Truth
April 25, 2011
Here is the video we showed in the Easter service. A number of folks were asking for it.
What we want
February 4, 2011
A great expression of what a gospel-driven church should want, adapted to FPC Kosciusko’s context. The original is from Kevin DeYoung of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan. It makes an excellent prayer guide. I used it as such in our Session meeting a couple of days ago.
We want what God’s people have always wanted:
• We want God to bless us that we might be a blessing.
• We long to see sinners saved by God’s free grace.
• We aim to raise up pastors and missionaries to serve near and far.
• We want to see neighborhoods and apartments converted.
• We want the stony hears of teenagers and children, and of colleagues and neighbors, to be turned to flesh.
• We want a church where the good news of justification by faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone to the glory of God alone is preached boldly and gladly to as many as the Lord brings.
• We want children nurtured in the word of God.
• We want to make disciples and teach them to obey all that Christ has commanded.
• We want to shepherd wisely and faithfully the flock that God has entrusted to us.
• We want to cultivate a caring, loving communion of saints that use their gifts to build up the body and fan out into our community to promote Christ in word and deed.
• We want to keep doing the things we do well, and grow in the things we can do better, all to the glory of God, by the power of the Spirit, for the joy of all peoples.
• We want to help one another know Christ, serve Christ, tell of Christ, and live for Christ.
Reading list: parenting with a future hope
May 17, 2010
FPC Kosciusko recently hosted Covenant Values Weekend, featuring Dr. John Kwasny, director of Christian education and children’s ministry at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland, Mississippi. You can download the content of his lectures at fpckosciusko.org.
John also provided attendees with a recommended reading list. Titles are available from good Christian book outlets:
General parenting:
- Gospel-Powered Parenting by William P. Farley
- Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp
- Instructing a Child’s Heart by Tedd & Margy Tripp
- Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle (pamphlet)
- Your Family, God’s Way by Wayne Mack
- Teach Them Diligently: How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training by Lou Priolo
Parenting Teens:
- Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp
- The Space Between by Walt Mueller
Anger Problems:
- The Heart of Anger by Lou Priolo
Catechism/Family Devotions
- Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade
Sweet counsel 12.03.09
December 3, 2009
REACHING BELIZE: Thursday, December 10, Johnny Boswell and I are leaving for Belize. We will come back the following Monday. We are going down there to visit with the Belizian church leaders and with the MTW missionaries down there (and with Helen Lacey too!), so that we can bring back recommendations to the Session on what the next 5-10 years of our partnership together for the gospel should look like. We feel that the Belize work is at a significant crossroads, and we want to do everything we can to encourage the brethren there and see Christ’s Church in Belize be strong and grow in its maturity and in its ability to be self-sustainable. We will convey your love and affection for them all, and Johnny and I will report to you on our visit when we return.
A THANKFUL PASTOR: 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.
Gratefulnesse
Thou that hast giv’n so much to me,
Give one thing more, a gratefull heart.
See how thy beggar works on thee
By art.
He makes thy gifts occasion more,
And sayes, If he in this be crost,
All thou hast giv’n him heretofore
Is lost.
But thou didst reckon, when at first
Thy word our hearts and hands did crave,
What it would come to at the worst
To save.
Perpetuall knockings at thy doore,
Tears sullying thy transparent rooms,
Gift upon gift, much would have more,
And comes.
This notwithstanding, thou wentst on,
And didst allow us all our noise:
Nay, thou hast made a sigh and grone
Thy joyes.
Not that thou hast not still above
Much better tunes, then grones can make;
But that these countrey-aires thy love
Did take.
Wherefore I crie, and crie again;
And in no quiet canst thou be,
Till I a thankfull heart obtain
Of thee:
Not thankfull, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare dayes:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.
—George Herbert, The Temple (1633)
REALIZE: 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.
ANTICIPATE
Morning Worship: Luke 13:22-30 will be in front of us. Here Jesus speaks of his message in narrow terms. One commentator put it this way: “Unless all human life is just a game; unless we are mistaken in our strong sense that our moral and spiritual choices matter; unless, after all, the New Testament as a whole has badly misled us–then it really is possible to stroll past the open gate to the kingdom of God, only to discover later the depth of our mistake.” It’s Communion Sunday. In the morning liturgy we will sing Joy to the World, Thou Art the Way, three verses of Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless (after Communion) and in place of the Gloria Patri we’ll sing the last verse of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night.
Evening Worship: I will preach the third sermon in the Legacy series on women in the Bible. We’ll take a third look at our great-great-great…grandmother Eve, especially as she is the audience of the first proclamation of the gospel and a participant in God’s great work of redemption. We’ll sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, What Child Is This, All Praise to Thee, Eternal Lord (one of Martin Luther’s Christmas hymns), Good Christian Men, Rejoice, and Gentle Mary Laid Her Child.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sweet counsel 09.30.09
October 1, 2009
REMIND
Would you like some Sunday School with your coffee? Coffee is available in the Fellowship Hall from 9:00-9:30 am and from 10:30-10:45 am each Sunday morning. We want to encourage friendliness and visiting. We will have people there who can help visitors find classes for themselves or for their children. Maybe, just maybe, a cup of coffee might help you be a bit more alert for worship as well.
NOTE: Jesus Unplugged study guides: Each Monday a new weekly study guide for the Jesus Unplugged sermon series is posted. Go to fpckosciusko.org and read or download the pdf formatted document. Each guide contains individual and group study questions to prepare you for the upcoming sermon text, along with a daily suggestion of how to incorporate the material into family worship times.
Wanted: men who will fight: Men need to know their sin, fight their sin, and trust their Savior. Men’s groups are starting up again. The old groups will remain intact, and a new group is forming as well. If you are interested in joining the fight, let me, Grant, or Thomas Pound know. Men’s groups offer a practical way to apply the gospel to everyday life: small, simple, biblical, reproducible groups who meet regularly to help one another keep the gospel at the center of their discipleship. It’s time to start fighting…with the church, in the gospel, for the glory of Christ.
REVISIT
World Mission Conference prayer: Last Wednesday night we had a great international dinner put together by Women in the Church. We brought the whole church family together in the sanctuary for a review of the flags, and then the youth and adults had a pre-conference prayer meeting. We structured our prayer time around the fourfold objectives of the World Mission Conference:
- To glorify God through worship and praise.
- To provide spiritual nourishment by the preaching of the Word of God.
- To instill a keen awareness of our responsibility of spreading the Gospel to all parts of the world.
- To make firm commitments to support our mission effort by both prayer and financial giving through Faith Promise.
It would be contrary to whole analogy of our religion…to suppose that those whose great business is to die, should remitted to indolence and ease. They are called to sacrifice. Hence, it does not stagger my faith to be told of the magnitude of the enterprise and the comparative inefficiency of the means…of the obstinate and bitter prejudices which must be subdued…the cruel persecutions which must be endured…All these and a thousand more such obstructions are only proofs that the Church must tread in the footsteps of her Master, and bless the nations by the sacrifice of her own ease and life.–James Henley Thornwell, “The Sacrifice of Christ the Type and Model of Missionary Effort,”
Collected Writings, II.437-38
REFLECT
Faith Promise: World Mission Conference is a time when we seek commitment for Faith Promise, the primary vehicle for supporting world missions. FPC’s Faith Promise disbursements grew from $79,000 in 2002 to $112,515 in 2008. Faith Promise commitments for 2009 dropped to $97,552. As of August 31, Faith Promise giving is 24% behind commitments. When Faith Promise drops, then our Mission Committee must make recommendations to end support for missionaries and/or reduce support for all our missionaries. Your participation in this “missions mutual fund” is an important investment. What is Faith Promise?
It’s a promise. Faith Promise is a commitment to give a specific amount to FPC missions over and beyond your regular budget giving.
It’s a promise that requires faith. People without Jesus Christ are lost (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). We are responsible for sharing the message about Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). God will supply all we need to carry out the Great Commission (Zechariah 4:6). In Faith Promise giving, you take a step of faith in looking and waiting for God to provide what you pledge to give toward missions.
It’s a personal commitment between you and the Lord. No one but the Lord will know what you have promised to give. No names are required. No statement will be issued to you.
It’s a blessing. Accepting the challenge to reach the lost will lead you to a closer walk with the Lord as you trust him to do more through your life (Acts 20:35).
How does it work? A promise card will be given to you, and we ask that you prayerfully determine what you, with God’s blessing, can commit to missions. This is a promise made annually of what you will give for the coming year (January to December), whether given weekly, monthly, or yearly. This is a commitment made in addition to what you are giving to the church through the general fund, benevolence, etc. Each time you give your offering, mark either on the check or on the offering envelope how you’re dividing your gifts between general fund, Faith Promise, etc.
ANTICIPATE
Morning Worship: Luke 10:25-47 will be in front of us. This is one of Jesus’ most famous stories–”The One with the Neighbor.” “The Good Samaritan” has passed into folklore and along the way has imparted a new meaning to the word “Samaritan” in modern English. When Jesus used the word, it carried a truckload of religious and ethnic baggage. By contrast, think about how we automatically understand the purpose of an organization such as Samaritan’s Purse from its name. Check out their work at their website (www.samaritanspurse.org). It’s Communion Sunday. In the morning liturgy we will sing John Newton’s Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder and The Power of the Cross.
Evening Worship: Grant will preach from Ephesians 4.
Sweet counsel 09.17.09
September 17, 2009
REMIND
Would you like some Sunday School with your coffee? Beginning this Lord’s Day there will be coffee available in the Fellowship Hall from 9:00-9:30 am and from 10:30-10:45 am. We want to encourage friendliness and visiting. We will have people there who can help visitors find classes for themselves or for their children. Maybe, just maybe, a cup of coffee might help you be a bit more alert for worship as well.
NOTE: Jesus Unplugged study guides: I’ve posted an introduction and two weeks’ worth of study guides for the Jesus Unplugged sermon series. Go to fpckosciusko.org and read or download the pdf formatted document. Early reviews have been very good. Each guide contains individual and group study questions to prepare you for the upcoming sermon text, along with a daily suggestion of how to incorporate the material into brief family worship times.
Wanted: men who will fight: Men’s groups are starting back up this month. The old groups will remain intact, and a new group is forming as well. If you are interested in joining the fight, let me, Grant, or Thomas Pound know. Men’s groups offer a practical way to apply the gospel to everyday life: small, simple, biblical, reproducible groups who meet regularly to help one another keep the gospel at the center of their discipleship. It’s time to start fighting…with the church, in the gospel, for the glory of Christ.
REVISIT
Organ concert and mission report: Thanks for your welcome of Roger and Abi Lowther last week. That was quite a concert and quite a moving missions presentation. An FPC member said to me last week that she had assumed that unless you could preach, than church planting work was not for you. Roger’s story shows us that the Spirit uses all kinds of gifts to establish and build up the body of Christ. We need preachers, for sure. But we need so many other gifts as well. It’s like that around here too!
REFLECT
So you want to be a leader…Quotes from a 1995 address by John Piper called “The Spiritual Leader”:
• ”If you want to be a great leader of people you have to get away from people to be with God.”
• ”Spiritual leaders have a holy discontentment with the status quo.”
• ”Leaders must be able to digest depression because they will eat plenty of it.”
• On tactfulness: “There is a big difference between saying, ‘Your foot is too big for this shoe” and ‘This shoe is too small for your foot.’”
A REAL Apology: You’ve seen a Kindle, right? I’m talking about the little electronic device that lets you read electronic books with great ease. A couple of months ago, customers were buying copies of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm from Amazon for their Kindle, and it turns out that such editions were unauthorized. Amazon deleted them from purchasers’ Kindle devices and refunded the money. An outcry ensued. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos offered an apology for the way in which they handled the situation. It’s a nice model of admitting fault and accepting blame. It’s short, succinct, and utterly without sugar-coating or predictable passive platitudes of qualification (i.e., “we regret if anyone was offended…”)
This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our “solution” to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we’ve received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.
ANTICIPATE
Mission Sunday and Morning Worship: Dr. Jack Chinchen will preach in Morning Worship from Numbers 14. Jack and his wife Nell are the founders of African Bible College. After spending seven years training pastors in the interior of Liberia, the Chinchens realized the great need for a Bible College that would meet the educational and spiritual needs of the multitude of high school graduates emerging from an awakened Africa. In 1976, the vision became a reality when the Chinchens established Liberia’s first four-year Bible College. The college was designed to hold the highest international university standards and meet the qualifications to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Studies.
As the graduates in West Africa proved the value of quality Christian education–dedicated Christian leaders who could truly have a transforming impact on the continent–it became imperative that this same ministry be made available to other parts of Africa. Thus, in 1988, African Bible Colleges established a second institution 4,000 miles away in the East African country of Malawi. Seventeen years later, in 2005, the third African Bible College was opened in the equatorial country of Uganda.
Today African Bible Colleges has nearly 800 graduates serving in a wide spectrum of Christian ministries–from program production at TransWorld Radio, orphan care with Children of the Nations, leadership positions at Campus Crusade (Life Ministries), and HIV ministries with World Relief, to planting churches in the former communist stronghold of Mozambique–ABC graduates are proving to be a key component in the evangelization and transformation of Africa.
In the morning liturgy we will sing Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, a second singing of The Power of the Cross, and Am I a Soldier of the Cross?
Evening Worship: Grant will be back from vacation. He’s tanned, rested and ready to preach from Ephesians 4:1-6.
