Where Do Blessings Come From?

"The covenant relationship established in the Garden of Eden provides the basis and contours of the relationship that exists between God and his people throughout history. All the covenants in the Bible carry out the fundamental provision, promise, and purpose established at creation.

The crucial thing to keep in mind about this relationship is that it does not originate with humanity, nor is it sustained by our strength or willpower. God's first word to Adam and Eve is not a word of command but a word of blessing (Gen. 1:28a, 29). God's acts of provision are sovereign, free acts of grace. Nobody forces God to create, provide for, rescue, or deliver his people. God's second word is the command that flows from this gift of grace (Gen. 1:28b). And, as Gen. 2:17 makes clear, God's third word is a promise of blessing or curse based on the keeping or breaking of his commands." -Scott Hafemann, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith: Understanding the Heart of the Bible

The Word of God and the Power of God

As God's people prepare for worship across the world, keep in mind that we only have one "house-building" instrument: the Word of God, centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Having said that, it's the only intrument we need. In fact, the health of any particular church body corresponds to the degree to which that body adheres to the Word of God.

In other words, is the Word of God central in our Sunday School fellowships, prayer meetings, worship services and pulpits? Of course, virtually every church alludes to Scripture. But alluding to it and centering on it through rigorous teaching is another issue. When Scripture is pushed to the periphery of what we do, the church languishes. But when the Word of God is the cornerstone, the church thrives.

Why? Because the power of God is inherent in the word of God. Think of it this way. The Word of God:

Creates: Psalm 33:9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Controls: Psalm 147:15 He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 147:18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

Convicts: Jeremiah 23:28 . . . but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. 23:29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

So as we approach our corporate worship time, let's ask the Lord that his Word would perform his purposes. After all, the health of your church is at stake.

Sermon for May 1: "The Emptiness of Compromise" (Ruth 1:1-5)

Please pray for the worship service on Sunday as we begin a short, five week series in the book of Ruth. This week we look at the introductory paragraph as we consider the futility and vanity that comes from failing to trust the Living God in times of testing.

Keep in mind, at the moment of trial we do the habits of our hearts. When the moment of testing comes, no person becomes different than his/her habits and cherished thoughts. If those habits and cherished thoughts are not Godward in orientation, compromise will always be present.

Here's the good news for believers, our standing before God is not contingent upon whether we have compromised or not. That's good news because rest assured, we have. We compromise every day.

Rather, our standing is rooted in the doing and the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ who lived the life we could not--indeed--would not live and died the death we all deserve.

What should that good news do "to us?" It should chasten our compromise.

The Cross, Tornadoes, and Other Evils

Last night my home state of Alabama was deeply affected by a record outbreak of tornadoes across the northern part of the state. Countless people were impacted by the loss of loved ones and material things. Of course, this testimony is echoed across numerous states, including the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I grieve for the victims. Things are not the way they are supposed to be. How do we make sense of this from a Christian worldview?

In his helpful study of this issue, Evil and the Cross, Henri Blocher asserts that there are 3 fundamental affirmations that we must hold together in wrestling with the problem of evil (whether moral evil or in this case natural evil):
1st, the utter "evilness" of evil (Isa 5:20).
2nd, the utter "goodness" of God (Hab 1;13; Deut 32:4).
3rd, the utter "sovereignty" of God (Amos 3:6; Is 45:7; Lam 3:31-39).

As we struggle with the problem of evil (and all of us do), we are tempted to compromise on one or another of these 3 absolute biblical convictions. We could, for example, minimize the severity of the Bible's diagnosis of evil (e.g. "it's not really as bad as it seems"). Or we may compromise God's goodness by making God complicit in some way with evil. But God is “not a God who takes pleasure in evil” (Ps 5:4) & whose “eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Hab 1:13). Or we may try to get God off the hook limiting his sovereignty (e.g. "there are some things that even God can't control").

Against these 3 tendencies, Scripture affirms: that evil is evil, that the Lord is sovereign, and that the Lord is good. These 3 truths must stand (as I write this I just received word that a football teammate of mine from the Alabama days lost his young daughter in a tornado).

In my estimation, the key issue in this discussion is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of this most evil of evils (the crucifixion of the blameless Son of God), it is reasonable to believe that God has good purposes in all evils even though humans may be blind to these reasons.

That is, God decreed the cross, the most heinous evil in the history of the world. Yet, God redeemed this evil to procure the greatest good in the history of the world. The state of pardon and renewal procured by Christ’s cross is one of greater worth or blessedness than the faultless original position that God deemed “good.”

Thus, as God has redeemed the worst evil, He is capable of redeeming the lesser evils that presently occur.

So, if the worst moral evil is warranted, then even more so lesser evils.

Furthermore, if one can fail to identify the highest goods achieved through the most heinous evil (the divine reasons for the cross were not clear to anyone until God revealed them), then even more so one may fail to recognize lesser goods attained through lesser evils.

Thus, in my view, God's glorious purposes achieved through the evil communicated to His Son are the key to dealing with God's sovereignty and the presence of evil.

John Frame offers some helpful reminders in this regard (The Doctrine of God, 171-72.).

1st, it is important to define “greater good” theistically; that is, this idea should not be seen, necessarily, as greater pleasure or comfort for humankind, but as greater glory for God in Christ, which by extension, benefits the people of God (Rom 8:28-39).

2nd, unless God’s standards govern the concept of goodness, there can be no viable discussion of good or evil.

3rd, to evaluate God’s actions appropriately, one must evaluate them over the full extent of human history.

4th, God’s ways of bringing good out of evil often surprises (c.f. Gen 36-50). In this regard, O felix culpa (happy fall).

Of course, the ultimate good God achieves out of the cross of Christ concerns the magnification of God's glory in a renewed cosmos, which includes God's triumph over evil. When God comes to establish the kingdom of Christ and has made all things new (Rev 21:5), evil in all its forms will have been completely eradicated. Consider:

There will be no more sea (Rev 21:1), which represents chaotic, restless evil in Old Testament symbolism.

There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Rev 21:4).

There will be no more sin, for there will be no more sinners (Rev 21:7-8).

There will be no more darkness and night (Rev 21:25; 22:5).

There will be more more international strife (Rev 22:2), for the nations will find healing through the tree of life and the river of life.

There will be no more curse (Rev 22:3).

Think about this. Yes, we grieve over the presence of evil and suffering. Jesus was deeply troubled and wept over these very issues (John 11). However, we do not grieve without hope (1 Thess 4:13). Our great hope and joyful expectation is that all these aforementioned evils in Revelation 21 will not be there in the new heaven and new earth because of the victory of the cross of Christ through which they have been destroyed.

Until then, thank you Lord for the cross! "Deliver us from evil" (Matt 6:13). "Our Lord, come!" (Maranatha). Amen.

Marks of a Right Heart Before God

J.C. Ryle gives us several marks of a heart that is rightly postured towards God:

1) A right heart is a NEW heart (Ezek. 36:26). It is not the heart with which a person is born—but another heart put in them by the Holy Spirit. It is a heart which has new tastes, new joys, new sorrows, new desires, new hopes, new fears, new likes, new dislikes. It has new views about the soul, sin, God, Christ, salvation, the Bible, prayer, heaven, hell, the world, and holiness. It is like a farm with a new and good tenant. “Old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

2) A right heart is a BROKEN and CONTRITE heart (Psalm 51:17). It is broken off from pride, self-conceit, and self-righteousness. Its former high thoughts of self are cracked, shattered, and shivered to atoms. It thinks itself guilty, unworthy, and corrupt. Its former stubbornness, heaviness, and insensibility have thawed, disappeared, and passed away. It no longer thinks lightly of offending God. It is tender, sensitive, and jealously fearful of running into sin (2 Kings 22:19). It is humble, lowly, and self-abased, and sees in itself no good thing.

3) A right heart is a heart which BELIEVES on Christ alone for salvation, and in which Christ dwells by faith (Rom. 10:10; Eph. 3:17). It rests all its hopes of pardon and eternal life on Christ’s atonement, Christ’s mediation, and Christ’s intercession. It is sprinkled in Christ’s blood from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22). It turns to Christ as the compass-needle turns to the north. It looks to Christ for daily peace, mercy, and grace—as the sun-flower looks to the sun. It feeds on Christ for its daily sustenance, as Israel fed on the manna in the wilderness. It sees in Christ a special fitness to supply all its needs and requirements. It leans on Him, hangs on Him, builds on Him, cleaves to Him, as its physician, guardian, husband, and friend.

4) A right heart is a PURIFIED heart (Acts 15:9; Matt. 5:8). It loves holiness, and hates sin. It strives daily to cleanse itself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1). It abhors that which is evil, and cleaves to that which is good. It delights in the law of God, and has that law engraved on it, that it may not forget it (Psalm 119:11). It longs to keep the law more perfectly, and takes pleasure in those who love the law. It loves God and people. Its affections are set on things above. It never feels so light and happy as when it is most holy; and it looks forward to heaven with joy, as the place where perfect holiness will at length be attained.

5) A right heart is a PRAYING heart. It has within it “the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15). Its daily feeling is, “Your face, Lord, will I seek” (Psalm 27:8). It is drawn by an habitual inclination to speak to God about spiritual things—weakly, feebly, and imperfectly perhaps—but speak it must. It finds it necessary to pour out itself before God, as before a friend, and to spread before Him all its needs and desires. It tells Him all its secrets. It keeps back nothing from Him. You might as well try to persuade a person to live without breathing, as to persuade the possessor of a right heart to live without praying.

6) A right heart is a heart that feels CONFLICT within it (Gal. 5:17). It finds within itself two opposing principles contending for the mastery—the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. It knows by experience what Paul means when he says, “I see a law in my members warring against the law of my mind” (Rom. 7:23). The wrong heart knows nothing of this strife. The strong man armed keeps the wrong heart as their palace, and their goods are at peace (Luke 11:21). But when the rightful King takes possession of the heart, a struggle begins which never ends until death. The right heart may be known by its warfare, quite as much as by its peace.

7) A right heart is HONEST, UNDIVIDED, and TRUE (Luke 8:15;1 Chron. 12:33; Heb. 10:22). There is nothing about it of falsehood, hypocrisy, or image-acting. It is not double or divided. It really is what it professes to be, feels what it professes to feel, and believes what it professes to believe. Its faith may be feeble. Its obedience may be very imperfect. But one thing will always distinguish the right heart. Its religion will be real, genuine, thorough, and sincere.

This is Ryle's summary:
A heart such as that which I have now described, has always been the possession of all true Christians of every name, nation, people and tongue. They have differed from one another on many subjects—but they have all been of a right heart. Some of them have fallen, for a season, like David and Peter—but their hearts have never entirely departed from the Lord. They have often proved themselves to be men and women laden with infirmities—but their hearts have been right in the sight of God. They have understood one another on earth. They have found that their experience was everywhere one and the same. They will understand each other even better in the world to come. All that have had right hearts upon earth, will find that they have one heart when they enter heaven (Old Paths, “The Heart”, 348-351).

Front Porch Ecclesiology

"I don't know my neighbor." How many of us have said this in recent years? Sociologists give many reasons for the decline of community in neighborhoods, but perhaps the most interesting culprit of seclusion is air-conditioning! Before the mid-20th century, when the heat of the afternoon came, you would make some lemon aid, go to the porch, and sit with the rest of your neighbors in a sea of porches. Now, most of us live in a world where we can easily find artificial relief from the heat with just the flick of a thermostat. Thus, we never sit outside; we never know our neighbor; and we never enjoy the community our grandparents knew.

Do non-Christians notice the community found among Christians? They should! You see, the Christian was smothering in a house heated by his sin. And, after trying to fan himself with a cheap, paper fan made of good works, he realizes the only hope for relief was to be found outside of himself- outside of his house. So he leaves his house, feels the breeze of God's grace on his face, sucks in his lungs His mercy, and basks in the wide-open space of His glory. Once on the porch, he finds others around him who too have abandoned the doom of their houses, and while they came outside for the redeeming, cool air, they realize this delighting in God happens in a neighborhood, in a community, in a church. So remarks Hughes Oliphant Old, "Here we see that the true worship of God, which is always theocentric, nevertheless edifies the neighbor." One can no more know God and not be in His church than one can step out of their door and not be in their neighborhood.

We, just like a pre-AC neighborhood, all have one thing in common; we have found delight in something we could not provide ourselves. This delight creates a close community, and when others see this community from their windows, they are drawn out of the artificial air of pleasure and self-ambition, and in to the life-giving air God provides. Old develops his point, "True thanksgiving is also a witness. It is precisely in its being theocentric that it is most philanthropic. The praises that celebrate his mighty acts, the witness to his salvation, the celebration of his works, the confession of his truth, and dedication to this service are the end of the experience that begins with adoration." To not know our neighbor is sad, but to not know the fellowship of the redeemed because we never stepped in to the cooling grace of our Redeemer is tragic. So may we live in such harmony and fellowship that others will be drawn to the mercy of God found in Christ.

Our Methods Matter

Yesterday an article on the Huffington Post caught me off guard; and frankly, upset me. The title: "Church Embraces Bribery To Draw Easter Audience"

The article was first posted on Friday 04/22/11. Here is the full script:
One church in the Minneapolis area is taking an unconventional approach to recruiting new people to their services this Easter weekend -- bribery.
The Crossing, based in Elk River, Minn. is offering the chance to win a 3D television or a new Nintendo 3DS gaming system to those in attendance at the church's Easter worship service. The Crossing's pastor, Eric Dykstra, has no qualms about using the promise of prizes to attract a greater audience.
"I have no problem bribing people with crap in order to meet Christ," he says.
This is not the first time that The Crossing has used this method to attract people to its services. Last year, the church gave away cars to a few lucky attendees of their Easter service. So far the tactics seem to be working, as the church's attendance has steadily grown since its founding five years ago. This year, The Crossing expects more than 5,000 people on Easter Sunday.

As I think about the methodology of this church, it reminded me of a statement from the 19th century British pastor, Charles Spurgeon who said that "He who marries today's fashion is tomorrow's widow."

When the size of God has seized us more than the size of our attendance, only then will we be redemptively different and serve as God's new creation agents in a world longing for change.

What is ironic is that the more the church pursues worldly relevance, the more it will become more irrelevant to the world around it. There's an irrelevance to pursuing relevance, just as there is a relevance to practicing irrelevance. As Tullian Tchividjian has written (in "Unfashionable"), to be truly relevant you have to say things that are unfashionably eternal, not trendy. It's the timeless things that are most relevant to people, and we must not forget this in our pursuit of relevance.

This includes our methodology. This matters. It must match the message and the goal. As God told Moses numerous times in his building of the tabernacle: Build it according to the pattern on the Mount. The way Moses built the tabernacle mattered to God as much as the fact that Moses built the tabernacle. In our methodology, we should not be appealing to the very thing we are called to die to--the flesh.

Hear the timely words of a remarkable preacher of the early-mid 20th century, Martyn Lloyd-Jones on this very issue:
We seem to have a real horror of being different. Hence all our attempts and endeavors to popularize the church and make it appeal to people….But the world expects the Christian to be different and looks to him for something different, and therein it shows an insight into life that regular church-goers often lack…If a person feels at home in any church without believing in Christ as personal Savior, then that church is no church at all, but a place of entertainment or a social club (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Iain Murray, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years 1899-1939, 141-42.

Spirit-People-Word

What is the place of Scripture in our church? John Stott helps:

"A living church is a learning church, a church submissive to the teaching authority of the apostles. Its pastors expound Scripture from the pulpit. Its parents teach their children out of the Scriptures at home, and its member read and reflect on the Scriptures every day in order to grow in Christian discipleship. The Spirit of God leads the people of God to honor the word of God. Fidelity to the teaching of the apostles is the first mark of an authentic and living church." -John Stott, The Living Church

A Prayer to Start the Week: "Divine Support "

Thou art the blessed God, happy in Thyself, source of happiness in Thy creatures, my maker, benefactor, proprietor, upholder. Thou hast produced and sustained me, supported and indulged me, saved and kept me; Thou art in every situation able to meet my needs and miseries.
May I live by Thee, live for Thee, never be satisfied with my Christian progress but as I resemble Christ; and may conformity to His principles, temper, and conduct grow hourly in my life. Let Thy unexampled love constrain me into holy obedience, and render my duty my delight. If others deem my faith folly, my meekness infirmity, my zeal madness, my hope delusion, my actions hypocrisy, may I rejoice to suffer for Thy name.
Keep me walking steadfastly towards the country of everlasting delights, that paradise-land which is my true inheritance. Support me by the strength of heaven that I may never turn back, or desire false pleasures that will disappear into nothing. As I pursue my heavenly journey by Thy grace let me be known as a man with no aim but that of a burning desire for Thee, and the good and salvation of my fellow men (From Valley of Vision).

He Is Risen! Why It Matters

Jesus’ resurrection demonstrated his victory over death (Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:54-57), vindicated him as righteous (John 16:10), and indicated his divine identity (Rom. 1:4). It led on to his ascension and enthronement (Acts 1:9-11; 2:34; Phil. 2:9-11; cf. Isa. 53:10-12) and his present heavenly reign. It guarantees the believer’s present forgiveness and justification (Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:17) and is the basis of resurrection life in Christ for the believer here and now (John 11:25-26; Rom. 6; Eph. 1:18-2:10; Col. 2:9-15; 3:1-4) From: "Resurrection" by J.I. Packer Concise Theology: A Guide To Historic Christian Beliefs .

Why is the resurrection good news?

The 45th question of the Heidelberg Catechism asks: "What does the 'resurrection' of Christ profit us?" and answers: "First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, that he might make us partakers of that righteousness which he had purchased for us by his death; secondly, we are also by his power raised up to a new life; and lastly, the resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge of our blessed resurrection."

He is risen

"What was it that within a few days transformed a band of mourners into the spiritual conquers of the world? It was not the memory of Jesus' life; it was not the inspiration which came from past contact with him. But it was the message,'He is risen.' That message alone gave to the disciples a living Saviour; and it alone can give to us a living Saviour today." J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism

At the Cross, Jesus Says: "I Am Here Because of You."

At the cross, God gave himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment, and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin.

Therefore, every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size. John Stott, The Message of Galatians, 179.

The Cross: God is Glorified in Salvation Through Judgment

The supreme display of God's judgment through which salvation comes, when the marvelous glory amazes all creation, is the remarkable moment when Jesus dies on the cross. God's commitment to his righteousness warrants the extreme measure of the death of his Son. What could more effectively communicate God's holiness? Simultaneously, God acts from unsearchable depths of love and mercy. Wrath and mercy come together in a paradoxical display of holiness and loving-kindness. The Father shows his love by sending Jesus to uphold justice. Jesus shows his righteousness by obeying the Father, by which also he loves his Father and his people to the end. God is glorified in salvation through judgment in Christ's death on the cross. Selah (Jim Hamilton, God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment, 550).

Sermon for April 24: The Answer to the Ultimate Question (John 11:1-44)

Please pray for our service on Sunday, (Resurrection Day) as we reflect on one of the signs and miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ: the raising of Lazarus. Here we see in this miracle a coming attraction of what God is going to accomplish in the cross and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ: the reordering of chaos brought on by sin and death. That is, when Christ was raised, the new creation age was inaugurated and Christ is the first-fruits of that new creation (1 Cor 15:20-49).

Lazarus's walking out of the tomb points to that reality--the reality of Christ's resurrection; and the reality of the blessed resurrection of those who who are in Christ by faith.

As is typical in a Resurrection Day service, several people may be there who are not yet Christians. Pray that even as we seek to edify God's people on the gospel, the Spirit will convict sinners of their sin and their need to repentantly embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

What Happened Good Friday and Why It Matters

Justin Taylor has rendered us a service in laying out the chronology of what happened on Friday of Holy Week. I think it profitable to consider what happened that day and then to conclude with a thought on why it matters.

Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested by the authorities (perhaps after midnight, early Friday morning) Matthew 26:47-56

Jewish trial, phase 1: Jesus has a hearing before Annas (former high priest and Caiaphas’s father-in-law) John 18:13-14, 19-24

Jewish trial, phase 2: Jesus stands trial before Caiaphas and part of the Sanhedrin Matt 26:57-68

Peter denies Jesus Matthew 26:69-75

Perhaps after sunrise, phase 3 of Jesus’ Jewish trial: final consultation before the full Sanhedrin; sent to Pilate Matthew 27:1-2

Judas hangs himself Matthew 27:3-10

Phase 1 of Jesus’ Roman trial: first appearance before Pontius Pilate; sent to Herod Antipas Matt 27:11-14

Phase 2 of Jesus’ Roman trial: appears before Herod Antipas; sent back to Pontius Pilate Luke 23:6-12

Phase 3 of Jesus’ Roman trial: Jesus’ second appearance before Pilate; condemned to die Matt 27:15-26

Jesus is crucified (from approximately 9 AM until Noon) Matthew 27:27-54

Why does this matter? In short, without God's gracious judgment of sinners through his provided substitute, we are condemned in our sins before him. The cross above anything else reveals the glory of God as he saves sinners through the judgment of his provided substitutionary lamb. That is, the cross preserves the truthfulness and justice of God: it is the means by which he saves sinners for relationship with himself without going back on his word that sin must be punished

Hear the words of John Stott: The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation for the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives, which belong to God alone; while God accepts penalties that belong to man alone (Cross of Christ, 160).

Jesus' Resurrection Defines the Nature of Our Future Resurrection Bodies

1 Corinthians 15 teaches that our resurrected bodies will be like Jesus' resurrection body in the following ways:

1st, Imperishable bodies (1 Cor 15:42-44, 49). They will not wear out or grow old or ever be subject to any kind of sickness or disease. In these resurrection bodies we will clearly see humanity as God intended it to be. They will be fitted for the ‘new creation.’

2nd, our resurrected bodies will be raised in glory. When the term is contrasted with ‘dishonor,’ there seems to be a suggestion of the beauty or the attractiveness of appearance that our bodies will have. They will no longer be ‘dishonorable’ but will look ‘glorious’ in their beauty.


3rd, our resurrected bodies will be raised in power (1 Cor 15:43). This is in contrast to ‘weakness.’ They will be free from aging, disease, and able to do God’s will.


4th, our resurrected bodies will be spiritual bodies (1 Cor 15:44). This does not mean ‘non-physical’ but rather consistent with the character and activity of the Spirit (cf. Rom 1:11; 7:14; 1 Cor 2:13, 15; 3:1; 14:37; Gal 6:1; Eph 5:19).

12 Facts Historians Agree on Concerning the Resurrection (Both Believing and Unbelieving Historians)

Gary Habermas, a Christian apologist and philosopher, points out that there is now an amazing amount of agreement among ancient historians irrespective of their beliefs about Jesus' resurrection (The Historical Jesus, 158).

At least 12 facts are considered to be knowable history:

1. Jesus died by crucifixion.
2. Jesus was buried.
3. Jesus' death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope, believing that his life was ended.
4. Though not as widely accepted, many historians hold that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered to be empty just a few days later.
5. Liberal scholars further agree that the disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus.
6. Because of these experiences, the disciples were transformed from doubters who were afraid to identify themselves with Jesus to bold proclaimers of his death/resurrection.
7. This message was the center of preaching in the early church
8. This message was especially proclaimed in Jerusalem where Jesus died and was buried shortly before.
9. As a result of this preaching the church was born and grew.
10. Sunday became the primary day of worship because on that day Christ rose from the dead.
11. James, who had been a skeptic, was converted to the faith when he also believed that he saw the resurrected Jesus.
12. A few years later, Paul was converted by an experience which he, likewise, believed to be an appearance of the risen Jesus.

The Resurrection Changes Everything

If Jesus rose from the dead you have to accept all he said, if he didn't rise from the dead then why worry about anything he said....If Jesus rose from the dead, it changes everything (Tim Keller, The Reason for God, 202).

What is a Christian?

A Christian is someone who believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and lives in light of the implications of that event (Rom 10:9) (Adrian Warnock, Raised With Christ, 20).

The Resurrection of Christ: Neutrality is Not An Option

Neutrality is not an option. Either Jesus rose and rightly demands your attention, repentance, trust and obedience, or he stayed dead. If he only became a rotting corpse why should you follow him? (John MacArthur's Preface, in Gerard Chrispin, The Resurrection: The Unopened Gift, 16).

A Prayer to Start the Week: "Resurrection"

O GOD OF MY EXODUS,
Great was the joy of Israel’s sons
when Egypt died upon the shore,
Far greater the joy
when the Redeemer’s foe lay crushed in the dust.
Jesus strides forth as the victor,
conqueror of death, hell, and all opposing might;
He bursts the bands of death,
tramples the powers of darkness down,
and lives for ever.
He, my gracious surety,
apprehended for payment of my debt,
comes forth from the prison house of the grave
free, and triumphant over sin, Satan, and death.
Show me herein the proof that his vicarious offering is accepted,
that the claims of justice are satisfied,
that the devil’s sceptre is shivered,
that his wrongful throne is levelled.
Give me the assurance that in Christ I died, in Him I rose,
in His life I live, in His victory I triumph,
in His ascension I shall be glorified.
Adorable Redeemer,
Thou who wast lifted up upon a cross
art ascended to highest heaven.
Thou, who as man of sorrows wast crowned with thorns,
art now as Lord of life wreathed with glory.
Once, no shame more deep than Thine,
no agony more bitter, no death more cruel.
Now, no exaltation more high,
no life more glorious, no advocate more effective.
Thou art in the triumph car leading captive Thine enemies behind Thee.
What more could be done than Thou hast done!
Thy death is my life, Thy resurrection my peace,
Thy ascension my hope, Thy prayers my comfort (From Valley of Vision).

Why is Preaching Necessary and Crucial for Church Health? A 4th Century Preacher Tells Us

Like our human body, the Body of Christ is subject to many diseases. Medicines, correct diet, suitable climate and adequate sleep all help to restore our physical health. But how shall Christ’s Body be healed? One only means and one way of cure has been given us . . . and that is teaching of the Word. This is the best instrument, this the best diet and climate; this serves instead of medicine . . . this one method must be used; and without it nothing else will avail [John Chrystostom; quoted in Stott, Between Two Worlds, pg. 20].

Regeneration's Effects

Yesterday I posted a thought from J.I. Packer on regeneration. Today, I'd like us to consider the radical effects stemming from the new birth.

Regeneration’s Effects:

• The sinner is re-created in and to newness of life (2 Cor 5:17; James 1:18)
• Has the defilement of one's heart cleansed or “washed” away (Ez 36:25-26; Jn 3:5; Tit 3:5).
• Is enabled to “see” and to “enter” the kingdom of God by faith (John 3:3,5)
• Is enabled to believe in Jesus (John 1:12-13)
• Is enabled to believe that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 5:1).
• Is enabled to love others (1 John 4:7; 5:1)
• Is enabled to do righteousness and to shun the life of sin (1 John 3:9; 5:18)
• Restoration (palingenesia) of the entire creation to its final perfection – the ‘new creation’ theme (see Mt 19:28; cf. Rom 8:19ff; 2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1-4). In this last sense, we still await.

In understanding the radical nature of the new birth, we come to realize that salvation is more than a mere intellectual assent to a historical truth or more than the so called "asked Jesus in my heart" language that came out of the 19th century revivalist movement (but is not biblical language for one's conversion). The new birth (regeneration) is holistic in its scope, capturing one's mind, will, affections (and one day in the consummation of things, the body in resurrection).

That is we are renewed intellectually (to comprehend the things of God; 1 Cor 2:12, 14-16; 2 Cor 4:4, 6; Col 3:10), volitionally (liberates will from bondage, enabling them to affirm/pursue kingdom values; Rom 6:13; Phil 2:13; 2 Thess 3:5); emotionally (initiates the reintegration of disordered affections; Rom 8:15); morally/ethically (freed from depraved & enslaving passions, exchanging the works of the flesh [Gal 5:19-21] for the fruit of the Spirit [Gal 5:22-23]); & relationally (establishes fellowship with the triune God [1 Cor 1:9; Eph 2:22; 1 Jn 1:3] & other believers [Rom 12:5; Eph 2:14-15, 19-20]).

Remember, we are ‘new’ but ‘not yet’ completed in terms of the work.

A Thought on Regeneration (the New Birth)

Infants do not induce, or cooperate in, their own procreation and birth; no more can those who are “dead in trespasses and sins” prompt the quickening operation of God’s Spirit within them (see Eph 2:1-10). Spiritual vivification is a free, and to many mysterious, exercise of divine power (John 3:8), not explicable in terms of the combination or cultivation of existing human resources (John 3:6), not caused or induced by any human efforts (John 1:12-13) or merits (Tit 3:3-7), and not, therefore, to be equated with, or attributed to, any of the experiences, decisions, and acts to which it gives rise and by which it may be known to have taken place (J.I. Packer, “Regeneration,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 925).

Balm For Our Performance Based Souls

Do you ever feel like you are not doing enough, whether it be in the church, your family, your spiritual devotions? Furthermore, what you are doing you aren't doing well? Join the club. Its for that reason, I need these words from Jerry Bridges today. Maybe you do as well.

My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace. If we’ve performed well—whatever ‘well’ is in our opinion—then we expect God to bless us. If we haven’t done so well, our expectations are reduced accordingly. In this sense, we live by works, rather than by grace. We are saved by grace, but we are living by the ‘sweat’ of our own performance. Moreover, we are always challenging ourselves and one another to ‘try harder’. We seem to believe success in the Christian life is basically up to us; our commitment, our discipline, and our zeal, with some help from God along the way. The realization that my daily relationship with God is based on the infinite merit of Christ instead of on my own performance is very freeing and joyous experience. But it is not meant to be a one-time experience; the truth needs to be reaffirmed daily (Transforming Grace).

Basic Principles for Raising Christian Disciples

I came across this article from Barbara Porter who is an associate children’s director at a healthy church in Jackson, MS. She gives thirteen principles for raising Christian disciples that I think are well worth our time to consider.

1. Make sure that you are guarding, nourishing, and focusing on your own spiritual condition. Are you putting Christ first? Do you make time to worship, fellowship with other Christians, read the Word of God, and pray?

2. The example that you set as parents is crucial to rearing Christian disciples. Do you realize the importance of living out your Christian faith every day in front of your children? Do they see that Christ is first in your life and that you seek to glorify Him in everything that you do?

3. Demonstrate to your children that your relationship with your spouse is the most important human relationship that you have. Prove this by showing respect for your spouse and displaying sacrificial love and physical affection for him/her.

4. Show your child and tell your child that you love them…every day! Work diligently at building a relationship with them. Take time from their earliest days to communicate with them about deep and important things.

5. Read the Word of God with your child and pray with and for your child - every day.

6. Give your child responsibilities. Do whatever it takes to create within him/her a godly work ethic. Do not do for your children what they are capable of doing for themselves. Those who hate work are among the most unhappy and unfulfilled people in this world. Adam and Even had responsibilities to fulfill in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the picture. Work is truly a great gift from the Lord!

7. Do not bail your children out of the consequences that arise because of their own actions/choices. It is essential for them to learn from their earliest days that sin has consequences. You will not always be there to "enable" or "rescue" them.

8. Teach by example that Christ expects us to be presenting our bodies to Him as "living sacrifices." The world teaches that it is all about us, breeding those who love themselves first and best. Give them opportunities from their earliest years to serve others, those inside and outside of the church. Take them on a short-term mission trip so that they can see the extent of their own blessings and the extent of others' deprivation.

9. Teach them respect for others. Show them by example that it is the soul of another person that they should value and not that person's outer "shell." Part of showing respect for others involves (on their part) modest dress, inclusion, encouragement, forgiveness, praise, and setting a godly example.

10. Impress upon your children the brevity of this earthly life. God compared it to a vapor….Analyze your desire to accumulate THINGS. We must demonstrate to our children by our actions and priorities that material things will never be enough and will never satisfy. One day we will all give an account of our lives to our Creator. "Only one life…will soon be past…Only what is done for Christ will last." Help your children to understand that this earth is not our home. Therefore, we should not treat it as such.

11. Demand and command respect from your children. If they do not respect you whom they can see, how will they ever be able to respect God whom they cannot see? Do you live in such a way that you are worthy of their respect? Do you say one thing and do another? Even a young child can spot a hypocrite!

12. Teach your children that pleasing God is their ultimate goal. To do this means sometimes being alienated from the crowd. Pray with your child for one friend who is godly and true. God will provide this friend!!

13. Make sure your discipline is consistent and abounding in mercy. It is in the home where a child should experience his/her first understanding of the absolute beauty of the word mercy.

Romans from 30,000 Feet

In Romans Paul sets forth his gospel to a church he has not visited and it is his most comprehensive theological writing. In other words, if you learn Romans, you have made great strides in learning your Bible and the essential doctrines of the faith. Hence, when I came across this concise summary of Romans by Michael Horton, I thought it would serve the readers of this blog well to post it. This is a birds-eye view of Romans:

The problem that all of humanity faces is the wrath of God, which is entirely justified because the Gentiles know God according to general revelation and the Jews know God according to special revelation. Yet both have failed to truly acknowledge God since they have violated His law. Since everyone is under sin and God's wrath the only way out is the Gospel, the announcement that in Christ God has provided a righteousness that satisfies his holy requirements. Christ has absorbed God's wrath in His death and justifies the wicked in his resurrection. All of this is received by faith alone apart from works as the examples of Abraham and David demonstrate Yet God has not only secured our life from the condemnation of the law, but also from the dominion of sin and death. Baptized into Christ's death and resurrection we are made new creatures and yet we continue to struggle throughout our lives with indwelling sin and the only hope we have is to look outside of ourselves to Christ, with the indwelling Spirit testifying in our hearts to our free adoption and keeping alive within us the hope that not only we but the whole creation will share in the final redemption.
"In the light of all this, nothing can separate us from God's love. But how then can we trust this gospel if God has been unfaithful to his early promises to Israel? Well, God has always maintained his prerogative of Election, even among the physical descendents of Abraham. So salvation isn't a matter of physical decent or of human decision or effort, but of God's mercy alone. God has been faithful to His promises, because even now an elect remnant is being saved from among Jews and Gentiles and after God adds alien Gentile branches to the tree of Israel he will finally bring in the fullness of the Jews as well. In view of all these mercies that stagger our imagination, we can now offer, not the dead sacrifices of animals for atonement, but our own bodies as living sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. In that light, stop judging each other about things indifferent and get on with the business of loving and serving each other (Michael Horton, from an Overview of the Book of Romans, WHI 2006).

The Three R's: Why Christians Sing

Below is a a great blog post I wanted to share about worship that I read a few weeks ago from Bob Kauflin.

Christians sing together during corporate worship gatherings. Colossians 3:16-17 helps us understand why. Paul tells us that worshiping God together in song is meant to deepen the relationships we enjoy through the gospel. This happens in three ways (or three R’s):

1. Singing helps us remember God’s Word.

Paul says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly…singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” The “word of Christ” mostly likely means the word about Christ, or the gospel. Songs whose lyrics expound on the person, work, and glory of Christ tend to stay with us long after we’ve forgotten the main points of the sermon.

2. Singing helps us respond to God’s grace.

While no one is exactly sure what “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” refers to, we can at least infer some kind of variety in our singing. No singular musical style captures either the manifold glories of God or the appropriate responses from his people.

We’re also told to sing with “thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Singing is meant to be a whole-hearted activity. Emotionless singing is an oxymoron. God gave us singing to combine objective truth with thankfulness, doctrine with devotion, and intellect with emotion.

3. Singing helps us reflect God’s glory.

Doing “everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,” implies bringing God glory. Worshiping God together in song glorifies God for at least three reasons. First, it expresses the unity Christ died to bring us. Second, because all three persons of the Trinity sing (Zeph. 3:17;Heb. 2:12; Eph. 5:18-19). Finally, it anticipates the song of heaven when we’ll have unlimited time to sing, clearer minds to perceive God’s perfections, and glorified bodies that don’t grow weary.

Worshiping God in song isn’t simply a nice idea or only for musically gifted people. The question is not, “Has God given me a voice?” but “Has God given me a song?”

If you trust in the finished work of Christ, the answer is clear: Yes!

So remember His Word, respond to His grace, and reflect on His glory

A Prayer to Start the Week: "The Deeps"

Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach. Help me chastely to flee it and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be Thine alone.
Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in Thee, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself as saviour, master, lord, and king. Give me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in Thy Word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from Thee.
Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until Thou alone art seen in me, Thy beauty golden like summer harvest, Thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.
I have no master but Thee, no law but Thy will, no delight but Thyself, no wealth but that Thou givest, no good but that Thou blessest, no peace but that Thou bestowest. I am nothing but that Thou makest me. I have nothing but that I receive from Thee. I can be nothing but that grace adorns me. Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water (From The Valley of Vision)

The Small Heart Versus the Ministering Heart

Today in our sermon I addressed the two possible ways to live as a Christian: First, we can cultivate a small heart. This is the safe path. It costs us nothing. It is virtually pain-free. The other way is to cultivate a ministering heart. Be warned though. This way makes you subject to heart-ache and pain and requires your life.

As I stated in the sermon, C.S. Lewis tells us how to avoid the broken heart that comes from cultivating a minister's heart. I think it profound enough to make it available to everyone who reads this blog.

Hear the words of Lewis (and be sobered):

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable (The 4 Loves, 121).

The small heart is certainly safer--at least on the front end. But in time, the balloon payment comes due for the safe path. Its a high price to pay!

True Worship Involves Our Mind, Will, and Affections

One of the most insightful texts that reflects the holistic nature of the Christian's right response to the gospel of grace is Rom 6:17-"But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed."

Note, here, that the Apostle Paul describes the Christian's response to grace as being "obedient." This reveals that the Christian life involves the will.

Furthermore, this obedience is "from the heart." This shows that the Christian life involves the affections.

Finally, this obedience from the heart was to the "standard of teaching." This reminds that the Christian life involves the mind (the cognitive as rational part).

On this Lord's Day, let's be reminded that robust, Christ exalting worship is not merely an act of the will, or merely an act of the affections or mind, it is holistic.

Perhaps no one says this better than John Stott:

We must…beware of all forms of emotional, aesthetic or ecstatic worship in which the mind is not fully engaged….The only worship pleasing to God is heart-worship, and heart-worship is rational worship. It is the worship of a rational God who has made us rational beings and given us a rational revelation so that we may worship Him rationally, even ‘with all our mind.’ (Christ the Controversialist, 165).

Be Radical With Sin--And Trust in Jesus Who Was Radical "For Us"

If your hand causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:43-48).

Tim Keller's words on this passage are insightful and urgent: Sinful behavior (the reference to hand and foot) and sinful desires (the reference to the eye) are like a fire that has broken out in your living room. Let's say a cushion on your couch has ignited. You cannot just sit there and say, "Well, the whole house isn't burning--it's just a cushion." If you don't do something immediately and decisively about the cushion, the whole house will be engulfed. Fire is never satisfied. It can't be allowed to smolder; it can't be confined to a corner. It will overtake you eventually. Sin is the same way: It never stays in its place. It always leads to seperation from God, which results in intense suffering, first in this life and then in the next. The Bible calls that hell. That's why Jesus uses the drastic image of amputation. There can be no compromises. We must do anything we can to avoid it (King's Cross, 75-76).

However, as Keller adds, Jesus has already pointed out that our biggest problem is not our hand, foot, or eye, its our heart: For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All those evils come from inside.... (Mark 7:20-23).

Hence, what we need more than avoiding temptation or forming accountability groups or saying "no" to sin (as important as these things are!) is an inside-out cleansing.

We need one who will take our penalty and punishment so that we can get what Revelation 19:7-8 depicts: Let us rejoice and be glad...Fine linen, bright and clean, is given (to us) to wear; yes, pure linen--perfectly clean--without stain or blemish. Hebrews 13 states Jesus was crucified outside the gate where bodies are burned--the garbage heap, a place of absolute uncleanliness--so that we can be made clean. Through the Lord Jesus, at infinite cost to himself, God has clothed us in costly garments. It cost him his blood, his life. And it is the only thing that can deal with the problem of our hearts.

So, let's be radical with sin. Let's also be radical in our faith in Jesus. He was certainly radical "for us."

Sermon for April 10: "Paul's Co-workers: People Like Us" (Col 4:7-18)

Please be in prayer for our worship service on Sunday as we conclude our study in Colossians. At face value, it may seem that there is little to glean from a list of names. However, that’s how Paul normally closes his letters and what we are going to see is that we can draw great encouragement and instruction from Paul's conclusions to his letters. After all, all Scripture is profitable (2 Tim 3:16-17). In this case, we are going to see and be reminded that God uses normal people in normal tasks to carry out his extraordinary plan.

This list of names remind/teach us that we don’t have to have some major public platform to be used mightily of God. Neither do we have to have unique, extraordinary gifts. God’s glory is magnified when God’s people are faithful in the mundane, obscure issues of life. In other words, our place in life isn't the central issue; however, our faithfulness in our place in life is crucial.

But this is often where we fall short. As Os Guinness points out: The problem is not that most Christians aren’t where they should be, but that they aren’t what they should be where they are.

So please pray that the Living God will reveal his glory in this text as he continues to form Christ in his people at Fisherville.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled: So Don't Trust in the Created Order

Yesterday I posted on the vanity of trusting in and loving something in the created order more than we trust in and love the Creator. In this regard, I came across this quote from a great influence of mine, Martyn LLoyd Jones (via Dane Ortlund) who makes the same case:

The Bible tells us that in this life and world there is no such thing as final security apart from the message of the gospel.

So if we are relying for our final, ultimate happiness upon anybody or anything in this world alone, then we are certain to be disappointed. If our quietness of heart depends--oh, let me put it with almost brutal realism--if we are depending for happiness and joy and a quiet heart, in a final sense, upon any individual human being, upon our family, our home, our profession, our money, our health and strength, we are doomed to experience disappointment.

Every one of these things one day will be taken from us.--Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled (Crossway, 2009), 68

Dads: From Commander to Coach to Counselor to Consultant

Raising boys in a culture of increasing feminization is quite the challenge. Our goal for each of our boys should be godly, masculine manhood. Everything I do as a parent should have that as its end goal.

For instance, I share a love for sports with my boys--but collegiate or professional sports is not my ultimate goal for them: godly, masculine manhood is. Hence, I should even use sports as a vehicle for that ultimate goal.

Earlier this week I posted some thoughts on raising daughters of grace. Today I'd like to consider our sons.

I came across this helpful grid from Scot Thomas, president of Acts 29 who has two boys who have become young men now at the ages of 22 and 18. Thomas journeyed through four basic styles of parenting depending on the situation, experience, and need of each son:

1. Commander For younger sons with minimal experience, a father must employ a more structured approach while still urging responsibility and ownership toward the boy. In this phase, the father lovingly sets rules and a biblical foundation for life. The father guides the boy to gain basic competence and understanding and to take responsibility for his own actions. The father monitors and evaluates the son’s progress closely, and holds the son accountable for his actions. He employs predictable and consistent discipline when necessary to reinforce the attainment of foundational principles. Even though it is a structured phase, he provides an abundance of love, adoration and encouragement to the son.

2. Coach When a son matures and increases in his ability to understand and fulfill goals, the father can provide a great deal of relational support while helping the son make wise decisions. My older son didn’t want to do his homework one evening. After exhausting all reasonable means, I told him he didn’t have to do his homework. He smiled widely. “But,” I said, “If you don’t do your homework, you cannot play on the basketball team. It’s your choice.” He ran to his room and quickly completed his homework. In this phase, a father provides feedback and encouragement to help him make his own principle-based decisions.

3. Counselor When the son’s maturity and abilities are reasonably well developed but still need motivation, this enabling phase is appropriate. The father should provide considerable support but not a great deal of specific direction. The father monitors responsibilities, encourages the son to make wise decisions, helps solve problems, and provides encouragement and support. His role is to counsel rather than control. When my son turned 17, I told him that I would let him “intern” as an 18-year-old. I explained that I would let him make his own decisions as an adult but that I held the right to veto his decisions any time I felt it would be for his own good. In my observation, he made only good decisions during that year.

4. Consultant When a son displays maturity in his competence and development, a father implements a phase that empowers the son. The father makes himself available to review his son’s goals and plans for life. He affirms decisions made by him, provides feedback for challenges, and continues to empower him to make his own decisions. If wrong actions are taken during this phase, the father examines why with the son: is it a skill or an experience issue (hands)? A knowledge issue (head)? A motivational or a gospel character issue (heart)?

Dads (and moms), when our sons leave the house, our goal should be to revel in the grace of God and rejoice with our sons as they set out to prepare themselves toward working and keeping what God has called them to do and be for his glory (Gen 2:15).

Eventually, by God's grace, we will have the privilege to watch them raise our grandchildren with the same principles we taught them as we journeyed through the four phases together.

Trusting in the Created Order Rather than the Creator: Vanity of Vanities

As I have posted recently, every sin and every personal or relational problem in our lives can be traced back to idolatry. That is, we are trusting in and loving something in the created order more than we trust in or love the Creator. But this is foolishness to the core. Nothing in this created order can promise, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

Hence, it is good and wise of our Heavenly Father to strip us of trusting in the creation rather than Him, the Creator. As Ecclesiastes teaches us, those who do not fear God will not be satisfied by anything (Ecc 6:1-6). There is no satisfaction to be found in wisdom (1:17), construction projects (2:4), gardens (2:5), irrigation (2:6), slaves (2:7), treasures, entertainers, concubines (2:8), toil (2:18-23), oppressions, death, skill (4:1-4), solitude (4:7-8), unmerited exaltation to kingship (4:13-16), or money (5:9-16)).

As Jim Hamilton writes in his God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment (p. 320),Ecclesiastes reveals and reminds of the vanity of the pursuit of pleasure divorced from the knowledge of God.

In this regard, I came across this penetrating statement by C.S. Lewis on the vanity of trusting in "things" rather than God. Lewis writes:

It is a dreadful truth that the state of (as you say) ‘having to depend solely on God’ is what we all dread most. And of course that just shows how very much, how almost exclusively, we have been depending on things. But trouble goes so far back in our lives and is now so deeply ingrained, we will not turn to him as long as he leaves us anything else to turn to. I suppose all one can say is that it was bound to come. In the hour of death and the day of judgment, what else shall we have? Perhaps when those moments come, they will feel happiest who have been forced (however unwittingly) to begin practicing it here on earth. It is good of him to force us; but dear me, how hard to feel that it is good at the time.
C. S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady (Grand Rapids, 1967), page 47

“I Looked for Love in Your Eyes”

“I Looked for Love in Your Eyes”

How to Grow Daughters in Grace

This week I found some wise advice on raising daughters of grace from Pastor Dave Bruskas. These words from Bruskas hit home because as one who has two daughters but who also pastors and teaches at a college, I am very aware there is a war on the souls of our children. The situation our daughters will find themselves in more times than not is a war for their identity and image.

In this regard, there are only two options. Either they will be conformed to the pattern of this world or they will be transformed by the renewing of their minds.

Parents, we play vital roles in this (especially in those 18 years we have them at home) and our constructive words can be the needed conduit of grace to them for this battle.

Here is the progression that Pastor Bruskas works through each day with each of his daughters:

1. I affirm both the godly character and good works I see in her life. These two truly make a woman beautiful to those around her with opinions that matter (I Timothy 2:10).

2. I compliment her appearance as she models modesty and self-control for all to see (I Timothy 2:9) and how her wardrobe, jewelry, hair, and make-up complement and highlight her countenance.

3. I remind her that she is righteous in Christ. Nothing is more beautiful to the Father than the righteousness of his Son, and he sees my daughter through the lens of Jesus’ righteousness rather than her ugly disobedience. This means she is beautiful to the Father.

Of course, I might add here: until our daughters are regenerated (born again), nothing they do can produce godly character. Godly character is produced through us as Christ is formed in us (Gal 4:19). This journey begins with the new birth and our repentance and faith (conversion). Until our daughters are made new and declared righteous in God's sight through Christ, that is GOAL 1 for parents.

After that, its mop up duty as we help nurture the grace that our daughters now have in Christ. And our goal: women who adorn the doctrine of God our Savior (Titus 2:10).

A Prayer to Start the Week: "Freedom"

O HOLY FATHER, thou hast freely given thy Son,
O DIVINE SON, thou hast freely paid my debt,
O ETERNAL SPIRIT, thou hast freely bid me come,
O TRIUNE GOD, thou dost freely grace me with salvation.

Prayers and tears could not suffice to pardon my sins,nor anything less than atoning blood, but my believing is my receiving,for a thankful acceptance is no paying of the debt.
What didst thou see in me?
That I a poor, diseased, despised sinner should be clothed in thy bright glory?
That a creeping worm should be advanced to this high state?
That one lately groaning, weeping, dying, should be as full of joy as my heart can hold?
That a being of dust and darkness should be taken like Mordecai from captivity,and set next to the king?
Should be lifted like Daniel from a den and be made ruler of princes and provinces?
Who can fathom immeasurable love?
As far as the rational soul exceeds the senses, so does the spirit exceed the rational in its knowledge of thee.
Thou hast given me understanding to compass the earth,measure the sun, moon, stars, universe,but above all to know thee, the only true God.
I marvel that the finite can know the Infinite,here a little, afterwards in full-orbed truth; now I know but a small portion of what I shall know,here in part, there in perfection,here a glimpse, there a glory.
To enjoy thee is life eternal,and to enjoy is to know.
Keep me in the freedom of experiencing thy salvation continually (From "Valley of Vision").

A Charge for Parents on the Lord's Day

I addressed the issue of family worship in the most recent newsletter. After completing my newsletter, I came across this quote from Pastor Tom Ascol who affirms what I wrote:

The primary responsibility for teaching your children about God is yours, dear parent. It is not the Sunday school’s, the Church’s, nor the Pastor’s. God has entrusted this important work to you. If you do not invest your time and effort to teach your children about God, be assured someone else will. The television and the theater will teach them that God, if He exists at all, is an irrelevant, indulgent being that is little more than a nice kindly old man. If you do not teach your children truth and righteousness, be assured that there are a multitude of teachers in this world who would deceive them into thinking that “truth” and morality are relative ideas and can be shaped to fit anyone’s beliefs or standards.

Parents, again, the eighteen or so years we have our children at home is a crucial time! The home is God's primary strategy for ensuring the gospel will impact a generation we as adults won't see. Let's get busy!

Was Adam Stronger than Lions and Bears?

I'm working on my Genesis sermon for tomorrow night (Gen 1:14-31). In the process, I found something quite intriguing from Martin Luther (the great Reformer).

In commenting on man's dominion over the animal world, Luther asserts that in his opinion Adam in his original state (before sin) was superior to the animals even in those points where they were strong. He writes:

I am fully convinced that before Adam's sin his eyes were so sharp and clear that they surpassed those of the lynx and eagle. He was stronger than the lions and the bears, whose strength is very great; and he handled them the way we handle puppies (Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol 1, Lectures on Genesis Chapters 1-5), 62.

Is Luther on to something? In my opinion, it is probably an overstatement. However, one important point we can take from it is the reminder of the glory that was lost in being the image of God before the Fall. It also reminds of the supreme glory of the one who is the image of God, par excellence: the man Jesus Christ (Col 1:15). It should also wet our appetite as we who are in Christ, the image of God, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor 3:18).

The Heart of All Sin: Idolatry

I've had to deal with some difficult pastoral situations over the last couple of weeks. Mark this down: Every relational and personal problem we have can be traced back to living anti-Gospel in some particular area of life. When we look to some aspect of the created order (whether that be a person, an object, or a habit) to do for us what only Jesus can do, we have a false Savior that cannot deliver on on its gospel promises.

Rather, left unchecked, this false messiah will lead us to destruction. At the end of the day, all sin can be traced back to idolatry, which is trusting in and loving something more than we trust and love the Living God. That's why the first commandment is "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). You can't commit any sin without breaking the 1st commandment. Hear the words of D.A. Carson on this issue:

The heart of all…evil is idolatry…. It is the de-godding of God. It is the creature swinging his puny fist in the face of his Maker and saying, in effect, “If you do not see things my way, I’ll make my own gods! I’ll be my own god!” Small wonder that the sin most frequently said to arouse God’s wrath is not murder, say, or pillage, or any other “horizontal” barbarism, but idolatry—that which dethrones God. That is also why, in every sin, it is God who is the most offended party, as David himself well understood: “Against you, only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so that you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge” (Psalm 51:4). (Christ and Culture Revisited, 46).

Sermon for April 3: The Church's Responsibility to the World (Col 4:2-6)

Please pray for our worship service on Sunday as we consider the church's responsibility to the world. Paul has been laying out, since Colossians 3:1-4, what life, raised with Christ (3:1-2) and hidden with Christ (3:3-4) should look like in the various spheres. First, he considers church life (3:5-17); second, he considers the family (3:18-4:1). Now, finally, he considers the church's responsiblity to the world.

In other words, if we are signaling the triumph of the gospel by letting the "Word of Christ dwell in us richly" (3:16) so that we are jealous for Christ's name/glory (3:17), this will reflect itself in how we pray for and evangelize the world (4:2-6).