Viewing entries tagged with 'Reformed Theology'
People still talk like this, but we don't preach like this anymore...
For some time now, I’ve been studying the practice of reading and preaching the Scriptures across the history of the church. Recently, I’ve been focusing on the Reformation. As part of that study, I came across this gem from John Calvin’s sermon on Deuteronomy 5:11 on the 3rd commandment:
The God of Our Emotions??
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about emotions. As I get ready to preach on Exodus, I’m amazed at how open God is over his emotions. For instance, let’s deal with a difficult emotion for us to admit concerning God, anger:
True Spiritual Authority is Trinitarian
True Spiritual Authority is Trinitarian
This past Sunday at services we looked at how the church that Jesus wants to love us into is a church that submits to His spiritual authority that He exercises in and through the church. For a fair number of folks, I realize this may be the first sermon we’ve heard on this subject in our lives. That is a tragedy, for it means we have been robbed of knowing and enjoying more of our Triune God. Let me explain.
Why Jesus' Kingship is Good News for Rebels...
In the opening of our series on the Church that Love builds, we saw a breath-taking glimpse of how Jesus loves the church as our prophet, priest, and king. We saw how Jesus came as the perfect prophet who reveals God to us and speaks to us as God. This is good news for it brings truth into our lives that provides real direction and wisdom.
Keeping the Main Pastoral Thing, the Main Pastoral Thing!
The past couple weeks have been, um, well challenging for me. Lot's going on in so many fronts that even a organization freak like me can't hope to keep up. I read The Tyranny of the Ugent in college and have since sought to invest in the most important things; not just the one's that screamed the loudest. But I've learned that sometimes, like the last few weeks, even important things have to get dropped because there are too many of them for one sinner to handle. So how should pastor's prioritize what are at the top of the list of not just urgent, but critically important things?
Pondering Providence
Recently, some of our church family have been going through some real difficulties. Some have faced illnesses, others marital and relational struggles, and still others financial/job setbacks. Often we turn to Scripture for guidance in these times. That’s a good thing. The Bible has much to say about how to approach each of these kinds of things.
Friendship & the Trinity
What are friendships supposed to look like? Depends on who you ask, doesn’t it? It even depends on the day? Sometimes, we see friendship as being like Frodo & Sam in the Lord of the Rings- faithful, true, persevering through anything. But on other days, friendship looks to us a bit more like… a soap opera. Where its really all about me and what I want, so relationships that were important to me one day need not be so the next if I think it will serve my purposes.
Something is wrong with such a perspective. We feel it instinctively. We hunger for relationships that are bigger, stronger, more solid. So maybe we need a better source. Rather than look to Hollywood, Main Street USA, or even our street, lets ask the perspective of the one unchanging being in the universe- Almighty God. What does God say about what friendship should look like? After all, He created humanity, and He created friendships. So doesn’t it stand to reason that what he says about friendship ought to be true in our lives as well (no matter how different or challenging it might be)?
When we approach the Bible with this question, we find it has a lot to say. No, you won’t find many references to “friendship” in your concordance, but you will find a great deal about relationships of all kinds. One of the most surprising things that God says about our friendships is the role that the Trinity plays in those relationships!
In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul says some very helpful and very amazing things about how to maintain and grow our relationships. In the first 3 verses, he describes the character our relationships (including our friendships) should have. Then, in the next 3 verses he gives the enabling power for the kinds of relationships he’s just described. He says the following:
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Notice the Trinitarian emphasis in these verses? Paul is picturing here how it is the work of each member of the Trinity that enables us to know and experience the kinds of friendships God has designed us for. It is the Father’s sovereign reign over all things in us and our lives that is patiently and gently working out the gospel in our relationships. His reign enables relationships to exist.
And it is because we have been called to receive grace in Christ (v. 1) that we are able to give grace to one another in our relationships. As Paul explained in the previous three chapters, the Son of God was torn apart from the Father in judgment for our sins. It is because of this tearing apart, that we are reconciled to God. And it is because we are reconciled to God, that we can overcome tearing apart in our friendships and move towards reconciliation. This is the kind of relationships we long for: those that are bigger than us and our circumstances and that have the means to weather the tough times. The work of the Son enables such relationships to exist.
Paul also speaks of the work of the Spirit here in these verses and how He also affects our relationships. Paul describes how we should be eager to know unity in our relationships because of the Holy Spirit within us. He is the one that gives us an enabling grace to know peace in our friendships. As the Holy Spirit bears with us and abides with us even in the face of our sin, we learn what it means to bear with and abide with one another when we are sinned against.
Not only does each member of the Trinity empower such friendships in our lives, but the Trinity itself is to be a picture of the kind of relationships that we were made for! Paul in Ephesians 4 is addressing the foundational unity that we are to know in our relationships in the church. The Trinity is the ground of that unity. Notice, though, that it is not a unity based on uniformity; rather, it is a unity that is realized amidst diversity!
God is one- in substance, power, glory, etc. Yet, in the unity of the one Godhead are three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are not different “manifestations” of the one God (why water as ice, liquid, and steam fails as an analogy for the Trinity), but different persons related to one another within the one Godhead. I know, I know, we are getting into the mysterious. OK. Deal with it. Life is full of mysteries we can’t fully comprehend- the nature of God is one of them. But we can understand that there is unity and diversity within the Godhead- and that our relationships were meant to exhibit this same kind of dynamic to the world.
So friendships need not rest merely on shared interests, similar perspective, common “likes”, etc. These things shift over time leaving relationships founded upon them to become brittle and eventually broken. Rather, we need friendships that are Trinitarian…
- Relationships united through the work of each member of the Trinity to enable us to love and give ourselves to our friends.
- But relationships that enjoy and value the diversity of gifts, perspectives, and contributions that others very different from us can make to God’s purposes in our lives and the world.
That is the foundation of relationships that last. That is the foundation of Trinitarian friendships.
The New Age of the Kingdom
This past Sunday, we saw how much freight can be carried in so few words. When you study the gospel of John closely and as a whole, you realize that when John uses phrases like "in that day", he is likely speaking of the New Age of the Kingdom. In order to help us better see what he's talking (i.e. the "freight" behind it), we used a chart to picture the eschatological relationships he is describing. "Eschatology" comes from two Greek words- eschatos & logos, and means "the doctrine of the last things." We normally understand that to mean events which are still to happen in God's plan to fully establish the Kingdom of God on earth. But we saw that it also really includes helping us understand our present place in God's plans for history. In other words, it helps us make sense of our "now" in light of God's big picture of the past, present, and future. So to see that big picture more clearly, here is the chart that I used during the sermon for you to ponder, study, and pray in light of. You may want to just click here and download it as pdf to better see it.
The Truly Good Life, Part 1
WARNING- ADULT DISCUSSION FOLLOWS (well, no more adult than what the Bible does...)-
An Encouraging Beginning!
An Encouraging Day...
Sunday was an encouraging beginning for us as we move towards doing church as a team. I talked with many of you individually during our time together and your response was truly humbling and encouraging. Whether a long-time member or a brand new visitor, you expressed enthusiasm to help our common vision become a reality by getting involved in our new Wellington Presbyterian Church teams. Thank you to all for your enthusiasm and desire to see Christ glorified through our ministry together!