Fellowship of Nicaea

Another Thing Going On

2009-05-21T13:55:00.001-07:00

If your RSS reader just had a spasm because I actually posted something and you are now reading it, congratulations! I just wanted to inform you that I have launched a new site, Vintage Saints, to be a spot on the web for the seminar I am doing this summer on church history at Santa Rosa Bible Church. When the seminar starts I will be posting different things (other websites, audio downloads, outlines, etc.) at the site, but for now it is mostly teasers and small little bits and pieces of church history. Check it out!

ESV Journaling Initiative Starts Tomorrow

2008-12-31T10:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are joining up with me in reading the Bible through in a year, tomorrow kicks off the plan. If you are using an ESV Journaling Bible (or any double column ESV text for that matter) this weeks reading are pages 1-9 (3 pages a day). If you are just wanting to follow along in your own Bible or translation, we are going to be reading and thinking through Genesis 1-13. So get your Bible's ready... get yourself ready and see what God has to teach you in His Word this next year.

Calvin in 2009

2008-12-24T08:06:00.001-08:00

2009 marks a special year for us here at the Fellowship. Not only are we going to be plunging our way through the Scriptures with the ESV Journaling Bible Initiative and that will certainly be the focus of our blogging in 2009, but there is another event in church history that we are celebrating in 2009.

2009 marks the 500th birthday of John Calvin. Whatever your viewpoint on Calvin is we are going to devote some time this next year to celebrate his birthday, and the tremendous work that he did for the cause of Christ. The folks over at Reformation21 are blogging through the Institutes in 250 words each day and you can follow that here. Personally I am going to be reading the Institutes along with them, and would encourage you to do the same. So go get a copy of the Institutes, download this reading guide and join with me in reading more great theology, and a fitting way to wish Calvin a happy birthday.

One other book that is of note and will be helpful is this series of essays on the life and work of John Calvin.

We Have a Winner! ESV Journaling Initiative

2008-12-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

Yes today was the day we did the drawing. To make sure it was fair I printed out all the names of those of you who had entered, cut them up, folded them perfectly in half, and then let one of our office staff draw one name randomly. And our winner was Danielle Bohannon! Congrats! Now we get to the real work of reading through, and being changed by the Scriptures this next year. Thanks for joining me on this journey.

Reminder: ESV Journaling Giveaway

2008-12-08T15:36:00.000-08:00

Just one more week left to enter to win an ESV Journaling Bible for the 2009 Bible Reading Initiative I am planning... if you haven't subscribed to the blog and emailed me that you are in for 2009 you can't win! The giveaway is Friday and I will post the winner! Check out this post for more info!

Monday Meditation: Gratitude

2008-11-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

Since this week we get to celebrate Thanksgiving I thought it would be good to share posts this week of things I am grateful for. Not nearly enough do we express our gratitude to the Lord for all He is and has done for us, and yet this is reasonable worship to Him. So much grace has been given to me that I rarely take enough time to thank Him for that grace and spend much time taking His grace for granted, as if He was obligated to me in some way or another. The reality is different however. He is under no obligation to me whatsoever. So this week I am going to spend some time reflecting back on the last year, and publicly giving thanks to the Lord for what He has done. What are you thankful for?

Psalm 75:1 We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.

Bantering with Bali: Reflections on Church Buildings and Poor People

2008-11-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this will become a regular feature, but certainly something enjoyable to do today. Bali is my good friend from college who served for 7 years in Detroit, MI with a college/career ministry of a local church. Over the last year he has been in Ireland with Greater European Mission doing some work to assist in church-planting and evangelism in the city of Dublin. He stood with me in my wedding, taught me the intricacies of playing 007 Golden-Eye, and has been a dear friend and brother to me since our time at Moody.

On his blog he recently posted a call for churches in the US to stop being building-centered and using the resources God has given us to build multi-million dollar facilities with all the latest and greatest stuff. His justification of that call was to view the great societal injustices that are happening all over the world, and the calling of Christ upon the church to be the upholder of righteousness and justice for the poor and downtrodden in the world (James 1:27).

I want to raise a question here that sparked my thinking on this (and maybe Bali will jump in and banter with me on this). My question is: if your eschatology (view of end-times) is a pre-millennium, pre-tribulation view of the Rapture, and that is the view of your local church, why would you or your church leadership invest a significant amount of finances to build a church building? If you don't have a view of eschatology or don't know what that even is, answer this question: why do you think a congregation of people should invest a significant amount of money to build a new facility to meet in?

I would encourage you to read Andy's post, and comment on my question. Remember this is not a question about your eschatology - but a question of how does your theology and your practice interact together? Comment away!

Thinking about Things We Don't Think About

2008-11-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Owen Strachan has written an excellent post on the use of Twitter, Facebook and other social-networking sites, and the good and bad that it has in our ability to think as Christians. I recommend you check it out.

Music for the Men...

2008-11-18T15:30:00.001-08:00

Sorry to alienate any of you ladies... (actually you might like this) but I wanted to suggest/commend a new album by Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Music. Last March the Together for the Gospel conference was held and close to 6000 pastors and church leaders were in attendance. Out of that conference came more than just biblical teaching on the church, the gospel, and pastoral ministry. Worship flowed as well. Next month Sovereign Grace Music will release this CD with the music from that conference.

If you are a guy and want a great worship CD that isn't feminine prom-songs to Jesus check this out. If you are a lady, maybe hearing 6000 guys sing to Christ will encourage you, and maybe a dude you know would benefit from having it. It makes a nice Christmas gift. Anyway you slice it, this is a wonderful album of great lyrics, simple music and heart-felt worship to Christ. Check out the website and download a few free songs!

Monday Meditation: Christ and My Idolatry

2008-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 44:21-22
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

I'm an idolator. I know it. I love my stuff, my technology, my entertainment. Plain and simple I love many things at times more than I love my God. And those things merely replace God, stand in as a substitute to Him and become a source of joy and satisfaction that my twisted heart often perceives as greater joy and satisfaction than Christ.

So where does that leave my soul? Mostly pretty dry, and mostly pretty distant from God. My affections for Him and dulled, muted, and quenched. Hearing Him in the Word isn't a joy, or a delight. More than anything it is a duty. Just get through it so I can mark off the check list that I did my time in the Word today. And I'm off to worship at the god I really love.

The plain reality is that I am an idolator.

And yet in the midst of my idolatry Isaiah 44:21-22 comes and hits me right where I live. Remember that idols are nothing, remember they can't give lasting joy and satisfaction, remember those who worship them are worthless. Remember God formed me, He called me to be His servant, He will not cease to forget me or let go of me. He has sent His Son to stand in my place for all of my idolatry and take all the shame and guilt that were mine. On that cross Jesus became the idolator, and I the one who never loved any other but God. Christ was the idol worshipper, I was the true believer. Christ was the sinner, bowing down to the bronze statue, worshipping the creation rather than the Creator, he was the idolator. I was the righteous one. My sin was blotted out, my transgressions removed.

"Return to me" the Lord cries, repent of your idolatry... forsake your wood-worshipping ways. Turn from placing stuff, and prestige, and entertainment, and this world and it's garbage before Me. Forget walking in the way to demonstrate your affection for celebrities, and sports and passions and lusts of your own. "Return to me, for I have redeemed you." Remember? Remember.

Back to the Fellowship

2008-11-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

If yesterdays post was any indication, I am back to blogging and posting after about a one year hiatus. What prompted this return to the realm of the blogosphere? Well, a few things probably:

I wanted to pick up the discipline of published writing once again. I know I have a small audience but I like having the realm of community to articulate my ideas too. It forces me to think through issues to better communicate it publicly.

I have been reading a few other blogs that are short, one in particular limits himself to 22 words each post. I want to exercise the discipline of saying important things briefly. Blogging helps me do that.

I want to serve Christ and the Church by what I write. The whole aim of this blog is to point people to Christ and resources and thinking that are Christ-centered as well. I admit my "bookaholic" nature and love to share the resources that I have found beneficial and solid to others. Plus I'll throw in my two cents on stuff I don't think is good for the believer every now and again.

So that's a few reasons as to why I'm writing again. I look forward to the year ahead and being able to share from The Fellowship!

2009 Journaling Bible Initiative

2008-11-14T11:29:00.001-08:00

Did you know that 2009 is about 7 weeks away? I realized a few things will be happening in the next 7 weeks that have pushed me to get ready for 2009 in manner that I have not thought about before. First of all the holidays are approaching, and normally things are so busy there I rarely have time to sit down and plan out some important things (like Bible reading) for the year approaching. Secondly, I'm turning thirty in a few weeks and have just a large sense of need to be really intentional with the next 30 years of my life. That's not to say I won't goof-off here or there, but I am realizing my youth is gone and it's time to be very intentional about how I live for the next 30 years (if the Lord should permit).

Part of that intentionality is to be intentional about my reading of the Scriptures. However I don't want to just read through the Bible as if I was reading through some Tom Clancy novel or something like that. I want to continually be hearing the voice of Christ as I read and be constantly growing out of my reading of the Scriptures.

So what is my plan? The Journaling Bible Initiative. Here's how it looks:

1. Get one of these: ESV Journaling Bible.

Here's the thought behind this particular Bible. The margins are wide enough (and lined) that I can journal some thoughts in each day. But it doesn't make a good verse-for-verse note taking/marking Bible. So if I get my pen out, mark the date at the top and journal about what I read on those pages I get life application in context right in the pages. Plus I get a dated system that reminds me what God taught me on particular days so that I can review at the end of the year where I was and where God has spoken to and brought me.

2. Read 3 pages each day. Notice I didn't say chapters. If I did my math right (or "maths" as they say in Britain), there are 1042 pages of Scripture text in this particular edition of the Bible. If I divide that by 365 (so I have to read each day), I get 2.8547945205479452, or roughly 3 pages a day. That will get me through the Bible in a year.

3. Journal about what I read.

So I am very excited about it. And I want to invite you to join the Fellows in it too this year. Here's how you can do that.

1. Get an ESV Journaling Bible.
Amazon has them too... but it looks like Monergism Books has them the cheapest.

2. Comment with me.
Monthly I will be posting a few of the things I was struck by from my reading right here at the Fellowship. I encourage you to post your observations in the comments as well. As believers we can encourage one another on in this project and by what God has been speaking to us about.

3. Win a free ESV Journaling Bible!
Incentive huh! Here's how you can win a standard ESV Journaling Bible:

Subscribe to the Fellowship blog by email or RSS. (What is RSS?)

Email me to say that you are a subscriber - new or old.

I will draw a winner on December 12 and post the results here!

Puritan Reading Challenge

2008-01-23T12:15:00.000-08:00

I'm still not back to any normal sort of blogging but I am participating in a unique challenge this year, so watch back for some comments from time to time on what I am reading.

The 2008 Puritan Reading Challenge

Here's the reading list for the year:

January: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes (128 pp)
February: The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel (221 pp)
March: The Godly Man’s Picture by Thomas Watson (252 pp)
April: Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks (253 pp)
May: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ by John Bunyan (225 pp)
June: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen (130 pp)
July: A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge (287 pp)
August: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (228 pp)
September: The True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton (224 pp)
October: The Christian’s Great Interest by William Guthrie (207 pp)
November: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter (256 pp)
December: A Sure Guide to Heaven by Joseph Alleine (148 pp)

Let me encourage you (while you still have a week) to join this challenge. So far it has been really good for me and I know that I will be encouraged more so as I continue to read on!

Fellowship on Leave

2007-12-14T22:23:00.000-08:00

It must be said... after blogging so infrequently this last year I feel that it would be good for the Fellowship to have a temporary "leave of absence." I won't delete the blog to let my past entries continue to speak, and for the future hope of returning to regular, systematic posting. But for now I must let the Fellowship rest.

I will leave you with the words of Charles Spurgeon,

O then, Christians watch well thy faith; for with it thou canst win all things, however poor thou art, but without it thou canst obtain nothing. It is said of Midas, that he had the power to turn everything into gold by the touch of his hand; and it is true of faith - it can turn everything into gold; but destroy faith, we have lost our all; we are miserably poor, because we can hold no fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

We will see you soon!

Book Worm: Communion With The Triune God - Part 1

2007-10-21T23:20:00.001-07:00

Throughout the realm of the blogosphere I have noticed a trend in which a particular blogger will offer his thoughts and discussion on a particular book they happen to be reading through. Tim Challies has pretty much every Christian that reads a blog reading through J.C. Ryle's book Holiness and Tony Reinke over at the Shepherd's Scrapbook was for a time trotting through Calvin's Institutes. I like the trend, and since I am working on being more disciplined myself, I thought it best to work my way (and write my way) through John Owen's masterpiece On Communion With God. Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor have given the modern Church a great gift in re-editing Owen's to be a bit more reader friendly and the good folks at Crossway books have seen fit to publish it. If you so desire, I would encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself and be challenged and blessed in reading about how to have a deeper walk with God. Now on to my thoughts for the Preface and Chapter 1:

Owen in the preface merely states that the title itself is enough introduction into the material of the book. This book was borne out of his sermons and the aim of his writing is to help the Christian learn to have communion with each member of the Trinity. Think about this now, because up until I read this chapter it was not obvious to me. Owen is calling the believer to a specific, personal relationship with each, individual, unique member of the Trinity. Have you ever thought of how to walk in relationship with God the Father and God the Son and the Holy Spirit? I haven't. Owen points out that we are to have a distinct relationship or communion with each member of the Trinity and thus know Him better and glorify Him more fully.

Chapter 1 is given to the foundational building of understanding of what communion with God is, and where it starts in communion with God the Father. Three questions are answered;

1) What is the believers relationship to God?

2) How can one have communion with God?

3) What is communion with God?

What is the believers relationship to God?

Owen simply answers this by taking us to 1 John 1:3, "and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." The believers relationship to God is one of fellowship and the fellowship that the believer has is with the Father and with Christ.

How can one have communion with God?

How then does a believer enter into this communion with God? The answer is God brings us into this communion with Him. Owen states that, "By nature, since the entrance of sin, no man has any communion with God. He is light, we darkness; and what communion has light with darkness? He is life, we are dead—he is love, and we are enmity; and what agreement can there be between us? Men in such a condition have neither Christ, nor hope, nor God in the world." Yet it is God who acts to bring us into union and communion with Him. God acts by sending Christ to be our sin, to take our penalty, to take our death upon Himself to bring us into communion with God. We have communion with the Father through the Mediator, Jesus Christ.

What then is communion with God?

Having established that believers have communion with God, and that the only means into that communion with Him is on the basis of Christ's mediating work we have to ask the question, what is "communion with God?" Owen's declares that our communion with God is His, "communication of himself unto us with our return unto him of that which he requires and accepts, flowing from that union which in Jesus Christ we have with him."

Communion with God is his revealing of Himself to us with our appropriate, obedient response back to him with flows out of the relationship we have with Him because of the cross-work of Jesus Christ. God demonstrates or reveals who He is to us, we respond in worship and obedience because we have been born again by faith in Christ's atoning death on the cross.

How to respond

Owen holds forth the Gospel in this first chapter and makes it very clear to me that unless God saves me, there is no communion with Him. Unless Christ comes and dies and lives again and reveals the glory of God to me, I am dead in my sins and eternally separated from God forever. So this chapter is one to bring forth rejoicing at what Christ indeed has done to bring me into union with God, so that I might have communion with Him. In fact Owen closes this chapter by stating that, "both he that writes, and they that read the words of His mercy, may have such a taste of His sweetness and excellencies therein, as to be stirred up to a further longing after the fullness of his salvation and the eternal fruition of Him in glory."

I pray that that very thing happens in my life as I read and ponder this book. I pray that God would open my heart more and more to His greatness and "sweetness" and that I would see His glory and "excellencies" and from that I would long more and more after Him and desire to know Him more and more. I pray that God would give me new eyes and new views of who He is so that I might glorify Him more and more.

Starting Over (Again)

2007-10-17T17:46:00.001-07:00

I seriously doubt that anyone reads this blog any more so this post will probably be in vain, however it is good for me to comment anyway.

Recently I have been reading Disciplines of A Godly Man by Kent Hughes with my college guys small group. One of the ways I have been challenged is to be more disciplined in my own life, particularly in those areas that will benefit my life and my family spiritually. I have come to think that writing is one of those disciplines that will serve me as such. So I am back at writing on The Fellowship. I took some time this afternoon and jotted down a few areas that I will cover and although I do not promise to blog every day, I do intend to be frequent in my blogging. Here's where this blog will be focused, and my writing aims:

To offer up my own meditations on Scripture. Note that these won't be expositions on passages, but more meditative thoughts on the application of those passages to our lives.

To give current reflections, discussions, or arguments on or against current theological trends. I think this is helpful for me, and hopefully for the church and my readers to be aware, and be thinking about some of these theological trends, good or bad.

To provide provocative, powerful, beneficial words from other believers (particularly those who have gone to be with the Lord).

To give assessments and critiques of current books by way of review and endorsement or discussion about. "Take up and read"

So that's where I plan to write from and about. I hope that a larger community of readers will hop back on the Fellowship wagon, until then, thanks for being one of the few faithful readers.

Get these messages!

2007-06-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

The New Attitude Conference this last year produced a great theme and some great messages about discernment. The Fellows highly recommend that you go, download, and listen to these free messages. Mark Dever's message about Discern Your Doctrine is great!

Preaching To Engage The Affections

2007-06-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while (too long actually) but Greek is actually over and I am starting to pick up on my reading again. This of course is giving me lots to think about and to process. Lately in the reading list has been a collection of sermons from the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs called Gospel Fear. The text of Burrough's sermons is Isaiah 66:2. He argues that we should be people that are humble and trembling at the Word of God, and this statement is directed specifically at preachers and people who teach the Word of God.

"If this is such a disposition that God so looks at [a broken heart that trembles at the Word], it should teach the ministers of God who have to deal with God's Word that when they speak it, they must speak it in such a manner that it may gain fear and trembling, that the hearts of people may be struck with fear and trembling. They must not come to dally and to play with men's fancies, nor with their own wit; but when they come to speak the Word of God, in God's name, they should labor to speak it so that the hearts of their listeners may be struck with fear and trembling. For, indeed, there is such a way of speaking the Word of God that will bring it with majesty to the hearts of the people to whom we speak." (pp. 45-46)

The implications, at least in my mind, are that preachers should not come to the pulpit with brevity or a "light-hearted" talk. We don't need preachers who want to tell jokes, give funny little stories, or entertain a crowd with their clever wit. They should come sober-minded, not wasting any words, but directly, specifically, passionately preaching the Word of God, so that the people of God might tremble at His Word. That's the kind of preaching God uses.

Mark your calendars

2007-04-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

We here at the Fellowship understand that we are basically no body's. Everything that we know and enjoy is because of who Christ is and what He has done for us. We also know that even those whom God has gifted in an amazing way to communicate His truth are no body's apart from Christ.

That being said, if you are looking for a conference to go to where your faith will be challenged and encouraged and where your mind will be sharpened, then Together 4 The Gospel '08 is your conference. There is a video on their website of the four men who started this (Ligon Duncan, Al Moehler, C.J. Mahaney, Mark Dever) and they are talking about the conference. It is pretty cool and I would encourage you to take a listen if you have some time.

The link to their site is located on the sidebar to your right. Anyway, if you have the opportunity to attend, then do it. If not, then listen to it online. That is what I might have to do, but it will be worth it. So check it out. It is important for us to have a clear and right understanding and belief in the Gospel. We as followers of Christ should be united with other believers on the actual truth of the Gospel. It is conferences like this that give opportunities to get together and corporately worship and honor Christ and ignite a passion for His great name. So mark you calendars for April of 2008. It should be a great time.

The glory of Christ

2007-04-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

This week we have discussed missions and what it is to be about. Each one of us as followers of Christ should in essence, be missionaries where we are at. You don't have to go to a foreign country to be a missionary. Wherever you are currently at you are a missionary whether you are a accountant, mother, father, janitor, etc. We should be praying and looking for opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with others and our main purpose should be for His glory. Revelation 5 is one of our favorite chapters in the Scriptures because it describes for us what it will be like at the end. It tells us how great Christ is for what He has done for us. Our sin needed to be paid for and we could not pay for it ourselves, but Christ with His blood purchased us for Himself. This is the message that we should be sharing with others and the message that we should be praying will change the lives of unbelievers all around the world because it is only Christ who is able and worthy to do this.

Revelation 5
The Scroll and the Lamb
1Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" 3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."

6And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song, saying,

"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth."

11Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" 13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" 14And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

The Great Commisson

2007-04-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

Matthew 28:18-20
18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Do you know what the word commission means? It means an authoritative order, charge, or direction. The reason why this portion of Scripture is recorded for us is because Christ Himself has given those who know Him as their Savior an order and command. We are to make disciples, meaning we are to share the Gospel with others and teach them the truths of the Bible. There are several really cool things about this passage that we must note.

First, we can be comforted by the truth that the authority lies with Christ. Christ said that He would build His church and the authority do so has been granted to Him from the Father. We don't have to be afraid to be bold in sharing His message because He is the one who saves the soul. It is truly amazing that Christ has allowed and commanded us to be a part of what He is doing. We share Christ with them and He draws them to Himself and saves them. This should comfort us in knowing that we don't have to have elegant speech or anything special because we have the message of the Gospel. That message is the only message that can save.

Secondly, we must understand that the command here is not to go. There may be some of you who feel called to go and be missionaries to another part of the world and that is totally awesome. Our world need to hear the truth of Christ in order to be saved and we should daily be praying that God will continue to send workers into the harvest(Matt. 9:36-38). Some of you might not be feeling the call to be a missionary to a foreign country or somewhere in the U.S. and that is alright because again, the command is not go. The command is to make disciples. The way it is written in Greek is really go.

It is the idea of as you go, make disciples. This means that wherever you are at, whether that be at the park or the store or in your neighborhood, you and I are commanded to make disciples of Christ. It means that as you live doing whatever role that God has given you, make disciples. If you are an computer person, make disciples. If you are a Storekeeper, make disciples. If you are someone who stays at home, make disciples. If you work in retail, make disciples. We have been placed on this earth to glorify God in all things. It is hard to think of something that brings greater glory to Him then one a sinner repents of his sin and places his hope and trust in Christ alone to save him.

If we are all honest with ourselves, this is probably something that we struggle with. It can be difficult to have this mindset, but we can take comfort that Christ has the authority and that wherever he has placed, we have the opportunity to share Christ with others. Let's pray and ask God to give us boldness in sharing Christ with others. Let's pray that He will provide us opportunities at work, home, or in our neighborhoods to share the Gospel with others. Christ is the only way to salvation and we have been commanded to share that message with others.

Romans 10:13-15
13For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[a] And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

Missions & Evangelism

2007-04-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

We hope that you enjoyed your Resurrection Sunday yesterday as you remembered the risen Savior. What a comfort it is to know that Christ has defeated death and that His resurrection proved who He was and proved that His sacrifice for our sin was made.

Continue to pray for Jeremy and the Jr High and High School students who are on a mission trip in Utah. Also, remember to pray for the High School students who are in Mexico. We figured with this attitude in mind, it would be good to discuss missions and evangelism this week. So look for some posts this week regarding this topic.

Let me quickly say that missions and evangelism is a command for every believer. In Matthew 28:18-20 we read Jesus' admonition to His followers which also applies to us,

18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

We will discuss this idea a little more throughout the week, but be encouraged that Christ has promised and is building His church and we get to be a part of it by sharing the message of the Gospel with others.

Good Friday

2007-04-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

As most, if not all of you know, today is Good Friday. Most people think everyday is a good friday. This is a day that is set aside to remember the death of the Savior. Of course, this is something that we should focus on everyday because were it not for Christ's death and resurrection, we would not be saved. It is difficult to imagine that something so horrible like the death of Christ could be good, but it was good because of what it accomplished. Christ's death purchased our salvation in Him. His death paid for our sin. I trust that as you go throughout your day, you will be reminded of just how good the death of Christ was and how good He is keeping in mind how bad we really are. We now leave you with Luke's account of the crucifixion.

The Crucifixion
26And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28But turning to them Jesus said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' 31For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

32Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."[a] And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" 36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" 38There was also an inscription over him,[b] "This is the King of the Jews."

39One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[c] saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 40But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." 42And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

The Death of Jesus
44It was now about the sixth hour,[d] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,[e] 45while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last. 47Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent!" 48And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.

Our Substitute

2007-04-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

Let us start out by saying that we apologize for the lack of posts this week. One fellow is preparing to take some Jr High and College students to Utah for a missions trip and both fellows have started the 3rd quarter of school. This is the final quarter of Greek Exegesis for us and we are quite stoked. Now on to the topic.

All of you understand what a substitute is. A substitute is someone or something that takes the place for another. For instance, a substitute teacher is acting or replacing the teacher. A substitute in sports is someone who takes the position of the other player. If you substitute mashed potatoes for broccoli, than those potatoes are taking the place of the broccoli.

This is all to say that the death of our Savior, Jesus is important and amazing because He did that for us. He was our substitute. We according to several passages, most notably Romans 1-3 and Ephesians 2:1-4 are absolutely lost and dead in our sin. We are bent to sin and our desires are to sin by our very nature. There is no possible way that we can get to heaven because our sin has separated us from a holy and righteous God who cannot tolerate sin. As a result of this, the only way that sin could be paid for was by a sacrifice. Someone or something had to shed its blood to make payment for sin. In the OT, there were animal sacrifices for sin and these were done on a constant basis. These sacrifices were all leading up to the ultimate sacrifice for sin. That sacrifice was of course made by Christ.

Probably my most favorite passage in all of Scripture is Isaiah 53. This is a prophecy that was made by Isaiah over 600 years before Christ would come. It talks about the sinfulness of man and the sacrifice of Christ. Verses 4-6 clearly show what Christ did on behalf of us. He became our substitute.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

Notice all the times is says He and our. Christ bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Grief and sorrow are caused by sin and they are the result of the fall of man. The remarkable thing is that the Jews and we ourselves thought that Christ was being punished by God for His sins. Instead though, Christ died a horrible death physically while experiencing separation from God the Father because He bore human sin. He took our place. He bore our judgment. His being punished for our sins brought us peace with God through faith in Christ. Because of Christ's sacrifice we have been healed.

This is the reason why we focus on Christ's sacrifice so much because without it, we would still be lost in our sin and headed for hell. We are not because of Christ's death on the cross whereby He took our sin upon Himself and paid for it with His life. We are not becaue Christ rose from the dead defeating sin and showing that He was God and that the sacrifice for our sin had been paid. This is why we praise Him and this is why we adore Him. This is why we should constantly be reminding ourselves of what He did for His glory and for our good. This is not something that should just be done on Good Friday or around Easter time.