John Mury concludes our Back to Basics series with a discussion about faith. Is faith just a desperate attempt to find comfort in a cold, dark world? What is the biblical understanding of faith, and how does it relate to reason? Join us in our discussion as John looks at how faith is not reason’s enemy, but instead, its ally.
Results tagged “Back to Basics” from Beacon Community Church
This week, we continue our series on C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity by looking at the theological virtue of charity. True, Christian charity is loving and giving to others with no strings attached—no expectation of gaining any benefit. In this, charity is truly a theological virtue, as it is not based in any of our natural impulses. Charity is founded in the reality that God is love; Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Even when we might not like ourselves, we continue to act in our best interest. God calls us to look at others through this lens.
What’s the worst sin, really? According to Christianity, the worst sin is something many consider minor, some even a virtue. The worst sin is pride. Pride swallows up all the capacity for other virtues, especially love. As we look at authentic, basic Christianity, we have to look realistically at our own hearts for the tyranny of pride. Like a slow-burning, hidden coal fire, pride can burn away in our lives, secretly destroying all that we hold dear.
This week, John Mury discusses the most unpopular of all Christian virtues: chastity. Is the Christian standard of chastity just too hard? John explores the idea that it is, indeed, too hard—but that it being hard or easy is not the point. God views our struggles and failures knowing our hearts, knowing all our personal demons. As we look at Christian virtues—especially chastity—understanding God’s mercy and that he understands all our struggles and temptations is critical to understanding the Christian message.
Questions and resources for Mere Christianity, chapters 15 & 16.
Continuing with week 8 of our Back to Basics series, here are chapters 15 and 16 of Mere Christianity, on sexual morality and Christian marriage.
John Mury examines C.S. Lewis’ statement that Christianity does not replace secular morality, and that Christianity adds little to the morality of the world or the morality of other religions. John then looks at some examples of how small differences can mean radically different outcomes. The difference between a chimpanzee and a human genetically is just a few percentage points, but that small amount makes a huge difference. Likewise, Christianity’s small differences in morality lead to radically different outcomes and views.
Here are the questions for chapters 13-14 of Mere Christianity, the chapters on social morality and psychoanalysis.
You might hear my kids talking or stomping in the background; I think it just adds to the “authenticity.” Just as a heads-up, Lewis will express several ideas in these chapters that might make a (post)modern audience pause. First, he addresses homosexuality in a way that was considered quite progressive in his day (especially when taken in context of his other writings) but would not be considered progressive by many today. Second, the notion of wanting a “Christian society” might seem quite the opposite of what many talk of today. In both cases, those are just the raw materials Lewis is working with back in his day with his particular BBC radio audience. His underlying points still stand even if you disagree with his assumptions.
Continuing our Back to Basics series, John Mury examines all the dimensions of Christian morality. Whereas most people think of morality primarily as a series of rules governing behavior and interactions with others, this is only a side effect of Christianity according to C.S. Lewis. There are three dimensions to Christian morality: outward, inward, and upward. John explores how the later two dimensions affect everything in our lives—but how these are the dimensions we often completely ignore.
Here’s the podcast of chapters 11-12 of Mere Christianity, which we will cover during this Sunday’s service as week 6 of Back to Basics. In these chapters, Lewis begins to explore 3 distinct areas of morality, only one or two of which usually receive any attention. He also emphasizes that virtue is more a question of who you are (or are becoming) than whether or not a particular action was “virtuous.”
Here are the questions for week 6 in our Back to Basics series. They address chapters 11 and 12 in C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity.
John Mury looks at the theology and the question of dogma. The church has a long tradition of belief and doctrine. What does this tradition mean and how does it apply to the question of “mere Christianity?” While Christians may often disagree about points of doctrine, ultimately these points have to do with the person of Jesus and how he has brought salvation to humanity. John looks at C.S. Lewis’ suggestion that these are much like experimental models: useful for exploration and understanding, but never to be confused with the reality, the truth, they model. Oh, and John also tells a great Emo Phillips joke.
My head is so muddled that I can’t recall if I even put these in the bulletin on Sunday. I know that I didn’t put them up in the podcast, so here they are (belatedly): questions for chapters 9 & 10 of Mere Christianity.
Here’s the audio of chapters 9 & 10 for week 5 of our Back to Basics series. I would have had this out earlier, but due to rescheduled flights coming back from vacation, I didn’t get home until Sunday at 1:30am and have been wicked sick almost since then.
John Mury, continuing our Back to Basics series, examines reality of the person of Jesus Christ. Can you ignore that Jesus claimed to be God and just follow his moral teachings? John discusses C.S. Lewis’ “trilemma” of “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord” and what it means for our understanding of Jesus and God. He also looks at the more modern objection of “legend” surrounding Christ’s divinity and how these objections are often misleading at best.
Here’s a PDF of questions and resources for week 4 of our Back to Basics series on C. S. Lewis’ book “Mere Christianity,” chapters 7-8.
Hello from Wisconsin! Yes, I’m on vacation but really, this is a welcome break. There’s only so much you can take of that milfoil-infested mud-puddle they call a lake… at least without taking a breather. Doing this gives me a good opportunity to take some time alone for lunch at Panera. Anyway, here’s the audio of chapters 7-8 of C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, the subject of this weekend’s Back to Basics message. See you then!
How do you deal with the problem of evil in this world? That’s the question Mike Bost asks as we continue our series, “Back to Basics”. Based on the book, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Mike examines how four common worldviews answer the question of evil and how they compare to Christianity as revealed by the Bible.
Here’s the handout with all the questions for chapter 6 of Mere Christianity for this Sunday in our Back to Basics series.
A little late, but here’s Chapter 6 from Mere Christianity for the continuation of our Back to Basics series this Sunday. Don’t worry; it’s very short (less than 7 minutes). :-)
John Mury continues our Back to Basics series, focusing on the question of right and wrong. What is morality? Why do we continue to believe in the idea of fairness or right and wrong even when more and more people don’t believe in the concept of absolute truth? In the context of these questions, John discusses current trends in our culture and how we view the idea of truth and morality.
Here’s the week 2 handout for our summer series. It covers chapters 3-5 of Mere Christianity.
If you’d like more in-depth questions, the 2nd to last link on this page has a nice study guide.
The entire text of the book can be found here.
Something new, here’s a detailed outline of each chapter, something designed for small group leaders.
Here are chapters 3-5 of Mere Christianity which we will cover on Sunday, July 6th. Once again, no British accent. However, I’m open to featuring substitute readers. Any takers? We could have a mystery reader each week! Let me know.
If you’d like a hear a professional recording, chapter 3 starts somewhere in the middle of this YouTube file.
John Mury begins our series “Back to Basics,” a study based on the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. This week, John looks at the Law of Human Nature, a concept C.S. Lewis bases in the fact that all human beings yearn for purpose and meaning, yearn to be more than they actually are. Why do we believe in the concepts of right and wrong, fairness, and goodness? Are these just absurd quirks of our existence, or are they proof that we are created for something more?
We are starting a new series for the summer titled Back to Basics. The Back to Basics series is an examination of the foundations of the Christian faith using the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis to explore these truths. For more information, see our teaching series page.
Continue reading Starting New Teaching Series: Back to Basics.
This handout contains questions to consider while reading chapters 1-2 in Mere Christianity for June 29th. I hope to figure out how to distribute future handouts automatically as part of the podcast.
Back to Basics - Week 1 (Handout)
If you’d like a more in-depth study guide, a free one is available here (Word document).
Linked below you’ll find a detailed schedule for our summer Back to Basics series, including which chapters to read from Mere Christianity for each week.
On June 29th, we being our summer series Back to Basics, covering C. S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity. For those who prefer listening over reading, we will podcast the chapters from the book in advance of each Sunday. With that in mind, you’ll find the Preface and first 2 chapters of Mere Christianity below (sans British accent).
If you’re old-skool (and cheap), you can read the book on-line here.
Continue reading Mere Christianity.
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