really.
Should it? I refer you again to 1 Corinthians 1.

Happy Easter.