Sweet counsel 05.21.09
May 21, 2009
REVISIT
Cookout: What a fun time we had on the 16th at the Cookout in honor of the Hollands–great crowd, great food, great games and fun–even the damp weather helped us by keeping everybody together around the clubhouse, which made for better visiting! Sandra Fowler did an excellent job of coordinating all the elements of that event.
Mission Sunday: I hope you were encouraged by the report Wes Baker brought on the 17th about the growth of Peru Mission. The photos in his presentation brought back a lot of memories for Danny Temple and for me of our vision trip to Lima and Trujillo in January, 2007. Many of the new buildings you saw in the presentation were under construction when we were there. As mentioned last Sunday, we have an agreement with Peru Mission for a youth team to visit in summer, 2010. The site will not be determined until September (Trujillo on the coast or Cajamarca in the mountains or somewhere else).
WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONNECTION: We began our new Wednesday night TEACHING ministry emphasis last week. Wednesday Night Connection is designed to connect us with one another in fellowship and reaching and to dig deeply into God’s Word through Bible-centered studies for children, youth, and adults. Response to the first episode of The Truth Project was good. I had 18 in my Framework of Faith study. We had a sweet time of prayer and a lively lecture and discussion. There’s always room for more–and just because you missed the first session, don’t think you can’t join in now.
Remember the schedule for the summer:
6:00 Children’s ministry; adult and youth electives will gather in their respective meeting rooms
Electives
• Framework of Faith: a study of fundamental Christian teaching that aims to be rigorous and refreshing, systematic and stimulating (led by Phillip Palmertree). A number of people have been asking for a survey of systematic theology, and here it is. Join us for a study of the skeletal system of Christian living. Meeting in the Mary Thornton Room.
REMEMBER
Ascension Sunday: Scripture teaches us that on the fortieth day after his resurrection our Lord Jesus ascended into heaven where he is now seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, ruling and reigning over the universe as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Ascension is one of the five great evangelical feast days observed by many Reformed churches (the others being Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas). Below is a quote from Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, in which he reminds us of the importance of the ascension in understanding our union with Christ and its significance for living the Christian life:
“Union with Christ in his death and resurrection is the element of union which Paul most extensively expounds…if we are united to Christ, then we are united to him at all points of his activity on our behalf. We share in his death (we were baptized into his death), in his resurrection (we are resurrected with Christ), in his ascension (we have been raised with him), in his heavenly session (we sit with him in heavenly places, so that our life is hidden with Christ in God), and we will share in his promised return (when Christ, who is our life, appears, we also will appear with him in glory) (Rom. 6:14; Col. 2:11-12; 3:1-3).
This, then, is the foundation of sanctification in Reformed theology. It is rooted, not in humanity and their achievement of holiness or sanctification, but in what God has done in Christ, and for us in union with him. Rather than view Christians first and foremost in the microcosmic context of their own progress, the Reformed doctrine first of all sets them in the macrocosm of God’s activity in redemptive history. It is seeing oneself in this context that enables the individual Christian to grow in true holiness.” [Sinclair Ferguson, 'Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification', Ed. Donald Alexander, Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1988]
Reformed Youth Ministries: Sunday evening my friend Joey Stewart will be visiting to report on a great REACHING effort: Reformed Youth Ministries (RYM), a ministry on whose board I have served for the past 13 years. Most of us know RYM as the conference to which we send junior high and senior high students each summer. That is the backbone of this minstry, but in recent years it has expanded in a number of other exciting directions.
RYM exists to reach junior and senior high school students for Christ and equip them to serve Him in the church and in the world. For more than 30 years RYM has provided conferences for youth that are Word-driven, God-centered, and Gospel-focused. God has blessed RYM, growing us from our original one conference to now six conferences that are reaching and equipping students in the Southeast, West, and Pacific Northwest. We give all praise to God for the abundant grace he has extended to us and the more than 2000 students and youth leaders who attend the summer conferences.
Joey is an 1988 graduate of the University of Mississippi in 1988 and a 1992 graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary. After spending several summers ministering to youth at camps such as Alpine Camp for Boys in Mentone, AL and Twin Lakes Camp in Florence, MS, he became the director of youth and educational ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Yazoo City, MS where he ministered for nearly 5 years. In 1993 he accepted a call to become the assistant pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Crossville, TN with the responsibility of planting a PCA church in Cookeville, TN. Grace Presbyterian Mission was immediately formed and he remained in Cookeville as the organizing pastor and later senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, PCA for 14 years. He then accepted a call in February of 2007 to become the Executive Director of Reformed Youth Movement (RYM).
Joey has served on the TN Area Joint Presbytery Committee on Campus Ministry (RUF) since 1994 and as chairman of that committee since 1998. He has also served on several General Assembly RUF committees. Additionally, he has been a member of the board of directors for Reformed Youth Movement since 1990 and possesses a resolute zeal and passion to serve the church and extend the kingdom through the expanding mission of RYM.
Joey and his wife Connie have four children, Ashley Grace (16), Joseph Wesley (14), Hannah Faith (11), and Jennifer Cawthorn (6) as well as a newly acquired Hungarian Sheepdog, Maggie (4 months). The Stewarts currently reside in Cookeville, TN.
Morning Worship: Joe Holland will preach in the morning service from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. The morning liturgy will focus on the ascension of Christ. The singing will include Crown Him with Many Crowns, a setting of Psalm 110, and The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns.
Evening Worship: Last Sunday night I could not cover the entire pause in Revelation 10-11, so I split the passage in half. Revelation 10-11 covers the pause between the sixth and seventh trumpets (just like the pause bewteen the sixth and seventh seals in Revelation 7). This Sunday night I’ll cover the second half, and we’ll consider what Revelation unveils for us about Christian witness.
Sweet counsel 05.14.09
May 14, 2009
REMIND
Cookout in honor of the Hollands: It looks as though we’re going to have a large crowd joining us at Kosciusko Country Club lake at 4 pm to say a corporate ‘farewell’ to Joe Holland and his family. Because we’ve had so much rain and the possibility of more on Saturday, we’ll have our fun at the clubhouse and parking lot. We will have a scavenger hunt, bingo, etc. The hamburger cookout begins at 6:00 pm. There will be s’mores for dessert. Please sign up on the “Church Events” bulletin board if you will be able to attend.
Mission Sunday: Wes Baker of Peru Mission will be here on Sunday, May 17. Wes will give a report on the work in Peru at 9:45 am in the sanctuary. He will preach in the morning worship service as well.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONNECTION…coming May 20: We’re adding some new things to Wednesday nights to develop our TEACHING ministry (remember W-T-N-R?). Wednesday Night Connection is designed to connect us with one another in fellowship and reaching and to dig deeply into God’s Word through Bible-centered studies for children, youth, and adults.
Summer 2009 (NOTE: Due to the length of each DVD episode of ‘The Truth Project,’ we’re altering the schedule a bit from the original plan)
6:00 Children’s ministry; adult electives will gather in their respective meeting room (but still, don’t be late):
ELECTIVES
• Framework of Faith: a study of fundamental Christian teaching that aims to be rigorous and refreshing, systematic and stimulating (led by Phillip Palmertree). A number of people have been asking for a survey of systematic theology, and here it is. Join us for a study of the skeletal system of Christian living. Meeting in the Mary Thornton Room.
Morning Worship: The Rev. Wes Baker will preach in the morning service. Wes is an excellent preacher, and I wanted to return the favor extended to me back in January 2007 when Wes and the saints at the Larco Presbyterian Church in Trujillo, Peru invited me to preach to them. Wes will preach from Joshua 1:1-9 on the anticipation of Jesus’ “Great Commission” in the commission given to Joshua as he led Israel into the Promised Land. We’ll exalt the Lord in singing Psalm 46 (God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength), My Trust in the Lord, and A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Also, we will hear an Adopt-a-Missionary report, and there will be a recognition of our high school graduates: Victoria Paton, Jonathan Miles, Stokes Templeton, and Hogan Briscoe.
Evening Worship: Revelation 10-11 covers the pause between the sixth and seventh trumpets (just like the pause bewteen the sixth and seventh seals in Revelation 7). The pause shows us a vision of an angel with a little scroll and a vision of two witnesses. There a great unveiled in this passage about Christian preaching and witness.
Sweet counsel 05.07.09
May 8, 2009
REMIND
Reformed Theological Seminary report: Dr. Bob Penny of RTS Jackson will be here to give a report Wednesday evening in the Mary Thornton Room at 6:00 pm. No one can adequately measure the impact that RTS has had in the U.S. and around the world. The partnership between FPC and RTS goes back to its formative years in the early 1960′s. Erskine Jackson was among those burdened with the need for such a seminary. There were even discussion about locating the seminary right here in Kosciusko! Come hear Dr. Penny on Wednesday evening, and you’ll be very encouraged about the ways that RTS is fulfilling its mission.
Cookout in honor of the Hollands: Join us at Kosciusko Country Club lake from 4 pm until. We will have a scavenger hunt, fishing, bingo, etc. The hamburger cookout begins at 6:00 pm. There will be s’mores for dessert. Please sign up on the “Church Events” bulletin board if you will be able to attend.
Mission Sunday: Wes Baker of Peru Mission will be here on Sunday, May 17. Wes will give a report on the work in Peru at 9:45 am in the sanctuary. He will preach in the morning worship service as well.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONNECTION…coming May 20: We’re adding some new things to Wednesday nights to develop our TEACHING ministry (remember W-T-N-R?). Wednesday Night Connection is designed to connect us with one another in fellowship and reaching and to dig deeply into God’s Word through Bible-centered studies for children, youth, and adults.
Summer 2009 (May 20-August 12)
6:00 Everybody gathers in the sanctuary for prayer. We’re starting at 6:00 sharp. Don’t be late.
6:15 Children’s ministry; adult electives:
ELECTIVES
• Framework of Faith: a study of fundamental Christian teaching that aims to be rigorous and refreshing, systematic and stimulating (led by Phillip Palmertree). A number of people have been asking for a survey of systematic theology, and here it is. Join us for a study of the skeletal system of Christian living. Meeting in the Mary Thornton Room.
“The Lord bless you” or “Bless the Lord”? In 2001 I was teaching in a seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia. During my lectures on the Psalms, a rather vocal student asked me in good English with a husky Russian accent, “How is it that you can bless God? God is greater than you. He can bless you, but you cannot bless him. Is this right?” I was asked a similar question earlier this week, as I think it arose in discussion in one of the adult Sunday School classes.
The idea behind “bless” (Hebrew barak) is to speak a good word about someone. When God blesses someone (e.g., Genesis 12:1-3; Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 29:11), he speaks a good word over that person for his well-being; he does or gives something of value to a person. A related Hebrew word is berakah, a blessing or a gift or present.
Only God has fiat power, i.e., he can speak and it is done. He is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality” [1 Timothy 6:15-16]. He is the only sovereign power and authority in the universe. He is the only sovereign; therefore, he is the happy [blessed] sovereign.
When a person blesses God (Psalm 26:12; 34:1; 103:1,20-22; 104:35; 106:48; Revelation 5:12-13; 7:12), he speaks a good word about God’s steadfast love, generosity, and grace. We typically call speaking a good word about someone praise. So “Bless the Lord, O my soul” means “Praise the Lord, O my soul.”
Psalm 134 is a short psalm that uses barak in both senses. Ephesians 1:3 has the same dual usage. When I bless God, I find that he blesses me (think of the benediction at the end of a worship service). Also, when I consider the way God has heaped blessings upon me in Christ, I can’t help but bless his name.
Morning Worship: We are back in Genesis observing the ‘handing down’ of the gracious promises of God to Abraham’s son Isaac and grandson Jacob. This week’s passage, Genesis 26, gives you that ‘deja-vu-all-over-again’ feeling. Isaac finds himself with trials and temptation similar to those which his father Abraham encountered:
- both men received God’s call and promise
- both lived during a period of famine
- both men dwelt in Gerar
- both men had lovely wives
- both men were cowards in the face of possible harm
- both men lied and said their wife was their sister
- both men were spared the consequences of their sin by God’s mercy
- both men were rebuked by more pious Gentiles for their lying schemes
- both men were a blessing to their neighbors
- both men trusted God and lived peacefully with their neighbors.
We’ll exalt the Lord in singing All Creatures of Our God and King, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness, and O Love That Will Not Let Me God.
Evening Worship: I’m back in the evening pulpit, resuming the series on Revelation. Chapter’s 8-9 show us the fearful blasts of seven trumpets, which unleash woe and suffering on earth. Also in the passage is a glorious symbol of Christian prayer. What’s the connection?
Sweet counsel 04.29.09
April 29, 2009
REMIND
Mississippi Valley Presbytery meets Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church in Louisville. Please pray for us. Also, I continue to receive compliments and expressions of appreciation for the fine work you all did in hosting the February meeting of Presbytery. Your service is not forgotten.
Ladies’ Bible Study/Men’s Forum/Children’s Choir is this Wednesday, May 6, from 6-7 pm after Wednesday night supper.
National Day of Prayer: Public observance coordinated by the Kosciusko-Williamsville Ministerial Association at noon on the north lawn of the Attala County Courthouse.
Homeschool graduation: FPC will host the Attala Home Educators’ homsechool graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 9. Our own Victoria Paton will be among the graduates.
Cookout in honor of the Hollands: Join us at Kosciusko Country Club lake from 4 pm until. There will be games for the entire family, plus a hamburger cookout.
Mission Sunday: Wes Baker of Peru Mission will be here on Sunday, May 17.
REVIEW
Last word on Stewardship in Estate Planning: “What was the basic message of the seminar?” A couple of people who were unable to attend the April 23 seminar have asked me this. Here’s a summary: Bruce Owens and Jim Sutton of MTW encouraged us all to put our “house in order” [Isaiah 38:1]. That phrase has a spiritual dimension ["Am I united to Christ by faith?"], a relational element ["Am I reconciled to and living at peace with people around me?"] and a mechanical element ["Do my documents reflect prudent planning and godly wisdom?"].
Bruce and Jim shared five biblical principles related to stewardship and estate transfer: 1) God owns everything [Psalm 24:1]. 2) The priority of all estate planning is dependency, i.e., we must provide for those who depend on us [1 Timothy 5:8]; 3) The motivation for all estate transfer must be love, whether to family and/or to ministry [John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 13]; 4) People are always more important that dollars [Luke 15:11]; 5) It is required of a servant that he be found faithful [Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Corinthians 4:2]. From there they described a number of vehicles for distribution to family and to ministry, highlighting ways that estate taxes can be legally avoided and ministry gifts can be maximized.
One more thing: Bruce and Jim suggest preparing letters of instruction for household effects, personal effects, and church and funeral plans and preferences. On that last subject, let me remind you that the church office has a helpful Funeral Preparation Worksheet that you can fill out and return to us. On it you can notify us of plans and preferences for your funeral and burial. Filling out one of these worksheets will not make you die one day sooner than the Lord has already determined, and it will make the planning process so much easier for your family, including your church family. Ask Marsha for a worksheet.
Morning Worship: We will return to Genesis and observe the ‘handing down’ of the gracious promises of God to Abraham’s son Isaac and grandson Jacob. I will preach from Genesis 25:19-34, in which Isaac and Rebekah, long without children, are finally expecting and hear a startling prophecy about the twin boys tussling in her womb. The mysterious prophecy is fulfilled over a bowl of stew. We’ll exalt the Lord in singing Crown Him with Many Crowns, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, Jesus Loves Me, and How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place.
Evening Worship: Communion service: Joe Holland will preach on the power of the resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15. This will be Joe’s final preaching series here at FPC.
REFLECT
Awful or Awesome? If you are really an Old School Presbyterian, you will remember Isaac Watts’ hymn as How Sweet and Awful Is the Place. That was the original–well, Watts most likely wrote it as aweful, which gives us insight into the early 18th century usage of the word. Aweful/awful meant, quite literally, full of awe. In our current English usage, awesome means what awful meant in Watts’ day. Awful has come to mean something different to us. I wish the editors of our 1990 Trinity Hymnal would have included an explanatory footnote for the switch from awful to awesome.
The same change has taken place with the word terrible. We have a hymn (#711) entitled God the All-Terrible! Why would God be called terrible? If you told me I had preached a terrible sermon, I would not think you were paying me a compliment. As late as the 19th century, terrible was commonly used to mean wonderful, awe-inspiring.
Sweet counsel 04.23.09
April 23, 2009
- Acceptance through performance
- Popularity through conformity
- Happiness through anaesthesia (food, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.)
- Purpose through selfishness
- Protection through violence
- Provision through dishonesty.
Notice that there is nothing wrong with the ends–God does not hate acceptance, fellowship, happiness, etc. But God hates the aforementioned means–selfishness, violence, pride, etc. All around us we and our children are being told subtly (and not so subtly) that power and money, information and technology, lust and greed, pride and anger, manipulation and management are the ways to get things done. And a clever and determined person can get a lot done by these means. But such is not the way of Christ, who said to Pilate, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here (John 18:36). You can build a kingdom by fighting. The Romans built a most impressive one. But it was not the kingdom of Christ.
We can build our families or church community through many means, and we can get things done. But are we employing God’s means–prayer, humble reliance on the grace of the Holy Spirit, faithfulness to Scripture, putting others ahead of ourselves, suspicion of the world’s paths to ’success’?
Morning Worship: Last week VISION…this week VALUES. Last week I took you to Psalm 27 and to Philippians 3. Those two passages showed you fugitive David and prisoner Paul focused on “one thing.” David expressed it as dwelling in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing upon the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple. Paul expressed it as forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This week we’ll see how such a single-minded, gospel-driven pursuit drives how we “do” church. Acts 2:42-27 is a helpful “thumbnail sketch” of the church living out such a pursuit–actively engaged in WORSHIP, TEACHING, NURTURE, and REACHING. Once biblical values are determined and embraced, then creativity is virtually limitless within those boundaries. We’ll exalt the Lord in singing Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord.
Evening Worship: Joe Holland will preach the second sermon his mini-series on the power of the resurrection in the Christian life. This will be Joe’s final preaching series here at FPC.
Sweet counsel 04.16.09
April 16, 2009
REVISIT
We had four tremendous services over the Easter weekend. The Service of Lessons and Psalms on Friday evening drew us into the story of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus and how the Psalms prophesied those events centuries before. The selections sung by the choir under Pat Fiedler’s direction were first-rate and very fitting.
Brisk, clear weather greeted a crowd of 35 or so at the Easter Sunrise Service. Grant did a good a job of explaining the significance of the resurrection for our lives from 1 Corinthians 15. Good attendance and hearty singing and a sense of joy graced the morning service at 10:50.
As the clouds gathered and the thunderstorm came, many of us were gathered in the sanctuary for Changed by Jesus. Sarah Ellen Parish blessed us all through sharing some of the means through which the Lord is sanctifying her, and many others shared scripture verses and recent experiences that testified of the power of the risen Christ at work toward those who believe (Ephesians 1:19-20).
REPRIORITIZE
Stewardship in Estate Planning:
• What estate planning documents should every person have regardless of age or family situation?
• What should you know about wills, trusts, probate and Christian stewardship?
• How can you prevent family discord over property distribution?
• What is the best way to leave gifts to churches and ministries?
On Thursday, April 23, Jim Sutton and Bruce Owens of Mission to the World will present a Biblically-informed seminar on estate planning and deferred giving. You can learn some ways to “put your house in order” and about being a faithful steward of what God has entrusted you. You can enjoy a free meal and an informative presentation. There will be no pressure to sell you any service, steer you toward particular investments, or badger you to give to MTW, FPC or any individual ministry. The presentation offers teaching and advice, along with the opportunity, if you so choose, to meet one-on-one with Jim or Bruce to develop a strategy for preparing estate documents that you can take to your attorney, CPA, or financial advisors to draw up. This is a tremendously beneficial service that MTW is making available to our church.
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm or 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Kosciusko Country Club
Please contact Sam Potts, 601-954-3735 or sbpotts@mfbank.com, or sign up on the “Church Events” bulletin board to register. There is no charge for this seminar.
Morning Worship: As you have seen recently in this space, the Session has adopted a simplified and clarified way of being and ‘doing’ church at FPC. Our prayer now is for church-wide understanding. We are not looking for hasty approval or unthinking affirmation. We are looking for patient, honest, prayerful, biblical reflection and understanding. To that end I will preach messages related to this vision-values-vehicles document over the next few weeks. Our prayer is that—in the same way that we came to embrace this vision with joy and zeal, God would work in our church an amazing unity around this vision. We’ll exalt the Lord in singing 8th century hymn by John of Damascus, The Day of Resurrection, Be Thou My Vision, What Manner of Love, and The Church’s One Foundation.
Evening Worship: Joe Holland will preach on the power of the resurrection from Ephesians 1:18-25. This will be Joe’s final preaching series here at FPC. We will sing some great hymns of the resurrection, including Thine Be the Glory, Up from the Grave He Arose, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, and All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.
Sweet counsel 04.07.09
April 7, 2009
REMIND
Easter Schedule
Lessons and Psalms Service – Friday, April 10 at 6:00 pm. Sing the songs that Jesus sang and that he fulfilled through his suffering, death and victory. Joe Holland and our choir will lead us through the passion narratives and raise the psalms of Jesus’ suffering and of Jesus’ glory.
Easter Sunrise Service – Sunday, April 12 at 6:30 am. This service has a devoted following–a simple service led by Grant Carroll. Some come dressed as they would for the regular morning service; others look as though they just rolled out of bed (I imagine the women and the disicples who went the empty tomb were not exactly dressed to the nines). This practice evolved from a vigil observance in the early centuries of the Christian church. The Easter Vigil was a means of preparing new converts for Baptism, which was normally done on Easter Sunday as the focal point of the entire year.
Sunday School (9:30 am) and Morning Worship (10:50 am) Ordinary Sunday schedule.
Changed by Jesus – Sunday, April 12 at 6:00 pm. Something a bit different from our usual Sunday evening gathering: Changed by Jesus is a time for people to glorify God by giving some testimony to the growth in grace they see in their lives or some other they see God at work around them. Let me know if you want such an opportunity. We’ll sing, of course, and watch a couple of short videos produced by St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate (London).
REBOOT
Webmaster: FPC has hired our own Keith Parish in a part-time capacity to take charge of developing our church’s website, maintaining our podcasting presence on the internet, and keeping up with the general good operation of our computers and internet systems. In the last three years we have significantly increased the ways we use internet technology to communicate with our church family and to get the gospel out to as many people as possible, and still we have not yet touched the bottom of the pool with what we can do. I’m very glad to have Keith working in this capacity. If you have ideas or if you encounter problems with fpckosciusko.org or sermon downloads, let Keith know about it.
REPRIORITIZE
Stewardship in Estate Planning:
• What estate planning documents should every person have regardless of age or family situation?
• What should you know about wills, trusts, probate and Christian stewardship?
• How can you prevent family discord over property distribution?
• What is the best way to leave gifts to churches and ministries?
On Thursday, April 23, Jim Sutton and Bruce Owens of Mission to the World will present a Biblically-informed seminar on estate planning and deferred giving. You can learn some ways to “put your house in order” and about being a faithful steward of what God has entrusted you. You can enjoy a free meal and an informative presentation. There will be no pressure to sell you any service, steer you toward particular investments, or badger you to give to MTW, FPC or any individual ministry. The presentation offers teaching and advice, along with the opportunity, if you so choose, to meet one-on-one with Jim or Bruce to develop a strategy for preparing estate documents that you can take to your attorney, CPA, or financial advisors to draw up. This is a tremendously beneficial service that MTW is making available to our church.
Morning Worship: What does Psalm 8 have to do with Easter? The New Testament quotes it when explaining Jesus’ resurrection glory. Man will one day have dominion over all creation, but before that happens the Son of God must become Man—the representative Man, the Man who does what the first man (Adam), and all men, failed to do, so that in him all who belong to him might share in what he does: living a perfect life, dying because of sin, rising from the dead, and ruling all creation to the glory of God. We’ll exalt the Lord in singing Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 118, This Is the Day the Lord Has Made, All Glory, Laud and Honor
Evening Worship: Changed by Jesus.
Sweet counsel 04.01.09
April 1, 2009
REFRESH
There’s been no Sweet Counsel for the last two weeks. I came back from a week’s vacation on the 22nd as refreshed as I can remember. This year there were no ambitious travel plans. But I think the most refreshing part was that I had no meetings to attend!
REVIEW
Spring Bible Conference in the rear-view mirror: What an encouraging weekend we had with Wilson and Pam Benton! The preaching was very good. The attendance at the Friday and Sunday evening services was very impressive. Thanks go out to Worship Committee for planning and organization, to those who recorded the reminder messages, to the ladies who organized the Saturday morning brunch with Pam and the fellowship supper, to the musicians and vocalists who did a little extra for the services, and to those who took Wilson turkey hunting on Saturday. Now pray for the fruit of the preached Word to ripen in our lives. God’s grace is indeed abounding!
Remember that you can request CD copies of Wilson’s messages from the church office (this will cost you a dollar) OR you can download them for free to your computer through iTunes or from fpckosciusko.org beginning Wednesday, April 1.
REMIND
Easter Schedule: It looks like this:
Lessons and Psalms Service – Friday, April 10 at 6:00 pm. Sing the songs that Jesus sang and that he fulfilled through his suffering, death and victory.
Easter Sunrise Service – Sunday, April 12 at 6:30 am.
Changed by Jesus – Sunday, April 12 at 6:00 pm. We’ll hear a few testimonies about how the risen Christ is changing lives among us. If you would like to share your testimony, let Phillip know.
RECAST
- Worship: Morning and Evening Worship on the Lord’s Day; personal and family worship between Sundays; glorifying God in all of life.
- Teaching: Wednesday night ministries; Sunday School; small group Bible studies; Bible Conference; Fall Lecture Series.
- Nurture: Sunday School classes as communities of ‘elder-led priests’; groups that form for specific encouragement (men’s, women’s, couples’, youth groups, Prime-timers); one-to-one ministry to those in need of counsel or encouragement.
- Reaching: Ministry teams and committees; GriefShare; Preschool; Presbyterian Day School; efforts in local and world missions; individuals using their gifts to help others; serving the community.
We want to see every member engaged regularly in worship, growth in grace under the teaching of the Word, nurturing and being nurtured in faith, hope and love by the fellowship of the saints, and serving in some ministry to the church and to the world. The W-T-N-R outline is intended to move each of us deeper into the process of discipleship. Think of it this way: What is your next step in the process of discipleship?
- If you’re a sporadic attender at Morning and/or Evening Worship, start coming more often!
- If you’re just a Sunday attender, join us for the teaching opportunities on Wednesday night.
- Join a Sunday School class and make an effort to get to know the people in that class. Join a men’s group or ladies’ group.
- If you’ve already taken these steps, then find a way to give of yourself through serving others in some way–e.g., keeping nursery, teaching, committee work, children’s and youth ministry volunteer, nursing home visitation, serving Wednesday night supper. If you can’t find something or don’t know how to get involved in something, talk to me about it. I’ll help you.
How simple is that?
Morning Worship: Lord’s Supper plus…What does Psalm 8 have to do with Palm Sunday and Easter? Jesus quoted Psalm 8 when after he entered Jerusalem, and the New Testament quotes it when explaining Jesus’ resurrection glory. We’ll try to get in on that conversation the next two Sunday mornings. We’ll exalt the Lord in singing Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 118, This Is the Day the Lord Has Made, All Glory, Laud and Honor (you pretty much have to sing this on Palm Sunday) and the new hymn we’re learning, What Manner of Love. Someone said to me last week that What Manner of Love is like an entire devotional manual condensed into one hymn. Time spent meditating on that hymn is time well-spent.
Evening Worship: Revelation 6-7 will be in front of us. Ch.4-5 showed us worship at the center of the universe and Christ the Lion/Lamb as the center of worship and the kingdom. Now we start dealing with the bad stuff: Evil Unveiled.
Sweet counsel 03.03.09
March 3, 2009
Whence the name ‘Sweet Counsel’? It has a connection both to my blog “The Sweet Dropper” (sweetdropper.com) and to Psalm 55:14. The Psalm is a lament about betrayal at the hands of a friend. In v.14 the singer looks back at the friendship and remembers how “We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.” I’ve seized on that image of walking together in fellowship in God’s house by grabbing that name to describe what I want to do with these weekly updates.
REMIND
First Wednesdays: Remember that Wednesday the night for Women’s Bible Study, led by Maureen Boswell, on Tim Keller’s book The Prodigal God. The turnout has been great for that excellent study. While the women are studying together, I will lead a Men’s Forum, in which we will seek greater biblical perspective on the current financial crisis through teaching and discussion.
Bible Conference: March 27-29: Wilson Benton will be here to speak at 6:00 pm on Friday and Saturday nights, and in the Sunday services. We will also get to visit with Wilson during the Sunday School hour in a combined youth and adult class. On Saturday there will be a men’s breakfast with Wilson and a ladies’ event with Pam Benton. Sunday’s bulletin will contain times and other details.
Dr. Wilson Benton currently serves as interim pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. In October 2006, Dr. Benton retired after serving 21 years as Senior Pastor of the Kirk of the Hills in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Benton received his B.A. and B.D. degrees from Belhaven College and Columbia Seminary respectively, and his Ph.D. in Systemic Theology from the University of Edinburgh. Wilson and his wife Pam (daughter of our own Claude Woodward) have three children and seven grandchildren.
RECAST
- gospel-driven: Jesus and his work set us free from guilty fears and religious pride to worship and serve; the good news of free grace in Christ enables us to reach people in all walks of life, to experience personal transformation, and to glorify and enjoy God now and forever.
- pursuing: placing high priority on worship; seeking to grow in grace; becoming more of a “mission” church than a “receptor” church; moving toward the mess of people’s lives with grace and truth.
Next week, some thoughts on our VALUES, or why you’re about to hear the letters WTNR all the time.
ANTICIPATE
Morning Worship: I’m preaching Genesis 24, in which Abraham send his most trusted servant back to the homeland on a mission to find a good wife for Isaac. This is the passage on which Jim and Jane Baird spoke to our men and our women back at the end of January. I’ll be emphasizing the role of prayer and action in that story: God’s unseen hand of providence that moves the story along showing that God is faithful to Abraham and Isaac, and that God answers prayer and can be trusted to provide even when he has not spoken but has been spoken to in prayer. Among the hymns we’ll sing are Lift Up Your Heads (Psalm 24) and Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder.
Evening Worship: I’ll bring the fifth message in the series The Unveiling: the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chapters 4-5 show us John’s vision of the glory and significance of worship that centers, gathers, reveals, sings, affirms the Lamb of God.
Sweet counsel 02.24.09
February 24, 2009
REVISIT
The Genesis 22 passage is hard to handle, almost too horrifying for us to imagine. On Monday morning after preaching it I read again Eugene Peterson’s chapter the Mt. Moriah incident in his book The Jesus Way. He asks some penetrating questions about faith as we see it exercised in Abraham’s life:
What did [the New Testament writers] see in Abraham that they named faith? Was it not this lifetime of internalizing the commanding and promising but invisible God and then stepping out on the road in obedience? Was it not this readiness to leave wherever he was and leave whatever he had in order to embrace the vision, the covenant, the command? Was it not a life of responsive openness to God and a matching indifference to whatever conditions he found himself in? Was it not a lifetime disposition to receive God rather than to satisfy himself?
REMIND
First Wednesdays: Remember that the first Wednesday of each month there is a Women’s Bible Study, led by Maureen Boswell, on Tim Keller’s book The Prodigal God. The turnout has been great for that excellent study. While the women are studying together, I will lead a Men’s Forum, in which we will seek greater biblical perspective on the current financial crisis through teaching and discussion.
RUMINATE
Many people are afraid to talk about death. Some of our older, mature saints speak frankly and biblically about dying, and when they do, I can see the uneasiness in the faces of others. It has not always been this way. In the late 16th century Lewis Bayly gave marvelous advice and suggested prayers for ministering to those who were at death’s door in his popular book The Practice of Piety. In 1616 English Puritan pastor William Perkins wrote The Right Manner of Dying Well. Now think about the 19th century. In the Victorian era there were certainly excesses and obsessions about death–graphic and over-written and sanitized accounts of deathbed scenes, not to mention that this was the era that gave us embalming as we know it today. The Victorians were quite comfortable with talking about death, but deathly afraid of talking about sex.
Today, the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. In our day we talk openly and frankly and incessantly about sex, but we try our hardest both to hide death and to hide from death. Not talking about death does not delay it one moment, however. We must deal with it. We ought to be prepared–prepared through trust in Christ and seeking all the assurance that he imparts, together with “numbering our days” that we may gain a heart of wisdom, as Moses teaches us to pray in Psalm 90.
ANTICIPATE
Morning Worship: I’m preaching Genesis 23, in which Sarah dies and Abraham purchases a grave site for her–the first portion of Canaan that Abraham can truly call his. Among the hymns we’ll sing are The God of Abraham Praise and I Know Whom I Have Believed.
Evening Worship: I’ll bring the fourth message in the series The Unveiling: the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We’ll observe how the Church is unveiled for us in Revelation 2-3 in all its wondrous mystery and all its mess. We’ll celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in the service.
