Heading to the DG Conference

This morning, several of our elders will be headed up to the Desiring God Conference for Pastors, taking along with us a few other men from our church and the pastor of the Chadwick Evangelical Free Church. Please pray for safe travel, good fellowship, and the work of God in our hearts.

This video will give you a taste of what we'll be experiencing.

What Faith Does

Colin Smith:

Hebrews 11 gives us a long list of the heroes of faith, men and women who are models or examples to us of what authentic faith looks like. Study this chapter and you will see that faith is always more than bare belief. Faith is active. It does things...

Faith Understands

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command." Hebrews 11:3

The Psalmist says, "I have more insight than all my teachers for I meditate on your statutes" (Psalm 119:99). The Holy Spirit gives wisdom that cannot be gained by the intellect alone. It is possible to have the most brilliant mind, and yet to live like a fool.

Faith Offers

"By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did."(11:4)

Faith will lead you to great sacrifices-denying yourself and costly commitment.

Faith Builds

"By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." (11:7)

Faith initiates great projects that will be the means of advancing God's redeeming purpose in the world.

Faith Obeys

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." (11:8)

Faith will lead you to embark on great ventures into the unknown.

Faith Longs

"They were longing for a better country--a heavenly one."(11:16)

Faith is a forward-looking grace. It will keep you fixed on heaven.

Faith Blesses

"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future." (11:20)

What a blessing to have a father who is a man of faith, a mother who is a woman of faith. Faith leaves a legacy, bringing blessing to your children and all God places around you.

Faith Worships

"By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff."(11:21)

Faith will lead you to worship. Here is this old man at the end of life. He is dying, but he looks up to God and he worships.

Why does faith do all these things?

Faith is like a living tree bursting with fruit! Where does all this life and energy come from? Why does faith understand, offer, build, obey, long, bless and worship? Faith unites us to Jesus Christ. Faith is the bond by which we become His, and faith is the way in which Christ, and all that is His, becomes ours.

Small-Town Churches in the EFCA

The latest "issue" of the digital magazine EFCA Today is all about "Small-Town Churches." Follow the link to read about several smaller congregations and the ways they are making a big impact in their communities and in the world for Christ.

The Bible Is a Book Like No Other

From Don't Call It a Comeback-- The Old Faith for a New Day:

How is the Bible a book like no other? It is

• A book that is God-breathed: Inspiration. God authored the Bible through humans. He did not dictate it as an executive would dictate do a secretary. If a musician plays the same tune through a variety of wind instruments, each will sound different although each is coming from the same breath. God produced the Bible through the different personalities of his “instruments.”
• A book that is entirely true: Inerrancy. The Bible is not only inerrant in matters of theology, but in every subject it addresses. This does not mean that there are no difficulties in scripture. We do not have all the necessary data (i.e. archeological findings) to perfectly interpret the Bible. As sinful creatures we are susceptible to misinterpretation.
• A book that is the boss of me: Authority. God is the supreme authority since he created the universe. It is the final authority for every domain of knowledge that it addresses.
• A book that is all you need: Sufficiency. In the Bible, God has given us all we need to know in order to trust and obey him. The Bible alone is sufficient. It is not to be equated with the Koran or Book or Mormon. Some believe that God continues to reveal himself through special words or guidance. We cannot place these things on par with the Bible.
• A book that is actually understandable: Clarity. Not everything in the Bible is clear. But the central message about God’s saving grace is easily understood. The debates that arise are not the fault of the Bible, but the faults of sinful and finite human nature.
• A book that is essential to know God: Necessity. You must hear the message of the Bible, either by reading it or hearing it from someone else, in order to have faith in Christ. It is essential to remain immersed in it throughout our Christian walks. Spiritual endurance needs the Bible like physical endurance needs food and water.

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The Believer Is a Pilgrim

Michael Horton:

I think that there’s a tendency in evangelical circles either to lionize or demonize “postmodernism” as if it (any more than modernity) were a monolithic movement. Postmodernism is reacting against genuine problems in modernity, but with no transcendent source either for its critique or for constructive solutions. I argue that the modern self is a “master,” demanding autonomy, dominance, and control, while the postmodern self is more like a “tourist.” If the modern person not only has a destination but imagines that he or she has already arrived, the postmodern person is more likely to drift from booth to booth at Vanity Fair without any real goal or destination: from nowhere to nowhere, but making things interesting in between. In contrast to both, the believer is a pilgrim: a clear destination, but we haven’t arrived.

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Are the NT manuscripts reliable?

Our modern translations of the Bible come from older copies, the earliest of which are described as manuscripts. We don't have the original copies from the hands of the apostles themselves, so can we be confident that what we have is accurate?

Links for Life

Today is the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973. Here are a variety of links on this topic:

The U.S. Abortion Capital 41% of pregnancies in New York City end in abortion

The Unborn Paradox Ironically, this country hates infertility but embraces abortion

The Lazy Slander of Pro-Lifers? Do pro-lifers care only for life inside the womb?

Pro-Life Apologetics for the Next Generation Four things to clarify

15 Reasons the Abortion Industry Is Losing Its Support

Pennsylvania Abortionist Charged with Eight Counts of Murder

Jesus' Words Came True

Tertullian (ca. 150-225):

It is our care for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ‘Only look,’ they say, ‘look how they love one another’ (they themselves being given over to mutual hatred). ‘Look how they are prepared to die for one another’ (they themselves being readier to kill each other). Thus had this saying become a fact, ‘Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.’

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Quiet Provisions

Dale Ralph Davis:

Clarence Macartney told the story about Dr. John Witherspoon . . . a signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of the (then) College of New Jersey. He lived a couple of miles away from the college at Rocky Hill and drove horse and rig each day to his office at the college.

“One day one of his neighbors burst into his office, exclaiming, ‘Dr. Witherspoon, you must join me in giving thanks to God for his extraordinary providence in saving my life, for as I was driving from Rocky Hill the horse ran away and the buggy was smashed to pieces on the rocks, but I escaped unharmed!’

“Witherspoon replied, ‘Why, I can tell you a far more remarkable providence than that. I have drive over that road hundreds of times. My horse never ran away, my buggy never was smashed, I was never hurt.’

“So we must beware of thinking that God is only in the earthquake, wind, and fire; of thinking that manna but not grain is God’s food. Most of God’s gifts to his people are not dazzling and gaudy but wrapped in simple brown paper. Quiet provisions of safety on the highway, health of children, picking up a paycheck, supper with the family—all in an ordinary day’s work for our God.

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Learning Evangelism from Jesus

Jerram Barrs, reflecting on the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4:1-45:

This encounter teaches several lessons that can be applied to our own evangelism efforts:

• Overcoming Barriers: Jesus dismantled all the cultural barriers that their societies had erected to prevent the two from interacting. Do we as Christians today categorize or avoid people according to race, class, religion, social standing, etc.?
• Setting Aside Custom and Christian Rules: What Christian rules about living a separated and godly life have we devised to keep ourselves at a distance from non-Christians? Jesus shows us how to maintain purity while also practicing love.
• Being Vulnerable and Receiving the Good Gifts of Unbelievers: Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a favor. We must acknowledge our need for the gifts, wisdom, or advice an unbeliever may give us, because it is encouraging and ennobling to those who may expect only scorn or condescension from Christians.
• Respectful Discussion: Are we prepared to follow Jesus’ example and to take people and their theology seriously and respectfully? Are we willing to have thoughtful discussions with them, even if we consider their ideas to be confused or heretical, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, or those who follow a “New Age” Jesus?
• Gentleness and Grace: Jesus gently and sweetly draws the Samaritan woman to himself—although he is fully aware of the moral disaster of her life. We must not express personal rejection or scorn when dealing with non-believers. Must must remember that we are all sinners and deserve to be outcasts, but Jesus meets each of us and leads us through our confusion to the knowledge of the truth, just as he brings this Samaritan woman to himself.
• Commissioned for Service: Just as he commissioned the Samaritan woman, Jesus also calls us to ministry, to take the message about him into our communities and out into the world.

Source, excerpted from Learning Evangelism from Jesus

It Takes Time, Labor, and Energy

R. C. Sproul:

We live in a culture that is a quick and dirty culture. We want to become mature Christians in five easy lessons. We want to become saints by fifteen minutes a day. We want to have flat stomachs and strong abs by three workouts a week. That may work over a given period of time for your abs, but it’s not going to work for your soul. Attending the school of God takes time and labor and energy and deeply committing oneself to prayer, to the study of Scripture, to fellowship with other believers, to ministry within the life of the church.

This is easy to agree with, yet so hard to live up to. What should encourage us in this is the hope of what God might do in our lives over the long haul as we walk with him faithfully over many years.

God Is Not Like Us

Jonathan Leeman, on why it is good news that God is not like us:

1) Moses told Pharaoh that “no one is like the LORD our God” (Ex. 8:10) because God’s plans cannot be thwarted. That’s good news because none of the God-opposing forces which you and I watch on movie screens or read about in newspapers will keep Christ from fulfilling his final victory.

2) David praised God saying “there is none like you” (2 Sam. 7:22) because God shakes up entire nations to redeem his people, all the while accounting for puny individuals like David by name. That’s good news because our God includes insignificant us in his grand plans for the universe.

3) Solomon also praises God with the words “there is no God like you” (1 Kings 8:23) because God alone is faithful to his Word. That’s good news because we can rely on his promises.

4) Finally, God himself tells us, “I am God, and there is none like me” (Is. 46:9) because he rules over eternity and has ordained the end from the beginning. That’s good news because it means that, through all the ups and downs of life, the end is certain and—for those who love him and are called according to his purpose—the end is good.

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History Is About Him

This is from an interview with Collin Hansen, related to his chapter in the book Don't Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day.

What is one of the most important things many evangelicals don’t know about their own history?

I’m afraid that many evangelicals don’t know that their history is about God. We so often tell our history as a succession of famous leaders, writers, councils, and battles over doctrine. I do a lot of that in my chapter for Don’t Call It a Comeback. And to some degree it’s true: God has worked through great leaders, books, and councils to preserve his church and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But I fear that this way of telling the story leads us to draw the wrong conclusions for our own day. We think if we can just get our doctrine right and honor the right leaders, then God will bless us with tremendous church growth. But as I researched A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir, I learned that’s not what history looks like. The most gifted, faithful Christians may toil in obscurity. God uses leaders with mixed motives to accomplish his purposes. And just when all hope seems lost, God sometimes revives his church with a tremendous outpouring of his presence through the Holy Spirit. This way God reminds us that history is about him, his story of salvation from first to last.

Where will we fit in this picture?

Lost

Watch this powerful video and pray for our missionaries-- especially those in Asia.

Lost from HistoryMaker on Vimeo.

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Should a Concern for Unity Mean No Denominations?

This was part of the text I preached from yesterday. Below, I’ll try to answer a question that I mentioned in the sermon, but intentionally did not try to answer in that setting.

Ephesians 4:1-6
¹ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

We focused on the issue of maintaining unity within a congregation, but someone might ask, “But what about all the Christian denominations? Should that kind of disunity exist?”

First, let me say that verse 6 makes clear that there is a spiritual unity among all true Christians, regardless of whether or not we belong to the same congregation or denomination. This is a beautiful thing, for it allows fellowship with other believers when we are attending a conference in another part of the country or doing a mission trip to another part of the world. Quite often this is one of the things you hear from someone who’s done short-term missions—“We felt a connection right away when we knew we worshiped the same Lord!”

Second, this passage makes clear that petty squabbles should not separate believers, especially when we serve the same Lord and are in the same family. However, the implication must be that the only thing that could cause a separation is if we do not share the same God and Savior.

Thus, we do not have any qualms about separation from Roman Catholics or Mormons who have vastly different definitions about Christ or the gospel. There is no genuine unity with them, so we need not worry that we have not “maintained” it.

On the other hand, there are many evangelical groups which whom we would agree on the central tenets of the faith. We often cooperate with other denominations, such as the Baptist General Conference or the Christian and Missionary Alliance, in missionary contexts.

Is it wrong then that we have not united to create some larger denomination? Remember, “denomination” is not a biblical concept per se, but it is a practical organization for the sake of mutual support, accountability, and missionary endeavors. Thus, we may work more closely with certain churches with whom we have a greater degree of agreement in doctrine for practical purposes, so long as we are not alienated from other faithful churches.

All this is another reason why I like the Evangelical Free Church of America’s doctrinal statement. When we conclude from the Scriptures 1) that doctrine matters, 2) that doctrine is what we are united around, and 3) that we must also be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit,” then it seems wise to be very clear in that statement on the essentials of the faith, while also leaving room for disagreement on issues that should not be grounds for separation.

At the end of the day, I’m glad to admit that denominations exist to some degree because we cannot finally work through all our doctrinal disagreement on this side of heaven. But, the good news is that there will be no need for them when we are united around the throne of God forever.

Free Audio Book - The Pursuit of Holiness

Visit ChristianAudio.com this month for their free download of the audio book version of a modern classic devotional book-- The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges.

"Be holy, for I am holy," commands God to His people. But holiness is something that is often missed in the Christian’s daily life. According to Jerry Bridges, that’s because we’re not exactly sure what our part in holiness is. In The Pursuit of Holiness, he helps us see clearly just what we should rely on God to do-and what we should accept responsibility for ourselves. Whether you’re continuing your pursuit of holiness or just beginning, the principles and guidelines in The Pursuit of Holiness will challenge you to obey God’s command of holiness.

Praying for the World

This video is produced by National Geographic, so it's not Christian in any way, but I post it here to help you to pray for the growing number people of our world. More and more of them do not know Christ. May 2011 be a year of growth, not only of earth's population, but of Christ's heavenly kingdom through the spread of the gospel.

[My apologies if there is an advertisement before the video.]

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Cynicism in Prayer

From an interview with Paul Miller:

Your book, A Praying Life, talks about cynicism in prayer. How would you describe the problem of cynicism, and what is your advice to those who are struggling with it?

Cynicism is my biggest struggle in prayer. It is a quiet, cold rationalism that dulls the soul and just kills your walk with God. It is hard to even identify or name our cynicism because it just feels like being realistic. It says things like, “What good does it [prayer] do?” or “It [the answer to prayer] would have happened anyway.”

I think we are particularly susceptible to cynicism in the Reformed world because we are an intellectual world. We are rightly concerned about our ideas being correct, but we don’t always pay attention to our heart being correct.

I think without a doubt that the principal cure for cynicism is to become a little child and learn to cry out for help—to realize that I am a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son.

One other cure for cynicism is purity of life. Any time there is a miss between how we present ourselves as Christians and what we are really like when no one is watching, that opens up a door for cynicism. So a lifestyle of repentance and confession goes a long way to cure cynicism.

What Only God Can Do

Ray Ortlund:

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34

In Exodus 40:16-33, Moses assembles the tabernacle. He does so carefully and obediently. Seven times the text records that his work was “as the Lord commanded.” Then the paragraph concludes, “So Moses finished the work.”

The book doesn’t end there. I might have expected it to. But in fact, the book does not end with what Moses did. There is more. The final paragraph, verses 34-38, tells of what only God can do. God’s glory comes down on the completed tabernacle. After all, that was the whole point to begin with: “Let them make me a sanctuary,that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8).

Our aim as pastors is not only that our churches will be well assembled, thoughtfully and carefully and biblically obedient. That is important. But our desires don’t end there. We desire the dwelling of the risen Christ among us. We desire his felt presence. We desire him.

If we are not experiencing his glory coming down upon us, we need to ask if we have been disobedient in any aspect of what we have built or failed to build. Even if we have built well, we need to ask if we have settled for mere constructional obedience. The Lord has more for us than that. He has himself to give.

Lord Jesus, in this new year of grace, 2011, give us eyes to see where our churches need repair, hearts to desire the experience of your glory, and above all else, the sheer grace of your felt presence coming down on your imperfect but yearning churches!

The Primary Object of Pursuit

Charles Hodge (1797-1898):

To gain this world is not what we have promised to aim at. It must therefore never be the direct and primary object of pursuit. I have lately, in reading Bonaparte’s Russian Campaign, and the Life of Sheridan, been very much struck with the truth of the remark how little they really enjoy the world to whom the world is every thing. Bonaparte says the happiest part of his life was when he was a poor lieutenant. And Sheridan said the happiest part of his life was the short time he spent in a cottage. There is nothing lost, therefore, even as regards the present world, by seeking first the kingdom of God; that is, by making it the primary object of pursuit, seeing that godliness has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

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