Robert Lowery

On January 16 of this year I preached a sermon in seminary chapel as we kicked off a series on the Ten Commandments. The text assigned to me was Deuteronomy 5:7, “You shall have no other gods at my side.” Basing my sermon on this single verse, I was asked to develop the topic “Committed to Exclusive Allegiance.”

By my count, there are more than seventy allusions to Deuteronomy in the Book of Revelation. Even though this first of the Ten Commandments is not alluded to directly, it certainly is the backdrop for all that John wrote:

• It was God who gave the revelation.
• It is God alone whom we are to worship (Rev. 4:1ff.; 13:1ff.; 22:9).
• It is God Almighty who will bring about judgment on those who do not pledge their allegiance to him as well as on those who abandon their allegiance.

It is obvious that one of the key themes in both Deuteronomy and Revelation is the exclusive allegiance God expected from the people under the Old Covenant, expected from the Christians in the first century, and continues to expect from those of us today who live under the New Covenant. The people in Moses’ day succumbed to the worship of false gods in Egypt, and the three sermons by Moses in Deuteronomy were preached with the conviction that the second generation of Hebrews could well succumb to the unknown gods they were about to encounter as they crossed the Jordan and entered Canaan. And of course, Christians at the end of the first century were being tempted to worship the gods of the Roman Empire, including the worship of Caesar. I believe that America is one of the most idol-worshipping countries on the face of the earth. There is not a one of us who has not broken the other nine commandments because we first broke the one commanding us to have no God but Yahweh. The first commandment is timeless. We too must obey the first of the ten commandments, the one commandment that is the foundation for not only the remaining nine but for all commandments found in Scripture.

I invite you to listen to the sermon. Listen and ask: Are you and I willing to offer such radical allegiance while living in such a relativistic age?

Listen to the sermon on the LCCS Podcast site

Many years ago I became intrigued with the image of Bethlehem and the sermon that is posted was a result. In fact, I eventually had the sermon published. I invite you to journey once again with me to that “insignificant village.”

NOTE: This sermon was originally delivered by Dr. Lowery in 1982.

 

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Dr. Bob and I recently sat down to talk about his first year of blogging at rlowery.com. Listen as we discuss how blogging has changed his writing process, his “counter-cultural” view of sharing personal information, and thoughts on reader responses to Revelation’s Rhapsody, as well as plans for the second volume in his Revelation commentary series.

 

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Dr. Lowery was interviewed by Isaac Gaff on the Worship Conversations podcast last week. In Part 2, listen as the two discuss Dr. Lowery’s thoughts on “worship as war.”

Worship Conversations - Episode 9 - The Book of Revelation and Worship - Part 2

NOTE: Dr. Lowery references the conversation that he and Isaac had last October after his sermon in LCC’s chapel service. You may want to listen to that discussion again to get some context for this interview.

Technorati Tags: worship, Revelation

Dr. Lowery was interviewed by Isaac Gaff on the Worship Conversations podcast last week. Listen as the two discuss Dr. Lowery’s book and his understanding of the book of Revelation, especially as it relates to worship in the church today.

Worship Conversations - Episode 9 - The Book of Revelation and Worship - Part 1

Technorati Tags: worship, Revelation

NOTE: Dr. Lowery references the conversation that he and Isaac had last October after his sermon in LCC’s chapel service. You may want to listen to that discussion again to get some context for this interview.

As mentioned last week, Dr. Lowery was one of the three speakers at the Deans’ Installation. Dr. Lowery’s remarks begin around 42:00. Get your audio below:

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Scott Sarver’s photos from the ceremony can be found here.
Microphone photo credit: el_davo

Technorati Tags: Revelation, sermon, Robert Lowery, Lincoln Christian College

Isaac Gaff, a music faculty member at LCC, interviewed Dr. Bob for 20 minutes after Tuesday’s chapel sermon. Here are a few things they discussed:

• “Deleted scenes” from the sermon
• “Worship as war” theme in Revelation
• “Do over” sermon changes
• The perspective of age
• Recommended reading
• Keith Green’s music
• Bob’s nervousness at preaching in college chapel
• Bob’s “two cents”

If you listened to or heard the sermon live, take the time to listen to this interview for some extra insight into Bob’s thinking behind the sermon.

Post-Service Follow-Up at www.lccchapel.com

Photo credit: el_davo

Technorati Tags: Revelation, sermon, Robert Lowery, interview, Lincoln Christian College

Dr. Bob preached a moving sermon in college chapel this morning. Get your audio below:

A Party City - Revelation 21.1-4

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Check back to the site later in the week to listen to a post-sermon interview with Dr. Bob, courtesy of Isaac Gaff’s LCC Fall Chapel Project.

Photo credit: el_davo

Technorati Tags: Revelation, sermon, Robert Lowery, Lincoln Christian College

Dr. Bob preached in seminary chapel (and refers to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s excellent little book Life Together) in September. You can listen to the audio from the links below:

Living Life Together: In the World, Not of the World - John 17.13-15

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Photo credit: el_davo

Technorati Tags: Bonhoeffer, Robert Lowery, sermon, Lincoln Christian Seminary