I tremble with the glad responsibility of introducing you to Ian & Larissa Murphy in this video. Tremble, because it is their story and so personal. So delicate. So easily abused. So unfinished. Glad, because Christ is exalted over all things.

You can go to Desiring God to read more about Ian, Larissa and their marriage in these posts: Why We Got Married, Learning Contentment in Suffering, and A Daily Disabled Life.

The Story of Ian & Larissa from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Paul’s prayer from Colossians serves as the foundation for this Mother’s Day message. Not only does Rich preach to mothers, but he preaches to the sons and daughters of God, our primary role and identity as the children of God.

Session 4 Outline

We are very pleased that Arby’s has agreed to cooperate in our efforts to raise money for the families affected by the shooting. Our hope is that these funds will alleviate some of the financial burden that comes with funeral arrangements and time off  work. Please help us communicate our love and sorrow for them by participating in the following ways:

Where

Arby’s on Baseline, west of Val Vista Drive

Click to download Flier 1

480-558-3434

3535 E. Baseline Rd

Gilbert, AZ 85234

Arby’s on Market Street, between Pecos & Williams Field

Click to download Flier 2

480-792-6659

2889 S Market St

Gilbert, AZ 85295

When

Saturday, May 5th, 11:00am to 8:00pm

How

1. Print and present the corresponding coupon (Flier 1) (Flier 2). 20% of your purchase will go toward the funeral costs of the families affected by the shooting.
2. Get the word out by sharing this link (share via email, twitter, Facebook, or print extras and bring them with you everywhere)
3. Pray for comfort for the families of Lisa Mederos (47), Amber Mederos (23), Jim “Jambob” Hiott (24), and Lilly,  Amber’s 15-month-old daughter.

If we’re not careful, our Christian lives can meander down this road too. When we fail to recall exactly how good God has been to us we can begin to show signs of taking a stroll toward the abyss of ungratefulness, perhaps even questioning God’s goodness.  Psalm 106 helps us on how to avoid this. It begins:

Praise the LORD!

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

 for his steadfast love endures forever!

Why should we give thanks to the Lord with hearts overflowing with unabashed gratefulness? It’s because God is good and has been, and is, and will be steadfast in His enduring love for us. We ought to remember! Remember who we were before He broke into our lives. Remember His grace that says, “I know who you are and what you’ve done, but you are righteous in my eyes and your sin is removed from my presence because I crushed my Son for you.” Remember that in His love we are called children, not enemies. Remember that because of Him our hopeless and pathetic lives are full of hope and joy.

Do you ever find yourself more aware of what God hasn’t done for you than what God has done for you? Are you ever lacking in affection for the Lord with no desire to praise Him? Perhaps you’re not taking the time to remember how good He has been to you.

The danger of forgetfulness is that if we aren’t careful, we will quickly find ourselves failing to recall God’s persistent love and grace, gradually slipping into the abyss of ungratefulness.  Rather, let us continually seek to “give thanks for the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Session 3 Outline

At the end of the recording is a special tribute to Rich and his wife Tiffany, as this marks his 300th preached sermon at Sovereign Grace Church in Gilbert!

Session 2 Outline

While we don’t think that every aspect of the report is indicative of every Sovereign Grace Church, we generally agree with their findings and welcome the input of these men to our family of churches. We trust that this input will help us to continue to grow as a church in these areas and will benefit our family of churches long into the future. We would also agree with the statements made against any kind of sinful speech. I hope that you find this report as helpful as we do and please let us know if you have any questions.

 Ambassadors of Reconciliation recently finished the report that documents their findings after a nine-month study of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Their report, as well as a response from C.J. Mahaney and our Board of Directors, is below.

AOR Group Reconciliation Report

Quite surprisingly I was spared by the Lord from only using the moment to challenge her about complaining or urging her to further faithfulness in her chores. (Nothing wrong in doing that! But too often my parenting centers on correction and not instruction.) Instead, a more inspiring answer came to mind.  I explained to her that work is hard, because we are not in heaven yet.  Now, if only I can learn the truth of that answer in my own life!

Too often I think of “heaven” as the absence of work and the presence of something I like to think of as rest – but what is probably better described as laziness. Now, I fully believe that God gives us regular moments of the absence of work. A good portion of every 24 hours is spent doing nothing but acknowledging our physical limitations in sleep.

However, I also know that God made me for work, for service, for labor. In heaven, I will have work to do. But the curse of work, given because of sin, will no longer be present. The ground will no longer bring forth thorns. I will no longer spend long hours with little apparent usefulness. And in work I will  experience the sustaining grace and power of the Lord Jesus and the complete absence of temptations or sinful cravings, so that my work will be a joy.

I don’t doubt that I will still exert effort, and I will still feel my ongoing need for God to sustain my body, glorified though it will be. But work will no longer be “hard” in the fallen-world, sinful-flesh-resistant, thorn-producing way that it is hard now. Instead we will delight that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, and we will find rest for our souls.

Until Jesus burst the bonds of death, death always won.

Think about it. Who escaped death? No one. Wealth could never ward off the grim reaper. Fame could not erase mortality. Altruism was no ticket to immortality.

Death had muffled every song. Death had stilled every pulse. Death had stifled every happy ending. Death had wilted every hope. Death snuffed out every light. Up and to this point, Death seemed like the most powerful force in the universe.

Then Death met Jesus.

Death had never met anyone like Jesus. In the Spirit of the great allegorical Pilgrim’s Progress, I submit to you this entirely imaginary conversation between Jesus and Death.

Jesus: Okay, I am leaving now.

Death: Ha. I don’t think so. No one I swallow up ever leaves. You are not going anywhere.

Jesus: You may have swallowed me whole, but you cannot keep me here. I am leaving.

Death: Who do you think you are? Do you realize who I am? No one ever escapes my grip. Anonymous peasants, powerful potentates, famous generals, and wealthy merchants — all have entered my gates never to escape.  Whoever I snatch, I hold. All that have felt my cold grip are mine forever. I am Death. You are not leaving.

Jesus: I am Jesus Son of God, the great I AM, the Alpha & Omega, the cornerstone, the Holy One, the prince of peace, the bright morning star, and most importantly to you — the first born of the dead. I am the light of the life of men and you cannot hold me. I am leaving. Ha!

Death: Satan has given me the power over all mankind — no one has ever left. You are not going anywhere.

Jesus: I have crushed Satan’s head. I am leaving.

Death: Stop talking nonsense. You were a good man, I’ll give you that, but your good deeds are come to an end. You cannot do anyone any good now. It is over. You can’t leave.

Jesus: Oh, it is just beginning. I am leaving. I tasted the unfiltered wrath of the unlimited God for unlovely sinners. I chose to lay my life down for them — now I take it up again — for them. Goodbye.

Death: You are not going anywhere. There is no power in all the universe that can pull you from the grave.

Jesus: There is no power in all the universe that can keep me in this grave.

Death: You cannot leave! You lost when you died.

Jesus: I won when I died. You may not have the final say anymore. Today, everything changes.

Death: You cannot leave!

Jesus: Watch me — and by the way — I am not the last who will escape your clutches. I am just first. Countless others will follow.

Death: What?! NOOOOOOO!!

Jesus: (Over the Death’s wails, Jesus began to sing as he leaves) — “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

The day Jesus rose, death died.

4/22/12 — Exodus 7:8–8:19

4/29/12 — Exodus 8:20–10:29

5/06/12 — Exodus 11:1–12:32

5/13/12 — Mother’s Day (break from Exodus)

5/20/12 — Exodus 12:33–13:16

5/27/12 — Exodus 13:17–14:31

6/03/12 — Exodus 15:1–21

6/10/12 — Exodus 15:22–16:36

As always if you ever have any questions about a sermon you are free to email me through our contact form here. See you Sunday.

Do you feel yourself asking the same question? Rich seeks to shed light on the topic of the Holy Spirit through a 4-week class. Listen to the first session and download the session outline below.

Session 1 Outline

Christians believe that Jesus died on a cross like a thief, was entombed, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. The whole of Christianity is tied up with the events of Easter weekend. If Jesus did not die and rise again, there is nothing for anyone to trust in. When Christians talk of “trusting in Jesus” they mean believing that Jesus died as a substitute for their sins while they receive the righteousness for his perfect life. All of this hinges on Jesus’ resurrection. If Jesus was not raised, there is no eternal life and Christianity is entirely bankrupt. Paul makes this point in 1 Corinthians 15:14-17 when he points out,

 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

In other words, if Christ is not alive, then there is no way for faith of any kind to be alive. Did Jesus really rise? Over the centuries many voices have tried to cast a pall of doubt on the resurrection by bringing up a number of objections. What about it, does the resurrection stand up to the scrutiny of hard questions? Here are some of the more popular theories:

1. Twin theory

Some have said that someone who looked like Jesus could have died and then later the twin showed up and pretended to have risen from the dead. This theory does not pass the common sense test. There was never any report of Jesus being a twin. Furthermore, all the authorities had to do to prove that Jesus was still dead would be to produce his corpse and parade it in the streets. This never happened.

2. Swoon theory

Other voices contend that Jesus did not really die, but swooned, only appearing to die. They assert that Jesus went unconscious in the agony on the cross, but in the coolness of the tomb, he was revived. There are many problems with this theory. First, the centurions who crucified Jesus were experts at their craft. Their stock and trade was death. They were assigned to crucifixion duty and their victims always died. There are no reports of any exceptions. To say that a victim only appeared to die, and deceive the death experts does not square with the facts. These Roman guards oversaw hundreds of crucifixions a month and knew when someone was dead. It is extremely unlikely that these merchants of death would assume that Jesus died when he was only passed out.

Furthermore, using the accounts of the crucifixion medical professionals have weighed in as well. Nearly universally, scientifically trained medical professionals — with no connection to Christianity — agree that Jesus really died. For example a publication as prestigious as The Journal of the American Medical Society reports the following:

Interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.

Additionally if Jesus did not die it is preposterous to think that an injured, beaten Jesus would have inspired such fervent, life-sacrificing devotion by his disciples. Dr. Alexander Metherell Ph.D. said,

…after suffering that horrible abuse, with all the catastrophic blood loss and trauma, he would have looked so pitiful that his disciples would never have hailed him as a victorious conqueror of death; they would have felt sorry for him and tried to nurse him back to health.

We can see, then, that the swoon theory has no basis in reality.

3. Body stolen

Still another group asserts that the disciples stole the body of Jesus and faked the whole resurrection. The challenge with this theory is the gospels make clear that Jesus’ followers had no expectation of the resurrection in the first place. When Jesus died, they responded with utter despondency and complete dejection. One of his disciples even refused to believe that Jesus rose from the dead even after his companions said they saw him. More than that, these men were scared to death of the Roman authorities and they would never try and overpower the guards at the tomb, roll away the two-ton stone, and pretend that Jesus lived.

If this story were true, the question would not be what happened to Jesus’ body, but what happened to the brains of the disciples? This story cracks under cross-examination as well.

4. Hallucination

Others allege that those who claimed to have seen Jesus merely hallucinated. The problem with that view is that people do not hallucinate in groups, all seeing the same thing. Jesus appeared to so many different people (to 500 at one time once) in so many different places that to believe everyone hallucinated pushes logic past the breaking point.

What is the alternative?

The only alternative is that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. Just producing the body could have quashed any one of these theories, but no one could. There was no body to produce, because Jesus rose from the realm of the dead. History agrees. Eyewitness accounts agree. Do you?

•  The best and oldest manuscripts do not include 9-20 — manuscripts are simply copies of parts or the entire Bible. When the King James Bible (KJV) was translated in 1611 the copies of scripture that had been discovered were fewer in number.
• In the 400 years since the KJV release more reliable, older manuscripts have been discovered and verses 9-20 are not included.
• Additionally, the writing style is clearly different. Someone other than Mark wrote 16:9-20. Most modern English translations follow the KJV tradition by including these verses, though evidence and nearly 100% of biblical scholars agree that 9-20 is not authentic.

So, what happened? Some well-meaning scribe could have written this ending to make the end of Mark seem smoother. They may have thought it odd that the last note was one of fear. Try this: read Mark through for yourself and notice how abrupt he is in his writing style. He starts the gospel abruptly — no genealogy (like Matthew), no prologue (like John), no extended purpose statement (like Luke) — just, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God…” It would only make sense that Mark would end the gospel curtly.

The ending is powerful because Mark is showing us that the story is not over and we can now be a part of the story with a risen savior. The question remains: will you be afraid or will you tell others?

Halfway through the Psalm, David starts speaking to the Lord directly. In the first three verses God is referenced as “He” — the One who is our shepherd, who leads and restores us. In verse four there is a change. “Even though I walk through the valley…you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me…”

I pray this is true of my relationship with the Lord as well. I pray that meditating on God’s character leads me to speak directly to him in prayer — that truth always leads to relationship. I pray that I would not only know about the personal care of the Lord, but that I would draw near to the Lord Himself. I pray I would think much about the Lord, that my thoughts would be shaped by truth, and that truth would lead to prayer, prayer to gratefulness, gratefulness to affection, and affection right back to truth.

(Please note that the blog post mentioned in the beginning of the sermon can be found here.)

• God chose a childless man and wife, Abram and Sarai, to be the father and mother of his people. And after choosing them, he waited until they were well past child-bearing age to grant the miracle of a son. It’s also worth noting that the proximity of nephew Lot in the Genesis story reveals that God could easily have chosen another line in Abraham’s family tree that was not barren. Why the contrast? In their extreme weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose the younger brother Jacob, rather than the older brother Esau, to be the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Being the younger brother would have been a “weaker” position in that culture. It’s also worth noting the contrast; Esau is the strong man of the field, while Jacob is the “weaker” man, living among the tents. Jacob is also in danger from Esau and then from Laban and then from Esau again — yet Jacob fathers the twelve tribes that become the nation of Israel. In Jacob’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose to raise Joseph to an extreme position of worldly power in order to save his family from famine only after he had been thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, falsely accused, and forgotten in prison. Why didn’t God just launch Joseph directly into a position of power, right after his dreams foretold his future prominence? In Joseph’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose to commission Moses as the deliverer of his people after Moses failed in his own attempt to deliver God’s people, after he lived in exile for 40 years as a forgotten shepherd, after Moses was so aware of his weakness that it led him to the opposite sinful extreme of resisting God’s call. Why didn’t God commission Moses right after he killed the Egyptian, in the midst of his youthful ambition and power? In Moses’ weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose Gideon — by self-admission the weakest man of a small family — to defeat the mighty Midianite army. And he only allowed Gideon to fight after he had reduced his army from 32,000 to 300. Why didn’t God choose a “stronger” man from a “stronger” family with a larger army? In Gideon’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose to give Samson his greatest triumph after he cried out in desperation, chained to two pillars in the Philistine temple. Why not grant Samson his greatest triumph at the height of his “strength.” In Samson’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose Hannah — the barren wife of a man with children from another wife — to be the mother of Samuel the great prophet. Why not choose the wife who was not barren? Why not allow Hannah to conceive prior to her famous desperate prayer at the temple? In Hannah’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose David to be a giant-killer, and then king, and ultimately a great foreshadowing of Jesus Christ — even though David was the youngest son, left in the fields tending sheep, when Samuel the prophet arrived. Why not choose the oldest son, or any of the older sons who had joined the army with Saul, to defeat Goliath, to ultimately become king? They still would have been from the tribe of Judah and from Bethlehem. In David’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose Hezekiah’s desperate prayer, not his kingly prestige or power, to be the precursor to the Divine destruction of the Assyrian army. Why not allow the Israelite army to defeat their enemy on the field of battle? In Hezekiah’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose Peter as the initial leader of the church, recommissioning him after he had denied the Lord. The one who would not confess Christ to three single questions would eventually proclaim him boldly to a crowd of thousands. Why not choose a disciple who had not failed so miserably? In Peter’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• God chose Paul, the great persecutor, to become the great apostle to the Gentiles, after he had been blinded by his vision of the risen Savior. Why not allow Paul to know Jesus before his death? Better yet, why not plan for Paul to be one of the original disciples? In Paul’s weakness, God showed himself strong.
• And the greatest example of all — the great substance to which all the Old Testament patterns point and that all the New Testament examples reflect: God chose Jesus Christ, fully God, to provide salvation through the weakness of an agonizing death on a cross. Indeed, as Paul says, the cross is foolish to this world, since, to paraphrase a thought from D.A. Carson, no human wisdom could imagine a crucified messiah, triumphing in power precisely because he dies in weakness. As the hymn declares: “Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut his glories in; when Christ the mighty maker died; for man the creature’s sin.”

What can we take away from this Biblical pattern, especially seeing its pinnacle in Jesus Christ, the mighty maker, surrendering his life willingly to death on the cross?

• Not that God delights in human suffering — since this pattern included the suffering of his own beloved Son.
• Not that God delights in human laziness — since self-pity that doubts God is not better than self-trust that forgets God.
• Not that we should “make up” weakness and confess them to God in hopes that he will bless us — since the reality is that all that we have and are already comes from him and we have nothing that he does not provide.

Rather, we should be amazed at the mercy of God in showering provision on us, even in areas that we assume are self-sustained. His strength is seen in my weakness, whether I see it or not. We should realize that human pride and self-confidence are far more evil than we normally think and that God’s glory is more paramount than we can possibly imagine. If I’m still breathing, His strength is seen in my weakness, even when I deny my need for him. We should repent of any areas of our life where we live in self-confidence — for my part, I find idols of sleep, entertainment, food, and ease frequent substitutes for dependence on God. His strength is seen in forgiving me, powerful grace in the face of my overwhelming sin. We should search out new ways to declare our dependence on the Lord, so that we can boast in his strength with fresh vigor. We should anticipate moments where we feel our weakness as a mercy from the Lord, opening our dim eyes, and inviting us to cry out for his strength. And, most importantly, we should worship the Lord of glory, who glorified himself by creating this pattern of providing his strength in the context of human weakness. He surrendered himself in weakness to death and showed the glory of God’s salvation. He delights to sustain any who call out to him. He gladly offers his merciful power and almighty grace even to those who have spent a lifetime trusting in themselves.

Lord, make me, like Paul, glad to boast in my weakness, that your power may rest upon me. Forgive the recent pattern I see in my life of trusting in my own strength and the life-long pattern of denying my need for you. Thank you for making your mercy new every morning and for being always a present help in my need. Help me to long for your strength more than the ‘sense’ of my own power. Help me to glorify you by boasting in your strength. Receive all the glory, Lord. All that I have accomplished you have done for me. Your name alone do I honor.

On Christ the Solid Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

(This 4-part series originally posted on my blog here. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.)

What weak creatures we are! We even need help to see our need for help. We need grace to see our need for grace. Thankfully, God is gracious enough to help us enjoy his strength — indeed He is the God of grace upon grace.

I was made to live in dependance on him — this is the greatest glory of my life — that all of my life is dependent on him. Knowing this dependent identity leads me to a few challenging implications:

1. I should be far more uncomfortable than I normally am when I feel “strong.” This perception of strength – -of sufficiency in myself — is an indication of blindness to the sustaining grace of God. The “sense” of self-strength should concern me, and lead me to desperate prayers for God’s sustaining grace and protection against the destructive pride of self-sufficiency.

2. I should be far less disappointed when I “sense” weaknesses or insufficiency in myself. Rather than thinking of this “sense of weakness” exclusively as a burden, or trial, or “unusual experience” in contrast with the “norm” of self-sufficiency, I should see this “sense” as an invitation from God to boast in his strength with greater urgency and passion.

3. I need to be more surprised that God sustains me even when I don’t ask , than I am when he reveals my need for him by exposing my weakness.

4. I need to be more worried about the trap of trusting myself than the trials that will cause me to trust in the Lord. Trusting myself can lead to spiritual destruction. Trusting God will bring a peace that exceeds understanding — even if my earthly circumstances are painful.

5. I need to ask myself where I have neglected risk for God’s glory because of a fear of feeling insufficient in myself.

6. I need to ask whether I have greater confidence in praying for God to help others than I do in helping them through my counsel.

7. I need to consider how much of my counsel to others centers around pointing them to God in prayer and the Word, rather than in following my advice in practical matters.

8. I need to meditate on how much of the Scripture centers around God’s eagerness to sustain and bless those who entrust themselves to him.

9. I need to meditate on the eternal choice of God — on how God chose me because of his own love and grace and without any reason to be found in me. My whole history has been a trophy case of God’s strength working in the context of my need.

10. I need to meditate on the gospel — on how I have already crucified all confidence in myself to the cross of Christ and risen with him so that all I have is Christ.

Lord, make my boast in your strength. Be my glory and my one and only hope.

(This 4-part series originally posted on my blog here. Check back next week for Part 4.)

No matter where I go, I will never be home until I’m with Jesus.

Christians are bound for a better country.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:13-16

So, if your life is not all that you had hoped it would be — take heart — it is not supposed to be! Happiness without end and fulfillment without measure, that is for later. These are the days of trust in Jesus and trouble with each new day.

I can’t wait to go home.

(Parents, please note that due to the subject matter of this passage, this sermon recording may not be suitable for children. Please use discretion when listening.)

Exodus is the greatest adventure story ever told. After long centuries of slavery under Pharaoh, God remembered his covenant with Israel and delivered his people out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. The story of Israel’s salvation has everything that anyone would want in an adventure story: a cruel villain (Pharaoh), an unlikely hero (Moses), overwhelming disasters (the plagues), a spectacular deliverance (crossing the Red Sea), a long journey (through the wilderness), a mountaintop experience (where Moses received the Ten Commandments), and a grand finale (the presence of God coming down to the ark of the covenant, filling the tabernacle with glory). The story features unexpected setbacks and unpredictable delays, magic tricks (from Pharaoh’s sorcerers) and miracles, feasts and festivals, music and dancing, and many close encounters with the living God. God’s purpose in all of this was to show his glory by fulfilling the promises he made to his people in the covenant. The exodus is the archetypal deliverance of the OT—the definitive salvation event that established the identity of Israel as the people of God and demonstrated the character of their Deliverer as the God who saves.

This week we will be studying Exodus 4:18-31. Here are some questions that you might want to consider going into Sunday:

•  How is it fair that God hardens Pharaoh’s heart?

• Why would God try and kill Moses, and how did Zipporah’s quick thinking help?

Try this: Start simple; hold one promise in your heart at a time.

Which one? It depends on the kind of trouble you are facing. Search scripture like a treasure hunter for that nugget of gold that will deliver hope to your broken heart.

Do you struggle with fear?

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Are you weighed down by worry?

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you… Psalm 55:22

Are you burdened by regret?

 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. Psalm 103:10

Does the cloud of hopelessness hover over you?

 So, we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

Is the darkness of depression falling on you?

 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Change your promises as your trouble changes. Keep the promises of Jesus close at hand. What are the promises you are holding onto at the moment?

You can listen to Sunday’s sermon here.

Are you deaf to God’s promises because of the roar of your doubts? As Christians, the promises to us are all connected with Jesus and his gospel. In Christ we have great promises, promises better than Moses could imagine. What can a Christian do that is dogged by doubts?

John Bunyan has some timely counsel for those shouted down by their doubts,

I tell thee, friend, there are some promises though and by which the Lord has helped me to lay hold of Jesus Christ, that I would not have out of the Bible for as much gold and silver as can lie between York and London piled up to the stars; because through them Christ is pleased by his Spirit to convey comfort to my soul.

The Bible is a book unlike any other, there is gold in that there book. All the promises that it contains are resplendent, which ones sparkle for you now?

You can listen to the sermon from Sunday here.

What keeps me from joyful, constant dependence on the Lord — from boasting in my weaknesses and rejoicing in His strength? Last week, I posted Part 1 about boasting in weakness, as found in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. This week I’d like to give a few common “alternatives” to boasting in weakness that are more appealing to our sinful natures:

1. The Facade approach: We simply pretend we don’t have weaknesses and work through our weariness, pain, difficulty, struggles, and temptations. We would rather seem strong to ourselves and others than admit our need and receive the Lord’s strength.

2. The Frustrated “God” approach: We choose to believe that our current weakness, trial, or challenge is not what God wants for us, but that he is either too weak or too short-sighted to eliminate the problems. God is a sympathetic observer, watching us face situations out of his control.

3. The Angry “God” approach: This is the approach of Job’s friends. Our experience of trial, temptation, or pain — our “weakness” — is exclusively the result of our sin. Either God is allowing our sin’s consequences to punish us or he is bringing calamity directly to us as a result, a direct punishment, for our past and present sins. In this approach God communicates anger through pain. We might rage against the punishment or agree in a type of self-loathing, but we certainly would not boast in our weakness, since it reflects God’s wrath.

4. The Self-Pity approach: We consider our situation to be unique and since it is unique, a God-centered response is an unreasonable expectation. Or, a slight variation, we find a morbid solace in what we “ought to have been.” Weakness becomes an opportunity to talk about what we “could have” or “should have” if only our situation had been different. In this world our unrealized potential becomes our boast, rather than our real-life weakness and God’s sustaining grace.

5. The Neglected Calling approach: Many times we experience weakness regardless of our choices. Sickness, job-loss, relational trials — many weaknesses are not connected to a particular choice to serve God. Sometimes, however, weakness is experienced precisely when we seek to pursue the calling that God has for us. Pastors experience criticism in their attempt to care, mother’s experience discouragement in their attempt to train, husbands experience weariness in their attempt to lead, missionaries experience persecution in their attempt to evangelize. In some cases the experience of weakness increases the more the calling is pursued. In these cases one way we avoid having to boast in our weakness is to avoid the callings that expose our vulnerability. We would rather avoid weakness, even if it means neglecting God’s calling.

Whatever the approach we might take to avoid boasting in weakness, the root cause is the same: I don’t want to admit my need for God. But God made me to boast in my weaknesses as the theater to display his glorious strength. My “weaknesses” are the backdrop to showcase God’s grace — healing grace in sickness, comforting grace in sorrow, sustaining grace in physical pain, assuring grace in trial, protecting grace in danger, empowering grace in weariness, fruit-bearing grace in my imperfect labor, accomplishing grace in my calling, and most importantly of all — the category that rises above all the others — saving grace for my sins. My weaknesses are an opportunity to know and see the supremely glorious grace of God.

Lord, all that I have is found in you. You have done for us all of our works. I count it all as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing you.

(This 4-part series originally posted on my blog here. Check back next week for Part 3.)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

To boast in weakness is an elusive honor reserved for broken men and women who have been rebuilt by grace. I find that I’m always searching around for some fragment of strength to boast in, always hoping for God to change his mind about showing his power in my weakness. I don’t mind weaknesses as an addendum to a history of strength. As in, “And he did all of these in spite of his inability!” But no, God isn’t looking for a way around my weaknesses, but rather to magnify himself in them. The Bible is one long narrative of God’s intention to bless the poor in spirit, to comfort those who mourn, to be with the contrite, to remember those who cry out for help, to deliver the prisoners, to heal the sick, to ransom the captives, to atone for the guilty, to resurrect the dead.

Paul’s claim that he boasts in his weaknesses often seems to be a contradiction in terms. To boast is to promote yourself, to show forth your most impressive quality, to call attention to something that will make you seem great in the eyes of others. Weaknesses are those parts of us, whether self-inflicted or providentially given, that we hope no one else will see and that we desire to deny even to ourselves. How can it be that Paul would boast in his weakness?

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

What does it mean to wait on the Lord? My heart prefers self-important busyness or self-indulgent laziness. But waiting on the Lord indicates a readiness to move when the Lord speaks, combined with an admission of dependance on the Lord’s strength and guidance. Waiting on the Lord means that I do not issue my own orders, but follow his. It means I have no strength of my own but must glory in his. It means that I cannot live without prayer. It means that I live in constant need of the Lord’s sustaining grace and guiding Word. It means that the Lord is my rock and my salvation–that I am neither rock-like nor a champion, but rather a weary pilgrim in need of heavenly rest.

Lord, teach me to wait on you. Teach me to be always ready to move at your command, but equally content to stay in my current circumstance at your order. Let my “heart take courage” as I “wait on the Lord.”

To read this and other blog posts, you can visit my blog here.

1. God still acts on behalf of his people
2. It’s a story about real people among whom God really moves
3. The Old Testament is a gift to help understand the entire Bible
4. To find Jesus in Exodus, since he is the greater Moses who leads his people from a greater slavery

Session 6

Session 5

Session 4

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Session 3

The Sessions will include the following:

The Four Language Arts: Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing (Pudewa): Nurture excellent communication skills even more effectively by understanding the relationship between these four critical skills.

The Distinctives of Classical Rhetoric (Kern): The three canons as solutions to the three problems; the place of rhetoric as the “deep logic” of the entire curriculum and therefore as the natural ordering principle of the student’s studies. Indeed, what was classical rhetoric and what happened to it?

The Five Methods Everybody Must Practice to Become a Great Writer (Kern):

• Theoretical: understanding the science of writing;
• Literary: studying the great masterpieces of literature as models;
• Critical: learning the details of good usage;
• Practical: practicing the art of writing;
• Linguistic: translating great works of literature into and out of English.

Developing the Essayist: A Natural Approach (Pudewa): How can a student move from simply reporting facts to the more sophisticated skill of using facts to support an opinion? Learn several different essay models, and discover a gradual method of building the analytical writer, starting even at the elementary level!

Assessment (Pudewa/Kern): Marking and grading; objectivity, motivation, and sanity. How to keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and planting seeds of doubt.

Panel: Common Problems in Teaching Writing (Pudewa/Kern)

Looking Ahead: Where Do You Want to Go from Here? (Pudewa/Kern): How does Structure & Style relate to The Lost Tools of Writing, what are the progymnasmata, and what’s next for you?

Session 1

Session 2

We have a conviction through scripture to care for the orphans in our world
We believe that scripture calls us as Christians to care for and love children (James 1:27). One way that our church would encourage responding to this call is through fostering and adopting Arizona’s vulnerable children. Our state is in a crisis and in desperate need of Christian families to step up and become foster and adoptive parents.  Our prayer is that our church would be filled with families who become foster and adoptive parents to children in need of loving homes.

First Steps
If you are interested in becoming a foster/adoptive parent, the first step is to attend an orientation to gather more information regarding foster care and adoption (2012 orientation schedule can be found here). The other option is to schedule an intake meeting with a Christian Adoption Agency (agencies listed below), and the intake coordinator can explain the process to you.

Resources
We hope you find these resources informative in helping you on your way to becoming foster and adoptive parents.

Agape Adoption Agency
Christian Family Care Agency
Bethany Christian Services
Adoption Tax Credit
Together for Adoption

If you have any questions regarding foster care and adoption you can contact Jessica Prather via email.

You can listen to the messages by going to the Relate website here. Pictures will be posted soon on the Relate website, but here is a preview of what the conference was like. We look forward to doing this again at Relate 2013 in January next year!

As you know, this Saturday is the 3rd Saturday of the month, so it’s time for our regular PrimeTime Saturday meeting. However, in light of the Bible Bowl next Sunday, this month’s meeting will be different from our regular format. All PrimeTimers (5th grade-13 years) and parents are invited to come this Saturday (the 21st) at the regular 7:00 PM time, but it will be an optional and informal time for the kids to practice for the Bible Bowl and for us all to share in fellowship. Would love to see you then!

Also – don’t forget that class meets this Sunday, though it is the 4th week. We’ll be working on the Bible Bowl so try not to miss it!

It’ll remain open until the start of the conference this Friday, January 13.

Check-in starts at 6:45 PM, and we will be taking on-site registrations.

Visit our website for more info: comerelate.org

The cost is $25 to attend, which includes conference fees and food during the event. Lodging for out-of-town participants can be arranged by contacting us here. To register, visit our website here.

Come Relate!

Relate 2012 website

Relate Facebook Page

Relate on Twitter

“I started this in the El Paso airport waiting for a flight to Phoenix, having bailed out early on the group of fourteen at the Rancho 3M. It is spitting rain here, and pretty cold. In fact, it looks like most of the grunt labor has finished and tomorrow promises fun and games and crafts and Christmas cookies with the kids.

We got a lot done, including a night session after dinner on Sunday, when all the boxes of Feliz Tree presents were unloaded and stored away to wait for Christmas, several more classrooms got painted, the two tetherball posts were cemented in, and further cleaning of the workshop took place. Today was a cold, raw day with a cold, cutting wind and serious chill factor, and most of the kids stayed mostly inside. Meanwhile, we got new doorknobs and deadbolts on all the classroom doors and the chapel doors; the tetherballs placed on the new poles, which immediately begin to attract a group of kids to learn a new game; new basketball backboards up; more classrooms painted—the painters were within reach of finishing all fourteen rooms when I left; and a large galvanized steel pipe greenhouse frame perhaps 20’ by 30’ out of its site behind the school (where it had apparently never been used to teach the children about gardens and growing vegetables as originally intended), over a 7-foot fence with barbed wire at the top and on its way across the Rancho 3M campus to the area of the family homes where the Adameks and others can grow vegetables in it. I may have forgotten something, but we at least did all of this, and seemed to complete our punch list.

The greenhouse moving project was everything good about working at Rancho 3M. To me, it looked borderline impossible. It provoked discussion about how to accomplish the whole job, from getting the bolted-pipe frame free from its moorings, to getting it over the fence and finally moved about a quarter mile or more. It was good to have the manpower that we had this trip for this project, and to see the cooperation that made it possible. In my recollection, it seems like a miracle that we got that frame over that fence, doing it the way we did it. Fortunately, no safety experts or union reps were on the job, but God was.

While some of the men played in the dirt and wielded cordless drills and hammers and other tools that made noise, the younger women helped paint and helped clean up the workshop (a never-ending task, but it is in pretty good order now), and all the women found time to help out wherever needed on all the other jobs and also set up meals and all of the arts, crafts and games. I did not see any of that, but if the craft and games day is like the meals, it will come off flawlessly and lift the hearts of children and everybody else, and get the Sovereign Grace folks started home in good spirits, a little beaten up and achy here and there perhaps, but with a strong sense of accomplishment and thankful for another opportunity to receive God’s blessings in our service to others.

Overall, the visit left me with a renewed respect for the regular staff. We supply lots of support and real improvements, but the whole campus needs constant maintenance and administration. The environment beats on everything, and the orphanage uses it hard. We can step in and make a real difference, but do not put out any of the daily fires and problems that come up. As one example, we got new doorknobs and deadbolts on beaten-up doors. A lot of the doors really need to be rehabilitated completely, and will cause regular problems that staff will have to deal with.

Monday afternoon, we broke out the gloves and soft baseballs again, and everybody was outside with a glove playing catch at the end of the day. Almost everybody from Sovereign Grace was playing ball with the kids in a scene of happy chaos. There is another day Tuesday, and more of the same, probably the most specific contact with the kids, as the visit winds down. There are some new kids at Rancho 3M, and some that we had gotten to know have left, but the core of children remains, growing, learning, forming patterns and attitudes that will shape their lives. To know that the children’s development takes place in the godly environment Rancho 3M provides, and to which we contribute, should encourage every heart. The world is hard and filled with sin and depravity, but we can overcome through Jesus and serving Him. Rancho 3M is a clear and present blessing for us all, and should fortify everyone’s faith and trust in the Lord, His grace, His mercy and His salvation for us all, on both sides of the border.”

“The sun has gone down—a beautiful sunset behind the hills to the west—on our first full day at Rancho 3M, and the Felíz Tree Christmas-present boxes are being transferred into the Women’s Guest Dormitory right now. The Bells and the Schepps pulled in this afternoon in time to take part in the “mostly locals versus the mostly visiting gringos” soccer game, which the locals won 3-1. Diane and Scott Mitchell are preparing supper and all of the kids are in their dormitories, after a very active day.

The trip over for eight of us on Saturday produced no major events, good news. We got across the border by 2:30 PM local time, and the Mexican customs and army gave us the minimum of checks, opening a few suitcases and then waving us through. The first day was overcast, raw and cold, but we broke out baseball gloves and balls and had everybody playing catch, some for the first time judging from the way they threw and the fact that they did not know how to put on their gloves and often tried them on the wrong hand. Every kid enthusiastically joined in, although we fell a few gloves short.

We accomplished a lot of tasks today, which dawned clear and crisp. After a great breakfast of egg-sausage casserole and fresh-ground coffee (we seem to eat very, very well on these trips . . . courtesy of several wives who are not here, and Diane, who is, but for all of whom we are very thankful) we split up. Hunter Stout, man of a hundred skills, started welding reinforcement rails on the fence, with Aubrey Lyts and Diane carrying the rails to the fence. The fence is about 3½ miles long, so Hunter will probably not get it all welded this trip, but he put in a full day at it, with one break when he ran out of gas for the welder.

Scott, and then Diane after she had finished carting steel rails, cleaned out the shop, a feat close to Hercules’ mythical cleaning of the Sysiphian stables. Three trucks full of junk and other stuff went to the dump, and the workshop now looks neat, clean and organized as it has not looked for decades.

Danny Stehlik and Enrique Canales started painting classrooms in the school—now out for vacation until after Christmas. There are fourteen classrooms and Danny figured 1½ hours per classroom, so it should take over 20 hours to get them painted. Aubrey joined the painters after she finished her hauling stint. So far three rooms have been painted, and we will paint at night to see if we can get all rooms done.

Jonathan Lambros and I put a roof on the pump station/welding shop, and began to install two tether-ball poles.

We did take a break to join everyone for a great mid-day meal of tamales, rice and beans, singing Mañanitas (Mexican “Happy Birthday”) to all September-December birthdays. Rancho 3M normally does not serve dessert, but every three months or so, they have a mass birthday party, this one with cupcakes and ice cream cups. In between lunch and dessert, we played field hockey, and then finished off the day with soccer.

So it was a day with a lot of work, a lot of good food and a lot of time with the kids and Rancho 3M personnel. When we play sports here, everyone participates, from me (71) to the little 7- and 8-year-olds, and everybody in between, all at the same time, all in the same game. It is great to see the soccer ball moving upfield through about 20-25 people of all ages, and a 10-year-old execute a great fake and go around a 40-year-old.

Nice to see the six reinforcements arrive without incident, and be around a table with fourteen Sovereign Grace saints, breaking bread and planning projects. Rancho 3M has changed a lot since I began coming here, notably for the better. There are more and better structures, and the existing structures have improved under our efforts. We are not the only church that visits Rancho 3M, but we certainly contribute to the ongoing enterprise of the orphanage.

The kids are the reason for Rancho 3M and make it what it is. The kids’ enthusiasm overflows. It shows in their eyes and in their body language. It shows in their energy and the joy with which they do everything . . . everything! In many ways, they do not have a lot. By our standards, they are poor in material goods and lifestyle. They are getting a good education, however, and they all know about the Lord and the gospel. They are not all believers, but they have as strong a start as any children could get in the Word. They are active, healthy kids, much more active physically than many American kids these days. They respect discipline, despite their typical kids’ inclination to get into trouble. There is a lot going on with these kids, body, mind and heart, and it is virtually all good in this environment on the Rancho 3M. The Rancho 3M kids prosper in every way that counts.

Never forget, however, that every one of these kids has a horrible story behind them. Some carry visible scars. All carry internal scars that seem to heal, and hold out hope for their spiritual development and spiritual maturity over the long term. The older kids here seem less rebellious and more caring towards the younger kids than we often expect. Some of the current full-time personnel grew up on Rancho 3M.

All of the Rancho 3M personnel glorify God with their work here. While we are blessed to be able to come down every three months or so, they are here full time, at great sacrifice in worldly goods and praise. The Rancho 3M staff sets the tone for the whole operation. They are joyful, godly people. They are fun to be around. I have not met one who does not manifest the fruit of the Spirit. If the kids are the reason for Rancho 3M, the Rancho 3M staff is the reason that the kids are so bright-eyed and bursting with healthy growing. I cannot think of a greater blessing to all of us than to be a part of supporting Rancho 3M.”

You download a pdf file of the outlines from all 6 sessions below. Listen to the first session.

Session Outlines

Session 7

Session 8

I recommended this CD at our last Family meeting, not only because it is full of great songs, but also because many of these songs will join our Sunday morning worship set over the next year. Since one focus of this collection is the gathering of believers to worship God together, it only seems appropriate that we would be adding these songs to our Sunday morning time of worship together. The first track on the album captures what The Gathering is all about:

There is one reason why we’re gathered here
Your love is causing us to sing
All of Your people through Your Son draw near
Sinners before their Holy King
The church of God bought by blood

 

We love You, Father
God of all, our God forever
We praise You, Jesus
Christ, our Lord, the Son, our Savior
We’re here together
In Your Holy Spirit gathered for Your glory

So you should listen to these songs, and you can look forward to learning and singing them over the next few months.

Session 6

It’s been so long, it’s a different season.

Watch the promo video, and then listen to the audio below.

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

Session 5

Sound and Pound 3 is seen less as a concert for Christian entertainment but more as an opportunity to share the Gospel in downtown Phoenix. Roosevelt Community Church is located in the middle of the art district in downtown Phoenix, and every first Friday of the month we have around ten thousand people walk by our church steps going to art galleries and checking out other events. Our aim is to work with other like-minded churches, to evangelize, disciple, and share Jesus with all people!

Join our tfs Facebook page and watch there for possible information about carpooling to this event.

It may seem counter-intuitive for me to tell those of you who don’t like to read books to read a book; and I guess it is. However, I pray that if you take the risk and begin reading this book you will find a desire to read where it wasn’t before. May the Lord spark a reading fire in your hearts and minds and may you find it to be a source of joy instead of a source of dread.

Kevin DeYoung has given us some helpful food for thought regarding this topic. You can read his whole post here, but I thought the following quote about the dangers of allowing “the seed of bitterness [to] get planted” was worth reposting:

There is no escaping the snare of resentment, save for the sovereign grace of God. Once you let the seed of bitterness get planted and take root, the flower only blooms what is bitter. No matter how much you reason, no matter how much you listen, no matter how much you care or critique, the matter is as clear to the resentful one as it ever was: it’s all your fault.

Dear Body of Sovereign Grace Church,

 

I cannot begin to tell you how very blessed we are by your generosity. There were several items that we were completely out of at the time the donations arrived. Regardless of how often we see it happen, I still marvel at God’s perfect timing and His loving provision, as laid on the hearts of brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for serving and blessing our clients through your giving in the month of September.

 

God bless you!

Mitzi Wisely

 

Session1

We’ve completed our first full day here at the Ranch, and we’re excited for another long day of working and playing hard. Thank you all for your prayers! We made it here safely and crossing the border was remarkably smooth!

Here are some photos from our day yesterday…

Most of the guys spent all day working on installing the septic tank.

While the ladies did some painting…

and roofing…

and shoveling…

In the afternoon, we provided an intense hour of field games for the last hour of school at the K-8th grade school located next door to the ranch. Much fun was had by all…

3-legged races…

Parachuting…

Partner tag…

And more…

We ended the day with some good hard play and lots of hug time.

Michelle and Aubrey…

Me reading a criminology textbook to Alan…in English…he just liked carrying around a book and got excited about the highlighted sections, hehe.

I’d better run and help finish roofing the chicken coop… Hasta Luego!

- Naomi

The cost to attend is $15 per couple, $10 for an individual, and free for a single parent. Childcare will not be provided. Visit the info counter on Sunday morning to register! Registration closes on Sunday, October 23rd.

A little bit about Pete from his church’s website, Grace Church of Frisco:

Pete earned his undergraduate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (where he met his wife Betsy) and his Masters of Counseling degree from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was in Virginia Beach that Pete and Betsy were first introduced to Sovereign Grace Ministries. After attending Sovereign Grace Church for a few years, Pete was sent to the PDI School of Ministry and subsequently joined the pastoral staff of Sovereign Grace Church. In 1998, Pete relocated his family to Denver, Colorado to assist in the planting of the Sovereign Grace Ministries church there. Pete pastored at the church in Denver for seven years until 2005, when he relocated to Frisco, Texas to assist in planting Grace Church.

 

Pete and Betsy have four children: Jon, Tim, Josh, and Bethany; and three grandchildren: Eliana, Annie & Isaac.

Click here to download the pdf of the Session 8 outline.

Click here for the pdf file of the Session 7 outline.

Click here for the PDF file of the Session 6 outline.

The Team:

The Bell Family

Christian Hatch

Jonathan Lambros

Aubrey Lyts

Scott and Diane Mitchell

Carl Paterik

Abby Schepps

Alex Schepps

Naomi Shippy

Becca Tong

The Voron Family

John Wittenmore

Work to be done:

Install a septic tank

Install a leach line

Install cabinets

Put on a field day for the school children

Put on a “Thank You” banquet for the staff “Thanksgiving-style”

Install 2 tether-ball poles

Paint lines for 4-square courts

General Repairs

Needs:

Prayers for easy crossing at the border with no fees

Prayer for completion of all work

Donations to cover the cost of the food for the banquet for the staff

Donations for the supplies to install the different items

• How are we to think about our pursuit of personal holiness in light of the reality of God’s sovereign grace?
• If God has saved us once for all in Christ, why can’t we just live in the good of the gospel without any change in how we live our lives?
• How are we to understand the difference between justification and sanctification?
• How do we grasp what Paul says in Romans 6:1-4:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

If you have ever thought about this (even if you haven’t), this is helpful to watch. You can watch parts I&II of the interview below or see the whole post on part I from Desiring God here and part II here.

Part I
  Part II

“Saturday morning I was making my weekly visit to Carillon House and Vista Care Hospice. While at Vista Care one of the nurses gave me a heads up that the lady in Room 8 was having a hard day and would I maybe spend some time with her, which I gladly did.

Joyce was sitting in a chair next to her husband’s bed. Wesley was sleeping peacefully and after the hard week they’d had, she was thankful for that. Last Sunday they pronounced Wesley dead, only to discover quite some time later that he had a pulse.

Who would know the simple office chair Joyce occupies has been a week long roller coaster ride?

Her Wesley has Alzheimer’s. It’s in an advanced stage and he can’t take care of himself. He talks crazy talk, she says. But she knows it’s the disease and not him. He’s 91 now and she’s 85. They’ve been married for 65 years. 65 years. She said she never dreamed they’d make it to 50 years.

After hearing her story I said, “Joyce, this is going to sound like a silly question but I have a reason for asking. Why do you stay here? Why do you stay with Wesley?”

Had I not prefaced the question I’m certain she would have looked at me even more strangely than she did. Her answer was simple.

“Because we love each other and we love the Lord. We’re playing for keeps.”

After saying my good-bye I left the room, trying not to let the nurses see my tears. It was a holy moment in the hospice unit. A privilege to be in the presence of two people who really get it. Two people who love each other and love the Lord and are playing for keeps. Two people who are leaving a legacy of faithful love to everyone who knows them.

When Wesley and Joyce got married 65 years ago, they set the terms and conditions of their relationship. Love each other. Love God. Play for keeps. Those terms and conditions have determined the nature of their relationship ever since. It’s why Joyce wouldn’t dream of leaving Wesley’s side, even though he doesn’t recognize her anymore.

God willing, I’ll be back at Carillon and Vista Care next Saturday. Wesley might be gone by then. Or he might still be there. As Joyce said to me, “Who knows how long this could last?” One thing is certain. You can set your clock by it and take it to the bank.

If Wesley’s there, Joyce will be there, too.

They’re playing for keeps.”

Click here for the PDF file of the outline for Session 5.

If you would like to help Hope Women’s Center, go to the foyer of SGC for the next few weeks and you will find the Hope Train, which is a crib with tags to take. Simply pick an item that you would like to buy, take the clothespin, and write your information on the Tracking List. If you have any questions, the Hope Train Team will be at the table to answer any questions.

We would see this as horribly unbiblical and it has, of course, produced a number of strong responses from Evangelicals making the case as to why. I’ve linked a few of them below for you to read.

Joni Eareckson Tada

Justin Taylor’s response, and uses a section from a well written article by Russel Moore as well.

Justin Taylor also linked a video clip from a man named Robert McQuilkin (the then-President of Columbia Bible College and Seminary), whose wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and his response to the situation is very godly.  You can watch the video below or click here to see it on Justin Taylor’s blog and read more about it.

Of the Proud the Bible says:

He (meaning both male and female) will get what’s coming to him (Psalm 94:2), that his house will be torn down by the LORD (Prov. 15:25), that he will be brought low by the LORD (Isaiah 2:12), that the LORD GOD of hosts is against him (Jer. 50:31), that he will stumble and fall and nobody will raise him up (Jer. 50:32), that he is to be avoided (2 Tim 3:2,5), and that God opposes Him (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).

And of the Fool:

He (again, male and female) says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1), that he cannot understand that the wicked are doomed to destruction (Psalm 92:6-7), that he will come to ruin (Prov. 10:8), that doing wrong seems like a joke to him (Prov. 10:23), that he flaunts his folly (Prov. 13:6), that everyone around him should leave his presence (Prov. 14:7), that he takes no pleasure in understanding (Prov. 18:2), that he walks in darkness (Eccl. 2:14), and that he is likely to die before his own time has come (Eccl. 7:17).

Looking at these small samplings, let’s ask the question again: if you had to choose (and I’m glad that you don’t), which would you rather be? Maybe a better question is which does God see as having more hope for himself/herself?

My answer comes from Proverbs 26:1-12. Of the fool God says:

            Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,

                        so honor is not fitting for a fool.

            Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,

                        a curse that is causeless does not alight.

            A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

                        and a rod for the back of fools.

           Answer not a fool according to his folly,

                        lest you be like him yourself.

             Answer a fool according to his folly,

                        lest he be wise in his own eyes.

            Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool

                        cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

             Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,

                        is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

            Like one who binds the stone in the sling

                        is one who gives honor to a fool.

            Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard

                        is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

             Like an archer who wounds everyone

                        is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.

             Like a dog that returns to his vomit

                        is a fool who repeats his folly.

It is really bad to be a fool, but, look what God says in the next verse?

            Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?

           There is more hope for a fool than for him.

I’m glad I don’t have to choose, but there would be more hope for me if I were a fool than if I were wise in my own eyes (i.e. proud or arrogant). Paul likewise says in 1 Corinthians 3:18, “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.”

Woe be to the one who is proud! Let’s be fools for Christ and seek humility for, “God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

Click here for the PDF file of the Session 4 outline.

Session 1: Gospel Centered Counseling (September 10, 2011)

Counseling Training Session 1

Session 2: Christ Changes Us by His Grace (September 24, 2011)

Counseling Training Session 2

Session 3: Growing in Christ – Repentance and the Use of Scripture (October 15, 2011)

Counseling Training Session 3

Session 4: Counseling and the Bible (November 5, 2011)

Counseling Training Session 4

If for some reason you are behind on the homework, there’s no reason to feel bad; naturally, you’ll get as much out of the training as you put into it. But even if you’ve missed the reading, the class will certainly be worthwhile! On that note, if you are interested in attending this training, please contact us here or come this Saturday–it’s not too late to join!

A guest is on the SovCast this week! Watch the short promo, and then listen to the SovCast by clicking below.

You can read the whole post here, it’s worth the read! I’ve also re-posted some questions below that he thought would be wise to ask before you make your final decision:

• Are my wife and children spiritually prospering in our present church (under the teaching; in their relationships)?
• Am I spiritually prospering?
• What are some other downsides for my wife and kids? Upsides?
• Do I know of a healthy church where I would be going?
• Would we be there long enough to get involved, or would this be short-term?
• What’s governing my desire to leave:  worldly ambition/idolatry or a godly desire to steward the talents and opportunities God has given me in my work?
• Has there been a pattern in my life of always looking for the next best thing, or has there been a pattern of consistent, persevering faithfulness?
• How would my wife answer all these questions? What does she think about going?
• What do the spiritual men in my life, who know me and my weaknesses, think about this prospect? How would they answer these questions for me?
• Finally, assuming I’m delighting myself in the Lord, what do I want to do (see Psalm 37:4)?

Click here for the PDF file of the Session 3 outline.

1. Grace Church is going to celebrate their 2 year anniversary with us by joining in our Sunday celebration. What a privilege it is to have the church that was planted from our church a couple of years ago come and be a part of us for a week!

2. Dale Bischof, who leads the worship team at Grace Church, and I are going to co-lead the worship time. I am eagerly anticipating this. I’ve known Dale for 6-7 years and I’ve seen him grow tremendously as a worship leader, husband, parent and Christian. I’m grateful for him.

3. We are going to teach a new song that isn’t actually out yet. The song is called Now Why This Fear and it is going to be on the album The Gathering which is due to come out in November. It was sung at the WorshipGod Conference that Jon and I attended a few weeks ago. The verses were written by the famed hymn writer Augustus Toplady and the chorus and bridge was added by Doug Plank. I’ve posted the lyrics below so you can see the richness of the truth in the song. Enjoy.

VERSE 1

Now why this fear and unbelief

Has not the Father put to grief

His spotless Son for us

And will the righteous Judge of men                  

Condemn me for that debt of sin

Now cancelled at the cross

 

CHORUS

Jesus, all my trust is in your blood

Jesus, you’ve rescued us

Through your great love

 

VERSE 2

Complete atonement you have made

And by your death have fully paid

The debt your people owed

No wrath remains for us to face

We’re sheltered by your saving grace

and sprinkled with your blood

 

BRIDGE

How sweet the sound of saving grace

How sweet the sound of saving grace

Christ died for me

 

VERSE 3

Be still my soul and know this peace

The merits of your great high priest

Have bought your liberty

Rely then on his precious blood

Don’t fear your banishment from God

Since Jesus sets you free

Click here for the PDF file of the Session 2 outline.

1. It is always good to meet new people and see old friends: There were so many pastors and worship leaders from all over the world (I sat next to a guy from Australia during one of the sessions) that I had the opportunity to meet and get to know. A couple of these men are fellow Arizonans.

• It was great to get to know Brett Overstreet from Sovereign Grace Church in Tucson who accompanied Jon and me on the plane and in the hotel.
• Another group that we got to spend some time with was our good friend Josh Vincent and some of his worship leaders (Jon and Andy). Josh is the senior pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Phoenix.

Plus, there were many other worship leaders and pastors that I have befriended (or who have befriended me) that I had the privilege of catching up with, which is always a joy.

2.    It’s good to worship with bands that have a different vibe/style: The lineup of bands who led us in worship was pretty diverse (click here for more info and detail):

• The NA Band led the first night.
• A random group of people from various Sovereign Grace churches including Jonathan, Ryan and Meghan Baird from Pasadena; Rich Gunderlock from Atlanta and Auggie Hughes from Chesapeake, VA.
• Enfield from Grace Community Church in the LA area.
• Sojourn from Louisville, KT.
• Bob Kauflin with a mixture of Enfield and Sovereign Grace guys.

It was a pretty varied group in terms of arrangements and musical genre, and yet, it was all excellent and Christ-honoring. The gospel was mightily proclaimed in every session. It was a good reminder that God is worshipped in any style, with any volume, containing any skill level and with many or few (or no) instruments.

3.    It’s fun recording a live CD: on Friday night we got to be a part of the recording of a live CD which is due out in November. The title and theme of the CD was the same as the title and theme of the conference: The Gathering. It focused on the gospel message being reviewed every time we Gather. One of the joys of this was that my good friend Dale Bischof from Grace Church Peoria sang on the CD as well as co-wrote one of the songs with Pat Szcebel. It was an honor to be there with him.

If you are ever interested in going to the WorshipGod Conference in the future, please send me an email or catch me at church and I’d love to give you more information. Also, if you are friends with Mark Converti on Facebook, you can look at the amazing photos he took from the conference.

Click here for the PDF file of the Session 1 outline.

What is AudiBall, you ask? Well, it’s a chance to play a baseball-style game in the auditorium of Sovereign Grace Church. If you can swing a bat, you qualify to play this electrifying sport! After the game, there will be an ice cream social. Ice cream is provided, so bring a topping to share.

The first rehearsal will be Sunday, August 21st; all parents are invited to attend a parent meeting that will take place during the first rehearsal.

Practices will be held every Sunday from 4-6 PM. Auditions for lead roles will take place on Sunday, September 18th from 3-6 PM by appointment. Extra practices and dress rehearsals will take place the week of the performance.

The performances will take place on Friday, December 16th and Saturday, December 17th at 7 PM. More information about the performances will be forthcoming in the next few months, with details on how to get tickets (free admission).

Volunteers to help with every aspect of the production (rehearsals, set-building, costume-making, sound & lighting, set-up/tear-down, etc) are needed! Sign up at the info counter on Sunday mornings or contact us.

Also, have you prayerfully considered serving during the 6 weeks of class? We still need quite a few more volunteers to serve – in the kitchen, with childcare, leading discussion at tables, with set-up/tear-down, and on the prayer team. Please contact the office if you are interested!

• A song called God is for Me by Dale that they’ve begun to sing corporately at Grace Church.
• The Acts CD which can be found in our church’s bookstore (we moved to Acts because the pastors had been preaching through it and we thought it would be kind of awesome to have a memory verse CD of verses from Acts to listen to when the series was finished).
• A number of other songs that I can’t really remember. Some were good, some were okay and others, well, let’s just say that they were neither good nor okay (mostly the ones that I wrote…seriously).

However, one song that has survived is one that Todd wrote called Your Throne, O God. It’s taken from Psalm 45 and seeing as how we just studied Psalm 45 this past Sunday morning I thought you may be interested in listening to it (with Todd’s permission and blessing, of course).

Listen here.

This sermon concludes the “Psalms: God our Glory” series.

- The Pastors in Cebu where we led a pastors conference (never been the tallest in the room before…)

- The banner for the parenting seminar for the pastors, leaders, and their wives in Bohol

- Those attending the seminar

- The parent / youth meeting that evening in Bohol

Once you’ve watched the Promo, now listen below as Rich and Jason discuss Psalm 30 and answer a question about how Old Testament saints are saved.

Art of the Masters II (3rd-6th grade)

Fine Art Painting (7th-12th grade)

Beginning Guitar (5th-12th grade)

Bible Doctrine (7th-12th grade)

If you would like more information on the classes, please contact Naomi at the church office. You may register by filling out a Registration Form and turning that into the church office by August 10th, 2011. Course descriptions and registration forms are also available at the information counter.

Session 1    Session 2   Session 3   Session 4

The consequences of making worship primarily about knowledge are both positive and negative in post-Reformation Protestantism. On the positive side, believers are consistently urged to worship in spirit and in truth. Ideally, they are led to heart engagement with their God not by sentiment nor by superstition, but by right understanding of his Word. Such worship protects the church from error and the believer from idolatry.

The negative impact of turning the sanctuary into the lecture hall is training believers to become merely reflective about the gospel in worship and tempting them to believe that right worship is simply about right thought. As a consequence, the worship focus becomes study, accumulating doctrinal knowledge, evaluating the Sermon, and critiquing the doctrine imprecisely. Congregational participation, mutual encouragement, heart engagement, expressions of grief for sin, and joyous thanksgiving may increasingly seem superfluous, or even demeaning. Celebration is dismissed as “charismatic,” awe is lost, and sacrament is reduced to remembrance instead of encounter with the presence of the risen Lord. As another has written, even the praise can become more about “exhortation to thanksgiving than giving thanks.” When this happens, then those whose hearts yearn to respond to God in all the ways his Word describes (and all the ways he has made us to worship) will seek him elsewhere — including those places where truth has been sacrificed to experience (Chapell, p. 67).

Let us be a church who works hard to worship the Lord in spirit and truth.

As you probably know by now, we came back from Rancho 3M a day early, leaving before noon on Sunday.  At the border crossing, where there were no cars in front of us, the Mexican authorities stopped us, made all of us get out of the truck, asked us some questions and went through some of our bags.  On the U.S. side, the same deal only more so.  The CPB went through everything, put a sniffer dog all around outside the entire rig and then inside the truck, and went through our cooler, and confiscated some luncheon meat that we were bringing back.  We got a little lecture, but otherwise passed through without incident, in probably a bit under an hour.  It has been worse.  The cartel has begun to plant drugs in unsuspecting drivers’ cars.  They take the license plate, with which they can apparently get duplicate keys, owner’s residence and everything necessary to get the car on the other side and recover the drugs.  A couple of doctors and a national teacher of the year had been picked up a couple of days before we got there with drugs in their cars, apparently completely unknown to the drivers.  It cost them jail time.  Probably difficult to plant drugs in a truck parked within the Orphanage, but not impossible.  The Lord watches over us, and Rancho 3M, whose grounds remain still unaffected by the violence around it.  Dean Adamek warned that my 12-year old BMW may be old, but it’s still the kind of car that attracts kidnappers and other bad kinds of attention on the Mexican side, so we left it parked at the Rancho 3M storage facility in Fabens.  It was nice to see it waiting with all of its tires and other equipment intact, and none the worse for wear other than a couple of days in the sun.

We refreshed our bodies at Rudy’s BBQ in El Paso, gassed up the cars and set off to run home.  Ken Stout had been very moderate in his driving on the trip out, when he hauled a fully-loaded trailer, tending to find an 18-wheeler going about 65-70 MPH and tucking in just behind it to draft along.  We were in convoy, and I never got such good gas mileage.  Coming home, though, I was thinking to run with the traffic flow and get home quicker, eating more gas but eating up the miles, too.  I discussed that with my passengers while driving to Rudy’s, and they relayed it to Ken when they went over to get their luggage out of the truck.  It got back to me that I was “talking smack,” and the race home was on after lunch.  Ken no longer tucked in behind any other trucks, but got right with the flow.  As I stepped on it to keep up, a kind and courteous Texas patrolman immediately pulled me over, checked out driver’s license and registration, informed me that the limit was 65 MPH and sent us off with a polite warning to watch our speed.  If you believe there are no accidents, perhaps it was a little chastening reminder from our heavenly father.  At any rate, it moderated our speed, while Ken gained ground ahead.  Out in New Mexico, our friends in the other car texted back to ask how we were doing and set out a challenge: first one to Starbucks off Cortaro Road north of Tucson to take a picture and text it to the others.  I felt it was a foregone conclusion that we would be the ones receiving the text and photo, and quit worrying about “the race.”  As we started across southern Arizona, a beautiful dark cover of thunderheads that stretched for miles let loose with a great set of rain squalls and the temperature got down in the 70’s.  Felt like God welcoming us home with a cool shower and a demonstration of the beauty and power of His creation.  We would drive through a drizzle into a rain and then into a hard rain and then into what felt like driving under a waterfall, then it would slack off until it started all over again.  I cannot speak for the others, but it filled my heart with joy.  God was in His heaven and all was right with the world that He created.

After we drove thru Tucson and pulled into Starbucks to drop off David and his son Jesse with Tim Lambros, I was amazed to see Christian get out his cell phone to take a picture and text it to Ken’s truck.  We had gotten there first when Ken stopped for gas, by only a couple of minutes, and had never seen him on the highway.  This all led to a reunion in the parking lot, some Starbucks beverages for all, and some abrazos and good-byes all around, for David and Jesse who were home, but also for everybody else since we would not meet up again in Phoenix.  Some great fellowship while serving the Lord and a feeling of accomplishment for what we did at Rancho 3M made it an uplifting way to top off the trip.

We got home before dark, with cloud cover and a little rain that followed us on up to Phoenix.  I do not want to leave the impression that Sovereign Grace sends off its work crew to behave like a bunch of teenagers (although of course Hunter Stout and Jesse Brittain are teenagers) racing their cars through three states across the southwest.  I guess that under Jonathan’s supervision we just outdid ourselves.  We worked hard Saturday, leaving a few finishing touches for Sunday morning, and everybody slept well Saturday night, got up early Sunday morning, many reading for quiet time before we had breakfast and devotions.  Then we got after it, everything seemed to fall together, we found what we needed when we needed it (always a challenge at Rancho 3M and its fabled taller, or tool shed, where there is a little of everything if you just know where to look and take the time), and finished up all the jobs by about 10:30 a.m.  Quick showers, a fond good-bye to the folks assembled for church services, and we were off a little after 11:00.

We did get in four cooling units for the classrooms, two in each building.  They should make a great difference to the comfort of the students, although I cannot believe that they will make much difference in the students’ performance and learning. The students and their teachers have consistently delivered stellar results, regardless of their accommodations.  Both Jonathan and Ken spent a lot of time in very hot, very dusty attics, getting the wiring and duct work set up.  We designated them as “attic athletes,” better than any Olympics gymnast for agility and grace, and under way tougher circumstances.  Getting two of the new coolers hoisted up onto the decks we had chained to the walls about ten feet up was a chore that concentrated all the manpower we had.

Perhaps even more important, Christian Hatch and David Brittain did yeoman service to get the cooler on the roof of the boys’ dorm working.  Jeremy, one of the summer interns who sleeps in the boys’ dorm, said that on Saturday night he slept without sweating buckets for the first time in a long time.  That cooler involved some work in the attic and a little bit of everything else—from brute force to smarts in figuring things out and then finding the parts to do it—before all the problems were solved.

Finally, the Rancho 3M chicken coop now has become one of the landmark buildings on the property, only slightly less impressive than the newly-completed baby house/building across the street from it.  Hunter, with occasional technical assistance and consulting from Ken, added an 8’x8’ screened-in fly-and-bug-free area for processing chickens.  Eighteen got processed while we were there, and wound up on the kids’ plates Saturday night.  My grandma could have processed them quicker and better than the Rancho 3M folks, but the chicken coop is full of clucking chickens, so they will have plenty to practice on.

That is pretty much it.  We promised to come back in October.

6. We should strive for excellence in the musicality and the poetry of the songs we sing.

I’m not for a moment suggesting elitism. A tune has to be relatively simple for hundreds or thousands of people to sing it at the same time.  But we can still insist on undistracting excellence (to use Piper’s phrase). We want the cross to be the stumbling block, not our poor musicianship or faltering powerpoint.

While I believe a wide variety of styles can be used in worship, I am not a musical relativist.  Some songs are better than others. Some styles work better than others. And when it comes to lyrics, we should avoid obvious sloppiness like using thee and you in the same song or heaping up trite cliches. I heard a song on the radio a couple weeks ago whose chorus had something about a fragrant rose in the early spring and an eagle soaring to spread its wings. If your church sings this on Sunday, love your worship leader all the same. But if you’re the worship leader picking this song, try for something with a little more artistry, something that doesn’t sound like it came from a random page in your inspirational pocket calendar.

Some songs are simply deep and some are deeply simple, but there is a way to do both well.  With so many songs to choose from, there’s no reason churches can’t make an effort to sing songs with some sense of poetry and musical integrity. The Hallelujah chorus is repetitive, but it’s musically interesting. Most songs, choruses, and verses aren’t good enough to be repeated for very long.

7. The main sound to be heard in the worship music is the sound of the congregation singing.

Everyone is responsible to sing.  The young girl with her hands in the air and the old man belting out the bass line. What people want to see in your worship is that you mean it. And no matter how chill or how reverent your worship is, if no one is singing, it’s lame.

And if the main sound is to be the congregation singing, this will have implications for how we play and choose our songs.

• Is it singable? Pay attention to range (too high or too low), and beware of syncopation and lots of irregularities in the meter and rhythm. Make sure the melody makes some intuitive sense, especially if you don’t have music to look at or people can’t read music. When your guitar strums between G, C, and D there are a lot of notes to choose from.

• Is the instrumentation helping or inhibiting the congregation to sing? This means checking the volume. Is the music too soft to support the human voices? Is it so loud it’s drowning them out? One mistake music teams make is to think that every instrument needs to be used with every song. Some songs should get the whole kitchen sink, but just because you have a drum, piano, guitar, bass, lyre, zither, flute, chicken shaker, banjo, cello, and djembe up there doesn’t mean you have to use them all.

• Is this song familiar. People cannot handle a new song every week, let alone two or three new songs. Stick with your basic sound and core songs and go out from there. On occasion you may have to admit, “That’s a great song, but I don’t think we can do it well.”

8. The congregation should also be stretched from time to time to learn new songs and broaden its musical horizons.

Every church will have a musical center. You should not reinvent the center every week. But you should not be enslaved to it either. We need to be stretched once a while, not only with a new song but a new kind of song–something from the African-American church, or something from Africa or Latin America (with an English translation so it is intelligible), or something from the classical choral tradition. It’s good to be reminded that we belong to an ancient and global church.

9. The texts of our songs should be matched with fitting musicality and instrumentation.

Music should support the theme of the song.  Different texts have different moods. The words for “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” would not work with the tune for “Children of the Heavenly Father.” The campy song “Do Lord” does not quite capture the mood of the dying thief’s final words. On the other hand, you have to love the Getty song “See What a Morning” where the triumphant, celebratory music perfectly matches the resurrection lyrics.

Musical style is not neutral, but it is elastic. Music conveys something. Some melodies are too syrupy or too raucous or too romantic.  I’ve always felt like “This is the Air I Breathe” was too sensual sounding. Plus I’m not sure what the song means. But styles are not rigid categories.  There isn’t a sharp line between contemporary and traditional, or classical and popular, or high culture and low culture.  We don’t have to make absolute rules about musical style, but we do need to be intelligent.

Let me just say a word about organs. No church should die on this hill. But if your church already has an organ my advice is to keep using it. Organs were originally associated with paganism.  So there is nothing inherently spiritual about them.  When they were introduced into churches, the average Christian in the Middle Ages new as much about organs as your average teenager does today.  They were introduced into worship because of the fitness of the instrument. As Harold Best argues in his fantastic book Unceasing Worship, there is no instrument we know of in the West better suited to support congregational singing (73). The organ fills in the cracks, provides an underneath sound, and encourages churches to sing louder and freer. If you don’t have an organ they can be expensive to get. We mustn’t lay down any commands. But if an organ is an option for you, don’t ditch it.

10. All of our songs should employ manifestly biblical lyrics.

We must start by asking of all our songs: is this true? Not just true, but accurate to the biblical text. For example, I like the Third Day song “Consuming Fire” but the lyrics, while true, misuse the biblical text. According to the song, our God is a consuming fire because he reaches inside and melts our cold hearts of stone. That’s true, but the text in Hebrews is about God our judge.

Similarly, our songs should be manifestly true. That is, we shouldn’t have to put a spin on the lyrics to get them to be ok. We are looking for subtlety. We don’t want to sing songs that leave us wondering “what exactly does that mean?”

On the flip side, don’t be too hard on “I” songs. About 100 of the 150 Psalms have the word “I.” “I” is not the problem. The problem is with songs that are too colloquially, or use I thoughtlessly (I just want to praise you – well then praise him), or never move from how I am feeling about God to who God is and what he’s done to make me feel this way.

In all our songs we want to be teaching people about God. If we aren’t learning good theology and biblical truth from our songs, then either we don’t care much about our songs or we don’t care much about rich biblical truth, or both.

Yesterday was a scorcher, supposed to have been the hottest day that we will have this trip.  It is still refreshing and cool in the morning before the sun really gets up.  The big news for Rancho 3M is that the whole kit and kaboodle is going camping all of next week at a camp in Creel, at an 80-acre facility at the Copper Canyon, girls in cabins, boys in tents.  Only Alan is staying behind (1000foot cliffs were too much risk).  Summer interns from North Carolina add to the human power of the staff and help make this possible; four of them are here for ten weeks.  We invited Dean and Denise (the director and his wife) and their three sons to supper last night, turning the tables on their usual invitation to us one night each time we are here.  With the end of the school year, and the camping trip looming for early departure Monday, we figured that we could return the hospitality and save the whole family some time.

We got a lot done yesterday, and now have two of the coolers in place, for the west side classrooms.  Got started on some of the set up for the east side also.  Ken Stout is a great blessing, not only for his great knowledge and skill with all the kinds of stuff that seems to come up in the installation process but for his good judgment and ability to figure out hos things need to be done.  When I asked him how he came by these skills, he said, “Carpenters need to know hos to do lots of stuff.”  Christian is a quick study and a very willing worker, whose foot gloves fascinated the kids here and may set off a new trend in Mexican kids’ footwear.  Hunter has a lot of his dad’s skills and actually RAN after tools and part and things, despite the heat.  David and Jesse from Tucson are a father and son who have been invaluable and pitched in everywhere.  Jonathan has been his own irrepressible self, plus carrying a major share of the work load with Ken and doing all the heavy lifting.  One of the great things about our work, and a true blessing is that while we work, we do run into the kids and it is always appropriate to spend a little time with them, even though it slows the job down a little. It hasn’t slowed it too much, however, because when we assessed our situation at the end of yesterday, we decided to start home at 11:30 on Sunday morning instead of waiting until Monday, projecting that we comfortably can get everything done by then.

Rancho 3M has really transformed for the better since I have been coming here for a little over a year now.  The Baby House is complete, constructed by a team from Covenant Life with a little help from us, but is waiting for approval from the Mexican government as a certified operation before it actually receives any babies, probably toward the end of this year.  The new chicken coop is functioning very well, just the way Dean Adamek wanted it to.  His son Taylor is in charge of the chickens-for-food operation and this trip we will build a processing room on the side of the coop, screened to keep the flies out.  Everywhere we walk, we see things that Sovereign Grace Gilbert’s teams have done, ranging from water heaters that do not burst into flame because they are for natural gas instead of propane, to swamp coolers that work or are now cooling buildings that did not have cooling before.  Jonathan suggested that if you want to sympathize with what the kids have been going through in their classrooms while they study all day, you might just turn your AC up to 94 degrees and leave it there for 24 hours.  At any rate, Sovereign Grace’s contributions have made a big difference in life at Rancho 3M.  Although the contribution in money really added to the benefit of our work crew, there were a couple of things that we could not do because the funds did not stretch that far (e.g., tar paper and roofing materials for the new chicken coop) and the overall budget here is always tight.  They really had to stretch to cover the camping trip.  The rule at meals continues to be, “No desserts . . . ever.”

Sometimes the meals are just bread and milk.  No kidding.  Makes us feel like spoiled rich folks eating next door with the food we brought, but we cannot eat in the kids’ dining hall because that would just add to the budget strain.  God always provides for every need and the kids are well-fed and healthy, but there is not much danger of any obese kids at Rancho 3M.

We should be able to finish off the two additional coolers and frame out the chicken-processing room so that they can add screen later, all today, with any final touch-up for tomorrow morning.  We are tremendously blessed by this opportunity to serve, and our church blessed with us.  Our God is a great and glorious God, and His miracles surround us on every side.  Praise God!

Our day of travel ended well as we got across the border without the slightest difficulty.  I don’t think Ken even got the truck and trailer completely stopped.  They just waved him through despite the full trailer.

Other times they have held us up for an hour getting things worked out when we had less of a load.  At the Rancho with plenty of daylight, we scoped out our tasks for the next day.  Ken predicted we might have four swamp coolers installed for the students’ classrooms by 2:00 this afternoon.  We have one up so far, with a lot of cooling ducts installed.  This should make an enormous difference to the students, who have been suffering the heat and humidity.  Even though it is notably less hot at Rancho 3M (the mornings are cool and refreshing), it would be a trial to sit in those unventilated, uncooled classrooms all day.  Hunter commented that the first-grade classroom smelled just like his first-grade classroom.

We got started early this morning with some great cinnamon rolls from Mary Lambros, after a great pasta casserole from Mary Lambros last night.

Since Mary was providing the nutrition for our bodies, Jonathan provided the spiritual nutrition by leading us in prayer and a short scripture lesson.

The kids are at about 37 in numbers and are thriving.  They earned a camping trip to Copper Canyon next week (sort of like the Grand Canyon, running east-west across the north of Mexico) by memorizing Bible verses.

The younger students all memorized 12 verses, next age group 24 verses, and finally 37 verses for the older kids.  Every single student got their verses perfect, except Alan (fetal alcohol syndrome) who recited, “Jesus died for my sins.”  The kids still know their verses.  When I asked several of them, they all had them down cold and were proud to recite them.  Praise God!!  I have to get to memorizing.

The master chicken coop (Matt Ross, Architect) is in use and they were gathering eggs and butchering chickens this morning.

Pray for us to get done with everything in good order and to be useful in our service.  Rancho 3M is vibrant, full of the Holy Spirit, and thankful for our contribution, which so blesses us.

Grace be with those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Dale

Do you ever wonder why God gave men work? Are you uncertain how to think about getting an education, finding a job, & keeping a job? Many guys don’t know where to start, so start by coming to this series & find out why you were Created to Work.

On Friday July 8th from 7-9 PM and Saturday July 9th from 9 AM-3 PM, the G2 dads and sons are invited to attend this seminar. Cost is only $5 per person, so sign up at the info counter on Sunday!

Called to Womanhood

How does the Bible define womanhood & femininity? How should you think about education, career, singleness, marriage,  motherhood? Many girls ask themselves these questions & more, & maybe you are asking them too! Come to this series to learn what the Bible says about being Called to Womanhood.

On Wednesday July 13th through Saturday July 16th from 8:30-10:30 AM, the G2 moms and daughters are invited to attend this seminar. Cost is only $5 per person, so sign up at the info counter on Sunday!

Registration for both closes on Tuesday, July 5th, so register today!

We wanted to inform you about an announcement that was made today by CJ Mahaney regarding a leave of absence that he will be taking for the immediate future.  On his blog at the Sovereign Grace Ministries website, CJ explains the reasons behind this decision.  The leadership team of Sovereign Grace has also written about CJ’s leave. The letter from CJ can be found here, and the letter from SG Ministries can be found here.

As you will see in CJ’s letter, recent years have brought a number of observations from some people toward Sovereign Grace Ministries, as well as observations for CJ in particular.  As we have found in our own lives, we feel that observations and criticisms like these warrant careful consideration and a pursuit of the gift of conviction and grace to grow for the future. We are very grateful that CJ and the Sovereign Grace Ministries leadership team are taking these observations seriously and that CJ is willing to take the step of moving away from his leadership responsibilities for a season in order to embrace all that God is teaching us in this season.

Please be praying for CJ and the Sovereign Grace Ministries leadership team—that God will work much good through the observations that have been brought and that CJ’s leave of absence will lead to future fruit for our family of churches.

If you have any questions feel free to give any of us a call.

Grace to you all,

Jon, Trey, Rich, Jason, Steve

What you can do is join our Facebook page here (or the direct link is http://facebook.com/sovgracegilbert). Click “Like” and then you will get our updates on your news feed page. Have Facebook on your smartphone? Add us to your favorites and then you can get notifications right to your phone. Like to check-in at places to let your friends know where you are? This page functions as a check-in page too!

You can also follow us on Twitter here (or the direct link is http://twitter.com/sovgracegilbert). Not only do we post updates for the website, but the pastors post links to interesting articles, retweet from other Sovereign Grace Ministries tweets (like John Piper or Josh Harris), or  post their thoughts about upcoming messages, just to name a few.

In other words, we want you to stay connected to the happenings of our church, and we also want you to have options for inviting others to find out more about who we are.

When it comes to singing on Sundays, churches have more options than ever before. From hymnals to Hillsong to homegrown creations, pastors and worship leaders have thousands of songs to choose from. A nice problem to have.

But still a problem. No music leader or pastor can keep up.  No church can sing all the great hymns and all the latest greatest songs on the radio.  No musician can excel in all the available styles. No leader can please all the people all the time.

The proliferation of choices often leads to conflict.  Should we do hymns (Wesley, Watts, or Fanny Crosby?) or contemporary (70′s folk music, early seeker service contemporary, or edgy punk rock?). Should our music have a Latin flavor or an African American feel? Should we use chants, chorale music, metrical psalms, jazz, country western, or bluegrass?

There are other questions too. What sort of instruments should we use? How much should cultural context come into play? Is there only one right kind of song to sing? If not, are there any wrong ways?

I can’t possibly answer all those questions. But there are some general principles we can use to make wise decisions with our church music. Let me suggest ten principles for congregational singing.

1.    Love is indispensable to church singing that pleases God.

There are more important things than the kinds of songs we sing.  Music should not be the glue that holds us together–the cross, the glory of Jesus Christ, the majesty of God, and love should. But even churches centered on the gospel disagree about music. So love is indispensable when we sing and when we are trying to discern what is best to sing.

John Calvin:

But because he [the Lord] did not will in outward discipline and ceremonies to prescribe in detail what we ought to do (because he foresaw that this depended upon the state of the times, and he did not deem one form suitable for all ages), here we must take refuge in those general rules which he has given, that whatever the necessity of the church will require for order and decorum should be tested against these.  Lastly, because he has taught nothing specifically, and because these things are not necessary to salvation, and for the upbuilding of the church ought to be variously accommodated to the customs of each nation and age, it will be fitting (as the advantage of the church will require) to change and abrogate traditional practices and to establish new ones.  Indeed, I admit that we ought not to charge into innovation rashly, suddenly, for insufficient cause.  But love will best judge what may hurt or edify; and if we let love be our guide, all will be safe. (Inst. 4.10.30)

Before we are quick to judge the lame songs some other Christians enjoy, remember C.S. Lewis’ revelation. Listen to one of the century’s most famous converts to Christianity talk about his early impression of church music:

I disliked very much their hymns, which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music.  But as I went on I saw the great merit of it.  I came up against different people of quite different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off.  I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots.  It gets you out of your solitary conceit. (God in the Dock, 62)

I imagine the Apostle Paul, if he were writing to the church today, might have something to say about our worship style.  “If I sing in style of the hippest music, but have not love, I am only a banging drum or a strumming guitar.  If I have a gift for reading music and enjoy the richest hymns, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I am discerning of excellent music and fine poetry, but have not love, I gain nothing.” The first principle for singing as a congregation and choosing music for the congregation is love.

2.    Our singing is for God’s glory and the edification of the body of Christ.

God is the one we want to impress, the one we most want to honor. Our first aim must not be to win over the culture or appeal to the unregenerate. Worship is for the Worthy One.

Following closely on this priority is the goal of edification. The singing on Sunday morning should benefit God’s people. This is a fair application of Paul’s concerns in 1 Corinthians 14. It’s also part and parcel of teaching and admonishing each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16). We should never approach the music as an entertaining lead-in to the sermon. Before you employ secular songs as your background music prior to the start of the service, consider whether a vaguely spiritual song from U2 will really build up the body of Christ.

Congregational song is part of the teaching ministry of the church. Church musicians and pastors should ask themselves: if our people learned their theology from our songs what would they know in twenty years about God, the cross, the resurrection, the offices of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, creation, justification, election, regeneration, the church, the sacraments, and all the other fundamental doctrines of the faith?

3.    We ought to sing to the Lord new songs.

Isn’t that a command? A command we haven’t exhausted yet? There are still new songs to be sung to the Lord. What if the Church had stopped singing new songs in the 15th century?  We wouldn’t have “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”  What if Christians stopped in the 16th century?  No Charles Wesley.  No Isaac Watts. What if the Church stopped a generation ago? No one would be singing “In Christ Alone” this Sunday. What a pity.

Sometimes I want to ask to very conservative Christians: “Do you really think the last good song of praise to Jesus has been written?”

4.    Church singing should swim in its own history of church singing.
The metaphor is intentional.  We should swim in this big ocean of church music, a ocean that is continually receiving new streams. I am not advocating a certain percentage of old v. new–every church will look and feel a little different, but I am suggesting that we should understand ourselves to be  a part of this deep ocean of Christian song.

It’s amazing to me that any church would consciously (or unconsciously for that matter) step completely out of the ocean of the historic hymnody and step into a wading pool of nothing but contemporary song. I’m not saying newer songs are inferior to older ones (see previous point). What I am saying is that it is an expression of extreme hubris and folly to think we have nothing to gain from older songs and nothing to lose when we throw out the songs Christians have been singing for hundreds of years.

Think of what you get with a hymnal (whether it’s an actual hymnal or the contents of the hymnal on your screen):

• A link to history. Our people, not to mention the world, needs to know that Christianity is not a novel invention. We sing in concert with two millennia of believers.

• Diversity. I guarantee that those churches using hymns are being exposed to a wider variety of Christian song than those who are exclusively contemporary. The hymnal has twenty centuries of styles: chants, folk tunes, ethnic tunes, carols, psalms, Welsh ballads, English melodies, stout German hymns, gospel tunes (black and white), and dozens of other musical variations.

• Excellence. Yes, there are some real clunkers in most hymnals. But by and large, the bad songs have been weeded out. If we are stilling singing a song five hundred years later it probably has strong lyrics, good poetry, and a singable tune.

• The whole counsel of God. Hymns give you a wide range of themes and biblical categories. Contemporary music is getting better in this regard, but the hymnal is still the best place to find a song on the ascension or the exaltation of Christ or a song of illumination or a lamentation or a communion hymn. Kudos to the Getty/Townend team and Sovereign Grace for trying to fill these kinds of gaps.

5.    Sing the Psalms.

I am not convinced by the arguments for exclusive psalmody. But in 95% of our churches the problem is not that we are keeping out good non-Psalms. It’s strange, even though we are commanded to sing Psalms and even though Psalms have been at the center of the Church’s singing for centuries, still we easily ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the middle of our Bibles (to borrow a phrase from Terry Johnson). On a cheerier note, I’m thankful we are beginning to see some contemporary musicians turn their attention to the Psalms.

1. Just in case any of the these books might peak your interest
2. For accountability for me to blaze through as many of them as I can.  I’m hoping to finish all of them.

Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chappell

I’m reading this book because I want to grow in my understanding of what it means to keep Jesus at the center of my worship experience.  I’m always eager to meditate on how the gospel of Jesus Christ should inform every area of my life.

  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

What can I say but, Charles Dickens.  I have an affinity for Classics and this would definitely classify as a Classic.  Plus, I’m not sure that I can read enough books from writers who write as masterfully as Dickens.

  When the Game was Ours by Larry Bird, Earvin “Magic” Johnson & Jackie MacMullan

This is the story of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird from their time in college to the NBA Finals.  Why am I reading this?  Umm, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, basketball, competition, revenge…okay, no revenge, but it’s still going to be good.

Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions & Organized Religion by Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck

This is a book that I’ve been wanting to read for a year or so, and I am just getting to it.  I haven’t come across anything that Kevin DeYoung has said or written that I haven’t enjoyed.  Plus, you can’t have too robust a doctrine of the local church.

  John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken

I’ve heard only good things about this book and am really looking forward to walking with John Newton in order to survey his love of God and His doctrine of amazing grace.

There you go.  We’ll see how far I get.

This summer we’ve had a group of G2 youth interns in the office 3 days a week. Watch and listen as they talk about their experience with Rich, Jason and Jon.

We recognize that God calls and gifts people with a desire and ability to care for people in a specific way and bring counsel to them.  This process of counseling is a means of grace God uses to help them through (often) longstanding challenge and difficulty.

Our desire would be to extend this training to those who would desire to be evaluated for gifting in this area.  The goal is to serve in a future counseling ministry that would serve the pastors in caring for the people of the church.

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

This training is open to any member (or member-in-process). If you are interested, please contact us so that we can get you the study materials!

6.  Finding a sermon on the old website was as easy as trying to get my daughter to eat tomatoes (translation: virtually impossible).
7.  At times on the old site, the blog functioned less as a tool and more like a junk drawer.  “Don’t know what to do with that?  Throw it on the blog!”
8.  Even Jack Bauer wouldn’t have been able to gather certain pieces of crucial information off the old site.
9.  The pictures at the top of the homepage on the old site were from 1983 (okay, not that old but you get the point).
10.  I had to come up with a way to change my pastor bio from still saying Intern.

How wonderful the Father’s love, the Father’s love for us

that He would send His only Son to come and rescue us

He has saved us, called us blameless

Guides us now and will sustain us

Oh, how wonderful the Father’s love!

Is this how you think of God the Father? I wonder if sometimes we only think of God the Father as the fear-inducing LORD who spoke the Ten Commandments from the mountaintop and frightened the people so badly that they asked if He could not speak to them any longer (Exodus 20:1-21). While it is true that God is holy and is to be rightly feared, we shouldn’t merely think of him this way.  If you do, then perhaps you consider Him as a raging and just God who, if not for the pleading of His Son, would eagerly consume you, a sinner,  whom He cannot tolerate; as if He were a powerful Fighter being held back from slaughtering us by His loving Son.

If this is the case, then I would ask you to consider John 16:26-27:

In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

Or 1 John 3:1

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

Or James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Or Romans 8:31-32

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

I find it really comforting (and very telling about how the Father relates to me) to read these kinds of verses. It reminds me that Jesus isn’t trying to convince the Father to love me rather than destroy me. I can take confidence in the truth that it was the Father who loved me and sent His Son to die for me, to give me good gifts and to call me His child and, in the end, to graciously give me all things.

What more could I ask from my Heavenly Father than abounding, unwavering, steadfast love and mercy!

Rich and Jason clear up the definition of “infamous,” answer some questions sent to the Sovcast email, and discuss the recent sermon on Psalm 103.

Click below to listen to the SovCast!

• A separate page for Sermons. Here you will find Sunday morning messages for the current series—Psalms: God our Glory—as well as the current year. If you scroll over the dropdown menu at the top, you’ll find past sermon series listed by their title, listed in chronological order, starting with the most recent at the top. Our hope is that by separating out the sermons from our regular blog that this will be a feature you use over and over again on the site. (You can still subscribe through itunes too!)

• A Get Involved page. Here you will find specific ministry needs and ways that you can get plugged into serving at SGC.  Both Seasonal Opportunities and Ongoing Opportunities are listed, which will be updated periodically based on needs and time of year.

• A Calendar. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of everything that’s going on here at SGC, so we’ve provided an easier way to find out. Just click on the Calendar tab and you can see the current month’s events. Scroll through the calendar and you can see future events to help better plan your year. The week’s events also appears on the sidebar so you can see at a glance what’s going on, no matter what page of the website you are on.

• A self-scrolling homepage feature. You see those big pictures on the front? Well, they actually link to blog posts and sermons that we find especially interesting to mention. Click on the side arrow to scroll through them yourself, or click on the actual picture and it will take you to the specific post.

• A full listing of our Ministries. Another great thing about these pages is that you will be able to find G2 and tfs sermons listed specifically on their respective pages. So you missed May’s G2 parent meeting? Click on the G2 page and scroll down to find the message!

• Header, sidebar, and footer! You’ll also notice our twitter feed and Facebook page in the header on the top, as well as the twitter feed in the sidebar. Other pages of interest can be found in the sidebar. And let’s not forget the footer. Here you will see recent posts on the Blog, the Sermon page and the 7 Min SovCast.

• A bi-weekly (or more) Blog with posts from our pastors. Check back during the week to see what our pastors are writing about.

In other words, we think you’ll be able to keep updated on the happenings of Sovereign Grace Church, as well as visit the site over and over again. Look around and explore, pass it along to your friends, and show people who might be interested in attending our church. We want our site to be a snapshot of who we are, and if this new website is any indication, we have the potential to be pretty cool! But of course, that’s only because we serve a God who is great and mighty to save! Thanks for your patience as we made this transition!

• Thursday June 30th
• Thursday July 7th
• Thursday July 21st
• Thursday August 4th

This is a great outreach opportunity, as well as a chance to have open discussion about some of Christianity’s hardest questions.

“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,” wrote sailor John Masefield. That is my motto. I love the ocean. In fact I am at the beach right now with my family. But I enjoy the sea as a novice, as one who is little more than an enthusiastic spectator from the seashore. Being a Nebraskan by birth and upbringing, my direct experience with the ocean is quite shallow.

John Newton’s knowledge of the ocean was deep. It was the ocean that provided Newton his early livelihood and it was the ocean that nearly took his life. Whether it was giving or trying to take away, the ocean was a central part of his life for several years.

Even more important to Newton was the gospel. Not surprisingly, in Newton’s writings the greatness of our Savior finds metaphorical expression in the far-reaching limits of ocean. I’m sure he would have agreed with Spurgeon’s often quoted statement: “In Christ’s finished work I see an ocean of merit; my plummet finds no bottom, my eye discovers no shore.”* The ocean in many ways is a suitable metaphor.

The gospel is unfathomable, and that of course means there is always a need for us to grow in our knowledge of the Savior. By grace this is possible—by observation this is necessary.

Newton writes,

Some knowledge of Christ indeed they [Christians] have, which is their differencing character from the world. How small a portion! That they know him a little, is plain, because they love him and trust him; but how little, is plain likewise, because their love is so faint, and their trust so feeble.

Newton elaborates on what these weaknesses expose.

Their doubts, fears, complaints, and backslidings, are so many mournful proofs that they are but poorly acquainted with him; and sufficiently evidence, that a great part of what we account our knowledge, is not real and experimental, but notional only.

The literal sense of what we read concerning Jesus, is attainable by study and human teaching; but the spiritual import can be received only from Him who teaches the heart, who increases it in us by the various exercises and dispensations we pass through; and the best have much more to learn than they have already attained.…

The knowledge of Christ, in the present life, may be compared to the knowledge that a shepherd has of the sea, from having viewed it at the top of a cliff. In a sense, it may be said he has seen the sea; but how little has he seen, in comparison of what lies beyond the reach of his eye! How inadequate is such a prospect to give him an idea answerable to the length, and breadth, and depth, of the immense ocean!**

Yes; or compared to a vacationing Nebraskan’s knowledge of the ocean. It is one thing to stand on the pebbled shore and to look out at a few miles of ocean, but another thing altogether to sail over the top of, or to dive down into the heart of, the wine-dark sea.

So it is with our knowledge of Christ in this life. Saving knowledge of Christ is not an exhaustive knowledge. Newton helps us see this point in two ways.

First, the more we learn the more we see how much more we have to learn. And our ignorance of Christ is behind our waverings, our doubts, our fears, our backslidings. Our propensity to sin reveals the shallowness of our knowledge of the Savior. We must press on not just for more learning, but for more of the experiential knowledge of the gospel, the knowledge that changes our attitudes, our thinking, and our behavior.

Second, a complete knowledge of Christ, like the majority of the ocean, remains beyond the reach of the eye. Right now our knowledge of the Savior is partial and fallible; one day our knowledge of Christ will be full and face-to-face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

A vacationer on the shore, a shepherd on the cliff—neither can see the breadth and length and height and depth of the ocean. Nor do we yet fully comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love for us shown in the gospel (Ephesians 3:18-19). Like a wide-eyed shepherd looking out from a window seat on a clear day from 40,000 feet over the ocean, one day we will more fully comprehend the dimensions (1 John 3:2).

And we will be stunned.

Parenting 001

Does it seem like parenting has gotten more complicated? I mean, as far as I can tell, back in the day parents basically tried to feed their kids, clothe them, and keep them away from explosives. Now our kids have to sleep on their backs (no wait, their tummies; no never mind, their backs), while listening to Baby Mozart surrounded by scenes of Starry, Starry Night. They have to be in piano lessons before they are five and can’t leave the car seat until they’re about five foot six.

It’s all so involved. There are so many rules and expectations. Kids can’t even eat sugar anymore. My parents were solid as a rock but we still had a cupboard populated with cereal royalty like Captain Crunch and Count Chocula. In our house the pebbles were fruity and the charms were lucky. The breakfast bowl was a place for marshmallows, not dried camping fruit. Our milk was 2%. And sometimes, if we needed to take the edge off a rough morning, we’d tempt fate and chug a little Vitamin D.

Trial by Error

I don’t consider myself a particularly good parent. I was asked to speak a few years ago at some church’s conference. They wanted me to talk about parenting. I said I didn’t have much to say so they should ask someone else (which they did). My kids are probably not as crazy as they seem to me (at least that’s what I keep telling myself anyway), but if I ever write a book on parenting I’m going to call it The Inmates Are Running the Asylum.

There are already scores of books on parenting, many of them quite good. I’ve read several of them and have learned much. I really do believe in gospel-powered parenting and shepherding my child’s heart. I want conversations like this:

Me: What’s the matter son?
Child: I want that toy and he won’t give it to me!
Me: Why do you want the toy?
Child: Because it will be fun to play with.
Me: Do you think he is having fun playing with the toy right now?
Child: Yes.
Me: Would it make him sad to take the toy away?
Child: I guess so.
Me: And do you like to make your brother sad?
Child: No.
Me: You know, Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. That means loving your brother the way he would want to be loved. Since Jesus loves us so much, we have every reason to love others–even your brother. Would you like to love him by letting him play with the toy for awhile?
Child: Yes I would daddy.

I try that. Really I do. But here’s what actually happens:

Me: What’s the matter son?
Child: I want that toy and he won’t give it to me!
Me: Why do you want the toy?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: What’s going on in your heart when you desire that toy?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: Think about it son. Use your brain. Don’t you know something?
Child: I guess I just want the toy.
Me: Obviously. But why?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: Fine. [Mental note: abandon "why" questions and skip straight to leading questions.] Do you think he is having fun playing with the toy right now?
Child: No.
Me: Really?! He’s not having fun? Then why does he want that toy in the first place?
Child: Because he’s mean.
Me: Have you ever considered that maybe you are being mean by trying to rip the toy from his quivering little hands?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: What do you know?
Child: I don’t know!
Me: Nevermind. [I wonder how my brilliant child can know absolutely nothing at this moment.] Well, I think taking the toy from him will make your brother sad. Do you like to make him sad?
Child: I don’t know.
Me: [Audible sigh.]
Child: He makes me sad all the time!
Me: Well, I’m getting sad right now with your attitude! [Pause, think, what would Paul Tripp do?  Thinking . . . .thinking . . . .man, I can't stop thinking of that mustache. This isn't working. Let's just go right to the Jesus part.] You know, Jesus wants us to love each other.
Child: I don’t know.
Me: I didn’t ask you a question!
Child: [Pause.] Can I have some fruit snacks?
Me: No, you can’t have fruit snacks. We are talking about the gospel. Jesus loves us and died for us. He wants you to love your brother too.
Child: So?
Me: So give him the toy back!

Then I lunge for the toy and the child runs away. I tell him to come back here this instant and threaten to throw the toy in the trash. I recommit myself to turning down speaking engagements on parenting.

Growing What You Can

I want to grow as a parent–in patience and wisdom and consistency. But I also know that I can’t change my kids’ hearts. I am responsible for my heart and must be responsible to teach them the way of the Lord. But nothin’ guarantees nothin’. I’m just trying to be faithful, and then repent for all the times I’m not.

I have four kids and besides the Lord’s grace, I’m banking on the fact that there really are just a few non-negotiables in parenting. There are plenty of ways to screw up our kids, but whether they color during church, for example, is not one of them. There is not a straight line from doodling in the service as a toddler to doing meth as a teenager. Could it be that beyond the basics of godly parenting, that most of the other techniques and convictions are nibbling around the edges? Certainly, there are lots of ways that good parents make parenting a saner, more enjoyable experience, but even the kid addicted to Angry Birds who just downed a pack of Fun Dip and is now watching his third Pixar movie of the week (day?) still has a decent shot at not being a sociopath.

I remember years ago hearing a line from Alistair Begg, quoting another man, that went like this: “When I was young I had six theories and no kids. Now I have six kids and no theories.” I must be smart. It only took me four kids to run out of theories.

Getting a Few Things Right

I look back at my childhood and think, “What did my parents do right?” I watched too many Growing Pains reruns and played a lot of Super Techmo Bowl (LT could block every extra point and Christian Okoye was a stud). I never learned to like granola or my vegetables (kids, stop reading this post immediately!). But yet, I always knew they loved me. They made me go to church every Wednesday and twice on every Sunday. They made us do our homework. They laid down obvious rules–the kinds that keep kids from killing each other. They wouldn’t accept any bad language, and I didn’t hear any from them. Mom took care of us when we were sick. Dad told us he loved us. I never found porn around the house or booze or dirty secrets. We read the Bible. We got in trouble when we broke the rules. I don’t remember a lot of powerful heart-to-heart conversations. But we knew who we were, where we stood, and what to expect. I’d be thrilled to give my kids the same.

I worry that many young parents are a) too adamant about the particulars of their parenting or b) too sure that every decision will set their kids on an unalterable trajectory to heaven or hell. It’s like my secretary at the church once told me: “Most moms and dads think they are either the best or the worst parents in the world, and both are wrong.” Could it be we’ve made parenting too complicated? Isn’t the most important thing not what we do but who we are as parents? They will see our character before they remember our exact rules regarding television and twinkies.

I could be wrong. My kids are still young. Maybe this no-theory is a theory of its own. I just know that the longer I parent the more I want to focus on doing a few things really well, and not get too passionate about all the rest. I want to spend time with my kids, teach them the Bible, take them to church, laugh with them, cry with them, discipline them when they disobey, say sorry when I mess up, and pray like crazy. I want them to look back and think, “I’m not sure what my parents were doing or if they even knew what they were doing. But I always knew my parents loved me and I knew they loved Jesus.” Maybe it’s not that complicated after all.

To read more from Kevin DeYoung, you can go to his blog.

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers. Proverbs 17:6

Men, as we get ready to celebrate Father’s Day, let’s remember the profound calling and joy that comes with being a Dad.  This verse demonstrates the longevity achieved by decisions made in small, forgettable moments of faithful parenting.  A couple implications stand out from this verse:

• Your children reflect you.  When people praise your children, in a very tangible sense, they are also praising you for your faithful care for your children.
• The fruit of your faithfulness now in how you parent and disciple your children will extend even to your grandchildren.  Your children’s children will become the recipients of the many hard, complicated, painful, groggy, lackluster, mundane, providential and God-honoring moments that you take with your sons and daughters now as you seek to reflect the love and care of a faithful God to those whom He has entrusted to you.

What an awesome task it is to be a Dad!  Yet, what an amazing reality it is that God has allowed us to steward little ones (or not so little ones anymore) whom He created in His image.  May we bear this responsibility with joy and trembling, trusting in His grace to make up for our deficiencies (if you’re like me, MANY deficiencies) and relying on His mercy to help us in the countless moments when we have no idea what we’re doing.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” Joshua 1:8

How often do we heed the call of God from Joshua 1 in our lives?  If you are like me there are many moments when you feel like your life is epitomized by the exact opposite of this: the Bible has quickly departed, you do not meditate on it nearly enough—let alone day and night and therefore, you are not careful to do all that is written in it.

If that is you, let me encourage you to begin reading your Bibles for just a few minutes every day.  Maybe take one verse and try to memorize it.  Realize that this book does not simply contain words on a page, but rather, it is filled with the words of The Word.  Jesus, the Word Incarnate, is prominently displayed in the Word Inscripturated.  Let us be a people who do not allow His Living Words to “depart from our mouths,” and let us mediate on Him day and night so that we might be more like Him day-by-day.

I would encourage you all to listen to at least one of the NEXT Conference Messages (if you listen to just one I would recommend Jeff Purswell on having a Christian worldview in a non-Christian world).

Listen, as Jason kicked off the Summer Psalms series by preaching from Psalm 2.

Friday, April 29th | 7:00p – 9:30p
Saturday, April 30th | 9:00a – 1:00p

The cost of registration is:

$25 per couple
$15 per person
Free for single moms or single dads

Visit the Information Counter this Sunday to register! Registration ends April 24th.

Friday, April 15th | 7:00p-9:00p
Saturday, April 16th | 9:00a-12:30p

Register at the info counter on Sunday, or by e-mailing Naomi at the office. Thanks!

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I don’t know where exactly to start but to start at the beginning probably the best. I was born into a faithful LDS family in West Jordan Utah 1984. As was the case for many of my friends, I grew up with the strong conviction that the LDS church was true and that no other church had the right authority. It wasn’t long until I was ordained into the priesthood and got involved in passing the sacrament and other priesthood duties. As I grew older, I became more devoted to the LDS faith and looked forward to a mission with excitement as I believed I was serving the Lord. Little did I know how God would change my life and truly shape my identity in Him.

God started to work in me during my mission as I served at the Mesa Family History Center. I began to view the LDS Church as good but with several problems that could not be explained by the reasoning of “the church is perfect but the people are not.” One of these experiences were that there were evident things that raised concerns for me like the temple ceremony, historical discrepancies between the book of Mormon and doctrine and covenants, and the emphasis on the restoration vs. a constant and everlasting church. Even with these contradictions, I fully wanted to stay to “the iron rod” and put these aside to the “apostate thoughts of the devil.” I continued in this manner until I moved onto ASU polytechnic at which point I really was not even sure I would fully be ok with the LDS faith. All I was sure of is that the LDS church had to be true because of my spiritual experiences I had. Eventually I befriended Josh Tong and others who really fed me the Word and didn’t even run away when I think I would have. By the sovereign grace of God I was led to search for the purpose of life not because of any goodness in myself but because of God’s abundant mercy in my life. This life is truly not my own and I need His wisdom to guide me daily.

As a result of His love, I am fully assured that nothing can separate me from salvation. Had I known that grace was so sweet and permanent, I surely would not have so much guilt or worry. I praise God that His plans were so much better than mine and that despite my sins He saved me from dwelling in doubt and despair. As James 1:5 says, “If any man lacks wisdom let him ask of God and He will give him freely.” This baptism does not save me but is a commitment to live for him continually and glorify His name forever.

Note: the message to G2 youth and parents that day was given by Jason. You can hear the same message given to the tfs group from March 17th.

All youth and parents are invited to this Saturday’s G2 extravaganza. The schedule for the day is as follows:

12pm-6pm. Work Day at the church. Come one, come all, come for any portion of the time. Youth will be serving the church in various maintenance projects.

6 pm. Dinner Together. All G2 youth and parents are invited for pizza and hanging out at the church. (Whether you worked for the whole afternoon or only some part, you still get a slice of pizza.)

7 pm G2 Meeting begins.
-Jon Payne will be continuing the series of Godly Teenage Relationships, discussing the topic of “Discipling Youth in Forgiveness” with the Parents.
-Jason Hansen will be teaching the Youth and Parents, continuing our series on Salvation with a message about Jesus and the town of Nazareth and how easy it is for church kids to be familiar with Jesus.

Hope to see everyone there!

We are excited to be once again hosting the annual Women4Truth conference on March 25th & 26th where the guest speaker will be Carolyn McCulley. More details as well as online registration can be found at www.women4truth.com. Early registration pricing ends March 6th, so register today!

http://www.covlife.org/blog/giving_to_help_japan

We neither loved God nor had anything about us that merited any love, yet God loved us anyway. 1 John 4:11 says that we owe other Christians that sort of love. Here are some musings on what that love could possibly look like:

- We owe a love to others that initiates and is not offended when people do not respond they way we think they should.
- We owe a love to others even if they have sinned against us in the past.
- We owe a love to others that actively looks to bless and build up.
- We owe a love to others that doesn’t sit around judging people for what they do or don’t do.
- We owe a love to others that is not loaded with the freight of our expectations.
- We owe a love to others that picks them up when they fall.
- We owe a love to others that sends help before it is asked.
- We owe a love to others that always welcomes new people.
- We owe a love to others that always cherishes old friends.
- We owe a love to others that shows itself to be friendly to others not expecting them to be friendly to us.
- We owe a love to others that considers others needs before our own.
- We owe a love to others that does not ask, “Do I fit in here? Are enough people like me?” Instead, we owe a love that asks, “How can I help others fit in?”
- We owe a love to others that does not count the cost and expects to be taken advantage.
- We owe a love to others that overlooks sin without a word.
- We owe a love to others that is always hopeful and never pessimistic.
- We owe a love to others that accepts the strange, awkward, weak, weird and uncool people of the world.

As you read that list you might say, “That is impossible, unreasonable, unrealistic, unnatural…” You are exactly right, this sort of love is not natural it is nothing short of supernatural.

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, the love we have received from God we can now pass on to others.

Last week’s sermon, if you missed it.

Unfortunately, the recording didn’t start until quite a ways into the message. Many apologies!

Sign up by emailing the church office or texting your name and “Starting Point” to 602-345-0845.

Seminar Schedule
Friday, January 14th: 7-9p
Saturday, January 15th: 8a-12:30p

Cost: $15/attendee (includes materials and light continental breakfast on Saturday)

Register: at the info counter on Sundays or online here.

(please note: while there is no childcare provided during this service, there will be aspects specifically geared toward children)

“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities…”

Sadly, this verse has become overly familiar in my thinking and I noticed how comfortable I had grown with these two words: wounded and crushed. As I reread the verse over again I pondered how the word wounded was itself difficult to comprehend seeing how the One who was wounded is the mighty One whose hands made everything including the people who wounded Him. Yet, the second word is altogether shocking and gruesome.

He was crushed. What a word! I don’t know about you but when I consider this word I recall taking ice out of the ice cube tray as a kid, putting it in a plastic sandwich bag and crushing it and grinding it in order to make crushed ice. When I thought about my experience of crushing ice and the reality that Isaiah says Jesus was crushed for my iniquities, I was freshly stunned and taken aback.

As I read further, I came to Isaiah 53:10 and saw that this shocking and astonishing word was used yet again and with intent, “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him…” Why? We find the answer in the next verse, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” He was crushed for me. This word caused me to stop and reconsider what actually took place on the cross. In a fresh way I remembered that God sent the Lamb of God to be crushed, bruised, beaten and pulverized for me and I didn’t deserve it; not even close.

Maybe you’ve forgotten what Jesus did for you on the cross. If so, let this be a moment to once again thank the Father for His love in sending His Son, intentionally crushing Him so that those put their faith in Him would experience undeserved favor in Him. Also, take a moment to reconsider the mercy of our Lord, that He would take your sin upon His shoulders, allowing Himself to be crushed in your place so that you might have eternal life.

Please RSVP by Dec 5th here.

All mothers of young children (age 10 and under) are invited to join us for a morning of encouragement, teaching and fellowship with other moms. Light refreshments and childcare are provided. There is a $3 charge (per family) – please register at the info counter on Sundays or call the church office (480-507-0307). Hope to see you there!

(We ask that you please attempt to obtain childcare on your own – but if you are unable to do so, we are happy to provided limited childcare for children age 10 years and younger. Please register your child either on Sunday at the info counter or by calling the church office. Thanks!)

Sign up by contacting the church office or texting your name and “Starting Point” to 602-345-0845.

If you are planning to attend, please contact the church office and RSVP so that we may planning accordingly.

Hope to see you there!

(in the picture below, the sign says “Pastor Rich you’ve been Peppered”)

“I am sitting in my lab listening to your message from Sunday since we missed it while teaching 3 year olds. As your materials scientist friend, I want to call you to metallurgical repentance and faith. You stated that aluminum does not rust. Actually, it does. Al2O3 (aluminum oxide i.e. aluminum rust) forms almost instantly on the surface of any exposed aluminum object. However, unlike iron oxide or rust, this aluminum oxide forms a thin (4 nanometers) layer and becomes a barrier that prevents further oxidation of the aluminum. This layer forms within 100 picoseconds and is a self-passivating layer, as it stops, or passivates further oxidation. This 4nm layer is so thin, that it is not visible to the unaided eye and the aluminum, though rusted, still appears bright a shiny.”

Robert, you have my metallurgical repentance.

(For planning purposes, please RSVP for this event by emailing sgcwomen.flourish@gmail.com or texting your name and “women’s breakfast” to 602-345-0845)

Rich plans to “tweet” the experience, so check in with him for updates: @Colemana4

If you are planning to attend, please contact the church office and RSVP so that we may planning accordingly.

Or, if you are interested in serving the young moms by watching their children or helping with the refreshments, please contact the church office and let us know.

8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9 for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.

I don’t know about you, but when I am trying to parent the last thing I’m thinking is that my instruction is a graceful garland (a decorative wreath worn like a crown) and pendant (beautiful necklace).

If you’re anything like me, the temptation for head hanging and shoulder slumping is enormous at this point. “I am a failure as a parent. I knew I should have paid more attention during that parenting seminar! My kids will be doing drugs and living on the streets before I know it!”

Okay, slow down. When I go down this road I need to remind myself that God grows young hearts and he calls me to be faithful. I will never be a perfect parent but I can trust in a perfect Father. Jesus died for all my sin, including selfish or lazy parenting. God is still good to us even in our sin.

So, if you do faithfully instruct your kids in the way of the Lord, keep it up! If you feel like you are lacking there is no better day to begin than today.

How? Some things to remember:
- Realize that instruction for a child means talking about godliness (the Word, prayer, truth etc…), leading them toward godliness and also being an example of godliness for them.
- Take time to:
o Confess your sin to them (especially when it’s against them)
o Help them to understand the gospel in verses like John 3:16
o Teach them about God and His ways
o Help them see you don’t have it all together
o Read to and with them
o Pray with and for them
o Use correction moments to tell them about what Jesus has done for you.

Just remember to trust that God simply desires that you be faithful as a parent to instruct them in the His ways. He alone makes hearts grow.

There are still 2 more weeks left in the drive, so keep the supplies coming!

(click here for a list of supplies most needed)

Prayers would be appreciated as we finish out the last 2 days of our retreat. Thanks!

They are having a special meeting in honor of this 1 year anniversary on Sunday, August 29th! We would like to serve their church by taking over their childcare needs during their meeting on Sunday, August 29th at 4:00pm so that ALL of their members can fully participate in the anniversary meeting. We need approximately 6-8 adults and 3-5 youth helpers. If you are interested in serving Grace Church that day, please contact us at the church office and let us know. Thanks!

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27 ESV)

Do you see the correlation between visiting orphans and staying away from worldliness? Maybe because when we are able to aid the needy, joy explodes in our hearts. Then the happiness derived from worldly things is exposed for the pseudo-joy that it really is.

The verse above does call for us to visit. How does that happen? Wisely and with much prayer. There will always be risk in traveling to The Orphanage.

How will you help? Serving? Praying? Giving? Stay tuned to see what the Lord does. To get regular updates from them, check out their site.

If you are interested in participating, here is a list of the supplies specifically requested:

Basic small handheld calculators
Protractors / Triangles / Compasses
#2 Pencils
Small hand held pencil sharpeners
Colored Pencils
Colored paper
Wire bound single subject notebooks
Wire bound graph paper notebooks
Pens
Small hand held erasers
Dictionaries (in Spanish only – not English-to-Spanish)

Please bring all items to the church, unwrapped, by Wednesday, September 1st. You are welcome to drop items off anytime the church is open!

- That these children hear the gospel and get saved.
- That The Orphanage would be kept safe from violence.
- That The Orphanage director would have ongoing wisdom to lead.
- That the new baby house would get all the necessary governmental permits.
- That a sufficient number of service teams would still come.
- That The Orphanage would be able to help older teenagers to get into University and be trained to work.
- That the violence would end in Juarez.

Do you want to see how the Lord is answering your prayers? Check in at the website.

Session 1 (Friday night) – “Don’t Believe the First Lie” from Genesis 3
Session 2 (Saturday morning) – “Trust God’s Truth” from Psalm 19
Session 3 (Saturday evening) – “The Truth Will Set You Free” from Romans 8:31-36