Church Update

In light of your calls and questions, it might be beneficial to give you a brief update on the events of yesterday that caused a bit of excitement.

Around noon on Monday, an activity related to construction on the new sanctuary ignited a small spark which proceeded to smolder in the materials under the tile on the east corner of the new sanctuary roof. To alleviate the worries of all who have been concerned, there was minimal damage, the fire was quickly contained, and there were no injuries. The Day School and church staff responded quickly and everyone evacuated the building until the fire department deemed a safe re-entry. We are very thankful and grateful that the event was minor and that all were safe. Presently, there is no indication that this will set back the construction work in any way.


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Moby-Dick and Calvinism

Born in New York in 1819, and baptized and reared in the Dutch Reformed Church, Herman Melville was steeped in the Scriptures, especially Job and Ecclesiastes. But he was tormented by the seeming discrepancies between a loving God and a cruel world and what he viewed as the inadequacy of traditional religious solutions to this mystery.

Moby-Dick, Melville's masterpiece, introduces us to the archetypical wanderer, an outcast engaged in one metaphysical speculation after another. The book is steeped in biblical themes. Consider the names of the main characters--Ishmael, Ahab, Elijah, Peleg, and Bildad--and Father Mapple’s foreshadowing sermon that sets the tone for the following narrative. But Melville remained spiritually ambivalent and skeptical throughout his life.

Enjoying a rare respite from the torturous hunt for the White Wale, Melville’s Ishmael reflects on the reality that all human beings live on the edge of a precipice: “these are the times of dreamy quietude, when beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember, that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang.”

Sadly, Melville, through Ishmael, asks, “Where lies the final harbor, whence we unmoor no more? in what rapt ether sails the world, of which the weariest will never weary? Where is the foundling's father hidden? Our souls are like those orphans whose unwedded mothers die in bearing them: the secret of our paternity lies in their grave, and we must go there to learn it.”

Contrast Melville's words with God’s promise to Israel in Psalm 81:13-16:

Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!
I would quickly subdue their enemies,
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him;
And their time of punishment would be forever.
But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat;
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

Jesus Christ is our final harbor. He meets us in our failures, in our wilderness wanderings. Paul knows this: “all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4, 5).
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Stewardship Sermon - October 29, 2006

Is Your Treasure Showing?

Matthew 6:19-21

Introduction:
1. Stewardship is a matter of the heart, an index of our desires, a test of our love to Christ.

2. We live in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and so our faithful stewardship of the material resources that God has given us is a supreme measure of our discipleship.

3. The great English Baptist minister, C.H. Spurgeon, once said that there is no trial like prosperity. He was right.

4. Propserity tempts us (1) to focus on the gift and forget the Giver, (2) to base our security on the gift rather than the Giver; and worst of all, (3) to love the gift more than the Giver.

5. This is why Jesus stressed that we cannot love God and mammon (stuff, things, money, wealth).

6. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, throughout Matthew 6, Jesus is concerned about his diciples’ practice of true religion.
7. Throughout this passage (ch. 6), Jesus is particularly concerned that his disciples be on guard against religious self-deception.
8. Jesus teaches throughout this passage that religion that is real, faith that is real, is expressed in the life and actions of the believer, and that it involves right motives and aspirations.
9. Toward the end of this chapter Jesus indicates to his disciples that: what you desire and what you fear tell you much about your heart.

Read Matthew 6:19-21

Stewardship shows the heart. Stewardship is a test.

I want to consider (1) The two treasures, (2) temporary treasure, (3) true treasure and (4) the treasure test

I. There are two kinds of treasures: earthly and heavenly, those that last and those that don’t (19a,20a) [Two Treasures]

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
[The importance of assessing what we really care about, love, treasure, worship in this life]
A. Treasures on earth: can be destroyed or stolen, don’t last and can be lost.
B. Treasures in heaven: cannot be destroyed or stolen, will last forever and never be lost.
C. All treasure is not equal. All that glitters is not gold. There is a way that leads to destruction.
Application: (Jesus is asking us to think about what our desires are set on - what do you really want?)

II. Don’t set your heart on things that are passing away (19) [Temporary Treasure]

19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

[The eternal danger of setting your heart on temporary blessings]
A. Every man has his treasure, that which he sets his heart upon, that which he delights in.
B. Christ is not saying that we ought to have no treasure. He is directing us to make a wise choice of what we treasure.
C. Christ here issues a warning against making the things that are seen, that are temporal our "first things"
1. We must not count temporal things as the best and most useful things in life.
2. We must not be absorbed in accumulating an abundance of these things (as if more could satisfy).
3. We must not place our security for the future in temporal things.
4. We must not find our contentment in temporal things.
D. Christ, in his kindness, offers rationale for obedience to this admonition:
1. The law of diminishing returns: the corruptibility of all temporal blessings.
2. The law of impermanence: sometimes we lose these blessings, sometimes they are taken.
E. NOTE: Christ is not:
[summary: "Laying up treasure" does not mean being provident, but being covetous.]
1. Saying that possessions are bad, and that Christians ought not to have them. Inordinate desire for possessions.
2. Saying that we ought not to save, invest, or buy insurance for the future. Putting our trust in these things.
3. Saying that we ought not to take pleasure or enjoyment in possessions. Finding our highest joy in them.
F. Nevertheless, our treatment of possessions can be a major stumbling block (rich or poor).
Illustrations: ** "It all goes back in the box" John Ortberg, [Monopoly with Grandmother]

** "There is a great deal of difference between the desires of heaven in a sanctified man and an unsanctified. The believer prizeth it above earth, and had rather be with God than here (though death that stands in the way, may possibly have harder thoughts from him). But to the ungodly, there is nothing seemeth more desirable than this world; and therefore he only chooseth heaven before hell, but not before earth; and therefore shall not have it upon such a choice." Richard Baxter
Application: Do we realize it all goes back in the box? Or do we have our treasure in the wrong place?

III. Set your heart on things that will last forever (20) [True Treasure]
20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

[Place the highest value on eternal treasure]
A. Christ counsels us to make the joys and glories of the eternal world our "first things"
B. What are these "treasures in heaven"?
* (1) Christlike character, (2) growth in faith, hope and love, (3) growth in the knowledge of Christ, (4) the endeavor to bring others to Christ, (5) the use of money for Christian causes, (6) our standing freely justified before God, (7) answered prayer, (8) eternal security, (9) the Father’s love, (10) share in Christ’s peace and joy, (11) final victory. etc.
C. Christ teaches that these treasures are safe: they are not corruptible, nor are they ‘moveable.’
Application: Does a review of our use of earthly things reveal that we have our real treasure in heaven?
Psalm 27:4; 26:8;23:6; 84:4,10; Matt. 6:33
WSC - Benefits now, at death, in life to come
Illustrations: Oskar Schindler, CS Lewis, Jim Elliot

IV. Your treasure reveals your heart (21) [The Treasure Test - desires show what/who we worship]
21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[What we treasure/desire shows us who our God is: what we value is the evidence of the heart]
"for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (21)
A. The temper of our minds and the tenor of our lives will follow our treasure. Earthly treasure is a test.
Illustration: Lou Giglio - "Worship is about saying, ‘This person, this thing, this experience (this whatever) is what matters most to me . . . it’s the thing of highest value in my life.’ That ‘thing’ might be a relationship. A dream. A position. Status. Something you own. A name. A job. Some kind of pleasure. Whatever name you put on it, this ‘thing’ is what you’ve concluded in your heart is worth most to you. And whatever is worth most to you is—you guessed it—what you worship. Worship, in essence, is declaring what we value most. As a result, worship fuels our actions, becoming the driving force of all we do. And we’re not just talking about the religious crowd. The Christian. The churchgoer among us. We’re talking about everybody on planet earth. A multitude of souls proclaiming with every breath what is worthy of their affection, their attention, their allegiance. Proclaiming with every step what it is they worship. Some of us attend the church on the corner, professing to worship the living God above all. Others, who rarely darken the church doors, would say worship isn’t a part of their lives because they aren’t ‘religious.’ But everybody has an altar. And every altar has a throne. So how do you know where and what you worship? It’s easy: You simply follow the trail of your time, your affection, your energy, your money, and your allegiance. At the end of that trail you’ll find a throne, and whatever, or whoever, is on that throne is what’s of highest value to you. On that throne is what you worship. Sure, not too many of us walk around saying; ‘I worship my stuff. I worship my job. I worship this pleasure. I worship her. I worship my body. I worship me!’ But the trail never lies. We may say we value this thing or that thing more than any other, but the volume of our actions speaks louder than our words."
Application: Questions: where is your treasure? where is your spiritual vision focused? who is your master? Is your treasure showing?

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Ephesians 6:17-18 Outline

God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians (LIX)
The Full Armor of God (3) Word and Prayer
Ephesians 6:17-18

Introduction:
1. For a couple of weeks now, we have been looking at a famous section in the book of Ephesians (6:10-24).
2. In our first message, we concentrated on Ephesians 6:10-12 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
3. We outlined the passage as follows. Paul tells us at least four things: 1. We are in a war zone (and need to realize it!) 10 Finally, be strong . . . . 11 Put on the full armor of God, . . . . 12 For our struggle . . . .; 2. We need the Lord’s strength to win in this war (because our strength is inadequate) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.; 3. Indeed, we will need God’s armor to stand against the Devil (because we need divinely supplied spiritual protection from a spiritual enemy) 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.; and 4. We need to understand that our opposition isn’t ultimately human (and realize who we’re up against) 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
4. Last Sunday evening, we looked at Ephesians 6:13-17a 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, . . .
5. Paul here details six main pieces of a Roman soldier’s equipment: belt, breastplate, shoes/boots, shield, helmet and sword, and uses them as pictures of the importance of truth, righteousness, the good news of reconciliation, faith, salvation and the word of God.
6. Paul’s main point is: Arm yourself spiritually for what you are up against, with divinely forged and supplied weaponry (13) “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
7. Looking at five of Paul’s six pieces of armament, we said that, if we are to stand firm in the day of evil, then – 1. We must have “truth in the inner parts” (14a). Doctrine has to have worked right down to our bones. To resist the devil the truth must have taken hold of us inside and out, so that what we are inwardly is what we are outwardly. 2. We must have a life characterized by holiness (14b). The devout and holy life, moral rectitude or uprightness is essential for the battle. A clean conscience is a powerful weapon. To resist the devil we must have grasped the justifying work of Christ that accepts us as righteous and be engaged in the life of sanctification in which, by the Spirit, we are being made more and more righteousness.
3. We must have a readiness which flows from the Gospel (15). Our ability to march for God is wholly dependent upon our having experienced the reconciling effect of the Gospel. To resist the devil we must have experienced that peace with God and our brethren that only the Gospel can effect. This peace in turn prepares and motivates us to share the Gospel with others so that they might enjoy peace. 4. We must have a living trust in God (16). To resist the devil we must have faith in God – our trust and entire confidence must be in him. And 5. We must have a vital hope of salvation (17). The knowledge that we are saved is vital to the whole project of the Christian life. To resist the devil we must be assured of our salvation, present and future.

I. If we are to engage the spirit of this age we must be people of the word (17b)
17 . . . and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

II. If we are to engage the spirit of this age we must be people of prayer (18)
18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

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Biblical Priorities for a Healthy Church

We started a series on this last Sunday morning (October 22, 2006) that will run, with a few intermissions, from now through early April. Here's a sketchy outline. This sermon is already online. The next message in this series will be on November 12, 2006, DV.

Where in the world is the church?:
Biblical Priorities for the Life of Our Church (1) Our Contemporary Context
2 Timothy 3:1-5

Introduction:
1. Just last Sunday morning, we completed our series on "What it means to be a member of First Presbyterian Church."
2. Today, we are beginning a new, but related series of topical-expository messages on Biblical Priorities for the Life of Our Church
3. This is a significant time of transition here at First Presbyterian Church. Lord willing, in a matter of just a few months, we will be moving our new sanctuary. The renovation and expansion project is slated to be complete by June 2007. At the same time it is very likely that there will be an officer election soon after that time. It is a time for us to take stock of who we are, what we believe and what we will do, by God’s grace, to glorify him in our own place.
4. We are also in the midst of a transitional time for the churches in American culture in general and Jackson in particular. Many mainline churches around us have fallen prey to liberalism of various types, while many evangelical churches look more like the culture than the church. On all sides there is a sense that the message of Christianity is not being received as it once was in our land. In response to this, many are modifying the Gospel message to make it more attractive to the world around us, others (who don’t want or mean to change the message) are trying new "methods" of "doing church" and see this as the answer to our conundrum. But we believe that God has given us both the message and method for spreading the good news of Christ and building up his church. Our job, then, is to remain faithful to him and to his vision for the church. The church must again become distinct from the world if she is to fulfill her mission (Matthew 5:13-16, John 13:34-35).
5. On Sunday mornings, we have just finished considering what we have vowed that we believe, are and aim to do as members of First Presbyterian Church. Now we are going to ask, what is the situation in which we as the church and living and ministering? What is the church called by God to do, to believe, to be? What are the characteristics, marks, attributes, qualities and priorities of a healthy church? For the weeks leading up to the Christmas season, and for a few months immediately thereafter, we will focus on the Bible’s teaching about the church and its priorities and commitments.
6. We want to be a church that is faithful to the following: expository preaching, biblical worship (both in all of life and in gathered praise), biblical doctrine, a biblical pursuit of godliness, a biblical approach to family life, a biblical understanding of the Gospel, a biblical understanding of conversion, a biblical understanding of evangelism, a biblical understanding of discipleship, a biblical understanding of church membership, a biblical understanding of church leadership, and a biblical view of how the church relates to the world.
7. This morning, we want to consider three factors that are part of our current culture’s outlook on life, and how they impact us as Christians.

This morning, I want to do three things: (1) show that God teaches us in the Bible that he is concerned that we understand our times, that we realize the context of our life and ministry; (2) suggest three important aspects of our current times that have significantly influenced the American church; and (3) suggest some ways that faithful Christians and churches should respond to these trends.

I. The Bible teaches us that it is important for us to be aware of our contemporary context, to understand our times.
1 Timothy 3:1-7
1 Chronicles 12:32
Matthew 16:3 and Luke 12:56

II. There at least three huge factors impacting the church in our day: individualism, relativism, and consumerism
Individualism - The individual is self-sufficient, sovereign, and fundamental. Society is secondary. "I am the master of my fate, the Captain of my soul." Hence, society is simply a voluntary bond between individuals, self-interest is the supreme motivation, and self-expression is an inalienable right. I have my rights! In individualism the self becomes supreme.
Relativism - There is no such thing as absolute truth. We have "beliefs" not truth, "values" not universal rights and wrongs. We cope with the multiple options we face in our society by declaring them all to be equally valid. Hence, I can believe anything to be true as long as I do not expect others to believe it.
Consumerism - the seeker approach is always vulnerable to problems entailed in the prevalent consumer mindset of our culture. The customer is always right, being one of them (in terms of Christian evangelistic appropriation of that idea, there are problems with both the subject and predicate, "sinners" do not equal "customers" and they're certainly not always right, whatever we might learn from them).

III. These things impact the way we participate in the life of the church and the way we engage the culture
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Wutappesittuk...

You're wondering what the gobbledygook above is all about?

On this day, October 16, 1633, the puritan congregation at Newton (now Cambridge), Massachusetts, chose Thomas Hooker as its pastor. On a wall near the Cathedral in Chelmsford, Essex is a plaque which reads, "Thomas Hooker (1586 - 1647), Founder of the State of Connecticut, Father of American Democracy."

Hooker, like many English Dissenters, first fled to Holland to escape the harassments of Archbishop Laud. He arrived in Massachusetts in 1633. For a time Thomas and his family settled there while he served as the pastor of the 8th church in that colony. The civil situation was not completely harmonious between the leaders. John Cotton, another leader, wanted to set up a community in which only men who were members of the church and held property could vote.

Thomas Hooker, like Cotton, wanted to build a godly community, but he believed all the men should have a voice and a vote.This difference was settled when Thomas Hooker led about one hundred people away to begin a new settlement, which is now called Hartford, Connecticut. Later three settlements merged to form the Connecticut Colony. This colony put Hooker's principles into practice when it adopted the Fundamental Orders sometimes called the first written constitution.

The missionary, John Eliot, came under Hooker's influence for a time and he published a copy of the Scriptures in the Indian language, a copy of it being sent back to England. It was published in Cambridge in 1664. A copy of it was presented to King Charles II. One of the longest words in this Indian Bible is found in Mark 1:40: Wutappesittukqussunnoohwehtunkquoh. It's meaning is "Kneeling down to him". The word for "love" contains 24 letters and the word for "question" is even longer than the one cited above (which has 34 letters), coming in at 41 letters.

Hooker never forgot the true source of his salvation and his success in ministry. As he lay dying, someone said to him, "Sir, you are going to receive the reward of all your labors." Thomas looked at him and replied, "Brother, I am going to receive mercy."
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THE CHURCH BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

Our resident roving photographer (my wife Cindy) has returned with some sobering news: very few people seem to know what a church is. Is its purpose to "give you a lift with life's load"? What in the world is "The Tao of Parenting"? How does one "transcend" gender and go beyond infinity?

Modernism is "in its essentials, a unitary system of its own," writes J. Gresham Machen in the “The Church,” the final chapter of his justly renowned book, Christianity and Liberalism. Modernism “differs from Christianity in its view of God, of man, of the seat of authority and of the way of salvation. And it differs from Christianity not only in theology but in the whole of life. . . . The present situation must not be ignored but faced. Christianity is being attacked from within by a movement which is anti-Christian to the core." Machen challenges church officers and individual congregation members to demand qualified ministers who are committed to preaching the gospel, who are "on fire with the cross."

“Weary with the conflicts of the world, one goes into church to seek refreshment for the soul,” Machen reminds us. Regrettably, what one often finds is the “turmoil of the world.” He hears a preacher who offers erudite pontifications about social and political problems and dismisses the doctrine of sin as antiquated and irrelevant.

The Church must once again be the house of God where men can go to “forget for the moment all those things that divide nation from nation and race from race, to forget human pride, to forget the passions of war, to forget the puzzling problems of industrial strife, and to unite in the overflowing gratitude at the foot of the cross."

Amen.

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Dedicated Followers of Fashion

They seek him here, they seek him there,
His clothes are loud, but never square.
It will make or break him so he's got to buy the best,
cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

Right! The lyrics are plebian, but those who can recall the sixties will know immediately that they come from a hit song of The Kinks.

Yes, I know you are surprised that I know this. But somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I recall this to be true. I remember it mainly because it has always struck me as symptomatic of modern (and for that matter post-modern) man: we are dedicated followers of fashion!

What alerted me to it was something I read in a copy of The Los Angeles Times (please, no letters about my reading material! It was lying on the seat of the plane I flew in recently). I saw an article about the great British gourmet dish, The Chip Butty. Culinary aficionados will know what this is: French fries in between two slices of bread. For a nation that lives on "the bun" I am surprised this little dainty hasn't made it big in America. I grew up on it.

The article was about the return of "carbs". Carbs are back! It's OK to eat carbs (well, a certain amount). It's all about proportion, it suggested. And then gave a full paged spread to the British love for bread.

Modernist culture has always been about fashion -- brand new fashions; postmoderinst culture keeps recycling the old (which is equally about fashion). What goes around, comes around.

It is, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:2, an example of how man follows "the course of this world," dedicated to mimic its obsessions, resigned to be the bondage of the new in the name of liberty.

Now, it is well past lunch time and the internet is at last up and running again and its time for some real food.
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The World, the Flesh, and Screwtape

On Saturday evening, July 20, 1940, C.S. Lewis sent a letter to his brother, Warnie, who at that time was stationed in the military at Cardiff, Wales. Lewis recounts having recently heard Adolph Hitler give a radio address. “I don’t know if I’m weaker than other people,” Lewis recounts for his brother, “but it is a positive revelation to me how while the speech lasts it is impossible not to waver just a little. I should be useless as a schoolmaster or a policeman. Statements which I know to be untrue all but convince me, at any rate for the moment, if only the man says them unflinchingly.”

The next day, while sitting in church, Lewis couldn’t get this experience out of his mind. He was struck by the idea of writing a series of letters from a retired devil to a junior devil focusing on the arts of deceit and temptation. The focus would be temptation as seen from the perspective of hell, of devils. He probably finished writing the Screwtape Letters by Christmas, 1940. This book was originally written as a series of letters for The Guardian, A Church of England weekly. One minister, completely misunderstanding Lewis’ purpose, cancelled his subscription, saying, “Much of the advice given in these letters seems not only erroneous but positively diabolical.” The book consists of thirty-one letters from uncle Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood. His instructions focus on the art of temptation with the ultimate goal, eternal damnation.

This "letter" from Screwtape to Wormwood came to mind as I was listening to Ligon begin the new series yesterday morning by emphasizing the dangers of individualism, relativism, and consumerism.

“Prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is ‘finding his place in it,’ while really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of being really at home on Earth, which is just what we want. You will notice that the young are usually less unwilling to die than the middle-aged and the old.”

“Even if we contrive to keep them ignorant of explicit religion, the incalculable winds of fantasy and music and poetry—the mere face of a girl, the song of bird, of the sight of a horizon—are always blowing away our whole structure away.”

“The Enemy, having oddly destined these mere animals to life in His own eternal world, has guarded them pretty effectively from the danger of feeling at home anywhere else. That is why we must wish for long life to our patients; seventy years is not a day too much for the difficult task of unraveling their souls from heaven and building up a firm attachment to the Earth.”

“How valuable time is to us may be gauged by the fact that the Enemy allows us so little of it. The majority of the human race dies in infancy; of the survivors, a good many die in youth. It is obvious that to Him human birth is important chiefly as the qualification for human death, and death solely as the gate to that other kind of life.”

From The Screwtape Letters (New York: MacMillan, 1961), 132-134.

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Bishop Spong at Millsaps

There is a lot of advertising for and not a little local angst over the appearance of quirky and controversial retired Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong's visit to Millsaps tomorrow night. Spong is the liberals' answer to hellfire and brimstone! He is also something of a cartoon.

At any rate, his basic message is that "Christianity must change or die" - by which he means, our only hope for the future is to embrace his kind of liberalism. Now this is not a new or original message (it's been hanging around since Schleiermacher), but the suggestion itself is now quite empirically laughable, especially since we have witnessed in our lifetime the total collapse and implosion of theological liberalism. The churches that were once full and adopted theological liberalism are now empty and dead- surviving on endowments and preaching to no one.

And just about everyone recognizes this. Charlotte Allen (Catholicism editor for Beliefnet), wrote in the Los Angeles Times this summer:

"When a church doesn't take itself seriously, neither do its members. It is hard to believe that as recently as 1960, members of mainline churches (Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and the like) accounted for 40% of all American Protestants. Today, it's more like 12% (17 million out of 135 million). Some of the precipitous decline is due to lower birthrates among the generally blue-state mainliners, but it also is clear that millions of mainline adherents (and especially their children) have simply walked out of the pews never to return. According to the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, in 1965, there were 3.4 million Episcopalians; now, there are 2.3 million. The number of Presbyterians fell from 4.3 million in 1965 to 2.5 million today. Compare that with 16 million members reported by the Southern Baptists.

"When your religion says "whatever" on doctrinal matters, regards Jesus as just another wise teacher, refuses on principle to evangelize and lets you do pretty much what you want, it's a short step to deciding that one of the things you don't want to do is get up on Sunday morning and go to church.

"It doesn't help matters that the mainline churches were pioneers in ordaining women to the clergy, to the point that 25% of all Episcopal priests these days are female, as are 29% of all Presbyterian [PCUSA] pastors, according to the two churches. A causal connection between a critical mass of female clergy and a mass exodus from the churches, especially among men, would be difficult to establish, but is it entirely a coincidence? Sociologist Rodney Stark ("The Rise of Christianity") and historian Philip Jenkins ("The Next Christendom") contend that the more demands, ethical and doctrinal, that a faith places upon its adherents, the deeper the adherents' commitment to that faith. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, which preach biblical morality, have no trouble saying that Jesus is Lord, and they generally eschew women's ordination. The churches are growing robustly, both in the United States and around the world.

"Despite the fact that median Sunday attendance at Episcopal churches is 80 worshipers, the Episcopal Church, as a whole, is financially equipped to carry on for some time, thanks to its inventory of vintage real estate and huge endowments left over from the days (no more!) when it was the Republican Party at prayer. Furthermore, it has offset some of its demographic losses by attracting disaffected liberal Catholics and gays and lesbians.

". . . As for the rest of the Episcopalians, the phrase "deck chairs on the Titanic" comes to mind.

"So this is the liberal Christianity that was supposed to be the Christianity of the future: disarray, schism, rapidly falling numbers of adherents, a collapse of Christology and national meetings that rival those of the Modern Language Assn. for their potential for cheap laughs. And they keep telling the Catholic Church that it had better get with the liberal program (ordain women, bless gay unions and so forth) or die. Sure."

Allen is right. Liberalism has long said: "The Gospel no longer reaches our sophisticated culture, so we need to change the message in order to preserve Christianity." Not suprisingly, Liberalism is now quite dead, while the Church and the Gospel are alive and well and growing.

Meanwhile, many evangelicals have decided that we need to change our methods, but not the message, in order to reach our culture (and yet they have failed to recognize how their new methods have changed the message). Consequently, wherever the message has been compromised, death is setting in.

That's why we at First Presbyterian Church and in the PCA and in the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals are concerned to say that Christ has promised to build his church. He has given us the message (the Gospel; the old, old story) and the method (the church and the means of grace) and he bids us to be faithful - that's all. Ride on, King Jesus!
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Prayer

Photograph: T. O. Mass Inc. (Ontario, Canada)

"God's omniscience is no reason for our not telling him things which he already knows."

[D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones]

"If I should neglect prayer for a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith"

[Martin Luther]

"A great part of my time is spent in getting my heart in tune for prayer."

[Robert Murray M'Cheyne]

"He who prayers as he ought will endeavor to live as he prays."

[John Owen]

"Neglect of prayer is one of the surest marks of backsliding."

[J. C. Ryle]

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Coffins and Urns?

Many of you will remember the article in Sports Illustrated that I posted a few months ago on the disappearing Sabbath in the sports world.

Now this in the Boston Globe. Words fail me.


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300,000,000

Yesterday at 4:46 a.m. the population of the United States reached the 300 million mark, so the experts tell us. How have we done since America's first founding father, John Winthrop, called us to be a "City on a Hill"?

Ninety-five years ago, almost to the day (October 4, 1911), Professor B.B. Warfield was called upon to address seminary students at Princeton. He challenged them to both learning and piety. He called them to faithfulness in public worship and private devotion. His conclusion is a timely reminder to twenty-first century Americans:

"Activity, of course, is good: surely in the cause of the Lord we should run and not be weary. But not when it is substituted for inner religious strength. . . . In the tendencies of our modern life, which all make for ceaseless . . . activity, have a care that it does not become your case; or that your case--even now--may not have at least some resemblance to it. Do you pray? How much do you pray? How much do you love to pray? What place in your life does the 'still hour' alone with God take?"

"I am sure that if you once get a true glimpse of what the ministry of the cross is, and of what you, as men preparing for this ministry, should be, you will pray, 'Lord who is sufficient for these things?' Your heart will cry, 'Lord, make me sufficient for these things.' Old Cotton Mather wrote a great little book once to serve as a guide to students for the ministry. The not very happy title which he gave it is Manductio ad Ministerium. But by a stroke of genius he added a sub-title which is more significant: The angels preparing to sound the trumpets. That is what Cotton Mather calls you, students for the ministry: the angels preparing to sound the trumpets! Take the name to yourselves, and live up to it. Give your days and nights to living up to it! And then, perhaps, when you come to sound the trumpets the note will be pure and clear and strong, and perchance may pierce even to the grave and wake the dead."

From "The Religious Life of Theological Students," in The Princeton Theology: 1812-1921, edited by Mark Noll, pp. 266-267.

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Calvin and Prayer

John Calvin's commentaries on the prophets are the result of "lectures" which he gave following a brief period of study of the passages at hand. Scribes, one in particular, took down every word, including the brief pastoral prayers that followed the expositions. Here are a couple of the prayers, taken from his unfinished exposition of Ezekiel:

"Almighty God, since you so kindly invite us to yourself and do not cease, even if we are deaf, to extend your grace toward us, grant that we obey you willingly and allow ourselves to be ruled by your Word. And grant that we might obey you steadfastly, not only for a day or a short time, but until we have completed the course of our journey and are gathered together in your heavenly rest, through Christ our Lord. Amen." (Comm. on Ezek. 3:21ff).

"Almighty God, since you have condescended to approach us so intimately, grant that we in turn may eagerly approach you and abide in firm and holy communion. While we continue in the legitimate worship that you prescribe for us in your Word, may your benefits to us also increase, until you lead us to their fullness when you gather us together into your heavenly kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Comm. on Ezek. 8.15ff).
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Sin and Mr. Smooth-it-away

The "Wayside," home of Nathaniel Hawthorne
Photograph by Cindy Mercer

In the mid-1800s, Nathaniel Hawthorne, certainly no Evangelical Christian, turned his back on the radical, progressive literati of his age when he published the "The Celestial Railroad." Written after the manner of Bunyan’s, Pilgrim’s Progress and Lewis’s, The Great Divorce, Hawthorne envisions a train-load of passengers bound for the Celestial City from the City of Destruction, to heaven from hell. The un-named pilgrim's guide is "Mr. Smooth-it-away."

The train departs packed with “parties of the first gentry and most respectable people in the neighborhood” and "characters of deserved eminence—magistrates, politicians, and men of wealth." The fashionable ladies are "well fitted to adorn the most elevated circles of the Celestial City." All of their burdens are safely tucked away out of sight in the baggage car. It would be unbecoming to show them in public and bear them on their backs.

They arrive at their destination with lightning speed. Along the way, the swiftness of the journey is enhanced by the new bridge that spans the Slough of Despond. The foundation for the new bridge is built with "volumes of French philosophy and German rationalism; tracts, sermons, and essays of modern clergymen; extracts from Plato, Confucius, and various Hindu sages together with a few ingenious commentaries upon texts of Scripture,--all of which by some scientific process, have been converted into a mass like granite." The train speeds through the tunnel cut through Hill Difficulty and over the land-fill that was the Valley of Humiliation. It simply bypasses Interpreter’s house and Palace Beautiful. Interpreter has nothing to say to enlightened moderns and the ladies of Palace Beautiful--Miss Prudence, Miss Piety, and Miss Charity--are now just “old maids, every soul of them—prim, starched, dry, and angular."

The pilgrims especially enjoy their long stay at Vanity Fair. They are amazed to see "that almost every street has its church." They meet "Rev. Mr. Shallow-deep, the Rev. Mr. Stumble-at-truth, that fine old clerical character the Rev. Mr. This-today, who expects shortly to resign his pulpit to the Rev. Mr. That-tomorrow; together with the Rev. Mr. Bewilderment, the Rev. Mr. Clog-the-spirit, and, last and greatest, the Rev. Dr. Wind-of-doctrine." Vanity Fair evidences "wonderful improvements in ethics, religion, and literature." Some of the travelers are tempted to end their pilgrimage then and there.

Finally, having boarded the ferry boat en route to his final destination, the pilgrim narrator looks back and, to his great shock, sees Mr. Smooth-it-away waving goodbye from the shore-line: "Don't you go over to the Celestial City?" he asks. "Oh, no!" answers Smooth-it-away. "And then did my excellent friend Mr. Smooth-it-away laugh outright, in the midst of which cachinnation a smoke-wreath issued from his mouth and nostrils, while a twinkle of lurid flame darted out of either eye, proving indubitably that his heart was all of a red blaze. The impudent fiend!" Smooth-it-away denies the existence of sin and hell while "he felt its fiery tortures raging within his breast."

Hawthorne’s picture is prophetic. Sin is out of style. Hell is inappropriate. Pastors and professors who deny these doctrines lead their followers over the precipice.

Hear and heed the Psalmist:

Psalm 32:1-7
A Psalm of David.
A Maskil.

[1]How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
[2] How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

[3] When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
[4] For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.
Selah.

[5] I acknowledged my sin to Thee,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord";
And Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.
Selah.

[6] Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.
[7] Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble;
Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah.





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Ephesians 6:13-17 Outline

God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians (LVIII)
The Full Armor of God (2) Spiritually Armed
Ephesians 6:13-17

Introduction:
1. Last week, we began a new section of Ephesians—a very important and famous section of the book (6:10-24, esp. 10-18).
2. We concentrated on Ephesians 6:10-12 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
3. There we observed that there are a number of challenges we face in living the Christian life? 1.Our own sinfulness. 2.The sinfulness of others, and its effect on us. 3. The church’s sinfulness and imperfection. 4.The opposition and/or allurements of the world. But we said that in this passage, Paul especially wants to draw our attention to the opposition of Satan (5), as a hugely important factor in living the Christian life in this fallen world.
4. We quoted the great Puritan, Thomas Brooks, who said: "Christ, the Scripture, your own hearts, and Satan’s devices, are the four prime things that should be first and most studied and searched. If any cast off the study of these, they cannot be safe here, nor happy hereafter. It is my work as a Christian, but much more as I am a Watchman, to do my best to discover the fullness of Christ, the emptiness of the creature, and the snares of the great deceiver." (Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices, 15).
5. We outlined the passage as follows. Paul tells us: I. You are in a war zone (Realize that you are at war) 10 Finally, be strong . . . . 11 Put on the full armor of God, . . . . 12 For our struggle . . . .; II. You need the Lord’s strength to win in this war (Your strength is inadequate) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.; III. You will need God’s armor to stand against the Devil (Your need protection from this enemy) 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.; IV. You need to understand that your opposition isn’t ultimately human (Know your enemy) 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:13-17 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Paul here details six main pieces of a Roman soldier’s equipment: belt, breastplate, shoes/boots, shield, helmet and sword, and uses them as pictures of the importance of truth, righteousness, the good news of reconciliation, faith, salvation and the word of God.

Note: Gurnall's treatment of these eleven verses is called: The Christian in Complete Armour: The saints’ war against the devil, wherein a discovery is made of that grand enemy of God and his people, in his policies, power, seat of his empire, wickedness, and chief design he hath against the saints; a magazine opened, from whence the Christian is furnished with spiritual arms for the battle, helped on with his armour, and taught the use of his weapons; together with a happy issue of the whole war. It consist of 261 chapters, 1472 pages of exposition of these eleven verses!

Paul's point is: Arm yourself spiritually for what you are up against, with divinely forged and supplied weaponry (13)
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
1. Resist/stand firm – "Wobbly Christians who have no firm foothold in Christ are easy prey for the devil." (John Stott)
2. Paul wants to see Christians strong and stable.
3. Full armor = the outfitting of a heavily armed soldier, with the emphasis on the fact that this armor is supplied by God.
4. Only spiritual weaponry will avail in resisting Satan, the world and the flesh "in the evil day" (13).

If we are to stand firm in the day of evil –

I. We must have "truth in the inner parts" (14a) [Truth/Intergity]
14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH,
A. We must have sincerity of mind and heart, whole-heartedness. Authenticity.
B. A fixed desire – WSC 1. With this we may face death unafraid.
C. Doctrine has worked right down to our bones.
Application: To resist the devil the truth must have taken hold of us inside and out, so that what we are inwardly is what we are outwardly.

II. We must have a life characterized by holiness (14b) [Righteousness/Holiness]
and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
A. The devout and holy life, moral rectitude or uprightness is essential for the battle.
B. A clean conscience is a powerful weapon.
Application: To resist the devil we must have grasped the justifying work of Christ that accepts us as righteous and be engaged in the life of sanctification in which, by the Spirit, we are being made more and more righteousness.

III. We must have a readiness which flows from the Gospel (15) [Gospel experience/motivation]
15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
A. Our ability to march for God is wholly dependent upon our having experienced the effect of the Gospel.
B. The great effect is peace with God, and peace with out brethren.
C. This in turn impels us to spread the news of that piece.
Application: To resist the devil we must have experienced that peace with God and our brethren that only the Gospel can effect. This peace in turn prepares and motivates us to share the Gospel with others so that they might enjoy peace.

IV. We must have a living trust in God (16) [Faith]
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
A. Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress; Polycarp
Application: To resist the devil we must have faith in God, or trust and entire confidence must be in him.

V. We must have a vital hope of salvation (17) [Assurance of salvation]
17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION,
A. The knowledge that we are saved is vital to the whole project of the Christian life
Application: To resist the devil we must be assured of our salvation, present and future.
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Membership Matters (Sunday AM Sermon Outline, Oct 15, 2006)

What it means to be a member of First Presbyterian Church:
The Five Questions of Membership (5)
Embracing the spiritual leadership of the church, and striving for its purity and peace
Hebrews 13:17 and 12:14, 1 Peter 3:8-9

Introduction (review):
1. A month ago now, we began this series on "What it means to be a member of First Presbyterian Church," by looking at the first question of membership: (1) Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy?
2. In this question we acknowledge that we are (1) sinners, (2) justly condemned and (3) without hope (apart from Christ).
3. We said that two implications of this question (if we really understand and mean it when we answer it "I do") are that we will be (1) people of humility, (2) who rejoice in God’s sovereignty.
4. Then, three weeks ago, we considered the second question of membership: (2) Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and trust Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the gospel?
5. We said that this meant that Christians have faith in Christ’s person and work, alone. (1) Faith; (2) Person; (3) Work; (4) Alone
6. The implications of this are many, but here are a few: understanding and meaning it when we answer this questions means that we realize that (1) we cannot save ourselves, that (2) for us salvation is a gift to be received not a status to be earned, that (3) life is radically Christ-centered and cross-centered; that (4) Jesus is our and everyone else’s only hope.
7. What should this lead to in our lives? We ought to be (1) people of faith [in the Bible, and in Christ]; (2) people with a high view of Christ; (3) people with a high view of God's grace.
8. A couple of weeks ago, we came to the third question of membership: (3) Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?
9. We said that this question indicates that All Christians are disciples, followers of Christ. All followers of Christ, are resolved, committed, have promised, to live like his followers, and they know that for this they will need the grace of the Holy Spirit.
10. Again, the implications of understanding and sincerely affirming this questions are manifold, but several things stand out: We will (1) realize we need God's grace for sancitification as much as we need it for justification; and we will be (2) serious about living the Christian life, about being different from the world.
11. Last week, we looked at the fourth question of membership (4) "Do you promise to support the church in its worship and work, to the best of your ability?"
12. We said that answering this question with understanding requires that we realize the significance of (and love) three things: (1) the local church, (2) the worship of the church, and (3) the work of the church.
13. This means, practically, that we will (1) have a high view of and commitment to the local church, realizing that when the saints are gathered they are, collectively, God’s Gospel family, the assembly of the living God and God’s plan for discipleship; (2) yearn to worship God corporately and in all of life; and (3) show a zeal for the church’s work in discipleship and witness.
14. This morning, our short series comes to a close, as we consider the fifth question of membership: (5) Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the church and promise to strive for its purity and peace?
15. If we rightly understand this question, and if we truly intend it when we answer "I do," it will mean that we will be a church filled with members who have three things: (1) a respect for spiritual authority, (2) a commitment to the pursuit of holiness, and (3) a passion for peace in the church family.

I. A glad and willing respect for the elders, and a joyful acknowledgment and embrace of their spiritual leadership as the appointed shepherds of this flock
Hebrews 13:17 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
Application: We’ll do everything we can to show respect for and follow the shepherding of the elders of the church

II. A glad and willing self-exertion for the purity of the church
Hebrews 12:14 14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
Application: We’ll do everything in our power to make sure that we do not bring sin and judgment into the camp of God’s people [Luther: It is due to the perversity of men that they seek peace first, and onlythen righteousness, consequently there is no peace]

III. A glad and willing self-exertion for the peace of the church
Hebrews 12:14 14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
1 Peter 3:8-9 8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
Application: We’ll do everything in our personal power to make sure that this is a harmonious, happy, safe and secure family fellowship of believers
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Ephesians 6:10-12 Outline

God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians (LVII)
The Full Armor of God (1) Our struggle is not against flesh and blood
Ephesians 6:10-12

Introduction:
1. We are beginning a new section of Ephesians tonight, so perhaps it would help us to review a little.

2. "We have had occasion several times in our study of this letter to marvel at the breadth of Paul’s horizons. He began by unfolding God’s purpose, conceived in a past eternity before the foundation of the world, to create a single new human race through the death and resurrection of Christ and ultimately to unite the whole church and the whole creation under Christ’s headship. He has emphasized that a distinctive shape has been given to this divine plan by the inclusion in God’s new society, on an entirely equal footing, of Jews and Gentiles. The old days of division and discrimination have gone. A brand new oneness has emerged, in which through union with Christ Jews and Gentiles are equal members of the same body and equal sharers in the same promise. So now the one Father has one family, the one Messiah–Savior one people, and the one Spirit one body. These sure facts of what God has done through Christ and by the Spirit form the basis on which Paul went on to issue his eloquent appeal. His readers must live a life that is ‘worthy’ of their calling and ‘fitting’ to their status as God’s new and reconciled society. They must demonstrate their unity in the Christian fellowship, while at the same time rejoicing in the diversity of their gifts and so of their ministries. They must put away all the uncleanness of their pre-conversion behaviour and live a life of ‘true righteousness and holiness.’ And they must learn to submit to one another in every kind of domestic relationship and so promote harmony in their homes. Unity, diversity, purity and harmony—these the apostle has stressed as major characteristics of the new life and the new society in Christ. It has seemed a beautiful ideal, an obviously desirable goal, and not so difficult to attain." (Stott, 260-261)

Ephesians 6:10-12 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

What are the challenges we face in living the Christian life? 1. Our own sinfulness. 2. The sinfulness of others, and its effect on us. 3. The church’s sinfulness and imperfection. 4. The opposition and/or allurements of the world. 5. Satan

"Christ, the Scripture, your own hearts, and Satan’s devices, are the four prime things that should be first and most studied and searched. If any cast off the study of these, they cannot be safe here, nor happy hereafter. It is my work as a Christian, but much more as I am a Watchman, to do my best to discover the fullness of Christ, the emptiness of the creature, and the snares of the great deceiver." (Thomas Brooks, 15).

I. You are in a war zone (Realize that you are at war)
10 Finally, be strong . . . . 11 Put on the full armor of God, . . . . 12 For our struggle . . . .
A. Paul is reminding us that the whole of our lives between now and Christ’s coming is a war.
B. Matthew 10:34 Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

II. You need the Lord’s strength to win in this war (Your strength is inadequate)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

III. You will need God’s armor to stand against the Devil (Your need protection from this enemy)
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
A. (1) God’s new society?, Satan wants to destroy it. (2) God has broken down the dividing walls?, Satan will try to rebuild them. (3) God wants the reconciled and redeemed to live together in harmony and purity?, Satan will scatter the seeds of discord and sin.

IV. You need to understand that your opposition isn’t ultimately human (Know your enemy)
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
A. Powerful, wicked and cunning
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A Mighty Nut

Photograph by Cindy Mercer

I couldn't help reading the shirt. The girl walked right in front of me. The large yellow letters scrawled across her jet black T-shirt declared, "The mighty oak was once a nut that held its ground." I turned away and saw a very large, old congregational church. Something made me think of George Whitefield.

Whitefield was much-maligned in his time. His critics enjoyed reminding the public that his parents where rather disreputable innkeepers, and cartoonists had a heyday with his crossed eyes. “Whitefield’s eyes make the sign of the cross on which Jesus died,” they sneered. But, by the grace of God, he held his ground. Praise God he did.

Whitefield concluded his sermon on Genesis 5:24, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him," with an exhortation to ministers:

"One word to my brethren in the ministry that are here present, and I have done. You see, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almost say it is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without dropping a word to you. For does not the text speak in a particular manner to those who have the honor of being styled the ambassadors of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. I observed at the beginning of this discourse, that Enoch in all probability was a public person, and a flaming preacher. Though he be dead, does he not yet speak to us, to quicken our zeal, and make us more active in the service of our glorious and ever-blessed Master? How did Enoch preach! How did Enoch walk with God, though he lived in a wicked and adulterous generation! Let us then follow him, as he followed Jesus Christ, and ere long, where he is there shall we be also. . . . He sojourned here below three hundred years; but blessed be God, the days of man are now shortened, and in a few days our walk will be over. The Judge is before the door: he that cometh will come, and will not tarry: his reward is with him. And we shall all (if we are zealous for the Lord of hosts) ere long shine as the stars in the firmament, in the kingdom of our heavenly Father, for ever and ever. To Him, the blessed Jesus, and eternal Spirit, be all honor and glory, now, and to all eternity. Amen, and Amen."

May God raise up many more mighty nuts!

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Resting in Christ

The "Old Manse" in Concord, Massachusetts

One week ago I found myself standing in front of one of the most famous windows in American history. It was the window from which the William Emerson family watched the first shots being fired in the American War for Independence in 1775. Seventy years later, a young, newly married Nathaniel Hawthorne would begin his writing career at the desk that sits before the window. But it was also here, in 1836, that Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote “Nature,” an essay that would rock the literary-theological world. Emerson boldly declared, “Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchers of the fathers. . . . It writes biographies, histories, and criticism. . . . Let us demand our own works and laws and worship.”

Two years later, in the “Divinity School Address,” he would write,

“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of prophets. He saw with open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history, he estimated the greatness of man. . . . The Puritans in England and America . . . their creed is passing away, and none arises in its room. I think no man can go with his thoughts about him, into one of our churches, without feeling, that what hold the public worship had on men is gone, or going. . . . In the country, neighborhoods, half parishes are signing off. It is already beginning to indicate character and religion to withdraw from the religious meetings. . . . Let me admonish you, first of all, to go alone; to refuse the good models, even those which are sacred in the imagination of men, and dare to love God without mediator or veil.”

Sound familiar? This kind of thinking is rampant in America today. Spirituality is good. No need for churches, doctrines, or sacraments. Find your flame and fan it.

Contrast this with the words of the Psalmist:

Psalm 131:1-3
A Song of Ascents, of David.

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
[2] Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
[3] O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

David shows us genuine humility, happiness, and hope. He is not giving us an excuse for avoiding difficult challenges in life. He points us to the pride and presumption that undervalues other people and presumes a great deal about our own insights and opinions. His soul is like a weaned child being carried by his mother. No more fretting or fearing, only security and safety.

You remember what Jesus said, “And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, [3] and said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven'” (Matthew 18:2-4).

At the end of the day there are only two worldviews. The worldview that begins with me and the worldview that begins with God. The worldview that asserts my self-will or the worldview that submits to God’s will. The worldview that begins by talking or the worldview that begins by listening.

As Lewis said, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'”

“Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find REST FOR YOUR SOULS” (Matthew 11:29). Like a weaned child resting against his mother's side; this is the rest the soul experiences when safe under Christ’s wing.
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Membership Matters (Sunday AM Sermon Outline, Oct 8, 2006)

What it means to be a member of First Presbyterian Church:
The Five Questions of Membership (4)
Loving the Church, Supporting its worship and work
Hebrews 10:19-25; 1 Timothy 3:15

Introduction (review):
1. Three weeks ago, we looked at the first question of membership: (1) Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy?
2. In this question we acknowledge that we are (1) sinners, (2) justly condemned and (3) without hope (apart from Christ).
3. We said that two implications of this question (if we really understand and mean it when we answer it "I do") are that we will be (1) people of humility [because of a high view of God and a high view of our own sin], (2) who rejoice in God’s sovereignty [because he is our only hope]
4. Two weeks ago, we considered the second question of membership: (2) Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and trust Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the gospel?
5. We said that this meant that Christians have faith in Christ’s person and work, alone. (1) Faith; (2) Person; (3) Work; (4) Alone
6. The implications of this are many, but here are a few: understanding and meaning it when we answer this questions means that we realize that (1) we cannot save ourselves, that (2) for us salvation is a gift to be received not a status to be earned, that (3) life is radically Christ-centered and cross-centered; that (4) Jesus is our and everyone else’s only hope.

7. What should this lead to in our lives? We ought to be (1) a people of faith [in the Bible, and in Christ]; (2) a people with a high view of Christ; (3) a people with a high view of God's grace.
8. Last week, we focused on the third question of membership: (3) Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?
9. We said that this question indicates that All Christians are disciples, followers of Christ. All followers of Christ, are resolved, committed, have promised, to live like his followers, and they know that for this they will need the grace of the Holy Spirit.
10. Again, the implications of understanding and sincerely affirming this questions are manifold, but several things stand out: We will be a people who (1) realize we need God's grace for sancitification as much as we need it for justification; (2) are serious about living the Christian life, about being different from the world.
11. This week, we come to the fourth questions of membership (4) "Do you promise to support the church in its worship and work, to the best of your ability?"
12. Answering this question with understanding requires that we understand (and love) three things: (1) the local church, (2) the worship of the church, and (3) the work of the church.

Hebrews 10:19-25 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

1 Timothy 3:15 15 . . . I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

In order to answer this question with understanding and sincerity, we must have an appreciation of:

I. The Church – the family of God, the assembly of God, the plan of God

II. The Church’s Worship – Corporate, All of life

We all need to determine now to continue (or improve or begin) the habit of every Lord’s Day morning and evening worship attendance, and to avail ourselves of the prayer meeting and Wednesday evening’s fellowship times. Healthy Christian life is fostered in a congregation when all the members of the body faithfully commit to the public means of grace – to joining together under the reading and preaching of the word of God, the taking of the sacraments and corporate prayer.

III. The Church’s Work – Worship, discipleship, outreach

One of the ways we show that we worship God and not money (Matthew 6:24) is by giving generously to the work of the Lord. One of the ways we show that we understand that everything we have comes from God (Psalm 24:1) is by giving to the work of the Lord. One of the ways we show our commitment to God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:33) is by giving for its upbuilding.

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John Stott summarizes Ephesians

Here is an outstanding brief summarization of Ephesians 1:1 to 6:9, by John Stott.

We have had occasion several times in our study of this letter to marvel at the breadth of Paul’s horizons. He began by unfolding God’s purpose, conceived in a past eternity before the foundation of the world, to create a single new human race through the death and resurrection of Christ and ultimately to unite the whole church and the whole creation under Christ’s headship. He has emphasized that a distinctive shape has been given to this divine plan by the inclusion in God’s new society, on an entirely equal footing, of Jews and Gentiles. The old days of division and discrimination have gone. A brand new oneness has emerged, in which through union with Christ Jews and Gentiles are equal members of the same body and equal sharers in the same promise. So now the one Father has one family, the one Messiah–Savior one people, and the one Spirit one body. These sure facts of what God has done through Christ and by the Spirit form the basis on which Paul went on to issue his eloquent appeal. His readers must live a life that is ‘worthy’ of their calling and ‘fitting’ to their status as God’s new and reconciled society. They must demonstrate their unity in the Christian fellowship, while at the same time rejoicing in the diversity of their gifts and so of their ministries. They must put away all the uncleanness of their pre-conversion behaviour and live a life of ‘true righteousness and holiness.’ And they must learn to submit to one another in every kind of domestic relationship and so promote harmony in their homes. Unity, diversity, purity and harmony—these the apostle has stressed as major characteristics of the new life and the new society in Christ. It has seemed a beautiful ideal, an obviously desirable goal, and not so difficult to attain. (Stott, 260-261)
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Hell?

On this day, October 5, 1703, Jonathan Edwards was born in East Windsor. Best known, perhaps, for the sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards' graphic language has been much criticized, by friend and foe alike: "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some other loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire."

It is a fair question to ask: Would we dare preach this sermon today? Sentimental secularism has hobbled the church, shrunk God out of sight and made personal comfort more important than revealed truth. We harbor views of man that shrink from viewing the torment of hell as just deserts for offences committed against God. Bible language suggesting hell as a place of fire (incineration) and darkness, of weeping and grinding of teeth, of destruction and torment (see, Matt. 5:22; 8, 12; 13:42, 50; 18:9; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; 1 Thess. 5:3; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; 2 Pet. 3:7; Jude 7, 13; Rev. 20:10 and especially Luke 16:23, 'The Rich Man and Lazarus') are dismissed as 'symbolic' in an attempt to tone down crass portrayals of literal anguish. In the surge towards 'demythologizing' Scripture, hell is banished from sight.

There is a well known story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame) who sent a telegram to twelve respected people in London stating: "Flee--all is revealed." By the following night night six of them had left the country!

In the end, it is our Savior who spoke most graphically on hell--warning of its reality and horror. To be faithful to him, we must consider with the utmost seriousness the nature of hell.
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Culture

It always sounds a tad snobbish when we talk about "culture" but Christians do a lot of it. Not that there's too much agreement on what that culture looks like. Still, allow me to ruminate a minute.

Christians have always valued this world. True, it is a love-hate relationship since this world is fallen and under a curse and is "passing away". But in essence, the world is good. Christians have refused to adopt the Manichean and Gnostic dualism of early Christian days (sorry for the big words, but Ligon and I are team-teaching a course on this period of church history and, well, some of the views that were "hot" then are bizarre to say the least). These folk regarded material things (including our bodies) as devoid of value (leading some to view the flesh as a license for sin since it had no value, and for others into the morass of asceticism). Despite what history has said and done, the Puritans, too, thought the material world good and not evil. Creation bears the stamp of the divine (like a ruined castle, Calvin said -- something which Plato saw from afar, I think).

All this came to me as I pondered the mess which is my back yard! I used to love gardening but the Mississippi climate was meant more for beast than man, and unless the temperatures fall considerably, I will view the work that needs doing from the other side of an air-conditioned window! Adam, on the other hand, was placed in a garden, to till and sow and replenish, developing a culture that was decidedly earthy, harnessing the environment and building a culture that would enrich him and others. (See Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8:6-8).

Pleased as I am to enjoy the beauty of material world --where are those orange, brown leaves? --I relish, too, what man has done to enrich life here: my beloved Bruckner, for example. Last night, Rosemary with Mom's Bible Study somewhere in North-East Jackson, it was just me and Jake and Bruckner's ninth symphony.

Shades of heaven.
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Ephesians 6:5-9 Outline

God’s New Family: An Exposition of Ephesians (LVI)
God’s Household Rules: Marriage and Family (11)

The Obligations of Householders and Servants
Ephesians 6:5-9

Introduction:
1. Two weeks ago, as we looked at Ephesians 6:1-3 on the relationships between parents and children, we said that Christian children, in order to live out the Gospel in the home, in order to live out their embrace of the Lordship of Christ, must obey their parents, because it is right, commanded and rewarded.
2. Last week, in Ephesians 6:4, we listened as Paul turned our attention to Christian parents and gives us a profound directive regarding the Christian nurture of their children. It begins with a negative and moves to a positive command. Do not . . . but.
3. We focused on two aspects of this passage: (1) that Christian parents (and especially fathers) are to take care not to provoke their children (4a) [we saw this negative directive as entailing a number of things both negative and positive, such as - 1. Not expecting more or less of our children than they are capable of doing or giving. 2. Being careful about the way we reprimand and correct. 3. Practicing what we preach. Avoiding double standards or hypocrisy. 4. Imparting the faith via prayer, personal example, precept (in that order). 5. Deliberately cultivating good times with our children. 6. Freely communicating love and affection. 7. Allowing them to fail and make mistakes–let them know love not conditioned on perfection. 8. Making expectations, rules and regulations know to them, and reasonable. 9. Admitting our mistakes, sins and asking forgiveness when we fail them.10. Making it easy and desirable for them to approach us. (2) that Christian parents are to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (4b). Here we said that the third baptismal vow, taken by all parent upon the baptism of covenant children is most relevant: "3. Do you now unreservedly dedicate your child to God, and promise, in humble reliance upon divine grace, that you will endeavor to set before (him) a godly example, that you will pray with and for (him), that you will teach (him) the doctrines of our holy religion, and that you will strive, by all the means of God's appointment, to bring (him) up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? I do."
4. We also found a quote from William Still to be inspiring, challenging and instructive: "Every autumn I have a spate of letters from fond parents, teachers, guardians, and monitors, appealing to me to follow up on such and such a youngster who is away from home at college for the first time, and who has to be hunted, followed, shadowed, intercepted and driven to Christian meetings. I have scarcely ever known this desperate technique to work. I understand the panic of parents and guardians, but it is too late then to try high pressure tactics. Prayer, example and precept, in that order, are the means of bringing up children and young folk in the faith. Nor will high pressure tactics and brainwashing techniques avail when young folk have gone off on their own. Some young folk, alas, will have their fling and sow their wild oats, and come at last to heel, sadly, like the prodigal son. It is where Christians pathetically put their trust in external techniques and artificial stratagems that young folk go astray. Nothing takes the place of the realism of holy living and secret wrestling before God in prayer for our youngsters. We must commit them to God so utterly that we dare not interfere or tamper with their precious souls." (William Still, late Pastor of Gilcomston South Church, Aberdeen, Scotland)
5. Tonight, we turn to an awkward, but important subject. Paul’s instructions to slaves/servants in Ephesians 6:5-9.

Ephesians 6:5-9 5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

I. The significance of Paul’s words for Christian masters and slaves in the first century
Stott's obervations on Roman slave culture in the days of Paul:
1. A high percentage of the population of the Roman empire was made up of slaves.
2. This entailed not only domestic servants and manual laborers, but also doctors, teachers and administrators.
3. Slaves could be inherited, purchased, taken because of bad debt, or as prisoners of war.
4. No one questioned the arrangement (though Seneca will argue for good treatment of slaves).
5. The dehumanization of slaves is mirrored in the Roman legislation. They were chattel.
6. The fact that Paul addresses slaves here is yet another indication that they were an accepted part of the Christian community.

*Notice the radical Christ-centeredness of his instruction (5,6,7,8). Slaves are to be, respectful (5), whole-hearted (6), conscientious (7a), and willing (7b) in their work for their earthly masters, but they are to do so "as unto the Lord." They are to view their labor Christologically.
*Meanwhile, Masters are instructed to consider their duties to their slaves Christologically. They are to show them reciprocity and justice (9a), they are not to threaten them (9b), and they are to do this because they themselves have a Master in heaven (9c), and that Master will be impartial in his final judgment, even if their present culture and judicial system is not (9d).
What in Christianity undermined slavery?
*The fact that Paul treats of the subject of Master-slave relations under the rubric of the household codes is significant. Even in this relationship, the Christian is expected to live out the Gospel and the Lordship of Christ.
* Charles Hodge's discussion of slavery in this passage is brilliant.
* How did Christianity dostrinally undermine slavery? Through at least important truths:
1. The common Lordship of Christ over Master and slave
2. The demand for reciprocity/justice for the slave (see also Colossians)
3. The doctrine of union with Christ, adoption and brotherhood (see also Philemon).

II. The significance of Paul’s words for us in our various roles in vocations today

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