New Year Preparation

 

From the Pastor:

Happy New Year!

For most, if not all of you, this mailout will arrive just before the new year begins. That’s good news because you will be ready to begin our new bible reading plan for the year and you will be able to prepare for the new sermon series starting this Sunday in the book of Romans. The Bible reading plan that we will begin this year is a two-year plan designed to slowly take the reader through the entire Bible in that time span while also reading either a Psalm or portion of Proverbs daily. This plan even has built in “catch-up” days in case you find yourself falling behind in your reading. I think this plan will be great for us to begin this year because it is slower paced than plans we have tried in the past, which allows the reader to spend time reading the Holy Scriptures at a more contemplative pace. Let me also encourage you to spend time in daily prayer either before or after you have spent time reading God’s Word. Scripture reading and prayer are two of the most important spiritual disciplines that the Christian must devote time to each and every day, and as your Pastor I want to provide you with the ability and the encouragement to accomplish these important tasks every day.

Secondly, let me encourage all of you that are able to join us this Sunday either in person or on the radio as I begin our new sermon series on Paul’s letter to the church at Roman. Romans is one of the most important books in all of the Bible because it explains to us the fullness of the doctrine of salvation in Jesus Christ by faith alone, while also providing us with the practical knowledge of how we are to live as Sons and Daughters of our Heavenly Father. Romans is a rich letter from beginning to end, and I pray that it will help us to not only grow in our knowledge of God, but also that it would aid us in growing in our worship, obedience, and discipleship as we take the time to examine this great letter of the Apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

Lastly, I am incredibly thankful for each and every one of you and the blessing that you have been to my family and I this past year. Lord willing, come April of 2021 it will be four years since the Lord brought me here to serve as pastor of this local church body. The time has passed quickly, but the Lord has been faithful every second of every day, just like He always is. We have had the privilege of adding to our faith family in this past year through baptism as well as others joining us by letter and statement of faith. Through all of the ups and downs of 2020 I am most thankful that God has shown himself to be ever-faithful no matter what may befall us. Of course, we know this to be the case, but to see him constantly reassuring us of this reality time and time again displays how great of a Heavenly Father he truly is. May God bless us in 2021 and may He continue to grow this local body of believers in number and in faith. Sola Deo Gloria!

Anticipation

 

From the Pastor:

Luke 2:29-32

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;

For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.

 

Anticipation is a huge part of the Christmas season. We anticipate time with loved ones. We anticipate all the good food we will get to indulge in. We, of course, anticipate the gifts that we will receive. But there is another anticipation that Christians should also be considering during this time, and that is the anticipation of the Lord’s return and the completion of His plan of redemption which will be experienced in the culmination of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Anticipating for that joyous occasion is what Christmas is really building towards. It’s not just about remembering what Christ has done, but it is looking forward to what He will do in the future. One of my favorite texts that highpoints the anticipation we should be feeling is the statement above made by Simeon at the circumcision of Jesus.

Simeon himself had been anticipating the time in which he would lay his eyes on the Lord’s Christ because God through the Holy Spirit had promised him that he would. Now, we do not know when the Lord had made this promise to Simeon and we do not know how long he may have waited for the fulfillment of this promise, but even if it had only been one day in advance could you imagine the anticipation of such an amazing promise made to you? I will confess here that at least on one occasion, and my sisters think there were more, I vomited (not a lovely picture I know) in nervous anticipation of Christmas morning the night before. I literally was so full of nerves and excitement that I could not contain it. Even to this day I am terrible at waiting for such events. I get nervous and restless to the point where it is almost overwhelming. So, I could not imagine the level of anticipation Simeon must have felt waiting to see the Christ.

Then the time came. Whatever Simeon may have been expecting, when the moment came the Spirit filled him with such fullness that holding the eight day old Jesus in his arms overflowed in this glorious confession. Simeon was made aware that this child he was holding was the savior of the world. That the Christ, the Messiah, had come not just to redeem his kinsmen, but to even awaken the Gentiles to their need of saving grace through the Light of revelation that was accomplished through the person and work of Jesus. God used Simeon’s great anticipation to reveal to all that were there that this child was no ordinary baby. He would continue in the verses following this text and state that even through difficulty, opposition, and even heart break this Child would save His people. A people that would be from every tribe, tongue, and nation on the planet He Himself spoke into existence. A people He had created from the dirt and breathed the breath of life into. A people that had forsaken Him, but that He would not abandon.

This week as you anticipate time with family, food, presents, and all the accompaniments of the Christmas season, anticipate the fulfillment of the salvation of Christ. Look forward in hope, joy, and love to the coming of Christ. Pray that He would return quickly to establish His everlasting kingdom here on this earth, so that the joy of His first coming would be overwhelmed by the glory of His second coming. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

Joy to the World

 

From the Pastor:

Psalm 98

A Psalm.

Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

For He has done marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

The LORD has made known His salvation;

His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;

Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

Sing to the LORD with the harp,

With the harp and the sound of a psalm,

With trumpets and the sound of a horn;

Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell in it;

Let the rivers clap their hands;

Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

With righteousness He shall judge the world,

And the peoples with equity.

 

The Psalm above was the main the text used by Isaac Watts when he penned his famous hymn, “Joy to the World.” A hymn celebrating the coming of the one true King of the nations. We mostly associate this hymn with the Christmas season, but that is not believed to be Watts’s original intent. However, the hymn certainly strikes the right tone and tenor when we think of the Christmas season and the hope, joy, and love that the coming of Christ stirs us in the hearts of those who know him to be their savior and Lord. From the very first verse of his hymn, Watts states that “Let every heart prepare Him room.” In other words, it is the duty of all men and women and everywhere to submit their hearts to the Lordship of Christ because He alone posses the authority to sit on the throne of our hearts. Christ is the one and only King, and it is the obligation of all men to receive him as such. From there Watts also follows the Psalmist in prompting us to sing with joy the amazing revelation of the coming of the King. We should indeed celebrate that Christ has come, and not only in this season, but in all seasons. That’s why the third verse of Watts’s great hymn is probably my favorite…

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as the curse is found.

Why is it that Christ should be celebrated and praised as our one true King? Because He alone has removed the curse that condemned sinners from the very moment our first parents fell in the Garden. Christ came and became a curse for us, so that the effects of the fall could be overcome, and one day the results of the curse will be totally reversed. When Christ comes again He will not only our fleshly bodies, but He will also renew the earth and everything in it. Nor more will the creation suffer from sins reign. Christ will rule and reign on the new earth as all peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation sing praises of joy and adoration to the King.

The Preaching Lab Podcast

I have a podcast with a few Pastor friends. Check out our latest episode. Subscribe, rate (5 stars!), and leave us a comment about the podcast. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-preaching-lab/id1436735773

Beginning Advent - Hope

 Sunday, November 29, was the first Sunday of Advent and the sermon focused on the hope of the second Advent of Christ because of the certainty of his first Advent. That is why this week's devotion to the church builds on the message of Hope. Enjoy... 

From the Pastor:

1 Peter 3:15-16

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

Hope is a very powerful tool. Hope can give an underdog the motivation to compete against the favorite. Hope can help us overcome our fears in moments of distress. Hope can help us see through the darkest of times to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope can drive us to achieve way more than what we thought possible due to limitations placed on us by ourselves or others. It truly is amazing what hope can do in the life of an individual. And yet, when the Bible speaks of hope, it’s not talking about a basely optimism summoned up from our own wishes or dreams of personal or group achievement. No, Biblical hope is a trust in the foundational promises of God that are rooted in His never-changing character that are sure and consistent because they have been proven true time and time again. That is the Hope of the Christian, and the hope we want to consider this week.

In our text above, Peter is writing to believers that have been spread out due to persecution because of the Gospel of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. In this first of two epistles written to these believers, Peter is wanting to encourage them in the Gospel to keep on persevering even in the midst of their difficulties. He has directed their eyes to Christ from the beginning of the letter so that they would see themselves as a people “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1:3) And as they fix their eyes on Christ this living hope would change their minds and prepare them to live as God’s holy and precious people in the midst of a hopeless world where their lives and behaviors would appear strange and alien to those around them. Then as they live this way inside of their jobs, families, and everyday lives nonbelieving people would begin to take notice, and while it may lead to more persecution in some situations, it would also serve as a testament of Christ’s sufferings for his people being the source of the willingness of his people to suffer hopefully and joyfully for His Name.

Christians should live lives that make the nonbelieving world around them take notice. The nonbelieving world should see a people dedicated to holiness, love, joy, and hope that can only come from a transcendent God. Why? Because nonbelievers think that there is little to no meaning in a world that’s simply the product of cosmic chaos. And how could there be meaning in a world where everything is decided by chance, luck, or happenstance? How could anyone take responsibility or joy for what happens to them when its just a product of being in the “right place at the right time” or benefitting from one’s perceived privilege because of their fortuitous birth.

As Christians we reject these notions because they do not honor the Sovereign God that has created the world and everything in it. This type of thinking also denies human beings any real responsibility to live in such a way that benefits others around us and rises our neighbors and society up from its constant struggle with sin and its own fallenness. To the contrary notions of the world, Christians are called to live hope-filled lives that are distinct and different. We ground all of understanding for life in the truth claims of the Bible and live joyful, thankful, and full lives based on these foundational truths. Then, when others ask why we live so differently in such dark days, we tell them of the light of the Gospel, Jesus Christ the Lord. And when they slander us or mock us for living in such a way or claiming to live by such foolish truth claims in their own eyes, their own words come back on them because our commitment to truth proves not only what we believe, but displays the inconsistencies of the secular mind and its humanistic worldview. Our Hope is Christ, and He is all the hope we need.

Fighting for Truth

 Christians must be Truth Seekers and Truth Speakers. FULL STOP! We must be a people that seek to understand the truth claims of others and their positions so that we can rightly understand their arguments. We must search out the Scriptures, the Sciences, historical claims, and all the rest to make sure that what then speak out for or against is true or can be rightly defended as the truest claims. This also means we must not create "straw men" of our opponents' positions, revert to ad hominem attacks, or fall into the trap of other logical fallacies, when depicting or arguing against what others might be putting forward. I state this because how we Speak about the truth and truth claims of others also reveals how dedicated one is to truth. We do not get to falsify other people because we believe their claims are false. We must be dedicated to seeking and speaking the truth at all times for the sake of rightly representing morality and the Christian ethic to all people.

You see Christians believe in absolute, universal, transcendent truth. Therefore, we must behave accordingly. We make no apologies for this either. NONE! We believe that God made the world and everything in it by speaking it into existence, because only He possess the power and authority to do so. We believe that He created this world in 6 literal days as a display of His power and creativity. We believe that He made everything GOOD when He made every living thing. And we believe these truth claims are the foundational truth claims of Biblical Christianity. One cannot ignore the first truth claims of the Bible and then desire to believe other parts of the book. The whole logic of the Holy Scriptures begins with the Truth claim that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." To get to sin, covenant, law, miracles, and most importantly, redemption, one must see the collective truth claims of the Bible in their total cohesion and unity to rightly understand the fullness of the story that spans the 66 books in both the Old and New Testaments. By the time one makes it to John's Gospel and reads Pilate utter the words "What is truth?" while looking Christ in the eyes trying to decide what to do with him, you should realize that this is more than just a climatic scene in a short narrative, but this is the question EVERY observer of life must ask of the Holy Scriptures and its Savior ultimately. Yet, let me digress for a moment and deal with more practical matters concerning Christians and their dedication to Truth Seeking and Speaking. 

We are still coming out of the haze of a recent election where an overwhelming number of people went to the polls, or to their mail-box, and voted in historic numbers for the President of the United States of America. Now in this election, like all the others in my life-time, there were claims made by each side that lacked truth. Perhaps in some situations they were all out lies! But politicians and their surrogates lying or manipulating truth is about as surprising as turkey and dressing at Thanksgiving. Its more expected than not, and the only true hope is it better be good! If one is at least directionally true in a sense, their perspective might be more valued than one who is outstandingly false in their words or writing. Yet, because confidence in media, politician, and the foundational systems of our country are at an all time low, at least this is what we are told by pollsters that also seem to have a truth telling problem, there doesn't seem to be any place for truth at all. (Apologies to David Wells for borrowing the title of his book "No Place for Truth") Add all of this to the skepticism of the Covid-19 crisis and how different states, counties, and municipalities have handled it, and you get a recipe for misinformation, conspiracy theories, and all out deniers of anything claimed by the media at all. And let me be clear, this is not good for society or culture at large because when no one is trusted and skepticism rules the day it makes it that much harder for Christians to make the important claims that our faith, the one true faith given to the Saints, must make to a blind and deaf world. 

To demonstrate my point, I was at a basketball game recently watching one of my children play. Now, I will openly admit I love sports to a degree that might not always be beneficial, and especially when the Arkansas Razorbacks are playing anything versus anyone. However, at this particular game I was really bothered when the rules of the game were not properly applied in a crucial situation. Yes, there are times in sports where an official or umpire might make a judgment call that I disagree with, this happens all the times in sports when fans and players are more emotionally invested than the referees and perspectives can be blinding, but a rule being applied and followed is not the same as a judgment call. Even umpires, officials, or judges deciding a case are not free to ignore, misapply, or create new rules in the middle of a contest or anything else because this affects the fairness of the game or situation overall. In other words, when truth becomes relative in one aspect of life, you can expect that it will become relative in other places as well. One must believe in absolute truth because without them nothing in life can be rightly adjudicated or evaluated according to any accepted standard whatsoever, and as my example shows this goes for all of life. 

This is why fighting for truth must be the mentality and commitment of the Christian. We must fight for truth at home, at work, at church, and everywhere else we engage others. We must seek the truth when we read claims made by others or hear facts spoken. Then, when we speak, or share materials on social media, we must only speak the truth. Yes, as Christians, we have an obligation to speak the truth in love and not use it as means to belittling those who disagree with us. Truth is not a blunt force object to put our opponents in their place, Truth is a promise to live by and a joy to share. Christians must be Truth Seekers and Truth Speakers. We cannot compromise for any reason to this commitment. Nothing is worth sacrificing truth for and Christians must lead the way in this noble pursuit. 

In Everything Give Thanks

 

From the Pastor:

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

The verses above are greatly beneficial to the church at all times, but especially in the midst of difficult ones. They teach us that regardless of our circumstances we are able to show kindness, goodness, rejoicing, and give thanks. Of course, we need to be taught these important lessons, because all too often we let our circumstances, or the events of the day, to manipulate our emotions into refusing to do what God’s Word commands us to do, and instead we give into sin. Instead of showing kindness, we are harsh. Rather than pursuing good, we reply with an intention to hurt. We do not rejoice and give thanks in the midst of trials, but rather we feel like we’ve not been given a fair deal and question the goodness of God. All of these instructions matter all the more when we have endured a year like this year. Many of us have said goodbye to dear loved ones this year. We’ve felt isolate, alone, and afraid. Covid has dominated our minds and the headlines, along with election concerns, and claims that all types of “existential threats” exist right outside our front doors. Anyone would seem justified in feeling overwhelmed, scared, and timid about life going forward.

However, Christians do not see the world the way that unbelievers and sceptics do. We understand that living in a fallen world comes with all types of difficulties and trials. Some of those trials come in the form of viruses and diseases. Some of those trials come in the form of persecutions. Some of those trials come in the form of the loss of loved ones. And in even more subtle terms some of those trials come in the form of perceived unfairness or unkindness from others. Yet, as believers in the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ we know that we are only strangers and aliens in this present world, and that our true home is a place still unseen by human eyes whose builder and maker is God. That’s why we are able to endure all things that a fallen world and fallen people can throw at us, not to mention the sins that are a product of our own disobedience, because our hope is not in this world or the people of this world. Our hope is in Christ and his righteousness. Our hope is in the fact that in Him we can live free and thankful. In him we can endure all things because His amazing love works in us through all of the circumstances of life for our good and His glory. We know that in life and even in death nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, be thankful this week and everyday the Lord gives you because His goodness and love surpasses all the heartache and brokenness of this fallen world.

Now What?

 To say that I was disappointed in the outcome of the most recent election would definitely be an understatement. I had feared that a Trump win would be a long shot due to Covid, the constant media scrutiny, and the awe-shuckness of Biden, but I was hoping that Trump would find a way to rally his base along with the silent Trump voters and find a way to shock the media once again. Alas, it does not look like this will be the case, even though certain votes in some states look pretty fishy and voting irregularities do seem glaring, the likelihood of anything being overturned at this point seems impossible. And for the record I am all for making sure that every legal ballot gets counted and every illegal ballot gets tossed out, as well as Trump taking his case for voter fraud all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Look, if actual voter fraud took place, that should scare or upset everyone, regardless of party affiliation. But I have a feeling it won't upset most people, anymore than cities boarding up their windows on the eve of the election seemed to upset people. 

I'm often befuddled at the fact that our cultural commentators on the evening news can continue to fake shock and awe at the "new" levels of low they believe to be taking place in the White House, when they completely and willfully ignore the chaos happening outside their own doors and windows. The chaos they have created and exacerbated for four plus years because of their fear and whoremongering over the Trump administration. They've created a narrative of violence and unrest because of their hatred for Trump that has led to lives being lost in the streets and in ICU wards. 

Yep, I blame them for the Covid deaths as much as they desire to blame Trump for them. The news media anthropomorphized Covid into Donald Trump. What I mean by that is, they made him the embodiment of the virus so that they could blame him for all of its havoc. In doing so they further discredited themselves and their ability to be the voice of reason by inciting fear, false science, and silencing any others that may have disagreed with their narrative. Even today in Europe and on other continents, the virus continues to harm the most vulnerable, but you will not hear a word of that from the media, because it hurts their narrative of blaming everything on Trump. Besides, how was one man supposed to stop a highly contagious virus from spreading? Lockdowns? Again, Europe proved that lockdowns alone did not stop spread. Masks? Our own CDC has continued to go back and forth on their safety and the claims of protection, and here's something I've heard no one state... doesn't the promotion of masks as some sort of stop gap or protection of Covid actually encourage those with the virus to continue to go out instead of quarantining as they should? I mean, the only real way to slow the spread of Covid is to make sure that everyone who has the virus stays home! And if you know that you have been exposed to someone who has recently tested positive to the virus you should also take about 5 days off or at home to make sure that you don't come down with symptoms as well. These are the things that should be continued to be pushed, not false narratives that spread misinformation and lies. When was the last time you were reminded or heard a media source say that for those 65 and older this virus is 99.9% survivable? When was the last time you heard someone state the fact that for pediatric cases this virus is less fatal than the seasonal flu? All of these statistics can be verified by simply looking up you state's cases or the CDC's numbers... but I digress...

So now we're supposed to believe that everything is fine because Orange Man will soon be disposed from his throne and we will have our America back! But what America are we getting back? The America that we've been told over and over for the last decade or so that is an evil, vile place filled with racist and bigots of all sorts? The America that is systemically racist in all of its foundational documents and its systems? Why would anyone want that America back? 

You see the greatest problem with the narrative the media and the "Woke" left have been pushing for so long now, is that even when they are in charge what good is it? I mean, to borrow from our former Black President, if we are all in the car headed for disaster, does it really matter who's behind the wheel? This is what makes so much of what they are trying to sell to America so terrible, and in my humble opinion why they actually suffered more defeats than were granted victories in this last election. No sane person should want to live in the America. Not the America they insinuate that we live in, nor the one they would like to turn this place in to. Can you imagine what an America remade in the image of Ibram X. Kendi would like? Well... it would kind of look like America in the 50's and 60's before integration, actually. We would all be taken back to a time when people were segregated by their color, and cultures weren't allowed to mix because it would be a misappropriating of those distinctives. No intermarriage of the races, no sharing of cultures or experiences, no one being valued for their ideas or their character only for their genetic identifiers that place us in subgroups to be either praised or blamed. That America doesn't seem appealing to me, or a vast number of people, and yet if the left get their way that's exactly where we are headed. And don't think you will be able to do much about it when it does happen, because they will already made your speech a crime and social media will already have blocked your posts.  

The only way forward for a country is an embracing of the principles of Liberty and Freedom that she was found upon. Somehow someway we have to get back to this being the driving force for every citizen in this country. The toxicity of the media and the woke left, along with the toxicity of alt-right have to stop being forced into the bloodstream of our nation. The voices that advocate for these positions have to be drowned out by the voices of reason, morality, and transcendent truths. I preached a sermon from Philippians 4 earlier in the year and one particular verse and idea has stuck with me and many of our people since then...

Philippians 4:8
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."

We Christians must STOP listening to, focusing on, or buying into anything that is fixated on lies, deception, and misinformation and that even goes for conspiracy theories and QAnon supporters! And Christians must START only speaking, believing, and valuing the GOOD, the BEAUTIFUL, and the TRUE. Christian's believe in a transcendent God that is more powerful, more wise, more excellent, and more virtuous than any government, president, movement, or method that has ever existed. We can no longer be a people tossed to and fro. We have to stay dedicated to the values taught to us in God's Word and stay committed to living them out every day even in the midst of this fallen world that hates us and everything we know to be pure. They will call us names and mock us for standing on truth. They will call our ideas evil and prefer the darkness over light, but we cannot give in. We cannot follow them into darkness. We must be the light and live as light. Just as we have much to be thankful for even in a difficult year like 2020, we have much to praise God for even when things do not turn out like we would like. This is what we as a body of believers must do now. Now is not the time to stop, to give in, or remove ourselves from the public square. NO! Now is the time that we shine truth, act nobly, love unendingly and selflessly, and fight for true justice. Count the cost, put on the armor of God, take up your cross, and go make disciples. And in all that you do fix your mind on the Good, the Beautiful, and the True.  

From the Pastor 11-16-2020

 Since I have given up on social media for the time being, I will begin putting my weekly letter to my church members here on my blog. There might be times when the letter is more specific to the needs of our church so I will not always copy them here, but from time to time I will do so. 

From the Pastor:

 Acts 2:22-24
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know – Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

This past Sunday morning I was privileged to be able to listen to Bro. Gerald Henderson preach to us from 1 Peter 2:1-8 on “Christ the Cornerstone.” It was a good and timely message for me to hear for many reasons, but mainly because it made consider the perfect work of Christ contained in His perfect person that works perfection in me to fit me for eternal glory with the perfect Holy Triune God. That’s an amazing thing to consider, is it not? Christ is the perfect cornerstone that aligns all of God’s chosen people to himself. No one else is even close to being able to do such a thing. Yet that is exactly what Christ does for us who are in him, his fellow brothers and sisters in the Father. This has led me to the verses that I have quoted above from Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost because it fixes our eyes on the significance of the glorious Gospel of God in Christ Jesus, the greatest blessing ever given to fallen man.

Yes, the Gospel is the greatest blessing we have ever received because it is the Good News that changes us from sinner to Saint. It’s the greatest blessing because it gives all other blessings their true value and significance from the very life that we have been gifted from our mother’s womb to the air that we breathe to the food that supplies us. The unnumbered blessings of God reach their greatest experienced worth only when we know and believe in the precious gift of Christ as our Savior and Lord. Only then can we begin to be truly thankful towards our Father in Heaven. Only then can all the other blessings that He so richly bestows upon us be properly appreciated and understood.

This is why we must continuously preach the Gospel to ourselves. Every day we must remind ourselves that Jesus Christ lived, died, rose from the dead, ascended, intercedes, and promises to return on behalf of all those the Father has given him. It was God’s love that compelled and delighted the Son in doing all that he did for us by fulfilling the Father’s amazing plan of redemption. And it is the Son’s continued and constant love for His Father that keeps us safe in His eternal plan and captivated by the Son’s love for us that flows from the Father. Christ’s atoning work was not accomplished in a vacuum, in some other dimension or space. No, it was accomplished here on this earth 2000 years ago in flesh and blood by the actual person of Jesus of Nazareth, the God-Man, sent by the Heavenly Father to redeem his children from all time. This plan had been orchestrated by the Holy Triune God from before the foundations of the world and continues on today through the preaching of this great and glorious news so that all for whom Christ died would come to saving faith. And make no bones about it, all who are in Christ Jesus will without a doubt come to the knowledge of their need for a Savior and call out to the only one who is able to save them to the uttermost, Jesus Christ.

As you consider what to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. I pray the first thing on your list is the salvation that has been granted to you by your Heavenly Father. I pray that as you pray over you family and with your family you would pray that they too would know of this great and precious gift. I pray that all of you would be able to delight in the blessings of God this season because you know of the greatest blessing that he ever gave this earth, the blessing of His Son the Savior of the World.

 

September 11th

 I don't think I was sleeping through an 8 o'clock class when my phone woke me that September morning 19 years ago. It was my mother calling to tell me "America is at war!" She was working at the bank job she has had since just a couple of years before that day, and was calling to see if I had heard or seen any of what was beginning to transpire in New York. I immediately ran down the stairs to the television in my apartment, and even though I was still only in my underwear, I sat captivated by the scenes that were unfolding before my eyes. 

America had indeed been attacked. Two planes had hit the Twin Towers in NYC and a third had just hit the Pentagon in DC. Later a fourth would crash in a field in Pennsylvania, and all in all over 3,000 would die due to the attacks thrust upon on country by terrorists who had long despised the very ideals and principles that America was founded on. 

That is what makes what we are witnessing in our cities and towns today so painful. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 there was talk of systemic racism. There was no narrative about "white privilege." I'm sure by now the studies have been done, but there was no breakdown on who the attack had negatively impacted more; black, brown, white, red, or purple people. All Americans had been hurt. I was hurt, angry, scared, and afraid and I hadn't even known a single person who died in those attacks. I hurt because my country was hurting. War was inevitable. More people would die. Would I be drafted? Should I enlist? What was my duty to my country in this great time of need? Everyone was asking these types of questions, because what they cared about was not what gender, race, or income level this attack hurt the most, what they cared about was that it had affected all of us because all of us were/are Americans in this country. 

This is what has been lost in the 19 years since that infamous day. We've forgotten what unity looks like. We've forgotten what patriotism looks like. We've forgotten what leadership looks like. What putting country above political opportunism looks like. What selfless sacrifice looks like. The very men and women that were most hailed for their heroism on that day are now castigated by society. The ones who take up the honor of serving and protecting are now seen as the enemy. Regardless of one's position on police reform, in the aftermath of 9/11 it was only about support and care for our First Responders, because we saw firsthand the danger that they were willing to face at any time on that day. 

From that day on we said "We will Never Forget." But 19 years later, that's exactly what we've done. We've forgotten that peace and unity have to be fought for every day for it to truly exist. We've forgotten the importance of self-sacrifice when it comes to actual mutual benefit. Now more than ever we are not a people that "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." This has led many to either become even more locked in to their ideology or to become unengaged all together, because "what's the point?" Even Christians have adopted the idea of "us v. them", and with the creation of social media it's become even more evident that we don't seek to unify ourselves with others around a common goal, but we seek to own others with constant argumentation, witty quips, insulting memes, or mocking satirical articles. I wonder what happens when a society can no longer be satirized because even the unimaginable has become reality? Yet I digress... 

Today, I encourage you to lift up others in prayer. Pray for those who oppose you. Pray for those with whom you disagree. Pray for those continuing to suffer from the losses that occurred on September 11, 2001 or the aftermath of the wars and conflicts that came from this attack. Pray for our leaders on both sides of the aisle. Pray for peace, unity, and a common morality that would unite us once again. Pray that we would "Never Forget" and what that really means as we live everyday with knowledge that this day could indeed be my last on this earth. Finally, pray for forgiveness for sins long unconfessed and for healing among relationships broken or destroyed because of hateful words, bitterness, anger, envy, or jealousy. May God bless you and our country, and may He give us peace. 

Secularism Part 2

 Last time, I went hard after the secularism that caused the "right" to drift to a non-traditional candidate four years ago in Donald J. Trump. Since that post the RNC has had their national convention, nominated Trump for a second term, and done their best to convince Americans that he continues to be the right man for the job. Their argument has been bolstered of late because of the further demise of decency and values throughout our nation expressed in the riots, demonstrations, and crimes that are plaguing our major cities in recent days. Again, I am not a Trump defender and I am more than happy to call the president out when he tweets inappropriate comments or violates the principles of conservatism rooted in historical liberalism, but that is not the purpose of this post. 

The purpose of this post is to turn our attention to the Left and its continual lurch toward secular humanism and the removal of the bedrock of Western Culture, the Judeo-Christian Ethic. To get the fullest picture of these things I would encourage any reader to check out RC Sproul's teaching series "A Blue Print for Thinking." For simplicity you can click here and it will take you to the teaching series. From the Enlightenment on thinkers and philosophers have been seeking to understand humanity outside of the normal, or at least the historical ways, that man was pondered before. There was the idea that man was not the center of the universe, but something outside of him. And whatever that something was, it was what drove man "to be" and to live in such a way that he promoted the good of others, even if it meant suffering for himself. This was modeled in Plato's writings concerning Socrates, the Hebrew Bible, and ultimately in the New Testament with the life of Christ. Now, of course the Biblical record has an even greater purpose in its writing, namely the personal revelation of the God who has made all things and for whom all things exist, but for the purpose of this examination we are simply highlighting the ethical and moral teachings of that Sacred Book. 

With Enlightenment thinking aimed more directly at man's pursuit of his own personal happiness, philosophy and other disciplines began to follow suit. The greatest display of man's desire to make himself the center of the universe finally arrived in the mid-19th century with Darwin's book, "On the Origin of Species." Evolutionary biology and humanistic philosophy now had their treatise on how to break away from the problem with a "Creator" and move to a view that all of creation was not actually a creation at all as much as it was an accidental achievement of evolutionary chaos. This only further cemented the view that man existed for his own good, because without a god to keep man accountable to himself or his fellow man he was free to pursue his own pursuits however he saw fit. Now, for clarification I will state that in varying degrees man has always been given over to this desire to throw-off his Creator. This was exactly what happened in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and what man has being doing ever since that day in worshiping idols, false gods, himself, or any other thing like science, sports, politics, money, fame, etc. has only further illustrated man's fallen heart and sinful nature. 

Man's proclivity to such thinking is what allowed for the immediate spread and adoption of Darwin's view as the chief "scientific" and "philosophical" received truth that began to be pushed by the intellectuals of the day. It truly did not take long, historically speaking of course, for Darwin's theory to become the accepted science and for it to even find its way into classrooms and colleges in no time at all. With this mindset also came the Progressive Era, where men and women seeing themselves as the center of everything, began to demand rights not based on Natural Law or what may be best in a pluralistic society, but on the basis of what made them feel "equal." Whether it was the right to vote, taxing income, a right to work, the need for safety nets, or the great number of issues that arose in the early 20th century, no longer were we as a people seeking what Higher Law had established, but we were finding comfort in the Civil Law, man's ideal of equity based on jurisprudence and legislation and not a rooted ethic. Yes, there had been some Natural Laws that had been violated in the past by this government and others, namely the acceptance of race based slavery and the idea that people of color where somehow less human than others. However, this errors were exploited to deny the usefulness of Natural Law, instead of rightly recognizing where people had been erroneous in their interpretation of what God had rightly demanded from his creation. 

Woodrow Wilson was the first president to not only use his progressive ideas to come to political prominence, but he himself was a racist who viewed people of color as inferior to others, which was a logical conclusion based on his view of human beings and their origins. Some may have tried to use biblical links such as the infamous "curse of Ham" to make the same arguments, but this only revealed their ignorance of Scripture, because there is no "curse of Ham" mentioned in the Bible. Canaan is cursed by Noah in the biblical account after the flood, but the larger family of Ham is not included in that cursing. The argument can be made historically that this is what sets God against the people of Canaan, and contributes greatly in their future judgment by the people of Israel in their conquest of Canaan's land after the period of Egypt captivity. All of this is in fulfillment of God's promises made to the Patriarch Abraham and continued through his sons Isaac and Jacob. All this aside to simply say the continuation of racial injustice and inequity has much more of a basis in progressivist secularism than it does in a Biblical Ethic. 

This is the direction I want to continue in as we further examine 20th and 21st century culture and society and how we have arrived at where we are today. I do believe that secular humanism rooted in an evolutionary philosophy of mankind pushed by the progressivist left has been the primary engine that has moved our society and culture away from Natural Law, Western Philosophy, and a common morality. However, I think the same mindset that has allowed this is universal in all man. I think our fallen nature blinds our eyes, deafens our ears, clouds our minds, and hardens our hearts to the truth of God and what He demands of His creation. I do not think that Truth can be found in governments of politicians, but I do think that those in authority have a God-mandated right to do what is good and to protect the people God has placed them over. I firmly believe the Left has diminished the role of the family, men, and the church in the lives of people to the extent that the violence and anarchy that is ongoing today is a direct product of. In my next post I hope to finally getting around to explaining those things, and then ultimately providing good and healthy solutions to how we might be able to solve the problems that plague us, if we are not too late. Thank you for reading. God bless you and come, Lord Jesus! 

Secularism's Failure: Part 1

Secularism is killing the American experiment. When people have no ethical foundation, they have no absolutes to control them or ground them to reality. Then they are left to perceiving everything as some sort of injustice or crime on the basis of it hurts their feelings or their notion of what should be considered "right" and "wrong". Once this occurs, they come after everything and everyone they believe to be in violation of the morals they choose to value at the moment. Right now what is valued is anything not connected with Trump, conservatism, or the narrative that has been created by whomever it is that is controlling the press.
I am not a Trump fan. I did not vote for the man in 2016 and I have NO DESIRE to vote for him this year. I do take more delight than I should in the anger that he creates from those on the left, but I have no desire to support him, his immorality, or his stupidity in leadership. He is indeed feckless and immature in his ability to lead and should never have been entrusted with the office of Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan. Yet, he has become a litmus test in many ways for people struggling to really understand the American experiment. America has never been a nation symbolized by one man, even though many outside her boarders reduce her to this picture. But those of us inside understand that the Executive branch of our government is an every changing office. I am on the seventh president of my lifetime. Carter was still in office at my birth, even if he only had a few months left, and I am now a man near 40 with the hope that an eighth president will be inaugurated in January of 2021 (For the record I do not desire that to be Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee, perhaps Kanye West will overtake them both! You never know in 2020!)
In the eyes of many, Trump represents a regressive decision by Americans after the "hope and optimism" of the Obama years. We had elected our first president of color, and were viewed as progressing to some sort of utopian future by some. Those on the other side of the aisle viewed things slightly differently from a political and governing standpoint, and because of the concern of liberalism that was arising from most Americans feeling marginalized or unrepresented all together by their government, they elected a loud-mouth, neophyte in the realm of politics because they thought they were throwing off the status quo, and electing a true change maker. In the end they were electing what many on both sides knew to be an immoral, untrustworthy, self-promoter who was simply running in hope of building his brand.
Trump was never prepared for the task of being president and everything from Day 1 has displayed that. The best credentials Trump has ever had was that the people that hate him were the people that the right hated. In other words, he at least had the right enemies, and as we know, "The enemy of my enemies is my friend." This idea was what carried him to the White House, as well as the notion that experience in politics, actual intelligence, and personal morality where a standard of the past. "HEY! Clinton was a lousy moral example, but at least he governed as a centrist" seemed to become the motto of the very people that sought to impeach Clinton because of his infidelity. It's a great reminder that ANGER, BITTERNESS, and DIVISIVENESS are never good motivators for supporting a candidate, pastor, and any other person for that matter. It's also revealing how much FEAR became an instigator in the mind and hearts of those that choose to support Trump and continue to till this day.
What they fear is a lost ideal that I don't think America ever really possessed, or at least hasn't possessed since Woodrow Wilson brought in the Progressive Era, and potentially even before then. This is where secularism began to take its hold on the American Experience and where we will pick back up on this topic in my next posts...

Clay Feet and Tumbling Strawmen

One of the greatest motifs of the Bible is the constant refrain that even the "good guys" mess up. From the outset this lesson becomes clear with Adam, our first father, bringing sin into the world by disobeying the ONE command given to him by his Creator. Then just a few chapters later we see the next "father of the world", Noah, get drunk in his tent and have to have two of his sons care for him in his inebriated state. Then there's Abraham, the first of the patriarchs and the "father of faith", who seems to turn coward every time he meets any man of power. And on and on we could go through Moses and Aaron, Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, Samson (seriously, have you read about this guy??? NO WAY he would survive 21st century scrutiny. I bet he would be blasted for being friends with Joe Rogan or perhaps just listening to his podcast!), David (man after God's own heart, you say?), Solomon, Jonah (spoiler alert, he's kinda racist), and even into the New Testament with the Apostles Peter and Paul all of these men have serious flaws and foibles that lead anyone reading with an open mind wondering how these guys could ever be considered "Heroes" of the faith.  However, if you read with eyes and ears opened by the Spirit, you'll be able to understand why God is prone to use men with clay feet (and by "clay feet" I mean "obvious imperfections") to accomplish His glorious purposes because it highlights who the real hero of the Bible truly is.
Throughout the Bible there is only one person who is presented as, and is clearly known, to be perfect, and that is the God-Man Jesus Christ. From his birth to John announcing the beginning of his public ministry to his death and resurrection and the teaching of the Apostles about all of these things, it is made clear that the one true HERO of the Bible is Jesus Christ. Hebrews makes it very clear when the writer says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, ESV) Jesus is "the spotless lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Jesus is the one who endures every temptation known to man,"lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life", so that he could be the sin bearer for those whom the Father had given him. That means when Christ went to the cross and suffered the Father's wrath he was doing it to redeem the sins of all his brothers and sisters for all time. Christ died for Samson's sins, Jonah's sins, and my sins. He also died for the sins of Southern slave holders, Confederate soldiers, western expansionist that persecuted American Indians, Jim Crow proponents, and any other sins many today deem unforgivable.
I don't understand why God allowed some of the most famous men of faith in the Bible to be polygamist, scandalous, murderous, and racist in their words and actions. But I do know that's exactly why Christ came and died, because all of us are sinners in need of Christ's redeeming work to save us from the wrath of God. All of us have sins that we are unaware of because of cultural acceptance, lack of maturity, or spiritual blindness. It doesn't make those sins less grievous or offensive to a Holy God, but it does display why our sins must be judged by a Holy God because we are so comfortable in our own sin that we don't even realize how sinful we are in thought, word, and deed on a daily basis.
This is why I will never be a fan of tearing down statues, especially by mob rule, of men that by all accounts were men no different than some of the men the Bible praises. And yes, I mean praises, read Hebrews 11, commonly known as the "Hall of Faith" chapter, and whose names do you read? Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and David. Would I like it better if all of these men were perfectly moral with no obvious flaws or shortcomings? Most definitely! Do I cheer or promote their sins? NOT AT ALL! But do I understand that ultimately they are only men with clay feet not honored for their perfections, but highlighted because despite their imperfections they had faith in the one who would take away their sins and justify them before the Father? YES! Now, I know that not all of the statues being torn down and left to the trash-bin of history are men of faith. As a matter of fact very few of them may have been men of faith, perhaps that could be an explanation for their sins. However, they all serve to remind us that our own American history wasn't established by innocent men, but by those willing to take a stand in their own generations for things they were convicted needed to be defended. Were some of them wrong in their convictions? YES, and shouldn't that be worth remembering? The only thing we can be certain of is the truth that is contained in God's Word, and tearing down the statues of those we deem unworthy is only an exercise in tearing down straw-men arguments of our opponents because we are too insecure about our own beliefs to explain the truth and nuance of those who have gone own before us.
So let's take a lesson from Scripture, instead of tearing down statues and monuments, let's learn. Let's ask the hard questions about life and being. Let's not forget that even good and decent men could be wrong about issues we believe to be so clear now. Let's be humbled because there may come a generation after us that recognizes more clearly the sins that we committed as a people. And let us all be thankful that even those sins we commit in ignorance are put away through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and despite our blindness, God is full of grace and mercy and will not withhold his forgiveness from all who are in Christ and have submitted to Him.

Ten Years Later...

Well... it's been 10 years since I posted a blog on this site. In that time my wife and I have added four more children, moved a few times, settled in Laurel, MS, survived Covid, and are a month away from celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary. And of course it would take the absolute craziness of 2020 to finally get me to find my way back to this old place and make some random comments about the seeming insanity that we see all around today.
The family and I have been enjoying the quarantine life since I tested positive for Covid-19 on June 6th. It's been over two weeks since we started our time in quarantine, and we are waiting another week before really getting out to make sure that we've given plenty of time for everyone to have gone through their full two weeks since their first symptoms. By "really getting out" I mean allowing everyone to be out in public and not just sit in a vehicle while getting gas or picking up groceries in the pick up lane. In the mean time I have enjoyed getting some reading done, spending time with the family, and getting hooked home renovations shows.
Also, I've been watching how secularism has revealed all of its downfalls over the last several weeks, and even though it's been fulfilling watching secularism prove its inability to order a society with its ever changing morals and lack of belief in absolute truth, it's sad to see people giving over to chaos and uncertainty because their worldview has proven to be built on sinking sand. For example, I was reading on Twitter about how upset people were about all of the things they WERE NOT taught in public school, or at least not given the full story about. I laughed audibly at the things being mentioned, not because they were inconsequential and didn't deserve to be included in the curriculum of public schools, but because public schools have been leftist institutions basically since their inception. John Dewey, the founding father of public education in America, was a leftist and most (I'm being generous because "all" seems a bit presumptive) public schools have been overseen by liberals ever since. Therefore, those wringing their hands over what wasn't or hasn't been taught have only their friendly leftist-secularist leaders to blame. And of course all of this begs the question, "Why wouldn't our secularist educators want us to know all about their failed policies throughout American history?" But, I'm pretty sure you know the answer to that one...
This isn't to simplify the complicated issues around us and just point the finger at the left and say "it's all your fault!" No, Christians do in fact have some responsibility to own up to and most of that is connected to not being more forthright in their preaching and teaching of the whole counsel of God, and, instead, being intimidated by the ever-changing demands of secular culture. Soft-pedaling the Gospel, avoiding biblical ethics, adding to Scripture the opinions of men, churches seeing one another as competitors instead of co-laborers are just a few examples of ways Christians have failed the culture they have been planted in and haven't helped their fellow man to understand their Creator's expectations for them and why He has every right to make those demands on His creation.
I think I am going to use this post as a jumping off point to start a series of posts diagnosing the problems around us today and offer some real solutions at how to begin remedying those problems. I'm not a fan of pointing out problems without offering some sort of solution, so my aim will be to do that as detailed as possible. You may not agree, but I would hope to at least start a conversation or two that may result in seeing fruitful results for Christians, like me, who are seeking to persevere in this life, while anxiously waiting for the hope of the world to come.