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.
Preview of new Third Mill series
October 28, 2009
Third Millennium Ministries has just released a preview of the newest course in their “Seminary in a Box.” You can click here to watch a preview of “The Apostles’ Creed.”
The English Inquisition
October 27, 2009
“Well, I wasn’t expecting the Spanish Inquisition!”
“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”
Mrs. Pauline Howe of Norwich, England did not expect the English Inquisition either. But they came after she had written a complaint to her local city council about their issuing a permit to a gay group to hold a rally. In return, she received a letter warning her she might be guilty of a hate crime and that the matter had been passed to police. Two officers later turned up at the home of the 67-year-old grandmother and pastor’s wife, and the officers entered her home and lectured her about her choice of words before telling her she would not be prosecuted. The enforcers of tolerance will not tolerate such writing, and the commandos of diversity will not allow divergent viewpoints.
If you didn’t recognize the Spanish Inquisition quote above, you really need some remedial education, which I am glad to provide below:
As a bonus, here is a photo of me “on trial” at the Museum of the Inquisition in Lima, Peru, in January, 2007.
With the will to do or die
October 27, 2009
I have no Iowa State University connections or allegiances (I don’t even particularly care for their uniforms). I have no axe to grind against Nebraska (they beat my Mississippi State Bulldogs 31-7 in the 1980 Sun Bowl and it wasn’t even that close. I’m over that…really.). I have posted the video below just to share with you the delight of the locker room celebration. The Cyclones, perennial cellar-dwellers of the Big 12, defeated Nebraska last Saturday in Lincoln–the first ISU win there since 1977. Bottled water is a poor substitute for champagne, but these guys don’t seem to care.
Elliott Greene on manipulation
October 23, 2009
One of our favorite preachers, Dr. Elliott Greene of the Tyrannus Hall Foundation for Pastoral Development, has an address from the 2008 CCEF National Conference posted at their website:
Manipulation: the Subtle Addiction
Listen in.
Got conflict?
October 22, 2009
From Peacemaker Ministries:
Sustainable, edible pets
October 22, 2009
When they came for the SUV-owners, I remained silent. I did not own an SUV. When they came for the flat-screen-TV-owners, I said nothing. I don’t watch much TV; rather, I play with my pets. Then…
Then…Victoria University (New Zealand) professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, publish Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living. The Vales argue that pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits. By assessing the carbon emissions created by popular pets (taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them), they have turned eco-righteousness up a notch or two. Read about in New Zealand’s The Dominion Post:
“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said.
“A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don’t worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you should be because the environmental impact … is comparable.”
In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed Fido.
They compared this with the footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser, driven 10,000km a year, which uses 55.1 gigajoules (the energy used to build and fuel it). One hectare of land can produce 135 gigajoules a year, which means the vehicle’s eco-footprint is 0.41ha – less than half of the dog’s.
They found cats have an eco-footprint of 0.15ha – slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf. Hamsters have a footprint of 0.014ha – keeping two of them is equivalent to owning a plasma TV.
Confession 101
October 21, 2009
So you sinned against someone this week? Tell me something I don’t know. Sinners have this remarkable tendency to sin. I can think of a couple of occasions when I have heard otherwise mature Christians “apologize” and have felt compelled to say, “If one of my children apologized like that, I would take him back to the nearest bedroom and spank him.”
Instead of being surprised by our sin or the sins of others, we should learn how to deal with it rightly. In a recent article prompted by a major league baseball players public apology for using human growth hormones banned by the league, C. J. Mahaney writes about wrong and right ways to deal with your sin. Wrong ways include using the word “if” (e.g., “I’m sorry if you were offended”), providing lengthy explanations of why you sinned, seeking understanding for your sin, being indignant about being caught. Here’s Mahaney’s description of a right way to confess sin:
A confession that is sincere and pleasing to God will be specific and brief. I have learned to be suspicious of my confession if it’s general and lengthy. A sincere confession of sin should be specific (“I was arrogant and angry when I made that statement; will you please forgive me for sinning against you in this way?”) and brief (this shouldn’t take long). When I find myself adding an explanation to my confession, I’m not asking forgiveness but instead appealing for understanding….Genuine conviction of sin is evidenced by a sincere, specific, and brief confession of sin, without any reference to circumstances or the participation of anyone else. When I sin, I am responsible for my sin, and the cause of my sin is always within my heart and never lies outside my heart.
Such honest, humble and responsible confession is liberating, because there is One who is able to provide full and complete forgiveness of sin–any sin. Because of the death of Jesus Christ the righteous one, sin may be completely forgiven. How foolish we are to run to self-justifying and deflecting strategies in view of the depth of mercy we can experience through the substitutionary sacrifice of his Son for my sins on the cross. May our confession of sin be sincere and specific confession, sorrowful about sin and amazed at the rich provision of God’s grace.
MNA short-term & disaster relief newsletter
October 19, 2009
The short-term & disaster relief work of the PCA’s Mission to North America has published a ministry update available here.
Two sharp barbs re: prayer
October 19, 2009
The next sermon in the Jesus Unplugged series is on Luke 11:1-13, in which Jesus’ disciples want him to teach them how to pray. Below are two sharp barbs about prayer–the first from Paul E. Miller’s recent release, A Praying Life,
“The quest for a contemplative life can actually be self-absorbed, focused on my quiet and me. If we love people and have the power to help, then we are going to be busy. Learning to pray doesn’t offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart. In the midst of outer busyness we can develop an inner quiet. Because we are less hectic on the inside, we have a greater capacity to love…and thus to be busy, which in turn drives us even more into a life of prayer. By spending time with our Father in prayer, we integrate our lives with his, with what he is doing in us. Our lives become more coherent. They feel calmer, more ordered, even in the midst of confusion and pressure.”
The second is a humorous-but-deadly-serious observation from Jonathan Acuff’s site Stuff Christians Like. Acuff addresses a frequent prayer meeting and intercessory prayer technique: Praying that God will fix a situation as long as you are not part of the solution. (I dare you to click it and read.) More and more often I find myself coming back to that as I pray and as I lead others in praying, “Father, use us–our words and actions–as part of your gracious answer to these prayers….”
