|
Screwtape on Small Sins
There is a brief health update at the end of this message. ===================================== Max McLean's THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS comes to Louisville on November 6-7, 2009. www.fpatheatre.com/screwtape ===================================== FREE WORSHIP CONFERENCE: GOSPEL-CENTERED WORSHIP FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH, for worship leaders and pastors, November 10-11, 2009, at Louisville's Sojourn Community Church. Presenters include Tim Smith (of Mars Hill Church), Sandra McCracken, and Kevin Twit. Co-sponsored by the SBTS Institute for Christian Worship. Contact me for a pdf flyer with all the information. carlstam@aol.com ===================================== Registration is now open for the 2010 CALVIN SYMPOSIUM ON WORSHIP, January 28-30, 2010, in Grand Rapids. Speakers and musicians include Jeremy Begbie, Marva Dawn, Keith and Kristyn Getty, Lester Ruth, and John Witvliet. http://www.calvin.edu/worship/sympos/2010 ===================================== Here we have another convicting excerpt from THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. C. S. Lewis's brilliant book teaches us about Christian faith and discipleship by presenting a master devil (Uncle Screwtape) as he coaches a young tempter (his nephew Wormwood) in how best to lead a young Christian astray. Today's WORSHIP QUOTE is from the lips of a deceiver and a liar. [CAUTION: Read with care and understanding. This is the voice of a devil. His "Enemy" is Jesus. His patient is a young Christian man.] SCREWTAPE ON SMALL SINS Like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. —C. S. Lewis. (1898-1963) THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. New York: Time Incorporated, 1961, pp 38-39. Highly recommended. [Did you know that THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS was dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien?] [There are so many valuable things one can learn from this diabolical study in spiritual "negatives." This book has been a huge blessing in my life. In the preface, Lewis says, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight. . . . Readers are advised to remember that the Devil is a liar (p. xxxi).] ===================================== ===================================== Max McLean's powerful dramatic production of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is coming to Louisville's Brown Theatre on November 6 & 7, 2009. There are also upcoming performances in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. Please take a look at these sites and learn more about this great opportunity, including the availability of group rates and student tickets. I am a great fan of this actor and his work through Fellowship for the Performing Arts. www.fpatheatre.com/current/tickets/Louisville www.fpatheatre.com/reviews www.fpatheatre.com/video ===================================== ===================================== ===================================== HEALTH UPDATE & PRAYER REQUEST FOR CHIP STAM, RECOVERING CANCER PATIENT ===================================== Dear Praying Friends, There are longer journal entries and photos at www.caringbridge.org/visit/carlstam . We are still waiting patiently (and prayerfully) for the next PET scan, scheduled for November 18. I went to the Cancer Center yesterday, October 19, for a flu shot and for them to "flush" my port (required monthly). This weekend I have the opportunity to tell about my cancer journey at a Morehead Scholarship alumni reunion event at UNC-Chapel Hill. The title for our panel discussion is "Seven Words from Winston Churchill: 'When You're Going through Hell, Keep Going.'" Join me in praying that my words will point others to the greatness and goodness of God. Thanks for your friendship, interest, and faithful prayers to our merciful Savior. In His care, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Ministries The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.wqotw.org www.sbts.edu/icw =========================== WORSHIP QUOTE OF THE WEEK: To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view a complete index of worship quotes, please visit http://www.wqotw.org. =========================== |