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Calvary Grace Church of Calgary | Calvary Grace Conference 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:59:00 +0000

Calvary Grace Church of Calgary | Calvary Grace Conference 2012:

My good friend, Clint Humfrey, is one of the pastors of Calvary GRace Church in Calgary, Alberta. They were pleased to host a conference with Dr. Carl Truman over the weekend and thankfully have posted the audio. Be sure to download!

"The Relevance of the Reformation: Learning from the Past, Living in the Present."

'via Blog this'

The Top 10 Ways to Make Your TAG Great!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:24:00 +0000

Sunday night will be the start of what we call TAG's at Grace Fellowship Church. TAG's are Truth Application Groups - small group meetings of members of the church in homes every Sunday night where we seek to work the truth we are learning on Sundays into the warp and woof of our daily life.

TAG's are a big thing around our church. Members love them. So, to get us ready for a new season of TAG (they run from January through May) I wrote out a Top 10 list of ways to make a TAG great. A bunch of folks have emailed asking for that list so I thought I would post it here.

10. Sit beside someone new every week.

9. Help your leader. Try to take as much off their plate as you can by organizing childcare, food, weekly email, etc.

8. Look for one truth in every Sunday morning sermon to work into your life – that way you are TAGging even before you get to TAG!

7. Decide now you love your TAG – why give the Devil any opportunity?

6. Commit each week as you reach for the front door to godly openness.

5. Take your nap in the afternoon, not at TAG.

4. Expect God to work – maybe He doesn’t for you because you are a doubter?

3. Come ready to give. To give by opening your life to others or by graciously looking into thiers.

2. Pray! Pray for your TAG, your TAG members, your TAG effectiveness, etc.

1. Never miss. Attendance is everything. Be there.

0. If you are in my group – I like lemon loaf!

Reflections on Week of Prayer: DELIGHT

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Our last night in the Week of Prayer had a lofty goal. We wanted to spend the hour simply finding our happiness in God. Is that a new concept to you? Our goal at Grace Fellowship Church is to delight in God, to the glory of God and the good of all people. We do this as we choose to treasure God above all else - an easy thing to do when we are in our right minds.
But spending time in prayer focusing on the goodness of God and expressing to Him in our words the delight we find in Him and His ways is something many find new. In one sense, this is surprising. So many of the Psalms, for instance, do this very thing. Yet, I wondered what it would be like to end our week this way.
Frankly, it was wonderful. What an encouragement to pray along with my friends as they expressed to God His great worth. It was a wonderful way to finish our week, taking us all the way back to God Himself as our chief end and pleasure.
This was my favorite Week of Prayer ever. I can't wait until the next!

Reflections on Week of Prayer: MINISTRIES

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:29:00 +0000

I suppose this might sound discouraging, but my experience of prayer last night was rather dry. Maybe “hard” is a better word. It was our fifth night in a row, our smallest turnout and I was tired. But the saints came and we prayed. How strange it is that an hour of prayer seems to go faster as the week goes on… even when you are weary.

We tried to pray for every “official and non-official” ministry carried on by the members of Grace Fellowship Church. It was a daunting task to pray for so many things and not to pray the same old thing over and over. God was gracious.

One of the things I learned last night was the joy of help. I felt like Aaron and Hur were holding my arms last night so that we would prevail. Brothers and sisters kept praying, kept grappling and kept on until we covered it all. How glad I am for the Body of Christ. This is one of the great blessings of corporate prayer… you are helped along as you pray along with others.

In my morning devotions today I read Paul’s description of the prayers of Epaphras: “… always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God” Colossians 4:12. The only way Paul could know the content of Epahras’ prayers was to hear them. And Paul drew great encouragement from what his brother sought from the Lord. This Paul finds a similar boon when he hears the prayers of his fellow church members!

Reflections on Week of Prayer: LEADERS

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:08:00 +0000

Last night we devoted an hour to pray for our leaders. This may seem very self-serving (since the leaders set the agenda for the meetings!) but there was a theological rationale behind it. Strike the shepherd and the sheep are scattered. False shepherds lead the sheep astray. Like priest, like people. The Bible contains a robust and careful job description and qualification list for church leaders. We believe in it. Yet it is so precise and full of exacting standards that we know the only way we will get and keep leaders like this is by prayer.

I wondered if last night would be the shortest of meetings, yet the saints came ready to work hard on behalf of their elders and deacons. How humbling to hear such tender, Scripture-full, pleading prayers on our behalf.

After several years in the ministry I concluded, “The only reason you have gotten this far is people are praying for you.” I had a renewed sense of that last night.

I'm not making this up. I really get to serve the best saints in the world. I don't deserve it.

Reflections on Week of Prayer: CONVERSIONS

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Having already confessed how few conversions we saw last year, and thanked God for the ones we did see, the pump was primed to set after praying for more. Believing our first mission field is in our own camp, we listed out all the names of the kids from High School and down. Some of these kids are already graciously converted, but we were happy to pray for all of them by name asking God to save.*

What a time of prayer. A wave of pleading swept over us. After an hour there was a palpable sense we needed to keep on, so we excused those who needed to leave, but pressed on for another 40 minutes beseeching the Lord of the harvest. I don’t write this to boast in anyone but the Lord. Who are we?

What most of us wanted was a renewed burden for friends who are not Christians yet. May God give it.

Pondering that Jesus came to “seek and save that which was lost” and that He “came into the world to save sinners” and that His Father “takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked” we were led to feel we were praying the will of God as we prayed for men and women to be saved from the guilt and penalty of their sins. Children, friends, family members, neighbours, co-workers, old friends were all prayed for.

Graciously, God was with us again.

*This is no offense to a godly parent. What mom or dad does not want their child prayed for? And if someone prays for one of my converted children to be converted, I hear that prayer in the spirit is given. If the Apostle could speak of “not having already attained” salvation in the fullest, realized sense, then I think we can pray for children – especially when we consider how feeble and tempted a child may be.

Reflections on Week of Prayer: THANKSGIVING

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:38:00 +0000

We met last night to thank God. I was reminded of Jesus’ delight in the one former leper out of ten who returned to thank Him for his healing.

“Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:18 ESV)

We are thankless far too much.

Last night created the same experience as our night of confession – as brothers and sisters thanked God for the specific blessings of the last year, my heart was caught up with them to the throne in gratitude to the Giver of all good things. Precious were the words of thanks from the children. Oh, for more of that simplicity in my own prayers.

Another effect of an hour of thanks was a further humbling. Yes, it was humbling to confess our sins, for which we alone are responsbilbe, but it was equally humbling to thank God for all the good in our lives. He gets all the credit for dealing with our sin and all the credit for “every good gift.”

God seems very evidently at work in our church. All the glory for that goes to Him.

Reflections on Week of Prayer: CONFESSION

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Take us down and lay us low

Leave ashes in place of gold

Life-giver sustainer

Let nothing remain of our pride

From your mountain on high

Lay us low

These are the words to Christa Well’s new song, LayUs Low. The Image of God EP was released just the other day and I am thanking God for it – especially for the way it poetically captures what happened last night.

We met for one hour to confess our sins to God. How does one write about these things? I felt that God was with us in power and grace. He kept us from all the nearby dangers an exercise like this can fall in to and He came with forgiveness, holiness and love. It was a powerful time and I hated to draw it to a close. God was with us.

Another of Wells’ songs says:

We come in pieces

We come in fragments

We come discolored

To the foot of the cross

Our Maker sees us

All that we have been

Bonds us together

The Image of God

We left our meeting last night humbled, more in love with each and more thankful than ever for Jesus.

The surprising blessing to me was listening to my brothers and sisters confess. I had thought that might be an odd thing to do, but in reality it exposed my heart. As one brother wept for his sin, it made me see the same sin in me. As one sister compared her sin to other actions, I thought, “That’s me, too, Lord!” Every person who prayed led me to see more of my own sin and in turn more of the beauty of the Gospel.

I will never forget that night.

11 Reasons You Should Come to Every Meeting during the Week of Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:13:00 +0000

11. It will not kill you to do it, and it will bless you and your children to be there.

10. You need to learn how to prevail in prayer and this is an excellent way to teach you.

9. This is your church, you are her members, and your leaders want you here for they know it will be good for you.

8. You will model to the world that God is real when you give up 6 nights to pursue Him in prayer.

7. You will gain the joy of doing something for the Lord. How many times do we aspire to do great things for God or even complain that we want to serve more? Well, here is the way to do something for real.

6. You personal spiritual life will be blessed as you follow the logic of the week from confession, to thanksgiving, to conversions, to leaders, to ministries, to delight in God.

5. You will be speaking to God with God’s people every day this week! What is better than that?

4. You will be humbled.

3. You will be deeply reminded of how needy we are for God to work as we lay out our many requests before Him – needs that are easy to otherwise forget .

2. Other than having to work, or being in the hospital, or traveling, or providing childcare so your spouse can go, or health concerns or sickness – what good reason would there be to miss these meetings? Your entertainment? No. Your rest? No. Your privacy? No. I can’t think of one good reason.

1. Your praying in general will be revitalized from taking one week to pray with God’s people every night.

Help! I am being tempted toward sexual sin!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

The real threat of sexual sin is not a disease. It is what will happen to you if you do not repent of it and seek God's forgiveness in Christ.

For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
(Ephesians 5:5-6 ESV)

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
(1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 ESV)

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
(Revelation 21:6-8 ESV)

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV)

Learning from the Old Men First: Driscoll, Keller, and Marriage Books

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:27:00 +0000

Having read parts of Tim Keller’s and Mark Driscoll’s new books on marriage, I have been struck by one thought. A man ought usually to wait until he is older before he offers his wisdom to others.

When Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, began his reign, the Scriptures tell of how he consulted first with the old men, then with “the young men who had grown up with him” on how he ought to rule. This was a matter of wisdom – the application of truth to a certain situation. There were specific principles for the kings of Israel to follow, but Rehoboam’s question was more in the line of ethos or style. What would his reign feel and look like. 1 Kings 12 goes to rather extensive pains to show that Rehoboam’s folly was in listening to the young men, rather than the old men. And this notion holds true in general.

I recall an old pastor telling me once, “You may want to wait a few years before you preach on parenting.” That was good advice since my kids were 5 and 2 I pretty much thought I knew all there was to raising children – everybody’s children! I also tended to think the Bible had much more to say about parenting than it really does. Thankfully, I mostly kept my mouth shut other than to say specifically what the Bible said on the topic. That has enabled a few less regrets at this stage of my ministry.

This has been one of my fears for Pastor Driscoll through the years. I think he has tended to write “too close to the lesson.” Even this latest book, if I read the chronology right, seems to say that all the good things he is directing us to do are things he has really only applied in his marriage in the last 3-4 years. I am glad where Biblical truth is changing any marriage, but I think it is not wise to speak of seeing huge long-term results so close to their application.

In comparison, Pastor Keller purposefully waited until he was older in years and experience to write a book on marriage. Frankly, I think he has a lot more to say not only because of the manner in which he approaches the subject, but because he has lived through 37 years of applying this Truth in marriage. His own and others.

In a fast-paced culture like ours, we do well to remember that God has created things in such a way that our older folks ought to be sought out for their opinions first. And if you are a young man, you do well to work out your salvation in fear and trembling and a certain level of quietness now. Your day to impart wisdom to others will come soon enough, and you may find that the humbling of years gives you far less to say.

Be Quick to Seek Forgiveness - Really Quick

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:14:00 +0000

“Let me be very personal and ask about your relationship with Christ. Has any cloud come between your soul and your Saviour? An incident is told of Spurgeon who suddenly stopped in the middle of the street he was crossing and prayed. [These were the days when streets were somewhat safer, populated with horses rather than automobiles.] When he reached the other side, his companion asked him, ‘Why did you stop to pray in the middle of the street?’ Spurgeon's reply was something like this, ‘A cloud came between my soul and Christ, and I could not let it remain there even long enough to reach the other side of the street.’” – J. Vernon McGee

Sermon Preview: Gospel Freedom (Romans 14-15)

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:46:00 +0000

Long before the whole concept of preaching our "Gospel Revolution" series was birthed came the idea of preaching a sermon or two on the freedom we have in Christ. There were a bunch of reasons for this, not the least of which was the reality that true Gospel Freedom is under constant siege... even in our happy little church.

To whet your appetite for what is in store tomorrow I offer you this brief outline of what I hope to cover.

___________________

The Gospel Revolution

Romans 14:1-15:7

Gospel Freedom for True Unity

1. The types of Christians who need to be unified

· The weak in faith (2,5,6)

· The strong in faith (2,4,5,6)

2. The situation that threatens unity

3. The temptations towards division

· The weak are tempted to condemn the strong (3, 10-12)

· The strong are tempted to treat the weak with condescension (3, 10-12)

4. The burden on the shoulders of the strong to keep the church unified

· Do not despise the weak (1)

· Make sure you are holding personal convictions not just miming traditions (5,22-23)

· Fully embrace the weak (1)

· Use your Gospel-freedom to deny your freedoms in order to love the weak (14:13, 15-16, 19-21; 15:1-3)

Grace Connexion: Some Thoughts on Brokenness and Staying Gospel-centred

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Our little group of churches met back in October to fellowship with each other and rejoice in the Lord's doings. I took a few minutes to address one concern I had in regards to keeping the concept of "Gospel-centred" from being just a pet phrase void of meaning. Several folks wrote and asked for a recording or notes from that night so I finally got to typing something out.
I preach from handwritten notes, so what I offer here is really just a sketch of what I said there. The main ideas are present and I hope they are helpful.

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Galatians 1:6-9 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

If you have ever piloted a boat you know how easy it is to drift off course. This shift can happen quite subtly and very quickly and if not corrected you will end up in the rocks, or worse. The church of Christ in every age is called to remain vigilant and stay in the channel of the true Gospel.

False Gospels are everywhere – messages of salvation that promote self-reliance through cleaning ourselves up, atoning for our sins by doing good, or in some way telling us we can make ourselves acceptable to God without going through Jesus Christ.

Elders bear a special responsibility to keep the authentic Gospel at the Mission Control Centre of every local church, but the job does not stop with them. It is the duty of the church as a whole to guard the good deposit entrusted to them.

We can often spot the big waves attacking our Gospel ship. Mormonism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Atheism – these black clouds stir up the storms and we all set to rowing or steering in order to handle them. In one sense, they are easy to spot and easy to resist, partly because the true Gospel is so clear in comparison.

But there are other –isms, little breezes and quiet currents that go easily unnoticed in the life of a Christian and a local church. These “other gospels” are particularly insidious and sneaky for the very reason that they masquerade quite effectively as the true Gospel. Formalism (outward acts of piety without the corresponding heart affections), legalism (trusting in what I do), mysticism (trusting in what I experience), activism (making sure I am involved in the vogue trends), Biblicism (a salvation by knowledge), therapy-ism (valuing need-fulfillment over moral failure) and socialism (making good friendships my true salvation) – all of these –isms can creep in.

They are all rooted in spiritual idolatry. We exchange the worship of God for the worship of something created, whether that is an animal or a concept like fame. So, “another Gospel,” or a “Gospel substitute” is anything that squeezes our love for God to second place. Even good things can do this! When that idol becomes what we love most then we are actively opposing, repudiating and denying Jesus. We have fallen into an –ism and worst of all, we usually do this in His Name. We get caught in one of these riptides where the Gospel is shoved to the periphery and then we dress up all our idolatries with Bible vocabulary and ideas. Over time, our pride increases and we steadily drift further and further away.

Recently I was meditating on the idea of “brokenness” and in particular why it was not more a part of my life. Why did I have to sin in order to feel broken and contrite? I took some comfort in that most of the Biblical occurrences of this concept were in the context of sins discovered and confessed.

Think of these Psalms of contrition:

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted / and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Then I read this promise from Isaiah 61, a promise that comes on the heels of chapter after chapter of sin-exposing confrontation.

Isaiah 61:1-2a “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn…”

It was this portion of Isaiah’s scroll that Jesus read and sat down saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled.” This means that Christ’s advent, incarnation, sinless life, death and resurrection brought about the fulfillment of the promise that the brokenhearted could be restored. In other words, the Gospel is the one thing that makes us and keeps us right with God.

Here is the link. If we are going to become more of and stay a Gospel-immersed movement, then we must stay low before our God.

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”

It is brokenness and contrition that will keep us running to the Good News that Christ died for our sins and was raised. Which means we have to maintain in our own lives a persistent asking: “What difference does the death and resurrection of Jesus make to this moment/event/joy/temptation?”

Here is one faithful anchor to fend off Gospel-drift and eventual Gospel-substitution. We need to go low, seek contrition and aim for a brokenness that leads to the cross.

Romans 12 - Get Your World Turned Upside Down!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:43:00 +0000

I have been refreshed this week studying Romans 12. In this passage the Apostle launches into a robust description of what every Christian life should look like. The root of this awesome change is a full grasp of the Gospel.

Sacrifice. Humility. Service. Love. That about sums it up! Below is an extended outline I hope to preach from on Sunday (i.e. not the one found in your weekly handout). I would encourage you to read through Romans 12 with this in hand and ask of God what area of your life needs the most revolutionizing now.

The Gospel Revolution: The Call to a Revolutionized Life

Romans 12

1. Sacrifice yourself (1-2)

2. Prioritize humility (3)

3. Serve appropriately (4-8)

4. Act in love like Jesus did to friends in the church

A. Chase after your own sanctification (9)

B. Commit yourself to God’s people

i. Immerse yourself relationally in your church family (10a)

ii. Scavenge for grace in every church member (10b)

C. Be intensely God-focused

i. Stay tirelessly diligent in spiritual matters (11a)

ii. Stay on fire in the Holy Spirit (11b)

iii. Stay committed to doing whatever God says (11c)

D. Cling to God through your troubles

i. Boast in your sure future (12a)

ii. Remain true under pressure (12b)

iii. Stick to your prayers (12c)

5. Respond in love like Jesus would to friends in the church

A. Give to alleviate your brothers’ needs

i. Immerse yourself in the needs of your brother (13a)

ii. Hunt for Christian strangers to house (13b)

B. Feel what your brother feels

i. Delight in his successes (15a)

ii. Empathize with his sorrows (15b)

C. Hang out with the forgotten brothers (16)

6. Respond in love like Jesus did to sinful people that hate you

A. Stop denouncing and start praying for your persecutors (14)

B. Retaliate against your enemies with good (17)

C. Conspire for peace (18)

D. Conquer evil (19-21)

A Gospel Living FAQ - notes to prepare for this week's sermon

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:13:00 +0000

We are continuing our series on The Gospel Revolution this Sunday (God-willing) and I plan to tackle the bulk of Romans 8-11 in one swipe. That is a hefty goal, but this passage sure sings when you look at it all at once like this. Sometimes it is hard to wait until Sunday to preach.

Below is the outline to the sermon I plan to preach. It is a little different in that I am structuring the passage around the questions that are behind the answers given in the text. In the tradition of those helpful catechisms from the past I have tried to summarize each.

If you get the chance to read the passage prior to the weekend I am confident God will bless your work. Try reading with this questions and answers in mind and see if the preacher got it right!

The Gospel Revolution

Part 5: A Gospel-living FAQ

Romans 8-11

Q1. If I still sin, am I actually blameless in the eyes of God? (8:1-4)

A. Yes, even when I sin, I am still blameless in the eyes of God since I am no longer condemned.

Q2. Did anything really change in me when I became a Christian? (8:5-11)

A. Yes, when I became a Christian I was indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit.

Q3. What does being indwelled by God’s Holy Spirit provide? (8:12-27)

A. God’s Spirit in me provides: the power to kill sin; the ability to know God’s will; the assurance I really am a Christian; and the strength to endure.

Q4. How can I be confident all this work of God’s Spirit applies to me? (8:28-30)

A. The Holy Spirit’s work applies to me because I was foreknown, predestined, called, justified and will be glorified.

Q5. How can I be sure I won’t ultimately lose my salvation? (8:31-39)

A. I will not lose my salvation because no one can oppose, accuse, condemn or separate me from God.

Q6. How can I be confident that nothing can separate me from God? (9:6-20) (11:29)

A. I am confident that nothing will ever separate me from God because He chose me to be saved before the creation of the world.

Q7. If God has chosen who will be saved, why should I share the Gospel? (10:9-17)

A. I need to share the Gospel because it is only through the Gospel that God calls the elect to Himself.

A little reminder from Piper on the place of words in seeking doctrinal clarity

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Have you been following the recent storm surrounding James MacDonald's decision to invite TD Jakes to the Elephant Room (a symposium for Christian leaders to candidly discuss their differences)? I was reminded today of something John Piper preached in a biographical peice on Athanasius. I think it provides an excellent reminder.

The truth of biblical language must be vigorously protected with non-biblical language. Athanasius’ experience was critically illuminating to something I have come to see over the years, especially in liberally minded baptistic and pietistic traditions, namely, that the slogan, “the Bible is our only creed” is often used as a cloak to conceal the fact that Bible language is used to affirm falsehood. This is what Athanasius encountered so insidiously at the Council of Nicaea. The Arians affirmed biblical sentences. Listen to this description of the proceedings:

The Alexandrians . . . confronted the Arians with the traditional Scriptural phrases which appeared to leave no doubt as to the eternal Godhead of the Son. But to their surprise they were met with perfect acquiescence. Only as each test was propounded, it was observed that the suspected party whispered and gesticulated to one another, evidently hinting that each could be safely accepted, since it admitted of evasion. If their assent was asked to the formula “like to the Father in all things,” it was given with the reservation that man as such is “the image and glory of God.” The “power of God” elicited the whispered explanation that the host of Israel was spoken of as dunamis kuriou, and that even the locust and caterpillar are called the “power of God.” The “eternity” of the Son was countered by the text, “We that live are alway (2 Corinthians 4:11)!” The fathers were baffled, and the test of homoosion, with which the minority had been ready from the first, was being forced (p. 172) upon the majority by the evasions of the Arians.

R. P. C. Hanson explained the process like this: “Theologians of the Christian Church were slowly driven to a realization that the deepest questions which face Christianity cannot be answered in purely biblical language, because the questions are about the meaning of biblical language itself.”39 The Arians railed against the unbiblical language being forced on them. They tried to seize the biblical high ground and claim to be the truly biblical people—the pietists, the simple Bible-believers—because they wanted to stay with biblical language only—and by it smuggle in their non-biblical meanings. But Athanasius saw through this “post-modern,”post-conservative,” “post-propositional” strategy and saved for us not just Bible words, but Bible truth. May God grant us the discernment of Athanasius for our day. Very precious things are at stake.

Having Fun at Fellowship Lunch - Chisso is a Friend of Mine!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:49:00 +0000

In case this makes very little sense to you, you may want to harm your ears by listening to this:

Sunday Preview - Leaders, followers and love

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:04:00 +0000

We are getting close to the end of our study of Hebrews and now finish off some of the ethical commands at the end of the letter. It should be no surprise that our author ends where he started - pointing us to Jesus.

Below is the outline of the passage as I propose to preach it Sunday morning.

Did you know we are now hosting the audio of our sermons on our new church website? You can download or stream some excellent audio quality for free, if that kind of thing is helpful to you. For the sermons on Hebrews go here.

When it comes to these outlines, my suggestion is to read through the passage on Saturday some time with this outline in front of you to get a sense of what it says. The verse references are in brackets beside the points.

So, Follow Jesus!

Hebrews 13:7-19

1. Follow what you saw of Jesus in your former leaders

A. Mimic their persevering faith in Jesus (7)

B. Remember their unchangeable Model (8)

2. Follow the Gospel of Jesus

A. Take seriously the warning to not marginalize the Gospel (9)

B. Work continually to centralize the Gospel in your life (10-12)

3. Follow the ways of Jesus

A. Lead a life of not belonging and anticipation (13-14)

B. Lead a life of public worship and active love (15-16)

4. Follow the present leaders Jesus has given you

A. Trust them (17)

B. Pray for them (18-19)

Keller Touches on Toronto as he considers the splits that can occur between Christians

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Blog - Redeemer City to City: "I fear that we are in a period in which many in the Christian church are dividing into extreme positions over the very conduct of polemics. On the one side there are seemingly more people than ever, especially through the Internet, engaging in polemics, and yet it looks to me like there is a large number of younger Christians leaders who are reacting to this as if polemics is a pure evil. We want “conversation”, never argument or apologetics."

'via Blog this'

Russell Moore with a very helpful response to Pat Robertson's ridiculous statement about divorcing your spouse with Alzheimer's Disease

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Do you really want to be beautiful, sister?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:42:00 +0000

I got to wondering the other day about all the women in the Bible who are noted for their beauty. (This thought was triggered by a statement Tim made while preaching about Ruth, that the text never tells us anything about her looks and that she might have been quite frumpy.)

My wondering was along the lines of this: is it really a good thing to be a “looker?” A quick think through my Bible revealed that other than the daughters of Job, and the bride of Song of Solomon, good looks can get you into more trouble than triumph.

Consider these beautiful women. In each case, their beauty is in some way linked to the unfortunate things that happened to them.

Sarah – sent off by her husband to a foreigner’s harem (twice!)

Rebekah – sent off to another harem then lived in a dysfunctional family

Rachel – spent many years barren

Philisitine woman of Timnah married to Samson – 30 men were killed in her town and fields burned outside of it and then she was murdered by her own people

Abigail – her husband dropped dead

Bathsheba – she was lured into adultery, became pregnant, got her husband murdered and lost her illegitmate child

Tamar the daughter of David – raped by her half-brother

Abishag the Shunamite – was chosen to lie in bed with an old and dying King David to keep him warm

Esther – trotted off to a harem and then made queen to something of a crazed despot

All that to say, the Bible does not suggest that beautiful women get an easier life. If being esteemed as gorgeous or desirable or pretty is what you are seeking, you may want to give that goal a second look!

Caveats:

1. Obviously, being ugly or unkempt is not a virtue.

2. Including Abigail in my list is likely the most tenuous.

3. I am not trying to say that being pretty is a sin. I just found it interesting to think through that list of names and see that being attractive in the eyes of the world may lead to more problems than it solves.

4. None of us are truly beautiful when it comes right down to it. Sin is ugly and before the only eyes that matter we are dead and lost. Jesus died for sinners though, and that makes all of us who have repented and believed on Him attractive (male and female) to the Lord. And that is what really matters.

Some ideas on how to prepare to listen to a sermon

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:10:00 +0000

Joshua preached last night on Pursuing God through Listening to His Word Preached. I thought his list of ways to prepare for listening was worth repeating here:

· Read the text that will be preached prior to Sunday.

· Pray through the text and pray for the preacher of the text.

· Be inquisitive. Ask questions of the text that you hope will get answered in the preaching.

· Read all of your Bible as much as you can. Good preaching will almost always be full of Biblical allusions that only get caught and understood as our understanding of the sweep of Scripture continues to grow.

· Come ready to listen in a way that will enable you to talk about what you heard; then start talking to others afterwards about what encouraged you, etc. Or, learn to explain some part of the sermon to your kids, or somebody else’s kids.

Where have you been Blogger-boy?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:40:00 +0000

Every once in a while I remember I have a blog, then consider burying it in its blog-grave, then think of one more thing I would like “say” before I do!

We had our annual business meeting at Grace Fellowship Church last night and that gave cause to reflect on the last year of our church’s life.

One year ago, I read our folks John 12:24 and suggested this would be the basis to the next year or so as we planned to send off a part of us to plant another church.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

I asked our folks to ponder, “How does it feel to die?” That was a real question, since we sent out 26 members (plus their kids and some “attenders”) over the last 12 months. For a church of our size that is a pretty huge hit – basically one third of our membership. We also went through some other pruning and trials that made this past year one of the most difficult we have yet to experience.

But then I looked through that list of 26 names again and do you know what I saw? Sent out from our little church in one year were 3 pastors, 2 deacons, 2 lead worshipers, 2 missionaries, 1 pastoral assistant and 16 solid members spread out to churches like Grace Fellowship Church East, New City Baptist, Harvest Durham, and a couple of others. What a blessing!

On top of this was the added surprise that the Lord added to our membership 24 new people – just two shy of the number who were sent out. We had hoped to grow again, but did not expect it to come so soon.

So now Grace Fellowship Church is a new church. There is a new core, a new vibe and the same old Gospel. Toronto continues to grow with people from all over the world and a bunch of our church were here on Saturday to take that glorious Gospel to whomever happened to be waiting at a nearby bus stop.

I love His church.

Some other great words on Father's Day from another friend, Greg Lucas.

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Martin) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:00:00 +0000

I often find myself thinking about what a truly exceptional Christian life looks like and then trying my futile best to match up to it. Is it reaching hundreds or thousands with the gospel? Is it pastoring a mega church? Is it compiling a library of solid theology or writing volumes of books? Perhaps it has something to do with how many followers you have on your blog or Twitter account?
Then I look at the life of my grandfather. He had an 8th grade education, owned two books, drove a truck for 30 years, was married to the same woman for 56 years, raised three children and then three grandchildren, and pastored a church of less than 70 people. He lived humbly, loved hard, laughed often, cared deeply and died well.

He also owned a watch with an 18 wheeler on it and a safety certificate for never having an accident on the road. Pretty good accomplishments for an exceptional life if you ask me.