Christmas Caroling!

Just a quick reminder, that this week our KidVenture program (tonight) and our Adults (Sunday night) will be Christmas Caroling to Shut-in's and Nursing homes.

Be in prayer tonight for the KidVenture children and workers who go out to be a blessing by singing some great Christmas Carols! I am so thankful for our KidVenture workers who look to teach and model to our children the value that it is more "blessed to give than receive". Pray that God will use them to encourage some who may be lonely or discouraged.

Also, Sunday night is our opportunity to do the same. Please plan on coming out Sunday night. We will be leaving the church at 6pm. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for those who would like to participate. Please sign-up so we can know how many to plan on and how many homes/nursing homes we can carol!

These have been some of my favorite experiences and memories since I have been here at First Baptist. I cannot ever recall caroling until just a few years ago. I am so thankful that my children will always have these memories of when our family and our church family would go and sing a few songs to be a blessing and to pass on the message of Christmas! If you have children, I greatly encourage you to be a part of this!

God is Not Silent!

Here is my latest article for our church's newsletter:

I was very tempted to keep this newsletter article blank…for a couple of reasons. The first being that it wouldn’t have held up the newsletter from being sent out and therefore you not receiving it until a few days into December. The other reason would have been to send the message that I hope to accomplish with words!

The idea of a blank newsletter (maybe you can pick up a piece of blank paper and imagine) would make very little sense, right? Why would we send something that has nothing to say. Well, the reason I was considering it was to help us imagine what it would be like if we had nothing to say. More importantly, what would it be like if God had nothing to say to us. Could you imagine if we had no Bible? What if we had absolutely no Word from God to us. Sometimes, of course, we live as if we don’t have any Word from God. Many times going through life with very little if any thought about what God has said and why it matters.

Obviously we do have a word from God. From Genesis to Revelation is God’s inspired Word to us. It is within the pages of Scripture that we learn about the major topics of life:
a. who God is
b. who we are
c. how we are to live
d. why we are here
e. where we are going and how to get there…and of course, much more!

God preserved for us in His Word the things that He wanted us to know, the things that He knows that we cannot live without knowing. While Scripture is God’s gift of revelation to us…Scripture’s main point is to reveal to us who God is and what He is like. The main purpose of Scripture is to point us to God and more specifically to point us to the Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that God has spoken in times past through many prophets…but His greatest message to us is in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. He has spoken fully and finally in Christ. So, when we see Christ we see the fulfillment of all that He has spoken and promised. This is the message of the Bible and may I take this moment to remind you that this is the message of Christmas.

You see most of our Bible (the old testament) was pointing to a time and place when One would come and be the answer to our greatest dilemma. You see the Bible makes it very clear that our greatest dilemma or problem is that we are sinners. Our sin is a problem because our Creator God is holy and perfect. And it is our sin that separates us from our Creator God. The only way we can have a relationship with God now and spend eternity with Him in Heaven forever is if we are like Him, perfect and without sin. Obviously not one of us can claim to have lived a perfect, sinless life. Therefore, we are all in trouble. But God’s plan (which was established even before the world began) has been unfolding down through history and it was leading to the answer to our dilemma. The Scriptures are always pointing to the One (Christ Jesus) who would come and live and give His life in our place.

One of the most amazing aspects of God’s Word is not only that it points to who Christ would be and what He would do, but that it does so hundreds of years before it happened. This is the internal test that proves that the Bible can be nothing less than the Word of God. Listen to some of these prophetic promises:

- 700 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah promised that Jesus’ mother would be a virgin who would conceive by a miracle.
- 700 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Micah promised that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
- 400 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Hosea promised that Jesus’ family would flee as refugees to Egypt to save his young life.
- 400 yrs before the birth of Jesus, Malachi promised that Jesus would enter the temple.

These are just a few of God’s prophetic promises in the Old Testament that we see fulfilled in the New. Why would God be so specific about the birth and life and death of Christ? God went to extraordinary lengths to make sure that we did not miss that Jesus is the One who has come as fulfillment of each and everyone of these promises. Remember our dilemma is sin and Christ came as the answer to our problem. Matthew tells us that this is the One who will “save His people from their sins”. He is the Savior that we all need!

This is what Christmas is all about. The great news of Christmas is that God does not expect us to do something to get to God or to attain favor with God. Instead, He came to us by sending His own Son in the form of a baby in manger.

Now aren’t you glad that God is not silent!!

May all the world rejoice for a Savior has been born!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, as many of you already know by now...our family has a new addition. His name is Jaxson Topher Croyts and he is one week old today! (Hopefully I will post a few pictures very soon!)

As I prepare for our Thanksgiving Communion service tonight and Thanksgiving with my family tomorrow, I am reminded once again of just how much I have to be thankful for!!

Obviously, first of all for the Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation that is made possible through His perfect life and sacrificial death. But, today I am thinking specifically of my family, friends, and congregation. But, not as something separate from God's work of grace in my life. It is so important for us all to remember that the gift of relationships is not so much about our "happiness" as it is about our "holiness". My marriage relationship, my relationship with my children, and every other relationship is first and foremost about God's sanctifying work in me and in them. Our relationships are what God uses the most to "try us", "break us", "mold us" and "conform us into the image of His Son". It is these relationships that put flesh on so much of what God's Word commands us to do. We are commanded to "love one another", to "forbear one another", to "forgive one another", to "encourage one another", to "stir one another up to do good works"...and these commands are only challenging when we actually live with one another and rub shoulders day in and day out. I am so thankful for the family and relationships that He has given me. They are for my good and for His glory. He uses them to chip away at my sinful, selfish nature. And nothing is capable of chipping away at our selfishness like parenting!

As I close this very simple but thankful post - I just want to mention how thankful I am for my wife who daily models this to our children and to myself. I know that if she was writing this, she would say that daily she battles thoughts and feelings of "selfishness"...which, to me, is what makes her behavior all that much more inspiring. It is not as if she doesnt have the same selfish, sinful thoughts and desires as I (or any of us) do sometimes...but to see her daily and even hourly put aside those feelings and thoughts to serve God and put Him first...often by serving her family...has a sanctifying effect in my life!

Obviously, as you read this...thoughts of family members, spouses, parents and even children come to our minds. The way God has used them to change us! Let's be sure and give thanks to God for His purpose in giving us the relationships that He has...and let's be sure and let them know at this Thanksgiving time, just how thankful we truly are for them!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Pastor Jerry

The Day After

Today, I am adding a post from another friend. This is from a member of our church who allowed me to share these thoughts that he sent in an email to a friend. Obviously, many questions are being asked the day after the election. I hope you find these words helpful!

"As a citizen and former political junkie, I am experiencing conflicting emotions. On one hand, considering our history of Black oppression the fact that a majority of Americans pulled the lever for a Black man is truly illustrative of our progress and tolerance. I think the Black community has every right to be proud and happy about this development as should all of us as fellow citizens. On the other hand, because I know 98% of what he believes and will pursue, along with Pelosi, Reid and big majorities in both bodies, is so repugnant to the constitution - the only thing that protects the citizenry from the ruling class - his first four years could be a disaster, so I regret his election on that basis. But as a Christian I temper that regret with the assurance that My Holy, Sovereign God is in total control and so I don't fear his election. I will do what we are commanded to do, by our Lord and His Word and that is to pray for Barak to fulfill all of God's purpose in His elevating him to power. Also to pray that Barak will come to see Christ for who he really is as opposed to what Jeremiah Wright (his pastor) taught him He is. I will pray for his salvation and that he will seek God's good counsel when he sits down to face what all presidents are faced with and that is the burden of leadership in a dangerous world. It's one thing to make promises on the stump but it is an entirely different thing to face the challenges of leading the lone superpower in the world once he takes his seat behind the desk in the Oval Office. He will need wisdom and temperance because now he is in the real world of governance not the fantasy world of campaigning, and for this the church must pray. He faces a war, economic crisis and political division - he will need wisdom to tread carefully and consider his choices carefully to resolve theses challenges. But the glory of America is that every four years we transfer power peacefully and without bloodshed and if we all as citizens remember the promise of America, the thing that brought our ancestors to this country, and if we work together we can make this country better and we will see another peaceful transfer in 4, 8, 12, 16 years etc... So my admonition to all my fellow believers is this:

HAVE NO FEAR FOR OUR CHRIST IS WITH US, PRAY AND SERVE HIM!
FOR HE WILL SEE TO HIS CHURCH AND THE PROSPERITY OF HIS GOSPEL,
NO MATTER WHO IS IN OFFICE !!!!!!

that is our hope and salvation!
no man or government can offer these to us."

The Grass is always Greener!

I have been spending the majority of my "devotional reading" time in the Psalms as of late. In fact, I am preaching out of the Psalms on Sunday evenings so I have been reading at least one Psalm a day. This past week I was reading in Psalm 23.

Obviously a very familiar Psalm to all of us. As I began to read the very first line of Psalm 23..."The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want"...I began to laugh as I remembered the very first time I read this Psalm. It was when I was only 16 years old and had just become a christian. I remember reading this phrase and not understanding the word "want". I thought the word "want" in this verse was referring back to the the first phrase...the Lord is my shepherd. So, I thought the connection went something like this - "the Lord is my shepherd that I do not want". I couldn't understand why the Psalmist David was saying that the Lord is His Shepherd that he really didn't want!! Obviously, that is not the meaning here.

What David is really saying is...The Lord is my Shepherd; (therefore) I shall not want or "lack"! Because I have a Shepherd (and it is the Lord Jesus Christ) I do not lack or need anything! This thought is repeated often in the Psalms, like in Psalm 84 where it says "the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly".

This is a very important truth that we must remember because it is the "lie" that the Evil One constantly tries to seduce us with. It is the very essence of Satan's temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden. And it is the essence of every temptation that comes our way. What was so tempting to Adam and Eve that they disobeyed God? It certainly wasn't that the fruit just looked so delicious! No, it was what the fruit stood for - wisdom, a wisdom that was unknown to Adam and Eve. A wisdom that would make them like God. So much so that they would no longer need to depend upon God. Since God created Adam and Eve, they were totally dependent upon Him. The created being cannot even make sense of why they were created unless the Creator gives them instruction. It is understood that the creation is totally dependent upon its Creator! But, they bought into the lie of the Evil One that God their Father was "holding out" on them. That their was something that was "good" for them that He was withholding and not allowing them to have. They believed the lie and it led them to "sin" and "misery" and "depression" and "isolation". The Evil One is always on the attack in this way. He is constantly bombarding us with the "lie" that we are not getting all that we could be getting and he usually takes it one more step - not only that we are not getting all that we could be getting, but that we are not getting all that we SHOULD be getting! Our sinful nature feasts upon this and turns something we do not have into a "need". We begin to "demand" that we must have whatever it is and believe the lie that we cannot truly live (and be happy) without it!

How sad it is when we find ourselves believing this lie and then behaving in a way that lines up with this thought. Not only is it wrong but it is nothing less than idolatry. We are worshiping something else other than God. Anytime we believe that we cannot live without something - we are worshiping it! And since GOD HIMSELF is truly the only thing that we cannot live without, it is idolatry because we have replaced God with something or someone else!

This is why Paul in Romans 8 reminds us that God did not spare His own Son! If He did not spare "sending" His Son and "crushing" His son and then "delivering" His Son FOR US than do we really think He is going to hold back from us anything that we truly need! No, He will graciously give us all things!

Too many of us Christians are still believing the lie that the "grass is always greener". But Psalm 23 shows us where the grass is truly always green! It is when the Lord is my Shepherd and He is in control of my path. It is when He makes (forces) me to lie down in GREEN PASTURES. It is when He leads (directs) me beside still waters. It is while He leads (orders my steps) in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake! Psalm 23 shows us that the "grass is always greener" when we are underneath our God's Sovereign care knowing that anything we have NEED of He will supply and anything that is not supplied, I must not NEED!

Let's rest in Psalm 23:1 - and agree with David as he speaks the truth - THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD - I SHALL NOT WANT!

True Woman Conference

As many of you know, I am away with my wife in Schaumburg, Illinois as she attends the TRUE WOMAN CONFERENCE. I came for two reasons...one, to be with my wife...especially since she is about 6 weeks away from delivery of our 3rd child. Also, because I am volunteering today to help serve the lunch to over 6,000 women. I attend conferences every year - usually pastor's conferences - and I am always on the receiving end of such gracious servants, and usually it is women who are serving us. Even in my own church, this is typically the case. So, I took advantage of this opportunity to be on the other end. The Lord knows that I am a "prideful" man and it is good for me to intentionally put myself in positions of humility and servanthood. Because Jesus said that the ones who are really "great" are those who serve! So while I serve today, I will be thinking about the many who I know personally who "serve" day in and day out to be a blessing to others and often go unnoticed! You know who you are and I thank you for your example to me and to so many others...especially to the many children who watch your example.

One last thing...I considered blogging about the conference....but then I found out that Tim Challies is already doing it. There is no way I could compete with him...so if your interested, go to his website to read up on the conference.

http://www.challies.com/

New Wednesday Night Ministries

As many of you know on Wednesday evenings we have combined forces with Walnut Creek Community Church and Pastor Brian Main. Last night was our first night with all the classes being offered and in place. Here is a quick rundown of the format:

KidVenture Program - children 3 years old and up to 6th grade
Youth Ministry - teenagers from 7th to 12th grade
College and Career - for those out of high school to late 20's
Leadership Study - for adults in any other stage of life

It is a great thing to see two churches coming together and maximizing our resources. I really enjoyed seeing the two local churches partnering together and focusing on what "unites" us - Jesus Christ and His substitutionary atonement!

That is what our college class was focused on last night - The Gospel - and our challenge is to always keep that first and foremost. We can sum it up in two short statements - "Admit our guilt, Admire God's grace" - they go together...we cant truly admire God's grace without first admitting our guilt! And we cant tell others about God's grace until we have told them about their guilt!

As we closed our time together, I shared words for a familiar hymn and then two quotes...if anyone is interested, here they are:


The hymn - "Man of Sorrows" - speaks of what our guilt and God's grace! Who He is and what He has done for us!

Man of Sorrow! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless, we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He.
Full atonement! can it be?
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die,
It is finished! was His cry;
Now in Heaven, exalted high:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!

(P.P. Bliss)

And the two final quotes have to do with "our response" to our God and His glorious grace!

First, C.T Studd:
"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him"

Next, Charles Spurgeon:
"It is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus Christ! We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed"

What a great privilege to come near the cross together with these college students...please pray for us to draw near and stay at "the foot of the cross".

Also, feel free to post a comment regarding any of the studies last night...please let Pastor Brian Main know how much you appreciated his teaching!

Covenants and the nation of Israel

Here is another word from my friend who lives and studies in Israel and works with Jewish people. Obviously, the nation of Israel is near and dear to him and what he has to say here can help us understand a subject that has been often misunderstood.

Covenants

A friend of mine recently posted the following statement on his blog regarding covenants. His statement is in italics. My response follows.

· This was an interesting quote: " The basic premise of a covenant is that, while it can be broken, it cannot be altered. The terms of the relationship remain unalterable. Applying this to the marriage covenant, for example, we can see what this means. The marriage covenant can be broken by a variety of offenses, and hence God, who ordains marriage, provides for divorce whereby the brokenness is publicly declared. At the same time, the covenant requirements for marriage cannot be altered: they are always the same." -- by R.J. Rushdoony in his commentary on Deuteronomy.
This helps in understanding how God could make an everlasting covenant with the nation of Israel , and yet still "divorce" them when they broke the terms of the covenant by, among other things, crucifying Christ.

Not all covenants are conditional (ie. if you do this then I will do this). God made an unconditional everlasting covenant with Abraham, a promise that depended on God's faithfulness, not Abraham's actions (see Gen. 12:2-3; 15:4-6; 17:19). God made a conditional covenant 430 years later with Moses when He gave the law. The purpose of the law was to show the inability of man to keep the covenant because of sin and thus point him to a mediator (Gal. 3:24) who could fulfill the requirements of the covenant--Jesus Christ. God’s covenant to Abraham was not made null and void when the covenant of the law was given (see Galatians 3:15-25). God did not divorce Israel when they broke the Mosaic covenant. Was Israel obstinate and disobedient? Of course! Paul, a Jew, states emphatically that God did not reject his people whom he foreknew ( Rom. 11:1-2). Did they stumble beyond recovery? Not at all! (Rom. 11:11). The Jews were broken off from the root so that the branches from the wild olive tree could be grafted in--ie. the Gentiles. This is a warning to the Gentiles not to become arrogant and to accept the grace of God which has nothing to do with their own merit or the stumbling of the Jews. If the Jews (as a people) do not persist in their unbelief, God will graft them in again into their own olive tree (Rom. 11:17-24). God still has a plan for Israel and for his chosen people. His unconditional promise of land and descendants made to Abraham will still be fulfilled. We, as Gentiles, have to be careful not to think that we have replaced Israel and will now reap the blessings and benefits that were promised to Israel. We are, however, a part of God's plan to restore Israel to her Messiah by making her envious so that one day the inhabitants of Jerusalem will look on the one whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

Dave in Israel

Cross Centered Bible Reading

Here is an article I read recently titled "Cross Centered Bible Reading". Hope you find this helpful. It is a good reminder to us that the Bible has one theme throughout all of its books, pages, and words - the message of redemption found in the Christ of Calvary!

"In your regular reading of God's Word, are you regularly making it to the cross? Today, whether you read a few chapters in Leviticus or Luke, Ezekiel or Ephesians, Proverbs or Philippians, you must make it to the cross. If you don't make it to the cross, if you don't see the connection between a chapter in Proverbs and what Jesus accomplished on the cross, you'll miss the whole point of your regular Bible reading. The whole point of reading through your Bible on a regular basis is to begin to see and celebrate that the whole Bible is about the cross--about the gospel, about the good news of what Jesus has done for you.

Make it to the cross.

If you don't make it to the cross, if you read a few verses in Proverbs and a paragraph of commands in Philippians without detecting how these sentences connect to the blood-stained beam of wood where, "For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21), then consequences will follow.

If you don't make it to the cross, you'll make your Bible reading and your relationship with God about your performance rather than about Jesus' performance. You'll gravitate away from the gospel and towards religion. Anxiety and fear will take the place of confidence, joy, and rest. Legalism will replace freedom. If your eyes don't catch a glimpse of the cross as you turn the pages of Scripture, you're likely to spend much of your day staring at yourself, wallowing in endless introspection, rather than staring at your Savior, delighting in his costly love.

Cultivate the habit of making it to the cross every time you read your Bible.

If you need help with this habit, if, like me, you're prone to forget the wonder of the cross, you may want to establish for yourself some drastic reminders of the cross. You probably don't need to do anything as drastic as this former cross-forgetting Pharisee did. Eight years ago I tattooed a cross on my inside wrist so that every time I looked down at my open hands I'd be reminded of the outstretched hands of Jesus. When I read my Bible this morning, as I scanned the sentences in Psalm 40, I also looked down at the cross on my wrist which served as but one simple reminder for me of how the statements of deliverance in Psalm 40 point forward to the ultimate deliverance that Christ purchased for sinners on the cross.

You probably don't need a tattoo, but you probably do need to set up some sort of reminder that will help you make it to the cross in your Bible reading. Find your reminder, make it to the cross, and then you'll find that your Bible reading becomes a part of your day that you look forward to, that you can't do without. As you make it to the cross your Bible reading will become a time of great gladness, gratitude, and refreshment.

Today, I think for the first time, I'm praying for all of you who read this blog. I'm praying that you'll make it to the cross, find fresh joy in your Bible reading, and give God glory as you survey and savor the good news of the gospel."

I honestly cannot remember where I found this, so forgive me for not giving the source of this article!

A Spurgeon Quote on "PRIDE"

"O believer, learn to reject pride. Remember that the more you have, the more you have received and therefore the more that you are indebt to God. And you should not be proud of that which renders you a debtor. Consider your origin...look back to what you were...consider what you would have been, but for Divine Grace! Look upon yourself as you are now...doesnt your conscience reproach you...doesnt your thousand wanderings stand before you and tell you that you are unworthy to be called His son or daughter. If He made you anything, arent you taught thereby that it is grace that made you to differ? O, you who are valiant for truth, you would have been valiant for error if grace had not laid hold of you!

Therefore, don't be proud!!

Though you have a large estate, a wide domain of grace...once you did not have a single thing to call your own except your sin and misery! O strange infatuation, that you who have borrowed everything should think of exalting yourself!"


These thoughts from Mr. Spurgeon come from one of his sermons on the text of 1 Cor. 4:7

"For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"

Remember that the Corinthians were a "puffed up" people. So, Paul wrote these words to deflate the puffed up church. And the way that he did it was by speaking truth to them about the grace of God and how everything that they had came from the hand of their gracious God!

Since reading these reflections on humility being our greatest friend and pride being our greatest enemy, you may want to begin reading 1 Corinthians for more grace exalting and pride deflating exercises!

The Potency of Pride and God's Merciful Warnings

To understand more of God's perspective on pride, we continue from this little chapter in C.J. Mahaney's book "True Humility":

"Jonathan Edwards called pride 'the worst viper that is in the heart and the greatest disturber of the soul's peace and sweet communion with Christ'; he ranked pride as the most difficult sin to root out, and 'the most hidden, secret and deceitful of all lusts.' Despite this thorough understanding of its ugliness, Edwards himself constantly battled his own pride (a fact which gives me hope, knowing I'm not alone in this struggle). 'What a foolish, silly, miserable, blind, deceived poor worm am I, when pride works', Edwards once wrote. In his sermons and in his vast writings he constantly warned against pride, especially spiritual pride, which he viewed as the greatest cause of the premature ending of the Great Awakening, the revival that had brought so much spiritual vitality to the church in Edwards's day. Pride also undemines unity and can ultimately divide a church. Show me a church where there's division, where there's quarreling, and I'll show you a church where there's pride. Pride also brings down leaders. 'Pride ruins pastors and churches more than any other thing,' Mike Renihan has written. 'It is more insidious in the church than radon in the home.' When you read about the next public figure to fall, remember Proverbs 16:18 - 'pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.' That person's situation might appear circumstantially complicated, but at root it's not complicated: Pride goes before a fall."

God's Merciful Warnings
"The Warnings from Scripture about pride could not be more serious and sobering. And they're an expression of God's mercy, intended for our good. God is merciful to warn us in this way. He's merciful in this act of revealing this sin to our hearts and in identifying its seriousness and potential consequences. He is merciful, and He intends to protect us. So throughout His Word, God exposes pride as our greatest enemy. By unmasking pride - as well as introducing us to humility, our greatest friend - God is laying out for us the path to true greatness, a path that we see most clearly in our Savior's life and death."

May we walk that path together as we follow Christ!

(Well, I am heading for Virginia Beach for a week's vacation...but I will be sharing a few more "odds and ends" things about the issue of pride being our "greatest enemy" and humility being our "greatest friend" in the next week or so)

I hope I wet your appetite enough for this great little book by C.J Mahaney that you may pick up a copy for yourself and read through it.

God is opposed to the proud!

So, it has been made clear to us that God hates pride and why He hates pride!

Now, let us ask ourselves: what do we hate?

Let's join C.J. Mahaney again on this subject:

"I'll tell you what I hate. I've got two lists. One is a silly list that begins with foods that I sometimes think must be products of the Fall. I detest meatloaf (remember this is C.J speaking, not me...I love meatloaf...ok, back to C.J.). I loathe sauerkraut. And I hate cottage cheese. I even hate it when anyone eats cottage cheese in my presence; it ruins my appetite. I also despise any and all professional sports teams from New York City - that's simply part of my heritage, being born and raised in the Washington DC area. That's just the beginning, a little sampling of my silly list of things I hate. But I also have a serious list of things I hate. I'm sure you have one, too.
I hate abortion. I hate child abuse. I hate racism. What do you hate? You and I hate nothing to the degree that God hates pride. His hatred for pride is pure, and His hatred is holy. John Calvin wrote, 'God cannot bear with seeing His glory appropriated by the creature in even the smallest degree, so intolerable to Him is the sacrilegious arrogance of those who, by praising themselves, obscure His glory as far as they can.' And because God cannot bear with this arrogance, He reveals Himself in Scripture as actively opposed to pride. Actively!!
'God opposes the proud (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).' Opposes in this statement is an active, present-tense verb, showing us that God's opposition to pride is an immediate and constant activity. The proud will not indefinitely escape discipline."

We will stop here for today...but let's keep this thought in our minds - God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. It is a very rare thing indeed for God's Word to speak of God's dispostion with us as "resisting" or "opposed"...and the thing that puts God in this posture is PRIDE!!

Let us be a humble people who know what it is to have God's grace at work in our lives!

Pride: Contending for Supremacy

So, we pickup where we left off the other day.

Why does God hate pride so passionately?

Here's why:

"Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him. Charles Bridges once noted how pride lifts up one's heart against God and 'contends for supremacy' with Him. That's a keenly insightful and biblical definition of pride's essence: contending for supremacy with God, and lifting up our hearts against Him. For purposes of personal confession, I began adopting this definition of pride a few years ago after I came to realize that, to some degree, I'd grown unaffected by pride in my life. Though I was still confessing pride, I knew I wasn't sufficiently convicted of it. So rather than just confessing to God that 'I was proud in that situation' and appealing for His forgiveness, I learned to say instead, 'Lord, in that moment, with that attitude and that action, I was contending for supremacy with You. That's what it was all about. Forgive me.' And rather than confessing to another person, 'that statement was prideful on my part; will you please forgive me?' I began saying, 'what I just did was contending for supremacy with God,' and only then asking for the person's forgiveness. This practice increased a weight of conviction in my heart about the seriousness of this sin. Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification. That's the motive and ultimate purpose of pride - to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him. The proud person seeks to glorify himself and not God, thereby attempting in effect to deprive God of something only He is worthy to receive. No wonder God opposes pride. No wonder He hates pride. Let that truth sink into your thinking."

Humility: True Greatness

As many of you know, Ron Starcher has been preaching during our Sunday evening services. He has been walking us through the old testament book of Habakkuk. This past Sunday he spent some time on the issue of pride and arrogance and how God is directly opposed to pride. As he was preaching, I was convinced that I needed to pick up the little book by C.J. Mahaney entitled "Humility". So, this week I am reading this little book...in fact, I read most of it while waiting in the doctor's office.

I thought I would share with you some of his thoughts from chapter two which is called "The Perils of Pride". It will probably take about 4 or 5 posts to capture what I want to share with you...so look for these posts over the next week.

First, let me begin by quoting one of my favorite writers John Stott:

"at every stage of our christian development and in every sphere of our christian discipleship, pride is the greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend".

And someone once said:

"humility is the jewel from which all other godly characteristics flow from".

The First Sin
"Pride has quite the history, one that precedes Adam and Eve. Pride, it seems, was the very first sin. Isaiah 14 records the downfall of a king, but not a mere earthly ruler. This king is the embodiment of God-defying arrogance, but the language used here apparently references the rebellion and fall of Satan himself. In Isaiah 14:13, the motivation behind Satan's rebellion is exposed: 'You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high'. Led by the prideful Lucifer, powerful angelic creatures possessing beauty and glory far beyond our comprehension arrogantly desired recognition and status equal to God Himself. In response, God swiftly and severely judged them. Pride not only appears to be the earliest sin, but it is at the core of all sin. 'Pride,' John Stott writes, 'is more than the first of the seven deadly sins; it is itself the essence of all sin.' Indeed, from God's perspective, pride seems to be the most serious sin. From my study, I'm convinced there's nothing God hates more than this. God righteously hates all sin, of course, but biblical evidence abounds for the conclusion that there's no sin more offensive to Him than pride. When His Word reveals those things 'that the Lord hates' and 'that are an abomination to him', it's the proud man's 'haughty eyes' that head up the list (Prov. 6:16-17). When the personified wisdom of God speaks out, these clear words are emphasized: 'I hate pride and arrogance' (Prov. 8:13). And consider the divine perspective on pride revealed in Prov. 16:5: 'Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.' Stronger language for sin simply cannot be found in Scripture."

Why is Scripture's language so strong against pride?? Why does God hate pride so passionately??

We will pickup here tomorrow!!

A Charles Spurgeon Sighting!!

Well, not literally!!

As many of you know, I am an active reader of writings and sermons by Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon was a pastor in the late 1800's in London. He is commonly referred to as the "Prince of Preachers". While I have read much of his material, one of his most popular books I have not read as of yet. The book is titled "Lectures to my students". This book is on every recommended reading list that I have received from pastors and pastors conferences. In fact, one of my favorite "living" preachers, C.J Mahaney, says that no man should be entrusted with a congregation without having read this volume between 10 and 20 times!! So, since I have never read it, I guess I have a lot of catching up to do. A couple of other pastors along with myself and Aaron Thomas (missionary to Papua New Guinea) met this morning at Panera Bread (and will continue to meet once a month) to discuss this book.

So far, I have read the first few chapters and thought I would share some quotes and thoughts from chapter 1 entitled "The Minister's Self-watch" coming from 1 Timothy 4:16 - 'take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine'.

First, he challenges pastors to take heed to themselves and be sure that they are not preaching something that is foreign to themselves. On this subject, he quotes Richard Baxter:
"Take heed to yourselves lest you should be void of that saving grace of God which you offer to others, and be strangers to the effectual working of that gospel which you preach; and lest, while you proclaim the necessity of a Savior to the world, your hearts should neglect him, and you should miss of an interest in him and his saving benefits. Take heed to yourselves, lest you perish while you call upon others to take heed of perishing, and lest you famish yourselves while you prepare their food."

Second, he reminds us that others depend upon our walk with God. He says, "it is with us and our hearers as it is with watches and the public clock; if our watch be wrong, very few will be misled by it but ourselves; but if the Horse Guards or Greenwhich Observatory should go amiss, half of London would lose its reckoning. So it is with the minister; he is the parish-clock, many take their time from him, and if he be incorrect, then they all go wrongly, more or less, and he is in a great measure accountable for all the sin which he occasions".

Last, he warns ministers of the danger of ministerialism -
"the tendency to read our Bibles as ministers, to pray as ministers, to get into doing the whole of our religion as not ourselves personally, but only relatively, concerned in it. To lose the personality of repentance and faith is a loss indeed". Therefore, as John Owen said, "no man preaches his sermon well to others if he does not first preach it to his own heart".

Please pray for me in regards to these important truths. While I covet your prayers for myself, I would also ask that you would pray for Pastor Brian Main of Walnut Creek Community Church and Pastor Neil Appell of Grace Ridge Bible Church. These are two other pastors who are studying this book along with me. We are meeting once a month to discuss these "lectures" and to encourage one another in the ministry! I am so thankful for these men, for their friendship, and for their ministries.

An Old Way of Thinking

The just shall live by faith. Love your neighbor as yourself. A man reaps what he sows. The law of God is in our minds and written in our hearts. These are all concepts and biblical truths with which every Christian can recite by heart and proudly proclaim that he lives by the grace of the New Testament and not under the law of the Old Testament. There is, however, a slight problem with this way of thinking. All of the verses quoted above come from the Old Testament. The just shall live by faith is found in Habakkuk 2:4. You shall love your neighbor as yourself is a direct quote from Leviticus 19:18. A man reaps what he sows comes from Hosea 10:12-13. And the promise of a new covenant where the law is in our minds and written in our hearts and not on tablets of stone is found in Jeremiah 31:33.
The only Bible that Jesus, his disciples, the Apostle Paul, and all of the first century believers possessed, used, and quoted from was the Old Testament. And yet, it is that portion of the Bible which makes up 39 of the 66 books of the entire Bible that most of us remain ignorant. It was the Old Testament from which came the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messiah. Philip, in Acts 8:35, shared the gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. He did not have the Romans road at his disposal. The New Testament was not written in a vacuum, nor as a book to replace the Old Testament. The New Testament is not the Christian Bible and the Old Testament only a book for the Jews. If that were the case, then everything that we teach as Christians, as believers in Jesus, could be dismissed out-of-hand by the Jews as simply Christian teachings and doctrines that do not apply to the Jews.
Jesus was speaking to a Jewish audience when he said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled". (Matthew 5:17-18 KJV)

Living in Israel has caused me to dig deeper into God's word in order to proclaim its truth. It is not enough to quote passages from the New Testament to "prove" a doctrine. The New Testament often explains a doctrine succinctly, especially to someone who was raised in a Christian environment and takes for granted teachings on the Trinity, the virgin birth, the relationship of Jesus to the Father, etc, etc. But what if your audience doesn't recognize "your Bible" as authoritative?
My challenge to you is to read, study, and learn the whole Bible, not just the 27 books of the New Testament. If we say that we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then it is important to partake of it all. Understand that the Old and New Testaments form the whole counsel of God. They are joined together by the common threads of God's redemption for mankind. The next time you are reading in the New Testament and there is a quote from the Old Testament, stop, turn to that passage and seek to understand its history and application. And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness, Genesis 15:6. Phinehas stood up for the Lord and it was counted to him for righteousness (see Psalm 106 and Numbers 25). Jesus, God's servant, humbled himself, but was raised up, and will one day be highly exalted (Isaiah 52:13).

Blessings from Jerusalem,
David

Guest Blog

I have invited a couple of friends to be "guest bloggers" on my blog. I thought it would be a blessing for you to hear from these other men periodically. So, this week we will be hearing from one of these men.

So, let me introduce this friend to you. His name is David and he is a "sent one" from our church. You may have noticed the hits on the blog from Israel. They are from David and his wife Anne. David and Anne served for many years in local church ministry in the States as lay-leaders before answering the call to overseas work. They were appointed in 2001 and have been active in the country since January 2005. David is an MA student at the University in Cultural Anthropology (cultures of the Bible). He serves as a deacon in a local congregation in Jerusalem of 200 believers. Anne leads the ladies' ministry of their congregation. Their children all attend national or Hebrew speaking schools. They have a planned furlough beginning in August 2009. So, enjoy getting to know this family through our blog and when they come to the states, please make a point to visit with them and be a blessing to these "sent ones".

Ministry Update

I thought I would give everyone (those who attend First Baptist) a quick reminder of the schedule tomorrow. It will be a busy day but many opportunities to worship our Savior and commune together. Here is the schedule:

1. For our 9:30 ABF hour, all the adults will be in the sanctuary to meet a visiting missionary. They are still raising their support and are on their way to Cuba. Some of you will remember Brandi Cole, she was a graduate of Howland Christian School and as a young girl she attended and was very involved here at First Baptist of Howland. Please be here tomorrow to encourage this couple and to see how God's grace has been at work in Brandi's life.

2. Tomorrow is a very special day to us because we will be having communion together. It is the pattern of many churches to have communion once a month (often on the first Sunday of the month). We have not taken that approach to communion for the simple fact that we do not want communion to just become a ritual to us. In years past, we have taken communion only 4 times a year...while our purpose in this was to keep communion as something very significant and special to the believer...we felt that this was not enough. This year we have scheduled to have communion together about every 6-8 weeks. The Lord's Supper is given to us as a "living memorial" to remind us of Christ's substitutionary death and the gospel message. At the Lord's table, we confess our faith in Christ as our Savior together. It is a family table, where all of the followers of Christ are welcomed to sit at His feet and remember Him!! Because our purpose during this time is to honor the Lord and to celebrate the cross, and because we know that praise and worship is spiritual warfare (2 Chronicles 20:22), we are asking for all to be in prayer for this special day. Please pray that God would be exalted and that Jesus Christ would become very dear to our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for all of us to have tender and receptive hearts as we "remember His death until He comes". Pray that we would truly celebrate our freedom from sin's condemning power, from the wrath of God, and the removal of our guilt and shame through what Jesus did for us on the cross. Before we take of the elements we are told to "examine ourselves" in preparation. So, today, I am reminding you to examine yourself even before you walk through the doors tomorrow. Prepare physically, spiritually and mentally to worship Christ!

3. After our worship service, we will be having the Famous Baptist "Pot Luck" Dinner...but since we do not believe in "luck", we will be having a "fellowship dinner" together. Just as saints of old used to "feast" together, we too will be using this Sunday as an opportunity to have an extended time of food and fellowship. Please come prepared to stay after the service for the dinner and enjoy and encourage one another...God has given us one another as a gift from Him and for the purpose of encouragement, growth, and sanctification.
Also, if you signed up to bring something...please do not forget! If you did not sign-up, feel free to bring something anyway. If you are not able to bring anything, come join us as well. We love to use these times to get to know one another better!

4. Lastly, since there is no evening service tomorrow...some of us are going to the Robin Mark concert in Elyria. If you have not heard about this but would like to go, let me know either today through email or tomorrow at church.

Looking forward to seeing many of you tomorrow morning!

In Christ,

Pastor Jerry

Someone Greater Than Angels

I was visiting someone in the hospital yesterday and in the course of our discussion the conversation turned to angels. Now, I have to admit that I have always been a little uncomfortable with so much talk about angels...not because I do not believe in them...but because of the amount of "angel worship" that takes place.

But recently I have gained a better perspective about the ministry of angels. You see, all throughout the Bible, angels have had a very significant role in the purpose and plan of God. Of course, they are created beings. Angels have not always existed...they are part of the universe that God created. Angels exercise moral judgment which is seen in the fact that some of them sinned and fell from their positions. Angels are "spirits" which means they do not ordinarily have physical bodies and therefore cannot usually be seen unless God gives a special ability to see them. Angels are often found in the Bible as either "guarding and protecting us" or "joining us in worship to God".

If you think through your Bible, angels have been used at very important times to carry out God's plan. And while angels are "ministering spirits" to serve us...they were created to worship and bless their Creator and serve Him.

We find this to be true in the life of Jesus Christ. Here are some examples:

1. In the birth of Christ. God chose Mary to be the special one who would give birth to the Son of God. How did God choose to reveal this amazing and awe-inspiring news? He sent an angel to tell Mary. So Mary was comforted, but what about her soon-to-be husband Joseph? Remember that he was confused and disappointed and so he decided that he should quietly break off his "engagement" with Mary. And again, right on time, God sends an angel to explain this to Joseph. So angels were used in telling the good news of the coming Messiah!

2. At the temptation of Christ. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where for 40 days and 40 nights he was tempted by the Devil. Christ answered each temptation with the truth of God's Word even answering one temptation by using a reference to angels. But the Bible tells us that after the Devil left Him, the angels came and ministered and strengthened Christ. So, here again we find the angels ministering to Christ and strengthening Him for His earthly ministry.

3. In the Garden of Gethsemane. It was here that we are introduced to a staggered and overwhelmed Christ. Never before in the life of Christ do we find Him so overwhelmed as we do in the garden. It is here that we find His soul "exceedingly sorrowful" even unto death. It has been said that 'while on the cross was where Christ physical body was crucified, it was here in the garden that his soul was crucified'. Because He was facing the reality of taking on the sins of the world. As he prays, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me" the Bible records for us no answer from His Father. All Christ hears in response to this prayer is SILENCE. Because there is no other way. Christ must go to the Cross. But while there was silence from the Father, we are told that "an angel from heaven appeared to Him, stengthening Him".

As we can see, the angels have always played an integral role especially in ministering to Christ. Angels are beings that are instructed with what to do and they are ready at a moment's notice to do what the Father commands.

But, that means that the angels are limited. They can only do what the Father commands. Did you know that there was a time when God could have called on the angels....but didnt!!!

The most crucial moment in all of history. The Cross of Calvary. It was here that God could have ended it all, but instead, the angels never got the call. You can imagine the angels all lined up and in position...all they needed was a "word"...in fact, on this occasion, just a "nod" would have been enough. But as they looked to Almighty God for instruction...the call never came.

The Bible tells us that there were at least 7 sayings of Christ on the Cross. Are you not thankful that Christ did not cry out "Father, send twelve legions of angels to rescue me"??

In fact, after the Garden of Gethsemane, I do not find any trace of angelic ministry until the empty tomb. At the tomb the angel says, "do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified...He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying...and go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead".

So, what does the Bible record for us in between the Garden of Gethsemane and Resurrection Morning??

The Cross!!

No angelic assistance because Christ had to go to the Cross alone!!
No assistance...no help...no strengthening!!

This is why we do not worship angels or pray to angels. Angels have their place....and we should give thanks for their ministry. But no angel became a man! No angel died in our place! Christ did not become an angel...He did not take on the nature of an angel...He did not die for angels.
Listen to Octavius Winslow on this point:

"Who are the people upon whom the heart of Jesus is set? They, are not angels; and yet He loves angels, because they are elect and holy; He loves them as the creatures of His power, and as the ministers of His will. But God loves not angels as He loves man. The Lord Jesus bears not the same affection towards those unfallen and pure spirits as He does towards a poor sinner hiding in His wounded side, cleansing in His blood, and enfolding himself within the robe of His righteousness. He never took part of the nature of angels, nor wept over angels, nor bled for angels- but all this He did for man!"

Christ was made lower than the angels for a time so He could take on human flesh and He who knew no sin became sin for us and died in our place so we could be redeemed and have our sins forgiven.

And 1 Peter tells us that the angels look into these things because they are still a mystery to them. 1 Peter 1:3-12 are some of the greatest verses on "our great salvation" that God has provided. It tells us that the prophets spoke of this salvation and Christ has provided it and today you hear of it through the gospel...but what are the angels doing? They are still "looking in". The picture is of someone who is on the outside (never having experienced saving grace) "looking in" and wondering how it all works!

Although these angels do not understand it, they worship our God night and day and rejoice in the Savior Jesus Christ...how can we, who are sinners that have been redeemed, do anything less!!

(May I encourage you to read more on this study in Hebrews chapters 1-2)

The Providence of God

I am constantly amazed and blessed by the Providence of God!

There are so many instances of this...that I guess we (at least "I") take it for granted. Here are a couple of late that have been a great blessing to me:

1. As many of you know, I have been preaching through the gospel of Luke. Each week God amazes me with His Word! This past Sunday we found ourselves at the beginning of Luke 11, which happens to be the Lord's Prayer. So, on Father's Day we found ourselves starting a study on the Lord's Prayer which begins with the words "Our Father"...so in summary, on Father's Day the text we "happened" to fall on led us to a study on the "Fatherhood of God". What better subject could there be for us to study on Father's Day!! Our God knows what we need and His timing is always perfect!

2. These past two Sundays my thoughts have been on God's adopting love. I have been overwhelmed by the fact that "if I love God it is because He first loved me". This past Sunday morning I mentioned this and quoted Charles Spurgeon on this subject. Here is the quote (in case you werent there...or in case you dont remember...or in case you fell asleep...or in case...you can fill in the blank):

"I once knew a good woman who was the subject of many doubts, and when I got to the bottom of her doubt, it was this: she knew she loved Christ, but she was afraid he did not love her. 'Oh!' I said, 'that is a doubt that will never trouble me; never, by any possibility, because I am sure of this, that the heart is so corrupt, naturally, that love to God never did get there without God’s putting it there.' You may rest quite certain, that if you love God, it is a fruit, and not a root. It is the fruit of God’s love to you, and did not get there by the force of any goodness in you. You may conclude, with absolute certainty, that God loves you if you love God."

You see 'naturally, left to myself, I ignore God, defy God, and despise God'. We would never turn to God on our own. This is summed up well in the following words written by Josiah Conder in the late 1800's:

My Lord, I did not choose You
For that could never be
My heart would still refuse You
Had You not chosen me
You took the sin that stained me
You cleansed me, made me new
Of old You have ordained me
That I should live in You

Unless Your grace had called me
And taught my darkened mind
The world would have enthralled me
To Your glories I’d be blind
My heart knows none above You
For Your rich grace I thirst
I know that if I love You
You must have loved me first

Now...back to my point about the Providence of God. I quoted these words twice in the last 2 weeks. First, in our Sunday evening service on June 8th and then again during Sunday School in my address to the youth group. Both times I read it...I thought 'someone needs to take these words and set them to music and make a worship song out of it'. Well, last night I get an email from Sovereign Grace Music...which includes a new cd offer. This cd is made up of songs that were performed at the New Attitude Conference in Louisville, Kentucky approximately 1 month ago. And included in the song set is a song entitled "My Lord, I did not choose You". This song is performed by Devon Kauflin which includes a chorus that he added. So, I have immediately added this cd to my mp3 player and cant wait till we can add this song to our worship sets on Sunday mornings.

May I encourage you to keep an eye on how God is "in and over all things" and be sure and give Him the praise!

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."
Romans 11:36

By the way:
You can find a free sample of this song and/or download the mp3 of this song for 99 cents at:
http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=M4230-08-51

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day!!

I was thinking about that little title...and thinking about what really makes for a "Happy" Father!

The Bible tells us that "there is no greater joy than to see your children walking in the Truth". A true and lasting joy for a Father comes from taking your children (and wife) by the hand and leading them to a genuine relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ.

Fathers, please do not let "Father's Day" be all about what gifts you receive or what special meal you can be served (nothing wrong with giving your father gifts or a meal, btw!!)...but instead think about the immense privilege you have to be their father. That God created "male" and "female"...and gave each specific roles and responsibilities. Because God has made you "male"...and a "husband" and "father", you have been called to lead and love the way Christ loves and leads the church. God gave you your wife and children as a gift from Him for you to "shepherd their souls". So, please take this role seriously! More serious than you take your vocation or you hobbies! Nothing will bring you more joy, and nothing will make you a "happy Father" more...not just for a day, but today and forever!

Listen to how James Alexander describes the husband and father's responsibility in his "Thoughts on Family Worship":
"the husband has the duty of providing spiritual leadership for his wife. Since he is to love her as Christ loved the church, the husband must do all he can to prepare his wife for heaven (Eph. 5:23-27). He must teach her the Scriptures and pray with her, pointing her again and again to our risen Savior. Similarly, fathers have a duty to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4)."

he continues...
"nothing will spur a father toward godly, spiritual discipline in his own walk with Christ more than leading his family in worship. In order to teach his wife and children, he will have to study the Scriptures on his own".

This is so true!!

Being a father and seeing that role from God's perspective is so humbling...which is a good thing! I realize that I am responsible for whether or not my family serves the Lord with gladness! Since I know that I am not equal to this task...it keeps me humbly dependent upon God and His grace at work in my life and then through my life to my family.

I pray that each of us as "fathers" will continue to pursue God more and more so that we might love Him more deeply and then be able to teach this and pass this on to our children.

I can honestly say that I am so thankful that God has blessed me with my wife, two children, and one more to come. My wife can tell you that every once in a while I will turn to her while watching our children and say something like "I love our family".

So, as a father, I am truly happy! Not because of all the nice things that my wife and children do for me...although there are many tangible ways that they express their love to me, but mostly I am "happy" because God has allowed me the great privilege of being a servant leader in my home to Jennifer, Jana, and Josiah and baby J "to be named later"!!

Once again,

Happy Father's Day!!

Diligently Teach Your Children

Have you ever taken the time to listen to children while their playing?

Well, today I did and I was blessed!! I went home for lunch today and overheard my daughter Jana (7 yrs. old) and my son Josiah (4 yrs. old) playing. They were playing house/school...since they have become accustomed to our house also being school (due to homeschooling). Of course, Jana was the teacher and Josiah (along with a few dolls) was the student.

So, here is some of the conversation that I overheard take place??

Jana: ok, why did Jesus die?
Josiah: for people and their sins
Jana: who has sin?
Josiah: you
Jana: who else?
Josiah: me
Jana: who else?
Josiah: mommy and daddy (cant believe he said that!!)
Jana: everybody, right??

This was an awesome conversation to walk in on!! As I listened to them interact, I was overwhelmed by the understanding that they have for Christ's substitutionary death on the cross for our sins in order to bring us to God.

I know that so much of their knowledge is a result of my wife's hard work and sacrifice. Because of her commitment to work in our home and raise our children. My wife has given up a lot in order to be a "stay at home mom" and a "homeschool teacher"...and as if that wasn't enough...then to coordinate and oversee Vacation Bible School and our year long Sunday evening children's program called KidVenture.

There is no doubt in my mind that our children have benefited from our KidVenture program which is walking them through a catechism. If you are not doing something along these lines, let me encourage you to implement some kind of "questions and answers" with your children. (May I also encourage you to make sure your children are a put of KidVenture this fall on Sunday evenings...it is awesome!!)

here is a website to give you an idea of the kind of thing I am talking about:
http://www.grace.org.uk/faith/childcat.html

Now, just a little more of the conversation between Jana and Josiah:

Jana: ok, what did we learn from our book last night?
Josiah: um...I dont know
Jana: before we went to bed, what did we read about?
Josiah: um...God and Jesus??
Jana: well, yeah...we read about Moses, right?
Josiah: oh yeah

This was the part that really made my day!

You see we have been reading from a book just about every night...except the nights that we are returning home from somewhere and the children fall asleep in the car...we don't dare wake them, but instead we carry them into their beds...thank God for an early night for us...and fall onto the couch or bed!! But on most nights, the last thing we do before bed is read out of a book called "the Jesus Storybook Bible". So, Jana was quizzing Josiah on what we read last night...I was glad she was quizzing Josiah...because honestly, if she was asking me that question...my memory wasn't any better than Josiah's...so I too would have given the old stand-by response "um...God and Jesus??"

But, I was amazed that Jana actually remembered. I have found this time (which is only 10-15 minutes at the most) to be the highlight of my day. I love it when Josiah runs to get the book and says that we cant go to sleep until we have read our story. And may I encourage you to pick up this book. It is excellent!! This book tells the Story behind all the other stories in the Bible. Every story whispers the name of Jesus!!

Listen to these recommendations:

“Sally has captured the plot line of redemption in a children’s story Bible that sings the praise of Jesus and his saving grace on every page, in every story. This is heady theology, often missed in adult preaching and teaching, but fully realized in an age appropriate and attractive form that will delight children and often (at least for me) leave the grown up reader in tears... To discover The Jesus Storybook Bible is to have a unique resource for communicating the gospel to children in all it’s fullness. I hope that every family, and even people without young children, would get a copy of this book just to remind them of what the Real Story of the Bible is all about." - Dr. Timothy Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, NYC

"All too often, children's Bible storybooks isolate individual biblical stories from the message of the Scriptures. Children then learn “Bible stories” much like they learn Aesops’ fables – entertaining stories about what people should and shouldn’t do. The Jesus Storybook Bible is a wonderful exception to this trend. Sally Lloyd-Jones tells the stories of the Bible in a way that seeks to be exegetically faithful to the text while directing children to what adults would call the "redemptive historical" meaning; the whole Bible tells the history of God's purpose to redeem His people through the Savior. Bible stories learned this way do what God intended them to do - they lead people to know and believe the gospel of Jesus. Perhaps the greatest value of this book is how it can train parents (and anyone in a position of teaching) to teach the Scriptures rightly to their children." - Westminister Theological Seminary Bookstore

Remember in Deuteronomy chapter 6, we are commanded to love the Lord our God and then do our part to diligently teach our children to love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. We are to teach them of His Ways when we lie down, when we rise up, and as we go!

If you need some more encouragement on the importance of family worship, here are 2 more really good resources for you:

1. "Family Driven Faith" by Voddie Baucham
2. "Family Worship" by Donald Whitney

My Article from 'THE FINAL WORD'

Every time the newsletter article comes “due”, I consider what to share with you. I look back over the past 6-8 weeks and see if there is anything worthy of your time and this printed page. So, as I look back the highlight of this past month was the Basics Pastor’s Conference at Parkside Church. This year was my 8th consecutive year attending and as always it was a great blessing. This year’s special guests were Voddie Baucham and Jerry Bridges along with Pastor Alistair Begg. The theme was “Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves”.

All of the messages were great and aimed at encouraging Pastor’s to stay near the Cross everyday.

While each of these men were excellent to listen to, Jerry Bridges is the “master” when it comes to this subject.

I love how he reminded us that the gospel is not just for unbelievers as we so often think, but instead that the gospel is for sinners!! Therefore, we need to preach the gospel to ourselves everyday because we are all practicing sinners! Obviously, just because we are “in Christ” does not change the fact that we are sinners. And those who are “in Christ” ought to be people who “mourn” over their sin. Like Paul in all of his new testament letters (we see this in Romans as we study it in our Adult Bible Fellowships each week), we ought to be deeply aware of remaining sin and see sin as an offense to a holy and righteous God. It is true that even on our very best days, we still fall woefully short of the holiness that God requires.

If you are like me, it is at this point that we find ourselves saying “but this doesn’t feel very good”. But what we are really saying (and feeling) is that this doesn’t make us feel good about ourselves. But, the gospel and Christianity was never intended to make us feel good about ourselves. If we felt good about ourselves we would have never come to Christ in the first place. The gospel and the Cross and Christianity is intended to make us feel good about Christ!!

This is why we must start with our sinfulness. The greatest benefit of acknowledging our sinfulness is that it makes Christ and His work precious to us. Why? Because only sinners need a Savior! I am reminded of the wise words of Thomas Watson who said, “till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet”. We see this of all the saints of old…they were men and women who came to see themselves in the light of God’s holiness. We see this over and over again in the Apostle Paul’s writings. As we read his letters it is apparent that with each passing day, two things became clearer and clearer to him: his sinfulness in light of the holiness of God and God’s mercy in the face of his sin. John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing Grace”, as he came to the end of his life couldn’t remember much but what he did remember was that “he was a great sinner and Christ was a great Savior”. They must go hand in hand. Christ will never be seen as a great Savior until we see ourselves for who we really are – great sinners!

Once again, let us hear from Charles Spurgeon on this subject:
“too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior. He who has stood before his God, convicted and condemned, with the rope about his neck, is the man to weep for joy when he is pardoned, to hate the evil which has been forgiven him, and to live to the honor of the Redeemer by whose blood he has been cleansed”.

Bridges encouraged me and I in turn encourage each of you “to preach the gospel to ourselves everyday”.

This means we must start with “guilt”. But, we don’t stay there! Next we move to “grace”. God’s grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin. It is gracious of God to provide a solution to the sin problem. His solution being that He gave His only begotten Son who lived the perfect life we could not live and then died the painful death that we should have endured. He became our sin-bearer. He was our substitute. He paid a debt He did not owe because I owed a debt I could not pay!

And then “gratitude”! As Spurgeon said in the above quote, the man who truly sees his own sin and feels that guilt and then sees the Savior extend His grace…this is the man who will then live in “gratitude” to the honor of His Savior!

I hope that this will challenge you, as it did me, to spend each morning meditating and dwelling on the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s gracious disposition towards sinners like you and me.

May I leave you with a final quotation…I had heard it before but was reminded of it when Jerry Bridges gave it to us as the closing of his message…and I now keep it close by all the time.

“There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest.” - B.B Warfield

Pray for Steven Curtis Chapman

Please be praying for Steven and his wife Mary Beth and family...this morning it was announced on WCRF that his 5 year old daughter Maria died yesterday as a result of an accident. It appears that one of the teenage sons may have struck her with the car in the driveway...so be praying for the whole family during this crisis!! Also, be sure and give your spouse and kids a hug and kiss as soon as you can. It is a reminder to us that our lives are but a vapor, that appear for a little time and then vanish away...and that every day we have is a precious gift from God and another opportunity for us to "love God" and "love each other" with a Christ-like love!!

Below is the announcement on Steven Curtis Chapman's website:

MARIA SUE CHAPMAN, DAUGHTER OF STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN, DIES IN ACCIDENT AT FAMILY HOME

NASHVILLE, TN...5/21/08... At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Thursday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

One Mediator between God and Man

My morning thought from Octavius Winslow went along so well with what I posted yesterday and what I am currently reading in "In my place condemned He stood"...so I thought I would share it in case anyone would like to read more...

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. - Hebrews 9:15

"Viewed in its proper aspect, the humanity of our Lord will be found to occupy a place in the scheme of salvation, as important and essential to its perfection as His Deity; that the humanity was pure humanity, and the Deity absolute Deity, while the mysterious union of the two, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, constituted Him the proper and the "one Mediator between God and man." Glorious is this aspect of our Lord's complex person; full and clear is the testimony of the Spirit to its truth. Where Christ speaks of Himself as inferior to the Father-as having received "glory from the Father,"-as receiving "life from the Father,"-of "the Father being greater than He,"-He must invariably be regarded as alluding to Himself in His mediatorial office only, and not in His Divine character. He is equal to the Father in nature, subordinate to Him only in office. On this truth hinges all the glory and efficacy of redemption.

It was, then, essential to His fitness as the Surety and Mediator of His covenant people, that He should be "bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh." That forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; "it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren." The nature of His office, and the success of his undertaking, required that the union of every Divine and human perfection should meet and center in Him. He was to be the middle person between God and man. He was to bring together these two extremes of being-the Infinite and the finite. He was to mediate for the offended Creator and the offending creature. How could He possibly accomplish this great and peculiar work, without a union of the two natures-the Divine and the human? Jehovah could admit of mediation only by one of equal holiness and glory, and man could negotiate in this great business of reconciliation but with one "in all points (sin excepted) like can to himself." Behold this wondrous union in the person of Jesus. As man, he was made under the law-honoring it in its precepts by His obedience, and in its penalty by His sufferings. As God, He imparted a dignity to that obedience, and a virtue to those sufferings, which rendered them eternally efficacious in the salvation of men, glorious in the sight of angels, and infinitely satisfactory to law and to justice.

Beloved reader, stand not aloof from the pure humanity of your blessed Lord. It was humanity that obeyed, that bled, and that died for you. Cling to the doctrine of His Deity. It was God in the man that rendered His obedience meritorious for your justification, and His death effectual for your redemption. Oh glorious person of the God-man Mediator! What a foundation is here laid for a poor condemned sinner to build upon! What a "new and living way" to God is opened-what a wide door to His very heart! He may come now, and feel that not a perfection of Jehovah is trampled upon in His coming-that not an iota of His law is dishonored in His salvation-but that the law appears in its richest luster, and every perfection shines in its resplendent glory, in the full and free redemption of a sinner through the blood and righteousness of the Son of God. Is it any wonder that over the door of mercy should be written in letters of brightness that might dazzle an angel's eye, "Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life"?

Back in the action!!

These past week has been difficult for me...as some of you know, my laptop computer is giving me trouble. Therefore, I have had very little access to a computer or to the internet. It is amazing how much we (or should I say "I") depend upon computers these days. In fact, when a pastor friend of mine heard that I was without a computer he asked "so, are you able to preach?". Although this sounds funny...he was putting his finger right on the button. It has made my preparation much more difficult. I dont know how Spurgeon did it without "microsoft word" or "online bible commentaries"??

Anyway, I wanted to share with you the latest book that I have been reading. It is called "In my place condemned He stood" by J.I Packer and Mark Dever. Obviously the title comes from the hymn "Hallelujah, what a Savior" which includes these words:

"Bearing shame and scoffing rude
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!"

The book is a celebration of the glory of the atonement. In the first chapter, J.I Packer mentions that the word "propitiation" is only found 4 times in the New Testament but the concept of "propitiation" is found everywhere in the Bible. The doctrine of propitiation is this..."that God loved the objects of His wrath so much that He gave His own Son to the end that He by His blood should make provision for the removal of His wrath...by doing so, Christ would make those who are objects of wrath into children of God by and for His good pleasure".

This is a great place to spend your quiet time...reflecting on this great truth. So, here are the 4 verses of the New Testament that include the word "propitiation":
1. Romans 3:21-26
2. Hebrews 2:17
3. I John 2:1-2
4. I John 4:8-10

Now, if you would really like to saturate yourself with this great teaching then let me suggest that you do what I have done these past few days. Spend time reading not just where the word is found...but where the concept or doctrine is taught. As Packer said, it is all over the New Testament.

Here are a few:
1. Romans (chapters 1-5)...by the way, this is where we are in our ABF study...so join us!!
2. Galatians 3
3. Ephesians 1-2...by the way, we are reading chapters 1, 2, and 3 daily for this month
4. Hebrews 8, 9, and 10
5. I John 1-3

Maybe read a chapter of these a day...and saturate yourself with the love of God in Christ on the cross on behalf of sinners like you and me!

It will cause you to break out in praise with words similar to how one of my favorite hymns begins:

"My song is love unknown,
my Savior's love to me,
love to the loveless shown,
that they might lovely be,
oh, who am I that for my sake,
oh, who am I that for my sake,
the Lord should take frail flesh and die!"

As you can tell, this has been another great book that God is using to draw me near the Cross and near Christ!

Octavius Winslow - Morning and Evening Thoughts

I have found a new spiritual hero - his name is Octavius Winslow!

Ok...I didnt find him...but I found many of his writings via the internet. As many of you know, probably my favorite pastor and writer is Charles Spurgeon. One of Spurgeon's closest friends in the ministry was Octavius Winslow. I have found Winslow's writings to be very much like Spurgeon's. Both of them are great at keeping the listener/reader close to Christ and close to the Cross! That is why I appreciate their writings so much!

So, today I would like to share with you one of Winslow's devotions...these come from Winslow's Morning and Evening Thoughts which I have been using as my devotions of late. This particular one is a little lengthy but definitely worth the time. Because of some of the archaic language, be sure and take time to concentrate...and if possible, read twice (that's what I usually have to do!!).

"The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." Rom. 8:16

THREE important things are involved in these words—first, the Witness—then that with which He witnesses—and lastly, the great truth to which He witnesses.

First, "the Spirit itself bears witness." The great business of making known to a poor sinner his acquittal in the high court of heaven, and his adoption into the King's family, is entrusted to no inferior agent. No angel is commissioned to bear the tidings, no mortal man may disclose the secret. None but God the Holy Spirit Himself. "The Spirit itself" He that rests short of this testimony wrongs his own soul. Dear reader, be satisfied with no witness to your "calling and election" but this. Human testimony is feeble here. Your minister, your friend, schooled as they may be in the evidences of experimental godliness, cannot assure your spirit that you are "born of God." God the Eternal Spirit alone can do this. He only is competent—He only can fathom the "deep things of God,"—He only can rightly discern between His own work and its counterfeit, between grace and nature —He only can make known the secret of the Lord to those who fear Him; all other testimony to your sonship is uncertain, and may fearfully and fatally deceive. "It is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth." Again and yet again would we solemnly repeat it—take nothing for granted touching your personal interest in Christ—rest not satisfied with the testimony of your own spirit, or with that of the holiest saint on earth; seek nothing short of "the Spirit itself." This only will do for a dying hour.

The second thing to be observed in the declaration is—that with which He witnesses—"the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit." It is a personal testimony—not borne to others, but to ourselves—"with our spirit." The adoption of the believer into the family of God is so great a privilege, involving blessings so immense, for beings so sinful and in all respects unworthy, that, did not their heavenly Father assure them by His own immediate testimony of its truth, no other witness would suffice to remove their doubts and quiet their fears, and satisfy them as to their real sonship. The Eternal Spirit of God descends and enters their hearts, as a witness to their adoption. He firsts renews our spirit—applies the atoning blood to the conscience—works faith in the heart—enlightens the understanding—and thus prepares the believing soul for the revelation and assurance of this great and glorious truth—his adoption into the family of God. As it is "with our spirit" the Holy Spirit witnesses, it is necessary that, in order to perfect agreement and harmony, he who has the witness within himself should first be a repenting and believing sinner. He who says that he has this witness, but who still remains "dead in sins,"—a stranger to faith in the Lord Jesus—to the renewings of the Holy Spirit—in a word, who is not born of God—is wrapping himself up in an awful deception. The witness we plead for is the holy testimony, in concurrence with a holy gospel, by a holy Spirit, to a holy man, and concerning a holy truth. There can be no discrepancy, no want of harmony, between the witness of the Spirit and the word of God. He witnesses according to, and in agreement with, the truth. Vague and fanciful impressions, visions, and voices, received and rested upon as evidences of salvation, are fearful delusions. Nothing is to be viewed as an evidence of our Divine sonship which does not square and harmonize with the revealed word of God. We must have a "Thus says the Lord," for every step we take in believing that we are the children of God. Let it be remembered, then, that the Spirit bears His testimony to believers. His first step is to work repentance and faith in the heart; then follows the sealing and witnessing operation. "In whom also, after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."

The last particular is the great truth to which He testifies, "that we are the children of God." The Spirit is emphatically spoken of as a Spirit of adoption. "For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." And again, "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Now it is the peculiar office of the Spirit to witness to the adoption of the believer. Look at the blessed fact to which He testifies—not that we are the enemies, the aliens, the strangers, the slaves, but that we are "the children of God." High and holy privilege! "The children of God!" Chosen from all eternity—"having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,"—all their iniquities laid on Jesus, their blessed Surety, justified by the "Lord our righteousness,"—called by the effectual operation of the Eternal Spirit—inhabited, sanctified, sealed by God the Holy Spirit. Oh exalted state! oh holy privilege! oh happy people! Pressing on, it may be, through strong corruptions, deep trials, clinging infirmities, fiery temptations, sore discouragements, dark providences, and often the hidings of a Father's countenance, and yet "the children of God" now, and soon to be glorified hereafter.

These kind of devotions each morning and evening have been great for my soul! I hope that you have found some resources that help you in the morning hours to turn your soul's attention to Christ!