Sep
11
A Note from Brainerd
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Thank you all for your kind calls and prayers while I’ve been sick. I arrived home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I’ve stuck at home today recovering my strength. My headache has steadily decreased and I’m hopefull it will continue to do so with no relapses. We’re still not quite sure what I had. It could have been a mild form of viral meningitis, a virus induced mirgraine, or some other strange headache inducing illness. Never the less, the worst of it seems to have passed and I’m recovering from home, learning afresh and anew what it means for Jesus to be rest for the weary and heavy laden. One of the things I missed most was getting to spend this past Lord’s Day with you. I’ll anxiously wait these next 6 days until I get to join your number next Sunday to praise our King Jesus!
Sep
8
Means of Grace: Prayer
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This is part three in our brief blog series on the means of grace. We come today to consider prayer as a means of grace. There are many things to remember when we consider the privilege of coming before our heavenly Father in prayer to adore Him, confess to Him, thank Him, and seek his Help. Today I want to consider two of them.
- Prayer is personal. This seems like the “duh” statement of the year but it is a good reminder. All of us know somebody who prays well in public. It may be your parents, an elder, or your pastor. They stand up and offer a prayer with words and phrases you don’t know. They pray for longer than you could ever imagine. They may throw a “thee” or a “thou” in every once in awhile. Our tendency is to think that these prayers are heard because of their form, complex vocabulary, or length. Then we try to mimic those prayers as if the grammatical structure, vocabulary, or length of our prayers moved God to listen or answer more attentively. It is at this point that we have forgotten that prayer is an intensely personal thing. The prayers of a PhD in Theology will differ from the prayers of a farmer. The prayers of a mother of 3 will differ from the prayers of a single college student. This is because our prayers are personal. Jesus is not impressed with lengthy prayers or false piety. He wants your sincerity and honesty. Go into your closet, get on your knees, and pour out your heart to your God.
- Prayer should be biblical. Once again you might think this is obvious. But we still go wrong on this point. Some theologians do not consider prayer a means of grace in its own right but instead subsume it under the Word of God. Why? Because prayer is simply our response to what God has revealed to us from the Bible. We never initiate relationship with God. He initiates with us and we respond. This does not conflict with our first point. Scripture is replete with every situation and emotion under the sun. For wherever you are, there is a portion of God’s Word to lead you in prayer. If you struggle with wanting to pray more or not knowing what to pray for, open up your Bible and simply start praying through whatever passage to which you opened. This psalms are a tremendous resource for prayer guides. If you keep a list of prayer requests, assign specific verses to each request to help guide your prayers. This is what it means to pray biblically.
Sep
7
On Being Presbyterian
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If you want to get the land, you’ve got to go with the people. We need the fellowship that a community of believers in the local church provides. The church is not a personal trainer that I select to supply me with programs and pep talks to help me get on with the real work of being a Christian. The church truly is home. She is the household of the living God.
On Being Presbyterian (P&R, 2006) is a book by Covenant Theological Seminary professor Sean Michael Lucas that provides a survey of Presbyterian/Reformed belief, practice and history. We are currently using it in our new members’ class at FPC. It is useful not only as a introduction for new believers or people who come to us from other backgrounds, but it is also a helpful reminder to Presbyterians of long-standing of our identity and history in the context of the broader church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Click the image for ordering info.
The lone shortcoming of the book is that it tends to over-explain, and its vocabulary, while diverse and precise, stretches the reading level of many people. As a result, it affirms the stereotype that Presbyterian churches are enclaves of intellectuals and middle-to-upper-middle class folk–a stereotype that I believe creates a significant barrier to our reaching many people for Christ. Remove some of the over-explanations, and you have a book that is about 1/3 shorter and much more useful. Nevertheless, I recommend Lucas’ book. We need more like it.
Sep
5
Modesty and the wandering eye
Filed Under Christian Living, Family, Ten Commandments | 1 Comment
I’ll pass along a couple of web resources that provide a lot of good, gospel-centered information on two matters that I sought to address in Sunday morning’s sermon on the 7th Commandment: modesty and pornography.
On the subject of modesty, girltalk is a blog hosted by Carolyn Mahaney and her three daughters. Carolyn’s husband and the girls’ father is Rev. C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries. There are a number of entries on the subject of modesty, including this one on ‘Modesty and Your Wedding Day’ and a seven-part series on ‘Fashion and Following the Savior.’
On the subject of pornography, here is a link to a piece by Dr. Philip Ryken, senior minister of the Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Note the links toward the end of the article for some ministries that provide other resources to help us deal biblically with this serious issue.
Sep
1
Means of Grace: The Word
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To follow up on my post from earlier in the week, I want to briefly consider with you the first and foremost “means of grace”. In all lists for all times by all true Christians, the main means of growth has been by the Bible (aka the Scriptures, Word of God, God’s Word, etc). This is the kind of thing that could and has taken up thousands of pages of explanation. I want to pause as we face the weekend before us simply to reflect on the environments in which the Word of God is a means of grace.
- In Worship: Central to our worship is the Bible. We sing the Bible, pray the Bible, read the Bible, and preach the Bible. We hold to the doctrine of the regulative principle in worship. Simply put, the regulative principle says that the Bible regulates everything that we do in worship. The Bible instructs us in how to do worship. Central to the Bible’s teaching on worship is that the Bible is central in worship. Sound like circular reasoning? Well, it kind of is. But it is also good for our souls. Do you want to grow in grace as a Christian? The primary way that God has provided for that growth is through the prolific presence of the Bible in our corporate worship.
- We step down one tier from corporate worship and we come into the sphere of the family. The Bible is intended to grow us in grace by being a part of every aspect of our family life. Take a look at Deuteronomy 6. God’s Word is to be a part of every activity of the family (getting up, going out, coming home, laying down…). For a helpful guide on how fathers can lead their families in this, look at my post from earlier today.
- One more step down from the family and we come to the sphere of the individual. You, average Joe Christian, are supposed to be a student of the Bible. It is the means by which we know God and the means by which we understand how God knows us. You need several times during the week to sit down and read God’s Word. Remember this is not a line on your to-do list to becoming a “good” Christian. This is the very life blood of your relationship with God. This is how God makes you happy (ie grows you in grace) and brings glory to himself. This is how you cultivate your friendship, fellowship, and discipleship with your Lord Jesus Christ.
Sep
1
Family Devotions
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As we heard from Phillip two weeks ago on the 5th Commandment, husbands have a responsibility to their families and children to bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I just read a helpful blog post on how to practically conduct family worship. I hope you men will find it edifying.
Disclaimer: I will from time to time point you to articles on the internet that I have found helpful and I think would be helpful to you. I do not read the entirety of someone’s site before directing you to a specific article. My endorsement of an article is not an endorsement of all of the content on a site. If you are interested in helpful websites that I would recommend in entirety, see the links section of our website.