A thankful pastor
November 24, 2009
Much of my week is spent addressing problems, listening and talking to people, directing traffic and preparing to preach and teach. I have a front-row seat to individual problems and our shortcomings as a church. Sometimes it all gets me down. Thanksgiving has come along at just the right time and made me think about the mercies of God to me. I ought to share some of those thoughts with you.
I am thankful for First Presbyterian Church–a congregation…
- which loves the Word of God and values sound doctrine and expository preaching,
- which has such a keen interest in blessing the whole world with the good news of Jesus Christ,
- which is willing to let its leaders lead,
- which is willing to let its leaders alter vehicles of ministry without too much fuss,
- which has so many people who regularly remind me that they are praying for me,
- which weeps with those who weep and rejoices with those who rejoice,
- which expresses its love for little ones and our community through its children’s ministry, Preschool, and Presbyterian Day School,
- whose deacons work really hard,
- whose elders genuinely want to see people converted and nurtured in the Christian faith,
- which pays me generously so that I can preach, lead and serve without worrying about how to make ends meet, and
- which doesn’t mind having fun along the way.
I am thankful to God that you let me be your pastor.
Carson on basic questions
November 17, 2009
Below are three brief videos from Dr. Don Carson on three basic questions:
- How do we know God exists?
- How can God allow suffering and evil in the world?
- How can God be loving and still send people to hell?
These videos are part of an excellent series called A Passion for Life.
Hypersocialized
November 11, 2009
Great article by Dr. Albert Mohler on “The Hypersocialized Generation”–those for whom Twittering and Facebook updating and texting are as familiar and essential as breathing. Parents of teens especially need to read this.
Fugitive
November 11, 2009
Enjoy this in-studio performance of “Fugitive,” the lead single from David Gray’s newest release, Draw the Line:
DEH
November 10, 2009
A brother in Christ here told his daughter’s suitor, “I’ll give my blessing to your marriage…but you must promise me this: that you will never stop courting her.” He is a wise father, and one who practices what he preaches with his own wife. Cultivating marital oneness with your spouse requires ongoing effort. I’m a fellow struggler in this effort, but I’d love to share with you a helpful way to think about it and plan for it, courtesy of Focus on the Family’s Young Married blog:
You can remember it with the acronym DEH. Our counselors (a seasoned married couple with grown children) urged us to attempt to incorporate DEH into our marriage. D is for date. Have a date once a week. This can be discussion over coffee after a church service or popcorn and a movie at home after the kids have gone to bed.
E is for event. Plan one monthly. Spouses may trade off planning events. This might be a hike and picnic lunch on a Saturday afternoon, going to a play together or enjoying a nice dinner out. An event should feel special and intentional.
H is for happening. A happening takes place, generally, once a quarter. A happening can range from a weekend away at a bed and breakfast to a road trip to a nice vacation.
Of course, DEH is a rule of thumb. There will be times when finances, children and other life circumstances hinder living out DEH. But at those times, it’s helpful to still aspire to the formula. Maybe a happening looks like spending the night at a local hotel while friends watch the baby. DEH is just a tool. The important thing is to make dates with your mate a priority.
Creeds, confessions, catechisms
November 10, 2009
Sunday morning I was teaching the first meeting of a new members’ class. We discussed the value of creeds (such as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed) and confessions (such as the Westminster Confession of Faith) and catechisms (such as the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms or the Heidelberg Catechism). This discussion took place as I was emphasizing one of our non-negotiable commitments as a church–that the Bible is entirely true. But if we believe the Bible is true, then why have these summations of biblical doctrine? Do they not undermine the authority and sufficiency of the Bible? Remember a couple of things:
- A biblical creed or confession is like the small booklet you get when you want to get a driver’s license (my firstborn is taking the test today). To take the test you are not required to go the courthouse and study all the traffic and liability laws. The booklet helps you. Now the difference, of course, is obvious. Once you get your driver’s license, you never want to go read the state codes. But in living as followers of Christ, the Bible is always more engaging and interesting than the credal summaries. The skeletal structure provided by creeds and confessions needs the muscles and flesh and blood of living, active faith.
- Creeds, confessions and catechisms make it plain for all to see what it is that we believe and what points of biblical teaching we believe are most important. I told the class, “If you read the Westminster Confession of Faith, you have the basic sketch of the theology that I’m going to preach and teach. Don’t expect me to surprise you.” I preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, and the creeds and confessions fill in what I mean when I say “Jesus Christ.” John Mark Reynolds makes a great point on this in a recent post from Scriptorium Daily:
Yesterday I was asked about the value of Creeds like those of Nicaea. My interlocutor was insistent, “What if I love Jesus? What is the point of a Creed? Doesn’t it get in the way of my love for the Lord?”
The problem with this idea is that even in daily life it is easy to love the “wrong” person. Too often I build up a Fantasy Hope and then love not the wife I actually have, but a wife that exists only in my head.
This is such a bad thing that I must be thankful for anything, however painful, that jars me back to reality.
I want to love Hope not my false ideas about her! If I say I love Hope, but my ideas about her do not correspond to the Hope next to me, then my love has been misplaced.
This is even easier to do when it comes to God, since my motivations for fooling myself are so much greater.
The Creed, which is based on Sacred Scriptures, tells us which Jesus to love. When you love the God pointed out in the Nicaean Creed, you know you have found the right God. Your love is hopeful and not in vain. You are not worshipping the Jesus of Your Head or the God of the Movies instead of the God of the Bible!
The Creed is so harsh and exclusive, because if you make the error they are anathematizing you for worshiping a different God. If you say you love Jesus, but you end up loving Jesus of Hacienda Heights (I once met, name tag and all, the Jesus of Disneyland), that is not going to cut it.
Of course meeting the right Jesus is not enough, you have to love Him and accept Him as your Lord and Redeemer, but at least if you are Creedal, that you are talking to the right God.
If on the other hand, you are trust Jesus of Hacienda Heights, you are doomed no matter how sincere you might be. If you worship a Jesus who is not fully God, did not come in the flesh, or a Jesus who has one nature, then you might know someone like Jesus, but you don’t know the Lord.
That is a bad idea.
Why come an hour earlier?
November 5, 2009
Sunday School classes are the primary vehicles of NURTURE (remember our four values: WORSHIP, TEACHING, NURTURE, REACHING) at FPC. Here are some reasons you ought to be part of a Sunday School class at FPC.
- You need a place to develop community with other believers. You were never meant to live the Christian life alone.
- You need a place to pray and care for others and to be prayed for and cared for.
- You need a place to hear and discuss God’s Word and its application in your world.
- You need a place where you can find, grow, and use your gifts and talents for good of the church body.
- You need to be under spiritual protection of godly leaders who will help you grow (Heb. 13:17; Acts 20:28‐29).
Join us at 9:30 am each Sunday morning. There’s coffee and refreshments in the fellowship hall from 9:00 until 9:30.
Which or that?
November 4, 2009
Do you ever have trouble knowing when to use “which” or “that” in your writing? Tips that help you write more clearly are available from the Grammar Girl. Good grammar advice, which is not easy to find, is available in podcast or transcript form.
Bearing shame and scoffing rude
November 4, 2009
In Saudi Arabia these days a criminal can be crucified, though the practice differs from the Roman version. From Saudi court upholds child rapist crucifixion ruling:
A Saudi court of cassation upheld a ruling to behead and crucify a 22-year-old man convicted of raping five children and leaving one of them to die in the desert, newspapers reported on Tuesday. The convict was arrested earlier this year after a seven-year old boy helped police in their investigation. The child left in the desert after the rape was three years old, Okaz newspaper said. . . . In Saudi Arabia, crucifixion means tying the body of the convict to wooden beams to be displayed to the public after beheading.
Human rights activists quibble over the punishment for this particularly horrible crime. I suspect that beheading the criminal before crucifying him was seen, historically, as a merciful gesture. But the shame of crucifixion–displaying the malefactor for all to see–is undeniable.
This contemporary crucifixion preserves at least part of the significance of what our Lord Jesus went through: how heinous it was for Jesus to bear and take away the sin of the world, including child rapes! How repulsive the spectacle. How shameful, that he be lifted up, convicted and condemned, humiliated and killed.
Nietzsche and the death-of-God theologians, the new atheists who accuse God of immorality and child-abuse, those who mock and blaspheme God today, have nothing on what God already did of and to himself to redeem us.
“Bearing shame and scoffing rude/ in my place condemned he stood /sealed my pardon with his blood / Hallelujah! What a Savior!” (Philip Bliss, 1875).
Sweet counsel 10.29.09
October 29, 2009
RETREAT
Preaching way off in Tennessee: This weekend I have privilege of being the speaker at a family retreat for Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Tennessee. The retreat will be held at Camp NaCoMe, which is somewhere in the hinterlands of rural middle Tennessee. Their associate pastor, Rev. Ford Williams, was the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Starkville for part of the time that Judy and I were students at Mississippi State. Ford and I serve currently serve together on the Mississippi Joint Committee for Campus Work. Please remember to pray for the Palmertrees as we travel and as I preach in the worship times from the gospel of Luke. We will be driving back Sunday afternoon–not sure that we’ll be back in time for Evening Worship at FPC.
REMIND
Faith Promise deadline: Sunday, November 1 is the preferred deadline for Faith Promise cards. Of course, we will accept them after that date, but your Mission Committee needs to know the totals to make plans for support. As of Sunday, October 25, the totals were discouraging: pledges were 51% lower than 2009 pledges. The number of cards is roughly the same (39), but about a dozen of those are children participating in the Two Cans for the World Faith Promise drive, so their pledges are probably quite low. This seems to be an area where the economic downturn is hitting us hard. Maybe for some of us, Faith Promise has never been much about faith in previous years; after all, we had the extra money to give anyway. This year might be the first time that trusting God to provide will be an essential element. Please consider what God might have to commit under his gracious provision. In Faith Promise giving, you take a step of faith in seeking for God to provide what you pledge to give toward missions. When Faith Promise drops, then your Mission Committee must make decisions to end support for missionaries and/or reduce support for all our missionaries. Your participation in this “missions mutual fund” is an important investment.
Third Mill: Many of you have commented on how enthusiastic you are about Third Millennium Ministries, the ministry founded by Dr. Richard Pratt which is working to make seminary education available to all the world for free. Their website contains an amazing collection of resources. You should check it out at www.thirdmill.org.
REMEMBER
Happy birthday, John Calvin: This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, the Genevan reformer, preacher and theologian. Do you find yourself wondering why we mention his name often, yet you’re not sure you want to pick up his Institutes of the Christian Religion and actually read them? Wasn’t he mean and autocratic? Wasn’t he just a one-note theologian who kept harping on predestination? FPC has the great opportunity to hear one of our favorite theologians and preachers talk about one of our favorite theologians and preachers. On Wednesday, November 18, we will have as our special guest Dr. Derek Thomas, who will speak on Why John Calvin Matters. Dr. Thomas has been speaking all over the world this year at various conferences being held in observance of the 500th anniversary. Dr. Thomas’ address will take the place of our ordinary Wednesday Night Connection electives for adults and youth that night.
There is certainly more to Calvin than predestination. He gives us invaluable insight into the nature of biblical revelation, the Trinity, and Christ in his offices of Prophet, Priest and King. His teaching on salvation through union with Christ and the gift of ‘double grace’ in him is especially helpful. What he has to say on living the Christian life is full of practical wisdom. In the words of Dr. Thomas, Calvin’s “disciplined style, his determination never to speculate, his utter submission to Bible words as God’s words, his concern to be as practical as possible: godly living was his aim and not theology for the sake of it; these are some of the factors that make him a giant in the gallery of faithful expositors of Scripture.”
First Wednesday in November: November’s first Wednesday will be the last women’s study in The Prodigal God in the Jackson Room. As always, Men’s Forum will meet in the Mary Thornton Room.
RECONNECT
During November we will have a First Things seminar. First Things is a basics of healthy Christian living and prospective new members’ class. There will be a lot of give-and-take and discussion. Going through the class does not obligate you to join FPC. The format this time is as follows:
- Sunday, November 8 during Sunday School (9:45-10:30 am) in room C-405 (the PDS 5th grade classroom…take a left at the glass gym doors).
- Sunday, November 15 during Sunday School (9:45-10:30 am) in room C-405.
- Saturday, November 21 (TBA–will include food!).
Anyone can join in (even long-time members who would like refresher course).
REACH
ROH: The last Reaching Out at Home meeting in September was well-attended and full of ideas about reaching people we can reach close by. The next meeting will be held Sunday, November 15, right after Evening Worship.
Peru trip: A few slots remain for next summer’s Peru mission trip, July 2-10. If you are interested in going, you need to talk with Grant Carroll right away.
Lowthers almost there: Our friend Roger Lowther, who is raising support to go to Japan with MTW, writes, “Our prayers are being answered! We only need 11 more people willing to support us at $100 per month! Many have already responded with pledges totaling $800 per month. We are so very grateful for you and for God’s provision in spite of our lack of faith. Let me restate why we are raising this money. Without your help we will not be able to live in downtown Tokyo with the new church plant with which we will be involved. Excitement for this church plant is building. This month’s ‘Japan Harvest,’ the English publication for all pastors and missionaries in Japan printed a feature article about it, including the front cover picture. Thought you might like to read it: http://www.believinginjapan.com/wp-content/uploads/JH-article.pdf Please continue to pray with us THIS WEEK that God would provide.
