This time of year is usually filled with songs about baby Jesus and expressions of the great joy that emanates from the Christmas story. Its seems no one told actor Johnny Depp who lent his voice to the rock band Babybird for a Christmas song filled with images of a drunken, party going Jesus, in the song “Jesus Stag Night Club.”
Yes, you read right. “Jesus Stag Night Club” and unfortunately the title is not misleading.
The song portrays Jesus as the facilitator for a stag night or better known in the states as a bachelor party. Hired by a group of teenagers believing him to be a look-alike, they discover in the end that he wasn’t a fake but the real Jesus.
During the night Jesus invites many to his night club as he enjoys his drunken night which leaves him passed out by the end.
The lyrics begin with “Saw a man in a bar with his hair like a lady/ Bloody thorns round his ear like he was a crazy/ He had holes in his hands and a cross for a spine/ Crushed a berry in his Perrier and called it wine.”
Continuing to push the envelope, the lyrics include
“I can’t remember where I was last night/ Think I was hanging naked off a church spire/ Tied by my ankles to a weather vane/ Felt like I was Jesus on fire/ Cuffed to the bumper of a big truck/ I begged my dad to take me to a strip bar/ Drank kerosene through my eyeballs/ Drove myself home in a stolen car.”
Some wonder how this song could be controversial…
Christian groups Focus on the Family and the Christian Coalition have vehemently spoken out against the song hoping to have it removed from British radio stations as the song is competing to be the number one song on U.K. radio on Christmas Day.
“We are sickened by Mr. Depp’s behavior. Why did he need to record this song? Its a slap in the face to Christians all over the world,” said a spokesperson for Focus on the Family.
A spokesperson for the Christian Coalition Lee Douglas referred to the song as “blasphemy” in a statement told to British newspaper the Daily.
Depp has yet to publicly comment about his role in the song but front man for Babybird and author of the song, Stephen Jones, has defended Depp and the song.
Speaking with E! News about Depp’s role in the song and their partnership, E! Online reports that Jones said
“He has the same evil streak as me…We aid each other’s artistic license to produce unwatered down genius. Its gospel!”
Continuing to speak about the song, he spoke of its origin and inspiration.
“The Bible is the greatest fiction book of all time. Incredible stories of magic and mayhem. Full of Hollywood story lines. I was in a Days Inn hotel room last year and in the bedside drawer was the Book of Mormon. But the second ‘M’ had been scraped off, so that immediately got my interest, and once I delved in, the lyrics for ‘Jesus Stag Night’ just flowed out of me as though the Lord himself has touched me in my secret place.”
In response to the controversy over the song, Jones said
“If they were true Jesus lovers, they wouldn’t own CD players and iPods, they would be wandering the world preaching love and understanding.”
Archive for December 8, 2011
Johnny Depp Aides in Blasphemous Christmas Song By Jessica Brooks
Posted: December 8, 2011 in The Christian Post‘Real’ Christian Churches in US Forced to Go Underground Soon? By Eryn Sun
Posted: December 8, 2011 in The Christian PostChristian churches in America will soon be forced to go underground if they want to stay true to their beliefs and to God, a conservative broadcast commentator warned.
“In the past three decades, or so, many of the mainline Christian churches have slipped away from their foundation on the Holy Scriptures and adopted more and more secular tenets and leftist, politically correct, philosophy until they have become only a shadow of the true followers of Christ,” he penned on Tuesday.
“In my opinion, those denominations can no longer claim to be ‘Christian’ churches simply because – they are not.”
A few years ago, the U.S. Army veteran had left his own denomination for the same reasons, seeing that it had chosen to forsake the tenets of the Bible and the Good News of the Gospel.
Though he admitted that he was in no way a “better Christian than any other follower of Christ,” he believed that many of the mainline denominations in America today were nothing more than social clubs with franchises nationwide.
“Their pastors ‘preach’ feel good ‘sermonettes’ about the environment and things like ‘social justice.’ In my opinion, that is not the mission of a church that purports to follow Christ. In fact, Christ, Himself, spelled out the mission of the church in what we refer to as The Great Commission.”
The Great Commission stated in Matthew 28:18-20 reads: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
That commission from Christ is the sole reason why the church exists today, Longstreet stressed.
“To fulfill that mission the church must stand firmly upon the foundation of the Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Christ. That means insisting that the standard(s) set by Christ are, and remain, the guiding force behind everything the church does … that means pastors are compelled to preach that those things the Scripture marks as sin are duly, and publicly, noted from their pulpits as SIN. If a church is reluctant to do this, or refuses to do this, then, in my opinion, that church is not a Christian church.”
The conservative commentator lamented that in America, pastors were afraid of preaching from the Scriptures, worried about the consequences – lawsuits, slander, or even embarrassment.
“It is a very real threat, especially to the evangelical church in America,” he added. “As a result, those churches which hold true to the Gospel, now feel that they must consider meeting in secret for Bible classes, for worship services, or other Bible centric gatherings.”
Even the government in America has criminalized biblical preaching and prevented thousands of churches and clergymen from practicing their faith without threat of penalty from the authorities, he charged.
“The Christian Church, I believe will be driven underground in America, as it has been in other nations around the globe. Otherwise, it will cease to exist in this land many firmly believe was founded by Christians,” Longstreet concluded.
“As much as it pains me to say this – America is no longer a Christian nation. At least, America’s government no longer governs by men and women who base their convictions on the Judeo-Christian code of laws and beliefs.”
Kevin Lewis, associate professor of Theology and Law at Biola University, shared some of Longstreet’s concerns.
“Today, the term evangelical is diluted,” Lewis told The Christian Post. “We now have ‘Liberal-Evangelicals,’ ‘Neo-Evangelicals,’ and ‘Post-Conservative Evangelicals,’ which are simply not with the classic evangelicals on doctrinal and cultural issues.”
Though there were still many women and men faithfully serving the Lord, they were in the minority.
Nonetheless, the Biola professor saw the decline of true Christianity and growing persecution of the church as an opportunity.
“Given past salvation history, I believe we will see more lost battles. But we also know that when the enemy actually touches the church, the people of God will awaken from their happy, evangelical slumber and seek new leadership. The current leadership is simply not doing the job necessary to win; and past leadership has failed.”
For Lewis, the “increased slouching toward Gomorrah in the church and culture” was a reflection of poor leadership from the evangelical Protestant church.
“I think the coming attacks will produce a search for new leadership. And it will then be the time for the unapologetic, biblically centered leaders to arise and take charge, both in the church and state.”
To remain “above” ground in America, the Protestant church needs to equip and train a new generation of Christian leaders in every sector of life, from the field of medicine to law.
“The Protestant church has lost the concept of ‘vocation’ and how it applies to each believer,” Lewis explained to CP. “I think there are many people called to be ‘Christian’ lawyers, judges, politicians, police officers, soldiers, medical doctors, etc. As such, as in the past, pastors and church leaders need to seek them out and train them if we want them to lead the government and culture. It is truly that simple.”
Though the Church had done this in the past, they are not doing it now, he noted.
“I believe it is our task to equip that new generation of Christian leadership to be the true biblically centered, scholastic activist leaders God requires. To do that, we need the majority of churches to enthusiastically return to biblical Protestant orthodoxy, which views all of life as ‘Christian,’ not simply the work inside the walls of the church.”
“While the outlook may appear bleak to some apart from divine intervention, there is certainly a way to fix the problem,” Lewis encouraged.
He believes God will spare this generation if Christians take immediate, radical and biblical steps. Those steps include repentance, leadership training and activism – essentially returning to “unapologetic biblical excellence.”
“If not, our children and children’s children will face persecution in America as Christians do in the U.K. and Canada.”
http://www.christianpost.com/news/real-christian-churches-in-us-forced-to-go-underground-soon-64235/
Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Every time I read the story of Jesus’ encounter with two of his followers on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, I am struck by verse 27. Admittedly, it’s not the climax of this passage. That comes later, when Jesus makes himself known through breaking and offering bread. But, verse 27 kindles in me a deep longing to have been present on the road to Emmaus.
Why? Because this verse describes what just might be the world’s greatest Bible study. I’ve been a Christian for almost five decades. During this stretch of time, I have participated in literally thousands of Bible studies. Some have been tedious; others have been exciting. But I cannot imagine a more engaging, life-transforming Bible study than the one described in Luke 24:27: “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Wouldn’t you like to have been there for that Bible study? How amazing to have listened to Jesus explain how the Old Testament writings pointed to him.
Though you and I weren’t present for that Bible study, Luke’s description of it reminds us that we will only understand Jesus when we see him in light of the Old Testament. To be sure, certain prophecies point directly to Jesus and his mission as God’s Messiah. But, in fact, the whole Old Testament sets the stage for Jesus. Thus, if we want to know him more truly, we would do well to make studying the Old Testament a priority for our lives.
In the season of Advent, we are informed especially by Old Testament passages that speak of Israel’s hope for the coming of God’s kingdom and his Messiah. For example, we a stirred with hope by the prophetic words of Isaiah:
Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. . . . He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD. In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. (Isaiah 11:1-10)
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Can you think of a Bible study you experienced that was particularly great? What made it great? In what ways has your knowledge of the Old Testament helped you to understand Jesus and his mission?
PRAYER: Gracious God, as I read the story of the walk to Emmaus, I feel a longing to have been present for Jesus’ “Bible study” with his two followers. I realize that I ache to know Jesus more truly and fully. I don’t want to be satisfied with what I’ve discovered so far. I want to continue to learn and grow throughout my life.
Help me, I pray, to study your Word with diligence and faithfulness. Teach me through your Spirit, so that I might discern what is true. Correct me where I have fallen into misunderstanding. By your grace, may my study of Scripture lead me into a deeper relationship with you, so that I might walk faithfully as your disciple. Amen.
http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/worlds-greatest-bible-study
Church as the Bride of Christ
. . . the church is the bride of Christ. Jesus was a complete man. He had all the nature of a man, but He never married. He could have, but He never did. He never married any woman though He was a true and complete man. He never married a daughter of a woman that He might marry His whole church, the bride. A true local church is the bride of Christ in recapitualtion, in miniature. Everything that is in the whole church of Christ should be recapitulated in the local church. The church, part of it in heaven and part of it on earth, is the bride of Christ. Our Lord Jesus washed His bride, regenerated her and prepared her. He is coming back to take her–the whole church–as His bride. But any local church is the whole church in recapitulation, just as a local election recapitulates a national one. The same liberty is expressed. The same candidates run. They talk about each other; they plead their own worth and put up bulletins and do the same thing on a small scale that they do on the federal level. That may be a poor illustration, but the whole bride of Christ is recapitulated. Any local church is what the whole church is, just in miniature Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church (Ephesians 5:25-29). This figure drawn from husbands and wives is applied directly without apology to Jesus Christ and His church. Just as a young man would not marry a dirty bride, so Jesus Christ will not marry a church that has stains or wrinkles or blemishes. His desire is for a glorious church, and He wants to love that church as a man loves his own bride.
